The College Crowd Digs Me

(a short jaunt) "Poor Poor Pitiful Me" - Warren Zevon / "Warren Zevon" (1976) "Well, I met a girl at the Rainbow bar She asked me if I'd beat her. She took me back to the Hyatt House... (I don't want to talk about it.)" Warren Zevon painted pictures that were darker than most and catchier than many.  And through all his tongue-in-cheek frolics and strolls, I don't doubt there was many a truth peeking their excitable head around the rocks and trees.  Warren wrote songs that were dead on the mark and straight off the grid.  Killer stuff.  And man but did Linda Ronstadt feast hearty on a few of the Z-man's compositions.  Change the pronouns and off she'd run.  Here's one of his songs straight from the horse's mouth.  And that's Lindsey Buckingham adding some backup vocals.  This was Warren Zevon's second album. (OWN) "The Wheel" - Jerry Garcia / "Garcia" (1972) "The wheel is turning and you ca...

"A Time Before This" - Julian's Treatment (1970) Out of the UK, Julian's Treatment offer-up some early proto-prog with a bit of psych glaze.  "A Time Before Us" is a concept album about an Earth spaceman caught in the middle of a conflict between two space queens from different planets.  (Word up, I could be completely off the mark on the concept.)  The album has an overall vibe that is almost ominous.  The songs are mostly Hammond-driven, courtesy of Julian Jay Savarin with tasty guitar, drums, and occasional flute to help paint the intercosmic landscape.  However, it's the vocals of Cathy Pruden that really bring things   back into focus.  Her timbre is reminiscent of vocalists from bands like The United States of America and Aphrodites Child.   On my first listen, I liked the album, but I didn't love it.  Nothing bad.  I just wasn't feelin' it.  After subsequent spins, my fondness for "A Time Before This" has grow...

(4 For Friday) *   Visual example of gravity on different planets in one minute. *   A rare movie trailer for Steve Martin's ... "The Jerk" for "Theater Owners Only."   You're gonna wanna see this. *   I'm not sure why these... "Then and Now Photos" are so fascinating.  Perhaps it's the unfettered truth, whether it's good or bad, TIME truly waits for no one at all.  *   Recently,  The Grimm Life Collective   YT   channel visited Holcomb, Kansas to explore the "In Cold Blood"  murder house, gravesites, and other locations.  The unique host always does a bang-up job.   "It's his hobby, Janice!" "Live By The Water" - Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear / "Skeleton Crew" (2015) Good stuff. Casey Chambers Follow Me On FACEBOOK  

Hunted Past Reason by Richard Matheson (2002) Paperback, 294 pages NO SPOILERS: I almost passed by this paperback until I noticed it was penned by Richard Matheson .  You know him, too.  Check out the wiki after this.  The man is a...LEGEND.  Anyway, "Hunted Past Reason" is a page-turning holy shit!  A novice of the woods joins up with a friend on a backpacking trip to gain some real hands-on knowledge for a new book he's planning to write.  But the fun trip quickly turns into a dark journey into creepy psychopath-land with action that is both psychologically and physically violent. "Hunted..." is an extremely mind-twisted cat and mouse game of survival.  There are a few brutal scenes that will definitely make the reader squirm and the internal dialogue of the protagonist keeps it all very real.  I suppose there might be a couple of choices made that seem a wee bit ill-advised, but I guess one had to be there, right?  The story idea is not ...

"Still Bill" - Bill Withers (1972)      I don't know why "Still Bill" has been such a hard album for me to track down.  I've probably only seen three or four copies loose...ever!  And they were either beat-up or priced-up.  As for Bill Wither's debut album, "Just As I Am" ...well, I've never seen that one off the chain.  Neither are obscure albums or anything.  I just think people tend to hang on to'em.  Around here, anyway.  Both are must-own.  And I know I could always grab one online, but I'm holding out for an in-person walk-by.      As for Withers' sophomore effort, there is no drop-off in quality.  "Still Bill"  is a great spin.  Whether he's funkin' up a sweat or creating a cool curtain breeze...the grooves and vocals are there.  Withers never sounds like he's singing from someone else's shoes.  Nothing ever sounds forced.  Just a warm, natural, honest delivery.  And we...

(4 For Friday) *   A collection of 30 fascinating historical pictures .  You're gonna wanna see this. *   Here is a promo spot for an upcoming SNL show with host Charles Barkley and musical guest Nirvana.   Why hasn't somebody added  Barkley  into a sitcom already? *   The Ramones tearing it up on "The Spiderman Theme" song.  And on a rooftop, even. *   Always fun watching Diane Keaton and Woody Allen together...this time in Allen's 1993 homage to those "your neighbor might be a murderer" movies.   " Manhattan Murder Mystery."   (free YouTube) "On The Monkey Bars" - Dogbowl / "Tit! An Opera" (1989) Good stuff. Casey Chambers Follow Me On FACEBOOK  

The Whiskey Rebels by David Liss (2008) Paperback, 548 pages NO SPOILERS: This is a David Liss historical fiction novel that takes place near the time Alexander Hamilton was establishing our country's first banking system.  There are great characters throughout...all very easy to visualize, but the story's main protagonists are  Ethan Saunders , a friend of Hamilton's and a mislabeled government spy, and Joan Maycott , who along with her husband, get scammed and bamboozled in a terrible land deal.  Both Ethan and Joan have their own paths to travel and the author uses each chapter to flip from one to the other in the telling.  In betwixt, there are nasty goings-on by a few greedy money manipulators who are misleading investors and a few rebels who seek revenge by plotting to disrupt the banking system.  There is plenty of delicious mystery and suspense.  And the violence in this era is what you might expect.  There are several humorous moments that f...

(a short jaunt) "Eli's Coming" - Laura Nyro / "Eli and the Thirteenth Confession" (1968) "Eli's comin', better walk, walk. But you'll never get away.   No, you'll never get away from the burnin' a-heartache. I walked to Apollo by the bay Everywhere I go." Hearing the original version of "Eli's Coming" for the first time after all these years is head-shaking.  Singer-songwriter Laura Nyro penned the song, giving it her own personal ride and she makes it feel a little more desperate and ominous.  I have to admit it though, I've never heard a song covered and bettered with a more blistering urgency than Three Dog Night's version.  My favorite from those TDN guys for sure.  Hell, I wanna listen to it right now.  But hearing this song coming from the original source...I think I now have a better appreciation of Laura Nyro's songwriting heart.  For whatever reason, Laura Nyro's name or music doesn't...

 (4 For Friday) *   They're fun and clever shenanigans.  But this kinda shit always messes with my head. *   Progrography  revisits the 1969 classic "The Gilded Palace of Sin" - The Flying Burrito Bros. Short and to the point. *   Thinking of inking up?  A tattoo?  Here is a quick guide  before you leap. *   A whole lotta Rosie?"  Nope.  A whole lotta snake .  And you can say she's got it all! "Put Your Money On Me" - The Struts / "Everybody Wants" (2014) Good stuff. Casey Chambers Follow Me On FACEBOOK  

"Jazz Sabbath" - Jazz Sabbath (2020) Jazz Sabbath has a delicious, fictitious backstory about lost Master Tapes found that proves that the doom and gloom band, Black Sabbath nicked their songs.  You can read the back cover and visit Wiki to get caught up.  But it's all just a smart, concocted story to allow Jazz Sabbath to perform a few BS songs giving each the jazz treatment with no bullshit and no corners cut.  Jazz Sab came to play. The songs are given a clever jazz turn that makes for a very cool almost heady trip.  It's like all the dark gloomy power chords and riffage of Black Sabbath simply stepped into a slide zone.  A slide zone of light, tinkling keys, tasty bass, and scatting drums you might hear at an underground lounge bar.  It's all good fun.  You could pile on about how unnatural this all is, or just dig it for the professional homage being paid. "Jazz Sabbath" (back) Favorites include "Hand Of Doom"... a very cool...

"Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller)" - Captain Beefheart And The Magic Band (1978) Vocals are a crisscross between Dr. John, Tom Waits, and Wolfman Jack.  The music is trippy and freaky and sometimes beautiful.  And I dig the surprises.  There was a homemade quilt I saw while helping set up for the annual Quilt Bingo this morning.  Nothing specific or themed about it at all.  Just a patchwork.  Strange, yet oddly compelling.  This is "Shiny Beast..."   There are things going on that seem somehow out of place.  But they are not.  Everything is right where they belong. "Shiny Beast..." is a great example of what music fans like to call...a grower.  And this is a grower in every sense of the word.  Each spin draws different sensations and observations.  Sure, Beefheart is an acquired taste.  Many of the great artists are.  I'm not in love with the guy or anything, but I pull for him.  I'm always curious about wha...

(4 For Friday) *   In 1982, Iggy Pop shared his unusual upbringing, why he likes to hurt himself in concert, and working with David Bowie at Late Night with David Letterman .  It's a very cool interview. *   Let's take another look at  The Byrds 1970 double album "Untitled"  at   Reel and Rock . *   "Don't fill the silence."   A little piece of gold.  You can thank me later. *   This b/w film... "This Is Not a Test" (1962)... is a bit of film noir about motorists on a secluded highway learning about news reports of a possible nuclear attack.  The film is odd, filled with plot holes galore, and yet is not a time-suck. (free YouTube) "Sympathy For The Devil" - Jonathon Round / Jonathon Round (1971) Good stuff. Casey Chambers Follow Me On FACEBOOK

"Neighb'rhood Childr'n" - Neighb'rhood Childr'n (1968) Neighb'rhood Childr'n was a really great psych West Coast band via the winding trails of Oregon.  And their eponymous album is not to be missed.  This square has plenty of tasty fuzz and trippiness going on that crosses most all the 'T's.  The lyrics are ear-pleasingly askew and have good male/female vocal sway that at times recalls the early Jefferson A chemistry.  But " Neighb'rhood Childr'n"  has very much their own sound that strikes the ears from a different direction.  A satisfying blend of harder pop-psych mind-trippage.  This is a lot of fun to spin and I feel like I'm trippin' right now.  Highly recommended. "Neighb'rhood Childr'n" - Neighb'rhood Childr'n (back) Favorites include: " Feeling Zero" "Long Years In Space" “Patterns" From needle drop to runout...just good stuff.  Even the Wizard of Oz nod is ...