The College Crowd Digs Me

(4 For Friday) *  The strangest clock you're gonna see this Friday. *  Check out  19 ideas and inventions that could come in pretty handy.  A few of them are... "Gold Jerry! Gold!" *   Another lesser-known album to seek out while on your record hunts.  Take a look and listen to  The Jerry Hahn Brotherhood (1970) over at  Plain and Fancy   *  Roger Ebert calls film noir our most American film genre.  Open Culture has put together a list of 60 free film noir movies  and where you can stream them.  You've seen many of these b/w puppies already, I'm sure.  Curl up and cross a few more off your list.  "Crying In The Night" - Buckingham Nicks /  Buckingham Nicks  (1973) Good stuff. Casey Chambers Follow Me On FACEBOOK 

Based on a True Story by Norm Macdonald (2016 ) Paperback, 240 pages I remember watching Norm Macdonald on Larry King's internet show a while back and how I was smitten by his parlay.  It was a great conversation.  I picked up his book shortly after and I'm glad I did.  Based On A True Story  is a terrific memoir-ish book filled with whole truths and half-truths that rub close enough to honesty to pass muster.  Stories that are both sweet and funny, as well as bittersweet and funny.  And all while avoiding those paint-by-number bio-celeb book cliches on most shelves.  You know the ones I mean.  This one strikes the reader from angles seldom used and made for an enjoyable read front to back.  And I laughed a lot. But there's a surprising hint of sadness underneath some of his stories that accidentally slip out.  For the most part, Norm covers up the big hurts in silly exaggerations and wink-wink embellishments.  Maybe because that's...

(4 For Friday) *   Now that was a bit of a   PAY ATTENTION grabber. *   Do you remember the Birth of the Blues Brothers ?  It may have started as a joke.  At first.  But the music was just too good to waste.  It's Live from New York... *  A 10-hour time-lapse of an Amish barn-raising in about 20-seconds.  Working together, baby! *   20 ‘Street Smart’ Tips That Might Come In Handy.  Some are pretty ob, but reminders never hurt. "To M.G. (Wherever She May Be)" - John Cougar Mellencamp / "Nothin' Matters and What If It Did" (1980) Good stuff. Casey Chambers Follow Me On FACEBOOK  

"Ziggy played guitar jamming good with Weird and Gilly... and the Spiders from Mars." ~  David Bowie  ~ Woody Woodmansey was in Yorkshire when he received a call that would change his life forever.  David Bowie needed a new drummer and wanted him to come to London and join his band.  Guitarist Mick Ronson had already joined up with David and bassist Trevor Bolder was soon to follow.  And the rest, as they say, is rock-n-roll history.  From 1970 to 1973, Woody recorded four albums with Bowie.  "The Man Who Sold The World,"   "Hunky Dory,"   “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars,"  and "Aladdin Sane."   Arguably, the best and most important period of music in Bowie's long-storied career.  This was the glam-flam era.  It was the pinnacle of rock-n-roll decadence and outrageous depravity.  And fans loved every minute of it.   With the opening track, ushered in by Woody Woodmansey's ...

"Unicorn" - Tyrannosaurus Rex (1969) Tyrannosaurus Rex was a duo made up of Marc Bolan and Steve Peregrin Took . (Pink Fairies, Twink)  I had my trepidations picking this one up. I knew the album was pre-"Electric Warrior" and more of a folk-rock offering.  And it is.  But don't let that scare you off.  "Unicorn" is rich with a panache of lightly dusted lysergicafied hippie gnome folkster genius.  The songs are short and sweet and hang around just long enough to take your mind on a gentle little bus ride...then gets out the way.  Yeah, the album is a bit like that.  Not really psychy-psych, but it throws off that kind of vibe. And Took's contributions vocally and instrumentally can not be understated.  Also, big props to Tony Visconti for helping give the album such a full sound.  Okay, look. I've probably given "Unicorn" more hyperbole than it rightfully deserves.  This is not the great Houdini or anything.  Not a must-...

(4 For Friday) *   Two Thumbs Up!   Roger Ebert's Top Ten Best Films of 1973.    Almost as much fun as watching the films. *  Plain and Fancy  revisit War's 1972 album... "The World Is A Ghetto."   The album can usually be found for low $$, but with a high reward. * Here is the Charles Manson song that The Beach Boys  recorded.  "Never Learn Not To Love"    Now let that sink in for a moment. *   An  abs workout that's sped up  to ludicrous speed.  Oddly satisfying. "Closing Time" - A very young Lyle Lovett (w/Nanci Griffith) / (Live in the late 70s) Good stuff. Casey Chambers Follow Me On FACEBOOK  

"Homemade Ice Cream" - Tony Joe White (1973) This was the polk salad swamper's sixth album and it's an enjoyable and almost forgotten square.  The album has been evening front porch certified.  The songs are as much "swamp-folk as swamp-rock" but in equal doses.  Relaxed, chilled, and with nothing sounding tacked on or cheap.  And it doesn’t hurt that Tony Joe White's  comfortable baritone timbre lends an authenticity to the songs that bleed like molasses through the wax.    "Homemade Ice Cream" - Tony Joe White (back) Favorites include “For Ol' Time Sake" ...a heart-on-the-sleeve goodbye that captures sadness in just the right measure.  Unforced or unfettered.  "No News Is Good News”  and  "Backwoods Preacher Man”  are both wonderful midtempo swampers the likes of only Tony Joe White can sell.  " Takin' The Midnight Train" is a slow-burn gem.  This album is one of those timeless...ageless records that never...

(4 For Friday) *   I was never this cool and clever.  Boys synchronized 5th-grade swimming .  You're gonna wanna see this. *   The first moments of the first color TV broadcast .  And just like that... *   Still badass.  A photo of Samurai warriors taken between 1860 and 1880.  Only missing Farley. *   A fun, silly film that takes the edge off of a busy day.  "My Friend Irma" (1949)   This movie also has Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis making their first screen appearance.  Dean really looks young!  No top-billing for the duo, yet.  Still working out the kinks. (free Youtube) "Lucky Town" - Bruce Springsteen -  (MTV Plugged - 1992) Good stuff. Casey Chambers Follow Me On FACEBOOK  

"Morgen"   -  Morgen (1969 - Rei 2021) The album "Morgen" has been on my top 20 bucket list and now I have one.  It's not an original.  I still hope to catch the rainbow, but original copies in vg++ or better are pricey.   So in the meantime, this reissue is just what the doctor ordered.  It has received the psych author Richard Morton Jack's  laced-stamp of approval and most psychedelic connoisseurs in the vinyl community are well aware of its high standing. This Long Island band Morgen  was led by founder  Steve Morgen .  Now here's the thing.  The band's self-titled, one-and-done classic isn't necessarily the heaviest psych album on the tree.  Not the trippiest.  But what the album has done is fallen into that elusive psychedelic sweet spot of fantastic fuzz guitar work, trippy lyrics, and creative directions.  Each song avoids the eye-rolling aura of sameness.  Or repetitiveness.  The album's spect...

(4 For Friday) *  Remember when Butthead gave Beavis the first wicked  Oscar slap  way back in 1996?  "It didn't escalate!  It came out of nowhere."     *   Teaching-aid film short  helping school kids overcome shyness... "Shy Guy."    It also stars a young  Dick York ...soon to become..."Bewitched."  You're gonna wanna see this. *  The Great Wall Of China is 13,171 miles long.  Here is where the Wall ends . *   The  Burnout Shelter   shows a few of the latest record finds and buys he's thrown his billfold at.  One of my favorite Channels in the Vinyl Community.  Highly recommended.   "Telephone Girl" - Jade Warrior / "Jade Warrior" (1971) Good stuff. Casey Chambers Follow Me On FACEBOOK