The College Crowd Digs Me

"Sandman Mystery Theatre, Vol. 6: The Hourman and The Python" (I stumbled upon a good-sized box filled with a variety of graphic novels at an estate sale. No official count as I've just been pulling from the box when I find time to read one.  Afterward, I post the book and go from there.) "Sandman Mystery Theatre, Vol. 6: The Hourman and The Python"  Matt Wagner, Steven T. Seagle, Guy Davis (Illustrator) Vertigo (2018) 200 pages This is an atypical crime noir mystery that takes place in the early 1940s.  The colors are dour and dark and really captures the seedy times of New York.  Our hero, Wesley Dodds, alias The Sandman , is a smart, fairly refined, slightly pudgy solver of murders.  He dons a gas mask when skulking about the city for clues, both as a disguise and to serve a real purpose.  Sandman has a special weapon that sprays a sleep-inducing, truth-telling gas at his intended suspects.  No superhero razzmatazz going on here,...

"Stranger In Town" - Bob Seger (1978) This was Bob Seger's follow-up to his mega-monster album, "Night Moves" (1976) and he pulled it off like David Blaine changing coffee to coins.  "Stranger..." also sold beaucoup copies going platinum in less than a month.  Four songs charted in the top 30.  (Two I really like and two that disagreed with me even before heavy rotation.)  But aside from those two eye-rollers, the rest of "Stranger In Town" is cream.  My only complaint is there's too much Pledge and polish.  Don't get me wrong, I like this album a lot.  But it's missing the urgency of "Fire Down Below."   Or the raw isolation of "Main Street" ...one of the best things he's ever done.  Bob's dirty blue-collar hands may not have been manicured yet...but they certainly have been washed. But look, this was 10 years in the making.  No over-nite success story here.  Seger paid more than his sha...

(a short jaunt) "Dogs" - Pink Floyd / "Animals" (1977) I mean...who doesn't like that long stretch of echos that fade into what sounds like a hurt and frightened dog?  Like echoes calling from a long and empty hallway.  It's all very ominous.  Great lyrics.  And David Gilmour's soloing.  Wow!  “Animals" is my third favorite Pink Floyd album ahead of even  “Pipers..." and “The Wall”  But let there be no doubt, I love all things Floyd.  This was Pink Floyd's 10th album.   "All The Children Sing" - Todd Rundgren / "Hermit of Mink Hollow" (1978) This lead-off track and everything else on the album for that matter is all Todd Rundgren.  The vocals.  All the instruments.  The man is a control freak and a perfectionist in the studio.  His long discography has always been a little hit or miss for me and my pocketbook.  But I own this one, his 8th album, and love it as much as his highly touted "Som...

"The Soft Machine" - Soft Machine (1968) Psychedelic prog is the point of order here.  This was Soft Machine's debut album and is an example of psychedelic ideas drifting into early prog-rock.  Very avant-garde.  And it's really good for not having any guitar spankage thrown in the pot.  I wasn’t aware until later that Soft Machine was a three-man band.  The drumming of Robert Wyatt is entertaining as fawk.  And bassist Kevin Ayers'  presence is strong...sometimes making his bass sound like a guitar amped.  Very cool.  They both sing...Wyatt, being the main vocalist.  But it's the trippy and experimental organ burns from Mike Ratledge that really gives the songs their psych stamp.  However, there's plenty of ideas to go around from everyone.  “The Soft Machine” is a mind-flip and demands repeat listens.  It's an essential album and I especially enjoyed side two. Honestly, it was the gimmix pinwheel gatefold tha...

"Go Set A Watchman"...Harper Lee (2015) 277 pages Jean Louise (Scout) is all grown up now, in her twenties anyway, and living in the big city.  But she returns to her small town for a visit with her father, Atticus Finch and a few of her friends and family.  I was hoping this was going to be all warmy and feelie, but as someone once said...”You can't go home again.”  The writing is still in that familiar Harper Lee rhythm, though.  There are a few flashbacks of Scout when she was still tomboy-ing around, enjoying the summer freedom with her brother Jem and neighbor, Dill .  Dill, you remember, was the kid with the classic line, “I'm little but I'm old.”   But sadly, those moments are few.  Mostly, the story is about Scout seeing Atticus through different eyes.  Not as the knight in shining armor who once...shot a rabid dog coming down the street toward her.  Or the man who staunchly defended a wrongly accused black man of a te...

"Environments  9" (1979) Of the 11 "Environments" albums recorded between 1969 and 1979, disc 9 is my favorite and the only one I really care to own.  The cover alone is worth the price of admission.  The hyperbole is hilarious!  “Better than booze, safer than pot” —Life Magazine.  ”Highly addictive” —High Times.  Well, which is it?  Safe or addictive?  Well, it is definitely safe.  The record sounds like you think it sounds.  No music.  Just nature.  Gentle sounds of the "Pacific Ocean" on one side.  A little bit of "Caribbean Lagoon" ambience on the other.  There have been many imitators, but sound recordist Irv Teibel was the first to capture the natural sounds and bring it to the masses on vinyl. If you love reading, this album is a great way to knock out an hour.  About 10 minutes in, I grabbed a book I was working on and did some serious page-turning.  It's perfect for reading. ...

"Never Mind The Bollocks Here's The Sex Pistols" - Sex Pistols Until recently, I've always thought of "bollocks" as a British way of saying "bullshit."  And that's pretty spot on.  The first definition Google brings up, however, is...” testicles.”  Which is quite funny in its own right.  Whatever your poison may be, in 1977, the punk rock band Sex Pistols offended the hell out of everybody.  I'm not going to regurgitate the importance of this album.  The internet is full of essays galore about the band's legacy.  I'm not about to say the Sex Pistols are the best punk band ever.  Or even the first punk band ever.  But there should not be much argument, "Never Mind The Bollocks..." was a jumpstart in the way we think about our music and the various directions that rock music went from there.  It is an essential album and one I wanted to possess if nothing more than to check off another album from my “must own” list. ...