The College Crowd Digs Me

(4 For Friday) *  The Yardbirds, a.k.a. Roger the Engineer is given attention at  Shitty Turntable, Wonderful Records . *  It's possible that one of these 20 lifesaving pics could be the very thing you need to know today!  (That's not to say there could not be better ideas out there.) *  Our old friend at  Echoes In The Wind shares another "song" memory.  It's just as simple and wonderful as that. *  This 1978 made-for-television movie... "Cotton Candy" was directed by Ron Howard and starred Charles Martin Smith and Clint Howard .  Some high schoolers form a musical group to compete in a Battle of the Bands.  It's fun, sweet, and cool...in an after-school kind of way.  (First 5-min of "Cotton Candy"  streams a little wanky, but then after, it plays fine.) 'Hot, Blue And Righteous" - ZZ Top / "Tres Hombres" (1973) Good stuff. Casey Chambers Follow Me On FACEBOOK

(a short jaunt) "Ain't Nothing To Me" - Johnny Winter / "Still Alive and Well" (1973) "Take your drink to the end of the bar buddy. Come on, now don't be a fool. I'd rather have the hot seat in Sing-Sing prison. Than to sit down by her on that stool." It would be three years before Johnny Winter was strong enough to record his appropriately titled album  "Still Alive And Well"  after barely surviving the clutches of his wire-walking heroin addiction.  Friends intervention...and a proper rehab stay brought Johnny back to the world.  It's my favorite album.  And this country-honed song might be atypical of what you've come to expect from JW ...but it's as real as the forgotten cigarette burns on bar tables anywhere.  That's Rick Derringer pushing the pedal steel guitar. "Just Crazy Love" - Fleetwood Mac / "Mystery To Me" (1973) "Well you've just got something makes a girl start feeling cra...

"Inside The Shadow" - Anonymous (1976 - Rei 2001) This indie recording "Inside The Shadow" by Anonymous just oozes with confidence.  The Indiana band sound like a blend of equal parts Christie McVie/Bob Welch and very early Buckingham/Nicks.  There are occasional Jefferson Airplane flybys and a nice slice of Byrds-esque aura here and there, too.  The songs are all well thought out with more than just a hint of West Coast smoke hovering above their heads.  From drop to lift... "Inside The Shadow" ...is a pleasing spin.  To think, in 1976 there were only 300 copies pressed is a real head-shaker.  A lotta coulda/shoulda going on. The master tapes have long been lost or damaged, so all of the bootlegs and reissues have been dubbed via vinyl transfer.  Most of the reissues have been pretty bad with either heavy ticks and pops or fluttering or incorrect recording speeds.  Many have had good luck with the 2013 Machu Picchu reissue.  But there hav...

(4 For Friday) *   A few "Recent and Not So Recent" vinyl finds from over at  The Hogs Ear Report . *   A bit of hoo-ha-shenanigan-bewitchery, methinks...courtesy of Paul McCartney with Beck . *   Want to save all your wonderful, funny, memorable Facebook posts that are just too good to be forgotten?  Here is a safe and easy way to download your entire Facebook history . *   Over at  The Rising Storm is some pop-psych from the 1969 self-titled album... "Green." "Buried Alive" - "Ron Wood / "Gimme Some Neck" (1979) Good stuff. Casey Chambers Follow Me On FACEBOOK

"Frost Music" - The Frost (1969 ) "Frost Music"  was the debut album from another one of those little ol' bands outta Michigan that held stage-footing alongside other band peers like MC5 and The Stooges.  And though The Frost didn't blow up like many of their Motor City mates, the band was still a pretty big deal.  "Frost Music" is a hard rock square filled with a few psychedelic fly-bys and occasional floaty atmospheric stuff that bands like Blue Oyster Cult would later build their subterranean castles around.  A solid debut, for sure.  Dick Wagner , who would later go on to play with  Alice Cooper and Lou Reed , delivers solid rock vocals along with his biting guitar that smoothly and smartly changes attitude and atmosphere with ease.  And when Wagner throws down a solo burn, it's killer stuff.  The songs are a mix of hard melodic jams and softer melodic floaters that carry the album along nicely.  "Frost Music" (back) Favorit...

"Whirlybird Day" by Bob Walkenhorst (2020) Softcover,  234 pages NO SPOILERS: Like the adage about blind men bumping into an elephant, so it is with Bob Walkenhorst's wonderful collection of short stories, “Whirlybird Day.”   In the small town of Shorter, MO, the day of the long-awaited community festival proves to be much more than what it appears on the surface.  Nine stories introduce to us a hodgepodge of characters that, on this same day, bring very different experiences.  It's a clever idea.  "Whirlybird Day" is a quick and enjoyable read that captures all the small-town curiosities and quirks.  The exciting moments and the mundane.  These stories are easy to warm up to with plenty of descriptive charm and emotional curves. This town is just one of a thousand small towns you might catch in your rearview mirror before realizing you have driven right through it.  But big cities don't have a monopoly on big dreams or big ideas.  Nor do d...

(4 For Friday) Another short wrecking-ball from the talented Ed Klingenberger  /  Distinct Kicking Motion .  And just perfect for shaking off the mundane. The Ultimate Psychedelic Vinyl gives us a little taste of  The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band. Here is an entertaining Vinyl Tag for your album-finding fix courtesy of our good friend Jeff at Burnout Shelter.      Timeless, informative, and sometimes hilarious (all in the best way).  Good stuff! Here's a low-budget afternoon time-killer.  "Flight That Disappeared" (1961)  It's like a lost Twilight Zone episode, but then it steps into a slide zone.  Way better than it ought to be, but still cracker and cheese. "Headlights" - Sean Lennon / "Friendly Fire" (2006) Good stuff. Casey Chambers Follow Me On FACEBOOK