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Daily journal Feb. 13, 2020 (Let it Loose, Lose? edition)

I forgot to publish this yesterday. So I am publishing now, Friday, Feb 14 Happy Valentine’s Day (Fake thought it is). I will add new items for the next 24 hours to this post so keep checking. It’ll be stuff I remembered that I forgot or forgot to remember.

[UPDATE 2/15: A column is forthcoming either later today or Sunday morning on AL.com — may post here as well]

UPDATE 2/16: Click here for my just published ‘Losing it’ story.

There’s lot’s of stuff going on inside my head these days and that’s good. Sure there’s bad stuff like memory loss caused by the invasion of alpha-synuclein proteins. I just say my brain is streamlining.

Keep this post at the ready and go back over the course of the next 24 hours because my memory will be jarred and a new bit of news will appear on my blog. It will be a compilation blog.

My vinyl obsession now makes me forget of a lot of the great CD’s I accumulated in the 90s. Remember I went 20 to 30 years with my vinyl stashed in boxes as I did the digital thing. Anyway, it’s a long setjj-up just to play you a song. This oneis by Sufjan Stevens riffing off of “Sound of Silence” All Delighted People contains everything people love or loathe about this artist. (I’m on the love side.”

ONWARD: Here are some ICYMI’s.

I gave Mike Love a vinyl record on Wednesday. Then I went to see them in a moderately entertaining concert at the Alabama Theatre. I’m talking about the Beach Boys — although that’s a point of contention as several of the commenters pointed out.

Ear worms are a condition we’ve all experienced and I listed a dozen or so of my most ear wormy songs.

In yet another list — and I’ve promised that I’m going to do a best-of my lists list later — I compiled a line-up of top songs about the rain.

I still stand by my argument that nothing is something.

I still dislike ‘Seasons in the Sun’ by Terry Jack, both the music and the lyrics and any and all emotion it evokes: anger, sadness, bewilderment, and huh? (That’s an emotion in most states).

This is going to be big for me: I’m going to the Alabama Record Collectors Association show at Gardendale Civic Center on March 6. That means I am going to start selling my Countdown records I’m the guy in the booth in the back with a tear in my eye

Let it Loose.

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Big John Patton — 268, 267

Album: Blue John (Recorded 1963, released 1986)

MVC Rating: 4.5/$$$$

If you are introducing someone to good jazz, Blue John is a good place to start. Because it is so much fun. What do you expect from an album that starts off with “Hot Sauce.”

This record has an odd history. It was recorded in 1963 but didn’t see its release until 1986 on Blue Note.

Allmusic.com says this: “There may be something of a novelty element to (George) Braith‘s (saxophone) playing, but bluesy, groove-centered soul-jazz rarely sounds this bright and exuberant, which is reason enough not to dismiss his contributions.”

In addition to Braith’s funky sax sounds, Grant Green’s guitar throughout is tasty. Many people get introduced to good jazz with ‘Kinda Blue’ by Miles Davis or John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps” or “My Favorite Things.” Great albums and must haves for a jazz collection. But Blue John by Big John Patton is an instant like with its laid back tempo and bluesy swing.

Links to Wikipedia bios of these musicians below.

John Patton – organ

Tommy Turrentine – trumpet (5, 6)

George Braith – soprano saxophone, stritch

Grant Green – guitar

Ben Dixon – drums

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Prefab Sprout — 270, 269

ALBUMS: Two Wheels Good (1985); From Langley Park to Memphis (1988)

MVC Ratings: Two 4.0/$$$$; Langley, 4.0/$$$

This group on these two albums play great, melodic folk English Pop-Rock with very smart lyrics. It’s the kind of band I guarantee someone reading this review and listens to it will fall in love. Not for everybody, but those who fall, fall hard. Listen to first side of Wheels five times. ‘When love breaks down’ was a hit. I love ‘Bonny.’

Listen to ‘The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’ and ‘Cars and Girls’ on Langley five times each.

Get back to me next week and tell me what you think.

If you like two or more of these following groups, you will certainly enjoy Prefab Sprout: Squeeze, Roxy Music, 10cc, the Housemartins, Thomas Dolby (who produced both of these albums.)The sound is very 80s but very good 80s.

One explanation for their name is that band members misheard the June Carter-Johnny Cash song ‘Jackson’ when Carter sings “We got married in a fever hotter than a pepper sprout’ — they had apparently been singing and hearing that as “prefab sprout.

Two Wheels Good was released with the name Steve McQueen (yes the American actor) in the UK. But the McQueen estate objected and that why mine says ‘Two Wheels Good’ at the top right corner of my album.

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God, coincidence, numerology

I have 678 records. At least I did when I officially counted my records before launching MyVinylCountdown.com two or so years ago.

I have definitely picked up more since then.

Hit ABOUT ME here if you need more information about this.

I had written about this Nun study before.

A multi-decade study of Alzheimer’s Disease , is famous and has given people hope. They found examples of nuns with visible signs of dementia causing proteins in the brain. They found some brains upon autopsy appeared that the nun had Alzheimer’s Disease — but no one knew because the patient — the nun — did not show any symptoms of the disease, leading researchers to be optimistic that some people can fight this disease and workarounds by your very own brain can avoid much of the ravages of dying of dementia.

The number of nuns used in this multiyear study? 678.

See my earlier write-up

Now I have begun looking at 78’s — those hard but fragile slabs of chellac that made music at 78 RPM. I bought a couple of these and have enjoyed some very old good jazz.

So now i’m into 78s. Doubt they’ll go on the timeline like my 33s. They are 78s, like if only there were a 6 or 600 and they’d be, yes, 678.

Maybe a stretch. So I doodled while I was waiting to think. Which took me through a thousand memories and an hour of standing blank faced.

So start with 78 RPM records.

Take away 45 RPM.

Take away 33 RPM.

Equals Zero (0)

78-45-33=0

What? What does any of that mean?

Look I don’t know a thing about numerology except that I’d probably be promised Hell by a church lady if even talked about it.

One last thing while I’m still doodling. Let’s give a number to the letters RPM, a shorthand way of saying Revolutions Per Minute.

Let’s assign each letter a number based on where they are in the count.

There’s 26 letters in the alphabet.

R =18 P=16 M=13.

18+16+13= 60

That’s 60 as in SIXty.

Story is on 78 rpm records. Subtract out the 45s and 33s (from 78) and it equals 0. Zero is also the number that comes with 60, the number for RPMs added, as shown above.

Zap the zeroes as their doubling cancelled each other out.

Slide the now leftover 6 in front of 78 and it is 678.

But let’s look at one more thing:. The sum total of the RPM numbers added is 60. Double that and you have 120. In the music world 120 RPM was what Thomas Edison was playing on the original playback recording machine

I have written before about a numbers coincidence related to my battle with Lewy body dementia that almost blew what’s left of my mind.

FROM New York Times:

NOTE: I don’t want anyone to believe that I’m sitting on some magic numbers are something. I just noticed what appear to be coincidence. I’m fine with it being a coincidence, by the way. I don’t see God sitting around coming up with numeric answers to our own problems. But as I try to make my documentation of a Lewy body patient as complete as possible, I may seem to be pushing boundaries? Wasting time? Or learning that life is all about math?

Y’all keep reading. I will say this: I’m feeling much less random about the universe these days.

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Peter and Gordon — 272, 271

ALBUM: Knight in Rusty Armour (1967): In London for Tea (1966)

MVC Rating: Rusty, 3.0/$$$; In London 3.5/$$

Okay this is my fence post. This is my going as far out on my likes and dislikes — in other words, the limits of my looking for the good — nay, the great — in what I listen to. Peter and Gordon just go too far in a pop, non-rock way — yet they seem to want to be in the crowd that is making this powerful rock and roll music.

I’m not sure where these Peter and Gordon albums came from, possibly my wife Catherine’s siblings or my foster sister, Cathy, a hippie who loved the Moody Blues. But Peter and Gordon I? i don’t remember her playing, although she did play Jimi Hendrix, the Byrds and of course her Moody Blues.

just no have to say at this time to Peter and Gordon. Nice pop duo; I like ‘I’m Your Puppet.’

There’s a Beatles song or two. but P&G are just just not in my sweet spot of British invasion bands and their American counterparts. They are too poppy for me and think, to be fair, they were already established in the early 1960s as just what they are: pop duo.

And I ‘m a big pop music fan. Got no issues there, except when it is insipid or, worse, sounds lame.

Now I can be sold completely on 1960s invasion bands. The Herman Hermits, much I can live without, but the album ‘Blaze’ by the Hermits is fantastic. The Dave Clark 5, the Zombies, etc. In the United States, Paul Revere and the Raiders, the Grass Roots, the Young Rascals, and the Mama’s the Papa’s, are all groovy enough for me. Peter and Gordon, not so much, although they serve as a nice stepping stone from the past late, 50’s early 60s. But as duos from that era, I’ll take Simon and Garfunkel (better songs and vocals); and the Righteous Brothers (better vocals).

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My Vinyl Countdown still on track but it is more difficult (blog version)



Sitting here hunting and pecking my keyboard this early morning until my meds kick in.

In the morning after 10 or more hours without the meds find me with my most outsized symptoms. Tremors and slow thinking to be specific.

But morning is my best writing time simply for its peace and quiet. Only distraction: Internet.

So, it’s like catching a wave. timing the meds. Which reminds me I’m going to see the Beach Boys in Birmingham next month. I could seriously use some ‘Good Vibrations.’

For right now, I’ll pull out some tasty record reviews from the archives after I tell you what I’ve done and what I will do over this long MLK weekend. Good weekend for having a dream.

Quicky recent ICYMIs: I almost ‘bought’ a record store.

I explored the subset of record collecting — 10″ 78s.

I gave readers a tour of my brain.

Coming up this weekend: A young man contacted me about his grandfather’s record collection and I enlisted my wife, Catherine, to drive a long way so I could help at this gentlemen’s request discern what he has. News reports of 78s worth thousands of dollars has, it is safe to say, people running to their attics or basements. The collection I looked at was spectacular, easily more than 2,000 mint condition 78s. But is there a holy grail in there? See what I find out in a column this weekend.

And lastly for another column coming this weekend: MVC as simple as 1,2,3.

My Vinyl Countdown by the numbers. I am getting closer to the 678 record reviews or record reminisces as I call them to bring awareness to my disease: Lewy body dementia. I’ll give you an update on my top wat my top 10 (or 15) musical countdown posts are and my top 10 or 15 non-countdown posts.

I’m in the ‘P’s in my alphabetic listing and the P’s are taking a lot of time, might turn out to be my biggest alphabet number so far, still to come Prince and Pink Foyd and a dozen or so lesser known, but good to great music. Music like John Prine, P.J. Proby, and Bud PowelI hope you will explore if you find what I write compelling you to give something new a whirl.

Now on with some reviews from the archives.

The Flamin’ Groovies

ALBUMS: Now (1978)

MVC Rating: 4.0/$$$

I was graduating from high school when this came out. Talk about retro.. This group was like something out of 1966. They cover ‘Paint it Black’ on this album like it was a new song.

‘There’s a Place’ cover sounds like the 1960’s prom band checking in on the Beatles.

All this came to me in the early 1980s.

I discovered this Flamin’ Groovies in a strange way. I was at the Birmingham public library doing some research and they had vinyl records that you could check out, like a book, and return later. This would have been mid-1980s.

I picked up a Flamin’ Groovies album called Groovies Greatest Grooves. It had the song ‘Shake Some Action,’which blew me away. It’s the sense of discovery that you live for as a record collector. Again I was looking for tunes not rare artifacts and that song was one good song. Cracker later recorded it and it was featured in a movie, all much later.

I made a cassette tape out of it that I have no idea whether I have or not.

The  thing that made the Groovies groove work was that they played essentially covers or originals that sounded so close to their heroes, early Beatles, Stones, and Who. — with no irony. That’s what makes it great. Just a few guys from San Francisco playing songs they love from another era.

So, it wasn’t surprising to see that this 1978 album, a comeback of sorts, was produced by retro-man Dave Edmunds. “Yeah My Baby” written by Edmunds, and band members Cyril Jordan and Chris Wilson sounds like a long lost classic. Or long lost classic B-side.

The sound seems  like it was coming through a B&W TV set.



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The Plimsouls –274

ALBUM: (Everywhere at Once), 1983

MVC Rating: 4.0/$$$ (an extra bump here for the two very strong songs. The rest of the album is 3.0 and 3.5 quality).

The Plimsouls first came to my attention through the movie ‘Valley Girls.’ I know that sounds like a bit of a sex romp but it wasn’t — really. I paid close attention.

Actually it was an early Nicolas Cage vehicle, who even at his young age was developing that amazing ability to act to be the same character in every movie.

That character, of course is Cage playing, of course, Cage.

Anyway the Plimsouls’ song Million Miles Away was featured in the movie, even a ‘live’ version of the song with the Plimsouls playing it in the club. It would fade in volume and camera attention to the band if the characters walked closer to the band. You know that effect: star talks to friend and band’s sound fades to background, then the friends turn their heads toward the band and and the volume increases dramatically.

Million Miles Away and That’s the Oldest Story are the two stellar songs — in fact two of my favorite rock songs of that era, especially the latter. The rest of the album couldn’t keep up though.

After the Plimsouls disbanded, Peter Case has put out quite a few albums as a solo act. See my post on him. And also, post Plimsouls, Paul Collins led a power pop band The Beat. Before all that, both played in an edgy new wave band called the Nerves. The third Nerve, Jack Lee, wrote Hanging on the Telephone, a hit for Blondie. The Nerves released it prior to Blondie.

This is I think a snippet of the movie only quick glance I didn’t see Cage.

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The Pentangle — 275

ALBUM: Solomon’s Seal (1972)

MVC Rating: 3.5/$$$

When it was suggested that the band was a folk-rock band, one of the band’s members said that is wrong. One of the worst things you can do is put a rock beat on a folk song, said John Renbourn. The band preferred a folk-jazz categorization.

I think that’s fair. I’ve often said that a portion of what is called progressive rock isn’t really rock. Emerson Lake and Palmer, for example have gone off on deep forays into what is closer to classical music — unless that term is reserved for time-tested centuries old compositions by Bach, Beethoven and Mozart.

Pentangle’s original line-up from the late 1960s through the 70s: Jacqui McShee (vocals); John Renbourn (vocals and guitar); Bert Jansch (vocals and guitar); Danny Thompson (double bass); and Terry Cox (drums).

This music is pretty and subtle. It has a sound that is both timeless and dated at the same time. Let me explain. I feel like I’m way back in time when I hear Pentangle but can’t pinpoint a date or era. That’s unlike, for example, the Stray Cats, whose style can be tied directly to 1950s music– at least in that bands original incarnation.

Pentangle could be turn of the century music or 14th century music. I don’t know — just go with me here. They look and sound like a band that would sound great Live at the Stonehenge.

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The Payolas –276

ALBUM: Hammer on a Drum (1983)

MVC Rating: 3.0/$$

WIkipedia says this Canadian group named themselves the Payolas after the big radio payola scandal in the 1960s. Alan Freed and all that. OK.

But then Wikipedia reports the band blamed their lack of success on the international level was due to US deejays not playing their records because of the name. Um, really. I find that a stretch. The scandal was two decades or more in the past before the Payolas were even a band. Their target audience wasn’t even born when that scandal popped.

They did sell quite a bit in Canada. Very 80s everpresent synth sound that doesn’t age well in my opinion. Lyrics are not happening. “Where is this love; that comes from above.”

Pretty good chops on their instruments. The great Bowie guitarist Mick Ronson joins them, although it was like a game tryin to find him in wash of synth-etic riffing. Hey maybe that was Ronson joining in a little guitar-synth. Some decent songs here but I can’t heartily recommend this one.

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I almost bought a record store (blog edition)

If you didn’t see my AL.com post of this on Friday, I’m am posting the blog version below.

Summary: Charlemagne Record Exchange a beloved record store in a walk-up at 5-Points South announced it was going out of business after 42 years. I knew Charlemagne a little bit, starting 1982 to 1987. Five Points was a different then. It did not have a Chick-fil-A centerpiece. It was the after-work party and dining destination. There was no Lakeview district; downtown Birmingham turned off the lights about 5 p.m. and Avondale was yet to begin flourishing.

Here’s blog version of my story published on AL.com on Friday:

My Vinyl Countdown: I almost bought a record store.

Oh, did I forget to tell you? I almost bought a record store a few weeks ago. The venerable Charlemagne Record Exchange on BIrmingham’s Southside announced it was shutting down after 42 years of operation.

I probably would have kept the name — lot of history there. Although, I’ve always dreamed of having a record shop called Wax, Shellac and 8-Tracks. In reality, ‘almost’ buying it may be a stretch.

But I was serious when I called Marian, the co-founder and co-owner. I was still serious when I took a tour: Is this my long-time dream, baby? Or is it more of a welcome to my nightmare situation.

Mike record collection

Ultimately I had to be restrained from pursuing this by a family intervention. I’m still locked in the basement as I write this.

Seriously, I have spent a lot of my life in record stores and I have a lot of records. I know popular music — classic rock, soul, some country and jazz — pretty well.

But I’m not a business person. I don’t think I’d enjoy keeping up with the bottom line, health insurance, taxes, and such. I have family members to think about and, as some of you may know I have a progressive illness to take care of.

Ultimately, it came down to this: I can’t figure out if Charlamagne’s example is one of strictly local explanations –more competition with Renaissance Records down the street and Seasick in Avondale – or is it tied to a larger trend of vinyl sales leveling off. In other words is it that a canary portending misfortune or another yellow bird about finding joy?Will vinyl stay hot?

Its resurgence took many by surprise. But it is still a smaller slice of the music industry than it once was. While vinyl is set to overtake CD’s in sales, it is still just a niche’ market up against live streaming service — iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, etc.There are those like me who love to buy used, older records for $5 bucks each.

But new vinyl records for $26.99. Eh. Not so much.I told Marian, I don’t think the timing is right.But I’ll likely be selling the 678 (reality: 800) records of My Vinyl Countdown, bricks and mortar store or not.My wife, Catherine, has made me promise I’d take care of the albums before I go to my Graceland.

And my daughter’s getting married. And that costs money. Let’s just say after looking at potential wedding costs, I was heard quoting James Brown: Owww! Good God, Y’all.

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