Category A PERSONAL APPROACH
THE WATER IS WIDE
The on-line purchase arrived piecemeal, as these things often unfold; a kind of retail lottery with a reveal at the post office. What’s in this parcel? The order included two albums by veteran acoustic outfit Oregon, who have been playing melodic jazz-influenced instrumental music since 1970, way before the term New Age became part marketing […]
BACK TO FRONT
Here’s an album cover post a while in the planning. Though perhaps that should read: a while in the acquiring. Years ago, when I first got a copy of Kraftwerk’s Radio-aktivität I was struck by the cover art: a geiger counter showing the operation panel on the front of the LP and the rear of […]
I REMEMBER WHEN I WAS YOUNG (JUST)
My niece is in the midst of her end-of-high school exams. She’s feeling pretty stressed, as can be imagined. Who doesn’t have clammy-palmed memories of the final secondary school tests? As I vaguely recall—and as vaguely recalled in a much earlier post about exams, Deborah Roberts and Suzi Quatro—my stress levels were variable, ranging from […]
OPERATION COVID
Whenever I come home with yet another compilation album, the Conscience Gnome who sits on the amplifier with his little legs dangling over the volume knob shakes his head and waggles an admonishing finger. He never speaks; he doesn’t need to. Why do you do this? Back in the day, there were reasons. Not necessarily […]
BORN WHERE?
It wasn’t easy focussing on the album-book-of-the-week with the looming whirlwind of the election buffeting hearts and minds but we managed, after a fashion. After all, that’s the group’s raison d’être. Select the next volume of the 33 ⅓ monograph series and discuss. See also: dissect (respectfully); disagree (politely); digress (frequently). The album was Bowie’s […]
TURNTABLING THRU TIME
Not long after I took up residence in my first home alone (late starter, but that’s another story); as I say, soon after moving into a modest workingman’s cottage in inner city Kensington with a collection of gifted and thrift shop furniture and some of my mother’s cast off kitchen kit, I was listening to […]
1970 COUNTDOWN | NUMBER 1
It’s 1970. Although The Beatles have disbanded, no-one is lazing about. Surprisingly, Ringo’s was the first solo LP in the shops, followed by Paul, Ringo again, George, then John (with Yoko) in December. It is the quiet Beatle we are celebrating here. All Things Must Pass, a three record set, came out the day before […]
LOCKDOWN LISTENING: A RANDOM-ISH PLAYLIST
Last Sunday I posted photos of my day’s listening on social media. It was an odd experience; noticing how my choices were influenced by an awareness of that sharing. The variety of delivery methods was pure theatre (and fun). Here are the pictures. * Terje Rypdal & The Chasers — Blue [ECM 1987] Excellent album […]
EUROPE ENDLESS
It’s just another elderly musician gone. Happens so regularly that writing rock obituaries would be a full-time job. So why does the death of Kraftwerk co-founder Florian Schneider fill me with sadness? Actually, not sadness… loss. A electronic hole in the musicverse leaving one man standing. Hütter and Schneider, Schneider and Hütter. Now just Ralf. […]
1970 COUNTDOWN — INTERIM REPORT
My first computer-based list of albums was created on an Apple Classic. Filemaker Pro was the program, as I recall. Back then I insisted on spelling it programme. Queen’s English. The entire collection was housed in a three shelf unit made from a cut down wardrobe. When I took to the robe with a circular […]
10 TERRIFIC SONG TITLES
A collection of song titles I’ve enjoyed. Perhaps something to take your head elsewhere… #10 “Existential Revelation in the Circle Pit at Slayer“ The Night Terrors—Back To Zero [EXO Records, 2009] #9 “Sandra’s having her brain out“ The Soft Boys—A Can Of Bees [Two Crabs Universal, 1979] #8 “A Song Of Remembrance For A Time […]
TROUBLED TIMES
Back in the early days of Vinyl Connection, I wrote about one of the styles of music that has given me enormous pleasure over the years: Power Pop. Jangly guitars, catchy choruses, some salt in the chocolate. The piece still reads OK, and the playlist is a good test of whether you are likely to become […]
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