Modern Vespa

Just came up on my Apple Music station. The (English) Beat are still touring - they're often playing in CA, since Dave Wakeling lives here. Go see them if you get a chance - great songs and they still put on a great show - Dave LOVES his job!

They come through the SF BayArea a couple times a year. Seen them a bunch always fun!

I've seen the Beat a few times. The last time was about 8 years ago, at a tiny little bar/club in Lakewood, CA. I was living there at the time, and they had a last minute show. I only knew of it because they posted it on the street sign, which I passed on the way home from work. I walked over there as it was just around the corner from my home. I'd say there was about 100 people max, all dancing. Awesome time! Got to say hi to Dave! Man that was one of the best shows ever!

What a beautiful cover of one of the Proclaimers great songs

?si=dwx_rx-AnQKNvSiL

^^^
Solid.

Got one for Alex Bregman this morning:

?si=31UE2tefoFGqVCyH

One of my favorite Proclaimers tunes! Thanks!

?feature=shared

Because it's Friday AND it's payday AND it stopped raining.

?feature=shared

Love this one by the Zombies too.

And just as soon as they got mentioned they decided to play my town

I just noticed they're playing Felton (near Santa Cruz) next weekend. Sold out, and the secondary market is a little too expensive for my liking!

Just got mine for 43.85. Come to Petaluma

This. Chicago IX will always remind me of my older brother. Being a jazz trumpet player, he gave me a great start to my musical education. I grew up with Maynard Ferguson, Doc Severinsen, Bill Chase and - of course - Chicago.

This was a seminal album in the our relationship. Every single song on that album is amazing. "Make Me Smile" made me smile. Thanks.

I went to see the movie "A complete Unknown" last night. I have forgotten how much I enjoy Bob Dylan's songs.

I'm typically not one for mash ups but on this gem… Trust me:

?si=5vpcLomU3WwLc8_p

The soundtrack to my morning commute.

Did you get to lay down any smoke/oil/mines on the way?

This one came across my feed so I took a little detour off my usual playlist

?si=0pz64Aqlbwg3fuFy

Good lord I am sad now.

Mission accomplished.

Reminded me of an article from 'The Onion' about punk rock posers.

'90s Punk Decries Punks Of Today



Yeah, kids today don't get what real punk rock was like ... in the '90s.

The mere mention of punk is a political theme,
Clash in the Bay Area, and whoever they pulled off the street to warm up the crowd. The cure started out as punk, then welp, tones on tail did a number of songs decrying the downfall of punk because of consumables and fame.
There were others, who cares?

Next time, I'll add a warning label.

Going through a musical funk. I think I've decided I'm going to adjust my posts in this thread a little.

It seems like most people - and this may just be me painting people with a broad brush - gravitate to the music that was popular when they were in high school. I didn't really. I graduated in '87, but during that period I spent most of my time listening to Pink Floyd. If you looked at my Pandora station list there's everything from Elvis (both Presley and Costello) to David Cassidy, Thirty Seconds to Mars, REM, Shannon and the Clams ... I have everything between Syd Barrett and Oh land and Tony Bennett to AFI. The last few days I've woken up with Seal's "Kiss From a Rose" running through my head.

And don't get me wrong, I think there's good music in every era. And a lot of crap in every era, too. Lots and lots of it. But I seem to gravitate to the music of the '90s. And yet, it's not easy to pigeonhole by decade. And I guess we shouldn't really, because then we fall into that category of 'new music sucks', and I don't ever want to be that guy.

But having said all that, I think rather than just post a video of what I'm currently listening to, which is fine, I'm going to start posting stuff I really like that may not have been super popular, or maybe just forgotten. But I'm also going to take my time to explain why. I mean, I can post Duran Duran's "New Moon on Monday", but everyone's going to go 'oh yeah ... that' and scroll on by.

The other night we were in my car and this song came on and I said to my wife, "It's amazing everything that has happened since this song came out. It was the space age and we hadn't even been to the moon yet.' I love love love this video. I love the interview. It's always been one of my favorite Pink Floyd Songs. I try to imagine how this would have been viewed in 1967.

So, Hans Keller comes across as a total arse, but I really think, as a musician, he was simply trying to understand what all the hoopla was. Great interview, great responses from both Barrett and Waters.

Maybe I'm just old, but it seems we've entered an age where everything is just derivative. There seems to be less room for invention.

Anyway ... I didn't get enough sleep last night, and I'm rambling. But expect more rambling today.

There's an old question, "What's your favorite Psychedelic Furs album and why is it 'Talk Talk Talk?"

Mine isn't. It's 'Book of Days', the title track in particular. Uncharacteristic of their more popular stuff. What a great dark tune, great story line, great lyrics.

Richard Butler is an artist's artist. Like Barrett, he started as a painter, and made his way into music. Unlike Barrett, who cracked and lived out the rest of his life as a recluse, Butler still makes music. And paints. Wikipedia says this : Amazing song.

I often think the same about the Sex Pistols. I was nine during the Queen's Silver Jubilee in 1977, ten years on from that Pink Floyd interview, and not really aware of all the controversy at the time. Listening today, it doesn't sound that shocking.

I dig all your music knowledge. I definitely sided with the heavy metalers since grade school and new wave was unacceptable at those times. I was also big on Jimi Hendrix and Cream. As time sailed by it was a 180 to the 80's and a lot less heavy stuff. Since getting into guitars I really gravitate to music with certain guitar playing. Although for a time when I broke horses and team roped as well as worked for a big ranch, country music makes me I'll tempered and unproductive. Can't stand it, would rather go to a U2 concert. Here's my fav Duran Duran song.

?feature=shared

HAH! Thanks for that. Made me think of this :

Richie plays Dylan.

O.S.

Tom Waits. I could talk about him all day. He's the musical equivalent of a cigar box guitar. Great jazz musician, songwriter, performer, actor ... he's just one of those people that breathes art into everything.

My favorite album is still probably "The Black Rider". It's hard to narrow it down because his albums are all so different. "Rain Dogs" is different than "Mule Variations" and "Frank's Wild Years" is different than "The Heart of Saturday Night". Some of his songs are like listening to Burl Ives beat a tomcat with a sack of nails (Pilipino Box Spring Hog) but then he does amazing and beautiful songs like Time or Picture in a Frame or Smuggler's Waltz.

Here are a couple of bits.

Nice fan video. Cool photos.

Interview on Fernwood Tonight.

Picture in a Frame. Just beautiful.

And a clip from the stage play "The Black Rider". They did a brilliant job of it.

I may be listening to Tom all day now.

Artist with a capital A.

My fav was always Heart Attack and Vine... On the Nickle!?!? Makes my eyes water every time.

"Invitation to the Blues" does it for me. Like a stab to the heart.

House. But done by the band Gameface.

?si=FMO_1a_wy1TiW3vP

Molly Tuttle
White rabbit
This needs to be heard.

There are "reasons"...

So, I think I've mentioned Brent before. He was a guy they brought in to help me at the old shop when we opened up the machining division again. He was just this super chill guy, a few years older than me, and we clicked over music. We had open internet access at work and I set up our own private Wifi network in the lab. We streamed Pandora a lot.

Long story short, they let him go a few years later, we kept in touch and a few years ago he died from ALS. Left behind his wife of 36 years and two grown kids.

Still, every time I listen to The Cure, The Smiths or Dave Matthews I think of Brent. I remember one day he came in and said, "You know, I asked my son last night ... what are the kids listening to these days?" We started listening to a bunch of new psychedelic stuff like Tame Impala and the Horrors as well as some other synth based stuff like MGMT. It led me to explore things like surf punk (Shannon and the Clams) and a bunch of other current stuff at the time that I didn't know was out there, again reaffirming my idea there's good music in every era, you just have to look for it.

I like this song for no other reason than I dig the deep heavy moogy synth line.

It's reminiscent of Gary Numan's "Cars". Which I also love. (Which Fear Factory also did a great cover of)

Oh, hey ... who's that in the video?

I hadn't watched the video for "Kids" in many years, but now I'm wondering how much long-term trauma that little kid in it carries around from the filming.

HAH!

LOL! I think that one was probably less "trauma" and more "paycheck," but I can also see how a lifetime of being teased for having your baby junk exposed to the world might add up after a while.

Cueing this one up for Chandlerman-

?si=m6bkNPywOkCRzsnG

I feel seen.

This one also sums up my tuning adventures of late pretty well, too.

So, I can't say that I'm a huge Lou Reed fan, but he's part of the musical tapestry of my life in a lot of ways.

I went to school with twins Jon and Chuck. Both really cool guys. In fact, Jon went on to open a company in Holland called Cusack Music. They make guitar pedals. (website at the link)

Anyway, one day - while still in high school - he said, "You know, my brother Dave plays guitar, too. You should totally come play with his band."

I showed up at their barn with my guitar in tow and he asked if I knew "Sweet Jane". I had never heard it, but he showed me the chords and we played. It felt incredible. He had a Nady wireless guitar setup (one of which I bought later) and wandered around the barn while we played.

We played other stuff, too, but "Sweet Jane" still sticks in my head. I have it on Lou Reed's "Rock and Roll Animal".

Personally, I prefer Cowboy Junkies version better. I fall in love every time I watch this video.

I wound up buying an old VW Bus from Dave Cusack for a couple hundred bucks for parts. The only thing I have left from it is a bumper sticker that says "ABOLISH THE CIA".

So, back to Lou Reed. I guess I never "got" the whole Reed / Warhol-esque vibe, but aside from playing "Sweet Jane" in a barn, I do remember one night cruising around town in the back seat of Steve Mooney's 1974 Monte Carlo, sitting between Melody and Terri and hearing Velvet Underground's "Heroin" for the first time. The song came on and everyone was silent for seven minutes. I think that was as close as I ever came to "getting it".

Well ... that was a ramble. But it made me feel all cool inside. Good memories.

I always like Lou Reed and VU, but it was just "like" and not the fanatical devotion some of my mates had for them. My actual favorite is his ~1989 release New York. The whole record has vibe... And the lyrics are on point and as relevant today as ever.