Sunday, June 29, 2025

Deep Sleep in Seattle

'Deep Sleep' by Sleeping Bag. Indie Rock from 2014. A Seattle band. Came across the vinyl record at a great price in 2020 as my local record store was attempting to liquidate much of their inventory when closing down their store due to the owners opting for retirement during covid and opening up a space in an antique mall and keeping their longtime local shop alive.

The record had a limited printing of 500 copies. I have number 334. Always a bonus to discover great music from the great Pacific Northwest.

Saturday, June 28, 2025

Abbey Road

Saw a record store, new arrivals flip video where the vinyl was pulled from the sleeve.
I'm not a huge fan of color vinyl. I mean, it's ok occasionally and some variants and designs actually wow me.
But The Beatles on color vinyl .... well that feels like a sin of unparallel gravity.
Maybe it should be an amendment to the ten commandments.
          11. Thou shall not put The Beatles on color vinyl.
 
With that visual bouncing around in my mind and the fact that it's been many years since I've listened to this record, I pulled out 'Abbey Road' this morning ... on black vinyl and also the remastered compact disc, The Beatles on cd concept seems mildly acceptable to me. 

There were flashbacks to long gone days of youth and the hours spent listening to my vinyl mentors record collection.

Thursday, June 5, 2025

Confessing

'The Confessional Tapes' by Aidan Baker. On vinyl from 2015. Ambient, electronic, experimental sounds.

Perfectly placed buzz, fuzz, clicks, ticks, pops and drone amidst sparse piano and vocals slightly above whispers. Sounds like perfection when listened to with the volume turned up at 1:00am and in a dimly lit room. Maybe appreciation takes hearing it while in a certain mood or frame-of-mind, while needing sleep and at a specific time of the late evening with particular atmospheric conditions, but I rate it a 10/10. These are the sounds that I've been transitioning to in my senior years.

Enjoyed it enough that I have two additional Aidan Baker recordings ordered and arriving soon. 

Sunday, June 1, 2025

This Week

A Monday (May 26th) evening playlist .....
  • The Bats - Electric Sea View / I Go Wild
  • Phil Cook - Miles Away ..... Had been seeing him in videos playing with Hiss Golden Messenger and he always looks like he's getting so much enjoyment from what he's playing. Then discovered that he has his own albums.
  • Warren Zevon - Desperadoes Under the Eaves
  • Sarah Jarosz - Jealous Moon
  • The Jayhawks - This Forgotten Town / Society Pages
  • Son Volt - Bandages and Scars
And a few more from a few days later. Not sure if it qualifies as a playlist but it's a list of songs that I took time to listen to ......
  • The Church - Under the Milky Way / Metropolis
  • Donald Fagan - I.G.Y. ..... Heard in the store while grocery shopping and having to hear it again, played it while at work.
  • Van Morrison - Wavelength ..... I didn't really become a Van fan until I heard this. I think, (though I may be in error), that it was on SNL all those years ago.
  • Poco - I Can See Everything
  • Terence Boylan - Trains
  • Counting Crows - Children In Bloom / Walkaways
  • Matthew Ryan - Return to Me
  • Richard Buckner - Progress ..... A demo from his 'Extractions' email. Not sure if it's on any of his records.

Deep Sleep in Seattle

'Deep Sleep' by Sleeping Bag. Indie Rock from 2014. A Seattle band. Came across the vinyl record at a great price in 2020 as my loca...