Record Store Day

Peter Gabriel - 'New Blood.'

Another Record Store Day took place this weekend. I celebrated it on the day after and found the one record that I really wanted. Though not badly enough to stand in lines and deal with the numbers of people on Saturday. But I am a huge Peter Gabriel fan and attempting to be a PG completist. 

A live album .... three discs of blood red vinyl. 

I didn't expect to see it on a late Sunday afternoon and especially it being the day after, but I walked in the door of the record store, flipped through the second of two crates of remaining RSD releases, and just as I was beginning to lose hope, there it was, at the back of the crate!!. The only and/or last copy in the store. A thirty-five mile drive rewarded with a bit of good record collecting karma.

And tomorrow is 'Make Music Salem' day. Live music taking place all day over the downtown core. I'll try to get a few photos. 

Sneezing and Sniffling Playlist

Deep in the throes this evening, of a full-blown seasonal allergy attack and waiting with breathless anticipation for the forecasted rain showers to return and knock the pollen out of the air .... even that needs a playlist.

• Mark Heard - Lonely Moon ..... Who knows, maybe I'd never have discovered Mark Heard if not for hearing a cover version of his song, 'Nod Over Coffee' over thirty years ago.
• Kurt Vile - Like Exploding Stones
• World Party - Put The Message In a Box
• Joseph Arthur - Can't Exist .... My music listening over the years has been broken up into periods where I got deeply immersed into the sounds of specific musicians and bands. I had a Joseph Arthur period maybe fifteen years ago.
• Joseph Arthur and the Lonely Astronauts - Slide Away
• The Boxer Rebellion - If You Run
• Frightened Rabbit - Woke Up Hurting
• The Folk Implosion - Natural One ..... Great name for a band!! 

For Everyman

'For Everyman' from Jackson Browne. 

From 1973 on Asylum Records and on the original vinyl.

I've been listening to this album since I was a teenager. I was seventeen years old when it came out and I'm relatively sure that I bought it on the day of release. I followed Jackson Browne's career closely from his debut in 1972 through the mid-90's. My first act upon becoming connected to the internet was to seek out JB bootlegs. I just wanted to hear more. His music was my goto choice for many years.  

This record has his recording of the song he wrote, with a little help from Glen Frey and that The Eagles made famous, 'Take It Easy.' I may be in the minority, but I prefer this version. It also has his song, 'These Days,' which has been covered by several people over the years, including Gregg Allman. 

A fantastic record that still resonates in my thoughts and memories nearly fifty years later .... I Thought I Was a Child; These Days; Ready or Not; Sing My Songs To Me; For Everyman; Colors of the Sun .... and the lyrics became part of me.

A sidenote .... That initial search for bootleg recordings resulted in connecting with a lady who sent a box containing thirty-two cassettes my way. That was a great day to walk to the mailbox.

Opening

'Opening' by the Tord Gustavsen Trio. On compact disc and just released this year.

Piano Jazz on the ECM Records label. One of my favorites.

New directions in Jazz. Slow tempo, introspective and quiet explorations around the edges of modern-creative Jazz. 

Definitely a late Saturday night, with the lights turned out recording.

Morgen

A self-titled album from 1969 from the band, Morgen. 

A person I follow on Twitter and whose 'now playing' choices I've come to admire and trust for quality, posted this a week or so ago. Psychedelic Rock. I listened to a few song samples and knew that I needed it to increase the coolness factor of my collection. 

And just another example of every time I start to assume that I'd at least heard of every band and musician of significance in the music scene from the 1960's, 70 and 80's, I'm once again proven wrong. 

Hopefully, it's not the last time that I'm wrong.

Seasonal Allergy Avoidance Playlist

Thursday Night playlist. Though because of the Memorial Day holiday, it feels like a Wednesday. Even confusing days and weeks need a playlist.

• Jay Farrar & Benjamin Gibbard - Low Life Kingdom
• David Crosby - River Rise 
• Liquorice - Baby Would It Matter
• Daily Worker - Map of the Human Heart / Stars ...., Discovered Daily Worker not long ago, while blindly clicking on titles on Bandcamp. Incredibly prolific.
• The Bats - Steeley Gaze
• The Afghan Whigs - Crazy
• Daniel Lanois - Still Learning How to Crawl
• Pedro the Lion - Bad Diary Days / Big Trucks

There's no theme here. I'm just working my way down my iTunes library, choosing randomly and going for second helpings here and there. It was the warmest day of spring today with high pollen counts. I felt hints of an attack in my eyes but was able to resist the urge to rub them into oblivion. A reason to celebrate.

• Beirut - Santa Fe
• Lucero - Everything Has Changed
• Say Hi - The Stars Just Blink For Us
• Thieving Irons - So Long
• Spoon - Everything Hits At Once
• Ages and Ages - How It Feels