Old Enough to Forget

Frank Turner is a bit of a conundrum. I can't rightly recall how I first heard of Mr. Turner, but I ended up with copies of England Keep My Bones (2011) and the two albums that followed, Tape Deck Heart (2013) and  Positive Songs for Negative People (2015). The only song I can remember is the all too short "Eulogy" that opens his 2011 release. I do remember them as being pretty decent, even if they didn't stick with me. I obviously liked him enough to pick up more of his stuff. That's the problem (one of many) with getting old, the neural pathways required to make those associative connections with time place and music are well worn and the ability to carve fresh tracks alongside the long establish ruts is pretty much an improbable task. However, my ability to appreciate music in the moment has not diminished. I'm as quick to pass to judgment as I ever was. If anything I'm more self aware and will often take the time to intentionally listen, really liste...

The Northern Pikes were never one of my go to bands. They skirted the periphery for me, although they had a couple of killer tunes: “Things I Do For Money” was a nearly perfect ‘80s songs with a wonderfully syncopated delay on the guitar and a head bopping groove. The other was “Hopes Go Astray” which was (still is) a captivating song from  Secrets of the Alibi but don’t remember much else. The only thing I remember was being a bit disappointed. I was probably mix tape hunting, and aside from that one great song ("Hopes Go Astray") I didn’t pull anything else off and I suppose that was enough for me to bury it. Who knows. I was pretty quick to pass judgment and often it was brutal, and as I've found out in hindsight my loss. The band would keep dropping albums I more or less ignored ... okay it was more but I'm trying to soften my ambivalence. When they dropped "She Ain't Pretty" I had to admit it was catchy, but the little hairs on my neck didn't s...

Down ’n’ Outz were initially formed as a creative outlet for Joe Elliott to explore his love of 1970s-influenced glam rock. Particularly, but not limited to, those who fell out of the Mott the Hoople family tree. I'd never heard of the band before, and This is How We Roll is the band's third effort and the first to contain original songs, which were written by Mister Elliot.  While I am at best a casual fan of all things Mott and the various Hooples they jumped through I do like a lot of that I've heard over the years. Joe wrote all but one of the songs on the album, and he is absolutely not doing anything that hasn't been done before, but his love for the era and is palpable and the songs here are all really good. Heck even the band's name smacks of the same spelling deficiency the lads in Slade suffered from.  When I first saw the album in the clearance bin ... by now you must know I am notoriously cheap, for 75% off I was curious. The cover photo reminded me o...

I was dragged to the mall so my wife could do some returns . What she says is, "I bought a bunch of stuff and am taking it back." What she means is, "Everything that fit is still upstairs in the closet." Oh well. Our mall has one of those money laundering stores that sells posters and music. I have no idea how these places keep the lights on. With the resurgence of vinyl they actually have a decent selection, but boy howdy I am not paying thirty to sixty dollars for a new record that I paid ten for back in the day. However, the last couple of times I've been in there's a little section of clearance items, and lately clearance means 75% off. Which means this is more often than not a lot cheaper than buying a decent used record. The last couple of times I've actually taken chances on newish stuff, and the other day guess what was staring up at me? Why it was Melissa Etheridge of all people. Not that long ago I'd spent quite a while revisiting her debu...