Old Enough to Forget

Roxy Music released their first album simply titled, Roxy Music in 1972, and a decade later released their final and arguably their best known (and best) album Avalon in 1982. Avalon was my introduction to the band, and frankly was also my exit. I did end up with Siren at some point, and did like "Love is the Drug" but honestly I never really let the album breathe ... I think it got a cursory spin and I took off the one song for a mix tape and then shelved it. I was young and didn't know any better ... that's what I'm going with. I also suspect that at some point I'm going to end up with more Roxy Music albums in my collection. It was  Avalon  though that was the perfect combo of restrained smokey cool and the songs and performances felt effortless. Brian Ferry himself was the epitome of cool, and was joined by Phil Manzanera on guitar and Andy Mackay on saxophone, both of whom were masters of their craft. Others were brought in as needed. Alan Spenner and Ne...

I'd not listened to this is in a long, long time. My memories of this are mostly warm and fuzzy except for "Bad Is Bad" a song that to me was true to it's title. My buddy back in the day would go on about how "Ghost Busters" and "I Want a New Drug" were the same song ... I know there's a feel in the bass or the melody or something. I suppose there was enough merit to warrant a settlement, but to me all I heard was a gaggle of chicks shouting "Ghost busters" over and over. I found it irritating, and now it's nostalgic, go figure - and for all that I still can't hear it. The album was huge and it seemed to hang around a long time. I suppose that was due more to the fact that it was released in the fall of '83 and didn't really seem to take off until the spring of '84 and the band kept mining singles for almost a year. The album was like a Russian doll. It's an album very much of it's time but was also outside...

In 1983 David Bowie ruled the world. After years of flirting with mainstream success, he was suddenly the flavour of the day. It was the latest strange turn from one of rocks most durable and creative voices.  I'll also freely admit I was not a fan. At all . Not at first. To me he was the guy who did "Space Oddity" and that song weirded me out as a kid. I didn't like it, and thought it sounded terrible. It didn't help that when I was in my teens there was a young Bowie singing a duet with Bing Crosby on a Christmas Special where he mashed up some ridiculous counterpoint "The Little Drummer Boy." I hated it. Ick, phooey. Somehow I'd gotten it into my head that Bowie was unlistenable. He was a dinosaur who kept desperately throwing whatever he could against the wall trying to make anything stick to make so that  his 15 minutes would last a little longer. It didn't matter that there were quite a few of his classic songs that were pretty amazing. I h...

Back in the day I did not own any Rolling Stones records. The first album I actually bought was Dirty Work in 1986, and I only bought it because I loved "One Hit (To the Body)" which is an awesome song. Later I'd succumb and get the Hot Rocks and More Hot Rocks double albums, and those were all I needed ... and this lamp. Tattoo You is a weird one for me. As there are two impressions of this album for me. The first one comes from the me of yesteryear. "This sucks, if I have to hear Mick Jagger's nut squeezed falsetto while watching him prance around in leopard skin tights I'll puke." Of course, even eighteen year old me had to admit that "Start Me Up" was something special. I had no idea how he played it - I didn't know anything about alternate tuning back then other than drop D, and that really didn't count. The second one, actually doesn't stray all that far from my first impression, although I'm a lot more forgiving than ...

Normally I don't buy a record I already have on CD, but I found this copy in a clearance bin because there was a scratch or something that made it unworthy of being in the regular rack. When I looked it over, it seemed pretty decent, although there was a little scuff on one side. I figured after a good clean it would likely play just fine - and it did. Sitting listening to this again has been like catching up with an old friend. I do get some grief on occasion for my love of Bryan Adams albums from some of my more discerning friends - then again I also like Nickelback - so to them they're justified in their assessment of my lack of musical taste and inability to adhere to the accepted tenets of good taste. Whatever. Once upon a time there was a skinny kid with a really high voice who took over Sweeney Todd from Nick Gilder and wrote songs with his partner Jim Vallance that showed up on albums by Prism, and BTO, although to be fair by that time those bands were no longer in ...

When Bruce Springsteen dropped Born in the U.S.A. in 1984 I was turning 21. It was a victory of sorts against the forces of Michael Jackson's Thriller that was somehow still managing to pull singles a couple years after it came out. Here was Bruce, just being The Boss and somehow his newly acquired biceps and a catchy song and video for "Dancing in the Dark" (I can't explain why I hear The Cars "Moving in Stereo" in my head when I think of this song) propelled him and the album into the upper stratosphere going 17 times platinum in the U.S.A. and selling over 30 million world wide. That's a hell of a feat for an essentially average album with some good songs, but it wasn't something I lost my shit over when I heard the songs on the radio.  Truth is I was never really a big fan. Sure I kind liked "Born to Run" but his music felt old . Yeah, I know this borders on blasphemy, but like I said, it was a very good album - I'm still moved when...