Joni Mitchell-The Hissing of Summer Lawns

I’m pretty sure I’ve read somewhere that this is Prince’s favorite album of all time. And who the hell are you to say otherwise? You definitely aren’t as cool as he is. And I know you can’t pull off those cheekless trousers that he sports (please don’t try). I’m sure everybody’s parents have some Joni in their record collections and that there’s a whole generation who missed out on this Canuck siren. But just because the elder folk might enjoy this should never mean that it’s out of place in these times. Why is it that kids always think they’re so smart anyways?

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Denny Gerrard-Sinister Morning

Since I’m trying to give people what they want (atypical for me most of the time) I see that High Tide has been downloaded quite a bit and that really pleases me. Since that be the case then perhaps you might find this curio of interest as High Tide are the backing band. And they really pull out all the stunts for this dark psych epic. Rather than the heavy mind melters they are known for, they seem to fit within Gerrard’s more folky vision without any struggle. I still only know a few people who care, let alone have listened to this album and I can’t quite figure that out. There’s plenty more obscure items than this one. Maybe my ears are all wrong. I mean, I am color blind. Is there such a phenomenon as sound deaf?

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Tom Cora-Gumption in Limbo

Several times now, I’ve mentioned my love of cello. Weird thing is, I haven’t posted all that much that heavily features that instrument. So posting some Tom Cora is a logical attempt at rectifying this error as he was one of the masters of the instrument. Unlike the Casals I posted earlier this is a much more demanding listen. But when you think of the zillion collaborations he has been involved with (Zorn, Frith, Chadbourne, The Ex, etc) it all makes sense. You think, at some point, more people would have picked up on what this guy was doing. Perhaps he’s still too out there for all those people who have put in the time to be classically trained and all of that. But I suppose that always is the downside of academics.

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Monster Magnet-25 Tab

For some reason, I was never hip to these guys when they were actually producing their best work. I don’t know how I missed them (maybe it’s because they’re from New Jersey), but I never heard this band until they were quite successful. At that point, what I heard was utter shit that seemed designed exclusively for play on MTV. Fortunate for me, I had some friends in the know who suggested I check out this album and some of their other early works. I guess knowing my penchant for Hawkwind and other folks attempting to ascend cosmic heights made this a logical suggesting. It’s a good thing to have people who are smarter than you to call you out on your stupidity. Just don't be a crybaby when it happens.

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Angus Maclise-The Invasion of Thunderbolt Pagoda

The two most popular pages on this site (aside from people trying to find the song from Silence of the Lambs (actually my #1 post)) are Terry Riley and Lamonte Young. Naturally, I need to include this album since Maclise was as an important, though less heralded, than his compatriots in the New York classical/drone scene. Did I forget to mentioned that he was the original drummer for the Velvet Underground? Oops, my mistake. I guess that fact will have at least a few people wanting to see what this guy was all about. You’re missing out if you’re not one of those people.

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Rush-Caress of Steel

This band certainly gets more than its fair share of grief and I still don’t get why. Is it because they are Canadian? It definitely can’t be because they still continue to destroy bands half their age. I won’t claim that their mid-period dalliances with synths and whatnot are of much appeal to me, but some time ago, they provided some seriously solid heavy prog rock. I fucking hate Ayn Rand and most of the people who really dig her work seem to be pseudo-intellectuals who are closet republican elitists. But even though that slag might have provided their lyrical inspiration, I can still blast this at full volume as I throw pennies at people from my car window.

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