Sunday, January 04, 2009

GETTIN' BACK INTO THE GROOVE

As I mentioned earlier, I have been merrily prestidigtizing my vinyl into 0's & 1's.
I haven't heard most of these songs in decades.

I would argue that ((sound)), not smell, is my memory sense.

These songs transport me back to the60s, 70s and early 80s..


to an unemcumbered headspace still free of all the trappings of adulthood that would soon begin to seriously interfere with my spare time.


Some of you may have heard these bands..


CHARLIE was one of my favorite easy listening groups..
I've missed hearing So Alone, Heartless, She Loves To Be In Love, Life So Cruel, Watching TV, Johnny Hold Back, Turning To You..they always had the foxy minx on the jacket.


Have you ever heard of this Robert Johnson?
Wish Upon A Star is fantastic.


How about Lake ? My faves were See Them Glow, Letters Of Love, Red Lake, Scoobie Doobies, Highway 216.



How about the Fabulous_Poodles, Anna Rexia ring a bell?


Todd Rundgren's Utopia ? Windows was one of my faves, My Angel, Love Is The Answer, Trapped...oh how I have missed you. guys..


and Jules_and_the_Polar_Bears You Just Don't Want To Know!


How could I forget the Breakfast_Club who started out with a Drummer named Madonna something..Never Be The Same, Right On Track and Always Be Like This..pure Pop Fun.


The_Other_Ones Stranger, Losing It,All Day All Night, We Are What We Are!!


My oldest album is The_Tornados playing Telstar" the first US #1 by a British group...but it was Chasing Moonbeams, Jungle Fever and the Popeye Twist that I missed the most.

I realise how much more Record Albums offered than today's souless miscule CD
..there was a kinetic physical connection..
you admired and studied the artwork..


WHICH WAS LARGE and interesting ENOUGH TO LOOK AT!


Remember pulling out the lyric sheet? You could actually follow the song plus there could be a thread or clues to the artist's message or state of mind.

We used to get involved in the album like a novel..as if it were a personal journey..and if you weren't too high..you could discuss it with others.

The Music Experience Business was a different beast before Video Killed the Radio Star. Now the gaping maw of the internet swallows songs and bands into the ether. There are about 60 billion bands and 1 millionth of them have about a 1 in a million chance of having a single hit for a few days before the next thing comes along.

All of their music is pirated now so bands have to make all their money touring or selling their song to Nike or Pepsi. Sad really. But I am glad, no make that deeply appreciative that I came of age during the Halcyon days of the 60s and 70s. We thought they'd never end...la la la laa-laa.


Can you think of any hard-to-find songs that you had on vinyl that you'd love to hear again?

31 comments:

  1. Charlie WHO? What planet were YOU on? 70% of the whover the hell was THAT's you mentioned, well, sorry, I never heard of them. But then again, I was emmersed in the POP culture, not the deep dark underground..........

    But now the tables are turned, I imagine.....I bet you have no Earthly idea who these pagan miscreants are that I listen to these days.......

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous7:15 pm

    Wow, I don't think I have heard of any of those! We listened repeatedly to a new CD of my son's on the long drive to Georgia - Billy Talent. To my surprise I really liked it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. hey, there's some really fantastic cover-art there! it's sad to keep it all locked away, unloved and unappreciated.

    you know what ticks me off about those new-fangled cds? i throw a serious hissyfit when they don't include the lyrics. i get right ticked off. if i had their numbers, i'd ring them up and complain. how am i supposed to lie on my bed in my silky pajamas, and sing along to the lyrics if i don't have a lyric sheet?! huh. i could be singing the wrong lyrics for all i know. it's OUTRAGEOUS.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous9:51 pm

    what else?
    boney m's rasputin.
    or maybe some mandy or i write the songs.
    how bout a little earth wind and fire?

    nice shorts.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The shorts look even better if you click on the pic to make it bigger.

    ReplyDelete
  6. See I'm in on the jive man, I've heard the song 'Telstar' in fact I know all the words.

    I'm like an Anne Rice vampire who can't get used to new technologies, I never got used to cassettes and I'm just getting the hang of VDs and as for MP3 is that not a gun? where does the tape go in?

    ReplyDelete
  7. I can't say I know any of these songs or groups. But I'm with Reysputin. One of my older sisters had a Boney M. record that we used to listen to all the time...them and Dusty Springfield.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm not as old as you... but I do have recollections of vinyl. My mother dancing around the room with her toddler Stace in her arms, listening to Billy Joel's "Storm Front". Me playing tracks from "Jesus Christ Superstar" when I was home alone, and singing every part indiscriminately. Dad putting on Melanie and Olivia Newton John, and me trying my best not to hear them... :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Who are these people of whom you speak?

    ReplyDelete
  10. The Bolshoi [the band, not the ballet!]
    Sx

    ReplyDelete
  11. I am SO happy - you have made me feel so young! I knew NONE of those bands... and now I start the new year feeling like a spring chicken! Happiness is mine...

    ReplyDelete
  12. So THAT'S where all my records went, you thief!

    But oh, for the days of black vinyl again!

    Drinking beer, beatin' your ass at 21, having my ear drums blown off in your basement...

    Now we drink rye, play today's stuff on little silver discs and talk about George Dubya and other Disasters.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oh, and nice shorts. And nice pose. And nice Partridge Family haircut.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Okay... I am the same age as you... and grew up in the same city... and I know almost none of those bands!

    Sucks to get old, eh? But being older is a great thing... and not the same as getting old...

    Cool that you can preserve all the vinyl sound bites before they decompose completely.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Adorable, Mr Coppens, adorable. Telstar was the first record I ever bought - bought FOR me, actually, by my dear old father, and played to the death on our gramophone. Dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dee-dee-dah-dah etc. Chosen, BTW, by the gorgeous old harridan, Margaret Thatcher, as one of her Desert Island Discs. The Fab Poos I adored (Roll Your Own was my fave rave) and I knew Tony de Meur well. Well enough, anyway. They were with Private Stock. Larry Uttal was a guest at one of my weddings. His gift was derisory. Happy new year.

    ReplyDelete
  16. okay, i'll let you in on a little secret. i'm just a year younger.
    now the world knows.
    aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh

    ReplyDelete
  17. Happy new year!!!
    Thanks Donn for showing interest :)
    I have sent u an invite on email address provided in ur profile.

    I wish you a fantastic 2009. :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. You've made these all up haven't you?

    ReplyDelete
  19. I'm so sad I bought the Fabulous Poodles' first album because Rick Wakeman said he liked them. And it was going dirt cheap.

    I thought Charlie was a name you called Warren Zevon. I didn't realise they were a band!

    ReplyDelete
  20. THE
    Now wait a minute Mikey..most of the mainstream stuff has been released on CD..I have those..so these are the ditties that I cannot seem to find in stores or in the ether.

    I would like to hear some of the pagan miscreants...I imagine you've heard the Mummer's Dance by Loreena McKennitt?
    She's from these here parts
    *spits

    CITIZEN
    I have a few Billy Talent tunes in my library..of course we are feeding 4 ipods so I get to listen to a lot of new stuff. I like 'em.
    Lots of energy and no frills!

    PROJECTIVISTA
    Thanks to the domination of Gangsta-HipHop in the CD-osphere they don't need to provide lyrics.

    Yo mofo word to yo mutha
    hang on to yo f*** britches
    check the **** on ma bitches
    you go blind from my f**** bling
    listen to this n****** sing
    cap yo ass mofo
    grab yo cash mofo
    etc etc etc


    REYSPUTIN
    Believe it or not I'm walkin' on air
    Ha I actually do have EW&F right here
    Fantasy yeah baby.
    FYI I already had all the Manilow that I needed thank you very much

    stop snickering
    ssh!

    MJ
    Ha I already checked my baggage three times to make sure that there wasn't anything dangling that you could use against me in the court of public opinion...
    neener-neener-neen-ner!

    ReplyDelete
  21. this was truly the perfect gift for you!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous8:56 pm

    Who are these groups? I must live on another planet. I've seen the movie Breakfast Club but that is the only thing familiar here. Were these groups only in Canada?

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous8:58 pm

    Oh, Oh, Oh! (think Arnold from Welcome Back Kotter.) I just realized that perhaps you invented these band names? I mean, "Jason and the Polar Bears? um... lol

    ReplyDelete
  24. Katherine introduced us via email. I am also in the process of digitizing my vinyl and cassettes. A massive project.
    You have me at a loss on some of these bands though...and I was doing some radio back in the early 70's, so it makes me shake my head and wonder if the times erased my memories!

    ReplyDelete
  25. KNUDEY
    Get thee behind me Luddite!
    I'll look around for an 8-track/78 convertor for ya.
    I know that you're kidding...
    you're kidding right?
    I know all the words to Telstar..good one!

    EROSWINGS
    I actually have Boney M's Christmas album right here..see..and it is still the best Xmas record EVAH!
    I love Dusty too.

    STACE
    Aaaawww those are magical memories for you. Those were simpler times and even though you couldn't figure out how the sound came from a rut in a piece of plastic..atleast you could see where it started and if there was a huge scratch. When a CD starts skipping I want to burn down the whole world....plus we used to have record smashing parties.


    STACE
    Mr Scurra these are almost all British bands! My word did the Beeb only play Cliff Richard songs or what? Truth be told not many people have heard them and that was part ofthe charm..they were our little secret..of coure those bands would have preferred to have sold BILLIONS of copies but they did bring joy to the hearts and minds of my little gang of miscreants.

    SCARLETT
    Rings a bell...I'd need to Wiki them to remember any stuff but you know what I'm talkin about...you LOVE y'er tunes don'tcha?

    A lot of excellent bands for whatever reason never made it to the bigs and got lost in the transition to CD. It's just really cool to hear these old songs again..really cool.

    MOORGATE MERMAID
    I am delighted to have made your day. You must be very young indeed.
    I am also delighted that you have come to pay a visit to my little ether space. I look forward to learning about you and your thoughts.
    T T F N.

    WINKY
    Aside from your 26 Beatle records the rest of your pile is too scary to touch nevermind play! If you ever manage to pry yourself away from your pursuit of happenis I can show you how this damn thing works...it's pretty neat...and perhaps we could imbibe in libations and relive our glory days.

    PONITA
    Records last waaaaaaaay longer than CDs that's what pisses me off! Not only that but the sound is richer and fuller somehow...unless you get expensive speakers..which I no longer have..hmmm...anyway yes it is super fun.
    Old friends come back to life.

    MRS POUNCER!!!
    Oh you are a Dear.
    Telstar really? Or as the urban Yanks say Shut-UP!?
    What are the odds? I wonder if you remember any of the other songs or did you have a 45?

    You and your connections..someday I would love to sit down and let you go on and on about your exciting salad days. Seriously..I know that you could dish on a lot of famous people. You are so interesting.

    MISTI
    Well hush my mouth! Really? Well your secret dies with me, my lips are sealed..see...and there goes the key to the lock...gone!
    I don't believe you anyway...pfft..a year younger..as if?

    NAHUATL
    Thank You, I've already been. Looking forward to it. I knew that there was more to your techspertise..not that that isn't totally impressive. what I'd give to know a tenth of what you do about formatting...seriously I am just wingin' it every day man.

    ZIGGI
    Now you know me better than that Zig..I wouldn't fib to you. Besides look at all the links. I don't have time to go and make up fake Wiki pages..wouldn't know how to either..I'd need to call Nahuatl and he is a straight up guy who would prolly turn me over to Interpol.
    Short answer..No they are all real bands. Honest.


    GEOFF
    Now how did I ever give you that impression? Warren?
    Since you're one of my go-to audiophiles (Hi Allan) I want to confess that a lot of these songs are schmaltzy AM sort of 70ish MOR stuff but what the hey. All of the GIGANTIC songs have been re-released so these are my guilty little pleasures..along with the oddities..you prolly didn't notice the copy of the Slits lying there...typical girls typical girls..don't ask me why that song has stuck in me 'ead for 30 years but it has!

    KATHERINE
    Yes it certainly is and thank you for the introduction.

    GEL
    You can't kid a kidder! I even searched and pasted the links to prove that I didn't make these up.
    It's a different Breakfast Club..Madonna was goin' out with one of the guys in the band so he let her be their drummer...little did he know eh?

    BOND
    Hola! I have seen you around my good man but I did not know that you were such an audiophile. So you are doin' the cassettes too..WOW...I have boxes of them too. I have managed to find most of the more mainstream stuff but I really missed a lot of the more obscure or lesser known ie successful bands..that's why I neede this thingamabob.

    So far so good. I was actually quite worried that the sound would be crappy but it's surprisingly crisp...plus my hearin' ain't what it used to be so that helps.

    ReplyDelete
  26. I have a record called 'Copulatin' Blues' that has some of the best, original recordings of some of the raunchiest blues by some of the BIGGEST NAMES IN THE BUSINESS...and its locked away on vinyl...*snif*

    ReplyDelete
  27. lol... no, I don't have any contact with Interpol. They would prolly lock me up first for the tech advices :P

    ReplyDelete
  28. FIRST NATIONS
    I can't find my copy of CHINGA CHAVIN's Country Porn!!!
    As MJ can attest to it was a delightful raunchy rockabilly romp full of inappropriate songs like Dry Humpin In The Back Of A 55 Ford.
    Dammit!

    NAHUATL
    HA! Maybe you are already on their list? I loathe the Googleheimer machinery that wants to track every click of your mouse...so that they can assemble your predilictions and sell the info to advertisers.
    That's just wrong!

    ReplyDelete
  29. And who can forget Chavin's "Cum Stains On My Pillow (Where Your Sweet Head Used To Be)"?

    ReplyDelete
  30. "Victory in Space" - The Good Rats

    "Younger Girl" - The Critters

    "Betrayed" by a seemingly forgotten Motown band.

    "Surfer Joe" by the Surfaris

    "Moon Dawg/Inebriated Surfer" - Tornadoes

    ReplyDelete
  31. I loathe the Googleheimer machinery that wants to track every click of your mouse

    In that case, maybe you should know that Google Chrome (the new hep browser of Google) sends your unique identity when you browse. So, they know you browsed what with their browser!! ha! :D

    ReplyDelete

Danke fĆ¼r das Kommentieren/Gracias por comentar/Merci du commentaire/Š’Ń‹ Š“Š»Ń ŠŗŠ¾Š¼Š¼ŠµŠ½Ń‚Š°Ń€Šøя/Thank You for commenting/Ī£Ī±Ļ‚ ĪµĻ…Ļ‡Ī±ĻĪ¹ĻƒĻ„ĻŽ Ī³Ī¹Ī± Ļ„Īæ ĻƒĻ‡ĪæĪ»Ī¹Ī±ĻƒĪ¼ĻŒ/Grazie per commentare/Tak for kommentaren...

click yer cursor matey...

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...