30 June 2011

Summer Ride Soundtrack


 I'm getting on my blue banana seat bike with the shiny new red AM radio that my parents bought me at Two Guys and I'm pedaling over to your house so we can listen to some of my 8 track tapes.  That Neil Diamond cassette is FAR OUT and this handy new carrying case from King Karol records fits nicely in the new yellow wicker basket I put on the front.

Souvenir 1978: The Bee Gees' EPIC Sgt. Pepper Disaster







Many thanks to Janie for this awesome piece of folly of pop culture tomfoolery.
What do we think ever became of the career of that poor Sandy (Strawberry Fields) Farina?

Eleven years after The Beatles' landmark Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band LP, Robert Stigwood Productions actually thought it would be a FANTASTIC idea to put The Bee Gees, Peter Frampton and George Burns in a $12,000,000.00 cinematic send-up of those (and other) Fab Four songs.  Clearly, everyone was riding high on more than just The Bee Gees' Post-Saturday Night Fever hubris and I'm certain that more than a few people got fired when the tidal wave of critical brickbats started swinging.  

28 June 2011

Vinyl Therapy: Radiohead "King Of Limbs" (2011)
















Extremely adept at reaching all levels of their fan spectrum (from the casual fan to the rabid completist)  Radiohead have once again presented their newest album in several formats.  They've offered everything from quick and easy digital downloads of "King Of Limbs" to traditional CD packaging to this... The super-deluxe "Newspaper Edition" of the album.  Radiohead have (once again) seen fit to present several versions of a release so that each listener can choose the level at which they wish to engage with the recorded material.  They've taken the best parts of the 1970s and '80s "deluxe double album" model with a nod to the digital immediacy and versatility that a music fan in 2011 demands.

26 June 2011

Vinyl Therapy: Bjork "Voltaic" Limited Edition Box Set (2009)










Having seen one of the NYC shows on this tour with my pals Billy and Kelly, I can tell you that the contents of this package fully capture the energy of Bjork, her musicians and the very specific, completely unparalleled universe of live music theatre they create.  Whether or not you "buy her brand" in terms of performance dynamics, there is no denying Bjork's ability to engage both the ardent admirer and the casual observer with her antics.  There is also no denying her ability to innovate when looking for ways to present her recorded work... In other words, THIS is how a live album package is done: 2 LPs, 2 DVDs, 2 CDs and a very unique package layout for the listener/viewer to interact with.