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61 results for “philkindermann”
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@philkindermann I was watching one of #jormakaukonen's quarantine concerts, and he said Grace doesn't own a cell phone. That's pretty wonderful.
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Today’s listening is ‘Radio City’, the 1974 album by Big Star.
After their first album sank commercially without a trace, Chris Bell left Big Star, leaving Alex Clinton, Andy Hummel and Jody Stephens to eventually pick up the pieces.
This, their second album, is a little rough around the edges, but still full of good power pop/rock tunes.
Although they didn't last long as a band, their influence was to echo down the years!
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Today’s listening is ‘Old Liquidator’, the 1995 album by The Minus 5.
The members of The Minus 5 vary from album to album and on this outing the band comprised Scott McCaughey, Peter Buck, Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer.
I have to say that I don’t like this album very much!
Any melodies are interspersed with plonky tuneless piano runs and screeches of guitar in a very discordant way.
They went on to much better things!
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Today’s listening is ‘When You’re A Boy’, the 1991 album by Susanna Hoffs.
Susanna’s first solo album was produced during the dark days of The Great Bangles Interregnum of the 1990’s and is a great, poppy-rock listen.
Mind you, with that voice, she could sing the telephone book and I would be transfixed!
The album title comes from the David Bowie song ‘Boys Keep Swinging’, which she covers on this record.
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Today’s listening is ‘Descendant’, the 2024 album by Snowgoose.
Snowgoose are a Scottish contemporary folk-rock band, centered around singer Anna Sheard and guitarist Jim McCulloch.
This, their most recent album, is a very pleasant and tuneful listen, with Anna’s lovely voice to the fore.
Well worth a listen!
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Today’s listening is ‘Ooh La La’, the 1973 album by The Faces.
A typically ramshackled collection of good time rock ’n’ roll from Rod and the boys.
The original album sleeve must have been expensive to produce!
The front cover incorporates a sliding panel which, when you push down on the top edge, makes the man smile and his eyes move, in a very Terry Gilliam-esque manner!
The sleeve is also a gatefold and a top-loader. My copy is a bit age-mottled, but it still works. -
Today’s listening is ‘Earth Trip’, the 2021 album by Rose City Band.
This enjoyable album is so laid-back that it is practically horizontal!
It’s a pleasant collection of quite noodly tunes from Ripley Johnson and chums.
‘Psychedelic country rock’, apparently, though I’m not too sure about the psychedelic bit myself.
If you are listening through headphones the urge to fall asleep is hard to resist (not in a bad way!).
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Today’s listening is ‘The Graduate’, the 2009 album by Nerina Pallot.
This is an enjoyable collection of mostly bouncy pop tunes from Mrs Chatterley, with a few piano ballads thrown in for good measure.
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Today’s listening is ‘Whatever Happened To…..Jugula?’, the 1984 album by Roy Harper and Jimmy Page.
“An ordinary man writing songs for ordinary people”..I’m not so sure about that, Roy!
This is definitely an album of 2 sides!
Side 1 is great, with the Harper classics ‘Nineteen Forty-Eightish’ and ‘Hangman’, plus you can tell that the music for the track ‘Hope’ was written by David Gilmour.
Side 2, however, is less than great, although ‘Elizabeth’ has it’s moments.
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Today’s listening is ‘Message From The Country’, the 1971 album by The Move.
This, the final album from The Move, is a great listen and a fine swan-song.
By this point the band comprised just Jeff Lynne, Roy Wood and Bev ‘Basher’ Bevan.
The album was recorded at the same time as they were recording the first Electric Light Orchestra album, which was going to turn out to be a bright future for at least Jeff and Bev!
"Vocals and detectable Midlands Accent: Roy Wood"!
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Today’s listening is ‘Thrashing Through The Passion’, the 2019 album by The Hold Steady.
Another rollicking fast-paced rock album from The Hold Steady, with the usual onslaught of bizarre lyrical tales of a world which you feel quite glad not to be a part of!
How the lead singer Craig Finn manages to remember all the song lyrics for their live shows is beyond me!
“Wherever he goes he always orders the usual,
He likes to see what they’ll bring him” -
Today’s listening is ‘Thrashing Through The Passion’, the 2019 album by The Hold Steady.
Another rollicking fast-paced rock album from The Hold Steady, with the usual onslaught of bizarre lyrical tales of a world which you feel quite glad not to be a part of!
How the lead singer Craig Finn manages to remember all the song lyrics for their live shows is beyond me!
“Wherever he goes he always orders the usual,
He likes to see what they’ll bring him” -
Today’s listening is ‘Thrashing Through The Passion’, the 2019 album by The Hold Steady.
Another rollicking fast-paced rock album from The Hold Steady, with the usual onslaught of bizarre lyrical tales of a world which you feel quite glad not to be a part of!
How the lead singer Craig Finn manages to remember all the song lyrics for their live shows is beyond me!
“Wherever he goes he always orders the usual,
He likes to see what they’ll bring him” -
Today’s listening is ‘Everything’s Different Now’, the 1988 album by ’Til Tuesday.
’Til Tuesday was the band that Aimee Mann was a member of before she embarked on her solo career.
This is a really good album, with nearly all the lyrics and a large chunk of the music being written by Aimee.
It’s mostly upbeat, late 1980’s sound and production gives it the feel of an Aimee Mann solo album that has been treated with Prozac!
Well worth a listen.
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Today’s listening is ‘Invitation’, the 2017 album by Filthy Friends.
Filthy Friends were an indie rock ‘supergroup’ (an over-used term, in my opinion!) from Portland, Oregon, USA.
The band comprised Corin Tucker on lead vocals (Sleater-Kinney), Peter Buck (R.E.M.), Scott McCaughey (The Minus 5 etc), Kurt Bloch (Young Fresh Fellows) and Bill Rieflin (Robyn Hitchcock etc).
This is a pretty fast-paced, out and out guitar rock album.
Worth a listen!
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Today’s listening is ‘Not The Weapon But The Hand’, the 2012 album by Steve Hogarth and Richard Barbieri.
An extra-curricular outing for Mr H and Mr Barbieri on this interesting album which has some good tracks.
The song ‘Only Love Will Make You Free’ appears to be the origin of the ‘F.E.A.R.’ acronym which would subsequently become the title of a Marillion album.
“It’s not the weapon that does the damage,
But in who’s hands it rests”. -
Today’s listening is ‘I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight’, the 1974 album by Richard and Linda Thompson.
Another perfectly wonderful album from Richard and Linda T!
Thoroughly depressing lyrics, as you would expect, but terrific musicianship and, of course, Linda’s beautiful voice!
“There’s nothing at the end of the rainbow,
There’s nothing to grow up for any more”. -
Today’s listening is ‘The Hazards Of Love’, the 2009 album by The Decemberists.
A concept double album, a tragic love story, perfectly realised.
There are times when I think that this might be my favourite album of them all.
It’s certainly the only one that brings me close to tears at the end!
Just Wonderful.
If you have never heard this, I thoroughly recommend it.
‘And when the waves came crashing down, he closed his eyes and softly kissed her’.
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Today’s listening is ‘I’m With Stupid’, the 1995 album by Aimee Mann.
Aimee’s terrific second solo album has quite a few guest musicians on it, such as Chris Difford, Glenn Tilbrook, Juliana Hatfield and even Neil Innes!
With a catalogue of songs about dysfunctional relationships and a less-than-rosy world view, it’s little wonder that Aimee was cast as one of the nihilists in The Big Lebowski after this album!
My favourite track is the last one, ‘It’s Not Safe’.
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Today’s listening is ‘Come Out Fighting Ghengis Smith’, the 1967 album by Roy Harper.
In particular I’ve been listening to the 2017 remastered album.
This version has a new front cover image, more like what Roy wanted for the original, but which CBS refused (not surprisingly!).
This also comes with some fascinating new liner notes from Roy, putting his second album into context.
Roy was not quite at the height of his powers just yet, but for 1967?
Remarkable stuff.
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Today’s listening is ‘Highly Strung’, the 1983 album by Steve Hackett.
Steve must have been so impressed by Genesis’ tradition of having awful album covers that he continued this dismal trend into his own solo career!
A situation not helped by his then wife being the album artist...
Ian Mosley, soon to join Marillion, plays drums.
Steve Hackett sings, which is Not A Good Thing.
Can I say anything positive about this record?
No, I cannot.
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Today’s listening is ‘Rome’, the 2011 album by Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi.
The conceit is that this album is the soundtrack to a ‘Spaghetti Western’ film that was never made.
Messrs Mouse and Luppi used musicians who had played on the original ‘Spaghetti Western’ soundtracks and also vintage equipment, which gives this album a real late 1960’s sound.
Jack White and Nora Jones sing on the non-instrumental tracks.
It's altogether a very enjoyable listen!
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Today’s listening is ‘Strays II’, the 2023 album by Margo Price.
The songs which make up this limited edition release comprise tracks which form an expanded edition of Margo’s previous ‘Strays’ album, which was released earlier in 2023.
The music ‘strays’ quite far from her country roots, of which only hints remain. Together with her band, these songs are both rockier and poppier, a style which suits her, I think.
It's good stuff and well worth a listen!
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Today’s listening is ‘Stars Are The Light’, the 2019 album by Moon Duo.
Moon Duo are Ripley Johnson (from the pronunciation challenging band ‘Wooden Shjips’) and Sanae Yamada.
This is an enjoyable psychedelic rock album of breathy vocals and hypnotic grooves.
The great album art (which comes in 4 different colour schemes) depicts a group of aliens dancing along to the music, which seems quite appropriate!
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Today’s listening is ‘Magnetic South’, the 1970 album by Michael Nesmith & The First National Band.
This was Nesmith’s first solo album after the end of The Monkees and, for me, might well also be his best solo album.
It was certainly going to set his musical template for the next several years and his run of excellent, laid-back, country albums that he was to record during the 1970’s.
The best song for me is 'The Keys To The Car'.
Well worth your time!
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Today’s listening is ‘George Martin-A Painter In Sound’, the 2022 4 CD compilation of George Martin’s ‘Pre-Beatles Productions And Classical Influences’.
In particular I’ve been listening to CD2 ‘Experiments With Pop’, which has tracks from comedians such as Peter Sellers and Bernard Cribbins, ballads from crooners like Matt Monro and jazzy tracks from Humphrey Lyttelton etc.
The highlight being the best comedy record of all - Bernard Cribbins’ ‘Right, Said Fred’!
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Today’s listening is ‘The Best Of Del Amitri; Hatful Of Rain’, the 1998 compilation album by Del Amitri.
This collection brings together all the single A-sides that were released by Del Amitri between 1989 and 1998.
It’s an impressive bunch of poppy rock songs, amongst my favourites being ‘Not Where It’s At’ and ‘Here And Now’.
I don’t own any Del Amitri albums other than this compilation, based on the (possibly incorrect?) assumption that this is all I need?
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Today’s listening is ‘Tomorrow The Green Grass’, the 1995 album by The Jayhawks.
This was the final album from The Jayhawks with Mark Olsen in the band.
It’s a very good record but I always think that the band went on to greater heights after Olsen had left them. There was something about his song-writing that I always found a little ‘off’, in some indefinable way.
Still though, Olsen and Louris’ combined harmonies were a thing of wonder!
Well worth a listen.
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Today’s listening is ‘Oh Brother’, the 2024 album by Dawes.
This is the new album from Dawes, which has only just arrived with me, so this is my first listen.
This seems to be something of a stripped-back sonic approach from the Goldsmith brothers, which I’m not entirely sure I like overly much.
But Taylor Goldsmith’s excellent (deceptively brutal) lyric writing and ear for a good melody are still present, so that’s all to the good!