Month: May 2015

Know How

Young M.C. – Know How

It was hard to get back into the groove of the work week after a long weekend (I started early, taking Friday off too), so I thought I’d try to help myself out by bringing along a tape for the commute. That’s right, Young M.C., Stone Cold Rhymin’. Go ahead. I can feel you smirking at me through the screen. It’s ok, I’m not above admitting I have this tape in my collection.

Honestly, it’s a classic. Who doesn’t know “Bust a Move“? Jimmy Fallon and Queen Latifah just did a version of it on his show about a week ago. Or “Principal’s Office“. Did you know Flea played bass on those two tracks? I was wondering if you could still detach the little Delicious Vinyl order form that’s part of the cassette insert and order a t-shirt but it looks like you can order it online and it’s actually cheaper now than it was 26 years ago.

I bought this tape while working at the record store the fall after graduating from college. Even with the employee discount, I didn’t shell out the big bucks for a CD unless I felt certain that the album would be one I’d play over and over, forever and ever, amen. If I bought the tape it meant I liked it enough to want to hear it on demand, but probably mostly in the car or for the Walkman.

It’s strange the way the format pecking order has shifted over time. The record store I mentioned opened selling only tapes and CDs. Vinyl was on the way out. Now vinyl is commanding top dollar and CDs are on the way out. Cassettes are rarely produced anymore and usually only as a novelty item. MP3s have replaced them as the cheaper, easier, more portable option – if you’re going in for ownership at all.

I like the ability to listen to music online and I’m paying for a monthly streaming service, but my preference to really dive in to some music means I am always going to want to buy some physical format for the albums I like the most. I want the liner notes, the artwork, the whole package. You know what I’m saying?

Alone at the Show

Girlpool – Alone at the Show

Last night I was alone at the show, as I frequently am. I went to see Waxahatchee with Girlpool opening up. I had heard some buzz about Girlpool but other than the fact that the band is two teenagers, I didn’t really have any idea what to expect.

The venue was some sort of former movie theater/small town playhouse. It was extremely quiet, with everyone sitting in their seats and the stage, a wide expanse of black, was nearly empty. They joked, “Welcome to the talent show!” and seemed completely at ease. Just two young women with a guitar and a bass and eyes firmly shut while they belted it out into the darkness.

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The songs have a simplicity that’s not surprising given their ages and stripped down sound. As I sat listening to their lyrics and between song banter, with the audience and each other, they began to remind me of something. Ernie Pook’s Comeek.

That’s not another band but the Lynda Barry comic strip that used to run in the City Paper in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. They have a similar combination of innocence and insight beyond their years. Humor and sadness. Awkward yet confident. They felt like the kind of band Marlys would love. Girlpool, girl power. Like the lyrics from one of their songs, “If you are a Jane put your fist up too.” Right on! Even Super Right On!

If you’re not familiar with Ernie Pook and Lynda Barry, man, you are missing out. And if you get the chance to see Girlpool, you should do it.

Opportunity

The Charlatans (UK) – Opportunity

I forget what took us to one of those dollar store places a week or so ago but while the kids were looking around for whatever it was, I found myself looking at the cheap phone chargers and other iPod accessories. I decided to pick up a different fm transmitter adapter thingy, not Bluetooth, just plugs into your headphone jack. My daughter warned me that it would break, and soon, the way cheap plastic crap always does. It’s true, I don’t expect it to last long, on the other hand, if I can use my iPod in the car for a couple of months, the $5 will probably be worth it.

It works with my iPod decently. I hung the cord around the hands-free holder where I put my phone, both the iPod and the transmitter dangling down near the radio for the best results. Then it dawned on me that this might work with my old Walkman. I needed to find some working AA batteries first and hanging it off the phone holder wasn’t an option but I set in the passenger seat and fired it up.

And that’s how we have a new installment of Tape Deck Tuesday. Today’s tape was The Charlatans Some Friendly. I’m still not confident about putting my better tapes through the ringer here so I took one I wasn’t especially worried about losing if something went wrong. I kind of think I have this on CD too, though maybe that’s their second album I’m thinking of. I know I have the tape and CD for one of their early releases because I found the tape super cheap at the Goodwill or someplace like that.

This album makes me think of commuting on the Metro in DC back in the early 90s. When I first arrived there I was staying with my uncle in Georgetown and I would get off at Dupont Circle and go into Olsson’s or Kramerbooks to check out the latest NME and Melody Maker before making my way over to his house. Later I had a sublet up in Adams Morgan so I had every excuse to saunter slowly up Connecticut Avenue stopping into stores to get a blast of air conditioning. When I found a place up in Mt. Pleasant, if I was taking the Metro home from work by myself, I still kept my habit of walking up from Dupont Circle, through Adams Morgan and up to the house I shared with three other people. I always wished I lived in those cooler (and more expensive) neighborhoods but walking through them at least kept me from feeling like I was totally out of it.

There were lots of things I loved about living in DC but in the end there were slightly more things I hated about living there or I wouldn’t have left. I mostly think about the good parts and skim over the bad, now that 21 years have passed since I moved away. It’s all the cool shops, museums, and great bands at clubs I loved, that have stuck with me. I’m sure it’s best that way.