Be-Bop Deluxe: Modern Music

Be-Bop Deluxe: Modern Music

1976

Harvest Records

Format I Own it on: Vinyl

Track Listing: 1.  Orphans Of Babylon 2.  Twilight Capers  3. Kiss Of Light  4. The Bird Charmer's Destiny  5.  The Gold At The End Of My Rainbow  6.  Bring Back The Spark  7. Modern Music  8.  Dancing In The Moonlight  9.  Honeymoon On Mars 10.  Lost In The Neon World  11.  Dance Of The Uncle Sam Humanoids  12. Modern Music (Reprise)  13. Forbidden Lovers 14. Down On Terminal Street  15. Make The Music Magic 





I probably should have put this one first. Like I said it was released before "Live! In the Air Age", but it was recorded after.  The band felt they were entering a whole new era with this release and wanted to commemorate the closing of the previous chapter with a live album. 

 I first heard "Modern Music" in early 2013. Like I stated earlier, someone let my wife borrow a CD of the album and as soon as I put it on, I immediately loved the opening track " Orphans Of Babylon." Such beautifully intricate guitar-work.  Even Bill Nelson's singing (which barely registered to me on the previous albums) catches me here. I love his phrasing on the "We've got no alibis' tonight..." line. The song is highly reminiscent of "Maid in Heaven" (which you might recall me raving about yesterday), but I think it's different enough to justify its existence. 

Anyway, as soon as I heard the track, I rushed to the record store and found a used vinyl copy for just a couple bucks... I don't know why "Orphans of Babylon," strikes me as a such a great lost "classic rock" track. The only possible reason for its exclusion from the FM radio pantheon is a possible lack of "muscle." Be-Bop Deluxe is more about brains than brawn, and if there's one thing that characterizes the taste of the American consumer, it's definitely not "brains"...

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

Exhibit C

Exhibit D

Exhibit E

Exhibit F

"Exhibit Q! A scale-model of the entire mall! X marks the scene of the crime! These arrows here show the exact position of the sun at the hour of the crime! Jupiter was aligned with Pluto!"

Boy, I better get back on topic...I like this "Modern Music" album. I don't think any of the other tracks quite touch the opener, but some come very close...For example, I like the light, Caribbean-rock feel of "Kiss Of Light." For some reason it reminds me of late 70's Kinks...I could easily picture this on "Misfits" or "Low Budget."  The chorus harmonies and dreamy playing on "Bring Back the Spark" makes it another highlight for me. One of those songs that I feel like I've known my entire life, but forgot about somehow...

 

Side two of the album is a side-long song-suite, a la "Abby Road." These types of suites usually come with the accusation, "Oh, they must have been running out of ideas!" but I can't see this being the case...It strikes me more as an abundance of ideas...Nine interwoven songs that convey that sleek, futuristic vibe that I was discussing yesterday...Sort of a radio transmission beamed from a zeppelin floating ominously over an art-deco space city....And besides, Side Two is where we find the care-free melody of "Forbidden Lovers," which is a stand-out track for sure! 

 A word of warning before you pick up your own copy of "Modern Music"..."Taste" is a trait that's in short supply these days and this record can come across as a little too tasteful, which might translate as "boring" to modern ears, but I can assure you things will sink in around the third listen... I can also see how songs like "The Bird Charmer's Destiny", for example,  might come across as unbearably pretentious and dull if your ears aren't attuned to prog, but rest assured, you're never too far from a "fuck yea!" moment...

That said, let's check out "Orphans of Babylon" by Be-Bop Deluxe...Enjoy.... 

 

Be-Bop Deluxe: Live! In the Air Age

Be-Bop Deluxe: Live! In the Air Age

1977

EMI Records

Format I Own it on: Vinyl

Track Listing: 1. Life In The Air Age  2. Ships In The Night  3. Piece Of Mine 4. Fair Exchange  5. Shine  6. Sister Seagull  7. Maid In Heaven  8. Mill Street Junction  9. Adventures In A Yorkshire Landscape 10. Blazing Apostles 


 Eastside Records (now Double Nickels Collective) is my favorite place on Planet Earth.  I pulled this out of their dollar bin and the owner was kindly enough to give it to me for free and said that I can just take anything I wanted out of the dollar bins at any time. He also always takes at least a dollar, sometimes five, off the price of each record I buy. Even if they never did these things I would still consider it my favorite place on Planet Earth.

Last time I went in they were even nice enough to set aside a Jam record I'd previously told them I'd been looking for for a really long time. If you're ever in the Tempe area and are looking for vinyl, no other record store even compares. 




 This is the record I'd searched high and low for. I'd already had every other record by the Jam on vinyl, but I just couldn't locate this one. For the last decade, it didn't matter which record store I went to, I'd always make a bee-line straight to "the Jam" section and inevitably be disappointed.  Anyway, Eastside is really the reason my record collection is so massive. That and when I first discovered FYE.

I can't remember if I talked about this before I not, but I'd lived next to an FYE for awhile and just never went in there. It never crossed my mind they had vinyl, but I went in one day out of sheer boredom and they had so much incredible shit in there it blew my mind! And everything was in the 2 to 3 dollar range. I basically forked over a good part of my paycheck and walked home with a couple hundred records...

From what I can tell all that great stuff must have just been sitting there forever and the right person just never went in the store. I've gone back there a million times since then and they've never restocked. Every once in awhile they'd get a new record or two in, but the selection and prices were never the same. So, essentially, I had picked over an entire record store and now they're going out of business...

I forgot why I'm talking about FYE at this point...Oh yea...The reason I have so many records boils down to FYE having a huge back-stock of old punk, obscure classic rock and new wave records for 2-3 bucks apiece and Eastside Records, where I got this Be-Bop Deluxe record...

I'm fairly new to Be-Bop Deluxe. I'd certainly heard the name, but it wasn't until early in 2013 that my wife came home with a copy of "Modern Music" (which, I'll cover tomorrow) that someone had let her borrow.  I listened to it and liked a lot of it, and when I saw this live album in the dollar bin, I thought I'd kill a Saturday afternoon checking it out. (Oh yea, the sweet album cover with a "Metropolis" screen shot didn't hurt either!)

Be-Bop Deluxe is very hard to talk about for some reason. To this day I've never really read a description that quite captures them.  There's nothing about their sound that immediately jumps out at you as startlingly original, and at the same time their influences are very hard to pin down.  I can't imagine someone falling head over heels in love with the band after hearing them for the first time, and I also can't imagine someone really disliking it either. 

They're sort of a super-slick, harder rocking take on progressive rock. But not prog in the "Medieval-Past-That-Never-Exised" sense. They have more of a retro-futuristic vibe going.  There's also a very faint whiff of glitter in their guitar detail.  This comparison would probably piss off any self-respecting Be-Bop fan, but I'm going for it...Imagine Styx possessed of great talent, taste and a hot-shit guitarist. When I say, "hot-shit guitarist" though, you're imagining "diddle diddle diddle diddle..." Get that out of your head...Bill Nelson isn't a wanky guitarist at all...He's all about long, singing, sustain-y guitar lines...Extremely composed and melodic...Although all the band member's do a fine job, it's really all about the guitar...The vocals (which are also provided by Bill) are so low-key they almost don't register. It took me a few listens to even remember what the vocals sounded like, but I could immediately spot that guitar tone a mile away...

This record was released after the band had three albums under their belt (technically this was released after "Modern Music" but was recorded before, so there are no "Modern Music" tracks included) and was released in different configurations, as far as I can tell...Some people talk about a white vinyl single album with an accompanying 7-inch ep that plays back at 33 1/3 speed to accommodate the long running time of the tracks.

The version I have is a double album on standard black vinyl. The ep tracks are on side 2 and 3 of the vinyl.  My guess is that the ep is probably there because the main album leaves off  "Sister Seagull," which is one of the band's most beloved songs. Hey! This officially makes it a "70's Live Double-Album" which is one of my favorite genres! Yay! And this is a pretty good one...It's probably one of the most polished and precise albums of that genre to be sure... Most of these are just stretched out and souped-up versions of the studio recordings, with some of the jazzier elements played up a bit ("Adventures In A Yorkshire Landscape" for example gets a jazzier reading than its album counterpart).

The grand surge of "Sister Seagull" can't help but  steal the show, but still...I'm going to have to go with the sleek future pop of "Maid In Heaven" as my personal favorite.  I'm a huge sucker for that muted "Chukka Chukka Chukka Chukka" guitar part that Bill does after the first line. It kind of reminds me of a more-guitar oriented Billy Joel track. Again, I'm sure Be-Bop Deluxe fans would chew me out for saying that. It's a good thing nobody reads this blog! 

Still, I can't deny the band clicks best for me when they pursue a more power-pop sound...At times I find myself spacing out to some of their more laid-back electric-piano-y material, but they immediately snap my attention back in place the moment they set some of Bill's orchestrated guitar lines to a tasty hook...Yum yum!

Despite repeated listenings, I still haven't really fallen in love with this album as a whole, but I do always enjoy listening to this, particularly when I'm feeling in the mood for some interesting guitar playing. It also works well for when I'm hungry for something a little more restrained than the usual Ramones and Kiss records I normally listen to...It makes me feel a bit more "sophisticated and adult"...

 
(Puts on red velvet smoking jacket and puffs a distinguished pipe that, to the audience's surprise and delight, blows bubbles...)

(Audience guffaws uproariously and applauds...Fade to black...Cut to "Sister Seagull"...)

Bad Manners: Bad Manners

Bad Manners: Bad Manners

1981

MCA Records

Format I Own it on: Vinyl

Track Listing: 1. Lorraine  2. Special Brew  3. Just A Feeling  4. King Ska-Fa  5. Suicide   6. Lip Up Fatty  7. El Pussycat  8. Here Comes The Major  9. Spy I  10. Tequila  11. Inner London Violence 12.
Fattie Fattie



I know I just did the Bad Manners a post a coupla days ago, and I should be moving forward, but I just picked this up last Friday from Revolver Records and decided to write it up now, rather than wait until next January...

There's not much information on this release online, but as far as I can determine, this is Bad Manners' American debut. It's a compilation that collects some of the best moments from the band's first two albums, probably designed to introduce us Journey-lovin' Americans to the ska boom that was all the rage in England.

 

 Needless to say it didn't work (unless perhaps the 1997 US ska-craze was a  ridiculously delayed reaction).  Journey's "Escfourpeethree" ended up a smash hit and to this day, most Americans still have no idea who Bad Manners are. Which is waaaay too bad. 

 I haven't heard every Bad Manners album by a long shot, but I'm confident in saying this would be a fine place for anyone to start...The instrumentals are kept to a minimum, as this compilation focuses  its attention to the band's pop side, which is undoubtedly what they do best. Songs like "Special Brew," "Lip Up Fatty" and "Lorraine" are  perfect pop singles, in my pop-lovin' opinion.  

 The abundance of quality ska here is astounding. It's a massive shame that the band has been  largely written out of rock history and relegated to the dreaded "novelty" bin. Just because something is fun doesn't mean that it isn't worthwhile, especially when the playing and songwriting is this consistently spectacular. Silliness should not exclude greatness.

I can tell you, from experience, that spending an evening drinking a good beer, and skanking along to "Fattie Fattie" is one of those rare things that makes you feel extra happy to be alive. The giddiness in the grooves invariably radiates into your Friday night,  giving your party that elusive holy glow. The chip dip positively glistens with possibility...

Whereas spending Friday night listening to "I'm Too Sexy" or  Crazy Frog will only make you feel ashamed the next morning...

 
That shame is what separates a fun song from a novelty track.  Fun can be experienced again and again, whereas novelty is strictly "use once and destroy"...

 So let's just pour ourselves a  pint of brew...

 ...and listen to "Special Brew" by Bad Manners...Hell, play it twice, if you like...It's durable. It'll hold up...

The Beatles: On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2

The Beatles: On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2

2013

Apple, Capitol, UM^e

Track Listing: Disc 1: 1. And Here We Are Again  2. Words of Love  3. How About It, Gorgeous?  4.
Do You Want to Know a Secret  5. Lucille  6. Hey, Paul...  7. Anna (Go to Him)  8. Hello!  9.
Please Please Me  10. Misery  11. I'm Talking About You  12. A Real Treat  13. Boys  14.
Absolutely Fab  15.  Chains  16. Ask Me Why  17. Till There Was You  18. Lend Me Your Comb  19. Lower 5E  20. Hippy Hippy Shake  21.Roll Over Beethoven  22. There's a Place  23. Bumper Bundle  24. P.S. I Love You    25. Please Mister Postman   26. Beautiful Dreamer  27. Devil in Her Heart  28. The 49 Weeks  29. Sure to Fall (in Love with You)  30. Never Mind, Eh?  31. Twist and Shout  32. Bye, Bye   33. John – Pop Profile (Bonus interview track)  34. George – Pop Profile (Bonus interview track)

Disc 2:  1. I Saw Her Standing There  2. Glad All Over  3. Lift Lid Again  4. I'll Get You   5. She Loves You  6. Memphis, Tennessee  7. Happy Birthday Dear Saturday Club  8. Now Hush, Hush  9. From Me to You  10. Money (That's What I Want)  11. I Want to Hold Your Hand  12. Brian Bathtubes  13. This Boy  14. If I Wasn't in America  15. I Got a Woman  16. Long Tall Sally   17. If I Fell  18. A Hard Job Writing Them  19. And I Love Her  20. Oh, Can't We? Yes We Can  21. You Can't Do That   22.  Honey Don't  23. I'll Follow the Sun  24. Green with Black Shutters  25. Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!  26. That's What We're Here For  27. I Feel Fine  28. Paul – Pop Profile (Bonus interview track)  29. Ringo – Pop Profile (Bonus interview track)





This is the 2013 sequel to the 1994's "The Beatles Live at the BBC" album.


















It consists of live performances and interviews the band did with the British Broadcasting Corporation during the early part of their career ('63-64). There's quite a bit of overlap in the song selection, so a lot of people may see that as a drawback but these are different performances than were featured on the first volume. Still, it gives the impression this is less essential than Volume 1 since there's only 2 songs that have never been recorded by the Beatles this time around...

Being more of a "Rubber-Soul-on-up" Beatles fan, I was somewhat afraid I would have a rough time making it through the album...Two discs...63 tracks...Over two hours of early 60's Beatles. Turns out it wasn't hard at all...

While I listened to this I found myself pretending that I was around in '64 and listening to these for the first time...It feels so right...The interviews interspersed with the performances really compete the illusion and are actually the reason this is so entertaining. The Beatles were fantastic at interviews...To this day I don't think any other band has ever aced interviews the way the Beatles did. And this was the time period where music interviews were based around the questions, "Why is your hair so long? "Why do you play so loud?" But to be fair, the interviews contained on this release are of better-than average quality for the time, and the long-form pop profile interviews are informative and nicely done.

The big draw, much like the last installment of this series, was the chance to hear clear Beatles live performances, stripped of the white-noise/incessant audience screaming that marred live recording of the time.

 "LOOK! THERE'S THE BAND I SO DESPERATELY WANTED TO HEAR! SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

When I go to concerts the only screaming I usually do is when I get an eyeful of the beer prices...

"TWELVE DOLLARS?!?!?! SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

I do enjoy the extra tinge of energy these live recordings generate too. Even the cover songs, which were always a major sticking point for me, are much easier to take in this context. Hell, I actually enjoy the shit outta them.  In particular, I love their spiky version of Chuck Berry's "Memphis, Tennessee."  They did this song on the first volume too, if I remember correctly, but it had been so long since I last heard that one that I had forgotten how much I liked it.  Listening to the two back to back, I like this version better. It seems a little more lively...But yea, when you find me grooving out to  songs like "Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!" you know something's up...

Holy cow, it just struck me that I've been writing this post for 4 days straight and the track listing is still longer than the post itself...I guess I just don't have much to say on this, other than count me in for Volume 3!
 
Here's my recent interview with the BBC:

BBC: Jamin, why is your hair so long?

Jamin: It's not, me head's just short! (Ha ha ha ha)

BBC: Why is your music so darn loud?

Jamin:  Can't help it. I turn up the knob on me stereo and the music just comes out that way! (Ha ha ha ha)

BBC: What's the first thing you notice in a girl?

Jamin: That look of disgust! (Ha ha ha ha)



Alright, enough horsin' around, here's "If I Fell" by the Beatles...

Bad Manners: Loonee Tunes!

Bad Manners: Loonee Tunes!

1980

Magnet Records

Format I Own it on: Vinyl

Track Listing: 1. Echo 4-2  2. Just a Feeling  3. El Pussycat  4. Doris  5. Spy-I  6. Tequila  7. Lorraine  8. Echo Gone Wrong  9. Suicide  10. The Undersea Adventures of Ivor The Engine  11. Back in '60  12. Just Pretendin'


Bad Manners are awesome! There's no way on planet Earth you can feel even the slightest bit bummed out while listening to these guys. I swear to you, put this on when you're feeling that ol' existential angst and you'll be too busy skanking to think about the fact that ultimately, life is just a long, slow, lonely walk to the grave! (skank. skank).

The music is British second-wave ska, but it doesn't have the punk grit of a lot of their contemporaries, like the Specials...This is more pop-oriented and the songs are light, fluffy confections. I'd say the closest point of reference is early Madness, but played even more for laughs.  But it certainly shares Madness' same good-time, carnivalesque  atmosphere and Prince Buster inspired instrumentals but Bad Manners does make the sound their own. Mostly due to their distinctly original frontman, Buster Bloodvessel (aka Fatty), who was just a big, fleshy mountain of a man...

...who invented the whole Miley Cyrus stick-your-tongue-out-all-the-time thing back when she was just a distant longing in Billy Ray's line-dancing bluejeans...

Hey, is it just me or have I been talking about Miley Cyrus an awful lot lately on this blog...Doth I protest too much? Am I really a closeted Miley fan?!?! Hmmm, let's explore this further...

Nope, it's pretty much the worst thing I've heard in my entire life. I can't believe people willingly subject themselves to this shit...There's a whole colorful world of wonderful music out there, and it drives me nuts sometimes that people will just go for the most mindless shit that is dangled in front of them. "But I like it cos it's fun!" Where does this idea that a song has be utterly retarded to be fun come from?  Screw 'em. If they're not adventurous enough to search out the good things out there, then they deserve the shit they get...Besides you and I know better, right?  Wait! This is starting to sound like anger or at minimum some sort of mild outrage! I'd better listen to some Bad Manners and get happy again!

(throws "Lorraine" back on the turntable)

Ahhh...That's better. Y'know there's a good reason there's a big sticker plastered on the front cover proclaiming, "Lorraine's on 'Ere."  "Lorraine" is not only the best song on the album, it's also one of the best songs of the whole second wave English ska movement.  The music is so bouncy,  Buster's voice is so likeable, and the lyrics are a hoot. I swear you'll hear this once and you'll find yourself singing,  "And when I find her, I'm gonna kill her, Lorraine, Lorraine, Lorraine..." for the rest of your life.

But it's not the only good song here.  They just as easily could have advertised "Just a Feeling" on the cover, which pulls off the neat trick of sounding simultaneously moody and happy. And they turn dub reggae into catchy pop on "Echo Gone Wrong," which is no easy feat either.  Plus it works as a nice chill-out track for your own Friday Night Record Party.

I'm recommending this is if you're into late 70's-early 80's two-tone, but a small caveat to those who aren't fans of "near-instrumentals" since a good chunk of the album consists of wacky instrumentals with funny phrases, sound effects or nutty chattering laid over the top, but most ska fans are into that type of thing, and besides, there's at least half an album's worth of the finest, skanking-est  pop out there...

Watch this performance of "Lorraine" and tell me you're not in love...I dare ya! 

Automobile Honeymoon: An American Heritage Album

Automobile Honeymoon: An American Heritage Album

1977

American Heritage Records (I guess...Doesn't really say...)

Format I Own it on: Vinyl

Track Listing: 1. On an Automobile Honeymoon  2. The Little Ford Rambled Right Along  3. Tumble in a Rumble Seat  4. Henry's Made a Lady Out of Lizzie  5. Ray and His Little Chevrolet  6. Git a Horse  7. I'm Wild About Horns on Automobiles that Go "Ta-Ta-Ta"  8. He'd Have to Get Under-Get Out and Get Under  9. Take Me Out For a Joy Ride  10. Keep Away from the Fellow Who Owns an Automobile  11. When He Wanted to Love Her (He Would Put Up the Cover)  12. In My Merry Oldsmobile



Presumably, this album was issued through American Heritage magazine, who often covers this exact sort of old-timey Americana stuff...

"Automobile Honeymoon" is a collection of turn-of-the-century automobile songs that likely elicited a chortle or two out of fancy gentlemen with top hats and monocles back in the early 1900's...

 I was hoping for some more megaphone action, but it turns out these aren't original recordings...The songs were re-recorded in the late 70's...Some of these tunes are so old there might not even be original versions...They were probably sold as sheet music or something for Uncle Pantybloom to play on the tack piano at the public house...

...but this works just fine, since they use period-appropriate instruments and styles...For example, "I'm Wild About Horns on Automobiles that Go "Ta-Ta-Ta"" isn't turned into a hip-shaking disco  track or anything, so even with the crystal-clear recording quality it seems authentic enough...

The common theme among many of the songs is the idea that guys are only using their cars to get girls in compromising positions...So kids, when your parents go on and on about how songs nowadays only talk about sex, sex, sex and it wasn't like that back in their day, you can point them to "When He Wanted to Love Her (He Would Put Up the Cover)." But be warned, they might fire back with, "Oh yea? Well you didn't see Al Jolson riding a wrecking ball naked!"  At that point, you've encountered a dangerous cultural worm hole and it's best to exit the premises immediately...

 Oh yea, you're probably wondering why this album is in the collection...The answer is pretty simple...

Jens and I were watching the Ken Burns documentary "Horatio's Drive: America's First Road Trip" and in the film they kept playing "He'd Have to Get Under-Get Out and Get Under," which was on everyone's ipod a hundred years ago... The song has a way of burrowing deep into your head and it's very difficult to get out once it's in there...Sort of like the 1913 version of "Axel F."




So I think it was the combination of the Ken Burns documentary and a long-time fascination with the  "Monsters of Megaphone" sketch from Mr. Show, that made the record a mandatory purchase when we found it at the "Double Nickels Collective"...

Well, it's about time to give the ol' Victrola a couple of cranks...

...and listen to "He'd Have to Get Under-Get Out and Get Under,"...Enjoy...

Apples in Stereo: Her Wallpaper Reverie

Apples in Stereo: Her Wallpaper Reverie

1999

SpinART/Elephant 6 Records

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1.  i. Her Room Is A Rainy Garden (Wallpaper Reverie Theme)  2. ii. Morning Breaks (And Roosters Complain)  3. The Shiney Sea  4. iii. The Significance Of A Floral Print  5. Strawberryfire  6. iv. From Outside, In Floats A Music Box  7. Ruby  8. v. She Looks Through Empty Windows  9. Questions and Answers  10. vi. Drifting Patterns  11. Y2K  12. vii. Les Amants  12. Benefits of Lying (With Your Friend)  13. Ruby, Tell Me  14. viii. Together They Dream Into The Evening




Welcome to the 2014 Friday Night Record Party Wallpaper Catalog,

 (cracks a couple of your proximal phalanges with my especially dominant handshake) 

This year we have a tantalizing selection of wallpaper samples for your entire family to enjoy. Select the wallpaper that perfectly expresses your complex and unique personality from our 5 selections...

 Catalog No. 00006969696969

Royal Eyepunch

This evergreen favorite was designed by our top designer, Hans HanHanne, who was inspired by a spirited conversation with his wife, wherein he suggested she had inherited her mother's "fat-ass and legs." Hans' wife clobbered him on the noggin with a cast-iron sautee pan, which resulted in a dazzling endoptic light-show that inspired HanHanne's most beloved design...

 

 Catalog No. 000000000OU812  

August Brick

Why not throw away those old, outdated bricks holding your house up and replace them with this sturdy, stylish representation of bricks , pain-stakingly hand painted by renowned brick-painter Brock Brickman?

Catalog No. 00000000005150

Fake Vomit

Amazingly realistic PUKE! Looks like someone was SICK, SICK, SICK! Almost turns your stomach to use as a joke, it's so realistic. Made out of durable, high-impact plastic. Place by baby, dog, dinner table, midnight mass, loved-one's funeral, to pretend you've been sick. Revolting.

Fake Vomit.........99 cents

Catalog No. 00000000001994

Magic Eye

Relive the 3D image craze of the 1990's!  Hold the wallpaper sample up to your nose, then very slowly pull away, letting your eye relax...You will feel a very sharp pain in your right temple followed by a sickening twinge of nausea.  At this point the fun-lovin' image of a puppy should appear. If the image does not appear, please consult a physician immediately. 

 Catalog No: 00000000001972

Something/Anything? 

Hello, it's me. I've thought about us for a long, long time. Maybe I think too much, but something's wrong. There's something here doesn't last too long. Maybe I shouldn't think of you as mine...


Thank you for reading our catalog. We hope your family will find comfort in our wide variety of heart-warming wallpapers for many years to come...

- Slick Snailman, CEO and Vice-Janitor for Cashco Wallpaper Chemical Corp. LLC, Inc

 ..................................................................................................................................................

 I'd like to thank everyone for coming over to the blog today to read the promotional literature...

Anyway, "Her Wallpaper Reverie" is a 1999 release by Apples in Stereo. I almost bought this when it was first released but the track listing looked a little suspicious to me...What was up with all the roman numerals? Well, I went home and did some research and found out it was a 27 minute mini-album and all the roman numeral songs were just brief, instrumental interludes (except for "Drifting Patterns" which is a long version of these...). It's usually someone playing some toy-sounding instrument...

 So when all is said and done you get roughly 20 minutes (and about 7 songs) of the Apple's sweet,  sunshiney, psychedelic pop...

But everywhere I looked it was priced like a regular CD...No way I'm paying $14.99 for an ep, so I stayed patient and earlier this year I found a used copy for basically free at FYE...

The location I frequent is going out of business at the end of this month, and everything is reduced 50-70% percent...I mean, I wish the place wasn't going under, but at the same time I'm having a blast picking them over...

So I finally got to hear the elusive "Her Wallpaper Reverie" and boy, am I happy...The seven proper full-band rock songs are all great...This isn't psychedelia in the 13th Floor Elevators/Hawkwind sense.These aren't interstellar spacemen with LSD-blasted third eyes...No, these are the gentle, poppy psychedelic songs in the vein of late 60's, early 70's Saturday Morning TV shows...

 More Banana Splits than Syd Barrett...But not so "phony" sounding if you know what I mean...I think it's what the Banana Splits was probably aiming for, but didn't quite have the artistry to pull off....I guess what I'm trying to get at is soothing songs like "The Shiney Sea" and the Sgt Pepper flavored "Strawberryfire" just make you feel good...And "Ruby" is indie-pop heaven...Hits me right in the part of the brain that longs for well-constructed, sugary melodies...

I love visiting, this bright, friendly wonderland of effortless hooks and ornate harmonies. I wish I had heard it sooner, since I think it holds its own against early classics like Tone Soul Evolution.  If you run across a reasonably priced copy, go for it, especially if you're one of those people, like me, who wish that the Beatles had squeezed out a couple more albums in the "Magical Mystery Tour" mold...

Here's "The Shiney Sea" by the Apples in Stereo...