In yesterday’s post, I discussed jam-packed albums — those great records that are good from beginning to end. After I posted some of my favorites in that category, I asked some of my co-workers to nominate their favorite jam-packed albums. So today, I’m posting two of those responses — from photographer Dave Middlecamp and reporter Nick Wilson.
DAVE MIDDLECAMP:
This is what really separated the super stars from the hit and miss artists, if you could come up with a great album with flow that was worth getting up and flipping over. Usually a band had to make a manager, record company or weak song writer(s) happy and the album got watered down. Few artists had the power or vision to see a project all the way through.
Abbey Road/Beatles - hits on one side and an opera on the other. The fab four at their song writing peak.
Hotel California/Eagles – the album as a concept the decadent corruption of modern life and great songs. One song title, Life in the fast lane, became an urban catch phrase.
I’m the Man/Joe Jackson – captured the angry hipster with an edge of humor and you could dance to every tune.
Dark side of the Moon/Pink Floyd – this is the psychedelic milestone, songs flow seamlessly great writing and guitar (Start the album when the lion roars for the third time while screening the Wizard of Oz.)
Damn the Torpedos/Tom Petty – This is the first album where he put it all together, Mike Campbell the guitarist contributed the music to Refugee and he he said the hair stood up on the back of his neck when he heard what Petty had written for the words. What a killer band Petty had to bring the songs to life.
Dire Straits/Dire Straits – Mark Knopfler emerged from nowhere with a fully formed sound and mature songs, Sultans of Swing, Down to the Waterline, I’m sure others prefer his best seller album Brothers in Arms but the first album is my favorite.
NICK WILSON:
Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde/Bob Dylan
This is when Dylan was at his best and doing some amazing things with his guitar. His voice was still fresh and nasally and interesting and he wrote some darn good lyrics during this period, too. I wish time could be frozen and that talent and ability he had when he made those albums could have been preserved. You have to give Dylan credit for evolving because he was a folk singer before rocking it out. Leopard-skin Pill-box Hat is a tremendously great song on Highway 61 Revisited with some all-out, screechy guitar that will take you to the moon and back.
Sam Cooke/ Greatest Hits Don’t know if we’re allowed to use a Greatest Hits album (EDITOR’S NOTE: Technically, no — but we’ll let it slide.) , but this one you can sing along to from beginning to end and feel better about life as you go. Cooke was a true singing talent with funny lyrics too (i.e. “Don’t know much about biology….”
Galore/The Cure The Cure made a compilation of their singles and this album killed it. It has Friday I’m in Love, Just Like Heaven, and one of the best songs of all time, Close to Me. These guys include passion, humor, and pain in their songs – which are more complex in mood than most rock bands. And it’s fun to hear the strong British accent come out in their lead singer’s cries.
Posted on July 3rd, 2009 by Pat
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Music critics like to pick on the 70’s. They razz on disco, make fun of the crazy hair and excessive arena rock performances. But you know what? There was some really great music in that decade — including some remarkable disco tunes.
The thing that annoys me about today’s music is how little artists respect the notion of the album. In fact, putting out a great album is no longer important. Rather, artists put out one or two decents songs and hope you’ll buy the entire album, which is usually crummy. (And yet the industry continues to whine about plummeting CD sales.)
The full-bodied album began to disappear in the 80’s, though there were a few leftovers. Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” was clearly one of those. You could pop your “Thriller” cassette into your boom box and not have to worry about ever fast forwarding. Just sit back and listen.
That says a lot because even some of the best albums ever made have a few hiccups. I love Stevie Wonder’s “Songs in the Key of Life” — it’s clearly in my top ten albums of all time — but even it has it’s clunker, a chaotic/annoying instrumental track, “Contusion.”
Likewise, Billy Joel’s “The Stranger” is a work of art. With songs like “Only the Good Die Young,” “Just the Way You Are” and “She’s Always a Woman,” this album is better than most artists’s greatest hits records. But then it ends (thankfully, it wasn’t in the middle) with the cheesy “Everybody Has a Dream.”
Yuk.
More recently, Wilco’s album “Sky Blue Sky” set itself far apart from much of the drivel that was released in 2007. Somehow it managed to have both duelling guitar solos and a mellow vibe. But the jerky song “Shake It Off” makes the CD stumble halfway through.
Heck, even the Beatles weren’t perfect. Remember “Doctor Robert,” from “Revolver”? It doesn’t even compete with the rest of the record.
So while it’s rare to find an album packed with great songs, it’s even more rare to find an album that’s good from start to finish. But here are a few that come to mind:
“Rumours,” Fleetwood Mac. Not only is it loaded with great songs, but you have three lead singers/songwriters, offering nice variety. At the same time, it all fits together thanks to the Mac sound.
“Parachutes,” Coldplay. While it’s rare to see a jam-packed album in modern times, Coldplay nailed it with this collection of lazy mellow rockers. Perfect for a long, warm bath.
“Let It Bleed,” The Rolling Stones. Only two songs from this — “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” and “Gimme Shelter” — are considered their greatest hits. But the lesser tracks, like “The Monkey Man” and the title track, are greatest hits worthy.
“On and On,” Jack Johnson. Another more recent entry, this set a new standard for mellow, feel good rock that many indie artists have tried to copy. This record also showed you didn’t need a lot of fancy production to be good. And it showed that an acoustic album didn’t have to be a sleeper.
“Born To Run,” Bruce Springsteen. Three songs — “Thunder Road,” “Tenth Avenue Freeze Out” and “Born to Run” — clearly lead the way. But Springsteen worked hard to make this polishd throughout. While he had a ton of songs available, he stuck to eight because he didn’t want to compromise quality.
“Hotel California,” The Eagles. Like Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles had multiple songwriters and lead singers. So there was obviously more to choose from. Not only did this album have lots of songs, but it had lots of really good ones.
“Abbey Road,” The Beatles. Even if you discount the great 16-minute medley, this is just a terrific album. If only every artist would aspire to create something half this good.
You have any suggestions for jam-packec albums? Drop me a line in the comment section. Meanwhile, I’ll solicit some other input here.
Posted on July 2nd, 2009 by Pat
Filed under: Music | 2 Comments »
Apparently, all Michael Jackson had to do to solve his financial problems was die.
According to Billboard, sales of Jackson’s albums have skyrocketed after his death. While this won’t show up on the top ten list next week (Billboard doesn’t include older albums on its main, Billboard 200 list), MJ is back on top this week.
In fact, last week, according to Billboard, Jackson sold 415,000 solo albums. The week before he sold just 10,000.
That’s a pretty huge spike.
His “Number Ones” album sold the most (108,000) while “The Essential Michael Jackson” (102,000) and “Thriller” (101,000) followed.
While ”catalog” or older albums aren’t included in the Billboard 200 albums chart, Jackson would easily have the No. 1 slot with “Number Ones.” But if you look at the charts, the top album will be the Black Eyed Peas’s new CD, “The E.N.D.,” which sold 88,000 copies. (This is the first time a catalog album has ever outsold the top new album.)
Jackson technically has the top three selling albums this week.
Jackson, who at one point was reported to get $2 from every album sold — a significant percentage compared to other artists – could have used the money to pay down some of his debt, not to mention his $48,000 a month prescription drug habit.
Of course, maybe this was all a plot to pay off his debt. Maybe he’s not dead at all. In fact, maybe he and Elvis and yucking it up down in South America, sipping mixed drinks and singing Beatles songs together. Or maybe, just maybe –
Nah — he’s dead.
But, as they say, the music lives on.
Posted on July 1st, 2009 by Pat
Filed under: Music | 2 Comments »
I think in the old days there must have been more dog surfers. Because whenever I see a book with historic surf photos, there’s always a guy with a dog at the end of his board.
Maybe back then people didn’t necessarilly walk their dogs. Rather, they merely rode with them. Which probably cut down on squirrel chasing.
Come to think of it, I wish more dogs surfed. But then again there’s hope — as long as there are surfing dog contests. On July 11, the newest surf dog contest - the SurfinPaws Dog Jam – takes place in Huntington Beach. Then in September, the original surfing dog contest — the Surf Dog Surf-a-Thon – will take place in San Diego.
Sadly, there is no surfing dog contest in San Luis Obispo County, partly because, well — don’t just don’t surf here. Maybe it’s the cold water. But so far the only dog I’ve seen his the waves here is Saint, a golden retriever who lives in San Luis Obispo.
Still, sometimes it’s just fun to look at photos of surfing dogs. Take the one here, for example, taken by Michael Goulding of the Orange County Register. Not only can this pooch ride waves — he can also stand! Now if this dog walks the nose, I’m gonna be really jealous.
To see a slide show of Goulding’s surfing dogs, check out the O.C. Beach Blog.
Posted on June 30th, 2009 by Pat
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Michael Jackson was a supserstar before he even became a teenager.
The Jackson 5, the group he fronted with his brothers, was a huge success, scoring several hit records and becoming a major marketing franchise. (You know you’re big when you have a cartoon series.) And his solo career was a success from the get-go. (”Off the Wall,” in 1979, sold 20 million.)
But if Michael Jackson was a superstar in the 70’s, the album “Thriller” made him a mega superstar, putting him in the same elite class as Elvis and the Beatles.
Interestingly, the first single released form the album was “The Girl Is Mine,” a duet with former Beatle Paul McCartney. While the “Thriller” album would be famous for its videos — which deserve much credit for catapulting MTV — there was never a video for “The Girl Is Mine.”
In fact, there were only three videos from the entire album: “Beat It,” “Billie Jean” and “Thriller.” But those videos helped jettison the album, making it the best-selling record of all-time. That album, along with those videos and Jackson’s incredible dancing, all combined to make Jackson nearly god-like to legions of worldwide fans.
Interstingly, Jackson only wrote four of the nine songs on the album (”Beat It,” “Billie Jean,” “The Girl is Mine,” with McCartney, and “Wanna Be Startin’ Something.”) But he obviously had a hand in choosing the other songs, which had the perfect mix of rock, funk and soul to appeal to wide audiences.
With seven released singles, “Thriller” had a nice 2-year run that helped elongate Jackson’s time on the top — something he had aspired to before cutting the album.
The follow-up, “Bad,” would come out nearly five years later. And while it spawned five #1 hits and sold 30 million copies, the singles just weren’t as powerful. Given that Jackson and Quincy Jones had worked on hundreds of songs for “Thriller,” you have to assume that the “Bad” songs were probably some of the rejects.
By then, Jackson’s look really began to change, and he became increasingly eccentric, something he himself mocked in the “Leave Me Alone” video.
By the time “Dangerous” came around, it was as if the music didn’t matter as much any more. His own personal life seemed to distract him. As a result, few can probably name more than a track or two from “Invincible” as the once great musical act became a carnival sideshow.
Sure, there were lots of good songs before and after “Thriller.” But Michael Jackson’s legacy will always be tied to that one record.
Posted on June 29th, 2009 by Pat
Filed under: Music | 2 Comments »
It’s always hard when a celebrity you grew up with dies.
I was sad when Walter Payton passed away, because he was so much a part of my childhood. I had his posters on my walls. I pretended to be him whenever I had a Nerf football in hand. And I drew pictures of him leaping over defensive linemen.
Same goes for Farrah Fawcett, who died yesterday. When I was a kid, Fawcett was the standard that all other women had to measure up to. If someone said another girl was cute, you might say, “But she’s no Farrah Fawcett.” Or if a girl thought she was all that, you’d say, “Who does she think she is — Farrah Fawcett?”
And, of course, that poster of her was one of the iconic images from the 70’s.
But Michael Jackson — he’s a little problematic. Because on the one hand, his music was a huge part of my adolescence. And to this day I still regularly listen to “Thriller.”
The problem is those boys.
Yeah, I know he was acquitted of molest charges. But he admitted to sleeping in the same bed with young boys. And I don’t care how much you want to believe he was maligned or unfairly targeted, that was just wrong. And weird.
And let’s not forget he settled one molest lawsuit for $20 million.
Yeah, sure, there are a lot of opportunists who might lie to cash in. And, sure, wealthy people might settle a lawsuit to avoid further costs or an ardious trial. But when you add things up, it just doesn’t feel right.
And so it’s hard to properly mourn the loss of a superstar like Jackson because you just don’t know what he did. While his death certainly is a giant loss in the entertainment world, it’s hard to sing his praises too highly, knowing he might have had a dark side.
Oddly, the recent Michael Jackson looked so different than the “Thriller” Michael Jackson, it was easy to disassociate the two. In fact, it was almost like they were two different people: Pre-molest accusations and post.
So maybe I can be a fan of the “Thriller” Michael Jackson and leave it at that.
I know — it’s flawed. But I have to mourn this part of my childhood somehow.
Posted on June 26th, 2009 by Pat
Filed under: Music | 1 Comment »
King of Pop succumbs to Cardiac Arrest
Even though I think “Thriller” was a fantastic album, Michael Jackson has always been a guilty pleasure for me. So, for instance, if I was jamming to “Beat It” in the car, I’d probably roll up the windows at a stoplight.
And I wouldn’t be caught singing it in public.
But, as news of Jackson’s apparent death hits the Internet, I’m thinking again how great those songs were. Of course, his artistic prime ended a while ago, but when you consider how early he started, his career lasted way longer than most.
That said, here are my top ten MJ songs:
10.) “Man in the Mirror.” Even after “Thriller,” he showed he had a little steam left with songs like “The Way You Make Me Feel” and “Remember the Time.” This was a nice socially conscious song recorded before all the weird/creepy stuff came out about kids in his bed.
9.) “Somebody’s Watching Me.” Yeah, yeah, I know — it’s a Rockwell song. But the key part — the chorus that sticks in your head – was sung by Jackson.
8.) “Rock With You.” Just before he really exploded into mega mega stardom, Jackson recorded “Off the Wall,” a disco-influenced soul record that contained this hit.
7.) “The Girl is Mine.” One of two nice duets with Paul McCartney, this is a playful joust with the former Beatle, merging two superstars. Later, Jackson would cheese off McCartney by buying Beatles songs and selling them for commercials.
6.) “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing).” One of the lesser known (as if there are any) songs from “Thriller,” this was a great dance tune.
5.) “I Want You Back.” Even as a kid, Jackson was a great soul artist. At 11, he overshadowed his talented siblings — and many top Motown artists — with the Jackson 5. “ABC” was another big hit for the band.
4.) “Wanna Be Startin’ Something.” This and “P.Y.T.” were the perfect dance tracks from “Thriller.” Written in 1979, you can see how why it was originally intended for “Off the Wall.”
3.) “Thriller.” Sure, I might have picked “Beat It” instead. But I had to weigh Eddie Van Halen’s guitar solo against Vincent Price’s rap. And, well, you gotta go with Vince.
2.) “Human Nature.” Just a sweet-sounding song. Originally written by Toto’s keyboardist Steve Porcaro.
1.) “Billie Jean.” Who can forget his unforgetable performance of this during the Motown 25th anniversary special special years ago. His fashion, his singing and the moonwalk made him the biggest act of the 80’s.
Posted on June 25th, 2009 by Pat
Filed under: Music | 1 Comment »
Some of my surfing friends think I talk a little too much about sharks. But I say there’s good reason to be concerned. Because, apparently, sharks are big enough to eat the Golden Gate Bridge. And they can actually snatch planes out of the air.
Okay, so maybe not. But that’s what happens in “Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus,” a new movie that promises to be as bad as it sounds. But, of course, just because it’s bad doesn’t mean it won’t be popular. (See: “Snakes on a Plane.”)
Apparently, when MTV streamed the movie on its web site, hundreds of thousands of people took advantage.
The straight-to-DVD movie stars 80’s teen pop star Deborah (Debbie) Gibson and Lorenzo Lamas. And the plot has something to do with prehistoric creatures that were previously frozen and now are no longer frozen and have a score to settle. And, as is often the case when giant mutant creatures clash, miniscule humans get caught in the CGI scuffle.
Interestingly, as this article notes, since 9/11 New York landmarks have been less frequently destroyed on film, while the Golden Gate Bridge — which has been melted, crushed and thrashed — has become the go-to landmark for movie mahem.
Posted on June 25th, 2009 by Pat
Filed under: Movies, Surf stuff | 1 Comment »
Musical Memoirs Relies on Live to Help the Employment Blues
I’ll never forget how my first job ended.
My boss at Waffle House had told me to stop messing around with the radio. And when I began to protest — to say that someone had asked me to mess around with the radio — he cut me off.
“That’s it,” he yelled. “Clock the f*** out and leave!”
Such was my introduction to the workforce.
It didn’t necessarilly get much better. In fact, I had a string of jobs — like the one picking up railroad ties in 100-degree heat – that lasted a week or less. Some I couldn’t even handle more than a day — like the job bagging groceries, where they said I had to shave before I was allowed to start working.
I had always assumed that whenever I got a Real Job, things would be different. That people didn’t treat you as poorly when you had a Career. But an early journalism job proved me wrong.
The boss fancied himself a hard-hitting journalist, who was going to motivate others by lighting a fire under their butts. Consequently, he had a reputation for making co-workers cry.
I wasn’t into that.
In fact, as my daily hatred of the place intensified, I found that I needed an outlet. I needed something that helped me emote.
So I started listening to the band Live.
When I was feeling disgusted about my job, I would crank up their song “Sh-t Towne,” which to me aptly portrayed a sense of being trapped in a place you despise. For that matter, Springsteen’s “Born to Run” — with the line, “we gotta get out while we’re young” — also resonated with me.
But Live’s “Throwing Copper” album had the raw emotion I needed. It was like primal scream therapy, except lead singer Ed Kowalczyk did all the screaming (unless, of course, there was no one around, in which case I might actually join him).
Of course, I didn’t exactly help my cause. Once, I interviewed at a business journal in Indianapolis, which ostensibly offered me a chance to get out of the job I hated.
I interviewed well, but heard nothing back. A couple of months later, the guy who interviewed me called again, saying there was another opening — this one covering the business side of big league teams.
“Would you be interested in applying?” he asked.
It wasn’t a hard question. I liked sports, hated my job.
“That sounds great,” I said.
“Good. There’s one thing, though: I have to be honest with you. Last time, we didn’t hire you because you didn’t wear a tie to the interview. So we’d really like you to consider wearing one to the interview this time.”
I was a little miffed there. Because while it was true I hadn’t worn a tie, I had been very well dressed — sport coat, nice shirt, etc. In fact, far better dressed than the sock tie-wearing dudes at the office.
“Okay,” I said, feeling a little cheap.
The day for the interview came, and things weren’t going so well. The one tie I had available had some sort of Ragu stain on it. And when I ironed the nice shirt I was going to wear, it wound up with a nasty burn mark.
Then poisoinous thoughts invaded my brain: How absurd is it, I thought, that I didn’t get a job simply because I didn’t wear a tie. I mean, really, what sort of nitwit bases a hiring decision not on one’s qualifications, but, rather, on a piece of cloth hanging from one’s neck?
And we’re not talking about a bank gig here. It wasn’t a job at a law office. We’re talking a mediocre, low-end journalist job in the Midwest.
A tie???
Seriously?
So I went to the interview without a tie. That’s right — down with The Man, I thought. Someone needs to take a stand, it it’s going to be me. Here. Now.
Today.
Again, I did very well in the interview — even better than the last time. But, oddly enough, I didn’t get a call back. So, of course, I had to call the boss.
“I was just wondering where you were on the hiring process,” I said, oblivious.
“We appreciate your coming in, but we went with someone else,” he said.
“Can you tell me why I wasn’t chosen?”
“Well, I told you beforehand to wear a tie, and you didn’t wear a tie.”
My blood boiled, and my hands started to shake.
Again with the tie!
I laid into him about how stupid I thought it was that he based important decisions on ties. And how it was a good thing I didn’t get that job because I didn’t really want to work at a place where pinheads made decisions based on ties.
It felt really good while I was saying it. But when it was over — when I had to go back to that crummy job I hated — I felt like a real jackass.
Couldn’t I have just worn a tie? What was wrong with me?
So I went back to my crummy job, began mass mailing resumes and made sure I had enough ties for future interviews.
Posted on June 24th, 2009 by Pat
Filed under: Songs in the Key of Life: My Musical Memoirs | 2 Comments »
The guy who brought us “Step Into Liquid” has returned with another surf flick.
Dana Brown, son of surf film pioneer Bruce Brown, directed “Highwater,” a documentary about the Vans Triple Crown contest on the North Shore of Oahu. While the film chronicles big wave surfing as performed by some of the best known surfers out there, it purports to be more than a contest movie (let’s hope), focusing also on the entire North Shore scene.
While the synopsis is a little vague, “Step Into Liquid” was so good, you almost have to have a little faith in Brown’s ability to make a movie that will appeal to a wider audience. Yet, living up to the standard set by “Liquid” will be difficult.
It’ll be interesting to see how Brown handled the death of Malik Joyeux, a surfer who appeared in “Step Into Liquid.” Joyeux, a well-known big-wave rider, drowned on the North Shore when Brown was filming there.
The movie premiered last month in Santa Monica, but the film’s web site doesn’t list any future screenings at this time.
Posted on June 23rd, 2009 by Pat
Filed under: Movies, Surf stuff | 2 Comments »
