michaeljarmer

#655: C is for Costello, Elvis (79/98/18)

79: Armed Forces My first Elvis Costelloand the Attractions album, Armed Forces ruled my 16 year-old world, so much so, that I can still sing alongword for word to every songon this album, except for thewords I couldn’t understand, because there were no lyricsin the liner notes, and becausesometimes, Elvis Costello mumbles. I know IContinue reading “#655: C is for Costello, Elvis (79/98/18)”

#654: C is for Costello, Elvis (The Spanish Model)

The first Elvis album I listen to doesn’t haveElvis’s voice anywhere on it, or hardly. A testament to Costello’s cross-cultural reach, Elvishanded over 16 of the original instrumentaltracks from This Year’s Modelto 16+ different Spanish speakingsingers. As a listener, and a huge Elvis fan, and a guy who does not speak Spanish, it’s a tripContinue reading “#654: C is for Costello, Elvis (The Spanish Model)”

#653: C is for Costello, Elvis (A Prologue)

I have 25 Elvis Costello albumsin my CD collection. There is onlyone other artist more prominent in the shelves of compact discsthan Elvis, and that would beMr. Frank Zappa, at 36 albums, half of which are double CD’s. On the shelves of vinyl, I have the three Elvis studio recordsreleased since 2018, and threemore specialContinue reading “#653: C is for Costello, Elvis (A Prologue)”

#652: C is for Corea, Chick

I don’t know how this record got into the collection. I don’t think I’ve ever listened to it before. When I pulled it out, at first, even though I was familiar withthis famous name, I couldn’t evenbe sure what instrument ChickCorea played. Was he a horn guy? I say to myself as I place theContinue reading “#652: C is for Corea, Chick”

#651: C is for Cooper, Alice

I Shock rocker Alice Coopereach tour would devise someway to execute himself at the end of the show. One tour, he hung himself, in anotherhe chopped his head offwith a guillotine, and the timeI saw him on the From The Inside tour, he put himselfin an electric chair. A rockstar with 9 lives, by theContinue reading “#651: C is for Cooper, Alice”

#650: C is for The Claypool-Lennon Delirium

If you had asked me,during the 90’s what the likelihood would be of a collaboration between Les Claypoolof Primus and Sean Lennon, the famous offspring of a Beatle, I might have saidthere is zero chance of that. I would be wrong, of course. The resultingalbums, as one would expect, are pretty weird. Unconventional, silly, psychedelic,Continue reading “#650: C is for The Claypool-Lennon Delirium”

#649: The First Record I Listen To In 2026 Is a New Old Record and Out of Alphabetical Order

I didn’t listen to a single record on the first two daysof 2026, but in the car yesterday, driving across town to have breakfast with a dear friend, I listened to a downloaded album of Nine Horses, a studio project put togetherby two brothers with different surnames, DavidSylvian and Steve Jansen, who, more than fortyContinue reading “#649: The First Record I Listen To In 2026 Is a New Old Record and Out of Alphabetical Order”

#648: C is for Class M Planets

This is the secondmoment moving throughthe collection, landingon a record made by people I know. And again, my mainconnection here is a bass player, one David Gilde, also knownas Grilch. We met in the early 90’s and he played in my bandfor a few years a couple of differenttimes and has madeguest appearanceson our recordingsContinue reading “#648: C is for Class M Planets”

#647: C is for Clairo

Sssh. Be quiet. I’m listeningto Clairo. Streamedthe last recordso many times,when this onecame out, Charm,I could notresist. Everythingin my bonestells me I should not like her, but I like hermore than gummyworms, the good kind, more than those dark chocolatepeanut buttercups you getat Trader Joe’s. I mean, she’s like candy, but miraculously, candy that’s goodforContinue reading “#647: C is for Clairo”

#646: C is for Claire, Kathryn

In this endeavor of listeningto every single album in my collectionin alphabetical order by artist’s name, this is my first encounter with a recordmade by someone I know. I would not have this record, and I would not have met Kathryn, had it not been for the musicianwho plays bass on this album, my friendContinue reading “#646: C is for Claire, Kathryn”