Tag Archives: vinyl collection

#623: B is for Black Midi

I heard Black Midithe first time in the video for “John L,” a.k.a.“John 50,” which must have been the first single from the 2021 Cavalcade album, the band’s sophomoreeffort. Visually insane, a group of dancers in nude-beige body suits, in clown-like white face, wearing wigs, cavortingand contorting wildly around some obelisk figure with armsand a single eyeball. Musically, it was like a marriage between King Crimson and Primus, but weirder, noisier, aContinue reading “#623: B is for Black Midi”

#621: B is for Björk

Who needs verses and choruses? Bridges, too. Who needs ’em?Recognizable melodies? Passé. Björk, as much as I love her, as much as I find herabsolutely irresistible as a creative force of singular visionand equally singular persona, gets weirder and weirder witheach new album. Fossora, an album consisting instrumentallyof woodwinds, horns, drum machines,some synthesizers, voice choirs,andContinue reading “#621: B is for Björk”

#620: B is for Bird, Andrew

I He’s a whistler. He does the whistlingfor Walter, the muppet, in one of the Muppet movies.More than a decadeago (maybe two!) an intern of mine turned me on to Bird.Back in the oughts of this 21st century, I usedto purchase records for download, before streamingwas a thing. For a shorttime I subscribed to aContinue reading “#620: B is for Bird, Andrew”

#619: B is for The Bird And The Bee

If I said Inara George and Greg Kurstin to you, I liketo think you’d follow upwith, say no more, say no more. It’s more likely that you would not say that, but not totallyout of the realm of possibility.Simply put, the pop duo makes infectious synth popmasterpieces; she’s a great singer, and he’s a geniuskeyboardContinue reading “#619: B is for The Bird And The Bee”

#618: B is for Big Country

I totally sidestepped these guysas a teenage new wave rocker. Decades later, for $3.00, I thoughtI should probably look into, beyond that one eponymouslytitled hit single, what I wasmissing. Not much, it turns out. But that one tune, you know, “In a big country, dreams stay with you like a lover’s voice fires the mountainside”Continue reading “#618: B is for Big Country”

#617: B is for Beyoncé

I One of the most unlikelymusical surprises of the last few yearsis the extent to whichI grew to love Beyoncé. Heretofore, completely outof my wheelhouse (at least I suspected), I’m tryingto remember the first experience that won me. I think it happened whenI watched the album-lengthfilm of Lemonade. The sheeraudacity of that projectintrigued me, theContinue reading “#617: B is for Beyoncé”

#615: B is for Belle and Sebastian

I I had never consideredthe origin of the band’s name. I googled that. Now I know it comes from a French children’s book about a boy and his dog. I wonder if Belle is the dogor Sebastian is the dog, and the reason for my hesitationis the surprising placementof the names in the title. Wouldn’tContinue reading “#615: B is for Belle and Sebastian”

#614: B is for Belew, Adrian

I’m a lone rhinoceros. There ain’t one hell of a lots of usleft in this world –Adrian Belew I hadn’t listened to this album in years, but as soon as I knew it was coming up, this lyric about the lone rhinoceros cameinto my head, unforgettable, pithy, clever. I just looked up “momur” on wiki-whatever.Continue reading “#614: B is for Belew, Adrian”

#613: B is for the B-52s

One of the greatestnerd-rock bands ever, The B-52s arrived in 1979with this gem of a debut.They were not accomplished musicians, but these spirited performances completely overshadowed what they may have lacked in precision, or what the serious musicians might have called “chops.”I might have been one of those dismissive listeners. I can imagine myself sayingContinue reading “#613: B is for the B-52s”