Bob Mould - "The War"

This war has warn me down

Broken dreams and a hole in the ground

Don't give up

And don't give in.

Another great song from Mould's latest, Beauty & Ruin. 

The album rocks, but at the same time is not without its introspective moments.

Its even a little sad at times. 

You know, like Alan Alda.

KADAVAR - "Doomsday Machine"

Here's some excellent 70's-sounding stoner rock from Germany.

Song can be found on the band's excellently-titled 2013 release, Abra Kadavar!

Buy it kids!

\M/

Future Games

Fleetwood Mac - "Future Games" (1971) - Reprise

Hello Friends,

What a weird fucking band Fleetwood Mac is!

Starting out a blues-based rock band that sounded like a slightly more psychedelic version of the Yardbirds and winding up as one of the biggest, most radio-friendly soft rock juggernauts of all time, there's still stuff we're discovering by the band that we've never heard before and it knocks our socks off!

First off, let's take a look at the band line-up circa 1971.  Mainstays John McVie & Mick Fleetwood are present and accounted for.  Founding member Peter Green is long gone--physically and mentally at this point-- as is his "replacement", Jeremy Spencer.  Taking up the lead guitar and frontman duties is "long time" member, Danny Kirwan.

Future Games would be the first Mac LP to feature Christine McVie as a full-fledged member (although she does appear on 1970's remarkable, Kiln House) as well as guitarist-songwriter, Bob Welch, who would take over frontman duties on the next four records as well!


McVie would write and sing two songs on the record: "Morning Rain"-- a song that screams early 70's FM Radio-- and the LP's closer, "Show Me A Smile"-- a pretty & sweet sounding denouement that sounds a lot like early Wings.

The album's lone instrumental, the bluesy "What A Shame" is credited to all five members.

Bob Welch would write the album's AMAZING Floydian title track/epic, as well as Side Two's rocker, "Lay It All Down."

Fucking-A, right?

Kirwan contributes the trippy seafaring-themed, "Woman of 1000 Years", and the pensively-melodic, "Sands of Time", as well as the Burritos-sounding, "Sometimes".  

Fleetwood Mac now had three songwriters with distinctive voices who could all write catchy hooks and killer melodies and who helped usher in the "middle" era of Fleetwood Mac's convoluted career.  An era where song composition became paramount, harmonies became more important than guitar solos and moods got mellowed.  If the Peter Green-era was like The Yardbirds-on-Acid and the Buckingham-Nicks-era was fueled by massive amounts of cocaine, this period of the band was their pot-smoking phase: mellow, warm, hazy and never in a rush!

Smoke 'em if you got 'em kids! 

RATING: 4 real rhymes or reasons for those future games out of 5 

Bob Mould - "I Don't Know You Anymore"

This is one of our favorite tracks of 2014!  From the album, "Beauty & Ruin".

Bob Mould, still rocking our faces after all these years!

"Hot off the presses, new single!"

Nots - "Decadence"

Hello Friends,

Hot chicks from Memphis playing screeching punk rock, what's not to love?

You can buy their stuff (or stalk them) at http://www.goner-records.com/Nots.php.

Tall socks!

The Flying Club Cup

Beirut - "The Flying Club Cup" (2007) - Ba Da Bing! Records

Hello Friends,

Happy New Year to y'all!  We're listening to this record while enjoying our Sunday Brunch which is probably the best way to listen to this record.  Definite White-people Brunch music.  

The songs are mostly quiet, melodic & subdued with French-sounding arrangements featuring lots of piano, ukulele, accordions, upright bass, french horns, clarinets & even a bouzouki.

Side One's closer "Cliquot" is probably the album's highlight (it features a really nice-sounding string arrangement courtesy of Final Fantasy's/Arcade Fire's Owen Pallett.)

Back in 2007, I remember reading a review for this album that described it as a cross between Neutral Milk Hotel and Gogol Bordello.  At the time this sounded like a winning combination, but I've come since to realize that while I thoroughly enjoy Neutral Milk Hotel's two unbelievable records, I don't really enjoy things that sound like them or artists who were too clearly influenced by them.  Been there, done that, I guess.  (The same holds true for any artist that is described as sounding like Elliott Smith.)  As for the Gogol Bordello reference, I don't really hear it although the reviewer was probably confusing Beirut's Balkan Chamber Pop sound and Gogol Bordello's unique brand of gypsy punk rock. One makes me want to drink tea with scones, the other makes me want to chug vodka and set fire to things!

To each his own, I guess.

RATING: 3.5 Sunday Smiles out of 5

Slade - "Merry Xmas Everybody"

Hello Friends,

Nothing puts us quite in the mood for the Holidays like some early 70's English glam rock!

"Merry Xmas Everybody" would be Slades's best selling single of all time which is fine by us, its a great song!  Plus, we're always suckers for Noddy Holder's lead vocals!

MERRY XMAS EVERYBODY!!

Hi-Fi Holidays: Around the Christmas Tree

Various Artists - "Around the Christmas Tree" (1957) - Decca

Hello Friends,

Found this one in a thrift store dustbin!  A dollar well spent!

Subtitled, "A Special Christmas Day Program" we were a little nervous at first that there would be sermons being preached between the actual songs, but we were pleasantly surprised when we gave it a spin and found out its just a fun mix of mid-50's holiday classics.

The lineup on the record is a little square, but who cares, its a nice, relaxing record to listen to on Christmas Eve after all the errands are run, the food is cooked and the presents are wrapped!

Here's a track listing for y'all:

Side One:
Columbus Boy Choir - We Wish You A Merry Christmas
Axel Stordahl - Glade Jul (which we think is "Silent Night" in Norwegian)
Dick Haymes - The First Noel
Vincent Lopez - Cantique de Noel
Four Aces - Hark The Herald Angels Sing
Owen Bradley - Medley: Joy to the World/God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/Away in a Manger
Columbus Boy Choir - Angels We Have Heard on High

Side Two:
Columbus Boy Choir - Deck the Halls
Dick Haymes - It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
Shulmerich Carillon Bells - Oh, Come All Ye Faithful
Four Aces - Silent Night
Axel Stordahl - Deilig Er Jorden
Dick Haymes - Oh, Little Town of Bethlehem
Four Aces - Jingle Bells

Merry Christmas Everybody!

RATING: 3.5 Decca the Halls (get it?) out of 5

(Bad) Movie Night: Christmas Evil (1980)

Hello Friends,

Grab your popcorn and pull up a stool, its (Bad) Movie Night again on Vinyl in the Valley!

Its that time of year again, kids!  The weather sucks, everyone is broke, stress levels are high and suicide rates are off the fucking charts!  There's the constant feeling that in these days and weeks leading up to Christmas the other shoe is gonna drop!  Something's gotta fucking give! 

Luckily, Tiki T. and I relieve our holiday stresses with bourbon, like normal people. 

Unfortunately, the same can't be said for Harry Stadling, the protaganist of Lewis Jackson's festive 1980 slasher flick, Christmas Evil.

Hapless Harry (played by Brandon Maggart) is driven totally batty by a traumatic event from Christmas past and goes on a Holiday killing spree dressed like a lunatic Santa Claus. Actually, the event really didn't seem that traumatic!  Basically, it involved his dad dressed like Santa Claus caressing and kissing his mother's thighs!  Geez Harry... get over it!

Now in his 30's, Harry has a crap job at the Jolly Dreams Toy Factory and when he's not working he's stalking the neighborhood children to keep track of which ones are "good" and which ones are "bad"!  Something finally snaps and Harry transforms himself into a homicidal Santa and Christmas Evil becomes the more festive of all the early 80's slasher movies!
  Is this what Christmases in the early 1980's were like?  Egg nog-crusted mustaches, crappy overhead lighting, bad suits, worse jokes and terrible disco versions of Christmas songs? Fan-fucking-tastic!

The movie is pretty much terrible and by that, of course, we mean its fucking GREAT!   

Look, John Waters agrees!

Two bourbons, up!

We'll see you next time, friends, until then the Tiki Bar is closed*.  

(* not really)