Feels like a Sunday to me: tunes from The Dream Academy, John Entwistle, Pete Townshend Doobie Brothers

I'm off today, so it feels like Sunday morning to me....

5 tunes for the morn: The Bible Alan Parsons Project Patrick Simmons

5 for today: Hoodoo Gurus , The Pretenders, Golden Earring , #TheWho , Paul McCartney

5 tunes for a chilly Fall night: Joni Mitchell , Ben Orr, Scott Merritt, Frozen Ghost, Gregg Alexander

Fall weather like this always evokes certain feelings in me. Here are some tunes that fit that vibe/slight melancholy I get...

5 energetic 80's tunes- Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, The Romantics, Michael Stanley Band, Rolling Stones

5 power pop tunes: Richard X Heyman, #TheBeatles, Pursuit of Happiness, The Romantics, Bill Lloyd

5 songs Sunday- Genesis, David Rhodes , Paul Weller , Roger McGuiin

Just some random songs I've listened to today...

ZZ Top Pier Six Concert Pavillion 5-19-13

All Photos by me

                   a short clip of "TUSH"

Paul Weller : 9:30 Club 7-30-13

I confess, I really haven't listened to Paul Weller on a regular basis since the mid-late 90's. His trifecta of great solo albums: "Wild Wood", "Stanley Road" and "Heavy Soul" were some of the better albums of authentic music released in that decade...

After that, he lost me a bit. Things started sounding a bit repetitive, hooks not as strong..
I did give a quick listen to 2010's "Wake up the Nation", liking the title track...

I've always liked some of his Jam songs and a couple of Style Council singles were guilty pleasures....

I recently won tickets to see him at the 9:30 Club in Washington DC. I have never seen him and figured this would be a great opportunity.

Sting Pier Six Pavillion Baltimore (some quick thoughts,Pics and vids)

It was a warm and humid evening last night. Just after 8pm Sting and  his band hit the stage to a packed house at Pier Six Pavillion in Baltimore.

 

Ebay sale of the week: Pentax K1000 camera

Digital cameras have really made the old Film cameras obsolete. I haven't used mine since the mid 90's. 
No more developing film, or wondering what your shots look like. (Remember the anticipation of waiting for the 1 hr photo ?!)
 With digital it's all instant gratification!

I got my Pentax K1000 as a gift in 1984, (I think). 
If you ever took a photography class, this was the camera usually recommended. Affordable, fairly easy to use, solidly constructed, etc.

She was only Human on the inside.... R.I.P Christina Amphlett

                                             "Human on the Inside"

Was sad to see that Divinyls lead singer Christina Amphlett succumbed to cancer. I had read she had MS a few years ago. She was a true "rock star" and an 80's icon.

It's a shame that most only remember for one song, that seems like a bit of a novelty hit. The Divinyls had better songs than that.
Guitarist Mark McEntee was Chrissy's main collaborator and partner for the duration of the group's life and they were in a relationship for at least some of that time.

10 good tunes from the 90's

I prefer melody. The 90's were often lacking in melody. Grunge had the agression but often lacked hooks.

Here are 5 catchy songs from the 90's

a Sunday morning 5 #Supertramp #FleetwoodMac #Genesis #BruceSpringsteen

listening to some tunes to start the day...

Vinyl Exam- The Dream Academy (1985)

This cold weather often brings memories of certain albums. The Dream Academy's 1985 self-titled release is one of them. Released in the Fall/into Winter of late 1985 and co-produced by Pink Floyd's David Gilmour. Gilmour had a pretty good track record of helping young talent. He was an early supporter of Kate Bush and bands like Unicorn.

The album is one of those rare ones I enjoy start to finish. It is a quintessential 80's yet some of it's acoustic/folky elements make it it seem timeless.

10 great Todd Rundgren songs

I confess I was never a Rundgren fan until the mid-to-late 80's. Tall and gangly, he never really seemed cool; his fashion sense was often questionable (and sometimes still is...sorry Todd..)

I never really liked songs the songs I knew by him like "Can We Still Be Friends" and "Hello it's Me". I thought they were wimpy. ..Sounded like a guy begging. As a guy, you want to try to avoid being a beggar. The women might think it's pathetic.
 Of course this was all before I had really experienced and romantic angst and longing...lol
 
In '85 I did really like "Something to Fall Back on" and in the late 80's a dude I worked with turned me on to a bunch of good Rundgren stuff as well as Utopia stuff. I finally "got it". I also learned of all the great production work he had done.
I would never claim to be a Rundgren expert like some of his dedicated fans are but here are some of his tunes I really dig.

8 great Dire Straits songs..

I remember really being drawn to Dire Straits when their first album came out. Loved "Sultans of Swing" and then "Down to the Waterline". I remember seeing a video playing at Musicland record store at Golden Ring Mall. They had something called a Video Juke box I think that played promo videos. this was a couple of years before Mtv.

Don Johnson in the new Rolling Stone

Don Johnson? 2013? .
Apparently Don is on a little bit of a roll. 
I'm a fan of "Eastbound and Down" where Don has done a pretty decent job of playing Kenny Powers no good, scheming father.
 He is also in the new movie "Django Unchained".

If you know who he is at all, you remember him as an 80's icon who starred in "Miami Vice", and some b-movies. Maybe you remember his music career (not as bad as you think)..
In the 90's he was actually kind of entertaining in "Nash Bridges".

I was never a "Miami Vice" fan. I had a very active social life at the time was not much of a TV watcher. I always thought Johnson seemed too smug and cocky. Apparently he was. But eventually, people do grow up some. 

The interview with Don Johnson in the latest Rolling Stone is very good and surprisingly deep at times.

In it, he pretty much spouts one of the secret's of life and self-actualization... Examining the search for happiness, self-esteem and more.