Author Archives: keepsmealive
Austrian Death Machine – Total Brutal
Setting the Tim Lambesis personal life stuff aside, this album is hilarious good fun. They’ve done other records too, but I kinda feel it’s a one and done for me, but who doesn’t want a metal album themed after Ahnie? Get to tha choppaaaa!
Dan Auerbach – Waiting On A Song
Absolutely gorgeous album from ‘that Black Keys guy’. Soulful, classic feel. This sounds stellar on LP!
A Tribe Called Quest – We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service
The joy when this album dropped, all these years later. My goodness.
A Tribe Called Quest – The Best Of A Tribe Called Quest
For those times when you just wanna cruise the hits.
Inexplicably, I couldn’t find this 2008 Sony/BMG compilation on YouTube, so I’ve just dropped another great track. I mean, take your pick, right?
Right!
A Tribe Called Quest – Midnight Marauders
Another great collection of tunes from one of the best acts! Get yours!
A Tribe Called Quest – The Low End Theory
Pure classic. I mean, come on… Well, OK, the track about his pager is a bit dated, but as a time capsule it’s still awesome. There’s groove and a smooth feel here that is undeniable. Let’s go!
A Tribe Called Quest – People’s Instinctive Travels And The Paths Of Rhythm
I love these guys. They’ve made so much classic music, and this 1990 album is very cool.
Atoms For Peace – Default
Another super-cool limited edition, embossed 12” LP single from Amok.
Default b/w What The Eyeballs Did, and Default (Instrumental Edit)
And at risk of repeating myself here, the non-album tracks here should’ve been included on Amok. I’d totally have been OK with an extended track list. I get that there was a vision for the playlist, but the b-sides were as strong as the album tracks. Amok was only 44 minutes long, they had plenty of space to include this other stuff.
Also, for those collectors out there who are really into this stuff, there were also a bunch of single-sided, single-song, limited edition 12” LP singles released for Amok: Unless, Amok, Reverse Running, Dropped, Ingenue, and Stuck Together Pieces. Cool.
Atoms For Peace – Before Your Very Eyes
Another brilliant limited edition, embossed 12” LP single from Amok.
Before Your Very Eyes b/w Magic Beanz (non-album track)
And again, Magic Beanz should be on Amok. Not replacing anything already there, just added.
Atoms For Peace – Judge Jury And Executioner
I collected as many of these limited edition, embossed 12″ LP singles from the (amazing) Amok album as I could.
Because awesome.
Judge Jury And Executioner b/w S.A.D. (non-album track).
Honestly, I don’t know how S.A.D. didn’t get on the album. Ah well.
Atoms For Peace – Amok
For some reason I own four copies of this. Two are the deluxe fold-out CD release, one regular CD, and one LP. All have the same 9 tracks. The deluxes are very cool. Does having so many matter to me? Hell no. Maybe they’re multiplying in my collection, like rabbits…
I love this album.
Atomic Fireballs – Torch This Place
I love this stuff, all part of my sweep through the 90s swing revival. This sound will never die, for me.
Probably their most popular track was their cover of The Man With The Hex, but I thought I’d post something else. Fun double entendres in this track…
20 More Awesome Guitar YouTube Channels
Just like last time:
If you’re like me, you often find yourself down the YouTube rabbit-hole looking at guitar channels, trying to learn things.
Not long ago, I posted about 20 awesome channels I like.
Here are 20 more!
Straight-up, fair opinions on gear and more, and he loves Teles. What’s not to love?
Unboxing videos, lots of rare and unique stuff, re-selling, and gear breakdowns galore. Hours spent here are happy hours.
If you know YouTube guitar channels, you already know this guy. Honest talk about all kinds of gear!
Session man with a wealth of knowledge.
Honest gear reviews (I’ve seen ones where he admits he disliked stuff) but always with explanation and demos. Refreshing.
Just a dude in his house, talking guitars and skills. Bonus: I love his accent!
Awesome guitars and lessons, tastefully done and fascinating.
Another great channel of lessons and gear from a real player!
Lessons, gear, duets, and more!
That thing we all know we need to learn, but we avoid it ‘cos it’s work. Super-clear explanations here!
Gear, tech, guitars, pop music, theory, a little bit of everything done very well!
For all you bass players out there, with bonus theory, and humour!
Lessons, gear, song covers, awesome.
Not as much content here, but what’s there is good!
Gear, opinions, lists, and more gear. Go!
Exactly what it says!
Tons of great stuff. Not gonna lie, sometimes I find him a bit too much (on Andertons, usually), but when he nails it, he nails it!
Gear, gear, gear, and gear.
Tons of great lessons, gear, philosophy…
Lots of cool talks and lessons, particularly blues.
***
And there you have it. With the previous post as well, you have tons of ways to learn and grow and enjoy!
The Atomic Bitchwax – II
Community rules. I have the illustrious Legoman, Mr. 1537 for sending me this awesome LP, some time ago. Thank you so much in perpetuity, sir!
And how does it sound? It’s straight-up, balls-out rawk (the very best kind). Think Kyuss, Fu Manchu, Electric Wizard, Sleep, Queens Of The Stone Age… and Monster Magnet (because some of these dudes are/were in that band).
It’s hairy, it’s fuzzy, it’s unapologetically loud.
In other words, it fucking rocks!
Here’s the whole record:
Tim Armstrong – A Poet’s Life
Reggae, dancehall, ska, all of the sounds you know, and which were always tinged throughout Rancid, are here. With the Aggrolites (L.A. reggae) as his backing band, Armstrong nails it.
Love it.
Louis Armstrong – Mame
Notes from the back cover of this LP:
“The trumpet is stilled. A world is saddened by the loss of Louis Armstrong. Like jazz itself, he was born in New Orleans. At the age of thirteen in the waifs home there, he was given a cornet. A kind gift that soared his joy into the world. His music and life force became known the world over. King or commoner, Asian or African, the fans loved “Satchmo.” Musicians admired and respected his way with a lyric, or a note. Many thought his trumpet the best, with a rich, full sound and a tone, fire and beauty that has never been surpassed in jazz.
“I guess,” he told a LIFE reporter, “I’ve done Hello Dolly a million times. And all my little gestures, coming out all chesty, making faces, the jive with the audience clapping – aw, it’s all in fun. People expect it of me; they know I’m there in the cause of happiness. What you’re there for is to please the people – I mean, the best way you can. Those few moments belong to them.”
Louis Armstrong – Swing That Music
Another awesome Louis compilation.
It’s an offbrand (Pure Gold), made in the Netherlands, so YouTube doesn’t have any of these tracks with this album’s artwork included.
No matter, here’s Muskrat Ramble because awesome.
Tosche Station
Years ago, we saw Star Wars: A New Hope during the theatrical re-release and, on the night we were there, everyone booed as soon as Luke Skywalker opened his mouth and started whining. I was trying to explain why to the kids, and they wanted to hear it, so I got onto YouTube to look for the scene. I found something better.
This track is an autotune expedition into how everything that went wrong in Star Wars all came about because Luke never made it to Tosche Station to get power converters.
It’s repetitive, but it is a thing of beauty!
Louis Armstrong – Blow Satchmo Blow
This compilation is a fun mix of tracks. I mean, It’s Louis! Let’s go!
Louis Armstrong – The Complete RCA/Victor Recordings 4CD
Continuing the Louis overload, here’s four more CDs of glory. Honestly, it’s incredible.
The artwork in the YouTube video (below) isn’t the cover of my set, it seems to be for a Hits set culled from my set of 4CD. Mine is The Complete, as pictured (right).
No matter. Cover art is meaningless in the face of all of this brilliance. Love the tunes. Louis is an all-timer, for me, always has been.
Alice In Chains – Sap
Today’s post comes to you courtesy of an awesome example of how brilliant this Community has always been. I posted a little while ago about the Alice In Chains EP called Jar Of Flies, and mentioned that for some reason I did not own this EP, Sap, but I’d added it to my list for shopping whenever this damned quarantine is over and I can actually get back out into the world.
Kevin at BuriedOnMars messaged me, said I could have his copy. And he just sent it to me, wanting nothing in return! I cannot thank him enough for this act of generosity and Community! I’m thrilled!
This EP, while it’s only four songs (well, 5, if you include the wacky toss-off hidden track Love Song), is an awesome companion to the period of AIC I love best. Overall, it’s acoustic-guitar driven, and it’s excellent in the mix.
Guests on the EP include Ann Wilson (Heart), Mark Arm (Mudhoney), and Chris Cornell (Soundgarden). I know! I love how Right Turn is listed as Alice Mudgarden, in the liner notes, too.
COMMUNITY!!
I’m posting Got Me Wrong (which later appeared on the Clerks soundtrack) because its groove is stuck in my head but, for posterity, I’d like it noted that the title is not indicative of how I feel about receiving this CD in the mail. Rather, it completely Got Me Right! Actually, the title Right Turn works better here too, so I’ll post both!
Louis Armstrong – The Essential Recordings 1925-1940 4CD
This set blows my mind every time, but you can never have too much Louis. We are all so lucky to have access to all of these recordings!
Louis overload glory!
My Father-In-Law’s Records
My father-in-law passed away a little over a year ago. We visit his grave every time we go home to visit the family. Our daughter often insists on taking flowers, so we do.
We haven’t been home (thanks to quarantine and the protocols we must follow here due to my lovely wife’s job), since Christmas. This past weekend, it got figured out and we finally went and had a (strictly-distanced) visit. It was incredibly good to get together.
During the visit, my mother-in-law said she’d been slowly going through a few things, over time, just clearing out and re-organizing in the house. She mentioned there were a couple of boxes of my father-in-law’s records in the back room, did I want to go through them and take anything I liked, before she took them to the Sally Anne? She wanted nothing for them, was just happy maybe some would find a good home, if I found any. She’d already kept any that she wanted, that was my first question.
Now that’s a loaded question – of course, I’ll go through records anytime, but these are from family, and my lovely wife has many memories of being woken by loud country music from downstairs on many Sunday mornings. So, these have stories to them. My lovely wife went through them with me and told some stories as we went. It was mostly old country, and a few others.
Of course, I found a bunch that I knew I would play. My first instinct was to rescue them all, but storage being what it is, and knowing some of them I would never play, I forced myself to be selective. My lovely wife chose one to keep (the Elvis Christmas album, as it holds memories).
Here are the 16 that I selected. All are in great shape (he kept his records in excellent condition):
Bobby Orr – The Two Sides Of Bobby Orr.
I mean, come on. A legend, talking hockey? Had to grab this!
Loretta Lynn – Fist City
Loretta rules, so this was a must. But I also got it because of the Corn Sisters’ cover of the title track. Greatness.
Waylon Jennings – Love Of The Common People, I’ve Always Been Crazy
This just looked cool. Young Waylon!
Johnny Cash – Original Golden Hits Vol. I
I might’ve already had this (and Vol. II) but I brought it home just in case.
Johnny Cash – Original Golden Hits Vol. II
Companion to Vol. I (above).
Johnny Cash – Johnny Cash Special: 20 Original Hits Vol. 1
Probably redundant to the Original Golden Hits sets (above), but I see Johnny, I rescue it.
Johnny Cash – The Johnny Cash Songbook: As Sung By Johnny Cash
More rescued Johnny.
Petula Clark – Colour My World / Who Am I
I like Petula. Lots of songs here that are new to me.
Beatles – Twist And Shout
My lovely wife wrote her name on the cover of this, as a kid, and said she probably got in trouble for it. And I’m not the world’s biggest Beatles fan, though I might slowly come around eventually. But still, a cool find.
Willie Nelson – Make Way For Willie Nelson
I love Willie Nelson, so this one was a no-brainer.
Jim Reeves – The Best Of Jim Reeves
This one reminds me of my own grandfather, who loved Jim Reeves’ songs. I have this on CD, to honour that, but on LP? Sure, why not.
Hank Snow – The One And Only, When Tragedy Struck, My Nova Scotia Home, This Is My Story (2LP)
I’ve never spent time with Snow’s work, so this was an opportunity to see what’s up.
***
These were my lovely wife’s, I just grabbed because why not:
Bon Jovi – Bon Jovi
Classic 80s fun!
Europe – The Final Countdown
Another classic 80s record. I’ll have fun playing the tracks other than the title track, as it was so huge and probably didn’t help form a full opinion of the band.
***
In Sum:
There were lots more records in the boxes, but many of them were old country records that, while I’ve seen them go through at work a thousand times, even then I’ve never felt the need to own them. And even free, here, and in great shape, I still let them go.
There were some Michael Jackson and Jackson 5, but that’s never been my thing, and my lovely wife said those were probably hers and she didn’t want them either. I did learn that Mick Jagger sang on a track of the Jackson Five’s Victory album. Still not enough for me to keep it, but cool.
I am honoured to give these records a new home, and whenever I play them, I will honour the memory that comes with them. RIP, Mike.
Louis Armstrong – What A Wonderful World
This song makes me think of my Mom, every time. She just loves it. Add in that I am a huge Armstrong fan, and this is an absolute keeper. So many cool tracks for such a cheap compilation.
Armed & Hammered – It’s About Fucking Time
Straight up awesome debut full-length release from these Kengsington Market hardcore punkers.
YouTube doesn’t have any of this, so…
Fiona Apple – Tidal
Lots of great songs to pick from, here (three big hits, below, plus a ton of shoulda-beens).
Awesome clarity of sound, too, a beautifully-recorded album.
This was the 2nd CD I ever bought, so I played the hell out of it and it’s in my brain permanently.
A Perfect Circle – Thirteenth Step
I don’t own everything by these guys, but I have this one, and it sounds GREAT on LP!
Crank it…
Anyway Gang – Anyway Gang
Featuring members of Sloan, Hollerado, Tokyo Police Club, and Sam Roberts Band – talk about knocking it out of the park, cast-wise. And the music is sweet, sweet goodness. The album’s a bit short, but probably I’m just greedy… 😉
Huge thanks to James for hooking me up with this Limited Edition 45 rpm purple vinyl Sunrise Exclusive LP!!
Anjani – Blue Alert
Of course, as it is connected to Leonard Cohen, it had to be here. Solid album, pure poetry set to music.
This CD copy here has different cover art than is pictured all over YouTube, but no matter.
I love this song.
When My Guitars Were Built
I’m just putting these here more for historical reference for myself (I don’t know if anyone else will really care), however…
I found a site online that lets you look up when your Squier guitar was built, so I did both of mine. That led me to look, and there was indeed a site for looking up my Epiphone as well. And there was also a site for deciphering my Art & Lutherie acoustic’s serial number! Happy days!
So this was what I found:
SQUIER 50s CLASSIC VIBE TELECASTER
Production Year: 2016
SQUIER 50s CLASSIC VIBE STRATOCASTER
Production Year: 2018
EPIPHONE LES PAUL SPECIAL II
Production Month/Year: July, 2004
ART & LUTHERIE CEDAR-TOP ACOUSTIC
Production Day/Month/Year: Wednesday, May 17, 2006
***
In Sum: I think it’s cool information to have, going forward. I know these are all cheap guitars, three of them made in China, but I still like to know this little bit more about them. And I like how the Epiphone gives the month as well, and the Art & Lutherie actually narrows it down to day, month and year.
Still, even if I hadn’t found out any of this information, I would still love all of these guitars, and still play them all regularly!
Amazing Royal Crowns – The Amazing Royal Crowns
They call themselves the Amazing Crowns these days (are they no longer Royal?), and they’ve only had three albums (2 studio, one live) since forming in 1993, but I love love love this sound. Let’s go!!!
Allman Brothers – Beginnings (2LP)
This 1973 double album is absolutely incredible. You knew that. I count myself lucky to own a lovely original LP set.
Hey Gilligan, It’s A Three Hour Tour!
Last night I had the distinct honour of joining an esteemed cast of characters, including our host Mike, and Deke and Uncle Meat (with extra lists from Mike’s Mom, and an appearance of T-Bone and ‘Gene Simmons.’).
We discussed our Nigel Tufnel’s Top Ten (er, 11) concerts we’ve ever seen, and despite Mike saying we needed to try to keep things efficient to not let the time get away on us, it still ended up being a 3-hour show…
If you wanna kill some time, there’s a ton of great concert experiences recounted here:
Alkaline – Headlights
Awesome Big Sugar-connected dub mayhem. I was thrilled to find this one, in my travels.
For the life of me, I could not find anything anywhere on Youtube that had tracks from this masterpiece.
So here’s the bandcamp page, where you can hear Headlights.
Alice In Chains – MTV Unplugged
Definitely one my all-time favourite albums in the MTV Unplugged series.
Alice In Chains – Jar Of Flies
For some reason I do not currently own Sap, but it’s on the list so I can correct this oversight.
Anyway, this EP is another one I wouldn’t be without.
Alcatrazz – The Ultimate Fortress Rock Set (5CD/1DVD)
Graham Bonnett, Jimmy Waldo, Gary Shea… Yngwie Malmsteen… Steve Vai…
There’s so much here to explore, seriously. You can see all of the track listings RIGHT HERE. It’s an overload of bonus tracks, demos, live tracks and live concerts on DVD… all of it awesome. This is a boxed set done up right!
Why get a single disc, let’s buy the 6-disc boxed set and give ‘er!
Air Supply – The Collection
I keep this because it reminds me of my Mom, she loves these guys. Total nostalgia keeper.
This CD I have here is some cheapo Camden compilation from 2009 I found in a CD bin.
It’s so many steps removed from Sony, YouTube doesn’t even have it ha. Here’s the official video:
Epic All-Canadian Live Stream
Most of you are probably already subscribed to the excellent blogs of Mike and Deke, and Buried On Mars, but if you’re not, you should be.
So, I was invited to participate in a live stream chat, wherein we all selected our Nigel Tufnel’s Top Ten (which is 11, natch) Canadian Albums.
Honestly, I found this a daunting task – there are so many great Canadian albums! But once we got going, it went just fine. Everyone had awesome lists and it was an excellent chat between blogging brothers from way back. I was honoured to be invited to participate!
If you wanna watch some hosers talk about favourite albums from their home and native land, the video is here:
The Agenda! – Start The Panic
Scratching that garage rock itch, and with more exclamation marks than Shania could ever dream about! Think Hives, Vines, Jet, Delta 72… you know the drill.
Fuckin’ CRANK IT!
iTunes iSsues
Is it really, though?
NB: I’m not writing this to bring the Mac Haters out of the woodwork – they can go argue amongst themselves. I’m not an Apple fanboy, though I have used their computers since 2007. It’s now just what I’m used to, fair play to all. This post is because I’m truly running into issues with the set-up I’ve had for years. I’ll happily take all reasonable suggestions, given my current tech, in the comments section. Thanks.
***
Problems have been ongoing for ages. I don’t tend to bother you guys with most of it.
I’m fine with using the native Mac applications (iTunes, Safari, etc). It just seems easier (and, likely, I’m lazy), but I may be at a breaking point.
It keeps losing its path to my library, and even when I re-aim it at the right spot, it still won’t see it. Plus, it’s laggy and slow. Plus, it loses albums I know were there (when it even works at all). It even loses album artwork, not that that is as big deal to me.
Updating it didn’t fix it. Turning it off and turning it back on again does nothing. Rebooting the computer, even resetting the SMC, does nothing.
I’ve tried everything I can think of: I’ve watched YouTube videos, read forums and Mac help sites… nothing has really helped.
I thought maybe I could uninstall and re-download it, but from what I’ve read, that would open a whole other can of worms because it is an essential program for Mac OS, it’s tied to everything internally, complicated pathways blah blah blah, and my level of patience with it is already low.
With the new Catalina OS, iTunes is no longer iTunes. With Catalina, Apple has split things into three sections (the one I want is now called Music). My 2011 iMac is so old, I cannot update to this new OS, so I cannot get this new system. I assume iTunes is (now) no longer supported, in favour of this new set-up. Remember when Apple got in trouble for slowing down older phones on purpose? Maybe they’ve just given up on supporting iTunes, and older computers. To me, it should still work, but I’ve spent enough time trying to get it back and it just won’t, so…
I thought maybe it would help to start over, wipe the whole library and re-rip the CDs (at a higher bit rate). I know, that’s crazy, but maybe it had just become unwieldy, you know? I had MP3s in there from way back, even stuff I haven’t owned physically in years. Fresh start with what’s here, right! What else am I gonna do with my quarantine time?
Well, I started this, and it worked for a day or so, and then iTunes lost the library again. Dammit.
So.
I went looking for free alternatives. So few even rip CDs:
Winamp: I saw that Winamp was back. It really kicks the llama’s ass. Nostalgia overwhelmed me (I remembered it being awesome). So, I got it and have not been able to figure out how to rip a CD with it. Tutorials online show menus my version doesn’t have. Hm. I found another beta version (5.8infinity) but the .exe file wouldn’t even open. Gah.
VLC: I already use this to play videos on my Mac. Purportedly, it will also rip your music CDs and connect to your existing library and all is cool. Nope. It will rip one track at a time (!), not whole albums at a time (!), but I have little patience for troubleshooting and this wouldn’t even start so, not an option. I’ll keep it for videos, though.
Here are a pile others I looked at and rejected. Either they were limited trial then pay, or all pay, or would play MP3 but wouldn’t rip CD, or were only for Windows, or were more for video than music…
Clementine, Vox, Tomahawk, Fre:ac, Fidelia, MediaMonkey, Musique, MusicBee, Swinsian, Elmedia, JustPlay, 5KPlayer, Nightingale, Plexamp, and WALTR2…
At this point, I might just have to become a pirate. Download MP3s of the albums I have here to match my existing CDs, stick them in a folder, and use any one of the above as a player only. VLC would likely do that. Downsides to that are a) it’s illegal, and b) I am very unlikely to find every album I have on CD, and c) I think maybe the temptation would become, well, since I’m here, what would it hurt to get other albums I don’t actually own…
Or maybe I need to just go old school, give up on having access to music in MP3, and just play my CDs and LPs.
Whatever the case, it doesn’t seem I can trust iTunes anymore, and I’d have to buy a whole new computer in order to get their new set-up. I may have to buy a new computer someday sooner rather than later anyway, but I need a solution for today.
Aerosmith – Gems
A true companion to the Greatest Hits set. Play them together for the full experience!
Yeah, baby!
Mastodon – Fallen Torches
New Mastodon! I love it, it’s reminiscent of their older, heavier stuff, yet still infused with their newer sound, at times, too. That outro is so heavy! Goddamn, I love this band.
Medium Rarities drops September 11.
CRANK IT. BREAK STUFF. GO!
Aerosmith – Permanent Vacation
I fall in and out of love with this one. I can’t quite pinpoint what it is. I don’t ask myself to many questions about it, but apparently I just need to be in the right mood for it.
I’ll say this, though, when I’m into it, this thing sounds way better on old my LP copy.
Aerosmith – Greatest Hits
The only thing missing is Chip Away At The Stone, but that appears elsewhere. Is there anyone who doesn’t own this?
