The Lynx

While searching the internet for high definition radio streams last week, I came upon a "station" that billed itself as CRIK FM out of Calgary.  While it's not actually a terrestrial radio station, it's a fantastic site that's playing some great music over 5 feeds.

The feeds are 1) The Lynx Classic Hits, playing a little bit of everything, 2) The Lynx Super 70s, playing a great mix of everything from the 70s, 3) The Lynx Retro 80s, playing a great mix of everything from the 80s, 4) The Lynx Classic Rock, as advertised, a great mix of classic rock songs, and 5) The Lynx Disco Classics, which is playing everything disco, soul, and R&B.  And since it's coming out of Calgary, there's plenty of Canadian representation in the music as well!

You can find The Lynx here, and choose whatever feed suits you best.  I find myself jumping from station to station, and have heard great music on all 5!

Enjoy!

Speak English Or Die

 

Coming off yesterday's post, it only seemed appropriate that the album of the week be the Stormtroopers Of Death's 1985 classic, Speak English Or Die.

While many will say they've never heard of S.O.D. or any of these songs, if you watched MTV's Headbangers Ball, you will surely recognize a few as they were used going into and coming out of the commercial breaks.

After Anthrax finished their Spreading The Disease album, there was still some studio time left.  Scott Ian and Charlie Benante called friends Dan Lilker and Billy Milano, practiced some songs, then recorded this album over the Independence Day weekend in 1985 (July 2, 3 & 5).  The album had some controversy due to the lyrics which addressed homosexuality, women, and foreign cultures.  As Dan Lilker has said, "the lyrics were never intended to be serious, just piss people off."  With a song title like Fuck The Middle East, how could they possibly go wrong?

Surprisingly, since it's release in 1985, this mostly "underground" album has sold over a million copies, and as mentioned yesterday, it was ABC's 20/20 that led me to "discover" S.O.D. for myself.

If you want to give the album a listen, you can do so here.

S.O.D. Speak English Or Die

Enjoy!

20/20: The Heavy Metal Episode

I was goofing around on YouTube, watching some random hair band features, when I came upon this...  the 20/20 Heavy Metal episode.

I had to laugh, because this is the very episode that led me to becoming a fan of the Stormtroopers Of Death (S.O.D.).  I hadn't heard of them, but when the scene at the high school came on and the kids being interviewed said that's what they were listening to, I thought this is something I need to check out.

Living in southwest Oklahoma at the time (and in high school), we usually got out of town a couple times a month, and while I can't remember exactly where we went that weekend (would have been either Lawton, OK or Wichita Falls, TX), I was able to find S.O.D.'s Speak English Or Die cassette at the mall.  Of course, I snapped it up as quick as I could.  Upon the return trip home, the cassette went into the Walkman, and let's just say I was blown away by what I heard (roughly 23 minutes of sonic fury)!

Now that I've gotten that story out...  I always found it funny that a major network decided to dedicate a TV show that was trying to warn parents of the great evil of heavy metal music that their children were listening to, actually sent me in the direction of a band (that at the time) I hadn't heard of, and an album that I still enjoy regularly.

And while I'm at it (and since she's also featured in the story), I'd like to send a special FUCK YOU out to Al & Tipper Gore, who were too self-absorbed to do any actual parenting themselves, so they decided the government needed to step in and do it for everybody (look up the P.M.R.C. if I've confused you in any way).

Here it is...  the infamous 20/20 Heavy Metal episode!

Enjoy!

American Top 40 01.08.1977

Back to our radio show Saturdays!

This week, we're going with the American Top 40 from this date back in 1977 (January 8).  This is one of the many American Top 40 shows I recorded when I was still a SiriusXM subscriber (so you'll hear the SXM breaks during the show).  Like the other radio shows I've posted, this is a single track, with this particular show clocking in at just under 2 hours 25 minutes.

Here's the track list, to be followed by listening and download links:

Love Theme From "A Star Is Born"  -  Barbra Streisand

Do What You Want, Be What You Are  -  Daryl Hall & John Oates

Free Bird (Live Version)  -  Lynyrd Skynyrd

Keep Me Cryin'  -  Al Green

Drivin' Wheel  -  Foghat

Fly Like An Eagle  -  The Steve Miller Band

Nights Are Forever Without You  -  England Dan & John Ford Coley

Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing  -  Donny & Marie Osmond

Weekend In New England  -  Barry Manilow

Love So Right  -  The Bee Gees

Whispering/Cherchez La Femme/Se Si Bon (Medley)  -  Dr. Buzzard's Original "Savannah" Band

Nadia's Theme (The Young And The Restless)  -  Barry DeVorzon & Perry Botkin, Jr.

Blinded By The Light  -  Manfred Mann's Earth Band

Torn Between Two Lovers  -  Mary MacGregor

I Like Dreamin'  -  Kenny Nolan

This Song  -  George Harrison

Saturday Nite  -  Earth, Wind & Fire

Shake Your Rump To The Funk  -  The Bar-Kays

Jeans On  -  David Dundas

Muskrat Love  -  The Captain & Tennille

Walk This Way  -  Aerosmith

Enjoy Yourself  -  The Jacksons

Lost Without Your Love  -  Bread

Somebody To Love  -  Queen

New Kid In Town  -  The Eagles

More Than A Feeling  -  Boston

Love Me  -  Yvonne Elliman

Livin' Thing  -  Electric Light Orchestra

I Never Cry  -  Alice Cooper

Hot Line  -  The Sylvers

Stand Tall  -  Burton Cummings

After The Lovin'  -  Engelbert Humperdinck

The Rubberband Man  -  The Spinners

Dazz  -  Brick

Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word  -  Elton John

Car Wash  -  Rose Royce

I Wish  -  Stevie Wonder

Tonight's The Night (Gonna Be Alright)  -  Rod Stewart

You Make Me Feel Like Dancing  -  Leo Sayer

You Don't Have To Be A Star (To Be In My Show)  -  Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis, Jr

Listen Here

American Top 40 01.08.1977

Enjoy!

Electrified: The Guitar Revolution

 

I downloaded this from the shoutbox over at Zinhof just after Christmas...  it's a documentary that was shown on PBS America called Electrified: The Guitar Revolution.

Here is the description from Wikipedia:

Featuring professional musicians and historians, this captivating film tells the story of the electric guitar, the instrument that transformed popular music in the twentieth century.  In the 1920s, America was swinging to the sounds of the big bands of Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller.  The limitations of the guitar effectively prevented it from making it heard.  It was time to harness the power of electricity to increase the volume.  Inventors looked at other devices which translated electronic signals into sound waves and applied the same principles to a plucked string.  The 1950s saw the birth of rock and roll and the commercial rivalry between manufacturers Fender and Gibson as the mass-produced electric guitar became the young musician's instrument of choice.  Pedal controls soon followed, enabling guitarists to create their own personal sound through the use of echo and distortion, exemplified by the arrival of Jimi Hendrix, who combined an impeccable technique with an understanding of electronic effects  Fashions come and go in any artistic genre, but the electric guitar remains the world's most popular instrument, as it has for the last 70 years.

All in all, it's a pretty good documentary that gives a good insight to how the guitar has evolved over time.

Electrified: The Guitar Revolution

Enjoy!

Fire On High

If you ever find yourself doubting the genius of Jeff Lynne, just listen to this song.

Fire On High may be the greatest song in Lynne's vast catalog (which includes The Idle Race, The Move, Electric Light Orchestra, and The Traveling Wilburys).  While you can occasionally hear this song on classic rock radio stations, these days, it doesn't get nearly the amount a play it deserves (in my opinion).  And for those who were sports fans in the 70s, this song was the opening theme for the CBS Sports Spectacular show.

Enjoy!

Greatest Guitar Solos Of All Time?

Another article I recently stumbled upon...

Guitar Player: The Greatest Guitar Solos Of All Time

While I wouldn't put most of these songs on my list, there are a couple notable solos listed in the article...  namely Cliffs Of Dover by Eric Johnson and Highway Star by Deep Purple.  The other 18 songs on this list, well, I'll let you debate that!

Enjoy!

Root Down

Now that the holidays have passed, I can get back to my album of the week feature...

This week's album of the week is Root Down, an absolutely funky jazz classic by Jimmy Smith.

This album was recorded on February 8, 1972, at Los Angeles's Bombay Bicycle Club, and captures a performance Smith gave with a relatively young supporting band who were clearly influenced by modern funk and rock.  And for all of the Beastie Boys fans out there, this album contains the song Root Down (And Get It) which they sampled for their song Root Down.

It has been said that this album is non-stop funky jazz at its best, and some have even gone so far to say it is the best album in Jimmy Smith's vast catalog.  While I won't go so far as to call it his best, it is a damn fine album that is well worth a listen.

Root Down: Jimmy Smith Live!

Enjoy!

The Archies

Since I went with The Monkees yesterday, I thought I'd offer up a few albums by The Archies today.

The Archies were a fictional band that was related to the Archies comics, which also spawned a TV show.  In context of the series, the band consists of Archie Andrews (vocals, guitar), Reggie Mantle (bass), Forsythe "Jughead" Jones (drums), Veronica Lodge (vocals, keyboards), and Betty Cooper (vocals, percussion).  In reality, the music was performed by studio musicians assembled by Don Kirshner, with their biggest hit being Sugar, Sugar which topped the Billboard Hot 100 and sold over six million copies.

The Archies (1968)

Everything's Archie (1969)

Jingle Jangle (1969)

Sunshine (1970)

Enjoy!

The Monkees In Mono

The Decades TV channel ran a 2 day Monkees marathon a couple weekends ago (just after Mike Nesmith's passing)...  I watched as much of it as I could!

That marathon got me thinking about a project I meant for my last blog, but I never got around to doing it.  That project was sharing the first five Monkees albums in mono.  Yes, I know many out there consider mono to be sacrilege when there's a stereo version available, but I like listening to 60s pop in mono, and since this is my blog, that's what I'm going to share today!

Now, while there was a Monkees In Mono official release in 2014, I cheated and took the mono versions from the super deluxe editions that were released earlier, did a bit of editing, and basically "created" the mono albums available in this post.

The Monkees (1966 - Mono)

More Of The Monkees (1967 - Mono)

Headquarters (1967 - Mono)

Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. (1967 - Mono)

The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees (1968 - Mono)

Enjoy!