2025 Rock Hall Inductees

      I am pleasantly shocked by the 2025 inductee class. Four of the five artists I voted for ( The White Stripes, Soundgarden, Bad Company, and Chubby Checker ) actually got in. Sorry Oasis. It also seems that the fan vote didn't hold enough sway to secure an induction for Phish, which comes as a huge relief. The puzzling results of the fan vote also failed to keep The White Stripes out. Sometimes, I'm a huge fan of gatekeepers. 

     Rounding out the 2025 class are Joe Cocker, Cyndi Lauper, and Outkast. I'm not surprised that these artists will be inducted and I'm happy for their fans. However, I could make a really tight E.P. of all their songs that I know. That's slightly hyperbolic, but I do know enough to know they aren't my thing. I can't begrudge Joe Cocker for achieving world wide fame from histrionic Beatles covers. And I love "Hey Ya" as much as the next guy, but I have failed to penetrate the rest of Outkast's catalog. And who could possibly be against girls wanting to have fun. My lack of fandom is probably a personal failure on my part. 

     If the induction ceremony were being held in Cleveland, I would definitely go to see The White Stripes and Soundgarden. But it's in L.A., so I shan't be attending. 

     I'm very heartened that The White Stripes got in given their poor showing in the fan voting. But they are a critics band and Jack White is an industry icon, so I was hopeful. Fingers crossed that Jack and Meg reunite for the ceremony. 

     Soundgarden are also well-deserving, but sadly Chris Cornell didn't live long enough to enjoy the recognition. It will be interesting to see if anyone is chosen to fill his shoes for the ceremony, like Geddy Lee did for Chris Squier when YES were inducted. 

     I like Bad Company, but their induction is throwing a bone to dudes who stopped listening to new music 50 years ago that want to be the arbiters of what is and isn't "Rock". However, they do have some great songs and Paul Rodgers was at his peak with Bad Company. 

     And I'm still amazed that Chubby Checker wasn't already in the Rock Hall. 

     In closing, I'd like to quote the great Jack White, "You can't be a pimp AND a prostitute". Peace. 

     

Record Store Day 2025: Leftovers

      Thought I'd toss off a quick post about my trip to the Record Den today to check out the RSD leftovers. I almost picked up the Joni Mitchell live set, but was tipped off by my guy that he had heard the recording had too much crowd noise, so I passed on it. I'll just pick up a copy of Court and Spark and some L.A. Express albums from the used bin another day.

     I did buy two more records and, oddly enough, they are the two best sounding records I got this year. They were also both mastered by Jim Webber, who I'm not familiar with, but they sound amazing. I picked up their last copy of the David Bowie live 2003 show and the Hindu Love Gods. I wasn't really familiar with the Hindu Love Gods, except that it was Warren Zevon and members of R.E.M. What a fantastic record. I was a little concerned when I opened it and the record was filthy. I gave it a quick brush and put it on and it was a dynamic listen. Their cover of "Raspberry Beret" was electric. It had a tinge of a raved up "Poor, Poor Pitiful Me". They also did a solid cover of "Battleship Chains", which had been covered four years prior by the Georgia Satellites. It also has several blues covers, and to their credit, it doesn't sound like an R.E.M. album fronted by Warren Zevon. It's quite muscular with virtually no jangle. 

     The great thing about the Bowie show, besides how it sounds, is the song curation. There are no old Bowie hits. It opens with "New Killer Star" and a fantastic cover of The Modern Lovers "Pablo Picasso". Side two opens with an inspired performance of "Looking For Water". I mainly bought this out of FOMO. It was the last one they had and couldn't pass on it. Glad I didn't. I've been kind of leery about some of these recent Bowie releases, but this one is spectacular. Now, if they'd just reissue the first Tin Machine album I'd be all set. Also, a quick tip of the hat to long-time Bowie bassist, Gail Ann Dorsey. She drives this set and doesn't get the due she deserves. I hope Black Friday is half as good as RSD this year. Peace.

Record Store Day 2025

      What a fantastic Record Store Day! Huge line at the Record Den. I was on a tight budget and picked up all seven releases that were must haves. There were so many great releases this year, I could easily have picked up another 20-30 titles if I had unlimited funds. I will probably circle back in the next couple weeks and pick up a few more. I'm definitely interested in the live Joni Mitchell, because it's from the Court and Spark tour and features Tom Scott and the L.A. Express. I also need to hit the used bin for a bunch of Tom Scott records. He's one of my favorite sax players, but I don't have anything by him. He was interviewed by Rick Beato recently and provided some insight into his time working with Joni Mitchell. There were also many jazz releases I would like to pick up, like Freddie Hubbard, Mulligan and Monk, and Bill Evans. Here's a breakdown of what I did get. Peace.

1. MJ Lenderman 

     This is a live recording with his band The Wind. It's a two record set on stunning translucent teal vinyl. 

2. The Verlaines - Some Disenchanted Evening

     As you know, The Verlaines are my favorite Flying Nun band, and this is a reissue of their 1990 album on mossy green vinyl.

3. Geddy Lee

     This is a 12" single of the lost demos from his 2000 solo album, My Favorite Headache. 

4. Gorky's Zygotic Minci - Barafundle

     This is the first U.S. LP release of their 1997 album on "Jungle" vinyl. Not sure what they mean by jungle vinyl, but it's cool. 

5. The Grays - Ro Sham Bo

     This album almost made my Top 25 of 1994. It's a 2 LP reissue with bonus tracks. The album title always reminds me of Eric Cartman. IYKYK. 

6. Harvey Danger - King James Version

     This is a first time on vinyl, 2 LP release on "Deep Sea Blue" vinyl that looks very similar to the MJ Lenderman teal. Comes with four bonus tracks.

7. Neil Finn

     This is another first time on vinyl release of Neil Finn's 1999 Sessions at West 54th. I'm very excited for this one. I have the Ben Folds Five LP in this series and it's outstanding. This covers songs from his solo career, as well as Split Enz and Crowded House.