The Stores. The Chores. The Mainstream. The Oddball. The Serious. The Goofy. The Awesome. The Not So Awesome. 45's. 33's. The 'What Were They Thinking.' Stories from the Store. Observations from my armchair.
What's All This Then
Why should I care what this guy has to say?
The correct answer is that you shouldn’t. We’re all entitled to our opinions. Develop your own. I try to be sane and rational, but that may change with the level of caffeine intake. I’m just telling my stories in the hopes they may amuse and/or inform others. And... I Confess... I'm showing off my bitchen collection a bit.
That was the plan of George Clinton and Funkadelic when they set out to make their second album in 1970. Can we pull the whole thing off while tripping through recording and mixing?
Funkadelic - Free Your Mind...And Your Ass Will Follow (1970)
The album is awesome, funky, danceable and incoherent all at the same time. Bernie Worrell (keyboards) and Eddie Hazel (guitar) dominate the sound. Lots of phasing, panning and background yelling. Should be played LOUD.
The white lady may be calling 911 soon. There's a freshly shaven Mexican with a freshly laundered blanket on the other side of the plywood. Oh the horror!
Those artists outside the mainstream rarely get a mention in the mainstream press when they pass. Often I find out about their deaths from the UK music magazines. I totally missed this one from about a year ago.
Tony Kinman founded LA Punk band The Dils along with his brother Chip. They next pioneered the 'cow-punk' genre with their band Rank and File. Not to rest on their laurels or stick to one type of sound, the brothers later teamed up with a drum machine and called themselves Blackbird.
So here is a faithful reproduction on The Dils second single.
The Dils - 198 Seconds of The Dills (Dangerhouse 1977)
Arthur Lyman was most closely associated with Hawaii. Many artists travel to exotic locations outside their comfort zone to make a live album with local flavor.
Arthur Lyman went to The Port of Los Angeles.
Yes that's right. The Port of Los Angeles. Liner notes by Sam Yorty - the nasal former mayor of Los Angeles.
In reality it's a compilation album probably given to those who worked on - or got kickbacks from - the building of the port.
