NAME: Ian Brill
BLOG NAME: Brill Building
NAME OF CD: Mix Your Mind Up
NUMBER OF CUTS: 21
RUNNING TIME: 74:43
COVER ART: No
SONG LIST: His posts of June 8 & June 12
ALREADY REVIEWED BY: Chris “Lefty” Brown on June 20
GENERAL THOUGHTS: There are CDs from the bloggers that I could say quite specific things, based on the fact that they are of a theme, or what not. This is not one of them. I found Ian’s album to be just a bunch of good eclectic cuts without any discernable concept, except the first cut from the Brill Building, which was just fine. Probably more hip hop than any of the other CDs to date, and I found I enjoyed that.
THINGS I PARTICULARLY LOVED: Actually quite a bit: Dr. Octogon, the Magnetic Fields, Sonic’s Rendezvous, even the ABBA cut, which was totally unknown to me.
ON THE OTHER HAND: What’s with the numbering? 01-09, 12-14, 14b, 14c, 15, 17-22 – ah mess my mind up with “Mix Your Mind Up.”
ONLY VAGUELY RELATED: The Brill Building, for those of you who didn’t know, is a place in NYC where songwriters such as Neil Sedaka and Carole King worked in the 1950s and early 1960s.
Category: Lefty Brown
Mixed Bag CD Blog Intro
I’ve mentioned this Chris “Lefty” Brown Mixed CD thang (May 23) I’ve been doing with some two dozen bloggers. I even reviewed one whole CD. But I’ve been negligent in recent weeks. And since I can’t file them into the collection until I review them, I’d best get to it.
Before I do any specific reviews, I should make some general observations:
None of them I hated, as in “Get that thing out of my stereo,” though my wife looked askance at me when I was listening to a couple of them. Some folks did some fancy graphics, while others were a 5″ X 5″ piece of paper, and while that didn’t matter much to me, a couple of covers were particularly outstanding.
Thank you to those who indicated that some of the material may not be suitable for the office. I mention this because I played every single one in the office first, just to get a feel. (Kudos to Tony and Eddie, who put warnings on the package; also, Fred indicated the same in an e-mail to the group.)
I’m reviewing these in a particular order: as of July 27 – first the folks that listed their CD tracks on their blogs, then the folks that Lefty listed their CD tracks on HIS blog, then everyone else who had tracks listed by others, then the ones where the tracks aren’t listed anywhere. Within those categories, I’m reviewing these in the order in which I received them.
I developed a matrix by which I’ll address each of the discs, more for my ease than anything. I was discussing with Fred Hembeck a while ago how difficult CD reviewing can be because I don’t always know the lingo, so at least the formula will allow me to touch on certain aspects more or less consistently. (You’ll be able to tell a librarian did this.)
The first pair of reviews tomorrow.
Bloggerama
I’ve been blogging three months. Given the fact that some folks have been blogging three years or longer, it ain’t no big deal to anyone but me. But it has been a real learning experience:
1) Can I be disciplined enough to post something, however slight, every day? So far, the answer, surprisingly (to me) is yes.
2) Will this allow me to “get in touch” with buried stuff, exhibiting existential angst in the public marketplace? Well, yes and no. I’ve certainly learned stuff about me (and you have, too.) But I DO have an edit button most of the time. So whatever salacious stuff you’ve seen, know that there’s even worse stuff in my head that you haven’t seen (and may never see – or you will, someday, maybe.)
3) Will anyone actually read this thing? Well, apparently, yes. To gauge that further, I’ve changed the settings so that any strange person can reply to my messages, rather than any strange person registered with Blogger. I reserve the right to alter that again, of course.
4) Will I get sucked up into this blogisphere, checking out other sites? Well, some.
The only site I visit every day without fail (unless he posts after my bedtime) is Mr. Hembeck’s. He suckered me into this, after all. Besides, occasionally I can get a mention in his column
(July 23, plus some JEOPARDY! plugs).
Often, after I have posted, I hit the Next Blog button in upper right of my page. Sometimes, I find sweet pieces like this one. I almost ALWAYS find a plug for Texas Hold ‘Em. Want a Spanish-language review of the movie Sin City? How about a political rant of a total stranger? And how the heck can I possible hit the same blog twice, given the number of new entrants into the arena?
At Mr. Hembeck’s suggestion, I’ve been regularly going to News from Me by Mark Evanier, a very newsworthy source. And he rants about the same political stuff that irks me, only he does it better. Also, I read one of my favorite comic writer’s blog, one Steve Gerber.
I’ve been checking out the folks involved with Chris Brown’s Mixed Bag CD exchange (May 23), and some of them are quite entertaining. But I have to make special mention of Greg Burgas, who has two daughters, at least two blogs (one about his aforementioned two daughters), and inexplicably but happily, too much time on his hands.
In re: the Mixed CD folks, one of the goals for the month will be to start to review those tunes, probably two discs at a time, once this week, then twice a week until they’re done. I’d say Wednesdays and Saturdays except that I’ve already foreseen some exceptions to that rule.
Oh, and if there are issues you know that I know about that I haven’t written about, please let me know. I may decide that now’s not the time, but I will keep it “under advisement,” as they say.
Three Ramblin’ Questions: premiere
Here’s a new feature here at Ramblin’. It’s called “Three Ramblin’ Questions.”
OK, it’s not new. I was inspired by blogger Chris “Lefty” Brown.
OK, I stole Lefty Brown’s idea.
In any case, this month marks the 50th anniversary of “Rock and/or Roll,” as a cartoon minister once put it. Rock Around the Clock reached Number 1 on the charts on July 9, 1955.
(Yeah, yeah, I know about “Rocket 88” and all that)
About halfway through the Rock and roll era, one (or two) of my favorite songs about rock and roll came out on Neil Young’s Rust Never Sleeps album. (And neither do I ’cause it’s too darn hot.)
So, please tell me:
1. Will rock and roll ever die, or is rock and roll here to stay?
2. Is it better to burn out, or to fade away?
3. What king or queen of music is gone but not forgotten? (Gone means left this mortal coil, not a downturn in the career.)
BONUS QUESTION: I’ll be doing this feature:
a. Every week, religiously.
b. As the muse strikes.
c. Whenever I’m pressed for time.
The blogger CD exchange-ROG
Several months before I was involved with the bloggers exchange I mentioned a couple of days ago, I was participating on a one-on-one exchange with Fred Hembeck, my old compatriot from the FantaCo comic book days. Most of my earlier works were chronologically based, but as Fred was already doing more thematic pieces, I did likewise.
One of the topics I decided on was to get a song for every state in the country. I missed a few states, but I ended up putting together three discs of an “American travelogue.”
Meanwhile, Fred was involved with a bunch of folks, most of them interested in comic books, who did a bloggers’ exchange of mixed CDs, initiated by Chris “Lefty” Brown. As I wasn’t blogging at the time, I couldn’t participate. But now that I am posting fairly regularly, I got to give it a go in the second round with these very diverse folks (May 23).
I decided to use the first of my American Travelogue discs, but I made a few changes.
Let’s begin
US: I wanted to start and end with an “American” song. I started with “American Roulette” from Robbie Robertson’s first solo album, which starts off slowly but really rocks at the end. My old friend Karen has worked for record companies for over half her life, and she was trying to promote this album when it came out. She goes to one station trying to explain who Robertson WAS, “You know, The Band? Backing band for Dylan? The Last Waltz?” No hint of recognition from some 23-year-old program director who was making decisions about what got played on the air.
NY: “New York, New York” – Ryan Adams was an alt-country darling in 2001. Some critics indicate that he puts out too much mediocre stuff, so his double albums should be single discs. Remind me to look up “alt-country.”
NJ: “Atlantic City” – I wanted to NOT do Springsteen here; I half succeeded. It’s a Bruce song by post-Robertson The Band, a little more up-tempo than The Boss’s version, with a mandolin.
PA: “Allentown” – I expect to be pilloried by some bloggers for putting the very uncool Billy Joel on the disc, but sonically, it just works for me. I had put Elton John’s “Philadelphia Freedom,” but it didn’t fit.
MD: “Baltimore” – I’m sure I got Peter Case from Karen. It is one of those albums that I never remember to play, but the gravelly-voiced singer always satisfies when I do. I considered Vonda Shepherd’s “Maryland” here, but I was in a city groove.
DE: Couldn’t find anything in my collection for the First State. Don’t think “The White Cliffs of Dover” would count.
DC: “The Bourgeois Blues” – Folkways put out an album of covers of Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly tunes. This song was written by the latter, and sung by Taj Mahal. Talks about black people not getting a break in our nation’s capital.
Heading South
VA: Some relative told me that “I Believe” was the “future of popular music.” So, sound unheard, I bought the Blessed Union of Souls album. I wouldn’t say it was “the future of popular music,” but “Sweet Virginia” works on this disc.
NC: “Take the Train to Charlotte” – There are a number of other NC songs, but this one was obvious for me, since my mom, sister Marcia, and niece Alex live there. From the Roots and Blues 109-song, box set, this tune is by Fiddlin’ John Carson, no relation to the late, late-night talk show host (I don’t think so, anyway.) This song is from c. 1930.
SC: “Darlington County” – talk about commercial! From Springsteen’s massive Born in the U.S.A. album. This was the toughest change because I replaced an obscure John Linnell song “South Carolina”, but again the sound was the determining factor.
GA: “Oh, Atlanta.” Love the chromatic scale ascent on this Alison Krauss tune. Chromatic scale? Play the scale MI up to DO, including the black keys, on a piano, staccato (short notes), then imagine that on guitar leading to Alison’s sweet voice.
FL: “Gator on the Lawn.” At 1:13, the shortest song, also the loudest. It has a really rockabilly feel. From the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ box set.
Rejected
PR: I DUMPED “America” from West Side Story from this version. I LOVE West Side Story, I ADORE West Side Story, but I didn’t think it worked here.
AL: “Alabamy Home” by the Gotham Stompers, an instrumental from “1930s Jazz- The Small Combos.”
MS: “The Jazz Fiddler” by the Mississippi Sheiks, also from “Roots & Blues”.
LA: “Down at the Twist & Shout” was performed by Mary Chapin Carpenter at a Super Bowl, and I have the live recording, but this is the studio version.
TX: I love Lyle Lovett. I love his backing vocalists, Sweet Pea Atkinson and Sir Harry Bowens. They really help make “That’s Right (You’re Not from Texas)” swing.
US: This CD ends with a Garth Brooks song “American Honky Tonk Bar Association.” It is a flat-out country song for the “hardhat, gunrack, achin’-back, overtaxed, flag-wavin’, fun-lovin’ crowd.” I had, in the previous incarnation, put this song before Lyle.
So, when I see reviews of this album on other blogs and I link to them, you’ll know what the heck they are talking about. Not so incidentally, look at Lefty’s page for June 28 for what other bloggers said about their own and each others’ discs.