Can You See Ahead?

These songs from the 1970s and 80s may help!

01 - The End - Wrong Kind of Stone Age - 1987  (1:40)

02 - Clones All Think Alike - Mike Gould and the Gene Pool Band - 1981  (3:42)

03 - Modern Living - Experimental Products - 1982  (5:42)

04 - Computer - The Allies - 1979  (4:28)

05 - Lose Control - Stocking Heads - 1983  (2:20)

06 - Android Police - Pompeii 99 - 1982  (3:01)

07 - The Machine Wants to Know - The Aliens - 1980  (3:27)

08 - Century of Machines - The Conservatives - 1983  (3:30)

09 - Science Gone Too Far - The Dictators - 1977  (3:27)

10 - Dream Machines - Sons of Heroes - 1983  (3:28)

11 - Watchman, Walkman, Thinkman - Rupert Hine - 1988  (4:50)

12 - The Shape of Things to Come - The Diodes - 1977  (2:18)

13 - 21st Century Man - DL Byron - 1980  (2:55)

14 - I'm Mechanical - Subjects - 1982  (3:15)

15 - Machine - Satellite Spies - 1986  (3:28)

16 - Clones - The Waitresses - 1978  (2:28)

17 - Take Your Brain Out for a Walk - Tagmemics - 1980  (3:02)

18 - Ms Machine - Times - 1983  (5:59)

19 - Instant Knowledge - The Asteroids - 1978  (3:11)

20 - Do It for Science - New Marines - 1982  (3:23)

21 - Transformer Man - Neil Young - 1982  (3:18)

Now that you've had some visions of the future, get out there and make it a good one!

THIS LINK GOOD FOR SEVEN DAYS.

PERMANENT LINK.

See you on Thursday.  Until then, keep your heads in the clouds and watch out for flying cars!

  

Right Now!

That's how soon you can experience some new favorites!

01 - Right Now - Runaways - 1976  (3:33)

02 - The Empire Strikes Back (Medley) - Meco - 1980  (3:01)

03 - Breakfast Cereal Deviant - The Undead - 2002  (1:47)

04 - It's No Game (Pt 1) - David Bowie - 1980  (4:40)

05 - At the Dance - Jezebel & the Nudes - 1983  (3:54)

06 - Radical Attitude - Epicycle - 1979  (2:18)

07 - Your Love Is Like a Ballistic Missile - Roses Are Red - 1979  (3:04)

08 - Love Canal - The Vores - 1978  (3:26)

19 - Ain't That Peculiar - Fanny - 1972  (4:03)

10 - Living on Dreams - Vice Squad - 1981  (2:49)

11 - Paint by Number Heart - Martha and the Muffins - 1980  (3:45)

12 - Sometimes I (live) - The Plasmatics - 1979  (3:55)

13 - Explosive Decompression - The Maps - 1979  (1:51)

14 - The Wicked Name - House and Gardens - 1985  (4:12)

15 - Identity - X-Ray Spex - 1979  (2:19)

16 - Final Kiss of Love - West and Byrd - 1988  (4:25)

17 - More Suicides Please - The Thought Criminals - 1979  (2:32)

18 - Big Chain - The Flamingo Group - 1971  (2:30)

19 - Heads Are Gonna Roll - Straight Lines - 1980  (3:09)

20 - Happey Valley - pragVEC - 1980  (3:32)

21 - Betty Lou's Got a New Tattoo - The Creep - 1964  (1:59)

22 - New Maiden - Metal Boys featuring China - 1980  (2:45)

23 - Radio Dream (The Last Song) - The Orchids - 1979  (1:51)

24 - Audio, Audio - The Classics - 1979  (2:43)

25 - All Wound Up - Phobia - 1979  (2:08)

You too can be a Breakfast Cereal Deviant, and dabble in your Paint by Number Heart!  And, yes, #21 is spelt "Happey" -- and yes, #22 is a parody of "Betty Lou's Got a New Pair of Shoes."

THIS LINK GOOD FOR SEVEN DAYS.

PERMANENT LINK.

Surely you too can find a new favorite here?  You have until Monday and our next comp!
 

You Too Can Be Hip!

Yup, with this crackling selection of songs from the 1980s, all of which have two-word titles!

01 - It's Hip - The Terraplanes - 1981(2:40)

02 - Moja Mama - Videosex - 1983  (3:47)

03 - Bubble Gum - The Chichlids - 1980  (1:53)

04 - Electric Shadows - The Silence - 1985  (4:08)

05 - Savoir Faire - Family Fodder - 1980  (3:15)

06 - Callous World - Ester Zoobes - 1981  (3:12)

07 - In Egypt - Dik Dik Dimorphic - 1985  (3:39)

08 - Private World - The Vels - 1983  (4:36)

09 - Western Laughter - The Fatal Charm - 1980  (3:28)

10 - Elaborate Dummy - Portray Heads - 1984  (3:51)

11 - After Today - Elisa Waut - 1988  (3:09)

12 - Fun Wars - Dead Katts - 1982  (2:22)

13 - Permanent Damage - Suzanne Fellini - 1980  (3:16)

14 - Snake Handler - L7 - 1988  (2:27)

15 - Paper Dolls - IQU - 1984  (4:34)

16 - So Hard - Personal Effects - 1982  (3:25)

17 - Zero Gravity - IQ Zero - 1981  (3:07)

18 - No Romance - The Whisper Mode - 1985  (3:26)

19 - Sixties Flix - Action Pact - 1984  (1:54)

20 - Shut Up - Graduate - 1980  (2:53)

21 - After All - Midnite Lunch - 1983  (2:19)

22 - Hello Hello - The Keys - 1981  (3:31)

23 - Once Over - Burning Rome - 1982  (3:24)

24 - Trash City - Transvision Vamp - 1988  (5:10)

You can thank me after your spinning brain resettles.

THIS LINK GOOD FOR SEVEN DAYS.

PERMANENT LINK.

See ya Thursday for another glistening listening!

  

Welcome to the MUSICAL MONTH OF MAY 2025

Yup, a new music comp every Monday and Thursday, mi compadres.

We'll commence with a celebration of Walpurgisnacht.

Many of these selections feature Mussorgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain," but not all.

01 - St John's Night on a Bare Mountain (Original Version) - Mussorgsky - Ukraine NSO - 1867  (12:48)

02 - Night on Bald Mountain (Full Metal Cover) - Mussorgsky - arr John Parrish - 2016  (10:35)

03 - Walpurgis Night Allegretto - Gounod - 1859  (1:26)

04 - Night on Bald Mountain - Mussorgsky - Mint Julep Jazz Band - 2015  (4:08)

05 - Dorothy's Rescue (Extended Version) - Mussorgsky - arr Herbert Stothart - 1939  (3:10)

06 - Die erste Walpurgisnacht - Overture (edit) - Mendelssohn - 1831  (6:34)

07 - Walpurgis Night - The Coffinshakers - 2007  (3:27)

08 - Night on Bald Mountain (Piano Solo) - Mussorgsky - arr Andrew Ray - 2012  (8:11)

09 - Walpurgis - François Rabbath - 1963  (3:19)

10 - La nuit de Walpurgis - Overture - Charles-Marie Widor - 1887  (10:13)

11 - From the Bohemian Forest - Walpurgis Night - Dvořák - 1883  (3:58)

12 - A Night on Bare Mountain - Mussorgsky - arr Leibowitz - 1962  (10:36)

You should find and listen to the entirety of Mendelssohn's cantata, Die erste Walpurgisnacht.  Among other things, it's a poke at rabid so-called Christians who see the devil everywhere.

THIS LINK GOOD FOR SEVEN DAYS.

PERMANENT LINK.

See you on Monday, fellow revelers!

   

At the Top of My Liszt

While I have heard a complete recording of Liszt's piano music (something like 100 CDs I think), I have a soft spot for this album.

I bought it in the OCU bookstore.  The contents:

  

1  On Lake Wallenstadt no.2    1:50

2  Les jeux d'eau à la Villa d'Este    5:47

3  Hongaarse rhapsodie no.2    8:07

4  Hongaarse rhapsodie no.10    6:20

5  La campanella    4:13

6  Harmonies du soir    7:34

7  Légende no.1: St. François d'Assise: la prédication aux oiseaux    8:52

8  Légende no.2: St. François de Paule marchant sur les flots    7:12

THIS LINK GOOD FOR SEVEN DAYS.

PERMANENT LINK.

Here is the text from the right side of the LP rear:

Almost every important pianist and composer from the beginning of the last century recorded piano rolls. Particularly when developments were such that dynamics, pedal operation, etc. could also be recorded on the roll, recording rolls became more interesting than recording 78t. records for a mechanical horn: the sound quality of a real piano was of course nicer than the tinny sound of the early piano recordings. There is a wonderful site on the history of the reproducing piano. And in Amsterdam is the Pianola Museum, which I can heartily recommend to everyone.

The 3 most important reproducing piano systems were Welte Mignon, Duo-Art and Ampico. Less important were Hupfeld DEA and Philipps Duca.

In 1904, the German company Welte-Mignon developed the first system in which not only the notes but also the pedal operation, dynamics, etc. could be recorded on the roll. Eugene d'Albert, Wilhelm Backhaus, Ferrucio Busoni, Claude Debussy, Edwin Fischer, Walter Gieseking, Arthur de Greef, Edvard Grieg, Paul Hindemith, Wanda Landowska, Ruggiero Leoncavallo, Gustav Mahler, Arthur Nikisch, Egon Petri, Raoul Pugno, Camille Saint-Saëns, Richard Strauss, Max Reger, Artur Schnabel and Alexander Scriabin have recorded roles for Welte-Mignon.

In 1913, the Aeolian Company developed the Duo-Art system. They recruited Harold Bauer, Ferrucio Busoni, Teresa Carreño, Edwin Fischer, Arthur Friedheim, Ignaz Friedman, Rudolph Ganz, George Gershwin, Leopold Godowski, Percy Grainger, Josef Hofmann, Ignace Jan Paderewski, Sergei Prokofiev, Maurice Ravel and Igor Stravinsky.

Also in 1913, Ampico (American Piano Company) came on the market with a reproducing system. Josef Lhévinne, Moriz Rosenthal and Sergei Rachmaninoff are the most famous performers on Ampico.

In the 1970s Everest released a series of LPs: Everest Archive of Piano Music, with reproducing Duo-Art piano rolls, played by famous pianists. The piano used for this Duo-Art series by Everest is a Steinway, built in 1929 from the collection of Harold L. Powell, North Hollywood, California. All rolls used in the Everest Duo-Art series were played between 1916 and 1925.

Arthur Friedheim (St. Petersburg, 26.10.1859 - New York City, 19.10.1932): Russian pianist, conductor and composer. Studied one year with Anton Rubinstein, was dissatisfied with it and went to Franz Liszt. The latter accepted him after some hesitation in 1880. During the last eight years of Liszt's life Friedheim remained his pupil, also acted as secretary and lived with Liszt in Rome and Weimar.

Then from 1891-1895: United States, then England (teaching until 1904 at the Royal Manchester College of Music).

From 1908-1911: conductor in Munich; 1915 United States; 1921 Canada (professor at Canadian Academy of Music).

He made only 3 78t. records around 1912 for Columbia. One of them is an oddity: in Chopin's funeral march he simply stops at 2/3, due to lack of space on the record side. 

Arthur Friedheim recorded roles for Welte-Mignon, Philipps Duca and Triphonola in addition to Duo-Art.

See you on Thursday, May 1, for this year's MUSICAL MONTH OF MAY, with new music comps all month long --- starting with a special Walpurgisnacht concoction!  See ya then!

 

Put on Your Bib!

That's because you might start drooling.

01. I Must Be in Love (1) (2:39)

02. The Children of Rock 'n' Roll (0:48)

03. I Must Be in Love (2) (2:20)

04. Cheese and Onions (1:24)

05. Shangri-La (3:24)

06. Hold My Hand (2:31)

07. Brian Thigh Interview (1:26)

08. You Need Feet (1:09)

09. Dirk's Love Song (0:50)

10. Lullaby (0:29)

11. Baby S'il Vous Plaît (1:54)

12. My Little Ukelele (1:58)

13. Under My Skin (3:31)

14. Rut-a-Lot (5:54)

15. I Must Be in Love (3) (2:19)

16. Not Letting It Be (8:24)

No dead baby jokes, please!

THIS LINK GOOD FOR SEVEN DAYS.

PERMANENT LINK.

The "original" source was very sloppy.  I added metadata, generated the disc art, evened audio, added opening & closing silences.

See you on Monday!

  

These Grooves Will Drive You ... MAD!

It's MAD, I tell you!

01 - She Got a Nose Job - Mike Russo, Jeanne Hayes, the Dellwoods

02 - It's a Gas - Mike Russo, Jeanne Hayes, the Dellwoods

03 - She Lets Me Watch Her Mom and Pop Fight - Mike Russo, Jeanne Hayes, the Dellwoods

04 - The Boy from ... - Linda Lavin

05 - Well, It Ain't - Dick Libertini

06 - Makin' Out - Smyle

07 - Meet the Staff of MAD - The Editor, the Publisher, and All the Idiots

08 - Barely Alive - Steve Leeds, Phyllis and Angela Harris

09 - This Time, This Night - Karl, Phylliss, and Angela Harris

10 - Disco Suicide - Phylliss, Karl, and Angela Harris

11 - Blind Date - Green Jelly

12 - I Found Her Telephone Number Written on the Boy's Bathroom Wall - Ben Vaughn

THIS LINK GOOD FOR SEVEN DAYS.

PERMANENT LINK.

You won't find THOSE links on ANY bathroom wall, so get 'em quick, campers!  See you Thursday.

  

Sweet, Baby, Sweet

Here's a 1996 release from the legend that will last a lunchtime, the Pre-Fab Four ... the Rutles.

01. Intro + We've Arrived (3:12)

02. Now She's Left You (1:47)

03. Number One (2:41)

04. Love Life (2:17)

05. Radio Spot + Interview (1:09)

06. Goose-Step Mama (2:35)

07. It's Looking Good (1:57)

08. I Must Be in Love (2:17)

09. Baby Let Me Be (2:08)

10. Radio Spot (0:36)

11. Good Times Roll (3:09)

12. Let's Be Natural (2:25)

13.  Get Up and Go (3:29)

14. Old Blues Man Interview (1:19)

15. Blue Suede Schubert (2:20)

16. Between Us (2:30)

17. Piggy in the Middle (2:47)

18. Living In Hope (2:38)

It's up to you to decide if these supposed rehearsal tracks are spiffier than the original releases.

THIS LINK GOOD FOR SEVEN DAYS.

PERMANENT LINK.

See you Monday!

  

Please Come Back

... after you've disappeared into this music!

01. Disappearing Into You (8:49)

02. In Paradiso (5:07)

03. Resurrection (8:10)

04. In Paradiso (3:17)

05. Primitive Silence (2:10)

06. Serpent (8:43)

07. I Say Rock and Roll Prayers to a Dancing God (7:00)

08. Spirit Guides (7:02)

09. [silence] (3:40)

More fine noodling in this 1988 release.  A bit solipsistic, but that’s what happens when you’re on the road to self-disappearance?

THIS LINK GOOD FOR SEVEN DAYS.

PERMANENT LINK.

  

See you on Thursday!