VOTD 08/27/2025

 DEVO: DEV-O Live (WB)

Purchased from Mike Shanley at a record show at Spirit

This past week I watched the DEVO documentary on Netflix. I slapped this one the turntable, being the only physical copy of a DEVO record in my personal collection. 

What of the movie? There was a point I made about the recent Led Zeppelin doc, based on having a review of that film: it comes from a viewpoint of fandom. In other words, expect more of celebration than critique. It has something else in common with the LZ film: the only people seen speaking on screen are the band members themselves. No seemingly endless stream of talking heads, such as in the Ennio Morricone and John Coltrane docs. 

The film is especially interesting and effective at tracing the origins, specifically to Kent State University. Mark Mothersbaugh and Gerald Casale were both students, at the time of the Vietnam War protests. Gerald knew two of those killed. It cemented the idea for both of them that protesting was an ineffective act, and other methods were necessary.

An aside: if I have my facts straight, not only these two mutants were at Kent State at the time, but so Joe Walsh attended KSU, Chrissie Hynde was there at the time, as was Chris Butler of The Waitresses and Tin Huey. John "Derf" Backderf was a kid in a neighboring community at the time of the shooting. His recent graphic novel Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio is excellent; Chris Butler is a primary source for the book and depicted as one of the characters in the narrative. The book is maddening and deeply sad, and I can' recommend it highly enough.

An additional aside: Derf attended high school with Jeffrey Dahmer, which he depicts in an earlier graphic novel My Friend Dahmer (later adapted into a feature film). Dahmer didn't really have friends per se, but he and Derf hung out together and the Derf celebrated Jeffrey's unusual and erratic behavior at the time. How could anyone know how bad it would get?

Sweet mother of mercy! This must surely establish Ohio as one of the weirdest places in the world in the 60s and 70s. (I haven't even mentioned Pere Ubu, the Cuyahoga River catching on fire multiple times, or Ghoulardi.)

And by the way, I was born in Akron in 1963, but we moved away shortly afterwards.

Back to the film. The pacing is brisk, especially in its opening with collage visuals to accompany the text. It's the origin story, moving from self-released singles to a major label contract, the surprise hit of "Whip It", and their failure to recapture the success of that record, and their eventual initial breakup.

"Whip It" is an interesting story in itself. Warner Brothers was looking over their shoulders trying to sniff out an actual hit single to sell. They chose "The Girl U Want", which failed to chart. But organically, some radio stations took notice of "Whip It". The video that resulted was a broad parody of sex seen in other music videos at the time, but apparently few people got the joke. It became a huge early MTV hit, and earned the band its first gold records. 

Seems to me none of that would happen today. 

There's plenty left out of the documentary, including mention of the recent reunion tours. It is however very successful in presenting how the bands philosophy and aesthetics developed.

This record is a token from their Freedom of Choice tour, supporting "Whip It". They sound fine, they're a well-oiled machine of a band by this point. During the movie, there's mention of Mark's enthusiasm for The Ramones. That influence not only demonstrated reductionism, but that DEVO's songs sounded better when they were played faster. "Be Stiff" is the example here, and the early recording seems to be frustratingly slow when compared to this later version.

My father emailed me to recommend the DEVO documentary. He's not anti-rock music, but he thinks most of it is disposable and just not very good. So consider that a strong endorsement.

VOTD 08/24/2025

The Sensational Guitars of Dan & Dale: Batman and Robin (Tifton)

Purchased at Jerry's Records

Isn't part of the point of recording collecting the thrill of the hunt? I don't anticipate finding something especially valuable for $3, but it's fun to look. In this digital age when anyone with a smartphone can look up sales prices on discogs.com, it's increasingly rare to find something unusual or valuable at a cheap price. And it's not that I'm always looking for something rare and valuable; unusual is more interesting.

Yesterday I spent a good ninety minutes at Jerry's Records with my old college pal Rob Pleshar. He was there with his girlfriend, both taking their time in various sections around the store. I very rarely spend that sort of time in a record store, and certainly not when my wife is with me (which she was). As Rob was combing through the unsorted 7" 45s looking for obscure Eastern European titles (and found a few), Norma and I were casually looking over the Jerry's "weird" section: picture discs, space-oriented, bas rock operas, Golden Throats (celebrities singing), recordings of trains, etc. I found this record in the superhero section. 

Could it be what I thought it was? Rob confirmed.

What makes this novelty/kids-orientated record of interest? It was legend for years but later confirmed: Sun Ra and members of the Arkestra (including John Gilmore) played on a Batman novelty record. Yes, this was it. 

So, this is not an especially valuable record, but certainly one of interest to some collectors. $9? Yes I'll pay. 

I recalled the last really interesting buy at Jerry's, when Jerry himself still ran the place. I came across three LPs titled Soothing Sound for Baby, volumes 1, 2, and 3. They could easily be mistaken for easy listening kid's records. In fact, they are three LPs of Raymond Scott's weirdly minimalist, pre-MIDI sequenced electronic music. Very desirable to the right collector. Being, me. 

The Batman record was my current secret score at Jerry's. But what of it? It's entirely instrumental, the first track being a lesser cover of the original Batman TV series theme. There's no credit given to anyone anywhere, and the entire project seems shady. In general it's blues-rock. The titles don't seem to have much to do with anything: "The Penguin Chase", "Joker Is Wild", "Robin's Theme", "Batmobile Wheels". There are arrangements of two old classical themes I can't place at the moment. "Batmobile Wheels" is an obscured instrumental arrangement of The Beatles' "She Loves You". It all smells fly-by-night, iffy. 

Writer Mike Shanley said he had this record as a kid and enjoyed listening to it. If there's any rarity to this particular album, it's that it survived kids' turntables everywhere. 

VOTD 08/20/2025

 Lee Konitz: The Lee Konitz Duets (RRC)

Purchased at Jerry's Records

There were two inspirations for keeping this audio diary: Mike Shanley's blog, and Gino Robair's Facebook group, What's On Gino's Turntable?

In the case of the latter, he was unapologetic about that it was just about him. He didn't want to know what was on your turntable, he was only talking about what was on his. I don't think he's continued the group for at least a year, but whatever he put on the turntable was interesting.

As for the former, it's a more serious forum for album and concert reviews. Mike recently wrote a review of the Wold Eyes X Anthony Braxton, a disc I wrote about here myself. His take was far more in depth, analytical In my case, I wrote about myself in addition to commenting on the disc. 

I won't apologize for that, this forum is what it is. I only recognize that one of us is more serious in his writing. 

So more about me!

This was a record I discovered in the WRCT library back in my college radio days, and spin it a few times. I specifically remember playing the Lester Young tune "Tickle Toe", which finds Lee on tenor playing against Richie Kamuca, also on tenor. I know Lee mostly for playing alto, but I'm no expert on his discography. 

I run a bit hot and cold regarding Lee. Don't expect a passionate squonkfest when he plays, he's far too reserved for that. But damn, I wish he would play bolder now and then. He's practically the epitome of "cool".  There's a Kenny Wheeler CD on ECM, a quartet with Lee, Dave Holland, and Bill Frisell titled Angel Song. It's clearly meant to be a low-key session, sweet, chamber music-ish. It's beautiful, and Lee is an entirely appropriate person for the session.

When I was an undergraduate at Duquesne University, the jazz studies program brought in Lee Konitz for a short residency. I heard many complaints from fellow students: "Why not bring in Michael Brecker instead?" and similar questions. I found it disrespectful. Dr. John Wilson, like Lee, was a protege of Lennie Tristano, so Doc and Lee had a connection spanning decades.

I was taking Dr. Wilson's History of Jazz 1 Course at the time. Lee spoke to the group about Anthony Braxton. "Well I think Anthony Braxton is full of shit!" said Doc. Lee neither agreed or disagreed. According to Lee, he was hanging out in the early 70s at Chick Corea's loft, playing with him and Dave Holland and Barry Altschul. Anthony was also hanging around. He said the trio of Corea/Holland/Altschul wanted to go in a more modern direction. They went with Anthony and formed Circle, leaving Lee in the dust I suppose. Assuming all of this is accurate.

Lee had another anecdote about Anthony. He said that several times over, when Anthony Braxton said hello to him, he sang a particular phrase. Lee asked, "What is that?" Anthony: "It's part of a chorus you played." Lee wondered which. Doc retorted, "Yeah, now ask HIM to play it."

Lee gave private lessons to saxophone students that week, and I'm told was not at all kind to anyone. I didn't dare. 

Lee looked red- and puffy-faced that week. I don't think he was in good health at the time. Yet, somehow he lasted into the most recent decade and it was COVID that did him in. 

In my conversations with Anthony Braxton (a genuine raconteur), he told me that Lee Konitz had become "toughy-tough" (his exact words) with him after he won the MacArthur.

The album. I like this project, but I think I would have preferred a total commitment to the theme. "Struttin' With Some Barbecue" ends with overdubbed saxophone and euphonium, for example. 

Of all the tracks, the freest would seem to be "Duplexity" with Ellington trumpet (or in this case) violinist Ray Nance. It's the only track credited to both players. It's also the single longest performance on ths album. Here's where I say, more! 

The album ends with Marshall Brown's "Alphanumeric" with all players except Ray Nance. I completely understand ending the album this way, but personally I would have stuck to the theme. There's an inherent challenge to playing duet-style, but also an openness that is undeniable. I say embrace it. 

VOTD 08/13/2025

The Central Philharmonic Orchestra – 沙家浜 (革命交响音乐) = Shachiapang (Revolutionary Symphonic Music) Vol 1 & 2

Purchased at Jerry's Records

What did I expect from this pair of 10" records? Something as non-Western as possible I suppose. Plus you know, look at it: Revolutionary Symphonic Music, with Chinese vocalists and musicians wearing Maoist-era uniforms. I bought four Gagaku 10" LPs close to the same time from the same bin at Jerry's. I assume from the same collection. 

I am sympathetic to Socialist goals but definitely not a Maoist. Mao himself was no less a dictator than, I don't know, Trump or some such shit. Or worse. I believe in mutual respect for differences, not unity in race or orientation or clothing or taste. Nor down the barrel of a gun.

The music? Major and minor chords, often largely pentatonic. There's a broad vocal style I associate with Chinese and other "Eastern" styles, and I like that. I guess I didn't expect this to be too weird. It is propagandist, after all. The boldest the composition sounds is similar late 19th century to me. 

"Army and People Are Close as Fish and Water" is my favorite title in the cycle. 

I'd show these off to my Chinese students at CMU. In part for a laugh, but also to see the reaction. one student (a grad student if I recall correctly) said that "Shachiapang" wasn't really a correct transliteration; it was closer to "ShachiaBONG". Okay, I'll take his word on that.

I don't expect these will be worth any more than I paid for then, $7-8 apiece. But like my Gagaku 10" LPs, I love the thought of someone hunting through my collection after I'm gone and thinking, "What is THIS?"

Maybe part of the point of this blog is the immense diversity of recordings that are out there. 

 

CDOTD 08/13/2025

 Thelonious Monk: Thelonious Himself (Riverside)

There's a clip somewhere of Charles Mingus talking about pianists. He said most of them drive him crazy. They'll play the same voicings on particular chords over and over. He said the two exceptions were Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk. 

It is a problem with being the harmonic filler in a jazz ensemble. It's an even bigger issue with guitarists: how do you not play the same C7 chord over and over? I'd occasionally try to coach my aspiring CAPA guitar students on this point. At least the piano has far greater resources. 

I think Mingus' comment is important to consider but not accurate. I've listened to a lot of Thelonious Monk. Maybe as much as any other artist, if not more so. He's my guy, you know? Whether it's reflected in my music or not (and it surely must be, at least subtly) I feel a connection to his music I feel for few others. In spite of Mingus' comment, Thelonious definitely does play the same voicings on chords sometimes. He's freer than most, but even he has his limits. 

By the way, Charles Mingus himself was an excellent pianist. His solo piano album is worthy of a listen. He also played piano on a few of his sessions, hiring someone else for the bass seat. Yikes, I can only imagine how that must have felt, playing bass on a Mingus session.

If you listen to a solo Monk album expecting what you'd hear on a solo Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson, or Fat Waller record, you're going to probably be disappointed. It's not that Monk is lacking in technique, but he's rarely if ever flashy. An occasional flourish, that's all. Mostly it's...chunky. Monk was not the most subtle of pianists. He pounds out his thick harmonies. If you like that, he's your guy too. If you're looking for more flash or finesse, maybe look elsewhere. 

About half this program is old songs that he semi-reinvents: "April in Paris", "(I Don't Stand) A Ghost of Chance", "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You", "I Should Care", "All Alone". I posted a video of "I Should Care" on Facebook, saying that I felt like I understood Monk more as I aged. My father checks in with Facebook, pretty much just to see what I've posted. He misinterpreted what I wrote to mean the opposite. I said no no, the older I get, the more I get Monk solo. There's a melancholy to Monk's solo playing that didn't affect me so much when I was younger. Now I feel it far deeper.

I guess this is what I needed this afternoon. 

VOTD 08/06/2025

 Gang of Four: Songs of the Free (WB)

Purchased used at The Attic

It was 1982 I became involved with WRCT. I was staying in Pittsburgh for the summer, regularly listened to the station before becoming involved during that summer. In the next semester or two, I'd spend more time at the station than in classes. I don't blame the station. I made some contacts that remain to this day.

Gang of Four was a big deal at the station. In the fall semester of 1982, they played the student union on campus. I know I should have bought tickets, but I slept on it. I was dealing my state of depression in general. Tickets sold fast.*

The entire show was broadcast over WRCT live. I was in Richard Schnap's apartment, above his parents' garage, listening. They sounded great. GOF was touring on this album at the time.

WRCT had a policy of what was called "bin cuts". The bin was new albums. It was a way to force DJs to play something different, and appease labels to consider the continued relevance of a (then) 10 Watt station. 

When the live broadcast concluded, KJ the Jazzman took to the air. KJ was a fellow music major, Keith, who played guitar. He was a smooth jazz guy before the term was coined. Keith went on the air and played the first side of this LP to get his bin cuts in, immediately after the ban itself played all of it live. 

The first two GOF LPs, and the singles and EPs between those and this record, were very important to RCTers. One friend, when considering this album, thought they had become blander because of the "girl in the band". That is, between the time of Solid Gold and this album, bassist Dave Allen was replaced by Sara Lee. I don't know the circumstances. 

There's a clear progression from the first LP (Entertainment!), the second (Solid Gold) and this, the third. The first is very raw. it's well played, but almost sounds like a demo tape of a band mostly playing live. The second is more polished, a bit more produced but not overly so. Funkier, the African American influences more obvious. Guitarist Andy Gill is almost was abrasive as the first album. 

Then we come to this third LP. It's not a dramatic break, but things have clearly changed. The vocals are more upfront. The bass less so. When Andy Gill died, I was quoted in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette as saying that he could make a guitar sound like it was being strangled. There's little evidence of that here. 

It's closer to being a pop record than before, though it's hardly a pop album.

What were their motivations? I don't want to accuse them of selling out, but it's clear they were trying to head to a more popular direction. Did Dave Allen's departure mark a change of direction? Or did their push towards a more pop sound drive him out? I'm afraid I have no idea. 

I don't want to seem as though I'm completely putting this record down. To 2025 ears it sounds more dated than the previous two in part due to its then current production techniques. Raw will always sound current, polished has a half life. This sounds like early digital reverbs. 

Some songs and lyrics still pack a punch: "We live, as we dream, alone"; "Having fun is my reason for living (give me a break)"; "Making money is making sense". But when the project sounds more like a commercial venture, do the leftist-leaning lyrics start to lack punch? Seems to me, yes. The pacing of the album also seems strange; the most bracing song, "Call Me Up" opens (makes sense) but it ends on "Of the Instant", rather downbeat.

So, worthy album? Yes, but not in league with #1 & 2. After this, I can't say at all. 

* I entered CMU as a freshman in 1981. Between 1981-83, the campus saw concerts by King Crimson, The Clash, Cheap Trick, Gang of Four, Blotto, Tom Verlaine, Adrian Belew, and Iannis Xenakis. What a time to be alive. 

VOTD 08/05/2025

 Frank Zappa: Sleep Dirt (Discreet)

As is usually the case, my studio/mancave is in a total state of disarray. I'm as disorganized a person as you will encounter. But I do need to pick up after myself sometimes. I was filing some records away, including Jazz From Hell, and I noticed this record. I realized I'd never laid stylus to vinyl, so here we are. 

Frank Zappa was going through a label dispute at this time. Warner Brothers released three sessions in quick succession with no personnel or recording information. I remember Orchestral Favorites from the cut-out bins, which might have also been true for this album and Studio Tan. I had former as a teen. I liked some of the pieces on it (specifically "Strictly Genteel"), sold it off in a record purge, only to buy another copy later. All three albums had cover paintings by Gary Panter. I like all three. Gary is someone whose work I'd know better through Ralph Records; my first Ralph was the "Buy or Die" #3, with Gary's Tyrannosaurus front image. In this case Gary's painted an image of Hedorah (the Toho movies' Smog Monster) emerging from a bed.

Frank would later refer to these albums as bootlegs. That's only half true; there was a contract, but it was in dispute. Some of the tracks of those three albums were collected in the album Läther, though not everything. In short, it's confusing. 

Frank lived such a relatively short life, and was such a workaholic, that one can break down periods of his work into years rather than decades. He's in instrumental mode here, somewhat jazzy but through a rock lens.

The mix is at times terrible. "Regyptian Strut" is very bass and drums heavy, with the essential horn melody lurking in the background. Now that I hear the mix on that piece, I know that I have had this vinyl on before. 

Frank's guitar is prominent in some pieces, particularly "Filthy Habits", "Time Is Money" and "Sleep Dirt".  All bristle with nervous energy. That was certainly Frank's signature. 

The personnel information is available online. Without looking, I definitely detect both Ruth Underwood and Terry Bozzio. That places this in a particular time between the Napoleon Murphy Brock bands (Roxy and Elsewhere) and Zoot Allures. 

This is only a few years from the albums Frank produced thatIi either dislike or downright loathe. I found Zoot Allures to be a mixed bag, but the title track and "Black Napkins" rank among his best instrumental pieces. Sheik Yerbouti is also mixed but falling on the negative side for me. It wasn't long after that he released Joe's Garage, which I largely loathe. I think of it as a bad rock opera, and largely self aggrandizing. It does have one or two great works on it, but I just can't largely stand it. The same goes for most of his "rock" albums for the rest of his life. 

I do like some of his orchestral works, and many of the instrumentals. Shut up n' play your guitar!