The Monkees 1986 World Tourbook.

Based on what is in my collection

Her?

vocal samples at each end of track

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Collection Spotlight: Paramore - Self Titled Vinyl (2013)

Here we are again at the Cheapo new arrival bin! Paramore is one of my all-time favorite bands so when I flipped through and found this gem for $5(?!) I grabbed it so fast! Although the competition is absolutely incredible, their self-titled is also my favorite album, so I am thoroughly happy to have it on vinyl and to have found it in such an unexpected way!

Most played songs, albums and artists for July!

Album Review of the Week: Foo Fighters - The Colour and the Shape (1997) ☆☆☆

Technically, there was a Foo Fighters album 2 years before this one but it was largely a demo recorded by Dave Grohl himself. This album is the debut of the collective group and what a debut it is! They paired up with producer Gil Norton who helped smooth things out for more radio sensibility which helps a lot with charts and sales and simply creating a classic album that people can admire for years and decades to come!

It opens with a slow, short track Doll, then bursts through with Monkey Wrench. The sound is clean and smooth yet still hard-hitting, especially with the fast-talking-turned-to-scream of the bridge.

Hey, Johnny Park! has a loud (every time I say this, know that I mean it in the best possible way!) intro, then slows down into a more mid-tempo situation. The chorus picks up again and provides and great melodic rock riff and vocal. I love the main guitar riff, it definitely perks up my ears and pulls me in!

Then we get a really cool crossfade into chaos that leads us into My Poor Brain. The verses are very subdued and a little silly but it provides a nice texture change and of course the chorus is still the rock that we came to hear!

Wind Up has really, really great texture. The guitars and drums are in great form on this one especially. They break out the pedals in this one too which helps to vary the sound.

Up In Arms is another one that starts with a 30~ second ballad then picks right up. According to Wikipedia, this album is meant to illustrate a therapy session and general processing of life events which explains the quick tempo changes.

My Hero starts with a really great bassline. This is the song I am most familiar with, mostly because Paramore covered it at one point. If you can't tell, I am a more casual Foo Fighters fan. This single is really great though. The riffs and the chorus, just great! Definitely has my head bobbing.

See You is quite bouncy and poppy compared to what we have heard so far. Enough Space starts with a darker guitar tone, the pleasant walk we just had is clearly over and the storm clouds are back! The vocals are grittier as well!

February Stars is a soft piano and bass ballad! Quite a sharp turn. I always think of The Day the Music Died when I see the title of this song. Of course, three minutes in the guitars come back the volume is back up!

Everlong is almost pop-rock with its smooth melodies but do not fear! It is still incredibly driving.

Walking After You is a pretty long ballad that frankly didn't interest me too much. Then, New Way Home busted through and scared my cat after all that calm! It's another smooth yet driving track with great melodies.

I generally really enjoy this album although I don't think to pop it in the player very often. Some tracks are really really great but the album does stretch a bit for me while listening in completion.

Standouts: Monkey Wrench, Hey, Johnny Park!, My Hero and Wind Up.

Uncropped Elvis articles from Rolling Stone. September 22, 1977.

Rolling Stone. September 22, 1977.

Based on my collection

Collection Spotlight: Chubby Checker & Bobby Rydell (1961)

I was at Cheapo again flipping through the new arrival bin when this caught my eye. Both names are familiar, but I never knew they did anything together. After reading the back and learning that they were great friends and put this together for fun, I just had to listen!

While this isn't the greatest album in terms of quality and material, it is very fun listening to them just having fun. That's something that can get lost in the "industry" that is music, just having fun. It is very apparent that they really were close! They even sang background vocals on each other's albums often.

This album is not on Spotify, so please enjoy a select track below. It is a medley of them singing each other's hits!

Album Review of the Week: Meredith O'Connor - I Am (2015) ☆☆☆☆

This week's review is brought to you by request! Special thanks to @kayligraphy for reaching out and suggesting this album! I had never heard of this artist and upon researching there are definitely some noteworthy things to share. She's gained a lot of notoriety with her advocacy work against bullying and for mental health. She also toured with Aaron Carter for a while! Her voice and the tone of her music would definitely work in a Disney musical, I could see people trotting along the beach or a lively city street to some of these tunes.

The album opens with the title track, I Am, a bouncy self-empowering tune to set the tone of the project. It is definitely a good song to shout in the car with the windows down to pick yourself up!

The Game is next and it is a sharp turn into a moody vibe, I enjoy how theatrical it is! The lyrics speak to her anti-bullying stance and encourage you to stand up for yourself and others.

Just the Thing is a standout track for me, I can see myself really relating to this when I was a teenager, it brings me back to how I felt back then having a hard time finding close friends. The instrumentals are light and bouncy, making for a fun track!

Distraction is another standout, I really love how dramatic yet pop radio it is. The chorus is driving and takes you on a melodic journey.

Unforgettable Night is an almost-country mid-tempo ballad duet. This one is not my taste as much as the others have been, it is cute though!

14 Miles brings us back to the moody-pop that I've been having fun with! I believe I would have liked this song a lot when I was a teenager as well, it has those angsty lyrics and moody instrumentals that teens crave!

Stronger and Guardian Angel slow things down a bit with heartfelt ballads. Stronger picks up into a bouncy call-to-action inspirational track to get you moving! Guardian Angel is a moving ballad with a beautiful piano riff and a really great vocal performance. The lyrics are very honest and relatable. I don't usually go for ballads, but this definitely grabs at my heartstrings and makes me feel the lyrics.

This 9-track album closes out with Face That's Perfect. It brings the mood up with a strong finish. Another fun track that feels like finally hanging out with your crush, which is a great feeling!

All in all, this is a really great independent effort! She has been getting accolades as recently as this year for her advocacy work and even though this is her only album and it was released 8 years ago, she is definitely still out there touring and using her platform for good!

Thanks again for introducing this album and singer to me, and thanks for reading this week's review!

Rona Barrett’s Hollywood. November 1976.

Based on what is in my collection.

Flashback Friday Personal Post: Montana Road Trip, 2019!

In the autumn of 2019, we decided to take a big 18-hour road trip to Kalispell Montana and visit Glacier National Park. We weren't too hardcore about hiking but we found lots of other unexpected treats along the way!

Stopped at Space Aliens restaurant somewhere in North Dakota. Nearly fainted trying to use an elliptical in the same room as a hot tub at a hotel! Found a wild Britney Jean in the window of an outfitters shop. Hiked so much we felt as though we deserved a 4-person family alfredo meal for the 2 of us. It was delicious. Our Airbnb was across from a historic mansion.

Collection Spotlight: Lizzo - Lizzobangers (2013)

I became a fan of Lizzo right as she was gaining popularity with "Good As Hell" in late 2016. I was living in St. Paul Minnesota at the time so it was a great way to learn that Minneapolis has an amazing music scene! Obviously we have Prince and some of Janet Jackson's most legendary albums, but Lizzo helped me learn that there is an entire scene happening around here!

Her debut album, Lizzobangers, was on my "wantlist" for a long time although I wasn't convinced I would ever acquire it since the price shot up after she became mainstream. However, I was perusing my favorite record store - Cheapo (either the Blaine or Snelling location, this particular time it was Snelling) and I came across this for $25! I thought that was certainly a fair price given the scarcity of this album and snatched it right up!

Album Review of the Week: Lana Del Rey - Lust For Life (2017) ☆☆☆

Lana Del Rey can be quite hit or miss for me. I have most albums, but some I forget exist altogether. Her music can tend to blend together for me, I do wish I could appreciate her more. However, I do still listen lots and the music I do enjoy fascinates me.

When the lead single, Love, came out, I was very into it! The lyrics are really sweet and her vocal performance is one of her best in my opinion. I love how the melody flows during the chorus and the wide booming drums throughout make for a really interesting mood.

Lust for Life is a good follow-up. It is kind of a pumped up version of the previous track. It still has the flowing, gorgeous chorus but the verses are a bit more punchy. The sound profile is very wide and atmospheric, I can certainly imagine LDR and The Weeknd singing atop clouds floating around.

13 Beaches, Cherry and White Mustang seem to be a trilogy. They have generally the same sound and seem to tell a story about a failing relationship in real time.

Summer Bummer senses the monotony and attempts to spice it up with hip hop beats and two! rap features. I'm personally not a fan of male rappers so that doesn't add anything positive for me, really. It's mostly annoying how they keep going "what? what? what?" throughout.

In the 2012 EP Paradise, Lana Del Rey sings a time or two about the desire to become groupie. Here with Groupie Love, we get to hear the perspective of someone who has gone beyond the realm of groupie but now has to contend with other women attempting to gain the groupie status with her person! I think that is quite an interesting lore development.

Things get a little sassier with In My Feelings. The tone is a bit more aggressive and the lyrics as well. Ooh, someone hurt her bad! Definitely perks up the listening experience after that last batch.

Coachella - Woodstock In My Mind, God Bless America - And All the Beautiful Women In It and When the World Was At War We Kept Dancing seems to be another trilogy. Not only do they have incredibly long titles in common, the sound is quite the same as well. The metaphors also seem to get stronger as the album goes on.

The rest of the album really does blend together for me so it's difficult to write on them individually and the album honestly gets boring for me. All in all, Lust For Life is not her best work but it is generally pleasant to listen to in the background and has a few strong standouts. It is better than some of her later work because I can actually understand what she is saying without having to listen with fancy headphones with no other distraction. There is definitely some good lyricism and storytelling here.

Thanks for reading!

16 Magazine. January 1968.

Based on what is in my collection

Collection Spotlight: Janet Jackson - Miss You Much 12" Single (1989)

I love really great "new arrival" bin finds! The Rhythm Nation album is so good, I knew I had to pick up this single off of that album. The remixes are a lot of fun, but the non-album track "You Need Me" is where it's at! I love finding singles that have non-album tracks, especially from artists and albums that I love.

This is definitely worth the pick up if you love classic pop music and/or remixes!