David Dykstal
One listen to “Can’t Buy A Thrill” and I was hooked on Steely Dan for the first 6 albums. Every song on this is good. Every song on “Countdown to Ecstacy” is good. Every song on “Pretzel Logic” is good. Every song on “Katy Lied” is … You get the picture. Maybe it’s because they are a cut above in composition. Maybe it’s their sardonic wit. Maybe it’s the incredibly ugly covers. Maybe it’s Donald Fagen’s teeth. I don’t know. I just like them a lot.
“Songs of the American Land” has long been out of print and was never officially issued as a CD. My dad bought this record some time in the early ‘60s. I suspect many of us had it in our homes. I wish I still had it. I guess you would call it “americana” now. I’m not an obsessive collector of traditional tunes but I love hearing versions of these songs from just about anyone.
Salli Terri had a huge discography beginning in the ‘50s as an interpreter of folk songs from both North and South America as well as Europe. See salliterri.org. “Songs of the American Land” has my favorite versions of “Shenandoah,” “Erie Canal,” “Dixie,” “The Lone Prairie,” and “America”. You can listen to this album’s version “America” here: bit.ly/2JXn4xt. It’s too bad that the Vimeo recording doesn’t also include the intro “Geography Lesson” which was all kinds of fun hearing it as a kid.
Jefferson Airplane was a force of nature at their best. They were unlistenable at their worst. “Bless Its Pointed Little Head” was the first JA and first live album I ever bought. The version of “Somebody to Love” on this record is still my favorite. Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady are on fire here. I’ll sometimes just listen to Jack’s bass intro to “The Other Side of This Life” on its own. This is the album that started my JA fetish which ended when the follow-on band, Jefferson Starship, released “Red Octopus” and I swore them off forever.
For some it was “Blue,” for me it was “For the Roses”. The first chords of “Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire” still bring a chill. Favorites also include “Woman of Heart and Mind” and the quirky “Barangrill”. This album, more than any, foreshadows her later work.
Disraeli Gears was the first album I remember buying with money I had earned. It think it was at Penney’s (?) in Westgate in Madison WI. The hook was “Sunshine of Your Love”, but my favorites were “We’re Going Wrong” and “Tales of Brave Ulysses”. Eric Clapton’s fun with the wah-wah pedal shines through.
My good friend, Craig Huegel, accepted a Facebook challenge from his friend, Jeff Klinkenberg: Post just the covers of the 10 albums which have been most influential in your life. Craig has finished his list and passed the challenge to me. This proved to be more difficult (and more fun) than I expected. I had to throw a bunch into “honorable mentions” and I know I will still miss a few. I’ll have to post the honorable mentions at some point.
These albums are starting points. These are all good, some even great. They are in no particular order. Your opinions will undoubtedly vary from mine. 😎
I’m augmenting the Facebook posts on my micro.blog. You’ll see one each day for 10 days along with its rationale. The honorable mentions will follow sporadically.
After about three weeks, I’ve decided to go back to WordPress from @blot. I really liked blot, but also like the flexibility of WordPress. I’ll keep blot, just not sure what I’ll use it for just yet. I’ll gladly take suggestions. 😎
I have one year to get in good enough shape to tackle Isle Royale for the third time. I was significantly younger the first two times. This is going to take some effort.
It seems like you can’t even buy a cup of coffee these days without getting a customer satisfaction survey.
Music participation in high school linked to higher scores on English, math and science exams
This should surprise no one.
I’m thinking a bit about what creativity means. Who is a creative person you admire? Can you explain why you feel they are creative?
I’m going all-in on @blot for my long-form blog.
I’ve moved from dropbox to git and copied all of the draft posts I had stacked up in MarsEdit to my drafts folder. Some of these will likely end up here though.
Whenever I want mellotron death-of-the-universe music there is only one album to turn to: In the Court of the Crimson King. My latest trip to Florida to my parent’s triggered it when I drove past King Crimson Trace in Tarpon Springs.
After a long and somewhat disjointed six months I’m going to try being a bit more micro.blog friendly. I’ve been watching and learning though. Thank you all for keeping this platform active!
I’ve just started Maria Popova’s new book Figuring. I was struck by its more than passing resemblance to James Burke’s Connections. Turns out this is not an accident as expressed by Maria herself on Brain Pickings.📕
Anyway, enjoying it so far even though some of the connections are coincidental.
Watching “The Sound Of Music” on the plane. I love the outfit Maria wears out of the convent. It’s so governessy.