I'm not a fugitive on the run

This PE track played on the 'pod as I ran three blocks in a minute to make it to join a phone meeting at work.

The irony was palpable with each step. At least it was ironic to me as I struggled to reach the cell that's not of my choosing to be on time for a meeting (a meeting! Already it's hopeless.) that I didn't want to attend nor that I truly care about.

It's not really a raw deal, but, man, what are we doing when we're not running toward something we chose without restriction or requirement?

Public Enemy - Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos (1988) from Golden Era Videos on Vimeo.

Must Play Loud: We all know what your name is

In honor of their honor this week, the charming ol' chaps.

Has given me a feeling

This morning I got to relive the moment I first heard this song during a dissection by Sound Opinions of the legendary albums by Big Star, #1 Record/Radio City. The word "swoon" was used. That is, in fact, what I did when I was sitting on my couch on a Friday evening in September 2009 before I went out to see someone or other's comedy show later that night.

I told you I was reliving it.

Eventually, some eighteen months later, after a lot of how "Feel" feels had been felt, in fact, I learned to play it myself. (A D G A D G A D G A D G A G A C G G A C G)

But back to the discovery: I discovered Big Star, really, then. I became one of the "children by the millions," finally, when I'd not bothered myself ever to really investigate those beloved by so many beloved by me (actually, after the first full listen of #1/Radio I was going, um, hello, Elliott SMITH and not um, RePLACEments, somewhat to my surprise). So much so that weeks later, in October 2009, I buried spring bulbs in my front yard while that double-album pop-rock magnificat coursed through my earbuds. And, I like to think, romantically, into the soil itself.

I was still listening, not as much, but still, when those bulbs erupted, to my delight, into towering hyacinths, daffodils and tulips.

Must. Play. SO. LOUD.

On Repeat: My Sweet Imagination

Another one that prompts an immediate, visceral reaction. I feel all buzzy inside when this plays. Over and over again. Loudly.



Is there another Simon song that you can and should crank up?

Must Play Loud: Caught Up in Endless Solutions

Must Play Loud: Show and Prove or Get the Boot

Hold up, listen, partna.

Must Play Loud: The Way We Stand

Every bit of this is awesome, from the Electric Company logo-ripoff held too long in the frame (step away from the line you're doing in the booth, producer) to the accelerated live performance of this usually laconic track, to the furry animal tails and legs (LEGS) hanging off of one Brother Johnson's leather nudie suit. And Lightnin' Licks (yep, that's Brother George's name) is getting those buzzsaw grooves out of Gibson Les Paul, my favorite. It's just so pretty. And it would look good on me.

The other brother's name? Louis--or Thunder Thumbs.



And don't tell me the mid-70s weren't flush; Burt Sugarman clearly had enough money to emblazon the name of the groups that performed on his show in a garish, prodigious neon sign, no matter if the groove was really, really white, or super-white, or ironically white. To wit:

KC.

Manfred.

Steve.

Well, that last one's neon sign seems a little cheaper, chiseled out of a big LED screen...but still.

It's Friday, at last.

Must Play Loud: Wisdom Is Better Than Silver and Gold

Must Play Loud: I Ain't Waiting

The last five minutes of this song whip me into a meringue of subversion and escape. I can't stop listening to it. I want to kick out the office windows. Or, more likely, stand on a sticky concrete floor with a beer perched on my leg and feel this. Even without the contextual layer of Television's quote-unquote importance and their trailblazing mix of this and that, this is jaw-dropping awing. Since I'm typically late to the party when it comes to Television, I did read about them first. At that time, five, seven years ago, I was busy getting into contemporary things--things that I find myself today, while endlessly streaming (I had typed "spinning") "Marquee Moon," thinking, huh, I was already hearing this. Kind of. (Though I'm not keen at all about this version; live this track gets a bit too tweety [har] and anthem-y and makes me remember all the yo-bros at the later concerts I attended, raising their fists above their baseball caps in joy during particularly "sweet" crescendos...).

It's Friday night. Symmetrical, angular grooves, then the unexpected bright coda. LOUD.



There's a crow haw-hawing outside the office window right now. It might be poetic fancy, but do I hear guitar in his rasp?

Must Play Loud: I Might Die Tonight

Must Play Loud: Hey.