I finished reading James Acaster’s new book, Perfect Sound Whatever. I know James from the BBC & YouTube, where he is a regular guest on panel shows and solo stand-up comedy appearances. I bought this book expecting some good laughs; that didn’t happen. There are moments of humour scattered through the book, delivered in classic James Acaster deadpan style. The heart of the book is not about humorous events in his life; it is about his life and his relationship with music and people through one specific year, 2016, with a few bits from other years.

For those who know me, it is no secret that I am passionate about music. I listen to music, a lot of music. James Acaster listens to a lot of music as well, and our tastes overlap a surprising number of times considering our age gap; he is 41, I am 71. In this book, James walks us through a year in his life and the music he listens to during that year and beyond. He makes the bold statement that 2016 was the Greatest Year of All Time. GYoAT? The Greatest (Year) Of All Time, GOAT? Specifically, James asserts that 2016 was the greatest year in music of all time, and he walks us through all the music he listened to that year, with short album reviews along the way.

James includes a calendar at the end of the book with an album for each day of the leap year, 366 albums. He also includes an appendage because he listened to a lot more than just those 366 albums. 

I loved the book and plowed through it way too fast. I will have to revisit the reviews at a more pedestrian pace, giving myself time to listen to the music, perhaps not all 366, but samples of them all and deeper listens for ones that catch my ear, or his synopsis resonates with me. This will not be a year-long process, hopefully, but I do intend to listen to some music from 2016 that is new to me. I have already listened to or owned several of the albums listed and have listened to several of the albums that James Acaster listened to from his 2016 list.

Pink Floyd	Meddle
Joe Cocker	Gold
Mal Devisa	Kiid
George Harrison	All Things Must Pass
Zeal & Ardor	Zeal and Ardor
Christian Fitness	This Taco Is Not Correct
Jeff Beck	Truth

As seen above, I listened to more than just James Acaster’s albums; I know they aren’t his albums, but you know what I mean. I also listened to some good older tunes.

Pink Floyd are one of my top bands to listen to. I can go through their entire catalogue up to a certain point, and then it loses its appeal. The turning point is The Wall. The Wall is still listenable, but I find my mind wandering as I listen; it doesn’t hold me as much as their earlier material. On the other hand, I can listen to Meddle several times a year. With The Wall, once a year is enough. I think that may be an incendiary statement to some, who will strongly defend The Wall. I would posit, however, that they perhaps don’t have the career-spanning experience that I have had with Pink Floyd. I am of the opinion that a lot of younger fans are only familiar with the DSotM to The Wall period in the Pink Floyd discography.

Meddle is the sixth studio album by Pink Floyd and is separated from DS0tM by only one album, Obscured By Clouds, which was written as a soundtrack, not a stand-alone studio album. Meddle is significant in the timeline of Pink Floyd because it is the fulcrum that moved the band away from the Syd Barrett era into the Gilmour, Mason, Waters, Wright era. On Meddle, the song composition was a group effort, whereas Waters would dominate the lyrics in future albums.

The band started using more studio effects on Meddle, effects that would show up frequently in later albums. It is easy to hear the influence of Meddle as a precursor to DSotM, and influence that had a ripple effect through the remainder of their catalogue, with the possible exception of their last four albums, Final Cut, Momentary Lapse of Reason, Division Bell, and Endless River. The Final Cut is the last Pink Floyd album to feature founding member Roger Waters, who left the band in 1985. It is the only Pink Floyd album without founding member and keyboardist Richard Wright, who had left the band under pressure from Waters after the Wall sessions.

Back to Meddle for a moment. The album opens with One of These Days, which is mostly instrumental, with a howling wind followed by a thundering bass line for a few measures, then the other instruments. It is a great intro because of the pounding bass throughout, including the bass drum and keyboards. Gilmour noodles on guitar throughout, tying the song together. The band fill side one with four more tracks that offer some contrast from the cohesive structure of future Pink Floyd albums. Side two of Meddle is the epic Echoes, 23¹⁄₂ minutes long. Echoes was used by different members of the band through their solo careers and is considered by many to be the definitive transition point from the little-known band with an avid cultish following to a mainstream band. It is considered by many to be one of the band’s best cuts. Several publications have remarked on it as one of the best songs by the group. Pink Floyd themselves have mixed views of the track, but it was a particular favourite of Richard Wright’s.

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Joe Cocker Gold was a thrift store find that made a good listen for the drive home. It is loaded with top ten hits and sing-along songs.

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I don’t think I had ever sat down and listened to All Things Must Pass start to finish. I was, of course, familiar with his radio-friendly hit singles “My Sweet Lord” and “What Is Life“. I can’t say that listening to the album start to finish caused me to jump up and run to Record Collectors Paradise to buy a copy. While I worked in the store’s warehouse, we sorted plenty of copies of the album, and most of the covers were in tatters, with vinyl condition that hovered around VG. I’ll have to revisit this album sometime in the future, perhaps even on physical format if I can find a good one at the right price. Music prices have gone through the roof!

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I have long admired the guitar virtuoso Jeff Beck, and I have several physical copies of his music that I revisit periodically. My favourite is Jeff Beck with the Jan Hammer Group Live. I had read someone praising the Jeff Beck album Truth, which I had not heard, so I gave it a spin. Truth is Jeff Beck’s debut album and features a stellar lineup of musicians. The core members of The Jeff Beck Group on this and most of his early albums were Rod Stewart on vocals and Ronnie Wood on guitar. Additional cast included:

• John Paul Jones – bass guitar on “Hi Ho Silver Lining” and “Beck’s Bolero”; Hammond organ on “Ol’ Man River” and “You Shook Me”; arrangements on “Hi Ho Silver Lining”
• Nicky Hopkins – piano on “Morning Dew”, “You Shook Me”, “Beck’s Bolero” and “Blues Deluxe”
• Keith Moon (credited as “You Know Who”) – drums on “Beck’s Bolero”; timpani on “Ol’ Man River”
• Madeline Bell – backing vocals on “I’ve Been Drinking”
• John Carter and Ken Lewis – backing vocals on “Tallyman”
• Clem Cattini – drums on “Hi Ho Silver Lining”
• Aynsley Dunbar – drums on “Tallyman” and “Rock My Plimsoul (single version).”
• Jimmy Page – 12-string Fender Electric XII guitar on “Beck’s Bolero

An impressive assortment of musicians that make an enjoyable album. I will add this to my already too long want list.

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One of the albums that James Acaster talked about was Kiids by Mal Devisa. I was hooked on this album after the first song and basked in the rest of it. On the album Kiid, Mal opens with a simple ballad of her voice and a guitar, Fire. She has a good voice that carries the emotion of the lyrics well. Then, in the last 30 seconds of the track, the gentle acoustic guitar transforms into a hard rocker with a scream in the background and a harder edge to Mal’s voice. The second track, In My Neighbourhood, opens with a delicious bass line. I won’t go into detail on each track, but suffice to say that this whole album deserves more than one listen, and it deserves to be more than background noise; it demands paying attention and asking yourself what is going on both lyrically and instrumentally. I have lost count of how many times I have listened to Kiid; suffice to say that it will be an end-of-year candidate.

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Zeal and Ardor is another of James Acaster’s picks. He listened to their album Devil is Fine, which was quite enjoyable. It wanders between blues, black gospel and industrial metal. I don’t know if I will listen to their music again; it is good, but I confess that I don’t listen to much doom/industrial/metal music—a bit of an acquired taste on this album. Interesting lyrics, I will add. Don’t give up on the album after hearing only one or two tracks; it is much more diverse than those two songs. There are touches of blues, a smattering of black gospel and even what sounds like a harpsichord in their songs. Diverse and challenging, in a good way.

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This Taco Is Not Correct is a great album title; it caught my attention and made me curious to find out what the heck is going on. The band name is also interesting: Christian Fitness. I want a physical copy, unfortunatly they are sold out. It is still a good listen streaming; I’m just old school and like vinyl. I have spun this album around a couple of times, and I keep hearing it differently each time. I like that. I don’t want to miss anything, so I have to focus and listen intentionally. The music is all over the place when it comes to genre. It could be alternative rock, indie rock, garage, metal, or even noise rock. I don’t care what label it gets; I like the music.

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So, there we have it, another week of great tunes. I look forward to next week and another batch of new (to me) music and some old favourites.

Syd Barrett	Opel
Bee Gees	Bee Gees 1st
Pink Floyd	A Saucerful of Secrets
Flea	Honora
Pink Floyd	Meddle
The Stevenson Ranch Davidians	Amerika
Pink Floyd	Meddle
Joe Cocker	Gold

It has been a rather slow week musically. I am still reading the Pink Floyd book, A Saucerful of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey by Nicholas Schaffner, and listening to the albums as I travel through the band’s timeline. I made it up to Meddle this week twice. I consider it an album that should get more respect than it does. Meddle sits at the doorstep to Dark Side of the Moon, and you can hear the band developing in that direction. I liked it enough to listen to it again.

Syd Barrett’s solo album Opel is not a fun listen; it is, in fact, rather painful. I do not recommend listening to it unless you do it purely for historical research.

I bought the album Honora by Flea, the bass player of Red Hot Chilli Peppers, and listened to it back to back when I got home. I had listened to it upteen times on YouTube Music, but had to get a physical copy to play on the big stereo. It is an amazing album that will easily make it to my end-of-year round-up. On Honora, Flea steps back from the rock and roll of RHCPs and his many collaborations to focus on his trumpet playing and make an album that is more jazz-influenced. Flea pays homage to some of his musical heroes, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, and Wayne Shorter, among others. The album has five original tunes from Flea, one collaboration with Josh Johnson and Thom Yorke, and four cover songs. The list of contributors to this album is incredible. I won’t even try to list them; it would fill a page on its own. I will give a hint: it has the previously mentioned Thom Yorke, Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. All in all, I can’t gush effusively enough about this release; I love it start to finish.

I enjoyed some new-to-me music. It comes to me courtesy of Shauna at Shameless Promotion PRhttp://www.shamelesspromotionpr.com/. The band is The Stevenson Ranch Davidians, who released a single that will appear on their next album, due in early 2027. I listened to their last album, Amerikana https://thedavidians.bandcamp.com/album/amerikana and really liked it. The band have a “60s psych, folk and soul, woven with strands of early American roots music” vibe to it, as described in their press handout. The album was released in 2017, so it will be a ten-year gap between albums, and the single preview takes their music in a new direction while retaining a good portion of the 60s psych sound, with some great organ work. https://youtu.be/dB4BkEnrn1g

I gave this album a couple of listens and then put in an order for the CD. I look forward to hearing it through the big boy speakers and then the long wait for their new album.

I closed out the week with some Joe Cocker tunes. He has a unique sound, and I like that. I did not watch any videos this time; I wanted the music to stand on its own, and it stands tall. Joe does a lot of covers, and he does them well. This heavy-duty two-CD package starts with “Feelin’ Alright,” originally a Traffic track (sorry, I couldn’t resist). Joe brings energy and passion to the song and sets the tone for the rest of this career-spanning collection of tunes. He continues with more from his A&M early material with: “With a Little Help from My Friends“, a cover of the Beatles, not an easy song to pull off, but Joe does it wonderfully. Other tracks include: “Delta Lady“, “She Came In Through the Bathroom Window“, and “The Letter“.

One of his biggest hits was “Up Where We Belong“, his 1992 number-one duet with Jennifer Warnes. There are too many great tracks in this collection to list them all so I will close with a few favourites of mine: Cry Me A River (Live), Many Rivers To Cross, Summer In The City, and First We Take Manhattan. First We Take Manhattan was written by Leonard Cohen. Jennifer Warnes first released the song on her 1986 album Famous Blue Raincoat, a great album IMHO. Interesting factoid: Stevie Ray Vaughan played guitar on the album, and Leonard Cohen himself sang a duet with Warnes on “Joan of Arc“. “First We Take Manhattan” is from Cohen’s album I’m Your Man, released in 1988. I’ll have to listen to this as well; it’s shaping up to be a great listening week. Back to Joe Cocker, the collection of songs is a great sweeping overview of his career and makes for some great listening. It was also a good listen on the road, bonus!

This past week may not have been big in quantity, but it was big on quality. I look forward to another week of tunes; music makes my world go round. Happy listening, everyone.

Oops! I nearly forgot that I listened to the Bee Gees’ third album, 1st. Great tunes and a great listen. It includes the songs: Holiday, Every Christian Lion Hearted Man Will Show You, New York Mining Disaster 1941, I Can’t See Nobody and more. I love this album, almost as much as the compilation album Best of the Bee Gees, which was the first full-length album that I bought.

Michael Knott had a life of emotional and spiritual anguish that showed up in his music. His lyrics spoke of the streets he lived on and the people that he lived among. He was prolific, with over 35 albums and EPs between his solo work and his work with the bands he played in. He was born in Aurora, Illinois, but moved to California, where he was part of the emerging alternative Christian rock scene. He also founded the record labels Blonde Vinyl Records and Siren Music, and served as an inspiration for the founding of Tooth & Nail Records. Below are some of the bands that Michael Knott recorded with.

• The Hightops – Early pop-punk band when Knott was a teenager (songs appear as bonus tracks on Huntington Beach album)
• The Lifesavors or Lifesavers – Early ’80s pop punk
• Lifesavers Underground, aka L.S. Underground, aka LSU – Darker, goth-y alt-rock
• Bomb Bay Babies – General market guitar-driven pop punk band
• Idle Lovell – Dark alt-rock in a slightly different vein than LSU
• Michael Moret – A Dead or Alive-style new wave dance album that Knott wished he’d never made
• Aunt Bettys – a storytelling general market rock band Knott started in 1993
• Cush – Post-modern rock band with former members of The Prayer Chain
• Strung Gurus – Acoustic rock band with Social Distortion guitarist Dennis Danell (RIP February 29, 2000)
• Struck Last May – 2007 project with Rick McDonough that dabbles in “… To Kill a Mocking Bird meets Sesame Street”

I don’t have physical copies of every release, but I do have a decent slice of his output. However, I am not going to do a career-spanning overview of Michael Knott in this blog; that would be on the verge of overwhelming. What I want to do is highlight the album and band, Aunt Bettys, and a few side roads thrown in. I drove to the grocery store today and listened to Aunt Bettys again. I’ve had Aunt Bettys in my car for ages now and haven’t tired of it. It came out in 1996 and has aged well in my opinion. What got me hooked was the song “Rocket And A Bomb.” Knott released an album titled “Rocket And A Bomb,” but the lyrics are different other than the refrain, “And all I ever wanted was a good job and some bus fare and a rocket and a bomb.”  I will focus on the Aunt Bettys version, as well as some of the other tracks on this album. So here we go…

https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mAItK-AZa7qfENUSsrSHEW5Yxfy75eXL4

Aunt Bettys are like Pink Floyd. There is no “The” in the title. Formed in the mid-1990s in Hollywood, California, Aunt Bettys was signed to Elektra Records by Seymour Stein. The band released a self-titled, 16-track alternative rock album featuring tracks like “Jesus,” “Mother Trucker,” and “Rocket & A Bomb”. Though championed as the “next big thing,” the album suffered due to label disputes and was largely overlooked at the time, later becoming a cult favourite. The band later released an EP titled Off the Record. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

The album starts with the song “Jesus”, which no doubt alienated him from the popular music market. His music also alienated him from the Christian market because of his honest approach to touchy topics and the occasional “shit” in the lyrics. I can relate. I got my fingers slapped at a Christian church for playing the intro to Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man”-no lyrics, just the intro. It was OK to play a clip of the Iron Man movie, but not the song.

Michael Knott was not afraid of taking on touchy topics like addiction, sex, and hypocrisy.

Knott’s songwriting appealed to many people, particularly those who could admit their flaws and appreciated the honesty with which he confronted his own shortcomings. A lot of his music was biographical and spoke to the issues he struggled with, such as addiction, and the people he encountered on the streets where he lived. Real people. I probably relate to much of Michael Knotts’ music because addiction and life on the streets have been a huge part of my life story.

Getting back to the song “Jesus”, I couldn’t help but see a parallel here with the song “Mercedes Benz” written by the American singer Janis Joplin with Bob Neuwirth and the poet Michael McClure.

Michael Knott:

Jesus
Won’t you help me find my way?
Won’t you send me some money in the mail?

Janis Joplin:

Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz?

Michael Knott:

Jesus
Won’t you let me drink one more?
It helps me to ignore how much I’ve failed.

Janis Joplin:

Oh, Lord, won’t you buy me a night on the town?
I’m counting on you, Lord, please don’t let me down
Prove that you love me and buy the next round

The song “Mercedes Benz” was recorded in 1970; “Jesus” was recorded in 1996; there are similarities, but they are not the same. I don’t think this is a Jimmy Page moment.

Michael Knott goes on to sing a long litany of things that he is getting. 

I’m getting sick, getting ill, getting tired, getting fired
I’m getting killed, getting chilled, getting crazy, I’m getting lazy
I’m getting screwed, I’m getting used, I’m getting kicked, I’m getting tricked

What a way to start an album. I am sure there were some people who never got past the title and wrote it off as a soppy Christian song. The lyrics might shock some because they don’t align with the white Christian evangelical movement. Perhaps they didn’t think Jesus would show up in the places and people that Michael Knott sings about.

“A man after God’s own heart is not welcome in the Christian industry,” he said, laughing, in a 1998 interview. “I think that the fault belongs to American Christianity — it is cultural. Everyone runs away from drinking and smoking, experiencing and living life, and they end up being extremely disturbed and they lose all their faith and have no hope in the end.”

Mike Knott told an interviewer that “Jesus”

“gets violent at times, but that’s what life is like. The song is not anti-religious. I believe in God, but my life has gotten screwed up somehow, and no matter what I believe, this is how it I feel.”

The song closes with a refrain that will no doubt ring true to anyone who has struggled with addiction.

“I’m getting out, getting out, getting out, getting out
I’m getting out, I’m getting out, I’m getting out, I’m getting out
I’m getting out, I’m getting out, I’m getting out, I’m getting out.”

Telling other people not to worry about me because I’m getting out, I’m gettin’ out startin’ Monday.

https://music.youtube.com/search?q=startin%27+monday

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The next song, “Mother Trucker,” is directed at church culture.

“Can I make all your insecure decisions?
And can I steal all your cash for my religion?
And can I tell you what to think and how?”

Next up is Star Baby. In Michael Knott’s own words

The true story behind “Star Baby” is pretty much as it appears in the lyrics: A beautiful woman came into Mike Knott’s bar in Hollywood, announced that she was the product of a sexual relationship between her (human) mother and a Martian, and then told him that she’d been commanded to kill a rock and roll singer. As Knott says, “of course, everyone in the band pointed at me.”

The song “Feel” is a wild ride, in which the singer is a man whose wife has become a lesbian and who wants to stay with her badly enough to get a sex-change operation. Wow, I bet this song went over well in the Bible Study group.

And now we come to the song that kept my finger on repeat for the last month, Rocket and a Bomb. It is not “A”Rocket and a Bomb; it is just Rocket and a Bomb. I love this song.

“Rocket And A Bomb.”

[Chorus]
All I ever wanted
Was a good job, some bus fare
A rocket and a bomb, uh huh
Yeah

[Verse 1]
Had a dream I’d be all right
Had a nightmare I’d be cracking
Up this ‘caine
I lit your vision for a time
‘Til it snapped my spine
And bled me from your vein

[Pre-Chorus]
It keeps pushing
It keeps pushing you away

[Chorus]
All I ever wanted
Was a good job, some bus fare
A rocket and a bomb, uh huh
Yeah

[Verse 2]
It’s not your fault I made you ill
From this open sore that spills
Pus in your name
I tried to fix on what I feel
Beg another meal
And shame your pride again

[Pre-Chorus]
It keeps pushing
It keeps pushing
It keeps pushing you away

[Pre-Chorus]
It keeps pushing
It keeps pushing
It keeps pushing
It keeps pushing you away

[Chorus]
All I ever wanted
Was a good job, some bus fare
A rocket and a bomb, uh huh
All I ever wanted
Was a good job, some bus fare
A rocket and a bomb, uh huh
Yeah

[Coda]
Shit, Shit, Shit, Shit, Shit, Shit, Shit, Shit, Shit, Shit, Shit, Shit.

The singer starts by telling us what he wants, simple desires that could apply to many of us. “All I ever wanted was a good job, some bus fare.” They show the singer’s plea for creature comforts, financial security, and the ability to just get by in a stressful society. I can get behind that sentiment because those are wants that I have wanted throughout my working life. I’m retired now, so my wants have altered somewhat. Now I want a comfortable chair, some good music on the turntable, and to watch the fireworks on July 1st. Similar to a rocket and a bomb, not quite as violent though.

In sharp contrast to those reasonable hopes is the chorus line: “And a rocket and a bomb.” This pushes aside societal norms and lashes out in anger and desperation. Unable to fit in, the singer lashes out. This brought to mind the song “I Don’t Like Mondays” by The Boomtown Rats. The protagonists in both songs resort to violence when the American Dream of a good job and a house in the suburbs fails to materialize.

Had a dream I’d be all right
Had a nightmare I’d be cracking
Up this ‘caine
I lit your vision for a time
‘Til it snapped my spine
And bled me from your vein

He had a dream that he could be all right. The Great American dream, a two-car garage in the suburbs, 2.4 children, and mow the lawn on Saturday. Martin Luther King also spoke of a great American dream that ended in violence, as the two songs “Rocket and a Bomb” and “I Don’t Like Mondays” did. And a nightmare of crack cocaine that gave him a spark for a time till it broke him and left him bleeding from the needle in his vein.

All he ever wanted was a good job and bus fare. A good job and bus fare. Is that too much to ask for? Unfortunately, that dream all too frequently becomes a nightmare of survival on the streets, begging for the next meal, craving the next fix and a life of emotional torture. A life that “Rocket and a Bomb” spells out for us clearly and concisely.

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Michael Knott’s lyrics push boundaries. From the character in the song “Feel” being willing to have a sex change to keep a lover happy to “Addict,” which is about drugs, a recurring theme in Michael Knott’s lyrics. “Speeder Mode” is about a crazy girlfriend he can’t keep up with. “Suicide Sex Doll” is about a veteran’s sexual desires. A wild punk girl with “a great big mouth, a great big lie/there’s a handful of this, a throatful of that, and she gets it done, it’s a bloody mess” is in the song “Little Fighter”. This album is full of characters who populated the bars and alleyways of Orange County, Hollywood, and the Sunset Strip, where Michael was living and making music. These songs are stories about the lives of people he met. These are also songs about his own struggles with addiction and mental health. This album is rough around the edges, but well worth the effort of listening to. AllMusic gave it 2.5/5. I give it 4/5. It has only gotten better over the years and with the many times I have played it. It may move up to 4.5/5 in the near future. Until then, enjoy the music.

A bonus of having physical copies is the artwork that goes with the music. Aunt Bettys have visually strong artwork. Michael Knott was also an avid painter and used that for many of his album covers. Not on this CD, though; the original artwork was by Tim Okamura. It is amazing. Physical copies are available on Discogs and eBay.

Boards of Canada	Inferno
Allies	The River
Stuart Copeland	The Rhythmatist
Ike White	Changin’ Times
The Carpenters	The Singles
Boards of Canada	Trans Canada Highway
Mashmakhan	Mashmakhan
Lacy J. Dalton	16th Avenue
Oxbow	Thin White Duke
Ian Gomm	Gomm With The Wind
Modest Mouse	An Eraser and a Maze
Black Midi	Schlagenheim
Richard Wright	Wet Dream

I have had an interesting week of tunes. I started the week re-listening to the new Boards of Canada album, Inferno. I was in love with it on the first listen, a bit less on the second listen, and a bit more than a bit less on the third, but a bit less than the first. It’s a good album overall and does break some new ground for the band. I listened to Trans Canada Highway later in the week to give me some contrast to base my opinion on, and I like where the band has gone on Inferno. There is a definite fresh approach to Inferno, and they are not just rehashing their former sounds. Boards of Canada get a solid 4.5 out of 5 from me for Inferno. As a bonus, I like the nod of appreciation to Canada, where I live. The brothers Mike Sandison and Marcus Eoin were brought up in Cullen, Moray, on the northeast coast of Scotland, but from 1979 to 1980, they lived in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, while their father, who worked in construction, helped build the Saddledome, which is being replaced as we speak.

I have seen Stewart Copeland live, and Sting. No Andy Summers, yet. I have a lot of respect for the percussion work of Stewart Copeland. He has an immense knowledge of the science behind percussive sounds and an immense love for making music with those sounds. I will admit that I haven’t listened to Copeland’s back catalogue, but I have listened to The Rhythmatist, and I like it. Following the breakup of The Police, their drummer, Stewart Copeland, undertook a musical odyssey through the heart of Africa in search of the roots of rock & roll. The Rhythmatist, 1985, came out a year before Paul Simon’s amazing exploration of African sounds on Graceland, 1986. The Rhythmatist was a 2026 Record Store Day release and will no doubt be overpriced, meaning I can only listen to it on YouTube Music. I will keep an eye on Record Collectors Paradise to see if any copies pop up; either original or repress is fine with me. I confess, I love bin diving.

Mashmakhan. Be honest. Did you know about this band/album before now? I bought this album in 1970 in Montreal, where the band were living at the time. Mashmakhan debuted with the single “As the Years Go By,” which became a smash hit and was released in an edited form. The single sold 100,000 copies in Canada, 500,000 copies in the United States, and over 1,000,000 copies in Japan. The only number I could find for album sales was “This disc sold over one million copies globally, and received a gold disc.” – https://citizenfreak.com/artists/99111-mashmakhan The album has aged quite well, and I enjoyed the trip down memory lane when I played this album.

Oxbow was an American experimental rock band from San Francisco, California. Founded in 1988, the band released eight studio albums, disbanding in 2024. According to Pitchfork writer Zoe Camp, the album “envision[s] a world domineered by disorder, a carnivalesque arena where music’s most intimidating, grandiose genres (free jazz, high-concept chamber pop, noise, neoclassical, metal) can duke it out like gladiators one minute, and come together for a grotesque group hug the next.

Thin Black Duke by Oxbow was met with critical acclaim upon its release. The album received an average score of 87/100 from 9 reviews on Metacritic, indicating “universal acclaim”. In a positive review with The Quietus, Sean Guthrie wrote, “By rights no group should be peaking after 30 years of making music together, yet that is the situation in which Oxbow find themselves. Will they ever transcend Thin Black Duke? Such are the ideas and attention to detail on this record, only a fool would bet against them. Zoe Camp of Pitchfork was positive on the album, but she did not see Thin Black Duke as Oxbow’s “definitive show of force”.

To my ears, Thin Black Duke is an album that lives in the genre of experimental music. Yes, there are elements that Zoe Camp lists in her assessment of the album, but for simplicity’s sake, I will only call it experimental. This is an album that needs more than one listening session. It also works better with focused, attentive listening; there is a lot going on. I enjoy Thin White Duke more each time I listen to it. As a matter of fact, I am going to listen to it again right now.

Ian Gomm, Gomm With The Wind, is a favourite throwback to the golden age of New Wave music. I love it!

Modest Mouse have dropped a new album, An Eraser and a Maze. I generally like Modest Mouse and have a couple of their recordings; Strangers To Ourselves is my favourite. An Eraser and a Maze sounds like Modest Mouse; it has their familiar feel working around the cadence of Isaac Brock’s vocals. It is the band’s first album since the death of founding drummer Jeremiah Green in 2022, and the band’s first to feature new members Simon O’Connor (guitar), Damon Cox (drums) and Keith Karman (keyboards). The new members bring new flavours to Modest Mouse, but the album still retains the familiar sound that longtime fans will recognize. While not straying too far from their tried-and-true sound, the album still offers enough new material to appeal to both new fans and longtime listeners. I think I may have to acquire An Eraser and a Maze on vinyl, since I like it more with each listening session. Good music start to finish.

I saw a video of the song “bmbmbm” and was blown away by Black Midi’s manic energetic performance. I bought the album Schlagenheim, and it has become a regular listen over the years. It has aged well and is a good example of a great debut album. If you want to see Black Midi in performance, I recommend https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rc3LSW_XTwI for the song “bmbmbm” (boomboomboom). Unfortunately, the lead guitar for Black Midi, Matthew Antony Kwasniewski-Kelvin, took a sabbatical from the band after the release of Schlagenheim and, in January of this year, passed away from complications related to mental health issues. Apart from the song bmbmbm, the rest of the album is a solid listen.

I ended the week with the album Wet Dreams by keyboardist/vocalist Richard Wright, a co-founder of Pink Floyd. He appeared on almost every Pink Floyd album and performed on all of their tours. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 as a member of Pink Floyd. Wright died from lung cancer at his home in London on 15 September 2008, aged 65. At the time of his death, he had been working on a new solo album, thought to comprise a series of instrumental pieces.

The surviving members of Pink Floyd paid tribute to Wright. Roger Waters said it was “hard to overstate the importance of his musical voice in the Pink Floyd of the 60s and 70s”, and he added that he was happy they had reunited for Live 8. The drummer for Pink Floyd, Nick Mason, said Wright’s contributions were underrated, and that his playing “was the sound that knitted it all together”, comparing his “quiet one” status in the band to George Harrison of the Beatles. David Gilmour called him “my musical partner and my friend” and praised Wright’s ability to blend his voice with Gilmour’s, such as on “Echoes“. Gilmour reiterated that it would be wrong to continue as Pink Floyd without him. In the updated edition of his memoir, Mason wrote that “the distinctive, floating textures and colours [Wright] brought into the mix were absolutely critical to what people recognize as the sound of Pink Floyd … He once summed up his musical philosophy by saying, ‘Technique is so secondary to ideas.’ Many fine keyboard players could and did emulate and recreate his parts, but nobody else, other than Rick, had the ability to create them in the first place.”

Following Barrett’s replacement by David Gilmour, Wright took over some songwriting, but gradually became less involved. His keyboard playing remained an integral part of the band’s live set, particularly on “Interstellar Overdrive“, “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun,” and “Careful with That Axe, Eugene“. He contributed themes for Pink Floyd’s film scores for More, Zabriskie Point and Obscured by Clouds. He made significant contributions to the arrangement of longer compositions such as “Atom Heart Mother, “Echoes” (on which he sang lead vocals with Gilmour) and “Shine On You Crazy Diamond“. On 1973’s The Dark Side of the Moon, he composed the music for “The Great Gig in the Sky” and “Us and Them“. He also contributed to the composition of tracks such as “Time“, for which he sang lead on the bridge, “Breathe“, and “Any Colour You Like“.

I have the feeling that a lot of fair-weather listeners, who may only be familiar with Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall, don’t realize the extent of Wright’s contribution to the band. He wasn’t just the keyboard player; he was an essential part of Pink Floyd and contributed significantly to their success.

While Wet Dreams isn’t my favourite solo album from the members of Pink Floyd, it is still a good recording. Listening to his solo work gives an opportunity to hear his “sound” and to appreciate how good he really was. He had a unique style of keyboard playing and a fine voice. Wet Dreams is a good way to end my listening week.

Whitehorse	Whitehorse
Various	King Of The Road & Other Country And Western Comedy Hits
Various	My Kind Of Country
Durand Bernarr	Bernarr.
Hank Williams	The Best of Hank Williams
Lefty Frizzell	Country Classics
The Original Carter Family	My Old Cottage Home
Various	Ford Motor Company Presents Stereo For The ’80s

Whitehorse catches me by surprise every time I listen to this album. I don’t know what is causing that, but they sound new every time I listen. I suppose that is a good thing, sounding fresh and brand new every time I play it. It is a good album, their first one. The guitar work is clean and sharp as tacks. I don’t have a genre to drop them into; Wikipedia lists them as folk rock, which works for me. They are a great harmony duo; their voices blend together very smoothly. I really should check out some of their other albums to see if they reach the lofty plateau I have placed this one on.

I also listened to a bunch of country music this week. We stopped in a second-hand store in the town where my mother lives, and I was able to score a couple of country and western cassettes. Yes, you read that right, cassettes. That format has not disappeared from my collection. I am still a huge fan of traditional country music. It is the music I grew up listening to on 790 CFCW and my Dad playing and singing. I don’t know if it defines my musical heritage, but it sure coloured it nicely. It was my only exposure to music until my teens, when I discovered 60’s rock and roll and moved my listening dial to 630 CHED.

Durand Bernarr released the album BERNARR. And I fell in love with it. I read a suggestion from another music lover on the blog On Repeat Records. I didn’t write down the name, but you know who you are, thanks. It is R&B with a twisted shot of funky hip-hop. Kyle Denis of Billboard stated in a positive review that Bernarr “expands the singer’s soulful, gospel-informed soundscape with splashy flourishes of yacht rock, P-Funk, house and Miami bass.” I can go with that.

Well, there we have it. It was a rather light-weight week in terms of quantity, but heavy-weight in terms of quality. Happy listening, everyone.

Kevin from On Repeat Records posited the question below, which was originally from Gabbie at https://www.newbandsforoldheads.com

“name the last band or record they found without the internet”

I walked into a record store in Pisa, Italy, and asked the fellow behind the counter if there were any Italian prog bands he would recommend. He showed me a few, and I chose an album by the band Area, Maledetti (Maudits), solely based on the cover art. It took another week of travel in Europe before I got home and put it on the turntable. I don’t know how to describe it. Discogs has it labelled as “Free Jazz, Avantgarde, Free Improvisation, Prog Rock,” whatever the hell that means. It has some weird shit and isn’t an album for the faint of heart or for someone who has been fed only pop music their entire life. I have listened to it twice, and it will be a long time till the third spin on the turntable.

I didn’t listen to it this week, but I did listen to a lot of good music. Music from the Grand Ole Opry to Bibleland. From Singing Cowboys to Rebel Songs. We travelled from the Autobahn to Whitehorse. I’ll throw in some Combat Rock and California Dreamin’ through These Eyes. You may ask What’s Going On and then Do It Yourself. There was a good variety, and I feel it was time well spent listening to these tunes. Until next week, happy listening, everyone.

Column 1	Column 2
Various	A Night At The Grand Old Opry Volume 1
Various	The Great American Singing Cowboys
Various	Cowboy Songs
Kraftwerk	Autobahn
Tom Morello	World Wide Rebel Songs
The Clash	Combat Rock
Niel Diamond	Stones
The Mamas & the Papas	California Dreamin’
The Guess Who	These Eyes
Willie Nelson	Icon
Marvin Gaye	What’s Going On
Ian Dury And The Blockheads	Do It Yourself
Doug and the Slugs	Cognac and Bologna
Guided By Voices	Under The Bushes Under The Stars
Daniel Amos	Bibleland
Whitehorse	Whitehorse

It’s the start of the wedding season up here in the frozen north country, so I listened to “Something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue”.

Something old was a tough decision because I am old and a good chunk of my listening falls into this category, so I picked Desire by Bob Dylan. This album is my favourite from his stupendous discography, and it is also one of my desert island picks. Desire followed the release of the double album “Basement Tapes”, which featured Dylan playing, literally in a basement, with “The Band.” That album will have to be listened to again, something for a future blog perhaps. Disire is a solid album from start to finish. From the opening track Hurricane to the closing track, Sara. Hurricane tells the story of Rubin Carter, a boxer who went by the nickname “The Hurricane.” A powerful song with great lyrics and extensive use of violin, which I greatly admire. Desire has a wonderful collective of contributions from other musicians that I won’t list in detail here to keep this blog from becoming a rambling essay about the album “Desire”, instead of a commentary on what music I have been listening to.

Something new is the album “Honora” by Flea, the bassist from the band Red Hot Chili Peppers. I have noticed a few other artists playing music outside of the genre they had been defined by in their early to mid-career, and moving to something significantly different. Sturgill Simpson and The Arctic Monkeys are two good examples of this transition. Simpson has flipped his musical style several times, from classic country to alt-country to bluegrass to jazz-influenced funk/rock. The Arctic Monkeys went from alt-rock to a lounge band, radical, but it worked and “Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino” is a great album. Honora takes a hard turn from the RHCPs’ alt-rock to an album heavily influenced by jazz. It features bass, and Flea plays it with passion. The album was inspired by Flea’s love for jazz, and features six original songs along with covers of songs originally written by Eddie Hazel and George Clinton, Jimmy Webb, Frank Ocean and Shea Taylor, and Ann Ronell. I have had this album on repeat since it came out, and I am listening to it as I write this. Good stuff.

Something borrowed is a tough one because I don’t borrow records or lend mine out to be borrowed. The closest I could get was the album “Laughing Cavalier” by Wallace Collection. I asked Joel if I could buy this album from him, and he said “No”, but he did give it to me. Not really borrowing, but the closest I could get. Wallace Collection are best known for their 1969 international hit “Daydream,” which appeared in the movie Mr. Nobody. I rewatch the movie and replay the album semi-regularly.

For something blue, I went with Kind of Blue by Miles Davis. Often cited as one of the greatest albums of all time, and not just in the jazz genre. It is the best-selling album by Miles Davis, certified platinum five times, and it continues to sell. Between 1991 and 2016, the album sold 3.6 million copies in the US alone.

Everyone and their dog has heaped laurels upon this album. Kind of Blue has appeared on professional listings of the greatest albums. In 1994, it was ranked number one in Colin Larkin’s Top 100 Jazz Albums. Larkin described it as “the greatest jazz album in the world”. In 2002, it was one of 50 recordings selected for the inaugural year of induction into the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry. In selecting the album as number 12 on its 2003 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, and maintaining the rating in a 2012 revised list, Rolling Stone magazine stated: “This painterly masterpiece is one of the most important, influential and popular albums in jazz.” The rating fell to 31 on Rolling Stone’s revised list in 2020. On December 16, 2009, the United States House of Representatives passed a resolution honouring the 50th anniversary of Kind of Blue and “reaffirming jazz as a national treasure”. It is included in the 2005 book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, described by reviewer Seth Jacobson as “a genre-defining moment in twentieth-century music, period.” It was voted number 14 in Colin Larkin’s All Time Top 1000 Albums 3rd Edition (2000). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings lists the album as part of its suggested “core collection”, and also awards it a crown, indicating a recording of particular merit. – This paragraph is an edited version of a Wikipedia entry.

I listened to a basketful of other albums; suffice to say, they were all good in their own way.

For many, many years, I enjoyed the hobby of building plastic model kits. Sometimes I made them into a diorama. I gave some of them away to various places across Canada. It was an enjoyable way to fill my retirement years. Until about six months ago. I started losing dexterity in my fingers, and that does not bode well for the small, intricate parts of a model car. I fought the good fight and finished the model I had started, but it turned into a boondoggle of hot-melt glue and frustration. The picture below is the original photo that provided the idea, and the result beside it. I am ashamed to even post that mess, but it helps explain my lack of dexterity in my hands.

Quite a few of the dioramas depict historical events, some from my life and some from random inspirations. Below is one of my first dioramas: a Ford Model T converted into a snow machine. The model is in the museum where the original truck is located, Nain, Labrador. I lived in Labrador a long time ago and still have fond memories of my time there. The model won a gold prize from the local IPMS chapter.

Next up is arguably my favourite, a Caterpillar dozer. Once again, I have the original, this time with my parents sitting on the track. My dad was the operator. This was a challenge to build because the model I bought from the store was a new machine and a modern D-8 instead of the cable D-6 shown in the photo. It required extensive research into the different engines and cable runs, which led to a lot of fabrication of new parts. It was a challenge, but in a good way.

The next one is a Model T from the Western Development Museum in Saskatoon, and my rendition of it. The gear to turn the wheels didn’t quite come out to spec, but what the hey, it’s progress, not perfection. I tend to be my worst critic.

I’m on a roll now, so here are some more real-life dioramas. My Dad, George Weatherly, was a welder at McLevin’s in Red Deer for many years, and they had a yard machine to move things about. It was cobbled together from two truck frames, a Mercury engine, and lots of innovation. They called it The Moose, a face so ugly only a mother could love it. They didn’t have any photos of the moose, so I put it together from my memory and some hints from the owner, Alan McLevin. The welding truck is from their homepage. https://www.mclevinindustries.ca I put an engine and generator in the welding machine, and hand-made all the parts and welding gear. The delivery truck was a dog’s breakfast of parts thrown together. There is no picture of the original other than the web page from above. The truck below is one of my Dad in a Mannix truck, probably somewhere between Hinton and Grande Cache. The diorama is in McLevin’s office in Red Deer.

This next one was fun to build. I started with nothing more than a photo and the shell of a truck cab. Everything else is handmade. I put in electric motors for the two winch cables.

I am rather fond of tractors, and there isn’t much to choose from, but I have made several with some differences. The one in the left foreground is a Ferguson TE-20. The one directly behind it is two Ferguson TE-20’s mashed together. I built the backhoe from scratch but never got around to mounting it on the tractor. One summer I drove a tractor up and down a road pulling a wobbly wheel, which I also built from scratch.

If you managed to make it this far I might as well throw in a couple of random builds.

Last one, another example working electric cable.

Music has always been a focus of my life, and I still listen to lots of music and occasionally write about it on https://weatheredmusic.ca. As enjoyable as it is, I needed something else to fill the void that had been occupied by diorama building. The goal was for something that required a certain level of mental prowess, nothing that did nothing more than kill time. I wanted something that made me problem-solve and required a bit of physical dexterity, but not so small that I couldn’t see or hold it. I was at a loss as to what my new hobby would be.

Until last week. Valerie and I were wandering through Goodwill just to see if there were any bargains to be had, and there were. I scored two CDs: “Best Rock of 1973, “good road music, and the B-52’s “Cosmic Thing,” which has the hot single “Love Shack.” I also got two albums, David Meece and Mark Heard. And then, after browsing the book section, we headed to the front of the store, and I saw hundreds of jigsaw puzzles and mentioned to Valerie that this could be a solution. I browsed the section and found a nice puzzle of the Solar System that fit with my love of gazing at the night sky. It was only $7, so I bought it to see if it checked all the boxes for a new hobby, and it has, sort of. It is good for hand-eye coordination and requires some brain juice to figure out where the pieces go.

I enjoyed putting the puzzle together and finished it in a week. I wasn’t rushing or obsessing over it; I worked on it whenever I had some free time. It was fun, until yesterday. I filled in the non-specific pieces that could have gone in more than one place, and I was looking forward to finishing it. I couldn’t, there is a piece missing! Valerie and I searched high and low around the desk; the 999 pieces out of the 1000 advertised were all I had. No luck, so now I have to take it apart. Originally, I was going to mount it because I like the picture. But I found that it wasn’t very photogenic when it was finished, so I put all 999 pieces back in the box and will regift it to a Thrift store. I bought two more puzzles from the thrift store, and I am almost filled with dread that a piece might be missing in them as well. Maybe I have to pay the extra cost for new ones.

I will keep you informed of my progress. I am starting a puzzle of The Starry Night, an oil on canvas painting by the Dutch Post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh. I will add one more thought: I enjoy listening to music while I puzzle, a nice melding of two hobbies. Joel also gave me a brilliant idea: what about building large-scale models? I did a Fiat a while back, and it was a nice build. I may have to look into this option and see where it takes me. Until then, it will be The Starry Night with some music while I puzzle. Perhaps more from Timothy Brady, was he at the Symphony and listened with rapt attention as the ESO and Robert Uchida tore into Requiem 21.5.

This is the end. The Starry Night was unbuildable. The puzzle was so dirty I had to wear gloves to handle it ,the pieces were often bent, and so flat I could barely pick them up. Back in the box. It was also too large to work on my desk, so I bought a piece of fibreboard. Unfortunately, leaning over to work on the puzzle put too much strain on my neck, causing severe pain.

I looked into large-scale models, 1/16 and 1/12, and they are astronomically expensive. I couldn’t justify paying $300 for a model kit, and I can’t afford them on my senior retirement funds. I am going back to listening to music, doing research and posting more detailed blog posts. If you made it this far in the post, you can take more punishment than the average blog reader. Well done. I am off to listen to Herbie Mann, 65th Birthday Celebration: Live At The Blue Note In New York City.

Is this post a self-promoting, egotistical, grandiose display? Yes.

I enjoy talking music, wether is in person or via internet forums. One of those people is Kevin Alexander from On Repeat Records. This is a follow-up to one of his posts.

https://open.substack.com/pub/thekevinalexander/p/road-trip-long-way-philosophy?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

For The Record by Kevin Alexander
Some words on blue highways, low-watt radio, and why getting lost might be the whole point.
Apr 18, 2026

Kevin Alexander: “I should clarify that I like road trips that aren’t in a city and aren’t ones where GPS leads you by the nose through the most efficient route.”

Norman: I use GPS through unfamiliar areas and often take the road less travelled. I have driven on some amazing back roads. Discover the small abandoned churches and graveyards on the back roads of Alberta, find interesting geological features that don’t show up on any promotional travel itinerary and talk to some amazing people and listen to their stories.

Kevin Alexander “I must’ve been sick the day they taught us all to fall in love with new cars.”

Norman: I have owned one new car in my 60ish years of driving, that is my current car, and it is 16 years old.

Kevin Alexander “My favourite trip is doing 101 from north to south.”

Norman: I drove the 101 in 1975 with my friend, Steve Miller, no, not that Steve Miller. It was an amazing drive. My favourite trip, we call it ‘The Epic Road Trip’, was a 16,000 km trip doing a big loop from Alberta, through most of the northern states, down the east coast, across the Gulf coast to New Orleans, north to Memphis, west to Flagstaff, turned north and back home.

Kevin Alexander: “that car didn’t have working A/C either.”

Norman: We did a road trip through southern Alberta one year, and the A/C quit while the temp was in the high 30s.

Kevin Alexander: “Find a good blues station or some zydeco and go with it.”

Norman: I like making mix tapes, a throwback to the years before digital music. We were in the digital age on our Epic Road Trip, and with an iPod with 160 GB memory, we had mix tapes for each state and plenty of the cities we passed through. Our Epic Road Trip took us through 27 US states. The funny thing is that we meet people who have never left their home state/province.

Kevin Alexander: “You are almost guaranteed to see some ‘active weather’ in Texas.”

Norman: Texas was nice; it was clear and hot in Joel, Texas. The most active weather we encountered was a torrential rainstorm in upstate New York, with gusty winds, huge raindrops, no hail, and pounding water from the sky. We holed up in a tourist pullout, which I compliment the state of New York on having the best ever.

Kevin Alexander: “the best restaurant likely won’t be on Yelp.”

Norman: I never used Yelp for anything; the best food we had was in New Orleans, at a nice little restaurant on the coast, with boats bobbing in the water and quiet jazz playing in the background.

Longer read: https://thekevinalexander.substack.com/p/road-trip-long-way-philosophy?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=190653&post_id=194510756&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=23hztj&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

Brian Raftery on former MTV VJ Matt Pinfield and his road back after suffering a stroke.

”You can only imagine waking up and going, ‘Where is everybody, and what’s going on?’” Pinfield said. “I’m still processing it.” Not long after his re-emergence, it became clear that Pinfield’s computer-like recall of obscure music lore was intact. One of his first post-coma conversations was about Guy Stevens, the British D.J. who produced the Clash’s “London Calling” album, and who supposedly came up with the name for Procol Harum’s 1967 single “Whiter Shade of Pale.”
“I have no idea why I was talking about him,” Pinfield said with a laugh. “Probably because I love the Clash, and because it’s an incredible song.”
Brian Raftery on former MTV VJ Matt Pinfield and his road back after suffering a stroke.

Norman: I am grateful that cancer and having a stroke are not among my contributions to CMDT 2025 or DSM-5-TR. Unfortunately, the contributions I do have mean I no longer offer a treasury of music trivia to the world at large, but I still get great pleasure from listening to and reading about music. The Clash and Procol Harum are in my collection. I have managed to gather seven versions of the Clashes’ self-titled debut album. London Calling has long been a favourite of mine; we used to play the song live in a band that I was a minuscule part of years ago. Sandinista has been in semi-regular rotation on the turntable lately, for no reason other than to listen to more great music. Last but not least, Procol Harum. I enjoy the album Procol Harum Live In Concert With The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, and not just because I live in Edmonton and go to hear the Symphony Orchestra several times a year. As a matter of fact, I will be at the Winspear, an amazing building for music, enjoying a show by the Symphony next week.

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New Music

The Singles
I very rarely blog singles because I very rarely listen to singles. I enjoy the long-play format, and hence most of my listening and blogging fall into that realm. Regardless, I have received a couple of singles in the last couple of weeks that I rather enjoyed and thought I would break tradition by sharing.

Liam Hopkins (stylized as LIAM hopkins) is an alternative rock artist based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, the home of GreenWing, a band that I have written about previously. He reached out to me last week about two singles he released from his album, which he is still recording and is due for release at an undisclosed time. “I’m Afraid of Americans” is the lead single, co-written by Bowie and Brian Eno for the album Earthling. LIAM gives us an edgy, guitar-dominated cover of a song that has spawned many covers. The most notable, in my opinion, is Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails. Trent played it with Bowie and with NIN. While LIAM doesn’t wander too far from the essence of the Bowie/Reznor tracks, he does make it his own, turning it into his own cover of a song that has been covered a lot over the years. This is not a note-for-note cover; it has its own flavour that I think Bowie would respect. Given the current state of the USA, this song is more relevant than ever.

The second single is “Start Again.” I like this track even more than “I’m Afraid of Americans.” It has more grinding, gritty guitar work, which I like. I think this is LIAM’s strong point: great guitar work. A vocalist, drummer, guitarist, bassist, and synthesist, LIAM is a hands-on artist who writes, performs, and produces his own material. I would label LIAM’s work on these two tracks as post-punk, alternative, grunge, and indie rock, but that is only an approximation. LIAM is developing his own sound, and I look forward to the release of his first album, “Cannibal,” later in 2026.

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Robin Ross & The Melodynes share “All I Want (Is A Lover).”
Welcome back to the 60s. A masterclass in flower power pop with a modern soul, the track has already caught the attention of major television supervisors, landing a featured spot in the star-studded Apple TV+ and Peacock original series “Margo’s Got Money Troubles”.  Starring Elle Fanning, Michelle Pfeiffer, Nick Offerman and Nicole Kidman, the series features the song in a pivotal scene in its second episode, which aired April 15, 2026. 

‘All I Want (Is A Lover)’ is out April 7th via RPM Entertainment Enterprises and available from digital platforms, including Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon and Bandcamp, where the new ‘Mind Space’ album can also be found digitally and on CD. A huge thank you to Shameless Promotion PR odern for sharing this gem with me. The album, Mind Space, sounds closer to Jefferson Airplane and the harder-edged sounds of the ‘60s.

‘All I Want (Is A Lover)’ video  https://youtu.be/KNgKeu5BD3I
Bandcamp  https://robinross.bandcamp.com/track/all-i-want-is-a-lover
Spotify https://open.spotify.com/artist/4SKxITRBOhAcggLalifGFs
Apple Music https://music.apple.com/us/artist/robin-ross/1640503541
‘Mind Space’ album  https://robinross.bandcamp.com/album/mind-space
Spotify  https://open.spotify.com/album/2jlv1wJiQTmXvwWEpONgjv
‘Campfire on the Moon’ video https://youtu.be/EvcXnpvuE1Q
‘Spill No Mo Wine’ video  https://youtu.be/ya4lLg9uggA

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“The Awakening” by XANIMAL. Released via New Human Music and Shameless Promotion PR, 7 April 2026, ‘The Awakening’ is available as an exclusive Bandcamp release until April 21, and will also be available from other digital platforms, including Spotify and Apple Music. Further releases are anticipated later this year. This is a slice of dream pop with a dose of East Indian fusion, lush atmospheric synths, and hypnotic tabla, unfolding into funky breakbeats to create a dynamic sonic landscape. Vocalist Noëlle Hampton delivers a haunting narrative of disillusionment and loss, reflecting the uncertainty and shadows of the modern world. In contrast, Nagavalli’s ethereal vocalizations elevate the track, infusing it with a sense of hope and transcendence. “Together as One” by Nagavalli, Katie Marie, Candi Sanders is a song to be put on repeat, one listen isn’t enough to unpack it.

‘The Awakening’ ft Nagavalli video https://youtu.be/Fas2hEismsI
Bandcamp https://newhumanmusic.bandcamp.com/track/the-awakening (out now)
Spotify https://open.spotify.com/artist/6EuIa5GziTMVPNVGTyQOv4 (out April 21)
Apple Music https://music.apple.com/us/artist/xanimal/1762992028 (out April 21)

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“’This Is Not Heaven’ by Lowsunday, previewing their ‘Low Sunday Ghost Machine – Black EP’ via Projekt Records and Shameless Promotion PR.
Full “Low Sunday Ghost Machine – Black EP” will be released May 15th via Projekt Records and Shameless Promotion PR. “White EP” is out now, 10 April 2026.

This is my kind of music. Etherial, blending darkwave and shoegaze, with sharp guitar parts over synths.

“‘This is Not Heaven’ was the last song we recorded for the Black EP. We really enjoyed injecting the heavy synths on the chorus, the asymmetrical guitar leads and the driving bass line beneath an intricate and melodic rhythm guitar,” says Shane Sahene.

“We felt this song captured everything we are about in that it hits the refrains with a shoegaze atmosphere, more electronic choruses and lyrical transparency, much less vague than many of our songs… it touches on many aspects of our sound.”

Bobby Spell adds, “This was another really enjoyable song to write. The guitar textures and melody lines create a dark song with uplifting sections. The mood shifts in the choruses giving a feeling of brightness or a way out of melancholy”.
Lowsunday slipped under my radar during their original run in the 1990s, but I have them locked in now and will be exploring their back catalogue, looking forward to the White EP arriving in May.

This is Not Heaven’ video https://youtu.be/CX-zD_tTsDM
Spotify https://open.spotify.com/track/73czdJH9PvNdPAlmmBAefi

Apple Music https://music.apple.com/us/album/this-is-not-heaven-single/1883145470

Soundcloud  https://soundcloud.com/lowsunday/this-is-not-heaven
‘Low Sunday Ghost Machine – White EP’  https://www.projekt.com/store/product/arc00371
Bandcamp  https://projektrecords.bandcamp.com/album/low-sunday-ghost-machine-white-ep
‘Nevver’ video  https://youtu.be/yjc8o5fccNU
‘Soft Capture’ video https://youtu.be/i_5UeD04mlk
‘Love Language’ video  https://youtu.be/9ytV47-jnPQ
‘Low Sunday Ghost Machine (2025 remaster)’ https://projektrecords.bandcamp.com/album/low-sunday-ghost-machine-2025-remaster
‘Elesgiem’ (2024 remaster) LP https://projektrecords.bandcamp.com/album/elesgiem-2024-remaster
Shameless Promotion PR

Daniel Amos	Mr. Buechner’s Dream
Van Morrison	Hymns To The Silence
Charlie Parker	Cool Blues
LSU	Dogfish Jones
Wallace Collection	Laughing Cavalier
Flee	Honora
Lifesavers Underground	Shaded Pain

It has been a wild week of listening adventures. Various permutations continue emanating from The Grape Prophet in last week’s listening. This week, we have Dogfish Jones from LSU. This is a solid album, start to finish and would make a good introduction to the music of Michael Knott. Shaded Pain was in my car for about 2 weeks and took several spins around town. Jordan River was a highlight track for me, and being the first track makes a good introduction to the album. Shaded Pain is a powerhouse of sound that took Michael Knott out of churches and onto the streets, an honest album about how difficult life can be, but too honest for some churches, apparently. Personally, I am glad because getting labelled as ‘a Christian artist’ can be the death knell of a group/artist.

Mr. Buechner’s Dream is an expansive exploration. Lyrically, the album reflects the tumultuous events experienced by members of the band in recent years: the death of two young and very dear friends, including producer and studio owner Gene Eugene (Adam Again), cancer in Terry Scott Taylor’s family, and in the families of other close friends.

The “Mr. Buechner” referred to in the title is Pulitzer Prize nominated author Frederick Buechner, who has been a major inspiration for the band’s lyrics for years. The album also pays tribute to authors Walker Percy, T. S. Eliot, G. K. Chesterton, Flannery O’Connor, Lewis Carroll, and Dorothy L. Sayers. This album asks for more attention from the listener to fully appreciate it. Just from the list of people in the last paragraph, it is easy to see that this recording is more cerebral than your average Top of the Pops recording. I find it amazing how a band can record a dozen albums and manage to sound fresh on each album. Creative geniuses.

Daniel Amos is one candle on the menorah of my listening.

1. Daniel Amos
2. DA
3. Lost Dogs
4. Swirling Eddies
5. Terry Scott Taylor
6. The Call
7. Adam Again

Laughing Cavalier is an album by the Belgian group Wallace Collection. There is an excellent backstory behind the band’s and the album’s name. Their song “Daydream” has been covered, sampled, and used in soundtracks. I have been enamoured by this album ever since I first heard it in the movie Mr. Nobody. I was able to find a nice, clean copy and spin the album every so often. I still like it.

There has been a bit of a trend lately for bands, such as the Arctic Monkeys, and artists to reinvent themselves. Honora is the debut solo album by Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea. This album is not a solo version of the Red Hot Chili Peppers; Flea is doing his own thing on the album Honora. I love the juxtaposition of alt-rock with jazz. I like it when an artist steps out of their 9-5 gig with a band and plows some new ground.

The album was inspired by Flea’s love for jazz, and features six original songs along with covers of songs originally written by Eddie Hazel and George Clinton, Jimmy Webb, Frank Ocean and Shea Taylor, and Ann Ronell.

Flea provided lead vocals, bass and trumpet. Thom Yorke and Nick Cave provided guest vocals. Josh Johnsonperforms saxophone and keyboards, and produced the album. The backing band features guitarist Jeff Parker, bassist Anna Butterss, and drummer Deantoni Parks, with additional contributions from Mauro Refosco and Nathaniel Walcott, as well as two other members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

With that entourage of musicians, one would have high expectations, and Honora meets those expectations with grace and aplomb. Flea is the narrator for the track A Plea, a shout-out for peace in a world that grows less stable every day.