Here is my listening for the past week. Its been a blast from the past and a blast into the future.

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The Tallest Man On Earth

Dark Bird Is Home

CD 2015

This one underwhelmed me. I had listened to this years ago and thought I had enjoyed it. Nope, it did not ripen with age. It’s not bad music; it just didn’t improve with age. I’ll try again in a couple of years.

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Dictator Ship

Electric Jihad

Stream 2023

Turn up the volume and hang on to your hat; things are about to get wild. Dictator Ship is a Swedish rock and roll band that really does rock and roll. Electric Jihad is not pop music. Electric Jihad is not the bland crap that gets played on popular radio—Electric Jihad is good old-fashioned rock.

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The Holy Ghost

Ignore Alien Orders

Stream 2023

The Holy Ghost is another Swedish musical group, but not in the same genre as Dictator Ship. The Holy Ghost leans towards 80’s post-punk with a smoother texture while still rocking and rolling—more good music from Sweden.

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Pathos Trio

Polarity

Stream 2023

This album is like an onion, with layers and layers of sound that take several listens to get past the outer skin. I hope you like onions as much as I do. Polarity reminds me of no one else. They are peeling their onion and serving it in six dishes, all of them different. Pathos Trio comprises percussionists Marcelina Suchocka, Felix Reyes, and pianist/composer Will Healy. They make music that weaves in and about around and through the spaces in my mind. Each time I listen to Polarity, another layer gets peeled back and presents me with a new listening experience. Pathos Trio has created a complex Polarity album that is also very easy to listen to. It can be background music while I work or a focused listening experience where I listen intently, trying to grab at threads of sound. I love it.

This album tied Tool Lateralus for best album cover art. You must have a physical copy to appreciate this.

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Talking Heads

Stop Making Sense

Imax 2023

I have been listening to Talking Heads for a long time. I remember the excitement Fear of Music gave me; I had a cassette copy that got worn out playing repeatedly. I remember the energy of Stop Making Sense. Talking Heads has given me a lot of music to listen to or see and hear, as I did in this experience. David Byrne has an energy that spins off into the band as they slowly join him on stage, and that energy flows out to the audience. Seeing this on Imax was quite the experience. It looked good. It could have sounded better. There was lots of sound in the middle of the spectrum and not so much at the top or the bottom. I still rate this as a good experience, good but not great.

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Tool

Fear Inoculum

CD 2019

I was overdue for a Tool listen. I started with Fear Inoculum. This album gets better every time I hear it. It did not disappoint this trip through my speakers. As usual with Tool, this is a complex album that needs attention to hear all the nuances that Tool brings into the studio.

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Tool

Lateralus

CD 2001

Lateralus is an album that Tool  10,000 Days. 4745 is how many days there are in 13 years. Lateralus continues Tools’ use of complex chord changes.

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Lusitanian Ghosts III

Stream 2023

Playful. Talented. Fresh. Familiar.

A lot is going on with Lusitanian Ghosts III, a happy album that is easy on the ears. Every time I hear this album I like it more than the time before.

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Graham Parker

Last Chance To Learn The Twist

Stream 2023

Lusitanian Ghosts III segued into Graham Parker’s Last Chance To Learn The Twist like these two albums were made for each other. Graham Parker has a long and storied career and I am happy to see that he isn’t just riding on the waves from the past. He is channelling his talent into fresh music, making for a very listenable experience.

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Connie Francis

The Very Best of Connie Francis

LP 1962

Well, here is a blast from the past that wlil most likely collect dust.

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Robert Fripp

Exposure

LP 1979

This album is a bit of an oddity. It is Robert Fripp‘s first solo album, loaded with an “A” list of collaborations.

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David Frizzell & Shelly West

Golden Duets (The Best Of Frizzell & West)

LP 1984

Do you want to get your cowboy on today? This album is an OK place to start.

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Popsicko

Off To A Bad Start

LP 2022

Do you want to get your post-punk on today? This album is a great place to start. Full of energy with nice clean sound, this album is a winner.

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Tom Franzak

Shadow Boxing

LP 1985

I had a hard time listening to this 1980s pop Christian music.

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Tony Valentino

Dirty Water Revisited

CD 2023

I’m sorry, Tony, you should have stayed away from this project and retired, with both of us having good memories of Dirty Water.

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It has been a good week with lots of great music, a bit of good music and very few stinkers. 

Norman September 18, 2023