Ella Fitzgerald, Misty Blue, 1968 on Capitol

My copy is a pressing on Pickwick/33, “by arrangement with Capitol Records” – not sure what year. (45 Worlds says 1971). These reissues only have 9 tracks where…

Vegan Austin SXSW

Some great places for vegan food during SXSW. One of my favorites was the Community Vegan food truck, at 1124 E 11th St. in East Austin. Not far…

SXSW March 15th, 2024

Started my last day at SXSW with the “Hair of the Three Legged Dog” party sponsored by the Austin Chronicle and name in honor of their canine mascot….

SXSW March 14th, 2024

Thursday I started off at the Planetary showcase at Valhalla, with Otto Aday (from Wales): They were followed by Manchester’s Porij who brought an amazing amount of energy…

SXSW March 13th, 2024

I started day three at the Marshall Funhouse, at Parish. Glasgow’s Spyres was not a band I knew before but their set was great, high energy and had…

SXSW March 12th, 2024

On Tuesday I started the night at the High Road Touring SXSW showcase at the Empire Control Room and Garage. Sugadaisy, from Bowling Green, KY, opened the larger…

The Story of the Sphere

This was the only actual panel / conference session I went to this year. (I went on vacation to see music, not as a business trip to go…

SXSW March 11th, 2024

A few highlights of music I saw on Monday at SXSW in Austin. I tried to find the balance between spending too much time getting video on the…

Justin Townes Earle, Live at Grimey’s, September 4th, 2014, on BMG.

Though it was recorded in 2014, and released in 2015 on Vagrant Records, my copy is the 2023 Record Store Day reissue on BMG – two 45rpm records…

M. Ward, The End of Amnesia, 2001 on Future Farmer Recordings

M. Ward’s sophomore album, following up Duet for Guitars #2 – and what a wonderful album it is. My copy is a 20th anniversary reissue on vinyl from…

The Time, Pandemonium, 1990 on Paisely Park

This was the fourth full length from Morris Day’s The Time, with Terry Lewis, Jellybean Johnson, Jesse Johnson, Jimmy Jam, Monte Moir, and Jerome Benton (who delivers the…

Gang Starr, No More Mr. Nice Guy, 1989 on Wild Pitch Records

Houton’s DJ Premier and Boston’s Guru as a Brooklyn based hip hop duo, sometimes credited as the originators of jazz rap / jazz hip hop. “Words I Manifest”…

David Bowie, Diamond Dogs, 1974 on RCA Victor

Bowie’s eighth studio album, recorded following the disbanding of the Spiders from Mars, working (again) with producer Tony Visconti. The recording band includes Tony Newman and Aynsley Dunbar…

Donovan, Catch the Wind, 1965 on Hickory

Donovan’s debut, this LP was titled “What’s Bin Did And What’s Bin Hid” in the UK (and it seems like everywhere outside the US), but “Catch The Wind”…

Shame, Food for Worms, 2023 on Dead Oceans

My membership in Secretly Society actually introduced me to shame, a post-punk band from the UK (who style their name in lower case). This was their third LP…

Conor Oberst, Ruminations, 2016 on Nonesuch

Oberst was hospitalized in 2015 in the middle of a tour for the punk band Desaparecidos, and this album was written and recorded in the recovery from that…

R.E.M., Dead Letter Office, 1987 on IRS Records

Divded into a “Post” side and a “Script” side, this was one of my favorite R.E.M. releases of the 80s, with the unofficial subtitle from the rear cover:…

Leon Russell, Leon Russell and the Shelter People, 1971 on Shelter Records

There’s been a resurgence of interest in Leon Russell lately, with a tribute album (A Song For Leon) and a biography (Leon Russell: The Master of Space and…

Nico, Chelsea Girl, 1967 on Verve

This album originally came out in ’67 as Nico’s solo debut, in the same year as the release of The Velvet Underground and Nico on which she sang…

Sylvan Esso, No Rules Sandy, 2022 on Loma Vista / Psychic Hotline

My copy is the VMP limited, numbered edition on orange vinyl, pressed at Memphis Record Pressing. There’s a partially opaque slipcover through which you can see the tracklist…