Day 3877 - Smoke Shop Window - 12.31.21

Today my wife and I went and saw "Licorice Pizza" at the North Hollywood Laemmle.  Before the film walked around the NoHo district which we had not really been to since before the pandemic.  I took pictures of the El Portal theater and some of the buildings and storefronts.  I took a picture of the smoke shop not only for the weathered painted window, but also because this was the site of Nudie Cohn's "Nudie's Rodeo Tailors."  That was super cool to discover.  Also another cool coincidence was that one of the last shots of Licorice Pizza has our two heroes reuniting in front of the El Portal Theater.  So it was cool walking out of the Laemmle to see one of the locations just featured in the film.  This is is something I was today.
 

Day 3876 - FWY Detour Sign - 12.30.21

This morning we returned our rental car.  It was raining.  While my wife was returning the car I jumped out and took this photo of a detour sign which was right near the Enterprise Rental place on Victory.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3875 - Santa-Rex - 12.29.21

Today we drove back from Arizona.  We stop at the Cabazon dinosaurs.  The T-Rex was painted to have a Santa Claus outfit, which was awesome.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3874 - Silver Trailer In Chandler - 12.28.21

Today we went to Agritopia and then to Chandler.  We walked around and had lunch at Serrano's.  This trailer was in a parking lot.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3873 - Pasta And Meatballs - 12.27.21

Today we went and saw "West Side Story" and then went out for dinner at The Sicillian Butcher.  This is the pasta and meatballs that I ordered. It was super yummy.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3872 - Flower Pot - 12.26.21

This is a flower pot in my mother's backyard.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3871 - Christmas Day Toys - 12.25.21

This is my nephew's son and my wife putting together a lego toy with him.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3870 - Jacob - 12.24.21

This is my son-in-law Jacob on Christmas eve.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3869 - School Bus - 12.23.21

Today we drove to Arizona.  This is a bus that was parked around the back of a truck stop.  It looked like someone was living in it.  I like the way this photo came out with the clouds above.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3868 - "Gremlins" and "Gremlins 2: The New Batch" At The New Beverly - 12.22.21

This evening I went to a Gremlins double feature. My wife, my two kids and their spouses came.  It was a whole family affair.  My wife, daughter and her husband were exhausted after the first film and didn't stick around for Gremlins 2.  Boy did they miss out.  I had only seen Gremlins 2 once before and I had forgotten how awesome it is.  Maybe it was also a factor of having just seen it at home, but seeing it on the big screen with an audience it played like gangbusters.  We laughed the whole way through and by the end I think it may even be better than Gremlins.  I walked out of that screening feeling like is it perhaps Joe Dante's most underrated films.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3867 - Barb Practicing Guitar - 12.21.21

This is my wife practicing guitar.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3866 - "To All A Goodnight" and "Don't Open Til Christmas" At The New Beverly - 12.20.21

This evening I went to a fun double feature at the New Beverly.  It was two Christmas slasher films that involved either a killer Santa Claus or a killer killing Santa Clauses.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3865 - Stranger Things "Space Camp" Graphic Novel - 12.19.21

This is a Stranger Things graphic novel I picked up at the Stranger Things pop up store yesterday.  I read it this morning.  It was fun.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3864 - Playing Dig Dug - 12.18.21

My daughter and her husband are in town for the holidays.  This afternoon we went to the Americana and to the Stranger Things pop up store.  This is her, her husband and my wife all playing video games in the arcade in the store.  My daughter is playing Dig Dug. If you look really closely you can see the game reflected in my daughter's glasses. This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3863 - No Parking Sign - 12.17.21

I took my camera with me again on my lunchtime walk.  This is a no parking sign up the street.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3862 - Two Tiles - 12.16.21

This afternoon I took my camera with me on a walk around the neighborhood.  I was looking to take photos that could be used for SAP Music mix covers.  These are a couple tiles  set into concrete on the side of a house.  I loves all the texture in this photo.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3861 - No Circumcision Car - 12.15.21

This car started showing up on our street earlier this fall.  This person clearly has an opinion about circumcision.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3860 - "Black Christmas" & "Silent Night, Deadly Night" At The New Beverly - 12.14.21

Tonight was an amazing night at the New Beverly.  I have been trying to see this traditional double feature for years and this year I was finally able to get tickets.  My son and I went and it was just a great and fun and we thought it would be.  This is something I saw today.

Day 3859 - Emerson, Lake And Palmer "Tarkus" - 12.13.21

This is the inside of the album Tarkus.  It was the album for the 1001 list today.  This is what I wrote.

I own this record, but I will be the first to day that I have not listened to it much. To me the best part of the album is the cover art. If I am going to listen to some ELP, I will reach for Brain Salad Surgery every time (which is woefully missing from this list). I will say that I did listen to the epic "Tarkus" track 3 times over the last week or so. The first time I was just listening with it more or less in the back ground. The second time I listened to it, it was after reading up a little more on the album and I thought I need to pay more attention. My mind still wandered. Then again this morning I thought I need to focus. But I couldn't. I cam back to my description of Fragile. This is serious music. It is so serious that I need a map to follow it and supplemental reading. Unfortunately, I'm not always in the mood to work that much. I found reading about the music perhaps more fulfilling. That said, these are some really smart guys doing some incredibly complex if not a little nerdy stuff and I respect it. It will probably be a long time before I return to this album. Also, it is hard to be patient with an album like this when I know Led Zeppelin IV is on the horizon for tomorrow.

This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3858 - United States Post Office - 12.12.21

Today we went to the local post office to send out Christmas cards, but our local post office was closed.  Of course the branch was closed, but even the lobby was locked which was not normal.  That branch is what is photographed here.  The weird thing was that even the post office boxes outside were locked and so we had to drive to a different location to drop the cards in a postal box.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3857 - Now Hiring Sign - 12.11.21

Today we went to Monte Carlo Deli and I took this photo of a now hiring sign.  I love that one of the things that they list that they are in need of is a "Sandwich Artist."

This is something I saw today. 

Day 3856 - Don McLean's "American Pie" LP - 12.10.21

Today the record for the 1001 albums list was Don McLean's "American Pie."  This is what I wrote about it.

A long, long time ago I can still remember how that music used to make me smile Now that is a way to open not only a song, but an album. Let's face it the track "American Pie" is such a monster of a track it does make all the other tracks pale in comparison. This song brings on all sorts of memories, the strongest being a couple dances I went to when I was twelve or thirteen. This song was played at each one of them. I remember getting up the courage to ask a girl to dance and it was to this epic song. I don't even remember who the girl was. It wasn't anyone I had a crush on or anything. It was more about just asking a girl to dance. But I don't know what I was thinking. I knew how long this song was and all the tempo changes. It seemed to go on forever and I remember that dance getting long and awkward. I also remember telling that story to my kids and warning them to stay away from this song at a dance. That said, the song is epic and awesome. I won't get into the backstory of the song. I trust either someone else will write about it here or if you don't know you will look it up. I've had this album for many years. It was part of that first round of early vinyl record shopping where I was picking up albums from the 70s where I may have none only a song or two but wanted to hear the whole album. I must confess that when I do put this album on I do tend to just put on the opening track. That isn't because the other songs are bad, it is just that they are different and when I'm in the mood for "American Pie" I'm in the mood for that epic song and that nostalgia. This challenge was a nice excuse to listen to the whole album. The songs are solid. They are gentle. They are short or should I say shorter. I'm glad I listened to it again and could appreciate Don McLean as a songwriter and not just as the guy who wrote "American Pie." To me the rest of the album is very much of that early seventies singer-songwriter vibe of James Taylor and the like. I think I liked Sweet Baby James more, but I also liked this album. With that said I think some of these lyrics are great and maybe more poetic. Or at least feel more like poems. A standout for me as an example is "Vincent" which I think does work as a nice little song, but I think it really works as a poem about Vincent Van Gogh.

This is something I saw today.

Day 3855 - Christmas Kisses - 12.09.21

This is a dish of Christmas kisses we have near out front door.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3854 - Elton John's "Madman Across The Water" LP - 12.08.21

Today we listened to "Madman Across The Water" for out 1001 albums challenge.  I wrote the following for my friends.  

This is the kind of album that got into seriously collecting vinyl records in the late 90s and early 2000s. I wanted to go back and hear albums by artists that I only knew from their radio hits. I wanted to hear their deeper cuts and buying vinyl records was the cheapest way to do that. Elton John was one of those artists who I wanted to get into his full catalog. Growing up in the 80s I wasn't that big of an Elton John fan. I wasn't a big fan of his music in the 80s. (I've sense changed my opinion). But in high school I had an art teacher that loved to play an Elton John greatest hits cassette and I did start to gain an appreciation for his work from the 70s. So when I started collecting records Elton John was one of the first artists I was on the hunt for. Elton's early records are all pretty great. I've already mentioned my love of his first album. This is also a pretty great record. Even if you hate every song on this album except for "Tiny Dancer" the album would still be great because that song is a musical narcotic. That song gets into your blood and by the end you have to be singing along. I believe we all saw this effect in the movie Almost Famous. "Levon" is another great song was one that I knew from the radio. It wasn't a staple, but it did get played here and there. Oddly enough I looked up the track listing on that Greatest Hits album my teacher played all the time and neither "Tiny Dancer" nor "Levon" were on that album. That is just crazy t me. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greatest_Hits_(Elton_John_album) The rest of the album is basically deep cuts and I imagine new to anyone who has never heard this album before. There are a few things I like about all of these songs. The first thing is the production. I was listening to this album in the car Monday night and I had the stereo up really loud and in that environment I could really appreciate how well sound designed the album was. It all sounded so good. Every instrument is really captured well. Nothing is muddy. The second thing and related to the first is that the musicians and the arrangements are all great. The last thing is the songwriting itself. Elton John and Bernie Taupin are up there with Lennon and McCartney in my book in terms of great writing partnerships. Bernie really was great at spinning a tale and evoking imagery and emotions. As I am writing the track "Madman Across The Water" is playing and I have it up really loud. This is a great example of everything I mentioned above. The song goes through all these modes. It gets big and then small, and then dramatically builds again to this mammoth song. And it has all these great textures. The production is playing with the mix and things rise and fall, push forward and recede. It is quite a song. "Indian Sunset" is another epic story song with a complex arrangement and makes full use of studio wizardry. It isn't a simple straightforward pop song. It moves and evolves and changes with the narrative. I think it is also a nice example of Elton's great piano playing. I think I often forget how great a pianist Elton was. When I saw "Rocket Man", that film brought that to the forefront for me. By the way if anyone hasn't seen that movie, I highly recommend it.

This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3853 - Petula Clark's "I Couldn't Live Without Your Love" LP - 12.07.21

I picked up this album by Petula Clark at a local thrift store recently.  We went to the thrift store to buy some snow flake candy dishes we saw in the window one morning while walking.  While there I also picked up some records and this was one of them.  The huge find for me on this record kicks off side two.  The version of "Bang Bang" on this album is AWESOME!  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3852 - "Night Of The Juggler" and "Ms .45" At The New Beverly - 12.06.21

Oh man tonight was a killer double feature.  "Ms .45" is a film I've seen several times at home, but never on the big screen. I knew I was in for a treat there and watching it in a theater was easily the best viewing experience.  As great as "Ms .45" was "Night Of The Juggler" was a jaw dropper.  I knew of this movie.  I knew of it's reputation and I knew I would like it, but none of that prepared me for what I saw.  For the first 20-30 minutes I sat with a huge smile on my face and my jaw on the floor.  I kept thinking to myself, this is crazy.  This is amazing.  Can this keep up?  There is a chase scene in the first act of the film that is so insane and it does finally come to a close to give the audience a moment to catch their breath.  It was truly great seeing that for the first time in the theater.  The intensity of the movie keeps up and the film really is a gem.  If and when it plays again I will bring others with me to experience the madness.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3851 - Wayne Newton "Songs For A Merry Christmas" LP - 12.05.21

Today I put on some more classic Christmas records.  This record by Wayne Newton was one of them.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3850 - "The Shining" at the New Beverly - 12.04.21

It has been a busy week at the New Beverly for me.  This evening my son and I went to the midnight showing of "The Shining."  It was good times.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3849 - "Blast Of Silence" & "The Night Of The Hunter" - 12.03.21

Tonight I saw a great double bill of "Blast Of Silence" and "The Night Of The Hunter."  I've seen "The Night Of The Hunter" before and it was great as always.  The real revelation of the evening was "Blast Of Silence" which I had not seen.  It is a hitman movie that takes place in New York around Christmas and so there is a bunch of great black and white footage in Manhattan at the holidays.  It also has a great third act that was filmed during a hurricane and all of that weather intensity translates to the finale.  It was great.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3848 - Before Digging Please Call - 12.02.21

It was a foggy morning today.  I stepped into the alley to take this photo of this sticker on the telephone pole next to our house.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3847 - "Imagine" by John Lennon - 12.01.21

John Lennon's "Imagine" was the record for today. I wrote the following for my friends.

I haven't listened to this album in a long while. It was nice to revisit this morning. This is one of the great John Lennon records for sure. Of course the title track is amazing and iconic. There have been many occasions in the past where this song has brought me to tears because of its beauty and message. Back in 1988 I went and saw the John Lennon documentary "Imagine: John Lennon" and I do remember tearing up watching that documentary and hearing this song. I was way, way, way into John at that time. "Crippled Inside" is a cool track. It stood out to me more than usual this past weekend when i was listening to it. "Jealous Guy" is one of my all time favorites from John. I literally woke up with that song in my head this morning. "It's So Hard" is okay. "I Don't Want To Be A Soldier Mama" is quite a powerful song. It also sounds big. I really got into the groove of this one this morning. "Gimme Some Truth" is another powerful and angry song. This song is punk rock in my opinion. It may not be the fast power chords of punk, but the attitude certainly feels punk. This is a song that I grow to love more and more. "Oh My Love" is a pretty song. "How Do You Sleep" is another angry song. Part of me likes when John is in angry mode. I think he can pull it off well. However, I must say that I don't really like it when he and Paul fight. Part of what I liked about "Get Back" the documentary was that it showed that even while those two were getting on each others nerves and there were tensions, there were times when they were amazing together. Seeing them write and create together was magic. Seeing them play music together and have fun together was amazing and I guess I'd rather remember that more than the anger and the fighting. So I am torn on this song. It is a good song, but I don't know that I want to listen to it the way I would "Imagine" or "Jealous Guy" or even "Gimme Some Truth." "How?" is another track I really love. This was on the soundtrack to the "Imagine" documentary. That soundtrack was the first collection of John Lennon songs that I owned. I listened to that tape to death back in the day. So I have listened to this song so many times. I do remember thinking back in the day that there was something different about the production of this song and in hindsight knowing more about the production of the song, I thought there was a certain level of cheese to the song. I think that quality I was reacting to was the Phil Spector factor. I think I was reacting to the strings and that sort of soft 70s sound. Now, I don't mind that aspect so much. "Oh Yoko!" is just a fun pop love song. My feelings on Yoko go up and down. I have to say when watching the "Get Back" documentary this past weekend, I was really annoyed by her constant silent presence. And then when you did hear her it was doing that screeching thing that she does. Sometimes I find her annoying or sometimes I find her a really interesting artist and other times I find her quite sweet in her love of John. No matter how I feel about Yoko I can't deny that John truly loved her and I love the joy in the song. As much as I like the angry John, I love the "in Love" John and this song has it in spades. This could be my favorite song on the whole record.

This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3846 - "Sticky Fingers" By The Rolling Stones 11.30.21

Today on the 1001 Albums list we listened to "Sticky Fingers."  My thoughts on the album were:

The packaging of this album is of course iconic with the Andy Warhol design and the working zipper. And of course that packaging with the title "Sticky Fingers" the bad boys of rock and roll don't disappoint with their lascivious innuendo. But the greatness doesn't stop with the packaging. The album is literally packed with awesome tracks. "Brown Sugar", "Sway", "Wild Horses", "Bitch" and "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" I feel like are all staples of classic rock programming. At least when I was growing up they were all songs I would have heard on the radio. I have no idea about today because I rarely listen to the radio and classic AOR programming even less. But the deeper cuts are in my opinion all just as great. "You Gotta Move" is an old blues song and the Stones give it a great treatment. "I Got The Blues" is also a perfect track. Mick is totally on point and the band is great, but to me the additional horn section is also fantastic. Great bluesy soulful number. "Sister Morphine" is another great deep cut. Songs about drugs at this period coming out of the sixties I find really interesting because they are often dealing with the darker aspects of addiction and the havoc drugs wreak. The band again is on point. "Dead Flowers" is another favorite of mine with its country rock feel. Mick Taylor's guitar work is great. I feel like this song has sort of become a classic as well. I don't know if it gets airplay, but It shows up in movies and such. I think this one lies somewhere between classic well known and deeper cut. "Moonlight Mile" feels a little like an outlier on the album. It seems a little more layered and produced, but I don't think that is a bad thing. I quite like the instrumentation. The songs seems big and epic. At times it feels like Van Morrison to me. It is a nice way to close the album. I've listened to this one 4 or 5 times in recent weeks and it never gets old. I didn't even really touch on the classic tracks "Brown Sugar", "Sway", "Wild Horses", "Bitch" and "Can't You Hear Me Knocking".

This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3845 - "Baby Face" & "Night Nurse" At The New Beverly - 11.29.21

Tonight my wife and I went to a Barbara Stanwyck pre-code double feature.  Both films were excellent and we had a great time.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3844 - Merry Christmas From King Records - 11.28.21

The Christmas music has begun in our house.  Today I was listening to this compilation from King Records.  It has some great old Christmas tunes. This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3843 - Stop Sign Shadow - 11.27.21

I brought my camera on my walk this morning and took this photo of a stop sign shadow.  I think I have taken a similar photo in the past.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3842 - Hawkins High Schoo, Activities Board - 11.26.21

Today we went to the Glendale Galleria and The Americana to do our Christmas shopping.  We also went to the Stranger Things pop up store, which was super cool.  This is my wife looking at the Hawkins High School Activities Board.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3841 - Thanksgiving Table - 11.25.21

This is our Thanksgiving table setting.  We had a lovely Thanksgiving this year with my song, his with and his father-in-law.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3840 - Shaft - 11.24.21

Today we listened to the soundtrack to "Shaft" by Isaac Hayes for the 1001 albums challenge.  This is one of the all time great soundtrack albums.  This is what I wrote for my friends.

This soundtrack is classic. Of course it has the hit title theme, but "Soulsville" is on par with that track in my book. In fact I could probably listen to "Soulsville" more than the "Theme To Shaft" because I feel like at some point that track was overplay. Maybe it was just overplayed by me, but still. I love me some "Soulsville." The rest of the soundtrack is Hot Buttered Soul put to celluloid. This is a great album to throw on to set the mood. "Ellie's Love Theme" is particularly nice to set a romantic mood with your significant other. Put the lights down low and enjoy. Now this is going to maybe be a little controversial, but as much as I enjoy this album and I guess I understand why it is on the list because it sold so many copies and was a bit of a crossover hit, but in terms of amazing soundtrack albums there are a lot of albums higher on my list than this. I mean for just straight up soundtrack scores from this time period I would point to a bunch or the work by Ennio Morricone or Jerry Goldsmith. And if we were trying to keep it in the same sort of jazzy, soulful sound for a blaxploitation film, then I may even put Marvin Gaye's soundtrack to "Trouble Man" over this one. Curtis Mayfield's soundtrack to "Superfly" may beat this one out. Another artist to call out from around this time was James Brown. I'd have to re-listen to some of the soundtracks he did, but my memory is that his soundtrack to "Black Caesar" is also pretty good. I don't mean this to say this album isn't great, but more to point to some others that are being overlooked by this list and to say I like those maybe even a little more.

This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3839 - Carole King's "Tapestry" LP - 11.23.21

"Tapestry" was the album we listened to today for the 1001 Albums challenge.  I wrote the following to my friends.  

I've had this record in the collection for quite a while. I can't even remember when I picked it up. Even though I have had this record for a long time, I bet that before a couple months ago I had listened to it maybe once or twice. I bought it because I knew it was a classic album that sold a gazillion copies and spoke to a generation, but for whatever reason I never really got into it. That changed a couple months ago when I listened to that Hit Parade podcast on the year 1971. It gave me a whole new appreciation for Carole King and since then I've listened to this album 6, 7 or 8 times at least. I am now in love with this album. The album literally is packed with hits. Carole had already been writing songs for many years, but for other artists. I before this album, she may have released a single or two in the early sixties , but her career never really took off. Then I think she may have had an album before this one that didn't do much. Then on this one she had the brilliant idea to dig into her catalog of amazing songs that she had written for others and record them herself. I think one a couple songs on this whole album are new compositions. The rest are basically proven hits. But to me these Carole King versions are great. I really feel the lyrics. To me there isn't a bad song on the entire record. I literally go from song to song thinking, no I like this one the best, no I like this one the best. So for me even though I have had this album for years, I consider this more of a new discovery. I will be listening to these songs for many years to come.

This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3838 - "Death Dimension" & "The Tattoo Connection" - 11.22.21

This evening I saw a Jim Kelly double feature of "Death Dimension" and "The Tattoo Connection" at the Bev this evening.  I'd seen "The Tattoo Connection" before at the New Beverly and that was entertaining as always.  "Death Dimension" was a good time as well.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3837 - Christmas Tree - 11.21.21

This is out Christmas tree this year.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3836 - Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai At the New Beverly - 11.20.21

This evening the family and I went to see Seven Samurai.  We had all seen the movie before, but it had been a few years and none of us had seen it on the big screen.  For me it may have been the best time watching it because on the big screen I was really sucked in and the cinematography is also gorgeous.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3835 - Pilgrims - 11.19.21

I have photographed these statues before.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3834 - Yes "The Yes Album" - 11.18.21

I listened to this album today as part of the 1001 albums challenge.  I wrote the following to my friends at work.

I listened to this album again over the weekend. It was the first time listening to it in a while. The thing that really stood out to me was the musicianship. Whether you are talking about the bass, or the drums or the guitar or keyboards I felt like we were stepping into a whole new realm of music. We were going beyond rock and roll. We were stepping into a different stratosphere. We were starting that climb up the mountain of musicianship that The Ramones and The Sex Pistols and all the bands of the mid to late seventies were going to reject and topple. I get why they rejected it. There is something nice about simple rock and roll. There is something nice to 3 chords and the truth. But I also think it is great to listen to world class musicians making some insanely complicated and sophisticated music. And when they can do it and still have really cool harmonies and catchy hooks like on "I've Seen All Good People" then that is something I really love. To me the stand outs on this album are the aforementioned "I've Seen All Good People" and "The Clap" or "Clap". I've always referred to it as "The Clap" because that is how it is listed on my record, but apparently that was a mistake and the song should have been listed as "Clap" and is correctly listed on CD releases. When I first heard this album, the musical gymnastics on that track floored me. I quickly put that song on a mix tape shortly after buying this record. Yep, mix tape. I wasn't even burning CDs at that point. I have to say, I don't remember the other songs as much after listening to the record. Not that they aren't good. I think the album is great and I enjoy them while listening, but to me those two tracks I mentioned are the ones I take with me and never forget. I'm glad I got to listen to this album yet again today and I'll continue to revisit this album in years to come.
 

This is something I saw today.

Day 3833 - So Long And Thanks For All The Fish - 11.17.21

Here is the Douglas Adams classic book in paperback form.  I picked this up recently.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3832 - Bath & Body Works Christmas Bag - 11.16.21

This is a Bath & Body Works Christmas bag.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3831 - "Madman" and "Silent Madness" At The New Beverly - 11.15.21

I saw "Madman" and "Silent Madness" at the New Beverly this evening.  This is something I saw today.

Day 3830 - Pee-Wee Herman With A Turkey Hat - 11.14.21

My wife found this turkey hat for Pee-Wee.  It was actually made for a coffee mug cozy or something like that.  She saw it and thought that it might fit onto Pee-Wee's head and she was absolutely right.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3829 - Boxes Of Pizzelle's - 11.13.21

Today we swung by Monte Carlo Deli to pick up some Romano cheese.  While waiting to be helped I took this photo of the boxes of pizzelle cookies.  This is something I saw today.
 

Day 3828 - "Aqualung" By Jethro Tull - 11.12.21

Today the album on our list was "Aqualung."  This is what I wrote for my friends about this album.

I really am hoping that for some people that this is their first time listening to this album and that it is a big discovery for them. I know when I first heard it through many years ago it was for me. Now I grew up in the 70s and 80s and during my formative music years Jethro Tull was a staple of AOR radio. As I kid I thought "Aqualung" was a weird and somewhat amusing song. But I think at some point Jethro Tull sort of became a bit of a joke. I think there was some mocking of the flute. I think in general prog rock became the enemy of the hip and cool punk rock scenes. And then I think when Jethro Tull beat out Metallica for the Grammy for best Metal album their reputation was sealed. They really became this joke and seemed to represent an older out of touch generation. I mean that Grammy fiasco was ridiculous. But then in the late 90s I got a hold of a CD that was a Jethro Tull greatest hits type of thing. It was remastered songs and such and suddenly Jethro Tull came to life for me. I think before that I really just thought of them as the "Aqualung" band. The Jazz flute band. But that CD turned me around because I realized they had all these other songs that I knew and that even ones that I didn't know were pretty killer. I then picked up a few albums along the way and this one is one of the ones that I got. And it is a pretty great album. It starts with "Aqualung" which is no longer just a weird song to me. It is actually a pretty powerful song and it has some killer hooks and riffs. Then we move into "Cross Eyed Mary" and things really kick into high gear. This was a song that I think I may have first heard from the Iron Maiden version. Now I liked that Iron Maiden version, but this one seriously rocks. I mean there is just something so awesome about the vocal delivery when Ian Anderson sings "Cross-eyed Mary." The next three songs slow things down and get quite lyrical. They are a welcome break after those killer opening two tracks. Then side one finishes out with "Up To Me." Right off the bat there is there is a hooky and slightly dark riff and flute riff which signals a return to the harder darker vibe of the start of side one. I really like this song. Flute work is fantastic. Side Two is just as good as side one. It has a nice mixture of the more acoustic numbers as well as some serious rockers. "My God" quietly brings us into side two. It is a sort of sneak attack starting off quiet and gentle, and then builds in its intensity. The music I think gets quite complex and impressive and again the Flute is front and center kicking butt and taking names. "Hymn 43" I think is probably considered a deep cut, but it is a killer of a track. It has any amazing riff/hook with that dun, dun da da da dun dun. achicka, achicka, achicka. That was my attempt to put that music into words. But seriously, this is a track that when it comes up you have to turn up the volume to 11. I think when I get to this song I am like "Yep this album rocks." "Slipstream" is a nice calm before the storm which is "Locomotive Breath". "Locomotive Breath" may be the best song on the album. And I like it's placement deep into the album. The song is so killer, you'd almost expect it near the beginning or to start a side two, but nope. This one is saved for nearly the end. This is another one to turn up to eleven sit back and let the song take you away. To me the image that comes to mind is the image from the old Maxell tapes adds where there was the guy sitting in a Corbusier chair in front of speaks getting blown away by the sound coming from the speakers. https://iconicphotos.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/images_maninchair.jpg?w=1618 I'd like to imagine that the guy in that photo is listening to "Locomotive Breath." And as much as this song rocks, the flute is doing its own jazz thing and it all works perfectly. The album finishes up with "Wind-Up" with another rocker. I feel like this is another deep cut that I never heard on the radio, but it should have been played on the radio more. I think it is a great song. It has all the elements of "Aqualung", "Cross-Eyed Mary" or "Locomotive Breath" and in my opinion can stand shoulder to shoulder. So over all this album is extremely strong and is one that I have played quite a lot over the years. It is definitely my go to album for Jethro Tull. And so as good as this album is, that just speaks to my statement about the Santana record which I declared better than this. And even still I'll rank Abraxas above Aqualung, but both are super stellar albums. These two are great examples of album oriented rock during its classic early days. I think if you are a fan of classic rock and classic rock albums these two are must haves.

This is something I saw today.