Talkin' Bob Dylan's 115 Albums Blues

First, for $10 you can pre-order Dystopian Society's 4 song 7" from Mass Media Records outta Costa Mesa, CA:

Second, I've been on a Dylan kick lately. I wrote this bit for my buddies who want to get deeper into his catalog, which I have a limited knowledge of. It was fun to talk about my favorite Dylan albums and songs, so I thought I'd share it here, redacted and edited for public consumption, with youtube vidjas added at choice points. I think I'm gonna go no quotation marks around titles for life. "#NOQUOTATIONZZMARX4LYFE"

The first self-titled, Freewheelin, The Times They Are A-Changin', and Another Side of BD all have their moments. I had my dad's tapes of the boxed set Biograph when I was a kid and that's how I'm familiar with a lot of the songs off the first three albums.

The song Boots of Spanish Leather off of Times I've only recently discovered and it is astounding. Of the above prolly the two most solid are Another Side and then Freewheelin, IMO.

The first Dylan album I discovered on my own, when I was 14, was Bringing It All Back Home. A great, fun album. Didn't get into the slightly more rollicking, garage rocking Hwy 61 Revisited until years later but those two albums are flip sides of each other, released the same year ya know, both equal in awesomeosity and fun.

Blonde on Blonde was my fave album ever for about a year in my early twenties. Man, it's sprawling.

John Wesley Harding I never got into but it's got three of my fave tracks, Dear Landlord, I Am a Lonesome Hobo, and I'll Be Your Baby Tonight. I need to go in and listen to that whole album. It's also got his version of All Along the Watchtower from before Jimi took it over. Here's Maureen Tucker, drummer of the Velvet Underground:

Self-Portrait and New Morning I never got into but SP has got Mighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo) which is another one of my all time faves, and New Morning has If Not For You and The Man In Me. George Harrison does an awesome cover of If Not For You.

Never got into Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, and never even heard of "Dylan" until just now (I'm lookin at the wiki discography). Also never got into Planet Waves.

But that brings us to Blood on the Tracks, which IMO, and in other's O, is his best, and one of the best albums of all time. I still recommend this one for y'all to listen to next.

I thought I was familiar with The Basement Tapes but most of those song titles don't ring a bell with me. Million Dollar Bash is a great song.

I was deep into a couple of tracks on Desire as a kid (Hurricane and Black Diamond Bay), and this was one of the first CDs I ever bought, I was late to Cds. I remember listening to it in multiple habitats, probably my #1 fave for at least three years running. I'd say this one for y'all's earholes after Blood on the Tracks.

Infidels is his first post religious phase album and my dad had it on tape so I was vaguely familiar with it, especially with the track Jokerman which is one of my fave songs of all time. I've recently listened to the whole album again a couple of times on google play. I like it, but it's not like, the most amazing thing ever or anything. Jokerman, however, is one of the most amazing things ever. I've shared this before, it bears repeating:

After that my knowledge of the discography drifts away again until 97's Time Out of Mind, which is really, really good. Love and Theft I didn't get into as much save for High Water (Song for Charley Patton), which is a great song.

Not familiar with anything else new.

I see he's got a new one due in August. Cool!

Another thing I'd recommend is the box set "Biograph" I mentioned earlier. It's a lot of music, hits and rarities. Looking at the track list makes me want it on vinyl. It's on gplay so prolly on y'all's crappy spottyfy too. Also awesome:

Simo Soo, Postcode, and The Masked Marauders

CNQ's favorite Australian No-Rave artiste Simo Soo is raising money for his new album and a possible tour of the U.S. For $8 on bandcamp you can get a download of a sweet 22 track compilation of unreleased/unavailable Simo Soo tracks recorded from 2009-11. It's available until July 5th then it's "GONE 4 EVA," as Simo sez on his facebook page. I got mine, I hope he comes to Texas!

The Isle of Man's Postcode has a video for their new jam. Good stuff:

I picked up this at ZT Records in Frisco, TX this weekend, for $8. A '60s hoax album courtesy Rolling Stone magazine:

More New New from Bandcamp

For my fancy new Bandcamp fan page, I went thru the blog here and clicked follow on the Bandcamp pages of everybody I've featured from that site up until now. Some may consider that effort a lame waste of time but I had fun doing it, so there. And, several of the bands I've featured in past Bandcamp mix posts have new stuff out. Here's some of the best:

Riot grrrls ConeTrauma from Iowa City, Iowa uploaded this 3 song EP last week. Awesome stuff:

Shark? is from Brooklyn, as is the label this was released on, Old Flame Records. Another 3 song EP released in the middle of this month. Solid rock'n'roll:

From Lexington, Kentucky, here's some fun, weird, poppy psych:

I haven't featured anything from Croatia's Doomtown Records in a while, and that's my fault. They released this on the 11th of this month, a split between Modern Delusion and Chresus. I went on a Wire kick today, listened to 154 and Pink Flag, and that Modern Delusion reminds me of it. The Chresus is sweet lo-fi:

I gotta go jam with my buddy on plug.dj but bandcamp is super-fun.

Vinyl Via Vandcamp

I got me a CNQ bandcamp fan page. Bandcamp rulez. Let's hook up.

From back in April, out of Norfolk, VA - The Great Dismal Swamis have only a handful of cheap 45s left, so get em while you can:

From earlier this month, for $10+ you can get this 7" split from Agitated Records (UK):

This got released the 17th of this month, vinyl available at their bandcamp site:

From Sweden, these guys also have vinyl available but alas, overseas shipping is expensive. Super cool stuff tho, I love the second track, "Routine":

Ted Taylor: "I'm Glad You're Home" (Ronn Records, 1970)

I picked up this Ted Taylor 45, "It's A Funky Situation" b/w "I'm Glad You're Home," for 49 cents at the Half-Priced Books at Preston Village in Dallas. "It's A Funky Situation" was a single from "Taylor Made," and I am completely in love with the whole album. It's on Google Play, so it's probably also on Spotify. I highly recommend it. Here's Ted Taylor's Wikipedia entry, here's a little info on Ronn Records outta Shreveport courtesy Discogs, and, here's a more lengthy history of the label. Super-cool.

For educational purposes, here's "I'm Glad You're Home," which isn't on "Taylor Made," and, I believe, has yet to appear on our Internet until now. It does appear on a best of Taylor called "Ever Wonderful Vol. 2."

After you listen to this, go listen to "Taylor Made."

Jerry Abbott: "I Want A Little Cowboy" (1978)

I bought this at the Half-Price Books flagship this past weekend, because I thought the title was kitschy. This was put out on Churchill Records Ltd., 2600 River Road, Des Plaines , Illinois. Copyright 1978, written by Abbott/Jackson - BMI. I'm not sure who Jackson is, but Jerry Abbott, assuming the guy on this record is the same Jerry Abbott, is the father of Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul, from Pantera. They're from Pantego, and their name is Pantera. Weird.

I can't find this 45 on the Internet, after, you know, a little bit of research. So, for historical preservation and educational purposes, here's both tracks, which are awesome, btw:

I Want A Little Cowboy"

When It Comes To Cowgirls (I Just Can't Say No)

Here's another Jerry Abbott tune from '81, courtesy Youtube:

When I was 16, Vulgar Display of Power changed my life:

New Releases From Soundcloud y Bandcamp

I need to mow the yard but man, I tell ya one thing, I don't want to mow the yard. Instead let's listen to some new stuff:

Glo is punk rock from Sweden - though I'm not sure if they're the same Swedish punk rock as this Glo from three decades ago. So this may be new, or may be not new, but it is cool. At their bandcamp page they're offering a two song, purple vinyl 7" limited to 300 copies that you can order for a little under ten U.S. dollars. It's on a label called Slyngel Rekords.

Here's some cool, kinda weird electro from Australia. Dude wears a penis-face mask, apparently. Dig that vocoder:

Noisy rock from Hong Kong:

Offa Vagrant Records, this is a good single:

Super-solid sound from Pasadena's Apex Manor, courtesy Merge Records.

Small Bear Records, Crapoulet Records New Releases

Small Bear Records has some new stuff out. First up is lo-fi psych from Sweden - Dog! Paper! Submarine!'s self-titled debut on Small Bear Records. Think Elephant 6/early GBV. Good stuff:

Matt Bouvier, who is also from Sweden, has a new album called Death & Love. Highly listenable:

France's ever-cool Crapoulet Records has some new stuff out as well. Check out the super-rad hc sounds of TIMEKILLER:

HC in Spanish, from San Fran:

Garage punk from Germany with a lady lead and some 60s synth:

Spike Shannon and the White Rats: "Ol' Abner Doubleday Has Done It Again" (1987)

Dang! Two years ago today I did my first post on CNQ. It's been a fun hobby and I plan to continue to do it, posting at about the rate I have been, i.e., whenever it strikes my fancy to do so.

I mentioned a few posts back my pal Jerry loaned me a box of his 45s, which he hadn't opened in several years. Tonight, in honor of CNQ's two year anniversary, I present a rare gem courtesy Jerry's sweet collection. This, as far as I can tell, has yet to be seen or heard on the Internets. And since showcasing obscurities was my original raison d'être for this blog, I'm stoked to share this one tonight - for historical and educational purposes only, of course. But that doesn't mean you can't enjoy it.

Especially if you, like my pal Jerry, are a Saint Louis Cardinals fan. If, however, you are like me, and you know very little about baseball, and even less about the Cards and former player/sportscaster Mike Shannon, then at first listen you may be a bit befuddled by this St. Louis in-joke of a novelty song.

This was produced by Craig Hawksley, Frank Runge, and Bob Gleason, copyright 1987, Imagitrax Recording Co., Funny Bone Productions. Lyrics by Hawksley, Music by Runge, sax by one Ty Perry, and engineered by Gleason. Below the copyright date and above the time (2:40) is the number #7891814. I wonder what that signifies.

Craig Hawksley is a comedian and TV commercial-guy from Saint Louis - he's even got a couple of movies under his belt - here's his IMDB entry.

Mike Shannon was a ballplayer for the Cards in the 60s, and went on to be a sportscaster who seems to be infamous for Yogi Berra type funny quotes. Said quotes seem to be the main focus of what Hawksley is poking fun at here.

So pitiful is my knowledge of baseball, I also had to look up Abner Doubleday. Per Wikipedia, Doubleday was not in fact the inventor of baseball, but he was a president of the Theosophical Society.

The flip side to this is the label printed backward and then the song itself in reverse. Clever stuff.

So, happy birthday to CNQ, and go Cards!