The Eastern Dark — Long Live The New Flesh!

• Artist: The Eastern Dark
• Title: Long Live The New Flesh!
• Year: 1986
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 7
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1986 – Unicorn Records in Portsmouth, VA, I think.
• Keeper: Yes

This is a great garage/rock/punk/power-pop EP. The frontman James Darroch died earlier in the year it was released, 1986. I believe it was vehicular thing. Before Eastern Dark he played bass with Celibate Rifles. I’m not sure why exactly, but I have a lot of music from Australian garage rockers. Maybe I should move there.

D.A.D — No Fuel Left For The Pilgrims

• Artist: D.A.D
• Title: No Fuel Left For The Pilgrims
• Year: 1989
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 6
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1989 – Promo we received at our record store RIP Records in Norfolk, VA.
• Keeper: Maybe

The band’s name was originally “Disneyland After Dark.” That name might’ve worked at home in Denmark, but once they went bigtime they had to change it. And, no, I didn’t forget a period after the last “D”, that’s how they write it.

This is a pretty rocked-out record and the lyrics, against all odds, are not dumb. So, of course I like it. Somewhere I have a CD of theirs that I actually paid for. I may keep this, but I’m not sure I’ll play it that much. There’s a layer of production slickness that I think takes away the truly hard rockin’ going on below. These things happen.

Can — Sacrilege

• Artist: Can
• Title: Sacrilege
• Year: 1997
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 5
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 2002 ? – My brother Grayson bequeathed this to me with a bunch of other vinyl.
• Keeper: Maybe

This one poses an alphabetizing challenge. The band is Can, but these are other artists doing remixes. Should it be under “various artists”? Nah.

I don’t know much about Can, but from a little reading I’ve done I wish I did. Very much ahead of their time and timeless at the same… time. Someone described them as a prototypical Radiohead. These remixes, all three records worth, I’m sure sound very little like the originals. On the whole it’s very electronic. If you’re into that you’ll like it. There are a few stunning tracks.

B-52s — Mesopotamia

• Artist: B-52s
• Title: Mesopotamia
• Year: 1981
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 6
• Owner: Mary
• Acquired: 1981 – Mary got it at a “cheesy chain record store” in Annandale, VA.
• Keeper: Yes

This one’s for Lee, a.k.a. Danny Ocean.

This is a six song EP and it was produced by David Byrne. Some of it sounds similar to “Remain In Light” era Talking Heads. I think this release was near hitless, though “Nip It In the Bud” may have gotten some play. It’s definitely my favorite track on an otherwise bland release.

ABC — The Lexicon of Love

• Artist: ABC
• Title: The Lexicon of Love
• Year: 1982
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 10
• Owner: Tracy/Mary
• Acquired: 1982 – Not sure where, but I remember my friend Jeff Arthur told me about them.
• Keeper: Yes

This album has been played as many times as anything in our collection. It is absolutely the best pop record I’ve ever heard, and it’s one of my all-time faves, irrespective of genres. And if a natural-born metalhead like me can say that, you know it’s good. Funky and classy at the same time. Super-dance-able, with smart lyrics to boot.

“Poison Arrow” and “The Look of Love” were hits to some degree in the US, but my favorite is “Tears Are Not Enough.”

Zodiac Mindwarp And The Love Reaction — High Priest Of Love

Zodiac Mindwarp And The Love Reaction -- High Priest Of Love

• Artist: Zodiac Mindwarp And The Love Reaction
• Title: High Priest Of Love
• Year: 1986
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 9
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1986 – Bought it when I was working at Mother’s Record & Tapes in Hampton, VA.
• Keeper: Yes

This EP came out at just the right time for me. There was a dearth of heavy guitar rock, at least any that I could stand to listen to. I’m not saying these guys are smart, but they are smart-assed. And that makes the otherwise completely sleazy lyrics funny. Get a load of these song titles: High Priest of Love, Hymn of The Speed Kings, High Heel Heaven, Kick Start Me For Love, etc.

There are only six songs in all and it sounds like they could barely pull those off, not that they can’t play. It’s just that this kind of rock and roll chaos clearly could be sustained much longer. This is not the most important music ever made, but it sure was fun.

Glenn Yarbrough — Time To Move On

Glenn Yarbrough -- Time To Move On

• Artist: Glenn Yarbrough
• Title: Time To Move On
• Year: 1964
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 5
• Owner: Mary
• Acquired: 1995 ? – Yard sale I think.
• Keeper: Yes

Uh… no one has ever mistaken me for a big folk music fan, but I try to have an open mind. Mary has a fondness for Mr. Yarbrough’s earlier group The Limeliters because her dad had those records when she was growing up. I’ve bought some of those CDs for her over the years and to tell the truth I really like some of it. On this solo record though, everything is a little too slick. Too much orchestration, too much back-up singing. And although some of the lyrics are really good, when I hear him sing “The Honey Wind Blows” I feel the spirit of John “Bluto” Blutarsky rising. Remember that scene in “Animal House” when he smashes that folk singer’s guitar at the toga party?

Christmas Card 2005 — Merry Christmas Tree!

For the 2005 Christmas card Paris suggested “trees.” As time was running out I continued to mention that we needed to get cracking on the cards. When I mentioned it one night at dinner everyone moaned. Frustrated, I said “you can make a tree out of anything!” Then, I grabbed the greens that were left in the salad bowl and quickly threw down a “tree.” I liked it so I got some dried cranberries for the garland and piece of pretzel for the trunk. Everyone got their trees done that night, with Mary’s being the most skillful, and time-consuming.

The backgrounds were removed and the trees were combined on a single white background. This time we had them printed at Kodak.

Clockwise from top left: Tracy, Paris, Mary, Mars

Christmas Card 2004 — Four Flakes

Mary and I have made each other Valentine cards since the mid-1980s. Last year we started making Christmas cards and got the kids involved. For this one everyone cut out full-sheet paper snowflakes, they were scanned, and finally combined on a red background. We printed these at home and even made the envelopes which had a large snowflake outline on it. The red you see here is brighter than the actual cards.

Clockwise from top left: Tracy, Paris, Mary, Mars

X — Los Angeles

X -- Los Angeles

• Artist: X
• Title: Los Angeles
• Year: 1980
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 10
• Owner: Tracy / Mary – We both had copies.
• Acquired: 1980 – ? We were barely in high school. Who knows where we got them?
• Keeper: Yes

“X” – Possibly, nay, probably the coolest band name ever. And the title of the first track on the album is also excellent — “You’re Phone’s Off The Hook, But You’re Not.”

I’ll keep it short and just say that this album is as good as it can be. It was only the beginning for a group that was/is as important as any band ever was.

Do yourself a favor and get all of their records. Also check out these movies:

• The Decline of Western Civilization
• X – The Unheard Music