Random Updates

I swear my iPod is prescient.  Today when I was walking my dog I had it on shuffle.  And I hate to admit it, but I have three illegally downloaded songs on this iPod, and I feel kinda guilty, but not really; if I have to, I'll send an envelope with 0.99 cents in it to Warren Zevon's posthumous estate, or to Jeff Lynne/ELO and Christine McVie/Fleetwood Mac, but they have plenty of money already.  It's not like I don't buy legally from them too; I do.  But anyway, the iPod plays all three of them in a row.  I also have two versions of Elton John's Madman Across the Water:  the shelved 8-minute first version which is a bonus track on Tumbleweed Connection and the studio version from the album of the same name.  And right after the other thing, it plays both of these in a row.  And whil I try to minimise double-copies of songs, I have two copies of Bob Dylan's Rainy Day Women, and guess what this damned iPod does as soon as it's done playing both versions of Madman... you guessed right!  It played both versions of Rainy Day Women 12 and 35.  There are like 800 songs on there, I really wonder what the cances are of this happening... kinda creepy :).

Anyway, the next countdown is Top 5 Best Shows on TV Right Now.  I'm also hoping to get another author on here so we can get more countdowns going.  I'm still not on Google, GRRR!  but I'll live.  To all two of you reading, tell all your wonderful little friends about this abso-effing-amazing blog!

#1 Best Albums of 1979- Rust Never Sleeps

Neil Young, the only member of Buffalo Springfield or CSNY to have a valuable solo career that went beyond a few singles (and valuable it was), was perhaps the greatest artist of the 70's.  Maybe not, but possibly.  This is perhaps his best album.

Reminiscent of Dylan's Bringing it All Back Home with its acoustic and electric sides, most of this album was recorded semi-live in San Francisco.  Highlights include both versions of Out of the Blue/Into the Black, the Lynyrd Skynyrd-ish Powderfinger, the acoustic Thrasher, and the odd Ride My Llama, though all the songs are good.  The unique songwriting and odd performance methods are two of the major factors in its greatness.  As any Neil Young fan will tell you, his best albums are a mix of harder rock music, softer folk music, and mainstream pop and country, offering a little for every taste in a style unique to him.

#2 Best Albums of 1979- Tusk

Fleetwood Mac's masterwork of a double-album is a bizarre, cocaine-fuelled frenzy of Lindsey Buckingham's wild, short rockers, and bizarre Stevie Nicks tracks with mystic lyrics and instrumental textures ranging from hard rock to bare, quiet ones reminiscent of their interesting 1972 work Bare Trees, albeit that was with a different incarnation of the band.  Christine McVie would be the same as ever, but with Buckingham at the production helms, her songs are turned into interesting guitar tracks (Think about Me), quietly stirring pieces (Brown Eyes, which features Peter Green, the Mac's blues-era leader), and gentle country-pop-rock-folk-somethings (Over and Over, Never Forget).  This album is definitely a grower, don't just take it at face value.  And if you don't have the volume high enough, you'll miss most of the gorgeous intros. 

The best songs here are Sara, Think About Me, Sisters of the Moon, Angel, Walk a Thin Line, Tusk, Storms, Brown Eyes, and The Ledge.  The interesting guitar effects throughout, especially in The Ledge, show you the high points of the production.  Especially on Buckingham's tracks, you hear a coiled, dense, distorted yet not-disagreeable sound, while the sounds on McVie's tracks are more open-ended.  Nicks' tracks are the most varied, from mystic hard rock (Sisters of the Moon) to mystic incredibly-quiet tracks (Storms) to mystic groove tracks (Angel).  Under-acclaimed at time of release, it is now widely recognised as the great album it is. -Ian, 5/5