2020 Update. Vinyl, vinyl, vinyl

Not much to say that hasn’t been said. It’s 2020. It seems I’ve been pouring money I would have used on live music and shows into buying records. It’s actually been quite fulfilling and has helped me rediscover my love for some past music and helped me discover new music as well.

I figured I could just make a recap of some great music I’ve been spinning this year during quarantine as well as what I’ve been most spinning on my turntable.

Don’t have much else to say as nothings going on! Had to cancel a few vacations this year and really not seeing many people or hanging out. I guess I should also mention I finally quit smoking cigarettes. It’s been replaced by the occasional cigar, but overall I’m feeling better! Anyways recap of some great music below:

Telekinesis – Album Dormarion (Nick Ward showed me this one, one of my solo songs reminded him of this album. Great find, and have spun this many times already!)

AC/DC- Album: Power Up. (Probably their best album in 20-30 years!)

Richard Buckner – Album: Bloomed. Great chill music that I started spinning in the fall. Saw a guy in my record collector Facebook group post this album and was curious. Good stuff

Shuggie Otis – Album : Freedom Flight (good stuff, maybe inspired some Jim James solo stuff)

Little Feat – Album: All of them! (Collin had recommended these guys a couple of years ago and it took me forever to get around to checking them out. I saw the record in Silver Platters and decided to give it a spin. I loved it! That led me to buying 3 more records and listening to their greatest hits on iTunes a lot)

Mitzki – Album: Be the Cowboy (This may be my favorite album this year, unique and cool. I love it.

The Beatles – Album: All of them! The Giles Martin Remixes. Absolutely love the production on these. Everything is so TASTY. Possibly the best sounding records I own

Buena Vista Social Club – Got this through Vinyl Me Please. So happy to have been introduced. Genuine, great, feel good music

My Morning Jacket – Album: The Waterfall 2. Runner up for my favorite album I’ve listened to this year.

Blue Oyster Cult: Went through a quick phase of spinning their first two albums. Really just love the sound and guitar tones these captured. Good stuff.

Music Band – Album: Celebration (This is runner-runfnerup for my favorite album this year. A masterpiece if I do say so myself!

Rest In Peace – Chris Cornell

I and many other were devastated to find out the news today that Chris Cornell passed away.  My soul hurts to even comprehend that one of my favorite artists and lyricists took his own life.

We could go on making assumptions as to why he did it, or for the conspiracy theorists we could go on for hours about possible situations as to how he died. The fact remains at the end of the day that the world lost an incredible talent and, I like to think, a genuinely “true” artist.

He wrote in a deep and heartfelt way that you just don’t hear much anymore.  Turn on the radio and most songs are boiled down to a repeatable braindead chorus and soulless verses.

Chris wrote lyrics like the following:

Summer nights and long warm days
Are stolen as the old moon falls
My mirror shows another face
Another place to hide it all
Another place to hide it all
And I’m lost, behind
The words I’ll never find
And I’m left behind
As seasons roll on by

I mean…this is what we lost today.  We lost a “Picasso” of the music world.  He was unreal at the lyrical level, vocally he was best of the best, and to top it off he was a once in a lifetime songwriter crafting hit after hit.  He put Seattle on the map and he did so much for so many musicians and music fans out there that got through life on words and songs that he wrote.  He literally helped to  inspire, shape, and in many ways, define a generation.

Now as I sit here and listen to his music I can hear in the lyrics that the writing was on the wall this whole time.  Maybe thats why his vocals and his singing ability are unmatched.  He poured every ounce of his pain and his feeling out there for the world to enjoy and he was suffering the entire time.

I think we can all agree the world is worse off without Chris in it.

I only wish he knew what the rest of the world now knows.