For this edition of Flashback Friday, I'd like to showcase the album "Aerial Ballet" by Nilsson.
You can listen to it on Xbox Live here:
Aerial Ballet by Nilsson (Xbox Music)
Harry Nilsson - who usually went by his last name on his albums - was born in poverty in NYC. He escaped to California and by the late 60's was working in the computer department of a bank. During this time, he was also writing songs for hire, and was discovered by the Monkees. At this point, his performance skills and his near three octave vocal range led to a recording contract with RCA and close friendships with most of rock royalty, including the Beatles.
Nilsson then proceeded to chart one of the most idiosyncratic careers in rock history - from writing children's movies to being thrown out of bars with John Lennon - without ever performing a live concert. I'll leave the rest of his biography to the excellent DVD "Who is Harry Nilsson?" and concentrate on this album, which was his second for RCA.
His first album, Pandemonium Shadow Show (1967) was quite the product of its time - slightly psychedelic, slightly vaudevillian - think Sgt. Pepper's, but orchestral and all by one person. By Aerial Ballet (1968), Nilsson had sharpened his songwriting, ditched the odd cover songs, and delivered his first really amazing song "One" - which was a hit for Three Dog Night, not him. His hit song on this album was "Everybody's Talkin'" - which was, of course the one song he didn't write.
This is a strange album, to be sure. You might find it almost "too pop". That's not because it was recorded in 1968 - even then, it felt out of time compared to contemporary albums like the White Album. Nilsson belonged to an earlier "tin-pan-alley" style of songwriting that fell into favor about then. Concentrate on his elaborate multi-tracked harmony vocals - all done by him - and his use of melody and song arranging. Also - notice how biting the lyrics are from time to time and the odd sense of humor that goes with it.
This bitterness and odd humor would eventually dominate his songwriting thru the rest of the 70's - especially after his breakthrough album Nilsson Schmilsson, which is the last of his "normal" records. In addition, Nilsson tried to out scream John Lennon on their joint album and permanently destroyed his vocal range - his final albums are almost unrecognizable as the work of the artist who cut this record.
But - ignore all that for now. Instead, give a listen to this relic from a simpler time, and imagine where "Rock Music" would have gone had more people been able to follow his lead.
And, of course, feel free to post comments below.
(Side note: The last three songs on the Xbox Live version are not from this album - they're bonus tracks Nilsson recorded about the same time. You may recognize one of them from TV...)
Friday, January 24, 2014
Friday, January 17, 2014
Flashback Friday: Numb by Hammerbox
Hi everyone,
I thought I'd try something. Every Friday, give or take a few, I'll do a quick write-up on an album from a band that was overlooked and is worthy of reinvestigation. Also - I'll try to pick albums that are available for free streaming over Xbox Music.
For my inaugural piece, I thought I'd discuss the album Numb by the band Hammerbox.
You can listen to it here:
Numb by Hammerbox (Xbox Music)
Hammerbox were part of the Seattle grunge revolution of the 90's, but - unlike Alice In Chains, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam - they had more to do with the punk rock crowd that included The Gits, Nirvana and Mudhoney.
Their first album - the self-titled Hammerbox - came out on C/Z records and established their lead singer, Carrie Akre, as a force to be reckoned with. This album attracted the attention of A&M records who teamed them with Soundgarden producer Michael Beinhorn for their sophomore album Numb (1992). The pairing didn't quite work as well as it should have, but it's still a strong album, and worthy of a revisit.
Sadly - even with A&M's increased market presence - the album only sold to the Seattle faithful, and the band disbanded shortly thereafter.
The album leans more towards the metallic side of punk, but it's not metal. Call it fast moving rock, tightly played, with a melodic edge. Couple that with Carrie's expressive vocals (to borrow a phrase from AllMusic's review), and that'll give you a sense of what you're in for.
Give it a spin, and let me know what you think in the comments below.
I thought I'd try something. Every Friday, give or take a few, I'll do a quick write-up on an album from a band that was overlooked and is worthy of reinvestigation. Also - I'll try to pick albums that are available for free streaming over Xbox Music.
For my inaugural piece, I thought I'd discuss the album Numb by the band Hammerbox.
You can listen to it here:
Numb by Hammerbox (Xbox Music)
Hammerbox were part of the Seattle grunge revolution of the 90's, but - unlike Alice In Chains, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam - they had more to do with the punk rock crowd that included The Gits, Nirvana and Mudhoney.
Their first album - the self-titled Hammerbox - came out on C/Z records and established their lead singer, Carrie Akre, as a force to be reckoned with. This album attracted the attention of A&M records who teamed them with Soundgarden producer Michael Beinhorn for their sophomore album Numb (1992). The pairing didn't quite work as well as it should have, but it's still a strong album, and worthy of a revisit.
Sadly - even with A&M's increased market presence - the album only sold to the Seattle faithful, and the band disbanded shortly thereafter.
The album leans more towards the metallic side of punk, but it's not metal. Call it fast moving rock, tightly played, with a melodic edge. Couple that with Carrie's expressive vocals (to borrow a phrase from AllMusic's review), and that'll give you a sense of what you're in for.
Give it a spin, and let me know what you think in the comments below.
Monday, December 16, 2013
Merry Christmas from Santa and Rose (part 7)
(from the Seems like there's more than just Rose and Santa in this picture department)
Hi everyone,
Yes - it's that time of year again. Here's our family Santa photo:
Once again - Rose was a little shy at first, so Santa volunteered his chair for us. But - Rose warmed up to Santa pretty quickly - even though she really wasn't sure what to ask him for! He suggested that she send her wish to him in a letter, and that seemed to be okay with her.
Afterwards, we stopped by Fran's Chocolates for some high-class hot chocolate (yum!) and finished off the evening with a nice dinner at Piatti's. A good time was had by all!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Pietromonaco family!
Cheers,
Paul
Hi everyone,
Yes - it's that time of year again. Here's our family Santa photo:
Once again - Rose was a little shy at first, so Santa volunteered his chair for us. But - Rose warmed up to Santa pretty quickly - even though she really wasn't sure what to ask him for! He suggested that she send her wish to him in a letter, and that seemed to be okay with her.
Afterwards, we stopped by Fran's Chocolates for some high-class hot chocolate (yum!) and finished off the evening with a nice dinner at Piatti's. A good time was had by all!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Pietromonaco family!
Cheers,
Paul
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Rose @ Pacific Northwest Ballet's The Nutcracker - Sunday, December 8th, 2013
(from the Endless Twirl department)
Hi everyone,
We attended a performance of the Pacific Northwest Ballet's Nutcracker at McCaw Hall on Sunday, December 8th, 2013. Rose was pretty as a ballerina. She insisted on getting a flower headpiece, so I insisted on a photo:
A good time was had at the ballet by all!
Cheers,
Paul
We look great!!!
Hi everyone,
We attended a performance of the Pacific Northwest Ballet's Nutcracker at McCaw Hall on Sunday, December 8th, 2013. Rose was pretty as a ballerina. She insisted on getting a flower headpiece, so I insisted on a photo:
Generally, I don't like photos in portait-orientation, but this does capture her full outfit:
Then, she twirled away:
A good time was had at the ballet by all!
Cheers,
Paul
P.S. I recently found this pic of all of us, courtesy of Radio Disney:
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Rose turns 6 and has a birthday sundae - Red Robin, November 13th, 2013
(from the It's better with sprinkles department)
Hi everyone,
Rose turned six years old on November 13, 2013. When we asked her where she wanted to go for dinner to celebrate, she answered - without hesitation - "RED ROBIN!!".
So - to the Northgate Red Robin, we went. We all got burgers and ate fries - very yummy!
After dinner, she got the Red Robin birthday song from the wait staff, and a free sundae:
She was eating the sundae so fast, I had to turn on the flash to capture it:
And - yes - she finished the whole thing. Happy birthday, Rose!
Cheers,
Paul
Hi everyone,
Rose turned six years old on November 13, 2013. When we asked her where she wanted to go for dinner to celebrate, she answered - without hesitation - "RED ROBIN!!".
So - to the Northgate Red Robin, we went. We all got burgers and ate fries - very yummy!
After dinner, she got the Red Robin birthday song from the wait staff, and a free sundae:
She was eating the sundae so fast, I had to turn on the flash to capture it:
And - yes - she finished the whole thing. Happy birthday, Rose!
Cheers,
Paul
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Halloween Portrait 2013 - Rose and Paul
(from the It's better in Black & White department)
Hi everyone,
We toured the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Visitor's Center yesterday for Halloween. They have a high-tech photo booth, so Rose & I sat down, and took a self-portrait:
Hi everyone,
We toured the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Visitor's Center yesterday for Halloween. They have a high-tech photo booth, so Rose & I sat down, and took a self-portrait:
When you take the photo, it puts it up on a big wall:
Neat, huh? Oh yeah - Rose is a "Kitty Witch". Of course she is!
Cheers,
Paul
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Sad news about Scott Miller - leader of Game Theory/The Loud Family
Hi everyone,
As someone who was a young adult in the 1980s, part of my musical soundtrack was provided by a Californian band called Game Theory, led by Scott Miller. Sadly, he passed away in April at the age of 53. I only found out about this recently, when I went to his website to see what he was up to.
The complete statement is available on the official website:
http://www.loudfamily.com/index.html
It's too bad that Game Theory's albums never hit the same level of success as their peers R.E.M. or Let's Active. Still - they're considered one of the most hyper-literate power-pop bands ever, and their "difficult" double-album masterpiece "Lolita Nation" is still a sought after collector's piece. (Apparently, I'm one of the few people who own an original copy of this on CD.)
As a thank you to the fans, all of Game Theory's albums - including Lolita Nation - are on the above listed website for free downloading.
According to the webmaster: "My main goal is to prevent people from trying to capitalize by selling these long out of print albums for lots of money. I want everybody who would like to hear these albums to be able to do so without paying outrageous prices".
If you're not sure where to begin, I'd strongly urge downloading "Tinkers To Evers To Chance", which was a "greatest non-hits" personally selected by Scott himself. It's a great introduction to his band and it does contain selections from Lolita Nation.
His next band, The Loud Family, is also worth investigating. However - they tend to be a little more abstract than Game Theory. I'd start with their first album, "Plants and Birds and Rocks and Things", and see if that's your cup of tea. (The Loud Family albums are available on Spotify, I believe)
Cheers,
Paul
As someone who was a young adult in the 1980s, part of my musical soundtrack was provided by a Californian band called Game Theory, led by Scott Miller. Sadly, he passed away in April at the age of 53. I only found out about this recently, when I went to his website to see what he was up to.
The complete statement is available on the official website:
http://www.loudfamily.com/index.html
It's too bad that Game Theory's albums never hit the same level of success as their peers R.E.M. or Let's Active. Still - they're considered one of the most hyper-literate power-pop bands ever, and their "difficult" double-album masterpiece "Lolita Nation" is still a sought after collector's piece. (Apparently, I'm one of the few people who own an original copy of this on CD.)
As a thank you to the fans, all of Game Theory's albums - including Lolita Nation - are on the above listed website for free downloading.
According to the webmaster: "My main goal is to prevent people from trying to capitalize by selling these long out of print albums for lots of money. I want everybody who would like to hear these albums to be able to do so without paying outrageous prices".
If you're not sure where to begin, I'd strongly urge downloading "Tinkers To Evers To Chance", which was a "greatest non-hits" personally selected by Scott himself. It's a great introduction to his band and it does contain selections from Lolita Nation.
His next band, The Loud Family, is also worth investigating. However - they tend to be a little more abstract than Game Theory. I'd start with their first album, "Plants and Birds and Rocks and Things", and see if that's your cup of tea. (The Loud Family albums are available on Spotify, I believe)
Cheers,
Paul
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