Wishbeard

A nice ethereal vibe from this Seattle-based foursome. 

http://www.wishbeard.bandcamp.com/track/adeline-street

This interview with The Stranger provides a little information on them. 

UFO

When I was young I had a bunch of 8-track tapes. They were the rage back then and could usually be found for next to nothing at garage sales. Their strength was that they were practically indestructible. Their weakness was that you really couldn't just load up one song in particular that needed to be listened to; instead, it was necessary to listen to the song that the tape was lined up with, or you could switch tracks, which would usually put you right in the middle of another song. In hindsight, maybe it wasn't such a bad concept, as it forced me to listen to entire albums. 

I remember having Jefferson Airplane, Boz Scaggs, ELO, and other bands that were popular at the time. The one that I cherished most, however, was from a band I wasn't entirely familiar with as a young child but I liked the album's cover so I bought it. UFO's "Strangers in the Night" is now revered as one of the best rock records of all time. I couldn't agree more. It was recorded live and the sound quality is immense and perfect. I recently reconnected with this little gem, albeit via MP3, but that same feeling I experienced when I was a kid comes back to me when I listen to it. The following track is one of my favorites.  

I Was Young When I Left Home

I don't really know why I've never heard this song until today. Dylan has a catalog that is simply immense.



I was young when I left home
But I been out a-ramblin' 'round
And I never wrote a letter to my home
To my home, Lord, to my home
And I never wrote a letter to my home

It was just the other day
I was bringing home my pay
When I met an old friend I used to know

Said your mother's dead and gone
Baby sister's all gone wrong
And your daddy needs you home right away

Not a shirt on my back
Not a penny on my name
Well I can't go home thisaway
Thisaway, Lord, Lord, Lord
And I can't go home thisaway

If you miss the train I'm on
Count the days I'm gone
You will hear that whistle blow a hundred miles
A hundred miles, honey baby. Lord Lord Lord
And you'll hear that whistle blow a hundred miles

I'm playing on a track
Ma would come and whoop me back
On them trestles down by old Jim McKay's

When I pay the debt I owe
To the commissary store
I will pawn my watch and chain and go home
Go home, Lord Lord Lord
I will pawn my watch and chain and go home

Used to tell Ma sometimes
When I see them riding blinds
Gonna make me a home out in the wind
In the wind, Lord in the wind
Make me a home out in the wind

I don't like it in the wind
Wanna go back home again
But I can't go home thisaway
Thisaway, Lord Lord Lord
And I can't go home thisaway

I was young when I left home
And I been out rambling 'round
And I never wrote a letter to my home
To my home, Lord Lord Lord
And I never wrote a letter to my home

It Never Gets Old

Though I think members of Metallica are cheeseballs these days, their early stuff is undeniably some of the greatest in the genre. Case in point:

Retsnom Tengam

Lately I've been listening to a lot of rock music. What else is new? When Monster Magnet was in their prime I never really listened to them. A lot of my hesitancy for not getting into their music was the hype the band received on MTV - and their popular songs seemed a bit contrived, especially the videos. 

My bandmate is a big fan of MM and through him I started listening to them in earnest, which has caused me to let the band's influence have an affect on me and the way in which I play. The lights on the fuzz and flanger pedals have definitely been blinking recently...