noise."March Music Monday 7 (bonus 3!) · 11:19pm April 15th
I promised you Silver Apples and you're gonna get Silver Apples. No, that's not a pony, but it sounds like it could be.
Betcha can't name 'em all
Back when I was in high school, I didn't have a huge amount of money to buy new albums, and there weren't yet the online streaming services that there are now. However, around that time lots and lots of people were getting rid of their record collections at garage sales, usually for a quarter an album, and that was cheap enough that sometimes I'd buy them just for the cover art. Bought a Molly Hatchet album just for the coverart.
I found a really nice Neil Diamond album called Tap Root Manuscript (YouTube link) which has 'normal' Neil Diamond on the A side and and something completely different on the B side--an album with African themes. Found a PDQ Bach album, some Moody Blues, Jethro Tull . . . it's a long list. Most of my record collection was purchased at a quarter a pop, and while it's hardly a world-shattering collection, I probably have close to a hundred records from that era.
One of the ones I bought for the coverart alone was Silver Apples. The YouTube source below gives you the gist, but doesn't reflect the full glory of the album cover—everything that's not black is chrome. Like, shiny, reflective chrome. And, being partially a crow at heart, I bought it. (It was only a quarter.)
And I listened to it. We'll get to that.
Some years later, I was hanging out with a mechanic buddy, and he was showing me his MySpace (remember those days?) I think he was trying to convince me to make one, but at the time I didn't really use the internet much. One of the great features was that you could have it play music (I don't remember how), and when he showed me that feature, the first album that came up was Silver Apples, and I laughed and said, "I know that album."
Every now and then when I have access to a new media platform, I check and see if Silver Apples is there. It's on YouTube. And a little while after I got my earbuds, I checked Amazon music. Yup.
It's not the kind of thing that I normally listen to, not the genre of music I prefer. They were pioneers in electronic music, and none other than Portishead recommended them.*
I picked this song in particular because I like the philosophical musing, and I like how they keep tuning the radio, something that's familiar to us grey-muzzles.
And I guess it says something about their staying power, at least in my head, that every now and then I seek out their music, and have been doing so for the last twenty-some years . . . well, close to 30. All because of a chance find at a garage sale.
*tangentially related; one of my favorite novels, and one that I patterned my college Senior Project after (you can read it on Offprint!) is titled A Flock of Ships by Brian Callison. I'm including the Amazon link in case you want to buy it or Kindle it.
Anyway, I don't remember where I came across it, but the title piqued my interest so I picked up the book, and none other than Alistair MacLean (one of my favorite authors) claimed that it was "the best war story I have ever read" and I was sold on it right there.
It lived up to its hype.
Ah, PDQ Bach. God to several generations of immature-but-serious music students. Peter Schickele passed a while back. I was looping the Missa Hilarious all day.
Also, it's a shame people think synthesizers started with Bob Moog. They were around before.
I've got some chainsawing to do.
Would bar and chain oil work in 40:1 2-stroke mix or do I need to make another home depot run for plain motor oil or special 2-stroke specific mixing oil?
Also, does the oil have to be in volume fluid oz or real oz? I'd rather not risk getting that crap on my food scale.
To wit...
This is crazy. Electronic music? In 1968? I'll have to get this album sometime.
I like this. I like this a lot. There's a great contrast between the vocals and the music. Nice use of samples, too.
Thanks, man.
(By the way, in my opinion, March can last as long as you darn well want it to.)
Keep those tunes a'comin'.
Major anxiety over the last few days. But preparers got my extension request in on time.
Does anyone remember the old taxman math game?
Even as a tot I recognized taking the highest prime on the first move was the way to go, but after that, even experts can't agree on an optimal strat. I just took the highest possible odd number in descending order and it worked when the initial spread wasn't too high.
More trials starting.
There's a thunderstorm outside as I type this. Nature's music.
Sure can, and the whole clan tree, as well!
How ya like them Apples, sugarcube?
For display purposes only. Enhanced to show texture. May require some assembly. Batteries not included. Not to be taken seriously™
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Time to go back to the hardware store. You definitely need the dedicated 2-stroke oil for your chainsaw engine. It generally comes in small bottles, perfectly sized to add to ONE Gallon of gasoline (preferably gas without any alcohol mixed in by the refinery). Alternatively, you can get a can of premixed 2-stroke fuel. It's more expensive that way, but has much better shelf life.