My Musical Evolution – Page 28 – Mapping Influences Over Time

My Musical Evolution – Part 143 Academy Days Stereos And Other Worth Mentionings

The Stereo systems of the Academy Days were really something to behold. Most of the kids at prep school had excessive budgets for that kind of equipment. Today, technology has changed the game dramatically. It has been over a decade since I’ve owned a big stereo component system.

Today, with the advent of 2.1, 5.1, and 7.1 sound systems, the Sub-woofer has allowed the speakers to shrink to incredibly small sizes while still being able to put out clear sounding audio at reasonably high volume levels. The components themselves seemed to have gotten smaller and have taken a more understated appearance.

Back in the Academy Days, we were right at the brink where boucing needle meters were giving way to LEDs. Most of the dials were still attached to analog potentiometers. Most of all, everything was BIG. In the days before sub-woofers and surround sound, two speakers were expected to deliver it all. Asa result the woofers were 15″. That meant that the speaker cabinets had to be BIG. The components themselves were BIG. They were design to be the center of attention. BIG silver or black boxes stacked 3 or 4 high with an abundance of knobs and display dials in various shades of pale blue.

The component stereo system was so important to us in the Academy Days that they even had their own section in our yearbook. Yep, two pages of photos of some of the stereo systems from around campus. They seemed massive and loud. I can’t help but imagine the evolution of stereos on the Vermont Academy campus from 1980 to today. Back then it was vinyl records and cassettes. That funky linear tracking record player was just coming into play. Multi-band graphic equalizers were new too. A couple years after graduation, I imagine the turntables disappeared and the Compact Disc Player took over. A couple years later the 3 and 5 disc carousels arrived and were soon discarded for the multi-dics changers. Then sub-woofers make the huge speaker systems unecessary and the speakers shrink down to the size of a gallon of milk. Eventually digital files replace the compact disc and the computer replaces the component system altogether. Personal media players and docking stations eventually emerge. Of course I could be way off and the huge, deafening component systems may still thrive in the halls of Slum III.

I’ll try to remember to keep you in the loop on my own stereo system evolution along the way. At this point, it is still just that Sears console type all-in-one Record, 8-Track, Cassette, AM/FM system. As corny as it sounds, I wish i could see that old thing again. I remember the power button. A press to engage, press again to disengage button that was silver with a red circle engraved on it. No fancy slow opening cassette door, they took Eject quite literally. i’ll have to see if somewhere in the archives I might have photo of it. I didn’t take a photo of it because it was nothing to be particularly proud of, but it might be in the background of a photo.

I feel fortunate to have been given the opportunity to witness the stereo evolution over the last 35 years. I could have said 45 but I was really only paying attention to them for 35. In my personal situation, I listen to 95% of my music using my computers. I haverippedall of my CDs into my computer and thus have every track at my finger tips. My peakers are Klipsch 2.1 ProMedia that may not be as violent as the sterios of my past but they deliver exceptional sound and can get quite loud if called upon. I also employ a handful of Personal Media Players that I use to take my music to yard work or fishing. The stock stereos in cars are adequate. I really don’t think about stereo systems anymore. Is that sad because my life is such that I can’t or wonderful because I don’t feel that I have to?

I have just a couple more albums to share before we leave the Academy Days but I wanted to provide some of the other music that was around me then that I didn’t acquire.

Rupert Holmes – Escape (The Piña Colada Song) Dave Peterson was a year older than me. We were on the wrestling team together at the academy. He was from Saxtons River, my aunt and uncle were friends of his parents. One New Year’s Eve, we all went to his house for dinner of duck and to ring in the new year. Duck was really good by the way. This particular year, Dave was really into this song and he played it over about 5 times. Some songs are linked to moments in time.

Dan Fogelberg – Longer

Dan Fogelberg – Leader Of The Band

The Grateful Dead – Truckin’ The Dead would brush the perimeter of my life a number of times over the years but it never reached me like it did so many of my friends at the Academy and beyond.

Joan Jett & The Blackhearts – I Love Rock And Roll

The Motel – Only The Lonely

The Moody Blues – The Voice

Christopher Cross – Arthur’s Theme

Alan Parsons Project – Eye In The Sky

Franks Zappa – Valley Girl

Styx – Mr. Roboto

My Musical Evolution – Part 142 Academy Days Science!

I just put The Golden Age Of Wireless on and just a few notes into She Blinded Me With Science, I feel like the MTV age of the early 1980’s is suddenly here. All those electronic drums and synthesizers simple scream 80’s to me. I love it.

In the previous post, I wrote about being grown up and appreciating true musicianship with Dan Fogelberg now i’m going crazy for something like She Blinded Me With Science. Does this sum it up or what?

This a strange little self discovery thing. You know that guy that yells “Science!” during that song? I just realized that after over 30 years, i still do that. At home or the office when something comes up that is explained or resolved using math or physics, I yell out “Science!” it is a reflex that I was not fully conscious of until I just connected those dots. It makes me wonder if I should point this out to the people in my office. They may not be aware of that song.

The Golden Age Of Wireless is also significat in that it marks the return to vinyl from factory cassette. I like to think of my factory cassette era as the temporarily relevant and regretted huge mistake. I can only assume that a hungry tape deck consumed one too many of my favorite tapes. I began to buy albums on vinly again and immediately make copries on cassette for everyday use while the Master Recording was stored in a safe, friendly and protected environment. I still operate in a similar fashion to this day.

From 1983 to early 1986, the decision to buy factory tapes haunted me as I methodically bought my favorite albums again. In early 1986 I bought my first Compact Disc player which made the whole exercise irrelevant and I’d have to buy everything again. Speaking of that, The Golden Age Of Wireless Compact Disc has different version of several of the songs from the vinyl release. Why?

She Blinded Me With Sciene

Radio Silence

Europa And The Pirate Twins

Wind Power This song was used in some movie or TV show and remember recognizing it right away. I can’t remember what show it was but I seem to recall a record player in the scene. Crazy what you remember compared to what you don’t.

One Of Our Submarines

I can’t help but notice the impact that MTV wa salready having. All of the VIDEOS. What a cool era we were just about to enjoy!

My Musical Evolution – Part 141 Academy Days Judging A Book By Its Cover

I could have been listening to this album years earlier than I did because this album cover failed me. My older cousin had this album and I saw it in the stack for years. I never sampled it though because the cover looked like something I wouldn’t be interested in.

I can’t tell you what I thought it would have been. I don’t remember. All I know was that I would look at that cover and feel that it was something for stodgy old people. Maybe I thought it was a collection of concertos for cello or something like that. I liked classical music well enough but I was still focused on Bach.

What message was Dan trying to convey with this album cover? Howmany other people skipped it based on how it looked? Fortunately, I heard my cousin playing on my Aunt and Uncle’s living room stereo one day. I was really drawn into the song Nether Lands. It was filled with imagery of soaring over mountains and rocky, snow covered vistas. The rest of the album was filled with true musical accomplishment. It didn’t feel like typical rock and roll or pop music. There was this feeling that this was a real musician. That may sound kind of weird but that is still the feeling that I take from Nether Lands. Maybe it is a holdover from my previous assumption based on the cover. It sounds more grown up to me than stuff by REO Speedwagon or The B-52’s especially when you get to Dancing Shoes. Maybe it is because of the acoustic nature. Only real musicians can do a complete song with just a couple of acoustic guitars. No pounding drums or electric effects to hide behind. Just clear notes pouring out and harmonized vocal parts delicately singing mature lyrics that do not have anything to do with whisky or driving too fast.

Maybe I was right after all. This is a grown up album for grown up people. I would soon after buy Phoenix which had the song Longer. Dan Fogelberg’s new album The Innocent Age, was getting some air play. Leader Of The Band was a favorite of my friend Adam. Adam has long marched to the beat of a different drummer and I think that Leader Of The Band spoke to that in a way.

I don’t want to lump all things Fogelberg into this one post. I’d eventually end up with a handful of Dan’s albums. Just a couple of years ago, I was going through some old internet bookmarks. I had a folder of the official sites of some of my favorite artists. I saw Dan’s there and thought “I wonder if Dan is touring. I’d like to take my wife to see him in concert.” I was stunned when I got to the home page and discovered that Dan Fogelberg had died in December of 2007. For some reason, his passing saddens me in a very personal way. I mean he isn’t the first recording artist to die but somehow he is one of the very, very few that I feel a sense of loss over.

Nether Lands

Dancing Shoes

Lessons Learned

Give Me Some Time

Scarecrow’s Dream

Sketches

My Musical Evolution – Part 140 Academy Days He Used To Cut My Grass

The White Zone is for loading and unloading only! If you gotta load or if you you gotta unload, go to the White Zone.

Senior year, I found my Columbia House catalog had the conclusion to Joe’s Garage. Back in those days the physical limitations of a vinyl record or cassette meant that Frank Zappa had to divide Joe’s Garage into 3 records. Act I, I had picked up a year or so before. Now the double album Acts II & III was in my hand. It continued the story of Joe and Mary with even more bizarre plot devices and vulgar language.

I don’t think I appreciated Frank then they way I do now. Today, I’m conscious of his musical prowess and technical skill. Back then it was the humor that drove me. He was the Howard Stern of the music collection. He would say things that I couldn’t believe or play in mixed company.

My friend Scott is also a Frank Zappa fan but his collection never really included Joe’s Garage. A few weeks ago, i was helping him sort through his beer can collection and we decided to listen to the entire Joe’s Garage. This was something that I hadn’t done in decades. Oh, I’d slip a PG-13 song into a mix now and again but to run the entire thing? I can’t remember when it would have been. anyway, was we sorted and Frank punished the Bose, I couldn’t help but sing along to every single track. I was kind of surprised that all those lyrics were still in my head and the ease with which they poured out.

If you are curoius about Frank Zappa I recommend you start with Joe’s Garage but not in front of your young children.
A Token Of My Extreme

Stick It Out

Dong Work for Yuda

He Used To Cut The Grass

Packard Goose

Watermelon In Easter Hay One of my favorite Zappa guitar pieces and the video is a cool little snaphot of Frank Zappa the guiatrist and musician.

I just remembered. My friend Scott saw Dweezil Zappa doing his Zappa Plays Zappa show in upstat New York last night.

My Musical Evolution – Part 139 Academy Days Chipmunk Punk

Before we proceed I want to make it perfectly clear that I really don’t like Alvin & The Chipmunks. They show again on my Time-Like Treasury Of Christmas and I hate that song. I find the chipmunks the epitomy of annoying. The high pitched squealing and the dreadful behavior. There is nothing remotely cute or entertaining about Alvin & The Chipmunks, until now…

I got this album as a gift from somebody who knew that I liked clever and humorous stuff but was unaware that I felt Alvin & The Chipmunks were neither. It was s troke of good fortune for me because I felt this record was brilliant. They wisely dispensed with the “cute” antics and just produced record of The Chipmunks doing covers of some already beloved songs from Blondie, Tom Petty, Billy Joel, Queen, The Knack, and The Cars. I loved it.

Although I didn’t play this one like it was Journey or The Go-Go’s , I enjoyed it. The real value though would come around four years later when we were partying at the Roach Motel. I would prepare mix tapes for our parties. Occasionally, I’d slip one of these Chipmunk versions into the mix. During the party, I’d hear the song begin and I’d make sure to watch the crowd reaction. The songs usually start off just like you’d expect. Then when the Chipmunks start singing, there would be a unified reaction in the form of a “What they heck just happened? look on everybody’s faces. I found that quite amusing. One time I even made the switched during the guitar solo on Refugee. The song starts of with Tom Petty and the chipmunks take over. This was especially entertaining later in the party when the inebriated party goers would struggle to make sense of what they though they were hearing. I’m getting way ahead of the story. Tune in when we get to September of 1985 for the dawn of the Roach Motel.

Until then you need to give these an honest listen.

Refugee

Call Me

Frustrated

Crazy Little Thing Called Love

Good Girls Don’t

My Musical Evolution – Part 138 Academy Days Klytus, I’m Bored

In 1980, Adam, Carolyn and I took the movie trip bus to Keene, New Hampshire to see Flash Gordon. My mom used to go to the Saturday Matinee to see Flash Gordon when she was a kid. I had a history of liking science fiction. I had a history of liking Queen. It was awesome. It was hokey cartoon-esque space opera set in front of psychedelic clouds of color with a distinctive musical score by Queen. What could be better? I don’t think Carolyn liked it very much.

So it had some performance quality issues. I wasn’t expecting Academy Award winning anything. It was a frolic! It had strange alien worlds and creatures of different shapes and colors. It also had that somewhat erotic undertone which lent itself well to 15 year old boys like me.

As I ponder on Flash Gordon, it really boils down to the soundtrack by Queen and those sweeping acid induced space backgrounds. I’ve mention before how modern conveniences like shuffle and mix CDs etc have made listening to an entire album a rare event. Flash Gordon is an exception to that rule. I almost always listen to the entire thing. I all just flows together and the corny bits of dialogue included make me want to keep it shuffle free.

Queen did such an excellent job with this soundtrack. The movie is a retro-goofy good time but the soundtrack is even better. I wish that they would release a version with all of the dialogue removed. What would it sound like with just the music? Flash Gordon, due to its Fantasy genre was another one of those Dungeons & Dragons background soundtracks. For some reason, some of these songs take me back to a time when I would pour over the Dungeon Master’s Guide or some adventure module or campaign setting. I can safely say that Flash Gordon is my most frequently played Queen album. I can’t help I just like stuff like this. Maybe we can figure out why.

Flash’s Theme

In The Capsule

Football Fight

Execution Of Flash

The Kiss

Vultan’s Theme This was the song used in the video game Vanguard a couple years later.

Battle Theme

I could very well have put the entire thing here.

My Musical Evolution – Part 137 Academy Days The Monkees

Did I mention that back even before the Scratchy 45 Days that I was a fan of The Monkees? I wasn’t quite interested in their music at that time but I was an avid viewer of their quirky TV show. I had just turned 3 years old when the show was cancelled but even at that young age, I was interested in The Monkees. What could possibly be the reason for that. I don’t remember anything specific about the show at that age, just that it was quirky and frenetic. I’ll toss this out there too, I also liked The Banana Splits at this time as well. What is it about comedic music groups? Is this foreshadowing? Was I destined to love Spinal Tap?

When I saw The Monkees Greatest Hits in my Columbia House catalog, I had to pick it up. I knew the Monkees Theme and had a vague familiarity with some of the other songs thanks to radio. I ended up really liking the album. It may not have gotten the serious play time as some of the other cassettes of the era but enough to become intimate with each of the songs.

I remember the sterro effect on one of the track had some of the vocals coming from the left speaker and some coming from the right. At some point along the way, my headphones began to fail and I listened to the song with only one side working and thus only half the lyrics. Important? I don’t think so but enough to remember 32 years later. I though it would be a cool way to send coded messages. In order to decipher you would have to turn down the left channel.

Five or six years later, MTV would ressurect the Monkees and I would have the opportunity to watch all those quirky TV episodes again. Maybe I should wait and discuss that later.

The Monkees Theme

Last Train To Clarksville

She This was the one that split the lyrics between left and right I think

Daydream Believer

I’m A Believer

Pleasant Valley Sunday

My Musical Evolution – Part 136 Academy Days Back To Sweet Home Chicago

There was no doubt that Adam and I were enjoying Jake and Elwood. Briefcase Full Of Blues was such a cool album. It left us wanting more. Being fans of the movie, The Blues Brothers Soundtrack was a natural next step. It has some great pieces by The Blues Brothers as well as some other notables from the movie.

Sure, the Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin songs are good and belong here, I just would rather have more of The Blues Brothers. I’d trade that James Brown song for Stand By Your Man but the soundtrack gave a few more great tracks including an awesome version of the Peter Gunn Theme. Rawhide is another favorite and not just because of the comedic aspect. It is a good cover of a good song. It makes me wixh I would have listened to mom’s Frankie Laine album.

Listening to the Blues Brothers Soundtrack tonight, I cannot help but turn my attention to those bass lines by the recently late Donald Duck Dunn. Very crisp and solid.

Of all the songs on this album by the guest stars, I’d have to say thatCab Calloway’s Minnie The Moocheris my favorite. I love the zoot-suit-ish-ness of it. My background with the Marx Brothers late vaudeville and early radio stuff made that song easy to enjoy and to imagine those swanky clubs of the 1930’s

Peter Gunn Theme

Gimme Some Lovin’

Everybody Needs Somebody To Love

Rawhide

Minnie The Moocher

Sweet Home Chicago

My Musical Evolution – Part 135 Academy Days Back To Boston

Although I prefer Don’t Look Back, Boston is a great album as well. I love the tonal quality of the guitars in Boston. I also appreciate the precise arrangments. These guys are air tight. Pay close attention to the bass line sometime. They certainly aren’t thumping out repetitive E notes. They melodically pirouette all over tthe frets. I didn’t know it then but just a few years later, I’d be trying to keep up with them on my bass guitar.

I’m listening to Foreplay / Longtime right now and I’m trying to imagine how the band decided on all of the elements that make up that song. The keyboard part for example, is really quite small, repetitive and simple. It might well have been omitted but it adds that sound that seems to act like the border or the frame of a portrait. How did Boston know which flourishes to keep and which ones were too much. They seemed to get it just right.

Bostonis full of good material. I’m trying to decide if I feel that they sound dated at all? Going back and listening to that earlier Journey and REO Speedwagon stuff, some of it sounded so 70’s to me. Boston doesn’t seem to have that issue although it doesn’t sound like the music of today. It makes me wonder if this album could even be made in today’s music industry.

More Than A Feeling

Peace Of Mind

Foreplay / Long Time

Rock And Roll Band

Hitch A Ride

My Musical Evolution – Part 134 Academy Days Vacation

The summer of 1982 was a blast. Instead of going back to Fort Wayne, for the summer, I stayed on campus and worked. Vermont Academy would host these big science or language conferences in the summer. About a dozen of us students stayed on and worked as waiters and waitresses or in the kitchen. The work wasn’t hard and I had a rather large amount of fun.

Thursday nights were Drive-In nights. We’d fill a cooler with wine and ice then head of to Bellows Falls Drive-In in Ralf’s 1940’s truck. We’d park the truck backwards and just hang out and have a good time. I saw about half of a lot of good movies that summer.

Vacation by the Go-Go’s came out in August of that year and it was probably the first time that I knew that a new album was being released and was in a position to buy it almost immediately. I’ll be honest and say that after all this time I still prefer Beauty And The Beat but Vacation was good and has several tracks that are near and dear.

I actually included the lyrics of the song Vacation in a card to a young lady that I was interested in at the time. We had worked together all summer and some unexpected sparks flew. It was at the close of the conference and I was headed out to Indiana for a month. When I got back to Saxtons River in September, we hung together once or twice but the magic that we discovered at the drive-in had faded.

Vacation

He’s so Strange

Get Up And Go

This Old Feeling – This is probably my favorite track from Vacation something about it reached me. Maybe it was the theme of new love.

Cool Jerk

Worlds Away