My Musical Evolution – Page 29 – Mapping Influences Over Time

My Musical Evolution – Part 133 Academy Days Damn The Torpedoes

My cousin Jamie hadDamn The Torpedoesand I was really into it for a while. There was something really addicting about it. It was one of those records that I played intensely for a few months then put away. When Tom Petty goit even bigger in the mid-late 80’s I listened but to me this was Tom Petty.

I was disappointed with his transformation during the Traveling Wilbury’s thing. He stood too close to Bob Dylan for too long and ended up sounding just like him which is unfortunate.

It seems odd to me that for most people Tom Petty means Free Falling or Mary Jane’s Last Dance. For me, Damn The Torpedoes is Tom Petty at his finest although I always felt that he looked kind of like a punk on the cover. Don’t know why. Don’t know what a “punk” really looks like. I’m sure he’s a nice enough guy. Maybe it is the look on his face that suggests that the short skinny guitar playing kid is going to in your business. How tall is Tom Petty anyway?

Sorry Tom, love this album I didn’t mean to do you like that.

Refugee

Here Comes My Girl

Even The Losers

Don’t Do Me Like That

My Musical Evolution – Part 132 Academy Days Getting Mellow With Chuck

Chuck Mangione’s Feels So Good album is different from most of the albums of the Academy Days era in that it has traveled with me through all the subsequent eras. Feels So Good has always been there on Stand-By even during the Metal Years. Whenever I wanted to slow down and mellow out, Chuck was the go to man.

The song Feels So Good was getting airplay on the radio and it appealed to me in the way that Love’s Theme from Barry White’s Love Unlimited Orchestra did. In the download a song era, I might have stopped at Feels So Good. I’m so glad that I didn’t have that option.

This album is full of great music. It is a precursor to the New Age music that I would eventually get into in that it is perfect to put on as background while working on a project that requires my attention. It creates a great buffer that insulates me from the background static of life and helps me to focus on my work with the distraction of lyrics of the types of music hooks that promote air-conducting. It simply flows along happy to sit at the edge of my consciosuness.

Adam actually had the album first. My cassette followed soon after. Adam would go on to pick up Love Notes shortly thereafter while I never pursued any more Mangione albums. As with Kansas I’m shocked that for as much as I love Feels So Good, I never considered getting any of his other work. Maybe it is because I feel that this album is so good that I don’t need any others. I’m going to make a point of checking some out though.

And since this album has been in the active rotation for the last 30 years, it doesn’t really harken back to any particular age or memories. That’s OK. I guess Maui-Waui does kind of remind me of my daughter since I made a slide show movie for her high school graduation and used it as the soundtrack but that is getting ahead of the tale.

Feels So Good

Of course this the faster, jazzed up single version of the Feels So Good. Still good but not as good as Feels So Good from the album Feels So Good.
Maui-Waui

Last Dance

My Musical Evolution – Part 131 Academy Days Ghost In The Machine

Police Ghost In The Machine My introduction to The Policecame courtesy of a gift of The Ghost In The Machine album. Sadly I don’t recall who actually gave it to me. I remember being in Alumni Hall, affectionately dubbed Slum with the approprate floor appended as in Slum 3 or Slum 2. One of the guys had the album and obviously didn’t care for it too much. It ended up as this kind of exchange.

“Cool song, who is this?” “The Police, it sucks, you can have it?” Again, I’d like to be able to remember who that was. Obviously he wasn’t part of my inner circle but I still appreciate the gesture. I hadn’t been a big fan ofThe Policebut I liked the sound.

I remember the first time I put it on the turn table, the beat was unusual and at first, I though that there was some dust or something on the record causing it. I cleaned it using my special solution and record grooming brush thing that we all seemed to have back then. It didn’t help. I finally accepted that it was actually part of the song an went on my way.

The Police would become hugely popular around that time and I would have a couple more interactions with their music in the years to follow. I would never count myself among the big fans of The Police but they were able to put together some good songs before they melted down.

Spirits In The Material World

Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic

Invisible Sun

My Musical Evolution – Part 130 – Academy Days The Monk Bought Lunch

Here it is, the first album by The Doors that I personally owned. This was one the Christmas present albums that my cousin gave me. I’m not certain why she selected The Soft Parade. While it has some great Doors music, it isn’t one of the more iconic albums. Maybe that is why I like it so much.The Soft Parade has that middle child kind of stigma. It does fall basically in the middle of their studio works. It also seems to be kind of a departure from their earlier sound with the addtion of the horn section and orchestration.

I suppose that if you were going to give somebody an album by The Doors, and it couldn’t be a Greatest Hits thing, I’d probably go with Strange Days. It probably has more recognizable stuff on it. Being a student at Vermont Academy for a couple of years, I was osmotically familiar with pretty much all the studio stuff. At that time I couldn’t tell you which songs were from which album but I was familiar with the tunes.

It would be a couple more years before I became more familiar with The Doors as an entity behind the music and the persona of Jim Morrison. I’d also enjoy a reunion withThe Doors thanks to Oliver Stone.

So here I sit as I have for so many posts before. Listening to The Soft Paradeand letting my mind wander. I cannot pinpoint why The Doors were so wildly popular on a tidy prep school campus in the foothills of the Green Mountains. It was a decade after Morrison’s death. Was it just us or did the student body there always love The Doors?

As I sit back and free associate to the songs on The Soft Parade, most of the imagery centers around Vermont Academy, Skiing, The Dorms, spring cook outs with Arnie Knwolton on the grill, that amazing extended twilight phonomenon, the river, tie-dyes, bandana’s, lacrosse and ultimate frisbee.

Tell Al The People

Touch Me

Shaman’s blues

Runnin’ Blue

Wishful Sinful

The Soft Parade

My Musical Evolution – Part 129 Academy Days Beerhunters Of The Great White North

By this time my sisters and I had discovered SCTV on Friday nights. When I was home for the summer, we’d watch that show every chance we got. Just about every cast member of SCTV went on to big screen success in some way. I liked it much more than Saturday Night Live. I felt that SCTV’s non-live format gave it and advantage in production and the skits didn’t have to contend with the limitations imposed by shooting live.

For those of you that missed it, here is a link to some SCTV clips on YouTube.com Sure it may seem dated now but try to imagine it back in 1980 when you are 15. I don’t know that Adam ever saw the show. Way out in Snafu Hollow at his house they could only get one channel and it always seemed to be populated with Regis Philbin.

Regardless, when Bob & Doug McKenzie made the meteoric leap from two minute filler to continental phenomenon, he picked up their album The Great White North. I had seen the show so I knew a little more about it. I could imagine them on their tiny set as delivered the each of the tracks from the album.

One of the tracks was called The Beerhunter. It is a play on the Deerhunter and the game of Russian roulette. I’ll let them explain it

The Beerhunter

Yes, I have played Beerhunter.

Take Off

The Twelve Days Of Christmas

My Musical Evolution – Part 128 Academy Days Asia

I bought Asia’s first album completely cold. I never heard of them. I never heard any of the music on the album before I owned it. I bought Asia because a girl told me to. Well it was more of a suggestion. If you have been following along, you’ll remember that Vermont Academy is located in southeastern Vermont in a tiny little village. The closest records stores being many miles away. It made buying music difficult. There wasn’t an Amazon.com then and I relied on Columbia House to buy music through the mail. It seems to antiquated as I look back but you had to work with what you had.

One of the side effects of going to college prep school is that you are expected to take the SAT’s at least a couple of times. Authorized SAT testing centers like music stores, require some travel. One Saturday morning, Kelley Cota and I were scheduled to take the test at a high school in Springfield, Vermont. Kelley had a car and she drove us over there. After the test, we decided to take advantage of being in a town that actually sold music. We went to this little plaza to a place called Ames or something it was like of like a miniature version of a department store that was heavy on hardware and building supplies. Maybe I’m dreaming it has been 30 years.

I remember sifting through the cassettes. I wasn’t looking for anything specific and I wasn’t finding it. I was determined to get something though. The opportunity was here and I was compelled to act on it. Kelley suggested Asia. “They’re supposed to be pretty good.” is the sentence that hangs in my mind. I had known Kelley since middle school but I’m not certain that I knew anything about her musical tastes. Still, I trusted her judgement even though as I rconsider that sentence hanging in my mind, it certainly sounds like she hadn’t actually listened to them either.

Anyway, Asia ended up being a good choice and years later, I would figure out that all those guys were veterans from other good bands. Even though I like Asia well enough, I don’t think I ever attempted to acquire any of the subsequent material. I think my soon to be room mate Aric had their second album but it didn’t seem to have that connection.

Now, I still like Asia but I don’t know if it it only because of the music or if it is another one of those albums that represents a solid connection to my life in Vermont all those years ago. It does foreshadow a trend that would be more commonplace in the CD era. This is most likely the beginning of Columbia House Roulette style of music selecting where I get something with no knowledge of what lies there in. So I have Kelley to thank for Asia and whenever I listen to this album, I cannot help but think of her, SAT’s, Ames and Springfield on a cold Saturday morning. Cheers Kelley!

Heat Of The Moment

Only Time Will Tell

Sole Survivor

Woldest Dreams

Here Comes The Feeling

My Musical Evolution – Part 127 Academy Days Toto IV

Musically, Toto seemed to fit right in there with other music that I liked. It had some of the same herbs and spices as Journey, REO Speedwagon, Boston, and Styx. Toto may not have had the impact and subsequent longevity as those others.

I consider Toto IV as one of my me albums. It was one that I liked a lot and played numerous times but it was often when I was away from the crowds. Alone in my room during study hours or just doing the solitude thing, Toto IV was a good change of pace. Much of the album is of a quieter nature and sounds good at low volume. At the Academy, “Study Hours” were 8pm to 10pm. That meant the campus was quiet. Toto IV leant itself well to that.

Everybody recognizes Rosanna and most recognize Africa. I admit that in my mix tape era, those two were the go to tracks. As you know, technology dictated that we listened to the entire cassette back in the Academy Days. I makes me chuckle to think that I didn’t even have auto-reverse on my tape deck. I did have auto-stop which shut the cassette player off when it detected the end of the tape. That old stereo still had the manual controls, you really had to press on the buttons to engage them. The auto-stop would clunk the machine off when the tape would end. I haven’t really thought about that old stereo in years. I thought it was so awesome at the time. We’ll talk about the stereo more later.

As I play through Toto IV and hear some of these old gems for the first time in a long while, images of the Dungeons & Dragons books and miniatures come to mind. I can only assume that one of the things I was studying while listening to this album was the D&D rulebooks and modules. The Academy in the early 80’s was a perfect place to play Dungeons & Dragons. All your friends on campus and available for hours on end. I can’t imagine logistically sroting that out here in the city at that age.

Rosanna

Make Believe

I Won’t Hold You Back

Afraid Of Love

Lovers In The Night

Africa

I’m fairly certain that I first picked up Toto IV for Rosanna but it would be Africa that would become my favorite.

My Musical Evolution – Part 126 Academy Days Our Lips Are Sealed

When I started at Vermont Academy, the basement of Shepardson Center [The Dining Hall] was nothing but a big open area of concrete with massive pillars supporting the floor above. Sometime around sophomore year, they renovated the place and added a snack-bar with a couple of video games. This was where I first saw Space Invaders and Asteroids Deluxe. The authentic Space Invaders sound still makes me think of those evenings after study hours eating slices of pizza and hanging out.

Over the next year or two, further development and enhancements were made to the new Student lounge. Comfortable, crate based couches and chairs were added along with a Rock-ola jukebox.

That Rock-ola with its backlit purple and pink panels and twinkling chase lights was where I was introduced to the Go-Go’s. Our Lips Are Sealed was a jukebox favorite and at the moment, without giving it much thought, the only song I remember listening to on it. I’m certain that there were more but in the tradition of My Musical Evolution, Go-Go’s and more specifically Our Lips Are Sealed is linked to Shepardson Center and that Rock-ola.

Like so many factory cassettes of the era, I played this one to death. I find myself regretting that I don’t listen to albums start to finish anymore. It was how we always did it then and there is something about that I can’t quite put into words.

I find it an interesting development that as I look for these songs, the era of the music video has begun. More and more, I find the official video. It is a reminder of the impact MTV was having already even though at that time I hadn’t heard of it.

Our Lips Are Sealed

Lust To Love

This Town

This is the Belinda Carlisle that I thought was so hot. Before she got too skinny.
We Got The Beat

Automatic

Skidmarks On My Heart

My Musical Evolution – Part 125 Academy Days Aldo Nova

The common theme here has been that there are songs that are linked to people and songs that are linked to moments in time. In My Musical Evolution Aldo Nova is even loosely linked to Daylight Saving Time. If I spent a little effort, I could give you almost the precise moment that I heard Fantasy.

The year was 1982. It was spring and the Friday before the time change. Adam’s brother Allan graduated from the Academy a couple of years ahead of us. By this time he was attending UVM in Burlington, Vermont. One of the things that you do when attending College Prep School is visit colleges. Adam and I had arranged to visit UVM. He took the full 4 day “college weekend”. I had to go to class on Friday so I caught a ride to UVM with my friend Morrie. It was a great road trip. We had a few Haffenreffers that Morrie packed. I’m not sure how Morrie ever got into Haffenreffer but he was impressed that they were brewed in my hometown of Fort Wayne, Indiana. The drive from Saxtons River to Burlington is a little over 3 scenic hours and we were having a great time.

Night had fallen by the time we got to UVM. Morrie dropped me off at the edge of campus and went on to where he was staying. I staggered around campus until I found Harris-Millis and eventually met up with Adam and Ted. We hung out in Allan’s room for a while. Al was out which was disappointing because I was very much looking forward to hanging out with him.

We wandered into a couple of parties before heading back to Al’s. It was getting late and we decided to call it a day. Allan was still not home when we got there so we selected spots on the floor and furniture on which to sleep. About an hour later at 3:30am Saturday morning, I wake to the sounds of synthesized helicopters and machine gun fire. Al had finally returned after what must have been a very good party. Yelling over the cranked stereo, he screamed “You guys gotta hear this song!” Fantasy erupted. I was at once delighted by the music, the presence of Allan and distraught over the apparent disregard for his dorm neighbors. It was 3:30 in the morning!

OK, I did the math. If my online resources for DST dates in 1982 are correct, The very close estimate of the very first time I heard Aldo Nova was 3:30 am, April 24th, 1982. There’s a reason that I know that Daylight Saving Time was involved. I was supposed to get a ride back to Saxtons River on Sunday at 3:00 pm and because I neglected to adjust my watch for the time change, I missed my ride. So I had to spend another entire day in Burlington with my friends. I bought an Aldo Nova cassette at the mall that weekend. That’s all I’m going to say ’bout that.

So with all that in mind, how could I not get into Aldo Nova?

Fantasy

Hot Love

Ball And Chain

Heart To Heart

You’re My Love

Under The Gun

My Musical Evolution – Part 124 Academy Days So Uh, Because Uh, We’re Not Going To Play That One Tonight

A peculiar thought just occured to me. I can’t remember which came first Lola from The Kinks or Lola from Damn Yankees. Both were products of the Academy Days. I’m certain that I picked this up for the song Lola. I’m not certain where my desire for Lola originated. One For The Road was the only option I had in the Columbia House catalog. Am I Lucky or what?

One For The Road not only has a bunch of great tracks but it is a great sounding live album. Another thing about The Kinks that I find interesting in the context of musical influences is that they have influenced so many other bands that followed. The Kinks formed in 1964 which puts them in the club with all those other British Invasion groups like The Beatles and Rolling Stones. With company like that, I feel that The Kinks may have been somewhat overlooked or forgotten. Not many people here in the midwest seemed too keen on The Kinks when I brought One For The Road with me back to Indiana. Here, it seemed much more Rolling Stones country. I remember telling some Van Halen fans “No, that is a Kinks song. No, that was The Kinks also.”

With One For The Road, I was not only able to acquire Lola but probably the best version of the song. Here is yet another example where if I simply downloaded Lola I never would have given all the rest of amazing songs a chance. Songs like Pressure, National Health and what would become my favorite, Celluloid Heroes.

I would go on to buy a couple more albums by The Kinks but none of them seemed to capture the energy or my imagination like One For The Road.

Catch Me Now I’m Falling

Where Have All The Good Times gone

Lola

Pressure

All Day And All Of The Night

National Health

‘Till The End Of The Day

Celluloid Heroes

You Really Got Me

What is it about Celluloid Heroes that reaches me so deeply? Is it the romantic nostalgia of the 1940’s that it seems to invoke? Is it the notion of the saddness of immortality? That is the great thing about emotion, it makes things highly unpredictable and oftern discards logic altogether.