Now THAT'S Music

Tuesday November 29th, 2011 - Fox Lake, IL

   The ongoing mammoth task continues of sifting through all my worldly possessions and weeding out what isn’t absolutely necessary to sustain my human existence. I’ve managed to at least put a noticeable dent in the total amount, and sort most of it into smaller piles.

   Today’s pile was my music collection. I’ve got way too much, and it includes both CDs and cassettes. Believe it or not. I have a huge pile of cassettes, probably into the hundreds. I change cars often,  and some of them still have cassette players in them. Plus, they’re an outstanding value. I can pick them up all day dirt cheap at garage sales and thrift stores.

   And, that doesn’t include all my self help and motivational programs. Most of those are on cassette as well, and they’re also available for next to nothing. When I’m on the road it helps pass the time to pop in a music cassette followed by one of spoken word. It’s a good system, and it meets my needs. I know I should have it all on an MP3 player, but I don’t.

   I’m sure I’ll get there eventually - probably when that’s no longer the latest and greatest. There will probably be live holographic 3-D performances right on the dashboard, but I’ll deal with that when the time comes. For now, my standards are low and I like it that way.

   As I sorted through my collection, I ran across some of my all time favorites. They used to be called ‘albums’, a word anyone under 30 will wrinkle their brow at me for using just like I used to do when my grandparents would use the word ‘Victrola’. I feel like a fossil.

   I guess I am. But there are a whole generation of others who know exactly what I mean, and I thought about how rare it is to put together a music album that can be listened to all the way through. It’s not as common as one thinks, and I can only think of a precious few.

   Of famous albums, I happen to think Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ is absolutely brilliant. I like every song on it, and they all flow well together in my opinion. I don’t have to skip any songs, and I can pop it in either on cassette or CD and just enjoy it all. That‘s a treat.

   Other people have their favorites, and that’s fine. Most albums have at least one or two duds, and that doesn’t mean it’s a bad album. I’m just saying it’s rare when every song on a particular album is on the same level as the rest, and it can be played as a single entity.

   I’ve discovered a few in my day, and most of them are pretty obscure. There aren’t a lot of hits, if any, but as a body of work it all comes together and is something I really like to listen to from start to finish. Here are a few that I rediscovered today during my sorting:

   ‘Aliens Ate My Buick’ by Thomas Dolby, ‘The Flag’ by Rick James, ‘What Up Dog?’ by Was (Not Was), ‘Wishes’ by Jon Butcher, ’She’s Strange’ by Cameo, ‘You Shouldn’t ‘Nuf Bit Fish’ by George Clinton and Elton John’s ‘Madman Across The Water’. They’re all gems in my opinion, and I can listen to them over and over again. And I will. The kids of today wouldn’t appreciate a good album, but I sure do. Hey you kids - get off my lawn.

Posted via email from Dobie Maxwell's "Dented Can" Diary