#494 Cyndi Lauper- She's So Unusual (1983)

Cueing up the first pop album I've encountered on the list thus far, I'm putting my non-bias gameface on.  I feel the need to because I truly adore Cyndi Lauper:  her music, her style & personality back in the bubble gum days of MTV, as well as the woman/artist/activist who is still, in my opinion, a total class act today.  So yeah, my initial idea for this musical journey was to listen to each album and comment on the music in as much of a non-biased way as possible.  Here goes.

Money Changes Everything- The album starts off with a cover of a new wave song.  If you think the instruments sound familiar, you're right.  Cyndi's backing band was comprised of the members of the Hooters (And We Danced).

Girls Just Want to Have Fun was the first single and multi-platinum hit of the album.  It was given to Cyndi by the studio to record, with a much different message--It was more geared toward girls pleasing men.  She flipped the script and turned the misogynistic song into the feminist anthem of the decade, and I don't know any girl from 13 to 53 that won't leap to her feet to dance when it's blasted at a party.

When You Were Mine- A cover of Prince's B side to Controversy.  I don't remember this cover version, but my ears go straight to the Oberheim synthesizer sounds that together with the Linn Drums and Moog Synth Bass, defined an era.  The song itself, filler.

Time after Time:  How can I possibly listen to a song I love this much, and say something without bias?  Written and sung by Cyndi and the Hooter's Rob Hyman, it was the 2nd #1 single released, was nominated for a Grammy (song of the year), and has been covered by everyone from Willie Nelson to Miles Davis.

She Bop: The third single released, and 3rd consecutive top 10 hit.  Controversial for its topic; it rates #3 on the top songs about masturbation (behind Pump It Up, and I Touch Myself).  I still can't get past how much it sounds like the theme of the Munsters.

All Through the Night:  This fourth single that peaked at #5 on Billboard turned Lauper into the first female to have 4 singles from the same album hit #5 or better.  A song that the Cars originally recorded, but decided not to use on an album, Cyndi made it her own, and made it a hit.

Witness:  If I had to pick a weak track, here it is.  Ska/Reggae worked for the Police, but I'm not buying it here.
I'll Kiss you:  Not sure why they released this as a promotional sixth single (after Money Changes Everything), but it buddies up with Witness in Ska feel, and mediocrity.
She's So Unusual:  The title track is a ditty from the early 20's by an artist that was the inspiration for Betty Boop.  It's cute, scratchy record sound and all, but I did get annoyed by the song being only in my left ear.
Yeah Yeah:  You can hear her continue the Betty Boop voice in the background in this Farfisa Organ smothered song that has splashes of Cyndi doing her best Yoko Ono-like dolphin imitation.

Well, I gave it my best shot... but I'm sure it won't be too many more blogs before I'm outed as a fan of pop music.    What was unusual before '83 were powerful female artists having hit after hits.  Cyndi Lauper and Madonna (both breaking within weeks of each other in the fall of that year) were about to shatter norms, time after time.


Next up #493 Earth, Wind & Fire- That's the Way of the World (1975)

#495 Husker Du- New Day Rising (1985)

Husker Du was a board game in the 70's.  I know this because I was a child of that era & raised by the TV.  It's Danish for "Do You Remember?" Ironic, because I remember the game; the band, I don't.

New Day Rising was released when I was 16. So how could I have missed it? In the movie Armageddon, NASA's Dan Truman (Billy Bob Thornton) explains to the president their predicament: "Our object collision budget's a million dollars. That allows us to track about 3% of the sky, and beg'n your pardon sir, but it's a big-ass sky" In 1985 there was no Pandora, iTunes, Bittorrent, Napster, Internet, or even burning of CD's. Kids bought albums in record and cassette form (or recorded random songs from the radio). My music budget only allowed me to track a small percentage of the big-ass sky, and Husker Du never appeared in my radio air.

New Day Rising, the title track from the album opens up sonically challenging. It's sharp, razor sharp to my ears. At this point I'm not sure if this grilled cheese tone is an artistic device, a social statement, an expression of angst, or if the band fronted by Bob Mould just has really shitty EQ.
Girl who lives on Heaven Hill: Well, the EQ is as bad, but I think I can hear past that now. The playing isn't complex, but it is fast and furious, full of angst, as is the throat scorching singing/screaming. It's simple, but it's not easy--overall it's good.
I Apologize: I hear the influence the Ramones had on Husker Du, as well as the influence Husker Du had on pop/punk's Green Day.
Folk Lore: I'm digging the alternating driving beat with half time beat. Don't blink, or you'll miss this song complete with verses, bridge and a guitar solo, that wraps in only 1m30s.
If I Told You: These songs aren't simple "1-4-5" or basic three chord songs. They have interesting sometimes unpredictable chord changes, and I imagine trying to learn them in '85. Cassette tape & jambox--rewind, play, rewind, play, rewind, play. The vocal mix is weak, it's hard to hear it above the noise (and I use that as a term of endearment.)
Celebrated Summer: Again, the chain saw guitar tone completely buries the singing. Wait, hold on, a slow break? Someone must have bought the band a tray of shots(or worse). Ah... ok, they are back in full sprint again. I read that this was one of the big hits of the album, but it doesn't stand out for me.

Perfect Example: A perfect example of how almost every album has a shitty track or two. Vocals are still way too buried, and to boot they are just half-sung/half-spoken instead of screamed. Frankly, it sucks. As does the repetitive music that sounds like a record skipping.

Terms of Psychic Warfare: Early punk to me, didn't have much thought put into it. It was energy and three chords. Songs like TOPW seem like the bridge between garage punk, hard core punk, and mainstream. It's melodic and planned without losing any edge along the way.
59 Times the Pain: I'm not sure if liner notes were included in the album back then. Without them, I have no clue what he's mumbling about. I don't doubt the 59X pain, I just can't empathize.
Powerline: NDR's 15 songs average under 3 minutes in length, A godsend when laboring through these throwaway songs. As an opening act, short songs allowed Husker Du to get their full catalog out there quickly.
Books about UFO's: A poppy shuffle that includes an oddly placed tinkly piano.
I Don't Know What You Are Talking About: filler song
How to Skin a Cat: followed by an obligatory avant-garde track
Whatchya Drinkin': How do you possibly have a song with two halves, when it's only 1m33s?

Plans I Make: Ends the album just as fast and furious as they came in--Hard Core, and making no concessions. Bob Mould says faintly at the end "that's the last song on the album, it doesn't matter what it sounds like anyways." If this was a concert, this is the end-of-night kinda song where you trash your guitar, kick over your amplifier, drop the mic, fall over your drums and slice open a finger. Maybe that's why the tonal quality of this album sounds so bad; you don't do that with expensive gear when you're three punks from St. Paul, Minnesota.

Husker Du's angst would have been more useful to the 16yr old me. Then again, $7.99 would have been too. Side note: I listen to Bob Mould almost every night--he wrote the theme song to John Stewart's Daily Show.

Next Up #494 Cyndi Lauper- She's So Unusual (1983)

#496 Kiss- Destroyer (1976)

Barely 7 years old, I have little or no direct recollection of Kiss' music having an impact on me when Destroyer was released.  In fact, reading through the song lineup right now, I only recognize the titles of two songs, and frankly I'd be hard-pressed to hum the melody to either of these two.  However, I can still today, as I could then, tell you each of the member's names and match the "face".  I can also recite verbatim the entire commercial for Connect Four a Milton Bradley game.  Why you ask to both?  Marketing.  "Pretty sneaky sis."

Before hitting play to song #1, I will offer up my respect and simultaneous disdain for rock music's marketing geniuses.  Acts whose fame and popularity is leagues beyond what I feel is their musical merit.  This respect is sent from my brain, the part of me that sees Rock as a business.  I'll have 495 future blogs; ample time to elaborate on the likes of Madonna and Lady Gaga--Acts that have not only squeezed more juice out of their lemons than anyone else, but who've also patented 11 different ways to extract liquid from the rind.  My brain recognizes this as genius and marvels at the business acumen.

My heart however, my inner "artist", feels cheated by this, betrayed.  I have great respect for the marketing genius of Kiss, but before I listen to the music, I'll admit my heart is not in it.

Detroit Rock City:   The first single released from the album, written about a fan who died on the way to one of their concerts.  It's about 90 seconds before the music starts (exposition intro).  OK, it's a rocker, but I can't shake the "Spinal Tap" mockumentary out of my head.  The car crash at the end--necessary?
King of the Night Time World:  I actually thought this was a stronger song than DRC.
God of Thunder:  This is just the kind of shlock-rock song that a band in concert would normally put on stupid costumes for...oh wait. You know, I promised I'd listen to every song from the 500 albums full through, but this one is testing me.  Must... hold... on...

Great Expectations:  Ah, cleanse my palate with some piano.  A tune that sounds almost Bowie-esque.  Their producer Bob Erzin (Alice Cooper referred to him as their George Martin) needs to be credited for his contribution to the writing of the music, along with the overall complexity and shine of this song as well as most of the album.
Flaming Youth:  After a song like this, I always sarcastically ask "What was the name of that one?"  It's good marketing to repeat the name of your product over and over again, but after awhile the consumer catches on.
Sweet Pain:  Feh... not painful, but not really sweet either.
Shout it Out Loud:  Hey, I remember this one!  I'm fighting off the urge to clap my hands over my head stadium style.

Beth:  Every hard rocking band needs a slow ballad.  Beth started off as the B side to the single DRC, but quickly became the biggest hit on the album.  Erzin introduced the band to string arrangements, choirs, and via Beth, introduced Kiss to their first top 10 song.  As a piano player, I've received many requests over the years to play this.  I now feel compelled to learn it.  It's worthy.

Do You Love Me?:   No, No I don't.  Not this song.
Outro:   A minute and a half of sound effects, akin to the Beatles #9, but very very distant cousins.

While I don't feel at all wrong about my preconceived notions of Kiss, I also leave this album with elevated respect for their music, their infectious energy, and their producer.  I'll add a piano ballad to my collection, while longing for the 3rd grade and my shoe box full of Kiss trading cards (wondering just how much money they'd be worth if I still had them.. damn).

Next Up - #495 Husker Du- New Day Rising (1985)

#497 Public Enemy - Yo! Bum Rush the Show (1987)

I'll admit it, this album intimidated me.  Not in 1987 when I was a senior in high school; I don't think I had any idea who Public Enemy was back then.  I mean just now, realizing I probably don't know a single track on this album.  I was just thinking, "what insight could I possibly give" about something I know nothing about.  But in the same moment it hits me, "that's just the point".  An unfettered opinion based on a fresh listen... there might be some value in that.  After all, there's much entertainment to be had by just watching the faces of those viewing two girls and a cup... without subjecting yourself to the source material.  Reading that, it's a terrible analogy, but one that makes me laugh none-the-less.

Having said all that, I confess as the album starts that I recognize Flavor Flav's voice but mostly from his Surreal Life appearances.  And I'm barely diverse enough musically to know Chuck D when I hear him.  But embarrassingly enough,  this is my launching pad.

This first track, You're Gonna Get Yours, has the groove of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but to my ear Chuck's rhymes on this one sound stiff, almost like the Superbowl Shuffle.  Ok, it's '87, I'll give him some slack.

Sophisticated Bitch.  Maybe it's my short attention span, but rap/hip hop bores me when it's the same musical phrase repeated over and over again.  The lyrics or "book" of the song has to be really strong to overcome the monotony for me.  This doesn't have a strong book, but it does have a sweet guitar solo by Vernon Reid, leader of Living Colour.

Miuzi Weighs A Ton.  A couple of well placed "samples" can keep me invested in a song.  The word "sample", implies digitally sampling music and then triggering it from a computer or a keyboard.  While I'm not certain of it, I think it's inaccurate of me to refer to it in this way here.  This was hip hop back when you still used vinyl, when scratching was actually done with needles and not laptops.  And after further googling, I was right, that was Aretha Franklin's Rock Steady mixed in there.

Timebomb while the guitar and drum groove is completely funky, it's just that... it stays there.  I keep waiting for a bridge, for a change in the music, a release for all the air that's filling up the balooon... but alas, it never comes.

Too Much Posse Flavor Flav is the perfect foil for comedic relief, but this track is just him rapping, with a drum machine.  No groove, No samples. Too, too, too much flavor, and not enough food.

Rightstarter (Message To The Black Man)  Maybe they put flavor flav's track right before this one to make it pop, but I'm pretty sure it didn't need it.  This track is powerful, musically, lyrically, no contrast needed.  It moves fast and furious and leaves me with my first clenched and yearning for a just cause to fight for.

Public Enemy No. 1 while the music and sampling to this don't impress me, I realize how powerful Chuck D's rapping is, because he carries this drum machine and bumble-bee drone hybrid.  Flavor Flav keeps reminding me of the archetypical sidekick that can't help but repeat what the bigman just said.

M.P.E.  while I'm not impressed by the song at all, it is a good example of how a rapper could potentially change the world with just a mic and an 808.  In 1982 Roland introduced the affordable TR-808 drum machine, and while I can't imagine how the world changed when the first piano was invented, or the first trumpet; the invention of the drum machine opened up a new medium of expression and perhaps sparked the beginning of hip hop.

Yo! Bum Rush the Show. Where rappers could use drum machines for their rhythm, DJ's could use records for all the rest.  Lead and rhythm guitars are replaced with "Lead Scratch" and "Rhythm Scratch" by Terminator X and Juice Rosato respectively.

Raise the Roof I looked it up, this isn't the song that popularized the arm gesture.  It's not that good.  But it does have some fun DJ work (listen for the piano stepping down in the background mid song)  And yeah, I'm pretty sure that explosion at the end was "mouthed".

Megablast oh please oh please oh please, an allusion to The Escorts One More Chance.   The reverse message in the song... did you want me to do the legwork and tell you what they say?  Well, it's raw so I won't give you all of it word for word, but it's Flavor going off on women who smoke weed while pregnant who then have babies coming out "no bigger than a leaf of fucking lettuce".

Terminator X Speaks With His Hands is a showcase of what a talented DJ could do with two turntables (Flav's got the occasional microphone) but parts of it are kinda sparse.

Can I claim a better understanding of the black street struggle of the 80's... surely not.  But I do have a better appreciation for Chuck D, for the roots of hip hop, and the music that DJ's of that era had in their scratch repertoire.  My impression of Flavor Flav however, hasn't changed much.

Next up #496 Kiss- Destroyer (1976)

#498 ZZ Top - Tres Hombres (1973)

Have Mercy!  ZZ Top's Tres Hombres opens up with these words and it's fitting.  This was the album that turned them into stars; it's polished but still raw, it's thick but not over processed.  The first two songs,  Waiting for the Bus and Jesus Just Left Chicago, open the album and are fat with attitude. Sounds like they were stuck together by studio splicing, or maybe they meant it to be that way... I've never really questioned it.  You don't mess with Texas.

Billy Gibbons on guitar and Dusty Hill on bass, take turns vocally with the lines on Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers, the third song.  While I've heard this song before, I'll admit I've skipped it in prior listenings over the years, and frankly, it's better than that.

Master of Sparks, Hot Blue And Righteous: Probably the first time I've ever listened to two songs full through.  I can't say that there's anything specifically fetching about how side 1 of the album closes out.  Yep, that's right, remember album sides?  It bears to mention that songs were arranged to accommodate album sides, so slower tempo songs like HB&R might have been placed there for a reason.

Move Me on Down the Line: Really?  I had to look at my player twice, to make sure I hadn't played the wrong song.  Nope, it's ZZ Top.  It just had such an up tempo feel, almost like Bob Seger's "Rock n Roll Never Forgets".  Not a bad song, just out of character and missing some swagger.

Precious and Grace:  Ok, the badass spice was put back into this Texas chili.  Along with some slide soloing on the guitar that was tasty.  I'm realizing that albums like this one, which I thought I knew--I don't.  That's four songs now that I can't remember ever listening to.  Is there anything noteworthy about any one of those four?  I suppose not, but in the context of the time, the band, and the album... I think they provide a more complete backdrop.

La Grange:  I'll forgive all non-relevant songs on every ZZ Top album as long as I can have this one to take with me.  I challenge your pulse not to rise when the drums kick into full boil.  I wonder if they knew they had lightening in a bottle when they wrote this (it's the only single released from the album).  I've surely heard it hundreds of times before, yet I found myself repeating it twice more just now; so I imagine they did.

Shiek:  I giggled at the rhymes of Shiek/Mozambique and Scuba/Cuba.  No one ever claimed ZZ Top were poet laureates, I know; but those lines sounded campy at best.

Have you Heard?:   I could quickly cast this away as another filler song, but it bares mentioning that ZZ Top did write all their own songs on this album.  A risky endeavor for new blues artists, but one that paid off in a big way for the trio that was still almost 10 years away from their signature beards and their MTV celebrity.

-CTK

Next up #497 Public Enemy- Yo! Bum Rush the Show (1987)

#499 Albert King- Born Under a Bad Sign (1967)

Albert King doesn't waste a full measure of time before announcing the name of his title song, Born Under a Bad Sign. That's because he's got something that's going to convert the blues from a history lesson, to a blueprint to the great rock guitarists of the future.  The thick horns wide in the stereo, the backing of Stax Records' house band (Booker T & the MG's), I imagine it scared the shit out of people, blaring through their speakers all ballsy and bad-ass.  Scared em, or made em come alive, or probably both.

I went through a period in my late teens where I thought it was cool to be into the blues.  A feeble attempt to escape my youth, my whiteness, to borrow the wisdom and life experience these men had, if only musically.  I appreciated the music, the playing, but it would be many years later before I could appreciate where in the soul music like this came from.

Guitar players generations older than I, they got it.  They carried the torch until our generation was ready to receive.  Musicians I know inside out--like Stevie Ray Vaughn--I hear so much of Albert King's influence in his playing, his singing, his sound.  Clapton, Jimmy Page, even Hendrix all walked across the bridge that King built. The bridge that connected blues-past and rock-future.

Crosscut Saw: at 2 minutes 36 seconds... it just fades to quickly leaving you wanting more... like having to leave a party at midnight that you know is going roar until 4am.
Kansas City: a Leiber-Stoller staple that's been covered by everyone and their brother, but this version is just lush with smooth blowing horns.
Oh, Pretty Woman:  No, not the Roy Orbison kind.  Blues pretty straight forward.
Down Don't Bother Me:  I'm embarrassed to say the first version of this song I heard, was Sting.  Albert's version teaches you a lesson in 2 minutes, and quickly moves on to the next subject.  There's too much to learn here, and no time to dwell.
The Hunter:  There's an abruptness in his singing, reminds me alot of Jimi Hendrix.  He's bending guitar strings and squeezing phrases, full sentences, out of notes that some players barely get a syllable out of.  It's the difference between saying "shit", and "sheeeeeeeeeyyyiiiiiit".
I Almost Lost my Mind: Ok, so they aren't all winners.  This is a slow snoozer. Except for this way out of place flute solo in my left ear.  Who let Ron Burgundy in on this track?
Personal Manager: Great interplay between solo riffs, and horn stabs.
Laundromat Blues:  Yeah, there are blues songs written about "All Temperature Cheer"... well not really.  I hear links to (rather from) Jimmy Page's playing on Led Zeppelin's first album.  Just another reminder of who lit the flame of my torch carriers.
As the Years go Passing By:  Just about when I checked out of this album, I get sucked back in.  I know this song's melancholy, this nostalgia, I've been this guy.  And the interplay of piano, horns, guitar, singing... mmm.
The Very Thought of You:  Yes, that one.  See, why couldn't more of the album be like this.  This is just a great in-the-pocket version of this song, this way overplayed song. It's like meeting someone for the first time, but having the feeling you've been friends your whole life.  Dig the hush-talking at 2:32 that reminds me of every Boys To Men song ever recorded.  The big man shows his tenderness... and I can't wait to use this version for a slow dance somewhere.

Albert King, you came in hard, scared the crap out of the neighbors, changed the landscaping, taught the kids some tough lessons, but then finished the day by delivering flowers all around.

-CTK

Next up #498 ZZ Top- Tres Hombres (1973)

#500 Eurythmics - Touch (1983)

The very first song, of the first album on "The List". It couldn't be more familiar. It's one of those bookmarks in your mind that takes you right back to a place, a time, a life event in my case.

1983/84 I was a freshman in high school; well technically Jr. High--our 9th graders attended Jr. High. Our school was one of the first in the state to put together a full scale "mock disaster". The scenario was a Tornado strike, and the whole school participated, along with local police, first responders, and I suppose hospitals as well to learn from the experience.

I was on one of several First Aid teams of "responders" as part of our 9th grade health class. When the disaster commenced, all the lights went down, and I believe the majority of students were confined to classes, where teachers discussed proper reaction... some played parts of injured and were scattered around the school and gymnasium. My group was part of the responders who would search the rubble and attend to injuries. Honestly, most of that day was lost in the blur of a 14 yr old's first adult adrenaline rush and I won't bore you with any more details.

What I'll never forget however, is right at the moment the lights went down and the "game was on", over the intercom they played "Here Comes the Rain Again" It sent chills down my spine then, and almost 30 yrs later, that opening Oberheim synth arpeggio still does the same to me.

I wasn't at all familiar with the next 3 songs, Regrets, Right by Your Side, and Cool Blue. The instruments and drum machines used in them couldn't be more trapped in the 80's if they tried. It's hard to imagine that Annie Lennox's voice could be overshadowed by electronic cheese, but it's tough to not be distracted by the Linn Drum Machines and awkward effects.

And then Who's that Girl saves me. And now I'm actively listening to specifically see if the electronics sound dated... and they don't. All I can hear is Annie Lennox's singing. All I get are chills, the kind that make you feel like there's a ghost in the room. This was the follow up single to Here Comes the Rain Again and they feel like a matched pair.

The next 4 tracks, I can honestly say I've never heard either.

The First Cut-- A geeky synth whiteman funk song

Aqua-- Finally another track that fits in the haunted feel of the singles but just lacks substance

No Fear, No Hate, No Pain-- Wow, ok, that was sweet. The synth bass line, driving me nuts, sounds identical to another song. But you can tell, this wasn't a throw-away song. It's got all this wonderful layering going on, and to twist a lyric "here come the chills again". I knew there had to be a hidden gem here somewhere.

Paint a Rumour closes out the album. A throw away song that doesn't know if it's synth popcorn, or world beat music, or motown horns, or video game music. I'll tell you this, it's 6 minutes longer than it should be, and sounds like the equivalent of the album's "junk drawer". Maybe they were contractually obligated to hit 45 minutes for the album, so they put their sequencer on random play for 7 minutes 35 seconds and sang the words "paint a rumour" a few times. Save yourself the trouble, this rumour should have stayed on the easel.

Yes, that's right, Sweet Dreams are Made of These isn't on this album. Touch was the quick (about 10 months later) follow up album responding to the success of Sweet Dreams and technically their third release. It seems kinda obvious that they were pressured to kick out an album in a hurry to cash in on their success. Lucky for us all, they had those two amazing singles up their sleeves, because I don't wanna think how sucky my 30 yr old memory would have been, if the mock-tornado was indelibly linked with Yah Mo B There.

-CTK

NEXT UP #499 Albert King - Born Under a Bad Sign (1967)

Introduction- The Musical Quest

October 2011, I happened across a Rolling Stone Magazine publication from 2010 that rated the top 500 albums in rock and roll music. As a musician, I was simply looking to verify what I thought was my broad knowledge of rock; so I read through the list. I didn't make it out of the first 100 and I already felt like a failure.

I didn't beat myself up for not having an intimate relationship with each of the Roxy Music albums, or for not having gone deeper than Mott the Hoople's All the Young Dudes; I forgave myself that. The slap in the face was just how many bands/artists I'd never even heard of, that I wouldn't be able to place as 60's folk, 80's hair metal, or recent hip-hop. Hell, I couldn't even make it out of the first 50 without stumbling on #40... a band called Love. Love?

I just couldn't continue this charade of being "a well-rounded rock musician" while losing count of how many of the 500 I blanked on.

So my first thought was to fill in the gaps; start with some of the albums in Bob Dylan's catalog that I didn't own outright, but knew the hits off of. Better yet, maybe I should start by getting acquainted with the artists I'd never heard of like Wire, Big Star, Moby Grape, The Meters.

My epiphany (not to be confused with John Lennon's Epiphone), was to start at #500 and count my way down, not just filling the gaps, but listening to each album in order. I'd listen to every Beatles & Elvis Costello album to which I could name the songs in order, the keys they are in, and religiously whistle each solo. I'd listen to every metal, country, hip hop, folk album who's deeper cuts I might be hearing for the first time.

After a small amount of internet familiarity, and a large amount of persistence, I had come into possession of all 500 albums in digital format by beginning of December. Taking inspiration from Julie Powell who blogged about preparing each of Julia Child's 524 cookbook recipes in one year, I made it my musical quest to countdown from #500 (Eurythmics-Touch) to #1 (Beatles-Sgt. Pepper's) and listen to each of the R.S.'s best albums, and then write about it.

I invite you to join me on this quest, to give me your thoughts, opinions and insights to each album along the way. I don't expect to have a movie made about me like Julie Powell did (Julie & Julia), but you gotta admit, the soundtrack would be fookin brilliant!!!

-CTK