2024-03-23 21:58
I saw Silversun Pickups after the Pandemic a few years back at The Sylvee
Silversun Pickup – The Sylvee – 11/2/2021
and it was amazing, so the notion of seeing them a… Read More
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2024-02-03 16:58
I love when things come full circle. It may take years and years, but when they happen you notice and often it makes it all the more sweeter.
Way back in the day, when Max was in school… Read More
2024-01-14 13:48
I have written many times about my friend Alan (the friend former known as Jeff, sorry no cool symbol) and how we have created letters back and forth since junior high in the form of ca… Read More
2023-12-29 18:21
As I made my way to the power station plant in the block behind the High Noon Saloon where I typically park for a show there, it was jam packed. The entire street was full! I have never seen… Read More
2023-12-16 13:42
I don’t remember the specific occasion that ended up giving me the nickname Metalhead for everyone in Dalton’s family, but one day everyone started calling me that. I have never… Read More
2023-11-15 19:04
Day 2 in Seattle had an agenda including 2 famous dead people and 1 concert (see previous post).
First we were off to see the Jimi Hendrix memorial.
I really had no idea before MPOP t… Read More
2023-11-15 18:29
When I toyed with Alan about coming out to see Liz Phair, he leaned into it. Next thing I know it was being planned and I had both plane tickets and show tickets! The night of the show Alan… Read More
2023-11-14 17:15
After an exchange of pictures, there were a couple that I wanted to include from Alan’s camera. Night 1 we went for dim sum. It was a ridiculous amount of food but delicious!
This… Read More
2023-11-14 16:02
I spent the week after my birthday in the city of Seattle with Alan and Jeannie.
After a night of conversation and catching up, the next day was reserved for playing tourist as any good… Read More
2023-11-10 13:44
I have to confess that even though I listen to a LOT of music, all the time, and experiment with lots of different genres, I STILL get psyched when I “discover” a new band.
Th… Read More
2023-11-05 11:29
Reading books about music and your favorite musicians can sometimes have dire consequences when you find out things about the subject of the book. I have read a couple of those. Books writte… Read More
2023-10-30 22:54
I’ve gotten a lot of souvenirs and memorabilia from shows in years gone by. I’ve gotten set lists, guitar picks, autographs, drum sticks and show posters… all carefully pr… Read More
2023-10-28 11:31
I remember visiting my father many MANY years ago and going to the “movie store” as he called it to pick out some movies (on Beta!) to watch while I visited him at his apartment… Read More
2023-10-07 17:13
It’s been since before the pandemic that I saw Pat live. I think the last was Wauktoberfest when we still lived in Wauanakee. Thereafter, we subsided on Pat’s live Facebook shows… Read More
2023-08-30 22:22
I got into James Brown right after I saw the movie “Just One Of The Guys”.
The character in the movie only busted out of his shell when he heard James Brown playing.
I… Read More
2023-08-12 19:45
I think I have written about this before, but I first became aware of Alice Cooper when my half brother Mark played me “Gutter Cats vs The Jets” and “Street Fight” of… Read More
2023-07-23 17:08
I just caught wind of this last night. I’m not that plugged in. I was like “what?!”
Roger Waters is releasing a reimagined and re-recorded version of the album called &l&hell…Read More
2023-07-10 23:58
I spotted this book while looking through Frank Zappa books on Thrift Books.
I looked it up on Amazon and was intrigued by this in the description of the book:
“The Poodle Diarie… Read More
2023-06-25 22:24
In this Vinyl Community Rewind… I show another record haul from the Holidays, due to a gift card. Got a bunch of Hipgnosis too. I was into it.
Plus an odd Hendrix that was release… Read More
2023-06-16 15:49
I used to really really love Radiohead. “OK Computer” was magical.
However, something happened after “Amnesiac” and I just couldn’t get into it anymore. I s… Read More
2023-06-11 21:34
I didn’t know quite what I wanted to say here, but as I went through my mother’s things after her passing, I came across something that I think summed up my thoughts pretty well… Read More
2023-05-28 22:39
So, readers of my blog will note that I have gone all in for the work of Bobby Hussy. Wristwatch, The Hussy, Fire Heads, Whippets, Cave Curse…
Wristwatch / Starcrawler – Hig… Read More
2023-05-21 16:13
In this Vinyl Community Rewind… yes, 7 years ago… I show a record haul from the Holidays, plus I show a magazine that happens to feature an ad from a vinyl community member. In… Read More
2023-05-06 19:29
My friend Alan turned me on to AI art apps. I knew of AI, but had never tried any of the writing or art apps before this, but I found one on my phone, downloaded it and gave it a shot.
T… Read More
2023-04-30 15:13
Once all the records had been pulled and reviewed and the duplicates processed, all that remained was the sorting.
There were certain records that I knew had to go to Strictly Discs. This… Read More
2023-04-16 20:19
I don’t often have a itch to listen to Ambient music, but I have come across an artist that seems to have hit me in the right place at the right time. YouTube suggested one of his work… Read More
2023-03-26 17:14
The duplicates were a part of the culling that I had been dreading for a long time, but was necessary if a full and true culling was to be done.
When I acquired my friend Dalton’s r… Read More
2023-03-17 10:29
I wonder how many people out there have heard tracks from “Pink Floyd – Dark Side Of The Moon” (yes an absolute classic in sales and studio tricks and radio friendly songs)… Read More
2023-03-11 23:21
I came across a show poster that blew my mind and I had to share the story here, probably again. I think I have spoken about the L7 show that Dalton and I attended long, long ago.
It was… Read More
2023-03-10 00:39
I think it was the “Pat Benatar – Crimes Of Passion” album that did it. I was flipping through the P section in my record rack (yes she is under P not B) when I saw this… Read More
2023-03-05 02:52
Every show you go to, for a while, was “the greatest” show you have ever seen.
Seeing Bob Weir was no exception, but, without getting too melodramatic… it was a transf… Read More
2023-02-18 11:53
In this Vinyl Community Rewind… I show a stack of records I got from the “Dig -n- Save” that I would use for crafts: box sets that I would turn into vinyl cuttings. Also o… Read More
2023-02-11 12:44
The night came and I made my way downtown and got in line for the show. I was there far too early, but this is my life now. Be early, get to the stage. I was number 7 in line.
I waited ou… Read More
2023-02-05 23:38
In this Vinyl Community Rewind… I show a record that another Vinyl Community member (Helmut Diggy) sent me that I used for my new opening of my videos. It was a turning point.
Hey H… Read More
2023-02-04 16:51
I’ve won tickets to shows once or twice… George Thorogood, Dick Dale and even a pre-show party with The Residents (didn’t go to that one, lol) but it’s always a gas… Read More
2023-01-31 02:16
Hot off the presses. New Wristwatch swag is available on Bandcamp!
There are 2 shirts, stickers and a tote bag to be had.
https://wristwatch420.bandcamp.com/merch
I bought the &ldqu&hell…Read More
2023-01-28 12:13
Alas, Freak Scene Radio is no more. This is old news to most, but I just discovered it recently when I went to listen to a show on his WordPress site:
https://freaksceneradio.wordpress.co… Read More
2023-01-27 11:21
I have been known to start, then abandon projects… or have a great idea that fizzles out before completion. It happens.
This time though, I can report that I have completed a proj… Read More
2023-01-22 12:49
Recently a post for the 50th Anniversary of the Pink Floyd album “Dark Side of The Moon” came across my feed. Oh, cool I thought. There was a link to check out the box set being… Read More
2023-01-19 15:33
Jazz is not my go to, though I have experimented and picked up a few along the way.
I did freak out the librarians when I lived in Wauankee by ordering through the library loan an obscen… Read More
2023-01-14 12:06
For those of you considering jumping into the books of Henry Rollins, a word from someone who has, and some simple advice.
First of all, I consider Henry’s books to be of 4 types:… Read More
2023-01-08 14:29
Over the Holidays I was given a record by Otis. It’s a bit unmistakable to wrap a record, so I knew what it was before I opened it. However, upon ripping off the wrapping paper, I was… Read More
2023-01-04 02:27
After the Starcrawler show that Wristwatch opened
Wristwatch / Starcrawler – High Noon Saloon, Madison – 11/02/2022
and meeting Bobby Hussy, I kind a went into beast c… Read More
2022-12-27 12:08
After the recent resurgence of The Grateful Dead in my life, then the slip in to Dead & Company and my delving into Bobby Weir’s solo stuff, it happened:
Coming to Madison on Fe… Read More
2022-12-03 11:55
In this Vinyl Community Rewind… I show something things about the “Led Zeppelin – In Through The Out Door” album that I have had in my collection but never even knew… Read More
2022-11-20 11:10
There is a delicate balance between the act of full on hoarding of any and all music stuff at any cost and simple collecting what moves you. I’ll admit there are times in my life when… Read More
2022-11-13 15:58
Man, was I asleep at the wheel.
When I recently pulled a quote from the Wristwatch Bandcamp page that was from Henry Rollins, I of course had to go listen to the most recent KCRW show. I… Read More
2022-11-05 17:37
I bought my Starcrawler ticket the second I learned about them playing Madison.
I was shocked (and pleased) to see that tickets were only $20. Huh? Starcrawler has been around a while an… Read More
2022-10-13 23:25
Having listened to the new “Wilderness Of Mirrors” album, I was primed for the show. I arrived shortly after doors opened and was delighted to find room at the front of the s… Read More
2022-10-03 23:25
I’ve been avoiding listening to The Black Angels’ new album until I got my vinyl copy and I was hoping that it would come before the show. It’s in less than a week and I wa… Read More
2022-10-01 11:54
In this Vinyl Community Rewind… I show the Pioneer record player I picked up at Goodwill for $15.50 and what I had to do to get it working again. It became a second record player for… Read More
2022-09-24 15:35
I know I JUST wrote about The Grateful Dead and Dead & Company, but as the internet does, it listened to me and managed to get this in front of me:
Dead & Company Announce Final… Read More
2022-09-04 18:32
This is a bit difficult to talk about, but the last 6 months have been a struggle. My mother has had a rough transition from apartment living to hospital to rehab to hospital and rehab again… Read More
2022-09-04 18:32
My little town has a pretty small business district, but recently a big big image came to town.
Les Paul.
For those of you familiar with any of the 3 bars in town you will find this a… Read More
2022-08-22 01:10
Silversun Pickups are one of my automatic buys.
Some bands you listen first then commit to buy, but SSPU releases get knee jerk ordering. I have recently updated filled the few holes I h… Read More
2022-08-12 21:44
I wrote this, then left it languishing in my drafts folder. I looked back over it as I prepared to publish it. What a night! Sorry so late!
The night of the show finally came and I was st… Read More
2022-07-10 10:49
That is a long title.
Earlier this year, as I sat in my office, I heard Cindy call out from the other room “MIKE! MIKE!”. It was the same tone she gets when there is a spider… Read More
2022-04-19 02:00
I got a pair of tickets to Henry Rollins months ago and have been patiently waiting. I saw Rollins back in 2012 and was stoked to see him again. Here is my post from that show.
Post 100!… Read More
2022-04-12 02:19
I remember seeing “The Breakfast Club” movie for the first time and being knocked out with the song “Pretty In Pink”.
I had a very limited palette of music styles… Read More
2022-04-01 14:56
I am way late posting this, but… I spent most of 2021 buying old nostalgia albums and filling holes in the collection, but there were a few new ones coming in. This one came near the… Read More
2022-03-24 22:22
Still attempting to catch up on all the events from last year, I offer this…
In a wildly indulgent moment I decided to buy a bass guitar. Do I play, no. Was it largely for noodling… Read More
2022-03-19 11:25
Man I can’t believe this was 6 years ago already!
In this Vinyl Community Rewind… it’s Black Friday Record Store Day and my video highlights my purchases that day, and of… Read More
2022-03-12 11:45
I still occasionally do some vinyl cutting here at the new house. I had a giant size Frank Zappa on deck and recently decided it was time to fill the space on the wall that I had reserved fo… Read More
2022-03-06 14:28
Khruangbin hit me hard this past summer. I ended up buying all the vinyl I could get my hands on. I got every live show on YouTube I could find and immersed myself in a way that I haven&rsqu&hell…Read More
2022-03-05 20:25
I’ve written about the Øresund Space Collective many times here since first getting into space jams. Full disclosure, since discovering them and listening to a hefty chunk of th… Read More
2022-02-26 12:34
Supposedly it is happening.
Over the years I have bought a used cassette here and there. Got some real gems for a few bucks. I picked up a English Beat cassette of an album I didn’… Read More
2022-02-17 00:12
So, in this Vinyl Community Rewind I introduced the beginning of the end. I was getting very into the Hipgnosis album collecting and decided to add a count update at the end of all my videos… Read More
2022-02-12 14:06
I don’t make a habit of pimping YouTube sites often, but I thought I would highlight 2 that I came across that are worthy of mention. You can find Zappa bootlegs all over the place, bu… Read More
2022-02-07 22:40
In 2008 Dalton and I went to see at the Sundance Movie Theater in Madison the film “If It All Goes Wrong”.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/If_All_Goes_Wrong
This is essentia… Read More
2022-02-05 11:34
For Christmas Cindy gave me a Bandcamp giftcard. I knew exactly what I was going to use it for.
Buckethead.
In December of 2021 Buckethead had a 2$ sale and I bought 17 Pikes. The man… Read More
2022-01-21 00:17
I have detailed many and various levels of music storage here on The Aural Retentive. From the humble beginnings when I had no storage at all and only had analog, to the MP3 days I stored on… Read More
2022-01-17 22:25
Been on hiatus with these but returning to the Monday rewinds.
This week’s Vinyl Community Rewind is another twofer. The first is a video of me installing the Beatle vinyl art cutouts… Read More
2022-01-15 11:38
So… it’s been a while.
The Holiday’s, our Anniversary, vacation… and well, reading. I took on “The Eye Of The World” which consumed many a night for… Read More
2021-11-27 14:40
You ever see a book spine and pass by it, then go back thinking to yourself… “Did I really just see that?”
This happened to me this weekend. I was out and about looking… Read More
2021-11-11 01:23
This show was significant.
First, it was my first show back in the world.
I have to say I was a bit apprehensive, but overall excited. I worked that day, then bummed around for a whil… Read More
2021-11-01 23:40
As I have shown many times before, Dalton and I would make each other CD’s of new music we were listening to and wanted the other to hear. I kept all of these, even though I have all o… Read More
2021-10-28 23:52
As I have shown many times before, Dalton and I would make each other CD’s of new music we were listening to and wanted the other to hear. I kept all of these, even though I have all o… Read More
2021-10-23 21:36
The Silversun Pickups show in 2020 was in my sights when the Pandemic started shutting down live music. I was so stoked to see the show and bummed when the show got shut down.
COVID-19 Vs… Read More
2021-10-09 12:08
I have extolled the talents of The Øresund Space Collective here before. They are a space rock outfit the plays improvised music and records a lot of material. Jams, shows and albums… Read More
2021-09-25 12:12
Mike E. sent me a seemingly innocent link last week that turned out to be a life bomb. It was a You Tube link of a band that he was listening to which I had never heard of before.
Khruangbin… Read More
2021-09-18 19:36
Huh?
Well, I haven’t really even fully considered going back to see live music again, even with my favorite venues (which are now unfortunately about 1 hour 20 plus minutes away) ca… Read More
2021-09-12 22:31
It’s not often I search out and buy a CD, particularly when I already have it digitally, but some items you just have to have an original of, and there is no vinyl version of this so&h&hell…Read More
2021-09-06 11:54
This week’s Vinyl Community Rewind is a quick one focusing on the Frank Zappa entitled “Studio Tan” which contains my favorite Zappa song “Greggery Peccary”. It… Read More
2021-08-29 01:58
When I lived in Ann Arbor, the world of charity/protest events via vinyl records came into focus. I was older and understood there were places on the earth that were not as fortunate as my l… Read More
2021-08-21 11:29
In every Frank Zappa fan’s life comes the moment when they are talking to a friend who is unfamiliar with Zappa’s work and they ask you “what songs would I know?”… Read More
2021-08-19 21:03
As I have shown many times before, Dalton and I would make each other CD’s of new music we were listening to and wanted the other to hear. I kept all of these, even though I have all o… Read More
2021-08-17 00:29
This week’s Vinyl Community Rewind (after a lengthy hiatus) is a double. The first # 60 is VCLT from a great Vinyl Community You Tuber. He doesn’t make videos anymore that I have… Read More
2021-08-14 18:52
When I was in high school and buying records I frequented the record store (they were still called that) and spent hours sifting through bins and bins and bins of shiny wrapped albums. I wou… Read More
2021-08-08 23:14
As I have shown many times before, Dalton and I would make each other CD’s of new music we were listening to and wanted the other to hear. I kept all of these, even though I have all o… Read More
2021-08-05 21:20
Excuse me?
I am referring to the fact that I have been to the Frank Zappa Wiki so many times I have worn a digital footpath in the web from all the back and forth. There are so many intr… Read More
2021-08-01 01:32
Okay, I once had “Guns N’ Roses – Appetite For Destruction” in my vinyl collection, inherited from Dalton, and for some reason, some stroke of temporary madness&helli&hell…Read More
2021-07-28 22:14
As I have shown many times before, Dalton and I would make each other CD’s of new music we were listening to and wanted the other to hear. I kept all of these, even though I have all o… Read More
2021-07-25 12:36
Say what?
I get bombarded by news stories all the time in my news feed and 98% of it slides by with barely a notice: this band is playing here, feuding with a bandmate there… at l… Read More
2021-07-19 22:45
As I have shown many times before, Dalton and I would make each other CD’s of new music we were listening to and wanted the other to hear. I kept all of these, even though I have all… Read More
2021-07-16 02:13
Came across this batch of tapes in the storage room this week. They are a true relic of my early bootleg tape (yes cassette) trading days.
99.9% of my bootleg tapes have covers. There are… Read More
2021-06-19 18:02
While I was unpacking some of the boxes that I moved here from the music room at the old house, I came across some stuff that I had to pull out and give a listen to. These were collections o… Read More
2021-06-06 17:11
I have Dalton to thank for this one. He called one night like he often did and asked excitedly… “hey, killer band playing tonight, can you go?!”
I had kids and worked… Read More
2021-06-03 02:09
So I know I should probably be more informed, and it isn’t like this band hasn’t done other covers, but how in the hell did I ever miss that Judas Priest did not write “Dia… Read More
2021-05-23 02:27
So I have set up the stereos in the new house.
The first, in my office where I frankly spend the bulk of the week. I connected the equalizer and the tape deck (which I haven’t hook… Read More
2021-04-27 23:14
So, I moved.
It was a journey and it’s not quite 100% complete, but my office is mainly set up and I am enjoying fresh internet at the new house. I call that a win.
Before I left… Read More
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