Small Record Haul at Garage Sale

The weather was touch and go leading up until this morning, so I wasn't entirely sure if I was going to hit the Annual Great Glebe Garage Sale here in Ottawa. But conditions were decent enough for me to walk through the large neighbourhood, an eagle eye out for people flipping through record bins. It began overcast but dry, then it rained... no, it poured... for a short spell, sprinkled for a bit more, then tapered off to nothing. Despite the slight mess, my cool deals and surprising finds made it well worth the trip. And the umbrella helped.

There were four or five very organized record sellers... two of them, I think, were local DJs ditching their vinyl stock (in favour of digital? For shame!), and another couple were area online shops, I guess, who heavily pushed shoppers to visit their websites after the sale. I actually found some of my best deals in random little boxes of family castoffs. You've gotta do the legwork to find the gems and save money. 

Oh, and one seller, during the downpour, covered his table with plastic... but he kindly let a few of us flip through record crates in the back of his hatchback, nice and dry.

My KISS drink coaster set (2-sided, with more images on the flipside).

Note the Dressed to Kill album cover rock bottom right.

As I write this post, I am listening to my first choice out of the pile of vinyl I found - Dressed to Kill, by that l'il ol' band outta New York City, KISS. I owned this when I was a teenager in the 70's, but that's long gone. With my vinyl habit renewed, I felt I needed this great piece of KISS history again. Dressed to Kill had been on my LP shopping list for months, but the prices I'd seen were always outside my range. On this used copy, the outer sleeve is pretty worn, but the record itself is clean as a whistle and sounds like brand new... not a pop or crackle to be heard. How does that happen? I guess somebody lugged their records all over hell's half acre and never listened to their KISS albums. Fine by me, since it cost me less than ten bucks (eight, I think... there was much haggling going on today).

I sneaked some Canadian content into my shopping bag... first up was Mutiny Up My Sleeve by Max Webster. This is probably my favourite Max album, and it had been on my list for quite a while. My goal as a new record collector (I started early last fall) is not to own as much vinyl as possible, but to cover a wide range of genres with a sampling of artists, including some of my old favourites as well as lesser-knowns, plus the odd brand new release. So on my Wish List, this Max album was important to me because I once owned it back in the late seventies-early 80's when I first discovered the band. Can't wait to give this one a spin. 

The other Canuck record I grabbed was the first Loverboy album. I always liked Loverboy's goofy 80's rock anthem hits, but never enough to buy an album... on tape, CD or otherwise. But at just one dollar, I couldn't pass up the chance to finally have rockin' debut tunes like The Kid is Hot Tonite and Turn Me Loose in my collection. Pretty good condition, too, considering the rock bottom pricetag. BUT.... I got it home and just now dropped the needle on track one, which should be The Kid... but no, it's Working for the Weekend! What the what? I got the wrong record - Get Lucky - in the wrong sleeve. Ack. Oh, well, pretty much all Loverboy songs sound the same, right? And again, just one buck.

A little old lady had a modest set of records, mostly beat up and minus sleeves, for sale in a box by the curb. I'm glad I took the time to flip through them 'cos I found a nice copy of that RCA double-LP set of Elvis hits ("As advertised on TV"). One dollar. ONE dollar. The old dear could have asked for five and I would have taken it. Anyway, funny story: when I got this home and took a good look at the record cover, I realized something... I have the vintage rarity 8-track tape of this very album displayed in my living room. That tape was among my earliest music purchases when I was a kid in the 70's. Well, I can't listen to the 8-track anymore (no player, duh), but now I can enjoy its songs in all their vinyl glory. 

Then, in two different locations, I found the first two Monkees albums. The debut Monkees disc is in a really nice outer sleeve, but the record inside looks to be in questionable condition. I'll have to see how it plays. But hey, for only a toonie (two dollars to you non-Canadian readers), it's worth a try. More of the Monkees, the band's second release, is in nearly mint condition (I talked the guy down to seven bucks)... and again, this album has great importance to me... this was the very first vinyl LP I ever bought... off a friend in the schoolyard during recess back in the mid-ish 70's. So happy to own it again!

The final record in my pile is Long Tall Sally, a Canada-only release of early Beatles songs. Considering the age of the album, it's in remarkably good condition... and it should be, since I paid a bit more for that. Mind you, this LP was accompanied by a 45 rpm single of the later Beatles songs The Long and Winding Road/For You Blue... so not a bad deal for such vintage vinyl. Another story: this album, bearing all the same cover art but a different title (The Beatles Second Album), was my very second LP record purchase back in the 70's, when I was only what... twelve or thirteen years old. So cool to have this again on vinyl.

I don't think I spent any more than forty dollars (including the drink I got at a kid's lemonade stand) on my long and winding shopping spree. Over three hours of walking and standing, flipping through crates of records. My feet and legs are aching, so I'll just rest them while I sip a cold one and check out my new "old" music. 

Sit-Down Comics

In this age of comic book blockbuster movies inserting themselves into every facet of our lives, I must confess I have zero interest in the phenomenon. I even get annoyed when, at any given moment in a workday, I walk by two or more employees jabbering on about the minutia of the latest leotarded superfreak flick. 

Don't get me wrong... I used to love this stuff when I was a kid, and even as a young-ish adult, I enjoyed the late 80's-early 90's Batman movies. As a child, and I'm talking about 4 or 5 years old, I was up at the crack of dawn, staring at the TV test pattern with bowl of Cheerios in hand, awaiting the beginning of the broadcast day, and my fill of Hulk, Spider-Man, Underdog, and the other cartoon crusaders against crime.

A bit later on, I dedicated my valuable viewing time to live-action TV fare like the 60's Batman, then Shazam! and Wonder Woman in the 70's, and even that now-laughable attempt The Amazing Spider-Man. But I lapped it all up back then. 

I was never super-serious about comic books, but I had my weekly ritual of walking or bicycling downtown to the IDA Pharmacy and the United Cigar Store, the only spots in town that diligently stocked their comic racks with the latest issues. In my earlier collecting days, I leaned toward Batman in the Detective Comics, Spider-Man, Captain Marvel, and Superman. Maybe the odd Flash and Green Lantern. 

But my tastes were changing rapidly. After seeing Bruce Lee on TV for the first time, I was enamored with all things martial arts (not such a common thing then as today), and to my delight, discovered a new comic entitled Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu. So when I wasn't out on the front lawn, kicking and chopping the air or neighbourhood kids, I was engrossed in the exploits of Shang-Chi.

Around that same time, my fascination with horror movies found a new medium to play with... comics. It was 1972, and Tomb of Dracula captured my imagination. I was a huge fan of the Dracula character, having watched the old Universal monster movies, and built my own scale model of Bela Lugosi as the bloodthirsty count. It glowed in the dark and fed my nightmares - which I encouraged, for they were like cool little horror movies starring... me.

That thirst sated, I then moved on to the Werewolf By Night comic, which debuted later that same year. What a golden age of comics fun for me! Werewolves, too, were tops on my list of favourite scary beasts; again, I'd seen ol' Lon Chaney Jr. as The Wolf Man in the old classic film (and its monster mash-up spin-offs), and a gory scale model of Wolfy adorned my bedroom shelf. I've still got those old monster model kits (see 'em here)... a little dusty, but still intact. 

Back to the superheroes... more recently, I checked out early TV/Web episodes of Arrow and Jessica Jones, and waded through full seasons of Iron Fist and The Punisher. I could take or leave any of these. Nothing really stuck, though Punisher held my attention better than the rest. Ant-Man was funny but forgettable.

Only the Supergirl series held my interest for very long... probably just the goofy cuteness factor there, though, since even that was getting pretty silly with the heat vision battles shtick and all. I was more interested in the non-superhero side of the show. Whenever things got "super", I found it corny and my eyes nearly got stuck in an eye-roll.

At the movies, I barely gave any attention to Batman (Dark Knight), Spider-Man, the X-Men, or Iron Man. I saw the first movie or two of each franchise, then promptly lost interest. I'll admit to really enjoying Logan, the X-Men spin-off, and even Wonder Woman kept me watching (the beautiful female lead sure helped). Oh, and the first Captain America film was cool and refreshing with its period piece setting.

I will forever be nostalgic about Superman, since I watched and re-watched that 50's TV series in re-runs endlessly as a kid. And the Christopher Reeve movies bumped the cheese factor into the new age via believable special effects and a solid cast of actors. I re-watched the first Reeve Superman picture about a year or so ago, and it actually held up pretty well. Not sure how its sequels would fare, though.

The modern era of Superman movies has been a lot shakier. Maybe die-hard fans love them, but the latest bunch have been very uneven. Superman Returns of 2006 wasn't bad but it wasn't great either. A new actor, Henry Cavill, was introduced in 2013's Man of Steel, which was fairly good but not quite a hit with me. And Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (that title is too long, for one thing) was no fun at all... these so-called comic book movies have grown so dark, grim, and violent that the original intent of the characters has been twisted beyond recognition. 

Modern re-imaginings of Superman and Batman (and so many other heroes and anti-heroes) have taken them out of the realm of light entertainment (originally intended for kids) and into the world of much more mature (?) subject matter, more appropriate for teenagers and adults. What were once wholesome role models are today reduced to brutes not so different from the villains. In fact, even when superheroes are pitted against one another, they pulverize each other, bloody and beaten. Batman v Superman does that. So do Iron Man and Captain America in Civil War. Probably elsewhere, too, though I have not seen all of these movies. 

I keep giving Superman a chance, for whatever reason, hoping for a revival of a really great set of movies. Bring back the fun kind of entertainment. We don't need drawn-out, overly violent fight scenes in all of these movies. But I won't hold my breath... DC and Marvel and their like seem bound to amp up the death and destruction with every film they release. 

Songs From Hell

The other day at work, as we did our usual verbal wordplay games, I got stuck in a loop of "Hell" song titles. Hell's Bells, Hotter Than Hell, Heaven and Hell... and more. As I got rolling, I realized there were loads of them, but held off so I could compile a list on the blog. After all, without Hell, there would be no Heaven, right? Or so they say. Whoever they are. 

Some of the Hell songs are actually about Satan and his fiery domain, while others describe going through hard times, dealing with the roadblocks and problems of life. Some metal bands like to evoke a Satanic image via their lyrics and album artwork... but rarely is it the real thing... Satanism, that is. Mostly, it's just for show... to get attention and rile people up. It works. Look at Kiss.

Move along, folks, nothing Hellish going on here...

(photo credit: Brent Groh)

The average reader (and music listener) here will know many of the tunes on my list, as they are famous as Hell, though there are some lesser-known, equally cool tracks on there, too. Interesting, and apt, that nearly every one of these songs is by a heavy metal artist. You could count the non-metal bands here on one hand. Still, that doesn't take away from the power of legendary rock songs like Run Like Hell or Hell is For Children. Obviously, I don't know every single Hell song ever written, nor can I remember everything I've ever heard, but these are ones that I know off the top of my head, plus a few I got with a little jog of my memory after a glance at an online list. 

I hope you enjoy the Hell out of these... and don't forget to submit your own ideas in the Comments section!

Hell's Bells (AC/DC, of course)
Hotter Than Hell (duh... Kiss)
Heaven and Hell (good old Black Sabbath... er, make that great!)
Highway to Hell (AC/DC, in case you didn't know)
Bat Out of Hell (the big guy, Meatloaf)
Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be (an early AC/DC song)
To Hell With the Devil (just one of several Stryper songs... since they are a Christian band)
Burn in Hell (an early - and surprisingly heavy - Twisted Sister tune)
Run Like Hell (off Pink Floyd's album The Wall)
Hellraiser (by the one and only Ozzy Osbourne)
Go to Hell (Alice Cooper)
Hell or High Water (another AC/DC)
Hell Bent for Leather (the ultimate Judas Priest anthem)

Hell Awaits (a Slayer classic)
Hell is for Children (Pat Benatar)
Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers (an old bluesy ZZ Top gem)
Louder Than Hell (Motley Crue)
The Gates of Hell (a Black Sabbath song off their late 80's Headless Cross album)
Born to Raise Hell (Motorhead)
Welcome to Hell (Venom)
Guilty as Hell (a more obscure Sabbath song from the mid-90's)
Hot Rails to Hell (a Blue Oyster Cult classic)
Gonna Raise Hell (a screamer off the Cheap Trick album Dream Police)
Hell in a Bucket (Grateful Dead)
Long Way Back From Hell (a headbanger from Danzig)
Saints in Hell (definitive early Judas Priest)
What the Hell Have I (by doom and gloomers Alice in Chains)
Go to Hell (by thrash masters Megadeth)
Good Day in Hell (Eagles... in a lighter vein)
Into the Lungs of Hell (Megadeth again)

James Bond Movie Theme Songs - Part 3

This instalment of my little series on James Bond movie theme songs will focus on the films released between 1987 and 2002. To begin with... the first two motion pictures of this bunch are The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill, both starring Timothy Dalton as 007.

Timothy Dalton was an underrated Bond. I always thought that should he have continued in the role, he may have become one of the most popular of the Bond actors. But as it stands, he is only given a nod for a good showing but not much else. Personally, I'd rank him just after Connery, I think. Even Lazenby, who only made one appearance as the superspy, gives him a run for his money. Laz and Dalton give very different interpretations of the character, yet they are both compelling and exciting to watch as they take on villains and sweep damsels off their feet. 

Anyway, this is really about the music, so here we go...

The Living Daylights kicks off with its theme song of the same title, performed by Norwegian pop group A-ha. Longtime Bond composer John Barry collaborated with A-ha on the song, but they had their issues. Two versions of the song were the result: one was selected for the film, and the second, which A-ha preferred, ended up on one of their albums. I'm not crazy about the song, but it does evoke a touch of the Bond vibe. I just find it too busy with the traditional horn flourishes plus all the electronic embellishments. 

The remainder of the film score, by Barry, featured sequenced electronic rhythm tracks overdubbed with the orchestra, a pretty new advancement in the music field at the time. This stuff sounds great in the context of the movie... the familiar Bond horn motifs overlay the action-oriented fast-paced electronic rhythm section much more successfully here than in the compact format of the theme song. 

There's also a beautiful ballad in the body of the movie, If There Was a Man, performed by The Pretenders. This is so good I feel as though this could have been the theme song. Another in-film song by The Pretenders is Where Has Everybody Gone, a more sinister, uptempo track that fits like a glove.

Moving on to the next Bond picture Licence to Kill, we've got a really odd mish-mash of sounds. The theme song, performed by Gladys Knight, lifts a prominent horn line from Goldfinger, yet it works reasonably well. Not one of the better Bond songs, this is a bit too bright and light sonically and in mood, despite the "kill"-oriented lyrics. 

The musical score for Licence to Kill was developed by Michael Kamen (John Barry was unavailable), who was known in the industry for his contributions on big Hollywood action flicks. His work here is effective, creatively weaving Bond-esque hooks  into his lush, sometimes spare orchestral pieces. There's a pretty, almost haunting Spanish guitar part that rivals just about anything else in the canon of Bond music. Not one of the most talked about soundtracks, this does impress me as one of the better ones... aside from the theme song.

After Dalton's stint as Bond, Pierce Brosnan finally became available for the role. Pierce was scouted for the part years earlier, but he was busy at the time with a popular spy-ish TV show called Remington Steele. The Bond franchise and Brosnan eventually aligned their schedules to make things happen. Sadly, in my opinion, Bros fell into a bunch of inconsistent 007 flicks. 

First up for Brosnan is Goldeneye, which sports a cool modern theme song bearing the same title. It was written by Bono and Edge of the band U2, then given to Tina Turner for her brand of powerful sensual vocals. A great tune that feels very Bond, yet with a slinky dance vibe. The best of both worlds. 

John Barry turned down the offer to compose for Goldeneye, but Eric Serra, who stepped up to the podium, turned out a unique and... well, let's say "challenging" musical score. The music of Goldeneye has been criticized by many, and hey, even I had my issues with it for a long time, but it's Euro-experimental-industrial-techno feel has seriously grown on me. It suits the film's setting, much of it in modern-day Russia. Some of the music sounds clunky and weird, but over time I've learned to appreciate its oddity and inventiveness both within the film and on my soundtrack CD. 

There were submissions from many popular artists for the opening theme for Tomorrow Never Dies, the next James Bond outing. Sheryl Crow won the honour of performing the song. I'm not fussy about her vocal delivery, though... it sounds flat and almost off-key at times, kind of nasally and weak. The song itself might have been a hit with another singer, but as it stands, the theme is a bit of a dud. 

In fact, k.d. lang's superlative job on the movie's end credits track Surrender is far more in the Bond vein and should have been the main theme song. Boy, the decision-makers really dropped the ball on that one. 

Composer David Arnold serves up an excellent score for Tomorrow Never Dies, expertly blending his techno-edged style with traditional 007 sounds. He borrows (with permission from his boss) bits from previous Bond film music, and successfully creates a contemporary aural backdrop to the movie. 

Arnold returns to scoring duties on the 19th Bond film, The World is Not Enough. While Tomorrow Never Dies was a bit on the "dumb action movie" side, this new entry harked back to the oldies, at least in some respects. Arnold and longtime Bond employee Don Black co-wrote the theme song, and the band Garbage delivered the goods. The song is alternately classic Bond and modern Bond in temperament. Singer Shirley Manson's sometimes breathy, sometimes soaring vocals are perfect here, and her backing players keep the song alive alongside the orchestral touches. Among the best Bond themes. 

The remainder of the film music is standard David Arnold fare... thrilling chase and fight-scene electro music pumping and tense atmospherics, all dabbed liberally with familiar Bond horn riffs. Very good, though this stuff was becoming pretty common and formulaic in action movies at the time (late 90's). 

Okay, now brace yourselves. The fourth Brosnan Bond movie, Die Another Day, was met with a lot of boos, and I was certainly among the boo-ers. Among the film's failings was its irritating and inexplicably unfitting theme song sung by Madonna. If ol' Maddy has just stuck this forgettable tune on one of her albums, then most of us would have been spared the atrocity. But the powers-that-be chose this to open the movie. I mean, this is simply bad as far as songs go, let alone theme songs, or a Bond song. Jeez. 

The movie itself is a real dog, too, at least the second half or so of it. I must admit that the first chunk of Die Another Day is actually quite gripping and perhaps some of the most harrowing stuff we'd seen ('til that point in time) in Bond films. But bit by bit, the story goes off the rails, one ridiculous scene after another. A sad swansong for Brosnan in the 007 role. 

The rest of the movie music is cookie-cutter David Arnold... he lazily re-hashes and re-states what he'd done on his previous Bond pictures. There's nothing terribly interesting here, just typical action backdrop with very obviously dropped-in old-school Bond motifs. And sometimes it's just a noisy mess, trying too hard to be contemporary and relevant. Instead, it's simply lacking in imagination and contrast. Arnold's initially forward-thinking approach had become old-hat.

Well, that's it for the Dalton and Brosnan films. This ends an era of a certain tone of Bond film, too. The stories and musical scores move in a darker direction... but we'll get into that in Part 4, where I'll look at the Daniel Craig movies. Cheers... (shaken, not stirred)