Summertime Movies

I know we're still about a month away from the official first day of summer, but around here, there are signs of that warm, glorious season. It's certainly my favourite time of the year. 

When I think about movies that suit the season perfectly, I am at first sort of stumped. And I don't mean movies (whether blockbusters or not) that were simply released in summer. I mean films that capture the essence of summer, maybe in a nostalgic sense, or perhaps just portraying the lifestyle of those who live in perpetually summery weather.

Do The Right Thing... summertime in Brooklyn

My first thought was of the Cheech and Chong movies, which almost always take place in sunny California, sometimes with scenes in Mexico and other warm climes. The beaches, idyllic Sunset Boulevard, the lazy hazy vibe over Los Angeles. The first three C&C flicks definitely fit the bill. I grew up listening to and watching these pioneering stoner comedians, and though I could never have been considered an advocate for weed, I felt those movies were hilarious in script and acting alone... I mean, take out the weed, and they still would have been pretty funny. 

Stand By Me tells the story of boys experiencing adventure and coming-of-age during a summer break in the 1950's. Their trek to see the body of a missing boy in Oregon sets them up for mishaps and near-misses, all memorable, some funny, and occasionally thrilling. The film's soundtrack reflects the era with classic tunes by the likes of Buddy Holly and Ben E. King.

Do The Right Thing is set in Brooklyn, New York during a steaming hot summer in the 80's. The story focuses on escalating racial tensions in the neighbourhood, made even more intense by the madness created by the heatwave. One moment of relief was the fire hydrant scene, when the kids on the street finally got to cool off.

Movies about America's national past-time, baseball, capture what summer is all about. There's The Natural, The Bad News Bears, Field of Dreams, Major League, and Bull Durham, just a few of the biggest flicks about the sport. Even for the fan at the stadium, with hot dog, a beer (or soda), and ice cream in hand, a sunny afternoon or evening open-air ball game is pure summer. And the guys on the field sure wouldn't be doing their thing if it was snowing. Not normally, anyway. 

Jaws... well, it doesn't promote good feelings about the beach, but it's set at a summer resort town in New England. Lots of swimming and boating and bonfires - ill-fated, perhaps, but you get the idea. Who doesn't get all warm and fuzzy just thinking about shark attacks?

Caddyshack, another sort of sports movie, follows the mischief that takes place at a country club golf course. One of the best comedies of the 80's, this featured big stars and future stars... including Rodney Dangerfield, Chevy Chase, Ted Knight, and Bill Murray. Oh, and don't forget the pool scene. Yum.

Beating the heat with Cheech and Chong's Nice Dreams

Shot in various spots around the Bay Area, California, American Graffiti is a coming-of-age comedy about a bunch of teenagers on their last day and night of summer in '62. The soundtrack music is crucial to this period piece, and it's packed with classic rock'n'roll, pop, and soul of the era.

Another kids adventure that struck a chord back in the 80's was The Goonies. Set in an Oregon small town, we follow the fun and perils of youngsters hiding from their parents and searching for hidden treasure right there in their hometown. The fun is heightened by hit tunes by The Bangles, Cyndi Lauper, and REO Speedwagon. 

I recall being disappointed by Summer Rental back in '85. Even good ol' John Candy couldn't save this clumsy attempt at cinematic comedy. It's about Candy's character, who takes his family to Florida for a beach vacation... which goes very wrong. It's all goofy summer fare, probably just fine for the drive-in crowd, but it did nothing for me. Still...

This time it's the last day of school - in 1976, and things are gonna get crazy as Dazed and Confused documents the final hours at Lee High School and that night of celebration and adventure. Again, the music really makes this flick (with seminal songs by artists like Alice Cooper, ZZ Top, The Runaways, and Kiss), though the cast makes a solid contribution.

The Endless Summer is a 1966 surf movie that follows two wave-riders around the world on their quest for new beach spots. The natural, funny, easy-going style sets it apart from earlier documentaries, making it an influential film on more than just one level.

Sometimes movies stick in my brain more for their atmosphere than their story. One of those is To Live and Die in L.A, a crime thriller about two Secret Service agents hunting down a counterfeiter. The bleak, dark mood of the film is established through the cinematography, the semi-tropical setting, and the unsavoury characters. I recall watching this on videotape while sitting in my heat-soaked apartment back in the late 80's. The movie seemed the perfect companion on that sticky day.

Another film that sunk into memory for its sweaty scenery is the Mel Gibson and Michelle Pfeiffer crime thriller, Tequila Sunrise. I seem to remember an intense scene on a Cali beach at the end of the movie.

These are just a handful of summertime movies, and there are many, many more out there. How about National Lampoon's Vacation, The Great Outdoors, Summer School, Meatballs, and Point Break, just to name a few more? Get ready to break out the flip-flops and tanks tops...

Favourite Albums in My Record Collection

As I close in on two years of record collecting, I see that my shelves boast a fairly wide range of genres and artists. Rock, pop, metal, a bit of jazz, classical, folk, and country, and some film soundtracks. I've worked hard at assembling a set of albums that represent my favourite types of music as well as some new ones that I feel are worth exploring. There is certainly some overlap with the recordings on my good old CD shelves. Even early on in this new (renewed) hobby of mine, I felt it was important to have my very favourite albums on vinyl, even if I already owned them on compact disc. So I made sure I picked up LPs like Heaven and Hell by Black Sabbath, Crime of the Century by Supertramp, and Rumours by Fleetwood Mac... just to name a few.

Strange album cover, but timeless amazing music

I also made a point of adding albums I have never owned before by artists I've always liked... like The Cars' first album, Agents of Fortune by Blue Oyster Cult, and Cosmo's Factory by CCR. I have CD compilations - "Best Of" collections - by some of these artists, and I'd often aim to get a notable studio album by each of them on the vinyl format. Occasionally, I'd opt to just get a "Best Of" on vinyl, like my ChangesOneBowie by David Bowie, which for me, seemed a good place to start. But more often than not, I'd try to choose a studio album over a compilation. Like Devo's Freedom of Choice... sure, a comp would be a better career retrospective, but this particular album was a milestone and did contain a lot of great tracks from that genre, era, and the band.

Now... the point of this post: my favourite albums in my record collection. I can easily point to the records that are most special to me, regardless of how often I play them. Then there are the ones that I do play - and enjoy - more than all the others. I'll consider all of these in my little list:

Heaven and Hell, by Black Sabbath
Crime of the Century, Supertramp
Rumours, Fleetwood Mac
Greatest Hits Volume II, Elton John
Music Express - K-Tel compilation (1975), various artists
the first four Max Webster studio albums

These ones, above, were among the very first albums I ever bought as a kid. They were on vinyl back then, too, but along the way over the years, I replaced those original LPs with cassette tapes and later on with CDs. Well, all but that K-Tel comp, which never made it to the digital format. I have fond memories of playing those classic rock albums on my cheap little stereo in my basement bedroom. Those painful tween and teen years were made bearable and perhaps even special by those private listening sessions. It's funny how music captures a moment in time. I can still clearly picture my teen self listening to the Rumours and High Class in Borrowed Shoes albums while the old man's lawnmower hummed faintly in the backyard. Whenever he exited, the stereo went on.

So I don't listen to this bunch of albums a whole lot nowadays, but I do pop them on when the mood strikes me. I've listened to them hundreds of times already, so they aren't high in the rotation. I was fortunate to find these oldies either as original or early pressings, so there's been no tampering with the recorded music I know and love through the remastering/re-issuing process or anything.

Black Noise, FM
Black Sabbath (debut), Black Sabbath
Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?, Megadeth
The Wake, Voivod
Fragile, Yes
Time Out, The Dave Brubeck Quartet
Metal Heart, Accept
Restless & Wild, Accept

This next little group is a mixed bunch. The FM album entered my life just a little later in my teen years, and it was an eye-opener for a prog-rock neophyte. Here was an even more highly experimental approach to prog... with a jazzy fusion style... and NO GUITARS at all! Instead, FM's Nash the Slash played electric violin, mandolin, and other assorted devices to provide both melody and atmosphere to the proceedings. Fascinating and entrancing, and far better sound on vinyl than on the tape and CDs I've had for years.

I think it was around this same time that I started getting into the music of Yes, one of the pioneers of UK progressive rock. Fragile was their biggest album, and it was my favourite for many years. It may not be quite as favoured today, as I've taken a real shine to Going For the One for the last few decades, but I consider it important enough to make this list. And it sounds like magic on vinyl.

A snapshot of some of my vinyl records logged in my Discogs database

Time Out by Mr. Brubeck and his band was the first full jazz album I ever listened to. This would have been back in the late 80's or early 90's. I dubbed my girlfriend's dad's LP to audio tape for my own listening pleasure. Though I really liked Time Out, it did not spur me to further explore the jazz genre. Not a for a long time. It wasn't until the mid-to-late 90's that I began to try out other jazz artists. And that took me on a journey through jazz festivals and classic recordings on CD. Time Out has remained my favourite of all, and to have it in vinyl format makes me happy.

The Accept records were the first two studio albums I've ever owned by the band. I have had a compilation CD hanging around for a few years, but though I've always known and liked a handful of their songs, I had never bought anything by them until that comp. Anyway, it was time I properly checked out an Accept album. Metal Heart was my first acquisition, and since I was already a fan of some of those cuts, it was a hit. Great 80's guitar-shredding metal. Restless & Wild equalled, if not surpassed, Metal Heart. These frequently find their way onto my turntable, definitely among my most-listened-to LPs.

The really odd one out here is The Wake, by Quebec progressive thrash metal band Voivod. Only one Voivod song made an impression on me back in the 80's, and that was their cover of Pink Floyd's Astronomy Domine. I loved both the song and its music video (which I recorded onto VHS tape from Canada's MuchMusic TV channel for future mindbending viewings). In more recent years, I discovered that I was ready for this band's often noisy and chaotic brand of metal. More receptive to their off-kilter guitar chords and tempos, I dug into their early catalogue and found some true gems. And when the 'Vod gang dropped this new release last year, I was on it pronto... pre-ordered on vinyl... and was more than pleasantly surprised at how their current music was so strong, powerful, and still relevant. The very generous packaging sure helped, too, with colourful cover art, more inside the gatefold, the lyric sheet with photos, the poster (cover art reproduction), and the record etched with the Voivod logo! By far the best album in my vinyl collection as far as overall presentation.

And I guess it goes without saying that hearing these albums on vinyl is special in itself. The format provides a different and unique listening experience. The sound, at least to my ears, is richer, fuller, and warmer than CD or digital. I've listened to albums like Rumours and Crime of the Century on CD countless times over the years, and when I put on my recently purchased vinyl records, I notice a definite difference. I find that I am listening to records far more than CDs now, preferring that open sensation, as though you can feel the air of the room, hall, or recording studio. As though you are IN the room with the musicians.

Keep on spinning...

Record Show & Flea Market Haul - Plus a Grail!

The past couple of weeks were record shopping heaven for me. I was saving myself for the local bi-annual record show last weekend, but didn't quite hold out. It was a spur of the moment decision to high-tail it down to the monthly flea market the week prior. And am I ever glad that I did.

Was it luck or my destiny to finally land a "Grail" (that means a long sought after, highly desirable, holiest of holy records) -  Time Out by The Dave Brubeck Quartet ? I was surprised to see this wasn't on the Columbia or CBS labels, which were long associated with the album. This version is on the PanAm Records label, apparently a 2015 European limited edition remastered re-issue - and on 180g vinyl. I wonder how this compares with the Columbia or other labels' versions. It has a very cool album front cover design - quite unlike other labels' versions - sporting an impromptu studio photo of the band circa 1959, and on the back of the jacket are lots of very cool album notes and pics. Though there is a bit of crackly surface noise on the recording, the music is crisp and vibrant. I might be able to reduce that unwanted grit, but regardless, this is a dream find. Cool jazz at its best, by the master and his all-star cast of beatniks. This was the only jazz album on my shopping list, so I am super happy to have finally found it.

Next up is an album by an obscure little UK band from the 60's called The Beatles, and the record is Magical Mystery Tour... also in really nice condition - like mint or near-mint, including a pristine outer jacket. It's great to finally own a proper copy of MMT, as my whole life through I've only ever had tape dubs and CD rips of this. I think I always held off on buying it because I was never sure how I felt about the music. As a young lad and teenager, I leaned more toward Sgt. Pepper and everything that came before that. Mystery Tour was a murky and weird musical excursion that I guess I just wasn't ready for. But today I am certain that it's a masterpiece in its own right. Fool on the Hill is among my favourite tracks. This, too, was high on my Wish List, so I'm jazzed that I found it... and for just ten bucks.

Then at last Sunday's record show, I came away with a small stack of goodies. First and foremost, I nailed another biggie: the Killing Technology album by good ol' Voivod. This progressive thrash gem from 1987 has long been on my radar, but used vinyl copies are astronomically priced (in the hundreds of dollars), so I had resigned myself to the still-very-nice special edition CD a while back. And at last year's record show, this baby was up for about sixty bucks - too much for my wallet. But patience paid off, and I stumbled upon the LP again, this time for just thirty-five... brand new and sealed, too. I've yet to spin this, but it will be a special occasion when I do. Maybe later today, with a cold one in hand and the ear-goggles set to stun. A major find.

I was happy to grab Def Leppard's High and Dry album, too. For whatever reason, I walked away from this one at the last show, and have been kicking myself ever since that stupid decision. It's not a common record. Anyway, I haggled the seller down to something I could live with (the outer jacket had a tear - which I can repair - but still), and I came away with a perfectly clean-sounding recording of what I think is Lep's best album. Their follow-up Pyromania feels overly produced and slick (still good, of course), whereas High and Dry sounds tougher and heavier, yet still riddled with catchy riffs and trademark vocals. 

I dared to comb the random cheap bins and actually located a handful of great oldies, all in pretty nice shape: Crisis... What Crisis? by Supertramp, Worlds Apart by Saga, In Color by Cheap Trick, and Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town by Emmylou Harris. The first three I've long owned on every musical format, but now that I'm back to vinyl, why not spin the real deal and feel those warm original tones as they were intended? 

The Supertramp sounds amazing, especially when you consider it was in the $5 bin. I had such a nostalgic flashback as I listened to opening tracks Easy Does It and Sister Moonshine (my fave 'Tramp song ever)... I was transported back to my bedroom in my parents' basement as a young teen, headphones on, basking in the waves of horns and guitars and percussive toys emanating from this very same album. Oh joy, oh bliss. 

I haven't spun all of these records just yet, but the Cheap Trick was another wonderful revisiting of their classic power-pop album on vinyl . Rick Nielsen's bizarre yet entrancing guitar tone is even richer on record; the CD, even remastered, loses something in digital translation. The Emmylou Harris LP is one that I already owned, but this was an upgrade... my first copy has an extremely worn cover jacket and there's a bit of noise on the disc. This new one is super clean from jacket to original inner sleeve (lyrics!) and vinyl record. It sounds great - definitely my favourite country album. Or country-rock, if you are a purist. Harris' angelic vocals interpret a variety of songs by other artists and songwriters, her back-up band tight and talented.

A little while back, I finally grabbed the first and third Danzig albums on CD. Here was another case of the vinyl (even used) costing WAY too much, so I settled on the little shiny disc version. Still, extremely rocking tunes by a powerhouse singer and band. Riffs to die for. I will probably continue to check the "D" section in record stores in case a reasonably priced Danzig album shows up. I'm especially keen on the third record, How The Gods Kill. 

Whew... gotta take a breather from spending for a while now. I've got plenty of listening to do, so that'll distract me from collecting more stuff. Or so I tell myself.