I go digging. I don’t spend hours and hours in the stacks because I’m not producing music, but I AM an enormous fan. As such, I keep my weather eye open and my Spidey Sense on full. I’m drawn to places through intuition, happenstance, and sheer coincidence. This also happens to describe my mother’s sense of religion. Shit! I guess crate digging is my religion. This is about records I’ve found recently that I needed for my personal stacks.
The Runaways - The Runaways, 1st pressing, 1976
Five girls with big, giant lady balls who have more in common with Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith than Linda Ronstadt and Joni Mitchell made absolutely no attempt to deny their sexuality which scared boys and girls alike. The Runaways were just out here making everyone uncomfortable. Even radio DJs were shook.
Yusef Lateef - Eastern Sounds, 1st pressing, 1961
Yusef was a damn genius and that’s both the long and short of it. As a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and band leader, the man was never short of vision. He relocated his camp from NYC to Detroit and continued his fascination with Eastern modes and intervals. Packed with tonal and polytonal improvisation, Yusef is possibly in the finest form of his wildly distinguished career. Never before or since has an oboe solo captivated me. Such is the power of Yusef.
The Jesus and Mary Chain - Surfin’ USA, 7-inch, 1st pressing, U.S. edition
The Jesus and Mary Chain covering the Beach Boys live. Hahahahahaha! Absolutely bonkers. Sign me up.
An eclectic mix that warms my heart.