After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music - Aldous Huxley
Why the blog? Let's start at the beginning...
My earliest memories of beloved childhood gifts include one item in particular: my Kenner Close 'N Play turntable. The plastic red platter spinner (45's only kids!) ran on batteries and featured a super destructive needle made of steel (No wonder my copy of "Monster Mash" turned from black lacquer to old lady gray after a dozen plays!). I had no idea the beast was literally eating my records alive... I just loved playing my platters.
Watch the Close 'N Play pitch from Kenner here!
Whether within the protective walls of my bedroom or out on the front cement steps just beyond our front door, I'd have a handful of 7" records stacked on one side of me and the plastic turntable chugging on the other side. I have no doubt the tiny white volume control was cranked as far as it would go as I listened to records from a variety of sources: parent's hand-me-downs, drugstore bins, garage sales. I loved the labels, I loved the feel of the vinyl, I loved the music.
And on occasion, as I played DJ outside, the sun would beat down on a carelessly placed record, warping it almost beyond recognition. But instead of considering the record "ruined", I would repeatedly play the lopsided disc, enjoying the off-kilter sounds it made. Perhaps this was my initial voyage into pop-psych... the recognition that warped records can be fun! One reason The Maps brilliant single "You Don't Know Her Name" is an all time fave, is because of the sound of the warped keyboards... it jettisons me back to my Close 'N Play days.
I have been a voracious consumer of records since I earned my first allowance buck. When my mom would hit the mall looking for some new frock, I would spend the entire stay going from store to store looking through the record bins... Woolworths, J.C.Penny's, J.R.'s Music Shop. By the time I was in High School, I discovered a whole bunch of mail order record outlets (Wax Age Records, Record Rama) and then spent my afternoons anxiously waiting for the postal worker to make a highly anticipated delivery. In college, I went crazy, spending money that was to go for groceries on records instead. MTV became a 24 hour advertising mechanism for the record companies and I was a voracious consumer. It was in the early college years, when I discovered the Pebbles compilation series. Shortly after that, Rhino began an amazing archival program featuring scads of lost pop and pop psych gems from the 60's. Lets just say during those years, I was eating food that came in brutally generic packaging that screamed "You're poor!"
It never really stopped. Today I spend way too much time on line looking for rare records to purchase or new releases from great outfits like Sundazed, Cherry Red (Now Sounds, Grapefruit, RPM), Ace and others. There are some great educational podcasts like Andrew Sandoval's "Come To The Sunshine" out there too. And of course there are the blogs, like the wonderful "Nothing's Going To Happen", which inspired me to start my own (see their link on my home page). No doubt in the future you will see things posted here that already appeared on that site. I've discovered some great music at NGTH and ended up purchasing many a disc based on what I heard over there.
Which brings me to my purpose. I'm not blogging for any reason other than my love of music, in particular psychedelic pop. I am sharing the files in hopes that people discover something new, and in turn, go out to purchase what they experienced at The Frodis Room. This blog is strictly for learning, not for financial compensation. It's to promote the phenomenal music that came out of a cool time, cool circumstances and cool minds. More later!
My earliest memories of beloved childhood gifts include one item in particular: my Kenner Close 'N Play turntable. The plastic red platter spinner (45's only kids!) ran on batteries and featured a super destructive needle made of steel (No wonder my copy of "Monster Mash" turned from black lacquer to old lady gray after a dozen plays!). I had no idea the beast was literally eating my records alive... I just loved playing my platters.
Watch the Close 'N Play pitch from Kenner here!
Whether within the protective walls of my bedroom or out on the front cement steps just beyond our front door, I'd have a handful of 7" records stacked on one side of me and the plastic turntable chugging on the other side. I have no doubt the tiny white volume control was cranked as far as it would go as I listened to records from a variety of sources: parent's hand-me-downs, drugstore bins, garage sales. I loved the labels, I loved the feel of the vinyl, I loved the music.
And on occasion, as I played DJ outside, the sun would beat down on a carelessly placed record, warping it almost beyond recognition. But instead of considering the record "ruined", I would repeatedly play the lopsided disc, enjoying the off-kilter sounds it made. Perhaps this was my initial voyage into pop-psych... the recognition that warped records can be fun! One reason The Maps brilliant single "You Don't Know Her Name" is an all time fave, is because of the sound of the warped keyboards... it jettisons me back to my Close 'N Play days.
I have been a voracious consumer of records since I earned my first allowance buck. When my mom would hit the mall looking for some new frock, I would spend the entire stay going from store to store looking through the record bins... Woolworths, J.C.Penny's, J.R.'s Music Shop. By the time I was in High School, I discovered a whole bunch of mail order record outlets (Wax Age Records, Record Rama) and then spent my afternoons anxiously waiting for the postal worker to make a highly anticipated delivery. In college, I went crazy, spending money that was to go for groceries on records instead. MTV became a 24 hour advertising mechanism for the record companies and I was a voracious consumer. It was in the early college years, when I discovered the Pebbles compilation series. Shortly after that, Rhino began an amazing archival program featuring scads of lost pop and pop psych gems from the 60's. Lets just say during those years, I was eating food that came in brutally generic packaging that screamed "You're poor!"
It never really stopped. Today I spend way too much time on line looking for rare records to purchase or new releases from great outfits like Sundazed, Cherry Red (Now Sounds, Grapefruit, RPM), Ace and others. There are some great educational podcasts like Andrew Sandoval's "Come To The Sunshine" out there too. And of course there are the blogs, like the wonderful "Nothing's Going To Happen", which inspired me to start my own (see their link on my home page). No doubt in the future you will see things posted here that already appeared on that site. I've discovered some great music at NGTH and ended up purchasing many a disc based on what I heard over there.
Which brings me to my purpose. I'm not blogging for any reason other than my love of music, in particular psychedelic pop. I am sharing the files in hopes that people discover something new, and in turn, go out to purchase what they experienced at The Frodis Room. This blog is strictly for learning, not for financial compensation. It's to promote the phenomenal music that came out of a cool time, cool circumstances and cool minds. More later!
Thanks for the heads up, re: NGTH, and glad to be of inspiration! Fine looking blog so far, looking forward to your future posts. Cheers!
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