If I didn’t know any better, I would say I am the victim of a Gypsy Curse.
Lately it seems that just walking down the hall has become an obstacle-laden course of Rube Goldberg slapstick and Orwellian conspiracy. Getting from Point A to Point B without slipping on a banana peel, having a piano fall on me, or tripping over my own two feet and landing in an Acme Wood Chipper has become totally impossible.
…and I’m not even chasing a road-runner.
Another week, another childhood music idol walks among the immortal choir. No sooner had we hosed off the glitter and put away our vinyl copies of David Bowie’s “Ziggy Stardust” we learned that Eagles founder Glenn Frey had passed from complications related to his dependence on medication to control severe rheumatoid arthritis and acute colitis.
Rolling Stone Magazine recently released their latest ‘list’, “The 100 Greatest Songwriters” rollingstone.com). Let me repeat that title, “The 100 Greatest Songwriters”. Their descriptive line states “From Brill Building tunesmiths to Punk poets, from Woody Guthrie to Max Martin, the visionaries who defined music history.”
Short and sweet, that’s what this is. With Doug Thompson, Gary Pig Gold, and Darrell Vickers wrapped up for the month of June, it has fallen to me to provide read-y things for the last Monday of the month. I endeavour to do so with The Monday Filler. …and what, exactly, is The Monday Filler? Well, it is this….
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Looks like summer is packing up her bags and leaving us for another year. Can’t say I’ll miss her; she had quite an attitude. In fact, if this summer was a woman, I’d call her Kim Kardashian; entitled, bestowing her gifts grudgingly, smiling only for the camera, and crying at inopportune moments. (kimcrying)
Canadians yearn for hot, sunny days though 
the cold snows of winter – it’s what keeps us from succumbing to cabin fever and despair. I’m already dreading the weight of winter coats and boots, and praying I don’t add to the total of just how many times one person can break an ankle.
Jaimie’s great column this week (125 Influential Albums) got me to thinking about the music that impacted on my life over the years. There are far too many to name-check, so I came up with the following, which is an updated column from 3 years ago when I was writing for the dearly departed FYIMusic. These albums not only engaged me when they were released, but continue to entertain and educate me now, decades later.
I’m not sure if these LPs are even available on CD or for download, but if they are, seek them out and have a listen. They are, without exception, the jumping off points for entire long lasting careers and even genre changing sub-streams of musical exploration. The long awaited conclusion of Segarini: Stockton, Daring-Do, and Cruisin’ the Miracle Mile runs tomorrow…finally.
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Bullseye Records of Canada
Segarini: Don't Believe a Word I Say 