Frank Gutch Jr: All Things Must Pass— Thoughts On the Record Business; No Small Children and the Radio; plus Notes To Plant In Your Head (Yes, It is Spring, Sports Fans)…

I just finished watching the documentary titled All Things Must Pass about Tower Records and their rise and fall and am going to try to tell you a bit about the record business in which I worked.  First, though, a few people to whom I have talked about the film have made comments about Russ Solomon, the man behind the chain, which were none too complimentary.  When I heard them, I didn’t say much because I had yet to see it and thought maybe the comments were more toward the film than Russ himself.  So let me now respond to those few, none named because the conversations were private and thus not fodder for public consumption.

Frank Gutch Jr: It Is Catch-UP Time Again, But First, Let’s Talk Petunia (In a Viperly Sort of Way)… Plus Note(s)

I don’t know if it’s music or it is just the way things are and I just miss it all the time, but there is a tsunami of music headed our way and I can’t keep up.  As many videos and songs and albums as I can find, there are mountains awaiting to be discovered on what seems a daily basis.  I don’t know what to do.  I’m drowning and I’m on the freaking shore.  So set yourself.  We are going on a little ride which might be a long one because I am going to pack as much as I can into one column if for no other reason than to ease my conscience.  That’s right.  It bothers me when so many musicians cannot even scratch the surface— the good ones anyway.

Frank Gutch Jr: My Head Is Leaking! My Head Is Leaking!

I have plugged every hole I could find, but my head is still leaking!  I’m not really sure what to do short of listening to Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber simultaneously, or maybe at the same time.  I noticed it the other night when I was doing some research.  Every time I poured info in, it leaked out.  Radio charts, rock ‘n’ roll history, new artists, digital distribution buffoonery— no matter what, it wouldn’t take!  So I guess you’ll have to take potluck this week.  Maybe I can catch a few mental morsels to print here before the skull empties.  Speaking of empties, I’m a bit short this week.  Anybody got any pop bottles or beer cans I can recycle?

Frank Gutch Jr: Perspectives… Music— Does the Past Control Our Future? Music Snobbery. Lyricists, Take Note. Nightmare @ 20,000 Watts. And Information You Can Eat For Breakfast (Meaning, Notes…..).

Here I go on one of my cerebral journeys, most of which run into a brick wall and consign themselves to the ash heap.  I, like most of the world, have a very short attention span, it seems, and while I have bursts of genius (I swear!) little of it makes it to the outside world.  This time, the message(s) is(are) spurred by a link posted by friend Greg Phipps, with whom I worked at Peaches Records in Seattle in the 80s (Phipps, btw, records under the name Palestinian Israel-Jones, should you desire to visit his planet), who has been on a roll finding and posting or reposting questions and videos worth my, if not your, attention.  For instance, a couple of weeks ago, he asked about the negativity toward celebrities “selling out,” whoring their wares for profit.