All articles filed in albums I want to be buried with

Haven’t put a new album in the casket yet, but this one’s a great choice. Several years ago, an archivist found a collection of old radio station acetate recordings in a New York City storage locker. What was on the acetates? Recordings of music and commercials and songs and news reports, all from 1940’s-era Jewish…

Okay, hands up. How many of you sang in your grade school choir or glee club? Yeah, I see your hands. I’ve done it as well. And you have to agree with me, the song selection for all these choir recitals was whack. SERIOUSLY whack. I still have nightmares of singing “The Wells Fargo Wagon…

I’ve owned Queen’s LP A Night at the Opera in several different musical formats.  I had the original LP.  I had a remastered CD.  I had the Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab audiophile pressing.  I’ve owned the 45’s.  I probably purchased the 8-track tape back in the day, I don’t remember. I’ve previously told the story…

Maybe it was a month or so ago; I was on my way home on the New York State Thruway, and I chose to stop at a truck stop near Fonda.  The plan was simple – fill Cardachrome up with unleaded, get a couple of diet colas and some snacks at the convenience store, and…

For those of you who never experienced the wonderful jangle-pop and power-pop of Big Star, you missed out on something great. For it was Alex Chilton, the former lead singer of the Box Tops, along with songwriter Chris Bell, who created one of the 1970’s most overlooked and under-appreciated groups of the rock era. Think…

Okay, this is one of those instances where I have to specifically delineate which version of an LP I want in the casket.  Because what we would consider the American version of this LP – which would have  been simply titled Heaven 17 – has some rearranged tracks and misses one important audio trick. Anyways……

This is a no-brainer.  It’s one of the greatest all-around rock albums of the 1970’s.  It sold nearly 17 million copies in nearly 35 years.  It spawned three rock anthems – “More Than A Feeling,” “Peace of Mind” and “Long Time,” as well as other radio hits like “Smokin’” and “Hitch a Ride” and “Rock…

Haven’t added to the afterlife playlist in a while, but here’s a great one for me to enjoy in the future. I first heard Stompin’ Tom Connors’ music about ten years ago, when I was participating in a book signing at a record store in London, Ontario.  After the signing, I struck up a conversation…

Lillian Tillman-DeWitt was my high school principal, and she was one of the guiding angels who helped me get from the level of troubled youth to determined survivor.  We kept in touch when I was in college, when I came back from college, and off and on through the years. When I told her in…