Bradley's Buzz

Today's Music Rotation

I realized a while ago I can listen to about 7 CDs while working my fingers to the bone. So every few days I try to rotate out my CDs, but sometimes, as I get so busy I don’t completely listen as well as I should and some CDs stay a little longer. So we’ll see how long these last but for this week, our seven CDs have me off to a roaring start with my musical menu full of bite –

First up we have Wheatus – Too Soon Monsoon, a weekend purchase from Amoeba. This is the band’s third album and I can’t get enough of them. I first heard Wheatus when I only had a radio in my little car and KROQ would play “Teenage Dirtbag” – a classic song in any context. With vocal inflection similar to Nick Gilder and the coolest blend of pop alternative rock, I love this band! bought that album and I had forgotten they were around until recently. I’m still waiting to buy Suck Fony; a send up CD to their former label that includes a cover of Benatar’s “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” but for pure fun listening pleasure I think Too Soon Monsoon is going to get me through okay.

Suede’s first album is also on rotation this week. At one time I had all of Suede’s music but as money problems hit in the good ol CdA, Idaho my CD collection went bye bye to Hastings used CD department, so finally I found a copy of this classic CD including one of my all time fav Suede songs “So Young.”

The first Gorillaz album found its way into my CD player this morning as well. Having just watched the Brit Awards yesterday, I was in the mood for some collective trance dance moments and who better to deliver than this band of cartoons?

Of course the Pat Benatar Remasters are here as well. You know I couldn’t wait to buy them. The minute I posted my blog on Saturday I was off and running to Tower. The disappointment of the horrible artwork – they didn’t do anything at all. The art is exactly as it was when the original CDs were issued in like 1985 and there’s no liner notes, no extra tracks but let me tell you the sound is amazing! All my favorite album tracks from In The Heat Of The Night, Crimes Of Passion and Precious Time are here, bringing back so many memories.

Two years ago I made myself a bubbatunes version of In The Heat Of The Night for its 25th anniversary, so this weekend I redid that CD to include the new remastered sound of the original 10 tracks. Of course the Bradley 25th Anniversary version includes extra tracks – 7 in fact – Live versions of “Come On Let’s Go” (a song Pat never recorded), an early live version of “Just Like Me” , (which ended up two years later on Precious Time), both from an early 1980 concert for the In The Heat Of The Night tour, 1979 live version of “I Need A Lover”, Pat’s demo of Roy Orbison’s “Crying” and her very first single and B-side “Day Gig”/”Last Saturday” a cabaret single she did in Virginia in 1974.

Then onto the glory that is Crimes Of Passion and Precious Time. Oh how these albums bring back memories and now with its full sound, you can hear the genius that was the rock goddess Benatar. Perhaps I’ll do full reviews of them a little later.

Also rotating in the old Sony is Linda Ronstadt’s 1980 “new wave” album Mad Love – I love this album with its Cretones written and played new wave songs. The title song is a kick as are the singles “How Do I Make You” and “Hurt So Bad” plus it has her version of Elvis Costello’s “Girls Talk” which partly inspired the Swivek remake a few years ago.

posted by swivek @ 1:09 PM