Tank - This Means War - 1983

Love, try the new shower, I got some towels, it's really nice. Try it just for something to do if no other reason. I tried it four or five times last night, with basement walk-arounds and towel-offs in between. I can totally sit in my Aeron chair clean and naked, I love it. Awesome to walk around on the concrete in bare feet. It's so powerful. Removing the flow-limiter makes a big difference. It's not very green, but it's awesome. On the other hand, you can take a shorter more-effective shower too. It's fun to stay at the Y, M , C, A!

Returned the large square upstairs-matching sink and got the small cheap round sink tonight and it's now installed, it's done. It's rock-solid. And it's pretty nice. Sure there's some sanding and painting fine tuning and customization work to be done overall, but it's done. Shower, sink, toilet. Sweet. Full report to follow.

The classic Big Black single. He’s a Whore (by Cheap Trick) on Side A and The Model (by Kraftwerk) on Side B. This is the artwork from the simple, 45 sized, paper sleeve. The cover concept of copying the original albums is simple, low-budget and ingenious. I have always loved discovering who influenced the bands that I like, and tried to interpret what it was about that influence that turned them on, by hearing how they play the song, which parts they emphasize, and which parts they change. Even more so when the covered band’s genre’s are significantly different from the one covering them.

The Joe man is back.
When Joe comes back Joe's head will crack.
When Joe's head cracks, when that big head cracks,
It's "Welcome back, Joe. Welcome back, Joe".
You don't have to be alone Joe, you don't have to be alone Joe.
Hang with me Joe, hang with me Joe, hang with me Joe.
You don't have to be alone Joe, you don't have to be alone Joe.

Cue drum machine…

Happy 10th my love.

Iron Maiden Killers

1981

The previous is the insert that came with Too Fast For Love, lyrics on the back, so funny, Satan glam? Great album, and the following Shout too.

High 'n' Dry is one of my favorite NWOBHM albums of all time. To this day. Love Pete Willis. Cover is by Hipgnosis who did the classic UFO albums.

1981

Second vacation starts tomorrow and lasts all week. Part stay-cation and part nearby get-a-way. It's good not to go to work for a bunch of days either way.

Louis and Clark monument near Vermillion SD

South Dakota was hot, mostly humid and always buggy. Very buggy. Very wet. Some farm fields were literally under water. Hotel beds were good and traveling is good, but it's always great to get home

That bump on the bottom picture, is where we're standing on the top picture, and where L&C once stood to get a view some years before.

RUSH - Beyond the LIghted Stage

Watched this newest Sam Dunn doc the other night. I knew, or knew of, most of the stories. I knew every album's details and meaning in the band's history, and the songs themselves of course. Conceptually, it was well done, in that the focus was on - ok I'll just say it bluntly; not their new stuff. In retrospect, it seemed to spend the most time on the earliest stuff, and less time as we moved forward though the years, with pauses at 2112 and Moving Pictures eras. There were some things that I didn't know though, like their strong early friendship with KISS, or how UFO helped get them out of the "robes" period, how shy Neil is and how really strong the bond between Geddy and Alex was and is.

Favorite scenes include: Geddy now, with his long hair and distinct tinted glasses, small-cafe waitress ignoring and even repeatedly bumping Alex to get Geddy's autograph, to A's comic chagrin, Geddy says "You should get his autograph too, he's the leader of the band", she glances at Alex, then turns back and says who to make them out to, then walks away while Alex looks into the camera in mock sadness and bites his sandwich. Super funny.

It made me feel sad that I had never been in a band that played a few songs that they wrote, on a stage in front of a few people. It really did.

The next morning at work as I typed-away I listened to Hemispheres, then Hold Your Fire, then Power Windows. Hemispheres is still unbelievable. Power Windows blows doors on HYF which was the last Rush album I've ever heard all of actually. The first through Grace are essential. Some would say Signals. Some would say Pictures. But they would be wrong.

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