Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Architecture and Morality

The November 8th of 1981 release Architecture and Morality by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD, for short) was their third album release and one of their most successful commercially and critically. The Platinum seller went to number 144 on the US Billboard charts, number 22 in New Zealand, number 8 in Germany, number 3 in the UK and number 1 in the Netherlands. It also appears on the "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" list.

The Rolling Stones - Some Girls

Welcome to Seventies Saturday.

This week, I've picked the Rolling Stones and their 1978 album Some Girls to kick things off (which was released on June 9th). Now, this is not one I had on vinyl myself, but I heard it plenty thanks to my older brother who was a huge Rolling Stones fan. He played this one often on his turn-table in his room as well as having a cassette recording of the tracks to play in his car. I remember too how the inside sleeve slid into the outer album jacket, allowing you to align different images of Mick and the band members with wigs for funny combinations. That's not something you get when you have the CD version. As for the music, it was pretty popular stuff with most of the tracks being played on the album rock stations. The album also appears at spot number 269 on Rolling Stone's "Top 500 Albums of All Time" list.

Comic Books of the Week (2/2/11)

Brightest Day #19 (of 24) - First, Deadman questions the white ring after what happened at the shocking end of last issue, and he doesn't like the answer. Then the Aquawar is here! The rest of the issue is devoted to Aquaman and Aqualad as they face Siren's army and Black Manta. And this issue ends with a shocker as well! The third act is looking good so far as we race to the conclusion. Bravo to Johns, Tomasi, Reis and Prado on a well done book.

JSA All-Stars #15 - part two of this arc introduces the menace of the Puzzlemen, a weird and wacky ancient threat. I think Matthew Sturges and Freddie Williams II are hitting their stride now with this book. I hope they continue, especially with the character growing subplots.

Legion of Super-Heroes Annual #1 - While I have been loving all things LSH since the book's relaunch last year, including the use of Adventure Comics as a second outlet for the group, I just didn't feel this annual. While Paul Levitz and Keith Giffen made a great team on this group back in the day, today it didn't work. Paul's story was all right, and Keith's layouts were fine but where it broke down was Keith's finishing on the art. It seemed to "blocky" and "unattractive", something that happens a lot when he does full art on books. It sort of ruined the epicness of the story of this latest Emerald Empress for me. I did like the presentation of the LSH history via a board game (cute idea) and the Interlac A To Z feature.

Secret Six #30 - a nice part 1 of a two-part crossover with the Doom Patrol. Unlike last month's crossover with Action Comics, this one really worked for me. Gail had the team back to their usual form, and the introduction of Eric and his "rat-pack of crime" mentality was fun. This is Gail at her best. Calafiore's art was great too. I'll definitely be seeking out part two in Doom Patrol later in the month.

Time Masters: Vanishing Point #6 (of 6) - Dan Jurgnes ends this mini series on a strong note. The whole "search for Batman" thing was sort of secondary as an excuse for Dan to get Rip Hunter, Booster and some guests in for a good time travel adventure. I love how this mini brought in 70's characters like Claw the Unconquered and Starfire (a sci-fi heroine) into the mix along with menaces like Professor Zoom and the Black Beetle. And, of course, the best part is that the fun doesn't stop here. It continues in Booster Gold #44 and Flashpoint #1. The icing on the cake would be if Jurgens would return to story and art on Booster's title. He really does these characters proud.

Gang of Four - Entertainment!

My first exposure to the Gang of Four was through their 1982 song "I Love A Man In a Uniform" from the album Songs Of the Free. I liked that song a lot. So, when I got my first CD player in 1990 I happened upon two earlier disks by the band in a bargain bin. I figured I might like them so I picked them up. One was their 1979 debut Entertainment!.

Non-Stop Soft Cell

I have been a big fan of the English synthpop duo Soft Cell (Marc Almond on vocals, David Ball on instruments) since my Junior year of high school (almost 30 years ago). It was likely their number 1 hit "Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go" that first hooked me (this song is still one of my favorite 80's tunes today, especially as an extended mix version) and hearing other tracks by them on the nearby SUNY Fredonia college radio station that lead me to seek out their music on vinyl. It also helped that my best friend at the time (John P.) was also into the band - he too picked up a few disks of theirs and we often listened to them when hanging out at his house.


Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret was their first album released in late 1981 and ended up on the "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" list as well as College Music Journal's "Top 25 College Radio Albums of All Time" list. While I had some of these tracks on greatest hits collections, I didn't complete my MP3 collection of them until a few years ago. It was kind of cool being able to "discover" some of the songs I was missing after all these years - like a familiar voice from the past on the other end of the phone saying "hello" (but not waving goodbye - these songs are here to stay in my collection).

Book Review: Love Is A Mix Tape

In late December, I picked up a copy of Rob Sheffield's 2007 autobiographical book Love Is A Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song at a Time. Rob is a frequent contributing columnist to Rolling Stone magazine and a lover of all kinds of music. Through this book, he details the story of his courtship and marriage to Renee Crist, a fellow DJ and mix tape aficionado. The romantic tale takes a turn, though, as Rob lets us into a very personal time of his life - his dealing with love lost and moving forward after Renee's tragic, untimely death at a very young age.

What I found appealing about Love Is A Mix Tape is how quickly Rob pulled me into his world, using a easy-going, conversational voice to his narrative. It was like you were sitting across the table from him over dinner and he was telling you the story of he and Renee. This made the book one that you want to keep reading and not want to put down. I managed to finish it over the course of a couple nights rather than my usual week plus. As someone who loves a lot of different genres music, I also enjoy how Rob peppered the narrative with lyrical references along with other pop-culture allusions.

And, of course, the use of the mix-tapes (actual tapes from his own personal collection) to frame each chapter was a nice style point too. I would look over the list of songs before starting the chapter, mentally drawing some connections based on artists and titles to see how they might fit. Then I would enjoy what Rob had to say about the songs as they applied to the aspects of his life at the time.

Now, who among us hasn't made mix-tapes some time in their lives? I used to do it all the time back in Junior High, high school and even some in college. Back then I used to tape songs off of the radio or sequence together songs from my 45's and albums to listen to on the tape deck on my stereo, my boom-box or in my car (first an 8-track deck, later a cassette deck). Even today, I do the mix-tape thing a lot with my MP3s - using iTunes to craft together playlists based around themes or Genius-suggested groupings of songs. It is fun and it allows you to occasionally see songs in a different light when juxtaposed with songs by different artists or in different styles.

I strong recommend this book to anyone who loves music as well as anyone who has ever truly been in love. The story will capture your heart, make you think about your own life, and maybe encourage you to dig out an old mix-tape from that shoebox in the back your of the closet or bring up your iTunes to create a new playlist.

You can also follow Rob on Twitter at @robsheff - if you're so inclined. I find his tweets to be both informative and entertaining.

Adam and the Ants - Kings of the Wild Frontier

I have my older brother to thank for my first exposure to Adam and the Ants and, in particular, this album - Kings of the Wild Frontier (1980). Besides being one of "the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die", it happens to be my favorite by the group. It was the second of three albums the band did before Adam went off to his solo career. The combination of the dual drums, the driving guitars and, of course, Adam Ant's unique vocal styling make for an early new wave masterpiece.