Author: stevenology

The Book I Read: Complicated Game – Inside The Songs Of XTC By Andy Partridge And Todd Bernhardt

So many great songs. Andy wrote most of XTC’s songs and they are one of the best bands ever. This book takes about 30 of his XTC songs ands discusses them at length. In doing so, it provides a wealth of insight into his creative songwriting process.

“I like accidents. I like to put myself in the way of musical harm. I like being at the wheel of that musical car, and aiming it at the wall, just to see what shape the car’s going to come out. It might come out an interesting shape that would have taken me forever to decide on otherwise. – Andy Partridge”

And don’t just believe me, here’s what Amazon has to say:


Our Latest 45 Music Items

Here is the latest music update. Some of these were new, some were used, most were cheap. The CDs are first, the vinyl after, click the “more” link. Do you love any of these? Hate any of them? Or are you just confused?

Read all the way to the end and then leave me a comment!

ARTIST – TITLE – FMT – SIZE – CTRY – COMMENTS
Michaelson, Ingrid – It Doesn’t Have To Make Sense – CD – 5 – US –
McMahon, Andrew In The Wildeness – Zombies On Broadway – CD – 5 – US –
Prince – Prince4Ever – CD – 5 – US –
Prince – The Symbol And The Girl – CD – 5 – US – Bootleg
Chvrches – Every Open Eye – CD – 5 – US –
Garbage – Strange Little Birds – CD – 5 – US –
Twenty One Pilots – Blurryface – CD – 5 – US – CD-R
Eisley – I’m Only Dreaming – CD – 5 – US –
Spektor, Regina – Remember Us To Life – CD – 5 – US –
Bowie, David – Stage – CD – 5 – US –
Bowie, David – PNE Live Rehearsal 1976 – CD – 5 – US – Bootleg
Bowie, David – The Year Of The Spiders – CD – 5 – US – Bootleg
Sia – This Is Acting – CD – 5 – US – Seven bonus tracks
Hart, Beth – Fire On The Floor – CD – 5 – US –
Stirling, Lindsey – Shatter Me – CD – 5 – US – CD-R
Stone, Allen – Radius – CD – 5 – US – Seven bonus tracks
Lennon, John – Your Daddy’s Here – CD – 5 – US – Bootleg
Beatles, The – Strawberry Fields Forever – CD – 5 – US – Bootleg
Beatles, The – Alternate Sgt. Peppers – CD – 5 – US – Bootleg
Oingo Boingo – Forbidden Boingo Volume One – CD – 5 – US – Bootleg
Oingo Boingo – Forbidden Boingo Volume Two – CD – 5 – US – Bootleg
Soundtrack – Lazarus – CD – 5 – US –
Cure, The – Disintegration – CD – 5 – US – 3-CD deluxe version


Terrific Tunes For Tuesday – Take 67

One of my favorite bands is XTC, as some of you know. They did a couple side projects back in the day, masquerading as the psychedelic band “The Dukes Of Stratosphear”. The alter-ego band was comprised of Sir John Johns, The Red Curtain, Lord Cornelious Plum, and E.I.E.I. Owen…

Here’s what Andy Partridge, leader of XTC, had to say about this tune, a sort-of homage to The Beatles “I Am The Walrus”:

We dressed up in the gear, and we had a dummy piano painted in psychedelic swirls, and just made every pop promotional film from 1967 all together in one film. Including this cod Pathe News voiceover at the start which said (plummy newsreel voice) “Here we see Chittingfold House, home of the Frobisher-Harrises since 1667. Some three hundred years later, the English pop group The Dukes of Stratosphear have decided to perform their latest pop recording, ‘The Mole From The Ministry’.” And then it went into this piece of cod. And we were so happy with it, cause it was the only video to that date where we’d had total input and we’d been listed to instead of, oh no, we’re gonna do it my way instead. Cause that always happened on our videos, we just had to shut up and do as we were told. But that one came out great. And then Virgin Records said no, we’re not going to spend any money on it. We said, look, it already exists! You just pay two thousand pounds to the BBC and you can buy it from them! And they wouldn’t do it. So there is a video in existence — it’s quite long, it’s about five minutes long. . .

 

Get the music: Dukes Of Stratosphear | XTC | Andy Partridge

Get stevenology updates by email

Follow stevenology on twitter


TERRIFIC TUNES FOR TUESDAY – TAKE 66

It’s called “Is This Tainted Love?” This mash-up is the classic Soft Cell song mixed with some Bob Marley. No, really. Check it out. There’s not really a video but the mash-up is fun.

 

Other music by Bob Marley | Soft Cell

Get stevenology updates by email

Follow stevenology on twitter


Love Trumps Hate

Just saying’…

Get stevenology updates by email

Follow stevenology on twitter


Terrific Tunes For Tuesday – Take 65

Yes, 2016 was a rough year. Bowie, Prince, Gene Wilder, and all the other deaths. Not to mention the massive challenge of life itself. Holy crap, I need some novocaine for my soul. Here’s Mark Everett, aka “E”, from the first Eels album. Still cool today, as far as I know… 😉

 

Other music by Eels

Get stevenology updates by email

Follow stevenology on twitter


RIP John

John Lennon

Get stevenology updates by email

Follow stevenology on twitter


Our Latest 31 Music Items

Here is the latest music update. Some of these were new, some were used, most were cheap. Do you love any of these? Hate any of them? Or are you just confused?

Read all the way to the end and then leave me a comment!

ARTIST – TITLE – FORMAT – SIZE – COUNTRY – COMMENTS
Pretenders, The – Alone CD 5 US
Martinez, Melanie – Cry Baby CD 5 US
Beatles, The – Live At The Hollywood Bowl CD 5 US
Death Cab For Cutie – Kintsugi CD 5 US
XTC – Skylarking CD 5 US CD + Blu-Ray box
Stone, Joss – Water For your Soul CD 5 US
X Ambassadors – VHS CD 5 US
XTC – Dave Gregory – Remoulds 2 CD 5 US Bootleg
Parker, Graham – Blue Highway CD 5 UK
Parker, Graham – Carp Fishing On Valium – The Songs CD 5 US
Bay, James – Chaos And The Calm CD 5 US


Happy Halloween!

 

Let me know what you think, leave me a comment.

Get stevenology updates by email

Follow stevenology on twitter

 


Terrific Tunes For Tuesday – Take 64

It’s been a while, but today’s Terrific Tune For Tuesday is Melanie Martinez video for “Pity Party”. Old-timers like me will recognize the piece of Lesley Gore’s “It’s My Party”, but don’t worry, credit is given and Melanie takes it into a whole new area. Actually, I’d recommend the whole “Cry Baby” CD by Melanie, but here’s a bit of it. Enjoy this Pity Party.

 

Let me know what you think, leave me a comment.

Get stevenology updates by email

Follow stevenology on twitter


The 2016 Stevenology Voter Guide Makes Voting Easy!

voteleftAre you wondering how to vote in this election? Well, wonder no more. Here at stevenology we make it easy. No need to think for yourself, we’ll do that for you! It’s simple, just vote like this:

President – Hillary Clinton

US Senate – Kamala Harris

US Rep, District 6 – Doris Matsui

US Rep, District 7 – Ami Bera

State Assembly, District 7 – Kevin McCarty

Prop 55 – Tax Extension For Education and Healthcare – VOTE YES

Prop 56 – Cigarette Tax – VOTE YES

Prop 59 – Corporations and Political Spending – VOTE YES

Prop 61 – Drug Prices – VOTE YES

Prop 62 – Death Penalty Repeal – VOTE YES

Prop 63 – Firearms Control – VOTE YES

Prop 64 – Marijuana Legalization – VOTE YES

Prop 65 – Carry Out Bags – VOTE NO

Prop 66 – Death Penalty Procedures – VOTE NO

Prop 67 – Plastic Bag Ban – VOTE YES

I left some items off, vote however you want on those 😉

Now see, wasn’t that easy? Feel free to argue with me or (better yet) praise my wisdom by leaving a comment below!

Get stevenology by email

Follow stevenology on twitter


Pictures From The 2016 Seattle And Bumbershoot Trip

bumbershoot_2016Hello again, family, friends, and everyone else. The pictures from our 2016 trip to Ocean Shores, Seattle, and the Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival (and much more!)  are now online! We had a great time and so did our friends. Take a look at the pictures!

If you are thinking of going in 2017, let me know!

If you have any questions, just ask. And leave a comment if you want….

2016 Seattle and Bumbershoot photos

What we did on the 2016 trip – part 1

What we did on the 2016 trip – part 2

Get stevenology by email

Follow stevenology on twitter


The 2016 Seattle And Bumbershoot Trip – Part 2

bumbershoot_2016Wait! You should read part one first.

Already did that? Then let’s continue with our Seattle and Bumbershoot trip for 2016.

Friday September 2

First day of the Bumbershoot Festival. We started with lunch at Veggie Grill, then took the monorail over to the Seattle Center, where Bumbershoot happens. It’s our 16th year in a row to attend, ever since we discovered it. First on the bill today was an exclusive, private radio performance and interview with Michael Franti. This was a VIP perk and we we fortunate that all three of us could go. Nice start to the day! Then we caught a couple songs by Atlas Genius, ok but just that. We watch some of the break dancing exhibition, which Josephine liked, and checked out some of the Visual Arts exhibits too.


The 2016 Seattle And Bumbershoot Trip – Part 1

spaceneedleIt’s our annual trip to Seattle for the Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival. We go every year, since 2001, making this our 16th year in a row. And we love it more than ever. And this year our granddaughter Josephine went with us. Also traveling, our friends Cal, Laura, Mama O, Aunt Sam, and Margaret.

I’ll post some pictures soon, but first, here’s what we did on our trip.

Sunday August 28th

We took the blue van to the airport and then flew Southwest Airlines to Seattle. Once there, we rented a car and drove to Ocean Shores on the Washington coast. On the way we stopped at Chipotle for lunch. We checked in to Worldmark Mariner’s Village, our home for two nights. After a quick trip to the grocery store for supplies we relaxed back at the condo. We saw deer on the lawn and the field below our balcony.


Our Latest 58 Music Items

Record_PlayerHere is the latest music update. Some of these were new, some were used, most were cheap. Do you love any of these? Hate any of them? Or are you just confused?

Read all the way to the end and then leave me a comment!

ARTIST – TITLE – FORMAT – SIZE – COUNTRY – COMMENTS
Prince – HitNRun Phase Two    CD    5    US
Chvrches – The Bones Of What You Believe    CD    5    US
Sumner, Eliot – Information    CD    5    US
Murphy, Peter – Ninth    CD    5    US
King, Elle – Love Stuff    CD    5    US
Bowie, David – Blackstar    CD    5    US
Bowie, David – The Next Day    CD    5    US    Two CDs and one DVD
Bowie, David – The Deram Anthology 1966-1968    CD    5    US
Airborne Toxic Event, The – The Airborne Toxic Event    CD    5    US
I Blame Coco – The Constant    CD    5    US
Wombats, The – The Wombats    CD    5    US
Zevon, Warren – Sentimental Hygiene    CD    5    US    Two bonus tracks
Be Bop Deluxe – Unforgettable Tune    CD    5    Unk    Bootleg
Thenewno2 – You Are Here    CD    5    US
Thenewno2 – Thenewno2    CD    5    US
Mates Of State – Our Constant Concern    CD    5    US


David Bowie – RIP

bowies

One of the truly greats has passed on. David Bowie has died too young at 69.

There was no one like him. So innovative, such a talent. Any one of his personas would be worth celebrating but he did so many different things so well. He is already missed and will be missed for a long, long time.


Instagram
YouTube