#107. This was my first Geraldine Fibbers shirt, and is one of my favorite shirts over all. It's also the shirt I was wearing at the Willie Nelson show mentioned in my story on 2/17/11.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
May 27, 2011
#107. This was my first Geraldine Fibbers shirt, and is one of my favorite shirts over all. It's also the shirt I was wearing at the Willie Nelson show mentioned in my story on 2/17/11.
May 25, 2011
#105. Another Stones shirt. Bought this one at the Rose Bowl on the Voodoo Lounge tour. It's the only Stones shirt I've purchased at a show that doesn't reference the tour or the venue. I loved the red and black tie-dye explosion so much, I couldn't pass it up. At one point I did buy a Voodoo Lounge tour shirt on eBay, but I don't think it fits so it's buried somewhere.
BTW, I know Stones fans have their "last great Stones album". For some it might be Sticky Fingers. Maybe the most cited is Exile on Main St, although Tattoo You also gets a lot of props. For me, it's Voodoo Lounge. And I think the Stones were especially proud of that album since they played quite a bit of it at the Rose Bowl that night.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
May 24, 2011
#104. A great album and a great album cover. Had I been into The Byrds when this came out, I'm sure I would'nt have been crazy about the album. But I got into The Byrds in reverse by discovering Gram Parsons first. So Sweetheart of the Rodeo didn't sound as weird to me than it must have to people who were fans of the jangly early albums.
Bought this at a Chris Hillman show at McCabe's a few years ago.
May 23, 2011
#103. Still one of the scariest movies I have ever seen. Proof that you don't need fancy effects and CGI to scare the crap out of me.
May 22, 2011
#102. I wish I had a clever story about getting this shirt with bubble gum wrappers. Heck, I wish I could even remember where I got it. But doing this shirt project has liberated a few shirts from deep in my drawers, and this is one of them. I could tell by the crisp whiteness that I have never worn this before. And if the copyright on the shirt is truly the year I bought it, I've had it since 1995.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
May 21, 2011
#101. Not just a clever name, Sparkle*Jets U.K. are also a clever band with a love of catchy music. You might hear references to KISS and maybe even The Archies among their self penned songs, and their debut album even includes covers from Big Star, ELO and The Beach Boys for good measure.
They have only released two albums so far, and both are great. Special mention goes to their second album Bamboo Lounge as it is packaged with a paper umbrella for your cocktail.
May 20, 2011
#100. Wow. I'm up to shirt #100 and I still have drawers full of shirts that have yet to be documented. And I'm not helping matters by continuing to buy new shirts.
Last week Elvis Costello rolled through Los Angeles with his Spectacular Spinning Songbook. This wasn't the first time he brought the wheel to LA, but somehow I missed the debut of the wheel in 1986. I wasn't about to miss it this time, and went to both shows at the Wiltern Theatre.
The show was all I had hoped for. The wheel gave the shows a certain amount of unpredictability since the spin of the wheel determines the set list. Of course, Elvis manipulated it a few times and had fun with the proceedings. I got to hear some of my favorite songs over the two nights (Beyond Belief, Brilliant Mistake, God Give Me Strength) and some interesting covers (Let Me Roll It, a few Beatles songs and even a bit of Purple Rain). More artists should be so daring.
May 19, 2011
#99. When people deal with the loss of a loved one, their grief is often very personal. When a musician deals with illness and death, they may work through it through song. Lou Reed did it on Magic & Loss. Patti Smith did it on Gone Again (and through some incredible performances around the time of that album). And Mark Everett, who performs as Eels (or as it was at the time, eels) worked through the loss of his sister and illness of his mother with Electro-Shock Blues in 1998.
He played LA a couple of times on the tour for this album, and I caught the show at the El Rey. I recall this being the end of the tour, and the man called E seemed a little tired. It was a good show, and I guess the circumstances of the album didn't allow for a lot of rocking out. Subsequent tours have been a little less solemn.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
May 17, 2011
#97. David Byrne created the Luaka Bop label in 1989 to share his love of world music with the world. Although he started off with a few Brazilian releases, by the early 90’s he had branched out to Cuban, Asian and African compilations.
One of the most exciting artists I discovered through Luaka Bop was Tom Zé, a Brazilian musician with a rather unique approach to Brazilian rhythms. He had been recording since 1968, but had remained fairly obscure. The Luaka Bop releases are all worth seeking out.
This shirt is the Luaka Bop logo and I purchased it at a Tom Zé at the old Conga Room where he was backed by the alt-rock band Tortoise.
May 16, 2011
#96. Yesterday I wore the shirt from one of my favorite bands. Today I'm wearing a shirt from one of my favorite singers. Alongside Elvis Costello, Bob Dylan battles the Brit for a larger spot of my heart.
Using yesterday's gauge to determine placing based on the albums that I love, Elvis Costello would rank with This Year's Model in 1978 and River in Reverse in 2006 (on a good day, I might allow his debut My Aim is True from 1977), but Bob Dylan would outrank him with The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan in 1963 and "Love & Theft" in 2001. And if singers and bands were all ranked together, Bobby would be #1.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
May 15, 2011
#95. "Hey, I'm one big queen". Maybe a statement of the obvious, but it's hard to capture this shirt in a self portrait, and the shadow doesn't help much.
PJ Harvey is one of the most original artists to gain popularity in the post-alternative years. She is still challenging audiences with her uncompromising music and shows, and I love her all the more for it.
May 14, 2011
#94. If I were to rate my favorite active bands based on the time frame between their first great album (of course, IMO) and their last, Sparks would be in the lead.
KISS have KISS Alive! (1975) and Music From the Elder (1981). The Rolling Stones have Beggars Banquet (1968) and Tattoo You (1981) (although if I was being generous I might stretch that out from Aftermath (1966) to Voodoo Lounge (1994). Wilco and Radiohead are still relatively new, so I wont use them as examples. But Sparks have Kimono My House (1974) and Hello Young Lovers (2006), separated by 32 years! In between those albums are many 5 star albums (Indiscreet, No. 1 in Heaven, Angst in My Pants) and plenty more where that came from.
Oh heck, just for today, let's say Sparks are my favorite band. They deserve it.
May 13, 2011
#93. One of those bands I hated at first, and then fell in love with. When I first heard Licensed to Ill, I thought it was too snot-nosed adolescent. And of course, that turned out to be it's charm. But it was the 2nd album, Paul's Boutique, that really blew me away. That one took a while for the masses to catch on to, but I'm pleased to see it has gained in stature as the years have gone on.
I just picked up their new album Hot Sauce Committee pt. 2, and although it's not the classic that Paul's Boutique was (or for that matter, Check Your Head), it does sound miles better than To the 5 Boroughs.
May 12, 2011
#92. I first saw Los Lobos open for Wall of Voodoo around 1982 on the Call of the West tour. It seemed like an obvious pick since WoV were riding high on their only hit, Mexican Radio. I had no idea that night what a complex and interesting band Los Lobos would become.
My proper Los Lobos introduction came a couple of years later when I was working at Music Plus and How Will The Wolf Survive? was released. It was an instant classic. But I still didn't see the band they would become. That happened when Kiko came out a few years later.
Los Lobos have since grown into one of the most entertaining live acts out there, a true treasure to American (by way of Mexico) music. And the traditional Mexican songs always bring the crowd to their feet.
This seems like an appropriate shirt to wear to Elvis Costello tonight. Lots of connections, including the fact that Pete Thomas was their studio album for a few years as Louie Perez worked his way to the front line.
May 11, 2011
#91. I have collected quite a few Rolling Stones shirts from the shows I've seen. And I have also purchased shirts from the last two tours from countries I have never visited. I love all the tongue variations, but I finally had to put a stop to buying Stones shirts for shows I didn't see. I go broke enough buying shirts at the shows I go to.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
May 10, 2011
#90. Love the graphic, which comes from the great animation that opens The Grateful Dead Movie. Love the back too.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
May 08, 2011
#89. There are so many things that excite me about music. One of my favorite things is stumbling upon a band I've never heard before and feeling the tug of fandom immediately. One example of this was at International Pop Overthrow a few years ago. I was looking forward to seeing Quazar and the Bamboozled (a band that also drew me in with their opening set with The Negro Problem a year or two earlier), but before them was The 88.
Although Brandon from Quazar was in the band at the time, I had no idea what I was in for. By the 2nd song, I was drawn closer to the stage by their Kinks-like hooks and snappy outfits. I'm mostly a fan of their first two albums, but they still are releasing enjoyable music and are always fun to see live.
If I had planned this shirt project better, I would have worn this shirt yesterday. But due to my poor planning, The 88 shirt is shirt #89 in the Shirt of the Day project.
May 07, 2011
#88. Not my favorite record store, but that doesn't mean I didn't spend hours combing through their stock and leaving way too much money at their registers. Bought this in New York during their clearance sale when they were going out of business.
May 06, 2011
#87. George Clinton may be the funkiest man alive. Those Parliament and Funkadelic albums from the 70's will still kick your ass, and people are still sampling treats from those classics. I never saw P-Funk in their prime, but finally got around to seeing them in the late 80's. Besides being one long funky jam that still motivates me today, those shows also featured Eddie Hazel and Garry Shider, who are both sadly no longer with us.
BTW, One Nation Under a Groove. My 2nd favorite song of all time.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
May 05, 2011
#86. I hate to say this, but Mars Attacks! the last Tim Burton movie I really liked. Even though it’s flawed, it still had a love for the cheesy sci-fi flicks that entertained me. However, coming after Ed Wood it was somewhat of a disappointment. But the big disappointment came afterwards, namely just about every film he has made since. And believe me, I really wanted to like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Alice in Wonderland and even Planet of the Apes. But like Rob Reiner, he seems to have run out of interesting movies early in his career.
Even more than the movie Mars Attacks!, I loved the merchandising. Couldn’t get enough of it. I don’t wear this shirt too often, as I don’t like the collar. But I do still love the look of the alien.
I hope he does right with Frankenweenie. The original short was perfect, so I don’t know what more he has to bring to the table by making it a full length feature.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
May 04, 2011
#85. Disneyland. The Happiest Place on Earth. I have a wonderful time whenever I go, and I go at least once a month (except for summer). I wish i didn't like it so much. I'd be a little richer if I hated it.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
May 03, 2011
#84. In 1977 (or maybe 1978), my friend took me to Poo Bah Records for the first time. It was the first time I saw used records for sale. The old house on Walnut and Wilson was the perfect location for this scrappy store, and I left a lot of money in their register.
A few years ago they moved further east. And although they still maintain some of the scrappy charm of the original building, i don't go too often. Shame on me for not supporting my local indie store more.
May 02, 2011
#83. From the 21st anniversary reunion tour from The Soft Boys, cleverly indicated on back of shirt. Robyn Hitchcock's first band came and went before I discovered them after Robyn Hitchcock's Globe of Frogs album. This shirt was purchased at wonderful show at the now gone Knitting Factory in Los Angeles, with a great opening set from The Young Fresh Fellows.
Monday, May 2, 2011
May 01, 2011
I also need to be sure that the person who takes the picture of my back warns me about such serious wrinkles.
April 30, 2011
My favorite: Daft Punk in the dance tent. If you were there, you know how magical that set was. Maybe I got a contact high from all the ecstasy kids, but that was a real out-of-body experience for me.
My least favorite: the whole Madonna thing. Although it wasn't the jump the shark moment I feared it would be for Coachella, it also was the first time I noticed a large crowd there for just one artist and not so much for the Coachella experience.
April 29, 2011
#80. Although I still own it, this isn't the shirt from the first Stones shirt I saw. This is a reprint of the design for the 1981 Tattoo You tour, which I saw when it rolled into the Los Angeles Coliseum.
On the bill for this show were George Thorogood & The Destroyers, The J. Geils Band and a relative unknown named Prince. The Stones played multiple nights, and my parents had tickets for the first show and I had tickets for the 2nd. When I woke up the next day they told me to be sure to get there early for the opening act since they were impressed and knew I'd be too. Sadly, both nights the audience was less impressed with this diminutive black guy, wearing a trench coat, underwear and boots and singing Jack U Off, because they pelted him with garbage. Bill Graham came out and scolded the audience, and I've been a fan ever since.
The last time I wore this shirt was March 4, 2010 for the service of my friend Paul Serchia. There is a story about the days we allowed each other to wear our Stones shirts, but I’ll save that for another day.
Tonight I'm seeing Prince as part of his 21 night run at the Forum. I figured this would be an appropriate show to wear this shirt to.
April 28, 2011
April 27, 2011
#78. Yesterday brought the news of the passing of Poly Styrene and Phoebe Snow, two voices who made a deep impact me at impressionable times of my life (11 and 13 years old respectively). The other passing that struck a chord with me was Eldon Davis, who helped design some of the great Googie buildings that uses to populate the Los Angeles landscape after World War II and peaking sometime in the 60’s.
Many of these buildings are long gone, but a few still stand. One of the most notable is the Norm’s on La Cienega. And further down La Cienega is Pann's.
Today I wear my tribute to Eldon Davis.
Today I wear my tribute to Eldon Davis.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)