By Kloghole
It has not been a big year for music for me. I did get out to see the Bay Strikes Back tour with Death Angel, Exodus, and Testament. Good show. We were in the old folk’s balcony, but it was one of the few concerts where we were not subjected to some annoying asshole. Some of my purchases from late 2021 were from the thrash category. I passed, for some reason, on the Judas Priest and Queensryche show in town. I just could not gather the energy to commit to it, despite the constant barrage of Queensryche posts on my Facebook feed.
I think I have have all James McMurtry’s studio albums now. I just got tired of waiting to find the last one in the used bin as a pleasant surprise. I am getting too fucking old to wait for shit anymore. Who knows whether I will be here tomorrow.
I found a 1970s collection in the New Arrivals bin, missing only the 1973 discs. Who does that? Who keeps one fucking disc, or buys one fucking disc when the whole collection is sitting there? Dick move. Basically, I bought it for the roller-skating music. Shit I didn’t like, but unwillingly committed to memory, because it was shit they played at the roller rink or incessantly on the AM radio.
I also found some multiple disc collections of Waylon Jennings. Some of these I only had on tape from my BMG cassette collecting days. Others I was only ever able to track down used on LP. I bought Music Man when it came out on LP, but side B was pressed wonky. By the time it got to “Waltz Across Texas,” it sped up and slowed down like someone was dragging their finger on the platter. Now, when I hear that song, it always has this weird lilt that I hear in it, even with versions not morbidly distorted.
Looking over this list (see below), there are a couple I forgot I had that I should listen to. Lamb of God is a relatively recent acquisition, but Deep Purple completely escaped my memory. There are a few looking back at this list that I want to give a closer listen. I could do without the fucking Bee Gees tune rolling out of my iTunes laptop as I write this review.
It has been a brutal fucking year, as usual. My musically selections this year were neither very deliberate nor organized. I typically do not buy my music new, but wait for it to end up in the used bin. Not sure why. However, this year, I was too fucking tired and defeated to believe I might live long enough to make it back to record store.
I spent the year battling the bedbugs (undoubtedly a “gift” from my stepsister) and mice in the schoolhouse I inherited from my grandmother. I had to invest in a used amp as my $99 RCA amp and tape deck combo from Radio Shack took a crap. I have one of my old phones hooked to it to play classic country, just like the “good ol’ days.”
At the end of the day, I take off my painter’s onesy, check it for bedbugs, and drink too much whiskey and beer before going to bed. After more than a year, I am still not comfortable spending the night or bringing in anything fabric that may serve as a vehicle for the little fucking hitchhikers.
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| The dusty looking shit on that board is mostly desiccated bedbug shedded exoskeletons. |
Below is a list of albums from the past year (and late 2021) basically in order of acquisition. Hopefully ya’all had a better year than I did, but it is a pretty fucking low bar.
Here’s to the possibility that 2023 does not suck as hard as the past 50 years.
Sweet Dreams Motherfuckers
Death Angel, The Bastard Tracks (2021).
Exodus, Persona non Grata (2021).
Iron Maiden, Senjutsu (2021).
Tab Benoit, Night Train to Nashville.
Motorhead, Everything Louder Forever (Box Set) (2021).
Guy Clark, Guy Clark, The South Coast of Texas, and Better Days.
Ray Wylie Hubbard, Loco Gringos Lament.
Ryan Bingham, Roadhouse Sun.
John Prine, Live at the Other End (2021).
Classic Country (Time Life Box Set).
The Everly Brothers, The Complete US and UK Singles.
The Allman Brothers Band, Filmore West ‘71.
Saxon, Greatest Hits Live, Innocence Is No Excuse, and Carpe Diem (2022).
High on Fire, Blessed Black Wings.
Deep Purple, Phoenix Rising.
Mad Season, Above (Box Set).
Ultimate Seventies.
Waylon Jennings:
What Goes Around Comes Around
Music Man
Black on Black
Waylon and Company
Folk Country
Leavin’ Town
Waylon Sings Ol’ Harlan
Nashville Rebel (Soundtrack)
Just to Satisfy You
It’s Only Rock & Roll
Never Could Toe the Mark
Turn the Page
Sweet Mother Texas
Lucinda Williams, Ramblin’.
Ben Harper, Bloodlines (2022).
Drive-By Truckers, Welcome to Club XIII (2022).
Bad Company, Straight Shooter and Bad Company.
Anthrax, For All Kings.
Michael Monroe, Sensory Overdrive.
Brandi Carlile, In the Canyon Haze (2022).
Lamb of God, Omens (2022).
James McMurtry, It Had to Happen.
Larkin Poe, Blood Harmony (2022).
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