Oh, Miss Maybelle

For those of you who, like me, missed this news last week: the world has lost yet another living musical legend.

“I didn’t say [I shot in] self-defense; I said I shot ‘im in the leg when he was jumpin' over da fence.” –R.L. Burnside

Cultural Diversity

Here’s a little funny for all you fans of the Engrish phenomenon. To your left is a picture of a puzzle I recently purchased for my son. Normally, I don’t demand much in the way of “quality” from items I acquire from the Target dollar rack, but this is just sad. Apparently there’s a sweatshop somewhere in Taipei where shoeless children crank out puzzle boards featuring those ever-so delightful farm friends, the chiken and the lamp. It's just wrong on so many levels.

Mid-Week MP3

Lindsey Buckingham is best known as the guitarist and songwriter of 1970s juggernaut Fleetwood Mac. Buckingham cemented a reputation as a master of fingerpicking early in his career, eventually affording him the opportunity to join the group and enjoy all of the spoils of rock stardom. Yet while the radio-friendly pop stylings of the band gave Fleetwood Mac (and Buckingham) much success, Lindsey is also known for his share of commercial flops.

Despite producing three hit singles, Fleetwood Mac’s 1979 double-album Tusk (on which Buckingham served as producer, as well as principal songwriter) served to arouse the ire of bandmates and critics alike due to a lack of commercial success. The bad blood that followed the ambitious and incredibly weird Tusk precipitated the tamer follow-up album Mirage. Following its release, the band went on an extended hiatus, allowing for ample time for each member to dabble in the world of the solo project. Buckingham’s two solo releases, Law and Order and Go Insane, however, were merely moderate successes as compared to Stevie Nicks' Belladona.

Buckingham recorded one more album with the band before a not-so amicable split left him a free agent. Not one to be stymied by the less-than-stellar reception of his first two solo albums, Lindsey spent nearly four years in studio crafting Out of the Cradle. This 1992 outing all but failed commercially, but was his most personal and complex album to date. In the 1990s, Buckingham found his way back to Fleetwood Mac, with no small amount of help from then-president Bill Clinton, but to listen to his solo work, unencumbered by collaborators, offers a glimpse of a musical maverick with a sound and vision all his own.

This week’s MP3 is an offering from Out of the Cradle. This album, as well as Lindsey’s other solo works, are still available, and come highly recommended… but what do you expect from the man who wrote "Holiday Road"?

1modernboy humbly requests that you use these MP3s solely as a means of evaluation. If you like what you hear, please buy records, CDs, t-shirts, or other merchandise to support this band/artist and his/her/their label-mates. Seeing them live probably wouldn’t be a bad idea either.
Should the features artist, or the related label or distributor take issue with my inclusion of the song file, please don’t hesitate to contact me, so that the offending file can be removed.

Lindsey Buckingham -- Countdown

my inner child is a creepy li’l bastard

Halloween, for me, is less a one-night event and more of a holiday season unto itself. It starts around the last day of September and continues until November 2nd, the day when most (if not all) remaining Halloween merchandise has made its way down the retail discount ladder and into the trunk of my car. Each year my quest for the creepiest movie, the cheapest and most delectable candies, and the oddest, most positively garish decorations and party favors is aided by a score of unwitting allies, and this year the fine folks at the Jones Soda company have been the earliest contributors.

Renowned for their non-traditional soft drink flavors, Jones has just released two new limited edition beverages for the season: Caramel Apple and Candy Corn. While Caramel Apple is a tart and sweet delight, it is the Candy Corn flavor that really got me. This viscous, piss-yellow liquid is so loaded with high fructose corn syrup that it positively sings diabetes. You just can’t mess with that! Plus, both flavors (as well as several of Jones’ other non-limited edition, Halloween-y type sodas) come in decorative holiday-themed cans.

Cross your gnarled and hoary fingers and rush to your local Target to score some.