Zero to 180 – Three Minute Magic
Remember the Las Vegas Roulette record with the “multi-groove“ in which the tonearm stylus randomly selects (at least, in theory) one of 38 separate grooves – one for each slot on the roulette wheel – so as to allow partygoers the ability to play roulette from the comfort of home? That’s
Memory is a funny thing. I can still picture myself standing at the checkout counter at School Kids Records in Columbus, Ohio having a chuckle with Curt Schieber over something – but was it a Great Plains 45 that had just been recorded? Or was it over the delicious roasted
Remember Tom Newbold? Before he became manager of The Ferns, Tom and I once had quite the shouting match over Birthday Party’s “Release the Bats” (as previously recounted in the Zero to 180 piece, “Winged Mammal Theme“). At the time of the incident, I was convinced that ‘Newbs’ was merely
Shame on Zero to 180 for not celebrating Red Simpson‘s musical legacy as a pioneer of the “Bakersfield Sound” until now – after his spirit has already left this mortal plane. I’m afraid Simpson’s passing might have gotten overlooked in all the media attention given to the unexpected loss of
“Sweet Touch of Love,” from the aforementioned acclaimed 1970 album, Toussaint (later named From a Whisper to a Scream), would be the A-side of a 45 that appeared not to have enjoyed any Billboard chart action from what I can see: “Sweet Touch of Love“ Allen Toussaint (1970) “Sweet Touch
Allen Toussaint was the headlining act for the 2009 Silver Spring Jazz Festival. At that time, the festival venue was the parking lot behind the facade of the old JC Penney building, just prior to its conversion (using millions of taxpayer dollars) into the Live Nation concert facility that would
Until fairly recently, I had a Tuesday Morning “close-out retailer” store within two miles of home. In an age when we are lucky to have just one large national bookstore chain, I was grateful to have a quirky home goods store that also offered the oddest assortment of book fare,
Just when Zero to 180 thought it had exhausted all the “you-be-the-artist” album cover possibilities (i.e., connect-the-dots, color-your-own) Canadian contributor, We Willy, shocked this fellow North American by referencing a fairly obscure Canadian album cover that masterfully straddles the line between the two do-it-yourself genres: Discogs.com says LP released in
Artsy-craftsy types might find connect-the-dot album covers to be a bit stultifying — where’s the creativity? Connect these dots – and in this precise order, commands the album cover. Sorry, I prefer to make my own decisions. One Donovan album I have had a hard time finding in second-hand shops
To the best of my knowledge, there are only three “connect-the-dots” album cover designs: (1) John Entwistle‘s brilliant cartoon rendering of the four band members for The Who By Numbers released in 1975; (2) Neil Diamond‘s aforementioned Shilo cover from 1970 — one that the ABC Arts of Australia, you
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