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Ass Sniffers and Record Collectors: Sound Hounds are the purest of breeds
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We're out in the park playing fetch or taking a walk and we run into another dog. Like a fucking thin, red laser beam, my dogs zero in on the other dog's asshole. This is the gut reaction, the centuries old knee-jerk response...dogs are natural born shit sniffers.
Yeah, they could smell the other dog's face, they could sniff the other dog's coat, but to really find out what that other dog is all about, to really get a feel for how they roll, they've got to get a good snort of that other dog's shitter.
Record collectors are natural born shit sniffers, too.
That's right. We ain't no dogs, but we are shit sniffers of a high order...evolved, upright, thumbs. I'll admit it, I've sniffed a lot of shit in my days, and I bet you have, too. We can't help it either; it's just what we do.
Record collectors. Music lovers. Sound hounds. When we meet people, there is only one way to find out what they are all about and that is to stick our noses as far up the other person's record collection as possible. Case in point...
Take my new friend, George. George and I just met recently. I had heard about George through a friend. George has worked in the record / radio industry for a number of years. From what I was told, George knows his music (confirmed). So, when we were introducing ourselves I passed him a link to my record collection that I have stored in an online doc.
What better way for George to know where I am coming from than to have virtual finger flip through my collection. I am my collection. It says a lot about me. I am happy if George, or anyone else, makes their first impression of me based on it. Shit, I have been curating that now for close to twenty-years. As I tell my wife: "sorry baby, but my first love and longest lasting relationship has been with my music". Oh yeah, she loves that one.
After he had a look through my list, George said something that made me smile. He said when visiting some one's home for the first time, he heads straight for their record collection (like a thin, red laser beam). I laughed because I do exactly the same thing. Other people don't want you looking through their fridge, they don't want you pawing through their underwear drawer, but they certainly don't mind if you flip their records.
(As George rightly pointed out...not many people have records anymore. Now we have to spin their CD rack, or worse, scroll through their iTunes)
George had good things to say about my collection (mustard officially passed). One thing he did notice was the "total lack of any punk". Good eye, George...I am not a punk fan. He was cool with that (personal taste), but what he could not tolerate was me having no Clash records in my collection at all.
Before I go any further, let me say that my preconceived notions about the Clash and their music was completely misguided. I disobeyed a cardinal rule of one my heroes, Boo Diddley: You can't judge a book by looking at it's cover.
I am a blues man. Punk just never resonated with me. As far as I knew, the Clash was punk. I didn't even take the time to validate that judgement. Fuck it, I have Otis Rush and Charley Patton...who needs the Clash.
I stand corrected. There is definitely room in my predominantly 12 bar collection for the Clash.
After getting berated by George for my Clash oversight, I went head first into "London Calling". Yes there is punk in there, but there is so, so much more, too. There's R&B, rock, Bo Diddley's beat, jazzy shit, ska...you name it, its in there. There are rockers, slow ones, aggressive ones and flat out ball-busters. The best thing about it is that it sounds different and not contrived.
The band put themselves and their scene into the sound and what came out was a true and honest representation of who they were at that point in time. Like all true classics, that point in time has the legs to live on forever.
As always, I was interested in the story behind the album. I watched the docco on the making of it: "The Last Testament". I was hooked after that. I LOVE the back story. It adds so much depth and richness to the listening experience. Have you seen it? If not, have a go...it is well worth it.
So, thanks to George's sniffing around my record collection, I am now knee deep in learning about the Clash...and a better man for it. Hopefully I get a change to flip through George's collection when we meet. Who knows, I may be able to turn him on to something that I think he is missing in his collection...?
We shit sniffers need to stick together.
_____
If you haven't looked at my collection before, please do so. I call it Judd's Juke Joint (click that link). I'm always updating it. You can even subscribe to it and get emails on when I feed the dragon and buy new sounds. There are a few tabs at the bottom of it: CDs & Downloads, Vinyl, DVDs and "The Honour Roll". Have a look at all of them.
You'll find a note atop Judd's Juke Joint. It reads: I do not believe in conventional genres. Genres are used to sell records. I believe in music that is deeply engraved in the background of the music makers; all of of whom are connected by a shared experience that links them inextricably; music with a message and a literal truth. Everything else is a product of the record labels.
Damn straight.
Special note on Judd's Juke Joint: While living in Sydney, Australia, my collection grew not just in numbers but in sheer quality. I owe most all of that to my good mate, Nev...The Kingfish. I've written about Nev many times on The 6149. Nev is the owner and resident keeper of the independent record store chain in Sydney Australia. He taught me more about the blues than I ever could have learned on my own.
Six days of the week you can find him hanging at his shop, Mojo Records, bestowing bits of blues wisdom on bow-down tracks and albums that are ball-tearer's. Stop in and tell him Judd sent you...
Roust on, Kingfish. Long live "Nev's Nuggets"!
Mojo Men don't quit: The search for the loudest, raunchiest guitar-based rock & roll ever preserved
A while back I asked Nev, owner of Mojo Records here in Sydney, if he knew of a way long gone out of print Bo Diddley record called, "Bo Diddley's Beach Party". Nev said, "nope, you've got me on that one".
Wow.Nev is like the Axis...he knows everything. I was a bit surprised when he said he had never heard of it. In actuality, seems like a lot of people have never heard of this album...it has been out of print since the late 1960's. There was no question about it, we had to get our ears on that vinyl.
I found out about the album when I was checking out Bo's discography on allmusic.com. I was looking for some live Bo when I came across this review:"A blistering live album...and quite simply the finest live rock
& roll album of its era, cut live by Diddley and band at Myrtle
Beach, SC, on July 5 and 6, 1963. From the opening track to the final note, this is some of the loudest, raunchiest
guitar-based rock & roll ever preserved. It also bears an uncanny
resemblance to the sound that the Rolling Stones achieved on their own Got Live If You Want It, which only shows how much the Stones
learned from Diddley. Currently out of print but well worth the search"."Well worth the search"!?! How could I not go looking for this? This was Holy Grail, Missing Link, Davey Jones' Locker territory! I had to have this album and so did Nev. Once he read this review, he looked me dead in the eye and said, "we gonna get that mutha".
Damn straight, Nev. Damn, straight.
_____Nev jumped on eBay and found a copy in the UK. I made my bids and waited...four days. Finally the bidding ends and we have our vinyl. I pay about $34 USD for it and waited for it to arrive on my doorstep in Sydney....and I waited and I waited and I waited. No album. Now, I don't think the guy in the UK pulled a fast one. I think it was legitimately lost in the mail or sitting on the bottom of a pile of boxes in customs. Needless to say Nev and I were disappointed. A couple of days passed and I got fed up. Why would the Lords of Karma play a dirty trick like that on Nev and I?! All we wanted was some live Bo and the promise that the review made to us: "quite simply the finest live rock & roll album of its era". I went on ebay and found two more. I wasn't taking any more chances. These two cost me almost $100 USD combined. At this point, money was not an object. I needed to tell Nev that the album was back on the front burner. The following is an actual email exchange between Nev and myself (no edits have been made): Me to Nev:
Nev...this damn album can't f*ck with us. We'll show that thing who is boss. I'm going to go after it and go after it hard, and once I get it...I'm going to treat it like a virgin on prom night. Caress it, hold it and tell it everything is going to be all right. And then...Whamo! I'm going to tear that thing up!I have two copies I am bidding for on eBay...one from the States and one from Canada. I'm leading both. I am going to get one for me and one for the shop. We'll have to build a friggin' pedestal for it after we get it. See you Friday. Cheers.JuddNev to Me:
Damn straight, Nev. Damn straight.
_____Fast forward to this past weekend. I got one of the Bo albums on Thursday. I called up Nev and told him that the goods had arrived and I was going to wait until Friday at the shop to open it up. We had waited too long not to have the first listen in the shop. Nev, of course, was ready to rock...and so was I. There is nothing like anticipation rewarded. I came home each day after work looking for Bo to be at my door. I was so ready for that record to be there. I wanted to hear it, but more importantly I wanted to be able to ring Nev and tell him that we had it. Nev is a true Champion of the Blues and related music. That shop is more than just his business, it is him. It is not just a record shop, it is a reflection of Nev and how much he cares about providing an experience and a feel for his customers and friends. It has it's own culture and character...and characters who are loyal to the cause and give back in their own ways to keep that place going. I do my part each time I go in there (my record and CD collection grows weekly) and this Bo record was just another way to say thanks.
_____We put word out that Bo would be played at max volume on Friday night. Most all of the Friday regulars were there as well as few stragglers, strangers and invited guests. We primed up on Cooper's Sparkling Ale and some choice soul cuts from the Goldwax label and then we broke out the Bo. Nev did the honours and cut that sucker lose from the packaging it was mailed in and then we dropped the needle down deep in the grooves. This album was pure nitroglycerin from start to finish. The (live) Bo Diddley Beat shook and the shop and had us all stomping feet, slapping backs and cheering out loud. I looked over at Nev, who was smiling and nodding his head in approval. He looked back and said, "Yep. That's it baby. That shit is Mojo. Damn straight, Nev. Damn Straight.
_____Nev jumped on eBay and found a copy in the UK. I made my bids and waited...four days. Finally the bidding ends and we have our vinyl. I pay about $34 USD for it and waited for it to arrive on my doorstep in Sydney....and I waited and I waited and I waited. No album. Now, I don't think the guy in the UK pulled a fast one. I think it was legitimately lost in the mail or sitting on the bottom of a pile of boxes in customs. Needless to say Nev and I were disappointed. A couple of days passed and I got fed up. Why would the Lords of Karma play a dirty trick like that on Nev and I?! All we wanted was some live Bo and the promise that the review made to us: "quite simply the finest live rock & roll album of its era". I went on ebay and found two more. I wasn't taking any more chances. These two cost me almost $100 USD combined. At this point, money was not an object. I needed to tell Nev that the album was back on the front burner. The following is an actual email exchange between Nev and myself (no edits have been made): Me to Nev:
Nev...this damn album can't f*ck with us. We'll show that thing who is boss. I'm going to go after it and go after it hard, and once I get it...I'm going to treat it like a virgin on prom night. Caress it, hold it and tell it everything is going to be all right. And then...Whamo! I'm going to tear that thing up!I have two copies I am bidding for on eBay...one from the States and one from Canada. I'm leading both. I am going to get one for me and one for the shop. We'll have to build a friggin' pedestal for it after we get it. See you Friday. Cheers.JuddNev to Me:
Judd, you da man. Get that mo fo and teach it not to
f*ck with the mojo men and as for prom night virgins were gonna get
this f*cker. I'll look forward to friday.
p.s. the dylan vinyl has turned up.Cheers, Nev.
p.s. the dylan vinyl has turned up.Cheers, Nev.
Damn straight, Nev. Damn straight.
_____Fast forward to this past weekend. I got one of the Bo albums on Thursday. I called up Nev and told him that the goods had arrived and I was going to wait until Friday at the shop to open it up. We had waited too long not to have the first listen in the shop. Nev, of course, was ready to rock...and so was I. There is nothing like anticipation rewarded. I came home each day after work looking for Bo to be at my door. I was so ready for that record to be there. I wanted to hear it, but more importantly I wanted to be able to ring Nev and tell him that we had it. Nev is a true Champion of the Blues and related music. That shop is more than just his business, it is him. It is not just a record shop, it is a reflection of Nev and how much he cares about providing an experience and a feel for his customers and friends. It has it's own culture and character...and characters who are loyal to the cause and give back in their own ways to keep that place going. I do my part each time I go in there (my record and CD collection grows weekly) and this Bo record was just another way to say thanks.
_____We put word out that Bo would be played at max volume on Friday night. Most all of the Friday regulars were there as well as few stragglers, strangers and invited guests. We primed up on Cooper's Sparkling Ale and some choice soul cuts from the Goldwax label and then we broke out the Bo. Nev did the honours and cut that sucker lose from the packaging it was mailed in and then we dropped the needle down deep in the grooves. This album was pure nitroglycerin from start to finish. The (live) Bo Diddley Beat shook and the shop and had us all stomping feet, slapping backs and cheering out loud. I looked over at Nev, who was smiling and nodding his head in approval. He looked back and said, "Yep. That's it baby. That shit is Mojo. Damn straight, Nev. Damn Straight.
- Posted from Sydney, Australia
