Grateful Dead

eBay is either my friend or my enemy. Over the last few days, I've bid on and won Frank Black's first solo album ("Frank Black"), his third solo album ("The Cult of Ray"), his fourth solo album ("Honeycomb"), his fifth solo album ("Fast Man Raider Man"), and his first three albums with the Catholics ("Frank Black and the Catholics," "Pistolero," and "Dog in the Sand"). Each and every one of these albums I haven't listened to in probably 5 years or more; I was laid up at home for a few weeks after a double surgery and had nothing better to do than watch TV, DVDs, and work on my CD collection. All of the above mentioned albums (and more) were purchased during that time.

Frank Black's first solo album is rather similar to the last Pixies album, "Tromp le Monde," in style and sound, but the following two albums that preceded his time with the Catholics were noticeably different. Solo album #2, "Teenager of the Year," is by far my favorite of his solo outings and is packed with excellent tunes. "The Cult of Ray" has some very "Teenager of the Year"-ish songs and some very "Frank Black"-ish songs, and, as a result, is hit and miss. The hits, though, are GOOD.

As he wrote, recorded, and toured with the Catholics, Frank Black ventured away from alternative rock and more and more into alternative country, though he stayed closer to his rock roots throughout. His fourth and fifth solo albums ("Honeycomb" and "Fast Man Raider Man," respectively) dabbled almost directly in country music while remaining distinctly Frank Black. They're good, but Frank just doesn't have the right voice to sell country records. It's also around this time he recorded a lot in Nashville with Reid Paley, with whom he recently released an album titled, ironically enough, "Paley & Francis." Don't have this one yet, but it's on the shopping list. In the meantime, I need to complete my FB&tCs collection, which consists of the following albums: "Black Letter Days," "The Devil's Workshop," and the vinyl edition of "Live at Melkweg." I also need one more solo FB record, "Christmass," and two more Black Francis albums: "Svn Fngrs" and "Nonstoperotik."

Hope everybody had a safe and fun Independence Day weekend!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Es2mEhIdQDc

I'll Take A Melody
(Toussaint)

I've seen the rain pouring down The sky was grey with a speck of blue
Peek through a hole in the clouds The sun was screaming, "Hey You!".

As you ramble through your sorrow Seems like everything come out wrong
I'm living in yesterday's tomorrows I know something's helping me along

I'll take a melody and see what I can do about it.
I'll take a simple C and G and feel brand now about it.

I understand why the old fisherman
sail along, sail along, sail along. sail along, sail along,
someday he'll be gone

I hear you talking about your troubles
Everybody's got their troubles too
You can make them burst like bubbles
If you know just what to do

You know I've been called a dreamer
Dreams that never come true
But I've been called so many things before
Tell you what I'm gonna do

I'll take a melody and see what I can do about it.
I'll take a simple C and G and feel brand now about it.

I understand why the old fisherman
sail along, sail along, sail along. sail along, sail along,
someday he'll be gone

I'll take a melody and see what I can do about it.
I'll take a simple C and G and feel brand now about it.

Shine on, keep on shining, shine on,
keep on shining, shine on, keep on shining,
Shine on, keep on shining, shine on,
keep on shining, shine on, keep on shining,
Shine on, keep on shining, shine on,
keep on shining, shine on, keep on shining,
Shine on, keep on shining, shine on,
keep on shining, shine on, keep on shining,

My 1st of a hundred or more California shows. Is one of my all time favorites because the scene was still just heads for the most part. 84 started the Gilled cheese movement. Had the big chunk of as we called it Reagan cheese so we turned it into a money maker. Funny cause people called us crazy for selling food in the parking lot of sand

"Party at Ground Zero"

If you've been watching the news at anytime in the last decade, this song seems almost TOO appropriate....

Been on a bit of a Frank Black Francis trip of late. I seem to fall into and out of love with this guy every few years, and this is apparently the year I fall back in love with his music. The current playlist looks a little something like this:
- "Come on Pilgrim" (Pixies)
- "Wave of Mutilation: The Best of Pixies" (Pixies)
- "Teenager of the Year" (Frank Black)
- "Show Me Your Tears" (Frank Black & the Catholics)
- "93-03" (Frank Black/FB&tC)
- "Live Sessions (iTunes Exclusive)" (Frank Black)
- "Bluefinger" (Black Francis)
- "The Seus" (Black Francis)

Speaking of the Pixies, now that Kim Deal has parted ways with the group, they apparently have a new song the released just this morning, "Bagboy": http://pixiesmusic.com/new/.