Jeff's Fancy Blog

On my turntable: The Ethel Merman Disco Album

2009-11-26T22:01:00.004-06:00

I don't know where to start with this one.

Well, the year was 1979. Disco had already reached Fever pitch; jumped the shark if you will. Virtually every artist had been throwing their hat into the disco ring, including rockers such as Wings, Rod Stewart, The Stones, The Beach Boys, and KISS. So why not Ethel Merman?

The part that I've been trying to wrap my head around is whether the producers of this record knew at the time that they were making a campy, iconic, hyper-gay classic, or if they were actually trying to make a serious artistic statement. The production is top-notch; By '79 the disco formula was pretty well cemented, and this record follows that formula to a T. I almost think that A&M believed they were striking gold with this project. You know - that ever elusive golden ticket to finally put the ol' girl back on the map. Perhaps Merman herself was trying to build a legion of fans with the Studio 54 crowd through this record? The songs are pure Merman: "There's No Business Like Show Business", "Everything's Coming Up Roses", "I Got Rhythm". No way she could lose, right?

So many unanswered questions, and just like Bigfoot and Nessie, perhaps we'll never truly know the answers. What I do know, as clearly as the nose on my face, is that this is one of the GAYEST records ever made. Seriously. It should have been called Gay & M Records presents The Gay Ethel Gay Merman Gay Disco Album (Super Gay Deluxe Issue). Whatever the title, this album deserves every bit of the underground camp classic status it has earned over the past 30 years.

6:00 pm

2009-11-24T18:26:00.004-06:00

Two days until the holiday vinyl hits the turntable....

11.24.2009, originally uploaded by jeff's fancy blog

2009: the year of the single?

2009-11-23T13:32:00.006-06:00

This year saw some pretty sweet 45 releases, many of them domestic, thanks in part to the success of Record Store Day's Vinyl Saturdays. As is often the case with 7" vinyl, many of these records include b-sides unavailable elsewhere.

Pictured above (from upper left):

*Black Gold: "Breakdown"/"Breakdown (version DSMR IV)"
Camera Obscura: "French Navy"/"The World is Full of Strangers"
Elvis Costello: "Complicated Shadows"/"Dirty Rotten Shame"
Big Star: "Feel (alternate mix)"/"Mod Lang (unissued single mix)"
Wilco: "You Never Know"/"Unlikely Japan"
Franz Ferdinand: "Ulysses"/"You Never Go Out Anymore"
Green Day: "Know Your Enemy"/"Hearts Collide"
MIKA: "We Are Golden"/"We Are Golden (Jokers of the Scene are Not Who You Think They Are Remix)"
New York Dolls: "Trash"/"Trash (live 2009)"

(not pictured - Weezer: "(If you're wondering if I want you to) I Want You To"/"I Woke Up In Love This Morning")

*Thanks to my pal Chuck, who sent me this groovy 45 earlier this year.

3:29 PM

2009-11-20T22:19:00.003-06:00

Chillaxin' in my office.

2:41 PM

2009-11-17T14:41:00.003-06:00

Airport, Lincoln, NE.

Top 40 of the 00's

2009-11-16T18:08:00.009-06:00

It took a few drafts, and I might still need to make some changes, but here's what I've determined to be the best 40 songs of the past decade. I must say that looking at this list is exciting for a few reasons. For one, it's great to know that great pop is still being made by real artists in the era of American Idol assembly line product. Perhaps more exciting for me is that a majority of this music was pressed on vinyl (I've identified such tracks with an asterisk*).

Don't Listen To The Radio - The Vines*
Again & Again - The Bird and the Bee*
Not Tonight - The New Cars
Feel Good, Inc - Gorillaz w/De La Soul*
Druscilla I Dig Your Scene - Jupiter Affect
Tear Off Your Own Head (It's a doll revolution) - Bangles
Funplex - B-52's*
This is Where I Came In - Bee Gees*
Young Folks - Peter Bjorn & John*
California - Lenny Kravitz*
Unforgiven - G0-Go's
Lying Through Your Teeth - Automatica*
(if you're wondering if I want you to) I Want You To - Weezer*
A Little Less Conversation - Elvis vs JXL*
Who Are These People? - Burt Bacharach w/Elvis Costello*
The One U Wanna C - Prince*
Fine Line - Paul McCartney*
Love Letter to Japan - The Bird and the Bee*
Day of the Sunflowers - Basement Jaxx w/Yoko Ono*
Put You in Your Place - The Sunshine Underground*
O Divina - Terence Trent D'Arby
Undone - Blondie
Choose Love - Ringo Starr
Call Me Mellow - Tears For Fears*
Lollipop - MIKA
Girl Talk - TLC*
Spit It Out - Brendan Benson*
What Happens Tomorrow - Duran Duran*
Soak Up The Sun - Sheryl Crow*
That's Not My Name - Ting Tings*
Thou Shalt Always Kill - Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip*
All Possibilities - Badly Drawn Boy*
Waiting for our Time - Styx
I Don't Feel Like Dancing - Scissor Sisters*
Cellophane - Wondermints
I Want To Fly - Zombies
Universally Speaking - Red Hot Chili Peppers*
Don't Stop Now - Crowded House*
V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N - Puffy AmiYumi
Wind it Up - Gwen Stefani*

Thoughts? Opinions? Rants? Feel free to post your comments!

gas face

2009-11-15T20:45:00.003-06:00

So I'm in Nebraska attending a national conference for Graduate & Professional students. Overall it's a good conference and I've picked up a few ideas for things I can do on our campus. The sucky part is that I've been dealing with what seems to be a crohn's episode, which tends to throw a wrench into professional activities like conferences. Crohn's can suck all of the energy right out of you, and for me that means I need extra down time, which is the exact opposite of what conferences provide. It doesn't help much that I am not always comfortable communicating how I'm feeling when it's crohn's-related, because I've learned most people don't know how to respond. So instead I often retreat from everyone, which can cause problems for those who are wondering where the hell I am.

I'm choosing to find a positive in this situation - a lesson to be learned. I'm interested in finding out what resources exist for students who find themselves in similar situations. One thing I've learned about folks who live with chronic illness is that we tend to be shy about asking for help, since it puts the attention on the condition rather than the individual. So we play the "I'm OK don't worry about me" game, which is total bullshit, because it only downplays the severity of the disease, implying that we're not worthy of whatever we need to take proper care of ourselves. It's not a fun game to play. I'd much rather play Rock'em Sock'em robots or Monopoly. But not Operation.

2:23 pm

2009-11-08T14:23:00.000-06:00

Leo and Mom brought this picture of Dad to our church yesterday, where other pictures of loved ones passed have been placed on an altar. This afternoon Leo and I brought a stand for Dad's picture. It's comforting to have his photo there. I think it has something to do with community, since each of the photos on the altar have their own story and history. To have all these pictures on display symbolizes the communal loss that we all feel, which somehow ties us all together.

10:41 AM

2009-11-07T10:41:00.000-06:00

11.7.2009, originally uploaded by jeff's fancy blog.

Nirvana: Nevermind.
Can this album really be 20 years old already??

6:38 pm

2009-11-06T18:38:00.000-06:00

GAPSA Family Bowling night. I am totally hopped up
on all-the-soda-you-can-drink in this picture.

12:35 pm

2009-11-05T12:35:00.000-06:00

Weezer: "(If you're wondering if I want you to) I Want You To"

3:12 pm

2009-11-04T15:19:00.005-06:00

I brought a turntable with me today to teach my students about the glories of vinyl. About six students had questions for me after class, and they seemed quite excited about this "new" format. "So what's the best place to buy vinyl"? "How much does a turntable cost?" I feel as though my work is done, and it's very satisfying. So now I'm in my office listening to some records; I'm thinking of keeping the turntable here for a while, since work is a lot more fun if you can spin some records at the same time. :)

quote for the day

2009-11-04T06:35:00.005-06:00

"Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice." - MLK

Hang in there, Maine.

Thirty 45's pt. IV

2009-11-01T11:19:00.011-06:00

Click on the image to see a larger version

Pictured, left:

"Lonely Boy" - Andrew Gold (1976)
"On the Shelf" - Donny & Marie (1978)
"I'm Alive" - E.L.O. (1980)

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T01:00:00.003-05:00

On my turntable: The Beach Boys Today! ('09 reissue)

2009-10-30T18:00:00.007-05:00

OH BOY. It is a rare treat to be a fan of a band for decades and to suddenly hear one of their greatest works restored to its purest original format.

Capitol Records has re-issued Beach Boys Today! (1965) on 180 gram vinyl, in glorious MONO. The label has gone to great lengths to re-create Today's original release, incorporating sharp, beautiful duplication of the album's artwork and labels - even the original gold-colored inner sleeve that hypes other exciting Capitol LP's, now in "improved Full Dimensional Stereo."

For me, the unexpected highlight of the album has been the opening track, "Do You Wanna Dance", which I have heard on several LPs in muddy Duophonic fake stereo. This afternoon, for the first time, I heard the track barreling into its chorus with gusto and a far more proper balance of highs and lows. Real Shindig! stuff. The rest of the album lives up to expectations - "Help Me Ronda", "Dance Dance Dance", and all of side two -- perfect.

Additional reading:
On my turntable: The Beach Boys Today! (August 18, 2008)

10:50 am

2009-10-30T10:50:00.003-05:00

Anderson Hall, University of MN

An open letter to fake "christians" everywhere

2009-10-24T02:06:00.003-05:00

A little word of advice to those of you who doesn't already know:

Refering to gay people as "pedophiles" doesn't make you look like a better Christian. It only exposes you for what you are: an ignorant bigot.

So for any of you fake "christians" who think The Matthew Shepard bill was designed to silence your "churches": it's not about YOU. It's about protecting a minority group from being physically harmed BY you. Also, granting such protections to a minority is not "special rights" - it's designed to provide legal protection from HATE CRIMES.

Some of you seem to have a hard time understanding what a hate crime actually is. For starters, it has nothing to do with what you and your friends discuss in your fear mongering "churches". Also, when a white dude beats the shit out of another white dude, that is not a hate crime. For all we know it's just two drunken inbred hillbillies doing what they usually do on a Tuesday night. Hence, no need for legislation. But when someone savagely injures a GLBT person because they are GLBT, that sends a message to ALL GLBT people that they are not safe, because of who they are.

That is a hate crime. And now, thanks to a system that seems to be working for the first time in over eight years, we have federal laws to protect Americans regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

It may be long overdue, but it's still progress.

Thirty 45's pt. III

2009-10-24T00:36:00.004-05:00

<Click on the image to see a larger version

Pictured, left:

"Skin Trade" - Duran Duran (1987)
"Money Honey" - Bay City Rollers (1976)
"My Sharona" - The Knack (1979)

Shonen Knife @ 7th St. Entry, 10.21.2009

2009-10-22T08:16:00.002-05:00

Saw my first Shonen Knife show last night. They were amazing.

Thirty 45's pt. II

2009-10-20T22:31:00.004-05:00

<Click on the image to see a larger version

Pictured, left:

"Baby Come Back" - Player (1977)
"Our Lips Are Sealed" - Go-Go's (1981)
"Sweet Cherry Wine" - Tommy James & The Shondells (1969)

On my turntable: Three O'Clock - Ever After

2009-10-19T06:17:00.009-05:00

Ever After (1987) was one of those record store surprises, where I was first aware of a band's new release by seeing it in the record store. In the pre-internet 80's, "real fans" tended to be up on new releases, via MTV, magazines, and fanzines. I was even a member of the Three O'Clock fanclub, which you'd think would have made me privy to this info prior to its release (alas, I received a postcard in the mail (shown at right) soon after buying the LP).

I remember being initially disappointed with the poppy Ever After, thinking it was too mellow and synth-driven compared to the guitar-heavy psychedelia of 1985's Arrive Without Travelling. Still, that didn't prevent the album from spending a couple of months in my walkman that winter.

(at left: band photo from the CD "long-box" for Ever After. For some reason this photo was omitted from the CD, cassette, and LP.)

Thirty 45s

2009-10-17T22:25:00.000-05:00

Earlier this week I got a nice eBay delivery -- an unopened pack of 30 black plastic 45 inserts. I sifted through my singles crates and found what I decided were the 30 most deserving records for these fancy little adapters.

<Click on the image to see a larger version

Pictured, left:

"Devil Woman" - Cliff Richard (1976)
"I Got You" - Split Enz (1979)
"Rip In Heaven" - 'Til Tuesday (1988)

If I don't lose interest I may post all thirty records here, but we'll see how that goes.

catch of the day

2009-10-16T23:08:00.002-05:00

Snagged this puppy today for a buck.

5:36 PM

2009-10-11T17:36:00.001-05:00

A good day at the record/thrift stores can often be measured by
the number of peeled-off sales stickers I have stuck to my shirt.