Today is one of those days…
You know the ones, where you start reminiscing… Start thinking about what you could have or should have done… Think about times wasted… And also good times… times fulfilled.
You have literally turned around and 20 years have gotten behind you… Yes, I think Pink Floyd says 10… but you know what I mean. It is sad and frustrating… There is a hell of a lot more you should have accomplished in 20 years. A hell of a lot more. But perhaps it is also the swift kick in the ass you need.
So what can I do today to change things? What can I do today to catch up? What can I do today to get back on the path and move forward?
I think about these professional athletes who work their whole lives to earn that super contract… They work hard, they bust their ass, and as soon as they get the numbers they want… Boom! They get lazy, as if the goal was just to get to the big money.
Big money does not suck, do not get me wrong. We all know that money makes the world go ’round… and gets us around the world. It’s probably too late to be a Zuckerberg, but that’s all right… I just need to figure out a way to be the best Goldsmith I can be…
What the hell does that have to do with music? Well, it has to do with writing and creating… and being the best artist I can be… Whether I am actually creating something new and original or writing about someone else’s creation.
Life must be lived with passion… to its fullest… So why not start today.
The first records I owned were “acquired” from my parents… An odd range of music that would forever affect my all-genre tastes… They were the Original Cast Recording of Hair, an Andy Williams Christmas Album… A Frank Sinatra and a Nat King Cole. Next time I am in Jersey I will have to remind myself of which ones.
The first rock records I ever bought or got as gifts were The Beatles At The Hollywood Bowl, Fleetwood Mac Tusk, Steve Miller Band’s Greatest Hits and Book of Dreams. I also recall Cheap Trick’s Live at Budokan. Strangely, or not… the first CD I ever bought was Paul McCartney’s Give My Regards To Broad Street… an odd choice given his other records, but there it is… I cannot go back in time.
So what grabbed me today? What was the record that would put me back on the proverbial track?
Well, first off, before I forget… check out NoiseTrade. Today’s selection is great… You download free music and then can tip the artist whatever you want… If you like Fleet Foxes and Mumford & Sons, you should sig this, too! FREE music from Bison… download it here: http://noisetrade.com/bison
But here is the record that put me back in the plus column…
The Beatles – The Beatles At The Hollywood Bowl
Yes, this was my first… and you NEVER forget your first. I so adored the cover with a picture of the iconic Hollywood Bowl… I did not even know what it really was back then… and who would have thought that I would actually live in LA and go to the Bowl on a somewhat regular basis! And those tickets on the cover… How I longed to hold them in my hand and actually be at a show… Sigh… Those would be worth a fortune today…
Now do not kill me on this one… You cannot get this record on CD… YET! It was made available on vinyl (yes it is out of print) and has not been released on CD… at least here…
That is ALSO WHY IT IS MY PICK… It puts us all on a quest… To track down the record (Mine is in New Jersey)… or make EMI put it out on CD…
Apparently the album as released was a hodge-podge, compiled from three different nights… the cover implies two. This comes from a guy named Craig on Amazon…
