The Doors - Kitchen Listening

Today was a good time for some Kitchen Listening with The Doors and this 4 CD box set in particular. This set of music was from albums recorded between 1965 and 1971 during the time of Jim Morrison. It's a fascinating collection that includes plenty of hits, band favorites, rare and unreleased tracks, live and demo recordings in a nice long mix that runs about four and a half hours.

I saw the Doors twice at the Arena in Philly. Once in 1968 and then again in 1969. Then once more in 1969 at the Spectrum. I wrote about those concert experiences here.

Quiet Storm - Songs 1975 FV

Quiet Storm is another mix of songs from albums in my collection released in 1975. This time the songs are more quiet and laid back. Soul, folk and pop.

Another hour and a half mix in my Final Version series.

Photo of Earth, Wind & Fire singing Reasons.

Quiet Storm - Songs 1975 FV

1. Quiet Storm - Smokey Robinson
2. Feel Like Makin' Love - Roberta Flack
3. Love Serenade (Parts 1 and 2) - Barry White
4. So In Love - Curtis Mayfield
5. Reasons - Earth, Wind & Fire
6. If I Ever Lose This Heaven - Average White Band
7. No Woman No Cry - Bob Marley & The Wailers
8. (You Know) It Doesn't Matter Anymore - Hall & Oates
9. Right - David Bowie
10. The Hissing Of Summer Lawns - Joni Mitchell
11. Someone Saved My Life Tonight - Elton John
12. Jesse - Joan Baez
13. Landslide - Fleetwood Mac
14. When The Party's Over - Janis Ian
15. One More Chance - Fairport Convention
16. Cold On the Shoulder - Gordon Lightfoot
17. Lady Blue - Leon Russell
18. Too Much Of Nothing - Bob Dylan & The Band
19. Love Is A Rose - Linda Ronstadt
20. Send In The Clowns - Judy Collins

Wildflowers - Vinyl Spins

Vinyl Spins. Wildfowers: The New York Loft Jazz Sessions Vol. 1 - Various Artists, 1977. First of 5 albums I got in the late 70s from a set of performances hosted by Sam Rivers at his loft jazz space in NYC. Each record is unique and awesome.

Dinner at Jack Rabbit

This evening Becky and I had a very nice dinner at Jack Rabbit's on Elmwood Avenue. This was our first time there after we couldn't get into our first choice Coles. 

We sat in their upstairs backroom which was very fancy in a hip way. We sat next to the piano.

I had their fish fry which was huge and very good although the coleslaw and noodles which were so-so. Fries were good. I had a Guinness on tap and then later a lager from 42 North Brewery. Becky had a chicken finger snack wrap.

We had a wonderful and interesting time hanging out with Mary Ellen earlier this afternoon and after her visit we decided to go out for dinner. She was talking about getting a fish fry to bring home to her sister and that made me want a fish fry too. I haven't had one in a while.

Our plan was to go over to Coles. We parked in our usual spot and walked down the street to the restaurant. It was about 5:30 and didn't look to busy. We saw plenty of empty tables but the staff person said reservations only. Apparently there was an event at Buff State and the folks were all coming to Coles for dinner. She showed us the list of reservations. All of those tables would be full by 6 pm. So we got turned away and then walked down the street to the Jack Rabbit restaurant.

This was our first time going to dinner at this restaurant. We tried once before a few months ago on a Saturday evening when we couldn't get a table at Coles but they were full too. This time there were plenty of tables for two available.

It was interesting to be there again because over the years this had been one of our favorite go to restaurants and bars when it was JP Bullfeathers. Bullfeathers closed in 2015 in a complicated legal and family situation. They were originally supposed to refurbish the restaurant into an apartment building and construct a new restaurant someone else on Elmwood Ave. Nothing turned out and the building was empty for several years until the new owners over the summer of 2019. Then of course the pandemic came along before they could get their new restaurant going. Eventually they did and they renovated the building along with having a live music venue.  We had been wanting to get over there but just wasn't motivated enough until recently.

They really did a great job with the renovation and it's hard to believe it's the same place we spent so much time at over the years. They really expanded the restaurant into the second floor that hadn't been used previously by the restaurant. That is where we sat this evening. They also expanded down at the lower level which back in the day was the Wine Cellar. Now there is a bar and dining room down there. The main bar area has been very nicely improved along with the patio.

Definitely a place we will go to again. I'd like to sit in that main bar area for a meal sometime.

Mary Ellen Visit

Yesterday Becky's friend Mary Ellen called. It was a funny call because we were messing with Becky's phone at the time trying to access a message when suddenly there was Mary Ellen on the line. She was in town and wanted to come by and see us. So we set it up for her to come by for lunch today.

Mary Ellen lives in Texas near Dallas. I haven't seen her in many years although Becky has met her at a coffee shop when she has been in town recently.

We had a nice time hanging out at home. We had some sandwiches in the kitchen for lunch then sat around the living room talking. Then Becky took her upstairs to her studio where she got very excited over Becky's work that she has been getting ready for her show. Then we sat around and talked more.

Mary Ellen hung out with us for about three and a half hours. From 1 pm to 4:30. Then she had to go to her sister's house but first she planned to stop to get a fish fry dinner on the way.

She was in town taking care of some legal issues having to do with the death last year of one of her sisters where a niece has been trying to take over the estate. Complicated and awful.

Becky and Mary Ellen go back to when they worked together as waitresses at the Upstairs Downstairs restaurant on Elmwood Ave in the early 80's. Mary Ellen also made Becky's wedding dress. 

A Murder of Crows

Over the past couple of days our backyards have been full of crows that have been passing through. They stopped in our trees because they had easy access to Mark's bird feeder which they filled before going out of town for a week. Usually Mark would chase any crows at his feeder but since he wasn't home they made themselves at home. I tried chasing them a couple of times but there just came right back over and over. The only thing that would get them to move on would be if there was no more bird seed for them. It was amazing to see so many of them in the trees as a few at a time went to the feeder. 

It took them just a little over two days to finish off Mark's bird seed. Now they are gone. The birdfeeder is empty. During this period our birdfeeder saw a lot of activity because the crows drove all the other birds away from that feeder. The small birds came to ours and I had to refill it during the week. 

Little Feat Live - Kitchen Listening

One of my all-time favorite live albums has been Little Feat's Waiting for Columbus which they released in early 1978. I went out and got this double LP shortly after that. We played this crowd pleaser a lot in our house on Seymour Street. I had seen this band a few years earlier with John in 1975. 

Today I put on the expanded double CD version of the album which came out in 2002 and of course I had to have. Recently in 2022 the record company released a super deluxe 8 CD version which is actually a collection of several live shows from that time period. I don't think I need that but I could listen to it on Spotify.

I also put on their second live album Live from Neon Park which is a double CD released in 1996 which I hadn't listened to very much over the past nearly 30 years. Certainly not as much as Waiting for Columbus. It was nice hearing it following the first album and made for an interesting morning and afternoon of live Little Feat.

We had it on while doing a little cleanup around the house before Mary Ellen comes by for a visit tomorrow.

Atlantis The Lost Continent - Film Favorites

Film Favorites: Saturday Matinee Random Pick #5. Atlantis, The Lost Continent, 1961. George Pal, dir. 

I was 10 when I first saw this in the theater around the corner. I really like this movie and saw it many times over the years. I was fascinated with the idea of a lost continent and unknown ancient lost civilizations.  

I also went to see any movie that George Pal had anything to do with. He was the early standard for special effects.

Bob Dylan's Chronicles Volume One - Book Shelf

Book Shelf post #168 on Bluesky. Music Memoir. Chronicles Volume One by Bob Dylan, 2004. Another Dylan post.

I read this book over the summer of 2005. I've read a few books about Dylan over the years but it was very fascinating to experience his story with him telling it. I really loved this book and have been very disappointed to be waiting 20 years for the next two promised volumes. I guess writing a book for him is harder than writing great songs.

We still have his music and there are still plenty of books about his life and music but I wish he would get motivated to write those other two planned volumes of his Chronicles.

I've previously written about Reading About Dylan here.

Bruce Live - Vinyl Spins

Vinyl Spins. Live 1975-85 - Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, 1986. A 5 LP box set. I saw him live 6 times in 1973-1975. 2 clubs, 2 college gyms, and 2 theaters all in Philadelphia area.

One of the greatest live album collections.

This was actually one of the very last vinyl records I purchased before moving on to CDs in 1986.

Club Paradise - Film Favorites

Film Favorites. Club Paradise, 1986. A wonderful vacation comedy in a fictional Caribbean island banana republic with a great cast including Robin Williams, Twiggy, Jimmy Cliff, Peter O'Toole, Rick Moranis, Eugene Levy, etc. Loved it. So 80's.

Neil Young Stories - Kitchen Listening

Listening to some later Neil Young this morning. Mostly acoustic and solo. Story telling about many different issues... social and political. And of course some romance too. These albums I listened to today were from 2014 to 2016. I hadn't given them a listen in a while and not together as a group probably ever. The Storytone album was actually a 3 CD set. These albums were on the stereo all morning and into the afternoon.

Most of the music was stripped down and acoustic. Some of it was a little rough around the edges. The A Letter Home album sounded like it was purposefully recorded on a cheap cassette player. 

Overall a very interesting music kitchen listening session with Neil Young.

• A Letter Home, 2014
• Storytone, 2014
• The Monsanto Years, 2015
• Peace Trail, 2016

Burger Time

Burgers for dinner along with Becky's special home fried potatoes and some tomato and cucumber salad. So very good.

High Fidelity - Film Favorites

High Fidelity came out on film in 2000. I had read the Nick Hornby novel around the same time. I probably read the book after seeing that the movie was coming out. I wrote about the novel here

I don't think I saw this film in a movie theater and probably saw it on HBO or another streaming service as soon as it was available. We just don't got out to the movies anymore like we did for so many years. Now when we go out I'd rather go see live music and have dinner somewhere. There are plenty of movies to watch at home.

But I did really like this film and the cast. In particular I liked the Jack Black character. I also liked the lead character's mixtape obsession and his loads of rules for making mixtapes. 

I enjoyed the TV series on Hulu while it lasted.

Nothing Has Changed - David Bowie Kitchen Listening

Kitchen Listening. Nothing Has Changed: The Best of David Bowie, 2014.

Spent a nice afternoon giving this 3 CD box set a listen. An amazing collection in reverse chronological order makes for an interesting listening perspective.

Blade Runner - Film Favorites

Film Favorites. Blade Runner, 1982. Science Fiction. Ridley Scott, dir. Inspired by the 1968 Philip K. Dick novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep which I've read a couple of times. Saw this movie a few times too.

Becky's Pizza

It was time once again for Becky's wonderful homemade pizza. She comes home from the market with some really great bread and that is the start. Then pepper and onions along with a nice salad. Always a great meal.

Music & Rhythm - Vinyl Spins

Vinyl Spins #85. Best of Music and Rhythm – Various Artists, 1983. 

I got this during my 80's bar DJ years when I was always looking for unique compilation LPs like this one. Lots of interesting music to play on this record. Mostly reggae related and world music. 

You can see the red dot on the album which means I got this at Home of the Hits/Play it Again Sam's on Elmwood Ave. There were always interesting albums available there and with a very knowledgeable staff to advise.

Posted this to Bluesky.

The Vikings - Film Favorites

Film Favorites. Saturday Matinee. The Vikings, 1958. Another son of Ragnar. Always liked those old seafaring adventure Viking movies. I also like streaming the many new TV series that keep coming out.

The Heat Is On - Songs 1975 FV

The Heat Is On with some jazz funk, soul and progressive rock. There was a lot of interesting sounds in 1975 that were explorations and blends of different genres. This mix is a good example and I loved mixing it up for my friends playing these songs from albums from my collection released in 1975. Laid back and funky.

Photo of The Isley Brothers at the Kool Jazz Festival in 1975.

The Heat Is On - Songs 1975 FV

1. Journey To Love - Stanley Clarke
2. Cause We've Ended As Lovers - Jeff Beck
3. Moonstreams - Grover Washington, Jr.
4. The Heat Is On - The Isley Brothers
5. Yearnin' Learnin' - Earth, Wind & Fire
6. Caribbean Festival - Kool & The Gang
7. Leroy's Latin Lament Medley: Lonnie Dreams / The Way We Feel / La Fiesta / Lament - War
8. Sofistifunk - Return To Forever
9. Man In The Green Shirt - Weather Report
10. On The Way Home To Earth - The Mahavishnu Orchestra
11. King Solomon's Marbles - The Grateful Dead
12. Solar Strut - Edgar Winter
13. Inca Roads - Frank Zappa
14. E-Musik - NEU!
15. Airwaves - Kraftwerk
16. Spiral Galaxy 28948 - Hawkwind

The Terminator - Film Favorites

Film Favorites. The Terminator, 1984. Science Fiction. James Cameron dir. A classic... and only four years away.

JT's with Val

Earlier this evening Becky and I went out to dinner at JT's with Val. We picked her up at her house and got to the restaurant for our 6 pm reservation. She had been there once before for brunch with Nina. 

It was a Friday night and the restaurant was crowded... especially the bar area. We had a nice table. I started off with a large glass of Tuscan red wine. Becky had a regular pinot grigio and Val had a pinot noir. The food and the service were wonderful as usual. I had a Chicken Cutlet Parmesan Alla Vodka. Becky had the always great Rigatoni Bolognese and Val had the Chicken Cutlet Salad Milanese. Of course we had to have some gelato for desert while Val had a very nice large carrot cake.

Overall a very fine time. We had been hoping to take Val out to dinner for several months and we're glad we were finally able to do it. She has had a hard time this year with the relatively sudden passing of Bobby and her getting used to living alone. She also had knee surgery recently which she recovered very nicely.

Dim Lights - Songs 1975 FV

Dim Lights. Another set of music of songs from albums in my collection released in 1975. A little more laid back this time. Playing this mix reminds me of those many nights relaxing in our house with friends and some joints listening to these songs back in 1975. 

Dim Lights - Songs 1975 FV

1. Dim Lights - The Flying Burrito Brothers
2. Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way - Waylon Jennings
3. Walkin' Blues - Hot Tuna
4. Lookin' For A Love - Neil Young & Crazy Horse
5. Turn Back the Pages - Stephen Stills
6. There Will Be Love - Jefferson Starship
7. You - George Harrison
8. Waterfall - Carly Simon
9. Sweet Bird - Joni Mitchell
10. You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go - Bob Dylan
11. One Of These Days - Emmylou Harris
12. Stranger To Himself - Fairport Convention
13. Sail Away - Harry Nilsson
14. Bright Lights And Promises - Janis Ian
15. For Shame Of Doing Wrong - Richard & Linda Thompson
16. Thunder Road - Bruce Springsteen
17. I Think It's Gonna Rain Today - Joe Cocker
18. Til The World Ends - Three Dog Night
19. Jupiter Hollow - The Band
20. Stay With Me - The Outlaws
21. Travel So Far - Joan Armatrading
22. Goin' Home - Pure Prairie League
23. Lay It All Down - John Martyn
24. Better Off Without A Wife - Tom Waits 

Swiss Family Robinson - Film Favorites

Film Favorites: Saturday Matinee. Swiss Family Robinson, 1960. Saw this a few times back when double features changed twice a week at the neighborhood theater.

Soylent Green - Film Favorites

Film Favorites: Science Fiction. Soylent Green, 1973. A dystopian future police detective murder mystery with a weird ending.

Splashdown & the Dolphins

Becky called me into the front room to see something very unique on TV. CNN was live covering the splashdown of the SpaceX capsule bringing back the stranded astronauts that had been on the space station for so many months. When the capsule came down into the ocean on a beautiful calm day at sea they were greeted by a pod of dolphins who hung around during the operation and were seen by millions watching on TV. I was happy that Becky made sure I saw this wonderful event.

Many years ago we saw lots of capsule recovery operations on television but we never saw any of them greeted by dolphins.

Jesse Colin Young - RIP - Kitchen Listening

Last night while browsing online I saw that Jesse Colin Young had passed away. He was 84 years old. I first heard his music in 1967 when he was with The Youngbloods and had that monster hit Get Together. I saw them in concert back in the late 60's and I saw him perform solo later at the folk festival and at either the Main Point or the Bijou Cafe.

I really liked his music and used a number of his songs on mixes over the years.

So today I put on some of his music. I started off with his double CD best of and then went to a few of his albums both with the band and solo.

In my collection 

• The Youngbloods, 1967
• Elephant Mountain, 1969
• The Best of The Youngbloods, 1970
• Get Together: The Essential Youngbloods, 2002

His solo albums

• Song for Juli, 1973
• Light Shine, 1974
• The Best of Jesse Colin Young, 2005 (2CD)

Phase IV - Film Favorites

Film Favorites: Science Fiction. Phase IV, 1974. One of my most shocking Sci-Fi movies. I saw it the week it was released and only knew it was based on an H.G. Wells story. I was a college film major at the time.

The H.G. Wells story was Empire of the Ants, 1905. Phase IV had an alternate ending that was recently released for the 50th anniversary of the film. I need to see it.

New Kitchen Stove

We got our new kitchen stove delivered and installed today. We went over to the store and picked out and bought the stove. They were scheduling us to get it delivered in a couple of days but then they called us and said they could deliver and install this afternoon. Amazing quick service.

We also bought a new fan and light hood but that will not be available for installation until about three weeks. In the meantime we have the stove.

Our old stove which we had for over 20 years had been giving us problems and then recently we smelled a little bit of a gas odor when the oven was initially turned on. It didn't last long but it was a concern and we opened a window and turned on the vent fan. It made us want to go out and get the

new stove and we did. It's kind of funny but this is the third appliance we've purchased from Orville's in recent months. First the new dryer, then the dishwasher and now the stove. What's next... maybe the clothes washer.

Darby O'Gill and the Little People - Film Favorites

Film Favorites: Saturday Matinee Random Pick #3. Darby O'Gill and the Little People, 1959. Disney's Irish leprechauns. Our neighborhood movie theater would show this every Saturday afternoon close to St. Patrick's Day back in the day. First movie I ever saw with Sean Connery.

Post Punk Chronicles & Power Pop - Kitchen Listening

I put on a set of CDs this evening that needed to be played a little louder than usual for my regular kitchen listening. There was a group of three from the Post Punk Chronicles series released in 1999 from Rhino Records and one of the Power Pop Classics of the 90's albums that came out in 1997. All contained classic tracks of the time from various artists.

This was a great collection of 90's music. I previously wrote about the Post Punk Chronicles here.

The four CDs...

• Scared To Dance 
• Going Underground 
• Left of the Dial 
• Poptopia

That's The Way - Songs 1975 FV

That's The Way of the World. Songs 1975 starts off with Earth, Wind & Fire and then continues through a set of funky soul music before dipping into some mid 70's mainstream disco before ending with a few soulful rock songs of the era. More hits, deep cuts and personal favorites songs from albums in my collection released in 1975.

And remember when there was only so much oil in the ground we had to wait in line for blocks to get some gas. That was the way of the world they were singing about.

That’s The Way - Songs 1975 FV

1. That's The Way Of The World - Earth, Wind & Fire
2. L-O-V-E (Love) - Al Green
3. Love To The People - Curtis Mayfield
4. For The Love Of You - The Isley Brothers
5. What Comes Funky - Parliament
6. Boogie Shoes - KC & The Sunshine Band
7. S.O.S. - ABBA
8. Swearin' To God - Frankie Valli
9. Nights On Broadway - Bee Gees
10. Fame - David Bowie
11. Why Can't We Be Friends? - War
12. Only So Much Oil In The Ground - Tower Of Power
13. Going Down Slowly - The Pointer Sisters
14. This Is It - Betty Davis
15. Groovin' The Night Away - Average White Band
16. Grow Some Funk Of Your Own - Elton John
17. Funky #7 - Hot Tuna
18. She Does It Right - Dr. Feelgood
19. Gino - Hall & Oates
20. Alright For An Hour - Rod Stewart
21. Redondo Beach - Patti Smith
22. Night - Bruce Springsteen

Irish Soda Bread

Becky made some delicious Irish soda bread today and of course we had to have some right out of the oven. 

She made some last year around St. Patrick's Day but this one was even better. She tweaked the recipe a little bit. She made it a little sweeter and left out the caraway seeds. Added a few more raisins. 

We'll have some more for breakfast tomorrow morning.

A Summer Day in March

It certainly felt like a summer day today. It was sunny and 72 degrees. I was out in the backyard doing yard work. Cleaning up from the winter. No jacket. ln the early afternoon I spent some time in our backyard cabana doing some reading and listening to music. It was very warm in there. Nice. But by the late afternoon the temperature rose to about 88 degrees. I was ready to put in the screens and open the windows. I went back out there in the evening for a bit as the temps in there lowered.

There were lots of people going through the neighborhood wearing shorts and t-shirts. Spring fever.

I was tempted to rearrange the cabana for summer. Not yet.

Gutter Cleaners Today

Our gutter cleaners came by today and took care of our roof gutters which were overflowing with leaves, nuts and pods mostly from the catalpa tree next door.

They did a good job and were fast too.

This company also does our window cleaning every year. We've been happy with their service although this year it would have been better if they had been able to clean our gutters earlier like in the late fall instead of the early spring. The gutters were full and caused the ice buildup along the side of the house this winter. Well, it's done now and the cleaners had a beautiful day to do it.

A Boy and His Dog - Film Favorites

Film Favorites: Science Fiction. A Boy and His Dog, 1975. 

Loved this weird kinky black comedy flic back in 75. Don Johnson... yikes! Post-apocalyptic America in 2024. Recently watched it yet again.

Ristorante Lombardo for Dinner

This evening Becky and I finally were able to use the gift certificate for Lombado's that Katie and Sean gave us for a Christmas gift. We were going to use it in January but we got sick and Becky got covid. Then in February there was all that bad weather and ice. We just didn't go out very much at all. 

But then this week we decided to get to Lombardo's and I made the reservations for 6 pm. We had a wonderful time with a great table. The restaurant was crowded but not too much.

I started off with a red toscana and Becky had a glass of rose. We split a delicious honeycrisp salad. My main dish was their Tagliatelle Bolognese veal, pork & beef ragu while Becky had their Continental Shrimp Scampi. Then we shared a dish of chocolate gelato. I also had a glass of Moretti Lager.

We had  that gift certificate for $150. We gave it to the server when she came by with the check and was surprised and amused that the check was for $152.50 including tax. It was a fantastic dinner and overall evening and we gave her a $30 tip. So our cost was $32.50. Thank you Katie and Sean.

Gorgo - Film Favorites

Film Favorites: Saturday Matinee. Gorgo, 1961. A monster "like nothing you've ever seen before".  I was really big on seeing monster movies at the theater around the corner on Saturday afternoons as a kid. Double features too.

I loved this movie as a kid and thought it was so cool capturing a big monster but then finding out that it was the little one and the really big and mad mother was coming to the rescue destroying everything in her path. And then just walking back to the sea with her little one at the end. Awesome.