Occupation Thoughts

Some thoughts on the Occupy Wall Street movement and related protests. I agree with the need to protest Wall Street 100% but it certainly doesn't stop there. It's a good place to make a stand but the movement needs to focus on many other objectives.

The corporate media has attacked the movement as aimless and continually ask for the objectives. The concept of the 1% waging class war on the 99% is valid and obvious.

I have some ideas on objective for the movement.

Campaign Finance Reform is number one. Take the money out of elections. I also think that lobbyist should be banned from Capitol Hill or at least be severely restricted. Former members of Congress should be banned from lobbying for at least 10 years.

The debt crises is bullshit. Forcing the 1% to pay their fair share of taxes would solve the problem immediately. Another good idea is to tax Wall Street financial transactions. That would also solve the debt crises.

60 Albums 1980

Mixing it up a little... I'm jumping from the 60s to 1980. This was also another year where I couldn't stop at 60 at ended up with a list of my 100 favorites for the year.

1. Talking Heads - Remain in Light
2. Elvis Costello - Get Happy!!
3. The English Beat - I Just Can't Stop It
4. The Clash - Sandinista!
5. David Bowie - Scary Monsters (And Super Creeeps)
6. U2 - Boy
7. Pretenders - Pretenders
8. Split Enz - True Colours
9. Prince - Dirty Mind
10. Squeeze Argybargy
11. Rockpile - Seconds of Pleasure
12. Dirty Looks - Dirty Looks
13. Echo & The Bunnymen - Crocodiles
14. Magazine - The Correct Use of Soap
15. The Selecter - Too Much Pressure
16. XTC - Black Sea
17. Bruce Springsteen - The River
18. Joy Division - Closer
19. Captain Beefheart - Doc at the Radar Station
20. The Teardrop Explodes - Kilimanjaro
21. The Cure - Seventeen Seconds
22. Hall & Oates - Voices
23. The Only Ones - Baby's Got a Gun
24. Stevie Wonder - Hotter Than July
25. X - Los Angeles
26. Tom Waits - Heartattack and Vine
27. The Jam - Sound Affects
28. Peter Gabriel - Peter Gabriel
29. Elvis Costello - Taking Liberties
30. Fischer-Z - Going Deaf For a Living
31. Martha & The Muffins - Metro Music
32. 999 - The Biggest Prize in Sport
33. Joan Armatrading - Me, Myself and I
34. Roxy Music - Flesh + Blood
35. Defunkt - Defunkt
36. John Hiatt - Two Bit Monsters
37. Black Uhuru - Sinsemilla
38. Dexys Midnight Runners - Searching for the Young Soul Rebels
39. The Soft Boys - Underwater Moonlight
40. Grace Jones - Warm Leatherette
41. T Bone Burnett - Truth Decay
42. Devo - Freedom of Choice
43. Killing Joke - Killing Joke
44. The Psychedelic Furs - The Psychedelic Furs
45. The B-52's - Wild Planet
46. The Undertones - Hypnotised
47. Ramones - End of the Century
48. Bob Marley & The Wailers - Uprising
49. The Kinks - One For The Road
50. Joe Jackson - Beat Crazy
51. Kate Bush - Never For Ever
52. The Vapors - New Clear Days
53. The Specials - More Specials
54. The Cramps - Songs the Lord Taught Us
55. Joan Jett - Joan Jett
56. Bootsy Collins - Ultra Wave
57. The Feelies - Crazy Rhythms
58. The Roches - Nurds
59. Teenage Head - Frantic City
60. Linton Kwesi Johnson - Bass Culture
61. The Durutti Column - The Return of the Durutti Column
62. Siouxsie & The Banshees - Kaleidoscope
63. Ultravox - Vienna
64. Blondie - Autoamerican
65. Billy Burnette - Billy Burnette
66. The Rolling Stones - Emotional Rescue
67. The Inmates - Shot in the Dark
68. UB40 - Signing Off
69. Robert Gordon - Bad Boy
70. The Police - Zenyatta Mondatta
71. Steely Dan - Gaucho
72. Link Wray - Live at the Paradiso
73. AC/DC - Back in Black
74. Pylon - Gyrate
75. Young Marble Giants - Colossal Youth
76. Dead Kennedys - Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables
77. Linton Kwesi Johnson - LKJ in Dub
78. Roky Erickson & The Aliens - Roky Erickson & The Aliens (5 Symbols)
79. Emmylou Harris - Roses in the Snow
80. Mink DeVille - Le Chat Bleu
81. Van Morrison - Common One
82. The Human League - Travelogue
83. The Birthday Party - The Birthday Party
84. Bruce Cockburn - Humans
85. Willie Nile - Willie Nile
86. Visage - Visage
87. Jim Carroll - Catholic Boy
88. John Lennon & Yoko Ono - Double Fantasy
89. Wreckless Eric - Big Smash
90. Swell Maps - In Jane From Occupied Europe
91. Warren Zevon - Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School
92. Steve Winwood - Arc of a Diver
93. Daryl Hall - Sacred Songs
94. Paul McCartney - Paul McCartney II
95. Roseanne Cash - Right or Wrong
96. Buggles - The Age of Plastic
97. Orchestral Nanoeuvres in the Dark - Organization
98. Adam & The Ants - Kings of the Wild Frontier
99. Various Artists - No Nukes
100. BB Gabor - BB Gabor

60@60 1969 Albums

1969 was my high school graduation year and it's also the year I joined the Navy. For the past year or so I was going many shows and concerts in addition to buying lots of albums. So here are my favorite albums from my collection that were released in 1969. I saw quite a few of these bands in concert in that year.

So I have The Beatles' Abbey Road as my top pick for the year. As with all of these 60@60 lists there is some relative subjectivity in the rankings. The top group is almost a shared rank but only one can be number one and so I've tried to be a little more selective and thoughtful with that pick. It's hard to imagine the incredible buzz that led up to the release of Abbey Road especially with all the talk of the group's inevitable breakup. We were also experiencing all the craziness of the Paul is dead phenomenon. I remember walking up to Chelten Avenue on the Saturday morning of the release of the album to get my copy.

1969 was a good year for music and I had to keep on adding albums from my collection to this list. I just couldn't stop at 60 and so this list goes to 100. My favorite 100 albums from 1969 and yes I have every one of them. Lots of vinyl too.

1. The Beatles - Abbey Road
2. Neil Young - Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
3. The Band - The Band
4. The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed
5. Sly & The Family Stone - Stand!
6. Led Zeppelin - Led Zepplin II
7. Crosby, Stills & Nash- Crosby, Stills & Nash
8. Santana - Santana
9. Chicago - Chicago Transit Authority
10. Isaac Hayes - Hot Buttered Soul
11. Jefferson Airplane - Volunteers
12. Joe Cocker - With a Little Help From My Friends
13. Janis Joplin - I Got Dem Ol' Kosmic Blues Again Mama!
14. The Temptations - Cloud Nine
15. Frank Zappa - Hot Rats
16. Miles Davis - In A Silent Way
17. The Kinks - Arthur or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire
18. Blind Faith - Blind Faith
19. Donovan - Barabajagal
20. Bob Dylan - Nashville Skyline
21. Creedence Clearwater Revival - Green River
22. The Byrds - Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde
23. Dusty Springfield - Dusty in Memphis
24. John Mayall - The Turning Point
25. Tommy James & The Shondells - Crimson & Clover
26. The Flying Burrito Brothers - The Gilded Palace of Sin
27. Johnny Winter - Johnny Winter
28. Creedence Clearwater Revival - Bayou Country
29. The Stooges - The Stooges
30. The MC5 - Kick Out The Jams
31. The Byrds - Ballad of Easy Rider
32. Boz Scaggs - Boz Scaggs
    
33. Rashaan Roland Kirk - Volunteered Slavery
34. The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground
35. Joni Mitchell - Clouds
36. Blood, Sweat & Tears - Blood, Sweat & Tears
37. The Who - Tommy
38. Pink Floyd - Ummagumma
39. Jethro Tull - Stand Up
40. Tim Buckley - Happy Sad
41. Captain Beefheart - Trout Mask Replica
42. King Crimson - In The Court of The Crimson King
43. Quicksilver Messenger Service - Happy Trails
44. Ten Years After - Ssssh
45. Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin
46. Three Dog Night - Suitable For Framing
47. Jack Bruce - Songs For a Tailor
48. Tyrannosaurus Rex - Unicorn
49. Boz Scaggs - Boz Scaggs
50. Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left
51. Jeff Beck Group - Beck-Ola
52. The Moody Blues - On the Threshold of a Dream
53. Grateful Dead - Aoxomoxoa
54. The Incredible String Band - Changing Horses
55. Can - Monster Movie
56. Townes Van Zandt - Our Mother the Mountain
57. Fairport Convention - Unhalfbricking
58. The Moody Blues - To Our Children's Children's Children
59. The Doors - The Soft Parade
60. Rare Earth - Get Ready
61. Johnny Cash - At San Quentin
    
62. Moby Grape - Truly Fine Citizen
    
63. John McLaughlin - Extrapolation
64. Steppenwolf - Monster
65. The Beach Boys - 20/20
66. Creedence Clearwater Revival - Willy and the Poor Boys
67. Aretha Franklin - Soul '69
68. Grateful Dead - Live/Dead
69. Procol Harum - A Salty Dog
70. Tony Williams Lifetime - Emergency
    
71. Al Green - Green is Blues
72. Vanilla Fudge - Near the Beginning
73. Herbie Mann - Memphis Underground
74. Cream - Goodbye
75. The Mandrake Memorial - Puzzle
76. Townes Van Zandt - Townes Van Zandt
77. Joe Cocker - Joe Cocker!
78. Fairport Convention - Liege & Lief
79. Billy Preston - That's The Way God Planned It
80. The Allman Brothers Band - The Allman Brothers Band
81. Quicksilver Messenger Service - Shady Grove
    
82. Amon Duul II - Phallus Dei
83. Johnny Winter - Second Winter
84. Savoy Brown - Blue Matter
85. Tony Joe White - Black and White
    
86. Roberta Flack - First Take
87. Steppenwolf - At Your Birthday Party
    
88. It's A Beautiful Day - It's A Beautiful Day
89. The Chambers Brothers - Love, Peace and Happiness
    
90. Poco - Pickin' Up The Pieces
91. Mike Bloomfield & Al Kooper - The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper
92. Steve Miller Band - Brave New World
93. Fleetwood Mac - Blues Jam in Chicago: Volume One
    
94. The Illusion - The Illusion
    
95. The 5th Dimension - The Age of Aquarius
96. Spooky Tooth - Spooky Two
    
97. The Bubble Puppy - A Gathering of Promises
    
98. Vanilla Fudge - Rock and Roll
    
99. Iron Butterfly - Ball
100. Wild Man Fischer - An Evening With Wild Man Fischer
     

60@60 1967 Albums

My favorite albums in my collection released in 1967. This was the year that I really wanted lots of albums. I was constantly reading every review or story in the paper or any magazine I could get a hold of that had anything at all about the contemporary music scene. I was getting obsessed but I was also a high school student without a job and spending money.

I would be another year before I had a decent job making some money to buy albums. This is also the time I started hanging out in record shops.

Looking back now on this time... was Sgt. Pepper's really the best album that year? In a way it hasn't dated as well as some others on this list but the overall influence continues today. It also had a tremendous impact on me back in 1967.

1. The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
   
2. Jimi Hendrix - Are You Experienced?
3. The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground & Nico
4. Love - Forever Changes
5. The Doors - The Doors
6. Jefferson Airplane - Surrealistic Pillow
7. The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour
8. Pink Floyd - The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
9. Jimi Hendrix - Axis: Bold as Love
10. The Kinks - Something Else
11. Vanilla Fudge - Vanilla Fudge
12. Aretha Franklin - I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You
13. Leonard Cohen - Songs of Leonard Cohen
14. The Byrds - Younger Than Yesterday
15. Cream - Disraeli - Gears
16. The Hollies - Butterfly
17. The Temptations - With a Lot o' Soul
18. The Rolling Stones - Between The Buttons
19. Etta James - Tell Mama
20. The Chambers Brothers - Time Has Come Today
21. The Beach Boys - Smiley Smile
22. The Who - The Who Sells Out
23. Buffalo Springfield - Buffalo Springfield Again
24. The Young Rascals - Groovin'
25. The Left Banke - Walk Away Renee
26. The Moody Blues - Day of Future Past
27. The Rolling Stones - Their Satantic Majesties Request
28. Tim Buckley - Goodbye and Hello
29. Laura Nyro - More Than a New Discovery
30. Donovan - Mellow Yellow
31. The Chocolate Watch Band - No Way Out
32. The Rolling Stones - Flowers
33. Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention - Absolutely Free
34. The 13th Floor Elevators - Easter Everywhere
35. Nico - Chelsea Girl
36. Love - Da Capo
37. Traffic - Mr. Fantasy
38. Moby Grape - Moby Grape
39. Phil Ochs - Pleasures of the Harbor
40. Country Joe & The Fish - I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die
41. Aretha Franklin - Aretha Arrives
42. Judy Collins - Wildflowers
43. The Pretty Things - Emotions
44. The Beach Boys - Wild Honey
45. Captain Beefheart - Safe as Milk
46. The Doors - Strange Days
47. Mississippi John Hurt - The Immortal
48. Gene Clark - Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers
49. Jefferson Airplane - After Bathing at Baxter's
50. Bee Gees - Bee Gee's 1st
51. Procoh Harum - Procol Harum
52. Richie Havens - Mixed Bag
53. The Incredible String Band - The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion
54. The Electric Prunes - Underground
55. Arlo Guthrie - Alice's Restaurant
56. Pearls Before Swine - One Nation Underground
57. Grateful Dead - Grateful Dead
58. Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & The Trinity - Open
59. Bob Dylan - John Wesley Harding
60. The Monkees - More of the Monkees

60@60 1966 Albums

Favorite albums in my collection released in 1966. Another early year in my collecting that I mostly purchased singles rather than albums. The first album here that I got was Freak Out with Dylan, the Beatles and the Beach Boys not far behind.

By the late 60s and early 70s I had most of the albums here except for the Coltrane.

1. Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde
   
2. The Beatles - Revolver
3. The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
4. Otis Redding - The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul
5. Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention - Freak Out
6. The Kinks - Face to Face
7. The Rolling Stones - Aftermath
8. The Byrds - Fifth Dimension
9. The Beatles - Yesterday and Today
10. Simon & Garfunkel - Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Tyme
    
11. John Mayall - Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton
12. The 13th Floor Elevators - The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators
13. Simon & Garfunkel - Sounds of Silence
14. Donovan - Sunshine Superman
15. The Yardbirds - The Yardbirds (Roger the Engineer)
16. Buffalo Springfield - Buffalo Springfield
17. The Remains - The Remains
18. Paul Butterfield Blues Band - East/West
19. The Monks - Black Monk Time
20. Mississippi John Hurt - Today
21. Love - Love
22. Blues Magoos - Psychedelic Lollipop
23. Cream - Fresh Cream
24. The Shadows of Knight - Back Door Men
25. The Music Machine - (Turn On) The Music Machine
26. The Mamas & The Papas - If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears
27. The Tempations - Gettin' Ready
28. James Brown - I Got You (I Feel Good)
29. Tim Buckley - Tim Buckley
30. The Fugs - The Fugs
31. Jefferson Airplane - Jefferson Airplane Takes Off
32. The Young Rascals - The Young Rascals
33. The Monkees - The Monkees
34. The Animals - The Best of the Animals
35. The Who - A Quick One
36. The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band - Volume One
37. Judy Collins - In My Life
38. The Four Tops - The Four Tops on Top
39. Los Bravos - Black is Black
40. John Coltrane - Meditations
41. Otis Redding - The Soul Album
42. The Incredible String Band - The Incredible String Band
43. The Rolling Stones - Got Live If You Want It
44. Sam & Dave - Hold On, I'm Comin'
45. The Association - And Then Along Comes The Association
46. Question Mark & The Mysterians - 96 Tears
47. The Seeds - The Seeds
48. Nancy Sinatra - Boots
49. John Coltrane - Ascension
50. The Rolling Stones - Big Hits (High Tide & Green Grass)
51. Sir Douglas Quintet - The Best of the Sir Douglas Quintet
52. Tim Hardin - Tim Hardin
53. Bert Jansch - Jack Orion
54. The Blues Project - Projections
55. Them - Them Again
56. The Standells - Dirty Water
57. The Supremes - Supremes A-Go-Go
58. Percy Sledge - When A Man Loves A Woman
59. Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels - Take A Ride
60. The Righteous Brothers - Soul & Inspiration
    

60@60 1965 Albums

Here is my list of 60 favorite albums from my collection released in 1965. I was mostly buying singles at this time and the albums on the list were collected over the late 60s and early 70s.

I was definitely into a lot of Motown and folk back then along with the British Invasion stuff. Looking back on it now I guess things haven't changed much.

Rubber Soul is probably my favorite Beatles album and it was also the first album by any artist I replaced on CD in the late 80s. Highway 61 Revisited might be my favorite Dylan album although Blonde on Blonde is right up there too.

1. The Beatles - Rubber Soul
2. Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited
3. The Rolling Stones - Out of Our Heads
4. John Coltrane - A Love Supreme
5. The Yardbirds - Having a Rave Up with The Yardbirds
6. The Byrds - Mr. Tambourine Man
7. The Who - My Generation
8. Bob Dylan - Bringing It All Back Home
9. The Beatles - Help!
10. The Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones Now
11. Otis Redding - Otis Redding Sings Soul
12. The Beach Boys - Today
13. The Kinks - Kinda Kins
14. The Zombies - The Zombies
15. The Four Seasons - Entertain You
16. The Temptations - Temptin' Tempations
17. The Byrds - Turn Turn Turn
18. Wilson Picket - In The Midnight Hour
19. The Four Tops - Second Album
20. The Rolling Stones - December's Children (And Everybody's)
21. Them - Here Comes The Night
22. The Sonics - Here Are The Sonics
23. Horace Silver - Song For My Father
24. The Supremes - More Hits By The Supremes
25. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - Going To A Go Go
26. The Paul Butterfield Blues Band - The Paul Butterfield Blues Band
27. Phil Ochs - I Ain't Marching Anymore
28. Bert Jansch - Bert Jansch
29. Marvin Gaye - How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You
30. The Pretty Things - The Pretty Things
31. The McCoys - Hang On Sloopy
32. Fred Neil - Bleecker and MacDougal
33. The Beau Brummels - Introducing The Beau Brummels
34. James Brown - Papa's Got A Brand New Bag
35. The Beach Boys - Summer Days (And Summer Nights)
36. The Zombies - Begin Here
37. B.B. King - Live at the Regal
38. Joan Baez - Farewell, Angelina
39. The Kinks - The Kink Kontroversy
40. The Strangeloves - I Want Candy
41. Martha & The Vandallas - Dance Party
42. Tom Rush - Tom Rush
43. Ramsey Lewis - The In Crowd
44. The Pretty Things - Get The Picture?
45. Judy Collins - Fifth Album
46. John Fahey - Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death
47. The Temptations - The Temptations Sing Smokey
48. Herbie Hancock - Maiden Voyage
49. Jr. Walker & The All Stars - Shotgun
50. The Turtles - It Ain't Me Babe
51. Paul Revere & The Raiders - Just Like Us
52. Son House - Father of the Delta Blues
53. Bert Jansch - It Don't Bother Me
54. The Beach Boys - The Beach Boys Party
55. The Lovin' Spoonful - Do You Believe In Magic
56. Herb Albert & The Tijuana Brass - Whipped Cream & Other Delights
57. Odetta - Odetta Sings Dylan
58. Tom Rush - Blues, Songs & Ballads
59. The Moody Blues - The Magnificent Moodies
60. Ian & Sylvia - Early Morning Rain
    

60@60 1968 Albums

I'm starting off with a list of my 60 favorite albums from my collection released in 1968. That was the year I had my first job and significant money to spend on buying records. My collection really started taking shape and I was running out buying albums as they were released.

Most of the albums here I had in 1968 or over the next couple of years. There are a few here that I discovered much later. These are not necessarily what I would say was the best of the year but they are albums from that year that were favorites and records I kept coming back to over the years. They are loosely in order. The top few albums are interchangeable.

1. Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland
2. The Beatles - The Beatles (White Album)
3. The Rolling Stones - Beggars Banquet
4. The Band - Music From Big Pink
5. Aretha Franklin - Lady Soul
6. Big Brother & The Holding Company - Cheap Thrills
7. The Zombies - Odessey and Oracle
8. The Kinks - The Village Green Preservation Society
9. Cream - Wheels of Fire
10. Chocolate Watch Band - The Inner Mystique
11. The Byrds - Sweetheart of the Rodeo
12. The Velvet Underground - White Light/White Heat
13. Creedence Clearwater Revival - Creedence Clearwater Revival
14. Donovan - The Hurdy Gurdy Man
15. Canned Heat - Boogie With Canned Heat
16. Aretha Franklin - Aretha Now
17. Sly & The Family Stone - Dance to the Music
18. Procol Harum - Shine On Brightly
19. Simon & Garfunkel - Bookends
20. Van Morrison - Astral Weeks
21. The Byrds - The Notorious Byrd Brothers
22. Laura Nyro - Eli and the Thirteenth Confession
23. Blood, Sweat & Tears - Child Is Father to the Man
24. Jethro Tull - This Was
25. The Pretty Things - S. F. Sorrow
26. Pink Floyd - A Saucerful of Secrets
27. Bee Gees - Idea
28. Traffic - Traffic
29. The Young Rascals - Once Upon a Dream
30. Deep Purple - Shades of Deep Purple
31. Bloomfield, Kooper & Stills - Super Session
32. Steppenwolf - Steppenwolf
33. Iron Butterfly - In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida
34. Buffalo Springfield - Last Time Around
35. Johnny Rivers - Realization
36. Jeff Beck Group - Truth
37. Townes Van Zandt - For the Sake of the Song
38. Frank Zappa - We're Only in It for the Money
39. Dr. John - Gris Gris
40. Spirit - Spirit
41. Quicksilver Messenger Service - Quicksilver Messenger Service
42. The Doors - Waiting for the Sun
43. Canned Heat - Living the Blues
44. Johnny Cash - At Folsom Prison
45. The Incredible String Band - The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter
46. The Moody Blues - In Search of the Lost Chord
47. Pearls Before Swine - Balaklava
48. Blue Cheer - Vincebus Eruptum
49. Jefferson Airplane - Crown of Creation
50. Small Faces - Odgen's Nut Gone Flake
51. Tom Rush - The Circle Game
52. The Beach Boys - Friends
53. Moby Grape - Wow
54. John Marytn - The Tumbler
55. Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac
56. The Fugs - It Crawled Into My Hand, Honest
57. Nico - The Marble Index
58. The Monkees - Head
59. Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazelwood - Nancy & Lee
60. Silver Apples - Silver Apples

Looking Back

I've been thinking about how to do this list thing. This looking back on all this stuff. I think I'll have some ready to put up this weekend.

The mixes that I've been creating for several decades started out as cassette tapes. Looking back on this process I think I started doing it because I hated radio so much. I wanted control of what I was listening to both in the car and at home. I should point out that I didn't always hate radio and I was a very big radio listener in the 60's and early 70's. Then classic rock came along and the corporate takeover of radio. But I digress.

Eventually I moved to using the computer and burning CDs for my mixes. I also began creating CD sleeves with interesting covers and listings of the songs on the CD. It has only been very recently that I've slowed down making CD mixes because now it seems to be much easier to create playlist in iTunes and to play an iPod attached to the car on trips. That leaves me to the idea of the 60@60 concept.

I recently started to create large playlist that were really several of my previous CD mixes strung together in a continuous mix. Some stretched on for many hours and I had them loaded on my iPod. They included mixes of soul, funk, reggae, garage bands, and collections of music from particular decades. The idea of sixty songs was the next step. It's really like taking about three of my standard mixes and putting them together. So these mixes of 60 songs will also be available as sets of three CDs.

There will be no shortage of source material for this blog but putting it up here is another matter.

We shall see. I'm not 60 yet.

The list and the rankings

I have lots of lists that will be posted here in the coming days, weeks and months. They really should not be taken as the best of this or that in a particular time period or category but rather as a retrospective snapshot. They are going to be collections of songs or albums or whatever that come to me at this time. They will be things I've listened to or read or seen. They will be things that have affected me in some way. They will be personal.

I will probably have some categories that may seem strange but will always have some personal meaning to me or maybe it just sounds right. I've been making mixes for many years and over time I've collected boxes of mix tapes and shelves of CD mixes. Many have been posted on a couple of different mixing community sites. I also have notebooks of listings and ideas for mixes. These will all be sources of upcoming mixes and lists on this site.

I have strong opinions about music and over the course of time here it will be fairly easy to identify a pattern of likes (and dislikes by omission). Many of the lists and mixes will probably need some comments and explanations. It's all coming soon but I'm not sixty yet.

60@60 - The Intro

This is the next phase of my online conversation with myself that began over twenty years ago. I've had numerous websites, blogs and other online social media activities with many usernames and accounts scattered across the net since the early 90s.

I created this particular blog today as I was thinking about my approaching 60th birthday. I thought this would be a good time to look back on my lifelong obsession of collecting music with a theme of 60. I would put together mixes of 60 songs from various categories and creating lists of 60 albums from each year. Some other lists will be 60 songs from a favorite artist or group. Then I began to think about all the books and movies in my life and the project continued to grow. I also may make lots of 60 word rants about whatever too.

So I eventually decided to have this blog as a home for all that I'll be putting together collected in one place. There will be lists. Lots of lists. Some of these lists and mixes will have shown up in other places such as Facebook, ZeRo, AotM, Last fm, RYM and who knows where including some of my older blogs.

We'll see how this goes. I'm not 60 yet.