The Shape I'm In - Songs 1970 FV

This is the revamped and slightly expanded version of this that has been redone several times over the past few decades using the same mix name. I even have a version of it upstairs on cassette. The last time and posted earlier on this blog was in 2015. This version is a little over an hour and a half long and there is a link to the Spotify playlist here. 

The Shape I'm In - Songs 1970 FV

1. The Shape I’m In – The Band
2. Them Changes – Buddy Miles Express
3. Spill The Wine – War
4. Maggie – Redbone
5. Run Through The Jungle – Creedence Clearwater Revival
6. Apeman – The Kinks
7. 13 Questions – Seatrain
8. Take Me To The Pilot – Elton John
9. Crimson Ship – Badfinger
10. I Hear You Knocking – Dave Edmunds
11. Get Back – The Beatles
12. Uncle John’s Band – Grateful Dead
13. The Whole World – The Beach Boys
14. Wild World – Cat Stevens
15. Maybe I’m Amazed – Paul McCartney
16. I’d Have You Anytime – George Harrison
17. Sweet Jane – The Velvet Underground
18. Ride A White Swan – T. Rex
19. No Good Trying – Syd Barrett
20. When You Dance You Can Really Love – Neil Young
21. Into The Mystic – Van Morrison
22. Empty Pages – Traffic
23. Make Me Smile – Chicago
24. Green-Eyed Lady – Sugarloaf
25. The Rapper – The Jaggerz
26. I’m Coming On – Ten Years After
27. Anyday – Derek & The Dominos

Remote Failure

A little over a year ago, in early December 2021, we bought a new television which I wrote about here which we had been needing for some time. It was a new Samsung smart TV from Best Buy and it came with a fancy remote control that was solar powered. It could also be charged with a USB charger like a phone. Most of the time we would just leave the remote laying on the table with the solar panel up because it would charge from sunlight coming in the window or from the house lights. But sometimes we would forget and the battery would drain down and we would need to plug in the remote. The one thing we never had to do was change the batteries.

Then suddenly the remote stopped working and would not recharge. It just died and I couldn't get it to charge with the USB charger or with the solar panel. I knew something was really wrong when I plugged in the charger and the red light did not go on. When the battery needed charging the red light would go on and then would turn off when the battery was fully charged. The red light would not turn on.

I spent a couple of hours messing with the remote and went online to see what I needed to do to get it running again. Nothing worked.  There were several problems with the remote not working and one was how to turn off the TV. It took some time but I eventually found the on/off button on the TV. It was very small and oddly located. When pressed the button brought up a little menu that was an on/off option, a channel changer and a volume control but I had to get down on my hands and knees in front of the TV to operate those functions. A real pain in the ass.

I also dug out the old remote for the Fire Stick TV app which enabled me to choose apps and channels but would not change the volume or act as an on/off switch. I still needed to push that crappy little button on the TV.

I went online with Amazon and found a replacement remote control for Samsung Smart TVs and ordered it for about $15. It would arrive in two days. So for the next couple of days we used the old FireTV remote and that damn little button. Then I also discovered there was a Samsung remote app available. I downloaded it to my phone and although it was somewhat awkward I was able to use it to turn the TV on and off and to raise or lower the volume without resorting to that tiny little hidden button.

The new remote arrived today and I quickly put in a couple of batteries. At first I thought it used AAA batteries like the other remote but it turns out it needed AA batteries which we had. Suddenly everything was working again and back to normal except now we just need to keep batteries on hand but no longer have to make sure a solar panel is getting charged. I really do wonder what went wrong with that remote and how did it fail after only a year.

We were just having a video chat with Katie and I was telling her about the remote issue. Her and Todd have both had to put a TV remote control app on their phones because the kids will occasionally lose their remote somewhere amongst the piles of toys and clutter. Sometimes the remote is missing all week and the phone app becomes essential. They have an extra non-working remote that is a decoy for little Violet who loves to have that remote in her little hand and point it at the TV. So cute.

Update: our new remote is working great. I had the old solar remote sitting by the window for several days hoping to get a charge but it's dead.

Truckin' Like The Do-Dah Man - Songs 1970 FV

This is the first of my Songs 1970 series which includes 22 mixes of a little over an hour and a half each. Obviously 1970 was a good year. A new series of Final Version mixes.

Here is a link to the playlist on Spotify.

Truckin' Like The Do-Dah Man - Songs 1970 FV

1. Truckin’ – Grateful Dead
2. Bron-Y-Aur Stomp – Led Zeppelin
3. Beltane Walk – T. Rex
4. Let’s Go Together – Jefferson Airplane
5. Hesitation Blues – Hot Tuna
6. Stage Fright – The Band
7. Let It Rain – Eric Clapton
8. Who’ll Stop The Rain – Creedence Clearwater Revival
9. Bad Side Of The Moon – Elton John
10. Signs – Five Man Electrical Band
11. Lola – The Kinks
12. Theme From An Imaginary Western – Mountain
13. All Right Now – Free
14. Question – The Moody Blues
15. Octopus – Syd Barett
16. My Sweet Lord – George Harrison
17. Carry On – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
18. Keep On Growing – Derek & The Dominos
19. Woodstock – Matthew’s Southern Comfort
20. The Boxer – Simon & Garfunkel
21. Till The Morning Comes – Neil Young
22. Sweet Sir Galahad – Joan Baez
23. The Circle Game – Joni Mitchell

Let Me Go - Songs 1983 FV

Another mix from 1983 and all of these songs I played from the sound booth in the artist hangout dive bar down the street from the state college I worked at throughout the 1980s. I loved spinning records for people not just when the dance floor was hopping but also when folks were just hanging out at our large round bar. From my sound booth overlooked both the bar area and the dance floor. It was always fun but working in bars that stayed open until 4 am was a bit much sometimes. On a slower night I could get out at 2. 

Style Council in the photo. Spotify link here. 

Let Me Go - Songs 1983 FV

1. Let Me Go - Heaven 17
2. Long Hot Summer - The Style Council
3. Poison Arrow - ABC
4. Modern Love - David Bowie
5. Girlfriend Is Better - Talking Heads
6. Stand Back - Stevie Nicks
7. Catch My Fall - Billy Idol
8. Talking In Your Sleep - The Romantics
9. Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) - Eurythmics
10. Come Back and Stay - Paul Young
11. Nobody's Diary - Yaz
12. Telegraph - Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
13. A Million Miles Away - The Plimsouls
14. Catapult - R.E.M.
15. Pillar To Post - Aztec Camera
16. True Love - X
17. Blister In The Sun - Violent Femmes
18. Love Went Mad - Elvis Costello
19. Guitar, Talk, Love & Drums - Gary Myrick
20. With Cantaloupe Girlfriend - The Three O'Clock
21. Remember The Nights - The Motels
22. Harvest Moon - Big Country
23. I Look Around - Rain Parade

Time Travel - A History

Ever since reading The Time Machine by H.G. Wells as a kid I've been interested in the concept of time travel in books, movies and television shows. 

I recently read Time Travel: A History by James Gleick, 2016 which was an exploration of the fiction and the science of time travel in human history. He especially concentrated on the storytellers and physicists of the last century. 

Overall I found the book very interesting where he used philosophy, science, literature, religion and cultural anthropology to explore the concept of time travel. There were some periods in the book when he maybe spent too much time on the history of time capsules, what religions thought of eternity and such. I would rather had him spend more time analyzing time travel in books and movies instead of being so abstract.

Some of my favorite books, movies and television shows over the years have been about time travel or had some related theme involved. A few of the earliest books I've read about time travel include:

• The Time Machine - H.G. Wells
• A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court - Mark Twain
• Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut
• A Wrinkle in Time - Madeline L'Engle

Normal or Crazy

It really doesn't get any crazier than this. Last night the President gave the annual State of the Union speech and the opposition party followed with a rebuttal which is usually by someone with presidential aspirations in the next election. This time it was former Trump White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders who is currently the governor of Arkansas. LOL. 

It's hard to believe that the GOP would put a known liar on as their spokesperson, oh, wait a minute, that's what they do now. All the time. Known liars.  I didn't watch her speech and would never in a million years but I did see some highlights later and she was pathetic just like she always was when giving misinformation filled press briefings but this time she really backfired. Here's a quote...

“The dividing line in America is no longer between right or left. The choice is between normal or crazy.”

Normal or crazy. Does the Republican Party really want people to look at them and decide what is normal or crazy. Social media had a field day mocking Sanders and republicans over this normal or crazy remark.

For What It's Worth - Songs 1966 FV

And for what it's worth here is another mix of songs from albums in my collection released in 1966. This mix starts off with some protest songs of the era and then gets into some more favorites, hits and deep cuts for another hour and a half trip through that time warp. 

Buffalo Springfield in the pic. 

For What It’s Worth - Songs 1966 FV

1. For What It’s Worth – Buffalo Springfield
2. Trouble Every Day – The Mothers Of Invention
3. Kill For Peace – The Fugs
4. Handsome Johnny – Richie Havens
5. Blowin’ In The Wind – Stevie Wonder
6. Let’s Get Together – Jefferson Airplane
7. Scaborough Fair / Canticle – Simon & Garfunkel
8. Turn Turn Turn / To Everything There Is A Season – Judy Collins
9. God Only Knows – The Beach Boys
10. Eleanor Rigby – The Beatles
11. Hot House Of Omagararshid – The Yardbirds
12. The Trip – Donovan
13. Orange Skies – Love
14. Fancy – The Kinks
15. Machines – Herbal Mixture
16. War Or Hands Of Time – The Masters Apprentices
17. Doncha Bother Me – The Rolling Stones
18. Don’t Bring Me Down – The Animals
19. Am I The Red One – Mick Softley
20. Sometimes I Wonder – The Harbinger Complex
21. One Track Mind – The Kickerbockers
22. You’d Better Run – Listen
23. Steppin’ Out – Paul Revere & The Raiders
24. My Friend Jack – The Smoke
25. I Can Take You To The Sun – The Misunderstood
26. Our Love Will Still Be There – The Troggs
27. Talk To You – Small Faces
28. Spicks & Specks – Bee Gees
29. I Saw Her Again – The Mamas & The Papas
30. Why – The Byrds
31. Follow Me – Lyme & Cybelle

Backyard Winter Sunroom Sitting

It has been a tough cold winter this year with several serious snowstorms and lots of deep cold cloudy windy weather. I've not been able to spend very much time in our backyard sunroom this winter because there have not been a lot of sunny days and I really need to have some good afternoon sunshine coming into the room to make it comfortable. I could bring a portable heater out there but the joy of that space in the winter is the sunshine on your face in that warm room when it is cold outside. I think the last time I had been sitting out there was just briefly in November. I went through December and January without having a chance to spend any time in the sunroom. 

Until today. Here it is in early February and I finally get some comfortable quality time sitting in our sunroom on a winter afternoon with a good book on my tablet and listening to a CD on the stereo in the room. Watching the birds at the feeder and the squirrels running about. Nice.

I should also mention that despite the long hard winter I did also seem some plant activity in the backyard which was surprisingly early. There were some daffodil shoots coming up and some snowdrops have started blooming. 

Everything Counts - Songs 1983 FV

Songs 1983 - Everything Counts in large amounts.

In 1983 I was working in a bar on weekends spinning records and I played many of these songs here. The opening two I would often play following each other. Actually I was playing most of these songs during those long nights from 10pm until 4am but there were a lot of times when I could quit earlier... like around 2am if it was a slow night.

Some other favorite albums for spinning back in the day was the Tears For Fears, The The, Big Country, The Romantics, Human League and so on. It was fun doing these 1983 mixes. How did I miss doing this series until now. Lots more to come. This mix runs for about an hour and a half.

This mix has been posted to Spotify but unfortunately the Shriekback is not on the site at least in the original version on this mix. The playlist on Spotify.

Everything Counts - Songs 1983 FV

1. Everything Counts - Depeche Mode
2. State Farm - Yaz
3. Lined Up - Shriekback
4. Change - Tears for Fears
5. Uncertain Smile - The The
6. Wonderland - Big Country
7. Back of Love - Echo & The Bunnymen
8. (Keep Feeling) Fascination - The Human League
9. New Moon On Monday - Duran Duran
10. No Parlez - Paul Young
11. Lies - Thompson Twins
12. Is It Love - Gang Of Four
13. When You Were Mine - Cyndi Lauper
14. Wishful Thinking - China Crises
15. Casual Encounter - The Divinyls
16. Here Comes The Rain Again - Eurythmics
17. One In A Million - The Romantics
18. Say It Isn't So - Hall & Oates
19. Say Say Say - Paul McCartney  & Michael Jackson 
20. Tell Her About It - Billy Joel
21. Nightbird - Stevie Nicks

Good Times Gone - Songs 1965 FV

Back a little further... Good Times Gone - Songs 1965. I discovered a lot of music that year and bought a few singles but it would be over the next few years that I would really start putting my collection together.

I was also just discovering the joys of browsing a neighborhood record store. 

Here is a link to the playlist in Spotify.

Good Times Gone - Songs 1965 FV

1. Where Have All The Good Times Gone – The Kinks
2. Here Comes The Night – Them
3. Ballad Of A Thin Man – Bob Dylan
4. Ticket To Ride – The Beatles
5. Evil Hearted You – The Yardbirds
6. Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere – The Who
7. Hang On Sloopy – The McCoys
8. Keep On Running – Spencer Davis Group
9. Shakin’ All Over – The Guess Who
10. I Fought The Law – The Bobby Fuller Four
11. Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood – The Animals
12. Lies – The Knickerbockers
13. This Diamond Ring – Gary Lewis & The Playboys
14. I See The Light – The Five Americans
15. You Were On My Mind – We Five
16. It Ain’t Me Babe – The Turtles
17. Go Now – The Moody Blues
18. I Love You – The Zombies
19. Play With Fire – The Rolling Stones
20. California Girls – The Beach Boys
21. You Baby – The Lovin’ Spoonful
22. Laugh Laugh – The Beau Brummels
23. Mr. Tambourine Man – The Byrds
24. Catch The Wind – Donovan
25. I’m Alive – The Hollies
26. Five O’Clock World – The Vogues
27. Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright – The Wonder Who
28. Are You A Boy or Are You A Girl – The Barbarians
29. Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter – Herman’s Hermits
30. Honey, I Need – The Pretty Things
31. I Need Love – The Dave Clark Five
32. But You’ll Never Do It Babe – The Boots
33. You Ain’t Tuff – The Uniques