Casulaties of Modern Technology (9 of 12)_ The Compact Disc

Yes, we are using an image of a compact disc of REO Speedwagon as a bit of an in-joke, as it is a band that one often hears one annoying adult contemporary radio stations, such as WASH-FM (97.1, Washington DC).

The compact disc, which is refered to as the cd, is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was first developed in labs in Belgium and The Netherlands in 1979, according to Wikipedia, and the cd became commercially available in 1982.

The first cd that we personally purchased was "Storm Front" by Billy Joel in 1989; it's the one with "We Didn't Start the Fire," which seemed like such a great song at the time.

As "Rolling Stone" writer Rob Sheffield has noted in his memoirs about his youth and how the pop music of the time ('80s and '90s) affected his life, he noted that the cd was instrumental in allowing music artists to store more music in one unit. Bands, ranging from The Cure to Guns N Roses, have taken advantage of this.

There are also enhanced cds, such as "Naked" (Talking Heads, 1988), which have music videos stored on them in addition to music from the recording studio.

According to a recent "Rolling Stone" article (not written by Sheffield) and the public radio music show "Sound Opinions," sales of cds have been plummeting. But, many are still made in spite of more modern gizmos because older artists like Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits and Bob Dylan rely on cd sales for their older customers whereas young artists like Lady Gaga rely on going directly to I-Tunes and I-Pads, and other gadgets that were the brainchild of the late Steve Jobs.

However, vinyl sales have improved. In fac, 2011 was a banner year for vinyl record sales as 3.9 million records were sold. This was the first in sales in the product since 1979.

And, many though music stores have been disapperaring at an alarming rate, the remaning succesful ones, such as CD Alley in Chapel Hill, Hill, and Wuxutry Records in Athens, Ga. (which also has a store in Atlanta) have relied on both the cd and the record to get music to their customers.

Last 10 CDs I've Listened To

I must profess this was a bit tougher to put together than I anticipated as I had to double-check which dates these albums were released. I actually first got the release years for The Replacements' album "Tim" and REM's record "Document" mixed up.

This week, REM, a band that along with the B-52s shaped and defined the Athens,Ga., music scene in the 1980s decided to call it quits after 31 years.

Here are the albums:

1. Talking Heads (pictured) "Speaking in Tongues." (1983). Key Tracks: "Burning Down the House," "Girlfriend is Better," and "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)."

2. Okay Temiz (Turkish instrumentalist) "Magnet Dance" (1994).

3. Peter Bjorn and John "Gimme Some" (2011) Key Tracks: "Tomorrow Has to Wait" and "Down Like Me."

4. Ali Farka Toure (late Mali guitar great) "Niafunke" (1999).

5. The Replacements "Tim" (1987) Key Tracks: "Kiss Me on the Bus," "Bastards of Young," and "Left of the Dial."

6. Gogol Bordello (pictured) "Super Taranta!" (2007). Key Tracks: "Wonderlust King" and "American Wedding."

7. The Go-Gos (pictured) "Beauty and the Beat" (1981) Key Tracks: "We Got the Beat" and "Our Lips Are Sealed."

8. Mates of State "Bring It Back" (2006) Key Track: "For the Actor"

9. R.E.M "Document" (1987) Key Tracks: "Finest Work Song," "It's the End of the World (As We Know It)," and "The One I Love."

10. Billy Joel "Piano Man" (1973) Key Tracks: "Piano Man," "The Ballad of Billy the Kid," and "Captain Jack."

Status Update_ Life Might Be Turning Back to Normal

Status Update for June 27, 2011:

"Life is apparently, somehow/somewhat becoming normal again. Can I listen to Slipknot now?"

For those who don't get my sense of humor, and many people do not, there is actually an entry on my sister blog "The Daily Vampire" with an image of the great composer Franz Liszt, whose music will be on the PRI/NPR show "Performance Today" this evening in our market.

Somehow, when the opportunity permits, I also like to listen to "Chainsaw Rock" on 88.1-FM (Raleigh), which is the North Carolina State student radio station. It airs from midnight to 2:00 a.m. on Friday night/Saturday morning; the show is hosted by Hammerhead. And, it is responsible for introducing me to the speed metal band Slipknot, a band that originated in Iowa, of all places!

Orginally, we were going to use Guns N Roses as the band for this entry, but we think Slipknot makes it more offbeat and perhaps slightly funnier. My own personal favorite music genres are actually Turkish psychedelic music from the '70s and New Wave music from the '80s. I should add that I much prefer Talking Heads over Culture Club. And, Turkish psychedelic pioneer Erkin Koray turned 70 this month.

A Turkish music radio show airs on WUVT-FM (90.7, Blacksburg, Va.), the student station of Virginia Tech, on Saturdays from 1:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m.

Amadeus in Bethesda- Home and Away (Entry 1 of 3)

We are including an image of the late Austrian pop singer Falco ("Rock Me Amadeus") because the play "Amadeus" is currently being performed at the Roundhouse Theatre in Bethesda, Md., and it was one of the many things I would have liked to have done which we didn't get 'round to. The play runs through June 12. And, there were actually plenty of things we were able to get done.

One of the many complications that comes when one is traveling is that no matter if you are traveling to a nearby place or Tashkent, Uzbekistan, if it will involve at least one overnight stay then they are the issues of: "Is there enough food for Garfield?," "Will an annoying bill come in that might forget to pay?," and "Ahhh! When am I ever gonna get to clean up this house?!"

So, you have to decide if you want to stay home and perhaps settle for a vinyl quest at the Happy's Flea Market in Roanoke, Va. or a photo-taking outing to take Polaroids of the Paul Bunyan Muffler Man statue just down the road from Happy's on Williamson Road (yes, Happy's is a real place, the muffler man still stands and Roanoke, Va., is my hometown; I no longer reside there but you may see me there at some juncture...?!).

And, there is the problem of getting out of the darn house itself. I know when I travel I like to think what cds go well with the trip. Inevitably, I always choose Talking Heads or The Cars, though if I ever have to go to a funeral, I may go with The Cure (forgive the Gen X) humor.

On this particular trip, the family cat , who is not actually named Garfield (he's a tuxedo cat, actually), was a top priority. We made sure his liter box was fresh, and that he had food and water. But, alas, we underestimated the amount of time we would be in Washington, DC, so when we came home, we saw that the cat had eaten all six cans we had left him. He was hungry and he was mad. For a moment, I thought he was going to turn into a feline Linda Blair. But, of course, once he was fed, he was a happy camper. Until five minutes later, when he wanted out, but it was midnight. Luckily for us, he did not turn blue or start yelling expletives, nor was he possessed by a Satanic demon (that we know of).

Yes, We Have Experienced Distractions

Since I have used the test pattern image from TRT (Turkish Radio Television) in the 1970s when I lived there from 1977-79 (though my late father was Turkish, I was born in America) and watched American shows such as "Space 1999" and "Flipper" many times on this blog, I thought I would go with the test patter from Bulgarian-TV around that same time. But, I had to settle with this test patter from Swedish TV instead. Somehow, I don't expect there was all that much difference between test patterns back then. Curiously, I'm not sure how often the test pattern comes up in the modern age. It could yet be another Casualty of Modern Technology.

Speaking of which, I just had to get up and change sides on a vinyl record version of "Stop Making Sense," a 1984 concert album from Talking Heads. I am now listening to "Once in a Lifetime," which may have inspired the Coen Brothers to make their quirky, dark comedies where a man's leg goes through a wood chipper in Minnesota.

While vinyl is making a comeback these days, so are zealous extreme forms of the Christian faith here in America. I respect people's faith, but when they start saying the world will end on Saturday (and, yes, there is a pretty significant group out there which has made this gloomy forecast), I think the rest of us have a Constitutional right to say: "Hmmmm...yes, you are insane."

Additionally, more businesses have actually implemented religion into the names of their hotels and restaurants, in addition to those that put "He Lives," "The Tomb is Empty" or "He is Risen" on their store marquees assuredly driving any Egyptian gas station managers to decide they would rather have a Whopper at Burger King.

Amazingly enough, there is apparently a restaurant called Jesus Kitchen, in North Hollywood, Calif., of all places.

And, if you want to make sure 'God is spending the night with you," then the Christ the King Motel in Kingsport, Tenn., a place I have seen for myself, might be the place for you as long as there are no Jews, Buddhists, Muslims or Hindus in your party. There is another Christ the King Motel in Beckley, W.Va., but we could not find out if the two places with the same name had the same owners. Assuredly, they may kick you out of your room if you come to the front desk to ask where the Coke machine is as you are dressed in a Slayer t-shirt.