Saturday, February 16, 2013

2.14.13

On February 14th I listened to Barry White Can’t Get Enough, My Bloody Valentine Loveless, and Marvin Gaye Let’s Get It On! Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!


Thanks to The Simpsons anytime I hear Barry White I say out loud, “I love the sexy slither of a lady snake.” Whacking Day indeed!

I can’t believe when I was in college I would throw on albums from The Smiths when I was going to be getting laid. Why the F wasn’t on throwing on Barry White records?

I love Barry White and Can’t Get Enough is exactly what you think it would sound like. I pretty much only knew the title track and “You’re The First, The Last, My Everything.” Even with its disco sheen, Barry lifts this album up to the heavens! And it’s a short album too! Only 31 minutes of music but hours and hours of love… making. I dunno.


Now here is an album that I should love! It’s got my name written all over it. A 1991 Alternative classic from an Irish band released while I was working in college radio and it’s not too far removed to what I was really in to at the time! I kinda liked “Only Shallow,” the records opener, then but I wasn't into much else and believe me I have given this album plenty of chances. Not to mention all the My Bloody Valentine superfans I know that have urged me to go back and listen to this or that track.

Did you ever hear of convenience stores using high pitched frequencies to keep teenagers from loitering by their front doors? I feel like who ever came up with that idea was listening to Loveless.

Maybe now that I’m older and can’t hear the high ends as much this record isn't as grating as I once thought it was cause I did find some nice moments and/or grooves in “I Only Said,” “Come In Alone,” and “Sometimes.” Actually the second half of the record is pretty nice, just aurally sloppy.

When I’m listening to this album, in my imagination I’m standing in front of a giant mixing board turning everything down a pube and saying to myself, “oh, that’s nice.” I understand that is the appeal of My Bloody Valentine, but why can’t it all sound as clean as “Soon,” the album’s closer, does?


Another artist taken from us too soon, I remember when Marvin Gaye was shot and killed in 1984 and being bummed about it. Not so much because I was a big fan of his at the time, but because it was such a sad story. To be shot by your father. 

Let’s Get It On is the same length as Can’t Get Enough, just 31 minutes. Subtle and sweet at times, this album also gets down and dirty, especially with the overtly sexified “You Sure Love To Ball.” I have no memory of this song, but I could see myself reading the name on an album jacket when I was a little kid and thinking, “somebody likes to play basketball.”

Outside of “Let’s Get It On,” “Come Get To This,” and “Keep Gettin’ It On” were my favorites.

P.S. It pisses me off when “Let’s Get It On,” is used in TV commercials!   

No comments:

Post a Comment