Happy/ Merry, Team! It must be a good sign that I found the time to re-post my seasonal hits, right? Well, here they are in all their ancient, weirdly mixed and overstuffed glory. Are all begging for quality re-recording? Sure, but such are the fruits of my earlier and less well-formed musical efforts. Enjoy every last overtly Christmas-named one of ’em!

JK

Christmas Parties

Christmas Ain’t for Family

Time for Christmas

Old Fashioned Christmas

Everyday Christmas

Boy do I not know much about the Bevis Frond: English band; going for bout 30 years; run and sometimes solely consisting of Nick Saloman (who seems like an affable, shambling dude); sort of in a fuzzy, psychedelic Dino Jr vein. As probably is the case for some others, the Bevs(?)…. Bevos(?)… Frondos(?)… popped up on my radar thanks to squeaky former Boston area T-station busker Mary Lou Lord, who had her own arc in pop culture and a good ear for songs. Anyway, these two songs really stuck with me over the years and I finally learned ‘em.

JK

“He’d Be a Diamond “

“Lights Are Changing”

When David Crosby moved on from his complicated life, almost exactly a year ago, I’d hoped to knock out a quick few covers in tribute. Turns out this process would take a while, huh?

Croz is never far from the rotation up in Harpswell holler, whether via the first Byrds records, CSN(&Y), his maligned (by many) and loved (by me) solo debut, or his harmony contributions to Jackson Browne, James Taylor and others. Honestly most of his output is not at all my cuppa tea, and he seems like a guy who absolutely would’ve driven me straight up a wall, but I love the stuff I love and when playing with others, Croz really was the secret sauce. Just that slippery, mysterious, dead-on middle harmony holding things together. Usually the hardest part to hear and to hit.

So I took a spin on some Byrds and CSNY material and tried to figure some things out. From the Byrds: “Mr. Tambourine Man”, the landmark Dylan cover of the first LP; “Eight Miles High”, the controversial psychedelic travelogue; “Lady Friend”, Croz’ only solo written and lead sung Byrds single. From CSN+/-Y: “Wooden Ships”, his Jefferson Airplane crossover that landed on the CSN debut; and “Helpless”, Neil Young’s forever classic that CSN somehow lifted even higher with their beautiful harmonies.

So there. Dunno how successful it was, but good clean fun. Kudos to Dillo for supplying the great bass parts and tones on these.

JK

Mr. Tambourine Man (Byrds “Mr. Tambourine Man” LP, 1965)

“Eight Miles High” (Byrds “Fifth Dimension” LP, 1966)

“Lady Friend” (Byrds single, 1967)

“Wooden Ships” (“Crosby, Stills and Nash”, 1969)

“Helpless” (CSNY “Deja Vu”, 1970)

From RKBS Industries, 2021… Happy Independence Day, all. Keep swinging for the fences!

Sure, it might be a little dark and muddy and unloved compared to the few releases that came prior and afterwards but I have forever had a soft spot for “Fables of the Reconstruction”, their 3rd LP, from 1985. It’s certainly one of the most “them”…

I’d been without a vinyl copy but landed one a while back and it was on frequent rotation down at Chompy’s Downeast Yacht Club. And during a particularly spin-heavy weekend when we had visitors from afar, I figured it was a record that I wouldn’t mind covering most or all of. And so here we are at long last with four of my faves: a chimy riffer, a swamper, a maundery singalong, and a hazy dream story with piano and banjo…

JK

I love the first Son Volt record but something about the 1997 follow-up, “Straightaways” connected with me even more. It was anticipated in our (very) little circle for so long, with a live “Cemetery Savior” here and “Caryatid Easy” there. And it landed with me just a tad brighter and varied and a bit out there at times compared to the beloved debut, “Trace”. I assume the time on the road really got them firing as a unit, and Brian Paulson has a spotless track record as producer and polisher of artists’ strengths, and it was one of those magic songwriter stretches. Dunno. People are gonna like what they like. Anyway, it’s way more ignored than maligned nowadays but it’s still the one I go to. Here’s a stab at a couple highlights. More to come, good lord willin’!

JK

We’ll there’s not much to say about the impact that R.E.M. had in driving the college rock/ alternative music/ jangle pop situation back in the early-mid 80’s, and their influence on my own musical development is nearly unsurpassed (easily making my foundational top 5). Yeah, mostly the Rickenbacker chime and chop but also the sneaky bass, off-accented but powerful drumming, Mills-Berry harmonies, and overall recording/ production approach. As straight up and crystal clear as they were oblique and muddy, I signed on board with my sister’s cassette tape of “Reckoning” and the rotation on WLIR radio from Long Island, and R.E.M. was the first band for which I awaited every release and really climbed aboard for the ride. We took a stab at some faves over the past year or more, me and Mike and Dillo, among the other songs. Probably could do an R.E.M. set every few months without running out of gas…

JK

The Pixies’ post-resurrection afterlife has really made a mess of my mind at times. People love to go to their respective corners regarding the bass slot moves but, much as I love Kim Deal, I figure that with Charles and Joey and David still doing what they do, the band should be as valid with Paz on board. Main thing is that I’m ambivalent about the (very deserved but endless) cash-in, and frustrated that the new output’s been spotty in timing and quality. Plus, I was just so fond of Kim’s various projects and the sadly undervalued Frank Black releases, (particularly the Catholics stuff, box set pending), and figured the current Pixies engine was sputtering and that everybody’s time could be better spent. The danger in becoming a nostalgia act seemed very real, at least from the outside looking in. But, boy howdy, turns out I am enjoying a serialized podcast on the making of the Pixies latest LP, I really like that record, and I am currently feeling the love.

As with the R.E.M., the Pixies left a smoking crater on all of our minds, so me and Dillo and Mikey took some stabs at some faves. Also included a Breeders classic for good measure.

JK

Keeping things short and sweet, I love me some Replacements. Sure, particularly the early stuff but I thought it’d be fun to pick a couple of the later “hits” to do a remote session with Dillo and Roady. “Can’t Hardly Wait”, true, was a transitional release but we couldn’t refuse, it being one of their stone cold classics. One could argue that it was better in its early “Tim” form than the eventual release on “Pleased To Meet Me” but we can discuss merits offline. “Achin’ To Be” is a slab of heartbreak from the next album that fell kinda flat on initial release… because the “Don’t Tell a Soul” album underdelivered and overproduced across the board, that is… My sentimental favorite, and the ball that started these others rollin’, “Portland” was a B-side sleeper cut that I loved from the moment I heard it. I’d love to share the JJ Foley’s story sometime if you wanna hear it.

After the ‘Mats dissipated themselves in ‘91, the members’ output was spotty at best, I assume all would agree. My fave release among them is “Friday Night Is Killing Me” (1993) from Tommy Stinson’s “band” Bash & Pop, really a solo studio effort, for the most part, with hired guns. I was upstairs shopping for some styles (smoking jackets always at the top of the list) at the Garment District in Cambridge, MA when I first heard it, and made darn sure to check out the “now playing” rack when I checked out to find out what it was. Anyway, figured I’d cherry pick the three best cuts and do my own little solo studio effort.

Not everybody’s cuppa tea but thanks for the listening, my friends!

JK

Both from the milestone “Electr-O-Pura”, 1995. Usually my fave Yo La LP, just edging out its bookends “I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One” and “Painful”. After all these years, I aspire and continually fall short on both the serene melody and the feedback/ skronk that Ira, Georgia and James can generate. Not even close. Here both were attempted with remote contributions from Dillo: bass guitar on the first and all the guitars on the second. Good fun at least.

JK