V. Thirteen to Valley of Tears

"V. Thirteen"  Big Audio Dynamite  No. 10 Upping St.
"Vacation Time"  Chuck Berry
"Vai Viver A Vida"  Tania Maria  Jazz Lounge (Water Music)
"Valentine"  The Replacements  Pleased To Meet Me
"Valentine's Day"  Steve Earle  I Feel Alright
"Valerie"  Beausoleil  Beat The Retreat: Songs By Richard Thompson
"Valeurs Personelles"  Quincy Jones & Bill Cosby  The New Mixes, Vol. 1
"Valley Girl"  Frank Zappa  Like Omigod! The '80s Pop Culture Box
"Valley Hi!"  Stereolab  Chemical Chords
"Valley of Tears"  Fats Domino  Fats Domino Jukebox: 20 Greatest Hits The Way You Originally Heard Them

 "Good Morning Sinners"

  I was going to try out "Lord God King Bufu" from "Valley Girl" as a new title for the blog. but I think I like this one from "V. Thirteen" better.  It is (unlike "Electric Sheep") is at least tangentially tied to the music I listen to here.  So  . . . here we go.  Whether it takes or not, well . . . I promise nothing.

  At this point, "Valley Girl" and its commercial success fascinates me.  Like a lot of Zappa, it is laced with bitter social criticism.  Yet, somehow this was missed by the society as a whole and it became Zappa's only  top 40 hit and led a movement in wardrobe and speech pattern from which we have never fully recovered

  "V. Thirteen" is a song that has stuck in my head for over 20 years.  Even as Clash tunes move into classic old rock radio, B.A.D. is not extended the same courtesy.  This song was not played anywhere but inside me for at least ten years.  Nonetheless, when the opportunity to buy some CDs arose, No. 10 Upping St. was among those I had to have.  That is almost entirely because of this song.   Whether others think this is a "great" song is irrelevant.  Even though I went years without hearing it at all, this song compels me, resonates with me, takes me outside myself.  It strikes me in a way that I could go years without hearing it and still felt an urging to hear it again.  Some of this is admittedly tied to the place I was in my life when I first heard it.  The music is the other part of it.  I have never known all of the lyrics, but I think it is the droning guitar and the hook in the drums, as well as just the tone of Mick's voice that has hung in my brain for half my life.  The samples and the drum beat date it, but for me it does not matter.  This is a track I will take to my grave.

  A little over a year ago my father gave me the greatest gift he could.  He handed me all of his vinyl still in his possession.  Among 78s and LPs, and numerous others, this includes about 35-40 Chess and Checker 45s.  These are not just a collection of great music, but for me they connect me with my dad in a way that nothing else does.  My dad has always been the person I look to for advice and for moral guidance.  These records connect me to him before I was around.  They tell me that no matter how old he gets, my father was once (however briefly) cool.  It is kind of sad that the first of these songs is such a mediocre track.  The guitar break is fun, but for the most part it is just a song.  Not exactly "Maybelline."

  Similarly, it is unfortunate that this is the first 'Mats track to come by.  This is one of the most influential bands on my youth, and "Valentine" is from probably their last truly good album.  But it is not "Bastards of Young" or "Unsatisfied."  I have this ass-theory that to be a great band, I mean a legendary band that survives the vicissitudes of opinion through the years, the band must make three great albums.  I think the Replacements reach that number in an odd way.  They have two that are indisputable - Let It Be and Tim.  After that, I think it depends on who you are as to whether Pleased To Meet Me or Hootenany  is that third great record. 

  More tragedy.  I once owned nearly every Richard Thompson album released (Sunnyvista would be the exception through about 1994).  The passage of time means that he has released a great deal more music that I have not purchased, and that there has been an attrition of music in my collection, so that Beausoleil's cajun cover is the only version of "Valerie" I currently own.