NAME: Ian Brill
BLOG NAME: Brill Building
NAME OF CD: Mix Your Mind Up
NUMBER OF CUTS: 21
RUNNING TIME: 74:43
COVER ART: No
SONG LIST: His posts of June 8 & June 12
ALREADY REVIEWED BY: Chris “Lefty” Brown on June 20
GENERAL THOUGHTS: There are CDs from the bloggers that I could say quite specific things, based on the fact that they are of a theme, or what not. This is not one of them. I found Ian’s album to be just a bunch of good eclectic cuts without any discernable concept, except the first cut from the Brill Building, which was just fine. Probably more hip hop than any of the other CDs to date, and I found I enjoyed that.
THINGS I PARTICULARLY LOVED: Actually quite a bit: Dr. Octogon, the Magnetic Fields, Sonic’s Rendezvous, even the ABBA cut, which was totally unknown to me.
ON THE OTHER HAND: What’s with the numbering? 01-09, 12-14, 14b, 14c, 15, 17-22 – ah mess my mind up with “Mix Your Mind Up.”
ONLY VAGUELY RELATED: The Brill Building, for those of you who didn’t know, is a place in NYC where songwriters such as Neil Sedaka and Carole King worked in the 1950s and early 1960s.
Day: August 3, 2005
Star librarians
As I’ve said somewhere, I am a librarian. I’ve been working at the same job for over 12 years, the second longest-tenured person in my organization (but #1 has me beat by about eight years.)
Last week, I went to a morning training session about the Economic Census. I thought it was interesting. Anyway, one of my former colleagues, Sheldon, with whom I worked for over five years, was there, as was one of our former interns, Fran, who was here for several months. Our current intern, Frank, also attended, but I knew HE’D be there.
Then I get to work and get an e-mail from my former colleague of nearly four years, Anne, asking me about a reference source. She only writes a couple of times a year.
Also, I get an e-mail from my library boss for my first two years here, Michele. She’s living in Bermuda, but she’ll be in upstate New York for a little while and wants to get together.
Obviously, I had hit on a former SBDC librarian constellation that day. It was quite wonderful to reconnect with people with whom I’ve had a fruitful shared experience.
Blog Mixed Bag CD Review-Gordon
NAME: Gordon Dymowski
BLOG NAME: Blog This, Pal!
NAME OF CD: Non-Stop Hit Parade
NUMBER OF CUTS: 26
RUNNING TIME: 79:11
COVER ART: Clever (that picture of Ricky Gervais from The Office apparently dancing scares me)
SONG LIST: His post of June 7
ALREADY REVIEWED BY:
GENERAL THOUGHTS: He noted in an e-mail that was a “pretty conservative – some alternative/rock with one reggae song”. I really liked the first half dozen tunes, which really rocked. And indeed, the first ten are excellent. The Futurama song seems to be palate cleanser for the second half. These songs are also pretty fine, and indeed from Bow Wow Wow to the Easybeats especially well programmed. Oh, and I LIKED the outro track, possibly because I thought it was SUPPOSED to sound tinny.
THINGS I PARTICULARLY LOVED: Echobelly (I love women who rock, and that “Penny Lane” sounding bridge.) Picked a fairly obscure Monkees tune. The Brian Wilson song is a great ending.
ON THE OTHER HAND: There was no half hour speech by Dan Quayle, as he had promised in the e-mail. Oh, he was kidding! Never mind.
OFFICE FRIENDLY: I’d skip by MC Chris
ONLY VAGUELY RELATED: My wife thinks that Steve Winwood is this lightweight performer, based on his 1980s output. “I’m a Man” was playing, and I think he’ll get a reassessment.