Digital music. Love the crystal clear sound but today's youth have no idea what they are missing with not being able to experience the record album. Besides the obvious of the outstanding sound quality of what appears to be bratwurst cooking as you play them, nothing beat going to the record store. It was an event. The only thing better was getting home and not just playing the album but digging your melon into the cover and the contents inside the sleeve. The artwork, the credits, the lyrics and sometimes a crazy art insertion by the band. I had the lyrics to Styx's "Renegade" and Queen's "Another One Bites The Dust" down pat as they were right there in the sleeve for you to sing along. Laugh all you want youngsters but it sure beat the hell out of today's youth equivalent of seeing who on social media is changing their profile picture (again).
Case in point of a great album is the Zeppelin IV album. Not only a great album musically but open the album cover and put the inside picture of a night watchman against the mirror and a 'beast' is seen. Of course it made all of us into satanic worshipers once we saw it (insert sarcasm).
 |
| Zeppelin IV with the night watchman turning into the beast |
The millennials have no idea of the 'Paul is dead' conspiracy back in the day. The Beatles Abbey Road cover had Paul barefoot with a '28IF' license plate in the background. Aren't dead people buried barefoot? Will Paul make 28? How can I get my record player to play the album backwards so I can hear the hidden message? I remember my brother telling me about it when I was about 10 or so and actually giving it a moment to comprehend. "Who is the guy in Paul's body then?" my 10 year old pea brain thought. One of my favorite SNL skits re-visited the silliness via the 'Chris Farley Show'; with Paul McCartney as the guest:
Chris Farley: Did you see "Terminator"?
Paul McCartney: No, I missed that one.
Chris Farley: That was a pretty awesome flick. [ pause ] O-kay.. remember.. you remember when you were with The Beatles, and you were supposed to be dead, and, uh, there was all these clues, that, like, uh, you played some song backwards, and it'd say, like, "Paul Is Dead", and, uh, everyone thought that you were dead? That was, um, a hoax, right?
Paul McCartney: Yeah. I wasn't really dead.
 |
| no, Paul really is alive |
I was recently cleaning up some pictures and came across a couple that could easily double as album covers.
 |
| To the left we have the Rolling Stones. To the right we have my friends being silly up north; two of them literally 'walking on water'. |
 |
| Ozzy to the left; me to the right prior to the Judas Priest show last weekend. My speech has mirrored his at times. |
