Monday, June 27, 2016

Fifty years ago today...

Today on July 27 it is fifty years since the release of Freak Out!, the first album by Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention.
A ground breaking album in several ways; the collage technique in the music, the satirical lyrics and attitude, the idea of a concept album.

Listen to the album here:
https://play.spotify.com/album/6qfS5de8GAy1G5tk7tyiof


Listen to Sveriges Radio's celebration of the 50th anniversary of Freak Out! (Not sure if the link works outside Sweden though):
http://sverigesradio.se/sida/avsnitt/734110?programid=767

Sunday, June 26, 2016

Catch the Steely Dan Marathon on Inside MusiCast Radio!


The Inside MusiCast Radio Steely Dan Marathon, hosted by "Steely Danologist" and Monkey House frontman Don Breithaupt started yesterday and will run for a few more hours. If you miss it there's other fine music on the station. And a lot of audio and text on the site for you to enjoy.

http://www.insidemusicast.com/

Saturday, June 25, 2016

Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words



A new documentary on Frank Zappa has premiered. It's 90 minutes long, titled "Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words" and directed by Thorsten Schütte.

https://www.facebook.com/eatthatquestion.frankzappainhisownwords/

It's getting good reviews and here's what brother Bob thinks about it.

Dweezil Zappa on the Zappa vs Zappa spat


The place to hear it is comedian Mark Maron's WTF-podcast. Link here. Interview starts seven minutes in.

The Zappa name has been in the news lately thanks to, errrr... "diverse opinions" regarding financial matters among the Zappa siblings. Add a few lawyers and you get a downward spiral of a mess.

Zappa fans might find this interview interesting, even heartbreaking. Go give it a listen.


Friday, June 24, 2016

Celebrate Midsummer with Radio Dupree!

It's that time of year again. Midsummer. Next to Christmas the most important holiday of the year. Here's a surprisingly true video of the whole weekend:


Swedish Midsummer for Dummies from Sweden on Vimeo.

Swedish Midsummer – a holiday devoted to eating, drinking, dancing and assorted pagan rituals. This is a guide to making the most of it.

Read more about Midsummer in Sweden: https://sweden.se/traditions/midsummer/

Sunday, June 12, 2016

Pink Floyd albums back on vinyl again - and on UK stamps!

Pink Floyd Records has begun the reintroduction of the group's catalogue on vinyl for the first time in over two decades. 
The first four records are ‘The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn’, ‘A Saucerful Of Secrets’, the soundtrack from the film ‘More’ and the 2 LP set ‘Ummagumma’.

More here: www.pinkfloyd.com/vinyl

Also, Royal Mail in the UK is celebrating Pink Floyd with the release of special Pink Floyd stamps. 
Release date: July 7.
Details here: royalmail.com/pinkfloyd

Friday, June 10, 2016

"Circus Money" 8 years old today


It was June 10 back in 2008 that Walter Becker released his second solo album; Circus Money.
Here's hoping the third one will appear before June 10 2017! ;-)

(While we wait we'll give Circus Money a few more listens...)

Thursday, June 09, 2016

Two new Frank Zappa albums

What a surprise! We just got Road Tapes #3 and now there are two more CD's on there way. 
The Crux Of The Biscuit seems to be the most interesting one. It was created in conjunction with the 40th anniversary of Zappa's highly rated 1974 album Apostrophe ('). It contains rare alternate mixes, live performances & studio session outtakes.
The other one is called Frank Zappa For President. Seems to include some 80's material, but maybe other stuff as well. You never know what is behind those titles.

Track lists to both albums here.

Thursday, June 02, 2016

Wednesday, June 01, 2016

Rickie Lee Jones joins Steely Dan for October shows


Steely Dan has just announced the by now traditional run of New York shows to the 2016 tour.
Ten nights at the Beacon Theatre with four of the band's albums getting one night each; Aja, The Royal Scam, Gaucho and Countdown to Ecstasy.

There's also the usual Greatest Hits night and the By Popular Demand night. Four of the ten shows will have Rickie Lee Jones as a Special Guest. Can we expect Steely Dan to join during her version of Show Biz Kids?

Tickets go on sale June 10 with an American Express Pre-sale starting June 2.

Oct 12……The Royal Scam - Plus Selected Hits

Oct 14……Special Guest - Rickie Lee Jones

Oct 15……Special Guest - Rickie Lee Jones

Oct 18……Aja - Plus Selected Hits

Oct 19……By Popular Demand

Oct 22……Gaucho - Plus Selected Hits

Oct 25……Special Guest - Rickie Lee Jones

Oct 26……Special Guest - Rickie Lee Jones

Oct 28…… Countdown to Ecstasy - Plus Selected Hits

Oct 29…… Greatest Hits

More (including the June 7 - July 17 summer dates):
steelydan.com
facebook.com/steelydan