A.  Lou Reed

Sally Can’t Dance is the fourth solo album by Lou Reed. It is Reed’s highest-charting album, reaching the Top 10 in the United States. It is also the first solo Lou Reed album not to feature any songs originally recorded by Reed’s earlier band, The Velvet Underground, as well as the first of Reed’s solo studio albums to be recorded in the United States (Reed’s previous three albums were all recorded in the United Kingdom).

Aside from the title song, Sally Can’t Dance includes “NY Stars” (in which Reed pokes fun at “fourth-rate imitators” who tried to impress him by copying his style), “Kill Your Sons” (a reflection of his stay in a psychiatric hospital at his parents’ insistence, during his teen years), and “Billy,” about the fate of a schoolmate with more “normal” ambitions than he’d had. The latter track reunited Reed with erstwhile Velvet Underground bandmate Doug Yule, playing bass. More tracks featuring Yule from the album’s sessions have emerged on a recent CD re-issue of the album.

While the record was a hit and elevated Reed’s status as a star, he reportedly was disappointed in its production (in which he took a largely passive role) and the treatment of the songs. Reed remarked, “It seems like the less I’m involved with a record, the bigger a hit it becomes. If I weren’t on the record at all next time around, it might go to Number One.”

His record company, RCA Records, insisted on a rapid follow-up album, while his career appeared to be peaking. Tiring of the pressure put on him, and with his contract requiring RCA to release whatever record he gave them, Reed handed over the master tape of Metal Machine Music - an hour of feedback and noise, with no hope of becoming a hit.

MORE TRIVIA…

Sally Can’t Dance is also the name of a character in the movie Con Air.

Published on May 23, 2013
This week.

Footage from INDIEFEST Part 3 with Leigh Coltman, MARKURS, EVERGLO & Running Red Lights.

A visit to “OPEN MIC” Hosted by: “Marty Oblak” at the new “SIDEBAR” in Sarnia
featuring “Ashley Faulkner” & “MARKURS”

Information about ARSENIC & OLD LACE directed by Jay Peckham coming to the IMPERIAL THEATRE starting May 24th

A music video called “Our Time” by independent rock group “AFFINITY” slated to perform June 22nd in Sarnia

L.A. Woman is the sixth studio album by The Doors, and the last recorded with lead singer Jim Morrison, who died in July 1971. Its style is arguably the most blues rock-oriented of the band’s catalog

Following the departure of their record producer Paul A. Rothchild (who, contrary to popular myth, loved “Riders on the Storm” but dismissed the group’s differing style on “Love Her Madly” as “cocktail music”) around November 1970, the band fell in to a state of depression and Jim Morrison was obviously bored withSunset Sound, the studio in which their first two albums were recorded. Bruce Botnick, their engineer, suggested they record at the Doors’ workshop. He and the band began production on the album at The Doors Workshop in Los Angeles. Most of the tracks were recorded live, except for a few overdubbed keyboard parts by Ray Manzarek. Morrison recorded his singing in the studio’s bathroom to get a fuller sound. Elvis Presley’s bass player Jerry Scheff was brought in to play bass on the album, and rhythm guitarist Marc Benno was brought in so that Robbie Krieger could focus on playing lead guitar during live takes.

Botnick later produced and mixed a new 5.1 Surround version of the album, which was released on DVD-Audio on December 19, 2000. It was produced from the original eight-track analog 1″ master tapes.

Early LP editions of the album were uniquely packaged: the album’s cover was die-cut to remove a near-rectangular piece of it, with a sheet of transparent plastic on which the cover photo of the Doors was printed, glued in place in its stead. Later pressings featured a conventional cover without the die-cut hole and plastic window, and with the group photo printed on the cover itself.

Track listing:

All songs written by Jim Morrison, Robby Krieger, Ray Manzarek and John Densmore, except where noted.

Side one

1. “The Changeling” – 4:21
2. “Love Her Madly” (Krieger) – 3:20
   1. The 40th Anniversary Mix includes a longer fade-out making it 3:38
3. “Been Down So Long” – 4:41
4. “Cars Hiss by My Window” – 4:12
   1. The 40th Anniversary Mix includes an additional verse making it 4:58
5. “L.A. Woman” – 7:49 The 40th Anniversary Mix includes the guitar intro “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” making it 7:59

Side two

1. “L’America” – 4:37
2. “Hyacinth House” – 3:11
3. “Crawling King Snake” (John Lee Hooker) – 5:00
4. “The WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat)” – 4:16
5. “Riders on the Storm” – 7:09  The 40th Anniversary Mix has a shorter fadeout during the storm

40th Anniversary Mixes bonus tracks

11. “Orange County Suite” (Morrison) – 5:45
12. “(You Need Meat) Don’t Go No Further” (Willie Dixon) – 3:41

The 40th anniversary reissues (released 2007) were completely remixed along with being remastered. This practice extended to incorporating vocal and instrumental components which were not part of the original album. As Manzarek said, “There are background vocals by Jim Morrison, piano parts of mine that weren’t used, and guitar stingers and solos by Robby Krieger that never made the original recordings, that can now be heard for the first time.”

From Wikipedia – A powerful tornado struck the city of Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, on the afternoon of May 21, 1953.

One of many violent tornadoes during this exceedingly active and deadly season, this tornado touched down just before 4:30pm near Smiths Creek, Michigan(approximately ten miles southwest of Port Huron). It moved steadily towards the east-northeast at 35 mph (56 km/h), where it devastated the southern edge of Port Huron some twenty minutes later resulting in widespread F3 and F4 damage. Two people were killed in Port Huron and twenty more were injured. Close to 400 homes were damaged or destroyed in the United States with monetary losses totaling $2.6 million .

Before crossing the St. Clair River into Canada, the parent thunderstorm dumped heavy amounts of rain and golfball-size hail on the city of Sarnia. This circumstance was credited with clearing the streets of motorists and pedestrians, henceforth reducing the potential number of tornado-related casualties. By 5:45 pm, however, the tornado roared into Canadajust south of Sarnia Harbour, where it intensified further and grew in size to 900 m (980 yd) across (Grazulis, 1990). Moving to the northeast, the tornado passed directly through the downtown area where nearly a hundred commercial buildings sustained damage. A four-floor hotel on the waterfront lost many of its upper floors, as was a furniture store on Christina Street. The auditorium of the Imperial Theatre completely collapsed. Nearby however, a steel-reinforced telephone exchange building received minimal damage, as a result of its sturdy construction.

At least 150 homes on the more suburban outskirts of the city were damaged and in some instances reduced to rubble. Before exiting Sarnia, the tornado curved even further to the northeast and began to weaken, as its path narrowed to approximately 30 m (33 yd) across.

As it moved into rural Lambton and Middlesex Counties, more F4 damage was inflicted upon farmsteads and homes near Nairn, before the tornado dissipated south of Stratford (Grazulis, 1990). This suggests a total path length exceeding 120 km (75 mi), though it is highly probable that this damage path was made up of more than one tornado, possibly as many as four.  At the very least, there were two other storm tracks that day both of which paralleled the Sarnia storm to its north and south. One of these tracked from Strathroy to northeast of London whereas the other originated near Lambton Shores before weakening near St. Mary’s. Significant tornado damage in the F2 to F4 range was also reported with these storms, and it is likely that these parent supercells were also of the cyclic variety. As many as nine individual tornadoes may have touched down during this outbreak.  Financial losses in Canada totaled $15 million; five people were killed, 48 were injured, and 500 were left homeless.

-Tip Top Tailor is now Cheeky Monkey – which was undamaged.  The building across Cromwell is the red building that now houses CCI Studios – it lost the top floor.

Cromwell looking towards the river.  To the left is our building where the mural now is painted

Taylor’s Furniture (now Trendz) lost the back of their building.

This is the sixth studio  offering for the Brooklyn band, and follows 2010’s critical and commercial success High Violet, which debuted at #2  on the Canadian Top 200 Album Chart. The new album is the most  self-assured collection of songs produced by
The National in their 14-year career.

In an interview with UK’s  UNCUT Magazine, front man Matt Berninger described the songs as  more “immediate and visceral” than their previous work. Trouble Will Find Me possesses a directness,  a coherency and an approachability that suggests The National are at their most confident.

Following the release of  Trouble Will Find Me, The National will embark on a world tour. Highlights include Brooklyn’s Barclays Center,  Bonnaroo Arts & Music Festival, the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, Red Rocks Amphitheater, Alexandra Palace  London, Dublin’s O2 Arena, and Le Zenith in Paris.

The band will be in Canada for dates June 13th Lachine Canal Montréal, and June 14th at Yonge Dundas Square in Toronto, an open air show as part of NXNE expected to draw 1000’s of fans.

TV includes Letterman, Fallon, Kimmel, Conan, Austin City Limits. Plus a Filter cover, Esquire, Rolling Stone, Spin, NPR, Pitchfork, Entertainment Weekly and more.

In advance of the release, the documentary Mistaken For Strangers will premiere at this year’s  Tribeca Film Festival as the festival opener April 17th. Directed by newbie roadie Tom (lead singer Matt Berninger’s younger brother) who can’t help but put his own spin on the experience. The film follows The National on their biggest tour to date. Inevitably, Tom’s moonlighting as an irreverent documentarian creates drama  on the road. The film is a touching look at two very different brothers and an entertaining story of  artistic aspiration.

The Singles Collection 1979 -2012, on Spinefarm/Universal captures their ever-evolving story with a series of dark, apocalyptic songs, they have successfully combined disco and
funk and a shamanic wisdom with the dark side of the punk fall-out.

Their influence has been enormous, with an unlikely roll-call of musicians taking their cues from the KJ catalogue – from Nirvana to most modern American metal to many DJs
and dance music mavericks… few, however, coming close to the band’s innate power.

Killing Joke, with their original line-up of Jaz Coleman, Geordie, Youth & Big Paul continuing to hold firm, have signed a brand new deal with Spinefarm, and will soon set about recording a third studio album for the label. The release date of this new studio album is likely to be late 2013.

ABOUT THE 3CD/LIMITED SET:

3 x CD – 33 career-spanning singles over 2 CDs + a third disc of rarities, including previously unreleased studio tracks.This 3 x CD version will be strictly limited in number..2 CD version containing only the singles will remain in print.

Black Dog Barking is without a doubt one of the most honest rock n’ roll records available at the moment. “It’s everything we’ve got to give,” Joel declares. “We put our heart and soul into this one. If you love rock n’ roll, you’re gonna love this.”