I used to buy Chris Hillman records.<\/p>\n
Oh, I knew he was in the Byrds.\u00c2\u00a0 But it was really because I loved that first Souther, Hillman, Furay record.\u00c2\u00a0 Oh, I know, the band hated each other, J.D. gave Richie no respect, but there were certain tracks on that album…\u00c2\u00a0 Shit, remember "Life ain’t so easy in this border town, too much dope and too much running around?"\u00c2\u00a0 Hell, that was BEFORE "Life In The Fast Lane"!<\/p>\n
Needless to say I bought J.D.’s "Black Rose".\u00c2\u00a0 One of my favorite singer-songwriter albums ever.\u00c2\u00a0 ("The moon was yellow and the sky was blue, the night can make a promise of love or it can make you a fool"!\u00c2\u00a0 Hell, it’s YOUR TURN NOW!)\u00c2\u00a0 And two Chris Hillman solo albums.\u00c2\u00a0 Hell, I also knew him from Manassas.\u00c2\u00a0 Have you listened to that double album recently, FANTASTIC!<\/p>\n
I’d like to tell you that Chris’ albums were fantastic, rare gems you should immediately pick up.\u00c2\u00a0 But that would be untrue.\u00c2\u00a0 They were just good, LISTENABLE!\u00c2\u00a0 And since I paid for them, that’s what I did, LISTEN!<\/p>\n
Oh, I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now.\u00c2\u00a0 I had the answers back then.\u00c2\u00a0 Today it’s a brand new world.\u00c2\u00a0 So confusing that oftentimes I find myself on the sidelines, or if playing, feeling clueless as to where the stream IS!<\/p>\n
It was easier in the seventies.\u00c2\u00a0 There were so many fewer records.\u00c2\u00a0 And you could get a grip on the scene.\u00c2\u00a0 Today, it’s as if the NFL had 4327 teams and the American League sported a franchise even in Montana and a great number of the people said street luge is really where it’s at, and ESPN49 shows a block every Friday night and you’ve got to check it out.<\/p>\n
I check out what people send me.\u00c2\u00a0 And the new albums of people I like.\u00c2\u00a0 And after that, I rely on satellite radio.\u00c2\u00a0 Do I miss shit?\u00c2\u00a0 ALL THE TIME!<\/p>\n
But it’s frustrating.\u00c2\u00a0 Because when I want to appear hip, when I try to get a handle on things and I listen to the stuff the hipsters tell me is cool…it just doesn’t appeal to me.\u00c2\u00a0 Oh, maybe I understand it.\u00c2\u00a0 Can even get into an aspect of it.\u00c2\u00a0 But when it comes to saving the track in my iTunes library or deleting it, I delete it.<\/p>\n
I truly thought it was me.\u00c2\u00a0 And then today I heard "The Wreckers".<\/p>\n
Raymond Lynn:<\/p>\n
\nIn regards to the Wreckers sales, maybe the leggy blonde holding the guitar next to Michelle Branch helped sales. sure didn’t hurt….<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
The above e-mail led me to the Wreckers’ site.\u00c2\u00a0 I didn’t figure this had been part of the act’s appeal.\u00c2\u00a0 I hadn’t even seen a picture of the sidekick.<\/p>\n
The Wreckers site featured the dreaded Flash.\u00c2\u00a0 If you’ve got the Flash you immediately demonstrate you don’t get it.\u00c2\u00a0 You insure I’m NEVER coming back to your site.\u00c2\u00a0 Because I don’t have time to sit through the same bullshit animations to garner new information.\u00c2\u00a0 Really, you can wait the better part of a minute to get to substance on these sites.\u00c2\u00a0 There’s a circle jerk going on here.\u00c2\u00a0 Web-designers want to get paid.\u00c2\u00a0 Label execs want to justify their jobs.\u00c2\u00a0 Acts are out of the loop.\u00c2\u00a0 Websites are not the new album package, at best they’re LINER NOTES!\u00c2\u00a0 They should be utilitarian.\u00c2\u00a0 Lightning fast.\u00c2\u00a0 Instantly clickable to find what you want.\u00c2\u00a0 There should be NO splash opening screen.<\/p>\n
ANYWAY, after clicking to enter the Wreckers site, I heard a riff that was almost certainly James Taylor’s "Country Road", but then it changed just enough and the singer’s voice was sweet and palatable yet had a certain ATTITUDE!\u00c2\u00a0 And then, not long into the track, there was a chorus.<\/p>\n
Shit, THIS is music.<\/p>\n