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To me the late 1960's and early 1970's, up to around 1975, is the time frame that countless amazing R&B and soul records were released. These records exudes a certain effortless urban coolness that was definitely a product of the times. The lyrics frequently offered up social commentary and served as a venue to offer up insights on the black experience in 1970's America.

It's common knowledge that compact disc sales are way down. Their future as a format is grim indeed. The strange things is, even though they aren't selling, there has been no lull in the number that are released every year. They may losing steam but records companies, at least for now, aren't quite ready to say goodbye. This is evident in the amount of titles that cross my desk every month. I know I shouldn't complain, but still, there's plenty of lackluster cd's that come my way; and the indie rock world is particularly egregious when it comes to this. Maybe indie rock has run it's course as far as I'm concerned. I may be turning into one of those taciturn old guys, coveting my vinyl and getting hopped up over Krautrock and British folk re-issues. It's very possible.

I also think part of the problem lies with the internet and the blog world as well. For the most part, music bloggers rush to embrace the new, whether it's worthy or not. Plus, there seems to very little sense of history in their musical worldview.

What this means is that, in a rush to be "first", many of the bands that are championed by music writers today simply aren't as great or "groundbreaking" as they are purported to be. But, because of the media hype, these bands are thrust into the spotlight immediately. The result of that is half-baked records, dubious ability and a whole lot of empty promises. This period of being the sweetheart of the blog world is a brief one indeed, sanguine expectations quickly give way to the inevitable backlash as the music writers find someone else to rally behind and the listening public, who took the bait, realize that the bands weren't really that good to begin with. It's a vicious cycle. But every once in a while I come across a band that rises above the hype and actually takes their music to another level. These are bands records that are conceived with a certain concept that takes them to an art form. They also have their eyes on the long view of things. Here are a few recent records that just may have some staying power.

When it comes to jazz, I've been playing catch up for years. Growing up with punk rock, then slumming in the indie rock ghetto for too long has left me with a void. And no matter how hard I try to get jazz literate it seems a futile gesture. There's too much leg work to be done. The historical context of jazz is vast and complicated and I've tried to penetrate it, the thing is, without a true understanding, at least for me, the early jazz records sound corny to me. I know they're not but...I just can't listen to it for very long. Undaunted I decided to explore the "masters" of the 1960's and '70 jazz canon, Ornette Coleman, Miles Davis, John Coltrane and others. Slowly things have begun to click. It was the dissonance and aggression of some of these records that I found appealing. It, at times, had the fury of the punk rock I grew up with but also featured a certain measured and cerebral outlook that took things to the next level.  An added plus was how effortlessly cool these guys were. It took just one look at the cover of the Ornette Coleman Quartet's "This is Our Music" LP to make me realize I was probably missing something. As it turns out, that record and a few others provided the springboard I needed to begin my understanding and appreciation of jazz music.

But still, I am a mere novice. I have noticed however, an influx of excellent and challenging records by contemporary bands that carry on in the fashion of the records from the '60's and '70's that I am so fond of. I hope my rantings do them justice.

In the 1930's the concept of the "Holiday Camp" was introduced in Britain. The appeal of these camps was that one didn't do any "camping" in the outdoors, back to nature manner but rather, you rented a chalet for the family. Within the confined of the camp families had everything they needed; entertainment, food, etc. They were an economical alternative to the fancier seaside hotels. They heyday of these camps were the 1950's and 60's. One of the more popular, Skegness, was where the Mole family took their holiday in the hilarious and timeless Adrian Mole books by Sue Townsend. In the 1980's many of the camps were shutdown as British families began to take advantage of inexpensive package trips to other parts of Europe. A certain stigma began to be attached to the the Holiday Camps; mainly one of low social standing and lack of imagination. In other words, they became passe'.

You really have to hand it to serious record collectors like the folks who run the Numero Group record label. I used to consider myself a record collector but, after visiting the WFMU Record Fair last fall, I am downgrading myself to "record enthusiast" or merely "vinyl fan." I wasn't in the place too long before I realized I way out of my league. I was no match for the Japanese guys who showed up with their own portable record player, for on the spot break checks. Or the Euro guys shoving their way towards crates of Italian Disco 12" remixes. They are dead serious. I am merely mildly serious, with the list of post-punk vinyl I want written in the back of my moleskin notebook. 

In 1972 Lou Reed had his first taste of commercial success. His record from that year, Transformer, and it's hit single "Take a Walk on the Wild Side" were international hits. And, no pun intended but, this success transformed Reed's post Velvet Underground career.  With the help of David Bowie, who produced the record and Mick Ronson, whose guitar playing defined much of the record's sound, Reed went from cult fame to a household name.

Thunderclap Newman-Hollywood Dream
Now here's a band that's been marginalized by a legion of lazy music writers. The phrase "One Hit Wonder" is often used to describe Thunderclap Newman. The hit that's being referred to "Something in the Air" came out of nowhere in 1969 to top the UK record charts for a three week period. It has showed remarkable staying power and has been featured in quite a few movie soundtracks, including, to great effect in Cameron Crowe's 2000 film "Almost Famous." And, it's true that it is a great great song that emanates a very late 60's hippy message about burying the hatchet and getting along and it's got a soaring guitar to boot. Written and sung by former Who roadie John "Speedy" Keen it certainly deserves the  term "classic."  But, less than a year after the single road the charts a full record was recorded and arrived with a thud.  That LP, "Hollywood Dream," garnered little attention either in the UK and the United States and sank without a trace.  But really, there's so much  happening on "Hollywood Dream" that it was only matter of time until it would be rediscovered and celebrated for it's greatness.To debase the band by throwing them into the one-hit wonder ghetto is just plain wrong.

It's been a long road for the Flaming Lips. They've been with us longer than you think. Their first LP, "Hear it Is" came out 23 years ago, which makes me feel pretty damn old. In the early days the band had an inclination towards excess; the first three records were musically bombastic with lyrics that were preocupped with death, drugs and UFO's.It wasn't for the faint of heart and it's effects were pretty much polarizing. At that point it seemed no one just "sort of" liked The Flaming Lips. You either loved them or couldn't stand them.

Almost every hipster record collector knows that there are certain records that are, or were, the Holy Grail. These records are often prized because they're hard to find. It's not the music so much as it's the idea of finding and owning the record that's so tantalizing. For many record nerds, myself included, once you actually do find one there is always something else more obscure and sought after that you still don't have. It never ends.  And the crazy but very true fact is that the records you finally track down are hardly ever as great as you've heard they are. No matter if you found it for $1.00 at the Goodwill or if you criminally overpaid on eBay, it rarely lives up to the hype. But once in a great while it all pans out.

There aren't many contemporary performers that have had the sort of run Nick Cave has had; 14 studio records over a span of 25 years, with only a few clunkers in the bunch. That's not even counting his time spent with his seminal and highly influential

band The Birthday Party.He's also written two novels, written screenplays, acted in movies and has been an inspiration to countless hipsters, young and old. One wonders where he finds the time. When you look upon the span of his musical career, it is marked with several high water marks, where Cave and his band, the Bad Seeds, appear to be ridiculously at the top of their game.