The Little Record Store

Having my parents over for dinner today (wait!  That looks like I am going to be eating my parents for dinner.  That's not right.  What I mean is, I am going to cook, they are going to come over to eat and watch Friends of course, and well, you know what I mean. shuttup) so I thought I would start bloggin early today in the hopes of having it done before I start to cook (again, the food, not my parents)!

My mom just had some dental work done and has to eat soft foods for a few days.  I am making her Tilapia (gonna bake it in the oven with butter, 4C Bread Crumbs, lemon, finely sliced onions and a splash of white wine) and for my Dad, cause he just doesn't like the taste of the Tilapia, I am making Chicken Piccatta (pounded thin chicken breast, dredged through flour with a little bit of black pepper, browned in a skillet with butter. Once the chicken is lightly browned, remove it from the skillet and throw some finely chopped garlic in and white wine to deglaze the pan.  Once that has cooked down squeeze in some lemon juice and little bit of chicken stock then sprinkle in some flour to thicken it a little.  Put the chicken back in and let it simmer for a few minutes so the chicken absorbs the flavors). 

I got some really nice fresh asparagus. So, now wish me luck with this one cause I am making it up as I go, I thought I would steam them and when they are tender, put them in the food processor with some lemon juice, garlic powder and a little bit of grated Parmesian Cheese and yes, 4C Bread Crumbs and just puree the crap out of it.  Then I was thinking, I have Pillsbury Biscuits, and what I will do is take one of the biscuits and roll it flat and lay it in a small baking dish and scoop the asparagus mixture onto it and let it bake.  Does that sound good or what? Oh yeh, I am also making oven baked mashed potatoes, which is just baked potatoes, scooped out of the skins and mashed. And thus concludes today's cooking show!  Sorry, I get just as excited about cooking, especially for my Mom and Dad, as I do about the music. Now don't get all pouty, I'll cook for you too (and I probably already have cooked for most of you reading this)!

My friend Theresa, in her comment for yesterday's post, mentioned Record Factory on 86th St in our old neighborhood. (By the way Theresa, I used to work there!) Well, there were actually two record stores on the same block about four doors apart.  The other was always my favorite and predated Record Factory. It  was simply called The Little Record Store.  It was a long narrow shop and I can still recall that happy feeling I would get when I walked into it.  The owners were always so cool and so friendly (probably because they were enjoying "organic" appetizers in the back room) and they always had the latest Billboard Top 100 taped to the counter.  You would read the list, tell them what number you wanted and they would pull it out of the magic wall behind them.  Ahhhhh, that magic wall. It was a series of 10" vertical slots, each numbered from 1 - 100 that those brand spanking new 45s layed in until I took em home.  Man, do I miss those days!  The rest of the store had bins lining the walls with the latest albums and they also sold sheet music but it was that desk in the front of the store that I loved the most. (I just pictured the whole front desk. Going from left to right...there was the register, then the list then the opening that they would use to get back there.  The wall at the left of the desk was diagonal so they had to sorta stoop a little to ring sales up.  Just to show you how truly slow I am or how truly excited I was about buying the 45s, I just realized that must have been the staircase for the apartment above.  DUH!) Steven and I would save our lunch money and hit 86th St before going home.  He would go to Rosen's and buy Matchbox or Corgi cars and I would hit The Little Record Store. (Oh crap, I forgot, my parents read this.  Um, nuthin'.  Talkin' about someone elses memories. Oh look, a bird!)

Ok, enough babbling.  Onto today's 10 Tunes. It is a happy little mix today.  Some 80s, a little 90s, a 70s song, a Star Search Winner and a Broadway number. There is also an "A" from AbbA in there somewhere.

(Click here to listen to clips from these songs)

1. We All Sleep Alone - Cher 3:53 (remix) (Geffen Records) Ahh, 80's Cher!! Each new decade brings us a new Cher.  I would be pretty hard pressed to pick a favorite Cher, so I'll just talk about the song that is starting............NOW!  I love rockin' Cher (no, not rocking chair).  She wails on this song.  Screaming guitars, sexy quiet Cher, big belting Cher, loud 80s back-up singers.  NICE! "Nobody nowhere, holds the key to your heart/When love's a possession, it'll tear you apart"!  So true.  Preach on Cher! Such a great, great song.  Can't wait to see what this decade's Cher is going to be!

2.  You Keep Me Hangin' On - Sam Harris 4:49 (Motown Records) Fresh off his win from Star Search, Sam recorded 2 albums for Motown.  This was his follow-up single to Sugar Don't Bite (which I am sure is in here somewhere). As my buddy Dave says, "Great.  Just what we needed. Another remake of this song. And nobody does anything new with it!" Well, I kinda think Sam brought a little summin-summin' new to this.  First of all there's THAT VOICE.  An incredible instrument, the little white boy that sounds like a big black sounthern woman, that's new! The crazy 80s percussion track is new.  The 80s synthes are new as is the club dance break.  I like it.  So what if every hook that was in the original is here.  I say it is respectful of the original and yet updated.  The irony here is that Dave loves the album that this is from! By the way, for those of you that remember Sam on Star Search, he is still recording and performing and he sounds AMAZING! I just noticed something...this song was produced by the Carpenters former guitarist, Tony "the Bone" Peluso.  Cool.

3. We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome) - Tina Turner 4:15 (Capitol Records) Such a cool smooth sound, those flutes and percussion in the beginning and then Tina's smooth whisper...sweet.  This is of course the theme from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.  I know I saw the movie in the theatres but I don't remember a thing about it except for Tina Turner!  Such a great song.  When that children's chorus comes in quietly in the background it is very haunting! Oh man, I forgot about the screaming saxophone!!!  Remember when he (the saxophone player) was in The Lost Boys?

4.  And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going - Jennifer Holliday 3:38 (Geffen Records) Ahhhhh, the original Effie White!  Jennifer Holliday was 17 years old when she was cast in this role and man, what a voice. I am still not sure why they bothered to release this as a single.  They cut out all of the best parts of the song. Anything for a buck I guess.  I can remember seeing her do this live.  She was incredible.  "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIYAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaam Telling YOU!" Wow, the edits weren't even smooth and then the song just fades out before her socko-boffo ending.  Next.....

5.  Native New Yorker - Odyssey 3:29 (RCA Records) Ahhhhhhh.  This is one of the greatest songs!!!  That saxophone into the drumbeats and violins.  "You grew up riding the subways.....You're no tramp but you're no lady either"  CHAIR DANCING!!!!! When I would DJ 70s nights I would always put this and Cherchez La Femme together. "When you still believed love could really be like those Broadway shows" "You should know the score by now".  Such a GREAT song.  I don't even know what to say...except this one is going to hard for me to edit down! Still chair dancing and smiling like a fool!

6.  I Wasn't The One (Who Said Goodbye) Agnetha Faltskog & Peter Cetera 4:06 (Atlantic Records) I forgot about this song.  This is from Agnetha's 1987 solo album, I Stand Alone, that is truly wonderful.  She was not only stunningly gogeous (she is the blonde "A". The red-head was Anafrid) but had the most beautiful voice. As far as this song goes, it is a typical Peter Cetera, late 80s Chicago production. The only thing that saves it is Agnetha's performance.  Strong and confident and still sexy.  She released an album a few years back.  While I didn't have the chance to buy it, I did hear it and she still sounds incredible.

7.  Copacabana (At The Copa) The 1993 Remix - (Arista Records British Import) Oh man, I was so freakin' excited when I found this single in a tiny whole-in-the-wall record store in the Village called Record Runner!  Cost me $10 but it was so worth it to have this on vinyl, which was the only way you could get this exact remix. Barry must have re-recorded this song more times than he can count. This was a brand new vocal with such a cool new production, elements of which he still uses in his live shows!  Not gonna talk about the song itself this time around 'cause the original is in here somewhere, along with the Spanish version and the....oh get the idea!!!

8.  Hey Ricky (You're A Low-Down Heel) - Melissa Manchester 4:16 (Arista Records) Oh Sweet Melissa!! This was from Melissa's funky angry-chic phase.  Co-written with Elton John's lyricist Bernie Taupin.  "You call me your latest conquest as you beltch my name to the boys" I wonder if he remembers writing those words down on paper let alone have them be recorded!  This is a very fun song and came after You Should Hear How He Talks About You when Artista told Melissa she needed to keep churning out bouncy songs like this  Ultimately that is what led her to drop out of the business for almost a decade. She did release a new album 3 years ago that is absolutely amazing.  Did you know that she really is THAT sweet Melissa from Barry's Could It Be Magic? She was also an original Harlette (Bette Midler's back-up girls)!

9.  Weak In The Presence Of Beauty - Alison Moyet 3:37 (Columbia Records) I loves me my Alison.  She was the lead singer from the British band Yaz (formerally Yazoo with hits like Situation and Only You)!  She has a most distinct, deep, rich, full voice and is also quite the songwriter.  Her solo albums in the mid to late 80s were like gold to me. My friend John Vargas was mad for her and thanks to him, I know her and am mad for her too!  This song has a great sound to it and while it is not the best example of why I love her, it is a good starting point.  Remember her name because there are more singles coming up from her. There is an amazing trumpet solo in the middle of this song which, set against all of the electronic sounds, stands out so perfectly!  Good chair swayin' song!  I wish I knew where John was these days.  It would be a blast to co-blog with him.

10.  10-9-8 - Face To Face 3:45 (Epic Records) Ok, this is one of those songs that I looked at the title and said, "Huh? Wha?" whilst scratching my head.  Well, it is more than half over and while I do have some dim recollection of it, trust me, I would never have remembered it if not for this blog!  It is a goofy little song that is trying too hard to be Scandal's Warrior. While it does showcase the lead singer's ability to count (backwards, yet), we do hit a snag with this last line......"Isn't it funny, I never get to one" Um, well, based on all the other words you "sang" before that ONE you probably couldn't think of anything to rhyme with it, like, oh I don't know and I am just throwing this out there.....DONE?!?

This was a really fun afternoon and looks to be a great night too!  First dinner with Mom & Dad (I said "with" not "of") and then I get to hang with my best bud Scott!  YAY!  I hope you all have a fantastic Saturday.  Do some chair dancing before you go out tonight, it will warm you up!!  I have to go edit today's songs and get in ta cookin'.  Go tell someone you love them and I will see you back here tomorrow!!