News & The Blues: Telling It Like It Is – this is a great of early blues recordings by the likes of Bessie Smith, Big Bill Broonzy & more. It is an excellent introduction to the time, to the performers & the political, labour context, with songs like“WPA Blues” “Unemployment Stomp.” Original recordings that have been sonically improved. I borrowed the cd from the library & made a cassette copy but eventually replaced it with this stand-alone.
Nico (Christa Päffgen) almost stole the first Velvet Underground’s lp with her smokey insidious singing. Her Euro accent added a level of sophistication to her tracts that the others didn’t have. I have stand-alone of her first lp: Chelsea Girl with songs by John Cale, Lou Reed & Jackson Browne. I later discovered she & Browne were lovers at the time! I’m sure there’s a movie in that relationship.
Like many I was shocked & dismayed by the unexpected death of Kurt Cobain. I can’t say I was a fan but I did like Teen Spirit. I have stand-alones Nirvana’s Incesticide & Nevermind. Nevermind came first – bought on sale at HMV; Incesticide after his death – bought at nearby (now gone) 2nd hand record/cd/book store.
The pain in his voice is impossible to miss so his suicide wasn’t a surprise to me. The outpouring of grief went beyond gawking – people were genuinely hurt by his death. There is something about early death that instantly turns stars into legends so appraising their work is difficult. Not everything recorded by Janis, Jim Morrison, Hendrix, Prince is a work of genius but we can’t be critical of dead. As Blondie sang ‘die young stay pretty.’
TOpoet 
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