I may have the year a little bit wrong - it might be a year earlier or later, but I was recently cleaning out my closet and came across this list that I must have made when I was about 15 or 16 years old.

Note the carefully penned 1970s era lettering. I was well on my way to becoming an architect even then.

Note the questionable taste in music.

Hey, I was teenager! Cut me some slack, guys....

I have finally found a record store in New York that I really like, one that I am looking forward to returning to: Academy Records Annex in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. It is a short subway ride from Manhattan on the L train, but worth the effort if you going that way. Unlike the stores I have visited in Manhattan in recent years, Academy Records Annex  - the main store is on 18th Street - has good selection, fair prices and turntables! I found two nice additions to my collection, Family's 'Entertainment' album - the one that spoofs the Doors album cover - and Ultimate Spinach's 'Behold and See.'

Academy Records Annex is located at 96 North 6th Street in Williamsburg. If you are not familiar with Williamsburg, it is worth a visit anyway. The main drag is Bedford Avenue which is lined with a variety of small shops and cafes, everything from handmade clothing to art supplies and vintage furniture. Nothing opens up before noon - this is the center of New York's creative community and everyone was out late last night -  so plan on  having lunch or brunch at one of the many cafes or coffee shops before venturing in to Academy Records. We stopped at New York Muffin for coffee and the Williamsburg Diner for lunch. You should plan on spending some time in the neighborhood and in the store, a large open space with a good selection of CDs up front and records in the rear.

After checking your knapsack or handbag up front - the claim check is a Magic Card - you will see two turntables on your right. That is important, because you will find some records that you have heard of but not heard and you will want to see what they sound like. Every record store should have a few turntables and these are in good shape and with decent headphones to boot!

This is a 'serious' bare bones store, so the decor is pretty basic, a few framed classic album and magazine covers breaking up the bare white walls. It is not picturesque like some stores, a jmble of posters and faded album covers and a mess of records. No, this is different: a place for folks who are serious in their pursuit. But, no matter, the bins are full and pretty much any genre you might be interested in is there. of course, I stuck pretty close to the 'Rock' section myself.

And I left a few treasures behind. For instance, there was a 1968 album by a jazz fusion group called Jeremy and the Satyrs that intrigued me and I probably should have grabbed it, too. Jeremy is Jeremy Steig, son of famed New Yorker cartoonist William Steig. In 1968, Jeremy would have been 26, a pioneer in jazz rock fusion and just starting out on what would become a distinguished and award-winning career as a jazz flutist. He plays the role of the Pied Piper - entirely on flute - in Shrek: Forever After. Why? Because, after all, his dad created Shrek!

So, that is the one that got away. Many more like that and worth a return visit.

I just came across an article by Jocelyn Hoppa in Crawdaddy! about Dylan's upcoming painting exhibition in Denmark. Always interested in reading about what Bob has been up to, and glad to know that he likes to paint, since I do, too.

Like Bob, I also have a day job that keeps me from painting full time and from having frequent shows. So, when you hear about an exhibition of Bob's paintings, you've got to take note.

May be a bit far to travel to see his paintings. Bob, why not bring your exhibition to Pittsburgh? I'd guess that the Warhol Museum here would love to show your paintings in their galleries.

Isn't that right, Tom?

http://www.crawdaddy.com/index.php/2010/08/17/bob-dylan-denmark-art-exhibition-to-include-new-paintings/

I am reading a great book on the history of Warner/Reprise records, entitled 'Exploded,' by Stan Cornyn. Found it at my local branch library! Fantastically idiosyncratic and entertaining,  with both the basic facts - did you know that Warner bought Reprise so that he could get Frank Sinatra on his record label? - and millions of obscure ones. Frank became 335 owner of the new combined Warner/Reprise label. It is what brought Mo Ostin to Warner.

Whenever I travel, I like to seek out record stores to poke around in.

Usually, I am only there for a short time, so I dont have time to explore as much as I'd like, so it is nice to know where to go.

So, today's question is: what are your favorite stores in the world? I am most interested in your favorite USED record stores - sometimes record store lists include a lot of new LPS and CDs - no, we focus on used rock here! And I am interested in your favorite stores. there are plenty of overpriced stores that are no fun to visit, as well as stores with lots of mediocre records to sift through. What makes your favorite stores great?

I'd love to add to my list from the personal experience of readers like you.

Here is a list of my favorite record stores, some pretty tucked away! In future blogs, I'll feature them and talk about what I like about them.

Pittsburgh: Jerry's Records and The Attic
Cleveland: Blue Arrow Records
Amsterdam: Second Life Music
Boston: In Your Ear
New York City: I can't find a store I really love!! Very Frustrating....
Youngstown, Ohio: Underdog Music Mania
London: Sister Ray

Your faves?

My wife and I have been married for more than twenty years and you'd think that we would have covered all the musical ground already. When you first meet somebody, you talk about the music you like and dislike and that's how you figure out who this person is. Isn't that how it goes? I've been reading Rob Sheffield's first and - just recently published - second books and that's kind of what they are about. How music defines you, how you define yourself in relationship to the music you embrace. You adopt all sorts of personas, try things out or on and then put them aside without making a huge leap or committment. Just by dancing to a tune, singing at a karaoke bar, or buying a record.

And if he/she doesn't listen to music, well, you've learned something, too. And if he/she does, but its hideous, or simply not what you listen to, well, if there is something else there at least you have things to talk about.

But most of that happened to us more than twenty years ago.

By now, I don't think I have any musical surprises from my past to share with her, but, it turns out, she still has a few surprises for me!

Like Gruppo Sportivo.

Who?

Gruppo Sportivo is a Dutch New Wave band - Rob Sheffield, did you listen to them in the 80s? - that formed around 1977 and still apparently tours with a slightly updated crew.

Back in the day, they played at my wife's high school, I think, but in any event they were a local(Dutch) band. And she saw them perform live and they were great!

She recently brought some more of her old records back from the closet on the second floor of her mom's house and one of the records was Gruppo Sportivo's '10 Mistakes.' I have seen this record in the house but never listened to it.

Until two nights ago. What a riot!

Our friend Krista was visiting and she is into music and we had just blasted Supertramp's 'Crime of the Century' and suddenly the Gruppo Sportivo album appeared.

Petra took great care of her records and a quick brushing away of a little dust later - the record has not been played for more twenty years - and voila!

Described on their website as 'retro kitsch for the intellectual elite' with tongue firmly planted in cheek, Gruppo Sportivo's music veers wildly from new wave to 50s and 60s quotations and back and around and around.

They are still around and more folks should be listening. It's alot of fun.

My favorite cut on '10 Mistakes,' their 1977 full length debut, is 'Superman' which they describe as "a six-minute, four-color comic book love triangle complete with romance, deceit, intrigue, murder, jail time, and the keyboard riff from Del Shannon's "Runaway."

Hard to describe in words, yes, but an unforgettable listening experience.

For more:

http://seedyroad.com/grupposportivo/

I liked listening to Bob Lefsetz' old Rhino Podcasts, but he doesn't seem to do them anymore. Or at least not on a regular basis. can someone explain what happened? Instead I have to settle for his blog, The Lefsetz Letter, and to be honest - and obvious! - it's not the same. The old Rhinocast was about music, not the music business. Music interests me, the business not. And then there is his voice which is sharp and whiny and not to everyone's taste. To me, however, his voice is big part of his appeal because you can hear his enthusiasm and sincerity. 

I know that Bob has been sick and I hope he is doing well. I like to check in on him because sometimes he writes about some new stuff or some old music that I haven't thought about for a while - if ever. So, I enjoyed what he has to say about Tom Petty's new album. I bought it on CD, but from the sound of it, I can imagine the experience on vinyl would be awesome. Might be worth the investment, even though I only have a few new vinyl records in my stash.

Check out what Bob has to say about Mojo --- describing the album as an experience.

 http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/index.php/archives/2010/06/18/mojo/

It was a week for boxes of LPs.

I was leaving work the other day, walking to the car, a beautiful hot summer day. In front of me, a few steps ahead, I saw my friend John, who works next door.

My friend John who, it turns out, is also into vinyl.

"John, hey, John!," I holler. He didn't hear me the first time, so I hollered at him again, this time a little louder!

The louder volume got his attention. He turned around, recognized the idiot - me - who had been screaming at him from behind and, fortunately, smiled and walked back toward me to greet me, warmly.

"Hi, Paul," John said.

"Hi, John. Sorry I called so loudly! I wanted to get your attention! Seems like you were on another planet," I exclaimed, joking. "Were you thinking about some records you just bought at Jerry's or something?" 

John laughed. "No, I haven't been back to Jerry's since the time we met there. Long overdue. You? Have you bought any new records?"

"I am overdue for a visit to Jerry's myself," I responded. "But, I did come across some new disks. Sort of a funny story. Just last week I was leaving a meeting and my friend Tom the record collector was loading a few boxes into his truck. Turns out, he was heading to Jerry's to sell some things he didn't want anymore and let me take a look. He told me I could have whatever I wanted for flea market prices! Well, I selected ten records, including three Rory Gallagher albums, Spencer Davis' 'I'm a Man,' Ray Charles' 'Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music,' a two record set by Steeleye Span called 'Dogs & Ferrets,' Bill Withers' 'Still Bill,' a Michael Hedges, and an interesting 1973 record by Captain Beyond - an LA rock band formed by refugees from Iron Butterfly and Deep Purple. (Now that is a heavy concept. Haven't listened to it yet, but I'll be sure to let you know what its like. The cover - unfolded to show you front and back - is included here above).

I may not have gone into this much detail with John, but you get the drift.

John, it turns out, had just picked up a whole box of records in a parking lot somewhere - John, help, I can't remember the details! He was looking at the truck next to his in the parking lot and there was a big box of records in it and the guy just offered it to him! said he was trying to sell them and couldn't find any takers.

So, I guess the moral of this story is pay attention to trucks and guys with boxes....?

NOTE: Currently, John  is listening to a record a day for ten days - both sides in order in their entirety. He reports that, "First up ... a desert island disc. 'Darklands' by the Jesus & Mary Chain." John, how far have you gotten and what else have you heard? Why stop at ten days? Are you going to blog about them? Send me your comments on each and I'll put them up here.

One of my Watergate journalistic heroes, Daniel Schorr, died this week at the age of 93. For many years a sage voice of history and perspective on NPR, Schorr introduced me to his relentless inquisitiveness as a reporter for CBS. His principled doggedness was inspiring, especially when it came to helping to reveal Nixon's evil corruption of the Presidency.

But, why honor Daniel Schorr here?

Listening to a tribute to Schorr on NPR the other morning, Scott Simon told the story of
Schorr's friendship with Frank Zappa. In 1988, Zappa invited Schorr on stage with him at a concert to talk to his audience about the importance of voting. When Schorr was done, Zappa struck up the band and Schorr burst out with 'It Ain't Necessarily So.'

Needless to say, Schorr didn't give up his day job to join Zapp on tour.

For the whole story:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128738162

I own The Fugs first album, the ESP 1966 Mono re-release of the 1965 debut.

It is one of my prize possessions.

It is a great, crazy, anarchic, raunchy experience, unlike records released today. Listening to The Fugs is an Experience - capital E - and anticipates Zappa and Captain Beefheart and the Punk movement.

Raucous and childish, literary and humorous, The Fugs influenced many without selling many records. Certainly not easy listening and not universally popular to say the least, The Fugs spawned more than their share of followers nevertheless. At a time when record companies like ESP wanted groups like the Fugs for what they said and represented.

Robert Christgau has called them the first underground rock band.

Punks and poets - true rock stars like like Lou Reed and Patti Smith  among them - honored the Fugs in a benefit reunion concert last February that featured all of the original Fugs and in particular founding member Ed Sanders, but not Tuli Kupferberg. Sadly, Tuli had had two strokes by then and was in failing health. He passed away July 12 at the age of 86. 

In 1964, when he and Ed Sanders founded The Fugs, the 41 year old Kupferberg already described himself as the oldest living rock star. 

He was then and remained so until his passing. The oldest living rock star and forever young.

For a full appreciation, see the New York Times Obituary:

 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/13/arts/music/13kupferberg.html