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A Trip Through the "My 90's Tapes" Collection Pt. 5: Fishbone "It's a Wonderful Life (Gonna Have a Good Time)"

I was gifted a piece of artwork called "My 90's Tapes" by an artist named Jeff Klarin ( https://www.bughouse.com/wall-of-sounds/choose-a-tape-collection-print . It looks like one of my own collections at that time, a mix of rock/classic rock, pop, new wave, punk, dance, heavy metal and soundtracks. I decided to use this artwork as a writing prompt to review all 115 albums pictured and share some personal anecdotes along the way. Consider this me dipping my toe back into the Basement Songs pool. Had I stayed on top of things, I would've written about today's entry back in December, seeing as it's a Christmas themed EP. You remember EPs, don't you? The abbreviation stands for "extended play," and artists would put them out in between albums when they had some leftover tracks and a new single to promote. Many indie artists would also use the format to create interest in their music while pursuing a record deal. Nowadays, those leftover tracks a
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A Trip Through the "My 90's Tapes" Collection Pt. 4: The Replacements "Pleased to Meet Me"

  I was gifted a piece of artwork called "My 90's Tapes" by an artist named Jeff Klarin ( https://www.bughouse.com/wall-of-sounds/choose-a-tape-collection-print . It looks like one of my own collections at that time, a mix of rock/classic rock, pop, new wave, punk, dance, heavy metal and soundtracks. I decided to use this artwork as a writing prompt to review all 115 albums pictured and share some personal anecdotes along the way. Consider this me dipping my toe back into the Basement Songs pool. It’s not my desire to let a month pass between entries. Quite the contrary, I'm more inspired to write this year than I have been since I lost the desire in 2017. It's just with the holidays, then recovering from the holidays, and then the wife and I went to Maui to celebrate our 30th, and then recovering from Maui. You get the idea. Moreover, I've been working on a couple of novels. With the minimal hours I find to write, the books take priori

Basement Songs: Bruce Springsteen "Book of Dreams"

"Scott thinks he knows what he's doing." That's what I heard when I began telling people that I was in love and planned to marry the woman I'd only known a few months. In May of 1992 I had a plan: live with my folks, find a job, save some cash, and move to California. It started out that way. I found work at a store called Nature's Bin in Lakewood, Ohio. It was a storefront that sold fresh produce and was a non-profit training adults with disabilities how to perform in a workplace. It was only supposed to be a summer job. Three months of saving up and then I was leaving for Los Angeles to pursue the dream. Hollywood. Writing. Directing. Stardom. I had no interest in getting to know someone and opening up myself to another human being; leaving them. It was all working just fine until the end of July. That smile and those bright blue eyes. A kindness and joyful spirit that was so contagious I wanted to be in every room she was in; that kind of feeling where you

A Trip Through the "My 90'sTapes" Collection Pt. 3: Cyndi Lauper "She's So Unusual"

I was gifted a piece of artwork called "My 90's Tapes" by an artist named Jeff Klarin ( https://www.bughouse.com/wall-of-sounds/choose-a-tape-collection-print . It looks like one of my own collections at that time, a mix of rock/classic rock, pop, new wave, punk, dance, heavy metal and soundtracks. I decided to use this artwork as a writing prompt to review all 115 albums pictured and share some personal anecdotes along the way. Consider this me dipping my toe back into the Basement Songs pool. After a slight delay (more like a hiatus), we're back. Let's get right to it, shall we? Column 1, Row 3: Cyndi Lauper She's So Unusual Cyndi Lauper is a Grammy Award, Tony Award, Emmy Award winning singer, songwriter and actress who, despite her many accolades, will likely be best known for her upbeat, female positive anthem, "Girls Just Want to Have Fun." Born in Brooklyn, raised in Queens, she began writing songs at an early age. As a teenager in the 6

Basement Songs Revisit: The Waitresses, “Christmas Wrapping”

A quick update. I didn't expect six weeks to pass between postings. I have half of my Cyndi Lauper entry already written! However, I was out with the flu for a week, I had to do a revision of the Christmas drama I wrote for my church, I went through a week or anticipation of officiating a wedding, and then I married two young people! I became a year older, my son got a year older, I got sucked into revising a portion of the novel I'm writing, then it was Thanksgiving. Oh, and work. And here we are! Me, me, me, me. Get over yourself, Malchus! The public demands your opinion about Cyndi Lauper and masturbation (they're linked, but "She Bop" fans know that). I promise I'll post by the end of next week. A special t6hanks to the one person who reached out to see if I'd be continuing the series. I do have a habit of starting columns and letting them peter out (just check out my Popdose history). But I promise that I'm dedicated to seeing this one through to

A Trip Through the "My 90's Tapes" Collection Pt. 2: Nirvana "Bleach"

  I was gifted a piece of artwork called "My 90's Tapes" by an artist named Jeff Klarin ( https://www.bughouse.com/wall-of-sounds/choose-a-tape-collection-print . It looks like one of my own collections at that time, a mix of rock/classic rock, pop, new wave, punk, dance, heavy metal and soundtracks. I decided to use this artwork as a writing prompt to review all 115 albums pictured and share some personal anecdotes along the way. Consider this me dipping my toe back into the Basement Songs pool. I can't say that I heard of Nirvana before "Smells Like Teen Spirit" changed the musical landscape and altered pop culture in the 90s. However, I can say that I heard Nirvana and "Smells Like Teen Spirit" before the song and band impacted the world. In the fall of 1991, after spending a summer in Los Angeles listening to KROQ and their their mix of west coast alternative, I asked a classmate named Dean to make me a mix tape. He was one of the few &qu

A Trip Through the "My 90'sTapes" Collection Pt. 1: Foreigner "Records"

I was gifted a nice piece of artwork called "My 90's Tapes" by an artist named Jeff Klarin . The picture is  seen below and available to purchase at the artist's website ( https://www.bughouse.com/wall-of-sounds/choose-a-tape-collection-print . Klarin has five versions of this theme of his cassettes from the era of the late 80s/early90s, the others are more genre based, but this one felt like I'm looking at my own collection at that time. As you can see, it's a mix of rock/classic rock, pop, new wave, punk, dance, heavy metal and soundtracks. I love it so much that I have it hanging above my desk at work. As I've struggled to get back into blogging, I decided to use this artwork as a writing prompt to review all 115 albums pictured and share some personal anecdotes along the way. Consider this me dipping my toe back into the Basement Songs pool. I hope you enjoy it. Actually, I hope I enjoy it because there is some music on here I don't look forward t