The Blood Brothers—Burn, Piano Island, Burn
This record marked the first time I had to put on headphones to listen to something in this project, due to the absolute refusal of my wife to listen to this album even once through. Sadly, as much as Becky hates the Blood Brothers, I love them twofold. I know they’re screamy and silly, overdramatic and overwrought. But their music gets me amped up and ready to dance. So here I am, sitting on the living room floor, wearing headphones and bopping around while I write. Every little thing about this album impresses me. The packaging, for one, is amazing. The artwork is collage and colorful, the sleeve is pristine, and it comes with a little lyric booklet so I can read all of the ridiculous verses about blood dripping like Braille and “buckets of popcorn for the cemetery.” Listening to this album brings me back to age 20, in the best possible way. I would list the songs I like in particular, but to be honest, I love every single one.
Blondie—Parallel Lines
Oops! This record was shoved back so I missed it when I was going through Blondie. I actually thought to myself, “Hmm, I thought I had Parallel Lines…” when I picked up Eat to the Beat, but didn’t dwell on it. Turns out I was right. So I listened to this out of order, as a Blood Brothers chaser, with no headphones. What to say about Parallel Lines? It’s great. “Hanging on the Telephone” and “11:59” are my two favorite Blonie songs, both found on this 1978 gem. Parallel Lines also contains megahits “One Way or Another” and “Heart of Glass” and I believe that roughly half of the tracks on this album were respectable singles. “Fade Away and Radiate” is another great song on this album and really, there’s nothing on this album I’d ever want to skip. It’s fun, it’s fast, it’s a really great record.
Blue Angel—Blue Angel
It’s well known and documented that I’ve been a Cyndi Lauper fan from a young age. For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved Cyndi and her music. As a teen, I started keeping my eye out for rarities and bootlegs of hers when I went to my favorite record stores to buy albums for my first portable turntable. As with most music fans, I always had my list of musicians and albums that I was dying to track down (see entry on The Goonies Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) and this was one of those records that I always looked for. I once found a bootleg tape of Blue Angel but gave it to my cousin who is an even bigger fan than I am. I was with him, actually, when I found this record for myself in a little shop in Cambridge. It was $15, a little more than I usually like to pay for used records, but worth every penny. This album, in addition to being a great collector’s piece, is a fun record. It has a really beach-y sound to it and includes a few songs Cyndi performed on her own in later years but with that fun, almost rockabilly sound Blue Angel lends to its songs. All-in-all a record that is better than you’d expect for an early Cyndi Lauper project and one that I’ll listen to again once this project is over.
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