The Walking Rock Alphabet: C

Yes, it’s been a full week since my last walk. Sorry, but I do have some good excuses...namely the weather. May kicked off with a snowstorm, the latest our fine city had seen such a sight since the mid-70’s. The days following that silliness featured winter temperatures and/or rain. I had no choice but to lay around on my ass. Ok, I could have made other choices, but I had my excuse and stuck to it.

Today, though, saw the temps head back up the high 70’s, so I hit the sidewalk minutes after arriving home from work. Before I state my album of the day, though, I should explain the concept of “blog finds”. Those who listen to my podcasts are well aware of the term, but I know there’s a person or two that actually reads these self-indulgent posts that have never heard my silly little internet radio shows.

“Blog finds” is a term that I created for great musical discoveries that I’ve found on various music blogs. I have about a dozen or so sites that I check out every day that post rare or out of print albums. Some of these sites specialize in albums that have never seen a CD release, let alone a digital version. Others stick to great albums that may have been ignored upon their initial release. 

Once a month, I combine the best tracks from my “blog finds” with tracks from new releases for my Friday night Live Ledge show. In fact, this past Friday was one of those shows. Throw me a bone and check it out.

My musical accompaniment today was one of these online discoveries, and truthfully I initially downloaded it because they had a song called “Angelina Jolie”. How could I not love such a song or band? When it comes to tribute songs such as this, I’ve always wondered what the song’s subject thinks about being the focus of a tune. Or does the beautiful Angelina even know it exists?

The track is by an Australian band called The Chevelles, not to be confused with the Illinois rock band Chevelle. The album is Sunseeker, and the 2002 release is actually the band’s seventh album. They initially formed in 1989, and are actually still around today. 

The band’s sound is pretty straightforward - punk-influenced power pop, reminiscent of The Young Fresh Fellows. The lyrics are pretty witty, the energy never lags, and it was the perfect accompaniment for my brisk wandering. “Angelina Jolie” actually reminds me of a similar song, “Julie Francavilla”, in the mid-90’s by former North Dakotans Flop. That track, an ode to a Seattle news anchor, resonated with me as that tribute star was originally an anchor for KELO, and she even did a short interview with me about the tune for Tempest. (If only those old issues were digitally available.)

It was a perfect walk on a perfect day, and I believe (or hope) that we are finally past the idiotic weather that caused this series to be delayed for a few weeks. Look for these posts to be more regular in the days and weeks ahead.