That Vinyl Show

For the first episode of 2021, we decided to cover something extra special. In honor of David Bowie’s recent 74th birthday, the 5th anniversary of his passing, and the upcoming 45th anniversary of this album, we cover 1976’s iconic and groundbreaking Station to Station.

By the mid-1970s David Bowie had already had quite a storied, acclaimed, and innovative career behind him. The upcoming years and albums proved that he was just getting started. After both creating and laying to rest iconic personas like Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane, prior to releasing 1976’s Station to Station, Bowie created one of his most identifying but also polarizing personas ever: The Thin White Duke. The Thin White Duke and the masterpiece that is Station to Station memorialized a beautiful transition period for David Bowie as he moved from the Blue-Eyed Soul and Funk leanings of Young Americans to the prolific “Berlin Trilogy” with Brian Eno. Station to Station took the stylings that Young Americans embodied and added common elements of Rock and Roll as well as more experimental elements and inspirations of Electronica leaders like Neu! and Kraftwerk. Combining these Electronic sounds with elements of Mythology and Occultism, David Bowie created a masterpiece that would be studied, evaluated, and fawned over for years and years to come. The Thin White Duke would leave a mark on tabloids and musical news outlets all over the world as did Station to Station. Bowie brought together a world-class band of unbelievable talent and was able to produce what Brian Eno calls “one of the great records of all time”. Open your mind and fall down the rabbit hole of David Bowie’s 1976 gem Station to Station.

For the first half of the 1980s, Brian Setzer, Slim Jim Phantom, and Lee Rocker, better known collectively as The Stray Cats, ruled the underground Rock and Roll scene. Finding common ground with the Punks and the Rockers, The Stray Cats reignited the world's love for the classic Rock and Roll of the 1950s but brought in a new drive and aggression that fit right with the times. The Cats spent the better part of the decade rubbing elbows with the likes of The Misfits and The Ramones while stepping on the infamous stages of Max’s Kansas City and CBGB. As the decade ended though, the Rockabilly wave slowed as the new era of Grunge began. Though their overall popularity waned into the '90s, the quality of their output stayed consistent and The Stray Cats retained a cult following. With a strong musician and producer like Dave Edmunds by their side, Brian, Jim, and Lee were able to keep their Rockabilly momentum alive. It won’t ever make it on any Top 10 lists but you can still Rock and Roll like nobody’s business with this album. Slick your hair back and talk Rockabilly with CJ & Motley over 1992's Choo Choo Hot Fish.

Though both CJ & Motley are what most people would consider bonafide music nerds, between the two of them Motley is certainly the true audiophile. That Vinyl Show is fueled by Mr. Motley's ever-growing and wildly expansive record collection and in his new miniseries, "What's In My Queue?", Motley will cover what new, different, obscure, or somewhere in between music he's listening to that he thinks YOU should know about. This series is inspired by the great Amoeba Records and their "What's In My Bag?" series. But, instead of just what's purchased at a record store, Motley digs deeper! On this first episode, Motley covers the slew of special snags he grabbed from the Black Friday Record Store Day of 2020. From Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings to Motorhead, the list is as eclectic as it is groovy. Check it out!

Though fully recorded in 1978, this album was thought essentially lost into the Punk Rock ether for almost 20 years before being finally released in its entirety in 1996. Static Age has a storied and argued history with multiple different versions of multiple different songs that has come under much scrutiny. It’s been released in multiple ways at different times but once released in its full glory in 1996, listeners were able to hear The Misfits as the band had originally intended. Full of pomp, aggression, and mystique Static Age has left an indelible mark on more musicians than can be counted. From Metallica to Marilyn Manson and everywhere in between, The Misfits, and even Static Age itself, have left an utterly amazing imprint in the greater musical mythos. Arguably one of the most important bands in Punk Rock. and possibly Rock and Roll, history, The Misfits have a history that is filled with ups, downs, confusion, and wild mania. But regardless of that, some of the best and most notable songs of The Misfits catalog came off this one, singular album. Take a trip to the graveyard with CJ & Motley and experience the true power of Static Age.

On the surface, Punk Rock started out as a backlash against the “Everything is A-Ok and Groovy!” attitude of the Hippies of the 1960s. To the teenagers and children of the 1970s, everything was definitely not okay. Between Vietnam, economic issues, the disdain for the studio polished and corporate-ized Rock of the ‘70s (i.e. Foreigner & Styx), and an ever-present sense of existential dread, the Punk scene grew out of basically two elements: anger and disdain. One of the first truly brash, wild, and unprecedented bands to pop up with this mentality was Cleveland, Ohio’s The Dead Boys. The Dead Boys played every single show like it was their last and made sure every single patron left with an indelible and defining memory of Punk Rock on their mind.

If an alien came down to Earth having no idea of our culture and asked, “What is Rock and Roll?”, surely Thin Lizzy should (and probably would) be one of the first bands we show them. Hailing from beautiful Ireland, pioneering the dual guitar solos, and simultaneously incorporating Irish heritage and culture into driving Rock music, Thin Lizzy has influenced and paved the way for countless bands while somehow falling into somewhat “Cult Status” and Rock obscurity. Those who know about them, know about them. They’re loved by their fans and praised by their successors. But 9 albums deep, Thin Lizzy hit a rough point and landed at the beginning of the end. Riding on the coattails of the critically acclaimed album Black Rose with powerhouse guitarist Gary Moore, Thin Lizzy had quite the reputation to live up to. But with the departure of larger-than-life Moore, famed producer Tony Visconti, the crippling drug problems of primary duo singer, songwriter, bassist Phil Lynott and songwriter, guitarist Scott Gorham, and the addition of a new guitarist from a completely different world, Chinatown may have been doomed from the start. New guitarist Snowy White had worked with monolithic artists like Pink Floyd and Peter Green but still lived as more of a “Session Player” than actual band member. Doomed it may have been though, with tracks like the titular “Chinatown” and “Killer On the Loose”, Chinatown still had some wonderfully redeeming qualities. Lace up your boots and take a trip with CJ & Motley down to Chinatown.

In honor of one of the greatest Guitar Heroes and American Rock and Roll bands the world has ever seen, CJ & Motley sit down to chat all things Van Halen. Though it wasn’t one of the bands most commercially successful albums, despite selling over 2 million copies, Fair Warning was nothing less than a heavy-handed Rock masterpiece. With tracks like “Mean Street” and “Unchained”, Eddie chocked the album full of crushing and iconic riffs. Here's to the hidden gem that is 1981's Fair Warning.

It's hard to accurately describe the monumental totem of musical power that was The Replacements. They were Punk without being Punk, Indie without being Indie, and Alternative Rock before the term even existed. But above all, they were ground-breaking musicians and songwriters that were able to accurately capture the true laments and longings of 1980's disenfranchised youth. The quartet that was Paul Westerberg, Tommy Stinson, Bob Stinson, and Chris Mars helped to create something out of nothing - a genre that would become one of the biggest Rock and Roll angles ever. They never sought out to build an image, a style, or movement, just write and play what they felt - the only thing they knew how to do. You’d be hard-pressed to find an Alternative Rock band of today that wasn’t inspired by The Replacements. They led a charge they didn’t even know they were leading. They embodied the true meaning of "Rock and Roll" and burned the candle at both ends until it burned out. Dig into Tim.

Guns n’ Roses - One of the biggest, loudest, wildest, and most commercially successful Rock and Roll acts ever to grace a stage. Though wildly successful and groundbreaking, in their few years before the initial breakup, they really only released 3.5 albums of original material (3 full LPs, 1 EP) and even 2 of those albums could be considered a double album. Unlike most bands, Guns n’ Roses initially ended their career with an interesting note: a covers album. This covers album, specifically, included a myriad of classic Punk Rock (and a few other) tunes the GNR boys loved and were influenced by. This album was 1993’s “The Spaghetti Incident?”. This album saw one of the biggest bands in the known universe bringing light to less commercially successful but monumentally influential Punk bands like The Damned, The Misfits, and Fear. Even though it wasn’t original tunes penned by the band, this album, despite rarely being spoken of, served as a fantastic “period-the-end” to their run. “The Spaghetti Incident?” saw the band saying, “This is what we started with so this is how we’re going to end: full of piss, vinegar, and unbridled aggression.”

Tune in with CJ & Motley as they dive into the hidden gem that is “The Spaghetti Incident?”.