Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#1051 in the Series) is Rave On Buddy Holly. Back in the early 90s I worked as a District Manager for a music distributor.  One of our accounts was Wal-Mart.  We would stock them with their music and make sure they were fixture properly etc.  (BTW, back then, they refused to stock AC/DC because their albums had parental warning stickers on them. Later there was a new AC/DC release and the ONLY place you can get it was Wal-Mart!) At one point, we were doing some major renovations that had to be done only at night after the stores closed.  I was the head of one of these projects.  I had to use...

Today’s ‘Cool Album of the Day’ (#1040 in the Series) is Rockpile Live at  Montreux 1980 – In 1980, Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds, Billy Bremner and Terry Williams, collectively known as Rockpile, released their only official album, Seconds of Pleasure.  On August 23rd, 2011, they released their second.  It’s called Live at Montreux 1980. Sure we know there were about four or five more albums that could have been called Rockpile, except Dave Edmunds was contracted to one label and Nick Lowe to another, so we never had a second Rockpile album. This one is a live album and features 16 tracks. You’ll find some goodies from all three “franchises, “there are some Rockpile tunes, some songs that were...

  Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#985 in the Series) is Nick Lowe,  Quality Street: A Seasonal Selection For All The Family. I love Christmas albums. I have a pretty good collection of them and I usually find something old every year that I add to it. It is rare that I find something new as I am very picky and traditional about my Christmas music. Let’s face it. We have the traditional carols and then about a dozen or so once original pop Holiday songs penned from the 1930’s through the 60’s that get redone over and over again. It is rare that an artist is brave enough to mess with that and if there is anything...

    Could there be some kind of Stiff Records Reunion in the works? Something is up we know that. Nick Lowe posted this picture and teased it with this caption. “Wondering what big announcement is coming Thursday, July 25? Head to www.nicklowe.com   (starting today!), where we’ll have daily hints of what’s to come. We’ll also try to help fill in the blanks with extra clues here on Facebook. Hope you’re as excited as we are…” There have been a few people guessing that it will indeed be a reunion since some think that in this picture that Elvis Costello is second from the left and possibly Larry Wallis far left. We’ve also heard that maybe Nick made record with...

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Whole Wide World” by Wreckless Eric “If it ain’t Stiff, it ain’t worth a f*ck.” “The world’s most flexible record label.” “Undertakers to the industry.” “We came. We Saw. We Left.” “In ’78 everyone born in ’45 will be 33-1/3.” “When you kill time, you murder success.” “If they’re dead, we’ll sign them.” The above non-sequitors were all slogans for one of the coolest record labels to be associated with the late 1970s punk rock movement. Stiff Records established itself by not only having a roster that included Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, The Damned, Wreckless Eric and Ian Dury, but by the hyperactive media antics they pulled off in the name...

  Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#661 in the Series) is the only album from Little Village. One album, One tour from a “Cool Musicians Super Group.” Who was Little Village? I think many in this group know, but I’ll fill in the names. This 1992 group included Nick Lowe, Jim Keltner, John Hiatt and Ry Cooder.  How’s that for fire power! They only lasted one album and one tour.  They played the Arie Crown Theater here in Chicago.  If  you look around the internet you can find an audio of the show.  It was a hell of a show since they played almost the full album and each member did a tune or two from their solo...

  Looking for some new Wilco? Today, January 24th, Wilco has released what is being called, the iTunes Session.  The session was recorded in their Chicago area loft this past December. It includes new takes on songs not just from their most recent album The Whole Love, but from their past as well. The eighth entry should be quite popular in this download only release. That would be their run thru the classic Nick Lowe song “Cruel to be Kind.”  Yes, Nick is also on the track.  As Wilco fans know, Nick not only appeared as a solo opening act at many of their shows, but on many nights joined them on this song during one of their encores....

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#319 in the Series) is Mimi Betinis, All That Glitters. Mimi Betinis, All That Glitters was released on Feb 11th, 2011. (If I ever use the term “dropped, “please shoot me!) I know we’re only in the 1st quarter of the year but as of today, this is my favorite album of the year. There’s a real good chance that it’s not going to be topped either. Mimi (short for Demetrios) is the former leader of the Chicago area band “Pezband.”  Pezband was called a power pop act. Here’s what you probably did not know. They were the first band to be referred to as being a power pop act.  It was a...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#469 in the Series)  is Dave Edmunds and Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds and Nick Lowe Sing The Everly Brothers. We’re going to go in a completely different direction today. Today’s Cool Album of the Day wasn’t really an official album.  It was actually a bonus EP released in 1980.  However, it’s so good and so special that I wanted people to know about it. So for those reasons, we’re going to feature it. There are only four songs on this EP.  It is just the two men and their guitars.  You’ll hear a little banter with a DJ in between songs as well at times. This is very hard to find.  I see...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#280 in the Series) is Dave Edmunds,  Get it. This was Dave Edmunds third album.  It was originally released on Peter Grant’s Swan Song label. You remember that label and classic logo from the Led Zeppelin albums. Bad Company was on it as well. Like all of Dave albums, you get a ton of songs. There are thirteen on Get it. The longest being 3:23. Get in and Get off! He picked some interesting covers here. Bob Seger’s “Get Out Of Denver.”  Graham Parker’s “Back to School Days” and others. Like many Dave Edmunds and Nick Lowe albums from this era, this is almost a Rockpile album. Three quarters or Rockpile appear on the...