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Ben Taylor’s salivary duct stones…

When I heard about Ben Taylor’s salivary stones, I was reminded that we’re all humans…

For those who will read this and happened to see the blog post I wrote yesterday about Ben Taylor’s salivary stones, excuse me. For the rest of you, I just have to share this totally funny yet horrifying video I found featuring Ben Taylor. Ben Taylor is the son of James Taylor and Carly Simon. He has a wonderful voice that is a velvety mixture of his father’s clear, comforting tenor and his mom’s smokey alto. Taylor’s parents’ genes endowed him with a voice that is all his, yet recalls the distinctive sounds of his parents and other singing relatives. Not only is he blessed with a fantastic singing voice. He’s also a fine guitar player and songwriter.

Despite all of those things going for him, Ben Taylor has to deal with unpleasant health stuff just like the rest of us. Not long ago, I had a really bad canker sore in my mouth that for a brief time, had me fearing that I might have salivary duct stones. That fear led me to seek out information about salivary gland stones, which also included some rather disgusting photos of the condition. I also found a video starring Ben Taylor. In it, he discusses his own revolting and painful experiences with the damnable stones and the raging infection that developed due to their presence.

Try to watch this and not cringe!

One thing I love about Ben’s video is that he seems like such a down to earth guy. I have a feeling I would enjoy knowing him, if only because we could share gross stories about infections. I have a few of them myself.

Ben Taylor and dad, James Taylor, play “Up On The Roof”. This is one of my favorite songs by James Taylor and they are great together!

Sort of the unofficial North Carolina theme… I love this song too. I bet it was magical hearing “Carolina In My Mind” in Raleigh.

Ben performs “You Can Close Your Eyes”, one of his dad’s old songs, with mom, Carly Simon, and sister Sally Taylor.

While Ben is great when he performs with his parents, I also like his solo efforts. The video below is of a song my husband, Bill, heard for the first time while he was deployed to Iraq. He was actually in Qatar when he heard it, sitting on a bus waiting to get back to the war zone. Every time I hear it now, it reminds me of how much I missed Bill while he was gone and worried about him.

Ben talks about his mother, Carly Simon, in concert. The song is “Nothing I Can Do”.

I think I need to explore more of Ben Taylor’s music. Maybe that will be a project I undertake this weekend.

May 9, 2014
#34 album of 2013 – Phantom Head by the Scaramanga Six

Artist: the Scaramanga Six

Album: Phantom Head

Phantom Head, by the British band Scaramanga Six (who currently are in fact a sextet), is an energetic album of sinister-for-the-fun-of-it bar-band rock. It reminds me of the leaner-poppier side of ’70s Blue Oyster Cult (the Career of Evil/ Harvester of Eyes/ Debbie Denise side), or of Thin Lizzy’s twin-guitar rock if they’d sung from the perspectives of dangerous psychopaths-in-training. Or of the Who if they’d been Judas Priest fans, but wanted to make sure everyone was in on the joke. For a current comparison, imagine a lighter-on-their-feet Queens of the Stone Age, more likely to play a tango (They Put You on a Pedestal) than slide near heavy metal.

My impression from reading about them is that Scaramanga Six used to be weirder, associates of the happily ridiculous progressive-punk-New Wave band the Cardiacs. Steve Albini’s production seems to straighten them out here, although you can still hear little touches like the extended 7/4-time bridge of I am the Rain; the sudden 7-beat measure twice inserted near the end of Blunt Force Trauma; We are the Blind‘s snaky 6/4, aggressive weird guitar solo, and grand piano breakdown; or the rare occasions Steven and Paul Morricone break out their saxophones. I should check their earlier work out; I bet I’ll like it. But Phantom Head is a record for jumping up and down to, and its dedication to groove is its essence.

The lead vocalist — Steven Morricone, I believe — is a very good singer. His voice is strong, smooth, flexible, and good at crooning unlikely dark melodies; he can also suddenly shout, or intone through a megaphone, without losing elegance. Paul Morricone and Julia Arnaz are versatile guitarists, able to play anything from the ’70s anthemics of the Bristol Butcher to the Pixies rock’n’roll of Twist the Knife to the percussive blare of the Cardinal to the restrained slow build of the organ-heavy It’s Just a Matter of Time. (Their role in the dark almost-disco precision of the Spider is minor next to that of the rhythm section.) Phantom Head is not a deep record, and if I took it at all seriously I’d be appalled by the consistently pro-murder lyrics (not to mention the customer-service instructions that open the bell-tolling We are the Blind). What’s actually obvious is that Scaramanga Six want me to rock out and have a good time, minor key and all. I like them because I have the same goals quite often.

– Brian Block

To see the rest of our favorites, visit our Favorite Albums of 2013 page!

May 8, 2014
Quadrophenia Annviersary Can Be Yours in June

Remember last year’s amazing tour when Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend toured to mark Quadrophenia’s 40th anniversary?

The entire thing, with updates that have rocked Jimmy’s world in the intervening decades, is available on BluRay starting June 10, 2014. The show is from the tour finale at Wembley on July 8, 2013.

Using some sporty technology, The Who reunites with Keith on “Bell Boy” and John on “5:15”. And not limited to the Quadrophenia tracks, the show also includes “Pinball Wizard” (from that other show they did), “Baba O’Riley” and later hits like “Who Are You” and “You Better You Bet”.

QUADROPHENIA: LIVE IN LONDON will be available in various configurations including an expanded 5-Disc Limited Collector’s Edition Metal Box which includes the High Definition Blu-Ray™ and standard DVD of the concert film, both in 5.1 Surround Sound audio; a two-CD soundtrack of the show; and for the first time, a 5.1 Surround Sound mix of the entire 1973 album release of Quadrophenia on a Blu-Ray Audio™. Extras include a 6” Mod Headlight sticker, a Mod Headlight button, and a 32-page book with liner notes and photos, all housed in a 10” metal container embossed with the movie-inspired, iconic, Mod bulls-eye logo painted on a Vespa SG scooter headlight.

Roger is 70 years old. Pete is 68 and the other two are gone. Heck, if you’re a 23 year old musician today, the band was elected to into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame before you were born. And they still tour today, but like the bosses they are, not old guys struggling to keep up with the set and remembering the lyrics. That’s why Time wrote in 1979 that “No other group has pushed rock so far or asked so much from it.” Rolling Stone added that The Who complete the holy trinity of British rock along with The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

If the 5-Disc Collection is a bit much for your Whodom then you should know that the concert will be available as a single DVD and as a CD. We are also going to see about launching a Who contest to welcome in summer 2014 with winners picking up a special Who prize.

You better you bet.

May 6, 2014