MusicHead

Learn more

The Rotation, #38

stack of lp records close up

Townes Van Zandt: THE LATE GREATS (1972)*

No one will dispute that TVZ was a great talent that we lost too soon, but he is a bit of a one-trick pony.

Collected Tracks

  • If I Needed You

Traffic: MR. FANTASY (1967)*

Traffic is one of those legacy bands I’ve heard about more than I’ve heard. Other than the title track, I’m not sure I know any of these.

…Umm, wow, is this a 1967 record. So much “psychedelia” and “Hey, let’s pretend we’re The Beatles!”. Also, Santana’s version of “Dealer,” eleven years later, is far superior to this original version.

Collected Tracks

  • Dear Mr. Fantasy

Trampled By Turtles: DULUTH (2010)*

Again, I LOVE this band name…and the music ain’t half bad, neither.

Collected Tracks

  • Darkness and the Light
  • Pipe Knot
  • Think It Over
  • Duluth
  • Shenandoah

Trigger Hippy: FULL CIRCLE & THEN SOME (2019)*

Like Saskwatch, Trigger Hippy is another recent discovery that doesn’t exist anymore. Even the website gets a 404 error. Whelp, we’re just gonna have to enjoy what we’ve got.

Collected Tracks

  • Don’t Wanna Bring You Down
  • The Butcher’s Daughter
  • Born to Be Blue
  • The Door
  • Full Circle and Then Some
  • Dandelion

The Turtles: IT AIN’T ME BABE (1965)*

Y’all, I’m convinced we never showed The Turtles enough love.

Collected Tracks

  • Wanderin’ Kind
  • Your Maw Said You Cried
  • Eve of Destruction
  • Glitter and Gold
  • Let Me Be
  • It Ain’t Me Babe
What is The Rotation?

The primary way I build my digital music collection is by maintaining a playlist called, “The Rotation.” On this list, I load albums of artists I’m interested in hearing; mostly new-to-me artists or albums. Because I need some organizational principle to conduct this survey, I go by the alphabetical listing of the artist. I typically move from earlier records to later records, although there are exceptions. If I’m excited to hear a new album by a favorite artist I’ll add it in an apparent random placement to hear it sooner than later. From this list I’ll select tracks to add to my collection. It’s rare that I DNF a record, and uncommon for me to not select a single track from it. I’ve been doing this for a while and am currently on my 9th trip around the alphabet. Above are the albums heard in a given session and what thoughts, if any, I have about them. These are mostly first impressions, so don’t expect in-depth analysis.


Asterisks (*) after the album title indicate that it is a new-to-me record.

Leave a comment