Some Literally Cool Tunes

Yet again without a hike or a run in my day, I've gotta find a little time to give a good listen to something. Decided to just sit on my front porch at dawn this morning and do nothing except have this playing in my ears while sippin' on my coffee. And dang it's gettin' cold! At 47°F (8°C,) without moving around it's almost too chilly for shorts but the coffee and fleece jacket helped. Back in Jersey there were mornings when I'd be surfing on this day! Summer was not over, close, but with school never starting until a day or two after Labor Day, there'd still be a week or so of the beach remaining. Fleece was unheard of in August! I LOVE this!! Seeing my breath when I breathe, yeah, very cool. I'd trade the unbelievable awesomeness of Alaska to move back to Jersey in a freakin' heartbeat... but while I'm still living here, whether that's for a year, five years, or the next 107 years, I'll enjoy it. I suspect there'll be a snowfall within 2 weeks... and most definitely snow permanently on the ground before mid-October so mornings like this before the deep-freeze are mucho welcomed!

Joe Jackson

Look Sharp!

1979, debut

One More Time
Sunday Paper
Is She Really Going Out With Him?
Happy Loving Couples
Throw It Away
Baby Stick Around
Look Sharp!
Fools In Love
(Do The) Instant Mash
Pretty Girls
Got The Time
Don't Ask Me
You Got The Fever

Best album ever! Well, maybe not the best ever (definitely the best I've listened to this morning!) but su-freakin'-perb all the way through! Probably anyone over 30 who's listened to a lot of classic radio knows Is She Really Going Out With Him? and maybe Fools In Love, but without giving this a listen people are missing an incredible British post-punk album. From Portsmouth, Joe Jackson is very much in the same category as Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, The Pretenders and maybe even The Police. Jackson's vocal stylings add a unique touch in places while the sound overall ranges from kind of new wave to even reggae-ish to almost pure punk on a handful of songs, approaching and touching but not diving all the way in. Coming that close gives this a sweet knife edge while staying clear away from foofy electronic gayness. Pretty much every song just drips cool. I mean, look at the shoes on the album cover... ha ha, okay, maybe that doesn't exemplify cool beyond about 1980, I'm guessing, but this collection of tunes works so well today as I'm sure it did when the album was certified Gold back in '79.

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