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  • From the Stacks: Kent Morrill–The Dream Maker

    Ask any music lover about the Wailers and you’ll likely get a Bob Marley lecture, but ask that same question in the Pacific Northwest and you may hear the legend of the Fabulous Wailers. During the late 1950s and early ’60s, the Wailers were the band in the Tacoma, Washington area. Their success on the…

  • Cheesecake Cover of the Week: Sun, ‘Sunburn’

    Artist: Sun Title: Sunburn Year: 1978 Label: Capitol Art Direction: Roy Kohara Cover Photography: Olivier Ferrand For more great sleeves, visit the Cheesecake Album Cover Gallery.

  • Deep Cuts: Identity Songs

    The world (well, the U.S. at least) is in the midst of an identity crisis. What’s unique about this particular identity crisis, though, is that rather than “who am I” this one finds many of us lobbing “this is who you are” at each other like underinflated dodgeballs. Don’t misunderstand: America has always been a…

  • My Trip To Ameriburger

    “Welcome to Ameriburger! One or two?” The perky teen girl behind the register smiled broadly. Her blond ponytail swished, powered solely by her desire her to serve rather than by her minimum wage salary. Or the speaker was an embittered, middle-aged person of color–maybe even an immigrant–who hated his job regardless of the exorbitant and…

  • From the Stacks: Big Red Fletcher–Oh Boy!

    I recently returned to the American South after a 34 year-long weekend in sunny California, and while record buying didn’t factor into that decision the idea of fresh crates of vinyl to dig through certainly excited me. While freeways across the country are cluttered with one homogenized eyesore of franchise names–McDonald’s, Olive Garden, etc.–and both…

  • Cheesecake Cover of the Week: ‘The Quiet Sides of the New Christy Minstrels’

    Artist: The New Christy Minstrels Title: The Quiet Sides of the New Christy Minstrels Year: 1965 Label: Columbia Cover Design: Unknown, presume in-house art department.   For more great sleeves, visit the Cheesecake Album Cover Gallery.

  • Deep Cuts: Puzzle Songs

    Okay, so I like jigsaw puzzles–a fact that will never see the light of day on my dating profile. I also like music, which is why I puzzled over a list of puzzle songs. Like to hear it? Here it go: “Jigsaw Youth,” Bikini Kill “Je Fais de Puzzles,” Francoise Hardy “Everyone A Puzzle Lover,”…

  • Putting Together the Pieces

    I visit a lot of charity shops, where I dig through piles of discarded junk like a grizzled miner sifting through tailings. There might be gold hiding on that thar shelf bulging with chipped novelty coffee cups, after all. Occasionally I pick up a jigsaw puzzle if I think I can flip it for a…

  • Cheesecake Cover of the Week: Mats Olsson, ‘Swedish Brass’

    Artist: Mats Olsson and Orchestra Title: Swedish Brass Year: 1966 Label: RCA Cover Design: Unknown, presume in-house art department.   For more great sleeves, visit the Cheesecake Album Cover Gallery.

  • Cheesecake Cover of the Week: ‘Thunderball and Other Secret Agent Themes’

    Artist: The Jazz All-Stars Title: Thunderball and Other Secret Agent Themes Year: 1962 Label: Design Records Cover Design: Unknown, presume in-house art department.   For more great sleeves, visit the Cheesecake Album Cover Gallery.