Oakland's Vinyl Vault - Sounds of Silence

Greetings faithful follower(s)! This week I have decided to start a new (possibly) weekly tradition: I will review an album from my vinyl collection. I (of course) already have a spreadsheet of all the albums that I own, and I have put them in random order with the help of the internet, and I will go through them one by one! I will try to give a little information about each album (with the help of Wikipedia) and give my thoughts about it.

First up: Sounds of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel.



Release date: January 17, 1966
Singles: The Sounds of Silence (previously released), I Am a Rock

The name of the album obviously comes from their hit single, which had been previously released on their debut album Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. The art work is kind of interesting to me. On the front cover, it appears that Simon and Garfunkel are either being harassed by the trailing photographer or are else looking back as they flee the scene of a crime. The back cover has shots of Simon and Garfunkel in what I can only assume are attempts to look like tough guys, smoking cigarettes and loitering.

The album is pretty much what you'd expect from Simon and Garfunkel: folk rock. One thing that I thought was a little odd was that side 2 opens with back to back songs about a man committing suicide: "Richard Cory" and "A Most Peculiar Man." Actually, in general the album is pretty dark. There isn't a single happy song on this album. Even "We've Got a Groovy Thing Goin'" (which the back of the album says was "just for fun") is about that groovy thing leaving Simon and/or Garfunkel's depressed ass. Hello darkness, my old friend indeed.

Rating: 5 thumbs up - It's a solid album. It's not my favorite album of Simon and Garfunkel's, but it's a good listen nonetheless.

Now here's "Richard Cory," which for some reason somebody synched up to The Shawshank Redemption. Enjoy!



Pat is crazy.

Oakland's Inferno - Part III

Here is the long awaited part three of my journey. Here are Part I and Part II in the likely case you have no idea what I'm talking about.

As my guide, Obi-Wan, and I walked along the perilous path through hell, a great wind began to blow. "We are now entering the second circle of hell, where those who succumbed to desire reside," my master informed me.

As I struggled to keep my eyes open before the fierce gusts, I looked around for the tortured souls of the lustful, but could not find anyone. "Where are they, Obi-Wan?" The old jedi smiled as I followed his gaze upwards.

"Wheeeeeeeeeee!" cried a shade as it soared above us, being blown about by the wind. As I looked closer, I noticed that the sky was filled with shades like this one.

"Wow!" I said. "That must be quite a thrill! I'd love to talk with one of them and hear about how they got here."

With a wave of Obi-Wan's hand, one of the souls imprisoned in this circle floated down towards us. "O condemned soul, my friend here is curious to learn more about your plight. Please, tell us who you are, and how you ended up here," he said to the soul.

"I am Sir Lancelot of Camelot. While I lived, I did many great deeds. Alas, it was my love for my lord's lovely lady Guinevere that has doomed me to this place. Our love was forbidden, and was a destructive force. In the end I lost everything. After Arthur died, Lady Guinevere became a nun, and I a hermit. Long did I live afterwards, and eventually I came to peace with the actions of my youth, but I guess that God did not, for he sent my soul here upon my death."

"Man, that is rough," I responded.

"Actually, it's not that bad here," replied Lancelot. "I fly around all day like a bird. The worst part is simply that we are here for eternity, and that there is not much to do. We're all great philosophers now, since we have had so much time to think. If you would like, I could share with you some of my insights."

"Unfortunately, we do not have time for that," cut in Obi-Wan. "We must be going now. Farewell!"

And so we continued on to the next circle of hell. "Here the gluttonous are punished. I hope you brought an umbrella," said my master.

"Why's that?" I asked, "there's not a cloud in the sky. In fact, we're underground. It couldn't possibly ra..."

My voice trailed off as we came to a solid wall of rain. The third circle of hell was eternally rained upon. "Damn," I swore. "Let's move quickly through this one, shall we?"

We plunged into the third circle, our hands over our heads, trying futilely to stay dry. As we ran, I looked around and saw giant crowds of obese people. It looked like a state fair.

Finally, we got to the fourth circle, and the rain ceased. To find out what I and Obi-Wan discovered there, tune in next time!

Pat is crazy.