Celebrating Joan Jett during her birthday week. —Ed.
Joan Jett’s 1979 debut LP is one of rock music’s most joyful readymades–an utterly endearing romp through rock history from hoary old standards (“Wooly Bully”) to bubblegum pop to Gary Glitter to the buzzsaw sound of the Ramones, Bad Reputation is a veritable vinyl jukebox you’ll never get tired of tossing dimes into.
On Bad Reputation–original title Joan Jett--the runaway Runaway dares to wear her heart on her sleeve by pledging allegiance to the songs that made her who she is; this is Joan Jett’s Self Portrait, and with the exception of her too-stiff-by-half take on the Isley Brothers’ “Shout,” she does her personal canon proud. Not only does she prove she’s the true successor to Gary Glitter (and by association her glam role model Suzi Quatro), she demonstrates conclusively that she’s her own gurl by contributing a couple of songs that (with the exception of the punk-tinged title track) blend seamlessly in with their esteemed company.
Jett (the Blackhearts were still in the future) chose her producers wisely. Top guys Kenny Laguna and Ritchie Cordell (Sex Pistols Steve Jones and Paul Cook also lent a hand) were both proud Super K Productions alumni working under immortal bubblegum producers Jerry Kasenetz and Jeffrey Katz, and they brought their many years of throwaway pop songcraft to the table. Remember that version of Led Zep’s “Stairway to Heaven” set to the lyrics of the theme song from Gilligan’s Island? You can thank Laguna for it. And Cordell is the guy who bequeathed us both “I Think We’re Alone Now” and “Mony Mony.”
I could go into all kinds of philosophical digressions about Jett’s reactionary backwards-looking worldview but I’m too busy bashing my head to her positively infectious takes on Glitter classics “Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)” and “Doing Alright with the Boys.” Jett hangs on to that big, bad Glitter sound (dig that tribal thump thump thump!) but takes both songs to Glamtastic new heights by making Glitter (no wallflower for sure) sound positively enervated; she doesn’t sing ‘em, she shouts ‘em, bringing an unprecedented amount of bad attitude to the table. Message to Glam Rock: You’re not dead until Joan Jett says you are!
NEW RELEASE PICKS: Profligate, Too Numb to Know (Wharf Cat) Although three volumes of demo tapes have been released since, the last “new” full-length from Profligate, which is the work of songwriter Noah Anthony, was Somewhere Else, released in January 2018, his first for Wharf Cat. That record found him working in territory comparable to synth-pop but with injections of abrasiveness and a general mood that was nearer to darkwave (which isn’t 1,000 miles away from synth-pop, but still), and it was a strong enough effort to receive a new release pick in this column. Well, the writing of Anthony’s latest, which began in Philadelphia, continued after a move to Los Angeles, and then following the theft of a laptop, was restarted in Cleveland, makes significant inroads into the realms of songs over electronic environments, though Too Numb to Know is still aptly categorized as synth-pop (but with some rewardingly atypical use of electric guitar). However, as the title might suggest, the attitude (one could even say atmosphere) is nearer to dour than sunshiny, and that’s A-OK with me, bud. A-
Christopher Parker & Kelley Hurt, No Tears Suite (Mahakala Music) This CD features pianist Parker and vocalist Hurt’s composition, initially written in commemoration and celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Little Rock Nine’s historic enrollment in their city’s Central High School. It’s a work of substantial richness and power that is only heightened by its connection to the Arkansas community, as Parker was born in North Little Rock. Additionally, the piece was composed for the literary magazine Oxford American, which is based in the city. It premiered in 2017 with a strong band that featured Parker, Hurt, Marc Franklin on trumpet, Chad Fowler on alto, Bobby LaVell on tenor, Bill Huntington on bass, and Brian Blade on drums, the lineup heard on the disc, which comes in an attractive, informative 6 panel package.
REISSUE/ARCHIVAL PICK: Rüstəm Quliyev, Azerbaijani Gitara (Bongo Joe) Born in 1969 in the village of Kosalar, Nagorno Karabakh, in the Republic of Azerbaijan (formerly part of the USSR), Quliyev’s music is a sweet find, well, a bittersweet find as he died young after a battle with lung cancer. Encountering the guitar while doing military service in Russia, but wasted no time in mastering it upon returning to Azerbaijan (he was already proficient on the tar and the saz), where he recorded frequently on cassettes released by small local labels, as well as playing weddings and appearing in TV. This is his first international release, made with the approval and input of Quliyev’s family, and it details a personal style that is assessed as a step (or steps) beyond the “already idiosyncratic” Azerbaijani guitar scene. Launching from his country’s traditional music, Quliyev incorporated a wealth of outside influences (Indian, Afghan, Iranian, Spanish) for an expansive, and dare I say psychedelic, ride. And after getting acclimated to the sound, “Yaniq Kerem” (track seven) hits the ear, and it’s like, “aww, yes…” A-
Record Store Day: 10 of the best vinyl albums to tell someone you love them: Telling somebody you love them can be most daunting. Quickly you come to realise there’s only really one positive response, and you in particular are unlikely to hear it. Because, let’s face it, you’re no poet. You’ll probably mess the whole thing up and push them away, and then you’ll be alone like you always knew you would be. But there is music, the great communicator, conveying the grandest messages, often in the simplest terms. Sharing music is an exhibition of love in itself, a display of thought and understanding of the recipient, and channeling the verses of this planet’s finest lyricists can help us convey those emotions more readily. Here, we’ve made it so you don’t even have to go to the effort of finding that somebody else to express your affections on your behalf, by selecting ten albums with loving titles readily available to buy on vinyl. All you’re left to do is figure out whether in that case you 
Empire Records Style Is Still So Relevant 25 Years Later: The cult classic might be over two decades old, but the style is all we want to wear this fall. What would ’90s nostalgia be without the beloved coming-of-age flick? From Clueless to Cruel Intentions, the decade informed wardrobes, triggered sexual awakenings, and catapulted the careers of Hollywood mainstays like Brittany Murphy and Reese Witherspoon—but few teen classics were well-received by critics. Empire Records was nothing short of a flop when it hit theaters in 1995 (exactly 25 years ago on September 22—feel old yet?), but it soon grew into a cult hit—and what the movie lacked in critical merit, it more than made up for in the costume department. Despite spanning just one day of teenage dirtbags’ misadventures working at an independent record store, the film’s sartorial influence has now spanned over two decades, with 
Minneapolis & St. Paul, MN | Twin Cities record stores gear up for vinyl event of the year: The second of three drops celebrating this year’s annual Record Store Day is coming up this Saturday, Sept. 26. Record players find themselves at home on dorm side tables and in apartment living rooms. They’re best enjoyed on solemn evenings or during study hours. Whether it’s grandma’s record of Lionel Richie or a vinyl of Harry Styles you found on sale at Urban Outfitters, listening to your favorite music on vinyl sets a mood that Spotify can’t replicate. Record Store Day (RSD), which began in 2008, is the one day a year that indie record stores get a moment in the spotlight. This year’s original RSD was postponed back in April and then again in June due to COVID-19 concerns. Now, RSD has been broken up into three separate days: Aug. 29, Sept. 26 and Oct. 24. This Saturday, Sept. 26, will be the second day of RSD special vinyl drops. To prepare for the upcoming drops, Twin Cities record stores are gearing up with hot 
Grand Junction, CO | Record Store Days is a celebration of music and vinyl: Record stores are like few other businesses, but the industry was just as affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus closed down stores and forced the annual celebration of collecting music — Record Store Day — to evolve from one day to three over as many months. Aug. 29 was the first installment of Record Store Day 2020 for Triple Play Records at 530 Main St. Even with the looming threat of the virus, people stood in line outside the store, socially distanced and wearing masks, waiting for their chance to be let in and get their hands on some exclusive releases. “We do our best to make sure everyone gets what they want. It’s a fun time. You support local business, and there’s a rush when you get the only copy of a record,” said Matthew Cesario, general manager of Triple Play Records. “This year, they delayed (Record Store Day) to three days over three separate months. We didn’t have to cover the costs of the releases in one week, rather we can split it up. I think that’s 
So imagine my surprise when I turned on 1972’s Demons and Wizards–chortle, chortle–only to discover I rather liked the thing. Sure, the lyrics are the work of somebody who has spent far too much time amongst hobbits. And David Byron’s histrionic tonsils–his voice has more octaves than there are steps on the stairway to heaven–occasionally make Geddy Lee sound like Paul Rodgers. But I’ll be damned if Demon and Wizards doesn’t have something up its sleeve–namely some good songs featuring some dandy playing. It’s not some progressive rock nightmare, it’s a rock ’n’ roll album, at least in its better moments, and Demons and Wizards has plenty of very good moments.
