Is this thing on?

I had a conversation recently about my (relatively) sheltered upbringing, at least as it pertains to music. Of course, while I was a kid, I had no idea that I was missing out on anything. My parents’ LP collection was composed of a Beach Boys album, some vaguely Star Trek-related Leonard Nimoy vanity project, and a few Christian records with bearded men in leisure suits on the covers. 

(The Imperials? Was that an actual group?) Anyway, I came to discover music for myself much later than most, and consequently I wasn’t subject to the usual whims and caprices of parents and older siblings that constitute the first exposure to music of most young folks.

For instance, I had heard the name “James Brown” as a child, had even heard I Feel Good a few times when attending sporting events, but that was it. I think I was in college before I realized that the crazy gospel preacher in the Blues Brothers was someone everyone else recognized but I didn’t. 

I had a full-on revelation, then, when I was in my mid-20s and first heard Sex Machine. Sweet Mother of all that is Holy, that flipped my shit! I couldn’t get that song out of my head for a good week; I may have gone a bit overboard and bought a James Brown boxed set instead of the next month’s bus pass.

At any rate, I love discovering music that is new to me, even if seemingly everyone else in the universe has heard it before. There have been occasions where I’ve told someone they have to check out this obscure band from way back, only to discover that The Clash or ELO were a bit more well-known than I had expected them to be. But that’s ok. Sometimes getting to the party late means that all the people who are only there to get fucked up are already deep in their cups and that the really cool people, the ones with whom you are looking forward to having that conversation off in the corner about the stuff you noticed the third time through the 1^st season of Arrested Development, are just starting to get their buzz on. Yeah. That.

Anyway, here at the Home, we're big fans of 70s AM radio, and chances are you are, too. Do you have a lovely, full beard? Do you often think concerts were good, but there could have been a few more random musicians up on stage? Do you think the flute is under-utilized in modern pop music? Do you like bands where the drummer doubles as the lead singer? Do you own a pair of those glasses that weren't really glasses but weren't really sunglasses, either, because they were half-dark and half-tinted yellow? Then the Home is the place for you, my friend. Welcome.
At present, you'll have to sit back and let me ramble semi-coherently about my love for these underappreciated musicians. In the future, I hope to be able to provide some interviews and perhaps even interaction with these artists. In the meantime, if you have artists you'd like to discuss, stories you’d like to share, or even if you want to tell me how stupid I am and how you hope I go skydiving and then on the way down get sucked into a jet engine (PS: this actually happened to a friend of mine) (PPS: ok, no it didn’t), feel free to contact me. We’ll have so much fun!