Blog Posts by Robert of the Radish

Max Norman got his big break in music when he was asked by Ozzy Osbourne to pick up the production duties on Ozzy's solo album Blizzard Of Ozz, an album that went on to become wildly successful and an iconic release. Ozzy was unhappy with the work of Chris Tsangarides, so Max stepped in from his house gig with Ridge Farm Studio where the album was being recorded.

Max's career was off and running.

He ended up working on many more Ozzy albums after Blizzard and graduated from a knob-turner to a full-fledged producer. Max became known for a big, chunky, clean sound, and he went on to produce albums by many well-known metal acts in the 1980s and 1990s. But none of them would reach Ozzy-level heights of stardom. Old metal heads may remember B-level metal acts like Grim Reaper, Savatage, Loudness, Malice, Armored Saint and Dangerous Toys. These are all bands produced by Max Norman. If you listen to them in a playlist the Max Norman sound will reveal itself.

Max is supposedly retired from the music business, but wherever he is, and whatever he's doing I'd like to say, "Thanks Max".

As election season approaches I've starting thinking of appropriate playlists, and the first song title that popped into my head was "Ship Of Fools". It seems that every election season some musician publicly announces their disdain for a politician who dared use a song without permission during a campaign event.

Wouldn't a playlist of songs titled "Ship Of Fools" be perfect for a political event?

The allegory, "ship of fools" has a long history in literature. Before the days of the automobile, train and airplane the main transportation for covering long distances was the boat. And piloting a ship is dangerous business for those that do not know what they're doing. In medieval times, the image of a group of deranged people on a ship came to represent people who followed the crowd, oblivious to their direction, and to danger.

The allegory of the ship of fools has continued in modern culture, and songwriters have embraced it. This playlist includes 14 songs all titled "Ship Of Fools", and I must say it's a pretty fine list!

What would you add to this armada of fools?

April Fools' Day is not an official holiday, but it's celebrated all over the world. The day is reserved as a time when it's socially acceptable for people to play all types of practical jokes on one another. Last year I was taken by a practical joke via social media when a friend posted an image of  his swollen arm asking if he should see a doctor. Of course, it was just a photo lifted from the web. I saw the same joke again this year and I wasn't fooled a second time.

This is one of the great things about April Fools' Day. You need to put some thought into your practical jokes if you want them to work. But enough people are often unaware that it's April 1st, so if your joke doesn't work on your first victim just keep trying.

I was pretty slack this year and did not play a single April Fools' Day joke, but I was inspired enough to build this playlist of songs with the title "Nobody's Fool".

So keep it safe for next year, and when someone tries to fool you, just click play.

A sideshow is just as the name implies. It's a side attraction to a circus, carnival, or other event. Sideshows usually consist of acts that do odd, or dangerous things, like sword swallowing, or fire breathing. But they also include real human oddities like bearded women, thin men, pickled punks (preserved embryos) and deformed people, as well as fake oddities created by putting together two different types of animals. One example of this was the Fiji Mermaid, which was created by one of P.T. Barnum's associates by sewing a monkey head and torso onto the body of a fish.

Today, sideshows and freak shows have gained more respect as modern performers appear of their own free will, which was not always the case. Everyone has their own favorite sideshow act, and most of us have one that really freaks us out.

This playlist includes a dozen songs named after different sideshow attractions.

What would you add?

I received a promo CD in the mail the other day. This is not an unusual occurrence, but this CD was different. It was a professionally packaged mix CD. It was like an old skool mixtape, crafted by a human being who selected songs they knew I would like. It came from a UK company call Mixpixie who has a very interesting business model in a world where competition to sell music is fierce. When a user goes to the Mixpixie site they can pick a CD packaging design, add text, upload photos and pick songs to create their very own mix CD. The company then burns the CD and packages it in a professional Digipak CD case that is printed with your selected design. Pre-designed templates are available for all occasions including birthdays, holidays, parties, weddings, etc.

I think it's a great idea and believe the model can fit a specific niche very well. However, there were some significant sticking points for me.

The first is that packaging customization options are limited. Although you can upload a photo with some of the designs and add text, you are limited to using only Mixpixie templates, which will not be winning any graphic design awards. The canned templates may be good for the grandmother wanting to buy  a custom birthday CD for granddad, but they need to offer a template that allows a user full control over the images printed on the Digipak. Creative people will find the templates frustratingly limited and not that exciting. Give people the choice to make their designs available for other users and you will soon have a database of CD sleeve designs that put the current selection to shame.

The second point of frustration was the amount of unavailable music. I understand that licensing rights take time, and this could change in the future, but during my testing there was a plethora of pretty standard artists not available. I selected 15 artists to test what was available and Mixipixie did not have any Queen, Rolling Stones, Tom Waits, U2, Wilco or Lady Gaga. They only had pre-Stevie Nicks Fleetwood Mac. But they did have the Steve Miler Band, Radiohead, the Velvet Underground, XTC, Pink Floyd, Miles Davis, Black Sabbath and Bob Dylan.

The third strike against Mixpixie is the pricing. This will be a hard business to make money in as they need to pay licensing fees for every song they sell, and they are offering a custom manufactured product. But the ten song CD I put together cost $27.39 after calculating the exchange rate and shipping. That is simply too high a price for a ten song mix CD, even with quality as high as what Mixpixie offers.

I hope companies like this can succeed, but at this point in time I don't see how.

Below are the songs Mixpixie put on my CD.  So one thing is certain. They have great taste!

Ford has been in the news over the last few years because it was the only major American car company that didn't need a taxpayer bailout to get through the economic downturn. But Ford's also been in the news because it's been making great cars again. As an American, I was embarrassed by the cars we were putting out in the 80s and 90s.

Let's face it, Japan handed us our hat by making cars that were just better all the way around. But American cars are back!

Arguments about the which American car company is the best will continue for a long time now that they've survived what looked like a fatal misstep. But considering that Henry Ford started the whole thing, and revolutionized industry in the process, I will always throw my lot in with Ford. And of all the models that Ford has rolled out over the decades, none have become a bigger icon than the Mustang.

For this playlist I've selected ten songs that sing the praises of the Ford Mustang -- a car that you will find woven through the fabric of American culture.

What's your favorite Mustang song?

images-2As the father of a 9-year old daughter I am very much aware of how popular fairies are among young girls. The mystical, winged creature of folklore continues to have a significant pull that attracts many.  Their vast appeal makes sense considering they're delicate, beautiful, magical and mischievous -- these are things that little girls find irresistible. Disney has capitalized on fairies in a big way starting with Tinkerbell and expanding to the whole world of Pixie Hollow.

The way we view fairies today is a conglomeration of  different legends, folklore and literature. Some fairy tales do not paint them as kindly as we do today, but others describe them as kindhearted friends to humans, even though they shun being seen by our eyes.

Fairies have also made their way into the lyrics of popular music in significant ways. This playlist includes 10 "fairy songs" worth your attention.

So, do you believe in fairies? And what would you add to your fairy song playlist?

I sometimes get flack for playlists I create that tie songs together with an odd, or unusual themes. But in my view,  if enough songwriters feel the need to write a song about earthworms, or ground beef,  they deserve a list. It's also a great way to listen to a playlist that is sure to include songs you have not heard before.

One of these playlists was a 30 song compilation I put together called Egg Songs.  At the time, I thought 30 songs was a lot for such a unique theme, but according to the comments I missed some important ones.

Today, I thought I would create another playlist about eggs, but this time I decided to only use egg songs that include a specific preparation method. Now, before you tell me that an egg cream does not include eggs, I am completely aware of this fact. However, I included the song "Egg Cream" by Lou Reed for two reasons: the egg cream originally did in include eggs, even though they do not today, and it's Lou Reed who's an instant add for any playlist I compile if the song fits the theme.

So what's your favorite egg song?