CHEESY ALBUM COVERS

Over the years I have seen a pretty fair amount of cheesy album artwork. Now I don't know what it is or what people could be thinking when they put out an album with this cheesy artwork. I just don't get it. Now I truly believe that the Fania label put out some of the best Salsa music ever recorded in the 70's. True classics that will live on forever. Now some of their album covers are a whole different story. I don't know if the artist that made some of these covers was related to the label owner or what. All I know is these are some of the cheesiest album covers that I have ever seen. Here is just a small selection so you can see what I am talking about. Here are some Hector Lavoe and Willie Colon covers from the Fania label that are just pure cheese. Check them out! HAHA!

RUNNING OUT OF SPACE.....

Because I am a serious music collector I have finally reached the point where my two custom made cd racks are completely full! Yep, SAXOMAN has reached full capacity! So now I was faced with a serious dilemma here. What should I do? Should I (gulp!) downsize and get rid of some of my cd's? Why that would be like cutting off a finger (or two) and I just can't do that. Now I know I have my cd's all on iTunes and on my iPod but sometimes I want to hear them in all there glory thru my massive speakers and surround sound system. Anyway, I found a viable solution. After much research on-line I decided to go with something called Jewelsleeves. Anyway, these sleeves enable me to keep all of my precious cd's and reduce the storage space so I can still continue to buy more HAHA! These sleeves have three compartments. One for the front cover, one for the back and a padded one for the cd. Nice! Now I personally think these sleeves are a little pricey and shipping is overpriced as well but at this point what options do I have? The other downside is you can't view from the side what's what so it may take a little time to find things that you are looking for. Now I hate to even think what it will cost to convert my massive cd collection so I will probably have to do it a little bit at a time. Anyway, here is my first batch of 25 sleeves in the photo and you can see the difference in a cd case and the space that these Jewelsleeves take up. Very nice! Now this conversion only represents my Cannonball Adderley collection so I've got a long ways to go.......

FAREWELL, MY LOVE.....

Farewell, my love. You have been my constant companion for 15 years and now it is time to part ways and bid a sad, sad farewell. What? OK, you are all probably wondering what I'm talking about. Well I am talking about my beloved car that I have owned for 15 years. I must say that this was the most trouble free car that I have ever owned and it had brought me many years of joy. It was also my place for peace and quite at lunchtime as I would read my L.A. Times and listen to music. Time has taken its toll on my car and about a year ago I had replaced it with a new car. So basically it had now become an extra car that I rarely drove anymore. I fondly bid it farewell this morning and drove to work with tears in my eyes. A sad, sad day for SAXOMAN. Farewell my love, I will never forget you.....

I'M IN LOVE WITH.......BACON - HAHA

Now I don't know what it is but I really get a kick out of this Jack in the Box commercial where the guy tells his Mom he's in love with bacon. I like the look of horror on his Mom's face when he says it isn't a girl HAHA! I also like as he takes bacon shopping for wedding rings. Anyway, my wife thinks this is pretty dumb but I guess I'm just easily amused. Anyway, check out the commercial for yourself if you haven't already seen it and be amused.

LATIN JAZZ CD PICK OF THE WEEK - PONCHO SANCHEZ

This weeks Latin Jazz CD Pick of the Week is Poncho Sanchez with his latest release titled Chano Y Dizzy and features Terence Blanchard on trumpet. Now aside from the cheesy artwork on the cd cover (a future blog topic) this is another fine release from Poncho. I have a ton of Poncho in my collection and he almost always features a guest artist on his recordings. In this case it's Terrence on trumpet but I've always wondered why Poncho doesn't do a cd with Carlos Santana. I mean it would be a perfect fit in my humble opinion. Anyway, here's the promo video for this cd. Check it out and add some latin jazz to your collection!

THE STUDIOUS LOOK?

I've noticed lately that several of the NBA superstars are now wearing glasses when doing interviews after the game. Now I could be wrong but I seriously doubt that all of a sudden all of these players needed glasses. I mean I've seen Dwight Howard (see photo), Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Dwayne Wade just to name a few. I personally think it is a new fashion trend and theses glasses are simply clear glass. I just find it a little hard to believe that all of these young athletes suddenly have developed eye problems. Well that could explain why Dwight Howard shoots free throws so poorly OUCH! Now I must admit that many years ago I also bought some fake glasses at Venice Beach and used to wear them at work around raise time. My co-worker used to tell me to "take those ridiculous things off". I would simply say "please don't make fun of my astigmatism" HAHA! My co-worker got even more mad when I got a nice raise with my new found studious look. Hmmm.....maybe I should try this trick again. HAHA!

BEST PEANUT BUTTER CUPS EVER?

Now I have to admit that I've always been a fan of Reese's Peanut Butter cups. I mean it's the perfect combination of chocolate and peanut butter. Truly a match made in heaven. When chilled slightly in the refrigerator these peanut butter cups are simply the best. Now recently I tried the new Reese's Peanut Butter cups made with Dark chocolate. WHOA! What have we here? Where have you been all my life? These things are delicious! Now as much as I like the originals I have to say that these new peanut butter far surpass the originals. All I can say is check them out!

THE TASTE OF BLOOD - HUH?

Up until recently there were a few places that I would go that would create a very odd sensation in my mouth. Now for whatever reasons (fear?) whenever I would go until a hospital or a church, this strange phenomenon would occur. My wife would think I was a nut and just imaging things. I guaranteed her that this was the real deal. You see what would happen is that I would get the taste of blood in my mouth. What? Yep, I kid you not! I literally could taste blood in my mouth. Now I don't know what or why this would occur at these two places but it always seemed to happen. I'm sure there is a logical explanation for all of this (oh really?) but all I know is this doesn't seem to happen any longer. Very strange indeed.....

REGGAE CD PICK OF THE WEEK - STEEL PULSE

I've always been a fan of the reggae group, Steel Pulse. Their cd titled Babylon the Bandit was one of the very first reggae cd's I had bought way back when. One of my favorite songs from this cd is a song titled School Boy Crush. Now I have to admit that I only own three cd's by Steel Pulse but they are all winners. Anyway, here is my Reggae CD Pick of the Week with Steel Pulse and their cd titled Babylon the Bandit. Check it out!

CAN SOMEONE DUMP THE TRASH FOR ME?

On my recent trip I would frequently find these types of signs in the restrooms (see photo). Yes, I take my camera to the restroom HAHA! Anyway, being an American I found it a little hard to comply with this requirement but I figured it was either follow the rules or plug up the plumbing. If that happened you know the American (me) would get blamed for not following the rules and be subjected to public shame and humiliation. So I did this as needed but it sure felt odd to me. I think what bothered me most was thinking about the person that would get stuck dumping the trash. HAHA! Anyway, all I know is I never got stuck dumping the trash!