Off the Charts

#1176: End of Isolation

RECORD STORE TALES #1176: End of Isolation

I’ve been in isolation nine days.  A positive Covid test and some weird symptoms have kept me house-bound, and of course Jen was only a few days behind me.  She tested positive with symptoms about four days later.  The true test of a marriage is if one can survive Covid isolation together, twice.  I am happy to announce we are still married!

On Thursday January 23rd, I started feeling an irritation in my throat.  I went home early.  I recorded a 50 Years of Iron Maiden episode with Harrison and Melissa Nee, feeling absolutely wiped out by the end of it.  I went straight to bed.  I woke up the next morning knowing I would not be going into work.  I felt stinky rotten, but without a cough or congestion.  Just my throat, a lot of body pain, a foggy head and fatigue.  I tested myself, and you know how that went down.

While it was longer and harder than my first fight with Covid, it never turned into anything serious.  Fighting the fatigue was the hardest part.  I started working from home on the Monday, putting in full days, but delaying my recovery by not resting enough.

My experience with Covid was not just different physically this time.  Mentally, the toll was different.

During my first round with Covid, I was dreading working from home, but gradually warmed up to it.  On my second round, I was looking forward to working from home, but tired of it quickly.  My lack of enthusiasm might be due to feeling worse this time, but I spent my time differently.  I didn’t listen to any music, at all, while I worked.  I didn’t do any easy chores like laundry while I worked.  All I did was cook the odd meal.  A lot of Spam.  I’m into Spam now.

I didn’t do anything creative for that whole time.  Physically, I didn’t want to continue sitting in that chair (as comfy as it is) any longer once my work day was done.  I did do a quick video with Dan Chartrand on both our YouTube channels – check it out.

It was just a bummer of a time otherwise, as Jen and I learned how to navigate her personal space clashing with mine!  The monotony of the food too; that was starting to wear.  We ordered in a lot.  I had a McBreakfast one day (I ordered so much that it did last the full day).  We tried ramen for the first time.  We got a pizza.  The days blur together.  After I wound up each work day at 4:30 PM, I hung out on the couch for a while, but was starting to feel tired by 5:30.  It was a struggle to stay awake, and I didn’t want to go straight from work to bed.  It is hard balancing what one wants to do, with what one needs to do.

Because I wasn’t able to do much creatively (and also because our next guest also has Covid), Harrison and I paused 50 Years of Maiden.  I think I’m ready to jump back in, but already the show schedule is daunting.

Today I’ve sat down and listened to music properly for the first time in nine days.  I chose the debut by Rose Tattoo, a band we’ll be talking about very soon on Grab A Stack of Rock.  But I’m nervous; nervous that I won’t be able to keep up or maintain my motivation.  I have the Contrarians, Grant’s Rock Warehaus, and Grab A Stack all in the coming week.

Feels good to be negative though.  I plan on going music and Lego shopping today.  Otherwise taking it easy.  Writing this is my creative endeavour for today.  Let’s enjoy the rest of it.  Allons-y!

 

 

“Tap” into the show! 40 Years of Spinal Tap: The Music with Marco D’Auria, Dan Chartrand and Uncle Meat

A huge thank you to Marco D’Auria of the Contrarians, Dan Chartrand of Off the Charts, and the near-legendary Uncle Meat for comprising our expert panel tonight.  The subject was Spinal Tap, the band and the music.  It may be fair to call Dan a “superfan”, as he had some Spinal Tap rarities that I don’t.  Dan provided some cool physical product, including CDs and LPs of This is Spinal Tap, Break Like the Wind, and he even unfolded his Back From the Dead CD packaging to show us what it looks like when it’s a little paper stage set.

Taking a cue from another big Spinal Tap fan, Peter Kerr, I stole a tactic from Rock Daydream Nation and did some discussion questions in rounds.  Here’s what we tackled:

  • Were you ever in the blissful unawareness that Spinal Tap was a fake band?  Or were you always in on the joke?
  • Evaluate the musicianship of Tap.
  • Pick a favourite song from the soundtrack.
  • Pick a favourite song from Break Like the Wind.  
  • And a quick discussion of Back from the Dead.

Along the way we discussed the history of Tap, both real and fictional.  We had a look at the DVD for the Return of Spinal Tap, and had a chat on that subject.  I peppered the panel with trivia throughout the night.  We had an insightful discussion about talent, and the three actors who played the central characters:  Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer.  We speculated on director Rob Reiner’s role in the songwriting, and technical aspects of the writing and playing.  Did Harry Shearer play fretless bass on “Break Like the Wind”?  I don’t know, but we do know he can play upright bass thanks to his role in A Mighty Wind.  In short, the music and movie were given as much appraisal and analysis as we could do in an hour.

Meanwhile in the comments, Pete Jones provided quote after quote after quote, from a variety of Tap interviews and performances.  Thank you Peter!  And thank you to everyone who watched and joined in.  

I started the show with a quick unboxing, from Australia’s Ash Geisler, who has been a huge supporter of the show.  Thanks again Ash for watching, and for sending me this awesome package.  I guarantee some of them will be getting a review.

One topic I didn’t get to mention on the show, but did come up among the viewers:  Spinal Tap II is coming to theaters in 2025.  How do you feel about this?  Let us know in the comments.  I for one don’t think it’s necessary or a good idea.  The cameo-laden cast seems gimmicky, but Rob Reiner is back is the director’s chair.

Thanks for watching, and if you didn’t, the link is below.  This is one I’ll be watching over again.  

NEXT WEEK:  A Mighty Wind with Dan Chartrand, John Clauser & Uncle Meat!