DJJD Retro 80's Volume 2

Created By:  Jonathan Dysart (DJJD)

Original Creation Year:  2005

Year of Re-master:  2010

Song Listing

Side A

1.    Sledgehammer:  Peter Gabriel

2.    She Bop:  Cyndi Lauper

3.    House of Fun:  Madness

4.    Stay Up Late:  Talking Heads
5.   You Spin Me Round (Like a Record):  Dead or Alive

Side B

6.    You Might Think:  The Cars

7.    Goody Two Shoes:  Adam Ant

8.    Istanbul (Not Constantinople):  They Might Be Giants

9.   West End Girls:  Pet Shop Boys    
10.  So Alive:  Love & Rockets

Side C

11.  Burning Down the House:  Talking Heads

12. Turning Japanese:  The Vapors   

13. Destination Unknown:  Missing Persons

14. Obsession:  Animotion
15. All Through the Night:  Cyndi Lauper

Side D

16. Something About You:  Level 42

17. They Don't Know:  Tracey Ullman

18. No One Is To Blame:  Howard Jones

19. Life in A Northern Town:  Dream Academy
20. Birdhouse in Your Soul:  They Might Be Giants
21. Fish Heads:  Barnes & Barnes

Origin of the Album

            This album is pretty much a continuation of DJJD Retro 80's Volume 1, especially now that iTunes was available at the office computer.  It contains various tracks left off from my older CD 1980's collection and some new ones taken from iTunes.      

Concept and Theme of the Album

             Just like the original album, this is basically a collection of tracks with no extra conceptual ideas.           

Concept and the Album Cover

            The album cover is basically a picture of the Lite Bright toy made by a photographer in an interesting angle.  The back album cover is quite basic and generic.

DJJD Retro 80's Volume 1

Created By:  Jonathan Dysart (DJJD)

Original Creation Year:  2001

Year of Re-master:  2010

Song Listing

Side A

1.    Come On Eileen:  Dexy's Midnight Runners 

2.    After The Fire:  After the Fire

3.    Video Killed The Radio Star:  The Buggles

4.    I Ran (So Far Away):  A Flock of Seagulls
5.   Electric Avenue:  Eddy Grant

Side B

6.    Our House:  Madness

7.    Puttin' on the Ritz:  Taco

8.    (Keep Feeling) Fascination:  Human League 

9.   She Blinded Me With Science:  Thomas Dolby    
10.  Head Over Heels:  The Go-Go's  

Side C

11.  Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This):  Eurythmics

12. One Night in Bangkok:  Murray Head     

13. Safety Dance:  Men Without Hats   

14. Rock Me Amadeus:  Falco 
15. Whip It:  DEVO

Side D

16. Rock Lobster:  The B-52's

17. Take On Me:  A-Ha

18. Come Dancing:  The Kinks

19. 99 Luftballons:  Nena
20. Major Tom:  Peter Schilling

  

Origin of the Album

            This album was originally created on cassette prior to the creation of DJJD Volume 1.  This was done for two major reasons.  First, my TIME LIFE 1980's CD collection and other CDs contained a lot of songs I did not care for.  Plus they were not organically ordered like an album that I envisioned, see DJJD Volume 1 post for an explanation of album structure.  Second, my sister at the time was not responsible for taking care of those CDs.  They were all scratched and almost unplayable.  I had to resort to extreme cleaning tactics to copy those tracks before they were gone.
              Many of those tracks were eventually spread out at the end through six albums, with Retro 80's Volume 3 through Retro 80's Volume 6 having some sort of conceptual tone to each album.  There were also some tracks during remastering that were taking out of my original DJJD CD collection and placed in these Retro 80's collection.  

Concept and Theme of the Album

            It's no big concept, except the obvious one that these songs are in what I call the "Retro 80's" genre.  This genre I believe spans from late 1979 through 1986, where "New Wave" was the famous style of music.   Music started to change in 1987 towards glam Metal, Hip Hop, and eventually alternative rock (started by Nirvana).  This album would be the "best of the best" of Retro 80's, in my opinion.   It encapsulates the early 1980s the best way possible.

           

Concept and the Album Cover

            There were many variations of the album cover during its span.  In the remastering, I changed the cover with an 80's style background with blocky album titles in the same color scheme.  The back cover is a screenshot of the Atari 2600 game Super Breakout, with the blocky titles and the computerized font for the song listing.

DJJD Volume 39

Created By:  Jonathan Dysart (DJJD)

Original Creation Year:  2018

Song Listing

Side A

1.    Loaded:  Primal Scream
2.   Clint Eastwood:  Gorillaz

3.    Lee Van Cleef:  Primus

4.    Do I Have to Talk You Into It:  Spoon

Side B

5.    Coffee and TV:  Blur

6.    Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me):  Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel

7.    We Love You:  The Rolling Stones

8.    Dry the Rain:  The Beta Band
     "High Fidelity" related scene

Side C

9. The Universal:  Blur

10. Time is Running Out:  Muse
11. Rosebud was the Name of His Sled:  Baron von Luxxury

12. Intermission:  Blur
      "Baby Driver" related scene [R-rated]

Side D

13. The Castle:  The Flaming Lips

14. How Does It Make You Feel:  AIR
15. Everyday:  Slade

16. Shine On:  Jet
17. Ong Ong:  Blur

Origin of the Album

          A new beginning.  A new me.  A more positive outlook.  Not much to say on this.   
            

Concept and Theme of the Album

      Like I mentioned above, a new beginning.  I basically took the electronic and British post-1990s to now approach, extending a new branch of music that I started out in DJJD Volume 36.  At this time, listening to traditional classic rock music was getting boring.  If I wanted to listen to them, I would just listen to some of my vinyl record collection.  For the DJJD collection, I wanted to [stealing from Star Trek] boldly go where I have not gone before.
          One of the major influence of this style and sound came from British artist Damon Albarn.  He originally started the band Blur, which I was introduced to with "Beetlebum" of DJJD Volume 27.  After that, he formed a British hip-hop band Gorillaz.  The song "Clint Eastwood" by Gorillaz I wanted to resurrect since I used to have that album.  But the song just did not fit with much of the albums I was making, until now.  Most of the Blur music were quite positive, except for the cautionary track "The Universal" - the dystopian song with a video spoofing that Stanley Kubrick classic "A Clockwork Orange".  "Intermission" is perfect is expressing where our world is going.  Now I am a big Blur fan!
        Other songs and tracks came through my DJJD Volume 36 project including Air, Baron Von Luxxury, and Spoon.  Other classics from my memory vault were from the Flaming Lips, the Rolling Stones (inspired by the TV show "Legion" and originally assisted by John and Paul of the Beatles), and Jet.  The Jet song "Shine On" could be almost a memorial for my future funeral - not being morbid but with a positive side of it.  I also added a track from my brother-in-law's favorite band Primus - a nod to him; plus it fits fine with the Gorillaz song "Clint Eastwood" with obvious connections.
       What sparked this album originally was watching a "Classic albums" TV show about Primal Scream, an upbeat Scottish 1990 band - who pioneered the Rave genre.  The track "Loaded" was perfect as a first track to "get things moving".
          All around - a positive and fun album.
     

Concept and the Album Cover

           To start my new image as well as showing my age, I bought some Scottish style Snap Brim hats.  These hats reminded me of what Dad used to where.  Now with me growing a beard (and planning to keep it for some time), wearing these Brim hats felt natural.  It brought out the Scottish and maturity in me. 
            Using the 1990s style look of minimalist art, I applied a picture of the Snap Brim hat, glasses, and album lettering using a new application called Paint 3D.  The back album used a font similar that in typical Nintendo NES video games to emphasize the 1990s look.

DJJD Volume 38

Created By:  Jonathan Dysart (DJJD)

Original Creation Year:  2017

Song Listing

Side A

1.    Knights of Cydonia:  Muse
2.   Talking Out of Turn:  The Moody Blues

3.    Walls (Circus):  Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

4.    Keep the Customer Satisfied:  Simon & Garfunkel

Side B

5.    I'm Slowly Turning Into You (Live):  The White Stripes

6.    Man of War:  Radiohead

7.    Guess I'm Doing Fine:  Beck

8.    I Want You (She's So Heavy):  Halestorm

Side C

9. Now and Then:  The Beatles
       Fan alternative version

10. Hello My Old Friend:  Electric Light Orchestra
11. The Rain Song:  Led Zeppelin

12. Wonderous Stories:  Yes

Side D

13. Grow Old Me With (Anthology Version):  John Lennon

Exogenesis [Full Symphony]:  Muse

14. Part 1: Overture
15. Part 2: Cross-pollination 
16. Part 3: Redemption

Origin of the Album

          This was the third album of the trilogy created in 2017.  In my opinion, the year 2017 was one of the greatest emotional and spiritually "roller coasters" I have been through, the biggest since 1987.  A lot of old "wounds" and emotions came out of that year, so much so that for sanity's sake had to drop or separate them from my life and move forward.  Many of them "false idols" I had to drop.  Instead of suppressing "past pains", I had to give it up.  There are things that I still am working on, with the help of the grace of God.  I still have problems like everyone else does, but I have a better perspective on them than ever before.  Instead of being fearful of the future, I want to face it - head on!  The past is the past. 
             Appropriately, this album was created in the last week of 2017, looking forward to the next.  It's time for a change.          

Concept and Theme of the Album

        Many of these tracks were leftovers not incorporated into the last two albums (DJJD Volume 36 and DJJD Volume 37).  Some of these songs (like the Moody Blues "Talking Out of Turn", "Walls (Circus)" by Tom Petty [RIP], the Beatles cover song by Halestorm, Beck's "Guess I'm Doing Fine", "The Rain Song" by Led Zeppelin, and John Lennon's "Grow Old With Me") is a direct response to the person described in DJJD Volume 37.  The others songs (The White Stripes, Radiohead's "Man of War", the unreleased Beatles anthology song "Now and Then" (originally written by John Lennon), ELO's "Hello My Old Friend", and the symphonic suite by Muse) conveys the need to change and move forward into the future.             
          The first track "Knights of Cydonia" reminded me of my childhood imaginary alias "The Warrior", the Mad Max superhero that I imagined in the past.  It too had the message of fighting back and "making things right".  Even Tom Petty's "Walls (Circus)" is a bit of a response to the theme of DJJD Volume 29, which the theme is about life as a circus.  The Simon and Garfunkel track is basically dealing with the stress of work.  At the end, Yes's "Wonderous Stories" is just a beautiful song.
     

Concept and the Album Cover

           The album covers are directly related to the themes of the album.  The front cover fits visually of "looking to the future" while the back cover, being as erotic like DJJD Volume 4, represents the response to DJJD Volume 37 as mentioned above.  Pretty straightforward.

DJJD Volume 37

Created By:  Jonathan Dysart (DJJD)

Original Creation Year:  2017

Song Listing

Side A

1.    Somebody to Love:  Queen
2.   S.O.S.:  ABBA

3.    Fake Friends:  Joan Jett & the Blackhearts

4.    Ding Dong, Ding Dong:  George Harrison

5.    Ramona:  Beck

Side B

6.    Passion:  Rod Stewart

7.    I Want to Break Free:  Queen

8.    It Must Be Love:  Madness

9.    If You Can't Give Me Love:  Suzi Quatro
10. If You Want My Love:  Cheap Trick

Side C

11. Calling America:  Electric Light Orchestra

12. All My Love:  Led Zeppelin
13. If Not For You:  Olivia Newton-John

14. She's in Love with You:  Suzi Quatro
15. I Promise:  Radiohead

Side D

16. Nobody's Fault But My Own:  Beck

17. Run to Me:  Bee Gees

18. Count on Me:  Jefferson Starship
19. I Believe (When I Fall in Love):  Stevie Wonder
      "High Fidelity" Final Scene
20. Ramona (Acoustic):  Beck

Origin of the Album

          An album dedicated to that special someone... 
            

Concept and Theme of the Album

       Song tracks influenced by the movie "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" [Ramona by Beck - song of the year],  the movie "High Fidelity", the Queen concert in Nashville, Radiohead ["I Promise" - second song of the year], and other personal experiences.
     

Concept and the Album Cover

           Who's the real "Ramona"?

DJJD Volume 36

Created By:  Jonathan Dysart (DJJD)

Original Creation Year:  2017

Song Listing

Side A

1.    Let Forever Be:  The Chemical Brothers
2.   My Mathematical Mind:  Spoon

3.    Alpha Beta Gaga:  Air

4.    Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots Part 2:  The Flaming Lips

5.    Glass Candy:  Baron von Luxxury

Side B

6.    Harder Better Faster Stronger:  Daft Punk

7.    Where's Your Head At?:  Basement Jaxx

8.    Stressed Out:  Twenty One Pilots

9.    The Daily Mail:  Radiohead
10. My Baby's Taking Me Home:  Sparks

Side C

11. Uprising:  Muse

12. Children of the Revolution:  T. Rex
13. Codex:  Radiohead

14. Legend of a Mind:  The Moody Blues

Side D

15. Venus:  Air

16. Spokey Dokey:  Cowboy Bebop OST

17. This River:  JJ Grey & Mofro
18. When I Paint My Masterpiece:  The Band
19. The Ecstasy of Gold:  DJ2Bad

Origin of the Album

          2017!  What a year - both good and bad.  A lot of anniversaries that affected me musically were occurring in this year:  50th anniversary of the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper" (celebrated by releasing a new remix of the album and the start of the Beatles Channel on Sirius XM); 40th anniversary of the Electric Light Orchestra's "Out of the Blue" (celebrated by re-releasing the album and having ELO and Jeff Lynne placed in the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame); 20th anniversary of Radiohead's "OK Computer" (celebrated by re-releasing the album with awesome new material).  This was also the 40th anniversary of the release of the original Star Wars film.  
          In world events, there were many anniversaries:  100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution and the U.S. entering into World War I; 500th anniversary of the start of the Protestant Reformation; and (in End Times prophesy) 50th anniversary of the Israelis Six Day War.  But one of the biggest events in 2017 was the first year of Donald Trump as President of the United States and the soap opera events between him and his enemies.
          But personally, this was the 30th anniversary of the creation of my first album DJJD 1987 on cassette (created in March of 1987) and my father's death six months later.  The parallel is striking.  I created this album DJJD Volume 36 in March of 2017 and a month later a major family member passed away.  And this passing affected a person that I really cared for and have not spoken to directly for more than a decade.
           I was an emotional wreck that year.  It felt like history was repeating itself.  So much so, that I made a total of 3 new albums that year, and a revival of this DJJD project.  Instead of making albums for the fun of it, like I was doing for DJJD Volume 33 through 35, I was reverting back to this project by the motivation of more therapy and not just creativity - the drive that started DJJD Volume 1 back in 2001. 
            

Concept and Theme of the Album

         I honestly was not thinking much about anniversaries initially when making this album.  Most of it was motivated by the increased stress of work and the American political events with Trump.   Like DJJD 1987, it was the events of family funerals that happened later that put this album on my mental map forever.                             I wanted to go to a new direction musically, having less traditional classic rock/pop on the album, just like I did with DJJD Volume 34.  Radiohead was heavily influenced by this album in terms of style and tone.  There is not a centralized theme as done before, but sections of it had their own separate themes:  Side A - 21st-century electric rock medley;  Side B - the stress of work and how to handle it;  Side C - a pro-Trump / anti-establishment message;  Side D - personal retrospective.
     

Concept and the Album Cover

           I wanted to find a surreal picture of being "plugged into" the computer since my computer career was starting to become more stressful even though the company is great.   I found the picture of a skull connected to computer wire applicable.  The back album cover is simple with the use of green font, symbolizing computer text and a nod to "The Matrix".