Episode 167: Mick McGeough
"The purpose of this record is to demonstrate a neglective factor in funnel pickup design. Namely, the ability of the pickup to stay in contact with the groove modulation over a wide range of frequencies and intensities. In other words, to track the groove..."
-- DJ Magic Mike, "The House of Magic," Bass is the Name of the Game (1988)
I've been peeling back the layers of the music-world onion for as long as I can remember.
One of my fondest chapters in that book of memories is the chunk in which my cousin, Rob, lived near me. It was a twoish-year stretch; he and his family lived in Shawnee, KS for a minute, and in Ottawa, KS for another (They've otherwise always been FLA/NJ people.). When he/they moved to the area, though, I'd just entered my first full season as a bona fide (in my mind) music connoisseur. Rob had been doing his own heavy lifting as well. And we got to merge.
That pair -- or trio -- of years were incredible for me. Truly life-changing. I got to spend time with my four cousins and my aunt and uncle; had they never made the move, I'd barely've ever known them. They treated me like one of their own, coming to get me on Fridays and returning me on Sundays, seldom leaving the burden on my mom.
It was so fantastic. The kids all got along. Frank and Maureen loved each other and showed tons of affection. I felt like my every need was catered to. And Rob and I became closer friends than either of us knew we needed. It's one of the fondest memories of my youth.
We ate like kings and were both doted on and left to our own. We played baseball and wrestled and went places in their big-ass van. But more than anything, Rob and I both shared a love of music. And we turned each other on to stuff. And shopped for cassettes.
One of the artists my cousin turned me on to -- via his then-freshest release -- was DJ Magic Mike. And I loved it. And I turned a bunch of my homies on to it.
It was a pivot in my music education, and my gratitude for that experience has never faded.
I love doing this podcast because I get to meet folks.
I get to meet them and learn about who they are (in person!) and what they're in to, and what some of their favorite albums have been.
It's really been great, and I've felt grateful from Day 1 that this is a thing that I'm doing in Kansas City, because it's a beautiful town with lots of amazing people in and around it.
So this one's a me episode because I hit a patch. I talk about five of my faves, which're these:
Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti (1975)
Junta (1989), Phish
De La Soul's Stakes Is High (1996)
Mushroom Jazz (1997), Mark Farina
Kurt Vile's Wakin' on a Pretty Daze: Deluxe Daze (Post Haze) (2013)
And that's all I have to say about that.
copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the audio samples contained within this episode (and it's a lengthy list this go-round 'cause I've included some song snippets from my selections) but -- for intro/outro purposes only -- they are snapshots from a tune called, "The Seed (2.0)" by The Roots from their 2002 release, Phrenology, which is a Geffen Records Release c/o UMG Recordings, Inc.