Y2KT10 September 1999

Y2K T10
(Y2K Top Ten Lists)
Curtis Lynch
Professor of Millennium Musicology
Playgrounds Division

OK, now that the term "Y2K" has been permanently seared upon everyone's retinas, the time has come to answer the question: what the hell is Y2K, anyway?

History lesson: In the nascent computing era of the 1950s, storage and memory were prohibitively expensive, so programmers adopted a convention using a two-digit field for years, with the programs automatically inserting the "19." Evidently, they figured we'd be using some Star Trek type computers by now, 'cause nobody  had a problem with that then.  The big problem in the here and now is that literally billions of microchips embedded in everything from the nation's powergrids to Mom's microwave won't be able to distinguish between 1900 and 2000.  Now, if you have to eat a cold Pop Tart because your toaster has PMS (that's Post-Millennium Syndrome, y'all), that's one thing; if Georgia Power's computer systems crash, then you might have to plan your day a little differently.

According to Family PC magazine, $600 billion will be spent by year-end to fix or replace computer systems, and even that won't guarantee 100% compliance and nobody really knows which systems will keep on truckin' and which ones will go flatline.

Let's check in with the Federal Government, shall we?  As always, it's the old "what I say" vs. "what I do" affliction.  On the one hand, they say there could be scattered disruptions, no worse than a severe snowstorm or hurricane. (Never mind the fact that those are random occurrences, this is something we've known about for a while now...)  On the other hand, legislators have passed bills limiting Y2K liability from lawsuits, as well as creating a Y2K "bunker," a government agency which ominously, will "be the framework for future disasters."

Amazing as it may seem, our Federal Government has not acknowledged the Y2KT10 problem.  After consulting with the Conspiracy Division of Playgrounds Magazine, it has been determined that this is a deliberate cover-up in order to avoid widespread panic (meaning rioting in the streets, not the band) and to discourage the rampant stockpiling of music.

Now without furthur adieu (a French word meaning, literally, "more crap"), let's bring on this month's selections. First up, the poet laudanum of Shadowville, Will Dockery:


 Gadzooks! Only ten?  OK, lessee...

1)Bob Dylan/Empire Burlesque- overlooked masterpiece from 1985.
2)John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band- yow! the finest, working class hero,
indeed.
3)Lou Reed/Berlin- this'll rip your soul out, the most
depressing/uplifting record ever made.
4)Patti Smith Group/Horses- she was America's greatest poet at one
time.
5)Rolling Stones/Exile on Main Street- gotta have this one.
6)Liz Phair/Exile In Guyville- this little lady gives me the "schwing."
7)Hole/Live Through This- ditto.
8)Nirvana/Unplugged in New York- the cry of the ages.
9)Pavement/Slanted & Enchanted- and it is.
10)Bob Nuewirth/99 Monkeys- if you don't have this, I'll tape you a
copy.

(I'll clone myself to keep 10 or 20 more such as... Henry Conley, Uncle
Grumpy, Digital Cricket, Blonde on Blonde, Desire, Smashing
Pumpkins, REM Murmur, Patti's Radio Ethiopia, The Velvets, Eno,
Cale, Nico, Beatles Rubber Soul, Henry Parker, The Clash London
Calling, Woody Guthrie, Billie Holliday, Miles Davis...ahh, this is
impossible, just gimmie the green Kool-Aid...) Will

(Whatever you say, Will.  Would you like that in a commemorative Y2K souvenir cup? - Curtis.)


Next is Brian Fowler, who says "I would like to plug my record, I should have it ready by October/November. It's called San Francisco Blue and features Bob Harvey, the original bassist of Jefferson Airplane, Robert and Rebecca Richardson and your own Mr. Mike Childree,  I (Brian Fowler), will be on mandolins and gtrs."

1. West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band Child's Guide to Good and Evil. 1968 Psychedelic album, well written and cohesive. Michael Lloyd went on to
become one of LA's top producers with the platinum album Footloose. This gem
defined the era, although very rare and contained no big hits, this is the
holy grail for collectors. Luckily, I have it.
2. Jethro Tull Roots to Branches This is their last studio album. Although rock radio (at least here in Columbus) does not play anything from this album, It contains some of the best gtr work imaginable and the tracks Roots to Branches and Dangerous Veils are some of the best rock ever recorded.
 3. Pink Floyd The Piper at the Gates of Dawn 1967 This album was recorded in Abbey Road studio at the same time Sgt. Pepper was being recorded.  I hear a little Beatles in this and vice-versa. The scoop is Barrett would trip w/ Lennon and listen to each other's playbacks. A must in your collection.
 4. David Grisman Mondo Mando One of the hottest jazz-grass albums made w/ Tony Rice and Mark O'Connor. It makes me want to nail my mandolin case shut.
 5. Gong Angels Egg. David Allen's songwriting and gtr work shone on this jazz-rock classic.
 6. It's a Beautiful Day (I saw another Y2KT10 w/ this album mentioned. This was a classic and the violin just soared in this. I love this album.
 7. Hawkwind In Search of Space This is my "drive fast" album, crunching gtrs,
Lemmy's pounding bass, the cuts Master of the Universe and Shouldn't Do That are classics. I went to NY last year to see these folks and they are worth the
ride. They have a wild light show. Good fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 8. Jefferson Airplane Bark Lawman,  Wild Turkey, Pretty as You Feel, although the band was falling apart, they got it together enough to do this classic.
 9. Nektar- Remember the Future. One of the best progressive albums ever made. I have 3 LPs of this one. The sleeve art is pretty imaginative.
10. New Grass Revival-Barren County. I love this record. It is pre-Bela Fleck and some of the best albums ever made of acoustic music.

You readers are probably thinking this dude has some pretty weird CDs. Maybe so but, there is a lot out there and music is diverse...
  Thanks, Brian

(No, Brian, Playgrounds readers are probably wondering what " (insert something from it pays to enhance your word power) "  means. -Curtis.)

NME, England's preeminent music magazine has compiled a list of the top 100 rock'n'roll albums "since 4/4 time began," but they did it back in October 1993, "the last time we got around to doing it." The list is predictably Anglo-heavy, yet The Beach Boys snag number one, followed by Marvin Gaye (four),  The Velvet Underground (six),  and Public Enemy (nine). You can find the whole list at http://www.nme.com/reviews/top100.html, but here's the top ten:

1 Pet Sounds THE BEACH BOYS (Capitol, 1966)
2 Revolver THE BEATLES (Parlophone, 1966)
3 Never Mind the Bollocks THE SEX PISTOLS (Virgin, 1977)
4 What's Going On MARVIN GAYE (Tamla Motown, 1971)
5 The Stone Roses THE STONE ROSES (Silvertone, 1989)
6 The Velvet Underground & Nico THE VELVET UNDERGROUND (Verve, 1967)
7 London Calling THE CLASH (CBS, 1979)
8 The Beatles THE BEATLES (Apple, 1968)
9 It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back PUBLIC ENEMY (Def Jam, 1988)
10 The Queen Is Dead THE SMITHS (Rough Trade, 1986)



So, four months left before the clocks all roll over to two-triple-ought...till next month, I'll leave y'all with a bumper sticker..."Time is the best teacher; Unfortunately it kills all its students!" Y'all study on your favorite musical selections, and send your top ten lists to:

Playgrounds Magazine
P.O.Box 8154
Columbus GA 31908