The Sun Was Shining in the Month of May

GLENDALE, CA (YIFTM) – Playing cards and drinking lemonade, the sun was shining in the month of May. This week's Album of the Week pick dates back to the last high school summer beatbox, Gangsta and J.Jerry were friends. That was a summer filled with boring, yet frequent trips into Portage and the occasional jam video. I think that was the summer we were crippled with in-camera-editing when making our sketch comedy skits.

Among several other CD’s and cassettes that we deemed worthy of frequent play was a tape we’d acquired from Adrian by the band Vacuum Scam. The tape was old and the quality wasn’t very good, but the ‘ol man’s truck had a tape player and that was all we needed.

It seems as though all the odd tracks stand out most for me. I’d be interested to hear what beatbox says about this, and I know Gangsta could give a shit. Track 1 and track 5 (both first on their respective sides) begin with an instrumental jam that could very easily stand alone as their own songs. Track 7, the Cordero of the bunch ends the EP with a solemn yet optimistic jam, that not unlike the summer that would prove to be our last, and even though we couldn’t recognize it when we saw it, would function as a comfortable yet surprisingly fitting end.

Years later in a Milwaukee apartment building I recorded this tape onto a CD, then promptly returned it to Adrian. An unwise yet responsible decision on my part as that tape, while back in the original owner’s possession would become lost indefinitely. I’ve made several “backup copies” (4 total I think) so if anyone is interested in their own personal CD copy of a great summer album, complete with the exact imperfections found on the original tape, simply email me your address and I’ll be sure to send you a copy.

I’ll check back later. I’m going for a walk to clear my mind.