Compare your old (vinyl) record collection to that of Tom Snider

Cafe Society
1

Let me state for the record my knowledge of C/W music could probably fit on an index card.

Now, I could rationalize my ignorance of the genre by blaming it on the fact metro NYC doesn’t have a radio station with a county format, but that would be dishonest. Truth be told, short of The Man In Black, Hank and a few assorted others, I pay very little attention to the sounds that come out of the Grand Ole Opry.

Dennis Elsas, a legend of NYC radio who now works at a free-form college station out of Fordham University, recently “opened my ears” to a guy by the name of Tom Snider. Twenty seconds into the song B, Double E, Double R, U, N…Beer Run I headed out to Tower to pick up a copy of New Connection.

Not a bad album…I gotta admit.

While listening to his song Vinyl Records, I was surprised to notice some similarities in our musical tastes. Granted, he’s slanted more country than I and may have used a bit of poetic license (in the name of rhyming) when enumerating his collection. But I’ll be damned: this singer-songwriter from Oregon and I are almost 56% compatible on comparison.

Here’s how he lists his collection of vinyl records from the song of the same name:

Final Tally: Snider and I share similar music shopping habits for 29 out of a possible 52 artists.

I have a few question for the “Cafe’ Society Denizens” :

  • Anyone ever hear any of his other stuff?

  • Is it any good?

  • Should I attempt to track down "“Talkin’ Seattle Grunge Rock Blues?”

  • How similar is your music collection to Tom’s?
    (I’d wager Sunshine, if still posting, is probably 80% compatible)

2

If he doesn’t have both Lemon Pipers albums then the heck with him.

3

I think he’s an Alright Guy. I am sure you are talking about Todd Snider, right?
I have everything on his list except for Bobby Gentry. While I like and listen to all these artists, his tastes are nowhere near as diverse and eccentric as my own personal faves.

“Talkin’ Seattle Grunge Rock Blues” is the unnamed track at the end of the “Songs for the Daily Planet” release.

4

I figger you mean Todd Snider, too. He’s a pretty good guy, and has all the right influences. I like the fact he mentions Keith Sykes in there. Mr Sykes is not so well-known outside the Memphis circle, but he always gave TS a nice performance venue in his early days in Memphee. So, bonus points for that nice remembrance. Jimmy Buffett may be an odd fit with the others, but if my ol’ Memphis memory serves me right, Buffett helped Todd get his foot in the door.

The stuff on my shelf is pretty similar, but I do find he has a huge gap in the blues vein, which amazes me; how could he live in Memphis and not get that?

5

Oh, and, um…“Songs for the Daily Planet” refers to the singer/songwriter sessions Keith Sykes arranged at the club of the same name in Memphis. A fine good blessing for all involved.