Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Jimmy Silva and the Empty Set - Big House

I've got a special vinyl-bin discovery to share today. I knew nothing about Jimmy Silva when I found this record, "Fly Like A Dog," in the New Arrivals bin at my local record store, and at $15 for one platter, it might have stayed that way. But the album art -- featuring a deliriously grinning child pilot and a biplane (yes, a biplane) soaring out of the sun -- caught my eye. I gave it a spin on the store's listening station. Can't say I was expecting the explosion of garage rock/power pop you hear in the clip, but I took it home either way.

There's not much I can tell you about Jimmy Silva -- he doesn't have a wikipedia page. From what I can gather from liner notes and scant entries on blogs, he was from the Bay Area and lived in Seattle, and died suddenly in 1994 at age 42 (possibly from a run-in with shingles). His last.fm page doesn't add much detail. And then there's the music, which is pretty great.

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