#The Idler Wheel deluxe

[fionaapplerocks]

Fiona Apple: all the deluxe editions [x]

[childhoodgrave]

hmmm your favourite album as of now? Or just music you've been listening a lot lately. your music taste never misses 4 me so i'm curious

OHHH thats so nice thank u leo.. im very hard on my self for my music taste bc i pretty much just listen to the same things over and over… WELL for like the past few days ive prettu much jist been listening to this song on repeat because well…. you lnow…

aaand also my playlisg for brunhilda which . has like 5 songs bc i m horrible at making playlists HAHA

but thats just been like since monday… as for ALBUMS its impossible to pick one specific favorite currently ive been listening to get to heaven deluxe by everything everything a lot and SAVED! by reverend kristin michael hayter .. haha by the garden.. salesforce by lauren bousfield.. ugly death no redemption has been like a constant favorite for me since it released snd recently ive been listening to a lot of stuff from shed blood.. always lots of crisis sigil.. as hard as you can by lustsickpuppy, i think i said before ive also been very into their money is your money by 1 800 pain,ummmmmm visions of bodies being burned by clipping.. the idler wheel is wiser by fiona apple.. OH and not to disappear by daughter. no care came on in the car on the way to work yeaterday and i screamed

what abt u ?? :D

[sentientxen]

fiona apple the idler wheel is wiser than the driver of the screw and whipping cords will serve you more than ropes will ever do (deluxe) 2012

[gorey]

ok ok. I don't feel like using the website one uses for this so favorite albums of ever GO

- no flashlight by mount eerie

- the ooz by king krule

- I had a dream that you were mine by hamilton leithauser and rostam

- remain in light by talking heads

- пасха by shortparis

- transangelic exodus by ezra furman

- the idler wheel... by fiona apple

- the glow pt. 2 by the microphones

- armchair apocrypha by andrew bird

- plain speaking by scallops hotel

- blisters ep by serpentwithfeet

- vega intl. night school by neon indian

- speaking in tongues by talking heads

- wild youth ep by daughter

- an awesome wave by alt-J

- how to leave town by car seat headrest

- pink moon by nick drake

- the mysterious production of eggs by andrew bird

- yellow house by grizzly bear

- the flying club cup by beirut

- evil friends by portugal. the man

- summertime '06 by vince staples

- shed blood by ada rook

- government plates by death grips

- pretty hate machine by nine inch nails

- sauna by mount eerie

- innocence is kinky by jenny hval

- purple moonlight pages by r.a.p. ferreira

- shiva loca by alice coltrane

- james blake self titled

- break it yourself by andrew bird

- horn of plenty by grizzly bear

- the magic by deerhoof

- bob's son by r.a.p. ferreira

- year of the snitch by death grips

- cupid deluxe by blood orange

- shaking the habitual by the knife

- spiraling by special interest

- plays the music of twin peaks by xiu xiu

- heroin man by cherubs

- boredom and terror / let's toil by the intelligence

- twin fantasy by car seat headrest

- if you leave by daughter

- we sink by soley

- no ep by model/actriz

- I, gemini by let's eat grandma

- the money store by death grips

- be the cowboy by mitski

- no shape by perfume genius

- angel guts: red classroom by xiu xiu

- the weather by pond

- so the flies don't come by milo

- coastal grooves by blood orange

- thank you happy birthday by cage the elephant

- the colour in anything by james blake

- this is all yours by alt-j

- mutant by arca

- II by unknown mortal orchestra

- bury me at makeout creek by mitski

- mirror might steal your charm by the garden

- miracle-level by deerhoof

- man alive! by king krule

- extraordinary machine by fiona apple

- treasures by cocteau twins

- the downward spiral by nine inch nails

- nina by xiu xiu

- overgrown by james blake

- hi how are you by daniel johnston

- merriweather post pavilion by animal collective

- the talkies by gilla band

Ok I give up now I got tired. Rate my shit ladies

[sotiriabellou]

just ordered two cds😌🤗✨

[folksy]

should i spend $30 on the deluxe edition of fetch the bolt cutters

[queenofcrystaltokyo]

My Spotify got DELETED this year so no Spotify Wrapped. Instead I’m just going to list all of the albums I bought on iTunes and go over my thoughts on them. No ratings; ratings are lame.

Cape God - Allie X

It’s no surprise I’ve been following Allie since Collxtion I. This year’s album from her is a natural evolution and a wonderful maturation of her music up to this point. Her previous work was already developed but I find this album just strikes to the center of your person. I feel like telling you there’s a collab with Mitski on here puts that into good perspective.

Personal Standout: Sarah Come Home

Future Nostalgia - Dua Lipa

I haven’t listened to this one much since the week I bought it. It’s a good pop album though with a lot of disco influence which was fun and was definitely a trend in pop music this year. That and metal.

Personal Standout: Don’t Start Now or Physical

SAWAYAMA - Rina Sawayama

I’ve been a fan of hers since we were orange hair sisters in 2017. But oh boy. This album. In many ways album of the year (although I can name three other albums on this list that also vie for that spot). Her use of rock music and the variety of topics (compare Comme Des Garçons and XS) shows the depth of her talent. Still upset I didn’t get to see her and Allie in April.

Personal Standout: Who’s Gonna Save U Now?

Fetch The Bolt Cutters - Fiona Apple

When I first head The Idler Wheel when I was 15, I think my world changed a little. It’s like when you hear The Hounds of Love for the first time. So it was no surprise her next album would be phenomenal. But it should be illegal for an album to be this perfect. Cutting to the core of every possible emotion in a way that only Fiona could do. Flawless is selling it short.

Personal Standout: Drumset

I Disagree - Poppy

I followed Poppy for a bit when she was that one girl who made weird experimental Youtube videos and had one EP. I remember getting 3:36 on her Bandcamp. But I sort of fell off. But THEN I was made aware of this album, gave it a listen, and bought it immediately. I love good, rich rock music and deeply miss it in the pop scene I’ve stationed myself in. This scratches that itch in abundance.

Personal Standout: I Disagree

Petals For Armor - Hayley Williams

Paramore is maybe the most important rock band of the last 20 years. After Laughter is probably my actual favorite album of all time even though I still say Miley Cyrus And Her Dead Petz. But Hayley’s solo work has proven itself to be a separate entity. It’s very deep and personal and is refined in a way that could only come from years of being deeply ingrained in music and understanding it thoroughly.

Personal Standout: Cinnamon

Flamboyant (Deluxe) - Dorian Electra

I was initially hesitant to get into Dorian Electra. I think I thought it was trying too hard. But I warmed up a little and found it speaking to my queer masculine side, which I often ignored in favor of the liberation of femininity.

Personal Standout: Adam & Steve

how i’m feeling now - Charli XCX

How Charli managed to make a no-skip in two months during quarantine is completely beyond me.

Personal Standout: anthems

spice²world - Spice Girls

Now I’m sure you saw this and thought “Wait, what’s that? I’ve never heard of that album.” Well this is actually related to the Spotify deletion. It’s literally just Spice and Spiceworld stuck together. I had it as a playlist on my Spotify and decided to recreate it in my iTunes.

Personal Standout: It’s the Spice Girls. Love Thing is my favorite.

Smile - Katy Perry

I’ve loved Katy Perry since fucking meanplastic posted a soundcloud post of International Smile. From there I delved into her back catalog and learned that One of the Boys is and will always be her best album, which is somewhat unfortunate because, presumably after Lady Gaga blew up, she shifted to pop music and we’ll never get 2008 pop rock goddess Katy back again. But don’t let that deter you. Her music has been evolving since Teenage Dream, which was written by God according to people on here who jump through hoops to hate her. And though Witness was like Artpop in that it sort of broke the facade of infallibility, Smile took what worked from Witness and refined it into a more introspective album that’s trying less hard to be commercial. I hate to admit that that post comparing Katy to Cyndi Lauper as a relic of her decade was right, but I’m okay with that because I feel like Katy is gearing up to be, in the words of Britney Spears, an underground star.

Personal Standout: Tucked

Chromatica - Lady Gaga

I’ve been a little monster since the very beginning. I remember preordering Born This Way at Hot Topic when I was 14. Since then I’ve always held that it’s her best album (though Joanne didn’t make that hard to argue). But Lady Gaga did the impossible. Yes, Chromatica is now Lady Gaga’s best album. The club pop with elements of disco is sheer perfection.

Personal Standout: Replay

Pang - Caroline Polachek

I know I really hyped this album up when it came out last year, but I only got around to actually buying it this year after my Spotify got deleted. But yeah, of course this album is great.

Personal Standout: Pang

Spirit Phone - Lemon Demon

A striking departure from the previous listings. Calling it meme music would not be incorrect. But it’s fun and it’s good. I listened to it all day Halloween but I’m still listening to it right now.

Personal Standout: I Earn My Life

Dreamland - Black Box

Do y’all like house music? If you do, then this album needs no introduction. It is THE house album. Stan Martha Wash.

Personal Standout: I Don’t Know Anybody Else. But you should definitely listen to Ride on Time first.

BONUS:

apathy + Vacuum Noises - Astrophysics

I didn’t buy these albums on iTunes. I got them off of Astrophysics’ Bandcamp. So that’s why they’re bonuses. But I love these albums so much. I only started following Astrophysics this year. You might know them for doing synthwave remixes of anime songs like Connect from PMMM or Komm Süsser Todd from NGE. But their music has evolved into more glitchcore/shoegaze (with a Soviet aesthetic that I love). It’s some of the best music I’ve heard in that field.

Personal Standout: The remix of Sometimes by My Bloody Valentine from Vacuum Noises. Listen to it here!

ベノマ - かいりきベア (Venomer - Kairiki Bear)

This one I also did not buy on iTunes. But I didn’t get it on Bandcamp either. I got it on mikudb, which is my go-to website for Vocaloid music. Venomer is a remix collab album by Kairiki Bear where he invited several other Vocaloid producers to remix his most popular songs. It’s a real who’s-who of the hottest Vocaloid producers right now.

Personal Standout: The Niru Kajitsu remix of Ángel (I have an audio post of it here!)

[privatewound]

i was tagged by @ladiesladiesladiesladies to post my top seven albums!!!

thank u sm for the tag and i’m sorry this is so late!!! it’s such a cute game ahh and i love ur picks, idler wheel and blond are so good!!!

the albums i chose are:

folklore (deluxe) by taylor swift, circles (deluxe) by mac miller, blue neighbourhood (deluxe) by troye sivan, saturation ii by brockhampton, amy locust whatever by cyberbully mom club, bury me at makeout creek by mitski, and i brought you my bullets, you brought me your love by my chemical romance

this was difficult but i tried not to overthink it too much!!! plus my faves change all the time kdjdhfjgh

i’m too much of a scaredy cat to tag other people but any of my mutuals who wanna do it i tag u <3

[quarantineroulette]

20 Favorites from the 2010s

Happy New Year! I could only rescue 20 albums from the 2010s, there are the 20(ish - I doubled up on some) I would carry into the 2020s with me. May this act as your soundtrack on the lazy, hungover day that is January 1st. 

20) Rihanna: Anti-

19) The National: Sleep Well Beast. Still not the hugest The National fan, but I have huge respect for any band that can nearly bring drunken Irishmen to tears, which actually happened when we played “Dark Side of the Gym” in a bar last year. 

18) Leonard Cohen: You Want it Darker .

17) Ahnoni - Hopelessness .

16) Ariel Pink - Dedicated to Bobby Jameson . 13 weird pop gems that are all definitely #1 hits in some alternate, better reality. 

15) Omni - Deluxe . 

14) FFS - FFS . Funny, smart, and touching, this is the “feel good” album of the decade for me. It’s astonishing that Sparks are still doing new things this late into their career, and this is perhaps example #1 in an argument for why they should never stop. And has there ever been a better or more gleeful anthem for misanthropes than “Piss Off”?

13) Lana Del Rey - Norman Fucking Rockwell!! / Ultraviolence 

12) Danny Brown - Atrocity Exhibition . More stressful than a Safdie Brothers film.

11) Purple Mountains - Purple Mountains

10) David Bowie - Blackstar . I remember James telling me he almost woke me up in the middle of the night & said to me, “Maria, David Bowie died. What are we going to do?” I still don’t know what we’re doing. 

9) Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly / DAMN. We all know that pretty much everything Kendrick does is brilliant, but to choose just one, I’ll go with “HUMBLE.” and its video in particular. I C O N I C

8) Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Skeleton Tree . “Girl in Amber” = best Nick song of the 2010s. I won’t be discussing this further. 

7) Fiona Apple - The Idler Wheel… . Raw, beautifully sparse, and far greater a risk than it ever needed to be. I can’t think of an album from the past decade that was more singular. 

6) Moonface - Julia with Blue Jeans On . “November 2011” is a Nick Cave-caliber love ballad, and the whole album sounds like it was composed by a deranged, fur-clad poet sitting in a room filled with frayed paperbacks and nothing else. 

5) The Antlers - Burst Apart . My tastes are suspect at times, but I honestly cannot believe this was excluded from the major end-of-decade music lists. Perhaps the trio’s most unique, mature, and consistent release. A respite from the trauma of Hospice but not yet at the same level of peace as Familiars, but heck, all three are fucking tremendous. 

4) Protomartyr - Relatives in Descent . I really don’t know what I can say about Protomartyr, because all my praise of them is so effusive that you won’t believe that any band could be so perfect. But guess, what, they are and Relatives in Descent is a flawless record. I don’t understand how Greg Ahee isn’t being praised to the heavens for his staggering guitar playing, and Joe Casey is of course an all-around great, a poet and genius frontman -- a brilliant concoction of Nick Cave, Mark E Smith, and woke, Midwestern Dad. 

3) Suede - Night Thoughts / The Blue Hour . I can tell you in absolute seriousness that Night Thoughts changed my life. It made me overcome fears, introduced me to new friends, and distracted me from the drudgery of everyday life. Sometimes I sing “I Don’t Know How to Reach You” to myself as I search for missing books at work, and nine times out of 10 this method somehow works. The Blue Hour wasn’t as pivotal to me, but albumwise it was even bolder and more ridiculous, so it’s still earned my eternal respect. It also partially led to me befriending one of my favorite authors, so flying many miles to see this band and be in the presence of my other fave woke Dad seems pretty well justified to me. There may have been more relevant records in the 2010s, but none were as personally significant to me as these, and that’s worth all the relevance in the world.  2) Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest . Any album with a song inspired by a Dennis Cooper short story is going to rate very highly on a list by me. That the song, “Helicopter,” also happens to be my favorite single of the 2010s is just a bonus. Holding a well-justified classic status means there’s little I can say about Halcyon that hasn’t already been said. These songs will live on long after we’re all dead, and future alien races will still be worshipping “Coronado” in all its sax-laden glory. Dark, dreamy brilliance. 

1) PJ Harvey - Let England Shake / The Hope Six Demolition Project . We all (hopefully) know that Let England Shake is a work of art, but where is the love for Hope Six? I honestly don’t think I’ve ever heard anything quite like it, yet it sounds like a pure PJ record all the same: the bluesy-ness (here melded with saxes and martial drumming), the Flood co-production, PJ’s peerless vocals. Sometimes the songs take on the qualities of battle hymns yet carry a fierce and critical political undertones. Two records of bold, wholly unique protest music done with the focus and care that so much politlcal music - and politics in general - overlooks. And they somehow sound even better with each listen. If I have one wish for this new decade, it’s that everything will be more like this in every sense. And if we can’t have that, there will at least hopefully be another equally brilliant PJ record instead. 

[retiredboxer]

My bf tried to get me a deluxe edition of Fiona apples the idler wheel… off of eBay for my birthday but it was a shitty bootleg 😭 lmao he was more upset than me tbh

[fionaapplerocks]

I thought these were all long gone, but Oldies.com has a few copies of the Deluxe Idler Wheel CD

[lettersforfiona]

Letter #94

Dear Fiona,

I hope this letter finds you, and finds you well. I wanted to let you know just how much your music has had an impact on me in just the last ten months. My name is Kimberley and I am 21. When I was 17 I was diagnosed with anorexia and have been struggling with it ever since. I found your song Paper Bag because the lyrics reminded me of what I was going through literally. “Hunger hurts but starving works”, I know it is a metaphor for love and starving love but when taken seriously it just reminded me of the pain I was going through, and that starving hurt but what’s underneath it hurts even more. “When it costs too much to love” for me was “when it costs too much to face your demons”. That song was on replay over and over for most of December 2016. Next, I came across Every Single Night. I also struggle with depression and OCD, and have since I was a kid, and I often feel different from other people because of what goes on in my mind. It was hard for me to make friends in school because they, as most kids and teenagers do, just thought on the “surface level” of things and not very much about the deep stuff. Listening to your music was like-IS like-talking to and listening to the friend I never had who understood everything.

In May, Vinyl Me Now released Tidal on vinyl. By this time I knew every Fiona Apple album, had a couple of posters, a shirt that says, “This world is bullshit -Fiona Apple 1997 never forget” (bought off of Etsy). It’s funny, the only people who comment on that shirt when I wear it are my professors! “You like Fiona Apple!?” Probably surprised because I was born in 1996. I say yes all excitedly and then end up having long conversations with them about music and other stuff that was big before my generation. I bought the vinyl from somebody on EBay and it might as well have been a freaking treasure chest because it was everything to me (still is!) I also have a clock from an Etsy shop called My Vinyl Hour and they make clocks out of CD roms so I have my Tidal Vinyl, my Tidal clock, and then my posters and my deluxe album that looks like a notebook of The Idler Wheel, my shirt, and I am constantly looking for more Fiona Apple merchandise but it’s hard. It shouldn’t be. You are an amazing woman and so so SO talented.

I know I have to wrap this up, but I want you to know that I THANK YOU SO MUCH for your music. It is what gets me through every day. You have also inspired me to start playing the piano again. You’ve inspired me to be myself more. That speech may have been said 20 years ago but I live it every day. This world IS bullshit. It’s full of it and unfortunately in The White House now as well. But knowing that it’s bullshit is almost comforting. Never take anything or any person too seriously. Love yourself because it’s the only person you have to rely on indefinitely. The world is bullshit but it is beautiful bullshit. And in MY world at least, you are a huge positive role model. And the thing is-you don’t try. You don’t force it. You just write YOUR feelings and look what happens. Some girl who was THREE MONTHS OLD when Tidal came out finds it and falls in love. May that happen over and over. I love your soul, your art, and everything that is you. Infinite love from Kimberley Knott in North Carolina.

[loversonamission]

Ahh that so dope! I also got into Ms. Apple in 2006! I was 16 and needed music that really spoke to me. I saw Sleep to Dream on VH1's I love the 90s and immediately bought Tidal!

Aye! That’s cool. I loved that show, they talked about some good bands there. I remember seeing her on 100 Greatest Songs of the 90s. 

I had Tidal, When The Pawn, and Extraordinary Machine back then but idk what happened to them. The only physical cd I have now is the deluxe Idler Wheel. I’ll just buy them again lol.

[taiwan3000]

Decade 10-19

FEATURES>60

cameraperson

the missing picture

look of silence / the act of killing

strong island

field niggas

when i walk

the arbor

fire at sea

this is not a film

of men and war

tales of the grim sleeper

5 broken cameras

mrs. fang

honeyland

finding frances

stories we tell

wong flew over the cuckoo's nest

caniba

hail satan?

western

cenote

amour

the master

stray dogs

madeline's madeline

thou wast mild and lovely

we need to talk about kevin

parasite

cemetery of splendor

girlhood

get out

upstream color

django unchained

melancholia

tree of life

moonlight

paradise: faith

a simple life

under the skin

the assassin

drive

hard to be a god

the social network

roma

spring breakers

songs my brothers taught me

the lobster

prisoners

SHOWS

atlanta

better things

broad city

brooklyn nine-nine

fleabag

louie

it’s always sunny in philadelphia

master of none

one-punch man

SHORTS<60

4.1 miles

how to run like tom cruise/how to make a subway sandwich

a woman and her car/and nothing happened

master muscles

ruby the treasure (stromme syndrome)

andy

swimming in your skin again

copycat

i think this is the closest to how the footage looked

a paradise/un paraiso

i touched her legs

best sound/andy goes in

fainting spells

open city: kids

louie new year’s eve

the spiritual life of wholesale goods

holy hell ending

trauma scene 1 arca jesse kanda

single mother only daughter

krishna

what life d-d-doth xavier renegade angel

caterwaul

family love darcy padilla

i need a minute

$$ by young family

famous/black skin head/kanye gets too real on ellen

agua lido pimienta

hi custodian

dirt nasty prius freestyle

fausto and the cats

tyler

reporter david nazar knocks over ice sculpture

MUSICIANS

arca (mutant; arca; yeezus; lp1; vulnicura; hallucinogen)

beach house (teenage dream; bloom; depression cherry)

das racist (relax; shut up, dude)

death grips (the money store; no love deep web; bottomless pit)

dirty beaches (stateless; drifters)

frank ocean (endless; nostalgia, ultra)

kelela (hallucinogen; take me apart)

kendrick lamar (to pimp a butterfly; damn)

mount eerie (a crow looked at me; now only; ocean roar)

no age (everything in between; snares like a haircut)

princess nokia (1992 deluxe; a girl cried red)

rina sawayama (rina)

shabazz palaces (black up)

sun kil moon (benji; common as light and love are red valleys of blood; 30 seconds to the decline of planet earth)

tyondai braxton (hive1; oranged out; dirty projectors)

waxahatchee (american weekend; out in the storm)

alex g (rocket; endless)

colleen green (milo goes to compton; m+m’s)

fka twigs (lp1)

serengeti (family & friends; beak & claw)

sophie (product; oil of every pearl’s un-insides)

fucked up (david comes to life; glass boys; dose your dreams)

ALBUMS

a crow looked at me

hokey fright uncluded

aim m.i.a.

black up

idler wheel

no love deep web/jenny death/year of the snitch

endless frank ocean

product sophie

hallucinogen kelela

purple mountains

lulu

benji

rina

family & friends serengeti

to pimp a butterfly

la papessa

american band drive-by truckers

snares like a haircut

yeezus

american weekend waxahatchee

body talk

bury me at makeout creek

relax das racist

1992 deluxe princess nokia

art angels grimes

whack world tierra whack

hopelessness anohni

devil is fine

exits and all the rest

transcendental youth

transgender dysphoria blues

1996. forever. falling for a square

swing lo magellan

hive1 tyondai braxton

room 25 noname

odd blood

heart of a dog

teen dream beach house

black portland young thug and bloody jay

modern vampires of the city vampire weekend

i love my mom indigo de souza

dose your dreams fucked up

kaputt destroyer

sisyphus

whiteout conditions new pornographers

death magic health

milo goes to compton colleen green

SONGS

212 azealia banks

west of western serengeti

the blacker the berry kendrick lamar

ufof big thief

silver waxahatchee

up in hudson dirty projectors

i thought about killing you/blood on the leaves kanye west

mirage hall dirty beaches

is it cold in the water? sophie

crown on the ground

nikes / nights / pyramids / chanel frank ocean

cranes in the sky

we the people

make america great again pussy riot

morning sun holly herndon

ain’t it funny/30 danny brown

drippin young thug

the pure and the damned

gangsta tune-yards

climax usher

get free major lazer amber coffman

gangnam style psy

helicopter deerhunter

video games lana del rey

holocene bon iver

animal arithmetic jonsi

do the astral plane flying lotus

cruel st vincent

enter the ninja die antwoord

don’t bother calling moses sumney

daydreaming radiohead

monsoon amber mark

yonkers tyler the creator

bury a friend / when the party’s over billie eilish

norf norf vince staples

he’s bad sun kil moon / reagan killer mike

shame young fathers

scary monsters and wild sprites / wild for the night / bangarang skrillex

copy of a nine inch nails

one sunday morning (song for jane smiley’s boyfriend) wilco

scarfs are just blankets for snakes terror pigeon

[itsworn]

Bounty Hunter Street/Strip 1966 Chevrolet Chevelle SS396 Is No Dog

Muscle cars were a common sight at Jack’s Esso in Lockport, New York, during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Owner Jack Poyfair kept busy performing typical bread-and-butter auto repairs, but he would also work on high-performance street cars, street/strip cars, and racecars.

“It was gas station, but we changed motors and transmissions, and we rebuilt a lot of components,” Poyfair recalls. “I installed a lot of headers. There were a bunch of guys hanging around the station who had fast cars. One guy had a 427 Ford medium-riser. There was a guy with a 1958 Pontiac with a late-model engine in it. We had a couple big cars with 283 motors that wanted to go fast. I owned a white 1965 GTO convertible, 360-horsepower Tri-power, four-speed close ratio transmission, and 4.33 gears. The GTO didn’t have any headers, it was more of a street car, but it was pretty quick. We had a lot of fun.”

New and aggressive restyling for the Chevelle in 1966 brought the bulging rear quarter-panels and swept-back C-pillars with the signature tunneled rear glass design found on other GM intermediates.

A certain Regal Red 1966 Chevelle with skinny Cragars and “Bounty Hunter” scrawled on its fenders was part of the landscape at Poyfair’s gas station. The car was owned by Nick Colaizzi, a loyal employee at the GM Harrison Radiator plant in Lockport, New York. Bounty Hunter was powered by an L78, and it was no dog.

For early 1966 models, Chevrolet offered two engines in the newly introduced Chevelle SS396. Standard was the L35 396ci Mark IV big-block with two-bolt mains and oval-port heads rated at 325 hp at 4,800 rpm and 410 lb-ft of torque at 3,200 rpm. Initially, the only optional powerplant in the SS396 was the L34 engine. With a hotter cam, it was factory rated at 360 hp at 5,200 rpm and 420 lb-ft of torque at 3,600 rpm.

A few months into the model year, Chevrolet quietly began to offer a top-dog performer underrated at 375 hp and branded with the RPO code L78. Simple math deduced that its upgrades—four-bolt-main block, compression increased from 10.25:1 to 11:1, solid-lifter cam, bigger rectangular-port heads with bigger 2.19-inch intake valves, and bigger 780 Holley on new aluminum intake—would add up to more than the advertised 15hp bump over the L34 motor. Later tests would put the motor closer to 425 hp. Those in the know knew about the L78. Nick Colaizzi knew.

The 396/375hp L78 engine option was installed in 3,099 Chevelles, including SS396 hardtops, SS396 convertibles, and El Caminos. The idler pulley assembly mounted on the passenger-side head was installed on the 1966 L72 427/425 fullsize cars and the L78 Chevelles. Owner Larry Robison has heard that the purpose of the idler pulley was to provide an extra belt that would keep the water pump running in case the alternator belt broke.

He Persisted

Early in 1966, Colaizzi entered Heinrich Chevrolet in Lockport, New York, to order a 1966 Chevelle SS396 with the L78 engine. Though the people at Heinrich Chevrolet were (and still are) great people, the salesman had not received notice from Chevrolet of the L78’s midyear introduction. Fearing the order would not go through, he suggested ordering the L34 360hp version. Colaizzi persisted. The salesman ordered an L78, and the order was accepted. One month later, Colaizzi became the first owner of what would become one of the most desirable Chevelles ever built, one of 3,099 1966 Chevelles built with the L78 engine.

For the first six months of ownership, Colaizzi’s SS396 served street/strip duties. His passion for drag racing grew, as did his pursuit of making his Chevelle faster and more competitive. He sought out Jack Poyfair to help him make the Chevelle faster. Poyfair answered, “If you can beat my GTO, I’ll work on your car.” They raced, Colaizzi won, and the two men became fast friends building a fast car.

The single-reservoir master cylinder worked fine in 1966 and still does the job today. The trim tag mounted on the firewall shows the crucial 13817 code, which indicated in 1966 that this car was indeed a Chevelle SS396 Sport Coupe.

Many hours were spent working on various combinations and trick parts. Colaizzi says, “Those were good times spent together working on the car and racing it with Jack. He’s a great guy. At one point, I asked GM for sponsorship, but they said no. The Chevelle did well, and we did our best to make it fast.”

The Bounty Hunter’s racing career spanned from 1966 to 1974. Colaizzi put the Chevelle in storage with the hopes of restoring it sometime. It would remain in storage until 1993, when he decided that he would have to sell his prized Chevelle.

For 1966 Chevelle SS396 cars, the L35 and L34 versions of the engine used oval-port heads with the casting number 3872702. The L78 engines used casting number 3873858 rectangular-port heads with 2.19-inch intake valves and 1.72-inch exhaust valves. The spark plug heat shields are absolutely spotless in the highly detailed engine compartment.

Enthusiast Extraordinaire

Enter Larry Robison, Chevelle enthusiast extraordinaire and longtime employee at the GM Parma Plant in Cleveland, Ohio. Robison likes 1966 Chevelles—he likes them a lot. Though many Chevelle guys trumpet the glory of the 1970 LS6, Robison says, “I would stand on the hood of a ’70 to get a look at a ’66.”

Robison was checking out the Cleveland Trading Times in 1993 when he came across a 1966 Chevelle SS396 race car for sale. His interest was piqued when he learned it was an original L78 car, only showed 2,109 original miles, and had been campaigned on the dragstrip as the Bounty Hunter. He called Colaizzi, who was moving to Nevada and not able to bring his Chevelle with him. Robison made a deal to buy the car and all the spare parts as a package. The parts filled a box truck, and the car was transported back to Robison’s home in Ohio.

The black SS’s interior had virtually the same layout as standard Chevelle models. The A51 Astro Bucket seats were a $110.50 option. Check out the crazy-expensive D55 Center Console With Clock, which came in at an outrageous $47.40, the typical tab for your daughter’s wedding reception at the local Howard Johnson’s.

Bounty Hunter stayed in storage until 2009 while Robison worked on a few of his other project Chevelles. Once work began, he took the body off the frame and restored it to original condition. The rear quarters had been pushed out to make room for slicks. Rather than replacing the quarters, Robison worked the metal to get the quarters close to straightened out. He then had paint and body expert Paul Clark finish the metal work and paint the car in its original Regal Red hue.

Robison brought the car back to his house and began assembly with the help of friends and Northern Ohio Chevelle Club brethren Ron Thompson, Mark Meldrum, the late “Big Ray” Tumbry, and George Kelovski. The car was finished in 2015, and debuted at MCACN that year.

Behold the reason that the 1966 SS396 is superior to all other Chevelles: the “knee-knocker” tach. Since original owner Nick Colaizzi went with the $79 U14 Special Instrumentation Package with the L78 motor, he got the 7,000-rpm tach, plus a mechanical oil pressure gauge and gauges for amps and water temperature. The knee-knocker tach could be ordered separately as RPO U16 on any V-8 Chevelle.

In 2017, Robison and Mark Meldrum arranged to reunite Colaizzi with the restored Bounty Hunter. Jack Poyfair was also called in for the occasion. “It was great meeting Larry and Mark, and seeing Jack again,” Colaizzi says. “Larry did a great job restoring the car. Seeing it again, and getting to drive it, brought back a flood of mixed emotions. It was really a tremendous experience.”

These days, Robison proudly displays the Bounty Hunter at various shows. Mark Meldrum will sometimes park his Bounty Hunter tribute car next to it. Robison’s not a tough guy to spot at a car show. He’s the one jumping on the hoods of 1970 Chevelles to look at 1966 Chevelles.

The swept-back cut in the fenders for the entire 1966 Chevelle line created lots of traffic in Chevrolet showrooms. According to Chevellestuff.net, total 1966 Chevelle production was a strong 447,364 units. Of those, 66,843 were SS396 sport coupes and 5,429 were SS396 convertibles.

At a Glance 1966 Chevelle SS396 Owned by: Larry Robison, Avon, OH Restored by: Owner, Paul Clark, and friends Engine: 396ci/375hp L78 V-8 Transmission: Muncie M21 close-ratio 4-speed Rearend: 12-bolt with 4.10 gears and Positraction Interior: Black bucket seats Wheels: 14×6 steel with caps Tires:  7.75-14 Firestone Deluxe Champion redlines Special Parts: 7,000 rpm “knee knocker” tachometer, best e.t. 11.73

The body-colored rear cove treatment on the SS396 was often painted black by Chevelle owners. Larry has spoken to a number of people on the subject and has concluded that the coves on SS396 cars were never painted black at the factory.

Bounty Hunter at the Dragstrip

Nick Colaizzi’s Bounty Hunter Chevelle was raced most often at Niagara International Drag Strip. It proved to be an excellent race car that brought Colaizzi and Jack Poyfair a good measure of success, thanks in large part to Poyfair’s mechanical efforts.

“We worked on the cylinder heads, tried different camshafts, stagger-jetted the carburetors, used steel and aluminum flywheels, and changed the collector length on the headers just to get a tenth of a second out of the car,” Poyfair recalls. “Nick had an edge in driving. He was good on the tree, pulled the gears really good. He knew he had to go through the traps at 7,400 rpm to get a good run.”

Colaizzi is thankful for the support and friendship of Poyfair, as well as the help he received from his brother Dick and his son Nick. Over the years, Colaizzi had a few racecars, but the Bounty Hunter Chevelle was always his number one race car.

The Bounty Hunter is the third Chevelle that Larry Robison has restored. Northern Ohio Chevelle Club member Mark Meldrum was so committed to giving Bounty Hunter its proper due that he created a tribute “as-raced” Bounty Hunter from one of his 1966 Chevelles.

The absence of lettering suggests that this shot, taken at Niagara International Drag Strip, was early in the car’s life. Cragar SS wheels and the tow-bar plate are installed.

When Colaizzi was asked how the car’s name came to be, he said, “I told Jack we’re going to name it like we’re going to go after somebody.” Interestingly enough, Colaizzi would later purchase the big-block 1966 Impala you see in the far lane.

The lettering on Colaizzi’s car was very typical for any race car of the day. “Jack’s Esso” was painted on the quarters in appreciation for all the work Jack Poyfair put into the car.

Check out the M&H Racemaster tires on the back. “I set up the rear that used to jump out of the gate hard,” says Poyfair. “I wedged the control arms so that they would be stiff with brackets from the rear housing to the control arms. It worked well.”

    The post Bounty Hunter Street/Strip 1966 Chevrolet Chevelle SS396 Is No Dog appeared first on Hot Rod Network.

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60cm:Norco Aurum HSP C2 650b first ride review

Designed as a pure-bred downhill race machine, the Aurum HSP was tested and developed by the Norco factory team on the Downhill World Cup circuit.

It uses a high single pivot (HSP) with linkage-actuated shock, making it a very different beast from previous four-bar Aurums. But does that result in better performance on the track?

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Norco Aurum HSP C2 650b frame

The 200mm-travel Aurum HSP is only available with a full-carbon frame, which has some smart design features. To keep stiffness and ride feel the same across all four sizes, Norco uses ‘size scaled tubing’ ��� larger frames aren’t just longer, but also get bigger-diameter tubes with a slightly different carbon lay-up.

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The rear centre (effective chainstay length) increases by 10mm with each jump up in frame size too, from 400mm (XS/S) to 430mm (L/XL), to keep weight distribution as similar as possible.

You can fine-tune the front centre (distance from the bottom bracket to the front wheel axle) and the reach to suit you, using the provided adjustable headset cups (0, +4mm, +8mm).

That high pivot gives the bike a rearward axle path, to help maintain speed in the rough. There’s a chain idler to minimise the pedal kickback that’s common with this type of design and ensures the suspension remains as active as possible.

Norco Aurum HSP C2 650b kit

Norco Aurum HSP C2 650b ride impressions

Norco Aurum HSP C2 650b early verdict

Norco Aurum HSP C2 650b specifications

Sizes (*tested): XS/S, S/M, M/L, L/XL*

Frame: Carbon fibre with aluminium linkage, 200mm (7.9in) travel

Fork: RockShox BoXXer RC, 200mm (7.9in) travel

Shock: RockShox Super Deluxe Coil RC

Cranks: Truvativ Descendant

Mech: SRAM GX DH, 7spd

Shifters: SRAM GX DH, 7spd

Wheelset: WTB ST i29 TCS 2.0 rims on Novatec (f) and SRAM MTH 746 (r) hubs

Tyres: Maxxis Minion DHF DH EXO TR 27.5x2.5in (f) and Minion DHR II 3C DH TR 27.5x2.4in (r)

Brakes: SRAM Code R, 200mm rotors

Bar: Race Face Atlas, 820mm

Stem: Race Face Chester DM 35, 50mm

Seatpost: Norco rigid

Saddle: SDG Fly RL

Weight: 16.66kg (36.7lb), L/XL size without pedals

Norco Aurum HSP C2 650b geometry

Head tube angle: 62.5 degrees

Seat tube angle: 71.82 degrees

Reach: 46.5cm / 18.31in

Stack: 61.2cm / 24.09in

Seat tube: 44.5cm / 17.52in

Top tube: 66.65cm / 26.24in

Head tube length: 12.25cm / 4.82in

Chainstay: 43cm / 16.93in

Wheelbase: 1,270mm / 50in

You can read more at BikeRadar.com