THE YEAR THAT GOTH BROKE

Here's a couple last minute gruesome type songs to liven up your Halloween shindig (that is, if it runs into the late hours). The first is Bloodrock's "D.O.A." about a guy who was injured in a plane crash, sung in the first person, as the guy is dying on the operating table. Heavy it was, and, unbelievably, it was a Top 40 radio hit in 1971 (#36). A bonus for even those few of you might remember the song, the version below is LP version. Just perfect for a slow dance with a slutty looking witch.

The other song "Timothy" was written by Rupert Holmes, the writer of "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)," a #1 hit that was inescapable in the late seventies. The song was performed by the Buoys, who had been signed for one single, with no promotion to come from the record company. So, Holmes figuring that there's no such thing as bad publicity, hit on a magnificent idea: try to get a song banned (hear that Malcom McLaren?). He decided to write a nicely composed pop song, replete with strings and horns, alluding to...wait for it...cannibalism. It's about three guys who get trapped in a mine, and, you guessed it, Timothy doesn't come out. This song was also a hit in 1971 (#17). That's just awesome.

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Listen:
Bloodrock - D.O.A. mp3 at The Cargo Culte
The Buoys - Timothy mp3 at LZ Center

BIG IN THE BOYS ROOM

What do you get when you have three teenage brothers with insatiable thirsts for guitar rock, who don't want their individual record collections to overlap, combined with two stereos, and one bedroom? Besides stereo wars happening on a daily basis (despite the parent mandated one-stereo-at-a-time rule), you get junior proto-crate diggers, each trying to score that new favorite band before the others. Given the era, there was no shortage of bands for me and my brothers to discover, and a few were pretty obscure given our young age. For example, Ted got Beck, Bogart and Appice, Tim got Captain Beyond, and I got Mountain. That's just three random ones (not in any sort of chronological order). Another few that immediately come to mind: Randy California, Johnny Winter, Montrose, Cream, Led Zeppelin, Rory Gallagher, Roy Buchanan, Sabbath, Mahogany Rush, Peter Kaukoken, ...you get the idea. Somewhere in the frenzy, my younger brother Ted hit on Cactus, a perfect example of that era. They were hard rock, very loosely based in blues, and had the requisite guitar slinger, bonus points if he had a Marshall stack. (On 'Ot N' Sweaty, the first Cactus LP to enter the bedroom, it was Werner Fritzschings.) Listening to them now, it's almost embarrassing to hear their reworking of Howlin' Wolf's "Evil," but they were typical of the bands we listened to. (We were a year or two away from backtracking to the original blues artists many of these bands covered.)

I hung out with Ted for several hours last night. It was our first one-on-one in a while. There was a lot of talk about music, and it was great to talk about those bands again, as well as music in general. So these are for him.

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Listen:
Cactus - One Way or Another mp3 at The Cargo Culte
Cactus - Parchman Farm mp3 at Cold Splinters
Cactus - Evil mp3 at La Vie en Robe
Howlin' Wolf - Evil mp3 at Snuhthing Anything

HERE WE GO AGAIN

A new song by Guided By Voices. Are you all worked up? Okay, so I've never really understood the fuss about them. The friends that really liked them back in the day, really liked them. Some of them would go on and on about them to the point of "enough already" annoyance. That, of course, made me want to avoid them like the plague. And I have. But, I ran into the new cut by the reunited '93-'96 incarnation, and thought I'd throw Voiceheads a bone. Here's "The Unsinkable Fats Domino," off of their new LP, which will be out in a few weeks. To round that out, there's a link to a live set down there, from Portland, in '09 (47 individual mp3s). Another post has 15 cuts from the 2003 Earthquake Glue LP. Maybe you can tell me what the fuss is all about.

They grow up so fast, don't they?

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Guided By Voices - The Unsinkable Fats Domino mp3 at RobertPollard.net
Multiple mp3s:
Guided By Voices - Live, Portland July, 2009 at Captains Dead 47 individual mp3s
Guided By Voices - Earthquake Glue at Review Stalker 15 individual mp3s from the same LP
Video:
Guided By Voices - I Am A Scientist Live, Brooklyn, June 2011 at YouTube
Guided By Voices - Game of Pricks, Live, Brooklyn, June 2011 at YouTube

SONGS FOR SWINGING LOVERS

You could consider this lazy, posting a song I've posted before, but guess what? Tough. I was listening to Nick Curran in my car today and was reminded what a damn fine rock 'n' roll singer he is. Seriously folks, when the most accurate description of his vocal talents is somewhere between vintage Little Richard and Gerry Roslie (the Sonics), you can guess who's listening. Even though he's a hot ass guitar player, he respects the structure of a short rock 'n' roll song. His solos, while not necessarily short, are efficient. And he shares, just check out the clip below. The sax solo is Godhead. And consider that the band is just a four piece, guitar, bass, drums and sax; and it still sounds incredibly full. This guy knows who brought us to the dance. Less is more and all that jazz.

When I went online looking for some of his music to post, I found that it's still rather barren out there. Sadly, I also ran across a post saying that he's fighting mouth cancer. Again. And he refers to it as "a bump in the road." There have been benefits for his medical bills, but one way you can help out is to pick up some of his music. His latest (which is a year or so old), Reform School Girl, is one of the few rock n' roll records I've heard in recent years that is top shelf stuff, beginning to end.

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Listen:
Nick Curran & the Lowlifes - Kill My Baby mp3 at KEXP
Video:
Nick Curran - I'm A Rocker (?) at YouTube
Nick Curran - Lucille (live, 2009) at YouTube
Visit:
Nick Curran bio at Blind Pig Records
Nick Curran at Wikipedia
Nick Curran at MySpace

YOU HEARD ME. I SAID TREAT.

Here's some Halloween mixes with some slightly newer stuff than the mixes I linked two a few days ago. Here you have the Sadies, the Gun Club, Andre Williams, Southern Culture On the Skids, Flat Duo Jets and the like. Still good stuff, and enough to keep the party going into the wee hours; you know, when the makeup begins to run, and Dracula starts in with the Technicolor yawn.

I'm kind of Hallweened out already, and the only real effort I've put out is buying a bag of candy that I've already eaten half of. (Truth be known, Halloween is just Tightwad Eve in this house. The real holiday is November 1, when all of the Halloween candy goes on clearance. )

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Visit:
A Truer Halloween - 23 Song mix at A Truer Sound
A Truer Halloween, Part 2 - 25 Song mix at A Truer Sound
A Truer Halloween, Part 3 - 21 Song mix at A Truer Sound
Earlier Halloween posts:
From South of Hell, France - 17 Halloween mixes, courtesy of Spread the Good Word
You Go Big. I Go Home - 2 Halloween mixes, from Grey Haas and Spread the Good Word
Even His Name Is Cool - Post about Billy Strange with the Munsters Theme
Semi-related posts:
When Were You Gonna Tell Me - Sadies post
Here Comes Amos - Southern Culture On the Skids, over 30 live sets and other swamp rockers
Part of a Dying Breed - Andre Williams post
Jack On Fire - Gun Club post
The True Believer - Dexter Romweber (Flat Duo Jets) post

BOTH KINDS OF MUSIC

I wasn't even in the mood for Merle Haggard when I started meandering, but I ran across a live set from 1981 at A Truer Sound, and figured it wouldn't be there forever, so this would be as good a time as any to acknowledge someone I consider to have few peers. A good many of you know his music far better than I, so I won't even attempt a bio. This is just to hip you to the live set; and I threw in a few other individual songs just to round shit out.

(For the ladies.)

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Listen:
Merle Haggard - Today I Started Loving You Again mp3 at Folk Hive
Merle Haggard - The Girl Turned Ripe mp3 at Pretty Goes With Pretty
Merle Haggard - If We're Not Back In Love By Monday mp3 (via Box.net) at 27 Leggies
Covers:
The Knitters - Silver Wings mp3 at Cover Me
The Blue Ridge Rangers - Today I Started Loving You Again mp3 at Cover Me
Note: If the two mp3 links above don't work, go to the blog.
Live set:
Merle Haggard at Opryland, 1981 at A Truer Sound

FROM SOUTH OF HELL, FRANCE

In case I don't get around to my normal long winded bullshitting tonight, here's more than enough to keep you busy; a link to sixteen, count 'em sixteen, Halloween mixes from Reverend Frost of Spread the Good Word. Those of you who hang around here enough already know that anything he puts his stink on is held in high regard. There is a common thread running through his mixes, his site, and his own music, and that's one of a true believer; someone who knows good music, be it wild, swinging, or primitive.

Mixes with complete song listings can be found at the at the links below. Buy Rev. Tom Frost's first 45, as half of the Bloody Tomahawks, here. The Bloody Tomahawks are also on Facebook, here. And now, may you go nuts:

All mixes compiled, and hosted by Spread the Good Word:

Bloody Halloween mix 16
Bloody Halloween mix 15
Bloody Halloween mix 14
Bloody Halloween mix 13
Bloody Halloween mix 12
Bloody Halloween mix 11
Bloody Halloween mix 10
Bloody Halloween mix 9
Bloody Halloween mix 8
Bloody Halloween mix 7
Bloody Halloween mix 6
Bloody Halloween mix 5
Bloody Halloween mix 4
Bloody Halloween mix 3
Bloody Halloween mix 2
Bloody Halloween mix 1

EVEN HIS NAME IS COOL

Billy Strange, besides having one of the greatest names ever to appear on album credits, was one helluva guitarist, capable of playing just about any type of music. He put out quite a few solo albums, but his bread and butter was as a session guitarist, notably as a member of the Wrecking Crew. As a member of said crew, you can probably guess that he played on Spector records. He's also played on sessions for Wanda Jackson, Billy Lee Riley, Jerry Lee Lewis, the Everly Brothers, Paul Revere and the Raiders, the Ventures (?!), Sam Cooke, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Sinatra, Elvis...you get the idea (partial discography linked below).

I'd been meaning to throw some Billy Strange stuff up here, but finding stuff online is hit and miss. I checked in again today, and hit topical pay dirt, in the theme from The Munsters, one of my personal favorites. (And, because it was a Munsters song, I had me a Halloween tie-in.) Dig how the drunk sounding horn section comes in, at :34 in the song. I also ran into a 1952 solo record, "Hell Train," with him singing! (If you're at all into Billy Strange, you know that the vast majority of his stuff is instrumental). I included the Spector produced Bob B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans' "Zip A Dee Doo Dah," because the short fuzzed out solo of his at 1:26 is what first put him on the map for me. (That was a long time ago, pre-internet, so all I had to go on was album credits.) There's also a couple of other train songs down there, both featuring him on acoustic. Country pickin' seemed to be his preference, but he could play just about anything. His records are pretty common in cheapo LP bins. I recommend the non-country, because...well, they're a little weirder.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Billy Strange - The Munsters Theme mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Billy Strange - Hell Train (1952) mp3 at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban
Bob B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans - Zip A Dee Doo Dah mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Billy Strange - This Train mp3 at TommyMarkham.com
Billy Strange - The Wreck of the Old 97 mp3 at TommyMarkham.com
Video:
Billy Strange conducting a Sinatra session, with Lee Hazelwood in the booth
Visit:
Billy Strange Official site
Billy Strange message forums
Billy Strange discography (partial, but immense nonetheless)
Billy Strange at Wikipedia
Other Wrecking Crew related posts:
How Was Work Today?
You're My Liner Note Hero

YOU GO BIG. I GO HOME.

Here's two mixes of Halloween oriented songs, most vintage, and nary a mash in sight. One is 25 songs, the other is 31. That's a good couple hours of stuff to play at your Halloween bash, should you be so inclined. Enough music that you can repeat it twice during the party, preventing the situation in which everybody starts manhandling your record collection. (Just throw a tablecloth over them or something.) Anyway, check out some of the band names: the Big Guys, Hutch Davie, the Swanks, Jimmie Hombs with the Invictas and the Hollywood Rebels, the Black Albinos...the band names alone evoke some sort of everyman brand of ghoulish song stylists. I'm linking to their posts, rather than directly to the download links, because they both have the complete play lists on their sites. I just wanted you to see some of the band names to get you all riled up.

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Visit:
Trick or Treat, Vol. 7, 25 song mix at Grey Haas,

The Daringers (1964), the Electric Mess (2010), Steve King (1962), the Big Guys (1964),- October Country (1968), the Contrails (1966), Kurtis Knight (1961), Johnny Perry (1963), the Makers (1994), Rex Garvin (1971), George Barnes (1962), Hutch Davie (1958), Merv Griffin (1962), Screaming Lord Sutch (1966), Don Hinson & the Rigamorticians (1962), the Swanks (1964), the Flames (1959), the Poets (1958), Ralph Nielsen & the Chancellors (1962), the Ghouls (1964), the Calvanes (1958), the Howlers (1964), the Spooks (1966), the Moontrekkers (1963), and the Ventures (1963).

Rev. Frost Presents...A Bloody Halloween Mix, Part 17 at Spread the Good Word

Kenneth Alwyn, Westminster Philharmonic Orchestra, John Zacherley, Jimmy Oliver, Sheb Wooley, Baron Daemon and the Vampires, Gene Sikora & the Irrationals, Cricketone Chorus & Orchestra, the Big Bopper, Don Hinson & the Rigamorticians, Jack La Forge, Edwin Astley, the Cavaliers, the Swingin’ Phillies, Morgus with the Daringers, Dickie Goodman, Vincent Price, Nelson Riddle, Josh Logan, Gene Moss And the Monsters, the Chantays, Jimmie Hombs with the Invictas and the Hollywood Rebels, Thurl Ravenscroft, Carl W. Stalling, John Carpenter, the Deep River Boys, Ronald Stein, Black Albinos, Bobby 'Boris' Pickett And the Crypt-Kickers, and Douglas Byng.

PETE SHOWS UP

Around midnight last night America's citizen laureate Pete Seeger joined the Occupy Wall Streeters on a 36 block trek to Columbus Circle in NYC. He's 92 years old. and he did it walking with two canes. Yeah. Once there, the crowd joined in as he sang "We Shall Overcome," a mainstay in his repertoire for decades. He's always been one of us, long before most of us were even born into it.

Woody Guthrie

Here's a few from him. Along with the song mentioned above, here's "What Side Are You On?" which is really about drawing the line in union issues, but is semi-relevant. The other "A Dollar Ain't A Dollar Anymore," is just about financial hardship, so it slips in. There's also Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings' cover of "This Land Is Your Land" by Woody Guthrie (an old friend of Seeger's), because the song has never ceased to be relevant, and because we could all use a little funkiness in our revolution.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Pete Seeger - We Shall Overcome mp3 at RichardSilverstein.com
Pete Seeger - Which Side Are You On? mp3 at NB Books
Pete Seeger - A Dollar Ain't A Dollar Anymore mp3 at Cover Lay Down
Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings - This Land is Your Land mp3 at Stinky Tofu
Video:
Pete Seeger marches to Columbus Circle, 10/21/2011 at YouTube
Pete Seeger, with Occupy Wall Street - We Shall Overcome at YouTube
Visit:
Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie Occupy Wall Street at the Huffington Post
Occupy Wall Street
Occupy Together
Pete Seeger at Wikipedia
Woody Guthrie at Wikipedia

IT'S A SILK SASH BASH

Here's a couple by Suzi Quatro, and a couple by her first band, the Pleasure Seekers. She was fourteen when they formed, and the band included three of her sisters. With that kind of name, and the young age of Quatro, you have to wonder what the hell her parents were thinking. Thankfully, whatever it was, it led to her solo career which produced a few memorable hits incorporating a most awesome glam beat, also used to great effect by Gary Glitter and others. Her early hits were produced by Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn, who wrote or produced fourteen hits in the UK top 40 charts between 1973 and 1974. That's all generic pre-listening geek stuff. The non-geek in the room says that the vast majority of her recorded output was tepid. Her first two solo LP's have the lion's share of the keepers. If you're buying, start there. Now dig on this:

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Listen:
The Pleasure Seekers - What A Way to Die mp3 at Beware of the Blog
The Pleasure Seekers - Never Thought You'd Leave Me mp3 at Garage Hangover (Direct linking disabled, go there to get it.)
Suzi Quatro - 48 Crash mp3 at Merry Swankster
Suzi Quatro - Can the Can mp3 at 4Shared
Video:
Suzi Quatro - Can the Can at YouTube
Visit:
The Pleasure Seekers at Wikipedia
Suzi Quatro at Wikipedia

I EAT GRAVEL FOR BREAKFAST

It's a blessing that the internet didn't exist in the mid-sixties. For all the convenience of web searches, mp3s and fast downloads (of which, yes, I'm very dependent), the small pockets of individual weirdness and wildness are all but gone. Even the least web savvy bands can now compare and research any song, band, lick, era or genre at the drop of a hat. The accidents are disappearing. Do you think the Shaggs could have existed in an internet wired household? God forbid the thought of Hasil Adkins having access. You could go down the list, Monks, Sonics, Screaming Jay Hawkins... Every great performer with one toe or more in the deep end would be different if they had been exposed to a web hosted music clusterfuck.

Los Saicos were a Peruvian rock n' roll band, who listened primarily to British Invasion stuff, without exposure to regional US releases, or anything slightly off. They had a polished template, and they scratched the fuck out of it. They existed for roughly two years from 1964-1966, and put out six singles and zero LPs. Twelve songs, that's it. And then they hung it up. They didn't burn out, or play in any offshoot bands. They simply walked away.

In digging for sides of theirs, I ran into comparisons to the Sonics, the Wailers and the Trashmen, all hot shit around here. Though I'm not sure I'm in 100% agreement with said comparisons, they surely have something I dig.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Los Saicos - El Entierro De Los Gatos mp3 at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban
Los Saicos - Camisa de Fuerza mp3 at Raven Sings the Blues
Los Saicos - Fugitivo de Alcatraz mp3 at Berceuse Electrique
Los Saicos - Salvaje mp3 at Tape Wrecks
Los Saico's - Cemetenterio mp3 (via Box.net) at Pop Goes the Radio Download button at top right at Box.net
Los Saicos - Demolicion (streaming) at Feast of Beast
Full LP:
Los Saicos - Compilation rip (via Rapidshare) at Dr. Schluss' Garage of Psychedelic Obscurities
Video:
Saicomania trailer at YouTube
Los Saicos - El Entierro De Los Gatos (live, Spain, 2010) at YouTube
Don Letts gets schooled at YouTube
Saicomania channel at YouTube
Visit:
Los Saicos at Wikipedia

THEY STILL HOLD UP

Every once in a while, when the Sex Pistols cross my mind, I think, why them? They sound an awful lot like a rock n' roll band with a bad singer. What set them apart? Beyond the fact that they were brilliantly anti-marketed, wrote good songs, had flippant attitudes, and were among the first of the UK punk bands, were they all that inventive? Militant? Honest?

Who really cares? All I know is that I'd never seen the video above before tonight, and it reminded me of what a good band they were, whatever their standing in the punk annals.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
The Sex Pistols - Pretty Vacant mp3 at Review Stalker
The Clash - I'm So Bored With the U.S.A. mp3 at Review Stalker
The Buzzcocks - Orgasm Addict mp3 at Review Stalker
Wire - Pink Flag mp3 at Review Stalker
Note: If links don't work, all mp3's can be found at Review Stalker.
Previous related post:
Listen Up Sonny - Sex Pistols oddballs, rarities & demos

WOW, WHAT A SHOW!

If you ever saw the Screamers live, you know. Sadly, most people didn't, and never will. They were only around for about four years, from 77-81, and what few recordings exist fail to compare to their live performances. Though they did record demos, they were just that, demos. They once said that they weren't going to release records, they were instead waiting for video discs to come out. This was before video discs existed on store shelves. Before Beta recorders, before VHS, and before music videos were commonly done. They were forward thinking, original, and unconventional; on the fringes of a movement that was supposed to be. They seized the synthesizer, from the hands of experimental, prog and art rock bands, and into punk rock; and they went in through the front door. Two keyboard players, a drummer and a vocalist who demonstrated that punk rock was more than loud guitars and abbreviated rock n' roll licks. They had no real predecessors, and few stylistic peers.

All that exist are demos, primitive videos, a feature film starring lead singer Tomata duPlenty, and the written word, rather a lot of written words. There's a bunch of links below. A great place to start would be the recent post at Beware of the Blog, which reminded me that I'd never gotten around to throwing them in front of you. You should also check out the Unofficial Screamers site (hosted by Synthysteria). It's very comprehensive. History, time line, discography, videography, press, interviews, flyers, photos; they got it all. Check out the videos too. Imagine that band, well mixed and loud. There's also a link to the site for the film, Population 1, starring duPlenty, Vampira (Plan 9 From Outer Space), Penelope Houston (Avengers), El Duce, members of Los Lobos, Al Hansen, and Hansen's grandson, a twelve year old Beck.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
The Screamers - Punish Or Be Damned (demo) mp3 at HoboFM
The Screamers - In A Better World (demo) mp3 at The Cargo Culte
The Screamers - 122 Hours of Fear (demo) mp3 at Avant-Avant
The Screamers - 122 Hours of Fear (demo) (Pt 1) and (Pt 2) at Zahnarzt
Video:
The Screamers - Punish or Be Damned (live) at YouTube
The Screamers - Let's Go, Vertigo (live) at the Population 1 movie site
The Screamers - In A Better World (live) at YouTube
The Screamers at Network Awesome Eight live videos, in succession
Population 1 - Trailer/movie site Expanded two DVD edition for sale, bonus disc with 40 minutes of the Screamers
Visit:
The Screamers - Unofficial site Very comprehensive
The Screamers - Profile at Beware of the Blog
The Screamers - Profile at Perfect Sound Forever

THERE WAS A WOMEN INVOLVED

Anyone with more than a passing interest in rockabilly can tell you, Johnny Carroll was the real thing. Unfortunately, despite having an exuberant stage presence, and appearing as himself on the big screen (in Rock Baby, Rock It), he was one of those rockabilly second stringers that U.S. audiences passed over (which of course means he was well received in Europe). That said, his music has been on a bunch of rockabilly compilations, and he did record for both Sun, and, in the 70s, Ronnie Weiser's Rollin' Rock Records (the latter, in itself, says volumes about his authenticity).

Though I listen to his stuff occasionally, I wasn't prepared for what I ran across today. Waxidermy posted a couple songs from a later private pressing, from 1975. By that time, Carroll had met a model and Miss Texas runner-up, Judy Lindsey, and, lets just say she out-Yoko'd Yoko Ono. Whereas the worst thing that can be said about Yoko Ono is that she may have possibly contributed to the Beatles break up (which might be a good thing, depending on your opinion of the Beatles), at least she recorded some whacked-out shit. Lindsey, on the other hand, had designs on becoming a singer, and Carroll was eager to help her. Eager enough to record with her, as a duo, Judy and Johnny. Folks, it's not pretty. Okay, so in the world of oddball private pressings, it might be of interest, but rockabilly fans will see it as a major black spot on an otherwise impressive career. Listen to the first few cuts below, and then, if you dare, listen to the two cuts at Waxidermy. Comparing his stage presence in the video below to the lounge sounds of Judy & Johnny, it would seem that Lindsey drugged him, either with some sort of schmaltz pill, or with her beauty.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Johnny Carroll - Crazy, Crazy Lovin' mp3 at Rocky-52.net
Johnny Carroll - Wild Wild Woman mp3 at Rocky-52.net
Johnny Carroll - Rock Baby, Rock It mp3 at Rocky-52.net
Johnny Carroll & the Hot Rocks - Rockin' Maybelle mp3 at wa3.cn
The oddballs:
Judy and Johnny - Lady & Knowing Me Knowing You (streaming) at Waxidermy
Video:
Johnny Carroll - Rockin' Maybelle at YouTube
Visit:
Johnny Carroll bio at Arvel.com
Johnny Carroll at Wikipedia
Johnny Carroll at the Rockabilly Hall of Fame

PIANO: PETE JOHNSON

It's about effing, friggin, fucking time for Big Joe Turner. Really, the man is a major reason we listen to the music we do. His mixing of big band, jazz and blues would morph into early R & B, much of which, once covered, became early rock n' roll as we know it. And his boogie woogie style has to be credited in large part to his long time partner, pianist Pete Johnson. If you have any doubts as to who was playing the boogie woogie style piano in popular music earliest, don't bring Jerry Lee Lewis into the conversation. He was in grade school when Johnson was already playing the style that he, along with a few others (namely Albert Ammons and Meade Lux Lewis), helped popularize. Although Turner had a distinctive voice and style, it's unlikely that he would have had the career he did without Johnson.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Big Joe Turner - Well Alright mp3 at Probe is Turning-On the People
Big Joe Turner - Honey Hush mp3 at Rockndog
Big Joe Turner - Shake, Rattle and Roll mp3 at Kiss Atlanta
Big Joe Turner - Flip, Flop and Fly mp3 at 4Shared
Big Joe Turner - Corrina Corrina mp3 at Boogie Woogie Flu
Big Joe Turner - Boogie Woogie Country Girl mp3 at Boogie Woogie Flu
Big Joe Turner - Sun Rising Blues mp3 at Jazzpla.net
Big Joe Turner - Chains of Love mp3 at Probe is Turning-On the People
Big Joe Turner and Pete Johnson - Roll 'em Pete mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Albert Ammons and Pete Johnson - Boogie Woogie Prayer mp3 at 4Shared
Visit:
Big Joe Turner at Wikipedia
Pete Johnson at Wikipedia

SURFER REPELLENT

I couldn't resist. Anyone who grew up in a beach community, or knows a lot of surfers, can tell you that, with few exceptions, long time surfers aren't the most musically adventurous bunch. It's probably a bit of a generalization, but from what I've experienced (and I've spent the majority of my life in beach communities), they can be pretty didactic, especially given their limited musical palet. A case in point: in a recent copy of The Surfers Journal, there was a long article/review of the recent DVD release of Aussie Paul Witzig's three surf films Hot Generation (1967), Evolution (1969), and Sea of Joy (1970). In the article, the author, long time surf writer Matt Warshaw, touches on the film soundtracks, writing, "And the music! Sweet Jesus. Hot Generation is fine, but Evolution and parts of Sea of Joy have some real End of Days stuff-- extended freeform jams, fuzz guitar, and organ and epileptic saxophone that will have you clawing your ears." Or in my case, will have you clicking like fuck to hear some of this stuff.

While I'm of mixed opinion of the second and third songs below (which are not from the movie soundtracks), the first one, "Follow Me," was worth the hunt, if only to imagine aging surfers wincing while watching the DVDs. Apparently, these are highly sought after recordings in prog circles, so if you're into such stuff, dig in.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Tully - Follow Me mp3 at The Definitive Tully Website
Tully - You Realize mp3 at The Definitive Tully Website
Tully - Rest Beloved mp3 at Little Paper Boats
Full LP:
Tully - Sea of Joy (original soundtrack) (via Rapidshare) at My Music Is Lost In Tyme
Video:
Sea of Joy trailer (Tully-lite) at YouTube
Visit:
The Definitive Tully Website

OR BOTH

Chalk another one up to the Adios Lounge. They (or he or she) posted a couple songs by Vulture Whale, with their regular dissertation, in this case comparing them, in part, to Dinosaur Jr. and Superchunk. What I really dig, besides the ample dose of upfront guitar and the well written songs, are the the vocals. In places they sound like a dead ringer for Chris Bailey, from the Saints. Uh huh, here we go again. As often happens, I wandered. Before long I was looking for stuff by the Saints. Goddamn, they were a great band.

If you're familiar with the Saints, you've probably heard "I'm Stranded" and "No, Your Product," but you should check out the live cut, "Gypsy Woman." I've no idea of the origin, but it smokes. The leads almost sound like Robert Quine. 1% of you will get all kinds of worked up about that. The rest could just check out Vulture Whale.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Vulture Whale - Point of No Return mp3 at Captains Dead
Vulture Whale - Devices mp3 at The Adios Lounge
Vulture Whale - Tote It to Cleveland mp3 at Les Effantes Terribles
Vulture Whale - 9 songs streaming (or 5 buck album dowload) at This Is American Music
The Saints - I'm Stranded (1976) mp3 at Inside Pulse
The Saints - No, Your Product (1978) mp3 at the Mod Punk Archives
The Saints - Gypsy Woman (live) mp3 at green.free.fr
The Saints - Porno Movies (2005) mp3 at UFO Music

I'M WITH THEM

Full disclosure: I'm one of the 99%, and I am fed up. When I hear of bank bail outs, obscene profits and salaries, it pisses me off. I've worked consistently since my first job as a paperboy. I've been unemployed only when laid off, or after moving to a new city (totalling less than eight weeks in my adult life). I'm well past the age that my parents were when they had a house, and five kids, on one average salary. I am not a spendthrift. My tightwad-ness is the subject of jokes with some friends. I cannot afford to buy a home in the neighborhood that I grew up in, and my neighborhood is not affluent by any stretch of the imagination. My American dream is little more than the pot to piss in. I am a working American grunt. To paraphrase the Talking Heads, where is my beautiful house?...How did I get here?

This snippet, from Jimmy Carter's Nobel Peace Prize speech, in 2002, really sums up the crux of the problem (link to entire speech below) :

"At the beginning of this new millennium I was asked to discuss, here in Oslo, the greatest challenge that the world faces. Among all the possible choices, I decided that the most serious and universal problem is the growing chasm between the richest and poorest people on earth. Citizens of the ten wealthiest countries are now seventy-five times richer than those who live in the ten poorest ones, and the separation is increasing every year, not only between nations but also within them."

Now that that's out of the way, I tried to think of a song that would aptly portray the frustration that those of us near or on the bottom rungs of the income ladder. I thought a Pete Seeger song might hit the spot, but couldn't find an mp3 of any that were completely appropriate. I thought that the Dil's "Class War" might be a tad militant for some of you who weren't around back in the day. Then, while looking for something else online, I happened upon the song that seemed written for this day, this mood, this movement. Jimmy Cliff's "The Harder they Come."

Well, they tell me of a pie up in the sky
Waiting for me when I die
But between the day you're born and when you die
You know, they never seem to hear even your cry

Chorus:
So as sure as the sun will shine
I'm gonna get my share now what is mine
And then the harder they come
The harder they fall
One and all
The harder they come
The harder they fall
One and all

And the oppressors are trying to track me down
They're trying to drive me underground
And they think that they have got the battle won
I say, forgive them Lord, they know not what they've done

Chorus

And I keep on fighting for the things I want
Though I know that when you're dead you can't
But I'd rather be a free man in my grave
Than living as a puppet or a slave

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Jimmy Cliff - The Harder They Come mp3 at Backseat Sandbar
The Dils - Class War mp3 (zip file) at 7 Inch Punk
Visit:
Occupy Wall St.
Occupy Together
We Are the 99%

Jimmy Carter's Nobel Peace Prize speech, December 10, 2002

BUT YOU JUST BOUGHT A VOWEL.

Don't know what to make of these guys. Intentional or not, what I hear is raggedy ass early Modern Lovers instrumentation, with a distant relative of the Weirdo's John Denny's singing and Harley Davidson from Deadbolt playing guitar. (I left out the Motor Morons reference because I don't think many people have heard of them.) But they make a decent racket, and have a keen disregard for polish. And, I can respect that the singer moves like a guy at his first dance.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Thee Ludds - Astral Plane mp3 at Nu Rave Brain Wave
Thee Ludds - Go Outside mp3 (via Box.net) at Sonic Masala (click on "Download Now" button, top right)
Thee Ludds - Skin and Bones mp3 (via Box.net) at Sonic Masala (click on "Download Now" button, top right)
Thee Ludds - I Told You I Would mp3 at No Fear of Pop
Thee Ludds - Shy Guy mp3 at No Fear of Pop

JAZZ SURF VS BEACH GOTH

If there's one thing I've learned about music over the years, it's that you can be turned on to stuff anywhere at any time. I was in Laguna Beach earlier this week, and stopped in Thalia Surf Shop, a shop that's not quite your standard surf shop. My first clue was the T shirts they were selling that had their logo in the style of the lettering of Herb Albert & the Tijuana Brass LP "Whipped Cream & other Delights" (which I recognized because I ripped off the same lettering for this post). Then there was the art on the walls, all of which was pretty damn cool (though not for sale). They had boards shaped by the Campbell brothers, whose boards I hadn't seen since they introduced Bonzers in the seventies (and had no idea they were still shaping), and a selection of surf movies that indicated they knew their shit. After browsing and chatting with the two guys that were working, it seemed that we were on the same wavelength (no pun intended), so I dropped my usual guard. Then they told me that they were just starting to sell records. Probably because I'm no spring chicken, one of them showed me one of the "Back From the Grave" compilations (you should all know those, right?). Then they started flipping through the rest of their inventory, and raved about this band and that. Two they seemed to be pretty nuts about were the Mattson 2 and the Growlers.

The Mattson 2 are a two piece, guitar and drums, that play, for lack of a better description, a kind of jazz-inflected surf music, with the guitarist using a loop pedal. That's not really all that accurate, but if you've already checked out the video above, you know the type of stuff your in for. It isn't the fast paced stuff (i.e. Dick Dale), it's more like surf music for slow motion sequences in surf movies. The Growlers stuff is kind of a neat pot of sounds. They can sound lo-fi western, with a little twang, but without the country. They've got some pretty wicked touches. Dig the sloppy pseudo-mariachi horns on "Gay Thoughts," the horn players sound drunk. They can also sound like some weird hybrid of the early Modern Lovers and the Doors, in practice-room-o-phonic (check "What It Is").

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Mattson 2 - Black Rain mp3 at Sloan Ranger
Mattson 2 - Longing of the Leftist mp3 at The Audio Muffin
Mattson 2 - Three songs and interview, podcast at Dirty Thursdays
The Growlers - What It Is mp3 at Fun Fun Fun
The Growlers - Gay Thoughts mp3 at Fellino
The Growlers - Good Feeling mp3 at Fellino
The Growlers - Empty Bones mp3 at Hell's Belles
The Growlers - Sea Lion Goth Blues mp3 at Listen Before You Buy
Video:
The Mattson 2 - Black Rain at YouTube
The Mattson 2 with Ray Barbee- Short Strokes at YouTube
More Mattson 2 videos at YouTube
The Growlers - What It Is at YouTube
The Growlers - The Graveyard's Full at YouTube
The Growlers - People Don't Change Blues at YouTube
More Growlers videos at YouTube
Visit:
The Mattson 2 - official site
The Growlers - official site
Unsolicited plug:
Thalia Surf blog