THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID.

You heard right? Davy Jones died. Hold your horses. Before you go off about the fluff that is Davy Jones, and the Monkees, let me throw in a little context for you. When I was growing up, the first non-old fart LPs that entered the household were the Beatles Rubber Soul, the Monkees' debut album, and the Monkees' third, Headquarters, in that order. We were kids. We barely knew who the Beatles were, so we were ill prepared to differentiate between the real thing and a cheap knockoff. During our preteen years, the Monkees won that battle, primarily because you couldn't escape them. There was the TV show, radio airplay, the incessant appearances in fan magazines, the car model of the Monkeemobile (designed by George Barris!), the trading cards and the comic books.

Our interests waned, as did many young fans, and by the end of their original two year run, they were far from relevant. It wasn't until many years later that I dropped my guard. That came after seeing their feature length film Head, a film that you could easily sandwich between the Beatles Magical Mystery Tour and Frank Zappa's 200 Motels (in the WTF Film Festival). The Monkees, as it turned out, had a little bit of freak in them. The film was written and produced by Bob Rafelson and Jack Nicholson, and conceived (allegedly) during a brainstorming pot party with them and the Monkees in attendance. That explains a lot. If you haven't seen it, do. Now that I think about it, if the Monkees only did that film, and never released a single record, they might be some sort of midnight movie cult icons. That's it, though. That's the group of Monkee enthusiasts I hang with. The ones that prefer the later slightly weird knuckleheads that sometimes made absolutely no sense whatsoever.

Really, check out Head. Victor Mature, who plays a rather large role; is a bit weird in juxtaposition. The rest of the cast is about as cohesive as the film itself. Tell me that Jack Nicholson, Carol Doda, Annette Funicello, Frank Zappa, Sonny Liston, Dennis Hopper and Toni Basil,...and the Monkees, doesn't sound like the cast of one of those first thing in the morning, "What the hell was that all about?" post-dream assessments. That's just what the film feels like.

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Listen:
The Monkees - Porpoise Song (Theme from Head) mp3 at Hell's Belles
The Monkees - Daily Nightly mp3 at Clumsy & Shy
Watch:
Davy Jones and Frank Zappa in Head at YouTube
The Monkees (Mickey Dolenz) - Goin' Down at YouTube
More clips from Head at YouTube

NO, I CAN'T JUST DROP IT.

Consider this just your notification service. You asked to be reminded, right? A day late, it's "Tassle Twirler Tuesday" over at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban. Yes, I know. Seems like just yesterday we were talking about the strip club instrumentals of yesteryear. It's actually been a week or so. Regardless, all eyes on Rock 'n' Roll Ichiban and Kogar the Swinging Ape's Tassle Twirler Tuesday.

About the second one, just go there to get it. Really. February was Joe Tex Month, so if you go backwards there's tons of Joe Tex oddities, and, I'm sure, "I Gotcha" is buried in there someplace.

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Listen to Tassle Twirler Tuesdays:
Last Weeks:
The Tikis - Big Feet mp3 at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban
This Weeks:
Pancho Villa and the Bandits - Ain't That Bad mp3 at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban Go there to get it.

LET'S TWINE BABY

His timing couldn't be better. I needed a distraction tonight and Diddy Wah delivered. A new mix of songs that he often plays at his DJ gigs. A lot of honking and shaking going on. I've gone off about his blog and tastes in general many times before. To give you an idea of what he's got, there's a couple below. The first one is the most awesome "Twine Time" by Alvin Cash; a song a lot of you will recognize without ever having known the title. It's one of those types of songs. The other is "The 2000 Pound Bee Part 2," the second half of a two sided fuzz fest by the Ventures. You really ought to go over there and dig around. He's the guy that beat you to all of the good records at the yard sale.

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Listen:
Alvin Cash - Twine Time mp3 at Diddy Wah
The Ventures - The 2000 Pound Bee Part 2 mp3 at Diddy Wah
The Main Event:

Rama Lama - Mix by Diddy Wah at Diddy Wah Extended play mp3: The Edsels, B. Bumble & The Stingers, The Versatones, The Ideals, Big Jay McNeely, The Rivingtons, Twistin' Kings, Hollywood Flames, Ernie Fields Orchestra, Freddy King, The Orlons, Googie Rene, Johnny & The Hurricanes, and Curtis Lee

QUICK, BEFORE HE GETS BACK

As you reggae fiends know, rhythms (riddims, if you will) can get used and reused many times over. If it's a good one, a studio may use it for a backing track or dub meat for years, sometimes decades. "Real Rock" by the Sound Dimension was recorded in 1967, and has been used dozens of times, as recently as 2003 (see NY Times link below for some of them). Many of the instrumentals get credited to a faceless studio band with revolving members, and some ultimately get released as "solo" instrumentals credited to the player of the melody holding instrument dubbed over the backing tracks. Often they're created spontaneously, as if the singer is on a pee break, hatching from just a few notes. The rhythms are a hot property for the studio owner, but that doesn't stop other studios from copying them as some sort of organic sampling. There's a few here you may recognize as backing tracks to something you've heard before, and a few of the lead instrument variety. And there's one below by Jackie Mittoo, a frequent member of several studio bands, where he takes off, straddling the Memphis groove of Booker T and the MGs and reggae.

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Listen:
Sound Dimension - Rockfort Rock mp3 at Leave You Wanting Less
Sound Dimension - Drum Song mp3 at Leave You Wanting Less
Sound Dimension - Reggae In the Grass mp3 at Reggae Top Site
Sound Dimension - In Cold Blood mp3 at Reggae Top Site
Sound Dimension - First Come First Served mp3 at Reggae Top Site
Soul Vendors - Swing Easy mp3 at DJ No DJ
Soul Vendors - Musical Happiness mp3 at DJ No DJ
Jackie Mittoo - Hang 'em High mp3 at Passion of the Weiss
Tommy McCook - Dancing Version mp3 at Reggae Top Site
Tommy McCook - A Version I Can Feel With Love mp3 at Reggae Top Site
Tommy McCook - (Music is My Occupation) mp3 at Boogie Woogie Flu
Visit:
"Real Rock" Through the Ages at the New York Times A rundown of some of the songs that have used Sound Dimension's "Real Rock" rhythm over the years.

I FORGOT ALL ABOUT SKINNY TIES

These should send you Minutemen completists into a frenzy. Maybe not. They might be pretty common to Minutemen fiends, I've really got no idea. But I do know enough to post them just in case. What you've got here is the pre-Minutemen combo, the Reactionaries, back when they were a four piece (with singer Martin Tamburovich). If you're into the band, you'll notice a few similarities. They're more interesting to me as an anthropological artifact. The Minutemen section in my records consists of but one title (Double Nickles), so I'd be out rounding up their official releases if I needed more.

As long as I'm putting those up, I figured I might as well put up some other associated things. There's a link to the host of these songs, Corn Dogs, a pretty good fan site (live shows, obscure stuff and what not). Another cool read, if you've got a few days to read it, is Mike Watt's tour diary, from his tour with the Stooges. I just jumped around on that one (it's really long), and, believe me, there's plenty of things to keep you amused. There's also a link down there to Mike Watt's radio show, and one to the fine piece that the Adios Lounge wrote about the Minutemen a while back, with some Minutemen tunes and way more substantial info than you'll find around these parts.

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Listen:
The Reactionaries - Cheap False Teeth mp3 at Corn Dogs
The Reactionaries - Brigate Rose mp3 at Corn Dogs
The Reactionaries - Video Madonna mp3 at Corn Dogs
The Reactionaries - Innuendo mp3 at Corn Dogs
The Reactionaries - Getting Existential On the Beach mp3 at Corn Dogs
The Reactionaries - God and Country mp3 at Corn Dogs
The Reactionaries - 1979 mp3 at Corn Dogs
The Reactionaries - My Heroes mp3 at Corn Dogs
Visit:
CornDogs.org - Mike Watt fan site with tons of stuff
Mike Watt's Hoot Page
Mike Watts Tour Diary - From the 2011 Stooges European tour (with James Williamson)
The Watt from Pedro Show - Mike Watt's online radio show. Coltrane, the Germs, Boris and Savoy Brown...you get the idea: a regular salad bowl.
This Ain't No Picnic - Minutemen post at The Adios Lounge

AWW, RATS. BILLY STRANGE DIED.

So, somehow an old post from a few months back started climbing the Boss 10 (top left of this page) a few days ago. I didn't think anything of it, but then today when I saw that the post about Billy Strange got all the way to number one, I got a sinking feeling, and did a little digging. My gut feeling was confirmed. Billy Strange, former session guitarist, member of the Wrecking Crew and one of the unsung favorites around here, passed away on Tuesday.

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Listen:
Billy Strange - Get Smart Theme mp3 at Whistling Records
Further listening:
Even His Name Is Cool More songs and links to Wrecking Crew and Strange stuff
Visit:
Billy Strange - Obituary at the L.A. Times

YEP. ANOTHER INSTALLMENT.

There's a reason why the Cramps torch never seems to dim. Their legacy (and yes it is a legacy) is as complete living breathing rock 'n' rollers, on stage and mulling around dank thrift stores, throughout their decades spanning existence. Always a little out there, but undeniably palatable. That is, if you had an ounce of freak in you. They had a record called "Stay Sick," and that's just what they did, yessir. Just enough to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Here's three LP length downloads, all posted recently at other blogs, and few individual songs that have been posted before.

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First, in case you missed them:
The Cramps - Confessions of a Psycho-Cat mp3 at Review Stalker
The Cramps - Let's Get Fucked Up mp3 at 8106
The Cramps - I Was a Teenage Werewolf mp3 at The Mad Makerel
The Cramps - Surfin' Dead mp3 at Indie Shuffle
The Cramps - Goo Goo Muck mp3 at Review Stalker
The Cramps - Human Fly mp3 at Review Stalker
The full lengths:

Lux & Ivy's favorites, Vol 2, Remastered at The Hound Blog This series should need no introduction (see this post for other volumes).
Lux Lives Commemorative CD 2012 Another mix by the Hound. This one was handed out at an annual gathering of Lux Interior fiends and assorted Crampers. Read the story about it, and give it a listen...jerk.
The Cramps - Songs the Lord Taught Us (Alternate mix) LP flac rip at White Trash Soul You might need some sort of a converter for this one, to play it as an mp3. Too much hassle for me, but fiends is fiends and I'm sure there's some of you who are part geek. Do it up.

MEET THE MONTESAS

It's not every day that a newer band pops up on Nitro-Retro, so you'd have to consider it an endorsement of some sort. Hell, everything on that blog is listenable, so it took but two seconds for the clicking to commence. The Montesas are a German band that have apparently been around for five or so years. Credit to Nitro-Retro for posting them, because outside of YouTube and the band's MySpace page, there's little else floating around to listen to. From the random samplings I heard, these guys are something of a retro K-Tel band, not to sell them short. They seem to have all the bases covered. Some swinging Farfisa instrumentals, a little beat, some rockabilly-ish stuff. Come to think of it, maybe that's why I haven't heard of them before today. Play to your strengths fellas, but try to focus on one. And, no, I'm afraid not. The agency is not taking on any new talent at this time. But don't worry, you won't be billed.

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Listen:
The Montesas - Blues No. 2 mp3 at Nitro-Retro!
Note: The other link at Nitro-Retro, for "Rokhar (Mather)," is actually linked to "Find the Hidden Door" by the Misunderstood
Watch:
The Montesas - Do the Slide at YouTube
Bookmark it:
Nitro-Retro!

OTIS! MY MAN!

A few days ago I ran into a bunch of mixes that I made a few years ago, and decided to play a few without seeing what was on them. In the middle of one was Otis Redding's "Hard to Handle," a song some of you may be familiar with from the cover by the Black Crowes, one of their signature songs early on. (Fu-huck, that was 22 years ago!). I was reminded what a great song it is, and for the Black Crowes, a pretty good choice for a cover; though their execution was only passable if you weren't already familiar with the original. At the end of the day, is it wise for any band to cover Redding? Apparently Toots Hibbert (ex-Maytals) thought so, because he covered the same song, a year earlier. And his take is kind of odd in that Jim Dickinson produced it as some sort of Southern soul/reggae hybrid. (Toots, of course has always been one of those reggae crossover dudes, what with his covers of "Louie Louie" and John Denver's "Country Roads" a few years earlier, not to mention his duets a few years back.) Anyways, I was jazzed to find Redding's original at the Vinyl Villain, along with three other songs of his. Take a listen below. Really, do you think anybody could approve on his version?

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Listen:
Otis Redding - Hard To Handle mp3 (via Box.net) at The Vinyl Villain (Click on "Download" button on the top right)
Toots Hibbert - Hard to Handle mp3 at Boogie Woogie Flu Produced by Jim Dickinson, 1989
The Black Crowes - Hard to Handle mp3 at My Dad's Ipod
Otis Redding - Security (Live) mp3 at The Adios Lounge

Otis Redding - I Can't Turn You Loose (Live) mp3 at Snuhthing/Anything

Otis Redding - Try a Little Tenderness (Live) mp3 at Snuhthing/Anything

Three More Otis Redding mps at the Vinyl Villain
Video:
Otis Redding - Try a Little Tenderness (Live, 1967) at YouTube With Booker T & the MGs and the Mar-Keys

ABOUT THIS WHOLE BEAD THING...

Here's some last minute Mardi Gras fare. If it's too late to hassle with downloading, I'd head over to the Home of the Groove internet radio thing, streaming New Orlean's R & B and some funkier stuff, through midnight Tuesday. And yes, this is an official lazy post. I'm getting my lavish parade get up done. Look for me in the parade. I'll be the guy with all the feathers banging on shit.

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Listen:
Professor Longhair - Tipitina mp3 (via Box.net) at Carnival Saloon
Ernie K-Doe - A Certain Girl mp3 at MBrownI.com
Clifton Chenier - Zydeco Sont Pas Sale mp3 at Let's Polka
Eddie Bo - Check Mr. Popeye mp3 at Probe Is Turning-On the People
Professor Longhair - Going To Mardi Gras mp3 at Carnival Saloon
The Wild Magnolias - Handa Wanda mp3 at Vibrations Music
Sugar Boy Crawford and his Cane Cutters - Jock-A-Mo at Carnival Saloon
Fats Domino - Walkin' To New Orleans mp3 at Carnival Saloon
The Meters - Hey Pocky-A-Way mp3 at Carnival Saloon
Dejan's Olympia Brass Band - Ain't My Fault mp3 at Carnival Saloon
Further Listening:
Home of the Groove internet radio Click on "Listen" in the top left to stream.
Home of the Groove - The blog Lots of good New Orleans music there.

ERNIE WANTS TO PARTY

Here's a couple that will get you set for Fat Tuesday, if you're one of those amateurs that only drinks and listens to New Orleans R & B one day a year (the rest of you know where to find me). The first one is a mix, from Funky 16 Corners, with a really good selection of a few you would might expect and some you probably don't know. Then, there's Ernie "Mother In Law" K Doe's radio show, from the 1980s. Some really good music and an awful lot of his signature rambling. As with most things in New Orleans, it's got a very cool vibe.

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Listen:
Boogaloo Mardi Gras - 22 song mix at Funky 16 Corners, Professor Longhair, Eddie Bo, Ernie K Doe, the Meters, Roger and the Gypsies, Earl King, etc.
Ernie-K Doe on WWOZ, New Orleans (1980s) mp3 at Beware of the Blog An hour and ten minutes of K Doe going off, DJing, ranting and actually playing some records.

CAN I BUY A ROLL OF QUARTERS?

Here's a diversion. I was doing a search for a future post and I ran into a neat photo, which led to a site called the Selvedge Yard. I've been there before, and the site has a lot of good images and such, but does lay it on a bit thick at times with sharp looking icons. (There is beauty in the ugliness of ordinary. Let's not forget that.) The photo was of biker women, and it came from a 1965 photo collection of photos of the women of Hell's Angels. One particular image, not to go all male on you, is one of the stirring photos of a woman I've ever seen (detail above). I don't want to think too much about why, and I'm not going to get into what it stirs, because I don't rightly know. It has something to do with records. Not so much the physical appearance of the woman. Maybe it's the pose. Women who lay all over jukeboxes. Yeah, there's a new one for you.

It gave me an excuse to re-post the links to biker film soundtracks. These were originally posted about a year ago, so some of you may not have been here and haven't backtracked that far. There's a lot of gold in them there old posts.

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Listen:
First, an obligatory Davie Allan selection:
Davie Allan & the Arrows - Cycledelic mp3 at Office Naps
And now, the main event:

Biker Soundtracks at The Big Bust Out - 13 full length LP downloads of biker movie soundtracks, in zip format. For the complete song listings, go to the Big Bust Out. I've just put those links down there for the lazy, hopped up, dropped out, filthy, sex crazed, aimless, leather clad hell heads that just don't give a damn about song titles.

Original Motion Picture Soundtracks:
Angels From Hell (zip) at The Big Bust Out
Born Losers (zip) at The Big Bust Out
Devil's Angels (zip) at The Big Bust Out
The Glory Stompers (zip) at The Big Bust Out
The Hellcats (zip) at The Big Bust Out
Hell's Angels on Wheels (zip) at The Big Bust Out
Hell's Belles (zip) at The Big Bust Out
Naked Angels (zip) at The Big Bust Out
Outlaw Riders (zip) at The Big Bust Out
Psychomania (zip) at The Big Bust Out
Satan's Sadists (zip) at The Big Bust Out
The Savage Seven (zip) at The Big Bust Out
The Wild Angels (zip) at The Big Bust Out

WHAT IT IS, WHAT IT IS

Back when I used to DJ on a regular basis, I used to let people flip through my records. If you've ever DJ'd you already know what happens. Months. or even years later, you go looking for that song that you used to always play and can't find the record anywhere. After this happens a few times, you may experience a "what was I thinking?" moment. You might go through a period of regret. But then several years later, you realize that there were serendipitous benefits to your crappy accounting system. Letting strangers flip through your records results in lost vinyl. That is a fact. You can believe in all of your unicorns and rainbows you want, but there will always be bad eggs. But, and this is big but, for every record that was lifted, there was another requested by someone who you might now associate with the record. That's the case with Aretha Franklin's "Rock Steady," requested by a friend of a friend one night. Helena was a poet. Got that image? Toss it. She was also a tomboyish ball of energy, who liked baseball, shot good pool, and requested a song that remains an association years after she passed away. Every time I hear the song it brings a pause and (enter buzzed unicorns and smoky rainbows) a smile. That's worth far more than a few lost records.

I've related the Helena association before, but after running into the song at Plain or Pan, it all came flooding back, a memory so intact, I practically plagiarized my earlier post without even revisiting it.

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

Listen:
Aretha Franklin - Rock Steady mp3 at 4Shared
Aretha Franklin - Rock Steady (alt. version) mp3 at Plain or Pan
The Jackson Sisters - Rock Steady mp3 at Plain or Pan
The Marvels - Rock Steady mp3 at Plain or Pan
The Sound Dimension - Granny Scratch Scratch mp3 at Plain or Pan

THIS TOO IS A GAS

No particulars here, not about the record anyway. It was posted at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban, and is credited to Alfred E. Neuman and the Furshugginer Five. The song is called "Potrzebie," a word that should be familiar to the readers of Mad magazine. What it means, I don't know. Who's behind the record? No clue. Do I care? Not one iota. Being that it was a posted in a series of Tassel Twirler Tuesday posts over there at the Ich, I felt compelled to continue to drag this subject, that of tittyshakers, right into the ground. Really though, a bump 'n' grind song, by someone calling themselves Alfred E. Neuman. Would you be able to resist?

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

Listen:
Alfred E. Neuman and the Furshugginer Five - Potrzebie mp3 at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban
More Tassel Twirlers at Rock 'n' Souil Ichiban Follow the series!
Bonus, last call "tittyshaker":
The Blue Nights - Madness mp3 (via Mediafire) at Kogar's Jungle Juice
Visit:
Earlier Alfred E. Neuman post
Earlier "tittytshaker" posts

LAST MINUTE DOG HOUSE PASS

Did you forget what day it is? Depending on what time zone you're in, this might be too late. A preemptive kiss up should have been posted last night, but I was too busy getting off on the Invictas. Regardless, if you're in the dog house, this might be your only chance for redemption. So here's a few sweets for your special someone. If you need to make your point with gusto, I'd start the plea Ronnie Self or the Sonics, move on to the mix from Funky 16 Corners and seal the deal with Phil Phillips. And, you can always lay it on real thick by handing over the mixes from Romeo Reverend Tom Frost that were posted a few days ago. But, as you can probably guess, I'm the last person you should take this sort of advice from.

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Listen:
Ronnie Self - You're So Right For Me mp3 at Rocky-52.net
The Sonics - Have Love Will Travel mp3 at Girl Jukebox
Bo Diddley - Who Do You Love? mp3 at Rocky-52.net
Little Willie John - Fever mp3 at Diddywah
Phil Phillips - Sea of Love mp3 at Diddy Wah
Five more lovey doveys at Diddy Wah

Mixes:

Funky 16 Corners' Dance of Love - 18 song soul heavy mix from loverboy Larry Frank Wilson, Charlie Rich, Darrell Banks, Jackie Wilson, Eddie Bo and Inez Cheatham, Charlie Earlands Erector Set, JJ Barnes, Spinners, Sand Pebbles, Platters, Lee Dorsey and Betty Harris, Len Barry, Producers, Lee Williams and the Cymbals, Broadways, Velvelettes, Soul Brothers Six, Wilson Pickett

Spread the Good Word's A Bloody Love Mix, Volume 3

John Buck & The Blazers, Bobby Freeman, Dorsey Burnette, Donnie & Ronnie, the Del-Vikings, Don Johnston, Marvin Rainwater, Piano Red, B.B. King, Ann Cole, the Valentinos, Soul Brothers Six, the Duetts, the Highway Q.C.'s, Del Shannon, Tom Reeves, Jimmy Kirkland, Lord Creator, Johnny Burnette, Sanford Clark, Eddie Cochran, the Four Dreamers, and the Animals

Spread the Good Word's A Bloody Love Mix, Volume 2
The Cramps, the World Famous Upsetters, Ronnie Love, Lavern Baker, Mickie Most & His Playboys, the Mustangs, the Righteous Brothers, Johnny Cash, the Wild Ones, Etta James, Benny Joy, Elvis Presley, Roy Hamilton, Bracey Everett, Shouting Thomas Torment, Billy Fury, Little Willie John, Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs, Otis Redding, Jackie Wilson, Renato Carosone, Irving Aaronson & His Commanders, Ric Cartey, and the ever amorous Wild Man Fischer.

GET LOST OR SOMETHING

As it happened, yesterday my friend Ray, otherwise known as the guy who always finds the cool shit on YouTube, posted an audio only YouTube link of Junior Parker's cover of "Taxman," on a social networking site (which shall go unnamed because that damn kid has already made too much money). It reminded me that Parker also did a cover of "Tomorrow Never Knows" which I had heard before. So, I went digging and found it where I first heard it, at Office Naps, four and a half years ago. I was pretty amazed that the link was still live. So, anyway, that's where yesterday's post started out.

Today I went back there to dig around, and guess what? I rediscovered a blog that I had completely forgot about, choked full of oddball-ities. I know, this is one of those posts that reeks of laziness, but it really isn't. I'm just digging on all of the obscure shit over there. The blurbs are well informed too. Go check it out. Go on.

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Listen
The Invictas- The Hump at Office Naps
The Merits - Arabian Jerk mp3 at Office Naps
The What For - Gemini 4 at Office Naps
The Astros - Space Walk mp3 at Office Naps
Visit:
Tons more at Office Naps

STAY COOL MAN

Above: John Watson, Larry Williams

I'm not gonna sit here and tell you that artists shouldn't evolve, but for crying out loud, why do they let trends dictate how they evolve? You have to listen to the stark comparisons below. I will say, I might very well be the only tight ass in the room when it comes these type of side by side comparisons. I just always seem to prefer the older shit. The first two cuts below aren't bad songs, by any stretch. They're great for what they are. Just perfect for sitting in a field of tall grass, with leaping gnomes n' shit. But, for the love of Ivy, get your seeds off of my 45's.

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

Listen to the later stuff:
Larry Williams w/Johnny "Guitar" Watson & the Kalidiscope - Nobody mp3 at Office Naps
Junior Parker - Tomorrow Never Knows mp3 at Office Naps
Now, listen to the earlier stuff:
John Watson - Space Guitar mp3 at The Hound Blog
John Watson - Gettin' Drunk mp3 at The Hound Blog
Larry Williams - Dizzy Miss Lizzy mp3 at the Hound Blog
Larry Williams - Slow Down mp3 at Mercury Paradise
Little Junior Parker - Barefoot Rock mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Little Junior Parker - Mystery Train mp3 at Aquarium Drunkard (I forget if he disables hot linking. If the mp3 link is dead, go there to get it.)
Further listening:
More John Watson (early) here
More Larry Williams (early) here

PROTO SKANK

It's hard to peg down the appeal of vintage sleaze. Maybe it's because it comes from a time when the line between smut and almost smut was clearly defined. Who the hell knows? But, just as the chikka-chikka soundtrack of 70's porn has a certain (to some, kitsch) appeal, so does the music of the strip clubs of the fifties and sixties, often referred to as tittyshakers.

I think I've mentioned before that I've got a problem with the term tittyshaker. Probably because I'm not particularly fond of the term titty to begin with. There's a thousand terms for women's breasts and "titty" is like the mullet of boob terms. Who ever thought that one up ought to go to a Russ Meyer seminar.

I ran into a few of these fine instrumentals in the past few days, so I thought I'd post them, along with a few posted previously. Sadly, the links to the Las Vegas Grind series that I posted a while back are dead (I checked). Nonetheless, there's enough for you to get your "Go, baby! Go!" on.

Listen:
The Executioners - Dead End Part One mp3 at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban
Jimmy Heap - Gizmo mp3 at Hell's Belles
Saxie Russell - El Monkey mp3 at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban
Jerry Green & the Passengers - Puerto Rico mp3 at Diddy Wah
Aris Garandanis - Alba's Shake mp3 at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban
Louie and the Fat Man - Fat Man mp3 at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban
Previously posted:
Edgar Allen & the Po' Boys - Panic Button mp3 at Probe Is Turning-On the People
The Rockin' Bellmarx - Torture Rock mp3 at X818
The Frantics - The Whip mp3 at Unnecessary Umlaut
The Gee Cees - Buzzsaw Twist mp3 at Rocky-52.net
The Hollywood Persuaders - Drums-A-Go-Go mp3 at X818
Freddy Scott & The 4 Steps - Same Ole Beat mp3 at Api.ning.com
Video:
Light In Orbit's Burlesque and instrumental channel at YouTube
Visit:
Tittyshakers.com, streaming "titty shakers," forum and requisite postulating.
Whaddya Call 'ems - Earlier post about, ahem, tittyshakers
Vintage Sleaze - A blog about, wait for it..., vintage sleaze.

ATTENTION LOVEBIRDS

"This isn't working. Turn your head sideways."

If you're in a relationship, you probably know that Valentines Day is just a couple days away. You may be racking your brain right now for an alternative to the candy, flowers or canned message in a card. I ran into a great post that will provide you the requisite bonus points to sweep your significant other right off their feet. Spread the Good Word's Reverend Tom Frost only pops his head out of his cave periodically these days, usually for occasions such as this, a holiday in need of a mix. He just posted "A Bloody Love Mix, Part 3," obviously the third in a series. There's enough obscurities in this particular mix to give it the old "baby, I searched high and low for these" routine. If you feel like laying it on particularly thick, make it a two-fer by adding his mix from Valentine's Day last year. For any of you who may find themselves in the dog house at this time of year (which happens like clockwork for many of us) I'm still digging around looking for Part 1, and will post that if found.

Spread the Good Word's A Bloody Love Mix, Volume 3

John Buck & The Blazers, Bobby Freeman, Dorsey Burnette, Donnie & Ronnie, the Del-Vikings, Don Johnston, Marvin Rainwater, Piano Red, B.B. King, Ann Cole, the Valentinos, Soul Brothers Six, the Duetts, the Highway Q.C.'s, Del Shannon, Tom Reeves, Jimmy Kirkland, Lord Creator, Johnny Burnette, Sanford Clark, Eddie Cochran, the Four Dreamers, and the Animals

Spread the Good Word's A Bloody Love Mix, Volume 2

The Cramps, the World Famous Upsetters, Ronnie Love, Lavern Baker, Mickie Most & His Playboys, the Mustangs, the Righteous Brothers, Johnny Cash, the Wild Ones, Etta James, Benny Joy, Elvis Presley, Roy Hamilton, Bracey Everett, Shouting Thomas Torment, Billy Fury, Little Willie John, Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs, Otis Redding, Jackie Wilson, Renato Carosone, Irving Aaronson & His Commanders, Ric Cartey, and the ever amorous Wild Man Fischer.

OH SHIT. NOT ANOTHER...

Slightly over a gazillion years ago, I saw the Beach Boys live for the first time. While spending one of my earliest concert experiences trying to ignore the presence of Mike "Total Tool" Love, I noticed two band members that I didn't recognize, and who were definitely not Wilsons. In the ensuing months I found out that their names were Ricky Fataar and Blondie Chaplin, and they were from South Africa. That's all I knew. The two of them were filed in the "find out later" part of my brain,...for decades. Today I was going for a daily 45 fix (at Derek's Daily 45 of all places) and ran into a thing on The Flames (who later dropped the "s" and became the Flame), the band that Fataar and Chaplin were in, before their brief stints with the Beach Boys.

The Flames 1965

In a nutshell: Their story began in South Africa in the mid-60's, where they were apparently a popular act. After releasing several albums they went to London, for a shot at the big time. While there they were "discovered" by Al Jardine and Carl Wilson, who were on tour with the Beach Boys. They were convinced to move to California, and did some recording for the Beach Boys new imprint, Brother Records, with Carl Wilson producing. The record remained in the can until the late seventies. From what I can gather, it's now out of print, but seems to be available on expensive dubious (possibly unlicensed) reissues. Haven't really looked into what happened regarding the Flame break up and how Fataar and Chaplin ended up with the Beach Boys. I'll get to that part of the story in another couple decades. For now I'm just completely amazed that there hasn't been an immense stink made about this band. While it's not entirely my thing, and might not be yours, you have to cop to the quality. These sound a lot like the late 60's Beatles, a lot. Just listen, and then go figure.

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

Listen:
The Flames - See The Light mp3 at Raven Sings the Blues
The Flames - See The Light (streaming) at Derek's Daily 45
The Flames - Get Your Mind Made Up at The Rising Storm*
The Flames - Highs and Lows mp3 at The Rising Storm*

The Flames - Don't Worry Bill (streaming) at YouTube
*Note: The Rising Storm links might be gone quick. I seem to remember they don't see this as helping to send traffic to their site. But it is a great site. If the links do go dead, start at their home page. There's a lot of good stuff over there.

Visit:
The Flame - LP Review and profile at Red Telephone
The Flames Unofficial site
The Flames at Wikipedia

MYSTO-ROCKER

Depending on your personality, this could be mildly interesting, intriguing, a great opportunity for a prank, or a pass altogether. A guy at Beware of the Blog has an ongoing series he calls "Exploring My Reel-to-Reel Catacombs." He digitizes tapes he's aquired, usually just oddball stuff. The tape he's posted for his latest installment has raw two studio recordings of an unknown rockabilly singer, and then the rest of the tape is short unrelated radio shows. The whole story of the tape is over there, including the work he's done so far trying to ID the singer.

So where's the prank part? You know how hard core rockabilly/hillbilly fiends can be total freaks when it comes to details? Put these on a mix and "forget" to write down the name of the artist. Then when they ask about it, give them the ol' "You don't know who that is?!" routine. There's nothing like watching a perfectly quiffed dude chase his tail.

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

Listen:
Unknown - Heartless Woman mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Unknown - The Fool mp3 at Beware of the Blog

REALLY? A RECORD?

There might be four of you who see the appeal of this. It's a bunch of stuff by the GTO's, and other groupie related stuff. The GTO's were groupies, and released one album, Permanent Damage, funded by Frank Zappa (one was his kids' babysitter). It was sort of a musical scrapbook, that had small contributions (written, spoken or performed) from Jeff Beck, Ry Cooder, Davy Jones, Lowell George, and Rod Stewart, among others. Lots on namedropping and in-jokes there. It had a song about Captain Beefheart's shoes. (No? That didn't get you worked up in a lather?) Because it doesn't pop up that often, you might want to check it out. If you want to know more about them check out that there Wikipedia thing. I'm not too concerned with the details, colorful as they are. I just like kooky shit, and that's what the GTO's did. Here's just a few cuts, and the rest can be found at Beware of the Blog. Kook out.

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

Listen:
The GTO's - I'm In Love With the Ooo-Ooo Man mp3 at Beware of the Blog
The GTO's - The Captain's Fat Theresa Shoes mp3 at Beware of the Blog
The GTO's - Rodney Bingenheimer mp3 at Beware of the Blog
The GTO's - TV Lives mp3 at Beware of the Blog
The GTO's - Thirteen more cuts at Beware of the Blog
Visit:
The GTO's at Wikipedia
Pamela De Barres' blog post about the GTO's
A Brief History of the GTO's at L.A. Stories