OH, THE PLACES YOU'LL GO

Today marks the thirtieth anniversary of Lester Bangs death.  So, what, you say, he was just a rock critic.  If that's your attitude, you probably don't remember a time when rock critics kissed up to rock stars, when their job was more about what they could get, rather than what they could give.  It was easier to praise an album or artist, get backstage passes, hangout with emperors in their new clothes, get your nose packed and, depending on the backstage scene, perhaps pick up a little groupie shake.  It was payola in the form of back scratching, and Lester Bangs would have no part of it.  He was too consumed with music, the good and the bad, and he called it the way he saw it.  It wasn't always pretty.  But it was always readable, as if he was in the room, ranting on pep pills or ten pots of coffee, and whatever else might be around.  But his wasn't an organized party, it was more like hanging out in a messy apartment, with records everywhere.

“Rock ‘n’ roll is an attitude, it’s not a musical form of a strict sort. It’s a way of doing things, of approaching things. Writing can be rock ‘n’ roll, or a movie can be rock ‘n’ roll. It’s a way of living your life.”

The songs below are all I could find of his and are really for complete Bangs fiends only.  He'd probably hate the fact that anyone would consider these with any amount of reverence.  To be honest, they pretty much suck.  Notable because it's Bangs with his friend Peter Laughner, who, I think, was in Rocket From the Tombs at the time (or  maybe Pere Ubu).  Listen to "Let It Blurt," one that was officially released. (Below, streaming on YouTube. Couldn't find an mp3.)  After not hearing it for a long time, it now sounds a little No Wave-ish.  But, really, it's more about his writing, If you''ve not read his stuff, go to the Lester's Legacy page.  There are links to pages about him, many with written pieces.  You'll know immediately.  You'll know.

Thanks to Gary Ra'chac, a friend of Bangs', who hepped me to what day it was.  I can't believe it's been thirty years.  So that's what happened.  That's how all the shit slipped through.

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Listen: 
Lester Bangs and Peter Laughner - A Little Bit Of Heaven mp3 at Beware of the Blog 
Lester Bangs and Peter Laughner - Lester Ray mp3 at Beware of the Blog 
Lester Bangs and Peter Laughner - Seventeen mp3 at Beware of the Blog 
Lester Bangs and Peter Laughner - Drugstore Cowboy / I'm So Bored / G'bye Lou mp3 at Beware of the Blog 
Lester Bangs and Peter Laughner - G'bye Lou, Too mp3 at Beware of the Blog 
Lester Bangs and Peter Laughner - G'bye Lou, Three / Cry Your Blues Away mp3 at Beware of the Blog 
Lester Bangs - Let It Blurt streaming at YouTube 
Visit: 
Lester's Legacy - Page of Bangs associated links 
Lester Bangs - One of his last interviews at Perfect Sound Forever 
Lester Bangs at Wikipedia

DON'T MESS WITH THESE GUYS

If you're into reggae, you've may have heard "Double Barrel," by Dave and Ansell Collins to the point of exhaustion.  For you, there's always "Karate" (below). I just felt like hearing "Double Barrel" after seeing the clip from Tops of the Pops, posted at Crying All the Way to the Chip Shop.  I swear, these guys have about the fewest lyrics per song of anything not classified as instrumental.  Notable: "Double Barrel" was the first record Sly Dunbar played on.  Whoop-de-do.

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Listen:
Dave & Ansell Collins - Karate mp3 at Probe Is Turning-On the People 
Dave & Ansell Collins - Double Barrel mp3 at Reggae Total 
Visit: 
Dave & Ansell Collins at Wikipedia

THE HOUND IS THE MAN

When it comes to good posts, all you can really ask for is informative text, a handful of images and some well chosen music.  It's amazing how rare it is that someone gets that combination right.  Take it from me (as someone who doesn't get it right), as simple as that sounds, it's not all that easy.  It takes time and a good amount of musical knowledge to get it down pat.  When I need a taste of how it should be done, I head over to The Hound Blog and just browse.  My casual excursion usually ends up turning into a good hour or so of good ol' fashioned music education, often on just one post.  Such was the case when I landed on the Hound's post about Elmore James.  Forget Wikipedia, forget All Music Guide, forget all about those other sites that are all facts and figures, with no insights as to when a musicians best sides were cut.  Forget who "you might also like."  I might also like the Hound.  He does it right.  I tip my hat.

Here's just a couple of the songs from his Elmore James post, to satisfy the immediate gratification crowd.  The first is the original version of "Dust My Broom," recorded clandestinely by a label owner who James was under contract with, but refused to record for.  (Did I tell you?  The Hound is full of tidbits like that.) It features Sonny Boy Williamson on harp.  As for the other two down there, "Hawaiian Boogie," is one I happen to like, and "12 Year Old Boy," is down there because the Hound said it was good, and I will not ever second guess the Hound.  There are roughly twenty more cuts over there, and a good bio and recording history.  What are you doing?  Scram!

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Listen:
Elmore James - Dust My Broom mp3 at The Hound Blog
Elmore James - Hawaiian Boogie mp3 at The Hound Blog
Elmore James - 12 Year Old Boy mp3 at The Hound Blog
Visit:
The Hound Blog  Bookmark it.  I mean it.

IF THAT'S WHAT YOU SAY IT IS

It was a one-two punch.  Actually a one-two-three punch.  I've never considered myself a huge Tex-Mex fiend.  I could take it or leave it.  It was one of those types of music that was always in that larger genre, "I'll get to that."  But it was a random click on The Adios Lounge (punch one) that made me loosen up.  Already on my map because of this post some time ago, I was occasionally poking around over there.  Several months ago I clicked randomly on a song by the George Baker Selection, "Little Green Bag" (punch two).  I don't remember my mood that night, but it was one of those nights that I was randomly clicking on multiple sites trying to expose myself to stuff completely unknown to me.  "Little Green Bag" most certainly hit the spot.  It was in a post about Tex-Mex and the host was drawing parallels all over the place, and, as the George Baker Selection were Dutch, I was essentially entering Tex-Mex World through the back door.

  

I bookmarked the post, with plans on going back.  I should point out that my exposure to Tex-Mex was/is limited.  I've got an Augie Meyers LP, a Texas Tornadoes cassette, a Billy Bacon and the Forbidden Pigs CD, and have heard "She's About A Mover," like most of you, about a zillion times.  But still, I laid back.  Then, a few weeks ago I pulled out the Forbidden Pigs "Pig Latin," out and was listening to it as I drove around (punch three).  Now, part of it may have been knowing Bacon's demeanor, because he was the friend of a friend years ago, I used to see the Forbidden Pigs regularly. For whatever reason, "Pig Latin" was pushing buttons.  The album is a compilation of Tex-Mex type stuff that Bacon's band did over the years. Long story short, I'm now ankle deep in Tex Mex shit over at the Adios Lounge.  C'mon over.

This is the Beatles.  Might as well be.  The Tex-Mex Beatles.  What a goddamn line-up.   

Here's just a smattering, some Tex-Mex only by a loose thread, but they are all really, really cool.  I can't put it any better way.  (Sadly, I couldn't find any Billy Bacon stuff.)

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 Listen:
George Baker Selection - Little Green Bag mp3 at The Adios Lounge
Barbara Lynn - You Can't Buy My Love mp3  at The Adios Lounge
Sir Douglas Quintet - She Digs My Love (1965-66) mp3 at The Adios Lounge 
Sir Douglas Quintet - Please Just Say So (1966) mp3 at The Adios Lounge
Sir Douglas Quintet - She's About A Mover (1965) mp3 at the Adios Lounge
Video:
Sir Douglas Quintet - Mendicino (from Playboy After Dark) at YouTube
The George Baker Selection - Little Green Bag at YouTube 
Visit:
The Adios Lounge: Sir Douglas posts 
The Adios Lounge Tex-Mex posts (some overlapping here)

ANY WAY YOU CUT IT

You may be familiar with Duke Ellington's "Caravan."  And, no, you don't really need seven versions of the same song.  Really you don't.  But you may want to listen to all of the versions below to appreciate the different takes, every one of them is incredibly good, which is testament to what a great song it is in the first place.  There's so many versions floating around, primarily by surf bands, jazz artists and Latin bands, that I could have been here all night.  It's one of those songs that lends itself to multiple interpretations.  The first version below is the one that inspired the dig tonight, a Latin version that's got some badass solos, particularly the sax.  Takeshi Terauchi's like the Japan version of the Ventures.  The Strangers were Merle Haggard's back up band, so it's sorta Bakersfield does Ellington.  Chet Atkins and Les Paul.  Together.  You're just getting started.  Put the Wayback Machine in overdrive and dig on the last three versions.  You don't really need seven versions, but you might need eight.

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Listen: 

Pucho & His Latin Soul Brothers - Caravan (1967) mp3 at American Athlete 

Takeshi Teruchi - Caravan (1965) mp3 at Beware of the Blog 

The Strangers - Caravan (1970) mp3 at The Basement Rug 

Chet Atkins & Les Paul - Caravan (1977) mp3 at Stranger Dance 

Thelonius Monk - Caravan (1955) mp3 at Space Age Pop

Duke Ellington - Caravan (1962) mp3 at Space Age Pop

Duke Ellington - Caravan (1947) mp3 at Space Age Pop

ALL SCHOOLS JAM

Soul Sides just posted another cover of Fela Kuti's "Let's Start," so, of course, I had my cue to gather up a bunch of Afrobeat type stuff that's been waiting in the wings, and repost some that you may have missed.  I love this stuff.  It flat out jams.  I don't know what it is, but you either dig it or you don't, depending on what your appetite is for non-rock hot shit jams.
 

Visit the blogs that posted these, particularly American Athlete. They stopped posting there in November, so their links may be expired if you wait.  There's a lot of great stuff.  Don't veg.

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Listen: 

Phirpo y sus Caribes - Comencemos mp3 at Musica del Alma  Cover of Fela's "Let's Start" 

Jungle Fire: Comencemos mp3 at Soul Sides  Cover of Fela's "Let's Start" 

Fela Kuti - Zombie mp3 at Truants 

Fela Kuti - Expensive Shit mp3 at Review Stalker 

Orlando Julius & His Modern Aces - Mapani mp3 at Slumberland Records 

Joni Haastrup - Greetings mp3 (via DivShare) at American Athlete At DivShare click on the green "Download" button 

The Shaolin Afronauts - Journey Through Time mp3 (via DivShare) at American Athlete 

Ebo Taylor - Atwer Aroba mp3 at American Athlete 

Ebo Taylor - Victory mp3 at Mixtape Riot 

Ebo Taylor - Mizin mp3 at Mixtape Riot 

C.K. Mann & Carousel 7 - Asafo Beesuon/Obaa Yaa Aye Me Bone mp3 at American Athlete

THESE GUYS RULE

Yesterday I mentioned that a violin solo on one of the Quantic & Alice Russell cuts made me want to hear Don & Dewey, who don't sound like them at all.  It was just the violin.  I know I've raved about Don & Dewey before.  It's just really befuddling, why more people aren't absolutely apeshit about these guys.  This is second or third tier rock 'n' roll fiendom,  It should be top tier.  You should all know Don and Dewey.  So today, as I've done several times before, I went hunting for something in an effort to get you sapsuckers to actually hear something by them other than the few cuts I've posted before, awesome as they are.  I was looking in particular for "Farmer John," a semi-hit for the Premiers when they covered it, and "Pink Champagne," which features Don Harris' fine violin playing.  (I know what you're thinking.  Worry not.  It's not what you think.  The violin fits.)  I actually found a six song rip of side two of a Don & Dewey compilation that includes both of those songs.  That's the good news.  The bad news is that it's a tinny sounding rip.  Just pretend you're listening to a Don & Dewey block on Johnny Otis's radio show, on a tinny AM radio.  (Johnny Otis actually played them.  I've heard tapes.  So cool is he.)  I threw three previously posted songs down there too, in regular fidelity (substantially better), so you can add it up.  A very detailed bio is available at the Hound Blog, which, as you would expect of this Hound character, is top notch; some good reading.  If you like the cuts below, there's a readily available 25 cut compilation that has just about everything they recorded as Don & Dewey proper.

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Listen:
Don & Dewey - Jungle Hop mp3 at The Adios Lounge
Don & Dewey - Justine mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Don & Dewey - A Little Love mp3 at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban
Don & Dewey - Six songs in a single mp3 at Boot Sale Sounds Tinny rips of: Pink Champagne, Little Sally Walker, Farmer John, Jungle Hop, Kill Me, The Letter
Visit:
Don & Dewey at The Hound Blog

EYE COLOR? REALLY?

You know, there's more than a few reasons to record a cover.  Sometimes it might be because the original version isn't very good.  It could be an excellent song, but poorly produced, or recorded at a tempo that just doesn't nail it.  Sometimes (well, actually quite often), there's a whole bunch of covers all thrown together on a tribute album.  Those usually bite, because a good cover, a really good cover can't be done on demand.  Sometimes a cover, especially of a well known song, is done just to get noticed.  Whatever the case, if Alice Russell hadn't have recorded the White Stripes "Seven Nation Army," chances are I wouldn't be cognizant of her.

Check the video above.  It you look at the whole get-up, you might just think schmaltz, but try thinking of it in terms of the Issac Hayes does Bacharach thing.  It's much cooler that way.

Here's a couple from her latest, with Quantic and the Combo Barbaro.  "Pushin' On" is a funky number, and "Traveling Song" is a bit mellower, almost a Dionne or Petula vibe to it, what with the strings and all.  (I gotta say that the violin solo just makes me want to hear Don & Dewey, but we can touch on that another time.)  The other two cuts are two different versions of her covering "Seven Nation Army" with Nostalgia 77, the reggae version of which I believe is a remix.  There's also an older Quantic cut down there, with Spanky Wilson on vocals, that's adequately tight.

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Listen: 
Quantic & Alice Russell with The Combo Barbaro - Pushin' On mp3 at Rollo & Grady They may disable direct linking, if so, you know what to do: go there to get it. 
Quantic & Alice Russell with The Combo Barbaro - Travelling Song mp3 at HillyDilly 
Alice Russell and Nostalgia 77 - Seven Nation Army mp3 at 365 Days of Music 
Alice Russell - Seven Nation Army (Reggae Version) mp3 at Audio Muffin 
Spanky Wilson and the Quantic Soul Orchestra - I'm Thankful mp3 at Ear Hole

HEY ELVIS, SUCK ON THIS

Ladies, the guys that aren't on the beer run will be over in the corner burping and farting while you get your swoon on.  Seriously, if this doesn't get you some kind of choked up, I give.  It made me stop and think more than a few "what if" thoughts. 

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Listen:

Gene Vincent - Over The Rainbow mp3 (via Box.net) at Plain or Pan Once at Box.net, look for the "Download" button in the top right corner. 
Earlier Gene Vincent related posts Some links may be dead, but there's plenty that aren't.

NEED ANYTHING FROM THE STORE?

It was kind of an oversight, and part lack of urgency.  Today was Record Store Day, and while I've reminded folks before, this year I started thinking a little more about it.  I'm still for it, don't get me wrong.  It's just that every day is Record Store Day, for those who got to record stores on a regular basis.  Not the one day a year Record Store Day that gets people back in the stores with limited event-only releases.  (Why not call it Record Collector Day?)  Because, for those who go to record stores, the reasons for going are constant.  Some people need the fix that shooting the shit about music delivers.  And there's no better place for that than a record store, preferably with a friend.  Even better if you know the person behind the counter.  Damn, I love that environment.  Especially because, for me, it's on the walk back from the beach, and summer's coming.  Cow Records, with wet trunks and sandy feet.  (Can you think of a better way to end a day on the beach?)

Several years ago, I ordered a Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings album through Cow.  They weren't familiar with her.  Then, a while later, the same thing occurred when I ordered a Budos Band band album.  Both bands were on Daptone Records.  That was a while back, and here we are,  Daptone just celebrated it's tenth anniversary, and Cow is still in business.  It is testament to the strength of the Daptone Records sound, brand, and roster, that I no longer have to ask about a Daptone release to the human equivalent of a dog's tilted head.  It's a label and a sound, as legit as Stax or Motown.  You could order some of their shit blind folded, any random artist on their roster, and end up with some quality stuff.  Here's one of their acts, the Sugarman Three.  These are funky grooves.  The first one is new, and the rest are from earlier records.  The Lee Fields thing is just another good one I stumbled upon.  Really, in the overall scheme of things, this shit is better than some oddball limited edition EP.  It exists every day.  And you can order it through a record store any time you need a fix. 

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Listen: 
Sugarman Three - Rudy's Intervention mp3 at Rolling Stone  
Sugarman Three - Soul Donkey mp3 at The Frump 
Sugarman Three - Down to It mp3 at Ear It Now 
Sugarman Three - Pure Cane mp3 at Ear It Now 
Lee Fields and Sugarman & Co. - Stand Up .mp3 at Lemellotron.com
Visit:
Daptone Records
Sugarman Three at Wikipedia

WE'LL WORK ON CHEER LATER

Check the video below.  It's Blue Cheer on American Bandstand.  What I find amusing, other than the fact that they were actually on the show, is that goddamn wall of Marshall stacks.  Five stacks for one guitar and one bass.  On American Bandstand.  Who needs to turn it up to eleven, when you can turn five amps up to ten?  Let's do the math.  That's a total of fifty volume increments, or twenty five per user, as opposed to Spinal Tap's mere eleven per user.  Forgetting the math for a moment, what do you think the chances are that the five stack statement, that they're clearly trying to make, was totally lost on the audience?

   

Full credit goes to Beware of the Blog for finding this gem, along with this amusing anecdote, from bass player Dickie Peterson: "At the time, we were being managed by 'Gut' Terkl, who'd been a Hell's Angel, and Gut and I were sitting in the dressing room smoking a bowl of hash, and Dick Clark walked in, and looked at us, and he says, 'PEOPLE LIKE YOU GIVE ROCK 'n' Roll A BAD NAME!' We looked back at him, and we said, "Thank you very much!" That was the last time we were ever on Bandstand."  Really.  No shit?

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that, along with Dick Clark (woefully inept volume increment rating four), Jim Marshall, the man who is probably responsible for more temporary and permanent hearing loss that any other single person, passed away recently as well.  The Adios Lounge has a nice post about him. 

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Listen:
Blue Cheer - Come and Get It mp3 at The Cargo Culte
Blue Cheer - Summertime Blues mp3 at Beware of the Blog

GO, BABY, GO. I GUESS.

Yeah, yeah, I know. You didn't ask. But there are a few of you who appreciate the soothing sounds of the jiggle clubs of yore, so here you are anyways. It's been several weeks since we checked in with Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban's Tassel Twirler Tuesdays. I was reminded of the backlog by the recent posting of More Saturday Shakers, a thirty three song mix of songs that fall under the same loosely defined genre. The ingredients are simple: a ba-boom ba-ba-boom beat, some honking horns, occasionally the presence of an organ, and, to add a little flavor and make it actually seem like there was some effort put forth in the crafting of these dime-a-dozen otherwise throwaway instrumentals, a few oddball lyrics. But you know what? I can't get enough of them, primarily because after you've heard several in a row you'll find yourself slipping on the wing tips and grabbing some singles for a destination that no longer really exists.

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Listen:
Hal Blaine - Gear Stripper mp3 at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban
Groundhog - Take It Off mp3 at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban
Wes Reynolds - Say There mp3 at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban
The Jet Streams - Who, Me? mp3 at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban
The mix:
More Saturday Shakers at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban Thirty three songs that will have you looking for a church key. Go there to get them, and browse while you're at it. Hell, it's Ray Price month.

DANCING WITH MR. D

You may have heard that Dick Clark died today. I've got mixed feelings about him, as I do with a lot of people who make, or have made, their living off of rock 'n' roll in a support role. It's kind of a gray area. Some roles just rub me the wrong way. Back when I put on shows (usually with friends), it was for the music. We had just gotten tired of driving to L.A. to see our favorite bands. The shows were not in any way a money making venture, and we actually lost money on just about every show (guarantying bands 100% of the door after expenses will do that). Nonetheless, I would have people grill me about how it was done with their sights on getting a foot in the door with the music industry. One of them ended up working with Bill Graham, and another with Nirvana. I've always had mixed feelings about both of these guys. Though I assumed that their hearts were in the right place, their role was in the business end of things, ergo they were dancing with the devil.

Public Image Ltd.- Poptones & Careering (American Bandstand 1980)

Make no mistake, Dick Clark danced with the devil. But that didn't stop me from watching American Bandstand one last time in 1980. Public Image Ltd was appearing and it was one of the few times that the majority of room mates and lurking couch inhabitants at the house I was living in all crowded around a TV set. We figured it would be interesting to see how P.I.L. and the world's oldest teenager interacted, and we weren't let down. John Lydon made few attempts to lip sync, and spent half of the time wandering around the audience, dragging and pushing the bewildered clean cut teenagers onto the stage. It was one of musics biggest televised WTF moments. Looking back, it's kind of remarkable that it was even aired.

So here we are, thirty two years later. Dick Clark is dead and Public Image is back at it, releasing a new four track EP this Saturday, for Record Store Day.

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Listen:
Public Image Ltd - One Drop (streaming) at Brooklyn Vegan From the EP to be released this Saturday
Watch:
Captain Beefheart phone interview on American Bandstand at YouTube Dig the teens getting down to Diddy Wah Diddy! Another WTF classic!
Visit:
John Lydon, Public Image Ltd. return with first new album in 20 years at the L. A. Times
Record Store Day Official site

MONKS AND THE MONKS

If you've hung around here for any length of time, you know that the Monks are practically deities in these parts. Though not really Monks, their story and recordings are just the type of stuff that I eat up. I've mentioned them a few times here, and that doesn't include the first time I wrote about them elsewhere, back in the good ol' days when I used to get paid for polluting the interwebs. Where was I?...oh yeah, back in the late sixties there was a Wisconsin band that were actual Franciscan monks, called the Cords. Some of you may know of them from one of two compilations (the first "Back From the Grave" and "Garage Beat 4"). The song on both compilations was "Ghost Power" a full on stomping garage type instrumental. Listen to it. It's a great song, made even better by the day job these robed crackpots were holding down.

The Monks

Speaking of crackpots, I, of course, had to take this opportunity to slip the Monks (the non-monks Monks) in front of you, just in case you've missed them. There's a link to seven songs of theirs, and some videos, below. (Here's a shortcut.) Back to the Cords, Garage Hangover just did a post about them, with three more songs I hadn't heard, so my Cords collection just quadrupled. (Garage Hangover doesn't like direct linking, so go there to get them.)

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Listen:
The Cords at Garage Hangover - Five mp3s and bio. Garage Hangover doesn't like direct linking to mp3s so go there to get them. The version of "Ghost Power" is an 1:11 chopped version, but the YouTube link below will give you an idea of the low fi knuckleheaded unholy racket.
The Cords - Ghost Power (streaming) at YouTube
The Monks -A loaded previous post Seven Monks mp3s and several videos

I'M A BETTY MAN

Lest we forget, even highly revered singers and songwriters, no matter how righteous and universally heralded, had to start somewhere. That goes for Bob Marley with the early Wailers, as well as Darby Crash and the Germs, both of whom covered the Archies' "Sugar Sugar." Really, wouldn't you have loved being a fly on the wall in the Wailers band practice when that discussion came up? Or the Germs' band practice [sic]? I was actually looking for the Alex Chilton version last night when I ran into the Wailers' version, and the Germs' version was really just an afterthought. (The "Germicide" live set from the Whisky, where their version originates, wasn't their first gig as commonly thought, it was their second. Just setting the record straight.) Here's those two versions, along with a couple others. The Go Home Productions thing, "Velvet Sugar" is a mash-up of the Archies and the Velvet Underground. (You can nab the full length set of twenty mash-ups that includes it here. A link to page with complete listing below.) Wilson Picket's down there because, I don't know, because of the odd intro I guess. Nitpicker bonus: One thing that I found weird is that the two Archies versions down there are different. Even if they sound much the same, the "We're gonna make love so sweet" singers, towards the end of the song, are completely different. I believe the first version to be the one that was on the radio. At any rate, that's the one that has the only singer that sounds like they really could possibly make love so sweet.

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Listen:

The Wailers - Sugar Sugar mp3 at A Barrel of Nails
The Germs - Sugar Sugar (live) (streaming) at YouTube
The Archies - Sugar Sugar mp3 at Vdweijde.nl Original version. (File incorrectly labeled as the Monkees)
The Archies - Sugar Sugar mp3 at LZCenter Re-recorded (cover?)
Go Home Productions - Velvet Sugar (streaming) at YouTube
Wilson Pickett - Sugar Sugar mp3 at Libsyn.com
Full length download:
Go Home Productions - This Was Pop (2002-2007) at Go Home Productions Twenty mash ups including Velvet Sugar, in a zip. Scroll about a third down the page.
Visit:

The Archies at Wikipedia

THE LEGENDARY ALEX LEE HOOKER

Follow me here. The recently released Free Again: The 1970 Sessions, by Alex Chilton, is another bootleg legitimized, apparently stuff that's been shuffling around bootleg circles for years. It's stuff he recorded between the Box Tops and Big Star. (I must interject here that every time I hear the Box Tops mentioned, I'm reminded how amazing it is that Chilton wrote "The Letter" when he was something like fifteen years old). Anyway, I was curious, so I went looking. I found one cut, a cover of "Jumpin' Jack Flash," recorded just a couple years after the Stones original. It's early in the digestion, but I think it may have overtaken all other versions I've heard (primarily the original and Johnny Winter's version) as my favorite. It's loose, and just so, I dunno, American. But, tonight's fun had just begun.

Looking for more from the 1970 LP, I found instead an "In Memoriam" Alex Chilton post with a song that I really dig. Really dig. It's "Baron of Love, Pt. 2," and it sounds like John Lee Hooker backing the Legendary Stardust Cowboy. All four of you who will get that description, really need to hear it. The rest of you, make of it what you will. I don't know how else to describe it. But you four, you will really like it.

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Listen:
Alex Chilton - Jumpin’ Jack Flash at Aquariun Drunkard
Note: They may disable direct linking. If so, go there to get the above cut.
Alex Chilton - Baron of Love Pt. 2 at Star Maker Machine
Note: They may disable direct linking. If so, go there to get it and the two below..
The Box Tops - The Letter at Star Maker Machine
Big Star - I'm In Love With A Girl at Star Maker Machine

GET YOUR OWN IDEA

Let me just say that I'm not a fan of Norah Jones. I don't dislike her, to be really honest I've never felt inclined to give her a fair shake. That said, this one kinda bugged me. I saw a review of her latest album and thought that I recognized the cover. After plowing through the visual annex of my memory it hit me that it looked an awful lot like the movie poster for Russ Meyer's Mudhoney. After I dug around, I found a image and was astounded to find that it wasn't homage, but a complete rip off of the poster design.

I thought that I couldn't possibly be the only one who noticed it, and sure as shit, the NY Times noticed it as well. Seems that her producer, Dangermouse, had Russ Meyer posters all over his place. Perhaps sensing that assholes like me would cry foul, the press release for the album contained this Jones quote: "Brian [Dangermouse] has this great collection of Russ Meyer posters in his studio, and this particular one, called Mudhoney, was right over the couch where I sat every day. I always was looking at it and thinking ‘that’s so cool I want to look like her!’" That's all fine and dandy, but guess what Norah? No music plug for you! Get out of my store!

WE SUCKED PRETTY BAD ON THAT ONE

No mp3 today. Instead, I'd like to direct your attention to the video below. It is most awesome. It's a few different groups playing in some sort of battle of the bands in Croton-On-Hudson, NY in 1967. This sucker's a hoot, so many things to dig. The teen dancers, the distinctly different bands, the venue. You've got your choice here. It opens with a standard (for the time) group, the Active Ingredients, followed by three other groups that didn't have the wherewithal to put their band name on the drum head, so I can't ID them. The Active Ingredients do "Midnight Hour," passably for school age kids I suppose. I love the ad-lib grunts and such towards the end. When the second band comes on (at 2:06)...well, the first thing that hit me was that they had a Monks-like beat. All repetitive, all banging thuds. I really like them. The drummer plays funny to boot. They're followed by a guy who probably thought of himself as some sort of sensitive John Mayer-type lady killer, at least of Croton-On-Hudson in 1967. I was kind of annoyed with this guy. I wouldn't go so far as to say his band have this thing completely nailed down, but they're far better than the rest of the bands, and that of course makes them completely uninteresting to me. The fourth band, whoa, they're my favorite. It's kids, really, trying their hardest, bless their jumping-the-gun hearts. Their tune (at 3:25) is quite a racket. In a way that I love, meaning that the only redeeming thing about it is that they are trying so hard to hold it together. And, they're at least doing it. (Proto-William Hung.) The kid singer assesses the performance at the end. Clearly audible as the song ends (at 3:51), he says "ahhh, we sucked pretty bad on that one..." It is a defining moment in rock 'n' roll, because every rock 'n' roll band has had one of those moments.



What I like about this video, and what made it worth watching several times, and posting it without accompanying tunes of any sort, is that it really has the timeless elements of shitty bands everywhere, from every era. To a certain degree, even the winner of this band contest, even the second runner up, let's just cut to the chase here, even the Beatles, at one time or another, sucked pretty bad on that one.

MY DINNER WITH ANDRE

I don't believe I have to go into detail about Andre Williams for you regulars. If you aren't familiar with the potty mouthed postulate, you can visit this old post (I'm not sure how many of the links are still good, but the documentary alone is worth the click). I'm just posting the two below because I ran across them in the past couple days. One is from his latest LP, Hoods and Shades, and is not quite his best, but, hell, he's still at it and that counts for something. The other is him with the Sadies, which is good, and that counts for something too.

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

Listen:
Andre Williams - Dirt mp3 at Bloodshot Records
Andre Williams with the Sadies - One Eyed Jack mp3 at Stagedive
Previously:
Andre Williams post
Sadies post

DETOUR

I really love the video below. I can't really say why. There have been organ freakouts since forever, so that's not the whole reason. There's singer Julie Driscoll's voice, somewhere around the outer perimeter of Aretha-Janis-land, but not quite there. The tight sound of the three piece, drums, bass and organ; and Brian Augers' Hendrix on Hammond routine. The song choice. There's plenty of things about this clip that are great, and some that are annoying. But I'm really drawn to it, it's really worth the few minutes to take it in. You've watched much worse today. Do dig.

And, leave it to Larry, of Funky 16 Corners, who started my Brian Auger and the Trinity screwing around today. For now, here's what he posted.

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

Listen:
Brian Auger and the Trinity – Black Cat mp3 at Funky 16 Corners

THE ORIGINAL BRAZILIAN BLOWOUT

Here are a couple from a long lost Os Mutantes LP, recorded in France some forty years ago. Unreleased at the time because it wasn't commercial enough, it was released in 2000, and Aquarium Drunkard just posted a couple of the cuts. I'm not sure if they're one of those sites that disables direct linking to mp3s, but if they are, you know the drill (go there to get them). I'm padding those suckers with some other Mutantes stuff for those of you who demand immediate gratification. If you're unfamiliar with Os Mutantes, a visit to Wikipedia may be in order. Support international weirdness.

French TV, 1969

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

Listen:
Os Mutantes - I Feel A Little Spaced Out mp3 at Aquarium Drunkard
Os Mutantes - Tecnicolor at Aquarium Drunkard
Note: They may disable direct linking. If so, go there to get the above cuts.
Os Mutantes- Dois Mi E Um mp3 at Just Press Play
Os Mutantes - Bat Macumba at Motel de Moka
Os Mutantes - Caminhante Noturno mp3 at Obscure Sound
Os Mutantes - Baby mp3 at Obscure Sound
Os Mutantes - Meu Refrigerador Não Funciona mp3 at Obscure Sound
Os Mutantes - Panis Et Circensis mp3 at Obscure Sound
Os Mutantes - Desculpe, Babe mp3 at Obscure Sound
Video:
Os Mutantes - Preciso Urgentemente Encontrar Um Amigo (1969) at YouTube
Os Mutantes - Six commercials for Shell Oil Company at YouTube
Os Mutantes - Live in-store, 2009 at YouTube
The Garden of Sound at YouTube Narrated by leaping gnome Devendra Banhart
Visit:
Os Mutantes - Official site in Portuguese
Os Mutantes at Wikipedia

WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED HERE?

Sometimes it's pretty weird, how much a band can change over the years. That could be a good thing, or a bad thing. Listen to the first two Mekons songs down there, back to back. The first, Never Been in a Riot, is an early one. It was on a compilation that got played a lot back in the day, at least among my squad. It was one of those transitional periods, when bands started post-punkifying amongst themselves. Getting a little less predictable, and more adventurous. Then they went and learned to play good. It didn't ruin everything. But it was kind of bittersweet. It was what it must be like watching a kid grow up. That kind of "what the fuck am I doing?" manner kind of dissolves.

The second one down there, "Geeshie" is from their latest. They've been through major line up changes, and aren't even recognizable as the same group, but hell, it's been thirty years. What were they supposed to do, sit on their hands? Come to think of it, putting banjo and melodica in the same song is pretty cool, in a different way. But, is it an equitable trade off? Who cares. It's 2012 and you can have both, you media glutton you.

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

Listen:

The Mekons - Never Been in a Riot mp3 at Berkeley Place
The Mekons - Geeshie mp3 at Rolling Stone Note: You may have to go to the Rolling Stone site to download. It's here.
Misc other stuff:
The Mekons -Stay Cool mp3 at The Cargo Culte
The Mekons - Big Zombie (live, 2011) mp3 at Largehearted Boy