STICK TO YOUR SOUP CANS

This will get you Velvet Underground freaks in a tizzy, but note, it's bittersweet. First the good news. It's 33 minutes of a live performance at the Boston Tea Party in 1967, in color, with synched sound. Now the bad news: It was filmed, purportedly, by Andy Warhol, who apparently had seen the Velvets enough at that point that he found the kid doing the light show and the audience far more entertaining. The quality flat out blows. Warhol was not a cinematographer, you know that. But the camera work on this one is so bad that it seems like he was just learning to use the camera. The capture above is about as clear as it gets (the title was added). But, you VU freaks will probably want to see it. Check it out soon, because it was just posted about a week ago, and if it was filmed by Warhol, you can bet it won't last long.

The other videos linked below are the only other Velvet Underground videos that have surfaced in the past few years, and they're much better quality, which is to say passable versus shitty. The first is the band playing at the factory, shot by Warhol, in black and white. The others are of the Exploding Plastic Inevitable, with Gerard Malanga in all of his whipping glory. There's just a couple songs down there to satiate your ears. Check the other old posts for lots of other Velvets stuff, including live stuff, pre-Velvets stuff, alternate takes, blah blah, blah....freaks.

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Listen:

Velvet Underground - Guess I'm Falling In Love (Instrumental) mp3 at Boogie Woogie Flu
Velvet Underground/Lou Reed - Rock 'n' Roll (four mp3s) at Review Stalker LP, demo, alternate take and solo live.

The Roughnecks - You're Driving Me Insane mp3 at The Big O Pre-Velvets
Velvet Underground - Noise mp3 at The Big O From The East Village Electric Newspaper.
Velvet Underground - Twenty six oddballs at The Big O

Video:

Velvet Underground - A Symphony In Sound at YouTube 1966, another Warhol film

Velvet Underground - A Symphony In Sound, Production notes at a fan site

Andy Warhol's Exploding Plastic Inevitable with The Velvet Underground at UbuWeb 1966

Two more Exploding Plastic Inevitable clips at Plaztikmag 1967

SUGGEST FULL INVESTIGATION

This is a real bubbler, a total reworking of Bill Withers' "Use Me". It sounds like War meets Tower of Power meets Fela. One of those suckers that starts slow, and just about when you're thinking "I don't know about this one", it kicks it up a notch, and then another, and another. By the end of it, you're thinking, "I gotta hear that again!"

The Outfit were from Barbados, and may or may not have done time in Canada. The label, Wirl, may or may not be an imprint of Island Records. The Outfit may never have had a single photo taken of them. But they released a solid jam and a half. That is the sum total of what I learned from several web searches. (Thinks: Well, that gets me off the hook early.) 

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Listen:
The Outfit - Use Me mp3 at Soul Garage
Bill Withers - Use Me mp3 at The Giant Panther
The Outfit - Stop the World mp3 at Sir Shambling's

CASUAL FRIDAY

Sometimes all it takes is a cool photo. String king Joe Maphis, demigod to pickers, tutor to Larry Collins and expert western lid wearer.

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Listen:
Joe Maphis - The Rockin' Gypsy mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Joe Maphis - Twin Banjo Special mp3 at DK Presents
The Collins Kids - Hoy Hoy mp3 at Rock-52.net
Visit:
Joe Maphis at Wikipedia 

WHAT ME WORRY?

Without going into why these hit the spot, let's say just say I'm not in a harsh, pissy purist mood. It's rare. Tonight It doesn't take much to put a smile on my face.

Here's a few from Hollie Cook, a perfect singer for nights when you just go with it. And fitting for this time of year. I'm not going to say anything about her bloodline, the bands she's been in, or even what she sounds like. For those of you who have never heard her, it's best to leave the back story out it it, so you can hear them context free.

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Listen:
Hollie Cook - Walking In the Sand mp3 at 13th Floor
The Shangrilas - Walking In the Sand mp3 at Jordan Hatch Shadow Morton killing it.
Hollie Cook - That Very Night Dub at Earmilk Download link directly under her name, below the song title. The non-dub version too.
Hollie Cook - Three more songs at Mixtape Riot.

WAIT, SHE WHAT?

It's gotta be a conspiracy. You've heard the story a thousand different ways. My Mom threw out my baseball cards. My Mom threw out my comic books. My Mom threw out my action figures. Moms threw out just about everything that wasn't tied down in the sixties and seventies, anything that belonged to their kids that was deemed "grown out of". And, as we now know, all of that would be hot shit on Ebay decades later.

A band called the Chentelles put out one 45, back in 1966. It was "Time", with "She's My Queen", the latter ending up on a handful of garage compilations. There were three pressings of the original 45s, a grand total of 500 copies. The first two batches of 200 each sold well. A third batch of 100 was pressed, but by then all of the Chentelles' family members, all of their classmates, and all fourteen of fans already had their copies. So there the records sat, in the box, in the home of one of the Chentelles. They were getting in the way. As you can imagine, a box of a hundred 45s takes up a lot of garage space. If they ever get there. This box was, you guessed it, thrown out. I've no idea what the going price is, but with only 400 copies existing, even at a very conservative ten bucks each, that's a thousand bucks. Poof! In the trash. And this time, as legend tells it, the dad was complicit.

Liivin' large: The Chentelles loitering around a 'Vette, in the snow. (Focus!)

Check out "Be My Queen" below. These are high schoolers, except the drummer, who was thirteen. Beginning with the delivery of the first line, this thing is epic in its premature bravado, dirty lyrics and all. I dig the pace of it, the organ, the fuzz, the song, I even dig its rarity. But the thing I dig most of all, is the very short scream at 1:15. At the moment it was sung, at that precise moment, that teenager was the toughest sonofabitch on the planet. I'm sure of it.

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Listen:

The Chentelles - Be My Queen mp3 at 60s Garage Bands

The Chentelles - Time mp3 at 60s Garage Bands Go there to get it.

FLEX YOUR CLICKER CREEP

If you've been lurking around here a while, you know all about the Lux and Ivy's Favorites series of mixes put together by Kogar the Swinging Ape. For the uninitiated, each one is roughly 25-30 songs that Lux and Ivy, from the Cramps, mentioned in interviews, or covered at one time or another. They were avid record collectors even before the Cramps, and that was roughly thirty five years ago, so there's a lot of music to draw from. With seventeen volumes that adds up to conservatively about four hundred songs. And they aren't just any songs, they've all got at least a bit of Cramps-like oddballness.

Kogar is the host of Kogar's Jungle Juice, a great blog in and of itself, and he also contributes to Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban. In other words, he's part of that whole WFMU and Ichiban mob that includes plenty of other East coast diehards. Not satisfied with compiling seventeen volumes of rockin', crazy, and weird records that you and I will probably never run across, he's going back and redoing them, one by one, with new rips, or rips of 45s in better condition. He's just remastered Volume Five, and it, like the others, is a no brainer. That is, if you're into rockin', crazy, and weird.

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Listen:
Lux and Ivy's Favorites Volume 5 (Remastered) at Kogar's Jungle Juice 29 songs in a zip
The others:
Lux and Ivy's Favorites Volume 1 (Remastered) at Kogar's Jungle Juice
Lux and Ivy's Favorites Volume 2 (Remastered) at Kogar's Jungle Juice
Lux and Ivy's Favorites Volume 3 (Remastered) at Kogar's Jungle Juice
Lux and Ivy's Favorites Volume 6 (Remastered) at Kogar's Jungle Juice
Lux and Ivy's Favorites Volume 12 (Remastered) at Kogar's Jungle Juice
Lux and Ivy's Favorites, Volumes 1-11 (pre-remastering) at Beware of the Blog
Lux and Ivy's Favorites Volume 13 (pre-remastering) at Kogar's Jungle Juice
Lux and Ivy's Favorites Volume 14 (pre-remastering) at Kogar's Jungle Juice
Lux and Ivy's Favorites Volume 15 (pre-remastering) at Kogar's Jungle Juice
Lux and Ivy's Favorites Volume 16 (pre-remastering) at Kogar's Jungle Juice
Lux and Ivy's Favorites Volume 17 (pre-remastering) at Kogar's Jungle Juice
Related:
Past Cramps posts with assorted songs, videos and whatnot

BATTLE ROYALE

I'll let you make up your own mind on this one. Two songs, same title. One seems apropos, a sort of rallying cry. The other, well, isn't all that convincing. The songs are both titled "Destroy All Music". One was put out by a band called Thingy, in 1997. The other by the Weirdos in 1977. Now you'd think that with twenty years between them, we'd all have learned a thing or two about this music destroying business. In fact, when I saw the Thingy song, I got all hopped up, hoping there would be some added gusto to the subject at hand. Well, you can make up your own mind, after all Thingy featured a pre-Pinback Rob Crow, who everybody seemed to be gaga about a few years back. I never really heard Pinback. They may have been a good band. But Thingy's "Destroy All Music" doesn't do a thing for me. As a matter of fact, I hate it. I want to destroy it. Lyrically, here's what you're comparing. Thingy's first few lines: 

"The notes. The chords The vibrato. The 4/4. I want nothing less than a public demonstration. A kicking of asses. I want nothing less than the total destruction of musical structure." 

Compare those words to the Weirdos more direct approach:

"I want to kick in the radio, I want to go bomb the record store. I say, destroy all music. I say, you just can't use it. I pawned my records and my stereo. I burned my tickets to see ELO." 

Without getting overly analytical, here's what your basically looking at. Thingy's got all these references to actual music structure. What the hell? Destroying all music is a big job, and you're going to need help. If your making references to vibrato and 4/4, you're singing to musicians, or at least people who know what those two things are. You need legions of Joe Blows to help you in this. The Weirdos, on the other hand, get down to business. Hit 'em with something they can comprehend. You know, kicking in radios and bombing record stores.

One thing to note: don't skip one of the songs because you don't dig the other. They're really different. It's Bluto versus the folk singer.

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Listen:
Thingy - Destroy All Music mp3 at Parlando

The Weirdos - Destroy All Music mp3 at Killed By Death Go there to get it.

The Weirdos - Destroy All Music mp3 (via DivShare) at The Devil's Music Alternate link

Note: Once you get to DivShare, click on the green "Download" button, not the one that says "Download Now". Scratch your head for fifteen seconds while the timer counts down. When the button reappears, you're good to go.

WHERE'S LABEEF?

This guy, Sleepy LaBeef, is one of those tier two rockabilly guys that just never gave up. He took any gig that came along, and that means any. He grew up on a farm, moved to Houston when he was eighteen, and picked up work singing gospel on a radio station. When rockabilly hit, he hopped on board. Then, when rockabilly began to fizzle, he went into country. After recording for several labels, he finally made it to Sun around 1970, well after Sun's salad days. Oh yeah, he toured incessantly, playing anywhere that would have him. (Punk bands didn't invent that brand of subsistence.)

The topper for me though is his role in the 1968 film The Exotic Ones. The plot of the movie is classic. Some hunters run into a monster while hunting in the bayou. They drag it to New Orleans where it was put to use as a prop in a strip show. The monster goes berzerk after his favorite stripper gets into a tiff with another stripper. Berzerk, as in ripping a guy's arm off and then beating him with it, among other things. This is good stuff. LaBeef's role in the film is pretty prominent. He's credited as "the Swamp Thing". That's right, LaBeef is the monster. That sure raises him a few notches on the Oddballometer.

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Listen:
Sleepy LaBeef - Little Bit More mp3 at Rocky 52 1957
Sleepy LaBeef - Baby, Let's Play House mp3 at Rocky 52 1956
Sleepy LaBeef - It Ain't Sanitary mp3 at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban Sun 1970
Video:
The Exotic Ones - Sleepy LaBeef clips at YouTube Set appropriately to his "Tore Up" 
The Exotic Ones - Trailer at YouTube
Sleepy LaBeef Rides Again at YouTube Trailer for 2012 documentary
Bonus:
The Exotic Ones - Movie poster High resolution scan.

L.L. AL G.

I'm probably going to get ten kinds of shit for saying this, but if you've ever dated a woman with even a passing interest in soul music, chances are they had some Al Green. And, even if they had all of his albums, they had got that greatest hits LP. You know the one I'm talking about, the one where he's shirtless. You ladies, we're on to you. 

Seriously though, what's not to like? He's Mr. Nice Guy, the kind of person we all should be. The difference is we can't all be as smooth doing it. I ran into the YouTube video of a Soul Train appearance totally by accident. What the hell right? I expected to like it. I didn't expect to be sucked in, blown away, and all those other phrases I overuse. I give up. I'll never be as smooth doing anything.

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Listen:
Al Green - Love and Happiness mp3 at Wandervogel Diary
Al Green - Let's Stay Together mp3 at Suck My Caucus
Video:
Al Green - Love and Happiness (Soul Train) at YouTube

HEY MOONDOG, LET'S PARTY

I don't know about you, but I can't get enough of square pegs, and few are less fit for a round hole than Sun Ra. He had a total disregard for convention, did whatever the hell he wanted, and he had the talent to back it up. Totally out there. Yesterday would have been Sun Ra's 100th birthday, so Big Rock Candy Mountain. posted four cuts. So what the hell, I rounded up some other choice stuff, including a couple from his Batman cash-in that featured him with Blues Project, about as "normal" as he got. (Those are for Isak, the eleven year old from Norway who did a class project on Moondog, and happens to dig any song with Batman in the title.) If you're not familiar with His Spaciness, check his feature length film, Space Is The Place, in all of it's crazy ass glory.

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Listen:
Sun Ra - Astro Black mp3 at Destination-Out 1973
Sun Ra and the Myth Science Akestra - Eve mp at Now You're at Soundblaque
Sun Ra - Angels and Demons at Play mp3 at Destination Out
Sun Ra - The Sun Man Speaks mp3 at Now You're at Songblague 
Sun Ra - Door to the Cosmos mp3 at I'm Waking Up to... 
Sun Ra - Omnisonicism mp3 at Lost Tones 
Sun Ra with Blues Project - Batman Theme mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Sun Ra with Blues Project - Batman and Robin Over the Roofs mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Sun Ra - Intensity mp3 at Lost Tones
Sun Ra - Four cuts at Big Rock Candy Mountain Go there to get them.
Spoken word:
Sun Ra - This Is the Idea of a Greater Age mp3 at Beware of the Blog 
Sun Ra - Musical Astronauts mp3 at Beware of the Blog

CUT ME OFF. I DON'T CARE.

It wasn't going to be a reggae night, really. But hearing Toots and the Maytals on the road today made gridlock bearable. Enough so that I let one last song run it's course after the beater was already parked. The Maytals were part of my introduction to reggae a long time ago, and there's been no reason for them to drop down on the list, and that's coming from someone who scrutinizes.

They were a really active vocal group, and with the gravely gospel voice of Toots Hibbert capable of making any song their own, be it "Louie Louie" or "Take Me Home, Country Roads". They started before the inception of reggae proper, their song "Do the Reggay" often cited as the earliest use of the term in song. From ska, through rocksteady, and finally just clobbering it at Studio One, under the direction the man, Coxsonne Dodd, they had it dooowwwwn. And they just maintained course for the next few decades. But, man, what a course it was. If it works, don't fix it, right?. Textbook.

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Listen:
Toots and the Maytals - Pressure Drop mp3 at Jordan Hatch
Toots and the Maytals - Sweet and Dandy mp3 at ATumblr (?)
Toots and the Maytals - Do the Reggay mp3 at PixieRadio (?)
The Maytals - It's No Use mp3 at Sir Shambling's Very early.
Toots and the Maytals - Funky Kingston mp3 at Ill Dub
Toots and the Maytals - Time Tough mp3 at 8106
Toots and the Maytals - Louie Louie mp3 at Rob1.J92 (?) This gets weird.
Toots and the Maytals - Take Me Home, Country Roads mp3 at ATumblr (?)
Easy Star All-Stars w/Toots and the Maytals - Let Down mp3 at Antinomian Radiohead cover.
Radiohead - Let Down mp3 at Vague Space

SOLO OF THE WEEK

Oh yeeeeah. One of my favorite things to fall into. An artist that I'm totally unfamiliar with, a song I don't know, and a severely tweaked solo. This song has that something, I'm not sure what, and I'm not so sure I want to figure it out. I've just played it about ten times in the past two days. I keep going back to that solo. That's reason enough. 

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Listen:
Val McKenna - Now That You've Made Up Your Mind mp3 at Boogaloo Time

YOU HAVE TO ASK?

Ever have one of those trips online, where you stumble onto a site that's so deep in good shit that it's overwhelming? You just have to shut down at some point, bookmark it and then go back to nibble at it over time. Have a handful of those links and you'll have a deep well at your disposal. Obscure good shit on demand. If you're a person of certain age, you know. In the pre-internet days, that's what fiend dreams were made of.

These two sites are exactly what I'm talking about. The first is Boogaloo Time, a rather straightforward photo-with-music blog specializing in sixties music. It's not just boogaloo, it's all the sounds of the decade, primarily those that swang. Click around in the old posts. That's where I ran into the songs below. Believe me, you don't see Earl Van Dyke on many blogs. Bookmark it.

The other site is Motown Junkies. Mind blown. The endeavor there is to catalog and review every Motown 45. Including subsidiary labels. That, obviously, is a huge undertaking, There are reviews with biographical information (including Van Dyke!), and streaming podcasts of Motown radio shows. This rates the coveted "only an idiot wouldn't" bookmark suggestion.

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Listen: 
Earl Van Dyke - Can You Jerk Like Me mp3 at Boogaloo Time
Earl Van Dyke - All For You mp3 at Boogaloo Time
Earl Van Dyke - Nowhere to Run mp3 at Boogaloo Time
Discover Motown - 20 podcasts and counting, streaming at Motown Junkies
Visit:
Boogaloo Time home page
Motown Junkies
Montown Junkies - About page This is a good read.

NOTHING FANCY (HEH, HEH)

See that unspectacular looking album cover above? Nothing all that special, eh? Try telling that to the anyone who was around the L.A. punk scene around 1979. They're likely drooling right about now. Most who owned it back then probably don't have it anymore. It was worn from play, a casualty of parties, stolen by the scene sleazebag, or sold when the rent was due. Fuck ups and societal aliens don't hang onto things as museum pieces. It's currency. Here today, gone tomorrow. And the day after that, regret that you no longer have that epic time capsule of what the scene was when the record was released.

The line up on this sucker is all time. I've always associated it with the Masque, which was going full steam at the time. Maybe because among the first Masque shows I saw were the Controllers and the Germs. I think I saw Middle Class there. The other bands had to have played there too. The Masque was the happening place around then, the Whisky was all but dead, at least for punk rock.

This album is an absolute DIY icon of that era. It was cheaply produced and had crappy cover art. I think I remember that the label, Upsetter Records (not to be confused with Lee Perry's label of the same name) was a Chris Desjardin endeavor. If you haven't heard it, it might sound like it needs a little more bass. That's what your bass knob is for. Regardless of the production, some of the songs are among the best representations of the bands at that moment in time. Three in particular, the Controllers' cover of "Jezebel", Negative Trend's "Mercenaries", and Middle Class' "Love Is Just a Tool" are worth the trip alone. Another thing, I don't think this LP has ever been reissued. I know I would have picked it up if I'd have seen one . All that said, you might not appreciate it as much as I do. So sorry about that. This is really for my fellow droolers.

It's a fifteen song compilation, with the Controllers, the Germs, Middle Class, Negative Trend, UXA, and the Flesh Eaters. Fifteen individual mp3s in a zip, a quick download, no pop ups, no obstacles. Yes.

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Listen:
Tooth and Nail - 15 song compilation at Good Bad Music For Bad, Bad Times (Go there to get it, bottom of the post.) The Controllers, the Germs, Middle Class, Negative Trend, UXA, and the Flesh Eaters.

AN HOUR WITH THE WOLFMAN

You know Wolfman Jack, right? If you're old, you may remember him from his DJ days. Notice I didn't bring up locale. That's because the radio shows he's best known for were broadcast on stations that transmitted from Mexico, beyond the reach of U.S. broadcasting regulations. Being that the radio stations wattage wasn't nearly as restricted, if at all, they let it blast. Some could be heard throughout North America, from coast to coast. So, the Wolfman got famous, really famous. After his DJ days, or maybe towards the end of them, he was the host of Midnight Special, a late night rock TV show. It was primarily live performances, none of this music video nonsense. If that was before your time as well, you might know him from his bit part, playing a semi-fictional version of himself, in American Graffiti. If you haven't even seen American Grafitti, heaven help you. You ought to take that teeny bopper skull of yours out of the sand. (Tough love, skinny jeans.)

Over in the sidebar at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban, under the "Airchecks" heading, there's links to radio shows by notable DJs, among them Wolfman Jack, the Real Don Steele, the Mad Daddy, and Ernie K Doe. Take this Wolfman show for a spin. A bunch of oldies punctuated by his ranting. Pretend your cubicle is a time machine. I think it's from the mid-late sixties because there's a radio spot for an Oldies But Goodies review, and I don't think the term "oldies but goodies" was commonly used when they were just "goodies". (The bill included Shirley and Lee, Bo Diddley, Gene Vincent, and Chuck Berry.). There's also a commercial for Colt 45, which didn't exist before 1963. (I know premium beers.) If you like this one, check the others at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban. They're under the "Airchecks" heading, about halfway down the page in the right hand column.. Tune in fool.

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Listen:
Wolfman Jack on XERB mp3 at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban An hour long.
Video:
Wolfman Jack in American Graffiti at YouTube
Visit:
Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban Airchecks About halfway down the page in the right hand column.

AND LOOKED COOL DOING IT

If you happened to check out the post at Boogie Woogie Flu, where two of the Erma Franklin songs from yesterday were posted, you may have already heard the first song below. I don't care, it's catchy as hell. It's "Pata Pata" by Miriam Makeba, a South African singer who first recorded the song in 1956 (this version is from 1967). The post it's from is actually about the songs producer, Jerry Ragovoy, who also produced and co-wrote Franklin's "Piece of My Heart". It's a great read, written by Andy Schwartz (editor of New York Rocker, from 1978-82.) It doesn't really go into Makeda's bio, which is interesting in itself. Of note, she was a vocal opponent of apartheid, donating proceeds to the fight against it, and losing her citizenship in the process. She was married to Hugh "Grazing in the Grass" Masekela, and later Stokely Carmichael.

You know what transpired after hearing "Pata Pata". Another healthy diversion. By the time you're finished listeneing to "Malayisha", you'll see why. It's truly International pop, a South African singer and an American producer. An American soul producer. Well, yeah. There went my night. Sucked in again.

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Listen:
Miriam Makeba - Pata Pata mp3 at Boogie Woogie Flu
Miriam Makeba - Malayisha mp3 at Boogie Woogie Flu
Miriam Makeba - The Click Song mp3 at Internet Archive
Miriam Makeba - For What It's Worth (streaming) at YouTube
Visit:
Jerry Ragavoy In the Cathedral of Soul at Boogie Woogie Flu
Miriam Makeba at Wikipedia

HISTORY IS NOT BORING

Sixty years ago today, segregated public schools were ruled unconstitutional in a unanimous decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. I know, it's scary that it was just sixty years ago. What's scarier is that racists still walk among us. It's fucking frightening really. The case, known as Brown vs Board of Education, was brought about by thirteen parents, with guidance and counsel from the NAACP. Oscar Brown, pictured above with his wife and daughter, was the named plaintiff. Read up on it here.

To commemorate the court's decision, Sammy Davis Jr. recorded a version of "Black and White" (a song some of you might recognize from the Three Dog Night version) for the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith. The song was written in 1956 by David Arkin (factoid: actor Alan Arkin's father) and Earl Robinson in celebration of the decision. It was first recorded by Pete Seeger, followed by a version by Robinson, and Davis's version, a year later. In 1971, Greyhound, a reggae group from the UK had a hit with the song as their debut single. Three Dog Night's version followed in 1972. Because the latter isn't exactly a favorite around these parts, here's Greyhound's version, along with Robinson's. To fill things out, there's a version of Paul Simon's "Mother and Child Reunion" by Greyhound with the Pioneers. I just ran into it, so what the hell.

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Listen:
Greyhound - Black and White mp3 at Wireframes Antanix (?)
Earl Robinson - Black and White (streaming) at YouTube With complete lyrics. Some were omitted in other versions.
Greyhound and the Pioneers - Mother and Child Reunion mp3 at ATumblr (?)
Visit:
Brown vs Board of Education at Wikipedia

THE LITERAL SOUL SISTER

Did you know that Erma Franklin went to Chicago with a pre-Motown Berry Gordy, then a songwriter, to record for Chess? I did not know that, until tonight. The two went to Chicago, around 1959-'60, well before younger sister Aretha became a household name. The sessions ended up fruitless, but she stayed in touch with Gordy. When the time came, she was ready to sign with Motown, but her dad nixed the idea, insisting she stay in school. Years later she ended up at IBM, where she was was still working when she recorded "Piece of My Heart". The song became a hit, but then there was Aretha. Yeah. You can't say that Erma's voice was every bit as good as Aretha's, because, c'mon, we're talking about Aretha Franklin. How many singers can even come close? But Erma Franklin, did she ever have an excellent voice. The girl just couldn't get a break.

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Listen:

Erma Franklin - Piece of My Heart mp3 at Boogie Woogie Flu

Erma Franklin - Open Up Your Soul mp3 at Boogie Woogie Flu

Erma Franklin - Whispers mp3 at Sale el Soul

Erma Franklin - By the Time I Get to Phoenix mp3 at Sale el Soul

WE'RE HERE TO PARTY

Want to know what the difference is between a young snot who grew up with the internet already well greased, and someone older who grew up without it? The big difference is that the young snot doesn't whine all the time about how much work it used to be "back in the day" (as elder snot often says to make him sound "OG") to find obscure songs. I'll spare you the whining because my ilk is always subjecting you to it. 

A gazillion years ago, I had a Pandoras 45 with "The Hump" as the B-side. I couldn't do a web search, and I wasn't collector enough to start searching through ads in Goldmine. I figured I'd hear the original at some point, by who ever it was that did it. It only took a quarter century.

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Listen:
The Invictas - The Hump mp3 at Office Naps
The Pandoras - The Hump (streaming) at YouTube
Visit:
The Story of "The Hump" as Invictas official site

ANOTHER KIND OF HUNCH

That photo up there is what you might call a pre-interweb type meme. It's Mickey Muñoz, right around 1960 or so, and the stance he's in is known as the quasimoto. It's nothing all that remarkable, other than the fact that he's not looking where the hell he's going. But, the photo, taken by John Severson, was in the first issue of Surfer Magazine, and by virtue of the fact that it's a relatively novel surfing stance, it is the image most associated with Muñoz. It's been reproduced in surf publications approximately fourteen million times. And, where there is a surf related meme, particularly from the early sixties, there is a song. Leave it to Diddy Wah. He just posted "Quasimoto" by the Road Runners, along with the flip side. Being that it's been unseasonably hot (90 degrees today) and the ocean water temperature is about six degrees warmer than it normally is this time of year (65 degrees!), it seemed a good time to kick off what looks to be an early summer, at least in these parts. If you dig the song, nab it now. Diddy Wah doesn't let the links linger all that long, but he's got mighty good taste. Make it a regular on your route.

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

Listen:
The Road Runners - Quasimoto at Diddy Wah
The Road Runners - Road Runnah at Diddy Wah

BEASTIE WRAY EXPLOSION

There are a lot of things that could be said about Jon Spencer. From his not-so-humble beginning in Pussy Galore, through Boss Hog, and most recently the Blues Explosion, the guy knows how to rope you in. To wit, one of the first things that Pussy Galore recorded was a cover of Exile on Main St., the entire album that...well, pretty much sucked. But, and I'm sure I'm not alone in this, the sloppiness of the whole endeavor (most of the songs were barely recognizable), and the irreverence of the thing got my attention. It almost seemed like it was a great idea at band practice, in theory, but proved a pain in the ass to show even a  modicum of giving a shit. It's just a representation of the album. By virtue of the fact that the Stones' original is nothing if not iconic, Pussy Galore's version gets talked about decades later. It's their Campbell soup can.

Spencer is a lot of things. There are times when his sincerity could be questioned, his humility, his authenticity, etc. That said, a lot of his music is entirely listenable, and a few things he's done over the years are all-timers within these walls. I still feel sucked in. But, really, can you blame him for knowing his demographic, and what crusty buttons to push? This cover of the Beastie Boys' "She's On It" is a good example, and not just because it's a Beasties cover. You will note, it's more like a two song medley, the other song being, wait for it, Link Wray's "Jack the Ripper". Yes, you stupid asshole rock dude who probably still has a hot girlfriend, you that I've looked for a reason to discredit for twenty some odd years, you got my attention, again You crafty motherfucking rascal.

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

Listen:
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - She's On It mp3 at Internet Archive Recorded live on WFMU, 2012
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Entire set (12 songs) at Internet Archive All of the songs from above broadcast. Available individually, or as an entire set.
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Ditch mp3 at Pampeloose
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion  - Zimgar mp3 at Vibe Right
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Get Your Pants Off mp3 at Vibe Right

IT WILL NOT BE ON NETFLIX EITHER

It always goes this way. The day after I ran into a reposting of the Howlin' Wolf thing, in six parts, I run into a six part BBC documentary on Gil Scott Heron (via Aquarium Drunkard). I haven't watched it yet, but that's why I'm bailing. I think I can guaranty I'll be occupied for a while.

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

The documentary:
Originals: The Story Of Gil Scott-Heron at YouTube
Listen:
Gil Scott Heron - The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (live) mp3 at Ohio.Univ
Gil Scott-Heron - Whitey is on the Moon mp3 at Rob House
Gil Scott-Heron - New York Is Killing Me mp3 at The New Low Fi
Gil Scott-Heron - Racetrack in France mp3 at Passion of the Weiss
Gil Scott-Heron - We Almost Lost Detroit mp3 at Passion of the Weiss
Video:
Gil Scott Heron - I'm New Here at YouTube
Gil Scott-Heron - We Almost Lost Detroit (live) at YouTube

AND MOANING

The other night, while digging around at Boogie Woogie Flu (yet again), I ran into a post with Howlin' Wolf's "Moanin' at Midnight", and, man, was it good to hear it again, particularly in the mood I was in. It's about as compact and filthy sounding as the man gets. If you don't know it, it really is worth hearing. Holy shit, is it. His kind of half humming, half moaning at the beginning, the distortion soaked guitar, and the harp would be enough, but the cardboard sounding drums, and the spooky feeling that this is a man possessed ...it's enough to give you the creeps. particularly because there's nothing fancy about it. At the abrupt end, it sounds as if someone yanked the plug to prevent something bad from happening.

So, here's the song and a few others. If you missed The Howlin' Wolf Story the first time, it's been reposted in six parts at YouTube. Have your morning coffee with the Wolf for the next six days. Swear to God, every band is Blues Hammer compared to him.

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

Listen:
Howlin' Wolf - Moaninin' at Midnight mp3 at Boogie Woogie Flu
Howlin' Wolf - Back Door Man mp3 at Snuthing Anything
Howlin' Wolf - Wang Dang Doodle mp3 at Burning Hand
Howlin' Wolf - Evil mp3 at Snuhthing Anything
Howlin' Wolf - I Ain't Superstitious at Ticket to the Blues
Howlin' Wolf & Muddy Waters - Highway 49 mp3 at Ticket to the Blues
Howlin' Wolf - Killing Floor mp3 at White Light Black Light
Howlin' Wolf - Coon on the Moon mp3 at Ticket to the Blues
Watch:
The Howlin' Wolf Story at YouTube Six parts, check the right column.
Visit:
The Unofficial Howlin' Wolf page at Perfect Sound Forever - A whole mess of articles, links, photos, and an extensive discography.