SOUTH OF HELL'S FINEST

You people that really get into Halloween might already be on the party train. Some of you may be doing it big tomorrow night. Either way, here's the traditional annual posting of the infamous Bloody Halloween mixes, posted by the late great Spread the Good Word. To make a very long story short, Reverend Tom Frost, the host of said blog, stopped posting regularly a few years ago, but true to his word, he's left his mixes up, now hosted at MixCloud. They're not available as downloads as they were when originally posted, but you resourceful types will either figure out a workaround or just blast them from you fancy phone plugged into something loud. Twenty mixes, that's enough to keep that party going all weekend.

When Frost stopped updating his blog, it was to concentrate on his own music which, believe me, is worth checking out. Top notch South of Hellabilly. Just listen to "Malaguena" (mp3 near the bottom below) and see if you can just go about your business. Get your goosebumps on.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY SPREAD THE GOOD WORD ~ 

The mixes (song lists at each link):
NOTE: The links are at the bottom of each post, under the song listings
Bloody Halloween Mix 20 (couldn't find the list on this one)
Bloody Halloween Mix 19
Bloody Halloween Mix 18
Bloody Halloween mix 17
Bloody Halloween mix 16
Bloody Halloween mix 15
Bloody Halloween mix 14
Bloody Halloween mix 13
Bloody Halloween mix 12
Bloody Halloween mix 11
Bloody Halloween mix 10
Bloody Halloween mix 9
Bloody Halloween mix 8
Bloody Halloween mix 7
Bloody Halloween mix 6
Bloody Halloween mix 5
Bloody Halloween mix 4
Bloody Halloween mix 3
Bloody Halloween mix 2
Bloody Halloween mix 1
From the Reverend:
Reverend Tom Frost - Malaguena mp3 at Spread the Good Word
Reverend Tom Frost - A Bloody Life (streaming) at YouTube
Reverend Tom Frost - More samples of his music at Rev. Tom Frost
Visit:
Reverend Tom Frost - Official site

STRANGLEHOLD OF THE SLACK MONSTER

What I learned this week: the Mediafire snub workaround. Just in the nick of time too. I almost passed on three fine Halloween mixes because I believed the pages at Mediafire had expired. Low and behold, they hadn't. All I had to do was clear my history and cookies and try it again. So, that's it, your lesson for the day. If you see a green "download" button, or a green "captcha" button, that's where the goods are. If you don't see them, clear your browsing history and cookies. Don't click on any of the decoy buttons, including the cleverly also green arrow button decoy. Those cleverly also green arrow button decoys will get you every time. Really, it sounds scarier than it is. It's not as if you click on the wrong button and it's doomsday. It's just annoying pop-ups. Boring shit, but useful if there's ever a download at Mediafire that you want.

So, on with you. Here's links to three great Halloween mixes. Most of the songs are from the fifties and sixties, and there are some you'll have heard before, but really, 114 songs in all? Roughly four hours is just about what you need for a party. Done. Now you can concentrate on rounding up eyeballs for the punch bowl.

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

The mixes:
Trick or Treat, Volume 8 at Grey Haus 34 song mix (via MediaFire)
Trick or Treat, Volume 7 at Grey Haus 25 song mix (via MediaFire)
Trick or Treat, Volume 5 & 6 at Grey Haus 55 songs total (via MediaFire)

BEHIND EVERY GREAT BAND ARE DEAD CHICKENS

I'm not particularly a fan of the Turtles. They were good and all, actually pretty great, but I don't really gravitate towards their type of sixties folk pop and la la harmonies. But behind nearly every artist that you or I may think humdrum, there's at least an oddball or two that will surprise you. Here's three Turtles oddballs.

The Crossfires were a high school band, the future Turtles, less Mark Volman. Check "Fiberglass Jungle" below, a first rate surf song with a just dirty enough sax solo. It's not just a decent stab, it's really good. The next one, the Turtles' "Almost There" was a B-side, which is why it will be unfamiliar to most of you. It's surprisingly and uncharacteristically garage, in a mid-sixties Seeds and Music Machine soaked L.A. sort of way, and it kicks ass. Serious ass. Instant favorite and all that.

This next one is a real oddity. Post-Turtles Volman and Howard Kaylan, AKA Flo and Eddie, doing reggae. They did a whole LP of it, Rocksteady With Flo and Eddie. On paper, that sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. But the LP was recorded at Tuff Gong, Bob Marley's studio in Jamaica. Still, could go south, right? But (you reggae fiends will be surprised by this), the musicians included Aston "Family Man" Barrett on bass, Carlton "Santa" Davis on drums, Earl "Chinna Smith on guitar, and Augustus Pablo on keyboards. Sheeiiit. If you don't know those names, let's just say the were the cream of the crop back then. Legendary today. Unfortunately the results, though good, are less then astounding.

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

Listen:
The Crossfires - Fiberglass Jungle mp3 at Bang (?)
The Turtles - Almost There mp3 at Bedazzled If direct linking is disabled, go there to get it. Trust me, it;s worth it.
Flo and Eddie - Dancing Mood (streaming) at YouTube 
The rest of the LP can be heard here.
The Turtles - Two more at Bedazzled Go there,

IT'S 4:21 SOMEWHERE

Man, I was starting to panic. I was having a hard time finding a live post of "It's Monster Surfing Time", the album by the mysterious studio band, the Deadly Ones. It's a no-brainer this time of year, and a guaranteed cheap post I look forward to taking advantage of. Sorry if you've heard it, been there, done that, but some of the younger creeps may not have. That's how damn thoughtful I am. 

I've looked and looked and found nothing of a backstory, with the exception of songwriting credits at AllMusic. Out of the twelve songs, five were written by "J. South". Is it Joe South? I don't know. That's why I continue to look for a backstory. Every year I give it up after a few pages of search results. Would knowing more make it a better album? Possibly. Would knowing it was the brainchild of Joe South diminish my respect for him? No. Is it a throwaway novelty LP, or a brilliant double cash-in? Or is it time to stop thinking about it and just get nutty already?

NOTE: When you click on the link at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban you'll be taken to MediaFire. Click only on the green "Download" button. If there is no green button, just clear your browsing history and cookies and try it again. Likewise if you've been there before and just didn't bother to download it. Just remember,green button only, clear history. Now go give them hell.

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

Listen:

The Deadly Ones - It's Monster Surfing Time (streaming) at YouTube Title song

The LP: 
The Deadly Ones - It's Monster Surfing Time LP (via MediaFire) at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban 12 songs is a zip, really fast download.

THE COMPILATION THAT WOULDN'T DIE

Ghouls With Attitude will not fucking die. This Halloween compilation has been online at one site or another since 2004. Eleven years is like an eternity for an online mix, or it used to be. Now with all of these clouds all over the damn place, things will inevitably be available forever. I kind of dig it the old fashioned way. When a mix is hosted on one blog one year, and somewhere else the following year, and so on. It's almost like tape swappers.  

This mix is old stuff, fifties and sixties for the most part. There's a more than a few corny "Monster Mash" ripoffs, some that are a bit more rockin', a token Criswell cut, and all sorts of B-movie radio spots. Good stuff. Some of it can seem silly or stupid but keep listening. You will succumb. It's like some sort of Stockholm Syndrome thing, There's links to it below, on some bare bones type page, with individual song files, and a separate file for the artwork and credits. There's also a link to a page that has it in two zip files. Here's a few samples.

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

Listen:

Tarantula Ghoul and the Gravediggers - Graveyard Rock mp3 at Franxman

Graveyard Tramps - B-movie radio spot mp3 at Franxman

Glen Ryle - Wolf Gal mp3 at Franxman
Ralph Marterie and His Marlboro Men - Alfred Hitchcock Presents mp3 at Franxman Not spooky, but very cool.

The mix:

Ghouls With Attitude - Disc 1 (28 cuts) at Franxman

Ghouls With Attitude - Disc 2 (23 cuts) at Franxman

Ghouls With Attitude - Both discs in separate downloads at Spock's Record Round-Up Scroll down. NOTE: Once at File Factory, scroll down to the bottom. If you're a fellow tightwad, you'll want to look for the red "slow dowload" button. I haven't tried them, but the slow download speed for the first disc is 23 minutes. Maybe later...

SCREAMIN' JAY IN HIS CIVVIES

You may think that Halloween is just excuse to raid old posts over here. You might be on to something. But it's also an opportunity to recharge appreciation of someone you might not listen to much anymore. You may tire of Screamin' Jay Hawkins's "I Put A Spell On You", and after hearing it a thousand times over the course of decades, I do. But raiding old posts for Halloween affords me the opportunity to revisit it, in all of it's nut case glory. Once a year whether I need it or not.

Hawkins was just an ordinary blues singer, and intended the song more as a ballad. But that was before the entire band got loaded before the recording session. Hawkins was so drunk he didn't even remember recording the song. He had to relearn it from the recording. The song became a hit and a persona was born. Hawkins's entire career may not have been had he not been trashed. Chug that. Here's the fruit of serendipity, and a few unrelated Halloween type jams by others. Go to town.

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

Listen:
Screamin' Jay Hawkins - I Put a Spell On You mp3 at Clayton Counts
Bettye Lavette - Witchcraft in the Air mp3 at Boogaloo Time
Lalo Trevino y Sus Vampiros - Se Caso Dracula mp3 at Juke Box Mafia
Frankie Stein and His Ghouls - Monster Motion mp3 at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban
Brita Borg - Frankenstein Rock mp3 at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban
The Starfires - Hand Full of Blood mp3 at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban

OUT NOW ON SNOB RECORDS (VINYL ONLY)

It's always unexpected songs by people I never heard of that I seem to go nuts over. The songs that I might not have heard had it not been for a random click, just for the hell of it, that end up being hot shit. That's a big part of nightly dilly dallying.  Reason enough.

These songs sound nothing alike, but have one thing in common, they're all insanely cool. I'd be remiss if I didn't bring them to your immediate attention.

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

Listen:
Cyril Diaz and His Orchestra – Taboo mp3 at Hearsay 1935. Wait, 1935? Holy shit.
The Dave Pike Set - Got the Feeling mp3 at Groove Addict This is insane.
Hank Jacobs - Heide mp3 at Probe Is Turning-On the People Mysto. Reminds me of Mulatu

EVER FEEL LIKE YOU'VE BEEN THE MONKEES?

You might not have known this existed. If you aren't the sort that is constantly looking for anything Pistols related, maybe you've outgrown them, you probably haven't run across it. It's their last set from the 1978 US tour, and was supposedly their last show ever. (It was until they reunited decades later). I happened upon it by accident. It just reminded me of what a package the Sex Pistols were, how much they stirred shit up. The whole thing, not just the band and their music. The manager Malcom McLaren, his wife, clothing designer Vivien Westwood, and an old chum of McLaren's, Jamie Reid, a graphic designer and token situationist; they were all part of it. Add irreverence and an uncanny ability to be in the wrong place at the right time, and play like shit. Like you don't give a fuck. Be ugly. Be stylishly anti-glamour. All part of the package. I liked that package, and still do, even when it sucked.

The video is pretty good quality for the era. Apparently the show was simulcast on a local radio station, so that's probably why the sound is decent (though Steve Jones's guitar is barely audible at the very beginning). Check this video ASAP if you're interested. Something tells me it won't be up for long. If you want music by the Pistols, including various oddballs, they can probably be found here.

LAZY BONES AT THE CONTROL

Are you suffering from Halloween fatigue yet? Tough shit. Tonight I'm lazy, and that trumps your eye rolling. Just pretend you're at some show back in the day when all of these bands happened to include songs titled "Halloween" in their sets. Technically, chronologically, not possible, but I bet you could link all of these bands in some sort of seven degrees type what have you. Some of them shared stages. Close enough.

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

Listen:
Misfits - Halloween mp3 at Emotion Lotion
Dead Kennedys - Halloween mp3 at Hey Cool Kid
Sonic Youth - Halloween mp3 at Electric Adolescence
Mudhoney - Halloween mp3 at I Am Fuel, You Are Friends Cover of Sonic Youth's
The Dream Syndicate - Halloween mp3 at The Mad Mackerel

AND LOOK GOOD DOING IT

Here we go, the grand marshals, the Creepy Creeps. Long overdue, this one. These guys aren't really Halloween all year round, they're so Halloween, they don't have to be Halloween, that's how Halloween they are. The whole concept of the band playing exclusively in weirdly cool matching outfits and playing a blend of garage, surf, and old school Northwest punk; isn't that what it's all about? WTF-ness, loud, messy and anonymous? Oh hell yeah. I'll buy a beer just so I can spill it.

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

Listen:
The Creepy Creeps - Fink About It (Full LP) at What Are Blood Wings Go there to get it, look for "Download" button at the bottom of the post.
Video:
Play the Sonics:
The Creepy Creeps - The Witch at YouTube
The Creepy Creeps - Boss Hoss at YouTube
And others:
The Creepy Creeps at the Casbah, 2015 at YouTube
The Creepy Creeps @ Adams Avenue Street Fair 2015 at YouTube
Their alter egos:
Creepxotica at Tiki Oasis 2013 at YouTube

CHECK BETWEEN THE CRACKS

I wouldn't really consider this a cop out. Though I did post a link to this mix back in January, I doubt many of you listened to every song, and there's some really cool shit buried in there. The mix is So Many Days - Rhythm and Blues 1946-1966, an awesome cross section of just what it says it is. Posted at Hearsay way back in 2012. Tonight I went back to it to listen to some of the songs I hadn't. I was stopped dead in my tracks by the Lazy Lester cut (that's him above). So, really, this isn't a cop out. This is a dutiful reminder.

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

Listen:
Lazy Lester - Sad City Blues mp3 at Hearsay
More from the mix:
Little Walter - I Got To Go mp3 at Hearsay
Slim Harpo - Buzz Me Babe mp3 at Hearsay
Guitar Slim - Certainly All mp3 at Hearsay
The Otis Rush Blues Band - Rock mp3 at Hearsay
The mix:
So Many Days - Rhythm and Blues 1946 - 1966 at Hearsay 24 cuts, individually or in a zip

BEATLES VS STONES PREP

You knew it was coming. It's nearing Halloween, of course the Munsters theme is going to get posted. If you're not familiar with The Munsters, it was a sixties TV sitcom, ostensively about a family of monsters, but they were harmless, just a goofy family who consisting of a Frankenstein type patriarch and his wife, their werewolf son, a vampire grandfather, and a niece Marilyn, the token non-freak. Whether intended or not, it served as a commentary on how "normal" people see people who look different and have odd interests but are otherwise harmless. It was a good show, and it's still a hoot, provided you aren't too sophisticated. There's a documentary about the series linked below, and tons of clips on YouTube if you need more. The theme from The Munsters kicks the ghouls ass so you need at least one version for your Halloween mix.

There was another similar show that aired on a competing network back then, The Addams Family, about another horror character type family. Just as the older kids had their Beatles/Stones divide, young creeps usually had a preference for either The Munsters or The Addams Family, rarely were they tied. So here's equal time. Not the Addams Family theme, because it's rather lame, and the Munsters have a lock on that category anyway. But if you're familiar with The Addams Family, you'll find it funny. It's "The Lurch" by Ted Cassidy, who played the character Lurch in the series. He was the family butler and the most menacing character, though that's not saying much. Regardless, the song is a crack up.

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

Listen:
Billy Strange - The Munsters Theme mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Jimmy Smith - Theme From the Munsters mp3 at De Discos y Monstruos
Los Straightjackets - The Munsters Theme mp3 at Jason Sheeley
Jack Marshall -The Munsters Theme mp3 at Sudden Link (?)
Ted Cassidy - The Lurch mp3 at Franxman
Watch:
The Munsters Documentary at YouTube
Mad About the Addams Family - Mini-documentary at YouTube

ONE SONG IN, EVENING SHOT.

Here I thought it would just be a quick listen of a Charlie Musselwhite song, a moment of appreciation, and then off to the next thing. Then I noticed that band members included Harvey Mandel and Barry Goldberg. Uh oh. Black hole alert.

I listened to "Cha Cha the Blues", and that's where the wheels came off. It is one righteous song. Right off the bat Musselwhite's harp and Mandel's clean rhythm. Just as you're about to think it's an ordinary blues song, Goldberg's organ comes in and it's a whole other monster. That's followed by a solo from Mandel. Oh holy hell. It sounds like Davie Allan fronting the Bluesbreakers. This is three minutes of outstanding musicianship, with a bunch of dirt thrown on it.

I've now spent a good hour looking at shit by Goldberg and Mandel. And I haven't even got to the second Musselwhite song yet. This is how it starts.

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

Listen:

Charlie Musslewhite - Cha Cha the Blues mp3 at Groove Addict With Harvey Mandel and Barry Goldberg. Instrumental.

Charlie Musslewhite - My Baby mp3 at Groove Addict Go there to get it.

The whole LP:

Stand Back! Here Comes Charley Musselwhite's South Side Band at Groove Addict 1967

THE BASTARD CHILDREN OF BOBBY BORIS PICKETT

Way back in the day, there was an oddball buried on a compilation called "Darker Skratcher" put out by the Los Angeles Free Music Society. Every song on the album was some sort of oddball, but one stood out because, with the possible exception of Rick Potts's "Platform Swim Fins", it was the only song on the LP with any sort of even slight pop characteristics. 45 Grave's "Riboflavin-Flavored, Non-Carbonated, Polyunsatured Blood" was really catchy, and,  if I remember correctly, their first recorded work. For years I thought that it was an original and it wasn't until the internet appeared that I found out it was a cover. [Insert gripe along the lines of "you kids don't know how good you have it" here] You gotta give them credit, they beat the Cramps to this one.

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

Listen:
45 Grave - Riboflavin Flavored, Non Carbonated, Poly-Unsaturated Blood mp3 at Dress Lab
 
Don Hinson and the Rigamorticians - Riboflavin Flavored, Non Carbonated, Poly-Unsaturated Blood mp3 at Franxman

SHE GODDA LONG BLACKA HAIR

It's nearing Halloween, it's a song about a witch, and it's by the Sonics. That's as certain as it gets. And Kip Tyler to boot. 

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

Listen:
The Sonics - The Witch mp3 at Ryan N Bosetti Essential

Kip Tyler - She's My Witch mp3 at Hey Cool Kids Ditto

SEND IN THE DEADBOLT

You gotta like Deadbolt. No you don't. To your ears they may seem like knuckleheads with minimal chops. Okay, lose that. The fact that their pallet was limited is precisely what was good about them. Admittedly, there are a few things that skew my objectivity. Incident 1: One of the members, I've forgotten which one it was, left the bathroom at the Casbah, the happening club at the time, with the end of a roll of toilet paper stuck in the ass of his jeans, and proceeded to parade towards the main bar pulling a trail of toilet paper behind him. I'm not sure if it was Les Vegas, the drummer, or Harley Davidson, the singer/guitarist. It was the nineties, it was the Casbah, ergo, I was drunk.

Incident 2: San Diego's annual St. Patricks Day Parade, Davidsion, in a green Elvis jumpsuit, sitting atop the back seat of a green convertible Cadillac, riding down the street and waving to the crowd like he was somebody, with the car flanked by the rest of the band running along side like Secret Service agents.

Incident 3: Fluf, another San Diego band big at the time, had just played in the parking lot of Tower Records. A decent sized crowd was sort of hanging out after they finished. Deadbolt dives by, slowly, in their van, with the side door slid open all the way. They wanted everybody in that crowd to see Davidson sitting in the back seat guzzling a quart of Bud as they were driving away. Why? Because they were Deadbolt. That's all you need to know.

Those are just three random incidents. These types of things were everyday occurrences. You could never figure out whether they were taking the piss out of themselves, or if they were taking the piss out of you. They rarely broke character. Even at small gatherings, there was some Deadbolt in them. I'm speaking in the past tense, because the Deadbolt I know includes Les Vegas and he left early on. After that, with a often changing succession of band members, it became more of the Harley Davidson show. Which doesn't mean it's is less valid. But Les, jeez, he can chew his own arm off, and he has a tongue like a snake. Yeah.

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

Listen:
Deadbolt - Voodoobilly Man mp3 at Frank McGregor (?)
Deadbolt - Voodoo Doll mp3 at Billy Meade (?)
Deadbolt - Tiki Man mp3 at Frank McGregor (?)

STILL NOT DRESSING UP

It's that time again. With Halloween right around the corner, it's time to dump a bunch of Halloween related stuff on you, so if you're on the party planning committee, put your gloves on. All of the right clicking is going to get messy. 

Let's start with a band that always brought it on Halloween, Rocket From the Crypt. For several years running during their original run, every Halloween they played what could only be described as coming out party for all of the local creeps. Some of the shows were big multi-band shows in big venues, and others were just in clubs, but they always played in costume, and they always owned the room.

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

Listen:
Rocket From the Crypt - I Drink Blood mp3 at Xtrmntr
Rocket From the Crypt - Rise From the Dead mp3 at Xtrmntr Crazy man.
Rocket From the Crypt - 27 more songs at Xtrmntr
Video:
Rocket From the Crypt - RIP (full show) at YouTube Their "final" show, Halloween 2005, various voodoo-esque get-ups, Reis as an ersatz Screamin' Jay Hawkins
Rocket From the Crypt - Village People Medley/I Drink Blood at YouTube Halloween 2003, dressed as the Village People
Rocket From the Crypt - I Drink Blood, Sturdy Wrists at YouTube Halloween 2013, dressed as astronauts

THE GUY IN BACK HAS THE SCISSORS

Here's a nice one-two, if you're you're at all into Johnny Thunders, the Heartbreakers, or Richard Hell. It's the original Heartbreakers line up, when Richard Hell was still in the band. The clip linked below is the only one I remember seeing of them from that early on, around '75-'76. Johnny Thunders still had his Dolls rats nest thing going on  There's also a link to some early demos of the Heartbreakers with Hell, including songs that ended up on Hell's debut album. If you're familiar with all of these guys, you'll want to hassle with the download; if nothing more than to hear "Love Comes In Spurts" and "Blank Generation" with Thunders playing guitar. Juxtapose that with the versions by Hell and the Voidoids' versions, with Robert Quine on guitar. You be the judge. Or don't. It's kind of apples and oranges.

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

Video:

The Heartbreakers - Going Steady, Chinese Rocks and Pirate Love at YouTube Hell on vocals on "Chinese Rocks"

The demos:

The Heartbreakers - Yonkers Demos (via ADrive) at Teenage Dogs In Trouble 14 mp3s in a rar file. Relatively

Listen-

The Heartbreakers - Chinese Rocks mp3 at Killed By Death Go there to get it. Post-Hell.

The Heartbreakers - Born to Lose mp3 at Killed By Death Dittos.

Richard Hell and the Voidoids - Love Comes In Spurts mp3 at Richard Hell

Richard Hell and the Voidoids - Blank Generation mp3 at Plain or Pan Original 45 version on Ork

GIMME SOME TRUTH DEPOT

Here's an odd one. The Beatles rehearsing John Lennon's "Gimme Some Truth". A standout track on Lennon's Imagine LP, for me anyway, I had no clue that the Beatles even considered it. I went walking around like that, blissfully unaware for decades. I guess I don't hang with Beatle freaks enough. Here's the YouTube clip of the Beatles fucking around with it, the "official" video for Lennon's version, and a link to a page with an alternate version (along with other Lennon oddballs). If that's not enough, there's a documentary about the making of Imagine.

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

Listen/Watch:
The Beatles - Gimme Some Truth (rehearsing) at YouTube
John Lennon - Gimme Some Truth at YouTube
John Lennon - Gimme Some Truth (outtake) at Big O Go there to get it, and several more. Once there, scroll down the page for mp3s.
John Lennon - Gimme Some Truth, The Making Of John Lennon's Imagine Album (documentary) at YouTube

LIVE FROM THE CLOCK RADIO

Billy Joe Royal was on the charts twice. I had forgotten that. If you grew up without an oldies station, you may not even know he is. Dude just can't get a break. So, if you're just getting started here, meet Billy Joe Royal. I just ran into his first hit, "Down In the Boondocks" from 1965. It was originally recorded as a demo for Joe South, who wrote the song, but once the record company heard it they snagged Royal. It became a hit, and the AM charts had another wobbly freshman. It's tidy socially conscious pop, almost reggae. In the right hands, it'd make for a great reggae cover. (Delroy Williams did it, but it's not all that inspired.) Four years later, Royal hit again with "Cherry Hill Park" another AM classic. I'd forgotten all about that one. Good as they are, neither of these songs would have existed if it wasn't for AM radio. Where else would they be played? As it was, the latter was released after the hippie outbreak, and the line, but for a few straddlers, had already been drawn. It's no wonder he drifted off into country music.

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

Listen:
Billy Joe Royal - Down In the Boondocks mp3 at For the Sake of the Song

Billy Joe Royal - Cherry Hill Park mp3 at Friday In Athens

THIS DRUMMER IS AT THE WRONG GIG

Charlie Watts has always been his own person. He's always had a preference for jazz, and he's recorded a ton of it. You know that right? Have you ever actually listened to any of it? Or the album he did with Jim Keltner, Charle Watts - Jim Keltner Project? Holy shit. Listen to "Shelly Manne". Right? Now, listen to "Stompin' At the Savoy". Same guy. Moonlighting.

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

Listen:

Charlie Watts - Jim Keltner Project - Shelly Manne (streaming) at Willard's Worn Hole After hearing it, if you want to download it, click on the small downward pointing arrow on the streaming widget. A note of caution: it's on Zippyshare, so virus protection should be considered a no-brainer. And expect pop-up. Don't fall for it, just close that window.

Charlie Watts - Stompin' At the Savoy mp3 at Drummer World
Visit:
Charlie Watts - Profile at Drummer World

THE DARK NUT

Here we go again. I somehow found myself on Post-Punk Oddities, a neat site with an appropriate title. Music from the era of anything goes. Everybody was sort of trying to figure it out. What was next after punk rock? They didn't necessarily outgrow it, they just wondered what was beyond the confines of three chords. Meanwhile, moshpits.

On the "B" pages over there I ran into Black Randy and the Metro Squad's "I Slept In An Arcade", which really hit the spot. It reminded me of how different they were. Listen to their first 45 "Trouble at the Cup" and keep in mind that it was released in 1978, on the same label as the Dils, the Avengers, and the Weirdos. Rhythm machines on a punk label? They didn't give a shit. Black Randy don't care.

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

Listen:
Black Randy and the Metro Squad - I Slept In An Arcade mp3 at Killed By Death Go there to get it
Black Randy and the Metro Squad - Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose mp3 at Killed By Death Ditto.
The first 45:
Black Randy and the Metro Squad - Trouble At The Cup mp3 at Killed By Death Go there to get it.
Black Randy and the Metro Squad - Loner With A Boner mp3 at Killed By Death Ditto.
Black Randy and the Metro Squad - Sperm Bank Baby mp3 at Killed By Death Ditto.
Visit:
Black Randy profile at Black Randy (fan site?)
Post-Punk Oddities

MUSIC FOR OTHER AIRPORTS

This one is an adequate mind fuck. Beautiful, at the same time sounding like the soundtrack for horror movie. Let it go the entire eight minute length and trip your brain out. Turn out the lights and stare into the dorm room scale lava lamp of yours. (Who needs the big lava lamp when you can just sit closer to the small one and stare into it, again, tripping your brains out.) At the very least blast it at your upcoming Halloween soiree, at a deafening volume.

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

Listen:
Alice Coltrane - Hare Krishna mp3 at Now that's What I Call Bullshit Nice profile.

THE HAMMOND LADY AND HER HEAVY FRIENDS

I'm not a big fan of money. Not because it's a little scarce at times but because, while it may not be the root of all evil, it's sure as hell the root of a lot of it. So I had reservations about posting a song titled "I Want Some Money Baby", because, really, we don't want more money. None of us. You may want the security of knowing you won't suffer dire financial straits, or you may want to own "nice things", but money is just the means to get that stuff. Never mind the tangible dollar bills in stacks and bundles. That's a bad Scarface joke. And people kill for that shit. It's paper. I don't subscribe to that money is power routine. That'll get us right back to that root of all evil thing. I'm of the opinion that money pretty much blows.

Cherry Wainer (above. with drummer Don Storer) changed my mind tonight. Though her wicked cool cover of Barrett Strong's "Money" has been posted here before, well, it's wicked cool. Cool enough to grease the wheels for Tommy Ridgley's "I Want Some Money Baby". So, I'm throwing up my hands. Here's some songs about money, with a lengthy counterpoint that hits closer to home by the O'Jays. "For the Love of Money". The long version. Yeah. It's wicked cool all over the place in here.

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

Listen:
Tommy Ridgley – I Want Some Money Baby mp3 at Soul Garage
Barrett Strong - Money mp3 at Post Post Racial
Cherry Warner - Money mp3 at Boogaloo Time
The Contours - First I Look at the Purse mp3 at Ghost Whisperer (?)
The O'Jays - For the Love of Money mp3 at AMPS (?)

IMBECILITY IS ALSO A WORD

Let's forget for a minute that the Trashmen were from Minnesota and had a song with "Surfin'" in the title. That's nonsense, but all sorts of land locked bands were cashing in on the surf craze. Let's forget that birds don't surf, and that the title of the song, "Surfin' Bird", was totally misleading. It isn't surf music, and it isn't about a bird, let alone a surfing bird. It's more about bird being the word. Or is it really? Shit, I've no idea the thought process behind the lyrics, let alone the song. Come to think of it, there may not have been a thought process. More than likely it was just a simple one, "Let's make a total crap record just to see if it sticks to the wall". Whatever the reason, "Surfin' Bird" went to #4 on the charts in 1963, and has been covered in some form or another by every band capable of making a total crap record of their own. The song will not die. None of that is to diminish the merit of the song. Even if you've heard it a million times, it deserves to be heard periodically. Every once in a while, you need ridiculousness. The Trashmen deliver.

Check out the post at Tapewrecks for twenty other variations, including bands from Sweden, Finland, Ireland, France and the UK. Oh, yeah baby, the shit is global.

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

Listen:
The Rivingtons - The Bird's the Word mp3 at Tapewrecks Original
The Trashmen - Surfin' Bird mp3 at Beware of the Blog
The Trashmen - Bird '65 mp3 at Tapewrecks
The Cramps - Surfin' Bird mp3 at Tapewrecks
The Ramones - Surfin' Bird mp3 at Tapewrecks
Visit:
The Bird World War: 50 Years of Surfin' Bird (1963-2013) at Tapewrecks 20 more versions

SWIVEL HIPS AND COXSONE'S SECRET JAM

I'm not going to lie to you. Most of my musical education comes from roundabout ways. Case in point: Willis Jackson. I was browsing Groove Addict, and I saw his song  "Swivel Hips". Of course I'm going to click on something like that. I like hips, particularly when the swivel. Never mind the fact that I'd never heard of Jackson, it didn't matter. His heart was in the right place. Turns out that his specialty was soul jazz, the swinging uptempo, jazz purists be damned, mode. Okay, I can dig it.  Especially when it swings consistently. Jackson's album titles were catchy too. Besides Swivel Hips, there's Jackson's Action, Thunderbird, Boss Shoutin', and Blue Gator, just to name a few.

Cursory poking around led to an interesting factoid. Prince Buster once referred to Jackson's early cut "Later For the Gator" as the first ska song. He may have something there. It turns out that Coxsone Dodd would play that at his sound system, introducing it as "Coxsone's Hop". It became a popular enough record that, in a typical sound system scenario, rival system owner Duke Reid tried to find the source. It took him seven years to find out the real title. Good job Coxsone!

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

Listen:
Willis Jackson - Swivel Hips mp3 at Groove Addict
Willis Jackson - Later For the Gator (streaming) at YouTube
Willis Jackson - Boss St. Louis Blues mp3 at Groove Addict
More:
Willis Jackson - 15 more mp3s and full LP downloads at Groove Addict