"DUDE." SAID U ROY, "CHALICE."

Well, you gotta give him credit. When Serge Gainsbourg decided to make a reggae LP, he went to Jamaica. So, with the exception of his vocals, the music is pretty straight forward reggae. It had better be, the rhythm section is Sly and Robbie, the backing vocals are the I-Threes, Mikey Chung on guitar, Ansel Collins on organ, "Sticky" Thompson on percussion, and Robbie Lyn on guitar. All seasoned reggae studio musicians. (If you don't recognize any of the names, for gods sake get with the program.). Anyway, this shit is interesting, not vital but interesting.

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

Listen:
Serge Gainsbourg - Daisy Temple mp3 at Internet Archive
Serge Gainsbourg - Vieille canaille (You Rascal You) mp3 at Internet Archive
Serge Gainsbourg - Relax Baby Be Cool mp3 at Internet Archive
Serge Gainsbourg - Marilou Reggae Dub mp3 at Internet Archive

HAVEN'T A CLUE.

This is how my night is going. Digging through the shake at Probe is Turning-On the People I ran into a cut "Omerta" by the Black Hand. That was all the info. Now, usually over there there's at least a hint of what's behind a post (theme, common songwriter, oddball, etc.) On this post, nothing. I bit. The first minute and a half is sitar music, the variety that you'd hear on a Dragnet depiction of a stoned out pill popping acid freakout party. Yeah, okay. Lulled to hippyland. Bam! A shift of gears. For the next seven or so minutes a maniacally mixed sound collage. (It would be great at a loud party.) Enthused, I went looking for something about the Black Hand. Nada. But within a couple clicks I'm listening to Battalion of Saints. What the fuck? I hate the internet.

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

Listen:
The Black Hand - Omerta mp3 at Probe is Turning-On the People
Battalion of Saints - Second Coming (7" version) (streaming) at YouTube

DON'T GET YOUR HOPES UP

This is a case where the sum is less than the parts. Dick Dale and Stevie Wonder together, sounds like a "fuck yeah", right? It blows. Well that's a little harsh, but there's little to get excited about other than the sight of the two of them together. But what do you expect from a beach party movie? This one, Muscle Beach Party, was one of the corniest of all.  I'd seen the clip before but was reminded of it after running into Wonder's "Beachstomp" which is way better. It's in no way surf music, but he does sing about bikinis and such.

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Listen:
Stevie Wonder - Beachstomp mp3 at Internet Archive

FELA WINS. AGAIN.

I was listening to all sorts of African music tonight, looking through this cache that I had forgotten about, trying to find anything African with more punch than Fela Kuti. Even narrowing it down to Nigeria, bubkes. I know it's out there, I've heard some, just not tonight. A twelve minute jam by the master is quite good enough. Fuck yeah it is.

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

Listen:
Fela Kuti - Zom 2mp3 at Internet Archive
Fela Kuti - Gentleman mp3 at Internet Archive
Fela Kuti - Suffering and Smiling mp3 at Internet Archive

SOME OF THAT MID-SIXTIES CRAZY SHIT

You travel a long way on this one. The first thirty seconds has the sort of chorus-vocals-as-instrument thing that you sort of wish wasn't there. Then, thirty seconds in, Rahsaan Roland Kirk goes fucking off, on one stretch roughly thirty seconds before coming up for air. All this and the vocals are still going. The juxtaposition is jarring. Melting Pot posted it and there's three more there.

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Listen:
Rahsaan Roland Kirk - Raouf mp3 at Melting Pot
Rahsaan Roland Kirk - Three more at Melting Pot

THE PRACTICALLY ANONYMOUS

Sometimes I don't know what music I need to hear until I hear it. It's not like being in the mood for a particular type of music. It's just 100% ambivalence. I click all over the damn place. It might seem like wasted effort, but the fruits of the wasted effort make it all the more worthwhile. For example, I run into Oasis (Part 1) by the Majestics. Okay, it's part one, so it's probably an instrumental. Click. Man this fucking drummer doesn't let up, there's bongos or a conga in there too. Two minutes of unadulterated wackiness, heavy on the drums and sax. I go hunting, find "Riding By" and it's more manic skin-beating with some proto-surf guitar and more blasting sax. Who the fuck are these guys? I'll report back if I find anything.

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Listen:
The Majestics - Oasis (Pt 1) mp3 at Internet Archive
The Majestics - Riding By (streaming) at YouTube

NICE EFFORT DARYL.

The last time I posted anything about the Seeds was probably ten years ago. Mainly because there's surprisingly little online other than "Pushin' Too Hard". If you try to find any other song, the band name itself is too generic for a search. So, shit, go shopping. Every decent record collection should have at least one or two LPs by the Seeds anyway. They're best heard a few in a row. That combination of Sky Saxon's vocals, the electric piano and intermittent fuzz; actually that might be my favorite thing about them. No one else sounds like the Seeds.

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Listen:
The Seeds - Pushin' Too Hard mp3 at Internet Archive
The Seeds - Mr. Farmer mp3 at Internet Archive
The Seeds - Can't Seen You Make You Mine mp3 at Internet Archive
The Seeds - Out of the Question (streaming) at YouTube This one smokes.

COOL LID, NE PENSEZ-VOUS PAS?

I'm not a big yéyé nut, but I do like women singing in French; speaking in French is cool too. If you ever saw the old Addams Family TV show, I'm not quite Gomez, but close. So, checking out a song by Jacqueline Taieb, I'm sucked in first by the chord progression which sounds pretty similar to the Monkee's "(I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone". after a semi-spoken thing in French, in English she sings "Talking about my ge-ge-ge-generation". Now I'm listening. Later in the song she massacres the intro to "Tutti Frutti". Cool. The whole thing is a little harder sounding than a lot of yéyé. Intrigued by the two song references in English, I used an online translator thing to see what the lyrics were actually about. It's about her getting up in the morning, looking for her toothbrush, debating what sweater to wear and picking out some tunes. Rough translation highlight: "I want to put a record on to annoy neighbors who coo all day." Now I'm going totally Gomez.

As an adder there's the April March's "Chick Habit" that Quentin Tarantino used in Death Proof along with the original version of the song by France Gall "Laisse tomber les filles". Yé haw.

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Listen:
Jacqueline Taieb - 7 Heures Du Mat mp3 at Internet Archive
France Gall - Laisse tomber les filles mp3 at Damnish
April March - Chick Habit mp3 at 10 Things I Hate About You

PARENT REPELLANT GOLD

For whatever reason, the Weirdos' "I'm Not Like You" was on the brain today. An excellent song, somehow merging the best use of nonsensical intro non-lyrics this side of "wop-bop-a-loo-mop-a-lop-bam-boom", and the condescending attitude of the Kink's "I'm Not Like Everybody Else" all with an L.A. punk snarl.

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

Listen:
The Weirdos - I'm Not Like You (streaming) at YouTube
Little Richard - Tutti Frutti mp3 at Drummer World
The Kinks - I'm Not Like Everybody Else (streaming) at YouTube
Boss Hog - I'm Not Like Everybody Else mp3 at One Woman Show

IT'S BABA BOOM TIME SOMEWHERE

That record above was my first taste of Duke Reid. I had clue who Duke Reid was at the time. It was in the reggae section and it was cheap, about four bucks, and that was for a new original pressing (this was years ago). I figured it was worth the gamble. After getting home and looking at the back cover more closely I saw that it was a compilation and that none of the artists were named Duke Reid. What the fuck?

A few years later (still pre-internet) I found out that Reid owned the recording studio and label, Treasure Island. In ensuing years I became aware of the significance of Reid. Basically, in the beginning, the big two were Reid's Treasure Isle and Coxsonne Dodd's Studio One studio and label. They were both really active in the ska years, then when ska evolved into rocksteady, Reid had the edge. Ultimately Dodd would come out on top in the reggae years. A bunch of reasons for that, among them is that Reid was an ex-cop and allowed no weed on the premises. Dodd already had the killer studio band, songwriters, talent scouts and roster (almost all of it passing through the hands Leroy Sibbles, who wore all of those hats at different times). Not to mention his records sounded better. By looking the other way when the weed came out, he also had a less uptight environment, enabling more creativity. Blah, blah, blah. Someone should make a movie.

Anyway, there's something about Reid's stuff, particularly the rocksteady era, that makes it perfect for after-beach farting around. Which is why it took three hours to write three paragraphs.

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

Listen:
Baba Brooks Orchestra - Watermelon Man mp3 at Internet Archive
The Paragons - On the Beach mp3 at Internet Archive
Alton Ellis and the Flames - Dance Crasher mp3 at Internet Archive
The Techniques - You Don't Care mp3 at Internet Archive
The Jamaicans - Baba Boom mp3 at Internet Archive
The  Melodians - Last Train to Expo '67 mp3 at Internet Archive

GARAGE SHAKE

I can attest to the merit of listening to a garage mix while making burritos. Half rocking out, half chopping and wrapping. You know, because cooking without any music is such a taxing chore. These four were the instruments of distraction tonight.

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Listen:
The Standells - Why Did You Hurt Me mp3 at Internet Archive
The Barbarians - Are You A Boy Or Are You A Girl? mp3 at Internet Archive
Question Mark & The Mysterians - Can't Get Enough Of You Baby mp3 at Internet Archive
Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band - Diddy Wah Diddy mp3 at Internet Archive

BECAUSE IT'S WHAT'S SPINNING

These hit the spot. An hour or so ago I was in the crystal clear (due to a lack of surf) 70° Pacific Ocean with the air temperature about 80°. So now I am, I proclaim, unashamedly chilling. Shout it from the damn mountaintop. I'm listening to Cedric Brooks and would rather chill than type. To be real honest, this shit gets old. I think the only way I can stay engaged is to just post whatever shit pops into my head and add an unrelated song or two. Which is essentially what I'm doing now.

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Listen:
Cedric IM Brooks and The Sound Dimension - Mun-Dun-Gu mp3 at Cocoringo's Circadian Sounds

Cedric Brooks - Blackness of Darkness mp3 at Roots and Culture

Cedric Brooks - Ethiopia mp3 at Esentially Eccentric Studio One

FIVE YEARS LATER, NOT EVEN A BLIP.

Hue Blanc's Joyless Ones released a new LP in February. You didn't hear about it. I didn't hear about it. Hue Blanc's Joyless Ones are about as far below the radar as they come. Pity, that, because they deserve to be heard. The last time I posted their stuff (five years ago) I said "You'd probably think I was lying if I said that I heard the Germs, Dream Syndicate, Pussy Galore, Flipper, the Gun Club, Pissed Jeans, the Saints, and the Nomads, because that looks too self consciously curated, but I swear they're all in there." That sound hasn't changed much at all.

There's a new description in town. Their label (for this record anyway), Bancroft Records, says this, "bouncing between something akin to the rough hewn power of the Thunders/Hell Heartbreakers and Zuma-era Crazy Horse without ever aping anyone." Some of you who will really dig these guys aren't even reading this far. You've already left.

Here's a few earlier things and a link to the new one, streaming at Bandcamp and for sale at their label.

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

Listen:
Hue Blanc's Joyless Ones  - Notoriety mp3 (via Box) at One Base On an Overthrow
NOTE: Once at Box, click on the top right "download" button to save.
Hue Blanc's Joyless Ones  - Two more songs (via Box) at One Base On an Overthrow Go there to get them
Hue Blanc's Joyless Ones - Arriere Garde LP at Free Music Archive 12 songs NOTE: Click on the downward pointing arrows to download the songs.
The new one:
Hue Blanc's Joyless Ones - Hue Blanc's Joyless Ones (streaming) at Bandcamp
Hue Blanc's Joyless Ones - Hue Blanc's Joyless Ones at Bancroft Records

WELL, HE IS NOW.

I almost always have multiple books going. One in the car, one in the alley, and so on. One of the books I'm in the middle of is Life With Picasso by Françoise Gilot, one of his mistresses (effectively his common law wife). I'm only a third of the way through it and, though Gilot doesn't come right out and say it, it pretty much makes it seem like Picasso was indeed an asshole.



I felt like hearing the Modern Lovers' "Pablo Picasso" again. I've posted it a few times in the past. I've got the CD and the vinyl, but it was easier to look for it here. This wasn't meant to be a repost, I really was going to just listen to it. Guess what? All of the old links were dead. Well, I wouldn't be doing my job if there isn't a functioning link to the Modern Lovers' "Pablo Picasso" here, would I? Gotta have it. Whatever. There's a few other Modern Lovers things down there too, including that link to Aquarium Drunkard that has an old live show, circa 1970/71.

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Listen:
The Modern Lovers - Pablo Picasso mp3 at Internet Archive
The Modern Lovers - She Cracked mp3 at Rising Storm
The Modern Lovers - Roadrunner mp3 at Waking Up To
The live thing:
The Modern Lovers - Live at Stonehenge Club at Aquarium Drinkard Two sets in one zip. 1970-71 Ipswich, MA.

AH-HUH AH-HUH

Listening to Charlie Feathers last night, it dawned on me that the Cramps picked the wrong Feathers song to cover. If you've heard Charlie Feathers you know that he has a unique delivery, with tons of hiccups and inflections. He has Hasil Adkins leanings if you know what I mean. The Cramps covered his "I Can't Hardly Stand It", a great song by Feathers and a great cover by the Cramps. But, man, what I would give to hear the Cramps cover his "Wild Wild Party".

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Listen:
Charlie Feathers - Wild Wild Party mp3 at Rocky 52
Charlie Feathers - Tongue Tied Jill mp3 at Rocky 52
Charlie Feathers - Can't Hardly Stand It (streaming) at YouTube
The Cramps - Can't Hardly Stand It (streaming) at YouTube

"TOO MANY EYES ON HER THIGHS"

I haven't looked into this one much, I don't know the back story, yet. I think it merits some casual digging. Here's this guy, Eugene Fox. Probe posted some of his stuff back in '09 and I'm just now running into it. He had a record out on Checker, same label as Bo Diddley. The song, "Sinner's Dream" seems like it was intended as a gimmick record. It's good in an oddball sorta way. Then I checked a few others, released under the name "The Sly Fox". Nearly all of them are rhythm and blues ala Andre Williams with added gravel. Man, does this guy like to ramble.

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Listen:
Eugene Fox - The Sinner's Dream mp3 at Probe is Turning-On the People
The Sly Fox - My Four Women mp3 at Probe is Turning-On the People
The Sly Fox - Alley Music mp3 at Probe is Turning-On the People
Session 243 The Sly Fox - Five more songs at Probe is Turning-On the People
NOTE: Once there, scroll down to Session 243.

WE DON'T DO DRUGS. THE PHOTOGRAPHER DOES.

As you gotta know, Creedence had a shitload of hits. They were a machine, at least a couple on every LP. But their real worth is as an album band. Every album had a couple hits, a cover or three, and most had a long song or two. They churned those LPs at a dizzying pace, six LPs between 1968-'70. There were a shitload of deep cuts that were more interesting than the hits. To wit, these two from Bayou Country, their second LP (cover above). That record had as hits the title song and "Proud Mary", the latter I could do without hearing ever again. (I bought when I was twelve years old for shit sakes.) Two of my favorites on that LP are "Penthouse Pauper", as much for the lyrics as the music, and their thorough reworking of Little Richard's "Good Golly Miss Molly". Fogerty's guitar tone on that one, already awesome, would be pushed into the stratosphere with some Davie Allan type fuzz. As it is, it's not far off from Nuggets-era garage rock, with the dumbing down of that riff. Compare it to the original below. Yeesh. But, "Proud Mary" my ass.

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Listen:
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Penthouse Pauper mp3 at Internet Archive
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Good Golly Miss Molly mp3 at Internet Archive
Little Richard - Good Golly Miss Molly (streaming) at YouTube

HEY YOU, WITH THE FUCKIN' SANDALS

I'm not enough of a Led Zepp fiend to bother with this one, not tonight anyway, but I know some people are total fiends. Some of my friends are, I know. So I'm posting this link so I'll be able to find it later. It's music from all four members of Led Zeppelin from before they were Led Zeppelin. If you want to join me on the lazy train, I'll save you a click to look at the song list, but you'll have to get turned-on by the Probe directly. (Link below.) Here's the playlist:
Jimmy Page:
1. Jimmy Page: She Just Satisfies
2. Jimmy Page: Keep Movin'

John Bonham:
3. The Senators: She's A Mod
4. The Senators: Lot About You

John Paul Jones:
5. John Paul Jones: Baja
6. John Paul Jones: A Foggy Day In Vietnam

Robert Plant:
7. Robert Plant: Laughin', Cryin', Laughin'
8. Robert Plant: Our Song
9. Robert Plant: Long Time Coming
10. Robert Plant: I've Got A Secret
11. Band Of Joy: For What It's Worth
12. Band Of Joy: Hey Joe

Listen:
Before They Were Zep - Twelve songs in a zip at Probe is Turning-On the People.
NOTE: Once there, scroll down to Session 630. I'm sorry but you'll have to exert that much more energy to scroll.