MEET THE MONTESAS

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

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

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

OTIS! MY MAN!

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

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

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

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

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

ABOUT THIS WHOLE BEAD THING...

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

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

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

ERNIE WANTS TO PARTY

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

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

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

CAN I BUY A ROLL OF QUARTERS?

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

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

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

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

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

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

WHAT IT IS, WHAT IT IS

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

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

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

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

THIS TOO IS A GAS

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

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

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

LAST MINUTE DOG HOUSE PASS

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

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

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

Mixes:

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

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

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

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

GET LOST OR SOMETHING

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

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

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

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

STAY COOL MAN

Above: John Watson, Larry Williams

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

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

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

PROTO SKANK

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

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

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

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

ATTENTION LOVEBIRDS

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

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

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

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

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

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

OH SHIT. NOT ANOTHER...

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

The Flames 1965

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

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

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

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

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

MYSTO-ROCKER

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

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

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

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

REALLY? A RECORD?

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

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

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

THE TEMPLATE

With the Computer Debacle of 2012 finally over, and with a few days of reflecting under my belt, I have learned what can get me out of a trivial funk. Chuck Berry, goddamnit. The music of Chuck Berry can't drive away every funk, but he really triumphed this time. Over the course of a few days I went from toe-tapping, to stepping over what was, really, just a blip of an adversity; to reborn Chuck Berry appreciator. That voice, those lyrics and that Chuck Berry enunciation, his diction. Top notch backing too (with Willie Dixon, and on just about all of the early stuff, pianist Johnny Johnson). No one had, or has, come close to that combination since. And there was nothing really radical about what he was doing, or how he sounded; nothing over the top. Nothing, except the whole package.

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

Listen:
Chuck Berry - Thirty Days mp3 at Boogie Woogie Flu
Chuck Berry - Downbound Train mp3 at Clumsy & Shy
Chuck Berry - Our Little Rendezvous mp3 at Fuck Yeah Go Team
Chuck Berry - Hey Pedro mp3 at Clumsy & Shy
Chuck Berry - That's My Desire mp3 at Clumsy & Shy

TWO OUT OF TWO DJS DIG THIS

It wouldn't be all that surprising to run into Booker T and the MGs' "Green Onions," "Time Is Tight," or "Hip Hug Her" multiple times within a couple weeks of each other. They are, after all, three of their most popular songs. But I gotta say, I was pretty surprised recently when I ran into "Plum Nellie" a couple times within a few weeks. I'm sure it's no coincidence that both were posted by DJ's, considering that most DJs worth their salt tend to pick cuts that aren't overplayed. There's a couple reasons for that. One is that it sure doesn't hurt if a DJ has a few signature tunes in their bag, so long as they're something to get excited about. (Probably the best compliment any DJ can receive is the "who is that?") Another reason DJs play lesser known cuts is because DJs actually listen to music, intently. They're fiends. They dissect songs and they imagine dance floors and what the reaction might be. For a good example of what they hear, read the post at Funky 16 Corners. He gives a few good reasons why it winds his watch. All I can add is that Steve Cropper's guitar playing on the song is like some missing link between Link Wray and Davie Allan.

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

Listen:
Booker T & the MGs - Plum Nellie mp3 (gloriously scratchy) at Funky 16 Corners
Booker T and the MG's - Plum Nellie (clean rip) at Aquarium Drunkard Direct linking disabled, go there to get it.
Booker T & the MGs - Boot-Leg mp3 at Plain or Pan
Booker T & the MGs - Green Onions mp3 at Le Detente Generale
Booker T & the MGs - Time Is Tight mp3 at LZ Center
Booker T & the MGs - Hip Hug Her mp3 at 8106

CALLING ALL AAY JAYS FANS

Is it me? Can you find something intrinsically interesting about this little slap job? The Aay Jays were from Pakistan. Radiodiffusion International, the host of this fine record has all the details about them on his post, so bio up. What gets me is, well everything. The Aay Jays were short lived. The subtitle above could well have been "4 out of 5 tunes played by the band." And the sleeve has got to be one of the most primitive looking sleeves on a major label ever. The stuff itself is reminiscent of the Ventures' version of Telstar, with a farfisa so high pitched it almost derails the whole five song project. Mix category: oddball filler.

After poking around a little further, I ran into a song by the Aces, from Burma, entitled "Because of Knowledge, You Feel Lonely." If you think that no song could live up to a title like that, think again.

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

Listen:
The Aay Jays - The Aay Jays Theme mp3 at Radiodiffusion International
The Aay Jays - Dachi Waliya Mor Mohar mp3 at Radiodiffusion International
The Aces - Because of Knowledge, You Feel Lonely at Radiodiffusion International

GODDAMN MEGABYTES

Sometimes there's a serendipitous silver lining to what may have seemed like a disaster. Long story short, my computer took a crap last night. I lost everything from the last year and a half; music, photos, works in progress, everything. (That'll teach me to try to turn my computer into a hot rod.) Tonight I dusted myself off and started prowling again, and, boy, am I glad I did. Roughly twenty four hours after the Computer Debacle of 2012, I found a site that would make the Mystery Suggester proud. I was hitting the links on Boogie Woogie Flu, and came across Jukebox Mafia, a rather unassuming blog, but only visually. The first song I sampled, Bobby Patterson's "T.C.B. or T.Y.A.," reminded me why I get off on this. You will be hooked, literally three seconds into the song. This is one funky mood lifter. After that, I sampled a few other top notchers and by the second page I was listening to the deep surf classic, "Squad Car" by Eddie & the Showmen. All of the stuff I listened to was raw, rockin', or off kilter enough to warrant more than a casual stop. You should go there. That's where I'm going.

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

Listen:

Bobby Patterson - T.C.B. or T.Y.A. mp3 at Jukebox Mafia
Eddie & the Showmen - Squad Car mp3 at Jukebox Mafia
Visit:
Jukebox Mafia

TAKE OUT THE TRASH

If you tried to whittle down what makes a garage band a great garage band, your first priorities might be fuzz, a driving beat, and snotty lyrics. The Gravedigger V had all of that, but they also had a few of the the intangibles that other bands in the second wave of garage bands in the 80s didn't. First of all, they had youth. They were in their teens when the band started, with the lead singer Leighton Koizumi all of sixteen. Because of their relative inexperience, they were technically crude. They did start in an actual garage, and the recordings they left behind were relatively raw and poorly mixed, which brings to mind some of the more obscure regional garage records from the 60s that collectors go nuts over. But the biggee, the secret ingredient if you will, was the voice of Leighton Koizumi. He was a punk, literally, in the old school non-musical vein. His snotty delivery is about as cocky as they come. And to think that he was roughly seventeen when the songs below were recorded. Listen to "No Good Woman," right before the guitar solo, when he quips "Yeah baby, you're ugly!" followed be a "Waaaahhh!" And, pardon me for being over analytical, just listen too the perfectly placed, perfectly grunted "Uuugh!" immediately following the solo. Remind yourself that this guy is barely out of high school. Punk kid.

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

Listen:
The Gravedigger V - No Good Woman mp3 at Api.ning
The Gravedigger V - She Got mp3 at Mr. Suave
The Gravedigger V - Be A Caveman (streaming) at Flower Bomb Songs
The Gravedigger V - All Black and Hairy (streaming) at YouTube
Video:
The Gravedigger V - Don't Tread On Me (Live, 2010) at YouTube
Visit:
The Gravedigger V at Facebook
The Gravedigger V at Wikipedia