SIX YEARS ON THE ROAD

What do you get when you let three guys from Israel loose in America, with a guitar, drum kit and a microphone? Wait, first hide the scissors, and the deodorant. Give them some beverages to toss around, and, what the hell, a full garbage can to dump on the drummer. Wait, wait, make sure there's stuff to climb. And let them set up wherever they want, because if you don't, they'll move their shit anyways.

Monotonix are no spring chickens, and they aren't what you'd call good looking. But they have something that the youth of today so need. Total reckless abandon. As much as I like their music (and I do), I am in awe of their whole...thing. They have been touring America off and on for six years. They're older, crazier, and probably uglier than their audience. And yet, almost every video of them (with the exception of the in-store appearances) show them surrounded by a predominantly younger mob. It's as if they've never seen crazy before. They are that engaging. Of course it helps that they set up on the floor, not on the stage. And the singer spends more time in the crowd, than he does on, well, by, the stage. Regardless, they get it done.

The guitar, drums and vocal three piece get compared to MC5, but, to me, they sound kind of like Green River with the unhinged sloppiness of the Germs. If you know what I mean. (Listen to a few of the songs down there.) "No play for Mr. Gray," my ass.

Read more at a few of the links below, particularly the account of SXSW appearances (from 2008) at the Houston Press.

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Music:
Monotonix - Before I Pass Away Not Yet mp3 at Kata Rokkar
Monotonix - Fun Fun Fun mp3 at Covert Curiosity
Monotonix - Try Try Try mp3 at Sucka Pants
Monotonix - Set Me Free mp3 at Austin Town Hall
Monotonix - Never Died Before mp3 (via Box.net) at Sonic Masala
Monotonix - Summers & Autumns mp3 at Pampelmoose
Monotonix - Intervista mp3 at Maps
Monotonix - Give Me More mp3 at Rock Insider
Video:
Monotonix - Deadly Weapon (live) video at YouTube
Monotonix - Live at Primavera Sound Festival (2010) video at YouTube
Monotonix- A bunch more videos at YouTube
Read:
Monotonix profile and review at Houston Press
Monotonix at Wikipedia
Monotonix at Facebook

PRIDE OF PEDRO

If you were buying records in the 80s, and still had one toe in punk rock, it's almost guaranteed that you had a copy of the Minutemen's "Double Nickles On The Dime." The 1984 double LP was stylistically all over the place, and hardly punk sounding, but that was part of why it is a landmark album; because "Double Nickles" was where American punk rock really became more than just music, clothes and flicking cigarette butts. Everything about it, and the Minutemen, was about doing whatever you wanted, however you wanted, without fanfare. They were everyman, they were punk rock, and they were grunge before it became a genre. They had day jobs and were proud of their San Pedro roots, and their lack of "cool" is precisely what was cool about them. The Minutemen liberated punk rockers, freeing them from the pigeonholes they themselves had dug. They were a great fucking band.

Trailer for We Jam Econo, the Minutemen documentary

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Music:

Minutemen - Fake Contest mp3 at Corndogs.org
Minutemen - The Anchor mp3 at Clumsy & Shy
Minutemen - Green River (live, '85) mp3 at Corndogs.org
Minutemen - Fortunate Son mp3 at Corndogs.org
Minutemen - I Felt Like A Gringo mp3 at Santa Cruz IndyMedia.org
Minutemen - Prelude mp3 at Corndogs.org
Minutemen - Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love mp3 at Corndogs.org
Minutemen - History Lesson Part II mp3 at What Does Not Change
Minutemen - Corona (live) mp3 at Corndogs.org
Minutemen - Do You Want New Wave or Do You Want the Truth? mp3 at Altered Zones
Mixes and live shows:
Minutemen - 30+ mp3s at CityPages
Minutemen - Just A Minute Men, (live cuts from 1984) 19 individual mp3s at Corndogs.org
Minutemen - 7 more live shows at Corndogs.org
Minutemen - Live set at KPFK (live 21 song set) (via Badongo) mp3 at Music For Maniacs (NOTE: Annoying pop-ups at Badongo. Set phasers on stun.)
Video:
Minutemen - We Jam Econo clip (with acoustic History Lesson Part II) at YouTube
Minutemen - Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love (live) at YouTube
Minutemen - Cut (live, 1984) at YouTube
Minutemen - King of the Hill video at YouTube
Minutemen - 2 Creedence covers, at a backyard party '85 at YouTube
We Jam Econo official site
Read:
Minutemen official site
Minutemen at Wikipedia
Corndogs.org - Incredibly comprehensive Mike Watt page
The Watt From Pedro Show - Mike Watt's Radio show
Mike Watt's Hoot Page

TURA SATANA 1938 - 2011

I'm sorry to report, Tura Satana died a few days ago, on February 4. For those who don't recognize the name, she was the star of the Russ Meyer film, Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! I knew nothing about her other than one film role, but I still knew her name. Back in the day (and maybe still) Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! was a sort of hipster rite of passage. So, today I did a little digging. Turns out that she had a crazy life; some good crazy, but a lot of bad crazy.

In grade school, she was hassled on two fronts: one being her Japanese heritage, and the other because she was an early bloomer. She was gang raped at age nine, and sent to a reform school. The rapists were never charged. (Pissed off, she later took up aikido and karate.) At age 13, her dad drove her out to California, and left her. She lied about her age and began dancing and working as a model, for silent film star Harold Lloyd, among others. Unaware of her age, Lloyd encouraged her to try acting. By the time Russ Meyer ran into her, she was already her own boss. She wouldn't do any nudity, and refused to abide by Meyer's rule forbidding extra-curricular sex during the course of film shoots. She did her own costuming and make-up, and added all the martial arts stuff in the fight sequences. After Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, she was in a couple other films and then retired from acting, becoming a nurse and raising a family. She was 72 when she died.

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The Bostweeds - Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! mp3 at Merry Swankster
Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! - 6 trailers and clips at ZML.com
Tura Satana - Interview mp3 at Destroy the Brain
Tura Santana Gallery at Micro Brewed Reviews (added 2/22/11)
Tura Satana profile at Swindle
Tura Satana Official Site
Tura Satana obituary at the New York Times
Tura Satana at Wikipedia

SHE DOES POETRY TOO

One of the many endearing things about Patti Smith is that, in the end, she's a rock n' roll fan. She's one of us, and makes no secret of it. She's done countless covers over the years (beginning with her first 45), and they really run the gamut. But even before that, she wrote liner notes, wrote for Creem and Rolling Stone, and lyrics for Blue Oyster Cult and Rick Deringer. Fittingly, she met her guitarist, Lenny Kaye, in a record store. (Kaye had also been writing for Crawdaddy, Creem and Rolling Stone, not to mention compiling Nuggets, the first garage compilation). So, a chance visit to a record store put the two together. He put on Bristol Stomp by the Dovells, they began dancing, and the friendship and unofficial partnership began. (Just the thought of a four decade friendship beginning with a song like that is, I don't know why, somehow very cool.)


From 1976, roughly six or seven years after meeting. A qreat clip.

So here's a mess of covers. Some are from her latest album, which is all covers. Someone not familiar with her might think that an album of covers would indicate a writer out of gas. But that's another endearing thing about her, she doesn't give a shit. She's probably one of very few people making records that would do an album of covers despite having their own new material ready and waiting. Anyways. there's also a few live things down there, and covers from other LP's as well, and a link to a blog with 11 Stones covers. Here's the rundown of original artists: Mp3s: The Leaves, Them, Neil Young, the Stones, REM, Bo Diddley, the Velvet Underground, Jimi Hendrix, another Velvet Underground, the Who, Nirvana. Video covers: Debby Boone (!), the Byrds, Nirvana, Jefferson Airplane.

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

First, the song that started it all:
The Dovells - Bristol Stomp mp3 at Rocky52.net
The Covers:
Patti Smith - Hey Joe mp3 at Le Blog de la Grande Chose
Patti Smith - Gloria mp3 (via Box.net) at Pop Goes the Radio
Patti Smith - Helpless (Live, 2007) mp3 at Here Comes the Flood
Patti Smith - Gimme Shelter mp3 at Indie Rock Cafe
Patti Smith - Everybody Hurts mp3 at Podcast.xs4all.nl
Patti Smith - Who Do You Love (live) mp3 at A Quiet Revolution
Patti Smith - Pale Blue Eyes (live) mp3 at French Kisses
Patti Smith - Are You Experienced mp3 at ScienceFriction.net
Patti Smith - We're Gonna Have Real Good Time Together (live) mp3 at Big O
Patti Smith - My Generation (live) mp3 at Sick Sal
Patti Smith - Smells Like Teen Spirit mp3 at Music Is Art (NOTE: If mp3 link doesn't work, go to site for download)
Patti Smith - 11 Stones covers (zip file) at Punk Not Profit
Videos:
Patti Smith - You Light Up My Life video (and interview) at YouTube (Note: From "Kid Are People Too". Song starts at 3:52.)
Patti Smith - So You Want To Be a Rock n' Roll Star video (live) at YouTube
Patti Smith - Smells Like Teen Spirit video at YouTube
Patti Smith - White Rabbit (live) video at YouTube

FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH, FOR EGYPT

Wow. You go Egypt. This one is for you. You've been pretty impressive this past week, and the massive staff of this here blog is behind you 100%. All you other people, if you doubt that anyone from Egypt knows this blog exists, I get the stats. They do, at least a couple of them. Though they have more important things to do on this particular night, I'm posting "For What It's Worth" for them. The rest of you louts can have a listen to the live cuts of the Buffalo Springfield reunion (link below).

Buffalo Springfield really aren't my bag. Of course they were really good at what they did, it's just what they did isn't the sort of thing I really listen to all that much. Now that I've the introduction and the half assed disclaimer out of the way, how's about a good old fashion shout-out? Hey! (there's the shout), Margaret & Lisa, this is for you too, because it takes me right back to Front Street, with Paris patiently trying to show us how to play the fuckin' thing.

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- NOTE TO NEIL YOUNG'S LAWYER: PLEASE REREAD THE ABOVE LINE ~
(AND THIS) -

Buffalo Springfield - For What It's Worth mp3 (via Box.net) at Les Effants Terribles
Sex Mob - For What It's Worth mp3 (via Box.Net) at Les Effants Terribles
Keb' Mo - For What It's Worth mp3 (via Box.net) at Les Effants Terribles
Public Enemy - He Got Game mp3 (via Box.net) at Les Effants Terribles (Confused? Listen, and you'll hear the connection)
Buffalo Springfield - 2010 Reunion, 13 live cuts (individual songs and complete set download at Troubled Souls Unite

BUDDY, RITCHIE, AND THE OTHER GUY

Fifty two years ago today. Bam! Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper, all on the same day. You know the story. The teeny boppers must have been wailing. One thing I need to get of my chest: before you suggest that the Big Bopper wasn't quite as cool as Valens or Holly, he did have other stuff besides Chantilly Lace. I mean, yeah, he had a novelty hit. Yeah, he was a radio DJ. But he had more than one song. For cryin' out loud, he wrote "White Lightning" (one of the coolest songs George Jones ever did). (Not to mention that he looks like the one of them that would be the most fun to party with.) There you go, a little equal time for the portly one. If you're not familiar with Valens or Holly, you're on your own.

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Listen:
Buddy Holly - Rave On mp3 at DougRice.net
Buddy Holly - Fools Paradise mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Ritchie Valens - La Bamba mp3 at Fresno.k12.ca.us
Ritchie Valens - Come On, Let's Go mp3 at Schristy
The Big Bopper - Chantilly Lace mp3 at Rocky52.net
The Big Bopper - Bopper's Boogie Woogie mp3 at Probe Is Turning-On the People (Scroll down to "Session 180")
Watch:
Buddy Holly - Peggy Sue video at YouTube
Ritchie Valens - Ooh My Head video at YouTube
The Big Bopper - Chantilly Lace video at YouTube
Read:
Buddy Holly at Wikipedia
Ritchie Valens at Wikipedia
The Big Bopper at Wikipedia
The Day the Music Died at Wikipedia

HE DID THAT SONG?

Fu-huck. The past is littered with awesome yet somehow still ignored artists. Take Jody Reynolds for instance. You'd be hard pressed to find many in your circle of know-it-alls who are well acquainted with his work. I think I first heard him on Probe Is Turning-On the People, which is like a crap drawer full of semi-obscurites and oddball-ities, almost all worth a listen. There's very little text to read, so it's like a just-busted pinata spilling out thrift store records. (Or maybe I first heard him on "Spread the Good Word"...)

Where was I? Oh yeah, Jody Reynolds. Just listen to him on "Fire of Love". The guitar, if you can summon your imagination, sounds like Duane Eddy after Link Wray told him to slow it down. The vocals? Maybe a little tougher "Lonesome Town" Ricky Nelson. Confused? That's why: just listen. He does some upbeat stuff too, but early slower stuff does it for me.

After I initially heard him, I ran into a post on the Hound Blog. There's three respectable blogs right there that have posted "Fire of Love". Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban (by Debbie D) also posted it, and the recent posting at Diddy Wah makes five. All of them deserve a bookmark, trust me. And read the text at those sites, even the ones with just scraps. Jody Reynolds is really someone you should meet.

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Jody Reynolds -Fire of Love mp3 at Diddy Wah
The Storms (w/ Jody Reynolds) - Tarantula mp3 at Diddy Wah
Jody Reynolds - Endless Sleep mp3 at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban
The Storms (w/ Jody Reynolds) - Thunder mp3 at Diddy Wah
Jody Reynolds - Daisy Mae mp3 at Diddy Wah
Jody Reynolds at Probe is Turning-On the People "Fire of Love" and three others, plus a couple later duets with Bobbie Gentry. NOTE: Scroll down to "Session 173" and "Session 172". (The navigation is just one extra step. You can do this.)
Read:
Jody Reynold profile at The Hound Blog
Jody Reynolds profile at Amoeblog

KEEP IT SIMPLE JERK

If someone were to ask you what Chuck Berry's biggest hit was, what would be your guess? You know all the Berry classics. A first guess might be "Johnny B. Goode", or maybe "Sweet Little Sixteen", or "Roll Over Beethoven", right? Nope, it was "My Ding A Ling" a corny novelty song, that he didn't even write. So, you know what were dealing with here; record buyers are, by and large, lame brains. Despite hefty record sales, you can't think hit when you think of Chuck Berry, because despite all of the iconic rock n' roll songs he's written, he's still relatively under appreciated when you consider what he's given us. Part of it is his fault. His habit of hiring pick up bands without rehearsing first, playing without set lists, forgetting his own lyrics, and totally straying from the original recorded versions of his songs, is all his doing. But, hell, he's Chuck Berry. It's part of the package.

Back when my brothers and I were in the process of backtracking to early rock n' roll, one of the first records bought was "Chuck Berry's Golden Decade." It had all the songs we'd heard on the oldies station and, as an introduction, was exactly what was needed. Not long after that, the "London Sessions" LP was added to our collection ('72 I believe). Even back then, we thought that "My Ding A Ling" was a stinker, so, of course, it had to be the hit. Around that time, when my cousin told us that she had been thumbing home from a Berry concert at a local college and was actually picked up by Chuck Berry himself (in a VW bug), it only added to the package. Suffice it to say, that in the boy's room, there was a huge amount of respect for the man.

The other night I ran into a video of Electric Light Orchestra doing Chuck Berry's "Roll Over Beethoven" and all I could think was "jeez, and people wonder why punk rock happened." They managed to drag Berry's concise thumper into six and a half bloated minutes of solo after solo after solo. It was so far removed from the simplicity of the original, it's like the fat guy pushing his way to the front of the buffet line. Compare and contrast, if you will:

Chuck Berry, early 60's

Let me introduce the next clip by saying that if you prefer the Electric Light Orchestra version because Berry's version is sloppy, and a half-effort, you're at the wrong party. Berry shows warts and all. The Electric Light Orchestra version might be tight, but at what expense? Just look at all the people on stage, and all the cello players and such. It's obscene. (It brings to mind the lyrics of the Weirdos' "Destroy All Music": "I'm gonna kick in my radio, I'm gonna burn my tickets to see ELO". There's one for your bucket list.)

Electric Light Orchestra's circle jerk, 1978

Here's a few to wash your ears out. If you haven't already, watch the Chuck Berry video above, and then watch the subsequent versions below, from '72, 87, and '07. I swear, in a few years it'll be a blues song. It already kinda sounds like one in the '07 version. (It's like Chuck Berry's in Bizzaro World, where the blues come from rock n' roll, not the other way around.)

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Listen:
Chuck Berry - Johnny B. Goode mp3 at Tune the Proletariat
Chuck Berry - Maybelline mp3 at Teenage Kicks
Chuck Berry - Nadine mp3 (via Box.net) at Dr. Mooney's 115th Dream
Chuck Berry - Memphis mp3 at Noise Variations
Chuck Berry - Back In the USA mp3 at Weekly Tape Deck
Chuck Berry - Blues For Hawaiians mp3 at Clumsy & Shy
Video:
Chuck Berry - Roll Over Beethoven (live, TV, 1972) video at YouTube
Chuck Berry - Roll Over Beethhoven (live, 1987) video at YouTube
Chuck Berry - Roll Over Beethoven (live, 2007) video at YouTube
Visit:
Chuck Berry's Official site
Chuck Berry at Wikipedia

AND HE PLAYS GUITAR

Earlier today, I was going about my business, and I was thinking about that A-Bones video from yesterday, and how Billy Miller reminded me a little of Nick Curran. Then, when I went online, I headed to YouTube to a look for videos of someone completely different, and went I there, one of the featured videos was Nick Curran. (Coincidence, or tracking?) It's a real good one, the performance anyway. (The video quality is okay.) It's Curran with the Barshakers, from 2000, doing Little Richard's "Lucille". There aren't many in Little Richard's league of bona fide rock n' roll shouters. The names that always seem to come to mind are Don & Dewey, Gerry Roslie of the Sonics, and Nick Curran. (I need to hear some more A-Bones, because Miller sounds close.) I know, that's probably something I've said in the past, but it bears repeating. Not a lot of people can sing like that. The League of Hot Shit Shouters, yessir.

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Nick Curran & the Lowlifes - Kill My Baby mp3 at KEXP (No one has "Baby You Crazy" posted!)
Nick Curran & the Lowlifes - Baby You Crazy (live, 2009) video at YouTube Essential (and I know, I throw that word around a lot).
Little Richard - Lucille video at YouTube
Nick Curran & the Lowlifes - No Fun/Shot Down (live, 2009) video at YouTube Dig it, the Stooges done inna Fats Domino stylee.
Ronnie Dawson (Curran on Guitar) - Sucker For a Cheap Guitar (live, 1997) video at YouTube (Not a member of the league)

A TIP OF THE HAT TO YOUR SPOUSE

I don't remember how I ended up there, but today I found myself on the blog of Miriam Linna, Kicksville 66. If you don't know the name, she's one half of Norton Records, one half of Kicks Magazine, which can only mean one thing, she's one half of Billy Miller and Miriam Linna, two of the most passionate rock n' roll fiends to have ever entered my sphere of cognition. If you've never read the now-defunct Kicks magazine (their first joint effort), any description that I can offer wouldn't be sufficient. (But, like most things I'm not sufficiently good at, I'll try anyways.)

It was a rather haphazardly laid out magazine, that was all about regular good ol' fashioned rock n' roll. By that I mean, they made no effort to present anything current, unless it was part of a lineage of rockers, you know, as in fifties real-thing rockers. It had word balloons here and there, all sorts of oddball in joke references in hand written captions that you wouldn't get unless you delved a little bit more into their world, a world in which Chan Romero was a household name, and Hasil Adkins was as authentic as Link Wray, Jerry Lee Lewis, or the Sonics. It was packed, every primitive square inch of it, and the writing, casual as it was, made it seem like you were shooting the shit with them over a beer. It was, and still is, my favorite music magazine ever, and I'm loath to admit that I only have one of my issues left. (It you want to see what the fuss is about, they have remaining copies of the last issue for sale here.)


Billy Miller and Miriam Linna's band, the A-Bones

So, that's why I'm a little giddy. One of my favorite rock n' roll writers has a blog that I didn't even know about until today. It's not a normal must-update-today type blog, it is, in her terms, "what life was like in NYC in the seventies, at least for one awkward kid from the boondocks" (the boondocks being Kent, Ohio). What makes it an interesting read, besides her writing, is that Linna was dialed in. Before moving to New York, she was pals with Peter Laughner (Rocket From the Tombs), and various pre-Pere Ubu members and pre-Dead Boys members. And, right after moving to New York, she was the drummer for the Cramps, for their first year of existence. She was the president of the Flaming Groovies fan club, saw the Stooges in '73, received two original still sealed Sonics LPs for her birthday from Lux Interior, and basically ran with a crowd that knew shit from shinola. It's like a scrapbook, with a lot of words and a lot of memories; a memoir in blog format. A five star time suck.



I haven't even touched on the record label, Norton Records (which is excellent), or the current band she's in (with Miller), the A-Bones. Another post perhaps. Here's some semi-related stuff: songs the A-Bones covered, Cramps influenced mixes, and a bunch of Miriam Linna/Billy Miller links at the bottom. Note: I couldn't find any mp3s of the A-Bones.

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

Songs the A-Bones cover:
The MC5 - One of the Guys mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Screamin' Jay Hawkins - All Night mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Sentinals - The Bee mp3 at Beware of the Blog
16 more songs the A-Bones cover at Beware of the Blog
Norton Records artists:
Hasil Adkins - She Said mp3 at Beware of the Blog
The Hentchmen - All About Girls at Ghetto Recorders
Post Linna Cramps (she never recorded with them):
The Cramps - I Was A Teenage Werewolf mp3 at Zdanz
The Cramps - Tear It Up mp3 at Lost Turntable
The Cramps - Fever mp3 at Zdanz
The Cramps - I Can't Hardly Stand It mp3 at Zdanz
Lux & Ivy's Favorites - 11 full length mixes (in zips) at Beware of the Blog Cramps influences, many of them covered.
Read:
Kicksville 66 - the blog of Miriam Linna
Miriam Linna at Wikipedia
Norton Records
Nortonville - Norton Records blog
Interview with Billy Miller and Miriam Linna about their involvement with Hasil Adkins
Added 2/1/11:
Lengthy interview with Billy Miller at Turn It Down This is excellent: Kicks, Norton Records, Esquerita and Hasil Adkins.

A BIG OL' MESS

Here's a backlog of neat stuff from the past few days, none really related, but judging by the "Current Boss 10" list (top left of your screen) on this particular night, that doesn't seem to bother anyone.

First up is a Dick Dale video, from 1963, a movie called "A Swinging Affair." It's really awesome. I had a laugh last night trying to imagine what would be going on in the heads of his band members. They all look they're in a daze, like zombies. And what about the chick (and I do mean "chick") in the blond bouffant. By the end of the song, she's ready to pounce on the unsuspecting King of the Surf Guitar. The whole time her dance partner seems to be trying to talk her down. Reel her in, brother! Dig it!

Next is a great jiggle club number at Diddy Wah, Ernie Fields doing "Workin' Out." I swear, just about everything Adam (the host there) puts up is right up my alley. (The man has taste!) And here, from A Barrel of Nails, is Sister Rosetta Tharpe. A nice downshift. Ooh, here's a good one: the Bamboos doing an instrumental cover of THE Tighten Up (the Archie Bell & the Drells one), courtesy of Rollo & Grady. Soul Sides has U Roy and Hopeton Lewis's "Tom Drunk," and an earlier Stranger Cole cover of the Guess Who's "These Eyes" (retitled "Crying Every Night"), using the same rhythm.

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Ernie Fields - Workin' Out mp3 at Diddy Wah
Sister Rosetta Tharpe - Strange Things Happening Every Day mp3 at A Barrel of Nails
The Bamboos - Tighten Up mp3 at Rollo & Grady.
U Roy & Hopeton Lewis- Tom Drunk mp3 at Soul Sides
Stranger Cole - Crying Every Night mp3 at Soul Sides

THE HARDER THEY FALL

I'm a sucker for uprisings. Is that sufficiently shallow for you? I know. Nevertheless, the situations in Tunisia, Yemen and Egypt are incredible, especially when you consider the first one, in Tunisia, all began with someone lighting themself on fire in protest. How far they go remains to be seen, but my "what if" sensors are fully raised. So there's an admittedly loose reason to post a few versions of what should be a standard for most of you.

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Jimmy Cliff - The Harder They Come mp3 at The Cargo Culte
Keith Richards - The Harder They Come mp3 at Rollo & Grady
Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros - The Harder the Come (live) mp3 at JonSolomon (Note: Low quality recording, record store appearance)
Joe Jackson - The Harder They Come mp3 at PopDose
Video:
Jimmy Cliff - The Harder They Come (w/movie clips) video at YouTube
Jimmy Cliff - The Harder They Come (live, 2006) at YouTube
Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros - The Harder They Come (live) video at YouTube
Rancid - The Harder They Come (live) video at YouTube
Madness - The Harder They Come (live) video at YouTube
Willie Nelson - The Harder They Come video at YouTube
Read:
Waves of Unrest Spread to Yemen, Shaking a Region at the New York Times

WANDA ON TV

I wanted to get this up here (might add to it later). Wanda Jackson is on Conan tonight, If you're not from the U.S., I'll post a link when it becomes available. For anyone who resides in an area where it has not yet aired, and you're thinking it might be on too late, think about this: Wanda Jackson is seventy-something years old, and she's still out there. You can stay up.

Added 1/26/11: Here's the link to the video: Wanda Jackson - Funnel of Love (live on Conan) video. The video below is from a TV appearance 52 years earlier.

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

Wanda Jackson - Shakin' All Over mp3 (via Box.net) at Dr. Mooney's 115th Dream
Wanda Jackson - Fujiyama Mama mp3 at Log-Line
Wanda Jackson - Let's Have A Party mp3 at Fonsl's Velt
Wanda Jackson - Whirlpool mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Wanda Jackson - Man We Had A Party mp3 at Mustard Relics
Wanda Jackson - Savin' My Love mp3 at Bousculadet
Wanda Jackson w/Lux & Ivy - Funnel of Love mp3 at Mustard Relics
Wanda Jackson - This Gun Don't Care mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Wanda Jackson - Blue Moon of Kentucky mp3 at Snuhthing Anything
Wanda Jackson - Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On mp3 at Rocky-52.net
Wanda Jackson - Yakety Yak mp3 at Rocky-52.net

TIME OUT

Broadcast's music used to be hard to categorize. Unfortunately, it can now be categorized as music that will never be made again. Lead singer Trish Keenan passed away a few weeks ago, after being hospitalized with pneumonia. Though there's no question that she had a remarkable voice, one read of the endearing tribute by Bob Stanley (of Saint Etienne) paints a picture of a pretty cool and caring individual.

How to describe Broadcast's music? Let's just say if you put the Velvet Underground, Air, Stereolab, Suicide and April March, in a blender, tossed in a bit of Dusty (you can substitute Petula Clark or Lulu), a liberal sprinkling of clouds, radio static, and, what the hell, a hit or two, maybe a little feedback, and mixed it all up, you'd get close. It's quiet and noisy at the same time. Good stuff. Some of it is made for "whooa..." sunsets, some for staring at a star filled sky, some for the wee hours, drifting off to sleep, or driving at night. But it's all somehow calming and it all features that voice.

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

Broadcast - Where Youth and Laughter Go mp3 at Clumsy & Shy
Broadcast - Elegant Elephant mp3 at Days Are Numbers
Broadcast - Oh How I Miss You mp3 at Unpiano
Broadcast - Come on Let's Go mp3 at The Big Beat
Broadcast & the Focus Group - A Seancing Song mp3 at Clumsy & Shy
Broadcast - Echo's Answer mp3 at The Finest Kiss
Broadcast - Long Was The Year (live) (via Box.net) mp3 at Citizen Dick
Broadcast: Black Session (La Maison de la Radio: Paris, France 2000) (12 song set zip) at Aquarium Drunkard
Broadcast's Radio Mix 5 (streaming) at Future Crayon (Broadcast blog)
Broadcast's influences - Silvers Apples, Ennio Morricone, The United States of America, Velvet Undergroud, and Squarepusher mp3s at Clumsy & Shy
Video:
Broadcast - Come On Lets Go video at YouTube
Broadcast - America's Boy video at YouTube
Broadcast - Valerie (and Her Week of Wonders) video at YouTube
Visit/Read:
Trish Keenan - Remembered by Bob Stanley (of Saint Etienne) at Caught By the River
Broadcast Official site
Broadcast at Wikipedia

PARTY TIME

The Detroit Cobras checklist probably went something like this: "Guitar, bass and drums?" "Check." "Singer?" "Check." "Cool covers?" "Check." "Obscure covers?" "Check." "Originals?...Originals??" "Uhh, we'll get to those." They never really got to that point, where they created a band identity by writing their own material. Their band identity is all about reworking covers to make them sound like Detroit Cobras songs. And while some people may dismiss them as a cover band, others will counter that they're a damn fine cover band. One thing is certain, they are damn fine cover picker-outers. I ran into a blog last night that is great in concept, if only it were updated more frequently. It's called, simply, "Detroit Cobras Covers", and they post the original versions of songs the Detroit Cobras have covered. (There's a couple songs from there below.)

One note: The "Right Around the Corner" video below is from a concert cruise in NY. I gotta say, with the intimacy of the band (being stageless), and the probable abundance of libations, it seems like the perfect way to see them; and I bet original material was the last thing on anyone's mind.

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

Detroit Cobras - Hot Dog mp3 at Bloodshot Records
Detroit Cobras - Heartbeat mp3 at Cows Are Just Food
Detroit Cobras - On a Monday mp3 at Catfish Vegas
Detroit Cobras - Right Around the Corner mp3 at Hejven.se
Detroit Cobras - Last Night mp3 at Ryan's Smashing Life
Detroit Cobras - Insane Asylum mp3 at Cover Me
A few that the Detroit Cobras have covered:
Koko Taylor w/Willie Dixon - Insane Asylum mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Ruby Johnson -Weak Spot mp3 (via Box.net) at Detroit Cobras Covers
The Olympics - Secret Agent mp3 (via Box.net) at Detroit Cobras Covers
Video:
The Detroit Cobras - Right Around the Corner (live) at YouTube
The Detroit Cobras - Cha Cha Twist (live) at YouTube

ALL NIGHT LONG

This might be the best song you hear tonight. This is Chess to the core. Koko Taylor's "Wang Dang Doodle", with, I believe, Willie Dixon singing back up. It's badass. The video is equally hot shit.

Koko Taylor, with Little Walter on harp

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

Koko Taylor - Wang Dang Doodle mp3 (via Box.net) at Dr. Mooney's 115th Dream
This one's good too. A little later, and different, but good:
Koko Taylor - Come to Mama mp3 at Giant Panther
Read:
Koko Taylor at Wikipedia
Chess Records at Wikipedia

STONES PLAY WAYLON

Let's just get this out of the way, for you one song cherry pickers: The Stones doing "Waylon Jenning's "Bob Wills Is Still the King" live video is here. It's okay, Ron Wood plays pedal steel. Hey, I'm a card carrying Jagger-doubter, and I found it interesting. Stick around for the Wills.

I'm lame. My whole country and western lack of knowledge thing is downright embarrassing. I know the big names, and some tier two stuff, but when it gets deeper than that, I defer. I know I like 'em old, and I know I like 'em authentic. One who's both, the archetype of (the "Chuck Berry of" if you will) western swing is Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys. (That always bothers me, that whole "and his" jive. Seriously, you don't own them.) My initiation to western swing was from an early 70's Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airman concert. (There you go, another "and his"! Knock it the hell off!) They were riding high on their hit cover of Johnny Bond's "Hot Rod Lincoln". A friend gave me and my brother some tickets that he won from a radio station. Of course, they played their hit, and songs that sounded a lot like it. But they also dipped into their hat and pulled out some rockabilly and some western swing (including Bob Will's biggee "San Antonio Rose"). Other than the odd rockabilly hit on the oldies station, this was my introduction to both western swing and rockabilly. Weren't the 70s great? You could get a musical education from a bunch of long haired potheads.

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

Listen:
Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys - San Antonio Rose mp3 at The Rising Storm
Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys - Big Ball's In Cowtown mp3 at The Rising Storm
Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys - What Makes Bob Holler mp3 at The Rising Storm
Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys - Cotton Eyed Joe mp3 at Rocky-52.net
Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airman - Hot Rod Lincoln mp3 at CHS1968.com
Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airman - Seeds and Stems mp3 at The Rising Storm
Watch:
Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys - Ida Red video at YouTube
Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen - Everybody's Doing It video at YouTube
The Rolling Stones - Bob Wills Is Still the King (live) video at YouTube
Read:
Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys - Extensive Fan site, bios, the works