Sunday, December 31, 2017

WHAT FRESH HELL IS THIS?

I was just down by the sea wall at the beach, about as close to a town square as there is here, ample considering the main drag is only three blocks long. The wall is usually inhabited by a mix of locals, tourists, homeless people, seasonal gutterpunks and street musicians. The street musicians are of varying skill levels, usually just good enough to put a hat out, which really isn't saying much.

When I was there the sun was going down and there was the usual crowd of sunset watchers, but where they're usually distributed evenly along the wall, today they were concentrated towards one end which happens to be where a friend of mine hangs with his dog. As I got closer I saw why. There were two harpists set up, which as about as uptown as street music gets. The juxtaposition was striking. This neighborhood is sometimes referred to as "a sunny place for shady people" and true to form, not twenty feet away from the harpists was a fucked up homeless dude cussing up a storm in a one sided conversation. My friend was there, with his dog and a lady friend from Finland so I was chatting with them while the harpists were taking a break. When they started playing again it sounded beautiful, I'm mean, it's harps, what other word does harp playing conjure? Particularly in an area that can sometimes be a chaotic sideshow. After they finished, there was a lull and as the sun lowered in the sky towards the ocean, they started playing again, this time Louis Armstrong's "What a wonderful World". It was goosebump material. I don't get choked up that often, but the combination of the location, the approaching sunset, the song and the harps, I was on the edge. Taking it all in, feeling very lucky to live near the ocean, lucky to know people like my friend with his dog, everything was hitting me from all sides. A window of gratitude and optimism after a shit year of Trump. Pushing me closer to the edge, they followed it with a cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah". My eyes were getting watery, and I'm not usually that much of a softy. After that song I sauntered off, What if they did Kenny G next? That would have changed everything. Really though, if you're a beach person, there isn't a better way to end your last ocean visit of the year. Cheers, Neptune.

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Listen:
Louis Armstrong - What a Wonderful World mp3 at Internet Archive
Leonard Cohen - Hallelujah mp3 at Internet Archive

Friday, December 29, 2017

THE UNIMPEACHABLE

Off on another book, the cheaply titled The Cool School: Writings from America's Hip Underground (embarrassed to even hold it), with various odds and ends from people like Henry Miller, Burroughs, Kerouac; you know, all of the people you learned you should read when you you were entering the "hip underground". The texts aren't all familiar. A few are from books, most are from liner notes, magazines, lyrics, things like that. I just read a bit from Miles Davis's autobiography about his time playing with Charlie Parker. It put me in a Parker mood. If you aren't familiar with Parker, his shit is pretty much bulletproof. If you're a fiend and need to know who played what when, there's a link to his discography below. I gotta go make dinner.

With Coleman Hawkins and Buddy Rich. Baddass.

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Listen:
Charlie Parker - Koko mp3 at Drummer World
Charlie Parker - Orinthology mp3
at UTM (?)
Charlie Parker - Cool Blues mp3
at Sunrise Musics
Charlie Parker - Bird Gets the Worm mp3
at John Wesley Barker
Charlie Parker - Blues For Alice mp3
at ATumblr (?)
Video:
Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie - Hot House
at YouTube
Visit:
Charlie Parker Discography
at Jazz Disco

Thursday, December 28, 2017

THE '62 SINGLE-ONLY SLEEPER

Here's a few random instrumentals, starting with Doug and the Galaxies' "Sundown", which then reminded me of "Boss" by the Rumblers. I couldn't find it, the Rumblers, other than a YouTube thing, so you get Billy Vaughn's version. Meandering along, I ran across quite a few other instrumentals scattered around Beware of the Blog including "Jungle Fever", one of the more obscure early Dick Dale and the Del-Tones instrumentals. Given that it wasn't an album cut, and as a single had to compete with "Miserlou" released the same year (1962), there's a reason it isn't better known.

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Listen:
Doug and the Galaxies - Sundown mp3 at Rocky 52
The Rumblers - Boss (streaming) at YouTube
Billy Vaughn - Boss mp3 at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban
Dick Dale and the Del-Tones - Jungle Fever mp3 at Rock 'n' Soul Ichidan

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

THROWDOWN! SIXTEEN TONS VS THE SUBHUMANS

Flipping through the dial today, I heard the intro of "Sixteen Tons"; not the original by Tennessee Ernie Ford but a cover. It sounded like someone (Ben Sidran as it turns out) who listened to their share of Mose Allison. It got me thinking about the original by Ford, which happens to be the only Tennessee Ernie Ford song that I know. When I got home, I had to listen to it again. Deduction: cool song. Not earth shattering, but cool.

When I was looking for Ford's version, I ran across one by Stevie Wonder, who is not entirely believable as someone toiling in a coal mine but otherwise does a pretty good job. The other version below is Dan McLain, aka Country Dick Montana (Beat Farmers) then known by many as the Big M.R. (after his record store, Monty Rockers). It's a live version by his short lived rag tag "all-star" band of San Diego musicians, most plucked from the nascent punk scene. Billed as The Sensational Big M.R. and his All Bitchin’ All Stud All Stars, it's from a gig they shared with the Subhumans, so the juxtaposition of material was intriguing. Straight up punk rock on the same night as a slap together band covering Tennessee Ernie Ford and Conway Twitty. Why the hell not?

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Listen:
Tennessee Earnie Ford - Sixteen Tons mp3 at Internet Archive
Ben Sidran - Sixteen Tons (streaming) at YouTube
Stevie Wonder - Sixteen Tons mp3 at Stevie Wonder (fan site) Better fidelity at YouTube
The Sensational Big M.R. and his All Bitchin’ All Stud All Stars - Sixteen Tons (live) mp3 at Che Underground

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

DUDE HAS A FOLDING SOUL

After days of running around here's just what was needed, an oddball private pressing by a Lou Rawls wannabe singing hairdresser. His voice is actually not bad, but the mix is horrible. Horrible as in really interesting, About all you can hear is blurry bass and his voice, with everything else barely audible.  Now that I think about it, it sounds more like he's trying to sing like Marvin Gaye in his later years. This isn't all-time by a long shot, but I found it good background music that never really goes anywhere. Totally digging the cover.

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Listen:
Kijana – You Hurt Me (But I Wanna Thank You) mp3 at The Melting Pot
Kijana – Two more songs
at The Melting Pot Go there to get them

Monday, December 25, 2017

REMINDER: THIS GUY

Billy Lee Riley got screwed. Just as his career was getting started, "Flyin' Saucers Rock 'n' Roll" was released on Sun Records. He had the voice and the chops, and he had the band, the Little Green Men. The band was good enough that the backed others at Sun, including Jerry Lee Lewis. Long story short, Sam Phillips put his money on Jerry Lee and did little to promote Riley. Riley left Sun and recorded for a succession of other labels, including his own, but none had the reputation and visibility of Sun. That's why most people don't know the name Billy Lee Riley.

What if the tables were turned? What would have happened if Riley got the push, leaving Lewis to fend for himself? Would Riley be as big or bigger than Lewis? I doubt it, Lewis was a little more wild. But there's no question that Riley's contribution to rock 'n' roll would be more recognized.

There's a reason why I'm posting yet again about Riley. I think everybody should know Riley's music, even if it's only his two best known songs, "Flyin' Saucers Rock 'n' Roll" and "Red Hot". The old links I had for those songs went dead, so there's new links down there, including an alternative take of "Red Hot". That's a good enough morsel for those of you already familiar with the original.

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Listen:
Billy Lee Riley - Flyin' Saucers Rock 'n' Roll mp3 at Rocky 52
Billy Lee Riley - Red Hot mp3
at Rocky 52
Billy Lee Riley - Red Hot (alternate take) mp3
at Mp3 Rockabilly
Billy Lee Riley - Pearly Lee mp3
at Mp3 Rockabilly
Billy Lee Riley - Is That All to the Hall (Mr. Ball) mp3
at Rocky 52
Billy Lee Riley - Searchin' mp3
at Mp3 Rockabilly

Sunday, December 24, 2017

PARTY HARD

Have I lost you yet with all of this holiday crap? Don't worry, one more day of it. I'm trying tp pull out things that haven't been posted here before (I think. I'm too lazy to check.) Starting off with that ball of Christmas joy, Mark E. Smith and his ensemble, the Fall, with that holiday favorite "Wishing You A Protein Christmas". Sonic Youth provides a noisy shit show. Can's "Silent Night" is here too (though I think I've posted that before). "Christmas at the Zoo" by the Flaming Lips, who I don't don't normally go for but I like the production, a total dense overload. How about another mix? Another recently unearthed Christmas playlist that was given as a mix tape to the Mumps' Kristian Hoffman by Lux Interior of the Cramps. Boy, that Lux, he sure was a jolly ol' nut wasn't he?.

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Listen:
The Fall - Wishing You A Protein Christmas mp3 at The Decibel Tolls
Sonic Youth - Santa Doesn't Cop Out On Dope (streaming) at YouTube
Can - Silent Night mp3
at The Decibel Tolls
Flaming Lips - Christmas at the Zoo mp3
at The Decibel Tolls
The Mix:
Jeezus Fuck, It's Christmas - Mix by Lux Interior
at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban 36 songs in two zips (Side one and two of the tape).

Friday, December 22, 2017

THEY SOUND DIFFERENT THIS YEAR

Once your soirée hits fever pitch, slap on Chuck Berry's "Run Rudolph Run" and crank it up, If you don't have the record, go buy it so you can actually slap in on. Believe me, slapping on a record beats pushing a button any day. 

The other song, "Merry Christmas Baby" is a slow dance, ladies choice special. Use it.

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Listen:
Chuck Berry - Run, Rudolph, Run mp3 at Snuhthing Anything
Chuck Berry - Merry Christmas Baby (streaming) at YouTube

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

I'LL TAKE GO POWER AT ANY TIME

So you won't have to go digging for them, here's three from the GFOS, Worth at least a few listenings per year, You've only got a few weeks to enjoy them, in season anyway. So yeah, I'll post them again.

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Listen:
James Brown - Funky Christmas mp3 at SB Dave
James Brown - Go Power At Christmas Time mp3 at The Sound of Indie
James Brown - Santa Claus Go Straight to the Ghetto mp3 at The Mob Third Coast

Saturday, December 16, 2017

SHE LEFT US THIS

It hit me hard when Sharon Jones passed away a little over a year ago. Having grown up too late to experience Aretha Franklin's rise, becoming  the undeniable Queen of Soul, I became vested as a fan in Jones's rise, particularly because it came late in her life after decades of working regular jobs (if you count jobs like working as a corrections officer at Rikers Island a regular job). She was a powerhouse of an underdog, continuing to plug away as she battled cancer. While still fighting it, she suffered the first of two strokes while watching the 2016 presidential election results, joking the next day that it was caused by Donald Trump's victory. She had a second stroke the day after that and died a little over a week later.

Live she was dynamic, barely coming up for air in a set that was close to a James Brown pace. It was a show; soul, funk and sweat beginning to end without letting up. Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings are easily one of the top five bands I've seen live; tight, energetic, and able to fill a room with joy. You can't ask for more than that.



It's a Holiday Soul Party, her holiday themed LP was released in 2015. It's not your average holiday offering, I'll leave it at that.

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Thursday, December 14, 2017

SURVIVOR'S GUILT ROCK

Post-car crash Gene Vincent has always seemed kind of unsettling to me. He just seems a little crazed. Part of it is the weird lean he has, due to a bum leg, injured in a car crash that also killed his friend Eddie Cochran. The leg had to have been a constant reminder. Poor guy.



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Listen:
Gene Vincent - Lotta Lovin' mp3 at Internet Archive 1957

Tuesday, December 12, 2017

IN LIEU OF EGGNOG

I know it's early for this shit, but fuck it. I just ran across a reggae mix at Aquarium Drunkard, all Christmas type music. I'm not sure how I feel about that, reggae and Christmas. A little too much, Never mind the fact that Christmas music is only really played for about a month out of the year. Enough.

The mix has Alton Ellis, the Ethiopians, the Heptones, Jackie Mittoo, the Maytals, Sugar Minott and more, twenty eight songs in all. Lee Perry's cut is below. His holiday cheer face is above.

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Listen:
Lee Perry & Sandra Robinson - Merry Christmas, Happy New Year mp3 at Music Like Dirt
The mix:
Christmas Jambree - A Vintage Jamaican Yuletide Mixtape at Aquarium Drunkard 28 songs in a zip. Go there to get it

Sunday, December 10, 2017

PLUG SIDE

Last night I was in the mood for a walk to the main drag a few blocks away. I brought a radio with earbuds (surprisingly good sound for a $15 radio and earbuds found on the beach). I tuned into the jazz station. Blech. I'd forgotten that it was time for the blues show, this particular one my least favorite. It was playing guitar slinger type blues along the lines of the dreaded Blueshammer. I love blues as much as the next guy, but not when some peacock of a guitar player is strutting his stuff. So I switched stations to the r&b station and let me tell you, it was a yowza moment. The opening beats of Run DMC's "It's Like That" from their first LP. Man, I love vintage Run DMC. I worked in a restaurant when it came out, and the dishwasher played it non-stop for months. I remember thinking at the time that it was a turning point in rap. It was stripped down and powerful. No disco beats. That first Run DMC LP is right up there with the Sex Pistols debut inasmuch as it was raw and it took things in a entirely different direction.



After I got home it occurred to me that it was about the time of year to hit "Christmas In Hollis" again. Many of you will know that the horns sampled in it came from Clarence Carter's "Back Door Santa". Those of you who don't, should stop and appreciate that the most prominent sample in the song, the horns, came from another Christmas record and the key thing is, they didn't have to do that. No one would have known one way or another. For whatever reason, I find it cool that they took that extra step..

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Listen:
Run DMC - It's Like That (streaming) at YouTube
Run DMC - Christmas In Hollis mp3
at Said the Gramophone
Clarence Carter - Back Door Santa mp3
at AM Then FM
More Christmas hip hop:
Kurtis Blow - Christmas Rappin'
(streaming) at YouTube
Run The Jewels - A Christmas F*cking Miracle
(video) at YouTube
Snoop Doggy Dogg ft. Daz Dillinger, Nate Dogg, Tray Deee, Bad Azz - Santa Claus Goes Straight to the Ghetto
(video) at YouTube

Friday, December 8, 2017

GIVE IT UP. DUDE WROTE "TAKE FIVE"

I don't listen to Aimee Mann at all, but after seeing her on a past episode Portlandia, I appreciate that she has a sense of humor. She plays herself forced to take a job as a house cleaner because of declining returns from her recording output (due to downloads, ahem). I came away thinking that she'd be a good person to have a beer with, to shoot the shit. So, when I saw her selections in The Best Thing I've Heard All Year, in the year end issue of Mojo, I figured I'd actually take the thirty seconds to read it, depite the fact that her own music doesn't do much for me. I figured there might be some common ground. I was right. Along with Gil Evans, Gerry Mulligan and Steely Dan, she mentions a Paul Desmond LP, a 1969 release From The Hot Afternoon, which she describes as sounding like a soundtrack to a 70s TV show. She's not far off.

Coming from the sax player for the Dave Brubeck Quartet, the guy who wrote "Take Five" ten years earlier, From The Hot Afternoon is completely different. It sounds like 70s bachelor pad music, a mix of exotica, West Coast jazz, easy listening, bossa whatever and, if you haven't rolled your eyes out of your head yet, oddball instrumentation ala Pet Sounds. It's not Paul Desmond as I was used to hearing, but because it is such a good example of what it is, it's been added to the list. Also down there is a Brubeck cut that Desmond plays marimba on, another sort of oddball worth hearing.

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Listen:

Wednesday, December 6, 2017

TODAY WE MOURN WITH FRANCE

Years ago I worked with a Swiss woman who was a few years older than me. Knowing that I was into music, she asked if I liked Johnny Halladay. Who? She said he was like the Elvis of France. Big fucking deal, I thought. We, us Americans, didn't have to concern ourselves with French wannabe Elvises. Not only did we have the real Elvis (though he was already dead), we had in our heritage Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent, Johnny Burnette, Billy Lee Riley and a shitload of others. Thanks but no thanks.

But that name Johnny Halladay stayed in my head, just because she had made such a big deal about him, the swooning and all of that. It's weird how things like that stay lodged between lobes. I have to give her credit. If her intent was to spread the gospel of some French rocker, it worked, inasmuch as I was at least aware of him all these years later.

Halladay just died today. It's time to pay back my Swiss ex-coworker.

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Listen:

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

SONGS LIVE AT LEEDS TAUGHT US

Here's three covers that my brothers and I, along with countless others our age, first heard on the Who's 1970 LP, Live at Leeds. We had no idea what the originals were like, but the Who's versions were loud, and not just in volume. They were just fucking bombastic. 

Not long after that LP, my brothers and I started hearing "Summertime Blues", the original by Eddie Cochran, on the oldies station. Okay, not all that big of a departure. Both were rock 'n' roll, the Who's just turned up a bit. When we finally heard Johnny Kidd's "Shakin' All Over" it was the same, rock 'n' roll with a volume deficit. It would be decades before I ever heard Mose Allison's original "Young Man Blues". The difference is extreme. The Who's is a whole different monster. They should have renamed it "Pissed Off Young Man Blues."

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~
Listen:
Eddie Cochran - Summertime Blues mp3 at Rocky 52
Johnny Kidd and the Pirates - Shakin' All Over mp3
at ATumblr (?)
Mose Allison - Young Man Blues mp3
at Blogoblat (?)
The Who - Shakin' All Over
(streaming) at YouTube Live at Leeds 1970
Video:
The Who - Summertime Blues (live, Monterey 1967)
at YouTube
The Who - Young Man Blues (live, Tanglewood 1970)
at YouTube

Monday, December 4, 2017

THIS JUST IN: WAYNE COCHRAN MORTAL

The hair. That's the first thing you notice about Wayne Cochran. The questionable self-designed duds, the second thing you notice. Fancy footwork might be the third. Somewhere down the list would be the music. Cochran had a decent voice, but I gotta say, as much as I appreciate his musical efforts, it all goes back to his freak flag, the hair and the outfits. The Hound summed it up well "...Wayne Cochran, for sheer flamboyance made the New York Dolls, Gary Glitter, David Bowie, Slade, and all the other glam rockers of the day look like the Allman Brothers' road crew." Ouch! Sting like a bee!



Cochran died a couple weeks ago. Cloud Head is dead. Long live Cloud Head.

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Listen:

Sunday, December 3, 2017

THIS IS NOT A GIRL GROUP. IT IS A BAND.

Another couple Liverbirds songs I hadn't heard and a re-listening of their stuff I had and there goes my night. Look at the photo above, Does it get more badass? They're English, they're women, they're no flash, tough, beat meets garage. Check the video below and the other songs and videos at at the bottom. You may end up wondering why you've never heard of them. Good question.



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Listen:

Friday, December 1, 2017

YOU NEED THEM

Because hardly any of you freeloaders comment on posts (ahem), I have no idea what age group passes through here. So if you are of the age that knows the Kinks, take a pass if need be. I feel it necessary from time to time to be a cheerleader for this band or that, bands that really are essential. The Kinks are one, hence this post.

With this particular band I feel I owe a debt, not to them in particular but the cheerleaders that pushed them on me. Although I knew of the Kinks bigger hits back in the day, I just happened to know the president and vice president of their U.S. fan club. (The VP was Dan McLain who would later be known as Country Dick Montana.) In 1978 they were given a four pack of tickets to a show in L.A.. Most of their friends were total Kinks fanatics and were all drooling over the possibility of getting into the show. Mindful of their responsibilities as head of the U.S. fan club, they decided to invite two people (one being me) that had not seen the Kinks before. I couldn't say no, even if I wanted to. I did get to meet Ray Davies.

So, as common as these songs are to some of you, I'm paying it forward, albeit with a shitty blog post, so some of the unknowing rugrats might pick up something.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~
Listen:
The Kinks - You Really Got Me mp3 at Drummer World
The Kinks - All Day and All of the Night mp3
at Drummer World
The Kinks - I Need You mp3
at Internet Archive
The Kinks - I Gotta Move mp3
at Internet Archive
The Kinks - I'm Not Like Everybody Else mp3
at Internet Archive
The Kinks - Til the End of the Day mp3
at Wandervogel
The Kinks - A House in the Country mp3
at Internet Archive