Leonard Cohen classics reissued on vinyl @ Sundazed

Wasting time on the Sundazed site and saw that they just re-released five amazing Leonard Cohen albums on what they're referring to as "high-definition vinyl" (whatever that's supposed to mean). I'm guessing they sound great though.

These are the 5 albums: "Songs of...", "Songs from a Room", "Songs of Love & Hate", "Live Songs", and "New Skin for the Old Ceremony". Pretty much everything you would want reissued...

The price is ok at $18 each or all five for $75. Bless your pointed little heads Sundazed.

here's a start if he ain't your man...yet

Deep Purple - Belgium 1969 - hard as shit...

Fresh kills...

FUNNY WE SHOULD MEET HERE (the first real post)...

So I finally moved my old music blog from the original address, which happened to be hosted by Myspace. The reason for this is that said site is terrible for blogs. I've posted all the old posts from that blog on here as well. The new and improved blog will be written by yours truly and hopefully some other masked pop culture mavericks (this could mean you, if so desired) as time develops. Music, film, tv, art, video games, culture and a general sense of excitement should and will be presented here.

the Lyman Woodward Organization "Saturday Night Special" (1975 Strata / Wax Poetics)

A late birthday present is always a welcomed one...Friend and fellow digger Peter came through in a major way on a recent trip back to the mitten, laying this double slab of 180g vinyl reissue on me. Pressed in a quantity of only 1500, this album features some of the best instrumental Detroit jazz-funk ever blasted into microphones, courtesy of Lyman Woodward and an outstanding cast of musicians. The album cover suggests a gangster motif, complete with cash, joints, coke dollars, guns, clips, etc...Which is suitable since the music belongs in some amazing film that the blaxploitation lot wished they had made. Tons of electronic keyboard (Rhodes & Hammond) workouts, percusssion-crazed beats, bass, and the spiritual sax lines that the crew at Strata were known for. Every cut is amazing with a great variance in mood, top of the line, the reason we have reissues. Makes me wish Detroit was still cultivating such a scene...

check it here @ Dusty Groove

VINYL SHOW & TELL VOL 8 - MAN PARRISH FEAT. FREEZE FORCE...

Man Parrish feat. Freeze Force
"Boogie Down (Bronx) / Boogie Down (Dub)" disco 12-inch
Sugarscoop Records 1984 USA

I'm so stuck on the 1960's as a musical decade, forever talking about the innovations and sheer amount of diversity for which it produced. The truth, obviously, is that amazing music creeps out of every time period and every geographic location. With that being laid down, let's go back in time when hip hop was young, fertile, and more obsessed with outer space than Tangerine Dream...1984.

Bambaataa really messed a lot of dudes up when he dropped some Kraftwerk. It seemed to set the whole tone of a futuristic genre in the 80's that was half electro and half hip hop, full of the latest synths and drum machines. This was made by two producers (Man Parrish and Raul Rodriguez) who went on to win grammys for other huge projects later in their careers, while the MC (John Carter) is pretty off the map except for a few other spots on 12-inches. I'm gonna guess that the independent label itself (Sugarscoop) was a takeoff on Sugar Hill's massive success.

This tune is about as classic as any track from that time, the Roland 808's and 909's bumping like crazy, vocoded lyrics coming out of both stereo channels. I loathe 80's rock for being way too polished in terms of sound, but these guys knew how to work the aesthetics of the future perfectly.

This shit would still kill any dance floor today, especially the B-side dub mix. Recommended for fans of the Soulsonic Force, Jonzun Crew, Giorgio Moroder, or the theme song to that movie Fletch.

"...they snatch gold chains when the cops ain't lookin'..."
"...Mayor Koch boogies down to the Boogie Down Bronx..."

this gets a 7 out of 10 on the "that funky old record smell" scale...

VINYL SHOW & TELL VOL. 7 - CEM KARACA...

Cem Karaca
"Apaslar" 4 song EP 45rpm
( 60's / Turkey )

{I can't get to sleep tonight and am super faded...This record is it right now.}

Turkey was the most western country you could find in the middle east, in the 60's and 70's for awhile at least in terms of pop culture (besides India). As the amazingly large slew of reissue albums can attest, psych, garage, beat, and surf rock were well alive in and around Istanbul. It's also worthy noting that this was happening pretty much at the same time as the British and American scenes that influenced it (usually there's a stylistic "lag time" of a few years).

My guess is 1965-66 for this one; by 68-69 these guys were getting pretty heavy & fuzzed unlike the twangy surf greatness here. seriously great guitar playing all around, great mixture of traditional Turkish music and Dick Dale/Tornados/Davie Allen style. I know the Ventures were huge all over that part of the world, but these guys are way rougher. The singer sounds pretty desperate at times (compliment). And it's four songs, not two...rad.

They're all awesome, but the last one's a burner (and I'm not just saying that to get you to listen to the whole thing). I really need to go to bed.

alright, this one gets a 10 out of 10 on "let's call it a day" scale...

VINYL SHOW & TELL VOL 6 - CRAZY ELEPHANT...

Crazy Elephant
"Gimme Gimme Good Lovin' / Dark Part of my Mind"
(1969 Bell Records / USA)

(B-side plays first this time...)

So much deception surrounds this seemingly simple 45rpm single. With a title like "Dark Part of My Mind" and Crazy Elephant, a record from 1969 implicitly lets the buyer know of its psychedelic content. Bell Records, moderately successful pop label branching into rock, nothing conspicuous right? Oh shit, wait, there's another credit at the bottom, "Kasenetz-Katz Assoc". Jerry Kasenetz and Jeff Katz, two guys responsible for some of the cheesiest, wannabe, safe for kids, Top 40 bubblegum psych pop. "Manufactured" pretty much all their bands, traded members like baseball teams, assigned songs, faked names/bios, used studio musicians, and so on...

So how is it that the B-side here is so damn good?? This is the dirty kind of stuff that pops up on Bomp Records compilations and sends junkies like me into the crates, scouring bins for one trace of some impossibly rare slab. Well, I'd venture to say that this is the Super K production team's take on Vanilla Fudge and the like; heavy fuzzed out psychedelic rock & soul. Apparently they were proud of this tune and used it again for another studio band titled Cpt. Groovy and his Bubblegum Army, further highlighting the interchangable nature of Kasenetz-Katz songs. It's not exactly rare either, just keep looking.

The A-side, "Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'", is catchy and was a chart hit, but who cares, the real business is happening in back here. "Dark Part of My Mind" knocks the door right the fuck open, immediately ripping your belongings off the shelf, looking for a drug stash while some long-haired freak blares his Vox Tonebender in your girlfriend's startled face, no hesitation. Eventually everyone is crazy-eyed and snarling at the ceiling, "Outta the dark part of my mind, yeah, aaaahh!!!". A personal fav.

this one gets a 9 out of 10 on the "Oh, word?" scale...

VINYL SHOW & TELL VOL 5 - THE BLOODY TRUTH...

the Bloody Truth
"Baby I Love You / I Can't Hear What You Say" 45rpm
( year unknown / USA )

Get ready kids, I'm gonna lay some heat on ya. This little slab has some major funk on the A side in the form of a seriously punchy cover of Aretha Franklin's tune "Baby I Love You".

It's been tough finding anything out in regards to who, when, and where this record was made, but here's my best guess: a handpicked Northern Soul garage band from suburban America in 1968 who was given this huge brass section and a guest singer (Terry Casburn here) by an up and coming manager or radio station disc jockey who told them to make a "hit". Maybe, who knows...

The first side works every angle of a genre so fucking well, right down to the drum break, Leslie-fied Hammond organ, big horn stabs, and choppy Steve Cropper guitar. I'd be afraid to sample this because it would automatically sound like you were ripping off RJD2. The B-side is a lot more subtle, like four white guys trying to be the Temptations with moderate success. That one horn bridge sounds just like a Lou Rawls song too, which I appreciate.

It's gotten good prices on eBay but this little guy ain't goin nowhere.

this one gets 9 out of 10 on the "overflowing crates" scale...

VINYL SHOW & TELL VOL 4 - THE CARAVELLES...

the Caravelles
"You Don't Have to be a Baby to Cry / The Last One to Know"
(Smash Records 1963 USA/UK)

This 45 has been in my collection for a long time now, originally acquired at a local record store in the town I grew up as a kid. I'm sure that I mistook this for some Northern Soul band, looking only at the year and label without giving it a listen. Didn't think much of it until I started making record-only mix cd's for an ex-girlfriend, at which point the A side hooked me big time.

"You Don't Have to be a Baby to Cry" sounds older than it actually is. The tune could certainly pass for early to mid 50's pop but was recorded in 1963 by two co-workers from an office building (Lois Wilkinson and Andrea Simpson) who would never really record anything else in their lifetimes. Keep in mind that the Stones and Beatles were starting to take over then, thus making a song like this sound extremely tame.

Nothing complicated about the melody, the lyrics, the production, or the overall mood...Just saccharine. Vocals are sung with a subtle whisper, impeccably in harmony, and drowned in the most gorgeous of echo chambers. Brushed drums, acoustic bass, electric guitar, finger snaps, and some perfect vibraphone adds up to what sounds like a take on the kind of pop music Joe Meek was producing during that era (in the same country as the Caravelles, the UK). This music also reminds me of David Lynch films (he uses a lot of 60's girl pop). A long-forgotten chart single that deserves a second look by all hopeless romantics and record nerds.

this one gets 7 out of 10 on the "records before rent" scale...

VINYL SHOW & TELL VOL 3 - THE CYRKLE...

The Cyrkle
"Turn Down Day / Red Rubber Ball" (1966, USA)

Waking up on days when you have absolutely nothing to do causes a gentle feeling of euphoria that settles in as you plan for hours of contented time wasting. I usually get very excited and go immediately back to sleep. The Cyrkle covers this with the simple dumb charm that only mid 60's pop psychedelia can provide.

"Turn Down Day" is one of the most perfect pop songs I've ever heard, no doubt one of the best from that era of cliche-saturated simplicity. You've heard every element in this song already (sitars, three-part vocal harmonies, the obligatory "groovy" and "dig"), yet you're sucked in and tapping your shit immediately. Just like a blues junkie, I never get sick of hearing a few basic elements of a certain genre being recombined over and over, because, like musical Darwinism, some tend to "survive" well and others are "selected" to die horrible deaths (usually in shoe boxes at junk shops). The tack-piano intro syncopates with the sitar and from there it becomes extremely tight rhythm-wise, snappy drums and pretty complex little bass runs squiggling in and out. "Nothing on my mind...and I dig it."

These guys could write their own songs, but not this pretty successful chart single by Blume & Keller. Dave Blume was a jazz guy who dabbled with folk music in the 50's and began publishing songs for money when his trio didn't take off. He was one of those guys from that time who were generally older than most of the hippie kids but was rooted in the beat/jazz/poetry culture that spawned them and therefore openly embraced the psychedelic revolution. He eventually became obsessed with synthesizers (good man) and played on a few of Hugo Montenegro's mid 70's albums. Blume's co-writing partner for this song was Jerry Keller, get this, the author of the theme song to the tv show Bewitched and several other pop hits. Apparently Brian Epstein, former manager of the Beatles, got the band their record deal and several opening spots for the fab four in 1966. There's even rumors that John Lennon coined their name the Cyrkle as a take off on the Byrds, who were doing very good on the charts. Furthernore, Paul Simon wrote their other big hit "Red Rubber Ball" (the B side here) as a throw away for them to have after a friend of his saw the group play a show. Pretty good connections for a little combo from Pennslyvania...

this one gets 8 out of 10 on the "Do you have two?" scale...

VINYL SHOW & TELL VOL 2 - ANNIE PHILIPPE...

Annie Philippe
"Pour Qui, Pour Quoi / Tchakaboum" 45rpm
(France - late 60's)

Oh Annie...Dear sweet Annie. Look at you; somewhere in a high contrast pre-psychedelic jungle, cute as could possibly be, all hair & teeth for the camera, ready to unleash some of the most infectious stylized French beat-pop this side of Gainsbourgh. Did you ever ride in Godard's convertible? Probably. Those drums really sound sweet with the Beatles guitar and transistor organ. It's like you have the mod beat version of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir (channeling "Telstar") backing you. Am I babbling on? Sorry, I just really like your record and think it's adorable.

this one gets a 8 out of 10 on the "Woah, really?" scale...

ONE VIEWIING OF PUTNEY SWOPE WILL NOT DO...

"So a middle-aged squaw with a cleft head and an axe in her back comes running out of the woods..."

It's the best movie ever made. There are no other films quite like it. No joke...

Putney Swope was made in 1969 by Robert Downey Sr., father of the actor. He and his friends used to work for advertising companies in NYC at the time and would steal equipment to make short films on the weekend and Swope was the eventual result of these experiments when Downey decided to do a proper independent feature. He got a little bit of money from an independent film distributor and the Guggenheim Foundation, made a crew out of his film school friends, got a bunch of local actors and did pretty much everything else himself. The same people who distributed the film More (the one that Pink Floyd did music for) liked Putney Swope and got it out to colleges and on to cult stardom.

"Your father was a horse's ass."
"Yeah, but he dug you very much."

So what's it about? The American advertising world and how it aims to manipulate the desires of people for no redeeming purpose other than the possibility of coaxing money out of their pocket. It also has a great deal to do with race in America at the time, most notably black people and the residual racism from the decades prior. But it's not brooding, dour, hard-to-digest, artsy, pretentious, depressing or anything of the sort. In fact, it isn't serious at all. The world the film has created is entirely its own, filled to the brim with absurdity, surrealism, irony, visual/audio gags, and so many small brilliant moments that you will find yourself seeing new shit all the time.

"Putney, brothers in the black room."

Putney Swope is the only black guy on the board of a powerful ad agency (as music director) who accidentally gets voted in as CEO after the unexpected death of its president. Since they cannot vote for themselves, all the board members assume nobody else will vote for Swope, thus "throwing" their vote away in a power grab. Putney fires everybody, changes the name of the agency to "Truth and Soul", hires all black people, and begins making subversive commercials that are extremely popular. That's really it, although there's a lot more weirdness later in the film that form the conflict...Mainly the fact that the president of the USA is a heroin-addicted midget who consults an evil Nazi businessman in his dealings with Swope. Seriously amazing...

"Putney says the Borman 6 girl is got to have SOUL!"

So here's some clips to get you started, but you'll wanna see the whole thing. Rhino reissued the dvd a few years back, so that might still be available. The soundtrack (by Charley Cuva) is all killer no filler, check the reissue of that too. I should really have a big Putney Swope viewing party some night, for all the uninitiated and the already obsessed.

VINYL SHOW & TELL VOL 1 - NESRIN SIPAHI...

NESRIN SIPAHI 45 rpm Single (Turkey late 60's)

This curious 45 was in a box underneath some fishing tackle and old fireplace accessories at a flea market. The guy running those particular tables kept saying, "Yeah, there's some singles under there...Er, uh somewhere over there." Eventually I found said box only to discover a pretty mediocre selection of mostly country & western from from the 1940's-50's, with the exception of about eleven or so that were grouped at the back, all from Turkey. I didn't really know what country they were from at the time, but they all looked to be from the late 60's to late 70's, but certainly mysterious. Told the guy I'd take em all, he said five bucks and I said ok.

This is one of the lucky records that came with a picture sleeve, a rarity for most old 45's. The music is pretty well-produced traditional Turkish music fused with some trippy nods to the kind of orchestral psych-folk that guys like Donovan were doing at that time. There's great flute lines backed by a huge orchestra of strings, Farfisa sounding electric organ, perfect echo chamber vocals, electric guitar leads, bongos, and drum kit. Sipahi is supposed to be one of the most famous female vocalists from Turkey, often singing romantic ballads, taking the role of something like a Turkish Dusty Springfield hanging out with Morriconne in Istanbul.

APPROVED!
it gets 7 out of 10 on the "Oh shit, look at this!" Scale

TIME WASTERS BONANZA...

album of the day

RECORD DIGGING REPORT OF THE BEMUSED...

the spoils of war...

Gil Evans "Svengali" - Not Bill, but Gil, the guy who arranged the strings for some of the best pre-electric Miles Davis records...At least that's why I recognized his name. Big band jazz composition with plenty of synthesizer weirdness. Takes cues from Zappa's "400 Motels" and the epic Mingus stuff. A perfect record with no wasted time.

The Rascals "Collections" - I gotta thank Wax Poetic for putting me up on a band that has been around informally for my whole life without me being aware of who they are. Straight ahead garage r&b from the mid 60's that sounds like Booker T. playing organ for Mitch Ryder. Rhino reissue for cheap!

The Rascals "Groovin" - Their drummer looks so much like McCartney in the picture on the back of the sleeve. The title track was (is) a Top 40 masterpiece that gets played everyday on the radio still. Here's a secret though...Most of the other songs are even better. Fluteman Hubert Laws even pops up on the B side, in all of his pre-CTI glory.

The Rascals "Once Upon a Dream" - Speaking of Paul, this record is one of many from 60's bands that clearly wanted a piece of the Sgt. Pepper's pie, for better or worse. Some songs work well, but some lyrics and string arrangements just become too calculated and are anticipated. There's some great pop-psych numbers on here though, plus the obligatory Indian raga-esque track. Oh yeah, and King Curtis pops in for a bit too!

The Rascals "Freedom Suite" - They really were always a step behind the Beatles conceptually, doing their version of the White Album here. Like that one, this double LP is very eclectic for the band and finds everybody contributing their own compositions. This is worth buying simply for the side 4 track "Cute" which takes up the whole thing. It's the loosest and most far out you'll hear these guys get, a bit like the MG's on acid, or Deep Purple in Memphis I guess.

Vangelis "l'apocalypse des animaux soundtrack" - I'm learning that this guy has a lot more to offer than Blade Runner or Chariots of Fire, or anything from the 80's for that matter. Awhile back I found an Aphrodite's Child record (his prog rock band from the early 70's) that is fucking nuts, and now this odd trance-inducing film score. It's apparently a brooding artsy nature documentary of some sort, with some very psychedelic leanings. So many keyboards here, no cheese though. Some ambient tracks go on for a long long time with ambient patterns, usually played by strings, synthesizers, and gorgeous Rhodes piano chords. Highly recommended.

Sussman, Laverne, Moses "Tributaries" - Two guys with keyboards of all sorts and a drummer put down this fusion jazz from the mid 70's, complete with a letter of intent written by the musicians themselves. Spacey, cosmic, funky, definitely a take on the Weather Report/Headhunters thing that was goin round at the time. Check the gear: 2 MiniMoog's, 2 Fender Rhodes, 2 acoustic pianos, Arp Omni, and a Clavinet...Be me and try not to buy this.

Milt Jackson "At the Museum of Modern Art" - The only other Milt record I have is "Olinga" on CTI, which I've sampled twice already, so this couldn't be bad in my mind. This is a live one, much more classic 50/60's sound than the slick 70's stuff. Amazing gatefold sleeve with sort of a pop up picture layout with detailed liner notes in a book form. Great layout and a superb recording, and another example as to why graphic design on albums will always be superior to cd's.

Paul Horn & Nexus "self titled" - Horn gives me mixed feelings. He has a lot of records that I see everywhere, most of which were probably bought by early New Age flakes and hippies who missed the first time around in the 60's. That being said, he recorded some pretty nice flute music that has been sampled by the likes of DJ Krush and others. His best work (like this) features his trademark minimal playing through echoplexed microphones while some percussionists play very quietly, or sometimes not at all. Nothing pretentious or cheesey on this one, just very spaced-out stoner background music of the highest order.

George Duke "Don't Let Go" - George is always coming up in my life, either through magazines, beatmakers, music blogs, Zappa fans, or my buddy Peter (who just bought some more Duke himself). He is one of the keyboard players from the 70's that did everything but doesn't get the proper recognition for it (like Chick Corea or Herbie Hancock). Did crazy shit on the best Zappa albums, did crazy solo records in Germany for MPS, rock, funk, fusion, slick r&b, and of course disco at the end (and back to classic jazz again). You should buy this lp because the oh so sexy killer cut "Dukey Stick" is on it.

Lalo Schifrin "Towering Toccata" - One of my favorite CTI disco records...And I'm not a big fan of disco. But then again, disco was ok for awhile when it was still a subgenre of funk & soul, or when it's sampled for early 80's hip hop. Anyway, this record is by film composer giant Schifrin, so it sounds way more dramatic, lush, and awesome than most dance music of the time. Tons of fuzz, wah wah, Rhodes, synth, drums, percussion, and everything else fun. Everything is bigger and better when you have the guy who wrote the Mission:Impossible theme song at the controls.

Antonio Carlos Jobim - "Wave" - Rounding out the CTI collection again...One of the best I've heard from the Brazilian master. Ron Carter and Urbie Green are in the band on this one, plus the artwork is awesome. That's all, go get it.

Shawn Lee / Clutchy Hopkins - "Clutch of the Tiger" - Conclusive evidence (or so I think) that Shawn is Clutchy, but I could be wrong. This is new music, therefore you can go read a review HERE.

Ratatat - "LP3" - Oh no, more new shit! Just wanted to get ahold of this on vinyl. This is a lot better than "Classics", which never really impressed me after their amazing debut. They're still one of my favorites, but I think their melody formulas are starting to wear a bit thin. I'm sure you hipster kids don't need any heads up on this one.


album of the day:

JOHNNY ARCADE WAS OBNOXIOUS...

I feel like you had to get up so early to watch this show when it was originally aired in metro Detroit (like 1991 or so), but it was so worth it when you did. It meant getting ready for school early, but that was ok too because it would get you psyched to play Nintendo and you would have like 15 extra minutes to play before the bus.

Video Power had two hosts; the sleazy lookin older guy, who you could always tell had no idea what the hell was going on, and a young guy called Johnny Arcade. He was the epitome of how most companies portrayed gamers at the time: a rad wise cracking surfer type kid. I thought he was fucking awesome at the time, but he really is obnoxious in hind sight. That's ok, he gave the weekly "Video Power Edge", a segment with tips, passwords, secrets, etc. You would sit there with a pencil and piece of paper, trying to write some super long level code before a commercial break.

Kids would face off, competing for high scores on several classic games from the time like TMNT, Mega Man, Rad Racer, Battletoads...Not those dumb fake virtual games like the ones in Nick Arcade. Whoever was the final champion got awarded a chance to run through a gauntlet of video games that they would stick to a velcro vest. Eventually they would go down a slide and check out all the gear they won, the part that made me and every other kid go fucking crazy with envy. What a genius concept for a show. If you have downloaded or taped episodes we need to talk.


album of the day:

THE FIVE BEST EPISODES OF MST3K...

I've spent far more time watching Mystery Science Theater 3000 than any respectable person should readily be able to admit. The kind of humor and overall perspective of that show have always seemed to be what "funny" must really mean to me since I was like 12 (when it was originally aired). I laugh an obscene amount while watching it. I've spit out drinks, hacked on some rips, and almost choked on starburst candy due to laughing complications during that show. If you are unlucky to have never witnessed an episode, the basic premise is friends making fun of bad movies, very very bad movies. These guys are funnier than your friends.

The following are my top five favorite episodes (yep):

Manos: Hands of Fate
By far, the worst and most bizarre film choice by the crew...which makes for some of the best jokes. A family gets lost driving in the desert and somehow invites themselves to stay with a strange man named Torgo. Torgo has massive pillow-shaped lumps in his pants in the knee regions, walks with a limp, speaks in fractured bursts, and works for an evil magician ("the master") who looks a bit like Freddie Mercury. The magician also has a harem of posessed wives who get in masssive cat fights. The best!

MST3K: The Movie
This was the culmination of many years of the tv series having a huge cult following. It's no different than any episode really, except for they swear a bit, it's shot on film, and you can tell they really tried to make every joke count. The movie they chose for it is "This Island Earth" which is bad but not the worst there is. Aliens are coexisting with elite professionals of earth, only to later reveal that they plan to steal our natural resources cause their own planet is dying. My favorite part is when they joke about the "painting of a burger on the wall".

Mitchell
I kept hearing about this episode, for years, from people who don't even watch the show much. It evaded my grasp until last year when I netflixed that shit. It is indeed a classic. Perhaps the most contrived, uninspired, run-of-the-mill, Charles Bronson-esque action cop film ever made, starring Joe Don Baker as a narco cop in the 70's. This was the last episode with Joel before Mike took over as host. (I won't comment on the Joel VS Mike debate, even though I have my favorite like most.)

The Sidehackers
This seems to be one that my fellow fans are sleeping on because nobody I talk to has seen it. Damn shame since it's one of the best! This is a really bad film, one of those movies made in the 60's to show how the counterculture "really is" in the most ridiculous of ways. Sidehacking is riding a dumb-ass sidecar off road motorcycle with a partner at a race with other fools like you. Of course everybody is a motorhead, Happy Days-styled greaser, beatnik, Hells' Angel, or the dreaded "square". Favorite joke: "You're so square baby, your head's like a box." "Yeah, but there's a prize inside."

The "Film Shorts" Collections
You can get these on a few of the DVD box sets that have come out (volumes 2, 3, 6). Probably some of the best material for ripping apart: classroom scare films, instructional hygiene films, government propaganda, and other various oddball shorts that would drive you insane under any other circumstances. It's hard to pick a favorite one, but I would have to go with "Last Clear Chance", a super dramatic short designed to scare the shit out of you. Best quote: "Where did it come from? It came on the tracks, it couldn't come from anywhere else." Uh, really?



album of the day:

SET THE CONTROLS FOR THE HEART OF THE SUN...

I liked Rick Wright a lot. His numerous psychedelic keyboard excursions were one of the most consistently interesting and beautiful elements of Pink Floyd. Of particular note are all the albums leading up to arguably their most popular record (DSide of the Moon). I really love those crazy transistor organ runs (all done with a Farfisa Duo) from the first two albums, all tweaked out with Echoplex and phase. He eventually switched to a Hammond organ, like everybody else at the time, but was also amazing at piano. The only times I can recall a piano being used would be the crazy improv shit (like Saucerful...) or go completely the other way with like amazingly lush melodic Satie-esque lines (like "Us and Them"). Never solo'd a lot, which was very unusual in that era, despite having great jazz chops. Subtle and really underrated.

I always appreciated when watching Floyd interviews or documentaries how quiet, selective, and modest he is. I think Syd Barrett is obviously the lifeforce of that band and was sad about his lifelong mental descent, who died two years ago. Roger Waters is still around and is the other crucial foundation of the early stuff, but he is also responsible for all the bloated, over-produced shit records I don't like as well. He also seems (used to be?) arrogant and over-entitled to how much he thinks the band was and is his. He also fired Rick Wright from the band sometime in the late 70's because he didn't think he was contributing enough, although he was also not letting anyone do so at the same time. Nick Mason is an awesome drummer, seems cool. David Gilmore also seems like a nice guy, but I think it would have been most fun to hang out with Syd or Rick, or both, on acid.

-RIP- Richard William Wright (1943-2008)
...Fancy lad, fellow cosmonaut, and the main reason I bought a Farfisa.






album of the day:

RECORD DIGGING REPORT...EMPTY NEST WEEKEND...

The house is empty, except for me and a cat. Both my roommates are gone for the weekend, attending the Dunegrass music festival at Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes. I was invited but couldn't find enough bands on the bill to interest me for several days. It's ok, too many, ahem, party favors in my arsenal to be bored. Stratosphere baby. The records will be played loudly through night & day for the next few...


the Ab Dabs "Waters' Gate" - This is actually a Pink Floyd bootleg show in Paris circa 1970. There's so many clues on this record that it is indeed Floyd, which is why boots can be so awesome. They used to do all this stuff just so they wouldn't get yanked off the shelves at record stores. For example, this one calls the album "Waters' Gate" (a nod to Roger Waters), the label is "Dark Moon Records", and there's a hazy, but identifiable photo of them on the back. The sound quality is ok. Features some Syd songs and a bunch from Atom Heart Mother.

Morning Glory "Two Suns Worth" - Not really a standout record, but it's purty good. Kind of a Jefferson Airplane setup with 2 guitars, girl/guy singers, LSD references, etc. They're definitely a bit more fuzzed out, and a tad stranger. Best song title goes to, "Stone Good Day".

Grant Green "Green is Beautiful" - This is a big one for jazz/funk guys and beat makers, and for good reason. Not exactly rare (on Blue Note) but really really funky for that label...Probably the funkiest GG ever got. The extra percussionists make this record, for me. Original pressing for a buck dude.

Donald Byrd "Blackjack" - Another offering from Blue Note...Pretty straight ahead 60's post-bop before Donald got the smoov funk of the Blackbyrds together. Billy Higgins and Walter Booker just kill the rhythms on this one...Recommended.

Willis Jackson "Blue Gator" - This is another post-bop album, but a little bit more 50's sounding than the Byrd lp. From Prestige, a label that's just as good as Blue Note, Impulse, Pacific, etc if you dig this kind of jazz. Good all around, but I bought it because Brother Jack McDuff plays organ.

Man "Be good to yourself at least once a day" - Heavy psych? Standard mid-70's prog? A bit of both really, all the while a bit pop. Apparently this is some sort of supergroup from the island of Wales, featuring ex-members of Badfinger and the Iveys. Lots of Hammond organ and semi-complex riffs that trade-off, a few good solos, and really accessible lyrics for prog. Not their best album, but still good. The gatefold artwork has a crazy pop-up book island map of Wales and its musical history...Awesome!

Manfred Mann's Earth Band "Nightingales & Bombers" - This is what keyboard player Manfred Mann did after the disbanding of his extremely good 60's band simply titled Manfred Mann. This sounds nothing like that band, but is still worth a listen, especially for samples. Sounds like they were doing a take-off on every synthesizer heavy prog/fusion band from the mid 70's with a friendly influence of Zappa. Once again, the lyrics are really simple, and of course space is mentioned a few times. Never gets too weird.

Jon Lucien "Mind's Eye" - Fucking amazing. It looked like every other electric jazz-funk record I enjoy: smiling guy with afro on the cover, titles that reference mental exspansion and inner peace, Fender Rhodes piano, Arp synth, mad percussion, etc. What I didn't count on was that the guy is obviously from South America, judging from the rhythms and percussion section. The songs are so good, so well-written, and with weird time signatures. Some of the love songs teeter on the edge of being schmaltzy but then pull back into something so honest that you just have to smile. Glad to find this one.

Claudine "self titled" - This is exactly what I thought it looked like in the record bin; a cute French girl pop singer doing sweetened-up cover versions of pop songs & film themes. A bit of Serge G, but for teenage girls, not old guys. Favorite track is her version of "Un Homme Et Une Femme".

Irene Reid "The World Needs What I Need" - Ferociously empowered female Black power funk for AM radio in the mid 70's. A bit Aretha, a bit Roberta Flack, and a bit Millie Jackson. Some songs are boring, mainly due to the pretty traditional string arrangements. But the good ones are really great. The last two songs on the B side are worth buying it twice. I'm currently working with some samples from this one...Don't bite sucka!

the Remains "Diddy Wah Diddy" - I heard the song "Don't Look Back" on some garage rock compilation and was blown away. It's a really tight 2 minute song with electric piano, fuzz guitar, triple harmonized vocals, and great drumming. One of those 60's songs that reminds you why so many bands are still ripping off that decade. The rest of their songs are great too, but can't beat that one, which is included on the B side. And the band looks so fucking cool too...Highly recommended.

Rolling Stones "Aftermath" - Yeah, so I like the early Stones, a lot...Big whoop, wanna fight about it? C'mon, Brian Jones, Keith and Mick were so good together, despite the pathetic versions of themselves that they've become (well, not Brian). No bullshit songs to be found here, but the standouts are obviously "Paint it Black", "Under my Thumb", and "I am Waiting". Original pressing.

Rolling Stones "Now!" - Seriously, don't give me that look. This is the old one that they did at Chess Studios in Chicago, just because they respected that label so much. That's a good way to spend a recording budget. Straight r&b and blues on this one, no Jones weirdness yet. Also original pressing.

Rolling Stones "Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass)" - My record dealer friend threw this one in on account of me buying the other two. It's a really early greatest hits compilation with a really cool gatefold picture book of them in various studios, and one of Brian Jones looking at the camera, sticking his tongue out in disgust, stoned and exhausted. Glad "Play with Fire" is on it.









(home alone! and drunk!!)

HARD TIMES MEANS SMALLER RECORDS...VINYL DIGGING REPORT...

Spending too much on everything lately...Does this stop me from record shopping? Not at all. The beauty of vinyl is that it comes in all sizes, hence the '45 Sunday Hunt'. Assuming that it's not something super rare (that the dealer knows about at least), a 45rpm is usually at least half the price of a good 12-inch album. Boo yah, more bang for your music buck.

Diggin in them cakes and pulled out:

Count Five 'Psychotic Reaction / They're Gonna Get You' - classic songs, drove Lester Bangs to write a lengthy essay that's a great read. classic mid 60's garage fuzztone blues, with heavy harmonica, doubletime freakout, and a big nod to the Yardbirds. Essential.

HB Barnum 'Hallelujah / Lost Love' - this guy used to play piano & organ and eventually started co-writing with David Axelrod during his best period at the end of the 60's. This one sounds earlier, it's instrumental soul dance music that's heavy on the Hammond and Spector percussion.

Donald Austin 'Crazy Legs / Nan-Zee' - Holy jeez, this one's a killer...Bought it based on the title and the private press-styled label and couldn't be more glad. Gutbucket hard funk with choppy horns and awesome drums. Sounds like something that should be reissued. Put out by Woody Records.

Cal Green 'Revolution Rap (parts 1 & 2)' - I don't know if this guy is related to Grant Green, the jazz guitar player, but he sounds a lot like him. Good funky, late 60's Blue Note sounding jazz. Two variations on the same tune.

Paul Humphrey 'Cool Aid / Detroit' - this one is another heavy bit of funk, except i can't say that it's an original find by me. saw this on the Brainfreeze dvd by Shadhow and Cut Chemist. 'Detroit' is the B side with amazing drum breakdowns. Got it at the bottom of grocery bag for a buck.

Laura Lee 'If I'm Good Enough to Love / If You Can Beat Me Rockin' - On the Hot Wax label, which was a branch of Buddha, the mega-pop machine of the late 60's that could produce some fairly boring shit. Their stuff often looks psychedelic or soulful and will sometimes disappoint, big time. This one is good though, female-fronted fuzz bass soul with clean production and heavy drums.

Latimore 'Ain't Nobody Gonna Make Me Change My Mind / Let's Straighten It Out' - slick Fender Rhodes jazz funk from Florida, probably from around 72-75. Amazing tunes, great label sticker (Glades Records), sounds like Roy Ayers.

Jimmy 'Bo' Horne 'Gimme Some (parts 1 & 2)' - like the best that James Brown ever recorded, with a dash of the J5...from the Alston label in 1975, 'Bo' put out this classic song complete with dance instrumental. The beat is straight four to the floor and could get a crowd to go nuts today i bet. Good, so good.

Betty Wright 'Clean Up Woman / I'll Love You Forever' - Also from Alston Records, this was written by Little Beaver so you know it's gots to be funky. This was a pretty big song in Miami apparently when it came out in 1972, for good reason.

The Flaming Ember '1200 Miles / Sunshine' - slight touches of the heavy make this band sound a little like Earth Wind and Fire on acid, but nowhere near somebody like P Funk, who goes all the way. Real well recorded, was probably a major label offshoot that never made it. Not bad, not bad.

Fabulous Counts 'Lunar Funk / Get Down People' - Super funk from the Moira label, which looks like an independent, but was distributed by Cotillion (a big guy)...weird. anyway, the music is dirty heavy funk with electric organ (sounds like a Vox). 'Lunar Funk' is my favorite due to them running the organ thru an echoplex to get a great spacey sound that oscillates to the beat. highly recommended!

James Brown 'The Payback I & II' - already have a copy, but you should always buy this record if you see one for less than $5...Trust me, you'll wear it out quickly. Don't know this one? Then you ain't down with Mr. Brown. A good place to start.

James Brown 'Funky President / Coldblooded' - Same as above...Both of these are heavily sampled tracks that have graced some classic hip hop records, so you won't find anything new here, but the songs are still amazing. 'Funky President' is one of my favorite JB songs period...Bassline is just ridiculous.

Rufus Thomas 'Do the Funky Penguin (parts 1 & 2)' - by now you've probably seen the pattern with good funk 45's...put the radio cut on the A side and the instrumental dance cut on the B side. Love it, not unlike hip hop 12's. Another classic, as far as sampling breaks go, but still just a great one to have for listening/mixing/gettin-the-fuck-down.

Eric Donaldson 'the Price / More Love' - who is this guy?! sounds like late 60's dub reggae from King Tubby's studio. Nope, it was recorded in 76 by Chin-Clive in New York City, Brooklyn acutally. Chin-Clive were the guys who ran the Impact! label in Jamaica in the late 60's, putting out classic Augustus Pablo sides. Refreshingly, there's no update on the sound quality or instrumentation compared to their older productions on this one...Classic dubwise riddims.

Vanity Fare 'Man Child / Hitchin a Ride' - eerie Hammond organ and Mellotron pads out this strange pop-psych single from the late 60's. the lyrics to 'Man Child' are all about things the singer used to do as a kid, that he of course has now lost the ability to do since he's old. sad and weird. 'Hitchin a Ride' is ok, but rips off Manfred Mann way too much with the Mellotron flute intro.

Billy Paul 'War of the Gods' - this was my only cheat on buying a 12-inch album. looks like psyched out soul-funk, but is actually pretty tame. however, the title track is a slickly produced 10 minute epic with crazy synths and electric piano. Plus, i'm almost positive that there's a DJ Shadow sample on here too ('The time has come...' vocal bit).



album of the day:

BORIS ROCKED THE SHIT...

I'm still reeling from the surprisingly large amount of Molson beer I was able to drink within the course of one band's set, but Boris was really good tonight. Rolled in with the sisters M. We came in halfway through Torche's set, which wasn't terrible, but was pretty boring stoner metal ala Sleep, without the structure. Boris was rad though...They had a second guitar player, two Space Echo's, an Ebow, and tube amps that have really fucked up my hearing for the night. The drummer had a mic, not to sing, but to yell, "Woooo!" whenever necessary. Made me think of Timmy as a drummer. Tons of smoke, so good, Japan understands drone metal way better than anybody else.

I just wish the sound guy at St. Andrews wouldn't wash out all the mid-range with bass & shit. It probably works for top 40 hip hop, but sounds like garbage on Orange amps turned up full bore.

We drove past the Warped Tour (@ Comerica) on the way in...Didn't see any of 'em at Boris...Chumps. Their loss.

album of the day:

RECORD DIGGING REPORT FOR SUNDAY JULY 06...I DO IT FOR AMERICA...

Hit some regular spots (and some secret ones) after a late/hearty breakfast of French Toast, bacon, & lots of coffee.

The nice weather brought out all the parking lot vendors up at Dixieland, most of whom have no idea what to charge you for albums. A lot of garbage and fucked up records, but there are gems to be found.

Made out well today...

Brick "s/t" - Squeaky clean production on this late 70's funk outfit. heavy drums with great little keyboard parts. Ohio Players minus all the sex. Edges a bit close to disco-funk at times, but still chock full of good samples.

Autosalvage "s/t" - A very typical, but awesome, record from 1968. 4 guys, long hair, Sgt.Pepper mustaches, fuzz-tone guitar, backwards sounds, drug lyrics etc. Best song title goes to "The Great Brain Robbery".

Bootsy's Rubber Band "Bootsy? Player of the Year" - Hopefully you know this guy...the funkiest bass player James Brown had and the low end for all the classic P-Funk albums. One of the best funk records of the time (mid to late 70's) and probably Bootsy's best solo LP. Originally came with cardboard cutout star sunglasses so you could look like Bootsy!

Aphrodite's Child "666" - Bought this simply because Vertigo put it out in 1970, a notoriusly bizarre time for that label. Turns out that this is the band that composer Vangelis used to play keys for. Weird art/prog rock about the end of the world with full orchestra, strange lyrics, and great production. Maybe for the Magma fans...

Travis Biggs "Challenge" - the crown jewel of today...obviously a private press, self-distributed, Detroit funk record from the mid 70's. Rhodes, ARP, Moog, electric violin, heavy drums, and goofy narration over a dance song ("do the doo-doo walk!") makes this one amazing. Come to find out, it was reissued by Soul Jazz UK, has a track on Dusty Fingers 6, and has subsequently been sampled! Also found out that the one I have in my hands is one of the original 500 copies...I do like living in Michigan sometimes.

the Kinks "Percy soundtrack" - Ray Davies wrote these songs for some film in 1970, reissued by Pye. You can definitely hear them running out of steam as a band, but this is still really good (i love the Kinks though). I will admit that some of the wit and sarcasm from the early stuff is absent here.

Public Image Ltd. "album" - Johhny Rotten's post-Pistols band...Not their best album though. Steve Vai is on here shredding his goddamn head off, just like the Zappa tracks he's on from that time. There are some really strong tracks on here ("Round") despite the bad ones. The dub reggae influence was gone by this record too...

Francois de Roubaix "Zita soundtrack" - From a French film I've never seen...Morricone-inspired composition for what sounds like a romantic story with some swinging settings (funky organ, harpsichord, driving drums, electric bass, female voice etc). Not unlike Piero Piccioni, Lalo Schifrin, and Ennio. Great!

Peter Brown "A Fantasy Love Affair" - This would get me looks at a party because it can sound really cheesy if you're not patient. But, there's mad drums and great synthesizer hooks if you're looking for samples. I can't tell since there's no picture of him, but it sounds like whiteboy-synth-late 70's-coked out-sex-easy listening funk.

the Doors "s/t" - uh, yeah, these guys. I really love the Doors and don't own this on vinyl so...and it was ultra cheap, couldn't pass it by.

Rick James "Street Songs" - Same as the Doors album...But seriously, how can you not like this record??

the Emperors "Karate" 45 - A Motown-inspired loose soul group with great Hammond organ. Instructional dance song. I would enjoy seeing somebody do the "Karate".

the Winstons "Amen, Brother" 45 - Finally found a copy that was cheap and in good condition! Probably the most recognizable drum break ever, seriously, go do a websearch on "the Amen break". Great song too.

? and the Mysterians "8 Teen / I Need Somebody" 45 - One of the original punk bands...from 1963. Good cheesy organ sounds, snarling vocals, echo-chamber drums, razor sharp guitar stabs, and sexual anxiety abound here.

the Five Blobs "The Blob" 45 - Not a real band, but session guys assembled to record this promotional record for the horror movie "The Blob". Campy early 60's beat rock with cantina trumpets and goofy voice overs. B-side is "Saturday Night in Tiajuana".

Nese Karabocek "Eyvan" 45 - Turkish popular female singer. Sounds like she wanted to be Nancy Sinatra a bit.

Bora Ayanoglu "Fabrika Kizi" 45 - Turkish folk singer trying to be kinda psych with some fuzz guitar and backbeat drums. Still pretty tradtional sounding though.

Cem Karaca "Aysem" 4-song 45 - Turkish popular male singer with orchestra and a backing band that sounds like the Ventures in the middle east...Interesting.

Erol Evgin "Birde Bana Sor" 45 - Looks like some sort of male sex symbol, judging from the photo. Smooth funk production almost, with Moog and crisp drums. The melodies sound traditional though. From Pakistan.

alright son...light it and pass that shit over here.

(can anybody explain David Lynch's Inland Empire to me??)