It's SURFADELIC, Man!! (pt.2: Surf-xotica)

Jeez, I'm practically writing a book here! Let's just start with the music this time so we can get a-rockin' and a-rollin' before I start yammering. Here's some weird, exotic '60s (except for the contemporary group Boom Pam) rock influenced by surf music:

INDIA: "Jan Pahechan Ho" by Mohammed Rafi, for the film Gumnaam (The Anonymous); from Bombshell Baby of Bombay

PERU: " Vacilando Con Ayahuesca" by Juaneco Y Su Combo from Roots of Chicha: Psychedelic Cumbias From Peru

JAPAN: "Kanjincho" by Takeshi Terauchi and the Bunnys from Seichô Takeuchi-Bushi

ISRAEL: "Gross" by Boom Pam from their self-titled album. Saw these dudes open for The Ventures last year - they use a tuba.

THAILAND: "Fawn Ngeo" by Johnny Guitar from Thai Pop Spectacular 1960s-1980s

To repeat from part 1: the Rock 'n' Roll Mafia would have you believe that rock 'n' roll had died by the end of the '50s, and thanks to Dylan, The Stones, The Beatles, etc, it was rescued in the mid-'60s. A glance at the American top 100 charts for 1960 and 1961 might lead some to think that. Almost none of the big '50s rock pioneers are represented, except for Elvis, of course, and Roy Orbison, but only after he switched from rockabilly to lush orchestral ballads. There's plenty of teen music, but most of it is of the lightweight pop variety e.g.: Connie Francis, Frankie Avalon. And there's lots of EZ pop, and country. But take a closer look: there's plenty of sweaty rhythm 'n blues, groovy girl groups, early soul and Motown action. Looks pretty rockin' to me.

Ah, but that's black music. That's not rock 'n' roll! The rock critical establishment doesn't just have a white-boy defintion of what's considered rock, do they? Why, that would be, well, kinda racist, wouldn't it? Perish the thought!

Even by the white-boy defintion of rock, the surf wave that broke by 1961 disproved that theory of history. Suburban youth with electric guitars were popping up all over Southern California, due to a confluence of influences: early rock instrumentalists like Link Wray and Duane Eddy, mariachi (due to the all-pervasive Mexican influence on California culture), Hawaiian, and Western musics, and the surf lifestyle. Take Wray's slow, dark grind, or the lazy clip-clop rhythm of Western guitar instrumentals, give it a jolt of adolescent energy, drench your guitar in reverb to make it sound "wet," and voila! You're now playing to thrilled teenagers who are rushing out to buy guitars and start their own bands.

And not just in America. Surf music provided an entre into rock for musicians of other cultures and countries, from Europe to Australia, from Asia to South America, where they would often meld it into their own traditions, producing the weird and wonderful hybrids we're featuring today.

I first started getting into India's "filmi" Bollywood soundtrack pop during the late '80s/early '90s, a time when Los Angeles' Indo/Pak community had grown to the point where there was now a weekly TV program showing music clips from Indian films, and grocery stores were popping up all over town selling cassettes. These tapes were often really inexpensive, like 99 cents, so why not visit one of these curry-scented shops and get some mysterious (to me) cheap entertainment? I was surprised to hear the occasional strong surf influence, but have become less suprised the more I hear it popping up all over '60s (and post-'60s) music, from Thailand to Peru.

Which makes sense, when you think about it - instrumental music holds no language barrier. All that Dylan-esque wordplay so beloved by the Jann Wenner-types doesn't mean much to a non-English speaking population. But cool rockin' twangy guitars and high-energy dance beats? That's a party in any language.

JET-SET SUITE

Remember when air travel was fun and glamorous? Here's a mix done for the Peter Nelson Show of swinging '60s swank rudely mixed with all manner of odd noises and voices, propelled by boomin' beats. Note the dialogue between The Big Bopper and The Electric Six. You'll larf!

"Jet-Set Suite"

Includes:
PanAm commercials, Mel Torme "Jet Set," The Wild Magnolias "Somebody Got Soul," Eazy E "Eazy - Chapter 8 Verse 10," "The Naughty Stewardess" movie ad, Anaconda "Cuban Beach," Ming & FS "Madhattan Bound," Esquivel "Whatchamcallit," the crypto-Beastie Boys "Your Sister's Def," Alphaville "Jet Set," Astrud Gilberto "Fly Me To Brasil," Joe Walsh "Meadow," Enoch Light & the Light Brigade "(Sittin on the)Dock of the Bay," Moby "James Bond Theme," Stevie Wonder "Superstition," The Big Bopper "Chantilly Lace," Electric Six "Gay Bar," Mason Williams "Classical Gas," from "Akom: The Art of Possession," Komeda, Beastie Boys "Shake Your Rump," Manu DiBango "Soul Makossa," Tom Jones "Sex Bomb," Flipper "Sex Bomb," B-52s "Rock Lobster," Henry Jacobs "Lowdown on the New Line," additional beats, synths, sounds.

Earliest Known Computer Music

This article from the BBC tells the story, and has audio, of the oldest known piece of computer music, a 1951 medley of "God Save The Queen" (not the Sex Pistols song)/"Baa Baa Black Sheep"/"In The Mood." Now that's my kind of techno.

Ferranti Mark 1 computer

It's SURFADELIC, Man!! (pt.1)

The Rock 'n' Roll Mafia would like you to think that surf music never happened.

If you subscribe to the Rolling Stone/Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame/Baby Boomer critics world view, there was Elvis, Chuck Berry, etc, then rock died in 1960. Then, in the mid-'60s, Dylan and the Beatles "saved" it. Uh, yeah. Right.

Actually, if anything, surf music saved rock. When The Bel-Aires and Dick Dale made their 1961 debuts, reinvigorating rock 'n 'roll with a fresh, exciting new sound and instantly inspiring countless musicians, the charts and airwaves had gotten fairly rock-free. Even some early rockers like Bobby Darin thought that rock was a fad that had run it's course, so he put on a tux and switched to adult pop.

The Rock n' Roll Hall of Shame thinks nothing of inducting scads of obscure doo-wop groups, cheesy British Invaders, and decidedly un-rocking hippie folkies. Why the antipathy towards a music that would seem to embody rock's greatest virtues? I have a few theories:

- East Coast bias. That's where the critical establishment is based, and that's where most of the above-cited doo-wop groups that no-one's heard of come from. And I am in no way opposed to obscure doo-wop - I'm just asking for a little equal time.

- Instrumental music doesn't sit well with rock crits; it doesn't have any lyrics to quote and analyze, and you know how they love to do that. They are writers, after all, not guitarists.

- Surf is the one kind of rock 'n' roll that draws inspiration from nature. Even if there are lyrics, they often refer to man's place within a natural setting, and not just the beach. Dick Dale has said that, apart from surfing, wild animals like big cats also inspire his guitar playing. There's a lot of outer space-inspired surf music. The most famous album produced by a surf group is "Pet Sounds," recorded after the Beach Boys stopped singing beach party songs. Once the themes went back to familiar teen/romance subjects, it became acceptable for critical consideration.

But enough yackin', less talk, more rock! Behold! "Surfrealism" going way beyond the usual Ventures twang for your maniacal beach party needs. From such masters as Luis Bun-swell. And Surfvador Dali (all right, I'll stop now):

The SG Sound is my discovery of the year. Yes, another lounge revivalist mixing surf, spy, bossa, a-go-go etc. might not sound so original anymore, but this LA boy's strengths are many: good songwriting (much appreciated, in an genre that often favors style over all), excellent production, fun without being overly jokey/smirky. From the Planet Twist ep:

The SG Sound: Jump The Shark

From a 1982 Rhino Records comp "Rhino Brothers Greatest Flops" comes this mysterious one-off, a version of The Chantay's surf standard done on traditional Indian instruments:

The Bombay Beach Boys - Pipeline

Another total obscurity: an Asian Moog album from 1973 featuring an electro version of the Bel-Airs classic:

The Carmets: Mr. Moto

"The Thurston Lava Tube is a psychedelic, experimental surf instrumental group from Leicester, England." This really is great, even if you're sick of the Beatles:

The Thurston Lava Tube: "I Am The Walrus"

Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra: "Get Ur Freak On" - Yep, covering Missy Elliot inna John Barry-goes-surfing stylee; another cover that improves on the original.

From an album called "Jesus Christ Surferstar" (could I make this stuff up?):

Susan & The Surtones: "Everything's Allright"

Stay tuned for part 2!

QUOTE OF THE DAY

From this article in the LA Times: "I spent an entire career at the major labels," [Larry] Jenkins [head of CBS Records] said, "and I learned a lot of what to do -- and a lot of what to avoid. I thought, 'What if we went into this where we'll only sign artists who are really talented?"

GO LAKERS!

Once again, it's Lakers vs Celtics in the National Basketball Association championship, which reminds this long-time Lakers fan of an album I've had since 1980, released through Denny's Restaurants. I had asked my mom as we drove by our local Denny's if we could stop in and get me a copy. Thanks, Mom!

The album is highlights of the 1979-80 season, when the Lakers beat the Philadelphia 76ers for the world title. It's hosted by the late great Chick Hearn, who was really, if ya ask me, a spoken-word artist who just happened to work as a basketball announcer. Hadn't heard this album in ages, and a few things struck me as I was recording it to mp3:
- swingin' library music
- there's some wobbly audio of game broadcasts, as if the tapes were stretched too thin
- the 76ers were a classic big-Afro '70s team, with players like Julius "Dr. J" Erving, and the backboard-shattering Darryl Dawkins, who came up with all kinds of George Clinton-like names for his dunks, e.g.: "Chocolate Thunder." The Lakers, featuring here the rookie phenom Earvin "Magic" Johnson, would be the dominant team of the '80s. This was like New Wave and rap pushing aside disco and hippie-rock to signal the start of a new era.

Lakers Magic side 1
Lakers Magic side 2

MUSIC FOR WEIRDOS

Chris Swank, a very kind and generous Maniac, has compiled four-count 'em-FOUR cds worth of wonderful tuneage: novelty, outsider, garage rock, celebrities, New Wave oddities, mashups, space age/Moog, and general weirdness, including plenty of songs that were originally posted here, but have since gone off-line.

He put these together just for his friends and fave bloggers, but has agreed to make it available for all y'alls. Be sure to thank him in comments!

Music For Weirdos vol1
Music For Weirdos vol2
Music For Weirdos vol3
Music For Weirdos vol4

A Kaleidoscope of Meaningless Ectoplasms

A recent ad running on Colorado radio by the conservative religious group Focus on the Family is the funniest thing I've heard lately. Apparently, a law was recently passed in that state to allow trans-gendered people to use public bathrooms, resulting in this bit of unintentional hilarity:
Focus on the Family ad

Could John Waters have done any better?

This actually dovetails quite nicely into my current interest in the literary and biographical side of the film world's most famous trannie, Edward D. Wood, Jr, pictured here starring in his own cinematic plea for cross-dress tolerance, "Glen or Glenda." I've been a fan of his films for ages, but never read any of his books until recently. I whole-heartedly recommend his novel "Killer in Drag," an outlandish bit of pulp brilliance that's easily as entertaining as any of his films. His non-fiction movie-world expose "Hollywood Rat-Race" is also quite wonderful. Check these quotes:
"Actually, there is no Hollywood any longer. It's become a kaleidoscope of meaningless ectoplasms which abound between reality and the unreality."

On writing: "...why don't you give up before you get started? And that's not sour grapes! That's good, sound advice, which few of you will take...but sound advice all the same."

"You'd be surprised how many of the boys prefer girls' clothes and the girls who prefer boy's clothes! And I mean big stars, directors, producers, and writers!"

"Nothing is stranger then the strange itself."

And thanks to the definitive biography, "Nightmare of Ecstasy" and The Church Of Ed Wood website I've been able to compile a tour of...(drum roll please)...Ed Wood's Los Angeles!
- 4477 HOLLYWOOD BLVD. (Wood's office from 1947- ?)
- 5271 Bakman Ave., North Hollywood (His World War II play "Casual Company" was performed here, but it's an office building now; I live around the corner.)
- Santa Monica Boulevard near Western: "Plan 9 From Outer Space" shot at Quality Studios. (The entranceway is located next to the Harvey Hotel.)
- KFWB/Ted Allan studios, Yucca & Argyle: where "Bride of the Monster" shot
- 6136 Bonner St, North Hollywood 91606: apartment from 1965 to 1970
- Yucca @ Cahuenga: apartment of his final years
- 5636 Laurel Canyon Blvd, #4: apartment he died in 12/10/78 (also around the corner from my house - I didn't realize I lived on hallowed ground.)
- Criswell's apartment: Selma Ave. and Cassil Place, Hollywood, CA
- Criswell's Burial Spot: 10621 VICTORY BLVD. NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CA. Valhallah Memorial Park
- Tor Johnson's Burial Spot: 23287 SIERRA HWY. NEWHALL, CA. 91321
- Bela Lugosi's Home: 5620 HAROLD WAY, L.A.
- Bela Lugosi burial spot: HOLY CROSS CEMETARY, 5835 W. SLAUSON AVE, CULVER CITY, CA 90230

As you make your tour, listen to some choice excerpts from Ed Woods' films, featuring the great performer Criswell:

Orgy of the Dead - opening
Night Things
Furs and Fluff
Ghouls Feast
Orgy of the Dead - End

POSTSCRIPT (6/02/08): Just saw the greatest thing: in a drugstore downtown the ugliest drag queen you've ever seen - tall, gawky, badly dyed hair, hideous lip liner - in a heated discussion with a ghetto sista - short, fat, cornrows. Imagine Herman Munster in drag arguing with Shirley from "What's Happenin'?" God, I love LA.

HAPPY ARRIVAL DAY, SUN RA

The Australian radio program The Night Air hepped me to

"The Other Worlds of Sun Ra,"

their documentary about Sun Ra, the jazzman from outer space, and truly one of the most innovative, and bizarre, figures in 20th century music. The show is in celebration of his birthday, or, as Ra would call it, his "arrival day," the day he arrived on planet Earth from Saturn, a planet noted for it's progressive jazz scene. We first wrote about Sonny here but if you're new to the unique universe of Sun Ra, the radio doc, on-line for a month, is a highly recommended overview. And if you find yourself craving more:

"Message To The Earth-Man" "...from the Sun-Man," from "The Singles" collection; this crazed vocal number was someone's idea of a possible hit single? Sun Ra really did believe in the commercial potential of his music, hence:

"There Are Other Worlds (They Have Not Told You Of)" - from the 1978 album "Lanquidity," Sun Ra's idea of an accessible funky groove album; this low-key funk song sounds like schizophrenic voices whispering in your head.

God's Private Eye - Moog solo - utterly berzerk synth/keyboard freakout.

"Outer Spaceways, Inc." - catchy tune featuring vocalist June Tyson.

On a peer-to-peer, I found a remarkable unreleased recording from the early 1970s of Sun Ra & His Arkestra performing live at Widney High in Los Angeles.

"Calling Planet Earth" - June Tyson leads the introductory call.
"Theme of the Stargazers" - another Moog massacre; recording starts off crappy, but clears up.
"Dr. Reggie Scott monologue" - someone describing the unhappy end to this show.

Yes, this Widney High is the same school for mentally & physically disabled youth that, years later, would produce "The Kids of Widney High" albums of "special music from special kids."

The Kids of Widney High - "Insects"

Can you imagine if the two groups had joined forces?

DRUNKEN GHOSTS OF BURMA

Since we haven't had much in the way of good news out of Asia lately, let's check out the East during some of it's better days. The crucial Sublime Frequencies label's latest edition of it's "Folk & Pop Music of Myanmar (Burma)" is called "Music of Nat Pwe." It's all fairly bat-shit crazy (to use the ethnomusicological terminology.)

Nats are spirits who met tragic or violent deaths, so I would imagine there's a lot of them around Myanmar lately. Which means they'll need more Pwes, the ceremony held to appease a Nat. It's crazed trance ritual music, full of clangorous percussion, exited vocals and psychedelic production. Supposedly it drives the faithful into ecstatic fits. I'd believe it.

Sein Moota "Pay Kyaw Chit Tae Doe (Father Kyaw Loves His Son)"

U Kyaw Nyunt & Yee Yee Thant "Father Kyaw the Drunk Nat"

METAL MAYHEM!!!!

Following this post from a couple of months ago about Caninus, the metal band with two actual dogs for lead "singers," I received some comments suggesting that I check out Hatebeak, a similar band in that they feature a bird on lead vocals. Y'all were right: Hatebeak ROCK. Waldo (the "singer") has the perfect death-metal growl. It's, well, positively inhuman.

The band has a sense of humor, too - many of the titles are puns that metal fans will pick up on e.g.: "Hell Bent For Feathers." Or this one, a play on Carcass' "Reeks of Putrefaction":

Hatebeak "Beak of Putrefaction"

Elsewhere in the metal world, I've been diggin' this new album by Finnish all-cello (!) headbangers, Apocalyptica. Yep, no guitars were used for this instrumental shredder:

Apocalyptica "Burn"

Their latest is entitled "World's Collide," an appropriate name considering their classical vs. metal approach. Which reminds me of the metal-goes-classical of Estonia's Rondellus. Back in 2002 they released an album's worth of Black Sabbath covers ("Sabbatum") performed in medieval and Renaissance music styles, complete with lyrics translated to Latin. It's all quite lovely, played on things like lutes and harps, and makes Sabbath sound positively civilized. Holy, even.

Rondellus "Verres Militares (War Pigs)"

LSD MADE A WRECK OF ME

To note the recent passing of Dr. Albert Hoffman, the Father of LSD, here's a few amusing curios mainly from (when else?) the 1960s.

Circle Of Tyrants: Acid - The Story Of L.S.D. - Dialogue and garage rock from an educational filmstrip

Wendell Austin: LSD - thanks to a reader (Martin, I think?) who sent me this country toe-tapper a while ago

Peter Cook & Dudley Moore: L.S. Bumblebee - from two giants of British comedy

Fe-Fi-Four Plus 2: I Wanna Come Back (from the World of LSD) - another garage rocker

Vic Caesar: Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds - Lounge swinger from a cat who worked the West Coast casino scene, including (but of course) Caesar's Palace; he also wrote a groovy campaign song for Nixon that was released on Capital Records.

Pineapples from the Dawn of Time: Too Much Acid - '80s punky piss-take, from a 7"

RIAA: 2 EPs (Radical, Intense and Awesome!!, Schizophonia Suite)

Beach party! Ingredients below.

RIAA: Radical, Intense and Awesome!!

1. Sweet Little Honda
2. Party At Punk Rock Beach
3.(I'm Not Your) Council Estate
4.It Is Such A Good Saturday Night
5. BollyHolly
6.The Dynamic Show Ever Being Gave
7. My Mic From Ipanema
8. Saturn's Outkasts
9. Valerie's Ghetto
10. Squeeze An Occasional Mic

Mashups/sound collages inspired by mental illness:

RIAA: Schizophonia Suite

1. Lionel Richie's Hamburger Penis
2. Satan Takes Me Away
3. Kill Your Merry Go Round
4. Gypsy Ghost Bitch
5. Frankenstein Computer Murder God
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Mikro "Mikrotronic Plasma," Velvet Underground "Sweet Jane," Hondells "Little Honda," Kraftwerk "Robots," "Beguine" from '50s album of percussion tracks "Rhythm + You"

2. Ramones "Surf City, "Glen or Glenda," Lords of Acid "Am I Sexy," Jan & Dean "Surf City," Midniters "Whittier Blvd," Minutemen "Party With Me Punker," Cupid "Cupid Shuffle," Kiss "Rock n Roll All Night," Belairs "Mr Moto," Carmets "Mr Moto" sound fx: Woody Woodpecker, Esquivel, Perrey & Kingsley, phrase "party at punk rock beach": 50 Cent, Technotronic, GenX, Beach Boys

3. Tricky "Council Estate," "(I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone" Monkees, Manhattan Strings, Minor Threat, Gal Costa "Pais Tropical," drag race sound fx record, beat: Los Straitjackets "Squad Car"

4. Charlie Steinmann Orchestra "It Is Such A Good Night," Schooly D "Saturday Night," Bay City Rollers "Saturday NIght," Dead Kennedys "Police Truck," Wire "Dot Dash," Aaliyah "Rock The Boat," Bob Marley "Don't Rock The Boat," Corona "Rhythm Of The Night"

5. Jatin Lalit "Bali Haari," Dick Dale "Surfin Drums, Buddy Holly "Everyday," tablas: from Talvin Singh's "Abracatabla," B. Brock & The Sultans "30 lb. Beetle," Michael Mills "Satanic Messages in Rock Music," "J & H Productions"

6. "J & H Productions," Perez Prado "Salsa Rock," Coconut Monkeyrocket "Lolas" (beat), McCoys "Hang On Sloopy," "Island of Lost Girls/Nice Girls" ads, Wire "Map Reference," "samba" from "Rhythm + You"

7. Cadets "Standed In The Jungle," some d'n'b beat, Salt 'n' Pepa "My Mic Sounds nice," Getz/Gilberto "The Girl From Ipanema"

8. The Marketts "Saturn," Outkast "Hey Ya,"
Jan & Dean "Surf City"

9. Monkees "Valerie," Donny Hathaway "The Ghetto"

10. Anita O'Day "An Occasional Man," Beastie Boys "Pass The Mic" (instrumental mix), Sly & Robbie "Ballistic Squeeze," Arthur Lyman: sound fx

RIAA: additional beatz, sound fx
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Lionel Richie's Hamburger Penis: Commodores "Three Times a Lady," Throbbing Gristle "Hamburger Lady," audio from a documentary about mental illness that I got off of the Cake and Polka Parade blog

2. : versions of "Satan Takes A Holiday" by Tommy Dorsey ('40s Big Band), Rosengarden & Kraus ('50s Space-Age), and Anton LaVey, (founder of the Church of Satan)with female vocalist; Napolean XIV "They're Coming To Take Me Away, Ha Haa," Teddy and Darrel "They Took You Away, I'm Glad I'm Glad," Wild Man Fischer "The Wild Man Fischer Story."

3. : Wild Man Fischer "Merry Go Round," "The Wild Man Fischer Story," Lou Reed "Kill Your Sons" (inspired by Reed's teenage shock therapy treatments), C Dott "Merry Go Round"

4. : Alexandria Little "Jesus' Ring", Crystal Waters "Gypsy Woman," "Sonic Youth "Ghost Bitch," "Dead Kennedys "California Uber Alles"

5. : Francis E. Dec vs Henry Mancini "Background To Murder"

WE GET LETTERS

By request:

The Supersonicos: "Killing An Arab" - South America's finest do The Cure in a instro surf stylee.

rx: "Sunday Bloody Sunday"
rx: "White Lines" - more covers, this time courtesy of the genius of New York's rx, taking countless hours of George Dubya speeches, chopping 'em up, and making him sing U2 and Grandmaster Melle Mel hits.

Hurt 'Em Bad & The S.C. Band: "Monday Night Football" - the instrumental version of a song included as part of last week's "Curl Activate" collection of '80s novelty rap 12" singles, but without the novelty this time - just 9 minutes of bone-crunching Zapp-like funk.

Don't say I never did anything for y'all. Put me in your will!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RADIOPHONIC WORKSHOP

BBC's Radiophonic Workshop, pioneers of electronic music & sound effects, would have been 50 years old this month if the Beeb hadn't dismantled it ten years ago. No matter - celebrations are afoot, such as plans for a boxed cd set, and:

this great article and video revealing how, among other things, a lampshade became an integral part of electronic music history.

The bad news: the recent death of the Radiophonic Workshop's Tristram Cary: "...credited by some as the father of tape music, originating tape music techniques in World War II. He’s notorious to the general public and sci fi fans as the composer of the music for the Daleks (pictured above, with pug) in Doctor Who (along with other music) — like an evil counterpart to Delia Derbyshire, who built the studio Cary would later use."

Tristram Cary "Trios" (excerpt) - from 1971; performers rolled dice to determine what parts they would play.

Bebe Barron, another pre-Moog great, also died recently. "The 1956 sci-fi thriller Forbidden Planet was the first major motion picture to feature an all-electronic film score — a soundtrack that predated synthesizers and samplers. It was like nothing the audience had seen — or heard. The composers were two little-known and little-appreciated pioneers in the field of electronic music, Louis and Bebe Barron." From the score to Forbidden Planet:

Love at the Swimming Hole - a romantic ballad
Battle With The Invisible Monster

I've always been a fan of the "Forbidden Planet" soundtrack (I taped it off the tv years ago) but have never seen any other recordings by them. Are there any? Supposedly they scored some short avant-garde films, but I couldn't find them on the YouTubes. However, you can see:

Sukho Lee of one of my fave local (Los Angeles) bands Seksu Roba, performing a boss tribute to "Forbidden Planet" to mark it's 50th anniversary on his tricked-out theremin.

And, right on time, Boston's dj BC has just released a dandy on-line remix/mashup tribute to the pioneers of electronic music called

"Art Raps"

which actually tames these notoriously abstract sounds by looping them into something approaching head-nodding accessibility, such as this take on Hugh Le Caine's 1955 piece:

djBC: Dripsody (remix)

Terry Riley, Jon Hassel, and others also get the treatment.

CURL ACTIVATE! Novelty Hip-Hop 12" Singles of the '80s

I was reading a story in the LA Times last week about a plane crash in Compton, and the photo of a witness to the crash caught my eye - what was that on his shirt? As you can see, it wasn't something suitable for a family newspaper. Good eye, Times editors!

I bet that guy would like these records. I sure do. They're pure low-budget fun, thoroughly funky and danceable, and blissfully uncool - not a cliche-spouting bling-bling gangsta in sight. Here's an album's worth of novelty/oddball hip-hop/funk 12" from the Jheri Curl era that I ripped from vinyl:

CURL ACTIVATE! (zippyshare link) 
CURL ACTIVATE! (divshare link)


1. Deryl With The Curl & DJ Curl Activator: "Curl Activate" (Jam-Kru Records) - samples George Clinton "Atomic Dog"
2. Akeem "The Dream" Olajuwon: "The Unbeatable Dream" (Las Vegas Records 1986) - Basketball star Olajuwon is saluted and contributes a few heavily-accented vocals; a shoe company is credited with co-executive producer - the lyrics mentions the shoe brand name three times; Dazz Band/Gap Band-type groove by the sports-obsessed Hurt 'em Bad, who is featured elsewhere in this collection with a football song. He also recorded a song about boxing, but that's if we ever get to volume two.
3. The Rappin Reverend Dr. C. Dexter Wise, III: "The Original Rap" (Fantasy Records, 1987) - Nice backing vox by The Heydons; Dr. Wise's brother Raymond is responsible for the one-guy-with-an-electronic-keyboard -and-drum-machine production. Holy hell, this is funny.
4. Chunky A: "Owww!" (MCA, 1989) - Comedian/talk show host Arsenio Hall's chubby musical alter ego. This spoof of Cameo's "Word Up" is really well produced, as opposed to the private-press primitivism of much of these other platters.
5. Chick Hearn: "Rap Around" (Outpost, 1986) - Basketball's greatest announcer gets sampled by Dave Bloom and Dave Gillerman, whoever they are. When I was a kid, I thought this record was genius.
6. Hurt Em Bad & The S.C. Band: "Monday Night Football" (Profile, 1982) - Zapp-like music, complete with vocoder.
7. Mac The Rapper: "What Is Love" (Shinola, 1987) - Featuring a computer's text-to-speech program, by Bob Mithoff, a soundtrack composer for the infamous Troma Film company ("Surf Nazis Must Die," "Class of Nuke 'em High," etc)
8. The Wilson Sisters & Speedy D: "The Magic Man" (Positive Music, 1988) - Yet another sports tribute, this one to Earvin "Magic" Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers, the dominant team of the '80s. Record has no info, but came with a bumper sticker.
9. Rich Little: "Presidents Rap" (Broadway, 1982) - No, the veteran comic impressionist isn't rapping - these are a few Reagan-inspired comedy sketches set over music that swipes from the Tom Tom Club's 1981 classic "Genius of Love."
10. The Coach: "Take It To The Hoop" (Zuma Jay, 1984) - Another basketball-inspired song from Los Angeles. As you may have figured by now, Laker fever swept LA in the '80s. Music by the unlikely Dennis Dragon of popular New Wave club band The Surf Punks. Wait, it gets even weirder - Dennis' brother Daryl, the "Captain" of '70s EZ listening superstars The Captain & Tennille plays synth!
11. Gerty Molzen: "Walk On The Wild Side" (10 Records, 1985) - The then-79 year old German screen star and opera/classical singer covers Lou Reed in a heavy accent, as an uncredited rapper throws in random quotes from Whodini's "Haunted House of Rock" and Grandmaster Flash's "New York, New York." Truly the reason why the letters "WTF" were invented. I saw her do this on "David Letterman" when this record came out. Instead of singing "doot da-doot" for when the colored girls sing, she sang something like "zabidy-doe, zabidy-doe." For a few shows later, Dave would ask his bandleader Paul Shaffer, "I'm in the mood for some Lou Reed. Can you play a little Lou Reed?" and they'd play a tape of Gerty singing "zabidy-doe, zabidy-doe." No, it's not on YouTube - I checked.
12. The Fat Boys: "Chillin With The Refrigerator" (Sutra, 1985) - Our final sports tribute, from one of the most popular rap groups of the '80s, The Fat Boys, featuring the late great Human Beat-Box. I was shocked to find that their albums are all out of print - they had four albums that went gold or platinum. Their subject here is football star William "The Refrigerator" Perry.
13. Bobby Jimmy & The Critters: "N.Y./LA Rappers" (Ruthless, 1988) - Another comedic rap group whose albums are sadly out of print; Bobby Jimmy (The Weird Al of rap) was Russ Parr, the morning dj on Compton's legendary KDAY - at the time, America's only 24/7 rap station. In fact, I'm sure that's were I first heard this. Produced by Dr. Dre for Eazy-E's label. Bobby Jimmy & The Critters had a string of popular rap parodies that were actually almost mainstream successes. The Ice T "Colors" parody on this one is particularly hilarious.

Words And Music For The Now Generation

Imagine Mrs. Miller fronting The Shaggs...

"Love...Wider Than The Ocean" is a 1972 private pressing by Mas & Hope Kawashima, two Japanese-Americans who sing and play their own hymns on side one. This one's my fave, clunky rhymes over primitive piano:

Mas & Hope Kawashima - "The Road of Life"

Quothe the liner notes: "Following the trend of the current Jesus Movement, these new, original songs express the feelings of young people searching for something to believe in and to hope for. The words and music are written for the Now Generation with their concerns for love, pollution, ecology, war, racial tensions and frustrations of living in a technological age."

Though perhaps not as charming as "The Road to Live," this tune is of interest for it's sheer ineptness: ham-fisted guitar, lyrics that don't scan - I literally cannot make either rhyme or reason out of this one:

Mas & Hope Kawashima - "Demonstrate, Demonstrate Your Faith" - advice for the student protesters

Side two finds them massacring the classics - in Japanese. Beethoven gets such an overhaul that maybe Captain Beefheart should do it and call it "Owed T'Joy" (har har!)

Mas & Hope Kawashima - "Ode To Joy"

The address listed on the back cover: 666 (!?!) NW 4th Ave., Ontario, OR.



Big thanks to li'l bro Paul Fab!

Raphi Does "She Blinded Me With Science"

From YouTube: "My nine-year-old son was diagnosed with autism at age three... and is completely nuts about 80s hi-tech musical wiz Thomas Dolby. Here he does his version of TD's biggest hit...on pretend instruments he made himself, and doing percussion, vocals and all instruments orally."

I recorded the mp3 off the video. It's a great performance, full of uninhibited energy, and is actually quite accurate - I swear he knows all the lyrics. Recording quality's not great, but that's not his fault.

Raphi "She Blinded Me With Science" (video)
Raphi "She Blinded Me With Science" (mp3)

MARCH MASHUP MADNESS

New Illegal music, if you're in the mood for

Groovy '60s Lounge A-Go-Go:
DJ Magnet "Shop Around If You're Horny" - Fantastic mix of Tweet, Smokey Robinson, even the Sonics' "Have Love Will Travel" from this Denver dude, all served over a big beat.

Chill:
Phil RetroSpector "Beatlemania" Even if you're tired of the Beatles, check out this Philip Glass/Fab Four combo; utterly unlikely, but works a treat. Mr RetroSpector is an early contender for Rookie of the Year on the internet scene.

Novelty:
RIAA: "Chicken Slacks" Sam Cooke dances with a chicken, as "Twistin The Night Away" meets Ray Stevens' henhouse version of "In The Mood." As silly as it gets.

Surrealism:
RIAA: "Running With The Devil Bunnies" Van Halen's "Running With The Devil" meets Twink The Toy Piano Band's "Hoppity Jones" (and a bit of a '40s kiddie record by Al Trace and his Silly Symphonists), and various hallucinatory sound effects; this is the sound of you losing your mind.

Keepin' it surreal, homies...

MARCH MAMBO MADNESS

Mr Mambo himself, Cachao, died recently. The mambo is one of those things that's been around for so long that it's hard to believe that someone actually invented it, and that this person was living amongst us until very recently. But he was. I had the good fortune of seeing Cachao perform live a couple of times: once, he performed a few tunes on piano - his usual instrument was bass - including an incredible version of "Guantanamera" (are there any bad versions?) that was pure old-school Cubano ala Ruben Gonzalez of Buena Vista Social Club fame. I also attended a big all-star Latin music tribute to the still-smokin' octogenarian at the Universal Ampitheater hosted by actor Andy Garcia, the dude responsible for the exhilarating '90s recording "Ahora Si" from whence comes this sizzling descarga:

Cachao: Queja africana, protesta abakua

Both Soul-Sides and Beware of the Blog posted songs of his that I was gonna post, complete with erudite, educational text. But do they have as many goofy '50s/'60s mambo novelty records as I do? I thought not. So, as a M4M tribute to el maestro:

Mickey Katz: "My Yiddishe Mambo" - ripped from out-of-print vinyl.
Bill Haley & His Comets: "Mambo Rock" - from "Rock Around The Clock"
Dean Martin "Mambo Italiano" - from "Dino: The Essential Dean Martin"
Perez Prado: "Cuban Rock" - from the King of the Mambo's groovy '60s-a-go-go album "Mambo Rock" comes this baffling psychedelic meltdown.

Buenos noches, maestro...