That lovely Mr. Otis Fodder invited me to guest dj on his internationally-distributed show Friendly Persuasion, and since Otis has switched to all vinyl, I took the opportunity to break out my shoeboxes of singles and spin some of my all-time fave-rave obscure-o, funny 'n' freaky 45s. And it's (give or take a minute or two) 45 minutes long.
Talking harmonicas, noir mambo, inane novelties, orchestral twist, Space-Age doo-wop, Mel Blanc's least-loved voice character, Moogs being eaten by The Blob, Scatman Crothers covering Nervous Norvus, a truly amazing version of The Archies "Sugar Sugar"...it's all here:Friendly Persuasion Show #257Thanks, Otis!
From the liner notes: "
Jim Noste has been at the helm of one of New Jersey's most successful-reliable Home Improvement Center since 1948."
This album looks to be from the '80s, and features some top session aces (complete with arranger) playing the swingin' standards as Mr. "Home" Center adds his heavily-vibratoed vocals. The results can be funny, embarrassing, and, on ballads like "Could I Have This Dance," oddly moving. He sings with plenty of enthusiasm and emotional commitment. I would definitely buy vinyl siding from this man.
Bonus tune! A version of "I Get a Kick Out of You" from his first album (recorded at Sun Studios!) that, alas, I do not have, courtesy of WFMU's "Incorrect Music Companion."
Jim Noste "Songs For You"
Thanks to windbag!
I thought I posted the David Koresh song "Mad Man In Waco" that everyone wanted but alas, I was wrong
- apparently there's another version, in a more acoustic demo style, that is the one coveted by fans of singing doomed cult leaders. I can't find any info on MSNBC's website about the show that featured the song, hence, I can't even write the show's producers for info.
I keep getting emails and comments from folks desperate to hear the song, so again, if anyone's got it, give it up! (And, no, not the cd with the songs "Book of Daniel," and "Shesonahim" - we posted those HERE.)
Composer Stefan Poetzsch has a new album out now called "Light On" that features not just music for dancing, but music with dancing. Which is not a new concept - tap dancing's been around for years - but not quite like this. Here's a lovely bit of Minimalism for strings and piano that also features Afro-German dancer Bettina Essaka on amplified "...very quiet noises made when she moved her arms and legs":
Stefan Poetzsch: Sounds of The Dancer part 4
The rest of the album is wildly eclectic, ranging from thorny atonal modern classical, to Coltrane-inspired jazziness, to heavy Gothic organ, but this is the track that I keep returning to. My one complaint about this album: so much of the music has a visual aspect (the title track is performed with thousands of light sticks), but there's no DVD/video feature to this CD.
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Of all the sped-up-voices novelty acts rushed into print after the success of the Chipmunks, the craziest had to be The Nutty Squirrels, who, improbably, were a scat-singing bop-jazz variant on the concept. Heavy cats like Cannonball Adderly even played on it. Even more improbably, they could be really good - "Uh Oh, Pt.2" was an actual Top 40 hit in 1959 (the only bebop hit single?) and a ridiculously catchy tune to boot.
The Nutty Squirrels.01 Uh Oh! (part one)02 Uh Oh! (part two)03 Ding Dong04 Something Like That05 Jumping Bean06 Nutty07 Uh-Huh08 Salt Peanuts09 Eager Beaver10 Bang11 Nutcracker12 ZoweeThey even had a tv show. Again I ask: when did jazz lose it's sense of humor?
I scarcely could have imagined that when I picked up an innocent-looking package from my post office box that it would propel me into a world of unimaginable horrors, and that music, of all things, would be a bridge to unspeakable entities from beyond our realm!
But let me start at the beginning - I am a humble scribe for a music blog, and part of my regular duties is visiting the local post office to retrieve all manner of recordings sent to us by aspiring composers for possible review. Ah, music! Surely it is proof of the goodness of God himself. Or so I onc
e thought...
The package, postmarked Plymouth, England, bore no indication of its' contents, and, indeed, a glance at the 18 page monograph contained therein prepared by sober academics and laden with charts and illustrations would lead one to believe that this was yet another humdrum musicological study.
It concerned one Neil Rose, whose interests were queer to be sure: a respected professor's attempts to communicate with the dead are hardly standard university fare. But Rose's own efforts eventually "went beyond science," through Carlos Castaneda-like ingestion of sacred drugs that act as a gateway to paranormal experiences beyond the imaginings of Lovecraft himself. The booklet's authors note that his writings come to an abrubt halt, leaving his ghastly fate a mystery.
I put on the cd containing recordings of "residuum," that is to say: "supranatural energy and imprinting of this energy to magnet media," and no sooner had I done so when the window to my study flew open and a gust of frigid air blew out my candle. But it was the disk's eerie sounds of Rose's damnable experiments that truly sent a shiver down my spine. May the Lord have mercy on our doomed souls!
Neil Rose: "Residuum" (SoundCloud link)
The book/cd package "Residuum" is available by writing neil@gotanyrice.com. The music is dark, compelling abstract ambient electronica, occasionally with a beat, tho dancing is hardly appropriate, and the realistically detailed booklet will convince many.
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Let's see what's in the Music For Maniacs mailbox, shall we? "My name is Mark and I'm representing an artist that has a difficult time communicating in a way that makes sense. During the late 70s to late 80s this artist went as Potato, now he goes by Jerome Ron Dinkle. I am submitting his album "Potato - 777" (1988) with full permission from the artist. The album is comprised of Psychedelic Satire (very comparable to the Residents) which curves on the early side of noise. It's mainly comprised of vocals which is amazing due to the fact that Dinkle suffers from a "severe case of cleft pallet" which in turn gives the recording even an odder sound. This is the weirdest thing I've heard in a while..." Potato - 777 (1988)"...
Feel free to post the entire album. By the time I ran into Jerome, he was residing in an assisted living community and had already given up on his pursuit in the arts. So I'm sure he will be delighted at the thought someone besides his friends are interested in his music."
Like the Everyday Film albums I wrote about recently, J.R.Dinkle is also from Texas, and his songs are also very brief (most a minute or less) featuring non-singing jibberish vocals and crude electronics. Unlike the scary Everyday Film, however, it's all quite silly and child-like. Residents comparisons are, indeed, apt - the Eyeballed Ones themselves would be proud of the better tracks here, like "Potato Party."
Tracklist: 1 - Sir Trumphet Stands Attention
2 - dirtfromlongbreakingoflandunderneathyouwatchingasallslipsthroughyourgraps
3 - Creeping Sunrise
4 - Potato Party
5 - Class of 777
6 - heysuesrideformine350fordor
7 - Clam Parade in Flesh of Sing
8 - RNR - Featuring Apprentice T Waine Edishun
9 - Thumn Mountian
10 - I Am The Rhinosorceress
11 - Twinkle Gums
12 - Randol Mill
13 - Today is The Joke, Tommorow is The Punchline
14 - Once Light Tickeled Shadow and Then it Consoled
15 - Twilight of the Year16 - Notato
17 - Inch Allot Ah18 - I am a Mountian When it Falls (Fly Away on the Wings of Love)
19 - Layase Fountian20 - P.O.T.A.T.O
21 - I Am The Rhinosorceress (Club Remix)
22 - Cadillac Spring (Live at The Plop 1987)
Country music legend Hank Williams just won the Pulitzer Prize. That's pretty interesting, because 1) he's been dead for well over a half-century, and 2) they give Pulitzer Prizes for music? I thought that it was a journalism award. Well, in any case, I'm sure that it must have been this album that swayed the committee.
The experience of listening to "Songs of Hank Williams - A Return Trip - Modern Sounds," a '60s album released by L.A.'s Alshire label (101 Strings), can best be summed up by the the liner notes: "Presented here is a program of ten of the most famous songs made famous [a redundant redundancy?] by the immortal Hank Williams. A group of exceptionally talented modern musicians were assembled with two top vocalists. These great songs were arranged in a modern Rock-Acid style, without losing the melodic line of the lyrics, and are presented here for the modern music lover. The whole idea of this album is to bring Hank's great music to the modern young generation, for truly they are great 'heart and soul' songs as evidenced by the millions upon millions of records they have sold. ENJOY THIS PROGRAM OF MODERN ACID-ROCK HANK WILLIAMS SONGS PERFORMED AND SUNG BY A FINE YOUNG GENERATION GROUP."
Sacrilege? It's pretty groovy, actually, with some funky rhythms, and fuzzed-out guitar. No musician credits. It isn't very psychedelic, tho the album cover shows a hippie girl giving a horse some multi-colored sugar cubes.
Hank Williams - A Return Trip - Modern Sounds
(Thanks to windbag!)
Just released today is a wonderfully insane collection of mashups from an international assortment of dj/producers that have one thing in common - none of the tracks are in 4/4 time. Now this old-skool punk-rocker can have highly allergic reactions to prog, especially the Rush/Yes variety, but I found this collection to be more fun then a barrel of metronomes. It's quite a break from the usual stuff, and makes me realize how formulaic so much music is (even "strange" music).
Off The Beaten Meter
Classical musics from Ravel to Philip Glass, jazz ("Take Five," natch), William Burroughs and Arnold Schwarzenegger, and, yes, prog, get expertly mixed with disposable pop crap and electronica to sometimes head-spinning effect, all thanks to compiler DJ Not-I, an American now living in Austria. Many of my fave mashup-ers are on here, inc. G3rst, Virtual DJ (both Dutchmen, I believe), France's Totom, and Orange County, CA's Voicedude. (Oh, and I may have had something to do with one of the songs, but don't hold that against this album!)
Back in July '05, I wrote: To describe veteran street-performer Arthur Nakane simply as a one-man-band hardly does him justice. But it will have to do, until someone can a come up with a better name for a performer who sits behind a wagon constructed of PVC pipes holding keyboards, percussion, amplifier, foot-operated drum machine and bass pedals (also made of PVC pipes), while wearing a harmonica holder around his neck and playing a guitar with sticks bolted and clamped to the guitar's neck. While playing guitar in the conventional style, he jabs at the keyboard with these sticks, playing simple keyboard melodies, and hits cymbals. With his right hand, he'll grab, say, a tambourine and shake it as he strums the guitar. All while singing in a thick Japanese accent. Using electronics skills I can't begin to comprehend (he teaches electronics by day), Nakane records his own voice while singing and, again using foot controls, plays it back, harmonizing with himself - a live overdubbing method.I first discovered Nakane years ago in Santa Monica's outdoor mall, the Third Street Promenade, and, quite unexpectedly, I ran into him last week performing on the Santa Monica Pier, still playing for tips. A hand-made cardboard sign announced he had performed on Jimmie Kimmels's NBC-TV show in February. He's also opened for punk bands, appeared on radio and TV, and was the subject of a short documentary that played the Sundance Film Festival called "Secret Asian Man." That film got it's name from Nakane's remake of the oldie "Secret Agent Man." When he sings it, not only does he change it to "Secret Asian Man," complete with verses sung in Japanese, but he pulls back his eyes, like when kids make those slanty-eyed Asian stereotype faces!...
his CD, featuring treatments of "Band On The Run," "La Bamba" (in severely shaky Spanish), and the definitive "Achy Breaky Heart" [is] a feast of grungy guitar and English/Japanese lyrics (Hmm, I don't remember Billy Ray Mullett rhyming "sake" with "Nagasaki"...) Order it from arthurnakane.com, the most minimalistic website ever. Or, as I did, buy a copy from the man himself, should you run into him on Santa Monica Beach. Recorded live, no overdubs, no edits. As Arthur told me, pointing to his equipment, "I am master of this..."Arthur Nakane 1-Man Band 01. Band on the Run02. Dont be Cruel03. Secret Agent Man04. Runaway05. Achy Breaky Heart06. La Bamba07. Love Me Tender08. China Night09. Country Road10. Here's Happiness11. Teddy Bear12. With You Forever13. It's Now or Never14. Sukiyaki
Lots of videos HERE!
SpaceAgePop sez: "Jim Fassett will be remembered by space age pop fans for one amazing piece of work: his 1960 Columbia album, Symphony of the Birds. Working with CBS radio technician Mortimer Goldberg, Fassett painstakingly pieced together fragments from recordings of bird calls originally made in the field...By rerecording some of them faster or slower and then superimposing multiple playbacks onto one tape, Fassett and Goldberg wove together the results like an arrangement for symphony orchestra." (An excerpt from can be heard HERE). This one is clearly made using the same technique as Symphony of the Birds, with actual recordings of animals being made to "sing" popular songs. But this album has a child narrator, and undeniable sexual innuendos, which will have you laughing, cringing, or both.
Jim Fassett "Hear the Animals Sing"
It's one 15 minute long file - side two was just "other animal songs" that is, routine kiddie stuff.
UPDATE 4/15/14: Fassett used his long-running CBS radio show as a springboard for his sonic experiments, some of which were collected on his album "Strange To Your Ears," which you can now get on Amazon or itunes.
Back in July '05, I wrote: "MC Potbelly is, in his words...a 42-year-old, white, male insurance agent from Marin County, California, an upper-middle to upper-class enclave about as far from "the 'hood" as you can get. His main influences? "The Sugar Hill Gang, Merle Haggard, and Bob Seger." His music production is as crude as his pimped-out lyrics, which he delivers in a thin, nasal, utterly-white sing-song, following no rhyme scheme known to man. Evidently, there was a full-length (well, 27 minutes) album released..."
After he sent me the disk (which was free to anyone who asked for one), I wrote: "Da Man himself sent me his home-recorded CD, chock full of brief-but-to-the-point songs boasting charmingly amateurish production, a rhyme flow like no-one else (except maybe The Shagg's drummer), and hysterical lyrics often detailing pimp life as he imagines it. Sometimes his lyrical concerns move beyond typical hip-hop subject matter and into metaphysical realms I don't quite grasp (genetic afterlife?)"
I described "Sisters," the sample song I posted, as: "...another of his pimpin' fantasies, so far beyond outrageous it's practically surreal."
MC Potbelly - My Favorites1. Horizontal
2. Schoolboy
3. Want ad
4. Begging
5. Hijacked Ho
6. Sisters
7. Satellite
8. Hoin'
9. Potbelly Rap
10. Station of the Mind
11. Slave
12. Juice
13. Prisoner of a Drug War
14. Suburb
15. Player's Poem
16. Genetic Afterlife
17. Santa is Dead
18. Beatdown
19. Future
20. Oedipussy
21. Lando
A nice maniac named Crichton72 sent me some disco tracks from Space Age hi-fi orchestra legend Enoch Light, which reminded me of a couple of o
ther disco tunes Light and his Light Brigade recorded. Then - hey, what the heck! - I just went ahead and made a whole CD's worth of polyester atrocities by throwing in some other stuff that had been sitting on my hard-drive for a while, like the audio from a number of disco-themed '70s commercials that I had recorded off of YouTube (now you know what I do with my spare time) and other ridiculously entertaining EZ/lounge/orchestral disco biscuits. The result:
"Disco Sickness III: Enoch Light & His Disco Brigade"
Close Encounters of the Third Kind 3:35 Enoch Light & The Light Brigade Sam Goody - Disco Album commercial 1:00 The Inconveniences Of Following A pretty Girl In The Streets at Night 1:36 Alec R. Costandinos [from a Hunchback of Notre Dame disco concept album] Night Fever 3:22 Enoch Light & The Light Brigade [Oh, those fake BeeGees vocals!] Jerry's Disco ad 0:29 Don't Cry For Me Argentina 2:52 Ray Anthony Superstition 3:21 Mel Torme [Swingin' lounge version of a Stevie Wonder tune] Jordache Jeans - Kids Got the Look (Commercial, 1980) [Creepy!] Foxy Disco Girl 2:05 Music for Children's Disco [More creepy! Pedophilia-chic?] Star Wars 4:30 Enoch Light & The Light Brigade I Will Survive 2:48 Julie DeJohn [Courtesy of the 365 Days Project] D'Ya Think I'm Sexy 3:42 Doc Severinsen Plato's Retreat ad 0:59 [actual commercial from a New York sex club] How Deep Is Your Love 3:21 Enoch Light & The Light Brigade PSA Abominable Snowman - food groups 0:30 You Can Feel It All Over 1:27 Errol Desmond [Another swingin' lounge version of a Stevie Wonder song, this time it's "Sir Duke"] Ramblin' Root Beer Commercial 0:57 Stayin' Alive 3:40 Enoch Light & The Light Brigade 1978 7-Up Commercial 0:30 What a Diff'rence a Day Makes 4:25 Enoch Light & The Light Brigade [Yes, the classic Dinah Washington jazz ballad] Schlitz Beer Commercial - Disco 1979 0:29 Shaft 3:47 Jimmy Allen & The Brassworks [from a Los Angeles lounge band that sometimes featured actor Bob "Hogan's Heroes" Crane on drums]Porno Holocaust (Main Titles) 2:44 Nico Fidenco [Soundtrack theme] Love Train 2:59 Lenny Dee Thunderbird commercial Shake 'em Up 0:30 Rocky's Theme (Gonna Fly Now) 3:49 Enoch Light & The Light Brigade 1978 McDonald's Big Mac commercial 0:30 Theme from Close Encounters of the Third Kind 3:12 John Williams [7" 33 1/3 Funky Song
included with the CE3K OST LP] Hokey Pokey Disco 6:34 Discorobics Death To Disco 4:37 Jimi Lalumia & The Psychotic Frogs [1977 artifact of the New York punk scene] Here's the links to the first two volumes:Disco SicknessDisco SuicideBig ol' thanks to Crichton72!
Since I've haven't been able to post much this year, I'm gonna try to make it up to you-all by posting an entire album a day for...well, who knows how long. I'm not making any promises!
First up, a New York combo that features simply a theremin, and a battery of percussion (+ occasional odd vocal noises and unidentifiable sounds). If it is a theremin (as listed on their MySpazz page) it might have be put thru distortion/effects to get that gnarly sound. Or maybe just the lo-fi recording added the fuzz. One of the members tells me that some of the sounds are "made on a 'rainmaker' which is an instrument of pure electric feedback."
Why is it that when a guitarist takes long crazy solos he's a genius like Hendrix, but when it
's done on electronics it's "just a buncha noise"? The insane energy level here is plenty fun, and the improvisations recall the spirit of '60s avant-jazz without actually being jazz. Only the bonus song "The Vanishing Lady" (and a bit of track 7) has lyrics, and most of the tracks are untitled, tho I was told that "the first song is called 'rub me, rainbow' and the last track is 'song that she learned' but the others don't have names."
Track 4 and 6 are especially bonkers. Blast it!
Margaret Raven
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UPDATE 4/8: Well over 100 more oldies re-upped.
UPDATE 4/6: Forty more tunes added, all under the "Outsider" label, including the horrific Rhonda ep. Thanks for the nice emails and comments, glad all this is worth it! I'll try to get back to re-uploading more at some point...
UPDATE 4/3: I spent the better (?) part of the afternoon re-upping 120+ tracks going back to '08. I'm quitting for now, but let me know if there's anything in particular you want me to put back on-line.
UPDATE 4/2: I've re-upped everything for the last four months.
It has come to my attention that all the mp3s that I posted before February - the month of my computer mishaps - are off line now. Damnit! I thought I was finished with all my compu-problems, but they never end, do they? Anyway. Will try to put stuff back up soon. Your call is very important to us, please stay on the line...
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That lovely Mr. Otis Fodder invited me to guest dj on his internationally-distributed show Friendly Persuasion, and since Otis has switched to all vinyl, I took the opportunity to break out my shoeboxes of singles and spin some of my all-time fave-rave obscure-o, funny 'n' freaky 45s. And it's (give or take a minute or two) 45 minutes long. 
