Various artists, continued
Nairobi Beat
Typical Kenyan pop: full of bright, cheery guitars, upbeat rhythms. Good stuff.
No Thanks! The '70s Punk Rebellion
Spectacular stuff. Nearly every song is worth listening to. And, at 100 songs, that's a lot of goodies to imbibe. Not everything is really punk, whatever that is, but the signal to noise ration is quite high. Desert island disc, if a multiple disc set counts.
O Samba (Brazil Classics 2)
Spectacular collection of samba tunes, compiled by our old friend, David Byrne. More hip rotating than the first CD, but no less enjoyable. Desert Island disc, probably.
“The Okeh Rhythm and Blues Story 1949-1957” (Various Artists)
Just what it says: collection of RnB put out by the Okeh label. Some great jump blues, some novelty songs, plus Screamin' Jay Hawkins I Put a Spell on You. Nuff said. Nearly a desert island disc.
Pachuco Boogie
Chicano jump blues from 1940's/1950's Los Angeles. Mostly good stuff. Have only listened to a couple of times so far; ask me later.
“Pearls in the Snow” (Kinky Friedman and friends)
I know who I'm voting for Governor of Texas, assuming I don't change my voter registration before then....and I have a coffee cup emblazoned with the immortal words: Get Kinky Every Morning. This album is more songs of Kinky Friedman than performances of Kinky. All star (many Austin based, or at least frequent visitors) cast, including Willie Nelson, Tom Waits, Asleep at the Wheel, Lyle Lovett, et al. Good stuff.
Pickin' on the Grateful Dead
Bluegrassy yet sterile instrumental versions of Grateful Dead songs. Don't ask me how I got this, or why. If you want my copy, just ask.
Please Warm My Weiner: Old Time Hokum Blues
Bawdy and vaudeville-inspired light-hearted songs and routines make up the thrust of the fine performances found in this compilation. Despite the tongue-in-cheek attitude of these selections, there is no sacrifice of musical quality as both country (Bo Carter, Memphis Minnie) and urban (Buddie Burton, Butterbean and Susie) artists contribute such tunes as Banana Man, You Put It In I'll Take It Out, Adam And Eve and The Coldest Stuff In Town.- from the publisher, Yazoo Records and an even better review, copped from Tom Hallett
Featuring such giants of the genre (that genre being “Blue,” or “Colored” music, so named both because it was usually produced by African American artists, and because it was usually a little naughty, for the times, anyway) as Memphis Minnie, Bo Carter, Georgia Tom & Tampa Red, the Hokum Boys and Papa Charlie Jackson. The “weiner warmers” here kick off with Whistling Bob Howe and Frankie Griggs dueting on a cock-eyed little collection of double-entendres and piano tinkles called “The Coldest Stuff In Town.” Sample lyric: “You say you’re the coldest man around, the hottest stuff in town, in the winter you’re good to have around ...” Not exactly Red Shoe Diaries material nowadays, but in an era when even married couples weren’t allowed to be seen in the same bed on television, it was pretty—er—hot stuff. Memphis Minnie (she of “When The Levee Breaks” fame) lays down a mattress-burner called “Banana Man Blues,” wherein she rejects the idea of buying a certain banana-shaped sex toy with the indignant shout of, “I can’t use that thing, I won’t have it sittin’ out on my floor!” Just when you think she’s puttin’ on airs and actin’ too good for a little kinky home-spun fun, she lustily spits out the line, “What’s that man got in his hand? How much? Fifteen dollars? That’s all?” “Yes, I want that thing, yes, I want that thing, don’t care where it goes!” Killer stuff. A bizarre couple by the name o’ Butterbeans and Susie contribute a call-and-response number called, “Elevator Papa (”You always wanna go down!“ she complains), Switchboard Mama (”You got the bummin’est connection in town!“ he burns back at her)” And, well, those old double entendres just fly through the air thick as excuses at a Bush appointee inquiry from there on out. Tommy Bradley and James Cole do up “Adam And Eve” with a hillbilly/blues bent, putting a tastefully nasty spin on the old Bible story, and the Hokum Boys weigh in with the decidedly disturbing “I Had To Give Up Gym,” a genuinely perverted, banjo-driven little wink-and-a-nod to the wonders of puberty. Bo Carter provides the good-time-y title cut, while Papa Charlie Jackson gives us “You Put It In, I’ll Take It Out,” a song that would surely still give the Powell/FCC album-burners nightmares; the Yazoo All-Stars turn in dazzling takes on “Hometown Skiffle, Parts 1 & 2”; and Buddie Burton breaks all known barriers of good taste and sanity with the madness-inspiring “Ham Fatchet Blues, Pt. 1.” All in all, more fun than most of us deserve after bitching, complaining and whining our ways through our collective, gray winter workdays, but what the hell. If being an American doesn’t include kicking back with a hearty drink, a well-rolled stick of muggles, and a butt-load of wonderful, ancient odes to the joys of sex, well, what the hell’s the point to it all, anyway? HIGHLY recommended.
Rough Guide to the Music of Portugal
Meh. Couple of songs grabbed my attention, mostly filtered through without notice. Of course, I still would like to visit Portugal.
Rough Guide to Rai
Pretty good sampler of Rai (North African pop)
Raunchy Business: Hot Nuts and Lollypops
A sort of companion to the Please Warm My Wiener album, more double-entendres, plus Shave Em Dry which is not subtle at all (and where the Rolling Stones copped the lyric, Make a Dead Man Come).
I got nipples on my titties, big as the end of my thumb, I got somethin' between my legs'll make a dead man come .... Say I fucked all night, and all the night before baby, And I feel just like I wanna, fuck some more, Oh great God daddy, (Roland: Say you gonna get it. You need it.) Grind me honey and shave me dry ... A big sow gets fat from eatin' corn, And a pig gets fat from suckin', Reason you see this whore, fat like I am, Great God, I got fat from fuckin'.- Bogan_lyrics
Red Hot Rio
covers of Brazilian tunes, done in hipster lounge style for the most part, and compiled to fund AIDS awareness. Hit and miss: Sting should retire, David Bryne understands the idiom, Stereolab's One note Samba is interesting. Worth owning for setting a specific mood, and looks like this CD can be purchased, cheap.
Reefer Songs
Great collection of 20's/30's jazz and blues tunes, from the Harlem Renaissance mostly, with marijuana double entendres, reefer metaphors, and a few other drug references. Seems like a movie soundtrack, in spirit at least. Really swings. Amazon has a crappy cover, so I uploaded mine (from the Jass Records release)
Isn't that a better cover?
Rembetika: Historic Urban Folk Songs From Greece
'rebel' music from early 20th century Greece.
Rebetika are the songs of the Greek underworld, sung by the so-called rebetes (Greek: ρεμπέτης). Rebetes were the unconventional people who lived outside the social order. They first appeared after the Greek war of Independence of 1821.Answers
The songs, often compared to genres like American blues, are full of grief, passion, romance, and bitterness. They are generally melancholic songs telling of the misfortunes of simple ordinary men.
If I smoked hashish, and hung out in cafes discussing politics, or did so in a film, this is the music I'd like to hear in the background.
Return of the Grievous Angel
Tribute album of Gram Parsons' songs. A few transcendent, some good, some pedestrian. All in all worth having.
Rock Against Bush
“Rock Against Bush, Vol. 2 (Bonus DVD)” (Various Artists)
meh.
Rockers
Don't remember where I got this, but it's full of classic reggae tunes.
“Roots N' Blues: Retrospective 1925-1950” (Various Artists)
Great, great collection of American History as told in song, over 3 hours worth of material. Sort of an Anthology of American Folk Music remix: as far as I can tell, there isn't any overlap between the two collections.
“Roots of Rock N Roll: 1946-1954” (Various Artists)
Another historical document, but one that I like a lot better. Louis Jordan, T-Bone Walker, Howlin' Wolf, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Big Joe Turner, Muddy Waters, et al. Worth having.
“The Rough Guide to the Music of Russia” (Various Artists)
“The Rough Guide to the Music of the Sahara” (Various Artists)
Continuing my quest to expand my North African music collection, I just purchased this album. Perhaps it's the desert-lover in me, but this music really gets me.
“Rough Guide to the Music of Spain” (Various Artists)
mostly Spanish pop music. Ask me in a year if I like it.
Spin This V
no doubt because I had a subscription to Spin Magazine. 17 Alternative Rock hits of 1994 (Weezer, Meat Puppets, Buffalo Tom, etc). Meh. I'll give you my copy if you want it.
“Suburbia: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1997 Film)” (Various Artists)
Bought this because it has Sonic Youth on it, back when they were the band that mattered to me. Still, not a bad album, taken as a survey of Indie Rock, circa 1996-97; Flaming Lips, Butthole Surfers, Beck, Sonik Tooth, et al. B+, probably because I'm a sentimentalist. Never saw the movie, heard it sucked.
Rough Trade Sampler
Collection culled from this seminal label. Worth having.
“Texas-Czech Bands, 1929-1959” (Various Artists)
I think Uncle Tom suggested this one. Ummm, hasn't really grown on my yet, but it is interesting. Give it a few months to percolate through my system, and ask me again.
