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Uncle Tupelo March 16-20, 1992

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“March 16-20, 1992” (Uncle Tupelo)

For an evening of alcohol-inspired melancholy, there are few albums1 as good a soundtrack as Uncle Tupelo’s March 16-20, 1992. In my rudimentary iTunes rating system, ten of the fifteen songs2 on this album3 are rated 4 stars, and thus are always on my iPod.

Although Uncle Tupelo usually mixed in punk-rock with their traditional songs and traditional-sounding tunes on their other three albums, the March 16-20, 1992 album is all acoustic, guitar, banjo, etc., and decidedly minor key. Peter Buck of R.E.M. produced, and the emphasis is certainly on mood. I love all of the Uncle Tupelo albums, but this is always the one played the most.

For instance, Fatal Wound, a Jeff Tweedy song, is one of my ten favorites. I’m still a little vague as to the song’s meaning, but I don’t mind if I hear if over and over again anyway, and my emotional response remains constant. I’m sure the song’s target understands the references.

don’t the lights look empty
when the streets are bare
almost as empty
as the look you give me
when I’m the only one

and it’s a long one
so it brings you down
so say you have nowhere else to go
and nothing to do
so you hang around
you hang around

but you wait around until
you’ve received that fatal wound

columns of sunlight
and glorious cities
oceans of opportunity
and all your decisions seem ancient

but you wait around until
you’ve received that fatal wound

Jay Farrar’s version of Moonshiner is also spectacular.

I’ve been a moonshiner
for seventeen long years
and I spent all my money
on whiskey and beer
and I go to some hollow
and set up my still
if whiskey don’t kill me
Lord, I don’t know what will
and I go to some barroom
to drink with my friends
where the women they can’t follow
to see what I spend
God bless them pretty women
I wish they was mine
with breath as sweet as
the dew on the vine
let me eat when I’m hungry
let me drink when I’m dry
two dollars when I’m hard up
religion when I die
the whole world is a bottle
and life is but a dram
when the bottle gets empty
Lord, it sure ain’t worth a damn

You can stream the album at Last.FM, if you are a little bit interested, or just pick up your own copy.

Jason Ankeny writes:

Produced by R.E.M.‘s Peter Buck, March 16-20, 1992 represents Uncle Tupelo’s full evolution into a true country unit; with the exception of the eerie squalls of guitar feedback which haunt Jeff Tweedy‘s mesmerizing “Wait Up,” there’s virtually no evidence of the trio’s punk heritage. Instead, the all-acoustic album — a combination of Tupelo originals and well-chosen traditional songs — taps into the very essence of backwoods culture, its music rooted in the darkest corners of Appalachian life. An inescapable sense of dread grips this collection, from the large-scale threat depicted in the stunning rendition of the Louvin Brothers‘ “The Great Atomic Power” to the fatalism of the worker anthems “Grindstone” and “Coalminers”; even the character studies, including a revelatory “Moonshiner,” are relentlessly grim. A vivid glimpse at the harsh realities of rural existence, March 16-20, 1992 is a brilliant resurrection of a bygone era of American folk artistry.

Footnotes:
  1. the only other comparable album that I can think of is Richard Thompson’s I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight [↩]
  2. actually, looking closer, the track Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down should probably be rated higher, so that’s 11 of 15 [↩]
  3. as originally released, the re-release contains a few more tracks [↩]

Running on plenty

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“Harps & Angels” (Randy Newman)

The new Randy Newman album, Harps and Angels, is growing on me the more I listen to it. I was unfamiliar with his prior work, with the exception of the over-played classic, I Love LA, but I’m increasingly intrigued by his non-film work.

In an apathetic age, only Neil Young among his original peers still consistently sounds any musical alarm against injustice and corruption. Browne agrees with Gore Vidal’s assessment that America’s largest political party is the “nonvoting party”, so such opinionated motivation is nothing short of admirable. Don’t ask me, ask Randy Newman. On the ever-laconic Newman’s new album, Harps and Angels, a song called A Piece of the Pie mischievously measures America’s collective languid self-interest against the undimmed commitment of one man. “The rich are getting richer, I should know,” he writes. “While we’re going up, you’re going down, and no one gives a shit but Jackson Browne.”

So, is Browne the last protest singer? “He didn’t really say that,” he says of Newman’s portrayal. “What he said was even funnier, that no one else gives a shit. Not true, of course, but very funny. My friend Don Henley referred to [the actor] Ed Asner, who’s active for social change, and Henley called it the Dreaded Asner Syndome. I guess I’ve contracted it, and am proud to be afflicted. I don’t think there’s any choice but to throw in with those people who are doing what they can to make the world inhabitable and beautiful. I’m a card-carrying member of hedonists for peace. I just don’t think peace and prosperity should only be for the wealthy.”

[From Jackson Browne: Running on plenty – Times Online ]

I actually was unfamiliar with Jackson Browne’s music up until about two months ago, but his first albums are excellent, and I’m slowly working through his back catalog.

We had mentioned John McCain’s keen urge to steal from artists without compensating them previously, but here’s Jackson Browne’s direct response to the situation:

This is more than benign idealism, as John McCain recently discovered. Browne is suing the Republican campaign, seeking damages of $75,000, for using his 1977 song Running on Empty in an “attack” ad against Barack Obama, in the apparent belief that a lifelong liberal would either not mind or not notice. “They broke two very clear laws,” he says calmly. “That they can’t use your song without your permission, and that they can’t imply you endorse a candidate if you don’t. Either they don’t know the law or they think they’re above it. Either way, it speaks volumes about the style of governance.” Browne has given $2,300 in support of Obama’s presidential campaign, according to public record.

“McCain’s campaign [managers] are trying to say he knew nothing about the ad,” Browne adds. “Do we believe that? It may be that it plays well to his constituency to steal my song, unapologetically take whatever you feel like using, and work out the details later. I’m sure I’ll prevail, because the laws are clear-cut, but I think the Republicans have a culture of impunity.”

Now three weeks off his 60th birthday, a bearded Browne may be looking just a little older at last. As in a similarly long dialogue at the time of his 2002 album, The Naked Ride Home, however, he is likeably low-key. “The inspiration’s not a problem,” he says. “I’m not less inspired, I’m less free to shut myself away long enough to finish a song. I’m also not in a hurry. That’s the odd thing that’s happened, that there’s less and less time left, and I’m less in a hurry. Maybe I’ll get desperate towards the end. You want the things you sing about to be about life and other people’s lives, and if I shut myself away and tried to ramp up the output, it might limit the interest I take in things that are pretty universal.”


“Time the Conqueror” (Jackson Browne)

AeroPress Looks Cool

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“AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker” (Aerobie)

Forget the bitter, acidic coffee you’re used to drinking from a standard coffee press The AeroPress from Aerobie takes only 30 seconds, but makes the smoothest, best-tasting coffee that coffeereviewcom, Sunset Magazine, Vogue Magazine, Cooks Junction, and you, have ever tasted Features: Total immersion of the grounds in the water results in rapid yet robust extraction of flavor Total immersion permits extraction at a moderate temperature, resulting in a smoother brew Air pressure shortens filtering time to 20 seconds This avoids the bitterness of long processes such as drip brewing Laboratory pH testing measured Aeropress brew’s acid as less than one fifth that of regular drip brew Microfilter prevents the gritty texture of French-press methods Makes 1 to 4 cups (1 or 2 mugs) of coffee or espresso

This actually looks like a pretty cool coffee maker. For $25, worth a try.

From their website:

The AEROPRESS™ is an entirely new way to make coffee.


• Water and grounds are mixed together for ten seconds.

• Then gentle air pressure pushes the mix through a micro-filter in 20 seconds.

• The total brewing time of only 30 seconds results in exceptionally smooth flavor.

• Tasters ranging from professional cuppers and author Kenneth Davids, to coffee aficionados all praise the smooth, rich flavor.

Year of Living Biblically

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“The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible” (A. J. Jacobs)

I had forgotten that I had pre-ordered this book a while ago, but it arrived via UPS today

The Year of Living Biblically is about my quest to live the ultimate biblical life. To follow every single rule in the Bible – as literally as possible. I obey the famous ones:
•The Ten Commandments
•Love thy neighbor
•Be fruitful and multiply

But also, the hundreds of oft-ignored ones.

•Do not wear clothes of mixed fibers.
•Do not shave your beard
•Stone adulterers
Why? Well, I grew up in a very secular home (I’m officially Jewish but I’m Jewish in the same way the Olive Garden is an Italian restaurant). I’d always assumed religion would just wither away and we’d live in a neo-Enlightenment world. I was, of course, spectacularly wrong. So was I missing something essential to being a human? Or was half the world deluded?

I decided to dive in headfirst. To try to experience the Bible myself and find out what’s good in it, and what’s maybe not so relevant to the 21st century.

The book that came out of the year has several layers.

-An exploration of some of the Bible’s startlingly relevant rules. I tried not to covet, gossip, or lie for a year. I’m a journalist in New York. This was not easy.

–An investigation of the rules that baffle the 21st century brain. How to justify the laws about stoning homosexuals? Or smashing idols? Or sacrificing oxen? And how do you follow those in modern-day Manhattan?

–A look at various fascinating religious groups. I embedded myself among several groups that take the Bible literally in their own way, from creationists to snake handlers, Hasidim to the Amish.

–A critique of fundamentalism. I became the ultra-fundamentalist. I found that fundamentalists may claim to take the Bible literally, but they actually just pick and choose certain rules to follow. By taking fundamentalism extreme, I found that literalism is not the best way to interpret the Bible.

–A spiritual journey. As an agnostic, I’d never seriously explored such things as sacredness and revelation.

–A memoir of my family’s eccentric religious history, including my ex-uncle Gil, who has been, among other things, a Hindu cult leader, an evangelical Christian and an Orthodox Jew.

[From A.J. Jacobs – The Year of Living Biblically]

Perfect reading for the plane, methinks.

The Amazon blurb:

Jacobs, a New York Jewish agnostic, decides to follow the laws and rules of the Bible, beginning with the Old Testament, for one year. (He actually adds some bonus days and makes it a 381-day year.) He starts by growing a beard and we are with him through every itchy moment. Jacobs is borderline OCD, at least as he describes himself; obsessing over possible dangers to his son, germs, literal interpretation of Bible verses, etc. He enlists the aid of counselors along the way; Jewish rabbis, Christians of every stripe, friends and neighbors.

In an open-minded way he also visits with atheists, Evangelicals Concerned (a gay group), Jerry Falwell, snake handlers, Red Letter Christians–those who adhere to the red letters in the Bible, those words spoken by Jesus Himself, and even takes a trip to Israel and meets Samaritans. Through it all, he keeps a healthy skepticism, but continues to pray and is open to the flowering of real faith. Jacobs is a knowledge junky, to be sure. He enjoys the lore he picks up along the way as much as any other aspect of his experiment. One of the ongoing schticks is his meeting with the shatnez tester, Mr. Berkowitz. He is the one who determines whether or not your clothes are made of mixed fibers, in keeping with the Biblical injunction not to wear wool and linen together. The two become friends and prayer partners, in only one of the unexpected results of this year.

In the end, he says, “I’m now a reverent agnostic. Which isn’t an oxymoron, I swear. I now believe that whether or not there’s a God, there is such a thing as sacredness. Life is sacred.” Not a bad outcome.

An interview with the author here including this Q/A:

You found that following biblical rules dovetailed with your tendency toward obsessive compulsive disorder. If somebody who doesn’t have OCD did the same experiment, would they end up with it?

I think you have to be a little obsessive to do the experiment in the first place. So the question is probably unanswerable. It was fascinating, though, to see the overlap between OCD and religious rituals – an overlap Freud talked about. I actually found it comforting. Why should I come up with my own idiosyncratic rituals, when the Bible has ones that my ancestors have practiced for thousands of years?

Another Green World

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“Brian Eno’s Another Green World (33 1/3)” (Geeta Dayal)


“Another Green World” (Eno)

A favorite album of mine, and now the 33.3 book is imminent. I’ve already pre-ordered it I believe. As a teaser, here is the opening few paragraphs of Geeta Dayal’s book

When I initially set out to write a book on Brian Eno, I didn’t realize what a massive endeavor it would turn out to be. This short book has taken several years to write. I wrote, rewrote, threw out entire chapters, and started over more than once. Every idea fanned out into ten other intriguing ideas, and eventually I found myself enmeshed in a dense network of thought. Finally, I realized that I had to pick a direction and run with it, or risk never being finished.

Sometimes a good way to begin a drawing is to first carve out all of the negative space. So I will start out by telling you what this book isn’t. This is not a rock biography that meticulously documents the making of Another Green World. Nor is it a book that dwells very much on Eno’s personal life. It certainly touches on both of these things, to the extent that they are useful in creating a larger picture. This is a book about process. How did these songs grow from kernels of ideas into fully-formed pieces? How were these kernels of thought formed in the first place? I attempt to examine the confluence of ideas at a certain time in a certain place in the 1970s, and how these notions helped to shape the form of three records, all released in 1975: Another Green World, Discreet Music, and Evening Star.

My own background is in the sciences, and I approached this book as a sort of scientific experiment. I came up with hypotheses and tested them by doing research. Sometimes these hypotheses were wrong, so I went back to the drawing board. I did a lot of interviews, read a lot of books, and spent a lot of time thinking and listening. I spoke with dozens of people; one of the great gifts of writing a book on Eno is getting to interview some of the very interesting collaborators that he has worked with over the past thirty-odd years. I wasn’t just interested in speaking with those who worked on Another Green World; I wanted to learn more, in a general sense, about how Eno worked with other people.

I read dozens of books on a number of different subjects — from visual art to cybernetics to architecture to evolutionary biology to cooking to tape loops — for inspiration. Of course, I read books about Eno as well. But many of the most helpful books for understanding Eno’s methods are not explicitly about Eno at all. They are books like Christopher Alexander’s A Pattern Language, Stafford Beer’s The Brain of the Firm, and Michael Nyman’s Experimental Music. What these books have in common — besides being books that Eno rates highly — are that they unite a variety of seemingly disparate things, and lay out general principles for thinking about these things. In this book, I look at how Eno devised his own sets of tools for thinking, such the “Oblique Strategies” cards he created with Peter Schmidt. (I used a deck of these cards myself while writing this book, whenever I reached an impasse).

Of course, there is the music. In the chapters that follow, I dig into some of the many unique sounds on these records. This is not any kind of formal musicological analysis. What it is, instead, is an exploration of the sonics–the timbres and layers of shifting textures. I spend more time on sonics than I do on the words. Eno has stated many times that lyrics, especially at this time period in his life, did not interest him very much. But that does not mean that words did not serve an important function. Using some ideas from cognitive science, I probe two different phenomena at play in Another Green World. The first, as Eno himself has pointed out, is that only five out of the 14 tracks on Another Green World have words, but that listeners tend to perceive the album as a “song record,” not an ambient record. Each song with lyrics “bleeds” into the surrounding ambient tracks. How does this effect work in our heads? The second phenomenon has to do with another type of sleight of hand — how chains of words, even nonsense words that do not make any sense in sequence, can nonetheless generate distinct, powerful images.

[Click to read more of 33 1/3: Another Green World]

On a different subject, have installed a Feedburner redirect plugin, so if it is properly configured, you’ll be reading this in your newsreader without issue. If it isn’t, doh! Sorry, and please let me know so I can fix or attempt to fix.

Tears of Rage: Richard Manuel is Dead

Seth Anderson0 comment

One of my most favorite songs ever is Tears of Rage from The Band‘s first album.

The opening track on 1968’s Music from Big Pink is one of the most perfect pop compositions ever. It is a perfectly atypical opening number and a perfect introduction to the intriguing style of The Band. It is also a depressing suggestion as to how much more perfect they could have been had Richard Manuel been able to keep himself from himself.

Co-written by Manuel and Bob Dylan, “Tears of Rage” is the painful lament of a betrayed parent. The first recorded version of the song is the Dylan-sung one that was released on The Basement Tapes. Dylan’s – usually extraordinary – ability to capture the essence of the song was utterly obliterated by Manuel’s on the official Big Pink reading. The extraordinary anguish in Manuel’s voice added exponentially to the already heartbreaking lyrics. The slower composition, Garth Hudson’s haunting organ, Robbie Robertson’s swirling guitar, the unparalleled rhythm of drummer Levon Helm and bassist Rick Danko (who also provides backup vocals), as well as Manuel’s own piano work combined for one of those very rare occasions in which Dylan was completely schooled on one of his own songs (ironically, Manuel does it again on the same album with his version of “I Shall be Released”).

Sadly, the mood of “Tears of Rage” was forebodingly symbolic of the pain and suffering that would eventually consume Richard Manuel – who hanged himself in 1986 after two decades of extreme substance abuse. Perhaps the rarest attribute of The Band was the deficiency of a definitive front-man. With three lead singers and all five members’ status as exceptional musicians, there was no member of The Band who was more important to its achievements than the other; but for the first five minutes of their first album, they seemed to revolve around one genius.

[Click to read more of Tears of Rage: Richard Manuel is Dead | Sound Affects | PopMatters]

Robbie Robertson’s greed re: publishing credits probably had some contribution to Manuel’s early death. Anyway, here’s a YouTubed searing live version from 1969.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DI6QdS3jiT8

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzXHj4SIlv4

On the topic of Robbie Robertson, and The Band, Levon Helm’s autobiography is a good, fun read. Highly recommended.


“This Wheel’s on Fire: Levon Helm and the Story of the Band” (Levon Helm, Stephen Davis)

The Band, who backed Bob Dylan when he went electric in 1965 and then turned out a half-dozen albums of beautifully crafted, image-rich songs, is now regarded as one of the most influential rock groups of the ’60s. But while their music evoked a Southern mythology, only their Arkansawyer drummer, Levon Helm, was the genuine article. From the cotton fields to Woodstock, from seeing Sonny Boy Williamson and Elvis Presley to playing for President Clinton, This Wheel’s on Fire replays the tumultuous history of our times in Levon’s own unforgettable folksy drawl. This edition is expanded with a new afterword by the authors.


Music from Big Pink

HIGH ON STRESS: Cop Light Parade

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Cop Light Parade is the long overdue follow up to High on Stress’ 2005 critically acclaimed debut Moonlight Girls. The first album received excellent notices and airplay in not only their hometown of Minneapolis MN, but across the nation and from as far away as the UK, the Netherlands, and Belgium. Cop Light Parade is the culmination of three years of weathering enough personnel changes, geographic obstacles and wardrobe malfunctions to have killed a less recalcitrant band.

Following the sudden departure of founding member Jon Tranberry, the band welcomed Jim Soule, who took up the bass guitar and played his first show a few days later opening for Jackson Browne at a huge outdoor festival. The band returned to the studio to begin work on its second album only to be set back by another unexpected loss. Guitarist/songwriter/raconteur Ben Baker moved to China, having already contributed heavily to the recording. Baker continued to work on the project, utilizing new school technology and old school frequent flier miles, while Chad Wheeling, a curiously youthful yet grizzled veteran guitarist, joined singer/songwriter Nick Leet, drummer Mark Devaraj, and bassist Jim Soule in finishing the record.

Bringing things full circle, Cop Light Parade was recorded with great care by Jon Tranberry. An advance single of the title track of Cop Light Parade has been released worldwide and added to dozens of radio stations (online, terrestrial and satellite), once again drawing raves from outposts of the blogosphere from San Francisco to Istanbul. Reviewers have favorably compared the band’s “almost alt.country” sound to REM, the Replacements, Wilco, and Josh Rouse among others.

[From CD Baby: HIGH ON STRESS: Cop Light Parade]

CD is currently available at CDBaby (where you can listen to stream of the album to decide whether or not to purchase it). Also more info at their MySpace page Check ’em out when they come to your town…

Bukka White is Awesome

Seth Anderson0 comment


“The Complete Bukka White” (Bukka White)

The voice of blues singer Bukka White is so evocative, whenever a song of his comes up on my iTunes rotation, I stop and listen1. A cloudy tenor, with resonating overtones. His guitar playing may or may not be excellent2, but I often find myself focusing on his voice. Such power, such emotion.

Uncle Dave Lewis writes a bit of Bukka White’s history at Allmusic:

Bukka White (true name: Booker T. Washington White) was born in Houston, Mississippi (not Houston, Texas) in 1906 (not any date between 1902-1905 or 1907-1909, as is variously reported). He got his initial start in music learning fiddle tunes from his father. Guitar instruction soon followed, but White’s grandmother objected to anyone playing “that Devil music” in the household; nonetheless, his father eventually bought him a guitar. When Bukka White was 14 he spent some time with an uncle in Clarksdale, Mississippi and passed himself off as a 21-year-old, using his guitar playing as a way to attract women. Somewhere along the line, White came in contact with Delta blues legend Charley Patton, who no doubt was able to give Bukka White instruction on how to improve his skills in both areas of endeavor. In addition to music, White pursued careers in sport, playing in Negro Leagues baseball and, for a time, taking up boxing.

In 1930 Bukka White met furniture salesman Ralph Limbo, who was also a talent scout for Victor. White traveled to Memphis where he made his first recordings, singing a mixture of blues and gospel material under the name of Washington White. Victor only saw fit to release four of the 14 songs Bukka White recorded that day. As the Depression set in, opportunity to record didn’t knock again for Bukka White until 1937, when Big Bill Broonzy asked him to come to Chicago and record for Lester Melrose. By this time, Bukka White had gotten into some trouble — he later claimed he and a friend had been “ambushed” by a man along a highway, and White shot the man in the thigh in self defense. While awaiting trial, White jumped bail and headed for Chicago, making two sides before being apprehended and sent back to Mississippi to do a three-year stretch at Parchman Farm. While he was serving time, White’s record “Shake ‘Em on Down” became a hit.

Bukka White proved a model prisoner, popular with inmates and prison guards alike and earning the nickname “Barrelhouse.” It was as “Washington Barrelhouse White” that White recorded two numbers for John and Alan Lomax at Parchman Farm in 1939. After earning his release in 1940, he returned to Chicago with 12 newly minted songs to record for Lester Melrose. These became the backbone of his lifelong repertoire, and the Melrose session today is regarded as the pinnacle of Bukka White’s achievements on record. Among the songs he recorded on that occasion were “Parchman Farm Blues” (not to be confused with “Parchman Farm” written by Mose Allison and covered by John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers and Blue Cheer, among others), “Good Gin Blues,” “Bukka’s Jitterbug Swing,” “Aberdeen, Mississippi Blues,” and “Fixin’ to Die Blues,” all timeless classics of the Delta blues. Then, Bukka disappeared — not into the depths of some Mississippi Delta mystery, but into factory work in Memphis during World War II.

Bob Dylan recorded “Fixin’ to Die Blues” on his 1961 debut Columbia album, and at the time no one in the music business knew who Bukka White was — most figured a fellow who’d written a song like “Fixin’ to Die” had to be dead already. Two California-based blues enthusiasts, John Fahey and Ed Denson, were more skeptical about this assumption, and in 1963 addressed a letter to “Bukka White (Old Blues Singer), c/o General Delivery, Aberdeen, Mississippi.” By chance, one of White’s relatives was working in the Post Office in Aberdeen, and forwarded the letter to White in Memphis.

[Click to read more history of allmusic Bukka White Biography ]

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3bp4ohqugI

and

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsMpHHSLSlc

for some youTubery.
Additional tidbit: Led Zeppelin credited Bukka White on the BBC Sessions release of a 1971 13 minute version of Whole Lotta Love, along with several other blues magicians (Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, John Bonham, Willie Dixon, John Lee Hooker, Bernard Besman, Bukka White, Arthur Crudup, Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman)
If you don’t own any Bukka White music: go for it.


“Shake ‘Em On Down” (Grammercy Records)


“Parchman Farm Blues” (Bukka White)

If your ears are sophisticated enough to listen to scratchy records, find his early material. As Eugene Chadbourne writes3:

The tracks in which White is accompanied by Washboard Sam are really fantastic, representing some of the best country blues one can find, rhythmically snappy and melodically clear. In terms of the musical styles that White employed, they are all here: The basis for every single song he ever recorded, if not the song itself, is included among these 14 tracks. “Where Can I Change My Clothes,” one of the best songs about prison, is included along with White’s unique version of “Parchman Farm.” The former song was one he re-recorded in the ’60s, releasing it under the latter title: Neither song is the same as the “Parchman Farm” blues standard that was later satirized by Mose Allison and obliterated by Blue Cheer. One of the great things about White’s style is his vocals. His pronunciation and accent are fascinating. Take the way he pronounces the title of “district attorney” in the song of the same name. As well, he could be the only blues singer to deliver the following couplet and make it sound like it actually rhymes: “Doctor, put that temperature gauge under my tongue/And tell me, all I need is my baby’s lovin’ arms.”

Footnotes:
  1. especially Parchman Farm Blues [↩]
  2. mostly I think it is, driving rhythms on a national steel guitar that compel a listener to dance, but I’ve never tried to emulate anything from his songbook, so I can’t say for certain anything specific about his technique, other than it appears to use a lot of open tuning [↩]
  3. though, the publisher must have changed the cover, mine doesn’t have the same photograph as the one Chadbourne talks about [↩]

Netflixed Bunny Lake Is Missing

Seth Anderson1 Comment


“Bunny Lake Is Missing” (Otto Preminger)

Certain films are nearly great.


Director Otto Preminger’s dark film portrays the horror that befalls Ann (Carol Lynley), a single mom recently transplanted to London who shows up one day at her daughter’s nursery school to find she’s completely disappeared. Nobody seems to know the girl’s whereabouts, nor that she even exists, which leads the police (with Sir Laurence Olivier in the role of chief) to believe Ann is delusional. Can she convince everyone that she’s not insane? [Netflix Bunny Lake Is Missing]

Bunny Lake is Missing swerves on the edge of being a great, taut thriller, but doesn’t quite make it. Otto Preminger quickly disowned the film, I guess he only did it for the money. Fancy that.

I quite enjoyed watching the film, yet certain scenes were eye-rolling. Also the hysterical woman paradigm slightly over-played. I can understand why there is a remake in the works, since society was a wee bit more innocent about child-snatching in 1965, necessitating certain elisions in plot, and yet, I would not be surprised if the remake is too maudlin to be interesting.

The Zombies play on a state-of-the-art 23 inch television, at a local pub. Here’s a low-quality trailer on YouTube:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFX0iK0l7nI

And maybe I’m crazy, but the final crazed conclusion, the main characters eyeballs were so dilated, I’d swear they were dosed on something. 1965 “Swinging London“? Hmmm, wonder what substance it could be?

Lady From Shanghai

Seth Anderson0 comment


“The Lady from Shanghai” (Orson Welles)

I do love this scene in The Lady From Shangai

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_p66HjTweo

Not the best Orson Wells film, the melodrama a bit thick, and the plot is slightly muddled, but there are several great moments. The final reel1 alone is worth the price of rental. If you haven’t seen it recently, give it a whirl (Netflix). Rita Hayworth probably would have looked slightly more delicious as a red-head, but maybe not. Everett Sloane is no relative to Marty Feldman, as far as I can ascertain.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ac1YgegzmE

LadyfromS.JPG

From the Wikipedia entry:

The Lady from Shanghai was filmed in late 1946, finished in early 1947, and released in the U.S. on June 9, 1948. Release was delayed due to heavy editing by Cohn’s assistants at Columbia, who insisted on cutting about an hour from Welles’s final cut. The film was purported to have links to the Black Dahlia murder at the time as the scenes cut from the film made significant references to the murder, months before it happened. The studio was also located near two areas (one a restaurant) the victim often frequented before she was murdered.

Welles cast his then-wife Rita Hayworth as Elsa, and caused controversy when he made her cut her famous long red hair and bleach it blonde for the role.

and Wells apparently just pulled the idea of the film out of his hat, under pressure. Must have been a hell of a talker:

In the summer of 1946, Welles was directing a musical stage version of Around the World in Eighty Days, with a comedic and ironic rewriting of the Jules Verne novel by Welles, incidental music and songs by Cole Porter, and production by Mike Todd, who would later produce the successful film version with David Niven.

When Todd pulled out from the lavish and expensive production, Welles supported the finances himself. When he ran out of money at one point and urgently needed $55,000 to release costumes which were being held, he convinced Columbia Pictures president Harry Cohn to send him the money to continue the show, and in exchange Welles promised to write, produce, direct and star in a film for Cohn for no further fee. On the spur of the moment, he suggested the film be based on the book a girl in the theatre box office happened to be reading at the time he was calling Cohn, which Welles had never read.

Too bad over an hour of the finished work was eradicated by Harry Cohn.

Footnotes:
  1. the last 20 minutes of the film, more or less [↩]

Nigeria Special

Seth Anderson1 Comment


“Nigeria Special: Modern Highlife, Afro-Sounds and Nigerian Blues” (Various Artists)

A really great collection, well worth seeking out, whether you are a fan of Nigerian music, rock music, or funk.

Nigerian music had a brief renaissance in the first half of the 70s, when the country was temporarily between wars and dictatorships. The scene seems to have exploded with experimentation inspired by sounds from the West, mixed with new interpretations of the perennially popular Highlife. I have no idea if this anthology is a representative sample of the scene, or if the best or most important songs and artists have been collected. But I do know that the anthology is uniformly fascinating and will be a real treat for anyone interested in a deeper exploration of modern West African music. While the collection’s subtitle indicates “Modern Highlife, Afro-Sounds and Nigerian Blues,” that will hardly prepare the listener for the musical variety herein.

Collectors and experts might be able to fit most of the tracks here into the long-term development of Highlife, but adventurous listeners will be astounded by the experimentation found in the anthology’s most offbeat tracks. For example, Celestine Ukwu & His Philosophers National, The Don Isaac Ezekiel Combination, and Mono Mono deliver what could be considered dark underground alternatives to Highlife. Tracks by Collins Oke Elaiho & His Odoligie Nobles Dance Band and Leo Fadaka & The Heroes sound like late-period Bob Marley half a decade before schedule. The selection from The Semi Colon illustrates the distant connections between Afro-Cuban and West African sounds, with some rock mixed in. Bola Johnson & His Easy Life Top Beats deliver a strange acid jazz take on authentic regional sounds, and the selection from George Akaeze & His Augmented Hits is heavily inspired by Bo Diddley.

[Click to read more of RootDown FM: Nigeria Special: Various Artists: Music]

The companion discs are really good too:


“Nigeria Disco Funk Special” (Various Artists)

and


“Nigeria 70: Lagos Jump” (Various Artists)

there are a couple others, but I haven’t (yet) heard them.

Little Red Bike

Seth Anderson2 Comments


“The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia” (Michael Gray)

From Michael Gray’s excellent book, the Bob Dylan Encyclopedia, about Buckets of Rain (from Blood on the Tracks):

The closing track on the Blood on the Tracks album, this is an immensely likeable, modest song of barbed sanity. A blues- structured work, it also neatly conflates other old song titles within its lyric, as when Dylan sings


‘Little red wagon, little red bike / I ain’t no monkey but I know what I like’.

In a genre so riddled with sexual innuendo and double entendre as the blues, it’s sometimes hard to know whether a phrase or a line belongs in the nursery or the porn shop, and this is a good example. One long-term Dylan collector was told years ago that the phrase ‘little red bike’ was a blues term for anal sex: which certainly puts a different perspective on Dylan’s lyric. But it is not a common blues term: there isn’t a single ‘little red wagon’ in Michael Taft’s Blues Lyric Poetry: A Concordance.

‘Little Red Wagon’ is, however, a recording by the pre-war blues artist Georgia White, and by a happy coincidence the very next track she laid down at the same session is called ‘Dan the Back Door Man’.

I’ll never hear that song quite the same again.

From the official Bob Dylan lyric site:

Little red wagon
Little red bike
I ain’t no monkey but I know what I like.
I like the way you love me strong and slow,
I’m takin’ you with me, honey baby,
When I go.

Gorillapod Tripod

Seth Anderson0 comment


“Joby GP3-01EN Gorillapod SLR-Zoom Flexible Tripod + SLIK Compact Ball Head + Cameta DSLR-01 Camera Care Package – for Digital SLR Cameras with Zoom Lens (3.5lb max) – including Canon Digital Rebel XT, XTi, EOS 20D, 30D, Nikon D40, D40x, D50, D70, D80, D200, Olympus Evolt E300, E330, E410, E500, E510, Pentax K10D & Sony Alpha A100” (Joby, Inc)

Picked up a portable, flexible-leg tripod by Joby called the Gorillapod SLR-Zoom. Still on my list of equipment-to-buy is a real tripod, but those aren’t as portable as this one. Haven’t tested it in the wild yet, but seems like it is excellent. Light enough that I can throw it in my camera bag, and use it if I need it, and ignore the weight if I don’t need a tripod. Bonus includes a bunch of cleaning tools which are also good to have on hand.

Kit includes: 1) Joby GP3 SLR-Zoom Gorillapod; 2) SLIK Compact Ball Head; 3) Cameta Microfiber Cleaning Cloth; 4) Image Recovery Software; 5) Memory Card Wallet; 6) Cleaning Kit. ♦ The Joby GP3 SLR Camera Gorillapod firmly secures your Digital or Film SLR Camera with Zoom Lens as well as Video Camcorders weighing up to 6.6 lbs. to just about anything. Unlike traditional tripods, it doesn’t require an elevated flat surface for you to take the perfect shot. The Gorillapod is much more than just a tripod — you can wrap the three flexible segmented legs securely to a tree branch, fence, park bench, or anything else that’s convenient. Besides allowing you to shoot at slower shutter speeds for creative effects, it also lets everyone get into the picture for self-timer shots. ♦ The SLIK Compact Ball Head can hold an impressive 3.5 lbs. and allows adjusting your camera’s postion to get just the camera angle you need. ♦ Your camera’s LCD monitor screen and optics usually become soiled with fingerprints, oily smudges and other contaminants. It can be really frustrating trying to clean the LCD monitor safely and completely without smearing using typical lens tissue or lens cloths — especially out in the field. The Cameta Microfiber Cleaning Cloth is designed using the latest 21st Century technology to perform this task quickly, safely and easily. ♦ The Digital Image Recovery Software is fast, easy to use, recovers most popular file formats and works with virtually all brands and types of memory cards. ♦ The Memory Card Wallet holds and protects three memory cards and has a belt loop.

Charlie Parker Month

Seth Anderson0 comment

In honor of Charlie Parker month, a little bebop with Diz at the Hot House, 1952:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Clp9AeBdgL0

3:36 of scorching, swinging jazz. I wish the volume was better mixed (can hardly hear the bass, nor much of the drum), but at least the brass is clear.

You can’t really go wrong adding some Charlie Parker to your music library, there are collections and box sets for every budget. You could even pick up 78s, if you were willing to pay the price1

Such as:



“Best of The Complete Savoy & Dial Studio Recordings” (Charlie Parker)


“The Complete Verve Master Takes” (Charlie Parker)

Free Jazz Aficionado
[Ethan is more of a Free Jazz Aficionado, but he’s working his way back to Charlie Parker]

Footnotes:
  1. and have the equipment to play 78s, duh [↩]

Hats Off for Roy Harper!

Seth Anderson0 comment

“Jugula” (Roy Harper & Jimmy Page)

I did not realize that Roy Harper sang vocals on “Have a Cigar”.

Led Zeppelin wrote a song about him. He delivered lead vocals on Pink Floyd’s classic “Have a Cigar.” This Mortal Coil has covered him, Joanna Newsom and Kate Bush have collaborated with him, and his reach has touched uncounted bands since he emerged from London in the mid-’60s.

So it’s a wonder that it has taken this long for Roy Harper to land his moment in the reissue spotlight. But that moment is here nevertheless.

Koch Entertainment has teamed up with Harper’s own label Science Fiction to distribute the folk singer’s albums. The slate includes Stormcock, Harper’s 1971 four-song epic team-up with Jimmy Page, as well as Jugula, Flat Baroque and Berserk, The Green Man, The Dream Society, The Unknown Soldier, Death or Glory, the double-disc best-of Counter Culture and more. Fans of all of the aforementioned bands, as well as Nick Drake, freak folk, Devendra Banhart and onward, will find a kindred spirit with a rap sheet decades wide.

[From UK Legend Roy Harper Finally Crosses the Pond | Listening Post from Wired.com]

I have an import version of Counter Culture, and there is some good stuff contained therein. I’ll have to look for these reissues.

“Counter Culture” (Roy Harper)

“Stormcock” (Roy Harper)