WFMU's Beware of the Blog

The Spoils Of War: WFMU Record Fair Edition

Hey readers, Swan Fungus here. I'm back in Los Angeles this week after an exciting 10-day homecoming trip to the east coast. Part of my trip (the first weekend, to be exact) was spent working as a dealer at the WFMU Record Fair for the LA-based store which currently employs me. I try my best to make trips to the New York/New Jersey area coincide with the record fair, because it affords me both the opportunity to attend the fair, and also to earn a few extra bucks for "working" even though I'm technically on vacation. This year was just my second as a dealer, but I hope to make this a regular venture. It was really nice to see so many familiar WFMU faces, and to meet station manager Ken, Liz Berg and others.

The fair appeared to be a success, even if appeared at times that the number of tables stuffed into the Metropolitan Pavilion had decreased from previous years. There was enough great vinyl present to satisfy both low-end and high-end crate diggers. Some of the coolest records I noticed included: The unbelievably rare outsider/"real people" Heitkotter LP ($5,000), an original copy of The Bachs' Out Of The Bachs ($7,500), CA Quintet's Trip Thru Hell ($1,750), Morgen's Of Dreams ($800), and an original mono UK copy of the Beatles' Please Please Me signed by all four band members in early 1963 ($28,500). Sure, it's kind of disheartening to see an album for sale that costs more than I earn in a year, but it's also one of those things that keeps me coming back to the record fair. The chance to see something I've never seen before is probably the biggest appeal of the WFMU Record Fair. 

So what did I buy, you ask? Well, here's a list of my ten best purchases.

Men With No IQ's: True Black Metal from Mississippi

Ever since Pete Larson at Bulb reissued an LP of the 1986 primitive recordings by Hattiesburg, Mississippi geniuses the Terrifying Sickos, I've been on a quest to find whatever I could from what must have been a bizzaro circle and scene around them. I got pretty excited when DJ Rick on KDVS aired a compilation tape on the Primordial Sid label that revealed more Mississippi basement confusion by the likes of the Wheezing Crapheads, Cellophane Squids, and a truly drunk, woozy, and inspired version of Black Flag's "Nervous Breakdown" by the Skoalkans (who are said to have opened for Corrosion of Conformity). I got even more excited when Primordial Sid himself found I had played the Sickos and then floated a pile of CDRs my way last year. Then, he recently wrote me to point out the existence of another hallowed combo of legend: the Men With No IQ's. They indeed exhuded the same awesomeness as the rest of the Sid scene, though from a more metal side of things. From their My Space page (which someone else has set up, and on which the bassist has promised more pix soon):

"When I was 15 I used to sneak in to a dive called W.C. Don's in Jackson, Miss to see the monthly hardcore shows that seemed to come around at that point. Inevitably, Men With No IQ's would be opening the show. They were three African American guys who looked about as out of place as anyone ever could. The bass player, Booger Man White and the drummer, Steve Harris (no relation to the bass player from Maiden) were so huge that they would literally dwarf their tiny pawn shop instruments. Sylvester was the hot shot of the band, and he had like 10 Peavey practice amps, all stacked up on one another. Sylvester would always play with his shirt off while the other two guys wore custom MNI shirts and baseball caps that were most likely made at one of those iron-on shops in the Jackson Mall. THEY WERE AWESOME. I regret to say that I didn't appreciate them nearly enough at the time but they would always SLAY."

The Men with No IQ's almost remind me of Teezar in terms of the DIY-metal 80's insanity factor (they were referred to by someone as the soundtrack of a Budweiser and meth binge), but the lines are divided on the reality of that band's existence. I know I for one am disappointed when people go through the trouble of making extensive discographies and biographies and recordings for fictional bands, and I refuse to believe any kind of naysaying on some of them, but needless to say I am salivating over the mention that more MwNIQ's tracks are hovering around out there.

The Men With No IQ's "Can't Resist It" (MP3)

The Men With No IQ's "Dreamin' " (MP3)

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 40 (MP3s)

Give the Drummer Some's
6 Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere

Barack Obama was elected one year ago tonight, and to celebrate, the Miner feels like going out and pulling the white hoods off a few teabaggers. You betcha! If you prefer to stay home to get your jollies, take a gander at the magnificent recordings offered below. The good news? Just like Mike Bloomberg, you can spend somewhat less than $100 million of your own personal fortune to come out a winner!

Free Jazz for Short-Wave Radio, Hammers, broken glass, etc.
Karlheinz Stockhausen  ~  "Kommunion/Intensitat"
(Blog: Mundo Estranho De PB)

Listen for Lester Bowie!
Fela Anikulapo-Kuti  ~  "Perambulator"
(Blog: Likembe)

"Xaviet Cugat Goes Gamelan"
Phoem Khlaibanleng  ~  "Thai Modernized Music for Dancing, Vol. 2"
(Blog: Monrakplengthai)
From the album: Mon Son Pha (mp3)


 

Canada Lets Its Hair Down
Bob Bell  ~  "Necropolis"
(Blog: Mutant Sounds)

   

Balafon Blowout
Chico Freeman  ~  "Kings of Mali"
(Blog: Steakdust Cologne)
From the album: Kings of Mali (mp3)

Boll Weevils, Buckdances and Breakaways
Various  ~  "Eight-Hand Sets and Holy Steps"
(Blog: Times Ain't Like They Used to Be)
From the album: Buckdance (mp3)

Listen for music from these and other incredible finds on
Give the Drummer Some, Fridays on WFMU, 9 to Noon (ET).

Check out every installment of Mining the Audio Motherlode

Please Pass The "Please Pass The Biscuits" Records (MP3s)

   

Here are five versions of Please Pass The Biscuits, the timeless story of one hungry kid's desperate attempt to snag some nourishment. 

From my perspective, the definitive version is the one recorded by Andre Williams for the Fortune label in Detroit in 1958, the year after the original version, by author Gene Sullivan, landed in the Top Ten on Billboard's Country chart.  Williams, a pioneer of R&B sleaze, is still out there hustling.  His most recent album came out just last year and this month his first book, a semi-autobiographical tale of pimps, gangs, and drug running, was published by Kicks Books.

Gene Sullivan  -  Please Pass The Biscuits  (2:52)  1957

Andre Williams  -  Pass The Biscuits Please  (3:19)  1958

Jimmy Dean  -  Please Pass The Biscuits  (2:57)  1962

Norval & Ivy  -  Please Pass The Biscuits  (2:56)  1967

And to wrap things, up we'll check in with an unforgettable live performance from the Collins Kids featuring a great vocal performance by young Larry.  Tex Ritter provides the introduction and somehow manages to keep a straight face while he observes, "You show me a growing boy and I'll show you a biscuit eater."

Slasher Risk, My Castle of Quiet Live Session, 28th Oct 2009

I'm running out of ways to gush about Slasher Risk. Point is, this relatively young band, a duo, doesn't seem to yet realize how good they are, or how amazing they're going to be in just a short while. That's a fine thing, because it means they're only doing what must be done—what comes naturally. And what comes naturally is dynamic improvised music, with one limb occasionally stuck in something that remembers rock, but just as often or more so, dances in the air above the unimaginable maw of the Lovecraftian abyss. Frightening to some, but not to Andy or Sara, who do it seemingly just because it's their thing.

A two-person Can? Lou and Sterling? Moe and Sterling? Or a guitar-noise duo whose work makes Solmania seem "uptight"—just who the hell are Slasher Risk?

Here are 37+ minutes that at least put us closer to an answer:

Slasher Risk Live on WFMU's My Castle of Quiet

Good photo and top-notch session engineering by Trent.
Lousy photo and video by your host and author.

Slasher Risk Live on WFMU's My Castle of Quiet is covered by a creative commons attribution-non commercial-no derivatives license.

Butch, the Rough Barber Man (MP3)

From the great, exceptionally weird Tin Pan Alley song-poem label, and just a few months late for the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution, today's offering is Phil Celia with his rendition of "If Butch the Rough Barber Man Shaves Castro".

I love a lot of Tin Pan Alley records (including one about paying taxes, which I previously featured here), and had to have this one the second I saw it, even though it appeared it might be too warped to play (that is the source of some of the surface noise you'll hear). It turned out to be playable on one of my turntables, and now the world can hear it.

The flip side, "Oh, Sing a Song of I-O-WA", is a fun listen, too. I particularly enjoy the really high notes sung by a soprano at the very end of the record, coming from a singer whose presence on the record had not been evident, up until that point. This also may be the only song-poem record I've ever heard to feature a trombone solo.

I share more song-poems, weekly, here, but thought this one was a fit for this venue.

Phil Celia - If Butch the Rough Barber Man Shaves Castro (MP3)

Phil Celia - Oh, Sing a Song of I-O-WA (MP3)

Single A Side (JPG) - Single B Side (JPG)

Burroughs narrates Poe (video, MP3)

This post arrives slightly late for Halloween, but I'll take both William S. Burroughs and Edgar Allen Poe any time of the year. After some Poe readings by James Mason, we have this gem from the 1995 videogame "The Dark Eye", featuring William Burroughs reading "The Masque of the Red Death", accompanied by some creepy slides.

YouTube: Part 1 | Part 2
Just the audio, in slightly higher quality: The Masque of the Red Death (MP3) from RealityStudio

Three POE Readings by James Mason

 
According to Hesiod, Dreams are the children of Night, and brothers and sisters of Death and Sleep. Deceptive dreams issue from a gate of ivory, true dreams through a gate of horn.
The spirits of the departed, too, so long as they are not in the kingdom of Hades, have the power of appearing to the sleeper in dreams.
Later poets call dreams the sons of sleep, and give them separate names. Morpheus, for instance, only appears in various human forms. Ikelos, called also Phobetor, or Terrifyer, assumes the shapes of all kinds of animals as well as that of man: Phantasos only those of inanimate objects.

Today we serve up half of this round, black inanimate object, known as DL 9062, specifically the delicacy presented on side two: Three dramatic readings from Edgar Allan Poe as performed (with no directing credit) by James Mason, with creepy and dramatic organ stylings by Buddy Cole, who no doubt wore an Inverness cape for the occasion.

Rather than wax eloquent about Mr. Mason or the dear Mr. Poe, let us simply enjoy the delicious tones of his words as read by a master appreciator of same.

A larger copy of the full cover art for this gem is found HERE.

And the MP3s on display are:

The Tell-Tale Heart
Annabel Lee
Silence

Happy Hallowe'en All!

If I Had a Hammer

Here I am in Ye Jolly Olde UK, looking out my window at a glorious Halloween morning with its varied hues of orange and red, crisp leaves on the ground, bright snap in the air. Autumn in England is a beautiful thing – when you’re watching one of those old Pathe newsreels where people talk like posh Cockneys and everyone has the Blitz spirit of cheer and gumption.

In reality, it’s raining, grey, cold and decidedly miserable out there. I don’t mean to spoil any of your forthcoming dream holiday plans, but there you go. We live in a temperate climate, which sounds rather lovely and mild on paper, but is actually just cold and damp. Very cold and very damp.

News of the Dead: Dead Me

Just in time for Halloween, I discovered my own grave today. Apparently I died in November 1918, age 31, and am buried in some little town in Pennsylvania. Sluggo and I are planning a road trip to go visit Dead Me very soon. If you'd like to find Dead You, then I recommend searching your own name at FindAGrave.com, one of my favorite websites. (My thanks to Find a Grave Member Beth for locating Dead Me, and to Patty Matthews for the photo of Nanticoke Cemetery.)

People usually think of cemeteries as peaceful places. Or maybe not, maybe they think of cemeteries as creepy repositories for dead, rotting corpses. Either way, I don't think most people think of the cemetery as the place to go for some hot hetero action. But that is because most people do not live in South Carolina, home of Roland Corning, 66, the former deputy assistant attorney general. Mr. Corning became a former etc. when he was found in a cemetery with an 18-year-old stripper, some Viagra, and a bag of sex toys. He claimed he was on his "lunch break," and I suppose he just must have grabbed the wrong bag—you know, he accidentally took the one with the crusty black strap-on instead of the one with the ham sandwich. Plus, he's in South Carolina, home of Governor Mark Sanford, who prefers "hiking the Appalachian Trail" to "hanging out in the cemetery with barely legal strippers." Also that douchebag who heckled the President is from South Carolina, and who knows what he's been up to. I guess if you want to have sex outdoors with old white guys, South Carolina is the place to go. South Carolina, home of the Gamecocks! South Carolina's got it goin' on!

Christmas Contest Update: Okay, so the special Disney's Christmas Carol AmTrak train was in Grand Central today because it's the day before Halloween, and I went through it mostly just because it was there and I think it's interesting the way the "property" has gone from being A Christmas Carol to   Dickens' A Christmas Carol to Disney's A Christmas Carol, and just before the exit from the train there were 4 people in Victorian costumes singing "Jingle Bell Rock" because that is what counts as a Christmas carol nowadays, I guess. But our contest is to be the first person to hear Christmas music being played in a store and I don't think being subjected to anachronistic performers on a marketing train counts. I did notice stores in Grand Central with all the Christmas stuff up, making this the first year I have ever seen totally Christmas-themed store windows before Halloween. Surely the Christmas music will not be far behind. As soon as you hear Christmas music in a store, email me at bronwync@wfmu.org. The winner will receive some not-yet-determined prize.

Thanks for reading my blogpost this time, and Happy Halloween.

Dia de los Angelitos Update: Not My Grave. The Nanticoke Historical Society has a helpful list of locals who died in the 1918 influenza pandemic, among them "Bronwyn Charleton (Mrs. John)." And the Wilkes-Barre Record of May 17, 1905 has an announcement of the marriage of Bronwyn Davis of Nanticoke to John Charleton of Alden. So it looks like that Nanticoke grave belongs to Bronwyn Davis Charleton--close, but not my grave.

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 39 (MP3s)

Give the Drummer Some's
6 Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere

All treats and no tricks from the Miner this week: If you could count all the great "out" vibes records on one hand, this one—from Philly's Khan Jamal—would be the thumb. Magma founder Christian Vander plays drums here under the pseudonym Hassan Rashid.  •••  Beijing Opera–trained singer Grace Chang (Ge Lan) made more yuan as an actress than as a chanteuse. She appeared in over 30 films in career spanning just over a decade. Occasionally she landed a role where she got do her singing on camera. Check this freaky Youtube vid of her in 1959's Air Hostess.  •••  Refer-reeking garages of 1960s Uruguay, Peru, and Argentina were overflowing with mop-head maestros mashing en Inglés, but Spain's Cheyenes croon exclusively en Español. ••• Though "Ice Cream Man" was his biggest seller, Chicago bluesman John Brim ran a dry cleaners when he wasn't on the road. When he was touring, he took his wife with him. She was his drummer. ••• This "Indian"-themed blues compilation includes the one and only tune ever recorded (in 1929) by a mysterious performer billed as "Freezone." (MP3 provided, below.) Nobody seems to know who the hell this guy is!  ••• At 13, Junior Reid cut his first record with the great Hugh Mundell. (For an extra treat, go here.) At 17, Reid, now calling himself Junior Progress (with the backing band Voice of Progress), had a regional hit with "Mini Bus Driver." At 18, Reid was a passenger in a car with Mundell when Mundell was shot and killed.

Go Phillies!
Khan Jamal  ~  "Give the Vibes Some"
(Blog: The Growing Bin)
From the album: Pure Energy (mp3)

Star of '50s Hong Kong Cinema
Grace Chang  ~  "Pathe 100, Vol. 15"
(Blog: What's in My iPod)

If the Kinks and Pretty Things Had a Baby. In Spain.
Los Cheyenes  ~  "Sus Singles y EPs en RCA"
(Blog: Garage Music)
From the album: Eres Como un Sueño (mp3)

The Original Ice Cream Man
John Brim  ~  "1950-1953"
(Blog: Oldies But Goodies)

What You Me "We," Kemosabe?
Various  ~  "Cherokee Boogie: Indians and the Blues"
(Blog: The Devil's Guitar)
From the album: Indian Squaw Blues (mp3) by Freezone

No, Not Mini Driver
Voice of Progress  ~  "Mini Bus Driver"
(Blog: JeckrootsDJ)

Listen for music from these and other incredible finds on
Give the Drummer Some, Fridays on WFMU, 9 to Noon (ET).

Check out every installment of Mining the Audio Motherlode

Helping Hand for Prince Rama of Ayodhya

We hosted a broadcast (and Free Music Archive MP3s) a while back here on WFMU, and found the Ramas to be three of the sweetest people who we've had the fortune to fill our hallways with music, so it was heartbreaking to hear from Taraka today that their tour had been cancelled due to all their gear and merch being swiped in Philadelphia this past week. I'm sure they'd appreciate all their fans and WFMU listeners to spread the word in getting some help their way so they can continue making their otherwordly sounds. Paypal link here, and more on this great trio here.

New Podcast: Choking on Cufflinks

Introducing a new podcast: Choking on Cufflinks with Michael Goodstein!

Michael is taking a break from the air schedule, but he's still delivering the goods: DIY pop, shitalo, & the other "fun" stuff from Brooklyn, Jersey City, Manchester circa 1980, and everywhere else the DIY impulse took root.

Click here to subscribe to the Choking on Cufflinks podcast via iTunes, or visit our podcast page for more options.

A Few Pointers From Ted Williams

Ted Williams was indisputably the greatest hitter in the game of baseball. The last player in MLB to bat over .400 in a single season (.406 in 1941), he was a two time American League MVP winner and still holds the highest career batting average of anyone with 500 or more home runs. Over the course of two decades Williams quietly advanced to the top of his profession earning accolades from his peers on and off the field.

Red Sox fans applauded their hero's multi-tiered success but on occasion turned on the thin-skinned slugger, booing and heckling him at the slightest sign of weakness. This bugged the hell out of Williams and he would mutter under his breath and eventually stop tipping his cap to these idiots. What the hell was this all about? Nobody ever booed Hoot Gibson or John Wayne. What kind of world had he landed in? Maybe a .344 career batting average might be better appreciated somewhere else. Perhaps in the future, away from the drooling slobs of Fenway Park, there dwelt an appreciative civilization where attaining everlasting life and eternal gratitude is only slightly more complicated than joining Netflix. Pumped up with steroids to end all steroids, a sports legend could roam the earth like a king--living, loving and playing ball with only the finest merchandising deals laid like rose petals at his frozen cleats. Ted squinted into the left field bleachers and with the saint-like fortitude that he often brought to the plate, sucked in his breath and waited.

The Way Out, A Portrait of Xentos Jones (video excerpt)

This excerpt of the 2003 film "The Way Out, A Portrait of Xentos Jones" by Kosten Koper and Luke Fowler recently popped up on YouTube. I hope that the whole thing will be released on DVD some day...

YouTube: [link] | More info on Kosten Koper's blog: [link] | More Xentos on the WFMU blog: Die Trip Computer Die - Flowerball (a whole album for free!) | King Leopold Of All The Belgians (weird half-improvised radio play)

DJ Steinski Presents: Southern Preachers On The Radio

Head on over to the WFMU Ichiban blog for a guest DJ set from Steinski entitled: Not A Cloud Upon The Name Of The Lord.  It's an hour's worth of "old-fashioned, holy spirit anointed preaching from the word of God".  Perfect for Sunday morning coming down.

Praise The Lord! (mp3)

8 Cool Things on The Internet This Week

Okay, okay I admit it. Whenever I post something like this it means I am being extremely lazy. Whatever happened to those lengthy articles I used to post here every other week? Oh, right I went and got a job. Unemployment was a boon to prolific pop culture blogging. Well, I have half-written articles about Howard Morris, Billy Strange, Elisha Cook Jr, Harry Lucey and Frankie Darro going on and they'll be completed sooner or later. But for now... enjoy some laziness.

A complete night of programming from WKBK Buffalo, Halloween Night 1973

The Bob and Ray TV Show - Full Episode

Write up on The Twonky - Bizarre Film About Possessed Television aired on TCM Today.

The Paul Lynde Halloween Special (Complete)

Leif Garrett on The Dating Game - Halloween Episode

Psych Band The Merry-Go-Round on The Dating Game

18 Versions of the Shaft Theme - Part One - Part Two

Haunted Beer Ad

Things Can Only Get Better

I've had a pretty shit week if I'm honest with you. One funeral, one anniversary of a friend's death, and the news that another friend was murdered have left me feeling as low as it's possible to feel. There have been days when I didn't even want to get out of bed. I felt like a shadow was hanging over me all the time.

Hey Los Angeles, This Is Called "Autumn"

Hi, Beware Of The Blog readers. I flew East for a week to visit family and work for my store (Rockaway Records) at the WFMU Record Fair this weekend. Stop by and say hi if you'd like. Tell me I'm not a shitty blogger.

Being in New York and New Jersey affords me many opportunities Southern California does not. For example, it's autumn right now. We don't have autumn in Los Angeles. We have couple days of sometimes warm, sometimes cool weather. It might rain or become foggy one night. Other than that, it's in the low 70s and sunny. It gets cold at night I guess, but definitely not cold enough to wear a scarf like most Eastside hipter douches do. Two years ago I bought a winter coat, and it's been hanging in my closet ever since. That's LA autumn/winter for you.

We don't get foliage! We have palm trees. So, after spending some time with my father in his small New Jersey town today, I drove to the South Mountain Reservation and hiked around for a few minutes. It was creepy and nice, and pretty warm outside. There was a yellow labrador retriever splashing in a creek, and then it ran over to me and jumped on me. Afterwards I drove to the Riker Hill Art Park, which was something of a second home for my friends and I before I moved west. I was going to watch the sunset there, but I decided to buy some wine and grab a quick dinner with some friends instead. Oh well. Here are some of the photos I took today judged to be the most interesting by my friends. Bonus points if you can spot either a Sasquatch or the Jersey Devil...

WFMU's Record Fair - this weekend!

Get your game face on and your vinyl flipping fingers warmed up: WFMU's annual Record Fair hits the Metropolitan Pavilion in Manhattan this weekend! Besides 10,000 square feet of amazing CDs, LPs, DVDs and artworks, there will be live broadcasts all weekend long, and live music from the Trashmen, People Like Us, Kevin Blechdom, Heavy Trash (w/ Jon Spencer) and more (full schedule here). Check out movies in the A/V Lounge or deface your favorite record sleeve at the LP Modification Booth!

Location:
Metropolitan Pavilion
125 West 18th Street, NYC

Hours and Admission:
Friday, October 23rd, 7-10pm, $7
Saturday, October 24th, 10am-7pm, $7
Sunday, October 25th, 10am-7pm, $7
Early Admission: Friday, October 23rd from 4-7pm, $25 (includes re-admission all weekend)

Download this flyer (PDF), print it, and present at the ticket booth to receive $2 off admission.


Live Bands and Guest DJ sets

Saturday 10/24

• Chip Taylor (11:30am), wrote "Wild Thing," "Angel Of The Morning;" live acoustic set.
• The Trashmen (2pm), best known for their smash hit "Surfin' Bird."
• Heavy Trash (4pm), rockabilly love child of NYC rockers Jon Spencer and Matt Verta-Ray.
• New York Night Train DJ set (6pm), with Jonathan Toubin spinning rock and soul.

Sunday 10/25

• Electric Chaircuts w/ Nelson Loskamp (noon), electrosonic haircuts.
  
• Kevin Blechdom + BARNWAVE + special guests (1pm, A/V Lounge).
• People Like Us (2pm, A/V Lounge), audio/visual collage... avant retard!
  
• Chris Brokaw (3pm), of Codeine & The New Year; 12 string guitar trio.
• Damu the Fudgemonk (3pm, A/V Lounge), an Akai MPC 2000 and turntables.
  
• La Cumbiamba eNeYé (4pm), European, African, and Colombian sounds.

(photo by the junes, CC by)