WFMU's Beware of the Blog

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 36 (MP3s)

Give the Drummer Some's
6 Yusef Lateef Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere

Back in 1979, right around my 18th birthday, I ventured from my suburban Maryland home into D.C. to go see my favorite musician, Yusef Lateef, who was performing at Blues Alley. I'd tried to enlist a few friends to come with me, but ended up going by myself. I've always been bashful about approaching the musicians I idolize, but I was determined to speak to Yusef, to express to him how much his music meant to me. With some measure of embarrassment, I brought with me an album cover for him to sign and kept it in a paper bag.

At the club, the host led me to a small round table right at the foot of the stage, close enough for me to reach out and touch Yusef's tenor, propped on its stand. Soon the lights dimmed, the cocktail-clinking quieted and the emcee called the musicians to the stand. Along with his band, Yusef descended the stairs from the second-floor dressing rooms garbed in flowing white robes that dazzled in the glare of the spotlight. I sat there alone during that transcendent first set, barely breathing, taking in the almost-too-intense thrill of it. Yusef delivered great rollicking sermons and tender, ecstatic ballads, ending each song by holding out the sax or flute or oboe he'd just played as if the instrument, not him, was deserving of the applause. When the set ended, I remained in my seat, unable to summon the courage to approach him.

After a brief interlude, the band came back down for a second set, one long blissful R&B number that built over the course of 45 minutes from a bright vamp to a pulsing, surging, wailing catharsis. Yusef's supporting musicians played as if they adored him, and the intensity of their communal spirit was palpable to everyone in the room. As each man soloed, Yusef made the selfless gesture of removing himself from center stage, standing off to the side with his eyes closed, nodding in appreciation.

When the set came to a close and the musicians retreated upstairs for the final intermission, I felt emboldened and headed, with my paper bag, for the second floor. There was a queue of well-wishers and fans between me and the entrance to Yusef's cool-down spot, and I nervously half-wished that the people ahead of me would use up all the break time. But the line moved along and soon enough I found myself standing there being warmly received by Yusef himself. In the next moment, a couple of dashiki-clad gentlemen pushed past me to greet Yusef, but he gently rebuffed them and said he was already speaking with someone, pointing to me. It was just a small act of courtesy, but to be the recipient of his kindness made my head spin. I pulled out my record, and Yusef autographed it and handed it back. He wrote, "To Bro Doug in peace, Bro Yusef A. Lateef.

Before leaving, I asked Yusef if he was still playing "Russell and Eliot," my all-time favorite tune (which appeared on the 1969 LP Yusef Lateef's Detroit). He said that the song was in the band's book and then smiled as I thanked him and walked on jelly legs back down to my table. When the next set began, I sat there at the edge of the bandstand, transfixed, as Yusef stepped to the mic, bowed in my direction, and announced, "Here's a song for my new friend." Then he counted off for the band and they launched into the opening groove of "Russell and Eliot." (mp3)

This Friday, October 9, will be Yusef Lateef's 89th birthday. Tune in to my radio show, Give the Drummer Some, [hear the show here] for a three-hour celebration. To get the party started early, this volume of Mining the Audio Motherlode offers six wonderful recordings by Yusef, including downloadable tracks for Hikima, a recording that recently surfaced that has never appeared on any discography. (It contains material that appears to have been recorded at the same July '83 session that produced In Nigeria.)

Stunning Unheard Nigerian Gem
Yusef Lateef  ~  "Hikima (Creativity)"
High Life (mp3)  |  The Mood (mp3)  |  C.N.C.S. (mp3)  |  Koroso (mp3)
North Africa (mp3)  |  Blues Revised (mp3)  |  Mud Theatre (mp3)

Blowing in Philadelphia
Yusef Lateef  ~  "Live at Pep's, Vol. 2"
(The Sound of Jazz)

Theremin Alert
Yusef Lateef  ~  "A Flat, G Flat and C"
(Blog: Daytime Lovers)

Blowing in from Detroit
Yusef Lateef  ~  "Before Dawn"
(Blog: The Monk)

Big Bass Drum Say Tum T'tum
Yusef Lateef  ~  "Part of the Search"
(Blog: Flageolette)

Stay in Contact with Your Mind
Yusef Lateef  ~  "Autophysiopsychic"
(Blog: The CTI Never Sleeps)

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

Future of Music Policy Summit '09 Wrap-up

Yesterday I returned from Washington where I spent two days attending the Future of Music Coalition's annual policy summit. This was my first time out to FMC and my hat's off to them for putting together some engaging panels, but more importantly, for attracting a really great, diverse crowd. There are few other places where you can have a long lunch talking about sampling with Hank Shocklee and a little later chat with someone about the challenges of distributing Christian musicals to India. This conference comes highly recommended.

There were a few themes that seemed to dominate this year's meeting:

- Net Neutrality was discussed relentlessly. Obama's FCC has been unambiguous in its support of net neutrality so it was no surprise to hear current FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski speak at length on the importance of keeping the internet a level playing field throughout a Bruce Springsteen pun laden speech ("The Internet is a telecom Thunder Road... It was a network that was Born to Run in a land of Open protocols"). Somewhat surreal: seeing an FCC chairman played into the room by a brass band blowing "When the Saints come marching in". It was a bit heavy handed but I guess after Kevin Martin, whose legacy includes increased media consolidation and nipplegate, everyone was happy to see this guy.

- Performance Royalties for Radio came up quite a few times and given that the FMC is primarily an advocacy group for musicians trying to make a living it is no surprise that almost everyone there favored them.  The United States is the only country in the Western world that only pays songwriters (and their publishers) when music is played on terrestrial radio while the rest of the world also compensates the performer of the songs. Senator Al Franken was the only person I heard express any concern at all for broadcasters in this debate and at least took a somewhat even handed approach that while performance royalties should be paid out to artists, smaller and non-profit broadcasters (like us), should be protected from having to pay out exorbitant fees.

Despite all the love for performance royalties at FMC, politically it seems unlikely to pass. The NAB has already secured 246 co-sponsors for a House resolution against it according to the Wall Street Journal. Perhaps the moral of the story here is that you shouldn't mess with the NAB... according to the record industry they are the same evil cabal that has conspired to keep Bono from selling a million copies of his last record.

- "Promotional Value" is dead - Steve Marks, an RIAA representative and others* declared that there is no promotional value whatsoever to getting music played anywhere and an entire room seemed to nod in agreement. None of these same people apparently made it out the NPR Music panel later in the day where NPR was lauded for breaking new music to audiences and All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen talked about the daunting task of sifting through the countless mail tubs of cds that are sent into him every week (presumably by the same industry that says he provides no promotional value).

(* Update: In the original post I ascribed this view to Peter Jenner but he claims that this misrepresents his opinion. Read the comments below for clarification)

It's a bit sad that the recording industry continues to see radio stations, journalists, blogs, and services like Pandora as adversaries trying to exploit their content rather than partners that are trying to help them move product.

"Some Of Their Material Is Fine..." (Nashville considers the Beatles)

In August 1964, with an epidemic of Beatlemania sweeping the nation, COUNTRY SONG ROUNDUP asked 13 of Nashville's biggest hit-makers what they thought about the Beatles. 

Since their answers were surprisingly free of rancor and disdain, my guess is that the the whole thing was basically fiction and the stars in question were never actually asked the question at hand.   Of course I could be wrong but, really,  I'm having a hell of a hard time believing that Ray Price judged 'em to be "good and country."

Fiancée of Dracula - Jean Rollin (2002)

With a few notable exceptions (Stuart Gordon, Larry Cohen), my horror-auteur gods have been letting me down in recent years. Granted, artists like George A. Romero and Dario Argento are working with much bigger budgets, and greater public expectations than Jean Rollin has ever had to deal with, and maybe that, in and of itself, is partly the kiss of death for these comparative big shots.

Why do I consider myself a huge Rollin fan, yet I've never, until now, watched a film of his later than The Living Dead Girl (1982)? Maybe I didn't want to risk having the master of vampire chateaus, beguiling female malefactors, moody beach scenes and the darkly absurd shot down in my estimation. Boy was I wrong. It took the recommendation of WFMU / My Castle of Quiet super-listener Richard Ridden to coax me into taking a chance on Rollin's 2002 feature, Fiancée of Dracula, and I have nothing but good things to report.

First of all, it's amazing to me that the same, crumbling, ruined pier Rollin has been using as a location since the late 1960s has never been fixed up (perhaps that's French infrastructure for you), and in this film, he's used that craggy pier for one of his most compelling seaside visions ever. Secondly, the classic Rollin motif of grandfather clocks as a travel portal for the undead is employed here again, some 30 years after the director's phantasmagorical 1971 feature, Le frisson des vampires.

What other visual and conceptual delights fill out the body of Fiancée of Dracula? What say thee to a convent of mad nuns, who smoke pipes and cigars, don funnels and quote Jarry, and have a mean kick in the bargain? Or a salacious blonde ogress, who feeds on live infants? How about a mind-boggling scene—perhaps the best in the whole film—in which a nun, having been brutally slaughtered, suddenly rises up and carries around her own bleeding heart? All this and more, including a minor, but pivotal role, played by Rollin's long-time star, the lovely Brigitte Lahaie. I fear if I say too much, I will most certainly curb your surprise and pleasure in watching this film. It's enough to say that maestro Rollin has maintained the visual sense, absurdity, and moody, ethereal vibrations that have defined his filmmaking career from the very start.

ATP-NY 2009: PANDA BEAR (MP3)

If you're anything like me, then this cutie's album Person Pitch really made your summer 2007 something a little more magical than it would have been without it.

Using only a couple of exquisitely-picked loops and a shitload of very specific reverb, Panda Bear (a.k.a. Noah Lennox a.k.a. 1/3 or so of Animal Collective) creates small but very detailed worlds of songs that take you somewhere Brian Wilson might have gone if he had only stuck to the good kinds of drugs and understood the internet.

If you're already familiar with the work of tha bear, the live set, recorded and broadcast during All Tomorrows Parties just a few weeks ago, will sound very much like what you heard on the album, but with a lot more fun insight and deep-diving into the sparklies, yelps, and high-impact loop layering technology that make the PB experience exactly what it is.

Download a free MP3 of BROS courtesy of the FREE MUSIC ARCHIVE.

Expertly mixed by Rob Christiansen as part of WFMU's live broadcast from ATP (more recordings here). Photo by heybelinda = Creative Commons by-nc-nd

Gorefest - Autobahn (video)

Celebrity Anti-Drug PSA's, Part Four

Under the pretext of drug control suppressive police states have been set up throughout the Western world. The precise programming of thought feeling and apparent sensory impressions by the technology outlined in bulletin 2332 enables the police states to maintain a democratic facade from behind which they loudly denounce as criminals, perverts and drug addicts anyone who opposes the control machine. Underground armies operate in the large cities enturbulating the police with false information through anonymous phone calls and letters. Police with drawn guns irrupt at the Senator's dinner party a very special dinner party too that would tie up a sweet young thing surplus planes.

"We been tipped off a nude reefer party is going on here. Take the place apart boys and you folks keep your clothes on or I'll blow your filthy guts out."

We put out false alarms on the police short wave directing patrol cars to nonexistent crimes and riots which enables us to strike somewhere else. Squads of false police search and beat the citizenry. False construction workers tear up streets, rupture water mains, cut power connections. Infra-sound installations set off every burglar alarm in the city. Our aim is total chaos.

Loft room map of the city on the wall. Fifty boys with portable tape recorders record riots from TV. They are dressed in identical grey flannel suits. They strap on the recorders under gabardine topcoats and dust their clothes lightly with tear gas. They hit the rush hour in a flying wedge riot recordings on full blast police whistles, screams, breaking glass crunch of nightsticks tear gas flapping from their clothes. They scatter put on press cards and come back to cover the action. Bearded Yippies rush down a street with hammers breaking every window on both sides leave a wake of screaming burglar alarms strip off the beards, reverse collars and they are fifty clean priests throwing petrol bombs under every car WHOOSH a block goes up behind them. Some in fireman uniforms arrive with axes and hoses to finish the good work.

William S. Burroughs / The Wild Boys

WFMU Launches 2 New Webstreams

WFMU now has two brand new webstreams for your listening pleasure.   WFMU's Rock & Soul Ichiban (listen here ) and Ubu Audio (listen here ).  Ichiban features the best in obscure hits from the 50's and 60's mixed with vintage commercials, jingles and monster movie trailers; all selected by Debbie D.  Plus, you get short radio sets from Mr. Finewine, Rex and Dave the Spazz with all of the tracking and none of the yakking.  Visit the Ichiban blog for more information.  The Ubu audio stream consists of sound poetry culled from Kenny G's amazing ubu.com site. Stream on!

ATP-NY 2009: Grouper (MP3)

(photo left: Abbey Braden) It was most rewarding to see that All Tomorrows Parties gave Portland OR's Grouper (AKA Liz Harris) the larger room for her September 12th set from Kutsher's resort in the Catskills; the glacial, elegant movements of her solo performances (armed only with guitar, voice, and FX) were befitting of a past-its-prime ballroom where the spectres of 1950's-1970's entertainment loomed large. That and the fact that a large room's acoustics were perfect for her; in front swirling projected images Harris projected murky, oceanic melodies, lumbering overtones and dreamlike drones, all a seemingly symphonic creation all at the hands of one person and a guitar. It sounded very controlled yet completely vague and very much non-digital sounding. Surrounded by this, you feel completely transported by these dense yet never-overpowering clouds of sound, always distant, but directly connected your cortex in a way I think even My Bloody Valentine could not quite accomplish with their live barrage last year. Comparisons to Arvo Part meets Throbbing Gristle are definitely accurate; there's an epicness about Grouper's music that never quite releases its sense of foreboding while at the same time aims to sooth the soul.

WFMU broadcast a good portion of the weekend from All Tomorrows Parties, and we're uploading new performances every day to this blog and the Free Music Archive's ATP collection. Grouper's set was recorded somewhat simply for broadcast by Jason Sigal, a basic mix and room mic is really all needed to capture this.

Old Jersey vs. New Jersey: WFMU On Location

Billy Jam sez:

If you stop people on the streets of Jersey City and quiz them about the origins of the name of the Garden State, the majority will be unaware of the island of Jersey - the British Crown Dependency located in the Channel Islands off the coast of Normandy. I know because recently I did exactly this: I interviewed a sampling of Jersey City folks on the street near the WFMU studios (MP3). 

I will be playing back this vox pop on Friday (Oct 2nd) between 9am and 12 noon (NJ time) during the WFMU live remote broadcast from Weighbridge Square on the harbour-front in St Helier (Old Jersey's capitol), during day two of the four-day Branchage Film Festival in Old Jersey.

In addition to talking on the air with the film festival's director Xanthe Hamilton and many others about the festival that also involves music, I will be talking with several authorities on the relationship between Old Jersey and New Jersey. These will include Philip Malet de Carteret whose ancestors are literally responsible for New Jersey. Back in 1663 King Charles II rewarded the de Carterets for their loyalty during the Civil War by gifting them with a large tract of land in North America. That tract of land would become New Jersey.

Also to be interviewed will be Rod McLaughlin - an acclaimed Jersey historian who will speak on Jersey's status as a Crown Dependency, how it was once under French rule, its occupation by the Nazis, and its relationship to New Jersey. Jersey cow farmer Ian Mitchell, who will bring along samples of some dairy products derived from the rich creamy Jersey milk, will discuss Jersey's popular export.

And in conjunction with BBC Jersey, who are producing the festival's Shear Music showcase of local talent, I have invited numerous Old Jersey artists including Jjjiiim, Jersey Bob, and Wizard & Frog to come on the air live to perform. There are many more guests expected on this WFMU remote broadcast but who knows just what might happen on freeform FMU. Tune in to find out on Friday 9am to 12 noon (Doug's normal slot) on WFMU. For exact details on the Branchage Film Festival click here. And check back here on the WFMU blog for updates from Jersey on the Branchage Film Festival. 

- Billy Jam