WFMU's Beware of the Blog

The David Letterman Campus Radio Program - WAGO - 1969

With all the fun going on in the late night world and my having revisited some previous Late Nite talk show madness, here's a fun nugget. This is David Letterman's Muncie, Indiana campus radio program on WAGO - April 1969.

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 51 (MP3s)

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

Sandra Wright passed away last week at the age of 61. A classically trained vocalist, she came up in a Tennessee family rich with singers—one cousin was a member of the Spirit of Memphis gospel quartet, another was the blues icon Memphis Slim. Singing in church from the age of 4, Sandra graduated from Tennessee State with a degree in music. When her mother refused to let her travel to Europe with an opera company, Sandra connected with a local R&B group, Canned Souls, and recorded several singles, all before her 21st birthday. In 1974 Stax launched its subsidiary label Truth with Sandra's soulful "Wounded Woman," which was recorded, along with a handful of other numbers at the Muscle Shoals studio Broadway Sound. Sandra's records received no support from the floundering Stax, which wound up in IRS receivership a year later. (In 1988, the UK label Demon released Sandra's Truth singles on one LP. Find it—and two of her '60s tracks—below.) Forsaking the capricious life of touring and recording, Sandra settled into a 17-year run performing in regular rotation at Nashville's famed New Era Club. In 1992, a few years after forming her own group, Sandra rented a place in Vermont to be closer to her new production company and the New York studios. Sandra, who'd been raised in the Memphis projects, was taken with the natural beauty of the Green Mountains and decided to stay. Buoyed by enthusiastic audiences across the Northeast, Sandra became a fixture at festivals and benefits and developed a devoted following that now grieves her loss.

I never did see Sandra perform, but knew her as a beloved member of a circle of friends who, for the past two decades, have gathered in the Vermont woods for a wonderful pot-luck Thanksgiving. Her easy laugh, sardonic cheer, and outrageous deviled eggs will eternally be missed.

Sandra's friends have established a fund to help carry on Sandra's legacy: Please donate

Dearly Departed
Sandra Wright  ~  "Wounded Woman"
(Blog: Disco Soul Funk)

Bonus: Two singles not on the album:
Unbelievable ('68) (mp3) | Gotta See My Baby ('69) (mp3)

Conscientious Objections from Blues King
Willie Dixon  ~  "Peace?"
(Blog: Uncle Gil's Rockin' Archive)
From the album: I'd Give My Life for You (mp3)

Very Extremely Tight
Various  ~  "Tighten Up" (all eight volumes)
(Blog: You & Me on a Jamboree!)

Sagebrush on the Sertão
Moreno e Moreninho  ~  "Capelinha de Santo Reis"
(Blog: Exp Etc.)
From the album: Deus Menino (mp3)

 

Dangerous Blues
Various  ~  "My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama"
(Blog: Twilightzone!)

Swinging Free and Glorious
Paul Bley  ~  "Mr. Joy" (see below*)
(Blog: Lucky Psychic Hut)
From the album: Mr. Joy (mp3)

*This fidelity of this is warm but quite crackly. For a muddier but cleaner version, go here.

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

Colombia's Dancehall Africana

Coastal Colombia seems to be a place that calls me.  Whether the Caribbean or Pacific side, the coastal melting pot's Afro-Indian influenced folk and contemporary sounds make Colombia one of the most exciting musical countries in the world.  One of my favorite musical stories in the Americas is the history of Colombian Champeta.  It's a story of contemporary African Pop, finding a home in African communities far removed in time and distance from their ancestral homelands.  Compare the sound and visual aesthetic of these two videos, the first by Colombia's Hernan Hernandez, and the second by Congo's Koffi Olomide.

There's growing attention in the English speaking world to the sounds of contemporary urban music out of Colombia through DJ's like Uproot Andy, Geko Jones, and Eddie Stats.  In the Colombia owned Caribbean islands San Andrés y Providencia, an English-Spanish Creole culture thrives, and the current music of choice is Dancehall Reggae with Cumbia, Champeta, Zouk and Reggaeton influences.

The following song is a track by DJ Buxxi, one of the big producers from the islands, with the help of some friends, on a Champeta-Chutney influenced rhythm I can't quite seem to get out of my bones.

DJ Buxxi & DJ Buñuelo-Rumba Loca feat. Eddy Jey & el Michel

For more information on Colombian music with plenty of samples to go around, be sure to check the blog Africolombia run by Fabian Altahona out of Baranquilla.

Sparklehorse - It's A Wonderful Life (Guy Maddin video)

After having recently seen my first Guy Maddin film, the wonderful and disturbing Brand Upon The Brain!, I stumbled upon this music video he did for the Sparklehorse song It's A Wonderful Life, as part of the Sundance Channel's Sonic Cinema.

In case you wonder about the instrumentation, Mark Linkous plays both an Optigan and a Chamberlin in this song.

YouTube: [link]

The Late Night Distemper of Our Times by Kliph Nesteroff

"If history were past... history wouldn't matter ... But history is present ... You and I are history. We carry our history. We act our history." - James Baldwin

"It's stunning how Jay Leno outfoxed you again ... Your agent [said], 'There's good news and bad news. You are doing The Tonight Show ... Uh, but remember that discussion we had where you said I'll never have to fuckin' follow Leno again?" - Norm Macdonald appearing on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, February 10, 2009¹

It's a maxim and a cliché that history repeats itself. Late night talk shows have been the victims of literal temper and metaphorical distemper for sixty years. Before the Conan quagmire, The Jay Leno Show disaster and even before David Letterman put his penis directly into a vagina, there was no shortage of late night tabloid fodder. Nor was there any lack of infuriating TV executive fatuousness.

Bill Carter's Late Shift and its subsequent HBO film now represent what television was in the nineties. The Joan Rivers - Johnny Carson feud played itself out publicly and bitterly in the eighties. Regis Philbin showed fascinating temperament in the sixties when he quit his sidekick stint during an episode of The Joey Bishop Show, explaining that he was appeasing his critics. But the controversy taking center stage this month belongs to the list of late night talk show hosts that have had to battle blundering network executives and their grand schemes. Sadly, this is nothing new.

The Jay Leno Show, both the show itself and the network's decision what to do about it, is just the most recent poster child of late night carnage. Previous late night car wrecks included The Magic Johnson Show, The Pat Sajak Show and The Chevy Chase Show.² However, the biggest late night talk show calamity in history was one that, after all the gouged out eyeballs were counted, left the most casualties. It was the most expensive late night talk show ever made and certainly the longest. It starred comedy's most polarizing figure and could only sustain itself three months. Time Magazine, one month into the program's run, delivered this review:

ABC has given him two full hours ... the show is loaded with intramural cracks, tedium, desperate looking guests reaching for laughs, mechanical dolls that wave their arms and drop their pants, additional tedium, and the apparent illusion that several million people want to watch 120 minutes of the scriptless life of a semi-educated, egocentric boor.

Ladies and gentlemen, The Jerry Lewis Show.

God Bless KCDX

One hour commercial-free classic rock blocks on FM.  Arizona has commercial-free classic rock blocks on FM--REAL commercial-free classic rock blocks, not bait and switch commercial-free classic rock blocks!!  If you know of any other rebel classic rock freeform FM's that are actually still around and kicking where you live I'd like to know about them.  Because I've never heard any like this...until two months ago, when my wife and I moved to Mesa.  Yeahhhh, other than a once hourly station ID the big AZ has commercial-free.  And the rock up in here is higher than all 12,562 elevation feet of Humphrey's Peak.

B-sides, concert versions, record collection slips-by...all of the very highest order from KCDX, 103.1 FM, Florence, Arizona.  Quick station ID then nuttin' but solid bada-bing.  Mint condition r-a-w-k.  Oh sure, you get the occasional "charters" out of a can...stir-fried lovingly with forgotten exotic--and even fresher--left out LP cuts that get the shaft on terrestrial.  Pretty much a seven-layer bar for the tympanic membrane.  No, maybe it can't match up with the likes of the radio station that holds this blog's reins, but out here 103.1 is a neck-in-neck second. 

Indeed, God bless KCDX!  Non...stop...ROCK.

Movin' With Nancy

In 1967, Nancy Sinatra had her own one hour television spectacular unlike any of the other variety shows of the time.  It was basically a series of music videos where she lip-synced along to her hits, wearing mod outfits and go-go boots.  We approve.  Special guests included Dean Martin, Frankie, Lee Hazelwood and Sammy Davis Jr.  You can catch more '60s inspired madness over at the WFMU Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban blog and webstream.

You Have To Be A Child To Have Such Strange Problems!

"To Live and Die In The Airport Lounge" by My Teenage Stride, very well might be one of the best songs of the decade, and believe it or not, the rest of their songs are pretty great too.
For years Jed Smith, the mind behind MTS, has been writing pop songs influenced by the Velvet Undergroud, The Four Seasons, Television Personalities, Pink Floyd, and the Supremes that are unendingly catchy and even transcendent. Now, with a new backing band consisting of Tris Mcall and two members of psychy-indie band I'm Turning Into the live show has more power behind it and My Teenage Stride is poised to take over the world.
Right now, in preparation for said world domination, MTS is trying to raise money to record a new album. If you're into that, or are just looking for a way to spend some money, you can donate to the cause over at Kickstarter.
In the meantime, listen to these two awesome, classic My Teenage Stride songs:
My Teenage Stride- Theme From Teenage Suicide
My Teenage Stride- Creep Academy

New Podcasts and a Play

WFMU has 2 new podcasts:

Too Much Information with Benjamen Walker (click here to subscribe via iTunes) - On TMi everyone is invited to the oversharing party! Gurus, Crackpots, Hucksters, Ordinary Folks, and your host Benjamen Walker tell tall tales and share intimate stories about a world where nothing seems real and everything is downloadable. Information Overload - Every Week. (Benjamen's podcast got some major love in the iTunes store this week, see red circle to the right!)

Liz Berg (aka me, click here to subscribe via iTunes) - Caffeinated rock, experimental pop, oddball beats, and more stuffed into a chewy, bite-sized, downloadable snack. A quick rundown of my faves from the Free Music Archive, including many tunes from my weekly radio show, plus a few special treats that are too hot for airplay.

Check out our full listing of podcasts here.

One more bit of news: Andy Theodorou of Night People (also a podcast, subscribe here) is producing the play "Safe Home" at Women's Interart Center (500 West 52nd Street) in Manhattan. It runs through January. Find more information about it here.

Golden Festival this weekend in NYC / on WFMU (mp3s)

Every January, NY Balkan music scene pioneers the Zlatne Uste Balkan Brass Band organize the Golden Festival - a massive two-night grassroots Balkan and East European music and dance festival at the Good Shepherd School, 620 Isham Street in the Inwood section of Upper Manhattan.

The Golden Festival is New York's largest Balkan music event, with multiple stages, Balkan & Middle Eastern refreshments, Balkan arts vendors, as well as beautiful Balkan textiles on display.  From international stars to local musicians, modern Balkan stylists to folk traditionalists, over 40 bands provide hours of ecstatic listening, dancing and partying. (via Zlatne Uste's website)

The Golden Festival celebrates its 25th anniversary this Friday and Saturday, and tickets are available here.

For those who won't be able to attend but want to live vicariously, Rob Weisberg's Transpacific Sound Paradise program will broadcast live on WFMU this Saturday from 6pm until midnite (NY time).

The TSP broadcast will take place from one of the festival's three stages, the "Kafana" stage (Kafana is Serbo-Croatian for "cafe"; and the broadcast hq will once again be conveniently located right next to the beer line!).

To get an idea of what's in store, enjoy a few highlights from last year's Transpacific Sound Paradise broadcast (at right) -- click "i" to learn more about each artist and recording. >> More live recordings from last year's Golden Festival >> More info about the 2010 Golden Festival (schedule, tickets, map)

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 50 (MP3s)

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

Huzzah! Mining the Audio Motherlode turns 50 (weeks old) today. Let's get this party started:

(1) An absolute dazzler in the crown of South African jazz gems, this 1963 conflagration features a sax section to rival Duke Ellington's Hodges/Webster/Bigard/Carney nexus. (Here your lineup is: Dudu Pukwana, Barney Rachabane, Nick Moyake, "Christopher Columbus" Ngcukane, and the legendary Kippie Moeketsi.) Massive! ••• (2) Few conjuntos could swing as hard and happy as El Gran Combo. The title number on this 1965 set tells the tale of a baseball-playing horse. ••• (3) The recording division of Radio France produced, via its Ocora label, maybe the finest catalog of far-flung field recordings ever. One of the label's few LPs to cover Les États Unis features little-known street preacher Flora Molton accompanied in 1987 by stringbender Eleanor Ellis. ••• (4) Dr. K. Gyasi led several top highlife outfits in Ghana going back to the mid-'50s. His later band, the Noble Kings, which introduced the sikyi rhythm to the dancehalls of Accra, often featured guitarist Eric Agyeman and, on this highlife charmer, vocalist Thomas Frimpong. ••• (5) Ipanema, Rio's ritzy suburb, is home to the vast hillside slum Morro do Cantagalo. Cantagalo was home to the poet, songwriter and ex-drug dealer Adão Dãxalebarã, who, paralyzed by 14 police bullets, came to wider attention through a role in the film City of God. A year before hepatitis killed him in 2004, Adão released Escolástica ("Scholastic") his only record. ••• (6) Teutonic tunesmiths Ougenweide took the lyrics for their second album from the Merseburg Incantations, a set of medieval pagan spells written in the ancient Old High German. Surely not just the lyrics were high. Ich genießen!

(1)

South African Treasure
Chris McGregor & the Castle Lager Big Band  ~  "Jazz: The African Sound"
(Blog: Inconstant Sol)

(2)

Guarachas, Pachangas y boleros Oh My
El Gran Combo  ~  "El Caballo Pelotero"
(Blog: Bohemia, Montuno & Sabor)
From the album: El Caballo Pelotero (mp3)

(3)

D.C. Street Gospelist Gets a European Tour
Flora Molton  ~  "Gospel Songs"
(Blog: Different Waters)
From the album: Louis Armstrong (mp3)

(4)

Noble Kings Play Songs of Love
Dr. K. Gyasi & His Noble Kings  ~  Epono Hini Me"
(Blog: Global Groove)

(5)

Once Hosted a Radio Show Called "Zombie Live"
Adão Dãxalebaradã  ~  "Escolástica"
(Blog: Dub-O-Matic)

(6)

Hamburg Hotties Get Medieval
Ougenweide  ~  "All Die Weil Ich Mag"
(Blog: Prog in Blog)
From the album: Der Rattenfänger (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

The Richmond (Indiana) Explosion (MP3)

Unconnected historical events in Richmond, Indiana being discussed on Beware Of The Blog for the second consecutive day?  Incredibly, yes.

Cecil Pigott  -  The Richmond Explosion   (2:46)

On Saturday afternoon April 6, 1968 Richmond, Indiana was hammered by a natural gas explosion caused by faulty transmission lines directly beneath the heart of downtown.   The extensive damage was then intensified when the resulting fire reached gunpowder stored beneath a sporting goods store, causing a second explosion.  

Twenty buildings were condemned in the aftermath of the devastation, which took 41 lives and injured over 100 people.  

On the 40th anniversary of the tragedy, a documentary film called 1:47 (the time of the first explosion) was released to tell the story of what the town and its citizens experienced that day.  Additional documentation and photography of the event can be found in Esther Kellner's book Death In A Sunny Street, published shortly after the events took place.  The book is long out of print, but the entire volume has been digitized and can be perused at your convenience.

And for another topical song of tragedy from the history-minded Cecil Pigott, check out the other side of this record, which is about the collapse of the Silver Bridge.

Radon 10th Anniversary bash on WFMU

Years ago I first came in contact with the Radon label via my pal Marlon, hearing a live set by Italian avant-rock composer Daniele Brusachetto, learning about his fellow countrymen OvO and then finally being sent a pile of CDs (mostly samplers) from the transient Radon head Scott Nydegger coupled with frequent correspondences enthusiastically talking about the state of experimental music made us fast friends. As I got familiar with the many facets of this label, Scott made sure that I was introduced to everyone in his orbit, and what really impressed me most is that Radon dealt with its business and artists unlike few others. Everyone was scattered around the world, because Scott just floated around meeting people and putting the music out from wherever he was (as opposed to working out of an office and dealing with the biz); anyone who shared the vision was invited in and were all friends. Fractured breakcore from Ripit, industrial tubthumping from Sikhara (Scott's outfit), introspective psychedelic drone from Fabrizio Polumbo under the name (r), and glorious ascensions from Steve Mackay (saxman then and now for Iggy and the Stooges) all intermingled under the Radon umbrella. Through the years quite a few units of the stable has landed in the WFMU studios on various shows; Mackay put out an LP backed by some heavyweight improvisers on Qbico called Tunnel Diner culled from sessions on my show and Acapulco Rodriguez's as well (some MP3's here). Koonda Holaa, aka Kamilsky, is an eccentric Czech ex-pat who holed up for years in the high Mojave and also visited FMU (check him out on the Free Music Archive, he's terrific) and actually landed surreal opening slot for the Stooges in Moscow a few years back. Now, Radon takes a break, but to celebrate a good decade, Scott invited me down to Jason LaFarge's Seizures Palace studio in Brooklyn (in the cavernous Gowanus space where Martin Bisi also made all those great Lydia Lunch, Sonic Youth and Swans records) and we recorded a full on American/Portuguese summit jam of Sikhara, HHY & Drums of Habnom and United Scum Soundclash. It's a gorgeous, free-flowing hour of microscopic sounds, Neubauten-esque tribal percussion blowouts, scabby sampling and a simple celebration of the joy of free sound in a gigantic room. I aired the program on December 29th, but you can grab this session below. Please also boogie over to the Free Music Archive's Radon offerings. Much excellence to be found. Somewhat saddened to hear of the label's hiatus, but other imprints like Soopa and Urck seem to be picking up some of the slack with a similar level of vision and social circles.

Voice Throwin' Blues

On June 14, 1929 in Richmond, Indiana, Walter "Buddy Boy" Hawkins recorded the first, best and possibly only ventriloquist blues song.

Voice Throwin' Blues

Malkuth WFMU live session, My Castle of Quiet, 6th Jan 2010

Every time I stare into the maw of black metal I find something new. That mainstream media can't seem to get past the genre's origins of sensational murders and church burnings in Norway is I guess no surprise, but such tunnelvision neither accounts for, nor does justice to, the evolution of powerfully inventive, genre-bending artists such as Malkuth.

I feel fortunate to have been able to present NYC's two finest black metal bands (first Liturgy last October, now Malkuth) on My Castle of Quiet within only a few months' time.

This was quite a monumental session; Malkuth played ultra-hard, and tight as a hangman's noose, their epic songs filled with wild time-signature shifts and snaky, melodic riffage. A good brain cleansing with steel strings, drums, and screaming.

Much credit must go to our own Jason Sigal who made sure that Malkuth's mighty set turned out a mighty audio document. Thanks also to Daniel Blumin and Gabriel for popping up to the Castle and helping me out.

As several songs were rendered in continuum mode, Malkuth's six-part live opus is presented here in three distinct chunks, and labeled accordingly:

Parts I-III
Parts IV-V
Part VI

Malkuth live on WFMU's My Castle of Quiet is shared by way of a creative commons attribution-non commercial-no derivatives license.

Non-Marathon Money Maker #1

  Blind people are just like us: they have needs. Plus they are NOT just like us: They have no porno! There is already an amazing website that provides spoken-word descriptions of online porn for blind people, but it seems to be done by volunteers, some of whom are better—a lot better—than others. Here are some tips: 

1. Don’t bother telling blind people what color things are, they haven’t ever seen colors so it’s not that helpful. More helpful is the nice young lady who points out that the woman in the video has natural breasts and a belly-button piercing (“so that’s kind of fancy”). 2. Do not crack up as you describe the sexxxy scenes. As one guy’s friend angrily points out, “They don’t wanna hear laughin’ when they’re jackin’ it!” So true. 

The other thing that is maybe not so good about the free website is that they just use free teaser videos, so the scenes they describe are all only about 20 seconds long. [A digression: In the  mid-’80s there were free phone numbers you could call to hear tape recordings of sexy ladies describing naughty things. I think they were supposed to encourage you to call for pay-for-it phone sex, but they were pretty awesome on their own, and they were all definitely longer than 30 seconds. More like a couple minutes, I think.]

So, you know how WFMU is completely Listener-supported but last year we didn't raise enough money with our annual fund-raising Marathon and we had to do a shorter on-air fundraiser later on, and nobody really wants to do that? So my idea was that we could get some hot-sounding WFMU DJs, like Psue Braun or Bryce or William Berger, and have them record descriptions of some long porn scenes, and put them up on a website, and sell it to blind people who want some nice porn. I think we could definitely make some money that way for sure.

Thanks for reading my unsnarkified blogpost this time, and may God bless.

Anti-Pop Consortium remix contest winners!

 We're very excited to announce the winner of the Anti-Pop Consortium "Reflections" remix contest! It was extremely difficult to pick -- we received 50 submissions from all over the world that reimagined APC's innovative hip-hop in a kaleidoscope of styles and unclassifiable genres. And this was not an easy song to remix, we're very impressed by all of the talent that's out there. Here's a note from Anti-Pop Consortium:

Thanks to all of the artists that took the time and effort to create these hot remixes. Each remix had a different approach which made it difficult to decide on a winner. The arrangements and attention to detail were very impressive. And if you were brave enough to incorporate the "tempo change ending" we salute you!

It was a pleasure to listen and we wish you all much success in your future musical endeavors...Thank you.

-Anti-Pop Consortium

drum roll please....

Grand Prize:


1st thru 5th place:

Honorable mention:



>> All remixes can be heard here <<

The Girl with the Three Blue Eyes (MP3's)

About six months ago, I posted the six songs which make up a wonderful album of 78's, titled "Abe Burrows Sings?". I mentioned at that time that I had a 10" album by Burrows somewhere, hidden amongst my parents' records (now stacked virtually at random in my basement). I promised to post that album when I found it. Well, now that day has come.

The album is titled "The Girl with the Three Blue Eyes and other Typical Type Songs", it dates from 1950, and it is Burrows' trip through the various genres of songs (as well as the travelogue) that he deemed worthy of satire. Most of what I know (and learned from various commenters) is in my previous post about Burrows, but I'll offer a few comments on this material.

My clear favorite here is "The Pansy In My Garden", which was a family favorite before I was born, and got frequent plays throughout my childhood. This is a great parody of the sort of Parlor Song which was popular over a hundred years ago, although I associate them more with female singers than baritones.

 The title song (heard in a near-medley with two other songs, within the first track) is another favorite, as is the Travelouge, "Waukeshaw Natural Bridge", which is full of great lines.

Worth noting from the liner notes to this album is that Burrows claims to have created the often sung parody lines "oh, how we danced on the night we were wed, I needed a wife like a hole in the head".

I apologize for the terrible sound quality. I have two copies of this record, and both play with a ridiculous amount of surface noise. I even tried playing it with a 78 needle, and while that cleaned up the constant rumble, it introduced an equally constant (and louder) level of tics and pops. The scans of the covers are also clearly composites, something I'm not very skilled at doing. If I get someone to improve these, I will replace them.

Finally, at the time that I posted the early 78 collection, I could not find the cover to the collection ("Abe Burrows Sings?"). I have now found that cover, and along with the posts for today's offering, I have attached the cover and text from that collection, both of which were sadly damaged by a flood in our home, early last year.

Bob

1.) Abe Burrows - Memory Lane, The Girl with the Three Blue Eyes & The “Hello” Type Song (MP3)
2.) Abe Burrows - The Pansy in My Garden (MP3)
3.) Abe Burrows - Tokyo Rose (MP3)
4.) Abe Burrows - Ron Ron Ron (MP3)
5.) Abe Burrows - The Stationery Type Song (MP3)
6.) Abe Burrows - The Hospital Type Song (MP3)
7.) Abe Burrows - Waukeshaw Natural Bridge (MP3)
8.) Abe Burrows - The Rock and the Rose & I Saw You (MP3)

"The Girl with the Three Blue Eyes" Front Cover (JPG)
"The Girl with the Three Blue Eyes" Back Cover (JPG)
"Three Blue Eyes" Album A Side Label (JPG) - "Three Blue Eyes" Album B Side Label (JPG)
"Abe Burrows Sings?" 78 Collection Cover (JPG) - "Abe Burrows Sings?" Text (JPG)

Big City Orchestra's 30th Anniversary / part one of two

Back in 1979 in crappy little towns south of LA such as Torrance and Hawthorne a cassette-trading, noise-embracing, non-musician-friendly band was formed and the darned thing still exists today under the same name, after going through over 100 members in its 30 years of operation. Indeed, BCO celebrates this milestone in January 2010 in San Francisco, so look into that if you're in town. In the meantime, let's celebrate with two blogs featuring rare and unavailable audio material by the venerated group.
This being part one of two, we present this week a couple of Beatlerape rarities and an unrelated Shatner-centric cut.

There Will Come Soft Rains is an old cassette-only track of theirs which was featured on several unique radio shows as well, it features Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner on main vocals (from two different sources) and of course the Fab Ones on backing.
The cut Beatlerape Stars on 45 is a recently-made rehash of Beatlerape fragments which come from an unreleased 10th Anniversary Beatlerape cd, and it sports some moments which were not on the original cd at all, as well as completely new mixes of the bits featured in it. Merely some throwaway candy. A bit of stocking-stuffing as it were.
And our third chunk this week is the soundtrack music (tastefully re-edited) from an old Christmas BCO show where "William Shatner" appeared and treated the audience to an interpretive dance based on his life story, and also a rendition of Hugo Ball's Karawane, with Bill leading them through the poem. The music later appeared (in VERY limited release) as Post No Bills, on the cd of the same name.
I'll meet you here on January 23rd at this same time for an even bigger and better haul of BCO goodies.

There Will Come Soft Rains             Beatlerape Stars on 45         Post No Bills

R.I.P. Bingo Gazingo

Our pal, Bingo Gazingo passed away on New Year's Day.  Here's a short video I took of him at the WFMU record fair singing his hit song, J-Lo.