Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 54 (MP3s)

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

On my radio show this Friday I will be paying respects to Abraham Lincoln on his 201st birthday by playing Lord Buckley's heady hipsemantic version of the Gettysburg Address. To get you in the mood, enjoy His Lordship's lesser-known but still thrilling "straight" reading of the speech, from 1956: Gettysburg Address

(1) The core trio of the Ghanaian funk band Marijata got its start as the Sweet Beans—a highlife combo sponsored by the Ghana Cocoa Marketing Board. ••• (2) Hillbilly wannabes from mid-'50s Melbourne, the Trailblazers were a C&W dynamo down under. Weekly performers over Radio 3XY, some of their shows were broadcast over Nashville's WSM, the airwave home of the Grand Ole Opry. (Pick Hit: The Trailblazers version of the Hawaiian duo Kanui and Lula's "Tomi Tomi"!) ••• (3) Long before she connived to form the Gang of Four, Mao Zedung's third wife, Jiang Qing, was a movie starlet. An architect of the Cultural Revolution, Jiang was surely hostile to Western-style pop recordings like the ones on this compilation sung by stage and screen sirens of the Hong Kong nightclub circuit. ••• (4) Co-produced by Roberta Flack and Joel Dorn, Marion Williams's pop experiment from 1971 features Bob Dylan and George Harrison tunes, covers of "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother," "Hare Krishna," and more—all with backing from the Dixie Hummingbirds. ••• (5) The largest bamboo stalks on earth are found only on the islands of western Bali, which also happens to be home to 99% of the world's jegog gamelan orchestras. Up to 10 feet in length, the massive jegog, the lowest instrument in the ensemble, takes two people to play and creates otherwordly low-pitched resonations that you feel before you hear. It's like giving your solar plexus an enema. ••• (6) For the record, WFMU's Downtown Soulville show, hosted by Mr. Fine Wine, predated by three years this 1998 boot (made in "Luxembourg") of rare '60s soul.

(1)

Afro Soul Godhead
Marijata  ~  "Pat Thomas Introduces Marijata"
(Blog: Oro)
From the album: That's the Way (mp3)

(2)

Awesome Aussie Rockabilly
Trailblazers  ~  "Stage Show"
(Blog: Transcription Heaven)

(3)

Confucius Goes Cabaret
Various  ~  "Shanghai Nights"
(Blog: Ile Oxumare)
From the album: Give Me a Kiss (mp3) by Zhang Lu (aka Chang Loo)

(4)

Chaste Messenger
Marion Williams  ~  "Standing Here Wondering Which Way to Go"
(Blog: Soulful Divas)

(5)

Unlike Anything You've Ever heard
Werdi Sentana  ~  "Jegog: The Bamboo Gamelan of Bali"
(Blog: Lucky Psychic Hut)
[For more jegog, visit this previous Mining the Audio Motherlode]

(6)

Just Add Mr. Finewine
Various  ~  "Downtown Soulville: 24 Solid Blasts of 60s Soul"
(Blog: Boogie Disease)
From the album: Notions of Mr. Motions (mp3) by Jimmy Lynch

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

Comments

[Count Reeshard]

More of his Lordship at permanentcondition.blogspot.com

[icastico]

My 2 cents:
Hours and hours of great music from Bali -
http://braingoreng.blogspot.com/2010/01/bali-sets.html

North African gems...
http://snapcrackleandpops.blogspot.com/2010/02/nomades-du-niger-musique-des-touareg.html

Good taste?
http://snapcrackleandpops.blogspot.com/2010/02/aboombong-asynchronic.html

[Lucky]

Thanks for another highly eclectic Motherload, Mr. Schulkind. Another Jegog CD has been posted over @ the We Love Music blog.

Cheers

[Büyü]

My 2 cents:
Hours and hours of great music from Bali -
http://braingoreng.blogspot.com/2010/01/bali-sets.html