WFMU's Beware of the Blog

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Vol. 23 (MP3s)

Give the Drummer Some's
10 Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere
(see Comments, below, for helpful info about downloading)

Thanks to the good souls at the terrific blog Uncle Gil's Rockin' Archives, word is spreading about the poor health of original Sun Records rocker Billy Lee Riley. Riley, who's endured an awful string of medical problems is now battling stage-four bone cancer and is in dire need of financial assistance. (Follow this link for info on how you can help.)

Cancer seems to be more everywhere than ever before. Some say it's all due to the general aging of the population, but that doesn't make it any easier to stomach. The Miner just lost a friend in Chicago to cancer and skipped last week's post to spend time with his mum, who underwent cancer surgery. Talk about your Motherlode. Just be sure to take good care of yourselves and loved ones and don't forget to smell the audio roses along the way.

 

He's Made it Through Three Hip Replacements and a Quintuple Bypass
Billy Lee Riley  ~  "Rock With Me Baby"
(Blog: Free Rockabilly Music

This Pistol-Brandishing ex-Soap Star Is Now a Senator
Irma Serrano  ~  "Exitos de Siempre"
(Blog: Música Popular Mexicana)
From the album: La Martina (mp3)




Bailamos con Tito Nieves and Crew
Conjunto Clasico  ~  "Si No Bailan con Ellos, no Bailan con Nadie"
(Blog: La Musica Latina)



[7 more roses, after the jump]

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Vol. 22 (MP3s)

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

The terrific music search engine Captain Crawl appears to have slipped into the mists again. The Miner has been relying on the Captain's powers of blogservation to discover outstanding recordings posted throughout the ever-expanding universe of full-album sites. This search engine has disappeared before, so there's reason to hope that it will come back. But till then, you should consider trying another efficient search tool called Chewbone. If you're not searching for anything in particular, take advantage of blog aggregators such as Totally Fuzzy and Prog Not Frog's Blogwatch that provide an excellent jumping off point. Or, of course, don't lift a finger and just let the Miner drop another 10 slugs in your tin cup.

UPDATE: It appears that the URL for Captain Crawl has been hijacked or something. Good news comes via the terrific blog Pathway to Unknown Words Captain Crawl can be accessed here: http://85.131.190.173/index.php

 

Bloke Was the Sole Survivor of a U-Boat Attack on His Ship in WWII
John Doughty  ~  "Round Rye Bay for More"
(Blog: Gonzo-Archive)

Venezuelan Pop Rocker's Solo Debut
Ivo  ~  "Ivo"
(Blog: Hippy Djkit)




Don't Drink and Jive
Various  ~  "Jake Leg Blues"
(Blog: El Diablo Tun Tun)
[password=eldiablotuntun.blogspot.com]



[7 more wild geese you no longer have to chase, after the jump]

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Vol. 21 (MP3s)

Give the Drummer Some's
10 Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere
(see Comments, below, for helpful info about downloading)

Fame Studios piano hero Barry Beckett died last week at the age of 66. Lucky for us, Beckett found himself smack dab in the middle of countless critical sessions over the course of his five-decade career in music. Beckett's contributions to recordings by Aretha, Dylan, Percy Sledge and many others are legendary, but the Miner will forever appreciate him for producing Eddie Hinton's Swamp Soul classic "Very Extremely Dangerous," which Capricorn released in 1978—and then promptly went out of business.

Capricorn's demise was just one of a long string of hard-luck happenings that doomed Hinton, himself a vital Muscle Shoals sideman, who toiled on the back line for years before finally stepping out with his Beckett-produced debut. (It was Hinton who had convinced Beckett to come to Muscle Shoals in the first place, despite his friend's hankering to head to Nashville.) Though he had no chance in hell to live as long, Hinton would've turned 65 two days ago.

 

Eddie Never Failed to Leave It All on the Pavement
Eddie Hinton  ~  "Very Extremely Dangerous"
(Blog: My Blog Too)

Throat Singing, Animal Imitating, Jews Harping
Sarymai Urchimaev  ~  "Altaian"
(Blog: Chenehuby)
[password=PaeOnia]
From the album: Jelmeigen Sagal (mp3)


Peyote Popsters
Pop Music Team ~  "Society Is a Shit"
(Blog: Música Ácida)
[password=mza-acid.blogspot.com]
From the album: Oda a la Chica Fresa (mp3)


[7 more very extremely wonderful records, after the jump]

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Vol. 20 (MP3s)

Give the Drummer Some's
10 Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere
(see Comments, below, for helpful info about downloading)

Every year, the Library of Congress taps culturally significant recordings for preservation in its National Recording Registry. Today the Library announced the selection of 25 more snippets of sound, including Winston Churchill's "Iron Curtain" speech, Dylan Thomas reading "A Child's Christmas in Wales," and Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner performing their 2,000-year-old-man shtick. One piece of audio that hasn't yet made the cut turned 55 yesterday:

"Have you no sense of decency sir, at long last?"

The power and beauty of these words—a simple utterance that changed the course of American history—remain undiminished since they were first intoned by elegant, soft-spoken lawyer Joseph Welch on June 9, 1954. Welch calmly delivered this courageous rebuke to Joe McCarthy during televised Senate hearings investigating Communist activities in the U.S. Army. Like a pin prick to the hot-air-engorged witch-hunts of the '40s and '50s, Welch's words initiated the great unraveling of the Red Scare and shook a cowed Cold War nation out of its torpor.

In the spirit of exploring every corner of the audio motherlode, the Miner offers this historic 12-minute confrontation between Welch, special counsel to the Army, and Senator Joe McCarthy (R-Wisconsin), who was attempting to assassinate the character of Welch's associate Fred Fisher: Listen (mp3)

About eight minutes into the exchange, Welch punches the bully McCarthy with another ringing blow, the sound of which, like the 10 musical selections offered below, fills the ear with a deeply satisfying sensation. Though not a succinct sound bite destined for posterity, Welch's words here were no less withering: "If it were in my power to forgive you for your reckless cruelty, I would do so. I like to think I'm a gentle man. But your forgiveness will have to come from someone other than me."

Valentine to the Genius Songwriter Andy Razaf
Maxine Sullivan  ~  "Memories of You"
(Blog: Soulful Divas)




Dude Was Short-Listed for the Poet's Chairs at Oxford and Cambridge
Benjamim Zephaniah  ~  "Rasta"
(Blog: Satta Massagana)
From the album: Dis Policeman Keep on Kicking Me to Death (mp3)



St. Louis Free Jazz Meets Ghanian Percussion
Mor Thiam  ~  "Dini Saffarrar"
(Blog: You Got a Problem?)



[7 more moments of decency, after the jump]

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Vol. 19 (MP3s)

Give the Drummer Some's
10 Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere
(see Comments, below, for helpful info about downloading)

Twenty-one years after having his prophetic auditory hallucination of William Blake reading "Ah! Sunflower" and "The Sick Rose" in his East Harlem flat, Allen Ginsberg recorded his own version of Blake's "songs" set to a dreamy score (with loving contributions from Peter Orlovsky, Don Cherry, Bob Dorough, Jon Sholle and others).

Today being Ginsberg's 83rd birthday, Mining the Audio Motherlode is celebrating by linking to a download of this 1969 album – along with nine other gems.

Holy Holy Holy!
Allen Ginsberg  ~  "William Blake: Songs of Innocence and Experience"
(Blog: Music Musica Musique)
From the album: Laughing Song (mp3)
[Note: Follow link, then click on "Music Links" on the left-hand margin.]


Some Outsize Entertainments
Various  ~  "Tiny Topsy & Friends"
(Blog: Twilightzone!)
[Note: This appeared on the original Twilightzone blog, which got taken down. The Rapidshare link, though, is still active. Click the above link, then scroll down to find two-part download.]



Chevy Chase's Old Band
Chamaeleon Church  ~  "Chamaeleon Church"
(Blog: Sir Psych's Psychedelic Shack)
From the album: Blueberry Pie (mp3)


[7 more mind-tongue moisteners, after the jump]

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Vol. 18 (MP3s)

Give the Drummer Some's
10 Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere
(see Comments, below, for helpful info about downloading)

Warmest regards go out this week to the Miner's all-time musical hero and guru Yusef Lateef, who has just been awarded—along with seven others—a Jazz Masters Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts. The recognition carries with it a one-time grant of $25,000 which is no small perk for any working musician, let alone a vital improviser, composer and educator, who's career is now stretching into its seventh decade.

There are no Yusef Lateef discs among this week's offerings, but there are many dozens of astounding recordings of his to seek out. (The Miner recommends "Yusef Lateef's Nigeria," "Psychicemotus" and "Yusef's Mood: The Complete 1957 Sessions" to start.)



Merlin in Ragas
Robbie Basho  ~  "The Falconers Arm I & II"
(Blog: FM Shades)



Sunny Ade's Secret Weapon
Bob Aladeniyi & His Juju Rock Stars  ~  "Juju Rock Sound"
(Blog: With Comb & Razor)




Killer Dillers from Chicago's J.O.B. Records
Various  ~  "Blues Is Killin' Me"
(Blog: Bluestown)
From the album: Things Going So Tough With Me (mp3) by Little Hudson's Red Devil Trio


[Yusef would dig the 7 additional selections, provided after the jump]

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Vol. 17 (MP3s)

Give the Drummer Some's
10 Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere
(see Comments, below, for helpful info about downloading)

The Miner was saddened to learn this week of the April 27 death of painter Philip Stein. Longtime assistant to, and biographer of, Mexican social-realist muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros, Stein's most famous work has been viewed by patrons in the world's most famous jazz club for the past 40 years. At the request of his brother-in-law Max Gordon, Estaño (as his mentor dubbed him) painted a vibrant, enigmatic three-panel canvas for the back wall in Gordon's Greenwich Village nightspot the Village Vanguard.

Completed in 1968, this untitled work wasn't Stein's only connection to jazz. He began collecting 78s as a kid and later produced a couple of records by Dixieland trombonist Big Chief Russell Moore. In the 1980s, Stein moved to Spain where he continued to paint and hosted a jazz radio program. Philip Stein was 90.



Cult Hero of Polish Jazz
Krzysztof Komeda  ~  "Astigmatic"
(Blog: Pan Mietek)



Amusing Thai Dancehallers (what a cover!)
Buddha Bless  ~  "Kat Man Du"
(Blog: Monrakplengthai)
From the album: Pak Takhrai (mp3)



Greatest Brother Act Ever? You Bet
Blue Sky Boys  ~  "Blue Sky Boys"
(Blog: Jeremy's Saggy Record Cabinet)



[7 more soundtracks to accompany the visions in your head, after the jump]

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Vol. 16 (MP3s)

Give the Drummer Some's
10 Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere
(see Comments, below, for helpful info about downloading)

This past January, the majestic tenor saxophonist David S. Ware released Shakti, his first studio recording in six years. Two weeks earlier, urgent news had come down that he was in dire need of a new kidney. Yesterday, following a successful search for a donor, David underwent transplant surgery and today he begins a three-month convalescence.

Unable to work during this period David has relied on donations to help cover expenses, and the fine people at his label, AUM Fidelity, have been coordinating a fund-raising effort.

If you choose to download any of the discs offered below — or if you've helped yourself to offerings in previous columns — then the Miner is requesting that you make a thoughtful donation to help a musician in need. Please go here for the details. Thanks.


Massive Tracks from '49
Orquestra Afro-Brasileira  ~  "Obaluayê!"
(Blog: Oro)
From the album: Índia (mp3)



Amazing Comps of Tunes from Derek's Daily 45
Various  ~  "Soul Deep, Volume 1"
(Blog: Twilight Zone
[And don't you dare neglect to grab volumes 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8!]



Selfsploitation!
Manu Dibango  ~  "Countdown at Kusini"  (OST)
(Blog: Babe(B)logue)



[7 more vital organs (and other groovy noisemakers) after the jump]

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Vol. 15 (MP3s)

Give the Drummer Some's
10 Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere
(see Comments, below, for helpful info about downloading)

We'll get to the music in a sec, but the Miner wanted to offer a tip of the illuminated helmet to radio hero Herb Morrison, who on this day, 72 years ago, narrated the tragic final moments of the zeppelin Hindenburg as it attempted to moor in Lakehurst, New Jersey. Covering the scene for Chicago's WLS, Morrison meticulously described the horror with shocking clarity. Listen (mp3)

Once the goosebumps recede, sink your ears into the following:



Her Pipes Are Smoking
Gurmeet Bawa  ~  "Love and Life in the Punjab"
(Blog: We Love Music)
From the album: Jugani (mp3)




Jimi Hendrix and Stan Kenton Had a Baby: This Groovy Album
Gil Evans  ~  "There Comes a Time"
(Blog: Kazuyann35)



On a Whole Other Plena
Cortijo y Su Combo  ~  "Baile con Cortijo y Su Combo"
(Blog: Flageolette)



[7 more "Oh the humanity!"-worthy selections, after the jump]

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Vol. 14 (MP3s)

All of us here at Mining the Audio Motherlode want to extend a firm handshake (followed by quick Purell shpritz) to new Democratic senator Arlen Specter. With Specter deserting the sinking GOP, visions of gaining a filibuster-proof supermajority in the senate have us all aflutter. Nevertheless, thoughts of invoking cloture also brings up bitter reminders of the senate's inability over the course of decades to defeat Southern racist filibustering of nearly 200 anti-lynching bills.

How ironic is it, then, that on the same day and at the same U.S. Capitol building were Specter switched parties, a bust of crusading abolitionist Sojourner Truth was unveiled (by First Lady Michelle Obama)—making her the first African American woman so honored. An even richer irony took place four years ago, when the senate voted to officially apologize for failing to act on the lynching scourge. That resolution was introduced by two white Southern senators, one of whom, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, invoked Billie Holiday's performance of "Strange Fruit" on the floor of the senate.

Speaking of thrilling music, here are this week's downloads:



Sioux Rockers from New Mexico (No Relation to Siouxsie)
Lincoln Street Exit  ~  "Drive It!"
(Blog: PHROCK)

 
 
Hysterical Covers from Mexico (and Brazil and Cuba and Peru)
Various  ~  "Easy Melodías"
From the album: Médico Brujo (mp3) by Manuel "Loco" Valdés
(Blog: Mexicovers)




Rare Self-Released Soul Outta Cleveland
Lou Ragland  ~  "...Is the Conveyor"
(Blog: Diggin the Crates)
[password = ghostfinger]

 
[7 more gavel-smashers, after the jump]

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Vol. 13 (MP3s)

Give the Drummer Some's
10 Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere
(see Comments, below, for helpful info about downloading)

Sure, the FBI blasted David Koresh with Tibetan chants, the Army flushed out Noriega with AC/DC, and mall managers have deployed Manilow to chase off truants, but we here at Mining the Audio Motherlode believe in using music for good, not evil. The miner doesn't spend hours scouring the caverns of subterraneana, just to make your ears bleed with sonic warfare. (Did you know that the theme to "Barney and Friends" has been used during interrogations at Guantanamo? Oh the humanity!)

So you can shred the secret memos and quash the congressional investigations—this column doesn't torture! Need proof? Exhibits A through J are submitted below in evidence. (And regular readers take note: The terrific music blog search engine Captain Crawl is back.)

 
Three Boobies Are on the Cover
Boobie Knight & the Universal Lady  ~  "Earth Creature"
(Blog: My Favourite Sound)
[password=myfavouritesound]

 
 
Is There a Dumber Genre Name than "Blue-Eyed Soul"?
Various  ~  "Country Got Soul": Vol. 1 & Vol. 2
From Volume 1: I Hate Hate (mp3) by Razzy
(Blog: My Blog Too)



His Swedish Commune Sessions
Don Cherry  ~  "Organic Music Society"
(Blog: Treehouse for Earth's Children)

 
[7 more sonic flowers for gun barrels, after the jump]

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Vol. 12 (MP3s)

Give the Drummer Some's
10 Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere
(see Comments, below, for helpful info about downloading)

AFRO-POP EDITION!!

For a change of pace, the miner decided to stick with a single continent this week, with all selections hailing from the source of the original funk. Yes, it's African danceables galore in this haul of downloads. Highlights include a campaign tune from a Beninese pop star who ran for president (G.G. Vikey), afro-soul out of Italy from a multinational crew (African People) and enchanting mixes of country-esque numbers (yup!) from Nigeria (Naija to Nashville). So pull up a stool in this here virtual shebeen and slurp the head off these sonic suds.

 

Lead Singer's (First) Name Is Jagger
Kelenkye Band  ~  "Moving World"
(Blog: Prog Not Frog)
From the album: No One Is Born to Suffer (mp3)

 
 


"Country" Music, Mostly from Nigeria
Various  ~  Naija to Nashville: Mix #1 & Mix #2
(Blog: With Comb and Razor)





Doubtfully African, Definitely A-Funk'n
African People  ~  "Stop Pushing"
(Blog: Diggin' the Crates)

 
[7 more Sub-Saharan stunners, after the jump]

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Vol. 11 (MP3s)

Give the Drummer Some's
10 Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere
(see Comments, below, for helpful info about downloading)

The tale of Archimedes running naked from the baths shouting Eureka! (after having discovered the displacement method of measurement) is surely apocryphal, but, as any inveterate record hunter knows, the intimate connection of overexposed body parts to moments of great personal discovery is all too real.

Yes, we're talking the inevitable butt cracks that pop up whenever vinyl junkies encounter dollar bins on the floors of used record emporia the world over. (Attend the next WFMU Record Fair and you'll get the picture within 30 seconds.) To join the hunt for those elusive collectibles among cheapo slabs of wax is to subject yourself to nightmarish visions of fleshy regions of the none-too-svelte upon which the sun really ought not shine.

And that's where this column comes in! In cyberspace there is no need to root around on all fours pursuing platters with strangers. In cyberspace, there are unending links to amazing free records all accessible at eye level. And, most importantly, in cyberspace there are positively no butt cracks to be seen (unless, of course, you count the remaining 98% of content to be found online).

 

Drug Addled Folkie Gropes for Christ Fix
Dave Bixby  ~  "Ode to Quetzalcoatl"
(Blog: Black Acid)

 
 

Brazilian Cowboy Duo
Tonico e Tonico  ~  "Tonico e Tonico"
(Blog: Uncle Gil's Rockin' Archives)
From the album: Chico Mineiro (mp3)




Groovy Beer Hall Ragtime Twang
Spider John Koerner/Willie Murphy  ~  "Running, Jumping, Standing Still"
(Blog: The Heat Warps)

 
[7 more booty-shaking beauties, after the jump]

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Vol. 10 (MP3s)

Give the Drummer Some's
10 Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere
(see Comments, below, for helpful info about downloading)

Now in his tenth obsessive week, your faithful miner has been endeavoring to hip you crate divers and vinyl junkies to the absurd overabundance of great old records available online. Though it seems like some elaborate April Fool's prank, the virtual universe of full-album downloads seems only to keep expanding. For every blog that comes to an end—voluntarily or otherwise—another dozen spring to life. (And, in cases of outrageously good fortune, they get reincarnated, as with the exalted site Chris Goes Rock, whose heart is now pumping in a brand-new body.)

Speaking of cardiac activity, your heart is sure to race upon hearing this week's ten new thrillers. Highlights include a Beninese cover of a Merle Travis chestnut, the greatest vibraphone/sitar jam of all time (Dave Pike), and an afro/jazz session featuring Pat Patrick, the Sun Ra sideman whose son is the current governor of Massachusetts (A.K. Salim).

 

Gonna Go Ape Over This
Shorty Rogers  ~  "Shorty Rogers Meets Tarzan"
(Blog: Orgy in Rhythm)

 
 

African & Latin Percussion Get Jazzed
A.K. Salim  ~  "Afro Soul/Drum Orgy"
(Blog: Garden of Delights)


 
Bill's Payment for the Session?: A $150 Guitar
Wild Bill's Washboard Boys ~ "Baby Yum Yum"
From the album: Feeling for You Baby (mp3)
(Blog: Don't Ask Me...I Don't Know)
 
[7 more heart-stopping selections, after the jump]

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Vol. 9

Give the Drummer Some's
10 Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere
(see Comments, below, for helpful info about downloading)

The tanking economy claimed another victim last week as your humble miner got laid off from his day job. Yes, the army of the unemployed just called up another reserve, and he's ready serve with, um, dignity. Losing that zippy T-1 connection at work, but gaining a heightened appreciation for the "free" aspect of free album downloads, this column vows to continue to serving up piping hot links to the most pleasurable platters the music blogs have to offer. Fries sold separately.

The Glory of This Human's Voice
Jeanne Lee & Ran Blake  ~  "Free Standards"
(Blog: I Forgot Clifford)

 

Brazilian Mamas & Acid Papas
Quarteto Nova Era  ~  "Apolo"
From the album: De Repente (mp3)
(Blog: Brazilian Nuggets)




Spacefunk Electronica Does Basque Folklore
William S. Fischer  ~  "Akelarre"
(Blog: Vinyl 4 Giants)
 

[7 more blue-plate specials after the jump]

WFMU: Now With More Video

Hello, please enjoy WFMU's first VIDEO PODCAST, VIDEO QUEST.

Subscribe to the feed here, watch it up there, or download it and put it in your pod.

Watch this space for more info, next episode coming mid-April.

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Vol. 6 (MP3s)

Give the Drummer Some's
10 Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere
(see Comments, below, for helpful info about downloading)

The WFMU Marathon is in full effect, but does the free goody gravy train come to a dead stop? Heavens no! The crew here at Mining the Audio Motherlode are still swinging their pickaxes, still sucking in fine particulate matter in the murky deep in order to deliver you more miraculous music.

As you investigate the ten new offerings provided below, please take a moment to consider offering some monetary support to WFMU and Beware of the Blog, the uncorrupted, unaffiliated, unadulterated, unrepentant, underfed entity that makes this unbelievable effort possible. You wouldn't want us to be unhappy!




Freakiest Anti-Pollution Song EVER
Victor Brady  ~  "Brown Rain"
(Blog: Hippy Djkit)
[FYI: You must use the Sharebee link when downloading]

Tortured Folk from ex Jacks Singer
Yoshio Hayakawa  ~ "Kakkoii Koto wa Nante Kakkowaruin Darou"
(Posted on the psych/folk board at Live Journal)
From the album: Maisou (mp3)

Beloved Troubadour (Died Two Months Later)
Blaze Foley  ~  "Blaze Foley"
(Blog: Time Has Told Me)

[7 more earthen hunks of auditory excitement after the jump]

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Vol. 5 (MP3s)

Give the Drummer Some's
10 Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere
(see Comments, below, for helpful info about downloading)

I'm baaack! Yes, big mama bird is ready to regurgitate another jawful of sonic worms into your gaping ears. (Ew!) And with the WFMU Marathon set to swoop down upon us, now is a good time to remind yourself just how much you've come to depend on us for musical nourishment... Done reminding? Good, let's get snacking.

Highlights this week: lovely, unadorned solo home-taping sessions (Jimi Hendrix), shiver-your-timbers percussion audacity (Olodum), and churning and cheerful Ghanaian brass-band highlife. [Speaking of which, my 2009 marathon premium, Around the Horn, serves up 17 breathtaking brass band performances.]


 

¡Bombas y Plenas Mas Chevere!
Cortijo y Kako  ~  "Ritmos y Cantos Callejeros"
(Blog: La Bodeguita de la Salsa)

 
Oompah from Ghana
Asiakwa Brass Band  ~  "Agyata Wuo"
(Blog: Aduna)
From the album: Agyata Wuo (Medley) (mp3)
[Scroll down to Trésors Oubliés #6]

 

Absurd Abundance of Groovers (4 CDs' worth!)
Various  ~  "The First Days of Funk"
(Blog: Sarava Club)

[7 more high-protein morsels after the jump]

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Vol. 4 (MP3s)

Give the Drummer Some's
10 Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere
(see Comments, below, for helpful info about downloading)

What the heck are you doing reading this intro? Sure, my intro-writing prowess has been known to cause IQs to spontaneously combust, but nothing I could say here could possibly worth the precious time you're wasting instead of following the links provided below. Boom!

Highlights this week: a raga-accompanied movie starlet reading Baudelaire (Yvette Mimieux), pub-worthy incantations of a Calcutta-born Scots warbler (Hamish Imlach) and an astounding collection of blues, gospel, country and other roots performers recording  in Richmond, VA, two weeks before the great crash of '29.

Guitar Hero with the 5 Royales
Lowman "Pete" Pauling  ~  "El Pauling"
(Blog: Blues & Rhythm)
[Look for DL link in comments; password = bluesandrhythm.blogspot.com]
From the album: Soul House (It Won't Be Long) (mp3)




Japanese Protest Rockers
Zunou Keisatsu (a.k.a Brain Police)  ~  [first album]
(Blog: Time Has Told Me)
From the album: Sayounara Sekai Kifujinyo (mp3)




Improbable Duo Does Baudelaire
Yvette Mimieux & Ali Akbar Khan  ~  "Flowers of Evil"
(Blog: Martian Shaker)



[7 More mind-blowers after the jump]

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Vol. 3 (MP3s)

Give the Drummer Some's
10 Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere
(see Comments, below, for helpful info about downloading)

This column is meant to serve as a roadmap to blogs offering album downloads. Feel free to kick back and let me do the driving. Or, if you're feeling fresh, grab the wheel: Extra hunting and gathering once you get to the blogs suggested below will lead to hours of thrilling musical discovery (along with a seriously stunted social life).

Simply outrageous sounds await your careful attention this week. Highlights include 1920s medicine-show gobsmackers by the legendary Emmett Miller, earnest Dutch bluesadelica from the Subterraneans, and a crackling session of outside/in French jazz from Jef Gilson and a surprisingly frisky Jean-Luc Ponty (who I'd never before been able to stomache).




Brazilian Afrofunk recorded in Italy
Ezy & Isaac  ~  "Soul Rock"
(Blog: Djalma's Soul Food)
[To find the download link, look for the text "Don't sleep on this one! and click on the word "this."]




Shocking trove of rarities from the C&W/Jazz/Blues/Pop Godhead
Emmett Miller collection: Batch 1 and Batch 2
(Blog: Western Swing on 78)





 
Dutch Folk/Bluesters Get Their Ya-Yas Out
The Subterraneans  ~  "Down to Earth"
(Blog: Cities on Flame With Rock and Roll  >> Look in comments for "New Link" via Rapidshare.de)
From the album: Psycho-Brainwashing Bues
[Read my previous post on the late, great blogger who posted this]