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MP3 TRUFFLES: Super-Bolly-Folk-ilistic-Hawking-Soda-docious!

Favorite lines I've heard all week: "I have a big box full of Bollywood soundtracks on LP". That means a new all classic Bollywood music blog! Instead of having to listen to another compilation without any information, here we get the full length soundtrack albums, details on the films, links to YouTube videos, cover scans, and MP3s galore. I'd tell you which ones to download, but I just went and grabbed them all. When it comes to the Bollywood, I have greed issues.

Which reminds me, I just updated my old post on Helen, the Bollywood dancing superstar. No mp3s, but I fixed all the links and added some new clips and information.

Malvina Reynolds sang about the KKK, health food, urban sprawl, and "the over aching sorrow of human existence on this planet" on her out-of print album Sings the Truth. Thanks to her song Little Boxes being used as the theme to Showtime's Weeds, this legendary grandmother of folk is back in the spotlight, so maybe we'll get some reissues soon.

A big week in general for folk and country MP3s:

• English 70s folkie Catherine Howe is reissued.
• Three words that go great together: Banjo pickin' girls.
• Tone-deaf, hillbilly, god-lovin' singer Isabel Baker's entire unbelievable album I Like God's Style.
• Folky swingin' harpsichord by The Sidewalk Swingers.
• The easy listening sounds and stepford stylings of The Doodletown Pipers.
• Nobody wants a square record...couldn't give away his square record., a little ditty to add to our list of Record Related MP3s.
• Just what you wanted from The Louvin Brothers: Tragic Songs of Life

Way more respectable than Snakes on a Plane (which I loved) is Black Snake Moan, Samuel Jackson's new film directed by Craig Brewer. Not only does it look freaking awesome, but the blues-heavy soundtrack (which you can hear in its entirety on the website), includes several tracks performed by Jackson, who plays a retired (and somewhat crazed) blues musician. 

Speaking of which, From 1968: "This is Howlin' Wolf's new album. He doesn't like it. He didn't like his electric guitar at first either."

More MP3 links after the jump.

365 Days #31 - J.C. Penney Company - Spirit of '66 (mp3s)

MP3:
1 Overture (Instrumental) (2:09)
2 Rockin' With The Mods (2:55)
3 Give Me An American Girl (2:51)
4 Looks Like You're Falling In Love (2:15)
5 How Would We Look Without Zippers? (2:33)
6 He's A Penney Man (2:45)
7 There's Gonna Be A Party Here Tonight! / I'm Home / R.S.V.P. / There's Gonna Be A Party Here Tonight! (6:12)
8 Opening Day At The Golden Rule (7:13)
9 The Spirit Of '66 (1:57)

Spirit of '66 is a great intro to the world of the always upbeat, corny, bizarre,  privately-pressed 1960s Industrial Musical. It's a findable record, and it's a  perfect example of the outrageous expense corporations took on when staging these monstrosities during the 1960s. It's got a large cast of Broadway and Off-Broadway actors, one of the top composers in industrial theatre, and a  gatefold cover. And all that for what normally was a one-night affair, or perhaps at most a two-week affair, with the show touring to several cities where the company had a corporate presence.

Michael Brown (pictured in the bow tie on the front cover) composed this show, and this was not his first musical for the J.C. Penney  Company. In 1962, he composed and staged Penney Proud, on the advent of the company's 60th anniversary (and if you're lucky enough to find a fully loaded copy of that LP, you'll find lyric sheets and sheet music given out at the performances), and in 1960, he penned A Birthday Garland for Mr. James Cash Penney, an exceptionally rare industrial show.

In fact, Brown in his heyday was actually a renaissance man  – his numerous musicals for corporations (DuPont, Belk's stores, Singer, Woolworth's,  Talon zippers (!), Holiday Magazine) are all charmingly written and performed with utmost professionalism. Each has at least one if not several standout cuts.  He also got the most out of his material. Case in point: in Penney Proud there's a song titled “The  Penney Manager's Work Song” – in his 1965 Woolworth show Mr. Woolworth Had a Notion, there's the “Woolworth Manager Work Song” and the same goes for Belk's. In fact, in Brown's 1967 Talon zipper show, he repeated the track “How Would We Look Without Zippers?” from this show for  Penney's.

Brown began his career on Broadway in Leonard Sillman's New Faces for 1952, and New Faces for 1956, both of which featured his original songs. Lest you think he was square, in 1962, he released an LP on Impulse titled Alarums and Excursions. He's also known for the popular series of children's books about Santa Mouse. And, he and his wife Joy entered literary history during the 50s when they gave writer Harper Lee a gift: enough cash to quit work for a year and write To Kill a Mockingbird. Of course... I love him for “He's a Penney  Man.”

- Contributed by: Jonathan Ward

Images: Front Cover, Back Cover, Credits, Titles

Media: 12" LP
Album: J.C. Penney Company presents An Evening With Michael Brown And His Friends (Spirit of '66)
Credits: Words and Music by Michael Brown.  Musical Director Norman Paris.

This Week in Sex: I Underestimated Gay Sheep

Don't say I never give you anything. I'm giving you a great suggestion for the perfect Valentine's Day gift: Make your own custom Celebrity Butt Plug for the superstar in your life. But if you want to "keep Christ at the center of your marriage," and by marriage I mean butt-hole, check out the Christian sex toy site My Beloved's Garden.

No comment. Richard Gere shouted "no condoms, no sex" at 15,000 Indian sex workers as part of an HIV/AIDS awareness event which I'm sure was very well intentioned but sounds really annoying. I don't like being shouted at, especially about condoms, especially more by Richard Gere, and I'm not even an Indian sex worker. Richard Gere likes shouting about condoms, privacy, and chocolate mousse.

So mid/late 2006-early 2007. Self Shot Babes: Look at me! I'm nakee! P.S. Don't show dad. NSFW.

Gay sheep piss off PETA, Martina Navratilova, bioethicists, and blogosphere. I underestimated gay sheep.

This week in boobs:

• The fates have decreed you must have an extra nipple. Where don't you want it?  Think before you answer. (They have also decreed that your big toe is gonna be pretty big, too. Hope they don't also whack you with the ugly stick on the way out.)

• How do you bring your dolls on play dates when they have boobs as big as houses?

• Breast cancer awareness needed a makeover.(login may be necessary)

It's the old nympho housewife routine: She calls her dirty friend, then she calls the dirty delivery guy, then she calls the dirty friend back to tell her about what happened with the dirty delivery guy. And luckily it's all been captured on a durable hi-fidelity 8-track cassette tape recording. NSFW, because she's such a nympho housewife. excellent archival audio porn work from dinosaur gardens 

365 Days #30 - Goodyear - That's Show Biz! (mp3s)

MP3:
1 Goodyear - What's New (1:38)
2 Goodyear - He'll Cooperate (2:03)
3 Goodyear - A Definite Difference (1:47)
4 Goodyear - Welcome to Schultz's Market, What's New Reprise (4:58)

I've been obsessively collecting privately-pressed Industrial Musicals for just about 10 years now and, much to most folks' dismay, I truly believe that this weird subgenre is one of the most culturally unique musical movements of the 20th century. Employee motivation, the corporate bottom line, the detailed product descriptions – all set against the often ludicrously melodramatic strains of then-contemporary musical theatre. Thankfully, other kindred spirits at the 365 Days Project feel the same way. You do too, right? (Hello?.....Echo!...echo...)

Here's a rare one that was unearthed in the past two years, with only two known copies (so far). That's Show Biz, an early 60s EP by Goodyear. You might expect it to be about tires, right? Nope. This show is entirely about the introduction of Prime-Wrap, Goodyear's brand new plastic wrap for meats! Enjoy the anonymous, hard-working cast belt it out for The Man!

- Contributed by: Jonathan Ward

Image: Front Cover, That's Show Biz!

Media: 12" LP
Album: That's Show Biz!
Date: Early 1960s

Live At WFMU

Here's a sampling of some great live acts and other special WFMU events from the recent past that you may have missed. All listen links point to real audio archives.

Mudhoney and Hank IV on Terre T's show (playlist) - listen
Robyn Hitchcock on Irene's program (playlist) - listen
Miya Masaoka on Woody's show (playlist) - listen
Bert Jansch on Hatch's show (playlist) - listen
Transpacific Sound Paradise's Almost-Holiday Spectacular (live at Barbes, playlist) - listen
Plimsouls on Terre T's show (playlist) - listen
Clockcleaner on Brian Turner's program (playlist) - listen
APB live on the Evan "Funk" Davies show (playlist) - listen
The Husbands on Terre T's show (playlist) - listen
LSD March, Suishou No Fune and more on R. Lim's show (playlist) - listen
Dave the Spazz's James Brown tribute (playlist) - listen
Noah Zark's hip-hop salute to James Brown (playlist) - listen
Glen Jones' Holiday Party live at the Loop Lounge in Passaic, NJ - listen
The Ex on Brian Turner's program (playlist) - listen
Mitch Easter live on the Evan "Funk" Davies show (playlist) - listen
Soviet Animation Music special on Phuj Phactory (playlist) - listen
Dengue Fever live on Transpacific Sound Paradise (playlist) - listen
Edison Woods on Irene's program (playlist) - listen

365 Days #29 - Dave Kennedy - All By Myself (mp3)

MP3:
Dave Kennedy - All By Myself (2:49)

The first time I heard a recording by Dave Kennedy, was on a mix tape made for me by my friend Bill Verkuilen.  As a music lover and musician, over the years I've always been impressed with musicians who can play more than one instrument, and play them well.

The most notable ones that immediately come to mind are Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney. Yet, as impressed as I've been of those two, in particular, until I heard Kennedy, I had NEVER heard of any one musician who can play so MANY instruments, as well as sing with himself (in jazz harmony, no less!)

Dave Kennedy (now deceased) was a recording studio owner and engineer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who apparently would make time to record himself, in between sessions with other artists, like Hildegarde.

On "All By Myself", Kennedy plays trumpet, trombone, vibes, piano, flute, piccolo, drums, bass, saxophone, guitar, and perhaps most impressive to me, an entire violin string section! And I'm betting that YOU have never heard any one person do all this, either!

Well, check it out, and if don't be surprised if your jaw doesn't drop the same way mine did, the first time I heard this...

- Contributed by: Dana Countryman

Image: Photo Strip

Media: 12" LP
Album: All By Myself
Label: Page Records
Catalog: 843K-3039

Mr. Personality Himself- Alan Gillett!

From Peoria, Illinois...Here is artist #277, Mr. Personality himself- Alan Gillett!

Suburban cowboy, Alan Gillett, croons in the most peculiar Kermit the Frog warble. Alan trekked down to Nashville, Tennessee to compete in  Music City Television Network's talent competition- a sort of low budget American Idol for the country crowd.

Standing slightly slouched in his black denim, cowboy hat and mustache (and looking a bit like 80s era Beefheart)- Alan is swallowed up by the massive blue carpeted stage (I guess keying in a snazzy background for him was out of the budget). In this monotone sea, being framed dead center is enough to make anyone's effort at entertainment worthless- but Alan makes it work by being so deadpan and monotone himself.  Alan eventually loosens up throughout the course of his eleven songs- first by incessantly flapping his hand at his side to keep rhythm and then by dancing...an amazing dance...a stilted step worthy of a spastic with both feet encased in concrete.

All Shook Up ( .mov video | YouTube link ) | Mr. Personality ( .mov video | YouTube link )

The latter video is quite late in the competition and the audience lounging in the studio's plastic lawn chairs seem a bit bored, amused and a little confused. Or at least I am confused when a woman starts snapping her fingers and gets up to do an Alan Gillette dance. The blustery host even gets into it by barrelling back and forth in the studio. At this point Alan is a bit out of breath and his timing strays off of the karaoke track.

At the end of his eleven songs, Alan is interviewed by the host (.mov video). Mr. Gillett is shy and nervous and has to be reminded to speak into the microphone. His favorite artist is Lloyd Price and he will travel for national bookings.

But Alan's true philosophy is summed up on his 2000 appearance on Chicago's kiddie dance show Chic-A-GoGo where he states that music must be a balance of harmony and disharmony- just like life (mp3).

Here for your irritainment pleasure are five songs ripped from the video in addition to Alan's performance on Chic-A-Go-Go. Put them on your ipod and crank it up. Have a party with Alan blasting in your cranium as you're on your way to work this morning!

Silver Threads Among The Gold  | Fast As You | Personality | All Shook Up | Waltz Across Texas | Come On Home

Thanks to Decker from Resipiscent for sending this to me!

Christian Hoaxes

If you're as big a fan of Christian kooks as I am, then certainly you've heard of Donnie Davies, whose over-the-top message video "The Bible Says" (aka "God Hates Fags") is the best song John Mayer never recorded. It's also jaw droppingly evil...or is it? Rumors abound that Davies is fake, with reasons ranging from his completely ridiculous list of bands that will make you gay (he's not sure about Morrissey?!), to quoting Oscar Wilde as a "reformed homosexual".

But if he is a fake, which I am certainly betting he is, Davies isn't saying. Rumors have flown in the past couple of weeks that he could be this guy (nope), or this guy (who seriously denies it), and most recently this guy (who also denies it, but the consensus is that he's finally the guy). Davies himself made an appearance this week trying to show his sincerity, but offered no concrete proof that he isn't a hoax. And the debate rages on...You Tube won't host his music video, and Wikipedia immediately deleted his page (which sided towards fake). For a guy who may not exist, he sure is stirring up a lot of trouble.

And there friends we have just the latest in the long tradition of Christian hoaxes. How do they differ from mere parodies, or more overtly comic creations like Borat and Steven Colbert? Simply because they won't really let anyone else in on the joke. And the greater philosophical question looms... does this do more harm then good? Are easily befuddled Christians won over by over-the-top beliefs (really not that far from what the extremists believe)? Or is it all just good clean fun - like reading The Onion?

There is a history of hoaxes effecting much more than originally intended, but far be it from me to judge. I love a good prank, myself, and I say let the suckers sort it out. So instead of the philosophy, allow me to fan the flames a bit and point you to more Christian hoaxers and pranksters.

Follow the jump and damn your soul!

Trollkotze (videos)

Did the world need a German version of Impaled Northern Moonforest? It seems it did, and so Trollkotze (Troll Vomit) came into being, making black metal-inspired noise, or something like that, with song titles like "I Fucked Legolas!!!", "My Ice Cream Fell Down", "The Mic Fell Down", "The Mic Fell Down, pt. 2", "The Mic Fell Down, pt. 3", "The Mic Fell Down Again", "It's Varg Vikernes' BurzDay", and "Fix Yourself A Toast". These are very different from typical Impaled Northern Moonforest titles (like "Lustfully Worshipping The Inverted Moongoat While Skiing Down The Inverted Necromountain Of Necrodeathmortum"), and Trollkotze doesn't exclusively play "acoustic black metal", but the two bands still have much in common in terms of their roots and attitude.

Trollkotze releases were limited to 10, 25, and 50 copies, respectively, and they are all out or print, so you probably won't be able to pick up a CD. However, a lot of their songs are available as free MP3 downloads through their website, and you should go there and listen to them. (It is all in German, but you'll be able to figure out where to click regardless.) If you are not convinced yet, check out their two amazing music videos. The first and more conventional video is Märchenwald (Fairy Tale Forest, 10 Meg AVI video, alternative YouTube link), the second one is Die Knödelmiliz (The Dumpling Militia, 14 Meg AVI video, alternative YouTube link), a stop-motion Lego animation video about a guy being held up by a gang of dumplings on the street. Fortunately he carries a sword with him to chase the dumplings away.

Kaneko Jutok RIP

Kaneko Jutok ranks on my short list of the heaviest guitar gods, both solo and as a mighty force behind the great Kousokuya.  What set him apart from his other axe-wielding contemporaries dealing in psychedelic overload was a unique ability to conjure up deep, heavy and spacious atmosphere in silence as much as during his amazing flights. I also think Kousokuya were surely among the Japanese ensembles most influenced by the NYC No Wave movement; his playing spit shards of Teenage Jesus and DNA as much as the West Coast flairs that connected with many of his other countrymen; the recent PSF issue of the band's early 1979 Live at Minor recordings probably affirmed this more than anything (Real Audio of untitled 1st track). It was a great thrill to witness Kaneko-san perform at WFMU in person visiting the Janitor From Mars show back in September 2004, joined by drummer Koji Shimura (White Heaven/Mainliner), and you can hear the archive here. Word is he died very suddenly, having collapsed at a train station. He was only 48.

More Real Audio: "Buried Memories" from Wedged Night, Kaneko's collaborative LP with Kikukawa Takehisa, "Longing For the Ray" from his Solo LP.

365 Days #28 - The Fairfax High School Marimba Band (mp3s)

MP3:
1 Besame Mucho (2:52)
2 Bye Bye Blues (1:59)
3 Comedians' Gallop (1:29)
4 12th Street Rag (1:49)
5 Popcorn (2:18)
6 El Cumbanchero (3:04)

I picked this record up  while living in Berkeley California in the late 1980s. Found it at Rasputin's records where I would normally find all sorts of selections in the 25 cent section. The majority of school band  records out there feature your standard classical, jazz, traditional and religious offerings. This record however, this record.

Popcorn is the standout track, but I have included a couple of other cuts from this album, which I consider to be both brilliant in the arrangements and the skillful playing. This is not weird or strange music. It may sound standard run of the mill to some of you but being both a fan of the marimba (although I can't play to save my life) and the arrangements held within this record, well... it's a keeper.

- Contributed by: Otis Fodder

Images: Front Cover, Back Cover

Media: 12" LP
Album: The Marimba Band Of Fairfax High School Volume IV
Label: Mark
Catalog: MC 8455
Credits: Matt Hynes (Director), Tim Carney (Guitar, Banjo), Jerry Parrott (Banjo), Mark Caldine (Drums), Rick Meyer (Banjo, Guitar), Laura Elliott (Flute), Mary Naeher, June Martin, Caroline Smith, Alan Foster (Marimba)
Date: Early 1970s

Look up in the sky! It's a bird, It's a plane, No, It's Chuck Connors pretending a log is his kak!

This is probably the funniest comic book related website out there - devoted to proving that, contrary to popular belief, Superman was an asshole. Featuring sections devoted to unintentionally sexual comic book covers, comic book war propaganda, comic covers featuring apes (it's ridiculous just how many there are), stupid super powers, and confoundingly bizarre covers. Cartoonist Scott Shaw! has a similar concept with his site , but it's generally boring instead of funny.

While we're at it here's a history of Christian Archie Comics. Also, Vanity Fair has a pretty good history of everything Archie including the publisher's current thoughts on Christian Archies and a synopsis of the awful 1989 NBC made-for-tv Archie movie. How about a history of the Catholic church's vehemently anti-communist comic book Treasure Chest of Fun and Fact? And comic book historian Mark Evanier writes about the creepy and perverted (seriously) history of Dick Van Dyke comics and the demented man who designed them (printing his sexual fantasies in a none-too-subtle manner right on the front cover!). The story gets juicy around issue nine. And you should probably read it before you scroll down and read the Beware of the Blog comments below because somebody will spoil it for you.

365 Days #27 - General Electric - Go Fly A Kite (mp3s)

MP3:
01 Be Direct With Me (2:53)
02 Witchcraft (1:12)
03 Supermink (1:52)
04 Manpower (1:53)
05 Dingo's Protest/We're Twenty-One/That Great Big Au Go-Go In The Sky (4:34)
06 Absolutely Available (3:02)
07 Perfect Control (2:51)
08 A Big Fat Wife (1:12)
09 We're Makin' Our Own (3:07)
10 No, No, Not That/PDM Can Do (4:42)
11 34 Years From Today (4:05)
12 Welcome To Williamsburg (2:24)
13 The Proper Perspective (2:26)
14 Through The Magic Door (1:40)
15 Let Me Put It To You This Way (3:36)
16 Go Fly A Kite (2:04)
17 Atom And Evil (1:16)
18 Heaven Out Of Hell (2:07)
19 Make A Woman Out Of Your Wife (6:31)
20 Times Have Changed (3:19)
21 Finale (1:01)

"Go Fly A Kite" by General Electric is one of the best examples of an Industrial Musical. Not only is this a double album, but the gatefold cover is chalk full of photographs of the actual live stage performance!  For just about every single song, you get to see what the actors and singers were doing and wearing, along with the campy sets that draped the background.

I've had this LP for several years now and used to play it on my old radio shows (Oddity Rock Radio & Delirium In Hi-Fi) on KWCR. I'd like to list just a few favorite tracks along with some of the original liner notes that explain them.

Start listening with this one:

#1 - "Heaven Out of Hell" (Definitely the Standout Track of the Musical!)
"While George attends the Conference, Richard responds to Martha's wish to see the past, and particularly, Marie Antoinette.  They end up in Hell, where the devil indignantly refuses to let Martha visit "that woman in the bakery."  Unabashed, Martha tells the Devil his Hell isn't so hot, his transportation system is all snarled up, and, in general, he's operating inefficiently and uneconomically.  She and Richard persuade the devil to electrify Hell through Richard's magic powers.  Instantly, the air is purified, the furnaces operate efficiently, and traffic is unsnarled at the River Styx.  Horrified, the devil realizes he has been tricked into making a Heaven out of Hell through electricity."

#2 - "Make a Woman Out of Your Wife" (The most epic song of the musical. This track almost seems to go on a bit longer than it should but it's hilarious imagining this woman dressed in a white gown caressing blenders, irons, clocks, electric fans, and egg beaters, like the picture inside the record sleeve. To be placed on every Christmas compilation later this year :)
"Mr. Smith wishes for the magic to express the transformation which electrical products make possible in the life of the American woman. Richard obligingly evokes an enchanting woman and an overwhelming procession of housewares, kitchens, and home entertainment products."

#3 - "Atom and Evil" (For some reason I gave this track the most airplay.  Possibly because of it's length.  Love the characterized voices!)
"(Martha) ... asks George what the General Electric speakers are talking about next. George replies, "Nuclear Power".  Hearing this, a group with picket signs erupts onto the stage and does a number good-naturedly spoofing unreasonable and misinformed views of nuclear power."

#4 - "Perfect Control" ( I just like this one :)
"In the course of his talk, Mr. White emphasizes the inherent simplicity of design of a boiling water reactor and its self-regulating nature, which keeps the reaction under perfect control.  This inspires a beautiful blond girl in a Harlow dress to sing her version of the subject."

#5 - "No, No, Not That!"
"In the office of Dr. Jung, a psychiatrist, a burly victim of amnesia cannot recall anything until a pretty nurse enters and the doctor acknowledges the patient's healthy reaction by saying, "She's got a pretty good distribution, eh?"  The word "distribution", plus a hefty shot of truth serum, triggers total recall in the patient, who remembers how his mother, wife, and daughter were always pressuring him about appearance, reliability and cost."

#6 - "Thirty-Four Years From Today"
"We find George during the coffee break after the distribution presentations, musing about transmission problems that have to be solved long before the end of the century.  Martha says, "Thirty-four years?  My, you are a long planner."  But George reminds her that he asked for her hand only thirty-four years ago".

#7 -  "Dingo's Protest" (Self-explanatory)
Not in any particular order, but I guess I had more favorites than I thought!  Enjoy :)

PS. Coming up in February on 365 Days - "General Electric Silicone Products Department - Got To Investigate Silicones" (Wink)

- Contributed by: B.C. Sterrett (The Lost Media Archive)

Images: Front Cover, The Show!, More of The Show! (courtesy of: Jonathan Ward)

Media: 12" 2-LP
Album: Go Fly A Kite
Label: General Electric
Credits: Fifth Electric Utility Executives Conference, Williamsburg, Virginia
Date: September 19-21, 1966

The Sixty Second Song Remix Contest (mp3s)

With my attention span declining by an average of three seconds per year, I thought it was high time to hold a sixty second song remix contest. The rules are simple: take any "known" song (whatever that means, I know, I know...) and reduce it to sixty seconds or less. I'd like to get 78 of these, if possible, so enter as many times as you like! I'll be playing these on the air and posting many of them here as well.

Extra credit for reducing extra long songs (such as those listed in Resident Clinton's Long Songs post).

The winner gets a WFMU messenger bag chock full of records and WFMU swag. Deadline is Friday, February 23rd. E-mail your mp3 submissions to me at ken at wfmu dot org. Here's a few MP3 examples to jog your imagination:

People Like Us - Something   |   Media Corti - Dear Jude  |   Media Corti - Blitzkrieg Bop

Media Corti - Enola Gay   |   Resident Clinton - Operator   |   Unknown - The Six Minute Revolver

UPDATE 1: Thanks to everybody who has submitted songs! We're up to about 20 so far. Here's a sampling of all the great ones that have come in:

Stiever - InAGadaDaVida (Iron Butterfly)   |   Tim Scullion - A Really Quick One (The Who)

Adnoisium - Stairway to Heaven   |   Shane Young - Step Right Up (Tom Waits)

Zoloft - WeilRokYu (Queen)   |   Adnoisium - The End (The Doors)

Mark Russell - We Can Work (The Beatles)   |   Ed Word - Fergielicious (Fergie)

Frank Difficult - Echoes (Pink Floyd)

UPDATE 2: Wow, I am blown away by the amount and the quality of the submissions I'm getting here! I can hardly keep up, but that's just the way I like it. Here's a batch more, and if you don't see your version here, don't worry, I'll be posting more as I find the time and I'll be playing these all on the air as well.

Otis Ball - More Than Half-Off-Bird (Lynyrd Skynyrd)   |  Grant Olsen - Bluest Minute (New Order)

Thant Tessman - Super James (James Brown)  |  Jerod Freitag - Climaxation (Elton & Betty White)

Easy EW - B--thd-y (The Beatles)   |   Four Italian Pep Pills - Rapper's Delight (Sugarhill Gang)

Alex Jackson - Part Tree (Trad., AAC file)   |   Diarrhea Mia - Beat It (Richard Cheese version)

Jonathan Wall - Prndandrd (Radiohead)   |   Kevin Hamilton - NotGonnaGetUs (tATu)

Mickey Mephistopheles - Paradise by the Dashboard Light Abortion Edit (Meat Loaf)

Grant Olsen - Phoenix in a Minute (18 minute Isaac Hayes version)

Saint Peter - The 60 Second Well Tuned Piano (LaMonte Young)

J. Henry Chunko - 1-60  (Charles Bernstein's 1-100, AAC file)

UPDATE 3: I made the unpardonable error of attending to other business for the last day and a half, and now I am woefully behind in my Sixty Second Song duties. While I continue to catch up, here's another batch of fun submissions:

Dave Krooshof - Toxic (Britney Spears)   |   Moonman - Kiss (Prince)

Chris T - How Can You Mend A Broken Heart (The Bee Gees)

MP3J - Anarchy Generation (The Who vs The Sex Pistols)   |   Maintain - Boho Rap (Queen)

Famous Mortimer - I Am Sitting In A Room (but not for very long) (Alvin Lucier)

Quadraspazzed - White Lines (Grandmaster Flash)   |   Sherman Pants - Babaoriley (The Who et al)

Tom Nothing - Desolation Row  (Dylan)   |   Vaughn Healy - Oh, Yoko (John Lennon)

Jonathan Wall - Right Ontoppa Compton (NWA)

UPDATE 4: In which we break the Folk barrier, the Prog Rock barrier, the 18th century classical barrier, and... oh yes. Gwen Stefani goes a yodelin. Keep 'em coming!

Hans van der Valk - Wind It Up Lonesome Goatherd (Gwen Stefani)

Archie Marsh - Prelude (Glen Gould / Bach)   |   Chris Combs - One Minute Oatmeal (Melanie)

Chris T - Moby Dickless (Led Zeppelin)   |   Claude Heiland-Allen - Lesson 6 (Jurassic Five)

Dave Krooshof - Never Met A Girl Like You Before (Edwyn Collins)

Easy EW - Again and Again Or (Love)   |   Fatty Jubbo - C'mon Marianne (Donny Osmond)

Matthew Hane - Rock and Roll (Velvet Underground)   |   Microscope - Pink Moons (Nick Drake)

Scott W - Dreamhome Heartache (Roxy Music)   |   Vaughan Healy - A Love Supreme (Coltrane)

Mickey Mephistopheles - Take One (Dave Brubeck Quartet)

Quadraspazzed - Old TIme Religion (Woody Guthrie)

Ronny Waernes - The Great Gates of Kiev (Emerson Lake and Palmer)

Skip N Zener - Now In Arcade Exotica (Martin Denny)

UPDATE 5: In honor of Prince's nipple-free rain-soaked halftime show, we present a magnificent version of Purple Rain, plus the first appearances here by Yes, Motorhead, New Kids on the Block and two classic radio pieces by the prolific Chris Combs. On Monday I'll be posting Ten Albums in Ten Minutes (full LP 60 second reductions) in a separate post.

Snuffelruft - Purple (Prince)   |   Stiever - Break On Thru (The Doors)

Dave Krooshof - Fire (Hendrix)   |   Ghuckleberry - Yes, Maybe (Yes)

Uncle Bela - Ace of Spades (Motorhead)   |   Chris Combs - Quick Who's On First (Abbot and Costello)

Chris Combs - Shoving Match of the Worlds (Orson Welles)

Kid Kmart vs Kid Nascar - Hangin' Tough (New Kids on the Block)

Noddable Industries - One Minute Seinfeld (Senfeld theme vs Missy Elliot)

Shane Young - Shatner in a Minute with Diamonds (William Shatner)

UPDATE 6: Here's seven more, and hats off to Chris C for taking a song that's originally shorter than one minute and extending it!

Chris Combs - Her Minutesty (Beatles)   |   Daniel Urria - Believer (Robert Wyatt)

Uncle Bela - Paranoid (Black Sabbath)   |   Dave Krooshof - Hey Joe (Hendrix)

Chris T - Funhouse (Stooges)   |   Jim A - Ring of Fire (Johnny Cash)

Michael Garofalo - Autobahn (Kraftwerk)   |   Nick Boffo - Sgt Ringo's Little Heart's Club Band

UPDATE 7: At last, we have a shortened version of the classic John Cage piece, 4:33. But that's not the only surprise in this wonderful new batch of submissions...

Uncle Bela - 18 Seconds of Fear (Fear)   |   Mighty Dawn Dart - Like A Rolling Minute (Judas)

People Like Us - 4:33 (John Cage)   |   PimpDaddySupreme - Christian Minute (Negativland)

Chris T - Notta Whole Lotta Love (Led Zeppelin)   |   Rick Parker - Kiss Off (Violent Femmes)

Chis Combs - Sixty Second Song (Shel Silverstein)   |   Ed Word - Xanadu (Rush)

Dave Krooshof - All The Things She Said (tATu)   |   John Tashiro - Real Love (Ex-Beatles)

John Roach - Run Run Run (John Roach & Bud Flanagan & Chesney Allen)

XGF Media - Them Bones (Alice in Chains)

Dad's New Slacks - Sixty Second Schizoid Man (King Crimson)

Stephen McQuillen - Tell Me Quickly Do You Love Me (The Contours)

UPDATE 8: And to think that when I started this contest, I said I wanted to receive 78 tracks. So far, I've received over 300 and there's still almost two weeks to the contest deadline. Thanks to everybody who's submitted! Please keep 'em coming at ken at wfmu dot org! I'm enjoying the hell out of this. Here's another batch:

Jerod Freitag - Stagger Lee (Nick Cave)   |   DJ Jesuspants - Breckman Pie

The Jazz Kissinger - MacArthur Park Minute   |   RJ Godin - Racket One (Sun Ra)

Kate Wilaert - Time (Pink Floyd)   |   N - Hell O n You (Nina Simone)

]}3y - Soixante Petits Chevalier (Nico)   |   Craig Mitchell - Fohat Dug Holes (Gong)

Dave Krooshof - Day Tripper (Hendrix on the BBC)   |   Uncle Bela - Du Hast (Rammstein)

Nick Boffo - Part of the Sunrise (Yes)   |   Stiever - Moonlight Feels Right (Starbuck)

The Good Reverand Doctor - The Dope Pusher (Bill Cosby)

Olaf Bloemberg - How Come How Long (Stevie Wonder and Babyface)

Sick to the Back Teeth - Ant Man Bee (Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band)

UPDATE 9: Sorry it's been a few days since I've posted an update. That day job of mine intervened... New submissions are still coming in though - here's a particularly inventive batch:

You™ - Sixty Second Man (Billy Ward and His Dominoes)   |   Oswald Wang - Balrom Bliz (The Sweet)

Dad's New Slacks - All One Song (Neil Young on 45!)   |   Joe D'Agostino - Bolero-ette (Ravel)

Dave Scarborough - Strobe Light (The B52's)   |   DJ Soft - Book of Right (Joanna Newsome)

RJ Godin - A Minute On The Beach (Philip Glass)   |   JC - A Number Nine In The Life (Beatles)

Harvey Loves Harvey - Cover Division (various versions of Love Will Tear Us Apart)

James Gardner - Many Boots Are Made For Walking (various version of Boots)

Justin Tripp - Chinese Children (Devendra Banhart)   |   Kate Willaert - Hysteria (Muse)

XGF Media - Empire (Queensryche)   |   Sick To The Back Teeth - Big New Priest (The Fall)

H. Grape Minkoff - Time Has Come Today (the Chambers Brothers)

No Sleep Nigel - Lunar Note (Captain Beefheart)

UPDATE TEN: Wow, there are only a few days before the contest deadline. After Friday, February 23rd at Midnight, I wont be accepting any more entries, so get in your last minute masterpieces now! It occurs to me that a solitary winner doesn't do this little experiment justice, so I will announce a more varied winner's circle scheme this weekend, after I catch my breath. Here's another batch of recent arrivals:

Craig Mitchell - In Between Hearts Lock3Down (Yeah Yeah Yeahs vs The Cure)

Rick McNamara - 20 Years of Confusing Anti-Drug Public Service Announcements in 60 Seconds

Dave Krooshof - If I'm In Luck I Just Might Get Picked Up (Betty Davis)

DJ Jesuspants - Political Minute For Michael Jackson to Sing (The Minutemen)

DJ Soft - Summercrane (The Avalanches)   |   Justin Tripp - Requesting Quiet (10CC)

DJ Frankie Pigeon - One Cut ("One" from Various Sources)

Max Johnson - Motel California   |   No Sleep Nigel - Abstract Nympho III (Chrome)

Oscar Marsh - Urso Minute (Jaap Blonk)   |   XGF Media - Breath (The Prodigy vs Silver Bullet)

Uncle Bela - The End of the World, Baby (Jerry Goldsmith / War of the Worlds)

Dave Scarborough - Autobahn (Kraftwerk)

UPDATE 11: Just to let you all know, the deadline for submissions has passed, but it's going to take me a few days to comb through the last few days worth of submissions. I will post a final batch here and then we'll work on to the final round for voting, in a separate post.

UPDATE 12: Here's a final batch of 30 tracks. After this comes the impossible task of narrowing down the 415 submissions to 20 or so finalists, and then letting you all vote on the winners. I'll do that in a separate post. I also have another post of full album reductions coming on Thursday. The final contest may take me a few more days, especially with the WFMU Marathon approaching.

Lester - Sympathy For The Devil (Blood Sweat and Tears)   |   Pflaphpschoen - Eleanor Rigby (Beatles)

Mofobaru - OK Computer In 60 Seconds (Radiohead)   |   T Gould - Having My Baby (Paul Anka)

Russ Johnson - Rock Around 23 Seconds of the Clock (Bill Haley and The Comets)

Uncle Bela - O Fortuna (Carl Orff / Apotheosis)   |   You™ - Shook All Up (Elvis)

William Roarshock - Fanfare For The Common Zarathustra (Richard Strauss and Aaron Copland)

Mr Stavaris - DIY Meat (The Fall)   |   Mike Espinova - The Hellion / Electric Eye (Judas Priest)

Clark Paramo - The True Wheel (Eno)   |   Craig Mitchell - Bells of Rhymney (Robyn Hitchcock)

DJ Soft - Yeah (LCD Soundsystem)   |   DVAnt - Sly (Sly & The Family Stone)

Adam Ainsworth - Song 1 (Blur)   |   Chris Larsen - Bolero (Ravel)

Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet (Gavin Bryars, from Miniatures 2)

EasyEW - Park That McArthur   |   Hip Transistor - Cool It Down (Velvet Underground)

Ed Word - Hungarian Dance (Brahms. featuring actual, honest to God VINYL!)

General Assembly - Idiot Son (Zappa and Mothers)   |   Listen with Sarah - Fleur Bleue (Charles Trenier)

Ronny Waernes - So Unfilial Rule (Melt Banana)  |  Laura Panella - O Superman (Laurie Anderson)

Nathan DeWitt - No; Nobody (The Human Beinz)   |   Nick Boffo - Star Spangled Haircut

Oscar Marsh - Mwah (Holly Valance)   |   RJ Godin - I Feel Oooo (Donna Summer)

Ronny Waernes - Lauft... Heisst Das es Lauft Oder es Kommt Bald... Lauft (Faust)

UPDATE: I finally posted the final voting for this contest on this post here.

Stars Come Out for Coachella

We included "Cartoon Sexuality" in the category heading on account of the much overdue return of MC Scat Cat to the live forum. Somebody's got to get Paula back on the rails and he might be the one to do it (flyer swiped from Matablog).

Shit From an Old Cardboard Box, incl. Uncle Wiggly Tour Diary

Unused Bar-Mitzvah Thank-You Note, summer 1977 - I had a lot to be thankful for, considering that I received a green Vistalite 5-pc. Ludwig drum kit, with a chrome snare and Zildjian cymbals (my drum hero at the time was John Bonham, who had an orange Vistalite kit), all for singing a little Hebrew in shul.  I also chose the paper grade, color and typeface for these notes; how, um, epicene for a 13-year-old boy.

Lo-Fi Live Gig Flyer, designed by the late Terry Folger - I still maintain that I was the first person to use the term "lo-fi" in a public forum.  Lo-Fi, begun in 1986, was a weekly half-hour segment of my WFMU show, devoted to home-cassette recording artists, comprised solely of contributions solicited via the mail.  Many of the performers that evening went on to be good friends and collaborators of mine.  Many of these bedroom-rock Gods still perform or exist in some form today; others were one-offs or have since faded into obscurity.  Here are web links for some of them:  pHoaming Edison, Jolly Ramey, Jet Screamer, Ray Zinnbrann (aka Ray Brazen), Azalia Snail.  The group S!T!O!I!N!K! included members of Fly Ashtray, the latter having just released a fantastic new CD.  The great Modern Day Carpetbaggers (also see this) were in attendance that night, but did not perform.  Bad Jack and the Rope Trick were a Berger/Folger collaboration, complete with a tasteless name, backing tapes blasted through the P.A., McCartney and Wings covers and surgical masks worn throughout the set.  Oddly enough, this flyer was addressed to R. Stevie Moore in Terry's hand, and was either a duplicate, or was never sent.

Xmas postcard from my future wife, circa 1994 - Though I rarely responded to her regular, thoughtful and often hand-designed correspondence, the gal still up and married me in 2000.  Thanks again for that.

Teen Beat Records 10th Anniversary Banquet Invitation - This event was held annually.  We performed one year, attending two years in a row, seated both times at what I like to think was the "grownup's table," with Bridget Cross (of Unrest), and Brendan Canty, Guy Picciotto and Joe Lally (of Fugazi).  You haven't lived until you've attended a dinner banquet with Butch Willis.

Alvin & the Chipmunks Reclaimed

 

 

 

 

 

Alvin's Harmonica au naturel!

365 Days #26 - Joe Beard - What Does A Bad Person Look Like? (mp3)

MP3:
Joe Beard - What Does A Bad Person Look Like? (2:29)

Evolution Control Committee used Joe Beard's song from this album "It's Okay to Say No".  This song, "What Does A Bad Person Look Like?", is slightly more funky and creepy.

- Contributed by: The Bomarr Monk

Image: Front Cover

Media: 12" LP
Album: It's Okay To Say No! (A Must For Every Parent And Child: A Never Talk To Strangers 48-Page Coloring Book And Full-Length Recording)
Label: Kid Stuff
Catalog: KKS1026

Radio News: You Can Lose

This week in DC, a radio dust up knocks WGMS off the air, ending 60 years of Bach and Beethoven.  The new kid on the dial is "Radio George" taking control of 104 fm and spinning nothing but the hits of "the 70s, 80s, and whatever we want." Radio George©R is one of those hip new-fangled stations built on the premise that "its all about the music" i.e. no DeeJays. according to this Washington Post piece (link) the station kicked off with Cheryl Crow and a promise:  "one minute you'll flash back to high school, then college, then you're chasing the kids" !!!

The Bach people, however, refuse to stay down - in an unprecedented move they have taken over WETA, a public radio station that has been airing Public Affairs content for 2 years now. This meant that staffers showed up to work only to be greeted by the security guards with summons to go see HR.

There are of course further intrigues and humiliations, but I would rather direct your attention to a survey on classical music listening habits (link) that pops up in reference to this story on my friend Jake's blog (link) And keep in mind these bytes of wisdom are used as a defense for classical music programming:

We found that the primary benefit provided by classical music radio is stress relief. In twelve focus groups across six markets, respondents told us over and over that they use and value the classical music format because it is soothing.

The second major benefit provided by classical stations is clarity of mind. With a clear mind classical listeners can focus like Zen monks, concentrate on a task and do better work, whether on the computer, in the studio or in the shop.

Thirdly, classical music radio provides an escape from contemporary culture, which target listeners perceive as decadent and ugly. The classical format serves as a refuge that preserves the beauty and majesty of a better time.

Most of our respondents use classical music to escape from the problems of the world. Accordingly, they mostly avoid the NPR newsmagazines. While NPR news in depth attracts societally conscious listeners, it drives away most classical music listeners.

We found that listeners who use commercial classical stations share the same values as classical listeners who access the format through public radio stations. They are the same kind of people.

Classical listeners use the station for gratification of their private, internal needs. Yet through the station they identify with a small community of enlightened others. Having a classical station in the market means that there is still some hope for civilization.