MP3 Truffles: Death death and more death

See what happens? Take a few weeks off and people are dying all over the place: improv trombone player Paul Rutherford, Factory Records legend Tony Wilson, umbrella-loving New Orleans musician Oliver Morgan, and of course those legendary talk show hosts Merv Griffin (a populist, true, but without him we would have no Mrs. Miller), and Tom Snyder (who took late night musical guests to a whole new level).

Then there is Tammy Faye, who succummed to cancer after battling it for several years (though even that didn't prepare me for how she looked on Larry King). Her tarnished PTL reputation was saved in her later years as she did a lot to champion gay rights (getting close to JM J Bullock can change a person), and became a mother-figure to Vanilla Ice. I met her one time when she came to my theatre for a screening of The Eyes of Tammy Faye, and she was very sweet. A bit crazy, sure, but her passing still made me a wee sad, as it does whenever we lose any eccentrics. Say goodbye to Tammy by watching this somewhat creepy and yet moving video tribute, then re-live those moments that really brought her into the pulic eye...
MP3: Tammy Faye Bakker, "The Ballad of Jim and Tammy"

But of course, the death that really touched our musical guitar strings was the loss of Lee Hazlewood. We've payed tribute to him here already, but let's celebrate his life one more time with, well, the story of his life, via this promotional 7" that's been popping up on the internet lately. The venerable Phil Milstein lead me to this, and his music site is a treasure trove of rarities.
MP3: The Lee Hazlewood Autobiography

Speaking of the departed, let us mourn the slow destruction of our classic amusement parks. Music For Maniacs recently pointed us to a selection of audio clips that were rescued from 8-track tapes used for the attractions at the now defunct Mountain Park in Holyoke, Massachusetts. It's been closed for years now, but only recently were the old buildings destroyed. Now nothing remains, but I had the chance to stroll through the ruins on a wintry day in the late 90s, and it was nice to imagine the park's heyday. As Six Flags takes over the world, it's nice to hear a bit of what fun used to be.
MP3: Out Of This World funhouse ride soundtrack MP3: Zoltan the Fortune Teller

More MP3s and links (and less death, I promise) after the jump.

Okay, one more thing about death... This just happens to also be the week that we celebrate(?) the passing of Elvis Presley. You probably have all the music, but do you have an hour and a half of him rambling and cursing on stage in the late 70s? Now you do... And, what the hell, here's my favorite Elvis performance - also live on stage.
MP3: "Are You Lonesome Tonight (14 Years Right Down the Drain)"

Egg City Radio has fifteen hours of classic John Peel radio shows from the late 80s in their entirety. These were the pre-recorded shows that were distributed throughout Europe. While in the US we were watching Rick Dees interview Timmy T, in Finland they had John Peel playing really great music and talking about his kidney stones (MP3). Man, it sucks to be American.

It's not the music that turns me on: it's Joe Berluck and his Erotic Voice.
MP3: "It's Been A Long Long Time"

The new Hairspray movie seems to be a hit, but for me nobody in a fat suit can ever top the glory of the real Divine. Hey, Travolta, "You Think You're A Man"? Well, yeah, I guess you are. But Divine was the real shim!
MP3: Divine, "You Think You're a Man"

Oh my word, they completely lost the funk...and somehow I really like it. Could just be the name. (via Ick Music)
MP3: L.A. Dream Team, "Rockberry Jam"

And finally, don't miss the haunting beauty of lounge singer lovers The Transitones.
MP3: "Movin' On Up (theme from the Jeffersons)"

Also out in the internet world (follow the links to download yourself):

Our own Mike Lupica discovered the new official website for kiddie punks The Rolling Scabs.
Also from in-house, I have to agree with Hatch. Extra Golden easily has the best Obama song so far.
I just discovered Awesome Tapes From Africa, and recommend pretty much any post. I started with the somewhat Bollywood-tinged Faiza Ahmed - but that's really just the tip of the iceberg.
While Mingering Mike's albums were imaginary, 33/45 tries to match the album covers with the songs that may have inspired them.
So, I was out of town for the great Sonic Youth Daydream Nation show in Brooklyn because I was on the road, but then Kim Gordon gave a shout out in i-D Magazine to what I am on the road with, the Buffy Sing Along. Sweet! My point? None, really, but here's a bevy of Sonic Youth covers.
One of my favorite blogs, Big Rock Candy Mountain, got hijacked by spam hackers. The site is still up and running, though, just repoint yourself here.
The Hector Lavoe biopic may be crap, but the music is still grand. Just for fun, why not make your own version of El Cantante at home. To get you started, try downloading his entire discography!
The handy 7" singles from Tops in the 1950s meant that the kids could get "Rock Island Line" and "Heartbreak Hotel" for cheap - just not the hit versions. Still, they did get Scatman Crothers and George Jones, which isn't a bad deal.
For a taste of pre-solo Barbara Manning, try San Francisco's World of Pooh.
The Top 10 Incredible Recordings, from castrati to Jonestown.
Funky 16 Corners posts all soul covers of the songs on Rubber Soul. Part One, Part Two, and Part Three (which is all versions of Hey Jude).
Seems the first Venture to go solo was...the drummer.
Reverend Frost's blog has been a bit quiet this summer, but he made up for it with a lovely post of potpourri.

Comments

Phil Rizzuto, 1917-2007.

There are a few MP3's of his calling Yankee games out there, and you can also hear him on Meatloaf's "Paradise by the Dashboard Light".

Posted by: Richard | August 15, 2007 at 08:27 AM

I realize it's not music-related (like the Scooter was?), but Sunday the comics world lost to a completely random heart attack a huge talent in Mike "'Ringo" Wieringo, artist on, among other things, SPIDER-MAN, FANTASTIC FOUR, THE FLASH and his own creation, TELOS. He was only 44, a vegetarian and, by all accounts, an utter sweetheart.

Posted by: Tag | August 15, 2007 at 09:13 PM