WFMU's Beware of the Blog

WFMU Fest at Music Hall of Williamsburg October 1-3: Faust, Pissed Jeans, Teenage Jesus and more

(poster design via Henry Owings) Breaking news: for three nights October 1st, 2nd, and 3rd WFMU Fest takes over the Music Hall of Williamsburg for our very first ever big-scale multi-day curated concert event. Hot damn. Check out this lineup: Thursday October 1st: Krautrock pioneers Faust, with Cold Cave and Aluk Todolo opening! Friday, October 2nd: a home run punk fest featuring Pissed Jeans, TV Ghost, Vee Dee, and Guinea Worms! Saturday the 3rd features the return of No Wave legends Teenage Jesus and the Jerks plus a triple attack setup of NYC noisemongers Sightings, Drunkdriver, and Talk Normal. Tickets will be available in advance via the Music Hall of Williamsburg's site starting September 3rd. We will not be broadcasting, so you better get on out and not miss this, it's gonna melt brains! More info on the bands after the jump:

Darcy James Argue's Secret Society Live at Le Poisson Rouge on WFMU

Long overdue post, busy summer! Back in the middle of July I had the opportunity to record Darcy James Argue's Secret Society at Le Poisson Rouge in NYC for air on WFMU.  DJA's Secret Society is an 18-piece big band that pairs a healthy adoration of the history of big band jazz with a playful modern sensibility, infusing meticulous arrangements with noise and free passages, Afro-funk beats or minimalism.  I was taken with their debut record, Infernal Machines, almost immediately because it represents a freeform approach to a music that has thrown genres into the toolbox only incrementally.  Darcy has a large palette to work from and he uses it.

And, you know, let's face it, it's ballsy to have a big band in 2009.  Despite the fact that this music has some support (the record was partially fan funded), and some favorable press (there was a piece in Newsweek, of all places, not to mention the fawning jazz press), it's not exactly economical or convenient to tour with a big band, record with a big band, or even play one-off shows.  Plus, the logistics of periodically reassembling this cast of excellent musicians, all in demand players with their own projects to boot, is somewhat mindboggling.  There is an audacity, a punk rock ethos, and a purpose that pervades this project, and it's worthy of some appreciation.

That said, the music is also wonderful. Have a listen. And, maybe peruse Darcy's excellent blog while you're at it.  Special thanks to Le Poisson Rouge and Darcy James Argue for being so accommodating.  Engineered by Matt Duane.

Darcy James Argue's Secret Society; Le Poisson Rouge 07/15/09

1. Zeno (soloist: Ryan Keberle, trombone)
2. Flux in a Box (soloists: Ben Kono, alto saxophone; Mike Holober, piano)
3. Hard Up on the Down Low (soloist: Ingrid Jensen, trumpet)
4. Jacobin Club (soloists: Sam Sadigursky, tenor saxophone & Mike Fahie, trombone)
5. Ferromagnetic (soloist: Nadje Noordhuis, trumpet)
6. Obsidian Flow (soloist: Erica vonKleist, alto saxophone)

Encore: The Perils of Empire

Full list of personnel and more photos after the break.

Hildegard Knef (video)

Here is a vintage TV clip of one of the greats of German chanson, Hildegard Knef, live in Berlin in 1968. The original German title of the song is "Von nun an gings bergab", translated into English as "From Here On It Got Rough".

YouTube: [link]
Check out hoffmann9471's other uploads on YouTube if you want more of this.

Crash Course In Science

One of apparently four appearances on the legendary Uncle Floyd show. Via Tumblebugmechanism's You Tube page.

Join us for the IBJ Schmooze Cruise, Oct 11th!

WFMU's Glen Jones and X. Ray Burns celebrate their recent 2009 Marathon victory with the first-ever IBJ Schmooze Cruise and live broadcast around Manhattan on Sunday, October 11th.

You can be a part of this incredible nautical disaster!

The IBJ vessel departs at noon, and the cruise will last until approximately 4pm. It's time to rock the boat! For more info or to purchase tickets, click here.

Softball

I am completely unable today to focus my attention on penning yet another high-quality blog post for WFMU's erudite and attractive readers. A dozen entries into my illustrious career as a Beware Of The Blog contributor, surely by now you have come to expect greatness every time my name graces a byline. Not this week, though. My fans, avert your eyes, unless you would like to witness a descent into madness that few will comprehend and even fewer will empathize with. See that picture floating to the left of these words? This post has absolutely nothing to do with the album art associated with a particular psychedelic album recorded in the late '70s on Long Island. I just put that there because my head feels like the Bermuda Triangle today, as every idea I have is intentionally ignored or quickly forgotten. My concentration is next to nothing. If I didn't have a penchant for staying awake for next three days and not eating, I might seek pharmaceutical assistance to focus better on writing an interesting article for you. Alas, today is simply not my day to play the role of blogger for this massive audience -- which is something in which I often relish, seeing as how my own website has, like, zero readers by comparison. I just have more pressing matters to deal with right now.

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 30

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

This last Mining the Audio Motherlode post of summer delivers a half-dozen killer-dillers: Ghanaian percussionist Guy Warren's rare session with Brit jazz greats is worth the price of admission, but don't overlook the compelling contributions from Chicago's Tiny Topsy and Kraków's Ewa Demarczyk. If you dig noise, Monoshock's side-project, Sternklang, will curl your nose hairs (in a good way), as will the debut LP from Blind Idiot God (who, one night at CBGB's produced the loudest beauty I've ever heard). All in all, some terrific beach listening.

Before you head out with your SPF 45 and flip flops, take a brief moment to observe the passing of the legendary woodwind maestro Joe Maneri, who died on Monday. Joe was an astonishingly inventive and original improviser and composer, but his greatest legacy may be the wisdom he imparted to generations of musicians. For nearly four decades Joe taught performance, theory and composition at the New England Conservatory of Music.

A few Friday's ago on Give the Drummer Some, I aired a home recording of an unreleased blues number Joe performed at one of the gazillion wedding gigs he played. It is one of the most audacious, breathtaking, heart-in-your-throat 3 minutes and 8 seconds of sound you'll ever hear. To listen, go to my playlist and scroll down to the fourth tune in the fourth set. (When you're done, pick yourself up off the floor and check out more Joe Maneri genius—a recording from 1963—in the first full-album link offered below.)

Simply One of the Greatest Recordings Ever
Joe Maneri  ~  "Paniots Nine"
(A Blog Ain't Too Much to Love)

Unburied Treasure
Guy Warren  ~  "Afro-Jazz"
(Fat Toro)

R&B Sessions in Miniature
Tiny Topsy  ~  "Aw! Shucks Baby"
(Rockabilly Ranch)

 

Extreme! Noise! Now!
Sternklang  ~  "1"
(Blog: FM Shades)

Polish Melodrama Queen
Ewa Demarczyk  ~  "Ewa Demarczyk 1974"
(Blog: Easy Music)

I Dub You Very Much
Blind Idiot God  ~  "Undertow"
(Blog: Colostomy Grab-Bag)

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

Keep America Beautiful, Get A Haircut! Part Three

Had about enough of those swooning, weak in the knees eulogies devoted to the endless commemoration of the 40th anniversary of Woodstock? 

The reactionary records below, made with the intention of countering the counterculture, are offered as an antidote.

C. Dean Draper  -  I'm The Only Hippie In Muskogee  (2:46)

Sheb Wooley  -  The Love-In  (2:14)

Lester Flatt  -  I Can't Tell The Boys From The Girls  (2:32)

Howard Barnes  -  Helluva World  (2:04)

Ace Ball  -  Country Boy At College  (2:19)

         

Other Beware Of The Blog explorations of hippie-mocking records can be found here, here, and here.

Better Living Through Bad Movies - Werewolf Woman (1976)

I will happily wade through hours of 70s Euro muck just to get to one Werewolf Woman. For every three middling giallos that I watch, one Werewolf Woman makes it all worthwhile.

What makes Werewolf Woman stand apart from the pack (hehe)? Alchemy. Getting the horror-to-schlock preparation just right, with a combination of familiar and strikingly unique genre elements:

-Wild scenes of gore, ranging from the kick-ass to the comic, depicting shocking murders, perpetrated on victims of both sexes—by a female antagonist!
-A B-grade Morricone-esque score that's all over the map, from prog rock, to pulsating electronics, from creepy orchestral music to softcore sex pop
-A lead actress who clearly relished the opportunity to bite out a man's throat, throw his body into a ravine and shriek vengeful anger as his corpse rolled away
-Uncomfortably long, simulated scenes of lovemaking that somehow just go with the terrain and make me laugh
-Despite the above, a buyable sexual/repression/revenge subtext; in fact, there are several immensely weird sexual scenes
-Close-up shots of character's eyes, another European trash-horror staple that always makes me titter
-An eventual romance with a stuntman who lives in a pre-fab Western town—wait, what???

Yes, this is one of those....

The movie begins with a scream, cutting quickly to a frenzied, naked dance in a fire circle, and pretty much just ascends from there.

The film is also far from terrible technically, and it's obvious that the director and cinematographer knew how to create tension, and how to film scenes of horrific murder for maximum impact.

Highly recommended.

The Percussive Phil Kraus

Here's another favorite percussion album, to go along with the Marimba album I posted a few months ago. This one is more varied, with Phil Kraus playing a variety of instruments - more than a dozen - in solo and in overdub, and with a variety of backing from other instruments.

I wish this record was in better condition - in particular, the first and last few tracks on side two suffer from a lot of noise, but the skill of the performer shines through, and despite the sonic flaws, I find this most enjoyable.

My personal favorites are "Buffoon", with tuned bongo drums making for a unique effect, and "Nola" which is just one of those great songs which would probably work on almost any instrument, but which is particularly suited for those instruments which are designed much like a piano.

The text on the back cover does a fine job of explaning just what is going on in the individual tracks, as well as giving a bit of Phil Kraus' impressive resume, so I will refer you to that text, rather than go on and on about it here.

1.) Phil Kraus - Hindustan (MP3)
2.) Phil Kraus - Dizzy Fingers (MP3)
3.) Phil Kraus - Japanese Sandman (MP3)
4.) Phil Kraus - Jan (MP3)
5.) Phil Kraus - Chinese Lullaby (MP3)
6.) Phil Kraus - Just Flippin (MP3)
7.) Phil Kraus - Kashmiri Song (MP3)
8.) Phil Kraus - Buffoon (MP3)
9.) Phil Kraus - March of the Siamese Children (MP3)
10.) Phil Kraus - Nola (MP3)
11.) Phil Kraus - In a Persian Market (MP3)
12.) Phil Kraus - Liza (MP3)

Front Cover (JPG)
Back Cover (JPG)

WFMU Broadcasting from All Tomorrow's Parties 2009

Once again, WFMU makes camp at Kutsher's resort in the heart of the Borscht Belt, as we hook up with the All Tomorrow's Parties festival and broadcast live! The three-day long event in Monticello NY runs from September 11-13th and if you caught last year's simulcast from the My Bloody Valentine-curated fest you know that having WFMU is the next best thing to being there (though while we carried a myriad of live sets, we may have fallen short in relaying the experience of having one's nails done in the Kutsher's spa). This year's lineup is co-curated by the Flaming Lips, and WFMU's simulcasts will happen Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 12 and 13. We're still working out assorted artist permissions (stay tuned to the blog and our home page, and once again we'll alert everyone as to which sets may be downloadable later on), but the performance roster this time out includes Suicide, the Feelies (each performing their first albums) Jesus Lizard, Animal Collective, Boris, Boss Hog, the Melvins, Deerhunter, No Age (w/Bob Mould performing Husker Du songs with them) Boredoms, Deerhoof, Grouper, Oneida, Caribou Variation Ensemble, Anti-Pop Consortium and more. We'll have interviews, full sets, probably some remotes from the lake's rowboats, and WFMU will be heading up a DJ night in the Kutschers lounge on Sunday night! More info on how to attend ATP here (rooms at the resort we are told are now sold out however). Hope to see some WFMU listeners there!

Photo recap from ATP 2008 on Beware of the Blog

Assorted live MP3 from ATP 2008 available for download at the Free Music Archive (including EPMD, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Low, Growing, Harmonia, Lightning Bolt)

The First International Sex Opera Band - Anita (MP3s)

Supposedly only sold through sex shops in Amsterdam during a short time at the end of the 60s, this is a truly bizarre psychedelic freak-out of an album. There isn't too much information about it out on the net, but apparently it is rumored that this was recorded by members of the popular Dutch rock band Sandy Coast. It is probably impossible to find the original vinyl, and I bet it would sell for a fortune if it ever popped up on eBay, but here are the MP3s, just in time for your next sex opera party.

The First International Sex Opera Band - Anita MP3s
Anita's First Appearance (Part 1)
Anita's First Appearance (Part 2)

Oh, and despite the title this is safe for your kids, your office, and the FCC, if you don't mind to expose them to the occasional heavy breathing, moaning, and screaming, plus a hefty dose of deranged psychedelia...

Stan Freberg remains one of the most influential American satirists of the 20th Century. He was incredibly prolific and a lot of his commercial work is still awaiting rediscovery via the internet. The blog Juke Box Mafia has posted a side of 1966 Plymouth radio spots that, apparently, features Stan Freberg. Initially I thought it was a rip-off of the Stan Freberg/June Foray styles, as the voices sound so similar but not quite. Other sources say its Freberg so I'll go with that. Throw into the mix some fun sounding, groovy GoGo music and outdated hipspeak, and you've got yourself a winning StereOddity. Check it out here.

Don't Mess With My Popeye's

 

Fats Domino and Doug Kershaw  -  Don't Mess With My Popeye's  (2:49)

Here's an irresistible 1985 recording by Fats Domino and Doug Kershaw, heralding the indisputable joys of Popeye's fried chicken.  If it sounds familiar, that's because it's based on My Toot Toot, which was written and originally recorded in 1984 by Louisiana zydeco artist Rockin' Sydney.

Believe it or not, though, this monumentally great recording does not necessarily represent the apex of fried chicken music.  Nope, that honor probably goes to Pat Kaye and The Colonels for a piece of countrified excellence called Hello, Colonel Sanders.

To hear that fine song, pilot your browser over to a post on Brandan Cook's indispensable Country. & Western blog.  Not content to run just one fantastic music blog, he's also responsible for Lone Star Stomp, which concentrates on music from west Texas and the surrounding area and the enjoyable Diggin' It, where all kinds of miscellaneous gems are cataloged.  Where's he get all this energy?  I have no idea, but do yourself a favor and bookmark 'em all.

And while I am running my mouth about excellent music blogs authored by music-crazed Texans, I need to mention one I just learned about yesterday, Wired For Sound.  Brought to you by Andrew Brown, a first-rate musicologist and (thankfully) former Luddite,  Wired For Sound provides in-depth stories, lost photos and forgotten songs from the margins of country music.  Check it out.  Really.

8 Bit Beefheart

Here's How / To Mix Them

Imagine a forty-year quest for the "perfect steak" , which ends sadly with no perfect steak ever found, after thousands of slabs in the finest dining establishments in the world. This then, is the famous tragedy in the life of Maurice C. Dreicer, mixologist , radio personality, author and Manhattan native. Along with inventing a "device for testing caviar" and hosting the radio programs "Find the Phoney" and "What's It Worth?", Dreicer found time to record the best-selling 10" ep: Here's How / To Mix Them, which of course you recall is the "world's only verbal cocktail manual".

Salt of the Earth (Part 1)

During National Allotment Week, a Guardian Online article claimed that allotment waiting lists in Greater London were up to a staggering 40 years. This is partly due to an increase in demand from the swelling Grow Your Own movement, and partly due to the dire shortage of plots nationwide. The waiting list here in Brighton is a cautiously optimistic 2 years, but for the 85 allotments in the city; 2,000 people are standing in line.

Allotments are a terribly British thing, with a rich history of the working man versus the landed gentry,riots, uprisings and angry letters to The Times. Over 400+ years there’s been enough blood and bone meal shed to raise a healthy crop of vegetables in the pursuit of “free land for all”. Allotments lay somewhere between guerrilla gardening and community gardens.

Car Bras and the Bros that Bought 'em

Where have all the car bras gone?

Did they leave embarrassing tan lines and end up in a landfill somewhere? Did cars become chubbier, unable to squeeze back into their old cup size? Did highway patrol technology finally catch up with the radar-absrobing car bra and ruin the party?

A cursory survey of cars parked on the mean streets of downtown Jersey City revealed the following:

0% cars with bras (left)
1% cars with the De-Fender (right)

Is the De-Fender the new stigma-free version of the car bra? It's more rugged, clearly not made of leather, designed for the rear-end instead of the bust, and is definitely not form-fitting. Seems like a more manly way of protecting your Honda's bumper (bootie?). Have car owners lost interest in their vehicle's front-end assets? Or is there something more to this newfound concern for a car's rump over its rack? A sign of ass-worship or fear of rear-end penetration?

Speaking of bromobiles, you call 'em Iroc-Zs, I call 'em Camaros. If you still have one kicking around, you should donate it to WFMU.

Thanks to Scott, Ari, Chad, Jason, and Alex for their insights concerning these pressing matters.

New podcast: Noise and Syrup with Jeff M.

Hook yourself up to the freeform feeding tube! WFMU is pleased to present a brand new podcast: Noise and Syrup with Jeff M.

Fill-in DJ Jeff takes his show Noise & Syrup on a stroll through the park with the Free Music Archive to enjoy the company of the odd, the noisy and the beautiful.

Click here to subscribe to the Noise and Syrup podcast via iTunes, or visit WFMU's podcast page for more options and for a full listing of our 21 podcasts.

戸 Sichuan pure 労 働 sings comfortably

I do not understand this.

PS. Started a Twitter last week if you want to keep track of when and where I publish insightful articles like this one.