WFMU's Beware of the Blog

Creative Commons workout mix (mp3)

This Creative Commons NonCommercial workout mix is inspired by a little piece of current events:  

Last month, Australia's Copyright Tribunal increased music licensing fees for fitness classes by 1500%. Now, Australia's gyms are faced with the question of whether to pass this new cost -- averaging over $20,000/year -- on to their customers, or to search for alternative solutions. One solution is to play recordings that are not covered by the agreement to begin with. The blanket license for recordings (but not compositions) is overseen by the Phonographic Performance Company of Australia (PPCA). Their catalog includes the discographies of hundreds of Australian labels & artists who've opted to join the collecting society, but its primary licensors are the four multinational major labels. In other words, "Real Music". Or at least that's the language the PPCA uses in its press release. This doesn't mean to say that PPCA members are any more "real" than independent artists (though it may seem implied). Rather, it's referring to the hundreds of fitness centers across Australia who are phasing out original music in favor of cheap cover recordings that aren't subject to PPCA control. The trend was recently spotlighted in this Wall Street Journal article, and these Britney Spears knockoffs are apparently big business for anybody who really wants to make money through music.

For those who want something a little real-er than mock pop tunes the next time they're at the gym, I made this mix of Creative Commons-licensed workout-ready tunes. All of these tracks (except the liberally-licensed Juanitos) are licensed under NonCommercial terms (click the "i" for the complete terms). So other than the Juanitos, these tracks wouldn't fly in a for-profit gym, but they could be used in school gyms and non-profit YMCA types of fitness centers. As long as the song isn't being used to enhance somebody's business, these artists would bee happy to see you getting in shape to their music. So feel free to download and bring this with you on your next trip to the gym. And if you find yourself having to use this to block out another knockoff "Oops I Did It Again" again, now you'll know why.

More about each artist after the jump or by clicking the "i" button next to their track. As always if you like what you hear, you can tip the artist by hitting the $ symbol on their artist page.

Li'l Cap'n Travis - Natural Fool

Without a doubt, Natural Fool by Li'l Cap'n Travis of Austin, Texas is the most addictive music video I've seen in years, maybe ever.  The song's alluring melody is fortified by irresistible vocal harmonies, a swirling organ and the perfect combination of country and psychedelic pop influences. 

And the video footage (apparently circa 1968 or so) of kids tooling around on bikes while wearing crazy ape masks is positively surreal.  I've been trying to figure out where the hell it could possibly have come from, but I have no clue.   Anyone want to fill me in?

Li'l Cap'n Travis will be appearing at the Hole In The Wall in Austin on July 17.

Almighty Defenders (King Khan, BBQ, Black Lips) live at Primavera Sound -- Hallelujah!

The Almigty Defenders are a twisted-gospel/garage-punk supergroup featuring members of Black Lips, King Khan & BBQ. When I say "gospel," I mean these guys are inspired by 70s soul, 60s garage and 50s R&B, but the spiritual message is slightly warped. During their rowdy live set at Primavera Sound, they don't just encourage the crowd to "Take Jesus Christ," but to "take him by the balls...and squeeze". They had some strong words for the pope as well in this beguiling set of spirituals, and survived more than a gag (a Defender vomited onstage, which upset the security guards) to keep the party going late Saturday night at the Vice stage.

Vice released The Almighty Defenders' self-titled debut LP late last year, which is surprising turn-around considering the group had only formed in February 2009. Even more surprising is the group's origin story -- according to Wikipedia:

During the Black Lips' January 2009 tour of India, following an incident at a rowdy show during which Cole Alexander kissed fellow bandmember Ian St. Pe and exposed his private parts on-stage, the Lips fled the country while rumors of their arrests circulated the internet. The tour was canceled and the group members fled to the Berlin, Germany residence of King Khan, where Sultan so happened to be recording tracks with Khan for the King Khan and BBQ Show's upcoming "Invisible Girl". Over the course of eight days, in a typically booze-sloppy Black Lips fashion, they laid down 11 tracks with Khan and Sultan. On June 17, the full group made its live debut, performing a set in choir robes at the North by Northeast festival.

The Defenders' choir robes were in full effect at Primavera Sound, where highlights included the group's epic "The Great Defender", "The Ghost With The Most", and "Cone of Light" (full setlist after the jump). The album version of "Cone of Light" is available for download from Vice Records' FMA collection, where you can also find music from related projects Black Lips and King Khan and The Shrines and great great bands like Pierced Arrows, Growing, The Raveonettes, Acrassicauda and Lullabye Arkestra.

Primavera Sound Recap: Michael Rother & Friends play Neu! and Harmonia

(Michael Rother & Steve Shelley pic by flickr user crlsblnc)

The wealth and breadth of musical treats on offer at Barcelona's annual Primavera Sound Festival hit home with a suckerpunch on Saturday May 29th at 7pm, when I was forced to choose between live sets by The Clean, Michael Rother's new project "Hallogallo 2010", playing the music of NEU! and Harmonia, and Van Dyke Parks.  After much deliberation I chose The Clean.  My consolation prize for being forced to reject other such riches came during the walk over.  The seaside stage The Clean were playing on was only accessible by first walking past another stage, where Michael Rother and pals Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth, drums) and Aaron Mullan (Tall Firs, bass), were playing what is perhaps the definitive piece of motorik Krautrock, "Hallogallo", by Rother's legendary '70s Düsseldorf duo NEU!  I hung around for a few minutes, then headed over to see a few songs by The Clean, one of which ("Tensile") drummer Hamish Kilgour dedicated to Rother.  Heading back to the WFMU tent to begin our broadcast day, I stopped to linger in the sweet spot where the sounds of both bands collided, then procrastinated more at the Rother stage again to soak up the melancholy majesty of the Harmonia track "Deluxe (Immer Wieder)".

In an age where "heritage" acts are propped up to play their catalog on-demand for crowds ravenous to devour them in order to chalk up some bogus experience, a cynic might find something crass in the presentation of this music today; a purist might consider Rother's longtime partner, the late Klaus Dinger, irreplaceable.  And it's right for a fan to always be on guard against the creep of hired-hands, or an artist's alienation from the art s/he created many years ago.  I was prepared for disappointment; I got transcendence.  Shelley and Mullan showed a sympathy to the music worthy of the people who created it.  The power of this music filling limitless space and spreading outward to the Mediterranean Sea bordered on the religious.  Give thanks and praise to Rother, Shelley and Mullan for allowing us to share their set with you.

Later that night, after the sun had set and the Tabaco Moon risen, I stood outside WFMU's broadcast tent as Brian and Jason fired up the set from Rother, Shelley & Mullan.  As the motorik beat kicked in and we turned up the volume, I lowered my head in preparation for full-on drone-zone appreciation, pausing on the way to smile greetings at the guy standing next to me.  Gently nodding, with a slight smile on his face, Michael Rother seemed to be digging it too.

In other NEU!se (i'm sorry!), Rother, Shelley & Mullan will be doing a few NY and Philly dates later this summer.

• August 4 Hoboken, NJ Maxwell’s (as Michael Rother and Freund)
• August 6 Lincoln Center NYC – FREE
• August 8 Philadelphia, PA International House of Philadelphia

September is filled with European dates.  For details, and the story on how this project came together, check Rother's site.

Also check out the Free Music Archive, we're we've got Harmonia's entire performance at the 2008 All Tomorrow's Parties-NY festival available for download.

Other episodes in this Primavera recap series on BoTB: Superchunk, The Slits, The Clean, Van Dyke Parks, Pavement

Van Dyke Parks: wholesome charm at Primavera Sound

Van Dyke Parks is just about the last artist you'd ever expect to see wandering around among the fashionable hipsters ("young moderns" as he calls them), pizza cones, keg backpack-lugging beer servers, and overflowing port-a-urinals at the 3-day-long Primavera Sound rock festival on the edge of the Mediterranean in Barcelona. Perhaps he was the most unlikely artist in the festival's line-up, as well, but much like WFMU, the Primavera Sound organizers have a diverse freeform aesthetic and an understanding of music that spans far beyond what's hot at the moment.

From his legendary work with the Beach Boys and the Byrds, production and arrangement work for Tim Buckley, U2, the Everly Brothers, Laurie Anderson, and Joanna Newsom (to name just a few), Van Dyke Parks has been an overlooked force and unsung hero of pop music for decades now. His performance at Primavera Sound was much anticipated, and added a wonderful element of charm to the fest.

Parks and his accompanying musicians performed on the festival's sole indoor stage: air-conditioned, comfortable seating, civilized. Not only was it the setting, but the music transported your average festival-goer to a fantasy world, in which reverb did not exist, musicians were professionally-trained, and Monotonix hadn't spat on you two days prior. Highlights of the set included "Orange Crate Art," "Black Gold" (the first time the song was ever performed live), a cover of "Night in the Tropics" by Louis Moreau Gottschalk, of course "All The Golden," and "Wings of a Dove" (which he dedicated to his wife who was in the audience, aww). Parks seemed genuinely appreciative of the audience, and of the fact that he was invited to play the Primavera festival in the first place, but I think that anyone who witnessed the set would agree that the treat was ours. Take a listen to the set posted above, and I guarantee you won't feel (or smell) like you're at a rock fest.

Playlists for the 2010 Primavera broadcasts (and links to archives of other WFMU live events)

Some of the festival's artists gave us MP3s for the Free Music Archive.

Photo by Shannon McClean

Primavera Sound Recap, part 5: The Clean (stream)

What can be said about The Clean? In 1978, they were the seeds of New Zealand punk and the reason for the founding of Flying Nun, one of the greatest record labels that ever existed. They carved out a big sandbox for everyone to play in, and their influence resonated not only in New Zealand but around the world. Not only do bands like Yo La Tengo, Guided By Voices, Sonic Youth, Pavement, and their ilk owe a debt to 'em, but many of today's young upstarts such as Times New Viking, Eat Skull, the Soft Tags, Kelley Stoltz and others have the Dunedin godfathers deeply etched into their DNA.

I've personally witnessed four or five waves of rediscovery of the Clean in the years since I first heard them in 1986, and the stuff just continues to educate. Homestead's US issue of Compilation in the late '80s and Merge's double-disc Anthology from 2002 both laid out a complete rulebook with regard to how a band can be pop, experimental and make live attendees flat out dance. Nevertheless, if someone else compiles them again in 2015, it's going to resonate just as strongly. Simply put, the music of the brothers Kilgour and Bob Scott holds up pretty damn well in 2010 for anyone checking them out for the first or 5,000th time.

What's the sound? It's completely theirs but draws on everything from the psychedelic paste of Barrett/early Floyd to vintage Velvets propulsiveness to almost everything else under the sun. In the case of the live staple "Point That Thing Somewhere Else," here is a song that levitates any room in a way that makes you swear the band just stepped out of Conny Plank's studio in Germany with all the bulldozing power of Hawkwind (Hamish's drumming is on a trance-inducing par with Jaki Liebezeit easily). Their jubilance at times (the organ-laced "Tally Ho," "Beatnik," "Whatever I Do") makes the Banana Splits sound like Bauhaus while simultaneously exhibiting dark undercurrents, making Bauhaus sound like the Banana Splits. They created both full studio sound and lo-fi recordings before, during, and after the various waves of the 4-track revolution, making both recording modes work with no loss of the band's identity. As far as other influences, you can hear Arthur Lee, bits of Brit folk/prog (esp. in Bob's songs) and the Rolling Stones, among others, but it's never a kind of forced appropriation; while some bands seem to say, "Look at my record collection," in the case of the Clean it's organic, seamless, and inimitable. Though hardly as prolific as The Fall, another maverick group of originality, the Clean have endured for almost as long while maintaining a completely unique, quality stamp that's often replicated but never quite mastered by anyone but themselves. They're also one of the best (and sometimes loudest) live bands I've had the pleasure of seeing.

The Week in WFMU: 6/28 - 7/4

There is a lot going on this week, beginning right away on Monday morning when Krista Muir joins Bob W. for a live acoustic set with her ukulele. Bob and the Montreal-based artist, known to many as Lederhosen Lucil, will also taste and review the bagels of Montreal and New York. Whose bagel will emerge victorious? Find out on Monday 6/28, from 9 AM to noon.

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Stay hungry for WHATCHYU SMOKIN'?, Trent's and Marty's live BBQ show at East River Bar, Monday 6/28 from 9 PM to midnight. DJs Marty McSorley and Trent will be spinning and grilling under the Williamsburg Bridge -- at 97 S. 6th Street in Williamsburg, should you want to stop by -- and talking to other partiers in LA, Portland, and London. If you do come, bring things to grill.

Special guest "Deep South" comes to Thunk Tank on Tuesday, and chats with Bronwyn and Jay about the perplexing political situation in South Carolina. If you, too, are curious as to what the deal is with Alvin Greene, Nikki Haley, Governor Sanford, and the rest of 'em, tune in on Tuesday 6/29 from 6 to 7 PM.

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RIAA ("Radical, Intense And Awesome!!") returns to Do or DIY with the exclusive mix "The Kitchen of Tomorrow," an excerpt from the forthcoming USA which comments humorously on the changing role of women in American society. On Do or DIY with People Like Us, Wednesday 6/30 from 7 to 8 PM. Hear a bunch of RIAA's other mashups here.

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Evan "Funk" Davies will have Portland's Soft Tags on for a set of beguiling rock inspired by, among other things, dreams and the paranormal. After their gigs at Cake Shop (6/27) and Death By Audio (6/29), tune in for more on Wednesday 6/30 from 9 PM to midnight. Note: Fans of the Clean and the Go-Betweens will be especially beguiled.

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Later on Wednesday Secret Cities, a pop band from Fargo, are on Night People promoting their critically-acclaimed and "Spectoresque" debut Pink Graffiti (out now on Western Vinyl). Hear their boy/girl vocals, dreamy/romantic flourishes, and name-checking of Brian Wilson Thursday 7/1 from midnight to 3 AM.

Billy Jam broadcasts live from Oakland! Put The Needle On The Record will be at Mama Buzz Cafe on Telegraph, with a throng of guests including Mochipet, DJ 4AM, Dawgisht & Naru Kwina, East Bay hip-hop trio B-Pos, and many more. If you are in the area, come by from noon to 3 PM local time. Listen live on WFMU Friday 7/2, from 3 to 6 PM Jersey City time.

On Transpacific Sound Paradise, Rob Weisberg will be airing a live set from Fool's Gold, recorded at the Bell House by FMU's own Irene Trudel. The African-influenced group -- featuring Israeli-raised lead singer Luke Top, who sings in Hebrew -- are back in New York to play Central Park Summerstage on July 25th. Hear them on Rob's show first, Saturday 7/3 from 6 to 9 PM.

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Heard this MJ cover by Seu Jorge and Almaz? Therese played it late last Sunday; on that sultry night, it was a nice track to try not to melt by.

Popcorn AND a Coke, Please!

 I picked up today’s offering at least 25 years ago. I don’t remember where I was, but I got three albums from the same company. These were promo albums, sent to schools to promote a product aimed at increasing the reading ability of 11-18 year olds who were lagging behind, and who were reading at perhaps the 2nd or 3rd grade level. The records, as you will hear, would have been accompanied by a filmstrip and an quiz sheet. The album also came with an advertising booklet and a mail-in form, all of which I’ve included in the files, below.

 

The albums start with a teaser about the story soon to come, and today’s word list. This is followed by excerpts from that story, each one of which contains one of today’s words. The next frame would contain that key word, along with three similar words, and the student would be asked to select the correct word. Then there is a story about today’s subject, followed by more questions.

 

I enjoy the announcer’s clear, precise style of speaking on all of the tracks, but my clear favorite of the half-dozen tracks on the albums I found was “Popcorn and a Coke, Please”, and various things the announcer said quickly found their way into the various sound-manipulation cassette tapes I was making at the time. I was particularly a fan of the way he says such words as “Thrust” (one of the wrong answers) and “Salt” (one of the key words).

 

The subject of the b-side is particularly interesting in light of global warming, having been recorded many years before the term came into use. 

 

The stories themselves, which take up the second half of each 18-minute track, are less interesting to me than the word reviews and tests in the first halves - those first half segments are likely to be like a diamond mine for those who enjoy playing with sound.

 

1.) Acoustifone - Popcorn AND a Coke, Please (MP3)

2.) Acoustifone – So, Let’s Melt the North Pole (MP3)

 

Album Cover (JPG) – Record Label Side A (JPG) - Record Label Side B (JPG) – Booklet Cover (JPG) – Booklet Page 2 (JPG) – Booklet Page 3 (JPG) – Booklet Page 4 (JPG) – Booklet Page 5 (JPG) – Booklet Back Cover (JPG) – Mailer (JPG) 

The Life and Times of Rusty Warren by Kliph Nesteroff

"Everyone knew who Rusty Warren was." - Jazz Drummer, Dick Odette

The early nineteen sixties experienced a comedy record boom unlike anything ever seen before. Every comedian that had ever worked a nightclub pressed an album. Some had high production values and were released on major labels like Capitol, Decca and Warner. Others were recorded in one-take, capturing mediocre comics bombing before an unsympathetic crowd. This was of no concern. If it were in the comedy section, people would buy it. For six solid years comedy albums were among the highest selling LPs on the Billboard charts, often outselling pop groups like The Beatles. Comedians Shelley Berman and Bob Newhart were responsible for some of the highest selling vinyl ever made. Vaughn Meader and Allan Sherman had the fastest selling records of all time - in any genre.¹ All four men were regulars on the big television revues from Steve Allen to Ed Sullivan. They were showcased in every conceivable medium. Their records sold hundreds of thousands of copies and they deservedly became big stars.

Now imagine if their records had been barred from radio play. What if Bob Newhart had been blacklisted from network television? How far would Allan Sherman's novelty pressings have gone if they were relegated to the surreptitious "adults only" section of the local record store? With such obstacles stacked against them would they have become astronomic celebrities? Would they smash attendance records at every club they appeared? Without one national television appearance to their name would they have achieved seven straight gold records?

That's exactly what happened to a woman named Rusty Warren. Against insurmountable odds, she went from tiny midwestern cocktail lounges to well-known Vegas showrooms and ascended to the heights of stardom without the help of radio, television or film. During a time when many women were content to embrace the role of submissive homemaker, Rusty was in nightclubs making fun of male hang-ups and advocating that women shed their shackles and embrace an appetite for sex. Warren has often been described as the "Mother of the Sexual Revolution." Some scholars have gone so far as to suggest that her song Bounce Your Boobies was what eventually convinced women to burn their brassieres en masse.

She invested in bull semen with Barbra Streisand and Charlton Heston. Her record label was embroiled in the Alan Freed payola scandals. Johnny Carson hated her. Jackie Mason held a grudge. At a given performance she would shatter attendance records, be confronted by outraged churchgoers and maybe even witness an attempted murder. Soon she became the highest selling performer in the history of comedy records.

Please welcome to the stage, Ms. Rusty Warren.

Darryl C and Crash Crew live in 1984 / part one of two

For a coupla years now I've been after my pal Rob Wortman to digitize his priceless cassette collection of self-recorded events and other oxide oddities. While out in Cali this past January I was able to paw over some of his archive and I insisted he help me find some of the very early Bay Area hip hop shows that he had told me about back when I began blogging for WFMU, and which had whet my appetite considerably.
   Today I'll start with part one of my favorite of the things I transferred: A very tasty Darryl C and the Crash Crew show at the Stone in San Francisco on May 25th, 1984. In order to keep the files at full quality, I decided to create a point in the middle to break the show into two portions, but there'll be a tiny overlap section at the top of the next part, two weeks from now.
  I had a ball listening to this gig, the show is so theatrical and elaborate; I think this document gives a nice idea of the flavor of a rap show in those earlier days. Not being an expert on Darryl C and Crash Crew I did run across a nice interview with a member of the Crew here. Without further ado, here's part one. Word.

Darryl C and Crash Crew live at The Stone SF CA May 25th, 1984 / part one of two

Afrirampo split, live webcast 6/26 over UStream

Pica and Oni, the Japanese duo Afrirampo, have decided to call it a day after eight years, and are performing what's promised to be a three to four hour blowout farewell over UStream TV Saturday, June 26th at 7PM Japan-time. I had the pleasure of hosting Afrirampo live on two programs here at WFMU (both sessions for download below via the Free Music Archive) during their span, and each time it has blown the collective minds of myself and many listeners. Not just a guitar/drum duo, these sisters harness an entire universe of sound from every recess of their brains and bods and splatter it against the walls at their leisure, alternating from dense, prog-like barrages that constitute what could be a de-testosteroned Lightning Bolt (whom they toured with in 2005 here), to reverb-drenched spaced out excursions though a jungle that evokes the Creatures or Bjork (if Bjork had been raised by actual wild animals), but wilder and more free than any of those above bands while still incorporating structure to their songs. The band calls themselves "naked soul rock", and it doesn't get any more naked the Baka Ga Kita, 2004 recordings of the ladies cohabitating for a month in Cameroon with an actual tribe of Baka Pygmies. Just one side of a diverse, fascinating discography where the band never quite established any particular genre leaning, instead focusing on the joy of sound. We'll miss ya, Afrirampo!

Scenes From the Mermaid Parade 2010

If you missed this year's Mermaid Parade at Coney Island you missed one of the best I've ever seen. It was my 21st year behind the microphone as MC, the weather was absolutely perfect, tons of people came out and Laurie Anderson and Lou Reed served as Queen Mermaid and King Neptune.

I was able to shoot a little video (though not with my Hi-Def camera, which decided not to work) and it's embedded here. What you'll see: Me, just before the parade kicks off; 2) A group called "Chumdog Millionaire" and 3) "Acceptance speeches" from Laurie Anderson and Lou Reed.

Join me tomorrow (Friday, June 25, 8 PM) for another Aerial View II when we explore the world of Facebook "Friends".

Ganglians Live at Primavera Sound Festival 2010

I've previously expressed my love for Sacramento, and have attempted to explain why so many great bands have risen from CA's capital, so I will restrain myself from repetition. I will say that it was amazing to stand in the midst of a crowd of a few thousand people at the Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona last month to see a little Sacto fuzz pop band get some major love.

Ganglians are one of many bands who belong to the reverb-worship cult, but unlike many, they do not employ the effect to mask tonedeaf vocals. On the contrary, these fellahs actually harmonize.

Comparisons have already been made to the Beach Boys (for those vocal harmonies) and Animal Collective (layered euphoric pop with cheap keyboard effects). Ganglians manage to create honest, lo-fi psych-pop songs at an effortlessly loping and patient pace, a pace that can only be achieved by folks who are used to driving a lot over flat terrain on sunny days.

We'd like to apologize to drummer Alex's mom who missed WFMU's live broadcast of Ganglians' set due to some last minute schedule shuffling on our end (we found out that she missed it via WFMU's playlist comments and felt bad about it). Sorry Alex's mom! Listen to the whole set here:

Primavera Sound Recap, part 3: Pavement (stream)

(Primavera photos courtesy Shannon McLean) In getting WFMU over to Barcelona for the Primavera Sound broadcasts in 2009 and 2010, we've sort of come to recognize that there are a lot of elements at work in deciding whether or not we get to carry a certain act over the airwaves. As a result, some of the fest's bigger-draw moments (Neil Young, My Bloody Valentine for example) don't always approve broadcast, though not for any one particular reason. There's managers to consult, there's issues of what the mix will sound like from various ends without a designated engineer in the artist's camp having time to relegate to us, etc. etc. Stepping outside of the WFMU 4th Floor Love Room at WFMU into a world-class venue is bound to be a challenge and of course we want to do the best we can with what we have. So it's always a pleasant surprise when we get the nod from parties we secretly hope will notice our request amidst the million other things going on, and even more exciting when it's a great set and a stellar mix. Everything converged perfectly for WFMU in Barcelona with Pavement's May 27th headlining stint on the San Miguel stage. Mark Ibold and Spiral have especially been vocal and swell supporters of what we do, tour manager Dan was an uber-superdude with us when we did the Sonic Youth broadcast in Battery Park during WFMU's 50th Anniversary series, and Billions (Pavement's bookers for this super-ballyhooed reunion world tour) kindly fast-tracked us through the red tape and granted the station the one and only broadcast of a full set by the band for this tour. We even got a WFMU tent visit from the guys after soundcheck. We were grateful.

Slug Puss

Art: TC

Greetings -- Tony Coulter here, once more bringing you sightly sounds and sound sights. I haven't much to say preamblically, except to point out that some of the sounds were sprung from deep within the Eurock archives, while some of the sights were created by yours true-blue-ly.

Enjoy!

Ergo Phizmiz Remembers Frank Sidebottom

Below is a guest post by Ergo Phizmiz, who pays tribute to Chris Sievey aka Frank Sidebottom (and the main force behind The Freshies), who recently passed away:

One winter's night in the 1980s, somewhere between the ages of 7 - 9 years old, in the depths of the industrial North-East of England, I switched on the television. Expecting the usual fare - a slice of Cilla Black coaxing strangers into a spot of continental fucking, or some old men running about in fields for Last of The Summer Wine, or a cheeky chappy with his hand up a toy gopher's bottom apparently conversing in screeches - imagine my surprise instead to see a monocled man, lip-synching appallingly to some old, scratchy music, accompanied by a small ensemble of besuited gents playing frying pans and feather dusters, whilst interjecting on the left a big man dressed as a Wagnerian maidens blows pursed-lipped raspberries, grinning flirtatiously into the camera.

My world was changed. To this day I still trace everything I've created since back to that single, isolated moment of television. The lunatic behind this sublimely strange moment was not, however, the subject of this article. This was Spike Milligan, writer, comedian, manic-depressive, insider, outsider, nice man, nasty man, and so on.

Growing up, Spike was my hero. Irrefutably and unquestionably. He was the greatest artist in the world to me.

As I got older I began to realise that Spike was not “the greatest artist in the world”. In fact his work is patchy, often unpleasant in its racism, often severely unfunny. But it is usually, at least, interesting. And when it's at its best it touches those heights of the sublime, that extends beyond words into strange passion, that the best works of Lewis Carroll, or Lear, or Burroughs can reach.

But why am I rabbitting on about Spike Milligan in an article ostensibly about the late, great Frank Sidebottom?

A couple of years back, living quietly in rural Brittany, an e-mail hit my inbox from Mr Sidebottom. He had sent a mail out to every WFMU DJ, attempting to bag himself a live spot at the WFMU Record Fair or something suchlike.

Frank wasn't given a spot at the show, and later planned to turn up and gatecrash, a stage invasion!

He even advertised news of this surreptitious event on his website.

This is, undeniably, strange behaviour for a “normal human being”. But Frank Sidebottom, like Spike Milligan, was not, thank goodness, a normal human being, not governed by the same mores and social anxieties that put the majority of us into the sort of boxes Beckett's Unnameable writhes agonisingly inside.

When someone like Frank makes an untimely exit, a one-off who, whether you liked his work or not created something unique in the annals of art history (I don't believe it's unreasonable to speak of Sidebottom in this context – the division between “high” and “low” art is something made by the sort of institutions that I generally detest), it leaves a vast gaping hole in the world. I am not usually affected by the deaths of people I didn't know personally. Spike Milligan and Frank Sidebottom (also Peter Cook) have been the exceptions to that rule so far.

Frank's passing also feels strange because surely he couldn't die! He was part cartoon, wasn't he? Some kind of new species borne out of a passionate night of sordid and thoroughly enjoyable intimacy between Tristan Tzara and Max Fleischer, egged on by too many absinthes and the fires of Esquivel banging out of the Dansette.

What was it that Frank Sidebottom actually “did”?

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 73 (MP3s)

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

With summer now kicking sand in the face of spring, I thought I'd take a lazy, hazy approach to this week's Mining the Audio Motherlode. Rather than get all overheated digging around for downloads, I've poured a chilled beverage and taken a long, cool look back at the past half-year of offerings in order to compile a list of my absolute must-haves, so far, for 2010. Agree with my picks? Let me know your faves in Comments below.

Inspired by this weekly endeavor, I am starting up a 24-hour stream—Streaming the Audio Motherlode—that will feature all the amazing sounds presented here—and a mountain of MP3s more. My radio show, Give the Drummer Some, will air live on the stream, too, every Friday, 9 to noon. Click here to get on the Motherlode mailing list.

Blackfoot  ~  "The Foot Steps"
(Blog: Prog Not Frog)
From the album: Pumpa Joe (mp3)

The Good Foot
For those of us who weren't hanging out in Lusaka during the 1970s, right now is surely the golden age for lovers of Zambian fuzzadelica. Reissues of killer Zam-rock artists—Ngozi Family, Chrissy Zebby Tembo, The Peace, Witch, Amanaz, to name a few—have been coming fast and furious over the past couple of years, but one album yet to get the 180-gram vinyl treatment is this heartfelt effort from Blackfoot. Run don't walk to snag this Afro-pop marvel.

Jackson C. Frank  ~  “Blues Run the Game”
(Blog: Standing at the Crossroads)

Do You Believe in Tragic
From my Favorites of 2004 page: "The horrible-but-true story of Jackson C. Frank is a nearly unendurable tale of bad luck, heartbreak and illness. The only balm is wallowing in Frank's tunes of incandescent melancholia. The survivor of a Buffalo schoolhouse fire that killed most of his classmates, Frank took up guitar during his long hospitalization. A decade later he would head to London and become, for a tragically short stretch, the golden boy of the Soho folk set."

Johnny Zamot  ~  "Tell It Like It Is"
(Blog: Hippy Djkit)

Hooray for Bollywood
Speaking of steaming, give this dastardly boogaloo from percussion maestro Johnny Zamot a spin. His combo features trombone genius Mark Weinstein and Sun Ra sideman Pat Patrick. (Patrick, the father of the current governor of Massachusetts, was previously mentioned in Volume 10 of Mining the Audio Motherlode).

Twilight Nuages  ~  "Twilight Nuages"
(Blog: Mutant Sounds)
From the album: Life Goes On, Love Goes On (mp3)

Minor Basement Pop Miracle
Surely the coolest high school music teacher ever, William M. Lastomirsky gathered some of his students together in 1977 to record some songs he'd written. With zero pretension and a million miles of heart, this utterly beguiling collection of home-taped mini-masterpieces was the result.

Don Pullen  ~  "Jazz a Confronto 21"
(Blog: Horo)
From the album: Love to Hate (mp3)

The Church of Pullen
Tender and tenacious, Don Pullen's piano playing was a physical act of love. This 1975 recording for the Italian label Horo was Pullen's first release as a leader.

Pedro Santos  ~  "Krishnanda"
(Blog: Brazilian Nuggets)
From the album: Dentro Da Selva (mp3)

Prepare Thyself for a Mystery
This completely unclassifiable artifact from obscure Brazilian percussionist Pedro Santos opens with strains of mariachi horns and closes with kitschy, catchy faux-African marimba noodling. The intoxicating totality of Krishnanda's myriad bossa/raga/exotica elements makes it surely one of CBS's most enigmatic releases of 1968.

Jade  ~  "Faces of Jade"
(Blog: Tyme-Machine)
From the album: My Mary (More Than Ever) (mp3)

Beatles Besotted Cincinattians
Don't confuse the 1970 Fairport-ish trio Jade from Westminster, U.K. (whose lovely Fly on Strange Wings is also posted at Tyme-Machine) with this Fab Four–infused foursome from Cincinnatti—also called Jade, also from 1970. This cheery DIY effort is shotful with lush harmonies, perky clavinets, shimmering guitars and psych-y studio trickery. For the latter, look no further than vertigo-inducing "My Mary" (see MP3, above) which turns backmasking on its ear.

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

Unlike Anything You've Ever Heard
The largest bamboo stalks on earth are found only on the islands of western Bali, which also happens to be home to 99% of the world's jegog gamelan orchestras. Up to 10 feet in length, the massive jegog, the lowest instrument in the ensemble, takes two people to play and creates otherwordly low-pitched resonations that you feel before you hear. It's like giving your solar plexus an enema.

Willie Dixon  ~  "Peace?"
(Blog: Uncle Gil's Rockin' Archive)
From the album: I'd Give My Life for You (mp3)

Conscientious Objections from Blues King
Records with covers this fabulous rarely live up to expectations. This one lives, baby, it really lives.

Listen for music from these and other incredible finds on
Give the Drummer Some, Fridays, 9 to noon (ET)
on STREAMING THE AUDIO MOTHERLODE.

Check out every installment of Mining the Audio Motherlode

Sing Along with God

 Scientists and Experts have been doing some serious thinking at the Large Hadron Collider (aka That Thing That's Going to Create the Black Hole into Which We Will All be Sucked). First they thought about the Higgs bosun particle (aka the "God Particle," and that's what the physicists themselves call it, I am not making that up). Higgs bosun is a theoretical sub-atomic particle that physicists think may be the one thing that gives all other particles their mass. After they thought up Higgs bosun, the Scientists and Experts brought in Dr. Lily Asquith, who is a particle physicist specializing in sonification, the conversion of scientific data into sound. Dr. Asquith thought about what kinds of energy might be emitted if a Higgs bosun particle (which might exist!) were to be created during collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (and if creating it did not cause the Earth to be sucked into itself), and then she made the so-far-theoretical data into sounds: The Music of the Spheres! 

What does the God Particle sound like? You can listen to it here, in an article from BBC News, but mostly it sounds like the parts of Fabio's shows where I walk away and do something else for a while. Yet many ancient religions incorporate specific holy sounds and tones, and one of the software engineers who is working with Dr. Asquith says that the Scientists and Experts who have listened to the song of the Higgs bosun have had "something akin to a religious experience." Indeed, whenever I think of what they're doing at the Large Hadron Collider, I say a little prayer.

Primavera Sound Recap, part 2: The Slits

WFMU recently returned from Barcelona's annual Primavera Sound Festival with a briefcase full of blues, beats, rocks, and yes, punky reggae.  While it was a joy to share so much of this very 'FMU-friendly festival over the airwaves, we were sadly forbidden by federal language restrictions from airing much of the amazing set by the UK class of '76 all-stars, The Slits.  Happily, words like "poom poom" still manage to travel unmolested in blogolandia, so it is here that we thrill to share their entire set with you, full blessing of the band in tow.

The Slits were formed in 1976 by mainstay Ari Up and future Raincoat Palmolive.  Guitarist Viv Albertine and bassist Tessa Pollitt joined shortly after; soon enough, they were on the road with The Clash and gaining the attention of John Peel, but it wasn't until 1979 that their first record was released.  Cut, produced by Dennis Bovell, introduced the long-lasting prominence of reggae to the Slits mix.  The trio of Ari, Tessa and Viv remained more or less intact until 1982, when the band called it a day.

In 2006, Ari and Tessa reformed the band.  The current lineup includes German drummer Anna Schulte, American singer Michelle Hill, and guitarist Hollie Cook (daughter of Sex Pistol Paul, as a matter of fact).  By 2009, they'd released a new album, the far more dub-heavy Trapped Animal, on Narnack Records.

The Slits' set at Primavera Sound was a freewheeling and crowd-pleasing mix of old faves like "Typical Girls" and "Shoplifting" and new tracks like "Babylon" and "Lazy Slam", plus some nuggets from Ari Up's solo career.  Ari's charisma, onstage costume changes, audience come-ons and dreadlocks-as-dance-partner defined the vibe of their enchanting Saturday evening set.

The set:

World of Grown Ups
Typical Girls
Shoplifting
Reject
Fade Away
FM
Heard It Through The Grapevine
Lazy Slam
Partner From Hell
Lets Do The Split
Babylon

Firesign Theatre Is Playing At My House

Episodes of the legendary Firesign Theatre Radio Hour are being rebroadcast on WFMU every Tuesday, 7-8pm as part of our new Summer Schedule.

Here's a guest post (including MP3s and a contest!) by Firesign Theatre’s archivist Taylor Jessen:

For ten years or so, the Firesign Theatre has been engaging me in a friendly round of “Stump the Archivist”.

Between 1970-1972, Firesign did about seventy hours of original radio broadcasts. The shows were mostly an excuse for them to riff, but they also played a lot of music breaks, sound effects, incidental music, and total dada noise foofaraw. During those original broadcasts of The Firesign Theatre Radio Hour Hour, Dear Friends, and Let’s Eat, they put the needle on the record about 1000 times, and one of the most fun aspects of restoring all those airchecks (soon to be reissued, yes the whole schmear, in remastered digital audio with an accompanying 108-page comic-book-size color fan guide featuring complete show rundowns, an historical essay, new interviews with the 4or5 guys and their engineer & producer, never-published photos, collages, found objects, scripts, and good God make it stop, it’s just too awesome. Please check regularly here and at www.firesigntheatre.com for an official announcement; we’re only making 500 copies and they’ll never be sold in stores) – one of the most fun aspects, I say, of all this obsessive archival work was identifying those 1000 needle-drops.

Firesign played hundreds of different records on their shows, and they never back-announced anything and kept no notes.