WFMU's Beware of the Blog

Denton Blues; Bludded Head on MCoQ, 5.10.2013

As I said to the members of Bludded Head, for a good, long while, I'd been subsisting on the two, outstanding tracks from their debut 12"—and with great enthusiasm, am now proud to bring you live versions of these four, new  compositions from this unique Texan doom outfit. Studio versions of the songs are also available from the band on limited CDr. 

With two new members added to the lineup (and the original, intact core of Nevada Hill and Darcy Neal), these songs find BH in the realm of even greater dynamics and subtlety when compared to the tracks on their debut; the addition of double bass and an accomplished new drummer having opened up the compositional palate of the band considerably. None of the crunch has been sacrificed though, and Nevada's outrageous screams still ride atop the steamrolling melee of Bludded Head's mighty downbeats.

Doom bands come and go, many sounding similar to one another, with the greatest emphasis being placed on how far apart those gut-punch downbeats can be spaced; not so for Bludded Head, who seem in it to write, arrange and execute great songs, several worlds apart from the sameyness that characterizes many of their peers in the genre. My Castle of Quiet and WFMU caught up with the band mid-tour, and it shows, such that the freshness and intensity of these selections are at a dazzling peak.

Huge thanks are due to engineer Juan Aboites, for capturing the acoustic and electric powers of Bludded Head in equal measure, and creating a terrific, rich mix for broadcast. Thanks again to Tracy Widdess of Brutal Knitting, for the Alchemical process she always applies to my pixel-challenged captures of the band, weaving mediocre photo-snapping into art.

Green Giant, SpaghettiOs, Swanson, Chevy and More - Another Collection of Ads (Exploring My Reel-to-Reel Catacombs, Volume 41) (MP3's)

Last month's 1950's ads and jingles were well received, so for this month's reel, I got out a non-descript five inch reel - one that came to me with no writing, and no box - which contains nearly 20 nice radio ads and music beds. 

I assume that the tape originated with whatever advertising agency produced all of these commercials, perhaps as a demo reel. The ads flow one after the other, with no leader between them, and sometimes virtually no tape space between them.

They range from barely 15 seconds to a few which go well over a minute (those that do almost fade out at the one minute point then come right back for another 10-15 seconds, perhaps for use by announcers who have more to say over the music.

The commercials are for both extremely well known brands, such as Green Giant, Chevy and Keebler, to companies I've never heard of, including Nekoosa Paper and Bernie Brothers (and I can't tell what the name of gas company is, in track two).

There are four tracks which are simply music beds (presumably for whatever use the station had in mind) and a fifth which only mentions the product at the end. There are even two ads which seem to be advertising the general use of an item, rather than a specific products - specifically, use of electric products (track 9) and use of sugar (track 16).

Enjoy! 

1.) Green Giant Music Bed (MP3)

2.) Gasoline (MP3)

3.) SpaghettiOs (MP3)

4.) Keebler (MP3)

5.) Chevy Trucks (MP3)

6.) Allstate (MP3)

7.) Music Bed (MP3)

8.) Bernie Brothers’ Bakers (MP3)

9.) Bright New Ideas (MP3)

10.) Music Bed (MP3)

11.) Music Bed (MP3)

12.) Swanson (MP3)

13.) Standard Oil Yellow Tag Tire Deal (MP3)

14.) Green Giant (MP3)

15.) Music Bed (MP3)

16.) Sugar (MP3)

17.) Nekoosa Paper (MP3)

18.) SpaghettiOs (MP3)

19.) Solo Suzuki (MP3)

"The Hepcats" by Jack Bradbury, from Hi-Jinx #3, November 1947

Today's Comic Supplement brings you jitterbugging animals - lots of them. If you are halfway hep to the jive, slip a nickle into the nearest jukebox and grab a partner to swing along to these two jumping stories from Hi-Jinx magazine, as published by B&I Publishing and edited by Richard E. Hughes.

The Dan Gordon-esque art runs throughout the book, as well as the wiggly-line, brush-drawn panel borders, making for a consistently attractive product. This is the only issue of the magazine available to me right now, and the art is unsigned, but is certainly by the very prolific artist and animator Jack Bradbury, who has a site all his own here.

Join us for two funny-animal adventures from just after the war: the first involving a jukebox rental, and in the second, we learn the 'hep' vocabulary for various instruments in a music store (with guest star 'Tommy Horsey'), right after the jump!

In case you didn't feel like showing up - Volume 62

Earcandy for your eyes

Sly & Robbie w/Bunny Rugs live in Brooklyn at MetroTech Commons on July 11, 2013.

After the break: MV Carbon at Public Assembly.

Real and Replica: Independence Day, 2013

This year, I saw two Independence Day-themed exhibits, of which it would be easy to categorize one as real and one as not, except that, technically, both are “real.” Or maybe one is just as much a figment of meaning-projection as the other. I can’t decide.

The first display was at the New York Public Library, which was showing an original draft of the Declaration of Independence, as written by Thomas Jefferson, along with one of the original 14 copies of the proposed Bill of Rights. Both these documents are extremely rare, and the Library has never exhibited them together before. Because they're so fragile, they were on display for only three days, July 1–3.

I went to see them after work on Tuesday, when the library was open late, and stood in line for 45 minutes, which was totally worth it. It’s hard to write about the experience without sounding like a Frank Capra film. The crowd was large and diverse, and noticeably respectful. Even standing in line, everybody was polite and patient, which is something I don’t recall ever experiencing in an NYC queue before. The crowd fanned out once we were admitted to the room where the documents were in three displays: Jefferson's two-sheet (front and back) Declaration, sandwiched in glass inside two separate vitrines, so you could read all four pages; and the large, printed Bill of Rights (one of only 14 original copies known to exist) laid on a slanted backing inside another, much larger display case. Even though people were allowed to crowd around the displays at will, there was no bad behavior that I saw: Everyone waited patiently for their turn and looked as long as they liked.

Have You Thought About Freedom Lately? (MP3)

As the last hours of the festive Independence Day long weekend pass us by, here's an appropriate record for the holiday. It's a piece of patriotic drivel written by someone named Michael Quirk, and titled "Have You Thought About Freedom Lately?". Quirk himself recorded the piece at some point, and his version can be found a few places on the internet. But for this release (which the record label oddly shows to have a running time which is over a minute more than its true length), the artist is Eddie Paul: 

Eddie Paul - Have You Thought About Freedom Lately? (MP3)

(Whether or not this is the same Eddie Paul who is well known for customizing cars... I have no idea.)

For the flip side, Michael Quirk performed another one of his compositions himself, titled "Lonely Men in Blue":

Michael Quirk - Lonely Men in Blue (MP3)

"Freedom Lately" Label (JPG)  |  "Lonely Men" Label (JPG)

 

"The Great Symphony" by Jim Tyer, 1944

Today we'll have a light and fun post for the WFMU Comic Supplement:  a very cute little five-pager illustrated by Jim Tyer, as published in Giggle Comics volume one, number 10, from July 1944.

The 'star' artist of the book was Dan Gordon, but this well-done series of animal funnybooks features many other fine cartoonists, such as Lynn Karp and Ken Hultgren.

Tyer's exuberant and frantic drawings in this story give a good idea of how his work would appear in full motion; sight gags abound and there is heavy character distortion and rubberiness, which I always enjoy. His wild and stylish work in animation is well known and spoken about here and here.

So let's join our pals from Giggle Comics at the premiere of The Great Symphony - right after the jump!

In case you didn't feel like showing up - Volume 61

Earcandy for your eyes

Locrian playing Saint Vitus in Brooklyn on June 28, 2013.

After the break: Pact at Martyrdoom Fest at The Acheron.