WFMU's Beware of the Blog

Victor Flick, and the British Invasion of Sesame Street

Today's posting deals with two subjects dear to me heart: The ersatz, fake-o, bogus, unlicensed 'cover' album' (for kid's, in this case) on a 'knock-off' or low-budget label; and the work of legendary guitar specialist, composer, conductor Vic Flick.
  Mr. Flick's guitar artistry on dozens of hit singles and lps is well documented, but his work as a composer and conductor somewhat less so.
I discovered Flick's foray into the world of Sesame Street in 2002 whilst compiling Muppet/Sesame material for a music project. A collector pal brought over his latest Sesame record score and not only was it obviously unlicensed but credited Vic on the cover--a must-listen!

Climax Golden Twins - Tues July 7th

Coming up on The Antique Phonograph Music Program on Tues July 7 will be Rob Millis and Jeffery Taylor aka Climax Golden Twins.

They will discuss their musical output, their Dust to Digital rare international 78 series "Victrola Favorites," and current release "Take Me to the Water: Immersion Baptism in Vintage Music and Photography 1890-1950."

Mac and Climax Golden Twins will play records and talk about the dogged pursuit of 78s. Tune in, turn on and listen to them drop steel needles.

Also be sure to check out this recent live set by Climax Golden Twins (via Issue Project Room & Free Music Archive).

Click here to subscribe to the Antique Phonograph Music Program's podcast via iTunes.

Bobb Trimble and the Flying Spiders live at WFMU (mp3's)

<-- Bobb Trimble (r) with Gary War on guitar and Nick Branigan on drums. Along with Kris Thompson on bass and Karina DaCosta on vox, you've got The Flying Spiders, photographed here in the WFMU live room (by Tiffany Camhi)

In his early 20s, Bobb Trimble self-released two surreal psychedelic folk albums: "Iron Curtain Innocence" (1980) and "Harvest of Dreams" (1982). He played a handful of shows around the local Worcester, MA area with teenage backing bands The Kidds and The Crippled Dog Band, then disappeared. Meanwhile, his recordings lived on as sought-after collector's items, and inspired countless contemporary artists like Ariel Pink and Gary War. In 2007, Secretly Canadian reissued both Bobb Trimble albums, inspiring Bobb Trimble's Flying Spiders to come together for a series of special shows, including the Homegrown psychedelic music festival taking place this July in Boston. Backed by the Flying Spiders, Bobb Trimble made his NYC-area debut last Thursday at the Rose Live Bar, and it was quite an event (you can read more about it at Vanity Fair). The next day, they stopped by WFMU to pre-tape a live set that aired on yesterday's episode of Talk's Cheap.

The set included a bunch of classic songs from Bobb's two official albums, but it also included four songs that had never been released stateside. We're psyched to be able to share live versions of "Live Wire, Live Wire", "The Camel Song", "Angel Eyes," and "Undercovers Man" (mp3's all of 'em) here on the Free Music Archive.

ISSUE Project Room: NYC Soundwalks 6/7/09

ISSUE Project Room, Brooklyn's progressive non-profit performance space, has put together the most interesting walk-a-thon we've ever heard:

 On the afternoon of Sunday June 7, a group of visionary artists will lead sonic excursions throughout New York as part of a rare live sonic arts experiment — the ISSUE Project Room Soundwalk-a-thon — a fundraiser and collective public inquiry into the connection between urban space and our collective sonic imaginations.

You can sign up to...
* Bang a Gong for Issue with Swans co-founder and WFMU's favorite drummer, Jonathan Kane.
* Walk through the Brooklyn Botanical Garden contemplating the simulated sound of tinnitus with Anthony Coleman.
* Explore the sounds of Gowanus with Marc Ribot.
* Join a game of urban "telephone" -- the Tin Can Telewalk -- led by Marie Evelyn and WFMU DJ Kurt Gottschalk

There are 20 options to choose from, but you don't just have to pick one! You can experience them all in the disruptive We would like to run past all your walkers, opposite their direction, while screaming songs walk led by friends of the station Flaming Fire. And if you won't be able to attend, you can pledge your support to those who can.

...Speaking of ISSUE Project Room, have you heard their recent contributions to the Free Music Archive? Here's a recent highlight from James Blackshaw, live at ISSUE Project Room on March 7, 2009 excerpt (MP3)

Check out IPR on the Free Music Archive for Meg Baird's set from that night, along with IPR-curated audio from Elliott Sharp, Arthur's Landing, Stars Like Fleas, Carlos Giffoni & Okkyung Lee, Alex Waterman, Arthur Doyle, Teeth Mountain, and much more.      (photo via Urban Zen Sound Meditation and Labyrinth Walk  led by Eric A. Dah)

"Edgar Varèse and the Jazzmen" (MP3s)

Today's post is something I stumbled upon in the dark and dusty corners of the Internet, a tape recording of composer Edgar Varèse conducting a workshop of Jazz musicians in the year 1957. Here is the original announcement of the MP3 release of these tapes.

Edgard Varèse conducts a workshop with jazzmen Art Farmer (trumpet), Hal McKusik (clarinet, alto sax), Teo Macero (tenor sax), Eddie Bert (trombone), Frank Rehak (trombone), Don Butterfield (tuba), Hall Overton (piano), Charlie Mingus (bass), Ed Shaughnessy (drums), probably John La Porta (alto sax)... We don't know who is on vibes...

It might be the first free jazz recording (totally unissued) of History of Music. Varèse might have influenced jazzmen or was he only aware of what was happening on the jazz scene? No matter of the answer, it's a bomb, as this music is 3 years earlier than Free Jazz by Ornette Coleman! We also know Charlie Parker wanted to study with Varèse in autumn 1954 but the composer flew to Europe to conduct Déserts. When he came back to New York in May 1955, Parker had already died. We also know that Varèse used to listen to John Coltrane at the Village.

Between March and August 1957, these Sunday jam-sessions were followed by arranger George Handy, journalist Robert Reisner, composers James Tenney, Earle Brown and John Cage, choreographer Merce Cunningham. The organizers were Earle Brown and Teo Macero who will become Miles Davis' producer among others. Varèse used certain extracts of the workshop for his Poème électronique.

The original of this tape is at Fondation Paul Sacher.

Please excuse the crappy audio quality, it is the best we have.

MP3s: 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19

George W. Husak (MP3's)

 My story begins well over 25 years ago, back to the day when I heard Dr. Demento play an excerpt of a 45 called "I'm Surfing" by George W. Husak. This was during an segment on some of the worst records in his collection. I was intrigued, and was quite glad when, several years later, the good doctor played the record in its entirety, prefacing it with the following (edited) comments:

"If you asked me, 'what is the worst musical performance that was ever actually released on a 45…a record that somebody actually expected somebody to go out and buy‘, this might well be my choice. It’s from some time in the early to mid ‘60’s, and it came out on a label based in San Francisco. The perpetrator of this truly incredible performance is one George W. Husak."

Here is that record, from that episode of the show. It unfortunately contains a couple of turkey sound effects, which were being employed that week, in honor of "Musical Turkeys". I do have a clean version of it somewhere, but have been unable to track it down.

1.) George W. Husak - I’m Surfing - 45 version (MP3)

For the last two decades, I've been looking for a copy of this record, a search that was helped, in recent years, by correspondence with Dr. Demento, to whom I am eternally grateful (not just for his help, but for 35 years of radio entertainment). Earlier this year, my searching paid off, to a degree I never would have hoped for. I found an ALBUM by George Husak, in which he shares billing with his brother Anton (curiously, despite the shared credit and shared cover pictures, it's titled "George's Album", anyway).

The album contains twelve songs, three written by George, four by Anton, and five covers, including songs by Hank Williams and Bob Wills. There's even a version of "I'm Surfing", different than the one on the 45 I'd been tracking down all these years. It's not as completely unhinged and radically bad as the 45, but it does feature - like most of the tracks on the album - a barely competent guitarist who is way too overly fond of descending scale riffs, and basically uninspired vocal and instrumental performances all around. 

The notes on the back of the album are sort of vague about who is singing when, but I am sure that Anton is the performer on tracks seven and eight, based on the text on the front cover. I've identified George as the singer on the rest of the tracks, but could easily be wrong. I will say this: the most amazing moment - nothing short of astonishing, in my opinion, comes during a crucial spot in one of the two songs I've identified as featuring a vocal from Anton. I'll let you discover the song and the moment on your own - to describe it would be to ruin it.

But I also find this entire album amazing, and a very rewarding end to a search of more than 20 years.

Bob

2.) George Husak - Golden Gate Love (MP3)
3.) George Husak - Heartbreak and Teardrops (MP3)
4.) George Husak - Call Me On the Telephone (MP3)
5.) George Husak - The Last Letter (MP3)
6.) George Husak - San Antonio Rose (MP3)
7.) George Husak - Mother, The Queen of My Heart (MP3)
8.) Anton Husak - I Walk the Floor Each Night (MP3)
9.) Anton Husak - Let’s Have a Look at the Bottle (MP3)
10.) George Husak - I’m Surfing (MP3)
11.) George Husak - Cold, Cold Heart (MP3)
12.) George Husak - I’m Sorry If That’s the Way You Feel (MP3)
13.) George Husak - Indianola (MP3)
Front Cover (JPG)
Back Cover (JPG)

Andy Breckman: Beyond Poco

It's a running gag on Seven Second Delay that Andy Breckman's music tastes run no deeper than Poco and Jackson Browne. But like his faux misanthropy and staged insults (fact: he IM's an apology to each caller after every show), Andy's alleged musical Philistinism is a riff. His iPod shuffle reflects a more eclectic appetite than 90% of the station's sneering, insecure poseurs. Andy's tastes are so adventurous that he endures charges of parochialism on 7SD because he doesn't need to prove anything. The evidence is readily available online in the playlists of the long-running, if episodic program, Go To Hell! With Andy Breckman.

Over the years, Andy has hosted dozens of last-minute WFMU fill-ins, usually during off-hours, with little fanfare. As his archives indicate, the real Andy Breckman is a musical connoisseur, a sonic bon vivant, an audio omnivore. From psychedelia to show tunes, from snotty L.A. punk to hip-hop, from Ethiopique to breezy Tin Pan Alley, from Senegalese Mbalax to free jazz -- if it can be ripped, one-clicked at Amazon, or downloaded from a blog in Thailand, it will end up in Andy's earbuds, and eventually on WFMU's airwaves.

The tragedy of Andy's career as a DJ is that, due to an unfortunate confluence of archiving software glitches, server crashes, accidental file deletions, and vindictive hackers (including several rival DJs), audio exists for just one show (April 1, 2009). However, meticulously annotated set-lists handwritten by Andy on Post-It pads have helped WFMU document every segue from every program he's hosted since 1994. These playlists chronicle his genre-surfing musical Odysseys: there are thoughtful concept shows, clever song threads, and sets that reflect a surprising commitment to eco-awareness. Andy's tribute to the 1967 Summer of Love offers a vault of nuggets so obscure that not only do these relics not appear on any other WFMU staffer's playlist, they can't be Googled without circling back to Andy's archives.

Though the audio of these programs has been lost, there is a rabid following for Andy's singular brand of broadcasting. His shows are so deeply revered that obsessive fans have recreated many of his famous playlists as BitTorrent distributed files. It goes without saying that these music-only compilations aren’t the same without Andy's snarky commentary and mic breaks punctuated by droll rape analogies.

Radio Glitch: Unintended Locked Groove

Just saw this video of a mind-numbing, unintentionally avant garde moment on an Indiana radio station (which apparently went on and on for 30 minutes... take that, Kenny G!) on Boing Boing and thought this might be a great candidate for WFMU's Locked Groove LP, Running In Place, an item we are offering folks who donate $365 or more during our fundraising Marathon.

Please tell us about any of your favorite 1.8-second soundbytes, song snippets, or other audio delicacies that sound amazing on looped infinite repeat in the comments section.

Kids on the Radio : 1982 Airchecks

Aloha! The Mindwrecker here, today in my real child-friendly identity of Uncle Drew, with some live-on-the-air audio verite` damage. 

In 1982, cassette decks were my main musical instruments. I taped anything and everything and edited and looped it, to use on my radio show and in my band. These two files are from a cassette of an afternoon children's program going out live on KZSC, Santa Cruz, circa 1982.  I don't know who the children were (now 27 years older) on the show that day (or the name of the program), it was merely more raw fodder for audio collage work. 

The first MP3: You're a Little Kid With a Big Heart,  starts abruptly in mid-story (but near the top, though), as that's where I tuned in and started rolling, just so you know the file isn't screwy.

The second, and much shorter clip, Frog Song, is notorious for my having used a loop derived from it in my audio arsenal for YEARS while I was playing in the band Big City Orchestra; it became an infamous 'signature' sound and has never been heard in its 'raw' original form.

The MP3s:       You're a Little Girl With a Big Heart      Frog Song

                                                                                    

Vinyl Finds: Big Daddy's Twist Party (196?)

Typically, I leave the wacky, zany 50s/60s-style rock 'n' roll nostalgia to my colleagues on and off the air, but this LP, which originally belonged to my Mom, has had a substantial impact on my life and the lives of those I've shared it with.  Terry Folger in particular was obsessed with several songs from Big Daddy's Twist Party, most memorably "The Persians Twist"—probably my favorite of the collection, too, as it's über-catchy and mentions "Paramus, NJ" in the chorus.

Anyone who's done some garage-sale/record fair-type vinyl digging is familiar with the early-60s trend in Twist albums, many of them made by faceless artists, studio musicians and labels attempting to capitalize on the dance craze made world famous by Chubby Checker.  This is one such LP, but unlike many of the other Twist records I own or have heard, this one is truly exceptional.   The simple but effective sleeve layout is designed such that the word "TWIST" vibrates in front of your eyes as you listen to these songs, rendered by the hot, punchy band and Big Daddy's booming voice.

Who was Big Daddy?  I have never seen this record anywhere else, nor was I able to dig up any information about it online.  I've read a review of a 2006 retro/revivalist album also called Twist Party by one Big Daddy, which is not to be at all confused with this one.  This album also has no connection to the Rhino Records band Big Daddy, who were a big hit on WFMU in the 1980s, mostly for doing doo-wop covers of contemporary pop numbers (as well as being responsible for the obscure, tape-only piece "What're You Tryin' to Do?  Blackmail Me?".)

The LP liner notes are unusually well composed, and only serve to add to this odd record's charm and mystique.  From the back cover:  "Here he is, in person, zealous, zestful, zany BIG DADDY, the most torrid torso twister in town. ... BIG DADDY sings em and swings em, his gravel gutted voice gives vent to the driving enthusiasm he projects and you are soon under the spell of the excitement he generates. ... So, if you're planning a party and you want it to be gay and exciting, just put BIG DADDY on your record player and be assured of success.  Invite Mom & Dad, the neighbors next door – all the kids. ... REGENT RECORDS, Inc., Newark, New Jersey."

Yes Sir Thats My Baby | The Persians Twist | Twistin Bonnie | Twistery | Red White and Blue Twist | Twistin Rickshaw Boy | Twistin Cat From Kansas City | Twistix | The Twisters Ball | Happy Twistin Birthday | Twistin at the Pit | The Whistlers Twist

My favorites:  "The Persians Twist," "Twistin Rickshaw Boy," "The Twisters Ball" and "Twistin at the Pit."  (No punctuation per the liner notes and LP label.)

For those of you who enjoy reading my posts here at Beware of The Blog, you can now check in with me daily at My Castle of Quiet.

Pinky Pinkston - An Update (MP3's)

Almost exactly one year ago, in what I believe was my first regularly scheduled post here (after being part of the 365 days project), I wrote about a beloved 45 RPM from my collection, "Beggar or a Clown" b/w "I Am a Loser" by Pinky Pinkston and the Dixie Drifters. This post resulted in a reply from Don Juan Blanco, who wrote of owning another Pinky Pinkston record, and I excitedly e-mailed him.

Several months later (due to my lazy e-mailing habits), I had, thanks to Don Juan, a collection of five further Pinky Pinkston songs, each of them a masterpiece in its own way, and with his permission, I am sharing all seven of the Pinkston tracks w everyone here.

First off is a re-posting of both sides of the single from my collection, which is also pictured above. I've already written about this record during my previous posting about this artist.

Next up is both sides of a single on the Air Records label, on which the artist is identified as Jos. L. Pinkston and Orchestra. Air was generally speaking a song-poem outfit, but clearly branched off into vanity work from time to time, based on this record's existence. Listeners might be able to discern some...let's call them subtle similarities... between the songs on either side of this single: "I Lost My Baby" and "My  Antique Girl".

The next song, "The Fisherman", is quite a bit more energetic, and it comes from a long out-of-print vinyl compilation album, with no further information regarding its source.

Finally, both sides of a single on the American Label, out of Nashville, 'Don't Lock Me Out of Your Heart" and "Why Do You Pass Me By?", the second of which features some particularly questionable musicianship.

I hope you enjoy these as much as I do. Many thanks to Don Juan Blanco for sharing them with me, and for allowing me to post them here.

Bob

1.) Pinky Pinkston and the Dixie Drifters - Beggar or a Clown (MP3)

2.) Pinky Pinkston and the Dixie Drifters - I Am a Loser (MP3)

3.) Jos. L. Pinkston and Orchestra - I Lost My Baby (MP3)

4.) Jos. L. Pinkston and Orchestra - My Antique Girl (MP3)

5.) Pinky Pinkston - The Fisherman (MP3)

6.) Pinky Pinkston - Don't Lock Me Out of Your Heart (MP3)

7.) Pinky Pinkston - Why Do You Pass Me By? (MP3)

Last Testimony Of A Teen Age Dope Addict (MP3s)

Here are both sides of a grimly disturbing 45 made by Dexter Gardner, a deeply troubled teenaged (and self-identified) LSD addict from Kearns, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City.

As the record label indicates, the audio was "reproduced from (a) tape recorded message just before death by suicide."  The original recording concludes with the sound of the gunshot that ended Gardner's life, but the version that appears on this record is a bit more genteel; the sound of the gunshot was removed.

The 45, released on Atlanta's Broadcasting For Jesus record label, is entirely spoken word.  Side One features the first part of Gardner's rambling farewell.  Over on Side Two, we hear the conclusion of his message, followed by a short piece by NBC news reporter Bill Ryan.  Ryan's report includes the information that Gardner's parents chose to have the recording played at their son's funeral in the hopes that some of his friends would be persuaded not to board the drug train.

Sorry about the extreme scratchiness of this record.  No doubt the recording had lousy fidelity to begin with and this particular copy sounds as thought it must have been passed around and mishandled with  great frequency before it wound up in my hands.  In a fascinating side note, I learned that this very recording is available as a cassette tape from the National Child Safety Council, as part of their drug abuse prevention program.  The colorful artwork nearby comes from the cassette's j-card.

Dexter Gardner  -  Last Testimony Of A Teen Age Dope Addict - Part One  (6:33)

Dexter Gardner  -  Last Testimony Of A Teen Age Dope Addict - Part Two  (6:41)

Though he was not connected with this project in any way, I have a feeling Jack Webb would approve.

After the death of Dr. King.... (MP3's)

I wish I had discovered this tape in time to post it last week, but I only listened to it for the first time within the past three or four days. I know nothing about it, except that it is from a reel to reel tape which I bought at least a year ago (it can take me awhile to get through things....), and that all of the tapes from this purchase that I've listened to so far - maybe 12 or 14 of them - have some connection to the  University of Notre Dame in the 1960's. Most were recorded there, or at events clearly sponsored by the University.

There have been lectures to seminary students about various subjects, in-service type lectures and question and answer sessions for newly married couples and new parents, even a couple of tapes featuring a symposium on Vatican II. Each tape was marked fairly accurately, often in some detail. I was looking forward to tape featuring a lecture on the teaching of sex education, given by someone named Susan Dick, but that one turned out to be so poorly recorded as to be unlistenable. 

The tape featured today was actually mislabeled. The box reads "Father Putz: Laity Comes of Age". I was not particularly looking forward to Father Putz' lecture, and I'm glad to say that's not what was on the tape.

Instead of that lecture, what this tape held was quite a bit more interesting, and to me at least, quite stunning. Here we have a priest discussing his experiences on the day of, and days after, the death of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., experiences which quickly led him to the decision to go to the funeral, an event which he also discusses. I can't quite put a handle on this man's accent (sometimes he sounds Swedish to me, at other times German), and I have no idea what his name might be, but I found this recording remarkable and completely irresistable. 

In particular, I'm taken with the speaker's recall of the reaction in middle America - or at least some of those who he came in contact with - within a day of Dr. King's death, which included everything from absolute lack of interest to what sounds like almost a feeling of "good riddance", but mostly a profound lack of understanding of what had just happened, on the part of the white people (including some clergy) whom he came in contact with, and the speaker's inability to and frustration with finding a way to point out the problems in their attitudes.

But rather than bring up more of the things that make this so special to me, I'll just provide the link and let you find your own meaning in it. I have provided the speaker's introduction as a short file (five minutes), in which he makes mention of some of the other events going on that day (including a lecture by Mayor Lindsey of New York). This track really doesn't add much to the story, but it might be interesting for some of you. The main track is the second one, and it runs about thirty minutes. There was a discussion on the tape, after this speech, but I found it to be not nearly as interesting as the story itself.

Please enjoy this, offered as my tribute to Dr. King, one week late:

Bob

1.) Unknown Speaker - Introduction (MP3)

2.) Unknown Speaker - After the Death of Martin Luther King (MP3)

Lost and Blessedly Found: Giuseppi Logan! (MP3/videos)

While it is well-known among jazz fans in New York that the great virtuoso Charlie Parker lived across from Tompkins Square Park during the 1950s—a jazz festival in his name takes place there every year—another vitally important saxophonist was, it has only recently been discovered, a one-time homeless inhabitant of New York, possibly in Tompkins Square itself, as well as in shelters and institutions around the city and elsewhere. In fact, the revelation that this man is still alive puts to rest an enduring and agonizingly unresolved mystery: the unknown whereabouts and presumed demise of Giuseppi Logan.

(This photo: © Eric Weiss)

The circumstances behind Giuseppi Logan's disappearance have long been one of those widely traded free-jazz urban legends. Some who knew him and of his heavy drugs use back in the day assumed he'd gone to prison or overdosed, or both. (At least one website still refers to his death "circa 1991.") Word that he'd been spotted here or there surfaced every so often, but none of Logan's musical compatriots had ever been able to recall seeing him any later than the early 1970s, when he simply vanished from the scene.

After studying at the New England Conservatory of Music, Logan arrived in New York in 1964 having gigged in Boston with drum shaman Milford Graves. Graves introduced Logan to Bernard Stollman, whose ESP-Disk label was the first to capture the burgeoning free jazz scene in all its joyous, frantic intensity. The transcendent The Giuseppi Logan Quartet was one ESP's earliest releases. In 1965 Logan recorded a second album for ESP, then appeared on only a couple of more recordings in 1966, and that was pretty much it.

Here is a short film by Edward English from 1966 of Logan and his son in Tompkins Square Park:

Discovering Your Own Lost Sounds

Mac (of the Antique Phonograph Music Program) checks in with another great blog topic:

Earlier this month, Michael Feldheim forwarded an article about discovery of home recordings done on cylinders from the teens of the last century… (MP3 of cylinder recording here)

Being a collector of disc and cylinders that are more than 100 years old, I know that these recordings are fantastic to find and listen to, yet not that exceedingly uncommon. I have found them and other collectors I know will come across them from time to time. The big advantage that the cylinder player had was always its ability to record as well as play back sound. I am surprised that more of these recordings don’t surface because it is FUN to record and play back your own recordings. At least it used to be. As a child, I have early memories of a Webcor reel to reel machine that the family owned and we would bring out from time to time during festive gatherings. I would find time alone or with friends or siblings to record TV shows, our voices talking or acting or even my aunt snoring. It was great fun to do. Before this, folks used home record making machines or wire recorders to capture local sounds. I am a BIG fan of these obsolete media formats and find myself now doing transfers for people around the country. I have heard hundreds of these personal recordings at this point of everything from babies cooing to confessions of love to families whooping it up at a gathering. TOO MANY to remember! When I get feedback from those who I have done these transfers for, hearing the recordings of dead family members will often bring tears to the eyes of those who knew them and astonishment from those who did not. There have been some excellent compilations of these personal recordings and they seem to be a growing area of interest. Some academic institutions have created spoken word archives of people and events for posterity. Who better to convey history than those who lived it?

I wondered two things recently; Where are MY old recordings and is anyone doing this anymore? From a short informal poll, the answer to the latter question seems to be not that much. The magic of an instant recording and playback seems to lose its appeal in the digital format. Perhaps THE MACHINE has something to do with it? Then began the search for the answer to the former question. I have begun DIGGING in my own personal archives for my own lost sounds. I still have many of the reels from the machine I mentioned earlier and transferring them is a project I have yet to tackle.

Here is one snippet from one of my first band rehearsals. Let’s call the song “Stairway to Nowhere" (MP3)...

(photo by kqedquest; Creative Commons by-nc)

Mae West - Way Out West

This bizarre 1966 album was the first attempt by Mae West for a showbiz comeback. Despite being an extremely talented playwright and acerbic comedic actress, Mae West's final attempt at showbiz triumph was not to be. This album featured West covering The Beatles, Percy Sledge and The Guess Who (to get technical, it is a cover of Chad Allen and The Expressions... to get more technical, it is really a cover of Johnny Kidd and The Pirates. The song is Shakin' All Over) among others. Some of it is surprisingly listenable. West's next two projects, motion picture duds Myra Breckinridge (1970) and Sextette (1978), are also considered camp classics. Listen to the whole album here.

Vote Kennedy / Satan in '60!

There've been a lot of Kennedys in the news lately, what with the Triborough Bridge being renamed for RFK, Teddy's ill health and now Caroline's gambit for Hillary's Senate seat. I know the bracing winds of change are all a-swirl, but the Hyannis Port horde sure do know how to hog the spotlight. Another Kennedy reference, and a rather bizarre one at that, came to my attention just the other day. I'd downloaded a collection of country gospel records on the old Loyal label out of Birmingham, Alabama, and, reviewing the track list, I spied a tune with a peculiar title and went to play it first. Now, unlike telling books from their covers, strange song titles almost always deliver exactly what you're hoping for—strange songs—and this number did so in spades. Here, give a listen:

Bill Franklin: Mr. K. and Mr. D. (MP3)

[I can't say for sure, but this Bill Franklin sounds a whole lot like a feller with the same name who sang "I Died All Over You" and "Slippin' Around With Jole Blon" with Bud Messner & the Skyline Boys for Abbey in 1950.]

Bring Me The Head of Butch Willis

Ah, so I just learned how Mike Patton performed "Inconsolable Widows in Search of Distraction" from the Adult Themes For Voice album (stream). It's so easy, he just taps his Adam's apple! It's more difficult but still possible to do a similar, more extreme thing without touching your throat. Or at least you can if you're as cool as I am.

I digress. Al Breon's very outsider "guitar voice" techniques in fact informed me about Patton's very insider experimental record. Whereas Patton's vocals are sophisticated and forward-thinking, however, Breon's wailing is totally inane and sounds nothing like a guitar anyway. And so he's perfect to join the band of a true giant of incorrect music, Butch Willis, whom you'll find below. On the left is Butch Willis and The Rocks in a really great performance that ends with a fog machine malfunction. On the right is a '96 solo performance at Galaxy Hut in Arlington, Virginia. I'd also recommend watching this performance of Willis' #1 hit, TVs from Outer Space. As with more than a few outsiders, Butch Willis has some rabid fans - accordingly, you can find a lengthy bio and interview here. Apparently Teenbeat Records is working on a documentary.

Whole Lotta Shakespeare Goin' On

Bob Dylan has recently been championing a pair Jerry Lee Lewis tracks on his Theme Time Radio Hour with infectious enthusiasm, ending one recent spin with the comment, "You know, if anybody ever asks me why I do this radio show, I could just play them that - Jerry Lee Lewis singing Shakespeare. That's what this show is all about."

Jerry Lee Lewis, "Let A Soldier Drink
Jerry Lee Lewis, "Lust of the Blood"

In 1968 the inimitable producer/actor Jack Good (whose own life story is positively mind-blowing) embarked on one of his greatest passion projects, a musical version of Othello. He snagged one of the play's lines for the title "Catch My Soul": Perdition catch my soul, But I do love thee! and when I love thee not, Chaos is come again. He then wrote his own version of the play, penned a slew of songs that cleverly played on the dialogue and themes, and gathered his musician friends (being the former producer of Shindig! helped) for hopes of a Broadway production. That didn't work out, so he moved the show to a more rock-friendly environment - Los Angeles.

Rumor has it that Good was actually inspired to start working on Catch My Soul after seeing Lewis perform live in the late 50s. While casting for the play changed often during pre-production (at one point Othello was to be played by Rosey Greir) there was one role that was rock solid from the very beginning: Jerry Lee Lewis would be playing Othello's treacherous friend Iago.

"This Shakespeare was really somethin'. I wonder what he woulda thought about my records" - Jerry Lee Lewis

Reviewers and fans were generally impressed with Lewis' interpretation of the role - because he was basically playing himself. The writers at Moistworks summed up Jerry's presence in the show nicely in a post last year, saying that

Jerry Lee stole the show. He prowled the stage, speaking Shakespeare's poetry in perfect meter, but with no concern to conceal or even to temper his own Louisiana accent. The bright green-and-gold grand piano stood onstage throughout the play, and Jerry Lee not only sat at it to pump the songs that Ray Pohlman had written for him and for the seventeen-piece orchestra in the pit, but also to rake and hammer and tinkle in punctuation of his spoken lines, the most evil of Shakespeare's imaginings. (He fooled with the lines occasionally, as on two evenings, coming upon the corpse of Roderigo in Act V, he howled "Great balls of fire! My friend, Roderigo!")

Items found in record sleeves

Recently Mac brought up a topic on WFMU's e-mail list that spawned a flurry of great responses:

Did you ever find anything unusual in a used record you bought?

Here are some stories from WFMU DJs, please share yours in the comments section.

Mac:
I was just putting away some records and ya never know what you will find in the jackets. I have an AUTOGRAPHED copy of Ethel Merman's Disco Record and inside is a polaroid of her standing with some guy. Perhaps who she autographed it for?

Mike Lupica:
Shortly after buying my copy of Syd's "Barrett" double LP at the WFMU Record Fair, I discovered a crisp twenty dollar bill stuck inside of it.

Marty McSorley:
I found hand written lyrics to Prince's "I Would Die 4 U" on blue lined school paper. (But I found them in a copy of Thriller.) And there is just something about the handwriting that screams "look at me please, I sit next to you in 8th period math everyday. Why don't you notice me." I really love it it's been stapled to my wall through 4 moves.

John Allen:
I found a copy of Quicksilver Messenger Service "Happy Trails" with the R in Trails blacked on the front cover. I pulled out the record to check the condition, and several photos fell out. The pics were vintage 70's shots of women on women w/ toys, and guy on gal oral action.

Joe Belock:
I found a copy of a 7-inch (unrelated to the album I found it in), 6 years after I accused an ex-roomate of stealing said 7-inch. Whoops!