May 28, 2006

Name That Tune!

Name_that_tune

















More Here in Scott's Guitar Face Gallery.

May 26, 2006

Zarah Leander, The Shortest Distance from Hitler to The Velvet Underground

Zarah2_1(20 MP3s and two videos in this post, most MP3s are beyond the jump)

When Joseph Goebbels set out to create a Nazi movie studio to rival Hollywood's dream machine, he tried to recruit Germany and Europe's most glamorous stars, most notably Marlene Dietrich and Greta Garbo. Since both Garbo and Dietrich had already fled war-torn Europe for Hollywood, Goebbels attention drifted to the singer and actress Zarah Leander. In 1936, Goebbels signed Leander to the recently nationalized film studio UFA, and the Swedish Leander became the highest paid Nazi film star (much to Goebbels consternation), and one of the most popular actresses and singers in Germany and Europe. She starred in ten propaganda films for the Reich and was a particular favorite of Hitler, who reportedly found the icy, husky-voiced Leander irresistible.(Leander was a featured subject in the documentary Hitler's Women, along with Eva Braun, Leni Riefenstahl and Magda Goebbels.)

Among Leander's other fans were a young German girl from Cologne named Christa Paffgen, later  to record under the name Nico. Nico modeled her singing style after Leander, and the Leander style influenced dozens of other singers as well. Nina Hagen recorded a version of Leander's biggest German hit, Ich Weiss, Es Wird Einmal Ein Wunder Gescheh'n [download Zarah's MP3, and download Nina Hagen's video of the same song, 12 megs, mpeg format, in which Hagen dresses up as Zarah Leander for the beginning]. And here is a video of Nico singing Femme Fatale with the Velvet Underground live in 1972: [download video, 13 megs, mpeg format] Both videos can also be streamed via youtube.

Continue reading "Zarah Leander, The Shortest Distance from Hitler to The Velvet Underground" »

May 25, 2006

Guilty!

Enron_1










Guilty! Guilty! Guilty! Guilty! Guilty! Guilty! Guilty! Guilty! Guilty! Guilty! Guilty! (mp3s)

Enron Voicemail (thanks Bob B!)

Audio Hoaxes and Urban Legends, Part 3: Jud Jud

Judjud1_1(18 MP3s of pure, uncompromised Jud beyond the jump.)

Jud Jud was the band that was too straight edge for instruments. Every song (including their "tuning") on their 1989 seven Inch The Demos consists of Steve Heritage (in the left stereo channel) and "B" (in the right channel) chanting their manifesto, which consists mostly of the word Jud, as well as occasional feedback and explosion noises. But mostly the word Jud. Repeated over and over again. The Demos contains pictures of fake flyers for Jud Jud headlining over bands like Minor Threat, which never happened. But the hoax/parody worked remarkably well. As one online review gushed:

JUD JUD managed to strip everything away and find the purist of centers. Using only there mouths JUD JUD leave you standing drop jawed with the speed and insensity of a train (sic). A quote from The Demos 7 inch "Our lyrics have always been the most important part of JUD Judjud3_1JUD. We write them separately and feel that is it necessary to print what each of us has to say. These words represent values, ideals, friendships and motivation. They define who we are. Thanxxx to everyone who has supported us over the years. You have made our dreams a reality. Go!"

And a quick inspection of their "important" lyrics is indeed impressive insofar as hoax or not, these boys did come up with a cool new form of musical notation. Each song shows two columns of nonsense words, representing what is being chanted in each stereo channel, as shown for their song X Dive Bomb Song X, at right (click it for a larger image).

WFMU received The Demos in 1999, and although the single says it was recorded from 1987 to 1989, who knows for sure. I couldn't find any evidence of their existence prior to the late 90's, but maybe someone out there has more info. Likewise, with their No Tolerance for Instruments collection - it was released to archive.org in 2003, with claims that it was recorded in 1988, but it sure doesn't sound like it was recorded at the same time as The Demos.

Continue reading "Audio Hoaxes and Urban Legends, Part 3: Jud Jud" »

May 24, 2006

Arizona Sheep No Longer Nervous

Lamb_1 Livestock in Arizona can rest easy again; Governor Janet Napolitano signed a law today making bestiality a crime in the state. The bill was proposed after the arrest of a Mesa, Arizona deputy fire chief who enjoyed the occasional conjugal visit with his next door neighbor's lamb. The new law replaces an old ban on "infamous crimes against nature" which had previously been amended to specifically allow sex with animals.

May 23, 2006

Terrytoons For The Deaf

TerrytoonsAs a companion piece to Simpsons For The Blind, Kenzo has found an old Terrytoons episode for the deaf, with American Sign Language cutaways needlessly describing the self-evident (and dialogue-free) Mouse- and Duck-on- Bird violence: [download video, 23 megs, mpeg format, or stream it via youtube here]

May 22, 2006

Attracting Those Nascar Listeners

Listener Charles in Spain writes Laura Cantrell and sends along these pictures of his proposed WFMU racecar:

"First i'll like to begin saying that i love the WFMU and that i think that's the best radio station in the world, so... as i love it so much... i'll like to help by somehow inside my posivilities and the best way that i can, i think that's trying to make as many people as possible, to know it so they can judge for 'emselves if they agree wiz me or don't.

I've paint a car with publicity of the WFMU for a NASCAR simulator. I hope that this car for that game reaches as many people as possible and hopefully make 'em feel curiosity enought as for come 'ere and listen any of the great shows that you do there."

Nascar_39Nascar_38_1

 

Laughing Yogi, Crying Monk (videos)

Yogi_2Having already posted several cursing, angry preachers, I feel compelled to widen the net, theologically speaking. Here's a video of a laughing monk [download video, 10 megs, mpeg format, or stream it from youtube here] which makes it clear: when choosing between and a laughing monk a cursing priest, always go for the latter. Cursing priests are a lot less scary. (via)

This set me off on a fruitless search for crying rabbi's, sneezing Imams, and so on. The only thing I found was this crying monk, but alas, he's only crying on the inside. The poor guy is learning the Shaolin practice of "Iron Egg Skill," aka "Groin skill," aka "getting kicked in the balls over and over again." Really hard: [download video, 6 megs, mpeg format or stream it from youtube here]

May 21, 2006

The Loituma Earworm Phenomenon

Loituma_1_1 While the metal band Lordi may have won Finland's first Eurovision victory yesterday, it is the lesser known Finnish quartet Loituma and a 1930's Finnish polka that is hypnotizing people worldwide.

A few weeks ago, I posted a link to this page that John in Oslo sent me, of an anime character singing an endless song of what sounded like northern European gibberish. A day later, Kenny G played the song for what seemed like five hours straight, all the more impressive since his show is only three hours long.

But little did I realize the power of this strange little tune until I played all of fifteen seconds of it in my kitchen earlier today, and my wife and kids got the melody stuck in Loituma_bushtheir heads for the rest of the day. (My personal antidote for earworms is singing It's A Small World After All while listening to Jump Into The Fire.)

And they're not alone. Listener Tom forwarded me info about the song from wikipedia and metafilter as well as numerous other links to fan videos of the song. And guess what - the song is northern European gibberish, although the gibberish was added by Loituma, which is the version used in the original flash animation.The original song was called Ievan Polkka, or Ieva's Polka.

Here's Loituma singing the song live [youtube link], the original anime shockwave page, a Dubya Loituma [youtube link], a robot dancing to it [youtube link], the requisite dragonball version [youtube link], with more going up every day. And if you want a plain old MP3 to play endlessly for someone you hate, here it is. (via)

May 19, 2006

XM Radio's Feisty Letter To Subscribers

Riaa_2 The RIAA sued XM Satellite Radio earlier this week for marketing iPod-like XM receivers that allows subscribers to record their programs: [Reuters link or EFF link].

Our own X. Ray Burns is an XM subscriber, and he just received his first "statement to subscribers" from the company, which is printed below. The letter suggests that XM is gearing up for a long hard battle and they won't hesitate getting their subscribers involved in it. Read the full letter here or below.

Statement to XM Subscribers - The XM Nation

Everything we've done at XM since our first minute on the air is about giving you more choices. We provide more channels and music programming than any other network. We play all the music you want to hear including the artists you want to hear but can't find on traditional FM radio. And we offer the best radios with the features you want for your cars, homes, and all places in between.

We've developed new radios -- the Inno, Helix and NeXus -- that take innovation to the next level in a totally legal way. Like TiVo, these devices give you the ability to enjoy the sports, talk and music programming whenever you want. And because they are portable, you can enjoy XM wherever you want.

Continue reading "XM Radio's Feisty Letter To Subscribers" »

Follow Kim Jong Il's Bouncing Ball

Kfa People! Join us! Become martyrs in the path of righteousness by watching the Korean Friendship Associations's Song of National Defence on this shockwave page! Follow the bouncing ball of truth and sing phonetic Korean as we advance the people's army, defend the motherland and let our dear leader singlehandedly keep the leisure suit industry alive! 

Long live the indissoluble union of the working class, kolkhoz peasantry, and the marriage of 1930's jingoism to 21st century technology!

via del.icio.us/propaganda

May 18, 2006

Cheesy Euro Disco To Spin Your Plates To (video)

Enrique_2 Admittedly there's no topping Armi and Danny, and Enrique and Ana are a little too geared to the pre-pubescent market to be true disco. But Spain is in Europe, they do chant Disco! Disco! Disco! with impunity, and those spinning plates and the odd Chipmunk chorus are pretty damn cheesy, so it makes the cut: [download video, 4 megs, mpeg format] More Cheesy Euro-Disco links here. via earnest little cartoon guy

The Old Man Bites Tenderly Game Show (video)

Old_man Weird Japanese gameshows are nothing new, and I follow links for these things expecting the usual forms of horror and degradation - lizards, branding, that kind of thing. But this clip of a Japanese show called Gaki No Tsukai stands out not for what it includes, but for what it lacks - talking and screaming. It takes place in a studio made up like a library, with the participants (including Kickboxing champion Ernesto Hoost) stifling their laughter, screams of pain and retching noises, just like any student did in their own junior high school library. And of all the degrading things I've seen from American and Japanese television, nothing compares to The Old Man Who Bites Tenderly.

The title of the show may translate to "Silent Library," but I'm not sure. [Download Video, 36 megs, mpeg format, or stream it via youtube here] via Attu

May 16, 2006

Condi's Top Ten

Condoleezzarice_2 Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has released her musical Top Ten, and it includes Classic Rock warhorses Cream and Elton John as well as Classical Music warhorses Brahms and Beethoven. Condi declares her love for psychedelia ("I loved acid rock in college - and I still do") and she also has kind words for Kool and the Gang ("Celebration... is such a great song"). Her dear friend Bono's band earns a free pass onto her top ten for any U2 song. The whole list can be seen here at The Red Independent. And you can download an MP3 of Tan Sleeve's Condoleezza Will Lead Us here. (Composite image of 103 Condis by bluestarfolly.)

John Dowie's Hate The Dutch Song (MP3s)

John_dowieA few people have requested this recently, so here it is: a slice of punk comedy from 1977 -  Mr. John Dowie's single, Another Close Shave:

British Tourist (I Hate The Dutch)   |   Naked Noolies In The Moonlight

I Don't Want To Be Your Amputee   |   Mew Wave

Jim Callaghan   |   Time Warp

May 15, 2006

Insane, Offensive Video From The Westboro Baptist Church

Calamity2_1 While searching the web for videos at the edge of reason, I stumbled on more than I bargained for - this psychotic gem from the loonies at Topeka's Westboro Baptist Church: [warning - not safe for work, and highly offensive. download video, 15 megs, wmv format]

As you marvel at the equal opportunity venom of Fred Phelps and his clan, bear in mind that this is the same group that celebrates the death of 9/11 victims, US soldiers and trapped miners, gleefully picketing their funerals, while declaring that anything bad that happens to any American, anywhere is divine retribution for rampant homosexuality. They've even picketed the funeral of Mister Rogers. Mister Rogers. Have they no sense of decency at long last? They recently expanded their family of "GodHates" websites with GodHatesSweden.com. So remember all that when you see them painting Osama bin Laden, Pope John Paul II, Billy Graham, Jerry Falwell, Oprah Winfrey, George Bush and Bill Clinton all with the same brush.

Youtube has a batch of other disturbed videos from the group, but you have to have an account in order to access them. Here is one in which Phelp's unique "God Hates America" theology (which isn't shared by any other Baptist associations, by the way) is explained by a cheerful follower. Their own website is a treasure trove of psychotic audio and video, including this page which has a little movie explaining the theology behind all those crazy signs that the news cameras love so much.

As disturbing as they are, remember that Phelps has a mere 100 followers, most of whom are related to him and live in his Topeka compound. A growing movement it ain't. Read the wikipedia article on them for all the crazy details. (This is the first wikipedia article I've seen that contained warning messages about "self contradiction" and lack of neutrality.)

May 14, 2006

Cleaning Out My Inbox

Eagle_1Special for Mom's Day: Thirstin Howl III's Still Live With My Moms: MP3

More family love with the only known excerpts from the indecent (by 2006 standards) 1921 animation by Winsor McCay, The Centaurs: [download video, 18 megs, mpg format]. More early animations here. (via del.icio.us)

The golden age of the Answer Song is long gone, but that didn't stop Dr. Bruce Thiessen from responding to Neil Young's latest album: Neil Young's Let's Impeach The President MP3 and Dr. Bruce Thiessen's Neil Young, Have You Forgotten? MP3 (via Stereogum)

Tornado in the Philipines? Landslide in Indonesia? Keep track of all your weather porn with the World Disaster Alert Map. (via fazed)

The good people of Swansea, UK would like your support in protesting the corporate fruitflingers who buried Swansea North under 8 tons of fruit pulp last February: video link. (via Tollfreedom)

Yelp along with Thelma White and her all-female big-band with a rousing 1946 rendition of Lionel Hampton's Hollywood Boogie: [download video, 7 megs, mp4 format] If it looks like the intruments are being played backwards, it's because this is a "soundie," and early video jukebox format that was shot in reverse. Another great soundie here. (via archive.org)

Downloaded by accident, but amusing nonetheless: a foul-mouthed Italian sportcaster's on-air tirades: download video, 3 megs, wmv format.

Brian Joseph Davis has another audio art project: Yesterduh, in which gallery attendees were forced at gunpoint (actually, they were paid five dollars) to sing the song Yesterday, whether or not they knew the lyrics.Here's a composite MP3, and all six more can be downloaded here.

Have fun with your mouse.

Wondering what was in that letter from Iranian President Ahmadinejad to President Bush? Here it is.

From the World Championship of DJ'ing, it's it's.. I don't know: streaming video.

Above photo by kittenbazooka. Photos below by Anthony Kurtz:

Anthony_kurtz__0242Anthony_kurtz_1896Anthony_kurtz_5971_16

May 11, 2006

Stephin Merritt's Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah-A-Thon

Song_of_the_south America's foremost indie-music cracker, Stephin Merritt of The Magnetic Fields, will be was Monica's guest on Friday, May 12th from Noon-3pm, as he celebrated the song Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah (MP3), the melody that has revealed his true identity as the Grand Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. You can hear the archive of the show as a streaming MP3 or in streaming Realaudio.  Read John Cook's recent article from Slate here, or Steve Albini's take here.

UPDATE: Here's a lengthy thread about all this from I Love Music, also including Matmos's Drew describing the original panel that caused it all, and here is some additional background from Cant Stop The Bleeding.

Brian Joseph Davis' Greatest Hit (MP3s)

Nyt_music For his latest audio project Greatest Hit, Brian Joseph Davis (the artist behind Ten Albums Burned, Then Played and Voice Over) chose six albums by different artists, then layered all the tracks to turn each album into a single "song." The artists who received the Greatest Hit treatment were Whitney Houston, Kenny G (the real one), The Carpenters, The Police, The Rolling Stones and Metallica.

Here are three such albums in manageable, song-length bites:
 

I'm Every Song (Whitney Houston's The Ballads): MP3

All You Get From Love is 22 Love Songs (The Carpenters' 1968-1983) MP3

My Little Danish Friend (Metallica's Master of Puppets) MP3

Brian's website is here, with more info about Greatest Hit and his other audio art projects.

May 10, 2006

Reds Take Over Sonic Aurora Australis (videos)

Three short videos for you:

Aurora I grabbed this off a Nasa page a long time ago and never posted it for some reason. It's actual footage of the Aurora Australis, aka the Southern Lights, from the vantage point of space: [download video, 5 megs, quicktime format] And here is a nice page of Aurora photographs. Oh, to live in Michigan again, where you sometimes get to see the sky on fire.

Sonic
I don't quite understand this one, but it seems to be a sonic boom that became visible, possibly because it occurred so low to the ground on a humid day. Can't recall where I found this: [download video, 1 meg, mpg format]

Reds2 And here is a piece of classic Cold War era propaganda about what would happen if the Commies took over a small town in Wisconsin. In what seems to be an excerpt from newsreel footage, a small town reenacts a Soviet takeover, presaging Patrick Swayze and Harry Dean Stanton in Red Dawn by decades: [download video, 14 megs, mpg format] via archive.org

Nasa's Robotic Tendril (video)

Nasa_octarm_1Yay! Nasa has finally developed a robotic elephant trunk that can lift things, probe toilets, drag crap around, and yes, capture prey! [download video, 57 megs, mpeg format]

It's real name is the OctArm Continuum Manipulator, and its possibilities are endless. All Nasa has to do now is attach a few of these suckers to their talking robot head Eva, and then they'll really be onto something.

May 09, 2006

Baubles, Bangles, Ambrose and Estelle (MP3s)

Linda_laurie_60s I'm always a sucker for paranoid fantasies, so when Scott dug Estelle's song In the Year 2000 out of the bowels of our MP3 library, I was all over it. It's not often that you find a bonafide Ronette sampling Adolf Hitler, but here's the proof: download MP3.

Estelle renewed my interest in Linda Laurie's (pictured at left) single Ambrose, Part Five, one of the stranger novelty records I've ever heard. For years I've searched high and low for parts one through four of this series, and just recently I found one called "Forever Ambrose." It stunk. Ambrose talks too much, he even sings for crying out loud! Give me the surreal subway tunnel croak of "Just Keep Walkin" anytime: download MP3

After hearing Linda Laurie again, it sparked these two Public Service Announcements from Mary of the Shangri-Las. I could listen to her say "bauble" all night long: download Taste Tip 1   |   Taste Tip 2

May 08, 2006

Dusty Foggo and Nine Fingers Bassett

Dusty_foggo_79_1 I didn't think they made names like this anymore.

Dusty and "Nine Fingers" were regulars at the CIA's "poker and hooker"  team-building sessions (at the Watergate Hotel, of course) that lurk behind Porter Goss's Friday night dismissal as CIA chief:

I'm being intentionally vague about what Dusty and Nine Fingers did, because their actions are unimportant. Dusty happens to be the number three man at the CIA, but to focus on such issues merely distracts from the core point.

Focus on the fact that their names are Dusty Foggo and "Nine Fingers" Bassett. Say the names slowly to yourself: Dusty Foggo. Nine Fingers Bassett.

Nine_fingersNo doubt, the liberal media will soon be punishing Dusty and Nine Fingers for exercising their God-given right to play poker and hire hookers. Bah. When names like Dusty Foggo and Nine Fingers Bassett emerge from the morass, attention must be paid, and it must be paid, irregardless of party affiliation or specific poker and hooker strategy.

Dusty Foggo and "Nine Fingers" Bassett are great Americans who receive expedited admission into the pantheon of funny Republican names, already populated by such greats as Spiro Agnew, Bebe Robozo, Newt Gingrich, Scooter Libby, Admiral Poindexter, or the reigning champion, Curveball. But Curveball's reign now ends. There's a new kid in town. Two of 'em, in fact.

All Hail Dusty and Nine Fingers. Your names are a gift to all of humanity.

Cleaning Out My Inbox

Artzybasheff_cybernetics_e52apr It's been a long time. The old inbox is bursting at the seams.

Best homoerotic fight scene ever: [download video, 24 megs, mpeg format] via Fulminatia, RIP

A few people pointed out that the dancing fedora man in this Howlin Wolf video was Son House. Here's Son House playing, not dancing: [download video, 38 megs, mpeg format] via dailymotion

When it wasn't trying to overthrow Central American countries, The United Fruit Company (Chiquita Banana) was rewriting its jingles to combat world hunger, by urging people to eat more Chiquita Bananas! [download MP3] thanks, Stark Effect!

The artwork on this page is by Boris Artzybasheff, an incredible Russian illustrator whose work has just been collected posthumously into a new volume called As I See. via Irwin.

Anime-based annoyance that never ends (shockwave page), via Listener John in Oslo.

Artzy4 Being Helpful as an act of subversion. Thanks Kenzo!

20 Sounds That Must Die.

Various rapper-based chip products, via Listener Nell.

The complete Internal Revenue Code Podcast Project, via listener Tom. (Nobody tell Kenny G!)

Artzy5How to turn your telephone into a transmitter.

Stanley Kubrick's pre-film work as a photographer.

Virtual Miss Germany, Ich Liebe Dich.

Early Wright Brothers photographs, via tollfreedom

This qualifies as cheesy euro-disco, I guess. It's got a mirrored ball, after all: Petey and Jaydee's Na Na Na: streaming video link, shades of the hamsterdance.

In case you missed it, we're up to 64 Stairways to Heaven, roughly twice as many as we started with. And don't miss the incredible backwards Stairway video, from Listener Neil's blog.

May 06, 2006

Ramayana Monkey Chant (video)

RamayanaHere is actual footage of the last WFMU staff meeting, or the Ramayana Monkey Chant from the 1992 documentary Baraka, as you prefer:

[download video, 11 megs, mpeg format].

This particular Ketjak is something to look at, but it's quite tame sonically, as monkey chants go. For a more rousing audio rendition of this dramatic reenactment of the battle between King Rama and the evil Lord Ravana, check out ubuweb's Ketjak page here. via peremeny

May 05, 2006

Stairways to Heaven, Stairways to Hell (MP3s)

Photo2 Here are 101 versions of the song that doesn't remain the same, depending on whether it's the the Australian music hall version, the Gilligan's Island version, the backwards version, the backwards splice-and-dice quarter note version, the glass harmonica version, the Doors version, the reggae version and on and on (all MP3s). Much of this came from former FMU DJ KBC's CD of the same name, which took much of it's content from this 1992 LP.


Dusty Cowshit   |   Hard-Ons   |   Little Roger & The Goosebumps   |   Rock Lobsters

Neil Pepper   |   SCTV   |   Glass Harp   |   Leonard Teale   |   Beatnix

Jimmy3bLudwig Von 88   |   Leif Norbergs   |   John Paul Young   |   Pardon Me Boys

Kalocin   |   Fargone Beauties   |   Richard Cheese   |   Robyne Dunn

Rolf Harris   |   GS Incorporated   |   Australian Doors Show 

Dixie Power Trio   |   Kate Ceberano & Ministry of Fun   |   Thomas Dimuzio

Sandra Kahn & Michael Turkic   |   Pat Boone   |   Tiny Tim & Brave Combo

Nashville Super Pickers   |   Congo Natty

Foo Fighters   |   Vienna Symphonic Orchestra   |   Dolly Parton

Nileppez Del   |   Dread Zeppelin   |   Leningrad Cowboys & The Red Army Chorus

Frank Zappa   |   Vegimite Reggae

UPDATE: Dutch artist Jeroen Offerman learned how to sing Stairway backwards. Here's a page about it from listener Neil's blog, with the full video. Thanks Mike and Neil!

UPDATE 2: Here's version number 39, an instrumental from Redd Kross. Thanks Arthur!

UPDATE 3: Here are a batch more versions I received since my original post. Click below the jump for 17 more Stairways:

Continue reading "Stairways to Heaven, Stairways to Hell (MP3s)" »

May 02, 2006

Songs Of Energy Crises Past (MP3s)

Energy_crisis__oil_sold_out(MP3s: nine of 'em in this post)

With gas heading north of three bucks a gallon, let's take a stroll down memory lane to those bad old days of 1973 and 1979, when an entire generation of Americans was raised while waiting on line for gasoline. Eventually, the situation grew so dire that a batch of novelty songs came out about it, which I am going to share with you here, whether you like it or not:

Diana Gardiner - President Nixon, Don't Ration My Gas (MP3)
Despite Diana's pleas, the US did implement a form of rationing in 1973, using the last digit of a car's license plate to determine if gas could be purchased on an odd- or even-numbered day of the month. The restrictions remained in place until 1976, although they were largely ignored after mid-1974.

Bobby B. Baker - Take Your Oil and Shove It (MP3)
A musical response to David Allen Coe's Take This Job and Shove It, using the Iranian Revolution and Hostage Crisis and the subsequent second energy crisis in 1979 as the backdrop.

Gas_crisis2 Bobby Butler - Cheaper Crude Or No More Food (MP3)
A song of economic retribution written by Brent Burns in 1979, this song was supposedly the only song ever played on the Paul Harvey show, selling hundreds of thousands of copies within a few days. Today, the specter of $1.50 per gallon of gas seems so... quaint.

Newark Boys Choir - N-R-G (MP3)
Using a solar-powered wah wah pedal, the Newark Boys Choir take President Carter's cardigan sweater and "moral equivalent of war" speech to heart in 1979, urging people to make incremental sacrifices around the house to save energy.

Continue reading "Songs Of Energy Crises Past (MP3s)" »

May 01, 2006

Slide Guitarist Who Uses His Mouth and a Teaspoon (video)

Mouth_slide Here's a video of an unidentified guitar player who is picking with his right hand, chording with his left hand and playing slide (with a spoon, no less!) with his mouth. So far, nothing is known about the guitar player or whether his technique is unique to him or not. Thanks to Doug by way of Adam Lore, via Billy Hutchinson, and the Cat Head list. [download video, 6 meg, mpg format]

Doug reports that the video might come from a documentary by David Kramer called Karoo Kitaar Blues. If this is correct, the guitarist's name is Hannes Coetzee.

April 30, 2006

Audio Hoaxes and Urban Legends, Part 2: The Shuttleworth Family (MP3s)

John_s_1 Meet the Shuttleworths - John, Mary, Darren and Karen. Armed only with a casio keyboard, Karen's atonal recorder solos and four-part harmonies, they're Sheffield, England's version of the Cowsills.

Too bad they never existed.

Here are the contents of a Shuttleworth Family demo tape that made the rounds of the cassette underground in the mid-1990's before being roundly dismissed as a hoax. And like so many good hoaxes (and especially the Linda McCartney Hey Jude tape, I wanted to believe it so bad that it was hard to accept that it wasn't real. When I first got a copy of the tape, the late great Vanilla Bean told me that the tape had been submitted to a British record label as a genuine demo tape. Upon playing it on the air though, listeners started reporting to the Bean and I that the tape was a fake.

It turns out that the demo tape was merely the first incarnation of John Shuttleworth, a creation of British comic Graham Fellows. BBC Radio 4 actually did a four-part radio series in 2004 called The Shuttleworths, which can be downloaded via Graham Fellow's wikipedia page. Fellows also has created a John Shuttleworth homepage here. (Fellows also recorded the punk-novelty hit Jilted John: [streaming realaudio link from Mosurock's 6/3/2002 show.]

Pictured above: John Shuttleworth, as I imagined him. Below, the contents of the mid-90's tape. The Shuttleworths were so much more fun when I thought it was real. But the voice of Mary Shuttleworth really should have tipped me off - she sounds like the female voices of Monty Python's Terry Jones. But I wanted to believe. Which is the mark of a good hoax.

All MP3s:

My Wife Died In 1970   |   The Shuttleworths   |   Catch The Fox

I'm Swimming With Sharon   |   Incident On The Snake Pass

I'm A Modern Man   |   British Family   |   Abba Medley

Demo Tape Introduction

Here is Part One and Part One & 1/2 of this series.

April 28, 2006

Go Satan Go by Messer Chups (video)

Messer_chups_1 In the absence of a This Week In Sex this week, here's a somewhat smutty video by the great Russian / German band Messer Chups, also occasionally known as Messer Fur Frau Muller. This is the fun and smutty video for the song Go Satan Go, from their CD Vamp Babes: [download video, 10 meg, mpeg format]. It's not safe for work, in a soft-porn, cleavage-in-your-face kind of way. You can listen to more Messer Chups and Messer Fur Frau Muller tracks from the WFMU archives - links here and here. via sugarjar
 

April 27, 2006

When Preachers Cuss, Part 2: Gene Scott (video)

Gene_scott2_1When I posted the amazing filthy preacher from public access TV the other day, I totally forgot to give props to the man who blazed this particular trail: the late, great Dr. Gene Scott.

Here's the good doctor on the attack, throwing out every rule in the televangelist / NPR fundraising handbook, frothing at the mouth and insulting his viewers, one of whom Scott challenges to a duel: [download video, 9 megs, mpeg format]

I love how he even denies that he's cursing. They don't make 'em like Gene Scott anymore. In the middle of his 30-year career, the FCC stripped Scott of 15 million dollars worth of broadcast stations.  His response was to form the FCC Monkey band, a clip of which you can download on this post by The Professor, along with more info and video links to the mad doctor.

You can still talk to Gene Scott at his website. He died last year, but minor details like that never shut him up before.

Nightmares of DJs Past (MP3s)

Eddie_lawrence_1 Here are Eddie "The Old Philosopher" Lawrence's two DJ Philosopher songs, providing a glimpse into the radio nightmares of commercial jocks of the 1950's.

My own radio nightmares are firmly rooted in the analog era - having ten seconds left on a track with nothing else cued up, scrambling to find another record to play, and that moment of having ten seconds to go stretches out to an eternity.

Digital DJ'ing allows reality to exceed anything my sleeping imagination could cook up. A few years ago, I was DJ'ing during WFMU's RNC Remix. I had no records pulled at all - I was DJ'ing exclusively with MP3s that night, using the DJ program Traktor. At about about the halfway mark of the show, some of my MP3s stopped playing. As I started looking over my playlist of 150 tracks, they all started disappearing before my very eyes. Unknown to me, someone in another room was moving the entire MP3 library, vaporizing the tracks I had pulled and prepared for my show.

Give me going to school naked anyday.

The DJ Philosopher (MP3)
The DJ Philosopher Returns (MP3)

Thanks to Joe S. for Part Two!

April 26, 2006

Black and Lily White Fantasy: (Howlin Wolf and the Three Suns videos)

A study in contrasts: these two videos have been hanging out on my hard drive for too long, and now I realize that they belong together.

Howlin_wolf Three_suns First, Howlin Wolf rocking out to Dust My Broom at the ever-swank Pro-Tec-Tive Club, complete with a sax player: [download video, 10 megs, Quicktime file] via dailymotion

And here are The Three Suns cheese-rocking to Beyond The Blue Horizon in a studio somewhere: [download video, 6 megs, MP4 file] via Prelinger.

April 25, 2006

Islam, Judaism and Christianity: Connected at The Orb

24iranl When Monica alerted us all to this 100% unretouched picture of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, I knew that I had seen part of it before. It wasn't Mahmoud's Steve-Martin-like attire, it wasn't that bank of microphones so familiar to me from my under-attended press conferences here at WFMU. No, it was the orb rising up behind Ahmadinejad's head. This is the  exact same orb that provided the magnetic force which powered Mose's parting of the red sea, as shown in the 100% unretouched Redseaphotograph shown on the right. (I cropped the orb out of the photo for our collective safety.) And it is the exact same orb that appears in the kabbalah image below.

So if our extraterrestrial overlords are pulling the strings on all three of the world's major religions, why can't we all get along? My theory (now proven) is that the shape-shifting reptiles are twisting our normal perception of reality to their own ends.

Want proof? You got it. Monarca, the artist behind the Red Sea image at right, was recently giving a radio interview on the matter of UFOs relation to The Bible when the reptoid humanoids twisted her words around. First off, here is Monarca's wonderful Bible and UFOs website, which contain many of her well-documented photographs of Kabalah_orb_1the biblical era. And here are the backmasked excerpts of her radio interview in which the reptilian humanoids (Annunakis, no doubt) slither around her larynx and force words out of her mouth which belie their true motives.

If you want more gloriously unretouched photographs of UFOs and their relation to the funky western civilization, go here.

April 24, 2006

God Curses a Blue Streak on Public Access TV (video)

Spirit_of_truthGod apparently had his own show on Los Angeles public access TV in 1997, but before you dive in and download the video, [download link, 31 megs, mpeg format] be forewarned! God has quite a mouth on him! And God's camera operator hasn't quite learned how to control the zoom button yet. But what business is that of yours? God and his camera operator don't give a fuck what you think, beyotch! 

Youtube user Victah recorded this show (called either One Man Show or Spirit of Truth) off public access TV, and edited one episode down to eight minutes of the finest moments in the word of God, including liberal and creative use of the F-word, like the immortal line, "you figured me out, you fucking nincom-fucking-poop."

Thanks to Resident Clinton for sending this gem along. You can stream it (with an account) at youtube here.

April 06, 2006

Human Feedback Machine (video)

LukeWhat happens when a man covered in microphones walks into a room covered with speakers? Feedback. Lots of it.

[download video, 3 meg Quicktime file]

Luke Larsener, via project singe

April 05, 2006

Build-A-Face Tool

BuildafaceArtnatomy has developed a cool interface for "teaching the biomechanical foundations of facial expression." But fuck that, it's fun to make the artnatomy face do weird things, bring the skull to the foreground, add muscles, purse the lips, raise an eyebrow and on and on. To dive in, go there, then click on "application," then got to "Level Two," and focus on the tools in the "movements" column. via that madman Hemaworstje.

The Japanese Codpiece Suspender Mystery, Revealed (video)

Higashino_imada Of the 480 or so pictures that have appeared on the WFMU homepage in the last six years or so, none has elicited more response than the two gentlemen with the slingshot thongs pictured at right. (You can see all the homepage pictures here.) Many have requested this picture's removal, others have simpply averted their eyes and several have speculated that it was a picture of two memberrs of the Japanese band Peelander Z (who provided an important public service by scaring the hell out of Andy Breckman at Maxwells).

Unfortunately, I never had any idea what this picture was about until last night, when I stumbled across the answer: [download video, 5 meg quicktime file]. What you will see on this video clip are Japanese comedians Koji Imada and Koji Higashino in a skit entitled the After School Electromagnetic Wave Club. It seems to be some kind of fake public service announcement addressing the Japanese scourge of subway frottage, also known by it's Italian name, Mano Morta (dead hand). But I defer to any native Japanese speakers out there to set me straight on the exact content of the skit.

Thanks to Nick the Bard and Boingboing for resolving the mystery.

April 04, 2006

Interpreting the Recent FCC Fines

Censorship_2 For over 20 years, it's been my job to translate the FCC's ever-changing pronouncements on naughty language into internal WFMU policy. One thing I've often told people is that you can't pay attention to what the FCC says about indecency, you have to pay attention to what they actually do, and what they do (in terms of monetary fines and so on) is constantly changing. With last month's three indecency decisions and their recent record-breaking fines, this task is becoming near-impossible.

Here's a great article I've found on the subject, by our FCC attorney (and former Howard Stern writer) Harry Cole. Harry breaks down the FCC's latest gyrations on the F-word, the S-word, pixilation, and the lesser evils of words like wang.

The Indecency Sheriff Is Still In Town
FCC tries (with limited success) to clarify policies

by Harry F. Cole, Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth, PLC

After months of anticipation, in March the FCC released three decisions addressing questions of broadcast indecency and profanity. In the FCC's view, these decisions clarify that regulatory crazy-quilt and provide useful and consistent guidance to all affected regulatees.

But out here in the real world, the Commission's decisions provide little more than a mishmash of conflicting results, questionable distinctions, pseudo-"analysis" and virtually no certainty.

Except that the Commission does, conclusively and unequivocally, announce that "shit" is to be deemed right up there with "fuck" as the two words in the English language worthy of being, among other things, "presumptively profane."

Continue reading "Interpreting the Recent FCC Fines" »

April 03, 2006

That Three Million Dollar Teen Sex Orgy (video)

WihtatraceThe FCC smashed all its previous records a few weeks ago when it leveled a three million dollar fine against a batch of CBS television stations for a Teen Sex Orgy scene in the show Without A Trace. So, what does a three million dollar Teen Sex Orgy look like? Funny you should ask. I happen to have one - the very one - right here! [download video, 2 meg wmv file]

Now before you dive right in, don't forget that it's only OK to look at this video if you're outraged by it. If you're titillated by it then it's illegal. And even if you are outraged,  it's only OK to watch it if you're outraged in the exact right way. But, assuming that you do get outraged in the exact right way, then it's perfectly acceptable to watch this clip over and over and over again in all of it's delectable decadence. How else to explain that the only place I could find this clip was on the website of the well known Anti-Teen Sex Orgy group, The Parent's Television Council, at the bottom of a detailed summary of all the hot teen sex acts which must never be permitted onto the nation's airwaves! [Link to the PTC page.]

Bear in mind that within the context of this Without A Trace episode, the Teen Sex Orgy in question was a bad thing. Someone died, and kids got grounded and stuff. Don't you see? CBS was trying to show that Teen Sex Orgies have a dark side, too. But the stations got fined three million bucks anyway. And then the PTC (the lead censorship lobbying group in the country) offers the same clip for download, again showing the Teen Sex Orgy to be a bad thing, but this time, using the clip to urge people to prevent others from watching it.

So keep that clear as you watch the Teen Sex Orgy. Yes, it is bad. It is very bad. But more important than that, it is so bad that others must not be permitted to see it. Keep that in mind as you watch it again and again, writing down every hot teen sex act in minute detail.

March 31, 2006

Audio Hoaxes and Urban Legends, Part One

Linda_1Since it's April Fool's Day eve, I thought I would kick off a new series on audio hoaxes and urban legends, dedicated to those pieces of sound that get passed around as something they ain't. (Don't forget, radio people, the FCC's got a bona fide hoax policy!)

We kick off this series with the legendary (alleged) Linda McCartney soundboard tape. The jury is still out on this one. It is supposedly a tape of Linda McCartney's isolated microphone from the soundboard of a Wings concert. "Linda" the backup singer howls like a banshee through a version Hey Jude, all the way to the most discordant "na na na's" you've ever heard. I got this tape from drummer Samm Bennett about ten years ago, and started playing it on the air. Someone told me that it was a hoax created by a DJ in Boston, and at the end of this MP3, you can hear the DJ starting to talk. The person who declared this to be a hoax sounded authoritative on he subject, but I can't for the life of me recall any details about it. Doing a brief online search today, I found no indication of either the authenticity of the tape, or the lack thereof. If you have any info on it, pipe in! [download Linda MP3]

UPDATE: And speaking of Hey Jude and hoaxes, here's a breaking April Fool's Day hoax that Paul McCartney openly admits that he stole Hey Jude from a group called The Zephyrs who had submitted the song to Apple records on a demo. Link with audio

Elvis_christDave the Spazz now brings us back to the golden age of Elvis-is-Alive-ism, from the early 1980's. When Major Bill Smith (of Hey Paul, Hey Paula fame) was making the radio rounds, peddling audio tapes which proved that Elvis could not be dead. To his credit, Major Bill Smith was not claiming that Elvis has risen from the dead, he was merely claiming that The King had never actually died in the first place. I mean, Smith wasn't crazy!  These tapes are from 25 years ago, almost to the day. Part one has a fake session of "Elvis" re-recording Loving You, when he suddenly interrupts things to announce President Reagan's attempted assassination. Part two has a muddy recording of a fake Elvis explaining why he faked his own death - something about wanting to get in shape in Hawaii. [Download MP3s: Elvis Part One   |   Elvis Part Two]

World's Cheapest Radio Station Shut Down

RaghavstationA poor electronics repairman in India built himself a popular FM station for less than a dollar, turned it into a great resource for his rural community, only to find the station shut down by the government for lacking the necessary license fee. Raghav Mahato built his station for less than 50 rupees (one dollar), out of spare parts found in his electronics shop.

"I broadcast melodious Hindi songs, news, information about crimes in the region, programmes to create awareness on AIDS, on polio eradication and on literacy and agriculture," said Mahto in an interview with newkerala.com.

But Raghav's station, Raghav FM Mansoorpur 1, ran afoul of India's Telegraph Act, and has been shut down.

Listener Jason notified me about Raghav's plight, and since Jason speaks Hindi, we might have a shot at getting the address of Raghav's electronics shop where the station was housed. More info forthcoming, hopefully. Articles from the BBC here and here.

March 30, 2006

Monks on The Beat Club (video)

MonksSpeaking of The Beat Club (William Bergers post, below), here are The Monks going at it with their oversized maracas on German TV back in the mid Sixties. I saw this clip once before, at the WFMU Record Fair, but thanks to youtube, practically all rare music videos are merely a click away. [download video, 20 mb, mpeg file or stream it via youtube here]

March 29, 2006

The Enigmatic Jimmy's Spin The Bottle (MP3)

Jimmy_2_1I got a request on my show today for a strange little single I had completely forgotten about - Spin The Bottle by "Jimmy." Little is known about Jimmy, but he comes off like a cross between Daniel Johnston and Gary Wilson. On the record sleeve, Jimmy is sporting lipstick and a stocking on his head, an Izod shirt, and he's holding a tennis Jimmy_1racket. The single indicates 45 rpm, but at that speed, Jimmy's voice sounds like a chipmunk. At 33 rpm, the single is too slow, but the slowness seems to fit Jimmy's lugubrious, demented delivery, so that's the speed that the FMU staff settled on back when this record was in heavy rotation. Jimmy's real name appears to be James Dean, the record label is Fatima Records, and he seems to be from Los Angeles. The sleeve of the single says "Demand The Album!" in tiny type, but these are the only two songs from Jimmy we've ever come across.

Jimmy's Spin The Bottle (MP3)     |     Jimmy's White Christmas (MP3)

March 28, 2006

Many Versions of The Blue Danube Waltz (mp3s)

WaltzLast April, we posted a version here of Johann Strauss' Blue Danube Waltz from a great 1980's Belgian experimental compilation called An Der Shonen Blauen Donau. The indifference of the masses was overwhelming, so without further ado, here's the whole damn compilation:

48 Cameras - Dead Waters   |   Bene Gesserit - Bathroom Sunday Morning

Det Wiehl - Gondless   |  Dieter P - A Corpse For Mermaids

Dissidents - An Der Shonen Blauen Donau

Dr. Finne C Renfer - Cher Johann   |   FAR - Il Bel Danubio Blu Notte

Fuoko - Black Wine For Dear Mr. Strauss   |   Guido - Ad Vienne Qui Pourra

Kaoru Todoroki - An Der Shonen Blauen Donau Utsukushiki Aoki Donau

Klimperei - El Be Debe   |   Les Souplards Torves - An Der Shonen Blauer Donau

Lieutenant Caramel - Untitled   |   Look de Bouk - Dix Selections Du Fleuve

Blue_danubePilvarta Kopilmop - Bla Ble Bli Blo Bla   |   Pilvarta Kopilmop - Blu Blo Bli Ble Bla

Rainer Linz - Disrythmic Etude   |   TUF - Blue Danube

And since I am feeling particularly under water today, here's a few more versions of the Blue Danube Waltz:

Guckenheimer Sauerkraut Band   |   Bill Boyd and The Cowboy Ramblers

Comedian Harmonists   |   Michael Nyman

March 26, 2006

Fire In The Studio (video)

Fire_in_studioDuring a March 21st edition of CNN Headline News, a fire broke out in the studio just above the heads of the two anchors, Chuck Roberts and Linda Stouffer. You can hear the hesitation in Roberts' voice as he narrates a series of video clips, and then when the shot goes back to the two anchors, an electrical fixture blows up above Stouffer's head while she is on camera.

This never would have happened to Rudi Bakhtiar.

[link to youtube video] via del.icio.us

Sister Rosetta Tharpe Video

RosettaHere's a video clip of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, playing her Gibson SG and performing Down By The Riverside on the Chicago-based television show TV Gospel Time, sometime in the early to mid-Sixties: [download video, 6mb mpeg file or stream it from youtube here

This clip was shot well after the peak of Tharpe's career in the 30's and the 40's, but it's the first chance I've had to see video of another one of my personal guitar heroes. Sister Rosetta Tharpe was one of the first recording artists to play lead guitar, starting to do so in the 1920's. She started playing guitar at the age of four, billed as "Little Rosetta Nubin, the singing and guitar playing miracle," as she performed at tent revivals throughout the south.

Tv_gospel_timeI couldn't find out much about this clip - it's from the enhanced audio CD of Shout Sister Shout, a Tribute to Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and it was part of the weekly TV show TV Gospel Time, which aired nationally in the 1950s and 60s. Our own Kevin Nutt aired this track and a batch of other TV Gospel Time recordings on this May 2002 edition of his great show Sinner's Crossroads.

Regardless of the exact date of this performance, this was a period of Tharpe's career when she was attempting a U.S. comeback, after alienating her religious fans with her secular music, and then alienating her white fans with the blues sides she cut in the 1950s. She suffered a stroke in 1970 and died in 1973.

March 25, 2006

Insane New Age Mumbo Jumbo LP: Exenogenesis (MP3s)

SexxenogenesisFans of weird spoken word records and proto psycho-babble are in for a treat. Here is the entire 1973 LP by a very strange guy from Florida named Exenogenesis. I found it at a WFMU Record Fair. You need a long attention span for this stuff, but for those who can wade through it, the rewards are rich. Others might just want to sample the hell out of it.

In between his obsessions with the numeral 666, carbon based life forms and the phrase "I Am That I Am," it becomes clear that Exenogenesis has the objective of most self-styled gurus - getting laid. In fact, his gatefold LP came with a self-addressed stamped envelope addressed to: Xxenogenesis,  300 Bayview Drive A-10,  North Miami Beach, FL 33160.

I doubt his physical body still resides there. But his message and libido are timeless.

Exenogenesis Side One (mp3)          |         Exenogenesis Side Two (mp3)

March 24, 2006

Cheesy Euro-Skydiving Video

Russian_8_wayAficionados of the genre understand that when it comes to Cheesy Euro-Disco, it's all about location, location, location. And props. Props and location, in the opposite order. Dancing cossacks are also helpful, but not absolutely necessary. A succesful Cheesy Euro-Disco video needs to be set in outer space, a bucolic meadow, or involve power tools, football-helmet-sporting bikini babes. Or involve dancing cossacks.

This video [download it as a 9 meg wmv file or as a 22 meg mpg file here] may not fulfill the cossack policy, but it does include accordian-playing skydivers wearing Russian military uniforms. The skydivers include Alexander Beloglazoff, world-record holder for longest freefall involving an augmented seventh chord. The music is In-Grid's song Tu Es Foutu, as though you didn't already know that, you Cheesy Euro-Disco slut, you. via del.icio.us/tag/video

UPDATE: I uploaded a 22 meg mpg version of the video, then changed the original "avi" version to a wmv file, which is the actual format..

March 23, 2006

Tempting the WFMU Technology Curse

Frankenstein2_1Tonight (Thursday) from 6-11pm, all of WFMU's internet services will disappear, except for our humble little blog here. The blog pages will appear, but all of our MP3s and movie files will also not be downloadable during the outage.

We're facing off against the WFMU Technology Curse tonight, as Adam and Bill load up all of our servers and Cisco switches and such, load them onto a dolly and wheel them quietly past the drunk staff at our data center in New York City, ideally without waking any of them up. We hope to move into a sparkling new rack space with much better electrical protection. If you recall, last December 14th, our main Realaudio / MP3 archive server was magically transformed into an expensive paperweight, due to the creative electrical stylings of said data center, which shall remain unnamed.

During the outage tonight, you will be totally unable to download this MP3 of Barry Manilow performing the State Farm Insurance jingle to an audience of appreciatively squealing housewife-cum-teenyboppers.

March 22, 2006

Why I Got Fired From Apple Computer (video)

AppletongueErik Ott, a customer service rep at Apple Computer was fired two days after performing this love ode to a fellow Fed Ex rep at the annual Apple employee's talent show. Fortunately Ott captured his performance on tape, as well as the performances of some of his ex-coworkers: [download video, 10 mb, mpeg file or stream it from google here]

Ott's main crime (besides performing under the name Big Poppa E) appears to have been joking about leaving Apple customers languishing on hold while flirting with the sweet Fed Ex lady. It apparently left an Apple VP all agog, and two days later, Ott was out of a job. Thanks Barrett!

March 21, 2006

Rato Records Photo Gallery

R. Stevie Moore just sent me a link to Rato Records' two photo galleries (black and white and color), featuring tons of great pics from the 50's to the 70's including various celebs and non-celebs playing with records, doing radio, using tiny portable turntables, and tons of European ingenues in various stages of undress. They also clearly have a thing for Brigitte Bardot.

Daltrey_playing45s1962_caroldeeneRecplayer58







1965_radiocarolineBb_guitarElcable66

March 20, 2006

Marionettes Performing Motorhead's Ace of Spades (video)

Callum_1Callum Hickey is the real Master of Puppets. His Pish Dolls and Incredible Singing Dolls perform rock classics like Motorhead's Ace of Spades on the streets of Scotland [download video, 15mg quicktime file]. So what if he didn't get Lemmy's look exactly right - what Callum lacks in puppet facial hair, he makes up for in pedal controlled marionettes - he's got thumb pedals for himself, and foot pedals for the kids to keep the Marionette groupies rockin'. This clip (of The Incredible Singing Dolls) was from the 2002 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, via Fulminatia.

March 06, 2006

Ivor Cutler 1923-2006

IvorThanks to Valley X Streamist at the FMU Message Board for alerting us all to a real loss - Ivor Cutler's passing at the age of 83. Obituary from the Guardian UK here.

A weird old Scottish guy sitting behind a harmonium singing about gravity, thumb sucking and bugs might sound like an acquired taste, but fortunately plenty of people acquired it, including a long list of Cutler admirers ranging from the Beatles to Bertrand Russell. (The Beatles  dragged Ivor into their disastrous Magical Mystery Tour film.)

Ivor Cutler's albums like Velvet Donkey, Dandruff, Privilege and Ludo (produced by George Martin) have long been a staple of many WFMU programs. In fact, Ivor Cutler is the fabled missing musical link between Kenny G and Greasy Kid Stuff. His songs and stories will live on. Here is a batch of links to shows which include Ivor's songs, and much more is available for searching via the WFMU Artists Browser.

And here is a video clip of Ivor Cutler performing his song Shop Lifters on the Old Grey Whistle Test [download video, 6.5 meg mpeg file]. Thanks to Brian for digging that one up via Youtube.

Ivor_dandruffVelvetdonIvor_ludo

 

March 01, 2006

The "I'm Too Sexy" Fan Video Phenomenon

Rsf1Sometime when I wasn't looking, the infectiously ridiculous song I'm Too Sexy assumed new power and meaning in the world.  Maybe not for you. Maybe not for anyone you know. But for Japanese people by the truckload. For Anime and gaming fans. For karaoke singers. For anyone with a new camcorder for Christmas and the simple, honest desire to be incredibly buff and sexy, all at the same time.

And the magic of sites like YouTube is in revealing such odd obsessions.

The other night, while scouring YouTube for anything resembling Cheesy Euro-Disco, I stumbled onto versions of the 1992 dance/pop hit, I'm Too Sexy, by the Brit-Pop trio Right Said Fred. (YouTube does have videos of Baccara's Yes Sir, I Can Boogie and Sorry I'm a Lady, but they're horribly disappointing.)

Rsf3But Fan Videos of I'm Too Sexy -- that's another story, Search for I'm Too Sexy and up come dozens and dozens of homemade fan videos and karaoke sessions based on the song, from all over the world. Anime and Gaming freaks. Giggly teenagers. Your drunk Uncle.

Why a Beatles fan would take footage of The Fab Four and set it to the tune of Right Fucking Said Fred is beyond me, but, here it is: (download video, 15 meg Windows Media file). And here are I'm Too Sexy Fan Videos dedicated to the imaginary catwalk stylings of Japanese bands like Miyavi and Gackt and Dir En Grey (streaming videos from YouTube).

If you don't know the song I'm Too Sexy, here's a great mashup of it, combined with Kraftwerk's The Model, by Frenchbloke and Son (download MP3 Sexy Model).

Warcraft_toosexy_2The I'm Too Sexy fan video phenomenon first surfaced a few months ago when this video remix of the song made the rounds, as sung by My Little Pony (download video, 10 meg Windows Media file). Cute enough, I thought at the time - in fact, too cute. Little did I know that this was merely the tip of the iceberg. The song's been remixed by World of Warcraft fans (download video, 7meg Windows Media file), Final Fantasy gamers, Simpsons / Family Guy fans, combination Chipmunks/CSI obsessives, Mortal Kombat freaksKids In The Hall DVD owners and one anime version after another after another....(all streaming videos from YouTube)

Continue reading "The "I'm Too Sexy" Fan Video Phenomenon" »

February 24, 2006

Sly Stoned (video)

SlyHere is Sly Stone, high as a kite, but not so addled that he can't mess with Dick Cavett's head, from a July 1970 interview on Cavett's TV show (download video, 29 meg Windows Media File). You can also stream this from YouTube here.

February 23, 2006

Frank Zappa versus Robert Novak (video)

Zappa1I'm neither a Zappa fan or a Zappa hater, but I  love how he handles himself on this 1986 episode of Crossfire with Robert Novak (download video, 50 meg Quicktime file). During Tipper Gore's crackdown on dirty rock lyrics, Zappa found himself thrust into the role of first amendment spokes-musician, and he handled it expertly, confounding people like Novak with his direct, articulate approach to free speech and government censorship. But Zappa's ire is directed not at Novak, but at John Lofton, (at the time) a columnist for Reverend Sun Myung Moon's Washington Times. Lofton is practically frothing at the mouth, at one point even ridiculing Zappa's stated interest in getting young people to register to vote, and Zappa quips that he actually likes Novak more than Lofton. (Lofton now describes himself as a "recovering Republican" and is Communications Director of the conservative anti-Bush Constitution Party.) And who has replaced Frank Zappa as the go-to musician on the political circuit?

via del.icio.us/tag/video

February 22, 2006

Robert and His Radio

Radio_cutout_2Robertradio

via Barnacle Press

Soviet National Anthem (video)

SovietWhen the Soviet Union crumbled, America lost a predictable, lumbering arch-enemy, and the world temporarily lost the greatest national anthem it's ever known. Forget your Star Spangled Banners, forget La Marseillaise - forget even Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport. The Hymn of The Soviet Union may have a boring title, but it's got bombast, majesty and melody to beat the band. You know it's good, because prior to adopting The Hymn, the Soviet national anthem was none other than The Internationale, an even more magnificent anthem. The Internationale was scrapped in 1943 for the sake of the long-suffering World War Two Soviet soldiers, who were thought to be more inspired by an anthem dedicated to their motherland, than by a song about the international labor movement. In 1943, the lyrics to The Hymn hailed Stalin, but once de-Stalinization kicked in following his death in 1953, the lyrics were changed to honor Lenin instead.

Following the collapse of The Soviet Union in 1991, The Hymn was scrapped altogether for something called The Patriotic Song. Fortunately, The Hymn was restored as the Russian National Anthem in 2001, cleansed of all communist references altogether.

Here is a video of The Hymn in all of it's bombastic Bolshevik glory, circa the Lenin-lyrics era (download video, 11 meg, Windows Media video file). You can also stream this via youtube here. And if you're still itching for USSR nostalgia, check out this gallery of photos from Alexander Borodulin.

February 21, 2006

BBC Radio's Virtual Druggie

Bbc_excess_1How's this for a concept: an anti-drug site that actually dispenses useful, somewhat accurate information? BBC Radio One has an anti-drug site called Excess All Areas that says: "If you're partying hard, make sure you party smart. Our virtual clubber takes the drugs so you don't have to."

But like the anti-drug propaganda of my youth, Excess All Areas does more to whet your appetite for mushrooms, speed and meth than to scare you straight. Enter the flash site and you control a British club kid as he saunters around a darkened club, waiting for you to select from the following menu of substances: Alcohol, Cocaine, Cannabis, Ecstasy, Mushrooms, Speed and "Spiked" (as in drinks). Once you choose his drug, your kid starts dancing while the basic information about your drug of choice appears on the screen. When you click "Take More," his dancing gets druggier and you get the scoop on higher dosages. Click on "Cocktail," and you find out the effects of mixing this drug with other ones. The red circles lead to more specific information on the affected body part, brain, stomach, etc.

Excess All Areas is part of BBC One's OneLife games, which dispense info on smoking, sex, poisons, finance, etc. Public service announcements aren't supposed to be this fun! For effective anti-drug propaganda, try Faces of Meth. And speaking of virtual clubs (nsfw). "Excess" via peremeny

February 20, 2006

The Marimba Ponies do Sabre Dance (video/mp3s)

Marimba_ponies2My joy at finding this video clip of The Marimba Ponies was tempered by embarrassment when I discovered that I already own a few LPs by the Marimba Ponies and I didn't even realize it. I think I've been collecting records too long - and I don't even consider myself a collector. But I digress. Here are The Marimba Ponies, who operate internationally without the crutch of  conductor or sheet music, bouncing and prancing rhythmically in order to foster international goodwill, doing Sabre Dance: (download video, 8 meg mpg file). The Marimba Ponies are aged four through twelve, at which point they are forcibly retired from the marimba business and offered gainful employment dodging lizards with the J-Pop girl group Morning Musume.

More Marimba Ponies video can be found here, and their homepage is here. If you really love Sabre Dance, like I do, here are two MP3 versions of it: one by Takeshi Terauchi and The Bunnys, and the other by The Texas Chainsaw Orchestra. Here are still more versions of Sabre Dance from the WFMU Realaudio archives.

"The Bottom Line" Abu Ghraib Video

Bottom_lineHere's the latest collage by Stephen McQuillen (aka "The Piss"). It's a video called The Bottom Line, with a soundtrack by Negativland. Before you view it, be warned: it contains many disturbing images of torture from Abu Ghraib prison, including the images and videos recently aired on Australian television and barely mentioned in the US press. It's not for the squeamish: (download video, 16meg Quicktime file). Thanks Stephen!

February 18, 2006

Get College Credit for Writing Blogspam!

Shill_1Now I understand why I'm spending more and more time every day fighting back an endless, rancid spew of comment spam and trackback spam on this blog: Sony BMG is soliciting unpaid interns to shill their products online. As reported in Dan Mitchell's "What's Online" column in today's New York Times, Epic Records is seeking unpaid interns to write breathless encomiums about their bands and artists on blogs and sites like MySpace. The only real requirement is that you get credit from your college for doing so. From this ad on entertainmentcareers.net:

"Do you blog, have lots of friends at your MySpace page, and love music?

Epic Records is looking for skilled, motivated interns to promote artists on social networking sites like MySpace, purevolume, Facebook & others. Requirements:  Interns must be internet savvy and be available to work at the Epic Records office in Santa Monica, CA 10-20 hours per week.

HTML & Photoshop skills are a plus, but not necessary.

This is a non-paying internship and interns must be able to receive college credit for their internship."

Isn't it great that  the major labels are finally getting "with it?" They want to make it illegal to rip your own CDs for your own personal use, but at least they're down with MySpace!

 

February 17, 2006

Pornography For Fun and Profit (video remix)

Come_join_funSmutty Friday continues with this brilliant video remix of a 1964 anti-pornography film which turns the original porno- and commie-bashing message on its head (download video, 7 meg MP4 file). This is a remix of a Prelinger Archives film called Perversion For Profit, which can be found here. The original film was financed by none other than Charles Keating of the Keating Five Savings and Loan scandal. This remix is called Come Join The Fun! and was done by someone named Trafalger. The remix has its own page at Prelinger here.

February 16, 2006

Videos: France Gall, Django Reinhardt and Elis Regina

Here are three older short music films I've really enjoyed lately.

France_gall3Here is France Gall's adorable face, winning the 1965 Eurovision contest with the Serge Gainsbourg-penned song Poupee De Cire, Poupee De Son ("Wax Doll, Singing Doll" - download video, 7 meg Windows Media file). She was seventeen years old when she sang this at the Tenth Eurovision Fest in Naples, Italy. Her performance is merely adequate, but the camera stays close up on her loveliness as she sings the song that went to number one throughout Europe, launching her career. Here's a ton more France Gall to listen to, via WFMU's Realaudio archives. Video via All Kinds of Everything, via Earnest Little Cartoon Guy.

Django1Here's a cool short film of the great Gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt and his Quintet of the Hot Club of France performing J'Attenndrai ("I Will Wait" - download video, 12 meg, Quicktime file) A newsreel-style announcer introduces the band as they lounge around a room, smoking and playing cards while a young Django and Stephane Grappelli lightly jam. Then it goes into a full blown performance of the Quintet. This is the first time I've ever seen Django play, after loving his music for 30 years. You can get a good view of Django's fret hand, which had two damaged fingers from a fire he suffered when he was eighteen. Despite his permanent hand injury, Django went on to be one of the main innovators of using the guitar as a melody instrument, along with Charlie Christian, Lonnie Johnson and Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Video via Djangobooks. More Django from the WFMU Realaudio archives here.

ElisElis Regina's version of Aguas De Marco (Waters of March) with the song's author, Antonio Carlos Jobim appears on the amazing collection Elis and Tom. On that version, she gets comically exasperated towards the end of the song and starts cracking up. On this version (download video, 11 meg, Quicktime file), the same thing happens, but it seems so genuine that it it's hard to believe this was simply part of her act (unlike Ella Fitzgerald's shtick of  "forgetting" her lyrics). Not sure who she is playing with here, but if you already love her voice, you'll love her even more when you see her sing. via the great dailymotion site, discovered via antville. More Elis from the WFMU Realaudio archives here.

February 15, 2006

A Brief History of Disembodied Dog Heads

LinglingDid Soviet scientists actually keep a disembodied dog head alive back in the 1940s? Did those crazed Stalinist Frankensteins then follow up that stunt by surgically creating a two headed dog in 1954? (That is, if "two-headed" is accurate - it's more like two heads, six legs and one-and-a-half torsi.)

Sorry, I just wanted to use the word "torsi."

And forget the Soviets - what about the monkey brain that a Cleveland surgeon transplanted from one primate to another? Are these all Internet hoaxes, or the only known evidence of a subject too taboo to be taken seriously - the research into head and brain transplants that's been going on for decades?

I wish I had definitive answers for you - I don't. But I'm more inclined towards believing that these experiments actually took place than when I first stumbled onto this weird medical sub-culture. After starting off as a skeptic, I've come to believe that organisms have indeed been revived. Heads have been lopped off. Brains have been perfused. Cephalic members transplanted. Glucose permeated in isolated canine craniums. The works.

This all started a few weeks back, while browsing through the Prelinger archives. I came across the movie Experiments in the Revival of Organisms, which purports to show a 1940 Soviet experiment in which a dog's head was kept "alive" after being removed from its body. [download video, 49 meg mp4 file]. If you haven't seen this yet, be careful - it's not for the squeamish. And I might as well say upfront that I'm against the removal and reanimation of heads, even for scientific or culinary purposes. Fascinating though it may be, it amounts to torture. It's one thing to keep a dog's lungs pumping outside of it's deceased body, and quite another to maintain consciousness and pain receptiveness in a disembodied head. Maybe the imagined horror of this is what has kept this research relegated to the status of science fiction and hoaxology for so long.

Continue reading "A Brief History of Disembodied Dog Heads" »

February 13, 2006

Two Trailers: Daniel Johnston and Danielson Famile

Longtime WFMU favorites Daniel Johnston and The Danielson Famile are both subjects of forthcoming documentaries.

Daniel_johnston_1The Devil and Daniel Johnston is the new film from WFMU listener Jeff Feuerzig, who also made the documentary, Half Japanese: The Band That Would Be King. Daniel Johnston is the manic depressive singer and songwriter who has appeared numerous times on WFMU over the years, including a telephone appearance with Yo La Tengo doing his song Speeding Motorcycle (later released as a single). I'm not sure if the documentary used the audio from that performance in the movie, but I know the director was originally planning on it. (Incidentally, Yo La Tengo's annual WFMU Marathon performance is scheduled for Tuesday, March 7th from 8-11pm, with Tom Scharpling and Gaylord Fields.) Here's the trailer for The Devil and Daniel Johnston: (download video, 15 meg, Quicktime), and here's the film's website.

Smith_daniel_01lNew Jersey's own Danielson Famile is the subject of a documentary called Danielson, A Family Movie (Or Make a Joyful Noise HERE), which premiers at the South by Southwest festival next month in Austin. The documentary was made by JL Aronson, and it focuses on the great divide between Danielson's Christian message and the secular, Jesus-killing hipoisie crowd that usually attends their shows. Of course, there's also lots of footage of Daniel Smith, the band's leader dressed as a tree, the Famile's singing nurses, bingo games, and more than one cameo from WFMU's own Robin Edgerton and the ubiquitous  and highly photogenic Black Ops. Here's the trailer: (download video, 6 meg, Quicktime) and here's the doc's website.

February 11, 2006

Please Kill Mr. Kinski (video)

Crawlspa_2In 1985, Director David Schmoeller found himself in the unenviable position of directing the crazed actor Klaus Kinski in the horror film Crawlspace. Kinski was already famous for hating directors, but Schmoeller soon discovered that even basic duties as yelling "Action!" prompted tantrums in Kinski. Schmoeller's crew and backers were soon begging and plotting to kill Kinski for the insurance money. In the late Nineties, Schmoeller made a short film about the experience, Please Kill Mr. Kinski (download video, 19 meg, wmv file). If you like maniacal Kinski (and you speak German) here's a track of him from his infamous "I Am God" tour (download MP3). Thanks for finding the video, Scott!

February 08, 2006

Creepy Safe Driving PSAs (video)

PsaHere are two Public Service Announcements for the PSA Hall of Fame: (download video one, 5 meg,  |  download video two, 4.5 meg, both quicktime). These were produced in Denmark by Fredrik Callinggaard for an unidentified but presumably english-speaking market, and posted on the site of Duckling, a Danish post-production house. These rank right up there with the French AIDS PSAs, and the Grandpa Goes To Jail PSA. via Fulminatia.

February 07, 2006

Werner Herzog Shot With Air Rifle

HerzogGerman Director Werner Herzog encountered the random violence of nature he speaks of so often as he was shot by a crazed fan during a BBC interview. In classic Herzog fashion, the 63 year old director stated "Someone is shooting at us. We must go." The interview continued, however, as Herzog's pants became stained with blood. Herzog commented, "It was not a significant bullet. I am not afraid." Thanks Fabio! Link to Yahoo story.

UPDATE: Two days before being shot, a Jesus-like Herzog pulled Joaquin Phoenix out of a car wreck.

UPDATE 2: Listener Evan has found a link to the video of the shooting: start streaming video.

February 06, 2006

The PMRC Of The 18th Century

Scandalous_songIn the 1730's, some anonymous prankster composed a scandalous little tune which dared to poke fun at King George the Second. Actually, there were two tunes, and so incensed was King George that he offered a twenty pound reward for the heads of the seditious tune-smiths, these colonial Weird Al Yankovics. Here is the proclamation, (rewritten into current English) as set forth by William Cosby, then Captain General and Governour In Chief of the provinces of New York and New Jersey:

Whereas ill-minded and Disaffected Persons have lately dispersed in the City of New York, and diverse other Places, several Scandalous and Seditious libels, but more particularly two Printed Scandalous Songs or Ballads highly defaming the Administration of His Majesty's Government in this Province, tending greatly to Inflame the Minds of his Majesty's good Subjects, and to disturb the Public Peace. And Whereas the Grand Jury for the City and County of New York did lately, by their Address to me, complain of these Pernicious Practices, and request me to issue a Proclamation for the Discovery of the Offenders, that they might, by Law, receive a Punishment adequate to their Guilt and Crime. I Have therefore thought fit, by and with the Advice of his Majesty's Council, to issue this Proclamation, hereby Promising Twenty Pounds as a Reward, to such Person or Persons who shall discover the Author or Authors of the two Scandalous Songs or Ballads aforesaid, to be paid to the Person or Persons discovering the same, as soon as such Author or Authors shall be Convicted of having been the Author or Authors thereof.

via Images of American Political History.

February 05, 2006

Gunfight in Hoboken

Gunshot_3I woke up to the sounds of a gun battle this morning. At 7am, about 20 shots were fired in front of my home in Hoboken, New Jersey. I ran to the window in time to see a Black Ford Explorer racing backwards down Park Avenue. I went outside to compare notes with two dozens of my neighbors. A single police officer arrived 15 minutes later. Meanwhile, an old Hoboken guy started examining the 15 bullet casings that were laying in the middle of the street, until my neighbors and I urged him to leave them alone.

Another crowd formed further up the street, where two parked cars had bullet holes in their windows. I wandered up there to find out what had happened. There were literally dozens of witnesses who saw either the Ford Explorer, or two guys on foot shooting back at them. The shots lasted about 30 seconds, so there was ample time to run to the window, and at least three people were on the street when the shootout occurred. But the police were only mildly interested in taking down any of the eyewitness accounts. It turns out that the Ford Explorer had been shooting at the two guys on foot, who were returning fire. The Explorer continued shooting at them as it backed down the one-way street (Park Avenue). One of my neighbors even saw the guy inside the car as he leaned outside the passenger window shooting at the other guys, who were now running north up the street.

Gunshot_2You would think the police would be interested in details like this, but no. I walked up to a cop who was now blocking the crime scene around the two hit cars to tell him that I had pertinent information that might be helpful, but the guy just screamed at me to back off. I approached him from an angle away from the two cars with bullet holes, and let him know I had some possibly helpful information. I told him that I had a license plate number, and  asked if there was a detective I should talk to. This officer refused to talk to me, and finally just ordered me away from the scene. I wandered down to the other end of the street and finally found a cop who was interested in taking down my information.

Six hours later, the two cars with bullet holes are still sitting there, bullets presumably lodged inside of them. But there's no note on either car, no boot on the wheel to make sure that the owners can't drive the evidence away. Nothing. I guess because there were no known casualties, Hoboken's finest didn't really care to take eyewitness reports or even secure the bullets. This isn't supposed to happen in Hoboken. It's supposed to happen a half mile away, in Jersey City.

UPDATE: Three days later, the police blanketed my neighborhood with printed notices requesting any witnesses to call with information. I tried calling, but ended up in their labyrinthine voicemail system. Finally, I got through to a detective (four days after the gun fight) and gave him my information and license plate number.

February 04, 2006

Sun Ra and The Blues Project Do Batman and Robin (MP3s)

Sunrabatman_2In 1966, a toy company in Newark, New Jersey released a children's record called Batman and Robin to cash in on the popular Adam West TV series of the same name. The music on the LP was credited to "The Sensational Guitars of Dan and Dale," but in fact the band was one of the greatest uncredited session combos of all time, including the core of Sun Ra's Arkestra and Al Kooper's Blues Project. To keep the music licensing fees to a minimum, all the tracks were based on public domain items like Chopin's Polonaise Op. 53, the horn theme from Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony and the love theme from Romeo and Juliet, and generic rock riffs. It's all instrumental, with the exception of Robin's Theme (MP3), featuring an uncredited vocalist who I hope some reader will be able identify. More info on the Italian boot reissue of this record here and here.

Batman Theme   |   Batman's Batmarang   |   Batman and Robin Over The Roofs

The Penguin Chase   |   Flight of the Batman   |   Joker is Wild

Robin's Theme   |   Penguin's Umbrella   |   Batman and Robin Swing

Batmobile Wheels   |   The Riddler's Retreat   |   The Bat Cave

February 02, 2006

DJ Compilation Of The Month: Heaven's Radio (Gospel MP3s)

Heavens_radio_1This month, we get right with God for a change, and offer up Kevin Nutt's great Gospel CD from 2004, Heaven's Radio. In case you're new to it, Kevin does the best gospel show on the radio, Sinner's Crossroads, Thursday nights from 7-8pm, in between Joe Frank and Dave the Spazz. Here's how Kevin described this premium during the 2004 marathon:

Tossing a wide net and covering the gamut of Gospel from all God's children, Sinner's Crossroads brings you: hymns, prayers, radio preachers, thumpin' white boy quartets, hot quartet toe-tappers and sanctified visionaries. You will be blessed.

Follow the jump for all 28 MP3s:

Continue reading "DJ Compilation Of The Month: Heaven's Radio (Gospel MP3s)" »

January 31, 2006

Barenaked Ladies, Baitcars and Crystal Meth (video)

OncomingCanada's Bait Car program (in which thieves steal remote controllable vehicles with hidden cameras) has been so successful that it's spawned its own TV show, and the Canadian government has released all the Bait Car videos into the public domain to further publicize the program and reduce car theft.

Here's a Bait Car video (download video, 16 meg wmv file) in which a speed freak steals a car, transfers to a Bait Truck, breaks into three cars to steal various items, hits three cars during a high speed chase, screams ONCOMING! as he runs red lights and stop signs, and... most disturbing of all, listens briefly to The Barenaked Ladies on the Bait Truck's radio. After the video ends, he drove through a few backyards before ramming his way into a parking garage and  into the arms of the waiting police. Not safe for work, by the way.

All in all, the operation was a total success. Except for the three cars that the guy hit, the other three cars that got broken into, the parking garage gate and that unfortunate business with The Barenaked Ladies. But when making videos like this, there's bound to be some collateral damage. More info and defensive handwringing from the makers of this video here. Alas, the identity of the man who made "oncoming" a popular catch phrase throughout Canada will never be released. via screenhead

Introducing the WFMU Mobile Page!

Wfmumobilepdashot_1You can finally hear WFMU, live or archived from a web-enabled cellphone or mobile device. If your phone or PDA is web-enabled, you can access our mobile offerings from wfmu.org/mobile, but bear in mind that this page only looks right on a very small screen. Our mobile FAQ page holds up better on the big screen and might also answer more of your questions.

Right now, we're only dipping our toes in the field of cellphone streaming, and our streams, archives and mobile pages are only compatible if your phone or PDA uses the Palm OS or the windows-based Pocket PC operating system.

So what good is this, you're asking? If you work for a company that blocks our streams and archives, as more and more do these days, you can listen to WFMU, live or archived from your phone. Of course, it's going to sound a lot better if you plug headphones into it. Over Christmas, I was listening to the station live while driving around the midwest, running a wire from my Pocket PC into my car's cassette deck. I've also listened to our new web-only morning slot while driving to work in the morning. Right now, the only archives that are accessible are our MP3 archives, and then only if you've ponied up for broadband wireless access.

I've long been a skeptic about cellphone streaming. My thinking was: streaming is a fragile technology, and cellphones are a fragile technology - if you put them together, then you'll get a service that will really stink! But I was completely wrong. While driving around Hudson County, New Jersey, I've found that my Pocket PC can get a solid streaming signal from WFMU (on the EVDO network) in spots where I can't get a regular cellphone signal at all. And the whole idea of audio streaming lends itself better to deadspots than a live, real-time telephone conversation: with a stream, the phone just uses audio it's already buffered when it hits a dead spot, but with a real-time telephone conversation, the line has no choice but to go dead.

There's been a lot of talk about a new cellphone streaming format called 3GP, and we might start streaming with 3GP in the future as well. Stay tuned.

Kurt Cobain Doing Karaoke (video)

Nirvana_1You could almost add this to the annals of great moments in televised lipsynching, but no, this is a video clip of Kurt Cobain doing what can only be described as karaoke (download video, 28 meg, mpeg file). The only catch is that he's doing karaoke to one of his own songs, Smells Like Teen Spirit. This is from Nirvana's Top of the Pops appearance from November of 1991. For reasons still unclear to me, the BBC asked the band to perform the song with a live vocal, using the instrumental backing track from Nevermind. Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic make no effort to appear to be playing, and Cobain turns in a magnificent performance, swallowing the microphone, singing lyrics like "load up on drugs, kill your friends" with a sarcastic lounge-like baritone. A little more info here. And if you enjoyed this, you're sure to enjoy Public Image, Ltd. or Prince on American Bandstand. via fulminatia

January 30, 2006

Voice Over (mp3)

Voiceover_1"Voice Over" is the latest project of artist Brian Joseph Davis, who also did the Ten Banned Albums, Burned, Then Played project. in Voice Over, Davis created a text based on lines from 500 different film trailers, then gave the cut-and-pasted text to professional voiceover artist Scott Taylor to read. It sounds really great if you play it more than once at the same time, which I hereby claim dibs on for my Wednesday show. You can stream Voice Over from this page, or download the MP3 here.

January 28, 2006

Cleaning Out My Inbox

Trackthethreat_1Tracking The Threat provides a flash-based graphic interface for exploring the relationships between various international terrorists, places and events. You can have fun for hours. Did you know that North Korea has Acoustic Mines? via Information Aesthetics.

Even Senator Ted Stevens now has an iPod . And last week his Commerce Committee gave the RIAA the cold shoulder when Ted realized that they didn't want to let him load radio shows onto it. Link, via EFF.

Bez, the drug-dealing, maracca shaking cheerleader for Happy Mondays, is slated to play one of Jesus' disciples in a Manchester-based BBC version of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. Jesus himself hasn't been cast yet, but whoever plays him will get to sing Joy Division's Love Will Tear Us Apart, while Mary Magdalene gets The Buzzcocks' Ever Fallen In Love. Guardian UK story, via Hatch.

The Bigfoot Resurgence continues - here's a page of the audio recordings of the big guy howling, sneezing, stomping and making a racket in general. Thanks Dale!

Short video of a street singer with one hell of a voice. (download video, 9meg wmv file) via youtube

Donald Rumsfeld's plan for taking the war to the web. via del.icio.us

From the days when Osama was our man in Afghanistan, Mujahadeen comics. via fulminatia

It's like mushrooms, without the dry heaves: Click in the center to get it started, stare into the pinwheel for 20 seconds, and then look away at any large stationary object.

Lots of cool shockwave visual sound toys at storynest. My faves: rainsmashing chairs  |  butterfly's dream  |  Stuck  |  Number

Why did Bernard-Henry Levy and the French Poop Machine hit our shores at the same time? via fazed

Chin rap (download video, 4 meg quicktime). It's been done before, but the braces and the showercap make it. via del.icio.us

Ever been surrounded by a mob of menacing farm animals? OK, they're not so menacing.

Art links from the amazing cabinodd site:

Beth_robinsonDigital_mutationsFranciszek_starowieyskiNaoto_hattori

January 27, 2006

The Six String Sonics Destroy Guitar Based Tyranny (video)

Six_string_2_1People! Join us! Become martyrs in the overthrow of the dated paradigm of the guitar based rock combo! Guitar has six strings but unfortunately we must possess merely five fingers. Rise up and smash the tyrannical rule of the corrupt six string guitar, the core of all evil!

One band sees the truth and dares to take a stand - The Six String Sonics! (download video, 18 meg quicktime). One band, with esteemed members of DMBQ, The Volume Dealers, Wiggle, Kirihito Group, Hellchild and Boryoku Onsen Geisha, climbs Six_string_1jungle gym-like structure to break up imperial hegemony of guitar based rock. Six guitarists, each playing single string guitar celebrating the freedom and throwing off shackles of uncreative insect-like power pop twelve string jangle strum jangle bend the string la la la. No more~!

Long live the indissoluble union of the working class, drum-based peasantry, and national intelligentsia!

January 25, 2006

Yann Tomita's Doopee Time (MP3s)

Doopee_timeHere's a strange and wonderful record called Doopee Time by the Japanese composer and experimentalist Yann Tomita. Trying to describe this record (or Tomita) is difficult - part muzak, part dada comedy, part I Dream of Jeannie, with a running commentary by The Doopees, two Japanese doll women named Suzie and Caroline. There's a few other tracks from a Yann Tomita mini album as well. Enjoy. Thanks Vicki!

What's The Time?   |   Doopee Time   |   How Does It Feel?

Reprise - How Does It Feel?   |   Caroline Cries to Chopin Opus 28 No 4

Love   |   Medical Services   |   Dr. Domestic's Physical A   |   Dr. Domestic's Physical B

Time and Space   |   Air By Bus   |   Auntie Kim Sings   |   Astro Age Steel Orchestra

Now That You've Gone   |   Through My Window   |   Some Day That Place   |   Dooits

Track 18   |   Introduction To The LP

January 23, 2006

Pat Robertson Uncensored (video)

Patrob_1After his last few wacky pronouncements, calling the Reverend Pat Robertson "anti-gay" actually rehabilitates his image a bit, in an intolerant, religious-right kind of way. But here is a video clip of him letting his true feelings out during a 1992 taping of The Larry King show [download video, 13 meg wmv file]. This footage came from the satellite feed of the show, and was not broadcast on CNN. In it, you'll see the Reverend complain about being ambushed by homosexual callers, while a CNN handler (or a Robertson aid, I can't tell which) bitches about the call screener and most significantly, reminds Robertson not to answer the questions asked of him, but to speak about whatever Robertson wants. The clip gets good at the 1:56 mark, but you can't fast forward due to a weird conversion error. Found this on youtube.com but I think the original came from Brian Springer's 1995 documentary Spin, which featured uncensored, un-broadcast satellite footage of Robertson, Bill Clinton, Ross Perot and others.

January 22, 2006

Blowfly's Equipment, Costumes and Antennae Stolen

BlowflySomewhere in the Carolinas, Blowfly's bug mask is being used for nefarious purposes. This just in to Brian Turner from Blowfly world headquarters...

"Hey freaks,
our van got broken into last night in charlotte by pros with tools who took out the driver side lock. so if you live around there -- please keep an eye out for this shit. and if you have this stuff, motherfucker im putting a curse on your dick! until you return it, you wont be able to get hard unless you're looking at micheal jackson!

here's the notice uncle tom wrote up:

The following items were stolen from Blowfly's Van while parked outside of the La Quinta Inn at 3100 Queen City blvd in Charlotte NC between 2:30 AM and 1 PM Saturday, January 21st. If you have any information regarding these items, please contact Tom Bowker at tom at blowflymusic dot com. If in Charlotte you can return the items with no questions asked to The Milestone club at 3400 tuckasegee rd.28208 The phone number at the milestone is: 704 398 0472. They also may be reached at neal at solidgoldempire dot com

Thank you for any and all help,
Sincerely,
Tom Bowker, Blowfly Music

1 Galien Kruger 1001 RB Bass Head SN .. E06104440

1 Fender Telecaster w/ Sunburst Finish. Has "I Kill Hippies" sticker on the back of the body

1 black soft carry on bag containing 1 copper "BF" Blowfly Mask, 1 uncle sam hat, 1 rubber george w bush mask, 1 rubber devil mask, 1 Blowfly bug mask w/ antennae and assorted wigs and costumes.

1 Fender Stratocaster w/ unfinished wood

Continue reading "Blowfly's Equipment, Costumes and Antennae Stolen" »

January 20, 2006

Airborne Dog Summit (video)

Flying_dogs_1Know what's better than dogs getting air? Dogs getting air in slow motion, with their fur flying and jowls bobbling: [download video, 15 meg quicktime]. It's a new video by Pleix, and it's the least I can do to counteract the growing plague of friday afternoon cat blogging. Although many of the dogs in Pleix's video are toy dogs, which technically speaking, are not actually dogs at all. via del.icio.us

Which brings up this old clip of a weightless dog floating through the cabin of his oblivious pilot owner. This has been around for ages, but when three airborne dog stories cross my path in so many hours, attention must be paid. [streaming Windows video] via b3ta.

Here in Jersey City, kids drop bowling balls onto cars, sometimes killing the occupants. On Long Island, teenagers prefer frozen turkeys. But in Detroit, they don't need no damn bowling balls, cause they got old Blackie, a 70 pound Black Lab that fell from an overpass, killing an 81 year-old man.

But that's OK. For every Black Lab that takes a life by falling through a moving car, another (real) dog somewhere is sniffing out cancer and saving a life. That's more than can be said for frozen turkeys.

January 19, 2006

Janet Greene, the Anti-Baez (MP3s)

Greene2MP3s: Eight Janet Greene MP3s below the jump.

In the early to mid-Sixties, the anti-communist movement was trembling before the power and popularity of singers like Pete Seeger, Joan Baez and Bob Dylan. Searching for a solution to this problem, Dr. Fred Schwarz recruited one Janet Greene (a Joan Baez fan herself) to be the "Musical Director" of his organization, The Christian Anti-Communism Crusade (CACC). As his Musical Director (or "Anti-Baez," as he referred to her), Greene converted Schwarz's red-baiting tirades into pithy right-wing folk songs. From 1964 to 1966, Schwarz released eight songs by Greene on the CACC's Chantico label, and then in 1966, he reissued all eight songs as part of his 4-LP set, Nature of Communism Series.

By 1967, Greene had grown disenchanted with Schwarz and quit the CACC. While there were a few other attempts at right-wing folk music during this period, most notably The Goldwaters, Greene was the darling of the anti-communist right during a period when leftist folksongs dominated the popular imagination. For a brief, shining moment, the right wing had its own raven haired troubador singing lyrics like this, from her song Poor Left Winger (MP3):

I'm just a poor left-winger, befuddled, bewildered, forlorn, duped by a bearded singer, peddling his communist corn. In the cafe, espresso, sounds of guitars could be heard, twanging a plaintive folksong, spreading the communist word...

Continue reading "Janet Greene, the Anti-Baez (MP3s)" »

January 13, 2006

The FCC's Website: Alaska Pipelines and Rim Jobs

Pipeli3Smutty Friday continues.

The FCC publishes words and phrases on its website which it doesn't allow to be published on the airwaves of the radio and TV stations which it regulates. Inspired by this article, I decided to find out for myself exactly how the FCC titillates and panders to the masses, while forbidding broadcast outlets from doing the same. I was shocked (and appalled) by what I found. While the FCC has fined radio stations as much as $25,000 for uttering phrases as harmless as "Sit On My Face," while it has fined CBS TV stations millions of dollars for a quarter-second glimpse of nipple, its own website is a virtual den of filth, perversion and dangerous, bizarre sexual practices.

Here then are the results from the search engine found on the FCC's website:

Beaver - 800      Tits - 101      Shit - 51
Fuck - 43     Alaska Pipeline - 21 ?      Boner - 15
Fisting - 14     Cunt - 14     Boobs - 7     Rim Job - 7
Abe Lincoln - 7     Blow Job - 6      Mother Fucker - 5
Golden Shower - 3      Camel Toe - 2      Cocksucker - 2
Happy Meal - 2      Wanker - 2      Felch - 1      Twat - 1

January 12, 2006

The Self Loathing Poetry of Boruk Glasgow (MP3s)

Boruk3Dip your toe into the pool of self-loathing with the poetry and audio stylings of Boruk Glasgow. Oh, what the hell, dive in - here's his entire 1969 early Seventies album, Blackhole Boogie. As Listener Jim says on his Empty Handed Blog, "Boruk apparently comes from the William Shatner school of dramatic reading, which says that you should accent the wrong syllable when pronouncing words, to give your recitation deeper meaning." To get the sense of Boruk's world view right away, try out Eddie My Love or Nowhere to Hide, or any of his semen-based works (MP3s).

Drink Silence  |  Ring Cycle  |  Tinfoil Lad  |  Alcibiades

Desert Fox  |  Salad Freak  |  Arlington Cemetary

Nowhere to Hide  |  Occult Orgasm  |  Youth Poisoning

Semen Rock  |  He  |  Lubricating Mama  |  Orgone Bicycle  |  New York Natural

Mask  |  Lumberjack Poet  |  Eddie My Love  |  Psalm of the Male Sperm

To Know Him Is To Love Him  |  Solo for a Solo  |  Today Yahweh  |  Urban Antelope

January 10, 2006

Podcasts from THE MAN

White_house_radioWe've all heard the hype about how podcasting puts the power of broadcasting into the hands of anybody with a computer and an internet connection, but did you know that this freedom applies to The Man as well? That's right, the White House has a whole slew of podcasts available, from Dubya's weekly radio address, to interminable symposia from the Office of National Drug Control. Even The Pentagon, NASA, and the Air Force have their own podcasts! (Alas, no podcast from the NSA. Yet.) The beauty of all this is that all publicly released government material is in the public domain, so this is a remixer's dream. The time is right for a re-podcast of Dubya's weekly radio address - just subscribe to the weekly radio address, remix it and then re-podcast it. It would be perfectly legal, due to the government's audio belonging to the public domain. I drunkenly mentioned this idea to The Professor at the WFMU Holiday party, and he tried to flush my head down the toilet.

Now if only the government could adopt some audio production standards in its podcasts, remixers would have some better working material! I mean, why does Dubya only get 64 kbps in his podcast (twice as much as Rummy and Cheney's chintzy 32kbps allotment) but the drug office is awarded a full 128 kbps?! Where's the justice in that? Wake up and smell the bitrate, people! And can't someone in the whitehouse find a nice quiet room somewhere to record these things in so you don't have to hear the federal ventilation system whirring away in the background?

Here's some samples from the federal government's roster of podcasts:

Sample Podcasts (MP3s):

President's Weekly Radio Address: Sample 1  |  Sample 2

Pentagon Channel: Dick Cheney Podcast  |  Donald Rumsfeld Podcast  |  Rucksacks and Rations

Office of National Drug Control: Podcast 1

(Thanks, Listener Ken in Denver!)

January 09, 2006

Sensitive Singer Gangsta (video)

NwaAnd the remixes of NWA's Straight Outta Compton just keep on coming! Here's a video remix, with music by Veruca Salt's Nina Gordon, taking the gangsta rap classic back to its coffeehouse roots: [download video: 3.5 meg mp4]

January 07, 2006

Ten Banned Albums, Burned, Then Played

PrinceArtist Brian Joseph Davis selected ten albums by ten artists who at some point had been banned or censored, and then ignited them. Throwing caution and proper stylus care to the wind, he then played whatever he could from the charred vinyl and spliced together the samples. You can visit his Ten Banned Albums website here (flash page, scroll to the bottom and click on the album icons), and you can download MP3 samples from this page.

The artists who received this very special treatment are: Stravinsky, Mahler, The Kingsmen, Vaughan Meader, The Beatles, Cat Stevens, The Sex Pistols, Prince, The Dead Kennedys and 2 Live Crew. "Ten Banned Albums" is also on display from January 12 to February 11th at Toronto's Diaz Contemporary Art Gallery, as part of the show Thoughts About Sound, Music, Silence, and Confusion.

Worst. Choreography. Ever. (video)

Armi_and_dani_2_1The first Cheesy Euro-Disco find of 2006 makes up in choreography for what it lacks musically. If you like dreadful choreography, that is. It's the video for Finnish duo Armi & Danny's I Wanna Love You Tender: [download video, 38 mb mpeg file]. Armi & Danny's choreographer for this peppy little number was none other than former Serbian president Slobodon Milosevic. After watching this, it's not hard to understand why he ditched the show business job for a career as a genocidal maniac.

Actually, it's hard to decide which is worse - the dancing, or the sweaters. But after such a long drought at Beware of the Blog's Cheesy Euro-Disco bureau, it's heartwarming that we even have such questions to ponder. via del.icio.us/tag/video. More Cheesy Euro-Disco links here.

January 05, 2006

DJ Compilation of the Month: Shut Up and Play, Vol 1

Mikelove2This month's DJ compilation is Shut Up and Play Volume One - Forgettable Moments on Stage, Brian Turner's 2001 Marathon premium CD. Ranging from Klaus Kinski's "I Am Jesus" tour to Jim Morrison's drunken on-stage ravings to regrettable ramblings from Elvis and Mike Love, Shut Up and Play isolates amusing between-song banter from the distracting musical numbers that often accompany it. Here are 27 MP3s of on-stage breakdowns, rantings, musings and tunings:

Elvis Presley 1  |  Freddie Hubbard  |  Donovan  |  Slayer  |  Mercyful Fate

Mark E. Smith  |  Nirvana Fan  |  Venom  |  Jim Morrison 1  |  Jim Morrison 2

Steve Albini  |  Klaus Kinski  |  Jefferson Airplane  |  Courtney Love 1

Stoned Hippy MC  |  Roger Waters  |  Anonymous Folksinger

Black Sabbath Tour Manager  |  Courtney Love 2  |  Woodstock MC

Tom Jones  |  Lou Reed  |  Elvis Presley 2  |  Iggy Pop

Mike Love 1  |  Mike Love 2  |  Mike Love 3

 

January 02, 2006

Cleaning Out My Inbox

SpitzineHappy New Year. May 2006 have as few FCC fines as 2005. Or in the immortal words of the Cosmic Cowboy, may all your fucks be sexual, and all your shits excretory.

Here's the alleged stabilized Zapruder film that's been making the rounds. Is it a hoax? A hoax of a hoax? The truth revealed? You decide: [download video: 6.5 meg quicktime file]

Hans Reichel has a cool flash page for his Yuxo CD: link. Click on the glowing balls and play with the ferret, as if you hadn't been told that a million times already.

Another inexplicable flash page, from splitzine: link.

Andy Warhol mumbles in the service of TDK: [download video, half a meg, quicktime file]

Nice falling sand game for turning the young'ins into internet addicts: link.

ACDC performs for a polite Spanish TV audience. Fast forward to Highway to Hell, the final of three songs: link (streaming video from google).

Rites of Goth passage. I guess.

So what should you look for in a good technosexual fantasy?

Another fascinating flashpage, this one based on Michael Palin and a synthesized Japanese voice. Now all we need is a translation: link.

From a beautiful collection of European advertising posters:

186b2202b2758b2812b

December 28, 2005

Roots of Jackass: 1912 Eiffel Tower Jump (video)

Reichelt2_2What accounts for the glut of internet movies which show people doing incredibly dumb and disgusting things, like lighting their beards on fire, drinking their own vomit or jumping in front of moving cars? Surely it goes back further than Johnny Knoxville, back even further than The Gong Show. Finally, some proof that the practice goes back nearly to the early twentieth century: here's a film shot in 1912 of an Austrian tailor, Franz Reichelt jumping off the Eiffel Tower in a combination overcoat-parachute of his own design, expecting to fly. Or at least to to float gently to the ground. Suffice it to say things didn't go quite as expected. The film ends with men ceremoniosuly measuring the crater left by Reichelt: (download video, 1.5 meg wmv). More info on Reichelt here.

Here's the text that accompanied this footage:

Unused / unissued material - Paris, France. Franz Reichelt wearing the parachute that he designed and invented before ascending the Eiffel Tower. Reichelt standing on platform high up on the tower preparing to jump he hovers on the brink for some time and then eventually jumps falling straight down to his death. Police and small crowd around the body of Reichelt as it is carried away, they then measure the depth of the hole made by his fall.  The film has French intertitles. Cataloguer's Note: Old record suggests this event happened 4th February 1912.

Thanks Hemaworstje!

December 26, 2005

The Year in Disasters

TsunamiA year ago, a 9.3 richter earthquake ripped open the sea floor off the coast of Indonesia, causing the worst tsunami in history (judged by the number of fatalities). Here are two of the most dramatic videos I found of last year's tsunami - both show Banda Aceh, Indonesia as the ocean swept through downtown.

download: tsunami video 1  |  tsunami video 2 (wmv files)

Did this past year have more disasters than usual, more fatalities, or are we just primed to believe that the end times have finally crept up on little cat feet? First, almost 300,000 people die in the tsunami , then Katrina gave us the death of a major American city, and by the time 90,000 people died in Kashmir, I was numb to the enormity of it all. You make a donation, you do whatever you can and then you just have to blot it out and be grateful that it didn't happen to you. In September, I got a small taste of the frustrations of relief work while working with New Orleans' WWOZ-FM.

Some people like disasters. Like this guy, who also has a thing for large fonts. And Dee, who likes them so much that she takes credit for them.

Cleaning Out My Inbox

Garywilson_2Cellophane sportin' one man boy band Gary Wilson has a new video, Gary's In The Park directed by Ross Harris. (Download video,12 meg Quicktime, via Antville.)

Who knew? Timeshifting George Bush down 50% brings out his inner boozer. (Download video, 2.9 meg Quicktime, via crooksandliars from Craig Ferguson's TV show on CBS.)

Ever wonder how the NSA plans to actually analyze the mountains of data they've been collecting? The Children.

More kids who live at the intersection of national security, adolescence and substance abuse.

Here's a creepy recruitment video, purportedly put together by an insurgent group in Iraq, (streaming google video, nsfw and extreme violence)

Blaupunkt panders to the furvert community by showing the raw, pelvic thrusting power of its car speakers: (download video, 2.5 meg mpeg)

52 (at last count) banned LP covers.

How to make a delicious soup out of your local FCC Inspector. Thanks Dan!

How far we've come since Love to Love You, Baby: DJ Triad's Moaning Music Spectactular.

Devil's Island Paintings: Lepers, Sharks, Escape, Guillotines.

Five links:

Ediciones_2GansonIggy_r_altmanIpcnetJoslin





[Links found via peremeny, del.icio.us, hemaworstje, fazed]

December 24, 2005

Terrific Outsider Film: Multiple SIDosis

Sid_as_mouseHere's Sid Laverents' wonderful 1970 outsider film Multiple SIDosis (download video, MP4, 21 megs).

It opens on Christmas morning, with an extremely square-looking Mr. and Mrs. Laverents opening their presents, but don't let that scare you away. Adelaide has bought Sid one of the early consumer sound-on-sound reel to reel decks (an Akai M8), which he proceeds to play with, creating a multi-tracked version of the song Nola (one of those tunes you recognize instantly, but can't identify). It gets psychedelic as Sid adds to his foundation of ukulele and metronome, layering on tracks of ocarina, banjo, whistling, beer bottles and jews harp. Laverents, a former one-man-band performer on the vaudeville circuit, also confounded D.I.Y. filmmakers of the late sixties with his home-made multiple split screen techniques. Audio multi-tracking and split-screen techniques were both new ideas when Laverents started work on Multiple SIDosis in 1966. It was completed in 1969 and published in 1970.

Multiple_sidosis_1The film has won dozens of international amateur film awards, and Multiple SIDosis was one of the only home-made films included in the Library of Congress' National Film Registry (along with the Zapruder film, among others). Sid Laverents is still alive - you can e-mail him at sidchar at CTS.com, and you can purchase other music and films from him: Sidney N. Laverents, 3705 Mesa Vista Way Bonita, CA, 91902-1135.

Here are MP3s of this version of Nola (mp3) and Sid's Fatman (mp3), thanks to Fatty Jubbo's Cake and Polka Parade. Sid's work has also been featured extensively in Roctober, the New York Times and Other Cinema. I stumbled across Multiple SIDosis the other day on Antville, although it's certainly been around the block, and for good reason.

December 23, 2005

Jesus Will Survive (video)

Jesus_2Tony Clifton he ain't, but here's the Prince 'o Peace having his way with the Gloria Gaynor classic, I Will Survive. Download Video [3.5 MB, Quicktime] Thanks Stephanie, via Javier.

December 22, 2005

The Year in MP3s

Blog_lg2What a year it's been here at Beware of the Blog - 1.7 million hits, 1,130 articles, 35 authors and two cease and desist letters (both fake). For those who joined us late, here's a list of the posts that were stuffed with chewy MP3 goodness. For a full list of all MP3 posts, click here.

Real Fish (Japanese Chamber Pop)

Angela (Six-year-old from Harlem sings of her life)

Rocky Horror Picture Show in Norweigan

Sweet Young Children Grab Bag

Auctioneer_1Recordings of Champion Livestock Auctioneers

The Happy Listener's Guide to Mind Control (Religious, Corporate and Governmental Propaganda)

Charlie and His Orchestra Volume Two Volume One (WWII-era Nazi Band Assembled by Goebbels)

Seven Minutes in Deadwood (An episode of HBO's Deadwood with all the clean words removed)

Dutch Street Organs

ShebeSimpsons for the Blind

She Be She Strike:  Part One  |  Part Two  (Eskimo Radio Station Takeover)

Kollektiv Rote Rube's LP Paranoia (Punky German Agit-Prop)

Attila The Stockbroker (Brit Punk Poet)

Continue reading "The Year in MP3s" »

December 21, 2005

Stalin's Dream: An Army of Ape-Men

Stalinmonkey_2Long before Dave the Spazz's pioneering experiments in human-simian musical interbreeding, former genocidal maniac Josef Stalin dreamed of creating a master race of ape-human warriors, according to The Scotsman (link here). Stalin went so far as to put Russia's top animal breeder, Ilya Ivanov, on the job:

Mr Ivanov's ideas were music to the ears of Soviet planners and in 1926 he was dispatched to West Africa with $200,000 to conduct his first experiment in impregnating chimpanzees.

Meanwhile, a centre for the experiments was set up in Georgia - Stalin's birthplace - for the apes to be raised.

Mr Ivanov's experiments, unsurprisingly from what we now know, were a total failure. He returned to the Soviet Union, only to see experiments in Georgia to use monkey sperm in human volunteers similarly fail.

A final attempt to persuade a Cuban heiress to lend some of her monkeys for further experiments reached American ears, with the New York Times reporting on the story, and she dropped the idea amid the uproar.

Mr Ivanov was now in disgrace. His were not the only experiments going wrong: the plan to collectivise farms ended in the 1932 famine in which at least four million died.

For his expensive failure, he was sentenced to five years' jail, which was later commuted to five years' exile in the Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan in 1931. A year later he died, reportedly after falling sick while standing on a freezing railway platform.

Thanks Rebecca! Image by Jesse Crumb.

Putting The Christ Back Into Power Tools (mp3s)

Trepanation_1By now, the sound of Christmas music is enough to make me want to drill extra holes into my head. And what better sounds to accompany my experiments in holiday trepanation than with Woody Phillips' Christmas songs played on power tools (mp3s): Joy To The Word  |  Jingle Bells  |  I Saw Three Ships

And after an all-night session of self-surgery, are you left feeling a little... gassy? That's no reason to ignore the birthday of Jesus! Put on that  party  hat and download some Christmas music to belch by (mp3s):  Jingle Belch  |  We Wish You A Merry Christmas

Here's three  seasonal exortations from Eddie "The Old Philosopher" Lawrence (mp3s): The Merry Old Philosopher One  |  Two  | Three

Fortunately for all of us, 700 miles of power tools and surgical instruments now separate me from WFMU's stash of Christmas records. Rounding out what I pray is my final Christmas post, here's Sonic Youth's Santa Doesn't Cop Out On Dope, and Klaus Nomi's Silent Night.

 

December 17, 2005

Why It All Went Bye-Bye

OutagesIt's all Al Gore's fault. He's the one who invented the internets in the first place, right?

Whoever it was, they're getting a big piece of plutonium in their christmas stocking this year.

First our entire website disappeared sometime late Tuesday night. When it came back, our live streams were all screwy and our radio program archives were dead. It turns out that the giant energizer bunny at our data center in New York City keeled over and died, sending low voltage through all our servers, ultimately destroying the computer that houses all of our realaudio and mp3 radio archives. We're currently using our backup archive server, although it's looking like a big batch of our realaudio archives are crapping out. If anybody finds any realaudio archives like that, let me know.

Just as our streaming and archiving problems were sorting themselves out, the blog disappeared. It turns out that typepad was having similar problems, and they reverted our blog (and millions of others) to a backup copy that was a week old.  UPDATE: It looks like typepad has finally restored all articles and images. Woo-hoo!

The week kicked off for me with my first fake cease and desist e-mail. It's not enough to be besieged with fake password e-mails, fake offers from Nigerian royalty and the always entertaining dada spams. Now I have to get fake cease and desist e-mails from people about the public domain and creative commons material on this blog. Well, I briefly lost my balls and removed a few posts which I'll put back up in the next week or so. Ah, the internet. Just like Al Gore planned it.

In the meantime, listeners Lukas and Barret helped me find my balls by sending me this song (mp3).

December 16, 2005

Russian Soccer Brawl (video)

Kid_fingerA few days ago, Brian wrote about the measures being taken in Germany to prevent soccer hooliganism at the next World Cup, namely, subjecting attendees to 26 hours of the ambient stylings of Brian Eno and Peter Gabriel. It's hard for us Americans to understand why such measures are being considered. When we riot at sports events, we don funny hats, tear down goal posts and shoot rubber bullets at each other. This video of a brawl between two Russian soccer clubs offers some perspective: download video [5MB wmv]. The two teams, Moscow's Spartak and Dinamo football clubs, march towards each other in a parking lot like Roman armies, before going at it with fists and flares. Look for the guy on fire at around the 1:55 mark. via fazed.

December 13, 2005

America's Most Wanted Art

FbiWhile the Department of Homeland Security is busy protecting miniature golf courses, another federal agency is doing the hard work of democracy - tracking down stolen artworks. The FBI recently identified its "Top Ten Art Crimes," and amazingly enough, Kenny G's three-hour broadcast of weather forecasts was not on the list. But if you happen to see Munch's The Scream, Caravaggio's Nativity with San Lorenzo and San Francesco or any of those 10,000 Iraqi antiquities that went missing, be sure to give the FBI's Art Crime Team a call.

December 12, 2005

Cleaning Out My Inbox

ThundersHere's a video for Chinese Rocks by Johnny Thunders and The Heartbreakers, featuring some actual footage of the band performing the song, although the footage isn't necessarily in sync.. whaddya expect from a bunch of junkies singing about junk? Download Video [28 MB, mpg]

WFMU's full of vinyl fetishists. But not like this.

Mira Craig of The Fugees answers the philosophical question, if a performer jumps into a crowd, and nobody is around to catch her, does she hit the ground? Download Video [1 MB, WindowsMedia], via Compfused. For some successful (even genre-defining) crowd surfing from 1970, see this Iggy Pop post.

Project 15 is a video blog that's been making one fifteen second video every day of 2005. They're haven't linked all the videos yet, but let's hope they do, if more of them are like this post from May 1st. Download Video [Half a MB, Quicktime]

Smoke_1All the Beatles Christmas records - original artwork and mp3s. And here's a page of Beatles' anomolies.

The cigarette smoke art photography of Thomas Herbrich. via Hemaworstje

BZ Gas, the super-hallucinogen developed here in Nutley, New Jersey by Hoffman LaRoche (and actually used in Vietnam, as imagined in the movie Jacob's Ladder) has reportedly been self-administered in Iraq by insurgents. This isn't exactly the application the CIA had in mind when they developed it. Link (via boingboing)

Beware of the Blog's own Fatty Jubbo in a very not-safe-for-work Bobby Conn video, Angels. Link. (No hints on which one is Fatty.)

Will this site put an end to Andy Breckman's endless Albino jokes?

Don't end 2005 without getting your Drunken Russians 2006 calendar!

December 10, 2005

WFMU Homepage Image Gallery

Homepage_galleryWFMU webhamster Henry Lowengard has taken all the images that have ever appeared on our homepage and has made a gallery out of them. They're all there - all the sloths, chimps, Old Codgers, dubyas, DJs, radio images - even the images that I was shamed into removing after ten minutes by our own internal Parent's Radio Council. Here's the gallery.

And let me now take a moment to thank and acknowledge Henry for founding the WFMU website back before there even was a world wide web! Henry set up a WFMU gopherspace (old-timers may remember that term...) on Echo NYC. That was the site that evolved into wfmu.org, which launched in October, 1993. Thanks Henry!

December 09, 2005

Battle of the Rubber Bands (mp3s)

RubberbandThe Christmas records were recently forklifted out of the WFMU pit and put into the record library. Well, not that recently - they've actually been out since last July. (Program Director Brian is on the Committee to Reclaim Ownership of Christmas.) Fortunately, most of our DJs are able to resist the powerfull pull of Christmas music until the blessed day is a little closer. But there's one Xmas CD that's become close to my heart, if ony because I love office supplies so damn much - A Rubber Band Christmas. Perhaps by posting these here, I'll be better able to resist the urge to play them on the air.

Rubber Bells  |  Rudolph The Rubber Nosed Reindeer  |  Ring Rubber Bells
Little Rubber Boy  |  Deck The Halls With Rubber  |  Feliz Rubberdad 
Rubber Oh Rubber Tree  |  God Rest Ye Merry Rubbermen  |  Rubber Ride
Rubber Clause is Coming To Town  |  Rubber To the World  |  Rubber Bell Rock  |  Rubber Night

December 08, 2005

NYC Radio The Night John Lennon Died (mp3)

Here's a dial scan of New York City's FM band from 25 years ago (MP3). It was recorded shortly after the news of John Lennon's murder broke. The recording was made by an unknown listener, and it was included on our CD compilation, Radio Archival Oddities, Vol. 2.

Benjamin, Wild Man of Hypnosis (mp3)

BenjaminHere's an audio letter from Benjamin, Wild Man of Hypnosis to his friend Don, trying to convince Don to book his X-Rated Hypnosis act into his Las Vegas club (MP3). It appears that Benjamin never got that gig, as he subsequently followed the career path of all failed Vegas hypnotists, growing a goatee, and reinventing himself as Kevin Stone, Hypnotist to the Stars. All that remains online of Benjamin's failed career as a Vegas entertainer is this website, and memories of a magical evening at the Vegas Ho-Jos, with Benjamin and his trusty sidekick Trixie, spewing confetti from her nether regions. Ah, the memories. At least we can all have our collective asses back now. Thanks, Irwin!

December 05, 2005

What Would Jesus Really Do?

Far be it from me to speculate on the inner motives and desires of the Son of God. Leave that to the internet. Here are the google results for variations on the phrase "What Would Jesus Do" which, as befits a proto-slogan, leads the pack with 427,000 google results. A recent check proves that my initial results are already outdated, as Jesus moves faster than the average cable modem.

Jesus_skiMusic

What Would Jesus Spin? 1,350

What Would Jesus Have On His iPod? 67

What Would Jesus Listen To? 334

What Would Jesus Burn? 113

What Would Jesus Rip? 7

What Would Jesus Scratch? 6

What Would Jesus Podcast? 3

Jesus_judoLove and Death

Who Would Jesus Hate? 272

Who Would Jesus Love? 76

Who Would Jesus Kill? 501

Who Would Jesus Whack? 583

What Would Jesus Suck? 21

What Would Jesus Lick? 46

Continue reading "What Would Jesus Really Do?" »

December 03, 2005

Work Song From Postal Employees in Ghana (MP3)

Ghana2Here's a beautiful little work song created by four postal employees who were recorded as they canceled stamps at the University of Ghana post office in 1975 (MP3). Their whistle-and-stamp song was recorded by James Koetting and appeared in the book/CD-Rom Worlds of Music: An Introduction to the Music of the World's Peoples. For more information on the recording, check out Elise's homework assignment on the recording. I hope she got a good grade. Ain't the internet grand? Thanks to listener Nick for sending this in; he's already booked the next flight to Ghana. If you want to see some of the stamps these postal workers might've been canceling, check here.

December 02, 2005

Genius Is Pain: John Lennon Interview, National Lampoon MP3

Lennon_1On Saturday at 2pm New York time, BBC4 will broadcast the unreleased audio of Jann Wenner's 1970 interview with John Lennon. You can hear the interview in realaudio from this page when it airs, or if you can't wait, you can just download this MP3 of the National Lampoon's parody based on the interview, in which Lennon bitched about Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger and declared that "Genius Is Pain." Several times, in several different ways. BBC article. Thanks Fabio and Douglas!

We Suck, But We're Free! More Scare Tactics From the NAB

ScarecrowWith Howard Stern moving to Sirius Satellite Radio in less than a month, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is stepping up its scare tactics to keep people away from alternatives to broadcast radio. Here is another spot the NAB recently released to commercial stations all over the country (MP3), including the NAB introduction. It doesn't mention Sirius or XM by name, but you know who they're talking about. (Here's a previous post about the NAB's last scare-spot.)

In this spot, the NAB paints an absolute nightmare scenario for its core constituency of male radio listeners: during a baseball broadcast, it's two out, bottom of the ninth inning with the bases loaded, when a hit is headed out of the park - it's going, going, when suddenly the broadcast is interrupted by an a long distance operator requesting 25 cents for the remainder of the broadcast. The horror! What more proof do you need that the good Lord ordained that radio should be free?

The spot is remniscent of the famous Heidi incident in 1968, when NBC cut off a New York Jets game during the critical game-deciding moment so they could cut start the TV version of the movie Heidi on time. The ensuing outcry changed the nature of sports television in the US forever.

Clearly, the NAB sees Sirius as a huge threat. My colleagues in non-commercial radio see podcasting as a bigger threat than Sirius or XM. People who work in radio are running scared, which makes sense, if you see new technologies as a threat instead of the opportunities they could be.

December 01, 2005

DJ Compilation Of The Month: Songs From The Midnight Matinee

Jerry_1_1MP3s: 26 of them below the jump.

Long before the the great convergence of all media into one, John Schnall was remixing movies for the radio on his WFMU program The Midnight Matinee. The show combined dialogue from movies with music in various ways, and turning such cinematic classics as Jerry Lewis' feel-good Nazi flick The Day The Clown Cried into hour-long radio programs. In the process of remixing, songs were sometimes created out of the dialogue and musical snippets. Many of the the full shows are archived in realaudio on this page. Here are 26 of John's Midnight Matinee songs, along with the title of the episode each song came from, which often suggests the film that provided the original source material.

Continue reading "DJ Compilation Of The Month: Songs From The Midnight Matinee" »

November 29, 2005

Violence Real and Imagined: Which One Gets Banned?

Xbox_1Here's a recent TV commercial that Microsoft commissioned for it's new Xbox 360 and then banned, ostensibly because the non-existent violence portrayed in it was deemed to be too.. violent: streaming video via youtube. (This seems to be a pattern with Microsoft - here's a link to their last banned ad for the xbox 360.)

And here's the "trophy video" which alleges to show (possibly Irish or TrophyScottish) security contractors in Baghdad randomly shooting at motorists on the infamous highway linking Baghdad to the airport: downloadable quicktime video. Although the incident is being investigated, since the shooters in this case were private employees (of  Aegis Defense, Ltd, a firm hired by the US), they're not in any legal danger, even if the people they shot were innocent civilians. The Elvis song "Mystery Train" was added later by the Aegis employees who shot the footage. The video first appeared on this Aegis employee's site, but the files have since been removed. Here's a Telegraph UK article about it.

November 28, 2005

The Lost Art of Jim Flora

Innocentbystandersh5_1_1Purveyors of fine vinyl have no doubt come across the amazing LP designs of Jim Flora, whose illustrations graced the covers of albums by artists like Sauter-Finegan, Gene Krupa, Sidney Bechet and dozens of other jazz LPs from the 40's and 50's. WFMU's own Irwin Chusid was so enamored of Flora's art that he authored a book about him, The Mischievous Art of Jim Flora. Flora's art has also been used on various WFMU T-shirts and bumper stickers, and his style has influenced dozens of current artists such as Tim Biskup and Gary Baseman to name but two.

Recently, Irwin discovered a previously unknown cache of unpublished Flora artwork which showed a new, more demented side of the artist. From an interview with the AIGA Journal of Design, Irwin described the untombed cache of Flora art:

Crosscountrymergesh2"A lot of his work is cartoonish. It's fun to look at, evocative of childhood nostalgia and dereliction of adult responsibility. There are clowns and kitty cats, grinning faces and beaming suns. But despite his later reputation for G-rated kid-lit, Flora, in many of these works, did not restrain himself from expressing darker impulses. There's no shortage of guns and knives and fang-baring snakes. Muggers run amok, demons frolic with rouged harlots and Flora's characters suffer from severe disfigurement. These elements - the banal and the violent - often co-exist within inches of each other on the canvas."

Here is the full interview with Irwin about his efforts to preserve and publish Flora's discovered works, and here's the great Jim Flora site.

 

November 27, 2005

Dancin' Fonts

Dancin_w Dancin_f Dancin_m Dancin_u

Just wanted to see if it would work. So sue me.

Videos: Barney vs Tupac, Cheney vs Scarface, Spike Jonze vs Esquivel and Mixel Pixel

Barney3All those years of Barney bashing come full circle in this video mashup of the big purple dinosaur channeling Tupac Shakur. This is nine years old, but I missed it. Soundtrack's not safe for work, so put on the headphones. Streaming video from Google, via Daddydesign.
Cheney_scarface

If Barney seems to fit right into Tupac, check out how well Al Pacino's Scarface sounds coming out of Dick Cheney's head: downloadable windowsmedia video. via del.icio.us

SpikeHere's a short film from Spike Jonze called "How'd They Get There," which uses Esquivel's version of Sentimental Journey (featuring the great zoo-zoo singers) as the soundtrack. It still doesn't address the mystery of sneakers hanging from telephone wires. downloadable quicktime video.

Mixel_pixel_automatic_1In order to make my monthly quota of cartoon sexuality, here's a cool animated video by Devin Clark of the song Body Automatic by Mixel Pixel. downloadable m4v video file, which will play with Quicktime. nsfw due to the cartoon cunnilingus. via antville, screenhead

New York Noise Features WFMU This Week

Nynoise1New York City's Channel 25 TV spotlights WFMU this week on it's great music video program New York Noise, giving an insider glance at the Record Fair that went down earlier this month at the Metropolitan Pavilion. Music and Program Director Brian Turner, most likely picked for his uncanny similarity in appearance to Adam Curry,  hosts some video clips from his own collection (including Afrirampo, Lightning Bolt, Devo, Captain Beefheart (!), Deerhoof and Serge Gainsbourg), plus there are cameos from WFMU DJ's Trouble, OCDJ, Mac, and Small Change. Tune in if you're in the New York area, the show is on both broadcast and cable TV, and the episode runs Tuesday, November 29th at 10PM, Friday December 2nd at 9PM, and Sunday December 4th at 10 PM.

November 26, 2005

MP3 of Singing Iceberg

IcebergHere's an MP3 of the sounds made by Iceberg B-09A in Antarctica. It was recorded by scientists from Germany's Alfred Wegener institute for polar and marine research, as they recorded seismic signals to measure earthquakes and tectonic movements on the Ekstroem ice shelf on Antarctica's South Atlantic coast.

From the Wegener Institute press release:

Tracking the signal, the scientists found a 50 by 20 kilometer iceberg that had collided with an underwater peninsula and was slowly scraping around it.

"Once the iceberg stuck fast on the seabed it was like a rock in a river," said scientist Vera Schlindwein. "The water pushes through its crevasses and tunnels at high pressure and the iceberg starts singing.

The iceberg sounds were originally recorded at 0.5 hertz, far below the range of human hearing. The MP3 here is speeded up many times to bring the sounds into the audible range. The full Wegener Institute press release is here. Thanks Monica!

If you enjoyed hearing an iceberg sing, here's Pseu's post on the sounds of Saturn, complete with MP3s.

Cleaning Out My Inbox, Covered Face Edition

LsdDid you know that it's a bad idea to give powerful hallucinogens to soldiers? Who woulda thunk it?  But here's a British newsreel film that proves it (downloadable mpg video). via undercurrents from a UK newsreel about British Army drug experiments.

How not to display rare records (downloadable wmv video). Maybe he can replace that cylinder here. Thanks, Listener Tom via Nata2

Touchradio has created the longest language removal exercise yet, of our own Vicki Bennet, from her program Do or D.I.Y. You can download all of Vicki's tongue flaps, uhms and ah's here.

Another creepy classic from Mr. and Mrs. Wheatley: Horrorclown (streaming Quicktime video, nsfw)

Feeling too productive at work? The bouncing girl will change all that.

A truly creepy tale of serial rape by telephone, reminiscent of the famous Milgram obediance experiment. Thanks? Listener Mike

The great Bush-Blair swear-off and Anti-drug Russian waxworks, via b3ta

Six Degrees of Smoking.

Heidi Barack's musical portraits.

incriminating photos via Happy Palace and the LA Public Library:

069058066b

November 25, 2005

Jesus Christ Superstar in Japanese (MP3s)

Fo_sheezy_my_jeezy_1What better way to kick off Christ's month-long birthday bash than with the Japanese version of Jesus Christ Superstar? Here it is in its entirety, featuring a great Judas, a lame Pilate (a shame, since Pilate has many of the best songs), the needless knockoff song Can't We Start Again Please, inappropriate livestock sound effects and inexpicable excursions back into English.

Overture  |  Heaven On Their Minds  |  What's The Buzz  |  Everything's Alright  |  This Jesus Must Die  |  Hosanna  |  Simon Zealots - Poor Jerusalem  |  Pilate's Dream  |  The Temple  |  Everything's Alright - I Dont Know How To Love Him  |  Damned For All Time - Blood Money  |  The Last Supper  |  Gethsemane - I Only Want To Say  |  The Arrest  |  Peter's Denial  |  Pilate and Christ  |  King Herod's Song  |  Could We Start Again Please  |  Judas' Death  |  Trial Before Pilate  |  Superstar  |  Crucifixion  |  John Nineteen Forty One

If you enjoyed these, don't forget The Rocky Horror Picture Show soundtrack in Norwegian. Lots of other MP3 posts from Beware of the Blog here.

November 23, 2005

A Thanksgiving Prayer from William S. Burroughs

Burroughs3Straight from Blame-America-First World Headquarters to your hard drive, here's a Thanksgiving Day prayer from William S. Burroughs, from a video directed by Gus Van Sant (mpg video for download). In this 1986 poem, Burroughs salutes our nation of finks "where nobody is allowed to mind his own business." And he throws in a few bad words for the KKK, Prohibition and "Kill a Queer for Christ" bumper stickers for good measure.

November 19, 2005

The $4000 Dead Turkey Complaint

Woman_rifleThe FCC may have stopped fining stations for indecency, but they've never let up on another favorite area of enforcement: their rules against putting people on the air without their knowledge (the reason why all on-air phone calls start with "you're on the air").

Just in time to establish their pro-Turkey Thanksgiving stance, the FCC has fined a station in Montana $4,000 for putting a turkey-rights activist (not pictured at left) on the air without her permission. But this wasn't a morning zoo situation. The station (KZMN in Kalispell) was conducting a Thanksgiving food drive in November 2003, and they had hung a dead turkey (or a replica thereof) outside the station's studios. During a program which was soliciting pledges of food, a caller was put on the air with the host, Paul Gray. Gray dutifully told the caller that she was on the air, and she proceeded to complain about the dead turkey hanging outside KZMN's building. The trouble started when the first caller handed the phone to a co-worker, and Gray neglected to notify the caller's co-worker that she was also being broadcast. Gray told the caller's co-worker to "quit complaining, and listen to the station." She filed a complaint with the FCC, who originally fined KZMN $6,000, then lowered the fine to $4,000. Still no word on whether the turkey was real or rubber. via FMBQ

All media outlets, WFMU included, get their share of crackpots complaining about all sorts of things. Since I can't share the complaints that we receive, here is a voice-mail reeived by a TV station that had aired a program which dared to question the true nature of crop circles. MP3 for download via del.icio.us/tag/audio

November 18, 2005

Erotic Aerobics MP3s

Eroticaerobics_1I figured I would complete today's triumvirate of smut here on the FMU Blog by posting MP3s for my favorite exercise record, Erotic Aerobics. But don't get the wrong idea about this material- just because these tracks have titles like  Fan Dance or Pelvic Pleasures (mp3s), and contains lines like "Get down on all fours" and "Open your thighs wide," this ain't no collection of audio pornography. This is classy stuff! For one thing, our Aerobics Caller here is Pierre Raymonde, who is French or at least pretends to be. And French is classy, (or at least it was when this LP came out, in 1982). And Pierre's not exhorting over some cheap wikka-wikka-wikka porno music, he's using classical music! Need I say more? I will anyway. Rull yooor eeps.

Breathing Warm Ups  |  Body Manipulations  |  Kinky Chorus Kick and Flash  |

Turn And Tease Me  |  The Strippers Strut  |  Sensual Warmups  |  Pelvic Pleasures

Lover's Lunge  |  The Shameless Shake  |  Fan Dance

November 17, 2005

Tony Blair versus The Sex Pistols

Tony_blair_sex_pist_1It's sort of refreshing to see an old King Crimson fan cast as The Antichrist. The gyrating Maggie Thatchers don't hurt either. Somehow I don't this is going to be as big as JibJab. Flash animation page. via Mr. and Mrs. Wheatley, Ltd.

November 15, 2005

61 Versions of Tico Tico

No_fuba_poster_2MP3s: 61 versions of Tico Tico below the jump

Maybe the reason I keep playing single-chord songs on my show lately is because at one time, I couldn't get enough of the song Tico Tico, the tune that packs in more notes per measure than a scat singer on Dexedrine. I stumbled onto my cassette cache of Tico Tico's the other day, and without someone nearby to slap some sense into me, I ripped all of them. Then I came to the station and proceeded to find even more versions. Then I stupidly searched online and.. and...and... just go below the jump for all 61 versions.

Tico Tico was written in 1917 by Zequinha de Abreu. The song's first title was actually Tico Tico no Farelo, and in the 40's it became Tico Tico no Fuba. The song was imported to the US by Disney via their animated piece of World War Two-era Happy Latinos propaganda, "Saludos Amigos," in which Donald Duck introduces the song. That version is below. Do I want more versions? No. Unless you have the Captain Beefheart version. I gave up my Tico Tico obsession on the air years ago because I quickly discovered it was a bottomless pit of wants, desires and notes. Lots of notes. Three hour's worth (note to Kenny G: don't do it!)

Next song to get this treatement, The Internationale. It has fewer notes.

Continue reading "61 Versions of Tico Tico" »

November 14, 2005

3 Videos: Subway Car Video, Ali Snubs Bush and Al Qaeda Cartoon Outtakes

Parasite_2Here's how to turn a subway car into a film projector, using only suction cups, mirrors and a laptop. The perpetrators in this case pulled it off in Berlin. Had they tried this stunt in New York, they'd be facing charges right now. Quicktime video for download via del.icio.us/tag/video

Alibush2Last week, President Bush awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom award to Muhammad Ali, calling The Greatest "a man of peace," and "the greatest of all time." Ali responded by making the internationally accepted "this guy's nuts" sign as Bush tied the ribbon around his neck. Windowsmedia video for download

The Family Guy started off a recent episode with a great idea - what would the outtakes from an Al Qaeda "death to infidels" video look like? Of course, it ends with Stewie kicking some Al Qaeda ass, which would never happen. If anything, Stewie would join up. Windowsmedia video for download (last two via theync.com)

The Kid From Brooklyn Speaks The Truth

Kidfrombrooklyn_2The Kid From Brooklyn is neither a kid nor is he from Brooklyn. He's a poetically foul-mouthed ticket dealer from Jersey named Mike Caracciolo, but the ticket racket's never been the right place for him. As he likes to tell people, he really oughta be an actor.

The Kid may want to be an actor, but he's found the perfect medium, taping his own video rants and posting them on his Kid From Brooklyn site. He's been at it for a few years, but he's been on a real tear lately. Since his own servers are a little on the sluggish side, I've re-posted three of his latest video rants here (nsfw):

The Importance of Telling People to Go Fuck Themselves (wmv video file)

The Big Man On How To Stop Terrorism (wmv video file)

The Big Man Introduces Mona, (Mrs. Kid From Brooklyn) (wmv video file)

via metafilter

November 12, 2005

Cleaning Out My Inbox

Mary_lou_1While visiting Brazil, Arnold displays his deep respect for local mores and customs. Quicktime Video  via del.icio.us/tag/video

Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing. via Hemaworstje

Dance moves circa 1974, via an Isley Brother's Soul Train Line. Mpg video via del.icio.us/tag/video

The ever photogenic Laura Bush. Thanks Rebecca!

Cool remix of toy instruments. via growabrain

Forget Judith Miller. What's Jayson Blair been up to? Thanks, Steinski!

Covert cameras for every use. Don't miss: 1  |  2  |  3  | Thanks again, Steinski!

Relive your (my) 7th grade drug education class! Pretty pictures | Junkie Comics. via Hemaworstje, Ethan Persoff

Using cartoon technology to teach kids to kill themselves. Iranian suicide bombing cartoon. (streaming windowsmedia video clip, via del.icio.us/tag/propaganda

In case you missed it, here's that Japanese TV game show clip of the kids with the pork chops strapped to their heads. Oh, and there's a big lizard, too: Google video, via boingboing

If World War Two had been an online game. via fazed

The infamous CIA sabotage manual from the early eighties. via flickr

Gallery of Luis Bunuel film posters.

Mary Lou (above) by Bryce (click on her!)  B/W Photos (below) from PhotoEye Galleries:

Aa4343Bb43432fdCcfdfderre







1b28c36e97c899ac5cb12eb0cf6473e9240c5a1dd915cdEd7db0ba4ce121735

November 11, 2005

Criswell Predicts MP3

Criswell_2For your listening and sampling pleasure, here's a 44-minute-long MP3 of the legendary Criswell predicting what he predicts best - the future, which is where you and I will spend the rest of our lives. I know that some of you will write off Criswell as another Ed Wood boy toy, but listen to the predictions he makes here, and you will be astounded by his accuracy. Among Criswell's 1970 predictions that have come to pass:

And that's just in the first few minutes of this MP3! Eventually, the great Criswell predicts the end of the world for August 18, 1999, which, unless I'm seriously mistaken, also came to pass.

Use Celery

CeleryThe latest piece of shameless propaganda from
the National Celery Board: .mov video file

November 10, 2005

Aluminum Helmets Found To Aid Fed's Access To Brains

FezSensible people have long accepted that the best way to prevent the government men from sending secret signals into your brain is by protecting your cranium with an aluminum hat. But now, four researchers at MIT have looked into the matter and have found that wearing an aluminum hat actually enhances the government's ability to access your brain's electrical system, by amplifying key frequencies which are reserved for government use.

The only sane conclusion is that the aluminum-hat theory was actually promulgated by the government itself! This means that the aluminum hats worn so prominently by Joachim Phoenix in the movie Signs amount to government-funded product placement. Article and research here. Thanks, listener Kevin!

The Family Guy's FCC Song

Stewey_toiletLast Sunday night's episode of The Family Guy was all about the FCC's (now dormant) language crackdown. It included a brief song and dance number about our favorite regulatory agency. Here's the MP3 of the song, and here's a link to the streaming video of it, via devilducky.

November 09, 2005

The Hits of 1966, With a Lisp (MP3s)

Rock_hudsonA few weeks ago, I posted 21 versions of They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha Ha, including one by Teddy and Darrel. Little did I know that the WFMU library included the entire Teddy and Darrel LP, These are The Hits, You Silly Savage, which I post here in its entirety. I found these on a collection called Queer To The Core. The original album came out in 1966, and featured Teddy and Darrel lisping and swishing their way through the hits of the day:

I'm Hungry  |  Wild Thing  |  Gary Ghoul Boy  |  Little Red Riding Hood  | 

The Hollywood Agent  |  These Boots Are Made For Walking  | 

Teddy_darrelStrangers In The Night  |  Say There  |  Hanky Panky  |

Hollywood Swings  |  They Took You Away, I'm Glad, I'm Glad  | 

Hold On, I'm Coming

Me and Takeshi Down By The Schoolyard

Psychedelic_schoolkids2Here's a video I stumbled across which seems to show Japanese schoolkids engaging in freestyling, cheerleading and consuming a large unidentified piece of meat. Get past the annoying editing, and there's plenty here to ponder, not the least of which is: why does the spasmodic catholic school girl always seem to get the better of the shirtless mohawk sporting suspender guy? Video here. (wmv file for download).  via  hemeworstje

November 07, 2005

Wealthy Geek Pays $20 Million to Wear Cartoon Helmet in Outer Space

Char_aznableDaisuke Enomoto (aka Dice-K) will soon become the fourth space tourist of all time, paying $20 Million to the extra-terrestrial travel agency Space Adventures for the privilege of spending ten fun-filled days in the International Space Station. Enomoto dreams not only of gazing down at the earth from the heavens, but to do so decked out in the costume of Char Aznable, his favorite character from the popular anime series Gundam. Enomoto is already entertaining bids from Japanese companies to build him a working red space suit based on the blond-haired, blue-eyed Char Aznable, whose name is derived from Charles Aznavour, but who is better known in the anime universe as The Red Comet.

While wearing his cartoon helmet and space epaulets, Enomoto will also be trying to convince the various ETs he encounters that he is friend, not foe. So the costume had better be good. Here is Enomoto's SETI at home page. Don't you wish you had $20 million to follow your dreams, too? Article here.

UPDATE: Listener Nick send us Char's theme song, Hori Kouichiro's Char ga Kuru (MP3)

Record Related MP3s

Sparkly_turntableAs a way of thanking everybody who came to the WFMU record fair this weekend, and also in an effor to engender cross-format peace and understanding, here are a few record-related MP3s:

John Lennon - Tower Records Ad
John does a great job as a guest DJ on Los Angeles station KHJ as he hawks Tower Records.

Althea and the Memories - Worst Record Ever Made
Kim Fowley pulled some pre-pubescent fans into the studio for the backing squeals.

Akaten - Suite USA Record Company
Atsushi Tsuyama (Acid Mothers Temple) and Tatsuya Yoshida (Ruins) provide a muscial recitation of the major record labels.

Vernon Oxford - Turn The Record Over

Tom Tall - Stack of Records

Playmates - While The Record Goes Around

Moose Jackson - Big Ten Inch Record

Dinah Washington - Record Ban Blues

Bob and Ray - Columbia Phonograph Spot

November 02, 2005

Mike Bloomberg's Cartoon Handjob

Bushbloombergad_2New York mayoral wannabe Freddy Ferrer recently released an animated campaign ad (in jibjab style) which depicts mayor Mike Bloomberg giving a cartoon handjob to Dubya. The ad is available from Ferrer's site (it's the one called "Buddies") but in the event that they take it down, I've posted it here as well (mov file for download).

What's interesting is that in the fallout from the ad, The New York Times failed to mention what made the ad so controversial in the first place. It's the cartoon handjob, stupid!

But the Times' myopia pales next to the question of what exactly constitutes a cartoon handjob. Some experts contend that the ad doesn't depict a handjob at all. In the ad, Bloomberg reaches his well-moneyed hand over to Dubya's crotch and rubs it, eliciting Dubya to grin and kick his heels. But Bloomberg's hand never actually penetrates Bush's trousers, which technically speaking, makes the act frottage, not a handjob. But different rules apply to the world of cartoon sexuality. Things have been so quiet here at the cartoon sexuality desk that all the frottage in the world would not awaken our cartoon sexuality editors from their slumber, so we may never know the answer.

For me, the most offensive part of the ad is not the handjob, but Ferrer's campaign slogan: Fernando Ferrer. He's not like Mike. He's more like you. Ferrer's slogan writers clearly owe royalties to Andy Breckman, who penned the WFMU slogan, Helping listeners like you become less like you.

November 01, 2005

Web-Only Shows and Podcasts

Steveporcaro1982_1WFMU Unshackled: With our new Fall-Winter schedule, WFMU unveiled a radical new concept - 15 hours a week of freeform programming which is aired only on the internet. (Since Nachum Segal's JM in the AM already had established it's own 24-hour-a-day webstream, we replaced JM in the AM on the freeform stream with programs that are free of the FCC's incomprehensible language restrictions. JM in the AM is still heard over the air, and online through Nachum's JM website.)

After a few false starts and technical snafus, the web-only slot is now running smoothly, from 6-9am EST Monday through Friday mornings. On Mondays, you can hear John Allen's new show, Thursdays brings you the return of the Cosmic Cowboy and on Friday mornings, Chris T returns to the phones with a three-hour edition of Communication Breakdown (you can call Chris while his show is in progress at 201-536-9368 or toll-free via the internet phone service Skype at "WFMU-FM."). On Tuesday and Thursday mornings you can hear various WFMU DJ's stretching out in the FCC-free zone with pre-recorded web-only shows. Like all WFMU shows, the morning web-only shows will be archived in both mono Realaudio and stereo MP3 formats. Thanks to Bill Zurat and John Fog for their hard work in making this innovation possible!

Podcast Update:
With our new schedule, twelve WFMU shows are available as podcasts, meaning that the MP3 archive of each new show is be delivered automatically to your computer and/or MP3 player. Returning to the podcast roster is the found-sound extravanganza The Audio Kitchen, and joining our podcast ranks for the first time is Clay Pigeon's brand new Dusty Show, an analog audio orgasm in its own right. There's more information on our Podcasts, the links you need to subscribe to these showsand instructions for getting started on our Podcast Central Page.

Next up at the geeky buffet: live WFMU streams and archives via internet-enabled cell phones and PDAs. Stay tuned...

DJ Compilation of the Month: The Incorrect Music Companion 2001

Incorrect_2001MP3s: 22 Incorrect Music artifacts below the jump.

This month's DJ compilation is the Incorrect Music Companion, a collection of Outsider Music compiled by Irwin Chusid and Michelle Boule. Irwin and Michelle did the weekly Incorrect Music hour from 1997 to 2002. You can still hear all their realaudio archives from this page. This collection was their fundraising marathon premium from the March 2001 fundraiser. It includes such Incorrect standard bearers as Mr. Snuggles (MP3), Mother Rage (MP3) as well as an early appearance by the Langley Schools Music Project (MP3). (Illustration by Michelle Boule)

Continue reading "DJ Compilation of the Month: The Incorrect Music Companion 2001" »

October 31, 2005

Remixed Halloween Safety Soundtrack

HalloweensafetyFor those of you heading out tonight to Trick and/or Treat, Listener Al presents this audio remix of an old classroom training film on Halloween safety. Don't forget, Keep Your Jokes Funny and Safe. Unsafe Jokes Are Not Funny. via artofbleeding

Kiss The Goat! Satanic Mass MP3

CovenGo ahead and Kiss The Goat. You know you want to. Go ahead. I dare you. Kiss it. I double-dog dare you.

Don't know what I'm talking about? Download this MP3 of a Satanic Mass by the band Coven. You'll never hear the phrase "Kiss The Goat" the same way again.

OK, so you'll never hear the phrase "Kiss The Goat" again at all. It's still a great Satanic Mass, as Satanic Masses go. It came out on Coven's 1970 LP Witchcraft: Destroys Minds and Reaps Souls. For years, I though that this was the same Coven who had the hit with One Tin Soldier, but apparently, that was the British Coven, and this is the American Coven. To make matters even more confusing, the American Coven included a member named Oz Ozbourne. No relation. Just Kiss The Goat and shut up.

If this Satanic Mass doesn't fulfill your Halloween quotient for evil, don't forget about my 70 minute Satanic Halloween Mix, The Horror (MP3), which also includes portion's of Coven's Satanic Mass. (Careful, it's huge - clocking in at almost 100 Megs.)

Hail Satan. Over and out.

October 30, 2005

Bizarre, Smutty Video from LTK Commune

Ltk4_2If the People's Republic of China still has military designs on Taiwan, they might want to first check out the latest video from the Taiwanese political novelty band Loh Tsui Kweh Commune (Download .mov movie file). After a visual checklist of internationally-accepted rock cliche's (devil horns, stage diving, guitar smashing, keyboard histrionics, etc), the band (also known as LTK and LTK Commune) gets down to business with the old chainsaw-up-the-butt gag. (Did I mention the video's complete absence of work-safeness?) But LTK doesn't stop there.

Ltk2_1Before finally getting down with Buddhah, the band engages in male lactation fantasies and inexplicable product-positioned prostate exams. All in all, a bizarre and wondrous Asian smutfest, full of highly entertaining imagery, much of which would be scandalous here, but which is apparently A-OK for that haven of free-speech, Taiwan. via del.icio.us/video

October 27, 2005

Sing Along With JFK MP3s

Jfk_singalong_2The assassination of John F. Kennedy may have marked the end of American innocence, but it crowned Vaughn Meader's First Family LP as the king of the cut-out bins for decades, a position it still holds to this day. What a shame that this fate was not bestowed upon George Atkins and Hank Levine's Sing Along With JFK LP instead. In 1961, Atkins and Levine took snippets of JFK's early presidential speeches, added an accordian player and a chorus, and set Camelot to music. JFK's pal Frank Sinatra was good enough to put out a small pressing of the LP on his Reprise label.

Although the same technique has been applied by others (including the George W Bush Singers), the inspiration of the Sing Along With JFK record has never been equaled, even (and especially) by Atkins and Levine's RFK/LBJ-based followup, Washington Is For The Birds.

Here are all six musical tracks from the LP Sing Along With JFK:

Begin Anew For Two  |  Let Us Begin Beguine  |  Alliance For Progress Bossa Nova
Ask Not Waltz  |  The Trumpet  |  Let The Word Go Forth

October 26, 2005

Video on History of Electronic Music

SoundhouseI never thought I'd be posting a filmstrip on the blog, but here you go: Pathways To Music, Part One: The Birth of Electronic Music (mov file for download). This is part one of the series - if you know where part two is, let me know. This installment covers "electronic" music from 400 BC to 1950, including analog techniques such as the "soundhouses" of the 17th century (pictured at right) to the glass harmonica, before finally moving along to early electronic instruments such as the Dynamophone and the Ondes Martenot. And the case is made that DJ Paul Hindemith was the first turntablist of all time, yo!
UPDATE: Here is part two (MP4 file), via GetLoFi. Thanks, Tony!

October 24, 2005

PiL on American Bandstand, 1980 (video)

Lyd1In our ongoing series of subversive American Bandstand performances, here's a video clip of Public Image, Ltd. performing Poptones and Careering on American Bandstand in May, 1980 (97 mb of mpg goodness). It's the best lip-synching I've ever seen, if you like your lip-synching honest - which is to say that John Lydon's microphone rarely comes within 18 inches of his mouth.

I'm surprise he even bothered to pick up the mic at the start of the clip. Also of note: Dick Clark confusing Jah Wobble and "Johnny" (with Lydon's able assitance), not to mention Lydon's lethargic enthusiasm in the midst of the confused disco chaos. The clip is really poor quality, as is befitting such a sarcastic performance. Now if we only had a video clip of their famous show/riot at The Ritz in 1981.

Download American Bandstand Video Clip. Thanks Listener Chad!

October 22, 2005

Spanish Version of Jack-FM: Hola "Jose!"

Bullshit_meter_200Complain about it all you want (see comments on this post and this one), but Jack FM has been so succesful that it's now expanding to the Spanish language radio market, rechristening the philosophy of "Play What We Want" as  "Toca Lo Que Quiere." Maybe my erstwhile announcer Julio can now get a job. From newradiostar:

Entravision Radio, announced today the launch of 'Jose: Toca lo que Quiere,' the first Spanish-language "Play What We Want" radio format. 'Jose,' who personifies everything heard between the music on the new format, will make his debut on Thursday, October 20th at 3:00 p.m. Pacific Time on KRCX 99.9 FM in Sacramento and at midnight, local time, on KCVR 98.9 FM in Modesto, and KCVR 1570 AM in Stockton, California, KRZY 1450 AM Albuquerque, New Mexico and KMXA 1090 AM Denver, Colorado.  'Jose: Toca lo que Quiere' (he plays what he wants) targets Hispanic adults 25-54. Featuring a mix of Spanish-language adult contemporary hits from the late 1970's to today, 'Jose' will air a wide variety of music from an array of artists, such as Los Bukis, Juan Gabriel, Los Yonics, Rocio Durcal, Los Tigres del Norte, Vicente Fernandez, Los Angeles Negros, Mijares, Alejandro Fernandez and more. "Entravision Radio leads the industry by innovating and creating new Spanish-language radio formats that are just as diverse as the U.S. Hispanic market itself," said Nestor Rocha, Vice President of Programming for Entravision Radio. "We are very excited about the launch of 'Jose' and will continue to create Spanish-language radio formats that accommodate the different tastes of groups within the U.S. Hispanic marketplace."

October 20, 2005

The Shemp Meditation Tape

ShempBack in the late 1980's as the New Age movement peaked, WFMU agonized over the fact that the station had absolutely nothing to offer the Windham Hill crowd, which was fleeing the station's membership rolls in droves. The solution was to place Dave the Spazz under house arrest until an appropriate audio solution could be assembled. The result was the Shemp Meditation Tape, which Dave described this way:

Recommended for new age nitwits and chucklefucks alike....scientifically mixed in Shemp-A-Rama for your enlightened casaba-banging pleasure.... Soar the Horwitz heavens and become one with Shemp's karma on the Heee Beee Beee Beee side... transhempify your mind and cook your chakras on the life-infirming Ahh Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha side.

The Shemp Meditation Tape went on to become the top selling item in WFMU's well intentioned but fatally flawed Catalog of Curiosities, which was in business from 1993-1997.

Heee Beee Beee Beee side (MP3)
Ahh Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha side (MP3)

(Produced under armed guard for WFMU by Mahavishnu Dave Thespazzyrama in the palatial Spazzintologist Compound.)

Bathtime in Clerkenwell MP3 and Video

Real_tuesday_weld3Everytime I play the song Bathtime in Clerkenwell (MP3) on the air, I get calls and e-mails about it. It's by the band (The Real) Tuesday Weld, from the soundtrack to the book I, Lucifer by Glen Duncan. I haven't read the book, but the soundtrack is great. As is this cool black and white animated video of the song (wmv video file), by Alex Budovsky, which apparently won the best animated short award at Sundance last year.

October 18, 2005

Prince on American Bandstand, 1980 (video)

Prince_1Here's a fairly gigantic video clip of Prince lip-synching on American Bandstand in early 1980, after the release of his second LP Prince (mpg file, 94mb!). The lip-synching, crotch grabbing and dancing are all well and good (and impermissible in today's broadcast environment), but the best parts are Dick Clark's attempted interviews with His Majesty. Prince exudes total indifference to Clark and to this, his first big national moment.

via del.icio.us/tag/video

October 17, 2005

In Praise of Gibberish

GibberishHere's an idiotic and hilarious video clip about the joys of gibberish, and the power of peer pressure. via Hemaworstje via catmanandmary

October 16, 2005

Victoria Reveals The Truth About Young Hae-Chang Heavy Industries and Jim Morrison

Hae_chang_1Here's a piece of flash art by "Victoria," who identifies herself not only as the brains behind the South Korean net art duo Young Hae-Chang Heavy Industries, but also as the electronic reincarnation of The Lizard King. Shades of both 386DX and Rene's "I Am The Best Artist." Thanks Listener Charles!

October 14, 2005

The Dirty Mac doing "Yer Blues" at The Rock and Roll Circus

Dirty_mac_2Here's a video clip (mpg file for download) of John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards and Mitch Mitchell (Jimi Hendrix Experience) performing under the name Dirty Mac as part of the Rolling Stone's 1968 TV special, Rock and Roll Circus.

After an unfunny Mick Jagger (doing a lame American accent) interviews an amusing John Lennon, the impromptu supergroup launches into a version of Yer Blues that makes the White Album version sound lame and hollow. This was the first time Beatle John had performed in public without John_and_mickThe Beatles, and fortunately audio and video were on hand to preserve a great performance, with Keith on bass, Clapton on guitar, Mitchell on drums and Yoko mercifully crawling into an un-mic'ed black elastic bag. Apparently on other songs that day, Yoko provided her customary caterwauling. (If it's Yoko caterwauling on TV behind Lennon you want, see The Professor's post about the Mike Douglas show performance that made Chuck Berry's eyes roll.

via del.icio.us/tag/video

October 13, 2005

The Secret of Lil' Markie Revealed

Lilmarkie_bigVideo: Quicktime file of Large Happy Man holding Lil' Markie captive inside his body.
MP3s: 17 Lil' Markie tracks below the jump.

Listeners to Kenny G's show or Irwin's old show Incorrect Music may recall the pleadings of a certain helium induced duck-child named Lil' Markie, as he begged his mother not to abort him (Diary of An Unborn Child MP3), or his drunken Daddy not to feel so bad about killing him (Story of An Alcoholic Father MP3). As bizarre Christian Kiddy records go, the Lil' Markie material stands alone.

But something never felt right to me about Lil' Markie. For one thing, he looked human, but he sounded suspiciously like a puppet. But there were no strings to be found. From the sound of it, Markie carried himself like a well respected leader of the  Christian Puppet community, but unlike Lil' Joey, Lil' Harry or Lil' Jackie, not only were there no strings, there were no hands up the back, no hinged dummy-jaws. Nothing to suggest puppetry. It didn't make sense. To my mind, the helium duck-child voice was not of human origin.

Now at last, the mystery is solved. The other day on the Bomarr blog, this video surfaced (Quicktime file). In it, you will see video footage of a Large, Happy Man singing the Large_happy_manpraises of Jesus. But that's not the strange thing. About halfway through the video, the voice of Lil' Markie emerges from The Large Happy Man.

This is visual proof that The Large, Happy Man swallowed Lil' Markie whole and is now exploiting him on tours of churches around the United States!! When Lil' Markie sang Use Me (MP3), he didn't mean this! The actual identity of the Large Happy Man has not been verified, but he claims to be one Mark Fox.

Ignore Mark Fox's preposterous claims and jump below the fold for Otis Fodder's MP3 collection of Lil' Markie tracks, plus other Lil' Markie links. Thanks to Otis, Bomarr, and Pea Hicks.

Continue reading "The Secret of Lil' Markie Revealed" »

October 12, 2005

Fun Video Clip of Reg Kehoe and The Marimba Queens

Marimba2_1Here's a great video clip of Reg Kehoe and His Marimba Queens, performing sometime in the early 1940's: big MP4 file | small MP4 file (click to download files). Here's the page on archive.org that this came from. There's more versions of it and info over there. Thanks to Carrie from Stay Free for alerting me to this little wonder.

This band apparently performed at the start and end of the vacation season in Hershey, Pennsylvania every year. The clip here came from a PBS show Matinee At The Bijou. A fuller version of this segment was made available to the public originally as a "soundie," a film reel that played inside a video jukebox of the day called a Panoram, a precursor to the Scopitone.

Marimba3The bass player is a guy named Frank Denunzio, and he gets my nomination for the upright bass player hall of fame, for his visual antics alone. And then there are the wonderful Marimba Queens. Sigh.

All in all, a real delight of a clip. Maybe I'll rip and post a batch of tracks from other marimba bands.

Thanks Carrie!

October 10, 2005

I'm A Genius, Too! The Murry Wilson Tapes

MP3s: The Beach Boys Help Me Ronda Sessions - Full Version | Edited version
Flash Animations: Peter Bagge's Murry Wilson: Rock and Roll Dad - 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Murry1_1January 8, 1965: The Beach Boys enter the studio to record what will become their second number one hit, Help Me Rhonda. Well into the session, a drunken Murry Wilson (Brian, Carl and Dennis' Dad) arrives and proceeds to commandeer the session with psychodrama, scat singing and weepy, abusive melodrama.

The session tape captured it all, and versions of these tapes have been floating around bootlegs for years. The fact that the tapes survived is itself surprising - you can hear Brian and Murry fighting over the tape recorder controls at the 35:30 mark of the full version, Murry wanting to stop the recording, with Brian ultimately keeping the tape rolling. And it's a good thing that Brian won out, because this audio verifies many of the Murry Wilson horror stories described in the Steven Gaines book, Heroes and Villains: The True Story of The Beach Boys.

Here's the full 40 minute version of the Help Me Ronda sessions for you completionists: (MP3), and here's a twelve minute edit I did for other attention-challenged people such as myself: (MP3). Recently, Listener Jeff alerted me to Peter Bagge's four-part animated Murry Wilson flash series, which Icebox put out in 2001. Here are all four installments as Shockwave 3.0 files: Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four

Listening back to the full Help Me Ronda sessions again, I'm struck by how sane Brian sounds when compared to Murry, and how mature and patient he is for a 22 old standing up to his abusive, alcoholic father. After listening in on this session, It's easy to see why the Beach Boys eventually purchased Murry a fake audio console for their sessions, so he could twiddle knobs to his heart's delight without destroying anything.

Continue reading "I'm A Genius, Too! The Murry Wilson Tapes" »

Cleaning Out My Inbox

Applause_2Animations of plantlife gone berserk. All this video needs in Werner Herzog intoning about the chaos of nature and it would be complete. via fazed

From the makers of the above, it's a dream come true: robots harrassing pigeons in the east village. (Click on the 2nd video down on the right.)

When Flying Dogs Attack. via peremeny

The secrets of Bohemian Grove, gathering place of powerful, fat, naked men.

Listener Wendy's home in the hills.

Oh_bondage_2Devendra Banhart goes to great lengths to ensure that he wont be a Starbucks poster boy (video).

The Japanese Gallery of Psychiatric Art.

In May, I wrote about the art of free running, aka Le Parkour. Here's a new free running video making the rounds (windows media file).

Eight, count 'em, eight galleries of bathroom graffitti.

A new video from Jason Forrest / Donna Summer: War Photographer (Quicktime file)

1041056977nudepengins7620pingpongnativesWhere_she_died





000129330152jhbrownspiralsFaucon14Tn_octochild_bw2






October 08, 2005

I, For One, Welcome General Zod

ZodportraitAs much as I would like to throw WFMU's political weight behind the candidacy of Christopher Walken, it is impossible to do so at this time. WFMU heartily welcomes General Zod to our beautiful planet, and we endorse his candidacy for the 2008 Presidential Election.
via Irwin

Operation Care About Colored People

ColemanPresident Bush has chosen his mother and William Bennett to head up a new racial sensitivity initiative, to be known as "Operation Care About Colored People."

Last month, William Bennett stated on his syndicated radio show, "If you wanted to reduce crime, you could -- if that were your sole purpose -- you could abort every black baby in this country and your
crime rate would go down."

On September 5th, former first lady Barbara Bush said in a radio interview regarding the hurricane evacuees in the Houston Astrodome, "So many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this is working very well for them."

These statements were the basis for the president's decision to choose the two to lead the racial sensitivity initiative, according to White House Press Secretary, Scott McClellan, who answered critics during a press conference.

The initiative will utilize public service announcements, print advertisements and radio ads featuring Mrs. Bush and Bennett, who will talk about their own experiences with racial sensitivity and how racism has effected their lives in a Fox News special, hosted by former child star and Cashcall pitchman, Gary
Coleman.

Asked about the president's new racial sensitivity initiative, Coleman said, "I think it's a great place to borrow money."

via poppycaca (satire)

October 07, 2005

Our Millionth Hit!

Millionth_1Sometime in the last few hours, Beware of the Blog had it's one millionth hit!

If you were the millionth person to check us out, step forward and collect your free toaster. We're working on an honor system here people, so no false claims please. The toaster emits sparks while toasting, but other than that, it works really well.

Seriously, thanks to all of our authors, readers and commenters for helping us reach this milestone.

Here are MP3s of ten "million" songs as a way of showing our gratitude:

William S Burroughs - Millions of Images
The Homosexuals - A Million Keys
The Runaways - I'm A Million
The Raincoats - You're A Million
Public Enemy - One Million Bottlebags
Claude King - A Million Mistakes
Bel Larks - A Million And One Dreams
Jawbreaker - Million
National Lampoon - Land A Million
XTC - Millions

October 06, 2005

Little Steven Versus The Fucking Pussies

Little_stevenThis via Irwin: Little Steven's keynote address at the Radio and Records 2005 Convention.

Date: Thursday, July 23, 2005
Place: Renaissance Hotel, Cleveland, Ohio
Audience: 250 Program Directors

Fred Jacobs introduces a four-minute video bio. At its conclusion, the Dovells' You Can't Sit Down explodes from the speakers as five Go-Go girls come out of the wings surrounding Fred, much to his discomfort. Little Steven enters to thunderous applause. He cuts off the music with a wave of his hand, leans into the microphone and says "Ladies and Gentlemen, Fred Jacobs."

The music returns as the girls exit. A stunned audience applauds wildly as Fred, very uncharacteristically, dances off with them.

Little Steven: Well that was worth the price of admission alone. (more applause and laughter... Steven paces with the hand held mic for a minute, and then. . . )

"I Love Radio! (applause once again erupts) And I feel nothing but love in this room because as I look around, I see only two kinds of people. Our beloved affiliates . . . and future affiliates. (laughter) So no matter what happens in this next half hour, remember what I just said. It's just family talking. And without any further disclaimers let me ask the only important question that is on my mind, and I'm sure you've been thinking about it also, especially lately.

(pause)

When Did The Fucking Pussies Take Over?

(applause and laughter)

When? Don't you look forward to the day when your grandson is on your knee and he looks up and says, "Grampa weren't you in radio once?"

Continue reading "Little Steven Versus The Fucking Pussies" »

October 04, 2005

The Horror Compilation (MP3)

Skull4As a special Halloween treat, here's a seventy minute long horror music mix I put together for the 2001 WFMU marathon, culled from years of Halloween specials on my Wednesday morning show. When the big day comes, throw a speaker out on the front porch, hook it up to your MP3 player and set it on repeat, this'll keep those satanic dilletantes at bay. Careful though, it's a ginormous download, clocking in at a whopping 97 megs. Download The Horror.

Artists on the mix include: Krzysztof Komeda, Wojciech Kilar, Krzysztof Penderecki, Jaap Blonk, Albanian Men's Choir, John Cale, Dick Jacobs Orchestra, Jerry Goldsmith, Theatre of Tragedy, Barnabas Collins, Endvra, Elend, Coven, Daniel Licht and others. For more info, go here.

September 28, 2005

Van Morrison's Contractual Obligation Album

Van_morrisonMP3s: 31 improvised songs from Van Morrison's Bang Records Contractual Obligation Session, below the jump.

In the great pantheon of contractual obligation records, there is the noisy (Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music), the brassy (Neil Young's This Note's For You) and the phony (Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Record).

And then there is Van Morrison's Bang Records Sessions.

In order to fulfill his obligation to his early solo label Bang Records,Van Morrison sat down in 1967 or so and cranked out 31 songs on the spot, on topics ranging from ringworm to wanting a danish, to hating his record label and a guy named George. Make sure you get past the first few tunes - it takes him a few to get cooking.

Listener Scott S, who originally brought the tapes to our attention in 2001, wrote:

As far as I know, none of this stuff was ever issued in the '60's. I can only surmise at some point in the early '90's, whoever controlled Van's Bang masters ran across the tapes and - either having questionable ethics and/or a twisted sense of humor - licensed the tapes to European labels that were releasing compilations of Van's Bang-era material. I know of at least two double-CD sets that include demo stuff as the second disc - one is Payin' Dues on Charly in 1994, and the other is New York Sessions '67. WIll Rigby told me that he saw a single-disc best-of that actually mixes legit Bang-era Morrison tracks with material from the demos - now that must be an interesting listen. I guess there's irony in the fact that Morrison recorded these tunes as a big fuck-you to his label - before he signed to Warner and recorded Astral Weeks - yet ultimately the joke's on him, now that they're being packaged as legitimate tracks (on "best-of" collections, no less).

Continue reading "Van Morrison's Contractual Obligation Album" »

September 26, 2005

Radio Cheesecake

Coquette_1 Pool_1 Table_3_3

  Stepping_high_1_1 Leg1_2_1 Leg2_2_1
Once upon a time, radio was sexy. As were zaftig figures, checkered shorts and the Stepping High Dance. From the online archives of the Los Angeles Public Library. Thanks, Mr. Science!

September 25, 2005

Emergency Alert System Warning on Katrina

Santorum_tongue_editI've spent more than my fair share of airtime complaining about the uselessness of the Emergency Alert System - how it wasn't activated on 9/11, or the time it accidentally ordered a one-hour evacuation of the entire state of Connecticut, or how it failed to suggest any course of action (or even mention the word "flood") when the Delaware River swamped towns in Pennsylvania and New Jersey last spring.

But you have to hand it to the EAS' partners at the National Weather Service for their warning on Hurricane Katrina. As the storm headed into the mainland, the agency offered this assesment to broadcasters in three states:

"Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks, perhaps longer. At least one half of well constructed homes will have roof and wall failure. All gabled roofs will fail leaving homes severely damaged or destroyed. The majority of industrial buildings will become non-functional. Partial to complete wall and roof failures is expected. All wood-framed, low-rising apartment buildings will sustain major damage, including some wall and roof failure. High-rise office and apartment buildings will sway dangerously... a few to the point of total collapse. All windows will blow out. Airborne debris will be widespread. Power outages will last for weeks as most power poles will be down and transformers destroyed. Water shortages will make human suffering incredible by modern standards. Preparations for evacuations and relief should be rushed to completion."

The message is a rare glimmer of government competence in the sea of ineptitude that Katrina and its aftermath became.

Alas, that is not how Senator Rick Santorum saw it. Santorum introduced legislation (Senate Bill 786) which would make it illegal for the National Weather Service to issue such warnings, putting control of weather forecasts solely into the hands of private companies like Pennsylvania-based AccuWeather, which just happens to be a Santorum donor.

September 24, 2005

21 Variations on "They're Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-haa!"

NapoleoncomplexMy earliest memories of playing with records were sticking my head up to my parent's phonograph cabinet and listening over and over again to the end of the Strawberry Fields Forever single for the faint "I Buried Paul," and similarly burning out the grooves on the backwards B-side of Napolean XIV's They're Coming To Take Me Away.

Paul is still dead, but imagine my joy 39 years later when we received Napolean Complex, a collection of 21 international versions of Napolean XIV's 1966 hit single. Being a sucker for German, my favorite is Malepartus II's version, but it's hard to resist Rose Brooks when she sings "You Thought I'd Go Buhzoik?" And then there's Lard's impressive extended version. Download and enjoy them all.

Napoleon XIV - They're Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-haaa!

Josephine XV - I'm Happy They Took You Away, Ha-haaa!

Henry The IX - Don't Take Me Back Oh-nooo!

Continue reading "21 Variations on "They're Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-haa!"" »

September 22, 2005

Toilet Huffing. Very Big In Germany.

Toilet_huffing_1This one is Bryce's fault.

When I first saw it, I immediately assumed the worst - that our German friends are inhaling teutonic sewer gas to get off.

A quick trip to babelfish's translation page was little help. But it did turn up such linguistic nuggets as this:

In the offer inventions are like the Klo Atmer, the wiedergeburt, or the fish head roof impact device.

Finally, a translated paragraph shed light on the mystery: in the event that you cant escape from a smoke filled building, you stick a tube into the toilet and inhale the rancid (but smoke free) sewer gas. Or as babelfish put it:

The fresh air equipment of the Kaliforniers William of cross-beam is to save with fire in smoked dwellings the life to humans. According to cross-beam must they in addition only a hose into a toilet insert and the "fresh air" deeply existing in the tubing system inhale.

Great idea, now that I understand it. Sewer air is better than no air at all. I will add a rubber tube to my stale cache of duct tape and plastic sheeting.

September 20, 2005

Bingo Gazingo Serenading Kenny G

Kennyg1_1If you're wondering what Bingo Gazingo's been up to since WFMU released him from contract, check out this animated video of the septuagenarian ranter's song Kenny G, with backing from My Robot Friend.

September 19, 2005

Kanye West Video Mashup

Black_lanternFrom the mouth of Steinski: I dunno whether Kanye was right about George Bush and black people, but I love it that someone turned his interview into a mashup, and someone else turned the mashup into a video, all in like a week.
Black Lantern siteQuicktime video download

Vintage Beatnik Poetry MP3s from Cafe Bizarre

Beatgen_1I really should have posted these the day that Maynard G Krebs passed away, but I was asleep at the bongoes that day. So here are a batch of spoken word tracks recorded at Greenwich Village's Cafe Bizarre, long before "Beat" became a parody of itself.

And while we're at it, have a look at a documentary on the Greenwich Village scene, narrated by Jean Shepherd. (via the Internet Archive)

The MP3s from Greenwich Village's Cafe Bizarre Presents Assorted Madness start after the jump:

Continue reading "Vintage Beatnik Poetry MP3s from Cafe Bizarre" »

September 17, 2005

Shoe Bomber..or Parasitic Humanoid?

Parasitic_shoeSure, you can laugh at the Parasitic Humanoid, but the next time a silent Toyota Prius is sneaking up behind you and your Parasitic Humanoid buddy, who'll jump out of the way in time - you, or the parasite?

I think you know the answer.

But Parasitic Humanoid can do more than avoid oncoming cars from behind, unconsciously-like! Much more. You know you're dying for a behavioral interface that can capture and retrieve your own behavior, you're just too embarrased to ask for it! You want a limbic resemblizer that's edgy, yet sensitive to galvanic vestibular stimulation? Just don your Parasitic Humanoid Lover!

Capture and retrieve your best behavior and steal your Parasitic Humanoid's prettiest fingernail sensors. When you play golf, you may want to capture and retrieve your best shot and use it again and again. Otherwise, feel free to download the data of the swing from the Parasitic Humanoid of Tiger Woods. You may exchange data for dance steps like name cards in a ballroom. (Fig.15).

September 15, 2005

WWOZ Update 4: We Begin To Emerge

French_quarterIn his fourth and possibly his final post, WWOZ General Manager David Freedman (no relation) makes his way back into New Orleans, puts FEMA on his speed dial, inspects his transmitter (it's OK!) and starts to make sense of how to put his broken station and scattered staff back together again. Along the way, he wonders about the future of the "northern capital of the Caribbean." David's previous posts are here.

It is 3 AM Thursday, September 15. I am writing this as I sit in my new apartment in Baton Rouge (4th location, 4th blog, 10th day out). I am thinking back on last Tuesday. Just two days ago. It seems so far away.

I had finally figured out how to re-enter New Orleans legit. As they finished announcing a phone number on the radio, I began dialing it. Never mind that it was 8 PM, the Mayor was no longer blocking passage to New Orleans. He was allowing any businessman with a legitimate business reason to get a pass to enter the city. Just call this number and get a pass to the city.

My cause was certainly legit. I needed to go in to inspect the WWOZ tower and transmitter. If those parts of the broadcast chain were OK, WWOZ could possibly get on the air from New Orleans a lot more quickly than we had thought. We wouldn't have to wait for replacement equipment. We wouldn't have to set up a temporary tower somewhere out of the city. It would cost less and be quicker. That was certainly a legitimate business reason.

Continue reading "WWOZ Update 4: We Begin To Emerge" »

September 14, 2005

Videos: Soulwax, Sun Ra, Pink Floyd, Joy Division and a Cheesy Euro Disco Instructor

Here's a batch of videos, and not a single one has anything to do with Katrina!  All these videos must be downloaded before viewing. (For Katrina videos, go here.)

SoulwaxFirst off, the most recent video, NY Excuse by Soulwax, aka 2 Many DJs, celebrating trash and culture, not necessarily in that order. Or is it a culture of trash? The archival footage is nicely done, as is the Barbara Kruger-esque agit-prop. Download video (Windows Media file)

Pink_elephantsHere is a video mashup of Pink Elephants On Parade, with music by Sun Ra and the visuals from the movie Dumbo. The Sun ra tune originally appeared on Hal Wilner's Disney tribute LP. I saw the Arkestra perform this at The Bottom Line shortly before Sun Ra dies, and they played it as they paraded around the club. Download video (Quicktime video)

Disco_lesson_1For many Cheesy Euro-Disco aficionados, merely watching the sensual gyrations of Dschingis Khan or Tommy Seeland does not suffice. Action is needed, but can the Cheesy Euro Disco moves actually be learned, or are these abilities genetically inbred? Unfortunately, the moved can be learned, and here is a video to prove it. Download video (mpeg file) More Cheesy Euro Disco links here. And yes, "Cheesy Euro Disco" is now one of the most popular search strings bringing people to this blog.

Syd_1Here is a video of Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd performing Jugband Blues, sort of his farewell song from their album Saucerful of Secrets. Not sure where this came from, but it's clearly been transferred from film. The sounds is good, but why does that sousaphone sound like a kazoo? Actually, the horn moments appear to be spliced in, and the rest of the film seems to include an actual performance. Download video (mpeg file)

Joy_division_1Before your mental image of Ian Curtis is forever destroyed by Jude Law's portrayal of him in the forthcoming Joy Division movie, have a look at the real item performing She's Lost Control. Download video (realvideo file). And before your mental image of Iggy is sullied by Elijah Wood's portryal of him, have a look back at the young Iggy performing and rubbing peanut butter all over himself in Cincinatti, ca. 1970.
 

 

September 12, 2005

Gonadically Speaking, R Shand is The Embalmanization of The Rap Game

RshandU Wanna Be A Grip?

"Listen, learn & comprehend the sheer joyfultudinal sounds as R Shand raps about the eggstimatic joy of being a grip."

"It's raw, uncut, & Bangin G ! Dang...if Shand woulda gone to those classes, his flow mighta been too refineded & sonically correct....and that ain't what's happening in New School."

"Euphemistically speaking, the aural flatulence of his thrombamatic sounds will discombobulate the senses."

"No one has ever quite captured this fecal bliss quite like one R Shand."

"His flow is better than Fitty Sense, he conjures up Nastonian sounds out the Ying Yang twins!"

"Not even Kanye can flow quit like R Shand & gonadically speaking, he is the embalmanization of the Rap game."

"R Shand has bought a bubonic smile to my face like the plague & he has given me esteferic hope for the future of Rap."

"We have seen the future of Hip Hop/R&B & he is called R Shand."

"U Wanna Be a Grip takes rap to a new level! I was taken into a world of rhymes spit out at micro speed and hydro proximate lucidity. These rhymes grip you and send you into spasmatic convulsions of the cranial cortex. I felt so gripped, and no one can gripe about his spitability!!! In other words the boy be baaad..... Thank You R. Shand, I'm gripped and ripped and you are so hip!!!"

"Songs like this need to be on the radio because I get tired of hearing 50 Cent, The Game, and Kanye West talking trash when you have undiscovered talent waiting in the wings like R. Shand!!! He makes me want to become a grip. Thanks for music that will outlast what's hot right now, R. Shand!!! BUY THIS!!!!!!"

Blame should go to Otis Fodder and even more blame to Phil Milstein.

September 11, 2005

WWOZ Update Three: Saving The Record Library

Hole_in_roofHere's another update from David Freedman from the streets of New Orleans. David is General Manager of WWOZ, the great community station of New Orleans. WWOZ's studios and record library were spared severe damage in Katrina and only suffered moderate flooding and no looting. But in recent days, David's been struggling to protect WWOZ's record library and equipment from being destroyed by subsequent rains - Katrina left OZ's studios and library exposed to the elements.

David also discovered that the WWOZ broadcast tower was in fact severely damaged, contrary to their first observations from a distance. In the course of dealing with these issues, David observed pockets of normalcy in New Orleans next to armed checkpoints, and he also reports on the non-state of forced evacuations.

First, a recent story from the New Orleans Times-Picayune, followed by David's update.

Times-Picayune - Saturday, September 10, 2005

Roof damage threatens priceless WWOZ record collection

By Dave Walker
TV columnist

The studio equipment and irreplaceable record and CD collection at noncommercial WWOZ 90.7 FM, the public radio outlet that beamed New Orleans music and culture to the region and, via the Internet, the world - survived Hurricane Katrina but might not survive the city's current lockdown.

Continue reading "WWOZ Update Three: Saving The Record Library" »

September 10, 2005

Batch of Katrina Videos

Cnn_weathermanI long to care about Silly Bullshit again.

Every once in a while, I hear the faint sound of Silly Bullshit calling my name throught the pines.. "ken... keennnn.." I turn my head towards the voice, but it is gone. Just the wind blowing through the non-existent pines. No Silly Bullshit.

I thought I was close to getting back to the Silly Bullshit today, when I looked at this video by Katrina evacuee Charmain Neville, who is indeed related to Art and Aaron.

After you've taken a look at that, download this Blame Game video (quicktime file). It includes the now-famous "Fuck Yourself, Mister Cheney" clip. But of far greater interest is the ever-eloquent Bill O'Reilly, who equates stranded hurricane victims with drug addicts, and finds the silver lining which we all missed.

But I agree. It is too early for playing The Blame Game. Now is the time for tarring and feathering those responsible, without casting aspersions.

Here is the video (quicktime file) of that genius, Wolf Blitzer, referring to the residents of The Big Easy as "so poor... so black." Who is dumber, Wolf Blitzer or Larry King?

Before the hurricane even hit, this CNN weatherman (windows video file) proved himself to be The King Of The Hissy Fit. And this New Orleans resident (quicktime file) correctly told a Fox reporter to fuck off. But who's laughing now?

Finally, here is the repaired (but still FCC-Unfriendly)  version of the Kanye West Goldiggers remix,  George Bush Dont Like Black People (MP3). via FWMJ via boingboing

I hope to return tomorrow with more videos, this time of Silly Bullshit.

Other videos via del.icio.us/tag/system:media:video

September 09, 2005

Update on WWOZ, New Orleans

WwozHere's the latest from WWOZ General Manager David Freedman, who managed to get back into New Orleans to inspect the station's damage.

Below is a report of my first hand inspection of our facilities in New Orleans and some of our options:

Damond Jacob (our Chief Engineer) and I, along with Robert Carroll and Ron Curtis, Chief Engineer and Operations Manager of WWNO, entered the city by night (Wednesday) and stayed on the outskirts at the home of a friend who happens to be a sherrif's deputy and who also happens to have electricity and running water! His house had flooded, and the floor boards were buckling.It smelled moldy and felt dank. Outside, 50 pounds of rotting shrimp from his freezer added quite a heady aroma.

He had food and bottled water. Indeed, the next morning we were able to purchase groceries at a neighborhood CVS pharamcy. This might have been the only place in New Orleans where this was possible, and only because it was on the outermost perimeter of the city. There were no groceries or convenience stores once we were in the city proper-- just pallets of MRE's.  We drove over to the west bank Wednesday night to inspect WWNO's tower facility. There was about 250 feet of transmission line wrapped around a guy wire. Otherwise, everything seemed to be in shape.

Continue reading "Update on WWOZ, New Orleans" »

9/11 On The Air

Wolverton04_2If you missed it, last night's episode of Aircheck was incredible. It's an hour of 9/11 radio coverage from live news/talk stations in New York City. The archives are up here: Streaming Realaudio | Streaming MP3.

Hearing this coverage brings back the confusion and chaos of that day four years ago, and it also puts into perspective the current coverage of Katrina and the storm's aftermath.

You'll hear all the rumors and spreculation (some right, most wrong) as they fall off the presses and off the lips of announcers at WOR, WABC, WCBS-AM and other New York City stations. A propeller plane has hit the South Tower. The FBI announces that the attack was NOT terrorism. The left half of the south tower has collapsed.

Great editing job to Evan for this episodem and to Brian for the great Aircheck Series, and hats off to The Professor for capturing all this when it happened.

September 07, 2005

I'm A Work-Is-Shit Anarchist, and I Approve This Message

ArbeitCheck out this amazing political ad from the German Anarchist Pogo Party: Link (mp4 video file for download). Instead of the usual empty political promises, the party's campaign spot splices together scenes of debauched revellers smashing furniture, children playing with axes, and groups of couples kissing and groping each other. The best part is that the Hamburg-based group gets national airtime for free, due to German campaign laws, and despite some outrage over the spot, it will continue to air nationally. Here's a link to the German Anarchist Pogo Party website, and here's the Reuters story on them. Thanks Bill Z!

September 05, 2005

Report From WWOZ New Orleans General Manager

Vintage_crescentI've been helping David Freedman (no relation), the Manager of WWOZ New Orleans as he works his way to the outskirts of New Orleans and locates and assembles his staff. Here is an e-mail he asked me to post on the WWOZ website. I'm posting it here because it's of great interest to fans of radio or New Orleans, and I dont know how to post larger items like this on the WWOZ site, where I've been helping out as well. Their webmaster is temporarily offline, so I'm posting here, and linking to it from the WWOZ homepage.

It's David's personal account of the crisis of a lifetime, for him, WWOZ, New Orleans and America. And a heart wrenching tale from WWOZ's Production Director Dwayne.  -Ken

The following is a first-person account of some of the moments in the life of General Manager David Freedman as WWOZ confronted the crisis of a lifetime. This first person narrative should be taken just as such. Which is to say, that while I sat in Hot Springs, Damond Jacob in Dallas, Dwayne Breashears in Lake Charles, Tony Guillory in Lafayette, Christian Kuffner en route to Asheville, N.C., Maryse Dejean in Natchez, Robbie Benjamin (formerly Muni Malone) in Alexandria, Marlene Wadsworth in Mendenhall, Missiissippi, Fred Goodrich in Dallas, Mary Johnston in Lafayette, Parker Sternbergh in Florida, Tom Morgan in Pensacola and many many more of our Board members, volunteers and concerned community/pubradio and on-line fans each have a week's worth of story to tell that would only begin to approximate the effort and genuine concern for WWOZ's survival. I just have one piece of the story. But I thought you might want to follow it and I invite others to post what they experienced and continue to experience as we climb back from this devastation.

David Freedman
General Manager
WWOZ-FM

Continue reading "Report From WWOZ New Orleans General Manager" »

September 02, 2005

New Orleans, WWL and WWOZ

Jesus_weep_1I have a big batch of MP3 and movie posts to put up here, but Katrina has changed things.

This one hurts.

Where to begin. The humanity? The musicians. The architecture. The culture that's lost. The hell it has become.

There's always been a connection to New Orleans on WFMU, as there would have to be for any station that takes music seriously. As I tap, Monica's doing a great show dedicated to the victims of Katrina. Doug and Spazz both did incredible New Orleans / Louisiana shows this morning and last night. (Doug's archives are here: MP3 | Realaudio and Dave the Spazz's archives are here: MP3 | Realaudio.) Doug aired that incredible interview with New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin, which you can download here: MP3.

Nagin was interviewed on WWL 870 AM last night. WWL's coverage of this disaster has reportedly been incredible.

UPDATE: WWL now was an online stream, as part of a radio consortium called United Radio For New Orleans. Go here and click on "listen live" for a windows media player feed. Thanks Chris T!

As for WWOZ, the great community radio station in new Orleans, I've been in touch with David Freedman, their General Manager. WWOZ's been destroyed - transmitter and production studio under water, no word yet on their main studios, but it seems unlikely to me that they are still in useable shape even if they were above the water. David is holed up in a motel in Arkansas, the closest room he could find when he evacuated. Needless to say, WWOZ is off the air completely, not even their stream is up. The staff is scattered all over the south, some even in the hellhole at the Superdome. They're searching for family members and each other.

And even if WWOZ were to rebuild their transmitter in a year (which is highly unlikely) how much of their audience would still be there listening to their FM signal? The hurricane has destroyed their over the air audience, but it doesn't have to also mean an end to their significant online audience. I'm working with David to help get some kind of temporary WWOZ stream back up as soon as possible, maybe even tomorrow, and then as the WWOZ staff find one another, the station will get back up with a temporary studio. WWOZ's website is till up here and when the temporary stream goes up, there will be links to it there. General relief agencies are listed here. I'll keep you posted about the OZ stream here as well, and if I get a minute I'll put up a batch of MP3s.

UPDATE: The WWOZ In Exile stream is up via the WWOZ Home Page. Thanks to all the FMU staffers who've offered help, and especially to The Professor and Bill Zurat for getting a WWOZ stream back online. In the coming weeks, this stream will be replaced by WWOZ proper, and the folks at WWOZ are already laying out plans for putting up a new temporary transmitter.

August 31, 2005

The Difference Between Finding Soda and Looting It

Looting_1FindingPictured on the left is a young man with soda he looted from a grocery store in New Orleans. Pictured on the right are two New Orleans residents who found soda at a grocery store. See the difference?

Editorial verbiage courtesy of Yahoo News. See the original looting post here and the original finding post here. Thanks, Steinski, via blackcrack list.


UPDATE: The photographer who took these photos has checked in here and says that in fact the people shown at the right did find their soda, as opposed to looting it. Thanks, Phrankenshop via metafilter!

August 30, 2005

The Rawker Rawks Out

TherawkerAnton Maiden he ain't, but The Rawker reaches new heights of surrealism with his shirtless accappella renditions of ACDC and Zeppelin tunes. According to the legend, The Rawker was kicked out of his band after the vocal monitors they bought revealed how awful his singing was. But undeterred, The Rawker made 20 VHS copies of himself singing in his bedroom and left them at the local music store, looking for a new band. My favorite Rawker clip is Whole Lotta Love, in which our hero recreates Robert Plant's howling at the moon perfectly, which is all the more strange since there is no instrumentation behind him. Me, I prefer The Rawker accappella. But if Pure The Rawker is too much for you, there's already a page of Rawker Remixes. via therawker
 

August 27, 2005

Meet The Beatle Barkers

Meet_the_barkersIn the shameless pantheon of novelty music, there is one sub-genre so unspeakable that it's practitioners almost never reveal their actual names. I speak of course of the Singing Animal Song. The Beatles Barkers are no exception. Nowhere on their album (released in the middle of the night in New Zealand) does an actual human being accept musical responsibility. It is credited only to "The Woofers and Tweeters Ensemble," but even this obfuscates the most important point about this deservedly unappreciated genre - the best Singing Animal Records are those in which there are in fact no animals at all. The Beatle Barkers success (if in fact there is any) is derived from the fact that, unlike other Singing Animal records, the animal noises are in fact samples made by human beings. Animal noises are too important to be trusted to the animals.

Here in its discredited entirety is the Beatles Barkers LP, including the original version of that most rancid song, Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da. Beatles-ologists know that Paul McCartney originally penned this aural trainwreck for Badfinger, who respectfully passed on it. Badfinger in turn passed the song on to The Woofers and Tweeters Ensemble, who recorded it in early 1968, but did not release it until 15 years later, after New Zealand's musical statute of limitations had expired.

Pictured above left is Dr. Phrankenshop's new cover for this album. A higher quality copy (as a pdf) is available here. The original album cover is here (jpg).

All My Loving
Can't Buy Me Love
Day Tripper
Hard Day's Night
I Feel Fine
I Saw Her Standing There
I Want To Hold Your Hand
Love Me Do
Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da (original version)
Paperback Writer
She Loves You
We Can Work It Out

August 24, 2005

I Can See My House From Here

FlashearthFlash Earth takes google maps to an extreme. You start off with a flat map of the world, and then using the scroll bar on your mouse, you can zoom in to almost any point on the earth, right down to specific buildings. Pictured to the right is WFMU's neighborhood in Jersey City. It's fun to look for what your neighbors are secretly building in their backyards, not to mention monuments and other landmarks. As you might expect, some parts of the world are more extensively photographed than others. (When you click the link above, you'll get a message which you need to only say "OK" to.)

August 05, 2005

"Phil Collins Minus One" And Other Promo Scams

CollinsoncollinsMP3s: Collins on Collins, David Bowie Idents (1 | 2 | 3), King Coleman ID, Homer Simpson ID, Weezer ID, Weezer and Peaches Remix

Back in the days before Clear Channel owned every other station in the country, record labels were forced to do a little bit of legwork in order to promote their releases. Throughtout the 70's and 80's, one technique in their arsenal was to mail an "interview records" to every station in the country. Interview records were essentially spoken word karaoke interviews with rock stars, so that a local station could pretend that its own jocks had landed the big one. Stations received a record with the rock star giving answers to interview questions, which were supplied to the station on a script.

An hour or so in the production room with reel to reel tape and a razor blade, and voila! even the lowliest station in the country could air that exclusive interview with Jimmy Page! We still have one such interview record in the mighty FMU record library, "Collins on Collins," in which Phil Collins knowingly chuckles to your insighttful questions, and waxes philosophical on "Philmania" and the difference between "pop fans" and "music fans." Here is an MP3 of the Collins on Collins record which came out in 1985. If you really want to play along at home and ask Phil the questions so he can knowingly chuckle and reply to you, here is a pdf document of the script that accompanied the record.  Another variation on this theme were rock star "indents," in which a celebrity introduced his or her new single. Here are a few David Bowie idents we still had laying around: Bowie Ident 1 | Bowie Ident 2 | Bowie Ident 3 (Station Manager Ken)

Continue reading ""Phil Collins Minus One" And Other Promo Scams" »

August 04, 2005

Arnold Schwarzenegger's Total Body Workout MP3s

Arnold240(mp3s: 13 fully aerobicized mp3s below)

All those tales of groping and "rowdy Hollywood parties" couldn't stop Arnold's inexorable march to the governorship. Secret salaries for promoting over-the-counter steroids in muscle magazines haven't brought him down. Even his oft-quoted admiration of Hitler was a non-issue.

But Arnold Schwarzenegger's opponents have overlooked the most embarrasing episode in Arnold's pre-political carreer  - the exercise record he recorded in 2000, Arnold Schwarzenegger's Total Body Workout.

Yes, more damaging than appearing pregnant in the movie Junior, more humiliating than the box office performance of Kindergarten Cop, Arnold's Total Body Workout record has him doing 12, 24, 36 reps of calf raises to It's Raining Men (MP3)!

Think about it. Calf raises to It's Raining Men. It could achieve what groping affidavits, over the counter steroids and Rob Reiner can only dream of.

Part One (Without Weights)

Save The Overtime For Me
(Gladys Knight and The Pips)
Don't Stop Believin'
(Journey)
867-5309/Jenny
(Tommy Tutone)

Continue reading "Arnold Schwarzenegger's Total Body Workout MP3s" »

July 22, 2005

Iggy Pop Video From 1970

Iggypop018Since Mike Lupica revealed the circulatory benefits of chronic heroin use, as evidenced on Iggy Pop's chest, I thought it was only fair to give equal time to the young Iggy. Here's a video (51 MB mpg video, for download) from a 1970 Cincinatti concert, in which a boyish looking James Osterberg has his way with a vat of peanut butter while singing TV Eye and 1970. This is also the show that resulted in the iconic image seen to the right. Pay special attention to the play by play announcer ("That's..peanut butter!") and the various shrieks, cries and etchings of audience members as they swarm Iggy. via del.icio.us

July 21, 2005

American Song Poem MP3s: MSR Madness, Volumes 5 and 6

MP3s: 56 of them below the jump, along with pdfs of the CD cover art and booklets for both volumes.

Song_poemWFMU is happy to be the official host for the final two volumes of CD releases from the American Song Poem Music Archives. Prepared for release back in the late 1990s, for various reasons these two albums have been sitting on curator Phil Milstein's shelf ... until now.

Here are Phil's long-awaited collections, titled, respectively, I Like Yellow Things: MSR Madness Vol. 5 and Rat A Tat Tat, America: MSR Madness Vol. 6. Each album features full-color cover artwork by legendary cartoonists Peter Bagge (vol. 5) and Rick Altergott (vol. 6).  Together, these two volumes collect 56 of the best and weirdest song-poems that emerged from America's "send in your lyrics" musical factories. Back in the day, non-musicians mailed in their addled and/or eloquent poetry (often scribbled on sandwich bags or cocktail napkins), and for a small fee, a song was created out their poetic detritus. The concept is nothing new - there have been numerous anthologies of song poems (and even a film about the phenomenon), so many in fact that you have to wonder just how much good material there is. These collections answer that questions - tons of it, especially if you keep an open mind and you're as receptive to the strangeness of the genre as you are to the pained emotion and the historical insight they often provide.

There are some real gems here, including Burmese Land and Octopus Woman, Please Let Me Go, both favorites from Irwin Chusid's and Michelle Boule's Incorrect Music show. My own favorite here is technically not a song poem (because writer and singer are the same person), but it still fits - William Arpaia's magnificent Listen, Mister Hat. Like many song poem collections, there a batch of excellent anti-hippy musical diatribes (Till Death Do Us Part, sung by Heroin herself, Smoke It - The Pot  and The Doing Of Our Thing) And several others - My Daddy He Died in 1969, Stay Where You Are, Green Fingernails and Gretchen's New Dish - all testify to the continued richness of the song  poem genre. And that's just on Volume Five! So get started downloading, and listen! Special thanks to Phil Milstein, Irwin Chusid and Otis Fodder.

Continue reading "American Song Poem MP3s: MSR Madness, Volumes 5 and 6" »

July 19, 2005

Dubya Ringtones: Answer This!

News_bush_4Bush_bw2_1Set you cell phone to presidential zinger! What better incentive to answer your phone as quickly as humanly possible than by installing one of these eleven ringtones, each comprised of the vocal stylings of our Commander in Chief, as remixed by WFMU's public domain audio elves.

To get these ringtone on your phone, you need a cell phone with online web access. Point your cell phones browser to this address. All Dubya ringtones are available for free in three ringtone formats, the most common one of which is 3GP. Only certain phones support MP3 and WAV ringtones.

Catapult The Propaganda
(musical version): Download (3GP | MP3 | WAV)
(shortwave version): Download (3GP | MP3 | WAV)
(spoken version): Download (3GP | MP3 | WAV)

"Third time I've said that. I'll probably say it three more times, see, in my line of work, you gotta keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in. To kinda catapult the propaganda." (Audio Unedited)


W_fish_4Fish Peace

(musical version): Download (3GP | MP3 | WAV)
(spoken version): Download (3GP | MP3 | WAV)

"I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully." (Audio Unedited)


Bush_nosepickHeadpop

(musical version): Download (3GP | MP3 | WAV)
(spoken version): Download (3GP | MP3 | WAV)

"You know, I, I hope, I, I dont wanna sound like I've made no mistakes, I'm confident I have. I'm sure something will pop into my head here." (Audio Unedited)


Red_1Totally Fresh
: Download (3GP | MP3 | WAV)

"My answer to that question is, is that, again, I repeat what I said earlier, heh, the, the, uhm, heh, y'know, we were shooting cruise missiles, and, heh, they dont protect us from killers. Uh, y'know, as I say, you're, you're catching me totally fresh, hah, uh gosh, I, y'know, I, I would, I, heh, the, the, uhm, heh. (Audio Edited)


W_does_the_hoodooDictatorship Is Easier
: Download (3GP | MP3 | WAV)

"If this were a dictatorship, it's be a heckuva lot easier. Just so long as I'm the dictator." (Audio Unedited)


Gagging On The Donkey
: Download (3GP | MP3 | WAV)

"Y'know (much stammering), Blacks are gagging on the donkey, but not yet ready to swallow the elephant" (Audio Edited, except for the last 14 words, which are 100% unedited.)


Finger1And Neither Do We
: Download (3GP | MP3 | WAV)

"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful. And so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people. And neither do we." (Audio Unedited)

Mucho thanks to Mark Smith for the idea and the help, and to The Professor for his help. Look for more ringtones here soon.

July 16, 2005

Men!

Nissin_menHere is Japanese hammer throwing champion Koji Murofushi whipping his ramen (and himself) into a frenzy: Link. (avi video file for download, via octopusdropkick)

July 15, 2005

Cleaning Out My Inbox

AhnuldcWith all today's brouhaha about the Governator's five million dollar muscle magazine shilling contract, how come nobody is praising Ahnuld's fine work on this amazing Japanese commercial? (quicktime .mov file for download) via Cynical-C Blog and imockery

Chris Cunnigham's most disturbing Aphex Twin video yet, the not-for-the-squeamish and not safe for work Rubber Johnny (shockwave video). See, I told you that chihuahuas were not of this world! Thanks Brian!

Following up on Dave the Spazz's coverage of The Beach Boys own Mount Rushmore, Rich submits this Leni Riefenstahl-esque tribute to Freddie Mercury. And for all you Queen fans, here is All Your Base set to Bohemian Rhapsody (flash page).

Cool gallery interface from a Spanish artist.

Bawdy Songs, erotic toasts and lascivious recitations.

For fans of big ass horns. Thanks Kevin!

July 12, 2005

Hillary's Mad Magazine Metaphor

12alfred12bushNo sooner had I vowed to ignore all American politics unless cartoon characters were directly involved, than Hillary Clinton dared to compare President Bush to Mad Magazine's cartoon mascot, Alfred E. Neuman. "I sometimes feel Alfred E. Neuman is in charge in Washington," said the Senator during a speech in Colorado. Clinton later invoked Neuman's catch phrase, "What, Me Worry?" to great comic effect.

Republican reaction has been swift.

"If Bush is Alfred E. Neuman, your husband was Larry Flynt," roared Rush Limbaugh. (On his show, Limbaugh neglects to explain why he opts for the Larry Flynt comparison, rather than referencing the obvious cartoon character to make his point. The lascivious Pepe Le Pew or Foghorn Leghorn would have been more appropriate choices for a cartoon-based Bill Clinton metaphor.)

President Bush himself fired back, comparing Hillary to "Lucy" from Charles Schultz' Peanuts. "Much like Lucy, Senator Clinton is an annoying, bossy loudmouth," Bush said. "And she's always pulling the football away at the last second--only in her case, the football is the truth."

"Bush is Like Comic Book Idiot," read the headline in the Telegraph UK .

"At a time when President Bush and most elected officials are focused on the security of our nation, Mrs. Clinton chooses cartoon metaphors which utterly lack any cultural currency," charged Steven Stabile, chief GOP curator for the Cartoon Art Museum.

Whatmeworry"Not only does Hillary Clinton obviously read Mag Magazine, she bathes nightly in the blood of Christian babies," alleged fellow Senator Rick Santorum.

It should be mentioned that Mad Magazine is great these days. Peter Kuper, Drew Friedman, Peter Bagge are doing art, and the writing is funny and excellent.

In order to qualify this post for our popular Cartoon Sexuality category, I am obliged to include this link as proof that there are probably people out there who are sexually attracted to Alfred E. Neuman, despite what Hillary Clinton may think.

A Musical Fungus Among Us

Fungus_1MP3s: Fungal remix excerpts of New Order, Soft Cell, The Eagles, The Beastie Boys and Gordon Taylor.

Mold and Music go way back. Remember Moldy Oldies, before they disappeared from the airwaves thanks to Jack FM? Or how about Moldy Figs, the sarcastic term applied to swing and big-band fans who snubbed post-war Jazz innovations like Be-Bop (think: the record collecting crowd from the film Ghost World). And then there was that one armed drummer for The Barbarians, Mouldy. (Listen to Mouldy's theme song from Charlie's 1/10/05 show in streaming realaudio).

Continue reading "A Musical Fungus Among Us" »

July 11, 2005

The Truncated Life of a Modern, Industrialised Chicken

Chickens_01Doron just sent along this link to The Truncated Life of a Modern, Industrialised Chicken, from Matthew Herbert's forthcoming record Plat du Jour (song link: streaming MP3 which unfortunately opens in WMP). It was recorded using only sounds derived from chickens, chicken eggs and chicken related activities. The song takes a minute before it gets rolling, due to cheep audio foreplay.

Here's the description of where all the sounds from the song come from:

Chickens_03_2The Truncated Life of a Modern, Industrialised Chicken Field Recordings:

- 30,000 broiler chickens in one barn
- 24,000 one minute old chicks in one room of a commercial hatchery
- 40 free-range chickens in a coop
- One of those chickens being killed for a local farmers' market and its feathers      washed and plucked.
- A dozen organic eggs from tescos
- A 2.0l 21 centimeter pyrex classic bowl made in the UK

All melodies and chords are samples of eggs on pyrex bowls and played by
phil parnell, dave o'higgins, pete wraight and matthew herbert.

All live percussion is made from a dozen organic free-range eggs, egg boxes and egg cups and played with chopsticks by leo taylor.

The bassline is a 'cheep' from a minute-old chick, pitched down.

July 08, 2005

Cleaning Out My Inbox

Ugliest_dogThe world's ugliest dog has been located. Styggeste hund, indeed. (via b3ta)

Dschinghis Khan and Cheesy Eurodisco completionists might want another video of the band in action, this time doing their society thing with an orchestra and everything. (Realvideo clip for download, via Listener Ed)

"Put the camera down and worry about your friend." (streaming quicktime video, via fazed)

And you thought it was wet in Glastonbury? (Doh! This is Glastonbury)

Expansive art/photography site with many well known photographers and works. (via peremeny.ru)

Great page of Brazilian Bossa Nova and Samba MP3s, via Listener Zach.

How do you get extra credit from Professor Fuck? (via b3ta)

Nice street art / graffiti sketchblog.

Live in a giant coconut or create your own flying carpet. (via gizmag)

Go get lost in superbad.

Where sheep are nervous.

Psychedelic Christian Radio: Pastor John Rydgren MP3s

Pastor1(MP3s: all 19 of Pastor John Rydgrens Silhouette radio spots are linked below the jump along with more illos that Dennis Worden's did in 1988 for our former zine, LCD.)

When Liz played Pastor John Rydgren's Rinky Dink last Tuesday, I was reminded of just how great and weird Rydgren's radio spots were, and what a strange confluence of events created the country's only Psychedelic Christian format back in 1967.

Heading into the Summer of Love, Rydgren was the crafty head of the TV, Radio and Film Department of the American Lutheran  Church. Years before the words "Jesus" and "Freak" became joined at the rib, the straight-looking Rydgren created a daily radio show called Silhouette in which he became the reassuring, resonant-voiced Hippy for God. Rydgren wrote, announced and programmed Silhouette, taking his musical and cultural cues from The Electric Prunes, Herb Alpert and the cover of Time (Is God Dead?), with a vocal delivery that was straight out of the Tom Donahue / Scott Muni / Ken Nordine school of breathy baritone radio seduction. Silhouette dropped all the counter-cultural codewords of the day into a heady mix of Peace, Love, Sex, Drugs and Jesus. Not to mention Fuzzy Guitars.

Continue reading "Psychedelic Christian Radio: Pastor John Rydgren MP3s" »

July 06, 2005

Synchronized Chinese Arm Dancing

Chinesedance_1Sorry, if I knew what this style was actually called, I'd use it to describe this amazing little dance number (streaming windows media video) by a supposedly deaf Chinese dance troupe. But their ears aren't what's at issue here - it's their arms (32 of them at last count) and their 320 synchronized fingernails. It almost turns into Chinese Euro Disco at the end, but a choreographer of much wisdom pulls it back from the brink. via fazed

July 05, 2005

The Amazing Disappearing Indecency Issue

FccIt's coming up on seven month's since the FCC issued an indecency fine, after a year in which they issued more fines than in the previous fourteen years combined. While I welcome this silence on one of the most burning issues of our great republic, it does make one wonder exactly what the hell is going on. Did the FCC get gun-shy when a few broadcasting behemoths (Fox and Viacom) threatened to take the Commission's illogical and inconsistent rules to the Supreme Court? Or is the FCC simply in disarray following the departure of Michael Powell? And what ever happened to the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act, the congressional act that would've increased by ten fold the fines that stations face for uttering dangerous phrases like "Sit On My Face."

The Center For Public Integrity just issued this report which speculates that the FCC feels it has already accomplished its mission of airwave cleansing. The CPI report also has new handy-dandy charts showing the levels of fines for the last 14 years, and the most fined programs. (Bubba The Love Sponge checks in at third place.)

My own opinion, expressed in this post last March, was that both the FCC and Congress overplayed their cards in 2004, inviting constitutional challenges they might have lost (in the FCC's case) and tacking on extra censorship baggage which might have doomed the new legislation (in the case of Congress).

Kevin Martin, the new FCC head, has yet to demonstrate where he is taking this issue. He talks a much harder line than Powell did, but the Martin FCC, to their credit, has yet to take a single action on the issue. Let's hope it stays that way.

July 03, 2005

Interview with Kenny G

Kv_1WFMU's Kenny G, although spending the summer in rehab, granted an interview with Repellantzine.  Kenny holds forth on various alleged theories which, in his muddled mind, excuse his on-air hijinx. Read it here.

June 28, 2005

Ten Commandments MP3s

Ten_commandsIn honor of the Supreme Court's wacky, FCC-like decision on the Ten Commandments, here are four Ten Commandment MP3s:

Charlie the Hamster Sings The Ten Commandments (via 365 Days)
The Ten Commandments of Love - Five Diamonds
Ten Commandments - The Fugs
Ten Commandments of Love - Harvey and the Moonglows

The Glass Harmonica: Stairway to Madness

GlassstairwayListener Max sends in this mp3 of Stairway to Heaven, as performed on the streets of New Orleans by an unidentified Glass Harmonica player. To be more accurate, this guy (pictured at right) is playing a Glasharfe (or Glass Harp), the most common current incarnation of the rubbed glass instruments often referred to as Glass Harmonicas. A Glass Harp consists of a series of wineglasses, each filled with a different amount of water, so that a soggy finger rubbed on the glasses gets them vibrating at different tones.

Glasharfe_hande_1The Glasharfe was popularized by Bruno Hoffman, the German virtuoso whose records rekindled interest in the Glass Harmonica (aka Armonica), and the compositions written for it from 1760-1820, when the instrument was the must-have accessory for parlors and sitting rooms. Here's a Realaudio archive of Hoffmann playing Fantasie in E Minor, from Bryce's July 25, 2004 show. You can play with a virtual Armonica here.

Continue reading "The Glass Harmonica: Stairway to Madness" »

June 27, 2005

The Rocking Son of Dschinghis Khan

Dchingiskhan_1Just when you thought that the Cheesy Euro-Disco drought would never end, listener Ed comes to the rescue with this newly found video of Dschinghis Khan, taking a stab at Der Rock und Roll, with The Rocking Son of Dschinghis Khan (right-click to download 21mb windows media video). Dschinghis Khan pulls out all the stops - gold lame pants, smoke machines, Cossack costumes and dancing, weird utterances like "Look at me, Daddy," Abba-esque background vocals and of course, that crazy Rasputin looking guy who comes out at the end for a quick round of berserko dancing which manages to get the attentive Euro-Disco audience to actually clap their hands. Thanks Ed!

More Cheesy Euro-Disco MP3s and videos here.

The Sun Sets on Heino's Career

Heino1The teutonic albino popstar known as Heino (and also known as Old Weird Eyes, รœber-Creep and Euro-Elvis) is retiring, saying "I've accomplished everything there is to accomplish in this business." Official word from the German language Der Speigel here. Heino will tour Germany one final time this October, and then he'll hang up his dark glasses for good.

Actually, he wont be hanging up his dark glasses. He needs them. Oscillating eyeballs and all that.

Not a single Heino mp3 in the house, but here's a page of Heino realaudio samples, courtesy of the Heino worship page.

And what I would give for photos of the "Trial of a Thousand Heinos" from a few years back. Heino sued another performer for copyright infringement, charging that performer with stealing his look, or his sound, or something. The day the trial began, hundreds of people showed up at the trial, all dressed like Heino. Thanks Boris!

Commies with Headphones

650615904461104












Great collection of radio images from Soviet magazines. via del.icio.us

June 24, 2005

Nike Rips Off Minor Threat

XminorXmajor








And Dischord Records isn't happy about it. via pitchfork
UPDATE: Nike's skateboarding division issued this apology.

You and The Pop Charts

Find out what song was number one on the pop charts the day you were born. Mine was Stagger Lee by Lloyd Price. (Works from 1952 on, for the UK and the US charts.) More on Popstrology here (warning though, it's a glorified ad for the book). via del.icio.us/tag/music

A Hundred Wheels of Death: The Brooklyn Bike Brawl

Bike11Bicycle gangs from all across America  converge on neutral turf in the neighborhood of Red Hook Brooklyn this weekend. There, in front of the cranes and shipping yards, on one of the last true pieces of NYC waterfront, they will begin to trash their homemade frankenstein bikes in a free day of bike game blitz. There will be madness, blood and insane bikes for everyone to ride, and events for the stronger and crazier of you to join. WFMU's Small Change will be DJ'ing at the afterparty, along four other DJs and four bands, including Cleveland's This Moment in Black History.

Events will include; flaming barenuckle tallbike jousting of death, the most hellish allmighty footdown,  the bike toss (the drunk guy favorite), and many more!

Continue reading "A Hundred Wheels of Death: The Brooklyn Bike Brawl" »

Takeshi Terauchi MP3s

Terauchi_1One of my favorite guitar players is Takeshi Terauchi, one of the many Japanese guitarists inspired by The Ventures 1962 Japanese tour. Takeshi had a whammy bar, and boy, did he know how to use it. The '62 Ventures tour inspired an entire musical movement in Japan, the Eleki scene. (Eleki is short for Eleki Boom, or Electric Boom.) Here's the mp3s for the album This is Terauchi Bushi, by Takeshi Terauchi with his first band, Bunnys (not the LP pictured at right).

UPDATE: Thanks to Cecile-Anne for the song titles!

Kanjinncyou | Sado Okwsa | Musume Doujyouji  | Mamurogawa Ondo | Komuro Oiwake | Cyakiri Bushi | Genroku Hanami Odori  | Noue Bushi | Hanagasa Ondo | Oedo Nihonbashi | Kazoe Uta | Tukuba Mountain

June 23, 2005

Cleavage Pillows and Poop Hats

Poophat_1Ever the innovators, the Japanese have now developed the cleavage pillow and the poop hat. via del.icio.us

Do Not Offer Sheep Food or Documents

Japan_warning_sheepThe Warning Signs of Japan, featuring wide-eyed caucasion children, ultra-cute animals, and stick figures engaged in all manner of mayhem. via del.icio.us

June 22, 2005

Amazing DJ Yoda Mini Mix

YodaA few listeners asked me about this track I played this morning, so here it is for you: DJ Yoda's Annie Mac Mini Mix (mp3), which he did specially for Annie Mac's BBC radio program last month. And here is the set that DJ Yoda did for a British magazine, which we aired on Re:Mixology a few years back (realaudio archive ).
mp3 via boomselection

June 21, 2005

Murray Saul on Aircheck

SaulIf you missed the return of Aircheck last Thursday night, then you owe it to yourself to check out the Realaudio or the MP3 archives of Murray Saul. For years, we only knew of Murray as the "It's Friiidayyy!" guy, and we included a brief snippet of his insane on-air banter on Radio Archival Oddities, Vol. 2.

From there, he was ID'ed by former Clevelandites, who remember his rants as the city's top rated DJ on WMMS. Saul's take on the rapid-fire Top 40 radio announcer is unique to say the least, due to his utter inarticulateness. But he doesn't let a loss of real words stop him - he descends into yowza bowza wowzas, roaring infectious gutteralisms that'll soon have you joining in his celebrations of the weekend, potsmoking, sex and his endless tirades against the evil slavedriver.

Slap A Superstar DJ

FatboyThe Urban 75 DJ Gallery lets you slap around your least favorite superstar DJ, or remix their faces. More fun than Chris Rock taking the stage after Fatboy Slim and calling him "Whiteboy Retarded." Also check out the Punch a Celebrity page. via Urban75

June 20, 2005

Treasure Trove of Found Sound Vocal Workouts

Karaoke200

MP3s: 30 of 'em, below the fold.

Back when WFMU's Professor was still producing The Audio Kitchen - the greatest found sound radio program of all time - he threw together a compilation for WFMU's record library called Sing Along With The Music. It featured 21 tracks of people singing along with music, usually in the privacy of their own homes. Those are the first 21 tracks I've included below, and I've added nine more that seem to fit in with the theme.

While it's easiest to refer to most of these recordings as karaoke, it's not that simple. Karaoke usually takes place in bars, with an audience. What sets most of these recordings apart is that they were, for the most part, recorded at home, usually without the intention of an audience ever hearing them. This gives most of the recordings a refreshing lack of self consciousness. Of course there are exceptions. Moritz' version of Bohemian Rhapsody (mp3) definitely sounds like a karaoke performance, and Biz Markie's version of Benny and The Jets (mp3) was intended to have an audience. Those singalong tapes were how Biz built his early career.

Continue reading "Treasure Trove of Found Sound Vocal Workouts" »

Bibleman Vs The Northeastern Liberal Elite

Bibleman2Bibleman is coming, and he's ready to smite you. More specifically, in his newest episode, he's ready to smite his arch nemesis Wacky Protester, who aims to to create a world where there will be no Christians, no churches, no Bibles, and no God! Wacky Protester (pictured in blue to the right) is armed with his latest Anti-Christian weapon - the NeuroIconoclasticSkeptisiser, which he uses to lure unwitting Vacation Bible School students into his Animated Reconstructive Transport (A.R.T.), where they will be trapped in a world where there are no rules, no faith, no hope and no future! But Wacky Protester is no match for Bibleman, who grunts scripture and seethes dialog like "The full armor of God. Never leave home without it."

If it's possible to track a culture by monitoring it's cartoon characters and puppets, then Bibleman warrants some special attention. His enemies are protesters, skeptics, art and Jews. And Ricky Martin. And there's big money trying to propel Bibleman beyond the lucrative but limited Christian video market.

That's why Bibleman is coming to The Big Apple. Next Saturday, June 25th at the Flushing Meadows Fairgrounds in Queens. Bibleman and Reverend Billy Graham, who is bringing it back home to the city where it began for him in 1957, when he preached over 100 nights in a row at Madison Square Garden. The preacher who kept his flock intact while the liberal forces of darkness reigned supreme throughout the Sixties and Seventies is reaching out to the newest generation of Christian soldiers by sharing the spotlight of his final evangelical tour with... Bibleman.

Continue reading "Bibleman Vs The Northeastern Liberal Elite" »

June 17, 2005

The Persuasive Power of Public TV's Power Puppets

Bert_ernie_1Bert and Ernie, the gay puppet power-couple most famous for cohabiting on the TV show Sesame Street, came to the nation's capital on Thursday to plead with The House Appropriations Committee not to cut their funding.

Today's New York Times covered the puppet's plea, which preceded the Appropriations Committee's vote to slash federal funding to National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) by fifty percent:

"What has happened under the committee proposal will be disastrous for public broadcasting as we know it," Representative David R. Obey of Wisconsin, the senior Democrat on the committee, said.

Another Democrat, Representative Nita M. Lowey of New York, held up Bert and Ernie puppets from "Sesame Street" as she urged lawmakers to restore the money.

But Representative Ralph Regula, Republican of Ohio, noted that "Sesame Street" receives little taxpayer money and could easily survive with the cuts."

Your puppets get one half of 1 percent of the money," Mr. Regula said. "So you can relax, Nita."

Continue reading "The Persuasive Power of Public TV's Power Puppets" »

June 16, 2005

Three Jersey City Headlines

From my customized google news box, which monitors our hometown of Jersey City, among other things:

Two Wounded In Gun Battle in Jersey City Police Station

Teen Charged in Triple Revenge Shooting in Jersey City

Jersey City OKs Shorts and T-Shirts

Cleaning Out My Inbox

Furniture2_1Time to move this stuff from my inbox to yours...

One of the true wonders of New Jersey.

Japan-bashing artwork by Korean schoolkids.

Finally, a roadmap to the wide world of sexual deviancy. Human Furniture? Turkey Men?

Amazing German karaoke version of Bohemian Rhapsody (MP3). I've got a ton more stuff like this to put up in the next few days, watch for it!

Cool trippy movie called Ministry Messiah by Dutch filmmaker Gints Apsits (Quicktime).

The Museum of Retro Technology, including rocket powered bicycles and alcohol-fueled record players.

Van Gogh's letters, indexed by keywords like "venereal" and "hallucinations."

A Russian painter's incredible online gallery and even more incredible gallery interface.

All hail The Toilet Union.

Catalog of various end-of-the-world scenarios.

Wonderful art by Alex Gross.

The Fifty Greatest Song Parts. It would be fun to do a FMU version of this.

Copyright-free spoken word samples of famous literary works via Penguin Books.

Beautiful gallery of early photographic technique of cyanotypes by photographer Edwardo Aites.

Good new mashup of Led Zeppelin and Snoop Doggy Dogg (mp3).

Do Not Click On This Link. 

Thanks del.icio.us, boingboing, peremeny, Sarah, Music for Maniacs, fazed, beatmixed, J-Walk

June 15, 2005

That Axis Power Vinyl Fetish

SyuugouI guess this is why we have a category called Cartoon Sexuality.

Someone in Japan has a thing for... vinyl. Specifically, upskirt anime imagery (nsfw, the site is in Japanese, but click on any of the links and you'll get the idea pretty quick). Maybe the vinyl fetish is an axis power kind of thing. We only just learned that that the Nazis invented the inflatable love doll. But was Himmler's "gynoid" love doll made of vinyl or elasticized polyethylene?

And what the hell is that South African anti-rape device made out of? It's the vaginal equivalent of a Bait Car (or more accurately, a parking boot) clamping itself emi-permanently onto a rapist's penis with microscopic hooks. Of course, a woman would have to wear it all the time. But it's worth it. Once he realizes that his penis is under permanent polymer lockdown, the rapist calmly surrenders to the nearest police station or hospital, where he is placed under anaesthesia for device removal.

If the clamp really catches on, think of all the corporate logos that will require updating.

All this talk of penile bear traps makes me worried about testicular cancer. Not for me, but for all my fellow penis owners who refuse to check themselves. Let's see, how can we teach men to check themselves for testicular cancer so they dont end up like Tom Green? I know, how about a public service announcement which tricks men into checking their balls by getting them to jerk off? Excellent idea! (flash movie)

thanks b3ta and del.icio.us

June 14, 2005

New York In The 70s Online Gallery

Mudd_club_bomb_std_1Laughing_gas_std_1Allen Tannenbaums book of photographs entitled New York In The 70s has been assembled into an online gallery. Check the nightlife section in particular - great photos of The Mudd Club, Max's, Studio 54, Plato's Retreat, etc, from back in the days when sex, drugs and bombs were all allowed in clubs. Some images not safe for work.

Why My Hometown Wears a Wire

Eruv9b_1My hometown of Highland Park, New Jersey wears a wire.

The wire encircles the entire town, unbroken. It's not a telephone or electrical wire, although sometimes it looks like one. It's a single strand of heavy gauge wire, with no breaks in it, that encircles the town and part of the adjoining town. It runs for miles. It's incredibly important to some of the residents, but most people in Highland Park aren't even aware that it exists.

The wire carries no electrical or communications signal of any kind - electrical, telephone, television, internet. It's a dead wire. Although it could carry signal, because it's a continuous loop - a circuit. It has to be.

Continue reading "Why My Hometown Wears a Wire" »

June 13, 2005

Jackson Moonwalks

491_moonwalk_1

Sorry. Just felt the need to be completely irresponsible and announce the news before it's announced. This is a blog, isn't it? And it'll make a great headline in the tabloids tomorrow.

UPDATE: You heard it here first, because we have no journalistic ethics whatsoever. Congratulations, Michael! Thanks Jones!

Have a pro-Michael Jackson mp3 by James Kochalka Superstar.

UPDATE2: NY Post and Daily News both run with the same picture and the headline "Boy, Oh, Boy!" But The Post comes through: June 14, 2005 - Michael Jackson moonwalked off scot-free from a kiddie-sex rap and every other charge against him yesterday.

Laura Cantrell in Vanity Fair

Laura_c_1WFMU's own Laura Cantrell is featured in the current issue of Vanity Fair, along with Mark "Deep Throat" Felt. Laura will be touring the US later this summer to support her new CD, and she'll also be doing a version of The Radio Thrift Shop for BBC Radio Scotland.

Matching Japanese Doll Women

Peanuts1Remember the miniature singing Japanese fairies from the Godzilla movie Mothra? They were The Peanuts, and their appearance in three Godzilla movies launched hugely successful singing careers. Here's an MP3 of The Peanuts serenading Mothra, and there are two full albums worth of The Peanuts MP3s here.

But as successful as The Peanuts were, they merely paved the way for another female Japanese duet, Pink Lady, who ruled Japanese popular culture for three years in the late Seventies, and dropped off the radar just as suddenly after their attempt to break into the US market sputtered following their TV show, Pink Lady and Jeff.

Pink Lady and The Peanuts both represent an archetype of Japanese pop music - twin female singers who sing, act, talk and dance in unison. While the basic act has been updated with the times, it hasn't completely disappeared. Puffy Ami Yumi fit the mold, and in a weird way, so do Afrirampo, g-strings and pasties notwithstanding. Here's a realaudio archive of Osaka's Afrirampo rocking it on Brian Turner's 9/14/2004 show. They may not talk in unison the way The Peanuts did, but the old archetype of matching doll-women singing and acting cute wont fade away. It runs deep. Girls just like to have fun. And wear matching dildoes.

WFMU Podcast Update

Mj_ipodLots of news on the WFMU podcasting front! This is the first week of our new summer schedule, and three new shows join the roster of WFMU podcasts - Professor Dum Dum's Lab, Aircheck, and The Ed Shepp Radio Experiment, bringing the number of WFMU Podcasts to 18! And one show that we're already podcasting - Do or D.I.Y. with People Like Us - will switch from re-runs to new shows. The new FMU schedule is here, and our podcast page is here. (Podcasting delivers the MP3 archives of these shows automatically to your computer and/or MP3 player so you can take the shows with you.)

Our two podcast-only shows both have new episodes out. The new episode of Chris T's FCC-unfriendly Communication Breakdown can be downloaded directly here (MP3), or streamed from this page. And the new installment of Noah's biweekly podcast of unreleased hip-hop, Coffee To Go can be downloaded here (MP3) or streamed from this page.

Detainees at Gitmo Being Forced to Listen to Christina Aguilera

Christina_aguilera_1What does Christina Aguilera have in common with  Barney The Purple Dinosaur, The Bobby Fuller Four, Matchbox Twenty and The Pretty Things? They're all included in that rarified playlist of recording artists approved for use in torture. The Drudge Report printed excerpts from a forthcoming article in Time Magazine which alleges that "interrogation" techniques at Guantanamo Bay include "Detainee #063" being forced to listen to the music of Christina Aguilera.

Continue reading "Detainees at Gitmo Being Forced to Listen to Christina Aguilera" »

June 12, 2005

Computer Listening Rising, Radio Listening Dropping

Waves_4A recent study by the NPD Group asserts that while radio is still the most popular means for delivering audio to consumers, its use in The United States dropped 4% in 2004, while listening to music on computers rose 22% in the same year. For what it's worth, I've noticed similar trends right here at WFMU - based on our fundraising marathon, the number of FM listeners has been declining steadily and the number of online listeners has been increasing. Fortunately for us, the number of new online listeners is more than compensating for the loss in FM listeners. Article from Billboard.

Memphis Phone Sex

Vanilla_bean_1One of the most inspired phone pranks I've ever heard was when WFMU's Frank Balesteri (aka The Vanilla Bean) called a phone sex outlet in Memphis, Tennessee and pretended to be a guy with an Elvis fetish. But Frank's real stroke of genius was turning the tables on the actress/operator and getting her to fantasize about Elvis - his guitar-shaped swimming pool, Elvis getting laid in heaven, the jism on his blue suede shoes. Frank even gets her singing "It's Alright, Mama," or at least all the lyrics she could remember. Too bad this was never aired. Or so I was told. Download the MP3. (Not safe for work. Taken from WFMU's 2-CD set, Radio Archival Oddities, Vol. 2)

June 11, 2005

Simultaneous Conch Blowing in Kathmandu

Conch2A bourgeoning independent radio scene in Nepal was crushed last February, when the Nepalese government restricted all non-governmental FM stations to broadcasting only music. Recently the affected stations staged a protest which consisted of 45 stations simultaneously broadcasting conch blowing, and mailing broken radios wrapped up in Nepal's constitution to government officials. Article here. via nfcb listserv
UPDATE: The protest has moved into the streets.

Christmas In June

Lock_n_load_jesus_1I thought that Christmas In July had been cancelled due to budget cuts, but apparently it's merely been moved up to June. How else to explain the sudden appearance of these pages in my inbox?

Jesus is back and his name is Ted.

Christ approves of anal sex and threesomes.

Freaky paintings of Patriot Jesus.

Spend your True Christian Dollars with Miss Poppy. Be sure to pick up an armed fetus

Thank You? Jesus, Rich, Superfrankenstein and del.icio.us

German Street Art

Muenchenmai04173_1

Incredibly extensive online gallery of German street art and graffiti. via

June 10, 2005

Dave The Spazz Waxes Wax and CBS-FM

SpazzLast night on Music to Spazz By, Dave the Spazz did his longest non-marathon monologue ever, but it was a great one. He listed the defining musical moments of his life, waxed nostalgiac about CBS-FM and his favorite Top 40 DJs like the great Dan Ingram and Harry Harrison. In short, everything that made Dave the social retard he is today. Hear Dave's monologue as a streaming MP3 here, or as a streaming Realaudio archive here. If you miss CBS-FM, you can join the roster of mourners in the comments section of this post here

Language Removal Contest

Language_4Here's an end-of-the-work-week audio contest for you. Below are links to ten mp3s of ten famous people speaking, with all of the actual language removed from their speech. All that remains are the interjections, gutteral noises, yawns, screams, background sounds, denture-clacking, tongue flapping and other sonic ephemera that accompanies normal speech. It's not as hard as you might think - various tracks contain all sorts of audio hints as to the speaker's identity. The first person to identify all ten speakers correctly wins a WFMU T-shirt and double CD of live music from WFMU. Put your guesses into the comments section.

The mystery speakers are: Maya Angelou, Phillip Glass, Elton John, Thelonius Monk, Marilyn Monroe, Henry Rollins, Susan Sontag, Sylvester Stallone, Gloria Steinem, and Malcolm X.

And here are their MP3s to download: One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven | Eight | Nine | Ten.

MP3s courtesy Language Removal Services.

Cheesy Puppet Disco Loop

Puppet_discoLife is a Cheesy Puppet Disco. And it never ends. Video Loop. Thanks PLU!

NYPD and RIAA Raid Mondo Kims

Kop_circle_logo_2The RIAA, in conjunction with the New York Police Department (Or vice versa, depending on who you believe) raided Mondo Kims yesterday, arresting five store employees and charging them with trademark counterfeiting. The police seized 470 CDs, 53 videos and 27 DVDs. They also seized DVD and CD burning equipment. Most of the seized goods were described as "urban in nature," meaning that the seized CDRs were mostly hip-hop CDR mixes. Article from the NY Times here (may require password) and from MTV here.

June 09, 2005

Masters of Psychobilly

Dean_carterOne of my favorite recent records is a little gem that Program Director Brian found called Call of the Wild by Dean Carter, on the Big Beat label. Calling him the missing link between rockabilly and garage punk doesn't do him justice. Recorded mostly between '65 and '68, it's psychobilly pure and simple, with a backdrop of echo chambered heavy breathing, tortured off kilter guitar and barely controlled singing. Here's a sample of four Dean Carter songs from the WFMU realaudio archives, and here's the same four-song clip as a streaming MP3 archive. The songs in the archive clip are: I Got A Girl, You Tear Me Up, Run Rabbit Run and Would You Believe?

The only thing I could connect Dean Carter to when I heard it was another classic of inbred psychobilly, The Musical Linn Twins, which was recently reissued by Norton on a seven inch single. From our Realaudio archives, here are The Musical Linn Twins doing Indian Rock and Rockin' Out The Blues.

Rush Limbaugh Art Gallery

Jeff_christie_2The Limbaugh Letter is the newsletter for fans of The Rush Limbaugh show. Now the cover art of The Limbaugh Letter has been assembled into an online art gallery by Doug Henry, the man who has portrayed Rush slaying various liberal dragons over the years. But under the guidance of The Limbaugh Letter's editorial staff, Rush doesn't stop at slaying dragons. Henry's brush has portrayed Rush slaying donkeys, Rush boxing, Rush dousing the wicked witch of the east, Rush as Indiana Jones, as General Patton, as Santa Claus, as a Jetskier, and my personal favorite, Rush as a hippy. Thanks Rich!

June 08, 2005

23 MP3s of Wild and Wooly Vocal Stylings

Mouth_press2_3In honor of Donna's return to WFMU weekly schedule (Wednesday's 3 - 6pm, beginning June 15th), here are the MP3s of her 2001 marathon premium, Babble. She described it this way:

All manner of vocal stylings, ranging from Ethiopian herdsmen serenading their cow's udders to avant garde types with microphones lodged in their esophaguses.

Continue reading "23 MP3s of Wild and Wooly Vocal Stylings" »

June 07, 2005

People Like Us new Film: Story Without End

Story_wo_endA new short film by WFMU's own People Like Us can be downloaded or viewed here as a streaming file from the Internet Archive. People Like Us' weekly radio show, Do or D.I.Y returns to the airwaves on June 15th and will air each Wednesday from 7-8 pm, following Seven Second Delay. Do or D.I.Y is one of 15 WFMU shows which are available for automatic mp3 download via podcasting. Currently, we're podcasting the old Do or D.I.Y shows. On June 15th, we'll begin podcasting the new ones.

June 06, 2005

The Bait Car Videos of British Columbia

Baitcar_2In keeping with two great Beware of the Blog traditions, making fun of Canadians and overusing the F word, I present to you The Bait Car videos of British Columbia. Bait Cars are rolling, remote-controlled traps to catch car thieves and put 'em away. Is this some Totalitarian Canadian Nightmare? Have the Canucks actually out-Orwelled Old Glory?

No need to worry, we have plenty of Bait Car programs here in the USA. Over 100 police departments around the country use Bait Cars, which are decked out with satellite tracking equipment, remote controlled engines and door locks, hidden cameras and occasionally, expensive easy-to-steal stereo equipment as additional bait.

Of course, videos like this make the prospect of encroaching governmental entrapment so worth the gamble! In a Burnaby, British Columbia video called Oh No (streaming wmv file), a Canadian car thief is grooving to The Verve's Bittersweet Symphony when he realizes that he's the target of a dragnet. As he laments his predicament, he whines "oh fuck" and "oh no" to the music. Only when the police disable his car by remote control does he realize that he's driving a bait car. By the end of the video, you actually feel bad for this guy - no mean feat.

In the production entitled The Prayer (streaming wmv file), two young car thieves discover religion during a night of joyriding while listening to British Columbia's Finest Alternative Rock. These videos are amazing enough on their own, but the rock radio backdrops just make them perfect.

How long before the Security and Exchange Commission sets up a Bait Corporation Program? Don't hold your breath. Bait Cars are more fun. via fazed

Electrelane Live on WFMU

Rachel_mia_1Electrelane stopped by last week to record a great session for OCDJ's Plug and Play program. You can hear their set as a streaming Realaudio archive here. Electrelane's set starts 5:40 into each archive. And here is a short video file of them playing in WFMU's Love Room (avi file for download).

Mammatus Clouds

Mammatus1_2 Mammatus2_2
Mammatus Clouds. Who knew? via del.icio.us

June 05, 2005

A Batch of Great Current Music Videos

Head over to Colonel Blimp, a London-based video house which is producing some of the more interesting current  music videos you'll find these days. Besides a great one from WFMU's own Donna Summer, you'll also find a Cheesy Euro-Disco anthem featuring power tools, plus videos from Dizzee Rascal, The Streets, Interpol, Chicks on Speed, Bjork, Basement Jaxx and others.

Donna_summer_vid2_1My favorite has to be Donna Summer's (aka Jason Forrest) video for Stepping Off, directed by the boy wonder Waverly. Structured as a rock tour travelogue, Stepping Off touches on dozens of Seventies rock cliches - wizards, dwarves with fake beards, coke and girls. And refreshingly, Donna Summer never appears in his own video. Click for the video here (Streaming Quicktime 6, but can also be downloaded from the site).

SatisfactionBringing Cheesy Euro Disco into the 21st century, we have Benny Benassi's Satisfaction, directed by Dougal Wilson, featuring scantily clad babes in safety glasses operating two-speed power drills, Belt Sanders (110 or 220 volts!), Dual Actions Saws and Orbital Sanders. Video link here.

Dream_1Another winner is Dizzee Rascal's video for Dream, also directed by Dougal Wilson. Dizzee covers the song Happy Talk from South Pacific while cavorting on top of a grand piano with criminal puppets and marionettes. Video link here.

Be sure to also check out Klonherz' Three Girl Rhumba (video link here), and FC Kahuna's Hayling (video link here).

June 04, 2005

Helge Schneider Salutes CBS-FM

HelgeIn memory of CBS-FM, I make this offering of mp3 cover versions by the great German comedian and ersatz rock star Helge Schneider, from his album Eiersalat In Rock. On this album, Helge is backed up by his rock and roll band, The Firefuckers: Nights in White Satin | Hey Joe | A Whiter Shade of Pale | My Generation | Ebony and Ivory | Whispering

Thanks to foreign listener C for making this post possible!

June 03, 2005

CBS-FM Adopts Jack Format

WCBS-FM has signed on to the Jack format, as the ipod-emulation format sweeps the nation. Infinity has also turned Jack on in Chicago. As of five pm today (Friday June 3rd), New York City no longer has an oldies station, at least in the 1950's sense of the word. It's hard to consider it a bad thing for commercial radio stations to expand their playlists, yet this still smacks of utter desperation. And then there's Mickey Dolenz. Lots of listeners have weighed in on the Jack format in the comment's of Brian Turner's post here. via FMQB

MP3s of 78 rpm Records

Hrecord_retIf you like to mix and match your ancient and modern technologies, then head over to Turtle's 78 rpm Jukebox for a batch of mp3s of records made during the acoustic era of recording, before electricity was used in the recording process at all. Turtle is offering up scads of public domain material  by Bill Murray and others who've been featured on both of WFMU's 78rpm / Edison Cylinder programs, Thomas Edison's Attic and The Antique Phonograph Music Program, both of which are also available as podcasts. via boingboing

June 01, 2005

Fucking USA Video

FuckingusaI don't think the North Koreans like us very much. This is allegedly a North Korean anti-American propaganda film which owes a lot to Team America. Quicktime video via robpongi (nsfw)

NYC Department of Transportation's Camera Corps

There are forty five cameras in the naked city. This is one of them.

May 31, 2005

The Robots of WFMU

Passing_robot_1Everybody loves a good robot or two. Here at WFMU, we have three of them. Two of them call up our DJs from time to time and say things like "telemetry channel - zero zero." From time to time, you might hear one of our DJs announce on the air that they have to go back to music right away because the robot is calling. It's true. When the robot calls, a bright strobe light goes off in the studio, everybody has a seizure and the DJ is supposed to drop everything and find out what the robot has to say.

Our third robot, I can't tell you what he does. But he lives on Mike Lupica's desk and he has an arm that moves back and forth and does stuff. Dave the Spazz opens his show with a robot. You know the one - Hal, from 2001 A Space Odyssey. The one with the heavy breathing who goes "Just what do you think you're doing, Dave?"

Continue reading "The Robots of WFMU" »

May 30, 2005

The Way To Do A Parade

S_royal28_grandRoyal03_grandThe people in Nantes, France really know how to do a parade. During a festival commemorating Jules Verne, a giant marionette climbs out of a huge barrel, mounts a mammoth mechanical elephant and parades through the streets. As the parades through the streets, the French giantess takes a shower, sucks a giant lollipop and rests on the elephant's tusks, before she is ultimately hoisted into a giant rocket and set ablaze. Great photo-montage here, with quicktime videos. The site is in French, but just follow the arrows at the bottom of each page. via del.icio.us

Seven Minutes In Deadwood

Swearengen3_3The TV show Deadwood has taken the art of cussin' to new heights. Fans of the show are even known as fucknuts. But despite what you may have heard, Deadwood is not all blowjobs, cocksuckers and titlickers. Specifically, in a sample 60 minute episode, 53 minutes of it were 100% curse-free! I painstakingly edited out all the clean phrases and passages from one episode of Deadwood, distilling the show down to its brilliant essence. I now present to you Seven Minutes In Deadwood (mp3, not safe for shit - wall to wall cursing and ethnic slurs). (For fans of the show, this is episode ten of season one, the episode known as Mister Wu.)

Backmasking for Dummies

Satan_1The problem with backmasking is that there are so many demonic dialects, who can possibly keep up? You can never be sure exactly which evil deeds the Rock Demons are trying to implant in your subconscious. Well, fret no more. Jeff Milner's handy-dandy backmasking site lets you play songs forwards or backwards, and it even displays the secret satanic messages for you while you listen. Who knew that Robert Plant was really singing about an evil "little toolshed where Satan made us suffer" in Stairway to Heaven? So the next time the talking dogs show up at your house wanting proof of purchase stamps for all your evil deeds, you'll no longer be able to feign ignorance. via del.icio.us

May 28, 2005

Japanese Manhole Covers

ManholeThe Japanese make some bad ass manhole covers. via fazed

Russian Art Site

Dont let your ignorance of the cyrillic alphabet keep you from this excellent Russian art site (but do let a lack of bandwidth or flash keep you away). Despite the language barrier, there's tons of chance entries to surrealist and fantasy art sites, like the galleries of Maria Isabel Arango or Ernst Fuchs, Jessiekitty's intriguing bondage blog, world press photos of the year, and the work of P Grik. And of course I had to go to a Russian site to find a great blog from our own backyard, the Wooster Collective's celebration of street art. There's a link there to us as well, otherwise how would I have found this?

The Demented Leftist Cabaret of Kollektiv Rote Rรผbe

Scherben_1Here are the mp3s of an album called Paranoia by the mysterious German band known as Kollektiv Rote Rube. The album was released in 1976, and was a collaboration between Kollektiv Rote Rube and the better known German band Ton Steine Scherben. At least that's what I think; this band has been a real mystery to me since receiving the cassette from a friend of a friend nearly 20 years ago. If any German speakers can provide their best guesses at the track titles or any other information, please add it to the  comments section. Kollektiv Rote Rube appear to have been a Munich-based theater group who collaborated on this album with Ton Steine Scherben. Beyond that, I dont know much but there is information online in German about them, and they are listed as a musical influence on a Nurse With Wound page. My favorite tracks are the disturbing number five, eight, ten, fifteen, sixteen & the filthiest song I can play on the US airwaves, number seventeen (immer wieder fickin?).

Happy listening: One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven | Eight | Nine | Ten | Eleven | Twelve | Thirteen | Fourteen | Fifteen | Sixteen | Seventeen | Eighteen | Nineteen.

May 27, 2005

Gunther and His Ding Dong

Guntherimages3OK, I submit. I will create a separate category for Cheesy Euro-Disco.

I received my DVD with the video of Baccara's Yes Sir I Can Boogie a few days ago, and it was terrible. But then, as if The Disco Gods heard my disappointment and wanted to make it up to me, Listener Jon notified me about 2004's huge Euro-disco hit, Ding Dong Song, aka Oh, You Touch My Tra La La, by Gunther and The Sunshine Girls. Watch the video here (streaming wmv file from jengajam). Baccara may dance around suggestively, but Gunther delivers. (Not safe for work due to soft core lesbianism and frothy champagne bottles.)

And check out the GI Joe remix of the same (right click to download wmv file, via ebaum).

Afraid to admit that you like Cheesy Euro Disco? Be not alone.

The Haka

Haka1_2And speaking of sound effects, the greatest chant on earth is The Haka (mp3), the hundred-year old Maori rugby chant of the New Zealand All Blacks team. Hakas also refer to the stance that players take while doing The Haka, and recently, mystery Hakas have been popping up around New Zealand. And oh yeah, The Haka is patented, so don't get any ideas, you rugby teams. Or DJs.

Karate Sound Effects

Bruce_lee2Sunrise_karateLife without karate sound effects is not worth living. (MP3 of "Stick Fight" from Bruce Lee's Game of Death.)

May 24, 2005

Fainting Goats

FaintgoatWith all the fake viral crud swarming around the web these days, isn't it refreshing to know that Fainting Goats are real? What they are. Why they fall over. Fainting goats in action (mpeg video file). Fainting Goat / Yooper Humor Heaven. Festival of Fainting Goats. Fainting Goats slang. Get yer Fainting Goats (ifilm movie). via Life in the Present.

May 23, 2005

The Art and Poetry of Fatal Facts

The US Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration have collected and illustrated a collection of data about fatal industrial accidents. The descriptions read like some kind of demented poetry:

Osha2A contract employee
was assigned to sandblast
the inside of a reactor vessel
during turnaround activities at a petrochemical refinery

the contract foreman connected

the employee's supplied air respirator
to a hose containing what he thought was plant air

Instead it was nitrogen

Both hoses were identical except
for markings at the shutoff valve
The sandblaster entered the vessel
descended to the bottom
placed the respirator hood
on his head

and was overcome

Thanks to Evan Funk Davies

Soundtrack for Torture

Sonicwar_1MP3s: The More You Sell (retail motivational training from The Happy Listener's Guide to Mind Control) and Kris Jensen's Torture.

In November 2003, one of our DJs received this e-mail from a WFMU listener stationed in Iraq:

Hi, I'm currently deployed to Iraq and recently discovered your program. Since then My tank crew and I listen whenever we get the chance. The reason I'm writing is that we have been looking for anything we can find by happy flowers, not just because I think My Skin Covers My Body is the greatest record of all time, but also It's perfect for Psychological Warfare. Well, the only song we have here is Charlie Got a Haircut and we've used it so much, we can't stand it. Basically I wanted to check if you know somewhere we can score some Happy Flowers we can then load onto an Ipod to use on the Iraqis. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Continue reading "Soundtrack for Torture" »

May 22, 2005

The Saints Preserve Us From Peter Frampton

Stranded_shad_2The Saints came all the way from Australia to play live on Terre T's Cherry Blossom Clinic yesterday. You can hear their set here in streaming MP3, or here in streaming Realaudio. And here is a short video clip of them performing in WFMU's Love Room (avi video file, right-click to download).

As they were loading in, Chris Bailey from the band informed me that, if it werent for The Saints, we'd still be playing Peter Frampton. Taken aback, I informed him that we never stopped playing Peter Frampton (realaudio). He then gave me a big bear hug and licked me all over my face. OK,  that didnt actually happen. Except for the Peter Frampton part. And the licking.

May 21, 2005

Cookie Monster Karaoke

Growl_karaoke_1
And speaking of Cookie Monster Vocals, follow the bouncing ball with Growl Karaoke. (flash animation, via del.icio.us)

Electronic Musical Toys of the 60's and 70's

Beegees_machineHere's a great collection of electronic musical toys from 1954 to the late 80's, including the Shaun Cassidy Electronic Organ, the Bee Gees Rhythm Machine and Mattel's Magical Musical Thing. For a more grownup version of the same thing, visit the Synthmuseum, where you can find the old WFMU favorite, the Optigan.

Taking toys like this and hacking away at their innards is now known as circuit bending, and there's no circuit bender quite like the Norweigan musical outsider Tore Honorรฉ Bรธe, who is also the king of aliases. His homemade musical laptops are things of beauty, and also earned him a place on tour with Einsturzende Neubauten. Thanks, listener Bas!

May 20, 2005

The Fifty Worst Hairstyles of All Time

Choppa_styleAnd they missed choppa-style! Link, via Cynical C-Blog.

Chamber Muzak MP3s from Real Fish

Real_fish_1In 1990, our Program Director picked up a batch of dollar LPs from the local Tower Records annex. Amid the dross were three albums from a Japanese band called Real Fish. Little is known about the band - they were somehow related to the great Japanese producer Haruomi Hosono (of Yellow Magic Orchestra), and all three of their records came out on the Invitation label. But the music was unique and fascinating - it has elements of Japanese muzak and allusions to the "new chamber" stuff that was floating around Europe at the time (Belgian bands like Julverne - realaudio clip). But it's on the Averybigbandundescribeable side, which is why I love it so much. If only all muzak were half this intelligent. Here are mp3s of seven tracks from their two albums - the aply titled A Very Big Band in Heaven (1984) and When the World Was Young (1987).

1. White Gloves  2. Rendezvous  3. When The World Was Young  4. Monday  5. Beach Parasol  6. Parade   7. Size of Love

Cleaning Out My Inbox

HaircutformeetingsIt's time once again to purge these items out of my inbox before they start to grow fuzz all over them. Then I can get back to preparing some new MP3 posts.

* Why did someone leave this video clip of Kenny G and Irwin doing karaoke to The Carpenters in my Studio C folder? Dont they know how dangerous leaving stuff like this laying around is? (avi video file)

* Virtual mumblypeg. The screaming is the best part.

* My beloved Latvia is a 33 to 1 longshot in the Eurovision betting pool. And how in the world can Wigwam generate 4 to 1 odds?!

* Vinyl as a visual medium.

* The amazing real-time World-O-Meter.

* Keep the Freesound project handy for the day the MP3 police show up at your front door.

* Captain Tolerance says: Change Your Race!

* Buy My Fucking Ringtone (nsfw)

* Break out the sunscreen!

* Everything you need to pass a piss test, including the prosthetic penis. (nsfw)

* Another way to postpone aging. (streaming wmv file)

* The endless Zoom Quilt.

* The musical preferences of British politicians.

* Finally, a site dedicated to Brainfreeze.

Thanks Erella, Bill, Bryce, John from Oslo, b3ta, eyebeam, fazed, del.icio.us

May 19, 2005

Jim Hawthorne - The First Freeform Radio DJ Ever

Jim_hawthorneFor many years, I subscribed to the conventional wisdom that freeform radio got its start on KPFA in Berkely, the first non-commercial radio station in the country, and the cornerstone of the Pacifica Radio anti-empire. In the mid-Fifites, story has it, some late night DJs at KPFA began to experiment with formats, techniques and illicit substances, even going so far as to do the occasional audio collage!

Then I heard Jim Hawthorne, and I had to rewrite the history of freeform radio, at least in my own head.

Continue reading "Jim Hawthorne - The First Freeform Radio DJ Ever" »

May 18, 2005

Let Them Sing It For You

Yes, it knows the F word. Thank you Radio Sweden.

Stop Me Before I Euro-Disco Again

ApacheQuestion: What do you call a batch of Danish hippies cavorting in a field with a trio of gyrating Indian maidens?

Answer: I dont know, but watch it here and don't avert your eyes.  (right click to download mpg)

More importantly, does this mean I have to create a separate category for cheesy Euro-Disco even before my Baccara video arrives in the mail? Actually this is a video of Danish singer Tommy Seebach covering The Shadows song Apache. And if you liked Tommy, you're sure to enjoy Vitalic and Dschinghis Khan. Thanks Carrie from Stay Free for the link.

The Simpsons as Described by WGBH

Bart_blindMP3: Simpsons episode with "DVS" audio captioning for blind people.

The other night, I turned on The Simpsons, only to find that the program's audio had a weird narrator describing almost everything that was happening. At first I thought that The Simpsons were parodying the voice-over approach from another Fox show, Arrested Development. It turns out that my broken VCR was picking up an additional audio channel instead of the main one, and in the case of The Simpsons, I was hearing the DVS, or blind captioned version of the show. DVS stands for Descriptive Video Services, and it's the audio equivalent of closed captioning for the deaf. Here's a large MP3 of the DVS version of The Simpsons "Rapture" episode from May 8th (right click to download).

Continue reading "The Simpsons as Described by WGBH" »

May 17, 2005

Cookie Monster: The Real Most Influential Musician of All Time

Cookie_monster_worth_1MP3s: Ted Shred's Michael Jackson vs Cookie Monster and Daniel's Death Metal Warmup Exercises (right-click to download, plus streaming Realaudio samples below).

I have to take issue with Program Director Brian's characterization of "Animal" from the Muppets as the most influential musician of all time. I didnt think I would have to explain this to you Brian and I hate to publicy correct you, but "Animal" is a puppet. Made of cloth and wire. He doesn't really play the drums at all. When you watch "Animal" during a drum workout, the drums you hear are played by a session musician working for Sesame Workshop. That Buddy Rich clip was done with puppets and trick photography.

Just because the term "Animal From The Muppets" brings up an impressive 807 google citations doesnt mean that any drummers out there actually want to sound like Animal. So how can he be an influential musician?

I grant you that Animal may be a convenient lynchpin for current drummers and rock writers. But he is far from the most influential musician of all time. He's not even the most influential Muppet. If we seek to honor one musician who has been extraordinarily influential, a lone artist who has singlehandedly influenced world wide musical markets and scenes for over a decade, from the deepest underground to the most mainstream, we need look no further than Cookie Monster.

Continue reading "Cookie Monster: The Real Most Influential Musician of All Time" »

May 16, 2005

French AIDS PSAs

I wrote about Public Service Announcements last month and included some beautiful Mexican PSA art. Not to be outdone by the Mexicans, the French have released a few PSA posters about AIDS prevention that are, how shall we say... rather saucy. Click here to see them. (Not safe for work. Unless you're French. Or a spider. Actually, you would have to be both. via b3ta newsletter.)

May 15, 2005

The Road From Yamasuki to Bananarama

Yamasuki400UPDATE: MP3 now available for download - Yamasuki. Thanks, Finder's Keepers!

One of my favorite recent records is a reissue from 1971 called Le Monde Fabuleux Des Yamasuki. It's a wild amalgam of psychedelic pop, fuzzed out guitars, children's choirs and karate chants, coming together to create a sort of multi-kulty rock opera. The record started off as a cross-cultural dance project intended to bridge gaps between Europe and the Far East, but the two French pop producers in charge of the music quickly got carried away, learning Japanese, importing children's choirs and even hiring a famous Judo master from Japan to yelp and roar in the background. OK, so I'm a sucker for yelping. Especially Japanese yelping.

Continue reading "The Road From Yamasuki to Bananarama" »

May 14, 2005

Abstinence Clearinghouse A Magnet for Horny Motorists

Brothel2_3In what sounds like a devious employee prank, Google Maps is identifying certain U.S. businesses as whore houses. What a great public service this would be if the brothel ID tags were accurate! Alas, they are not. Go ahead and try it before Google management plugs the hole - go to Google Maps, type in a zip code and include the word "brothels" without the quotation marks.

One business that was misidentified as a cathouse is the Abstinence Clearinghouse in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, a non-profit orginization that hooks up people who are against pre-marital hookups. Leslee Unruh, the President of the Abstinence Clearinghouse, while angered about Google's little "mistake," said that it at least explained an ongoing mystery:

"We've been seeing some strange men stopping by the office," she said. "They're clearly looking for something. If they're traveling and using Google, maybe they think we're..." she said, but didn't finish. "We're right off the Interstate."

"I'd love to know what's going on," she said. "Although we do have a red lamp near the window. I told my staff, 'we have to get that out of there.'"

via Yahoo news.

 

May 13, 2005

Sonic Weaponry

It's long been known that various governments have sonic weapons in their arsenals, sound cannons that can be aimed at enemy troops (or in some cases, their own citizens). But now this video proves that European gameshow hosts have been experimenting with the same technology (windows video file, right click to download), often to devastating effect. via alldumb.com

May 12, 2005

Bootleg Browser

That's bootlegs as in live concert audio, not as in mashups.

Must...Adopt...Chicken

MailorderchickenFor those who love chickens or hate powerpoint. Mailorder Chickens. (Flash animation)

May 11, 2005

They Wanted Fast Songs

Afghani singing sensation Nasrat Parsa was killed because he didn't play the right music at a Mother's Day concert, his grieving family says. The 34-year-old died just after 11 p.m. Sunday from injuries sustained in an early morning attack. A 19-year-old Burnaby man is in custody facing a charge of manslaughter. "Put them in jail forever. Life sentence. They should be executed," Parsa's grief-stricken brother, Ehsan Parsa, said yesterday. He said the attack outside the Days Inn in the 2000-block Kingsway happened without warning or provocation.

Ehsan and his brothers, Najeeb and Nasrat, were met at the hotel at 1 a.m. Sunday by a group of men Ehsan recognized from the Saturday night concert at the Vancouver Playhouse. At the concert, the men were drunk and dancing. One jumped on to the stage and asked the internationally acclaimed singer to change the music to something quicker. Parsa said the event was a Mother's Day celebration, not a wedding, and he could not meet the request.

"They wanted fast songs," Ehsan said.

Thanks to DJ Rix, via Canada.com

Space Sounds

Ever wonder what a magnetosphere sounds like? Me neither. But now you can actually hear one, on the Space Sounds site, where you can also tune in to the actual audio of black holes, cosmic debris, tweeks, whistlers and more. Warning, the site also peddles a line of swag. How people can do that is beyond me. What I want to know is how these sounds were recorded in the vacuum of space.

She Be She Strike - Long Version

TumasiquissaMP3s: 30 Minute version of She Be She Strike and three songs from Inuit singer Tumasi Quissa: Iyagaaluit, Irngutapiga Qiayuapeomat and Niaquvinialuit.

A few weeks ago, I posted five excerpts from a legendary underground cassette called She Be She Strike,  which captured some amazing radio from an Eskimo janitor and his friends who allegedly took over a Canadian radio station when the regular staff went on strike from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (or CBC - "She Be She"). The original post is here. A few people asked me to post the full unedited version, so I'm putting that up now (MP3, right-click to download). Two people from the CBC stumbled onto the original post, and they're trying to get the tape translated from the original Inuktitut. I'll report back when there's info about these tapes from the good folks at the CBC. 

The 30 minute version is rich with Eskimo radio goodness, but listening to it again makes me realize that there is an even longer version that this 30 minute version was made from. I heard that on WFMU in the late Eighties, but there's no trace of it now...

Continue reading "She Be She Strike - Long Version" »

May 10, 2005

Angelina Jolie Homewrecker Song

Angelina2Amazing near-X-rated song and video about the breakup of the century, starring Brad, Angelina, Jennifer Aniston, Mariah Carey, Halle Berry and Condoleeza Rice like you've never seen her. Not safe for work. via alldumb.com
UPDATE: The song is by Bumba and Jhae.

More Disturbing Canadian TV

A bold and innovative television public awareness campaign about domestic violence will not be shown on Calgary television stations due to an unfavourable ruling from the Television Bureau of Canada (TVB). You can watch these public service announcements yourself, but please make the children leave the room first:  Boardroom and Restaurant (right click to download mpg files). Both from the Homefront Mission of Calgary. These two PSAs were deemed to be too graphic to broadcast, according to Canada's Telecaster Guidelines. via Cant Stop The Bleeding.

Vatican Guilty of Radio Poisoning

A court in Rome on Monday convicted a Vatican cardinal and the head of the city-state's radio station for electromagnetic pollution. Here in the homeland, we call this RF Radiation. I would contend that if the Vatican is breaking Italian regulations by irradiating the neighbors, then the regulations must be wrong. (Environmental infallibility and all that..) Thanks to Bob W for the link.

Bring Me The Video of George's Jig

Dubya apparently wiggled his hips in Tblisi, Georgia last night, at least twelve hours ago, and still no video! At least I couldn't find it yet. And George's jig was (appropriately) televised on Georgian television over and over last night. The internet was supposed to make all embarassing political moments available to the entire world immediately! My kingdom (or at least a few CDs) to the first commenter who can link to video of yesterday's Georgian jig. Remember Dubya's dance with Ricky Martin at the first inaugural? While searching, I did stumble across this video about an extraterrestrial puppet who really likes Jesus (Quicktime video of The Junior Christian Science Bible Lesson Show).
UPDATE: Listener Jeff found and edited the video of george's brief jig. Right click here to download windows video file. Thanks Jeff!

May 09, 2005

Donna Summer MP3s

Cobraguitar_1WFMU's own Donna Summer (aka Jason Forrest - no, his cease and desist letter hasn't yet arrived) has a page up of MP3s from his label, Cock Rock Disco. Donna beams his show / podcast to WFMU from Berlin, and it airs Thursday nights at 6pm on WFMU.

Secrets on Postcards

Stopped_lyingSince January, people have been mailing their deep, dark secrets, contained on anonymous postcards to this address:

PostSecret
13345 Copper Ridge Rd
Germantown, Maryland
USA 20874-3454

They're up for the whole world to see here.

The Company We Keep

Ariana Huffington's blog launched a few days ago, and lo and behold, there is a permanent link to WFMU's Beware of the Blog on the main page. The best part of it is that we are on the same list as Rosie O'Donnel's blog, which features her great metaphysical poetry, stuff like this:

between the runaway bride
the 10 pound hamburger
michael jackson
and now cruddy corey

iโ€™m beginning to lose hope
i wonder if we will ever
again
get real news
in this country

Also on Arianna's new blog, you can check out Hilary Rosen's sad lament about the horrors of digital rights management. Poor Hilary (the former head of the RIAA, and one of the people responsible for raising copyright protection to its current level of hysteria) purchased an iPod and now she can't figure out how to move her Microsoft files onto it. And Harry Shearer makes the enticing suggestion that he may soon be posting his famous found video feeds online.

You Drive Me Nervous

Driving

What the hell is going on here? I would understand if Putin's steering wheel were on the other side...

May 08, 2005

Two For Mothers Day

MomsHere's two appropriate songs for Mother's Day, in case you're still living with her or she happened to have been killed by Rock and Roll.

First, Rock and Roll Killed My Mother (streaming Realaudio) by The Hi Fi Guys, from Brian Turners show from December 7, 2002. Second, I Still Live With My Moms, (streaming Realaudio) by Thirston How III, from Noah's Coffee Break With Heroes and Villains from July 19, 2004. Thirston Howl III will also be live on Noah's show this coming May 25th.

Two More Telemarketer Strategies

Following up on Andy Breckman's pretend-to-be-retarded telemarketer ploy, here are two more strategies. First, Eugene Mirman negotiates a killer long distance rate, while simultaneously destroying the gay agenda (MP3 download). Second, Jessica Kane reveals the most subversive technique of all - being nice! (streaming realaudio from Kenny G's April 13, 2005 program)

May 07, 2005

The Multicultural Barking of Dogs

BzzzpeekLaughter may be universal, but the the sound that dogs or pigs make is not. According to this site, oink oink turns into buubuu in Japanese. But bzzzpeek explores this concept one better, inviting kids from all over the world to actually record and submit their best animal impersonations. (requires flash)

May 06, 2005

Vomiting The News

MP3 of a News Announcer from Sydney, Australia reading the news and losing her lunch, all  at the same time. via b3ta newsletter

Yippie Yi Yo

Ghost_1Thirty two versions of Ghost Riders In The Sky.

Le Parkour

Parkour2_1The art of running away from the police has finally been elevated to the status of Eastern Religion through the practice known as Le Parkour. Think Will Smith chasing down the alien in Men in Black II, or the rooftop chase scene in the remake of The Untouchables. Le Parkour goes under a few other names such as Yamakazi or Free Running. Its high priest is a Frenchman named Sebastien Foucan, and it tends to flourish in densely populated urban areas with lots of flat rooftops, the better for leaping across. Here's a parkour video (wmv file) from the British parkour group Urban Freeflow, and to see just how pervasive this new religion is, check out the latest Spike Jonze commercial for Adidas (Quicktime video).

May 05, 2005

Unshackled!

Unshackled2The longest running dramatic series in radio history is Unshackled! and it's still being produced every week, complete with live cheesy organ music, folie artists providing live sound effects and original morality plays, each proving "that Christ can break the fetters of sin and set the sinner free." Unshackled! has been produced weekly since 1950 by The Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago, and can be heard on 1,550 radio stations, in 147 countries. It's the radio equivalent of Chick Tracts and Reefer Madness.

Hearing Unshackled! is like listening in on radio's past, which is how I feel when I listen to th great Paul Harvey. I've stumbled onto Unshackled! broadcasts while driving cross country several times, so I was overjoyed to discover that their programs for the last seven years are online in Realaudio and Windows Media Player format. Check out this episode from December, 2001 (streaming realaudio), in which an evil father buys pot for his son, just so he can confiscate it and then flush the pot and his son's head down the toilet! But the good times dont stop there - check out the capsule descriptions for each show. The shows are catalogued with capsule summaries like "Alcohol, Hobo, Blindness," "Jewish, Mental Illness, Marijuana" or "Country Music, Bigamy, Pride."

Negotiations are now underway to bring several Unshackled! episodes to WFMU's Aircheck program this summer.

May 04, 2005

Something About Livestock

Horsey2_1MP3: German language version of the Mr. Ed theme by Ralf Paulsen

Here I am, tiptoeing around the minefield of federal language laws during the most severe FCC crackdown in history, and the first lady's all over the TV, making jokes about the president jerking off a horse! And it's not the first time that the notion of hammering away on a big old slab o' horse cock has been granted this special legal exclusion. Just last November, the FCC ruled that the Fox television show Keen Eddie was AOK, despite its scene of a prostitute jacking off a racehorse.

Now granted, the FCC's decision on Keen Eddie was an agonizing one to make. The vote was 3-2, in favor of Fox, with Michael Powell casting the decisive vote, and we all know what a fan of horse racing he is.

Continue reading "Something About Livestock" »

May 02, 2005

The Homosexual Energy Agenda

A few days ago, the satiric site The Swift Report ran a funny piece about Bush blaming high energy prices on, you guessed it, those gas-guzzling homosexuals. There was one group for whom the satire wasnt quite far fetched enough - Dubya's conservative brethren. Matt Drudge and Andrew Sullivan both believed the story and linked to it as an actual news item, and Rush Limbaugh said on the air that he didn't know if the site was legit or not, but if it was, those evangelical Christians had better chill out.

Hip-Hop Airchecks

Turntable_1Tons of hip-hop radio mixes from the Eighties available as MP3s here, including Mister Magic and former WFMU DJ Steinski.

MP3 Archives Just Got Fatter

Painting_hogStarting today, all of our MP3 archives will be recorded in resplendent 128 kilobits-per-second audio, instead of that measly, insect-like 96k rate that we once used. (What were we thinking with that 96k crap anyway?) The first show recorded at the new, better-sounding rate is Tony Coulter's show from today, Monday May 2nd. Hear it in all its life-affirming sonic glory here (streaming MP3). All MP3 archives from now on will be at 128k, instead of 96k, and as usual, we will keep them posted for 15 days, while the Realaudio archives stay up until the Phat Lady Sings.

New Communication Breakdown Podcast Available

A new episode of Chris T's FCC-unfriendly podcast, Communication Breakdown is out and can be downloaded as an MP3 here, or streamed here (not safe for work). You can sign up to have all new episodes of Communication Breakdown (or our 14 other podcasts) delivered to your computer or iPod on our Podcast page.

May 01, 2005

Get Yer Celebrity Skin and Bodily Fluids!

DrothOnly $33 for some Michael Stipe fecal matter! And why is Sammy Hagar's bacteria worth less than David Lee Roths? via fazed.net

April 30, 2005

Conet Project MP3s

SpyHard core WFMU Listeners are probably familiar with The Conet Project, a four CD set of shortwave recordings of "Numbers Stations." Now the entire set can be downloaded directly from Irdial, here. Numbers stations have been used by various international spy agencies to communicate with the agents in the field. A typical numbers station will repeat an endless series of numbers, only a tiny portion of which actually carry any meaning. It's the needle-in-a-haystack approach to secure encryption. Via One Man Safari.

1,159 Naughty Words

Gay_usaI've long been in favor of the FCC issuing a list of words which are no longer allowed on radio and television. I think it would actually make it easier for DJs to express themselves on the ordinary (but currently banned) topics of sexuality and excretion. But after seeing this list of 1,159 banned words from the National Football League, I'm having second thoughts. And what the hell is a "420" or a "deaper?"These are the words that the NFL wont print on their popular personalized NFL jersies. Full story here, via outsports.com.

April 29, 2005

Imagine...

Dubya singing Imagine and Walk on the Wild Side (MP3). Here's the collection it came from. More Dubya remixes here. Thanks to Listener Michael.

Do Geese See God?

Baby_gramps2_1Here's an MP3 of Palindromes, performed by Baby Gramps on WFMU in June of 1988, hosted by Nicholas Hill. Baby Gramps is a Seattle based performer who is best described as a cross between Popeye and a Tuvan Throat Singer. This track is his crowd-pleasing ode to palindromes, words, phrases (or in his case, entire books) that are spelled the same backwards and forwards. Not to be confused with the current Todd Solondz movie.

April 28, 2005

She Be She Strike

Inuit_accordian_3Eskimo Radio MP3s: Ayatollah Khomeini, You Are My Sunshine, Labatt's Beer Ad, Heart of Stone, Marijuana Humor.

The story and the tapes began circulating around the cassette underground in the early-eighties: an Inuit Radio station operated in Northern Canada by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) was vacated by its regular staff due to a CBC strike, and the station was temporarily programmed by its Eskimo janitor and his buddies. The phrase "She Be She Strike" (CBC Strike) can be heard repeatedly on portions of the tape which are not excerpted here, but the truth may never be known until the language can be identified and a native speaker translates the entire recording, hint hint.

The story isn't too far-fetched though; the CBC operates dozens of Inuit radio stations through it's Northern Service, and the record shows that they've had their fair share of strikes over the years. You can listen to some of the Inuit stations over the net these days, like this daytime-only station (Windows Media feed).

Continue reading "She Be She Strike" »

April 27, 2005

Podcast Number Fifteen: Coffee To Go

Ipod_cartoonWe launched our fifteenth podcast today, Noah Zark's podcast of underground, unreleased hip-hop, Coffee to Go. This is our second podcast-only show and our first podcast-only music show. You can download the MP3 of the first Coffee to Go here, and you can sign up to receive all future shows (and our 14 other podcasts) on our podcast page. You can also listen to Coffee to Go as a streaming archive on this page. There will be a new MP3 of Coffee to Go every other Wednesday at Noon, starting today. Noah describes his new show:

"When it comes to hip-hop, radio either supports the major label funded sounds or the independently released up & comers. Where do unsigned acts go? Look no further; "Coffee 2 Go" is THEE spot to drop your most raw and grimey unmastered demos! The half-hour shows are hosted by Noah Zark, DJ BrownBum and The Custodian Of Records. Download the MP3 of the show every other week as a new batch of tracks gets their due! A new edition of the show will be available for download or streaming every other Wednesday."

April 26, 2005

Jersey City: Get Laid, Be Happy

HulagalHot on the heels of being dubbed America's eleventh sexiest city, WFMU's hometown of Jersey City has now been crowned the country's third happiest place to live. Not to mention that we are the single most happy city on the entire eastern seaboard! Sez volunteer Therese, who notified us of our new distinction:

First we're the 11th sexiest, now the 3rd happiest.  Or maybe we're the third happiest because we're the 11th sexiest?  I'll leave that to the statisticians to determine..

What's not to be happy about? Our mayor is affectionately known as Diaperman, we're sitting atop a bubbling cauldron of toxic chromium and the Muslim and Coptic Christian communities are buddies once again! We're Happy! Living Happily! Now we're veritable heroes of happiness! (MP3s)

Article here.

April 25, 2005

State of the Art Cheesy Euro Disco

VitalicIs Vitalic the current incarnation of Baccara and Dschinghis Khan or am I just a sucker for rotating engine blocks, silver go-go boots and air guitar? Watch the video for his song My Friend Dario and judge for yourself (edited Quicktime movie). At first I thought that this video was one of those new-fangled fake viral movies put out by some net-slumming corporation to hawk its wares (in this case, some new kind of car engine). But no, it appears that Vitalic is really a Frenchman named Pascal Arbez who is committed to carrying the mantle of ridiculous European disco into the 21st century, his football helmet held high.

Pray For Refreshment

Prayer_logoWant to pray for President Bush but dont know where to begin? Just click here for the Presindential Prayer Team's website, which provides up-to-date prayer guidelines pertaining to the prevailing agenda and itinerary of the executive branch. It's kind of like buying one of those books of sample lottery numbers if you can't think of a lottery number of your very own. On the President's current prayer agenda: praying for "refreshment" at the presidential ranch in Crawford, Texas, and praying for the removal of roadblocks standing in the way of confirming capable judges, whatever the hell that might mean! And be sure the check out the Presidential Prayer Team radio spots, including this one (MP3) about how God protected George Washington despite being shot four times! You could become immortal too, if you would only join the Presidential Prayer Team!

April 19, 2005

The Anti-Edit

Nwa_cover_400pxFor those of you who like your curse words unencumbered by annoying non-profanity, here is the entire NWA album, Straight Outa Compton, with all the adjacent non-curse words edited out. Thanks Steinski! Like the site says, hurry, before they get their cease and desist letter.

April 14, 2005

A Public Service Announcement

Problemas_socialesThe best public service announcement we ever received was this one here (MP3 download), which was mailed to every radio station in the country by Donald Wildmon's American Family Association, which apparently still harbors fantasies of liberal gestapo squads shoveling heaps o' Bibles into the secular humanist bonfire. No word on whether this magical piece of radio theater generated the million signatures they were aiming for.

After that, the silver medal for funniest PSA has to go to Father Harry, God Squad.   I dont have the record handy, but the streaming realaudio is here. It's a touching tale of a young boy who loved his mother so much that he was forced to cut off his hands. Or should I say hand. Since he already lost the first one in an unfortunate fishing accident.

MonografiadrogasThe Mexican government has a tradition of printing up public service posters with wonderful artwork portraying the hazards of Alcoholismo, La Prostitucion, the scourge of Drogadiccion and Los Problemas Sociales in general.

While no satire can top Donald Wildmon or Father Harry, that doesn't stop people from trying. Eric Fensler remixed a batch of GI Joe video PSAs, which earned them a Cease and Desist letter from GI Joe's parents. And then there was Evolution Contol Committee's We Will Rock You PSA (Streaming Realaudio).

But the ultimate Public Service Announcement - the Holy Grail for PSA hunters - is an Arthur Godfrey clip which was recorded at the behest of President Dwight Eisenhower during the height of the cold war in the mid-Fifties. Godfrey recorded an announcement which was to be aired only in the event that the US was attacked with Russian nuclear weapons. After all, who better to calm raw, irradiated nerves than the man who sang that great paean to abused women, Slap Her Down Again, Paw!

April 10, 2005

The Happy Listener's Guide To Mind Control

Mind_title_3Back in the waning days of the Cold War, I made a cassette compilation of corporate, religious and political propaganda called The Happy Listener's Guide to Mind Control, and I offered it to donating listeners as a fundraising tchotchke for our 1991 fundraiser. Fifteen years, one new world order and countless layers of Orwellianism later, the MP3s for the Happy Listener's Guide found me, so I'm hypnotically compelled to offer the contents up once again, free of charge this time. Thanks to whoever took the time to rip them!

Continue reading "The Happy Listener's Guide To Mind Control" »

April 08, 2005

Cleaning Out My Inbox

The_boxSince we started up this blog, I'm collecting more links and such than I can possibly deal with. So I've decided to periodically clear out ye olde inbox and post them all list-style. Here goes:

* Stiff, Teutonic Countrified New Wave by Tex Haper, ca. 1984. (Realvideo stream, via Listener Zach.)
* Art by Bob Dodd.
* The Found Footage Festival Preview (Quicktime video)
* Hyperpatriotic Bombast video (about 86 people sent me this link, thanks to all)
* The American Nazi take on The Pope. (Thanks, Bryce, ya fuckin' Nazi!)
* Great Os Mutantes video. (via Bedazzled)
* A homemade Balloon organ, via Listener Erella.
* McDonalds Paying Off Rappers to namecheck Micky Dees. (BBC, via David S.)
* World War Two embroidered patches, many based on Disney.
* Time Travel and Teleportation Coming Soon.
* You Are A Fucking Cunt.
* Silly molecules, via listener Mark.
* Amazing space images from Hubble.
* Luciferian Talk Radio.

Worst. Standup. Ever.

Pearl_grossCheck out the comic stylings of Aunt Pearl. If you've had plenty of coffee, that is. Her brother Bob is quite the card. Dont miss the tortured warblings of John Daker, either. (wmv movie files for download)

From a public access TV show, which contains still more existential exercises in ennui, all of which can be found here.

April 05, 2005

The DJ Pope

Pope_laptopAll this talk about banging the Pope with a silver hammer to make sure he's dead, and how he was a rock star. I don't know about the silver hammer story, but this pope wasn't a rock star, he was better than a rock star - he was a DJ! He had a night (author makes internationally accepted gesture of DJ'ing by holding cupped left hand to ear while making scratching motion with right hand) - the best night of any DJ in the whole sanctified world! Sure he was a laptopper, but that counts! Sony actually put out a legit CD of The Pope's mixes in 1999. It was called Abba Pater. Download "Cristo E Liberazione," the hit single from it, here. Still don't believe me? Download your faith with another DJ Pope - Shelley Pope, aka The Black Pope - instead.

April 04, 2005

Your Space Exploration Dollars At Work

Eva_robotWhat's NASA been up to? Apparently, designing talking robot heads based on stoned teenage girls. Introducing Eva. (.mov video file, via fazed.net)

Your Emergency Preparedness Dollars At Work

The air staff at WFMU has grown accustomed to the electronic ravings of our Emergency Alert System unit. Periodically, it starts spitting out nonsense about an officially sanctioned "Unknown Event" which we are duty-bound to inform the public about, under penalty of federal fines. Then of course, there was that certain Tuesday in September when the unit didn't utter a peep, because (as the FCC told us later) certain emergencies (like truths) are "self-evident."

CivilemergencyThis is the $3,000 unit that the federal government forced us to purchase and install in our main studio so that the WFMU staff could keep you, the public, informed in the event of an emergency. (The fact that the likes of us are entrusted with such a duty should tell you something about the system's shortcomings right there.) But this past weekend, our beloved EAS unit pulled a fast one on us. It issued a "Civil Emergency Message"  issued by "A Civil Authority." Glen Jones was perplexed enought to call me at home about it. Announce it, I advised, and announce it Jones did. We had to announce it - that's the law. But what was the civil emergency - was Canada invading at last? Flaming hailstones? A mysterious odor? And who was the mysterious civil authority making this mysterious pronouncement - the governor? The mayor? The dogcatcher? Ours was not to understand - as broadcasters, we are merely proxies for passing on this momentous piece on non-information to the public at large, the better to quell public fears and sow utter confusion.

Checking the news later, it would be fair to assume that the civil emergency was related to the floodingArk_1 caused by this weekend's rains. In which case it might have been useful to warn people of something specific, like.. flooding. But the flood warnings ceased a while before the civil emergency warnings began. Ah well. At least it wasn't an "unknown event."

Maybe next time, for clarity's sake, we'll throw on Johnny Cash's German language version of Five Feet High and Rising. (MP3).

Three More WFMU Shows Being Podcast

Dog_cast_2Three more WFMU shows are being podcast, bringing to fourteen the total number of WFMU programs which you can subscribe to and have the MP3 archive automagically delivered to your computer and/or MP3 player.

Our three most recent entries into the podcast realm are Bronwyn's brand new talk show, Wise Up; Chris T's new FCC-unfriendly podcast-only show, Communication Breakdown; and the favorite gospel program of Jesus himself, Sinner's Crossroads with Kevin Nutt. A full listing of all of our podcast shows, with RSS feeds and instructions on how to get it all working are on our podcast central page. Of course, you can also download any of these shows manually, but everyone already knows how to do that, dont they?

April 02, 2005

Madonna and Eggs

Madonna_skullLong before she had her way with David Mamet and Lina Wurtmuller, Madonna had her way with...eggs. As evidenced in this video clip from her student days at the University of Michigan, she downs raw yolks a la Sly Stallone and does her best imitation of a skillet. via Blowupdoll. (asf file, will play with Windows Media Player)

Toilet Trees

Problem: Toilet plungers are vile, embarrassing, vengeful creatures.

Solution: Toilet Trees.

Submitted by Listener Marcy.

DJ Riko's Whistler's Delight

Whistlers_delightA few listeners contacted me about a track by DJ Riko, called Whistler's Delight, so I thought I'd post it for you all. Download the MP3 here. It's kind of a "Stars on 45" for the whistling set. DJ Riko has a ton of other MP3 remixes for download here along with the full track listing of Whistler's Delight.

April 01, 2005

Medieval Technology In Action: WFMU's New Antenna

March 29th, 2005. A day to ascend to the heavens - despite the fact that The Rapture wasn't scheduled for another six years, two months and three days. The last snow of the year was still on the ground and a light drizzle was falling as WFMU set out to replace it's 91.1 FM antenna. 016b_tower_framedBy the end of the day, the sun broke out and WFMU signed back on the air, pumping out a better signal than ever. The technology that made it happen spanned millenia, from ancient and medieval devices like axles, wheels, ropes and winches, to the old fashioned twentieth century art of tower climbing by eccentric tower guys, to the high tech back-seat-of-your-car computer analysis of the whole operation. Not to mention the laser guided hole cutter which carved out the precision entry system for the transmission cable. There's a photo gallery of the day's exciting events, and a batch of avi movie files for your downloading pleasure. Click here for the photo gallery, and here is a list of the movie files for downloading:

Johnny pulls some rope to send the new cable to the top of the tower. Download AVI file here.

Dave and Al hang out up top as the storm breaks up. Download AVI file here.

Johnny uses precision guidance systems to cut the transmission cable. Download AVI file here.

WFMU Chief Engineer John Fog tunes up the new antenna. Download AVI file here.

March 20, 2005

Article on Yo La Tengo Request-a-Thon

Today's issue of Jersey's Star Ledger has an article about the annual Yo La Tengo Request-a-Thon.

March 14, 2005

How to be a WFMU DJ

How_to_be_dj_2Here's an interesting piece of WFMU history: In 1985 when I became Station Manager of WFMU, one of the new DJs I gave a slot to was Neal Adams, who had a background as a commercial rock DJ. Unlike most WFMU DJs, Neal has one of those resonant radio voices, and his years working as a commercial jock had given him a totally different delivery than your typical FMU host. Although I liked Neal's show, there were some listeners and staffers who felt that Neal sounded too slick or commercial for WFMU. Irwin and I decided to give him an on-air training on how to sounds more like a "regular" WFMU DJ. Here is a realaudio clip (download only) of this segment from 1985 or 1986. Thanks to Lipwak for uncovering this.

Here are Neal's own recollections:

I was quite nervous about sounding "too commercial" when I first started on FMU. I had just finished working at a pretty bad commercial station in Westchester during the Phil Collins Susudio era and wondered if I now sounded like a complete outcast on FMU no matter how many Crass or Lilliput records I played.

I remember driving home from my show one day and hearing another DJ who I barely knew take a call from a weird-sounding crank, to which the DJ commented, "Well he certainly sounds like he belongs on WFMU more than that last guy!" Ouch, that hurt.

I let both Ken and Irwin know I was extremely self-consicious that my whole delivery and presentation may not fit in with the rest of the station. I truly stopped worrying after receiving the "How to Be an FMU DJ" lesson because we were all making fun of the whole notion of what's "artistic" vs. "professional" when it comes to radio, and from that point on I stopped taking it so seriously.

March 11, 2005

Demons Nesting In Brian Wilson's Body

WilsonIrwin submits this windows video file for your consideration.

Warner Brothers Records president Lenny Waronker claims to have encountered at least five different entities that use Brian Wilson's body as their home.

March 09, 2005

Miracle on Montgomery Street

Grilledcodger4Crowd_outside_1Today, March 9th 2005 will forever be remembered as the day the hand of the almighty reached down and touched WFMU. I'd go into more detail, but I'm on the air right now and our marathon is underway.

This morning listener Greg went to the diner down the street from WFMU - the Flamingo Diner - and he ordered a grilled cheese sandwich. When the sandwich arrived, it miraculously contained the image of WFMU's mascot, The Old Codger. The image is in way too much detail for this to be a mere coincidence. Sure, there are those who will write this off as a mere coincidence, but true believers in freeform radio will see this for what it truly is - the beginning of the golden age of all manner of grilled cheese and patty melt related sandwiches.

On this day, the power of the supreme being has touched WFMU.

The sandwich was brought over to WFMU and we started talking about it on the air. The next thing I know, there's a crowd outside our building asking to see the sandwich. At first there were a few people and we let them in. Then a dozen. Then more. We had to stop letting people in. We are now completely under siege. Hundreds of people are outside. The news crews have arrived.

The miraculous sandwich has now been sealed in acrylic and has been posted on eBay for a benefit auction for WFMU. The winning bid amount will be commensurate with the appropriate level of WFMU swag, in addition to this holiest of cheese sandwiches.

March 08, 2005

Andy Breckman is a Bad Man

HenrySince it's marathon time here at WFMU, I'd like to remind everyone just what an awful (albeit wealthy) person Andy Breckman is.

Last week on Seven Second Delay, Andy made a nine-year old boy cry. This isn't the first time Andy's made someone cry. Several years ago, he called a listener's elderly relative in a nursing home and drove poor Aunt Tess to tears.

Continue reading "Andy Breckman is a Bad Man" »

March 07, 2005

Sensei Rebel's Favorites

Sensei_1Listener Sensei Rebel posts his favorite songs and moments from the last week of WFMU, in streaming MP3 and streaming Realaudio. (Via the WFMU Messageboard.)

International
from Trouble's show, March 3, 2005
TBA - "If Your Heart Stops Beating..." MP3 | Realaudio

Ambient
from Trouble's show, March 3, 2005
ยต-Ziq - "The Wailing Song" MP3 | Realaudio

Rock
from Pseu Braun's show, March 4, 2005
Electric Six - โ€œRadio Gagaโ€ (Queen cover) MP3 | Realaudio

Dance/Techno
from Pseu Braun's show, March 4, 2005
MP3 | Realaudio

Jungle
from Nickel and Dime Radio, March 4, 2005
Kings of the Jungle - โ€œJungle Themeโ€ MP3 | Realaudio

Best Song of the Week
from Brian Turner's show, March 1, 2005
Muslimgauze - "Zibib" MP3 | Realaudio

Talk
from Chris T.'s show, March 4, 2005
Mick tells Chris he's never understood a word he's said MP3 | Realaudio

March 06, 2005

Minimal Techno Cats

Lou Z of The Push Bin on WFMU submits another nice Macromedia DJ toy for your consideration. (From Lou via Metafilter.)

March 04, 2005

Guess the DJ Locker Contest, part 1

KitchenAs some of you know, each WFMU DJ has a locker at the station, and we use LP covers instead of name tags to mark each DJ's private cache. We're going to have a little "Guess the DJ Locker" contest here. The first person to correctly identify four correct DJs will win a WFMU messenger bag, or some other suitable WFMU Crapola if the winner already has the bag.

1) Each week, I will post a different LP cover here. You have to guess the owner of the cover that is featured here, not any of the other covers pictured in the locker picture to the left.

2) I will only show LP covers for lockers of DJs who are on the current on air schedule.

3) One guess per listener / reader per LP cover, as judged by their IP number.

4) Once the correct cover has been guessed, I will announce that on the comments list. First person to correctly identify four DJs, wins.

5) This is harder than it seems. There may not be a winner.

And here is the first mystery LP cover:

Hippies

And while you peruse the drug addled duo above, have a listen to some incredibly bad between-song comedy from a Crosby, Stills Nash and Young concert in 1970. (MP3) Thanks to listener Bruce for this clip. It captures something quite odious about the stupid 60's.

March 03, 2005

60 Versions of Sukiyaki

Sixty versions of the japanese-language hit song Sukiyaki can be found here. (via Metafilter)

New WFMU Auctions

NbnWe've got a few unusual items up for auction right now, including the Naughty By Nature bullet-proof bedsheets and pillowcases. It's true! Except for the part of them being bullet-proof. And next week we will have some great rare records to put up, just in time for the marathon. You can always check for WFMU's eBay auctions at this link. It's yet another great way to support the station and keep us free of The Man.

South By Southwest MP3s

Bob Brainen found this page of MP3 downloads from many of  the band's playing later this month at South by Southwest in Austin. Grab them before the host has to take them down! Link.

March 02, 2005

Cheesy Euro-Disco and Dschinghis Khan

DschinghiskhancoverFor several years, I've had an LP cover by the 1970's German disco band Dschinghis Khan gracing the cover of my DJ locker at WFMU. So imagine my surprise when Bryce mailed me this music video (mpeg video file) of the band doing a fantastic cheesy cossack disco dance number! And then when Nachum Segal saw my Dschinghis Khan LP this morning, he screams, "Dschinghis Khan, they're huge in Israel!" And then Nachum send me even more Dschinghis Khan videos. Why does Israel go crazy for bands like Dschinghis Khan, Baccara and t.A.T.u.? (MP3s) Why do I?

Don't answer that.

March 01, 2005

Thank You Ted Stevens

Stevens_2The very influential and powerful Senator Ted Stevens has said that the FCC is doing such a great job enforcing the broadcast airwaves, that they should also start policing cable TV and satellite radio, (where they currently have no jurisdiction to regulate "indecent" speech). All it would take is a congressional act to give the FCC the power to start censoring HBO and Sirius Satellite Radio, to name a few services that would see their first amendment rights reigned in. And guess what - there is a congressional act just laying around - it's called the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act (BDEA), and the House passed it's preliminary version of the bill 389-38 on February 16th.

So why am I thanking Senator Ted?

Because if he tries to extend the FCC's censorship to the cable and satellite industries, he will torpedo the BDEA's chance of ratification. This is what happened to the BDEA last year, when various Senators attached FCC ownership rules to the original censorship legislation. There was so much opposition to the FCC's corporate welfare program (aka "ownership rule reform") last year (on both sides of the aisle ) that the BDEA got bogged down.

I've got my fingers crossed that Stevens' attempt to extend censorship to paid subscription services will be similiarly unpopular by both groups of idiots in the House and the Senate, thereby torpedoing BDEA '05. Here's hoping!

FCC Says: "Private Ryan, Fuck Yeah!"

Mikeandbob2 It's no surprise that the FCC exonerated ABC's broadcast of Saving Private Ryan. Michael Powell had indicated this ruling was in the works a few months ago, and the decision echoes an earlier FCC ruling about an unexpurgated broadcast of the Spielberg movie in 2002. But with this decision, the FCC has now come full circle in its torrid affair with that "most profane word in the English language" (the FCC's words). As a broadcaster, I'm more confused than ever over where the line is, except that I can now rest assured that if Senator John McCain introduces an academy award-winning Steven Spielberg production about World War 2 on WFMU, our first amendment rights will be protected.

Let's review the recent history of the FCC's love/hate relationship with the F-word:

October 3, 2003: The FCC rules that the word "Fuck" is legal, as long as it's used as an adjective. This was in reference to Bono saying "fucking brilliant" as he accepted an award during the Golden Globe awards. The FCC's ruling is here. An excerpt:

"As a threshold matter, the material aired during the "Golden Globe Awards" program does not describe or depict sexual and excretory activities and organs. The word "fucking" may be crude and offensive, but, in the context presented here, did not  describe sexual or excretory organs or activities. Rather, the performer used the word "fucking" as an adjective or expletive to emphasize an exclamation. Indeed, in similar circumstances, we have found that offensive language used as an insult rather than as a description of sexual or excretory activity or organs is not within the scope of the Commission's prohibition of indecent program content."

Continue reading "FCC Says: "Private Ryan, Fuck Yeah!" " »

February 27, 2005

A Sign of Radio's True Desperation

Desperate_3In an indication of just how worried the radio industry is about competition from satellite radio (not to mention podcasting, MP3s, cable radio, video games and everything else), this pro-broadcast-radio ad has been circulating the commercial radio industry. (MP3) Nothing like yet another commercial to bring people back to a dying industry.

February 26, 2005

Yasir Arafat Spams From The Grave

An new take on an old scam, via Dan Mackta:

Dear Friend,

I am Mrs. Suha Arafat, the wife of Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader who died recently in Paris. Since his death and even prior to the announcement, I have been thrown into a state of antagonism, confusion, humiliation, frustration and hopelessness by the present leadership of the Palestinian Liberation Organization and the new Prime Minister. I have even been subjected to physical and psychological torture.

Continue reading "Yasir Arafat Spams From The Grave" »

Cussing More Expensive Than Radioactive Waste

Toxic_landfillRolling Stone magazine has confirmed what I had long suspected - that the FCC's language fines far exceed other governmental fines. The largest fine levied by the Nuclear (pronounced Nucular) Regulatory Agency last year was $60,000. The largest FCC fine? 1.2 million dollars, for Fox's "Married By America" bachelor party episode, in which all the bad words were edited out, and all the boobies were pixillated. A few years back, this 45-second-long ditty by Monty Python (MP3 download) garnered a $25,000 fine from the FCC, despite the fact that that the worst language in it is the phrase "Sit On My Face." And this was in the old days, before millions of American children were traumatized by being exposed to Janet Jackson's pasty for 11/32nds of one second.

A few weeks ago, I did my own brief survey of federal fines and came up with this list of non-FCC fines imposed by the Federal Government, so you can get some perspective on the current proposed laws to increase the fines for naughty phrases to half a million bucks each:

$10,000 for killing a Whooping Crane.

$54,500 for releasing anydrous ammonia into the environment.

$55,000 for illegally travelling to Cuba.

$70,000 for mishandling and mislabeling hazardous chemicals.

$116,000 for improper disposal of flammable materials and other violations.

$133,000 for exposing employees to infectious diseases.

$1.2 million for broadcasting pixillated boobs (FCC).

February 24, 2005

The Unluckier You Are, The Luckier You Get

SkydiveLike the time I almost put out my left eye because a waterski tow rope snapped right into it - everybody told me how lucky I was, despite the fact that the chances of the thing hitting me in the eye were one in a million! How 'bout if you were skydiving, and despite two instructors holding onto you (or perhaps because of them), your parachute ripped clean off your back - lucky or unlucky? And then, let's say your instructor still somehow managed to pull your back-up chute just before you hit the ground, but then you landed on top of a power line, almost electrocuting yourself - lucky, or unlucky? Download the video and decide for yourself. (Windows video file, via fazed.net)

February 22, 2005

Copyright Criminals

CcHere's a link to a ten minute long trailer for a forthcoming documentary on sampling and copyright. The doc will be called Copyright Criminals and it's by Kembrew Mcleod and Benjamin Franzen. The trailer contains clips from copright / sampling superstars Lawrence Lessig, Pete Rock, Matmos, DJ Qbert, Negativland and even our own Vicki Bennett. Link to Quicktime movie.

February 21, 2005

That Spinning Room Sensation

You know that feeling when you've had too much to drink and the room wont stop spinning? (shockwave file)

A Visual History of Whispering Imps

TampIsn't there supposed to be an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other? I guess not. Check out a visual history of whispering imps on magic posters.

Fox Promotes The Cartoon Gay Agenda

Simpsons_5Wow, Fox Television has really atoned for its pixillation of Stew's butt (from The Family Guy) with Sunday night's new episode of The Simpsons. Not only was Marge's sister Patty revealed to be gay, she was all set to marry her professional-golfer  / gay lover, when Marge discovered that said golfer was in fact carrying a fully operational cartoon penis! And that doesn't even touch on Homer's brief gay fantasy, in which he passionately and repeatedly tongue kisses himself! What are the Parent's Television Council going to say about this one? Will they include the Homer-Erotic moment on their best-of-filthy-TV page? Download an MP3 of Steinski's Simpsons remix while the PTV wraps its mind around this one.

February 20, 2005

Monkey Brain Controls Robot Arm, Moves Zucchini

Monkey_robotMonkeybrain_1Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have developed a robotic prosthesis which is able to transport zucchini through time and space, using monkey brain power alone. Well, to be accurate, the monkey brain was housed inside a monkey body and the robotic arm was plugged into an electrical outlet. But you get the idea. It's long been established that monkeys are capable of operating complex machinery such as space craft (as evidenced by this mp3 of a historical reenactment by Monkeypiece Theatre) and "show me your breasts" buttons, but in this case, the monkey literally had his hands tied behind his back! (Thanks to Barb Economon / KFAI for the mp3.)

February 19, 2005

New York Times Takes On The Cartoon Butt Issue

Page32_2It is said that a society's worth can be measured by the amount of cartoon butts it leaves exposed.

If that old maxim is true, then we're living in a golden age.

In tomorrow's edition of the Arts and Leisure section, The New York Times joins Fox News in its journalistic disregard for accuracy in the coverage of the cartoon buttocks issue.

You may recall that in January, Fox television executives were compelled by the FCC's indecency crackdown to pixillate the exposed butt of Stew, a cartoon character on the animated Fox series The Family Guy. Page1_1

In the February 20 edition of the New York Times Arts and Leisure section, page 32 contains a full page photo-essay about MTV's promotional spots and imagery. In the image above, you can see the MTV images which The Times reprinted, with the caption:

"This on-air promotion used simple animation and graphics to parody sexual stereotypes."

But a Times editor apparently found the hand-on-butt action too saucy for the cover of Arts and Leisure, so they ran with a screenshot which leaves hand and butt romantically unattached. The meaning that is so clear on page 32, which is even funny (fulfilling The New York Times humor quotient until April, 2006), is completely lost. But at least nobody can accuse The Times of promoting the gay agenda!

At  least Fox has the FCC to answer to. What's the old grey lady's excuse? Why is it OK to run gay marriage announcements, but it's not OK to show clearly non-gay cartoon characters (the baseball players), expressing sportsmanlike camaraderie in a realistic fashion? At least on the front page of Section Two, anyway.

UPDATE: I corrected this post to reflect the fact that The Times did not in fact airbrush the images on page 32, but rather used a different screenshot from the  MTV animation in order to protect society from the North American Cartoon Hand-Butt Love Association.

History of Punk on the Lower East Side

Lewis_jeffrey2Has everybody heard Jeffrey Lewis' "History of Punk on the Lower East Side?" Stream it in: Realaudio or MP3.  It's a nine-minute tour de force tracking New York punk from Harry Smith to the New York Dolls. Thanks to listener Thelma for sending it along to us. When and if we get permission for an MP3 download, we'll make it available.

February 18, 2005

Marathon 2005

Zing_final2The annual combination-potlatch -barnraising -self-abasement-festival that is known as the WFMU marathon is upon us! Our new marathon pages are up!  See the new line of swag, our DJs new premiums, the remodeled Mouse prize warehouse, the unfinished co-hosts and webcam schedule. Oh, did I forget to explain what the marathon is? Check marathon central. The marathon runs from March 7th to March 20th.

Beatallica Gets Cease and Desist Letter

Sony has issued a cease and desist letter (pdf file) to Beatallica's Internet Service Provider to prevent the further dissemination of songs like this. (mp3)

Deep Wireless Festival in Toronto

Deep_wirelessThere's not many radio festivals out there, much less radio art festivals, but a big one is coming up in Toronto for the month of May. The Deep Wireless Festival will feature a month-long celebration of radio art, radio artists, sound artists, sound installations, and even broadcasting! Among other radio artists in residence at the festival will be Gregory Whitehead, of Kenny G's scream-a-thon fame. (mp3)

People Like Us Being Podcast

Plu_podcastOur eleventh show is now being podcast - People Like Us' Do or D.I.Y. Just like with The Audio Kitchen, these podcasts are not new shows - they're MP3 downloads of the older shows that were previously broadcast. Every Wednesday at 7pm, we'll be making an MP3 available of a Do or D.I.Y. show, making it possible to have this MP3 delivered automagically to your computer and/or your iPod.

The WFMU podcast page is here, and it contains a list of the eleven shows we're podcasting, plus instructions and links on how to get it all happening.

Actually, all this hoopla about podcasting is really overblown, since our listeners have been downloading our shows onto their iPods for years already. It's just the automatic part of the process that makes it new.

But the hoopla about People Like Us isn't overblown. There are lots of cut-up artists and sonic manipulators out there, but Vicki Bennett is in a league all her own. If you dont know her work, check the People Like Us website or go to WFMU artist search engine, run a search for People Like Us and follow the links to the playlists that have clickable song links. She's my favorite sound artist working today.

And big thanks to Doron, Michael and Bill for getting our podcasts off the ground.

February 17, 2005

Italian DJ Fined 1.4 Million For Illegal MP3s

Mp3_police2Quello รจ porco molto!

An Italian DJ was fined 1.4 million big ones for dragging a laptop full of MP3s down to a club.

via FMBQ.

February 16, 2005

38 House Members Stand Up To New Puritanism

The House voted 389-38 to increase indecency fines for radio and TV stations from the current cap of $32,500 to half a million dollars. And of course, the bill doesn't require the FCC to clarify or state their criteria for what constitutes indecency. The Senate still has to approve its own version of the bill, and then a compromise bill will need to be hammered out, approved by both houses and signed by Bush. This whole process failed last year due to the FCC ownership controversy, but that issue is now finalized so the bill is expected to be succesful this time around.

The House version approved today would:

Raise the maximum fine for broadcasters from $32,500 to $500,000 per violation, and for individual entertainers from $11,000 to $500,000 per incident. The fines are the same for non-commercial and commercial stations alike.

Allow the FCC to issue a fine against an individual without first issuing a warning.

Mandate a license revocation hearing after a third offense for a broadcaster. The FCC currently can hold such a hearing after the first offense, but is not required to do so.

Require the FCC to respond to a consumer's indecency complaint within six months.

Include protections for network affiliate stations that did not know what was to be broadcast by the network so they are not held responsible for indecent programming.

The Fuck Stops Here

Fstop450_1As you can see, my job has been reengineered somewhat by the FCC's indecency crackdown.

Today, the Senate gets its own ball rolling on the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act (BDEA), as  the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights considers obscenity issues. They'll be discussing things like whether they should increase the fines to half a million dollars per cuss (like the House version of the bill) or whether they should take a stand for American values like free speech, and raise the maximum fine to a mere $350,000 per cuss (even if its not really a cuss). Meanwhile, the full House is expected to approve the House version of the bill today or tomorrow.

It makes me long for the enlightened days of the Hays code, when censorship consisted of a good, old fashioned list which clearly spelled out what you could and couldn't say or show in the movies. The FCC adamently refuses to issue such a list these days, repeatedly saying that to issue a list would amount to censorship. And the Supreme Court has reminded the FCC that, in between compelling broadcasters to pixillate the butts of cartoon characters, please be careful not to do anything that might restrict freedom of speech. After all, freedom of speech is what us merkins stand for, isn't it? What would those people in the insect nations think of us if we started restricting speech?

Meanwhile, the lobbying is heating up for a new FCC chairman who will take this issue seriously already! That Michael Powell was just a big softy on smut! So said a coalition of 30 House republicans in a letter to President Bush. And plenty of religious groups are also piping in, trying to get their boy Kevin Martin in to fill Powell's shoes. With Martin at the helm and anti-smut trailblazer Michael Copps at his side, and the BDEA filling their sails with wind, the next incarnation of the FCC could make the Hays code look like the golden age of the first amendment. Maybe that's not such a bad thing. It might finally force the issue to the Supreme Court, where the FCC stands a good chance of being rejected.

While some broadcasters and unions are toying with the idea of challenging the constitutionality of the FCC's current approach to this issue, it's tough to do, since the FCC effectively blackmails all broadcasters willing to take a stand on this with their oft-repeated threat to yank away broadcast licenses.

Eric Idle has the right idea. (MP3)

February 15, 2005

Brush Creek Follies on KMBC

KmbcHere's a great site dedicated to an old hillbilly radio show called The Brush Creek Follies from Kansas City. Alternate link here. Lot of great photos, audio links and video.

More Goodies From The Bandwidth Fairy

Bandwidth_fairy2With the installation of our extra bandwidth proceeding swimmingly, we can really start rolling out the goodies for our online listeners.

First off, if you're listening to WFMU's live MP3 streams, the Accuplaylist info will now start appearing in the player itself. This is only true if the DJ at the time is actually doing an Accuplaylist (typing in the names of the songs and artists they play on the air in real time as their show proceeds). There is a page which lists all Accuplaylist DJs here.

In the past, you would've needed a separate web page open to see the song title info. Now you can see it within your player, whether you're using Winamp, iTunes, or Realplayer (and my condolences to you if you're still using Realplayer). The song titling will also appear in other, less popular players.

Moving our streams away from Live365 will also mean that our live MP3 stream will hopefully stop experiencing those outages which had been happening with increasing frequency.

Later this year we are going to experiment with changing the live MP3 stream to a variable bit rate stream, which means that the fidelity will improve for people with good solid broadband connections. Also on the agenda of the Bandwidth Fairy: experimenting with the new format of AAC Plus, which should give improved stream fidelity for all broadband listeners.

February 13, 2005

Silence of the Lambs Video Mashup

I'm not sure that Andy Breckman would've cast Ted Levine as Captain Stottlemeyer on his little TV show Monk if he had seen his earlier music video work. (The Greenskeepers streaming video clip "Lotion") Not Safe for work: music or video.

My Bathroom is a "Private" Kind of Place

Houston_toilet1_1Everybody like a little privacy while going to the bathroom, right? That's why we run off into the bushes when nature calls on the great highway of life. (MP3 download of American Standard's pro-bathroom privacy anthem.)

Listener Stephanie submits these two pictures of a new public bathroom in Houston. (Apparently, London also sported one of these last Fall.) On the outside, it looks innocent enough - clean even! Mirrored walls suggest a public toilet that might not require you to turn your smeller off for the entire experience. But take a step inside and the walls are revealed to be one-way mirrors.  Houston_toilet2_3Now you're taking a dump in the middle of a town square, surrounded by your fellow citizens. You got a problem with that?

The toilets are the brainchild of artist Monica Bonvicini who wanted to see if people would "defy their own embarrassment" by using the free public stalls, which operate under the title "Don't Miss A Sec." Of course, these mirrored outhouses also happens to be a godsend for folks who like to have sex with themselves or others, but prefer to avoid the pesky imprisonment that sometimes accompanies such behavior.

I think I''d prefer the public toilets of Berlin, which descend into the bowels of the earth on an elevator in between uses, where they are sprayed and disinfected with post-Nazi-like precision. But that's just me.

R. Stevie Moore in Today's New York Times

I know I just mentioned R. Stevie Moore a few days ago, but lo and behold, today's New York Times has a great profile of the man and his union jack geetar. And here's an MP3 of his song Colliding Circles, which was in heavy WFMU rotation back when I first started doing a show.

February 12, 2005

DJ Food's Raiding the 20th Century

<