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It Came From Memphis Part 4
2007-02-24 02:13:01
I sincerely apologize to those dedicated visitors to my blog for not updating this over the past week. I am using Blogger Beta, and it is having issues with text and picture placement. Also, Blogger seems to be down a lot for maintenance lately. So, if the text and spacing don't seem to look right on the page, it's because Blogger isn't displaying it properly. If anyone has any ideas about switching to another free blog service that works better, I'm all ears. Well, enough about that! Let's get on to the final installment of the It Came From Memphis series.The Box Tops The Box Tops: The Letter and I Must Be the DevilFrom: The Best of the Box Tops: Soul Deep [Arista, 1996]Alex Chilton first struck an emotional chord with the nation after receiving critical acclaim for the Box Top's first single "The Letter" in 1967. "The Letter", produced and written by Dan Penn, became one of the highest-selling records of 1967. However, Chilton was only 16 years old when it was released, and ...
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It Came From Memphis Part 3
2007-02-24 02:13:01
Moloch, a pioneering Memphis blues-rock band led by the exceptional guitar player Lee Baker, released its sole album at Ardent on National in 1970. They promoted the release of this album by playing a show with punk stalwarts Iggy Pop and Mc5 at the New York State Pavilion. However, their sound is purely 12 bar-blues with delta slide guitar, harmonica, frenzied guitar solos and tight drumming. Moloch was highly influenced by Blue Cheer, Hendrix, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Faces and countless other blues-influenced 60's rock groups . Unfortunately, the band's sound never caught on, and they didn't receive the acclaim that was due to them. Lee Baker went on to produce and play guitar on Alex Chilton's highly underrated album Like Flies on Sherbert and Big Star's swan song Big Star 3rd.Moloch's only record is out of print, but it is available as an import here. That being said, this is the best place to witness the stunning guitar artistry of Lee Baker, outside of his cont...
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Monday Evening Jitters
2007-02-24 02:13:01
Los Comadrejas- Lou FerringoFrom: We Are Ugly, But... We Have the Music [2003, Munster Records] Well...I've been trying to figure out what the hell I was going to do for my first post. I have been listening to all kinds of shit lately, but nothing has grabbed me quite like Los Comadrejas. I came across this last week while surfing maniacally for new tunes on the WFMU blog. If you haven't yet, please do yourself a favor and check out this blog. It features all kinds of obscure novelty recordings, mix-tapes and full length releases from unknown idiot savants. I am featuring the track called Lou Ferringo from their album entitled We Are Ugly... But We Have the Music. This track is like a speed-addled version of an Ennio Morricone score if he was listening to a steady diet of Can, Dick Dale and Clinic. In other words, this track tears it up. If you like this track and want to find out more about them, look for Los Comadrejas
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All Hallows Eve
2007-02-24 02:13:01
I came up with some non-traditional Hall oween songs for this post. These songs are all made by artists who aren't typically known for crafting spooky music, but they still evoke the Halloween spirit. Lenny Bruce: My Werewolf Mama This is an extremely rare track featuring Lenny Bruce on vocals, sounding like a demented cross between Screaming Jay Hawkins and Tom Waits. It features such fiendish lyrics as "Bite me on the neck- I said bite me on the neck- When you stop bitin' I'll be a total wreck- You're my werewolf mama- freaky as you can be" This should start your Halloween off on the right foot. Dean Gitter: The Reaper's Ghost I don't know much about Dean Gitter, but I spotted this track on the absolutely incredible Scar Stuff site. Eerie thoughts enter your mind when lyrics like "The reaper crossed the hayfield as sets the blood-red sun" are sung over a delicately strummed acoustic guitar. Here is a link to his post on this album. The site is comprised of many rare and out-...
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Free Jazz Fire
2007-02-24 02:13:01
Sam Rivers-Part 1- Instrumental Solo of the Tenor Sax andPart 4- Group With Tenor SaxFrom: Vol 1- Essence- The Heat and Warmth of Free Jazz [Circle Records, 1976]Sometimes I go for quite some time without exposing my ears to the mind-expanding sounds of Free Jazz . This is an unfortunate thing, since I am inspired to create and write everytime I hear it. Now when one usually thinks of Free Jazz, they think Sun Ra, Coltrane-late 60's, and the man who coined the term Free Jazz- Ornette Coleman. In my opinion, one of the most underrated free jazz saxophonists is Sam Rivers. His ensemble, the Sam Rivers Rivbea Orchestra, recently released a record on Aurora releases called Aurora, but unfortunately I haven't heard this yet. I want you to listen to a couple tracks from a live recording from the Bim Huis in Amsterdam-1976 called Essence- the Heat and Warmth of Free Jazz. As I listen to this record, I feel the raw spontaneity combined with skilled musicianship that inspired countless free...
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Random Curiosities
2007-02-24 02:13:01
Today, I am featuring a variety of tunes that I've been listening to lately. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.Bardo Pond: Destroying AngelFrom: Ticket Crystals [ATP, 2006]First off, is a sludgy, psychedelic slab of wax from Philadelphia's Bardo Pond. Bardo Pond's music can best be described as long passages of transcendental and psychedelic "stoner rock" which is highly influenced by Black Sabbath, Acid Mother's Temple, and My Bloody Valentine. Destroying Angel is the first track on the band's latest mind-blowing effort entitled Ticket Crystals. While Ticket Crystals is a mellow album for the most part, this song rips out the walls of your speakers with loud, distorted and droning guitars, propulsive drumming and dynamically searing vocals. After the first verse, the band maintains this intensity, while the lead singer's wordless, yearning moans and psychedlic flute playing give the track a sense of mysticism. Absolutely amazing!Radian: Rapid Eye MovementFrom: Juxtapositi...
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It's Been a Long Time...
2007-02-24 02:13:01
The Oblivians- Guitar Shop Asshole and Do the MilkshakeFrom: Popular Favorites [Crypt Records 1996]Short, furious blasts of distorted, amped-up three chord lightning. Alcohol-fueled reckless abandon. This is what's missing from the Rock-n-Roll of today. Too much time is being wasted on multi-million dollar record deals and talentless hacks who parade across our televisions every night, claiming to be the next best thing. I implore you to forget about the next best thing, and instead listen to the sleazy, balls-out rockin' sounds of the Oblivians.The Oblivians are from Memphis, Tennesee, the city which spawned Mud Boy and the Neutrons, The Mar Keys, Moloch, Furry Lewis, Johnny Woods and countless others. It's no wonder that this talented three-piece garage-rock group was spawned from such a musically diverse and free-thinking place like Memphis. The Oblivians sound is a trebly, lo-fi super-charged garage rock full of gruff vocals and lyrics about sex, drugs and well... Doin the mi...
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It Came From Memphis
2007-02-24 02:13:01
I just finished reading an amazing novel by Robert Gordon called It Came From Memphis . It is a raw, unadulterated account of how the southern white and black cultures in Memphis circa 1950's meshed to create passionate, free-spirited art that inspired legions of like-minded artistic geniuses. Consummate delta musicians such as Furry Lewis, Johnny Woods and Aretha Franklin joined forces with the maverick recording engineers of the day, such as Jim Dickinson, John Fry, Sam Phillips and Don Nix, to produce some of the greatest musical treasures ever pressed on wax. Since reading this book, I have been inspired to research the myriad of producers, musicians, deejays and other eccentric folks who made Memphis such a special place. Here is the first entry in this series of obscure and eccentric musicians who came from Memphis. Tav Falco & the Panther Burns: Bourgeois Blues From: Behind the Magnolia Curtain [Rough Trade, 1981]Tav Falco & the Panther Burns: Drop the MaskFrom: Drop Your...

Junkies on the Run
2007-02-24 02:13:01
This week I have been inspired to create a mix that matches the winter landscape of the dreary Pacific Northwest. This is due partly to my moods being affected by several days of continuously dismal weather, and partly because I have been listening to the Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour show on XM radio. If you haven't heard this show yet, do yourself a favor and check it out. Bob has an extensive knowledge of music and he focuses on a different theme each week. Thus far, he has covered themes such as flowers, food, jail and weather in his mixes. Here is a link to a site that offers them all for free download. My theme today is on the drug heroin. We all know that heroin has played a significant part in destroying the lives of many talented musicians such as Billie Holiday, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Kurt Cobain and Miles Davis. It hooks you, reels you in and then spits you back out into your own personal hell, fending for yourself in the darkened corners of your mind. Heroi...
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It Came From Memphis- Part 2
2007-02-24 02:13:01
The Insect Trust: Special Rider BluesFrom: The Insect Trust [Capitol Records, 1968]The Insect Trust: Our Sister the SunFrom: Hoboken Saturday Night [ ATCO Records, 1970]For this segment of the Memphis post, I will focus on the incredibly eclectic folk-blues-jazz collective known as The Insect Trust. Their name came from a local poetry journal called the Insect Trust Gazette which was derived from the William Burroughs novel Naked Lunch. The backbone of the band was formed in Memphis in 1966 as a trio called The Solips, which featured Nancy Jeffries on electric bass and vocals, Robert Palmer on alto sax and recorder and Bill Barth on guitar. The Insect Trust was born in New York in 1967 and was comprised of Robert Palmer (the popular rock critic with Rolling Stone and New York Times) on alto sax, clarinet and recorder, Nancy Jeffries on vocals (the vocalist for Peter Stampfel's Swamp Lillies before the Holy Modal Rounders became a functional unit), Luke Faust on banjo-guitar, banjo ...
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Nels Cline and Glenn Kotche
2007-02-24 02:13:01
Nels Cline(Nels Cline Singers, Wilco) and Glen n Kotche( Wilco) are playing a show at the Doug Fir Lounge this Saturday for $12. I've seen Nels Cline live before and he is one of the most extraordinary avant garde jazz guitarists playing nowadays. During his performances, he displays a skill and dexterity in playing incendiary guitar solos so fast that it makes the listener's head swim. His diverse recording endeavours include projects with the Nels Cline Singers(instrumental), Wilco, Scott Amendola Group, Vinny Golia, Thurston Moore, Charlie Haden, Willie Nelson and Carla Bozulich. He is well versed in punk, noise, free jazz, country, traditional jazz and just about any other style that he attempts. I am most familiar with the Nels Cline Singers album called Instrumentals which is a barnstormer of an album blending noise, blues, free jazz, ambient and acoustic music. Nels describes the album as ?powerjazzrockfreepsychedelicate instrumental music.? For what it's worth, my favorite...
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