I love hearing from "eBay." Almost as much as I love hearing from "PayPal."
My latest "eBay" e-mail was received in triplicate, though one version differs slightly from the other two. Brilliant strategy--if you're going to scam someone, send the scam thrice. That increases its odds of succeeding by 200 percent, I guess.
The text, in part: "According to our site policy you will have to confirm that you are the real owner of the eBay account by completing the following form or else your account will be marked as fraudulent , and will remain open for investigation. You will pay for the fees wich will result from the financial transactions between eBay and FIT ( Fraud Investigations Team ) ."
Would the real eBay misspell "which"?
FIT--I love that. Anyway, I sure don't want to pay for fees resulting from the financial transactions between eBay and FIT, so of course I went right to eBay. Except I didn't use any of the links provided in the note, having been born 49 years ago instead of yesterday--rather, I went to My eBay, where I found nothing whatsoever about "unusual activity" in my account, or about FIT, or about the need to verify account information.
That's the thing to do, of course, whenever you receive an e-mail like this one--go right to your eBay and/or PayPal account. Or, better yet, ignore the e-mail, which is what I usually choose to do. I get these freaking things nearly every day, so deleting them is almost a reflex action by now.
Naturally, the scammers are hoping that the recipient will click on one of the fake links and provide account information. As in, to them.
I used to report these things to eBay (they have a service set up for same), but I can't be doing so every day of the week. All I ever got from eBay was an auto-"Yes, your note is Spam" type of acknowledgment, anyway. Nothing against eBay--they don't have time to deal with such things and likely have no power to stop them. And I'm sure they'd love to halt these scams, since they can't be helping their business.
I suspect that all they can do is warn people, which they do on occasion. Can't ask for more than that.
I'd ask the scammers to please cease, but I doubt they're gonna.
Anyway, please beware. You've probably gotten one (or two, or three) of these by now. Or four, or five, or six, or....
Lee
Saturday, June 10, 2006
Some 1946 Merv for our Saturday
Merv Griffin was interviewed in Rolling Stone--seriously! Here's the link: Dear Mr. Fantasy.
The coverage of Merv's musical career is pretty inadequate--though, to be fair, that isn't the focus of the piece. Still, RS is a music magazine. I think....
The article mentions Merv's popular 1945-1948 radio show at San Francisco's KFRC. And you're no doubt wondering to yourself, "Gee, what did Merv sound like at that time?" Well, you came to the right place--here are four 1946 recordings featuring Merv with his KFRC conductor, Lyle Bardo. They're from the two-78 set Songs by Merv Griffin, a collection which happens to be the first commercial release ever to be mastered from magnetic tape:
Lullaby of the Leaves, Merv Griffin w. Lyle Bardo Orch., 1946. From Panda label 78 set Songs by Merv Griffin.
Let There Be Love, Merv Griffin w. Lyle Bardo Orch., 1946.
Sand, Merv Griffin w. Lyle Bardo Orch., 1946.
Falling in Love with Love, Merv Griffin w. Lyle Bardo Orch., 1946.
The 21-year-old Merv could sing, no?
I forgot to mention that the Panda label was co-owned by Merv. And I can't believe I have no label photos to share....
Anyway, the 1946 Merv you won't get anyplace else--right here, right now!
Lee
The coverage of Merv's musical career is pretty inadequate--though, to be fair, that isn't the focus of the piece. Still, RS is a music magazine. I think....
The article mentions Merv's popular 1945-1948 radio show at San Francisco's KFRC. And you're no doubt wondering to yourself, "Gee, what did Merv sound like at that time?" Well, you came to the right place--here are four 1946 recordings featuring Merv with his KFRC conductor, Lyle Bardo. They're from the two-78 set Songs by Merv Griffin, a collection which happens to be the first commercial release ever to be mastered from magnetic tape:
Lullaby of the Leaves, Merv Griffin w. Lyle Bardo Orch., 1946. From Panda label 78 set Songs by Merv Griffin.
Let There Be Love, Merv Griffin w. Lyle Bardo Orch., 1946.
Sand, Merv Griffin w. Lyle Bardo Orch., 1946.
Falling in Love with Love, Merv Griffin w. Lyle Bardo Orch., 1946.
The 21-year-old Merv could sing, no?
I forgot to mention that the Panda label was co-owned by Merv. And I can't believe I have no label photos to share....
Anyway, the 1946 Merv you won't get anyplace else--right here, right now!
Lee
Saturday morning keyboard sounds!
Loch Lomond, Eddie Heywood, 1946. From Vocalion LP.
Down Yonder, The Happy Piano Twins Quintet, circa 1964. From RCA Victor boxed set.
12th Street Rag, The Happy Piano Twins Quintet, circa 1964. From RCA Victor boxed set.
Kitten on the Keys (Confrey), The Happy Piano Twins Quintet, circa 1964. From RCA Victor boxed set.
Tip-Toe Thru' the Tulips with Me--Reginald Dixon, 1960s. From RCA Victor boxed set.
No sad sounds for this Saturday morning!
Down Yonder, The Happy Piano Twins Quintet, circa 1964. From RCA Victor boxed set.
12th Street Rag, The Happy Piano Twins Quintet, circa 1964. From RCA Victor boxed set.
Kitten on the Keys (Confrey), The Happy Piano Twins Quintet, circa 1964. From RCA Victor boxed set.
Tip-Toe Thru' the Tulips with Me--Reginald Dixon, 1960s. From RCA Victor boxed set.
No sad sounds for this Saturday morning!
Friday, June 09, 2006
Friday morning ragtime
Blogger's up, but for how long? Better get these linked.
Both of these files were rescued from cassette tape. All I remember about the Oxford disc (long gone from my collection) is that its credits read "Band." Just "Band." (Long before the outfit backed Bob Dylan.) I guess it was too much to ask that I write down the label number. Thanks, self.
Dunno the year, but something tells me this particular number petered out around 1908, disc-wise. So, I'm guessing 1910 at the latest. I could be wrong, of course:
At a Georgia Camp Meeting (Mills), Band. From 12" Oxford label disc, the number of which I didn't take down.
Far out. I just found a listing for a 1924 country recording of the tune. Otherwise, it does seem to have become an oldie pretty quickly into the 20th century, as far as recordings were concerned. A terrific piece of writing, Leethinks.
Speaking of fine writing, and superb playing, here's (James Reese) Europe's Society Orchestra from 1914, committed to tape during my Shure-M44-cartridge days. You might want to listen closely for two low-frequency fooshing noises that occur just after the return of the main strain. I've been told that such sounds were caused by recording engineers (or whoever) literally blowing residue off of the cutting stylus during recording. This noise shows up pretty regularly on acoustical 78s, at least with modern pickups:
Castle Walk (James Reese Europe), Europe's Society Orchestra, 1914. From 10" Victor 78.
I don't know if I even have a recording of Louis Moreau Gottschalk's 1855 The Banjo, which sounds for all the world like ragtime.
Lee
Both of these files were rescued from cassette tape. All I remember about the Oxford disc (long gone from my collection) is that its credits read "Band." Just "Band." (Long before the outfit backed Bob Dylan.) I guess it was too much to ask that I write down the label number. Thanks, self.
Dunno the year, but something tells me this particular number petered out around 1908, disc-wise. So, I'm guessing 1910 at the latest. I could be wrong, of course:
At a Georgia Camp Meeting (Mills), Band. From 12" Oxford label disc, the number of which I didn't take down.
Far out. I just found a listing for a 1924 country recording of the tune. Otherwise, it does seem to have become an oldie pretty quickly into the 20th century, as far as recordings were concerned. A terrific piece of writing, Leethinks.
Speaking of fine writing, and superb playing, here's (James Reese) Europe's Society Orchestra from 1914, committed to tape during my Shure-M44-cartridge days. You might want to listen closely for two low-frequency fooshing noises that occur just after the return of the main strain. I've been told that such sounds were caused by recording engineers (or whoever) literally blowing residue off of the cutting stylus during recording. This noise shows up pretty regularly on acoustical 78s, at least with modern pickups:
Castle Walk (James Reese Europe), Europe's Society Orchestra, 1914. From 10" Victor 78.
I don't know if I even have a recording of Louis Moreau Gottschalk's 1855 The Banjo, which sounds for all the world like ragtime.
Lee
Thursday, June 08, 2006
Walter Coon--"Father's a Drunkard and Mother Is Dead"
A while back, I posted a 1929 Conqueror-label recording of Father's a Drunkard and Mother Is Dead by one Charley Vaughn. Four days ago, I received this comment from Mary Elizabeth Coon:
"Hi! Charley Vaughn was actually an alias that Conqueror record company used. The gentlemans name was actually Walter Coon. He is my grandfather. He had his own radio show here in Detroit, as well as a spot on the original 'Lone Ranger'. His most famous song is Huskin' Bee by Coon's Joy Boys."
Many thanks to Mary Elizabeth for that information, which I used to Google this excellent photo of Mr. Coon:
The image comes from this page, which also features a brief and interesting bio of the artist. Be sure to check it out!
And here's the Conqueror label 78 again. The lyrics date from 1866--the songwriters were Nellie H. Bradley and Mrs. E.A. Parkhurst. This "sentimental," socially-conscious Victorian-era ballad serves as proof that, if you want to study the roots of country, the best place to start is with a pile of 19th-century sheet music. :
Father's a Drunkard and Mother Is Dead, Charley Vaughn (Walter Coon), 1929. From Conqueror label 78.
Thanks again to Mary Elizabeth for giving us the true identity of this terrific artist.
And it looks like Blogger is back (????). To stay, hopefully.
Lee
"Hi! Charley Vaughn was actually an alias that Conqueror record company used. The gentlemans name was actually Walter Coon. He is my grandfather. He had his own radio show here in Detroit, as well as a spot on the original 'Lone Ranger'. His most famous song is Huskin' Bee by Coon's Joy Boys."
Many thanks to Mary Elizabeth for that information, which I used to Google this excellent photo of Mr. Coon:
The image comes from this page, which also features a brief and interesting bio of the artist. Be sure to check it out!
And here's the Conqueror label 78 again. The lyrics date from 1866--the songwriters were Nellie H. Bradley and Mrs. E.A. Parkhurst. This "sentimental," socially-conscious Victorian-era ballad serves as proof that, if you want to study the roots of country, the best place to start is with a pile of 19th-century sheet music. :
Father's a Drunkard and Mother Is Dead, Charley Vaughn (Walter Coon), 1929. From Conqueror label 78.
Thanks again to Mary Elizabeth for giving us the true identity of this terrific artist.
And it looks like Blogger is back (????). To stay, hopefully.
Lee
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Ohio makes the New York Times editorial page!!! Yee-haaaa!!
I'm so proud!!!! Living in New Florida is the most! I hope we get lots and lots of press!
Here's the New York Times editorial:
Block the Vote, Ohio Remix
Published: June 7, 2006
If there was ever a sign of a ruling party in trouble, it is a game plan that calls for trying to win by discouraging voting.
The latest sign that Republicans have an election-year strategy to shut down voter registration drives comes from Ohio. As the state gears up for a very competitive election season this fall, its secretary of state, J. Kenneth Blackwell, has put in place "emergency" regulations that could hit voter registration workers with criminal penalties for perfectly legitimate registration practices. The rules are so draconian they could shut down registration drives in Ohio.
Mr. Blackwell, who also happens to be the Republican candidate for governor this year, has a history of this sort of behavior. In 2004, he instructed county boards of elections to reject any registrations on paper of less than 80-pound stock — about the thickness of a postcard. His order was almost certainly illegal, and he retracted it after he came under intense criticism. It was, however, in place long enough to get some registrations tossed out.
This year, Mr. Blackwell's office has issued rules and materials that appear to require that paid registration workers, and perhaps even volunteers, personally take the forms they collect to an election office. Organizations that run registration drives generally have the people who register voters bring the forms back to supervisors, who can then review them for errors. Under Mr. Blackwell's edict, everyone involved could be committing a crime. Mr. Blackwell's rules also appear to prohibit people who register voters from sending the forms in by mail. That rule itself may violate federal elections law.
Mr. Blackwell's rules are interpretations of a law the Republican-controlled Ohio Legislature passed recently. Another of the nation's most famous swing states, Florida, has been the scene of similar consternation and confusion since it recently enacted a law that is so harsh that the Florida League of Women Voters announced that it was stopping all voter registration efforts for the first time in 67 years.
Florida's Legislature, like Ohio's, is controlled by Republicans. Throughout American history both parties have shown a willingness to try to use election law to get results they might otherwise not win at the polls. But right now it is clearly the Republicans who believe they have an interest in keeping the voter base small. Mr. Blackwell and other politicians who insist on making it harder to vote never say, of course, that they are worried that get-out-the-vote drives will bring too many poor and minority voters into the system. They say that they want to reduce fraud. However, there is virtually no evidence that registration drives are leading to fraud at the polls.
But there is one clear way that Ohio's election system is corrupt. Decisions about who can vote are being made by a candidate for governor. Mr. Blackwell should hand over responsibility for elections to a decision maker whose only loyalty is to the voters and the law.
Yes, he should, but figure the odds. And I'd better get this up while Blogger is still here. As you probably know, it's been down most of the day. What's up with that?
Lee, proud to be a New Floridian
Here's the New York Times editorial:
Block the Vote, Ohio Remix
Published: June 7, 2006
If there was ever a sign of a ruling party in trouble, it is a game plan that calls for trying to win by discouraging voting.
The latest sign that Republicans have an election-year strategy to shut down voter registration drives comes from Ohio. As the state gears up for a very competitive election season this fall, its secretary of state, J. Kenneth Blackwell, has put in place "emergency" regulations that could hit voter registration workers with criminal penalties for perfectly legitimate registration practices. The rules are so draconian they could shut down registration drives in Ohio.
Mr. Blackwell, who also happens to be the Republican candidate for governor this year, has a history of this sort of behavior. In 2004, he instructed county boards of elections to reject any registrations on paper of less than 80-pound stock — about the thickness of a postcard. His order was almost certainly illegal, and he retracted it after he came under intense criticism. It was, however, in place long enough to get some registrations tossed out.
This year, Mr. Blackwell's office has issued rules and materials that appear to require that paid registration workers, and perhaps even volunteers, personally take the forms they collect to an election office. Organizations that run registration drives generally have the people who register voters bring the forms back to supervisors, who can then review them for errors. Under Mr. Blackwell's edict, everyone involved could be committing a crime. Mr. Blackwell's rules also appear to prohibit people who register voters from sending the forms in by mail. That rule itself may violate federal elections law.
Mr. Blackwell's rules are interpretations of a law the Republican-controlled Ohio Legislature passed recently. Another of the nation's most famous swing states, Florida, has been the scene of similar consternation and confusion since it recently enacted a law that is so harsh that the Florida League of Women Voters announced that it was stopping all voter registration efforts for the first time in 67 years.
Florida's Legislature, like Ohio's, is controlled by Republicans. Throughout American history both parties have shown a willingness to try to use election law to get results they might otherwise not win at the polls. But right now it is clearly the Republicans who believe they have an interest in keeping the voter base small. Mr. Blackwell and other politicians who insist on making it harder to vote never say, of course, that they are worried that get-out-the-vote drives will bring too many poor and minority voters into the system. They say that they want to reduce fraud. However, there is virtually no evidence that registration drives are leading to fraud at the polls.
But there is one clear way that Ohio's election system is corrupt. Decisions about who can vote are being made by a candidate for governor. Mr. Blackwell should hand over responsibility for elections to a decision maker whose only loyalty is to the voters and the law.
Yes, he should, but figure the odds. And I'd better get this up while Blogger is still here. As you probably know, it's been down most of the day. What's up with that?
Lee, proud to be a New Floridian
Sick, sick, sick
Yes, today is the day written of in the Book of Revelation: "Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is 666."
Buwa-ha-haaaa!! It's the day of the Devil--06/06/06.
Oh, wait--that was yesterday. Never mind. Well, I guess we all made it alive. The world is still here. I think.
Yeah, I just went outside. It's there. At least around these parts.
I don't know what's dumber--the 666 stuff by itself, or the way such nonsense is pushed in print and on TV. Our local news spent at least ten minutes on it, and our paper wasted good space quoting people who don't exactly believe in 666 but who don't exactly disbelieve, blah, blah, blah. Presumably, nobody said "Horseshit!" Funny, the way reporters never run into skeptics when promoting--er, writing balanced articles about--the paranormal.
So great to be a Christian these days, with 666 and The Da Vinci Code representing my faith. The media covers Christianity as if it were nothing but a collection of superstitions. That's their perception, so they make it "true" through their coverage.
Personally, I wish Satan would appear to all who promote the concept thereof, even if the guilty parties are undecided about his existence. Or even if they're engaging in rock-style mock tributes.
It would be hilarious. Imagine the cloven-footed one appearing in a puff of smoke:
"My... my heart!!"--Mock-worshiper. "Well, you said you believed in me. I thought you'd be tickled to behold me. Was I... mistaken?"--Satan.
Those who previously weren't sure about Satan's existence would become sure. "Well, I don't know. Maybe there's a Satan, maybe there i.... AIEEEEE!!!"--Undecided person. "You rang?"--Satan.
Those of us who don't believe in the Devil would be fine. He's not offended by us, as our disbelief is genuine and absolute. Rather, he resents those who half-assedly believe in him. He once told an interviewer, "Believe, or don't believe--one or the other. Otherwise, there'll be heck to pay!" "'Heck'?" asked the surprised interviewer. "I never discuss work away from the office," explained Satan.
Here are a couple of late Devil's Day files. I guess it'll be another hundred years before the next 06/06/06? Of course, yesterday was also D-Day--and I don't mean "Damien Day"!
Dance of the Demon (Eduard Holst), Victor Arden-Phil Ohman, 1923. From Victor 78.
Eduard Holst is not to be confused with Gustav Holst, the Planets composer. I should know--I confused the two for years. I couldn't believe Holst had written such parlor stuff (however neat). Well, he didn't. Dilemma solved!
And here are two recordings that deal with Hell. The first is a take-off on 1947's Wonderful Time Up There, a.k.a. Gospel Boogie.
Everybody's Gonna Have a Terrible Time Down There--The Statesmen, 1958. From RCA Camden LP.
Sinner's Train, Art Mooney and His Orch., 1956. From MGM 45.
I love Sinner's Train. It's so incredibly well-produced. And a laugh riot, to boot.
We close with...
That Old Black Magic (Arlen-Mercer), Fred Waring and His Pennsylvanians, 1944. From Decca LP.
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea would have been better, but I don't have a file of it handy....
Lee
Buwa-ha-haaaa!! It's the day of the Devil--06/06/06.
Oh, wait--that was yesterday. Never mind. Well, I guess we all made it alive. The world is still here. I think.
Yeah, I just went outside. It's there. At least around these parts.
I don't know what's dumber--the 666 stuff by itself, or the way such nonsense is pushed in print and on TV. Our local news spent at least ten minutes on it, and our paper wasted good space quoting people who don't exactly believe in 666 but who don't exactly disbelieve, blah, blah, blah. Presumably, nobody said "Horseshit!" Funny, the way reporters never run into skeptics when promoting--er, writing balanced articles about--the paranormal.
So great to be a Christian these days, with 666 and The Da Vinci Code representing my faith. The media covers Christianity as if it were nothing but a collection of superstitions. That's their perception, so they make it "true" through their coverage.
Personally, I wish Satan would appear to all who promote the concept thereof, even if the guilty parties are undecided about his existence. Or even if they're engaging in rock-style mock tributes.
It would be hilarious. Imagine the cloven-footed one appearing in a puff of smoke:
"My... my heart!!"--Mock-worshiper. "Well, you said you believed in me. I thought you'd be tickled to behold me. Was I... mistaken?"--Satan.
Those who previously weren't sure about Satan's existence would become sure. "Well, I don't know. Maybe there's a Satan, maybe there i.... AIEEEEE!!!"--Undecided person. "You rang?"--Satan.
Those of us who don't believe in the Devil would be fine. He's not offended by us, as our disbelief is genuine and absolute. Rather, he resents those who half-assedly believe in him. He once told an interviewer, "Believe, or don't believe--one or the other. Otherwise, there'll be heck to pay!" "'Heck'?" asked the surprised interviewer. "I never discuss work away from the office," explained Satan.
Here are a couple of late Devil's Day files. I guess it'll be another hundred years before the next 06/06/06? Of course, yesterday was also D-Day--and I don't mean "Damien Day"!
Dance of the Demon (Eduard Holst), Victor Arden-Phil Ohman, 1923. From Victor 78.
Eduard Holst is not to be confused with Gustav Holst, the Planets composer. I should know--I confused the two for years. I couldn't believe Holst had written such parlor stuff (however neat). Well, he didn't. Dilemma solved!
And here are two recordings that deal with Hell. The first is a take-off on 1947's Wonderful Time Up There, a.k.a. Gospel Boogie.
Everybody's Gonna Have a Terrible Time Down There--The Statesmen, 1958. From RCA Camden LP.
Sinner's Train, Art Mooney and His Orch., 1956. From MGM 45.
I love Sinner's Train. It's so incredibly well-produced. And a laugh riot, to boot.
We close with...
That Old Black Magic (Arlen-Mercer), Fred Waring and His Pennsylvanians, 1944. From Decca LP.
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea would have been better, but I don't have a file of it handy....
Lee
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Dave Clark and the Mysterians, 1964
It's not just the Vox organ--it's the chord changes and the lyrics, and the whole attitude. Here's The Dave Clark Five from 1964, sounding a lot like ? and the Mysterians from 1966:
I Love You No More (Clark-Smith), The Dave Clark Five, 1964. From Epic LP The Dave Clark Five Return!
Here are two more from the same album, beginning with an easy-listening number that you'd never think to credit to the DC5. They do a great job on the violins:
Theme without a Name (Clark-Davidson), The Dave Clark Five, 1964.
And finishing with an excellent cover of Link Wray's Rumble:
Rumble (Wray-Grant), The Dave Clark Five, 1964.
Strings weren't a big deal in British Invasion rock until the next year, when Paul McCartney's Yesterday was released. A Wikipedia entry on Yesterday does its best to make sure that we realize the other Beatles had reservations about the song, and that John Lennon, more than once, made fun of it. Those, apparently, are the important facts to know. Wikipedia is embarrassing.
At Brad's 78 site, Lady Domi mentions a National Review article (by John J. Miller) that lists the "50 greatest conservative rock songs." What do we think of it, she wonders? Well, the National Review is garbage, and the piece is about what I'd expect from the place--i.e., the usual smirky swipe at liberals by a writer who imagines himself to be pret-ty darned clever. You can tell by the smirk on his face that he thinks that. You have to get up pretty early in the morning to keep up with such brilliant journalistic button-pushing. At least before 12 noon. Or no later than 20 after.
I think the idea of art being conservative or liberal is silly, anyway. The notion of rock and roll as the music of rebellion, and/or of the left, is a received idea. And a purely circular one (A, therefore A.) For every rock song that contains a political idea, there are twenty more that don't. Money and Wooly Bully come to mind.
True, rock critics are experts at reading political meaning into every last set of rock lyrics, but the same game works with George M. Cohan songs, or the Barry Manilow songbook, or Oh, Baby! (Don't Say No, Say Maybe). If we're determined to find social or political significance in a text, it'll be there. Again, it's a matter of A, therefore A. Or, I think so, therefore it is.
Problem is, when a received idea is repeated a zillion times, it becomes true. Whether it is or not.
I'll bet Lady Domi is glad she asked my opinion! Personally, I never ask my opinion of anything.
Lee
I Love You No More (Clark-Smith), The Dave Clark Five, 1964. From Epic LP The Dave Clark Five Return!
Here are two more from the same album, beginning with an easy-listening number that you'd never think to credit to the DC5. They do a great job on the violins:
Theme without a Name (Clark-Davidson), The Dave Clark Five, 1964.
And finishing with an excellent cover of Link Wray's Rumble:
Rumble (Wray-Grant), The Dave Clark Five, 1964.
Strings weren't a big deal in British Invasion rock until the next year, when Paul McCartney's Yesterday was released. A Wikipedia entry on Yesterday does its best to make sure that we realize the other Beatles had reservations about the song, and that John Lennon, more than once, made fun of it. Those, apparently, are the important facts to know. Wikipedia is embarrassing.
At Brad's 78 site, Lady Domi mentions a National Review article (by John J. Miller) that lists the "50 greatest conservative rock songs." What do we think of it, she wonders? Well, the National Review is garbage, and the piece is about what I'd expect from the place--i.e., the usual smirky swipe at liberals by a writer who imagines himself to be pret-ty darned clever. You can tell by the smirk on his face that he thinks that. You have to get up pretty early in the morning to keep up with such brilliant journalistic button-pushing. At least before 12 noon. Or no later than 20 after.
I think the idea of art being conservative or liberal is silly, anyway. The notion of rock and roll as the music of rebellion, and/or of the left, is a received idea. And a purely circular one (A, therefore A.) For every rock song that contains a political idea, there are twenty more that don't. Money and Wooly Bully come to mind.
True, rock critics are experts at reading political meaning into every last set of rock lyrics, but the same game works with George M. Cohan songs, or the Barry Manilow songbook, or Oh, Baby! (Don't Say No, Say Maybe). If we're determined to find social or political significance in a text, it'll be there. Again, it's a matter of A, therefore A. Or, I think so, therefore it is.
Problem is, when a received idea is repeated a zillion times, it becomes true. Whether it is or not.
I'll bet Lady Domi is glad she asked my opinion! Personally, I never ask my opinion of anything.
Lee
Sunday, June 04, 2006
Today's "Mission" statement
"This tape will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck, Jim."
Get it? Mission statement? Ha, ha, ha, ha!
Interesting (or maybe not) fact: Bob Johnson, the tape voice on the M:I TV show, was all over the original Outer Limits in the form of "voice-overs." He was about half of the alien voices on that program. He's practically the star of Fun and Games, the Nick Adams classic scripted by Joseph (Psycho) Stefano.
Wasn't that interesting? No? O.K., sorry.
Meanwhile, Beware of the Blog will be "celebrating the dark lord like nobody's business" in a few days. Whatever the hell that means. (Ha, ha, ha, ha! "Whatever the hell that means"!)
Anyway, I ran it by my foster mom who said, "Who knows? They're morons."
If I have any self-respect, I'll spare myself the experience of finding out. Is it really worth knowing? No. I have to stop checking that place out, I just have to. Help me abstain from that site. Let's kick off Help Lee Kick BOTB. Any help will be appreciated. I need to focus on more worthwhile things. Like this blog.
In other news, Vintage Lounge will become part of Music You Won't...--a blog merger, I guess you could call it. Try as I might, I can't keep a steady stream of VL posts going. And there's no reason that future vintage-lounge-style posts can't migrate to over here--this blog's format is as open as can be. This way, I don't have to scrap the VL concept--nor am I sitting around feeling lousy for not keeping a second blog up to date.
I started Vintage Lounge because I was sick of the oft-repeated claim that lounge/easy-listening/bachelor-pad/exotica/etc. music came into being around 1952, that it relates to the development of "hi-fi" technology, that it goes hand in hand with post-WWII leisure lifestyles, that it chronicles a kind of faux wordliness on the part of the middle class; what-ever. No, the music in question predates the 1950s by at least a couple of decades. That doesn't mean it lacks the sociological significance assigned to it (I could care less, personally), but the started-in-1952 part is bullshit, and people ought to stop promoting it. They won't, but they should.
People never do what they should. It sucks.
Here are some files I've been wanting to repost that nothing to do with the preceding essay. I just thought they'd be fun to hear. We start with 1917's Fuzzy Wuzzy Rag, a rip-off of Scott Joplin's Maple Leaf, tune-wise (not Handy's doing, I'm happy to say). Style-wise, this is early, raggy jazz:
Fuzzy Wuzzy Rag, Handy's Orchestra of Memphis, 1917.
And here's a cool bluegrass gospel number that dates back to at least the 1890s, though similar songs were showing up during, and just after, the Civil War. There was a growing awareness of, and concern for, the underclass. Nowadays, such songs are viewed as merely maudlin, but you have to ignore huge chunks of everyday-life history to justify such an outlook:
A Picture from Life's Other Side, Carl Story and His Rambling Mountaineers. From vinyl.
And that's just about the coolest title ever conceived. It was also recorded as Pictures from Life's Other Side and, possible, The Picture from.... The songwriters lost any rights to that one pretty early in the game, looks like.
And here's a reposting of Howlin' Wolf's Chocolate Drop, recorded for the Sun label in 1952. The guitarist is Willie Johnson:
Chocolate Drop, Howlin' Wolf, 1952.
We close with Duke Ellington's 1933 Daybreak Express. Luckily for us all, Raymond Scott would invent music like this shortly afterwards. And get all the credit for it. But Ellington did it far more artfully, in my opinion, even if he didn't invent it. So did Ferde Grofe, Matty Malneck, Glenn Miller, The Dorsey Brothers, and so on....
Daybreak Express (Ellington), Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, 1933. From vinyl.
I love that track! ("Track!" Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!)
Lee
Get it? Mission statement? Ha, ha, ha, ha!
Interesting (or maybe not) fact: Bob Johnson, the tape voice on the M:I TV show, was all over the original Outer Limits in the form of "voice-overs." He was about half of the alien voices on that program. He's practically the star of Fun and Games, the Nick Adams classic scripted by Joseph (Psycho) Stefano.
Wasn't that interesting? No? O.K., sorry.
Meanwhile, Beware of the Blog will be "celebrating the dark lord like nobody's business" in a few days. Whatever the hell that means. (Ha, ha, ha, ha! "Whatever the hell that means"!)
Anyway, I ran it by my foster mom who said, "Who knows? They're morons."
If I have any self-respect, I'll spare myself the experience of finding out. Is it really worth knowing? No. I have to stop checking that place out, I just have to. Help me abstain from that site. Let's kick off Help Lee Kick BOTB. Any help will be appreciated. I need to focus on more worthwhile things. Like this blog.
In other news, Vintage Lounge will become part of Music You Won't...--a blog merger, I guess you could call it. Try as I might, I can't keep a steady stream of VL posts going. And there's no reason that future vintage-lounge-style posts can't migrate to over here--this blog's format is as open as can be. This way, I don't have to scrap the VL concept--nor am I sitting around feeling lousy for not keeping a second blog up to date.
I started Vintage Lounge because I was sick of the oft-repeated claim that lounge/easy-listening/bachelor-pad/exotica/etc. music came into being around 1952, that it relates to the development of "hi-fi" technology, that it goes hand in hand with post-WWII leisure lifestyles, that it chronicles a kind of faux wordliness on the part of the middle class; what-ever. No, the music in question predates the 1950s by at least a couple of decades. That doesn't mean it lacks the sociological significance assigned to it (I could care less, personally), but the started-in-1952 part is bullshit, and people ought to stop promoting it. They won't, but they should.
People never do what they should. It sucks.
Here are some files I've been wanting to repost that nothing to do with the preceding essay. I just thought they'd be fun to hear. We start with 1917's Fuzzy Wuzzy Rag, a rip-off of Scott Joplin's Maple Leaf, tune-wise (not Handy's doing, I'm happy to say). Style-wise, this is early, raggy jazz:
Fuzzy Wuzzy Rag, Handy's Orchestra of Memphis, 1917.
And here's a cool bluegrass gospel number that dates back to at least the 1890s, though similar songs were showing up during, and just after, the Civil War. There was a growing awareness of, and concern for, the underclass. Nowadays, such songs are viewed as merely maudlin, but you have to ignore huge chunks of everyday-life history to justify such an outlook:
A Picture from Life's Other Side, Carl Story and His Rambling Mountaineers. From vinyl.
And that's just about the coolest title ever conceived. It was also recorded as Pictures from Life's Other Side and, possible, The Picture from.... The songwriters lost any rights to that one pretty early in the game, looks like.
And here's a reposting of Howlin' Wolf's Chocolate Drop, recorded for the Sun label in 1952. The guitarist is Willie Johnson:
Chocolate Drop, Howlin' Wolf, 1952.
We close with Duke Ellington's 1933 Daybreak Express. Luckily for us all, Raymond Scott would invent music like this shortly afterwards. And get all the credit for it. But Ellington did it far more artfully, in my opinion, even if he didn't invent it. So did Ferde Grofe, Matty Malneck, Glenn Miller, The Dorsey Brothers, and so on....
Daybreak Express (Ellington), Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, 1933. From vinyl.
I love that track! ("Track!" Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!)
Lee
Rare, early Bob Dylan track for our Sunday morning.
I 'm not at liberty to tell you how I got my paws on it, but this is most likely the first track ever recorded by Bob Dylan--never officially released, of course, and not up to his later sides in terms of audio quality, but more than listenable. And it's Dylan, all right.
Weird thing is, my source claims it was made in 1928, which is impossible--Dylan wasn't born until 1941! But it's one amazing performance, whenever it's from:
Statesboro Blues, Bob Dylan, (1928? No way!)
Ohhhh-kay. The joke is on all of us. Turns out that track was recorded in 1928 by a black blues artist named Blind Willie McTell. My source has quite a sense of humor. I don't know about you, but I fell for it. Boy, that sure sounds like Dylan, doesn't it?
Sorry to subject us all to a practical joke. I'm going to have a word with my source....
Meanwhile, it's Midnight in the Barrelhouse. (No, wait--it's after 2 AM. And this is a farmhouse.) Whatever. It's early in the morning, and it's 1947, but loud, distorted rock guitar hasn't been invented yet. I guess we'll have to settle for the playing of Pete Lewis:
Midnight in the Barrelhouse, Johnny Otis and His Orchestra, featuring Pete Lewis, guitar, 1947.
Actually, I think Lewis was playing power chords, though power chords are officially defined as two-note affairs (perfect fifths, or inversions of same), and Lewis' chords are a bit beyond, say, You Really Got Me. Then again, what to call these early examples of loud, slashing, distorted guitar chords? (Besides "loud, slashing, distorted guitar chords"?)
I've been assured, however, that such chords were not power chords. I'm too tired to argue. It's past midnight in the Barrelhouse®.
Lee
Weird thing is, my source claims it was made in 1928, which is impossible--Dylan wasn't born until 1941! But it's one amazing performance, whenever it's from:
Statesboro Blues, Bob Dylan, (1928? No way!)
Ohhhh-kay. The joke is on all of us. Turns out that track was recorded in 1928 by a black blues artist named Blind Willie McTell. My source has quite a sense of humor. I don't know about you, but I fell for it. Boy, that sure sounds like Dylan, doesn't it?
Sorry to subject us all to a practical joke. I'm going to have a word with my source....
Meanwhile, it's Midnight in the Barrelhouse. (No, wait--it's after 2 AM. And this is a farmhouse.) Whatever. It's early in the morning, and it's 1947, but loud, distorted rock guitar hasn't been invented yet. I guess we'll have to settle for the playing of Pete Lewis:
Midnight in the Barrelhouse, Johnny Otis and His Orchestra, featuring Pete Lewis, guitar, 1947.
Actually, I think Lewis was playing power chords, though power chords are officially defined as two-note affairs (perfect fifths, or inversions of same), and Lewis' chords are a bit beyond, say, You Really Got Me. Then again, what to call these early examples of loud, slashing, distorted guitar chords? (Besides "loud, slashing, distorted guitar chords"?)
I've been assured, however, that such chords were not power chords. I'm too tired to argue. It's past midnight in the Barrelhouse®.
Lee
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)