Saturday, February 04, 2006

Josh White


I discovered Josh White when I bought one of those Hootenany Folk compilation LP's. They had an abridged version of "John Henry" that knocked me out. When I saw a few Josh White albums at The Salvation Army in Rockland, Maine I grabbed em. When Josh White was a boy, he used to hang around the likes of Blind Lemon Jefferson. His version of "Strange Fruit" is one of the very best. Strange Fruit- Josh White (5.6 MB)
You Don't Know My Mind- Josh White (6 MB) Sam Hall- Josh White (4.6 MB) Good Morning, Blues- Josh White (5.3 MB) These tracks here come from a very scratchy source, but fuck it... Motherless Children- Josh White (4.9 MB) Careless Love- Josh White (3.6 MB)

Friday, February 03, 2006

Lydia Lunch & Thurston Moore



This is pretty much what you would expect of Lydia & Thurston. The best track for my money is "Done Dun". I have included all 3 tracks from the cassette release that I have.
The Crumb- Lydia Lunch & Thurston Moore (7.7 MB) Done Dun- Lydia Lunch & Thurston Moore (6.1 MB) Dead River- Lydia Lunch & Thurston Moore (3.2 MB)

The Real Richard Simmons


Listening to this record could make you sterile. Lyrics like "'Cause every mornings the key, It's either coffee or me" offer many questions to the Listener/Victim. I remember being a very young child and seeing Richard Simmons on Good Morning America wearing his little sweatsuit. He spoke as if he were a mixture of gym teacher/hairdresser and had all the qualities of a future Hollywood Squares fixture. Why not see what Richards message of the day is?
Richard Simmons - Wake Up (12'' Single) [FLAC]
{Re-Uploaded August 17, 2012}

Polyrock


I bought this record for 25 cents. Sort of that Avant-Rock-New Wave type sound. It was produced by Philip Glass and he even plays on some of it. Dig those out guitars.
Green For Go- Polyrock (5.5 MB) Go West- Polyrock (5.1 MB) No Love Lost- Polyrock (4.4 MB) Bucket Rider- Polyrock (4.4 MB) Shut Your Face- Polyrock (3.4 MB)

Jack DeJohnette

We'll start this post off by letting you know what Jack's been doing lately. He's got a brand new CD out with Bill Frisell called "The Elephant Sleeps But Still Remembers". It was recorded live at The Earshot Jazz Festival in 2001. The Elephant Sleeps But Still Remembers- Jack DeJohnette featuring Bill Frisell (16.4 MB)
Ode To South Africa- Jack DeJohnette featuring Bill Frisell (15.3 MB) Cat And Mouse- Jack DeJohnette featuring Bill Frisell (3.5 MB) Entranced Asteroids- Jack DeJohnette featuring Bill Frisell (10.9 MB) Jack gets around. He played with Miles Davis for awhile. What a time that was. Here's some of Jack with Miles from an import CD. Directions (Live 1970 Fillmore West)- Miles Davis (13.4 MB) One of the great things about the Miles Davis Phenomenon are all the great players he had that put out their own LP's. Often times they would feature other Miles alumni. "Zawinul" is one of these and it features Jack DeJohnette thumping around with Joe Zawinul and Herbie Hancock back in 1971. His Last Journey/Double Image/Arrival In New York- Joe Zawinul (22.5 MB)

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Mass Murderers Who Were Nice

The film is "The Third Man" (1949) directed by Carol Reed. Harry Lime is probably one of the most likable pricks in film history. Orson Welles was born to play the mass murdering racketeer who is killed at the end of the film. Orson resurrected Harry Lime as a character for radio in 1951. In this series, Harry Lime was a hero protecting the world from villians who do awful things. It's funny because Harry Lime was a villian who did very awful things in the original film "The Third Man". It's nice to hear Orson on the radio doing his little movies for your ears. There was also a straight version of "The Third Man" done for radio in 1951 with Joseph Cotten reprising his role of Holly Martens.
Orson Welles' The Lives Of Harry Lime "A Ticket To Tangiers" (11 MB) The Lux Radio Theatre Presents: "The Third Man" with Joseph Cotten & Evelyn Keyes (24.4 MB)
Charlie Chaplin had the honor of portraying another friendly mass murderer. The former bank clerk Henri Verdoux was portrayed as a lovable romantic killer in the film "Monsieur Verdoux" (1947). He practiced the art of bigamy and mass murder in a most whimsical way. Unfortunately I have visions in my head of some schmuck getting Jim Carrey or Chevy Chase to star in a wretched Hollywood remake. Monsieur Verdoux Opening Theme/Narration- Charlie Chaplin (2MB)
Three nice old ladies killing off the lonely people in the world. I personally think these old ladies were doing the world a service. Cary Grant always hated his performance in this classic movie that was made in 1941.
From "Arsenic & Old Lace" (1944) (1.2 MB)
Can't help but think of John Waters' "Serial Mom" (1994) so I added this...
"Is this the Cocksucker residence?" from "Serial Mom" (less than a tiny little MB)

Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Enrico Caruso


When I was 11 years old, I started working at The Bayview Street Cinema in Camden, Maine. At that time the theater mostly did film revivals. Video stores were just beginning their "Golden Age", which put a large dent in the need for such "Revival Film Theaters". People wanted to watch their foriegn and classic films at home instead of in an old former car storage building. One of the first films to play there after I started working was Werner Herzog's "Fitzcarraldo" (1982). We usually had a film for one week 2 shows a night. This film was so long, we only had 1 show a night. I watched it 7 times. Of course, I always missed the first few minutes because I was selling tickets and popcorn. It wasn't until years later that I saw the beginning of the film, with Klaus Kinski and Claudia Cardinal hustling ass to see Enrico Caruso live. Enrico Caruso was prominently featured in the music score, which got me into liking that sort of thing. I have a recording of Enrico that was recorded in 1916 that was NOT in the film. However I took the liberty of providing an audio clip from the English dub of the film. Enrico Caruso sings Giordano (2.9 MB) "To Fitzcarraldo, Conquistador of the Useless..." (3 MB)

Jaleos con La Marelu


Two selections from a tape that I found somewhere. Don't know much about La Marelu, do you? Great voice, fabulous shirt. It looks as though she's squeezing her waist to make it even smaller. What do you suppose she's looking at off to the side? Ya Ya Amour- La Marelu (9 MB)
Los Hijos De La Maria- La Marelu (5 MB)

Sunday, January 29, 2006

A Tale Of Two Richards (or: How I Learned To Stop Smiling And Love The Revolution)


We have Richard Lester. I loved "Petulia"(1968) and "A Hard Days Night"(1964). He's always got some interesting ideas in the films he makes, even if the film isn't all that great. "Cuba" (1979) is an alright movie. Sean Connery is running around Cuba while the revolution is taking place. Brooke Adams is looking fine, but she's not very Cuban. Neither is Chris Sarandon who plays a hotheaded glory seeking young revolutionary. Fortunately, Sean Connery doesn't have to try and pass off as a Cuban because his character is Scottish. Richard Lester gets a B plus for this picture. It's certainly a hell of a lot better than "Superman 3". Airline announcement upon entering Cuba (less than a freakin' MB)
We also have Richard Fleischer, son of Max Fleischer. He made quite a number of successful big Hollywood pictures like "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea" (1954) and "Soylent Green" (1973). I particularly liked "Tora! Tora! Tora!" (1970). He's also made some films that have appeal to lovers of "bad" movies. Andy Warhol said that "Mandingo" (1975) was his favorite bad film of the year. I've often thought that "Conan The Destroyer" was one of the worst films of 1984. "Che" (1969)was listed in Harry Medved's "50 Worst Films Of All Time". It stars Omar Sharif as Che Guevara and Jack Palance as Fidel Castro (Believe It.....Or Not.) The soundtrack is by Lalo Schifrin and I have a couple of tracks from that here for you. Emboscada- Lalo Schifrin (4.1 MB) Tiempo Pasado- Lalo Schifrin (3.9MB) Che (Solo Guitar Version) (4.1 MB)
While we're on the subject of revolutions, why not visit Gillo Pontecorvo's "Burn!" (1970), an excellent follow up to the masterpiece "The Battle Of Algiers" (1966). Marlon Brando plays a sort of Colonial Era version of a CIA operative farting around a sugar planation causing trouble. The music was done by Mr. Prolific himself, good ole Ennio Morricone. I do not have the music, but I do have some dialog from the film which I think is worthy. Some dialog from the film "Burn!" (6.4 MB)
To cap it off, I have some Cuban music. It's from a Smithsonian Folkways Recordings CD called "Mantanazas Cuba, ca. 1957: Afro-Cuban Sacred Music From The Countryside". My friend Jon Rogers gave it to me last Christmas. Mo Juba Ocha (I Pay Homage To The Orisha) (2.3 MB) Ibarabo Ago Mo Juba (Song For Eleguá) (3.7 MB) Osain Songs (1.7 MB) Okun Leo, Vamo' Pa' La Loma (1.6 MB) Urú Dadá (3.2 MB) Moforibale Ogún (I Pay Homage To Ogún) (2.1 MB) Yelé - Songs For Iroko (2.8 MB) Olokun (2.5 MB)