Category: Music

Saturday Matinee – The Funk Brothers, Procul Harum & Robin Trower

The Funk Brothers were/are a rotating group of session musicians who performed on many Motown classics, including The Contours‘ 1962 hit “Do You Love Me.” This 2002 line up backed Bootsy.

I always liked that song even though nobody knows exactly what Procul Harum was singing about in 1967.

Robin Trower continued his career after leaving Procul Harum, had a nice solo run, and is still performing at 75. Jimmy Dewar‘s vocals always fit.

Have a great weekend, folks, don’t burn down or loot anything, turn in those who do, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow for something or other.

Saturday Matinee – The Birds, The Ramones, The Lovell Sisters & The Reverend Horton Heat

The 2nd vid provides the soundtrack for the 1st. View the 1st while listening to the 2nd.

 

The flocking grackles(?) were recorded in a Walmart parking lot somewhere in Texas.

The Ramones covered the Trashmen righteously.
The latter took their name from a 1961 song by Kai Ray (aka Ray Caire) “Trashman’s Blues.”

The Lovell Sisters play roots-country/bluegrass, and that vid is from 2009. 2/3rds of The Lovell Sisters comprise Larkin Poe, and they just released their 5th studio album.

The first recorded (and published) version of “Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed” was by Blind Willie Johnson in 1927, but the origins of the hymn are unknown – it may date to 1600s England.

Apparently the Reverend Horton Heat got a Whole New Life in 2018, two full years ahead of the rest of us.

Have a great weekend folks, now that our keepers have generously returned a bit of freedom. I’m gonna get a haircut and eat cheeseburgers, and I dare anyone to stop me. See you back here tomorrow unless the apocalypse is expedited.

Saturday Matinee – Buddy Merrill, Neil LeVang, Tommy Emmanuel with Billy Strings, & Molly Tuttle

Buddy Merrill played for Lawrence Welk‘s Champagne Music Makers for twenty years before he decided he didn’t like playing on camera.

You might not know his name, but you’ve heard his work.
Neil LeVang was one of the greatest studio guitar players of all time, played on many TV shows and movie soundtracks. Lawrence Welk hired him when Buddy Merrill was drafted.

Tommy Emmanuel & Billy Strings do things with guitars that just aren’t supposed to be done [via].

One more. Molly Tuttle has the perfect voice and style for this John Hartford cover. If that ain’t morning roadtrip music, nothing is.

Have a great weekend, watch out for the guys in black, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow for stuff.

Slightly Thaumatropical Hot Links

Ken Nordine – Flibberty Jib – 1957

Matches.

Tesla Valve.

The Buffalo Song [ht/ JW].

Very cool interactive photos of WWII [h/t B&P].

Tesla Valve demonstration… using propane [h/t Phil].

Fun Facts To Know And Tell:

A new kind of spider was discovered in 2012. It has a velvet body and lives underground, hence the genus name LouReedia.

“After hearing the Guinness Book of World Records planned to name him the most litigious man, one federal prisoner did what he does best — he sued.” Story here.

Dr. Tatiana’s Sex Advice to All Creation reports that sea turtles need to watch their backs, because bottle-nosed dolphins enjoy having sex with them (as well as with sharks and eels). [Source]

[Top image: On 16 May 2020, the USS Portland disabled a UAV with a laser. Story & video here.]

From the Archives: 1 year ago. 5 years ago. 10 years ago.

Saturday Matinee – Lou Reed, Tom Waits & Popa Chubby

Lou Reed had an incredible a vocal range. In 2015, as he was about to be (posthumously) inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, his sister wrote about their early years in A Family In Peril.

Tom Waits‘ “Telephone call from Istanbul” from the movie Big Time. The missus-to-be and I saw it at the Nuart in L.A., and I remember it being damn surreal.

Popa Chubby (aka Theodore Joseph “Ted” Horowitz) cranks out Hambone Willie Newbern‘s “Roll and Tumble Blues” (1929).

Have great weekend, folks, and be sure to wear a mask and maintain proper social distance if you decide to go looting and burning businesses in your neighborhood. See you back here tomorrow.

Saturday Matinee – Chet Atkins w/ Jerry Reed, Creedence, and Les Paul w/ Dickey Betts

Last week I erroneously (and embarrassingly) confused Nena Kerner with Nina Hagen. I lost a lot of karma for that blowzit, so I’ll try to make up for it.

Chet Atkins & Jerry Reed play Bob Dylan. Not sure of date / place.
(Long intro, jump to 02:00.)

Creedence Clearwater Revival, 1970 Oakland California.

Video caption: The audio track is from the CD commemorating the concert and while I had to make some adjustments in speed to match the video, it sounds a hell of a lot better.

Les Paul with Dickey Betts on a Les Paul from 2001.
(Jump to 02:00 to bypass banter.)

Hope that absolves me somewhat. Have a great weekend, folks, and take a moment to remember what Memorial Day is all about.

Hot Links UNMASKED!

RUN.

Rabbit Run.

Explain this.

Goat parade.

Duck quacks, explodes.

Report tegus in the wild.

Polar bear being a polar bear.

I’ve got an uncontrollable urge to buy a DEVO Energy Dome COVID-19 face mask.

Betsy Ross incubated an egg in her bra and hatched a duckling.

King Rhadamanthus: If a person defends himself against another who initiated violence then he should suffer no penalty.

Cat Man – Gene Vincent & his Blue Caps 1957

[Top image: On Friday afternoon, L.A. guerilla artist Sabo was interviewed on AM640KFI. Scroll down to listen.]

From the Archives: 1 year ago. 5 years ago. 10 years ago.

Saturday Matinee – Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Trio, Nena & the Allotria Jazz Band

Kraftwerk on The Midnight Special (1975).

I didn’t realize Tangerine Dream was German – but I should have. We’d listen to this while pulling all-nighters at Biteme U.

Trio [via]. I remember the song, never saw the vid.

Nina Hagen in 1983. I always liked that song, but didn’t realize she was born in East Berlin. Unusual circumstances the government allowed her to leave when she was 21.

[UPDATE: Dang. I blew it. Thanks daver.

daver Says:
Monday, 18 May 2020 at 7:07 PM | Reply
Nina Hagen did not record that song, the German band Nena did, the lead singer was Nena Kerner.

Live from München, the Allotria Jazz Band plays Jelly Roll Morton.

That’s about all the German stuff I can take for now. Have a great weekend, don’t let the scolds get to you. See you back here tomorrow and stuff.

Saturday Matinee – Thee Lakesiders, Thee Sinseers, St. Paul & The Broken Bones, & Taj Mahal

Thee Lakesiders have a good East L.A. retro vibe that kinda matches my mood lately. Let’s groove it up a bit.

More East L.A. R&B, this time from Thee Sinseers.

St. Paul & The Broken Bones successfully channels the Stax Records sound, and my mood is improving a bit.

Taj Mahal takes a ride around town, pickin’ the classics, and I feel better.

<vent>Way too much stuff went down in meatworld this week, some very good, some pretty bad, and the latter was starting to get to me. Backing into a BMW SUV in a hospital parking lot didn’t help either – just one more damn thing to accept and deal with. Yeah, the Lord’s testing me…</vent>

Ah well, have a great weekend, folks. Wear masks if you have to, don’t if you don’t. Do what you want and ignore the scolds – they’re not going to eat you (unless you let them). See you tomorrow.

Saturday Matinee – How Countries Fight Their Wars; Les Paul with Carol Kaye & Justin Johnson

Awesome [via BlenderGuru email].

Les Paul with Carol Kaye.
Don’t know who she is? You’ve heard her many times before.

Justin Johnson covers ZZ Top‘s “La Grange” with no backup.

Ah, May is here, and in a few more months we’ll be “allowed” to have some of our freedoms back. Perhaps soon we’ll find out who’s been doctoring the statistics to justify their abhorrent destruction of prosperity.

Ah well. Have a great weekend, folks, ignore the scolds and have fun anyway. That’ll really piss ’em off. 😀