Spaceman Spiff

[Found in here.]

Fimicolous Hot Links

Haunted House“, Leon Redbone (1975) Album: On The Track.That’s a cover of Lonnie Johnson‘s “Blue Ghost Blues” (1927). When Redbone passed on, his website announced:

“It is with heavy hearts we announce that early this morning, May 30th, 2019, Leon Redbone crossed the delta for that beautiful shore at the age of 127.”

Ghosts.

Tübingen.

Chicken cozies.

Fun with heels.

Shoring failure.

Capybara sunset.

NASA booped Bennu.

This guy REALLY likes Friday.

Throwing cats in zero G [h/t lobo91].

Fun Facts To Know And Tell: The Japanese once disparaged Europeans as bata-kusai, or “butter stinkers.” [Source via here.]

[Top image found here.]


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


The Saturday Matinee – BLR Debate Night, Spencer Davis Group, John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers, and La Bamba

Just click play. It’s worth it.

Spencer Davis passed away this week at the age of 81.  What a legend.

John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers (with Mick Taylor) 19 July 2003, 70th Birthday Concert. The “Father of British Blues” was born on 29 November 1933, but so what.

We started this recording on a back porch in East Los Angeles With members of Los Lobos, And Then returned to the roots of the song in Veracruz, Mexico. As we Traveled, musicians everywhere mixed the traditional and rock ‘n’ roll styles of “La Bamba” into a new Song Around The World. – Playing For Change

Guaranteed to be the best version of the traditional you’ve never heard. Have a great weekend, folks. We’re not going anywhere, so stop back here tomorrow for, you know, stuff.

 

The Fife Cantilever

‘The Fife cantilever’, c 1880s.

Photograph of the construction of the Forth Railway Bridge in Scotland. Undoubtedly Britain’s most famous railway landmark, The Forth Bridge was opened by HRH The Prince of Wales in March 1890 following eight years of building, and completed the east coast railway route between London and Aberdeen. It spans the Firth of Forth, joining the city of Edinburgh and Fife in Scotland. The bridge was designed by Sir John Fowler and Sir Benjamin Baker, and built by engineer Sir William Arrol. It contains almost 54,000 tons of steel and when completed, the 1.5 mile long bridge was the biggest in the world. It is the world’s oldest cantilever railway bridge and remains in use to this day.

[Image from Feral Irishman‘s awesome rotating banner. Description from here.]

The Saturday Matinee – Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express, Link Wray w/ Robert Gordon & Santana

Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express live at Winterland 29 November 1975, San Francisco, CA. Early jazz fusion at its best. Lineup:

Brian Auger – organ, vocals;
Jack Mills – lead guitar;
Alex Ligertwood – vocals, guitar, percussion;
Clive Chaman – bass;
Lennox Langton – congas;
Dave Dowle – drums.

Robert Gordon‘s 1977 cover of Billy Lee Riley‘s 1957 cover of Billy ‘The Kid’ Emerson‘s 1955 recording of Red Hot got a lot of radio play. Now about that legendary guitar ripper…

Link Wray‘s recording career spanned decades, 1958 to 2000, and it’s hard to pinpoint when he was really at his prime. Wray was ranked No. 45 of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time bu Rolling Stone, and is considered the “Father of the Power Chord.” Other fun facts: his parents were Shawnee and Cherokee; he was a Korean War veteran; he lost a lung due to tuberculosis in 1956.

Carlos Santana‘s 1999 album Supernatural is one of my favorites. Can’t believe it came out over two decades ago.

That kinda wraps things up until tomorrow. See you then.

The Rebel.

[Found here.]

[Update: The image is from a 2009 BMW Mini ad campaign. See comments for more pics.]

Humuhumunukunukuapua’a Hot Links

Hapa Haole Hula Girl (My Honolulu Hula Girl), Alfred Apaka with Danny Stewart’s Hawaiians (1951) Decca Records“Alfred Aloha Apaka (1919–1960) was one of the influential performers in the history of Hawaii’s popular music. Although he recorded for less than a decade, Apaka set the standards for modern Hawaiian music with his joyful, baritone vocals and highly entertaining performances.” (BTW, “hapa haole” doesn’t translate to “Honolulu,” and is also a style of music.)

Schooled.

Dan Getkin.

THIS is disgusting.

A Handful of Phasmids.

NIce woodworking project.

Let’s Talk Dirty In Hawaiian.

NASA/NOAA prevented Global Cooling.

Binaural beats are considered auditory illusions.

This is the best game of hide-and-seek ever.” [via]

Kiddie board games imagined as horror flicks. [h/t Nate L.]

Escaping through a predator’s butt can be a lifesaver [via].

[Top image: artwork by Derek Yaniger.]


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


Saturday Matinee – Android 207, Talking Heads, Tito Larriva, Johnny Nash & Krosfyah

Android 207 is a fun stop-motion from Carrotkid (Paul Whittington). In 2007, the film received the Best Film, Best Technical and People’s Choice awards at the Vancouver Island Short Film Festival. I’ve posted it before, and it’s still one of my favorites.

Classic Talking Heads video won “Best Group Video” at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1987. I probably posted it before also – I couldn’t find a live version of …oh wait, just found one.

Tito Larriva plays Radio Head in the movie TRUE Stories (1986). Larriva was a founding member of The Plugz.

Lost another great talent this week. Johnny Nash (1940-2020) was born in Houston, Texas, but moved to Jamaica in 1965, where rocksteady was big and reggae was just beginning to gain in popularity. Video is from Dick Clark’s American Bandstand, 1968.

Krosfyah‘s single Pump Me Up (1995) was a hit in Barbados, went gold in Canada. Great Soca.

That’s a wrap, at least for now. See you tomorrow and we’ll mess with stuff.

Face Rump 33¢ per lb.

December1940 Bath, Maine – “Grocery store window in Bath, Maine. Food prices do not seem to have gone up as yet but are expected to.”

[Colorized image found in here. *NSFW/NSFK*
Original image from here.]

Saturday Matinee – Andrea Motis & friends, Stéphane Grappelli w/ Bill Coleman, Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks

Spanish singer and Jazz trumpeter Andrea Motis does Dizzy.

On the Saturday afternoon of the 6th Jazzing Festival, September 2019, there was a concert at the Bar Colombia in Sant Andreu town centre (a district of Barcelona, Spain) with Joan Chamorro, Andrea Motis, Carla Motis and Josep Traver plus some of the Sant Andreu Jazz Band including Joan Marti, Alba Armengou, Elia Bastida, Alba Esteban, Pablo Ruiz and Anastasia Ivanova (their guest from Moscow) here performing ‘On the Sunny Side of the Street.’

Bill Coleman (1904-1981) & Stephane Grappelli (1908-1997) ca. 1976. Great stuff for early morning forty miles to East Jesus road trips, or just sitting on the back porch watching the world go by.

Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks (with the Acoustic Warriors) 1989 reunion concert on Austin City Limits. Hicks had a solid fan base, but he got into alcohol and drugs, pissed off a lot of people. Years passed before he cleaned up his act and started over. DH&HHL came onto my radar in 1978 with (what my ears heard as) “Crazy Cuzzie Iz.” Thought he was singing about a family member.

Let’s do something tomorrow. See you then.