Category: Retro & Vintage
The Witch of Endor
Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen, 1526.
Okay, so here’s the short story as I understand it.
The Prophet Samuel was dead. Saul, King of Israel and Judah, was kinda nervous, and he needed a strategy to combat the assembled armies of the Philistines, but dreams, prophets (and parts of a breastplate worn by the High Priest to communicate with God) left him with no answers.
The Philistines wanted tribute, i.e, a protection payoff, and King Saul was tired of it.
Saul couldn’t think for himself, so he did what anyone in his position would do: search for a witch who could talk to the dead. Since necromancers had been thrown out of the Kingdom by Saul’s own decree, he put on a disguise and eventually found one in the remote village of Endor.
The witch contacted the soul of Samuel. Samuel was pissed at Saul for bothering him and gave him a load of crap. Then he stated that Saul’s army would be defeated the next day, and that the King would die. Saul freaked out.
Being a compassionate witch, she tried to calm him and insisted that he stay for supper. She fixed him a cheeseburger or something, and Saul left for home.
The next day King Saul’s army was defeated, and Saul committed suicide to fulfill the prophesy, circa 1012 BC.
At least that’s what I got from Wiki. BTW, apparently necromancers were also talented ventriloquists, and they didn’t work for free. Go figure.
No idea how the painting fits in to all of this, but there you go.
Trigonometric Roadtrip
Saturday Matinee – John Holeman & Dom Flemons, Tony Joe White, D.L. Menard & Kent Gonsoulin
Hambone was an early precurser to diddley-bow and Rap. Here’s a demonstration featuring John Holeman & Dom Flemons found here. Related posts here.
BTW, that’s “Poke Salat,” not “Polk Salad,” and everyone who heard that song thought Tony Joe White was a black cajun guy.
That’s classic D. L. Menard. Might as well keep rolling with the theme.
Like this.
Have a great weekend, folks. See you back here tomorrow with more victimization and undeserved personal grievances. =D
The .Gif Friday Post No. 542 – The Twiggy Pool, 3D Chest Bubbler & Whoa.
Saturday Matinee – God’s Cricket Chorus, The Steve Gibbons Band, Amy Helm & Third World
God’s Cricket Chorus is awesome. I want that played at my funeral, by humans, followed by “Holiday For Strings.” played by crickets. [h/t Octopus]
Here’s Tom Waits‘ response when asked by NPR, “What is the most interesting recording you own?”
“It’s a mysteriously beautiful recording from, I am told, Robbie Robertson’s label. It’s of crickets. That’s right, crickets. The first time I heard it … I swore I was listening to the Vienna Boys Choir, or the Mormon Tabernacle choir. It has a four-part harmony. It is a swaying choral panorama. Then a voice comes in on the tape and says, “What you are listening to is the sound of crickets. The only thing that has been manipulated is that they slowed down the tape.” No effects have been added of any kind, except that they changed the speed of the tape. The sound is so haunting. I played it for Charlie Musselwhite, and he looked at me as if I pulled a Leprechaun out of my pocket.” [via]
In 1977 The Steve Gibbons Band covered Chuck Berry‘s 1969 recording of Tulane and did a decent job of it.
Amy Helm can wail, and her band jams it down your throat.
Third World‘s classic “96 Degrees In The Shade” seems appropriate given this week’s heat wave (and not for the political message).
Keep cool, folks, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow.
Party-Quarts Appear.
Saturday Matinee – Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks
Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks had an unusual sound for a band based in San Francisco at the peak of the psychedelic music era. From an obit in the New York Times 7 February 2016:
“He came to call his music “folk swing,” but that only hinted at the range of influences he synthesized. He drew from the American folk tradition but also from the Gypsy jazz of Django Reinhardt, the Western swing of Bob Wills, the harmony vocals of the Andrews Sisters, the raucous humor of Fats Waller and numerous other sources.”
Hicks was still performing up until his demise at the age of 74.
THAT is the prettiest (and only) cover of Tom Waits‘ classic “The Piano Has Been Drinking” I’ve ever heard. The backup vocals are sultry, and note the subtle hat-tip at about 03:00.
Have a great weekend folks, and a long one if you’re taking advantage of a mid-week Independence Day.
Afromic Bomb
70s fashions were not embarrassing in the least as far as you know, and this dude dusted door jambs.
[Found here.]
Mickey Balloon Nightmare
Comes complete with steel hooks that will rip the flesh off your body while you sleep. Good night, children…
[Image & caption found here.]
Tacky Raccoons 