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Dan Martinez aka the Piano Juggler is amazing [h/t Bunkessa].
The 1961 hit “Hey Baby” by Bruce Channel (featuring Delbert McClinton on harmonica) is one of those songs that’s almost impossible to do a bad cover of. DJ Ötzi’s version from 2000 is probably the best known, but Buckwheat Zydeco‘s take from 1994 is pretty good (and there’s a 1970 VW Karmann Ghia in the vid, too).
Japanese theme park Nara Dreamland was built in 1961 but was permanently closed in 2006 due to declining attendance. At one time this place was filled with laughter; now it’s just spooky. This is what it looks like after years of neglect. [via].
“Are You Popular?” I wish I’d seen this 1947 PSA when I was in High School. All my dates could have been spatulas and 2x4s.
Tommy Emmanuel is amazing. No formal training, can’t read or write music, yet his sound is incredible with an unmistakable Chet Atkins influence. He reminds me of Leo Kottke.
Have a great weekend, folks. There’s more to come.
Jimi Hendrix – no slouch on a reversed and restrung 12-string.
Stevie Ray Vaughan burns it. The clip is apparently from a television show in France, date unknown. Some think that may be an impostor because his face is hidden, but I seriously doubt that any impostor who plays like that would need to pretend.
“Where The Hell Is Matt?” reminded me of this classic prank:
That innocent stunt still makes me grin.
Iron Horse Bluegrass consists of Tony Robinson (mandolin), Vance Henry (Guitar), Anthony Richardson (banjo) and Ricky Rogers (bass). Iron Horse has recorded twelve projects for CMH Records. Tributes to Metallica, Led Zeppelin, Ozzy Osbourn, Modest Mouse, The Shins, Guns & Roses, The Goo Goo Dolls, Hank Williams, Black label Society as well as others. [h/t Aussie Phil.]
Way too few Little Isidore videos in this world IMO. (Click that link to be amazed.)
Rhett & Link, singin’ the order… then they had to pay for it. Posted in 2009, here’s the caption:
Yes! the guy’s reaction is totally authentic. He had no idea we were coming, and he really got the order right (almost right). We couldn’t believe it either, so we understand the questions….
[h/t Octopus.]
To those suffering the wrath and aftermath of Hurricane Matthew, here’s this:
I don’t listen to food shows on the radio, at least not intentionally, but sometimes I do by accident.
KFIAM640 features “The Fork Report” on Saturdays, featuring Neil Saavedra, and his themesong is pretty cool. Lordy, lordy. Last night I suddenly realized that he’s been playing The Reverend Horton Heat all this time. If you’re offended by Rockabilly cheesecake videos, click on it, turn away and just listen. The song is fun. The video is funner.
Yeah, I found that mildly amusing, but then I’m easily amused. So let’s go visit Beverly Watkins instead.
From the UToobage description:
Beverly Watkins plays a mean blues guitar, and that’s putting it mildly. Over six decades of performing, the 77-year-old has opened for Ray Charles, James Brown, BB King and other legendary musicians. She’s one of the greatest female blues guitarists, and still plays local gigs in Atlanta.
The Leopards are from Finland. They appreciate tight skirts, Rat Rods and Rockabilly, but not in that order.
Annastiina Virmavirta – voc, bass
Aleksi Manninen – guitar
Paulo Poverini – drums
Üdvözlök mindenkit a zenekar oldalán!
A nevem Danny Rockabilly! Sok próbálkozás után egy fix zenekar egyben tarása helyett, úgy döntöttem, hogy csinálok egyet fix tagok nélkül. így lehetőségem nyílik zenélni olyan emberekkel, és barátaimmal, akik tényleg szeretik, és szenvedéllyel játszák a Rockabillyt! Ez az én Klánom! Remélem élvezni fogjátok a zenét amit nektek játszunk, és hamarosan találkozunk a koncertjeinken! Folyamatosan töltünk fel képeket és videókat a munkánkról! Kellemes időtöltést kívánunk az oldalunkon!
Gah! See how long you can stand it. (At least Mama Cass did the Mash Potato.) Sixteen years later, it was covered by Van Halen (1982):
Holy crap. That was actually worse than the Mamas & Papas’ version. It wasn’t until David Bowieand Mick Jagger got together to do a halfway decent video cover (1985):
You don’t need to watch that full video either – it’s only posted for those who have never seen it and to restore faded memories for the rest of us. All that preening and prancing takes away from the original, but finally there’s an excellent stripped-down studio cut version, vocals only (2016):
Martha Reeves is laughing her JaggerBowie off about now.
Tip ‘o the Tam to Octopus for the heads-up on the strip-down. Have a great weekend folks. See you back here tomorrow for more suffrage.
Herd mentality experiment [via]. That explains a lot.
This is THE rope trick [via]. Now let’s rock and roll.
Kim Wilson has always amazed me. One of the best blues harp players around, Wilson doesn’t get the recognition he deserves, IMO. I’m no slouch on a Hohner chromatic with a Ham Radio bullet mic, but I sure as hell can’t pull off what he does.
This is the way it is, baby. I Dig Safety, and it’s about time you paid attention to it. Don’t let the title fool you; this could save your life, and it’s got a cool hip soundtrack with bongos, courtesy of Xerox [1969].
The Utoobage description sums it up: “A great clip from the 1958 teen B movie High School Confidential. This clip features Phillipa Fallon as a beat poetess. That’s Uncle Fester, AKA Jackie Coogan on piano behind her. Turn your eyes inside and dig the vacuum.” Here’s the whole awesome [via]:
High School Drag
My old man was a bread stasher all his life. He never got fat. He wound up with a used car, a 17 inch screen and arthritis.
Tomorrow is a drag, man. Tomorrow is a king sized bust.
They cried ‘put down pot,’ ‘don’t think a lot,’ for what? Time, how much? And what to do with it.
Sleep, man, and you might wake up digging the whole human race giving itself three days to get out.
Tomorrow is a drag, pops, the future is a flake.
I had a canary who couldn’t sing. I had a cat who let me share my pad with her. I bought a dog that killed the cat who ate the canary. What is truth?
I had an uncle with an ivy league card. He had a life with a belt in the back. He had a button-down brain. Wind up a belt in the mouth with a button-down lip.
We cough blood on this earth. Now there’s a race for space. We can cough blood on the moon soon.
Tomorrow’s dragsville, cats. Tomorrow is a king size drag.
Tool a fast shore, swing with a gassy chick. Turn on to a thousand joys. Smile on what happened, or check what’s going to happen, You’ll miss what’s happening. Turn your eyes inside and dig the vacuum.
Swing For A Crime is a great compilation of hep cat music interspersed with audio snippets from B-movie suspense thrillers (including the distinctive voice of Lee Marvin hollering “Oh you pig! You lyin’ pig!” from the 1953 movie The Big Heat). I have it on vinyl.
The only performer I know of that was able to recreate the hep cat beatnik persona successfully is Tom Waits.
Have a great Labor Day Weekend, folks.
[Yeah, I fixed it, and I know it’s not Memorial Day Weekend. That’s what happens when you realize it’s almost midnight and you’ve been messing around too much on Twitter to post anything coherently. –Bunk]
Tacky Raccoons 