Many of his own recordings were catchy pop (and somewhat sappy) love songs and covers of the same IMO, but I liked them. I liked them especially because the pretty coeds would stay around longer when Todd Rundgren was spinning at 33rpm. Then in 1983 he wrote and performed one of the best ska tunes ever – Bang The Drum All Day. (As a resident of Hawaii, he later recorded “Bang The Uke All Day.)
DO NOT BYPASS THE INTRO. Joanna Conner covers Son House‘ classic “Walkin’ Blues.” She pats your head, then smacks you twice before you realize what happened. Pure awesome.
LIVE CAM: Train Engineer’s Cab View in Norway [click here for local time]. Not sure which line this is, where it’s headed, or if it’s running above the Arctic Circle. Check it out in full screen view and I’ll see you back here in a couple of days.
Someday, I suppose I’ll go to Norwegia and ride that train. Meanwhile, I’ll listen to The Mighty Mighty Bosstones from 1993.
Or maybe I’ll roll with Fishbone, one of the tightest ska/rock/funk bands I ever heard. Those guys won me over a long time ago. (Check out this 1987 live version. Sound quality sucks, but the energy is killer.)
Toni Tee & Liquid Wisdom on a bus. They play a cool variety of music (reggae, rock, funk, soul, hiphop, punkadelic) but it’s tough to find a vid with decent a/v on the Utoobage. [h/t Bunkessa – yeah she scored two hits this week; this one and the one above.]
Can’t fight corruption with con tricks; They use the law to commit crime. And I dread, dread to think what the future will bring, When we’re living in gangster time.
Pure percussion by Tito Puente e Los TropiJazz All Stars. I could listen to this stuff all day.
Decades ago (in college) we attended an off-campus house party that seemed to have a live band. I asked the host about it and he replied, “That’s the Rhythm Section. They’re in the basement.” So I went downstairs and found people taking turns on vinyl trash cans, bottles, cans, buckets, with wooden dowels and spoons, and it all sounded great as it morphed, non-stop. No electronics, just stoners people grooving on impromptu syncopated rhythms.
Micky Hart‘s Planet Drumproject got my ear as well. Hard to say what musical instrument came first, the bone flute or the drum. I’d guess the latter, because you can bang on anything to create a tempo, and everything else is secondary. (Vocals don’t count unless you’re talmbout Hollerin.)
Then of course there’s this RetroSka classic:
Have a great weekend, folks. We’ll be back here tomorrow whether you like it or not.
August 2016 – “Tasmania’s most famous wave comes to life to launch the Australian winter with a roar. When the southern hemisphere starts to rumble and shake under the weight of wild winter weather, The Stern, out there on the south-eastern tip of Tasmania, bears the full brunt of the conditions.”
Harriers are awesome… and scary as hell if you happen to be the enemy. You hear its death whistle before you see it.
El Mariachi Manchester covers The Smiths‘ “Girl in a Coma” with a poco mariachi, poco ska style. (The trumpet player is using a Harmon mute and Bunkessa said the singer looks like me).
Since I’m in a ska mood, let’s wrap it up with this.
After the atrocities in Boston this week, I was undecided on whether or not to post a eulogy for the dead, a lament for the maimed, or a patriotic kick ’em right in the nuts fight song. I figure the best move is to post videos of what radical islamic supremists hate the most: music, dancing and people having fun.
The Boston Brass. “Blues For Ben” has a funk tuba crank.
Jazz In My Pants -A fun interpretation of “St. James Infirmary Blues.”
Doyle Lawson/mandolin, Jason Barie/fiddle, Jessie Baker/banjo, Corey Hensley/bass, Mike Rogers/guitar, Josh Swift/dobro, and Carl White/drums at Bluegrass Underground, Cumberland Caverns, Tennessee on July 22, 2011.
