Okay. Back to the basics. Here’s Robin Trower‘s “Too Rolling Stoned” from 1975. There was a blues revival going on back then, but it was overshadowed by theatrical rock.
I was gonna jump to George Thorogood‘s classic cover of “One Bourbon…” but thought I’d look for John Lee Hooker‘s original. Found several on the Utoobage, until this jumped up: “Hobo Blues” from 1965. Judging by his odd fingerings, he’s got his guitar tuned to Dmajor, but that’s just a guess. (Hooker always looked to me like he’d been popped in both eyes during a bar fight.)
Since Friday the Thirteenth comes on a Saturday this month, here’s The 13th Floor Elevators, 1966.
Today, 6 June, is Memorial Day in South Korea and National Day in Sweden.
But more importantly, it is the Anniversary of the 1944 Normandy Invasion of Nazi-held France, commonly referred to as D-Day. There were many D-Days and H-Hours, but most folks remember this one.
God bless the brave and the fallen, who selflessly pulled it off with honor… on our behalf.
Occasionally I’ve commented on a few of your websites, in response to conjecture and political opinion pieces on government economics, welfare, and socialism. I’m not going to name names; most of ya’ll are blogging friends, and you already know who you are. Most of you already know where I stand, as I don’t hide it very well…
I don’t pretend to hide it either.
To our other silent but loyal readers: It doesn’t matter what I say on someone else’s blog, whether agreeing or disagreeing, venting, castigating, or just having fun. It’s my opinion, and it’s very very true.
I stand by my worms.
Although I’ve posted Utoobage links to Milton Friedman before, I hadn’t seen this one until tonight. It’s not a stretch of the imagination that eventually the videos of Friedman’s astute simple logic may soon be banned as “hate speech.”
Note that he rarely referred to his notes, and didn’t need a teleprompter to convey his ideas. He didn’t need them because he described simple basic truths backed up with historical fact.
Drop your preconceived notions at the door, and listen to what Friedman said, especially as it pertains to our present circumstances. He spoke volumes of logic in this interview with Richard Heffner of Rutgers University on “Open Mind,” a program that aired in 1975:
Friedman was a prescient genius. Full transcript below the break.
Odd. Consider it a cartoon before the main feature.
Best opening sequence for Cheers without the cloying theme song.
Buddy Guy talks about how his career began with a salami sandwich. True rags-to-riches story. (G.E. Smith backing.)
I was prowling for some early Thunderbirds when I found a name I’d forgotten about. Here’s Kid Ramos and Los Fabulocos cranking on “Burnin’ the Chicken” in New Braunfels, Texas, 21 March 2009.
This is the funniest version of Dylan’s “It Ain’t Me, Babe.”
The Turtles made a mockery of pop love songs, but created a decent string of hits anyway. Flo and Eddie eventually joined Frank Zappa’s Mothers. (Mrs. Strutts pointed out that Eddie dances the Freddie at the end of the clip.)
Don’t know who these folks are, but “Oh Gee” was a hit in 1955 by the Crows. Could be them.
The Persuasions were/are possibly the most underrated acapella group (featuring bass singer Jimmy Hayes, who Frank Zappa called “the human sub-woofer”).
(This group was featured here before, but unfortunately the videos were yanked by Utoob for seventy mental reasons.)
This is an old one from the Beeb, narrated by David Attenborough. It’s cool, bizarre and gross at the same time, but it’s nature. I posted it just because Thelit said her kids and their friends love this kinda stuff. Go for it.
After the Slugs (wasn’t that a Grateful Dead tune, or maybe a Peter Sellars movie?) this may help clean your eye sockets. Other than the dopey devilpigs, it’s all cool.
1973. Ugh. Rock N Roll was losing its edge, and then some unknown band like Focus got a lot of airplay, at least for a few minutes. We did our best to ignore the yodeling, except for the Popeye part. Here’s a rare live version of “Hocus Pocus,” with Gladys Knight(?!) doing the intro.
1973 also brought this to our FM converters so we could hear it on our AM car radios. Golden Earring‘s greatest hit, “Radar Love,” wasn’t their best song, but it was great roadtrip music.
1973 had THIS highlight, though: Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” (before he went weeny on us).
1973 music sucked on a whole lotta levels never seen before. Top BillBoard hits included:
“You’re So Vain” by Carly Simon
“Crocododile Rock” by Elton John
“Bad Bad Leroy Brown” by Jim Croce
“Top of the World” by the Carpenters
“There’s Got To Be A Morning After” by Maureen McGovern
“Tie a Yellow Ribbofdpnoa oh man I can’t type any more of that garbage without gagging.
BUT THERE WAS THIS:
Gladys Knight was awesome. We were all Pips in the days of old (“Whoo-whoo!”). Then I lost my direction again with this:
Edgar Winter’s “Frankenstein” was being played on the radio about the same time brother JohnnyRick Derringer was getting airplay for “Rock And Roll Hoochie Coo.” [cbullitt corrected me in the comments section.]
Johnny Winter was better at the blues, but he cranked on Dylan’s “Highway 61.” (Look for G.E. Smith on rhythm guitar.)
Dang. I could take this string for another dozen utoobage links, but I’ll cut it here… temporarily.
* “SatMat” means “Saturday Matinee.” It looked better abbreviated on the title.
Excellent version of The Foundations’ “Build Me Up Buttercup.” You know she’s singing to YOU… wait for it. (Bunkessa found this one.)
Well, gabba gabba hey.
*Jake Shimabukuro’s Ukelele Gently Weeps.
*Led Zep on Uke with eggs and sausage and hot coffee.
*Minitallica!
Don’t forget the trainwreck previously posted here.
Videos marked with (*) were recobamended by saraH, who should have her own website by now but doesn’t. She’s been lurking around for a long time, dropping rare occasional comments about batmobile babe magnets.
[Tip ‘o the tarboosh to saraH… your eco-friendly VatoMobile is in the works.]
The laugh track is unfortunate as this dealie is funny by itself. I’ve got no idea what they’re saying. [Found here.]
“On an August morning in 1978, French filmmaker Claude Lelouch mounted a gyro-stabilized camera to the bumper of a Ferrari 275 GTB and had a friend, a professional Formula 1 racer, drive at breakneck speed through the heart of Paris early in the morning . The film was limited for technical reasons to 10 minutes; the course was from Porte Dauphine, through the Louvre, to the Basilica of Sacre Coeur.
“No streets were closed, for Lelouch was unable to obtain a permit. The driver completed the course in about 9 minutes, reaching nearly 140 MPH in some stretches. The footage reveals him running real red lights, nearly hitting real pedestrians, and driving the wrong way up real one-way streets.
“Upon showing the film in public for the first time, Lelouch was arrested. He has never revealed the identity of the driver, and the film went underground.”
[Link and description via email. Apparently it’s been around for a while, but. Tip o’ the tarboosh to Dan S.]
This was my introduction to Tom Waits, via the Eagles, and I hated the Eagles from then on. Looky here:
Ahhh. Yeah. The originals are always the best. Like this one: