Conan O’Brien, once president of the Harvard Lampoon, allegedly spent a night in jail following a stunt he pulled as an undergraduate. That story (with other unrelated pranks) found here.
This magnificent feat was engineered with slide rules, and it amounted to blasting a giant bullet containing a human into the sky, then recovering both it and Alan Shepard intact [via]. Those early astronauts had big brass ones, and the creepy music made it even better. (John Glenn appears at 04:15.)
Spodiodi was street slang for chipping in for a cheap bottle of fortified wine in a brown paper bag and sharing it with your buddies. Urban Dictionary says “Spodiodi” is a glass of wine spiked with bourbon. Nah.
BTW, Sticks McGhee was the brother of Brownie McGhee, who partnered with harmonica player Sonny Terry known for his harmonica whooping. “Key to the Highway” was covered by many, including what’s his name. That famous British guy. You know. That guy.
Here’s some Easy-On-The-Ear-Holes stuff from The Yonder Mountain String Band. They need some authentic whooping in my opinion. Maybe even some eefin.
Have a great weekend, folks, and be glad that you’re not in Turkey.
“Hand Full of Keys,” performed here by Stephanie Trick, is a Fats Waller composition, circa 1938. Awesome stride piano style. Although I’m somewhat ambidextrous and have a basic understanding of music theory and chords, there’s no way I could cut those chops.
I had a conversation with some of my co-workers recently, and the topic of Yellow Snow came up. I tried to explain Nanook of the North and failed, so we’re forced into Zappa mode.
You can find Zappa’s “Nanook Rubs It” on the Utoobage on your own, but “Deathless Horsie” is amazing.
Have a great SuperBowl Weekend folks. Seattle sucks big green donkeys because Seattle sucks big green donkeys. Everyone outside of Seattle knows Seattle sucks big green donkeys and so does Seattle. Seattle sucks big green donkeys.
“Jingle Bells” […] was written by James Lord Pierpont (1822–1893) and published under the title “One Horse Open Sleigh” in the autumn of 1857. Even though it is now associated with the Christmas and holiday season, it was actually originally written to be sung for American Thanksgiving.b[Via Wiki]
Bells on horses were a wintertime safety measure to prevent collisions at crossroads – snow muffled the sound of horses’ hooves, and sleighs made little noise. The subsequent title is not about jingle bells, but is a command for the bells to jingle.
“Mitch Woods‘ Boogie Woogie Blowout” at Yoshi’s, Oakland, CA. Nov 19, 2009. Pinetop Perkins (1913-2011) is featured. Jump to 01:30 for the music. Mr. Perkins (96 years old at the time of this recording) wanders on stage to kick ass just past 03:00. [h/t trebob]
“Too hot to handle and too cold to hold” is a recurring theme of The Saturday Matinee. Have a great weekend, folks.
Poor Keith. Just couldn’t follow directions. Johnny Johnson‘s blank stares are great.
Here’s Johnny Johnson’s version of Meade Lux Lewis‘ “Honky Tonk Train Blues.”
Here I was thinking that Pinetop Smith wrote HTTB, and the wiki proved me wrong just in time. Unfortunately there are no videos of Pinetop Smith in action, but Silvan Zingg is awesome. From Switzerland, here’s “Pinetop’s Boogie Woogie.”
Now how to wrap this up…
Yep, Johnny Winter‘s “Mojo Boogie” does it. Have a great weekend, folks and be back here for more fun tomorrow.
Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks were mildly successful in the 70s with their 1930s hot club jazz/bluegrass style. “Crazy ‘Cause He Is” was my favorite Hicks ditty. (NSFK: flip off in the vid image, mild language warning. Fun song otherwise.)
Leon Redbone’s version of “Polly Wolly Doodle.” According to Wiki, there’s no secret meaning to the song, but here’s a verse I’d never heard:
“Behind the barn, down on my knees,
Sing Polly Wolly Doodle all the day;
I thought I heard a chicken sneeze,
Sing Polly Wolly Doodle all the day.
Oh he sneezed so hard with the whooping cough,
Sing Polly Wolly Doodle all the day;
He sneezed his head and his tail right off,
Sing Polly Wolly Doodle all the day.”
I suspect that the song predates The War Between The States even though the popular tune is played in ragtime. So let’s play some ragtime!
Yep. 1980s hits played in ragtime. There’s something wrong with piano players who can pull off stuff like this (actually, I think there’s something wrong with piano players in general). Must be a subconscious and deep-rooted jealousy thing just because I can’t do what they do.
And with that, we’re done. Have a great weekend, folks. Be back here tomorrow for more fun.
Tacky Raccoons 