Russian – Tacky Raccoons

Saturday Matinee – The Avalanches, Otava Yo, The Ape Man, & Abby The Spoon Lady w/ Chris Rodrigues

Fun and surreal, The Avalanches are kinda like a sedated Devo on speed.

The 11th video by Otava Yo. Timonia is a folk song from the Kurskaya district, and filmed in the village of Kuznetsovo, Republic of Mari El, Russia, over the summer of 2020. Captions are helpful, sort of. Nice scenery.

Filmed in 1971 by a 10 year old boy, an ape man terrorizes the neighborhood. [Caution: Disturbing images and graphic violence.]

Pure Appalachia. Abby The Spoon Lady and Chris Rodrigues, busking on Wall Street, ca. 2014.

Yeah, these are kind of surreal for a Saturday Matinee, but it all seems to make sense given recent events. Have a great weekend and we’ll meet up tomorrow for therapy.

Vapulatorial Hot Links

Stormy Weather, The Spaniels (1958) Pookie Hudson & The Hudsonaires formed in 1952 at Roosevelt High School, Gary, Indiana. The following year they scored a top 10 hit with Baby It’s You. as the Spaniels. Two years later they recorded their classic Good Night Sweetheart, Goodnight and became one of the most successful R&B groups of their time.

And Darwin giggled.

Nature can be brutal.

Dishbrain plays Pong.

About biting the hand…

Hand of God – Belgrade.

The House of Doodle [via Mme. Jujujive].

Another contender for the IDGAF Award.
[h/t Bunkerville]

Hands around the world [via Memo of the Air].

[Top image: Russian photoshoot for photoshop found in here.]

From the Archives: 1 year ago. 5 years ago. 10 years ago.

Thundercycle

When you’ve got a genuine Russian tank engine lying around, how can you resist repurposing it? And really, tanks are so lumbering and oafish, and with the price of gas nowadays… something a little more sleek and maneuverable is obviously called for.

This giant motorcycle took the team of welders and mechanics at the Harzer Bike Schmiede in Zilly, Germany, almost a year to craft. It is 17′-4″ long, and 7′-6″ tall, and weighs four-and-a-half tons. 1.8 tons of that is the tank engine itself. The Guinness Book of World Records has just confirmed it is the heaviest motorcycle ever (though interestingly, there is no mention of the size dimensions breaking any records.) They are still hoping to obtain a special license to actually drive it on the road.

[Image and description found here.]

Russian All-Purpose Hybrid Vehicle

That’s probably a VW Golf spliced onto a modified Russian GAZ 69 Goat.

[Found here.]

Nothing Much Happened Today.

[Found here.]

Nightmare Fish

Posted on Twitter and Instagram by Russian deep-sea fisherman Роман Федорцов with this description: “Моряк… Политика-политикой, а рыбу ловить надо… Сейчас в море.”

Roman Fedortsov @ rfedortsov
Sailor ... Politics is politics, and we need to catch fish ... Now at sea.

[More here and/or here.]

Saturday Matinee – Russian Love Bugs, Romanian Finger Flute, Buddy Guy & Stevie Ray Vaughan

Love Bugs in 1912 Moscow. [via]

„Digi Fonful” ieste un instrument muzical inventat de Ştefan Popescu, fost concurent la „Românii au talent .În ciuda numelui, instrumentul nu are nicio componentă digitală. Digi Fonful, care seamănă cu un fluier, este făcut să cânte cu ajutorul unui deget introdus într-un capăt al intrumentului şi al aerului suflat printr-un orificiu.În clipul de mai sus îl puteţi vedea pe cel mai mare „virtuoz” al Digi Fonfului, Ştefan Popescu, în acţiune.

Well, duh. [via]

Buddy Guy from February 2015, pushing 80 years at the time of that interview. He always looked like he had fun playing, as he did in this 1989 vid with Stevie Ray Vaughan: