A Whole Pile of Christmas

Merry Christmas in July!!! Tuna Melt is OWNED by VOLDAR!!!

I, Voldar, have taken over The Tuna Melt for the remainder of the month of July!!! Traitor Vic and his
silly "wait a month and then download this crappy record" attitude have been shoved to the side by my superior Martian intellect, not to mention my brawny physical condition and this fancy helmet that I wear which has all sorts of strange tubes and hoses and stuff poking out of it!

This is me. I am from Mars! I am Superior to You! I am BAD!!!

This is me about to Kill your silly Santa Claus!!! Ha ha ha!!!

Okay. I didn't, of course.
That, though, was only because I enjoy the conflict that exists between the two of us.
Do not believe reports that he defeated me very soon after this photograph was taken.
How could that have possibly happened?
Am I, Voldar, not clearly in control of the situation?

Yep. Sure am, boy howdy!

I take Complete Control of The Tuna Melt, of course, to prove to you STUPID Earthlings that you are STUPID! Especially you who celebrate Christmas (the most STUPID of All STUPID Earthling Holidays)!

In order to prove to you that you are STUPID, I post this directly to the blog. Traitor Vic would not have done this. He is STUPID! This is my plan: To prove that STUPID Earthlings will enjoy Christmas in July!!! As such, I make this post immediately available to all. I'm sure you'll all be excited to be able to add "Merry Christmas from Lawrence Welk and His Champagne Music" to your STUPID Holiday Music Collections.

Lawrence Welk: Merry Christmas from Lawrence Welk and His Champagne Music

1. Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!
2. I Wanna Do More Than Whistle (Under the Mistletoe)
3. White Christmas
4. Christmas Island
5. The Christmas Toy
6. Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town
7. Winter Wonderland
8. Christmas Dreaming (A Little Early This Year)
9. Christmas Comes But Once a Year
10. Thanks for Christmas
11. Twelve Gifts of Christmas
12. High on the Housetop

Also, allow me to take this opportunity to let you know of Traitor Vic's STUPID posts from Christmas 2006 that are still active in case you didn't get them already.

Billy Vaughn: Christmas Carols

1. White Christmas
2. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
3. O Holy Night
4. Deck the Halls
5. The First Noel
6. Joy to the World
7. Adeste Fideles
8. Silent Night
9. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
10. O Tannenbaum
11. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
12. Faith of Our Fathers
13. Jingle Bells
14. O Little Town of Bethlehem

Various Artists: A Midnight Christmas Mess

1. Christmastime Here (Could Never Be Like That) - Wednesday Week
2. On Comet - The Point
3. Christmastime With You - The Cheepskates
4. Here's What I Want on a Christmas Day - Justin Love
5. Christmas Dance - Johnny Rabb
6. Gotta Get Lucky for Xmas - Johnny Rabb
7. Xmas Time (It Sure Doesn't Feel Like It) - The Dogmatics
8. Last Minute Rush - The Cheepskates
9. Merry Christmas - Plan 9
10. Christmas Tyme (Baby) - Yard Trauma
11. Forget It - Nadroj & The Wolrats
12. Schizophrenic X'mas - The Suburban Nightmares
13. Gloria (in Excelsis Deo) - The Tryfles
14. It's Christmas (A Time for Giving) - Screamin' Jay Hawkins
15. Silent Night (J.D.'s Salute to Phil Spector) - Droogs

Various Artists: Oh! No! Not Another... Midnight Christmas Mess Again!!

1. Hazy Shades of Winter - The Slickee Boys
2. Christmas I'll Be Home - The Vipers
3. Star - The Cheepskates
4. Santa is Comin' Down Again - The Psycho Daisies
5. Santa Ain't Santa - Woofing Cookies
6. Jesus Christ - The Love Pushers
7. O Tannenbaum Now - Das Furlines
8. Blue Christmas - The Ravens
9. Wreck These Halls - Howard & Jag's X-mas Vacation
10. Sleighbell Bop - The Holidays
11. Coal in My Stocking - The Backbones
12. Christmas Eve at KNL (Kansas Neurological Institute) - The Iguanas
13. Snow is Falling - Dementia 13

Various Artists: Its Midnight Xmess Part III

1. Reindeer n' Whiskey - The Iguanas
2. Celebrate! - Whooping Cranes
3. "Yuh, Xmess" - Gorhounds
4. My Sears Catalogue - Sharky's Machine
5. Xmas Will Never - The Love Pushers
6. Merry Christmas, Baby - The Senders
7. Mrs. Claus Has Menopause - The Sterilles
8. Staring in the Eye of God - The Woofing Cookies
9. Are You Ready for Christmas - Luther n' B.B.B.'s
10. One Winter's Night - The Brood
11. December Mourning - Crocodile Shop
12. Christmas Comes to Those Who Wait - Dimentia 13
13. The Last Noel - John Frankovic

Living Strings: The Sound of Christmas

1. White Christmas
2. Medley: I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day / Silver Bells / Out of the East
3. The Christmas Waltz
4. Medley: Winter Wonderland / Jingle Bells / Snow Bells
5. Medley: Oh Come All Ye Faithful / The First Noel / The Coventry Carol / O Holy Night
6. Do You Hear What I Hear?
7. A Handful of Happy New Years
8. Medley: Toyland / The Little Drummer Boy / Parade of the Wooden Soldiers
9. Blue Christmas
10. Medley: O Christmas Tree / Deck the Halls / The Wassail Song / Silent Night

Remember, too, to check out the STUPID Christmas Music Specific blogs to see what they've got going on this July. Allow me to recommend 77 Santas, BongBells, Hi-Fi Holiday, Ernie (Not Bert), Musical Fruitcake and Red Ryder BB Gun.

Also make sure you check out the Christmas in July post at The Vintage Place.

Michel Legrand: Strings on Fire

On Fire!?! It's Simply In Sane!

Back in the 50s and 60s a good deal of really cheap movies were made about "What Might Happen If" scenarios. For instance... What Might Happen if Nuclear Energy Affected Ants and Made them Really Big and Dangerous!?! Or... What Might Happen if Nuclear Power Were to Distort a Man's Ability to Fight Against Horrifically Enlarged (by Nuclear Power, of course) Rodents!?!

All this "What Might Happen If" stuff kinda gets me to thinking about this record. It seems a perfect example of What Might Happen if Jackie Gleason were Conducting an Orchestra When, Suddenly... He were Possesed by the Spirit of Juan Garcia Esquivel!?!

Scary, huh?

Not really, though. Michel Legrand, who's album this is, was born into a musical family (his father was a successful conductor and his sister was a member of the Swingle Singers) in 1932. He was already studying music when, in 1947, a friend gave him a ticket to a Dizzy Gillespie concert.

That being said, Michel Legrand has produced quite a few High-Brow "Real" Jazz records over the last 60 years ("Legrand Jazz," on Columbia-EMI, and "C'Est Magnifique," on Mercury, are real standouts), he has also created, conducted and/or produced a fair amount of Less Important Music. Some fault him for this. I say that it's simply because he realized a few years back that All Music is Good (unless it's Music That Sucks, of course) and that the Sound of Strings Zooming and Zinging around a room (from the speakers of a Console Stereo) was a Marvelous Thing!

This guy is GOOD! If you ever see a copy of his "Archi-Cordes" or "Plays for Dancers" in a Thrift Shop... GRAB IT!!!

In the meantime... Enjoy this.

Michel Legrand: Strings on Fire

1. Perfidia
2. El Choclo
3. Boulevard of Broken Dreams
4. What Is This Thing Called Love
5. Everything I Have is Yours
6. Jezebel
7. Jalousie
8. Close Your Eyes
9. Temptation
10. Come Back to Sorrento
11. Tabu
12. All or Nothing At All

Jason and The Scorchers: Fervor & Still Standing

Tuna Melt goes CowPunk!

One of these discs was posted at The Tuna Melt last year, but now is your chance to get it if you didn't then. In case you're not familiar with CowPunk, these guys are a great place to start. This is how that happened...

This fella, who grew up on a Pig Farm in Illinois, moves to Nashville with dreams of being a Music Star. But not a Nashville Music Star. He's kinda into a more Punk Rock frame of mind. At the same time, though, he's from a Pig Farm in Illinois, so his song's lyrics are a bit more, well... Country. Somehow he bumped into the most incredible bunch of young musicians in the Music City. The band that they formed was too good for words.

Too good for American Radio too, I suppose, as Country Radio refused to play them because they were too Rock and Rock Radio refused them because, of course, they were too Country. As a result, after releasing four appropriately Scorching albums, they disbanded in 1989. After that, of course, thier history gets complicated.

Jason and the Nashville Scorchers were the closest that Cowpunk ever got to Real Punk. Although the songs are tuneful and melodic beyond what most punk ever dreamed of, and they could also play the quiet stuff as good as The Flying Burritos or The Byrds, the energy and drive they pushed into each tune put them into a class that includes the fastest, loudest bands of all time.

This is their first nationwide American release, a 7-song Mini Album that came out in 1983.

Jason and The Scorchers: Fervor

1. Absolutely Sweet Marie
2. Help There's a Fire
3. I Can't Help Myself
4. Hot Nights in Georgia
5. Pray for Me, Mama (I'm a Gypsy Now)
6. Harvest Moon
7. Both Sides of the Line

And this is their third album, from 1986.

Jason and The Scorchers: Still Standing

1. Golden Ball and Chain
2. Crashin' Down
3. Shotgun Blues
4. Good Things Come to Those Who Wait
5. My Heart Still Stands with You
6. 19th Nervous Breakdown
7. Ocean of Doubt
8. Ghost Town
9. Take Me to Your Promised Land

Wayne County & The Electric Chairs: Man Enough to Be a Woman

The Punk Rock Freak Show!

I was in a bar once (actually, I was in that bar more than once) and was talking to a fellow about Punk Rock bands. We were listening to The Mekons on the Jukebox and were naming bands to each other and telling each other what we thought of those mentioned. When I said "Wayne County & The Electric Chairs" he said he didn't care for them because he felt that they tried to turn Punk Rock into a Freak Show.

What is Punk Rock other than A Freak Show!?!

What is Rock & Roll other than A Freak Show!?!

What, for that matter, is Humanity?

Yep. You got it. You're a freak and so am I. We might be different kinds of freaks, but that's all that we, as humans, have the capacity to be.

Get on over to O CANADARM! right now and scroll downward (or just take this quick shortcut: http://ocanadarm.blogspot.com/2007/05/electric-chairs-uk.html) to find the first record, "Blatantly Offenzive", from Wayne County & The Electric Chairs. God knows those Canadians are a bunch of Freaks. Right!?!

This one, "Man Enough to Be a Woman," came out in 1978. It's Freakish. It's Freaky. It's Freakaholic!

Wayne County & The Electric Chairs: Man Enough to Be a Woman

1. Storm the Gates of Heaven
2. Cry of Angels
3. Speed Demon
4. Mr. Normal
5. Man Enough to Be a Woman
6. Trying to Get on the Radio
7. I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night
8. Tomorrow is Another Day

Richard Lloyd: Field of Fire

The Man who Created the Television!

Okay. That may be a bit of an overstatement, but it's not much of one. The latest post to The Tuna Melt is of a record by an individual who was recruited, in 1973, to join a band called The Neon Boys who were regrouping after a brief split. The new band took the name Television and, with new guitarist Richard Lloyd joining Tom Verlaine, Billy Ficca and Richard Hell, went on to make Rock and Roll History. If you don't know the rest of that story it's not too hard to find. I'd suggest AllMusic for this one at: http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:fifqxqr5ldse~T1.

Back, though, to Richard Lloyd. This guy Loved to Jam! He and Verlaine would go off on these tangents that were all over the map, though never exactly the "blues-based" jams that, well, Jam Bands had dealt with mostly up to that point. These jams, though they rocked and had a nice beat and were easy to dance to, were quirky and seemed a bit disjointed and were just plain weird back in the 70s.

Television finally broke up in 1978 after achieving very much critical but, of course, very little actual (or financial) success. Lloyd released a solo record called "Alchemy" in 1979 and then disappeared into drug addiction.

This is his comeback record. "Field of Fire" was released in 1985 and features a reborn (literally, in the religious sense) and rejuvenated Richard Lloyd at the top of his game. It lacks some of the Punkish edge that some might expect, considering his history, but the attitude is all there. It's Loud. It's Proud. And at times... It Jams!

Well… In a strange way, anyhow.

Richard Lloyd: Field of Fire

1. Watch Yourself
2. Losin' Anna
3. Soldier Blue
4. Keep On Dancin'
5. Pleading
6. Lovin' Man
7. Black to White
8. Field of Fire
   

Ya'll oughta listen to more Punk Rock. It's good for your brain.

The B-52's: Mesopotamia

There's a lot of Ruins in...

Back when it all started (around the 4th millennium BC) they called it Mesopotamia. What inspired The B-52's to write a song about it is beyond me. It might be because the Mesopotamians invented beer. It might not, though.

As it is, however, the song that they did write and record is really cool, as is the entire record on which it appeared. It was produced by David Byrne and released, as a 6 song 12" EP, in 1982.

And we all know that, since the area that Mesopotamia existed in is now known as Iraq, there are even more ruins there now than there were in the 80s. I'd like to think that I'll hear something else about Mesopotamia, soon, that makes me feel as happy as this record always has.

The B-52's: Mesopotamia

1. Loveland
2. Deep Sleep
3. Mesopotamia
4. Cake
5. Throw That Beat in the Garbage Can
6. Nip It in the Bud

The Beat Farmers: The Pursuit of Happiness

I was a Member of a Cult!?!

And I didn't even know it! I thought I was just some dude that liked this band, like, a lot. Upon reading about them online recently, I find that I was a Member of their Cult Following.

So, anyway... The Beat Farmers were a Great American Rock n Roll Band. I don't care if it required my joining a Cult just to like 'em, of if they were signed, at one point, to MCA's Curb Records which was a Country Label.

Okay. I kinda do care about that last bit. The Beat Farmers were not Just a Great Rock n Roll Band, they were Also a Great Country Band.

And "The Pursuit of Happiness" was a great record. The second of theirs on Curb, and the first with Joey Harris replacing Buddy Blue on lead guitar, it starts right out with a really amazing tune, by Paul Kamanski, that I have always thought is the closest that anyone on the Left Coast has ever come to Springsteenism (or Springsteenishness, or whatever), called "Hollywood Hills," and just keeps on goin'.

Go ahead and pull the ol' Air Guitar out of it's case. Make sure it's tuned up and ready to go.

The Beat Farmers: The Pursuit of Happiness

1. Hollywood Hills
2. Ridin'
3. Dark Light
4. Make It Last
5. Key to the World
6. God Is Here Tonight
7. Big Big Man
8. Elephant Day Parade
9. Rosie
10. Texas
11. Big River

Yma Sumac: Legend of the Sun Virgin

The Queen of Exotica

This post continues the Hukilau influenced theme with an Exotica Masterpiece. I was among those lucky enough to meet this lovely woman, Yma Sumac, at Hukilau in 2005. Lemme tell ya, folks... This chick is Exotica incarnate!

If, somehow, you have avoided becoming familiar with her over the years, please scurry on over to the Space Age Pop Music Page (http://www.spaceagepop.com/sumac.htm) and read all about her. There is also a great deal of information about her provided on the Last.fm site, at http://www.last.fm/music/Yma+Sumac/+wiki.

See also these expressly Yma-centric websites at:
http://www.yma-sumac.com/
and
http://www.sunvirgin.com/

This record is composed of pretty serious music which tells the story of The Sun Virgin. The notes on the back of the album cover explain it thusly:

A native Peruvian and descendant of the Inca Kings, Miss Sumac draws the inspiration for this new album from her colorful background and heritage. The ancient Incas worshiped the Sun God and the Moon Goddess Quilla. Every year the most beautiful maidens were selected to become Virgins of the Sun, serving in the convent which rivaled in splendor the Inca's palace.

The sacred flame was entrusted to the Virgins and if by neglect it was allowed to go out, it was believed that some terrible disaster would follow.

The Virgin assumed holy vows which bound her to the temple service. Should she prove unfaithful to her vows, she was buried alive, while her lover was strangled, and the village to which she belonged, razed "so that no stone stood upon another."

Damn!

Click on the following picture (and all the album covers posted on this site) 'cause it's a beauty, boy howdy!

Yma Sumac: Legend of the Sun Virgin

1. Karibe Taki
2. Witallia!
3. Lament
4. Kon Tiki
5. Montana
6. Zana
7. No Es Vida
8. Kuyaway (Inca Love Song)
9. Suray Suray
10. Mamallay!
11. Panarima
12. Ccori Canastitay

The Polynesians: Aloha Hawaii

Travel Halfway to Hawaii with The Tuna Melt

This record was recorded by actual Hawaiians. The songs on it, though, were for the most part composed by Caucasian men from The Mainland. Some of them had probably never even been to Hawaii.

Music such as this is commonly refered to as "Hapa Haole" music. Hapa means Half in Hawaiian. Haole is the Hawaiian word for White Guys, or those of European bloodlineage.

There are a lot of folks that don't like this type of music. They are welcome to ignore this post. There are others who enjoy it immensely, but who feel guilty for doing so because of some weird political reasons. They are welcome to download this record, listen to it often, and not tell anyone how much fun they're having.

I could not save the final track of this record (Track 5, Side 2: Loch Lomond), so I left it out of the post. It was simply scratched to pieces. I would say that I'm sorry, but I'm not.

The Polynesians: Aloha Hawaii

1. To You Sweetheart, Aloha
2. Pulupe
3. Kalua
4. Beauty Hula
5. Aloha Oe
6. Song of the Islands
7. Tomi Tomi
8. Beyond the Reef
9. Lovely Hula Hands

The Exotic Sounds of Martin Denny: Exotic Percussion

Tuna Melt Exotica!

For the next month (or so) The Tuna Melt is going to be concentrating on Things Related to TIKI. The wife and I are headed down to Fort Lauderdale in a couple of weeks to attend the 2007 installment of The Hukilau, a celebration of Midcentury Polynesian Pop Culture. Go here now to see what that's all about: http://www.thehukilau.com/2007/.

I'm sure that many of you are already tuned in to what Exotica Music is and is all about. For those who are not, however, allow me to introduce The King.

Martin Denny invented the genre and he did it all by himself. People like to point out that Les Baxter wrote the song "Quiet Village" in 1951, but it was Denny who recorded the Quintessential "Quiet Village" in 1957. And he did it on his own terms, with his own band and with his own bird calls.

This record came out four years into the Exotica craze in 1961. Percussion was a big thing about that time, so Exotic Percussion was just natural. The instruments listed as having been used on this record include: Tuned Burmese Gongs, Wood Chimes, Steel Chimes, Samisen, Magna Harp, Celeste, Celestette, Ipo, Marimba, Bongos, Wind Chimes, Vibes, Piccolo Xylophones, Marimbula and Everyone's Favorites, of course, BOO BAMS!!!

The Exotic Sounds of Martin Denny: Exotic Percussion

1. My Tane (My Man)
2. Cumana
3. Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise
4. Day Delight
5. Moonlight on the Ganges
6. Cherokee (Indian Love Song)
7. Misirlou
8. Anna
9. Song of the Bayou
10. Moonlight and Shadows
11. My Shawl
12. The Girl Friend of the Whirling Dervish

X-teens: …big boy's dream / X-teens

One of Many Great Things to Emerge from... The Rip Van Winkle State?

Yep. That's one of the ways by which they refer to themselves, those folks in North Carolina. A few years back, though, there were some there who refered to themselves as The X-teens.

They musta refered themselves to the correct individuals, I'd say, in that they eventually had a sweet little 5 Song EP released on Moonlight Records in 1980. And the reference must have continued, positively, through the release of the Full Length Album X-teens, on Dolphin Records, in 1983.

Yep.

X-teens: ...big boy's dream

1. Johnny's Having Fun
2. Fragile Beings
3. In a Grey Circus
4. Venus
5. Big Boy's Dream

X-teens: X-teens

1. Nobody
2. In Droves
3. Tonight Tonight
4. Anyone Can
5. Baby John
6. Heaven in Your Eyes
7. Romper Rheumatism
8. Penny
9. Hard is a Love Daparting
10. Nothing Left to Say
11. Emotion X-teens
12. Happy Again
13. Shift and Rotate
14. Cold War

You can check out the website of he who produced both of these, Don Dixon, here: http://www.dondixonmusic.com/

And Finally, after lookin' around for it for 23 years, I find that Power Pop Criminal$ has been kind enough to post "Love and Politics," the X-teens final output. Go get it Here. Be sure to check out the rest of the site, too, and to leave a comment if you're as impressed as I am.

Ray Martin and His Orchestra: Thunderball and Other Thriller Music / Billy Strange, His Guitar and Orchestra: Goldfinger

Two from Her Majesty's Secret Service

Both of these records were released in 1965, both are named for James Bond films and both feature mostly instrumental collections of popular music. That's where the similarities end, though. These are very different records but both are great for different reasons.

The first is by Ray Martin. You may know Ray from the two volumes he created for the Stereo Action series (Dynamica and Excitement, Incorporated). He also recorded a record called "Goldfinger and Other James Bond Thrillers." This record is Exotica Spy Jazz with lots of Stereo Exploitation, Nonsense Ooooh-Ahhhh Lyrics, Zappy Brass and Zinging, Swirling Strings. It will sound great as you're flashing down a mountain road in your Aston Martin DB5.

Ray Martin and His Orchestra: Thunderball and Other Thriller Music

1. Thunderball
2. The Knack
3. Theme from 'The F.B.I.'
4. Theme from 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'
5. Mister Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
6. Theme for 'Honey West'
7. I Spy
8. Theme from 'Trials of O'Brien'
9. The Young Set

The second record is probably a little better suited for listening to in the Sunbeam Alpine that was the car Bond drove in the first film, Dr. No. It's a bit more Pop oriented than the Ray Martin album, but that makes sense considering that it was recorded by the fella that played guitar on Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots were Made for Walking." Billy Strange also played with Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, The Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, and Speedy West. He's got a great website: http://www.billystrangemusic.com/.

Billy Strange, His Guitar and Orchestra: Goldfinger

1. Goldfinger
2. More
3. Paladin (Have Gun Will Travel)
4. Goin' Out of My Head
5. I Feel Fine
6. Theme for Pussy Galore
7. Peter Gunn
8. Dear Heart
9. Theme from The Munsters
10. The Jerk
11. Come See About Me
12. Man with the Golden Arm

G.E. Smith: In the World / The Paley Brothers: The Paley Brothers

Pure Pop for Tuna People

These two records have next to nothing in common. What they do share, however, is what is known as Pop Sensibility. Pop Sensibility is that thing that makes things sound good to just about everybody. Of course, some folks hate that which the majority adore and, so, reject the idea that one can actually quantify quality based on acceptance. In other words... Not all of what we refer to as Popular Music is, in fact, Popular.

Our first example is by G.E. Smith. George Edward Smith grew up in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, and played in the band behind Hall & Oates for most of the 80s. Many remember him as the ponytailed leader of the Saturday Night Live Band from 1985 to 1995. In the meantime he filled his empty moments playing with folks like Mick Jagger and David Bowie. There is a great biographical sketch of him here: http://www.greenmirror.com/gebio.html.

This is a solo effort from 1981. It's a Really, Really Great Record.

G.E. Smith: In the World

1. Heart Frozen Up
2. Real Love
3. Rita
4. The Blind Boy Rag
5. Nuns with Guns
6. Powerman
7. Sad About Girls
8. Fake o' the Land
9. James Brown
10. In the World

And then there's this. This is the type of record that I was prepared to hate with all of my heart and soul when it came out in 1978. It's like all of that stuff that was, back then, being pumped out by Rex Smith and Lief Garrett and Shaun Cassidy!!! Eck!

But... This record was Different! It was GOOD!!! And the Paley Brothers were members of the Boston Punk Underground!!! So it kind of freaked me out. The thing that convinced me was the fact that The Paley Brothers teamed with The Ramones to record a cover of Ritchie Valens' "Come On, Let's Go" for the Soundtrack of "Rock 'n' Roll High School."

You would do well to visit this site to find out more: http://www.punkblowfish.com/BlowfishPaley.htm.

The Paley Brothers: The Paley Brothers

1. You're the Best
2. Too Good to Be True
3. I Hear the Bluebirds Sing
4. Magic Power
5. Turn the Tide
6. Stick with Me Baby
7. Tell Me Tonight
8. Lovin' Eyes Can't Lie
9. Come Out and Play
10. Down the Line

The Raunch Hands: Learn to Whap-A-Dang with The Raunch Hands / El Rauncho Grande

It's a Raunchy Re-Post (by Request)

The Raunch Hands have Returned! Go Here Now and Read All About It - http://www.licoricetree.com/Rockers/raunch%20hands.htm.

In the meantime (and for those of you who are not yet familiar with this particular brand of Brilliant Rock & Roll Insanity), here is a 6 song EP from 1985.

The Raunch Hands: El Rauncho Grande

1. Man Needs a Woman
2. El Rauncho Grande
3. Mess Around
4. Storm Warning
5. Spit It on the Floor
6. Ford

And here is the repost. Not only a tremendously rockin' set of songs, this record is a wonderful educational opportunity. As a matter of fact, it is a great record for several reasons:

1. - It's got a nice beat and you can dance to it

2. - The more beer you drink the better it sounds

3. - If you haven't figured out how to Whap-A-Dang yet, this'll fix ya.

The Raunch Hands: Learn to Whap-A-Dang with The Raunch Hands

1. What Yer Doin'
2. Getcha Some
3. Chicken Scratch
4. Blackjack
5. Kangaroo Juice
6. Thunderbird
7. Whap-A-Dang
8. County Fair
9. Exotic
10. Is It True
11. Chicken of the Sea
12. Upset Her

The George Shearing Quintet: Satin Affair / Jackie Gleason: Velvet Brass

Satin and Velvet

It makes sense that these records are named as they are because they both contain some of the smoothest sounds ever recorded. I ripped the first, Satin Affair, by The George Shearing Quintet & String Choir, after seeing two of his other Satin records posted on April 4th and 8th over on Stax o' Wax. Shearing is one of the classiest of the crowd that fits into the Easy Listening category. He is, in fact, most often refered to as a Jazz musician. This album is amazingly good and includes one of the best recordings of Stardust that I've ever heard. It is, also, monopophic.

The George Shearing Quintet: Satin Affair

1. Early Autumn
2. You Were Never Lovelier
3. Stardust
4. Baubles, Bangles and Beads
5. It's Not You
6. The Party's Over
7. Midnight Sun
8. Here's What I'm Here For
9. I Like to Recognize the Tune
10. My Own
11. My Romance
12. Bolero #3

Speaking of Monophonic recordings… The second of these two is a repost. If you don't already have a copy of it, you need to get it. This is one great lounge record.

Jackie Gleason: Velvet Brass

1. You're Driving Me Crazy!
2. Skyliner
3. But Not for Me
4. The Man I Love
5. Cherokee
6. Me and My Shadow
7. Take the "A" Train
8. By the Beautiful Sea
9. Am I Blue?
10. What's New?
11. Girl of My Dreams
12. My Buddy
13. I Can't Believe That You're in Love with Me
14. September Song
15. Out of Nowhere
16. Chinatown, My Chinatown

Split Enz: True Colors

I Bought It 'cause It Sounded Good...

Of course... I could have bought it because it looked really cool, too. I'm not sure which mattered most to A&M Records in 1980. Thankfully, it was a really good record!

This was the first album I had ever seen with a Laser Etched Image Etched into it by a Laser. The idea of an Image being Etched into Anything by a Laser in 1980 was Pretty Wild. The idea of a Vinyl Record Album (which we had been taught to keep safe from scratches) being Scratched to Pieces by a Laser and Still Playing was... Well... Astounding!!! I mean... We weren't even supposed to touch the surface of these things with our greasy little fingertips, for Pete's sake!!!

I searched all over this thing we call The Internet and found this picture, along with a whole bunch of info about the band and this album at: http://www.thelogbook.com/disc/enz/

Allow me to state at this point that I will forever refer you to those who have actually searched and researched the information instead of claiming to have it myself. Them other guys are lots smarter than I am. I have more records than they do, though, so we make a good team.

What I do know about this band is this. For one: Enz is the technical term for the Reservoir at the tip end of a Condom. That being said, the name Split Enz had a good bit in common with The Lovin' Spoonful and 10cc. For two: They were from Australia and were led, by this point anyway, by The Finn Brothers. The Finn Brothers, of course, ended up being The Crowded House Guy (Neil) and That Other Finn Guy (Tim). The band was, actually, composed of a number of tremendously talented individuals, all of whom contributed to the group's interesting-yet-accessible sound. This is one of several great records by a really great band. It was pretty cool lookin', too.

Split Enz: True Colors

1. I Got You
2. Shark Attack
3. What's the Matter with You
4. Double Happy
5. I Wouldn't Dream of It
6. I Hope I Never
7. Nobody Takes Me Seriously
8. Missing Person
9. Poor Boy
10. How Can I Resist Her
11. The Choral Sea

The Georgia Satellites: Keep the Faith

I Was a Groover in a Basement!

Nowadays the Buckhead area of Atlanta is covered up with national chains and big ugly discos and a whole lot of uninteresting crap. Back in the 70s and 80s, though, it was a bit more bearable. And if you were down in a basement the chances were pretty good that it was downright excellent.

I say that because I only ever knew of a single bar in Buckhead that was in a basement. It wasn't even there for very long, but I used to hang out there some on the weekends because there was this really great band that played there. I don't know the whole story (and what I do know may be complete bull), but I do know that the bar closed down and the band disappeared. The story, as I heard it, goes that the fellow who had been managing the band went back home to England and took the band's demo tape with him. One day, after a few months, one of the members of the band received a telephone call from England informing him that the band needed to get back together because they had a record out and that a great big contract was in the works.

If that is the truth, then this six song EP is, actually, The Satellites' demo tape. "Georgia" was added to the band's name because there was already a band in England called The Satellites when this record was released on Making Waves Records, of London, in 1985.

Right on the back of the record cover it says: This Record is Dedicated to The Memory of "Hedgens Rock 'n' Roll Tavern," Atlanta, Georgia. Staff and Groovers.....R.I.P.

The Georgia Satellites: Keep the Faith

1. Tell My Fortune
2. Red Light
3. Six Years Gone
4. Keep Your Hands to Yourself
5. Crazy
6. The Race is On

The Brains: The Brains

The Smartest Band in the Whole World!!!

The Brains were one of Atlanta's early New Wave bands, and certainly one of the best. Tom Gray's strong songwriting really pushed them out in front of many of the other bands in the region at the time, and Rick Price's flashy guitar slingin' was a wonder to behold.

This is their first album, released in 1980 on Mercury Records. Strangely, The Brains are about the only band I'm aware of whose sound was tamed (diminished, as a matter of fact) by the production of Steve Lillywhite, who was an incredibly hot producer at the time and who is well known for having produced some really powerful records. Still, the energy that was the The Brains' is apparent in much of this disc and it's a tremendous chunk of rock.

Download it. Listen to it. Use it.

The song "Money Changes Everything" was a hit for Cindy Lauper. Rick Price went on to great success playing bass with The Georgia Satellites.

The Brains: The Brains

1. Treason
2. See Me
3. Raeline
4. Girl I Wanna
5. In the Night
6. Money Changes Everything
7. Scared Kid
8. Sweethearts
9. Girl in a Magazine
10. Gold Dust Kids

The Melachrino Strings and Orchestra: Music & More Music for Dining

I Sure Hope You're Hungry!

George Melachrino never was quite as bold and brassy as those of his contemporaries who tend to be featured in collections of Lounge or Space-Age Pop music. His records are much more tame and, perhaps, stuffy than most by such as Nelson Riddle and George Shearing.

When I was a kid there was a radio station in our market that broadcast music such as this. They would play Perry Como but not Dean Martin, 101 Strings but not The Hollyridge Strings, and Roger Miller but not Jimmy Smith. Station personnel didn't use words like Swing, Hot or Cool on the air. What they played never strayed from a very narrow path. What they played they called Beautiful Music.

And that's exactly what this is. Lush, lovely and wholly unoffensive, this music is where Easy Listening's reputation as "Background" or "Elevator" music came from. These days, though, I find it soothing, nostalgic, and even unusual in that there is nothing exactly like it still being produced. Sometimes I don't want my music to be too exciting or too challenging. Sometimes I just wanna sit down and eat dinner and be made to feel comfortable. That's what Beautiful Music does best.

How to enjoy these records:

Prepare your favorite tuna salad. Spread over split English muffins or
two slices of bread. Top with slices of cheese, and place on tray in broiler until cheese melts.

Prepare a beverage of your choice.

Start music.

Sit down.

Shut up.

Eat and Enjoy.

The Melachrino Strings and Orchestra: Music for Dining

1. Diane (I'm in Heaven When I See You Smile)
2. Too Young
3. September Song
4. Chopin Clopant
5. Warsaw Concerto
6. Domino
7. Tenderly
8. Charmaine
9. Faithfully Yours
10. Chansonette
11. Dark Secret
12. Legend of the Glass Mountain

The Melachrino Strings and Orchestra: More Music for Dining

1. Dream / Melody in F
2. You Are Too Beautiful
3. Ruby
4. Ramona
   
5. Blue Moon
6. L'Amour Toulours L'Amour (Love Everlasting)
7. Easy to Love
8. Musetta's Waltz Song
9. Gigi
10. Stars in My Eyes
11. These Foolish Things
12. Always

These were from a series of albums by The Melachrino Strings and Orchestra called "Moods in Music." Others included Music for Relaxation, Music for Reading, Music for Courage and Confidence, Music to Help You Sleep, Music for Two People Alone, Music for Daydreaming and Music to Work or Study By.

By the way... I actually found that Tuna Melt recipe on a Recipe Website.

The Swimming Pool Q's: The Firing Squad for God

What is this? The He-Man Woman Hater's Club?

Nope. It's just The Swimming Pool Q's after Anne Richmond Boston left. Without her around the guys seemed to feel as if there was no need to include a "pretty" song on this record. Heck! There were only 5 songs on it in the first place. And so "The Firing Squad for God" 5-Song Maxi-Single comes across as a bit more of a Hard Rockin' Guy Record than the previous Q's records, but don't think that means it's not strange and wonderful.

Heck… Jeff Calder's still writing the songs, Bill Burton's still smackin' the skins, J.E. Garnett is still the bass player and the Lead Guitar is still in the capable hands of Bob Elsey. As a matter of fact, Anne is actually playing pedal steel on "Working in the Nut Plant" and she designed the record jacket, so it's still the same band.

In other words… This is a Great Record.

The Swimming Pool Q's: The Firing Squad for God

1. The Firing Squad for God
2. El Presidenté
3. Working in the Nut Plant
4. Hip-Hype
5. Reprisidenté

The Swimming Pool Q's: Blue Tomorrow

Today was, what… ORANGE!?!

I don't know how many copies of this record sold. I don't know how many radio stations played any of the songs on it. I don't know how many people thought Anne Richmond Boston's was the Most Beautiful Voice on the Face of the Planet in 1986. Or that Bob Elsey was the Greatest Guitar Player in the Universe. Or that Jeff Calder was, well… Jeff Calder, for that matter. All I know is that they were all correct.

"Blue Tomorrow" was the second and final record that The Swimming Pool Q's had come out on A&M Records. I could waste about 12 paragraphs telling you how good this record and this band are. Better that you just download it to your computer and upload it to your earhole. Do it.

The Swimming Pool Q's: Blue Tomorrow

1. Now I'm Talking About Now
2. She's Lookin' Real Good (When She's Lookin')
3. Pretty on the Inside
4. Laredo Radio
5. Wreck Around
6. More Than One Heaven
7. Corruption
8. Blue Tomorrow
9. Dream in Gray
10. Big Fat Tractor

The Swimming Pool Q's: The Swimming Pool Q's

Sacrifice Yourself at the Alter of Love

I think the All Music Guide description of the band, written by Mark Demming, is probably better than anything I could come up with:
"Atlanta's Swimming Pool Q's were one of the first Southern new wave bands to gain nationwide recognition in the early '80s after the breakthrough of The B-52s made folks aware that there was more to Southern rock than what Q's leader Jeff Calder called "the Boogie Establishment." However, while most of their Georgia brethren were famous for serving up light, off-kilter pop, Swimming Pool Q's music had a darker and more challenging undercurrent, balancing twisted guitar patterns against lyrics that played on Southern Gothic archetypes in a manner that was often witty, and sometimes ominous."

Read the entire biography at http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:di5zefukhgf1%7ET1.

This is the band's first major label release. While it's a bit more commercial than the album they had put out previously, on Atlanta's db recs label, I still find it strange and exciting. In fact, a few of the songs are just flat-out spooky or disturbing, while the records overall feel is peaceful and pretty. If you're not already familiar with them, this is your chance.

The Swimming Pool Q's: The Swimming Pool Q's

1. The Bells Ring
2. Pull Back My String
3. Purple Rivers
4. The Knave
5. Some New Highway
6. Just Property
7. Silver Slippers
8. She's Bringing Down the Poison
9. Celestion
10. Sacrificial Alter

Last Roundup: Twister!

They Were alt.country when alt.country Wasn't Cool

Everything in Popular Culture, of course, happens in waves. Things that are hugely popular one minute are tossed to the dust bin the next and left there for several years only to become hugely popular once again when discovered by a new audience. While Country Music remains popular with it's own core audience it slips in and out of acceptance with the Rock 'n' Roll crowd about once each decade.

In the 50s it was Rock 'n' Roll's Country Cousin - Rockabilly.

The 60s saw the youth of America embrace Folk Music, most of which was just Old Time Country Music.

Rock fans of the 70s were reintroduced to Country by the likes of Country Joe McDonald, Gram Parsons and Albert Lee. The stuff they played was called Country Rock, but it was just plain Country when it came right down to it.

In the 80s we had a handful of leftover hippies who moved over to the Country stations, but the real Country-Rock Connection of the Post Punk era was known as Cowpunk and was played by bands like Jason and the Nashville Scorchers, Dash Riprock, Rank & File and The Knitters.

The 90s gave us alt.country, with Uncle Tupelo paving the way for BR5-49, The Lonesome Brothers, The Gourds, The Bottle Rockets and a pile of others.

This record came out somewhere between Cowpunk and alt.country. In 1987 there weren't even Country bands who played music that sounded this much like, well, Country Music. And although there were bands who were tossed into the Cowpunk category who played softer sounds than the Punk designation would suggest, there were very few that played a sound as simple and retro as this one. NOBODY on Country Radio was playing anything that sounded anything like this by 1987, and neither have they since.

Last Roundup is made up of Angel Dean singing lead vocals, Amy McMahon Rigby playing guitar and harmonizing, her brother Michael McMahon playing Guitar, Lap Steel and Fiddle, and Garth Powell. The songs were written by the McMahon siblings and you may recognize Amy as she of "Diary of a Mod Housewife" fame a decade later. Angel Dean had a great alt.country band called Angel Dean & The Zephyrs who had a couple of songs on the Rig Rock Deluxe series by Deisel Only Records. She released a record with Sue Garner, who had preceeded her as vocalist for Last Roundup, in 2004.

Last Roundup: Twister!

1. Cast Iron Girl
2. Playin' the Fool
3. To Paint the Town Red (You Need a Bucketful of Green)
4. Mama's Last Stand
5. Don't Wake Me Up
6. River of Red
7. At the Well
8. (A Matter of) Satisfaction
9. Walk in a Straight Line
10. Just a Little is Enough
11. Mary Beth Edwards

Psycotic Pineapple: Where's the Party?

It's Not JUST Crazy… It's PSYCOTIC!!!

The first time I ever heard of The Psycotic Pineapple was on a Sex Pistols' record. I'm not gonna bother explaining that, as it's a pretty obscure reference, except to say that it piqued my interest enough that when I finally ran across a Psycotic Pineapple record in a store I bought it immediately! And I've never been sad for doing so.This one is very New Wave!!! And, of course, as anyone who was alive in the early 80s knows… There was No Such Thing as New Wave!

As such, though, it seems to be a pretty perfect record for 1980. It contains all the perfect 1980 stuff... Some Twangy Guitars, The Perfect "Kind-of, but not really, Obscure" 60s song, "Bad" Words, FUZZ!!!, and a Healthy Dose of Humor.

Humor is a good thing, by the way. Silliness is good too. This record has plenty of Silliness.

Psycotic Pineapple: Where's the Party?

1. Hang On for Your Life
2. The Devil Has Work for Idle Hands
3. I Forgot Who I Was
4. I Wanna Wanna Wanna Wanna Wanna Wanna Wanna Get Rid of You
5. The Saw
6. Headcheese
7. Sabrina
8. She's Boss
9. You're Gonna Miss Me
10. Drop Out
11. I Want Her So Bad

The Raybeats: Guitar Beat

A Twang Spy Surf Cocktail

The Raybeats were made up of former members of New Yorks' No Wave bands The Contortions and 8 Eyed Spy and played a raucous, raunchy twang, sax and organ driven style of instrumental pop that drew heavily upon icons such as Duane Eddy, The Ventures and The Shadows, but blazed their own trail in doing so. Quirky but rockin', inspired but original, their music pulls you back and kicks you forward at the same time. The band never kept a regular bassist for long, but on this record (their only full length LP) the bass is played by Danny Amis, now a member of Los Straitjackets.

The Raybeats: Guitar Beat

1. Tight Turn
2. Big Black Sneakers
3. Tone Zone
4. The Backstroke
5. B-Gas-Rickshaw
6. International Operator
7. Searching
8. The Calhoun Surf
9. Piranha Salad
10. Cocktails
11. Guitar Beat

M: The Official Secrets Act

This is ALSO where I'm from…

Well, okay. This is more like WHEN I'm from. This record is an amazing example of Cold War entertainment. There were a few of those back in the good ol' days. James Bond movies were the best, of course. Anything that scared the pants off of you with THE BOMB was pretty good.
I recall the first time I ever saw "On the Beach," with Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner and thought… "WOW!!! Look at Ava Gardner!!! Hubba Hubba!" But I also thought, of course, "It would be awful if all of humanity were to be destroyed by Atomic Warfare."

By that time, though, I'd also already seen the entire series of "Planet of the Apes" movies and, so, had thought "It would be awful if all of humanity were to be destroyed by a bunch of God-Damned Apes even if Kim Hunter (Hubba Hubba) were there!!!"

So, in the long run, The Entertainment Value of The Cold War turned out to be Greater Than The Warfare Value of The Cold War. If only that could be the case of all wars.

At least we got this record out of it. This is the fella (his name is Robin Scott, actually) that did that cute little song called "Pop Muzik" (New York, London, Paris, Munich...).

This record, "The Official Secrets Act" is his second album (released in 1980). My copy was purchased in "Used" condition and was previously owned by some College Radio Station. The following notes are what a Student Disc Jockey scribbled upon some labels that are affixed to the back of the jacket.

(1) Join the Party - Side 1 Cut 2 - Funny, Good beat, very catchy, great synth work EXCELLENT! Almost silly. Fades.

(2) RELAX - Side 2 Cut 1 -upbeat- very weird, but quite appealing-w/strings Give it a spin! ENDS COLD

2nd album by the man who brought you "Pop Muzik" - This is much stronger than the first album - Many synths, but not so much of a "Gimmick" album as an album of Rock n' Roll dance music. Very Melodic, not too weird, Don't Be Afraid.

M: The Official Secrets Act

1. Transmission (The World Is At Your Fingertips)
2. Join the Party
3. Working for the Corporation
4. Your Country Needs You
5. M'aider
6. Relax
7. Maniac
8. Keep It to Yourself
9. Abracadabra
10. The Official Secrets Act

This one has a bit more noise than some of my other rips, and then again it has less than some others as well.

The Accelerators: The Accelerators

This is Where I'm From

And these are friends of mine. Not close friends, but acquaintances at the very least.

The Accelerators came out of Raleigh, North Carolina, in the mid 80s. The Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill "Research Triangle" was already showing a great deal of promise as the next great Capital of Rock 'n' Roll. It was unfortunate then, I suppose, that those who's job it was to choose the next great Capital were the people who had set out to destroy Rock 'n' Roll completely.

The Capital had already been located, by the Experts (Music Journalists, Critics and Disc Jockeys), in several different spots. The Research Triangle was chosen following a string of successes by the dBs, Mitch Easter, Don Dixon and a few others. As a matter of fact, it seems almost as if The Accelerators recorded their album in The Capital but, by the time it was released, found themselves supporting it from the Boondocks.

Perhaps not too much more should have been expected of Profile Records. They had built their name on Rap, for Pete's sake (Run-DMC, for that matter). This record was their big attempt to step into the world of Rock!!! And it would have been a decent attempt, perhaps, with any promotion or advertising or support put behind it. As it turns out, though, the Record Label expected to be Showered with Moolah just for Signing the Hot New Group from the Hot New Spot. Amazingly, Profile Records wasn't around for long after this record came out.

The Accelerators: The Accelerators

1. Stayin' Up in the City
2. Why You Hang Up on Me
3. Two Girls in Love
4. Black Slacks
5. Under Your Wing
6. Radio
7. Ooh Whee
8. You're a Fool
9. What Is Real
10. Tears
11. The Letter
    

The band's front man and primary songwriter, Gerald Duncan, played and recorded a new CD with a new group of Accelerators a few years ago. They were quite good but didn't stick around for too long.

Bass Player Mike Johns remains active in his hometown of Spartanburg, SC, which is not to be taken lightly. Spartanburg has been home to a great deal of great music. The song "Black Slacks" was originally recorded by Joe Bennett and the Sparkletones, from Spartanburg, and is covered (slowly) on this record.

I don't know a thing about what ever happened to drummer Doug Whelchel other than the fact that he ran into a VW Beetle with his car and dragged it all the way home one night. I hope he's alive, well, and bragging about that particular exploit to this very day.

Guitar Slinger Brad Rice has gone on to play with such great bands as The Backsliders and Whiskeytown and is now doing quite well by his own self. He'd appreciate it, I'm sure, if you'd visit him at http://www.bradrice.net/ .

I agree with him that "If We Don't Buy Records... The Terrorists Win."

Buy his record, Karma Bed. I'd suggest, too, that you get it from Miles of Music 'cause they kick ass.

Not yours, though. Somebody elses.