Episodes
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"REHEARSALS FOR RETIREMENT" WRITTEN AND PERFORMED BY PHIL OCHS-
"IF i CAN DREAM" WRITTEN BY EARL BROWN AND RECORDED BY ELVIS PRESLEY IN HONOR OF ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR.
"THE DAY THE WORLD ENDED" DIRECTED BY ROBERT CORMAN AND NARRATED BY CHET HUNTLEY
“There’s something about the guy that I love…” This is what Rich remembered that I had said about DJT. I didn’t remember saying it, but I think I can relate to the veracity of his accusation. It’s the re-incarnation of the Trickster that I recognize from myth - the nihilist Puck, whose talent to amuse - to entertain us as he foments chaos - is something that, I, (as someone who spent half his life trying to understand the nature of charisma) - can appreciate.Rich, as life-long activist, sees it differently: this, he feels, might be, perhaps, the last election he’ll see in his lifetime, and the end of every ideal he fought for in his youth. But, he’s a scrappy, latter day Dead End Kid, who ain’t ready to lie down in darkness. Dig our back and forth debate.-
BILL MESNIK
Let's get ready to rumble.
In the blue corner, a childless, blackish Vice President from Oakland, CA who was inspired by John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" in her youth and presented with 107 days and a cat sandwich with which to salvage democracy.
A piece of cake kids.
In the Orange corner, a man with the graceless moves of Jerry Lewis on acid and who has never met a "fuck you" he didn't like.
A piece of drek.
Let the games begin.
The ball is in your court America.
I know you'll do the right thing because it's about feeding your family, right?
Wrong. It never was and once again we are forced to never forget.
As Robert Duvall recited in "Apocalypse Now", "I love the smell of Napalm in the morning".
We do, don't we?
Looking at my reflection in the mirror of social change I get it.
Deep policy was replaced by the red carpet pedigree of celebrity and the racist molester won every single demographic he insulted with the vitality of an elderly pro wrestling heel.
Hulk Schmuck.
Trump has spent his entire life learning how to throw the spitball.
Kamala had only 107 days to learn how to throw a fastball.
Orange is now truly the new black and blue.
Good luck and Good night.-
With gratitude to Norman Mailer, Barbara Dane, Dave Van Ronk, Tuli Kupferberg, Ed Sanders, Muhammad Ali, Joan Baez, Phil Ochs, Hunter S. Thompson, Medgar Evers, Frannie Lou Hamer and Ruby Bridges, the first black child to Integrate an All-White Elementary School in the South, on November 14, 1960, at the age of six.
RICH BUCKLAND -
Any self respecting devotee of fuzz and farfisa will genuflect at the mention of Talk Talk by The Music Machine, the brain busting bombshell that exploded in 1966 at the height of the garage band culture. Along with Psychotic Reaction by The Count V, and 96 Tears by ? And The Mysterians, The Music Machine ruled the airwaves that year. My middle school band, The Full House, could play 96 tears, but Talk Talk was a bronco that was harder to ride. And, the guttural snarl of lead singer Sean Bonniwell, as he spit out the red meat of his teenage angst, was an inimitable storm surge of passion.
But, as so often happens, the complications of keeping a band together pulled at the group’s threadbare fabric, and by ’69 the band was in shreds, and Sean was on his own. This cut, Absolutely Positively is off the album THE BONNIWELL MUSIC MACHINE (because he was the only one left), but features some of the original players before they split. After that, the Music Machine was no more, and Sean soldiered on through an unforgiving solo career.
But, I’m thrilled hearing the roiling organ arpeggios on the verses as Sean expresses the ambivalence of not knowing what he wants, but then, emerging with determination, as he stands firm during the choruses, declaring: “Absolutely Positively I want your love!”.
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Missing episodes?
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I’d like to say that this is one of the best love duets ever recorded, but I demur from superlatives generally. However, I can say with certainty that it’s one of my favorites. Maybe it’s the simple, straightforward vocal delivery of these two raw-boned, pioneer types that makes me cry every time they ease into the sinuous harmonies of the chorus. And, the lyrics complement the American Gothic soundscape as they sing: “See how the bramble and the rose intertwine…” It’s a performance for the ages from two people who obviously loved and trusted each other and were dedicated to their mission to share the folk music they cherished.
I’d never heard of Mary McCaslin or Jim Ringer when I ran across their album in the cut out bin at the old Rhino Records store on Westwood in Los Angeles. And, I’m not sure what induced me to buy it - perhaps it was the inclusion on the track list of “Oh, Death,” - a song I knew from Ralph Stanley-, that clinched the deal; Maybe it was the primitive portrait of the two lovers: Mary, with her modest, down cast eyes opposite the barrel chested, ruddy cheeked Ringer, who stares directly, and challengingly, from the cover. Whatever the draw, I’m thankful I spent the $3.99, and I’ve kept it close to my heart ever since for solace, to remind me that true love, even with all its thorns, is worth fighting for.
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Breaking News!FILM PREMIERE
Maureen Gosling's
THE 9 LIVES OF BARBARA DANE
"The amazing story of Barbara Dane, a powerful radical citizen-artist whose magnificent voice and uncompromising dedication to freedom, social justice and global liberation, continues to ring."--Danny Glover, Executive Producer
WATCH
TRAILER
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdkTz4Lihmwhttps://www.barbaradane.net/DOC 'N ROLL FESTIVAL
October 27th, 2024 @ 5:30pm
LONDON - BARBICAN CINEMA 3
Director, Maureen Gosling will lead Q&A after screening
BARAKAN MUSIC FILM FESTIVAL
September 9th-19th, 2024
TOKYO
Director, Maureen Gosling at Sept 9th screening
Note from Bill:
5 years ago, about this time of year, Rich approached me about celebrating the extraordinary life of one of his major influences - (he had brought her to our high school in the late 60s to participate in a benefit concert to raise money for Native American schools). I had a lot to learn because Barbara Dane's career spanned most of the 20th century and a good chunk of the present one. And, I was grateful for the study.
Starting out as a teenager from Detroit, Barbara Jean Spillman began singing with Louis Armstrong, and went on to become a sensation in the world of jazz. But, she was too big for that container - she went on to become one of the most influential folk music activists and label owners in history.
Upon learning of her passing last week at the age of 97, it seemed fitting that we revisit that special archival episode. Listen, and be amazed!"Bessie Smith in Stereo" said jazz critic Leonard Feather in Playboy magazine when Barbara Dane burst onto the scene in the late '50s. In 1958 Time magazine said of her: "The voice is pure, rich...rare as a 20 karat diamond." To Ebony magazine, she seemed "startlingly blonde, especially when that powerful dusky alto voice begins to moan of trouble, two-timing men and freedom... with stubborn determination, enthusiasm and a basic love for the underdog (she is) making a name for herself...aided and abetted by some of the oldest names in jazz who helped give birth to the blues..." The seven-page Ebony article--their first feature story about a white woman (Nov., l959)-- was filled with photos of Dane working with Memphis Slim, Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters, Clara Ward, Mama Yancey, Little Brother Montgomery and others...
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I discovered this track on a WB compilation set named “My Mind Gets High”, and boy… upon hearing this cut did I ever started experiencing flashbacks. In 1968, The Holy Mackerel was explicitly created as a vehicle for young, up and coming singer-songwriter Paul Williams, whose heavily processed vocal, along with the sitar, places this psychedelic artifact squarely into its late 60s time zone, and although I didn’t start my hallucinogenic experiments until a bit later (around 1970), Wildflowers sonic acid bath trips me out nostalgically.
Paul Williams became a household name in the 1970s when his elfin voice and tiny stature captured America’s imagination on tv, radio, and film. It didn’t hurt that he had a prodigious songwriting talent, too: (We’ve Only Just Begun; Old Fashioned Love Song, etc). His brother, Mentor - also a songwriting Colossus (Drift Away) was recruited for his sibling’s manufactured band, as well - it was a hastily, and often reassembled group of rotating membership, which only lasted about a year or so.
Interestingly, Paul didn’t write this tune; it was penned by bassist Bob Harvey, who later worked for Elvis - and, indeed, it eschews the sentimental tendencies of its lead singer’s writing. This is more of a mood piece, which perfectly captures that moment when the acid starts to come on. Sublime.
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Last May, my son Jasper and my daughter-in-law Hannah asked me what I would like for my birthday. I said what I always say:
“Surprise me.”
But then Hannah suggested that they get me an 8 track because she knows I collect them. She wanted to know which genre or artist I like. Also, she didn’t know how, or where to buy one.
“Ebay,” I said, and jumped on there to peruse the recent auctions.
I like them sealed, or at the very least in a less worn condition. The first delicacy to appear was this unopened gem, produced by the fine punks at Stiff Records in the year of 1978 (prime time for me).
It was a good choice: a vivid time capsule, recorded con brio at the crest of the New Wave, with latter-day Punk attitude. Ian Dury, disabled, misanthropic satirist, closes the show, spitting his signature “Sex and Drugs and Rock n Roll” - (did he coin that phrase?) Nick Lowe opens the tape with his patented Power Pop, and Elvis Costello is… just amazing. He croons a Bert Bacharach tribute decades before they even worked together, and detonates a searing explosion of his own “Miracle Man,” displaying the Promethean chops that would soon catapult him to stardom.
I feel like a grateful fisherman, after Poseidon unexpectedly washes something tasty up on the boat deck.
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A note from Bill:
Rich says I'm too modest about discussing my Acting career - could be. But, today I have a story that I felt compelled to share about my "brush with greatness" with one of the greatest American actors of the 20th century: the titanic James Earl Jones, in a Shakespearean production of the rarely produced Timon of Athens.
It's one thing to work with an awesome talent, - and I've stood toe to toe with a bunch of Academy, Tony, and Emmy award winners -, but the heat coming off from this icon gave me one of the most fundamental and profound experiences of my early theatrical education.
Rich and I also welcome a few other recent check-ins to the Hotel Bohemia: the magnificent Cissy Houston (mom to Whitney); Linda Ronstadt's talented songwriting protege J.D. Souther, and the one and only Kris Kristofferson.
"He's a poet, he's a picker, he's a prophet, he's a pusher, he's a pilgrim and a preacher, and a problem when he's stoned. He's walkin' contradiction, partly truth and partly fiction, takin' every wrong direction on his lonely way back home"
(He claimed the song was not written about himself, but isn't every song... at least a little bit?) -
Haven’t we all wanted to just get away from the complexities of modern life? Escape the city, quit our jobs, and hit the hammock on some island in the South Pacific? This has been a predominant theme of Ray Davies’ lyrical output. Life today is too stressful; the past was more orderly and harmonious. In this song Ray goes WAY BACK to an imagined eden, a primordial jungle, when there are no jobs, obligations, or need for financial security.
Perhaps Ray’s tunes were initially instigated by a compelling feeling of angst, frustration, and resentment, but, consummate artist that he is, he transformed those cringey feelings into ironic, joyous fuck yous for our vicarious pleasure.
Well, maybe it’s not so simple; maybe we can’t afford the time lost or the hefty cost of such a longed-for retirement. But, we can, at least, slip away for a few moments of psychic refreshment with our pals, The Kinks.
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John Fahey (1939-2001) was a singular folklore musicologist, archivist, and record label entrepreneur who played his instrument like no other person alive.
Fahey, John (1966). A Textual and Musicological Analysis of the Repertoire of Charley Patton (MA). University of California, Los Angeles. LCCN 67003863. OCLC 1137380.Fahey, John (2020) [1970]. Charley Patton. Dover Publications. ISBN 9780486843445. LCCN 70548903. OCLC 1122922310.Fahey, John (2000). How bluegrass music destroyed my life : stories. Chicago: Drag City Incorporated. ISBN 9780965618328. LCCN 99075130. OCLC 44903282.Fahey, John (2003) [2003]. Vampire vultures. Chicago: Drag City. ISBN 9780965618373.
He made weird, earthy, mystical music, and lived a life to match.
Bill and Rich are pleased to offer this excerpt from a 1979 Halloween concert given by Mr. Fahey in San Francisco at the famed Great American Music Hall.
The Fahey Files
https://www.johnfahey.com/
John Fahey discography- Studio albums | 36
Live albums | 5
Compilation albums | 16
Tribute albums | 5
Written works: -
I scored this green plastic 4 track cart of musical magic on Ebay, along with Bookends by Simon and Garfunkel, and The Live Adventures of Bloomfield and Kooper, Vol. 2. I needed to acquire an antiquated device through which to hear them because 4s don’t play on standard 8 track machines, so I tracked down a heavy wooden Muntz cabinet model that still works. You have to change tracks with a lever - like an old time train conductor - (which is thrilling enough by itself) - but when I heard Nick Gravenites crooning “Groovin’ is Easy” and “Killin’ Floor” through the jerry-rigged Jensen speakers, I was hooked. I read that Mike Bloomfield had first approached Mitch Ryder to be lead singer, but he didn’t want to leave the Detroit Wheels. Nick was a better fit. This writer of “Born in Chicago”, and collaborator with Janis Joplin and Quicksilver Messenger Service was the Chicago to California connection that made perfect sense at Monterrey, where the band debuted.
I had forgotten that Bloomfield’s mission when he first assembled his cracker jack, “All American” band, was to encompass more native musical genres and to seamlessly mix R&B, Soul, Gospel, Country, and Pop. This was more than what the Chicago blues scene from which he emerged afforded. And, horns were part of the secret sauce. This happened at exactly the same time that Al Kooper’s Blood, Sweat, and Tears were forming. Unfortunately, heroin, and other intrusions caused Bloomfield’s band to break up before it could take its rightful crown, but this document, along with the soundtrack of Peter Fonda and Jack Nicholson’s film, “The Trip” bears witness to their promised glory. Groovin’ may be easy, but Mike Bloomfield never did anything easy.
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https://nickgravenites.com/
This singing-songwriting, blues legend carried the standard of the Chicago masters such as Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, James Cotton, Junior Wells, and many others beyond the Midwest, to a whole new audience of flower children in California and beyond, when he fronted Mike Bloomfield's foundational "All American" band, The Electric Flag at the Monterey Pop Festival.
Maintaining his passionate devotion to his art right up until his passing at age 85, having released a new album shortly his departure.
Bill and Rich welcome Nick to the Hotel Bohemia, where he can continue to rip it up for all eternity.
Directly following this episode, Captain Billyl will be posting his 4 track tape of the Electric Flag's seminal album, "A Long Time Comin' in its entirety. -
Sixty-five years ago, “Kind of Blue”was recorded and performed by a young group of talented musicians —before they were jazz legends — under the leadership of the visionary trumpeter Miles Davis. Initial sales were slow after the August 1959 release, but then the album caught fire, becoming the best-selling jazz album of all time.
So why has “Kind of Blue”endured as the top classic jazz album for 65 years?
“I think of 'Kind of Blue’ as a timeless piece of work,” said James Kaplan, author of “3 Shades of Blue: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, and the Lost Empire of Cool.”
“‘Timeless’ is a word that’s much overused these days, but this great album genuinely seems to exist outside of time in a way that’s hard to explain.”
Angelika Beener, an award winning journalist, DJ, producer and host, says “Kind of Blue” uniquely captures universal human emotions.
“Everyone loves this album, and it’s not because they’re forced to, or they have to, or they’re told to,” Beener said. “There is something deeply resonant. This album drills into sort of the deepest parts of sensuality and romance and contemplation and ecstasy and vulnerability. “
While Davis took the lead on the album, he was joined by several other talented musicians who helped craft his legendary work.
“He gave a great amount of latitude to the artists,” said Leon Lee Dorsey, an associate professor at Berklee College of Music. “You see interviews with people like Herbie Hancock that he trusted — the chemistry that they brought to the table, that whatever was going on, it was like a laboratory.” -
I have always been drawn to fables of underdogs and the unrecognized. This affinity was engendered early on in childhood, and marinated throughout 30 years in the acting trade, where I’ve seen many of the finest talents of my generation wither on the vine of show biz obscurity. This catchy girl-group number from the Cameo catalogue is spunkily delivered by a couple of black Philadelphia teens, whose exciting vocal energy belies some of the mysterious whispers of chicanery that surround the story of the record’s creation, and, afterward, the group’s precipitous disappearance.
Ann and Lillian Storey of The Twinkles created this ode to black rock n roll culture in 1957, (immortalized in the film Hairspray) - when Ann, or Lillian, (I’ve seen both credited) submitted their song to a contest run by local DJ Kal Williams, who put his name on it as co-writer, and then took it to Baltimore musician and record label owner Al Browne, who also put his name on it. Browne released it on his indie label, Peak Records in 1957. The following year Cameo, who had national distribution, changed the group’s name to The Storey Sisters and rereleased it nationally, where it went to #45 on the national charts. It was at this point that Ann, or Lillian’s name disappear from the credits. In short order, The Storey sister’s career was over, after having recorded only two more sides.
Bad Motorcycle is said to be slang for “Bad Motherfucker”, and these young women may have encountered some bad motorcycles during their short ride out of fame’s parking lot. VOOM VOOM VOOM!
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This goofy confection of Sunshine Pop was so at odds with the popular music of the day that it seemed doomed from the start. The Dedrick family, (Chris, Sandy, Bruce, Ellen, and Stephanie), were so unhip that the classical-jazz compositional genius of Chris Dedrick and the sublime sibling harmonies on display were incomprehensible to the rock intelligentsia. (There were The Cowsills, of course…but….) For God’s sake, The Free Design were produced by Enoch Light, of all people - ( I always loved that name) - my dad’s “Easy Listening” guru; it was the music he had on in the background when he did his weekend paperwork.
They only existed as a group from ’67-’72, after which Chris pursued an award winning, film composing and arranging career in Canada. And, here’s where the trajectory of this esoteric ditty arcs interestingly: their only charting song, Kites Are Fun barely peaked at 114 on the “bubbling under the hot 100” list, after which the group plummeted to obscurity. But, later, much later, like an excavated Paleolithic fossil, their catalogue was uncovered in the 1990’s, and reissued by Trattoria, a Japanese record label. Since then, this tune has been lauded, covered extensively, TikTok’ed, and featured in numerous tv commercials and shows. And, now, no one can deny that kites are most assuredly fun.
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What if your Amazon packages could talk? What if they had palpitating, expectant hearts as they sped to your house? And, what a let down, after you’d ripped them open, shredded them, and left them for the recycler. What ingratitude, after their selfless commitment to your happiness.
Tool-maker, turned bassist Gary Unwin brings this anthropomorphic idea to life, abetted by lead singer and Vox Continental organist Brian Bennett. Here, courtesy of the Hi Fi’s, a busy, up and coming band of wannabe British invaders plying their rock n roll trade in Germany (as the Silver Beetles had done before them) - you get all the cringy, crooning drama (along with thumping timpani) you could want - and it’s TNT.
I discovered this diamond on an obscure Star-Club singles vinyl collection that Rich sent me after I bought my new turntable, and it captivated me from the first play. Of all the possible lyrical manifestations, a monologue delivered by a cardboard box, once lovingly wrapped and sent by one ardent lover to another via “the parcel farm,” and then abandoned, was beyond unexpected… and, just what I needed.
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http://johnnynash.com/
Texas born actor, singer, songwriter, producer, and entrepreneur, Johnny Nash (1940-2020) was a driven visionary that, undaunted by commercial challenges in the U.S. marketplace, relocated to Jamaica, founded JAD Records, discovered and signed Bob Marley, and helped grow Reggae's popularity around the world - first by covering Marley's "Stir It Up," then, by writing and recording this inspiring ode to survival and hope.
And, let's not forget that he was also the voice of the theme song to the mid-'60s cartoon show "The Mighty Hercules!"
Bill and Rich had fun uncovering and relishing this great artist's story of ingenuity and grit. We hope you'll enjoy it, too! -
ALL HAIL NEW ORLEANS' ROYALTY! The boys pay homage to one of the greatest voices - (and most spiritual human beings) - ever to grace the earth. And, you can read the recently released memoir that reveals his triumphs and tribulations.
https://aaronneville.com/
Tell It Like It Is – OUT NOW!Aaron Neville shares his story, complete with stories of overcoming struggles and finally achieving success, in his debut memoir ‘Tell It Like It Is’: now available! Read all about Neville’s incredible path through life and own the book here. Also, check out some of the events and media celebrating the release!
Some early reviews are in…
“Iconic New Orleanian, platinum-record singer and songwriter Aaron Neville, a Grammy Hall of Famer… candidly reveals his little-known personal and professional struggles.”
– Booklist
“A gratifying, spiritual, and hopeful against-all-odds memoir.”
– Library Journal (Starred Review)
“The author’s life has been an inspiration…A worthwhile musical survivor’s story.”
– Kirkus -
Blame it on the Bossa Nova’s magic spell that the Samba craze swept the nation in the mid-‘60s. And, two of the main proponents of this joyful, sun-splashed celebration were Sergio Mendes and Herb Alpert. Herbie had the record label, A&M, and Sergio had the secret sauce, not to mention the lovely lead singer Lani Hall, who later became Mrs. Alpert.
Mas Que Nada, translated from the Portuguese, means “Whatever,” and the lyrics are insisting that whatever else may be happening, the singer passionately craves the Samba. The rolling syncopation of Mendes’s piano, along with the percussion and the siren call of Lani and her partner Janis make the seduction irresistible: this is just, good sexy fun, and you don’t have to understand the lyrics to get the message.
The song, originally written, recorded, and made a hit in Brasil by Jorge Ben, was spread around the world by Sergio and Herbie, making it to #47 on the Billboard Top 100. I hope that the tune’s creator took some pride and pleasure it that - (along with the royalties)… so, “whatever!”
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“Bless the Weather” by Iain David McGeachy, OBE (1948-2009)— known to the public as John Martyn, is an emblem of the unfathomable mysteries of the universe: How could music so divinely comforting have emanated from one so troubled? Of course, treading the path of this maestro’s biography we find the familiar signposts of drug addiction, marital abuse, alcoholism, and psychic distress. And yet. this spiritual offering translates as only gentleness and pure peace. ’Tis a puzzlement.
Well, humans are complex, or as he himself wrote: “some people are crazy.” In 1980, after Martyn’s break up with wife and partner Beverly, this “father of TripHop” created “Grace and Danger”, which his friend and label owner, Chris Blackwell refused to release for a year because he felt it was “too disturbing”. So, I guess it wasn’t all hearts and flowers. And yet, even there, the folk-jazz improvisations, abetted by the agile bass fingerings of Danny Thompson, lull, even as they hint at a provocation.
Be that as it may, on this cut the soothing, vibrational waves of guitar and voice align my brain waves in such a way that I can feel my heart rate immediately relax. It is a meditation; a connection to the eternal one-ness.
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Domingo Samudio (b.February 28, 1937), better known as "Sam the Sham" is a quintessential American entrepreneur: a huckster with limited vocal ability, who took a simple, Show biz concept: - a corny, lovable, Rock n Roll persona - a TexMex Pharaoh in a turban, created a raft of top 10 smashes, and in the process became immortal.
In 1965, Wooly Bully, a salsa flavored variation on the Hully Gully dance hit, started it all for Domingo, who continues on his journey to this day, sharing his colorful experiences and life lessons as a motivational speaker. - Show more
