the SONIC BLASTER! (by MARX!) one of the greatest, most dangerous toys ever made. this was a plunger device that would push air out of this plastic barrel with such force that (i guess) it would break the sound barrier. it made a big booming blasting sound like a cannon when you fired it. it …
https://youtu.be/L6JwFqbhCbI I’ve seen this show (above) a few times – it was a Father’s Day special from 1965 (I think) broadcast from St. Louis. The comedy routines with Sammy were typical of their shows. I think they are mostly indicative of the time, when racial and ethnic stereotypes were still a fixture of public discourse, …
This post was a nice surprise. Not just that someone would have had the presence of mind to mention Freddy Exley, but that apparently Gifford and Exley came to know each other after A Fan’s Notes, and that Gifford even hosted a party for Exley when his last book came out. http://news.yahoo.com/frank-gifford-death-fred-exley-a-fans-notes-220404916.html One of the …
Saturday afternoon on August 8 I headed to downtown Seattle for a rally for social security. The guest speaker of note was to be democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. The event was held in the Westlake Plaza, the traditional gathering place for political rallies and gatherings in Seattle. A half an hour before the event …
Triple-A baseball produces a lot of “Where are they now?” moments. In a recent Sacramento River Cats game, I saw a player, Brooks Conrad, who played a brief but important part in the San Francisco Giants’ recent history. Currently a member of the Las Vegas 51s, he was with the Atlanta Braves when they played …
On the music video, director Tabitha Denholm says: “We see the same fanciful ideas of women’s sexuality again and again in music videos which I find it hard to relate to. So when OMAM said they wanted to make a video about a forbidden relationship I was excited! I want to make videos with stories …
“Bury It There” is the new single from Kimberly Anne, available digitally now and impacting October 5th on Polydor. Written by Kimberly Anne and produced by Charlie Hugall (Florence & The Machine, Ed Sheeran, Lucy Rose) and Mark Crew (Bastille), the subtly anthemic “Bury It There” is built on an insistent guitar riff and staccato …
1970: Domino. This opening track on his fourth album is a tribute to Fats Domino and was originally a longer piece but was cut down when Morrison was asked for more ‘radio-friendly’ singles. White R&B with a touch of God thrown in for good measure. Classic Van. – Kristen Anderson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89-BxTA7JQo
Danny Darko lives in Milan, Italy, but this time he’s got a winning tune called “L.o.s. Angeles.” The new single by Danny Darko is “Los Angeles” a chilly dance song featuring his most recent discovery, young dutch singer Hannah Young. The release feature a magnificent acoustic mix, with piano played by Hannah and arranged by …
Have you seen the year of FX’s comedy cartoon Archer, season four or so, called Archer Vice? I’ve watched that same season over and over every night for weeks and it’s perfect, a lovely piece of trash. Viewers can count on the usual season’s worth of spot-on chicanery from superstud Archer, his disturbing and oversexed …
It was a “Cold wind in August” with Mick Ronson on guitar, Dr. John on piano – excellent live video footage from 1977. – Pat Thomas is the author of Listen, Whitey! The Sights and Sounds of Black Power 1965-1975. https://youtu.be/DAxeGcGIV7A
Robert Frank’s game-changing book THE AMERICANS, published in 1958 by Grove Press (there was a different edition published in france a year earlier with essays many assorted french intellectuals (and cover art by saul steinberg). the american edition had a single essay by jack kerouac. the project itself was funded by a Guggenhiem Grant. what …
Tuesday eating from your yard tip~we are entering the cucumber glut season. Of course there are cucumber sandwiches and pickles. My two favorite are blended to a pulp and added to limeade with vodka optional or slices mixed into yogurt, mint, cumin, onions (or substitute mint and chopped green chili peppers). How about peeled and …
Recorded in the summer of 1969 at 1457 National Street in Memphis with Terry Manning on bass, Richard Rosebrough on drums, and Jeff Newman on steel guitar. Produced and engineered by Terry Manning (who had mixed Led Zeppelin III that summer at the same Memphis location). Manning and Chilton flew to LA with the tapes …
On the very hot Saturday night of August first I headed to the Nectar Lounge for some mighty fine ska/reggae music. The evening was headlined by the legendary Ernest Ranglin Ernest Ranglin is the godfather of ska/reggae and a guitar playing master. Without him there would be no Two Tone. At the ripe age of …
Since someone in Killadelphia ruined my Sunday after they destroyed #Hitchbot and left his ripped apart pieces on the sidewalk, including his ridiculous little yellow Wellington boots, I am encouraging the good people behind Hitchy to build a new bot and let it start in Philly. It should be called MurderEveryoneBot. – Harper Hull
How did Seattle Sounders FC lose their mojo the season they looked poised to finally seize the MLS Cup? Forget the injuries and attrition from national team callups. With an appalling 3-0 loss at home Saturday to the Vancouver Whitecaps, the Sounders looked as clueless and toothless as they’ve ever looked. Clint Dempsey was back, …
This has got me pissed. This aint about no sales, promo, none of that. We need to bring an end to this bullshit. Or else. – Sav Young Check out Sav Young’s new tribute to the late Sandra Bland where he expresses his frustration with the current state of race relations in America. #Blacklivesmatter #JusticeforSandraBland …
If 1970’s Journey in Satchidananda was a game changer for you – then prepare yourself for this obscure 1982 ‘cassette only’ release just out on CD. Alice Coltrane‘s vocals are ‘other worldly’ as if she made up her own language (in the form of Vedic Chants) – it’s a spiritual message drowned in a sea …
((((Facebook is aggregating all the people in my pipeline that feel Cecil the lion is getting too much “air time” or they just don’t “understand” all the hoopla- and there seems to be an empathy war going on between all the injustices out there. Also, thee “if you eat meat why do you care?” tactic …
Are We Falling In Love?
A review of The Joy Formidable’s cover of Badalamenti and Lynch’s Falling.
By Peter Dysart
I’m typically not a huge fan of covers, especially if the original song was a classic already. I will make exceptions, though.
J’adore this modern pop tune from French singer Cheraze, “Promets pas la lune” (“Don’t promise the moon”). As far as I’m concerned, she IS the new Edith Piaf, the modern focus of sartorial elegance and a lady who knows hats. The tune is both boldly global and gamely gallic. The lithe hands of Cheraze float …
Katéa is a Helsinki-based chanteuse whose musical sounds are inspired by Amy Winehouse, Adele, Lorde, Florence + The Machine, Tove Lo and Lana Del Rey. Her music a unique blend of indie-folk and experimental pop. She crafts songs where piano and guitar-driven tracks are topped by bright yet strong, warm and heartfelt vocals. She’s written …
Truer words have never been spoken than those from Ambrosavage below. Gary, Indiana never disappoints a true midwesterner. There’s something in the gray industrial moonscape dotted with pools of standing chemicals which jumps up to kiss any returning traveler and say, “Welcome home friend, the east is behind you, South Chicago is in front of …
This 1971 combination [album] is a bit of a rocky road – the medley of “By The Time I Get To Phoenix” & “I Say a Little Prayer” is moronic, but you do get their version of the Brotherhood of Man’s 1970 hit “United We Stand”. There’s also some Randy Newman and Hoyt Axton covers. …
Garage rock in the 80’s and beyond was always very hit and miss for me – often miss. But when I heard this and saw MonoMan do it live – I thought to myself, this is “god-like.” – Pat Thomas is the author of Listen, Whitey! The Sights and Sounds of Black Power 1965-1975. Lyres …
On Sunday night July 27 I attended my last concert for the month of July. Right on the heels of Stiff Little Fingers I saw the very wild Casualties show. The Casualties, a hard core punk band from NYC, came on stage and the first thing front man/singer Jorge Herrera did was take a cup …
This is the old Yuengling mansion on upper Mahantango Street in Pottsville, PA. It and it’s full block of stables and grounds and such were donated to the city some decades ago – probably to the huge relief of the Yuengling family. It was given to the Schuylkill County Council for the Arts who back …
Ambrosavage rolled in for lunch at the All American Cafe in Pottsville, PA and beheld the following scene: “So this guy at the All American Cafe just told this young gal at the counter that he hit pick 5 for 350 dollars. ‘I was 1 away from 1.5 million’ he said and yet he still …