Top Ten Albums Of 2006

We here at HBBB dont like to rush out lists like this. We take our time and put lots of love and care into things like this, instead of hurrying to get the best of lists out at the beginning of december. It's been a ___________ year for music (fill in the blank).

No Name's List:

1. Cat Power - The Greatest

2. The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls In America

3. Twilight Singers - Powder Burns

4. Various Artists - I'm Your Man Soundtrack

5. Teddy Thompson - Separate Ways

6. Built To Spill - You In Reverse

7. Phoenix - It's Never Been Like That

8. Rosanne Cash - Black Cadillac

9. Ramblin' Jack Elliott - I Stand Alone

10. Bruce Springsteen - The Seeger Sessions

Shrimp Cracker’s List:
1. Tom Waits - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards
The Brawlers or Bawlers discs alone would've taken the 2006 cake, but together this is a gift that I'm not sure we even really deserve.
2. Bob Dylan - Modern Times
When The Aged Master tops the US charts for the first time since "Desire" by gold mining the American(a) history of his mind.
3. The Figgs - Follow Jean Through The Sea
Last real rock & roll band makes their 2nd best record of the millennium. Thank you Gents.
4. Thom Yorke - The Eraser
If you stuck all the newspapers from 2006 into a music box and wound it up, this is what it would sound like.
5. Mudhoney - Under A Billion Suns
Pre/post grungers show you can still have shake appeal while howlin' at the moon of Lord Bush.
6. Primal Scream - Riot City Blues
Let It Bleed revisited & revised for britpoppin' genXrs. As Little Steven says, "Who's better right now than Primal Scream?"
7. The Black Keys - Chulahoma
This 7-song-salute is technically an EP, but its 7 songs better than all but 6 other albums from 2006. Yup.
8. Mission of Burma - The Obliterati
It's Not A Photograph, but this second-helping of the reformed power that is Burma might be their most focused album of their many careers.
9. Kamikaze Hearts - Oneida Road
One Little Indian walks into a bar and sits on a barstool close to the TV set.....
10. James Hunter - People Gonna Talk
Possibly the best blue-eyed soul singer ever (B.B-E.S.S.E.). If Sam Cooke made a baby with a British lassie before he took the bullet, meet his progeny.

Stuben’s List:
1. Cat Power -- The Greatest
2. Sparklehorse -- Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain
3. Beach House -- Beach House
4. Califone -- Roots and Crowns
5. Charlotte Gainsbourgh -- 5:55
6. Kashmere Stage Band -- Texas Thunder Soul 1968-1974
7. Camera Obscura -- Let's Get Out of this Country
8. The Changes -- Today is Tonight
9. Annuals -- Be He Me
10. The Figgs – Follow Jean Through The Sea

Hendo’s List:
1. Wild Billy Childish & The Friends Of The Buff Medways Fanciers Association – The Last Of The Buff Medways 7” / Wild Billy Childish & The Musicians Of The British Empire – Punk Rock At The British Legion Hall 7” / The Buffets – Saucy Jack
The one, the only. He is truly an English National Treasure. “Last Of The Buff Medways” may be my favorite song of his in a while. Killer ‘stache.
2. The King Khan & BBQ Show – What’s For Dinner
I hope its Taquitos.
3. The Figgs – Follow Jean Through The Sea
Quite simply, they’ve been the best band in the country for a long time.
4. Bobby Bare Jr. – The Longest Meow
Yet another solid album from the dude with the real deal country legacy.
5. The Sadies – In Concert Vol. 1 & The Tales Of Rat Fink
They combine elements of all the best possible influences. The live one rips
6. Howe Gelb – ‘Sno Angel Like You
Mr. Giant Sand and a choir. It’s a nice combination, like the combinacion # 9 at Panchos.
7. The Minus Five – The Gun Album
Very good album, great live show. They played pushin too hard with Lenny Kaye.
8. Jay Reatard – Blood Visions
This guy is fucked, and the music buying public is all the luckier for it.
9. Mudhoney – Under A Billion Suns
They rocked then, they rock now. Heavy man heavy.
10. The Kamikaze Hearts – Oneida Road
Straight outta the 518. What you know about that?

HojoHiFive’s list: my top whatever records of 2006. I don't really pay attention anymore
...to anything.
1. The Minus 5- The Gun Album
2. Built To Spill-You In Reverse
3. Tom Waits-Orphans
4. TV On The Radio- Return To Cookie Mountain
5. Terry Adams/Steve Ferguson-Louisville Sluggers
6. The Donkeys- ST
7. Neko Case-Fox Confessor Brings The Flood
8. - 10. and the entire Glassman Family sings along to Farmer Jason-Rockin' In
The Forest. Go ahead and laugh, this will be YOUR life someday. Pass
the tranquilizers please.

Communal Honorable Mentions:
Neil Young - Living With War
Wooden Wand & The Sky High Band - Second Attention
Built To Spill - You In Reverse
Comets on Fire - Avatar;
The Black Keys - Magic Potion
Belle and Sebastian - The Life Pursuit
The Raconteurs – Broken Boy Soldiers
Scott H Biram – Graveyard Shift
The Supersuckers – Paid EP
Calexico – Garden Ruin
Dead Moon Retrospective
Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3 – Ole Tarantula
The Meat Purveyors – Someday Soon Things Will Be Much Worse
The Little Killers – A Real Good One
Outrageous Cherry – Stay Happy
The Bottle Rockets – Zoysia
The Love Drunks – S/T
Stephin Merritt - Showtunes
Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped
Nellie McKay - Pretty Little Head
Numero Group - All Reissues
Ronnie Spector - The Last Of The Rock Stars
The Beatles - Love
Ray Davies - Other People's Lives
My Morning Jacket - Okonokos
Lambchop - The Decline of Country And Western
The Gothic Archies - The Tragic Treasury: Songs From A Series Of Unfortunate Events

Stay Tuned...

Sorry for the delay in hendo bendo-ness over the holiday season. The kids may be alright, but they're pretty fucked up. Top Ten Bonanzas will ensue shortly. ask stuben about the rev. R.I.P. Gerald and the godfodda.

Dig on these meanwhile.
Os Mutantes - Bat Macumba
Charley Patton - Revenue Man Blues
Dale Hawkins - Tornado

New Mojo!!!!

New Mojo in town and the shit fucking rocks. Dylan's on the cover and the article is about the top 10 best Dylan albums as selected by Iggy, Catpower and more plus reviews of EVERY single Dylan record EVER. And a story about Blonde on Blonde. I thought they already did that a few times but Al Kooper contributed so its sweet shit. Also the best albums of the last year as well as the selections of a ton of artists including Hendo favorite Tom Waits. And to top it all off a fucking beach boys article about Pet Sounds. Ya Heard It? ++++ the CD that comes with is artists inspired by and covering the Mutha Fucking Beach Boys. Hip Hop Horrayy. American mags (pardon the Big Takeover) suck when you got this on the zine rack. And what a nice rack it is.

'68 till they kicked his ass out

I began a book a little while back by H.R. Haldeman called The Haldeman Diaries. Haldeman was Richard Nixon's chief of staff. His Leo McGarry if you will. the book is 850 pages long and comprised of nothing but diary entries spanning the whole time Nixon was in office. The length of each entry ranges from a sentence or two to a page and a half and it really is a fascinating account of the inner workings of the Executive Branch. Haldeman wrote each entry before going to bed each night and was candid on a whole range of topics - from bombings in Vietnam to press coverage to Kissinger being an insecure baby. I'm currently mid-way through 1970 and Nixon has dealt with some pretty hot shit that our man in the white house today couldn't even pronounce correcly.

Which brings me to an interesting point. A lot of people look at Nixon as a scumbag president but compared to GWB he is apples dipped in xanax. He was more liberal than people give him credit for and that kind of shows the revolving sphere of American politics. What was conservative then is Pelosi-liberal now. So we are fucked unless that ball starts spinning again soon.

Some highlights thus far are Nixon having white house parties with Johnny Cash and Duke Ellington as entertainment, though not on the same evening. But that would have been a killer bill. The Man in Black, the Duke and Tricky Dick all in one room. Better than Bob Marley and the Wailers and Bruce Springsteen on a double bill. Throw in some George Clinton and P-Funk and we'd be having a P-A-R-T-Y. Too bad Marley died before Bill Clinton took office because you know he'd get down and make Hill put on an apron and dish out some bi-partisan pudding. Chocolate.

Other highlights are Nixon trying to get his head around the Kent State shootings by staying up all night and going out to the Lincoln Memorial to meet a bunch of "hippies." Who he actually enjoyed talking to. And taking white house tennis court access away from his cabinet members after they stopped being useful to him. On that note, he turns the white house pool into the press room (Hunter Thompson had a theory that it was because JFK fucked M.Monroe in there but really it was to make room for a bowling alley-that's right Nixon's fav. source of fun besides bombing the asians and spoiling elections was to knock some fucking pins down with big black balls). All in all real interesting stuff.

I'll keep you all updated as I get into watergate and all that goodness.

Top Ten Albms From The Great Tower Heist of '06

The end of an era.

Lincoln Center has now been thrashed...

1. The Metros - s/t
2. The Del Gators - Pound Down
3. The Knights Of The New Crusade - A Callenge To The Cowards Of Christendom
4. BBQ - Tie Your Noose
5. Scott H. Biram - Graveyard Shift
6. Mission Of Burma - The Obliterati
7. Outrageous Cherry - Stay Happy
8. The Band of Blacky Ranchette - s/t
9. Bloodloss - In-A-Gadda-Da-Change
10. tie: The Corn Sisters - The Other Women & The Crawdaddys - Here 'Tis

Hon. Mentions from previous Tower Closing excursions:
The Fall - The Complete Peel Sessions Box Set
The Gibson Bros. - Memphis Sol Today!
The Devil Dogs - No Requests Tonight
V/A - Spacelines: Sonic Sounds For Subterraneans
Young Fresh Fellows - This One's For The Ladies
Supercharger - Live At The Covered Wagon (S.F.) 1992

Sunday iPod on Random

1. Tilman Franks & His Rainbow Boys - Hot Rod Shotgun Boogie : Western Swing sounds awfully nice on a sunday morn

2. Django Reinhardt - Crazy Rhythm : I'm beginning to feel i'm in a period piece filmed in sepia.

3. Daniel Johnston - Go : Musically, he never did too much for me, but after watching The Devil & Daniel Johnston, I have a much bigger appreciation for him.

4. Split Lip Rayfield - Should Have Seen It Coming : Full tilt punk rock bluegrass. These guys ripped it up live also. Unfortunately, I believe they are no more

5. The Chymes - Quite A Reputation : Girl Group rocknroll courtesy of No Name

6. The Jesus & Mary Chain - Taste Of Cindy : Hey, can I borrow some reverb?

7. The Konks - Here She Comes : Rocknroll as it was meant to be played, four to the floor drums, superfuzzed guitars, and shouting vocals way in the red.

8. Heavy Trash - Dark Hair'd Rider : gritty rockabilly from mr. blues explosion. Very cool.

9. The Greenhornes - My Baby's Alright : hell yes, a great one from the first album of one of my favorite bands. shrimp cracker found it used....jealousy rising

10. The School Of Rock - I Pledge Allegieance to The Band : This is killer dialogue from one of the better movies of the last 30 years

Ahmet Ertegun

A legend died today. Ahmet Ertegun the founder of Atlantic Records passed away earlier today after becoming injured in a fall at a Rolling Stones show in October. Ertegun did it all and touched our lives in immeasurable ways. He made Stax a nationally distributed label, signed the Stones & Zeppelin, Shaped the careers of Ray Charles, Charles Mingus, John Coltrane, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, and The Allman Brothers to name just a very few artists. And he helped found the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The man was there and he did it. There will never be another like him. Never ever. I encourage all of you who do not know about Ahmet Ertegun to check out all that he did for our record collections.

Exploding by Stan Cornyn is a funny and very interesting history of the Warner - Elektra - Atlantic labels and all of their subsidiaries written by a guy who started writing liner notes for the company and eventually rose to high management, never losing his perspective. Good read, especially if you have any interest in the history of the record business.

RIP Ahmet, you will be missed.

Today's Top Ten

...In a world where Towers popped up like McDonalds. Alas, it just wasn't meant to be.

Top Ten Records Bought Today At The Tower Records Going Out Of Business Sale

10. The Rock*A*Teens Baby: A Little Rain Must Fall
9. Jimmy Webb: Land's End
8. Bratmobile: Girls Get Busy
7. Jim Noir: Tower Of Love Ed. comment: how ironic.
6. The Volebeats: Solitude
5. The Tyde: Three's Co.
4. Outrageous Cherry: Stay Happy
3. The Figgs: Badger
2. The Love Drunks
1. Black Lips: Let It Bloom

HM: Mojave Three:Puzzles Like You; Rosewood Thieves: From The Decker House; Jack O. & The Tear Jerkers

12 CD's = $58. The only thing that sucked was all the records I like that I kept finding. Like Twilight Singers, Marah and Bobby Bare albums for $4. Fuck dude the end of a fucking error. What'd you say a top ten list of a. closing albums or b. memories you wish to share from your experiences with the almighty Tower? Come on, we know you ventured over to the porn rack a couple of times. In different cities. In different states. Tell us that story about the woman who rang you up.

Hendo Bendo Podcast Bonanza # 8, or Happy Birthday Shrimp Cracker

That man is Little Walter (?!), not Shrimp Cracker, but Mr. Crack is also a mean harp blower. Today is Shrimp Cracker's Birthday. Shrimp Cracker is the man, and I will be willing to fight 1930s style with anyone who says otherwise. Here is a special edition of the Hendo Bendo Podcast Bonanza just for him. Almost like old school wspn/dancing in the show style, but missing the better half. Wail man wail.

Hendo Bendo Podcast Bonanza # 8
Hendo & His Shitty Beatles - Happy Birthday
Ween - Dancing In The Show
The Figgs - Let's Get Arrested
Link Wray - Friday Night Dance Party
The Original Sins - She's On My Side
Jett Powers - Go Girl Go
The Old Sweethearts - While You're Leaving
Jimmie Rodgers - Memphis Yodel
Utopia - One World
The Buffets - Misty Water
The Do-Droppers - Boot 'Em Up
The Purple Hearts - What Am I Gonna Do?
The Silos - Where Ya Been
The Prisoners - Maybe I Was Wrong
Bukka White - Strange Place Blues
The Singing Loins - I Don't Like The Man I Am
Skip Easterling - I'm Your Hoochie Coochie man
Olympic - Nikdo Neotrvira
The Utica Bandits - Crash Your Party (Demo)
The Poster Children - Modern Art
Honey Brown - Rockin' And Jumpin'
The Buffets - Ivor

Peter Boyle

Pardon the shrink wrapped picture above.

Peter Boyle died today. Among great roles in films such as Honeymoon In Vegas, Young Frankenstein and Where The Buffalo Roam, Boyle played Jack in the Dream Team a comedy about a bunch of wackos who get out of the mental institute to see a yankees game with their shrink. The shrink is knocked unconscious and these bats run loose in Manhattan. Christopher Lloyd played a nut who still beleived himself to be a practicing physician. Michael Keaton was a headcase. Basically the same role he played in Batman (and most other films) with a little less anger and paranoia depending on how you look at it. But Peter Boyle was the memorable Jack McDermott, a one time rich man from Scarsdale, NY, who was drastically missing his marbles, believing himself to be God. It doesn't get any better than that.

His best scene in the film was where he entered an African-American Church and gravitated towards the dias. He began a sermon, getting the congregation all worked up and then started taking his clothes off. And that was when they threw his ass out on the street. Some dialogue from the film, surely never to be repeated in any other movie:

Stop! Who dares to tow the van of the living Christ?

Father, forgive us for we have sinned! We parked our car in a forbidden zone!

[Begins to undress] We are all naked in the eyes of the lord.

I fear my doctor may have been seized by the Romans!

I was pulling down a hundred big ones a year while you and Satan were chasing Daryl Hannah!

David Lynch Loves Coffee

In case you didn't know just how much David Lynch loves his coffee, he's launching a line of organic coffee & espresso beans later this month - David Lynch: Signature Cup.

Still Not Over Last Week: Top Ten Cool Happenings From The Week That Was

• Little Steven started a wicked cool record label

• Someone on eBay paid $155,401.00 for an acetate made during the Velvet Underground & Nico recordings. The seller was a Canadian dude who got the record for 75 cents in 2002 at a flea market in Chelsea.

• Speaking of the Velvets, RBally posted an excellent soundboard of a NYC Lou Reed show from '73.

• Tom Waits 3xCD package Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards was the top seller at Amoeba Records, beating out single-disc releases from pop culture VIPs The Beatles & Jay-Z.

• Captain's Dead posted A LIVE FUCKIN' FIGGS SHOW from SF in 2001, hot off the heels of Sucking In Stereo.

• Sly & The Family Stone are playing a one-off show together, with Sly billed as special legendary guest "coach" at the Disneyland House Of Blues in January. Book your flight now.

• Nigel Goodrich launched his music television show From The Basement, a web-only pay-to-download live music/studio program with all audio recorded by Mr. Godrich himself. Check out previews from Show #1, featuring Thom Yorke & The White Stripes.

• David Fricke was nominated for a Grammy.

• The Stooges announced they've wrapped the recording of their forthcoming reunion album. Slated to be released this March .
IGGY: "The one thing that kind of amazes me is that it sounds like us, But it doesn't sound quite like Fun House, Raw Power or our first one. You put it on, and right away, you'd know, well, that's them. There they go."

UNCOOL: High Fidelity: The Musical opened on Broadway.
Silver Lining: NY Post theater critic Clive Barnes panned it as "material that hits a Top Five list of what should never have been used in a musical."

Bruce with Marah

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Farmer Jason Ringenberg

On Friday, I had the distinct pleasure of seeing two performaces from former Jason & The Scorchers frontman Jason Ringenberg. Few people can claim to have spearheaded an entire genre, but Jason certainly can. In the early 1980s, the Scorchers were one of the first/thee first bands to bridge the gap between punk rock and country music. They laid waste to the conservative concept of country in Nashville where they started. Here's a quote from his website: "As Nashville’s incendiary red-headed stepchild, the Scorchers summoned the ghost of Johnny Horton as he marched through the Battle of New Orleans and star-cross’d that fate with Johnny Thunder’s vulnerable but uncompromising swagger." When Ringenberg broke up the scorchers in the late '80s, he continued his career as a solo musican to much of the same acclaim. After the birth of his kids, Ringenberg realised he wanted to make music his kids get into. He made the alter ego Farmer Jason in 2003, and has now released 2 albums under the moniker. On Friday morning, I got to catch a Farmer Jason show at "The Linda, at WAMC's Performing Arts Studio", to a packed house of 4 and 5 year olds. They loved him, and the tunes were very solid and catchy. Unfortunately, he didnt play my favorite song, "Punk Rock Skunk" that morning, but he did live up to his Anarchy In The Pre-K tagline. Later that night, Jason dusted off the cowboy shirt and played a show as himself at the Capital District's only real rocknroll club Valentines. Doojh and Slim Pickens opened up for him. Doojh was uncharacteristically unshitty, although not amazing. They were very MOR. Slim Pickens was alright, but not my cup-o-tea. After Collin York gave a very lost Jason directions to the club, he hit the stage to a respectable sized crowd of diehards. One particular guy came up to me and said that he remembers seeing him 22 years ago opening up for The Scorpions (????). Let it also be noted that this same guy also remarked to me that Doojh was "brilliant", so who knows if he was all there upstairs. Ringenberg has a great stage presence, putting everyone at ease with his many in-between song jokes and stories. He played lots of fan favorites, and even took about 6 or 7 requests from the diehards. His energy on the stage is something that needs to be seen. If you get a chance, you should check him out. Special thanks must go out to HoJoHiFive for setting up the show. Dig the tunes folks:

Jason & The Scorchers - I Can't Help Myself
Jason Ringenberg - Last Of The Neon Cowboys

5 degrees of Rick Rubin

Allright - give me The Everly Brothers to Green Day in five.

Sling Blade

Sling Blade was a movie I watched sometime in high school. I rented it and watched it on my laptop at the tennis courts where I worked. The job didn’t really call for much attention so movies were a good way to pass a six-hour shift. Either that or go fucking crazy.
I remember the movie being pretty good. Dwight Yoakum was in it and he’s always fun to watch. Billy Bob Thorton wrote, directed and starred in it and that was pretty impressive. But what really struck me about the Sling Blade was its’ music. As soon as my shift ended, I went to Tower and bought the soundtrack which was scored and performed by Daniel Lanois. Lanois is mainly recognized as a producer. He’s helmed albums by Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, U2 and Bob Dylan but he’s also released a few of his own albums as well and the one’s I’ve heard are all pretty cool. His signature production style is a swampy, murky sound. Hard to describe but the type of thing you know when you hear it, just like obscenity. Harris’ Wrecking Ball and Nelson’s Teatro are prime examples of his production style as is Dylan’s Time Out of Mind and Oh Mercy.
The Sling Blade soundtrack features eight compositions that make up the score. For added value it features Lanois’ excellent song, The Maker, a track that lots of people have covered to great success including Dave Matthews, Harris and Jerry Garcia who with the Jerry Garcia Band does my favorite version of the tune.
Sling Blade also contains a Booker T & The M.G.’s song plus tracks by Local H (GBV cover!), Russell Wilson and Mark Howard, Tim Gibbons and Bambi Lee Savage. Soundtracks that mainly feature one artist but include additional music by other artists to round-out the disc and/or film is something I have never really understood. Examples of this are Magnolia that is basically an Aimee Mann album filled out with a few Supertramp songs and Good Will Hunting, which is half an Elliott Smith album and the other half made up of other artists. Don’t get me wrong the Good Will Hunting soundtrack has lots of good music, including The Waterboys and a cover of an awesome Jackson Browne tune (Somebody’s Baby), but why not just release an Elliott Smith record? I know, I know, there are lots of reasons why not to. He didn’t write enough songs, a soundtrack wasn’t where he wanted his career going, the director wanted to use other artists, etc, etc. It’s just a little stupid issue I have and I think I can or will get over it. Though not tonight.
Closing this up and getting back to Sling Blade, the score is pure Lanois. It is murky, swampy, melodic and compelling. The first posted track is from the opening credits and the next is Lanois and Harris on the traditional Shenandoah. Enjoy.


Asylum - Daniel Lanois - Sling Blade

Shenandoah - Daniel Lanois feat. Emmylou Harris - Sling Blade

He's Back Y'all

Andy Pettitte is back. Showing that money can buy just about anything (except young pitchers right before they hit their prime). What spot in the lineup you think he will take up? Wang, Pettitte, Moose, Johnson? What's the average age there?

Walker, Guitar Slinging Ranger

It’s All Acoustic. I thought let’s be 1850, nothing plugged in – Joe Strummer

Moving on past the past week of jazz posts, film scores is our next stop in a series of genre excursions.

First up is some music by Joe Strummer from Walker. The film I have not seen (that is actually the case with most of the scores & soundtracks I own and I kind of prefer it that way). The plot synopsis as provided from IMDB goes something like this, “William Walker and his mercenary corps enter Nicaragua in the middle of the 19th century in order to install a new government by a coup d’etat. All is being financed by an
American multimillionaire who has his own interest in this country." Sounds good doesn't it?

The score begins with something that sounds like the Sex and the City theme stirred up with a Spanish twist but things quickly improve. At times we have sweeping Morricone-eqse music and South American waltzes lead by Joe Strummer himself providing vocals. All in all this is the most un-Clash like music I could ever imagine Strummer making but it is good. If I'd never heard Strummer’s voice on the few tracks he appears on I would never in a million years guess that he had anything to do with this. It just goes to show that he had many, many talents, some vastly hidden inside the Clash music he made in his salad years. Like all of his music, Walker emphasizes that Joe Strummer was nothing if not the creator of beautiful music.


Tennessee Rain - Joe Strummer - Walker Soundtrack

Sandstorm - Joe Strummer - Walker Soundtrack

Mary Poppins Post #2

Holy Shit I had to post this when I saw it. Two Mary Poppins posts in one week. This is awesome.

Listening to Tom Waits On Your Deathbed

As today is Mr. Waits’ birthday (a young & restless 57), along with our rejoice at the new Tom Waits album/box set Orphans - Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards, I’d like to share a memory.

Classes were out for the summer. I was working the counter at the record store, Last Vestige.
The phone rang, and the caller asked to speak with me. This was a curious enough happening in its own right. I had a cellphone. Nobody called me there before, ever. I hesitantly took the phone.

“Is this Shrimp Cracker?”

The voice on the other end belonged to an older/elderly woman. It wasn’t my mom or one of my aunts and definitely not my grandma.

“Is this the same Shrimp Cracker from the radio station?”

Besides pushing $1 vinyl and used/promo CDs on a lukewarm public, I’d also been working that summer as Program Director for our college station.

“Oh, I can’t believe I found you! The boy on-air told me you were probably working at the record store today and he gave me the number. I’ve been trying to track you down for days.”

I was confused as shit.

“I’m trying to find out who the man is who's music has been playing in the mornings. I’ve been told there is an automated system, and his music comes on every so often. It seems there are the same records in a rotation, but I’m not sure.”

This woman (whom I’d soon learn was named Jessie) had been listening to our autobroadcast -- an MP3 playlist that the last DJ of the night would activate & would stream until the next DJ showed up the following morning. This may have been of dubious legality and taste, but it’s what we did nonetheless.

“On Monday I heard it at six in the morning, and then on Tuesday it came on at five-thirty, on Wednesday at three and then again at seven," Jessie says. "And this morning at five-thirty again. You see, I’m bed-ridden with a heart condition. I have difficulty sleeping."


The playlist had a few albums on it, maybe four or five on a loop. I preferred full LPs for the overnight robo DJ...

I ask Jessie if she can describe the music for me. “Well, my whole life I've only listened to classical and opera. But this is music like I’ve never heard before. It has a man's voice. A raspy voice. Sometimes it's scary, but then other times it can be sweet. There are a lot of train sounds... like train whistles. Sometimes he growls like a wild animal!"

I immediately knew this was the most incredible phone call I'll ever receive in my life.

"He sounds like he must be an older man. He knows a lot about life. That much is clear.”

Then Jessie -- an 80-something classical/opera fan living somewhere within our upstate NY listening radius -- leapt into her best Tom Waits impression:

“Da-doo-dah, dee-bop, ba-doo dah.... like that. But like a wild animal.”



The album Jessie was listening to was Alice, the bawly companion to the brawlier Blood Money, released in 2002. As we talked more I found out she’d didn't own a CD player, but her friend could go buy her one if it was the only way she could listen to the music. I offered to make her a cassette tape. Yes, she would like that very much, if it's not too much trouble.

I don’t know if Jessie is still alive. I never heard from her again after I gave a tape with Kinkos-copied cover art to her friend the next day (her friend was the guy who owned Reruns Consignment Shop). But I think about her every time I listen to Tom Waits. I wonder what it felt like for her that first night. Her radio dials into music from an older man who sings like a wild animal and knows a lot about life. And then another song comes on. And then another. Waiting hours for it to come back and then it does! Being sick, bedridden, sad, old... listening to songs like “I’m Still Here” and “No One Knows I’m Gone,” with lines like And if we are to die tonight, is there moonlight up ahead? or No one puts flowers on a flower's grave.

Closing time indeed.

---
Music from Orphans:

“The Return Of Jackie & Judy” (Ramones cover) from Brawlers , Disc 1

“Low Down” (Ramones cover) from Brawlers , Disc 1

“You Can Never Hold Back Spring” from Bawlers , Disc 2 (aka Eat Your Ballads)

“World Keeps Turnin” from Bawlers , Disc 2

”What Keeps Mankind Alive” from Bastards, Disc 3

From Alice (2002)

“Flower’s Grave”

“Barcarolle”

Disco Blows Dogs For Quarters, or Hendo Bendo Podcast Bonanza # 7

Alright guys, here is a podcast that was made with No Name in mind. (He's so dreamy).

Hendo Bendo Podcast Bonanza # 7

The Rudies - Devil's Lead Soup
The Outsiders - You Mistreat Me
Mark Lanegan - Nothin' In This World Can Stop Me Worryin' Bout That Girl
The Brian Jonestown Massacre - The Way It Was
Paul Burch & Ralph Stanley - Little Glass Of Wine
The Ad Libs - The Boy From New York City
The Donkeys - Come On Virginia
Laurel Aitken - Boogie In My Bones
Tom Russell - The Pugilist At 59
Pink Mountaintops - Plastic Man, You're The Devil
Horace Silver - Senor Blues

King Khan and His Shrines

I know I've been posting a bunch of this guy's stuff. But he just blows me away. Check out this live video:

Mary and the Duke

The final jazz selection for the week is a special one and near and dear to my heart. Last year, the Warner Brothers' Collectables label reissued Duke Ellington plays Mary Poppins. Holy shit I said when I heard about this and ran out and picked it up right away. Well, I was not dissapointed.

The album was originally released in 1964 on Reprise Records. I have posted Feed The Birds because it is one of my favorite tracks from the movie. I also have a version of Garth Hudson from The Band playing that tune but I may save it for a rainy day. A real rainy day. The thing i really like about this album is all the horns sound muted as if the sound is just trying to seep out of each horn.

All songs from the Mary Poppins score were written by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman.

Grammy's

The Grammy noms were released today. Among the many suggestions are for Mary J. Blige to begin recognizing and talking to Christina Aguilera and The Red Hot Chili Peppers to re-deploy and release a good album.

Seriously, the Grammy's usually suck but there list of nominations is always quite interesting as are many of the categories. Some are even filled with albums I own which I never seem to remember when watching since those categories are not televised. This year The Boss, Neil Young, Rosanne Cash, Guy Clark, Emmylou Harris and many more were nominated for rock and folk categories. Even David Fricke got a nom for some liner notes he wrote for the Byrds Box. Speaking of box sets, the Rhino girl group box got nominated for best box design. We knew those girls had the best box, didn't we? For a complete list of categories and nominations click here.

One more thing for you hobbit loving freaks who dig on Bob. Cate Blanchett is playing a young Dylan in I'm Not There, a film directed by Todd Haynes. I have no idea what the hell this film is about but for someone who played a queen in LOTR or whatever she played, Ms. Blanchett is sort of pulling off the Dylan thing in my eyes.

To America With Love

Today a professor mentioned seeing a Black Panther on trial years ago who was preggers. He was referring to Tupac's mom, Afeni Shakur and it brought back a memory of a book I read a few years ago entitled, To America With Love: Letters From The Underground by Abbie and Anita Hoffman. Hoffman was a '60's radical and sort of a tragic figure, dying young and writing a few books here and there.

The book is made up of letters Abbie and his wife wrote to each other when he had to go underground to avoid a lengthy prison sentence for drugs. America is the son of the author. Abbie has to take on a new identity and Anita seems to be just about one of the only people he could connect to. Going underground to not get yourself sent to prison so they can throw the key is some heavy shit and Hoffman must have been freaked.

As I recall, things were not easy for Mrs. Hoffman, either, with her husband on the run and a young child to raise with the neighbors scorn and no large source of income. She and Afeni Shakur became friends and Anita mentions Tupac often in her letters to Abbie, going on about how sweet he his and how he and America get on so famously. My word not hers. Reading something like that makes you think wtf was going on back then!? The answer lies in the type of place this country was back then: nasty war abroad, the locking up of non-violent drug offenders at home, a scum bag for a President.

The book isn't very long and is entirely captivating. As the two learn to get on without one another their love grows stronger and that is not something you come across everyday. Highly recommended.

N/P - L.A. Freeway - Guy Clark

Headro

Celeb Stoner is a new web site devoted to the pot busts of the famous. God bless them. The funniest shit I saw was the Johhny Damon post. Check out Damon chilling on the warning track. Everyone on the Red Sox looks like they smoke pot. Maybe its the jerseys.

Ted Leo at Valentines

Rbally has a Ted Leo + The Pharmacists show up from Valentines, June 24, 2005.

Que Lastima!

This is very bad news. Taco Bell is selling E Coli. What am I gonna do for my average of 8 meals a week from The Bell now???????????

MGV 8262

If the album note writer is to be believed, Sonny Side Up featuring Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins and Sonny Stitt is a chance for the two Sonny's, both tenor sax players, to engage in a little firendly competition and do it side by side with Dizzy acting as the referee.

The notes writer puts forth that in the late '40's and early '50's many alto sax players switched to the tenor because of Charlie Parker's complete dominance in the field. The tenor, though, was the instrument Coleman Hawkins' owned and not one he was gonna let some punks steal from under him (see: Sonny Meets Hawk for when that reign ended).

On The Sunny Side Of The Street features both sax players along with some vocals by Gillespie. The vocals give the tune a dated feeling from a time that was just right around the corner, yet doesn't feel too close anymore. The liners say that Rollins' solo is a variation of one Louis Armstrong made famous on his own version.

Sonny Side Up was recorded in December of 1957 at Nola Recording Studio in New YOrk City and produced by Norman Granz. Gillespie, Rollins and Stitt are accompanied by Ray Briant on piano, Tommy Bryant on bass and Charli Persip on the kit. Verve released both the original album and the reissue from which this track is taken.

5 Degrees of Jimmy Page

Here's a good one from Stuben:

Jimmy Page > Jadakiss ???
Same rules apply:

no covers, no live/live records, only recorded collaboration/studio collaboration

5 Degrees of The Pogues

How bout The Pogues to Eric Clapton in 5?

Stocking Stuffers

There's a series of Girl Group Garage Rock I love excellently titled Girls in The Garage. The collections were put out on Romulan Records. As far as I know there are around eight or so volumes. I have seen a few on compact disc but primarily they were issued on vinyl and are a pain in the ass to find. I fucking dig this shit. Amongst all the girl group comps I own these just stand out as supreme. The girls are as rock as the Rhino box chicks are pop, but there is a fair amount of pop here as well. It's def. not at the amped up level of the Runaways or anything like that so don't get worried. If your into this shit seek out some for yourself.

The tracks have a little snap, crackle, and pop to 'em but I didn't think you'd mind.


Oo Chang-A-Lang - The Blue Orchids
How Do You Do It? - The Ladybugs
I'll Let You Hold My Hand - The Bootles
Quite A Reputation - The Chymes

Maybe we should get a little female power top ten list going...

5 Degrees of Top Ten Separation

In five degrees connect:

Sheena Easton to The Autumn Defense

The Rules are: No covers, only legitimate collaboration that has been performed and for the most part recorded together. Covers and other familial relations may be used if you are really in a bind.

e.g. The Minutemen and The Grateful Dead

Minutemen > Mike Watt > Banyan > Rob Wasserman > Grateful Dead
Minutemen > Black Flag > Ryan Adams > Phil & Friends > Grateful Dead

Blue Note 1526

Trumpet player Clifford Brown died in a horrific car crash at the age of 25. He was hailed as the next Miles Davis I believe and who knows maybe he would have met his expectations.

Carvin' The Rock is taken from Memorial Album, which comprises two different sessions Brown recorded at the age of 22. What were you doing when you were 22? The track was written by Elmo Hope and Sonny Rollins and derives from the first of the two sessions. The band is comprised of Brown on trumpet, Lou Donaldson on alto sax, Hope on piano, Percy Heath on bass, and Philly Joe Phelps on drums. Quite a band. The music is part R&B, part straight jazz. The session was recorded on June 9, 1953 in New York City at WOR Studios and produced by Alfred Lion. This was a time when people got things done in a hurry. No Chinese Democracy shit.

The second session has a different line up. Most notable is Art Blakey on drums. The sessions were originally released on Blue Note as 2 10" LP's.

Hendo Bendo Podcast Bonanza # 6

Alright guys, its that time of the week again. Here's another edition of the Hendo Bendo Podcast Bonanza. This one covers more ground stylistically than recent ones have. I felt that it better represents all of the different genres of music that are appreciated here at HBBB headquarters.

Hendo Bendo Podcast Bonanza # 6

Dizzy Gillespie - Blue N' Boogie
RL Burnside - Jumper On The Line
Clawhammer - Sundown
Mahalia Jackson - Oh My Lord
The Outsiders - That's Your Problem
Dead Moon - Jane
The Chesterfield Kings - Night Of The Phantom
Howe Gelb - Nail In The Sky
The Gravel Pit - Focusing On One Specific Goal And Achieving It
Jimbo Mathus - No Monkey Business
Lee Morgan - Gary's Notebook


Oh yeah, and for what its worth. David Lee has entered the realm of Hendo's favorite Basketball players. The dude is all about the Hustle. Gotta love it (and home wins...)

Prestige 7181

I wanted to post something steeped in piano but my dad took a few of my favorite piano jazz records (which was his right since he basically paid for them) like Bud Powell, Oscar Peterson and Red Garland, but all was not lost since I found The Red Garland Quintet's Soul Junction. The album features John Coltrane, Donald Byrd on Trumpet, Arthur Taylor on bass, and George Joyner on drums.

Birk's Works is a composition written by Dizzy Gillespie. The band recorded it on November 17, 1957 in Hackensack, NJ.

One of my favorite albums of all time is Garland's All Mornin' Long also featuring Coltrane and Byrd. I never could get over that one. Maybe it was because it was one of the first jazz LP's I owned but the magic never wore off. I haven't listened to Soul Junction as much but it sounded pretty good earlier today. Enjoy.

5 years ago

The quiet Beatle, George Harrison, died 5 years ago. I remember I was visiting Shrimp Cracker and Hendo at college (what else was new?) and woke up on Hendo's floor to grab the bed since he went to class. I think Shrimp Cracker called to tell me as he did when Johnny Cash died, but I could be wrong. Anyway I couldn't go back to sleep and was glued to the CNN like it was an international disaster, which it was in my 20 year old mind.
George was the first Beatle to die during my lifetime, that I could remember (Lennon was killed 2 weeks before I was born) and that is not something you take lightly. The Beatles are the best band in the world even if you never really listen to their music a lot. It's like vegetables. You eat them when they are spoon fed to you by the parents and as you get older you'd rather eat candy. But at a certain age you appreciate their nutrional value and understand the harm candy can cause. So the Stones were candy and The Beatles vegetables.
George was the Beatle I could understand the best. He wasn't the star, rather he was graceful and questioning, as if your next door neighbor wound up in the biggest thing in the world and was trying to make sense of it all. How could you really?
George was an element you could not extract from the sum. His contributions were so simple at times but no one has ever been able to successfully repeat the licks or songs he wrote. And there is an argument to be made that All Things Must Pass is the greatest of the Beatles' solo albums.
I got sad thinking about how he's not here anymore, and hasn't been for some time, but it's nice in the most selfish kind of way that he existed because he brought joy to a lot of people, including myself and still does. I'm gonna put All Things Must Pass on now and Disc and I are gonne get happy.

Blue Note 42306

Originally released in 1957 on Blue Note Records, Blowing In From Chicago by Clifford Jordan and John Gilmore, both tenor saxophone players, isn't a well known jazz album and I don't run in any jazz circles so I'm not sure if it's a respected jewel of the genre, although it has been reissued as part of Blue Note's Rudy Van Gelder series. The band consists of Horace Silver on piano, Curly Russell on bass, and Art Blakey on drums in addition to the two sax players.

Jordan and Gilmore hailed from Chicago, hence the title. The midwest was a beacon of production of some very well known and respected horn players including Charlie Parker, Sonny Stitt, Dexter Gordon and Miles Davis. Obviously not just anyone made it to the east, so these guys were in good company.

Bo-Till is a composition written by Clifford Jordan. The album contains a Parker tune as well as one by Horace Silver entitled Everywhere. Enjoy Bo-Till.

Grizzly Man

Last night I watched a film by Werner Herzog called Grizzly Man. The film was released in 2005 and is about Timonthy Treadwell, a lover of grizzly bears who spent thirteen summmers in the Alaskan wildlife with the bears. Treadwell and his girl friend, who accompanied him on the final summer, were killed and eaten by a grizzly bear.

The film is primarily made up of footage that Treadwell, himself, shot over his stay in Alaska. Much of the audio he provides is insane, captivating, moronic and sad. At times he freaks out about the National Park Service or how much he loves the bears and is one of them. Other moments find him thinking aloud about his private life. All in all, the man spent the better part of thirteen years in the wild all alone and cannot be blamed for ranting and screaming about this or that. But something else besides lonliness was going on with this guy, as the film's talking heads put forth. Treadwell thought he was a bear, he was their friend and could not square the fact that he was human, not grizzly. Nor did he seem to recognize just how dangerous these animals were. Sure, when they got close he told them to go away, but he did not move himself and since a bear cannot understand a human, though he talked to them like they could, not too much distance was put between them.

Besides capturing on his camera the bears fighting, eating, playing, and most likely the bear that eventually ate he and his girlfriend, Treadwell spends much time with foxes, also crazy but cute. You get the feeling he was an honest lover of animals just not right in the head.

The one thing that you do not really want to see as a viewer, but cannot resist was thankfully not put in the film. The audio of the attack that ended the lives of these two people was captured by Treadwell but Herzog does not include it in the film, though there is a scene where you watch him as he listens to it. He does not look pleased and neither would we as the audience. This is a step in the right direction in a day and age when we want as much reality as we can handle. But as some know, not seeing or hearing something only makes it worse as it leaves it to the imagination. And that can be much more frightening than any reality. And it is here.

The only bonus feature on the DVD is strange in of itself. It features a documentary of the making of the film's score which was apparently recorded by musicians, including Richard Thompson and Jim O'Rourke, who did not know each other, nor had they ever written music together before.

Sunday Funday on Random

"To Richard Milhous Nixon who never let me down." - Hunter S. Thompson - Dedication to The Great Shark Hunt

A Man/Me/Then Jim - Rilo Kiley - I liked this song so much I put it on my "Sweet Songs"mix. Its got a nice little rhythm. Diana, Diana, I would die for you.

All The King's Horses - Dusty Springfield - I've been listening to a remasterd copy of Dusty in Memphis. Amazing. A Sunday Morning Classic.

Tattooed Love Boys - The Pretenders - After seeing Ms. Hynde & Co. this summer, I noticed how most everyone around me was a gay male. Made me rethink a couple of things.

A Love That Will Never Grow Old - Emmylou Harris from Brokeback Mountain Soundtrack - So about that rethinking a couple of things... Seriously, why would my iPod do that to me right now?

King of Spain - Galaxie 500 - I honestly cannot remember any of this band's songs but I like 'em all.

Head Full of Steam - The Go-Betweens. See remarks for Galaxie 500.

It Was An Accident - NRBQ - The problem with bands that release tons of records is where do you start? I usually just try and avoid them completely for fear of starting in the wrong place or starting in the right place and ending up in the wrong place 15 albums later. It's probably why I never got into Zappa.

Sweetest Love - The Stanley Brothers - These dudes really knew how to rock with their cocks out. (queer ref. #3). The Louvin's would have kicked their asses.

Crows - The Gothic Archies - I think its time to get all the Stephin Merritt shit off this thing. This is from the Lemony Snickett record the balls and brains of the Magnetic Fields recently released.

So Far Away - Dire Straits - Finally something I can listen to.

What's For Dinner?

Not just a famous phrase from around the household, "What's For Dinner" is also the title of the newest LP from The King Khan & BBQ Show. Making the move from Memphis-based label Goner Records to garage heavyweights, In The Red, "What's For Dinner" builds on the style and themes of their previous LP. What stands out about these guys to me, is that despite the fact that both of them have their feet firmly planted in the garage/trash minefield, they still manage to have distinct styles that work amazingly well together. BBQ is the one man band half of the formula, stomping away at his kick/snare drums while pickin-and-a-singin. He has a very rich voice, that wouldn't have been out of place on a mid-'50s rocknroll touring revue. He actually sings, which is not necesarrily a common thing in the trash rock world. It blends well with King Khan's voice, which has more of the punk rock snottiness to it. Despite the fact they these two heathens aren't doing anything new, it somehow seems refreshing to hear an album from people who obviously thoroughly enjoy making music. As of now, this album is making its way into my top albums of the year (wit' a bullet). Here a few examples for ya:

The Ballad Of...
Treat Me Like A Dog

Top Ten Songs As Performed By The Band

Top Ten Songs Performed Or By The Band

Look Out Cleveland
Get Up Jake
Stage Fright
Up On Cripple Creek
Katie's Been Gone
Acadian Driftwood
Don't Do It (Baby Don't You Do It)
Across The Great Divide
Tears Of Rage
Atlantic City (Springsteen Cover)

My Morning Jacket

Last night Shrimp Cracker and I checked out My Morning Jacket a.k.a. The Future Of Rock and Roll. I don't know if that is really a true signature for the band, but I overheard more than a few people use that term or something like it to describe MMJ throughout the show. Then again I also saw a bunch of former frat-like boys getting wasted and touching each other more than the dudes on my old block in Chelsea.
Shrimp Cracker has seen the band a couple of times, while I have never, so I thought I'd type of my fresh take on MMJ live.
First off, the band's sound guy deserves a slap on the back. The quality of the sound was excellent, making me realize how many other bands I like just don't give a shit about that department. The last show I remember attending with such great sound quality was Wilco (the other futures of Rock and Roll) at Radio City and I thought that was a mixture of their dedication to every thing being spot on and the venue. The Roseland, on the other hand is not known for its acousticsm though last night they were phenomenal.
Next, My Morning Jacket has a sick lighting set-up. From white's illuminating them to strobes blasting all around the stage to bulbs set up in the drum kit. It made the show much more entertaining to hear these guys rock out while watching a rainbow of insanity.
The show began with a white sheet covering the stage and going on up to the ceiling of Roseland. The band emerged one by one and their shadows on the sheet were all that could be seen. Seeing a hairy guy with a V-Neck guitar spread legged and thirty feet tall is fucking impressive. Seeing four hairy guys, three spreadlegged, one looking like Animal from the muppets on the drums, all thirty feet tall is awesome and a great way to rock out a show.
The music, the only thing not touched on, was not bad, but sometimes their canned jams could be telegraphed. The band rocks out when they want to rock and that is fun to watch. The one thing I would really change or recommend to them is the pacing in the setlist. A twelve minute song with the last few minutes a mid-tempo jam should not be followed by another mid-tempo or a slower tune. They lost a bunch of people in the audience near me, and myself and Shrimp Cracker by clustering a bunch of these songs together. What this meant was segments of the show where there were a bunch of rockers which was sweet and made me wish later on there were more.
I've heard remarks that MMJ are a one trick pony. That the reverb on the vocals and drums pisses some off, is probably a good thing because it has nothing to do with the song-writing and gives them a patent sound. And as Shrimp Cracker aptly remarked, it's easy to talk shit about these guys, but really what's the point because if they are to be the future of rock and roll (which they are not only because they are the present of rock and roll) they aren't bad at all and canned jams aside, they put on a good rock show and have fun doing so. In a couple of years, after releasing a few more albums these guys will be putting on top notch live shows when they have the songs to fill out a set.

We're A Happy Family

Ickmusic.com has a Ramones boot posted from Northwestern University, Evanston, IL in 1979. Looks pretty cool to me.

Buffalo Wings

All that talk about Britney Spears made me really hungry. Hey can you pass the blue cheese? Project World Domination has been under way, so I apoligize for my appearance during construction...Here's some songs to satisfy you until lunch. I'll meet you in the break room at like 12:30 ok?

Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers - Pirate Love
The Hi Fives - I'll Take You There
Doo Rag - Mop Down
The Del Monas - Farmer John