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”