Tuesday, February 28, 2006

plumpness leads to broken social scene

j_p_z the mysterioso americano newcomero commento over at country & latte music blog Larva Arse Rodeo said:

I saw you referencing the Lucky Strikes ’so round, so firm, so fully-packed’ as a song lyric. Thought you’d be amused to know the phrase was also used in a (modified) form in the great old polka classic, “Who Stole the Kishka?” I quote the version recorded by the Pennsylvania polka kings, Frankie Yankovic and His Yanks…
“Round and firm and fully-packed,
It was standing on the rack.
Someone stole the kishka
When I turned by back!”

Love them accordions….


FXH further research: Who Stole The Keeshka (Kishka) is the third (3rd) song on the "Frankie Yankovic & Friends - Songs Of The Polka King" album. It is an original song by W. Solek & W. Dana. Both Frankie Yankovic & "Weird Al" Yankovic play accordion throughout the song. Frankie Yankovic & "Weird Al" Yankovic are not related.

There is a
post and comments praising currently touring Canadians Broken Social Scene over at LP. j_p_z goes on to ask me what I think of of them. I could pretend I knew all about them but I only vaguely recall mentions of the name. Somehow I found a local blog talking about Broken Social Scene. Dave in Melbourne has a review of them over at his blog Sympathetic Stupid. Here's the intro:

Broken Social Scene. Broken Social Scene. Broken Social Scene. That's all I've got. I'm still buzzing (and my ears are, in fact, still ringing) after seeing these guys yesterday. They played the best festival set I've seen, hands down, bar none. Not that there's a heap of contenders as festivals are regularly disappointing.

But this was objectively great. They're touring with just the bare ten members.......
FXH says
Go read the rest and leave a comment.

Monday, February 27, 2006

food for thought

Over at Larvatus Prodeo, Shaun Cronin, who also runs the music blog Rock ‘n’ Roll Damnation has written a piece headed Survival of the Thinnest riffing on the themes from the TV show, The Biggest Loser. At the refurbished Club Troppo, Nicholas Gruen, who must eat keyboards for breakfast, is moved by the topic to write about his musings on Discrimination.

Over here we are listening to
So Round So Firm So Fully Packed (Thats my gal) 1947, by Merle Travis. Naturally we all know the song is built around advertising slogans of the time. (if not then where the bloody hell were you?).

'So round, so firm, so fully-packed; so free and easy on the draw' was a staple of the Lucky Strike radio advertisments.

'She's got the pause that's so refreshing' is from Coke ads.

'You can bet your boots I'd walk a mile Through the snow' from the Camel ads.

'That's my gal Toasted by the sun' Toasted by the Sun again from Lucky Strike.

In fact the whole bloody song is an amalgam of ad grabs. Yes I know you could do it, but the art is putting it together and making it something else. The song has always been one of my favourites.

You can have a
short listen online to Merle singing it here.

Someone better versed in, say, neo-retro-country-pop music- post-modernist-post-feminism might write something on the link between cigarette ads and the objectification of women. Putting on my country rock hat, I'd just observe that both are expensive these days, can make you feel good but also be dangerous for your health and the packaging has changed over the years.

Whilst thinking about all that serious stuff you could just hop on over and either download for your poddy thing or listen online to
Big Fat Mama Blues (18 Megs d/l) * a collection of blues singers waxing lyrical about their love for Big Women.


* Song list Big Fat Mama Blues
Big Fat Mama Blues - Charlie Spand
Big Fat Mama Blues - Tommy Johnson
Milk Cow Blues - Kokomo Arnold
Big Leg Woman Gets My Pay - Blind Boy Fuller
Fat Mama Blues - Jabo Williams
Skinny Woman - Sonny Boy Williamson

Thursday, February 23, 2006

bound for south australia

A birthday in Adelaide. Great catching up with people who flew in from Finnland, England, Flores and Melbourne.

Driving over and back by wandering routes I was struck by the ubiquitous nature of one of the
AWB's ventures Landmark, (no silly, not the shonky make money cult). They sell land, machinery, expertise, livestock and just about anything.

Too busy socially to visit bloggers like
Tim Dunlop, Saint and Pavlovs Cat. But even if I had tried to hook up with Gary Sauer-Thompson I would have missed him as he was in Melbourne.

I was puzzled by the very short cappuccino I was served at the
market when ordering a long macchiato. Young cool (ish) pony tailed black dressed male waiter seemed to be unimpressed when I said I was used to them different in Melbourne. Like long with a dash (streak / stain) of milk. I tested one out again the next day at a different place. The same. Seems as if thats how they do 'em in Adelaide. Thought I recognised the blue skirt and face walking toward me through the market so I said "Good speech on the RU486 debate " Amanda replied "Thanks" and smiled at me.

Having talked to the organ player I was going to see the band with the
Hammond B3 and Gretsch guitar at the Wheatsheaf Hotel Thebarton, (which apparently also has other attractions such as the Cougar Leather Club Leather/ denim/bears night 1st and 3rd Thursday each month from 9:00 PM) on Sunday at 5 pm but it got late and no one else was interested. A while back when I watched the documentary Damn Right I'm Cowboy I vowed to go one night to see The Hillbilly Hoot at Radio Three D and especially after talking to one of the cowgirls of the Hoot and Doco on Sat night at the party. I called in to 3D on Sunday to check out if the Hoot was on. Yes and a radio mate with me met an old radio mate there.We chatted radio and music for a while. Ended up leaving earlier Monday so missed the Hoot. Bugger.

While I was
in Adelaide they called an election. I kept being told the daily paper was a rag and it was.

Thursday, February 16, 2006

with one hand tied behind my back

Inspired by Tim Dunlop posting Yeah, but can he play Stairway to Heaven? about Preston Reed I remembered I'd meant to link to Bill Clements the famous one armed bassist. There's a video on his site of his amazing technique but you might find it easier on the bandwidth to watch and listen to Bill over at YouTube. I found Youtube by recommendation from Amanda over at Flop Eared Mule.

Talking about bass.
Here is a good piece on the physical issues of lugging, or pushing, around a double bass.

Q- How many bass players does it take to change a light bulb?


A- None--they just steal somebody else's light.

Sunday, February 12, 2006

catholic riots narrowly averted

No ‘Thriller’ – Michael Jackson said unlikely to sing pope’s prayers By Cindy Wooden, 2/7/2006

ROME -- Father Giuseppe Moscati said he never considered having Michael Jackson record all of the 24 prayers of Pope John Paul II he hopes eventually to set to music.
But, the priest told Catholic News Service, to have the pop star of “Thriller” fame sing one of the songs or to be part of a choir singing a song might have helped sales, reaching greater numbers of people.
However, when a Scottish newspaper published a story Feb. 6 saying there had been "secret discussions between the Roman Catholic Church and Michael Jackson to put the prayers of Pope John Paul II to music," the project began to fall apart.
"It would be very difficult for the Vatican to accept the project," said Father Moscati, director of Edizioni Musicali Terzo Millennio, a sacred music publishing and promotion company.
"Although he has been absolved by the courts" on charges of the sexual abuse of minors, it is clear Jackson's image "cannot be put alongside that of the pope," Father Moscati said.
The priest said he still would not mind the singer being involved on some level, but the furor created by the news reports makes Vatican approval doubtful.
"I did not go looking for him or for anyone else," the priest said.
He mentioned the project to an acquaintance who claimed to know Jackson "and I thought he had contact with other singers as well."
"I never met Michael Jackson or his representatives or his lawyers," the priest said. "And it was very inappropriate of them to tell the press."
Father Moscati said he went through dozens of texts of Pope John Paul's homilies, speeches and remarks for various occasions, paying particular attention to the prayers the pope often used to close his remarks.
"Many of them are prayers for peace, for young people, for the family or prayers to Mary," he said.
The priest obtained permission to use the prayers from the Libreria Vaticana Editrice, which holds the copyright to all papal texts.
However, he said, the final project -- including the music and the singers -- must be approved by the Vatican before publication.
Father Moscati has hired two Italian composers to set a few of the texts to music, although he said that if he finds some well-known singers who want to compose the music themselves that would be fine.
"At this point, I am hoping to find a producer, a serious professional, in the United States who would want to join the project and who has contacts with professional singers," he said.

Copyright (c) 2006 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops