Exit to darkness

Been rubbing my ears up against some jazzy funky guitar sounds of late. There are some suspicious characters in that world, but Mr. Upchurch is not among them. Stylin' and struttin' all the way out the door.  

Phil Upchurch — Darkness Darkness, Part 1

Flute focus

Some menacing clouds came out last evening, and my mind turned immediately to this piece of awesome flute-iness that could shine a light of piercing contemplation through any nimbus. There is a wide variety of brown pants that could accompany this tune, and one day I hope to own all of them.

Focus - Love Remembered

The mouth of the sun

Think about the kind of music you'd make if you lived under a military dictatorship. Would it reflect your turmoil and repression and come out all frantic and violent? Would it sound like giving up? Or would it groove and soar? I can't help but have affection for Brazilian musicians — Tropicalia and otherwise — who responded to the ugly realities of power by making music that was beautiful and full of sunlit spark. Soul of the sol, so to speak. Enjoy this one for a while. The 'blague will be laying low the rest of the week.

Arthur Verocai - Na Boca Do Sol

Like to sing about sunshine

Funny how even the more sensible of us fall victim to the fabled company party and all its ragged booziness. After near-disastrous phone disappearance and subsequent sleep-deprived, hungover recovery mission, I'm thinking it'll be easier to stay above the influence in the future. (My creaky bones nod in agreement.) Meanwhile, I'm thinking some ridiculously sunshiny tunes are a nice way to downshift from a manic couple of weeks. The Free Design sometimes strike me as a put-on, but there are some subtle dark vibes underneath the harmonies. Here are a couple tunes from both ends of their full-throated career.

The Free Design - Umbrellas

The Free Design - Like To Love

Everybody sing out

Keeping with the good vibes. Here's one in the proud tradition of elemental sound-choruses that perfectly punctuate righteous verses. Good to remember that you don't have to say anything to get exactly the right thing across. A little dose of Staples Singers will always make you feel like an upright human being.

The Staples Singers - Oh La De Da

Wilderness

I'm fighting the urge to harp on politics. Sure, our electoral temper tantrum was completely self-destructive and put some truly odious characters in positions of high office. None of the crazies took over in my neck of the woods, so there's a little local consolation. But it's still hard to stomach the idiot pundit nattering that will pass for thoughtful analysis. So, yeah, I think a little mental retreat is in order. Here's a woodsy jam from the Mac's pre-Lindsey/Stevie days. Let's get lost in an early-'70s reverie today.

Fleetwood Mac - Sentimental Lady

Suckin' my rattle tongue

Driving through Tennessee in the morning en route to a "house party" gig (the house was still being built) in Deliverance country, things just looked funny. Watching the scenery on the side of the highway, the ground looked like it had just swallowed something mean and the sunlight felt equally ominous. One rest stop sold crack pipes and porn videos in solid-color boxes (labeled by ethnicity). Another sold mostly porkrind-related products. A horrible tone hummed incessantly from the fridge. Luckily, the Captain was there to save the day.

Captain Beefheart - Black Snake Moan
Captain Beefheart - Spitball Scalped Uh Baby

Theme Week - Glam, no Bowie (1/5)

When Songblague started, I had high hopes for putting together lots of weeklong narratives. Lamely, I've only gotten around to doing one so far (which I recommend you revisit sometime). I think it's high time for a new theme week. I think it's time for some glam this mid-November!

Great as they are, it's a shame that David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust albums have all but cornered the market on the genre. Anyone who saw Velvet Goldmine knows there's a whole lot of magic in the short-lived glam heyday, and I think Bowie did us a favor by refusing permission to use his songs in the movie.

Let's start in with a man who was king of the hill for a short while and surely had Bowie beat in the hair department. Mr. Marc Bolan comes crashing through the wall with this sexy, cosmic, menacing piece of rock & roll wonderment. Baby, you know who you are.

T. Rex - Chariot Choogle

Preparing for liftoff

The plan is starting to come together. Hotels are getting booked, supplies procured, all that. B and I head out for our mad dash across Israel in less than 3 weeks. It's soon enough that loose ends are starting to make me nervous, but far enough away to still feel like a dream. I'm trying to heed the lessons of Chevy Chase and let spontaneity upset our best-laid plans. But I suspect I'll still find a way to drive around with someone's deceased grandmother in the rental car. That's how Songblague conducts its international busines. Anyway, here's a song to accompany thoughts of liftoff.

Sun Ra - Rocket Number 9

Hey, you can never have enough of the Sun One! Two for Tuesday, babies. This is what the pianist is playing at the hotel bar on Venus.

Sun Ra - Quest

The white gloves of the devil

Sometimes you just want to savor the idea of a movie, rather than bothering to go watch the thing. Les Gants Blancs du Diable was apparently an animated French thriller from 1972. If the soundtrack is any indication, I would probably love it. But maybe not. It could be boring, or utterly lacking the rainy day grooves and pure French '70s-ness of Karl Heinz Schafer's soundtrack. I really don't want to take the chance. So I'll just focus on the poster and the awesome title and let my imagination go from there. Big props to Mutant Sounds for supplying this to the public. Essential listening for library music buffs.

Karl Heinz Schafer - La Victime

I love America

The band, that is. Seriously. "A Horse With No Name" may be one of their weaker numbers and easily their worst song title, but a straight listen to their best-of comp reveals an impressive array of solid a.m. gold. You may have noticed Songblague's fondness for music of an imaginary California. And this one is a fine slice of it, an early '70s vintage. Features some dumbass folk wisdom in the chorus and rustic drivel everywhere else. More importantly, it's irresistible as barbecue. And also somehow kind of appropriate for a holiday where we set off explosions to express our national pride.

America - Don't Cross the River

Come on feel the Neu!

Sick week continues. The latest developments - bloodshot eyes, clogged ears, antibiotics. Weathering this calls for steady hands. German ones. I need a landmark to get my bearings.

No need to add to the praises heaped on Neu!'s genius, but it's interesting to come to them after yesterday's gimlet-eyed lullaby. Consider them the bony-cheeked European cousin to the wild early-'70s beardmen in Britain and America. Goes to show that there's no language barrier when it comes to the brotherhood of greasy long hair.

Neu! - Hallogallo