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Wednesday, January 23, 2008
NORTH TO ALASKA
Johnny Horton
Columbia : 1960
Available on: Greatest Hits
Columbia : 1987
[Buy It]
WHEN IT'S SPRINGTIME IN ALASKA (IT'S 40 BELOW)
Johnny Cash
Personal File
Sony : 2006
[Buy It]
ROCKIN' LITTLE ESKIMO
Bobby Swanson
Igloo : 1959
Available on: Nashville Rockabilly
Stomper Tome : 2003
[Buy It]
THE MIGHTY QUINN
Solomon Burke
Bell : 1969 (Unreleased)
Available on: Proud Mary: The Bell Sessions
Sundazed : 2000
[Buy It]
STEPHANIE SAYS
The Velvet Underground
VU
Polydor : 1985
[Buy It]
THE MIGHTY QUINN
Hopeton Lewis, Henry Buckley & Dienne w/The Gaylettes
Available on: Trojan 60s Box Set
Sanctuary : 2004
[Buy It]
WHEN IT'S SPRINGTIME IN ALASKA (IT'S 40 BELOW)
Johnny Horton
Columbia : 1958
Available on: Greatest Hits
Columbia : 1987
[Buy It]
Readers of Moistworks!
On this, the twenty-third day of our millennium's eighth January it is cold as stone/ice/witch's teat/Kerouac's liver/someone who's digging for gold, and throwing away fortunes in feelings! But nowhere is it colder than in the United States Internets' 49th State of Alaska, which the following bullet points are intended to clear some pretty nasty preconceptions goings on about town about Alaska:
- People in Alaska arrive in Alaska by crossing over a land mass which covered the Bering Strait tens of thousands of years ago
- People in Alaska have a median income of 3.6
- People in Alaska are 5 years of age or older
- People in Alaska are not people in Alaska
- People in Alaska are polar bears
"My initial impression is that Alaska is very very big. And cold, too, sometimes." So writes a friend who's actually been to Alaska. But these, too, are misconceptions. In fact, visiting, or even reading or watching television about Alaska tells us very little about Alaska itself. For this, we must look to song.
The recording artist Jewel, who is from Alaska, and has never recorded a song about Alaska, but other, equally talented recording artists have. Our personal favorite? The Gaylette's "Quinn The Eskimo," which if this wasn't the theme song for Jamaica's bobsled team then, OMG/WTF/BFF/QWERTY/TGIF/UOK?
But, of course, "Quinn, The Eskimo" was written and recorded by Bob Dylan, who had this to say about it in his memoir:On the way back to the house I passed the local movie theater on Prytania Street, where "The Mighty Quinn" was showing. Years earlier I had written a song called "The Mighty Quinn" which was a hit in England, and I wondered what the movie was about. Eventually I'd sneak off and go there to see it. It was a mystery, suspense, thriller with Denzel Washington as the Mighty Xaveir Quinn a detective who solves crimes. Funny, that's just the way I imagined him when I wrote the song "The Mighty Quinn." And, of course, our other friend - let's call him Dan - has this to say about "The Mighty Quinn," the film, which he's actually seen, and which I saw him talking up just the other (equally cold) day, to yet another friend - let's call him Garnette - who is actually from Jamaica but not, to the best of my knowledge, a police detective or Eskimo:A-
Denzel Washington, the police chief Xavier Quinn, from The Mighty Quinn (1989). The general idea is mostly that he's chasing his childhood friend Maubee, who is accused of murder. Quinn considers his case with a lieutenant:
XAVIER: You think Maubee did it? Cut a man's head off?
JUMP: That fucker, he does that! That's why he's like that!
XAVIER: Try and make sense when you talk, Jump.
Denzel gets to do a vague West Indian accent, wear a white suit, and sing.
XAVIER: I had the blues
I had the blues so bad
It put my face in a permanent frown
But I'm feeling so much better, I could cakewalk into town . . .
and
I woke up
One morning
Felt so good I got back into bed
Put that big leg over me mama
I might not feel this good again . . .
Watch me cakewalk, y'all.
The black people in the movie sing "Quinn the Eskimo" at him a lot, and drink beer, and go to work; the white people in the movie lurk around being racists, attempt and fail to sleep with Denzel, and try to overthrow governments. Some of the black people try to sleep with Denzel, too, but that's neither here nor there. Overall it's a pretty accurate picture of the universe. There is no actual cakewalking, which, as I understand it, was a dance that took as the source of its name competitions held by slaveholders, with slices of hoecake as prizes for the best dancers.
A couple hundred people singing in an island juke joint sound like this:
Come all without,
Come all, within
You aint seen nothing like the Mighty Quinn.
No, actually, that's not what they sound like. So: We sincerely hope that clears up whatever mis-and-preconceptions you might have had about Alaska, and goes some way towards freeing your doubting mind/melting your cold cold heartsLabels: alex, country, geography, reggae, rock and roll, rockabilly, soul
posted by Alex
LINK |
Friday, July 06, 2007
AZALEA
Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington
The Complete Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington Sessions
Blue Note : 1961
[Buy It]
CAREFUL (CLICK, CLICK)
Wu-Tang Clan
The W
Sony : 2000
[Buy It]
BLACK STARLINER MUST COME
Culture
Two Sevens Clash
Shanachie : 1977
[Buy It]
In recent posts, I've been writing about friendship, trust, faith, belief, hope, disappointment, communication, sexual possessiveness, and sexual permissiveness. This week, for Independence Day, I'm going to temporarily leave off with all that. Regular programming will resume next week.
Every year, around the Fourth of July, I spend whatever spare time I have listening to Louis Armstrong, who was supposedly born on July 4, 1900. That's legend -- in fact, he was born a year and a month later -- but it's an appropriate legend for the man who went on to become the greatest American artist of the century. And evey year, when I'm thinking of Louis Armstrong, I try to listen to different music. Anyone can go through the Hot Fives and Sevens or the W.C. Handy album for the hundredth time, and everyone should, but there are dozens of other records I wouldn't get to if it wasn't for set-asides. This year, I ended upon on the Armstrong-Ellington sessions, specifically "Azalea." Ellington wrote the song a few decades earlier, recorded it with Al Hibbler in 1951, and finally had a chance to record this definitive version with Armstrong in 1961. It's one of the slower songs from the Great Summit sessions, but whereas the rest of the record is autumnally slow, two lions not yet in winter, this is literally a spring song. It's also about New Orleans, obviously, and got a little bit of a boost after Katrina, but it should stand on its own as a love song.
Also worth noting this week: today is the birthday of the RZA, and tomorrow, of course, is the day when the three sevens clash.Labels: ben, hip-hop, jazz, reggae
posted by Ben
LINK |
Thursday, June 21, 2007
LOVE AND HAPPINESS
Al Green
I'm Still In Love With You
Hi : 1972
[Buy It]
LOVE AND HAPPINESS
Al Brown
Available on: Soulful Reggae
Trojan : 2002
[Buy It]
WEST BOUND TRAIN
Dennis Brown
Available on: This is Reggae Music: The Golden Age 1960-1975
Trojan : 2004
[Buy It]
MY SOUL HAS GOT TO MOVE
Dixie Wonders feat. Clephus Mabone
Available on: Soul Gospel vol. 2
Soul Jazz : 2006
[Buy It]
Picking up where Ben's post left off, a few more songs which nicked the opening guitar riff from Al Green's "Love and Happiness." Also, Ted in the comments says he'll be posting the original version of "Stranded in the Jungle" in a day or two - you can get it at his exciting new audioblog, the Boogie Woogie Flu.
BULLY OF THE TOWN
Joe Harris & Kid West
Available on : Field Recordings vol. 5: Louisiana, Texas, Bahamas 1934-1940
Document : 1998
[[Buy It]
James asked me to say something about an article I wrote for the July issue of GQ, which comes out sometime this week. I don't have a whole lot to say, except that it's a long article, that it involves bullies, and bullying, and that I broke my hand reporting it. Also, the photos are fun.Labels: alex, old-timey, reggae, soul
posted by Alex
LINK |
Thursday, May 24, 2007
PARTY GIRL
Charlie Rich
The Complete Smash Sessions
Polygram : 1992
[Buy It]
Our friends at Minnesota Public Radio are putting together a segment on campaign songs, so MW & MPR are forming like organized crime to pose the au courant musical question: What campaign songs should America's most enterprising and indefatigable candidates adopt?
BAM BAM
Toots & The Maytals
Monkey Man
Berverly's : 1970
[Buy It]? UTAH MORMON BLUES
Phil Pavey
Available on: Jazzin' the Blues vol. 4 : 1929-1943
Document : 2000
[Buy It]? Readers of Moistworks - good news. We're opening the floor up to you! What do you think? We mean, really? We're interested. And, for once, we're talking big news: Obama, and McCain. Romney, Clinton, Edwards, and Hero Mayor Rudy G. - Important stuff!
OMG WTF LOL, right? But for serious - you're our BFF! So let us know, in the comments below. Ground rules?Surprise Us: TAKE ON ME [DEMO]
A-ha
[Unreleased]& Make Us Love You: NOBODY
Larry Williams and Johnny Watson with the Kaleidoscope
Okeh : 1967
Courtesy of [the newish & wonderful audioblog]: Office NapsTell The Truth, But Eschew The Obvious - RUN ON FOR A LONG TIME
Bill Landford & The Landfordaires
Columbia : 1949
Available on: There Will Be No Sweeter Sound : The Columbia/OKeh Post War Gospel Story 1947-1962
Legacy : 1998
[Buy It]& Off Point: BRENDA AND EDDIE
Billy Joel
Live : somewhere& Omit Those Words That You Find To Be Needless: ONCE
The Feelings
Dearling Darling
Darla Records : 1990
[Buy It]
Bonus points for riffing off something whichever candidate you're on about said, or did, within the past few news cycles - we paying enough attention to you to know you're paying attention to that sort of thing so: we'll post the best songs next week, and who knows - you might even end up famous here or on the radio! Either way, any idiot with with a suitcase nuke can tell you that the fate of this free world we're building rests squarely and securely on your shoulders.
NB: Speaking of same, Moistworks' Astoria Bureau would like to take this opportunity to endorse Mitt Romney - who believe you us, the last thing we want is to see our friends and readers committing Sodomites and catching GommorrheaLabels: alex, country, gospel music, indie, pop, radio, reggae, soul
posted by Alex
LINK |
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Here's a nice quote about love:
Love: we are those beings who must, at all times, give our all. To be decieved has no real meaning for us, for we act under immense pressure and the object has the sole functionof unleashing this. Thus we are as naive as children when it comes to judging the loved one. Even when a lover only desires flirtation and a touch of sentiment we are so dazzled that we want to give her everything - our very soul. We are ridiculous, but for good reason.
- Robert Musil, Diaries 1899-1944
And a few tracks from the mix cd I'm working on:
I'M STANDING IN THE SHADOWS
The 5 Royals
Todd 7" : 1963
[Criminally Out of Print]
THAT'S HOW I FEEL
The Soul Clan (Solomon Burke, Arthur Conley, Joe Tex, Ben E. King, Don Covay)
Soul Meeting
Atlantic : c. 1968
Available on: Atlantic Unearthed: Soul Brothers
Atlantic : 2006
[Buy It]
WHEN YOU TOUCH ME
The Reigning Sound
Too Much Guitar
In The Bed Records : 2004
[Buy It]
PEGGY
Toots & The Maytals
BMN 7" : 1965
Available on: Pressure Drop The Definitive Collection
Trojan : 2005
[Buy It]
LOVE POTION #9
The Coasters
The Coasters on Broadway
King : 1973
[Even More Criminally Out of Print]/Courtesy of Soul Sides
CRIMSON & CLOVER
The Uniques
Available on: The Best of Slim Smith & The Uniques 1967-1969
Trojan US : 2003
[Buy It]
A TASTE OF HONEY (LIVE)
James Booker
Spiders on the Keys: Live at the Maple Leaf Bar
Rounder : 1993
[Buy It]
(THE LOVE I SAW IN YOU WAS) JUST A MIRAGE
The Uniques
Available on: The Best of Slim Smith & The Uniques 1967-1969
Trojan US : 2003
[Buy It]
SEARCHING THE DESERT FOR THE BLUES
Blind Willie McTell
Available on: The Best of Blind Willie McTell
Yazoo : 2004
[Buy It]
GOODBYE BOOZE
The Delmore Brothers
Available on: Classic Cuts 1933-1941
JSP : 2004
[Buy It]
FUEL FOR LOVE
Wrinkers Experience
Available on : EMI Super Hits
EMI Nigeria : c. the early '70s
[Out of Print]/Also courtesy of Soul Sides
There's no theme yet, except that a few friends are getting married this year, so it's pretty heavy on the love songs. And not all of the squares are in place, but a few of these songs - Crimson & Clover, Love Potion # 9, James Booker's Rachmaninov- flavored Taste of Honey - will make it on by dint of their awesomeness. So this is more or less what I've been walking around in the sunshine listening to. And now, in entirely unrelated (but somewhat more timely) news:
FIDEL CASTRO
Lord Invader
Calypso Travels
Folkways : 1959
[Buy It]Labels: african, alex, bluegrass, blues, calypso, reggae, soul, soul/garage-core
posted by Alex
LINK |
Monday, April 16, 2007
MAGIC MOUNTAIN
Eric Burdon & War
MGM 7" : 1970
Available on: The Best of Eric Burdon & War
Avenue : 1996
[Buy It]
MINNESOTA THINS
Mike Manieri
Available on: Rare Funk vol. 4 (Soundtrack Edition)
[Out of Print]
FLO
Isaac "Redd" Holt Unlimited
Isaac, Isaac, Isaac
Paula : 1974
[Buy It]
MAN FROM CAROLINA
The G.G. All Stars
Trojan : 1970
Available on: Tighten Up: Trojan Reggae Classics 1968-74
Trojan US : 2002
[Buy It]Labels: funk, James, reggae, soul
posted by James
LINK |
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH
Buffalo Springfield
 Promo
Monterey
Smothers Bros.
FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH
The Staple Singers
For What It's Worth
Epic : 1967
Available on: A Family Affair
Kent : 2004
[Buy It]
FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH
Miriam Makeba
Keep Me In Mind
Reprise : 1970
[Buy It]
FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH
Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66
Stillness
A&M : 1970
[Buy It]
WATCH THIS SOUND
Slim Smith & The Uniques
Camel : 1968
Available on: Best of: 1967-1969
[Buy It]
Why can't my songs about trouble be popular? I ask. But people are tired. Sometimes people are tired of thinking of difficult and unpleasant things.
-Miriam Makeba
Andreas from Europe writes:Dear Moistworks folks,
as a reader from Europe I wonder if there has been,
say in the last 12 or 24 months, a song (or songs)
which, in your opinion, said something meaningful
about the war in Iraq and the "war on terror" - we all
know the classic anti-War songs, and, yes, of course,
Neil Young did his (rather uninspiring, unfortunatly)
share, but I sometimes have the feeling that it is a
curious thing that this war is not really really
really a big thing in contemporary music. This war is
different from other wars, and so should the music
"about it". or not ? We told Andreas that it seemed like the kind of question our readers like to answer, so let him know, in the comments below. In the meanwhile:
A HARD RAIN'S GONNA FALL
The Staple Singers
Use What You Got
Stax : 1973
Available on: A Family Affair
Kent : 2004
[Buy It]Labels: alex, gospel music, reggae, rock, soul
posted by Alex
LINK |
Friday, February 02, 2007
THE SNIPER
DRUM SONG
CHAMPION OF THE ARENA
Jackie Mittoo
Champion in the Arena 1976-1977
Blood and Fire : 2003
[Buy It]
My friend BJ came over the other night; we sat around listening to Jackie Mittoo. BJ and I both love Jamaican music, but while I'm heavily into the sixties stuff - Toots, Prince Buster, the Skatellites - and think that, say, the stuff Bob Marley's best-known for pales in comparison to the tracks he recorded at Studio One - and am more or less an idiot when it comes to the seventies stuff, BJ's the other way around.
So anyway, we played some Toots, but kept coming back to Jackie Mittoo.
"It's like when he sets the rhythm with his left hand, eveyone else is so deeply in that groove," BJ said.
"To me, it sounds more like Mittoo's just dancing, swirling around it," I said.
"So, I'm saying that Mittoo's the canal, or the lock, and everything else you hear is the ships passing through it," BJ said. "And you're saying the band is the ship and Mittoo is dolphins circling it."
"It's swirl," I said.
"But it's got to do with shipping," BJ said. "And dolphins."
Then we listened to another album - a compilation of songs Jamaican expats recorded in Toronto in the sixties and seventies:
THE FUGITIVE SONG
Jo-Jo and the Fugitive
Cobra : 1968
GRAND FUNK
Jackie Mittoo
Summus : 1971
I WISH IT WOULD RAIN
The Cougars
Previously Unreleased
All available on: Jamaica to Toronto 1967-1974
Light in The Attic : 2006
[Buy It]
"It's not even reggae," BJ said.
"It's like they came to Toronto and were like, oh this is what they're playing up here? Let's play the fuck out of that! And so they did and blew everyone else away."
"In Toronto, anyway."
I'm not sure why, but I punched BJ just then, and when BJ punched me back he broke my nose. There was a lot of blood. But we weren't really getting to the bottom of things, anyway.Labels: alex, funk, reggae
posted by Alex
LINK |
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
DADDY
Toots & The Maytals
BMN 7" : 1964
Available on: Pressure Drop: The Definitive Collection
Trojan : 2005
[Buy It]
LIKE A ROLLING STONE
The Wailers
Studio One 7" : 1966
Available on: One Love: The Wailers at Studio One
Heartbeat : 1994
[Buy It]
BOLINGO YA MOSIKA MABE
Polydor
Ngoma 7" : c. 1960
Available on: Souvenir Ya L'Independance
Pamtondo : 1999
[Buy It]
Darling, you must send me a photograph of yourself -
You left me all alone...
To whom can I talk when I walk around?
. . . . . . . . . .
Alex Abramovich is not writing a historical novel about the lost city of Atlantis.Labels: alex, reggae
posted by Alex
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