Artie White – Blues Boy (Ronn Records, Stan’s Records Division, 1985)

“You’re my pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, and you chase all my blues away”

Can you judge a record by it’s cover? Hell no. But damned if I’m not gettin’ close. Mr. Artie “Blues Boy” White is one of *shhh* several dozen *hush* records I picked up during the Love Garden moving sale. Tell me he doesn’t look like he can sing  the blues– sometimes you just know.

“You’re everything I need, baby you’re my leaning tree”

This is the first full length from the the “Blues Boy,” and its got all the soul, R&B and blues you could ever want. Artie’s gonna take good care of you. If your idea of Chicago blues came from the Blues Brothers movies– you really owe it to yourself to give this a spin.

Props to my KC homie at There Stands the Glass for reminding me to give proper attention to this living legend. Check him out for another Artie track.

Lastly, I would like to take a general survey of anyone who cares to comment– should I move from Lawrence to KC? I work in Lawrence and thats not likely to change anytime soon. Would the commute be worth it? Please weigh in pro or con. I don’t especially love Lawrence.

Leaning Tree – Artie White (download&stream)

This is a mono rip from the original LP, if you have any sense at all you will go buy this on the remastered CD right now.

 

 

 

 

 

The Rave-Ups – These Wishes b/w Big Wide River 12″ (Fun Stuff Records, 1986)

Jimmer Podrasky and the boys from Beverly Hills are back with a two song EP. Released one year before they signed to Epic– and epically failed to make a name for themselves on the label– these are both great tunes.

I like these guys. They have kind of a roots-rock sound but it has plenty of poppy hooks and they aren’t afraid of a bitchin’ guitar solo. There is no use trying to figure why bands like this fall through the cracks, especially with lyrics like:

“You’re kisses don’t seem so rad anymore / like you were kissing thin air / your love is like a foggy vacation / and I’m wishin’ you were clear”

OK, seriously? “You’re kisses don’t seem so rad anymore”?

Thats fucking gold. Actaully, its fucking rad.

These Wishes – The Rave-Ups (download&stream)

The Rave-Ups – Class Tramp (Fun Stuff Records, 1983)

So, lets just get this out of the way. I am not a huge John Hughes fan. Sue me, I have a cold dead heart. When I scored this record at the Lawrence Public Library sale today for a dime, it was because I had a hunch that it might be some passable early 80’s pop.  I didn’t notice that Beth Ringwald is thanked in the liner notes. And I certainly didn’t know that this was the band that played the club scene in Sixteen Candles.

So, it turns out that Beth Ringwald is Molly Ringwald’s older sister. And the reason the Rave-Ups, an otherwise unknown L.A. pop-band, managed to audition personally for Mr. Hughes and appear in the film? Another classic case of sibling taste-making. Molly might have been the movie star, but Beth was still the older sister, and she was into the Rave-Ups. (So into them that she had a son, Chance, with lead singe Jimmer Podrasky in 1990.)

This is the Rave-Ups first album, a six song EP, guitar driven and hook laden the way pop was meant to be. Sounds like goofy REM or maybe a less spastic DBs. Its innocent, and funny and kind of sweet. In short, it sounds like a John Hughes flick. Enjoy.

They Do Talk – The Rave-Ups (download&stream)
That Mexico Song – The Rave-Ups (download&stream)
It’s You – The Rave-Ups (download&stream)

Old Fashioned Waltz / Hurt Me – Bob Bowness (Relco Records)

The mysterious Relco Records strikes again! This record was found in Chanute, Kanass, and boy, did it make my day. Having already stumbled upon one of these gems, I was well acquainted with their charms. The M P M featured a Relco release back in February, the strange and wonderful Robby England singing “I Feel Good (When I’m With You)”. Mr. England even chimed in on the comments, letting us know that single went to #1 in Mankoto, Minnesota.

Here we have two tracks by Bob Bowness. Both are the best kind of country, sad and sappy. Pedal steel on decades old dusty grooves give this track a flavor that borders on David Lynch-y weirdness. Written by Craig Roads and Greg Adams.

“I’ll never forget the first time I saw her / wearing green velvet and lace”

Old Fashioned Waltz – Bob Bowness (download&stream)

The vocals really come out on the B-side, which in my opinion is the stand out track. Having absolutely no idea when this was released I don’t know which contemporaries to compare him to, but I definitely hear some George Jones and maybe even a little Buddy Holly, however poorly imitated they may be. This one is written by Don Lewis.

“I realized you were using me / for a good times sake / sometimes thats almost / more than I can take”

Hurt Me – Bob Bowness (download&stream)

Untitled Mix Tape – Chanute, Kansas (1998)

I had to hold on for dear life while listening to this one, but it paid off in the end. Fairly standard taped off the radio fair here, all coming from Y105.5 Chanute, Kansas. There is a completely dated commercial at the end of side 1 thats pretty funny. Side 2 mixes in a little country, but then out of nowhere, The Cult.

The final two tracks by The Cult are from the 1987 Rick Rubin produced album “Electric.” The rest of this tape are all hit songs from 11 years later. I initially thought maybe the off-air recordings were taped on top of a pilfered transfer of “Electric” but the two tracks are out of order from the original album.

After some consideration I have deduced that this is a classic case of Older Sibling Taste-Making. This syndrome plays out in a number of ways, most notably with the younger sibling jacking CDs from the older. As an older sybling I can speak with authority to this phenomenon, and I continue to this day to pester my lil’ sis’ to return some of my most cherished records. (Which she continues to this day to deny jacking.)

And even though my Suicidal Tendancies records may never be returned to me, I like to think my influence prevented a potential catastrophe– a life long Korn or Celine Dion fan. I can only hope that a similar fate awaited this mix-tape artist in Chanute, Kansas. A lot of pressure falls on the first born, but musical taste-maker might just be the most important.

SIDE 1
Matchbox 20 – 3am
Robyn – Show Me Love
Chumba Wumba – I Get Knocked Down
Celine Dion – My Heart Will Go On (Titanic theme)
(Commercial for American Financial Trading Corporation “The worlds oil fields remain inside a powder keg with a short fuse, learn how you can invest in these markets.”)

SIDE 2
Backstreet Boys – As Long As You Love Me (incomplete)
Savage Garden – Truly, Madly, Deeply
Garth Brooks – Ain’t Goin’ Down ‘Til the Sun Comes Up
Faith Hill – It Matters To Me
The Cult – Outlaw
The Cult – Bad Fun

Chomsky – 00:15:00 to Rock (Idol Records, 2001)

This is just a short post in case anyone out there has been watching the TV show “Flipping Out” on Bravo and thinking that they were hearing the band Chomsky playing in the background. I got confirmation tonight that Idol Records (Dallas, TX) has been licensing tracks to various TV shows including “Flipping Out.” This opens up some exciting possibilities. A few possible selections I might like to see:

Old 97’s on Law & Order

PPT on Psyche

Centro-matic on Real Housewives of Altanta

Check out the Idol Records site for some free & clear MP3’s

Famous Football Songs of the Southwest Conference, c.a 1960 (Columbia Records Limited Edition for Esso and Humble Oil and Refining Company)

Ah. The students are back in class, a crisp breeze is blowing and the drum line is practicing. Its only natural that a young lady’s thoughts turn to football.

Here’s a little something for my favorite socially awkward, dreadlocked, Heisman trophy winning player. Ricky Williams, you will always be a Longhorn to me.

University of Texas Fight Song (stream& download)

As a bonus, I dug up two pretty awesome CDs recently. Produced by NFL Players, Inc in 1996, NFL Jams and NFL Country paired football stars with popular musicians. NFL Country is kind of lame, but take a listen to Toby Keith and Troy Aikman doing this original tune. (Aikman channels Hank Hill. It works)

Two Pair of Levis and a Pair of Justin Boots – Toby Keith and Troy Aikman (download&stream)

Of the two CDs NFL Jams is by far the better offer. There are some pretty recognizable names of this disc, Phife (Tribe Called Quest), Pharcyde, Havoc. Most awesome is that there are two Wu-Tang tracks. Three years following 36 Chambers, one year following the classic Liquid Swords and coinciding with Ghostface’s first solo release Ironman, here we are treated to Method Man with the Philadelphia Eagles Ricky Watters and Ghostface with Andre Rison of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Its In the Game – Method Man and Ricky Watters

Fast Life – Ghostface and Andre Rison

This last one is from West coaster Celly Cel, who I had never heard of before, but has that signature mid-90’s California sound. The best part about it is that I think 49er’s fullback William Floyd might be the better rapper.

Bayriders – Celly Cel and William Floyd

I Luv My Skul (2009)

If you went to high school in Fort Worth, Ag-town, GP, H.E.B or points in between you will want to check out this track. My sister forwarded it to me after her Vice-Principal sent it around to all the teachers at her high school. (Go Poly Parrots!)

This is basically a roll call rap that names every single high school west of Dallas in the metro area. I don’t know anything about the track other then the interesting spelling used for the track name. Would love to find out who this is!

“We back in the Ag
Lets get it started
What’s really good Sam?
What it is Martin?
I’m at Bowie
Lookin’ for a cutie
Seguin got girls
on cross gaurd duty
Headed to Lamar
and Ag-Town High
I’m leavin’ the Ag
Cops gotta hide
Timberview just this
side of Legacy
Now I’m headin North
into GP”

I Luv My Skul (download&stream)

photo coutesy @pkcoolguy. yes, he really got the city of arlington logo tattooed on himself. Go tell him how awesome it is.

Gary Burton and Keith Jarrett, s/t – 1971 (Atlantic Records)

Fusion is a tough game. Too much rock and you lose your jazz man credibility. Too much jazz and and you get no respect. Expert technical musicianship will relegate you to the nerd-core  followers of people like Jaco Pastorius. And to top it all off, no one even REALLY knows what fusion is.

Unfortunately this post is of the nerd-core variety. Gary Burton is one of the most well-known and accomplished vibraphone players in the world. His style of playing with 4 mallets is a technique that he invented, and has since been adopted by virtually all vibraphonists today. This technique known as the “Burton Method” was popularized during the birth of Fusion as a musical style in the early 970s. Fusion brought many great vibraphone players to prominence. Milt Jackson began playing vibes for Miles Davis, and went on to play in the Modern Jazz Quartet as well as many of his own solo and combo recordings. Spyro Gyra brought the Grammy award winning vibes player Dave Samuels to fame. And my personal favorite vibraphonist Roy Ayers gained popularity during this time by bringing a unique R&B flavor to fusion. Virtually every well know vibraphonist today made his name in the early 70s. Sadly,  it was a popularity that the vibraphone had never seen before and has yet to see since.

Here is vibraphonist Gary Burton playing with guitarist Keith Jarrett and:

Sam Brown, Guitar
Steve Swallow, Bass
Bill Goodwin, Drums

Grow Your Own – Gary Burton and Keith Jarrett

Songs of the Boy Singers – The Boy Singers of the Boles Home, Quinlan, Texas (1964)

About the Boy Singers
The Boy Singers, organized in 1961, are boys from 7 to 14 years of age, whose voices are unchanged. They have appeared from coast to coast under the auspices of the churches of Christ. Songs recorded in this album are part of the repertoire of their annual three month concert tour.
The Boy Singers specialize in religious music, hymns, spirituals, and the more familiar songs used in church worship, suitable for youthful, unchanged voices. Their concerts are always in an a cappella style, and demonstrate the beauty of the unaccompanied human voice and its profound effect on upon the hearer.

Mary Had a Baby – The Boy Singers of the Boles Homes