2007/08/16

we be over here: vslam.com

2006/02/25

Cory Daye, Sister Sledge, Rainbow Brown, Prince

Music!


Cory Daye

Cory & Me (1979)
Green Light
Cory = the vocalist from Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band.



Sister Sledge

The Best of Sister Sledge 1973-1985 (1992)
Mama Never Told Me
The best song ever -- I mean that. Released in 1973 and penned by Thom Bell and Phil Hurtt.




Rainbow Brown

Rainbow Brown (1981)
Til You Surrender
Songs written/arranged/produced by Patrick Adams. Fonda Rae ("Over Like a Fat Rat") does lead vocals.



Prince

Parade (Under the Cherry Moon) (1986)
Anotherloverholenyohead
Parade is my favorite Prince album, easily, and one of my favorite albums in general. Words cannot express the passionate love I have for this man.

2006/01/28

Jo Ann Campbell, Jackie Dee, Brenda Lee, Nedra Price...

I promised a post of upbeat rockabilly ages ago. When I promise something, I do (usually) carry through eventually. This will be a long one; hold tight.




Jo Ann Campbell

I'm Nobody's Baby (1959)
Wassa Matter With You Baby?
Self-penned 1958 awesome. Campbell is a hero.



Jackie Dee

Best Of...1958-1980: Come and Get Me (2000)
Buddy
a.k.a. Jackie DeShannon. She recorded this in 1959 when she was fifteen and wore gold pants. Later, she'd be responsible for "When You Walk Into the Room," which is pretty much the pinnacle.



Brenda Lee

Anthology (1956-1980) (1991)
Bigelow 6-200
This song is penned by Don Woody, who is a pretty great singer in his own right.



Nedra Price

Sugar Doll (2005)
Let's Have a Party
I want to meet this girl.



Lou & Ginny

Sugar Doll (2005)
Do I Do Right?
yeah, I like Sugar Doll...



Penny Candy

The Rockin' Lady (1959)
The Rockin' Lady
Discovered this in a big bag of my dad's 45s a while ago. Became obsessed.

2005/09/30

Margaret Lewis, Coon Creek Girls, Betty Foley, Skeeter Davis

Well, it's been a while since this has been updated.

First, I'd like to encourage everyone (!) to download the Harold Ray mp3s that Alternative Tentacles has put up. This band is ridiculously fun. If you ever have the opportunity to see them "live in concert," leap on it.

I have an intense love of old rockabilly/country with female vocals. Although there's much more to learn and so many recordings I'm dying to get my hands on (check out this site for a hint), I've managed to hoard a decent amount. I'll probably have several posts with this theme--but here's one to start things off. These are all sort of slow; the fiery ones to come.



Margaret Lewis

Lonesome Bluebird (1995)
Reconsider Me
Aw, so pretty... Lewis was born in TX and was inspired early-on by the sounds of gospel and R&B (cites Ruth Brown, LaVern Baker, and Sister Rosetta Tharpe). Later, she got involved in the rockabilly scene, going to shows and befriending people like Buddy Holly. Um... I'm trying to summarize these liner notes, but basically she knew and performed with a lot of famous people. Margaret Lewis penned "Reconsider Me" with Mira Smith (who's playing guitar here), and it became a hit for Narvel Felts. I like Margaret's version a lot better.

Full Grown Man
Another song penned by Margaret Lewis. This one was obviously intended to be picked up by a male singer, but gender-bending's fun, so here you are. Again, Mira Smith is on guitar.



Coon Creek Girls

Early Radio Favorites (1982)
Pretty Polly
This is from a collection of the songs Lily May, Rosie, Daisy, and Violet recorded in the '30s. I wish people still had names like that.



Betty Foley

Sugar Doll (2005)
Old Moon
In the '50s, Betty Foley recorded a number of charting songs with her famous father Red. Like Margaret Lewis, she performed at the Shreveport, Louisiana Hayride. Sugar Doll is a fun compilation put out this year by Buffalo Bop. I might up more songs from it another time. Pretty cover art, huh?



Skeeter Davis

The Essential Skeeter Davis (1995)
Silver Threads & Golden Needles
Yeah, so "Silver Threads & Golden Needles" is one of my favorite songs, actually. It was a toss-up between this version and Wanda Jackson's--both are amazing.




God, there are all these songs I'm dying to put up that I only have on vinyl. I will learn how to rip one day, promise.

2005/08/29

June Gardner

This one is for billy, and the hurricane headed for New Orleans.


June Gardner

99 Plus One (1965-70)
Hang on Sloopy
It's Gonna Rain

2005/08/28

Primitive Calculators, The Units

I like quickies.


Primitive Calculators

Primitive Calculators (1978)
Do That Dance


The Units

Digital Stimulation (1980)
High Pressure Days



maximum volume is recommended.

2005/08/26

Casiotones for the Painfully Alone, The Enemy, L. Voag, Music Tapes, Television Personalities

I guess like everyone else around here I was in California for a week or something a few weeks ago and since I've been back work has been all over me; not to mention the silly personal crap thats been happening. So a large "sorry" to the vslam good guys. At least in the mean time I've been able to pile up a nice stack of tracks that I want to post about, so I have ammunition. There isn't really a theme going for this post or anything, besides being totally badass.

Casiotones for the Painfully Alone is, uh I don't know...cute, sorrowful, innocent, hilarious and often all at the same time. The Enemy was according to legend the first Kiwipunk band to perform original songs, and more importantly (I think) was the very first band of the Chris Knox/Alec Bathgate projects (see also, Toy Love and Tall Dwarfs). I don't think there is enough I could say about L. Voag (aka, Amos, Vic Serf, Narki Brillians, "that guy from the Homosexuals", etc etc etc) a blatant mastermind, obvious weirdo, and DIY diety, if you don't own the Homosexuals Record stop right now and go buy it. Music Tapes are sort of part of the Elephant 6 family of bands (Neutral Milk Hotel, Apples in Stereo, etc), except way more otherwordly and juvenile in a great way, this album sounds like a what a surrealist tapestry would sound like if tapestries were inclined to make sounds. Finally, the Television Personalities; and I am tired of typing and you are tired of reading, but basically after the Swell Maps disbanded the members went off to other projects, Jowe Head went off to the Television Personalities.


Casiotones for the Painfully Alone

Answering Machine Music: A Brief Album in Twelve Parts (2000)
Baby, It's You
I am completely, hopelessly in love with album since yesterday.

The Enemy

Pull Down the Shades (1978)
Iggy Told Me
Admittedly a pretty long song, but undisputedly one of the greatest punk songs I've ever heard.

L. Voag

The Way Out (1997)
Kitchen
How can't you love a song about appliances?

Music Tapes

First Imaginary Symphony for Nomad (1999)
What the Single Made the Needle Sing
Indiepop to the max!

Television Personalities

...And Don't the Kids Just Love It (1980)
I Know Where Syd Barrett Lives
Like songs about appliances, how can't you love songs about Syd?

2005/08/08

Bettye LaVette

Hey guys. I, too, am back from LA -- or rather, a tiny LA suburb. But here is music.


Bettye LaVette

Bluesoul Belles (2005)
Let Me Down Easy
Bettye LaVette is amazing.
I Feel Good All Over
Bettye LaVette is amazing again.

Walter Gibbons

Doin' the Best That I Can 12" (1978)
Doin' the Best that I Can
Walter Gibbons remixes of Bettye LaVette are amazing.



Quick background: the lady hails from Detroit, and the first two songs I picked are off a brilliant compilation that came out earlier this year--Bluesoul Belles, with "the complete Calla, Port, and Roulette recordings" of Ms LaVette and another woman, Carol Fran. LaVette has a very interesting history, but I'm not in the mood to type it out right now (an edit is in the works, friends; I will elaborate on Gibbons too).

2005/07/02

summer is for lovers

I'm in a particularly sappy mood this evening.


Lene Lovich

Stateless (1979)
I Think We're Alone Now

Gal Costa

Gal Costa [Mercury #1] (1969)
Baby
granted, I only speak english and therefore understand all of "Baby, baby, I love you" but I've got a good feeling this is a love song. anyone want to enlighten me with a translation?

Sam Cooke

Sam Cooke (1958)
You Send Me

Old 97s

Wreck Your Life (1997)
You Belong To My Heart
I hope this one doesn't get me thrown out, but their old stuff is really really great.


kiss somebody today.

2005/06/07

15 Minutes of Filth & Depravity

Without further ado, I present to you: Jelly Roll Morton's, Make Me A Pallet On The Floor. There is a LOT I could say about this track, but half the fun of this song is not knowing what you are getting into until it's too late. So if you want to spoil the spontaneousness click here. Otherwise, listen to the song then click the "the review" link below.


Jelly Roll Morton

Anamule Dance (1938)
Make Me A Pallet On The Floor
the review