Why hello there friendly readers. I am writing to the internets to tell of a grand and wonderful event. On a now not-so-recent evening, I spent 3 hours in a glorious frenzy of music and passion and dancing that was fueled 98% by Kishi Bashi and Tall Tall Trees and 2% by several dirty martinis. […]
Category: Weird
The Best of Bootie: 2012
As promised, I am here today to discuss the greatest party music ever, Bootie’s annual “best-of” mashup collection. Bootie, an enormous quasi-underground dance party, was started in San Francisco in 2003 by DJ Adrian & DJ Mysterious (aka: A Plus D), in an attempt to create a nightclub based exclusively on bootleg mashups. Nine years later […]
Dan Blakeslee (AKA Doctor Gasp): Halloween Special
It’s fall at the Tunes’ Eastern Headquarters. Brrrrrrrr. That means the leaves are turning Paisley, everything formally delicious will, for the next six months, have sweet potatoes or yams on it, and yours-truly is actively making plans to escape before winter sets in. However, it also means that it’s time to listen to Dan Blakeslee‘s […]
PSY and his Gangnam Style
I know, I know, we’ve all heard this song already. PSY and his Gangnam Style, horse-dancing madness have reached 260 million people on YouTube, or at least 1 million people have watched it about 260 times. I know the Woolseyites have added about 50 views to that total, and from the live concert versions I’ve […]
Starship Amazing: The Robot Trilogy
When society finally reaches its pinnacle, the planets will align and we, as a people, will admit that Super Mario should be our president. Colors will become brighter, cheerful electronic sounds will percolate through the pink glowing atmosphere, and Starship Amazing shall be anointed Poet Laureates. Many say it’s impossible. A few think it has already happened. […]
The Golden Record
In 1977 the world was unique, seemingly culturally disparate and in perpetual tension. Industry had flooded the rivers with poison, the rivers had dried with consumption, consumption had fueled social revolution, social revolution created tension, tension is protectionism, and protectionism created war. In the mean time, Planet Earth was exactly 150 793 049 km away from the sun, a […]
Tom Waits: Frank’s Wild Years
See, this is the kind of weirdo music I could get behind. I think Tom Waits is actually insane. He is the musical manifestation of the instant when deliciously aged bourbon is spilled from a crystal tumbler, is soaked up by a vomit stained bar-rag, and is transformed into the smoking wick of molotov cocktail […]
Penguin Cafe Orchestra
“I am the proprietor of the Penguin Cafe. I will tell you things at random…” said Simon Jeffes in 1970. Since that day, until his death decades later, Jeffes and his musical entourage produced nude penguo-human afro-commune art and the unique sounds to match, casting themselves Out of the mainstream. This, appropriately shot them back In as their music became a staple […]
Randy Newman: Good Old Boys
The deeper I delve into Randy Newman’s discography, the more I am struck at the incredible extent of his talent. February 1st, 1973: Newman recorded a heavily annotated, 13 track demo for a new concept album he was interested in producing, the kernel being the life and thoughts of a (deep) southern everyman named Johnny […]
Wildfire: Smokin
Yesterday I started looking into a bit of the early Laguna Beach, California rock scene, deciding about 9 hours later that this was a huge mistake. I first stumbled on to a band named Wildfire. This band was made up of musicians Randy Love (cousin to Beach Boy Mike Love), Donny Martin, and Denny Jamison. […]
King Charles: Mississippi Isabel EP
It’s really rare that I find a musician who I find utterly fascinating. King Charles is the embodiment of an alternate reality Tom Hulce, an actor who wanted to be a musician. King Charles may be the combination of Hulce’s greatest performances; A melding of the comedic Pinto from Animal House, the diabolically brilliant Mozart […]
Horace Pickett: I Don’t Know the Man
After a little poking around the net I discovered that The Torn ACLs have released two new albums since I picked up their first EP, Cedar By the Sea, in 2009. Anyone who has listened to my playlists for more than a few days will know that I regularly insert Reputation at top volume, because I […]