Welcome back to another episode of Cool & Strange Music for May 17, 2017!
And do I have some hot tunes for you today. These tunes you can really dig and you can use to clear the dancefloor or have those pesky guests leave your place and go home when you are ready to sleep! But first up, let's get serious. First up is some awesome guitar playing from a 19-year-old guy named Alexandr Misko from Russia. He says: "My fingerstyle guitar world here - covers, originals and more. Hope you like it! Cheers from Russia!" Check out his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/alexandrmisko/ Holy shit! This guy is incredible! Tons more amazing stuff on his Youtube page: (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdZe3OmKYiIwyrLFEEbNwVw) #4) Alexandr Misko - Michael Jackson - Billie Jean https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jx4okVd3K14
Next up is something that always makes me laugh. Back in the day, Sesame Street used to make some funny music video parodies. Besides that, Sesame Street was basically useless for anything but babysitting kids. It certainly didn't teach them anything (Trust me. I know the rights owners!) Anyway, they made some really great musical parodies. This was one of my all time favorites! It's the Beetles!
OK? Cool, eh? OK, let's keep up the laughs. Next up is Stevie Riks. Stevie Riks is a Multi-talented Comedian and Impressionist, Comedy Writer, Voice Over Artist and multi-instrumentalist Musician from the United Kingdom. He does some really funny "Misheard lyrics videos." There's lots more funny stuff at his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MrStevieRiks/
At #1 is a song that I picked especially for my friends Lee Popa and Jolee Popa of Pinksideofthemoon. Lee and Jolee were hanging out with me in Tokyo when I mentioned (for some reason) this song. I don't think they'd heard of it....Lee! Jolee! I think this is simply genius. Zlad is actually named Santo Cilauro. And this is the funniest parody of an 80s track you'll ever hear! Wikipedia says: Santo Cilauro is an Australian television and feature film producer, screenwriter, actor, author, comedian and cameraman, a co-founder of The D-Generation. He is also an author and former radio presenter on the Triple M Network, and achieved worldwide fame with the viral video Elektronik Supersonik.
Pay close attention to the lyrics. This is hilariously genius.
It's time once again for another episode of Cool & Strange Music! Today, I have a bunch of cool tidbits - a few with a Japanese twist - and some others that just tickle my fancy. First off an artist named Hell-Racer that I went to a club and saw when we made the Bobby's Bar video of Weirdo Jungle (with the burlesque dancer, Miwa Rock).
Bobby's Bar
The band really stuck me as interesting as I laughed at their costumes on the CD jacket. They were wearing a sort of pseudo-Nazi sixties Go-Go style. The band's name was "Hell-Racer"! You know me! Anytime I see Japanese musicians dressing like sixties Nazis, I'm amused and intrigued! Japanese Punks? I love it!
At all shows the artists have their CDs and merchandise laid out for customers to buy. This show was no different. I saw their CD jacket and smiled. But then, right next to it, I saw another CD of a group called Eddie Legend Story. The style of that artwork impressed me too. I could tell by the jacket art basically what the sound was like of Hell-Racer, and, of course, the same could be said of Eddie Legend Story. It really blew my mind when I found out that the leader of Hell-Racer is the guy on the bike in the Eddie Legend Story and that beautiful girl is his singing wife... Maybe it's kid of like a Sonny & Cher from hell? "Cool!" I thought!
Left: Hell-Racer. James Dean meets SS Totenkopf. Next, Eddie Legend Story, sixties cool!
Of course, whenever I see this sort of thing, the first thing that pops into my mind is, "Can I play this on my radio show?" I liked both styles but worried that Hell-Racer might be a bit too loud for a 6 pm drive time show (perfect for late night though!) I figured that I should check out the band's live performance and I did. Let me say that I was mightily impressed! These guys were hot! I decided to get their CD and was glad I did. It seems that Eddie Legend (I don't know his real name) has been a cult rock star in Japan for a long time. He was in a famous Japanese Rock band called Mad 3 and now fronts both Hell-Racer and Eddie Legend Story (and who knows what else?) Here's the totally fab sound of Eddie Legend Story and Dressing to Kill: (See more Eddie Legend on Myspace here).
Gee, I wish this was a full length video of this GREAT TRACK that I have been playing on the radio a lot. This is excellent! Unfortunately, I can't... And, also unfortunately, I can't find any good quality sounding videos of Hell-Racer. I wish I could! Their original track, "Monster Beach" is a gas! (You can hear Monster Beach and other Hell-Racer tracks here on Myspace though!) But I can find the band that Eddie was in before that made him a cult star, Mad 3! Here's the totally fab sound of the Mad 3 and Forever Teenage:
Gen X and the Clash have nothing on the Mad 3! These guys are hot! Too bad they broke up. Maybe Ken and I should make a video for Eddie's new band, Hell-Racer or the Eddie Legend Story? Hmmm? It's not always just the Japanese bands in Japan making cool sounds and videos, sometimes western artists come here and do the same. The Eddie Legend Story video reminded me of a great video made by the London unit, Herbalizer, who is known best for Rap and Jazz music. Here's a video that they made in Japan with the cooperation of some of my friends, Ray Hearn and Hidaka san from Smash Corporation. Most of this video was shot in one day here in Tokyo! The Herbalizer - Missing Suitcase.
Wow! Is that cool, or what? But, hey, I'm hungry for some exotic food! How about something from Southeast Asia? Indonesia, perhaps? Here's something I'd bet a half a donut that you've never heard before. It's the Pattie Sisters and Enteng and His Comets. They were said to be "Indonesia's very first psychedelic rock band." Enteng would really rock out on some songs and my very favorite song is called "Aku Lupa" but I cannot find a video of that track anywhere on Youtube. But here is a short version of another great song that gives you a glimpse of Enteng's guitar (as well as how well this all meshes with an Indonesian Pop sound!) Pattie Sisters with Enteng and His Comets with Rulieku
What!? What's this? Impossible! Someone, somewhere, has uploaded this entire album on a download site for free? My good friend, Henk Madrotter, writes, "Well, I finally found a good copy of this fantastic album from the Pattie Sisters with Enteng Tanamal and his Comets. Often touted as the first ever Indonesian psych album, Enteng's guitar playing is just phenomenal on this one. Only a few tiny skips on the first song...."Get it while you can!http://www.mediafire.com/?8wyaq6aaewc9gfr Well, a free album of Indonesia's first psyche band? Trust me, download this now and you'll will thank me. This sh*t is fantastically cool, Cool and Strange Music! And, that's it. Of course, you want more... But, hey! I got you a free album, right? Christmas is early... I'll bring you more cool stuff later! See you next time! See the previous installment of Cool and Strange Music - Just Who is Jack Trombey? here.
The reaction to the last Cool and Strange music (Cool & Strange Music - East Meets West Jan. 27, 2013) was quite satisfying to say the least. Thank you. Actually it was almost all about a music genre that most people haven't heard of but they hear it everyday; it's called "Library Music." It's the kind of music that's used for background music on movies, TV shows and TV commercials. It's everywhere and some of the best music being made today - or at anytime in the days of film and mass media - has been made by "Library" musicians and composers.
That's what the last Cool and Strange was about and that's what today's Cool and Strange is all about: Library Music. What really surprised me about the last Cool and Strange post, was that I have several inquiries concerning the Morphine Mambo Jazz Club... The majority of which were the questions, "Who are these people?" and "Where can I get their music?" Well first off, if we can believe the liner notes in the CD (which I think we can't) it claims that the Morphine Mambo Jazz Club was a London Club in the sixties that inspired Julian Temple, the film maker, to make the movie entitled "Absolute Beginners" and David Bowie to sing the song with the same title... Both were, well, pablum.... They pale in comparison to the real thing. And the compilation, Morphine Mambo Jazz Club is the real thing!
Folks, this album is an extremely rare highly sought after collectors item. Like I said, I have one (brag, brag, snort, snort!), but last I heard was that they were selling for a few hundred dollars each and you couldn't find them anywhere. I checked on Amazon too and I found it is unavailable.
Unavailable, but as you can see, all 5 star reviews! Oh, wait a minute! That's probably the review I wrote, never mind!
If you commence a Google search for Morphine Mambo Jazz Club probably the best you can find is that this artist has something to do with a guy named Jack Trombley... So like the music and this post, if you are to search for answers to clues, you'll also find that, as far as Jack Trombley is concerned, he may or may not actually exist. Besides Jack, there's a few other "shady" characters, but I think Jack is the most intriguing of the bunch... Even though he probably doesn't exist...
Mobster Scene
Confusing? Yep. I'm not convinced, but many of us record-collection geeks think Jack Trombley is a pseudonym; a stage name.
Jack Trombey is also sometimes credited as T. Trombey and he is a British composer. Since I am not sure if he really exists (I mean, in that name). I am not sure he is still alive. Here's why: Jack Trombley composed pieces for Dewolfe Music, a production music library. Many Jack Trombley compositions were used in film and television productions such as Monty Python, Doctor Who, Van der Valk and Dawn of the Dead; so we're talking about stuff from the late 60s and early 70s.... Some suspect, and perhaps I do too, that Trombey is actually a pseudonym used by Ron Goodwin to compose for DeWolfe Music.
Ronald Alfred Goodwin (17 February 1925 – 8 January 2003) was a British composer and conductor known for his film music. He scored over 70 films in a career lasting over fifty years. His most famous works included Where Eagles Dare, Battle of Britain, 633 Squadron and Operation Crossbow.
But wait! We're not sure that Jack Trombey is Ron Goodwin so let's go back to the facts we already have that we know are definitely true.
World of Strategy No. 4
Jack Trombey composed for DeWolfe Music. At DeWolfe, we know that Jack Trombey composed for many British TV shows including Monty Python.
De Wolfe Music is the originator of what has become known as production music as it was established in 1909 and began its recorded library in 1927 with the advent of 'Talkies'. The library consists of over 80,000 tracks, all pre-cleared for licensing and synchronisation. They have been used in thousands of productions including Monty Python, Emmanuelle, Dawn of the Dead, American Gangster and Doctor Who. Well known theme tunes include Van der Valk and Roobarb....
...Music was also provided for classic episodes of Dr. Who, while in the 1970s De Wolfe scored The Sweeney, Monty Python's Flying Circus and cartoon theme tunes for Roobarb & Custard and Henry's Cat. Eye Level, the theme music for the television detective series Van Der Valk, became a million-selling number one single in 1973. To composer Jack Trombey’s surprise, Eye Level topped the charts for six weeks and saw Simon Park conducting his Orchestra week after week on Top Of The Pops alongside glam superstars Wizzard and The Sweet. It was the first TV theme ever to hit Number One, and proved so popular the Simon Park Orchestra actually outsold The Beatles in the UK for a whole week.(Emphasis mine) Much of De Wolfe’s music from that era has since become cult among record collectors and music enthusiasts all over the world.
What?! A Jack Trombey composition outsold the Beatles for one week in the prime of the lads from Liverpool? Astounding!
Jumbo Waltz
And, unfortunately folks, the trail on Jack Trombey grows cold there. I have been searching (along with my record collecting geek friends in the UK and Germany) for the answer to "Just who is Jack Trombey?" for over a decade with no luck... For now, all we have is this great music. Jack Trombey! If you are still out there, give us a call... I know some folks who'd like for you to come down to the precinct office to answer a few questions about your whereabouts and the disappearance of a certain music composer.... And, with that, I'd like to leave you with this wonderful memory from the gang at Monty Python... What would they have done without Jack Trombey?....
Besides Jack, the album is filled with like-minded folks with great tracks. There's R. Tisley, Peter Reno, Keith Papworth, Frank Rothman, J. Hawksworth and W. Hill... Morphine Mambo Jazz Club... Find and grab it if you can!
Recently I've been getting into Cool and Strange music (like I used to) because I find that very few Pop music artists of today really make me feel a sense of fascination.... There are some. I like the Jigsaw Seen, Eux Autres... And, now that I think about it, those two acts have songs that could qualify as Cool & Strange! So, let's let them in on the act! Here are some Cool and Strange artists I have discovered just recently (even though these songs and artists are from long ago). Enjoy East Meets West Cool and Strange Music!
Arakawa Yasuo - Locoweed
Arakawa Yasuo - Shiji Shiroo - Baby
Arakawa Yasuo has been a "sort of" famous Jazz musician in Japan since the early seventies. Yasuo Arakawa graduated from the Berklee College of Music. While living in the USA, he appeared in Jazz clubs and also performed in the orchestra pit of a Broadway show. Some of the famous musicians he's played for include, Charlie Mariano, Roy Haynes, Chick Corea, Joe Williams, and Sam Rivers. Currently he teaches Jazz at Osaka University and in 1994 he went to New York to perform as a member of the "Japan Just Jazz All Stars". He has also performed on stage at Carnegie Hall and the Apollo Theater.
Sorry folks, I cannot find out anything about Shinji Shiroo as I cannot find information in English or Japanese about him (I don't know how his name is written in Chinese alphabet so he's a tough one for me to track down. Help!)
Morphine Mambo Jazz Club - Assignment London
Jack Tisley - Jumbo Waltz
Morphine Mambo Jazz Club. I don't know anything about this band excepting that Jack Tisley has something to do with it... (Next question? "Who is Jack Tisley?" Heck if I know!)
The other thing I know (or don't) is that the CD (record) is impossible to find (I have one though!) This is a compilation of, as the liner notes say, "thrilling sexy '60s Spectre Jazz Noir Club" library music from De Wolfe recording studios in the United Kingdom.
I love this kind of music and I'd say that, for me, this is the definitive type of sound that I like so much that makes this sort of music "Cool and Strange"; it's like sixties movie music and does it ever have a beat!
Afrodesia - Oom Gowa
The is some very cool heavy percussion driven world Jazz that has an extra shake or two of funk and exotica to add to the soup. This one is also extremely rare. Originally this group is from Texas but made a small name for itself in LA as the Afro Latin Blues Quintet +1 and a bit later as Afro Latin Soultet. In this work they play a more world Jazz style that also include Latin percussions, Latin soul and rhythms... Yet just when you think you have them figured out, they hit you with African rhythms with a heavy dose of Jazz and... instrumental rock... Afrodesia! This is out of this world!
Omar Khorshid - Pop Corn
Never heard of Omar Khorshid? Well, you should have. Actually, in India the guy is a superstar. Wikipedia says, "Omar Khorshid is a movie star and famed guitarist of the Middle east, he composed the music for thirteen films. In 1971 won the Premier Prix at the Film Festival of Tachkand for his music for the film Ebnati El Aziza." Well, those are the newest ones that I really liked... But wait! I didn't forget... I promised you the new artists that I like... Here's the Jigsaw Seen (doing the East Meets West thingy)
"Formed in 1988 by Dennis Davison (ex United States Of Existence, whose influential debut album “Introducing” was released by Bam Caruso in 1986) and Jonathan Lea, The Jigsaw Seen recorded their debut single “Jim Is The Devil,” which was released by Get Hip Records in 1989. The Los Angeles band then signed to New Jersey based Skyclad Records, releasing another single in 1989, "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” and unleashing their debut album “Shortcut Through Clown Alley” in 1990. The Los Angeles Reader pronounced: “The Jigsaw Seen’s witty commentaries capture both general life and more personal emotions with equal depth of feeling, and the music always shines.” The band toured in support of the record, playing shows with Smashing Pumpkins, Afghan Whigs, the Cynics and the Sneetches, among others."
Eux Autres write smart, infectious garage-pop that makes you feel as if you’re simultaneously cartwheeling down a beach, singing by the fire in a mountain cabin, blowing out the candles on a cake, and eavesdropping on the elusive neighbors. If the Field Mice met Black Flag in a dark alley and teleported them to a Francoise Hardy show, the songs they’d be humming together on the drive home might sound something like Eux Autres. Eux Autres originally consisted of brother and sister Heather and Nicholas Larimer. Heather played drums, Nicholas played guitar, and they both sang. In 2008, Eux Autres added drummer Yoshi Nakamoto (The Aislers Set, Still Flyin’) in order to expand their sound and referee their fights. Hey! They have a guy named Yoshi in the band? Cool! He's Japanese. Keeps with the East Meets West theme of this episode. Hope you enjoyed it! This Cool & Strange is dedicated to my friend, Scott Clifton
It's time once again for another version of Cool & Strange Music! Yippee!!!
Let's start of the show with a Brigitte Bardot video from 1968 that has a great remix along with the original video. This song is called "Contact."
Here's what Wikipedia says about the very outspoken and fascinating Brigitte Bardot: Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot is a former French fashion model, actress, singer and animal rights activist. She was one of the best-known sex symbols of the 1960s. Starting in 1969, Bardot's features became the official face of Marianne (who had previously been anonymous) to represent the liberty of France.
Bardot was an aspiring ballet dancer in early life. She started her acting career in 1952 and, after appearing in 16 films, became world-famous due to her role in her then-husband Roger Vadim's controversial film And God Created Woman. She later starred in Jean-Luc Godard's 1963 film Le Mépris. Bardot was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actress for her role in Louis Malle's 1965 film Viva Maria!. Bardot caught the attention of French intellectuals. She was the subject of Simone de Beauvoir's 1959 essay, The Lolita Syndrome, which described Bardot as a "locomotive of women's history" and built upon existentialist themes to declare her the first and most liberated woman of post-war France.
Bardot retired from the entertainment industry in 1973. During her career in show business, Bardot starred in 47 films, performed in numerous musical shows, and recorded 80 songs. She was awarded the Legion of Honour in 1985, but refused to receive it. After her retirement, Bardot established herself as an animal rights activist. During the 1990s, she generated controversy by criticizing immigration, Islamization and Islam in France, and has been fined five times for "inciting racial hatred". Next up is a cover song. Now, usually I hate covers, because I think it's rare when a cover song is better than the original. But sometimes people can do a cover and make it all their own. I think the String Quartet Tribute does that with their Tribute to Led Zeppelin album!
A few years back, they changed their name to "Vitamin String Quartet." Here's what Wikipedia says: The Vitamin String Quartet (VSQ) is a musical group from Los Angeles, California that is widely known for its series of tribute albums to rock and pop acts. Their albums are released through Vitamin Records and primarily performed by a string quartet, though other instruments have been used. "Vitamin String Quartet is about applying rock n' roll attitude to classical technique," says Tom Tally, a violist and arranger who has performed on and produced over fifty Vitamin String Quartet albums.
Their albums honor a wide variety of genres, including pop and rock, techno, country, and rap, and a wide variety of groups, such as System of a Down, Bruce Springsteen, Led Zeppelin, Coldplay, Adele, Lady Gaga, Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day, Paramore, Muse, Linkin Park, Avenged Sevenfold and many more. Their discography includes 261 albums. And at this week's number three is our usual Japanese number. This time here's a see/listen to a lady who is probably Japan's most famous female singer in history, Misora Hibari! Misora Hibari was a singer, actress and TV star. She is the definitive Japanese star for the post-war years.
Misora Hibari is so famous she even has an English Wikipedia page! Hibari Misora was a Japanese enka singer, actress and cultural icon. She received a Medal of Honor for her contributions to music and for improving the welfare of the public, and was the first woman to receive the People's Honour Award which was conferred posthumously for giving the public hope and encouragement after World War II.
Misora recorded 1,200 songs, and sold 68 million records. After she died consumer demand for her recordings grew significantly and by 2001 she had sold more than 80 million records. Her male contemporary was Michiya Mihashi and although he was more popular as a singer, Misora's movie career made her more popular with the general public. Her swan-song "Kawa no Nagare no Yō ni" is often performed by numerous artists and orchestras as a tribute to her, including notable renditions by The Three Tenors (Spanish/Italian), Teresa Teng (Taiwanese), and Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan (Mexican).
Each year there is a special on Japanese television and radio featuring her songs. A memorial concert for Misora will be held at the Tokyo Dome on November 11, 2012. OK, so that's probably not that cool and strange, but I think it is very interesting.... You say you want strange? Oh, you got it. Here's Country Punk musician Jon Wayne and the song is called Texas Funeral... Yes, that's the way the song is supposed to sound. Jon Wayne always sounds like he didn't practice; is drunk; and is hellaciously hilarious!
The musical duo Perrey and Kingsley are pioneers in the field of electronic music. Before their collaboration, starting in 1965, electronic music was considered to be purely avant-garde. They were among the first to create electronic music for the general public.
The best thing about these guys is that when the Beatles hit the states and everyone and his sister were making music that sounded like the Beatles, Perrey and Kingsley were doing their own thing! Cool!
Well that's it for this week! See you next weekend!
We're back to another episode of Cool & Strange music. Welcome! This chart is the coolest and strangest music chart you'll ever see/hear...For those of you who like rock and pop music, please check out my friend George's Top 5 video chart here. (George Williams Top 5 Countdown: http://georgewilliams.jp/wp/category/ranking/) Let's get started!
Everyone knows someone who can't sing, has no rhythm and is tone deaf... (Most of us see one every morning when we wake up and look into the bathroom mirror), but how about one who is a nice old lady and actually couldn't sing to save her life but somehow managed to get a recording contract with Columbia and sold over 1 million records! That's right! This lady sold over 1 million records! Here's what Wikipedia says about Mrs. Elva Miller:
Elva Ruby Connes Miller (October 5, 1907 – July 28, 1996), who recorded under the name "Mrs. Miller", was an American singer who gained some fame in the 1960s for her series of shrill and off-key renditions of then-popular songs such as "Moon River", "Monday, Monday", "A Lover's Concerto" and "Downtown". Singing in an untrained, Mermanesque, vibrato-laden style, according to Irving Wallace, David Wallechinsky and Amy Wallace in The Book of Lists 2, her voice was compared to the sound of "roaches scurrying across a trash can lid." Nevertheless, "Downtown" reached the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in April 1966, peaking at #82. The single's B-side, "A Lover's Concerto", barely cracked the Hot 100 that same month at #95.
Here's Mrs. Miller doing the Buck Owens classic tune that was made popular again at the time by Ringo singing it for the Beatles:
Most of Mrs. Millers songs have been removed on Youtube by those douchebags at EMI who seem to be unable to grasp the fact that if people can't hear Mrs. Miller's music, they won't buy or download her CDs... Or maybe they're too stoopid to have heard of Monty Python.
Did you know that when Monty Python started their own Youtube channel and started uploading their skits for free, their Amazon sales jumped by 23,000%! Don't believe me? Read this: http://boingboing.net/2009/01/23/monty-pythons-free-w.html... That proves just how dumb these major record labels are when they block sixties and seventies (etc...etc..) artists off the Internet and Youtube! Gee... If people can't hear the music, they'll forget and not buy...
And speaking of people who have no rhythm and can't sing, how about Swedne's own Elvis Presley impersonator, Eilert Pilarm? Wikipedia says this about this true gem and once in a century talent:
Eilert Dahlberg (born April 4, 1953 in Anundsjö, Sweden), who uses the stage name Eilert Pilarm is a Swedish Elvis impersonator. He gained fame when he performed on Morgonpasset in 1992. Pilarm self-released several cassettes, before his debut CD Greatest Hits was released in 1996 on MCA. Eilert is Back! followed in 1998 and Live in Stockholm appeared in 2000. He stopped performing in 2002 after 600 gigs and six albums. Pilarm is one of several musicians featured in Irwin Chusid's book Songs in the Key of Z, which focuses on outsider music. His album Eilerts Jul ("Eilert's Christmas") frequently appears in internet lists of "worst album covers of all time". He used to own a Royal Enfield motorbike, but has since sold it, and at present it resides in Tavelsjö.
Pretty, er, um, amazing... The guy got so popular that many famous musicians in Europe wanted to be in his backing band...
Even more amazing when you realize that Eilert Pilarm also sold more than a million records!
Funny thing is, though, if you keep listening to Eilert Pilarm, the Elvis Presley covers start to sound like he's singing them correctly... OH, my GOD! Elert Pilarm and Elvis Presley have the same initials!!!! How bizarre! OK, well, we probably have to adjust our ears and tuning after that classic... The best use for Eilert Pilarm and Mrs. Miller (besides listening and laughing) is if you have a big party and you want people to go home, just start playing this stuff! Hilarious how fast the room clears out! Here's an instrumental band that I really like. They are called the Ramonetures, kinda like the Ramones meets the Ventures, get it? Here they are doing the Ramones classic, Rock & Roll High School
Created by guitarist Mel Bergman, the Ramonetures are hard to define in simple terms. Essentially an instrumental surf band, the Ramonetures separate themselves from the pack by specializing in "re-imagining" established bands work as, well, instrumental surf rock. On their first release, they -- hence the name of the band -- "surfed up" the Ramones, and on the second, they rework the legendary Los Angeles punk pioneers X. While the first Ramonetures was a purely in-house affair, the second release, Johny Walk Don't Run Paulene, features X guitarist Billy Zoom and drummer D.J. Bonebrake.
Yeah! Rockin'! I could imagine "playing" with her! Well, so far we've had two werid and twisted songs and one rockin' one. Let's now go to something a tad bit cooler and more exotic with Arthur Lyman. After World War II, lots of guys came back from the Pacific with good memories of the islands. Arthur Lyman capitalized on that by making a sound that became known as "Exotica" and is probably the classic sound when it come to Cool & Strange music. Wikipedia says this about Arthur Lyman:
Arthur Lyman (February 2, 1932 – February 24, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphone and marimba player. His group popularized a style of faux-Polynesian music during the 1950s and 1960s which later became known as exotica. His albums became favorite stereo-effect demonstration discs during the early days of the stereophonic LP album for their elaborate and colorful percussion, deep bass and 3-dimensional recording soundstage. Lyman was known as "the King of Lounge music."
If that's not the definitive Cool & Strange sound then I don't know what is! Finally, I like to always have at least one Japanese song in the Cool & Strange countdown. And this one is definitely cool and strange and is this week's number one. It is dedicated to my friend Jp Valentine. These days there is a massive Japan boom all over Europe. It seems the Europeans are fascinated with this country and can't get enough. In France there's even annual Japan festivals! I used to think this was a recent craze but evidence shows that the notion is not true. It seems the Europeans (especially the French) are madly in love with Japan and all things Japanese and have been for decades. So much so that even the famed French songstress France Gall sang a song in Japanese and it was a massive hit in Japan in the 1960's! France Gall, while not so famous outside of France, is a huge star in that country. Here's a brief from Wikipedia....
France Gall (born Isabelle Geneviève Marie Anne Gall on 9 October 1947 in Paris, France) is a popular French yé-yé singer. Gall was married to, and had a successful singing career in partnership with, French singer-songwriter Michel Berger.
Read more about her storied career at Wiki. Here she is singing that song in Japanese in a very rare video that I just found the other day. The song is called "Yume Miru Chason Ningyo" (Translation: "The Dreams of Chanson Dolls" - I think.....)
For an extra treat, here she is singing the song in it's original French (written by Serge Gainsbourg):
Well that's it for today. Hope you enjoyed the tunes and I hope to see you back here next week!
Woooo-hooo! Woooo-hooo! It's time once again for Cool and Strange Music the coolest and strangest music on the internet. Today, like always, we have the Top 5 of the coolest tunes on the planet.
If Picasso was a rocker, this is what he'd have heard....
Why? because you are so lame and stuck in your rut (and FM radio sucks so much) that you don't get a chance to get out of your lameness and that rut to listen to some really cool sounds (Lady Gaga fans need not apply!) Let 's get rockin', er, I mean jazzin' with the Nutty Squirrels from the 1959 space-aged album:
Woah! It's a bad acid trip as there's even a Wikipedia page for the Nutty Squirrels: The Nutty Squirrels were a scat singing virtual band, formed in imitation of The Chipmunks, that had a Top 40 hit in late 1959 with the song "Uh-Oh". The Squirrels actually preceded the Chipmunks on television in an animated cartoon, but with much less success. After the Chipmunks' initial success in 1958, plans were almost immediately made to make them into an animated cartoon series. Unfortunately, there were some initial art direction snags (specifically with the character designs) and the show was delayed. This gap resulted in a race between the Chipmunks and an imitative group created by jazz musicians Don Elliott and Alexander "Sascha" Burland, which they called the Nutty Squirrels. Both musical groups featured the defining sped-up voices, but Ross Bagdasarian, Sr.'s Chipmunks favored popular music while the Squirrels favored jazz, particularly of the bebop variety. Ultimately, the Squirrels made it to television first, in the animated series The Nutty Squirrels Present (appearing in September 1960), but they were not as popular as the originals. "Uh-Oh (Part 1)" peaked at #45 on the Billboard Pop Singles Chart, while "Uh-Oh (Part 2)" peaked at #14. In 1976 Bob Milsap resurrected the act, at first with a novelty single based on the current CB citizens band radio craze, "Hey Shirley (This Is Squirrely)", and followed by two albums (one a Christmas release). Due to legal reasons, his version of the creation went credited under the individual character names, Shirley and Squirrely. In the 2007 live-action/animated movie Alvin and the Chipmunks during the credits Ian Hawke (David Cross) is trying to get three squirrels to sing. Next up, did you like Devo? So did I. For a long time it was rumored that Moog Cookbook was actually the Devo crew and I do see some of their names on the credits... But, well, watch the video first... Moog Cookbook "Black Hole Sun":
The Moog Cookbook is the name of an electronica band made up of Brian Kehew and Roger Joseph Manning Jr. (under the aliases Uli Nomi and Meco Eno) as a parody/tribute to the novelty "Moog records" of the late 1960s and early 1970s. The duo performs exclusively on analog synthesizers, especially Moog synthesizers. The liner notes from their first album proudly proclaims "No MIDI" to demonstrate that they played things by hand, rather than using computer sequencing, which is common for synthesizer music.
The Moog Cookbook released two albums in the mid-1990s featuring instrumental cover versions of alternative and classic rock tracks performed on vintage synthesizers. The pair reunited to record a track for the soundtrack of the 2004 film Moog.
In 2006, the pair independently released a collection of material recorded during their earlier sessions and as part of other projects. This album is Bartell.
The band's name is derived from a 1978 cookbook, Moog's Musical Eatery by Shirleigh Moog, the first wife of synthesizer pioneer Robert Moog.
Next up? Wendy Carlos. Wendy was once a guy named Walter... Oh, well, it's a long story.
Wendy Carlos (born Walter Carlos in Pawtucket, Rhode Island on 14 November 1939) is an American composer and electronic musician. Carlos first came to prominence in 1968 with Switched-On Bach, a recording of music by J.S. Bach painstakingly assembled, phrase-by-phrase, on the Moog synthesizer, at the time a relatively new and unknown instrument. The album earned three Grammy Awards in 1969. Other classical recordings followed. Carlos later began releasing original compositions, including the first-ever album of synthesized environmental sounds, Sonic Seasonings (1972) and an album exploring alternate tunings Beauty in the Beast (1986). She has also worked in film music, notably writing and performing scores for two Stanley Kubrick movies, A Clockwork Orange (1971) and The Shining (1980), as well as Walt Disney's Tron. Carlos was born Walter Carlos in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. A musical prodigy, she started piano lessons at six, and at ten composed "A Trio for Clarinet, Accordion, and Piano." In 1953 (age 14) she won a Westinghouse Science Fair scholarship for a home built computer, well before "computer" was a household word. Carlos earned a B.A. in music and physics at Brown University (1962) and a master's degree in composition from Columbia University (1966). She studied with Vladimir Ussachevsky, a pioneer in electronic music, as well as Otto Luening and Jack Beeson, working in the famed Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center. Remaining in New York after graduation, Carlos was introduced to Dr. Robert Moog and became one of his earliest customers, providing advice and technical assistance for his further development of the Moog synthesizer. Carlos convinced Moog to add touch sensitivity to the synthesizer keyboard for greater dynamics and musicality, among other improvements. Around 1966, Carlos met Rachel Elkind, who went on to produce Switched-On Bach and other early albums. With the proceeds from Switched-On Bach, the two renovated a New York brownstone, which they shared as a home and business premises, installing a studio for live and electronic recording on the bottom floor where all subsequent recordings have been produced. Carlos took the unusual step of enclosing the entire studio in a Faraday cage, shielding the equipment from radio and television interference. Carlos is also an accomplished solar eclipse photographer. Now that you've had your dose of culture...Now it's time for modern, er, "culture." God bless America and God bless fast food. Here's a crazy Mo-Fo named Wesley Willis. This guy is nuts. He weighs about 300 punds and plays a tine Casio keyboard and screams out some really ridiculous stuff. One listen and you'll never forget. Wesley Willis, "Rock N' McDonald's":
Disgusting! A perfect reflection of today's USA.... Wesley Willis? Yep! If you ever have a party and it's late and you want everyone to leave, then this is the perfect song for you! And now, for this week's #1 Cool and Strange song: Michelle Simonal covering the Rolling Stones, "Satisfaction" from the album "Bossa n' Stones." This has to be one of the sexiest songs ever recorded!!!!:
