#987: bob marley & the wailers - rastaman chant (1973, rehearsals)
bob marley’s rastaman chant has regained its position as the world’s best chant now that fireman ed, leader of the nfl’s famous “j-e-t-s jets jets jets,” has publicly resigned from his position via a metro op-ed.
don’t miss day 3 of teddy wilson’s 4 day 100th birthday party, or you’ll look like this.
this weekend the radio station wkcr 89.9 fm, one of the truly great things in new york city, is playing 100 hours of teddy wilson, who was born 100 years ago saturday. coleman hawkins and i were both born on november 21, but its not our centennials, yet. so far tonight wkcr has played 1930s benny goodman quartets with lionel hampton on vibraphones that sound like ribbons of felt and gene krupa playing drums like he’s this big and benny being much more beautiful than i knew. the fourth instrument, teddy wilson’s piano, will lift your feet and furniture and pets from the ground and send everything slowly floating up into the room. happy birthday, mr. wilson.
#985: kool a.d. - dum diary (2012)
according to the producer amaze 88, he was in an overly-fancy san francisco studio eating chinese food when kool a.d. happened to start rapping: “when he came out of the booth we all had a wow face on. it was a first take on both of our parts and i felt blessed to be apart of it. i still do. he texted me a few days later about doing a shorter version. he felt like it was a little too long. i emphatically said “if you feel like it is then i’ll record another one half the time than the original. but personally i think what you did was bananas and people are gonna flip when they hear this. it’s classic material period. how many times do you hear someone going off like that for ten minutes? never.” kool a.d. for secretary of state! victor vazquez for poet laureate! greedhead is the new young money! amaze 88 is the prefuse 73 of san fransisco rap booths, and the wow face is the name of my new rap magazine.
i don’t know what kind of dark-art rigging of search engine optimization kool a.d. has done to get a 1974 ad for leonard cohen’s new skin for the old ceremony into the second page of his google image results, but it would make for a good das racist album cover.
#984: the boys next door (nick cave & the birthday party) - these boots were made for walking (1978)
it was the poet rimbaud or mtv founder bob pittman who said that all you need for a good nancy sinatra cover song and an accompanying video are polka dots, fury, eye shadow, broken hearts, magic marker, genius, obscure australian opiates, and practice.
#983: furry lewis - furry lewis’ blues and other songs (2/2) (1968)
if songs about trains are the best kind, and casey jones is the best train song, and if furry lewis’ version is the best one, and this is his best performance, is this the best video of all time?
#982: furry lewis - furry lewis’ blues and other songs (1/2) (1968)
when furry lewis says at the beginning of this mysterious and wildly beautiful film, “i’m going to give you furry lewis’ blues tonight,” it’s true for two reasons. the first is that the first song of the twelve wildly beautiful ones he plays is called furry lewis’ blues, not mr. furry’s blues or even furry’s blues from the late-1920s recordings that you know and love. instead it is filthy and sly, like early chuck berry songs—and like chuck berry furry plays furiously: when he really gets going, with four fingers and a slide pulsing on the fifth, the guitar sounds like awestruck.
“i’ve got a new way of spelling memphis tennessee: double-m double-e great god a y nor z,” he says twice, and both times it’s thrilling. and then he starts hitting his guitar as beautifully as anything that’s ever been hit.
it’s also funny because “furry lewis’ blues” also means furry lewis is playing his own music, which is as true as joni mitchell played hers. and joni mitchell singing jazz-rock choruses about furry lewis singing the blues isn’t close to furry lewis actually singing it.
