![](/uploads/1/2/7/5/127562103/433580352.png)
Pierce always took the leap. When he liked a band, he became the president of their fan club. When he became enamored with reggae, he spent a year in Jamaica. And when he thought a friend should front a band, he assembled members beforehand. By example, he encouraged others to take leaps, both figuratively and literally.In the documentary, Ghost on the Highway, Henry Rollins describes the type of person that Pierce was. 'Don't give them a real job. They can't even balance a check book, they can't do anything.
Over the last 30 years Spanky Wilson has become established as a successful jazz vocalist. But there is a world of difference between concert.
But they can do that thing. Jeffrey was one of those guys.' His passions were uniquely suited for doing what he did, regular day-to-day life be damned. When that meant touring, recording, and living and breathing music, it's no surprise that drugs and alcohol crept in. After bouts with hepatitis and cirrhosis of the liver, Pierce died from a brain hemorrhage in 1996, at the relatively young age of 37. We'll never know if he was predisposed to wrecking himself with or without music. All we can take is the music itself, as a gift, and testament to someone whose entire adult life was spent consumed in what he loved.
In interviews, one thing that rock n' roll pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis is always quick to point out is the rarity of true song stylists, a performer who can really make any song their own. Lewis, humble as he is, points to himself, Hank Williams, Al Jolson and Jimmy Rodgers as the only real song stylists. With all due respect (which, for the Killer, is something I truly mean), I think it would be hard to deny that Jeffrey Lee Pierce was more than a singer.
Listen to both his and Robert Johnson's versions of 'Preaching the Blues' (below). Give it up, he was a bona fide song stylist. While you may not be all that into TV show theme songs, most of them are only 60 seconds long, so they can make for some excellent mix meat. I know, it's a given that quite a few are real dogs, but some can really liven up that shitty playlist you've got going (or DJ set). Take the for instance. If you play that sucker loud, you'll want to ass-slide over the hood of a car (or behave in some other cop-like manner).
The horns, organ, pace and brevity will have you doing whatever the hell it is you do with gusto. Selective memory seems to correlate with priorities.
By that I mean, I forget a lot of things; a lot. But one thing I'm remarkably good at remembering is when I was exposed to a particular band or song.
I can go down the list of just about every record (or CD) I have and remember when I first heard it, or who told me to check it out. (The first recommendation came from a teenage, Cameron Crowe.
No shit.) I actually started a list once and had to stop, because the recollections came remarkably easy.This morning I had my most recent recommendation, in a very brief online conversation with a very good friend, one whose taste is, in my book, beyond reproach. As it had been some time since we last spoke, I asked her about a band she'd likely be in tune to, the Jim Jones Revue. She said, and I quote (or paraphrase): ' Love them. Check out Bunker Hill.' I did just that, and immediately heard the similarity. They both belong to the elite group of good ol' fashioned larynx shredders. A certain brand of shouters that if you were to try to emulate, you'd have to reach for some cough drops.
Really, try to to sing all of the songs below and see if you don't do some permanent damage. Here then is a brief (rather spotty) history of larynx shredders, including Bunker Hill.
I admit it, I'm a cusser. Not because I want to offend people, but because, well, when I say ' I saw a big fuckin' tree,' I'm convinced that anyone with half a brain would know I wasn't talking about a big tree that was fornicating. They would know that I was talking about a really big tree. And if they're offended by the word itself, then, logically, they should be offended by the word 'fornicate' as well (and, I'm sure there aren't many people who are). So, I'm behind anyone who doesn't necessarily cuss just to press the issue, but doesn't shy away from normal usage of a slang word either, 'dirty' or not.Being constantly on the lookout for music I've never been exposed to, it's sometimes a crap shoot. I have, on more then a few occasions, gravitated towards band names or songs that are unusual, colorful or interesting. (This is how I first heard, a band I've come to like quite a bit.) So, when I saw a song called 'Fuck You' by Cee Lo Green, I had to bite.
Good thing I did too, because it's an awful nice slice of Al Green-like seventies type soul.As a bonus, I had to include the old school cussin' 'Rated X' version of 'Better Think Twice' by Jackie Wilson and LaVern Baker. And what cussing post would be complete without 'Seven Dirty Words,' by George Carlin, who did more than any comic, short of Lenny Bruce, to thumb his nose at censors. Oh, and there's a link to the uncensored 'Shit My Dad Says,' which was turned into an unremarkable sitcom referred to as 'Bleep My Dad Says' (which, yes, takes the punch out of the concept completely).
Here's a quick handful for your reggae quiver. First, the reason for the post: Linton Kwesi Johnson's classic 'Sonny's Lettah' which was inescapable when it came out (about '77 or '78). Really, it's more spoken word over reggae (he was, after all, considered a reggae poet), but you forget about that once the rhythm hooks you. Following that is Bob Marley and the Wailers, who I'm usually hesitant to post because it attracts the hacky sack crowd, but I dig 'Punky Reggae Party' because it's one of very few reggae songs to acknowledge the punk/reggae intermingling of the late 70's UK. Plus, I've always loved the line ' no boring old farts will be there.' The last link is one by Alice Russel, a cover of the White Stripes 'Seven Nation Army,' which I've posted another version of before, but this is a reggae version (probably a mash up). Damn, I forgot that she had such a great voice.
I don't know what's more awesome, the Impossibles' record cover or their song 'Mr. I know absolutely nothing about Thai music; pop, funk, or otherwise. But, after running into a couple of Thai related posts, I had to put this up. Slow' winds my weird watch in so many ways, I don't know where to start. First, it's totally foreign to me.
Yet another unexplored genre, that's strange enough to spice up a shuffle. Then, there's the wah-wah.
This song is so packed with wah-wah that it's as if it was the first pedal in Thailand. It reminds me of the early adopters of the ARP2000 synthesiser. They just knew it made weird sounds, but didn't really know how to incorporate it. (Think the Who's 'Who's Next' LP and Edgar Winter's 'Frankenstein'). Oh, and the song has much flair. Check the ' WoooOOOoo.deeee!' At:47 seconds into it, followed by a very cool horn section.
That's about where you fall under the spell of the Impossibles. You will either really dig it, or think I've lost it.
For whatever reason, I always kinda lumped Wire (from the UK) in the same category as the Middle Class (from Fullerton, CA). Though they sounded different, there were too many similarities between the two bands to ignore. Both were four piece bands; utilizing a guitar, bass, drums and vocals line up; and played really short songs. Both started in 1976 (though the Middle Class didn't record until a couple years later). Neither band paid a lot of attention to punk dress codes, instead going for a relatively utilitarian look.
Both bands, while not really headline grabbing in their prime, are now recognized as far more influential than most of their respective punk scene contemporaries. And, both bands have records that I wished I still owned. (I hope my landlord appreciates the timely rent check some twenty years ago.)Here's four from Wire's first, Pink Flag, and the entire first EP from the Middle Class. (It is now safe to take out your safety pins.). There's a good chance something from Martin Denny was in your parents record collection, if not a relatives. Or you might have picked one up from a thrift store. Maybe you didn't even know existed until the lounge revival about twenty years ago.
Regardless, there's no denying the appeal of the somewhat goofy sounds of exotica, with their white man imitates primitives rhythms, bird calls, monkey yelps, and a waterfall or two thrown in for atmosphere. If you've listened to a number of them, you know the formula. If you think that anyone trying their hand at it nowadays is just a poseur, you might remind yourself that the original artists could easily have been identified as such when the exotica craze first hit in the late fifties. I mean, c'mon, some white guys going tribal without ever leaving the studio? So, before you can really evaluate any current artists doing the same thing, you have to throw out authenticity, because, really, in exotica it doesn't exist. It's all fake, in a Disneyland Jungle Cruise sort of way.The Martin Denny Group 1961So, in a way, todays artists are playing with the same sort of tools, but with more access to legitimate world culture and better technology, they really do have a opportunity to improve on the original exotica music. Still, naysayers would undoubtedly be suspect of the modern day technology and it's possible misuse in this sort of music.
While it is a concern, one only has to hear Martin Denny's cover of his own ',' done up Moog style, to see that those blunders have already been committed, by the Chuck Berry of exotica himself. In 1976, before punk rock really took off (at least in the states), the first Modern Lovers album was pretty much required listening to anyone growing dissatisfied with what is now known as classic rock. The only proper Modern Lovers album with the original line up (which included Jonathan Richman, a future member of the Talking Heads and a future member of. Yikes, the Cars), it loosely updated the repetitive Velvet Underground vibe, with understated organ and some amazingly fuzzy guitar parts (listen to ). Though later repackaged with alternative takes and demos, the original version with nine songs was, and still is, one of the most influential proto-punk albums ever.
![Spanky Wilson Haciendo Rar Spanky Wilson Haciendo Rar](http://www.fontenay-ronan.fr/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/4-S7netplus.png)
It's pretty amazing stuff, especially when you consider that some of the songs date back as far as 1970. Just look at the photo. Cigarette in hand, customized windbreaker with initials and a PBR patch, and a little greasy kids' stuff in the hair. It's a perfect portrait of a regular guy, and that's what makes it a perfect portrait of Dave Dudley (the full size portrait can be seen ). The man who started the whole truck driving music craze. He had it down to a formula, and made good use of the truckers' vernacular.
And, on one of his lesser albums, he was backed by Link Wray and the Wraymen. (Without even glancing at a resume, that rates high on the Trastos cool scale.)As I get older, and I find my breast pockets full of pens and scraps of papers, and my clothes slowly becoming more practical, it makes me feel okay when I see a photo like the one above. There's something to be said about older people who are just.themselves.Here's a couple tunes by Dudley, a couple videos, a Dudley bio, a truck driving music post, and a link to a great album of Nashville portraits by Jim McGuire. I always kinda dug 'A Deeper Shade of Soul' by the Urban Dance Squad.
It might had something to do with not knowing anything about the band, other than what I could derive from a single video. What I do remember about it was the guitarist had a Flaco Jimenez t-shirt on, which gave them a point or two on the cool scale. And I remember that the video had some guys skating in a pool (which I found odd when I learned the band was from the Netherlands). It got lumped with those laid-back groove type of songs that I don't really clamor for, but dig when I hear.I'd thought about posting it before, but when I found the original source material at Funky 16 Corners, I found the rationale.
Is a dyn-o-mite blog that you'd do well to bookmark. Larry, the host, seems like such a nice guy, it always seems like you're in his living room when you read his posts. He posted Ray Barretto's original 'Deeper Shade of Soul,' the source of the sample on the later not-quite-a-cover.
The files on this site are NOT for commercial use. You are invited to download the music and, if you like it, you are strongly encouraged to buy the CD. That way you support the artists who produce it. In any case you should see these selections as for evaluation purpose only and you're asked to delete the music 24 hours after storing it in your computer or external device.
Should anybody holding a copyright claim to any of these materials object to their presence here, please post a comment, and I will promptly remove the download link.PLEASE, leave your comments always on the last post.
![](/uploads/1/2/7/5/127562103/433580352.png)