Weird Weird Weird

Whoa. Jim Sullivan's story alone makes you want to listen his sole album over and over again. Look for clues, trip out or vibe on his mystery. The condensed version goes as follows: In 1969 Sullivan put out an album called UFO on a Cali micro-label called Monnie. Because of local popularity his album got around but ultimately any hope of national recognition dissolved. In 1975 a seemingly determined yet possibly discouraged Sullivan took off for Nashville, where his sister-in-law lived, in an attempt to "make it." His car and guitar made it as far as Santa Rosa, New Mexico but Sullivan himself was never seen again. Now there are several possibilties as to what occured. Some think Sullivan got drunk and had a nasty run-in with a local Italian family, the Genetti's, who were rumored to have mafia ties. More entertaining theories suggest he walked into the desert or better yet confirmed the omens in his album and was taken by aliens. Most of the information I've gathered came from this article which is worth a look. Another fun fact about Jimbo is that he had a cameo in Easy Rider!!! Dark and psychadelic yet an attempt at pop. Capitol records told him he sounded too much like their singer James Taylor. Personally, I think he's hiding out somewhere with Connie Converse.


"There is something happening that isn't too clear.
Just a little different than in previous years.
I think that happiness is getting very near.
I'm checkin out the show
with a glassy eye.
Looking at the sun dancing through the sky.
Did he come by UFO?"

Green is the Colour

For a while I didn't know Pink Floyd had this in them...tin whistle....by Roger Waters

CAN I BE SATWA?

Before I did any research on this album I could hardly tell what hemisphere it came from. The sitar enters Satwa into the realm of psychadelia while the 12 string guitar rings true romantic Latin American style. Parts of the album even remind me of the old time revivalists like John Fahey and Leo Kottke, and I suspect this was a gem they may have marveled. Lula Cortes and Lailson de Holanda Cavalcanti are the two tripped-out Brazilians who recorded this album in 1973 and unfortunately it was a one time deal. At the time of it's production and release Brazil was subject to the rule of a military dictatorship and it's speculated that because of the inevitable censorship of the regime, Satwa is a lyricless album. Although it's also possible that they were really stoned and couldn't come up with anything so they just decided to hum and chant. Apparently Cortes was some kind of hippie-god so...Make of it what you want, I find this to be some really inspiring stuff.

DVR

Dave Van Ronk never learned how to drive a car and refused to leave Greenwich Village for a long, long time. One of his most passionate followers was Dylan and yet nobody really talks about Van Ronk. The Coen brothers next film Inside Llewyn Davis is supposedly based on Van Ronk's life and presence in the 60's New York folk scene. Maybe it will give him the posthumous recognition he deserves.

His singing on "Wanderin'" is absolutely devastating here and "Candyman" is a fun threading of different folks songs.

This song is about some dink that Van Ronk knew (just kidding it's traditional).

Reach Higher

This one always gets me going in the morning

Nigeria!

There was a vibrant rock 'n' roll scene in Africa in the late 60's and 70's, but Nigeria in particular seemed to have something special going on. Strut records put out a compilation called Nigeria 70 which showcases this unique sound that swelled in Nigeria in the 70's. A lot of the tracks have elements of afro-pop that are influenced by the traditional "highlife" style of music which is explained in commentary that appears on the album, but other tracks are totally imitating sounds of American rock music. Here are a couple off the compilation.

Bongos Ikwue- Woman Made the Devil


Segun Bucknor & His Revolution- La La La

Another band not mentioned on the Nigeria compilation is Ofege. It's really cool that high school kids in Nigeria were bumping this in early 70's. Kind of sounds like The Velvet Underground, at least this track does.

Gamblin'

Jack Elliot- Roving Gambler

Opening track from his 1974 self titled album off Vanguard. This song and this album!

THE DEAD!

"I would compare 'Dead' music to how bbq got its start. what some considered junk meat was turned into a mouth watering delicasy by slow cooking it." - Youtube commenter

Ah, long may you run chev202. I don't know how to respond to this comment either on this blog or on youtube. I also don't remember the birth of bbq or its long road to success. It is my guess that chev202 is talking about the long, drawn out dead jams where they really "stew" or "bbq" songs to build suspense and create a mouth watering finish that goes best with Sweet Baby Ray's.

There are a lot of stupid people that like the Grateful Dead. However, no hippies are going to ruin it for me. The tracks I like are those about drinking, gambling, robbing, women, etc. To me this is all content that doesn't resonate with hippies, sans drinking (wine). If you don't think the Dead was or could be badass then check out pictures of Pig Pen, dude. Throw the tie dye in the bonfire and enjoy this tender meat...

Connie Converse

Elizabeth "Connie" Converse was born in Laconia, NH which is home to an annual motorcycle week where raucous bikers drink Budweisers and possibly pay homage to her mystery. She started to write music when she moved to New York in pursuit of a career and her songs best represent the female experience of living there in the mid-twentieth century. Her complete story can be read here. The most intriguing part of her unusual life is that in 1972, after being beaten by the New York folk scene and having lived some despondent years since, she wrote her friends and family a parting letter in which she said goodbye and expressed her aims at "starting anew" somewhere else. Both her body and the Volkswagen Beetle she drove out of Ann Arbor were never recovered. Her brother believes she drove off a bridge somewhere west of Detroit.

Impossibly Bad Songs

Richard Harris- Macarthur Park

This song actually rules. Just listen to the chorus.

Someone left the cake out in the rain,

I don't think that I can take it

because it took so long to bake it

and I'll never have that recipe again.

Harry Chapin- Halfway to Heaven

It's really worth it to ride this one out. That way you get to find out about Harry Chapin's midlife feelings about marriage, children, and sex. Apparently he's still a beginner in the bedroom? This song is hot fire past 3:00. Oh yeah, this guy also wrote "Cat's in the Cradle."

Jana Hunter

Jana Hunter was born in Texas, a place that breeds great musicians and writers, but now she lives in Baltimore where people have a lot of tattoos. In my opinion, she's the best contemporary female folk singer working within the indie vein. Right now she seems to be more focused on rock 'n' roll with her band Lower Dens who seem pretty cool from what I've heard. She's actually been in a lot of bands, and I haven't listened to half of them, but what I have heard didn't produce the same wonderful effects of her solo albums Blank Unstaring Heirs of Doom (2005) and There's No Home (2007). The guitar work is simple, the songwriting is concise, and the voice is beautiful.

Motherless Children

I think this is the shining moment for the Les Humphries Singers