RAY BRYANT - "Gotta Travel On" (1966)

 

Sometimes instrumental music can just make you happy, take this 1966 album by Ray Bryant titled "Gotta Travel On" for example.

With Ray on the Keys, and Walter Booker, Jr. on Bass, Freddie Waits playing the drums, Clark Terry Playing Flugelhorn, and Snookie Young on Trumpet, this is just infectious feel good music. 

I dare you to listen to this and not tap your foot.

RAY BRYANT - "All Things Are Possible"

ARTHUR LEE - "Vindicator" (1972)

 

With a cool album cover like this that was sure to appeal to sixteen year old girls, Arthur sunk this boat before it was even released.

LOVE is one of my favorite groups of all time, and Arthur was an insane front man. From the poetic beauty of "Forever Changes" to this solo album that featured manic Hendrix influenced tunes, Arthur Lee refused to be pigeonholed. 

Even though "Forever Changes" is considered by most to be one of the top 500 records of all time, they, nor Arthur Lee are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Some things just don't make sense.

From Arthur's 1972 solo album titled "Vindicator," turn it up....

ARTHUR LEE - "Everytime I Look Up, I'm Down, or White Dog"

DAVID BLUE - "I'll Never Be Home Again" (1966)

 

I love this 1966 LP by David Blue. It was just so perfect when it came out, but nobody seemed to care, and I'm not sure if that's changed much over the years. I think this LP was blown off as just another Dylan wannabe like Donovan, who is another artist I really like.

 

This music and the lyrics don't make sense, and do make sense at the same time.

 Think of Lou Reed fronting The Band instead of Bob Dylan, or Dylan playing with The Velvet Underground.

 

 Lou Reed was a big fan of Bob Dylan, and if you listen closely to some of Lou's early music, it's pretty obvious.

In the 1983 best fictional music film of all time, "Get Crazy," Lou Reed plays a very Dylanesque character named Auden who misses the concert because he's spacing out in the back of a cab on the way to the show he's supposed to be headlining, or was it David Blue?

There's so many songs I like on this David Blue LP that it's hard to choose just one, in fact, it's impossible, but here's a real good one.

DAVID BLUE - "It Ain't The Rain That Sweeps The Highway Clean"

THE FABULOUS TITANS - "Rico's Lament" (1980)

 

The Fabulous Titans were a band that was from San Francisco in the 1980's. Just from this one song alone, they should have been household names by now, but this song has been on YouTube for three years, and it only has a whopping 118 views. That's pretty sinful since this is such a cool tune!

THE FABULOUS TITANS - "Rico's Lament"

SWAMP DOGG - "Total Destruction To Your Mind" (1970)

 

I bought this LP by Jerry Williams Jr. aka Swamp Dogg called "Total Destruction To Your Mind" back in 1970, and I played it for all my friends. Nobody had ever heard of him before, but everyone was always blown away whenever they heard this record.

There's so much good music on this album, and of course the title song is one of the best, but there's another song that I always thought had the right sentiment, and here it is.

SWAMP DOGG - "If I Die Tomorrow (I've Lived Tonight)"

HUGH MASEKELA - "Why Are You Blowing My Mind" (1966)

 

I was introduced to the music of Hugh Masekela in 1967, and I'd never heard anything like it before, and not much like it ever since. Gone since 2018, but what an amazing guy! Here's just one of the fantastic songs off this LP called "The Emancipation Of Hugh Masekela."

HUGH MASEKELA - "Why Are You Blowing My Mind?"

FRIDAY THE 13th MADNESS with DAY BLINDNESS & EUCLID

 

DAY BLINDNESS - "Still Life Girl"

 

I bought a copy of this album at a swap meet in Sebastopol, California in the mid to late 70's. I never was able to find out much about it until the internet came around, but I always thought it was an interesting effort. Day Blindness were from San Mateo, Calif, and this album that came out in 1969 was the only LP they ever released.

 

EUCLID - "First Time Last Time"

Euclid was a band from Massachusetts, and this album titled "Heavy Equipment" came out in 1970. This was also their only release. This is a record that I never knew anything about until the advent of the internet.

I can't quite put my finger on it, but there is something about this record and the Day Blindness album that set them apart from other groups of the time, and whatever it is, it still hasn't caught on with most of the rest of the world.

THE ID - "The Inner Sounds Of The ID" (1967)

 

So here's the problem.....Life, Technology, Art and Music have been moving at an incredible pace for a few decades now, and there is no way any reasonable human being can keep up with it all.

We've catapulted a small sample of people into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, while thousands of incredibly talented people have been left in the dust!

It's the same way with TV and movies. It's literally impossible to watch everything that's been out there for decades.

But how do you get people's attention? How do you say "Hey, here's some amazing shit you left behind 60 years ago!" The answer is simple, you can't, but I'm going to try and do my best to let people know a little of how much you might have missed.

Tonight, it's The ID. 

 

The Id, not the monster from "Forbidden Planet" in this super cool painting by artiste extraordinaire Gary Wray, was a studio band led by Jerry Cole, who should probably have a movie made about him. He was one of those musicians that tried freakin' everything, and had some success, but never enough to make his name recognizable today.

From Jerry Cole and the Spacemen to Mr. Gasser and the Weirdos, Jerry Cole never gave up!

 

Signed by RCA, these guys were were about as commercial as.......nobody!

THE ID - "The Rake"

24:1900 'VIRTUAL' FESTIVAL UPDATE (2024)

 

Because I have already bought my ticket for the 24:1900 Concert that will be streaming on December 21, I received an email from them today that says:

 

"On Wednesday 18 December (1900/7pm GMT), we will be doing a dry run. It will last one hour, and include tracks from a number of the sets. If anyone has time, I would really appreciate if if you could sign in to Maestro to help us test the platform, e.g. online chats. 

Obviously, no problem if you can't.

We will be promoting this dress rehearsal over the next week. Anyone who hasn't bought a ticket/signed up to Maestro will be able to view from our site. They won't be able to chat etc."

So, there you go, there's still plenty of time to get a ticket, or you can go watch some of what it's all about for free. You can't lose!

PROCOL HARUM - "In Held Twas I" (1968)

 

The English band Procol Harum are among an elite group of artists that is smaller than fifty. They are one of the few that have sold over 10 million physical copies of a song, that being "A Whiter Shade Of Pale." Even more interesting is that song is in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but the band isn't. How does that make sense?

 

 To this day, the biggest selling single of all time by a huge margin is Bing Crosby's "White Christmas," having sold over 50 million copies!

 The list of artists who have sold over 10 million singles is a bizarre array of musicians if I do say so myself, and includes four more Christmas songs, along with "Kung Fu Fighting" by Carl Douglas, and "My Sharona" by The Knack. Elvis has two songs, and The Beatles only have one.

 

Besides "Y.M.C.A." by The Village People, and "Macarena" by Los del Rio, I think the one that got to me the most was "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep" by the Scottish  group Middle Of The Road which has sold more than ten million copies, and to think I had never heard it before just a few minutes ago.

 

Back to Procol Harum, and my favorite of all their great songs, and that is their 17 minute masterpiece from this album titled "Shine On Brightly"

"In Held Twas I"

"Life is like a beanstalk, isn't it?"

THE RUMBLERS - "Bugged" (1963)

 

I've decided to change the look and concept of this blog and will no longer be focusing on just 1980's and 90's cassette culture. Instead I'm going to present to you what I consider to be interesting music from the last 100 years. To start off with, here's a very strange song I've loved for too many decades now, and to this day, every time I hear it, I can't believe it. 

The Rumblers - "Bugged"

 "Go on away now or I'll stomp ya a goodern!"

HAPPY NOVEMBER FOOL'S DAY (2024)

 

Here are 13 covers for new HERMANOS GUZANOS albums we have planned for 2024. There's still much work to be done!

 

 

This one will be titled "Infomaniac!"

 

 

"Fighting Gillainds!"

 

 

"Taxicrabs And Murdercycles!"

 

 

"Who Cut The Cheese?"

 

"Ice Machine"

 

"Dude Ranch"

 

 

"Surrealism, Nihilism, Abstraction and Tikis"

 

 

"Chillin' Like A Villain"

 

 

"The New Orders"

 

 

"Quantum Phenomenon Theory"

 

"Shake A Box Of Girlfriends"

 

"Girls Working Overtime Again"

24:1900 'VIRTUAL' FESTIVAL - December 21, 2024

 

It's not often I get excited about much these days, but this is something I'm looking forward to.

My buddy The Rev Tom Frost sent me an email saying he was performing at this "24:1900" virtual festival on December 21, 2024, and I went to their website, and this is truly a World Music Festival, and the whole thing is going to be streaming 'live' and you can watch it in the comfort of your own home for the incredibly low price of about $15.00, or you can buy nosebleed tickets to see The Eagles starting at $230 in Las Vegas.

Seriously, do you even need to think about it?

 

From artists like The Rev Tom Frost in France to.....
 

........Adê from Maio, Cape Verde and/or....

 

.......Black Nite Crash from Seattle, it's going to be one incredible concert, and that's just three of the 24 acts set to perform!

I've got my ticket, now go get yours!

 

Buy your tickets before November 30, and you even a free download compilation LP of all 24 artists!

Welcome to the future of independent music!

FRAMATS MUSIKALISCHES FÜNDBURO - "The Radio Shows of Frank Mathias" (2024)

 

Before he passed away, Lord Litter introduced me to another guy doing radio shows in Germany named Frank Mathias who he knew I'd get along with and enjoy the music he's presenting, and indeed I do!

 

Frank's presentations are not just radio shows. Think of them more as classes in the history of recorded music, or at least the good stuff.

From Mississippi Fred McDowell to The Spotnicks, John Coltrane, or James Luther Dickensen, if you love an awesome variety of music from the last 70 decades or so, I can't recommend any radio show higher.

If you think you've heard it all or know it all, you haven't. Frank's shows are full of cool surprises.

Frank's got 129 shows that will entertain you, and give you hope for the world, and if you don't speak German, a lot of the details might get lost, but it won't affect your appreciation for all this great music!

FRANK MATHIAS RADIO SHOWS 

GODSPUNK VOLUME TWENTY-SIX - "Two Disc Various Artists Compilation" (2024)

 

Pumf Records also recently released number twenty-six in their long and ongoing Godspunk series. 

Believe it or don't,Volume one in this Godspunk series was 40 years ago, and has pStan Batcow mellowed out in all that time, aw, Hell No!

This is a double disc release and there are 38 cuts on it, and each and every one of these will either amuse you, test your will, or make you wonder about something.

 

That being said here's a cut that just might make you understand it all. Then again, maybe not, and just like a lot of other things in the world, maybe it's not meant to be understood.

Among the 38 songs here, you're going to get bombarded by not only Howl In The Typewriter, but also other amalgamations like Food Forunata, Awkward Geisha, Doorgasm, The Large Veiny Members and so much more.

Just go get it on Bandcamp! 

Here's a good example of what the Hell I'm talking about!

PROUD FUCKOO BAND - "No Surprise"

HOWL IN THE TYPEWRITER - "Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Mind" (2024)

 

Time to get going again. Just because I haven't been in the mood doesn't mean that the rest of the world has stopped moving.

So, a couple of months ago pStan Batcow released another another How In The Typewriter album, and if you didn't know about it, now you do!

 

 

This album is titled "Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Mind" and it's full of stuff to make you do just that.

You can get more information on this and all the rest of  pStan's projects on his 

PUMF RECORDS WEB SITE

or if you prefer, you can check it all out on

BANDCAMP!

 Either way, don't just sit there like I've been doing the last couple of months, do something!! 

Here's what the first song on the first side sounds like, be prepared for almost anything!

HOWL IN THE TYPEWRITER - "Ki-rum-kum-foozleum"

WHO'S LAUGHING NOW? - "Hyper Horror Compilation" (1989)

In 1989 were had four songs included on this compilation tape from Norway called "Who's Laughing Now?" on the Hypertonia label.

 

 

Some of the other artists included The Walter Ulbricht Experience, Sack, Bullwinkle And Simon Parsnip's Scientifical Theatre, Machine Maid Man, and The George and the Garden, just to name a few.

 

One of our songs used was Gary Wray's homage to one of his favorite movies.

HERMANOS GUZANOS - "Colossus Of New York"

EDGAR SCHWARTZ - "Milk And Cookies" (1995)

 

I used to trade tapes with James Nicholson back in the 90's, but it wouldn't be until some 30+ years later that I became friends with Rich Horton who was the Executive Producer of this CD.

Consequently Rich sent me this CD from 1995 a couple of weeks ago, and just like all of the music by James Nicholson and Dennis Steinseifer, I was mystified how in this day and age, Edgar Schwartz is still basically an unknown commodity.

Well, at least it got me working on this blog again for now.

 

Some of these songs came off of a 1991 cassette release by Edgar Schwartz like"Uncle Blues," but there is just so much more than that packed into this small package, and it's all good.

Rich Horton felt the same way, and that's why he released this music on CD in 1995 on his Optional Art label. Since then, James Nicholson has done the production on Rich's incredible last two CD's.

You can find out more about all that at Richie's Place!

Rich Horton also informed me that if anybody would like one of these CD's, you can contact him through his website, and he'll gladly send you one for $12.00 including postage. You won't be disappointed if you do, and that's a guarantee!

 

 

This CD needs to be released again in 2024 and this is the A-I cover I conjured up for it.

Here is just one of the many incredible songs on this CD, and this one really does it for me because James Nicholson and Dennis Steinseife are joined by the phenomenal Cynthia Moseley on sax!

(After I got this all done, I went to try and find out more about Cynthia Moseley, only to find out that sadly, she passed away last year.)

 All I can say is watch out for "Watch It!" It will reach out and grab you! 

Just wait for it, and hold on to your socks!

EDGAR SCHWARTZ - "Watch It" (1995)

LORD LITTER - "Herman, Come Rock Me"

 I started trading tapes back in about 1987, and one of the first international artists I came in contact with was a funny guy in Berlin named Lord Litter. It was quite a process before the internet came along, and sometimes it took weeks for mail to pass back and forth. I had also been trading tapes with a number of talented people like Don Campau, John Bartles, Al Perry, Mark Hanley, etc etc, so I decided to do what a lot of other people were doing and that was to ask all my new friends if they would be willing to contribute to a compilation tape of various artists I wanted to make.

If I made the tape today, the cover would have looked more like something like this! 

If I recall correctly, every person I contacted agreed to it, but I think it was only Lord Litter who created a song especially for that tape, because that's the kind of guy he was! The song was called "Herman, Come Rock Me," and even though we never talked about it, I think it was a play on words, and the name of our band Hermanos Guzanos.

As far as I know, Lord Litter never used this song on any of his many other tapes, so here you go, in the typical Lord Litter style of the time with the good Lord playing all the instruments and vocals with the phenomenal Thomas Tit on the drums.

LORD LITTER - "Herman, Come Rock Me"

R.I.P. Jörg Dittmar aka Lord Litter (2024)

 

It's with a heavy heart that I have to announce that my good friend Jörg Dittmar, aka Lord Litter, has passed away from a longstanding bout of COPD. He fought it hard for a long time, but it finally got the best of him.

I've known Lord Litter since 1988, and without him, this blog wouldn't exist.

Over the past 35 years or so, Lord Litter has continuously done more to promote independent music on this planet than anybody else I know of.

He was not only a DJ, but was also a musician and a person who supported peace and freedom for the whole world. He will be sorely missed.

At least his radio shows will be preserved on the Internet Archive forever.

LORD LITTER'S MAGICAL MUSIC BOX INTERNATIONAL

Because of this situation, I doubt I will continue this blog, as Lord Litter was my biggest supporter, and the one who always encouraged me to continue. 

It's a sad day! The world has lost a great man and a truly unique person!

LORD LITTER - "Wild Thing"

REV TOM FROST - "Cosmos Sauvage" (2024)

 

Rev Tom Frost has put another notch in his proverbial musical belt titled "Cosmos Sauvage," and it's my pleasure to announce it was just released today, and to make it easy....

Here's at least a half a dozen places where you can buy or stream it.

 

The world and the universe itself is indeed in chaos, and if you need a reminder, it might as well be fun!

You can listen to the whole thing for free on the good Rev's Bandcamp page, but if you really want to try and do something good for the world, then purchase a copy of the CD or buy the tracks.

And while you're there, check out Tom's massive list of other releases.

I say do it today, because who knows if there will be a tomorrow, but then again, surely they wouldn't blow up the world on 420, that just wouldn't be right!

REV. TOM FROST - "Cosmos Sauvage"