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Cousin Justin just launched an excellent batch of jazz LPs. I’ll highlight this a bit more in the morning. Most interesting is this original first press Big Maybelle Sings LP on Savoy.
This LP doesn’t surface too often, and it has sold for a hefty price before. Read more about Big Maybelle here.
…Well, it’s the morning time and I promised to highlight but the real world awaits sooner than anticipated so I have to go quick. But I will say that Justin posted a record he was coveting and I was anxious to listen to and begin negotiations for or listen to Justin’s draft offers for…but it may end up being sold. He did put a good reserve on it so I imagine we will both be happy if it goes for that in the end. Read the rest of this entry »
In a battle of the Beasts of the East, the most hyped NBA game so far this year turned out to be one of the best of the young season.
Pistons just finished beating the Celtics 87-85 on two Billups free throws with 0.1 seconds left. I watched every second of the game from the opening tip to the final buzzer.
Lindsey Hunter provided an early 4th quarter spark with five points and two steals as the Pistons finally took the lead for the first time since early in the 1st quarter and after trailing by as many as ten in the second half. Billups came in the game after a Celtics timeout and went to work on the Celtic’s young point guard Rondo or whatever his name is (although Rondo was killing Chauncey in the first quarter). Mr. Big Shot just couldn’t be stopped though- he finished with 28. Boston hit back to back threes in the final minute, and after Billups turned it over with five seconds left, they had a chance to win it but Pierce missed a jumper and Rasheed got the rebound and called a timeout with 1.7 seconds left, setting up Billups on the line after he pump faked his man and drew the foul.
What a game! I have to give to the Celtics, though - they looked as good as advertised. My hope is that Boston plays Cleveland in the playoffs before either team plays Detroit. Miami and Chicago right now aren’t even close to making the playoffs if the season were to end right now, but that may change - although I’m shocked both teams are playing so bad. In the West, the Spurs are looking good as always and the Mavs and Suns are right there too. My two favorite teams out West are Golden State and Denver, so I try to stay up for them if ESPN or TNT shows them on the late game.
I’m an NBA junkie and tonight was like the ultimate fix. Plus my favorite team of all got the W. DEEEEETROIT BASKETBAAAAAAAAAAL!!!!! The Pistons also have the best house band - remember when I wrote about The Sun Messengers?
When Justin and I both quit our jobs to do Cousins Vinyl full time a few years back, we invented the best game ever invented, a game so awesome that we called it “Awesome Ball.” It was played in the free space of our office, and was a great way to waste time and procrastinate doing work.
All this time, we kept it a secret, only telling our friend Eric who had an office down the hall about it. Eric would participate in a version that allowed one player to rotate in and out.
I am posting the official rules here only to the readers of CousinsVinyl.com. Please do not tell anyone else about this game, or else it will be the most popular game in the entire world and you will not feel as special when you play.
Interesting article this morning in the Detroit News questioning this year’s inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, while pointing out some notable Detroit omissions over the years.
Madonna, The Dave Clark Five, Leonard Cohen, The Ventures, and John Mellencamp all got the nod this year. The writer of the article questions the integrity of the selection process and blames political interests that affect which bands get it. Mitch Ryder and The Detroit Wheels aren’t in, and neither is Iggy Pop and The Stooges or The MC5.
Hmmm…Another point that is brought up is what should qualify as being Rock and Roll? Apparently, Miles Davis is in and so is Grand Master Flash and The Furious Five.
Please don’t remember him for what he did to Tina. Ike Turner is a legend of rock and roll and the blues. Read more about his career here.
Later on, I will post some audio of Ike and his first group - Ike Turner and the Kings of Rhythm. Ike was the bandleader, but also began to try his hand at hustling and learning the ins and outs of the music business. Often times, he would send his boys out to play without him, as he shot dice in the dressing room. This group was also credited with (arguably) putting out the very first rock and roll record, Rocket 88.
Ike was also a successful producer, arranger, and businessman. In addition to getting his start in Rhythm and Blues, Ike was a terrific modern bluesman with a funky soul that resulted in a revolutionary sound. I’m sure his legendary status will grow further now that he has died.
I’m not finished with this post - I want to put up some audio of Ike and also of some records that he produced like Earl Hooker’s Sweet Black Angel on Blue Thumb. But for now, off into the real world I go.
Today I will be uploading 100 Rock and Roll 45’s. This collection is a real mixed-bag. I pulled out five interesting ones to highlight here!
First Up Is G.C. Woodrow & The Woodsmen. This record appears on OJ Records. The look of the label resembles that of the OJ or Old Judge Records from Memphis. The only stuff I could really find about this label is stuff from the late 50’s with thier discography ending in 1959. One of the more interesting people to record on this label is Wink Martindale. The singer and songwriter is listed as Mike Wood on both sides. My theory on this is that it is early 60’s RnR from Memphis. The B-side of this record is my favorite. You can bid on the record here.
G.C. Woodrow & The Woodsmen-Another Time Another Place
G.C. Woodrow & The Woodsmen-Runnin’ Around
Next up is Team 23 on Race Records. The songs are Whatever Moves You/Move Into The Rhythm. This 45 is UK Ska Punk from 1981. The group evolved from the X-Certs, (a guy who knows more than me writes about it here). I really dig both tracks on this one. Bid on it here.
Team 23-Move Into The Rhythm
Team 23-Whatever Moves You
Now for Storm Going Going Gone/Sweet Happiness on Suflower Records. This I believe is Larry Weiss as a “band”. It is pure pop goodness. Bid here NOW!
Storm-Going Going Gone
Storm-Sweet Happiness
Next Is Home, the songs are Time Traveler/What’s The Use. The songwriter is Jerry Brown on both tracks. Beyond that I do not know much else. BID BID BID
Home-Time Traveler
Home-What’s The Use
Last, but not least is Joe Morton’s Lover, Lover, Be My Cover/Polly Newspaper Dolly. Lots of actors have put out vanity albums that are pure garbage, see Bruce Willis. Here, stage and screen star Joe Morton does a pretty good job over recording material written by Dory Previn on Lover and Danny Cohen on polly. PLEASE BID
Joe Morton-Lover Lover Be My Cover
Joe Morton-Polly Newspaper Dolly
Every fan of rock, rhythm and blues has entertained the notion of time travel. We’ve all thought about going back in time to see our favorite musicians play. I’m speaking in regards to contemporary music; some historical events might outshine cool music if the power actually existed: the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the crucifixion of Christ, etc. What if you could somehow transport yourself to a juke joint or a street corner in Arkansas ca. 1938 to see Robert Johnson play? Or what if you could have weaseled your way into Stax to help Otis Redding carry that band’s equipment in the day he was given a chance? We could use the power like Scott Bakula in Quantum Leap, traveling in time to correct some atrocity without affecting the space-time continuum. We could tell Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens to blow off tomorrow’s show and to go get plowed in the hotel bar until the weather clears up; we could tell Syd that acid is not a good thing when taken every day; we could pull Brian Jones out of the pool.
The era that I’d choose changes daily as my tastes run hot and cold, from record to record, and article to article. One day I am the only white dude in the juke joint buying the whole place a round in 2007 money while RJ uses his lazy eye to seduce every woman in the place (somehow I never get robbed or stabbed or robbed and stabbed in the fantasy), some other days I’m in the Grande Ballroom watching the Stooges and MC5.
Several things have influenced my current destination, London 1965. I recently picked up a Mono version of the Rolling Stones Now! album (maroon, unboxed, London label, without the FFRR ear, two bars running across it, full liner notes and no mention of hi-fi recording on the label) for $10. It’s not in perfect shape, but it’s not bad at all. It’s probably my favorite early Stones album; right up there with 12 X 5. It’s got awesome covers and one of my favorite originals, Heart of Stone. After seeing the movie Stoned, about the death of Brian Jones, their cover of Little Red Rooster represents to me exactly who they were at that time (much like the album cover to December’s Children) : a badass band, doing something with an edge better than anyone else, with the power to put a room in the palm of their hand. Stoned is not really a good movie at all, but the scene where they play Rooster at the Marquee Club makes the movie worth watching. The other thing that influenced my decision to travel back to London in 1965 is a brief article I read in this month’s Mojo about the Pretty Things. The article was somewhat of a let down, only because I wanted to keep reading more about the band. They are often compared to the Stones, now and back then, and their guitar player was the original Stones bassist. The Pretties in ‘65 were playing the same type of music as the Stones, R & B covers and a smattering of great originals, but they seem a bit more primitive and reckless. If I had my way, I’d find a weekend in 1965 where the Stones played on a Friday and the Pretty Things on Saturday and I’d have a nice weekend getaway in history and here’s what I’d be screaming like a pubescent girl for.
Little Red Rooster
The Pretty Things’ Midnight to Six Man
The SAF, held just a few bocks from my house in Ypsilanti, was awesome this time. I gave the SAF a so-so review last summer, complaining they didn’t have enough paintings or photographs and too much crafts and clothes. I don’t know what it was about this one that made it so much better. Things seemed fresher, crisper, funkier. My only complaint/suggestion this time is that I wish it wasn’t only on Saturday, I wish it was going on on Sunday from like 12-4 or something. I didn’t have much time due to a family obligation, but I had a ton of fun. I bought another Matt Callow photograph, and he gave me a super cool test printing of another one that he is working on, because I had emailed him and shown interest a few months ago. The print I bought is this one, a classic one of his:
I was going to buy a t-shirt that had a picture of the theme of the poster, which was a jack-o-lope, but in my hurry I forgot. Then I went and picked out a Severed Unicorn painting - Mark Maynard promised me one for free because I gave him the records that he used to paint them all. I settled on one of a picture of a headless unicorn on the moon that said at the top: “only one unicorn head has ever been found on the moon.” Mark assured me that this was a super rare one that will never be made again, and that the unicorn depicted in the painting was indeed the very one that had been found. I would post a picture but it is so rare and super valuable that I must keep it a secret. Here is a picture of a different one:
You can check out more paintings at the recently launched Severed Unicorn Head Superstore.
I wish I had more time because I had a lot of fun. I wanted to drink a few beers and shop around, maybe buy some presents. So next time, have a Sunday left-overs type of thing, where people can still come if they weren’t able to on Saturday.
