(Less Than) 30 Days Out From Christmas: Yuletide Tales

In the weeks before Christmas, it’s kinda tough to get the kids calmed down. They’re rabid with anticipation, giddy with thoughts of Santa – more likely, fueled by so much caffeine and greed they could stay awake until Memorial Day.

So why don’t you gather them around for a little story? It doesn’t have to be a spoken word story – plenty of Christmas tunes tell their own little tales. But a good, long tale … why, that’s enough to send even the toughest kid into Dreamland.

MP3: “The Night Before Christmas” by Bob Dylan

MP3: “Father Christmas” by The Kinks

MP3: “The Old Man’s Drunk Again” by Jimmy Martin

MP3: “The Meaning of Christmas” by C3-PO and Friends

MP3: “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear” by Frank Sinatra

MP3: “Frosty The Snowman” by Steve “Lips” Kudlow, Bumblefoot, Chris Chaney & Kenny Aronoff

MP3: “Santa Claus and His Old Lady” by Cheech & Chong

MP3: “Christmas In Prison” by John Prine

MP3: “Snoopy’s Christmas” by the Royal Guardsmen

MP3: “The Bizarre Christmas Incident” by the Ben Folds Five

MP3: “.22 Rifle For Christmas” episode of “Dragnet” radio show

Hurricane Season – It’s Baaack!

Hurricane season just got goin’ and I know you folks on the East Coast of the United States are paying close attention this summer. As well you should: Hurricane Irene’s rains devastated a pretty good chunk of the Northeast last year.

Down here in Texas, they like to scare us with stories about what could happen if a monster storm rolled in off the Gulf of Mexico. And I suppose if one of those nasty Cat 5s paid a visit to Texas the result would be less like Irene and more like Hiroshima (or Hurricane Camille). But what good is it to worry – you just stock up on batteries and peanut butter and hope for the best.

And you get your rock and roll tunes ready for the next Hurricane Warning.

MP3: “Change In The Weather” by John Fogerty

MP3: “Blowin’ Like A Bandit” by Asleep at the Wheel

MP3: “Hurricane” by Levon Helm

MP3: “Surfing In A Hurricane” by Jimmy Buffett

MP3: “Hurricane Party” by James McMurtry

MP3: “Mighty Storm” by the Duhks

MP3: “High Water (For Charley Patton)” (live) by Bob Dylan

MP3: “I Think It’s Going To Rain Today” by Peter Gabriel

MP3: “Lost and Found” by the Kinks

MP3: “In From The Storm” by Jimi Hendrix

MP3: “Thunder Island” by Jay Ferguson

MP3: “Walking In A Hurricane” by John Fogerty

MP3: “Like A Hurricane” by Nils Lofgren

MP3: “Here Comes The Rain” by Jan & Dean

MP3: “Riders On The Storm” by the Doors

MP3: “The Rains Came” by Big Sambo

MP3: “Wild Is The Wind” by David Bowie

MP3: “Rock You Like A Hurricane” by the Scorpions

MP3: “Down In The Flood” (live) by the Derek Trucks Band

MP3: “Like A Hurricane” (live) by Neil Young & Crazy Horse

More Rockin’ Christmas!

Yeah, that's Nancy Reagan. No, this is not Photoshopped.

Editor’s Note: More recycling of past blog posts, gotta conserve this Christmas!

How many shopping days left until Christmas?  Not enough, that’s for sure.  The holiday season isn’t about shopping anyway, it’s about hanging around with people you like and, in the case of most of our families, a few people you don’t like.  It’s about giving but it isn’t about begging.  And it’s not about the TV commentators who are so afraid white Jesus isn’t represented enough in Christmas celebrations.

Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa – they’re what you want to make it.  Celebrate ’em like you want, be nice and leave everyone else alone.  Enough speeches, now let’s rock.

MP3: “Soulful Christmas” by James Brown

MP3: “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” by R.E.M.

MP3: “Teenage Christmas” by Eux Autres

MP3: “Toy Jackpot” by Blackalicious

MP3: “Ain’t No Chimneys In The Projects” by Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings

MP3: “Seasons Greetings Message” by Alice Cooper

MP3: “Jingle Bell Rock” by Neil Diamond

MP3: “Run Rudolph Run” by Creedence Clearwater Revisited

MP3: “Deck The Halls” by Canned Heat

MP3: “Winter Wonderland” by Liz Phair

MP3: “Christmas Lullaby” by Shane MacGowan & the Popes

MP3: “Christmas Island” by the Vatican Cellars

MP3: “Santa Claus Files Unusual Flight Plan” by the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD)

MP3: “Messed Up Xmas” by the Dollyrots

MP3: “Father Christmas” by the Kinks

This is just wrong. Happy Holidays!

Your Sister’s (Record) Rack: Singles, Part 9 – Siblings

Our Labor Day rock-a-thon continues with more singles on 45.  This time let’s listen to some rock and roll siblings.  We’ve already spun a few sibling acts: the Carpenters, with brother and sister Richard and Karen, as well as Phil and Don, better known as the Everly Brothers.

Let’s begin with the first family of New Orleans: the Neville Brothers.  You’ve probably seen us rant about how the Nevilles should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Not to mention Art Neville and the Meters;  these boys are just about the greatest musicians on the planet.  The Nevilles have had some awesome albums, but their history on 45 single is woeful.  We did dig up “Yellow Moon,” the title track from their unsurpassed classic album from 1989.

MP3: “Yellow Moon” by the Neville Brothers

The Everly Brothers are no strangers to the top of the pop charts.  Between 1957 and 1965, the Bros scored 26 Top 40 singles to make them the most successful recording duo of all time.  We covered their 1984 comeback, but let’s listen to the 1964 “Gone, Gone, Gone” which was covered recently by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss.

MP3: “Gone, Gone, Gone” by the Everly Brothers

Nancy and Ann Wilson of Heart

Canadian sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson form the nucleus of Heart, whom I once described as “Led Zeppelin with breasts.”  I’m sorry about that, because I really like Heart; their “Bebe Le Strange” single from 1980 truly rocks out.

MP3: “Bebe Le Strange” by Heart

Speaking of rocking out, let’s dip into some Iggy and the Stooges, featuring the mighty Scott Asheton on drums and the late, very great Ron Asheton on guitar.  When the Stooges cut their 1973 punk masterpiece Raw Power, Ron Asheton had been relegated to the bass to make room for guitarist James Williamson.  “Search And Destroy” was issued to radio stations with a mono and stereo mix on each side of a single; you have here the glorious mono mix.

MP3: “Search and Destroy” (mono) by Iggy and the Stooges

Bonus Video of the Week: Ray Davies

Former Kinks frontman Ray Davies played the Glastonbury festival in England a few days ago, and during his set he dedicated two songs to Pete Quaife, the original Kinks bassist and band co-founder who died June 23.  He played “Waterloo Sunset” and (at about the 3:45 mark) Davies is visibly moved when he goes into “Days.”  It’s a powerful performance from a legendary artist.

Ray Davies official website

SXSW Interview: The 88

No rock band around exemplifies the marriage of old and new like The 88, a foursome from Los Angeles. Vocalist/guitarist Keith Slettedahl, keyboardist Adam Merrin, bassist Todd O’Keefe and drummer Anthony Zimmitti formed the unit in 2002 and they play catchy power pop that reminds one of the heyday of the British Invasion.

But they’re completely 21st century – The 88 have used the internet to market their three indie releases and their sole major-label album Not Only … But Also. And they’ve gotten their music where people can hear it, which is on TV and in the movies. Their songs have appeared on “The OC,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Laguna Beach,” “Gossip Girl,” “Weeds” and “One Tree Hill” among others.

The 88 also wrote and recorded the theme song for NBC-TV’s comedy series “Community.”   Their song “Coming Home” has been used for national TV spots by Sears and Target, and their music has appeared in movies like Failure To Launch , You, Me and Dupree and Ira and Abby.

Currently they’re touring behind rock legend Ray Davies of the Kinks, and the 88 (with Davies) will perform at a SXSW showcase on Thursday at La Zona Rosa.  Davies usually does an acoustic set then The 88 joins him to perform Kinks classics.  We caught up with Adam Merrin:

30 Days Out: You guys seem to be one of the hardest-working bands around … can you tell me a little about how you got noticed, and what were the biggest obstacles you faced in getting started?

Adam Merrin: When The 88 first started playing live, we booked as many shows as we could around the Los Angeles area. We put up fliers and posters at all the local coffee shops, record stores and restaurants. One thing that worked extremely well for us was making CD samplers that we would hand out at local shows. We would also include fliers for our next show inside the CDs which definitely helped bring people out to see us play. We made thousands of those, and they were a lot more fun to give to people than fliers that would get thrown on the ground.

O Come All Ye Rockers – A 30 Days Out Christmas

And so this is Christmas.  We’re going to sign off for the week with 30 holiday tunes; we’ll see you on the flip side of the holiday to help you get ready for New Year’s.  Thanks for sharing holiday music to Randy Fuller, Jeff Ash at AM Then FM, Heather Browne at I Am Fuel, You Are Friends, Any Major Dude With Half A Heart, Deborah Harry, Bill Baird, Dan Dyer, WFMU and Satan.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Keep On Rockin’.

MP3: “Run Rudolph Run” by Creedence Clearwater Revisited

MP3: “We Three Kings” by Blondie

MP3: “Jingle Bells” by Wilson Pickett

MP3: “Party This Christmas” by Rockin’ Sidney

MP3: “Santa Claus Is Surfin’ To Town” by Soupy Sales

MP3: “The Lord Of The Dance” by Arthur Brown

MP3: “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” by Twisted Sister with Lita Ford

MP3: “Santa Claus Has Got The AIDS” by Tiny Tim

MP3: “All I Want For Christmas” by Gerry & the Pacemakers

MP3: “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” by the Border Brass

MP3: Christmas Public Service Announcement by Pee Wee Herman

MP3: “Christmas In Jail” by Bill Baird

MP3: “Christmas In Southgate” by Ry Cooder

MP3: “White Christmas” by Otis Redding

MP3: “Christmas Cake” by Rilo Kiley

MP3: “2000 Miles” by Coldplay

MP3: “Christmas Time Blues” by Roy Milton & His Solid Senders

MP3: “Santa Claus Is Freaking Me Out” by Lord Weatherby

MP3: 1968 Christmas Fan Club Record by the Beatles

MP3: “Murder By Mistletoe” by the Felice Brothers

MP3: “This eXmas” by Dan Dyer

MP3: “O Holy Night” by Martha Reeves

MP3: “Joy To The World” by Bad Religion

MP3: “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” by Lou Rawls

MP3: “Santa Claus, The Original Hippie” by Homer & Jethro

MP3: “On Christmas Day” by Brian Wilson

MP3: ” ‘Zat You Santa Claus?” by Smash Mouth

MP3: “Rock and Roll Christmas” by George Thorogood & the Destroyers

MP3: “Father Christmas” by the Kinks

MP3: “Christmas Message From Elvis/Silent Night” by Elvis Presley

Song of the Week: “You Really Got Me,” Ray Davies

Ray Davies performed “You Really Got Me” on the Late Show with David Letterman on Nov. 18, backed by a full choir.  You can hear the studio version of this on The Kinks Choral Collection.  This is easily one of the best albums of the year.  And check out the drummer on this clip!

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Ray Davies official website

Sampler Daze: WB/Reprise Loss Leaders, Part 2

I didn’t really think through how I was gonna do this series of blog posts: Warners released about 34 of these LP samplers between 1969 and 1980, sometimes springing three or four of ’em in one year.  I don’t have all of them, so maybe I will try and survey them year by year.  After the success of the first three samplers in 1969 (there was a single-disc collection we didn’t mention last time), Warners kept goin’ in the new decade with The Big Ball and Schlagers!

The label called these samplers “Loss Leaders” because while they obviously took some money and resources to produce and advertise, and they were selling them for a very cheap price (basically one buck an album) the company stood to lose money on the records.  But they were an awesome promotional tool: mixed in with songs that were already hits and soon-to-be hits were selections from artists on the label that were a little tough to market.  The samplers were a good way to put a taste of their tunes in listeners’ ears.  If not for the WB/Reprise samplers, I probably would not have heard people like Joni Mitchell, John Cale or the Youngbloods.  Samplers were certainly the first place I heard Little Feat, Black Sabbath and many others.

Sampler Daze: Warner/Reprise Loss Leaders, Part 1

For my money, these were the best major-label samplers of the 1960s and 1970s.  Warner Bros. and Reprise (the label founded by Frank Sinatra) was the place where you could find Frank, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Trini Lopez, Miriam Makeba and so on.  But sometime around 1967 the label started to get hip, when it produced the debut album of a San Fransisco band thought to be “unmarketable” – the Grateful Dead.  Warner/Reprise signed people like Arlo Guthrie, Joni Mitchell, Van Dyke Parks and Randy Newman, and experimented with rock acts like the Kinks, the Fugs and Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention.  Then it took a chance on a dude who was getting popular in England but hadn’t yet made a dent in the States: Jimi Hendrix.

So the freaks were lovin’ Warner/Reprise, and in 1969 the label decided to put out its first two-LP sampler, The 1969 Warner/Reprise Songbook, with 23 artists ranging from Hendrix and Zappa to Van Morrison and the Everly Brothers.  The liner notes explained, “We have put this double album together not only for our own enjoyment  … but hopefully to win new friends for some very creative people.”