"It's A Kind Of Scratching, Collapsing, Irritated, Dissatisfied Kind of Music..."

Back cover detail from People Get Ready For The Fabulous Chambers Brothers, 1966.
No dissatisfaction with this record. It's got the quality seal of approval.

Today's blog-post title is a quote from Green Gartside of Scritti Politti, taken from Totally Wired: Postpunk Interviews and Overviews by Simon Reynolds (US edition, Soft Skull Press, 2009). Gartside was asked about the song "Opec-Immac," which we heard today on The Snark, and that's what he had to say about it. Completely accurate description. No wonder it's the Summer of Scritti.

The Snark playlist for TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2011.
(Artist/SONG/Album, etc.)

Béla Fleck & The Flecktones -- SWEET POMEGRANATES -- Rocket Science (2011, E One)
The Skeletones Four -- TRAP DOOR -- Gravestone Rock (2011, Label Fantastic!)
Așa -- BRODA OLÉ -- Beautiful Imperfection (2010, Naïve)
Scritti Politti -- OPEC-IMMAC -- Early (2005, Rough Trade) [orig. 1979]
Mr. Chill & The Witnesses -- ROLLING THUNDER -- Cold Testament (2005, Mr. Chill & The Witnesses)
Charles Bradley -- NO TIME FOR DREAMING -- No Time For Dreaming: The Instrumentals (2011, Dap-Tone)
Invincible -- STATE OF EMERGENCY -- ShapeShifters (2008)
African Head Charge -- MYSTERIOUS HAPPENINGS -- Voodoo of the Godsent (2011, On-U Sound)
Johnny West -- MOTIVATION BEHIND THE METHOD -- My Hellhound Crooked Heart (2010, Tosteestostas)
10 Ft. Ganga Plant -- STRENGTH -- Shake Up The Place (2011, ROIR)
Gypsophilia -- ZACHARY'S CZARDAS -- Constellation (2011, Forward Music)
Dub Spencer & Trance Hill -- TRAIN IN VAIN -- The CLASHification of Dub (2011, Echo Beach)
Koola Lobitos -- OLOLUFE MI (MY LOVER) -- Nigeria 70: The Definitive Story of 1970s Funky Lagos (2009, Strut) [orig. 1964]
Ambition -- BETTER MAN -- Just For Kicks (2010, Backburner)
The Chambers Brothers -- SUMMERTIME (live) -- People Get Ready: For the Fabulous Chambers Brothers (1966, Vault)
Trio Bembe -- LA MUCURA -- Oh My Soul (2011, Trio Bembe)
U-J3RK5 -- EISENHOWER & THE HIPPIES -- U-J3RK5 (1979)
Dennis Walks -- BELLY LICK -- Trojan Reggae Brothers Box (2003, Trojan) [orig. 1968]
Smoove & Turrell -- IT'S THE FALLING IN LOVE -- Eccentric Audio (2011, Jalapeno)
Hollie Cook, Prince Fatty, The Moody Boyz -- MILK & HONEY (remixed by The Moody Boyz) -- Milk & Honey: 100% Dubstepper: Moody Boyz vs. Prince Fatty (2007, Mr. Bongo)

Thanks for listening!

Click to listen or download, for a limited time (about a month or so from original broadcast date).
Go on, click!

R.I.P. Jerry Leiber and thanks for the songs.

Above photo from Hound Dog: The Leiber & Stoller Autobiography,
by Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller, with David Ritz,
Simon & Schuster, 2009.

I generally try to avoid writing about the music I play, but I couldn't help it -- I did two posts about Leiber & Stoller after I read their book.

"You Sing It, Jerry. You Show Big Mama How It Goes."

If you've never looked up Big Mama Thornton on the internet, you've probably missed this video of her with Buddy Guy, from an unnamed 1964 television show. The song really swings, the set is charming, and everybody looks and sounds great.

The title of this week's post comes from a line in Leiber & Stoller's autobiography Hound Dog, a terrific read.

In 1952, Leiber and Stoller, who were only 18 years old at the time, were invited by their friend Johnny Otis (musician and entrepreneur, among other things) to his garage where Big Mama Thornton was rehearsing with a band. Otis had been commissioned by Don Robey, owner of Peacock Records, to find a hit for Big Mama, and so he called Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. The teenagers had written some RnB hits already, including "Kansas City."

When they heard Big Mama sing, they were blown away by the power of her voice. Johnny Otis asked  if they had a song that would suit her. They had to admit they didn't, but said they would "in a few minutes." According to the book, they ran back to Stoller's parents's house and, true to their word, whipped up a song in no time flat. They returned to the garage with "Hound Dog."

As Stoller played it for them on the piano, Big Mama snatched the page of lyrics out of Leiber's hand and "began to croon." It was Leiber who dared to tell her that she wasn't singing it properly. The vocal was supposed to have growl and she was treating it like a ballad. Big Mama's attempts to intimidate the teenage songwriter went nowhere; Leiber stood his ground, much to his own surprise and the amusement of the band.

Johnny Otis, who was actually behind the drum kit, suggested Leiber sing it for Big Mama. She was ready to enjoy his complete failure at the blues, but it turned out he's got a good voice, and after only a few lines she suddenly understood the "rough-and-tough of the song and, just as important, the implicit sexual humour." They cut the record the next day, "a masterpiece."

Well, folks, I got the list of musicians wrong on the radio. There's nobody playing piano on the version I played. There's a discrepancy between the Wikipedia entry for this song and Leiber and Stoller's autobiography. Surprise, surprise.

The book credits Big Mama Thornton with the vocals, Pete Lewis on guitar, Johnny Otis on drums, and does not mention who played the bass. The Wiki article for the 1953 Peacock Records release of "Hound Dog" includes the name of a bass player (Albert Winston), but also a pianist and another drummer, though the anonymous Wiki-author does know that it was Otis playing on "Hound Dog." I don't know; maybe those other musicians played on the b-side.

Curse you, Wiki! So much for accuracy!

Wiki hasn't read the book, but should. They know that Johnny Otis's name appears as one of the writers on the record, but they don't know that he simply lied about it (among other things) to Peacock Records boss Robey. A lawyer was brought in, and the boys' mothers too -- their moms had to sign a new contract for their sons who were underage! So one of Leiber and Stoller's early successes was also a lesson in music business shenanigans.

(All quotes are from Hound Dog: The Leiber and Stoller Autobiography. By Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, with David Ritz. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2009. Pages 57-66.)


The Snark playlist for TUESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2010.
(Artist/SONG/Album, etc.)

Big Mama Thornton -- HOUND DOG -- The Original Hound Dog: From the Peacock Archives (1986, Ace Records UK) [orig. 1953, Peacock]
Deadbeat -- NIGHT STEPPING -- Roots & Wire (2008, Wagon Repair)

Nick Lowe -- SHAKE THAT RAT -- Jesus Of Cool reissue (2008, Yep Rock) [orig. 1978, Radar Records]
Balkan Beat Box -- LOOK THEM ACT -- Blue Eyed Black Boy (2010, Nat Geo Music)
Jake & The Leprechauns -- BUSY BEE -- At Midnight, The Birdsong (2010, Landlocked)
Butterflies & Zebras -- ELEVEN EIGHT -- Butterflies & Zebras (2010)
T. Rex -- PLANET QUEEN (acoustic version) -- Electric Warrior reissue (2003, Rhino/WEA) [orig. 1971, Reprise]

U-Roy -- THE HUDSON AFFAIR -- Keith Hudson and Friends: Studio Kinda Cloudy (1994, Trojan) [orig. 1988, Trojan. Recorded in the 70s.]
I-Roy -- SOUND EDUCATION -- Don't Check Me With No Lightweight Stuff, 1972-75 (1997, Blood & Fire) [orig. 1973, Trojan?]
EL-P -- DMSC -- Weareallgoingtoburninhellmegamixxx3 (2010, Definitive Jux)
Yale Strom & Hot Pstromi -- BERDITSHEVER KHOSED -- Absolutely Complete Introduction to Klesmer (2006, )
Leif Vollebekk -- YOU COULDN'T LIE TO ME IN PARIS -- Inland (2009, Nevado Records)
Broken Social Scene -- MEET ME IN THE BASEMENT -- Forgiveness Rock Record (2010, Arts & Crafts)

The Books -- I DIDN'T KNOW THAT -- The Way Out (2010, Temporary Residence)
Chadio -- JB's BEATJACK -- Stolen Moments (2010, Neferiu)
Chrissy Crowley -- THE CHISHOLM INFLUENCE -- Atlantic Standards: Kitchen Party (2010, Rhino Canada)
The Budos Band -- BUDOS DIRGE -- The Budos Band III (2010, Daptone)

Harry Beckett -- RISE & SHINE -- The Modern Sound of Harry Beckett (2008, On-U Sound)
Ruth Brown -- 5-10-15 HOURS -- Atlantic Rhythm & Blues, Volume 1, 1947-52 (1990, Atlantic/WEA) [orig. 1952]
Casiokids -- FOT I HOSE -- Topp Stemning På Lokal Bar (2010, Polyvinyl)

Fat Freddys Drop -- THE RAFT -- Dr. Boondigga & The Big BW (2009, The Drop)


Thanks for listening!

Casiokids are still from Bergen, Norway. Not from Copenhagen, Denmark, which is what I keep saying into the microphone. Sorry, Casiokids. They're coming to downtown Detroit on Thursday, August 26, 2010. At the Magic Stick. Tickets are only $8.

Can't Get Enough Melodrama in Music

Hound Dog: The Leiber and Stoller Autobiography,

Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller with David Ritz,

Simon & Schuster, 2009.

When Jerry Leiber was a kid, he and his mom moved from Baltimore to L.A., where he learned to "dream big."  Here's a story from back then, told by Leiber himself:

          Our neighbourhood, Larchmont, was close to the famous gates that guard Paramount Studios.

          Once I saw a man in a pinstripe suit and fedora hat approaching the gates. He was looking up at the sky and mouthing words.

          "Is that man nuts?" I asked one of the guards for whom I fetched cigarettes.

          "You should be so nuts, kid.  That's Irving Berlin, the greatest songwriter in the world."

          "Can I tell him hello?"

          "Just make it short.  He's busy writing a song."

          I went up to him and said, "Mr. Berlin, may I shake your hand?"

          "Sure, put it there, pal."

   

The Snark playlist for TUESDAY, JUNE 29, 2010.
(Artist/SONG/Album, etc.)

Suicide -- GHOST RIDER -- Suicide (2002, Mute Reissue) [orig. 1977, Red Star Records]
Cindy & The Playmates -- NOW THAT SCHOOL IS THROUGH -- Home Schooled: The ABCs of Kid Soul (2007, Numero Group) [orig. 1974, Jaypee]

Spoonie Gee -- SPOONIE IS BACK -- The Sugar Hill Records Story (1999, Rhino/Wea) [orig. 1981, Sugar Hill Records]
Big Daddy A & The Merves -- THE ANSWERS ARE RIGHT HERE -- We Stole Your Wallet (1997, 1984 Records)
Abe Ellstein Orchestra, feat. Dave Tarras -- 2ND AVENUE SQUARE DANCE -- Dave Tarras: Yiddish-American Klezmer Music: 1925-56 (1992, Yazoo) [orig. 1950]
FM Belfast -- VHS -- How To Make Friends (2010, Kimi Records)
George Manury -- DEAR ARLENE -- George M (2010, Vstuff)

Willie Nelson & Wynton Marsalis -- NIGHT LIFE -- Two Men With The Blues (2008, Blue Note Records)
Platon Et Les Caves -- VIVRE AVEC TOI -- Time Machine: The History of Canadian 60s Garage Punk & Surf, 1985-95 (1996, Stomp)
Funky Porcini -- BRIGHT LITTLE THINGS -- On (2010, Ninja Tunes)
Tickled Pink -- REACH OUT (& GIVE ME YOUR HAND) -- Texas Funk: Black Gold From The Lone Star State (2005, Now-Again) [orig. 1972]
Trash Can Sinatras -- EARLIES -- I've Seen Everything (1993, Go! Discs)

Ron Leary -- EVERYDAY I THINK OF YOU -- Lapse E.P. (2010, Bootbrush)
Early B -- HISTORY OF JAMAICA -- Dancehall 2: The Rise of Jamaican Dancehall Culture (2009, Soul Jazz Records) [orig. 1982, Moa Anbessa International Records]
Papa San -- MONEY A FE CIRCLE -- Dancehall 2 (2009, Soul Jazz) [orig. 1986, Supreme Records]
High Mother -- MY CREATION -- From The Tank: 17 Unreleased Tracks from the Windsor Music Collective (2010, Sharktank Productions)
Chadio -- DROP 4 BIZKID -- Stolen Moments (2010, Neferiu)
Nomo -- NOVA -- Ghost Rock (2008, Ubiquity Records)
Wareika Hill Sounds -- AFRICA FREEDOM MARCH -- Wareika Hill Sounds (2007, Honest Jon's Records)
Barmy Army -- SHARP AS A NEEDLE (PT. 2) -- Barmy Army (12" single) (1988, On-U Sound)
The Coasters -- DOWN IN MEXICO -- Uncut Magazine: Radio Bob, Vol. 2 (2008, Uncut) [orig. 1956, Atlantic Records]

Del Barber -- LOVE SONGS FOR THE LAST 20 -- Love Songs For The Last 20 (2010, Broken Ground)


Thanks for listening!

That should be the right order of tunes... Nomo is the only band who may be in the wrong place. There was quite a bit of last minute playlist reshuffling today, like someone smacked the table in a game of dominos.

Oh no! Oh yes.

I like melodrama in everything, I guess.