PUNISHMENT PARK

This little-seen classic of early 70's paranoid political conspiracy cinema deserves to be seen by a much wider audience. You can now watch the entire mockumentary online, thanks to Youtube. Here it is. Watch along with yer old pal Jerky and leave some comments!

INSANE WOMEN WE HAVE KNOWN + LOVED - PART 2

This is a reading of one of the two posts which had been censored by Open Book Toronto, home of Basil's author blog. Thankfully, they saw the light and re-posted my work. The background imagery was created by Fernando Perriera, with assistance from Sandra McLelland, at Station Zero.

BASIL PAPADEMOS READING MORE FROM MOUNT ROYAL

The giant scrolling image in the background is the novel's cover and again features model Araina Nespiak. The cover photo, design and image processing were done by Fernando Perriera at Station Zero.

BASIL PAPADEMOS READING / VIDEO

Our old pal Basil Papademos - of frequent guest posting infamy - stars in this video of a reading from his upcoming novel, Mount Royal. While shooting the cover photo for the novel, a video camera was left running to record the whole process. The background imagery is an out-take from that video. The model/performer is Araina Nespiak.

HOLY CRAP-DOODLE! A NEW RIGOROUS INTUITION POST!!!

Run, run, run to our old pal Jeff Wells' formerly essential Rigorous Intuition Blog to read his latest post in... what... a year and a half? I got so excited when I surfed on over there and saw an update that I immediately raced back to my own pathetic blog to announce it. I haven't even read the damn thing yet, but that's what I'm gonna do now. So, if you'll excuse me...

A MUSICAL EDUCATION IN 1001 STEPS - PT 28

The Incredible Jimmy Smith - Back at the Chicken Shack (1960)

I'd never heard of this cat before, but I was immediately intrigued by both the braggadocious album title and the humorous cover photo. Whoever this "incredible" Jimmy Smith gentleman might be, he definitely grabbed my attention from the get-go. The music behind the image was absolutely not what I expected. The central focus of this all-instrumental album is the legendary roller-rink sound of Mister Hammond's Organ. The Book says this is the first ever album of "soul jazz" and I guess that moniker kind of fits, but more than anything this reminds me of a kind of embryonic version of Booker T and the MG's, with a hint of the type of music that would explode out of Jamaica a few years later with the likes of Jackie Mittoo and The Upsetters. Fans of these Kingston superstars should find this album very enjoyable, as I did.

Had I heard this before? No.

Do I like it? Yes.

Am I keeping it? Yes.

Standout tracks? "Minor Chant", "When I Grow Too Old To Dream"

A MUSICAL EDUCATION IN 1001 STEPS - PT 27

The Everly Brothers - A Date with the Everly Brothers (1960)

I don't know what to say about this record other than the fact that I didn't enjoy it. Perhaps the inability to enjoy this kind of harmless fluff is a failure all my own. If so, so be it. The lyrics are the typically insipid treacle characteristic of the era - neither more nor less offensive than all the other teenage broken heart at the malt shop crap that was being churned out by countless artists and labels back in the Good Old Days of Eisenhower's America. Even the album cover gets on my nerves. They look like they're calling a Black family to warn them not to move into their neighborhood or something. Blech!

Had I heard it before? Yes.
Do I like it? Meh.
Am I keeping it? No.
Standout Tracks? "Cathy's Clown" is, at the very least, memorable.

A MUSICAL EDUCATION IN 1001 STEPS - PT 26

Miriam Makeba - Miriam Makeba (1960)

Wow. 

Aside from being able to write amusingly snarky comments about artists I don't like, finding wonderful stuff like this is probably what makes this 1001-step exercise in music appreciation so rewarding. Miriam Makeba was a South African Xhosa singer who was brought to the States by Harry Belafonte, who "discovered" her during one of his many trips to Africa. After listening to her first American album (which Belafonte produced), I can see why he was so smitten.

One impressive aspect of Makeba's voice is that it sounds as comfortable and natural belting out standards like "House of the Rising Sun" as it does clicking and popping through the astonishing "Click Song". And her take on the classic South African pop hit "Mbube" - also known as "Wimaweh", also known as "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" - is so jubilant, so vital and throbbing with life, it leaves me struggling for the proper words to describe it. 

As good as the music is, in this case, there is an even more incredible personal story behind that music. Makeba, who died in 2008 after a concert in Italy, was known as "Mama Africa" and "The Voice of Africa" for her tireless work against the Apartheid regime, which led to her 30-year exile from the homeland she so dearly loved. Oh, and did I mention she was incredibly beautiful? Thankfully for those of us too lazy to do all the research ourselves, there's a movie coming out about her life.

So far, 26 albums deep, this is my favorite new discovery, and it's going to take something pretty impressive to dislodge it from its perch.

I heard it before? No.

Do I like it? Yes. It's wonderful.

Am I keeping it? Yes.

Standout Tracks? "Mbube", "The Retreat Song", "The Click Song", "The Naughty Little Flea", "Nomeva"

A MUSICAL EDUCATION IN 1001 STEPS - PART 25

Elvis Presley – Elvis is Back! (1960)

Elvis' first album after spending two years in the military doesn't waste any time covering a lot of new ground. The King strays far from his rocky roots, indulging his creative side with everything from torch balladry ("Fever") to opera ("It's Now Or Never") to super-smooth romantic crooning ("Are You Lonesome Tonight") with a barn-storming nut-rocker thrown in for good measure ("Such a Night"). The end result was a hit-packed, persona-redefining album that was Elvis' favorite of his own work. I hadn't heard many of these songs in a long while, and it was very enjoyable to revisit them. Thanks, Elvis!

Had I heard it before? Yes.
Did I like it then? Yes.
Do I like it now? Yes.
Am I keeping it? Yes.
Standout Tracks? "Are You Lonesome Tonight", "Love Me Tender", "It's Now Or Never", "Such a Night"

A MUSICAL EDUCATION IN 1001 STEPS - PT 24

Joan Baez - Joan Baez (1960)

Only 23 albums and we're already switching decades! That means the 50's only got... let's see... 23 out of 1001... carry the three... 2.39 percent of the slots available! Oh well. Time marches on, and so must we, if we're expecting to finish this exercise. That means no quibbling over minor details like the one I just spent five minutes quibbling over.

Now, on to Joan Baez. I recently mentioned how Joan, Willie Nelson, Jim Croce and Ray Charles were erstwhile companions on a couple of family cross-country driving trips, thanks to their "Best Of" tapes being the only listening material in the car other than the radio. So I do harbor a certain fondness for her peculiar, warbling, high-pitched vocal stylings, occasionally in spite of my own better judgement. Of course, at the time I had no idea about her relationship with Bob Dylan (which spawned one of the most bitter breakup songs ever in "Diamonds and Rust") or the fact that she borrowed her falsetto/vibrato/rubato technique wholesale from Cambridge folkie Debbie Green. But that hardly seems to matter at this point, especially considering many of these songs were centuries old by the time they were recorded.

Fifty years later, is this material still worth a listen? I would say yes. It's definitely not as vital or immanent as it used to be - its time, politically speaking, having come, gone and left a whole lotta ugly t-shirts (not to mention busted bongs and a scattering of syringes). But there is artistry worth considering, here, and some of the selections are deeply moving. Give it a listen and see for yourself.

Had I heard it before? Most of it.

Did I like it then? Yes.
Do I like it now? Slightly less so.

Am I keeping it? Only the Standout Tracks.

Standout Tracks? "Silver Dagger", "All My Trials", "Wildwood Flower", "John Riley", "Girl of Constant Sorrow" (yes, the O! Brother Where Art Thou? song)

EVERY NUKE EVER SET OFF BY ANY COUNTRY

A MUSICAL EDUCATION IN 1001 STEPS - PT 23

Dave Brubeck Quartet - Time Out (1959)

Are my ears deceiving me, or am I discerning substantial chunks of what some wags might refer to as "progressive rock" in these idiosyncratic and memorably quirky compositions? The bouncy hit "Take Five" had become the instrumental sensation of the season, or perhaps, it could be argued, of the decade. And there's definitely no debating that particular tune's pedigree. It is jazz, straight up, no chaser. But on many of the other selections here, Brubeck's Quartet crank out music that wouldn't seem out of place on a Gentle Giant album.The opening track, "Blue Rondo", careens from Stravinsky-esque staccato piano-banging to finger-snapping bebop alto horn solos - then back again - with an almost diabolical abandon. The next cut, "Strange", kicks things off with a warm and lovely Liberace style étude before dropping into a smooth and mellow swing set. That's followed by "Take Five", which you've heard even if you think you haven't. After that it's a mixed bag, with some tunes in the Duke Ellington mode and others that you might be able to squeeze onto Frank Zappa's Hot Rats without anyone but bona-fide Zappaphiles taking note. Very interesting, and a definite recommend.

Had I heard it before? Only "Take Five".

Do I like it? Yes.

Am I keeping it? Yes.

Standout Tracks? "Blue Rondo", "Strange", "Take Five", "Pick Up"

A MUSICAL EDUCATION IN 1001 STEPS - PT 22

Marty Robbins - Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs (1959)

Many of the songs on this album could easily have played over the opening credits of The Big Lebowski instead of the one the Coens eventually went with: Tumbling Tumbleweeds. Marty Robbins' cowboy songs have that same half-authentic, half-artificial feel to them. His voice seems far too delicate, even pretty, for the gritty subject matter. I somehow doubt the men who worked and ranged over the land back in olden days spent much time indulging their passion for barbershop harmonizing. And yet that's part of what makes this selection of songs so compelling. I think smart people call it "tension". 

I'll tell you this: If I were trying to write the script for an ironic Western, many songs from this album would definitely be in heavy rotation in my "tunes to write by" mix. Robbins paints a picture, and even if sometimes it's a goofy, kitschy picture, it's always painted quite well, with all the little details in place. The spurs and revolvers shine. The oiled leather saddles glow warm and golden. You can almost see Lee Van Cleef crouching behind a papier-mâché boulder, drawing a bead on you. And there's the stage-hand, just beyond the Saloon facade, tossing a tumbleweed in your direction just as the 2nd AC chops the air with his black-and-white clapperboard. 

It's just a bit of harmless fun, and I didn't hate it, like I thought I would. So sue me!

Had I heard it before? Chunks of "Cool Water" and "El Paso" have been permanently engraved into the side of my brain since early childhood, thanks to those K-Tel commercials way back when.

Do I like it? More than I thought I would.

Am I keeping it? Yes.

Standout Tracks? "Cool Water", "Big Iron", "El Paso", "Come Back to the Valley"

A MUSICAL EDUCATION IN 1001 STEPS - PT 21

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue (1959)

So many gallons of ink have been spilled in praise of Miles Davis' masterpiece, Kind of Blue, that anything I add here will invariably end up seeming redundant, repetitive and totally unnecessary. Suffice it to say that the hundreds of critics and scholars who call this "The Best Jazz Album Ever" aren't exaggerating in the slightest. Eschewing Bebop and taking one of the most incredible bands ever assembled (Bill Evans, Wynton Kelly, Jimmy Cobb, Paul Chambers, Cannonball Adderley, John Coltrane) into the studio to explore the wide open spaces of modality, Miles came out on the other side with an album that quite simply demands - and amply rewards - every thinking music lover's full and undivided attention. It would take someone far more knowledgeable about the mechanics of music theory to explain how this works to any accurate degree, but roughly it means that, instead of being given a composed score, a series of chord progressions or a harmonic framework, each musician was given a set of modal scales defining their improvisational parameters. The end result was something Davis called "Modal Sketches", but you might as well just call it magic. Look, just trust me on this one, okay? Seek out Kind of Blue at your earliest possible convenience, in any format you can get your hot little hands on, set aside an hour, maybe roll yourself a spliff, smoke it slow and just... dig... the groove.

Had I heard it befoer? Yes.

Did I like it then? Yes.

Do I like it now? Immensely.

Am I keeping it? Yes.

Standout Tracks? Every cut is a Standout Track.

A MUSICAL EDUCATION IN 1001 STEPS - PT 20

Ray Charles - The Genius of Ray Charles (1959)

Wit this, his third album, the man who single-handedly created Soul by blending R&B, Blues, Jazz and Gospel tried his hand at something akin to "Big Band Fusion", backed up by Basie and Ellington alumni with lush arrangements by Quincy Jones. It works, of course, as pretty much everything Ray Charles ever attempted always seemed to. Side One is pure bombast, a high energy romp through some old favorites from the Great American Songbook, to most electrifying effect in "Let the Good Times Roll" and "Alexander's Ragtime Band". But it's Side Two that stands out, here. Jones elevates Charles' distinctive, beautiful croon to the top of the mix, so you can hear every tortured sigh of his incredibly expressive delivery. Here is the Ray Charles who would go on to become a national treasure in his lifetime, with good reason.

Had I heard it before? About half the songs.

Did I like it then? I have always loved Ray Charles, and he is forever locked with Willie Nelson, Jim Croce and Joan Baez in my mind, because of a few cross-country trips where the only cassette tapes we had in the car were those four Best Of collections. 

Do I like it now? Yes.

Will I be keeping it? Yes.

Standout Tracks? "Let the Good Times Roll", "Alexander's Ragtime Band", all of Side Two