Growing Bored For a Living

First off, despite the weight of that title, I don't attach any great drama to what happened to the blog here. I've seen more than a few great blogs fall - Mr. Eliminator's first Surfadelic blog or Inferno Music Vault are two examples - and I was a little fish in a big pond.

(No, you can't have it)

First off, the DMCA complaints were about the Monty Python, the Richard Pryor, the Ennio Morricone, and the weekly Zappa posts. Those posts were just thrown into "draft" mode, my Zippyshare account was unaffected. The Carlin was still OK, as well as the very popular Swans posts, but....

I burned it all down, folks. Deleted every damn one. Now I hope to give an explanation why, since I plan on continuing. And hey, at least I didn't leave the posts up for years to frustrate people...

Because of a bug infestation, I've spent the last two weeks inspecting, boxing, and moving my music collection around. We're talking about 1600 separate items between LPs and CDs...small potatoes compared to some, but still something to be proud of. Now that everything is on the surface and I'm listening to my long neglected LPs again, I realized something - I've been pigging out on so much music found online that I'd forgotten to find joy in what I already have. And I've got some wildly eclectic, awesome stuff on LP...those are the pictures you're seeing, by the way. Also, there's my beloved Frankenstein system - a modern Denon automatic turntable running into a ca. 1980 JCPenney home system receiver that powers two 10 inch Infinity studio speakers...

Having music has always been a tactile thing for me, ever since I was a kid with my portable single speaker tape deck and my Whitesnake cassettes. Reading liner notes, enjoying the covers, searching through credits to find familiar names - it's how I learned. And now, acquiring and going through so much awesome stuff at an exponential rate online, I felt not as appreciative of it. I'm happy to finally hear rare stuff I've been looking for, but it's been overload the last year or so. I'm not knocking YOU if all you have is hard drives full of stuff, but it loses some of the luster for me to just have them as names in a computer folder.

But that primarily affects what I'm getting from the internet, and only slightly what I'm giving to it...

Future Plans For the Blog

I could never stop doing this. My whole life I've felt the need to give music to people. If I make a new acquaintance and find out they like this or that, the next thing you know I'm bringing in armfuls of CDs saying "listen to this!" I just want the rest of the world to catch up, you know what I mean?

I set out to do the comedy well, which is very neglected out here in the blogs, and it was very popular. But apparently, it gets hunted down even more than music does. I still plan on putting more comedy out, and some old stuff back up, but not in any "complete" context. It's just painful when that was my main aim, and it was what I was targeted for. But I did feel the need to start with a clean slate, so...

There's gonna be no more complete discography stuff. It's an utter pain in the ass, and except for the comedy stuff it's all been done before. Seriously, if there is a group whose discography you want, and they're not small time, go here -

Bunalti

They have so many complete discographies there, it's insane! Boris, Melvins, Swans, Zappa, Sinatra, John Zorn...it's all there. You have to deal with Uploaded.net, but it's worth the time. And if you're looking to fill some obscure holes, also check here -

Song365

You'll have to download songs singly from that site, but it's a good place to fill in gaps. And if it's soundtracks you want, check these two sites...

Download-Soundtracks
THE BEST ENNIO MORRICONE BLOG

I will post single albums or small sets of artists or soundtrack I like, but the big old posts are done with. And I'll tell you the last reason...

I was gonna post a bunch of Ken Nordine albums early last week. Then, while grooving to one of his CDs, I sent him an email saying how appreciative I was for his art. Got a kind reply from him the next day, and it made me think: "fuck, this guy is 95 years old, a uniquely gifted artist, and I'm gonna take money out of his pocket?" So, a crisis of conscience, but it came from a good place.

Now, if the artist is dead or the music is rare, that's a different story. I honestly don't give a shit if people's descendants make any money (I'm looking at you, ZFT and Mrs. Pryor). I believe no music should be prohibitively expensive or hard to find, so that is the new focus here. For instance, the complete Python won't come back, but you can bet your ass the 1970 BBC album and the "Hastily Cobbled" bootleg will!

So, a newer focus, and my links and posts will be much more subtle and abbreviated. I won't put titles under the pictures, just the links. Or maybe I will put links in the comments, or maybe the link will be a whole bunch of "£#$¥|%" gobbledygook. I don't know yet. It'll be more disguised, and feature more off-the-radar and rare stuff. I get some international readers, and I definitely want to do some posts that reflect that.

The link to the new blog will be posted by BigScott over on Growing Bored when he copies this. Content will be coming...

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Here is the link to the new blog, I'll keep you guys updated when he starts posting stuff again-Scott

http://rustbeltoutpost.blogspot.com/2015/04/test.html?m=1

For those that missed this post the first time out, I'm reposting it on this new blog. For those that downloaded before, scroll on....this is an updated version. For those that're new, an explanation...

The Atomic Cafe is a documentary from 1982. It is assembled from newsreels, safety films, and government footage. It paints a brilliantly satirical portrait of the world's race into the atomic age after WW 2. It's one of the best dark comedies ever made. If you're a fan of "Dr. Strangelove", you must see this.

Castle-Bravo (Largest U.S. Test - 15 Megatons, 1952)

This movie sparked my interest in the early atomic program in our country. It is amazing we didn't blow ourselves up decades ago. Here is the whole film on YouTube -

And if you haven't seen it, I'd also recommend looking up "Trinity and Beyond: The Atomic Bomb Movie". And Richard Rhodes's books about the making of the A bomb and the H bomb are fantastic. But, on to the main point of the post-

The Soundtrack

Released by Rounder Records in 1982 - and never ever released on CD - this is a collection of atomic-themed gospel, country, and rock & roll tunes. The songs reflect many aspects of Americans' feelings about The Bomb: to the country boys, it was befuddlement and being resigned to it. To the gospel folks, it was proof of mankind's fallibility and impending doom. To the rock & roll kids, it became just another aspect of their hot rod culture...

(Atomic car, Daddy-O!)

This was originally sourced from a vinyl rip I found out here back when RapidLibrary was still alive. There's a bit of vinyl crackle, but it's more than listenable. And again to clarify, I AM NOT talking about this album...

There's almost too many favorites to list....Sonny Boy Williamson's murderous "Win the War", the finger-snapping "Atom Bomb Party" and "Uranium", the deep gospel groove of "Atomic Telephone", and the strange "Sputniks and Mutniks". Also making appearances are Harry Truman, Winston Churchill, the pilot of the Enola Gay, and that dipshit senator that wanted to nuke North Korea (no, I mean back then, guys!)

NEW EXPANDED YIELD EDITION!!!

On to the new stuff. Ever since I found the vinyl rip of this, I was frustrated that some of the best songs weren't on the soundtrack. So, I sat watching my copy of the movie with the Wiki info and poked around mp3 sites for awhile. With the new additions, I tried to resequence the whole thing in the order the songs play in the movie. I'm proud of this one.

The first new addition is Glenn Miller's "Flying Home". If you're gonna have one 40's swing song, doesn't hurt to be this one. And chances are you've heard it before.

The next new one is Carson Robison's "I'm No Communist". A brilliant bit of Americana Red-baiting. Then there's Al Rogers'"The Hydrogen Bomb". This is one of my faves: a jauntily fatalistic tune, with the singer praying for an H-bomb to fall and end his problems. And check out that banjo solo!

The next addition is one I had to dig for - all four and a half minutes of the soundtrack to "Duck and Cover", the famous nuclear "safety" film. I guarantee you, this will be the only song in your iTunes with "Federal Civil Defense Administration" as the artist!

The next new song is Bill Haley's "13 Women (and Only one Man in Town)". Classic early R&R tune. I love that guitar solo and the moment where it plays in the movie...when the Atomic Cafe sign is revealed. The last addition is Floyd Tillman's country tune "This Cold War With You" - the song that plays over the end credits. There's something so forlorn and spooky about it.

LINK--->"I have talked to Jesus on the Atomic Telephone...."

The only music in the movie that is not in this file is as follows -

Miklós Rózsa - excerpt from "Rózsa Conducts Rózsa"
Arthur Feidler and the Boston Pops - "Hungarian Rhapsody #2
Mussorgsky - "Pictures At An Exhibition"
Whatever that song is in the montage where you hear that guy sing "Live, live, live...in my fallout shelter!"

For people who like the film and it's music, this is the final word on the soundtrack. If you're just a fan of the weird, poignant, and funny, give this one a listen.

NOW, THROW THE SWITCH!!!!!!

Philosophic Collage EP (American Aesthetic Industries, Ltd. 1981): Of course you've never heard of this band or label. I'm probably the only naive pathetic idiot who bought this record. Totally pretentious Bass, Drum, Moog, Harmonica retardo art-rock trio from Missouri. You won't know whether to laugh or cry the first time you listen to this but if your not dancing like an epileptic chicken by the 5th consecutive run through, may Satan take a personal interest in torturing your worthless soul. The fact that I'm sharing this with you proves the deep love and respect I have for you.

Buying this EP was a mistake. It's 1981 and I'm a totally wet-behind-the-ears SoCal punk making a road trip to Zed Records in Long Beach. So here I am wandering aimlessly around after picking up the requisite Crass, DK, Descendents what-have-you punk stuff and I come across this EP in the singles rack. The "paisley underground," as it later came to be known, was just burgeoning with the release of Dream Syndicate's first EP and a smattering of psych-pop singles by the Salvation Army, Rain Parade, Chesterfield Kings, etc. Well, already hooked on this stuff and hoping to add to the handful of releases I had already played into the ground, I spot this black-and-white polka-dotted EP by a band called the "PSYCHEDELIC" Collage. After picking it up, flipping it over a half-dozen times and deliberating for a good 10 minutes I finally make the fateful decision to plop down another $2.50 from my meager paper-route earnings. WRONG CHOICE!
What the fuck is this shit? Not the nice 60s garage-inspired pop I was hoping for. Probably the worst thing I ever bought, though it was worth a chuckle or two. Maybe the cover photo should have been a tip-off. You've got
the tough dude in his skin-tight almost but not-quite sleeveless striped muscle-tee giving you the evil eye; the nerdy guy in the middle with big round glasses and look of total disgust; and mr. greasy hippy ponytail guy in a silk polka-dotted shirt. What was I thinking?! See the cover for yourself at http://www.collectorscum.com/volume3/midwest/ (the only reference to the band I could find anywhere on the web at the time I originally ripped this in 2002). It was probably another 10 years (and a lot more drugs) before I fully appreciated the "genius" of the Philosophic Collage.

"Misunderstood Genius" is definitely the catch phrase here. Apparently, they were used to being taunted and ridiculed (I guess drum, bass, moog, harmonica retardo art-rock trios were not the big thing in Missouri at the time). Almost every song in fact is aggressively self-defensive of their self-proclaimed misunderstood genius. On the first track, appropriately titled "Genius", the singer half-snarls, half-whines that he "can't help it if you haven't transcended your dense narrow nonsense yet." Two songs later he's half-snarling half-whining "You'll never thaw out from your cultural ice age. Portion and package the genius for the benefit of the hopeless." On the next song he's half-snarling half-whining "You can't be great all the time ... You can't please all the critics." Somehow I doubt they pleased ANY critics.

The beyond pretentious lyrics and the way that the singer sings them with a nasally whine that constantly oscillates up and down is certainly one of the attractions here. Vaguely like the whining singer of fellow midwestern weirdoes the Electric Eels but he doesn't take it all the way there which makes it that much more pathetic.

The other major attraction here of course is the spasmodic art-damaged music. Take short herky-jerky repetitive bass lines in odd time signatures, add syncopated, punk-jazz drumming with lots of fills (really good drumming actually), and then top it off with fucking whacked out-of-key harmonica from planet moron and 2 tracks of out-of-control moogs bleeping, blipping, blurping and squealing at you from both sides while the singer sarcastically mocks you with the most ridiculous lyrics ever written in his whining nasally voice oscillating up and down and up and down and ... well, you begin to get the picture. Pure genius. It's a good thing they only recorded 4 songs -- I don't think I could handle any more.

Hope you enjoy this -- Happy (belated) birthday and thanks for all your great shares!

MrDave

LINK:http://www62.zippyshare.com/v/E3K9Roj2/file.html

Thanks for the submission!

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