Thursday, July 09, 2009

Do You Ever Listen To K-Billy?

Taking a cue from Steven Wright's laconic DJ, I put together the entire K-BILLY Super Sounds of the '70s soundtrack with all of the songs Wright mentions during his shift. Along with these Reservoir Dogs tracks I put in some music from Jackie Brown, Pulp Fiction, and a few tracks that will be sure to please Tarantino fans.

TitleArtist
And Now Little Green Bag... Steven Wright
Little Green Bag The George Baker Selection
Vickie Sue Robinson Turn The Beat Around
Heaven on the 7th Floor Paul Nicholas
Le Freak Chic
Fly, Robin, Fly Silver Connection
Rock Flock Of Five Steven Wright
Hooked On A Feeling Blue Swede
The World is a Ghetto War
Billy, Don't Be A Hero Bo Donaldson & The Heywoods
Bohemiath Steven Wright
I Gotcha Joe Tex
Let's Stay Together Al Green
Jungle Boogie Kool & The Gang
Flowers On The Wall The Statler Bros
Super Sounds Steven Wright
Stuck In The Middle With You Stealers Wheel
Doesn't Somebody Want To Be Wanted The Partidge Family
Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes) Edison Lighthouse
Keep On Truckin Steven Wright
Coconut Harry Nilsson
Bertha Butt Boogie Jimmy Castor Bunch
Don't Pull Your Love Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds
My Baby Loves Lovin' White Plains
The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia Vicki Lawrence
Didn't I? The Delfonics
Strawberrry Letter 23 Brothers Johnson
Inside My Love Minnie Ripperton
Home Of Rock Steven Wright

Download the torrent here

Do it for Van Gogh.

One early morning in Ann Arbor I was doing my 6am to 9am shift on WCBN 88.3 FM Ann Arbor, the college station I had been disc jockeying at during the summer. Without planning or provocation, I started going through the record collection and dug out as many David Lynch soundtracks as I possibly could. Via the magic of live radio and multiple turntables, I did a good long mix of songs from Lynch's films. Well, the "good" is subjective, I suppose, but I liked it.

I went back and re-did a few clips, added a track from THE ELEPHANT MAN, and broke the one longer track with much more "elegance."

Im Abendrot Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Kurt Masur Wild at Heart
Slaughterhouse Powermad, Tim Bomba Wild at Heart
Wicked Game Chris Isaak, Erik Jacobsen Wild at Heart
I'm Bill Eraserhead Soundtrack Eraserhead
Blue Velvet Bobby Vinton Blue Velvet
Elephant Man John Morris Elephant Man
In Heaven The Lady in the Radiator Eraserhead
There's Sometime A Buggy The Cowboy Mulholland Drive
Love Letters Straight From My Heart Kitty Lester Blue Velvet
In Dreams Roy Orbison Blue Velvet
Llorando (Crying) Rebekah Del Rio Mulholland Drive
I'm Deranged David Bowie Lost Highway
Perfect Drug Nine Inch Nails Lost Highway
Moving Through Time Angelo Badalamenti Fire Walk With Me
Pink Room Angelo Badalamenti Fire Walk With Me
Sycamore Trees Little Jimmy Scott Fire Walk With Me
Falling Julee Cruise Twin Peaks
I've Told Every Little Star Linda Scott Mulholland Drive
Dune - Main Theme Toto, Brian Eno Dune
Rammstein Rammstein Lost Highway
Hierate Mich Rammstein Lost Highway
This Magic Moment Lou Reed Lost Highway
Give Me Back My Phone Mystery Man Lost Highway
Be Bop A Lula Gene Vincent, The Blue Caps Wild at Heart
16 Reasons (Why I Love You) Connie Stevens Mulholland Drive
Baby, Please Don't Go Them Wild at Heart

Click here to download the Torrent file

The Chesney Tape

Sometimes it's good that I'm OCD.

A few weeks back I sat down and started digitizing the large pile of vinyl I had accumulated over the last year or two. Things that I wanted to hear but couldn't find online in any fashion -- legal or not. I converted these over to my laptop (all of them listed here) and then got to thinking about finally hooking up a cassette player to my laptop and capturing some of the old mix tapes I used to make.

Rather than indulging in my own work, the first tape I grabbed was one labeled "ROCK" on one side and "ROLL" on the other. It didn't necessarily "change my life" but it definitely broadened my musical horizons -- as it was meant to do. It was a mix tape that a good friend of mine made for me, by my request if I recall correctly.

My old pal, Steve Chesney, had put together a group of roughly thirty songs along with sound clips and other audio experiments that delighted me for years -- until cars started coming without cassette players as standard equipment.

Now, if you know me, you know it wasn't good enough to just transfer over the raw cassette, break it into tracks, and call it a day. No. The sound quality wasn't sufficient for me. Likewise, I had no idea what a lot of these songs were in terms of title or artist. I wanted to upgrade everything to "digital quality". Thus began my search to re-make the tape as a collection of mp3s.

This endeavor shouldn't have been as painstaking as it was but, being who/what I am, I culled all of the tracks from the internet, turning to Steve on occasion to describe a song when I couldn't find it via the iPhone Shazam app, a lyric search, etc. More than just the music, I re-captured a lot of the audio soundclips from the movies Steve used as between-song breaks. Luckily, most of these were from two sources; The Mack and Orgy of the Dead, sometimes both at once.

That said, here's the full track listing:

Criswell Demands EntertainmentCriswellOrgy of the Dead
The Greatest Man AliveThree Times DopeOriginal Stylin'
EntrapmentNaked RaygunUnderstand?
Pastoral NightmareSoundclipRock / Roll
Hot ThingGaye Bykers on AcidStewed to the Gills
Happy BirthdayAltered ImagesNew Wave Classics
Woodpecker From MarsFaith No MoreThe Real Thing
Criswell Meets The MackChesney TapeOrgy of the Mack
7 Chinese Bros.R.E.M.Reckoning
Run's HouseRun-D.M.C.Ultimate Run DMC
Message In a BottleExcelThe Joke's On You
WormsDark AngelLeave Scars
Mountain Surf Report (from "The Movie")M.O.D.Surfin' M.O.D.
Cheeba CheebaTone Loc Loc-ed After Dark
Banned In D.C.Bad BrainsRock For Light
Grandma Dynamite24-7 SpyzHarder Than You
The Player's BBQThe MackThe Mack
I Go To WorkKool Moe DeeThe Posse Soundtrack
You Hurry Up!The MackThe Mack
Sometime To ReturnSoul AsylumHang Time
Wildflower CommercialCar WashCar Wash
Gene Machine/Don't Bother MeBad BrainsQuickness
It's The Noise That Bothers Me!SoundclipRock / Roll
American NightmareThe MisfitsLegacy of Brutality
I Wanna Be A FlintstoneScreaming Blue MessiahsThe Flintstones
The Mack Daddy On The LeftDe La Soul3 Feet High And Rising
It's A Wonderful Life (Gonna Have A Good Time)FishboneIn Your Face
Rock 'N' Roll High SchoolThe RamonesEnd of the Century
Fucked by the Devil45 GraveOnly the Good Die Young
WaitingNew Model ArmyAll Of This: The "Live" Rarities
The Unknown KnowsVoivodNothingface
Ballad Of The Green BeretsElvis HitlerHellbilly
Don't Let's StartThey Might Be GiantsThen (Disc 1)

Download Torrent Here

Someone Left a Cake Out in the Rain

Someone Left a Cake out in the RainMore than eighty cakes, actually, by various bakers. This is another BitTorrent compilation courtesy of my obsessive-compulsive disorder. Download here.

These songs are different versions of the Jimmy Webb song or directly inspired by it. There are a few parodies and even a track that dissects the history and lyrics courtesy of Lyrics Undercover.

Big thanks to Medea 2, The Dingo from Forgotten Albums, WFMU, and everyone else who's supported me in my obsession.

Read more about BitTorrent on WikiPedia.

I'm still on the trail of other versions of this song. For another obsessive list of cover artists, check out this list

TitleArtistTime
MacArthur Park Richard Harris 7:29
MacArthur Park Four Tops 6:34
Macarthur Park The Three Degrees 6:41
Macarthur Park Regine Velasquez 5:01
MacArthur Park The Ventures 4:45
MacArthur Park The Negro Problem 3:30
MacArthur Park Psychotica 4:52
MacArthur Park Wayne Kramer 5:16
MacArthur Park Peter Nero 7:03
MacArthur Park Goober & The Peas 4:55
MacArthur Park Mike Flowers Pops 5:49
Macarthur Park Jimmy Webb 7:43
MacArthur Park Donna Summers 6:25
MacArthur Park Andy Williams 5:06
Macarthur Park Long John Baldry 4:05
MacArthur Park Glen Campbell 4:49
Macarthur Park Maynard Ferguson 10:00
Macarthur Park American Idol 4 2:13
Macarthur Park Sharon 2:09
MacArthur Park Vic Damone 6:06
Macarthur Park The Panpipers 4:00
MacArthur Park The Lounge-O-Leers 4:33
MacArthur Park Frank Sinatra 2:51
Macarthur Park Amen Corner 3:31
MacArthur Park Various Artists 3:41
Macarthur Park The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain 6:15
MacArthur Park The Stone Canyon 6:14
MacArthur Park Stan Kenton 6:20
Macarthur Park Sammy Davis, Jr. 7:14
Macarthur Park Newell Oler 4:44
MacArthur Park Mike Vax 5:41
MacArthur Park Marc Reift Orchestra 5:46
MacArthur Park Manny Lagod 5:02
Macarthur Park Magic Hands 5:12
MacArthur Park Justin Hayward 7:16
MacArthur Park jim anderson 5:38
MacArthur Park Jerry Vale 4:34
MacArthur Park Jack Fender 3:43
Macarthur Park Hybrid Kids 3:06
MacArthur Park Fifty Guitars 4:03
MacArthur Park Diana Ross & The Supremes 6:46
Macarthur Park Denny G 4:51
MacArthur Park Della Reese 3:56
MacArthur Park Count Dee's Hit Explosion 4:17
MacArthur Park Chicago Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra 8:35
MacArthur Park Buddy Greco 4:33
MacArthur Park The Associated Soul Group 6:13
MacArthur Park The Assembled Multitude 3:35
Mac Arthur Park Richard Clayderman 7:41
Mac Arthur Park Lasimmo 5:21
Mac Arthur Park Gro Anita Schønn 3:54
Macarthur Park John Sawyer 6:14
Mac Arthur Park All-Star SUPERband 7:32
Macarthur Park Mike Batt, Justin Hayward, London Philharmonic Orchestra 7:11
Macarthur Park Royal Philharmonic Orchestra 7:24
Macarthur Park (Bonus) Sweden 5:06
MacArthur Park (Revisited) Waylon Jennings 6:37
Parco Macarthur (La Torta in La Pioggia) Father Guido Sarducci 3:11
MacArthur Park Brazilian Tropical Orchestra 2:52
Macarthur Park Queers, The 1:38
MacArthur Park The Burtons 3:06
Medley: MacArthur Park/Didn't We Liza Minnelli 4:06
MacArthur Park Woody Herman 8:32
MacArthur Park Carmen McRae 4:01
Macarthur Park Mantovani 5:23
MacArthur Park The Dovells 5:39
MacArthur Park Maureen McGovern 2:14
Macarthur Park Maestro Jerard 6:41
MacArthur Park Ray Conniff and The Singers 3:39
Macarthur Park Hugo Montenegro 3:22
MacArthur Park Garry Cutt 6:31
MacArthur Park Only Men Aloud 4:36
MacArthur Park Blue Devils 4:13
MacArthur Park Beggar's Opera 8:19
Macarthur Park Percy Faith & His Orchestra 3:43
Macarthur Park Martin Lass 4:16
MacArthur Park Chet Atkins & Jerry Reed 2:52
MacArthur Park The Revells 3:08
Macarthur Park - Popcorn The Two Pete's 6:19
Macarthur Park Tony Monopoly 3:56
Macarthur Park Burning Liquid Fish 6:26
Macarthur Park - With Chet Thumbpickers 2:47
MacArthur Park James Last 8:23
Dreamy Days Roots Manuva 4:46
Jurassic Park Weird Al Yankovic 3:55
It's Not My Birthday They Might Be Giants 1:52
Asteroid 2006 Pete Moore 0:32
Asteroid 70s Pete Moore 0:17
LU-074-MacArthur Park Brian Ibbott 8:12
MacArthur Park Minute Jazz Kissingers 1:02

Note: Link fixed 7/9/2009

Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Local Boy Makes Good

A few weeks back I was interviewed by Lee Gardner for the Baltimore City Paper in Baltimore. His article, Clicking and Streaming has been picked up by Detroit's Metro Times. Playing up the "local boy" angle, the Metro Times even included a few photos by Doug Coombe of yours truly in my basement lair, showing off the walls of video tapes.

Also, Lee and I were interviewed by Craig Fahle for Detroit Today on WDET 101.9FM.

Please note the Jabba the Hutt figure (courtesy of Leon Chase) and my Black Shampooo (Turkish version) t-shirt. See what other fun stuff you can pick out in the mess.

Adverb Adjective

For years I've been living under the "impossiblefunky" brand -- a name that pays homage to the film Getting Over. So, why on earth is the name of the Cashiers du Cinemart book Impossibly Funky?

Even people familiar Cashiers du Cinemart still manage to change the adjective-adjective combination to the adverb-adjective. Here's hoping that the book will be seen by more than just the ten or twelve people who used to read the zine. I'm taking it easy on those new people. They're already going to be scratching their head over "Cashiers du Cinemart" (remarkably few people get the joke), so why throw "Impossible Funky" at them, too?

Here's hoping that Impossibly Funky will be something easier to remember, write about, and, yeah, to purchase too.

Monday, July 06, 2009

The World Hates Paris

I'm going to compile the destruction of Paris in film, especially the Eiffel Tower. Now I just need to make a list of all the films in which this occurs. I can remember the following:

  • Armageddon
  • Team America: World Police
Others?

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

CdC Book Cover Art! (Rough)

Here's the rough version of the Cashiers du Cinemart book cover! It's by artist Jim Rugg (check out his photostream at flickr).

Release Date: Tentative for October/November, 2009
Publisher: Atomic Book Company, http://atomicbookcompany.blogspot.com/

Cashiers du Cinemart Book Cover Art, Front - Rough - By Jim Rugg

Cashiers du Cinemart Book Cover Art, Back - Rough - By Jim Rugg

Sunday, June 07, 2009

"No, I'm Iron Man."

I've been wanting to do this ever since I saw The Iron Giant; take footage from the Japanese cartoon Gigantor and place it against Black Sabbath's "Iron Man". I kicked my own ass and got it together this weekend. Enjoy!