BACK BEAT: Everything for Less

Here It Comes Again (MP3)
by the Swingin' Medallions

For this year's post in support of Record Store Day, Little E and I would like to give a shout out to all the junk shops and thrift stores where so much old vinyl collects. In many small towns, they're often the only place to find records. Such is the case in Hendersonville, North Carolina (pop. 10,420), a sleepy mountain town full of retirees.


Here we find "Everything for Less!" But we won't find it here long. It's literally a mom and pop store and, after twenty-odd years, mom and pop are calling it quits. If you're into easy listening or classic country, you might want to hurry up and come on down. Most of the albums only cost a few bucks and there's lots of em -- even more in the storage room. (It looks like you shouldn't even think of going back there, but you can. Mind you take an extra layer. What with the meat locker next door, it's fricking freezing.)




Before you ask, no we didn't buy the pictured Erv Howell album. The wrong LP was in the sleeve. This is a retiree's town, remember. Most of these records came from the collections of folks at least fading if not passed and here you'll find em however they left em. Anyhow, to encourage you to embark on your own vinyl scavenger hunt, me and Little E bequeath to thee some samples below from our finds.


As you can see, these days Little E likes to dig unassisted. Before he could walk, I used to carry him on my chest, thus he'd be leaning over the crates as I dug through them. Naturally, he joined in, so flipping records became a fave game, which it remains. He also used to imitate me by randomly pulling out a record and looking it over. Now it's not just imitation. When he pulls one out, it's because he likes it, for whatever reason, usually for its colors -- though sometimes because a cutie's on the cover, which could be imitation after all. Anyhow, some of these were his picks. I'm not kidding. A one year old found them and wouldn't let them go, so I bought them. But I won't say which. Now go out and get some of your own.•


Record Store Day commences April 17th. "This is the one day that all of the independently owned record stores come together with artists to celebrate the art of music," explains its website. "Special vinyl and CD releases and various promotional products are made exclusively for the day and hundreds of artists in the United States and in various countries across the globe make special appearances.... Festivities include performances, cook-outs, body painting, meet & greets with artists, parades, djs spinning records and on and on." We'd like to add that there's independent, then there's small town independent whose importance is inversely proportional to population. Where there's less, things matter more. So, for those of you who don't live in big cities, it'd be appreciated twice as much if you'd visit your local independent record shops. So, if you're lucky enough to have one, please do.


(a) Moonglow (b) Theme from "Picnic" (MP3)
by Morris Stoloff & His Orchestra
from Love Sequence

According to the liner notes, Morris Stoloff was "concertmaster at Paramount Studios from 1928 to 1936, in which year he became Musical Director at Columbia Pictures... He was nominated for the best scoring for a dozen different films, including 'From Here to Eternity,' and 'The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.' Moreover, he has been the recipient of two coveted Academy Awards: 'Cover Girl' in 1944 and 'The Jolson Story' in 1946." Coveted? Well, it's my understanding he won for music he neither wrote nor arranged, so I can see how that'd trigger some jealousy. This kind of breezy easy shit bores me to tears, but one of us was fond of the cover.


Mah-Na Mah-Na (MP3)
by Enoch Light & the Light Brigade
from The Best of the Movie Themes 1970

Most people know "Mah-Na Mah-Na" from the Muppets, but it first appeared in Italian softcore director Luigi Scattini's semi-documentary Sweden: Heaven and Hell. As one would guess of any song that could supplement both a mondo movie and a kid's show, it's whacky -- this version perhaps one of the wackest. As the liner notes explain in their obsessive play-by-play: "All the stops are pulled out in this spirited, romping, almost tongue-in-cheek arrangement.The 'shaking' sounds which get things rolling are produced by percussionist Phil Kraus playing the cabaza. He is soon joined by the low, groaning sound (which recurs throughout the arrangement) of Phil Bodner's alto sax, modified and made to sound two octaves lower by the use of a new electronic device known as the 'multivider.' The girls in the vocal ensemble add to the fun as they sing delightful 'nonsense' syllables to this disarmingly naive tune. 'Toots' Thielman (harmonica) and Dominic Cortese (accordion) keep up the spirit with humorous quotations from famous melodies. The arrangement goes romping out with Dick Hyman producing a fantastic 'wah-wah' effect on the clavinet in an improvised repartee with the 'multivided' sound of Bodner's alto sax." To recap, all the words in quotes were: multivider, multivided, nonsense, shaking, wah-wah, and Toots. If I had to choose just one of those to describe the cover photo, I might go with wah-wah, although nonsense it definitely is. I wonder what 1970 movie you'd possibly want to watch naked with your parents or with your kid. My wife simply says: "So wrong." Also from the same percussionist:


Taboo (MP3)
Phil Kraus and Bob Rosengarden
from Like - Bongos!


Black Shark (MP3)
by Duke Hanna & His Caribbeans
from Small Hope Bay Carnival

From Hip Wax: "What began as a way to circumvent slavers' ban on speaking while working, evolved into the very political and social fabric of the Caribbean. Early calypso served as the oral equivalent of smoke signals, as workers relayed their news in song. Sung in a cryptic patois, the messages allowed them even to mock the colonial slavers without detection. The great calypsonians even affected noble titles. And they earned their titles, competing in an annual pre-Lenten Carnival which culminated in the crowning of a king. Traditionally, the king of calypso proved his ability to compose extemporaneously on any topic. Year-round, calypsonians would enter a town, learn the news, and nightly perform irreverent but astute songs about political figureheads, scandalous family members, and rival singers, etc." This 1963 LP is a mediocre outing that lacks the punch of the best calypso, but Little E likes this ditty about skindiving in the Bahamas where -- unlike Florida, Hawaii, and the Caymans -- the diving industry has managed to keep shark feeding and baiting tours from being banned, so the sharks there equate people with food. In other words, file this under nonfiction. And don't forget your speargun.


Ta Hu Wa Hu Wa Hi (MP3)
by Makamia & His Moana Islanders
from Holiday in Hawaii

I believe the cover model's Caucasian, which presents a perfect opportunity to talk about the Hawaiian term hapa haole (half white) and the collisions of race and culture from which this music sprang, except I've already chosen to forget everything I know and just listen to these records in as ignorant of a state as I can. That's how I like my Hawaiian music. Sure it's shallow but, for me, Polynesian albums from this era are kind of like lesbian porn. That is, I suspect most lesbian porn isn't made by or for lesbians, but I'm generally fond of the genre and when I find something in it I like, any questions of authenticity are soon rendered moot. Nor do I require novelty and am in fact quite happy to find the same stuff done again and again. Of course, I might feel differently if I were Hawaiian or Tahitian -- or lesbian. The model on the cover is none of those things, but rather, if I'm not mistaken, an android. Hey lady, could you be stiffer? 'Cause I'm not. If this is you on holiday, I'd hate to see you at home...


Mareva (MP3)
by the Royal Tahitians
from Soft Sounds from the South Seas Vol. 2

If you do care about authenticity: when it comes to Tahitian music, you can always trust the names Eddy Lund and Gaston Guilbert, the latter the producer of this one.


Pineapples, White Sails, and Cocoanuts (MP3)
by Harry Kaapuni & His Royal Polynesians
from Blue Hawaiian Waters


Hawaiian Starlight (MP3)
by Luke Leilani & His Hawaiian Rhythm
from Passport to Romance

These same recordings can be found under different titles on every budget label of the era -- Crown, Spin-O-Rama, Coronet, Diplomat, Bravo, Hurrah, etc. We picked up "Aloha Hawaii" by Harry Kaapuni & His Royal Polynesians, "Passport to Romance" by Luke Leilani & His Hawaiian Rhythm, and "Hawaiian Holiday" by Leni Okehu & His Surfboarders (see below), all of which contain the exact same material though some songs appear under different names. We took the above sample from our Luke Leilani album simply because, of the three, it was the nearest. The same song is called "Hawaiian People Eater" on the Leni Okehu album, which nicely subverts the banquet scene on the cover. ("When you're done dancing, why don't you just lay down right here on the table, okay?")


I can't explain why I feel compelled to keep buying the same batch of anonymous session recordings in all its variant packaging (as if these type of albums don't repeat themselves enough), but I'm always happy to find a new one. ("Hey, it's called 'Hawaiian People Eater' on this Johnny Uke album too!") Though the vinyl rip is mine, I tagged the Leilani MP3 with the above cover scan from Cheerful Earful where such pics are touched up with care to look their utmost (versus my quick shitty snapshots). The actual album at its most mint doesn't look as good. Like the music, I've seen the same picture and others from the same photo shoot (all with that same cheesy grass shack set) used on myriad Hawaiian albums. It reminds me of how many of the early exploitation films ("Child Bride," "Mom and Dad," etc.) all inserted the same few minutes of real birth footage into their dramas. The same scant material can sustain many a hustler, like Jesus's fish and loaves. Although we also have a version of "Blue Hawaiian Waters" by Harry Kaapuni called "Hawaiian Enchantment" by Luke Leilani, the latter just has a tropical landscape on the cover, one of the few versions served without cheesecake.


Bali-ha'i (MP3)
by Andre Kostelanetz
from Lure of Paradise

Easy listening for hard nipples. If albums were like movies and had tag lines, that would be this one's.

Song of the Islands (MP3)
by Hal Aloma
from Songs of the Islands

Little E likes the tinkly bells of this tune. I like how it puts him to sleep. Hotel headliner Hal Aloma gets the assist on the dreamy slide guitar. Leaving dad to dig that tan line...


Ali Baba Limbo (MP3)
by Lord Jayson and His Limbo Gang
from Limbo

This being a cheap session band concoction, chances are, if Lord Jayson looks like anyone in the cover's borrowed stock photo, it's the doughy white dude who, by the looks of it, probably shouldn't let his wife take any private lessons from the Limbo Gang.


Akebono-Jishi (MP3)
by Watazumido-Shuso
from The Exotic Sounds of the Japanese Bamboo Flute

The liner notes say: "Watazumido-Shuso is the head of a sect which he himself established, not fully satisfied with the existing three Zen sects of Buddhism. Through the Japanese flute, Watazumido-Shuso has attained musical and spiritual heights unachieved by anyone else. He is also expert with many other musical instruments and is well known to avant-garde musicians overseas through his records. He serves as advisor to many temples. Instead of using the traditional Japanese 'shakuhachi' flute, Watazumido-Shuso performs his extraordinary music on 'Hotchiku,' flutes made from untreated bamboo of the ordinary type. Through use of 'Hotchiku' flute, the true feeling of the Watazumido sect of Zen can be understood, according to Watazumido-Shuso." I'll just say that, when describing an hour of bamboo flute solos, I'm not sure if Sounds should be plural.


Boublichki (MP3)
by Rapha Brogiotti
from Romantic Gypsy Strings

"Recorded in France by France's Famous Rapha Brogiotti..." They really want you to know this is French. They've even added the French flag like a little logo. I guess that's why violinist and bandleader Brogiotti is pictured on back suavely smoking a cigarette. The cover model seems posed for us to look up her skirt ("I see London, I see France..." -- okay, we get it!) but I can't get past that strangely prominent shin. I even googled shin fetish to see if there was such a thing and found nothing to suggest there is, which I found to be a relief as I really didn't want to know what a shin fetish might entail beyond pictures like this. As for the gypsy music, I'd recommend Latcho Drom -- both the movie and its soundtrack -- instead.


On the Beach at Waikiki (MP3)
by the Mauna Loa Islanders
from Music of the Islands

Henry Kailimai‘s “On the Beach at Waikiki” was a hit at the Panama Pacific Exposition in San Francisco in 1915. That's how old this old standard is. So how do you make such an oft covered classic sound fresh? Add tequila! Shit, while you're at it, add another steel guitar. Hell, add a third. The whole album's like this too.


Harem Midnight (MP3)
by Ahmed Ali & the Sultans
from Harem Midnight

Yet another budget label disasterpiece. On the back, they misspell Ahmed Ali's name as Amend Ali. Of course, I've yet to find evidence that an Ahmed -- or an Amend -- Ali existed, so whatever.


Drums in a Sea Cave (MP3)
by Sandy Nelson
from Boss Beat

I've known drummers with worse practice spaces.


Play Hurdy-Gurdy (MP3)
by Leon Berry
from Merry-Go-Round and Circus Calliope Music Vol. 5

I'm not saying whether me or my son picked this, but I will say that we're equally obsessed with elephants. In my case, it can result in drunken torrents of trivia about elephants, especially circus elephants ("Mary, hung. Topsy, electrocuted. Jumbo, hit by train..."), but since I'm not currently drunk, I will instead suggest to those similarly enamored with the creatures to support The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee. Yep, protected elephants ranging freely just outside Nashville. C'mon, how cool is that?


Big Eyed Blonde (MP3) by Carl Stevens with his Orange Blossom Specials

I can tell you that McKinney, Texas and Lake Lavon are just northeast of Dallas, but I know nothing of a Lavon record label nor of singer-songwriter Carl Stevens of McKinney. I've seen "Orchestra Conducted by Carl Stevens" on Mercury country singles by Gary Shelton and Rusty Draper, but can't say if it's him. I'll bet you anything, though, it wasn't her eyes that were big on that blonde of his.


Mesmerizement (MP3)
by Ray Langley

"Mesmerizement" is a stand-up routine that sounds like a scene in a rednecksploitation flick where dumb city slicker kids find themselves in a backwoods bar with some creepy hick comedian telling jokes only his inbred kin and fellow cannibals get. The crescendos make me shiver. The even more hayseedy A-side, "Ole Rover," has been retold by Junior Samples of "Hee Haw" (which you can hear here). If you listen to the Big Show with John Boy & Billy, this may be for you, which is not to knock them, you, or this, but to bring y'all together.


I Only Live Twice (MP3)
by the Tokyo Folk Crusaders

Beat to shit and skips but a wonderfully strange little treasure. If you visit Leg Music, you can not only hear a clean version but see a flash animation interpretation of it with English subtitles of its translated lyrics. The actual Japanese title of the song is "Kaettekita Yopparai" but it was changed for release after the James Bond movie You Only Live Twice was a hit. Songwriter and founder of the Folk Crusaders, Kazuhiko Kato, was later also founder of the Sadistic Mika Band (named after his then-wife who was also a member). In 1975, as the openers for Roxy Music, Sadistic Mika became the first Japanese band to tour England. Sadly, last year Kato hanged himself in his room at a resort hotel. He was 62 and had only lived once.

45 at top of post = "Double Shot of My Baby's Love" b-side.


Update: We ended up spending Record Store Day sharing a Vinyl Beer with owner Angela Sawyer at Weirdo Records in the Central Square neighborhood of Cambridge, Massachusetts. If you've ever heard the term "masshole," you know that many Massachusetts residents take as much pride in as outsiders take exception to their particular brand of New England obnoxiousness. Not so with Miss Sawyer who's a pleasure to meet, not to mention an enthusiastic purveyor of international sounds and visions. Check out the Cantonese opera cassettes she posts on Weirdo's website. Check out her guest post on Radiodiffusion Internasionaal of a Luk Thung (a sort of Thai blues) single. Check out her guest spins on Jesse Kaminsky's unique WMBR radio show, The Intercontinental. And if you're ever in Cambridge, definitely check out her jam-packed, closet-sized storefront. The above picture was taken up the road in Harvard Square. If that sign were in Hendersonville, people would think their tires were going to get punched full of holes.