Milo Kerrigan Aussie Boxing Legend

Back in the 90s when there was still some good comedy shows around Aussie Boxing Legend Milo Kerrigan appeared on Aussie TV not nearly enough. Here he is in his first outing demonstrating how as the Brownish Bomber he became World Welterweight Champion (by forfeit).

Only slightly more coherent than Mike Tyson he shows us how to deal with a punching bag (you talking to me!). There is a warning with this don't watch when you're eating or drinking, you'll know what I mean after you see it.

By the way there's a small accident at the end involving Kerrigan destroying some props and he takes this to absurd lengths in future shows and this announcer is the first of many to completely break up.

Check him out on Facething.

My theory is he's partly based on Aussie Boxing legend Geoff Fenech who similarly used fractured English and his favourite phrase was "I love youse all".

The Gloriette 80 Materialiser

Is this the world's coolest invention? Just don't forget the marbles and zapper.

Not forgetting the Kymantic Melomintion although the results are rather chaotic.

The Harrington 1200

Here it is the world's most advanced music computer and under 1,000 pounds! I'm not really authorised to show you this so keep it under your hat.

Poncho Sanchez - Soul Sauce Tribute to Cal Tjader

In my Cal Tjader kick at the moment I unearthed this gem. I've never heard of him but Poncho seems to be a big bear of a man from his picture and he's been a sideman to the best, Cal himself and Tito Puente among others. This is a great tribute to Cal and I dare say if Cal was around and recorded this today he would have been mighty proud of the results.

I can't share this as RIAA Radar says its a Warning file and anyway the poor devil probably needs every penny he can find. I will share one track the only non Cal song its called Song for Cal and its just what it says.

If you want a copy Amazon has CDs from around $5 and the mp3 album less than $10. For around 1 hour of primo music thats a bargain.

Taste of Cal

Cal Tjader Plays Mambo 1954

This is where it all started folks. The exotica sound is all here in 1954, Denny just added the bird calls. Sure Les Baxter started big band exotica but the small combo vibraphone led exotica probably started with this album.

And what a great contemporary sound it could have been recorded yesterday. Also the first and maybe best version of Guarachi Guaro aka Wachi Ware or Soul Sauce just listen to that latin percussion!

Thanks to Mauritz for the heads up on this album and there's a link to it in the sidebar.

Leroy Holmes - Hawaii With a Bongo Beat

This is a request on the Sound Scavengers List and as I had it I thought I'd post it. Got some more Leroy Holmes if anyone's interested.

This has got a bit more bounce and beat than the usual Hawaiiana album and a nice vocal chorus.

The strikingly original cover was created by El Cheapo Covers of Hollywood USA using genuine non Hawaiian fruit and flowers. Their motto is "a class cover in under 15 minutes or your fruit and flowers are free".

Thanks to the original uploader. Link

Alexey Rybnikov - Humanoid Woman

Great clip from obscure USSR sc fi film of the 80s notable for its phat analog synth and harpsichord score.The film seems to be set at Chernobyl.

Going to get MST3K's version, just hope the score is intact.

The soundtrack album is available at 36 15 Moog blog.

Footnote: I tried to watch the MST3K version but its horrifically overdubbed and the film so dire that even MS3TK seemed to have nothing much funny to say. The wide eyed space girl could the inspiration for David Bowie's Man Who Fell to Earth or maybe vice versa.

Baia 33 versions

Here's 33 versions of that close cousin to Quiet Village, latin and exotica standard Baia. Sometimes called Bahia its still the same great tune. Usually a showcase for exotic percussion such as bongos and marimbas here it is in many great versions. Track list in comments.

Baia

jammiebarker pointed out I missed a great version by R & B guitarist Mickey Baker well I found the album and here's his version.

Here's some more versions from Yves of Brussels Even more Baia

Gran Torino

Just saw this today and while its directed with consumate skill by Eastwood and hugely entertaining I probably agree with the Academy in not considering it for an award this year as this is a great year for movies.

Some things I learned from this movie:

• Eastwood is still playing the man with no name even though he is in his mid seventies.
• Almost everyone in inner city USA has an arsenal of firearms and if you're a gangbanger a couple of sub machine guns at least.
• If your house gets shot up and a helpless female degraded and raped you never call the police or ambulance.
• A catholic priest who looks no older than 17 has a wide pastoral role in the ghetto including ministering to Hmong people who are probably not catholic and an irascible old man who tells you to f#ck off every time he sees you.
• An Italian hairdresser who's shop looks like its in a time warp from the 50s only has one customer who comes in once a week even though his hair couldn't be cut much shorter and racially taunts the hairdresser who just smiles smugly. When a Hmong punk tries the same repartee he quickly whips out a giant shotgun which he keeps one inch from his hand at all times. I think this may be called comedy.
  
• A 40 year old piece of American engineering is more desirable than the latest Land Cruiser.
• Even though you're over 70 and dying of some horrible lung disease you can still beat the shit out of a beefy 20yo gangbanger.
• You never take a shortcut in the hood as every single time you are going to be raped, assaulted or burned with a cigarette. Oh unless Clint just happens to be passing in his pickup stocked with a small arsenal of armaments.
  
• Just when you think its a modern remake of the Unforgiven Eastwood manages to get the bad guys without blasting the living hell out of them.
• Never ever stay in a neighborhood if you're the last Polack living there or yours is the only house that looks like someone still lives there.
• The only time you see a police car is when its too late and the entire hood has been laid waste with sub machine gun fire and then a small army of men and vehicles shows up. Obviously they're too busy eating donuts to properly patrol the hood at other times.
• SPOILER ALERT: It takes at least a dozen gangbangers all armed with sub machine guns to bring big Clint down and even then he just looks like he's resting and at any moment he'll sit up and snarl "that the best you can do punks".

In spite of all the above or maybe because of it I loved the movie. I don't think Clint takes any of it too seriously so its quite funny at times and surprisingly moving as well.

Jean-Jaques Perrey - Funky Little Space Girl

Wow what a fun and funky video by 80 yo JJ helped by Lounge guru Dana Countryman and CGI by mee3d. Great stuff.

World of Goo

One of the few games that is different and easy to play but hard to master is World of Goo. One feature was its innovative soundtrack and now its available for free here.

There's choirs, techno breaks, orchestral interludes and some funky guitar and spaghetti western soundtrack sounds so its an excellent piece of music in its own right. Plenty of variety too with 27 tracks. Highly recommended.

The game is here and there is a demo available.

Cal Tjader simply the best

Callen Radcliffe Tjader, Jr. a.k.a. Cal Tjader (July 16, 1925–May 5, 1982) was a Latin jazz musician, though he also explored various other jazz idioms. Unlike other American jazz musicians who experimented with the music from Cuba, the Caribbean, and Latin America, he never abandoned it, performing it until his death.

Tjader primarily played the vibraphone. He was also accomplished on the drums, bongos, congas, timpani, and the piano. He worked with numerous musicians from several cultures. He is often linked to the development of Latin rock and acid jazz. Although fusing jazz with Latin music is often categorized as "Latin jazz" (or, earlier, "Afro-Cuban jazz"), Tjader's output swung freely between both styles.

He won a Grammy in 1980 for his album La Onda Va Bien, capping off a career that spanned over forty years. (Wikipedia)

My favourite Jazz/Lounge artist at the moment. I love the tropical sounds of the Vibraphone and nobody plays the instrument better than him. He's released a lot of albums and they are all of a consistently high quality.

This isn't necessarily his best as you'd need a box set of about 4 cds to do full justice to his catalog but these are tunes I think that have a really nice tropical groove. The tracks have been remastered for your listening pleasure.

Link

Joan Allen slums it

Joan Allen seems to be carving a niche as an unlikely Dr Evil type overlord. In Death Race (don't ask why I've watched it) this ethereal slim blonde snarls lines like "deploy the defences!" and "get those choppers in the air, now!" but she snarls some memorable epithets when wooden stoneface Jason Statham outwits her and suggests that she would be better than him at doing something on the sidewalk even a dog would be ashamed of.

Oh well I guess she has to pay the mortgage somehow.

Balloon Animal fun

Airline safety

Apparently airline safety is much better than it used to be. They say a child in the US is more likely to become president than die in a plane crash.

I have my doubts about that and I hope its not just luck that a major airline crash hasn't occurred in the US for the last 7 years. It seems to be something to do with better training which seems to overcome airline's cost cutting. link

Anyway here's also a video extract from Rainman in which Hoffman refuses to fly as he has all sorts of statistics at his disposal to prove that all airlines are unsafe except one, Qantas. Apparently Qantas is the only airline in the world that hasn't had a fatal crash.

Unfortunately in spite of this Qantas is having really bad press here at the moment with lots of incidents some of which are cost cutting related but its luck so far has held. Lets hope it keeps holding but if I had to fly at the moment I'd probably choose its competitor Virgin Blue.

Roy's dating the Joker

Friendface join now!!

The "F" Word

The "F" word of course is funk. Here's some tracks hot of my playlist. There's funky sounds and some vibey sounds and also funky vibes. Combining my two current listening trends funk and vibes.

Some artists have a foot in both camps eg Roy Ayers and Dave Pike and some just exist in a vibe paradise like Cal Tjader perhaps my favourite jazz/lounge artist of all, maybe he's done some bad recordings but I've never heard them. Then there's Jackie Mitoo who's not really funky just rock steady, mon. And whats Dave Brubeck doing here? Well he's just great in my book and Unsquare Dance is one of his finest and hippest tracks.

And lets not forget that mighty instrument of funk the Hammond B2 organ and its well represented here by James Taylor and Jimmy Smith amongst others.

There's even a track by New Orleans finest the Meters who I've had in my collection before I even knew what funk meant.

Oh and we're back to individual tracks as my conversion software is having a tantrum and decided it doesn't like creating a single mp3.

Link

Quiet Village 3

At last here it is. Another 24 versions making 65 in all. Some good some not so flash but all interesting there's even a couple of vocal versions. Many thanks to Bob Manakoora for providing some rare versions and helping me complete this task.

Here's the first two volumes QV 1 & 2.

Track list in comments.

Link

Fine and Warner?

Hmm not only channeling Denny but also Sandy Warner? I dunno but I like it.

Sitar Mind Swirlers

I'm going to try and upload a groovy compilation at least once a week. There are some changes, I'm going to standardise the cover so it shows a track listing. I'm also going to try uploading the comp as a podcast ie one large mp3 file.

One advantage of having one file is it'll be playable immediately and won't need zipping and unzipping, also if any artists have a problem with sharing individual titles that should be solved as it will be just part of a larger file.

This compilation was actually shared previously as Sitar Dreams but that file appears to no longer be available. I've expanded the track listing and there should be some rare gems in there.

Anyway comments are welcome as to whether this a good idea or not.

Link .

Quiet Village Vol 3?

Minke - Quiet Village



Watermelon - Quiet Village



Arthur Lyman at the Makai Bar 1992



Sukho Live on Theremin Hollywood 8/31/06 - Quiet Village - played on theremin whew! Just wish the audio had been recorded better.



Tikiyaki Orchestra with a great live version.

As most of you probably already know I have compiled two volumes of exotica classic Quiet Village.

I'm interested in doing a third volume but so far have only come up with the versions below. If anyone has more versions not featured here or listed in the next paragraph please let me know.

Len Stevens, Wynton Kelly, Waitiki, Darla Hood, El Chicano, George Cates, Jack Defer, Mavis Rivers (Vocal), Odell Brown & The Organ-izers, Martini Kings, Minke, Watermelon, Ritchie Family