Thursday, January 27, 2011

RIP Charlie Louvin


Country music legend Charlie Louvin entered into eternal rest on January 26, 2011 due to complications from his pancreatic cancer. He was 83 years old.

Born Charles Elzer Loudermilk on July 7, 1927, Charlie made it big, along with his brother Ira, as the Louvin brothers. The duo were innovators of the close-harmony style that influenced The Everly Brothers and, then later, Simon & Garfunkel, The Beatles, Gram Parson’s version of The Byrds and The Beach Boys. Ira was notorious for drinking and reckless behavior which led Charlie to eventually fire his brother. The next year, after a period of sobriety, Ira was killed when a drunk driver struck his car.

The Louvins were famous for singing about death, tortured relationships, drinking, sin, murder, and the eviscerating emptiness of this corrupt world.

"The Louvin Brothers preached a fire-and-brimstone theology of bottomless torment and endless grace. They sneered at moral relativism and shades of grey, opting for a black-and-white worldview that separated the world cleanly into sinners and saints, the redeemed and the damned. "-Nathan Rabin

"The Louvins’ Jesus isn’t some longhaired, namby-pamby peacenik in sandals and beads preaching brotherhood and love. No, he’s a badass warrior in perpetual combat with Satan’s hordes. "







"I'm not afraid of dying," Louvin told The Associated Press a few days after the diagnosis. "We're all going to do that. And I've had 83 years of almost uninterrupted good health, so I know that's not by accident. So I've been blessed that long, and I could use a couple more."










2120 South Michigan Avenue

Here's a little Rolling Stones instrumental for ya.

"2120 South Michigan Avenue" is the street address of Chess Studios, where many of the band's R&B idols had recorded. After a disappointing first half of their inaugural American Tour, the Stones were brought to Chicago for these sessions. The first day, June 10, the Stones were thrilled by the appearance of several visitors in the studio - Buddy Guy, Chuck Berry and Willie Dixon. When the band arrived the next day, none other than Muddy Waters helped them lug guitars and amps into the studio, and stayed around to chat with the boys, who were astonished by the whole experience.



The video is "Truckdriving in Sweden". It was uploaded to YouTube by rocknsixties

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Love In Outer Space

Earlier today,I stumbled upon this cool video for "Love In Outer Space" by Sun Ra.

Save Our Suhaki


A "peaceful and poignant protest against the politically correct NCAA."


Two Fighting Sioux supporters have launched Save Our Suhaki, a tongue-in-cheek campaign ostensibly aimed at preserving the suhaki, a Russian antelope whose name is pronounced exactly like "Sioux hockey."

Get Ready For The Beaumonts!

The Beaumonts, from Lubbock, Texas, are "purveyors of genuine, no holds barred, COUNTRY music.
With an arsenal of raunchy, drug laced, honky tonk songs and an anything goes mentality the band keeps on-a preaching and their clergy keeps on-a drinking."

Their new album Get Ready For The Beaumonts is available for FREE download!

Whack fol de daddy-o There's whiskey in the... Can?!


Scottish Spirits is now producing whisky in a can!


Who knows? This trend may catch on, just as it has begun to in the world of craft beer.

Happy (Belated) New Year!

It's been nearly a month since my last post.
Please enjoy these jazz performances, as I ease myself back into blogging mode.


"Night in Tunisia"

by The Quintet (Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Charles Mingus, Max Roach) at Massey Hall, Toronto 1953




... and the British acid jazz trio Red Snapper playing "Space Sickness"