the Memphis Jug Band

The Memphis Jug Band was a loose knit outfit, with constantly changing members. They played local events and were one of the main attractions when they played at Handy's Park in Memphis.


The Memphis Jug Band has been described as having a remarkable sound due in part to their unusual instruments. Most songs included a rhythm guitar and either a jug, a kazoo or a harmonica as a lead instrument(or sometimes a mandolin or violin). The sound of the instruments was invariably a "raspy, buzzing sound" that was close to the musical aesthetic of Africa, the jug and kazoo representing the voices of animals or ancestral spirits.

Jug bands were found in nearly every city in the South during the 1920s and '30s, but they were most popular and prolific in Memphis, Tennessee. The Memphis Jug Band was the first (and some consider the best) of many to record.

"Stealin', Stealin' " (by Gus Cannon) :Recorded on September 15, 1928. Will Shade sings the lead with Vol Stevens on guitar, Ben Ramey on kazoo and Jab Jones on jug.



(this song was plagiarized by Jimmy Page on the Yardbirds' Little Games album)


"A Black Woman is Like A Black Snake":Recorded on September 11, 1928. This jug band's lineup includes leader Will Shade on harp and guitar, Charlie Burse on guitar, Ben Ramey on kazoo, and Jab Jone on the lead vocal and jug.



"Cocaine Habit Blues":Recorded on May 17, 1930. Hattie Hart sings the lead with Will Shade on harp, Tee Wee Blackman on guitar, Ben Ramey on kazoo, and Ham Lewis on the jug.




As an added Bonus, here's another "Old-Timey Drug Song", this one by Dick Justice;

"Cocaine":Recorded on May 20, 1929 in Chicago.

Pull My Finger!

(click photo for fun fart facts!)

A smelly rotten-egg gas in farts controls blood pressure in mice, a new study finds.

"Now that we know hydrogen sulfide’s role in regulating blood pressure, it may be possible to design drug therapies that enhance its formation as an alternative to the current methods of treatment for hypertension”~Solomon H. Snyder, M.D.

Via Coast to Coast AM


Create virtual farts and email them to your friends & family.

Merl Saunders, RIP

Hammond B3 player Merl Saunders had recorded with numerous artists since the early '70s and had led many of his own groups in a variety of genres from jazz to blues to new age to rock.

In the 1960s and '70's, Saunders collaborated on and off with Jerry Garcia, and the Grateful Dead.
He also began working as a jazz keyboardist in the early '70s, and since has performed and recorded with Harry Belafonte, Frank Sinatra, Lionel Hampton, Miles Davis, B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt and Paul Butterfield.
In early 2000, Merl Saunders became the first recipient of the lifetime activist award from a Florida environmentalist group for his environmental activism.

Merl suffered from a stroke that had paralyzed one side of his body and curtailed his musical career.

His projects have withstood the tests of time and are still worth looking for.

Merl Saunders died on the morning of October 24, 2008 from complications involving an infection.

I had the pleasure to meet him on more than one occasion, and I know MC and his brother have some Merl tales

So long, Merl.

Have You Heard?

Michael Savage interviews Philip J. Berg, former deputy attorney general of Pennsylvania, about his lawsuit demanding Barack Obama present his original birth certificate to prove he was born in the United States and qualified to serve as president.

Click Here For Audio

Bill Ayers:"The Pussiest Terrorist In The World"

"The most unforgivable part about Bill Ayers is he's a damned hippie!"




Bonus: R.S.U. salutes Halloween (8 videos)

Bill Wyman is Old!

Former Rolling Stones bass player Wyman turns 72 today!

Bill Wyman had stated that from the late 1980s onward The Rolling Stones' recorded music had become creatively stagnant, and that he had lost interest in the experiences of recording and touring with the band.

Friday Morning Fillmores

Mallard Fillmore:



Fillmore East:

"Hey Bartender, I think I'll hit the throttle!"

Country music singer/songwriter and actor Dwight Yoakam (not to be confused with Iggy Yokum) was born on October 23, 1956 in Pikeville, Kentucky.
This hillbilly kid, who'd written his first song at the age of eight, headed for Nashville when he turned 22.
Nashville dismissed him for his analysis of an industry mired in the quicksand of the bland.So, Yoakam rented a marginally furnished LA room and worked as a trucker while playing suburban punkytonks and eventually snagging opening-act honours for the Blasters, Violent Femmes, Lone Justice, Los Lobos, and X in LA.
This helped him diversify his audience well beyond the typical Country music fans. At many of his shows you would see mohawked and leather-clad Punks alongside Rock & Rollers, as well as the typical cowboy-shirt wearing Country crowd.

9 More Days 'Til Halloween!

Here are some Holiday-themed Images!

Yes We Can!

Joba Chamberlain Arrested for DUI

The New York Yankees' pitcher was arrested in Lincoln, Nebraska, early yesterday after allegedly driving under the influence, speeding and having an open container of alcohol in his car.
There was no mention of further violation, so one can assume that he was operating his vehicle with the minimum required insurance maintained.

Atta Boy!!!

Here are some related links on Breathalyzer Accuracy from DUI Blog.
... and a previous post about M.A.D.D.

"Pretty Polly"

"Pretty Polly" is just one of many turns on the "murdered girlfriend" ballad.
The song follows a familiar plot line where a callous young man murders his girlfriend when he learns she is pregnant.
This tale of murder and betrayal is derived from a British ballad called "The Gosport Tragedy", but with one important difference. In the British original, the murderer tries to escape by sailing away, but a great storm comes up, and the ghost of his victim rises from the waves and tears him apart. In the American version, there is no such supernatural retribution; the murderer leaves Polly in her lonely grave, with only the wild birds to mourn.
This is a good example of a song used for spreading the news of the day, way back before radio, television or the Internet. The content of the news today is however strikingly similar.

In the player below, B. F. Shelton's version recorded on July 29 1927 at Bristol, Tennessee during the famous Bristol Sessions where Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family made their first recordings.








I've also included a version by Dock Boggs (a tough old Virginian who, when he wasn't performing music worked in a coal mine or made bootleg booze) recorded in 1927 in New York City, for comparison.

Whatever Happened to...

... Gator?

It was one year ago, today, that he last posted on his blog.

It is sad that he chose to suspend his blog, while lesser offerings continue to thrive.

Never Flush A Tampoon!

R.S.U. Talks to "Joe the F#ckin' Plumber"

*This is SATIRE*

Primer For New Voters, Part 2

(Another) Red Planet Cartoon

Robert Hall Weir

Grateful Dead guitarist/founding member Bob Weir was born October 16th, 1947.
Weir is considered one of rock's finest and most distinctive rhythm guitarists.
Bob was co-lead-vocalist and wrote a number of important songs, including "The Other One," "Sugar Magnolia," "Playing in the Band," and "Throwing Stones."
In 1972 Bobby released his first solo album, Ace, on which his backing band was the Grateful Dead.

Bob Weir currently tours with his latest band, Rat Dog.

Mallard Opines on Liberals, the Media, and Barney Frank

Hats Off...

... to Roy Harper.

Roy Harper composed this ode to "the religion of peace"back in 1989.

http://www.mp3lyrics.org/HP57

"I'm sick to the teeth of the news on the screen of hisbullah scum and jihad the obscene whose men plant the bombs and then live feeling free to watch women and children be killed on T.V. which satan delivers a child a death curse in the name of a worn out collection of verse I've not read the book so I cannot recite but I'd bet Salman Rushdie is just about right underneath The Black Cloud Of Islam What kind of publicity needs so much blood that's not for some sad diabolical god selling himself as a two-bit Macbeth as the expert in sentencing cousins to death and what kind of god can this be anyway that you gotta prostrate to him five times a day with hate in your heart and a gun in your hand is force the only thing to understand underneath the black cloud of islam? and the butchers who've got all this blood on their hands are the ones who need god to be stood where he stands blessing this kidnapping, murder and war with books written hundreds of ages before and women in veils walking paces behind doesn't sit easy in my kind of mind it speaks of oppression and no other choice that rigid compliance with the loudest voice underneath the black cloud of islam You can put a lead bullet clean through this guitar 'cos I'm not overjoyed with the story so far sharing a world with the nutters of god is as good as being six feet under the sod words that are written are all here to stay and these are the latest there are anyway and I am the prophet so don't believe me I'm the same as the old ones except that I'm free to give you a piece of my mind which is this you're the worst of jehovas blind witlessnesses with your feet in the door of the deepest abyss which is underneath, which is underneath, which is underneath the black cloud of Islam"

Because Jimmy Likes The Beatles...

... here's Jeff Beck covering "A Day In The Life".

Jerome Conrad and his Orchestra

AKA, Harry Reser's Rounders.

Banjoist Harry Reser led his jazz bands under dozens of pseudonyms and made hundreds of records with them. His trademark seemed to be witty novelty pieces.
Reser was considered by many to be the greatest banjoist of the 1920s, if not of all time.
In the player below, you'll hear the 2 tracks;"I faw down an' go boom!" and "Olaf (You ought-a hear Olaf laff)"

"October Surprise"

The following video was produced by Illuminati Pictures.Entitled October Surprise, it is a short interview with Philip J. Berg, a lawyer and Democratic politician who has brought suit upon the Obama campaign, requiring Obama to present birth documents proving that he is a natural born citizen. The Obama campaign has not complied and obstructed this suit. If nothing else, this is just another instance of Obama keeping his past shrouded in mystery, even if it doesn't necessarily mean that he's not eligible to be president.via Conservative Punk.

"Barack Obama is a DISASTER!!!"

Bob rants on ACORN, Ayers, Racism, and Lies

a Drinking With Bob film.
(2:41)

"if you're voting for Barack Obama, I don't know how you don't wake up in the morning, look at yourself in the freaking mirror, and not throw up on your freaking feet!"~Bob

Could He Be Our Next President?

A while back, radio talk show host Michael Savage brought up the notion that Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama couldn’t pass a background investigation to become an FBI special agent.

He doesn’t know how right he is.

via Conservative Punk.

Worth 1,000 Words!

˙ʇǝʎ ˙˙˙ǝuızɐƃɐɯ ɥɔns ou s,ǝɹǝɥʇ˙ǝɹıʇɐs sı sıɥʇ

Watermelon In Easter Hay (Joe's Last Imaginary Guitar Solo)

Joad Cressbeckler

Old, Grizzled Third-Party Candidate May Steal Support From McCain

You've seen the video, now see where he stands on the issues.

-via the Onion

Primer For New Voters, Part 1

a Redplanet cartoon

via Conservative Punk

AKA John Cummings

Born on this date in 1948.

Johnny Ramone invented punk-rock guitar out of hatred: He couldn't stand guitar solos.The former John Cummings of Queens, New York, played nothing but concrete block barre chords with the Ramones. Johnny's guitar style was a key part of the Ramones sound and was a major punk rock influence.His elementary attack was part of their essential simplicity, along with matching last names, two-minute songs, and uniforms of black leather and ripped denim.

Johnny Ramone was infamous in the punk community as being one of a few conservatives.





On September 15, 2004, Cummings died after a five-year battle with prostate cancer

"His legacy will live on in every band that has, is and always will be trying to duplicate the Ramones sound."
~Marky Ramone

New Stock Market Terms

via Al Roney/WGY

With all the Wall Street turmoil, new definitions are in order. Here are some examples:

CEO --Chief Embezzlement Officer.

CFO-- Corporate Fraud Officer.

BULL MARKET -- A random market movement causing an investor to mistake himself for a financial genius.

BEAR MARKET -- A 6 to 18 month period when the kids get no allowance, the wife gets no jewelry, and the husband gets no sex.

VALUE INVESTING -- The art of buying low and selling lower.

P/E RATIO -- The percentage of investors wetting their pants as the market keeps crashing.

BROKER -- What my broker has made me.

STANDARD & POOR -- Your life in a nutshell.

STOCK ANALYST -- Idiot who just downgraded your stock.

STOCK SPLIT -- When your ex-wife and her lawyer split your assets equally between themselves.

FINANCIAL PLANNER -- A guy whose phone has been disconnected.

MARKET CORRECTION -- The day after you buy stocks.

CASH FLOW-- The movement your money makes as it disappears down the toilet.

YAHOO -- What you yell after selling it to some poor sucker for $240 per share.

WINDOWS -- What you jump out of when you're the sucker who bought Yahoo @ $240 per share.

INSTITUTIONAL INVESTOR -- Past year investor who's now locked up in a nut-house.

PROFIT -- An archaic word no longer in use.


Now go buy some stock!

in Defense of Dodd

Well, not really, his actions were inexcusable.

Roll Call

For the record, here's how our representatives voted on the bailout--just a figure of speech, you and I know that they no longer represent their constituents.
(list courtesey of Al Roney)

House

Senate

Pork

PDF of the bill

As an American, I feel so violated and betrayed.

Enough politics for now.It's really bringing me down.
There's so much more, but I'll leave that for other bloggers.

"...even more antiquated and unhinged than McCain"

"if I was president the only thing be goin' to China would be missiles!"
~Joad Cressbeckler

Conservative Punk has officially endorsed this third-party candidate, seen here in an ONN video.



Old, Grizzled Third-Party Candidate May Steal Support From McCain

He's got my vote!

... And Such: Fred East - Davy Jones' locker 1920 (Edison Cylinder)

This weeks feature was not recorded on a 78, but on an Edison Cylinder.


The phonograph cylinder, invented by Thomas Edison in 1877, was the earliest method of recording and reproducing sound.

This selection has a nautical theme, so it should be of interest to MC and some of his readers.


Please enjoy "Davy Jones' Locker" by Fred East.

Pearl

Blues/rock singer Janis Joplin, known for her intense performance style, passed away 38 years ago today.
Janis was born in Port Arthur, Texas. Graduating from Thomas Jefferson High School, she was a member of the Glee Club and the Future Teachers of America. She attended Lamar State College and the University of Texas, where a fraternity voted her the ugliest man on campus in 1963. She dropped out and spent two years traveling, performing and becoming drug addicted. In 1966, she became the lead singer for Big Brother and the Holding Company.
She would later become one of the most influential musicians in American music history.
On October 4, 1970, she was found dead in her room at the Hollywood, California Landmark Motor Hotel, from an apparent heroin-alcohol overdose.
Joplin left behind her quite a legacy.
(Unfortunately, a part of that legacy was to inspire talentless, drunken karaoke girls everywhere to "get their song on".)

The Grateful Dead's "Bird Song" was a tribute to Janis.

The video which I chose to pay my own tribute, today is a cover of a Gershwin composition.It's a favorite of mine.Pearl sings with such unbridled emotion... and ya gotta love the introduction by Maxwell Smart!
(click photo of the lady in red)

The 10 Creepiest Old Ads

Some are quite humourous and some are downright disturbing.

Via Weird news from all over the globe.



This one's my favorite!

Globalization Has Gone Too Far!

N.H.L. season kicks off ... in Europe?

The 2008-09 Hockey Season begins today!




It will be a sure sign of globalization gone out of control, if western players leave to play in the new Russian League.

Who knows what this economic climate of our's may yield?

The Lil' O'Reilly Factor

via LiveLeak.com

This awesome Kid-vid has all the rant and rage of the real O'Reilly!

Is this just another case of child brainwashing?
If so, at least this one entertains.



I love the little flip-out at the end, just like Ol' Bill on Inside Edition.

It May Be Time For A Career Change

Study Says Panhandlers Can Get Up To $40/Hr!

via Michael Savage.

Extremism

This video, the latest multimedia production from NoiseCollector, is a must-see in these charged political times.

"We stand surrounded by a circle of extremist political and ideological fanatics. Each faction in this circle of madness shares a common goal, destruction of democracy and free market capitalism. They all seek to obtain supreme power over the masses, regardless of what they claim are their intentions. Socialism and communism only differ in their implementation. Fascism is just right wing communism in that both systems wish to nationalize everything. One believes in social Darwinism, one does not. One believes in good and evil and one does not. Religious extremism somehow infiltrates or feigns compatibility with each side of the spectrum from liberal communism to conservative anarchism. Watch at your own risk, I am not crazy."~Digi Hartatak

What Makes People Vote?

Jimmy links to a humorous video on the subject of voting.

National Day

Today, October 1st, is the National Day of The Peoples' Republic of China.
It was on this date in 1949 that Mao Zedung established the current communist regime.

I point this out because I fear that soon we will be observing the holiday over here, if things continue to devolve so.

Porn? No

This Video is Not NSFW.

Too Hot To Handle?

An aspiring chef died after eating a super-hot chilli sauce as part of an endurance competition with a friend.
via Fox






(the above photo is enclosed for effect.It in no way implies any involvement of the pictured product--a favorite of mine.The death was allegedly result of a homemade sauce.)

(S)Election '08: The Debates Begin

I've remained silent, thus far, about last weeks presidential debate.
I'll now link to some coverage of that train wreck. I refer to it as such, because I found it painful to view, yet watched anyway with that same type of morbid curiosity.

May I also note the conspicuous absence of coverage from two of my politically, outspoken peers.

I'll begin with funnyman Jackie Mason.No one is laughing as this comedian reports succinctly on the event.He points out that Obama's "I voted against the war" declaration would have come at a time when he was not yet in the senate.

"Although neither candidate had a clear victory Friday night, the media is saying Obama won because he didn't lose. He looked poised and presidential. Well he did look poised as he made no sense! And if looking Presidential is telling bold lies, then Hail to the Chief!"




Next up,from the blogosphere is Alfred's coverage and his summation.

Finally, The Red State Update boys inject a bit of levity with their latest vlog in anticipation of the upcoming VP debate, which they also liken to a train wreck--with "trains full o' drunk clowns ridin' talkin' ponies..." This video is very funny, a must-see.
Palin-Biden Debate (In Anticipation Of)

Cuntry Boner

Here's a funny vid of a great song by Puscifer.

This video may not be safe for work... but that all depends on where you work.


The track is actually a cover of a song by the garage band Electric Sheep.

If you watch the video carefully, you will see why I posted this today.
The late Madeline Kahn was born 66 years ago on this date.