Terror in the haunted house

Here's a pile of seasonal songs to annoy your friends and co-workers:

Dragula

Haunt

I Walked With A Zombie

Frankenstein

Thing With A Hook

The Hearse

She's My Witch

Release The Bats

Where The Wolf Bane Blooms

Creature From The Haunted Sea

I Was A Teenage Werewolf

Terror In The Haunted House

Happy Halloween!

"That's not for sale"

Mohammed Al-Bakkar must have been popular, there's at least 7 middle-eastern themed albums of his music out there. Vol. 3 is probably the most popular, mostly due to the cover. I admit that that cover is one reason why I bought it. The woman selling it said she was going to trash it because she thought it wasn't suitable for sale in a family junk store. Those weren't her exact words - hers were a bit more colorful - but I figured I'd save the LP from the trash bin.

Lucky for me, the music is pretty good. It's worth a couple bucks if you ever see a copy. Some of these songs remind me of soundtrack music from King Of The Zombies, one of my favorite movies.

Going where

there's no depression

Rotten to the core,

baby, you can't say no more

Turner Classic Movies is showing The World's Greatest Sinner tonight. Don't miss it!

Please don't tell me now

One reason why I keep digging through stacks of used 45s is findings records like this. I know it's nothing special but I'll play the record a few times. Then I'll put it in a box with a few other records that spent less than a dollar on. In a couple years, I'll be looking for a completely different record and find this one instead. I'll put it on the record player, spin it once or twice and put it back in the box.

I didn't know a thing about Dean & Jean when I found the record. Ernie Maresca wrote the song though and "Shout Shout (Knock Yourself Out)" is pretty good so I put this one in the keep pile. It was fifty cents well spent. Dean & Jean have a few other records, I'll pick those up if I ever see them.

Side note: I also found 45s of "Like A Rolling Stone" and "Positively 4th Street" in the same junk store. I like the mono mixes of these records and I don't think they've ever been compiled. If either of you loyal readers work at CBS records, why don't you suggest a compilation of Dylan's singles? But only if you are gonna use the single mixes, I don't need another version of "Rolling Stone" in stereo. You could even re-issue the singles, I'd buy a box of Dylan 45s. Thanks!

R.I.P.

Dee Dee Warwick

Can you hear

the church bells tolling?

Sad news

R.I.P. Levi Stubbs

Stubbs may have been best singer at Motown. Anyway, the Four Tops are still my favorite Motown group.

Talk about Goose Creek

and other important places

Heads up!

There are several live T-Func songs available here.

And there's more!

Here's some live video from the same set live outside Sailor Jerry.

Stupid kids

Somebody asked me to send them a copy of "Stupid Kids". Since I had the mp3 ready I decided to post it here too. I'm posting a few other songs from ULTRAPROPHETS OF THE PSYKICK REVOLUTION too, as well as the b-side to the "Stupid Kids" single. You're welcome.

"Stupid Kids" is the best song Christmas ever did. I imagine the first few lines are what kept it from getting enough airplay to be a popular record. "Kids" was followed on the record by a strangely peppy end-of-the-world song. Things are hit or miss after that but most of the songs still sound good twenty years later.

Christmas played a few shows with the Butthole Surfers - there is some some similarity between the bands. Mostly subject matter and atmosphere, Christmas is more jangly and much less intense.

ULTRAPROPHETS OF THE PSYKICK REVOLUTION is the only Christmas album I really liked. The first one didn't connect with me at all but I did like it well enough to keep a copy. VORTEX was the band's last LP and some think it was the band's best moment. I think it's boring and I didn't keep it.

French horns?

No, no, I mean before that.

Ain't nobody cryin'

Ain't nobody worried

A. on horseback

Charlie Pickett was a favorite from the first time I heard "Trash Fever" on the radio late one night. Bloodshot Records just released a compilation of Pickett's great country punk blues. You need a copy, especially if you like the early Gun Club.

Listening to Charlie Pickett made me wonder if the early Giant Sand records are still available. They don't seem to be but it looks like there are going to be remaster and/or special editions available at some point. That's great news. Everything Giant Sand did is worth hearing.

Let me speak to the man in charge

see if he knows what's going on

Three by Five By Five

I don't know what the cover of this record is made out of but it resists wear & tear better than any cover I've ever seen. This jacket is 40 years old and still looks brand new. No ring wear, scratches or bends on the corner. It appears to be regular cardboard but there's got to be some sort of space age polymer in there. The ink hasn't even faded.

This record isn't treated any better than any other record I have. It's not even stored in a plastic bag, I just keep it on the shelf in between Ella Fitzgerald and The Flamin Groovies. Those records do have signs of age. It's a used record too! I don't know how long it was in the bin before I pulled it out but it had probably been flipped by a few times.

It's too bad the record wasn't made out of the same stuff - it's banged up pretty bad.

Five By Five was from Magnolia, Arkansas. The band's biggest record was a pretty good cover of "Fire". Their version of "Hush" is nice too, I like it more than Deep Purple's version. The strings are nice touch. I guess producers Joe Stampley and Eddie Hinton should get credit for that idea.

This record was released on Paula Records in 1969. I don't think it's ever been re-issued.

The devil is mad

mad as he can be

And I just couldn't keep from cryin'

Well, I'm goin' away to leave
Won't be back no more
Goin' back down south, child
Don't you want to go?
Woman I'm troubled, I be all worried in mind
Well baby I just can't be satisfied
And I just can't keep from cryin'

Well, I feel like snappin'
Pistol in your face
I'm gonna let some graveyard
Lord be your resting place
Woman I'm troubled, I be all worried in mind
Well baby I can never be satisfied
And I just can't keep from cryin'

Well, now all in my sleep
Hear my doorbell ring
Looking for my baby
I couldn't see not a doggone thing
Woman I was troubled, I was all worried in mind
Well honey I could never be satisfied
And I just couldn't keep from cryin'

Well, I know my little old baby
She gonna jump and shout
That old train be late man, Lord
And I come walking out
I be troubled, I be all worried in mind
Well honey ain't no way in the world could we be satisfied
And I just can't keep from crying

Somebody

got to do it