Silly Sundays - Glenn Campbot - Wichita Linebot

So here it is, my second blogpost inspired by a news story. That story being, a company in Japan is now producing robot telephone wire maintenancebots.

Have I mentioned I love it when robots sing?

I have? Good. Here's Glenn Campbot, singing a little ditty about being a telephone wire maintenancebot. I hope you enjoy it. (And if you're not already overly familiar with the easy listening of the early 70's, why not familiarize yourself with the original song first?)

Glenn Campbot - Wichita Linebot
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Order a linebot from Japan

Stagger Lee Saturdays - John Cephas and Phil Wiggins

John Cephas and Phil Wiggins (official wiki AMG) first met in the mid-70's, and played together till Cephas died this March. This delectable take on Stag is from their 1986 album Dog Days of August.

The guitar sparkles; the harmonica makes my heart speed up a little. Cephas' vocals duel with the harmonica for notice, and alllllllmost win out.

Lyrically, there's not much here we haven't heard twenty times before, but there's a joy in distillation of everything good about a song. This is classic Stag, bluesy, folky, violent and dark and dangerous.

December's coming up, folks. Are you ready for Christmas music? It's starting soon.

John Cephas and Phil Wiggins - Stagger Lee
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Buy via the official Cephas Memorial Website

Wedding Wednesdays - Johnny Cash - Flesh And Blood

I love Johnny, I do. And his marriage with June is one of the stories I think about when I consider love (though, naturally, I hope never to emulate the first eleventeen years of that story).

This is the stripped-down, bare-bones version from Johnny's last years, not the one with the shimmery strings from 1970. Ultimately, this feels more like I hope my wedding will be -- smaller, more intimate. Still perfectly composed and executed, but no pomp or bombast, just quiet satisfaction and happiness with life and love. (If we were having a bigger, more expensive wedding, the other version might be more appropriate, especially since I love June's backing vocals on that take.)

This song is one of those comparative love songs, the ones like "In My Life" which say I love a lot of wonderful things, but I love you most of all. And this song says a lot about the transient beauty of our world, and the durable, lasting beauty of love between humans.

I haven't forgotten what tomorrow is -- click here to see last year's Thanksgiving post. I'm a lucky boy, in a lot of ways, and (not unlike Johnny) one of the things I've been luckiest about is to get a second chance with love. Thanks, sweetie. Happy Thanksgiving.

Johnny Cash - Flesh and Blood
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Buy from Amazon -- Buy from Deep Discount

Silly Sundays - Eat Us!

It's the week of Thanksgiving, and that means two things: crazy holiday bargains, and gluttony. Here's a song about gluttony, set at the very first Thanksgiving.

This is from the score of Addams Family Values (also known as Raul Julia's last good movie). The lead vocal is by young Jimmy Workman, who has since retired from acting. (He was working opposite Christina Ricci in those films -- I'd say that's hard to ever top.) The song was written by Marc Shaiman who, of course, is now a big Broadway composer (though he didn't work on the new Addams Family musical).

The buy link is wishful thinking again -- the cheapest used copy on Amazon is $35. I'll be back Wednesday with another wedding song.

Addams Family Values - Eat Us
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Buy from Amazon

Stagger Lee Saturdays - Tim Hardin

Tim Hardin (wiki AMG MySpace fansite) was a rare major-label musician who served in Vietnam. The country of Vietnam, that is; actually, he left the Marines way back in 1961, long before US combat troops were deployed in the country.

In 1963 and '64, he recorded some demos for Columbia Records, which they declined to release. After all, bluesy folksingers were a dime a dozen in those days. In 1967, after Hardin had proven himself as a commercial songwriter and artist for another label, Columbia licensed the tracks out, though the tracks clearly didn't sound like Hardin's current output. (Hardin is, of course, best known as the guy who wrote "If I Were A Carpenter.")

This version of Stag is pretty clearly the template for the last two versions I've posted, including the surprise ending I like so much about last week's.

Tim Hardin - Stagger Lee
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Buy from Amazon -- Buy from Deep Discount

Wedding Wednesdays - John Fogerty - Joy Of My Life

Here's the second post about music for my upcoming nuptials. As longtime readers of the blog will know, I love love love John Fogerty. This is one of my two favorite songs from my favorite John Fogerty album, and a song that I've been known to listen to on repeat play for hours at a time.

Musically, this is so perfect for me, with the gorgeous slide guitar hitting me right in my country/blues sweet spot, the unexpected high fretwork about 1:30 (and the metallic clinking thirty seconds later), and the unabashed sweetness of the lyrics.

Fogerty isn't known as a guy who writes love songs, but this is about as perfect a love song as anyone could ask for. I don't want to delve too deeply into the man's personal life, but it seems to me that his wife Julie is mellowing him considerably, in all the right ways. (Granted, John's still able to access his anger lyrically, but the existence of this song shows that he's capable of a full range of emotions, which the CCR rock hits don't show off.) He's starting a short tour this week, and if you have a chance you should go.

This song always has the potential to choke me up if I'm in the right mood, and in fact right now I've been listening for about twenty minutes nonstop, and I'm on the verge. When this plays during my wedding, that might just be the point my eyes mist up. Thanks, John.

John Fogerty - Joy Of My Life
links removed due to my very first takedown notice
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Stagger Lee Saturdays - Ewen Forfar

Ewen Forfar is a local Edinburgh folkie. He plays a couple of days a week at the Royal Oak Folk club, which released a compilation CD last year. That CD is the source of today's recording of Stag.

This starts out, musically and lyrically, to be pretty much the same as last week's version of Stag, but the last verse is very different, with a brutally funny surprise, and the news of Stag's ecologically progressive transportation choice.

If you're in Edinburgh, apparently the Royal Oak is the place to hear folk music, and if you're in luck Ewen might play Stag for you.

Ewen Forfar - Stagolee
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Wedding Wednesdays - Stevie Wonder - At Last

So have I mentioned I'm getting married in January? I haven't? Sorry -- you folks need to keep up.

Naturally, I'm excited to choose music to play during the ceremony, and afterwards at the reception. So for a few weeks, I'll be putting up some of the choicest cuts, and talking about them here.

We've been working oh so slowly on compiling the music for our ceremony and reception. I personally have DJ'd one wedding, and "At Last" was the first-dance song there. Tiki and I both love the song, and Etta James in general. (Now, as you may know, I don't care for Beyonce, but that's neither here nor there as far as the original version of the song is concerned.) Our thinking is, everyone everywhere plays "At Last" during their wedding, and the lyrics are quite appropriate to both weddings in general and our relationship in particular.

Etta's version is the classic, of course, but Stevie Wonder's cover is just magical. It's fast, funky, and furious. This is not a first dance song. This is an upbeat song for walking down the aisle as man and wife.

(My cousin suggested that we should walk down the aisle to this, and though we both love everything about the song, and I know a lady who did just that [Hi, Martha! Love to all the Tough Pigs!], we won't be doing that either.)

This is heartfelt, triumphant, celebratory: everything we want our wedding to be. We haven't figured out what our first dance song will be, but there's no way I could dance to this song without spraining something.

Stevie Wonder - At Last
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Buy from Amazon -- Buy from Deep Discount

Stagger Lee Saturdays - Mark Berenson

Mark Berenson (official AMG) is a local Colorado musician, who's recorded one album split between covers ("Trouble In Mind," "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out") and originals. (Plenty of samples on the official page -- check it out.)

This is the New Orleans version of the song, where every step you take, you're steppin' in Billy DeLyons' blood. But there's also information on Stag's duel of words with the sheriff, and his adventures in hell. (You'll hear another, very similar take on this next week.)

Mark Berenson - Stagolee
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