July - "Jolly Mary" (1968)

Just when you think the well has run dry, in steps English Psych-Pop band July. This is my current favorite track off their first album in 1968. While the album as a whole doesn't entirely thrill me, its' best moments are really amazing and fresh sounding. "Jolly Mary" is a bouncy little number with 90s sounding sampling interludes and 60s sounding vocal effects. Another gem from the Bubblegum Motherf**ker bootleg series.

Here's a nice video made by a fan:

Jackson 5 - "Looking Through The Window" (1972)

Speaking of the Jackson 5, here's another discovery made via Casey Kasem. Not as catchy as their first batch of singles, but it's worth it for the opening alone (and that crispy rhythm guitar) Here's a clip of them performing on the Sonny and Cher comedy hour in 1972.

Foster Sylvers - "Misdemeanor" (1973)

If you're like me (and you are), you wake up every Saturday and Sunday at 6am to drive 30 minutes and sit at a desk for 8 hours. Fortunately, this happens to give us a great excuse to be awake to listen to 102.9 (RDU) and Casey Kasem's top 40 from the 70s. A couple weeks ago they played the top 40 from 1973 I think, and that's where i first heard Foster Sylver's "Misdemeanor". Good story, eh?

It's an amazing song. Jackson 5-ish, but weirder. Love the bass, love the song, LOVE THE DRUMS. Great great great.

Drag History Month

This video gets funnier with each viewing. Enjoy!

More Gay & Lesbian Video

Pale Saints - "Babymaker" & Matt Gurley

I've been pretty into the Pale Saints lately...and specifically "Babymaker" off the Mrs. Dolphin compilation and In Ribbons LP (1992). The band was from England and was active during the late 80's/early 90's, though they didn't make much impact in the US at the time and are still criminally overlooked today. Re-issues of their albums and a compilation of unreleased tunes is LONG overdue, but until then we'll have to settle for their limited output and some amazing covers of their songs, like this one from Matt Gurley. Matt has tons of covers on his YouTube page (The Beatles, Hall & Oats, My Bloody Valentine, Magnetic Fields to name a few), which he overdubs with beautiful vocals, guitar, reverb, etc. Check him out now. Everything I've heard him do has been pretty close to brilliant: http://www.youtube.com/user/fooberdoobs.

Here's his version of Pale Saints "Babymaker":

Lil Wayne - "Mrs. Officer" (2008)

I heard this song in a record store in Portland when the album first came out and totally fell in love. It's rare that i'll hear a song in a record store and push customers out of the way to run to the counter to ask the clerk who it is. But it happened. Anywho, I left Portland later that week and totally forgot the song existed. I heard it again on the radio yesterday and can't get it out of my head. Fun, catchy, brilliant, etc., etc.. I guess it's just been released as a single, so get ready for it to be everywhere, and get ready for me to not be able to listen to it anymore.

But for now, here it is. I was gonna put the official video up, but it's censored and totally disrupts the flow of the song, so here's just the album track sans video.

Levi Stubbs

Levi Stubbs was the lead singer of Motown faves the Four Tops. I've always been a big fan of Levi and the group (and not just because we share a birthday) and was saddened to hear of his passing this past Friday after a long illness.

I discovered this live clip of the group performing one of my favorite FT songs, "7 Rooms of Gloom" from 1967. It's an interesting version, and Levi sounds amazing as usual.