Sometimes I cruise around YouTube for good music videos, then I save the links in a folder. And sometimes I put together a DKos diary to share my discoveries. This is my eighth jukebox diary.
If you’re tired of reading about the underwater oil gusher and Israel/Palestine, here’s some music for a Sunday afternoon. If you prefer, you can play the music in one window, while you read about oilpocalypse and I/P flame wars in another window.
For today’s jukebox, I tried to pick some relatively obscure videos that some people might not have seen before. Give yourself a point every time you say, "Yep. I’ve seen that one before."
Lightnin’ Hopkins: "Mojo Hand"
Let’s start with the blues. In the old days when we got our music on twelve-inch vinyl platters, I had several LPs by Lightnin’ Hopkins. He has a really great, resonant voice. Also, if you’re a guitar player, watch his hands and how he uses the whole guitar.
Not that I’m implying or suggesting anything, but did you notice how long his fingers are?
Todd Rundgren: "A Dream Goes On Forever"
I owned several albums by Rundgren, too. He was considered a wunderkind. On the double album, "Something/Anything," he wrote, played, sang, engineered, and produced everything on three of the four sides. He sometimes played with bands, including Runt and Utopia, but he was capable of doing everything – like Prince, Brian Eno, or Frank Zappa, to name a few others.
This song is sort of simple, but I like the idea that "A Dream Goes on Forever." It gives me hope.
To make a record in the old days, you had to book time in an expensive recording studio with multi-track tape recorders. You pretty much had to be rich or have a contract with a record label. Now, with digital instruments, digital video, and fast computers, it’s possible to make a decent video in your home. For example...
Pomplamoose: "Mister Sandman"
This one blows me away.
I recently heard about Pomplamoose from a friend on Facebook. It's two people, Jack Conte and Nataly Dawn, who started recording songs at home in 2008. According to Wikipedia, they have two rules for their videos:
- What you see is what you hear. (No lip-syncing for instruments or voice)
- If you hear it, at some point you see it. (No hidden sounds)
This one has a third musician on guitar. Note: The song ends after about 2:10, followed by some talking and joking.
They’ve done a bunch of covers, including songs by Aerosmith, Earth Wind and Fire, Lady Gaga, Michael Jackson, Simon and Garfunkel. You can hear their version of "Mister Sandman" in the background of this Toyota Ad.
Emmylou, Dolly, and Linda: "To Know Him Is To Love Him"
Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, and Linda Ronstadt. Sort of like the female version of the Traveling Wilburys.
And the backup band is pretty good, too.
Sonny King: "I Cried For You"
This one’s just weird (and sexist, before the word was invented). It has that 1960s feel of a swinging bachelor who reads Playboy magazine and loves the neon of Las Vegas. And there are women in bras and panties.
His clothes – and the little shuffle dance – crack me up.
Fats Waller and Art Tatum
First, there’s Fats Waller (an amazing pianist) playing "Ain’t Misbehavin’," then some guy talks about Waller. He mentions that Count Basie looked up to Fats Waller. Then he says Art Tatum once walked into a club where Waller was playing. Fats Waller said, "I am just a piano player, but tonight God is in the house." When the guy stops talking, there’s a clip of Tatum – who is an astounding pianist.
Art Tatum died in 1956, but you can hear the roots of bebop in his style. Another amazing pianist (from way back in the 1920s) was Bix Beiderbecke (here's In A Mist). If you want to hear bebop, you can’t go wrong with Thelonious Monk (here’s Straight, No Chaser – Monk’s piano solo starts at about 2:30).
Joan Jett & The Blackhearts: "I Love Rock N Roll"
A couple days ago, someone wrote about songs that make you wanna sing along. This is definitely in that category. Here’s what the uploader wrote about the comments on YouTube:
Here's a summary of the comments people have made, if you don't want to look through 300+ comments:
(1) JOAN JETT ROCKS.
(2) THIS IS THE BEST SONG EVER.
(3) I LOVE ROCK N ROLL!
(4) BRITNEY SPEARS SUCKS.
(5) The song that plays in the beginning of the video is "Bad Reputation."
(6) This is a cover song. The original was by The Arrows.
(7) Comments about Joan Jett's looks, sexual orientation, gender, etc.
Syd Barrett: "Bob Dylan Blues"
Syd Barrett was one of the founding members of Pink Floyd in the mid-1960s. Later he went into seclusion – or exile – amid rumors of mental illness and/or heavy drug use. Here’s a song he wrote as a teenager making fun of Bob Dylan. He’s got the Bob Dylan style, but you can sort of hear hints of Pink Floyd in it, too.
Jefferson Airplane: "White Rabbit"
"One pill makes you larger and one pill makes you small. And the ones that mother gives you don’t do anything at all. Go ask Alice when she’s ten feet tall."
A great example of psychedelic music. This performance comes from The Smother Brothers Comedy Hour.
Big Bill Broonzy: "Hey Hey"
We started with the blues, so let’s up with a short clip by another blues guitarist.
Previous Jukebox Diaries
In March, I collected some videos into Thursday Morning Jukebox: Vocal Harmony, with songs by The Mamas & The Papas, The Cyrkle, The Kinks, The Beatles, Junior Brown (w/The Beach Boys on backup vocals), Marshall Crenshaw, Carrie Underwood, Buffalo Springfield, and Blondie.
In February, there was Saturday Morning Jukebox #6: Goosebump music, with songs by Wanda Jackson, Jonathan Richman, Traffic, Mark Knopfler, The Ink Spots, Ron Sexsmith, Dusty Springfield, Bryan Ferry, Brian Eno, and Regina Spektor.