brian dewan

I don't know why Brian Dewan's not a superstar, especially now that the kids are all into this so-called "freak folk." This zither-playing, musical-instrument-constructing, multi-media art-producing, enthusiast of arcane americana is freakier and folkier than most. Dewan is probably best-known for for his various collaborations with They Might Be Giants and his quirky police-killing tune, "99 cops." I highly recommend tracking down his two wonderful albums and seeing him perform live if you ever get the chance. Featured here is one of his 2 rare EPs from John Flansburg's Hello Cd of the month club. It's got three great original tunes and a "traditional" song (probably dating from the 19th century) which uses smoking as a metaphor for human mortality. Unfortunately, I don't have his other Hello EP or his songs from the Hello holiday album, but perhaps someone else out there does...

re-upped!

Also, someone from WFMU requested I email them George Martin's 1962, "Ray Cathode" 7" so it could be posted on their music blog (which I assume you're familiar with). I'm of course happy to oblige, but wasn't able to email the files because of a spam firewall. So I'll just re-post them here:

Ray Cathode single

the nuerotic world of James Call

Known mainly for his outlandish stage performances, James Call (lead singer of the Missing Teens and German Cars vs American Homes) is one of the best songwriters around. Collected here are some of James' rarer and unreleased tracks, including some of the bizarrest shit he's ever recorded, such as songs written to get specific girls to have sex with him (it apparently sometimes works), joke tunes and surrealist noodling. Hope you will enjoy this as much as I do!

1. Logic Problems
2. the Bucket of Snow
3. Tagalong (instrumental)
4. tonite iz tha nite...
5. the Socialism of Love
6. Big fun Maki Time!
7. bum bum (cutest)
8. the Subunes
9. Clap your Hands
10. if I were the Czar of all Musicians...
11. Put your rear-butt in reverse
12. the hero's quest
13. Evalisa
14. I can't go for that
15. Sendin' a MIDI message of Love
16. the Power
17. Singalong Soup Kitchen and Silly Jazz
18. do you believe ?
19. Tourettes
20. close to you

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Beatles instrumentals

Here's a compilation I've been meaning to put together for some time: a collection of instrumental Beatles tracks. I'd definitely be into buying a copy if they released something like this legitimately (despite the fact that they recorded a lot of stuff simultaneously with minimal separation on only four tracks most of the time, I'm sure the vocals could easily be mixed out of most Beatles songs.) The stuff here comes from unused backing tracks, some edits I put together myself and the bootleg "Oopsology" series (by the way, in my many years making music, I have never heard anyone except Beatles bootleggers use the term "out-of-phase stereo" to describe one channel of a hard-panned stereo mix). Hope you dig this!

1. Day Tripper
2. Strawberry Fields (orchestral)
3. Help
4. Blue Jay Way
5. Sgt. Pepper
6. for no one
7. Magical Mystery Tour
8. Paperback Writer (fragment)
9. only a northern song
10. when I'm 64
11. Flying
12. baby, you're a rich man
13. hello, goodbye
14. 12 bar original
15. savoy truffle
16. she said, she said
17. I am the Walrus
18. we can work it out
19. Strawberry Fields
20. Taxman
21. fixing a hole
22. bad Boy
23. your mother should know
24. hey bulldog
25. I feel fine
26. oh, Darling
27. honey, don't

karaoke party!

Celtic Requiem: rarest Apple LP?

Sorry for the lack of posts. I've been busy... You know how it is. At least I haven't given up completely like some of my favorite "sharity" bloggers. This time I'll be sharing one of the rarest LP's on the Beatles' Apple label, John Tavener's Celtic Requiem.

Apparently "discovered" and handled by Ringo, John Tavener was an avant-garde classical composer who put out two records for Apple. His first, the Whale (which was re-issued on Ringo's short-lived Ring O' Records in the later 70's) is actually the better of the two and is one of my favorite Apple albums (which is saying a lot). This one is enjoyable too, if you dig this sort of thing.

Celtic Requiem was never released in America and is supposedly almost impossible to get ahold of in England as well. Tavener's early work features innovative percussion and instrumentation, spoken words, operatic wailing and chanting and small orchestral ensembles altering between somber droning textures and stabbing cacophenies of sound. The music on this record deals with children and their view of death and meditations on religious/biblical themes. The sing-song taunts of British schoolchildren add a nightmarish quality. When I heard some of Tavener's more recent work, I was disapointed to find it was kind of mediocre and uniteresting schlock, but I guess you could say the same thing about pretty much every other musician from the 1960's.

Most of the non-Beatles Apple albums were re-issued on CD and/or "limited edition" vinyl for about 30 seconds in the early 90's. They all went back out-of-print almost instantly. I guess that there wasn't much interest in "musical relics" like Billy Preston, Mary Hopkin and George Harrison's Wonderwall Music at that time. I randomly found my used copy of the Celtic requiem re-issue a year or two ago. I think I paid about three bucks for it. It's on CD so there's no pops and I've included the booklet. Hope somebody will be interested in this!

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Rocket to the Moon!

1. Baldwin Fanfare Deluxe organ intro
2. faster pussycat kill kill (welcome to violence)
3. Daniel Johnston: it's a cold, hard world
4. Raymond Scott: By Rocket to the Moon part 1
5. Creed Taylor Orchestra: Heartbeat
6. Lucia Pamela: Dear me
7. spooky
8. instrumental
9. the Shaggs: we have a savior
10. Duluth - that's my hometown
11. Bruce and Miss Nelson: Soul Transportation fragment
12. Daniel Johnston: stars on parade
13. George Harrison: unissued Wonderwall tune
14. Raymond Scott: auto-line
15. Joe Meek: magnetic field
16. Raymond Scott: By Rocket to the Moon 2
17. Van Morrison: here come dumb George
18. Daniel Johnston: the sun shines down on me
19. Freddie & the Hitch Hikers: Sinners
20. Leonard Nimoy: Highly Illogical
21. happy horns
22. Jim Ingram - Black Woman
23. anxiety
24. Van Morrison: hold on George
25. faster pussycat kill kill part 2
26. John Lotas Productions: Sound Effects
27. Raymond Scott: By Rocket to the Moon 3
28. circus
29. the groupies exerpt
30. Joe Meek: Love Dance Of The Saroos
31. Daniel Johnston: I had a dream about you
32. George Harrison: unissued Wonderwall tune #2
33. Van Morrison: Dumb dumb George
34. Capt. Hook: phone call from the Devil
35. instrumental
36. the story of Mr. World (the Earth speaks)
37. van morrison: Goodbye George
38. transporter
39. Raymond Scott: By Rocket to the Moon 4
40. circuit bending

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James Call's Peter & the Wolf

Today I'm sharing a truly insane piece of music. The Missing Teens and German Cars vs American Homes' James Call takes on Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf. Using an usual palette of instruments (prepared piano samples, the serge modular sythesizer, etc) and incorporating various pop culture themes and references (Star Wars, Governor Schwarzenegger, Steely Dan, the Legend of Zelda) James' version of the story is unique to say the least. A fruitful journey into the mind of a truly insane person or just self-indulgent wankery? You decide! Enjoy.

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Digital Underground: b sides & rarities

Ever since I heard "Doowuchalike," I've been a huge fan of Digital Underground. While well known for "the Humpty Dance" and a few other hits (and for being the group that "discovered" the extremely overrated Tupac Shakur), Digital Underground's albums have been largely ignored. Defying easy categorization, Shock G's George Clinton-inspired hip hop was far more musically sophisticated than most any of their contemporaries ...and they had a great sense of humor. Included in this mix is one of the b-sides from the hella rare Freaks of the Industry promo single and two alternate versions of songs from their brilliant-but-completely-slept-on 5th album, Future Rhythm. Some of the shit on this mix is pretty corny and not up to the quality of their best material, but fun nonetheless. I suggest you check out all of DU's records.

1. freaks of the industry ("version 3" remix)
2. no nose job (remix)
3. Cinnamon Waves (remix)
4. Hella Bump (remix)
5. Black Book (African Identity)
6. Call It What U Want (Above the Law with 2Pac & Money B)
7. The Original Lesson
8. Where God Comes
9. I get around (live)
10. Close the Crackhouse (fragment)
11. Freaky Pumps (Fatlip with Shock G)
12. Packet Man (45 King remix)
13. Kiss you Back (chocolate exploding remix)
14. Glootius Maximus (remix)
15. Nuttin Nis Funky (live '91)
16. Music and Girls
17. I got 5 on it (remix)
18. Way of Life (Stylophonic - remix)

part one
part two

Music To Watch Girls By

Here's a fun mix featuring a lot of crapcore / "outsider music"-type shit. Much of this came from Ubuweb's 365 Days project which featured a mp3 of bizarre music for every day of a year. There are some incredible finds there. I've also included some recordings from a radio show in which Brian Dewan shared recordings of music boxes / mechanical music.

1. warp drive
2. Who Cares?
3. Pastor John Rydgren: A Beautiful Girl / Music To Watch Girls By
4. Raymond Scott / Manhattan Research
5. Nelson Riddle: Lolita Ya Ya
6. tha Shaggs: things I wonder
7. Joe Meek / the Blue Men: I hear a new world
8. Los Cuatro Amigos en el Espacio - Trácate
9. Raymond Scott: complete communications...
10. Daniel Johnston: Lullabye (Don't be scared)
11. Van Morrison: Ringworm
12. VD Song
13. The Central High School Cafeteria Band: First Rhapsody For Knives, Forks & Spoons parts 1 & 2
14. Brian dewan: mechanical music #1
15. Raymond Scott: lightworks
16. the Peanuts
17. Lucia Pamela: Indian Alphabet chant
18. Varese fragment #1
19. Hasil Adkins: Jenny Lou
20. Van Morrison: you say france & I Whistle
21. Brian dewan: mechanical music #2
22. Metamorpho (power records)
23. Daniel Johnston: rarely
24. Varese fragment #2
25. Raymond Scott / Manhattan Research
26. David Rose: the stripper
27. Joe Meek / the Blue Men: Disc Dance of the Globbots
28. Daniel Johnston: the undertaker's assistant
29. Brian dewan: mechanical music #3
30. Sonik Omi - Ree Baba Ree Baba
31. Brian dewan: put your money where your mouth is
32. The Tunetwisters: The Popcorn Man
33. Van Morrison: Want A Danish?
34. Daniel Johnston: you ruined it for yourself
35. Herby and Elena Ayers: What Would We Do Without Glass?
36. Ellen Fullman: Change of direction (long string instrument)
37. The Ken Nordine Group - Six Commercials In Search Of A Client

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nintendo's greatest hits

For a long time I've wanted to make one of those Dusty Fingers-style "beats and breaks" bootleg compilations of old-school NES music. It's a million dollar idea! What DJ / producer / nerd wouldn't want all their favorite Nintendo game music on wax to scratch, sample or just enjoy? I'd buy one. Unfortunately, I'm an awful businessman and wouldn't know how to successfully distribute such a record, especially because of it's dubious legality. So here for you to enjoy is a fab selection of tunes recorded directly from the audio output of the old grey box. Those Japanese computer nerds composed some amazingly catchy (and often pretty far-out) music using an extremely limited palette sounds. I put this collection together a few years ago and it barely scratches the surface of the great music that came out of the NES. I'll have to make another one of these someday (the only reason I haven't is cuz it's a fairly tedious undertaking and I've misplaced some of my old games). Oh, and if you steal my idea and put this stuff out on vinyl and make a bunch of bread, the least you can do is send me a copy!

1. Super Mario 2 intro
2. Zelda intro
3. Super Mario bros. theme
4. Battle of Olympus: the Salamander pit
5. Marble Madness: world 1
6. Super Mario 3: ice world
7. Super Mario 2: indoor music
8. Metroid: intro
9. Battle of Olympus: Zeus
10. Zelda 2 intro
11. Super Mario 2 main theme
12. Zelda: the death of link
13. Kid Icarus theme
14. Zelda 2: fight scene
15. Metroid: corridor
16. Battle of Olympus: intro
17. Super Mario: underworld
18. Ninja Gaiden theme
19. Super Mario 3: coin heaven
20. Marble Madness: world 3
21. Super Mario 2: character select
22. Metroid: Brinstar zone
23. Zelda 2: map
24. Mega Man theme
25. Super Mario Bros: invincible!
26. Simon's quest theme
27. Metroid: world 1
28. Zelda: castle theme
29. Marble Madness: world 2
30. Super Mario bros: underwater
31. Super Mario bros: triumphant
32. metroid: world 2
33. zelda theme
34. Castlevania: intro
35. super Mario 2: boss
36. Metroid: Norfair Zone
37. Zelda 2: village song
38. super Mario bros: king koopa
39. Mega man 3: finale

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Time Bomb

This week, we've got a nice selection of pop music from the 80's & 90's since that's what the kids seem to like these days.

Some years ago, my brother and I bought a shitload of random old 7 inches from this hipster record store that was going out of business for five cents apiece. Buying records based on their covers and/or the band's name means you'll probably end up with a high percentage of complete garbage, but discovering the occasional gem makes it all worth it. Plus if you're in a punk rock band, you can throw these unwanted 7 inches at your Audience who actually came to see Good riddance or whatever mediocre group your opening for. When they hit something solid, 7-inches explode spectacularly, raining shards of vinyl everywhere! Waste not, want not, I always say.

It was among these singles that I discovered much of the following music. The Dog Faced Hermans are a "post-punk" / "avant-punk" group from the late 80's and early 90's. I think they were originally from Scotland. I eventually tracked down most of their other records and I highly recommend them all (their last 2 LPs were released by Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles label so at least those should be relatively easy to get ahold of). I know nothing about Afterimage and the Baby Flies. They're fun. tho.

Probably my favorite of these five-cent singles is by this incredible Japanese band. There's not a lot of English on the cover so I'm not even sure what this band's called. I don't speak it or nothin', but I once took a Japanese language class. What I assume is their name spells something like "Saakadeian-Rizumu." Since it's written in katakana, I guess this is supposed to be an american word. Is the second part supposed to be "rhythm"? I don't know. Anyone have any idea?

1. Dog Faced Hermans: Time Bomb 2. Afterimage: the Long Walk 3. the Baby Flies: Pictures and Parties 4. Saakadeian-Rizumu(?): My favorite Flesh fragrance / Paradise Lost 5. Red Aunts: Terri Man 6. Elliott Smith: miss misery 7. Jon Spencer Blues Explosion: Flavor #2 8. Rasputina: the Olde Headboard (remix) 9. Interlude 10. Brian Dewan: Breezes are Blowing 11. Ex Girl 12. Nine Inch Nails: Get Down Make Love 13. Dog Faced Hermans: Too Much for the Red Ticker 14. the Plastics: Top Secret Man 15. the Baby Flies: I only burn in the morning 16. Afterimage: Strange Confession 17. gary Numan: instrumental 18. Red Aunts: little drummer boy 19. David Lynch and John Neff: Pink Western Range 20. James Kochaulka Superstar: Bad Astronaut 21. Saakadeian Rizumu(?): Fat Ouspensky 22. Brian Dewan: Cadavers

Download: part one. part two.

The cave

Ok, here's a brand-new mix that I think you'll enjoy. It features two seven-inches I recently acquired that I'd been trying to find for years. Gary "Spider" Webb's "the Cave" is one of the most bizarre records ever made. Both sides consist of teens, Julie and Jimmy stumbling around in a cave calling each other's name over a reverb-drenched surf-jam. Pure genius. I don't really know anything about Gary Webb. I'm pretty sure he was a session musician and he's got another 45 out ("drum city"), though unfortunately, I've never heard it. "The Cave" was released by Bamboo Records (I'm guessing) in the early sixties.

Ray Cathode's "Time Beat" is a record put out by a pre-Beatles George Martin on the Parlophone Label in 1962. Credited to the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, "Time Beat" mixes experimental electronic effects with a minimalist George Martin arrangement, It vaguely reminds me Ferrante and Tiecher's prepared piano records. the Tornados' "Jungle Fever" is of course the b-side to the Joe Meek classic, "Telstar."

1. It Came From Outer Space!
2. Gary "Spider" Webb: the cave part 1
3. Paul Lowry: I got rhythm
4. Bill Watkins: Space Love
5. poinciana
6. Everlasting Gobstopper machine
7 Ray Cathode:Time beat
8. Transporter Energize
9. Batman
10. Swing a little Kim a little
11. Tom Glazer & Dottie Evans: What is the Milky Way? (space songs)
12. Pastor John Rydgren: Careful
13. Richard Nixon (song poem)
14. The Tornados: jungle fever
15. Raymond Scott: Ripples (Manhattan Research Inc)
16. Ford Motor Company: Standing On The Corner
17. les Baxter: Barbarian
18. Wonder woman excerpt
19. Sexy Girls
20. Raymond Scott: Twilight In Turkey (Manhattan Research Inc)
21 Out of This World
22 Hasil Adkins: cat walk
23. Paul Lowry: sabre dance
24. Leonard Nimoy: The Difference Between Us
25. Stella: beatnik's D'Occasion
26. Justice League of America theme
27. Ray cathode: waltz in orbit
28. The House Of Famous Name Brands
29 Ed Wood / Orgy Of The Dead soundtrack: She Lived As A zombie...
30. Theme
31. The Sho-Men: Slowly
32. Tom Glazer & Dottie Evans: electricity(singing science - energy & motion songs)
33. Pastor John Rydgren: a butterfly doing push ups
34. Gary "Spider" Webb: the cave part 2
35. Estelle: the Year 2000
36: Low Speed

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88 Lines About 44 Women

Back in the old days, I used make meticulous notes of track and artist info for every mix-tape I made. Eventually I started to feel that this constituted sort of unhealthy obsessive behavior and resolved to worry less about documenting everything. Also mixes I got from other people tended to have less than complete song information so I decided, 'why bother.' So hopefully you'll be able to enjoy these bizarre selections of tunes even if I can't remember each song's name.

1. the Nails: 88 Lines About 44 Women
2. Raymond Scott: don't beat your wife...
3. melt banana: surfin' USA
4. tape beatles: scientists are working
5. the green hornet
6. Shaggs: who are parents?
7. john zorn
8. spanish fly
9. theme
10. Daniel Johnston: Sorry Entertainer
11. Donovan: Sunny Goode Street
12. Jandek
13. theme
14. Shaggs: my Pal Foot Foot
15. Jaan Pehechaan ho
16. theme
17. Tarzan
18. melt banana: Santa Claus
19. Daniel Johnston: the Beatles
20. theme
21. tape Beatles
22. helicopters
23. Shaggs: philosophy of the world
24. theme
25. Ex-Girl
26. Daniel Johnston: love defined
27. Fake Beatles: Pink Litmus Shirt

part one part two

select Beatles songs backwards

For my second post, we have something that'll probably appeal only to a very limited amount of people. Yes, it's simply a selection of Beatles tunes backwards. I can see how folks could consider this pretty much unlistenable, but to me many backwards Beatles songs are an enjoyable listening experience, almost becoming an all-new Beatles record! What's to stop anyone from taking their own records and reversing them using some cheap audio softwhere? Nothing (in fact I'm only slightly surprised no one's released a crappy set of bootlegs called "Backwards-ology" or something), but I've already done it for you.

1. Happiness is a warm gun
2. being for the benefit of Mr. Kite
3. Elenor Rigby
4. I am the Walrus
5. I Dig a Pony
6. the fool on the hill
7. I Feel Fine
8. Strawberry Fields Forever
9. Piggies
10. Come Together
11. Cry Baby Cry
12. Flying
13. Rain
14. Tomorow never knows
15. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
16. Long Long Long
17. Mother nature's Son
18. Because
19. Here comes the sun
20. a day in a life
21. across the universe
22. revolution #9
23. I'm only sleeping

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Bizarre-ass shit!

Hello and welcome to my new music-share page.

For years I've been making mix-tapes (eventually CDs) for myself and friends. I figured I'd post some of these since folks seem to like 'em and they sometimes feature obscure stuff that'll be difficult to find elsewhere. As you'll see, I listen to a lot of outsider/idiot/naive-artist-type stuff, "incredibly strange" music, songs poems, home-taping, space-age pop / exotica / lounge, avant-garde / experimental, sci-fi soundtracks, select novelty tunes, etc. For the most part it'll be out-of-print music from my record collection or stuff I got from friends, films, and/or downloaded from other cats' music-share blogs (hopefully not a major faux-pas). I'm sure plenty of folks will find the seeminly-random combination of these different genres of music jarring or irritating but it all makes some kind of sense to me. I guess these will appeal to music nerds who also have short attention spans.

This mix is one of the first I made from the late 90's when I stopped making tapes and started to make CDs. It's a bit crude but it has some interesting stuff. Besides some typical "outsider" / underground music, it features some tracks from the Marx Brothers (four from their films, one from a radio show). It also features some really bizarre music and dialogue from an insane anti-drug "educational" film dating from the late sixties. I hope somebody out there will enjoy it.

1. narcotics theme
2. Groucho reminisces (pennies from heaven)
3. Syd Barrett: See Emily Play
4. [traffic]
5. Daniel Johnston: Come see me tonight
6. Harry Partch: study on Archytas' Enharmonic
7. narcotics "the chopping block"
8. Chico Marx: solo from Go West
9. Jandek: Lonesome Bridge
10. narcotics party music #1
11. Daniel Johnston: put my love out
12. Legendary Stardust Cowboy: Paralyzed
13. Harpo Marx: solo from Go West
14. narcotics "get with it"
15. Star Wars cantina band part 2
16. Daniel Johnston: never relaxed
17. Chico Marx: solo from Monkey Business
18. Brian Wilson: Sail Plane Song (loop de loop demo)
19. Ex Girl: Neanderthal Souvlaki / Full
20. Jandek: Down at the Ballpark
21. Syd Barrett: Vegetable man
22. narcotics party music #2
23. the residents: Struggle
24. the Shaggs: the shaggs own thing
25. Black Francis: amazed demo
26. Partch: cloud chamber music
27. Wesley Willis: cut the mullet
28. Pink Floyd: Arnold Layne
29. Harpo Marx: solo from Monkey Business
30. Daniel Johnston: I save cigarette butts
31. sitar outro

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