6.30.06

Jeanne and I had Christine Lavin to ourselves for about an hour. She sang a song about Tom Cruise giving her the willies, another about the study that came out last week proving NYC is the friendliest place in the world, another that rattled off bunch of recipies, etc., and talked up a storm. A very funny storm. I dueted with her on a stinky-fine version of "Sensitive New Age Guy".

She emailed Janis Ian while we were chatting and we were waiting for her to check in, but no such luck. Janis was no doubt seeing to some important folk icon business.

But many thanks to Ms. Lavin, and I promise I'll never address you as "Patty Larkin" ever again.

Christine Lavin interview and performance

Ian Dury and the Blockheads, Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick
Street Drum Corps, Flaco
Johnny Rivers, Summer Rain

Beethoven's Dream Group, Tobacco Road (Batavia, NY band 1967)
Len Price 3, Christian in the Desert
A-Ha, Analogue

Patsy Cline, Walking After Midnight
Sweet Dreams (of You)
Crazy

The Shoes, Tomorrow Night
Juliana Hatfield, My Sister
The Detroit Cobras, I Wanna Holler (But the Town's Too Small)

The Kennedys, Wall of Death (R. Thompson cover)
Blondie, Fan Mail

Stumo Yomashta's Go, Space Requiem

Sensitive New Age Guy

This Friday at 2:45, Jeanne Bassis and I will be goofing around with the fabulous Christine Lavin. Last time I saw her it was the early '90's and she was twirling a baton while we were trying to play "Lifeguard" at an awards show at The Egg. She was really good at it.

6.23.06 U standin' U dancin'

This was a whole bowl of fun. I mean, eleven sets of dancing madness in two hours! And the weird thing is, I HATE dancing. But I love these songs.

Go figger.


Human Beinz, Nobody But Me
The Contours, Do You Love Me

Little Eva, The Locomotion
Swingin' Blue Jeans, Hippy Hippy Shake
James and Bobby Purify, Shake a Tail Feather
Fantastic Johnny C, Boogaloo Down Broadway

Rufus Thomas!!!! Can Your Monkey Do the Dog
Do the Funky Chicken
Do the Funky Penguin
Push and Pull

Major Lance, Monkey Time
Dee Dee Sharp, Mashed Potato Time
Dee Dee Sharp, Gravy for My Mashed Potatoes
Freddy and the Dreamers, Do the Freddy

The Olympics, Baby Do the Philly Dog
Urkel, The Urkel Dance
Archie Bell and the Drells, Do the Tighten Up

Chubby Checker, The Twist
Bobby Freeman, C'mon and Swim
Joe Youngblood Cobb, It's LB Time
Chubby Checker, Pony Time

Marvin Gaye, Hitch Hike
Lee Dorsey, Barefootin'
Shirley Ellis, The Clapping Song

The Vibrations, The Watusi
The Orlons, Wah-Watusi
Ray Barretto, El Watusi
Bobby Boris Pickett, The Werewolf Watusi

Van McCoy, Do the Hustle
The Incredible Casuals, Do the Don't
The Original Norwegian Cast of Rocky Horror Picture Show, Tiden Blir Strudd
Elvis Presley, Do the Clam

Eugene Pitt and the Jive Five, Hully Gully
Balli Di Gruppo, Hully Gully
Olympics, Baby Hully Gully
De Heikrekels, Samen Dansten Wij De Hully Gully
Ike and Tina Turner, If You Can Hully Gully

Little Richard, The Hokey Pokey
Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, C'mon Do the Jerk
The Capitols, Cool Jerk

Wilson Pickett, Land of 1000 Dances

32nd and Broadway, NYC, June 18, 3 PM

World Cup Soccer
Korea 1 France 1

You can find a whole bunch more great pics (including one of Myong and I) on this Korean sports blog.

David Greenberger Podcasted!

Now, don't forget to go visit him at his lovely Duplex Planet website right here. But you can also download and listen to the entire two-hour interview I did with him last week right now RIGHT HERE.

6.17.06

Two hours with David Greenberger! The picture at left is David at age 17, looking like a member of Uriah Heep.

We spent the show exploring the world of The Duplex Planet, essentially a print and performance artform that David invented, utilizing dialogues he's had with the aged. We played stuff from many of his CDs, including the latest "1001 Real Apes" a collaboration with Birdsongs of the Mesozoic. Of course we featured a pile of songs based on the lyrics of Earnest Noyes Brookings.

I will post the show here next week when I get over what I just found out is a mild case of food poisoning. Right now I'm going to lie down. Later!

6.09.06

After a bracing set by Crooked Still (they really are something), we got down to the business of playing recorded music.

Is that a bitchin amp or what? It doesn't need to go to 11. There is an issue, though, about reaching the knobs. And fitting it in the trunk.

Downloading tip o' the week: go to the Telarc record label site-- they've put up a boatload of MP3s for download, and a lot of them are 320's, which sound very good. The Monte Alexander track in set one came from there.

The Morells, That Mellow Saxophone

Afro-Celt Sound System, Release (feat Sinead O'Connor)
Fiona Apple, Get Him Back
Monty Alexander, Monte's Groove (feat Sly and Robbie)
Willy DeVille, Demasiado Corazon

Iron & Wine and Calexico, All Tomorrow's Parties (Velvets cover)
Gogol Bordello, Start Wearing Purple
Joe Meek's Answering Machine Message
The Exciters, Blowing Up My Mind

The Tubes, White Punks on Dope (for Vince Welnick)
J. Geils Band, Homework
MC5, High School
Green Day, Holiday

Porter Waggoner, Rubber Room
Alice Cooper, Ballad of Dwight Fry
Napolean XIV, They're Coming to Take Me Away
Black Eyed Peas, Let's Get Retarded

Tallis Scholars, Spem in alium a40

NEXT WEEK: Two hours with David Greenberger!

I'm crooked, still

Oops, Jeanne's doing it again! On Friday she's bringing in the terrific new-grass blue-grass band (Look! They got a cello! There's always room for....) Crooked Still who are gigging at the Guthrie Center Friday night. There's MP3's on their site to grab. Once again, she's cranking it up at 2:45 and has to skee-daddle by 3:30. Maybe we should call her Friday afternoon episodes "In the Spirit of Splatto." Or maybe we should just call it The T'aint. T'aint "In the Spirit," T'aint Splatto. Like that.

6.02.06

A kazillion thanks to Dennis Watlington for visiting the Splatto Festival. This was an absolutely remarkable show, fueled entirely by Dennis's wit and energy. Go buy his book.

I was podcasting the show, but I was running out of server space so I took it off. If you'd like to hear this interview, contact me.