Mixes Made Especially For You!
Best songs ever about Chicago: Talking Baseball (Cubs version)
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12.20.07
Here's a new mix for y'all. It's a Christmas one, not a holiday one. Inspired by this. Have fun, I hope you enjoy it don't get crushed by a block of wood or cement during your holiday travels and/or escapades.
12.18.07
Let's play some songs. The following Horace Silver album came into the store the other day, and I noticed that not only did it have vocals, it had a track called "Acid, Pot, or Pills". Sounds good to me, let's give that a spin. And hey, it's pretty good to boot. So here ya go: Horace Silver - Acid, Pot, or Pills
And here's a grand ol party song from Jerry Jeff Walker via this guy (who needs to hurry up and finish is reconstructed site alrady). This whol album is great, but it's pretty easy to find, so I'm just putting this one song off of it up. Of all the great country guys I wish I could have had a drink with wile they were in their prime, Jerry Jeff Walker ranks up there pretty high. Up in Tom T. Hall territory maybe even. I've been around drunks like Hank Williams and they're no where near as interesting as one might imagine; the Tom T. Halls and Jerry Jeff Walkers, though, are perfect folk to drink with, I imagine. Maybe I idealize too much. Jerry Jeff Walker - Sangria Wine
And here's today's final track and my new favorite Cheap Trick song. Sounds almost like Bryan Ferry is singing. Cheap Trick - Take Me I'm Yours
If you're bored and feel like hanging out in a Chicago taproom, check this out.
12.04.07
The title song from this album was featured heavily in the latest Wes Anderson film and has since popped up all over the internet on mp3 blogs. The album has some other decent tracks too though, so here they are, along with th not so decent tracks. Where Do You Go To (My Lovely) Many Coloured Semi Precious Plastic Easter Eggs The Wes Anderson movie, bu the way, is a nice recovery from that last thing he did. Whew. Sorry I've been away, but I've been working on this. I've been cooking a lot too, and I need to post the recipe for the lamb stew I made. It might be the best thing I've ever cooked.
11.05.07
Ugh (again). Well, at least the Packers are good this season. Here's a track from the Bill Callahan I'd rather have coaching my team (I think he'd stick to the option): Today's recipe: Shepherd's Pie First, boil up some potatoes and mash them with milk and butter. Preheat your oven to 400 American degrees Get yourself a pound of ground beef and brown it. Take it out of the pan, but leave the grease. Put some onions, carrots and celery in the grease and let 'em cook up for a few minutes. Add some peas and put the meat back in the pan and cook them all together for a couple minutes. Then add some worcester sauce and a can of cream of mushroom soup and let it simmer for a few more minutes. Take it all out of the pan and put it into a casserole dish. Then cover the meat with those mashed potatoes. Put some shredded cheddar cheese on top of the potatoes bake in your preheated oven for about 25 minutes. Pull it out and enjoy the goodness.
11.01.07
This is the view from my porch today. Let's move in a little closer, shall we . . .
The view when I first got home from the grocery store was the best, but he turned onto his side by the time I unloaded the groceries and found the camera. Now he looks like he might be deceased, but he's not, I promise, as you can tell from the next close-up . . .
Snore lines! I swear to you, I heard him long before I saw him. He's fine and his clothes are actually fairly dapper, so I don't even feel all that terrible that he's out there. Soundin' good, lookin' good. And it might be one of the last days of the season that's nicest enough to take a nap under a stranger's porch. Here're a couple songs for my newest neighbor: And a couple that have nothing to do with him (sorry, new buddy): Tompall Glaser - Drinking Them Beers Lee Hazlewood - The Lone Ranger Ain't My Friend Anymore Tonight's recipe: Cheesy Potatoes This is a Robillard special, and some changes are always welcome. 1 can of cream of chicken soup l (2lb bag) of thawed hash browns in the microwave heat the margarine and soup until the margarine melts and you can mix them together using a whisk, add sour cream and mix together well. Okay, here's the secret, as was told to me by Amanda's dad: use twice the amount of cheese. Here are my other additions: if you're serving this to vegetarians, you can do one of two things. Either lie to them or switch from a can of cream of chicken soup to a can of cream of celery soup. If you're serving meat-eaters, add some diced ham. mmm. You can also try adding onions and/or peas and/or corn. Now go have some fun and remember: double the cheese, it makes all the difference, and it's a rule that applies to just about any recipe involving any amount of cheese. Here's a picture of the finished product. I have an idea that you're going to think I overcooked it, but if you do think that, you know neither me nor Amanda. We both love cheese, and the crunchier the better! The top is slightly more than golden brown, while the innards are cooked to perfection.
10.31.07 Happy Halloween, all. Hope you don't get any of that candy corn crap.
Link Wray - Link Wray (Polydor 1971) Today's album - Link Wray's solo album from 1971. When I looked this one up on the internet, I kept seeing the phrase "come back album", but this is such a strange album for someone known as an instrumentalist & surf guitar legend. It's a country-ish record with hints of gospel and one track, "Black River Swamp", that even sounds like a Van Morrison song. 1. La De Da 4. Rise and Fall of Jimmy Stokes 5. Fallin' Rain 7. Ice People 8. God Out West 9. Crowbar 11. Tail Dragger
10.30.07
Porter Wagoner - I Lived So Fast And Hard So, I'm sure you've heard by now that Porter Wagoner died yesterday. What'd he die of? Well, he was 80, that's probably enough of a reason for most. I was going to post a bunch of songs, and maybe even some complete albums, but I think the above song sorta handles anything that needs to be handled regarding Porter Wagoner. I'm about as big a fan as one can reasonably be, but I certainly have issues with a lot of his work. He was incredibly erratic, filling albums with mostly songs that should have been left behind, but always including one or two complete gems. His latest album, Wagonmaster is exactly such an album. A perfectly fine album, containing a lot of songs I'll never need to hear again, and about three or four I couldn't be more thankful for. Such is Porter Wagoner. He left behind a lot of incomplete work, several absolutely brilliant album covers, and Dolly Parton. That's a lot more than most singers could ever hope for, and 'm glad I've been able to listen to and appreciate most of his output. I'm not sad about his passing, however. He lived a grand life and one most can only dream of.
This might be the best blues album I've ever heard, and I was never all that big a fan of John Lee Hooker. Until I heard this. It arrived in the store and I put it on right away. I played the first song on the second side (the title track) four times in a row. Only one track is over three minutes, which is sort of a shame, because they should all be at least ten minutes long. From what I've been able to find, the music was recorded in 1952, although the record wasn't released until ten years later. 4. Love My Baby 7. Don't Turn Me From Your Door 10. Real Real Gone
10.28.07 Here's a Sunday mornin' psych mix comin' at ya. Enjoy.
We also have a couple Clarence 'Frogman' Henry songs for you today. The first, "Ain't Got No Home", you've probably heard. It's a classic, and I'm not just saying that because I love songs where guys sing like girls (Mick Jagger and Shane MacGowan are especially good at this). In addition to singing like a girl, he also sings like a frog, which I don't think either Shane or Mick ever did intentionally, or at least intentionally while sober. The second song is one I just found on a record that came thrugh the store. No girl voice and no frog voice. Just a simple sweet song. The album overall, was pretty terrible, despite it being worth a ton. It's all over the place musically and the song choices are weak at best, but I really like this song, the last cut on side one, called "Never, Never". I hope you like it too. Clarence Henry - Ain't Got No Home
10.26.07
Siren - Siren (1967 Dandelion Records) This is Kevin Coyne's first record with his first band, Siren. It was put out on John Peel's label and sounds great. It's like a British version of Big Star, but instead of two distict songwriters, there's one main songwriter in Coyne, who may suffer from multiple personality disorder. It's up, it's down, it's sad, it's psychotic. It's just about everything you need in a late sixties rock album. Or a rock album from any time, I s'pose. The band made another album a year or so after this, and I hear it's even better and much more psychedelic. Hopefully, it'll come into the shop, so I can record it, and pass it on to you. 1. Ze-Ze-Ze-Ze 3. Rock Me Baby 8. Gardener Man 9. And I Wonder 10. The War Is Over 11. Asylum 12. Bertha Lee 13. I Wonder Where
10.25.07 I stole the following songs from this website, which is really worth the visit. Tons of great, odd mp3s and nicer commentary about most. Much better writing than you'd find at, say, this site for example. Tiny Tim covering the Ronettes is wonderful. Don't be intimidated by the length of the song (about twice the Ronettes version), it'll be over way too quickly, I assure you (like life, a friend suggested). It's taken from the album You Are What You Eat, which also features Tiny Tim's version of "I Got You Babe". This next song was covered perfectly by Bryan Ferry and also not so perfectly by Bob Dylan and Canned Heat. It's odd that I was just discussing this song at work yesterday, but not so odd considering I work at a record store, I suppose. I'd never actually heard this original version until late last night, sometime after midnight. Sometime long after the Rockies were emabarrassed by the Red Sox. Wilbert Harrison - Let's Stick Together This next set sounds like the goofier side of Roger Miller. The first I'd never heard, the scond I only know through the Dick Curless version, which is probably better. His baritone voice suits my idealized visions of what truck drivers should sound like. Terry Fell sounds more like the kinda truck driver who reads those truck driver singles classifieds you find on I-80 rest stops. Kind of creepy, but even more sadly pathetic. Terry Fell & the Fellers - Don't Drop It Terry Fell & the Fellers - Truck Drivin' Man Oh, and here's a really great Link Wray country-ish song from his self-titled album. I'll probably just post the whole album later today maybe. It's really hard not to listen to.
10.19.07
So, I just saw a commercial for a fresh episode of a new show called Cane, starring Jimmy Smits. The commercial claimes that this is "the one Cane you can't miss". Um, the show's been on the air for a month and they're already at the point of having the most important show of the series airing. Wow, that show must be off to a gangbuster start! I'm embarrassed that while I'm ridiculing a Jimmy Smits show, I'm watching a show starring the guys from Northern Exposure and Dear John. I'm pathetic.
And oh boy are those new Apple iPhone commercials annoying. I never minded their old commercials being both smug and entertaining, but why take away all of the entertaining parts and leave all of the smug parts? Bad idea. But don't let that stop any of you from getting me an iPhone. They're pretty sweet, it's just their commercials that blow. It's all Richard & Linda Thompson today down on the farm. I've been a big fan of I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight for a while, but never really listened to much of the rest of their output. I'm currently going through Hokey Pokey and Pour Down Like Silver right now and they're both a lot btter than I remember. Neither is as awash in carnival-like drunkenness as Bright Lights, but both are certainly melancholy enough for me. I'll Regret it All in the Morning I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight What else is going on, you ask? We painted the living room this color. My brother came into town and ran the marathon. Not only did he not die, he even finished with a great time, heat be damned. I made chicken & dumpling soup last night. Here's my recipe: Heat up some onion and celery in some oil. Dump in a bunch of chicken and some bouillon and water and boil it for like 30 or 40 minutes. Then thrown in a couple cans of cream of celery soup and some peas and simmer for about ten minutes. Make Bisquik dumplings and toss them in, boiling for another ten minutes uncovered and a final ten minutes covered. Mmm, soup. I think I might have put some other kind of seasoning in earlier, but I don't remember what or how much. Oh well, it's soup, so it's really hard to mess up. I would have added carrots, but we didn't have any. Well, we did, but they had turned, so I decided not to use them. When carrots turn to liquid, they probably shouldn't be eaten. Right? Pink Floyd's The Final Cut is a much better album than I ever admitted to before yesterday, when I listened to it four times.
10.05.07 Cover song day (as requested): Wedding Present - Theme from Shaft Pernice Brothers - Love My Way Klaus Nomi - Falling in Love Again Gene Vincent - Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain Uncle Tupelo - I Wanna Be Your Dog Some German chicks singing Leader of the Pack
9.19.07
Henry Mancini - Rockford Files Oh, if only Columbo had had some swaggeringly cool pseudo-jazz theme . . . I was just lucky enough to catch one of the all-time great Hawaii Five-Os, the one where Jack Lord faces off with Nazis. I just saw the whole episode, and I'm still not quite sure what the Nazis were doing in Hawaii, but I think it has surprisingly little to do with Jews. Whenever I watch Jack Lord, I get a little tingly and uncomfortable. Why is it that I like him so much while, at the same time, hating David Caruso so much, when they're basically the same person?
9.18.07 Sorry I haven't been around much of late. I can't promise I'll do better, but I'll try. Amanda & I saw Superbad a couple weeks back and both really liked it. You can read about it here. Fantasy baseball is wrapping up - looks like I'll win one league and lose a few, but finish near the top in most. All this really means is that fantasy football has started and I'm ready to win, or at least, not finish in dead last. The Cornhuskers started off the season well, beating one crappy team by a lot, then beating another crappy team by not much at all and then, on Saturday, getting beaten by a good team. I still think Callahan should be fired. He's terrible. These are all his players now and they're still not good enough. If they're not talented enough to compete, then it's a recruiting issue. If they are talented enough to compete, it must be a coaching issue. Both would be Callahan's fault. He's a big loser jerkhead. In other, better news, the Packers are undefeated. Unfortunately, they play an angry San Diego this Sunday. Not much else is going on around here. Oh, we also saw 3:10 to Yuma the other night. meh. I was hoping for the Proposition and walked out with Open Range. Whatever. Dart Season has started up again, and we won our first match, thanks to Matthew. Here are some fine drinking songs to help you make it through the day. Frank Novak & His Rootin' Tootin' Boys - Show Me the Way to go Home Frank Novak & His Rootin' Tootin' Boys - Here's to Good Old Whiskey
7.10.07 New mix - it's been a while, I know. Here's the track list.
7.9.07 I finally got a 78 player, so here're some groovy 78s for ya (some sound much better than others - I cleaned them all, but I didn't quite get the recording right for many of them, so they sound worse than they should. Sorry). These songs cover pretty much every worthwhile song subject: women, booze, food and god. Professor Alex Bradford - I Don't Care Pilgrim Travelers - My Road's so Rough and Rocky Roy Milton - Bartender's Boogie Rev. Cleophus Robinson - When I Cross Over Clara Ward - Just a Little While Amos Milburn - Just One More Drink Red Sovine - The Intoxicated Rat Smiley Lewis - I Hear You Knocking Les Paul & Mary Ford - It's a Lonesome Old Town Peppermint Harris - I Got Loaded
6.8.07 #99 Wynonie Harris - Lovin' Machine
Being a drunken, womanizing Omaha native pretty much guarantees a home in my jukebox, so as soon as Nick Nolte puts out an album, he'll be right next to Wynonie Harris. I was going to post just this link (or this), but it's worth copying and pasting the whole thing: WYNONIE HARRIS Wynonie Harris was born on the 24th August 1915, A scholar of Creighton University "Mr Blues" as he later liked to be known began his career locally playing the drums as well as singing and dancing and telling jokes before moving to California. His influences were Big Joe Turner & Jimmy Rushing, but unlike Big Joe modesty was never to be his strongest point. First impressions say a lot and King Records of Cincinnati Ohio boss Wynonie Harris LP Bloodshot EyesSid and fellow King executive visited him in a back street hotel in Harlem New York in December 1947. They knocked on the door and were invited in only to At this point one of the ladies apparently spoke out of turn and was thrown out into the corridor still in her birthday suit ! Needless to say subsequent negotiations were a little strange to say the least as Sid Nathan thought Wynonie Harris to be a drunken stupid individual. It is rumoured that the only time this ladies man par excellence wasn't involved Battle Of The BluesNever the less the hillbilly label boss was smart enough to recognise the growing popularity of black artists and they signed the former Lucky Mallinder big band singer and transformed a promising performer into a consistent R & B hit maker. Good Rockin Tonight is unquestionably a defining moment in Rocknroll and its funny that Mr Blues shunned writer Roy Browns offers to record it - that was of course until Roy himself started to have a hit with it and then he willingly recorded a more swinging and rocking version and took it to number 1 in the R & B Charts in 1948. Many songs like Grandma Plays the Numbers, Whilst other shouters like Big Joe Turner would use subtle double entendre Thankfully his talent easily matched his ego, but even so as with others He moved back to LA in 1964 and died of throat cancer on the 14th June 1969. Wynonie Harris - The Ultimate Lovin Machine ! Here are a couple tracks from this jukebox classic. The whole thing is available on cd and well worth the purchase. A hit in any bar as well as any household, as long as that household is John Daly's. Wynonie Harris - Quiet Whiskey Wynonie Harris - Bloodshot Eyes Wynonie Harris - Drinking Blues
6.6.07 It's honky tonk day here at the Vivre. Download all of these songs. There's almost no other way you'll ever get to hear them, unless you're a collector of country 78s, or you work at a record store where collectors come in and give you stuff in hopes of receiving a discount. Suckers. I don't have a track list and don't know who these folks are or the names of any of these songs, but they're so good you'll want to go right out and mow your neighbor's lawn. Song 1 (Song about the death of Hank Williams) Song 2 (I think this song might be called "Free, White & 21". Seriously) Song 3 (Probably called "Diesel Smoke, Dangerous Curve") Song 4 (Instrumental track) Song 5 (Maybe called "Stop Your Flirting, Little Girl") Song 6 (Instrumental track) Song 7 ("I Can't Last Long"?) Song 8 ("If I Can't Have You, I Don't Want No One") Song 9 ("Knew I Had Lost Your Love") Song 10 (Something like "Seasons Come Seaons Go", but probably not. This might be the most difficult title to figure out.) Song 11 ("Gee How I Miss You When the Sun Goes Down") Song 12 ("Please Pardon My Tears") Song 13 ("Two-Timing Blues") Song 14 ("All My Letters", sounds like Bob Wills in the background to me, but what do I know?) Song 15 ("Too Bad, Little Girl, Too Bad") Song 16 ("Those 8:30 Blues") Song 17 ("Waiting For You". I can't tell if the narrator is singing about a woman who'd dead or just gone, but it's the most haunting track of all of these, and a great closer.)
6.5.07 Here are some groovy soul tunes that'll make you want to go out and do something nice, like petting a stranger's puppy or giving your bus transfer to a hobo or not smacking up your girlfriend tonight because she yet again failed to put the cap back on the toothpaste even though she knows how much it bothers you - I mean, come on, is it that hard to remember? It's one simple thing. It's not so much. It's not like you're asking the impossible, it's one little thing and she's right there - it only takes a few seconds, fer chrissakes. Clyde McPhatter - Mixed Up Cup Duke Browner - Crying Over You James Barnes & the Agents - Good & Funky Les Tres Femmes - What's A Matter Baby Les Tres Femmes - Listen To Your Mama Ruby Andrews - You Can Run (But You Can't Hide) Johnny Moore - Walk Like A Man
6.1.07 #100.5 Back to the jukebox records. This one's basically a continuation of the previous one. It's another Hank Thompson, and this one, liked the last, is as yet unavailable on cd. Both of these fit onto one cd and that's where they'll eventually go in the greatest bar jukebox of all time. This one's another album about guys looking for beer, in any form they can find it, and let the women they love walk out with some other fella, 'cause the beer is always more important and often a better friend. And if anyone you call a friend ever has the gall to tell you that coffee and Ruffles don't make for a good breakfast, cut 'em off. There are better friends to be had out there - trust me.
Hank Thompson - On Tap, In The Can, Or In The Bottle 1. On Tap, In The Can, Or In The Bottle 4. Love Walked Out Before She Did 5. I'll Set My Teardrops To Music 7. Where Is The Circus (Here Comes The Clown) 9. I've Got A Date With A Teardrop
5.27.07 I'm taking a little break from the jukebox albums to bring you 45 oddities. Most of these were purchased at estate auctions across Nebraska by my dad and mailed to me, and they're all good. 1. Bobby Darin - Jailer Bring Me Water 2. Brother to Brother - In The Bottle 4. Jo Ann Campbell - Sloppy Joe 5. Johnny Cash & June Carter - Pack Up Your Sorrows 6. The Majorettes - White Levis 8. Playmates - Eyes of an Angel 9. Red Sovine - Sparkling Wine 10. The Robins - Smokey Joe's Cafe 11. Utica Natural Carbonation Band - Utica Club Natual Carbonation Beer Drinking Song Much of this is merely reaffirming my assertion that songs with food or drink in the title are always already better than songs without. God bless and keep on truckin'. The top 100 jukebox albums will continue, I promise. I may be lazy, but I already have most of them figured out.
5.25.07 #100 I'm currently working on compiling the 100 all-time greatest jukebox albums. These will be albums that make a bar hard to leave. While I won't probably post them all, I will post the ones I can't find on cd, and I'm going to start off with the Poet Laureate of beer drinkers: Hank Thompson. The following album is one of two Thompson records that should make the top 100 (both will fit on one cd, and thus only take up one spot on the top 100, but it's my game, so it's not cheating). This album's called "Smoky the Bar" and was released in 1969. It features all the right bar drinking songs: songs about happy drinkers, sad drinkers, rowdy drinkers, lonely drinkers, and moping drinkers. Most of these drinkers are kidding themselves about wanting or trying to stop, but that's all insincere garbage. They'll never stop. They love the taste of whiskey and beer and the looks from used up bar flies a little too much. The bar is the home they want to be in. Email me with some more album suggestions!
Hank Thompson - Smoky the Bar 3. Let's Get Drunk and Be Somebody 9. What's Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made a Loser out of Me) |
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