Hurray For The Goddamned Idiot!

The Classic Pendleton

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 03:23:44 -0600

Via Put This On, this photo has convinced me that it’s okay to wear a shirt & tie with a Pendleton over it. I’m crazee about the look, and if this old dude can rock it why can’t I.

Robert Johnson

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 11:30:00 -0600

My friend E. asked me to introduce him to Robert Johnson. E. is mostly a fan of canonical rock and metal. As such, he’d heard about Robert Johnson (whose “Cross Road Blues” was covered by Cream, whose “Love In Vain” was covered by the Stones, whose “Traveling Riverside Blues” was ripped off by Led Zeppelin in “The Lemon Song”, etc.) but had never heard the music. I presented him with a ceedee full of Robert Johnson sides, and I wrote a little letter to go with.

I wish I had included this quote from Paul Williams, about “Traveling Riverside Blues” (Robert Johnson’s first record):

History has nothing to do with it. Let’s wipe away the romance, too, all that stuff about Johnson being seventeen years old and less than two years from death by poison at the hands of a jealous woman. Somebody should make a movie, and they did, so let’s forget it, okay? Everything that matters is in the grooves.

Rock And Roll: The 100 Best Singles. Carroll & Graf, 1993. Emphasis mine.

Here’s what I wrote:

Sketch Of Robert Johnson’s Life:
(Cribbed from various sources)
Robert Leroy Johnson born May 8, 1911, Hazelhurst, MS, to Julia Major Dodds and Noah Johnson. (The date is uncertain, based only on his mother’s recollection. Official records are sketchy and contradictory. Chronology is hard to establish. No one has yet found his birth certificate, if he ever had one.) Julia was married to Chas. Dodds and had 10 older children with him. Robert was born “out of wedlock” as they say. Raised in Hazelhurst, Memphis, and Tunica. From a boy he was into music, playing Jew’s harp and diddley bow (a piece of wire nailed to a house or barn that functions as a sort of one-string guitar) until he could afford a guitar. As a teenager, learned from and played with Ike Zimmerman, Son House (one of the greatest blues cats of all time!), Willie Brown. House described Johnson as mouthy and proud as a peacock. Feb. 1929, married 16-year-old Virginia Travis. Shortly, she and her baby died during childbirth. Spring 1931, remarried to an older woman, Calletta Craft. From around 1932or3 on, traveled extensively working juke joints (and chasing women), often with Johnny Shines. Long term on-and-off affair with Estella Coleman of Helena, AK, mother of Robert Lockwood. Johnson instructed Lockwood, who later became a prolific session guitarist in the Chicago blues scene. (My friend R., expert on American music, believes Lockwood a liar who was never taught by his father personally, who only learned from the records. The preponderance of evidence however does not seem to be on R.’s side.) Son Claud born 1931 to mother Virgie Mae Cain. Originally named Claud Cain, he later changed his name to Claud Johnson. In 1998 the Mississippi supreme court named Claud Johnson as Robt Johnson’s sole heir, upholding a county court’s decision from 1989. In 1936, Robert met talent scout H.C. Spier who arranged a recording date. Made first recordings in San Antonio, TX, for Don Law and the American Record Company. The first record to be released, “Terraplane Blues” b/w “Kind Hearted Woman”, sold about 5,000 copies. Second recording session for Don Law in Dallas, 1937. Died August 16, 1938, Greenwood, MS, supposedly as a result of poisoning by a jealous boyfriend. His death certificate however identifies cause of death as syphilis. There are a bunch of stories about how he died, none is more convincing than another. 3 different graveyards near Greenwood claim to be Robert Johnson’s final resting place.

The Blues Thing:
Johnson, like most “blues” musicians of his time, played in a wide variety of styles. Basicly, he played whatever the audience demanded: pop, country, ragtime, polkas, waltzes, and so on. According to Johnny Shines, Johnson could play anything; any song he heard on the radio, he could imitate right away. This might be an exaggeration, but mimicry must have been an important skill for a traveling musician like him. To make his living he had to be willing and able to please any available audience—Black, White, Cajun, whatever. Shines identified Johnson’s favorite songs as “Yes Sir That’s My Baby”, “My Blue Heaven”, and “Tumbling Tumbleweeds”. Pretty different from his recorded material! On record, he played mostly blues, as did his peers. Probably because record companies didn’t think White record buyers would accept Black artists, and blues was a genre they knew they could market to Black consumers.

The Devil Thing:
There is a legend, common in the world Johnson came from, that if you wait at a lonely crossroads after dark, you will meet the Devil and he will teach you to play anything you like. According to folklore, the Devil has taught lots of guitarists, fiddlers, and banjo-pickers to play. One of those, according to a persistent rumor, was Robert Johnson. The story can be traced to a comment by bluesman Son House. When House first met Johnson, he was a snotty kid tagging along behind him and Willie Brown. House described his musical skills at the time in two words: “No good.” Johnson took off for a couple months. By the next time he met House, he had acquired amazing skills on the guitar. The supernatural solution for Johnson’s miraculous turnaround is much more compelling than the more mundane explanation that he might have spent that time—I don’t know—practicing? So, the story hangs around, perpetuated by the rockers who romanticized Robert Johnson in the 60s. Lots of church people believed that blues (all secular music, really, especially anything you can dance to) belonged to Satan anyway. The blues mavens in Clarksdale will tell you exactly where it happened, at the junction of Highway 61 and Highway 49. Folks in Rosedale will tell you it happened in their town. Rosedale is referenced in “Cross Road Blues” but that song has nothing to do with the Devil. It’s just about thumbing a ride. Infernal imagery appears in a couple of Johnson’s songs like “Me And The Devil Blues” and “Hellhound On My Trail” but to me these songs seem to be about a simple fear of death, putting him more in line with other stars in the twice-as-bright, half-as-long category whose work seems after the fact to have forecasted their untimely deaths. Anyway, more songs in Johnson’s catalog are fun-loving and humorous than spooky. Don’t take the material too seriously or you’ll miss the point—watch out for puns and sexual metaphors.

The RPM Thing:
Some people have suggested that we have been hearing Johnson’s music wrong all these years on account of the masters were recorded at the wrong speed. It should go just a little bit slower. There is a lot of interesting discussion going on around this and valid arguments to be made on both sides. I almost buy this theory. At this point tho, there’s no way to be sure. I’ve heard some of the slowed-down versions and they sound good.

The Photos:
There are 2 photographs of Johnson known to exist. #1 was taken at Hooks Brothers portrait studio in Memphis, and Johnson is nattily dressed. (He was known to be a bit of a dandy.) #2 (probably taken earlier) is a photo-booth self portrait. In it Johnson looks more like our latter-day image of a blues man. He has the look is his eyes of a young and talented man confident he is about to take over the world. And look at those fingers. This year another photo surfaced, supposedly of Johnson & Johnny Shines. Uncertain if it’s really him though.

King Of The Delta Blues:
In 61, Columbia (who bought Vocalion’s parent company in 1938) released an LP collection of some of Johnson’s records. This was the disc that influenced Clapton, the Stones, etc. and ultimately led to widespread interest in the man’s fantastic music. If it weren’t for that record, today nobody would know who he was.

The Complete Recordings:
In 1990, Columbia released a 2-disc set with all the songs, all the alternate takes, everything Johnson ever recorded, which amounts to 41 cuts. Much to Columbia’s surprise, the set was a big hit. People started talking about Robert Johnson again. A lot. There have been a couple different versions since then. The mastering of the most recent one is supposed to be much better. I might buy it.

Enjoy. This is some of the best stuff I’ve heard.

Fuck yeah. monster attack

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 10:33:50 -0600

Fuck yeah.

monster attack

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 19:02:19 -0600

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 10:04:24 -0600

PC vs Mac

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:30:00 -0600

PCs are cheap, customizable, easier to crack open, and you can buy, fix, service, and upgrade them without ever going to the fucking Apple store.

In evry other respect tho, Macs win.

Here's a video me papa sent me.

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:48:22 -0600

He sez, I wonder how many spectators were injured.

Via bordom.net. (Be warned, the top thing on the home page right now freaks me the fuck out!)

Popeye's

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:14:01 -0600

Via Jesse Thorn, who has very good taste in rap, this video drips Cool. I love the flannel shirts. I love the elemental beat. I love all the little details of place. I love how almost evryone feels like people you might see on the street, not someone dressd up for a video. I love that someone’s granny is just jammin out in the background. I love the slammin girl at the chicken stand. I love how people are actually working in the back of the chicken stand. I love the density of the lyrics. I love halal food in ny.

Two Things For Dinner

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:46:00 -0600

Fingerling potatoes:
Here in Colorado the second harvest of fingerling potatoes just came out. (We get them in the spring and again in the fall, a local delicacy not to be missed.) I threw a bag of them into a roasting pan, cut the bigger ones in half and left the smaller ones whole. Added
Salt
Pepper
Chamayo chili
Rosemary
2 small onions, coarsely chopt
Whole cloves of garlic
Olive oil (too much—the overuse of olive oil is my culinary ace in the hole)

Brussel sprouts & mushrooms:
About a pound of each in another pan. Brussel sprouts halved. Regular old white mushrooms, whole. Added
Oregano
Pepper
Balsamic vinegar
Olive oil, of course

Stirred em both up, then in the oven at 450º for like, I don’t know, 15, 20 minutes.

The potatoes, best thing ever. The brussel sprouts & mushrooms, also pretty good. I had blackeyed peas too.

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:38:01 -0600

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:26:24 -0600

Oh My Goodness

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:08:42 -0600

what's with the big eyes?

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:27:38 -0500

if anyone is still hung up by the “big eye” manga thing, this is the deal: vs western cartoonists, japanese cartoonists rely more on the eyes to convey expression. that’s it; that’s all.

He Usually Doesn't Tell Where He Got Them From

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:59:23 -0500

Mike Daisey posts the nic est photos.

. . .

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:12:55 -0500

Lentil Soup

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:52:00 -0500

Delicious and hard to fuck up.

A pound of lentils
5 cups of water

Soak 20 minutes. Boil. Simmer 20, 30 minutes.

Add:
A bunch of celery (chopt)
A couple onions (chopt)
Pinch of salt
Handfull of whole cumin seeds
Cayenne
Crusht coriander seeds

Simmer 20 minutes more (or so).

Add:
5 big cloves of garlic
Splash of sherry vinegar
Olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon

Simmer a little more. Finish with red pepper flakes and more cumin seeds. Have it with some wheat bread.

Tell Me About It

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:39:32 -0500

The part of my brain that works best is the division that governs the replay of stupid things I’ve said and done.

Gordon

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 12:54:28 -0500

…has gone gray (and really it’s about time) but also appears to have lost quite a bit of weight.

Looooou-ise!!!

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 01:30:11 -0500

Occasionally my mind drifts to a place where I find myself wondering who I would most like to have the chance to see play live, if time’s arrow was no barrier that is. I don’t draw conclusions, just enjoy musing over the possibilities. A prime candidate would surely be Howlin’ Wolf. Here he is from 1964 with a corker, Killing Floor. With a band featuring Hubert Sumlin, Willie Dixon and Buddy Guy, the Wolf takes blues music to the next level, a black monolith moment.

Seconded, Mr. Wah. Tho I will always maintain the superiority of th band Wolf had in Memphis in ’51 over any subsequent group, and if I could hear any band play live, laws of time & space notwithstanding, it would be that one, no fucking contest.

“Black monolith moment.” I like that.

Head over to Diddy Wah’s place an’ hear this record and plenty more.

Well, I Am A Fat Hipster

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 21:49:44 -0500

Tumblr, you have homed right in on your demographic.