I previously dedicated a whole week to the music of Jonathan Richman, but I neglected to feature anything from his most difficult album to find, It's Time For Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers . The album was released in 1986 on Rough Trade in the UK and Upside Records in the US. It was available only for a short time before falling out-of-print, and it's never been reissued. It's something of lost JoJo classic. The album is similar in many respects to my favorite Jonathan Richman record, 1985's Rockin' [...]
I previously dedicated a whole week to the music of Jonathan Richman, but I neglected to feature anything from his most difficult album to find, It's Time For Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers . Released in 1986 by Upside Records shortly before he signed with Rounder Records, it's something of lost JoJo classic. The album is similar in many respects to my favorite Jonathan Richman record, Rockin' and Romance , although it is not quite as good. Andy Paley once again creates an appealingly primitive and direct [...]
Once again I've used up my monthly bandwidth allowance early, so all files are temporarily unavailable. Check back on Monday, October 8th when bandwidth should be reset.
George Jones' best known duet partner was his one time wife (and Country music legend in her own right) Tammy Wynette. But he recorded many fine duets with other female artists, most notably Melba Montgomery . When she first arrived as a solo artist, Montgomery's deep, husky voice earned her comparisons to George Jones. Jones thought their vocals would mesh well, and his instincts proved right as they notched six hit singles together between 1963 and 1967. Though she never became a huge star in her own right, Montgomery did manage a number one Country [...]
I took some files down from older posts to preserve bandwidth. With 19 days to go until my bandwidth is reset, I've already used just over two-thirds of my monthly bandwidth allowance. Everything that is still up is still available for now.
Toadstool was a Minneapolis based trio of John Joyce (bass, vocals), Scott Sherman (drums), and Brad White (guitars, vocals). The band's first album, The Sun Highway , was produced by Soul Asylum frontman Dave Pirner, which is probably what drew my attention to them in the first place. The band's overall sound is similar to Soul Asylum in certain respects, but with a much stronger leaning towards the blues, and far more abstract lyrics. At the time it was released, I was impressed enough with the album to book the band to play at my college. They ended [...]
Eugene Chadbourne wrote a fantastic review of Harpo Marx's 1958 easy listening masterpiece, Harpo At Work for All Music Guide that very much deserves to be read in its entirety . I don't often read a review at All Music Guide and say "I couldn't have possibly said it any better myself," but that is the case here. I say this neither to denigrate the other reviewers at All Music Guide, nor to praise myself. It's just that generally the goals of this blog are different enough from those of All Music that [...]
Back in 1956 a house painter from Beaumont Texas named Thumper Jones walked into Starday Records' makeshift studio and recorded two of the wildest, most unhinged rockabilly sides ever recorded. He was never heard from again. No one knows for certain what happened to Thumper, but speculation abounds. Some say he went back to painting houses, others say he was drafted. One story has him finding Jesus and giving up rock and roll to spread the gospel. Still others claim he was shot in a barfight over a woman known as "Flirty Mirty." One thing is for [...]
I've had a few readers beg me to post the remaining alternate versions of the tracks from Sly & the Family Stone's Fresh . Here are the remaining three tracks that are not available on the current Sony/Legacy reissue . If you download the two tracks in my previous post plus the three offered here, and own the current reissue, then you will have Fresh (Version B) in it's entirety. (Note: the version of "In Time" on Version B is no different from the version on the standard version of Fresh [...]
The upcoming Robyn Hitchcock box set I Wanna Go Backwards is now available for pre-order and has streaming audio on Yep Roc's website. The release date is set for October 16, 2007 AD. The box covers the Hitchcock solo albums Black Snake Diamond Role , I Often Dream Of Trains and Eye in their entirety. It also includes a two disc set called While Thatcher Mauled Britain Part 1 & 2 that includes some previously unreleased rarities, as well as some tracks that [...]
I'm going to take a brief hiatus. I'll be back on September 6th, when my bandwidth limit on fileden resets. Enjoy what's left of the Summer. Get this widget | Share | Track details
Any Oriole fan of a certain age is bound to have fond memories of Wild Bill Hagy . My memory of Hagy is bound up with my early years of being an Oriole fan, particularly the 1979 season. Hagy was a Baltimore cabdriver and Oriole superfan who would lead cheers from the cheap seats of Memorial Stadium. Hagy began a boycott in 1985 when the team stopped letting people bring their own beer to the stadium. He later started attending games again after the team moved to Camden Yards, but rarely led the crowd in his signature [...]
Once again I have exceeded my bandwidth limit at fileden, despite the fact that I upgraded to a paying account. All files are temporarily inaccessible. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Max Roach died Wednesday night at age 83 . Another giant no longer walks among us. Another link to our past is gone. All we are left with is the music. He was one of the best.
Rockin' and Romance from 1985 is my favorite Jonathan Richman album. That is not the same as saying I think it's his best (the critical consensus seems to be that the first Modern Lovers album is the best, and I won't argue with that). It's just that Rockin' and Romance is the album I've listened to the most over the years, and the one I have gotten the most enjoyment out of. So why do I like this album so much? It's probably a combination of factors including the wonderful songs, [...]
Four years after his final Beserkley album, 1979's Back In Your Life , Jonathan Richman reemerged with a new record label (Sire in the U.S.), a new Modern Lovers, a somewhat revised musical style, and a new album that was really quite special. Jonathan Sings! marks the beginning of a transitional period in Richman's career. Over the next four years Richman would release three albums on three different labels before settling in to a long tenure with Rounder Records and then another long tenure with Neil Young's [...]
Modern Lovers Live from 1978 is, in my opinion, one of the greatest punk rock records of all time. Now it might seem ridiculous to argue that this is a punk album (and maybe it is ridiculous, but like Jonathan Richman, I'm not afraid to be ridiculous, so bear with me). After all, this album focuses on Richman's most whimsical and childlike material. How can an album full of songs like "Hey There Little Insect," "I'm A Little Airplane," "My Little Kookenhaken," "Ice Cream Man" and "I'm A Little Dinosaur" be punk? This is innocent, sticky sweet [...]
I woke up this morning and decided it should be Jonathan Richman week at Flowering Toilet. What can I say about Jonathan Richman? He is probably best known for his earliest music, which is often cited as a primary influence on punk rock. Some people refer to his early 70s band, The Modern Lovers, as "proto-punk." I think the idea here is that Jonathan Richman is supposed to be an important artist because the Sex Pistols covered "Roadrunner." In the early 70s Richman was inspired by the Velvet Underground and The Stooges to form a band [...]
I started this blog one year ago as of Aug. 6th with this post on Robyn Hitchcock. I never thought I'd keep this blog going for a whole year. Sometimes I'm not sure why I have. Mostly it's been the enthusiasm of my friends that has kept me at it--especially Adam, Pete and Dan. I'd like to thank them, regular and semi-regular readers, and Guy (who needs to post again one of these days!) for keeping this interesting for me. I don't know if this blog will last another year, but I don't feel like I'm [...]
Following in the tradition of Crazy Horse and The Rumour , Elvis Costello's supporting band The Attractions (Steve Nieve, Pete Thomas and Bruce Thomas) released a "solo" album, Mad About The Wrong Boy in 1980. The album suffers somewhat from back-loading, that is, a greater proportion of the album's good songs fall on side two. Side one of the record, a few decent songs aside, sounds like a fairly clichéd and even annoying new wave record. Steve Nieve's keyboards often sound too busy, and the vocoder is [...]
Flowering Toilet
![Harpo Marx in Horse Feathers [1932]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/youtube/h7oZXt_71CE_130.jpg)
Avicii – Two Million
Beck – I Just Started Hating Some People Today
H&M Lookbook Mujer y Hombre Otoño 2012.
Amanda Mair
