Spitball Army

Whatever negative comments one might be inclined to make about Wikipedia, it is hard to say that their community-built entries aren’t interesting reads:

From early in the 20th century it was common practice among phonograph record labels, if any company had a record that was a significant commercial success, that other record companies would have singers or musicians “cover” the “hit” tune by recording a version for their own label in hopes of cashing in on the tune’s success. For example, “Ain’t She Sweet,” was first popularized in 1927 by Eddie Cantor (on stage) and by Ben Bernie and Gene Austin (on record), was repopularized through popular recordings by Mr. Goon Bones & Mr. Ford and Pearl Bailey in 1949, and later still revived as 33 1/3 and 45 RPM records by the Beatles in 1964. Since there was little promotion or advertising involved in the earlier days of record production, other than at the local music hall or music store, when the average record buyer went out to purchase a new record, he usually asked for the tune, not the artist. In addition, distribution of records was highly localized in many cases. So, a quickly-recorded version of a hit song from another area by a locally popular artist could reach an audience before the version by the artist(s) who first introduced the tune in a particular format — the “original,” “introductory” or “popularizing” artist — was widely available, and the highly competitive record companies were quick to take advantage of these facts.

Wow: Mr. Goon Bones.  I’m definitely going to use that in the future.

A cover version can really screw up a good song.  The ones I compiled for today’s playlist range from drastic re-interpretations to faithful mimicry.  But none of them fails as a good cover version, with maybe one exception (and you know I’m not going to say which one that is).

Approximate playing time: 76 minutes.

1. George Harrison  “If Not for You”  (1970)  [original by Bob Dylan]
2. Josh Rouse  “A Forest”  (2002)  [original by The Cure]
3. Laura Veirs  “The Ocean”  (2010)  [original by Led Zeppelin]
4. Kronos Quartet  “Purple Haze”  (1995)  [original by Jimi Hendrix]
5. Iron & Wine with Calexico  “Dark Eyes”  (2007)  [original by Bob Dylan]
6. Josh Ritter  “Blame It on the Tetons”  (2006)  [original by Modest Mouse]
7. Kevin Tihista  “We Just Disagree”  (2005)  [original by Dave Mason]
8. Garbage  “Kick My Ass”  (1996)  [original by Vic Chesnutt]
9. Emmylou Harris  “The Magdalene Laundries”  (2007)  [original by Joni Mitchell]
10. David Mead  “The Only Living Boy in New York”  (2004)  [original by Simon & Garfunkel]
11. Mavis Staples  “Wrote a Song for Everyone”  (2010)  [original by Creedence Clearwater Revival]
12. Elvis Costello  “Brilliant Disguise”  (2004)  [original by Bruce Springsteen]
13. Neko Case  “Brown Eyed Handsome Man”  (2004)  [original by Chuck Berry]
14. Beck  “Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat”  (2009)  [original by Bob Dylan]
15. Nada Surf  “Question”  (2010)  [original by The Moody Blues]
16. Sondre Lerche  “Let My Love Open the Door”  (2007)  [original by Pete Townshend]
17. Marc Broussard  “You Met Your Match”  (2007)  [original by Stevie Wonder]
18. Rickie Lee Jones  “Show Biz Kids”  (2000)  [original by Steely Dan]
19. Kate & Anna McGarrigle  “Tu Vas M’Accompagner”  (1982)  [original English version by Bob Seger]
20. Elton John  “Way to Blue”  (1970)  [original by Nick Drake]
21. Chicago with Al Green  “Tired of Being Alone”  (1973)  [original by Al Green]

[audio:Fred_FM_playlist_092610.mp3]
Fred FM playlist (26 September 2010)

Some notes on the songs:

• You’re going to have to do that French translation yourself.
• It’s no surprise that Bob Dylan is well-represented here (three covers), but have you seen that book of his collected lyrics?  It could stun a horse.
• Check out the syncopated crow caws at 47:15.

[Written to Alice in Wingate, Indiana.  Return addressed: Richard, U.S. Naval Hospital, Ward 46A, Oakland, California.  Postmarked at Oakland on 6 Jul 1945 at 6 A.M, and at Wingate on 9 Jul 1945 at 9 A.M.  “AIR MAIL” written in lower left corner of the envelope face.]

July 5, 1945

Hello Sweetheart,

     I had good intentions of writing yesterday but I didn’t quite make it.  I called you from an outdoor phone and it took about an hour and a half to get through.  I couldn’t leave the phone for fear I wouldn’t get through.  Well, as you know, the call went through but I was really worn out and cold when I came in.  I can only stay up about an hour at a time and be comfortable.  This cast is really heavy and my left arm is raised away from my side so that the weight of my arm and the cast all bear down on my hip.  It rests on a bone, naturally, and at times I think it will cut me in two.  I got warm before bed-time and did I ever sleep.  That was the best night’s sleep I have had in a couple of months.  It was really nice, I only woke up once during the night.

     It was really wonderful to talk to you Sweetheart.  I’m glad I waited.  I love you so much.  Do you believe me or shall I try to prove it when we get together?  Whether you like it or not, I’m going to try to prove it to you and you’d better like it.  Boy, aren’t you scared of my threats?  I love you Sweetheart and I’m all yours.

     I think I’m going to St. Auborns, New York.  I don’t know how to spell it but that is close.  They haven’t told me anything definite as to when I’m going.  It might be this week-end.  I hope so.  Don’t worry, I’ll be on the phone as soon as I get settled down.  I hope it works out and I get there.  You know I would like to see you before much longer.  I want you Sweetheart – now and forever.  I love you.

     Good-night Sweetheart
          I love you with all my heart
               Pleasant Dreams
                    ‘Nite Sweetheart
                              x x

There was a flurry of tweets this morning about banned books, including one written by the staff at the New York Review of Books, mentioning that “we’re in the business of getting banned books back in your hands.”  I’ve been trying to increase my reading quotient lately, so this got me wondering just how many of these so-called “banned books” I’ve read in my lifetime, and which ones I might like to tackle next.

This led me to a page on the website of the American Library Association that lists just some of the probably thousands of books whose content has been challenged.  Specifically, these are the books from the Radcliffe Publishing Course’s “Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century” that have been criticized for language, sexual references, violence, or for just being, well, too imaginative.  A partial list of the ones I have yet to read (no gasping, please):

• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (I’m reading this right now)
• The Color Purple by Alice Walker
• Ulysses by James Joyce
• Beloved by Toni Morrison
• The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
• 1984 by George Orwell
• Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
• Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
• Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
• Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
• As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
• A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
• A Separate Peace by John Knowles
• Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller
• The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer

The ALA list of the Top 100 Novels is a really terrific list of books that is worth investigating for any reason.  This seemed as good a reason as any.

The staff clears out the office, joking of its use as a karaoke stage. At night, the cleaning lady waltzes across it with a mop.

We huddle in air-conditioned offices, escaping into the midday heat on a dash for ice-cold Slushies that melt before we return.

– Written by @EdBankson

[Written to Alice c/o Uncle Art in Wingate, Indiana.  Return addressed: Richard, U.S. Naval Hospital, Ward 46A, Oakland, California.  Postmarked at Oakland on 4 Jul 1945 at 10 A.M, and at Wingate on 6 Jul 1945 at 9 A.M.  No censor marks.]

July 3, 1945

Hello Sweetheart,

     Yes, I’m back in California.  I got here Sat. evening and since then I have been trying to find someone who could give me some information as to what would happen next.  Well, I finally got to talk to the doctor and then I got on the phone.  I tried last night but nobody would answer the phone.  I guess they were not at home.  Then as you know, I succeeded this afternoon.  I was rather disappointed though weren’t you?  Conditions weren’t so good on this end.  I had to go to another ward to call and there wasn’t any booth.  I was right out in the ward and everybody was talking.  There were quite a few visitors there and this one fellow like to have his radio LOUD.  I hope it’s better next time.  No doubt you are wondering and perhaps a little unhappy because I i hung up so soon after the 3 minutes were up.  Well, it’s like this, the Red Cross paid for the call and they request you restrict your call to 3 minutes.  So that’s what I tried to do.

     What’s the dope here?  When did you go to Wingate?  Tell me all about it.  Better yet, I think I’ll try the phone again tomorrow.  Hope we get better results.

     I talked to another doctor this afternoon.  He told me that I would end up either in New York or Washington, D.C.  According to him, those are the only 2 hospitals I can go to for treatment of my nerve injury.  As to when I’ll get there and how many other hospitals I’ll be in before I get there, he had no idea.  They are supposed to send me out of here as soon as possible.  They tell me that all the hospitals are full.  So where ever an empty bed comes along, somebody gets transferred.

     That’s about all there is to tell on this end.  I’m getting along O.K.  They aren’t treating me in any way.  I’m just waiting.  How are you?  Is your blood pressure up to where it should be?  Mine is high.  Looks like we’ll have to get together.  They they would both go higher.  Oh Sweetheart, I love you so much.  It won’t be long now before we will be together.  Are you happy Sweetheart?  I hope so.  I hope I can make you happy.  I love you Sweetheart.

     Goodnight Sweetheart
          I love you with all my heart
               Pleasant Dreams
                    ‘Nite Sweetheart           x x

Newspaper jumble-ation. Searching for the Sunday crossword key. Sofa, porch swing, beneath the bed. Finally, under the litter box.

Card is titled: “Entrance to Cavern, Carlsbad Cavern National Park, New Mexico.  Photo by Kennicott.  3A-H18.”

Printed on back of postcard:

Jim White, the discoverer and explorer of Carlsbad Caverns has his experiences written up in a book of thirty-two pages with 30 illustrations, of which 16 subjects are in beautiful colors, and a wonderful colored cover entitled: “Jim White’s own story.”  Be sure and read these thrilling experiences of a lone cowboy three days under the world in Carlsbad Caverns.

Publishing information:  C.L. White, White’s City, N.M.  Genuine Curteich-Chicago “C.T. Art Colortone” Post Card (Reg. I.S. Pat. Off.)

Sitting in the shadows and the evening oscillating
Feeling light and fading like it’s never gonna change
Hoping for a moment for some gentle consolation
Waiting at the station where the trains are out of range

She’s sitting in a carriage being jostled by the motion
Overhearing conversations, the grinding of the steel
Scenes fly past the curtains which the darkness paints uncertain
And memories are meaningless, her motives are concealed

All I ever wanted to see
Was just invisible to me

Through countrysides and mountains and the village by the ocean
Where the stranger’s waiting for her in the plushness of his car
Winding and rewinding, pushing all directions
Till the limit of implosion, which is never very far

Out there in the distance the horizon meets resistance
The summer falls down drunken on the longest of the days
Rushing past the ruins of the churches and the Porsches
Reflected in the mirrors and the echoes and the haze

All I ever wanted to see
Was just invisible to me

He drums impatient fingers on the chrome and on the leather
Running through the reasons in the corners of his mind
Sifting tiny diamonds on his shaky mental islands
Where he often claims asylum from the structures left behind

The wind blows through the headstones and the milestones making music
The melody reminds us of the girl so far away
Asleep in her compartment, dreaming of the darkness
As the train speeds on regardless to the approaching day

All I ever wanted to see
Was just invisible to me

Approximate playing time: 79 minutes.

1. The Church  “Invisible” (acoustic)  (2005) [lyrics by The Church]
2. Clinton  “People Power in the Disco Hour”  (2000)
3. The Doors  “Wild Child”  (1969)
4. Rogue Wave  “Lake Michigan”  (2007)
5. Don Byron  “War Dance for Wooden Indians”  (1996)
6. Peter, Bjorn & John  “Objects of My Affection”  (2006)
7. The Beta Band  “Dr. Baker”  (1998)
8. Phyllis Dillon  “Right Track”  (1968)
9. Pete Belasco  “Heat”  (1997)
10. Little Jerry Williams  “I’m the Lover Man”  (1964)
11. John Lennon  “How?”  (1971)
12. Danilo Perez  “Lush Life”  (1998)
13. Ana Egge  “Morning”  (2009)
14. Billy Bragg  “You Make Me Brave”  (2008)
15. Gary Usher  “Caroline No”  (1970)
16. Brenda Holloway  “How Many Times Did You Mean It”  (1965)
17. Nic Armstrong & the Thieves  “In Your Arms on My Mind”  (2004)
18. Talking Heads  “The Good Thing”  (1978)
19. Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears  “Bobby Booshay”  (2009)
20. Donavon Frankenreiter  “That’s Too Bad (Byron Jam)”  (2006)
21. Screamin’ Jay Hawkins  “Frenzy”  (1957)
22. October Country  “My Girlfriend is a Witch”  (1968)
23. The Del Fuegos  “Lost Weekend”  (1989)

[audio:Fred_FM_playlist_091910.mp3]
Fred FM playlist (19 September 2010)

[Written to Alice in Frankfort, Indiana.  “Frankfort” crossed out in black ink and replaced with “Wingate,” and “c/o [Uncle] Art ______.”  Return addressed: Richard, U.S. Naval Hospital, Ward 27, Navy 128, c/o F.P.O., San Francisco, Calif.  Postmarked at U.S. Navy, on 27 Jun 1945, at Frankfort, Ind. on 3 Jul 1945 at 3 P.M., and at Wingate on 4 Jul 1945 at 9 A.M.  Envelope stamped on front, “Passed by Naval Censor,” and initialed by the Censor.]

June 26, 1945

Hello Sweetheart,

     Well, I really had a nice surprise.  I got the letter you wrote June 15.  I sure wasn’t expecting it, but was I ever glad to get it.  I was very surprised that you hadn’t heard the news about me.  Oh well, that doesn’t matter.  Just so I get back to you.  I’m just waiting for my transportation back to the States now.  They haven’t done anything for me here, – – – I’m just waiting.  They took an x-ray and told me I was doing O.K.  There wasn’t any need to change the cast.  I wish they would guit [sic] messing around.

     Yes, I’m now informed about Lois.  Who knows, I may get to visit her in the hospital again.  Do you think we could waste a little time and make a social call when I get out and around?  By the time I get well, I probably won’t want to see a hospital unless I have to.  Then again, I probably won’t want to waste the time on social calls.  Oh well, we’ll see about that when the time comes.  In the meantime, I guess I’ll just keep on loving you and waiting for my transportation.  It will get here.  The big question is “When.”

     I’m getting awfully tired of sitting up but I don’t want to end this letter yet.  I want to tell you how much and how often I think of you while I’m laying here, Sweetheart.  I want to tell you of my love for you.  It’s here, Sweetheart, and it’s all for you.  You are all I’m interested in and I’m all yours.  I love you Sweetheart.

     Goodnight Sweetheart
          I love you with all my heart
               Pleasant Dreams
                    ‘Nite Sweetheart