Where are the mermaid singers when I need them?

Who hasn't asked himself that question before? This is a lovely song, Laura Viers possesses sublime loveliness in both her composition and performance. Kooky video--not sure if the lo-fi quality is deliberate or a by-product of the compression--but its all good. The distortions suit the black and white subject matter and the tune and besides, art doesn't have to be intentional.

Laura Viers -- 'Lost at Seaflower Cove'

'Business has been completed--motion to adjourn!'

Dennis Wolfberg was one of my favorites back in the old Comedy Channel days, when random clips of stand-up and the funny bits from otherwise un-funny shows and movies used to wash over the TV screen for hours and hours. Sadly, Wolfberg died a while back (not too long after the Comedy Channel now that I think of it), thus explaining why you haven't seen him lately. Our loss, this dude doesn't look like he'll be funny but he's hilarious, imagine an updated Bob Newhart. This is why God invented the Internet. Enjoy.

Dennis Wolfberg -- Part 1
Dennis Wolfberg -- Part 2
Dennis Wolfberg -- Part 3

Hell to pay when the fiddler stops

There's a ton of good Leonard Cohen clips and I could've chosen something rarer or more famous or more interesting. But the hook on this song is wacky and his cadence strangely fits this song so well. Cohen is a marvel, man, nothing about this guy should work but he's got some sublime witch doctor shit going on. No matter how close he gets to the cool you can tell he doesn't care about it; but he'll never fall because he doesn't care about the un-cool either. There's nothing about this guy that could be called 'trendy' or 'timeless'. I can't help thinking he'll get buried in the suit he dies in.

Leonard Cohen -- 'Closing Time'

I found myself alone above the raging sea

This is good stuff right here. I love re-purposing the classics (well, when it works) and this is a lovely version of a great song from back in the day. She takes it down a notch forgoing the energy for poingnancy. (I don't usually get my music tips from business blogs but gotta give the hat tip to Barry Ritholtz on this one)

Katie Melua -- 'Just Like Heaven'

I'm the son of a bad man

Here's a clip from Wattstax of the Bar-Kays rocking a big, big house. Pure majesty, man, looks like he's going to summon rain from the heavens at the beginning. (Wish it was a longer clip)

The Bar-Kays -- 'Son of Shaft'

The bird in the nest on the limb in the tree

Lively clip from back in the day. In the big band era the emphasis was on hummable tunes, wasn't it? The tune was to inspire dancing and then whistling, the melody was supposed to get stuck in your head the way that tree always grabbed Charlie Brown's kites. If it didn't grab you right away maybe it would get you on the way out and you'd be in love with it by the time you got home. On the one hand, that's lovely, wouldn't it be nice if it were still like that? On the other hand, it was all they had whereas now we have a wide variety of music to get our kicks from. And now we can still go back and have the classics while we roll with the new.

Louis Jordan & the Timpani 5 -- 'The Green Grass Grows All Around'

It wasn't even Halloween

Couldn't find 'Gangster of Love', so this classic from back in the day will have to do.

The Geto Boys -- 'My Mind's Playing Tricks on Me'

I wondered what my dad would say

This is a good homemade clip from Nelsonville, OH, a place where they might wonder about murder in the big city. Nice performance, sounds like he's filling a pretty big house with a guitbox and 1 voice.

The Avett Brothers -- 'If I Was Murdered in the City'

'Stand firm against sin…or something'

I'm a huge fan of Glenn Gould, have been for years. The way he used himself, his own humanity, as an experiment to test the depths of humanity in general I find quite fascinating, inspiring even. His endless interviews with himself were his attempt to get to the bottom of his own feelings without having to satisfy some other consciousness other than his own. Some find him off-putting to say the least, to be a blowhard or a buffoon and I can dig that. But the dude was so genuinely into this stuff to the point of losing himself, so if he comes off weird or pompous I'd say that's a function of his utter lack of interest in anything but music. That's fine with me.

Athletes that are ripped on by talk radio, for example, are often players with fractious relationships with the media, thus they become targets for public ridicule; but what do I give a shit if Albert Belle or Jeff George are chummy with the CNN Sports guys or Sports Illustrated or ESPN? Is that their job to suck up to the media? And how is any of that any of my business? And, likewise, what do I give a shit if the snooty arts press of the 1960s thought Gould off-putting? Why would I ever choose old timey bluenoses (or obnoxious talk radio types with no one but themselves to serve) instead of the artists themselves?

Now, the criticism of Gould from within the class of musicians is a separate consideration. But even here I think the prejudice against his 'doctored' recordings doesn't accept that anything other than live performance is valid--they say he wasn't keepin' it real! To the average classical musician, performance is paramount, recording is an insufferable business obligation. Well, Gould wasn't interested in performing, it wasn't the essence of the music on display but the performer himself on display. He was into the music more than any punk rock asshole I ever met. (Incidentally I don't buy for one second that he withdrew due to performance anxiety. Please! This guy performed all the time for TV, for radio, answering questions, explaining music to kids, etc. This guy was no wallflower, he just had other things on his mind. I saw him comment once that watching others perform was more nerve-racking to him than performing himself, he was more nervous for others than for himself) It's simply a matter of whether you can accept that recording is as viable as performance. As someone who listens to more music on my stereo than in person, I accept that recording is a perfectly reasonable pursuit for a musician.

Glenn Gould -- Bach's Cantata #54 ('Widerstehe doch der Sunde')

Link it, baby

Link Wray invented (or 'discovered' depending on who's the drunkest interlocutor) distortion, he revolutionized the guitar sound back when Pat Boone was dueling Little Richard for top o' the pops. He led the way in tonality and he had tons and tons of good songs over the years. Here's some live Link from 1978, the days of the sweathogs. He's in fine form but those chops steal the show. (Unfortunately, there is a dearth of original Link Wray vid over at You Tube, it's a shame, the dude's an all-timer)

Link Wray -- 'Rumble'

Make my poor heart skip a beat

You know this is old school when Stevie Ray Vaughan is referred to as 'new blood'. Albert King reminds me a bit of Thelonius Monk: Monk would hover over the keyboard and stab at the notes, Albert similarly throws his big hands all around the fretboard and seems to get what he wants. This is good stuff right here although the live sound is far from ideal. BB King lets the action percolate before getting to the stage but he's a fine capper to a marvelous collaboration but some of the great badasses of all time.

Albert King, BB King, Stevie Ray Vaughan -- 'The Sky is Crying'

BONUS -- BB King Sings About His Other Ailments (from Spike Feresten Show)

Music Editor Milestone -- 207 entries since January 14 and Stevie Ray Vaughan is the first person I've ever used twice. I had hoped to never repeat myself but for SRV I can make an exception.

Do it up right!

My friend Earl raved about the Collins Kids the other day. I gotta say he was right, I get it! These two, Lorrie & Larry, are a brother/sister combo from way back in the day playing some infectious rockabilly. These two are pure energy. Dig the twin-neck guitar!

The Collins Kids -- 'Rock Boppin' Baby'
The Collins Kids -- 'Chantilly Lace'

Where can jah love be now?

Daytona in the springtime, sun and sand and a bunch of rasta dudes on stage. You know where this is going…well maybe not. Probably weren't expecting Dr. Know's brand of guitar nuttiness or HR's utter intensity. Bad Brains were a band that used to disappear and then re-appear years later (actually they still do that), so they've clearly had some ups and downs. But their finer moments are punk rock excellence. (Man, there's a ton of Bad Brains footage at You Tube, sweet)

Bad Brains -- 'House of Suffering'

My name is Les

Every couple should have a sweet pair of matching guitars and they should both be able to play them with this much accomplishment. The guitar breakdowns here are some of the weirdest you'll ever see in front of a live audience but that's how confident a couple they were.

Les Paul & Mary Ford -- 'There's No Place Like Home'

Just my rifle, pony and me

I've got an obsession with musical sequences in films that aren't otherwise musicals. (And I couldn't find any YouTube footage of Dean doing 'You Belong to Me', so this'll do for today) Ricky Nelson had one of those great 'American Lives': imagine spending your teenage years playing yourself on TV as a character written by your own parents. Only in America could that life even be possible and Ricky Nelson lived it. Hey, it got him into Rio Bravo, so not all bad.

Dean Martin & Ricy Nelson -- 'Whippoorwill' (from Rio Bravo)

BONUS -- Dean Martin with Foster Brooks -- 'Are you sure you're not a pilot?'
Foster Brooks was one of my favorite comics when I was a kid and he's in top form here as the pilot who needs to steady his nerves. (The sketch is 4 minutes long followed by 2 minutes of the most bizarre homemade commercial I believe I've ever seen!)