VINYL FIGURINE OF THE DAY! 9-16-10

Introducing the 3rd figure from the 'Great People' Series by Archer Prewitt (The Sea & Cake, the Coctails, Sof'Boy) and the great folks at Presspop, Japan! (The first two in the series were Robert Moog and Raymond Scott)The Allen Ginsberg Doll, officially approved by the Allen Ginsberg Estate, comes with fabric cloth jacket, glasses, book, Uncle Sam hat, beaded necklace, and CD with 5 poetry readings and 1 song (all of the recordings are previously unreleased material). Limited to 1000 pieces. More info HERE and HERE.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY! 9-10-10

Happy birthday to RAYMOND SCOTT, the composer, band leader, electronics pioneer, hero, and all around great inspiration!



Composer, bandleader and inventor Raymond Scott was among the unheralded pioneers of contemporary experimental music.

Of all of Scott's accomplishments of 1949, however, none was more important than the Electronium, one of the first synthesizers ever created. An "instantaneous composing machine," the Electronium generated original music via random sequences of tones, rhythms, and timbres; Scott himself denied it was a prototype synthesizer — it had no keyboard — but as one of the first machines to create music by means of artificial intelligence, its importance in pointing the way towards the electonic compositions of the future is undeniable. His other inventions included the "Karloff," an early sampler capable of recreating sounds ranging from sizzling steaks to jungle drums; the Clavinox, a keyboard Theremin complete with an electronic sub-assembly designed by a then 23-year-old Robert Moog; and the Videola, which fused together a keyboard and a TV screen to aid in composing music for films and other moving images.

By the middle of the 1960s, Scott began turning increasingly away from recording and performing to focus on writing and inventing; a 1969 musical celebrating the centennial of Kentucky Bourbon was his last orchestral work, with his remaining years spent solely on electronic composition. Among his latter-day innovations was an early programmable polyphonic sequencer, which along with the Electronium later caught the attention of Motown chief Berry Gordy Jr., who in 1971 tapped Scott to head the label's electronic music research and development team. After retiring six years later, he continued writing — his last known piece, 1986's "Beautiful Little Butterfly," was created on MIDI technology.

SAM PREKOP OF THE DAY! 8-27-10

I've been a fan of Sam Prekop for over two decades now.... His band Shrimp Boat put out the the most fun and shambly tapes in the late 80's... one of the reasons my friends and I moved to Chicago. We couldn't get enough of Shrimp Boat... then they borrowed Archer Prewitt from our band to make the Sea And Cake... Sam has released two full length records under his own name, both with great bands helping him out and both sounding somewhat like a down tempo and jazzier versions of TSAC. This new record entitled "Old Punch Card" (Thrill Jockey) will be his third and takes a big left turn into dusty and foggy modular synth bleeps and bloops. He sites Raymond Scott's electronic work which is a good reference as would be the Ursula Bogner CD that came out a few years ago as well as early electronic pioneers like BBC Radiophonic Workshop and Oskar Sala.

Here a beautiful track from the record HERE.

SEMINAL TV MOMENT OF THE DAY! 8-12-10

On the Jimmy Kimball show last night on ABC, Joanna Newsom performs "You & Me Bess" from her amazing "Have One On me" (Drag City) three record set. She is simple amazing and gets better with each record. In a word, wow.

MAVIS OF THE DAY!! 8-9-10

Mavis Staples stands behind NPR's Tiny Desk (with help from her burning guitarist Rick Holmstrom) and lays it down! Her record "You're Not Alone" 'drops' Sept 14th.

SAD NEWS OF THE DAY 7-19-10

Andy Hummel, the original bassist from Big Star lost his fight with cancer just two months after we lost Alex Chilton to a heart attack.

UNNECESSARY COLLABORATION OF THE DAY! 7-17-10

Beck does these things were he invites different bands and artists to come in to his studio and he collaborates with them to recreate or de-create some 'seminal' record for his free downloadable record club. I will state for the record I am not a Beck fan. My dislike for him has been tested many times over the years but dislike, as cement and arteries do, has set and strengthened with time. That said, he has had some pretty interesting ideas and collaborations for his record club. Not all but some. Well, this month he has Tortoise and they are riffing on some Yanni record. Now I'll let you guess which part about this equation I like the least... go ahead. I'll give you three guesses..... You won't guess it. Ok, ok... I'll tell you. ALL OF IT. The Yanni thing... come on. Beck and his sidemen scratching and rustling things into microphones... poop. Just let Tortoise be Tortoise! They are so freaking good at it! In my opinion, they get better at it and better at it. Yes, good for them for stepping out of their comfort zone and trying something like this... but a lot of the time, stepping out of their comfort zone IS their thing. I would just rather have watched Tortoise do their thing without Beck and his merry jokesters forcing them into some ill-fitting square hole. My two cents.

CHICAGO ICON OF THE DAY! 7-15-10

For those of you who lived in Chicago in the 70's and 80's, this needs no explanation. For the rest of you, this is one of the huge Magikist signs from the Chicago company that were seen on their building on south Cicero but more visible was the one overlooking the 90/94 highway. It was your "welcome to Chicago from the northern suburbs" sign. It's how you knew it wasn't too far now to go to be downtown. This was as familiar to Chicagoans as the Sears Tower and Wrigley Field... and was DECADES before we even knew what a 'cloudgate' was. I would love to buy this baby, reinstall the neon, and return it to it's perch up above the highway.

It is on eBay RIGHT NOW (or at least when I wrote this post). BUY IT NOW!!!

HAPPY BEATLE BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY! 7-7-10

Ringo! 70?!! wow! Here is Cher (before she was Cher) singing what we all are thinking.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY! 7-1-10

Oh, Fred Schneider... what an enigma you are. I hope you have a very happy birthday... your 59th I believe.



After years of hits and misses with his B-52's (Rock Lobster, Planet Claire, Love Shack), Fred stepped out on his own with his first solo record in 1984. In 1996, he entered the studio with Steve Albini (Big Black, Rapeman, Shellac) to record his second solo record. Albini pulled together different folks from his punk rock circle to make up backing bands for this new Fred record including members of Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet, Tar, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Didjits, and Six Finger Satellite. Could this have been a disaster? Well, it should have been, right?! Somehow it turned out great! I don't know how and I don't want to look at it too closely for fear it will collapse like a house of cards...

Mayfair composer Chris Fuller toured with Fred for that record. Ask him about it. I'm sure he has a boatload of stories as big as a whale!

BADASS OF THE DAY! 6-24-10

Oh, how Neko Case sure can belt it out! I've loved her since she was just a Cub. And wow, so much good stuff from her over the years on her solo records, her work with the New Pornographers, and her recent backup vocal gig with Jakob Dylan. She is very funny and has a sharp wit..... But DON'T CROSS HER! She'll pummel your ass!

BEATLE BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY! 6-18-10

Sir Paul is 68 today!

IMPRESSION OF THE DAY! 6-3-10

Happy birthday to our favorite Impression, Curtis Mayfield! He would have been 68 today of not for his death the day after Christmas 1999.

Keep on keepin' on!

MONKEY BIRD WHISTLE OF THE DAY! 5-31-10

Monkey shaped bird whistle.... what more needs to be said?

WAH WAH PEDAL AD OF THE DAY! 5-30-10

My brother-in-law just sent me this tremendous 1967 radio commercial for Vox Wah Wah pedals featuring the Electric Prunes. It's the now sound! It's what's happening!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY! 5-22-10

Happy birthday to Steven Patrick Morrissey (or just Morrissey if you're nasty!) on his 51st birthday. Moz, a one time president of both the New Your Dolls fan club and the Cramps fan club, created along with guitarist Johnny Marr one of the more interesting pop bands that England ever produced, the Smiths.

Here is one Smiths video and one from Morrissey's solo work (the drummer in the Morriseey video is Mayfair composer Matt Walker!)... Happy Birthday Moz!

FOLEY ARTIST OF THE DAY!! 5-10-10

Creating music from scratch is a blast, for sure... but foley sound is where it's at! I've done some of this type of work, mostly for actions of the crazy Adult Swim games I made sound design and music for. You really do find yourself grabbing for the oddest stuff to make just the right sounds. I just came across this nice video of Foley artist Gary Hecker. Fun.

Gary Hecker, Foley Artist from Michael Coleman on Vimeo.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY! 4-30-10

Happy birthday to Johnny Farina of Santo & Johnny who is 69 today!

Though most famous for their melodic steel guitar line on their hit "Sleep Walk", as well as on their somewhat sound-alike follow-ups, these two brothers created a stunning body of work. They later went on to add their voice to easy listening style instrumental renditions of popular songs of the day including a whole LP of Beatles covers, popular soundtrack songs of the day, old standards a la Stu Phillips and the Hollywood Strings but on a smaller, more intimate and often melancholic bummed out way. Johnny and Santo both still play though they have each stepped out on their own.

LINK OF THE DAY! 4-20-10

WOW, the Home of LITTLE GEMS dedicated to the Little Gems of children's television programs that have long faded into memory. These and other classics may no longer be seen on our television screens but will bring back vivid memories of those lazy days of the summer school holidays or open your mind to a whole world of stuff you had no idea ever existed. Some have mp3s of the opening theme music, too. So great! Don't Miss Chockablock, the Spooks of Bottle Bay, and Cloppa Castle.... really don't miss any. (Thanks to Ann-Marie for the link!)

CRAZY INSTRUMENT OF THE DAY! 4-19-10

Come on... I love the bass and all but come on! I love bowing notes. I love crazy instruments and the nut cases that make them. But come on! This bass is the equivalent of musical ExLax... plain and simple. (Thanks to Max for the link!!)

SAD NEWS OF THE DAY 3-17-10

RIP Alex Chilton.

Happy Birthday of the Day! 3-08-10

Happy birthday to Gary Numan who is 52 today. His Tubway Army records scared the crap out of me when I got them in 6th grade. I started out with the 7" picture disc of "We Are So Fragile" b/w "Are Friends Electric". The pictures on the disc were of a very alien looking Numan on one side and a close-up of his eyeball with a horizontal line for a pupil on the other. Totally freaked me out. I miss being freaked out by music and bands. In hindsight I really understand the draw of kids to bands like Kiss and Gwar and hardcore and speed metal bands and people like GG Allen... where there is a sense of danger (even if it was just a sense)... That was a rush much like that of riding a rollercoaster... not positive you were going to make it back. But now I know too much. Luckily, artists like Gary Numan brought the goods in addition to acting and looking weird. All three Tubeway Army records (including The Plan which was made up of the guitar based demos Numan used to get signed to Beggars Banquet) remains some of my most favorite records to this day and I do not recall ever not loving them.

INTERESTING FACTS: Gary Numan had a mild form of Asperger's Syndrome that went undiagnosed until he was in his forties. His uncle played drums on the Tubeway Army recordings. Numan married a member of his own fan club.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY! 3-2-10

Lou Reed is 68 today! Happy birthday Lou!


In 1963, way before he created his Velvet Underground, Lou (Lewis) Reed began working as an in-house songwriter for Pickwick Records, a record label and distributor known for its releases of sound-alike recordings and bargain bin reissues. In 1964, he scored a minor hit with the single "The Ostrich", a parodic novelty song of popular "dance songs" such as "The Twist" that included lines such as "put your head on the floor and have somebody step on it." His employers had felt the song had hit potential, and arranged for a band to be assembled around Reed to promote the recording. The ad hoc group, called The Primitives, included Welsh musician John Cale, who had recently moved to New York to study music and was playing viola in composer La Monte Young's Theater of Eternal Music along with Tony Conrad. Many of these tracks are available on bootlegs and compilations, and luckily some have been posted on YouTube for our enjoyment.

INTERACTIVE MUSEUM OF THE DAY! 2-26-10

The Moogseum is exactly what it sounds like it is... a museum celebrating, educating, and archiving all things Moog. The Moog synthesizer was one of the first widely used electronic musical instruments and was created by legendary inventor Robert Moog. Moog started his company in the early 50's as a theremin kit supplier and, after doing some collaboration with composer/inventor Raymond Scott, started working toward his modular synthesizers.

Thru Moog and later his Big Brior company, Moog continued pushing the envelope (and envelope filters...) of what was not only possible with oscillators and synthesized sounds, but also set very high standards with the instruments that he built to do such things. These were musical instruments for use for artisits and musicians, not just scientific oddities. Robert Moog passed away in 2005.

One fun thing the folks at the Moogseum are doing is recording live shows at the Moog Factory with artists using Moog instruments. The Yo La Tengo one is super nice (of course).... I'm hoping there are more to come.

The Moogseum has an online counterpart that seems to be coming together as does its physical version in Ashville, NC near the Moog Factory. Time to load up the mini-van (or "mini-moog-van" perhaps?) and head out for a road trip!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY! 2-26-10

Happy Birthday Mr. Johnny Cash!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY! 2-25-10

One of my most favorite Beatles, George Harrison would have been 67 years old today. Happy birthday George! Here is a track off his fantastic "Beware of ABKCO" bootleg which is made up of his own fourtrack demoing for the 1970 triple LP "All Things Must Pass".

MASTER CRAFTSMAN OF THE DAY! 2-10-10

I just found this great video on YouTube of Gilberto Serna of Century Mallets here in Chicago. Gilberto has fixed and serviced my vibraphone and marimbas many many times over the years and visits to his shop are as fun as breaking the instruments in the first place. He worked for J. C. Deagan Company (one of the most respected makers of vibraphones, xylophone, and many many other mallet instruments) up until they were bought out by Yamaha in the 80's. His place is loaded down with mallet instruments of literally every shape and size... forms you NEVER knew existed.... early electronic versions run off of primitive car batteries... ones made over a hundred years ago... He is THE guy to service mallet instruments in the western hemisphere. Yes, he is that well know in those circles. He is like the Mohammed Ali of mallet instruments.

The first time I brought him my vibes for a fixing, I stayed to watch him work a bit. It was like stepping back 100 years when you enter his shop and there was almost too much to see. As he looked my vibraphone over he said to me " You know, these were made here". I said "Yeah, they were made in Chicago. Deagan was from Chicago, right?" He turns to me and said "no, no... I mean they were made right here in THIS ROOM in 1920." Crazy! It was true. Gilberto took over Deagan's Chicago headquarters for his workshop and showroom where he remains today . The "Deagan" logo still graces the clock tower on top of the building.

SINGING SISTERS OF THE DAY! 2-9-10

The Emotions were a sweet soul singing group from Chicago comprised of sisters Sheila, Jeannette, and Wanda Hutchinson. They released a few small, local singles including the burning hot "I Can't Stand No More Heartaches" and gained many admirers and later collaborators but it was their connection to Pervis Staples of the Staple Singers that landed them on the Stax/Voltz label for their debut record "So I can Love You" released in 1969. Pervis took over management for the band as well. They hit paydirt on both the R&B and pop charts with hits like "Best Of My Love" and "Don't Ask My Neighbors" but perhaps their biggest success was as part of Earth Wind & Fires mega hit "Boogie Wonderland" which featured the Emotions. Over the years the lineup has changed and sisters were replaced by younger sisters or cousins or good friends. They still play today though their last studio record was released back in the 80's.

BAND OF THE DAY! 2-6-10

HONEYBUS was an English band ('67-'73) that never hit much wide notoriety beyond their UK hit "I Can't Let Maggie Go" (which was later used to sell bread on UK TV). My friends Steve and Joey were listening to them the other day and played me some of the band's lesser known gems. So good! They fit somewhere between Rubber Soul/Revolver era Beatles and the Bee Gee's circa Cucumber Castle with Big Starish drumming. Great great stuff!

Here is the title track from their 1970 LP Story.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY! 2-3-10

Johnny Guitar Watson, the original Gangster of Love, would have been 75 years old today. From his early raw, out of control guitar playing style to his sweet blues ballads to his funkier disco-ier 70's records, Johnny had many worthy landing points in his career and inspired tons and tons of guitarists from Hendrix to Zappa to the Vaughan brothers. He died on stage in the middle of a show in Japan in 1996... it's said his last words were "Ain't that a bitch!".