Frumpzilla

The Bay City Rollers Invade a Nursing Home, Provide Perhaps Final Spark to the Twilight of Life

You know, I’ve always been a little weirded out by nursing homes. There’s just something gut wrenching about the concept of a repository for old people; typically sad and/or confused old people just waiting to die. Tragic, really.

Now, of course, I understand that care requirements often necessitate residency in one of these repositories where sad, confused old people go to die, and that’s all good and fine. I guess I just wish it didn’t have to be that way.

Don’t get me wrong, though. I mean, I’ll definitely be shipping my folks off to one the first chance I get; whenever I can get them declared incompetent, or something (despite their claims to the contrary, I fully suspect my parents never check/read Frumpzilla, so I guess consider that “joke” a test).

I just hope by that time the entertainment packages have evolved beyond that of bingo and knitting classes. Something a bit more upbeat and fun loving, you know? Like, say, The Bay City Rollers performing their #1 hit single from 1975, “Saturday Night.” Oh, the humanity!

Thanks to T-Rex for the video…

Jam of the Wednesday: David Lee Roth’s isolated vocal track from “Runnin’ With the Devil”

Little known fact: Assuming the volume is loud enough in my car, I may or may not be the greatest amateur vocalist on the planet. It’s true. I mean, it must be, because — as far as I can tell — I’m always in key, and rarely, if ever, miss a note.

Now, I probably won’t ever take these pipes on the road, but then I’m more of a studio artist, I think. Studios and cars (with the volume on 11). Besides, putting together a group of top notch musicians is so hard these days, and, based on my mobile/automotive performances, I’m pretty sure a songbird such as myself needs a worthy complement of musical accompaniment. As you’ll soon see below, I’m obviously not the only one.

This is an oldie — in more ways than one — but a goodie nonetheless, and really serves as a shining example of just how important that aforementioned musical accompaniment can be. And to be clear, I’m not necessarily singling out David Lee Roth for ridicule here; he just happens to be readily accessible. In fact, I’m sure an overwhelming majority of the “great” voices in popular music would fare similarly if put to such a test. If nothing else, I think this phenomenon offers quite a bit of insight into why a cappella isn’t a more popular musical form….

Rick K’s drummer pounds skin better than a Thai masseuse…

And he apparently is an “Allnighter,” too. Okay, okay…so I know this isn’t necessarily fresh, but I’ve been without consistent internetz access for over a week now (due to moving), and I just need to get that frumping feeling back.

You know, I had pretty much resigned myself to the belief that this was easily the most epic display of skins dominance in recent memory. Needless to say, I now stand corrected.

This guy just demands respect, Frumpsters. Or perhaps ridicule. Possibly both. Either way, he’s pretty dang awesome. How Rick K managed to secure his services as one of the “Allnighters” is beyond me (check out another performance after the jump).

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DJ Felli Fel’s “I Wanna Get Drunk” gives ICP’s “Miracles” a serious run for its money

For worst song of the year, I mean. It doesn’t get much more ridiculous than this, Frumpsters. Sampling is the norm these days, of course — sad as that is — but taking Van Halen’s “Jump” and turning it into “I Wanna Get Drunk” has Kissed with Apocalypse written all over it.

How much in the red is Mr. Felli Fel gonna be after paying the licensing costs for this? My money’s still on “Miracles” as far as hilarity is concerned, but this is close. There’s some explicit, NSFW lyrics in here, so if you’re at work, make sure you’ve got your cans ready…

Thanks to The Admiral for the tip. Also, these seem to keep getting nuked by Warner Brothers, so I’ll try to find new ones as often as I can

Wedding DJ adds innovative touch to Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight”

Not everyone is a huge fan of “The Phil”, but it’s rare that you’ll find someone who doesn’t appreciate the fill that brings in the drums, full force, in Collins’ 1981 classic, “In The Air Tonight.” Thanks to Mike Tyson’s most memorable scene in The Hangover, even the Generation Y-ers have been exposed, so you can expect this Face Value cut to be filling the airwaves from time to time for many years to come.

What one might not expect, however, is to hear it played at a wedding. See, “The Phil” apparently wrote this one about the frustrations stemming from his 1979 divorce from his first wife, but that bittersweet irony didn’t stop this wedding DJ from spinning it. Oh, and then doing this…

Yes, we know this video has been edited, but lighten up. Fiction can be fun, no? Thanks to The Admiral for the tip…

Old man dancing to Too Short proves even old dogs can learn new tricks…

And, I mean, there’s a lot of new tricks in here. Can’t quite make out what kiosk this gentleman wondered over from, or how he escaped his handlers, but one thing is abundantly clear: He obviously felt life was simply too short to not just shut up and dance (to Too $hort). Truly wise within his years…

Thanks to Dbj for the link

Jam of the Wednesday: Max Indian

Some local flavor for this Jam of the Wednesday. Though I’ve only recently come across it, Max Indian, hailing from the quaint, Marxist community of Carrboro, North Carolina, has pressed one of the better “Indie/Power-Pop” albums I’ve heard in quite some time…and I have no intention of limiting that statement to just local bands.

We’re talking super indie here, too, as, amazingly, Max Indian is apparently without a label at the moment. Yes, unfortunately, since its release back in 2008, I think the band has been tasked with pushing their official debut, You Can Go Anywhere, Do Anything, themselves. Sad as that is, I can promise you they’ve made at least one sale over at CD-Baby.

But yeah, I’ll be honest. I don’t possess the time or vocabulary to write the type of glowing, Pitchforkesque review these guys deserve. I will say this, however: If one were to put, say, The Beatles; Badfinger; The Zombies; Big Star; Thin Lizzy; and I guess a dash of The Flaming Lips in a blender — like, a really old, low-fi blender — you’d probably be left with a lovely Max Indian concoction.

Does that concoction taste groundbreaking, necessarily? No. No, it doesn’t. Does it taste really, really lush and flavorful despite the graininess that, deep down, you know you long for from a new millennium band? You’re Frump damn right it does.  Seriously, there’s not a bad cut on the entire album. Best part is, the hooks and harmonies are more than pungent enough to leave quite a pleasant aftertaste for at least days, if not months to come.

Here’s the only studio cut of from the alum that I could find on YouTube. Make the jump for a few more, and, assuming you enjoy (you will), make sure you go back to CD Baby and pick this one up for your collection. You may just get a lifetime of mileage out of it…

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SNL’s parody of Insane Clown Posse’s “Miracles” video

There’s a handful of good jokes in there, I suppose, but it’s quite telling when a Saturday Night Live spoof isn’t as funny as the source.

Insane Clown Posse’s “Miracles” may be the most unintentionally hilarious music video I’ve ever seen…

As usual, I’m probably a bit late to the party with this one. After all, it was only so long ago that I first learned what the hell a “Juggalo” is. Nevertheless, how could I let this one go without even a passing Frump? Obviously, I couldn’t, but then I don’t think you’ll mind watching again if this isn’t the first time.

Now, as a disclaimer, I can’t say I’m the biggest Hip-Hop connoisseur in the world, so this may be off base, but is this video/song not one of the more ridiculous things you’ve ever seen/heard? I mean, I had to dig a bit just to make sure it wasn’t a joke (it isn’t).

The only thing left to decide at this point is which frumpin’ miracle has you the most perplexed. I’m torn between the pelican that tried to eat the cell phone on the San Francisco Bay (but then flew away) and, of course, magnets. How do those f*ck*in’ things work anyway?

Regardless, in case you were trying to keep track at home, I’ve compiled a list of all of ICP’s miracles after the jump…

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Hopscotch Music Festival Lineup Revealed

Folks have been trying to find out for months exactly who would be playing at Raleigh’s Hopscotch Festival.

Now, some things are coming to light with an expected official announcement coming tomorrow.

Headliners will be: Panda Bear (of Animal Collective), Broken Social Scene, The Rosebuds, No Age, Public Enemy and The Love Language.

Other bands rumored to be performing are Megafaun, , Future Islands, Gray Young, Caitlin Cary’s Small Ponds with Tres Chicas, Ben Frost, Ryan Gustafson, Max Indian, I Was Totally Destroying It, EAR PWR, Old Bricks and many, many others.

The festival will run from September 9th through 11th at nine venues around downtown Raleigh. Tickets are rumored to range from $30 for the individual larger shows, with incremental prices of $45 (all local venue shows), $85 (larger City Plaza and local venue shows) and $120 VIP passes that allow concert goers to avoid long lines and enjoy a pre-party with all your other indie rock loving scenesters.

Megafaun, Max Indian, American Aquarium, Caitlin Cary with Tres Chicas, Future Islands and Ryan Gustafson are some, among many, of the local acts that should not be missed.

Raleigh’s been ready for a festival of this magnitude and with bands of this quality for quite some time. Fantastic news to hear that it is finally coming to fruition. We can’t wait to hear the official announcement and full listing of all bands by the Hopscotch Festival folks this week. Best of luck getting those tickets, Hopscotchers.

The Health Care Bill: Now with even more perplexing questions!

If you haven’t heard, our country may have officially begun the transition over to some form of universal health care. Frankly, I’m not sure if anyone really understands what that means in great detail, nor what it necessarily entails beyond that of some hot button talking points for politicos, but it’s definitely here (maybe), and it’s here to stay (for the time being).

As you can see from the picture on the left, most of the Democrats in Congress are pretty dang excited about this.  Needless to say, really, Congressional Republicans, every single one of them, in fact, aren’t nearly as amused.  Nevertheless, partisan politics aside, every time this whole health care reform debate seems to make any progress, aren’t we simply left with more pressing questions?  Some of which are irretrievably confusing and unsettling?

For instance, having come across this photo now, are we nothing less than obligated to ask just what the hell Perry Farrell was doing at the after party?  Or maybe that’s Ronnie Wood.  Either way, quite disturbing, isn’t it?

Rear Admiral with the tip

2 More Broken Social Scene Tracks!!

“Forced to Love” and “All to All” were released on the band’s website today. Pumped as shit for this new album.

Jam of the Wednesday: Big Star

Guess what, Frumpsters. After life, there is death. Death after life, or something. Shocking, we know.

When we honored Mark Linkous in our last “And on the 7th Day…God Created Jam,” we noted that it was an exception (those Jams are typically reserved for “contemporary” music (90′s onward)). We make an exception today as well in this “Jam of the Wednesday” (the posts that usually focus on the 90′s onward). Alex Chilton, of The Box Tops and Big Star “fame,” has passed away, and we figured it was pretty much a necessity that we bend the rules a bit with this Wednesday’s Jam(s).  Though Chilton’s work with The Box Tops is nothing to scoff at, especially The Letter, we’re gonna be focusing on Big Star.

Believe it or else, if you weren’t aware already,  the influence Big Star’s work has had on alternative and indie rock/power pop music has extremely few rivals.  Don’t take our word for it, though.  Let’s see:   “[Big Star is] the quintessential American power pop band…and one of the most mythic and influential cult acts in all of rock & roll.” – Allmusic; “[Big star produced] a seminal body of work that never stopped inspiring succeeding generations.” – Rolling Stone. “September Gurls was and is the sine qua non of power pop; a glorious, glittering jewel with every facet cut and shined to absolute perfection…a peerless, aching distillation of love and longing. [It] may not actually be the greatest song ever recorded, but for the duration of its 2:47 running time, you can be forgiven for believing it is.” -The Ultimate Power Pop Guide.

We’ll let you judge for yourself.  Make the jump for a few more cuts from Big Star and Alex Chilton.  RIP.

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James Brown’s body may have harbored even more soul than previously thought

LaRhonda Pettit, the Godfather of Soul’s illegitimate daughter, presumably broke out in a cold sweat over the news that her father’s body has apparently gotten up off that crypt that was housing his body in South Carolina and is now, thusly, out of sight.  It’s true, James Brown’s body is missing, and, given the controversy regarding the circumstances surrounding his death, I’ve got the feeling  that this could turn out to be a super bad situation.

Upon Brown’s passing back in 2006, initial reports suggested it was the drugs, alcohol and painkillers the hardest working man in show business was doing to death that brought about his demise at the tender age of 73.  Ms. Pettit, however, believed there was foul play, but her requests for an autopsy have been repeatedly denied.  In light of this, LaRhonda now thinks her father’s body is being hidden to ensure a full post-mortem examination is never performed, sparing any alleged perpetrators the big payback that would surely await them once discovered.

Of course, strange things happen, and there’s certainly a chance, however slim, that Brown may be back up on the good foot, living in America and making it funky in ways never thought possible.  In that case, who knows, perhaps Brown will be delivering the payback himself.  Either way, this bizarre story is sure to leave many feeling bewildered.

Source: The Daily Mail (The Admiral with the link and shoop)

And on the 7th Day…God created Jam: Sparklehorse

Frumpzilla's classic jam of the week features Tommy Bolin

Typically we reserve our classic jams feature for stuff pre-1990. However, given the loss of Mark Linkous over the weekend, today we’re gonna make an exception. Linkous, probably most readily known for his work as Sparklehorse, apparently committed suicide outside a friend’s home in Tennessee on Saturday (shot himself in the heart). Sad day, and a shame he won’t get to see the official release of Dark Night of the Soul, which, after a highly publicized bout of legal problems, is finally supposed to hit the market this year.

As a memorial, here’s three cuts from Linkous as Sparklehorse, including two from the Dark Night of the Soul album (featuring Super Furry Animals’ Gruff Rhys and The Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne, respectively). Rest in peace.

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