Somehow, Tav Falco and his “art-damaged” rockabilly band finagled their way onto Memphis’ public access show “Straight Talk” (hosted by the perfectly-named Marge Thrasher) in 1979. On stage with them…the King and Queen of Cotton, looking bewildered. After slinking through a version of The Rock and Roll Trio’s “Train Kept A-Rollin’–an example of the “invisible Memphis” Falco talks about in the clip, the band is stopped in its tracks by the host as they attempt to barrel right into a “rock tango,” and the ensuing clash between Tav and Marge is one for the ages. A classic example of art busting up stale and ironic convention, and does Falco maintain his cool during the conversation. Keep an eye out for the still-loony, still-rockin’ Ross Johnson on drums, and the late, great “XL Chitlins” on guitar. And if you love this, seek out the band’s great BEHIND THE MAGNOLIA CURTAIN and Robert Gordon’s epic IT CAME FROM MEMPHIS. Exhilarating!
So Who the Hell is Swamp Dogg?
Well, if you clicked on the link in my previous post, you know something. He is soul singer–not to mention a songwriter–from outer space, though on close inspection his feet are planted more firmly on Earth than most of ours are. He is also a very funny man. Read Perfect Sound Forever’s excellent interview with Mr. Dogg, or sample this Spotify playlist, rather than reading me rattle:
In the above photo, I am attempting to get a former cat of mine to resolve my own paralysis (caused by an overabundance of rekkids and CDs) and choose between Mingus Atlantics that he wants to hear. I hope that, once this blog is under way, if it ever is and if you ever see it, I will be more successful persuading you to share some of musical experiences, which are fairly constant: if music isn’t blasting from my headphone, truck, home, or device speakers, unless I am talking (and sometimes even then) my memory is spinning it inside my skull. I have heard that if you stop a human at rest and in meditation–particularly a man–and ask him what he’s thinking about, the odds are 9:1 it’ll be sex. Though I have no qualms about that specific mental drifting, if you stop me in the same state, the odds are 9:1 I will be thinking about whether I will ever get to see Swamp Dogg, or if I am right about Natural Child‘s greatness, or if Jean Grae can get this multimedia thing off the ground. I am a musical monomaniac, and four decades of that state of being should produce an occasionally interesting word-birth.
Here’s what I hope to do:
1) Capsule-review records that are making me feel alive. However, I feel no obligation to keep up with what is new; it’s impossible, and besides, for the general Webwanderer, there’s more danger in never running across a stellar release from the past that’s being sucked towards the chronological dustbin. Also, I won’t waste time on hating something. Or even pointing out that something’s simply boring. Indifference is the coldest cut, and life’s too short not to always be writing about what I like.
2) Spin true tales of how music has enriched my life.
3) Post about (notice I didn’t say “write about”) videos, films, concerts and books that feed my obsession.
4) Interact with some fellow travelers.
So…today I leave you with the utterances of Johnny Burnette: “I don’t need a doctor/I don’t need a pill/In other medicine/Is bound to make me ill/I need Rock Therapy/Give it to me, oh give it to me, oh give it to me….”
Oh, and let me proselytize quietly with this loud concert recording:
Living To Listen 