The Story of Star Wars

Artist: The Cast of Star Wars

LP: The Story of Star Wars: From the Original Soundtrack

Song: "The Story of Star Wars (excerpt)" 
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In case you haven't heard, there's a new STAR WARS movie playing in theaters. This is evidently episode #7, but I honestly can't remember what happened in episodes #1-6. (I know I've seen movie #3, which I believe is episode #6, the one with all the Muppets in the woods, but I missed movie #4, which may be episode #1 if I'm not mistaken; it's the one with Jar-Jar Binkus or whatever, the one that flopped. If I've seen episode #4, which I think is movie #1, it was years ago. I've seen either episode #2 or #3, which would be movies #5 and #6, but I can't recall which one! And it's hard to imagine I'd have gone without seeing movie #2 in the cinemas when I was a kid, which as far as I can tell would be episode #5, but if I saw it I still can't tell you a single thing about it.) 

Anyway, I desperately need a Star Wars refresher course before watching THE FORCE AWAKENS or I'll be completely at a loss. Good thing I found "The Story of Star Wars" at a thrift shop up in Alaska earlier this year. If you're in the same boat as I am, this might help you too! Before we dive headlong into the story, it's important to re-familiarize ourselves with all of the players:

"The Story of Star Wars" takes place

The entire ordeal begins when

And then suddenly

Things seem to be looking up when

But then

Everyone knows what horrors this signifies. Their worst fears are confirmed when

Without wasting a single precious moment,

Meanwhile, as everyone had anticipated,

Momentarily sidetracking everyone, R2-D2 provides a dazzling demonstration of technical brilliance by repeatedly presenting a 

Seizing a golden opportunity while everyone's busy watching the hologram,

Meanwhile, as if from out of nowhere,

Once again,

Knowing full well that time is of the essence,

As

And then, as if they didn't already have enough to do,

Which keeps them out of the way as

But then

And helps him to understand that choking the rebel officer was wrong!
Suddenly

Thankfully, he escapes with just enough time to shower and dress for the

Where, as a reward for his bravery, 

Heino

 Artist: Heino

LP: Deutsche Weihnacht...und Festliche Lieder

Song: "Still Wie die Nacht" 
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Song: "Medly"
a. "Es ist Für uns Eine Zeit Angekommen"
b. "Kling Glöckchen, Klingelingeling"
c. "Leise Rieselt der Schnee"
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My favorite Christmas vinyl acquisition of the year is probably this 1974 Heino LP that I found at Golden Oldies last week. Heino strumming his guitar and booming "Klingelingeling" is his lovely baritone already puts this one over the top...but then you open the LP gate-fold sleeve and a paper Nativity pops up. Brilliant!

Patti Page

Artist: Patti Page

LP: Christmas With Patti Page
Song: "Christmas Choir" 
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Song: "Jingle Bells"
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Song: "The Mama Doll Song" 
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I think what I like most about my Patti Page Christmas record is how I always feel cool snow flakes melting as they touch my cheek while the album plays. And wait. What's that I taste...peppermint? "The Mama Doll Song" is my new favorite Christmas carol, even though it reminds me of a creepy old episode of The Twilight Zone.

[ Patti Page: November 8, 1927 — January 1, 2013 ]

Boney M.

Artist: Boney M.

LP: Christmas Album
Song: "When a Child Is Born" 
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Song: "Jingle Bells" 
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I sprang a Boney M. when I found this 1981 Christmas record in the Jive Time holiday bins a few weeks ago. I'd heard a few months earlier that such a thing as a Boney M. Christmas Album might have at once existed, but I figured it was probably just an urban legend. Yet here it is, sitting in my kitchen in blue and white.

The Kinks

Artist: The Kinks

LP: 7" single

Song: "Father Christmas" 
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One of the things I want for Christmas is to go back in time nine days to before I tried to upgrade to Windows 10, which killed my computer until I had the IT guy at work rescue it (I was 'this close' to putting my laptop in the road and running over it with my car). He was able to restore Windows 7, but then somehow I ended up with a new version of iTunes that isn't compatible for importing mp3s from my Ion turntable, so then I had to update my Ion software. Now the Ion only seems to import wav files to a folder instead of mp3s to iTunes. God, what have I done. WHAT HAVE I DONE? Plus, the new iTunes looks like shit. Everything's humongous. Anyway I've sorted it out so that there's an mp3 up there that I hope at least one person will listen to. 

Oh, and the other thing I want for Christmas is a more exciting picture sleeve for my Kinks Christmas record. This one's so boring it keeps putting me to sleep.

Christmas In Italy

Artist: Various

LP: Christmas In Italy

Song: "La Ninna Nanna a Gesù (Lullaby to Jesus)" 
Performed by: R. Lipparini, Tenor w/ Cleva, Soprano e Coro
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Song: "Buon Natale (Merry Christmas)"
Performed by: Coro di Alunne della Piccola Casa San Giuseppe 
accompagnate dal Complesso Speciale del Pistoia
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It's that time of year again—when poor families all across Italy have to hock their furniture in order to provide a decent Christmas meal. I read today that, because of the Internet, stores in countries all over the world now have to participate in Black Friday discounts on the day after Thanksgiving—even though they don't even celebrate Thanksgiving! I bet the Internet has also pretty much destroyed the Italian tradition of the old, witch-like Befana who comes down the chimney with toys at Christmas, described in the liner notes on the back of this 1957 "Christmas In Italy" LP. On the other hand, the Web has probably also helped Italians realize that eating capitone marinato every year during the holidays isn't such a great idea after all, no matter how much wine you try to cover it up with. Buon Natale!

Butt Sweat & Tears

It had been nearly a year now since Phillip ran off to Key West with Steve. Of course David missed all the fun and romantic things they used to do together—the trips to Maui, wine-tasting in Sonoma, Gay Ski Week at Aspen...but what he really missed, what he misses most of all, is the masculine, musky smell of the sweat-soaked jogging shorts Phillip used to leave on the bathroom floor each day after his morning run. God what he'd give to smell those goddamn shorts again.

side one:
01. The Sun Ain't Gonna' Shine (Anymore) - The Walker Brothers
02. Memories Don't Leave Like People Do - Johnny Bristol
03. Got Him Off My Hands (But Can't Get Him Off My Mind) - Doris Day
04. How We Left Fordlandia - Jóhann Jóhannsson
05. Love Calls You By Your Name - Leonard Cohen
06. Lonely Man - The Impressions
07. It Ain't Easy Comin' Down - Charlene
08. So Blue - Low
09. Everybody's Gotta' Learn Sometime - The Dream Academy
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side two:
01. When I See You - Thompson Twins
02. Soul Resides In the Horse Barn - His Name Is Alive
03. Gabriel - Ronee Blakley
04. Gone - Benjamin Clementine
05. Prelude in D-minor—Op. 28, No. 24 - Frédéric Chopin (piano: Rafael Orozco)
06. Am I That Easy to Forget - Engelbert Humperdinck
07. One Blue Hill - Pale Saints
08. I'll Remember April - Danny Guglielmi w/ Dena
09. Recent Bedroom - Atlas Sound
10. Echo of Love - Don Costa
11. As Tears Go By - Marianne Faithfull
12. Tornado - Jónsi
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Billy Idol

Artist: Billy Idol

LP: 7" single

Song: "Dancing With Myself" 
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I heard on NPR this morning that today is Billy Idol's 60th birthday! One of my biggest teen celebrity crushes, Billy was pretty damn cute in the early days, before his sneer became a 'thing' and way, way before his sneer started to seem like it might actually be caused a gastrointestinal disorder. My copy of "Dancing With Myself" is the 1983 re-release, which peaked at #102 on the singles charts, barely missing the Billboard Hot 100. (The initial 1981 release didn't register on the charts at all.) You can read all about Billy Idol here, there's another sexy photo here, and go here for a recitation of "Billy Idol's Penis," a poem by Zilla McCue. Happy Birthday, Billy Idol!

Griffin

Artist: Griffin

LP: Hot Fingers

Song: "Lock It Up & Rock It (The Wild Thing)" 
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Song: "No Humans Allowed" 
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Reggie "Rej" Griffin was in the group Manchild during the second half of the '70s (he's front/left on the LP cover here) before going on to work with fellow bandmate Kenneth Brian "Babyface" Edmonds throughout his solo career. Speaking of solo careers, Rej Griffin produced this solo LP of his own in 1984, on which he handles all lead vocals, lead and rhythm guitar, bass guitar, Voyetra, Prophet, Korg, Oberheim and Yamaha DX7 synthesizers, piano, electric piano, alto, tenor and soprano saxophones, flute, turntable scratching, percussion, drumulator programming and loud, obnoxious noises...so basically, just about everything. Someone named Rayford Griffin helps out with percussion, as you can see in the slightly blurry notes below. I wonder if he's Rej's brother! It's too bad Griffin isn't better known today. I like that on the back of his record he encourages fans to register to vote. In my many years of dating, it's been virtually impossible to find a man who dresses this well and has good hair, who's also civic-minded, has hot fingers, knows how to program a drumulator, and who can play three types of saxophones and a korg! This gives me hope.

Stephen Whynott

Artist: Stephen Whynott

LP: From Philly to Tablas

Song: "What Have You Seen" 
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There's a lot I'm thankful for this year, including living in a state that's governed by someone who understands the meaning of 'land of the free and the home of the brave,' and not in one of the states being run by a cowardly idiot. I'm also thankful to be able to pull beautiful music out of my record collection that I don't even recognize. Here's something I found in my bins this morning; it's a lovely listen for first thing on a sunny-but-chilly holiday morning. 

There isn't much to be found about Stephen Whynott on the internet (which might be why he's considered one of the unsung heroes of the late '70s music scene), but I did discover that he now resides in Washington state up near Bellingham and that he once even lived right here in Seattle! The following biographical outline is copied from his Facebook page, and below that there are some notes and a photo from the back of his 1977 "From Philly to Tablas" LP. Happy Thanksgiving!

Stephen's career in the musical world has been filled with diverse extremes. He's been named one of the unsung heroes of 1978 by Modern Recording Magazine (along with Bruce Cockburn and Dave Brubeck), and been told how he and his band, "Calico," recorded one of the best unrecognized LPs of the early 1970s. Stephen began his solo career when Gunther Wiel at Intermedia Sound in Boston heard Steve playing some of his original songs and offered the use of the recording studio for as long as needed. The result was "From Philly To Tablas." The recording of that album and those songs sent Stephen on a quest to realize where his true calling would be. City life was rapidly losing its appeal, even though his gigs had introduced him to such notables as Fleetwood Mac, B.B. King, Aerosmith, etc. 

He decided to go across the country to Seattle, where he was signed to a record contract with "Music Is Medicine," the sister company of First American Records, which led to the creation, recording and distribution of his follow-up LP, "Geography." After leaving Boston for Seattle, Stephen's music gradually developed into beautiful instrumental stories about how much his life had changed from the whirlwind craziness of rock & roll, playing with his band "Calico" as the opening act for Tim Hardin, Al Cooper, The J. Giles Band, The Hampton Grease Band (along with other members of Frank Zappa's band "Mothers Of Invention"), Van Morrison, and many others. His recording career had included sessions with oboist Michael Kaman, members of Moby Grape, Tim Moore, Cleve Pozar, mellotron/pianist Dan Frye, bassist/recording engineer/producer Zed Mclarnon (worked with "The Paul Winter Concert"), recording engineer/producer Adrian Barber (recorded "Cream"), and Michael Leary (recorded Harry Nillson, Jonathan Edwards, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Loudon Wainwright, The Steve Miller Band, and Jefferson Airplane). 

But now he was truly a solo act; living in a new land, with new faces and new ideas. Nature became his companion of choice, and his music began to reflect the depth of that decision. The beautiful instrumental CDs "Apology to the Animals" and "Lost Land" are the culmination of all that Stephen has experienced during his travels through this unrelentingly exquisite and painfully humorous journey called life.  

[ Stephen Whynott ]

The Babadooks of Hazzard

♫ Just'a good ole demons from a children's storybook, never meanin' no harm. Beats all you never saw, been in trouble with the law since the day they was born. ♫ ♪

side one:
01. Muscle In Plastic - Bauhaus
02. Three Steps to Heaven - Showaddywaddy
03. Stars In My Eyes - Diez & Bischof
04. When I Was a Painter - The Breeders
05. I Destroyed Your Love (Part 1) - Terry Huff and Special Delivery
06. Kveikur - Sigur Rós
07. Lonely Women Cryin' - Jeanne Pruett
08. Return of the She-King - Dead Can Dance
09. Fernando - ABBA
10. Want to See the Face - Jeong Juhui
11. City of Stone - Pat Lundy
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side two:
01. Big Girl - Dr. Dog
02. I Destroyed Your Love (Part 2) - Terry Huff and Special Delivery
03. I Leaned on a Man - Myrna March
04. Part of Me - Music Go Music
05. Pyre - The Revival Hour
06. Oka! Oka! La'u Honey - The Samoan Surf Riders with Bill Sevesi & His Islanders
07. Physical - Olivia Newton-John
08. Electric Blanket Mama - Danny Cox
09. Falling - Here We Go Magic
10. Colony - Joy Division
11. Sowing Seeds - The Jesus and Mary Chain
12. When the World Was Young - Charles Boyer
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Rex Trailer and His Cow Hands

Artist: Rex Trailer and His Cow Hands

LP: Western Favorites

Song: "Cow Poke" 
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Song: "Red River Valley" 
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Song: "The Last Roundup" 
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Like many, I haven't been able to get the Paris terrorist attacks out of my head. At first I thought maybe I'd post a French record here to show my solidarity, but then I realized I'd also want to post a Lebanese record to show that my thoughts are with the people who were killed and injured in the suicide bomb attacks at the market in Beirut last week too. But in that case, I really should have posted a Turkish record a few weeks ago, since nearly 100 peaceful protesters were killed in Ankara by a bomb attack there. And if I'm going to pay tribute to masses of innocent lives lost at the hands of idiots and lunatics, then I ought to have been posting Syrian records over the past four years, as well as records from Iraq and Afghanistan since the beginning of George W. Bush's appalling fireworks display known as 'Shock and Awe.' There is no record I could post for all of this. So instead, I'll just send out this happy little 'howdy' from the old West, from me to you. I hope the world gets better soon. 

Rex Trailer grew up near Ft. Worth, Texas and spent summers on his granddaddy's horse ranch near Thurber. The ranch hands there were all rodeo cowboys; one taught Rex roping tricks, another taught him how to handle a bull-whip, and a third cowboy taught him how to play the guitar. Rex eventually made his way into children's television entertainment and ended up as a Boston-area celebrity known for "Boomtown," a children's show on which he employed all the tricks he'd learned from the rodeo cowboys of his youth. The show ran from the mid-1950s to 1974. A strong advocate for children with disabilities, Trailer's show was one of the first in the nation to feature kids with disabilities on television. Rex cut a couple of country music albums right around 1960 (they're brilliant—you can practically smell the wet paint on the cardboard backdrops!) and "Western Favorites," presumably also released somewhere around that time, includes tracks from both. Rex Trailer remained a local celebrity into his later years, even appearing with Winona Ryder and Cher in the film MERMAIDS. He plays a doctor.

On September 11, 2011, Rex was scheduled to be in Fitchburg, Massachusetts to sing songs, meet fans and sign autographs. His appearance there coincided with the tenth anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks, so Rex performed a song he had written in honor of the victims of 9/11 called "I Appreciate You." As he explained it, "Ever since 9/11, the world has changed for all of us. We have to stick together, protect each other, and let those you love, respect, and admire know how much you appreciate them." You can read more about Mr. Trailer here, with LP liner notes providing a brief historic summary of Western music included below. 

[ Rex Trailer: September 16, 1928 — January 9, 2013 ]