With A Little Help From My Friends...

No, not The Beatles version or the Joe Cocker version popularized by the television series "The Wonder Years." This is the Steve Cropper version. Cropper, for those who don't know, is one of America's greatest unsung heroes. He's mostly known for his work at the infamous Stax studios and his membership in the Stax house band, Booker T and the M.G.s. Cropper however did have a solo record on the Volt label, Stax's imprint, which came out in 1969. The title of the record and the first song on the A-side is a cover of The Beatles hit song "With A Little Help From My Friends," a masterfully written song composed by Lennon and McCartney together. Cropper's version is all instrumental in which his fuzzed out guitar replaces Ringo's vocals and mimics the vocal melody perfectly, a tragic sounding organ, played by Booker T, underlines Cropper's amazing guitar work, and a distinctive Stax sounding horn section just for a little soulful flavor . This version is by far my favorite out of all the vast renditions of The Beatles classic, mainly because Cropper instills something in this already amazing song that The Beatles could only dream of, pure soul and intense desperation. Surprisingly this song, or any other songs from this record, aren't readily available on youtube so I'm making it available. If anyone wants me to rip the rest of the record just let me know and I'll be happy to do so. I hope you enjoy this version as much as I do.



Steve Cropper - "With a Little Help from My Friends"

Iron horse is life

teenage kicks

here's some photos we took with some diana cameras, the first three are mine the rest are stephanies.

savage servants!

Lack OR Expedit?

So I've finally moved into my bedroom which is basically the size of my old one bedroom apartment. I'm not joking when I say this room is large and in charge. I have a bedroom with a closet, then attached to my room is a large office with a huge walk in closet. The only piece of furniture I haven't decided on is a bookcase.

Here is the situation:
I own lots of comics, and my record collection is growing. I have a pretty large graphic novel/trade collection as well as numerous books in general. I need a lot of space for these items. I also want a fish tank, because I think fish are pretty. My record player is going to have it's own table dedicated to that, but I do have a cd player I'd like to put on my book case.

So......the Lack?



Or the Expedit?





I feel like the Lack is a better idea because there is so much open space.

What do you think?

Went to Ipanema for dinner last night, got the smoked gouda sandwhich with sweet potato fries. It was killer.

Went to Comfort this morning for brunch. I got the eggs with sausage cheese and tomatoes and some sweet potato hash. Stephanie got the eggs with shallots onions and cheese also with sweet potato hash and we split a side of cheese grits. Easily the best brunch I've ever had. Afterwords we hit up Velocity comics and picked up some rags.

hey dickhead..

i'm stuck.

i don't ever want to not be having fun.

'

some instantfilm flicks from a trip out to Montauk earlier this summer.

America... fuckkk yeaaa

What America is all about: Capitalism, boobs, and blowing shit up.

joe has turned this into whiny blog usa, so we're gonna change the pace for a minute.....





MEXICAN FOOD IS SO GOOD. i had a taco, a chicken burrito, rice and beans tonight at Mexico Restaurant with danielle and budon. holy shit, i could eat this stuff everyday for the rest of my life.

i want to know...

have you ever seen the rain? I HAVE and I wish this shit would end.

just kidding...

today fucking sucked.

this sums it up:

the sun comes out to play!

looks like a decent day today, it's about goddamn time...




FINALLY

new contributor to introduce

i'd like to introduce a new contributor, stephanie d. she's my number one partner in crime, my girl, and my best friend. she also has really good taste in everything so i'm sure she'll have some good stuff to put on here.

also here is a jam by the zombies, grab your baby and hold her tight.

testing testing 1 2 3

oh hello

country-punk-as-fuck

gram parsons, total hero.

you can never go fast enough...

total classic.

Monday Soul - Monkeys Be Damned

Every Monday I'm going to try and put some some Soul jams in the hopes that they maybe to make the shittiest day of the week a little more enjoyable. Today I have two singles;




The A side of the Sam & Dave jam is an Eddie Floyd/Steve Cropper collabo and it's a killer. The B side ("This Is Your World") is a soulful ballad about man's submission under the tender love of a woman.

Sam & Dave - "You Don't Know What You Mean To Me" b/w "This Is Your World"

The A side of the Joe Tex 45 is a horn-filled, upbeat advisory about importance of a solid foundation in all relationships. The B side is about monkeys... not really. It's about not letting one bad egg spoil the rest. Monkeys be damned.

Joe Tex - "Build Your Love (On A Solid Foundation)" b/w "One Monkey Don't Stop No Show"

Romance From Down Under.

This was at the request of Timothy Paul, and it's a good one. The Scientists are one of the best things to come out of Australia (see also; The Saints and Victims). The band has a rather extensive catalog of releases, but this one, their first single, is the gold cup winner.

Before I talk about the music I'd like to talk about the sleeve for this record as it is probably my favorite design for cover, and back cover, art. All I can really say is in the form of a question -- have you ever seen anything as fucking cool as this shit?


Onto the music...

A Side includes the song "Frantic Romantic" and there's not much I can really say about this one other than it maybe one of the most well written rock/pop songs in the history of rock. The riff that opens the song seamlessly carries the song to the end. It is honestly one of my favorite riffs ever, it's so simply but unbelievably infectious. The chorus is the perfect manifestation of raging teenage hormones, "I'm a frantic romantic in a romantic world" as Kim Salmon boldly testifies, is something everyone can relate to at some point. The solo in the song sings all on it's own, it fits so flawlessly into the song that it almost seems like another chorus. This song will leave you humming along for days, so good.

B Side is the jam "Shake (Together Tonight)". This song is undeniably punk, it's basically two chords the whole damn but it doesn't matter because the hooks are so damn good. Another primal rock anthem pleading for some hot shaking and if you possess any kind of human spark you'll find yourself tapping along to the song or possibly in an all out dance fest.

I love this record.

The Scientists - "Frantic Romantic" b/w "Shake (Together Tonight)"

Power poppin' pills.

I picked this record up on a whim during a trip to Double Decker recently. I knew nothing about the band, song or record but there were a few factors that drew me to making the purchase (which I paid I think close to $40 dollars for, although I just saw that this was reissued like a week ago or something oh well); 1. The bright dayglo decidedly 80's looking sleeve, they don't make 'em as obnoxious as this anymore 2. The incredibly cute girl on the cover sporting the microphone (I'm a dude, sue me) and finally 3. A songwriting credit to Paul Collins (The Nerves, The Beat, Paul Collins Beat, and ultimate purveyor of power pop). Luckily this purchase was not in vain as these two songs absolutely rip.

Side A is a teenage girl's lament about wanting a boy to come over because she has "itchy hot pants." Singer Marcy Marcs knows exactly what she wants and she is not afraid to go after it. The music sounds like a Paul Collins jam and like most of his other songs it blazes through in just under 2 minutes. The song has some massive hooks and an infectious vocal melody that'll leave you singing for days

Side B is yet another song where Marcy declares her desire and willingness to commit herself to obtaining what she wants. This jam comes in staccatoed bursts and has some basic punk hooks and riffs, it's not as memorable as the A side but it's definitely up to par and rips just as hard.




Mn'M's - "I'm Tired" b/w "Knock Knock Knock"

All you young lovers out there...

James Carr may not be as well known as his contemporaries, Solomon Burke and Otis Redding to name a few, his vocal talent has just as much soul as the aforementioned. His first full length record, "You Got My Mind Messed Up", is one of the most sweat filled, soul-packed records and a personal favorite of mine. Although I don't own a copy of the LP, copies go for around $100 dollars usually, I do have a 45 with two songs that are great examples of some of the best Soul music the south had to offer. I picked this up in Memphis and it's received multiple spins, perfect for a sunny spring day.




James Carr - "A Message to Young Lovers" b/w "Life Turned Her That Way" 45

Ladys Love Joe Tex!

This is the first post, hopefully of many more, so the vinyl rip may not be the best as it's the first time I've done it and I need to do some trial and error to get it right. I'm using the line out of my receiver and recording/cutting with garage band. If anyone has any good tips to get it sounding quality with garage band let me know. All mp3's are going to be 320 KBS with VBR to try and preserve the quality of the record (although we all know it can never match the true quality and sound of the vinyl).

OK, onto the tunes. This is a compilation I picked up for $5 dollars at Goner Records during my recent road trip to Memphis. It's called Murray the K Presents and all the songs are live. Side A of the record is not really worth noting, it contains songs from Vanilla Fudge, Bee Gees, Rascals, Janis Ian and The Blues Project and all are forgettable performances at best. The B Side of the record is another story and the reason I risked my 5 dollars on this investment. The artists on the B side are as follows; Joe Tex, The Shangri-LA's, The Royalettes, Deon Jackson.

The two Joe Tex songs are unreal, because of two factors; his performance, which is top notch, and the reaction from the teenage girls in the crowd. The girls absolutely lose their minds before, during and after his performance--it's awesome. The Shangri-LA's song "I Can Never Go Home Any More", which apparently live material from them is scarace, is another grade A performance. Lastly The Royalettes and Deon Jackson songs are pretty damn good, although I didn't know much about either artist going into the purchase.

I don't have a scanner that is big enough for LP covers so pictures from my digital camera will have to do.





and finally the link for the tunes; Murray the K Presents