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EPISODE 50: Record Keepers
EPISODE 50: Record Keepers
For our mid-century episode, we are going to take a bit of departure from the usual. This podcast started as a way to teach ourselves more about music history and to keep on introducing each other to great songs and stories about those songs. Today is an exploration of why we are obsessed with vinyl and what it means to be a record collector. And for this show, we’ve asked some of you to help us narrate the show by telling us about your run-ins with record collecting.
We’re going to spend the next hour or so as if we were working at a record store, chatting about the sorts of things we used to spend too much time talking about but now need to make time for. The highlights and lowlights of our prized collection. Vinyl dreams and wax memories. And try to understand the gravitational pull to the black circles.
Special thanks to friends and listeners who contributed amazing stories to this Episode: Brian and Brian from the Volcano Vinyl Podcast, Maurice and Tim from the See Hear Podcast, Chris, Abi, Travis, Dennis, Lea, Mathew, Maria, Hannah, and Yetsko. And thanks to everyone who has spent any time listening to the podcast. We hope you’ve learned something new and have had as much fun as We’ve Had in making Highway Hifi.
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EPISODE 49: The Rise and Fall of Zamrock
EPISODE 49: The Rise and Fall of Zamrock
Under British control for decades, in 1911, Zambia was merged in with other South African countries to form Northern Rhodesia. For most of the colonial period, Zambia was governed by an administration appointed from London with the advice of the British South Africa Company. Zambia was rich with copper mines and there was an economic boom that carried into the 50s and 60s. This boom, combined with westerners moving into the country as missionaries and expatriates, allowed for Zambians to hear a lot of western music, including gospel, rock, and soul. There are 72 languages spoken in Zambia, so bands there would sing in English, which most people understood as it was the 'official' language
By the 60s, as rock music was reaching more and more people, Zambian rock bands were forming, playing mostly covers of Buddy Holly, Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, the Rolling Stones, and others. A lot of the music seemed to be hitting the country all at once, like an injection of 15 years of rock and soul all at one time. These bands became so popular that all white establishments started allowing them to play.
Independence came in 1964 with Kenneth Kaunda becoming its first president. Kaunda eliminated all other political parties by the early 70s and when elections were held in 1973, and for at least the next decade, he was the only candidate. As far as authoritarians go, Kaunda was pretty good, for a while.
Kaunda instituted a nationalist ideology called Zambian Humanism, which combined loyalty to Africa, and Zambia in particular, a focus on African values, along with state control. Part of this policy, enacted in 1970, required that 95% of the music played on the radio had to be of Zambian origin. Because of that policy, Zambian rock bands had to change what they were doing. They had to start writing their own songs. That was the birth of Zamrock, and that’s what we’re talking about today.
A lot of the research for this episode came from the book "Welcome to Zamrock" which goes with two absolutely essential Zamrock compilations, which have the same name. Both the book and compilations were released on Now-Again Recordswhich is an incredible label.
Listen here:
The Four Records Featured on this Episode:
WITCH - Living in the Past
Amanaz - Khala My Friend (Reverb Version)
The Oscillations - Request to God
Blackfoot - Groovy Bone
Links for this Episode:
- Now Again Records
- Strawberry Rain Records
- WFMU Zamrock Playlist
- Zamrock.org
- Zamrock Survivors Documentary
- BBC Zamrock Podcast
EPISODE 48: Cosmic Country, Part 2
EPISODE 48: Cosmic Country, Part 2
Perhaps it’s a fool’s errand to try to define what Cosmic Country is. Like numbering all the stars in the heavens or counting bubbles in your beer. We are those fools though. In the starry fringes of country and western music resides a sound that is powerful, dreamy, and utterly nebulous. And so in trying to wade through this style, it is important to recognize these waters were muddy to begin with and intentionally so. Today, the second part of our history of Cosmic Country.
Most of us know Cosmic Country when we hear it. It’s more a substance than a sound. Country music infected with soul, RnB, rock, and psychedelia. Dropping acid in the honkytonk. Swirls of static from AM radio while driving at high speeds down a desert highway. Country gospel delivered from somewhere in the atmosphere.
In this episode, we focus on what happened to Cosmic Country from the 80s until today, and where might it be headed?
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The Four Records Featured on this Episode:
Holly Golightly - Devil Do
Freakwater - South of Cincinnati
Steve Gunn - Water Wheel
Chivalrous Amoekons - Chivalry
EPISODE 47: Cosmic Country, Part1
EPISODE 47: Cosmic Country, Part1
Perhaps it’s a fool’s errand to try to define what Cosmic Country is. Like numbering all the stars in the heavens or counting bubbles in your beer. We are those fools though. In the starry fringes of country and western music resides a sound that is powerful, dreamy, and utterly nebulous. And so in trying to wade through this style, it is important to recognize these waters were muddy to begin with and intentionally so. Today, the first of a two-part episode as we try to elucidate and illuminate Cosmic Country - Hardcore History style!
Most of us know Cosmic Country when we hear it. It’s more a substance than a sound. Country music infected with soul, RnB, rock, and psychedelia. Dropping acid in the honkytonk. Swirls of static from AM radio while driving at high speeds down a desert highway. Country gospel delivered from somewhere in the atmosphere.
Listen Here:
The Four Records Featured On This Episode:
The Everly Brothers - Sing Me Back Home
Mistress Mary - And I Didn't Want You
Lavender Country - I Can't Shake the Country Out of You
Country Funk - A Way to Settle Down
EPISODE 46:
EPISODE 46:
MEDIA COVERAGE - JAZZ ALBUM COVERS
MEDIA COVERAGE - JAZZ ALBUM COVERS
When 78s were first sold, they were sold individually, with each side lasting between 3 and 5 minutes. The records were relegated to backs of furniture stores as if they were some sort of obscenity. Mostly, the reason for this was the packaging. At that time, records were wrapped in bland, blank paper like hooch or in cardboard sleeves, and sometimes had the name of the producer of the record or the store selling it.
By the 20s, record albums started appearing on the market. A record album then was basically just a photo album: a book with empty sleeves that you fill with your own records. That’s how the name record album came to be when describing an LP. Records were pretty fragile and using the album meant fewer records would break. Then, in the 30s, record companies started selling record albums pre-filled. These would be sold by artist or theme or genre. This was a great idea but they still had no artwork to differentiate the albums so it was hard to find what you wanted and often kind of confusing.
Columbia, who’d been making records for a while, hired a 23-year-old fresh out of Parsons design school to handle their advertising and marketing. His name was Alex Steinweiss. This was 1938. Steinweiss saw the album cover as an opportunity to increase sales. If the covers stood out, people would notice them.
For his first album cover, he and a photographer went to the Imperial Theatre on West 45th Street. Steinweiss convinced the owner to let them change the marquee for a few minutes on a night when the theatre wasn’t open. He swapped out some letters, lit the marquee, and snapped a photo. This photo turned into the first album cover art ever. The album was “Smash Song Hits by Rodgers & Hart”.
Today is the first of what we hope to be a continuing series focusing on album cover art. For this episode, we’re going to look at some of the coolest jazz record covers of all time and talk about the people who designed them. Many of these people, almost all men, go figure, created styles and thematic art that’s still being copied today. Unfortunately, a lot of these designers have been forgotten by most. Those are the ones we really want to spotlight.
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The Four Records Featured on this Show:
The Max Roach Trio - Three-Four Vs. Six-Eight Four Four Ways
Ahmed Abdul-Malik - Song of Delilah
Albert Ayler - Heart Love
Bobb Humphrey - Chicago, Damn
Album covers discussed in the episode:
Alex Steinweiss with the First Album Cover Ever
S. Neil Fujita
Prophet Jennings
Esmond Edwards
Don Schlitten
Marvin Israel
Loring Eutemy
Pete Turner
Bill Claxton
Paul Bacon
Reid Miles
EPISODE 45: The 'Clise Vs The Squeeze
EPISODE 45: The 'Clise Vs The Squeeze
In this special episode, Ryan and Joe duke it out over who is the most essential least essential member of the greatest band of all time, The Velvet Underground: Angus MacLise or Doug Yule.
One of them never recorded a single note with the band while the other plays on more tracks than John Cale and Nico combined. One is unfairly maligned for his pop sensibilities and desire for fame and the other is unfairly praised for his staunch experimentalism and anti-consumerist proclivities. One was there at the onset and one witnessed the demise.
The Clise versus The Squeeze.
Listen Here:
The Four Records Featured on this Album:
The Velvet Underground - Dopey Joe
Angus Maclise/Tony Conrad - Druid's Leafy Nest
Elliott Murphy - Last of the Rock Stars
Galaxie 500 - Tugoat
Angus's Calligraphy and Art:
Squeeze ERA Velvets:
EPISODE 44: ACH-TUNES: Hits in Other Languages
EPISODE 44: ACH-TUNES: Hits in Other Languages
As the relevance of rock and roll began to explode, labels and managers wanted to exploit and milk those hits for all they were worth, for fear of it being a fad and dying out quickly. To maximize popularity and exposure, labels in the UK would often prep bands for European tours by having their stars record their own hits in other languages. Most famously, the Beatles were strong-armed into recording German versions of both “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and She Loves You”. These were recorded in Paris and for I Want to Hold Your Hand, they simply recorded the new vocals over the existing instruments like a Liverpudlian karaoke night. With “She Loves You” however, the masters had been erased by EMI which had been standard practice at the time. They re-recorded the whole song, which made this the only song they recorded outside of London.
Today, we go over a marketing gimmick designed to expand popularity and ingratiate bands to potential fans across the globe. Some bands were far more prolific and successful with their foreign language recordings. Some were abysmal. Enough of them were fascinating.
These are some of the stories of bands and artists performing their own tunes in foreign languages.
Listen Here:
The Four Records Featured on This Episode:
Catherine Ribeiro + Alpes - Roc Alpin
David Bowie - Heroes (French)
Bruce Low - Das alte Haus von Rocky Docky
Kyu Sakamoto - Sukiyaki
Some records/artists mentioned:
Also, Coq Roq
EPISODE 43: Avandaro
EPISODE 43: Avandaro
Are you as sick of Fyre documentaries as we are? We thought so. This week's episode is all about a festival that took place over two September days in 1971. The festival was controversial and featured historic performances from Mexican psychedelic bands at the height of La Onda. It was also condemned by conservative government leaders, with the president of Mexico declaring, "While we regret and condemn the phenomenon of Avándaro, it also encourages us in our belief that only a small part of our youth are in favor of such acts and entertainment."
Find out how the festival came about, why it upset so many people, and hear about some of the best psychedelic bands you may know nothing at all about. Yet.
Join us, won't you?
Listen here:
The Four Records Featured in This Episode:
Laghonia - And I Saw Her Walking
Los Belmonts - Aprietalo
Ana y Jaime - Nina Nana
Los Plugz - Hombre Secreto
Much of the research/music from this episode came from:
Eric Zolov - Refried Elvis: The Rise of the Mexican Counterculture
Vuelve Primavera Blog
Songs Featured on this Episode:
EPISODE 42: The Butthole Surfers in the 1980s
EPISODE 42: The Butthole Surfers in the 1980s
In this episode, we explore the world of the Butthole Surfers during the 1980s when they were the best live band in the country and one of the most interesting bands ever. Much of the show is spent on stories of debauchery, including feeding excrement to fish, exploring the flammability of New Jersey, ex-presidents touching defiled suitcases, and more! Join us, won't you?
Listen here:
The Four Records Featured on this Episode:
Sir Doug and the Texas Tornados - Give Back the Key to My Heart
Golden Dawn - Starvation
Roky Erikson - I Have Always Been Here Before
Grant Hart - The Main
Most of the research for this episode came from these three books:
Let's Go to Hell: Scattered Memories of the Butthole Surfers by James Burns
Scatological Alchemy: A Gnostic Biography of the Butthole Surfers by Ben Graham
Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991 by Michael Azerrad
EPISODE 41: Silly Musician Ancedotes
EPISODE 41: Silly Musician Ancedotes
For this episode, we look back on stories we spent time researching but couldn't fit into an episode. That, and just plain goofy stories about goofy musicians.
Find out what Prince did to make Michael Jackson run screaming from a room. Find out how to pronounce Hasil Adkins first name correctly. Plus Chickens! Space! T-Bone Burnett! Find out how Ryan's cold sounds after an hour of talking (not good). All that and a few off the beaten path holiday tunes and more!!
Listen Here:
Four Records Featured on This Episode:
Rod Rodgers - Santa Claus Goes Modern
Vashti Bunyan - Coldest Night of the Year
Pink Mountaintops - Holiday
Big Star - Jesus Christ (demo)
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