You bet your sweet bippy.
Cartoonist Will Elder died yesterday at the age of 86. Elder was known for his wild parodies of other comics, wicked caricatures, and jam-packed frames. He worked for Mad Magazine, along with Trump, Humbug, Help!, and Playboy. His characters included Melvin Mole, Goodman Beaver, and probably best known, Little Annie Fanny. I always thought that innocent, buxom Annie was much sexier than the actual women in Playboy, which I guess says a lot about me. Anyway, thanks Will!Read more about Will here
I just got hipped to "Babies Dream Big" by Brooklyn musician and composer Alan Wilkis. OK, I got the word from Alan himself, but so what. The CD is pretty cool and should appeal to devotees of Casio-based, early 80s synth pop. Alan cites Kraftwerk, Johnny Cash, Van Halen, and Frank Zappa, among many others, as his influences. Sounds to me like a lo-fi cross between Todd Rundgren, George Clinton, and The Dazz Band. Alan has a lovely falsetto voice, and his songs would not have sounded out of place on 1970s/80s top-40 radio. In other words, my kind of music.
Don't take my word for it. Cruise over to Alan's MySpace page and hear for yourself.
I don't know what makes this book authentic, but it's pretty hilarious. Written by Ted Shane and illustrated by the immortal VIP, Bar Guide has recipes for such bygone drinks as The Kitchen Sink, Oppenheimer's u235, and Oh Nurse! The recipes have smirky one-liners to go with them. For the Yachting Club Special: "Put on your yachting cap, lash her to the mast, and go down the old Hatch." Published in 1950 by True, the men's magazine.
I tended bar for 10 years, but I never quite got the hang of the bottle-in-the-mouth trick.
The Beatles Project #4: Ordinary Obvious Tour
Here's number 4 of The Beatles Project, some fine interpretations of Magical Mystery Tour. I guess that because it's one of their trippiest outings (what was John on when he wrote the lyrics to "I Am The Walrus," and how can I get some?) the cover versions here are pretty out there.
We open with the immortal Cheap Trick doing a raucous version of the title cut. "The Fool on the Hill" is given an appropriately winsome, pan flute and vocal treatment by Fernando Diaz. "Flying," the only instrumental the band did(?) is taken on by electronic artist Yomano. Colin Newman does an angst-ridden version of "Blue Jay Way" that brings out the creepiness of the song. Les Merseys do "Your Mother Should Know" in French, followed by a wacky, nearly 11 minute jazz take on "Walrus" by The Colin Towns Mask Orchestra. Another French cover, this time of "Hello, Goodbye" by Les Intrigantes precedes The Better Beatle's bizarre reconstruction of "Penny Lane." Thanks to WFMU's Beware Of The Blog for this one. Go here for an even wierder version of "Elenor Rigby." A spacy "Strawberry Fields is done by Signs, and then Dr. Zing does a straight ahead cover of "Baby You're A Rich Man." A lovely, electronica version of "All You Need Is Love" by Gabriela Vega closes out the set.
Ordinary Obvious Tour
Pinup goddess Bettie Page turns 85 today. Judging from a fairly recent photo, she still looks great. To honor the great lady I suggest you put on your best leopard skin bikini, cut your hair in bangs, and give yourself a good spanking.
check out the official Bettie Page website, with lots of info and stuff to buy. While you're at it you can book your ticket to the Bettie Page Halloween Theme Cruise 2008, which sounds a hell of a lot more fun than Holland America.
