It's been a crazy summer for me. Between moving, computer issues, and some other stuff, a lot of great music sent my way has slipped by. Today I wanted to catch up with artists previously featured on Those Who Dig and share their latest music and news.
Jonny Corndawg, TWD's favorite singer/songwriter, marathoner, leather worker, and self-proclaimed "big drinker of little juices" is currently cruising down the east coast touring record stores in promotion of his soon to be released album Down on the Bikini Line. This blogger was more than happy to be in attendance at last nights show in Baltimore at The Sound Garden. Although previous album, I'm Not Ready to be a Daddy, was a bitchin', this new opus brings the Corndawg into a whole new echelon.
You need three good reasons to love Down on the Bikini Line? Here they are: 1. His backing band is Dawes. 2. There's a song called Life of a Bear; it's about the life of a bear. 3. Jonny Corndawg can run faster and farther than you. You dig?
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Still can't enough of The Velvet Underground & Nico? Check out a few more cool things.
The cover of The Velvet Underground & Nico bears his – not the band's – name and his banana. What else did Andy Warhol bring to the table?
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I heard "Death or Glory" in the car yesterday while on my trip in Milwaukee. So here's Joe Strummer. Pour a little out for my man.
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It's time once again for Weekly Roundup, check it out!
It's well established that The Velvet Underground & Nico is highly influential. Let's take a quick look at some interpretations by and influences upon subsequent artists.
In 2009 a collection of Andy Warhol screen tests was released – 13 Most Beautiful… Songs for Andy Warhol's Screen Tests. The DVD is a compilation of extended looks at celebrities set against music which reflects their personalities. Warhol and the Velvet Underground had a fruitful creative relationship so it's not surprising that Lou Reed would lend his face to this project. However, what makes this chapter of the DVD so cool is that Lou Reed manages to exude American rock and roll simply by drinking a Coke. The accompanying song is I'm Not a Young Man Anymore from a 1967 bootleg of The Velvet Underground. I don't know about you, but this kind of makes me thirsty.
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Our month long coverage of the Velvet Underground at Those Who Dig begins tonight with a look at the group's debut album: The Velvet Underground & Nico. Peel slowly and see.
Darondo – Didn't I
I've always wanted to be one of those bearded guys that wear fedoras and have encyclopedic knowledge of soul and funk. You know, the guys that can name everyone who recorded for Stax in 1962 and have a room devoted to the thousands of long-lost soul LPs they've found after spending countless hours in dank record stores searching through those dusty stacks that pile up underneath the nicely organized vinyl.
That's what I want to be when I grow up. Fuck astronauts. Reality is, though, that I'm a long, long way from being that guy and as much as I love the soul, funk, and Motown genres, I've never been good at finding lost gems unless someone gives them to me.
Today is different. I discovered Darondo all by my myself (well after Gilles Peterson discovered him a few years ago). His story is the stuff of legend: allegedly a San Francisco pimp who recorded 3 singles and played 4 shows (including one with James Brown) in the 1970's before becoming an artifact collector, local cable star, and physical therapist. No man with that great of a story can make anything but great music. And he does. Groove this one.
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