FRANK SINATRA - Rain In My Heart / Star! - Reprise-0798 - 1969

Winter, so far, has been fucking brutal. I seem to recall last year's winter being much more tolerable, I'd almost go as far as to say it was a warm one.

I remember a particularly strange day from last winter, right about this time of year, when I woke up on Johnny's couch, all confused, and decided to call out of work and take the train down to Coney Island. I walked around, up and down the boardwalk with my coat in hand, the wind feeling suspiciously warm. I could write some real syrupy shit about how beautiful it was, but that's not exactly true. In theory, it could've been, but there was a lot of darkness for me to sort through. At one point I remember sitting on the sand, thinking to myself "there's something wrong with everything." Some woman with the brightest yellow coat I'd ever seen walked past me and asked if I was OK, said I looked worried. I told her I thought I was going blind, which made no sense at all. At another point I was sitting at the end of the pier and I had this retarded urge to just jump off the edge, or maybe punch myself in the face really really hard, or, if nothing else, just sit and weep like a small child. I'm glad I didn't follow through with any of those things though, I would've looked like a fucking idiot. Eventually my sense of loneliness scared the shit out of me and I went back home.

I think I can say that this year isn't feeling as dark as last, although I can't exactly say that it's full of light either. Maybe it's most accurate to say that it's being filled with a bunch of really confusing colors.

What connection does any of this have to Frank Sinatra? I dunno, maybe none, but there's something quite heavy about this song. At moments it makes me wanna empty my bank account, spend it all on a custom suit, and walk straight into the ocean.


Frank Sinatra - Rain In My Heart:

LOVE - Alone Again Or / A House Is Not A Motel - Elektra-45629 - 1967

I flew back to Rochester a few weeks ago for a super quick visit (just long enough to justify the cost of the flights..) and it was pretty awful. I kept thinking 'how could this shithole manage to get worse?' but it certainly did. Tyler chauffeured me to an old haunt to see some of the people that used to alternately entertain and irritate me, but they all died I guess. Oh well.

Later we ended up somewhere else, drinking whiskey (and Tyler a Coke most likely. [or was it Milk..? Who can remember?]) out of a bottle shaped like a horse head. Some girl nearby was making some comment about hating love, she looked angsty and punk enough to mean the human emotion, but it turns out she meant Arthur Lee's Love. What a retard.

I ended up at Tyler's, drunk, trying to make Leah jealous because now there's only one degree of separation between me and Vincent Gallo's dick.

LOVE - Alone Again Or


LOVE - A House Is Not A Motel

THE TOYS - May My Heart Be Cast Into Stone / On Backstreet - DynoVoice-218 - 1966

"May My Heart Be Cast Into Stone" was included in the incredible "One Kiss Can Lead To Another" girl groups box set and to me was one of the initial stand out tracks. I believe this is their last single for DynoVoice, and seems like the toughest to find. It took me a while to find a remotely clean copy.

Turns out the B side is pretty great too.


THE TOYS - May My Heart Be Cast Into Stone:


THE TOYS - On Backstreet:

LITTLE WILLIE JOHN - Fever / Letter From My Darling - King-4935 - 1956

This may be a bit premature since I've barely listened to the B-side of this single, but I can't contain my enthusiasm for this record. I must've listened to 'Fever' 12 times in a row when I first put this on my tables. Dead serious. 'Letter From My Darling' may be amazing as well, but I have to wait until I get over this song before I can even try listening to it objectively.

The other day I decided to break up my normal daily, after-work routine of wandering around aimlessly like a lost, mute child by planting myself on the floor of a record store to dig through their 'garbage bin' 45's. (Since I have no money, and bargain bin wears are all I can afford.) Typically digging through these boxes is a tiring and unrewarding experience, however, I think someone made a mistake (or is retarded) and mis-tagged a bunch of really good stuff and stuck it in the crap box. I think I ended up with 25-30 45's & spent less than 10 bucks. All good stuff; this record included.

Two of my all-time favorites (Elvis & The Cramps) do amazing versions of 'Fever,' so I figured it would be near impossible for someone else to come close to either of their takes on the song. Now, you'll have to excuse me for my ignorance, but somehow I missed out on Little Willie John's original. I guess it could have something to do with the fact that I was born 26 years after it was released. (Maybe. I dunno.)

But Goddamn! was I missing out. Where Elvis and The Cramps make 'Fever' work so well with a very minimalistic approach, Little Willie John's rendition is a blast of kinetic energy and it's bursting at the seams with soul. While this is still technically the same song that Elvis and The Cramps have done so perfectly, they move in such different ways that there's really no comparing them. Willie John's 'Fever' took me by surprise though, I have to admit. This song kills me. It makes me so fucking pumped I just wanna spin-kick Mike Neault down the stairs and do a little tap dance at the top.

Enjoy..

(note: this is an old entry, re-posted to include the song.)

Little Willie John - Fever

:::: A Couple Points of Interest ::::

1. I've been DJ'ing in Brooklyn more and more and it's been really great. I'm spinning all 45's (except for the occasional LP when I step outside for a minute [a 6 hour shift requires a few breaks..]) Here's what's coming up..

:: Friday, July 10, 10pm-4am - THE BOULEVARD TAVERN (579 Meeker in Greenpoint)

:: Wednesday, July 22, 10pm-4am - K&M (225 North 8th St. in Williamsburg)

:: Saturday, August 1, 10pm-4am - THE BOULEVARD TAVERN (My Birthday Party!!!)

Plus more to come. Be there.


2. How could Sky Saxon's death go so largely unnoticed? He got the short end of the death stick in almost the exact same way that Darby Crash did. Both were entirely overshadowed by a mega-celebrity's death (John Lennon and MJ) and it's a real shame. They were both crucially important in their own ways to the music surrounding and succeeding them, yet they were forgotten within minutes of their deaths. Sky's music has been far more important to me than MJ's, so I guess this is my attempt to pay tribute to him. I'll be sure to play all of my Seeds 45's when I DJ tomorrow night.. RIP Sky.


3. Sirius Radio's "Underground Garage" show is nearly unlistenable. I try to get into it, but the truth is that I just don't care about A LOT of what they play. Maybe it's that I expect something different to come from a station named "Underground Garage." I dunno. I usually just stick to the 50's station. Consistently much better.


4. If you haven't, check out the blogs on my little side list. Some great stuff. My two current favorites are Derek's Daily 45 Blog and People Mover.

All for now.
PsychedelicElvis

THE CRAZY WORLD OF ARTHUR BROWN - I Put A Spell On You / Nightmare - Track-2582 - 1968

What a freakshow.




Arthur Brown - I Put A Spell On You


Arthur Brown - Nightmare