Monthly update coming up...

OK. So 50 percent of the Radio Dupree staff came back from London, England with very little to add to the Radio Dupree playlist.
Granted, we got a free copy of the HMV Playlist CD when we bought the CD/DVD edition of Donald Fagen's Morph The Cat, but even though we haven't had the time or inclination to listen to the 18 tracks, we seriously doubt that there will be much on it that we can play on Radio Dupree.

Of course we could be wrong... This weekend will bring the answer as I (that's Neb, by the way) will have to listen to the CD before it's off to Kalmar in the south of Sweden leaving Radio Dupree - playlist and all - in the capable hands of Sigurd.
The weekend also means the big update over on the homepage. Updated on a once-a-month basis it's time to add some news about artists that we like and play. Look out for news about Captain Beefheart as well as a new big name Steely Dan-tribute CD.

There's also the monthly chart of listener's favourites. Maybe a bit less exciting than the weekly chart, but still... If you want to make a change to what we play, please write us a letter at radiodupree@yahoo.se or press the up and down buttons while listening to the music we feature.

To get your imagination and curiosity going I'm adding the past week's Top 10. Let's see what the monthly Top 40, 50 or whatever will look like this Sunday! You can make a change...

P.S.
We're also closing in on April 16. Which will be our third anniversary. Expect some celebratory extras around and about that date.

Radio Dupree Top 10 - Listener's favourites for the past seven days.

1. Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway - Seconds Out
2. John's Children - Smashed Blocked - The Legendary Orgasm Album
3. Frank Zappa - Imaginary Diseases - Imaginary Diseases
4. Frank Zappa - Easy Meat - Halloween (audio DVD)
5. El Presidente - Without You - CD-single
6. The Beatles - Your Mother Should Know - Magical Mystery Tour
7. Frank Zappa - D.C. Boogie - Imaginary Diseases
8. The Byrds - You Won't Have To Cry - Mr. Tambourine Man
9. David Bowie - Boys Keep Swinging - Lodger
10. The Persuasions - Electric Aunt Jemima - The Persuasions Sing Zappa

Vanz? Zanz? & The Law

Being in my mid-forties it's not that strange that one of my earliest contacst with popular music came in the form of the early 70's hit-machine called Creedence Clearwater Revival.
My first rock single was a CCR single. My first album was a CCR album.

I've also followed the leader of that group; John Fogerty, through a sparse but still solo career.
He had some troubles with the record company that CCR was on in the 60's/70's, but ended up back on the Fantasy label late last year after many a day in court and refusing to play his old CCR-hits to keep the label and his former bandmates from earning any money off of him.

Why am I telling you all this? Well, just because we're currently playing a song called Vanz Can't Danz from his 1985 comeback Centerfield. A song about the boy Billy and his pig named Vanz. The pig steals the money from the listeners as the boy plays.
The original lyrics of the song says:

" You're watchin' 'em dance, not a care in the world;
So Billy and Zanz get busy, they're makin' their move;
The little pig knows what to do, he's silent and quick, just like Oliver Twist;
Before it's over, your pocket is clean,
A four-legged thief paid a visit on you."

Vanz Can't Dance was originally titled Zanz Can't Dance, and Fogerty's former boss at Fantasy Records; Saul Zaentz issued a lawsuit saying the song was about him.
Fogerty in turn issued a revised version of the song changing the lead character's name to Vanz. And that settled that. Still... ;)

We do have the original vinyl Zanz-version, and might play that, but in the meantime I'm glad John has gotten over (most of) the ghosts hiding in Fantasy, Zaentz and CCR. He's recording and touring and I'm looking forward to seeing him this summer here in Sweden.

Neb

Donald new at 9!

Nice!

We've just come back from six days in England to find that Morph The Cat enters the Swedish album chart at 9. And we even got our hands on that bonus track only available as part of the download version of Morph The Cat in the USA; Rhymes - a cover of an Al Green song.

We like Al and also what Donald's done with Rhymes.

Note: Apparently Rhymes will also be part of the boxed set of The Nightfly/(a remixed?) Kamakiriad/Morph The Cat released later this year.

R.I.P. Martin Lickert

Martin Lickert, who by almost a coincidence got a role in Zappa’s film 200 Motels, has passed away.

Guardian Unlimited reports that Lickert died suddenly, only in his 50s.

Ringo Starr had a role in 200 Motels (1971), a surrealistic movie about the life of on the road with Zappa’s band The Mothers. During the shootings in London bass player Jeff Simmons left.

Zappa was more or less desperate and told the entourage that the next person to walk into the room would have the part.
In walked the young Martin Lickert who worked as Ringo Starr’s chauffeur. He had something of a popstar look and actually also some experience of playing the bass.

Later in his life Lickert became a bookmaker, then horse owner and then a barrister.

In an interview published on www.idiotbastard.supanet.com (probably from the early 1990’s) the reporter asks Lickert if he actually did play the 200 Motels bass parts himself:

“We played and recorded it live, but whoever was doing the mixing and whoever was doing the sound job clearly wasn’t listening very closely to the bass parts. So I think Frank in fact overdubbed most of it. For someone of my limited ability, some of the stuff on that album is pretty difficult.”

Radio Dupree listeners may recall a sound snippet we use to run, a voice saying something like “You could have played the blues like John Mayall...or some far out exciting jazz like Blood Sweat & Tears”. That’s from the dialogue on 200 Motels...That’s Martin Lickert.

Rest in peace, Martin!

Respect

We do visit forums and discussion groups dealing with our favorite artist, and one thing that I (Neb) have noticed is that the positive vibe of the early days seem to have a harder and harder time surviving.
A lot of the places end up becoming a slowly shrinking watering hole for the original clique. Newbies are at best treated with indifference, and a lot of time is spent rehashing old differences or just abusing each other as the new visitors turn away one by one...

Freedom of speech and a right to state ones thoughts doesn't equal behaving in a way that wouldn't work IRL (in real life).

When singer/songwriter Warren Zevon was terminally ill he was discussed in such a way that the web-based fans got a couple of less than pleasant lines in one of the songs on his final album:

To the green horned chicken hoppers I say: "Get yourself a trade.
Or go back to the chat room and fade in the shade".

Treat people with respect. Online as well as offline.

We've added Warren Zevon's Rub Me Raw. Enjoy.

March on Radio Dupree

Zappa fans should find it extra interesting to tune in Radio Dupree during March. We will play the latest Zappa release, Imaginary Diseases, as album of the month.
Radio Dupree station manager Sigurd Huckle says "It's a mystery why Frank didn't use any of this material for the You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore series. It seems more and more evident that he didn't really knew what goodies he had in the tape vault."

And while the first show of Donald Fagen's tour in support of his upcoming solo album Morph The Cat has fans discussing the band, the songs and the length of the show, we at Radio Dupree just got the full album!

The sticker on the front of the CD can be seen here. And Neb thinks that the drawn cat looks cute but also like it could scratch your eyes out!

(More on everything as the homepage is updated ... soonish!)