Mats and Morgan play Zappa again

Just spoke to keyboardist Mats Öberg. Recently he and drummer friend Morgan Ågren played The Zappanale in Germany. They (plus a bass player, maybe Gustav Hjelm) had formed a temporary band with ex Zappa sideman Denny Walley.
Four gigs in Germany and Sweden. Several Zappa songs on the repertoire: Magic Fingers, Suicide Chump, Bamboozled By Love, Debra Kadabra (!)...
In Bad Doberan (The Zappanale) two other Zappa legends showed up on stage: Ike Willis and Robert Martin (the latter did an impromptu rendition of The Illinois Enema Bandit with the boys.)
Mats says that both Ike and Robert did great. Mr Martin remembered Mats and Morgan from their guest appearance at Frank Zappa's concert in Stockholm in '88: "It's an honour to share the stage with you guys again."

/Siggy, Radio Dupree

Pete & Scarlett: Embedding the hard way...

(This one with a voice message stating that the video is now available.)

Somtimes we do think that record companies and allies don't really care about selling records or even getting the information out there. With the investment made in a recording you'd expect the basics being met as far as Internet availability goes. But no.

Here's just one troublesome marketing blunder not helping a fine album and a nice enough song finding an audience.

Actress Scarlett Johansson did an album of Tom Waits covers that we found so-so. Here's the next step. A duet album with Pete Yorn recorded a couple of years ago. And to our ears it is a step in the right direction. So we wanted to share the song Relator here.

Result? See the images above. Even the official homepage for the album serves you an error message when you try to embed the video. You're shut out. And that won't insipre your curiosity or help spread the word.

(At the same time the whole album - officially out September 15 - can already be found on those pesky torrent sites...)

We do like the song and did manage to find one place where it was possible to embed to share. Like this:

Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson - Relator @ Yahoo! Video

BBC having a Beatles Bank Holiday

It's Beatles all over the place this weekend for BBC radio. Here's the page to see what, where and when.

(Oddly enough just a week or so before the remastered Beatles CD's will be released. And just another prime example of "Public service" (i.e. commercial free) media working hand in hand with the record industry.)

Dylan Xmas Album

If you haven't already you can see what the cover of Bob Dylan's Christmas Album looks like here.

Out October 13 it will feature songs like Here Comes Santa Claus, I'll Be Home For Christmas and Winter Wonderland.

Zappa live '76 release?

The Zappa Family Trust seems to plan another Vaulternative records live concert release.
http://www.idiotbastard.com/news.htm reports that Dweezil Zappa has said that a live FZ concert circa 1976 will be released soon featuring Terry Bozzio and "a female singer".
If it's true, this is really good news! Must be the show in Philadelphia (October 29, 1976) featuring Lady Bianca (Bianca Thornton).
To this day there is only one song from that line up released on an album, Wind Up Workin' In A Gas Station. Listen to that (You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore, Vol. 6) and you'll realize why we are so enthusiastic about this rumour.

The band: Frank Zappa, Terry Bozzio, Ray White, Patrick O'Hearn, Eddie Jobson and Bianca Thornton.

Songs played: Purple Lagoon intro/Stink-Foot/Poodle Lecture/Dirty Love/Wind Up Workin' In A Gas Station/Tryin' To Grow A Chin/The Torture Never Stops/City Of Tiny Lites (incl. The Sanzini Brothers Pyramid Trick)/You Didn't Try To Call Me/Manx Needs Women/Titties 'N' Beer/Black Napkins/Advance Romance/Honey, Don't You Want A Man Like Me?/Rudy Wants To Buy Yez A Drink/Would You Go All The Way?/Daddy Daddy Daddy/What Kind Of Girl Do You Think We Are?/Dinah-Moe Humm/Purple Lagoon reprise/Stranded In The Jungle/Find Her Finer/Camarillo Brillo/Muffin Man/Purple Lagoon outro.

Zappa films on the screen

Recently they showed Uncle Meat. Now it's time for TWO more Zappa flicks:

200 MOTELS & BABY SNAKES -
Together At Last

Presented by American Cinematheque

Aero Theatre 1328 Montana Avenue at 14th Street in Santa Monica
Thursday, August 27, 2009
$10 Box office opens at 6:30pm
Screening at 7:30pm

(Thanks to zappa.com for the information)

Radio musical tonight! The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman

Clicking one of these links should stream Swedish Radio P1!

Windows Media - Broadband version

Windows Media - Modem version

Real Audio version

Sparks: Ron and Russell Mael

Friday August 14 at 19:03 Swedish time we'll sit down in front of the old radio (or computer) to listen to the world premiere of The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman featuring Sparks.

[Here's a time zone converter so you can check what time it's on according to your clock:
http://www.timezoneconverter.com/cgi-bin/tzc.tzc
New York = 1:03PM, Tokyo = 02:03 Saturday morning and so on]

We already wrote about it here, so this is just a reminder. And if you can't catch the premiere it will air on two more occasions (August 16 at 22:03 and August 23 at 00:15 Swedish time) as well as be available online for 30 days. We'll update this post with links later, but here are a couple to start:

The Swedish Radio page about the play/radio musical is here (in Swedish)
- includes a couple of short clips of the music as well as an interview in English with Russell Mael -

A Swedish version of the musical is released on CD today and limited to 1000 copies. An English version will follow later this autumn.

Cover of the Swedish CD version

UPDATE: Here's the link if you want to listen on demand. It will open in a separate window and should be live for 30 days and work until September 13, 2009.

RIP Les Paul

Les Paul, artist, guitarist, pioneer and inventor of the solid body guitar and multitrack recording technique, has died aged 94.

A long and full life. Read the Wikipedia entry here.

The Daily Telegraph obitiuary here.

The official Les Paul homepage.

And here's Les Paul with Mary Ford on American television in 1953 having a bit of fun trying to explain the magic of overdubbing your own playing and singing;

Radio Dupree Top 25 - August 2009

1. The Beatles - I'll Be On My Way
Live At The BBC

2. Adrian Belew - Swingline
Lone Rhino

3. The Beatles - You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)
Past Masters Volume Two

4. Steely Dan - Don't Take Me Alive
The Royal Scam

5. Marian McPartland & Steely Dan - Black Friday
Piano Jazz: McPartland/Steely Dan

6. Frank Zappa - Chunga's Revenge (edit)
Joe's Menage

7. Clubouse - Do It Again/Billie Jean
vinyl 45

8. Mats/Morgan Band - Baader Puff/Paltsug
On Air With Guests

9. Paul And Linda McCartney - Too Many People
Ram

10. John Lee Hooker & Jim Morrison - Roadhouse Blues
Stoned Immaculate - The Music Of The Doors

11. Steely Dan - The Caves Of Altamira - The Royal Scam
12. Sneaker - Don't Let Me In (demo) - Sneaker
13. Blue Floyd - Beatjam/Come Together - Begins
14. Marian McPartland/Steely Dan - Things Ain't What They Used to Be - Piano Jazz: McPartland/Steely Dan
15. Dick Heckstall-Smith - What The Morning Was After - A Story Ended
16. The Doors - Spanish Caravan - The Best Of
17. The Animals - Shake - Animalism
18. The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
19. Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show - Looking For Pussy - Sloppy Seconds
20. The Beatles - Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
21. Steely Dan - The Fez - The Royal Scam
22. Frank Zappa - Disco Boy - Zoot Allures
23. The Doors - Easy Ride - The Soft Parade
24. Cream - I'm So Glad - Fresh Cream
25. Santana - Black Magic Woman/Gipsy Queen - Abraxas

-------------------------------------------------------
Chart compiled by listeners voting
on the songs they hear on Radio Dupree

Our Album of the Month-artists for July; The Doors, managed to sneak two tracks into the Top 25. A month when The Beatles did well. Could it be the September remasters that had fans listening in and pressing the thumbs up-button? Will we have to go out and get all those remasters to play here? Surprising number one song though...

We'll see what Jethro Tull's Album of the Month; Stand Up, can do on the next chart.

August 8 1969: Abbey Road cover shoot

On Saturday August 8 it is exactly 40 years since photographer Iain Macmillan shot the famous cover of what was to become The Beatles final album; Abbey Road.

Show how's the Abbey Road crossing doing today? The BBC has a fine article and video here:

And if you feel like watching the Abbey Road Studios live web cam it is available here:

According to the BBC article Saturday is supposed to be an extra busy day at the zebra crossing with record numbers of fans turning up to cross the street and take photographs while doing it.
(Doing it in the road?)

Finally a page filled with various record covers "inspired" by the original. What's your favourite? We're kind of partial to the one by The Friars Of The Community Of St. Saviour's Monastery.

Madeleine Peyroux interview

From Times Online:
Madeleine Peyroux, reluctant star

Fogerty + Springsteen = When Will I Be Loved

It's been promised that the first song from John Fogerty's The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again will start streaming on his homepage today, Tuesday August 4. And the song is a cover of When Will I Be Loved with Bruce Springsteen adding his touch to the proceedings.

While we wait for the streaming over on www.johnfogerty.com to commence, let us ponder what it will sound like. We did not, like a few eagle-eyed Fogerty-fans, catch the unplanned pre-preview of the whole album that took place for a short while yesterday on Verve Records site, so we have no idea what John Fogerty and Bruce Springsteen might come up with.

Wait... Let's correct ourselves there... We do have an idea what their version of When Will I Be Loved will sound like. It will sound like the original hit version from The Everly Brothers.

Not like Linda Ronstadt's version from the 70's. Not Rockpile's. And so on. Our money is on a traditional cover in the Everly Brothers mode.

Meanwhile, back in court: Steve Hackett's wife stakes claim to Genesis songs

Steve Hackett was the lead guitarist in Genesis before leaving the group to go solo in 1977.
Now the rights to royalties from the songs from the Genesis period is part of a the divorce proceedings between Steve Hackett and wife Kim Poor.
(Which she won't be if the judge sees it her way.)

Read it all here in Times Online

Five song connection - what?

Uncle Meat in movie theatre

zappa.com reports that Frank Zappa's movie Uncle Meat was planned for its first US screening ever on August 2.

"...Presented by American Cinematheque

Egyptian Theatre 6712 Hollywood Boulevard
Sunday, August 2, 2009
$10 Box office opens at 6pm
Screening at 7:30pm"

Frank started the movie project with the Mothers in the 60's but the movie was not completed and it took him 20 years to get it ready for a video release. But wouldn't it be great to be able to see it in a movie theatre? Anyone out there who attended the festivities?

http://www.zappa.com/whatsnew/index.html

New Pope record coming!

Pope Benedict XVI will release Alma Mater, an album of Lauretan litanies and prayers with musical accompaniment, on November 30.

The big question we're asking is of course if this will mean we'll have a new Pope on top of the pop(e) charts? Will Benedict do better than John Paul?

In 1982, John Paul II reached the charts with The Pilgrim Pope.
In 1994 he did it again with The Rosary.