I discovered J.D. Salinger’s seminal novel of teenage angst when I was in eighth grade. At the time I didn’t know anything about it other than the fact that it was widely considered to be a “literary classic”.

The cover provided no clues as to the book’s contents. It was simply a blank, maroon cover with the title and author’s name in gold Times New Roman capitalized. And the same on the back. There was no synopsis, no blurbs hailing it as a masterpiece, nothing except the author’s credit and that title.

Catcher in the Rye. What did that lousy title even mean anyway?

Even without really knowing anything about the novel, I felt compelled to read it. Not because I had to for school, because I wanted to. So I did. I don’t know exactly what it was about the mysterious little book that drew me in. It was probably that title.

I just had to know what the hell it meant. 

By this point in my life I already had a lot of books under my belt, but almost all of them were fantastical in one way or another. It was a lot of sci-fi, sword & sorcery, and, like most horror-obsessed kids of my generation, the complete works of Stephen King.

Catcher in The Rye was to be my first foray into “serious” adult literature. 

As a middle-schooler looking to expand my literary horizons, the idea of reading many of the so-called “classics” was a daunting one. Most of them were great, thick, books with impossibly small print in order to cram as many words on each page as possible. And although written in English, they seemed foreign to me. The language they used was somehow even more dense than the physical book in which held it. Many of these works were still intimidating to me when I had to read them in college years later, let alone as a thirteen year-old looking to read for pleasure.

But this book was different. It was short, especially when compared to the massive books I had recently tackled including, It and The Stand by the aforementioned Mr. King. Not to mention the print was normal sized. This was book I could easily digest, and I knew I could get through it, even it was a complete bore.

(Did I mention I have this thing about finishing a book once I start?)

Like I said, I had no idea what to expect when I started reading it. I certainly didn’t anticipate that it would completely change my life.

But it did. Like in a big way…

From the first paragraph my mind was blown wide open. It not only changed my whole perspective on what literature could be, it changed the way I looked at myself in relation to the world.

This was heavy stuff.

Of the countless books I had read up to this point, even the ones written in first person, none of them felt like they were speaking directly to me. Not really anyway.

They spoke to me in general sense. I was merely a passive witness to the narrator telling their story. This was different. I felt like Holden Caulfield was speaking directly to me personally, in a language I could understand and relate to. In fact, it was pretty much the same language my friends and I used when we were alone together, cuss words and all.

​It is ironic that the main reason this book is one of the most frequently challenged and banned of all time is the language. Because without it, this book wouldn’t have had nearly the same impact on me. The fact that Holden spoke so bluntly and realistically is exactly why his words resonated so much.

​One of the most heartbreaking things about adolescence is realizing that your idealized childhood perception of the world doesn’t really exist. For the first time you realize that there are a lot of Phonies, and life doesn’t always have a happy ending. It’s like a breath of fresh air for a young person dealing with this new sense of uncertainty to hear a voice that echoes their own, processing similar things in the same way. That language is part of what makes this book uniquely qualified as gateway to literature for disaffected youth.

Holden didn’t just talk like me, he felt like me. He was lost and confused, disillusioned with the looming idea of adulthood as the candy-colored façade of his childhood slowly eroded.

Suddenly I didn’t feel so alone in the world.

But I think the thing about Holden that connected with me most was the fact that in spite of being so heavy-hearted, he was consistently hilarious. I mean really funny. I found myself laughing out loud throughout pretty much the entire book and I immediately locked in on the idea that despair could be tempered with humor. It most certainly informed my own artistic endeavors later in life when I pursued my own writing and embarked on the journey of becoming a stand-up comic.

In addition to providing me with a new perspective on myself and the world at large, reading Catcher in the Rye for the first time also made me realize that fiction doesn’t have to be fantasy in order to be engrossing. In fact, sometimes realism can be even more compelling. Nor does it have to fit neatly into one box. It can be humorous and sad, nihilistic and inspiring, heartwarming and gut-wrenching, or all of the above at the same time.

Plus, I finally learned what the hell that lousy title was all about…

Neil Young explored similar themes of teenage disillusionment in the song, "Sugar Mountain", written on his nineteenth birthday. Here's a performance of it from the 1979 concert movie, Rust Never Sleeps.

Banned Books Week 2016: Celebrating our Freedom to Read (September 29th – October 1st)

http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/

I just came across this video on Facebook after it was shared on a friend's wall and I had to share.

It's Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young with Tom Jones delivering an earth shattering rendition of "Long Time Gone" from an episode of the ABC variety show, This is Tom Jones originally aired on October 16th, 1969.

Only a few months after Young joined the group, his blistering guitar work lays the groundwork for this loose and raucous performance. The guys in the band, Crosby and Nash in particular, are clearly amused and/or impressed by TJ's vocal prowess and collectively, they bring down the house.

This is officially now one of my favorite live performances of all time.

Enjoy!

It’s well documented that the story of Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys is a dark one, filled with horrors both real and imagined. Child abuse, mental health issues, familial bickering all, in some strange way contributed to some of the most beautiful music of the modern era.

And although The Beach Boys will always be remembered for their sunny pop melodies, there have been a few occasions on which they have dabbled in the macabre.
 
They included a cover of “Monster Mash” by Bobby “Boris” Pickett & the Crypt Keepers on their 1964 live album, Beach Boys Concert.

​Here they are performing the song live on the December 23, 1964 episode of the ABC variety series, Shindig!. Whatever your personal feelings towards Mike Love are in regards to the legacy of The Beach Boys, you have to admit it’s entertaining as hell to watch him ham it up in this clip.

It turns out The Beach Boys have a more than a passing association with “Monster Mash.” According to this 2014 Noisey article, before they broke big themselves, they backed Bobby “Boris” Pickett on one of his first live performances of the song.

And apparently it still holds a special place Brian Wilson’s heat, as he has used the song to sound check with his band at least as recently as 2009.

Brian Wilson has often been described as a mad scientist in terms songwriting and studio production, and nowhere does he embrace that persona more than in this 1970 demo recording. Intended be his spin on the concept of a Halloween novelty song, “My Solution” features a trippy spoken-word rap over a bed of Gothic synthesizers, laboratory sound effects, and some signature Beach Boys harmonies thrown in for good measure.

On the surface, “Never Learn to Love” the B-Side to The Beach Boys’ 1968 single “Bluebirds over the Mountain” wouldn’t seem to have any association with anything horrific, but it does have the dubious honor of being a rewrite  by Dennis Wilson of a song  by infamous murder conspirator and guru, Charles Manson called “Cease to Exist.” Manson was allegedly furious that his not only did Dennis change the lyrics to  his song, he also failed to credit him as a writer on the album, and as a result, threatened him with murder after its release. 

​It's clear that while much of the music of Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys was about having fun in the sun, they were no strangers to the creepy, crawling things that come out long after the sun has set.

Check out this absolutely smoking live performance of "Frankenstein" by the Edgar Winter Group from a 1973 television appearance. 

Edgar, a talented multi-instrumentalist, is a  beast on synth, sax, drums and the soundboard itself throughout the course of this MONSTER nine minute jam.

​Enjoy!

With the release of “I Put a Spell On You” in 1956, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins effectively invented the concept of “shock rock”.  Rock and roll was still in its infancy and Screamin' Jay was already upsetting the status quo with a stage show steeped in occult imagery, and sexually charged vocals which ranged from guttural, inhuman growls to screams that sounded as if they were echoing from the bowels of hell.

Originally intended as a tender love ballad, legend has it that Hawkins was blackout drunk when he went into the studio and bellowed out that immortal first take of“I Put a Spell on You”. As a result, the song was transformed into a searing testimony to unrequited love gone wrong, loaded with bad intentions, and dripping with testosterone-fueled swamp magic. Jay later admitted that he had to re-learn the song from that original recording in order to perform it in concert because he literally had no recollection of doing it..

If the parents of teens in the 1950’s were concerned that rock and roll was the devil’s music, Screamin’ Jay certainly seemed to support their case. By cavorting on stage with a bone through his nose and displaying his lust through a series of animalistic grunts and groans, he subverted white America’s black stereotypes by embracing them. And in doing so, he brought their worst nightmares to life.

Although subsequent cover versions were hits, Screamin' Jay’s own version of “I Put a Spell on You” never actually made the charts. But his impact on the history of rock and roll is undeniable. His influence can be seen in the generations of countless “shock” rockers who followed in his footsteps and who valued macabre theatrics just as much (if not more) than the music they performed.

Throughout the 60’s and 70’s, Screamin’ Jay continued to tour and record new music but he never came close to matching the success of his debut single. By the time the 80’s rolled around, he was an all-but-forgotten relic of a bygone era and “I Put a Spell On You” had been relegated to the status of Halloween novelty song.

Then, in 1984, he experienced a brief renaissance after a young, indie filmmaker named Jim Jarmusch featured “I Put  A Spell On You” prominently in the soundtrack of his first major work, Stranger Than Paradise. The film briefly revived a cult interest in Hawkins which led to a string of live performances that included a stint as the opening act for Nick Cave in 1986. You can read NME’s interview with Screamin’ Jay from that tour here. It’s clear from the article that Hawkins was not afraid to speak his mind and was just as much of a character off stage as he was on.

But, the highlight of this short-lived revival was a 4-song set sitting in with New York’s garage/psych torchbearers, The Fuzztones, on December 19th, 1984 at Irving Plaza, NYC. The following year Midnight Records released a 12” EP documenting the show titled, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and The Fuzztones: Live. Long out of print, it can be found online if you’re willing to do some digging.

Reviews of the show were generally favorable, and with good reason. Amazingly, Screamin’ Jay’s voice sounds just as fearsome and earth shattering as it had thirty years earlier. And it is clear from this grainy video footage of the show that he hadn't lost a step when it came to campy stage theatrics either.  Also, I'm pretty sure he uses the term "fur burger" in this clip which includes a few minutes of stage banter before "I Put a Spell On You" that was edited out of the official release. 

The Fuzztones are firing on all cylinders here as well, obviously excited to be backing one of their heroes. They were a band eager to shake off their critics assertions that they were nothing more than a top notch bar band playing music that no longer mattered, just as Hawkins was eager to prove that he could still be relevant in this cynical, modern era. The magic combination of an underdog retro rock band, and an aging bluesman, desperate to escape obscurity, brought out the best in everyone involved. A similar pairing would prove to be just as fruitful for R.L. Burnside and The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion twelve years later.

The album starts with one of the Fuzztones  introducing Screamin' Jay as an "old friend" he ran into "down in the swamp last night" who was '"gnawin' on a human leg bone". The audience welcomes him politely, but it seems that many of them are unaware of the spectacle they are about to witness. After Hawkins takes the stage they  lurch into a searing version of his 1958 single, "Alligator Wine", a plodding, shout-along, blues number in the vein of  Muddy Waters’ "Mannish Boy". The song recounts the recipe, and nefarious uses, for the eponymous beverage whose ingredients include alligator blood, fish eyes and swamp water. Hawkins also manages to slip in a reference to AIDS towards the end of the song that shows his instinct to shock was still fully intact and in touch with current events.

Next up is “I Put a Spell on You” with The Fuzztones psych-rock groove takes the song to another dimension as Screamin’ Jay furiously howls into the cosmic abyss.

By this time the crowd is eating out of Hawkins' hands. He takes a moment to acknowledge the band with whom he is obviously impressed. He explains to the audience that they "ain't even started yet” and lecherously describes their intentions to “touch parts of  you that's never been touched”. 

Hilariously, he follows this sexually charged rap with a surprisingly earnest performance of an original Christmas song, “It’s That Time Again” which he describes in the intro as “kinda a rockin', funky little thing”.

Even more hilariously, they close the set with an inspired rendition of 1969’s “Constipation Blues”, complete with some of Jay’s signature vocal improvisations that simulate the sounds of a man struggling with title’s harrowing condition. This performance gives new meaning to the concept of scat singing.

As the recording ends, the club's MC seems keenly aware that he and the crowd have just witnessed something special. He displays a genuine reverence in his voice for Screamin' Jay, repeatedly saying "What a voice" as he comes to the stage. Amusingly, the host almost seems surprised at how well The Fuzztones  played as he describes them as having done a "very capable job on the backup".

That night, the unlikely union of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and The Fuzztones tapped into that primal essence of rhythm and blues music that has the ability to stir the soul in dark and mysterious ways. And even if it was only for a few fleeting moments, they used that mojo to break through the surface of the synthesized, robotic sheen of popular music to reveal the blood and guts of rock and roll beneath . 

As Halloween draws near, I thought I would take some time over the next few weeks to delve into my collection and take a closer look at some classic horror-themed music from over the years.

Where better to start  a focus on Halloween music, than with a track from everyone’s favorite costume wearing, non sequitur spitting, horror-obsessed MC, Kool Keith? A founding member of  the seminal 80’s hip-hop crew the Ultramagnetic MC’s, Keith has become infamous for his use of horrific lyrics and his penchant for constantly reinventing himself with bizarre new personas over the years.

And although all of these personalities have their own unique traits, there is an undercurrent of  horror imagery that runs throughout his many incarnations. Whether it’s the psychedelic sci-fi horror of Dr.Octagon or the grisly lifestyle of urban mass murderer Dr. Dooom, it’s clear that Keith has an affinity for the genre.

In 1999, he released his third solo album, First Come First Served under the alias Dr. Dooom which was commonly regarded as a backlash to the unwanted attention he received from the white, indie rock crowd after the release of his first album, 1996’s Dr. Octagonecologyst under the name Dr. Octagon. 

There is a definite shift on this album away from tone and style from Octagon, which was a trippy, atmospheric work filled with dark, absurdist imagery and spaced-out scatalogical humor.

In contrast, First Come First Served was firmly grounded in gritty “reality” of the streets as typically depicted in 90’s gangsta rap, but with a twist. These were tales from the hood told from the point of view of Dr. Dooom, a trash talking “gangsta rapper” who also happened to be a cannibalistic serial killer who would not only murder, but also dismember and eat, anyone he had beef with. It is often interpreted as a satire of late 90’s hip-hop evidenced by Keith’s subversion of the standard gangsta rap structure including the album cover which parodies Pen & Pixel Graphics work for No Limit Records.

One of the albums signature tracks, "Apartment. 223", describes Dooom’s abode, a projects apartment, strewn with body parts in various states of storage and consumption as well as the various bizarre means by which he would dispatch of his victims and and prepare them as food.  Many of the details here echoed those of the Jeffrey Dahmer case which had gripped the nation less than a decade before.

To anyone familiar with the song, one of the most memorable parts is the hook, which consists of Dooom shouting “Apartment 223” followed by a eerie sample of legendary genre actor Peter Lorre saying “I’m very hungry,” repeated three times. Though by no means a “pop” song, you’d be hard pressed to not find the simplistic chorus stuck in your head after a few listens..

The song ends with another sample of Lorre saying,

“You look surprised...
You do not see anything on the table? (Chairs
Squeak against floor) Well wait until I get the box....”

NSFW:

I was always curious as to the source of these Lorre samples whenever I listened to the song, though admittedly I never put any real effort into investigating it. Then, a few years ago,  I stumbled upon the source while listening to Drop Dead!: An Exercise in Horror, a 1962 spoken-word horror album written and produced by Arch Oboler. By the early 1960’s Oboler was known primarily for his work in film, but he had pioneered horror and suspense in the theater of the mind on the old-time radio show Lights Out in the 1930’s and 40’s.

Turns out the sample is from a Psycho inspired piece on the LP called “I’m Hungry”. Performed by Lorre, it’s told from the perspective of a peculiar man who is talking to a female dinner guest. In the course of the conversation the narrator repeatedly states how hungry he is as he proceeds to take out a box, remove the head of a “pretty young girl” and cut into it with his “special saw” to get to her brains which he apparently finds delicious. Lorre’s performance is chilling. In under three minutes he is able to create a gruesome sense of dread that remains with you long after the record is over.

The first time I heard Lorre say “I’m very hungry” in it’s original context, I was immediately hit with a wave of recognition that filled me with nerdy glee as I realized that Keith and I both appeared to be fans of the same obscure 1960’s horror record. Since both works share a common theme, Lorre’s line is a perfect sample for the song and it’s clear that Keith was inspired by Oboler’s “psycho type” horror.

When you look back over his career, and his overall creative output, it’s easy to picture a young Kool Keith growing up in the Bronx taking in a steady diet of spooky records and monsters movies in addition to the real-life horrors of life on the street that were unfolding outside his window. It was the culmination of these elements that eventually led Keith to the creation of Dr. Dooom and in turn, the horrorcore classic, First Come, First Served.

For more info on Kool Keith, check out his official website: http://www.ultrakeith.net/

In 1996, Beck was asked to contribute a track to Los Angeles radio station, KROQ's annual Christmas tape and he submitted this trippy slice of Hebrew hip-hop. The following year it was released on the Geffen Records Christmas compilation, Just Say Noël.

This song was in many ways a precursor to 1999’s Midnight Vultures as many of the “robot funk” elements and themes of extravagant living explored on that album can be found here.

So, spark up your Menorah, kick back, and feel the funk of "The Little Drum Machine Boy"...

Beck is headlining the XPoNential Music Festival this Sunday  in Camden, NJ.

Since yesterday's post about Beck's lost BBC sessions was so well received, I figured I would continue the countdown to his headlining set at the XPoNential Music Festival on Sunday with some more Beck related history.

Here’s a throwback to what may or may not be Beck’s first television appearance on a short-lived Australian late-night show hosted by popular Aussie comedian Andrew Denton. 

The clip features an amazing  live performance of “Beercan”, the third single released from Beck’s major label debut, Mellow Gold followed by an impromptu cover of Pat Benatar’s “Hit Me With Your Best Shot".

After releasing the subdued,  acoustic number, “Pay No Mind (Snoozer)” as his second single, “Beercan” was a return to the goofy folk-rap of Beck’s mega-hit “Loser”. Although both are great songs, neither managed to match the impact of his debut. 

This early live clip shows a very young Beck, backed by an incredibly tight live band, blazing through a high energy performance of the slacker party anthem. The drummer in particular is killing it here. I don’t know who that guy is, but he sure knows how to rock a beat.

After the performance, Denton greets Beck on the stage and asks if it’s true that this is his first television appearance and a dazed (possibly stoned?) Beck responds with a confused non-answer. He then participates in one of the show’s recurring bits which challenged musical guests to perform a song on the spot randomly chosen from a barrel full of well-known hits. The song he is assigned is Pat Benatar's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot". 

Beck’s response when asked if he was up for the challenge is priceless.

To close out the show, Beck deconstructs the ‘80s hit as only he can, with the familiar guitar hook quickly dissolving into wall of feedback and distortion. 

Crack open a Foster's oil can and enjoy!

These sessions also introduced an early version of the song “Jack-Ass” which would be released as a single from Odelay the following year. This straight ahead country rock rendition of the song  features a slide guitar and harmonica in lieu of the hypnotic keyboard sample from Them’s cover of “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue” that would be added during the Odelay sessions with The Dust Brothers. Even without the glossy production, the song still shines as a great lonesome cowboy ballad.

The third track from the session is most commonly known as “Static 1” though it has been listed as “Baby” on various bootlegs that are in circulation. Not to be confused with the completely unrelated song, “Static”, which later appeared on Mutations, this haunting, finger-picked folk tune is probably the best Beck song you've never heard.

On the last track, Beck finally lets his freak flag fly (albeit in a decidedly non commercial manner) with this swaggering, noise rock cover of the Son House classic, “Grinnin’ In Your Face”. It features Beck shouting/singing the lyrics through a haze of distortion accompanied by harmonica, piano and electric guitar all shambling along to a raucous and disjointed blues groove.

The songs from these sessions eventually surfaced (often mislabeled) on bootlegs in the mid '90s, most notably on the unofficial 1996 release, Quodilbet which included a collection of BBC & MTV studio sessions, a handful of live tracks from the 1995 Reading Festival, and some alternate mixes of “Where It’s At” from the U.K. 12” single. 

These  rare recordings reveal that from the beginning,  Beck was  much more than just another novelty act. The world just didn't know it yet...