A CD submitted to the Exoticaring jogged my memory - I think I still have =
that damn record too - The Electric Company. I loved the song about Jelly =
Belly. The cover had a neat-o wheel set into the front cover. You turn =
the wheel and various illustrations show up in the die-cut sections of the =
cover.
Also loved my GI JOE book and records. Secret Mission to Spy Island and =
the like. Sound bites from these show up with amazing regularity on the =
earlier Man or AstroMan albums. These are great *kitsch* items, the =
acting is so over-the-top!! Also Joe's buddy Mike has a killer record =
collection - one instro was used to scare a bunch of head hunters away =
from Joe, blasted from a hovering copter!!
I used my Mom's old portable electric turntable. It was light blue and =
cased in plastic. The speakers would flip out from the sides to face the =
listener, and the turntable would plop down from the front. Folded up, it =
resembled a large suit-case.
- - Nate
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------------------------------
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 16:42:52 +0100
From: Nicola Battista <djbatman@olografix.org>
Subject: Re: (exotica) persistence of vinyl
>If you want to hear it however, my first record was "Marina" by Rocco Granata
oh God.
circa 1989 or 1990 I was in a crap department store called Stand (owned at
the time by our now Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi...) and saw a Rocco &
The Carnations "Marina (New Beat Version)" 45.
It said it had a remix (in the "new beat" Belgian style of 1980s) on the A
side and the original (apparently rerecorded since it seems too clean and
stereophonic) on the other.
I bought it because in that period 7" were still relatively easy to find
and cheap (they would have almost disappeared from the mass marker within a
year or so).
I listened to it and thought it was crap. It was #1 hit for months.
There must be a hidden meaning in all this.
DjB
- ----
now listening to:
http://www.mp3.com/sottopalco
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Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 16:48:44 +0100
From: Nicola Battista <djbatman@olografix.org>
Subject: Re: (exotica) ktel anyone?
oh God. Bought some of their house music compilations circa 1989.
but their idea of custom cds is crap because is directed mostly to business
(100 copies minimum quantity).
Unless someone here wants to do the exotica list compilation and have it
pressed by them ;) but I don't like much the fact that most of the titles
are re-recordings (as usually happens with budget cds...)
DjB
now listening to: http://www.mp3.com/japanpop
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------------------------------
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 10:56:08 -0400
From: "m.ace" <mace@ookworld.com>
Subject: Re: (exotica) persistence of vinyl
Mo wrote:
>It's pretty touching how you try to start a game, Mike.
A game? Do I amuse you? Well, I don't know about touching... nosy maybe.
But, it's been two years. Time to find out how the newer people got started
with the obsession. And it usually turns up some pretty interesting memories.
I need to clarify my own post: my folks went to the market every week, but
didn't buy records every week. There weren't anywhere near that amount of
records in the house. Weekly records came in my teens when I had an
allowance and it all went to my budding vinyl addiction. Had to have a
record a week to stay sane.
m.ace mace@ookworld.com
http://ookworld.com
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------------------------------
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 10:57:09 -0400
From: "m.ace" <mace@ookworld.com>
Subject: Fwd: Re: (exotica) persistence of vinyl
[Forwarding this. I'm sure it was meant for the whole list. Apologies if
wrong. --m.ace]
>Date: Mon, 09 Jul 2001 21:37:54 -0400
>Subject: Re: (exotica) persistence of vinyl
>From: David KoJen <solisMaris@bicnet.net>
>
>on 7/9/01 8:06 PM, m.ace at mace@ookworld.com wrote:
>
> > So let's get rolling now... what are your early record memories?
>
>My parents bought a bunch of 45's for us kids: Gilbert&Sullivan's HMS
>Pinafore (2 songs from it); and Puff the Magic Dragon were the two I
>remember. And, on 33, Harry Belafonte's Calypso. But my mother had to play
>that one for us; we could only play the 45's ourselves.
>
>Another memory: got some nasty electric shocks from that record player.
>Equipment was poorly designed back then
>(yes, even more poorly than nowadays), and, in my household at least, my
>father was pretty casual about electrical things. When I told him about the
>shock (Standing barefoot on basement concrete floor and touching the metal
>chassis), we got out his voltmeter and said "110 volts; that's potentially
>lethal!" Told me to be careful (Wear shoes, and don't touch the metal
>parts!)
>
>
>--
>David KoJen
>http://www.bicnet.net/~scarabe/solisMaris
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------------------------------
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 16:52:50 +0200
From: Moritz R <tiki@netsurf.de>
Subject: Re: (exotica) persistence of vinyl
Edward schrieb:
> Aaah yes, you see? Probably all of us enjoyed music in such a way that we played those 3 scratchy EP's over and over again on the lousiest mono record player you could ever imagine. And remember how happy we were?
I remember one summer when I took the record player, some red and white plastic thingy, out into the garden for the first time, and managed to make scratches into the end groove of singles, in a way that the arm of the player would automatically swing back into the start groove, so I had a sort of repeat function when clinbing on the trees. Of course the records would not become any better by that procedure, but I still have 'em and play them occasionally.
> And today?
> We are nitpicking about the sound quality of CD vs. Vinyl on our high end Hi-Fi, and as soon as we buy an album, we are already looking for the next oneà
Two of my friends turned into hifi-maniacs recently... it's bananas. They buy this super-expensive equipment, f.i. this box for 500$, that just smoothens the incoming electricity somehow. Speakers absolutely over-dimensioned for a 16 sqm room. An amplifier with an electronic eye in the the middle that shows the temperature of it and so on. One of these guys only touches his record player with special gloves, to avoid static electricity or finger prints or what. Jeesh... once you've got the money, you've got to spend it.
> [ 'sigh' emoticon here] >;-]
>
> My first memories of vinyl was a 'Peter and the Wolf' 10" (scaaarrry)
did you have this version with a 10" booklet and colored drawings with sort of bright lines on dark background?
- --Mo
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------------------------------
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 17:34:11 +0200
From: Moritz R <tiki@netsurf.de>
Subject: Re: (exotica) persistence of vinyl
Nicola Battista schrieb:
> >If you want to hear it however, my first record was "Marina" by Rocco Granata
> Rocco &
> The Carnations "Marina (New Beat Version)" 45.
> It said it had a remix (in the "new beat" Belgian style of 1980s) on the A
> side and the original (apparently rerecorded since it seems too clean and
> stereophonic) on the other.
I have that too and was disappointed as well.
"Marina" was a big big #1 hit in Europe, yet it's almost unknown in America.
Mo
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------------------------------
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 23:45:31 +0800
From: "william" <king8egg@ms60.url.com.tw>
Subject: (exotica) record memories etc.
>What are your earliest memories of records, record players, record playing,
>record buying, etc? What was the earliest favorite record you can recall?
my earliest memories are of playing story book 7"s on something like a
playschool record player. i remember listening to the mother hubbard record
a lot. but i don't recall really listening to much pop music. i know it must
of been there, but i don't recall it. i also remember listening to some sort
of storybook record a full length album i think that was about four little
beetles with long hair. they arrive into some kingdom on the tail of a kite,
but other than that i remember very little about it. i think they left the
kingdom on the tail of a kite too but i'm not sure. anyone have any idea
what this record might of been?
>The Love Generation would probably be included in the "soft pop" category.
>(I believe that one song by them - at least - is on the exoticaring CD
>called "Dieingly Sad". I guess it hasn't gotten to you yet william.)
thanks for the info alan. as it turned out after i wrote that post and
sent it i put on your comp diengly sad and noticed they had a few tracks on
there. i'm not sure if i would like a full album of theirs' or just like
them in small doses as part of a comp.
william in taipei.
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------------------------------
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 10:35:02 -0600
From: kendoll <kendoll@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca>
Subject: Re: (exotica) persistence of vinyl
Moritz R wrote:
> If you want to hear it however, my first record was "Marina" by Rocco Granata and I used to play it a thousand times on a "Neckermann" radio with built-in record player.
i bought the album recently (Marina & Other Italian Favorites by Rocco Granata) because i'll buy just about any record with 'Volare' on it. as i have no emotional attachment to it, i'd be willing to trade. perhaps you have my childhood favorite? it was a connie francis album about animals. the only song i can remember now is 'Oscar the Octopus' which must have been my favorite. i'm sure this wasn't my first record but it's one that i
played over and over ad nauseum. i think i was taken by the plaintive quality in connie's voice. even though it was a children's record, there was a minor key, depressive quality to it. in ten years of thrift store scrounging i've yet to find this record.
mike
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Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 13:35:17 -0400
From: alan zweig <azed@pathcom.com>
Subject: Re: (exotica) persistence of vinyl
I don't remember much.
I thought of making up a story where I was a small child in love with one
particular cut on one of my father's LP's and I knew that it was the third
cut on the side that had five cuts (instead of six) and one day when my
parents were out, I crawled up on the Philips console stereo in the
livingroom where I wasn't allowed and put on the record, swinging that
silly armature thing (what did you call that?) on top of it so that it
would drop nice. But it wouldn't drop! It wouldn't get over that bump in
the spindle that was supposed to move out of the way when you hit play.
And I got frustrated and leaned inside to make the record play and fell
into the record player myself. And the top fell down on top of me. And I
was trapped inside the record player but I didn't care because somehow my
falling in managed to make the record fall and the needle bumped over to
the third cut and I got to hear my favorite cut from inside the record player.
And that cut was...
I'm actually going to go to the shelves and see if I can find a record my
father might have had and then find something that's the third cut...
LEESBURG, Fla. -- John R. "Buddy" Heffernan, 80, formerly of East Derry,
N.H., died June 15.
Born in Amesbury, Mass., and educated in Haverhill, Mass., Mr. Heffernan
worked in restaurant management throughout New England, and was especially
well known at the Colonial Club in Lynnfield, Mass.
Mr. Heffernan served in the Army Air Corps as a staff sergeant during
World War II in Germany, where he ran the base Officers Club. He lived in
East Derry from 1957 to 1999, and was a member of the Derry American
Legion.
Mr. Heffernan, some say, may have been the basis for and inspiration of
the well-known comic character "Archie." Archie's creator, Bob Montana was
Buddy's classmate in Haverhill High and after the war, Mr. Montana created
the comic basing all the characters and situations he wrote of on his
classmates and incidents they experienced in high school.
He leaves his wife of 53 years Herta "Kitty" Weller; children Tina Bruno
of Northport, N.Y., Heidi and Shawn Heffernan of Kingston, N.H., and Tammy
Marini of Nashua, N.H.; and two grandchildren.
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------------------------------
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 20:38:15 -0700
From: "Dowco" <jimwitt@dowco.com>
Subject: RE: (exotica) persistence of vinyl
My first message to exotica after several months of lurking...
I can remember the first records I listened to and really enjoyed as a kid
around four or five years old, and it's interesting how what I listened to
back then must have shaped in some way what I like now. It was my dad's
music...
1. An Evening With Grandpa Jones - bluegrass from the guy from Hee Haw...
this is good stuff, and I found a great copy of this album while thrifting
about a year ago, to replace the scratchy thing which I ruined (but still
own). Imagine my delight at being able to listen to "Old Rattler's Pup"
without the pops and clicks...
2. The First of the Irish Rovers, Live in Pasadena - similar story as the
first one - I found a mint copy of this while thrifting about two months
ago, and I found out that I still remember all the words!
3. Train Songs, by Jimmie Rodgers and Hank Snow. Yodel-ay-eee-who! I still
love 'em.
Anyway, I'd like to tell you all that I really enjoy this list. I'm a
compulsive collector of records (for only the past couple of years, so I go
in to thrift stores thinking, what if I had been here ten years ago!), and
didn't know much about "exotica" before I joined this list. But, I search
for some of the names I've seen here, and I'll be doggoned if I don't dig
it! My wife likes it too (Enoch Light in particular), which makes her a
little easier on my obsession...
Oh, and some thrift store finds - just to prove that thrift stores have yet
to be completely mined to extinction, I found three beautiful Yma Sumac lps
(and a Pete Johnson 12" 78 on Blue Note, among other things) at a St.
Vincent DePaul store in Crescent City, California last month, while on
vacation... that and about 200 lps gathered from dusty corners throughout
Northern California. 25 cents each, too... sigh.
And just yesterday I picked up "1,000,000 worth of twang" by Duane Eddy at a
Sally Ann store... they've received the complete stock from a defunct radio
station or something, and they're putting them on the shelves slowly, just
to torture me, I think!
Ah, well, a lot of topics, but thanks for the great list, folks,
Jim
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Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 10:07:15 -0400
From: nytab@pipeline.com
Subject: (exotica) [obit] fred neil
Fred Neil, Folk Singer and Composer, Dies at 64
SUMMERLAND KEY, Fla. July 10 (AP) ù Fred Neil, a folk singer whose hits included "Everybody's Talkin' " and "Candyman," was found dead on Saturday in his home here. He was 64.
His death was attributed to natural causes.
Mr. Neil started his music career in 1955 when he moved from St. Petersburg, Fla., to Memphis. He released his first single, "You Ain't Treatin' Me Right/Don't Put the Blame on Me," two years later.
He became a cult favorite after Roy Orbison released a blues recording of "Candyman" in 1960.
Mr. Neil released his first solo album, "Bleecker and MacDougal," in 1965. After returning to Florida, he became interested in dolphins. He wrote a song called "The Dolphins," released on his 1967 album, "Fred Neil," and in 1970 co-founded the Dolphin Project to help curb the exploitation of dolphins worldwide.
His last big hit was in 1969 when the film "Midnight Cowboy" featured Harry Nilsson singing "Everybody's Talkin' ."
Fred Neil
Reclusive songwriter of Everybody's Talkin' who turned his back on fame
Colin Irwin
Wednesday July 11, 2001
The Guardian
He wrote one of the most famous songs of the late 20th century, but Fred Neil, who has died aged 64 of cancer, remains one of the most mysterious cult heroes of folk music.
Famously reclusive, he was an influential figure on the 1960s New York folk scene, and was occasionally backed by the young Bob Dylan on harmonica at the all-night Cafe Wha? in Greenwich Village.
He took flight almost from the day Harry Nilsson turned his song, Everybody's Talkin' into a global hit in 1970, following its use as the theme of the Dustin Hoffman-Jon Voight movie Midnight Cowboy (1969).
Neil rarely gave interviews, could not stomach fame, and appeared repulsed at the success of his song, a disdainful commentary on human alienation in public life. In fact, it had already appeared on Neil's 1966 solo album, alongside another song, The Dolphins, which reflected his fascination with mammals.
Unimpressed by the trappings of fame, and with no interest in exploiting the opportunities offered by his hit, Neil had withdrawn by 1971 to set up a dolphin rescue project in Florida with marine biologist Richard O'Barry, who trained the dolphins for the television series Flipper. He refused all attempts to persuade him into a comeback, and devoted the rest of his life to protecting dolphins.
Even in the 1960s, he was a fiercely private character. Born in St Petersburg, Florida, he first came to attention in 1956 playing guitar with Buddy Holly, for whom he wrote the single, Modern Don Juan, before Holly cracked the charts. He also wrote Candy Man, the B-side of Roy Orbison's 1961 hit, Crying.
On the back of this success, Neil moved to New York. Dylan later nominated him as one of his primary inspirations: "He had a powerful bass voice and a powerful sense of rhythm. I'd play harmonica for him, and once in a while get to sing a song." Tim Hardin, Tim Buckley and David Crosby were strongly influenced by Neil, and his songs were also covered by Richie Havens, HP Lovecraft and Casey Anderson.
In the early days, Neil performed in a duo with Vince Taylor, with whom he recorded the album, Tear Down The Walls. His first solo album, Bleecker & Mac Dougal (1965), named after streets in Greenwich Village, became a benchmark for many emergent young singer-songwriters, with one of the songs on the album, The Other Side Of This Life subsequently covered by Lovin' Spoonful, Jefferson Airplane and the Youngbloods. It was also the title of a live album recorded in Los Angeles, with the country-rock pioneer Gram Parsons among the backing musicians.
ò Fred Neil, singer and songwriter, born January 1 1937; died July 7 2001
