Folk
Alix Dobkin – Living With Lesbians (1976)
I just about soiled myself when I saw this record at a garage sale back in May. It certainly was one of the odder sales that I’ve been to this year. In addition to this gem and a couple other 1970′s lesbian albums, the old guy who was hosting the sale also had a grocery bag full of lesbian porn for sale. I’m sure there was a good story there but I couldn’t figure out a way to inquire about his music and video tastes without appearing like a total perv myself. So I forked over seventy-five cents for the aforementioned vinyl gems and went on my merry way. It’s now six weeks later and I’m still trying to unravel the mystery of why a guy, well into his 70′s, would have such an appetite for all things lesbian.
Let me start off by saying that I have friends, both male and female, who are gay. I’ve always prided myself in being able to make friends with people regardless of their race, nationality or sexual preference. If I only hung out with fat, old, white people like myself, life would suck. I also have some friends who are pretty religious and feel that being gay is immoral. Personally, I don’t get it. Why are religious people generally the most intolerant of others? Isn’t religion suppose to teach tolerance and compassion? I could drone on for hours but by now, you either agree with me or you’re dying to tell me to shut my pie hole so I’ll just leave it there.
It’s not really a big deal to be a lesbian artist today. Heck, they’re everywhere. Melissa Etheridge, Ani Difranco, the Indigo Girls, k.d. Lang, just to name a few. But think about being out there 34 years ago. I was in 8th grade when this album was released and I’m pretty sure that I had no idea what a lesbian was. So I give Alix a lot of credit. It was pretty brave to be out of the closet in a time when gays where openly discriminated against on a regular basis. Not that the world is perfect now but I have to believe that it’s a easier life today than it was in the 70′s.
Alix Dobkin was a part of the Greenwich Village scene of the early 1960′s that included Bob Dylan and you can clearly here the influences on some of the tracks here. She sings well and for the most part, this is a pretty good collection of folk songs. Granted some of the subject matter is certainly not aimed at middle-aged men like me. Nonetheless, I can respect an artist singing about topics that are important to themselves. One selection that I would have omitted, however, is the fourth song on side one, “Legnala”. I defy you to listen to the wailing on the first half of the song without cringing. It scared the crap out of both my dog and cat. They seemed to think there was a wounded animal in the house. I’m not making that up. The dog was utterly confused as to how she should react to the painful sounds being emitted by my speakers. Song four on side two isn’t much better. Apparently it’s a Bulgarian folk song but I find it difficult to believe that any Bulgarian would recognize it.
Here’s a pretty cool video of Alix rapping back in 1986. The woman really is a trailblazer. Heck, I think she even lifted some of my “white boy” dance moves.
So sit back. Free your mind. Venture a little bit outside of your comfort zone. Perhaps even channel your inner lesbian. If you’re open-minded enough, you’ll find that there’s nothing wrong with people having different beliefs and values than you do. If you’re lucky enough, you might even discover that they actually make life a whole lot more interesting. For my friends who are a little more on the conservative side, I’ll post something a little more to your liking next week. In the mean time, please put away your Sarah Palin action figures and get back to work.
Tracks:
Side One
- 01_01 – Living with Lesbians
- 01_02 – Over the Banks
- 01_03 – Chewing Gum
- 01_04 – Legnala
- 01_05 – Hearts & Struggles
- 01_06 – Good Old Dora
Side Two
Guy Carawan – Green Rocky Road (1976)
I figured that there wouldn’t actually be anything “hellish” about this album but since it’s fairly obscure, it still warrants a posting. Particularly since I happen to enjoy the sound of the hammered dulcimer which Mr. Carawan certainly excels at playing. Overall, the whole record has a nice Appalachian/folksy/Celtic feel to it. There’s nothing offensive to the senses and it’s damn fine music to do homework to.
The only videos of Guy that I could find were of him playing guitar so for anyone who might be wondering “what is a hammered dulcimer and how can I learn to play one?”, you’re in luck. I found this nice instructional video. Should this happen to inspire you to take up the hammered dulcimer and release an album, please send your royalty payments to Mr. Wonderful, care of: vinylfromhell.com.
Tracks:
Side One
- 01_01 – Soldier’s Joy
- 01_02 – St. Anne’s Reel
- 01_03 – Green Rocky Road
- 01_04 – Cluck Old Hen
- 01_05 – Pretty Saro
- 01_06 – Pig Town Fling
- 01_07 – Planxty Irwin/Morrison’s Jig/Little Beggerman
- 01_08 – Ain’t Goin’ Home Soon
Side Two
Chevrolet Sings of Safe Driving and You (1966)
I love this album. It’s one of those LPs that’s so bad, it’s good. Eight folk songs that have lyrics straight out of a drivers education manual. If this was made today, it would have to be rapped by Snoop Dogg in order to get little Jimmy’s attention. Plus there’d have to be a song about having a @#$%ing stereo with huge sub-woofers that can rattle windows three blocks away. Also noticeably missing is a song about driving while texting. How did Chevy not see these trends coming 40 years later?
Track three on side 2 is a real winner. It’s a song about centrifugal force and friction. Not something you hear every day. While there’s no vocal credits on the album, this one sure sounds like Carly Simon.
Tracks:
Side One
- 01_01 – An Exciting Thing (Driving a Car)
- 01_02 – Grown-up Baby (Driving Psychology)
- 01_03 – Cities and Towns (Driving in City and Heavy Traffic)
- 01_04 – Nowhere Fast (Observance and Enforcement)
Side Two
- 02_01 – Gentle Things (Adverse Driving Conditions)
- 02_02 – When the Wrong Thing Happens (Stopping Distances)
- 02_03 – The Natural Laws (Laws of Motion)
- 02_04 – Man-Made Laws (Common Sense Driving)
Continue reading Chevrolet Sings of Safe Driving and You (1966)
Canadian Folk Dances (1966)
If you’re like me, you’re probably woefully ignorant about our neighbors to the north. So here’s some interesting facts about Canada from canadafacts.org:
- A temperature of -77.5 °C (-108 °F) was recorded on Mount Logan in 1991. This is the coldest temperature ever recorded outside of Antarctica.
- The USA buys more oil from Canada than from any other country, including Saudi Arabia.
- In the 15 – 64 age group, for every 100 men, Canada has 102 women.
- Canadian adults (18 and over) watch more TV than children, an average of 28.8 hours a week in a full year. This works out at almost 1,500 hours of television viewing each year, including an estimated 25,000 commercials.
And speaking of Canadian TV, they do have some fantastic shows that you don’t see much in this country. Some of my favorites from the past are Made in Canada, Trailer Park Boys, Corner Gas, and of course, Puppets Who Kill. In case you aren’t familiar with Puppets Who Kill, here’s the trailer:
The last time I was in Canada, we stopped at one of the Tim Horton’s that seem to be positioned about every two blocks. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the chain, it’s pretty similar to a Dunkin’ Donuts. I pulled up to the drive thru and asked the kid at window “So who’s Tim Horton”? He snorted and replied “So, are you like American, eh? Tim Horton was a great hockey player, eh”. Apparently not knowing this will immediately identify you as an American so hopefully you can learn from my social gaffe. I took some time to look up Tim Horton and it turns out the guy was pretty good. It’s difficult to fathom that goalies once played without masks.
(Updated 03/10/10) I had a cool video of Tim Horton scoring an incredible goal until the weasels at Youtube removed it so you’ll just have to use your imagination or perhaps ask a Canadian friend about Tim Horton.
So now you’ve just increased your knowledge of Canada exponentially and you’ll be able to converse with the natives about their three favorite subjects. Television, hockey and beer (I’m assuming that you already know something about beer so no additional material was covered here).
Just one more thing to cover. Apparently, if I’m to believe this album, they like to do silly dances too. So now we know what they’re doing when they’re not watching TV or going to the beer store. In order to embrace the full Canadian experience, I have included the gatefold instructions that explain each of the steps for you. Have fun and good day, eh.
Tracks:
Side One
- 01_01 – Maple Leaf Stomp
- 01_02 – Carding the Wool
- 01_03 – Les Carillons De Dunquerque – Instructions
- 01_04 – Les Carillons De Dunquerque – Music
Side Two
