Grrr, Keep On Your Mean Side!

On their full-length debut, Keep on Your Mean Side, the Kills deliver on the promise of their Black Rooster EP, serving up more of their sneering, sexy blues-punk with a little more polish and premeditation. It's easy to lump them in with the current crop of garage rock revivalists -- and granted, the band bears more than a passing resemblance to the White Stripes' bluesy sound and boy-girl lineup -- but Keep on Your Mean Side suggests that the Kills' true lineage comes from a darker, more poetic strain of rock.

The Kills - Keep On Your Mean Side
password: mcboozo


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Music Rock Blues White Stripes Punk W Hotel Lo-Fi Indie McBoozo

Blind Faith, nope just crash and burn!

Blind Faith's first and last album, more than 30 years old and counting, remains one of the jewels of the Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, and Ginger Baker catalogs, despite the crash-and-burn history of the band itself, which scarcely lasted six months. As much a follow-up to Traffic's self-titled second album as it is to Cream's final output, it merges the soulful blues of the former with the heavy riffing and outsized song lengths of the latter for a very compelling sound unique to this band.

By August 1969, the self-titled album -- which ran into controversy over its cover, of a topless pre-pubescent girl, and was repackaged in America with a photo of the group -- had been out for almost a month, and had already sold more than half a million copies in America alone, hitting number one on the charts in England and America. The money was rolling in to all concerned even as they realized that the album showcased one of the fundamental flaws in the band's conception. There was very good music on Blind Faith, but there wasn't a lot of it -- barely 40 minutes' worth, which was hardly a body of music worthy of a international-class act. It was a good album, but those six songs didn't constitute a repertoire, much less a defined sound.

Blind Faith ultimately proved too little and too much all at once. The band had left its members a bit shell-shocked, Clapton most of all, but even he had lots of money to show for it (and more coming in, the Blind Faith tour and album helping stimulate sales of Cream's old albums as well). The memory of Blind Faith lingered with the group's sole album, which became a perennial favorite in Clapton's, Winwood's, and Baker's catalogs. Clapton and Winwood later came to appreciate the record. For all of their musical merits, which were considerable, Blind Faith's short lifespan made the band virtually a symbol of the tail end of the 1960s and what those years were about: too much too soon in that overheated cultural, psychic, and business environment, even for the prodigious talents and personalities involved, resulting in a quick burnout.

Blind Faith - Blind Faith
password: botar

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(Files courtesy of AngryPandaDispatchBomber)

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12 Reasons To Get Drunk Tonight

Here's a funny comic by Lev Yilmaz called "12 Reasons To Get Drunk Tonight"...click on the sample pictures below to see the whole comic! Also be sure to check out some of his other comics and movies, this guy has a great talent at taking everyday life and making fun of it, in his own little way.

Lev Yilmaz Tales of Mere Existence Drunk Comics Animation Drawn! McBoozo

I can't complain, but sometimes I still do

With their second album Rides Again, the James Gang came into their own. Under the direction of guitarist Joe Walsh, the group -- now featuring bassist Dale Peters -- began incorporating keyboards into their hard rock, which helped open up their musical horizons. For much of the first side of Rides Again, the group tears through a bunch of boogie numbers, most notably the heavy groove of "Funk #49." On the second side, the James Gang departs from their trademark sound, adding keyboard flourishes and elements of country-rock to their hard rock. Walsh's songwriting had improved, giving the band solid support for their stylistic experiments. What ties the two sides of the record together is the strength of the band's musicianship, which burns brightly and powerfully on the hardest rockers, as well as on the sensitive ballads.

James Gang - Rides Again
password: mcboozo

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Boombox Museum

I came across this site today and found it rather amusing. It's pretty amazing when you think back to how heavy and awkward radio's used to be. This walk down memory lane seems especially relevant today, in the age of the iPod. Take a look and just be glad that you're not still trying to lug one of these monsters with you everywhere!

The Boombox Museum

Boombox Stereo Cassette Ghetto LL Cool J Krush Groove Breakin' Fat Boys Walkman McBoozo

Hunka Hunka Burnin' Love

My wife picked up a hilarious costume for our dog the other day...I've always been one to throw on a good Elvis outfit myself, I am amused by them to no end for some strange reason...and I couldn't stop cracking up. Here's a short video from a videophone of my chihuahua Larry in his Elvis costume, you've gotta love that Pompadour!



P.S. I'll have to post some sketches I did a while back of an Elvis impersonating monkey!

I think I'll plant me a Led Zep tree

The Early Blues Roots of Led Zeppelin shines light on the band's multitude of borrowed material from blues pioneers, some well known, others more obscure. This is essential for fans of Zeppelin, providing the blueprint for 17 songs they electrified and made their own. This is also an enjoyable collection for die-hard blues fans as it features classics from Bukka White, Big Bill Broonzy, Blind Willie Johnson, Robert Johnson, Memphis Minnie, and Sleepy John Estes.

The Early Blues Roots of Led Zeppelin
password: mcboozo

Music mp3 Led Zeppelin Blues Memphis Minnie Sonny Boy Williamson Blind Willie Johnson Robert Johnson Bukka White Leadbelly John Lee Hooker Big Bill Broonzy McBoozo

No Sugar Tonight In My Coffee!

The Guess Who always seemed a bit like the Canadian predecessor/counterpart to Grand Funk Railroad, but they typically fared far better with the critics. That is probably because of the versatility that they possessed. That versatility is very evident on this collection. From the opening "These Eyes," with its slightly over the top strings and '60s psychedelic tinges, to the classic hard-rocking "American Woman," the Guess Who played a wide variety of music. It is sometimes hard to believe that the same group that brought the world the jazzy "Undun" and the CS&N-ish hippie anthem "Share the Land" is also responsible for the rocking "No Time." It is also hard to believe that you can get all of them on one album. For the casual fan of the group, this is the quintessential album to own.

The Best of The Guess Who
password: mcboozo

Music mp3 Guess Who BTO Burton Cummings Randy Bachman Canada American Woman

The Pi Song!

This is just hilarious, I'm not sure when it was shot but it has that old skool "electric co." feel to it. I was never aware that pi made you capable of harnessing the power of lasers...you'll just have to watch it to understand!

Something Like a Mahna Mahna

Originally posted on July 15, 2005

Alright everyone, I've created a little treat for you to enjoy (and hopefully spread the word about)...now I'm no DJ or audio genius but a little while back a friend & I somehow ended up discussing a mash-up of LL Cool J's "Something like a Phenomenon" and the "Mahna Mahna" song from the Muppet Show. Anyhow, I took my extremely limited audio skills and created a little teaser for you to get the idea. I'd be interested to see if someone could take the concept to the next level and create a more "professional" sounding mash-up of these two songs...e-mail me if anyone ever hears of it happening. My teaser version will be available for download for at least the next seven days, hopefully I can find a way to host it permanently, again e-mail me if anyone has any ideas [Now hosted permanently]. I hope you enjoy it and feel free to distribute it any way you can...I'd just appreciate it if I could get credit for it (heck, include a link to the site if you're so inclined). Thanks a bunch and keep on keepin' on!

McBoozo the Clown


(click the picture above to download the mp3!)

McBoozo Music mp3 Mash-up Audio MahnaMahna Something Like A Phenomenon Muppets Jim Henson LL Cool J Rap Hip-Hop Mix iPod Old Skool File Sharing P2P Grokster Ha Ha FunnyHumor

Badfinger! Didn't I tell you not to do that...

There are few bands in the annals of rock music as star-crossed in their history as Badfinger. Pegged as one of the most promising British groups of the late '60s and the one world-class talent ever signed to the Beatles' Apple Records label that remained with the label, Badfinger enjoyed the kind of success in England and America that most other bands could only envy. Yet a string of memorable hit singles -- "Come and Get It," "No Matter What," "Day After Day," and "Baby Blue" -- saw almost no reward from that success. Instead, four years of hit singles and international tours precipitated the suicides of its two creative members and legal proceedings that left lawyers as the only ones enriched by the group's work.

On The Very Best of Badfinger, this 2000 collection runs all the way until 1974's Wish You Were Here, the band's final album with Pete Ham. This collection has a sharp selection of songs from the classic Apple years -- yes, "Flying" is absent and Ass is bypassed (perhaps understandably so), but "We're for the Dark" is a more than welcome addition. The 19 tracks may not be in chronological order, but the sequencing packs a real punch and, in this context, the best of the Warner material more than holds its own with the Apple cuts. Inevitably, there are some fan favorites missing, but apart from "Flying," all the classics are here and this compilation is unquestionably the most thorough (and arguably the best) overview of Badfinger's entire career yet assembled.



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password: mcboozo

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The Sonic Grenade

This is just awesome!!!
[via BoingBoing]

Getting that grumbling snuffling bulk out from under the duvet in the morning is a challenge you really shouldn't have to bother yourself with. Especially as the thing that emerges is inevitably grumpy and looks like a hung-over swamp monster. Well the Sonic Alarm makes the whole 'getting them out of bed' exercise a very simple, and indeed amusing, operation. Looking like an old-fashioned comedy hand grenade, the Sonic Alarm will wake pretty well anything up. Simply pull the pin, yell an emphatic "fire in the hole" and lob the grenade into the sleeper's room. After ten seconds a very annoying and piercingly loud noise (there are three volume settings) will blast out from the alarm. That's not all however, what makes this especially great is that to stop the alarm the sleeper has to find you so you can put the pin back in. It's stupid, and brilliant, and will be the bane of every over-sleeper on the planet. Parents are going to love this, though the soon to be rudely awoken might not.

Paul Butterfield Blues Band

Paul Butterfield was the first white harmonica player to develop a style original and powerful enough to place him in the pantheon of true blues greats. It's impossible to overestimate the importance of the doors Butterfield opened: before he came to prominence, white American musicians treated the blues with cautious respect, afraid of coming off as inauthentic. Not only did Butterfield clear the way for white musicians to build upon blues tradition (instead of merely replicating it), but his storming sound was a major catalyst in bringing electric Chicago blues to white audiences who'd previously considered acoustic Delta blues the only really genuine article.

The Paul Butterfield Blues Band teamed him up with guitarists Elvin Bishop and Mike Bloomfield, with Jerome Arnold on bass, Sam Lay on drums, and Mark Naftalin playing organ. The result was a wonderfully messy and boisterous display of American-styled blues, with intensity and pure passion derived from every bent note. In front of all these instruments is Butterfield's harmonica, beautifully dictating a mood and a genuine feel that is no longer existent, even in today's blues music.

The music that pours from this album is unfiltered...blared, clamored, and let loose, like blues music is supposed to be released. It also paved the way for experimentation that is still being explored today. This came, in the title track, in the form of an extended blues-rock solo (some 13 minutes) -- a real fusion of jazz and blues inspired by the Indian raga. This groundbreaking instrumental was the first of its kind and marks the root from which the acid rock tradition emerged.

The Paul Butterfield Blues Band: East - West
password: mcboozo

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