Friday, July 16, 2010

مقام رست ١ - محمد القبانجي


مقام الرست من اداء الاستاذ محمد القبنجي مع اعضاء الفرقه الموسيقيه العراقيه (يوسف بتو، صالح شميل، ابراهيم صالح، يهودا شماس، يوسف زعرور الصغير، عزوري هارون العواد) في مؤتمر القاهره الاول للموسيقى العربيه في مصر عام ١٩٣٢. الشعر تخميس للشاعر السيد جعفر الحلي النجفي (١٨٦١-١٨٩٨) لقصيدة العلاّمة السيد محمد سعيد الحبوبي (١٨٤٩-١٩١٦

يا يوسف الحسن فيك الصب قد ليما * و لو رأوك هَووا للأرض تعظيما
بمن حباك فنون الحسن تتميما * لُحْ كوكباً وامشِ غُصناً والتفتْ ريما
فإن عداك آسمُها لـم تَعْدُك السِّيمـا


Muhammad al-Qubbanchi - Maqam Rast, part 1 (YouTube)

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Jim Jackson - I Heard the Voice of a Pork Chop


In a perfect world, this 1927 recording would be on every Waffle House jukebox, people would sing it instead of the national anthem at ball games, and muzak versions of it would play in elevators. The concept of a talking pork chop is surreal enough, but it gets better - this one's actually quoting Matthew 11:28.

Jim Jackson - I Heard the Voice of a Pork Chop (YouTube)

Monday, June 7, 2010

Lud Gluskin - Ice Cream


Some enterprising souls have posted a flotilla of Lud Gluskin records to YouTube, and here's one of our very favorites - the original source of the phrase "I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream," still uttered today by people who are clueless that its origin lies in this once-popular tune. Other versions were recorded by Harry Reser, Fred Waring, Chris Barber and there's also a piano roll of it done by one Alex Taylor.

(Not to mention the great scene in Down By Law with Roberto Benigni, Tom Waits, and John Lurie.)

Gluskin, born in Russia in 1898, recorded over 700 songs in the 1920s and 1930s. He went on to be the musical director for CBS television. He retired in the 1960s, after directing incidental musical scores for TV shows such as The Twilight Zone, Gunsmoke, and Perry Mason.

Lud Gluskin - Ice Cream (YouTube)

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Ho Mei Fan - China Night


According to this site:

When I first arrived in Korea I was told the most popular song there was "China Night". This was a Japanese song that was picked up by the GI's on R&R and brought back to Korea. All you hear on this site is the melody. The words, in japanese sound like: "she has no yoyo". When I moved to Japan a year later it was still popular. I found this music on a Japanese site of old popular songs. It was titled as: "The Night of China" or in japanese: "Shina No Yoru". The japanese character for the letter "r" is pronounced not as we would but has a softer sound so the word "yoru" does sound a bit like yoyo.


The original provider of this track to the Internet Archive didn't know the vocalist, but a commenter on the post positively identified it as Ho Mei Fan and the Columbia Orchestra and also provided the lyrics:

Minato no akari murasaki no yo ni
Noboru Junk no yume no fune
Ah-ah wasurare nu kokyu no ne-e
Shina no yoru yume no koru

Shina no yoru Shina no yoru yo
Yanagi no madoni rantan yurete
Aka torikago Shina Musume
Ah-ah yarusenai-i ai no utah
Shina no yora yume no yoru

Shina no yoru Shina no yoru yo
Kimi matsu yoi wa obashima no ame ani
Hana mo chiru chiru beni mo chiru
Ah-ah wakarete mo wasuraryoh ka
Shina no yoru yume no yoru


Ho Mei Fan - China Night (mp3)

Monday, May 31, 2010

Vassar Girls Quartet - Kentucky Babe


Composed by Adam Geibel and Richard Henry Buck in 1896, this obscure tune was recorded by the Vassar Girls Quartet on an Edison Cylinder in 1907. To the novice ear, its melody may sound nebulous and impenetrably cornball - and, well, it really sort of is - but stay with it for the duration of the recording and see if its haunting ethereal tones don't reach you on some level. I can still hear it in my head hours after listening to it, and how often can you say that about a cylinder recording?

Vassar Girls Quartet - Kentucky Babe (mp3)

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

The New Orleans Owls - Meat On The Table


According to Wikipedia:

The New Orleans Owls (active 1922-29) were an early jazz band from New Orleans that descended from The Invincibles String band and recorded 18 sides for Gennett Records and 23 sides for Columbia Records from 1925 to 1927 on 78 rpm Gramophone record. They are reportedly the first group to record by the electric system operating from a mobile recording van. They played principally for the dancers in the ballroom of the Hotel Roosevelt (also Roosevelt Hotel) in New Orleans. Little is known about the members, which included Bill Padron (very much in the Paul Mares school) (ct), Benjie White (cl,as,leader), Lester Smith (ts), Mose Farrar (p), Rene Gelpi (bjo,g), Dan LeBlanc (tu), Earl Crumb (d), Frank Netto (tb), Pinky Vidacovitch (cl,as) and Sigfre Christensen (p).

The New Orleans Owls - Meat On The Table (mp3)

Thursday, April 1, 2010