Season 300 - Deep Cuts

Would you believe I was noodling with some Yothu Yindi earlier today but decided it was too hard. Anyway, by requesting it, you've just confirmed it's not obscure enough.

They're probably obscure enough for people in the U.S. I know about them only by pure accident.
 
This band played in coffee shops in Missoula Montana between 1996 and 1999. They made a few releases during that time, 2 to be exact. One was available as a 500 copy pressing and the other as a 200 copy pressing, and then they faded into obscurity until the lead singer started a new band in Portland Oregon. Someone at “Kill Rock Stars” had some foresight because while the new band was still relatively obscure, they released a retrospective of the complete works of Tarkio. It is now available to all, and as the lead singer is now quite famous, is far less obscure than it once was.
Sean- you had to know I would get this in there somehow.
Tarkio- Better Half. Written by Colon Meloy
 
I had never heard this song until I listened to Boyd Rivers play it on an Alan Lomax film.
 
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Sometime in 1973, while I was attending college, my brother Bernie came over with a couple of vinyl albums, both by a Bahama artist called Exuma. Bernie loved Exuma and played the albums constantly for a year.

Now, I have no idea if this is a "deep cut" or not, really. I know almost nothing about this song or the artist, whether it charted, whether the artist was popular, all a mystery to me. I did find it on YouTube, so that's something. I suspect that this will be new to most Seasonistas, but I would not be surprised if our host knows this. He knows a lot of music!

It took seven of me to do this song. It's a one-chord song, and I added a ton of cheap percussion and a synth clav.

Original

 
This is a deep cut in that it is an older version of a song that many are familiar with. Another Cajun song! All in French!

 
300 :]

This song didn't get the exposure I felt it should have. It didn't keep the heart of the girl it reminds me of either. LOL

 
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Nooooooooooooo! Look, I love Christmas, but IT'S IN DECEMBER!!!!

My wife had me get the Christmas stuff down tonight. Either she's going to go real slow at getting it all up or it's going up before Thanksgiving. I hope that latter so we just skip the Thanksgiving decorations. Less to deal with.
 
Since the early '80s, I have spent a LOT of my free time looking for the next song that will blow me away. Maybe more time than I spend playing the ukulele. I'm constantly finding songs that I think, by right, should become huge hits. But I think the only time in the past 15 to 20 years that one of them has was "Little Talks" by Of Monsters and Men. This is a song by the duo Frank + Derol that I thought would be a huge pop hit. Especially since one of the duo was Miley Cyrus' sister Brandi. But as far as I know, all they ever recorded was the 2012 EP that this song was on.

This makes the 231st Season that I've taken part in (77%).


 
An evening of cocktails and listening to my friends play music is pretty much all I need right now. What a great time I'm having, and it's only Monday. The rain is pouring down here in the PNW, my mother-in-law is hiding away in her our little guest room and this community has my heart soaring. Thanks for all the great tunes friends. Here's what has come down the pike so far this evening:

Jazzbanjorex - Telegram Song - Sounding great one this one Rex. New song to me for sure. I like it. Has a late 70s, early 80s feel. Really nice song. And I too have a thing for my old tapes. I have a box of them which I really need to make mp3s from.

AlanDP - Table Song - I love the overdubbed vocals on this! As well as the little solo. Excellent entry! Tell your daughter it's an excellent choice. And the chord progression sounds familiar to me too but I can't place it. Neil Young?

robinboyd - Ivy - Hello Trouble. Sweet little uke. And yeah, this is definitely a $2 song. You folks are gonna send me to the poor house. I'm looking forward to checking out this group. I'm glad you got a song in this week.*

TCK - Better Half - I'm glad you are playing Colin Meloy. That makes me happy because I know it makes you happy. I love how you pour yourself into these songs. This is certainly a new one to me. I like it. And by the way, you should start a new band in Portland, OR

mountain goat - You Got To Take Sick And Die - Jon, so glad you made it in this week. Wasn't counting on the crotch shot but hell, I'll take what I can get. Loving this song my friend. It's always a joy to hear you play those damn four strings. Always an inspiration. As far as the tune, have you been in my head? I've been on quite a bluesy kick lately. Been thinking of doing a bit of a blues show in the near future. This is pure gold for sure.

Harry122 - Damn Fool - That's quite a band you have there! I have no idea how you do that. Pretty cool. And you've got me, never heard this tune before. Very different. Almost has a Native American quality to it. Great addition to the week!

AlanDP - Gran Texas - I am certainly impressed! I couldn't sing a song in another language if I tried. I remember way back in Season 21 PeeWee did French Week. I was crest fallen. It was the first week that I really struggled to find something to do. And whistling here too! I can't pull that off most days either. Really good stuff here Alan. And I plan on playing Hank Williams' version on my next show too!

bird’s eye view of my ukulele - Debora - Way to bring the request! And I can only hope TCK doesn't respond with a Christmas song. At least until December! Nicely done here BEV. I love that you're really digging into the Marc Bolan stuff this week. I am inspired. Love it!

Jazzbanjorex - You’ll Accompany Me - First time this week a song has popped up that I know very well. And I've always loved this song. TCK will razz me about that, but I've always been a Seger fan, and I love that you did this. Great tune. I'm pretty sure KISS opened up for Seger in their early days.

uke4ia - Barely Love You Too - I am just like you in that I spend a lot of time searching for music I haven't heard before that might blow me away. I've never heard this tune. Looking forward to checking out the original. And here's to taking part in 77% of the seasons! Certainly better than me, though I really don't have any idea what my percentage is.
 
I am hoping for 100% on the never-heard-it-ometer for this one. The last time I did a song by Half Man Half Biscuit I was met with a sea of blank faces, with maybe just a couple of people in the know. This is a band who release an album every couple of years, have never had a hit single, and only do a handful of gigs each year. They seem to actively shun promotional activity - they once turned down a national TV appearance because their local football team had a match that night. But they can count me as a fan.

This was the first track on their 2005 masterpiece "Achtung Bono"

 
Home from work with a poorly Nathan today, good chance to do a video while he's watching some remedial Toy Story.

This is from an album by serial producer and band ruiner Danger Mouse (he's responsible for disappointing showings from Cage The Elephant, Black Keys, RHCP and I believe the Dead Weather that I've been stung by) and Italian composer Daniele Luppi called Rome, that was released in homage to classic Spaghetti Western soundtracks. They roped in Jack White and Norah Jones for vocals, this is one of Jack's tracks.


 
See, here's the thing, Australians of my generation know all about the USA. Your stories were our stories.
I grew up watching The Andy Griffiths Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Fugitive, Combat, Superman, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Hawaii 50, The Rifleman, Bonanza, Leave it to Beaver, The Nelsons, Wagon Train, the Adventures of Jamie McPheeters, The Invisible Man, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Stoney Burke, Giligan's Island, etc etc etc.
And the music was the same.
On the other hand you guys hardly knew we existed.
This is maybe not that obscure - I don't recall the Andy Griffiths Show having that much music but I came across this little gem by The Dillards and Maggie Peterson that was played during one episode. It's been covered by others including Alan Jackson on his bluegrass album.
Its called There is a Time.
 
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I was in two minds about doing this one, because I bet TCK knows it. And therefore our host might too. But for me, for 30+ years, this was the deepest cut of all - a song I couldn't find.
It all started in the late 70s or early 80s, when John Peel played a gentle reggae song on his late night show. I liked it, a lot, but did I catch who it was by? No. I just walked around for days, whistling it. I went to to a very good record shop and whistled it in there, and I knew that the words were something about a right track. No luck. I wrote to John Peel, giving the date and approximate time that he played it. He never replied. And that, in the days before Google, was that.
Until about five years ago, when someone on BBC 6 Music (our one decent music station) played a song which had me running to turn the volume up. It was that song again. When the DJ announced who it was by, I scribbled it down, and went straight to the computer. But...when I found the song & artist he had read out, it was something completely different. Maybe I had misheard, and that was the next thing he was going to play...So close...
A few months later, he played it again, and once again I had pen & paper handy. And he announced the same (wrong) song & artist as before. I can only assume that the BBC digital music library has the wrong info attached to that song.
But there's a happy ending. About a year after that, I found a Trojan Records box set going cheap, Reggae Sisters, with quite a few favourites from my teenage disco years. So I bought it. And there it was - disc 3, track 10 - Phyllis Dillon, "The Right Track".

 
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I think Martyn Joseph is one of the most underestimated artists I know. I think he is amazing, but I guess not many here have heard of him yet.
Here is my take on his song: Kiss the world beautiful, be sure to check out the most excellent original.
 
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