Kookaburra

Paul McCartney has a baby boy .. no um girl

Sir Paul McCartney (ex-Wings, ex-Beatle) and his wife Heather Mills must be delighted with their new baby girl, who they have named Beatrice Milly.

In a 'scoop' the UK's Daily Mirror announced the birth of a boy. The story was repeated right around the world, including CNN, BBC and my own favourite, the Sydney Morning Herald.

The Guardian has the scoop on why the scoop was wrong and the fall out.

Guess this means we won't be seeing Macca in concert anytime soon.

The Guardian has an amusing tribute to Beatrice Millie McCartney (to be sung to the tune of the Beatles' Lady Madonna).

Tom Lehrer - Poisoning pigeons in the park

Just enjoying Radio Paradise when I heard "Poisoning pigeons in the park" by Tom Lehrer. A great song to usher in spring (in Australia).

Of course it is satirical and I would certainly not advocate poisoning pigeons, though I have been known to refer to them as flying rats. There is a whole ethical dilemma here - should we cull pigeons as they are not native to Australia. Is that just xenophobia? Should we kill any living creature just because it suits us? Back to Lehrer.

Lehrer was a great political satirist of the 1960s. He took time out from lecturing on mathematics to pen some well aimed lyrics. Some of which remain contemporary.

Send The Marines (1965)

When someone makes a move
Of which we don't approve,
Who is it that always intervenes?
U.N. and O.A.S.,*
They have their place, I guess,
But first - send the Marines!

We'll send them all we've got,
John Wayne and Randolph Scott;
Remember those exciting fighting scenes?
To the shores of Tripoli,
But not to Mississippoli,
What do we do? We send the Marines!

For might makes right,
And till they've seen the light,
They've got to be protected,
All their rights respected,
Till somebody we like can be elected.

Members of the corps
All hate the thought of war;
They'd rather kill them off by peaceful means.
Stop calling it aggression,
Ooh, we hate that expression!
We only want the world to know
That we support the status quo.
They love us everywhere we go,
So when in doubt,
Send the Marines!

More Lehrer lyrics can be found here. Particularly stinging is Werner von Braun (on the challenge of science sans ethics)

Lehrer was interviewed by the Sydney Morning Herald earlier this year. "Stop clapping this is serious".

Tom Lehrer is still feisty and funny, but the king of sophisticated satire tells Tony Davis there's no place for his style of humour now: the world just wouldn't get it.

'I'm not tempted to write a song about George W.Bush. I couldn't figure out what sort of song I would write. That's the problem: I don't want to satirise George Bush and his puppeteers, I want to vaporise them."

The speaker is Tom Lehrer, arguably the most famous living satirical songwriter. And, in a roundabout way, the New York-born singer, composer and mathematician is explaining why he has been all but silent since 1965.

It appears in some ways Tom Lehrer is more famous in Australia than elsewhere, in part because during his 2 months stay in 1960 several Australian state governments tried to censor his performances. Absolutely guaranteed to increase interest. I read my first Harry Potter book because I heard some extremists were burning it - bound to be a good read then.

Slim Dusty checks out

After the sad loss of US country music legend Johnny Cash, Australia has just lost someone at least as iconic - Slim Dusty.

He stood heads and shoulders above all other Australian musicians in terms of longevity and recording success. Despite country music super stardom he remained incredibly modest and unassuming throughout his career.

As so unfortunately happens it's only when you read an obituary that you realise the true dimensions of many people. Slim wrote his first song at age 10 and adopted his stage name at age 11 (he was born David Gordon Kirkpatrick in Kempsey, New South Wales)

Slim scored his first hit in 1946 with "The Rain Tumbles Down in July". His career really kicked on with the gold record "Pub With No Beer" (1957) (a pub being short for a public bar).

The lyrics feature a cast of characters much as does Billy Joel's Piano Man (1973).

The Pub With No Beer at Taylors Arm which inspired the song is still running. Today it does have beer - (heading up that way soon so may have to pause for a cleansing ale.)

Slim went on to record 105 albums and was still producing hits until very recently.

"The presenter of the ABC's Saturday Night Country program, John Nutting, says Slim may hold the world record for the most country music albums.

"He was working on his 106th [album] at the time of his death. For someone singing and playing a guitar and singing bush ballads, I think that has never been equalled anywhere in the world."

He will be honoured by a state funeral and our Prime Minister was quick to eulogise, Slim as a one-off and a great Australian.

Mr Howard says he had a special style that set him apart. "It was the distinctive Australian character that he brought to country music that marked him out and for almost six decades he's been an institution in this country and won such affection," he said.

Reviewing my collection I now realise that while I have Johnny Cash and Hank Williams Snr, I don't have any of Slim's works - must fix that.

In Australian terms he was more significant than Hank Williams (though partly that's because Williams only had 4 years at the top - sadly dying at 29). Slim was much more laid back, less melanchonic and he simply and effectively chronicled life as it was in the Australian country in the middle years of the 20th Century.

I guess the last time I really 'saw' Slim was the closing ceremony of the 2000 Olympics Games in Sydney. Despite a massive world wide TV audience and possibly the largest venue he ever played in he was just himself as he delivered a simple but stirring rendition of Waltzing Matilda (Australia's national song but not our anthem). A great public performance to go out on.

More on Slim at abc.net.au

Beatles to release de-Spectorised "Let it Be"

Let It Be was the last album released by The Beatles. It was unfortunately produced after they had effectively split and the mix was not to the likings of at least Paul McCartney who disagreed with the final mixing of several songs.

Phil Spector was contracted to edit down hundreds of hours of material into the final album. In so doing he applied his "wall of sound" approach to several tracks including the string arrangement on "The Long and Winding Road".

According to Rolling Stone, a fresh mix (without the heavy hand of Spector), is to be released in November as, "Let It Be - Naked".

"I was listening to it recently, and it was really great," Beatles drummer Ringo Starr told Rolling Stone earlier this year. "I've been away from it a long time too. It fills my heart with joy to hear that band that I was a member of. They were just great. And also, the quietness of the tracks: It's a beautiful CD."

"Paul was always totally opposed to Phil," Starr said. "I told him on the phone, 'You're bloody right again: It sounds great without Phil.' Which it does. Now we'll have to put up with him telling us over and over again, 'I told you.'"

Along with Starr and McCartney, another figure who welcomes the Let It Be reissue is veteran British producer Glyn Johns, who engineered the original sessions. "My version of [the song] 'Get Back' actually was released fairly quickly as a single," he told Rolling Stone. "And my version of [the song] 'Let It Be' was also released, before Phil Spector puked all over it. And I hope you quote me on that. If you hear 'The Long and Winding Road' without all that schlock on it, it's fabulous just like it is."

Sleepwalk - a classic that hasn't aged

Picked up the soundtrack for Hearts in Atlantis today. It was A$6.67 (3 for $20 deal at Fish Records). I grabbed it for an original of Sh-Boom (Life could be a dream) by The Crewcuts. An unexpected bonus was Sleep Walk by Santo and Johnny. Apparently the last instrumental hit of the 1950s it is at once haunting and melodic. It's the sort of song which is very emotive and you wish would never end.

It is a brilliant mix of steel and rythm guitar by brothers, Santo and Johnny Farina. At 2:23 it is far too short but it's brilliant. IMHO the CD is worth it for this track alone.

Unfortunately not available at Apple Music Store and the covers of this song are pale imitations. Nothing can beat the original pure sounds.

If you can't otherwise find it check out www.sleep-walk.com which has history, tabs and a midi file.

Update: There is an official 0:48 mins version available in MP3 from www.sleepwalk-instrumental.com

Beatles barrage

There's just so much to admire about The Beatles. There's also much to puzzle about.

How did four lads from Liddypool take over the world (musically and culturally)? How could they be so prolific? How did they manage to evolve from greasers (Hamburg days) to lovable moptops (circa 1963) to the truly avant garde musicians we hear on later albums?

None of them had any formal musical training, yet their music will live for centuries (as has Beethoven, Bach et al).

I guess I got a little obsessed with them when I spent too much time reading rec.music.beatles around 1991. Actually here is my first post - 26 Apr 91. Thanks Google Groups! (Reminder: Be careful what you post). It really got me hooked particularly as I only 'discovered' The Beatles 10 years after they broke up. (My musical tastes always lag the trends - makes buying music cheaper :-) )

The rec.music.beatles crowd produced some tribute tapes, which were great. Participants demonstrated some amazing collaboration in the days when we thought a 14400 kbps modem was really hot!

Where does the lion sleep tonight?

SBS carried an excellent documentary tonight on the origins of the song known as 'Wimoweh" or "The lion sleeps tonight". Absolutely guaranteed you know it. One of the most recorded and played songs of the 20th Century.

The musician behind the song, Soloman Linda, was a Zulu worker who was artistically successful but died in poverty, never receiving a cent in royalty and only posthumous recognition. Meanwhile the song has generated in excess of US$10M in royalties over the years. Soloman didn't have access to the lawyers he needed. Greedy music industry folks simply exploited the situation.

The story is well covered by South African author Rian Malan who wrote an expose for Rolling Stone magazine. Follow this fascinating tail, ahem, tale at 3rd Ear Music.

Update: eclecticism followed the story and now has 6 versions of 'Wimoweh' from the Apple Music Store.