So I suppose it’s a good thing, then, that so many of my favorite share blogs can be all but ignored during this time of year. From October right up through December, a fever seems to take hold which requires even the coolest bloggers to post endless feeds full of holiday themed material. From Halloween’s spoken word ghost stories and haunted house sound effects records, to Christmas’s unrelenting pageant of “kitschy” Christmas music , the holiday season renders most share blogs virtually useless for nearly one full quarter of the year.

This isn’t to say I’m totally immune. I suppose I’ll be whipping out the Specter Xmas disc at some point, and I admit to a fondness for Dean Martin’s Christmas album. I even allowed my wife to drag me to Brian Setzer’s holiday extravaganza. His version of Les Brown’s “Nutcracker Suite” arrangement is quite charming, and his new album of classical music covers, “Wolfgang’s Big Night Out” makes a terrific Christmas stocking stuffer. But for the most part, I never had much stomach for music of Yule.

Over at LuxuriaMusic.com, they’ve begun a new tradition in supplement to Christmas. They’ve set aside the anniversary of the assassination of John Lennon to honor the Beatles. As a rule, the Fab Four canon is actually forbidden at the station, not so much because of aesthetics as much as the overwhelming been-there-done-that position the Beatles hold in our popular culture. But boy, do we love us some oddball Beatle covers. For my show, “C’mon! Live A Little” (heard on Saturday afternoons), I whipped out my killer Donny and Marie disco version of Wings’ “Bluebird” and Tom Jones’ absurdly upbeat version of “We Can Work It Out.”

It was a fun day and I can pretty much guarantee that everyone had a splendid time. And, we (hopefully) raised a decent amount of scratch to keep the station going. (Yes, the fund-raiser appears to still be in effect, and much like Christmas or the war, it threatens to to continue into perpetuity and consume all within its reach.)

As for Your Favorite Little Podcast, you can see that there’s not a single holiday song in the entire episode:

“Winners & Losers” – Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds
“Nikki” – Vincent Bell
“I’ve Got You On My Mind” – White Plains
“Lady Love” – Les Baxter & 101 Strings
“The Girls Of Paramaribo” – Berry Lipman Orchestra
“Funky 75″ – Sunshine Band
“Words And Music” – Hot Wheels
“Voce E Eu (You And I)” – Johnny Keating
“Love Thy Neighbor” – Dean Martin
“Since You Opened Up The Door” – Sonlight Orchestra
“Indiscrete” – Frank Sinatra, Jr.


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For instance, I’ve been recording fundraising spots for LuxuriaMusic.com, where I host a weekly music program. They must be desperate for cash, because as cheesy as they are, the station plays the damn spots at least once an hour. Of course, if they don’t raise the money, I may not have any reason to record any more. Lux only needs paltry few thousand dollars to keep the station running, but hey: this is the internet we’re talking about. Paying customers are few and far between. Of course, if everyone who reads this blog were to head on over and give ‘em even five or ten bucks, it would most likely make a huge difference.

If free content is more your thing, now you can jump over to the WFMU blog, where they’ve graciously commenced hosting individual Love Workshop programs from my collection, complete and unzipped for easy review.

But the loggrolling doesn’t stop there. As of this month, I am now an official contributor to 43 Folders itself! My first effort is already online, and — god help me — it’s already been seen by more people than visit this site in a year. My article is less about productivity than it is about the lack of same, but I think it’s a good start. I’d like think Merlin’s admiration of Bostworld led him to make this offer, but I imagine he’s probably more impressed by the cred from my former life than by the kitschy downloads and paeans to local squalor found here. In fact, I’m sure of it! But who knows: if the collaboration proves to be mutually satisfying, I might try to talk him into coming over here some time and sharing some of his guilty pleasures with us.

Oh yeah, before I forget: here’s some more Bostrom-generated web content that I didn’t get paid for:

“All Of Me” – Guitar Underground
“Lipton On The Move” – Lipton Tea
“I Still Believe In Tomorrow” – John & Anne Ryder
“Phoenix Love Theme (Senza Fine)” – Dick Hyman
“A Smile At Dawn” – Bebu Silvetti
“I Know My Daddy Loves Me” – Magic Of Love
“For A Few Dollars More” – Terranova
“The Not Too Distant Future” – Ivy League
“His Eyes, Her Eyes” – Michel Legrand
“Loving Things” – Today’s People


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Though he did no studio recording that year, 1974 was Elvis’s busiest since his return to live performing. In addition to his two Las Vegas engagements, he did four full tours. Elvis’ exhaustion and loss of focus was apparent midway through the year. At the end of his late summer Las Vegas engagement, he rambled on for a half an hour, trying to explain away his divorce, his health problems, and rumors of his drug abuse. Along the way, he revealed details of his financial settlement with Priscilla, insulted her current boyfriend, described his liver biopsy in graphic detail and threatened anyone spreading rumors of his addiction with extreme physical violence. At one point on the recording, he even yells “fuck you” at a heckler.

After taking September off, Elvis hit the road again. Things quickly went from bad to worse. The monologues tapered off, but only because we was so out of steam he could barely talk. Reports have him staggering in and out of limousines, forgetting the lyrics to songs he’d sung for years, and doing whole shows hanging on to his mike stand, almost motionless. He apologizes to the audiences, says he’s recovering from one of the many illnesses he claimed to have during these months. But in truth, two decades of drug abuse were finally taking their toll.

After the end of the fall tour, Elvis canceled his January engagement in Vegas and checked himself into a hospital. It’s interesting to note that Elvis’s savvy management was able to spin their artist’s difficulties into salable product. During the summer of 1974, they released an “all talking” album made up entirely of some of the less objectionable ‘tween song patter from that year. Ironically, “Having Fun With Elvis On Stage” sold no worse than than any of his other albums from the period.

I originally made this compilation for a co-worker who’s a freak for The King. Though I didn’t let on that this was Elvis at his worst, she probably wouldn’t have noticed. After all, to quote Elvis’ second favorite book (after the Physician’s Desk Reference):

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always preserves.”
– 1 Corinthians 13:2

Happy birthday, Death Of Elvis! See you next year!

Download “Elvis Sings And Talks On Stage”

A couple of Tuesdays back, I got a new job — a promotion, actually. Nothing too amazing there; getting it was the easy part. The tough part will be filling the position I just vacated. Unfortunately, I can’t hire myself, so I guess I’m kind of screwed. But what’s really odd is the same day I got the job, my old partners in crime got started on their second act as well. Now that they released their “comeback” album, they’re well on the way back into the hearts of guitar rock fans everywhere. Of course, I “declined to participate,” as the reviewers tell me. And it’s true. I can’t imagine giving up sleeping in my own bed every night — and even getting paid for the privilege (with benefits) — to go back on the road and work the same club circuit I played 20 years ago.

Just the same, I got less congratulations for the promotion than people coming up to me, telling me how excited they were to see my picture in the papers (apparently, some of these newspapers need to update their photo archive). I tried to be as gracious as I could, but I silently thanked my lucky stars that no one’s interested in airing my dirty laundry in public.

But there was another second act that week: Internet radio got a stay of execution. It’s a somewhat dubious one, with ominous strings attached, but it’s the only one we’ve got, so it will have to do. But another group of independent content providers was not so lucky. Without the benefit of the news blitz afford to new media, independent print publications took their lumps in the shadows, losing their campaign to overturn a ruling raising their postal rates by twelve to fifty percent. Many people didn’t even find out about this one until the rates took effect — coincidentally enough, on the same day royalty rates were supposed to kick in for online broadcasters.

Like my wife says: “small world.”

Episode Six Track List:
“Clearway” – Saint Etienne
“Gone With the Wind” – Frankie Randall
“Love Me For a Day” – Davy Jones
“Discontented Disco Children” – Rock City Boys
“Window Shopping” – Magic Disco Machine
“Seaway” – Brian Fahey
“Under the Sea” – Doodletown Pipers
“This Is Love” – Archies
“Faraway Music/The Girl With The Sun
In Her Hair/Crossroads” – Alan Hankshaw
“Ask Me What You Want” – Terry Baxter



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America’s much vaunted Independence Day is still a week away, but we’re dusting off our old Fourth Of July program anyway. This episode holds a special significance for me, and I’m not talking about patriotism. In my brief spoken episode, I offer ambivalent tribute to my state of unemployment at the time. Six years later, my pavement pounding days are hopefully behind me, but the independence afforded by a steady paycheck still strikes me as Kristoffersonesque at best.

But I wasn’t the only one out of a job six years ago. My playmates over at LuxuriaMusic.com had themselves been knocked out from behind their deejay consoles after their parent company was acquired by the ubiquitous Clear Channel. Like me, it took some time, but they eventually got back on their feet. But now, they’re being threatened once again by the very entity whose existence we celebrate on July 4th: the even more ubiquitous United States Government.

Just in case you didn’t know, of have forgotten, the new royalty rate increase for net radio goes into effect on July 15, rates so impossibly high, observers have been forced to speculate that they are designed to drive off all but the most deep-pocketed players.

Today, June 26th, is the day of internet radio’s Day Of Silence protest. If you are a internet radio fan, and you don’t like what you hear today, I urge your to contact your congressional representative and ask them to support the “Internet Radio Equality Act” (IREA) (H.R. 2060 in the House and S. 1353 in the Senate). For more information, visit SaveNetRadio.Org.

Episode Five Track List:
“You’re A Lucky Fellow Mr. Smith” – Frank Sinatra
“Don’t Bite The Hand That’s Feeding You” – Tiny Tim
“Where Have All Our Heroes Gone” – Bill Anderson
“World Of Winners” – Massey Ferguson
“Happy Birthday/Grand Old Flag” – Donny Osmond
“Tupperware Spirit Of ’76″ – Tupperware
“The Fightin’ Side Of Me” – Merle Haggard
“I Am An American” – Edmund O’Brien
“You Never Had It So Good” – Frank Sinatra & Bing Crosby



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Since our entertainment was taken care of, all we had to do was map out a short list of vegan restaurants in the city. These were our anchor destinations, around which we planned our urban hiking adventures. Unfortunately, we left our Trimble-compatible mobile phone at home, so Geocaching was out. But naturally, we brought along our camera. For as terribly hayseed-like as it may seem, there’s nothing I like better when I’m in the city than a good long gawk at all the tenements. There’s something about a code-straddling subsistence-level multi-family dwelling that starts something fluttering in my breast. I don’t even mind if it’s just a crumbling old boarded up office building, as long as its got that hungry look of potential flammability about it.

Of course, to truly capture these mighty beasts in their own habitat, I’d have to live among them. But one look at the state of my complexion after a mere three days on the street tells me this option is out of the question. The slow buildup of toxins would surely kill me. So you’ll have to forgive my piddling and rather scatter shot approach. Still, I think the cumulative effect of the photos is stirring enough. I’ll leave the detailed documentation to those better equipped for more extended efforts.

Bostworld received this kind of attention about a year ago, when Boing Boing linked to an article of excerpts from an old Uncensored magazine. That time, fueled by the promise of smut and acerbated by the fact that the files were actually served from my shared host account, the onslaught of visitors took the whole site down (as well as its sister blog over at Meat Puppets Dot Com). Tech support wasn’t much help: “Give us more money” they suggested, “or maybe take your business elsewhere.”

Fortunately, I figured out what to do on my own. In the course of returning things to normal, I discovered that my chosen platform (WordPress) is considered a resource hog. I also learned some load-bearing strategies. So I’m happy to report that when the awesome power of Frauenfelder came knocking this time, though things did get a little wobbly, the site held.

Say what you will about file sharing services like Rapidshare, they kept me up and running. Thanks also to Ricardo Galli Granada, whose WP-Cache plug-in may or may not have helped me weather the storm.

Episode Four Tracklist:
“1900 Yesterday” – Liz Damon & Orient Express
“Oh Calcutta” – Ferrante & Teicher
“Mama, We’re All Crazee Now / Didn’t Know I Loved You (Til I Saw You Rock and Roll) / Come Along Girl” – Les Humphries Singers
“Desafinado” – Ten Tuff Guitars
“Where Would I Be Without You” – Hardy Boys
“Push” – Chakachakas
“Soul Ballet” – Peter Nero
“Oh John Henry” – John Henry Singers
“Something to Think About” – Bert Convy



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I followed the story on Howard Stern’s web feed, thanks to my co-worker’s Sirius subscription. Usually, I demand that he listen to something else, but the Imus dust-up kept me interested for the whole week. Despite his unwavering stand on free speech, Stern had a more personal axe to grind. All week, Howard alternately hooted with joy at the fall of an old nemesis and gnashed his teeth as he recounted the shitty treatment he received at the hands of Imus and Co. when they both worked for the same station. I was loving it.

Just the same, even though I’m just a white, adult male (who’s been known to run his mouth on occasion), I still feel degraded by racist and sexist language. In fact, I even felt that sting once at the hands of Howard Stern himself. It was back in the 90s, when the Meat Puppets were at the peak of their popularity. Howard took a shine to us, appearing on stage during one of our New York shows, and inviting the band on his show twice. We jammed with him both times. He was very nice to us, both gracious and encouraging; he even broadcast our first visit on his television show.

But the second visit left me with a bad taste in my mouth. That time, our manager appeared with us. I should mention that in addition to loving us enough to stick with us and put up with our bullshit, our manager was also a black female. When Howard turned his attention upon her — insisting that she was sleeping with us, and demanding that she admit she preferred sex with white men — she was merely embarrassed. But I was ashamed at how insensitively Howard treated our friend, and how he tried to get the band to go along with it. After all these years, I still remember how it felt: like a hard slap to the face.

Meanwhile, the backlash picks up steam, as a confused America debates “who can say what” and who’s allowed to “get away with it.” Some quarters are bewailing the loss of a “good man,” felled by agenda-wielding media jackals. Of course, where I work, and probably where you work too, they call it “harassment” and prescribe mandatory preventative “sensitivity training” for all employees. It seems to me, the lesson is very simple: use good judgment, be compassionate and tread gently on other peoples’ feelings. I don’t see what’s so politically correct about that.

Episode Three Tracklist:
“Fashion People” – Pizzicato Five
“My Life” – Nelson Riddle
“Meet the Swinger” – Poloroid Camera
“I Can’t Find The Time” – Groovin’ Strings
“Come On Sign” – Joe E
“Blame It On The Pony Express” – Hugo Strasser
“Yume No Tameni” – Puffy
“El Bimbo” – Ray Conniff
“Traffic Jam” – Tommy Roe
“It Happened On a Sunday Morning” – Jerry Ross Symposium



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In 1972, the road show of “Hair” came to Phoenix, and incredibly, this man not only wanted to go, but even allowed me to accompany him and my mother. He had apparently wanted to “gain insight” into “the younger generation.” But all through the performance, my stepfather wore a grim mask of terrible disapproval. The drive home was most uncomfortable. After fifteen minutes of stony silence, he suddenly barked, “I don’t care what the two of you think, but you can tell your friends, and you can tell you children, and you can tell your grandchildren, that I thought it was a dirty, DIRTY show!”

I couldn’t admit it then, but I myself had been somewhat disappointed. I liked the songs very much (and I certainly appreciated the nudity), but a mere five years after its ground-breaking debut, the show was, even then, painfully dated. My step-father’s reaction was even more so, of course, but for him it was too late. The show had insinuated itself so deep into our culture by the early 70s, that even my step-father would have known every song by heart. Easy listening cover versions from “Hair” were a positive cottage industry back them. The show was a godsend to a generation of band leaders and arrangers, for even the squarest among them managed to get some action from “Hair.”

Of course, Don Kirshner is no ordinary “square,” but his long pedigree hardly needs enumerating here. Besides, working in a merely “supervisory” capacity on this record, Don must cede most of the credit to producer/arranger Herb Bernstein. Whoever, the responsible parties cook up a reasonably funky approximation of a groove here, with a solid rhythm section and plenty of those cheerful vocals that helped lull guys like my stepfather into such a false sense of security.


Download “Don Kirshner Cuts Hair”

Alternate Link

Naturally, when they offered me this opportunity, I jumped for it. I’ve been a huge fan of the station since day one. Though I don’t have the time to immerse myself in their online community as much as I’d like to, I love their restless playlist of lounge music, obscure rock, jazz, novelties and pop music from around the world. My current podcast series “Your Favorite Little Podcast,” taken from a show I did several years ago, is directly influenced by them. In fact, when Luxuria returned to the air four years ago (after a two-year hiatus), I donated all the songs from that show to them. Many of them are still in rotation.

My new show gets it’s name from a teen movie featuring Bobby Vee and Jackie DeShannon. The film itself is a pretty terrible fast-forward-fest, but I love the title song, especially a scene where it is performed by Suzie Kaye. After being introduced by baseball legend Bo Bo Belinski, she sings and go-go dances in front of a faceless rock group of Wrecking Crew wannabees referred to only as “The Boys” (though it probably is the Wrecking Crew). Though she also appeared with Elvis Presley in “Clambake,” this scene is Suzie Kaye’s true cinematic moment. She’s all but forgotten now, but she’ll be joining me every week.

I hope you will too. After Lux made such a kind offer, it would be ungracious of me not to try and deliver my audience. So please: won’t you be sure to cruise over to Lux and give it a listen? Become a member of their swelling ranks, not just during my show, but all week long. Get the LuxuriaMusic.com habit today!

(Note: You can get show playlists here.)