Drawing: Hairbraider

Drawings: Down at Papa Joe’s

These pig creatures, inspired by the photo, were apparently designed with convenient handles on their heads.

Can I Get To Know You Better

I always thought of the Turtles as good, but maybe the 60’s equivalent of… Ween or They Might Be Giants or something? Is that too terrible? Something about them just seems too nerdy to me. I don’t know if it’s the knowledge of what Mark Volman looks like, the fact that they were in Frank Zappa’s bands, or songs like “I’m Chief Kamanawanalea (We’re the Royal Macadamia Nuts).”

But songs like this almost convince me that they’re on level with the Zombies. Maybe I’m being too hard on them.

The Turtles – Can I Get To Know You Better

Hair Braider

Here’s a song from this spring that keeps on giving. It’s funny how nearly none of the new Indie Rock that I was listening to earlier this year interests me even a few months later, but R&B stuff like this is as addictive as ever.

I really love Auto-Tune. I think it’s psychedelic and blurs the line between hip-hop and electronic music. I don’t understand the argument that it’s going to sound dated in a couple years. Who cares what a hypothetical future man is going to think? HE WOULDN’T LAST FIVE MINUTES IN OUR WORLD.

Here’s a great article by DJ/rupture for Earplug about Autotune. I wish I had all the songs he lists, but tracking them all down looks like an ambitious undertaking.

I’m going to try to make at least one drawing inspired by every song I post. They might be more directly inspired by the accompanying photos than the songs. I’m not near a scanner right now, but the drawings will start appearing Sunday.

R. Kelly – Hairbraider

Down at Papa Joe’s

As a millenial, I’m going to share things that interest me from day to day in a blog. The main thing I’ll share is music. Today’s song is “Down at Papa Joe’s” by The Dixiebells with Cornbread and Jerry.

Before you get too excited, we have three entities: (1) The Dixiebelles, (2) Cornbread, and (3) Jerry. I initially thought Jerry was hanging out with Southern girls that always carried cornbread with them.

Jerry was Jerry Smith, an accomplished honky-tonk piano player and writer of this song. I find myself not really caring who Papa Joe was, if he was even real. But who is Cornbread?

The studio laughter, folksy phrases, root-a-toot banjo, and trumpet feel like they’re trying way too hard for That Carnival Feel. But something about the teenage voices and the newness of that brand of melody in 1963 makes it awesome.

Sometimes songs aren’t the greatest, but that’s kind of what’s great about them.

The Dixiebelles with Cornbread and Jerry – Down at Papa Joe’s