Office Naps
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From '50s NYC clubland, a Yma Sumac-inspired version of "Babalu" by jazz/calypso singer Phyllis Branch.The radio show
The show is Lost Frequencies. Every Monday night from 9pm to 11pm (CST) on Marfa Public Radio I explore the atmospheric side of post-War music: bop & vocals, soul/R&B heartbreak, exotica & soundtrack moods, Latin jazz, oddball instrumentals, honky-tonk ballads, early electronics - even some dreamy '60s psychedelic pop. Tune in at Marfa Public Radio or at KRTS 93.5fm.Categories
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Author Archives: Little Danny
Midnight in the Naked City
The common tropes of Asphalt Jungle, Peter Gunn, D.O.A., The Maltese Falcon, This Gun for Hire, Johnny Staccato and dozens of other classic crime and detective serials and movies are well documented. Watching how certain motifs – the chase scenes, … Continue reading
You’re No Good
“You’re No Good” was written by one Clint Ballard (1931-2008), an El Paso-born musician, songwriter-for-hire and band manager who enjoyed his greatest success in the mid-’60s. “You’re No Good” is one of Ballard’s best-known, if not best, compositions. (Other well-known … Continue reading
Journey into Mellow
A shorter post this week, owing not to lack of enthusiasm but rather to the scarcity of specifics about the subjects, as well as to their somewhat unclassifiable nature. In the late ’60s there seemed to briefly prevail a commercial … Continue reading
Daughters of Yma
The inimitable South American vocalist Yma Sumac is one of the figureheads of ‘50s exotica, often if not always mentioned in the same breath as Les Baxter, Martin Denny and Arthur Lyman. And for good reason. Sumac was exotica’s ultimate … Continue reading
Early country rock
Country rock is largely, and probably accurately, identified with late ‘60s Los Angeles. The new sensibility drew its earliest and most influential adherents from a variety of musical quarters and pedigrees. In 1966 and ’67, when it first began to … Continue reading
Office Naps Summer 2010 Psychedelic Pop mix
The fifth installment of the Office Naps psychedelic pop mix. Sunshine dreams, bad trips, and modern astrology for Today’s Teen. Office Naps Summer 2010 Psychedelic Pop mix Pinnochio & the Puppets, Fusion (7″ 45, Mercury) Jackie & Gayle, Remember (7″ … Continue reading
The Exotica Project
I’m pleased to announce the Exotica Project, my new 45-related website. The Exotica Project explores a somewhat disparate collection of one hundred exotic-themed 45s through the motifs that unite them. The site approaches “exotica” more as a style, and a … Continue reading
Back again
Well now, been a while. First of all, if you’re reading this, thanks. Especially for those who’ve emailed, left encouraging comments, and otherwise continued to work through the site’s archives. It seems like for over six months now I’ve been … Continue reading