Follow/contact
The other site
From '50s NYC clubland, a Yma Sumac-inspired version of "Babalu" by jazz/calypso singer Phyllis Branch.
Author Archives: Little Danny
The Plum Beach Incident / Dave Yarnell
Posted on 2014/01/13 by Little Danny It was terrific to speak recently to Dave Yarnell, guitarist and singer with the Plum Beach Incident, whose sterling “Pretty Thing” I first featured back in 2010 in a post surveying ‘60s jangle pop. A … Continue reading
Another view from the outer fringes
I always feel a little bit leery of posts like these because there’s nothing in the way of, say, regional or sociocultural provenance or shared stylistic cues drawing the selections together, nothing guiding them into cohesive genres or concepts with … Continue reading
Jazz Dramatique
Over at the Lonely Beat I discussed the Naked City, the version of the modern American city in the post–War popular imagination. And how a singular form of American commercial music, in time referred to by collectors as “crime jazz,” … Continue reading
The lonesome drifter’s tale
Three mournful country melodramas this week. All released between 1957 and 1960, these make for a fun, highly atmospheric bunch. These selections are somewhat tricky to place in the continuum of post-War commercial records. They share some of the darkness … Continue reading
The Guild Light Gauge
It was my pleasure to recently speak with Fern Nash, the singer in both the Guild Light Gauge and Collection, whose 45s I featured back in May 2011. This was something of a coup – there was so little that … Continue reading
Bright Lights
Like AM Radio Dust, its companion volume, Bright Lights is just as much an exploration of lost spaces and places as it is of sound. I hope you enjoy it. Bright Lights (single MP3 file) Susan Rafey, “The Big Hurt” … Continue reading
Raqs ‘n’ Roll
The records that capitalized on post-War America’s tastes for Middle Eastern music encompass an absolutely fascinating continuum. At one end there were the country-by-country ethnic field recordings released by Folkways, Lyrichord, Monitor and other specialist labels, academic packages for armchair … Continue reading
Jeri Simpson
I first posted Jeri Simpson’s “In My Black Lace” back in 2006. It has been one of the great mysteries around here, a marvelous, truly one-of-a-kind recording whose story I’d long given up hopes of ever learning. But I’m happy … Continue reading
