RTP-area local music and culture

[Bryk <chscene AT bryk.com>]

On 12-May-06, at 4:13 PM, toenes wrote:

> Monica Lynch, current/former? prez of Tommy Boy records, had  
> Merritt on
> her FMU show this afternoon and played a medley of several
> drastically-varied versions of "Zippity Doo Dah." I only heard the
> beginning music of the show, but it for some of you it may be worth
> checking in archives.
>
> Here' the FMU blog entry:
> http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2006/05/stephin_merritt.html
>
> Here's the playlist:
>
> http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/19014


the archive file is there already.

wow, talk about your hour of (white) power!

mmm, dionne's zip a dee is particularly awesome. i've never heard  
someone sing the world "shoulder" for like, what, SEVEN syllables.  
give me a singer of any colour who can _swing_ melisma and not belt  
it  (of course, in her prime she could sing my dog farting* and swing  
that motherfucker.)

i know it's just tautological to play 20 versions of this, but none  
of them is diminishing the song, and none of them make me want to  
rent a Disney DVD or set a fiery cross. (during the J5 version, i was  
wishing that SOMEONE could go back in time and rescue michael jackson  
from his family and his childhood, which would kind of be like  
freeing a slave now wouldn't it?)

*sigh* some interviewer in tokyo (through a translator at that) asked  
me _why_ (not if) my music was racist and i flushed red and sputtered  
something like "well, no, there's plenty of influence, some of my  
favourite artists are black, it's just that i have _no soul_"   but  
that question bugged the hell out of me for weeks after that.  
(actually, he seemed satisfied with my answer, unlike the cultural  
nationalist guy who was LIVID that the extent of my japanese music  
collection was Cornelius, E Yazawa, the Plastics, YMO, Kahimi Karie  
and Hideki Kaji)

it's a trick question, because no amount of explanation can negate  
the basic premise: you're racist. ("so _when_ did you stop beating  
your spouse?")

then again, maybe i'm just uncool, not spending ALL my spare time  
reading the solipistic circle jerk that is the meme-facista  
blogosphere, but thank god for progressive politics and obscure 45's,  
or else there'd be nuttin' worth reading on the interweb that didn't  
have banner advertising slathered all over it.

wow i've never heard stephen merritt talk before now. his voice is  
_so_ sedately erudite, i'm half expecting him to slip in "and all the  
little godfreys" when i'm not paying attention. maybe he's triggering  
some latent gaydar i didn't even know i had. whoa nelly!

dB


* Elvis may have recorded that on a b-side, assuming Aberbach and  
Parker had a piece of it.