Pun Fun 5: The Contenders

Voting is now open for Pun Fun 5. 

You were challenged to insert a pun related to farming into a popular song title. You have clearly been toiling in fertile soil as you've produced a fine harvest between you.

Thanks to everyone who submitted an entry and particularly welcome to Chris who is making his punning debut and joins us just in time to help with the bale-hauling.

Voting is open to all readers not just those who entered. Let me know your top five in order of preference. I'll award 7 points for every first choice, 5 for second and then 3, 2 and 1 for the rest.

You can either submit your votes in the comments section below or by email to leggies27@hotmail.co.uk if you would rather preserve the sanctity of the secret ballot. 

The deadline is next Sunday (19 April). We will announce the results a week today. 

Here are the contenders, listed alphabetically by artist.

1.    While My Deutz-Fahr Gently Reaps - The Beatles

2.    As Long As We Got Each Udder - BJ Thomas and Jennifer Warnes

3.    Barn In The USA – Bruce Springsteen

4.    Sow it Hoes - "Chick" Lowe

5.    Love Is A Cattlefield - (Cow) Pat Benatar

6.    Wheat Wheat Wheat - The Damned

7.    Cracked Tractor - David Bowie

8.    Manure in Love With a Beautiful Woman - Dr Hook

9.    Drake, Cattle & Foal - (Duck) Bill Haley & His Comets

10.  Swede Dreams Are Made Of This - Eurhythmics

11.  Grow Your Own Whey - Fleetwood Mac

12.  With Weed On Our Side - Half Man Half Biscuit

13.  Battery Hen - Meat Loaf

14.  There's A Goat In My House - R Dean Taylor

15.  Top Of The Crops - The Rezillos

16.  You Can't Slurry Love - The Supremes

17.  You And Your Harvester – This Mortal Coil

18.  Anyway Any Plough Anywhere - The Who

A number of you have said nice things about this series but I can't take the credit. You are the ones who come up with the puns, I just put them all together. Now...

Ernie's El Dorado Pt 16 - Nicaragua

We have now made it two-thirds of the way through our musical tour of continental America and we have arrived in Nicaragua.

The political history of the country is pretty much the same as all the other Central American countries that have featured in the series and sadly the noble Sandinistas of our youth have turned out to be no better than the dynasties before them. Daniel Ortega is now in the 19th year of his reign and passes the time jailing opponents, closing media outlets, fiddling elections and doing the whole despot thing.

So lets instead praise Nicaragua's scenery, architecture, folklore and people, all of which I had the pleasure of encountering when I went there on holiday in 2014. There are photos of my visit over on Flickr if you are interested. There are lots of bright colours, fine buildings and smiling faces and a fair old dollop of weirdness as well, like so...

That's enough of me, let's get on with the show. We'll start with a couple of bands from among the small pile of mp3 discs I chose pretty much at random when I was there. 

The cumbia funsters Fuzion 4 are still going strong and are active on Facebook and probably other places as well. The same can be said for Los Nuevos Panzer's (their apostrophe not mine) who are not to be confused with the original Los Panzer's, whose heyday was in the 1970s. I have not yet been able to establish what if any connection there is between them. Perhaps our many Nicaraguan readers can help.

Speaking of the 1970s as we were, that's where we are heading next for some soulful Latin sounds. I have not been able to find out anything at all about Grupo Africans but this 1974 single is decidedly funky. You can find it on the "Sonidos Perdidos de Centroamérica" compilation that has featured a few times in this series.

By contrast I am positively awash with information about Poder Del Alma, a local supergroup originally put together for a benefit concert following an earthquake that hit Managua in 1972. They enjoyed it so much they went on to release a couple of albums in 1974 and 1975. The first, from which this track comes, is mainly cool Latin rock and soul. The second goes a bit more jazz-funk with liberal splashes of mini-Moog, but they are both worth a listen.

Speaking of the 1970s and jazz-funk as we were, Alfonso Lovo has an interesting tale to tell. The son of a government minister in the Somoza regime, he was shot by Sandinista hijackers on a flight from the US to Nicaragua in 1971 and got his dodgy dad to finance his music career. 

So far so bad you may think, but he was no dilettante and in 1976 he recorded some really far out psychedelic jazz sessions for an album that was to be called "La Gigantora", named for the giant lady who features in street festivals around the country (like this one that I met in León, standing next to a moustachioed Frank Sidebottom). For one reason and another it was never released at the time, only finally seeing the light of day in 2015 thanks to the Numero Group.

In the interests of balance we probably should have some music from old school Sandinista supporters now. It was a toss up between Carlos Meija Godoy and Grupo Pancasan and for the mp3s I have opted for the latter, specifically the self-titled song from their 1978 debut. Carlos can be found in the video clips (when the cameraman can tear himself away from the ladies in the audience). 

Grupo Pancasan wound up in 1990 when the first Sandinista government lost the election. Carlos is still going strong at 83 and unlike Ortega has stayed true to his principles, including taking part in the 2018 protests than resulted in multiple deaths and the banning of political marches. 

For the last couple of tunes we are off to Caribbean coast where we encounter the Miskito people (you may remember meeting them when we were in Costa Rica). There is a lively music scene in the main city of Bluefields and the Bluefields Sound System label does a great job in capturing it on record. From their catalogue I have chosen this track from "Palo De Mayo", the 2012 album by Barbaros Del Ritmo. 

If you head about 50 miles north from Bluefields you'll find the small town of Tasbapauni, birthplace of Philip Montalbán, provider of this episode's MAR. You can read all about him in this article if you are so inclined  You can find today's track is on a 2023 album called "Viva La Vida" although the song itself has been available on YouTube since 2009.

"El Jincadito" - Fuzion 4

"La Gorda De Las Esquinas" - Los Nuevos Panzer's

"La Guinoma" - Grupo Africans

"Caperucita Roja" - Poder Del Alma

"La Bomba De Neutron" - Alfonso Lovo

"Pancasán" - Grupo Pancasán

"Judith Drownded" - Barbaros Del Ritmo

"Salvemos El Planeta" -  Philip Montalbán

Mr. Montalbán's solo work is pretty good but his old band Soul Vibrations were a bit special. I couldn't track down any of their records but I think the first clip below from 1989 will explain their appeal.

Back To The Barbican

Me and that Swiss Adam bloke are currently engaged in a fiercely fought game of Japanese psych band tag (although he may not know that yet).

I opened with Nagisa Ni Te. He raised the stakes with Yura Yura Teikoku. It requires a strong response so I'm going with Barbican Estate, originally from Tokyo but now based in London, much closer to the brutalist block from which they took their name (and where I used to work many years ago).

To make sure they were the right choice I went to watch them live in the hipster haven of Hackney last week. My friend Mr F saw them last year and has been raving about them ever since. He was right to do so, they were great. Their records don't fully prepare you for the storm of sound they conjure up live.

Barbican Estate are Miri on vocals, bass, flute and mellotron and Kazuki Toneri on guitar and songwriting. Koh Hamada has drummed on all their records to date but he's back in Japan so for gigs they have a rotating cast of drummers (probably because the poor buggers need to go for a lie down after a few sets). Go and see them if they come to your town.

You can find their back catalogue on Bandcamp. I have picked a track from each of their two most recent EPs, "Viscum" (2024) and "The Fall" (2022).

"Barn Burning" - Barbican Estate

"Reconquista" - Barbican Estate

Pun Fun 5: The Theme

Hello, Pun People! We are back with a fifth instalment of this feast of fun, timed to help those of you who celebrate Easter to retrieve your minds from a chocolate haze.

Our themes are chosen with the aim of providing food for thought. So this time round we are paying our respects to the people who literally help to put food on your table, including our most recent winner George and his goats-to-peanuts agricultural empire. The theme is:

DOWN ON THE FARM

Animals, crops, workforce, buildings, equipment, anything to do with running a farm is in scope. The only things I might rule out are repeats of entries received when we did fruit and vegetables back in Pun Fun 2.

You are all familiar with the rules by now -  one entry only, to be sent to leggies27@hotmail.co.uk by Sunday 12 April. Voting will open next Monday.

I hope to get a bumper crop of cringeworthy puns. Maybe these hordes of horny-handed sons of the soil from the 1980s can help inspire you.

Competitive Wailing

I was leafing through the latest issue of Uncut the other day. When I reached the last page there was Ziggy Marley telling us all about his favourite records. Obviously his Dad featured, and we learned that the album that means most to Ziggy is "Survival" (1979). 

It is also my favourite of Bob's albums, but its not the album by one of the founding members of The Wailers that I listen to most often. That would be Bunny Wailer's "Protest" (1977) followed by Peter Tosh's "Bush Doctor" (1978). 

Here's one from each of them, then one from them all together.

"Ride Natty Ride" - Bob Marley & The Wailers

"Moses Children" - Bunny Wailer

"Pick Myself Up" - Peter Tosh

Pity The Fools

In the wise words of Kevin Coyne, the world is full of fools - and never more so than at this time of year. Here are just a few of them.

A personal request. Please read this before midday or Etta James will be singing her song to me.

"The World Is Full Of Fools" - Kevin Coyne

"Fool" - Trees

"Liverpool Fool" - Browning Bryant

"Immaculate Fools" - Immaculate Fools

"A Fool Will Fail" - Wailing Souls

"You're The Fool" - Etta James 

Lucas In London

My live music experiences this month have been mostly Brazilian. After Nyron Higor and the gang in Brussels in the middle of the month, last Friday Mr F and I went to see Lucas Santtana nearer to home at the 229 in London's groovy Great Portland Street.

Mr Santtana was in town to promote his new album "Brasiliano", the tenth of his career that now stretches back a quarter of a century. It features eight different language and a long list of collaborators from Brrazil and elsewhere of which Gilberto Gil is the best known.

According to the blurb, on the album Lucas "questions cultural heritage, identity, colonial memory, and the possibility of a shared language" - something he evidently feels strongly about as he had a bit of a rant in response to a comment from an audience member that I didn't catch. The gist of the rant was that Brazilian culture and language was much richer than just its colonial inheritance. 

On first listen I quite like the new album and I think it will be a grower, but it is a lot mellower than the only other album of his that I have - "3 Sessions In A Greenhouse", described by Mojo on its release in 2006 as a "futuristic splicing of samba with Black Ark-style dub". Maybe that is just the effect of time passing.

As for the show itself, I enjoyed it. Lucas was fronting a four piece band so had to manage without some of the nuance and enhancements you can get in the studio, but they got all our toes tapping and our hands clapping. I particularly enjoyed the louder and more up tempo numbers on which they were almost able to drown out the idiots talking.

For your delectation and delight here is a track apiece from the new album and "3 Sessions In A Greenhouse". The latter features an American journalist reading extracts from Virginia Woolf - because you can - and clocks in nearly nine minutes for you long Monday fans. 

"Cuando Mi Lengua (feat. Maria Lado)" - Lucas Santtana

"A Natureza Espera (feat. Phylis Huber)" - Lucas Santtana

Oceanic Consistency

On Wednesday evening I was inside the Japanese Embassy in London's swinging Piccadilly. I can't say why but hopefully the Cadbury's Milk Tray reached the intended recipient. 

More importantly for the purposes of this post my visit prompted me to dig out some albums by my favourite Japanese band, Nagisa Ni Te. It is only a few months since they were last featured here but it is never too soon to have them back.

This time out we have a couple of tracks from their most recent album "Newocean", released in 2022. Between them the two songs clock in at 15 minutes so purists may want to wait until Monday before listening to them.

Thank you once again to the Random Adjective/ Noun Generator which I used last time The Nagisas joined us for the title of the post. It seemed suitable for the album title. Two of the other options that the generator offered up were "fanatical words" and "oily allegiance". Its randomness appears to be in sync with the randomness of the so-called real world.

"Despair" - Nagisa Ni Te

"Something Wicked This Sky Comes" - Nagisa Ni Te

Elyse In The Fields

According to my search function it is 13 years since Elyse Weinberg last appeared on these pages. As many of you weren't even born then it is time for a long overdue comeback. Her debut - and for many years only - album "Elyse" has long been a favourite of mine.

Elyse was a Canadian singer-songwriter who hung out with the likes of Neil and Joni in Toronto in the mid-1960s. In 1968 she followed them down to L.A. where she was signed up by the Tetragrammaton label, best known (if at all) as being the label that released all the early Deep Purple albums in the US.

"Elyse" came out to moderate acclaim the following year. Produced by Don Gallucci, the former keyboard player with The Kingsmen (thats him playing the opening riff on "Louie Louie") and later the producer of The Stooge's "Fun House", backing was provided by a band called Touch and allegedly an uncredited Neil on some tracks.

Neil was definitely involved in the planned follow up LP "Greasepaint Smile", produced by David Briggs and also involving the likes of Nils Lofgren and J.D. Souther. Unfortunately the label went bust before it could be released. It finally saw the light of day in 2015, after Elyse had been rediscovered by hipsters and lured back into music from her steady job selling insurance in Oregon.

Sadly Elyse died of lung cancer in 2020 aged 74. She never really got the recognition I think she deserved in her lifetime but she left us with one great record, which is more than can be said for most of us.

"Band Of Thieves" - Elyse Weinberg

"Spirit Of The Letter" - Elyse Weinberg

I have not been able to find any clips of Elyse or even of Cher doing her version of "Band Of Thieves" (renamed "Chastity's Song" for the purposes of a terrible film). But here are Courtney Barnett and Waxahatchee a few years back covering "Houses" from the second album. There is also a very poor quality clip on YouTube of Jeff Tweedy having a go at the same song last year.

Ernie's El Dorado Pt 15 - Mexico

Normally I open each episode of our tour of the Americas by telling you a bit about the country we are visiting. But I am going to assume that you all know enough about Mexico to make that unnecessary this time.

I am also going to assume that if you were asked to name a well-known Mexican tune many of you would choose "La Cucaracha". If instead you chose "Speedy Gonzalez" you are disqualified - that was written by David Hess, a songwriter from New York City who was also a bit part player in horror films.

"La Cucaracha" on the other hand is the real thing, so we are going to open with an interpretation by Lila Downs from her Grammy-winning 2004 album "Una Sangre = One Blood". Ms Downs comes from a family of high achievers. Her sister Ida is very big in the bedding industry.

We will follow up that traditional Mexican tune with some traditional Mexican disco. Actress and TV host Veronica Castro also dabbled a bit as a disco diva. This track comes from her 1978 album "Sensaciones". You may recognise it as a version of  "What's Your Name, What's Your Number", a minor hit for Andrea True Connection written by Roger Cook (or Roger Cocinero as he's known in Mexico).

On the subject of cover versions, our next act are probably best known outside Mexico for teaming up with Neville Staples on a version of  "The Lunatics Have Taken Over The Asylum". Los De Abajo - for it is they - also made a couple of albums on David Byrne's Luaka Bop label around the turn of the century. This track comes from "Cybertropic Chilango Power" (2001).

Los De Abajo formed in 1992 and it is quite possible that they were partly inspired to do so by Maldita Vecindad (full name La Maldita Vecindad y los Hijos del Quinto Patio) and their blend of rock, ska and local music. La Maldita were at the height of their powers then, with their "El Circo" album topping the charts in 1991. Today's selection is from that album. 

A few years ago Rolling Stone rated "El Circo" at #8 in a list of the 50 best Latin American rock albums of all time. Further down the list at #48 was the eponymous debut album by La Revolución De Emiliano Zapata. Released in 1971, Rolling Stone says that it "reproduced the acid-rock haze of Cream, Creedence and Quicksilver Messenger Service with touching devotion... [and that] there is a homemade charm to the rough production". See what you think.

From 1971 we step lightly into 1972 where we find Manny Perez y Los Cachiros bashing out some norteño music which sounds like it may have been recorded in the same garage used by the local garage rock bands. This one definitely has a homemade charm to the rough production and Manny's even rougher voice.

We will stick with norteño for our penultimate selection. I found this track by Norteno Solido on a 2016 compilation called "Club Corridos Presenta: La Mentira de Tu Amor". I have not been able to find out anything about Norteno Solido other than they are not to be confused with the allegedly better known Solido. Please don't make that mistake.

As always we finish with some MAR. On this occasion it comes courtesy of a band whose name will resonate with all sports fans - Antidoping. They were formed in Mexico City in 1992 by brothers Pedro and Manuel Apodaca, which I suppose makes them the Mexican equivalent of UB40. This track is from their 2004 album "Esfuerzo Universal" and translates as "United Brothers". It is presumably the Apodacas' theme tune (but not the Campbells).

"La Cucaracha" - Lila Downs

"Cuál Es Tu Nombre Cual Es Tu Número" - Veronica Castro

"Si Existe Ese Lugar" - Los De Abajo

"Mare" - Maldita Vecindad

"At The Foot Of The Mountain" - La Revolución De Emiliano Zapata

"El Chamaco Moderno" - Manny Perez y Los Cachiros

"Por las Calles de Ojinaga" - Norteno Solido

"Unidos Hermanos" - Antidoping

We'll start off the video section with another cover version. This one's nothing to do with Roger Cocinero or Andrea True Connecton though.

Words Of The Prophet

We haven't had any reggae here recently other than of the Mandatory American variety, so we have recruited the late great Michael Prophet to put that right. 

If you have 50 minutes to spare you could do a lot worse than watching the video of a Mr Prophet live show with Scientist on the mixing desk as a bonus. It took place in October 2017, two months before his death and when he was already battling health issues - not that you'd have guessed that as his voice sounded as good as ever.

That's all. Enjoy the weekend.

"Righteous Are The Conqueror" - Michael Prophet

"Trouble Nobody (12" Mix)" - Michael Prophet

Annie And The Boys

I am delighted to be able to bring you news of an old friend of the blog, Annie Dressner. 

When Annie first featured on these pages way back in 2013 I described her sound as "Brooklyn hipsters storming the Brill Building". As you can see, I was prone to pretentiousness back then. I really just meant that she made - and continues to make - smart pop music. 

According to my search function Annie last appeared here way back in 2018, which means I have done a great disservice to all of you and more importantly to her as she has had a few records out since then. Sincere apologies all round.

In a belated attempt to put things right I am here to tell you that Annie has a brand new album in the works. No name or release date yet but the lead single "Dumb Boy" came out last week. Charity Chic may be interested to note that the album is being produced by Peter Bruntnell who also plays on the record along with one Peter Noone. I've checked and its not the one from Herman's Hermits.

Annie will also be touring the UK during April supporting Kris Drever, including gigs in Inverness and Norwich which may be of interest to certain bloggers of my acquaintance - further details are on Annie's website, where you can also find a link to her Bandcamp page. If you do go along tell her Ernie sent you. I have already bagged a ticket for her headline show in London in October.

It is probably unlikely that the dumb boy in the new single is one of the Hardy Boys about whom Annie sang on her 2011 album "Strangers Who Knew Each Other's Names", but for scheduling purposes I am going to pretend they are. In addition we have a track from "48 Hours With...", Annie's 2022 collaboration with a real boy, David Ford.

"Dumb Boy" - Annie Dressner

"Hardy Boys" - Annie Dressner

"Easy Falling" - David Ford & Annie Dressner

As for the videos, we have one from Annie, one from the correct Peter Bruntnell and one from the wrong Peter Noone.

A Bit Of Brazil In Brussels

Last Wednesday night I paid what has become my traditional annual visit to the Witloof Bar in Brussels. It is tucked away in the basement of the Botanique cultural centre - accessed via the coatracks - and it is one of my favourite small venues.

The official headliner was Nyron Higor, but in practice we what were treated to was a show by the North Eastern Brazil hipster community's equivalent of CSNY. Nyron was joined by Brune Berle and Batata Boy, both from his hometown of Maceió, and Phylipe Nunes Araújo from up the road in Santa Cruz do Capibaribe, who performed double duties as the opening act.

All four of them are recording artists in their own right (click on their names for their respective Bandcamp pages) and have appeared on each others records. Nyron and Phylipe are also now labelmates, both having released an album through Far Out Recordings last year. If you are not familiar with Far Out, they specialise in Brazilian music and their back catalogue is well worth checking out.

It was a three part set. The starting line-up was Nyron on drums, Batata Boy on keyboards, Bruno on bass and Phylipe on guitar. Nyron led them through a few of his tunes and they were pretty good. He moved on to bass then guitar, shedding band members as he went, and treated us to a solo set. That was even better.

And then the boys came back for a party jam, with Bruno and Phylipe leading on some of their own crowd pleasers as well as Nyron who by this point was back on drums. That was the best bit of the night. They seemed to be having even more fun than the audience.  

If any of the gang turn up round your way in the future it would be well worth popping along. If they turn up mob-handed you should definitely go.

Here's one tune from each of them for you:

"São Só Palavras" - Nyron Higor

"Ziz" - Phylipe Nunes Araújo 

"Tirolirole" - Bruno Berle

"Amelia Rosa" - Batata Boy

If all of that has whet your appetite here is an hour of the three lads from Maceió playing in a French record store last year, followed by a few minutes of Phylipe with Batata Boy in tow. 

Something For The Ladies

It was International Women's Day on Sunday. I don't work weekends and I had urgent pun-based business to deal with yesterday so this is the first opportunity to mark the occasion 

The words of Ivor Cutler's "Women Of The World" are as relevant today as they have ever been. We have the original with Linda Hirst from 1983 and a version featuring Tracyanne Campbell from Camera Obscura from an all-Scottish Ivor tribute album released in 2020.   

They are joined by the great Dick Gaughan (also from Scotland) and Wee Baaba McMaal (Senegal via Saltcoats). 

This goes out to all you top international women out there, not just the Scottish and Senegalese ones.

"Women Of The World" - Linda Hirst & Ivor Cutler

 "Women Of The World" - Citizen Bravo (feat. Tracyanne Campbell)

"Strong Women Rule Us All With Their Tears" - Dick Gaughan

"A Song For Women" - Baaba Maal

This will be my last post for the week as I am off to Brussels first thing tomorrow for a few days work. Combining tomorrow's destination with today's theme, here are some videos of Belgian women, starting with the woman born Sabrina Tack belting out the old Bellamy Brothers hit.

Pun Fun 4: The Results

Ladies and gentlemen, we have another winner! Topping the Body Parts chart is...

George with "Penis In Furs"

Previous votes have been pretty close but this time we had a runaway winner. Congratulations go to George for correctly calculating that the more depraved members (no pun intended) of the voting panel would be unable to resist a knob gag. But I am frankly disappointed in the rest of you. So much so that I may have to rethink my plans to follow this up with a related round on bodily fluids and emissions. 

Incidentally, in George's adopted homeland of Portugal the song's title would be "Pénis em Peles", which makes it sound quite lyrical.

While on the subject of other languages, a shout out to our good friend Walter in Germany. I am impressed by his ability to come up with decent puns in his second language. It is not something I would even attempt to do.

Walter's AC/DC pun was just a few points short of a Top 5 position this time out. But who did make it? These folks, that's who:

1.      Penis In Furs – The Velvet Underground (George)

2.      Livers Of Babylon - Boney M (C)

3.      Wood Beez (Pray Like Urethra Franklin) – Scritti Politti (Alyson)

4.      Just The Humerus - Grover Washington Jr (Ernie)

5.      God Save The Spleen - Sex Pistols (John M)

Thanks to all of you who submitted a pun and/or voted, your enthusiasm is much appreciated. The current plan is to announce the theme for Pun Fun 5 on Monday 6 April. Until then, we will hand it over to Os Veludo Subterrâneo to see us out with the song that smashed the charts.

All In A Good Caucasus

Apologies for the terrible pun in the title. While on the subject, a quick reminder to anyone who wishes to vote on Pun Fun 4 but hasn't yet done so that the deadline is this Sunday.

Now on with the post.

Recently I've been exploring the back catalogue of the estimable Ored Recordings label. Its primary mission is to promote the traditional music of the various ethnic groups from the northern Caucasus region. Once upon a time this was the country of Circassia but it is now mostly part of modern day Russia. The region includes the likes of Abkhazia, Chechnya and North Ossetia - fun holiday destinations all.

The two main attractions of the back catalogue are the quality of the recordings and the fact that everything is available on a 'name your own price' basis on Bandcamp. You would be foolish not to have a rummage around. Perhaps start with the 2023 sampler album "Noqua" to help get your bearings.

I have picked a track from "Qorror", one of several albums by Jrpjej - please don't ask me how to pronounce their name - and one from "Apere Oredxer" by Myst. Jrpjej are based in Nalchik, which as I'm sure you all know is the capital of the Kabardino-Balkaria republic and is also where the label began, while Myst hail from the mystical land of Krasnodar. 

"Хъудымыд иорэд" - Jrpjej

"Абихъан иорэд" - Myst

Just along from old Krasnodar is the Republic of Adygea which is where these funky dudes are from. 

A Trip On A Train

We have a couple of new records for you today.

The first is "Tried To Do's", the new album by Trippers & Askers. That is the nom de plume of Jay Hammond, a college professor and cultural anthropologist who has been making music under this name on and off since 2009.  

Prof. Trippers records for the Sleepy Cat label based in Durham, North Carolina and there are some similarities to other acts from the local scene down there - the likes of Iron & Wine and Hiss Golden Messenger.

According to the blurb "The songs deal with the quotidian themes of love, family and loss through the prism of both Buddhist and Christian ways of mourning. Through stories of loss in relation to Hammond's upbringing in the bible belt U.S. South, it sets up a productive tension between Buddhist and Christian rituals and beliefs about mourning".

To be honest I didn't really pick up on any of that productive tension but that didn't prevent me enjoying "Tried To Do's" a great deal. It does not get released until May but you can pre-order it from the Trippers & Askers Bandcamp page (and make sure to check out his back catalogue while you're there). For now you'll have to make do with the lead single which came out yesterday.

On to the second record. If you have ever wondered what indie-poppers would sound like when they got old enough to qualify for subsidised public transport, Railcard and their recently released self-titled debut album are here to provide the answer. 

With former members of Dolly Mixture and Heavenly in the line-up there is quite a lot of jangle and jauntiness as you would expect, but with an added pinch of wistfulness as on the song I've selected and the excellent title track. 

"Kin" - Trippers & Askers

"Slow Train" - Railcard

Pun Fun 4: The Contenders

Voting is now open for Pun Fun 4. Readers were challenged to insert a pun related to a part of the hum an body into a popular song title. 

They have risen to the challenge like Frankenstein's monster rising from its slab - fittingly, as that was very probably the last time such a ragbag of random body parts was assembled in one place.

Thanks to everyone who submitted an entry and a very warm welcome to Steve and Mr SDS who are joining us for the first time. With them on board we have the highest number of entries to date.

Voting is open to all readers not just those who entered. Let me know your top five in order of preference. I'll award 7 points for every first choice, 5 for second and then 3, 2 and 1 for the rest.

You can either submit your votes in the comments section below or by email to leggies27@hotmail.co.uk if you would rather preserve the sanctity of the secret ballot. 

The deadline is next Sunday (8 March). We will announce the results a week today. 

Here are the contenders, listed alphabetically by artist. 

1. Dirty Feet Done Dirt Cheap - AC/DC

2. God's Only Nose - The Beach Boys

3. Livers Of Babylon - Boney M

4. Fortunate Thumb - Creedence Clearwater Revival

5. Just The Humerus - Grover Washington Jr

6. Ulna - The Kinks

7. There's A Guy Works Down The Chip Shop Swears He's Pelvis - Kirsty MacColl

8. I'm Just A Finger In A Rock 'n Roll Hand – The Moody Blues

9. Touch Me I’m Coccyx – Mudhoney

10. Uterus And Them – Pink Floyd

11. Wood Beez (Pray Like Urethra Franklin) – Scritti Politti

12. God Save The Spleen - Sex Pistols

13. Holidays In The Bum - Sex Pistols

14. Dis Arm - The Smashing Plump-Limbs

15. Pulling Muscles From A Shell - Squeeze

16. Simply The Breast - Tina Turner

17. Penis In Furs – The Velvet Underground

If you are thinking about assembling your own monster this instructional video may be of some assistance.

Neil Sedaka RIP

I wasn't planning on posting today but have just woken up to the sad news that Neil Sedaka has died. I've always had a bit of a soft spot for Mr Sedaka. Even we surfers of the zeitgeist appreciate a proper tune and he wrote more than his fair share of them.

This song chose itself. RIP Mr Sedaka.

Ernie's El Dorado Pt 14 - Honduras

In headline terms the history of Honduras is pretty similar to many of the neighbouring countries we have already visited in this series: some advanced indigenous civilizations; Spanish conquest; independence; US interference; civil wars; coups; and now more US interference. 

But Honduras also shares more positive features with its neighbours, not least the amazing biodiversity, top nosh and a vibrant music scene. And the last of those is what we will be focusing on today.

One of the other things Honduras shares with some neighbours are the Garifuna people. We covered them and their music in the earlier posts on Belize and Guatemala but Honduras has by far the largest number of Garifuna so it would be remiss not to do so again.

Which is why we are starting the show with the late Aurelio Martínez, who sadly died in a plane crash last year aged just 55. Aurelio picked up the mantle of the leading Garifuna musician from Belize's Andy Palacio after the latter's own premature death in 2009 and did a huge amount to promote their culture. This track comes from "200 + 10 + 2". 

One of the landmark recordings in Garifuna music was the 2008 album "Umalali: The Garifuna Women's Project". One of the many fine female singers featured on the album was Chella Torres, who finally released her debut solo album "Aye" in 2024. That's where this track is from. 

We will finish our mini Garifuna Fest with the earliest recording of the three. It comes from Lugua & The Larubeya Drummers, whose album "Bumari" was released in 1997. They play turtle and conch shells as well as drums and are modern day heirs to the percussive tradition linked to Garifuna festivities such as Wanaragua.

Now on to the rest of Honduras. Los Robbins were top of the pops in Tegucigalpa back in the 1960s with their blend of surf, rocksteady and Spanish influences. The mighty Munster Records of Madrid released a compilation of their work called "La Maravilla Musical de Honduras" but this particular track is from a Vampisoul single.

I have been able to find out a grand total of nothing about our next act, Sacrificio. The track appears on the compilation "Sonidos Perdidos de Centroamérica", which has featured a few times already this series. My guess is it was recorded in the first half of the 1970s but who knows. Possibly one of our many Honduran readers, in which case please add details in the comment section.

We are taking a big leap forward to 2022 for our next two selections. We start with Talos and their concept album about a bronze android gifted to the king of ancient Crete to help protect the island from undesirables ("not that old chestnut" I hear you say). The band describe their style as "progressive rock with fusion elements reminiscent of Canterbury". One for George, perhaps. Or perhaps not.

Our penultimate selection was only released for the first time in 2022 but was recorded some time before that. Guillermo Anderson was a singer-songwriter from the port city of La Ceiba who was active from the mid 1980s until his death from cancer in 2016. I can't tell you any more about where "Respirante" might slot into his extensive catalogue but I dig the mellow vibe.

Our MAR selection is almost as mellow as Guillermo. Whether that is down to Frecuencia Roots or their guests Natty Dread and Mahantta I'm not sure. What I am sure of is that the Roots Boys hail from San Pedro Sula and have been on the scene for ten years now. This track can be found on Volume 9 of the Cultura Reggae series of compilation albums which are entirely devoted to Latin American reggae and as such have been an invaluable source for this series.

"Miskitu Indian" - Aurelio y Los Bravos Del Caribe

"Gudemein Nuwagu" - Chella Torres

"Bungiu Baba (Father God)" - Lugua & The Larubeya Drummers

"Patricia" - Los Robbins

"Soy Mulato" - Sacrificio

"Creta" - Talos

"Respirante" - Guillermo Anderson

"Tu Sonrisa (with Natty Dread & Mahantta)" - Frecuencia Roots

We are going to back to the Garifuna people for the first of the videos. Tavo Man created a minor sensation last year when he became the first Garifuna musician to be nominated for a Latin Grammy. This is the song that did it for him but if I wanted to spice up my wanaragua party I'd probably opt for something by Isabella Lovestory instead (at the risk of giving the Garifuna grannies the vapours).

Strange Sunday

Sunday evening found me and Mr F in the basement of the Spice of Life public house just off London's unfashionable Charing Cross Road, hanging out with the mighty Richard Strange and his pals.

The last time I saw Richard Strange perform live was 12 years ago at the Royal Festival Hall when the original Doctors of Madness reformed for one last gig as part of an event he had curated to mark the centenary of the birth of William Burroughs. My in-depth review described everything apart from the good Doctors as "utter twaddle" which in hindsight was a bit harsh. But only a bit.

There is quite a contrast between the Festival Hall and the basement bar of the Spice of Life - the former has a capacity of 2700, the latter 50 at the most - but it worked in our favour. It was a real treat to see the great man up close in a virtually twaddle-free environment. 

Mr Strange was in fine form. It was a largely acoustic set that featured material from both the Doctors and his solo career - including the song about shooting smack with Cilla Black that got him banned from the BBC - and some highly entertaining anecdotes. He was accompanied on some songs by his daughter Lilybud, who opened the evening with a set of her own and has a powerful set of pipes on her.

Richard's recording career began fifty years ago this year. We will start today's selection with a track he played on Sunday that first appeared on "Figments of Emancipation", the second album released by Doctors of Madness in 1976. The other three tracks date from 1981, 2005 and 2022 respectively.

"Marie And Joe" - Doctors of Madness

"God Is Science" - Richard Strange

"Howl" - Richard Strange

"A Dffrnt Wrld" - TV Smith & Richard Strange

And now over to Twiggy.

Pun Fun 4: The Theme

After a break to allow you all to refresh your punning pituitaries and to rest your wordplaying wrists we're back with another round of Pun Fun, in which you are invited to rework the title of a well-known song to fit a theme. And the theme this time round is:

PARTS OF THE BODY

Bones, organs, joints, glands or valves, anything that goes to make up the human body is in scope - from the biggest belly to the smallest villi (stop sniggering - honestly, some of you are so juvenile).

As for previous topics you can enter one title only. Entries should be sent to leggies27@hotmail.co.uk by Sunday 1 March. Voting will open next Monday.

I'm looking forward to receiving your collective body of work. If you are struggling for bright ideas just follow Leee John's lead and unleash your imagination.

The Harp Returns

An old friend of the blog - and former guest host - has a brand new record out. I am referring to the Artist Formerly Known as Asthmatic Harp, now trading under the name Hannah Lou Larsen.

Hannah's new "Peach Pine Ocean" EP is her first release since the single "Buddha On A Shelf" in 2023. In the interim she has been keeping busy doing things like growing her family and relocating from Glasgow down to Oxford but has now resumed recording and performing live.

As regular readers know I am not very good at explaining why I like the records I like, so I don't tend to make inadequate attempts to describe them when you can just listen to them yourselves and hopefully agree with me. If you are looking for insights in this specific case you would be much better off reading Hannah's recent interview with the good folks at Postcards From The Underground.

Suffice to say there is something about Hannah's sound and sensibilities that has always connected with me, and it is no different with "Peach Pine Ocean". The whole EP is excellent but at a pinch my favourite track may be "Memorials".

You can find the EP and "Buddha On A Shelf" at Hannah's Bandcamp page. While you are there why not check out her old Asthmatic Harp stuff as well.

"Memorials" - Hannah Lou Larsen

Eccentric Exit

While I was strolling around the Salt River district of Cape Town last week I chanced upon a local thrift shop. It had a small selection of CDs among which I found a volume of the Numero Group's 'Eccentric Soul' series of compilations. With 40 tracks over two CDs and an asking price of five rand (roughly 25p) I thought this was too good a deal to resist. 

And so it has proved. This particular volume is devoted to the Way Out label from Cleveland which operated from 1963 to 1973. Here is a small selection of the many fine tunes you can find on the album, starting with a band whose name is crying out to be featured in Rol's Namesakes series if it hasn't already. According to Discogs there are at least 14 of them - this lot are #3.

"Its A New Day" - The Sensations

"What About Me" - The Exceptional Three

"She Didn't Know" - Sammy Jones

"Honey Coated Loving" - Betty & Angel