... Stupefaction ...

NYNS - The Junky's Christmas by William Burroughs

2011-12-25T13:48:00.001-05:00

A little claymation is always nice on a holiday: Be grateful...this could be you. It originally appeared in 1993, and was produced by Francis Ford Coppola. It's available on DVD. Photo above by me, Feb. 2008. Pay no attention to the part numbers - it's all here.

NYNS - Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight)

2011-12-24T13:31:00.001-05:00

Presented without comment - the Ramones with Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight).

NYNS - Fairytale of New York

2011-12-23T13:20:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Mr. Lee for posting this great version of this Pogues song by Christy Moore which Holly had posted a while back. A nice way to sign off on Christmas day.

NYNS - These are the good old days

2011-12-22T13:40:00.000-05:00

Anyone somewhat familiar with Broadway Theater will know the name of famed choreographer Tommy Tune. As the narrator mentions in the intro...these are the good old days. And they are...for someone out there.

NYNS - Christmas At CBGB

2011-12-21T13:25:00.000-05:00

From the Baghdaddios (currently filed in the "where are they now?" bin) comes a "Christmas At CBGB". Happy holidays everyone from all of us here at the New York Nobody Sings. Thanks for being an early adopter of this blog. We hope you keep coming back!

NYNS - Christmas Night In Harlem

2011-12-20T13:39:00.000-05:00

Mr. Louis Armstrong most definitely recorded some of the more enjoyable and timeless Christmas music over many years. Here he takes us up to Harlem on Christmas night...

NYNS - Christmas In Hollis

2011-12-19T13:25:00.000-05:00

Originally posted at The New York Nobody Sings: Merry Christmas everyone...over the next few days I'll be posting some NY-specific holiday music for everyone to enjoy. We'll start with this 1987 gem from Queens' own Run DMC. Artwork above courtesy of Tom Lambert.

NYNS - East Broadway Rundown

2011-12-05T09:30:00.000-05:00

Originally published at The New York Nobody Sings: In 1966, jazz tenor sax colossus Sonny Rollins released East Broadway Rundown on the Impulse! label. It would be his last album for a long 6 year period. On the free-jazz influenced album, his band included Jimmy Garrison, Elvin Jones, and Freddie Hubbard.

NYNS - Harlem

2011-10-07T15:30:00.000-04:00

Originally published at the New York Nobody Sings: "Summer night in Harlem. Man, it's really hot. Well it's too hot to sleep, and too hot to eat. I don't care if I die or not." There are countless songs set in & about Harlem, and I'm sure we'll get to quite a few of them here. This one happens to be a favorite, and it pretty much sums up what it can be like here in the summer - especially in August, and ESPECIALLY if you don't have an air conditioner. It just goes to show you...you don't have to be from New York to capture it. West Virginian Bill Withers tells it like it is.

Harlem, studio:

Harlem, live:

NYNS - Ruth Roberts RIP

2011-07-05T22:11:00.003-04:00

Ruth Roberts - RIP. Ruth was the author of the Mets theme song, "Meet The Mets." You'd be hard pressed to find a New Yorker who doesn't know this song.

Originally published at the New York Nobody Sings in 2009:

East side, west side, everybody's coming down - In our continuing series of NYC baseball posts, here's a stone cold classic.

WOR Channel 9, Bob Murphy, Ralph Kiner, Lindsey Nelson...Need I say more?

NYNS - Old farts preaching poetry

2011-06-29T08:58:00.000-04:00

Originally posted at The New York Nobody Sings: Rifts, and a general love/hate vibe, between the New York & London sectors of the early punk scene have existed for years. The influence of the New York Dolls, as well as the first Ramones album, on London can't be underestimated. However, a certain member of the Dolls, along with his merry band of Heartbreakers and a certain groupie that followed them over to London from NYC, was blamed for the introduction of heroin to the London punk scene - specifically to Johnny Rotten's best friend, John "Sid Vicious" Ritchie.

As you'll notice at the start of the clip below, Rotten, calls out the entire early NYC punk scene as "old farts preaching poetry." With references to Max's Kansas City, "Pills" (by Bo Diddley recorded by the Dolls), and "Looking For A Kiss" (a Dolls original) in "New York," an angry Johnny Rotten can be articulate, quite funny, and poetic himself.

Think it is well playing Max's Kansas
You're looking bored
And you're acting flash
With nothing in your gut
You better keep yer mouth shut
You better keep yer mouth shut
In a rut

NYNS - Hello Michael Des Barres

2011-06-17T23:58:00.002-04:00

Previously on the New York York Nobody Sings: Future actor Michael Des Barres squawks about that oh-so-seventies rock subject, life on the road, on "Hello New York," the opening track from Silverhead's second album, 16 and Savaged. The short lived glam-ish, hard rock band also included future Blondie bassist, Nigel Harrison.

NYNS - J'ai vu New York

2011-05-28T08:19:00.000-04:00

(Republished from the New York Nobody Sings) "Empire State Building oh! Rockfeller Center oh! Internationnal Building oh! Waldorf Astoria oh! Pan American Building oh! Bank of Manhattan oh!" Basically a list of New York landmarks (I saw New York! It's high!), circa 1964, who better to capture the sexy, sleek, international flavor of mid-60's New York than Serge Gainsbourg with his "New York USA"? Hat tip to Mr. Lee for the inspiration.

NYNS - New York's a lonely town

2011-01-21T14:12:00.001-05:00

...when you're the only surfer boy around. The Trade Winds hit the charts on Red Bird Records in 1965 with a surf record about that hot bed of surfing, New York City. Or, more specifically, missing their home state of California after moving to New York.

"I feel so bad each time I look out there and fi-I-ind
My woodie's outside
Covered with snow
Cold winds will blow now
New Yorks a lonely town
When you're the only surfer boy around"

As autumn slowly starts turning to winter, you don't need to be a surfer to know how they feel. Later on, versions by Dave Edmunds would appear on bootlegs proclaiming both New York and London lonely towns for surfer boys. Special thanks to the London Nobody Sings.

NYNS - I'll Take New York

2011-01-20T14:17:00.003-05:00

New York inspires big dreams and optimism. I'm so happy Tom Waits spent some time living here in the 80's.

I'll tip the newsboy
I'll get a shine
I'll ride this dream
to the end of the line
I'm goin' places
I'll take a ride
Up to the Riverside
I'll take NY
I'll let it happen
I'll pop the cork
tear off the wrappin'
I'll make a splash on the Hudson
that's how I will arrive
Hey, do you have two tens for a five?
Roll out the carpet
Strike up the band
break into the best
champagne when I land
Beat the parade drum
hit all the bars
I want the moon and stars
But I'll take NY
I'll make it happen
Blow out the candles
tear off the wrappin'
And I know someday
they'll have to name a street after me
right next door to old Franklin D

NYNS - Run Run Run

2011-01-19T13:51:00.000-05:00

"Teenage Mary said to Uncle Dave, I sold my soul, must be saved. Gonna take a walk down to Union Square. You never know who you're gonna find there." This song, from the first VU album, never fails to take me back to the days when the parks downtown weren't always the nicest places to hang out. Or should I say, my reasons for visiting weren't always very legal. This especially goes for Tompkins Square, and Washington Square, but you could throw Union Square in there as well.

Here's an excellent live version which, according to the video notes, was recorded in New Hampshire, August 2, 1969.

NYNS - Garden Party

2011-01-18T13:42:00.000-05:00

Here's one last entry for 2009, the story of Garden Party by Rick(y) Nelson. Released in 1972, it proved to be his last hit song. It was inspired by a bad experience he had making an appearance at an oldies concert at Madison Square Garden with the likes of Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley. The video below tells the story better than I can, although the accompanying version of the song is a cover by someone with a rather poor vocal performance.

NYNS - Manhattan Fable

2011-01-17T12:56:00.000-05:00

Here's a nice one by a guy who I've only just started checking out, Babs Gonzales...he's sort of what you might get if you crossed Slim Gaillard with Lambert, Hendricks and Ross with a heavy dose of hep cat beatnik be-bop slang. Here's Manhattan Fable from his Tales of Manhattan LP.

Also in the news, in some sort of strange synchronistic coincidence, it turns out Cherry Red Records will be issuing a 2-for-1 CD of Tales of Manhattan paired with Googie Rene's classic Romesville this month. Both have been out of print for who knows how long. Personally, I can't get enough of this stuff.

NYNS - Which face do you wear?

2011-01-16T13:57:00.000-05:00

"I had seven faces
thought i knew which one to wear
But I'm sick of spending these lonely nights
training myself not to care" - Interpol

NYNS - If I wasn't blasting Sister Ray, I could lose my mind

2011-01-14T16:59:00.000-05:00

For some reason, the Dictators are a band I was never much interested in. I give them their due...they were there, and we even have some mutual friends, but nothing about them ever interested me much. That said, I must admit that they do have a way with a tune, not to mention a good sense of humor...if I was paying attention earlier in my life I probably would have loved them. No matter, "New York, New York" captures a certain je ne said quoi about life in the big city.

Here they are at an early 80's reunion show at Irving Plaza:

I live in the city
I breathe dirty air
I ride trains with b-boys
junkies, queens and squares