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Wednesday, May 10, 2006

nothing is more appropriate for children than a talking sugar cube with killer gams


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glisten - Lucky 13 Pt. 6: Box o' Chocolates

#11: Eddie Banks and The Five Dreamers - Sugar Diabetes

Two grab bag singles today, one that's just knock-down good and the other more of an oddity.

'Sugar Diabetes is the treat; it's another no-hit wonder for you. As best as I can see, The Five Dreamers released four sides of music total, only two with Eddie Banks and all of it, for all intents and purposes, is functionally out of print. Regardless of their skimpy track record, this track is an A1 charmer; a novelty cut that can run with 'Rockin' Pneumonia' anyday.

This swingin' sweety features some real killer one-liners, as Eddie invites the honey-pie of his eye to "stick your finger in my coffee" and dubbing her to have "more sugar in one kiss than a Baby Ruth factory".

tell me more about it...

Obscure and offbeat yes, but not genuinely RARE; though 'Sugar Diabetes' somehow eludes a listing in the otherwise generally reliable Both Sides Now Discography, you can buy an excellent looking import compilation of 50's soul on the Jubilee/Josie label that contains 'Sugar' from Amazon for a ten spot.
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Read more about it.
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Explore this historical diabetes timeline
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"Why people believe they have sugar rather than diabetes is not clear."
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Wilford Brimley knows Beetix

#12: Ray Charles - I Found My Baby (end clipped)

So here's an odd little rarity: a 1950 track from Ray Charles in its reissued 1960's form. 'St. Pete Florida Blues' was originally released in '51 when Brother Ray found his way into the sunshine state; this single was reissued several times over the next decade or two, sometimes as 'St. Pete', sometimes as 'I Found My Baby There' and sometimes (as on this Time label issue) as 'I Found My Baby'.

There's a good reason why this little-known track is, well, so little-known: it's pretty minor. 'I Found My Baby' is Ray doing low-key troubadouring in a voice that's not quite yet his own. By far the most interesting part of the song is the oddball scat singing, something I don't think I've ever heard Charles do on any other song.

You may notice some odd warping of sound on this song; that's not intentional. The record this was dubbed from was pressed off-center; the grooves are somewhat off-kilter. That explains the clipped ending; the record simply won't play to the end. You'll hear the weirdest wobble in the sound on the aforementioned vocal scat solo; Ray's voice weaves into strange and impossible keys as the stylus cuts into unbalanced grooves. It's a nice example of a sound that's personal to the specific album. I rather like it, but I imagine you might not, so if you'd like to purchase yourself a clean recording, more info follows...

tell me more about it...

Lots of ways to purchase this and several other early rarities from the Charles catalog, you can buy a copy of the King label 'Ray Charles: The Early Years' disc from Amazon or you can buy
a four track EP of Ray's Miami recordings direct from Henry Stone, one of Charles' first producers.

If you'd prefer to opt for the online route, you can get these tracks on iTunes or eMusic; your choice.
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Visit Brother Ray on the web.
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I wrote up a big ol' link-heavy tribute to Ray when he died back in '04; the music links are dead, but there's plenty to click around to and explore.
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Find your baby in St. Pete.

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spiffy

And now, a koan: Black People. White People.
Honestly, I sometimes just open this in a separate window for, say, four or five hours until its sublime and poignant message becomes a part of me.

I'd love to hear more about the history on this little gem. Anybody know who made it?
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The indispensible Hollywood Animation Archive Project Blog has an incredible selection of the work of legendary cartoonist, Milt "That's My Pop!" Gross!
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At home with The Zappas.
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For those of us too cheap or simply wise enough not to engage in the freebasing that is World of Warcraft, you can experience a fast and free Murloc RPG right here.

I'm finishing up my first scratch-built computer with the help of an IT buddy; we're back to the drawing board for RAM that'll fit the motherboard and some SATA cables, but I should have a rip-roarin'-no-crashin' machine up pretty shortly. If you, like me, wanna know how them things work, take a peek here.
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Pirolettes look useless and expensive and I want one.
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The Starlight Mints - 'Submarine #3' Toon Mix
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Guinness: Lee 'Scratch' Perry approved.
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Last chance for the music in the first post of the Lucky 13 series; it comes down on Friday.

Get it while it's lukewarm.

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