She's Making Whoopee In Hell Tonight

While Lonnie Johnson disliked the "blues" label, "She's Making Whoopee in Hell Tonight" is a fine example of that genre.  Recorded in 1930, the complex guitar playing and it's dark, chilling lyrics, make for a truly wicked little song.  The next time someone claims that nobody ever sung about "bad things" before 1965, point them to this little ditty.

You been gone all day, set to make whoopee tonight 

I'm gonna take my razor and cut your late hours, 

I will be serving you right 

The undertaker's been here and gone, I gave him your height and size 

Undertaker's been here and gone, I gave him your height and size 

You'll be making whoopee with the devil in hell tomorrow night  

Of course to claim that this song, is no different than modern murder songs, would be wrong as well.  Lonnie Johnson seems to take no real joy in the act.  He's become her slave, and the only way to free himself from her cruelty is to kill her.  He'll be happy to see her dead, but killing her with his razor seems to be a means to an end.  Still the act of using a razor makes me think, he really wants her to suffer, like the way she's made him suffer.  Nasty, brutal stuff.

Told you, next time you go out, please carry your black dress along 

'Cause a coffin will be your present and hell will be your brand new home 

Another way that "Whoopee" differs from songs like "I Used to Love Her", is that in some, albeit, twisted way fear of female power plays into it.  She's not simply disposable trash that's killed because her lover has tired of her, she's killed because she holds power over him.

You made me love you, just got me for your slave

He can't simply leave her.  The only way he can free himself is to kill her.  While the view of a woman as a dangerous enslaver of men, is not exactly feminist, the image brings a complexity to the song, that so many new songs lack.

Another Look: Miss Otis Regrets

Original "Miss Otis Regrets"entry is here.

LaBelle doing a  gospel tinged version of the song.  I believe that it was recorded around 1969/1970.

Day of Rest - St. Louis Blues

Back in the days before the internet became a vast treasure trove (and sometimes a junkyard) of various media,  my parents had a CD encyclopedia (hey that rhymes!).  I was listening to a lot of Janis Joplin at the time, and one of the biographies I was reading mentioned that Bessie Smith was a huge influence on her.  So I looked her up.  There was an entry, with a sound file.  I clicked it.  It was just a 20 second sample, but when I heard it, I was done for. I'd never heard anything like it. It was heartbreaking and beautiful.  I've been a fan ever since. 

That one little clip, inspired a fascination with blues, jazz, ballads sung and recorded many years before I was born.  A fascination, and a love which still lasts today.

Thanks Bessie

Bucket of Blood Saloon, Virginia City, NV

At the beginning of August I went to visit friends in Reno.  My friend Cherry took me up to Virginia City.  I saw this.  They claim to be the original Bucket of Blood.  Inside it's mostly slot machines (in Nevada? No way!) but I thought the sign was pretty cool.

Quote of the Week -09/25/2010

Paul Baudry, Charlotte Corday 1860

There are three kinds of homicide: felonious, excusable, justifiable, and praiseworthy.

- Ambrose Bierce

The Ballad of Jesse James (The Dirty Little Coward Who Shot Mr. Howard

Listen to Almeda Riddle's Version Here.



I've always wondered what would have happened if Robert Ford shot Jesse James in the front.  Would he still be that "dirty little coward"?

How one looks at the killing of Jesse James, probably depends on how they view him.  To some he's a hero.  To others he's nothing more than a cold-blooded killer, who acted out of self interest and nothing more.  This entry could possibly be subtitled "sing a song of a murdered murderer".

I could go on for pages writing about the history of the James Gang, but in order to get to in the events sung about in the song, I'll post a few bios, here, here and here.

At the time of his death, Jesse James was living under the name Tom Howard, in St. Joseph, Missouri.  On April 3 1882, he was preparing for a robbery with the Ford brothers, Charley and Robert.  James was unaware that Robert Ford had been working with the Missouri governor to bring him in.

That day, the weather worked in Robert's favor, it was hot enough that James removed his coat.  He also removed his fire arms as well, so he wouldn't attract attention.  When James stood on a chair to dust off a picture, Robert Ford shot him.

The Ford brothers turned themselves in, and were later tried, convicted, sentenced to death, and then pardoned all in one day.

After they left Missouri with their share of the reward, the brothers made extra money by touring.  But it seems that public opinion turned against them, and the song "The Ballad of Jesse James" is evidence of that.  Charley Ford, suffering from tuberculosis, committed suicide in 1884.  Robert Ford, ended up being murdered himself, when Ed O'Kelley shot him in the saloon that Robert Ford owned in 1892.

Some modern historians have a far more sympathetic view of "the coward", others challenge the view of James as a wild west Robin Hood.  Yet the legend still stands.  Jesse James' name is still invoked as a hero and a rebel against tyranny (unless you're talking about that other Jesse James), and Robert Ford is still a coward and a traitor.

Vernon Dalhart's version, from 1925

The Kingston Trio

Nick Cave's version from The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.  The movie does a pretty good job of forgoing nostalgia, in it's attempt to portray James and Ford.  While I question the historical accuracy of Cave's delivery, I think the scene illustrates the public's view of Ford pretty well.

The Pogues version, which makes sure to mention Charley Ford's involvement in the mix.

It's Nick Cave's Birthday!

I was pretty busy last week due to my brother's wedding, but I'm back.  Back in time to celebrate the birthday of one of my favorite singers.  Nick Cave was born today in 1957, in Warracknabeal Australia. 

I'm sure some of you are saying "who in the hell is Nick Cave?" He's a singer, songwriter, composer, novelist, screenwriter and a all around badass dude.  He's fronted The Bad Seeds for about 27 years, and his latest protect Grinderman has blown musicians more than half his age out of the water.

Because it is my blog. I figured I'd post some of my favorite Nick Cave songs.

Deanna (damn you "embedding disabled by request")


Brompton Oratory . . .

Tupelo.  This one is from Denver, where yours truly was in the audience.

How cool is Nick Cave?  So cool that Johnny Cash covered one of his songs.

Because of this date, I decided it was time to make my special announcement.

Read on . . .

Another Look: Used to Love Her (Him).

L7's great take on the GNR song.

Original Post

Quote of the Week - 09/14/10

Hello from the gutters of N.Y.C. which are filled with dog manure, vomit, stale wine, urine and blood. Hello from the sewers of N.Y.C. which swallow up these delicacies when they are washed away by the sweeper trucks. 


- David  Berkowitz

Used to Love Her

Random Guns N' Roses Talk 

I used to love GNR a lot.  I was thirteen, so think about your basic Justin Bieber fangirl and replace it with Axl Rose.  Then I discovered Bikini Kill and feminism.  I started wearing  combat boots, writing bad poetry and moved on.

Too bad.  Appitie for Destruction was a great album.  That being said, Axl Rose is an ass.  They could have made a lot of great albums, instead they made one great album, two sort of good albums, one dull covers album, and one bargin bin laughing stock.  

Talk Over

I hesitated before deciding to discuss the Guns' N Roses song, Used to Love Her.  Listening to it makes me feel guilty, the same way that liking the work that Tina Turner did with Ike more than her solo output makes me feel guilty.  While Axl Rose has never killed anyone, there's more than enough evidence out there that he has physically abused his partners.   

What makes this song any different than the other killing women type songs?  Besides the fact it's sung by a man who is an abuser?    The woman in Used to Love Her is disposable.

The women in Deila's Gone and 99 to Life are killed for withholding their very powerful affection.  The poor Knoxvile Girl is possibly killed for an unplanned pregnancy.  The woman in "Used to Love Her"? "She bitched so much, she drove [him] nuts." She became an annoyance, so the man simply killed her and buried her in his backyard.   And he's "happier this way".

The killers in Deila, Knoxvile and 99 pay for their crimes.  All suffer from remorse.  Haunted by ghosts and devils around their beds.   They all go to prison.  Axl Rose's killer is untouched by the law.

Yet the song, in my opinion is pretty damn funny.

I'd knew I'd miss her
so I had to keep her
she's buried right in my backyard

I still can't help but feel conflicted.  I give a lot of other songs a pass.  But not this one.  Is it fair?  Maybe not, but I'm sure that's human nature.

Day of Rest: Johnny Cash, February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003

Ain't No Grave






Sometimes I am two people. Johnny is the nice one. Cash causes all the trouble. They fight
-  Johnny Cash
  

Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground

For 9/11

Quote of the Week - 09/07/10

It's frightening how easy it is to commit murder in America. Just a drink too much. I can see myself doing it. In England, one feels all the social restraints holding one back. But here, anything can happen.

- WH Auden

Another Look: Knoxville Girl

Original Knoxville Girl post here.

One of my favorite scenes from the movie "Searching for the Wrong Eyed Jesus".

The Ballad of Charles Whitman

On 1 August 1966, around 11:30 a.m., he entered the University of Texas Tower. Once in the elevator, he asked for help from an attendant, who informed him how to turn it on. "Thank you, ma'am," Whitman said. "You don't know how happy that makes me." (From www.popsubculture.com)

In 1966 singer, songwriter, satirist and future gubernatorial candidate Richard "Kinky" Friedman was a senior at The University of Texas At Austin.  On August 1st of that very same year, Charles Joseph Whitman entered the school's administration building.  He took elevator up to the 27th floor. He beat the receptionist, Edna Townsley (who later died), with the butt of his rifle.   He fired at Mark, Mary, Mike Gabour and Marguerite Lampour  who were walking up the stairs, killing Margurerite and Mark and leaving Mike and Mary injured.   He went to the observation deck, loaded his gun, and started shooting at the people below.

Before Officer Houston McCoy fired a fatal shot, Whitman took the lives of 14 people and wounded 32 others.  The bodies of Whitman's mother and wife were discovered later.

Kinky would later sing about these events in "The Ballad of Charles Whitman" which can be found on his 1973 album "Sold American".

Unlike Bruce Springsteen's real life killer inspired "Nebraska", Kinky Friedman's "The Ballad of Charles Whitman" is no somber reflection on the nature of man and evil.  Told with a mixture of dark humor, and cold hard facts, it's a "biting examination of the culture that produced Whitman" (Fillpo, Chet. Nashville Skyline: The Subject Was Murder).

Naturally this song, upset a lot of people in Austin.

 The stark reality of the song affected audiences in Austin like nothing I've seen before or since. There were usually people in the audiences who had had friends or relatives shot in the Whitman massacre, and audience reactions often ranged from tears to screams to anger and fury and occasional attempts to attack Friedman. (Fillpo, Chet. Nashville Skyline: The Subject Was Murder)

While the song is hard to listen to, Kinky Friedman isn't lampooning the murders, he's lampooning the society that cause people like Charles Whitman to happen.   Society, and the Eagle Scouts:

I believe there is something in the mind-set of the Eagle Scout that provides an excellent breeding ground for the future mass murderers of America. Maybe it’s that, while the rest of us are desperately trying to extricate ourselves from a turbulent and troubling adolescence, the Eagle Scout is assiduously applying himself to the narrow, maddening craft of knot tying. It’s my theory that in a universe of Eagle Scouts, you’d find an extremely high proportion of psychopaths. (Friedman, Kinky. "Psycho Paths", Texas Monthly. July 2002) 

In "The Ballad of Charles Whitman" the things America celebrates are the things that also turn Americans into killers.

Other Links:

"The Madman In the Tower". TIme, August 12th, 1966.

Day of Rest: In My Hour of Darkness

For this Sunday, a wonderful rendition of my favorite Gram Parsons song.

Another Look: Cop Killer

Haven't been feeling well this week, which has led to a lack of new posts.  So I thought I'd post this: Charlton Heston addresses The Cop Killer controversy.

Original "Cop Killer" post can be found here.

Quote of the Week

Since I end up posting quotes about once a week, I figured "Quote of the Week" might be a better title.

During all these movements no sound was heard but the quick stern words of military command, & when these ceased a dead silence reigned. Colonel Smith said to the Sheriff in a low voice—“we are ready”. The civil officers descended from the scaffold. One who stood near me whispered earnestly—“He trembles, his knees are shaking”. “You are mistaken,” I replied, “It is the scaffold that shakes under the footsteps of the officers.” The Sheriff struck the rope a sharp blow with a hatchet, the platform fell with a crash—a few convulsive struggles & and a human soul had gone to judgement.

- Strother , David Hunter, "John Brown's Death and Last Words" 

Excellent Article About John Brown from "Executed Today"