February, 3, 2026 - Roy Rogers & The Sons Of The Pioneers - Blue Shadows On The Trail (1948)

This past new year's eve I watched The Big Lebowski for the umpteenth time. The film opens with the 1946 recording of Tumbling Tumbleweeds by the Sons of the Pioneers. It sets the mood nicely with its ambling along the trail atmosphere. The Dude, Jeff Lebowski (played by Jeff Bridges), certainly drifts along to his own beat out there in the vast city of Los Angalese, in the parlance of Sam Elliott.

Leonard Slye co-founded the Sons of the Pioneers in California in 1933, and sang on their 1934 recording of Tumbling Tumbleweeds. In 1937 he was offered a contract to be a Hollywood actor. His contract required him to leave the group and he became Roy Rogers, one of the most famous and popular Western stars of his era. The Sons of the Pioneers continued on, occasionally singing with him and participating in his films. 

Blue Shadows on the Trail appears in the Disney animated film Melody Time, during the Pecos Bill segment. Roy sings the beginning part and the Sons bring in their gorgeous harmonies at 0:23, creating layers of warmth around the fire. Owls and coyotes hoot and howl in the distance. The blue shadows arrive at night, passing quietly across the ground with the moon, velvety and soft. The whistling in the middle is sublime, a delicate accompaniment to night on the Texas terrain.

Move a-long, Blue Shadows, move a-long, soon the dawn will come and you'll be on your way. 

January 31, 2026 - Dur-Dur Band - Tajir Waa Ilaah (1987)

Here's some groovy funk rock from Mogadishu, Somalia. Dur-Dur (meaning "spring" in Somali, as in a natural flowing water spring) Band were huge in their home country in the late 80s. I found this album, Volume 5, at my local library about two or three years ago. I was immediately hooked by the funky grooves, the chicky chick guitar picking, the reverb vocals.

Tajir Waa Ilaah translates to "God is perfect". The song explores themes of human vulnerability, the fleeting nature of wealth, the necessity of humility, and the importance of empathy towards women. It suggests that true, lasting perfection belongs only to the divine, reminding listeners not to look down on others.

In addition to Dur-Dur Band, there were also the Iftin Band, Waaberi Band, and Sharaf Band rocking out in Mogadishu on a regular basis. Unfortunately, as with Cambodia and Ethiopia, war had to raise its ugly head and bring the good times to an end. Somalia had been under military junta since 1978. Rebel groups formed, the government military was defeated, and the country descended into chaos with various groups fighting for power. 

Volume 5 was reissued around a decade ago by the label Awesome Tapes from Africa. From their website:

By 1987 Dur-Dur Band’s line-up featured singers Sahra Abukar Dawo, Abdinur Adan Daljir, Mohamed Ahmed Qomal and Abdukadir Mayow Buunis, backed by Abukar Dahir Qasim (guitar), Yusuf Abdi Haji Aleevi (guitar), Ali Dhere (trumpet), Muse Mohamed Araci (saxophone), Abdul Dhegey (saxophone), Eise Dahir Qasim (keyboard), Mohamed Ali Mohamed (bass), Adan Mohamed Ali Handal (drums), Ooyaaye Eise and Ali Bisha (congas) and Mohamed Karma, Dahir Yaree and Murjaan Ramandan (backing vocals). Dur-Dur Band managed to release almost a dozen recordings before emigrating to Ethiopia, Djibouti and America.

 

January 28, 2026 - Alice Coltrane - Hare Krishna (1971)

 

Have you seen the bumper sticker? It reads: Keep Honking! I'm listening to Alice Coltrane's meteoric sensation 'Universal Consciousness'. I guess it's been around for a few years, but I feel like my first sighting of it was only a few weeks ago. I did a double take. 

If you are in the driver's seat and listening to this album, I hope you're not moving because this album might send you to the astral plane; you could become detached from communal reality and drift off into a zone of all possible outcomes. The title track itself can make traffic lights flash into colors beyond green red and yellow. Or it's always yellow. You never know. Be careful.

Alice Coltrane was a devoted Hindu. She was very highly spiritual and became even more dedicated as the 70s progressed.  Universal Consciousness should really be experienced as a whole, but if I had to choose one track to focus on it's Hare Krishna. This is an eight minute drone-based exploration of spiritual awareness. Very trippy blissful and (generally) relaxing. There are some moments of intense power, but they tend to resolve into a cosmic 'sunset melting into the horizon' feeling.

    

January 27, 2026 - Carole King - Pleasant Valley Sunday (demo) (1966)

I'm not that into Carole King as a solo artist. Tapestry is great, I know, but it's got too much of that early 70s singer-songwriter feel. All that wimpy James Taylor stuff, man. No please.

I do, however, like a lot of the songs she wrote with her husband Gerry Goffin, especially Pleasant Valley Sunday. Everyone knows the Monkees version, it peaked at #3 in 1967, all jangly guitar, bass and harmonies. It's a great tune. I'm not sure that I necessarily prefer this demo version, it just feels more wholesome, like every kid in the town is drinking their milk and then flying kites or riding their bikes. 

Gerry Goffin didn't like living in the suburbs, he thought they were boring and superficial and this tune is critical of that lifestyle. I myself grew up in a suburb of Chicago. I liked it. But it was very sheltered. It was a shock to slowly learn that not every other kid was growing up in a similar environment. Now, I have to say, I'm with Gerry. I wouldn't want to live in the suburbs at this point in my life. I think they're bland.

If you ever watched the show Weeds, you'll probably recall the satirical tune Little Boxes by Malvina Reynolds:

Little boxes on the hillside

Little boxes made of ticky-tacky

Little boxes on the hillside

Little boxes all the same

There's a green one and a pink one

And a blue one and a yellow one

And they're all made out of ticky-tacky

And they all look just the same

Carole King and Gerry Goffin in 1959: move to the suburbs, you guys! you'll love it!

January 24, 2026 - Ludwig van Beethoven - Piano Concerto No.5 in E♭ Major, Op.73 'Emperor' 2nd Movement, Adagio un poco mosso (1810)

I just need something really moving and gentle right now. To get it all out and keep going. How can there be music like this and humanity is still so violent and greedy and insensitive? I mean, just listen to that piano run that starts at 1:27. So exquisitely delicate.

January 22, 2026 - Delia Derbyshire - Pot Au Feu (1968)

 

Delia Derbyshire was a legend in the world of electronic music. She worked and recorded at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop throughout the 1960s and into the early '70s. She is best known for creating the music for the original Doctor Who in 1963, based on the composition by Ron Grainer, who wanted to give her co-writing credits but the BBC overlords nixed it because they wanted workshop staff to remain anonymous. What a bunch of Daleks.

Additionally, she was part of an electronic studio group called White Noise. The one album she participated on is called An Electric Storm. The final song on the album, "Black Mass: An Electric Storm in Hell", is a bit terrifying to say the least.

Pot Au Feu begins with a tidal wave of noise that leads into a Jaws-like pair of notes. Blurpy bottle boops and piercing synth tones arrive, joined by a number of other percussive sounds and a tense synth melody. It's all very urgent and ominous and amazing.

January 21, 2026 - The Commodores - Sail On (Live in Las Vegas) (1980)

When I was a kid, the Commodores were popular and Lionel Richie was about to become a superstar. I wasn't a fan of theirs but I recognized that they had some very catchy tunes. They were too sappy for me, more like mom music - "Three Times A Lady", "Still." I mean, no way was I going to sing along with this mushy stuff. Lionel also wrote the Kenny Rogers hit "Lady." Geez, just thinking back to riding in the car with my mom and having to listen to "She Believes In Me" makes me cringe.

The one song I actually liked was "Sail On", a breakup song, one they don't write like anymore. The protagonist's take on the relationship:

I gave you my heart

And I tried to make you happy

And you gave me nothing in return

So he's cheerfully saying goodbye. And now

I want everyone to know

I'm looking for a good time

The studio version is a slick radio friendly yacht rock ballad, very smooooth. But here in this unbridled live version, the protagonist finds the good time almost immediately. When I first watched this video, I felt overwhelmed by the differences. Like, what is this song? Dang, all the whoos! and heavy drums, guitars, where did this come from? I knew they could rock, I mean, Brick House and Machine Gun are funky hard and all; maybe I should have been prepared for this. 

Lionel is impressively energetic and entertaining out front with his many vocal embellishments, but drummer Walter Orange is the power station. The rest of the guys, the sparkly suits, the musicianship, it looks like they all sing too... What a fantastic performance.

Lionel Richie published his autobiography this past year. My library carries it. Hello, is it me that book's looking for? Eh, got too many others to read first, Lionel.

January 20, 2026 - Luie Luie - El Touchy (1974)

 

"Hi! My name is Luie Luie, and I'm here to tell you about a new dance called the Touchy." So begins the fifty-three second monologue that introduces the Touchy, simply a way for people to touch, however they care to touch I guess. He made the recording by himself and played all the instruments. This is an example of outsider music, which includes artists like Jandek, Daniel Johnston, Wesley Willis, the Shaggs, and Tiny Tim.

The actual music is about two and a half minutes. It "must have a wild trumpet introduction." What a wonderful mess of a tune. Some wild horns, some wah guitar, moog, drums and percussion. The name of the album is Touchy, and eight of the ten tracks have either Touchy or Touch in the title.

Luie Luie, real name Luis Johnston, toured bars and nightclubs for decades, performing as a one-man band. He was based out of Southern California, and he made his living working as a painter, screenwriter, and nightclub entertainer. He appeared in or had something to do with the Elvis Presley film Change of Habit (which also starred Mary Tyler Moore). He released an album a few years ago called Trumpet of the Last Days. Good to know he's still out there touching people with his music.

 

January 18, 2026 - The Shadows - Apache (1960)

 

Quite possibly the Coolest video ever. The black and white, the smoke, the looks, the way the camera moves. And, I mean, show me a more quietly confident bunch of musicians outside the jazz world. Hank Marvin, well, he may not be the definition of cool here but just look at him, what a sweet smiling face! He is cool by default, being the lead guitarist and all. The bassist is Jet Harris, leather jacket cool that really ties the room together. He takes a puff on his cigarette, blows out the smoke, saves it for later. The drummer is Tony Meehan, and he's spellbound, all dreamy and far away. And the rhythm guitarist is Bruce Welch, fedora tough, fancying a pint or a fight.  

Apache is a pretty well-known instrumental. Covered also by The Ventures, Jørgen Ingmann, and of course the "hip hop national anthem" by The Incredible Bongo Band.

The Bears lost to the Rams today, and I'm a bit sad that their season is over. At least we'll always have Apache. 

Will the Bears win the Super Bowl next year? Only the Shadows knows.

January 17, 2026 - The Reds, Pinks and Purples - Don't Come Home Too Soon (2022)

What happens when your partner is so out of control or depressed that you are anxious about their arrival? You love them but they are so volatile. They think too much about things they couldn't get, their failures, their missed opportunities. This feeling ravages them; they put their fist through a door, they fall through a hole in the floor...you wonder if they should be locked up. But without them you feel like you can't breathe. It's life with someone you love. It's so sad. Because it used to be happy. You think.

I love the video. This representation of repressed domestic post-war times, when people just went through the motions and feelings were locked away to simmer, to boil until they exploded, and one was left to expire in conflicted oblivion.

The music is very much dream pop. Minor/major keys, reverb, twilight dust mote shadow sounds, kind of a sadder sounding Jonathan Richman. I think I heard this on Vintage Obscura Radio.