Cats & Dogs

This week’s theme is one that is close to my heart: cats and dogs. I think you are either a cat or a dog person and anyone who says that they like both equally are in denial. Me? I’m absolutely a dog person, although I have always had a cat and I’ve had a habit of only ever having had a ginger cat. Apparently ginger cats are nearly always male. You can get a ginger female, but it is incredibly rare. 

In any case, I tried to give our canine and feline friends fairly equal time when it came to choosing the music and we started off with ‘Who Let the Dogs Out?’ by the Baha Men. I knew that the ‘Baha’ was short for Bahamas, which is where the group were all born, but I had no clue as to what their style of music – ‘Junkanoo’ – was about. I’ve since done a bit of research.

Junkanoo is more than just a musical style; it represents a whole cultural phenomenon. The music itself is very primitive and incredibly infectious. The basic musical instruments are made in the Bahamas and consist of the drum cowbells, horns, whistles, scrapers and brass. Twice yearly huge Junkanoo street parades are held where special Junkanoo costumes, music and dance are on display. It sounds absolutely amazing. Find out more at http://junkanoo.com

‘Who Let the Dogs Out?’ was released in 1998. The video clip still stands up as great entertainment in its own right, so here it is for you:

Thanks to all those dog and cat lovers who agreed to contribute to our vox pops. Loved the comment: “Dogs have masters and cats have slaves.” My little dog Charlie is 11 now and we have been through thick and thin together. He is my lttle mate. Charlie even has his own blog, although he hates the fact that he has to wait for me to type it up for him. Charlie put in a special request for some classic rock. He’s a bit of a boy like that. So, especially for Charlie, I played some Led Zepp – ‘Black Dog’ (in memory of Charlie’s companion Coco who passed away last year) and AC/DC with ‘Givin’ the Dog a Bone.’

‘Fraid Pussy Bite Me’ is a fantastic piece of early Calypso from the King of Calypso, Mighty Sparrow. Born in 1935, he is still going strong at 73 years of age. His lyrics are famous for being witty, ironic and ribald. He also frequently comments on social and political issues in his songs and recently endorsed Barack Obama and presented him with a CD of a song he had recorded in his honour, “Barack the Magnificent”.

The track I played, ‘Fraid Pussy Bite Me’ is from The Renaissance CD, a hot compilation of classic tracks where Sparrow displays his versatility. Well worth the search if you can find a copy.

It’s been suggested that pets resemble their owners. In which case it should be pointed out that my pup Charlie is in incredibly good shape for his age, but Felix the ginger Abyssinian, talks way too much. Charlie has insisted that I include a photo of him which was taken recently while he was being given a massage. I suppose that I should add that, yes, we are both also a bit goofy!

My Roy Orbison song this week was ‘Hound Dog Man’ from the album Blue Angel. And I really covered a lot of other musical territory, crossing generations and genre with wild abandon. Check out the complete playlist below:

Who Let the Dogs Out –  Baha Men

The Alley Cat Song – Peggy Lee

Bear Cat – Rufus Thomas 

Fraid Pussy Bite Me – Mighty Sparrow

Sam the Hot Dog Man – Lil Johnson

Hound Dog – Big Mama Thornton

Call Me The Wolf – Howlin Wolf

How Much is That Doggie in the Window? – Patty Page

Puppy Love – Paul Anka

The Puppy Song – Harry Nillson

Pussy Cat – Ross Hannaford Trio

The Love Cats – The Cure

Stray Cat Blues – The Rolling Stones

Pink Panther (with vox pops) – Hollywood Studio Orchestra

Black Dog – Led Zeppelin

Givin the Dog a Bone – AC/DC

Rain Dogs – Tom Waits

Stray Cat Strut – Stray Cats

Bird Dog – The Everly Brothers

Stray Dogs and Alley Cats – The Lonesome River Band

Hound Dog Man – Roy Orbison

Top Cat  Theme song

Teach Me Tiger – April Stevens

What’s New Pussycat? – Tom Jones

Year Of The Cat – Al Stewart

How Come My Bulldog Don’t Bark? – Howard Tate

I Wouldn’t Treat A Dog (The Way You Treated Me) – Bobby Bland

I’ll Be Doggone – Marvin Gaye

Walking The Dog – Rufus Thomas

Pussy Cat Dues – Charles Mingus

Next week: to celebrate the Oscars, I’ll be playing music from all my favourite films (not necessarily Oscar winners).

Tune into The Theme Park with Lyn McCarthy on BayFM 99.9 Tuesdays 2-4pm Sydney time. Also streaming at http://www.bayfm.org

Charlie’s blog: http://possumcreeklodge.blogspot.com/

Sex, Drugs and, (not just), Rock ‘n’ Roll

This week’s theme was all about sex and drugs, but not just rock n roll. In fact it was a lot of early blues. I just love those early (30s, 40s, 50s) gutsy hot mamas, like Barrel House Annie and Julia and Her Boyfriends who shed their inhibitions and sang about their desires. I also played some C.W. Stoneking, who with his wife Kirsty Fraser, know how to evoke and extend the highly provocative ditty – listen to ‘You Took My Thing’ to find out what I mean. And, of course, there was rock ‘n’ roll with Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis as well as the great r&b/soul singers Etta James and Marvin Gaye. And that was just in the first hour!

One of my favourites from the  show was Tina Turner singing Robert Palmer’s “Addicted to Love”. Here’s a clip lifted from her ‘Simply the Best’ VCR for you to enjoy. Little wonder that I followed this with Tom Jones singing ‘Sexbomb’.

In the second hour I played a piece of Janis Joplin that clearly showed the influence of the great Bessie Smith. “Mary Jane” is a live performance, recorded in 1965 with the Dick Oxtot Jazz Band. If you want to track it down, look for the 1975 compilation album Janis or the 2007 compilation The Very Best of Janis Joplin. Did you know that Joplin so idolised Bessie Smith that she remedied the scandal of her unmarked grave by organising the appropriate carved inscription: “The greatest blues singer in the world will never stop singing”?

Another discovery for me, thanks to the Bob Dylan Theme Time compilation, is Mary Gauthier. Her song, “I Drink” cuts straight to the bone. What a potent and powerful song, both in its lyrics and its delivery. Apparently Gauthier is a recovered alcoholic who grew up in an abusive and alcoholic household. As Bob Dylan so eloquently puts it, “the song plays like a bittersweet farewell to a dangerous lover.”

Long before she carved out her hugely successful pop career with sensual versions of great love songs, the gorgeous voice of Dinah Washington was used to belt out some very suggestive blues numbers. I included the blatantly lascivious ‘Big Slidin’ Thing’ in this week’s show. It finds Washington pining for her absent man who’s apparently proficient with his extraordinary instrument – a trombone people, a trombone! Such a tragedy that Washington would die at 39, after an accidental overdose of prescription diet pills mixed with alcohol.

My Roy Orbison song this week was ‘Mean Woman Blues’, initially recorded by Elvis as part of the soundtrack for his 1957 motion picture, Loving You. Roy recorded it with ‘Blue Bayou’ in 1963, as a 45rpm single and it went to #5 on the Billboard Hot 1oo music charts. I love the line: ‘Well I ain’t braggin’, it’s understood. Everything I do, well I sure do good’. Oh yeah. 

Finished the show with Verve’s ‘The Drugs Don’t Work’ which, although most listeners might assume is an anti-drugs song, is, in fact, about the father of one of the band members. He was being treated for cancer, the drugs stopped working and he died. Aaargh.

Sorry to end on a bit of a downer. So, let’s get cheerful next week. I overlooked the fact that January 12th (my birthday as well!) was the birthday of Motown. So next week its all things soulful on Theme Park. Hope to have you all listening in. Streaming details at end of this week’s playlist which follows.

 

Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll – Ian Dury 

Minnie The Moocher – Cab Calloway 

Dynamite – Cheech and Chong (Comedy clip)

The Old Dope Peddler – Tom Lehrer 

Monkey On My Back – Ross Hannaford Trio 

Gotta Gimme Whatcha Got – Julia Lee & Her Boy Friends 

If it don’t fit – Barrell House Annie 

You Took My Thing – C.W. Stoneking 

The Girl Can’t Help It – Little Richard 

Great Balls Of Fire – Jerry Lee Lewis 

You Can Leave Your Hat On – Joe Cocker 

Addicted To Love (with Brian Adams Live) – Tina Turner 

Sexbomb – Tom Jones 

I Just Want To Make Love To You – Etta James 

Sexual Healing – Marvin Gaye 

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas – Drug Lists (Movie Clip)

Rehab – Amy Winehouse 

Cocaine Habit – Captain Matchbox

Mary Jane – Janis Joplin 

I Drink – Mary Gauthier 

Rocket – Connie Lee 

Big Long Slidin’ Thing – Dinah Washington 

Afternoon Delight – Starlight Vocal Band 

Itchycoo Park – Small Faces 

Mean Woman Blues – Roy Orbison 

Burning Love – Elvis Presley 

Take a Walk on the Wild Side – Lou Reed 

Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds – The Beatles 

Mother’s Little Helper – The Rolling Stones 

Cold Turkey – John Lennon 

The Drugs Dont Work – The Verve 

Next week: The History of Motown!

Listen to Lyn McCarthy at ‘Theme Park’ on Bay FM 99.9,  Tuesdays 2-4pm, Sydney time. Also streaming on http://www.bayfm.org