Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Closed Due to Small Nervous Breakdown

Had to put Mom in a facility over the weekend.

Fortunately, the people that run/work at the place seem competent and compassionate.

I, however, am sort of a wreck at the moment. Regular posting will resume tomorrow or Thursday, and thank you for you indulgence.

Monday, September 28, 2015

Apparently It's Actually True -- We Really ARE Living in the End Times

Scenes from the Apocalypse, late September 2015 edition.



Somehow, the immortal words of Daffy Duck come to mind.

Friday, September 25, 2015

Thursday, September 24, 2015

Andrew Pasternack 1955-2013

The first "new" Floor Models song in 35 years is now officially finished.

"Letter From Liverpool." Written by Gerry Devine and Andy Pasternack.



Performed by (left to right) me (on bass and keyboards), Andy (12-string guitar, sampled at the fade-out), Gerry (vocals and acoustic guitar, recorded two years ago at his home studio), and Glen Robert Allen (on drums and percussion). Engineered by Brent McLachlan at 30 Below Studio. With special guest Flo Mos J.D. Goldberg on Gretch 12-string and Ronnie D'Addario on harmony vocals.



And a special thanks to Glen Bob, without whose encouragement we wouldn't have pulled this off.

Okay, I'm verklempt now.

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Closed For Monkey Business


Having problems with my maternal unit.

Regular posting -- including the world premiere of a work of art that will probably make my name live beyond eternity -- resumes tomorrow.

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Snoutrage!

Who knew that Tory shithead British prime minister David Cameron was a Beatles fan?



Incidentally, a certain beloved frog has reacted badly to Cameron and Pig-Gate.

Monday, September 21, 2015

Songs It May Be Impossible to Do a Bad Version Of (An Occasional Series)

Richard and Linda Thompson and the original version of RT's beyond moving "Dimming of the Day."




Emmylou Harris [a goddess] has a go at it, with quite lovely results.




And my personal favorite -- a more rocked-out (that's a relative term, of course -- this is still a ballad) version by Clive Gregson and Any Trouble.




I should note at this point that Any Trouble's first album -- which, unlike the one the Thompson song is from, is done straight two guitars, bass and drums -- was a humongous influence on the embryonic Floor Models (in fact there's a song on our album that's about as blatant a rip-off of an AT song as you can imagine). I should also add that after hearing this I was, shall I say, unsurprised when Gregson later turned up singing back-up in Thompson's touring band.


Friday, September 18, 2015

Well, As It Turns Out, I Actually AM Going Back to My Old School

More specifically, tomorrow, at a reunion of old chums from C.W. Post College.



In this gorgeous campus building, actually.


The rest of you good people have a great weekend without me!!!

Thursday, September 17, 2015

And Speaking (As We Were Last Week) of Great Beatles Covers....

...from her 1994 album Wild Seed, Wild Flower please enjoy former Arrested Development songstress and proud Jersey girl Dionne Farris and her shall we say idiosyncratic cover of the Fabs' "Blackbird."




She over-souls the song in spots, but I think overall the interpretation works. And speaking of working -- anybody have any idea where this woman has disappeared to?

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

And Speaking (As We Were Last Week) of Great Beatles Covers...

...from 1995, please enjoy Emmylou (a Goddess) Harris and her live version of "For No One."




Two thoughts.

1. The guy who wrote this song was in his early twenties at the time. Words fail me.

2. If I was Gram Parsons, and I knew that Emmylou was in love with me, I would have tried not to kill myself.

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

And Speaking (As We Were Last Week) of Great Beatles Covers....

...From 1975, and their underrated LP Procol's Ninth (produced by the great Leiber and Stoller) please enjoy Procol Harum and their typically soulful take on the Fabs "Eight Days a Week."




I really love this one, although I'm aware a lot of people don't share the opinion. Yeah, I miss the harmonies on the bridge, but otherwise I find the whole early 60s r&b groove of it irresistible, and of course Gary Brooker just sings the pants off of the song.

Friday, September 11, 2015

Dark Side of the Something

From the latest MOJO compilation, please enjoy Pink Floyd's David Gilmour (and his son Joe) and a cover of the Fabs "Here, There, and Everywhere."


Gilmour is a guitarist whose stuff, while obviously accomplished, has always left me cold, although he did very nice live work with McCartney some years ago. In any case, while this isn't the greatest Beatles cover of all time, it's certainly pleasant.

See you all next week!

Thursday, September 10, 2015

I'm Too Busy Singing to Put Anybody Down. Well, Okay, I'm Not Crazy About Trump. But Other Than Him....

This ad appeared in show-biz bible VARIETY fifty years ago this week.


That show, of course, is now better known as The Flying Nun The Monkees.

And you know, history moves in mysterious ways. For instance -- just think: If I'd shown up for those auditions, I probably wouldn't be making lame jokes on the internet for a bunch of pathetic losers.

Tuesday, September 08, 2015

Your Tuesday/Wednesday Moment of "The Doctor Will See You Now!"

Got doctor appointments -- nothing serious, but tiring and time consuming -- both today and tomorrow.


Plus we'll be in the studio tonight attempting to finish "Letter From Liverpool" at last. So I'm gonna be wiped out for a bit.

Regular peppy posting resumes on Thursday. I promise.

Monday, September 07, 2015

Happy Labor Day!!!

From 1973, please enjoy The Strawbs live on Top of the Pops and "Part of the Union."




Remember when explicitly political songs like that cracked American radio?

Yeah, me neither.

Anyway, enjoy the holiday.

UPDATE: This fucking moron
can blow me, BTW.




Friday, September 04, 2015

Tales From the Mystic East (An Occasional Series): Special Hello, Budokan! Edition

From 1965, please enjoy the incomparable Ventures and their killer (heh) live rendition of Richard Rogers great ballet tune "Slaughter on 10th Avenue." (Certainly, the Japanese audience is having a terrific time.)




Actually, there's some dispute about whether anything on this album was actually recorded in concert -- in Japan or anywhere else, for that matter -- but whatever its provenance, I think we can all agree that the music on the CD is about as good as instro-rock gets.

Have a great weekend, everybody!

Thursday, September 03, 2015

Tales From the Mystic East (An Occasional Series): Special There's a Fungus Among Us Edition

And may I just say and for the record that the la-la song heard at the opening of this trailer is the single greatest creative accomplishment of mankind to date?



I think I posted that clip last year, but it behooves repeating, as the movie itself -- Matango -- is essentially Gilligan's Island with killer mushrooms, which you have to admit is one hell of a premise for a monster movie. It's actually a pretty effective little film; the whole thing's up on You Tube if you want to check it out.


Meanwhile, and by way of apology, here's a somewhat more rocking piece of work with a relevant theme.



Wednesday, September 02, 2015

The Present Day Folk-Rocker Refuses to Die

Had a wonderful time in the studio last night -- although "Letter From Liverpool" is still not completely finished -- but as we were listening to a playback somebody mentioned drummer/producers and the great Butch Vig and this song instantly came to mind. For obvious reasons.




Vig and one of the other guys in Fire Town went on to fame and fortune in Garbage, of course, but this 1987 anthem has always been one of my favorites. As I often say, a well-played electric twelve-string guitar is perhaps the most beautifully occuring sound in nature.

Tuesday, September 01, 2015

Closed for Creating A Work of Art That is Unsurpassed and Will Probably Make My Name Live Beyond Eternity

Or more likely just another crappy rock song.


Seriously, heading off to the studio to finish (I hope) that new Floor Models song I've been bending your ear about (hoping to put Phil Spector-style violins on the bridge and final chorus). In any case, regular posting resumes tomorrow.