3 Mustaphas 3

3 Mustaphas 3 is a British World music band formed in 1982. Core members are Ben Mandelson (under the name Hijaz Mustapha), Tim Fienburgh (1954-2008) (under the name Niaveti III) Colin Bass (under the name Sabah Habas Mustapha), and Nigel Watson (under the name Houzam Mustapha), around which orbit many other Mustaphas - all supposed to be the nephews of Uncle Patrel Mustapha. They claim to originate from the Balkans, but play music from almost every continent; their slogan, "Forward in all directions!", is an expression of this musical diversity. Active at the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s, they have now stopped producing and performing together, but haven't officially disbanded.

(Thanks to Wikipedia for the above explaination)

...This is a band that really rocked my world in the 80s and early 90s, and still does today! Full of absurdity, humor, and extreme musical eclecticism, they also could seriously kick ass in an amazing number of musical genres. I HIGHLY reccomend seeking out "Heart Of Uncle" to start with (you can get it as a download through Amazon actually), but many other fantastic albums in their catalog await you too. "Can I take it to the fridge?" Hell yeah!

Dracula - Pages From A Virgin's Diary

I watched this movie late last night, as a second feature after Paranormal Activity (a movie so stultifyingly boring that watching paint dry would have been more interesting)...and I found it delightful! Take Bram Stoker's classic story, choreograph it for the Winnipeg Royal Ballet, stir in a score by Gustav Mahler, then bake it as a silent movie a la Jean Cocteau, sprinkle with a little 21st-Century irony courtesy of director Guy Maddin, and viola! A cool instant classic. Perhaps one of the best Dracula movies ever made, and certainly one of the strangest. Renfield, unfortunately, does not have a dance number in it, but it's still great.

The Indestructable Beat Of Soweto

I was originally turned on to South African music by listening to Johnny Clegg on old MTV (Remember when they actually played music? And late night, sometimes cool and obscure stuff)...it inspired me to look further into World Music and South African music especially. Beautiful rhythms and harmonies from a fantastic heritage and a troubled country, which at that time was still under the rule of apartheid. Later I'd go to our local Schookids Records and just find records that looked cool and buy them...so many were so good. This collection was one excellent one! Still available in CD form, and a great introduction to many now Old-School SA styles. Wonderful stuff.

Here's an example of this music working on the youth of America:



Here's another great track from the same record:



And here's that first video from Johnny Clegg that just blew my mind 30+ years ago. I'll have to do a seperate post for his work, but check it out too!

Cake Wrecks

At my house, when I hear insane laughter coming from her office, I can tell that Cynthia is online reading the Cake Wrecks website again. Cake Wrecks is a blog, started by a commercial baker, detailing supposedly professionally-made cakes that have gone horribly, horribly wrong. Many, you just look at in wonderment...but yes, they're real. With very witty commentary from the Cake Wrecks folks, and some examples of really GOOD cakes, too. Go to http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/ for some sweet fun.

Pogo

Pogo is the title and central character of a long-running (1948–1975) daily comic strip created by Walt Kelly and distributed by the Post-Hall Syndicate. Set in the Okefenokee Swamp of the southeastern United States, the strip often engages in social and political satire through the adventures of its anthropomorphic funny animal characters.

Pogo combined both sophisticated wit and slapstick physical comedy in a heady mix of allegory, Irish poetry, literary whimsy, puns and wordplay, lushly detailed artwork, irresistible characters and broad burlesque humor. The same series of strips can be enjoyed on different levels both by young children and by savvy adults. The strip earned Kelly a Reuben Award in 1951.
(Quote from Wikipedia)

...Pogo and his pals shaped my young life in the 50s and early 60s. When I first went to kindergarten I was actually speaking fluent Pogoese, and my teachers were concerned that my language skills were really screwed up. But I was living for a large part in the Okefenokee of my imagination, with Albert Alligator, Howland Owl, Churchy LaFemme and of course Pogo Possum. Re-reading them now, I'm impressed with what good taste I had back then, and how well they entertain in an adult context. They're clever, endearing and funny as hell. Kelly's artwork inspired a slew of other artists, notably the creators of Calvin & Hobbes and Frazz, both of whom owe a lot to him in both line quality and humor. But the original is still the real thing...I feel sorry for Boomers and Later Gens that didn't get a chance to experience Pogo. It's like not getting a vital nutrient early in life. However, there are fortunately lots of reprint collections available! There's still time kids...

Hall Of Douchebags

As a musician myself, I've had to endure many photoshoots for promo pictures. Some were better than others...and so many were sad little projects that went like this: "Let's just go out in the alley during the break and Andy's girlfriend can shoot a shot against the brick wall! It'll look great". Well, it didn't! But some looked pretty funny. Now there's a great website where a huge number of really unfortunate band pics are grouped together, with hilarious and appropriate commentary, at The Hall Of Douchebags. Just go to http://www.rockandrollconfidential.com/hall/
for hours of fun at the expense of all us hapless musicians! I'll have to dig out some of my old shots and donate them...there's some doozys. I should mention that the photo above is NOT my band!

Unknown Hinson

You knows you wantsta go see Unknown Hinson! Troubadour of Country Music, Master of Western Swing and every girls nightmare of Worst Blind Date Ever. Womerns everywhere know Unknown, probly a reason for the sharp increase in deadbolt lock and pepper spray sales. Although some find he has a certain charm. And hey, he really IS a world-class guitarist, baby. Oh, I thinks you'll like this CD, if'n you just give it a chance...

Here's Wiki to explain everything again:

Stuart Daniel Baker, better known by his stage name, Unknown Hinson, is a comedic country musician, songwriter, and voice actor on the Adult Swim cartoon Squidbillies. Baker has carefully cultivated his alter-ego. Much like Andy Kaufman's alter-ego, Tony Clifton, Unknown Hinson never breaks character in public and adamantly denies having any connection to Danny Baker.

Unknown Hinson, dressed in his signature rodeo tailor coat and black ribbon necktie, is a dark parody of the country western stars from the early/mid 20th century. With his glued on sideburns, blacked out front teeth, and dark hair slicked back to reveal a prominent widows peak, he has been referred to as the "hillbilly vampire."
The self-proclaimed "king of country-western troubadours" speaks and sings with an authentic southern drawl, commonly pronouncing words like woman "womern," and window "winder."
Hinson's personality is that of a hell-raising and hard-drinking country western singer with a preference for "party liquor," sexy women, and fine guitars.

Stuart Daniel Baker, a music teacher and studio musician from Albemarle, North Carolina, created his alter-ego for The Wild Wild South, a Charlotte area public-access program that featured comedy sketches and concert footage. Baker along with co-star Don Swan played the characters of Unknown Hinson and Rebel Helms. After Swan's death in 1995, Baker created "The Unknown Hinson Show", a direct spin-off of "The Wild Wild South". The Unknown Hinson Show won Creative Loafing's "Best Of" poll for Best Public-Access Television Show four years in a row.[3]
After the series ended, Baker continued in his role as Unknown Hinson, performing live concerts and releasing several recordings.

...I should mention that in these music clips, Unknown is playing EVERYTHING, all the instruments, backup vocals, the whole deal...