With Just A Hint Of Mayhem

Music reviews, gig reviews, fun trivia and extra added random stuff!

On This Day The Kingsmen Beat The Feds! January 11, 2025

Filed under: On This Day — justwilliam1959 @ 4:25 pm
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On January 11th 1964, “Louie Louie” by The Kingsmen topped the US Cash Box music chart. For a while, a handful of US radio stations banned the record. They cited indecipherable lyrics as the reason. Rumors suggested these lyrics contained some naughty words. The FBI investigated the song for two years, from February to May 1964. They analysed the song, played it at different speeds, and even had a spy follow the band on tour. The FBI finally concluded that they could find nothing wrong. Click here to read the rather extensive FBI document about the song.

The song was written and composed by American musician Richard Berry in 1955. The song tells a tale, in the first-person of a “lovesick sailor’s lament to a bartender about wanting to get back home to his girl“. The song is widely understood to be one of the most covered rock songs, with more than 1,600 versions registered. The Kingsmen recording of the song is seen by writers, musicians and journalists as the song that all garage rock and punk can be traced back to. That is not bad for a song that cost no more than $50 to record!

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“Who put fifty tons of shit on the Foreign Office roof?” May 3, 2012

Filed under: Observation — justwilliam1959 @ 3:51 pm
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Do you ever get the feeling that some days are just going to be crap days? I don’t get that feeling much at all, however yesterday was one of them. I parked my car the usual 5 minute walk from the office and started walking. It was a typical British spring day in that it was bloody cold. So I had my raincoat on with the collar up. Why did I have the collar up? Actually it was to keep the wind off me, although I don’t mind rocking that FBI agent look occasionally. Anyway it turns out I was lucky to have my collar up, for halfway to the office I heard and felt an almighty splash on my shoulder and the back of my neck.

Yes I had been shat on from a great height and judging from the volume of shit it was either a really large bird or a flock that had practised synchronised defecation. But because my collar was up every last drop stayed on my raincoat, otherwise it would have been right down the back of my shirt collar. It was quite obvious that I had been used as a bird toilet (or bird bathroom for my US readers) but still two people stopped me and said “Do you know you’ve got bird shit on you?”

The footnote is that when I arrived back at the car to go home it had been bombed with two of the largest dollops of bird shit I have ever seen. Still I suppose we should be thankful that elephants can’t fly, well apart from Dumbo anyway. Incidentally whilst it was a moderately crappy day for me, it was nowhere near as bad as the birds had perhaps tried to indicate.

So as I have said many times before, so how can I bring this post back to music I hear you ask. relatively easy really, take some time out, especially if you’ve had a shitty day, to enjoy “Pigeons” by Genesis

So yes, let’s be thankful that elephants can’t fly!

 

” It’s been too long since we took the time, No-one’s to blame, I know time flies so quickly “ October 8, 2010

Filed under: News — justwilliam1959 @ 8:33 pm
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A mixed bag of a post for you today, drawn from a few recent news stories. Firstly I would like to wish a posthumous 70th birthday to John Lennon. I find it incredible that it is now almost 30 years since he was cruelly gunned down in New York. Has that time gone quickly for you too? He is also in the news for something other than his birthday as well. The FBI have seized a set of Lennon’s fingerprints that he gave to New York police in 1976 as part of his green card application. The card was part of a memorabilia auction, but the FBI claim it is official government property and have taken it away. haven’t they got a big enough file on Lennon already? Frankly though, why go they need it, I mean he is unlikely to commit any crime is he? Read the story on the Beeb by clicking here.

Now for another very sad Beatles related story. The cast of Glee have now beaten the Beatles record of the most appearances on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart by a non solo act. They have a total of 75 compared to 71 for the Fab Four, they have also surpassed Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin who have 74 and 73 respectively. The only acts ahead of them right now are James Brown with 91 and Elvis Presley with 108. Click here to see the report.

It has been reported that soulful chanteuse Toni Braxton is filing for bankruptcy for the second time. She went bankrupt for the first time just 12 years ago. This time a heart condition caused her to cancel a number of Vegas shows. So I would like to wish her well in the sale of her assets and hope that she can soon ‘unbreak the bank’ and will soon be able to “Breathe Again“. I must confess that earlier this year I burnt the original and a few remixes of “Unbreak My Heart” for my good friends Glen and Jill. So now we know of Toni’s financial predicament I ought to as k them to buy the songs. Come on guys help the poor girl out!

Kurt Kobain’s letter in which he appears to rail against MTV is to be auctioned. He referred to the TV Channel as Empty TV and signed the letter as Kurdt Kobaineee. read about it at the NME by clicking here.

Finally for today it is now 25 years since A-ha released “Take On Me” accompanied by that wonderfully arty video featuring Morten Harket from the band along with Bunty Bailey off of Hot Gossip. Enjoy the video below and read all about it by clicking here.