Black Hula

Is anyone who checks this sorry blog old enough to have watched a little non-music throwaway show on MTV called Liquid Television? If you did then you'd better be well acquainted with the interminably cute and devastating "Mauna Kea" track used in the smartly apocalyptic "Black Hula" animated short. Starting off with a duo of crudely-drawn Ichthyostegas quietly spawning the human race, the film sarcastically documents and anticipates the future of the human race (and equally idiotic) civilization beyond in barely 3 minutes. After binge watching Liquid TV marathons through my college years, learning ukelele (primitively... but still) and actually traveling to Hawaii since, I really wanted to find some retro Hawaiian sounds that weren't just Iz singing "Somewhere Over The Rainbow". Shit, found them I did. "King" Bennie Nawahi was a young guitar/ukelele/steel guitar player who inexplicably went blind in his 30's but continued playing with a multitude of musicians until the 1970's. This compilation spans his most influential bands; although to me his music with the King Nawahi's Hawaiians is easily the best - almost like listening to the Hawaiian version of Robert Johnson's tunes. Wonderful bluesy shit, probably recorded on a fucking gramaphone. My ex-wife and I went to Kauai for our honeymoon and even though I hate that bitch I still love this stuff. That's saying something. Enjoy.

Wizard Of The Strings

Tenacious Z

I don't know what I was searching for when I stumbled upon this lo-fi gem but it raised enough of a dry smile to earn a spot in my somewhat selective music library. Recorded at some point in 2011, Best Songs Ever compiles several (each entitled Best Songs Ever 2, 3, etc. etc.) short YouTube recording sessions into a full-length LP (and many thanks to the person who had the patience/tolerance to rip said videos). Obvious comparisons to Tenacious D aside, some of the songs are pretty funny, some of the more offensive ones ("Ever Since I Fucked My Sister (She's Been Acting Kind Of Strange)" and "Remember That Time That Your Dad Molested You?") actually elicited a guffaw from my jaded soul. Based out of New Orleans, the Straight-Eff's consisted of TJ Kinkaid on vocals and Cody Weber on acoustic guitar and while basically a duo there appears a guest bassist as well whose name escapes me. There are also some pretty solid (i.e. professional) remixes tacked on as well but you'll just have to listen to the record to understand it all. Unfortunately it seems the guys had somewhat of a real/fake falling out after a few months and their tethered musical future dissolved just as quickly but both have continued to do online shit here and here. In short, the album works a little bit better in its original 10-minute bursts, after half an hour of TJ screaming it can get somewhat nerve-frying so be forewarned and enjoy. For those who dig, they have a bandcamp page with some extra material for sale - check it out.

Get A Snack