 | Not so much a Mix-Tape this week, more a smörgåsbord of the so utterly strange it's beyond description. Albums beyond categorization, they orbit planet Earth, while we can only stare up in wonder at quirky bizarreness as they pass over us. Included in the mix is a taste of Tortura (1965) mentioned in a recent Weird Music post on the Captain's Blog. Simply known as 'Track 11' from the first album, the 'sounds of pain and pleasure' are accompanied by a cool jazz piano, as a whip is cracked and a woman laughs manically throughout. You really have to wonder what twisted mind came up with this piece of vintage vinyl. |
Go Little Honda (1965) is a track by The Hondells, declaring their love of the Honda motorbike, from the Honda themed album of the same name. Written by Beach Boys Brian Wilson and Mike Love, the Hondells were made up of session musicians that included now country legend Glen Campbell. Another 'manufactured' band of sorts was the 1983 album Beatle Barkers, where animal noises replaced the lyrics of many of the most famous songs by the Fab Four.
| Janet Greene, was the right-wing conservative version of Joan Baez. Recruited into the CACC (Christian Anti-Communist Crusade), she released only a small number of recordings. Probably her most infamous song is Fascist Threat (1966), a little Calypso inspired number. Apparently when asked where the Calypso influence came from she stated, it was the Chiquita Banana radio commercial which was popular at the time. (Also included on the sampler, for comparison.) The track was released with the very McCarthy-esque Commie Lies. |  |
During the 1960s and 1970s there was a fashion for instructional spoken word albums. There are many weird and wonderful examples out there to be found, here are included two especially strange choices. From 1976 is mother earth type Molly Roth, who owned a plant shop called Green Earth, that had a jukebox to play to the plants. She recorded the album Plant Talk/Sound Advice, which is Molly in husky loving tones talking to a variety of house plants. The B-side of the album was Molly's advice to plant owners. The sampler includes all 13 minutes of Molly's seductive Plant Talk, who appeared naked on the cover of the album covered only by plant foliage and a watering can.
 | Art Linkletter was a famous TV host of House Party and People Are Funny during the 50s and 60s. At the height of his fame in 1963, Art narrated a cute and quirky little album for children about 'the birds and the bees' called Where Did You Come From. A cutesy piece mixing simple biology with animal analogies. The best line comes about three-quarters through side-1, as Art describes how the sperm of a male horse fertilizes the egg of the female. "The father horse places the sperm in the body of the mother horse, through a 'little' tube that grows outside the daddy's body." |
Download Way Beyond Planet Weird (Sampler) here.
