The Blues List

A really cool song that some may be familiar with.

 

YOKO NAGAYAMA

Jonkara Onna Bushi




I said I would even write about fringe blues songs and you can't get anymore fringe than this---ignore the underlying enka music, and you have something that did not grow out of the blues and did not even get any influence from it: tsugaru shamisen. But look at her play, I'm sure you can find that basic 1-5-6 pattern, or a similar finger pattern to the blues on the neck as she plays.

Tsugaru shamisen is a fast-paced hard hitting style of shamisen from the warring states period of Japan---about the 1600's, when various states warred with each other using samurai and ninjas. It is played so hard that it requires thicker strings than a standard shamisen. It was written and played by bohemian musicians who wandered the Japanese countryside. Tsugaru is a region in Japan, but it was also a slang term for opium.

The underlying music in this piece is, enka, Japanese contemporary singing music, which is the true karaoke music, i.e. the music karaoke machines and bars were made for. There is certainly a blues influence there.

I spent over 15 years in Japan all together, beginning in the early 80's. I was not very impressed with the rock music at the time--seeing it as a plastic imitation of American music without any soul or heart.

Then a Japanese hippie friend introduced me to tsugaru shamisen. I couldn't believe it---rock music from ancient Japan. It was centuries ahead of it's time! It should have been an incredible source of inspiration for the Japanese to make their own rock.

As a matter of fact, in one version of, Give Me Money, the Beatles broke into a tsugaru shamisen riff, which I assume Yoko Ono introduced them to.

But back in the 80's, the only place you'd find it would be in places like the samurai TV drama, Hissatsu Shikakenin (or, Professional Killers), which was similar to the old Western, The Wild Wild West. It was about this group of secret assassins who would get revenge on people who harmed innocent people and villages, often by using tools that would have been high tech for the day, and that mimics, as in the old American TV series, The Wild Wild West, technology today. In other words, a kind of Steam Punk fashion. One of the assassins, an old lady, would stand on an empty late-night street, playing tsugaru shamisen until her victim would stumble drunk down the street to hear her play, at which point she would slash his throat with her plectrum (the large pick that is used to play the strings). Another assassin would strangle his victim by getting him caught around the neck in the shamisen string, to which, in a crescendo of an electric guitar riff, he would then lift the victim off the ground, and the final blow being to pluck the string, which finished him off with a broken neck. (Not all the assassins, such as these two, used high tech, but it was still cool!) It is my all-time favorite samurai series.

In the 80's, Yoko Nagayama was a J-pop star that became famous for her Japanese version of, Venus, (Yes, the Bananarama hit they covered from a European band). She did it well, but I was unimpressed with her---her fashion at the time was the same mid 80's hokey Japanese style that my first wife wore. For me it was a fashion that cloyed like a bad wine. (Later she did a TV performance of Venus in a tight white miniskirt that was very sexy though!) But man, when I found a video of her doing this song, I was completely infatuated. Damn---she turned into a beautiful woman. I believe that she was one of the first to incorporate tsugaru shamisen into modern music. But there are others, such as the Yoshida Brothers.

Finally, in the early 2000's the Japanese started building off of this rich musical heritage. I believe it was instrumental in putting a native soul into Japanese music. Today there are even Western musicians posting videos of rock songs by Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and others played on a tsugaru shamisen.

Jonkara Onna Bushi is a song about a woman musician following the man she loves, most likely a rogue samurai, around Japan during the Warring States Period. Jonkara refers to the sound of a plucked shamisen string. Onna bushi means woman's melody, but bushi, when written with a different character, means warrior. So it could also mean, woman warrior, which the subject of this song is in sorts.

One of the leading themes in the blues, rich with euphemisms, is sex, and that is true in this case too. For example, she sings that spring is too far away from her, and spring is a euphemism for sex. And then her last words (which melt my heart)--looking into the camera, she sings, "Anata ga hoshii" (I want you).

There are many versions of her singing this on YouTube. Some skip the second verse and the shamisen solo that follows it. I have posted these on Facebook many times, usually translating the song. The version I posted here is subtitled.

Sadly, Yoko married another American. A businessman. Oh well, its hard to convince my wife how fun it would be with 2 wives...


(P.S. I recently learned that the plectrum they use runs, $2,000 a piece. There are only so many true tsugaru shamisen songs, or bushi---all written back in the 1600's. So when you play tsugaru shamisen, or create a new song in the genre, traditionally you would take one of these bushi and use that as the base, Jonkara bushi is one of these old songs, so Yoko took that and created Jonkara Onna Bushi by applying the words of her song to the melody. When I mentioned the Beatles, and one of the versions of their, Give Me Money, they did not use a shamisen, but simply lifted a riff, they played by guitar, out of one of these old bushi.)

 

RANA FARHAN

Chooni



(This post was posted on Instagram on September 18, 2023)

Yesterday (Saturday) was the 1 year anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini, killed by Iran's Morality Police. I therefore wanted to honor her (which even her own family is prohibitted to do by any means) by sharing an Iranian blues artist.

So here is Rana Farhani, singing Chooni, which means, 'Are You Alright?' It is actually a poem by Rumi.

Since the Iranian Revolution, there are only 3 kinds of music allowed in Iran: traditional Iranian music, iranian folk music, and Iranian pop. No music is allowed on Iranian tv or radio.

Rana Farhan loved the blues, and she did her best to get whatever music she could. She rocked out to Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin, and Lead Belly. This song, like many of hers, is a Rumi poem. She left for New York in 1989. The link I provided has an English translation.

"In these hard and troubling times, are you alright?

...this whole damned world is in flames

...please won't you ask me if I'm alright..."

Power to the protestors in Iran! ZAN, ZINDAGI, AZADI! (Women, life, freedom!)

 

Here is another of Rana Farhan's songs to give you a taste of her blues:




And if you are interested in more examples of tsugaru shamisen here are some:

 

DADDY LONG LEGS

Mornin,' Noon & Night


Daddy Long Legs is a blues band out of Brooklyn. Their shows, according to their website, have a healthy balance of 'roots rock, blues, and guttural soul.' Bibliodiscoteque describes their music as, "Music to start a juke joint brawl to." I think this song, Mornin', Noon & Night is a good example of how that description fits.

Esquire says that they are the most authentic band you'll see all week. I haven't seen them play, but I bet it's one hell of a fun show.

I too love it mornin', noon, and night. But I don't have womens on the east side, the west side, or any other side, because if I did, my wife would cut off a body part that is very dear to me.

But speaking of 'womens', is it just me, or are all Iranian women very beautiful? My last post was to honor Mahsa Amini, the Iranian victim of the morality police. She was just some Kurdish girl from a village, but she was stunning. And so many of the protesters, and personalities, and so forth from Iran are just as stunning. They are all so beautiful! Take Nina Ansary for example.

It seems that some countries or regions have an excess number of very beautiful women. South East Asia, for example. Vietnam and Cambodian women are so hot. Thai women too. The Philippines has produced the most Miss Universes of any country I am told. My wife is certainly one of the most beautiful women I have ever known, and her daughters and granddaughters are stunning as well.

A good Vietnamese friend told me one time that whenever there was a shake up in politics in China back in the old times, that the ousted leader would gather up all the most beautiful women and escape (or be exiled) to Vietnam. That is why there are so many there.

But there so many stunning French women too. And Russian women. Ethiopian women are also incredible. And Indian women. California girls--cant forget them.

Or is it just that the grass always seems greener on the other side. I guess women are just beautiful all over. (...oh, and, of course, any women that knows me or that follows me on Social Media is a 10, no question about it...)





Here's another version:

 

THE KAT KINGS

It Came From the Swamp


(Since Halloween is tomorrow, I thought I'd jump a few posts, and post some Halloween posts I made a few years ago. Then I'll come back and post the ones I jumped over.)

For Halloween, I thought I would share a song or two appropriate to the holiday, beginning with this song by, The Kat Kings.

I don't know too much about this band. I believe they come from Canada, and compose most, if not all, of their songs. One music reviewer suggested that it is hard to tell where Jump Blues ends and Rock & Roll begins in their albums.

Jump Blues is a combination of swing and blues, that began back in the 30's when some swing bands began playing the blues. It is played to an upbeat shuffle beat usually with a three chord, I, IV, V, progression of boogie woogie. It is played in 4/4. Jump Blues was the precursor to R&B and Rock & Roll.

This song, if it is Jump Blues, is definitely from the swamp. I do love it.

I do have to add, the creature from the Black Lagoon, which they chose as a video to this song, was one of my favorite monsters as a kid!

 

CAB CALLOWAY

Old Man of the Mountain


When I think of Jump Blues, this is the song that comes to mind (see my last post), though it may be a bit down beat for jump blues. But it is still good music to dance to, which was what Jump Blues was about.

Cab Calloway was known as a jazz musician, but his songs definitely crossed other genres. He was the one that did Minnie the Moocher. This is also a good example of his scat---music that uses meaningless vocals as an instrument. He even appeared in the movie, The Blues Brothers, playing, Minnie the Moocher, while the band was waiting for the Blues Brothers to show up at their big concert near the end of the movie.

Betty Boop, of course was the cartoon character many of us were infatuated with.

We could argue about the potential racial message hidden in this story, but let's ignore that for a moment as it is a fun song for Halloween with plenty of sexual imagery that is more pronounced and undeniable. And, if one wants to argue about the misogyny of the times, well---Betty Boop certainly stands up for herself...





Here's the scene from, The Blues Brothers, in case anyone wants to see it:

 

THE CURSE OF K.K. HAMMOND

In the Pines


It's getting close to midnight halloween night, and now for something creepy----so it's back to the swamps for some slide guitar and swamp blues.

You'd think this girl grew up and lived in the swamps somewhere between Florida and the Delta. But no, she's from London. A lot of her songs reflect a dark creepy side to the swamplands---Devil Kin Blues, A Heart Shaped Box, and so on, all reflecting spirits and creatures of the swamps, and whatever dark magic happens between our world and theirs.

In the Pines is an old folk song from about 1890. As the tune goes, a girl sleeps out in the pines for some odd reason. Her husband was killed somewhere out there, and his head was found in a driving wheel---either the large wheels which move a steam locomotive, or the wheel of any machinery to which the motor's force is applied to make the machinery work. His body was never found. But for some reason, she sleeps out among the pines...

Be sure and listen to it before falling asleep, so that the wonderfully haunting slide guitar may slip into your dreams. Oh, and she does have an Instagram page: @thecurseofkkhammond

Who has the page? You ask---the musician or the girl who sleeps in the pines? I'll let you decide.

Pleasant dreams...

 

Here is some more of her blues

 

BLOODROCK

D.O.A.


(Last one for Halloween---unless you got some. This one I will post to Instagram today.)

For a good part of my adult life, I wondered if this song actually existed, or was it just a twisted memory of something I thought happened in my youth, but never actually did? I remembered the title, D.O.A., but that was it, and in the years before the internet, I searched and searched for it, and could never find it. Iwould talk to people about it and they would be clueless. It seemed that only my younger sister remembered it. Not until late one night, after YouTube had come to be, I heard mention of this song on the radio, and they named the band. Now I had a clue! It did exist! Or as Dr. Frankenstein said, "It's alive!"

If any of you might remember, when this song came out in 1971, it hit the AM radio stations by storm. I remember listening for hours just to hear this song come back on the radio. And in those several hours, it probably came on twice, at least. And I, like so many other listeners, was calling in constantly to request the song! The initials, stood for Dead On Arrival (of course), and this song is a gruesome tale of some kind of horrific accident told from the dying eyes of the singer who had apparently been on a date with his, now, deceased girlfriend. I remember one evening there was a debate on the radio with listeners calling in to answer what kind of accident the song referred to. Most listeners thought it was an automobile accident. But to some, the lyric, "We were flying low, and hit something in the air," suggested an airplane crash. I remember one caller suggested that it was a submarine.

This song was all the rage, for about a week or two, but then it got banned from the air because its lyrics were too gruesome. And that was it, it was never heard of again, For Bloodrock, this was their one-hit wonder, and for at least a week or two, they were really big!

 

MVW___I don't know if this next one exactly fits--but I sure do like it!!!

 

Of course Zepplin has always been a group I’ve loved to listen to. This one in particular probably being my favorite song from them (most of the times).

Based on a true event Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 - Wikipedia/

 

That song probably fits better in a blues list than does the tsugaru shamisen I posted, by far.

I would think that is some great swamp blues!

 

I might have to do a future post on Kansas Joe McCoy. That is the first time I heard the original song!

 

The Cultural Center that is just over the hill from my house manages to get some big names for their summer concert series---and the seating is certainly limited and intimate as concert venues go. I can actually hear the concerts from my house--not clearly, but if they are loud enough, I can even identify the songs.

This past summer I saw Samantha Fish play there. Keb Mo played there about a month before her, and I wanted to go to that concert too but unfortunately we were going to be out of town when he played.

 

DIRTY MAC

Yer Blues


Look closely and you should recognize who is the front man for The Dirty Mac. If you can't recognize him, then baby, you need a class in 1960's music and cultural appreciation. Yes, that is John Lennon, Yer Blues is a song he wrote and performed with the Beatles. Also with him is Eric Clapton (Cream had recently dissolved) on lead guitar, Keith Richard's (Rolling Stones) on bass, and Mitch Mitchell (Jimi Hendrix Experience) on drums. This supergroup was put together by John (who gave himself the name, Winston Thigh-Leg), for one performance on the TV show, The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus. It was recorded in 1968, but the show was never released until the 90's

He wrote this song in India, while searching for God and feeling suicidal. He wanted to write some blues, but realized that he couldn't genuinely create the music of the blues artists he listened to in school. So he did a parody of the British blues scene. It reflected the existential question being asked at the time in the British music scene, 'can white people sing the blues?' After all, a white kid growing up in London or Liverpool can't understand the real life experience of an African American in segregated America.

Parody or not, it's still good blues. About 2/3's into the song, it switches to a rock tempo and then ends on a more blues beat. There are various references to British rock and the blues. The Dirty Mac is a parody of Fleetwood Mac.

His mother is of the sky his father of the earth (and he is the universe) is an interesting reversal I noticed of Eastern philosophy, which applies the feminine to the earth, and the masculine to the sky or heaven. Perhaps a parody also of white boys imitating eastern philosophy?

This was John's first live performance since 1966, and I think the first one without the Beatles. It probably got him to want to do the later live performances the Beatles did.