Illustration by Nathan Ota
 
Bradley Beesley’s nitty gritty documentary Hill Stomp Hollar is a captivating look into the world of Mississippi bluesman R.L. Burnside, his friends, family and record label.

Featuring Burnside collaborator Jon Spencer and fellow musicians Cedell Davis, Junior Kimbrough and T-Model Ford, Beesley’s style is unobtrusive, leaving it to the musicians to tell their hard-bitten tales.

While Hill Stomp Hollar focuses much of its attention on Burnside’s record label Fat Possum, who’ve been in and out of all kinds of financial and legal hassles, the thrill is in watching the blues legends talk about their lives and play their music. And the studio footage with the Jon Spencer Explosion is dynamite.

T. model Ford, a convicted killer, didn’t pick up a guitar until he was 50 and it wasn’t until he was 77 that he released his first album. Proof you’re never too old to rock and roll.

“My Momma told me if I messed around and played the blues, I was gonna go to Hell.” Cedell Davis
 

 
Watch the rest of the whole damn thing after the jump…

 
Well, it’s been almost fifteen years and Jarvis Cocker still hasn’t gotten his much deserved knighthood for jumping onstage during Michael Jackson’s ludicrous “messianic” performance at the 1996 Brit awards when the King of Pop implied he had the power to heal children and sick people. While the incident is well-known, of course, in the UK, this story is less known outside of Britain.

As Cocker told BBC’s Question Time in 2009:

“He was pretending to be Jesus. I’m not religious but I think, as a performer myself, the idea of someone pretending to have the power of healing is just not right. Rock stars have big enough egos without pretending to be Jesus – that was what got my goat, that one particular thing.”

Cocker and his friend, former Pulp member Peter Mansell jumped onstage and caused comic confusion before being led off by security. It was reported at the time that Jarvis “mooned” Jackson (that’s what I always believed) but this is not true at all.

The incident itself, which took place on live television. GENIUS!!! Even if you’ve seen it before, it’s still laugh out loud funny.
 

 
 
The police detained the Pulp frontman on suspicion of assault. A former attorney, comedian Bob Mortimer represented Cocker, who was released without charge.

Noel Gallagher, of Oasis proclaimed, “Jarvis Cocker is a star and he should be given an MBE.” Clearly the editors of the Melody Maker felt the same way. I was already a huge Pulp fan at the time, but this made me love them—and their lanky, fashionable and intellectual frontman—all the more.

After the jump, Jarvis Cocker’s press conference about the incident, Cocker looking back on the Brit awards stage invasion in 2009 and how the story was reported on at the time in Amercia..

 
There appears to be a meme war brewing with Cat Flag.

(via Derek Erdman’s Facebook)

 
And in other birthday news, singer-songwriter Daniel Johnston is turning 50-years-old on January 22nd and if you want to wish him a happy birthday, there is a call in number where you can do just that.

If you dial (936) 463-4688 you will hear a message from Daniel and afterwards you can record your birthday greeting. Callers are asked to “tell a story, sing Daniel a song, cover one of his songs, or anything else that lets Daniel, and his fans, know how much he means to you and to the world of music. Throw on a party hat if you got one, and leave any message you want. Any length you want. Anything goes.”

Many of the messages will air on a special edition of his new podcast, Daniel Johnston Radio on January 22nd at 8pm CT. The live birthday show will also include Daniel’s music, stories and special musical guests.

Below, the trailer from Jeff Feuerzeig’s brilliant documentary, The Devil and Daniel Johnston.
 

 
Soul singer and percussionist Vin Cardinal left his home in Trinidad and moved to Sweden where he became a pop star in the 1960s. With his band The Queens, Cardinal toured throughout Europe and recorded several albums which were regional hits. In the early 1970s, he moved to the States and signed with Motown but never attained the popularity Stateside that he enjoyed in Sweden.

Vin is still alive and playing the club circuit.

This beautifully shot 1967 video of Vin and The Queens performing at the Bilzen Jazz And Rock Festival in Belgium is one of the coolest things I’ve seen in awhile. The Queens are divine and Vin is a knockout of a singer. Man, would I love to see a re-union gig.

The video credit gets Vin’s name wrong. It’s Cardinal, not “Cardinale.”
 

 
“Dub Revolution Ina China.”  Jiang Liang Sound vs. Chinese propaganda footage and the “party is boundless.”

Jiang Liang is upholding a long and honored tradition that goes all the way back to when Leslie Kong left China in the late 1950s and opened a record store in Kingston, Jamaica. In 1962 he produced Bob Marley’s first two singles. Randy Chin, Byron Lee, The Chung Brothers, Herman Chin-Loy were Jamaican-based Chinese ex-patriots who were all involved with the production of seminal reggae tracks in the 1960s and 70s. Roots music is indeed multi-cultural.

Revolutions come out of the barrels of subwoofers.
 

 
Thanks Mark Kamins.

Saunders on shrooms.
 
Bryan Lewis Saunders is a visual artist, musician and brain addled fucking dopefreak genius. Don’t stare at his self-portraits for too long or they’ll invade your soul like a swarm of amphetamine-crazed humming birds. Saunders’ approach to the demons inside his head is to unscrew the lid.

On March 30th 1995, I started doing at least one Self-Portrait everyday for the rest of my life. At present I have over 7,900 of them. Like fingerprints, snowflakes and DNA they are all different, no two are the same.  For hundreds of years, artists have been putting themselves into representations of the world around them. I am doing the exact opposite. I put the world around me into representations of myself as I find this more true to my Central Nervous System.”

Pay a visit to Saunders website and see what sleep deprivation, massive amounts of chemicals and divine intoxication can do to a man.
 

 
Thanks for the turn on I Heart Chaos

 
BB Submitterator’s Sailors Girl says:

The band playing the theme to this 1970’s Japanese TV series remains unknown, but if there is a better example of Japanese glam rock and giant robots committed to 45 out there I haven’t heard it.

I have to agree, the theme song for Super Robot Mach Baron is pretty incredible. If any DM reader knows who this band is… do tell!
 

 
Having more in common with the MC5 than the British Invasion groups, Coventry, England’s raw and explosive The Boys Blue shoulda been contenders. This 1966 performance on Italy’s Studio Uno TV program is dynamite. Lead singer Jeff Elroy (looking a bit like Arthur Lee) had a great voice, cool moves and star power. 

The Boys Blue released one single in 1965: “Take Heart”/“You Got What I Want.” The record failed to become a hit and the band faded into obscurity. Too bad. These guys had IT.