John and Yoko - $1200

John Cage and Merce Cunningham - $800

Harold and Maude - Sold
 
Here’s a fantastic collection of wedding cake toppers by seattle based artist Mike Leavitt. It’s totally worth a look. From Mike Leavitt’s website:

No longer shall little random plastic people rule the top of your cake. Why suffer the cruelty of impersonal sculpture poisoning the cake frosting you lick from your fingers? Weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, retirement, online bingo… The cake topper figurines can be of any person in any style. Some ‘cake toppers’ aren’t even the bride and groom, just plain loved ones. The finished figures are protected and sealed from any frosting surface damage. For further protection, they aren’t posable with the multiple body part pieces like the action figures. These are finely crafted sculptures that will be enjoyed as long as the union of love that they honor.

(via The Jailbreak)

 
Edison Lighthouse was a bunch of British session musicians who were fronted by a most excellent singer by the name of Tony Burrows, who had a pervious chart success as one of The Flowerpot Men with Let’s Go to San Francisco. (Nick Simper and Jon Lord, later of Deep Purple were also in the group and there is an in-joke reference to the Flowerpot Men in This is Spinal Tap.). Edison Lighthouse had one worldwide hit single, Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes, which sold millions of copies throughout 1970. Burrows was basically the voice and persona for songwriter/record producers Tony Macaulay and Barry Mason.
 

 
At one point the trio had four nearly simultaneous entrants to the pop record charts, all of which are posted here. If you are, ahem, of a certain, cough, age, you will probably know at least two of these songs, if not all four (guilty). These guys all had especially impressive batting averages when it came to creating hit records, together and separately.

Amusingly, when I was looking at the various YouTube videos of Tony Burrows-fronted groups, some of the Edison Lighthouse music videos had him in them, but others have another guy lip-syncing to his vocals. The other “band members” seem to be hired actors, too.
 

 
Here he is again, with the Brotherhood of Man performing United We Stand, Divided We Fall. Of course this was a second worldwide smash and I remind you, released within weeks of the Edison Lighthouse hit. Lest you think that Top of the Pops presenter Jimmy Saville was wearing the same groovy Nehru jacket each week on TOTP, this clip was culled from the very same show, broadcast January 29, 1970. In fact, Burrows was actually onstage a third time in that same show and was unofficially black-listed from the program for years, lest the audience think the pop charts were rigged in favor of this one singer! (The ban notwithstanding, he returned to TOTP but a few weeks later as one of The Pipkins.)
 

 
Next up was My Baby Love Lovin’ by the White Plains, yet a third huge hit.
 

 
And finally in June of 1970 came Gimme Dat Ding under the name The Pipkins. Gimme Dat Ding was used as background music on The Benny Hill Show and was in Ally McBeal several times when Peter MacNicol’s character would do his “Angry Dance” to it. Quite an amazing string of hits, I think you’ll agree! Tony Burrows resurfaced in 1976 as the singer of First Class and scored another popular hit with Beach Baby. Burrows is still performing today.

(above: Heita, daughter, aokubi daikon)
 
Surely the key to ultimate happiness must be in the creating of wind instruments out of a variety of vegetables, because this gentlemen, known simply as Heita, is just preternaturally happy. Just look at his magical wares ! It’s nice that he’s not trying too hard to present it as “serious” music so much, more that it’s just so delightful that musical sound is coming out of this produce ! Can you believe it ?
 

 
Many more homemade vegetable instruments : Heita 3’s Youtube channel
 
Allee Willis’ Blog – Plastic Fruit & Vegetable People and The Most Talented Man You’ve Ever Seen Playing Music On Vegetables
 
thx Richard !

 
Sorry to hear this sad news about Mick Karn, whose distinctive rubbery bass lines fueled the lush sound of 80s new wave group, Japan (and the brief Dali’s Car project with Peter Murphy from Bauhaus):

With great sadness we regret to inform you that Mick has recently been diagnosed with advanced stages of cancer. Mick is currently in a positive mood and undergoing further tests and treatment. His family and friends are close with him, supporting him in practical ways, and surrounding him with their love, friendship and care.

Mick has been struggling financially for some considerable time now and we are hoping that this appeal may help to raise funds for any necessary treatment and perhaps go some way towards providing a small degree of financial support whilst Mick’s immediate family provide the care and comfort we would all wish for him. We are hoping that his friends, fans and musical colleagues will, over the coming months, offer any support they feel capable of giving. Quite aside from the sheer brunt of daunting medically-related costs, Mick’s clear and major concern is for the security and well being of his wife and young son.

If you would like to make a donation whether as an individual or as a group, you can do so via the PayPal link which has been set up for this sole and express purpose. Any support you are able to give, no matter how small, could make a difference in helping Mick cope during this difficult period. His friends will be looking at a variety of ways to raise funds.

Messages of support for Karn can be left on the forum boards here. Japan’s Steve Jansen is donating the proceeds from portraits of Karn sold on his website to the Mick Karn Appeal. The images for sale can be seen here.

 
Above, Japan perform Gentlemen Take Polaroids. Below, Mick Karn and Peter Murphy perform as Dali’s Car on The Old Grey Whistle Test.
 

 
Music by Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips.

 
“The Mashin’ of the Christ,” an amazing short film set to Negativland’s “Christianity is Stupid.” Made by Negativland, i.d. and Heath Hanlin. From the Our Favorite Things DVD. (I just bought it today, it’s awesome.)

Want to know more about the preacher on the song? Previously on Dangerous Minds:

Christploitation Cinema: If Footmen Tire You, What Will Horses Do?

Negativland’s Mark Hosler discusses the making of Christianity is Stupid (YouTube)

 
Right on, Macca !
 
Crooks and Liars: Get the Waaaaaaahmbulance, stat! Paul McCartney disses W, and Republicans have a hissy

(via Nerdcore)

 
My wonderful old friend that I miss terribly, the late, great Jac Zinder was a true visionary pioneer in his pursuit of the artifacts of non-western cultures existing within our diverse city long before the notion of “world music” ever became commonplace. Much like his close friend Jonathan Gold‘s endless uncovering of the huge spectrum of the foods of these cultures hiding in plain sight all around us, Jac was constantly finding amazing musical gems to stun his friends with, buying endless cassettes of Bollywood soundtracks at the many local Indian movie theaters long before it was even remotely hip to do so and then playing them in DJ sets all over town. This one tune in particular, by Indian film score master Bappi Lahiri, will always remind me of him, perhaps more than any other. Like Jac himself, this song is sublimely ridiculous. It’s such a strange approximation of disco that it could almost pass for a track by Flying Lizards. It features some of the most brutal Synare playing ever recorded !

 
Bonus: A brief clip of the actual number and another lovely tune from the film Morchha

 
Quite a polarizing and still edgy sounding 1981 single by The Work. The Work being Henry Cow founder Tim Hodgkinson’s early 80’s post-punk combo. Sounding every bit like their studio mates This Heat having a battle royale with Captain Beefheart‘s Magic Band, this violently convulsive tune is the very definition of apoplectic rage. And this was only 1981 ! Imagine how angry this would have been had it been recorded in the Bushco era ! Fortunately there’s enough bile in this track to apply to any other past or future outrage you’d care to. Art rock sticking it to the man !
 

 

 
LA FOLIE DU JOUR: THE WORK ” I Hate America” (UK,1981)