Thursday, January 07, 2016

MA-13 - Splitting Mad: More Nuclear Numbers

Here's a re-post of a recently re-upped music compilation. 

The goal? to take up where the soundtrack to The Atomic Cafe left off, documenting our society's uneasy relationship with the concept or nuclearity (hey Mom! I just made up a new word!)



Through the manipulation of clip art I keep hoping to be offered a job as a graphics designer of the inept or cheesy sort.

A NOTE ON TRACK 2, "Shh-Boom!": 

The song was first recorded on Atlantic Records' subsidiary label Cat Records by The Chords on March 15, 1954 and would be their only hit song. "Sh-Boom" reached #2 on the Billboard R&B charts and peaked at #9 on the pop charts.  It is sometimes considered to be the first doo-wop or rock 'n' roll record to reach the top ten on the pop charts (as opposed to the R&B charts). This version was ranked #215 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and is the group's only song on the list.

Supposedly the song originated like this:  A group of friends was sitting in a car in their neighborhood, listening to the radio.  An announcer broke in to announce the successful explosion of the world's first H-bomb.  The fellows got to wondering what such a blast would sound like, finally settling on "sh-boom."  Then one of them took this phrase of doom and decided to make a song about it.



   Fireball Boogie         Camille Howard               1948
2   Sh-Boom   The Chords               1953
  Watch World War Three (on Pay TV)         Crown City Four              1960
 The Sun Is Burning    Simon & Garfunkel                1964
 I Come And Stand At Every Door  The Byrds               1966
Atomic Bombs Away Blues Creation 1971
Nuclear Blues Blood Sweat & Tears 1980
Your Attention Please Scars 1981
After the Rain   Comsat Angels 1982
10 99 Red Balloons Nena 1983
11 Party at Ground Zero Fishbone 1985
12 Protect And Survive The Dubliners 1987
13 Everyday Is Like Sunday Morrissey 1988
14 I Like Chinese Monty Python 1989
15 April 2031 Warrant 1992
16 Nuclear Supremacy Dayglo Abortions 1995
17 Jesus Hits Like an Atomic Bomb Chanticleer 2004
18 Bring Back the Bomb GWAR 2004
19 Brighter Than A Thousand Suns  Iron Maiden 2006
20 The Iranian Bomb Tal Gilad 2011



 The final track, originally from 2011, seems as likely to come true now as then.


See you Monday!

 

Tuesday, January 05, 2016

Memory Lane - Starlog Magazine - SNL's "The Last Voyage of the Starship Enterprise"

From Starlog #14, cover-dated June, 1978 ....






The illos by Jack Rickard, in the style of Mort Drucker or Jack Davis, are a lot of fun.  And the performance by the SNL cast, aided by guest star Elliott Gould, is so much fun to watch.

A Wikipedia article gives you too much info.

See you next time.  Happy New Year!
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© by Mark Alfred