Nellie, The Nudist Queen - Ross and Sargent

Now, some creditors came calling at a clearing in the hills,

And asked to see a statement that would justify her bills.

When they viewed her liabilities, the atmosphere was tense,

But when she showed her assets, her assets were immense!

It's time to enjoy a twee and titillating Tuesday with 'Nellie, The Nudist Queen' from 1933 by Stuart Ross and John Sargent.

It's hard to find much info about the record beyond the names of the songwriters. Described as a comedy duet with piano, in many ways the song is a prototype for the skewed pop that Spike Jones began producing a few years later.

If anyone out there has any info on Ross and Sargent drop us a line! Maybe they were nudists! I hope so! The world needs to know!

Poisoning Pigeons In The Park - Tom Lehrer

I don't really have much to add about Dr. Demento favourite Tom Lehrer. If you must know, he's a singer-songwriter who wrote and performed an enormous amount of (often darkly) comic music. He's also a polymath and reknowned mathematician. He did That Song that lists the Elements to the tune of Major-General's Song from The Pirates of Penzance.

More to the point, why are you reading instead of playing a song about poisoning pigeons? Stop right now and listen!

Happy Saturday!

Tipitina - Professor Longhair

If you recently discovered Tipitina off of Hugh Laurie's album, allow me to throw a little grit, sweat and soul in your eyes with the original. We're going to dirty things up to wash away Mr. Laurie's take on the inimitable Professor Longhair:

Professor Longhair – Tipitina

Professor Longhair is one of the fathers of blues piano, introducing a funk and swing to the music via the rhumba rhythms of his native Louisiana that would come to be defined as the New Orleans Piano sound. He spent the early part of his life hustling on the street till he turned to the piano in earnest in the late 1940s and early 50s. Recordings from this period were collected on the 1972 album New Orleans Piano, and it's on this record where we can find not just one but two versions of Tipitina.

The Professor has a marvelous way of making music with intensely infectious energy that manages to sound completely laid back, as if he sat down to jam one day and just happened to play a masterpiece. It's the feeling of your shirt sticking to your back from hours of dancing without you having to move a muscle. It's the melody of laughing with friends even if your friends are a world away. It's the sound of a world buzzing and humming while you catch a nap.