Via Waxy, we are directed to another soundtrack from Louie Zong (see previously) for a fictional albeit believable 1970s style Peanuts holiday special complete with Vince Guaraldi inspired jazz that captures the ethos not only for the shoppers but those working on Black Friday. Other musical segments include Cyber Monday Blues, Buyer’s Remorse, A New Week and Snoopy vs Capitalism. One could imagine the anti-consumerism messages of the limned out television special plus the harried cashiers and store workers just out the frame speaking with muffled trombone voices.
Friday 24 November 2023
oh no—my own dog, gone commercial (11. 137)
Wednesday 15 November 2023
that ain’t nothing—just make me your leading man (11. 121)
Our gratitude to Pasa Bon! for the introduction to the musical stylings of King Solomon through the timely and resonant number Political Rag from his 1978 album Energy Crisis (see also). On the touring circuit as an opening act with the likes of B B King, Etta James and Sammy Davis Junior, originally the artist was not much known outside of local venues in Los Angeles and Las Vegas but later gained recognition for his solo career in funk and experimental music.
synchronoptica
one year ago: assorted links worth revisiting
two years ago: the Free City of Gdaลsk
three years ago: more links to enjoy, the Cluttlers Murder (1959) plus Doc “Joe” Baker
four years ago: animated book covers, more faรงadism plus the ethnography of dialing-codes
five years ago: Little Orphan Annie (1885) plus the musical stylings of Fugiya and Miyagi
Sunday 15 October 2023
queen of jazz (11. 059)
Having recently learned about the career and contributions of the Jazz Age legend Adelaide Hall, we appreciated having her biography limned more fully by the British Newspaper Archive (via Strange Company), gaining an appreciation of how Hall achieved the status of true superstardom in her adoptive UK and was remarkably resilient in her touring and performance schedule, appearing everywhere and adored by audiences. Spanning more than seven decades, Hall was inscribed inscribed in the Guinness Book of World Records among the most enduring recording artists and collaborated with Cab Calloway, Rudy Vallee, Duke Ellington, Josephine Baker and Louis Armstrong among countless others. Here is Hall in 1948 performing one of her signature songs, “A World is Turning,” at the Nightingale Club. More at the links above.
Sunday 24 September 2023
10x10 (11. 020)
osiris-rex: fulfilling a seven-year mission (previously) a space probe to collect samples from an asteroid—with further adventures planned
succession: Rupert Murdoch’s departure from News Corp is a cold-comfort for the millions brainwashed by Fox and Friends
be the first to like this post: more on the meaning and origins of the chain of riders and horses dispatched to send missives—see previously

fanfare: the history and physics of the trumpet
shear madness: 1980 reportage on a cutting-edge hair salon in Kensington
the joke and dagger department: an appreciation of the genius of Spy vs Spy, a political cartoon that wasn’t a political cartoon
3r’s: the Swedish educational system has a renewed emphasis on handwriting, quiet reading time
omni consumer products: New York City police lease a robocop to patrol Times Square subway station as a trial run
all these worlds are yours—except europa, attempt no landing there: the JWST detects carbon on the surface of the Jovian moon
Friday 4 August 2023
10x10 (10. 924)
manufactured crises: distractions and moral panics fabricated by the US GOP and associates
sachal jazz: Pakistani musicians perform a rendition of David Brubeck’s “Take Five” on tabla and sitar with orchestral accompaniment
illuminated text: an unfinished medieval manuscript reveals a step-by-step manual for its making

smiley head: custom screws requiring a special driver—via Pasa Bon!
f-91w: fully-function ring watches from Casio
blogoversary: JWZ turns twenty-five
the partridge family 2200 a.d.: a round up of animated spin-offs
super fun pak: the novelty cards of Pee-wee’s Playhouse
now you’re cooking with gas: the culture wars come to the stove
synchronoptica
one year ago: the invention of champagne (1693), the Zone of Galactic Obscuration plus assorted links to revisit
two years ago: an infamous bugging device discovered (1945), the Lady of Elx, pipe architecture, working against one’s own self-interest plus assorted links worth revisiting
three years ago: more miniatures from Tatsuya Tanaka, St Sithney, the patron saint of dogs plus the birthday of Helen Thomas, Barack Obama
four years ago: sounds lost to lossy compression plus bouba or kiki
five years ago: interviews with author Philip K Dick
Wednesday 19 July 2023
6x6 (10. 895)
choose your own adventure: the rise and fall of type-in narrative games, an addendum to Fifty Years of Text Games (previously)—via Waxy
collective nouns: a group of butterflies is properly a kaleidoscope, whilst a swarm of caterpillars is an army—see more
tayme that crabbe: a medieval guide to food presentation
the blobs are happy in their new, hand-build wizzinator and that’s all that’s important to me right now: experimenting with a fun physics sandbox—see also
jennyanydots: a favourite Mountain Goats’ character returns
Sunday 21 May 2023
8x8 (10. 760)
the four republican “freedoms”: the US GOP manifesto is not geared for governance—see previously
little deuce coupe: modern automaker faithfully fashions the unrealised 1974 Pony by Giorgetto Giugiaro (see also)—unveiled in Lake Como

the heart of the ocean: advanced scanning technique produce a digital twin of the wreck of the Titanic
a corecore experiment: presenting the post-post-post-truth future of AI—see previously
consider the jackalope: more—see also—on this real, taxidermic cryptid’s origins and implications
little darlin: the demo-tape from 1992 from an unknown duo that changed their name after reviewer called them “daft punky trash”—see previously
tax, title and license: the state of Texas to charge electric-vehicle drivers extorted fees to register their cars
Monday 6 February 2023
tetromino (10. 530)
Via the Awesomer, we are treated to the musical stylings of the artist JER and his rendition of the Tetris theme as a super-energising Ska cover. The folksong ‘The Peddlers’ (ะะพัะพะฑะต́ะนะฝะธะบะธ) has a ironical O Henryesque twist—the comedic courtship of two young fabric-sellers takes a tragic turn when one rejects the gift of all of the other’s wares in order to encourage him to stay in the business and ends up being mugged after a successful day of sales—somehow seems ripe for the genre. More chiptune adaptations from The Skatune Network at the link above.
Monday 19 September 2022
last post
Sunday 14 August 2022
everybody wants to rule the tuba (10. 060)
Saturday 2 April 2022
frieden / ะผะธั
H had discovered MEUTE, the techno marching band ensemble, a couple of years ago through their rooftop sessions in Hamburg and were very pleased to be reminded of this absolutely mind-blowing percussive and brass orchestra in their latest performance for peace in Ukraine in an abandoned power-plant (Kraftwerk) in their home town, courtesy of friend of the blog Nag on the Lake. Click through for more information on their recordings and a list of charitable organisations.
Sunday 2 January 2022
eddie calvert & orchestra
The first chart topping hit to come out of the storied Abbey Road recording studio (previously) was the trumpeting-rendition of the nostalgic Swiss-German number “Oh, Mein Papa,” which began a nine-week run on this day in 1954. Known throughout his career as The Man with the Golden Trumpet, Calvert’s other number one hit came the following year with “Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White,” with versions “Miserlou” and “Stranger in Paradise” also later charting.
Monday 23 August 2021
vucanalia
Sunday 27 June 2021
8x8
into the bantaverse: a bot ghost-writes a Star Wars story—see also
green guerrillas: the role that radical gardeners play in fostering community out of urban blight
earth, wind and fire: combine basic elements and create new substancesas an alchemist—via Waxy fourth world: celebrating the life and career of trumpeter and electronic music pioneer Jon Hassell (*1937)in frame: see the untrimmed, original version of Rembrandt’s Night Watch (previously) thanks to the help of a curating algorithm
homo longi: recently discovered ‘dragon man’ skull may be a transitional species from Neanderthal to modern humans
ine bay: hidden, historic boathouses (ไผๆ นใฎ่ๅฑ, funaya) in Kyoto—via Nag on the Lake’s always excellent Sunday Links
the skeleton crew: our friendly artificial intelligencer (previously) trains a neural network to write a horror story
your daily demon: purson
Governing from today through the first of July, the twentieth spirit is an infernal king that commands twenty-two legions. Heralding his own appearance with a mighty blast of trumpets, Purson presents as a man with a lion’s head bearing a viper and astride a bear. Matched with Pahaliah, both with the angelic rank of the Order of Thrones, the demon can be persuaded to reveal the secrets of creation and foster good familiars.
catagories: ๐บ, ๐, myth and monsters
Tuesday 8 December 2020
6x6
message in a bottle: researchers tagged plastic waste with electronic trackers to monitor their journey—from the same team that brought us Mister Trash Wheel
pfizer-biontech: British nonagenarian first to receive the coronavirus vaccinewunderpus photogenicus: deep sea diver photographs an incredible infant octopus with a transparent head
toot your own horn: more butt trumpets and other bizarre imagery in manuscript marginalia
catsa lander mark-1: a gorgeous space-age cat bed—though our feline friends would be more pleased with a shoebox
2014-076a: Hayabusa2 (previously) successfully returns its asteroid sample to Earth
catagories: ⚕️, ๐บ, ๐ท, ๐ญ, environment, lifestyle, Middle Ages
Monday 30 November 2020
b♮
The 1956 sponsored projector-reel short having fallen into obscurity until lambasted as an MST3K episode (previously) interstitial, airing first on this date in 1991 was meant to be shown during class assemblies to encourage budding musicians and was commission by the C.G. Conn company that manufactured and marketed a range of brass instruments.
The eponymous title character is short of an androgynous pixie that embodies the sense of fun in music with an additional biography in their 1957 circular Baton that was issued to American public school music programme teachers—“Mister B Natural is the spirit of music in everyone… a sort of LepreCONN who is always no more than an inch anyway from the fingertips of anyone. Mister B has a code, however, that prohibits him from showing himself for anyone unless he reaches out and calls for the spirit of music.” A withdrawn and reticent pre-teen named Buzz summons Mister B, whom through a range of magic, music and dance convinces him to take up the trumpet. Bruce “Buzz” Podewell (his own nickname, also appearing on Watch Mister Wizard and would have perhaps been familiar to the target audience) went on to become a professor of theatre and dance and taught for four decades at Tulane University in New Orleans. Mister B Natural was the last role of long time (“Knew your father I did”) Broadway and television personality Betty Luster.Saturday 25 January 2020
the wedding march
Originally written as a piece of incidental music for productions of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream around 1842, Felix Mendelssohn’s processional in C Major did not become standard matrimonial canon until when on this day in 1858 it was selected by Victoria, Princess Royal, for her marriage ceremony to Friedrich (“Fritz”) Wilhelm, Prince of Prussia and future albeit short-reigning king—in 1888, the Year of the Three Emperors.
The recessional piece played on the pipe organ is often accompanied with the chorus from Richard Wagner’s Lohengrin (Treulich gefรผhrt but colloquially known as “Here Comes the Bride) or baroque composer Jeremiah Clarke’s Prince of Denmark’s March (Prins Jรธrgens March or Trumpet Voluntary) to play in the bride. Though the first tune may be the most culturally resonant, the last was used as the signature tune and introductory first few bars used by the BBC during broadcasts directed toward Nazi-occupied Denmark during World War II, the march being a symbolic connection between the two kingdoms. For decades afterwards, it remained the call sign of BBC World Service for Europe and was for the Soviet public BBC’s station identification for its Russian language programming. A selection of the melodies are below:
Tuesday 11 September 2018
miss simpson, do you find something funny about the word tromboner?
catagories: ๐ถ, ๐บ, The Simpsons
Wednesday 5 September 2018
i’m like a racing car passing by
Also to mark the occasion of Freddie Mercury’s birthday, the Awesomer brings us the musical stylings of Seb Skelly who delivers a one-man rendition of Queen’s 1978 uplifting song “Don’t Stop Me Now.” Arranged for a brass quintet all performed by Skelly, the sheet music as well as the original version is available at the link above.
catagories: ๐ถ, ๐บ, holidays and observances