Two Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 Solo Projects

Reviews from Trouser Press:
-Mr. (Brian) Hageman's solo album, Twin Smooth Snouts, is a little simpler than full TFUL282 music and also less accessible. He usually uses one or two contrasted or combined sounds (as opposed to the Fellers' four or five), retaining the band's loose, detuned string sound; his lyrical imagery is cryptic, thick and vaguely country-ish. He mostly sings in a monotone, and his instrumentals drag on (great titles, though: "Johnosaurus Wayne," "Shave the Gum," "Hamburger Pharmacy"). There are some nice touches, like the sound of a vibrator, erhu, car radio and metal rod, and creative stereo separation. "Rosa" transforms a traditional Cuban melody into a bar-room ballad.
-Going under the name the White Shark, goofier, odder Feller Mark Davies (wears skirts, plays banjo) is behind the Muggy Bog EP. A cheerful and complex musical vision, its wry lightness is based on the oddness of ordinary beauty: the chorus of "Waiting for the Day" is "doing the dishes, scrubbing the dog, getting out of bed and going to work" (of course, the day he's waiting for is the Apocalypse ). One song is sung from the point of view of mosquitoes ("We suck blood as a means to survive"); "Sodium Chloride" is a mini-musical about a man addicted to salt. There are also extraneous covers of Rod McKuen and Burt Bacharach.
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Go figure Fellers side projects would be wacky listens. Each does its own thing and is enjoyable in its own way. A must for TFUL 282 addicts and something different for anyone else.

Twin Smooth Snouts:

http://www.mediafire.com/?7364ai5z4pj9dzu

Muggy Bog:

http://www.mediafire.com/?jhjoha981ilmtqi

Jo Ann Castle and Crazy Otto- One Album Each

(click on the picture for a great example of the good ol' back cover write up)

Found both of these records at Goodwill the other day, and it's not too surprising that they both came from the same person's collection (the name Dupuis is written on both covers). Two great ragtime/honky tonk piano albums, each in their own way.
Jo Ann Castle- 12 Great Hits in Ragtime
I recognized the name Jo Ann Castle from "Incredibly Strange Music Vol. 1," even though she was playing accordion on that, the lightning pace, lightness, and accuracy of her frantic playing remains. Its only weakness is the one song that adds overly wholesome vocals...would've been much better as an instrumental.
Crazy Otto- Golden Award Songs
Crazy Otto (classical pianist Fritz Schulz-Reichel) takes a much looser approach, using a de-tuned piano he calls his "Tipsy Wire Box." He also occasionally sings along, non-verbally, in a drunken Germanic slur sounding like it was picked up by the piano mic, to fantastic effect. Check out liner notes above. Great record.

both albums in one file:

http://www.mediafire.com/?hg5c2su4wvsccya

2 Elvis 45's

What can I say, not everything he did was all that great, but when he was on, he was ON. My parent's old pile of Elvis 45's is pretty much all the Elvis I've ever had (other than the fantastic "Tiger Man" CD from the 68 Comeback, which showed he had a much better sense of humor about himself than any other superstar I can think of). Unfortunately his (early) kind of showmanship (lays it on thick, but doesn't overdo it) is a thing of the past. Plus, if someone can get me into sappy love songs, then they've really got some fucking talent.

1) (Marie's the Name) His Latest Flame
2) Little Sister
3) One Night
4) I Got Stung

http://www.mediafire.com/?epd91s416xlpdde

World Of Pooh- The Land Of Thirst

World Of Pooh was Barbara Manning, Brendan Kearney, and Jay Paget (from Thinking Fellers Union Local 282) from late 80's San Francisco. I have to plead ignorance to Barbara Manning because I only came across this a a huge TFUL 282 fan, but it's definitely got me curious. It is kind of like a more accessible less weirdo spastic version of TFUL 282, but by no means an ordinary pop group. Maybe if this album had come out in '93, instead of '89, it would've gotten a hell of a lot more attention. Well, all the young folk these days seem to be all about everything 90's (goddam 20 year pop culture recycle program) so maybe this'll will get more attention, or re-issued...
I unfortunately forget about this album most of the time, I guess because I don't have a physical copy. I have no idea how so many fucking people only listen to music on computers, for some reason it just can't hold my attention quite as well and I miss out on a lot of stuff. I guess I need to get over that...just a little, at least.

http://www.mediafire.com/?qh3x38q4gw6cs9s