Category Archives: embalmed ones

embalmed ones, those included in the present classification

A song for this season

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So the original 5-song live EP by the Viper and His Famous Orchestra, A Song for All Seasons, is now available for sale through CD Baby, and should show up soon on iTunes and other digital sale sites as well. And below, I’m trying out CD Baby’s html code that’s supposed to let you buy the CD directly from this page.

Let’s see if it works:

Buy the CD
A Song for All Seasons
click to order

OK. Not the most subtle thing in the world. But there you have it. May it serve you well.

In any case, here’s the info on the CD that you’ll find on CD Baby, and I hope to type in and upload the original liner notes from it at some point as well:

A Song for All Seasons was recorded live at two Champaign, Illinois watering holes: Mike & Molly’s (April 29, 1999) and The Highdive (February 20 & 24, 2000). The musicians of the Orchestra are The Viper (baritone ukulele, tiple, lead vocals), Riley Broach (double bass, trumpet kazoo, and vocals), Edward Burch (suitcase, other percussion, straight-but-not-narrow kazoo, and vocals), Rob Henn (trombone, trombone kazoo, egg, and vocals), and guest violinist/sawist Colin McKoy on “Limehouse Blues” and “Whispering.” The cover art is by Edward Burch, with photographs by Rachel Leibowitz, modeled on a 1960s LP of the same title by harpist Robert Maxwell (Decca DL-74609).

Meanwhile, you can also read this earlier post that describes how and why Edward Burch designed the great cover art for the CD.

embalmed ones

I’m not talkin’ about catching no dogfish…

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…I’m talking about sharkin’.


(download here)

The line is, of course, from Jaws, and it’s what the grizzled old island fisherman, Quint, says after he scratches his nails on the blackboard to get attention at the town meeting.

Like the “Zilch” from a few days ago, this was a quickly put-together track to test out some music-making software — in this case an old, free version of ComputerMuzys that came attatched to the cover of a magazine I bought a couple years ago. I’m sure this software — sequencer, sampler, mixer — is quite out of date, but then so, I suppose, is the banjo ukulele.

I basically tweaked their test/instructional tracks until it sounded like this, and recorded the “vocal” using the headphone mic from my ill-fated attempt at voice-activated word processing (which is how I thought I’d be able to grade papers while holding a sleeping Irene after she was born).

I’ll note that I seem to have been scooped:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H40if9Wq0RA

And here’s the scene in question from the movie (as long as it stays up):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfRC8fmAaII

…or I’d least I’d thought it was, until I watched it and then looked it up. This is Quint’s big scene in the movie, and he says something like this about “not fishing for bluegills,” but it’s actually Hooper who mentions “dogfish” later in the movie, after Quint says “Mr. Hooper, I’m not talkin’ about pleasure boatin’ or daily sailin’. I’m talkin’ about workin’ for a livin’. I’m talkin’ about sharkin’!”