11 posts tagged “petty booka”
Born To Be Wild
Petty Booka ~ Fujiayama Mama
Really, what can I say besides, "You're welcome!"
Well, at least it is displaced. At least until next karaoke night.
Tuning up the livery has embedded mechanical sounds in my diagnostic ears, and I couldn't be happier. Does this valve need a shim? Is the belt tension too tight on the generator? It's a symphony under there, I tell you.
Rain On The Roof
Petty Booka ~ Singin' In The Rain
Every song on this album is about rain. PB's early use of diverse styles is apparent on this album. Hawaiian is most prevalent, but heavy swayed with tinges of folk, pop, mountain and, oddly enough, Carribean ska. Believe it!
Most people are soothed by sounds of rain. Or an ocean. Or even a freeway. Perhaps because I was a kid in the 70s/80s, at least a dozen parents of people I know told of driving their infinck around the block a few times in the back of a VW Beetle to lull them to sleep.
Nighty night, little gearhead.
Such is the refrain in nearly every line of this song. I had an initial aversion to posting this song title. Then I recalled that this pejorative was largely the domain of middle school (at least in the 70s) among kids who didn't know sex from a kissing booth. They usually used it to refer to someone, anyone, who thwarted their own attempts to get closer at a school dance or "go with" somebody. The best was using the term to DETER boys from being interested in her...about as effective as 'abstinence-only' sex-ed.
Cool Baby Slut
The Flamenco A Go Go ~ Fully Fed Freaks
"Shut your mouth, that's the better way,
Close your eyes, that's the better way,
Cover your ears, so that's the better way,
So I don't need to..."
Who knew lo-fi J-teens could be so insightful?
Today's track is for my dear Kiki, who is teaching her first day in the 5th grade. Yes, the smelly ones...old enough for attitude, young enough to need approval and be easily outsmarted. Basically, they're 23 year olds.
Petty Booka ~ Let's Talk Dirty in Hawaiian
This classic originally sung by Doris Day, of which my film professor in Cincinnati said, "I knew her before she was a virgin." He was referring, of course, to how the studios cast and marketed her.
I love this song's clever turn of phrase and double entendre.
Yes, I know. Again with the Petty Booka?! Good heaven above, every time I think they're played out, I'm reminded how incredibly diverse this band is. Not only have they mastered an incredible array of genres, they combine them in ways that are inexplicably coherent. Take this example favorited by our good friend IQ:
Uska Dara - My Boy Lollipop
Petty Booka ~ Dancing With Petty Booka (Tokyo Dancehall Music)
...even if he was just being nice, he's always sincere. To me, it's just staggering how two completely different styles are matched up with an underlying rhythm that feels almost like ska. Brilliant!
So IQ, this one's for you.
(because it's driving my wife cray-zay)
So I've abstained from Petty Booka for about as long as I could. No matter how much the mosh, I can't shake my first generations from the farm roots...even if it is sung by two high-pitched Japanese girls.
Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young
Petty Booka ~ Fujiyama Mama
In earlier posts, I celebrated how two girls from Japan can lay down more authentic American country music. Here the gals dust off the Faron Young classic of hedonism and reckless abandon. For them, it may be over-cuddling Hello Kitty and dying of a sugar overdose. Nah, Petty Booka ain't really that soft.
Though it may be the opposite of anti-social, it's still fatalistic enough to kick some ass.
Yes. You read right. That's part of the title of what might well be the happiest song I've ever heard. You knew I couldn't go this long without posting some more Petty Booka. So here it is.
Sho-Jo-Ji / The Hungry Raccoon
Petty Booka ~ Dancing With Petty Booka
Dancing With Petty Booka is a collection of Tokyo Dancehall Music. Ironically, this album was a somewhat reluctant selection of mine initially, having not recognized all but two titles. Of all their albums it is by far my favorite.
Every song on this album is completely different, exploring every dance step imaginable. In addition to all the Latin cha-chas, sambas, merengues, tangos, etc...all the way to 60s psychedelic go-go and a raucus Turkish number that evolves into "My Boy Lollipop." Crazy good.
On this song, I can make out maybe 40% of the lyrics, and some of those
are 'boy boy boy', 'joy joy joy', 'rum pum pum' and 'macaroon' or 'macaroni.' We used to be
amused seeing and hearing Japanese kids singing Madonna and Prince in
the 80s. I guess now it's their turn to be amused. I love this song so
frikkin' much I'd probably frolic and forrage in a costume for the
video.
Like I mentioned in yesterday's post, I love things with "go" in their name. Go-Karts. Whiskey-A-Go-Go. The most mundane things are transformed with that suffix. Hubcaps-A-Go-Go. Laundry-A-Go-Go. Blog-A-Go-Go (actually that one sounds kinda obscene). I used to see "go-go" in neon at the bars near the steel mills where I grew up. That it had NOTHING to do with Speed Racer or kicky boots was a crushing disappointment when I found out.
The preoccupation with go-go and Petty Booka continues.
I'm Your Mom
Flamenco A Go Go (single)
If the teens in this punk band look familiar, it's because they grew up
to become Petty Booka, pick up ukuleles, etc. and take on world music.
If the adults in this video look familiar, I promise not to tell.
(Footage from the holiday party - karaoke!) I'm a sucker for that
squeaky 60s organ sound.
The hand-held videos of videos on TV...sort of the hi-tek equivalent of the photocopies of photocopied flyers for punk shows in the 80s.
Yet another excuse for my recurring obsession with Petty Booka:
Sophisticated Hula
Petty Booka ~ Let's Talk Dirty In Hawaiian
Here they are performing Kristina's favorite "Hawaiian" classic on a program called Ghoul A Go-Go. If it has "go-go" in its name, it has to be good...or eat least worth a double take.
^ P.S. Please book them for my birthday.
Petty Booka ~ Fujiayama Mama
You've seen plenty of songs from Petty Booka here. It's safe to say there will be plenty more. Here's a bluegrass cover of Fairground Attraction's "Perfect". On their album Fujiyama Mama (named for a Wanda Jackson song), the girls trade their ukes for mandolins. Side A is classic country honky-tonk, while side B is all in a traditional bluegrass style. Falsetto "Born To Be Wild" with mandolin and dobro is ar rare and precious gem.
I commented before about our little trip to Needless Markup Last Call and a sweet jacket I got at a discount. Yes, Neiman Marcus has an OUTLET over in Milpitas that sells things for about what they should cost. Jeez, can I believe I'd even write about shopping? Looking at a small detail of the silk shirt I bought, you'll see why:
Oh, hell yes! Miss Kristina found this gem and addressed me with a smiling "Ahem." I countered with every happy expletive in the book. Other parts of the shirt include route map origins of just about every regional sandwich in America. From the hamburger to the muffuletta, the lobster roll to fish taco. The origins may be debated, but only by those truly devoted to the perfect food: The Sandwich.
One thing missing is the elusive Lake Erie perch. Maybe it's better not to advertise.
