Saturday, September 30, 2006

Halloween Stomp (1990 Jass Records J-CD-623)


This is my first attempt at posting a full album. Please leave comments and let me know how it goes. This CD was released in 1990 by Jass Records, it features 27 tracks of jazz and big band dance music for a haunted house party. Found a better copy of the cover (thanks Mike). Here's the track listing--

1. The Haunted House - New Mayfair Dance Orch. (1931)
2. Shivery Stomp - Frankie Trumbauer & Orch. (1929)
3. Mysterious Mose - Radio All-Star Novelty Orch. (1930)
4. Boogy Man Is Here - Tom Gerun & Orch. (1930)
5. Haunting Blues - Red Nichols & His Five Pennies (1931)
6. Bug-A-Boo - Red Nichols & His Five Pennies (1931)
7. Got The Jitters - Don Redman & Orch. (1934)
8. Boogie Man - Todd Rollins & Orch. (1934)
9. House Is Haunted (By The Echo Of Your Last Goodbye) - Glen Gray & Casa Loma Orch. (1934)
10. Zombie - Gene Kardos & Orch. (1934)
11. Mr. Ghost Goes To Town - Louis Prima & Orch. (1936)
12. Skeleton In The Closet - Matt Gonella & His Georgians (1937)
13. Goblin Band - Glen Gray & Casa Loma Orch. (1937)
14. Hell's Bells - Sid Peltyn & Orch. (1933)
15. With Her Head Tucked Under Her Arm - Rudy Valle & His Connecticut Yankees (1937)
16. The Black Cat - Ozzie Nelson & Orch. (1938)
17. Strange Enchantment - Skinnay Ennis & Orch. (1939)
18. Ghost of Smokey Joe - Cab Calloway & Orch. (1939)
19. Ol' Man Mose Ain't Dead - Nat Cole & King Cole Trio (1939)
20. Swingin' At The Seance - Glen Miller & Orch. (1941)
21. Fanfare/Cherokee (Theme) - Charlie Barnet & Orch. w/ Peggy Lee (1946)
22. Old Man Mose Is Dead - Charlie Barnet & Orch. w/ Peggy Lee (1946)
23. Pompton Turnpike - Charlie Barnet & Orch. w/ Peggy Lee (1946)
24. Redskin Rhumba - Charlie Barnet & Orch. w/ Peggy Lee (1946)
25. Haunted Heart - Tommy Dorsey & Orch. (1950)
26. Headless Horseman - Kay Starr & Billy Butterfield Quintet (1949)
27. Dry Bones (Head Bone Connected To The Neck Bone) - Tommy Dorsey & Orch. (1950)

***Link updated - June 24, 2007***

Click below to download--

--> Halloween Stomp <--

Sunday, September 24, 2006

This Is Halloween...


Beginning October 1st, I will be posting some spooky music and photos. I have a couple of out of print CD's and a whole bunch of my favorite single tracks that I will be putting up for your listening pleasure. I hope to post something at least every couple of days (if I have the time). This is my favorite time of year, I really enjoy the cool crisp air, the leaves changing colors and all of the ghouls, ghosts & monsters roaming around.

Ancient Origins Of Halloween!


This article is from The History Channel.

Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.

To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities.

During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other's fortunes. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.

By A.D. 43, Romans had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain.

The first was Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of "bobbing" for apples that is practiced today on Halloween.

By the 800s, the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands. In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 All Saints' Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs. It is widely believed today that the pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday. The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints' Day) and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween. Even later, in A.D. 1000, the church would make November 2 All Souls' Day, a day to honor the dead. It was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and devils. Together, the three celebrations, the eve of All Saints', All Saints', and All Souls', were called Hallowmas.

Sunday, September 17, 2006

Star Trek Fotonovel & In Search Of Books


The fotonovels are really neat. They have 300 full color photos from a particular episode and retell the story, comic book style. I have #2 'Where No Man Has Gone Before' from 1977. I know when I was younger my brother and I had several of these books. I think we had 'The Trouble With Tribbles', 'City On The Edge Of Forever' and 'The Devil In The Dark'.
I used to watch In Search Of... with Leonard Nimoy all the time in the late 70's and early 80's. My favorite episodes were the ones about Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster and other such creatures. This book is from 1976.

Sunday, September 10, 2006

Mego Star Trek - Mission To Gamma VI Playset (1975)

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Star Trek, I thought I'd talk about some of the collectables I had as a youth in the 70's and 80's.
First is The Mission To Gamma VI Playset made by Mego in 1975. My brother and I had most of the Mego Figures along with this playset. It seems pretty cheesy now, but to a nine year old boy in the 70's it was really cool. I think my brother still has a few Mego heads and body parts. All I have left is three of the little aliens from the playset.
Read more about it at The Mego Museum
.

Monday, September 04, 2006

Steve Irwin R.I.P.

"The Crocodile Hunter" was killed by a stingray today. He was stabbed in the heart by it's barbed tail. Read the story here. My son and I used to watch his show all the time. He will be greatly missed.

Here's a version of his theme song from 1996.

Sunday, September 03, 2006

Frankenstein

Frankenstein: The True Story

It seems like me and Bubblegumfink are the only two who cares about this movie coming out on DVD. :) I loved this flick when I was a kid in the 70's.


I got this Telco Frankenstein Motion-ette at a thrift store last week for five bucks. He's pretty cool. Check out more photos of him here.