Alki Point, Seattle and The Ventures-esque Stylings of Takeshi Terauchi and The Blue Jeans - Hippie Love Turbo Radio Show - Code Word "Endive"

On this episode of Hippie Love Turbo, on KUCR 88.3 FM you heard a fun, mostly instrumental, song by The Jesters named after the Seattle neighborhood Alki Point. While talking about the song I mispronounced Alki Point as Al-key rather than Al-kai (pronounced like the ki in kite) and, ironically, towards the end of the show you heard a song by Marc Bolan (lead singer/songwriter for T.Rex) and I mentioned that there is a scene in the 2017 film Baby Driver where the lead character is embarrassed by his love interest, Debora, when she corrects his mispronunciation of T.Rex as Trex. Oh well. Wouldn't be the first time I didn't say something correctly and certainly won't be the last!

Trex?

Anywho, Alki Point is a lovely peninsula in Seattle that is known for its coastal views that include both downtown Seattle and the Olympic Mountains. When most people think of Alki Point they are thinking about Alki Beach where tourists like to gather during the warmest months, which there aren't many. The beach has served as a backdrop for small to mid-sized concerts over the years such as Sub Pop’s 30th Anniversary Party in 2018. 

Photo by Asahel Curtis Photo Company (1914)

 

Continuing along the coast of Alki Point are the expected eateries, a handful of small parks, as well as, a few landmarks including: the Alki Point Lighthouse and 8 and a half foot-high copy of the Statue of Liberty which was donated to the neighborhood as part of the Boy Scouts 1950 campaign themed Strengthen The Arm of Liberty. Although 200 replicas were distributed to various cities across the US, many have been removed or replaced over the years. In fact, the statue that sits in Alki Point is a copy of the original which had to be replaced due to damage caused by the natural aging process and vandalism. Appropriately, Alki Point was settled and partially founded by a New Yorker named Lee Terry and who had originally named the settlement "New York Alki."

Towards the middle of the show, you heard another instrumental song, this time by Takeshi Terauchi and The Blue Jeans. Takeshi, aka Terry, was in several groups over the years with his Ventures style guitar work being the main focus. If you dig The Ventures you'll like Terauchi's early work with The Blue Jeans, especially the 3 volumes of Beat! Beat! Beat! which includes a couple far out covers such as: The House of The Rising Sun and Please Mr. Postman. If you aren't a fan of overly polished studio work from the 80's I'd say you should avoid their 25th anniversary album although, as I discussed in a previous episode, that kind of sound can have its own charming aesthetics.

Thanks for reading the blog and be sure to listen over the air on KUCR 88.3FM on Saturdays at 9pm or through KUCR.org! If you'd like, you can also listen to KUCR through Radio Garden or Tune-In.

You can listen to this episode's playlist below:

 

4 Score - Mini-Skirt
Mustache Wax - I'm Gonna Get You
The Squiremen Four - Bitter End

Takeshi Kitano's Violent Cop! Hippie Love Turbo Radio Show - Code Word "Plantain"

On this episode of Hippie Love Turbo, on KUCR 88.3 FM you heard Ty Wagner's garage rock classic I'm A No-Count and I spoke about how he was off the radar until he discovered used copies of his singles were selling for a decent price online and that there was a demand for his return. Ty only released a couple singles during the '60s, I'm A No-Count/Walking Down Lonely Street (1965) and Slander/I Think I Found Love (1966), which had some regional airplay but fell into obscurity until they were rediscovered on compilations such as Back From The Grave Volume 7 (1988) and Keb Darge And Cut Chemist Present: The Dark Side (2017). Around 2013/2014 Ty returned to the music scene as he began preforming live again, recorded some new material, and released another single featuring Misery Train/Soul Exercise which he had recorded in 1967. Interestingly, Ty Wagner is also known as Downtown Dennis and has a real estate company in Everett, WA. If you'd like to know more about Mr.Wagner there's a fairly comprehensive article written about him here. 

For this episode's film recommendation I present to you Takeshi Kitano's 1989 action/crime drama Violent Cop. Prior to directing Violent Cop Takeshi Kitano was most well known for his comedic roles on Japanese television and his role as Sgt. Gengo Hara in the 1983 war film Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence starring David Bowie. Reader's may also recognize him as Vic Romano from the Spike TV show Most Extreme Elimination Challenge which was a edited and modified version of Kitano's Japanese game show Takeshi's Castle. In fact, Kitano has had a long and interesting career where he's dipped his toes into various forms of media including: comics, television, painting, and perhaps most strangely, video games with one of the most unusual games ever made, Takeshi no Chōsenjō. Although he's not a household name in the U.S. he remains incredibly popular in Japan.

Violent Cop follows the tough-minded detective Azuma and his rookie partner Kikuchi as they become intertwined in a case involving their colleagues and a local drug ring. However, the plot is fairly loose and meanders as Azuma displays his brand of tough justice a-la Dirty Harry. The flowing nature of the plot helps develop Azuma's character as a sort of wandering force of nature. Azuma is detached from reality as if he's merely watching his own actions unfold before him, unable to control his own destiny.  

The world of Violent Cop is without remorse and just about every character lacks moral agency which leads to a few surprising (and often violent) interactions. Although the violence in the film doesn't feel overly gory (maybe I'm the wrong person to make that distinction) there are a couple instances where it seems as if Kitano had truly assualted his costars. The whole thing is a wild ride that has just the right amount of tension which leads to an explosively simple, yet unexpected ending. If you are a fan of gritty low-budget crime films I'd say this is one to add to your list.

As a somewhat unrelated aside, I noticed a mask that was used as a prop in the film's introduction matches a mask that I had used in an unrealized installation of sorts that I was working on when I thought I'd someday become an artist. Spooky, isn't it?

You can listen to this week's playlist below:

 

The Kingsmen - (You Got) The Gamma Goochee
Tom Thumb - You're Gonna Miss Me
The Youngsters - Abertura
Downliners Sect - Glendora