Hippie Love Turbo Radio Show - Code Word "Nectarine"

On this episode of Hippie Love Turbo Radio Show, on KUCR 88.3 FM, I decided to keep my rambling brief again but there were a few things that I blabbed about (as is expected). Firstly, I played a song by Bobo Jenkins titled Nothing But Love and I mentioned that he is also known for his song Democrat Blues which was written on Election Day in 1952. Bobo had some reservations about Eisenhower because he felt anxiety towards how Republicans handled the Great Depression.

 

After talking about Bobo Jenkins I mentioned how Ann Brewer and The Flames were inducted into the Kansas Music Hall of Fame back in 2008. Never heard of the Kansas Music Hall of Fame? Well, the music hall is in Beloit, Kansas which is a small town with a population that hovers just below 4,000 and there is a lovely little video that documents the induction here. I'm not to sure about the title of their song that I played which is labeled Rockin' In A Wooden Sack in just about every version I could locate, however, it makes more sense that it would be Rockin' In A Wooden Shack. Who knows?

And quickly we'll go through some other topics I covered on this week's show. You heard some Shocking Blue on the episode and I talked about their most famous song Venus. I know you've heard the song either from the shaver commercial or Bananarama's cover but have you seen their respective music videos? Both are somewhat humorous with Shocking Blue looking stiff and confused while Bananarama are extremely confident in their bizarre video featuring fire, vampires (?), the devil, and some awkward dancing. Whenever I talk about Bananarama, which isn't very often, I mention the song that plays during the credits of the 1986 horror film Killer Party. It's obviously influenced by Bananarama's Cruel Summer and it doesn't really fit the tone of the film's ending but it sure is catchy. 

Towards the end of the show you heard The Shags play Don't Press Your Luck but have you ever heard of The Shaggs? If you dig music that is unusual but earnest you have to check out their only release Philosophy of The World. While you check out The Shaggs you should also add Thee Oh Sees' cover of  The Creation's If I Stay Too Long to your queue. You heard the original as the second to the last song on this week's episode.

Whew, now that that's over you can check out this week's playlist below:

 

 
Pamela Shaw - Just Like You Like It

Wayne Anthony - Stealin' Charlie Brown

Claude et ses Tribuns - J'en Ai Assez

The Reasons Why - Don't Be That Way

Tides In - Trip With Me

Printable Action Santa Cardboard Box Papercraft Template

There was one year where no matter where I went these walking Santa toys kept popping up. There are a ton of minor variations between each model but they all seem to have come from the same factory in Taiwan. All of the Robo-Santas that I found were versions that walked, rang a bell, and played a few songs. Here's a video made by Meoki which shows one in action.

I used this image in a video featuring a Christmas that song I wrote.

However, either due to the age, the terrible quality of the plastic internals, or a mix of the two, the toys seem to be extremely fragile. Because of my bad impulse buying habits I grabbed a few of them and only one of them seems to work. Sort of. It mainly just whirs and grinds away at its plastic gears. If you happen to open one up you'll most likely see that the plastic gears are cracked or broken in some way. One of my Santas actually plays music but the volume is unusually loud and there is no way to turn it down. My guess would be that the manufacturer wanted to insure that you'd hear the music over the whining motor and tiny bell. 

There isn't really any branding on the robot Santas that I have besides this weird little "B" logo that can be found on the bottom of one of the toy's feet. I'd bet the logo doesn't actually represent any company but rather was made up in order to give the toy some sort of legitimacy. It's all a big mystery to me. Not necessarily a mystery worth solving but a mystery nonetheless.

My recreation of the mysterious "B" logo

All of that being said, I was putting up some Christmas decorations when I unpacked one of the boxes that had the Robo-Santas. Inside that box I found another box containing the packaging which held ACTION SANTA! I'm not exactly sure why but I really enjoy the aesthetics of generic commercial art.  Maybe it's the same thing that attracts people to Naïve art. Anyway, I like the box so much that I thought it'd look nice as an ornament so I created a little papercraft template. All the images on the template were scanned directly from ACTION SANTA's box, including the price tag from the thrift store that I bought it at. I didn't add holes for an ornament hanger but I think that it'd be easy enough to figure something out. Plus, you might just want to have it sit on your desk or something. Because the tolerances are pretty tight you can probably get away with only having to glue or tape one side if you are printing the template on card stock. Let me know if you try it out! I'd love to see some pictures of your creations.

Hippie Love Turbo Radio Show - Code Word "Eggplant"

On this episode of Hippie Love Turbo Radio Show, on KUCR 88.3 FM, there wasn't any movie suggestions but, as always, I did throw out some random factoids and ramblings. I mean, what else would you expect from me? 

One thing that I mentioned was how I'd like to get more info on the music scene in Riverside during the '60s. I played a song that was performed by the Caretakers entitled "Summer Moments" and while researching the group I found out that the members were local to our lovely radio station. There isn't a ton of info about the band but I was intrigued to learn a little about the history of Riverside's psychedelic scene and the local clubs that used to showcase bands. If you have any information that you'd like to share, or photos/audio I'd love to compile some stuff for a show or something. Let me know!

 Speaking of local history, there was a venue in San Bernardino that was known as the Swing Auditorium where a bunch of rock groups played and from what I can tell, it was a pretty happening place. Unfortunately, the venue was destroyed in 1981 when a twin-engine plane crashed through the building killing the plane's passengers. It's a pretty sad event that you can read about here.

Anywho, you can check out this week's playlist below:

 

 
The Snaps - You Don't Want Me

Caretakers - Summer Moments

Les Sauterelles - Dream Machine

Akiko Nakamura - Cross In The Sand

Hippie Love Turbo Radio Show - Code Word "Radish"

On this episode of Hippie Love Turbo Radio Show, on KUCR 88.3 FM, I talked about Lula Reed and her hometown Mingo Junction, Ohio which served as a filming location for The Deer Hunter. After that I discussed how Connie Francis worked with the Regan administration and also preformed a bizarre song for the Nixon campaign titled: Nixon's The One. During the show you heard Billy Nicholls play London Social Degree and I mentioned that there is another version performed by Dana Gillespie which got a widespread release before Billy's original version. Finally, I closed the show with a song by James Carr and I explained how his last albums featured some strange, synth laden, and overproduced tracks including the title track to his album Soul Survivor.

At the halfway point of the show I talked a bit about this week's movie suggestion which I highly enjoy and can't recommend enough. It's action packed, silly, a little confusing at times, but most of all it's entertaining; it's 1968's Danger: Diabolik! 

Danger: Diabolik!

The film follows the escapades of two young criminal lovers known as Diabolik and Eva. The couple's high stake crimes serve as a sort of sport where monetary gains are second to the thrill of the theft. Each grand heist, however, does little to satisfy their thirsts for adrenaline so each job becomes more and more precarious. Danger: Diabolik reminds me of children playing cops and robbers during recess because there's never a simple burglary or hold up and every one of the couple's escapes feel like they were concocted on the spot. The film is completely over the top and isn't serious in any sort of way and that should be expected when you consider that the source material is a series of gritty Italian comics.

Ad-Rock as Diabolik

Stylistically the film feels like a cross between James Bond and the 1966 Batman series. Everyone is fashionable, the music is hip, and many of the locations could easily be transported into an Austin Powers film. Style is where the film shines whereas the plot, pacing, and character development is where the film lags behind. My main takeaway is that Danger: Diabolik isn't a serious directorial masterpiece but it has a campy and entertaining charm.

Diabolik escapes again!

The film may seem familiar to you, even if you've never heard of it, because back in 1998 The Beastie Boys released a music video for the Fatboy Slim remix of their song Body Movin'. Ad-Rock plays the lead role as Diabolik while clips from the film are seamlessly intertwined with footage of the Beasties on similarly designed set pieces. If you don't have time to watch the full length movie the Beastie Boys' video serves as a decent replacement.

You can check out this week's playlist below:

 

 
Emy Jackson - Crying In A Storm

Rita Chao - Yummy, Yummy, Yummy

Young Men - A Thought For You

Hippie Love Turbo Radio Show - Code Word "Cucumber"

On this episode of Hippie Love Turbo Radio Show, on KUCR 88.3 FM, you heard a song by Baker Knight and The Knightmares named Hallucinations. I had mentioned that British neurologist Oliver Sacks wrote a book of the same name and that there is an excellent interview with him on NPR's Fresh Air. However, that wasn't the only book I mentioned on this week's show! I also spoke a little bit about Jeff "Beachbum" Berry's book Intoxica which shares a name with another song that I played by The Centurians.

The book is a ton of fun with a bunch of period correct illustrations and short histories about famous "tiki bar" themed locations that may have been forgotten by time. I haven't tried any of the drinks which Mr. Berry has compiled but they sure do sound tasty!

Of course, we can't forget about this week's trashy horror film Twins of Evil. The majority of horror films that I've watched over the years would fit into the "gothic" genre or what I like to call "castle horror." You know the type of film, a person gets an inheritance from a spooky dead relative or someone travels to a cursed location. Nobility, religious overtones, castles, cobwebs and dungeons all play important roles in the genre and Twins of Evil checks off all the right marks.

  

Twins of Evil is a Hammer Film that sits firmly in the middle of their typical quality. I wouldn't say it's the worst Hammer film I've seen but it definitely isn't the best. The film is the final part of a series of vampire films written by Tudor Gates with the other two being: The Vampire Lovers and Lust for a Vampire. The three films don't hold any sort of continuity but rather they feature similar character names and themes related to the 1872 Gothic novella Carmilla. 

Peter Cushing as Gustav Weil

Twins of Evil follows two recently orphaned sisters that stumble upon differing paths in life after moving in with their Puritan uncle Gustav Weil. Although the film is named Twins of Evil the only evil twin is Frieda Gellhorn, played by Madeleine Collinson. Frieda's sister Maria is innocent and polite. She views the world with a sense of wonder and is played by Madeleine Collinson's real life twin sister Mary. Everything in the film follows a simple pattern of good and evil with the most dynamic character being the Puritan uncle Gustav whose character development only really takes place towards the end of the film. Maria is good and Frieda is bad. Gustav follows the teachings of Christ and Count Karnstein worships the Devil. Maria falls in love with the caring teacher Anton and Freida falls for the abominable Count. You get the picture. 

The main feature of the film, as is often the case with Hammer Films, is the eye candy. The Collinson twins were famous for sharing the Playboy Playmate of the month title in October, 1970 and from the film's costuming you can tell Hammer was banking on that sort of hype. It was taboo for twins to be seen in such an erotic light and the more you think about it the weirder it gets. My favorite thing about the film besides the setting is Damien Thomas as Count Karnstein. The character is so painfully silly despite his evil and unusual deeds. In fact, I'd say the Count is one of the few reasons to watch the film. Peter Cushing basically phones his performance in but the Thomas' performance is divinely over the top. If you dig campy satanic ceremonies, vampires, and witch burning you'll find this movie worth a little bit of your time.

You can check out this week's playlist below:

 

 
The Poor Boys - Wash Board

The Dan-Dees - Think About It

Ides Of March - You Wouldn't Listen

Halloween Radio Special!

Tonight on KUCR 88.3 FM there will be a special Halloween episode of Hippie Love Turbo! While I did blab on occasionally I kept the talking to a minimum so that we could enjoy the spooky retro vibes. So that's why there isn't much to write about today dear loyal readers. 

 

Spooky Record Wizard

However, I did tell a few silly jokes from Melvin Berger's 101 Spooky Halloween Jokes, gave a brief history of the holiday, talked about the origin of the Jack -O- Lantern, discussed people's dismay over It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown becoming an Apple TV + exclusive, and mentioned that one of my favorite horror films to watch around Halloween is House On Haunted Hill. Maybe I did talk a little bit.

 

Oh well, you can find this week's playlist below:

 

 
Van Wood - Ghost Party

Hippie Love Turbo Radio Show - Code Word "Lychee"

On this episode of Hippie Love Turbo Radio Show, on KUCR 88.3 FM, I talked a little bit about the city Phoenix, Oregon and the film named after it. Why did I mention Phoenix, Oregon? Well, you heard a song by The Neighb'rhood Childr'n, a band that started out as The Navarros and before making the trek to San Francisco the group had their humble beginnings in Phoenix, a city which, at the time, had a very small population. Unfortunately, the city has recently been drastically transformed by the Almeda Drive Fire. It's a terribly sad situation right now but if you watch the film that's set in a fictional version of the city the proceeds will go to victims of the southern Oregon blazes. The movie is about a couple of friends that decide to ditch their mind-numbing jobs to follow their dreams and re-open a failed bowling alley with their version of the "world's greatest pizza." It really gives off similar vibes to the raw character driven independent movies that came out during the mid 90s.

Speaking of 90s independent films, Phoenix, Oregon features the acting talent of Kevin Corrigan, who happens to be in one of my favorite '90s indie films: Bandwagon. 

Kevin Corrigan as Al in Phoenix, Oregon and Wynn Knapp in Bandwagon

Usually on the show I talk about trashy horror films (because that's mostly what I watch) but this week I was feeling more nostalgic and decided to talk about a film that's a little more palatable for these unusual times. 1996's Bandwagon is about a young man named Tony Ridge that has a passion for songwriting but is burdened by his dead end job. Eventually he's fired and decides that it's finally time for him to try to start a band. Things get pretty hairy as he struggles with stage fright and his other various insecurities. While the plot may be dead simple the movie is full of charm through its world building and seemingly naive characters.

Protagonist Tony Ridge hiding during his first practice session

Despite being a little hokey at times the world of Bandwagon feels so tangible. It makes you feel a sort of longing for those small town shows where maybe 15 to 20 people showed up and you can smell the musty record shop or recognize the type of mixing board that can be found at your old college radio station. 

Definitely more realistic looking than Night of The Comet's radio station!

During an interview scene that takes place at a college radio station you can see posters highlighting some of the music that was popular at the time including: the great album by Stereolab entitled Mars Audiac Quintet, Medicine's noisy single for their song Aruca, and God Street Wine's $1.99 Romances. Early in the film you can also spot a couple of well placed CDs on the cash register. Can's Landed and another Stereolab album Switched On. You also get a glimpse of Poison Ivy on a poster from The Cramps' Bikini Girls With Machine Guns. As I said, there is a lot of world building. Perhaps that's mostly just circumstantial due to filming at real life locations. The film is a nice change of pace and it's pretty easy to find floating around.

 

Hey, will you look at that. You can find this week's playlist below:

 

 
Sting Rays - Shaggy Dog

The Fleets - Go Away

Valiants - Don't Make The Same Mistake

The Kinsfolk - Comin' Back By Way

The Frugal Sound - Just Ouside The Door

Hippie Love Turbo Radio Show - Code Word "Sapote"

On this episode of Hippie Love Turbo Radio Show, on KUCR 88.3 FM, I mentioned the National Museum of Funeral History in Houston, Texas and their exhibit featuring the Pope Mobile! There have been many Pope Mobiles over the years but usually when people think about the Pope Mobile they think of a vehicle with large bullet-resistant glass walls. After an attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II in 1981 the Vatican decided to beef up the Pope's ride by customizing his vehicle with a large fish tank looking enclosure. The new upgrades meant that Catholics could continue parading the Pope around town without worrying about any gun nuts with murderous agendas. Sweet!

Screen Capture from Texas Bucket List

Besides talking about the many wonders of Houston, Texas I also spoke about one of my favorite Halloween films Mad Monster Party? What I love so much about the film is that it smashes together a bunch of things I love. Some of the character designs were by Jack Davis with Harvey Kurtzman handling a big chunk of the script. Both are well known for their work with EC Comics and Mad Magazine. The leading mad scientist of the film was voiced by Imhotep himself, Mr. Boris Karloff and the animation was handled by Rankin/Bass Productions; the same people that brought you 1964's Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer. 

Looks a little like Grateful Dead's Touch of Grey music video

There's a bunch of fun music in the film but Gale Garnett, the voice of Francesca, really stands out as she sings Our Time To Shine and Never Was A Love Like Mine. You might recognize her from her 1964 hit We'll Sing In The Sunshine and for a silly holiday special Gale Garnett's singing sounds sincere. The songs she sings in the film could easily be mistaken for deep cuts from one of her full length albums. Speaking of her albums, she happens to have one of my favorite album titles of all time: Gale Garnett Sings About Flying and Rainbows and Love and Other Groovy Things.

 

One thing that's a little annoying about the film is that it doesn't seem to be as readily available as other holiday specials. I could go into any random store around Christmas and pickup Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer or Frosty The Snowman but when I wanted to track down a copy of Mad Monster Party? it took some time to find a proper Blueray release. Of course, you could always rent a digital copy but where's the fun in that? I love having piles of junk on my shelves!

Anywho, you can check out this week's playlist below:

 

 
Cool Heat - The Other Side Of Us

The Tempters - Boom Boom

Hippie Love Turbo Radio Show - Code Word "Grapefruit"

On this episode of Hippie Love Turbo Radio Show, on KUCR 88.3 FM, I played Gypsy Trips' Ain't It Hard, which may sound familiar because you heard The Electric Prune's cover back on the episode named "Mango." Afterwards I played a song by Royal Aircoach and I mentioned that the band came from Topsfield, Massachusetts. Topsfield is known for having a yearly fair which features a "Giant Pumpkin Weigh-In" and unfortunately due to Covid-19, this year's fair has been cancelled. Seeing those giant pumpkins makes me wish I could grow anything other than my beard. 

Alex Noel's 2294.50 lb Pumpkin in 2019!

Later in the episode you heard one of Lou Reed's earliest songs from his days recording with Pickwick International. The song was by a phony band named The Beachnuts and supposedly Reed was tasked with coming up with songs in random genres in order to pad compilation albums released by the label. That sure does sound like a dream gig to me!

And, of course, we cannot forget this week's trash film recommendation: Alucarda! The film begins in a confusing manner where you see Alucarda being born in some sort of crypt with Alucarda's mother explaining how her daughter must be taken to a local convent to be saved from an evil person or demon or something. While the film tries to present the intro as some sort of important backstory it really doesn't explain much at all and can be ignored entirely. The film's main focus is on Alucarda's corruption of her new friend Justine and their adventures into vampirism, satanic rituals, and frolicking throughout the woods and convent. The film is fairly light on plot and instead relies on the shock value of seeing young women praising the devil and fighting nuns. Don't worry though! The film is fairly short so you don't have enough time to find yourself bored by all the blood and nudity. BUT BE WARNED! There is a TON of screaming, in fact, probably too much screaming and sometimes it gets a little grating. However, Alucarda is a quick and goofy movie that has some interesting set designs and cinematography that give the film a sort of claustrophobic and eerie atmosphere. It's definitely worth a late night watch. Maybe with headphones if you live in an apartment or have sleepy roommates.

LOUD NOISES!

You can check out this week's playlist below:

 

 
The Paupers - Magic People

JJ Cale – It’s A Go Go Place

Mike Alexander and The Visions - Pop Goes Love

The Beachnuts - Cycle Annie

Jerry Cole and The Stingers - Dang Thing

Us Too - The Girl With The Golden Hair

The Illusions - Little Girl

Outer Limits - Alone and Crying

Pete Morticelli - Lost

Hippie Love Turbo Radio Show - Code Word "Watermelon"

On this week's Hippie Love Turbo Radio Show, on KUCR 88.3 FM, there were some Tennessee connections as you heard, Johnny Burnette (born in Memphis, TN), Hayden Thompson (moved to Memphis and cut some records at Sun Studios), and Carl Mann (born in Huntingdon, TN and signed to Sun Records). Something that really caught my attention during my research was Carl Mann's hometown of Huntingdon, TN. The small town has a preforming arts center named after Dixie Carter, an actress best known for her role as Julia Sugarbaker on Designing Woman. As critics look back at Designing Woman they recognize the progressive views embedded in the show, especially season 3's 2nd episode entitled: "The Candidate." During the episode Julia Sugarbaker debates a commissioner that embraces prayer in school and believes in removing homeless shelters to, "return the streets back to people that pay for them." 

At the episode's climax, Ms. Sugarbaker has a powerful monologue where she critiques the commissioner's talking points while her friends and colleagues watch on. What's particularly interesting about Ms. Sugarbaker's monologue is that it didn't necessarily align with Dixie Carter's own personal views being that Dixie Carter viewed herself as a Libertarian leaning conservative. Of course, we shouldn't expect actors to share all of the personal beliefs held by the fictional characters that they depict, but in today's political climate it almost seems refreshing that someone could separate their personal beliefs from the roles they portray. Then again, I doubt anyone believes Charlize Theron and Megyn Kelly share similar political views just because Theron played Kelly in 2019's Bombshell.

Speaking of movies, let's look at this episode's creepy film suggestion: Tombs of The Blind Dead! The film features a bunch of spooky scary skeletons that rise from the grave to attack the living because... that's just what zombie/revenants do. The Blind Dead are re-animated corpses of old Knights of The Templar and the film opens with a flashback to the Knight's torturing a woman for unknown reasons. I guess they've always been into the whole torture and cannibalism thing. The plot is fairly confusing or, for better words, lacking but that's not really what you'd watch this movie for. Movies like this are more about the atmosphere and eeriness. 

The Blind Dead are, well, blind so they search for their victims by listening to their heartbeats. When the Blind Dead catch their pray they typically strip them of their flesh and nibble them to death. It's very difficult to watch at times. Difficult to watch without laughing that is.

In fact, I could have sworn that, towards the end of the film, even one of the extras looked like she was holding back a smirk as she was attacked by one of the Blind Dead's silver oven mitts. I could over analyze the effects all day but in reality I think the film features enough entertaining spookiness to keep you watching for 90 minutes. However, I'm not sure if I could watch the other THREE films in the Blind Dead series but, then again, who am I kidding? I probably will.

 

This week's playlist can be found below:

 

 
Ida Rojani – Tertidur

Vampiri - Aveva Un Occhio Di Vetro

Zakary Thaks - Face To Face

Nazz - Lay Down And Die, Goodbye

Hippie Love Turbo Radio Show - Code Word "Mango"

On this week's Hippie Love Turbo Radio Show, on KUCR 88.3 FM, I played a bunch of cover songs so I thought it'd be neat to post the originals or the versions that most people are familiar with. Bands and artists still cover other artists' works, but it's rare that the songs that modern artists cover are contemporaneous. What I mean by that is, there are a ton of cover versions of songs from the 60s that came out the same exact year as the originals. I don't see that happen very often anymore and when I racked my brain thinking of more modern examples the only one that came to mind is Tame Impala's New Person, Same Old Mistakes and Rihanna's version which uses the same backing track. Both tracks came out less than a year apart.

Of course, back in the day artists didn't really share the same backing track but instead they typically recorded their own version. For example, I played The Electric Prunes' version of Ain't It Hard but the original by Gypsy Trips came out just a year before and supposedly both bands recorded in Skyhill Studios. Listening to both songs, however, you can tell The Electric Prunes put their own spin on the song. Another example that I played was Cosmo and The Carnations' version of I'm A Little Mixed Up which came out the same year as the superior original by Betty James. During the show you also heard Les Belges preform a French language version of The Hollies Have You Ever Loved Somebody? and both versions came out in 1967. Finally, I played Dick Rivers' C'est Ma Vie which is a cover of It's My Life which was made famous by The Animals. Not only did those two songs come out in 1965 but they were both released only a couple months apart! Wild stuff.

And now, let's get into this week's trash film recommendation: The Driller Killer! It's a slasher film where the killer's weapon of choice is a corded drill. The movie really leans into the absurdity his weapon as the killer powers it by wearing a giant and cumbersome battery belt that he discovers through a commercial on late night TV. 

However, unlike most slasher films the main protagonist is the killer. You follow the disturbed young man, Reno, as he delves deeper into his psyche and begins a killing spree fueled by his stressful home life and fears of becoming a derelict like his estranged father. While much has been said about the film's gore and violence, what I think makes this film stand out is the setting. You get a feel for that late 70s New York hustle and street life. Everyone in the film is skeezy, drugged out, or gritty in some way or another. As much as the film is about the killer Reno, it's also really about artists and musicians living on life's fringes. My favorite thing about the movie is the film's resident No Wave/Punk band Tony Coca Cola and the Roosters. They constantly play music and flirt with success as Reno struggles to make rent by selling his oversized paintings. You really get a feel for Reno's frustration with having to deal with a bunch of loud neighbors that no one else seems to mind.

The Driller Killer would be worth a watch even if there was no serial murder due to the amazing setting that serves as a snapshot to a time that's often forgotten. Then again, maybe I've been warping my brain by watching too many of these movies. Yikes!

 

Anywho, this week's playlist can be found below:

 

 
Karkey At The New Hammond - Work Song

Dick Rivers - C'est Ma Vie

The Images - Louie Go Home

Nazz - Lay Down And Die, Goodbye