Companero de Ajeno

Bagatellen’s third birthday falls sometime this month. I’m not certain of the actual date- that’s a question for Namor- but rest assured that celebratory events of cosmic proportions are in the works, among them: a smelt & muskie fish fry; a rare record & cassette swap meet at VFW #363 and a reunion concert by The Tomahawks, the legendary Black River Falls, Wisconsin-based polka jazz fusion combo led by soprano sax savant Chief Sindler and his wife Beverly, spinet organist extraordinaire. In the meantime I’ve been spending some spare time perusing past entries and marveling modestly at the size of the archive. There’s a lot of content on this site & a lot that I’m proud of. But more to the point of this particular entry…

I swung by the Show & Tell site again, my first visit in over a year, & was pleased as peaches to find out that the guy who runs it has started a reissue CDR label with a buddy of his, Companion Records. Show & Tell is great place to kill an hour or two on its own merits alone, but the news that some of that precious thrift store vinyl is finding it’s way onto cd definitely piqued my curiosity. Even better, the current catalog is stocked with mp3 samples.

A lot of this stuff elevates the pop music of recent contention on Bags to the status of Ellington or Bach: numerous cases of it’s-so-bad-it’s-good, but far more of it’s-so-bad-I-can’t-bear-to-subject-an-innocent-stylus-to-these-polluting-grooves-again. Witness The Christian Astronauts a.k.a. the Fremont, Ohio-based Shoup family: self-styled fundamentalist space voyagers who give The Shaggs a serious run for the money in terms of homegrown lunacy. Their back story’s hilarious on its own terms, but the actual sounds from their sole LP: a collection of cheapo skits, replete with vocal rocket & space sound effects, culled from their long-running 70s cable kiddie TV show is almost frightening in its earnestness. Sid and Marty Krofft eat your hearts out. Platters by weirdo folkie Charlie Weddle, who comes off like a low rent Townes Van Zandt cum Dylan clone weaned on UFOlogy and blotter acid, and the psychedelic Jesus rock trio The New Creation are also worth partaking from.

And be sure to stop by the upcoming release page too. With an original promo blurb like the one below attached to the soon to be released Luie Luie reissue I’ve made it my personal mission to get Bags added to the Companion promo list pronto:

LUIE LUIE plays his intimate music beyond the keyboards; past the drums, outside the trumpet. His galaxy of instruments cannot contain him. His garrulous Guitar strings spellbind you into space...Flamenco flaming. Approaching the avatar, LUIE LUIE projects meaningful music to tenderly touch your Soul. You will thankfully draw a deep breath and relax comfortably wherever you are.