By HP pop culture guru Pat Reeder
My wife/co-writer Laura Ainsworth and I saw The Clerverlys live Wednesday night, and we highly recommend you catch them on their current tour. They do hilarious comedy and blazing bluegrass versions of unlikely songs ranging from AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” to “Milkshake” by Keisha. We discovered them when they were guests on “Huckabee,” and here’s that interview, which fans of fried squirrel will love.
Unfortunately, the music clip isn’t on YouTube (I assume it’s a rights issue since they do covers), but here’s a clip of them performing “Love Shack” by the B-52s in their own unique way.
And since Keith mentioned it, here’s their version of Justin Bieber’s “Baby.”
By HP pop culture guru Pat Reeder
As noted in my obituary for drummer Frank Beard, I am a native-born Texan, which means I can’t drive down any highway without ZZ Top blasting out of my car speakers. That can make even my Kia Soul feel like I’m bad, I’m nationwide. So in honor of Frank’s passing and the legendary Billy Gibbons now being the last living member of that iconic trio, get ready to rock with some ZZ Top.
They have so many great songs that are played constantly on the radio (at least here in Texas) that I wanted to share some things you might not have heard. So first up, here’s “Salt Lick,” their very first single from 1969, before Frank and Dusty Hill joined the band and when Billy was fresh out of the Moving Sidewalks (note the psychedelic influences, but you can already hear the seeds of what will become the ZZ Top sound.) This was remastered for CD in 2019, but I prefer this video of a slightly scratchy 45 signed by Billy. Seems more authentic.
Next up, from their great breakthrough LP “Tres Hombres,” the deep cut “Master of Sparks.” I chose this for the lyrics, a true story from Billy’s youth about how he and his friends had a round steel cage that someone would strap themselves into, then push it off the end of a fast-moving truck, where it would bounce and spin uncontrollably down the highway in a shower of sparks. If you survived, you earned the title, “Master of Sparks.” That is the most TEXAS story I’ve ever heard.
Finally, many people lost track of ZZ Top after their run of synth-infused ‘80s hits, which is too bad. It means you missed their return to pure blues/rock on later albums like “Rhythmeen,” “Mescalero” and “La Futura.” This is the ZZ Top I love, where Billy’s guitar tone is so dirty, it sounds like rusty farm equipment. If you’re a fan, you must hear these albums. To get you started, here’s the first single from “Rhythmeen,” which you might have heard in the movie “From Dusk To Dawn.” It’s called “She’s Just Killing Me.” Warning: Contains scantily-clad female vampires and George Clooney.
If you prefer a vampire- and Clooney-free version, try this instead.
It’s Saturday and time to check out the past week’s headlines from the world’s second-leading source of fake news after CNN, the Babylon Bee.
https://babylonbee.com/news/trump-claims-strait-of-hormuz-for-us-unveils-floating-golf-course
https://babylonbee.com/news/oh-crap-government-threatens-to-fix-something
https://babylonbee.com/news/liberal-white-women-stand-weeping-outside-court-trying-jack-the-ripper
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