Incredibly Strange Music, vol.1

edited by V.Vale, Andrea Juno

(RE/Search)

The Addicts Sing LP Incredibly Strange Music may be a little misleading in that this book isn't so much centered on actual sounds as the packages they come in... which may just be RE/Search's way of conceding to the media. Since attempting to translate audio into print usually doesn't produce much of either, the editors do what editors do best Ñ make good copy.

The hook here is the vinyl record and its goldie-oldie format of choice, the LP (long player). "Strange music" is that produced between the 1950's and 1970's when everyone and their mother jumped at the chance to exploit the burgeoning medium. To find some of the weirdest stuff pressed, RE/Search interviews 14 authorities of the obscure and gets them to talk about their record collections. Some of these peopl e you may know. The Cramps, Norton Records, and Phantom Surfers all talk about 60's rockabilly/monster/ trash. There's a bit of overlap, but at least in the cases where the artists described are still alive, overlap is welcome; Charlie Feathers needs all the attention he can can get.

My favorite interview is with Mike Wilkins, coauthor of New Roadside America and collector of unusual packaged foods and promotional artifacts. On most of his records, music is secondary. Humans, fictional charact ers, ideas, everything is exploited. Wilkins collects stuff by sub-celebrities like Rodney Allen Rippy, the three-year-old made famous by a 1970's Jack-in-the-Box commercial. At the time, companies had made a habit of jumping on any product or trend by re leasing a record. Little Rodney was no exception and his ÒTake Life A Little EasierÓ theme was a hit. Evel Knieval, Mr. T, and Colonel Sanders were among many has-beens to cash in on their own moment in the spotlight. These promo platters worked both way s: they could use the trend to make money on a record or use the record to make money on the trend. Or both.

A close second behind Wilkins: Mickey McGowan, founder of the Unknown Museum, collects records with a purpose: Music From A Surplus Store, Music To Light Your Pilot By, Music to Burn Your Oil By, Music To Make Automoles By . . . you get the idea.

I could go on. Drag-queen legend Lypsinka explores vocalists and quality camp, Lynn Peril does wild women rockers, E artha Kitt does Eartha Kitt . . . All very interesting folks, but we'd rather do some RE/Search of our own. Lest we forget that authorities walk among us, Stay Free! asked Triangle music junkies to tell us about their oddest finds. (Carrie McLaren)

Local strange music picks