Call it my ahtistic temperament. I finished Uncle Warren's Attic #44 and just decided it wasn't what I was shooting for. Hate to leave so much space between shows, but I'm going back to square one on this one. See ya soon - sorry about this!

Back to rummaging around the Attic. In addition to some lovely clips from It Happened One Night and other flicks, UWA 43 includes:

"Don't Blame Me for What Happens in the Moonlight," from Perry Botkin Jr. and friends ... "Hello Again" by Herb Oscar Anderson ... the immortal "Pachalafaka" from Soupy Sales ... "Great Balls of Fire" from the New Grass Revival ... a showdown between The Shadow and a nutcase ... "Sweet Potato Piper" with Bing Crosby featuring John Trotter's Pan Fried Five ... and our beloved Aileen Stanley and Billy Murray round it off with "When the Leaves Come Tumbling Down."

Hi folks, I turn the microphone over to a special guest host in order to get out a Fifth of November edition of Uncle Warren's Attic. I hope you enjoy the change of pace!

Featured tunes:

"Free the People," Los Gallos
"Guy Fawkes Day," Paul Melancon
"1812 Overture," Amsterdam Concert Orchestra
"Ballad of Serenity," from the film of the same name

And if you don't own V for Vendetta yet, well, click here.

In addition to the usual collection of odds and ends, this edition brings you:

"March of the Toys," from Babes in Toyland, by the Victor Concert Orchestra conducted by Nathaniel Shikret

"Phonograph Blues," Robert Johnson from the Internet Archive

"Mama Don't Rush Me Blues," Willie Jones (whom you can also hear singing "Sweet Patunia" in UWA #19)

"You Blacked My Blue Eyes Once Too Often" by Lonzo and Oscar

"Chicken Reel" by Les Paul

"Oh! Sweet Mystery of Life," Bing Crosby

All of it brought to you by Fruity Oaty Bars - they'll make a man out of a mouse, etc.

Click here to download the now-famous Uncle Warren's Attic #6, featuring my hookup with an online news network that goes terribly wrong when Mars invades.

UWA 41 coming soon. Really! Would I make that up?

I don't know why I've been away from the microphone. No excuses. Just ... well, no excuses. When you hit a lazy streak, you're just lazy. That's all.

I've been accumulating a lot of them thar old-fashioned CDs that spin at 78 rpm and have only one song per side. Don't be surprised if the next show (or several of 'em) is (are) a bit heavy on those. But that's a good thing, I think.

Talk to ya soon.

Uncle Warren unplugged: Red and I on the road, a couple of my old folk tunes ("You Can Tighten My Belt" and "Hi Horse Tweedledum Ladies"), and a taste of what the Attic might sound like if I paid the license fees and played non-podsafe stuff.

You'll hear "fair use" clips from the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Judee Sill, Tommy James and the Shondells, Leahy and Copper Box, and a complete tune from podsafe bluegrass gods The WhizBang Shufflers. Enjoy!

It’s long past time I gave you a little more taste of Maria Daines with her partner and guitarist guitarist Paul Killington. After launching the show with Carne Cruda’s “Amazing Artichoke of World Peace,� we dive into Maria’s “Tear Down the Walls� and “Alright When The Morning Comes.�

After we sing the praises of the 1960 Studebaker Lark, it’s time for Aileen Stanley and Billy Murray and the 1924 classic “You’ll Never Get to Heaven With Those Eyes.� Then, from the Internet Archive, Warren Zevon sings “Veracruz� - thanks Kirsten for the heads-up on this terrific recording.

We extol the wisdom of saving Top Value Stamps, and then it’s time for a little Boo Boo Davis. The tasty blues tunes “Tell Me What to Do� and “Boo’s Boogie Woogie� close out our 39th adventure together. By the way, Maria and Boo Boo were last heard back in the legendary Episode #20.

We start out the show with an authentic recording of the Uncle Warren's Attic show from Jan. 17, 1961, as President Dwight D. Eisenhower presents his farewell speech to the nation. It's a historic address, and it provides a lot of room for thought about what's happened in the past 46 years or so.

Also on the show are a 1966 ad for the film "Lady L" from the Jean Shepherd show ... "Liar Liar" by singer-songwriter Julie Harris ... "Grow" by singer-songwriter April Start ... and "I'm Beginning to Remember" by Jimmy Lee and Johnny Mathis - no, not that Johnny Mathis.

It comes with a promise to be back in a week - what am I thinking?!?

Um, hi there, ladies and gentlemen. Thanks for stopping by to see if there's anything new. As you can see, well, here's something new.

I keep wandering up to forage around in the attic and I've found some cool stuff. I just haven't had time to put together a podcast.

You may have noticed that I've been keeping a steady dose of Ikthuscasts going, and maybe you suspect that I care more about that show than Uncle Warren's Attic. No, no, this is my first podcast and my first love, and if you're familiar with both you know the Attic is a much more complicated production. It takes 2-3 hours to finish a 30-minute UWA, compared with a matter of minutes for Ikthus. I often have a few minutes available, not so often 2-3 hours.

What I'm planning at this stage is to return with a weekly dose of UWA no later than early September. My best guess is "the new season" of UWA will start just before the regular season of the NFL opens. I'll try to keep you updated with a note or two or three here.

Thank you, and God bless America. We now turn to CNN, Fox News, et al, for instant analysis of how many times this speech was interrupted by applause and what that all means.

It's another dip into my pile of platters that spin at 78 rpm, including two peeks at the "Flying Saucer" mania of the mid-1950s.

I reprise Buchanan and Goodman's marvelous "Flying Saucer" record from 1956 to set you up for a (to any family members, I apologize) remarkable unfunny knock-off called "Out of This World With Flying Saucers" by Dave Barry and Sara Berner, who I'm sure were nice people.

Surrounding those are such lost gems as "Hotta Chocolatta" by the De John Sisters ... "Who's Sorry Now" by Les Stevens' Clover Gardens Orchestra ... "Hi Ho Trailus Boot Whip" by Anita O'Day ... "Oh Baby What a Night" by Billy Murray and Walter Scanlon ... and "Look Who's Talkin'" by Ted Daffan's Texans.

As usual the show is also peppered with other great moments from pop culture history.

I'll give you eclectic, my pretty -- and your little dog, too! The lineup: "Immortality," William Jennings Bryan (1908) "Welfare Blues," Josh White (1934) "Address to American Indians," President Woodrow Wilson (1913) "Asleep in the Deep," William F. Hooley (1911) Live PSA for safe driving (1953) "Minor Swing," The WhizBang Shufflers (2004) "The Radio Guy," Warren Bluhm (1996; recorded 2007) "Destination Unknown," The Rebel Soul Band

This short story will be part of UWA 36, but I'm releasing it separately for those of you who like your tales to stand alone.

From the wild and wooly 1920s comes the story of one of the era's biggest recording stars, who apparently lost a fortune in the 1929 stock market crash but is making a modest return to the spotlight thanks to intrigued fans like moi. I've been contemplating "The Aileen Stanley Story" ever since I started finding other tunes in the wake of the big reaction to "Keep Your Skirts Down Mary Ann" way back in UWA #3.

Here's the jazzage1920s.com biography that I lean on for much of the info in this episode ... and here's another interesting source. And if you'd like to explore more of her music, here and here are a couple of links to the Internet Archive.

For this Independence Day edition of Uncle Warren's Attic, and to make up for the long silence, this show features two dramatic readings - one many of you have heard before is my short story "Wildflower Man," and the other is a reading of a speech you may have heard some of, but may not have ever heard in its entirety - Patrick Henry's address to the Virginia House of Burgesses on March 23, 1775. It's still pretty electric.

Musical friends include the WhizBang Shufflers, who present the opening and closing tracks of their absolutely free album "Baffle the Bird of Death" - the irrepressible "It's All New" and the bonus track "bonus track."

We also hear from Five Star Fall and The Kokoon, whose work you can find at Magnatune, where the slogan is "We Are Not Evil." And we also have a reprise of Giles' rousing version of "Freedom." Oh, and thanks to Kirsten of Enjoy Every Sandwich for her kind words and actions.

I tried to make it worth the wait - let me know how I did!

While you're waiting for a new edition of Uncle Warren's Attic (hey, it's summer, have you been outside lately?!?), here's a fantastic video of a fantastic Jonathan Coulton tune ...

What has happened here is something which, up until a few days ago, was entirely beyond the scope of man's imagination ...

You have heavy doses of a sixties-style band called The Sealed Weasels (Remember "Zen Hot Dog" in UWA 20?), along with seasonings from movies and TV, a little Andy Partridge, Anna Burck, Eisenhowers, Carl T. Sprague and John Charles Thomas ... but not a great deal of Uncle Warren ... at least not Uncle Warren's voice, just Uncle Warren the sound editor.

What does this episode mean? Philosophers will be debating that question for centuries. I wonder why the wonder falls ...

PROMISED UPDATE: So what all was in there? Well, the Sealed Weasels sang "Cold Turkey Sandwiches," "The Illuminati and Me" and "Bionic"; That was the first verse of Carl T. Sprague's "Oh Bury Me Not On the Lone Prairie"; Andy Partridge sang the theme from my second-favorite TV show of all time, "Wonderfalls"; Sonny Rhodes sang the theme from my all-time favorite, "Firefly"; and the Eisenhowers sang "Everything is Not Enough"; John Charles Thomas wanted to be "Home On The Range"; and a Marvel-style no-prize goes to anyone who can tell me where the "Alice, will you marry me?" clip comes from. There's other stuff in this show, but I hate to give away all my secrets ...

Oh! One last acknowledgement: Anna Burck's Music iQuiz is one of the funnest podcasts out there!!

Goodies I unearthed this week in Uncle Warren's Attic:

"The Mining Ship the Red Dwarf," by Marc Gunn & The Dubliners
"Excelsior," Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, dramatic reading by moi
"Get Happy," Raymond Scott and his Orchestra
"Let's Claim the Moon for the U.S. - Now!" by Pierre J. Huss, Mechanix Illustrated, February 1957. Sharp-eared listeners will note that your humble host, who performs the dramatic reading, managed to throw in a sci-fi element by reading the headline as "Let's Claim the U.S. for the Moon." Not sure why moon beings would want to annex a piece of earthly real estate, but there you have it.
"We'll Be Dancing On The Moon," Trade Martin
"Ingrian Polka - Kuppari Eeva," Off to California. Yes, the reason the title isn't mentioned on the show is I wasn't sure how to pronounce it!
"Jasper Tabby Kitty Cat-y," Marc Gunn & The Dubliners

Can you identify the voice in the Peter Pan commercials? No big prize awarded, just the satisfaction of knowing his name before I tell you at the end.

Speaking of peanut butter, much tasty stuff in this edition, along with a semi-promise to drop by more often again!

The musical numbers: "Glow Worm" by Homer and Jethro ... "Ghost Riders in the Sky" by the Sons of the Pioneers and by Scat Man Crothers ... "Listening House" by Lazarus and the announcement of Ikthuscast ... "It's a Bloody War" by Homer & Jethro and "28th of January" by the Piney Creek Weasels ... "Pull the String" by Jonathan Coulton ... and "Bye Bye Blackbird" by Gene Austin.

It's been a busy couple of months, but I expect to be back more frequently again soon. I apologize to the ever-shrinking but supportive bunch of you who keep checking back and stay subscribed. Coming soon, the long-awaited Aileen Stanley story, a look at the work of Scotty MacGregor, and a dramatic reading of an important 1957 essay about why the United States should claim the moon as its sovereign territory. What fun!

I also plan to debut a new project very soon, which I'll tell you about in Uncle Warren's Attic #31. Watch for UWA 31 sometime next week.

Have fun in the meantime!

A half-dozen gems uncovered during a trip to the antique store last week.

"Behind the Clouds (There's Crowds and Crowds of Sunbeams), Gene Austin
"Sailing Down the Chesapeake Bay," Pete Daily's Chicagoans
"Limehouse Blues," Curly Hicks and his Taproom Boys*
"O Sole Mio," Nat Shilkret and the Victor Orchestra
"Little Rock Getaway," Les Paul
"Over the Rainbow," Del Courtney and his Orchestra

Make sure you check the links this week ... lots of fun info!

*Couldn't find a link for these guys - best I found was a phorum entry where someone asked (at the bottom, "Anyone know anything about this group? They recorded a dozen or so discs for Bluebird around 1940. Can't decide whether they're a country band, a jazz band, or a polka band. Features accordion and vibraphone leads with guitar, bass, washboard and drum rhythm. Kind of addictive."

Your Uncle Warren and Dave Slusher have thoughts (separately) about the value to the creative process of having a day job. Dave, of course, is the guy behind the Evil Genius Chronicles and other important endeavors, and in this particular episode he refers to Hugh MacLeod's "Sex and Cash Theory."

Along the way we bring you music from the Podsafe Music Network and myself: "Write About Me" by Jeff Coffey ... "The Future," an aural collage by w.p. bluhm ... "Slugbug" by The Egerton Boyz ... "The Maid on the Shore" by Ceili Moss ... "She's Wild" by People Coyote ... and finishing with "Sweet Sarah Wilde" by w.p. bluhm.

If you haven't been watching "American Idol," this little seven-minute tribute will make no sense to you. If you have, it speaks for itself.

Back soon with a "real" episode.

Linda Perhacs made one of the great "lost" albums that has recently been found and re-released to great acclaim. This week's UWA gives you a mini-tour of Parallelograms. Then it's off to the late 1930s and Pretty Kitty Kelly. A little Ames Brothers ... a little Zax ... another taste of "The Dog Song" ... a Piney Creek Weasels encore ... and before you can say "Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters," we're outta there again. Have fun!

A bevy of blues and other goodies off the old 78s and such. The show launches with a mystery track, though, followed by "If You Don't Somebody Else Will" by Jimmy Lee and the "other" Johnny Mathis.

Then there's the legendary Kelly Harrell recording of "I Wish I Was A Single Girl Again," recorded a half-century before Prince, retrieved from the Internet Archive.

It's mostly blues the rest of the way: Josh White and the "Stormy Weather Blues," Furry Lewis and "Mean Old Bedbug Blues," the "Phonograph Blues" from Robert Johnson, and finally "Whoa Back Buck" by Leadbelly with the Golden Gate Quartet. Which reminds me: This episode contains a small dose of "adult language."

The show closes with "The Vamp" from 1919, performed by the Joseph C. Smith Orchestra with Harry MacDonough and Billy Murray.

After a montage of great movie moments, Dennis Day sets the stage with his celebration of a jolly Irish hooligan, "Clancy Lowered the Boom."

In a track the Internet archive labels "Edison machine rehearsal (1914)," Harry Houdini offers a $1,000 reward to anyone who can reveal a certain one of his secrets.

I had a very odd dream the other day, and the only memory that lingers is the haunting melody in the background, which I recognized at once as "The Prisoner's Song," the 1924 Vernon Dalhart recording that (I'm told) was a huge hit in its day.

Another nod to March 17 is the Podsafe recording of "Leis A Lurrighan" by Ceili Moss, which oddly enough is a Belgian band. Then it's off to the instant classic "Green Eggs and Ham" by, um, Bob Dylan. I first heard this incredible recording on Jawbone Radio. Thanks, Len and Nora.

From there it's off to "Summertime" by Peach Stealing Monkeys - very compelling, says I - and all of a sudden we're out of time and all that's left to do is dance a "Night Dance" with Green Druid.

Freedom's on my mind a lot, and I got to thinking about freedom after reading about the Copyright Royalty Board and its ridiculous new fees for Webcasters. So this show includes a lot on that subject, including a huge tip of the hat to everyone participating in ventures like the Podsafe Music Network.

I have become an instant fan after hearing the Rebel Soul Band, and UWA 25 has two great tunes from this "groovin' rock 'n' roll band" devoted to "creating music with a message." I kick off the show with "Where You Going?" and move into a celebration of freedom with their song "Big Brother."

After a quick reminder about a certain important document of freedom, if you've listened before, you already know "Free the People" by Los Gallos, one of the best songs I've heard on this theme in a very long time.

Giles then wraps up the cycle by reinventing Richie Havens' classic tune "Freedom."

After I rave about the new TV show "Heroes," time has already run out, but not before we close with a cover by podsafe guru Jonathan Coulton. This edition also includes a small pile of goodies culled from old Mets broadcasts ... enjoy!

This week ... odds and ends ...

"I Found a Million Dollar Baby" by w.p. bluhm (1991)

"How'd You Like To Spoon With Me" by Franklyn Wallace (1905)

An interesting report from the early days of radio (1937)

"The Touchables," a seldom-heard novelty record by Dickie Goodman (1950-something)

"To Be An Angel," an often-played podcast hit by Uncle Seth (2006)

And Elmer Davis with news and commentary circa 1939.

Once upon a time there was a lovesick college student named Warren, his guitar named Herbie, and a pair of stereo cassette machines. The four of them spent quite a bit of time together.

For reasons I have yet to fathom, I hauled the old tapes out this week and decided to inflict some of my earliest songwriting and recording efforts on my small but patient audience. Here, then, are 1973 recordings of:

Bacon in the Jell-O
Pretty Baby
Emerald
Wish You Were There
Baby Baby
Do You Believe in Magic
Pleasant Mary

You may be able to detect, in these tapes, hints of what would come later, after I became an uncle and all. It'll either be interesting or excruciating, hopefully not boring. I will completely understand if you flee for your life - but please come back for #24.

Have fun!

It has been a while since I provided an update about Pumpkin a k a Speedbump, the kitten whose discovery at 4 weeks along U.S. 41 I have chronicled here and here and here. With the hibernation of the Green Bay Free Radical, I move these musings into the Attic.

This morning I chased Pumpkin off the top of the fish tank, where he was nudging his nose along the 1-inch gap between the edge of the lid and the side of the tank. I thought I'd stop him before he realized his paw could fit in there - not that his declawed little appendage could cause any damage, but why tempt fate?

A remarkable side effect of having a new kitten is that the former kitten, 3 1/2-year-old Hemi, has become even more affectionate. Always a lover, Hemi has made more frequent trips to available laps, where he purrs as if to remind us that the orange one is not the only cute little friend in the house.

They say staring at fish for a time lowers blood pressure and relieves stress. I say the same thing about a houseload of cats. I don't necessarily say that while cleaning the litter box or investigating a 3 a.m. crashing noise, but on the whole I'm healthier for the feline companionship. At least I feel healthier. They're so cu-u-ute ...

Speaking of stress, while worrying about the podcast being late, I came to the sudden conclusion that Uncle Warren's Attic is not on a schedule. UWA 23 will be up soon. What does "soon" mean? It means "soon." I'll get back to you on that one!

I just noticed that the cost of the Firefly DVD set has dipped down to Uncle Warren's recommended price for buying DVD sets - $19.99 or less. My attic is packed with stuff from Firefly and its cinema sequel, Serenity. If I had to toss away everything TV-related I own except one thing, this would be it.

(OK, now, ask for the sale, UW.) If you want to own what in my opinion is the best TV show ever to grace the tube, click here to purchase through the Uncle Warren's Attic A-Store. I'm not sure if this price is permanent or temporary, so I'd suggest doing it now. Thanks!

The name of the boys choir that performs "Gloria" and "Credo" on today's show is les troubadours du roi baudouin. I wasn't going to insult them by trying to pronounce that! The link will take you to the reproduced liner notes of their long-out-of-print LP, "Missa Luba."

I was surprised to see that Osibisa is still active, or rather that the band became active again about 20 years ago after its flurry of recordings in the early 1970s. The recording of "Che Che Kulé on this show is from a somewhat worn copy of their album "Heads"; please forgive the pops and crackles.

After a commercial break from the immortal Jean Shepherd, Will Rogers submits some thoughts about Congress for us to mull, and then we head off to the battlefield singin' a song. From 1915 and the Great War, Albert Farrington sings "It's A Long Way to Tipperary," and then from 1942 and World War II, Carl Hoff and his Orchestra (featuring the Murphy Sisters) present an unpleasant little ditty directed at the rulers of the Japanese Empire. The words are unpleasant, but the music is sprightly.

This episode represents a return to normal (or what passes for such) after a couple of "theme" weeks. Enjoy!!

I'm on the verge of declaring Fritzi Ritz the official Aunt of Uncle Warren's Attic - OK, Red might object to that, so maybe I'll declare Aunt Fritzi the official cartoon mascot of the Attic. obviously Fritzi and I are kindred spirits - she talks about old music a lot, her T-shrts are a constantly changing homage to pop music (today "Property of Apple Records," yesterday "Del Reeves," last Friday "Wild Weeds Fan Club") and today, we learn that she has an attic full of old shtuff.

"I keep 'em all," Nancy's aunt says, "I've got 78s, 33 1/3s, 45s, 8-tracks, reel to reels, cassettes, Betamax, VHS, laser discs ..." Sigh! Why can't she be real? (Oops ... sorry, Red, just kidding!)

Nancy was one of the guilty pleasures of my childhood; even though it usually had a silly or even lame premise, I kept coming back to the adventures of Nancy, Sluggo and Fritzi Ritz, and Ernie Bushmiller became a name in the back of my mind. Bushmiller died in 1982 and the strip, when I checked in from time to time, seemed to be foundering. The current creators, Guy and Brad Gilchrist, have revived Nancy bigtime, and Fritzi has been reinvented as a very hip but aging baby boomer - not that you'd notice the "aging" part.

The Gilchrists have made Fritzi's chest a continuing homage to pop music - many's the time I've gone searching and found lost treasures by doing a Web search for the obscure reference on her T-shirt - such as the aforementioned Wild Weeds. Go ahead click the link; I never heard of these guys, but now I really want to hear them.

IMHO, Fritzi has supplanted Vicki, the biker alter ego of Rose Gumbo, as the sexiest babe on the comic strip pages. And now she has an attic, too. Sigh! Why can't she be real? (Oww! I said I was kidding, Red ...)

In addition to assembling the six remaining tunes in my Batman songs collection for you, this episode debuts Mobile Uncle Warren, as I introduce the songs while driving to work and talking to my new digital recorder. I promise not to use it too often - unless you want me to!

The songs, by The Meriettes or The Bats, if you will:

"The Battiest Car Around"

"Here Comes the Batmobile"

"It's the Batman"

"Ho Ho Ho The Joker's Wild"

"The Wonderful Boy Wonder"

"Look Out It's the Batman"

And once again, warning: Listening to these songs all at once may make your brain explode. I won't take responsibility if you ignore this warning.

P.S. I forgot to mention during the show that the sound quality of "The Wonderful Boy Wonder" suffers because the record was actually manufactured off center, so as the song progresses it develops a bit of a wobble. Hey, I bought it for 49 cents ...

And thanks again to Red for another stellar cameo performance, this time as herself.

Fair warning: This one is different from everything that came before.

Everyone who has ever been on the radio has a dark place in their soul. Maybe it comes out on the full moon, maybe it comes out when they realize how silly life in general is ... but every so often they sneak off to that dark place and become ... a Top 40 DJ.

Recently, listening to tunes I'd downloaded from the Podsafe Music Network and Sub Pop Records, I found myself falling into that dark place, and before I realized what was happening ...

It was too late.

UNCLE WARREN'S ATTIC TOP 7

1. Rollin' - Maria Daines

2. Sin City - The Legendary Hucklebucks

3. Zen Hot Dog - The Sealed Weasels

[tie] The Dog Song - Piney Creek Weasels

5. Say I Love You - Ruby James

6. Atlantica - Speed Limit 35

7. The Ghost of an Unkissed Kisses - Trembling Blue Stars

UPDATE: I can't believe I forgot to acknowledge the contributions of my partner, Red, who makes her podcast debut in the roles of news reader Red Roberts (not her real name!) and Jeanie, Caller #15. Thanks, hon! It wouldn't be the same without you.

 

For the first time, I have a clear idea what the next two shows will be like. Browsing through the songs at the Podsafe Music Network the other night, I suddenly started imagining them in the context of an oldtime top 40 show. If it's as much fun as it sounded in my brain, UWA 20 will be a milestone. I'm working up sounders and jingles right now, and I'm trying to recruit Red for her podcast acting debut; watch for it in a few days. There should be good rockin' that night.

Then I got a listener suggestion that instead of trickling out the remaining tunes in my collection of records in the Batman series of kids' 45 rpm tunes, I do a "Batman band blowout" episode. It has a certain appeal. He also let me know the songs were once collected in an album and the band has a real name: The Merriettes. They're not credited on the 45s. At the moment, I'm slating that one for UWA 21. But I have to admit, these little tunes are easier to take one at a time. When I digitized the remaining six tunes in one sitting, my brain exploded. I may yet chicken out on this idea.

This show ended up revolving around sounds that you don't hear much anymore: A telephone ringing, an electric typewriter, a steam engine. Along the way, as always, we unearth a few tunes.

The centerpiece - or the longest piece - is a 1993-ish radio report I did about the Milwaukee Road 261's visit to Green Bay. This magnificent steam engine was restored to its original working condition, and capturing its sounds was one of the highlights of my halcyon radio days.

Musical entries are "Hobo Bill's Last Ride," a 1930 recording by Jimmie Rodgers you can find at the Internet Archives ... "North of Milwaukee, South of Green Bay" by Big City Bob and the Ballroom Gliders. A Web search will land you a guy named Big City Bob, but this record seems to predate the contemporary Bob's musical activity ... "Sweet Patunia" by Willie Jones a k a Will Baker, a 1927 recording for which precious little info is "out there."

My friend B.W. Richardson put down some good thoughts this morning about the classic Steppenwolf album "Monster." Now, my mind doesn't often go straight to Steppenwolf when I think about my favorite rock bands, but its stuff has weathered time well. "Monster," in particular, seemed to be outdated at one point in recent history, but revisiting it now, it may be more relevant than ever.

I sometimes forget that the first rock concert I ever attended was a Steppenwolf date. The memories are faded - I remember John Kay with his sunglasses - the fascinating instrument the guitarist put in his mouth that allowed his guitar to talk, literally - and something that you're not allowed to see anymore: a smoky haze over the whole auditorium. That last fact is indicative of why "Monster" is still a song for our times.

According to the stat machine, there's been a precipitous drop in the number of people downloading the show. This is what Dave Slusher must have meant when he said the true measure of a podcaster is what he would do when almost no one is listening: If he quits then, he wasn't in it for the right reasons. (I'm paraphrasing.)

Well, I'm doing this because it's just too darn fun. Maybe a poddy audience is like the proverbial bar of soap: If you try to hold it too tight, it slips away. Maybe I've been thinking too hard about how to keep the audience happy, when what made the audience happy in the first place was I was just having fun poking around in my attic. As long as most of you are gone, maybe I'll just throw what makes me happy into the next show.

Of course, the other possibility is that the stat machine is malfunctioning again and the audience is bigger than ever ... in which case, talk amongst yourselves and ignore this note.

UPDATE: OK, now I'm sure it's a malfunction. The counter hasn't changed for three days, and I've been getting comments from people who've downloaded the show within the last three days. Yippee! You still like me! You really like me! (Down, Sally.)

... of working in radio, covering the news and Studebakers are interspersed with some tasty music by Los Gallos, the Young Iroquois Drummers, Paul Whiteman and Melanie Lewis (pictured). The exact set list goes like this:

"Amor Prohibido," Los Gallos (from the Podsafe Music Network)

"Honor Song," Young Iroquois Drummers of the Oneida Nation, from UW's personal stash of tapes from his radio news career

Thoughts about radio and podcasting from Dave Slusher of the Evil Genius Chronicles, via the Podcast & Portable Music Expo

"Anything Goes," Paul Whiteman & his Orchestra, from the Internet Archive

"Satisfy Me," Melanie Lewis (from PMN)

"Golden Hawk," w.p. bluhm (from the forthcoming album "Songs From The Attic")

Enjoy!

New music, live music, old music and a peek inside Spider-Man comics. What more could you ask for? It's UWA 17!

The musical features: The opening salvo of "Rama Lama Ding Dong" by The Edsels ... a brand-new version of "Hanky Panky" by The Vultures ... a smidgen of "Smile" by The Beach Boys ... the old chestnut "Gee" by The Crows ... the enigmatic "Double-Double: A Waltz for Voice" by Uncle Seth ... the psychedelic pop nugget "Sunday Girl"* by The Telling Eye ... and Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" by Greensky Bluegrass. And a couple of other surprises.

* On the show I identify it as "Sunday's Girl," but there is no apostrophe-s in the song title. I also didn't realize until later it's a cover of a Blondie song - a very good song, I might add.

Sources include the Podsafe Music Network and the Internet Archive.

I haven't been able to get that Billy Murray-Aileen Stanley song out of my head, so I went Googling for Aileen this morning and found this comprehensive review of her life. I'm drinking up the available recordings, so don't surprised if she turns up on the show sometime soon.

If you enjoyed "Keep Your Skirts Down, Mary Ann," make sure you check out "Bridget O'Flynn" at the bottom of the Jazz Age link!

Celebrating 2007 and the spirit of freedom with nifty stuff from 1922 to the present day! The show is peppered with moments from the classic James Stewart vehicle Shenandoah, which should be mandatory viewing for kids of all ages.

The picture of Hemi the cat in the sink has nothing to do with this show; I just think it's cute. Hemi occasionally drapes his body over my left arm and falls asleep while I'm typing, so he's kind of a silent partner to the podcast.

Courtesy of the Podsafe Music Network comes Rockosaurus Rex with "Auld Lang Syne," the only way to start the new year, says I.

After a Marines recruiting ad from Lefty Frizzell, we welcome back Billy Murray and Aileen Stanley, who spiced up UWA #3 with their rendition of "Keep Your Skirts Down, Mary Ann." This time around they perform a piece I found at the Internet Archive called "I'll Stand Beneath Your Window Tonight and Whistle." All that whistling inspired me to follow it up with a vintage excerpt from Lux Radio Theater; I bet you can guess what it is!

"I Wonder How You're Doing" is a song I wrote and recorded at home in 1985; it becomes the latest Uncle Warren project to be hauled out of the attic and shared with the world.

Then it's back to the present day for Jonathan Coulton's wonderful a cappella tune, "When You Go," and a brand-new piece by Los Gallos called "Free the People" - a terrific sentiment to start the new year with, says I.

After an ad for the new Sunday edition of Newsday, we close out with Huddie "Leadbelly" Ledbetter doing his song "Where Did You Sleep Last Night," perhaps best known as the piece that Kurt Cobain made his own when Nirvana played MTV's "Unplugged."

All this and 22 seconds of Firefly, too - what are you waiting for? Download the darn thing!

My little attic studio is still under reconstruction, so nothing from my collection this time, but lots from the Podsafe Music Network!

"The Awful Green Things from Outer Space," Clouseaux

"Joy," Michael Lucklow

"Married a Magician," Dust Poets

"Betty," The Lascivious Biddies

"Loopy" (GarageBand experiment), w.p. bluhm

"Rocking Harder," Lee Rocker

"WNBC," Gentlemen's Gun Club

Back to something resembling normal next time - in the meantime, Happy New Year and see ya soon!

It seems there are only about 20 Christmas songs, and they get repeated in endless permutations for six weeks. "Oh Come All Ye Faithful," "Hark the Herald Angels Sing," "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" and the other 16 songs seem to have been recorded by every artist on Earth, and several times each.

But still ...

Today in church "Silent Night" reminded me of the glisten in my mom's eyes when she heard it sung ... by anyone.

And "Glo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ria, in excelsis deo" brought me back 23 years to the time a children's choir, string quartet and the adult choir sent my heart soaring and converted "Angels We Have Heard On High" from an also-ran into my favorite Christmas carol.

When the aches and pains of the years have healed or at least faded, the sweet memories remain. The familiar carols carry us back to happier times, comfort food for the soul.

Merry Christmas and/or any other holiday greeting you prefer!

A new era begins in Uncle Warren's life as he produces his first GarageBand podcast. Bert, what do you know about that? Merrrrry Christmas!!!!

This is an odd one, because the musical selections are either from 78 rpm records or .mp3s - there's no in-between. Among the gems here:

"Joy to the World," Robert Shaw Chorale

"March" from "The Nutcracker Suite," Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Eugene Ormandy.

"Chiron Beta Prime," Jonathan Coulton

"The Cherry Tree Carol," Robert Shaw Chorale

"Twelve Days of Christmas," Robert Shaw Chorale

UW's Christmas memories, music "The First Noel," Mario Ajero
a nifty piece I found at the Podsafe Music Network

"Podsafe Christmas Song," Jonathan Coulton

UPDATE: Whoops! I forgot to mention Orson Welles and Lionel Barrymore from the 1939 radio performance of "A Christmas Carol"

"Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy," Philly Orchestra

As I say in the podcast, this show is to celebrate the holiday season. If you�re celebrating something besides Christmas, Happy Hannukah, or Merry Solstice, Awesome Kwanzaa - whatever greeting you prefer, consider yourself greeted. Pour out a glass of milk, grab some cookies, and settle in!

I started trying to figure out how to produce a podcast using the GarageBand and iTunes software on my new iMac - my Christmas present to myself - and as often happens when I work with Macintosh stuff, I am overwhelmed with how downright easy it is.

My original plan was to record the UWA Christmas show the same as the first 13: Tape it on my trusty old reel-to-reel recorder, dub it to CD, and convert it to .mp3 on the sturdy old Windows 98 machine. That was based on the thought that I probably couldn't figure out a new program (GarageBand) quickly enough to do the Christmas Show justice.

My new plan is to use my new toy. I just love it! Why doesn't everybody own a Mac?

Well, this site is now powered by a lovely new iMac. I thought about it and researched for a very long time before pulling the trigger the other day. I'm still in the process of transferring files from one place to t'other, taking the software for a test drive and such.

This means at some point I'll be able to record the show directly on GarageBand without the intermediate steps of assembling it on the old Pioneer RT-707 reel-to-reel recorder and dubbing it onto a CD-RW, then walking it over to the computer to transform it into an .mp3. Whether that will improve your appreciation of my ancient recordings, or suck the analog joy completely out of the equation, remains to be seen.

I haven't started putting the Christmas show together yet, but I'd better get started before next Monday, hadn't I? Stay tuned! And/or stay subscribed!

Toss out the script and grab that guitar - it's Uncle Warren unplugged to start the night with (once more) "Seems Like Old Times."

After a word from our sponsor, we make a quick visit to the Evil Genius Chronicles to talk about podcasting for a spell.

Our first musical guests are Josh White, singing "Take a Gal Like You," and Josh White Jr. with "If I Knew Then."

Then let's gather around for a reading of Mark Twain's famous story "The War Prayer," written in 1905 but not printed until 1923.

While we're in the '20s, it's Paul Whiteman with the slightly naughty "Last Night on the Back Porch."

And after an important word from Johnson Wax, Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra, with help from the Pied Pipers, Connie Haines and a young man named Sinatra, bring us our musical finale, "Snootie Little Cutie."

Enjoy!

I've just discovered what, to me, is a new podcast - the Evil Genius Chronicles. Dave Slusher has actually done 191 episodes of his show, and while I can't yet speak for the first 190, I was extremely impressed by #191, which you can download here.

In addition to great tunes from Sufjan Stevens and Michelle Malone, the show has a number of interesting clips from other podcasts tied together with musings by Slusher about new media and the nature of art and creativity. How interesting? It influenced the way I think about Uncle Warren's Attic, in ways that likely will become apparent almost immediately.

I can't recommend the Evil Genius Chronicles highly enough - at least #191.

UPDATE: Whoops! I was sending you to the wrong link when you clicked on "Evil Genius Chronicles." Try it now. Sorry!!!

What it is:

Excerpt from radio dramatization of It's A Wonderful Life with Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed

Theme: "Seems Like Old Times," w.p. bluhm

A plug for the new Uncle Warren's Attic a-store

"Tip Toe Through the Tulips," Johnny Marvin (pictured)

A collage from the CD A Guitar's Carol by Keith L. Cooper

"Toastin' Marshmallows," Judy, Johnny & Billy (1959)

Vintage radio ad: Spry

"Melting," w.p. bluhm

"There Goes Robin" by "the Batman band." On the show I say this is the song that taught me the words pugilist and philanthropist, but when I listened again I see I misremembered. The mighty Robin is not described as a philanthropist in the song.

Coming soon: The "first annual" Uncle Warren Christmas Show.

So that you can browse and shop in time for Christmas, here's the work in progress known as the Uncle Warren's Attic astore.

Odd that DVD troubles would delay an audio podcast, but that's what happened - I finally decided to go on with the show despite a pesky machine that only played half of the movie clips I wanted to use to explain "spigot lines," those miraculous movie moments when someone turns the spigot on your tear ducts. Musical moments:

New theme: "Seems Like Old Times," w.p. bluhm

"The Christmas Song," King Cole Trio, off an authentic 78 rpm record.

"Riders in the Sky," Spike Jones

"The Day John Glenn Came Home," Fifi Barton

Watch for "Uncle Warren's Attic," the astore, coming to a Web site near you, hopefully in time for Christmas!

I played you a piece by guitarist Keith Cooper back in Uncle Warren's Attic #3. Now he's put together a CD called "A Guitar's Carol," which has 11 wonderful tracks, ranging from amazing solo efforts on "The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" and "We Three Kings of Orient Are" to festive arrangements of "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" and "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" to an atmospheric rendering of "Carol of the Birds." It's the best new Christmas music I've heard in a long time.

It's only available now in "pre-release" form, as an insert to a Christmas card that's available only at Keith's concerts (we saw him over the weekend) and over the Web. You absolutely should check it out.

It figures, after I bragged about my amazingly retro equipment last week, that my amazingly retro equipment would start rebelling as I attempt to throw together UWA #11. I believe it's in the category of temporary setbacks, but it's a tad irritating nonetheless. But never fear, the problem is not in your set, we'll be up and at 'em in no time ...