Talk to me about Moondog

hwoever i have never actually heard anything y moondog, will also ask for recs.

I met him once -- on the street in New York City, 32 years ago. He wore the same type of outrageous Viking-type costume you see on the cover of the Columbia albums. A blind man on the corner with only a huge spear to protect himself. The NYC sidewalks would get too tough for that routine very soon after that. He had no homemade cassettes of his music that day, but he was selling poems. "Put whatever you want in the cup and take a few," he said. We gave a few dollars and took two or three of the whimsical, sub-Beefheartian verses from his stack. Illustrated with odd little pencil drawings of birdies and beasties. I've been unable to find them for years. Really too bad.

Next to track down that Pastoral Suite/Surf Session thing...

http://www.moondogscorner.de/disco/

Takes a bit of research, but this site told me everything I wanted to know about the early recordings.

And the album continues to amaze me.

Moondog (1956)
More Moondog / The Story Of Moondog (2 on 1 cd)
Moondog (1969) / Moondog 2 (2 on 1 cd)
Elpmas
In Europe
H'art Songs
Sax Pax For A Sax
Moondog Big Band

Can't go wrong with any of them! There's another compilation around at the moment too, called The German Years or something? The Honest Jon's comp looks like an excellent introduction anyway.

Listening to "Down Is Up." Utter fucking genius.

I've always been leery of this person for some reason (I think the name just bugged me), but I recently heard a radio special about him (I forget what show it was on, but probably some sort of NPR syndicated thing) and I liked all the music I heard by him.

It's always wise to be leery of blind street musicians--just trying to rip you off.

"the witch of endor" is so so good. listening to this guy in conjunction with Univers Zero and wishing i could play the cello

a bunch of his LPs have been reissued (on vinyl that is) recently. i have never heard anything by him that is anything less than great.

Wfmu DJ Irwin did a great tribute show to Moondog a couple years ago. real audio only, but it is worth it for biographical information provided by his guest, Robert Scotto author of "Moondog, The Viking of 6th Avenue"

http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/23161

i saw those reissues. there's the one with the nice warhol cover. but it looks a little shiny.

listening to moondog for the first time- sax pax for a sax

i am so in love with this, what wonderful music

yeah, few things make me happier than listening to moondog

a joyful noise

Discovered Moondog the other day. Am in love with this.

happy birthday!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjh1u1MKF5E

"I began using Moondog as a pen name in 1947, in honor of a dog I had in Hurley, who used to howl at the moon more than any dog I knew of."

Sax Pax For a Sax needs some sort of re release. It's maybe the most beautiful record I know.

I love Moondog. Didn't Donald Barthelme also have a story which referenced Moondog?

Anyone tried out the new Hari Kunru 'interactive' prose essay on Moondog?

http://www.harikunzru.com/twice-upon-time-listening-new-york-2014

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7Bq_MvkUtU

this song is mesmerizingly repetitive. dude had a nice voice

centennial's comin up

Moondog fucking rules

Don't know if I've posted this before but...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-kk65_HjzA
... is just beautiful.

Wish they'd re-release Sax Pax for a Pax soon.

Moondog fucking rules

he does, but if you read the biography (which has lots of problems, i admit), he seems like less than an entirely admirable figure.

i mean, yeah, who isn't? but i hope that documentary i contributed to doesn't gloss over some of the less attractive stuff.

yeah he was sort of a nazi, right?

like he believed the whole burzum thing about how "christianity" had ruined society, which needed to be rejuvenated by a return to our pagan roots.

i mean, it's sort of to be expected by someone who dressed like a viking. i still admire his independence, as an artist and a person. apparently his more problematic views didn't really affect how he treated people in real life too much.

does the biography touch on his family life? his relationships with his wives and children were unstable at best, which is unsurprising given his lifestyle:

http://www.newworldrecords.org/uploads/fileniXlQ.pdf

His desire to rework on his sung canons emerged in April 1971, when he found himself reacquainted with his ex-wife Suzuko and their daughter June. He had been estranged from them for ten years, and June was now a teenager with a magnificent voice. Moondog 2, Round the World of Sound, is dedicated to her, and features the father reunited with his daughter singing together twenty-five of his first madrigals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwBGtgoVPLs

JimiG541 year ago (edited)
As a teen I dated his daughter June, who was also in my high school home room class. She was quiet, pretty, and trippy, speaking poetically at times out of the blue. Her and her mom, who was his musical stenographer for years, lived in the same apartment building as he at the time (by Columbia University) but avoided him. Once we got to the elevator just as the door closed and saw his helmeted visage in the little window going up. I sometimes sat on the steps listening to him or sharing a quick chat with him at 666 6th Ave. where he "held court" as a street performer selling his LPs and hand made instruments. June and her mom were estranged from him for some years, but after an afternoon in Central Park talking about his invitation to record on what was to become this album, she decided to go ahead and sing and play on it. I'm glad she followed my advice. Oh, and "All is Loneliness" was recorded by Janis Joplin and Big Brother on their first LP...:-)

Anyone tried out the new Hari Kunru 'interactive' prose essay on Moondog?

Read this earlier this week in about 30 minutes (£2 as kindle download, without the interactive elements). It's a nice short essay, and enjoyed it a lot - but didn't learn anything about Moondog that I didn't already know.

Do like that Moondog 2 lp. Reminded me of Bagpuss's mice on the mouse organ.
I have it on a BGO 2fer.

I think 1st thing by him I heard was Stomping Ground on some hippy era label sampler.

BBHC's cover of All Is Loneliness might be better live. The 1st lp is pretty muted. I know it's on the Janis Joplin live compi from the 70s. Think it may be on at least 1 of the BBHC live lps that came out over the last couple of decades.

http://s33.postimg.org/f2sne0e27/torte100.jpg

'Please, take care of my music' (Moondog)

Commemorating the 20th anniversary of Louis T. Hardin's death.

Moondog zum 20. Todestag
(SWR2 Radio feature in german language, today at 15:05 CEST UTC+2)