Hello! It’s Tuesday once again, which means it’s time for The Piper Block on datafruits.fm! Let’s see what we’ve got on the schedule tonight…
Talkie Time: Casey, Crime Photographer - The Demon Miner / The Busman’s Holiday
whole fuckin crew when Mister Marvin walks in to talk about how ANCHOR HOCKING IS A GREAT NAME IN GLASS or some shit
“Ethelbeeert, do you know what Casey just wanted to do?”
“What, Miss Williams?”
“Well, they just put in a fresh cement sidewalk next door, and Casey wanted to stop and write his name in it. He’ll never grow up.”
“Well, Casey’s a great name–”
WHOAA-HOOOOH, WELL, I’LL GO U ONE BETTER THAN THAT!!!11!
…
“oh hello mister marvin”
WELL WHAT ABOUT ANCHOR HOCKING? U KNOW ANCHOR HOCKING IS A GREAT NAME – IN GLASS!!1!!
–Casey, Crime Photographer, “The Demon Miner”
"now that's just not right! not right at all! that whole family should be using SPLINTERABLE GLASS BOTTLES from ANCHOR HOCKING GLASSSS!!!" --mister marvin, probably
When we last heard from our pal Casey, there were a bunch of piles of dead bodies everywhere and then they went back to the jazz club and talked some shit and had a pint. This time….yeah, you know what, it’s about the same this time too. Fairly reliable formula, fairly cozy. It’s like “Friends” for the deranged.
And hey, Anchor Hocking is in the glass bottle manufacturing business, as we’ll hear in our second episode tonight. Nothing says “target market” like selling improvised weaponry to folks whose comfort show involves casket-chasing stringers amd bar-room piano jazz.
…although, given how shell-shocked the American public was post-WWII, it wouldn’t exactly surprise me if those baking dishes they keep talking about in the first episode got used in a husband-poisoning or two. I’ve seen Arsenic And Old Lace1 and I’ve talked to my fair share of ninety-year-old widowers in nurshing homes. Nothing wrong with diversifying your portfolio.
This week, the grippy-sock-jailbound Blue Note Barflies star in “The Demon Miner”, which originally aired on March 27, 1947. After that, it’s “The Busman’s Holiday”, which originally aired on August 21, 1947.
The Jazz Program : Morgana King - It’s A Quiet Thing (1965) / A Taste Of Honey (1991?) / The Winter Of My Discontent (1964)
ah yes, 1971's "A Taste Of Honey". not to be confused with 1991's "With A Taste Of Honey" or 1964's "With A Taste Of Honey" or what I did to your man last night uwu
There’s been many a lounge singer who went from the golden stagelights to the silver screen. Frank Sinatra’s acting career carried him from one of my favorite movies to a cameo in one of my favorite shows, Best Trek’s virtual lounge singer Vic Fontaine was real-life crooner James Darren, and there’s an entire Trivial Pursuit deck (or MST3K rant) worth of other examples I could think of.
But one card in that deck has always stood out to me, and that’s the one belonging to Morgana King. Long-time listeners will be peripherally familiar with her; every Jazzy Fuckin’ Holidays playlist ends up with her entire discography mixed in, and there’s even a one-off trip-hop side project in my discography somewhere that samples her. The general public, however, mostly knows her not as Morgana King, but as the queen of New York City: Carmela Corleone from The Godfather.
We’ve got three of the contralto monarch’s best works on the decks tonight, starting off with my personal favorite: 1966’s It’s A Quiet Thing, released on Reprise Records and with arrangements by Torrie Zito.
After that, we’ve got a bit of an odd one. See, I actually own the 1971 release of A Taste Of Honey on vinyl, which is a compilation of two other albums and isn’t to be confused with the original record With A Taste Of Honey, released on Fontana in 1964. We’re not hearing either tonight. Instead, we’re hearing the deluxe re-release (with bonus tracks) of the latter, released in 1991 on Mainstream Records.
And finally, we’re closing it off with something a bit less confusing: 1964’s The Winter Of My Discontent, released on Ascot Records.
aaaaaand that about covers this week’s show! Next week, we’ll meet you in the holodeck to watch some guy in a suit bury some bodies in the backyard.
(Can you guess what we’re playing next week from these clues? I’ve kind of given away the Talkie Time answer in the footnotes, but if you’ve got a guess for who’s on the Jazz Program, email me at piperbomb (at) protonmail (dot) com. If you can, I’ll give you a shoutout on-air!)
If you’re reading this the day of, and you can make it in tonight, you should come hang out in the chat with us on Datafruits! We’ve got a good crowd of folks in the chat every week, and whether you have a suggestion for a future show or just want to hang out and chat with fellow jazz enjoyers, you’re welcome here with us.
You’re all amazing and don’t let anyone tell you that you’re not. Stay safe out there, and I’ll see you back again next week. Same time, same station: on datafruits dot fm..
Footnotes…
-
And if you haven’t seen it, don’t worry; you’ll be hearing it on a future episode of the show. Turns out, the play the movie was based on was adapted to radio by The Screen Guild Theater on November 25, 1946, and you’ll never guess which group of theater kids will be gracing our airwaves next week. ↩︎