Paul Robeson 'Anthem of the Soviet Union'

I love it when a couple of threads on this blog come together - and this is an example. My Dad is a big Paul Robeson fan and his political activism only made him even more of a hero to my old man. Robeson even made a film about the South Wales mining community The Proud Valley (no clips on Youtube sadly). I think his courage and intelligence deserves more respect - check this from his wiki

Paul LeRoy Bustill Robeson (April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an internationally renowned American bass-baritone concert singer, actor of film and stage, All-American and professional athlete, writer, multi-lingual orator, scholar and lawyer who was also noted for his wide-ranging social justice activism. A forerunner of the civil rights movement, Robeson was a trade unionist, peace activist, Phi Beta Kappa Society laureate, and a recipient of the Spingarn Medal and Stalin Peace Prize. Robeson achieved worldwide fame during his life for his artistic accomplishments, and his outspoken, radical beliefs which largely clashed with the Jim Crow climate of the pre-civil rights United States. He became a prime target of the right during the McCarthyist era.^[1][2][3][4] Despite his being one of the most internationally famous cultural figures of the 20th century, persecution by the US government and media virtually erased Robeson from mainstream US culture and subsequent interpretations of US history, including civil rights and black history.^[3]

Cab Calloway 'Reefer Man'

Another oldie from the era of the older generation this song kind of proves that great music never dates - this is staggeringly good with some amazing bass playing...some hiphop star ought to cover it.

Sam and Friends

If you're not interested in Russian military parades maybe you might be interested that today in 1955 was the debut of Kermit in a series called Sam and Friends..here's an episode from 1961.

Foreign contingents join victory parade in Moscow

Well I've been enjoying the footage of today's parade in Moscow - I thought you might want to see the Welsh Guards etc. But then you probably don't. Wiki on the 2010 Victory Parade

Foreign troops join Russia's Victory Day Parade

News article here about the 65th Victory Day in which troops from Britain, Poland, France and the US march. No major leader came from the UK however - Prince Charles' offer to go was turned down without reason. Anyone got any guesses as to why he might not be welcome?
You might also be interested in this BBC article about Lenin's London connections and the pub in Clerkenwell where supposedly he met Stalin in 1905.

'Lazy Bones' Hoagy Carmichael

I love Hoagy Carmichael - I have to thank my Dad for that. One the great songwriters of the 20th century. This song has a particular resonance with me for some reason - though I have to say I don't spend a lot of time sleeping. If you want to hear and see more - go here to see him playing Memphis in June to George Raft. Hoagy - real name Hoagland, named after a circus troupe the Hoaglands that stayed in his mother's house, acted in 14 motion pictures, including things like To Have and Have Not and an episode of the Flintstones.

Nathan Abshire 'Jolie Blon'

More Cajun magic from Nathan Abshire. Imagine this stuff in your local pub...would you ever leave?

Leonard Nimoy 'Bilbo Baggins'

OK I am lightening up. It's a good day - let's all sing along with this and be happy.

Bad Day - Carmel

I feel conflicted about today - it's my son's birthday so I won't moan about politics.

Balfa Brothers

I am not sure when I first discovered this Cajun act - it may have been the movie Southern Comfort where they do a song or perhaps a compilation album of Zydeco stuff but anyway they are a firm favourite in this house where their tonality and je ne sais quoi cause us great joy. Give it a whirl - you might like it.

Election day in the UK

Always General Elections remind me of my childhood. My father John Mitchard used to stand for parliament back in the day for Labour - here we are in 64 I think when he stood in North Devon. I have pretty happy memories of these old style elections when they used to have debates in town halls and PA speakers on top of cars. I remember one time when my Dad and his crew went out meeting the people leaving me alone in the car - I got hold of the mic and did the Batman theme very loud which caused them to run back to the car in a panic. I also stuck my tongue out in a family portrait like this one and it got used in the local paper. Good times.

Swindon Railway school photo

I don't know whether this photo is of any interest to railway enthusiasts? Be interested if anyone knows more about it. It's a group photo of railwaymen (including my Granddad Harry Newman who was to become an S&D driver based around Radstock) on the occasion of their passing out. Can't tell you the date but he was born in 1900 so around 1920 I guess. (He's second from the left in a light suit).

Reds (1981)

As one of you has noticed - the Russian Revolution has pretty much been ignored by Hollywood - it's probably for the best - it would be shit and besides I expect the filmmakers are probably worried that they might be blacklisted in some future witch-hunt but there is one notable exception - Warren Beatty's John Reed biopic calleds Reds. Watch the trailer - it certainly looks more exciting than I remember it but it was a good film and if you like Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton get a copy. John Reed wrote the classic 'Ten Days that Shook the World'. We actually had a song called that in the old Animals and Men days - before this movie came out I hasten to add - didn't record it though - anyone remember it? (Sue just said she does remember it - but not the words)

Four Lions trailer

This new comedy from bete noir of British alternative comedy Chris Morris looks funny and worth seeing. Tells the story of 4 hapless British jihadists as they try to become home-grown terrorists.

Budenovka

You may be bored to death with my interest in this hat - certainly my family are but that's just the way it is. If you wanna be in my Red Sotnia you have to take the rough with the smooth. These images I like - the poster's text reads something like 'She was born under the red flag in 1918'.
Anyway according to the wiki on this cap

Budenovka (Russian language: Будёновка, budyonovka) is a distinctive type of hat and an essential part of the communist uniform of the Russian Civil War and later. Its official name was the "broadcloth helmet" (шлем суконный). Named after Semyon Budyonny, it was also known as the "frunzenka" after Mikhail Frunze. It is a soft, woolen hat that covers the ears and neck and that can be worn under a helmet. The cap has a beak and folded earflaps that can be buttoned under the chin.

The hat was created as part of a new uniform for the Russian army by Viktor Vasnetsov, a famous Russian painter, who was inspired by the Kiev Rus helmet. The original name was bogatyrka (богатырка) - hat of a bogatyr - and was intended to inspire Russian troops by connecting them with the legendary heroes of Russian folklore. Bogatyrkas were meant to be a part of a new uniform, so they had already been produced during World War I, but hadn't been officially adopted. Another version, quite popular in Russia, is that bogatyrkas were designed for a military parade as a part of a "historical" stylized uniform (which also included an overcoat with "designer" cross-pieces, which also were used in the Red Army to a limited extent). Some Russian historians even speculate the parade in question was a supposed victory parade in Berlin.

During the Russian civil war, communist troops, who had no obligation to comply with the uniform standards of the Imperial Russian army, used bogatyrkas, as they were abundant and distinctive. Bogatyrkas were commonly decorated with red star pins as a distinguishing mark. Such decorations were often makeshift, but later were standardized, and a bigger star badge of broadcloth was sewn to the front of the hat, typically red but in some cases blue (for cavalry) or black (for artillery). This allowed the communists to use the image of "Red bogatyrs" fighting the old and corrupt Russian system, thus employing the original idea by Vasnetsov. At this time the hat was renamed the Budenovka after Semyon Budyonny, the commander of the First Cavalry Army, as the hat was particularly popular with cavalry units.

The Pigs: Youthanasia + They Say:(Bristol 2009)

Bristol Archive Records have been doing a great job reissuing classic tracks from the punk era from this city - check out the catalogue on the blog (BRISTOL – THE PUNK EXPLOSION). Glad to see this brilliant Bristol band, the Pigs are one of the bands brought back into the spotlight. We loved their 'Youthanasia' ep and were seriously floored when the DJ at the OCCII played it back in March of this year. Now I see they have reformed and are playing live in selected venues - this video shows you that they have still got the skill and ability to play this material - I'd love to catch them live - here they are at the Thunderbolt. Also, on the vintage Bristol punk scene, Bristol Archive are releasing a Cortinas vinyl lp soon...

Rare As The Yeti - Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds

Newish song from Kid Congo - you may have enjoyed his 'Historia de mon amour' many years ago. This looks to be a similarly catchy toon. Nice one.

Adam Ant interview

So Adam has been doing some live shows - great! Here's a recent interview with him.

Smoking ban

I know you probably think I am an idiot for objecting to a wholesale smoking ban. Now I have a good reason for it - according to the wiki on Smoking Bans

The first modern, nationwide tobacco ban was imposed by the Nazi Party in every German university, post office, military hospital, and Nazi Party office, under the auspices of Karl Astel's Institute for Tobacco Hazards Research, created in 1941 under orders from Adolf Hitler.^[27] Major anti-tobacco campaigns were widely broadcast by the Nazis until the demise of the regime in 1945.<sup>[28]

NB My son on reading this thinks I have succumbed to this phenomenon</sup>

Reductio ad Hitlerum, also argumentum ad Hitlerum, (dog Latin for "reduction to Hitler" or "argument to Hitler," respectively) is an ad hominem or ad misericordiam argument, and is an informal fallacy. It is a fallacy of irrelevance where a conclusion is suggested based solely on something or someone's origin rather than its current meaning or context. This overlooks any difference to be found in the present situation, typically transferring the positive or negative esteem from the earlier context. Hence this fallacy fails to examine the claim on its merit.

Its name is a pun on reductio ad absurdum, and was coined by an academic ethicist, Leo Strauss, in 1953. Engaging in this fallacy is sometimes known as playing the Nazi card,^[1] by analogy to playing the race card.

The fallacy claims that a policy leads to—or is the same as—one advocated or implemented by Adolf Hitler or the Third Reich, and so "proves" that the original policy is undesirable. For example: "Hitler was a vegetarian, so vegetarianism is wrong." The tactic is often used to derail arguments, because such comparisons tend to distract and anger.^[1]

Iron Felix 1919

Never mind Iron Man 2 when are they gonna make a movie about Iron Felix?
Biography of the head of the CHEKA here