Turn Me On, Dead Man

Was it a hoax? The sensationalist media run amuck? Or did it really happen? In the late '60s rumors began to circulate that paul McCartney had been killed in a car crash and replaced by a double. A plethora of "evidence" and "proof" was offered up by various pundits to support this thesis; Paul was the only Beatle not wearing shoes on the cover of Abbey Road; Paul was dressed in a walrus costume on The Magical Mystery Tour cover; a number of Beatles songs contained "backwards" messages that suggested paul was, indeed, dead. The Beatles themselves were never very forthcoming; even Paul himself never stated for certain whether he had died or not. If that's not proof then the Sloptops don't know what is (or isn't)!

The samples for this piece came from a recording posted at the original "365 Days" project (see link at right, under "Sites You Should Visit), as well as a recording of a 1969 broadcast of the "Uncle Russ Gibb radio show on WKNR, Cleveland.

Here are some links if you would like to read more.

Listen: Paul Is Dead Hoax - Putting the rumor to rest

AUDIO: Beatles In Detroit and Paul is Dead "I read the news today: All Beatles news

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Just Say Know

Not to long ago, The Meat Beetles were paid a visit by a member or members of We're Late For Class, a jam band from somewhere in America. The Sloptops immediately spotted WLFC as kindred spirits on a myriad of levels. It was decided that these two bands should join forces.

The ensuing sessions were quite fun and a good time was had by all. Except for some neighbors, who called the police. Seven officers responded to the call, but only three returned to the station. The other four could not resist and were drawn into the festivities. After drinking several cups of coffee (with plenty of sugar cubes), the officers in question traded their badges for bongos, their tasers for trumpets, their guns for glockenspiels, and joined the hootenanny.

This piece is respectfully dedicated to the memory of Albert Hoffman, who left this world on April 29, 2008, at the age of 102(!). If you have to ask who he was, you're not ready for the answer.

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Blue Boy

It starts with LSD and Preparation H, and before you know it you're "hooked" on "Mary Jane" and "pot". Just say know!
The samples on this one are from the legendary '60s police show, Dragnet.

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Meat Your Mete

The Meat Beetles are vegetarian. The cow in the foreground in the above image was still alive when the picture was taken.

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To Keep And Bear

Usually, when the Meat Beetles use samples of media and political personalities, the intent is to ridicule and insult those people. On this one, however, the voice used is someone for whom the Sloptops have enormous respect: Air America radios host, Rachel Maddow. This was taken from her broadcast the day after a gun owner murdered 5 people on the campus of Northern Illinois University.


The more history we live through the more often it repeats itself.

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Paul's Big Score

Here is another bit featuring the genius of '70s pick up guru, Eric Weber (Weber also played a prominent role in "The Mating Call of the Male Uglo-American"). For this one the Sloptops simply took an entire track from his classic album, How To Pick Up Girls, and superimposed beats and squiggles on top of it. Interesting how things just serendipitously fell together into something approaching a structure. As for the subject matter, there may be or have been women in the world who would fall for a routine like Paul's, but none of the Meat Beetles ever met one.

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Dragsville Cats

Don your beret and shades, tune up your bongos, and pour another cup of espresso. The Meat Beetles have invited you to a beatnik hootenanny. The samples in this one are from the classic 1958 film, High School Confidential . Click here to see the original source material, posted at You Tube.

The Meat Beetles have passed you the shovel--now dig!

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This is My Happening and it Freaks Me Out!

Wowie zowie, let's do your thing! This 1992 recording is the Meat Beetles' salute to the '60s in. It features a cast of, literally, thousands, including JFK, LBJ, MLK, Walter Cronkite, Allen Ginsberg, Mario Savio, Abbie Hoffman, and more hippies, yippies, dippies, commies, and mothers than you can shake a stick at. An improvised two-guitar rave-up provides the backdrop for a barrage of samples, most of which were lifted from a PBS documentary series on the '60s, and from the documentary film, Berkeley in the 60s.

By the way, at least one of the Meat Beetles is 99% certain that the young woman holding the sign in the above photo is none other than Melanie Safka, who had a hit with "Lay Down (Candles In The Rain)" in 1970.

Oops, almost forgot. This one has F-words in it. Listen at your own risk.

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23%

Let's face it; every day more and more people are coming to the realization that George Bush, the "leader" of the "free" world, is a living, breathing joke. But in this go-go world of the 21st century, maybe you just don't have the time to laugh. Maybe you are too busy trying to earn a living; maybe concerns of family and community don't leave you with enough time to laugh; maybe you're saying to yourself, "I'm too busy to laugh today; I'll find time tomorrow." And tomorrow is forever another day away.

Well, if this describes you, don't worry. The Meat Beetles have you covered. We have nothing but time on our hands and will be happy to laugh at Bush for you. And should you ever find yourself with a few free minutes and would like to join the Sloptops and billions of others around the world in laughing at the little twerp, just click the "Play" button below and let yourself go.

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World War 345

The Democratic Party had a lot of low moments in 2007, but the Meat Beetles unanimously agree that the party leadership was at its most despicable in the wake of Representative Pete Stark's floor speech in October. A rare person among the Democrats, Stark actually stood on the floor of the House and did what so few have the spine or integrity to do: he told the truth about our "president". For this he was slapped down and forced to apologize by the Democratic leadership. The Meat Beetles, en masse, went to the nearest post office, picked up voter registration forms, and changed their affiliation from Democrat to Independent.

Anyway, part of Stark's speech was used in this piece. To provide a context, audio recordings of inane blather by George Bush and various cable "news" creeps have also been used.

Happy New Year! Same as the old year?


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