Most irritating Exotica album and song

I hope this isn't too much of a stretch, but any exotic song played by a New Orleans Jazz band at a tiki bar must be an irritating song.

Quick reply, JC --

"Quiet Farm" is, quite simply, hysterically funny. Devious, low-key, well-produced, it adroitly goes from sly to full-tilt parody. Lookin' for it, 'cause I'd love to slip it into my otherwise authentic exotica mix for the next local luau here on the island (it's sure to get some slow-burn disorientation, followed by laughs -- that's what it did to me the first (and only) time I heard it).

If I ever find it I'll let the 'Ohana know via TC Music.

Cheers and aloha,
SOK

(Uh, now who's veering..., sorry. BTW, anybody else know of any other Gerald Fried exotica out there?)

[ Edited by: Son-of-Kelbo 2007-03-26 11:08 ]

I'm afraid to ask, but I need to know. Is "Orienta" as bad an album as people here claim it is?

I admit, I was lured by the cover photo and the standalone track "Rain In Rangoon" I heard on The Quiet Village podcast. Well, curiosity got the better of me, so I searched for, and found, an "Orienta" CD reissue that happens to also include Michel Magne's "Tropical Fantasy." Lucky me! :(

A quick perusal of the latter via an LP share blog was all I needed to realize I should avoid it like the plague. (My apologies to the few genuine fans of "Tropical Fantasy") However, I keep listening to the :30 second track clips of "Orienta" and, while it is, indeed, lacking heart in comparison to the best compositions by Martin Denny, Les Baxter, and Arthur Lyman, it certainly is far removed from the audio assault that is Magne's "Tropical Fantasy." In other words, could "Orienta" truly be that horrid? Especially when compared to "Tropical Fantasy"?"Rain In Rangoon" is a pleasant enough track, but surely it can't be the best on the album. Or could it?

I fear I've made a financial blunder tracking down an Exotica LP on CD that may not be worth owning. :(

On 2010-05-24 21:03, DejaVoodoo wrote:

I fear I've made a financial blunder tracking down an Exotica LP on CD that may not be worth owning. :(

Well I'm completely in the minority on this one, but I LOVE both these LPs and I think a double CD of the two is worth having (provided you didn't mortgage the farm to get it). I have both on vinyl and treasure them both. I also love Johnny Richards' "The Rites of Diablo" and Les Baxter's "Passions" -both of which are in that Exotica-as-horror category.

I, Z

I can't stand Eden Ahbez's "Mongoose" song. Probably because I want to believe "Eden's Island" is in Polynesia. Yes there are mongooses (mongeese?) in parts of Hawaii but there are no snakes for them to chase away (like the song says). Also I always get the image of him lighting up a joint with a Rastafarian afterward. That's not very Tiki. :(

On 2010-05-25 14:12, I, Zombie wrote:

On 2010-05-24 21:03, DejaVoodoo wrote:

I fear I've made a financial blunder tracking down an Exotica LP on CD that may not be worth owning. :(

Well I'm completely in the minority on this one, but I LOVE both these LPs and I think a double CD of the two is worth having (provided you didn't mortgage the farm to get it). I have both on vinyl and treasure them both. I also love Johnny Richards' "The Rites of Diablo" and Les Baxter's "Passions" -both of which are in that Exotica-as-horror category.

I, Z

Well, at least someone had something nice to say regarding "Orienta." :) I think I'll be joining that minority as the :30 second track clips of "Orienta" sound quite appealing to me. Yes, they're a little jokey with the appropriate, but often obtrusive, sound effects on certain tracks - "Rain In Rangoon" sounds like quite a heavy downpour! BUT, practically sight unseen, (or album unheard) I get that "Orienta" is meant as a stylized take on the Exotica genre, much like Disney's "The Haunted Mansion" was a not-so-scary twist on the traditionally terrifying haunted house, and the "Enchanted Tiki Room," when you really get down to brass tacks, really isn't 100% authentic, historically speaking. As much love and respect as I have for the "Enchanted Tiki Room," you have to admit that the only thing Tiki about the title song alone is the word Tiki!

I don't think I'll be coming around much to Michel Magne's "Tropical Fantasy" based on what I have heard. But it's the second LP on the twofer CD so I'm sure I'll listen to it occasionally.

No farms were mortgaged to afford this CD. It was just on the higher end of most commercially available CDs, say at Barnes "we-almost-always-charge-msrp-and-then-some" & Noble. It should be arriving in a couple of days. Thanks to the favorable reply to my original post, I can now say I'm excited!

On 2010-05-25 14:12, I, Zombie wrote:
I also love Johnny Richards' "The Rites of Diablo" and Les Baxter's "Passions" -both of which are in that Exotica-as-horror category.

I, Z

Speaking of Les Baxter's "Passions"...

:o

That album has some truly beautiful moments. However, as a whole I find it frightening! I respect the artistic frame of mind from which it was created, but seriously...

:o

On 2010-05-25 19:46, DejaVoodoo wrote:

On 2010-05-25 14:12, I, Zombie wrote:
I also love Johnny Richards' "The Rites of Diablo" and Les Baxter's "Passions" -both of which are in that Exotica-as-horror category.

I, Z

Speaking of Les Baxter's "Passions"...

:o

That album has some truly beautiful moments. However, as a whole I find it frightening! I respect the artistic frame of mind from which it was created, but seriously...

:o

When I was a kid and was annoying my mom a bit too much, she would actually put this album on and play the "Terror" cut. Freaked me out every time! The innocent humming at the beginning, then the footsteps, then that unholy scream at the end. Holy crap that stuff scared me!

:o

I'm not sure Les Baxter had ever been used before as a disciplinary device.

My mom didn't play.

The moment I saw the title of this thread two words crossed my mind: "Tse-Tse Fly".

When I was a kid and was annoying my mom a bit too much, she would actually put this album on and play the "Terror" cut.

"You either start behaving right now or I'll put the Les Baxter on!"

Wow - never imagined that, but with The Passions I can totally see why it might work! :o

I, Z

On 2007-03-10 19:15, DJ Terence Gunn wrote:
Most Irritating Exotica song: 'Tsetse Fly' by Martin Denny. :21 ]

If any of you were wondering how "Tsetse fly" was recorded, check out this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMBHYh_yoQk

Perhaps annoying in one's stereo, but simply virtuosic when watching it live.

On 2007-03-10 19:15, DJ Terence Gunn wrote:
Most Irritating Exotica song: 'Tsetse Fly' by Martin Denny...

That song came to mind the second I saw this thread. On the Afro-Desia CD by Rev-Ola, it's on there twice, in mono and stereo.

On 2007-03-13 09:14, bb moondog wrote:
I guess with that one ---all you can think is WOW--we NEEDED a MOOG version of this? I bought that coupled with the Les Baxter Moog--I think i played the WHOLE THING TWICE--and will probably revisit it ONCE a year to remind myself...
ELP--probably the only Moog style stuff with legs and EVEN THAT is highly debatable. For those of us 40+ folks whose lives CLOSELY paralleled That 70s Show, ELP were S$&*# hot.
Sometimes TIPSY grinds on me a little bit..as does most cartoony music

I found the Moody Blues use of Moog enjoyable back in the '60s and early '70s, and still enjoy their music in small doses. Unlike ELP, they were consistently good at writing catchy tunes. They also didn't have to deal with Keith Emerson's ever-expanding ego.

Back to the topic: I have been thinking about posting a thread: "What I Love and Don't Love About Tiki Music" here but haven't had the time and am afraid it might lead to my evisceration. If I do, Exotica is the only category of music that would be on both lists. As a radio DJ, I take notes while listening to recordings for future reference when programming my shows (I already have hundreds of pages of these notes on my computer). After listening to a two-CD set of Martin Denny's Greatest Hits all the way through at one sitting, quite frankly I don't care how long it is before I hear another song with the musicians whooping and hollering in the background like birds. On the other hand, many of these exotica recordings were made by superb musicians whose perfomances rival some of the finest jazz recordings.