townx

That'll be your man, Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Later in the video, he invites the audience to take whistles and join in with his band, in the key of W; then plays jazz to a tiger while a child rides on his back; then plays a flute and annoys a fox. Interspersed with the very droll John Cage talking about music while preparing for a performance with a musical bicycle. I just realised John Cage sounds very much like Vincent Price, which may partly be why I like him so much.

On a related note, I'm doing my monthly hunt around YouTube for interesting videos. Here's what I found:

• This little gem is Can in the studio. What I particularly like is the intense concentration, interplay between the band members, and the frenetic activity which initially produces light ripples of sound but builds into a flutter of noise. Also I like their long hair and the way Damo Suzuki is standing in a cubby hole at the back to do his vocals.

• Here's another one, a performance of Bring Me Coffee or Tea by Can.

• Class: Can playing I Want More on Top of the Pops in the 70s.

• I just discovered the largely forgotten and underrated at the time Finitribe did a cover version of I Want More. Not as good as Can's, but interesting.

• Also discovered Finitribe did a cover version of The Electrician, one of Scott Walker's rather extraordinary mid-career experiments (when he was transitioning from his crooner phase to the all-out avant gardism of his current work).

• And this is one my favourite Can tracks, Oh Yeah, bizarrely shown on MTV. As someone points out in the comments on this one, you can definitely hear what Radiohead have been listening to. I liked the man juggling umbrellas in the middle of their live act. This is the song which The Fall pastiched in their Can tribute, I Am Damo Suzuki, which is also great. Here's a version of that.

• Speaking of The Fall pastiches, Spinal Tap's Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You (the first track at the start of the film) has the same bass line as Athlete Cured off The Fall's The Frenz Experiment album.

• Here are Portishead's performances on Later this week, preceding the release of their new album (the first in 11 years):
  • Machine Gun. Pretty brutal that one.
  • The Rip.
  • We Carry On.
    Somehow I think the album's going to lack the dinner party appeal of their previous efforts.