This month has really gotten away from me. Not that most of them don’t (Time: what a concept), but as much spinning of the wheels as there’s been, there’s also been some forward motion. Let me tell you first about this month’s song….

Tinkle, Winkle, Pobble & Bip is a 30-second theme song exercise for a children’s TV show in much the same vein as The Teletubbies. Four strange little creatures with funny-sounding names getting into all kinds of psychedelic adventures – what could be better than that? Obviously it’s geared toward a younger audience, but if you’re feeling a little silly it might hit the spot.

Now for the latest news:

*CDs and downloads are once again available for purchase at my website, The Marble Tea Webthing (www.marbletea.com). I had to re-arrange some things due to server problems on the back-end, so individual songs aren’t available anymore but you can buy the ‘albums’ in packages at really low prices! And of course, there’s lots of free stuff there too.

*The film Megahertz, concerning the other-wordly adventures of the increasingly prophetic genius Nikola Tesla and a soul-searching female disc jockey, is nearing completion. Brought to you by Anam Cara Productions, I was thrilled to do the score for it as well as contribute a wee pop song or two. There’s also some music from the indisputably talented hands of our hero, Mr. Max Eider.

*New Mystics is a gathering place for artists of all stripes, and features lots of great work from poets, writers, filmmakers, musicians, painters, etc. Their theatre company recently branched out into film-making, and I’m honored to be providing music for a series of their short films. You can check out the development of this series on their film page.

*Finally, thanks to everyone who’s expressed their sadness over the closing of the Book Bin. It’s been quite a time, but Kate & I are looking forward to the future with anticipation (particularly one free from so many boxes of books creating their own corridors in the house!). We’ll continue to sell online through Amazon.com and Abebooks.com, and hopefully I’ll have our main site updated soon so come visit us!

That’s it for now as I have to go in for an unexpected shift at my other job shortly. Stay warm until next time…..

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What do you say we become little cartoons for a minute and hit the beach? I’ll bring the hula if you bring the hoop….

If I had to choose, I’d say that my favorite Harry Crews book is probably A Feast of Snakes (though that Gypsy’s Curse story from the Classic Crews collection ranks about as high as anything). Grotesque more often than not, his tales expose the slithering underbelly of rural Southern culture in sharp contrast to those of greats such as Capote and O’Connor. It can be vile and depraved, but it’s sure good for your eyes.

Martha’s snakes aren’t quite as real, and therefore aren’t quite so frightening. With the change of a word or two, it might make a nicely disturbing children’s song.

This entry’s mp3 was written by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse for the film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Jeff Booth and I recorded this version of the song at his studio for the LittleWalks New York children’s video, and I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to keep it up here but I thought it would be nice to make it available at least for a listen.

Besides being a great guy on all fronts, Jeff’s an amazingly talented musician and someone that I’d like to nominate for sainthood right now for all his patience with my never-ending struggle to find the “right note.” (Check out Jeff and his brother Dwayne’s music here)

My favorite part of this song is the instrumental break. After we figured out the backwards guitar lead and Jeff kindly let me play it, he added a beautifully complimentary guitar part using the e-bow. I couldn’t be happier with the way the melodies snake around each other. Excellent.

For those interested in the playing credits: I played a couple of guitars, Jeff played some guitars, bass, tambourine and drum programming, and Tim Shea played some drumstuffs. I can’t remember if we lifted the organ intro from my original demo or if Jeff played that fresh for this version. Oh well. Enjoy….