Oh, and speaking of Cliff Edwards (aka Jiminy Cricket), I met a guy working a counter at a used clothing store in New Orleans who was writing a book about him. (Apparently he was a HUGE seller in the 20s.)

Well, it was issued on one of those swell P-Vine comps "That's Jig Time!! - The Best Of Jive Vocal Groups 1" But I got around to digitizing my Human Orchestra LP 2 years ago. ItellyawhutI'mgwineahdo...email me the address you want it sent to and I'll burn you a copy. It might take me just a little while to dig it up since I didn't master it to this laptop. That means I'll have to find my actual CD, but I'm sure I have it somewhere.

(I'd write "eta" but I don't know what it stands for.): Yes, Cliff Edwards was an enormous seller. And he's gaining steadily in popularity now. When I put him on my Random Iconography page, I think I was the only one on the web. Within a year, there were two other pages on him. Now there are many and many uke players name-check him. What people don't realize is that he was as brilliant, if not more brilliant, a vocalist as he was a uke player.

ItellyawhutI'mgwineahdo...email me the address you want it sent to and I'll burn you a copy.

Done! Thank you.

I'd write "eta" but I don't know what it stands for.

Edited To Add

What people don't realize is that he was as brilliant, if not more brilliant, a vocalist as he was a uke player.

Oh yeah, the guy who was writing about him specialized in early crooners and was far more interested in him as a singer.

And I checked my laptop and I've imported into iTunes so I should be able to zap you up a copy in no time. Though I did no special tweaking, my digitization of it sounds better to my ears than the one on Jig Time. They left it at that very high volume that makes it fuzz out a bit when the band first starts wailing. I think it was that way on the Human Orchestra as well, but I toned it down just a wee bit so there's no cut out.

Is there any agreement out there on what "Meat Puppets" means? The Meat Puppets took their name from the song "Meat Puppets," from the album Meat Puppets. I can't make out a single word on that song; I don't know if there is one.

Perhaps the most obvious interpretation is sexual, but for some reason the name has mostly had an abusrdist association with me. Sorta' like, "We're just meat; we're not in control of our lives like we think we are."

Sorta' like, "We're just meat; we're not in control of our lives like we think we are."

That's basically it. As I recall, the phrase "meat puppets" was being bandied about in that era before the band took it. I always presumed there was some underlying Burroughs quote backing it, but I don't know what I base that on.

I guess I could just email Derrick Bostrom and ask him since he contributed to the book.

It's from that famous William Gibson book, IIRC.

ETA: no, I'm apparently wrong, the group predated Necromancer.

The book's name is Neuromancer.

I can't make out a single word on that song; I don't know if there is one.

The late 90s reissues had a lyrics sheet for the first album. I'd be happy to look that up for you sometime this week, but it's pretty much as David said, to my recollection.

Does anyone have recommendations on how best to mail CDs? They aren't in jewel cases, but in slim round-ish plastic cases that aren't quite as rigid, I don't think.