Old Guy Radio - Bamboo House of Dolls

Hear me out.

There is a series of novels by Richard Kadrey centered around the character James Stark (aka Sandman Slim) and his various acquaintances (and enemies). The novels are urban fantasy noir, I guess. They’re like Raymond Chandler crossed with Charlaine Harris? But all of that is beside the point. The point is that one of the frequent locations in the stories is the Bamboo House of Dolls. To quote from one of the novels:

"A little east of home is Bamboo House of Dolls, the best punk tiki bar in L.A. Old Cramps and Germs posters on the walls. Plastic hula girls and palm trees behind the bar. An umbrella in your drink if you ask nicely. There's also a brilliant jukebox. Martin Denny. Arthur Lyman. Meiko Kaji. I don't think there's anything on there less than forty years old."

I first started reading the Sandman Slim novels in 2010. I didn’t really pay attention to the music mentions back then, mainly because there was no way to find any of it. Pandora was still in its infancy, and its universe of music, though broad, was not very deep. It wasn’t until recently that Spotify even had some of these artists. For example, when I posted the Tribute list in January, they only had one Takeshi Terauchi album. Now they have dozens! And there are still songs that Kadrey name checks that I can’t find.

So lately, when I come across an artist’s name, I go straight to Spotify and listen to them while I read. It’s fun. And I decided to spread the love. What I did first was to go back through every Stark novel I have read (yes, I have actual copies) and find all the artist mentions. In addition to stuff played in Bamboo House of Dolls, Stark and his girlfriend Candy have an interesting taste in music. All of that is here. The playlist is exceedingly long. Just put it on shuffle and enjoy the ride.

By novel, here are the mentions (the playlist includes the albums and songs in bold):

Sandman Slim: Martin Denny, “Alice” by Tom Waits (not in the playlist because Stark doesn’t like it, since Alice is the name of his murdered girlfriend)

Kill the Dead: “Swamp Fire” by Martin Denny (Afro-Desia), “City of Veils” by Les Baxter (Ports of Pleasure), “Bali Hai” by Tak Shindo (from the compilation Mondo Exotica, also added M’ganga)

Aloha From Hell: none, but then, a good portion of the novel takes place in Hell

Devil Said Bang: Some devil themed songs at the beginning, which also mainly takes place in Hell, then back on earth: “Chuncho” - Yma Sumac (Inca Taqui), “Blues for Dixie” - Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys (doesn’t fit the theme), “Balloon Waltz” - Les Baxter (can’t find it)

Kill City Blues: Martin Denny, Les Baxter, “Yadokari” - Meiko Kaji (Yadokari or ヤドカリ), “Was It Really Love” - Martin Denny  (Exotic Moog)

Getaway God: “Winter Wonderland” - Martin Denny (can’t find it), “White Christmas” - Martin Denny (can’t find it)

Killing Pretty: “Exotic Night” - Martin Denny (a tiki version of “Greensleeves” on the compilation Christmas Cocktails, Part 2), “Limehouse Blues” - Esquivel (Infinity in Sound, Volume 2), Martin Denny

Perdition Score: Martin Denny, Arthur Lyman, Meiko Kaji, Takeshi Terauchi (Rashomon), “Oasis of Dakhla” - Les Baxter (Tamboo!), “Sakura” - Arthur Lyman (Taboo 2), “Beyond the Reef” - Frankie Carle (Tropical Style of Frankie Carle)

Most of this stuff is from the 50’s and 60’s. Today it smacks a bit of cultural appropriation, but that’s probably not fair. The Polynesian and African rhythms are real enough, sure, but the instrumentation and arrangements just seem imagined, rather than copied. Does that make sense? I am not an anthropological theoretician, just a guy who likes all kinds of music. 

And here’s a little bit about the artists:

Martin Denny - Kadrey mentions Denny in almost every novel, but only specifically names a couple songs. Denny is often considered the father of exotica (or tiki) music. His 1957 single “Quiet Village” (a cover of a 1951 Les Baxter original) actually reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. I’ve put his albums “Afro-Desia” from 1959 and “Exotic Moog” from 1969 in the playlist.

Les Baxter - Baxter was more of a composer and soundtrack artist than he was a pop music sensation, but his contribution to the overall style of exotica can not be overlooked. Included in this playlist are his albums “Tamboo!” from 1956 and “Ports of Pleasure” from 1957.

Tak Shindo - Shindo was a Japanese American musician, whose interests lay more in jazz and incorporating Japanese elements therein. But he jumped on the exotica craze with his album “Mganga! The Primitive Sounds of Tak Shindo” in 1959, which became a hit and is included in the playlist.

Yma Sumac - Sumac was a Peruvian singer with a reportedly five octave range. She embraced exotica early on, working with Les Baxter on her first album “Voice of the Xtabay”, released in 1950. Her 1953 album “Inca Taqui” is the choice for the playlist.

Meiko Kaji - One of the outliers, Kaji is best known as an actress. But she also had a successful recording career, mainly in the 70’s. Her 1973 album “Yadokari” is included.

Esquivel - Juan Garcia Esquivel was known throughout the 50’s as one of the foremost purveyors of lounge music. He even opened for Frank Sinatra in Las Vegas several times. I have included his album “Infinity in Sound, Vol 2” from 1961.

Takeshi Terauchi - Another outlier. Terauchi is not actually mentioned as being in the Bamboo House of Dolls jukebox, but his album “Rashomon” was presented as a gift to Candy in “The Perdition Score”, so that’s what you get.

Arthur Lyman - Lyman was actually the vibraphonist for Martin Denny on his 1957 debut album “Exotica”. He left soon thereafter to form his own band. Apparently, they didn’t speak to each other for decades. Anyway, you get “Taboo 2” from 1959

Frankie Carle - Last but not least we have Frankie Carle. Carle was a pianist, composer, and bandleader, who began his career nearly a hundred years ago. He was recording under his own name by the early 40’s. He was never really associated with the exotica movement, but did capitalize on the trend with his 1966 album “The Tropical Style of Frankie Carle”, which is what we have.

So that’s that. Over six hours of chill music. I actually tweeted about the playlist and tagged Kadrey. He retweeted it, and the playlist has accrued a few followers because of that. Fun times!