“Always thinkin
Most times the mind
Hardly ever rest

To get the heavy burdens
off ones chest…And

‘I’m tired’
Tired of workin, tired of survivin
‘I’m tired’

‘I’m tired’ of screamin ‘n’ shoutin
This time I’m walkin out

Too many bumps in the road
Never had a smooth ride
And it frustrates me to see
That I’m the only one noticing
If things don’t soon change….”

–”I’m Tired” written by Mingering Mike on August 29, 1993, according to his records, between 11:27 and 12:05 p.m.

It was nice to open up a story on CMJ in the New York Times and see a picture of Ponytail’s singer, Molly Siegel, smiling from up on stage, eyes closed, head tilted into the lights. It just looked cool. And nice to see the band make the Times. They are truly the best live band in the Baltimore or D.C.

You can check the story/photo here complete with condescending headline “This Is The Music Of The Blogs.”

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I first met Mingering Mike at a Denny’s in June. He brought along his cousin Joseph War. He didn’t say all that much. He kept his guard up. He ate slowly, listened to my questions, and only hinted that he may open up. I revisited the Mingering story a few months later.

I sort of put him off because I thought he’d be difficult. I was only partly right. It took me three weeks of begging and generally debasing myself before he allowed me inside his apartment.  Lyrics, his lyrics, the ones he wrote at 12:05 p.m., and 4:03 a.m., etc., were buried under vinyl, VHS, and CDs. He had been writing songs for nearly 40 years and doing his own album artwork for albums that never saw proper release.

Mingering turned out to be a really sweet guy. What makes a man write songs in secret for 40 years? Who is Mingering Mike? I tried to find out. You can check the story here. The story includes three songs, one of which Mike hasn’t released, and one we did together with former arts editor Glenn Dixon.

I will be updating the blog regularly in the next few days with unreleased Mingering lyrics, soul history tidbits, an interview with Chuck Brown and other soul legends. Stay Tuned.

Jazz Guru Tom Porter just called. He wants to let Black Plastic Bag and our readers know that his next vinyl sale has been moved from this Saturday to this Sunday. “It’s jazz, jazz, jazz, Brazilian, Latin, Hip Hop, R and B, Funk, and classical,” Porter says. “It’s not the stuff that was out last week. It’s going to be at least 500 new pieces.”

The prices range from $1 and up. Porter’s going to try and keep the prices $5 to $10 max. He’ll have some Blue Note LPs! What artists? “That’s too hard,” Porter says. “I’m just going through my collection and pulling stuff out. It will be something for everybody.”

Location: 1453 Chapin Street (backyard).
Time: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Date: Sunday not Saturday. “I need more time to get ready,” Porter says.

Today, for listening booth, we check in with Josh Harkavy of Red Onion Records & Books to ask him what album he’s been digging recently.

After much consideration, Harkavy picks:

The Sounds of the Tornadoes by the Tornadoes.

It, of course, includes the song “Telstar.”

“It’s kind of a classic early ’60s song,” Harkavy explains. “I guess when the Telstar Satelite was launched, Joe Meek, the British producer, was inspired to write this song. ….It’s a cool mix of early ’60s and what was to come. I’ve just been digging it. And some TV show called Mad Men used it in a pretty pivotal scene. It kind of has that sound that’s pretty fresh today. Joe Meek was pretty crazy. He used electronics early on in the game. It has these weird sound effects, phasing and overdubbing. It has that trippy sound he was pretty famous for.”

Here’s a weird homemade clip of “Telstar”:

DCist is reporting that “Arlington Institution” Dr. Dremo’s is about to finally see the wrecking ball. The massive bar complex is getting razed to make way for…. more condos (ugh). The blog notes: “Demolition has finally begun. Most of the surrounding buildings are being taken down today, and one construction worker said he had been told they’d do the actual Dremo’s building sometime next week. So, Dremo’s fans, stroll by this week to take one long, last look.”

This past January, D.C. Foodies penned a tribute to the watering hole:

I fondly remember its parking lot as one of the best ground level locations to watch the July 4th fireworks over the Mall. It is this great view I fear which sealed the bar’s fate. After years of harassment from the Arlington County government and other local groups, the owners, the Stewart family, have finally had the land sold out from under them to real estate developers. This location will soon be home to 141 brand new luxury condos. To be fair, the closure may have been inevitable as the building is falling apart and has been doing so since the bar opened as Bardo Rodeo back in the early Nineties: but that’s the real charm of the place! Dr Dremo’s is one of the best examples of an endangered species in the DC area, the dive bar, and as such it will be greatly missed.

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Via Wonkette:

This past weekend, Local Legend Tom Porter held a massive vinyl sale in his backyard. We hyped it.

Some of you complained that you missed out. Today, we are glad to report that Tom Porter is hosting another vinyl sale in his Chapin Street backyard (1435 Chapin Street NW). The sale will be on Saturday. We will have more details on this soon.

Dischord folk write:

We are currently stocked on many Dischord titles on Vinyl that have been unavailable for months and in some cases years, including Dag Nasty, Can I Say, which is now available for the first time on blue vinyl. We are also fully stocked on the following releases:

Minor Threat Out of Step EP
Minor Threat, First Two 7″s EP
Minor Threat, Salad Days 7″
Minor Threat, First Demo Tape 7″
Rites of Spring, S/t
Fugazi, Seven Songs
Fugazi, Repeater
Fugazi, In On The Killtaker
Fugazi, End Hits
Fugazi, Instrument Soundtrack
Fugazi, The Argument
Pupils, S/t
Lungfish, Feral Hymns

And notes: “All these Vinyl albums come with a complimentary MP3 download when purchased from our website.”