Moondog
 

I am fairly new to this guy but am utterly taken away by his life story and music. To encapsulate : Moondog was the pseudonym of Louis Thomas Hardin , a blind American composer, musician, cosmologist, poet, and inventor of several musical instruments. Although these achievements would have been considered extraordinary for any blind person, Moondog further removed himself from society through his decision to make his home on the streets of New York for approximately twenty of the thirty years he spent in the city. The public began to appreciate the extent of Moondog's talents only in the final decades of Moondog's life, primarily because of his stubborn refusal to wear anything other than his own home-made clothes, all based on his own interpretation of the Norse god Thor. Indeed, he was known for much of his life as 'The Viking of 6th Avenue'.

I have cut and pasted this from wikipedia but only for the reason that this guy needs to be heard and I don't know enough about him yet to write about him in the manner in which he deserves. I have only heard the album 1969 but it has made me go all weak at the knees and I'm damn sure that many of you have heard this:



I cannot wait to delve into his back catalogue.

This is a worthwhile read and listen.

Have not visited this story since the 60 Minutes piece 10+ years ago.

"Why are all the geniuses so mad"

I've only heard the 1969 album, but I own two others. I love this guy.

Wouldn't that bring him closer to society? Though the homemade clothing made
in tribute of Thor might undo that a little.

I read about this guy in The Big Book of Weirdos (which is pretty interesting in it's own right) but hadn't heard any of his music until right now. I like that song a lot.

I've not heard of Moondog but have been offered a copy of his album to review.
Should I be excited?

Sounds great, I shall be checking out more of him soon.

I love interesting characters like that, on a side note.

This guy sounds interesting, I'll check him out.

I like it...it actually sounds like a person walking (or skipping) down 6th avenue in strange clothing. Checkin' it out now...

I don't get it.

It just sounds like the kind of classical I don't like.

Moondog is brilliant, so innocent, so beautiful.

Moondog (1969) or whatever the official name is, says so much in so little time.

Wow, this is my first time listening to Moondog. You're right, cardboard. So simple, too. This is just beautiful.

May I bump this thread to recommend Moondog too ? A fascinating guy, and some wonderful, unique music. The self-titled 1969 album is a good place to start, but as that´s already been mentioned, I thought I´d post a couple of other pieces; something short from his early days (1955), and something longer from his later years (1991):-

Oddly enough, I was thinking of Moondog a couple of hours ago. Weird that the first thread I see when I check in here today, is a 5 year old thread on Moondog. I'm going to have to dig into my collection and play something by him now! :laughing:

Yes, that´s a strange coincidence, Psy-Fi, but then everything in Moondog Land seems to be strange.

tbh, I´m pretty new to Moondog and the material I have is mainly cherry-picked on a track-by-track basis from Youtube, so I´d be very interested if you had any comments to make about specific albums. Of course, that invitation is open to any other afficionado too.

Anyway, here is his discography, annotated with the sum of my meagre knowledge so far. Does anyone want to fill in the gaps by copying, pasting or otherwise adding their own comments ?

Original Albums:-
1953 Moondog and His Friends, Epic- this album has the honour of being included in
........streetwaves´impressive list: http://www.musicbanter.com/album-rev...50-2006-a.html
1956 Moondog, Prestige
1956 More Moondog, Prestige
1957 The Story of Moondog, Prestige - first and last tracks are ok, but the rest is only for true fans
...... of bare percussion and "found sounds" experimentation
1957 (with Julie Andrews and Martyn Green)Songs of Sense and Nonsense, Capitol - said to be awful.
1969 Moondog (not the same as the 1956 LP), Columbia - best known album, with tracks featured
....... in movies, etc.
1971 Moondog 2, Columbia -not a commercially wise follow up to the previous album. It consists of short
...... madrigal exercises which sets it apart from his other work.
1977 Moondog in Europe, Kopf
1978 H'art Songs, Kopf - "songs" means lots of lyrics, so not one of his best imo.
1978 Moondog: Instrumental Music by Louis Hardin, Musical Heritage Society
1979 A New Sound of an Old Instrument, Kopf
1981 Facets, Managarm
1986 Bracelli, Kakaphone
1992 Elpmas, Kopf -lots of long marimba/xylophone tracks, like the clip I posted earlier.
1994 Sax Pax for a Sax with the London Saxophonic, Kopf/Atlantic
1995 Big Band, Trimba
2005 Bracelli und Moondog, Laska Records

Original Albums(see above), but repackaged:-
1991 More Moondog/The Story of Moondog, Original Jazz Classics
2001 Moondog/Moondog 2, Beat Goes On

Compilations:-
2005 The German Years 1977–1999, ROOF Music
2005 Un hommage à Moondog tribute album, trAce label
2005 The Viking Of 6th Avenue, Honest Jons
2006 Rare Material, ROOF Music

I really like the tracks you posted Lisnaholic. Going to take your advice and look them up, starting with Moondog and His Friends.

I honestly thought it was some Frank Zappa project judging by the name.

Hey, that´s nice to hear, Rjinn! I hope you find the investigation as rewarding as I have.
^ :laughing: Didn´t think of that ! ... or he could´ve been Moon Unit´s little brother.

Moondog is great

Listened to Moondog (1969), love it. Thank you.