'Professor' Leo Blokhuis and Top 2000
This is Leo Blokhuis (above). More on Leo in a moment.
First: Hello again.
I had a dream last night and it was about this blog.
You see its been a long time - 32 days to be exact - since I wrote a new entry and my conscience must have been getting the better of me.
In the dream, I wrote this amazing entry about some record I discovered which reminded me about some other record that I had discovered when I was a teenager and well it was a dream so it all didn't make any sense but it made perfect sense - in the dream at least. I knew it made sense until I woke up and then I could not remember a thing.
So, there you are.
I was traveling over the holiday, reading a lot of music magazines in airplanes and celebrating New Years in The Netherlands.
Every year, for the past ten, Holland's Radio 2 has polled its listeners to produce a Top 2000 of all time. (http://top2009.radio2.nl/) It is an interesting list; since it is so long it has many predictable results but also alot of songs you haven't heard for awhile as well. Or never heard - its Dutch!
Related to this, each night for about a week before New Years, TV host Matthijs van Nieuwkerk - charming and enthusiastic - and music expert Leo Blokhuis host a wonderful hourlong TV show called Top 2000 a Go Go. Filmed in a large cafe, with an audience of people sitting at tables drinking beer around the room, van Nieuwkerk and Blokhuis play selections form the Top 2000 list - in reverse order counting down to number 1 - interview unlikely guests, quiz even more unlikely guest, and play Leo's mini-music-documentaries. For me, they are the highlight of each show, fascinating and entertaining.
So, every night from December 26 through New Years Eve, I tuned in at 11pm to see what Leo had come up with. One night it was legendary but forgotten bass player Carol Kaye. Another night it was Lori Lieberman, composer of 'Killing Me Softly.' With my poor Dutch comprehension, I struggled to follow the proceedings, but got more than enough to want to tune in again next year. My native Dutch speaking wife bought two of Blokhuis' wonderful books - please translate thenm into English Leo - or let me try! (i'm serious, Leo....)
Leo's special fascination is covers (are covers?). He traced the Otis Redding's legendary performance of 'Try a Little Tenderness' back to a 1932 recording by England's Ray Noble!
Musically, the Top 2000 list uncovered some gems: Midnight Oil's 'Beds Are Burning'; Sniff 'n' the Tears' 'Drivers' Seat'; The Shoes, Klaus Voorman, Willy Deville, Spandau Ballet, Prince covering Led Zeppelin's 'Whole Lotta Love.' The Buoy's 'Give Up Your Gun';
Golden Earring's 'Another 45 Miles'; Dr. Alban's 'It's My Life.'
For more on Blokhuis' books, check out 'Showcase': http://showcase.thebluebus.nl/soundtrack-of-my-life/october-2008/leo-blokhuis
Or go to www.leoblokhuis.nl
And say that paul Rosenblatt, your 'vinylrecordarchitect' sent you!
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