The Wild World of Hasil Adkins

I taped this documentary off someone a few years back. No idea who's responsible, but since it doesn't seem to have ever gotten any distribution, I put it up on YouTube. Part 2 is here, part 3 is here. Curiously, bits of this doc were on YouTube already in the form of this episode of the British show, In Bed With Medinner, which (contrary to the comments from outraged psychobilly fans) is quite hilarious.

Hasil Adkins was a crazy rockabilly performer from the backwoods of West Virginia, who performed as a one-man band, playing drums with his feet while singing and strumming guitar. He's best known for his 1957 (maybe?) single "She Said," which was covered by The Cramps. He died two years ago. This documentary catches him late in his life, but with age (and the ravages of alchoholism) not slowing him down. Wild, hilarious, and offering some glimpse of life in the rural South.

I had to edit out about 10 seconds from the first part because the tape was damaged (looked like I might have pressed "record" while the tape was in the VCR at some point. Ah, the days of analogue).

Elsewhere, Noz at Cocaine Blunts has unearthed 80 Blocks From Tiffany's, a documentary on late-70's gang culture in The Bronx, which is another way of saying "the early days of hip hop culture."

Edit: Oh yeah, I knew there was something else I wanted to link. My friend Jason Jenkins posted some video from the Fujirock Festival. Cool footage of Iggy, Deerhoof and Marva Whitney. Flip through the last couple pages of his blog, there's some great stuff. It looks so much cooler than any rock festival I've ever been to in America.