Friday Night Videos

I will admit that "Fat Bottomed Girls" is my favorite Queen song. It's such an absurd song, so silly and so wrong, that I can't help but love it. The fact that it's Freddie Mercury belting it out? Hilarious! But now here comes Remember Monday with a scorching, estrogen-drenched cover of it and I don't think I'll ever be the same. Damn, these women rock!

Previously on Friday Night Videos... Otyken.

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Chicken Ranch anniversary: Aunt Jessie (1885-1952)

On this date in 1952, Fay Stewart, otherwise known as Jessie Williams or simply "Aunt Jessie," passed away at the age of 67 in San Antonio, just a couple of months after selling the infamous Chicken Ranch brothel in La Grange to Edna Milton. Her sister-in-law, Eddie Ledda Moody, traveled from McLennan County to oversee Aunt Jessie’s burial in Sunset Memorial Park.

Fay Stewart’s parents came from Georgia (or possibly Nashville), moving to Waco well before she was born. The family lived for years on Franklin Street. In my book, I reported that the family struggled after Stewart’s father died unexpectedly in 1886. A local history buff in Waco has done some excellent research on that, and it seems the death of Stewart's father is the result of a census error in 1890. In fact, he outlived his wife who passed away in the 1890s before remarrying around the turn of the century. Information is sketchy after that, but circumstantial evidence would indicate Fay and her new stepmother did not get along well. By 1910, Fay’d moved to Austin and assumed the alias of Jessie Williams, as was customary for women in the sex trade intent on protecting their families’ reputations. All of this biographical information is updated in the new edition of my book, slated for publication in June.

Inside the Texas Chicken Ranch: The Definitive Account of the Best Little Whorehouse is available from both Amazon.com and BarnesAndNoble.com. It's also available as an ebook in the following formats: Kindle, Nook, Google Play, iBooks and Kobo.

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Friday Night Videos

I discovered Otyken last year and remain fascinated by this indigenous group from Siberia. Their performance is so... out there that I have a hard time finding the words to describe it. They are badass, yes, but also supremely confident in their cultural presentation. Their most recent release, "Phenomenon" carries on that tradition and turns it up to 11. I'm not sure what I'm hearing but it is magnificent.

Previously on Friday Night Videos... Tom Jones and the Art of Noise.

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Chicken Ranch anniversary: Miss Edna (1928-2012)

On this date in 2012, Edna Milton Chadwell, better known as Miss Edna, passed away at the age of 84 in Phoenix, Arizona, where she'd lived a life of quiet anonymity since the early 1980s. Her final days were tragic. The previous October (or September--my memory is imprecise) she was involved in a car wreck that left her hospitalized with an array of injuries. From what I understand, her memory was affected, and her brain stopped converting short-term memory into long. In practical terms, it meant somebody could introduce themselves and begin a conversation with her, but five minutes later she'd have no recollection. Over the previous three years I feel I've gotten to know her as much as any person alive today who wasn't related to her. She enthusiastically supported my book project and graciously invited my wife and myself into her home for hours of interviews.

Throughout the six-plus years it took to research, write and publish Inside the Texas Chicken Ranch: The Definitive Account of the Best Little Whorehouse, there was no bigger supporter of mine than Miss Edna. As I've said elsewhere, my biggest regret is that she did not live to see the finished product. I can't say for certain what she'd have thought of it, but others who were close to the Chicken Ranch have given me the thumbs up, so I like to think Miss Edna would've approved (while giving me an earful about what I got wrong).

Let me share something about her that didn't make it into the book. When I first met Miss Edna, she asked where I was from. I answered that I was originally from Columbus. Miss Edna paused a moment, then said, "Twenty-two miles." Then she asked my wife where she was from. Bastrop, Lisa answered. Miss Edna paused again, then said, "Thirty-six miles." Almost four decades removed from her life in La Grange, Miss Edna still remembered those details that would've mattered to her prospective out-of-town customers. I'll wager we could've sat there for hours, tossing out town names like Brenham, Hallettsville, Bryan, etc. and she'd have come up with the distance between them and La Grange like there was nothing to it. I have long felt that a fascinating glimpse into her character.

Inside the Texas Chicken Ranch: The Definitive Account of the Best Little Whorehouse is available from both Amazon.com and BarnesAndNoble.com. It's also available as an ebook in the following formats: Kindle, Nook, Google Play, iBooks and Kobo.

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Friday Night Videos

Historically, I'm a big fan of Prince, but his stuff from the Parade era, not so much. So imagine my surprise when the Art of Noise teamed up with Tom Jones to record a cover of "Kiss" that I absolutely love. This thing is bizarre and gonzo in all the right ways. I never would've thought a mashup of these three creative forces would amount to anything but a terrible trainwreck, yet here we are.

Previously on Friday Night Videos... Whitehorse.

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Friday Night Videos

Whitehorse is back with a new album, which is always a time of rejoicing. Here's a live performance of "Scared of Each Other." The talented duo is leaning hard into their Americana/country influences this time out. No matter what genre they work in they never fail to impress.

Previously on Friday Night Videos... The MonaLisa Twins.

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Friday Night Videos

Here's a new one from the MonaLisa Twins, a cool groove infused with a touch of 70s funk called "If You Raise Your Head." This may well be my favorite original composition of theirs thus far.

Previously on Friday Night Videos... The Linda Lindas.

Now Playing: The Go-Go's Return to the Valley of the Go-Go's
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