Obnoxious Actions, Obnoxious Results, They Teach Us to Refuse to Be Taught

Thanks to most likely the greatest creations of our time, Pandora, I have finally discovered the ultimate band I shouldhave heard 6 years ago... The Chameleons.

Hailing from outside Manchester, the psychedelic postpunk quartet led by bassist Mark Burgess is the perfect thing in between The Teardrop Explodes (to whom they own a massive debt) and the Smiths, as well as a missing link to post-rock. They released three albums in the mid 80s: Script of the Bridge (1983), What Does Anything Mean? Basically (1985), and Strange Times (1986) before breaking up and re-uniting in 2000. These three records are all fantastic and utterly life-changing, yet they all follow expected patterns: First a raw, energetic debut, then an somewhat excessive piece that relies on studio wizardry, and then an absolute masterpiece.

The debut begins with the near goth of "Don't Fall" which take away it's atmospheric psychedelia would not be out of place on an early Bauhaus release. However, it only gets better from there with "Up the Down Escalator," which's lyrics set the standard of symbolism, introspection, and transcendence. This continues in particular onto "As high as You Can Go." The sophomore release after an indulgent synth intro kicks into "Perfume Garden" which succeeds in melding rock guitars with airy synths and pure emotion so many artists these days fail to replicate. Pretty much every other track does this as well, particularly "On the Beach" and "Looking Inwardly." The final masterpiece Strange Times truly captures everything great about the band with the energetic "Mad Jack" opening and the real show-stoppers "In Answer" and "Tears" solidifying its title as one of the greatest records of the decade. The latter (which has a perhaps even better version on the second disc) and "Childhood" also contain a nostalgia that also sets it as a perfect swansong.

This is 100% essential for any fan of 80s UK indie rock, postpunk, and psychedelic rock... especially if you are a fan of Kilimanjaro.

The Chameleons 80s.

When I Saw You There I Saw The Best Part of Me Was Yourself

As a true Official Iron Man, I would, of course consider Robert Pollard the greatest songwriter ever. Beyond that, I would say the other contributing member of GbV and father of their lo-fi sound Tobin Sprout is the second. Anyone who has fairly listened to their records Propeller through Under The Bushes Under The Stars need not question why. After all where would those albums be if not for classics like "Ester's Day," "A Good Flying Bird," "Little Whirl," "14 Cheerleader Coldfront," or "To Remake the Young Flyer" Slightly less deserving as the greatest records of all time, that's where. Well, here's an entire album of that kind of thing.

This album, release concurrently with Pollard's Not In My Air Force, the initial reaction to Sprout's now out-of-print album was more favorable than Pollard's unexpectedly experimental piece. This one fits in noticeably more with the prior three GbV releases than that album does. In fact, one of the most recent album's standout tracks, "It's Like Soul Man" is re-recorded here - actually with a more clean and professional recording. Luckily it's not even the best song as "My Beloved Martha" and "E's Navy Blue" manage to outdo that GbV masterpiece. that is not to say they are the only two. Really this album is as solid as most of GbV's LPs and to be frank, maybe even better than average. It is the perfect for anyone who ever wished for just a bit more of "You're Not An Airplane."


Tobin Sprout - Carnival Boy (1996)

It's the Story How I'm S'posed to Feel Because You Told Me So

A true American tale of its era. Us in the United States should be able to recall Spring 2002. A time not long after the 9/11 disaster where any incident that could be called terrorism was, understandably, assumed the comlicated, calculated work of Islamic extremists.

One of the many times the media (yes, for any foreigners, it's more often the media than the government... even the Bush administration) was wrong was in the case of the Midwestern Pipe Bomber. The guilty party turned out to be a Kurt Cobain-worshiping Minnesota college kid named Luke Helder. Rather than hurt anybody, Helder wanted to just fight conformity by setting off minor explosions across middle America inthe shape of a smiley face.

9/11 aside, the media, especially in regards to teens/young adults was still reeling from Columbine and eager to point the finger at music. This is where I was first lucky enough to hear Apathy on a rare event of my dad driving my brother and I to school listening to Howard Stern. Copies of the bomber's band's album Sacks of People went for as much as $200 and Stern was lucky enough to get one on the air. As expected, it's a bunch of mindless teen angst played over an honestly well-done imitation of Nirvana that lives up to the perp's attire when busted.

A few years after the incident I managed to find the album's supposed masterpiece "Conformity," but lost it in computer transitions. After years of casual search, I finally got it again along with this site that seems to feature the whole thing. I'll get it later and probably put it up. If anyone has the full album with allthe proper titles and track order, please let me know. This is the Billy Beer of the aughts. Have a blast.

Apathy - "Conformity" and more...

Didn't Realize the Sign, 'Cause it Was the Sign of the Times

As trendy and hip as the city became this decade, it's easy to forget that Portland that actually made it's greatest contribution to music actually came before most of the world actually knew that people actually lived in the Pacific Northwest. That, of course, would be the Wipers, led by the enigmatic Greg Sage.

I am not sure of the availability of their work these days, but when I first got into them at a middle school teacher's suggestion it was all pretty rare. His suggestion was, increasingly weak due to it's Nirvana connection, Is This Real?, with "Return of the Rat." So when I managed to find this compilation in Ann Arbor's Encore Recordings, I was a little disappointed to to find neither that track, nor anything from the classic debut on here. After acquire the all-classic first three albums though, my appreciation for this compilation grew exponentially. With only one track from Youth of America and two from Over the Edge, this set features the best of Sage's supposedly spottier later work.

Most of the tracks on here stand up to the classics' "Messenger," and "Taking Too Long," so this is the perfect source for more Wipers. The opening track "Nothing Left to Lose," is one of Sage's all-time best and his darkly dreamlike virtuosity over a simple rhythm is not only the perfect transition between postpunk and grunge and enough to make one instantly fall in love with the Wipers. However particularly strong, that track is only one of many so carefully selected (especially counting the CD-only last three tracks) that would suggest that the band's last three albums of the 80s were as strong as the first. Also included are a couple tracks from Sage's supposedly lackluster 1985 solo debut. These, "Soul's Tongue" and "Blue Cowboy" are some of the best on here. They certainly have a different sound, slower, cinematic, yet no less effective. Their desperado air seem to be as much of a window into this elusive soul as any of the Wipers' finest moments.

They sometimes call the Wipers a "wrong-coast Mission of Burma," but anyone who's been to Boston can tell you it's the other way around. While that band came to represent their city's pretense and pomposity, the Wipers came to establish the whole sound of their region. Bravo.

The Best of the Wipers and Greg Sage (1990)

Water, Keep On Falling...

Well, back from another trip to the Bay which included a much needed trip to Amoeba after months of being to lazy to go to the one in H-Wood while it was still open...

While in their home town, I was looking for any Viva Saturn, but to no avail. While checking the Rain Parade section, though, I was pleasantly surprised. First, I saw that for the first time ever Crashing Dream was available on CD, but I also found this one for the first time on any format.

Here is a posthumous compilation of Rain Parade's finest odds and ends. Mostly demos, it's a great look into their later work for the Emergency Third Rail Power Trip purist, as the stylistically similar album art should imply. The first ten tracks show the band in preparation for Crashing Dream before Island records cleaned up their sound a bit. Personally, I think most of the album version are better, but these are worth hearing, even if you agree with me. Though, perhaps this could only be said about such standouts as "Mystic Green," as this collection's version of "Gone West," despite its invasive synthesizer is better than the proper album's. Additionally, this includes two tracks (including a title number) from that album which, at least in this context, stand up to the others.

The last nine tracks of this collection are the only available examples of Rain Parade's last days and the unsurprising change of pace. Here the band's final sound was one much darker and indeed for the most part heavier than any previous phase. While at times they remain slow and more comparable than ever to David Roback's post-Rain Parade project Opal, even more are rockier than one would have previously though possible, with the live "Got the Fear" sounding a bit like early Built to Spill. However, this should not be a surprise considering how much Rain Parade's Paisely peers had changed by this point (1987), and these rough demos are better than anything The Bangles or The Three O'Clock released that year.


Rain Parade - Demolition (1991)

Hey, You Wanna Buy Some Speed?

In a sense created by a record executive, Speed, Glue & Shinki was more or less Japan's first successful super session, and a particularly visually alarming one full of 6-foot plus Eurasians. Journeyman guitarist Shinki Chen, often hailed as Japan's Jimi Hendrix was a mainstay of Japanese sessions, but had failed to make any great music on his own. Vice-heavy bassist Masayoshi "Glue" Kabe had been a founding member of the naturally most cracked-out Groups Sounds band the Golden Cups. The only exception was drummer/vocalist/songwriter Joey "Speed" Smith a virtually unknown half-American Filipino national who at the time was fronting an R&B band playing department stores. With a loud, messy blues concotion that would have sounded msot at home in Detroit only years earlier, the three recorded perhaps the most drugged-out music of all time.

This debut album ranked by Julian Cope as the greatest Japrock album (tied with the Flower Travellin' Band's Satori) is a thirty-five minute tribute to drugs and the futen lifestyle. Immediately in "Mr. Walking Drugstore Man," the band shows that while they are excellent musicians, their life truly does revolve around getting high. While the stringed section's command of English may not have been near that of Smith's, it is doubtful they, especially Kabe would object to their content. While the love of drugs is explicit, so is everything else. "Big Headed Woman" is the rock 'n' roll suicide suggestion the PMRC spent most of the eighties searching for, and a funny one at that. The group's assertion of the futen lifestyle runs rampant especially in the anthemic "Ode to the Bad People" to which we all should relate to.

Tempo changes, the instruments run wild, it's a loud mess, but probably the tightest, most deliberate one you will ever hear. This is punk rock.


Speed, Glue & Shinki - Eve (1971)

Indeed That Heavy, But This Futen Has No Right to Say...

Well, I've been inactive for a long time now. Just wasn't feeling too inspired, but that's changed. Just dicked around in this hopeless post-graduate LA job-market clearing my palate with some old favorites and Rhino's Super Hits of the 70s: Have a Nice Day series thanks to my roommate Tommy. That and getting deeper into Julian Cope's Japrocksampler...

...which of course has been the return of my inspiration, and here is Les Raillezes Denudés. Formed in the late 60s this Japanese band formed out of the folk scene emerging with the radical (mostly communist) left, but eventually took their music in an even more radical direction. After the politics took an equally radical turn for the band's bassist hijacking a plane en route to South Korea with quite a few American passengers and escaping to North Korea, the band faded somewhat into obscurity. At this point the cult legend and the sound only sound worthy of it grew. At this point leaderand sole consistent member Mizutani Takashiheaded off into the mountains to live in isolation and set the standard for generations of futen artists like Ghost and perhaps his most dedicated followers Acid Mothers Temple and the Meltin Paraiso U.F.O. Here the sound was honed, taking the Velvet Underground's "Sister Ray" as the blueprint and turning into a precise art of noise as only the Japanese could. Not to mention it's a whole lot more interesting musically, and I must hope with less-embarrassing lyrics. Likewise, Andy and the Velvets' Exploding Plastic Inevitable Show was the top influence on Mizutani's "total sensory assault," which unfortunately was put to rest in 1997.

This set - a bootleg like all their releases, is ranked as the third greatest of the Japrock movement by Cope is some of the most exciting music I've heard. Starting off with the hypnotic "Strong Out Deeper Than The Night," the band's mastery of noise and atmosphere as well as Mizutani's perfectly executed vocals prove that this unique music demands one's full attention. Luckily, it is well-held for the whole 15:33 with an exploratory experience of jazz with the unity of a classic rock song. "The Night Collectors" rocks out the hardest and catchiest, but not without the Tarkovskyesque approach of "sculpting in time." Moments, or long stretches of them of softness come through as well most notably in "Enter The Mirror," making this psychedelic experience particularly dreamlike. For those looking for the most hardcore psychedelia, here it is, one that evokes the full-body brain-piercing experience of an Acid Mothers show even though these busted laptop speakers - full-blast, full-attention, life-changing.


Les Rallizes Denudés - Heavier Than A Death In The Family (1995?)

*I have a few more suspicions than usual this file may not have uploaded properly, so please let me know if there's an issue!

Here's a great video - the true title of this gorgeous song is "Romance of the Black Grief"

Dancing in White Sheet Glory

Well, I am back from another wonderful visit to Alameda. Unfortunately, I have not bene feeling as active as I should with the blogs, but I have begun my tenure as a featured writer on SleepWalKing, where I wrote (surprise) a review of Sleep Convention. Well, as much as I love it here, listening to my favorite track from this record reminded me of how much I need to return to more of my own fair city.

Seems odd, but yes, Los Angeles is the home of American goth. I had always been curious about the domestic side of the style as I have long been a fan of Joy Division, Bauhaus and the Cure. Our contribution to the style is a bit more on the side of the common mall-goth stereotype. Yet unlike Los Angeles peers and arguable super-group 45 Grave, Christian Death (name actually a play on words for "Christian Doir" rather than mere anti-Christian angst) is only arguably intentionally funny. All the drama (see "theatre" in title) would have to be intentional if only frontman Rozz Williams had been past his teen years. However, it is hard to deny either the fun of this over-the-top band or the creative guitar playing of former Adolescent Rikk Agnew. While Marilyn Manson copped much of Williams' style, the original can speak to anyone with a good sense of humor more than the 90s shocker. By far the album's best track, "Romeo's Distress" exemplifies the album's best charms the punky minor-chord bass line is a catchy pull and Agnew breaks into some of the most enjoyable goth guitar - basically Bauhaus with some real SoCal-style chops. Then Williams comes in with one of the most beautifully tasteless shock lines of all time "a burning cross is on a nigger's lawn." Obviously not for the easily offended. Though at a lower level the rest of this album is not a far cry from that masterful track.

Like my last article attempted to wash off some stigma around pop-metal this one should encourage you to give goth a chance. This is true rock 'n' roll in perhaps the most fun way. It gets dark, offensive, and even disturbing but remember, it's only theatre... OF PAIN!!!


Christian Death - Only Theatre of Pain (1982)

You're Only Foolin' Yourself!

Those in the know will often give the credit (or even more often dishonor) of creating pop-metal to Montreal's Aldo Nova. While The Crüe was still a too vile to really get that title who else could it be? The rock criticism world still has not washed the stigma off that style, so why keep waiting for them to do it? I'll do it right now! I am very glad to have finally acquired it since hearing the classic "Foolin' Yourself" on Pandora this spring. Likewise, my current addiction to SCTV and The Kids in the Hall beg me to put up my first Canadian addition.

This is a great pop album. No way around it. It seems as though the Canadians are the unsung heroes of 80s metal with Nova founding the pop side and Anvil on the thrash side. Nova is a skilled guitar player songwriter, and producer whose skills have been lent to such superstars as fellow Quebecois Celine Dion and the Bon J (who clearly owe a lot to him). This is the perfect remedy for someone looking for pop metal that isn't too girly, virtuosity that isn't obnoxious, or mainstream rock that is pure. I have really enjoyed every single song on this album, particularly the aforementioned "Foolin' Yourself" and the album's hit "Fantasy." This is essential for anyone who enjoyed Be Bop Deluxe as in many ways it has the same sound, only updated for the 80s.

The themes on this album are classic pop metal: good guys gone bad after their hearts were broken, good girls one the street, and of course "Hot Love." The album is pure fun - best listened to in a red, talking, sports car if you know what I mean... So listen if you dare because this is good music. No shame in it. And if you see a vinyl copy on this around Los Angeles, be sure to let me know.


Aldo Nova - Aldo Nova (1981)

Now I'm So Happy I Have To Let My Song Outside

so I have been wrapped up lately with attempts at professional stuff and personal struggles and I am forced to do what I try so hard to avoid... re-post what I have found from the internet's best music blog - ZAMBONI Soundtracks.

So, here is Todd. A high school nerd who put together a whole album of music that could only, and most definitively be called "heartfelt." It comes from 1979 like it could come from no time else, but where, I am not totally sure. I would think somewhere in the suburbs of New York: Jersey, Long Island, Staten Island... something like that. It is clear that Todd put is all into this. He had to hire or beg the services of other and record in in a rush as the talent of his backers is arguable and their best defense is that they are playing with no familiarity with Todd's vision and their best attempt to follow it on the spot. The bass player is clearly the most lost and it seems like the drummer may just lack talent. Todd's piano is strong, and his vocals are weak - it is evident that here was a kid with the vision and the passion and hey, he did what he could, so let's give it some credit!

Regardless, you can feel what Todd is going for even if it comes from the superficial standpoint of Me = Good, Jock = Bad. Bottom line, it's like emo of the late 70s... back when that kind of thing was unacceptable. Either way, it's interesting to hear that kind of thing without the influence of the likes of hardcore and the Replacements. Rather the influences are more along the lines of show tunes and Hermit of Mink Hollow-era Todd Rundgren. Yet, still there are the topics of suicide and a-bit-too-unrequited love. There is nothing else like this. Give it a chance, as I am sure anyone who actually reads this kind of thing can relate to it. "Alone" and the title track can resonate the most while "Miracle Whip" is pure Vince Guraldi fun, and "Christ's Love Song" eliminates all the nice Jewish boy context I would assume. "Before It's Too Late," though while not one of the best songs is significant for the "believe it or not" factor of this. So, here is...

Todd - With Love... From Me To You (1979)

Am I Awake? Am I Asleep?

Thanks to a wonderful reader's comment on my article on Trees I was shown to a recent interview with the great Dane Conover which is available right here.

While I wish I could have heard more from Mr. Conover himself and not just music from Sleep Convention and his influences. However what he says is pretty great as are some of the rarer music in the program. In particlar, it was my first exposure to his first band The Puppies whose "Mechanical Beat" is featured, as well as his recent work with his wife under the name Popgems. The latter project's song "California" is just incredible and I really wish I had that to listen to on my cross-country drive here from new Jersey/Michigan. Once again it is part of Conover's uniquely SoCal contribution to the synth-pop world. The most significant, however is the original version of the Sleep Convention standout "11:00 AM" which could be described as nothing short of epic. Not only is it one of the best examples of Conover's genius, but also of Earle Mankey's - to whom Conover gives endless credit in the interview. If that masterpiece connected with you this is just as essential listening.

What's Going On and What Will Be

Sorry I've been away for a while - I have recently moved from Venice (sort of) back to Westchester and was, as a result, without home internet for a while.

Anyway, back to beeswax... Of all the great artists to bring 60s-influenced psychedelia back in the 80s none was as into the 60s Swinging London look and sound as Milwaukee's Plasticland.

I am not totally sure what that Great Lakes region city was like at the time, but it may have had a burgeoning scene along with the Violent Femmes, who I believe had some loose connections to the band. If anyone can enlighten me and out other readers on that topic, it would be appreciated. Regardless of how big it may have been it is not remembered as widely as Hoboken, Los Angeles, Seattle, Boston or other indie rock hotbeds of the time. Plasticland was no better known in the national scene though and their first self-titled album was actually released initially only on a French label. It is too bad though as their hard acid sound would have found an audience with fans of Paisley Underground or, perhaps even more so those misfit early Flaming Lips.

This album is one so in touch with the sixties that it could have only come out of the eighties that and the punk rock influence that only is apparent in the group's energy and short song lengths. Likewise, it is a bit prescient of groups like Mudhoney's use of 60s-style feedback - especially when coupled with Glenn Rehse's voice which is not too different from that of Mark Arm's. The album is structured well and from the ass-kicking opener "Alexander" it would be hard to switch to something else afterward. "Her Decay" is another particular standout and was the first I heard of the band from listening to "Jet Fighter" Radio on Pandora. Needless to say this is perfect for fans of not only 60s psych, but any kind of 80s sixties revival style, be it acid rock, garage, or even jangle pop.


Plasticland - Plasticland (1985)

She Wants Me To Come, But I'm Never Going There

Busy moving today, so no "full" update, however, this must be seen.

She's Like Fire, She's Like Ice, She'll Leave You High And Dry

A lot of people give David Roback the most credit for Rain Parade because of Mazzy Star. Their later work does not falter enough for that argument, nor is Mazzy Star good enough. His in-between group though, is the place to highlight his individual talent though.

Originally as Clay Allison, he and the Dream Syndicate's Kendra Smith collaborated on the work here, which I feel, particularly on the shared track "She's a Diamond" is better than their Happy Nightmare Baby. While it may have been in discussion of Rain Parade, Roback's famous quote "we wanted to make very quiet music," is the best description of Opal's work, more of a departure from the old band's Byrds-y guitars and hard-hitting drums than expected. What distinguishes this from the follow-ups of sorts is stong songwriter, at least some that can really shine through. Its opener "Empty Box Blues" is instantly more captivating than a lot of Roback's other post-Rain Parade work, and Smith sounds better than ever, as well. At times she even has the sound of an Old West chanteuse with a quiet shoegaze milleu. There is not much else like this, just don't let it put you to sleep... no offense.


Opal - Early Recordings (1988)

They Weren't Kidding When They Called It "Obsession"

...and that is because all the featured artists have gotten bigger and bigger over the past year and a half. While not all of them have gotten proper re-issues, their names are out there and their music is on the blogosphere. I will continue this with the Quarteto Nova Era EP. There is not much more I can add to it - Brazilian, stands up to their contemporaries, shame there wasn't more from them despite making it into the 70s. Every song is good. A friend of mine bought a copy of this extremely rare find on eBay. The rest of us can get it here.


The Quarteto Nova Era EP (1968)

I'm On a Cloud, I Must Be In A Dream

These days, a lot of attention is paid to all the classic punk groups getting back together. Many forget that the Buzzcocks did that long before and released a few albums in the 90s. They weren't that bad even!

Years ago, before the group got their fair share of the reissue game it was actually the easiest to find these newer releases. That's why over eight years ago when getting more and more curious about the band my friend Tommy made this his first Buzzcocks acquisition. What a unique one it was. Starting off with krautrock synths on the album's best track "Soul on a Rock" Pete Shelley's pre-punk forays into synth music is heard in his punk work - something absent from the Buzzcocks' classic work. Both his and Steve Diggle's songwriting is intact, creating songs in most ways similar to their seventies and eighties work albeit with a cleaner 90s production and a little more experimentation in arrangement. That being said, you can't entirely expect the same music from the same kitchen, but if your mind is a little open I think you can handle it. The title is a little bit of an indicator, but it would be a little bit better suited a few years after the group's initial break-up rather than 1999. The album is a solid one with more poppy punk songs with plus the krautrock influence the members never got to show off like their other punk contemporaries got to. The band even ventures into more dance territory on "Why Compromise?," while it is admittedly a step down from the preceding 4 tracks it is a good curiosity. This is essential for anyone who enjoyed the High Water Marks' Songs About the Ocean as much as I did. It is clear that in middle age the Buzzzcocks had not lost their greatness.


Buzzcocks - Modern (1999)

Indestructable!

While it cannot be ignored that this compilation was released within the year following Paul Simon's Graceland it is more along the lines of an underground classic. Here is the music that inspired Simon to make music in that vein and be unusually successful for a white person at it. Featuring music recorded between 1981 and 1984, these are the sounds that defined South African pop right as the time the rest of the world took notice. With its cover as memorable as the music, I had been meaning to pick it up since reading about it as a child and saw a cheap used copy at Sound Sations just yesterday. It is the perfect next stop both directly from Simon, or for those who have already ventured into the likes of the Bhundu Boys.

It is a pretty good look at South African heartland culture as well as the diverse styles heard here reflect the unique communities in which they come from complete with their own heritage and re-interpretation of Western pop. While all of it contains Western instrumentation with elecric guitar, bass guitar, and drum kits on almost every track the inclusion of tradition instruments varies for every artist and cheap synthesizers make their fair share of appearances. Structures are distinctly un-Western, but the true heart of pop is there and all of these songs are catchy. As drony and repetitive as some tracks can be they stick with the listener and are more enjoyable even to the least sophisticated ear as anything on the radio in the past 15 years. "Sobabamba" is probably the best example with its raga-esque repetition and use of microtones making it one of the most exotic, yet enjoyable tracks on this classic compilation. The rest are on the same level.


The Indestructable Beat of Soweto (1987)

Be Kind and Humour Me

With their hit "A Whiter Shade of Pale" lifted from Bach, the music of Procol Harum lives in the subconscious of the Western mind. Unfortunately fewer and fewer people know the name and even less know of anything else the band did. It's a real shame since Robin Trower's guitar style was an key influence in classic Hendrix, and there's nothing like the majesty of the piano-organ duo.

So, here is some of their best work. "A Whiter Shade of Pale" was originally intended as one-off studio project, but by this time they had become a true band still playing a unique blend of baroque sounds and classic blues-based rock. All with unusual, carefully written lyrics Procol Harum stands as one of the more distinct bands of their era, albeit an often forgotten one. While the other instruments usually get the most credit, this album's drums really excel. Fromthe first track "Quite Rightly So" they are the extra little kick that gives the album so much of its appeal. This is a dark and pretty album with the band channeling all of their diverse influences to create something totally new, as best heard in the wild "Skip Softly, My Moonbeams."

There are plenty of bonus tracks here and those are many of the best. "Homburg" - the band's second attempt at a hit and perhaps a little much like the first one is here, and as similar as it may be it's still an amazing song. However it is "In The Wee Small Hours of Sixpence" that may be the band's best all thanks to the organ of course.


Procol Harum - Shine on Brightly (1968)

Woke Up Screaming "God I Hope I'm Not Bleeding!"

I went with a recent photo for the irony. I have not listened to that much Built to Spill in a while, but this weekend after "Ze" telling me about their performance at Outside Lands they have been on my mind. Like my friend was after their set I was just a little disappointed when I saw them about four years ago. Now, a lot of that had to do with weak openers, but also because my friends who had seen them two years prior seemed to have gotten an unusually remarkable set from them featuring VERY early work.

I am one of the few that think the band got slightly weaker with each album, thusly implying that the debut is the best. In addition to having the best album and best cover it in fact has the best music. But, it has been out of print (actually, I think just decent distribution) for who knows how long? It captures the band at their best offering both the pop of There's Nothing Wrong With Love and Ancient Melodies of the Future AND the jammy epics of Perfect From Now On and Keep It Like A Secret all with classic 90s lo-fi recording. One could argue that the band may not have the chemistry they would later have as a solid line-up'ed band, but with songs and energy like this who cares? It is particularly odd this did not catch on more as its heavy guitars and playfully angsty lyrics, in addition to the band's Boise home town could have given it a grunge audience at the time. Everything just comes together in such sloppy glory and Greg Martsch's affinity for stacks of guitar tracks shines through, particularly on the simple, yet wailing "Get A Life." "Lie for a Lie," the album's catchiest and shortest song with its goofy samples and white nose tracks stands with The Olivia Tremor Control's "Love Athena" as definitive 90s US indie pop. Its line "Once in a while there's a girl I don't know in my dreams/ she reminds me of a lot of people, but she's someone that I've never seen/ and she's perfect" was the star of numerous bonding moments during my teenage years. However, the star of the show is probably "Nowhere, Nothin', Fuckup" which showcases the band's remarkable talent for jamming on something familiar and turning it into their own masterpiece while making the title a fun little sing-along. This is essential American indie rock. A lost masterpiece.


Built to Spill - Ultimate Alternative Wavers (1993)

Party In The Pines - Big Sur

Thanks to my friend (whose more-professional-than-mine review is available here) I was able to attend this great event.

We arrived as Wooden Ships were playing. They were pretty cool - heavy instrumental psych-rock with the years there to do it quite well. Next there was Vietnam and Farmer Dave. Neither of them did it for me, personally, but with some good, but expensive New Orleans barbecue and some good, and modestly priced local beer who cares? Then, at last there was Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti. His set consisted mainly of new stuff and the obscure. Some of these highlights were "Bevery Kills (Freaks with the Golden Heirs)" and "Psychodrama City." The new stuff is fantastic and I really can't wait for the next LP, which if released on time could rank as one of the best of this decade. He also gave an obvious(ly great) rendition of "Among Dreams" and my wish from the last time I saw him of hearing "Higher and Higher" was granted.

Following Pink was Gang Gang dance. I had never heard them before, but they put on a really cool show, which even more than the other sets I wished had been in a different setting. I would not listen to their records, but when they play LA next I will attend that show, especially if it is at the Echo, where their sound would fit perfectly.

Dungen was the star of the show in my eyes, and while they played mostly cuts from he last two albums, it was everything I could have asked for. Gustav Ejstes' genius was in plain view as he demonstrated his skills on mainly piano, plus vocals, flute, guitar... and tambourine. Also on display was his amazing ability to find talented musicians who can play just like him. The band also matched the forest setting best and their sound on classics like "Festival" and "Panda" was more subdued, yet no less powerful than on Ta Det Lugnt. Never miss the chance to see Dungen.

Another star of the show was the DJ who gave us music during the painfully long transitions. Her set consisted heavily of Anatolian rock, even with a cut from Benimle Oynar Mısın - the awesome "Sen Varsin". Gustav Ejstes was enjoying it a whole lot and why not because many of those artists are a clear influence on him.

And of course, who could discuss Anatolian rock without Erkin Koray...

Starting as early as the late 50s, Erkin Koray was the definitive voice of the Anatolian Rock movement, which while less famous was as unique and strong as similar prog/psych rock movements of the time in West Germany and Japan.

Since I have been so unreliable lately, here are his first two solo albums, which despite the increasing availability of Anatolian Rock since the successful Obsession compilation are really not "widely" available. Both of them are very strong and solid and serve as a great introduction to the style which melded Western psych rock with traditional sounds from the crossroads of the Old World. The self-titled is the one that is most in tune with that side, while Elektronik Türküler, much cleaner, is a little but more on par with the West, despite the exotic language. Okay, enough words.


Erkin Koray - Erkin Koray (1973)


Erkin Koray - Elektronik Türküler (1974)

Have YOU Been to Stockholm?

Unfortunately, this month will continue to sag in posts as this weekend I will be going up North. The main reason is that for a second week in a row I will be attending a California region's second best music festival: Party in the Pines in Big Sur. I am pretty amped to not only see Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti again, but also to see a band I have wanted to for over three and a half years - Dungen.

A few months back I posted their follow-up to this album, and indisputable masterpiece. This one, originally released in 2002 made its way to the US in 2005 and in my experience stands up more than any of the following albums do. Hopefully the group's set won't rely too much on that stuff. More seventies-style psych-rock here, and quite a bit more pop-oriented than the harder, trippier Ta Det Lugnt. The album, which's translated title is "City Walks" kicks off with catchy title track that keeps your ears glues as much as the follow-up's "Panda" does. Urban tribute "Har du vart' i Stockholm?" makes it a solid one-two punch that makes the album as great a tribute to the band's home city as classics like Midnite Vultures and Marquee Moon did for Beck and Television, respectively ...and all without understanding the language!

Whereas later efforts show Gustav Ejstes trying to recapture the mastery of Ta Det Lugnt, this album is the sound of him honing his craft in creating the best vintage-style psychedelia, nay music of this decade while displaying his multi-instrumental virtuosity. His way with folkier European arrangements is remarkable as well with "Sol och Regn" being a fiddle and flute instrumental on par with the bonus disc included in the reissue of the follow-up. It is one of the album's finest tracks. Like most other music of the present half of the decade, forget about Dungen's later work - this is the next stop for them. Either way, though I am expecting a life-changing performance from the crew this weekend, and this should give anyone else who will be joining me similar expectations.


Dungen - Stadsvandringar (2002)

Just Like Life, There's a Good Beginning, But There Is No Middle, So You Might as Well Skip to the End

I can't believe it toook me so long to hear classic Television Personalities. I was pretty up on things when My Dark Places was released a few years ago and knew and loved "Part Time Punks", but I did not really hear this gem until a few months ago at the home of my friends in the Brooklyn band Pow Wow!

The Television Personalities were Joe Strummer's favorite band. He said that they represented, to him, what punk rock was all about. Though, in many ways they are more "indie-pop" than punk, but hey, what does all that mean anyway?

The guitars are jangly, the structure is pop, and the lyrics are playfully dark and perversely innocent... if that makes sense? Either way it's one hell of a record. It has a few less pop culture references than their earlier work, but a little more high culture to keep it full of allusions. However, what may be this album's greatest strength is how well it captures the mind of a teenage boy. Not in some dumbed-down kind of mook way, nor over-dramatic and emo. Jsut real, sincere, and deep, yet naïve. Opener "This Angry Silence" captures that voice amid a tempestuous home life while the discomfortingly simple lyrics of "La Grande Illusion" show the darker side to perhaps the same situation as "Silly Girl." "The Glittering Prizes" is one of the best songs and captures the feeling of malaise with nothing both the future to daydream about and "Geoffrey Ingram" is the "David Watts" of the punk era. Changing to a third person look at essentially the same thing is perhaps the album's best track "World of Pauline Lewis," with a refrain that cuts to the bone. This is essential pop as only an original UK punk band could do it.


Television Personalities - ...And Don't The Kids Just Love It (1981)

The Hidden Door: Found

Forming in Riverside, CA, in the mid 60s, the Misunderstood made one big mistake. Instead of remaining in their home and probably being a big hit on the Sunset Strip they followed the current British Invasion and relocated to England where they became one of the great lost bands of the sixties.

This album, recorded in 1966 was not even released until 1982, when even with the rise of neo-psychedelia this could never have hoped for an audience. The group's move is also significant in how it tells their sound. The Misunderstood is to the Yardbirds what the Olivia Tremor Control was to the Beatles. That is to say that their sound is what the blues rockers could have become had they gone further and further into their psychedelic territory. That London blues sound never leaves their sound even though the band goes as far into the psychedelic whirlwind as the 13th Floor Elevators - the band with whom they warrant the most significant comparison, particularly the first album. Lead vocalist Rick Brown's soulful voice on par with Eric Burdon's adds an element not often heard in American psych-rock, even outdoing Arthur Lee. The steel guitar provided by Glenn Ross Campbell wail in a way that set the standard of masterful use of alternative instrumentation is both the psychedelic and progressive rock that would follow in the footsteps. That is not to say the regular guitars don't kick ass as well. The songwriting is as strong, perfectly creating some of the heaviest rock of the sixties on par with the Creation. Some of the best tracks are opener "Children of the Sun," I Unseen," "I Can Take You To The Sun," and should-have-been hit "I Cried My Eyes Out." The Misunderstood's splicing of bluesy British Invasion, far-out acid rock, and proto-punk/metal heaviness makes it perhaps the quintessential underground rock album of the era.


The Misunderstood - Before The Dream Faded (1966/1982)

New York's Alright If You Like Tuberculosis

Yesterday was the final show of the Vans Warped Tour here in Los Angeles and I was lucky enough to be comped a ticket. Of course, I have little to no interest in most of the artists playing, I had not even heard of most of them, but there was the Old School stage... There I caught U.K. Subs, D.O.A., and an amazing set from Fishbone. Yet, after a very weak and ungrateful band from Kansas City with the misfortune of playing after Fishbone I got what I was really looking forward to... FEAR.

While it was in the fallout of the most severe commercialization of punk rock, it was the most punk experience of my life. Lee Ving is as charismatic and acerbic as ever and the crowd was true L.A. hardcore. The whole set was very strong and the highlights, apart from "More Beer" were many of the same highlights as from the below album. They started off with "I Love Living In The City," and had a performance of "Beef Baloney" on par with the classic SNL debacle. Of course, "New York's Alright If You Like Saxophones" resonated heavily for me at this point in my life, even as it lacked the saxophone part...

For those who may not be well versed in FEAR, here's a little background: They were one of the original LA hardcore bands formed in the late 70s and bridged the (slight) gap between the Germs, X, Screamers, and Weirdos and likes of Black Flag and T.S.O.L. They were also John Belushi's favorite band (one listen to this and that makes a whole lot of sense) and he would not agree to do the SNL Halloween special in 1981 unless they could be the band. They got to do that and made a mess of their much maligned New York City featuring slam dancers and thousands of dollars worth of damage to the studio. They played "Beef Baloney" and of course "New York's Alright If You Like Saxophones" but were cut off mid-song while performing "Let's Have A War." It was definitive punk rock, of course, and Lee Ving has not changed a bit since then... at least not publicly. So get ready to get offended and enjoy...


FEAR - The Record (1982)

Why You Wanna Go and Start This War?

While almost definitely the most maligned form of underground rock, in retrospect emo, at least the good stuff, could be seen as rock's last breath, and yes, last breaths can be pretty sloppy attempts.

I was never an emo fan, not even when I was fifteen, but of course, there were some exceptions. The big one of course being one of the last great rock bands to achieve (or at least come close to achieving) major mainstream success: At The Drive-In. Another was the Anniversary, particularly this album.

I first heard of them, of course, in 2002 when all the "real" emo kids I knew were going to see the recently sold-out Dashboard Confessional for this opening act. Something was intriguing about that, I must say. Eventually, after grappling with all the stigma around the style I picked up this CD and was pretty amazed. Granted it has its emo clichés for sure and it could get old, but after all these years I find myself going back to it and appreciating it. Of course, what I liked about it was what got the group ousted from emo royalty for sounding too much like a sixties pop group. Fuck that.

The Lawrence, Kansas group gives its audience what it craves while showing off their expansive talent that goes beyond said parameters. The record starts off strong with the drum intro to "Sweet Marie" and delivers one of the albums best classic pop tunes, the other being "Never Die Young" (though I recall having a preferred more emo version during the Kazaa era). The more typically emo tracks are great too like "The Siren Sings" and "Devil on My Side". The epics are some of the weaker ones, though with "Husam Husam" the notable exception. The arrangements all sound good and tight - even with the occasional strong harmony, even when the vocals and lyrics can get eye-rolling. In effect, of all emo music I've heard this is probably the most listenable, coming from from a classic rock/pop background, that is.

This album is an AWESOME guilty pleasure and of course, the only thing I ever owned that Vagrant released. It is a real shame the band broke up in 2004 before releasing anything else, but I heard they were junkies so what do you expect...


The Anniversary - Your Majesty (2002)

Over, and Over, and Over I'm Really Not Ready At All

Sorry It's been so long. Been feeling uninspired. However, I've been on a big post-punk kick. Specifically the branch of first-wave UK punk rock that really set the stage for "indie pop."

The Mekons have had one unique career and their legions of extremely dedicated fans and their highly unusual path from post-punk to more straightforward punk certainly prove this.

Often considered their masterpiece, this album is one of the first to be called "alt-country" - quite a feat for a British band. One member tells that prior to making this album he had been listening heavily to classic country and after a certain point the three chords of punk and the three chords of country became the same three chords. This album's sound is surely the result of that, and the addition to fiddle to the roster makes it even more prominent. This is not to say the punk has not been lost, particularly in the shambolic "Hard To Be Human Again." That song is the perfect gateway for the punk fan that will leaves them wanting more of this countrified mess.

Fear And Whiskey is also one of the great post-punk concept albums with the likes of Hüsker Dü's best works. The story here is one of a city in a somewhat post-apocalyptic world fighting a war (brought hauntingly to life in "Trouble Down South") and struggling to hold on to everything that makes life worth living: love, culture, community, and of course a good party. With that in mind, opening track "Chivalry," is the perfect intro as the ultimate anthem to a drunken, embarrassing night coupled with a hint of the depth that will follow on the rest of the record. "Country," perhaps the album's best sums up the album's whole concept as the lose souls of this city hold on.

People always make once-relevant political connections with this record about the Thatcher/Regan era. Honestly I don't hear it all that much, but that may just be because I neither really lived through that era, nor consider myself a liberal. So, if you see it that way,, great. You are probably all the more enlightened.


The Mekons - Fear and Whiskey (1985)

plus, for good measure, here's a classic early single.


The Mekons - "Where Were You?"

Classic Art has Had Its Day

Sorry it's been a while. Been busy for once and a little uninspired. Well, regardless, here's the Creation.

It wasn't just their heaviness (probably the heaviest until the MC5 came around, IMO) that made the Creation so ahead of their time. It was also their postmodern take on performance and their un-pretentious artiness of which today's artists' minds are not even capable of dreaming. Well, that and playing the guitar with a bow. Naturally, only the Germans got it.

Most informed people today know "Making Time" from the classic film Rushmore, but until then, "Painter Man" was their best-known song. These are two of their best and show the band at their peak with Kenny Pickett on vocals. The band was a staple of the original mod movement along with the Kinks, the Action, and the Who (Pete Townsend even offered guitarist Eddie Phillips a spot, which probably would have made the Who a better, yet less commercially successful band.) The band really re-wrote the rock format. With that in mind plus their loudness I would consider them beginning of "proto-punk." They do, however, keep in touch with the trends of the time with numbers like "If I Stay Too Long" and clovers like "Cool Jerk" plus the best cover I have heard of "Like A Rolling Stone." "Nightmares" and "For All That I Am" may be the quintessential mod tracks and forget proto-punk, "How Does It Feel To Feel?" is basically heavy metal in its most original form. A change of pace, "Ostrich Man"'s arrangement is a classic that shows the Creation had as much power to go in the baroque direction as their contemporaries. This is essential listening, plus one of the most bad-ass album titles which I was lucky enough to find at Barcelona's (where it is easily available) Révolver Records.


The Creation - Our Music Is Red - With Purple Flashes

Well, If I Get Drunk, Well That's Alright, If I Sleep On the Floor All Night

It's hard to believe those lyrics are the Verlaines, but it's a good reminder that even Graeme Downes is in fact one of us, if you know what I mean.

Here are their humble beginnings - before big arrangements and production, and even deep lyrics, but still the same great band. One of Flying Nun's first records, the Dunedin Double EPwas a lo-fi, creative format (2 45 RPM EPs) spotlighting the burgeoning talent of locals the CHiLLs, Sneaky Feelings, the Stones, and the Verlaines. Allof them were off to a great start. The CHiLLs tracks were wonderfully transferred onto the Kaleidoscope World LP, but unfortuantely the others were not put on similar compilations. The three songs Downes and company contribute are all great, and despite their many rough qiualities hint at the majesty of their later career. The similarities between "Crisis After Crisis" and their greatest all-time track "C.D.,Jimmy Jazz, and Me" are inmistakeable, proving this band always had it. I include only the Verlaines tracks because, I can't stand the way you need to file compilations to get them all up here together. The rest later?


The Verlaines - Dunedin Double EP (1982) (Side 4)

Hopefully I'll see you Angelinos this weekend!

What About The Problems of Our Society?

Ever since I first acquired this via New Jersey's Vintage Vinyl I had wanted to attend a dance party featuring the music of A Certain Ratio. Sunday I will finally have my way. So, if you are an Angelino and already a fan, or I am just about to make you one, be at the Echo Sunday night at 10 for Factory Night. I will no doubt be there (as well as Funky Sole the night before).

The initiated often have a poor idea of ACR based on their portrayal as Tony Wilson's boy band in 24 Hour Party People but they are actually contenders with the rest of the bunch. Appropriately named after a Brian Eno song ("The True Wheel"), ACR sounds like that artist making a Latin funk album and succeeding (although their LPs are admittedly not strong). This band put a dark ambiance around percussive dance music and pulled it off with impeccable musicianship - especially from drummer Donald Johnson. A Certain Ratio was in many ways the most definitive Factory band that ushered in the transition from atmospheric Joy Division and Durutti Column into New Order and eventually the burgeoning rave scene. This is most evident in their longer, loosely structured dance tracks like "Knife Slits Water" and "Sounds Like Something Dirty." Their more pop-like tracks are some of their best work such as the classic "Du the Du," "Shack Up," and my personal favorite "Faceless (Graveyard and Ballroom)." The explosive intsrumental, "Blown Away," is so great I am tempted to put a second pun in this sentence. White (well, 80%) funk does not get any better than this, and all for one reason: they never lost touch with the fact that they were teenage Bowie/Eno devotees from Manchester. That and an unbelievably creative sense of rhythm.


A Certain Ratio - Early (2002)

"B-Sides, Rarities, & Sessions" is not another album, but simply the second disc.

It is an enhanced CD that includes this video, which by request of poster I am not allowed to imbed, but is absolutely worth watching.

See you Sunday!