Youth of America 2013

On my article about friends' projects I really wanted to include something from Miles Marsico, but I didn't have anything.  Now here is something!  For months he had been working on things here and there at Super River's home studio and here, as New Technology is a video for a synthesizer cover of "Youth of America."  What more could you want?



Oh, and here's a download if you want to keep it around, I know I will for my next party mix!

Roots, Part 9: Uncovered! The Popes!

In part 7 I realized I mentioned the Popes who existed for a week (possibly longer with more people in the same name - transition from Xyster to Hurtu era) in 2002.  Just me and Aidan at Summer Music Programs plus Jeff Ziga and a girl named Jen, both instructors, on drums and guitar, respectively.  It was rare for a band to be so unconcerned with being "mature" at Summer Music programs and this EP's two originals are repetitive, droney instrumentals.  The guest guitarist questioned our open-ness to "goth," but at 15 I explained to her what goth really was with these tracks.

We had a great week and I go to sing "Transmission" and "Beat on the Brat" as the two of us were able to explore our, or probably just my stupid teenage musical ideas for a week.  In a lot of ways, this is a more "professional"-sounding version of The Power of Rawk but with more sax.  Either way, more teenage outsider rock.

The next week we were thrown into Chronic Insurgence, and unfortunately I could not find Watergun Outlet, that band's fascinating EP when I was in New Jersey.  Not sure what else to add, you know the characters already, all there is the music and if you can believe it, all the album art!

Also, I was temporarily unaware of Shane McGowan's band of the same name, and that's why it did not stick.  The names were chosen to be religiously offensive.

Back, front cover

The inside.  Pictures taken that Tuesday and scanned from Weird NJ.

Back cover, can't remember the source of that image

DOWNLOAD:  The Popes - Shabazz! (2002)

Roots, part 7: The Lost Bands

I started playing in bands when I was 12.  That was way too late, but it was hard to find people to play with.  I was mostly a drummer back then, you could say.  When Time Well Spent played at the William Annin Middle School talent show in 2000 it was time to stop dragging my feet.  Time Well Spent was a ska band led by Will Lulofs (aka Will Stratton) who at that time included Laura Allen (drums), Alex Jen (bass), maybe Rob Fehn (sax), Josh Felter (trombone) and I think, Greg Schefler (trumpet).  Later on they included Jeff Nazareno on guitar and Shannon Mackey on vocals.

So I hooked up with Matt Brady who just started playing guitar.  We would eventually call our band Panaphobia, but for the rest of 2000 I switched to bass and we had a revolving cast of members such as Doug Chee, Bo Liu, Alec Signorino, Tommy Holden, and probably everyone else I was friends with in 8th grade. No recordings survive to my knowledge, but Doug Chee made some on his old TalkBoy, but in addition to Metallica and AC/DC covers "The Tower Air Saga" and "Smokey Bear Plays With Matches" were in their early formation.  The former was the first song we wrote with lyrics by Tommy written after a Time Well Spent performance.  Those lyrics returned in a one-off performance from Love Athena much later.  Other names considered/used were The Electric Shoes, (Red) Convulsion, and Safety Hazard.  How embarrassing!

That band dissolved by the end of 8th grade and things settled down on Xyster which featured myself, my brother Aidan, Tommy Holden, and Adrian Rodrigues Ricelli.  That band was a lot more focused on humorous noise rock and a demo recorded with a computer microphone was made on a MiniDisc in the Autumn of 2001.  That has probably vanished, sadly, but it had some cool stuff.  Any fan of The Power of Rawk would have loved what we made.  That day (possibly others too) we recorded songs like "The Tower Air Saga," "Radio Boy," "Creep Street," "Smokey Bear Plays With Matches," and "Randy."  The last was written by guest vocalist Albert Martini who compliments the lyrics about a bratty kid with a Louis Armstrong voice assuring us, "I got the Jell-o!"  It was one of the only songs to utilize the band's dual bass capability.   Tommy was out of the band somehow and replaced with Sam Deutsch before Xyster played Charter Day in Basking Ridge, May 2002 though it was not very successful.  We played "Creep Street," "Virulent," "Love Will Tear Us Apart," and I think "Blitzkreig Bop."  It was intense, I think "Virulent" sounded best even as a broke sticks and played drums with my hands.  At the time I thought we were re-inventing noise-rock.  It mat have been true.  

In the summers of 2001-2003 I attended Summer Music Programs in Bryn Mawr, PA and recorded 6 EPs with 5 different groups, all of whom played a show at the end of the week.  In 2001 was was in the Mejettes which was a pretty sad group of misfits that covered "Brown-Eyed Girl" and began my tradition of singing the Ramones with "Blitzkreig Bop," albeit with incorrect lyrics.  I can't recall what else and I would prefer not to... oh God, one of then was "What I Got"...  The next week I joined Shooting Stars on second bass/multi-instruments.  Shooting Stars had proven themselves the most interesting band the week before, and the coolest kids int eh program with the most diverse and open taste in music and best attitude.  Before me they had written some cool dubby originals and covered A Tribe Called Quest's "Can I Kick It?"  We did an original called "Music," another jammy one which's title I cannot recall, "Now I Wanna Snip Some Glue," and something else.  The Ramones cover was altered to keep it parent-approved, though it still got me in trouble as my own mother found a tube of Liquid Nails I was using to fix an old guitar buried in my room.  It was embarrassing, though the music was still cool.

The next year Aidan joined me and the first week we met Jeff Ziga who was our drummer and goth chick who played guitar.  We called ourselves the Popes and recorded the EP Shabazz!.  We played "Creep Street" and "Virulent" which had evolved to have a few more changes.  Even the super-hip Ziga was unsure of our minimalistic krautrock and Spacemen 3- derived sound, but we did it.  Additionally we covered more Joy Division with "Transmission" and something by the Ramones, I think "Beat on the Brat."  The next week the brothers McEneaney were thrown into another misfit band.  Satisfied with our work the week before we took it easier, but it was pretty difficult.  The band's de facto leader was a blue-haired Hot Topic victim from Chicago named Josh.  He dubbed us "Chronic Insurgence" which he thought was really clever and put this symbol on the album cover that was a total rip-off of the Quake logo, though he denied it to no end.  He played guitar and vocals.  Even worse was a rich redneck from North Carolina named Chuck.  I hit my breaking point with him and threatened him.  The administration had to speak with me, but they sympathized.  Everyone did.  I hope he was murdered.  Both of them actually.  The bassist (I played guitar all week) was the best non- McEneaney int eh band, but still your typical bass nerd.  He loved to slap and was really excited about the release of By The Way, wanting to cover the title track.  Obviously, he had a chin beard.  He was credited on the EP as "Qev."  The band performed a so-bad-it's-good original by Josh - the title escapes me, "Just Like Honey" (which I sang, of course), a jam and a cover of "Sunday Bloody Sunday" which had a noise breakdown that actually was the band's greatest achievement.  "Just Like Honey" was fun too and is my mom's favorite recording, but the BC Rich just doesn't jive with it.  When we played it Aidan, of course, cranked his distortion all the way up, once to be corrected by Josh who felt the need to remind him it was "a soft song, no distortion."  What an asshole.

These four EPs still exist, unfortunately the first two are in LA.  I'll get them back and post them.  The second two I could get at my mom's place some time soon probably/hopefully.  As for 2003, that was already documented in my article on The Shears.

In Fall 2002, Adrian left and Xyster folded, making way for Hurtu, which has also been documented.  What I failed to mention, possibly intentionally was the Guilty Parties.  This was a punk band formed by André Cernasov prior to joining Pukey and the Vomets and bassist Sean Dlugos.  I played drums, Sam was the singer.  We had some original songs which sadly I can only remember one being a reggae jam with a lot of cursing.  We also did "California Über Alles."  The main original we did though was not bad and pretty funny, though.  We had a good time.  Recordings probably existed, but I know nothing of them.

After that there was The Shears, Mr. Disco, and Love Athena.  In Spring 2004, Sam and I were in pop-metal supergroup Batwolf, a band whose legend is too lengthy and will one day get their own article - hopefully right before a reunion.  I will say a little though, such as that the band included myself, Sam, Will Lulofs, Jeff Nazareno, and Albert Martini, all of whom have been mentioned in this article already.  The five of us assumed the names of five demigod brothers raised by Ganfalf on planet Lovetron named Valhalla O'Shea, Ogrim Doomhammer, Sir Elven Hellspawn, River Styx Milton, and Sabertooth Siren.  We had three songs - "Meat Factory Lovin'," "The Fall of The Wizard," the gorgeous "Love Commander," and an ELO-inspired instrumental.  Instrumental recordings were made of the songs for Albert to practice vocals and have since disappeared.  There were plans to record a record entitled Taste the Rock which would also include a title track, but after two performances that was the end of the band.  The first was at Charter Day and saw the group chauffeured by Mike Raynes in his 1990 Chrysler LeBaron nicknamed "Ron" in full costume.  We played all three fully-formed songs and welcomed Liam Carroll in character as Dr. Alphonzo Vengeance feeding microwaved (and mostly partially-frozen) taquitos to Sam.  He threw a few into the audience, hitting Eric "Big Montana Schneider" on the head with one, prompting a humorous "are you serious!?" caught on a lost video taken by Tommy Holden.  A small, mostly acoustic show was organized in Society Hill by Jeff's place later, but was cut short by power issues and awful neighbors.  It was gorgeous as we set up our instruments and fans by the pond that late spring evening.  Later, Liam made a documentary about the group further developing the band's mythology.

Batwolf illustrated:  Will, C-Mac, Albert, Jeff, Sam, and Liam

That Autumn, following the breakup of Love Athena I joined two other bands, I played bass in neither group.  I served on guitar in Down/B with Jason Paskow (also of Jesus Cookie), Tom Baumgarten, and Taylor Green.  We had some cool sounds and covered "Hey Ya," but I was too busy to keep up and I don't think much happened afterwards.  The other was The Hispanics with Tim King (aka Raphael Agudelo), Alex Talbot, and Adrian Rodriguez Ricelli.  I played drums and we had a cool dissonant, yet danceable post-punk sound in the mold of early Liars, The Ex, and of course, This Heat.  I remember a song called "She Missed The Stop Sign" being one of our best.  We played a party at Paul Niziolek's on December 10, 2004.  Birthday boy Aidan guest starred with us on sax when we played "Sex Bomb" - Flipper, not Tom Jones.  No recordings made to my knowledge.

As high school ended Will, Jeff, and I went ahead and finally formed the ultimate Basking Ridge supergroup The Tangles.  We had three songs and I think recorded at least instrumental racks to all which have all been lost.  A full song "Nightmare Town" was put on a Myspace which has somehow vanished.  It's a shame, it's perfect indie rock, circa 2005.  I tried to put a new version of the Tangles together the next summer with Sheldon Kartush on bass and myself on guitar.  We played "Love Commander" and a few other songs, but nothing else came of it.  That was about it until The Comfy Men, the Ways, Super River, and my new band featuring Jeff Nazareno and Andrea Kannes which has yet to be named.

Oh, also there was The Funkateers who was more of a performance art piece.  Sam played guitar, Ian David Played bass, I think Ryan Clark played drums while I played a silent home-made keytar and Alex Dinsmore and Brian Von Glahn were backup singers/dancers.  I think...  Either way, that was the same day I lost my virginity and Ridge high had it's 2003 Battle of the Bands featuring excellent performances from Tommy Wanish and Jeff Nazareno.  The latter, originally intended to include Will (who was sick), featured not only a cover of "Bizarre Love Triangle," but also a robot battle of Albert Martini as Killtron and Tim King as "Ghetto" Killtron.

Oh, and also I assisted Tim with some emo demos he was making with Lindsey Morelli in 2002.

That's just about everything.  More about my friends and my future later.

Just a Symptom of the Moral Decay That's Gnawing at the Heart of the Country

Due to an M&M's TV spot, The The got perhaps their largest exposure in the US in 2007. The commercial utilized this album's "This is the Day" giving the audience a catchy piece of 80s indie rock. While cute, the commercial does not show the deep, dramatic and in fact life-affirming power of the song. After a long time of not listening all that much I put this on the turntable on a whim. Good call on my part.

The rest of the album is not far behind. I will be honest that I've listened to the first side much more than the second, but that is not to say it's only half-great, but that first side... fuggedaboudit. Anchored by "This is the Day," it starts off with the dark and intense yet insanely catchy "I've Been Waiting for Tomorrow All of My Life." At this point it is pretty clear that The The's pretty-much-only member Matt Johnson is a bit overly tragic in persona. However, either the conviction in his voice will make you believe it or his knack for songwriting will make you not care. Most likely it will be both. He's got a real skill for stretching out his songs too as only two songs are below 5 minutes in time. Not only do these secret epics remain interesting for up to over nine minutes (the appropriately-named "GIANT"), Johnson uses them as an opportunity to show off his diverse skills in his genre-bending solos. Likewise Side one closer "Uncertain Smile" featuring a piano solo from Jools Holland may even be the album's finest cut at nearly seven minutes that leave you still wanting more.

This is the album today's college kids are trying to make in their dorm rooms with their bootleg copies of ProTools and budget M-Boxes. Hence it serves as evidence that such technology is a bad influence on music.


The The - Soul Mining (1984)

Here's the original video for "This is the Day"


In other news, I think there was a problem with the original upload of the Chills/Van Dyke Parks collaboration "Water Wolves," so I fixed that by putting up the whole record on that very old article.

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.

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)

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)

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)

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)

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?"

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!

AFFORDABLE FIREPOWER!

The Ultimate Product!

By 1986 members of the original punk explosion had moved onto the broad category of "postpunk." Members of the Sex Pistols and the Buzzcocks had embraced their Krautrock and Dub influences, while others were experimenting with funky dance music. Billy Idol, for one brought punk the middle America by selling out a little while his former cohort Tony James sold out so much that Middle America could never hope to handle it. That is, except for one Chicago teen by the name of Ferris Beuller.

"Love Missle F1-11" was featured in that character's day off, but that is just a warm up for this masterpiece of Musique-Concrète and 1980s hedonistic debauchery that could only be produced by Giorgio Moroder. The videos Sigue Sigue Sputnik left behind show what this album plays - the ultimate 80s experience: Consumerism, glam, video games, cable TV, Transformers, Terminator, and Tokyo. The band's use of samples predates the DJs of the 90s all without moving into dance category, just high art for fun's sake. As I mentioned months ago on the topic of Hanoi Rocks, do not expect anything metal from this despite the band's image - this is something totally unique, hip, absolutely hilarious and often called the first (and probably only) truly "cyberpunk" album. By simply listening to this album you can almost say you lived through the 80s. The album is really one to play through as it flows together really well with long samples in intros (the kind that produce negative numbers on CD players making is hard to track on the PC.) However there are some tracks that do stand out on their own like the aforementioned one, along with "Atari Baby," "Rockit Miss U.S.A.," and "21st Century Boy." With the heavy presence of classical samples, Sigue Sigue Sputnik made an album for the future that was in tough with the past, and could only come from the present in 1986.


Sigue Sigue Sputnik - Flaunt It (1986)

I beleive I was lucky enough to have found this CD at Vintage Vinyl in Fords, NJ.

All We Wanted to Do Was Eat Cucumber Sandwiches

This is where Robyn Hitchcock's long an remarkable career begins. While it is not one of his best, especially when compared to the Soft Boys' masterpiece follow-up, it is still essential for any fan, and has an amazing cover.

This can be pretty hard to track down, unfortunately, and has been out of print in this country for god knows how long. The Boys really are beginning to get their sound together here, particularly in Hitchcock and Kiberly Rew's dynamic guitar interplay. Their place in the punk movement is much more evident here than on Underwater Moonlight, as is the diverese roster of influences far beyond the sixties psych-pop and postpunk most evident on the follow-up. Regardless of retrospective comparison, this is a pretty solid album, especially at the beginning. "Give it to the Soft Boys" is a great theme song for such a unique (especially in their time and place) group. "Pigworker" is like a real, though no less humorous version of Spinal Tap's "Sex Farm," and a whole five years earlier. "Human Music"'s slowed-down melody forshadows some of Kitchcock's prettier moments in later solo/Egyptians work, while "Sandra's Her Brain Out," may have the quintessential Hitchcock title and lyrics. In many ways this is the ultimate Hitchcock testament as it set the stage for the next thirty years (and probably the rest of his career) in every imaginable way.

Though there are few artists hailing from Cambridge, the Soft Boys are one of the best examples. Hitchcock's voice is enough to carry that city's own tradition and that in addition to his music continues the tradition of Syd Barret, the man who gave the place its original Rock 'n' Roll voice.

I understand there is a deluxe, bonus-tracks version of this album, but I have never seen it in any format... yet.


The Soft Boys - A Can of Bees (1979)

Blasting Off To Jimmy's House!

All great things start somewhere. The greatest thing in Rock 'n' Roll started right here in 1987.

Well, maybe not since Guided by Voices did release an EP, Forever Since Breakfast prior, but this is the first whole album. Pollard started off his prolific career with a series of scarcely available (essential you had to know the band personally) albums, most of which are quite good - though obviously not up to the transcendent beauty of the later work. This really is a noble debut despite that Pollard and cohorts had not yet found their exact voice and at times the songs are noticeably (to the untrained ear) a little derivative. R.E.M. in particular is an undeniable influence, especially on the albums two best cuts "Hey, Hey, Spaceman," in which Pollard's vocals are unusually Stipe-esque and the DIY anthem of "Hank's Little Fingers." The whole album really does forshadow the band's whole career with exellence in songwriting and eccentricities such as the remarkably short lengths and stylistic splicing. Unlike some other early albums, this one even got some presence on the career-spanning best of with closer "Captain's Dead." Pollard's exploration into a more diverse oeuvre is even evident in the epic "Portrait Destroyed by Fire" and instrumental "Crux." The Lo-Fi art was only in its nascent stages here perhaps due to Tobin Sprout's temporary absence (he was living in Florida, but had already passed through the ranks), but considering the commonality of cheap recording by the time this was made widely available, that is negligible.

Do not be put off by the band's obscurity at the time of its release - this is just as worthy as any other GbV album and has enough classics to keep it in rotation. It is available only as part of Box. The question "What keeps Big Daddy happy?" is in reference to Jimmy Pollard's pet rooster on the cover (great story about the photo). It is the same line from "Don't Stop Now."


Guided By Voices - Devil Between My Toes (1987)

Come Hither To Me Under The Canopy

They say that Jonathan Fire*Eater's lack of success was due to their over-hyping from new label Dreamworks. Despite a track on the Dead Man On Campus soundtrack, it is quite hard to believe that today as the only people that remember them are hipsters aged 28-35. Not long after discovering the offshoot Walkmen and wanting roughly the same thing, only better, I discovered them and have never manged to succede in finding any material copies of their work.

I suppose the world would not yet ready for a quintet of good-looking, privileged, and very hip New Yorkers for another four years. Regardless, they were a remarkably talented band that really set the stage for what would be going on a few years later. After meeting at St. Alban's School in the D.C. area the members all dropped out of college and moved to New York to form this band. The group developed a unique sound with a vintage tone lead by Farfisa organ and a heavy beat that reflected a contemporary attitude and modern influences as well. They released two even rarer independent (I have not heard them) albums before being signed to Dreamworks. With Calvin Klein using them as models and opening for the likes of blur and Pulp the deal was remarkably generous worth over a million and including complete creative control and a dental plan. The complete creative control really paid off... for us, the listener.

Keeping with the title, opening track "When the Curtain Calls For You," sets the stage (pun) for the rest of the album balancing eerie tones with high energy vintage underground rock 'n' roll much like "These Little Monkeys" does. The band goes into full-on eerieness on the classic "A Night In The Nursery" and has given the theme song to ever subsequent summer in "Bipolar Summer." This album is a masteripiece that deserves a quality re-issue and surpasses everything the band would do without Stuart Lupton in the Walkmen.


Jonathan Fire*Eater - Wolf Songs For Lambs (1997)

You Just Wanna Know

KINO is known as the greatest Russian band of all time. I don't know enough to argue otherwise, but they are one of my favorites of any geography, regardless.

Here is their first and probably my favorite of their albums. It is a raw set of underground (as in hiding from the authorities) St. Petersburg Postpunk/New Wave. It is not as apparent here, as on their later work, but band leader Viktor Tsoi's top influence was a black market copy of Duran Duran's first album. Here, though the arrangements focus more on (mostly acoustic) guitars than on elecctronics (or anything else on that matter.) Though, unfortunately the proficiency is not strong as lead guitarist Yuri Kasparyan had yet to join. However, I think the songwriting is perhaps the strongest and this was the first album of theirs I really fell in love with. The eerie "Devero" is one that really seaps into you - I woke up one morning into my dark closet of a room in Boston with that sirculating in my brain not long after hearing it the first time. It is the second track, though, "Proso Khochesh Ty Znat" that I see as the stongest track of the set. Thelament over the common Russian affliction of alcoholism "Moi Druzya" and children's song "Aluyminiyeviye Ogurtsy" also stand out as some of the best. Granted though, what detracts from this album is the presence of some filler tracks, so don't feel disappointed if you have to skip some - other albums, such as the posthumous masterpiece Chyorniy Album (The Black Album), don't have any of those. Either way, this is a great place to start and I, of course, would reccomend this to anyone curious about music on the other side of the Iron Curtain.

Western listeners should know that Viktor Tsoi holds the kind of regard in the former USSR that John Lennon, Kurt Cobain, Ian Curtis, and Bob Marley hold in the West. ...Only combined. He died tragically in a car accident outside of Riga (now Latvia) in 1990. He is also one of the most accomplished Eurasians (half Korean) in history.


KINO - 45 (1982)

The titles here are in Russian, so here is a link that has translierations and translations along with their respective lyrics to not just this, but all of thier records.

In music news, though, something sad. Chris Knox of Tall Dwarfs, Toy Love, and his own solo career has suffered a stroke. He survived, but there are very few details about it. He is only 56 years old.

Tell Me, Where Does Your Mind Grow?

Okay, this is just the Three O'Clock in 1983

Before the Three O'Clock there was the Salvation Army. Essentially they were the same band, though. The group, which featured Michael Quercio(at times going by "Ricky Start") and Gregg (later known as Louis) Gutierrez formed in Carson and was forced to change their name by the actual religious/charity organization... but not before being signed to the Minutemen's New Allience label and releasing the "Happen Happened/Mind Gardens" single and a self-titled album (which had, excempting the titles, the same album art). The releases made some waves as the liner notes quote eventual Three O'Clock drummer Danny Benair recounting hearing "Mind Gardens" on Rodney on the ROQ while still a member of the Weirdos. It should be noted that the band was signed by New Allience in November 1981, when Quercio was a mere 18 years old.

The sound is wuite different from the band they originially formed into being more in tune with a garage/punk sound than the jangly new-wave psych at which The Three O'Clock would excel. The songwriting is all Quercio's despite Gutierrez' presence in the group - however those already familiar with the last two Three O'Clock records should make no assumptions as this has nothing in common with their clean, 80s sound. Though I am a fan of both Quercio eras, he had yet to come into himself at this point lyrically. The lyrics resemple more psychedelic rambling than the darly whimsical ambiguity of his later work. Despite this, the most exemplary tracks "She Turns to Flowers" and "Happen Happened" stand out as some of the finest. This collection which contains all of the band's work under the Salvation Army moniker is prime example of the early Paisley Underground sound. And why shouldn't it? This was around the time that Quercio coined that term in the first place.


Befour Three O'Clock - Happen Happened (1992)

You Sure Know How To Make Things Hard

I thought I should put this up as it in quite hard to find (I've never seen it on CD, even at the absurd price at which I have seen Kaleidoscope World and Submarine Bells), but I somehow did. While it's not the CHiLLs' best, it is their debut and like all their records has its own sound that no fan of kiwi-pop should miss. Produced by Mayo Thomas, it has an atmospheric psychedelic sound in a way that is quite different from the follow-up album. The keys are mixed low in a very effective way and the most lovable things on this album are the same things to love about other CHiLLs releases. Plus, only a kiwi-pop album could have a record cover like this one (I hear the members are spelling out "COLD" (Flying Nun's code) in nautical language.)

I don't have the pride of my record collection (this LP) in hand right now so I won't distinguish original tracks from bonus tracks which are mixed in on the side, tastefully distinguishing the two original sides. The opening track "Push" is beautiful and really sets the tone for the rest of the album. "Rain," the next track keeps the energy up and is one of the catchiest songs and perhaps the best use of falsetto I have heard in rock music. The last three tracks are some of the best as well leaving you to want to jsut hear more and more CHiLLs and luckily their other stuff gets better from there. There are plenty of great tracks int he middle though, most notably "Party in My Heart," which you may think of when partying until you realize it is definitely not that much fun... lyrically.


The CHiLLs - Brave Words (1986)

Asked Me Why I Never Wrote You a Song When You Thought You'd Given Me Enough to Work On

In celebration of the long-awaited conclusion of my academic career I will write on the Verlaines...



This is, of course because leader Graeme Downes, if anyone, has academicized Rock 'n' Roll. Now, I am not sure if I can agree with that, and while I have not taken his program at the University of Otago (him being one of the few to remain in Dunedin today), I can only assume this kind of thing ends up harming the art much in the way of film school, which I have attended.

However, the Verlaines to rock, and while at times it can be a bit pretensious, it's still clever and sincere, and even better that other successful academia-rockers like Mission of Burma. MoB is a good comparison for the sound as well, and then of course the Wipers would be as well, along with the overall kiwi-pop sound. However, the Verlaines really do rock harder than most of the others, and not in a punky way like the Clean and Toy Love. These energetic songs are catchy, clever, and powerful, and Downes' arrangements often touch on brilliance. In fact, "C.D., Jimmy Jazz, & Me," re-definined perfection in the musical sense with it's flawless integration of strings and horns into epic rock. This along with their definitive "Death and the Maiden" and the acoustic punk of "Pyromaniac" are not only some of the group's best, but some of the movement's. While this is a compilation, it truly is the best place to start, and is the best source for their music even when you have their complete LPs. Notably, part of this is for including "Heavy 33," originially found exclusively on budget used section classic comp No Alternative (also featuring Soul Asylum and the Goo Goo Dolls when they were all about ripping off Soul Asylum). Unfortunately, though, it does not contain anything from the Dunedin Double EP, which was one of Flying Nun's first releases and also contained sides from The CHiLLs, The Stones, and Sneaky Feelings.


The Verlaines - You're Just Too Obscure For Me...

I Knew Somebody, But Now I'm All Alone

Well this is obviously some true Rock 'n' Roll.

Hanoi Rocks hailed from Finland, and despite that disadvantage (which with the likes of HIM tailing is only getting worse and worse) they are legends. Despite their decadently glam image in the 80s and the facts that Guns 'n' Roses cite them as a top influence and Vince Neil was convicted for vehicular manslaughter of their drummer Razzle , Hanoi Rocks is in fact NOT metal. Bands of that style did take a lot of them, though in their attitude and look, but Hanoi Rocks' music harkens back more to the first era of glam and of course, punk rock. Keep in mind that 80s metal borrowed a huge part from punk as well, they just took it differently from these Finns. Metal, punk, whatever - this is music for lovers of Rock 'n' Roll and know that it knows no boundaries, reaching those as far as the Arctic Circle.

Hanoi Rocks knew no limits either as their singer also excelled as a harmonicist and (red and white) sax player which plays a big part in their music. The British national Razzle, as well changed rock as he played with a bass drum bearing his name rather than the band's. Bottom line this is an awesome album that I've been wanting to get into for years and I just now acquired it in its entirety. "Lost In The City," which I heard first is a great rock tune that lives up to its name. Other favorites are "Tragedy" and "11th Street Kidzz." The album extracts everything fun about punk and glam which of course Southern California metalheads admired as much as I do. Therefore, I recommend this (more than usual) to fans of Guns 'n' Roses, The Clash, Mötley Crüe, David Bowie, etc...


Hanoi Rocks - Bangkok Shocks, Saigon Shakes, Hanoi Rocks (1981)