Electric Groove Box

Best of 2011

2011-12-29T22:15:00.000-08:00

Year end lists are contrived. This very year end list is contrived. They attempt at putting an order to things that in some respects could not be compared. How do you evaluate what the best album of the year is? By sales, no. By critical acclaim, I don't. So, by default the meter lies with the author; selections are all but arbitrary. Here are my arbitrary selections.

BEST ALBUM -- PJ Harvey Let England Shake -- With Let England Shake, PJ Harvey became the first two-time winner of the prestigious Mercury Prize with her tenth studio album. Let England Shake finds Harvey utilizing a completely new vocal register, while shedding many of the heavier, more rock inspired elements of her repertoire; her direct and emotionally evocative lyric delivery sat nestled in a folk-by-the-way-of-the-Feelies instrumental suite that was devoid of too many extraneous musical flourishes. The records emotionally challenging take England’s history of war, may be Harvey’s masterwork. It is rare when mass critical-acclaim leads to such a well-established artist’s biggest selling record (Worldwide, not in the US) at this point in her career, but it simply is well deserved with this release.

A beautiful companion piece to the record is the set of short films that award winning Irish documentary photographer Seamus Murphy created to coincide with the release of the album. Released as a DVD, and many of which are on youtube, it really sets the visual tone for the record.

BEST REISSUE -- The Milkshakes! The 101 Tapes -- Reissued on 2LP is the 1986 compilation, originally on Media Burn records (also out on CD on Vinyl Japan 20 years ago), is The Milkshakes "107 Tapes (early demos and live recordings)" which is demos recorded at 107 Rochester Street, Chatham in 1981. The second disc has a live show from Germany 1983. It’s on gatefold double LP with extensive liner notes, a really playful interview with the band, and some great photographs.

The really great thing about a reissue such as this reissue is that Damaged Goods did not simply resort to issuing the same old packaging and gave some of the people out there who already have the original a reason to buy the reissue as well. The packaging is deluxe, on the level of the "Archives from 57" 3LP that came out a while ago.

The Milkshakes, to me, where never my favorite of the Billy Childish bands; but they have a certain charm. This set of songs is raw and blistering, the live set is amazing, and really has me re-evaluate them as a band in regards to his other projects. I suppose that is the mark of a truly great reissue; one that forces the listener to rethink their perceptions of the group.

BEST SHOW/CONCERT -- The Cure, Reflections, Los Angeles 11/23/11 -- It is truly hard for me to adequately describe how truly amazing and special the Reflections show was. Staged at the majestic Pantages Theater in the heart of Hollywood, CA, The Cure performed in their entirety their first three albums divided into three sets (also three encore sets).

Reflections saw an evolving line up of band members past and present playing the punchy, offbeat, starkly unadorned songs of Three Imaginary Boys (1979), through the increasingly shadowy and quixotic pieces of Seventeen Seconds (1980), to the singular melancholic grandeur of Faith (1981). The line up for Three Imaginary Boys: The Cure Trio - ROBERT SMITH: Voice & Guitar / SIMON GALLUP: Bass / JASON COOPER: Drums; Seventeen Seconds: The Cure Quartet - ROBERT SMITH: Voice & Guitar / SIMON GALLUP: Bass / JASON COOPER: Drums / ROGER O'DONNELL: Keys and Faith: The Cure Quintet - ROBERT SMITH: Voice & Guitar / SIMON GALLUP: Bass / JASON COOPER: Drums / ROGER O'DONNELL: Keys & Percussion / LAURENCE TOLHURST: Keys & Percussion.

The songs were play with precision, energy and a truly youthful exuberance. After sitting through three albums in three sets, I was truly amazed at the three encores. The third featuring music from the Walk EP rounding out the night. It displayed a band still in fine form, not afraid to explore their back catalog. What made the event nice was that it was not a long tour trying to wring out money from everyone it could, but an exclusive intimate show for mainly avid fans of the group... Also their merch was cheap! Which only proves that when you are that adored you can give back to your fans in a way that they will always love you.

BEST LOCAL BAND (OLYMPIA) -- Hysterics -- I have to be honest here, I was not an early member of the Hysterics bandwagon. The first few times I saw them I thought that they were mediocre, and even one time thought that they were awful. I didn't feel the hype, both local and beyond, was founded; in fact I quietly was befuddled. Then, a funny thing happened, more and more they grew... becoming quite fierce. The best band experiences to see, to me, are seeing bands grow and mature. And, for Hysterics, their maturation was not really in style or sophistication, but a really amazing ability to completely channel their rage. The band I first saw was trying really hard to be fierce and hard, the band that I have seen throughout 2011 is one of the more blistering and pummeling bands playing right now, and they happen to be from Olympia. Their seven inch is amazing, it scorches earth, and they are infinitely better live.

BEST RECORD STORE --Rainy Day Records, Olympia-- Rainy Day kept me in good supply of quality records with their constant rotation of cheap, great finds in their used bin and a staff willing to hunt down even the stupidest of special orders. Sadly, my all time favorite off the beaten path record store, Crosstown, in Lancaster, CA closed... So it is a net sad time for my record buying mojo...

REVIEWED AT SSG MUSIC

2011-12-16T15:33:00.000-08:00

Here is a review I did for The Cure Bestival Live 2011 at SSG MUSIC.

Best New Music

2011-10-26T14:39:00.000-07:00

Comet Gain Howl of the Lonely Crowd- Fortuna Pop!/What's Your Rupture

Over the years I have heard wild and varied rumors about Comet Gain. A failed US tour canceled the night before leaving, culminating in the resulting aborted but finished album to later only come out as a cd with little promotion; drinking, excess, rock... A lot of things that one doesn't typically think of when thinking of indie pop that at times verges on twee. Certainly there has been those who have said that Comet Gain is dead; or dying.

The speculation of the death of Comet Gain have been greatly exaggerated. The first chords of opening track ‘Clang of the Concrete Swans’ swell with a swaggering gait, an ode to the disenfranchised sets the tone for the first side of the album. Like the best Comet gain songs, it’s a impassioned plea of desire ending with the refrain: “Let their howling hearts be heard.” It is in this instance that Comet Gain define thier pop-magnificence, a harrowing swan song if the idea of the death of the band was in fact rooted in truth. Thankfully, it is not.

‘An Arcade From the Warm Rain That Falls’ throws a little bit of soul into the mix further exploring a common trope of the band: the futility of modern life. Unlike their earlier works, Howl of the Lonely Crowd, swells with instrumentation making a full-sounding record; this is not to say that their sparse pop-statements disappear in the mix. It is still clearly a Comet Gain record.

While reviews of their live shows over the last few years might have been disjointed, it is clear that Comet Gain can come up with an album easily as good as anything in the upper levels of the indie pop cannon.

Electric Groove Box Podcast #6

2011-10-24T13:38:00.000-07:00

The rapture may have come and gone, again, but it looks like Hell may have froze over. I am posting a new podcast! You can visit our podcast page here!!! and get ready to dance your ass off.

On October 1st, 2011 I guest hosted the KAOS 89.3FM Olympia radio show Campfire Island hosted by Frankie B. This is the abridged set I played.

Ian Drury and the Blockheads- “Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick” from the Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick single (Stiff – 1979)

Gang of Four – “What We All Want” from Solid Gold (Warner – 1981)

The Clash – “Magnificent Seven” from Sandinista (Epic – 1980)

The Rapture – “How Deep is Your Love” from For the Grace of Love (Death From Above – 2011)

James White and the Blacks – “Contort Yourself” from the Contort Yourself single (ZE Records – 1979)

Plastics – “Cards” from Plastics (Island – 1981)

LCD Soundsystem – “Losing My Edge” from the Losing my Edge single (Death From Above – 2002)

ESG – “Erase You” from the ESG EP (99 Records - 1981)

A Certain Ration – “Blown Away” from the Blown Away 12″ single (Factory 1980)

Adam and the Ants – “Car Trouble” from Dirk Wears White Sox (Do It - 1979)

Eight Years On

2011-10-22T00:34:00.000-07:00

To me it is very hard to think that it has been eight years since Elliott Smith passed. I can still vividly remember the first time I ever heard Roman Candle, it was around the same time I heard the Heatmiser record Mic City Sons, which is still one of my all time favorite records. I went out and immediately bought both records, which I poured so many hours into listening to.

I have had the very good fortune in my life, due to proximity, to have crossed paths with Elliott many times. When I was in high school I was a very prolific show booker. One of the "biggest," although in all honesty at the time it had a smaller turn out than I would have wished, shows I booked was with Elliott Smith as a favor for another booker/promoter. He was very warm, very nice, but a bit shy... Not a big shock. He said many times that day that he was very shocked at how young I was; I said, "Don't worry, you'll get paid..." to which he said he wasn't concerned as that he legitimately thought it was nice that I was so into music to take a risk booking shows at such a young age. That stuck with me.

I remember my parents listening to his record around this time, as my father always took a bit of interest in my bookings as he thought it was good "hobby." I remember when he was on the Oscars in that beautiful white suit singing the most tender song of the evening; I remember my parents saying, "Hey don't you know him?" and feeling such pride in his accomplishment.

I remember sitting backstage during a YoYo show that I stage-managed that is now kind of famous in his cannon and being in such awe of his gentle touch and whisper, interacting with him that night, just after his rocket to fame-ish-ness is still one of my all time most treasured moments interacting with any musician. I still hold it close to the heart without even having to mention the details of our conversation.

I remember a long walk in a long park in Florence, Italy after seeing Sam Combes walking the streets near the Ponto to seek out a Elliott show.

I remember sitting backstage at the Moore Theater in Seattle later that year in utter awe of the amount of free drinks on his ridder and getting free drinks from him before he went on. I recall seeing him playing an amazing set from the side of the stage looking out into the crowd at the Moore seeing familiar faces while he and Grandaddy played "Don't Fear the Reaper."

These are only a couple of my memories; I have more, but you should never share all your memories of someone. Whenever I hear his music I get filled with so much sadness that he is not blessing this world with more songs; he is gone too soon-his music was life altering to me. So sad to think of this anniversary.

Veronica Falls

2011-10-20T06:04:00.000-07:00

I have listened to the s/t Veronica Falls LP on Slumberland about 50 times in the last week; not because it is exceptional, but because I haven't found the energy to take it off the turntable. Perhaps, that is the mark of a good release in a way, one that makes taking the effort to not listen to it greater than listening to it. There are moments of this record that I am quite enamored with, but they all fall into a foggy mixture of similarity that spreads throughout the record.

A lot of people have pointed to C86 as a reference; but when I think back to the now lexiconic mix tape I don't hear say Primal Scream or Soup Dragons in Veronica Falls... But I can say you can narrow the reference down to a few ingredients. While at times I think it is passe to say a band is influenced by another, I mean who am I to say that person A has listened to band X, there are some easy slapshot comparisons to be made using the overwrought C86 "genre": The Pastels, Shop Assistants, Wedding Present. I particularly think a lot of the guitar work has a Wedding Present vibe, jangly but frantic; dripping with anxiety to get it out.

For such a jangley pop record the themes are rather dark, and I believe there in lies its lasting contribution; Slumberland as a label has made its name on repackaging this style of music as new, but a lot of the bands are oh too similar. With its lyrical tenor and their ability to use well worn ideas without sounding well worn, Veronica Falls have produced an LP that stands out of the pack of both the label and modern C86-worship genre.

Dance Your Ass Off!

2011-10-18T23:58:00.000-07:00

New War

2011-10-05T23:54:00.000-07:00

New War "Ghostwalking" 12" Fast Weapons 2011

New War would have you believe a lot if you bothered to look at their press release for their debut recording “Ghostwalking.” For one, they would have you believe that their pedigree as former members of the Kill Rock Stars band Shoplifting would merit a listen alone. I have never really paid any heed to the idea that a band is good because they have former members of good, or even great, bands; if that was the case I would be celebrating the discographies of bands like Junkyard, The Joykiller, or Jello Biafrra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine… And I certainly am not.

Not withstanding their time spent in previous projects proved fruitful in helping them share the stage with bands like the Gossip, of whom took notice and released “Ghostwalking” on Gossip guitar maniac Nathan Howdoshell’s Fast Weapons imprint. Featuring one lone song, remixed by HTRX, as well as Gossip, New War present a sound that is hypnotic, built on repetition, without becoming boring.

I find it interesting that they tend to focus on the haunting nature of the sound, as well as the guest remixes in marketing the song more than the fact that the record itself is a document of a band sure of themselves enough to create a subtle, restrained sound where each instrument only add to the melancholic yet bellowing vocals delivery.

While the remixes provide a very danceable vibe, the New War track in and of itself is not really a dance tune, but a call for all those walking towards the light; truth be told “Ghostwalking” is a perfect name for this track both as a title and a descriptive.

Recent Record Finds

2011-10-03T00:04:00.000-07:00

I have been having a good run on finding good records lately. I am supremely excited about some of the finds, while not entirely "rare," certainly good tunes for sure. Here are some brief thoughts on records scored in the last week or two.

Angelic Upstarts “Woman in Disguise” 12” Anagram 1982 --Angelic Upstarts have always been kind of a puzzling band in a lot of ways to me. Musically they progressed greatly from their initial recordings to their last consistent record (1987's Blood on the Terraces). By the time they released "Woman in Disguise" in 1982, three years from their first single, they had soften their edges greatly and produced a pretty great, short pop record. They only remaining sonic similarities to their oi! days are the rather dead-pan, proletariat vocal delivery by frontman Mensi.

Anvil “Backwaxed” LP Viper 1985 -- "Backwaxed" is an odds and sods for Anvil; a band now know by their semi-eponymous named documentary documenting the "band that could have been." The story is very sweet following the film, now they are playing stages that they only dreamed of a few years ago. "Hard and Heavy," "Metal on Metal," "Forged on Fire" all hold enough good material to warrant purchasing; but, and even the band notes after this, they had good songs but not really great recordings following this period. Fortunately "Backwaxed" documents the odds and ends of this early period plus a few of the hits; unfortunately most it is mostly chopping room floor level material. Anvil has some classic solos, great hard rock/nwbhm riffs, and a good drummer; but the vocals are what probably kept this band from being on the upper-escutcheons of heavy metal; and this record really proves it. Vocals dripping with cheese, not really refined, and playing a backseat to the music. The great metal bands blended vocals with the music, in Anvil it is an afterthought.

Bauhaus “In the Flat Field” LP 4AD/Expanded (Italian Import) 1981 --As I sift through endless travel websets to get the best airfare for my mini-vacation in which I plan on seeing The Cure and Morrissey perform in the same week (yes this is 2011, not 1989); I am listening to the pumling "In the Flat Field," the first LP from Bauhaus, another favorite of the clove-smoking, black fingernail polish set. The thing that always strikes me, at my age, is what happened to "goth." I mean, I know it still exists in some pockets; and younger kids like some of it sonics and imagery (see witch house); but what happened to goth circa: before Marylin Manson fans claimed the mantel and shit on it to death. No jnco's, yes brooding mystery and anger. The thing that always drew me to "goth" music was that there was, in fact, a large swath of sonic sensibilities to the scene. Even within one band Bauhaus you see a distinct evolution from the repetitive, rhythmic pummel to a more refined and ethereal sound. I tend to like first records alot, it is probably because for a band it is their earliest statement, and often the one they had the most time to craft. "In the Flat Field" is brutal in comparison to even "Mask." It is jarring, ugly, and out of tune at times; it oozes with discontent, more punk than most "punk" records.

Bauhaus "4AD" EP 4AD 1983 --Sometimes comp EP's like this, collecting a few singles don't seem like the best use of money. I mean, if you have the singles, or in some cases the LP's that the record comes from it is kind of frivolous. But with "4AD" Bauhaus give the buyer not only great material, but a good curatorial sense of what the band was about. A lot of bands would have filled the rest of the time/space with bad demos or bland live takes; but "4AD" is fluid and tends toward the minimal by design. Not nearly as pummeling as "In a Flat Field", nor as filled out as "Mask" which saw the band expanding their sound with keyboards and more defined production; "4AD" is a good look at a growing young band.

Booker T. & the MG’s “Soul Dressing” LP Stax 1965 --"Soul Dressing" is the second LP From Booker T. & the MG's. You would think that the three years between "Green Onions" and "Soul Dressing" would produce some bigger numbers; sadly it did not. Really there isn't a song worth mentioning outright as a standout on this record as all sit in the same pocket of good-but-not totally memorable tunes. The period between "Green Onions" and "Hip Hug Her" is seen as a fallow period creatively by some (and by others as their creative high point!), the band was at the time creating monster tracks for so many others that they didn't really pay attention to their own brand some argue; it certainly is the lull in hits. That said each track swings, the playing is precise in that loose-tight way that the MG's mastered and fans of intrumental work probably drool at anything they did. The record is their first attempt at putting together a real cohesive album; "Green Onions" was more slap-dash to cash in on the hit. I always find myself going back to transition albums for rotation, but I think with them I mainly would stick to "Green Onions" "Hip Hug Her" and "Doing Out Thing."

Broken Bones "Dem Bones" Fall Out 1984 --I honestly am kind of surprised that this made it to the shelf at the record store I bought it at. I thought for sure someone would have scooped it up. I am even more excited that it was only $7! I usually don't talk about record prices here; but it is such a good buy for a classic piece of punk recording. Featuring former members of Discharge, Broken Bones were a more straight-forward, cross-over band that sat well with the emerging hardcore-come-thrash sound. Some people have called Broken Bones one of the biggest Hardcore bands of all time and one of the most vital, various U.S. mega-bands such as Metallica have acknowledged them as one of their influences; the great debate for me will always be Discharge V. Broken Bones, and this record makes a very good argument for Broken Bones being the stronger of the two bands. Listening to this record for the fist time in probably 10 years is like hearing it again for the first time as a young and angry teen; it is music to destroy shit to... Kick, punch, fight.

The Buff Medways “Medway Wheelers” LP Damaged Goods 2005 --Wild Billy Childish. This man is insane. Not mental, just the amount of work and output this guy has can be explored for years. So you know the Headcoats, you know the Milkshakes, you know the Mighty Caesars, well in 2001-2005 he played in the Buff Medways. Fuzzy, sloppy, garagey-of course; what do you expect. I really like the Buffs cheek, their sound seems more sarcastic and bitter in some ways, yet nostalgic and parochial in other ways. This period of Childish's music is one of my favorite periods really; it sounds more singular and less paroting. In a career with more records than this blog has probably covered it is hard to pick a starting point, although the 1959 retrospective has a bit of everything, this record has the gist of it boiled down.

James White & the Blacks “Contort Yourself/Heat Wave” 12” ZE records 1979 --This is an extended disco remix of the classic Contortions track. It is REALLY good; "Heat Wave" not so much. I really like that it kind of took very minimal elements of the original while maintaining its downtown late 70's NYC edge; that is a very hard feet to achieve. My main beef with the release is just how bad the flip side is. I would have liked either a double A side, or the original on the flip. So disco "Contort Yourself" > "Heat Wave" < shit.

Mission of Burma "The Horrible Truth About Burma" Ace of Hearts 1985 --Caustic, loud, repetitive tape loops float over the classic Mission of Burma sound providing a live document of a band that was both idiosyncratic and somehow classic at the time of their own premature demise (first time). Recorded on their 1983 farewell tour, with Martin Swoop playing the fourth man to the trio; "The Horrible Truth About Burma" is one of the very rare live albums that serve as a great entry way into a band. It is a truly first rate album: slightly unhinged, blistering and full of energy.

New Order “Blue Monday” 12” Factory 1983 --What cheek! To release a twelve inch that mythically lost money on for each copy you sold forcing a change to a non-dye-cut sleeve. A few things to say about "Blue Monday" it is one of the longest singles to chart in the UK at over seven minutes long, it is the best selling British 12" of all time and the 76th biggest selling single as of the early 2000's; all this, and it is not eligible for a "gold record" because Factory was not part of the British Phonographic Industry Association. All this, as a a record on the whole I rather like it. It is easy to say, but I am a fan of New Order; not as big of a fan of Joy Division, but a fan none-the-less. While I tend to like their more rock/pop based and post-disco songs more than the synth based songs, "Blue Monday" is so morose, so filled with dour tones that I would put it up there in the pantheon of great pop songs.

New Order “Chapter III” 2LP bootleg 1988 --Never have heard this bootleg before. The sound quality could leave a lot to be desired but the songs themselves are amazing including versions of "Blue Monday" and "Perfect Kiss" that both top ten minutes. It is with records like this that you can really begin to grasp the interplay with rock and dance music that New Order was pioneering. The crowd was clearly split in exuberance on the two facets of the band.

New Order "Movement" Factory 1981--What a debut album! You have to hand it to New Order; to release an album that pushes the sonic boundaries past their comfort zone just one year after the release of their last Joy Division album "Closer" and the death of bandmate Ian Curtis. Most would not be able to pull it off, but New Order did in a big way. An amazing transitional document from their pulsing, rhythmic Joy Division sound to their more "techno/synth" records that would define the band; on "Movement" more than any other LP you can vividly see the transition; coupled with the "Ceremony" 12" you see a band working through grief and maturing musically by leaps and bounds.

The Rapture “In the Grace of Your Love” 2lp DFA 2011--The Rapture unleashed an, almost, generation defining single "House of Jealous Lovers." For many in their early/mid 30s the song defined a time when dance music was on the verge, a little more care-free time that mingling New York minds found punk and dance combining. If not generation defining, it certainly was one of the big songs in defining the dance punk genre which walked hand in hand with IDM and Electroclash. As someone who inhabited the same space at this time I have a certain sentiment for that single, as well as the rest of the "Echos" and "Out of the Races and Onto the Tracks" era. They followed up "Echos" with "Pieces of People We Love" which was less "boots-and-pants-boots-and-pants" and more party soul influenced, now with "in the Grace of Your Love" the band finds themselves in a more disco-influenced mood woven into elements drawn from bands like Roxy Music. My first listen found me thinking the hit was the jam; and the rest of the record was too comfortable. But on second listen I find that this record has elements that will most likely let it endure past its initial release, something I can not say for "Pieces of People We Love." It is a more artistic statement than simple dance punk.

The Wailers “At the Castle” LP Etiquette 1962--Okay, I have three copies of this record, and will probably always buy it if the price is right. It is a good gift record, it is a good record for playing endlessly until you need a new copy because your old one wore out; it is one of the finest pieces of American rock n roll ephemera there is. Gail Harris' voice on "I Idolize You" is stunning, the music is loose and free, and songs like "Dirty Robber" with Rockin Robin Roberts singing are so completely perfect that it really does no justice to even talk about it. Seriously, if you don't have this, do yourself a favor and go buy it today... Because it is essential.

The (Young) Pioneers “Free the Young Pioneers Now” LP Lookout 1998 --I always liked Born Against, but really the (Young) Pioneers were so different than their hardcore predecessor. (Young) Pioneers really were ahead of their time; "folk punk" acts like Two Gallants, Against Me, Tim Barry, etc really owe a bit of debt to (Young) Pioneers; not to be punny they really were pioneers in some regard. "Free the Young Pioneers Now" released on Lookout (or Lookout! ???) was the last full length release for the band, a release that found them surprisingly smoothing out a lot of their rough (by design) edges. Probably a little less singing through the green bullet mic? But the record is a great statement of blending folk, rock, and punk with a political edge into a really fluid and concise album. To me they were one of the better live bands of the late 1990's, and their whole catalog is worth while. I sold my copy of this record years ago to move to NYC along with a lot of others and I am glad to have it back.

New Tom Waits

2011-08-23T13:07:00.000-07:00

Ethics of File Sharing

2011-08-13T01:14:00.000-07:00

I have a band… Well, actually, I have been in more than a few bands. But for the purposes of this conversation, I have a band. The band split up after releasing three seven inches and a CD EP. We haven’t played a show in a year, but a lot of the material has fallen out of print and we have had a lot of requests to release a discography CD.

Now, I am not really interested in putting out a CD as, to me, it is kind of a dying format; and one that I simply do not like. So, after some thought I launched a bandcamp download charging five dollars for everything the band ever recorded. Including multiple lineups both well known and lesser known.

This, I guess is where the question of economics and file sharing comes in. In this band, I personally paid one-hundred percent of the recording costs for two recording sessions. To be fair it was not too expensive, but more than a thousand dollars after everything was done. The deal with our label was we got 25 copies of the record; and they got all the profits. Of course we could buy more copies to sell at cost if we wanted to. While this doesn’t seem to be a good deal we just wanted to get the music out there and play live with something to support. The only real means of recouping the cost of recording was through digital downloads which we waited a good amount of time to do A. to not compete with the record sales of the label that was good enough to put out our music and B. to wait to see if there was still a demand.

The day I launched our bandcamp we had a purchase, two hours later it was posted on a CZ blog. I told the blogger I would let him keep the post up describing the release but please point people to our bandcamp. Which he kindly did.

The same day, another blog began posting each release (burns of the record and cd) the band did. The only reason I noticed was because I was google searching the band to see if the bandcamp would appear in the first page. I did the same thing, told the blogger I would let him keep the post up describing the release but please point people to our bandcamp. The first time I saw my comment deleted. I admit now, and this is a learning thing, I should have probably emailed him and been a bit more clear. The second time it stayed up, and the download was still there so I disabled the download through the file-hosting site and didn’t bother with the blog host. In the mean time he posts a blog with another band of mine and another download of something I launched the same week that he had purchased. He gave it a bad review. I did same course. Which he thought was in retaliation; but frankly I was doing well before the review. He reposted the files with a different download file host and titled the downloads with a subject calling me a cunt. Again, not really wanting to take the blog down as it contained his personal views about the material I simply disabled the download from the host. He posted a third time and commented, hey look the download is back up directed to me. At this point he was totally aware of the fact I did not want the material up for free download the very same day that I had launched our bandcamp and he kept doing it. So I contacted the blog host to take it down.

What happened is where the conversation of file sharing gets interesting. To him, and readers of his blog I am some Machiavellian bad guy, working for the corporate machine keeping him from sharing these songs. They point to the fact that they can find it elsewhere, which while true is not a valid argument; in that it is not the only time I have asked someone not to post the files up for free download and to point to our bandcamp, our merch site, or the label…

The second argument is that “no one makes money playing…” while this may be true for some people, neutering any revenue from the bands you are sharing the files of to “get the word out” doesn’t really help. Especially when you are talking a complete band catalog for only $5.

The honest question we have to ask is:

1. Why should bands have to pay the money to record their music and not expect to make any of it back? Has it come to the point that as consumers we expect music to be free and musicians to be some cultural benefactors?

2. Why do we as a culture feel that we are entitled to freely consume music, and some people film and tv, without paying for it? This is a new phenomenon that has risen with technology. It was much harder to walk off with a stack of records than it is to download a tune-or-a-thousand.

On a personal note, what complicates matters more with this band was that it was very genre specific, and a member of the band was asked to leave; the band continued without him playing more that five times more shows in the same amount of time as with him, but only recorded demos that were not released until the digital download. He went on, like I to another band, but unlike I he stuck in the genre and even covers the formers songs. So when the issue of file sharing came up, it became I am the bad guy because I wanted to not allow free downloads, and he was the good guy because he doesn't care. Which I understand why that dynamic would occur, but on the other hand; it isn't any gain or loss to him either way.

I don't know. The whole idea of file sharing has good points to be made all around. On one hand it gets your music out there; but on the other hand to be in a band, and actually be able to pay for recording, gas, putting out your own records (like my newest band does) it is really hard when more free product goes out than paid. You have to be road-warriors just to break even on most of the costs.

Iggy

2011-08-03T01:00:00.001-07:00

Wouldn't you like to have The Stooges play your high school? Well these Farmington High School in Oakland County Michigan students did on December 5th, 1970! These shots were posted by Jim Edwards from his facebook page. Also on the bill that night were headliners Mitch Ryder’s Detroit and a band called The Coming. This was James Williamson’s very first gig with The Stooges, at this point a quintet.

***

2011-07-31T13:47:00.000-07:00

recent purchases

2011-07-24T19:36:00.000-07:00

SMALLER GROOVES: 7" Singles

The Beach Boys “Cabin Essence” This was a free single from Mojo magazine to promote the “SMiLE Sessions” box set. Funnily enough my copy of the magazine had two copies of the record inserted in it! A boon when it already goes for twenty plus on ebay. Sadly, it isn’t the best material that I have heard from the SMiLE sessions; and not the best tune either. But it is good enough not to sell one of the copies.

Geister “Night Terrors” EP and “Nostalgia” EP. My band recently played a show with the Canadian band, and I was very impressed. I acquired both of their releases. The “Night Terrors” release is a little rough at times, but with “Nostalgia” the band really tapped into the early 80’s hard punk vibe. Sometimes it is a bit Avengersish, and other times a bit more in the early English crust style. Live it was straight cross-over sounding.

Oasis “I’m Outta Time” the Liam penned song from their last album points to a sound that Beedy Eye would rip further into; Beatles worship. It is cliché to say with the Manchurian, but now more than ever it is true. Good a-side, with a crap remix of “To Be Where There’s Life.” Liam’s voice doesn’t mesh with dub-step twitches and drop outs too well. Really a miss fire. Bands like Oasis should steer clear of 90% of all Remixes.

John Lee Hooker “It Serves Me Right/Flowers on the Hour” I have been scooping up a lot of blues records lately and couldn’t pass up this Vee Jay single.

Jackie Wilson and LaVern Baker “Think Twice/Please Don’t Hurt Me” A great floor filer with “Think Twice” is really one of the gems of Wilson’s career. SOOOOO Good.

BEST NEW REISSUES: Grandaddy “The Sophtware Slump”

Originally released at the dawn of the new millennia in Y2K on the now defunct V2 records, Grandaddy’s second full length “The Sophtware Slump” echoed the future-present mood of the early days of the oughts. The record would go on the garner great critical acclaim, and be on many year-end lists. I came to the band through an old friend, who happened to be a cousin of bassist Kevin Garcia. The record, reissued eleven years later on vinyl by the Control Group documents a band that was in control of their sound-that stood out in a busy pack.

Y2K was a busy year for progressive-atmospheric pop with Radiohead’s “Kid A” and Bjork’s Dancer in the Dark Soundtrack album “Selma Songs” among the heavy hitters. It would less than a year later that riff based rock would replace the critical spotlight with bands like the Strokes and White Stripes gaining mainstream attention and overshadowing bands like Grandaddy or even the Beta Band.

Eleven years later “The Sophtware Slump” still feels remarkably fresh. It is a hook heavy record with emotive lush crescendos that never feels, dare I say, emo. It’s production is dense and layered without sounding cold; its organic charm accents the folk-meets-futuristic aesthetic that the album exudes.

Lyrically the album focuses largely on industrial breakdown, an antiquated idea in many ways, but at the dawn of the digital age it seemed like a fresh parable for what we faced as computers and the inorganic replaced the analog and organic world.

Many have pointed to a Radiohead influence, and while I note that this is big change from “Under the Western Freeway”, it still retains the threads of the Modesto sound that made them more uniquely American than simple Anglophiles. The Radiohead comparison is lazy listening, in that they were not the first band to make lush and dense pop arrangements with an overarching concept; just (in Y2K) the most recognized.

Grandaddy’s emotion cuts to the core with sincerity dripped over their songs. If it were not for a sea-awash in bands competing for your attention in Y2K, many of these songs would have been indie classics. While this record is not on par with “OK Computer”, of which it is often compared to; it is just as sincere and interesting the Flaming Lips' “The Soft Bulletin” released around the same time even eleven years on it still sits comfortably amid the pack.

SPLURGE PURCHASE: Unrest "Yes She is my Skinhead Girl" IPU XVII

Unrest's "Yes She Is My Skinhead Girl" seven inch (released as part of K Records International Pop Underground series) is one of my favorite IPU singles, up there with the Teenage Fanclub single and the Headcoats single for sure! I haven't heard it in years, and saw it and made splurge purchase to buy it for sentimental reasons.

"Yes She Is My Skinhead Girl" hints at the more refined pop sound that would infuse Unrest's pre "Bridget Cross" era work on records like "Perfect Teeth."

When I think of fun, dirty lyrics in a time before "the Teaches of Peaches" the line, "Fucking fucking on sandy beaches" always comes to mind delivered in a rather straight manner, rather than the ridiculousness that it is to read them. In all seriousness, this song is a silly lyrically as Mystikal's "Shake Yo Ass." But lyrics aside, the song is better than a giggle, it is a good song with a great hook.

LATE PASS: Dum Dum Girls “He Gets Me High”

It is not too often that I find myself buying 12” EP’s these days. But with three short, sweet originals and one take on an old classic I find myself glad that I picked up this EP. The follow up to their debut lp “I Will Be” steps up “Dee Dee”’s game with a more robust and lush sound. With “He Gets Me High” the Dum Dum Girls musical vocabulary extends further than girl groups, lofi and reverb helping distinguish themselves from their contemporaries.

Co-produced by Ravonettes’ Sune Rose Wagner and Richard Gottchrer (producer of “My Boyfriend’s Back” and “I Want Candy”) “He Gets Me High,” while rooted in the lush pop-melodies that the production team would imply can be at times dour, and dripped with distortion creating a tension that their last record sorely lacked.

I didn’t come readily to this platter when it was released, because I feared it would be too similar to their first disc “I Will Be. With”I Will Be”, the “critic/blogger” talking points seemed to be the bands raw, lo-fi sound; a combination of girl-group troupes and Jesus and Mary Chain worship. A combination that can be getting old by this point… However, I should say, that rarely do any of the bands touted of borrowing from Jesus and Mary Chain actually sound like they listened to their records beyond having fuzzed out guitars but Dum Dum Girls strike me as different, and “He Gets Me High” points to the melancholic pop-laziness that made Jesus and Mary Chain work. Exhibited on these three originals is a songwriter who is not afraid to bury her influences, and knows how to show off just how well she gets it.

And then there's the cover of the Smiths' "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out", you couldn't pick a more obvious choice from the Smiths catalog for them to cover, personally I would have preferred a cover of a Smiths song that I don’t hear often; but that is a minor gripe for a great set of songs.

STILL BUYING THEIR RECORDS: Guitar Wolf “Space Battleship Love”

This is the first LP released in America since Billy “Bass Wolf” died nearly six years ago. This isn’t to say that this is the first release since then, 2007 saw the release of both “Dead Rock” and “Mars Twist.” “Space Battleship Love” is the second release with the new “Bass Wolf:” UG; and while I am dismayed that they haven’t released “Dead Rock” on vinyl; I am sad to say that I could of lived without “Space Battleship Love.”

While the same tropes of sci-fi, horror, and pure rock-n-roll exist in “Space Battleship Love” the production feels like they are pulling back from their pure sonic assault, and perhaps the most refined they have been. I still maintain that “Jet Generation” was their zen-finding just the right balance of pure ear bleeding insanity and actual song craft.

This record feels like, “More of the same.” And while I typically can’t say that is bad with Guitar Wolf; there is something different about this release that makes me feel like maybe I should have passed on this release… Which would be the first time I didn’t buy one of their records since I first bought “Kung Fu Ramone” in the 1990’s…

REPURCHASED: Radiohead “Ok Computer”

I had originally purchased an import version of “Ok Computer” when it came out; and for some silly reason sold it. I don’t find myself coming back to a lot of the band’s catalog; but am quite fond of the first four albums, and really only listen to “The Bends” and “Ok Computer” on a more regular level.

The question that begs to be asked, is how do you even talk about a record like “Ok Computer” almost a decade and a half since it was released. It is a landmark record, and like any landmark record it is held in a glass case with the likes of “Nevermind.” But, unlike, dare I say, “Nevermind,” “Ok Computer” doesn’t sound dated to the degree that Nirvana’s disc does.

One some levels “Ok Computer” sounds dated in that, for the most part, it is a rock record; and in the years since to make a rock record that is not heavy on the testosterone, and devoid of that irony, is kind of passé. But sonically “Ok Computer” was leaps and bounds ahead of its peers in creating lush soundscapes and an un-flinching sense of continuity, which even almost fifteen years later still sounds fresh.

Along with similarly minded bands that recorded just before and just after them, “Ok Computer” was a push back against a classical rock revival, and in many ways the bands work since continues to do so; but with “Ok Computer” there was still similarity with what they were “against” and what they “wanted to be”; it was a much more subtle step; “Kid A” and “Amnesiac” were bolder f’u’s to the establish rock convention.

“Ok Computer” was a great balance that most music listeners could latch onto, it was done through real tunes and careful songcraft. “Ok Computer,” could have been made quickly and cheaply with the nearly unlimited possibilities that modern recording technology can offer; but it was a painstakingly slow record to make for the band and their attention to detail shows in every aspect of the record; I am more than glad to have purchased it yet again!

BOOTLEG CITY: Slowdive "hide yer eyes"

It seems like these days ever few months a set of nicely packaged, with silk screen covers, bootlegs hit the shelves. This time I picked up the Slowdive "hid yer eyes" boot. The quality is pretty lo-fi at times with some slight shifts in volume; but all in all it is enjoyable and entirely listenable. A lot of the tracks are from the time just before "Soulvaki," making the material some of their most memorable "tunes," in a more raw and driving form.

On the Radio

2011-07-15T13:22:00.000-07:00

I will be a guest on Campfire Island on KAOS 89.3 FM on Saturday July 16th from 10-midnight playing some cuts from the Happy Noose LP and some of my current heavy listens.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

2011-07-06T06:13:00.000-07:00

Woke up in a Morricone mood. Here is a mash up I did a long time ago of the best of this famous soundtrack.

Clint Eastwood by electricgroovebox

Best New(ish) Reissues

2011-07-03T21:47:00.001-07:00

Fire records, those responsible for the Spaceman 3 reissues, and I believe the Television Personalities reissues as well has reissued the debut LP from Teenage Fanclub, a band that I have always been drawn to.

While the band received massive airplay for their power-pop soaked third album Bandwagonesque, they first attracted critical attention for a record far more sloppy and sludgy sounding. Their debut album A Catholic Education predates the emergence of grunge, and has more in common with the pacific northwest bands than Big Star, of whom they would later draw massive comparisons. Like a lot of my favorite albums A Catholic Education doesn't fit readily in a category, it is not a genre record. A Catholic Education has shades of the early brit-pop sound, but is removed from it in the way only a bunch of Scots could be; the record is at once both warm and isolating.

A Catholic Education, was released in 1990. The band is best known for their third album, Bandwagonesque, here is what KCMU thought of the Glasgow band's first release:

“Way cool. Remind me of the Jesus & Mary Chain. Not that they sound like them, but in that they’ve created a specific sound w/in the pot punk genre that is uniquely + distinctly them. My friends Mike + Katie say they’re awesome live.”

“& they have good taste, too!”

“Don’t ignore this! Cool, Byrds meets Dino Jr. Scottish buzz-pop.”

“Almost perfect crushed burnt orange guitar sound. Pure guitar blues seduction. Early psych furs w/out the disco bottom.” [I don't think I've seen this person's handwriting in RR before, but I think they're my favorite KCMU reviewer to date.]

“This is way better than the Pixies rec in H; well, oh at least a little better. More deserving.” [All right, I take that back.]

“I could see H, too.”

“You’re on drugs!”

“Dino Jr. makes more & better amounts of noise with 3 people than TFC does with 5 — a little too flat for my taste.”

“Hate to say it, Dave, but I agree with you. I found this to be second-rate Dinosaur Jr., but I suppose I should give it two more spins.”

“I don’t think they’re trying to sound like Dino Jr. — much poppier & more melodic than that.”

“Some things are too straight-ahead trad-like.”

Best New Reissues

2011-07-03T19:04:00.000-07:00

Reissued on 2LP is the 1986 compilation, originally on Media Burn records (also out on CD on Vinyl Japan 20 years ago), is The Milkshakes "107 Tapes (early demos and live recordings)" which is demos recorded at 107 Rochester Street, Chatham in 1981. The second disc has a live show from Germany 1983. It’s on gatefold double LP with extensive liner notes, a really playful interview with the band, and some great photographs.

The really great thing about a reissue such as this reissue is that Damaged Goods did not simply resort to issuing the same old packaging and gave some of the people out there who already have the original a reason to buy the reissue as well. The packaging is deluxe, on the level of the "Archives from 57" 3LP that came out a while ago.

The Milkshakes, to me, where never my favorite of the Billy Childish bands; but they have a certain charm. This set of songs is raw and blistering, the live set is amazing, and really has me re-evaluate them as a band in regards to his other projects.

Click on the image above for more info on the LP.

super old clips

2011-06-30T21:09:00.000-07:00

The Art of the Forth Wall

2011-06-22T00:07:00.000-07:00

I am by no means a fanboy of the band Fucked Up; I do not collect their records, really do not care what side projects they are in, and do not really care if they are popular or not. I have, however, purchased their previous Matador release because of some threads of interest that I have found in their music… This is not a shinning endorsement either way, but that I enjoyed it to the point of not re-selling it. So, when it came time to give their new album David Comes to Life a listen I was, in many ways, a blank slate opinion-wise.

Most of the discourse around the album centers on the fact that it is an attempt at a rock opera, and whether or not it stands up to what most critics would consider classic examples of the rock opera; like many of the pieces it is compared to it is not exactly straight forward in its delivery and the story points are more cerebral than direct at times… But when it hits, it hits with a semitruck.

The story of David Comes to Life concerns a factory worker named David Eliade who falls in love with a woman named Veronica Boisson. The two plan to build a bomb and death, destruction, and of course redemption ensues.

During the course of the story the narrator battles with David for control of the plot. And although, for the most part the record follows a four act structure, the narrative drive shifts focus from scene to scene. With the narrator and David voiced by the band's Damien Abraham, it would be easy to say that the record requires a lyric sheet and multiple listens to navigate the albums storyline.

By interjecting a less than objective narrator in the work, the band begins to reveal the real scope and ambition of the project; which is to say the least is pretty vast. Records, and in particular rock operas of this scope historically rely on two major theatrical ideas: the suspension of disbelief and the fourth wall. With David Comes to Life Fucked Up smashed these ideas, not only moving past the fourth wall, but the theoretical fifth wall; which is between critics and the artist/practitioners as well as beyond the typical audience. Simply, Fucked Up is showing that their work is, in fact a piece of artifice, and in a greater context a piece of commerce as well.

Musically David Comes to Life is not much different than its proper predecessor; it relies on hardcore punk with pop hooks and copious nods to shoegaze music; and like their last Matador release it has a healthy list of collaborators including Cults' Madeline Follin, Jennifer Castle, and Kurt Vile. So with that said, this album isn't pushing the sonic barriers any farther than they have gone before.
What pushes David Comes to Life past the mark they set with Chemistry of Common Life is its scope, and showing the audience just how vast that scope is. By simply releasing a double album alone, this statement would not have been as vast.

In the process of writing and recording this enormous album, Fucked Up came up with the concept of creating an entire separate fake compilation album, complete with fake bands all coming from the same town that the David character comes from. The songs are supposed to be from 1976-1979. In reality, it is a Fucked Up album with guest vocalists or band members other than Damian singing and all the songs vary in style to cover a lot of the early punk sounds of the late 70's.

As far as the record and layout goes, it has the look and feel of a 70's era record. To keep up with the appearance of a compilation record, if you didn't know what you were looking for, you would probably not even recognize it as a Fucked Up album at all; which is the beauty of the product. While David's Town give more depth and context to the time and environment that the David Eliade character lives in; their promotional materials and packaging behind the David Comes to Life album tears apart the barrier between the material and the audience, eroding any notion that this is anything but a construct; and further more, a piece of art and commerce as well.

David Comes to Life more than once breaks the fourth wall, not in their music, but with the materials that accompany the music. Hidden behind the cover lies a second cover depicting the people and technical requirements that surround making a major promotional image. Simply, Fucked Up have began at scratching away at the mystique behind what it takes to market a band; showing the commerce, the time, and the collaborations involved in making the art of the sell.

Similarly in their beautifully shot and performed video for “Queen of Hearts” the ending shot breaks down the artifice, showing the female lead interacting with the cinematographer and the lone boom mic operator. Again, like their record cover, Fucked Up have given the audience a look at the artistic side of music’s promotional machine.

Design

2011-04-19T14:16:00.001-07:00

Record Store Day 2011

2011-04-17T18:38:00.000-07:00

Well we have survived another Record Store Day, the fifth since being founded in 2007. And at this point in time a good discussion of the pros and cons of RSD should be had.

Founded in in 2007 by individuals from several corners of the music industry which included promotions and A&R with the original stated purpose to "celebrate independently-owned record stores coming together with artists to celebrate the art of music." The original concept was to marry by in-store performances, artist meet-and-greets, and of course, and special releases to entice casual music fans back to independent retail outlets.

In theory the extra promotion, media attention and a bump in foot traffic are a boon for indie record shops. Yet to many the event has also been seen as a shameless cash-grab.

Often in the five years since its launch an increasing number of items of dubious "collectability" are marketed as must have items, that will certainly sell out within the day or even morning: superfluous box sets, promo singles for an upcoming major artists lp, re-releases on colored vinyl for common singles, or "anniversery editions" of dollar bin records are common offenders. Ultimately, it's up to the consumer to decide what value they wish to assign to something like Joan Jett and the Blackhearts "I Love Rock N Roll" on 180gr vinyl, when they can get a clean original for $2 at nearly any record store. Another gray area exists in whether special releases marketed as "rare" are indeed that; sometimes "limited" is all that needs to be said to incite fans to snap up a particular release because of its perceived scarcity. When an item is "limited" to 5,000 copies, rarity becomes a bit relative (like the Flaming Lips LP Box Set).

At the end of the day, with such practices going on in proliferation, RSD has overstepped its original goal and has become a yearly cash grab for very VERY hungery corporate rock companies! WB I'm looking at you.

This is not to say I besmurch my local record store, but shit, I treat nearly every day like record store day, so it really is just a time when I have to compete for something with a bunch of people who are going to try and turn it over on ebay. There is an argument to be made, and many have that RSD is a day to screw your regular customers for the cash of one day splurge buyers... The culmative effect of a one day boon may be great, but the loss in confidence in a buyer who spends hunders, if not thousands of dollars on records in a given period can be dangerous as well.

The Philidepia Weekly recently ran an interview with the Numero Group's Rob Sevier about his view of RSD. and it is a pretty interesting read about the business behind RSD.

Cashing-in is what the record business is. It’s what all business is. We’re not upset with major labels for being major labels. What I’m not crazy about are the literally hundreds of pieces of shit being shoved into the marketplace on this day, products, for the most part, that no human needs to own, ever. This is Nystrom’s nightmare: a consumer philosophy so futile that the objects of desire bear no intrinsic value. The collectible nature of a record is well established; they’ve been collected almost since they have existed. For nearly a century, lathe-cut grooves (whether ultimately fixed in lacquer, acetate, wax, or vinyl) were the best means for mass producing a permanent document of sound. Vinyl still is the best way to establish that permanence, but most of what I see on the release schedule is of an ephemeral nature at best. They are either primarily of extreme superfan interest, and really treading the outer orbits of completism, or they are just a different colored vinyl version of what is available elsewhere. I really don’t want to put the spotlight on a bunch of these, because real people worked hard on them, and certainly many will miss the point of our release, too. However, the one that really stuck in my craw for some reason is a live version of Grateful Dead’s “Ripple” by Built to Spill. It was recorded in 2010, and, for those unfamiliar with the band, this is far, far beyond the scope of their “prime.” This is pressed on a one-sided 7-inch picture disk. This barely warrants being made into an mp3, and yet 3000 exist: unrecyclable (because of the paper inside the vinyl) and non-biodegradable. It’s okay to make a limited quantity of something that has limited appeal, but it’s not okay to throw a basic sense of pride in your product out the window.

RIP KENT MORRILL

2011-04-17T18:27:00.000-07:00

It should come as no shock we at Electric Groove Box are big fans of the earliest days of Pacific Northwest rock n' roll! We even covered it in a brief overview in podcast number 5. Sot it comes as a sad loss that we hear that Kent Morrill singer of the Wailers, co-owner of Etiquette Records, and more recently manager of the Sonics and Roy Orbison impersonator has passed away this weekend.

News

2011-04-17T18:15:00.000-07:00

I am supremely aware that we have been a bit inactive of late. We promise we will be posting some new podcasts and content sooner than later. In fact, we are working on some as we type this.

Until then we are busy listening to Television Live at the Old Waldorf that we got at RSD.

Thanks to Lee Joseph and Dionysus records for hipping us to the following content below!

Did you know that the 45 rpm single is 62 years old! Here is a bit of background info and the original info release from RCA Victor in 1949.

Best of 2010

2011-01-16T21:51:00.000-08:00

Best of 2010

BEST ALBUM of 2010
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti "Before Today"

A lot of websites, critics, and bloggers like to be delightfully obscure or parochial about their choices for album of the year, and while I understand that tendency, this choice is not in opposition to that, nor is it it in keeping with that particular tradition. My choice of album of the year reached 163 in the Billboard charts in a year that saw the Melvins hit the billboard charts at number 200 by selling 2800 records in a week; this, without words says alot about the state of charts and "album sales" in 2010.

Like a lot of people I become aware of Airel Pink through his association with the group of nerdowels surrounding Animal Collective which culminated with the eventual release of the Doldrums in 2004; the first non-Animal Collective release on Paw Tracks records. According to several sources, Ariel Pink has recorded several hundred home-made tracks, and from the beginning of his brush with more mainstream audiences Ariel Pink has been painted as a prolific outsider.

While the notion of a productive, if not reclusive outsider is new to mainstream rock journalism, it is all too familiar to a select group of individuals more in tune with DIY culture and outsider music histories.

Pink had typified his output by using an ultra lo-fo recording set-up often times re-imagining AM radio friendly songs with surreal new wave tropes and Before Today is no different. This album is, and I almost hold back saying it for my typical distain for AM radio rock acts, just at home with Steely Dan as it is with art punk and contemporary indie rock.

Before Today is at times bizarre and disturbing, but at times tender and even sincere. Ariel Pink is not afraid, and does not hold back from a well-rendered melody amid surreal imagery.

Before Today, while recorded supremely better than a lot of his earlier faire, is not only difference that sets this release from Pink’s oeuvre, it has also seen Haunted Graffiti expand from a basic concept to a full band featuring members who have built their chops by years of playing in established independent acts. The end result is a record that is superbly precise.

The vocal harmonies overlap without loosing definition or meaning, the guitar riffs veer off the melody in all the right places, and the drumming is tight, synchopated and precise. The record at times echos both Steely Dan and Gary Wilson, almost in both tone and focus.

The added bonus, to fans of his work is that many of the songs exist in earlier versions on other records, making it easy to see how the more refined approach to Before Today has benefited Pink’s work. "Beverly Kills" originally released 2002 edition of Scared Famous has more punch and focus on Before Today, calling attention to Pink’s growth as an arranger and conceptualist.

The thing that immediately draws me to the album is that the record seems to be lifted from an alternate universe’s musical past. In that world it all makes perfect sense. While elements of the record are easy to point to their origins, the record as a whole is completely original.

Best Reissue of 2010 -- The Cure Disintegration.

Sometimes best of lists that speak of reissues tend to focus on obscure, or forgotten gems brought back from the dead; and others focus on why bother reissues (Magic Lantern anyone?) And while I too am a fan of reissues that focus on lost nuggets of sonic glory, sometimes a classic, is a classic, is a classic, is a classic. The question then begins, what does the reissue bring to the table that the original did not?

2010 brought the 20th anniversary of the release of The Cure’s Disintegration with a complete re-issue campaign featuring a deluxe, remastered 180gram reissue 2lp; and 3cd deluxe edition set.

Twenty years after the bands late 1980s and early 90s mainstream heyday has passed since the band coalesced into what would be the defining aesthetic of the Cure with a sound and a sensibility that at least a couple of tight-knit kids in every American middle and highschool could bond with. Or, in the very slightest, at least pretend to bond with.

While American audiences where aware of the band from the beginning, the very fact that the band was playing arenas before ever appearing live on American tv in 1989 is a testament to that fact, it was slow to completely embrace the bands brand of gothic melancholy. There was Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me the varied 1987 double album, as well as Standing on a Beach / Staring at the Sea, a collection of singles stretching from 1978 to 1985, that had laid the groundwork for American success.

But with Disintegration Robert Smith produced a clearly defined statement. The records dense layers played to the band’s strengths while trimmed some of their weaker experiments.
The records emotional resonance was quickly embraced by a legion of disaffected teenagers, myself included. Songs like "Plainsong", make a great match for the feeling that everything in your life both paramount in importantance, yet singularly insignificant. The difference between an album such as Disintegration and more modern statements of teenage-angst-turned-apathy is that it is almost totally devoid of that sense of emo whining that many of today’s teenagers are drawn to. And, unlike other of its contemporary “goth” acts, the album is not a complete wallowing mope fest. The record, which is balanced with songs like “Love Song” yields rewardingly simple lyrics like "I will always love you," executed neutered of sentiment, but full of commitment.

The Deluxe Edition reissue, like the previous Cure reissues, features a second disc with Smith’s home and studio demos for the album; the Disintegration rarities disc features 20 songs recorded in 1988 and 1989, including album cuts and b-sides, plus previously unreleased tracks “Noheart,” “Esten” and “Delirious Night.”

The third disc, labeled Entreat Plus, features an expanded, 12-track edition of that 1990 live album, fleshed out to include live versions of each song off the album, assembled in order, from a concert at London’s Wembley Arena in 1989.

I am not wholly convinced of the need of the live disc, while I thoroughly enjoyed the band live, I have, by in large avoided live recordings of the band and opted to focus more on b-sides, rarities, and session work of the group outside their released studio cannon. That, in and of itself is a daunting amount of muck to wade through. And the live cuts leave me nowhere near jumping off the live track cliff.

I, however am not a CD person, so I can say with certainty after listening to the remastered version of the record on the deluxe virgin 2lp version that the remastering is great! A lot of modern remaster jobs attempt at re-casting the album in a different light (Minor Threat reissues?) while others only polish up years old duplicated tapes. This remaster makes the album a bit clearer, heavier, and more vivid than I remember the original, without wading over near sacred ground for many thirty somethings who loved the original.

So, why, out of all the reissues is this the best of 2010? Well for one it gets the most turns on the turntable, and again. A classic, is a classic, is a classic.

Best live show of 2010

The Futureheads, Doug Fir, Portland, Or. September 30th

First, it should be said that the Futureheads tour the US approximately once a year; usually in short-order almost entirely on the east-coast, and Chicago. So, the very fact that the group was playing a few short dates on the west coast was very exciting in and of itself. The band has not made it west since their first album touring cycle, when I lived on the east coast no less. Two albums and several years later, I was very eager to see them. It was, unfortunate for crowd size that it was on the same night as a performance by the Arcade Fire; which is a audience usurper of the highest order. But, it just made the show at the fantastic sounding venue the Doug Fir all the better.

Reasons this was the show of the year, in a non-musical variety follow: intimate venue, with the hotel just above, cheap-to-comped drinks served by a very good and dear friend, great conversation all night, my spouse loved the evening, talked football (soccer) with the band; always fun.

Reasons this was the show of the year, in a totally-musical variety follow: the band played an insanely great mix of everything you would want to hear. The sound mix was amazing, including the complex vocal mixing for the group. The band's energy never faded and was totally insane. They interacted with the crowd with ease possibly due to size, but also seemed to not care about the lack of people that they should draw. It was a complete package all the way around. No pretense, total energy, fun-enjoyable-and totally mind-blowingly percise music played at a searing pace.

Best Local Band of 2010 (Olympia, WA)

November Witch

November Witch has been around for a long time. They have been an nearly institution at Le Voyeur and the Brotherhood for the last five or so years. But, to me, in the last year the band has gelled with a fluidity and tightness (well tight for them, and their style) that they band lacked in the past.

This is by no means a slag. Not in the slightest. Just, in 2010 the band ratcheted it up a notch, and is quite deserving of a mention in a pack of great bands like Morgan and the Organ Donors, Hysterics, HPP, Son Skull, White Boss, Gun Outfit, Weird Tv, etc.

If the New Years Eve show opening for the Sonics was any indication of what power, and frankly potential broad appeal, this band has to a diverse set of locals is any inkiling of their potential. I don't know what is.

Best Record Store of 2010

Wilies Golden Oldies, Tacoma, WA.

While Wilies Golden Oldies, run by the pre-eminent Northwest Music expert/collector Jeff Miller has been around FOREVER, it has recently relocated further down 6th avenue. The new space, smaller, it better suited for the the shops ambiance, including the 45rpm room with listening station.

I have been a fan of this shop for too long to mention, so the fact that it moved was cause for re-examination. The thing that makes this shop great is the lack of pretense, fair prices, and the ability to find something great EVERY time you go there.

With competition from House of Wax, High Voltage, Rocket, just to name a few; Jeff's shop has weathered many changes, and to me has remained a charming example of what there is to love and discover about Tacoma. That is why, simply, to me it was the best shop of 2010. It didn't hurt that I pulled my best record scores of the year from the shop!

1/1/2011 an knod to the new with an ode to the old

2011-01-01T22:26:00.001-08:00

I ended 2010 by seeing most likely the single biggest influence on me musically, Tacoma's own The Sonics! I am supremely glad to have had them ring in 2011. Of course for a band playing over 40 years after their original gestation, it is always interesting to see what they can pull off live. This is especially the case with bands like The Sonics, who unlike bands like The Rolling Stones have not had the good fortune to play consistently as the same band for 40 plus years honing their live "chops" as a core unit.

That said Gerry Rosalie proved that he still had enough vocal power and that worbaled yell to move past a mere demonstartion of what "might have been", but what currently is. Freddie Dennis formerly of the Kingsman, and more recenlty Freddie & the Screamers, provided enough vocal help in the frenzied scream department to fill in the gaps that Gerry may have had over the years.

Of course they played all their hits and the completely chatotic encore of Psycho and The Witch, complete with total partying Olympia illuminaries was a perfect, punk as fuck, moment for sure. I was not too stoked on their three new songs for the most part... but their versions of Lucille, Dirty Robber, and Have Love/Will Travel really pointed to a band that has maintained their cool (pun) by being singular even on well worn material.

In a time when many reunion acts are nothing more than top 40 acts with a few of their own hits splashed in, performed in such a technical/devoid of soul manner... The Sonics stand as a picture of showing a newer generation on what it was, and how it is.

Happy Fucking New Year 2011!

Best New Reissues - Unissues

2010-12-14T19:23:00.000-08:00

The other day while I was shopping at a local record store a traveling salesman, no joke, stopped by the shop hucking some of his wares, of the records he was peddling I picked up two records.

THE CURE - "PILLBOX TALES" LP - FANCLUB

A collection of studio tracks recorded as the Easy Cure and as THE CURE in 1978 and 1979, before and just after the "Three Imaginary Boys" album. Includes "I Want to Be Old," "Meathook," "I'm Cold," "See the Children," "Listen," "I Just Need Myself," "Winter," "Play with Me," and "Faded Smiles." Hand silkscreened jacket, limited pressing of 500 copies. Euro Import.

As a big fan of "Three Imaginary Boys" I have heard many of these tracks from other sources, but I have to say that the packaging, with silk screened cover, thick vinyl, and great sound quality make this "fanclub" edition quite nice.

BOYS NEXT DOOR - "LOST AND BRAVE EXHIBITIONS OF" LP - FANCLUB

The Boys Next Door were one of Australia's premier punk bands and were the first incarnation of the Birthday Party. This is a Italian compilation featuring the songs: Sex Crimes, Enemy of the State, Boots, Masturbation Generation, Boy Hero, Scatterbrain, Nightwatchman, Brave Exhibitions, Friends of My World, The Voice, Roman, Roman, and Somebody's Watching from 1977-1979. This was some of Nick Cave's earliest work and was the stepping stone for the rest of his career. Hand screened jacket. Limited edition. Euro import.

Too bad there isn't a Young Charlatans Euro Import lp floating around, that version of "Shivers" kills. But this record certainly is a must have for this period of OZ punk. "Lost and the Brave" finds "Boys Next Door" focused, devoid of some of their later cabaret queues, and a lot more raw than their two OZ Lp's prior to relaunching as The Birthday Party.

Adverts

2010-11-23T19:16:00.001-08:00

Recently I made two advertisements for my friends DVD. You can buy it at velocityenterprises.bigcartel.com. I believe they will run in Hemings Motor News and Kustom Kulture.

RIP ARI UP

2010-10-29T19:57:00.000-07:00

I have had a long musical relationship with Ari Up. When I was in middle school I had began self identifying myself by punk rock. In reality this didn't mean much; other than I knew I liked music with raw emotion and could not stand what was being fed to me as "cool." By then I had struck up a friendship with a local blind artist who was also a old punk rocker from Utah. After a few months he gave me cds of the Minutemen "Double Nickles on the Dime" and the Slits "Cut" with the caveat that these were the most punk records I'd ever hear.

The Slits blew my mind. I had never really thought of punk musically outside of the construct that was created by magazines. The cover was, to me, SOOOOO confrontational. I was hooked. I filled out a "want list" card at Golden Oldies for the record; and when it came in months later the price took a lot of lawn mowings to buy.

It was a awkward transition for me to transition from pre-teen notions of defiance and punk to embracing a more organic idea of "punk". But the slits was one of the first bands that pushed me outside my original comfort zone. Not much later as a young man growing up in Olympia when I did, who went to shows at an early age; my idea of punk was shaped by more parochial demonstrations and notions of punk...

Years later, when I moved to New York Ari Up again affected me in a big way. First, on a sentimental level, the very first date I had with my now wife was at a CMJ showcase for KRS which Ari attended. Seeing her in person was very frightening; in that I can honestly say that her energy and, well, basically, her being was mind blowing.

The second, on a more music related level, while living in New York I had become obsessed with reggae and I frequented Jammyland among other shops. While shopping at Jammyland I had ran into her and her openness to my questions and her truly encouraging energy towards my musical exploration was really inspiring to me. I would have never explored Wackies or On U sound to the degree I did without her suggestions.

Interview with Gerrard from the 45 Adapters

2010-08-18T14:44:00.000-07:00

Gerrard Lindsay is the front man of the New York based band the 45 Adapters; most critics and fans have considered the band one of the few newer Oi! bands that have been making some waves in the American scene. But their blend of rock, pop, punk and soul transcends the simple genre definition, and in many ways so does the people behind the band. Gerrard is also known for his previous zine and band Bottom of the Barrel, as well as his regular dj nights and rather interesting blog http://pickabar.com/blog2/

Okay, let's cut the rubbish... I have been in a band that has shared the stage with you and played a similar genre, I always got tired of the same tired questions about skinheads, right/left politics, and beer. I am more interested in what makes 45ad different than the rest; rather than the same.

The songwriting in 45ad is a heap better than botb, what changed in your approach?

That comes down to two things, really. First of all, we wrote most of those BOTB songs when I was around the age of 16. I'm twice that age now and it would be really sad if I hadn't grown and had new experiences that I can bring to the music. The other thing is, I'm actually a musician now. A few years back I decided I wanted to get active again music-wise and that was going to take really learning music and a musical instrument. So, I picked up my dusty old guitar and made myself learn how to play it a little bit. During the BOTB days I listened to the riff the band was playing and free associated. I couldn't have told you what chords were in any of the songs if
you had offered to pay me.

You just got a scathing review in razorcake, citing how "bad" your vocals are; it always seems funny to me that a punk-as-fuck zine would think that way; how do you deal with criticism and does it affect your approach?

The best review we've ever gotten and the worst one were both in that same zine. I wish I had a copy! I ran into the original glowing review online a few months ago, but I didn't notice the one taking us apart. I was actually really happy about the bad review when I finally did read it. So far we've gotten remarkably positive feedback from all over and not much pushback. That's just not the way the world works. I was kind of walking around waiting for the other shoe to drop. Life likes to find ways to keep your head from getting too big and criticism is an important part of that. Hopefully this is as bad as it gets, but really, who cares? I like to make things and I don't take it personally if people don't dig them. That's not going to make me stop making music, or make me think twice about the types of music I want to hear.

Honestly, the worst punk rock singing ever? That makes us at least historic,
right?

45ad plays pretty diverse shows, what gives?

We'll play with anybody who wants to play with us. I grew up making mix tapes with a Bohse Onkelz song slapped next to a Little Richard song. That's just how my mind works. We just played with The Electic Mess and Hub City Stompers over the weekend and it was an awesome time. Psychedelic garage rock, hooligan ska and then bootboy rock and roll on a single bill. The
crowd was into it all night and nobody had their brain explode because we don't all slot into a narrow little genre window.

"Meet the Mets" is the official team theme song, ever try and petition for it to change to your "Metropolitans"?

We actually got some coverage from a few Mets blogs and a Mets podcast used our song as their anthem for a few episodes. Our bassist also mailed a copy of the record into the radio station that covers the team, but we never heard back from them. If anyone who works for the Mets marketing department and wants to give us free tickets for using the song, get in touch! Of course, it can never replace "Meet the Mets"! Any real fan should be ready and willing to sing that tune at the drop of the hat, as Boltsy and I are always willing to demonstrate drunkenly on the streets of Brooklyn.

I used to see the Mets a lot, I got free VIP tickets from work; love them, but always have been more of a minor league ball fan for atmosphere. What's your relationship with the Cyclones?

Wow, I'm jealous. Man, I wish I'd known you then.

I've gone to a AA game once, but I've never actually seen the Cyclones. I'm actually planning on getting a group together pretty soon to go to a game out there, because it's a beautiful little stadium on the beach. That said, my heart and mind are 100% with the big club. Come on, it's the big leagues! I get to see some of the best in the world do what I only wish I could do. The new big league park is pretty awesome, there really aren't many bad seats in the house.

I getch'ya... I like to watch players develop in the sport, rather than the big name, high money players.

You know, someone tweaked me the other day by saying our song "Metropolitans" is a novelty song, as if I set out to somehow consciously appeal to a different market or something. No way! I actually have to keep myself from writing 20 songs about baseball, because I'm a fanatic.

How have you worked with blogs and social networking? What effects do you think it has had on your band?

Well, I'm an old school internet nerd (gopher FTW) and I have a lot of free time, so you can imagine that I'm online 24/7!

Where you on Oi! The Room in the AOL days?

I may have been at some point, but I don't remember it. My earliest exposure to the Internet came from access via college. I didn't have home access for a while after that. I was heavily on the newsgroups saying embarrassing shit and preaching tons of stuff based on my extremely limited life experience. I was totally full of it, but I grew up.

In all seriousness, a decent amount of the attention we've gotten has been via Myspace. People love to diss that site now that Facebook has become more of the mainstream go to spot, but the reality is a lot of bands were helped by Myspace. If you're thinking about checking out a band, almost any band, you can guarantee they'll have some songs up there. It's difficult to get the word out and to get people to give your music a chance if you're a small time amateur band with no money behind you. Even some of my friends who've known about our band for a while later tell me that they first actually heard our music by checking out our Myspace page. At this point, it's turned somewhat into a reflection of the old joke about Manhattan; a million people serving sandwiches to each other. But, I still update our page and we still get a whole lot of people listening to our music and that's what it's really all about.

Do you see any issues with myspace being this huge newscorp entity and virtually contolling a large portion of how many people interface with music?

I'm totally conflicted about that. Frankly, it's not a good situation. I've actually been planning to build out our own website and direct people more towards that than the corporate owned Myspace page, but I haven't actually done it. Planning and planning, but not much doing. Is that hypocritical, considering the fact that I'm really worried about that particular organization having so much power? Definitely.

We actually just put our music on ITunes and I'm pretty conflicted about that for similar reasons. Our songs were only out on vinyl at that point and we kept getting requests for it from people who didn't buy records. Eventually, I decided Itunes was a way for our family and people who don't have turntables to hear our stuff without costing us a bunch of money. Really, I'm not very happy with it. In both cases, I made a decision to do something where I felt the benefits were worth the negatives that came with the choice.

Even outside of band stuff, It worries me that Google has so much control over my personal information, reading habits and interests but I keep my Gmail account anyway.

It's important to have ideals in life and things you believe in. At the same time, there's no point in beating yourself up if sometimes your pragmatic choices don't match those ideals. I definitely feel conflicted about all of these choices. For now, I'm going with them. I have no interest in being one of the people who deludes themselves with mental gymnastics because they can’t admit to themselves that sometimes they make hypocritical choices.

Also, what's your take on "virtual crews" and cyberskins? How has the Internet altered both the music and the subcultures around it for the better and worse?

At one point I was a total keyboard ninja, so I don't think I can sit in judgment of anyone else. Hopefully, people who are that invested in arguing on the internet and "virtual beef" will grow out of it like I did. It's pretty silly to have problems with someone who you've never met in person. Someone told me that a long time ago and it took a while to sink in, but I get it now.

As for the general effect of the Internet...I had a conversation the other day and someone was lamenting the fact that kids now-a-days have it so easy. They were basically suggesting that it somehow devalues subculture if people don't have to write letters and send them in the mail or order from super underground distros. I don't buy it. If some kid hears a Specials song and then wants to find out who Lloyd Charmers is, and he can do that in a few clicks, that sounds pretty cool to me. “We had to walk 5 miles uphill in the snow to get to the record store”, is a fun story to tell, but the more people listening to good music the better.

What records are you jamming lately, and how does what you listen to influence your own writing?

I just got over a huge obsession with Van Morrison's "Astral Weeks". I've always been a huge fan of Them, but I hadn't really given his solo music a chance. I'm finally weaning myself off of multiple daily listens because my girlfriend is sick of it. There have been threats! I'm not sure that's going to carry over into 45AD, but I maybe writing some more acoustic driven music
in the near future.

Other than that, it's been the same mix of early reggae, Slade, soul and mod revival stuff for about a year now. That stuff is definitely a big part of where my head is right now. I'm really trying to get more soul and R&B stylings, especially on guitar, into what we do. I tend to fall into playing power chords when ever I pick up a guitar, but I'm trying to branch out as
much as my meager skills will let me.

My personal top five at the moment is probably:

1. Van Morrison - Astral Weeks
2. Eddie Parker - I'm Gone
2. The Chords - Maybe Tomorrow
3. Laurel Aitken - Everybody Suffering
4. Johnnie Taylor - You Can't Get Away From It
5. The Vibrators - Whips & Furs

But do you like the post-Morrison them? With two bass players?

I've actually never listened to the band without Morrison. I remember reading about it on Wikipedia, but I never took the time to seek out songs. Maybe it's being biased as a singer, but I tend to think of the voice as the defining characteristic of a band. Barring AC/DC, I can't imagine a band with that great of a singer being able to move without that voice. Of course, now I have to go digging and check that stuff out myself.

I don't understand it. I listen to music for a few hours everyday, but I just can't keep up with you crazy musos! There's just too much great stuff out there to listen too.

Whips and Furs is my favorite Vibrators tune, the simplicity of it is great. I also am a fan of the 90's punk band Death Wish Kids version of the song, takes it into a whole different trashy direction. It seems like you have a well rounded taste, how do you channel that into your writing, is it osmosis or a little more deliberate?

Kind of a combination. I often come up with ideas that I want to try for songs, or musical puzzles that I want to solve. In the end, though, I don't have that much control over it. I can try to write a song about my new loafers and I wind up accidentally writing a song about how I'm lazy. It's funny, I got into an argument with my girlfriend once, put on my headphone to ignore her and immediately wrote a song about how I'm too demanding.

I'm incredibly grateful to the little part of my subconscious that comes up with ideas. I sometimes wish I had more control over the directions he heads in and what he has to say, but I don't want to do anything to make him stop making stuff up. So I just let him go, then afterwards I try to make sense

You seem to be active as a dj these days. How dos that effect or influence the group? Exposure?

I'm a DJ in the very weakest sense of the word. I'm really just a record collector with DJ friends who let me quest with them once in a while. It all comes from the same impulse, of course. I just like being in control of the music that everyone is going to listen. I'm actually the dick who gets in people's cars or comes over their house and asks if we can listen to my music! I would probably like to DJ more often, but it's kind of a headache having to constantly promote and get people to come out. I swear, 50% of the people I know are DJs, so there are always 15 things going on around time. It can be hard to drum up a crowd. Anyway, DJs, invite me to guest spin with you. Hail Legio SPQR!

How do you split your budget between band expenses and record collecting?

The band is really kind of sucking up a lot of my discretionary spending. I don't think people who aren't in bands realize how much it really costs to keep a band going. Don't get me wrong, it's an incredible amount of fun and I couldn't imagine not doing it. The fact that I didn't do it for so many years really boggles my mind. But it's expensive as hell! Weekly rehearsal, equipment, transportation to gigs and sketchy promoters mean we're usually scraping together nickels. I think people must believe we make money off of this, but trust me, it's the opposite.

We've got about 20 songs that we could basically record tomorrow if we had the money. We've never been in a real studio, so we're trying to scrimp and save and make that happen, but we just can't afford it at the moment. The bottom line is, if you like our band, buy our records and merchandise. That money is what allows us to keep doing this. I really don't care if people download our stuff off of the internet or whatever, but if you find out you like it, buy it. If you don't, there won't be anymore! Think of it as buying me a beer. Are a few good songs worth a round of drinks? I hope so.

I've actually avoided buying anything expensive lately on the record front because I really want to get into the studio. There's a copy of "Hot Pepper" on the Hot Shot label on eBay right now and it's taking every ounce of my discipline to avoid clicking that "But It Now" button! Man, I want that record.

What do you think are your contemporaries in the US?

Wow, that's a tough one, because we're still figuring out exactly what we do. I also have to be honest and admit that I don't listen to a ton of new music. There's a band in Brooklyn called Dirty Spiders that we've played with a few times and we drink with a lot. I definitely think we've got some things in common with them. I just found out about a band from Texas called Dog Company that I'm digging. They're on our label, so I'm going to beg for a free copy.

Do you find being considered an oi! band or skinhead band musically confining? It seems that the only reviewed criticism I see other than the wack review focused a lot on the "image" rather than the substance. Talks about the look and well accepted "ideals" rather than music and lyrics...

Well, it's a double edged sword. We've all been into this a long time, so we're used to the idea that being skinheads and having a bootboy image is going to guarantee us being underestimated and pigeonholed by a lot of people. One of the reviews said we had a "workmanlike sound". What does that even mean? Not to pay more attention to that Razorcake interview than it merits, but one of the criticisms was our supposedly cliché streetpunk lyrics. Ok, we have a song about working long hours, I grant you that. That's definitely not virgin territory. The other songs on our first record are about copyright law, manipulative lovers and a song about the New York Mets. Are those really cliché subjects in the streetpunk world? Or did the guy just take a look at the picture on the cover and not even listen to the lyrics?

It is kind of funny, on of the first reviews in MRR of Aires and Graces, the reviewer who runs the label both our bands were on, started by focusing on the image and then said the you shouldn't judge a band on the image... It seems like it happens a lot with the more established "punk publications."

Yeah... We've put ourselves in kind of a tough position, but I love it. When we play with Hardcore bands and punk bands, people think we're a straight r&r band. When we play with r&r and garage type bands, we're considered traditional streetpunk. Whoever we play with, we're always kind of the "other" and I don't mind that a bit.

Somehow the idea has taken shape that skinheads have to make one type of music about one type of subject and I'm not sure why that is. The Jam came out and said, "we're mods" and that didn't mean that they could only play r&b or ska. It didn't mean that they could only play with other mod bands or only have mod fans. I'm not sure how incredibly musically diverse movements like the first wave of punk or the Oi! wave have become instead these constricting genre rules that say you must sound like such and such a group and only sing about the acceptable subjects. I didn't vote in the election that determined those rules, so I don't give a damn about them. I'll sing a punky love song and follow that up a smooth song about street fights. We actually have a pretty new song called "Nothing To Prove" that's about just
that.

It seems that the stigma for skinhead is much steeper than the Jam saying they were Mods. Just saying... What's next?

We're going to add organ, maybe some sax, anything we want to to our sound and I don't really care if people like it or lump it. I can't worry about that, I just have to keep writing songs and hope that the band itself likes them. There are always going to be people who say, "that doesn't fit into my narrow pre-determined cubbyholes, burn it as a witch". That doesn't bother me. Hopefully there are enough people with good record collections and open enough minds to dig a big skinhead singing "oooh". If not, what can I do? I have to make the music that I enjoy or we might as well just be a cover band.

Being in your second Oi!ish band, one when you were a teenager, one as a thirty something do you feel that there has been a bit of musical regression; or is it more of a progression? What did you do musically between the two groups?

I never really considered myself a musician and I wasn't, so when BOTB split up that was it for me. I just stopped thinking about making music. I still walked around singing made up songs and that type of stuff, but I didn't write a real song or do anything at all for about 8 years or so. Then, one day I decided to start playing guitar and things have gone on from there. It's actually hard to believe that things have actually happened for the band.

I actually started out with the intention of having 45 Adapters be a straight up R&B type band, but we are who we are. No matter what I try to play, I grew up listening to bands like Cock Sparrer, the Rejects, Angelic Upstarts, etc. and that stuff is in my blood. Of course, I have a lot of
other influences too; early reggae, r&b, soul, Chiswick stuff, other proto-punk, blues, Garage Rock, etc. All of that stuff gets thrown into the mix. But as soon as people heard 45AD, there first reaction was, "oh, you started a new Oi band." Call it what you want, as long as you are willing to
give us an honest listen.

I definitely think people have a sort of mental ghetto for Oi music and I can understand why. There's one specific type of Oi sound and subject matter that has come to be considered orthodoxy, especially in the US. The consensus seems to be that that is the "Real Oi", even if the original Oi movement had a much bigger tent. I mean, there are Sparrer songs, Angelic Upstarts songs, Camera Silens songs and other European stuff that doesn't fit into the neat little brickwall bootboy chug chug chug sound. That's not even going as far as the Punk Pathetique bands. Don't get me wrong, I like that brickwall stuff too. I just don't think we have to have our music be a restaurant with only one dish. There should be room for happy songs, silly songs and even *gasp* love songs in our minds.

What is on the slate release wise for the band?

We're kind of sorting that out right now. It really comes down to finances, because we've got songs coming out the wazoo and we're pretty tight at this point. If things go really well, we may be able to record a full length before the end of the year. Unfortunately, it's starting to look more likely that we'll be recording tunes for a new EP and maybe a split. We're also supposed to be on a Christmas compilation, if I can actually figure out something to write for it.

What about slade? "it's chrrrrrrrisssssssstmassss!"?

I'm listening to entirely too much Slade at the moment. Nothing past "Slade in Flame", though. That's uncharted territory for me right now. Soon. Noddy Holder’s voice in a bottle would make great whiskey. Not the best, though, that would be Chester Burnett.

If someone is looking to get rid of a copy of anything from “Play It Loud” to “In Flame” for a reasonable price, get in touch.

Have you ever danced with the devil in a pale moon light?

I scared him off the dance floor with sharp moves and a shiny pair of brand new loafers. DTAWDD...with the Devil!

Follow Up to Skinhead Anthems

2010-07-12T14:05:00.000-07:00

A curious follow up to the Miles Wootton/Last Resort post I made a while back.

Somehow, over the course of the last few months I must have missed that Miles Wootton actually wrote a comment on my blog post in March! “I cannot really understand how the words of my song "Skinheads", written in 1970, assigned to Warlock Music soon after, recorded by me and others, have somehow been adopted and adapted by The Last Resort and numerous other "punk" bands. Evergreen Copyrights are investigating. Thanks for discovering all this, Timothy Radar and I would be very pleased to correspond with you if you send me your e-mail address.” –Miles Wootton.

I would probably had missed this had I not got an email from him the other day (July). “Dear Timothy, First of all, many thanks for the information about what can only be called the "Theft" of my decades-old song about Skinheads. A friend of mine has discovered many other "covers" by punk bands. I seem to have come to a 50/50 arrangement with The Last Resort but you probably know that record labels change and, frankly, I'm not expecting to make a fortune. But it was nice to discover your posting (quite by chance) and thanks again. Contact me if you will. Kind regards” --Miles (Wootton)

This was quite unexpected, as I had thought that the Last Resort song was actually a simple cover of a song created by someone they either admired, or knew personally. What I didn’t expect was to uncover, for Miles, what seemed to be an unknown number of punk rock bands playing his tune as a classic of the Oi! genre. Nor did I think that I would, in fact uncover a little more information about the career of a man, who quite frankly has very little information on the internet attached to his name! Hopefully this wil bring about some more information about Miles Wootton as well as the origins of Skinheads/Violence in Our Minds.

It also came as quite a shock to me, frankly, that this blog would also change in many ways the publishing and royalties situation of this song. This was not my intention in the slightest, like I had said earlier, it simply thought this was the situation of an innocent cover that not very many people where aware of!

The following excerpts are reprinted from a series of emails with Miles Wootton, and are used by permission.

When did you discover that "Skinheads" had been covered, albeit changed, by The Last Resort as "Violence in Our Minds"? The Last Resort version, in the almost 30 years since its recording, has become one of the most famous pieces of music to emerge from the Oi! Subgenre of punk rock, and is covered by many in a fashion of almost a "standard" if you will:

“I only discovered about covers of "Skinheads" via a friend who found your blog. Frankly I was shocked at the cheek of it all. To be honest, Punk is not, as we quaint English put it, "My Cup Of Tea" but each to his own.”

Is there any links/connections between you and the Last Resort? I mean, you are not one of their long lost uncles or anything right? Which brings me to ask how do you think they heard the song? Was it widely available, did it chart? Etc.

“I had never heard of The Last Resort, but obviously they had not heard of me either.”

"Sunday Supplement World" was a privately recorded LP done in the studio of the long defunct Radio Brighton and Long Man Records was a fairly arbitrary label title. I was always a full-time teacher, but, in those days, the job allowed me to write many songs and perform in clubs all over the South East (including the Troubadour in London) and it helped put bread on the table for my family. I wrote hundreds of songs, mostly rubbish but not all. I suppose my most lucrative one was "The Joggers Song"- the B-side to Fred Wedlock's hit "Oldest Swinger in Town" which got to no. 3 in the charts.”

What were your influences at the time of recording "Sunday Supplement World"? I have found the record to be curious in that it has a lot of lyrical playfulness, and is quite funny. For someone like me, in the United States, a lot of the late 60's British folk that gets exported tends to be more serious, and rooted in Scottish Folk traditions, as well as a blend of more contemporary musical trends.

“I was very much part of the scene in the early days and did quite well. But I realized my limits and held on to the day job. Glad I did now at my advanced age. I was never really a folk-singer though I did them in the early days at Oxford. I come from a music-hall family (Vaudiville?) and decided to go for the cheap laughs. My heroes are Tom Lehrer and the British Jake Thackray who got his inspiration from Georges Brassens. I never did serious songs; left that to the genious people like Martin Carthy. I made another album called "The Great Fishfinger Disaster" I currently have a CD out called "The Least Worst of Miles Wootton" Sells reasonably well though I don't do gigs any more.”

Are you at all flattered that your words, unbeknown to you have become a vital part of youth culture and quite popular?

“I must say that to have my whimsical and slightly satirical ditty stolen and distorted by a bunch of illiterate and unmusical Far Right louts doesn't give me much pleasure. Luckily, nobody I respect will ever hear it. Significantly the best line, which sums up the whole song, and which I wrote first, has been omit "There's nothin' on the top of me ‘ead and even less inside.”

Honestly, I did have a number of other questions for Miles Wootton, which he was a little more reserved on answering. I was curious how he viewed punk rock in light of the folk tradition; whether he could see punk as a modern idea of folk or parochial songwriting; what he saw the difference between folkies swapping songs and this situation; and of course what was the impetus to write “Skinheads”, whether it was first hand or though the papers; as well as a request for photos and more info on his teaching career.

THE FOLLOWING IS A BRIEF EXCHANGE WITH WOOTTON, HIS PUBLISHER AND THE PUBLISHER OF THE LAST RESORT TUNE (it is quite an interesting thing to think about that the Wootton song released in 1970, and the Last Resort song was released in 1982):

From: Miles Wootton
Sent: Monday, March 08, 2010 4:42 PM
To: Evergreen Music Publishing (Miles’ Publisher)
Subject: "Skinheads" song by me and assigned to Warlock Music
decades ago

Hello there,

I gather Lucie Holden has sent you details about my song which seems to have been recorded many times. Not credited to me. And the title changed to "Violence in Our Minds" by a group called, aptly, "The Last Resort".

I have contacted them and they say it has been "published" by Cringe Music.

As I said. all you have to do is to go to Google Images, type in Miles Wootton Songs, click on my record cover and all will be revealed.

I look forward to hearing from you and hope we make some money!
Regards
Miles Wootton.

On 24 Mar 2010, at 20:29, Evergreen Music Publishing (Miles’ Publisher) wrote:
Hi Miles - Kobalt has been in touch with Kassner Music regarding this situation. Kassner Music have now given them the following reply:

"After carefully listening to 'Violence In Our Minds' and 'Skinheads', we realized there are in fact similar elements in the two songs.

However, as only one verse from the original song appears on The Last Resort's song, we do not think it is a cover of 'Skinheads', as most of the work is new and original - including lyrics and arrangements. Therefore, in order to be fair to the two parties, we would suggest a 70/30 split in our favour.

Please let me know what you think. "Would you be willing to accept a 30% share of 'Violence In Our Minds'?”

From: Miles Wootton
Sent: Thursday, March 25, 2010 7:25 AM
To: Evergreen Music Publishing (Miles’ Publisher)
Subject: Re: "Skinheads" song by me and assigned to Warlock Music decades ago

Hello there Tara and thanks for your reply

You ask me two questions. What do I think? Well, as was pointed out, my words provided "the meat of the song" and I have not given permission for any more to be added. Personally I reckon I should have 50%. I'll get on to PRS and see what they think and contact you again.

The other matter is the list of other bands who have used my words. Presumably their versions are published by Kassner too.

Lastly, the mere fact that Kassner has made an offer at all implies an acceptance of some unautherised plagiarism. And whole phrases have been lifted. I'd be interested in their views.

But thanks again for your work on my behalf and I'll get back to you when you've had another chat with them and I've talked with PRS.

All good wishes- Miles.

From: Evergreen Music Publishing (Miles’ Publisher)
Sent: Thursday, March 25, 2010 9:24 AM
To: 'Miles Wootton'
Subject: RE: "Skinheads" song by me and assigned to Warlock Music decades ago

Hi Miles - I've passed your response onto Kobalt and have explained that you would like 50% ownership in the new composition: 'Violence In Our Minds'.

I'll keep you posted.
From: Evergreen Music Publishing (Miles’ Publisher)
Sent: Thursday, March 30
To: 'Miles Wootton'
Subject: RE: "Skinheads" song by me and assigned to Warlock Music decades ago

Hi Miles - I have just heard back from Kobalt about this, Kassner Music has agreed to a 50/50 ownership split for the new composition "Violence In Our Minds", which samples your song, "Skinheads". They are in the Midst of speaking with MPCS regarding adjustments. Kobalt will get back to me as soon as they have more details.

I'll keep you posted.

Podcast #5 Pacific Northwest

2010-05-08T17:56:00.000-07:00

To subscribe to the Electric Groove Box podcast search "electricgroovebox" on iTunes; that is one word, "electricgroovebox". It is also available at http://electricgroovebox.podbean.com/

The northwest music scene has a vast history. From the Sonics, the Ventures, and the Wailers to Jimi Hendrix and Heart, the northwest has had a number of great musicians even before the advent of "grunge".

Playlist:

The Ventures “Walk Don’t Run” (Dolton) The Ventures' version is believed to be one of the first surfing songs to make the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at #2 and reaching #3 on the Cash Box magazine chart for five weeks in August and September 1960.

The Frantics, “Gayway Twist” Released for the Seattle World’s Fair as a mailable postcard disk to celebrate the 21st Century Exposition.

The Fleetwoods “Come to me softly” (Dolton) Olympia group The Fleetwoods were a singing trio from Olympia, Washington, United States; formed in the late 1950s. They were responsible for the 11 hit songs beginning with "Come Softly to Me". The song was originally called "Come Softly", as written and arranged by founding lead singer Gretchen Christopher and the group was originally named Two Girls and a Guy, but both were changed en route to the song's becoming a Number One hit.

Dave and Susanne “Walking in the Sunshine” (Christy)

Bobby Wayne “13 Miles to Birmingham” (Senna) Born Robert Wayne Snyder, in Spokane, Washington on September 10, 1936. As the youngest son of Paul and Virginia Snyder, Bobby learned to play the piano at age nine. As a small boy, he listened to the Grand Old Opry and The National Barn Dance on the radio on Saturday night. As a preteen he loved the music of Red Foley, Ernest Tubb and other country music artists. Among the "back up groups" he liked as a teenager, were the legendary Jordanaires. During the 1960's, the Jordanaires were to be Bobby Wayne's own backup group, providing support on twelve songs included on the Bobby Wayne Ballad of the Appaloosa album. That albums title song, the Ballad of the Appaloosa was selected as the theme song for the Disney movie Run Appaloosa Run.

Don Rich and the Buckaroos “The Night They Drove on down to Dixie” (Captiol) Don Rich, the vocal accompanist, band leader, and lead guitar player for Buck Owens was a Pacific Northwest Native; raised in Tumwater, and a fellow Olympia High School Alum, Rich was discovered by Buck Owens playing in Tacoma, WA.

The Wailers “Dirty Robber” (Golden Crest) The Wailers were an American rock band from Tacoma, Washington. Formed around 1958, they are often considered the first garage rock group. They performed a hybrid of saxophone-driven R&B and Chuck Berry rock and roll. Five 45s (four released in 1959, including "Tall Cool One", and one in 1960) and an LP release, The Fabulous Wailers (released December 1959 on Golden Crest Records), put the Wailers on the national scene. Their 1961 cover of "Louie Louie", which they recorded as a backing band for singer Rockin' Roberts, was the first to use the trademark 1-2-3, 1-2, 1-2-3 riff. Their version inspired other groups from the Seattle area, most notably the Kingsmen of Portland, Oregon, to record the same song. The Wailers' influence established the Pacific Northwest area as a center for musical innovation and the home of a long string of regional favorites playing a kind of raunchy, amateur, yet passionate, form of rock and roll. Dirty Robber features Rockin Robin Roberts on vocals.

Paule Revere and the Raiders “Steppin out” (Columbia) Where the Action Is! Paul Revere and the Raiders, led on vocals by Mark Lindsey need no introduction as they are household names, however the fact escapes most that they are northwest natives!

Kingsmen “(I Have Found) Another Girl” (Wand) Written by Dick Peterson and Barry Curtis who would take a departure from the group to serve in Vietnam

Don and the Goodtimes “and it’s so good” (epic) produced by Jack Nitzsche. Don was an original Kingsmen member featured on "Louie Louie" and would go on to record the Stooges second album "Funhouse" as a in house producer for elektra records.

Tiny Tony and the Statics “Hey, Mrs. Jones” (Bolo) Tiny Tony made waves as a mixed race band formed in 1960 featuring 300 pound African American singer Tiny Tony.

The Viceroys “Granny’s Pad” (Bolo) Regional smash! im Valley who was a leader of a fairly new local band called The Viceroys. Valley explained that his band – who had honed their act playing mainly “functions” at the Seattle Tennis Club, the Washington Athletic Club and other stops on the local “society circuit” – really wanted to perform at the ballroom and would do everything they could to keep things safe and sane.

The Dynamics “come on” (bolo)

The Chanteurs “No Doubt About It” (bolo)

The Marshans “Shoo Fly Pie” (Etiquette)

The Wailers Featuring Gail Harris “I Idolize You” (Etiquette)

The Raymarks “I Believed” (Jerden) The Raymarks formed in 1962 in Bremerton, Washington, across the Puget Sound from Seattle. They began as the Orbits, changing their name twice, first to the Galaxies, and in 1964 to the Raymarks.

Sonics “Psycho” (Etiquette) The history of The Sonics began in 1960 in Tacoma, Washington. Larry Parypa played the guitar at that time with a drummer, Mitch Graber, another guitarist named Stuart Turner, plus a saxophonist and an acoustic bassist. In 1961, Parypa's older brother Andy replaced the bass player and Tony Mabin took over as their new saxophone player.

Turner left for the army and Rich Koch (who had previously played with The Wailers) joined as new lead guitarist and Marilyn Lodge joined as the band's first singer—they had been an instrumental combo until this point. A new drummer, Bill Dean, then replaced Graber.

Koch and Lodge left the band in 1963. Local star Ray Michelsen became the band's singer after having sung with a handful of other popular bands on the local scene. Larry began looking for a drummer to replace Dean, whom he felt was uncommitted to the band, and found Bob Bennett playing in a band called The Searchers with Gerry Roslie and Rob Lind. Ray Michelsen was looking to leave the band, so the Parypas hired Bennett, Roslie, and Lind and let their previous saxophonist Mabin go.

The well-known lineup was in place, but the Sonics' career as loved by their continuing cult following did not begin until 1964, when Gerry Roslie started singing lead vocals.

With Roslie as lead singer the band started playing gigs at local halls, at such venues as the Red Carpet, Olympia's Skateland, the Evergreen Ballroom, Pearl's, the Spanish Castle Ballroom and St. Mary's Parish Hall.

They were soon scouted by Buck Ormsby, bassist for The Wailers, and signed to The Wailers' own label Etiquette Records. The first single they cut was "The Witch" (with Little Richard's "Keep A-Knockin'" as the B-side), in November 1964. This was immensely popular with local kids, and went on to become the biggest selling local single in the history of the northwest, despite its radio airplay being restricted because of its bizarre subject matter.

Early in 1965, The Sonics began recording an LP, Here Are The Sonics was recorded at Audio Recording in Seattle, WA by famed Pacific Northwest recording engineer Kearney Barton. It was recorded on a two-track tape recorder, with only one microphone to pick up the whole drum kit. It was here that they began to pioneer some of their infamously reckless recording techniques. The next album, Boom followed in February 1966. During the recording, The Sonics ripped the soundproofing off the walls at the country and western-oriented Wiley/Griffith studio in Tacoma, WA, to "get a live-er sound."

This heyday began to wane when the band transferred to Jerden Records in late 1966, and headed to Hollywood to record the poorly selling album Introducing The Sonics with Larry Levine in the Gold Star studios. Although it has been rumoured that Jerden executives pushed The Sonics into a more polished sound, the band had decided to follow new influences in modern music, resulting in songs that were quite different from their raucous early recordings. However, the band wasn't satisfied with the material on Introducing The Sonics, calling the cleaner, slicker recordings "the worst garbage."

The original band fell apart between 1966 and 1968, with members leaving to go to university or to join other bands; Saxophonist Rob Lind became a fighter pilot in the Vietnam War. Eventually, all of the original members left, with new members continuing on with the name Sonics, even though it was a completely different band. During this time the band's sound changed, incorporating string and horn sections.

Podcast #4

2010-04-26T21:55:00.000-07:00

To subscribe to the Electric Groove Box podcast search "electricgroovebox" on iTunes; that is one word, "electricgroovebox". It is also available at http://electricgroovebox.podbean.com/

Keith and Enid “Worried Over You” (Blue Beat) a very early Blue Beat single BB6, displays the earliest influences of R&B in the Fats Domino styling on the first Jamaican recorded singles.

The Eagles “What an Agony” (Studio 1)

The Slickers “Johnny Too Bad” (Panther) the original killer cut from the Slickers. The panther released single would be a massive reggae hit in Jamaica and would be a signature reggae cut after the release of the film “They Harder They Come”

The Wailers “Rude Boy” (Coxsone) Classic early hit for the Wailers when they were a vocal trio with a ska backing on the Coxsone/Stuido One roster.

Prince Buster “Prince Buster” (Prince Buster) One of the undisputed kings of ska, Prince Buster’s career has influenced countless acts that followed.

Roland Alphonso “Blow Roland Blow” (Randy’s Records)

Hot Rod All Stars “The Ten Commandments from the Devil” (Torpedo) B-side to the classic Hot Rod All Stars cut “Skinhead Don’t Fear” featuring a sort of response to the Prince Buster classic “the Ten Commandments (of man)”

Gaylads “Don’t Try To Reach Me” (Coxsone)

Dave and Ansil Collins “Double Barrel” (Big Tree Records)

Desmond Riley “Skinheads a Message to You” (Down Town) recorded by Dandy on his Trojan backed Down Town label Desmond Riley’s “Skinheads a Message to You” was a reaction to national reports of skinhead violence, a call to cool the fuck out if you will.

Derrick Morgan “Derrick’s Big Eleven” (Attack) Released in 1973 as an answer record to Judge Dredd’s Big Seven.

Ethiopians “Everything Crash” (JJ Records)

Claudette “Skinheads A Bash Them” (Grape) Released in 1970 during the height of the skinhead movement, Claudette used the record to comment on the unpleasant side of the youth cult; namely “paki-bashing”.

Sir Collins & the Black Diamonds “Black Panther” (Duke) Clancy Collins had produced numerous tracks on his own label before working with Trojan. Black Panther, which was also released on his own Collins Down Beat label was released on the Trojan aligned label Duke in 1969.

Derrick Morgan “Moon Hop” (Crab) often imitated, even stolen, but never replicated this is a true great.

Jerry Lewis “The Godfather” (Pama)

Enos McLeod “Hello Carol” (Joe Gibbs) recorded in 1979 and penned by Albert Griffiths.

Cornell Campbell & the Eternals “You’re No Good” (Jackpot)

Phyllis Dillon “Women in the Ghetto” (Trojan)

Big Youth “A So We Stay” (Joe Gibbs)

I-Roy “Hot Stuff” (Mafia)

Jackie Chang & Silver Fox “Karate” (Crown HIM)

From the Archives

2010-04-16T00:10:00.000-07:00

Of course keeping a journal, or even "blogging" about music is not entirely new to me. In one way or another I have been up to it since the early days of the internet, either by updating my own HTML site, or through a diary site, and now to a blogging site. And even though I have deleted many of those old internet pieces I archived them in some way or another... Though I don't know why.

The following is from an old online diary/blog/whatever I kept for a number of years before deciding that I didn't want to any longer. It is from December 22, 2002 while home visiting my parents during the Christmas season.

It is two in in the morning and i am watching CNN. The news just flashed. JOE STRUMMER IS DEAD AT 50. OH MY FUCKING GOD! what is next? I mean really first Joey, then Dee Dee and now Joe fucking Strummer. Listening to LOST IN THE SUPERMARKET . JOE, this one if for you. Your music truly changed my life. It is freezing in this house. I just walked out of my room (well the guest room) and turned up the heat and realized that a car hasn't‚ passed by in a hour, no noise‚ not even the crick of the wood. All of my friends are either out of town (to visit families) or busy today/tonight. It is two in the morning and Olympia is dead. It has been dead all night. I hope tomorrow bodes well for me, perhaps something interesting will happen (I am thinking that this is not the case (hum-drum town and all) or that something special will happen to me.

It is hard for me to understate how impactful the work of Joe Strummer with The Clash, and later the Mescaleros was for me. It was a horizon broadening experience that involved not only music, but politics and humanity. I can't honestly say that I got into The Clash through punk rock, or being a record collector, or any of the remotely "cool" reasons. I first heard them on MTV in the 1980's playing "Rock the Casbah" and for many years, until I was an adolescent boy, Combat Rock was the only Clash album I owned, of course middle school changed all that.

I found the Mescaleros to be a sincere attempt at pulling together different types of world music, rather than piecemaling the product as, "this is our reggae song", "this is our afrobeat song". I also found that the perspective was more singular and less worldly in a way that seemed more intimate.

I bring all this up, because for the first time, Global a Go Go as well as Streetcore are being issued on a limited run of vinyl for Record Store Day... and it got me thinking about how much Joe Strummer means to me, and how drab the landscape would be with out a Joe Strummer.

Funny thing about this clipping from the Village Voice. My future wife cut it out for me and saved it for me while I was away visiting my family for a Christmas vacation.

Zine

2010-04-14T14:53:00.001-07:00

Radar MagaZINE number 6, 1998.

Paul Weller

2010-04-13T20:18:00.000-07:00

Today as I picked up my The Jam at the BBC Lp at the local record store, I got home to an email previewing the latest Paul Weller record Wake Up the Nation. The album features Bruce Foxton reunited with Weller for the first time in nearly thirty years since the Jam broke up. "Fast Cars Slow Traffic" featuring Foxton's collaboration is a standout track, as is "7&3 is the Strikers Name" which is the Album's first single and features Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine.

It seems like Mr. Weller and band have been sipping the same juice as recent collaborator Noel Gallagher. Wake Up the Nation has the same sense of "psychedelia" as the last Oasis album Dig Out Your Soul. "Moonshine" has the same kind of layering as the Oasis tracks, but with decidedly less fuzz and weight. It is a bit on the trebley side and doesn't sound as deep and lush. That said, production aside, it has a VERY similar sound.

The title track "Wake Up the Nation" is a lot more straight forward, with light psyche queues such as some buried backwards guitar work, pulsating organ and brass... But by and large it is a pretty straight forward blues influenced rock track ala "Floorboards Up."

"No Tears to Cry" returns Weller to a familiar territory to mine, vintage American soul, but rather than the Memphis sounds of late Jam and some early Style Council this one borrows a bit more from an orchestrated soul like the Philly or Chicago sounds.

"Fast Car/Slow Traffic" a song that plays with quiet/loud dynamics in its intro with rushes of confusion and then clarity... Kind of discordant, a little to the point as far as title meets the sound style. Still quiet a good track, not really what I would expect.

"Adromeda" has a very "Paul Weller" sound, by that I mean Wild Wood or Stanley Road as references. Some sweeping moog sounds and orchestration float behind a pop song with a discordant twist that is something bordering on predictable on this album.

"In Amsterdam" returns to some musical nods to Style Council with some Parisian influenced pop. Go figure. The title is a clue.

"She Speaks" back to psyche, with Spanish guitar. I like the structure of this, but really wish for deeper grooves and a fuller production on this album as a whole.

"Find the Torch Burn the Plans" Weller's vocal delivery is wavering on this song, but has a nice build, kind of reminds me of that first Sleepy Jackson record from a few years back, but... You know, a little less lush and with a bit worse vocal delivery.

"Aim High" Kind of jazz-funk influenced, sounds like a Blur castoff from their last album. Not the high point of the album, but certainly better than a lot of music out there. Good drop out.

"Trees" I like this track a lot--though on first listen I did not like it so much because I thought it was a bit gimmicky, but then I kind of liked the music enough to get over it. Good piano groove, good bass work, very Louisiana blues influenced, then it has a major change up to a baroque sound, then transitioning into a third rock sound, then another more modern pop change up, ending as a piano ballad five songs in one!

"Grasp & Still Connect" pretty standard Weller track R&B influenced pop rock. Nothing to amazing, but with enough drive to get through it without disliking it.

"Whatever Next" Instrumental track, very nice... A high point in the record musically. That transitions into the track "7&3 is the Strikers Name" which is the standout track, fully realizing the psyche sound he is going for. Could have fit with the Barret era Floyd easily. That is a compliment.

"Up the Dosage" boots-and-pants song. Boots-and-pants-boots-and-pants-boots-and-pants. Not a bad one really, but a territory that isn't really needed to be tread on by Weller... Or anyone for that matter these days.

"Pieces of a Dream" still working with psyche pop, driving, by this point the album on a whole as a statement is starting to pull together pretty well.

"Two Fat Ladies" the "The Who" song of the lot. Kind of wanting to be at least in that Quadrophenia way but toned down quite a bit. Song has a strong bass drive and bounce that also reminds me of "The Sweet" in a lot of ways.

On a whole, a really defined statement, could have used some tweaking in the mix, but pretty great none-the-less

For a stream of the album (until April 20, 2010) visit: reverb nation. The album, at first listen is toned down a bit from the spralling 22 Dreams, but has a similar spirited blend of experimentation (or at least Weller's take on experimentation) and classic blues driven power pop. In a career with many highs, and some shallow valley's his recent solo work has been some of the best work since the earliest Style Council work. But, in the words of Reading Rainbow, you don't have to take my word for it...

Podcast #3

2010-04-12T19:36:00.000-07:00

To subscribe to the Electric Groove Box podcast search "electricgroovebox" on iTunes; that is one word, "electricgroovebox". It is also available at http://electricgroovebox.podbean.com/

XTC “Radio’s in Motion”

This song was on XTC's first record, "White Music" released in 1978 on Virgin Records and reached #30 on the UK pop charts. Andy Partridge described the record as, "Noisy, arrogant, stark, triangular and desperate for your attention", which of course is exactly why I love it. The version of the song I played on the podcast was recorded on Top Gear, a show that most notably was John Peel's first gig on BBC radio.

The Skids “Reasons”

Hailing from Scotland, The Skids were another band that had the attention of John Peel early on. "Reasons" was the second song on the A side of the "Charles EP" which was released in 1977 on the Scottish punk label No-Bad. "Reasons" did not end up on their debut record "Scared to Dance" but was later issued as a bonus track on a remastered edition that was released in 2005. It is interesting to note that William Adamson, the guitar player went on to form the band "Big Country."

The Boys “The First Time”

Rough Kids “Wreckless Eric”

Written by Ian Dury and Russell Hardy, Rough Kids was originally released by Kilburn and the High Roads; Dury's pub rock band. Wreckless Eric, who exuded punk swagger took more from pub rock than his clothing and attitude let on. Despite this, as a master of portraying the normal and gritty side of life Eric fit right in next to Stiff label mates Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe and the above mentioned Ian Dury.

The Heartbreakers “Born to Lose”

A NY Classic, ain't much else to say.

Eddie and the Hotrods “Teenage Depression”

Another band, much like Wreckless Eric, that became popular when pub rock was coming to an end. They are often considered as one of the many punk rock bands that sprang from the mid-70's but were more influenced by The Who and The Kinks, and other pub rock acts such as Dr. Feelgood or Graham Parker & the Rumour. Teenage Depression hit the UK charts in 1976 at #43.

Mo-Dettes “Paint it Black”

The Lurkers “Shadow”

The Users “(I’m) in Love with Today

The Saints “Do the Robot”

The Now “Here it Comes Now

The Amber Squad “Tell You a Lie”

Zero Boys “Civilization’s Dying”

The Feelies “Fa Ci-La”

The Au Pairs “You”

The Radiators From Space “Television Screen”

The Nips “King of the Bop”

The Masonics “Where’s Johnny Moped Now”

The Primitives “The Ostrich”

Dead Sea Fruit “I’ve Been Away Too Long”

The Standells “Sometimes Good Guys Don’t Wear White”

The Kinks “Everybody’s Gonna Be Happy”

Podcast #2

2010-04-08T00:04:00.001-07:00

To subscribe to the Electric Groove Box podcast search "electricgroovebox" on iTunes; that is one word, "electricgroovebox." It is also available at http://electricgroovebox.podbean.com/

What defines "Soul Music." If you want to believe wikipedia, it is: "A music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues." If you want to believe Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of funky, secular testifying."

Certainly Soul Music has its roots in rhythm and blues and gospel, and I would also add Doo-Wop; which, while is rooted in rhythm and blues, is more vocal driven and gave birth to the Motown sound through the Miracles origins as a doo-wop group.

These assertions aside, Soul Music, simply, is music that is delivered with a lot of soul; rather than the antiseptic, detailed pop music that the Brill Building and its predecessors were creating. While artists such as Ray Charles, Solomon Burke, Sam Cooke all came out of a hard styled gospel, and labels such as Atlantic, Stax, Tamla Motown, end, Big Top, King, Okeh, all were early propagators of the sound there were literally hundreds of unheard artists, under-promoted artists, and under-distributed labels bubbling below the surface.

Soul Music and Rhythm and Blues helped give American rock n' roll new swing and power, it provided the groove for funk, it changed jazz, and layed the foundation for even hip hop (just look at all the James Brown samples as an easy queue).

How do you tell the story of Soul Music in under an hour? How do you do it with paying respect to the "giants," while not neglecting the unsung heroes? I really don't know...

Soul Podcast Playlist:

Sam and Dave "Hold On I'm Coming" (Stax) The 1966 Hayes/Porter penned single reached number 21 on the hot 100 and number 1 on the R&B charts. The song was named the #1 song of the year for 1966 by the Billboard R&B charts, and spent 20 weeks on the R&B charts in 1966. In 1988, Rolling Stone named it one of the best 100 songs of the past 25 years. "Hold On, I'm A-Comin'" received a belated RIAA gold record for one million sales in 1995, 29 years after its release.

Mar-Keys "Last Night" (Satellite) Released in 1961 by Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton's fledgling Satellite Records by a local Memphis instrumental band known as The Royal Spades. Changing their name to The Mar-Keys, the band recorded and issued the single "Last Night," which shot to #3 on the US pop charts, and #2 on the R&B charts. "Last Night" was the first single to be nationally distributed on the Satellite label -- previous Atlantic issues of Satellite material were issued nationally on the Atlantic or Atco labels. This led to a complaint from another "Satellite Records," a company that had been in operation in California for some years but who were previously unaware of the Memphis-based Satellite label. Accordingly, in September 1961, Satellite permanently changed its name to "Stax Records," a portmanteau of the names of the two owners of the company: Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton

Inez Foxx "Hi Diddle Diddle" (Symbol)Credited only to Inez Foxx, but still featuring brother Charlie on vocals, Hi Diddle Diddle released on Symbol records reached number 98 in the Billboard Pop and R&B charts.

The Miracles "Got a Job" (End)In 1958, the Matadors auditioned for the manager of Detroit soul star Jackie Wilson, who turned the group down because he felt their sound and four-man-one-woman lineup were too similar to The Platters, a popular vocal group. On their way out the door, the group ran into one of Wilson's chief songwriters, Berry Gordy, Jr. Gordy took a liking to the group, and eventually became the group's manager. In addition, Gordy worked closely with Robinson, the Matadors' chief songwriter, helping him to improve his songcraft. Gordy and his colleague Billy Davis had written a song called "Got a Job" as an answer song to "Get a Job", a recent hit by The Silhouettes. The Matadors recorded the single, and Gordy arranged a record deal for them with End Records. At this time, they changed their name to 'The Miracles', as 'Matadors' had a masculine sound to it, and the group now included a woman. Gordy became the group's main outside collaborator paving the way for the two to form Tamla/Motown records.

Marvin Gaye "Stubborn Kind of Fellow" (Tamla)"Stubborn Kind of Fellow" is a 1962 single by Marvin Gaye, released on the Motown subsidiary Tamla. The single was historic in many ways for the Washington, D.C.-bred singer and former Moonglows member, for it was the first major hit record for the singer on Motown after three failed singles and an album that had Gaye performing jazz standards. The song was conceived after Gaye reluctantly agreed to perform in the same R&B-rooted productions of his fellow Motown label mates rather than try to be "the Black Frank Sinatra". Based on an autobiographical account of Gaye's moody behavior, it was also penned (alongside William "Mickey" Stevenson) during the time Gaye had just married Anna Gordy, the sister of Motown head Berry Gordy. Released in September of that year, the song gave Gaye his first taste of fame that would make him Motown's leading hit maker peaking at number eight on the Billboard Black Singles chart and number forty-six on the Billboard Pop Singles chart and was the leading single off Gaye's second album, the aptly-titled That Stubborn Kinda Fellow.

Slim Harpo "I'm a King Bee" (Excello)Covered, ripped off by the Who (ne: High Numbers) "I'm a King Bee" released as his debut single in 1957 is a classic amid the career of Harpo who had nearly single-handedly influenced the British Invasion.

The Dynamics "And That's a Natural Fact" (Big Top) A staple of the Northern Soul crowd, the Dynamics bridged the gap from doo-wop to group vocal driven soul with a driving beat.

Honey and the Bees "Please Have Mercy Baby" (Josie) Released in 1970 Honey & the Bees made some relatively little-known records for the Arctic and Josie labels in the late '60s and early '70s with the aid of musicians that played on classic 1970s Gamble-Huff productions. These included Leon Huff himself on piano, and Ron Baker, Earl Young, Bobby Eli, and Norman Harris in the rhythm section; Harris and Thom Bell were among those who contributed to the songwriting. Honey & the Bees spent years on the club circuit, and opening for bigger soul acts in Philadelphia and throughout the East Coast, before disbanding in 1973.

Otis Redding "I've Been Loving You For Too Long" (Volt) What can you say about Otis... "I've Been Loving You Too Long" (sometimes issued as "I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now)") is a song written by Otis Redding and Jerry Butler. It appeared as the A-side of a 1965 hit single by Otis Redding. The B-side of the single "Just One More Day," was also a minor hit, reaching #15 on the R&B and #85 on the pop singles charts.

Marva Whitney "I'm Tired I'm Tired I'm Tired" (King) Singing with James Brown in the late 1960s, she was able to make a name for herself with powerful songs like "I'm Tired, I'm Tired, I'm Tired (Things Better Change Before Its Too Late)" and "If You Don't Work (You Can't Eat)." Her recording of "It's My Thing (You Can't Tell Me Who to Sock It To)" reached the R&B Top 20.

Hannibal "I Think That We've Met Before" (King) Released in 1963 on King Records Hannibal was far from a household name. But the legend's rabble-rousing spirit resonates with today's crop of rockers in a way that has earned him a new fan base – at a point in his career when most musicians would have already thrown in their turban...

The Packers "Hole in the Wall" (Pure Soul Music)The Packers were formed by tenor sax player Charles 'Packy' Axton, member of the Mar-Keys and son of Estelle Axton, co-owner of Stax records. "Hole in the Wall" reached #5 on the Black Singles chart and #43 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Major Lance "Um Um Um Um Um Um" (Okeh) The single was written by Curtis Mayfield and produced by Okeh label president, Carl Davis. The song was Major Lance's third release to make the Billboard Hot 100 and his most successful hit. "Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um" went to number five on the Hot 100 and number one on the Cash Box R&B chart.

Ted Taylor "(Love is Like a) Ramblin' Rose" (Okeh) Of course may know this song by the frenzied cover by Detroit proto-punks the MC5, but Ted Taylor's version has it's own intensity. Co-written by Marijohn Wilkin who seemed like one cool lady, not only did she help out a young Kris Kristofferson, she also wrote Long Black Veil. As for Ted, tragically, he died in a car crash in Lake Charles in 1987.

Rodger Collins "She's Looking Good" (Galaxy) Released in 1966 on Galaxy this is a great uptempo "Northern Soul" number with kicking bass and jangly guitars, punctuated by a stax inspired brass section and a near Wilson Picket vocal delivery is a staple of a slew of Northern Soul comps and label archive comps. But not long after scoring a UK hit and minor US hit with "She's Looking Good" and sharing the stage with Elvis Presley, Ike and Tina, and Redd Foxx, He decided to retire from actively making records.

Vernon Garret "Long Lonely Nights" (Kapp) The b-side to 1970's "Little Black Woman" Though a traditional soul singer in style, song content, and vocal approach, Vernon Garrett is actually a California-based performer. He has recorded for several labels, without much commercial luck, since the late '60s. His only R&B chart singles have been for Venture and ICA, both making the Top 40 but not rising past #33

Ruby Andrews "Make a Believer" (Zodiac) is the 1969 follow up single to the successful "Casanova (Your Playing Days Are Over)" Most of Andrews releases on the Chicago-based Zodiac label were produced and written by the team of Fred Bridges, Robert Eaton and Richard Knight, who previously were moderately successful as the vocal group Brothers Of Soul (of "I Guess That Don't Make Me A Loser" fame). Andrews evolved into a powerful vocalist on such aggressive stand-outs as "You Made A Believer (Out Of Me)" (number 18 in the R&B charts and number 96 in the pop charts in 1969)

Little Johnny Taylor "For Your Precious Love" (Galaxy) Not to be confused with the Stax artist Johnnie Taylor, Little Johnny Taylor was a California based soul singer with "Part Time Love", becoming his biggest hit, reaching # 1 in the R&B chart, and # 19 on the pop chart, in October 1963.

Linda Jones "Make Me Surrender" (Loma) Released in 1967 on Loma the Los Angeles based 'uptown' soul, blues, R&B, and popular music subsidiary of Warner Brothers, that operated between the years 1964 and 1969.

James Brown "Please Please Please" (Federal) What can you say a classic from start to finish. "Please, Please, Please" reached number six on the R&B singles chart, but did not sell well to pop audiences, and peaked at #105 on the pop singles chart. A 1964 reissue of "Please, Please, Please" on King Records featuring overdubbed audience noise meant to mimic a live recording (and capitalize on the success of Brown's hit Live at the Apollo album) reached #95 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Podcast #1

2010-04-06T00:58:00.000-07:00

Electric Groove Box Podcast Number 1:

Alright the very first podcast for Electric Groove Box is available! Get it at http://electricgroovebox.podbean.com/ You can hit it up with an RSS feed, as well as click on the link to subscribe through iTunes.

We expect to do one every week or so curated from the Electric Groove Box vinyl collection. On slate after the first podcast (test cast) will be one featuring all reggae 45's from our vault; as well, as possibly a prison themed cast.

Stay tuned!!!

Play List:

Buzzcocks "Radio Nine" from the album A Different Kind of Tension
The Modern Lovers "Roadrunner" from the album The Modern Lovers
Leyton Buzzards "19 and Mad" from the single 19 and Mad
The Jags "On the Back of My Hand" from the single On the Back of My Hand
King Bee "Headache" from the single Headache
Lew Lewis and His Band "Boogie on the Street" from the single Boogie on the Street
Doctor Feelgood "She Does It Right" from the Album Down By the Jetty
Kilburn and the Highroads "the Roadette Song" from the album Handsome
The Stukas "Clean Livin' Kids" from the Single Clean Livin' Kids
The Kids "This Is Rock n' Roll" from the Album The Kids
Neon Boys "That's All I Know (right now)" from the single Neon Boys
Slaughter and the Dogs "Cranked Really High" from the single Cranked Really High
Radio Stars "Nervous Wreck" from the single Nervous Wreck
Pointed Sticks "Lies" from the single Lies
The Offs "Johnny Too Bad" from the single Johnny Too Bad
The Saints "I'm Stranded" from the album I'm Stranded
Flamin' Groovies "Jumpin Into the Night" from the Album Jumpin Into the Night
MC5 "Ramblin Rose" from the Album MC5
The Count Bishops "Baby Your Wrong" from the Album The Count Bishops
The Real Kids "All Kinds of Girls" from the album The Real Kids
Vibrators "Whips and Furs" from the Album Vibrators

Best New Reissues 2

2010-03-24T14:52:00.000-07:00

In 1996 I made a record trade with Incognito Records for their gatefold re-issue of the s/t Pack LP originally released on Vinyl records. With deluxe photos, kind of, and extra thick vinyl it was a good reissue of a great release. But over the years, even this European reissue has found itself LONG out of print, and like the original, fetching some interesting prices on the collectors market.

Now, 14 year later, it is being reissued again, with reproduction center labels, and missing the gatefold of the first reissue, IE truer to the original.

The Pack was founded by Jörg Evers (ex-Amon Düül II) in Munich, who yearned for more "direct and straightforward" music after after releasing a number of heavy psyche and prog releases with Amon Düül II. In 1977, the Pack recorded the single, "Com' On" in a former WW2 bunker, released by Teldec in 1978. Of course, they claim this to be the first "true" punk record, while others say they're hippies... But "Com' On" and later their LP, also recorded in a WW2 bunker! are more defiant releases when you compair them to other German "punk" bands such as Big Balls and the Great White Idiot.

Following the Pack's one and only LP Jörg Evers would continue to be an influence on German music, as the president of the German Composers and GEMA! I mean, this punk became the head of the German recording industry!

This record was a HUGE influence on the 1990's garage punk scene, especially in San Francisco. The Mummies song "Looking for Dangerman" is a slightly, and I mean SLIGHTLY, altered cover of "Looking for Danger;" Also Rip Off records group the Spoiled Brats lifted some riffs from the record!

Do yourself a favor, run to the store and scoop this one up!

Here is great film footage the band playing a song from the album! as well as the single "Com' On."

Chairs Missing

2010-03-22T10:38:00.000-07:00

The Mouse That Set Loose the Lion

2010-03-16T18:14:00.000-07:00

The following article ran as a two-part feature in the COOPER POINT JOURNAL on April 11, 2002 and April 18, 2002. It was later reprinted in part in Buzz Magazine Issue 4 Vol. 1 August 2002. I was recently asked if I still had a copy by Al Larsen, and decided to post it to ye’ olde blog.

THE MOUSE THAT SET LOOSE THE LION
By Timothy Radar

CIRCA 1979

Think of the time before “indie” was part of our English lexicon. A time before Sonic Youth took to the mainstream, even a time before the Replacements and Husker Du hit. 1979 seems to have been a lifetime ago, and for many people who are not here anymore, it was a lifetime ago. Punk was still dangerous, Black Flag and Minor Threat were beginning, and punk was still an infant. For mainstream America, punk was still perceived as odd; a far reach from the mall-punk, Gap-produced punk styling’s that we have today. Although Rodney was playing punk and new wave on his hit L.A.-based radio show Rodney on the Roq, punk had fallen again below the radar of mainstream media attention. Once again the fertile ground for the perverse and avant in music had gone underground and become, once again, hidden.

During the late seventies and early eighties, a sense of independence and a do-it-yourself ethic had formed around a small liberal arts college and its community radio station. The Evergreen State College and 89.3 KAOS FM Olympia began to attract many “cool” people from around the country. People like Steve Fisk (Pell Mell), Steve Peters, Dave Rauh, George Romansic, Bruce Pavitt (Sub Pop), Rich Jensen, Stell Mars, Dana Squires, Toni Holm, Lynda Barry, Matt Groening (Simpsons), Connie Bunyer, Jeff Bartone, and many more began to move into the small, Northwest town of Olympia, Washinton creating a small scene for themselves.

“We had a good little scene for a town our size, and the hard part was finding venues that would let us play. Calvin (Johnson), coming in as a young townie who cared more about this area than we outsiders did, really helped create a sense of a local Olympia scene,” said John Foster, founder of OP magazine and former Music Director of KAOS Olympia.

Whit a growth in the size of the college and small growth in independent music minded places in Olympia, a sense of a music community was formed. Larry Roberts keeping the Tropicana punk rock club going helped to start to minimalist an us vs. them (the kids yelling “punk rock sucks” attitude that was pervasive in Olympia through the 1970’s.

The Lost Music Network started by John Foster began out of an admiration of alienated weirdoes making records in their basements. The Lost Music Network originally started as the International Record Collectors in 1975 to network with some of those who were into British art bands, 60’s garage bands, and 60’s soul that Foster had read about from magazines like Bomp, Goldmine, and Trouser Press.

“I was into Roxy Music, Steve Haley & Cockney Rebel, John Cale, Velvet Underground, Iggy & the Stooges, New York Dolls, Jonathan Richman, Flamin’ Groovies, etc. Right after that the CBGB’s started to explode in New York, Patti Smith’s first album came out, and I started to read a lot about the Ramones, Talking Heads, Television and others in the Village Voice, and through my work as music librarian (and then Music Director) at KAOS, I discovered a whole new world of music—all the records of all genres released on independent labels.” – John Foster

Through Carla Bley and Paul Haines' New Music Distribution Service, Foster started to become aware of how many independent labels there were that were receiving almost zero radio airplay.

At a critical juncture in the fledgling radio station's history Foster decided to go in a direction that would bring it far away from being a weak, imitation-commercial station. He started marking green lines on records noting a difference for independent material from major label material. With the records separated, KAOS passed the policy that eighty percent of the material aired had to be from an independent source!

"I called it independent at the time, but I'm not sure if that was a concept yet or not," said Foster.

"However, that's the direction fringe youth culture was going with the punk ethos of doing it yourself. That was a very liberating concept for many of us at the time, probably a natural reaction to the soulless corporate music production that was in the forefront at the time," Foster says.

Calvin Johnson, founder of local K Records adds, "The green stripe policy was very exciting. it made you stop and think exploring the record library, both new releases and the existing discs, was always an adventure. I am still looking for records for my own collection that I have only seen at KAOS in the 70's".

By focusing on independent releases, the KAOS library automatically emphasized a lot of regional music that had yet to recieve attention in the mainstream press. KAOS DJs like Pavitt, Johnson, Fisk and Foster saw much of this homegrown music to have become a genuine type of "folk music"--music made by real people outside of the music industry. Oftentimes, this "folk music" had been created by some of the most eccentric, idealistic personalities of a given region. By researching these releases it had become apparent to some [Pavitt, Foster] that a type of decentralized cultural network had been forming underneath the radar of the mainstream press. A lot of this culture, especially the scenes from smaller cities, had been way below the scope of big city magazines that had a certain level of hipness (Slash, New York Rocker) as well.

After realizing that there were no all-genre magazines covering strictly independent music, Foster abandoned the IRC for the Lost Music Network. With no clear direction with LMN, foster began to publish OP magazine through the use of student loans, originally as an insert to the KAOS program guide. Along with the magazine in the newsletter, Foster began to draw attention to himself by sending the magazine to the labels whose music he featured. OP began to take off from there, fulfilling two rules of marketing: addressing a need and promoting it. When the need for OP grea a series of A-Z theme issues focusing on music assigned to their respective letters began receiving a good amount of attention. OP soon gained a great amount of attention, drawing people into the world of independent music as well as the world that surrounded KAOS Olympia. When asked about OP and Lost Music Networks' influence on him, Calvin Johnson simplys said, "It shaped my whole life."

"I was initially interesting in going to Evergreen because I had attended an alternative high school in Illinois," adds Bruce Pavitt.

"A local music fan (owner of Cowboy Carl Records) showed me a copy of OP, which at that time was serving as the unofficial KAOS newsletter. Anyhow, at the time, I was very interested in American punk rock culture and was thrilled to find extensive coverage of underground US bands in this publication. Until I saw the newsletter, I was unaware of KAOS," Pavvit says, "John Foster who edited OP and developed the music polcy at KAOS, was a true visionary. His focus on independent releases was inspired and threw a very different light on the purpose of community radio and the alternative music press."

In 1979 Bruce Pavitt sent a letter to then KAOS program director John Foster introducing himself. Subsequently, in the fall of 1979 Pavit met Foster in person after arriving at Evergreen. To Pavitt it had become obvious that KAOS and Evergreen were very special, unique institutions with progressive policies.

Soon Pavitt had become a full fledged KAOS DJ with a show that focused on mainly new wave and punk artists. At the time it seemed that the majority of the evening time slots had the same kind, or similar type, of focus that highlighed underground and independent music throughout the world. The KAOS library, overseen by Foster, comprised the core of Pavitt's real educatio at Evergreen. It allowed him study every nuance of packaging, sound production, etc., of these hard-to-find and unique recordings. A show allowed Pavitt to have an opportunity to hear what was happening across the country. He had become fascinated with the cultural idiosyncrasises of different regional punk scenes in the US.

"The combined libraries of both KAOS and OP provided me with the information I needed to start my own fanzine/cassettezine, and ultimately laid the foundation for the record label I started, Sub Pop."--Bruce Pavitt

As a magazine Sub Pop was vastly different from its influential predecessor OP in that it was much more defined. Rather then encompassing everything independent as OP set out to do, Sub Pop tried for the most part to be a very parochial magazine in nature. Sub Pop focused mainly on independent "punk" music of very specific and localized scenes that seemed to be well below the radar of popular culture.

Sub Pop had a very unique approach to documenting the momentum of local underground scenes, which had begun to network together throughout the nation. Sub Pop very specifically reviewed records regionally (IE all Texas records reviewed together) which had the great benefit of graphically showing what was going on where and how. As a magazine form, Sub Pop gave Pavitt the ideals and tools to set out and document his own scene and create his own movements eventually through the label.

"We met [Pavitt] in September 1980. I immediately took a shining to the guy. He had a lot of really good ideas. I liked the way he danced and played guitar, both of which I continue to imitate to this day. I was working with Sub Pop at the time and sensed that a lot of what Sub Pop was about could not actually be punk into practice via Sub Pop. So I started K." --Calvin Johnson

Johnson, a native Olympian, has for years been a supporter of the do-it-yourself movement and community radio. From his high school days as a KAOS DJ to his band Beat Happpening and record/cassette label simply titled K, Johnson had single-handedly launched a cassette tape revolution that to this day seems possibly one of the most unique and amazing ways to break into the music business. Following a huge mdeia explosion in the eraly 1990s, K remains a vital outlet for independent music in the Olympia community.

CIRCA NOW

In the summer of 84 nearly half a year before OP's last issue was to be published, Robin James coordinated a national LMN conference that took place during Olympia's small Lakefair week, a tradition that the now famous Olympia music festivals such as the Internation Pop Underground, Yoyo a Gogo, and Ladyfest typically have followed.

During the LMN conference, a group decided to continue publishing an independent music magazine based in LA, which later splintered off into two separate magazine: Sound Choice and Option.

It has been over ten years now that Sub Pop has become a household name to the world and the mainstream press. As the label that "found" Nirvana and paved the road for all things grunge, Sub Pop has remained on the map of popular music journals [Spin, Rolling Stone, NME, etc.] for more then a decade. Although Sub Pop is now forty-nine percent owned by Time-Warner, it has remained an interesting and vibrant label that survived the post-grunge backlash.

With the release of the 1994 Beck record One Foot in the Grave, K records became flooded with media attention. While the label remains uniquely "Olympia," the mainstream press continues to follow the small label's roster. From extensive coverage of the "love rock" scene through the"riot grrl" days, and into an uncertain future for "indie rock," K Records remains as a gem in the landscape of American independent record labels.

KAOS remains as a model for several community radio stations throughout the United States with its unique independent music-based and open programming policies. Recently KAOS increased wattage now allowing the station to be heard throughout Western Washington. KAOS can be found on-air nearly twenty-four hours a day via the internet for the whole world at kaosradio.org. KAOS also stands as the model for liberal politcal radio as broacaster of the Pacifica network and Democracy Now!

FYB

2010-03-16T17:53:00.000-07:00

RECORD STORE DAYS

2010-03-15T23:11:00.000-07:00

A good record store can be many things to many people. The sand in which you find buried treasure, a second home, a religious tabernacle or the last stop on the way home. Sadly, these defining homes of music are disappearing despite the slight trend of new boutique record stores beginning to pop up.

In this era of digital downloads, the small, indie record shop might sound like an anachronism. But, in fact, record stores served as community centers, information exchanges, clubs, art galleries, and launching pads for numerous bands and record labels. Record Store Days takes a long, loving look back at the retail refuges that enthralled at least three generations of music lovers, providing a glimpse into the special alchemy that makes a great record store.

Written and compiled by two record store veterans, this lively and nostalgic anthology includes photographs and reminiscences from musicians, music industry executives, former record store clerks, and, of course, avid fans.

Gary Calamar and Phil Gallo’s new book RECORD STORE DAYS (FROM VINYL TO DIGITAL AND BACK AGAIN) sets up a quick history of record stores, as well as digs into some of the mythos behind the houses of wax. It tells the stories from pre-jazz shops through stores like Dusty Grooves, Ameoba, and Tower, up through the modern specialty stores like Portland’s Mississippi Records.

Available through AMAZON.COM

FACEBOOK MEME REVISITED

2010-03-02T02:12:00.000-08:00

A year ago I posted an internet (facebook) meme about influential records in my life. I wrote the piece exploring what the records meant to me at the time in life when I discovered them, or why I feel they were important to me.

Another year has passed since I wrote this, and I thought, I would take it to the next level. I will re-listen to the fore-mentioned records and speak to what I feel about them today, as an adult, and what might have changed since the time in my life which I found the original recording so affecting.

Ray Charles, The Great Ray Charles -- Ray Charles second LP for Atlantic. Originally the record was brought to my attention because my grandparents had it and listened to it while I was a young child growing up in their house. Now, years later, I listen to it not really tied to a nostalgic view of the record, but as a document as a whole. Not his best LP, but certainly an indication of his appeal and his upward momentum. My favorite cut is the opener "the Ray". Although I never find myself listening to this particular Ray Charles record over some of his others I wouldn't take it off is someone put it on. I feel that my childhood connection to the record is much stronger to this one than my adult connection to his body of work.

Neil Young, Harvest -- A favorite of my parents; and years later, a favorite of mine. It is a great record to grow with, the meaning of the lyrics and delivery certainly changes with perspective and age. I listen to this record quite often.

Gun N Roses, Appetite for Destruction -- I was way into this record as it came out. I still think it has loads of attitude, but some songs just don't do it for me. I can say that "Paradise City," "Sweet Child O Mine," and even, "Mr. Brownstone" do not hold up as much as I would like them to. "Rocket Queen," "Night Train," "Welcome to the Jungle," all still smoke.

the Sonics, BOOM -- Always a classic, genre defining, life changing. Can't stand how good it is. Seriously.

Desomond Dekker, This is Desomond Dekkar -- Good smooth voice, songs over-played, and since discovering Dekker, I have discovered myriads of better Jamaican born artists.

The Ramones, Subterranean Jungle -- Childhood attachments are a bitch. But "Outsider" still is a great song.

Elvis Costello, Spike -- Again, childhood attachments are a bitch, even teenage ones! But "Let Em Dangle" is a great song.

Tommie Young, Do You Still Feel the Same Way -- I love this record, great soul classic.

Nation of Ulysess, Plays Pretty for You Baby -- Saw Chain and the Gang recently, Ian still has the same charisma that this record lives up to. Not my style of music to play that often any more, but certainly still a great record... What a great band.

The Germs, (GI) -- Classic, one of my top records ever, never gets old to listen to it. Although these days I pull it out about once a year or so and jam it out like hanging out with a lost family member or some shit...

Beat Happening, Jamboree -- Ahhh, Olympia... I love and hate it. I love this record though, even on songs I am not into as much as I used to. Still think it is one of the great records of the 1980's.

Sonic Youth, Dirty -- King of garbage compared to their other work. Never listen to this record any more really, haven't in about five years, probably will not for another five. Seriously, I listen to Murray Street more than this.

Born Against, Nine Patriotic Hymns for Children -- God what a great band. Again, not the kind of music I listen to daily any longer... But this is so good I can barely describe what I like about it.

The Jam, S/T, Modern World -- Since I was 13 the Jam have remained an almost daily listen for me. No joke. The s/t is great, although I can't stand the "Batman Theme". Modern World has its moments. Though these days I regularly listen to Setting Sons above all.

Minor Threat, discography -- Listened to the 12" EP and the Out of Step LP. Both hold up great, so defining. The I listened to the remastered versions, with new mixes. Kind of threw me off, didn't dig it too much... Lesson of the day, don't fuck with perfection.

The Velvet Underground, S/T (their third record not the one that is with Nico) -- My favorite record ever! "Jesus" will be played at my funeral along with the Damned's "Smash it Up." Such a perfect vibe on this record.

Cockney Rejects, Greatest Hits Vol. 1 -- I liked it a lot more when I was 14. But when I listen to it I feel 14 in a good way. I can't listen to this record just once when it goes on it is on for two or three times around... Though I don't pull it out often.

U-Roy, Dread in Babylon -- Shit, so good. An amazing record. "Runaway Girl" has to be one of the best songs ever!

the Dead Boys, Young Loud and Snotty -- Great, like a classic rock album to a baby boomer.

the Who, Sell Out -- Still my favorite of the Who catalog. I can't stand how underrated this record is.

Pulp, Different Class -- Still a regular listen.

the Undertones, S/T -- In the summer of 1994 I listened to this everyday. I listened to it a week straight last month!

Television, Marque Moon -- With out a doubt the most New York record ever made. Although I had it prior to living in the city, now the two can not be separated.

the Rip Offs, Got a Record -- A good record, not particularly original, more ahead of the curve as far as being early retro in some ways. Certainly, with out a doubt, influential. Songs still hold up.

the Dictators, Live (Roir Tape) -- Their best work. Period.

Olympia

2010-02-10T23:56:00.000-08:00

Olympian

2010-01-28T00:44:00.001-08:00

Olympia, WA has an interesting relationship with popular forms of music. From the chart topping legit "teenie-boppers" The Fleetwoods, to the Riot Grrl movement, Nirvana, K Records and beyond, the sleepy capital city has created a lasting contribution to the world of music.

By my vote, I would say, "pound for pound," the most inspiring, and perhaps most influential? Olympian was Don Rich.

Donald Eugene Ulrich was born in Olympia, WA on August 15, 1941. He was the adopted son of Bill and Anne Ulrich. Don grew up in the Tumwater area at 6th and Ferry on Tumwater Hill. Bill and Anne both enjoyed performing music and soon began teaching young Don the fiddle, even as early as age three. Bill also constructed a smaller-than-average violin for Don to play. His parents were quite active in finding talent contests and performing venues where Don could play. Don also picked up the guitar in his youth.

Don played both in and out of school, often working the circuit in the local area. Don was only 16 years old when he opened for Elvis Presley in September 1957 at the Tacoma Lincoln Bowl. By 1958 Don was playing regularly in Steve's Gay 90's Restaurant in South Tacoma. Buck Owens observed one of his shows and immediately went to speak with Don. Don was soon playing fiddle with Buck at local venues. They were featured on the weekly BAR-K Jamboree on KTNT-TV 13. Soon after, Buck's "Under Your Spell Again" made it to #24 on the charts and Capital Records wanted Buck to return to Bakersfield, CA.

Buck tried to convince Don (who was fresh out of high school) to come with him to Bakersfield, but to no avail. Don opted to go to Centralia College so that he could become a music teacher while tutoring and playing local venues. While at one of those gigs during college, Don met Marlane Schindler who was also a student at Centralia.

After a year of college, Don decided to drop out and join Buck in Bakersfield. Don signed on with Buck for $75 a week in December 1960. Not long after, Don returned to Washington to marry Marlane, who would work with the pair on their music, keeping Buck and his band performing. Don and Marlane would have two children, Vic and Vance Ulrich.

Now Don was now settled in and ready to start with Buck. The first single he played on was "Excuse Me (I Think I've Got A Heartache)" which peaked at #2. When Buck and Don weren't recording, they would throw Buck's Telecaster and Bassman Amp and Don's fiddle into the back of Buck's old Ford pickup and hop from bar to bar, dance hall to dance hall, while playing with whatever house band they could find.

Buck and Don continued recording singles back in Bakersfield. In 1961 "Foolin' Around" spent eight weeks on the #2 slot. In 1962, change came to Buck and Don. Up until that point Buck had stuck to the Texas Shuffle style, with Don playing the role of the lonesome fiddler. That sound would change with Buck's single, "You're For Me", a sing he'd written several years prior. The shuffle on the snare drum moved to a tightly closed high-hat. The off-beat was accented by an aggressive half-rimshot half-click on the snare drum. The bass went from upright to electric. Buck dubbed it the "freight train" sound, and it is now often referred to as the "Bakersfield Sound".

In 1963, Buck decided to create a backing band for the sake of convenience when recording and touring, including drums, bass, and pedal steel. Don, naturally, was chosen as the band leader. Buck's old Ford gave way to a Chevrolet Camper. During the early years of the band, members came and went quickly. Former members include Ken Presley (who died in a car accident while a member), Jay McDonald, Mel King, Wayne Stone, and Merle Haggard. Before leaving, the latter christened the band "The Buckaroos" and the name stuck.

In early 1963, the Johnny Russell song "Act Naturally" was pitched to Buck. Buck initially didn't like it, but Don enjoyed it a lot. It eventually grew on Buck and he recorded it with the Buckaroos on February 12, 1963. It was released on March 11 and entered the charts of April 13. By June 15 the single began its first of four non-consecutive weeks at the #1 position. It was Buck's first #1 hit.

"Act Naturally" also marked Don's first appearance on lead guitar. Over the years Buck had taught Don his guitar style and by 1963 Don was ready to put down the fiddle and pick up Buck's Telecaster. Buck was more than happy to oblige, as this allowed him to concentrate on singing and being the frontman.

Buck and Don followed up with another freight train rhythm song, "Love's Gonna Live Here". It spent eight weeks at #1.

During the summer of 1963, Buckaroo's bassist Kenny Pierce walked out on the band during a tour. Don called in a bass-playing acquaintance named Doyle Holly. Shortly thereafter, Steel player Jay McDonald quit and was replaced by Tom Brumley.

Buck, Don, and the boys soon recorded two songs to release as a single in late January 1964. One was a fast song entitled "My Heart Skips a Beat". The other was a slow ballad about a returning love called "Together Again". Don played an excellent ride on "My Heart Skips a Beat" and Tom played what has been called one of the greatest steel guitar solos ever on "Together Again". Both songs shot up to #1 simultaneously and switched spots multiple times.

Don and Doyle soon hired a young man from Texas named Willie Cantu to play drums for the Buckaroos in January 1964. In July of that year, the new band recorded "I Don't Care (Just As Long As You Love Me)". This too went to #1 and brought forth another twangy guitar solo from Don's bag of tricks.

In 1965, the hits just kept coming. There was "Tiger by The Tail", "Before You Go" (which Don co-wrote), "Only You (Can Break My Heart)" and "Buckaroo" which was the only instrumental ever to go #1 on the country charts.

Also around that time, Fender took notice of the Buckaroo's popularity. They had given Buck a golden sparkle Telecaster prior, but this time they outfitted the whole band. Buck received a Fender Acoustic, Don a Champagne Sparkle Fender Telecaster, and Doyle a Champagne Sparkle Jazz Bass. On top of that, Willie received a sparkle Drum Kit from Rodgers and Tom got a 11-string pedal steel from ZB guitars (This allowed Tom to play Don's licks during the choruses of songs, leaving Don free to harmonize with Buck).

On January 3, 1966, "Waitin' in Your Welfare Line" was released which went to #1. On March 15, Buck and his Buckaroos began filming a half hour television show entitled "The Buck Owens Ranch Show" (the show was filmed and distributed for several years, being canceled because it came into conflict with Buck's other project, Hee Haw).

Ten days later the group would travel to New York City to play Carnegie Hall. The show was recorded live and is considered by many to be one of the finest live country music records of all time. Buck would later say that the band was so tight that they didn't have to go back in post-production and fix any mistakes, as there were none to be found.

Buck and Don continued recording, scoring #1 hits in 1966 with "Think of Me" (which was penned by Don), "Open Up Your Heart" and "Where Does The Good Times Go?". In late 1966 Doyle Holly left for a nine month period and his vacant spot was filled by Wayne Wilson. That didn't slow Buck and Don down, scoring two #1 hits in 1967 ("Sam's Place" and "Your Tender Loving Care") and recording another live album, this time in Japan, which also went on to great success.

During 1968, Buck and Don decided to start experimenting outside of the freight train sound, but the success continued. "How Long Will My Baby Be Gone?" hit #1 and the group recorded another live record at The White House. That LP would not be released until 1972. Buck also signed onto Hee Haw in 1968, and Don was appointed as the musical director.

In 1969, Buck and Don hit #1 with both "Who's Gonna Mow Your Grass?" and "Tall Dark Stranger". Don added a new experimental fuzztone guitar part to the former. Hee Haw went into syndication in 1969. The Buckaroos served as the house band, and Buck was suddenly getting national exposure on a weekly basis. Another live record was also recorded in 1969, "In London".

Buck and the Buckaroos continued playing, recording, and filming Hee Haw episodes. The Buckaroos continued changing and morphing, until Don was the only original member. Buck and Don together would reach #1 one last time with "Made in Japan" which was released in 1972. Buck started to turn his music back towards the style he had in the earlier years, but the short success of this turnaround would be cut short in an instant on July 17, 1974.

On July 17, 1974, after finishing work at Owens' Bakersfield studio, Rich was killed in a motorcycle accident. He had been en route to join his family for vacation on the coast of Morro Bay when he lost control of his motorcycle and struck a guard on Highway 99 north of Bakersfield. According to most reports, his accident was in Morro Bay, long after he left Bakersfield.

Owens was devastated by the news, and for years did not talk about Rich's death. In a late 1990s interview, Owens said, "He was like a brother, a son, and a best friend. Something I never said before, maybe I couldn't, but I think my music life ended when he died. Oh yeah, I carried on and I existed, but the real joy and love, the real lightning and thunder is gone forever."

and now, something completely different...

2010-01-27T23:04:00.000-08:00

Best New Reissues

2010-01-25T20:20:00.001-08:00

Today I picked up the three new Spacemen 3 reissues on Fire records. Fire brought out the guns last year with the STELLAR Television Personalities reissues. This time around they continue the high quality reissues with reissuing The Sound of Confusion, The Perfect Prescription, and Performance. The mastering is a bit quiet, but still well made. It puts the Taang! reissues from the 1990's to shame. Which is not hard considering they were known for their problems. These reissues are reissues of the original records, so they do not contain all the bonuses and extra ep's that the Taang! versions held.

After several years of local concerts Spacemen 3 recorded their first album in 1986 on Glass Records. Sound of Confusion attracted a loyal fanbase; its follow-up, The Perfect Prescription, expanded the group’s core of fans and is generally considered their masterpiece. The Perfect Prescription was intended to mirror the highs and lows of taking drugs.The music becomes continually more orchestral and serene reaching a peak supposedly representing a drug trip, the record then moves on to a period of mellowing to echo a comedown.

Following the first two LP's the group decided to release a live record, taking a break from studio work. Performance is the first live album from Spacemen 3, documenting a set from the Perfect Prescription tour. It was recorded on February 6, 1988 at De Melkweg, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

In 1989 Playing with Fire, expanded on the psychedelic and drone themes of the earlier albums, was released. Its single, “Revolution”, reached #1 on the UK independent chart. But soon after, a combination of personnel changes, drug problems and intra-band tension began to break the band apart. Recurring, released in 1991, was their last proper album, though its recording reflected the split between Pierce and Kember as each recorded their own side of the album in different studios, with a cover of Mudhoney’s “When Tomorrow Hits” to separate them . It was their most popular release, but by its release Kember and Pierce had already formed new bands, Spectrum and Spiritualized, respectively. The final conflict that contributed to the split was Pierce’s decision to release a cover of the Troggs’ “Any Way That You Want Me” as the first Spiritualized single, which Kember had been wanting to cover for years.

Recent Purchase

2010-01-19T23:46:00.001-08:00

Originaly released in 1965 David John and the Mood's Bring it to Jerome b/w I Love to See You Strut is nothing short of a fantastic floorfilling double sider. Originally popular with the Mod youth cult, and later with Big Beat, Garage (not the techno kind) and Northern Soul DJ's copies of this burner can fetch a pretty penny, and be quite hard to find. Luckily, in America, not that big of a demand for it, so you can sometimes score a mint copy for under the radar kind of prices!!! Seriously, popsike this shit, then dig in the US for it, if you find one hold on to it, because it is the goods, don't be tempted to dump it for the dough like so many ebayers in the world!

David John and the Mood were formed in the winter of 1963 and by mid-'64 the definite line-up had settled.

Their first record was released when they were signed to the Rolling Stones manager who at the time was Eric Easton Associates. It did not sell, but was reference enough to play gigs in the prestigious London music-clubs like the Marquee, the Crawdaddy, the 100 Club and Eel Pie Island. They gained a reputation as live-act very soon and proceeded to the one-nighter circuit: They toured with the Stones, and appeared with Sonny Boy Williamson, John Lee Hooker, the Yardbirds, Manfred Mann and P.J. Proby among others.

Bring It To Jerome (Green) / I Love To See You Strut (WC Charnley) - Parlophone R 5255 - 3. 1965 Was David John and the Mood’s second single and like their first it was a Bo Diddley cover, written and sung by Diddley percussionist Jerome Green. The Mood version was produced by now legendary producer Joe Meek at his studio in Holloway Road. Meek, who once said, "Drums aren't always the best thing to bash when you want a heavy offbeat - I always look round for something to beat, and we use screens, doors and the like ... “ was way ahead of his time and created an almost industrial drive to the song.

"After we'd recorded 'Jerome', we felt we'd needed something different to add to it. I went to the lavatory and dismantled the metal chain ... and when I got back to the studio, Joe's eyes lit up and he immediately left the room, returning with an old biscuit tin. We dropped the chain into the tin on the beat, and Joe layered it with echo and mixed it into the recording. It sounded fantastic," said David John.

David John states that he will be forever grateful to Joe Meek for his production. Meek himself also held the band in high regards, he said, "David John and the Mood is the weirdest and most unusual group I ever worked with and the most talented in this type of music."

Unfortunately for David John, the public didn't understand the direction of the song and the single did not chart. Some critics found the idea of a Bo Diddley cover "a bit outdated", while most of them praised the performance and the sound. It was only on the collectors market that the David John and The Mood records became famous and created a myth around them.

There is a popular myth that David John was, in fact David Bowe, however at the time he was recording under the name David Jones.

Bringitjerome by electricgroovebox

Nessuno Mi Puo Giudicare

2010-01-19T21:40:00.000-08:00

I can't honestly recall where I found this record. It may have been at Miggy's record shop ran out of his house in Greenpoint. I have a somewhat decent knowledge of Italian pop from when I spent a good amount of time in the country. But to be honest I bought this single on sight based only for the cover. It must of been cheap to make such a quick and rash decision, but I was not disappointed.

Caterina Caselli is a actress/musician who made her big debut at the Sanremo Festival in 1966 with a song cast away by Italian TV, Flim, and Music powerhouse Adriano Celentano. The Sanremo Festival is an Italian song contest (Festival della canzone italiana) often considered to be the inspiration for the Eurovision Song Contest. From 1953 to 1971 each song in the contest was sung twice by two different interpreters (singer or band), each one using an individual orchestral arrangement to illustrate the meaning of the festival as a composers' competition, not a singers' competition. During this era of the festival, it was custom that one version of the song was performed by a native Italian artist while the other version was performed by an international guest artist.

Although Mi Può Giudicare, did not win Sanremo, it did go on to number one in the Italian charts in February 1966 and remained on the top spot for nine weeks, outselling a rival version
by US star Gene Pitney. The song established Caterina as a star and further hits quickly followed.

For her first album, she teamed up with British group We Five for the "imaginatively" entitled Caterina meets the We Five.

"No one can judge me, not even you."

"Live"

Gene Pitney version

Girl Groups

2010-01-19T20:42:00.000-08:00

When one thinks of girl groups you typically get a list of the usual, the Tamla/Motown acts like the Marvelettes, Supremes, Vandellas; the Red Bird groups like the Shangri-La's and Dixie Cups; and even the Phillies groups like the Crystals or Ronnetts. All these groups and the plethora of chart toppers and obscure groups can fill a blog in and of itself, so it could be futile to make a declaritive statement about the genre in one simple paragraph.

To me, the girl group version of R&B and light soul marked one of the greatest progressions of music out of the 1950's modes and into the 1960's not by bold strokes of innovation and aggression, but by subtle steps that would define an era of music. One of my favorites of the genre has to be The Toys, most likely known for the hit single A Lover's Concerto. Led by lead singer Barbra Harris, the Jamaica, Queens group The Toys were found by talent scout Vince Marc and introduced to songwriters Linzer and Randell who would go on to write most of their material including the #2 hit A Lover's Concerto. The Toys second single Attack! reached number 18 on the US charts, and a place in my heart as one of the greatest "girl group" singles ever! Seriously it is the goods. The version to get is the Stateside 45 with black label and punch out intact for serious snobby goodness.

A favorite of the British Mod set, The Toys, while not the biggest group in the US, would help pave a trend for British youth digging for the more obscure sounds that would be intensified with the Northern Soul scene.

The Toys -- Attack from the film Muscle Beach Party.

Local Yokles

2010-01-15T20:13:00.000-08:00

My dad moved to Olympia in 1982, I spent most of my childhood in Los Angeles and its surround suburbs. In 1988 I moved to Olympia for its better school system and to get away from the neighborhood crime and gangs in my area of LA. By 1991 or 1992 I was going to sporadic shows, and by 93 or so I was going to shows everyweekend; this continued until I moved to New York for the most part. Olympia at the time was pretty great, and was dominated in some ways by the musical landscape paved by K Records, and the Riot Grrl movement.

In all honesty I have always been a fan of various genres and I have a real draw to the naivite of that era of Oly music. I will always be a big fan of Beat Happening or Some Velvet Sidewalk for showing me that punk was more than the NYC or Brit bands, or more than Oi! and Hardcore.

I never saw the Pounding Serfs, but I have seen their subsequent bands Gravel (who to me stole the show the time I saw them with Flop and Screaming Trees) and The Crabs. It took me a few years to even uncover the Pounding Serfs, I believe it may have been one time when Phil (then of the Microphones) was fooling around with a cover of "Spend Some Time," one of the stand out tracks of their S/T album. I later heard the record played at a party in town and was hooked, true story... Based on a rumor that The Business in Anacortes, WA (which Brett Lunsford form Beat Happening runs a book/record store out of) there were copies of the long out of print lp stashed away I drove up to the island city just to get my hands on a copy... I have never looked back, it is a great record, with the stand out track "Slightly Salted."

Unlike a lot of the early K stable, there is relatively little informaiton on the band on the internet, which is a sad crime.

In 1989, K Records released the self-titled album by Pounding Serfs (KLP05), which was produced by Calvin Johnson a YoYo Studios. The Pounding Serfs were formed in Anacortes, WA, by Jonn Lunsford, Bryan Elliott, Dale Robinson, and Frank Barcott. The band blend folk, pop, surf, punk and more, it is quite impressive!

Some related facts you might want to know: Jonn Lunsford is the brother of Bret Lunsford, guitarist for Beat Happening and D+.

After the breakup of the Pounding Serfs the members went on to form Gravel and The Crabs.

Calling Colleen
Let Go
Slightly Salted
All Day Long
Spend Some Time
No Big Story
She Drove By
Big Foot
Gravel Road Girl
To Go Nowhere

The Audacity of Hope

2010-01-15T19:55:00.000-08:00

Today I was going through the record racks to find something that I have not listened to in a long time. I picked out the Prisonshake "album" I'm Really Fucked Now. The record provides for nearly 3 hours of music. It is a CD, LP, Cassette and 7" of all different material packaged together as one record. My copy came with a Johnny Unitas photocopied card...

Such an ambitious release is nearly awe inspiring, but not totally unexpected from the band's own label (SCAT) which cemented its reputation by releasing the, now famous, Guided by Voices box set.

Prisonshake were founded in Cleveland, Ohio in the late 1980s and defined the DIY aesthetic with a complete disregard for convention- they released their own records on guitarist Griffin's Scat Records label. Prisonshake specialized in that midwest brand of postpunk blended with college radio rock like Husker Du or the Replacements.

I'm Really Fucked Now stands by such bold gestures as the first Half Japanese record with throwing everything out there, not because you hope it will shift massive units, but for the pure document of your work. It is such an amazingly audacious release, it is quite wonderful.

Its A Ron Kinda World.mp3
7", collected on "I'm Really Fucked Now" 1991
2 Sisters.mp3
Cigarette Day.mp3
From "The Roaring Third", 1993
Click here to buy "The Roaring Third" from Amazon

Passion?

2010-01-15T16:52:00.001-08:00

In late 2003, might have been early 2004, MTV was soliciting ideas for a tv show called obsessed. I responded by sending them the following clip that I edited together quite quickly while still going to film school at NYU.

I was not selected for the TV show, which funny enough did not air any stories on record collectors that I know of. It went with a different kind of collector obsession all together:

I'm the Face

2010-01-14T23:19:00.000-08:00

Released on July 3rd, 1964 by, the then, High Numbers; Zoot Suit b/w I'm the Face would introduce the world to The Who. Both songs, written by The Who's quasi-manager/creative director Pete Meaden were recorded at Philip's Studio near London's Marble Arch.

The songs were designed specifically to appeal to the band's strong Mod following by borrowing the melody and arrangement of well known R&B favorites of the Mod cult. Zoot Suit is borrowed from The Dynamics number Misery released on Big Top, while I'm the Face takes heavily from Slim Harpo's Got Love If You Want It released on Excello.

The original single on the Fontana label, however, has since become the best known and most valuable collectors’ item in the band’s entire UK catalogue. Mint condition singles can set you back almost £800. A popular myth suggests that only 1,000 were pressed, and that several were apparently bought up by John Entwistle’s grandmother.

Only a year before the release of I'm a Face, a Detroit vocal group – the Dynamics – went into the studio and laid down ‘Misery’. The record is a great mix of R&B/rock/soul that was prevalent in the early 60’s. The song features a slightly menacing bass/drums/guitar backing, the lead vocal drops in as normal as can be - before suddenly changing to a falsetto and being joined by the other singers – at which point the drummer kicks things up a notch. After the second verse there’s a cool sax solo, and then the group comes back for more. The drumming on this track is outstanding.

This brings up an interesting debate to be had about authenticity. You see, at the time, this was quite normal, especially for British groups. However, now, years later with sampling and remixing a big part of the musical language, and an even bigger part of legal discourse, it could be argued that it is all a matter of musical culture and history. Let's not even get into the world of Jamaican music on this one. Some of my favorite early British songs are all derived from American R&B in this way, or even as direct covers. I can't help it but I am a sucker for the Moody Blues version of Go Now.

Slim Harpo's Got Love If You Want It is a classic by nearly ANY standard. Released in 1957 on the Excello label as the B-side to his first single I'm a King Bee, the song would be covered by many, and would be a mainstay of the burgeoning Brit R&B circuit. The Rolling Stones, Them, The Yardbirds, Pink Floyd, and the Pretty Things all cover one side of this amazing record recorded by producer Jay Miller, who gave a young James Moore the name Slim Harpo.

Harpo's slow, cool style is perfect for the interpretation. The song, for all intents and purposes is a declaration of cool.

They Dynamics-- Misery 1963

High Numbers (the Who)-- Zoot Suit 1964

Slim Harpo-- Got Love If You Want It 1957

High Numbers (the Who)-- I'm the Face 1964

Stone Roses Radio Documentary

2010-01-14T21:28:00.000-08:00

I don't often repost from other blogs. In fact, this is my first. The following tid-bit comes from www.eggcityradio.com On a personal note, I can not say I am indifferent to their second LP, as I think it is amazingly underrated by any standard.

BBC RADIO - “I WANNA BE ADORED: THE STONE ROSES STORY”

I’ve just gotten my hands on a treasure trove of BBC Radio documentaries, acquired for me by a British friend.

Here’s the first of several I thought would be of interest to ya! I’ve always loved the Stone Roses’ first album, and always been indifferent to the second. This program delves into their brief, chaotic career, and has some revealing interview clips of the band members. Basically, it’s a well-done audio version of an episode of VH1’s “Behind The Music.”

BBC Radio - “I Wanna Be Adored: The Stone Roses Story” (ZIP file)

Tour Footage

2010-01-14T10:42:00.000-08:00

The singer for Aires and Graces Ian made a short tour documentary about their fall 2009 tour. The reason I post this, is, well, because I'm in the band.

Junk About

2010-01-14T10:40:00.000-08:00

Sports Songs in Pop Culture

2010-01-13T19:36:00.001-08:00

While baseball remains "America's pastime," it has done little to inspire a slew of songs by popular recording artists. While there have been numerous versions of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" from youth choirs to even the occasional doowop group... In pop music, the list remains relatively limited to "Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit the Ball?", "Say Hey", "Mrs. Robinson" and of course "Center Field."

Even American Football has some songs like "Gridiron", the "Superbowl Shuffle" and what have you...

Maybe it is where my attention is, or what I care to see, but it seems that there are exponentially more pop music references to soccer/football. I thought I would share some of the ones that are out there.

Top 25 2000-2009

2010-01-05T19:04:00.000-08:00

It is incredibly hard for me to make best of lists, because I feel they are fluid and change depending on what your criteria is for grading, or how you are feeling. But to follow up the best reissues of 2009, I thought I would do a best of the decade list.

This list is made up of NON-reissue, full lengths. And frankly, surprisingly, covers genre(s) that are not typically represented in this blog.

1. Bonnie Prince BIlly--Ease Down the Road
2. Doves--Last Broadcast
3. Unwound--Leaves Turn Inside You
4. Low--Things We Lost in the Fire
5. Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros--Global a Go Go
6. Wilco--A Ghost is Born
7. The Strokes--Is This It
8. Yo La Tengo--And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out
9. The Streets--A Grand Don't Come For Free
10. Pulp--We Want Life
11. Young People--S/T
12. Johnny Cash--When the Man Comes Around
13. Artic Monkeys--Whatever People Say I am, I'm Not
14. Radiohead--Kid A
15. The Libertines--S/T
16. Kings of Convenience--Quiet is the New Loud
17. The Enemy--We'll Live and Die in These Towns
18. Godspeed, Your Black Emperor--Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven
19. The Sleepy Jackson--Lovers
20. Stereolab--Sound Dust
21. LCD Soundsystem--S/T
22. Badly Drawn Boy--Hour of the Bewilderbeast
23. Aimee Mann--Bachelor No 2
24. Spiritualized--Let It Come Down
25. Beck-Sea Changes

Skinhead Anthems

2009-12-31T14:46:00.000-08:00

If you compile a list of perhaps the ten greatest Oi! songs, you will often find The Last Resort song "Violence in Our Minds" from their debut album "A Way of Life, Skinhead Anthems".

With the opening phrase:

"I was walking down the road with a dozen pals of mine
Looking for some aggro, just to pass the time
We met this stupid hippy and he tried to run away
But i punched him in the nose just to pass the time of day"

And its anthemic chorus, "Violence in Our Minds" stands out one of the bands best pieces of work.

BUT IT IS A COVER!
Originally recorded by Miles Wootton and released on the private press (Long Man Records) "Sunday Supplement World", "Skinheads" offers the meat of what would become "Violence in Our Minds". The Last Resort uses the verses from the Wootton song, and adds the anthemic chorus of "Violence in Our Minds." Wootton was a regular at Brighton and Hove's Standford Arms folk club in the 1960's and early 1970's.

Brighton and Hove, England's biggest seaside town is just a stones through away from Herne Bay, the birth place of The Last Resort. Perhaps it is the relative close proximity that led the lads in the Last Resort to listen to the mellow folk stylings of Miles Wootton, or perhaps it is a closer connection. I honestly couldn't tell you, that would be a question for the original line up of The Last Resort.

Anyway, here is a listen, enjoy: click to listen

Best Reissues of 2009

2009-12-29T23:28:00.000-08:00

As we wrap up 2009, and for that matter the first decade of the "new millennium," I thought it would be apt to look at the best reissues of 2009. Why, well beyond the fact that it seems like everyone has a list of best new music of 2009 or best record of the decade, I thought that it would be nice to explore records released at the end of the decade that had been released in one form or another in a previous form.

Laurel Aitken, "The High Priest of Reggae" released on Get Back, originally released by Pama. Get Back, one of the many sub-labels of the Italian label Abraxas has made a reputation of pumping out some of the finest reissues in the game on beat you over the head hard heavy 180g vinyl. Get back re-released two of the best and rarest Aitken lp's "The High Priest of Reggae" and "Scandal in a Brixton Market." Both records released originally by the great Pama Records offer some of the best ska/reggae of the era. The 1969 Scandal record pairs Aitken with Girlie and Rico and is an amazing record in its own right. "The High Priest of Reggae" released in 1970 by the Cuban born Lorenzo Aiken offers a grouping of songs by the man at the hight of his prowess. "Jesse James" may be the stand out track in my opinion, offering a bit of the Upsetters styled playfulness with the western genre. "Mr. Popcorn" and "Hailes Selaise" are among the best of the genre. Even reworkings of "Sloop John B" and "Don't Be Cruel" find Aitken worthy of the title of "High Priest of Reggae."

Known as "the Godfather of Ska", Aitken was one of Jamaica's first real recording stars to be exported to England. Aitken, one of the first artists to release a ska record, the first to work at promoting his music in the U.K., and one of the first to record for the seminal Island label, was a musical trailblazer.

Aitkens career didn't end with the rise of rocksteady, he continued to release hits through beginnings of the roots age of reggae. 1970's "High Priest of Reggae" gatheres a dozen sides made famous throughout the previous year, and mostly released on the Pama label's Nu Beat imprint. All told, "High Priest" is a superb album, and has been LOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNGGGGGG over due for a proper reissue.

Get back does a great job at keeping much of the original art, offering clean label scans of the pama labels, and most of all the album sounds AMAZING, which is somewhat of a rarity with Jamaican recording artists' reissues.

The second contender for reissue of the year is Television Personalities "And Don't the Kids Just Love It?" reissued by Fire Records in head bashing 180g thick vinyl.

"And Don't the Kids Just Love It?" recorded in 1980 and released in 1981 on Rough Trade records set the template for the bands later career. Youth culture obsessed lofi-pop.

"And Don't the Kids Just Love It?" is Television Personalities first proper lp, it was recorded after releaseing a series of D.I.Y. singles recorded under a variety of names, including the O-Level and the Teenage Filmstars. "And Don't the Kids Just Love It?" may be the purest expression of Daniel Treacy's bitter nostalgic worldview. The songs, performed by Treacy, Ed Ball, and Mark Sheppard, predict both the C-86/DIY/Indie aesthetic of simple songs played with a minimum of elaboration but a maximum of enthusiasm and earnestness. The echoey, hissy production makes the songs adds an etherial quality. Not to sound trite, but I can not offer a standout song on this LP as I listen to it straight through on an almost daily basis. It is that good.

Recent Scores

2009-12-29T00:37:00.000-08:00

On a recent shopping expedition I recently scored a few records that should be of no surprise to some readers, but to others they just might be unheard gems. The first record I was stoked about was The Equals "Rub A Dub Dub" b/w "After the Lights Go Down Low" released on President records in 1969 as the bands seventh single (uk #34). I found this amid reggae singles, in the same spot I scored a Trinity and Jah Thomas single I had wanted.

The Equals were the ground breaking multiracial group lead by Eddy Grant (best known for "Electric Avenue" ) from 1965-1979. The Equals, a UK export began their recording year a full year before Sly and the Family Stone. While Sly found success internationally blending funk/soul with rock, Eddy Grant and The Equals would find nominal international success blending rock with ska/reggae drawing on a similar blueprint of multicultural references.

"Rub A Dub Dub" and its exponentially superior b-side "After the Lights Go Down Low" was released on the Laurie records distributed President Records offers an A side designed to break into the sugar pop market with an amazing stomper of a B-side; the songs from the Equals Strike Again lp express a tension in that on one side you have an amazingly creative take on a classic single and the other side you have a label pushing what they think would sell. It may seem odd in retrospect that a label that pushed pretty remarkable reggae hits would get this release so wrong. But do your self a favor and seek out the B-Side "After the Lights Go Down Low".

The other record I recently scooped up, and was excited enough to blog about!, was The In-Be-Tweens "You Better Run" b/w "Evil Withcman" on Columbia (unplayed promo copy). Formed in 1966 The In-Be-Tweens recorded only a few songs. A french demo recorded by imparsario Kim Fowley was cut for Barclay Records; and "You Better Run" b.w "Evil Witchman" also written and produced by Fowley was released as their official debut single in 1966. A flop commercially the band would go on to make a go of it live and no release another record until 1969, this time under the name Ambrose Slade. Within a year they would simply become Slade.

I can not say enough about how much I love this band in all of its incarnations, but this single is pretty fucking great, pardon my french.

Tapes

2009-12-26T17:20:00.001-08:00

Been going through the stacks of old tapes today. Oddly, even though I have a dozen or so turntables... I had to go to Goodwill Industries to purchase an old tape player to listen to the cassettes. I love going through old boxes, because you unearth some forgotten gems. Today I listened to the Warzone live in Mexico tape, Karp Demo, C Average Demo, Indecision Demo, and Circle Jerks Group Sex cassette (complete with recorded live tracks on the blank side)...

This marks the first time in about a decade I have listened to tapes, I also found some that I no longer care for and put them on Ebay. I hope the other luddites of the world appreciate that.

Barber Chairs

2009-12-13T10:43:00.000-08:00

Tour loot

2009-12-02T23:48:00.001-08:00

The best thing about being in a band and on tour to me, may be quite surprising to others. I do not relish being in a new town every day, though, by this point it is mostly visiting towns I have been to already. I can not honestly think of a town I have played on my most recent tour that I have never been to; nor can I say that I enjoy sleeping in cheap motels, or on peoples couches for nearly three weeks at a time. Sure, free alcohol, some great meals, and a variety of menu options is great; and of course playing to new people in diverse parts of the country is amazing.

But to me, being on tour is a chance to hit record stores I have not been to in a while, or discover new ones. While this tour I limited myself to being relatively selective and economic in my record buying, I did have a good time. Next tour, I am saving up to afford myself the ability to not be selective or economical.

Here are my "scores", which is by no means every record bought on tour, but ones that I am genuinely excited for one reason or another:

The Jam (all polydor):
Butterfly Collector, double a side, yellow vinyl white label promo US
When You're Young/Smithers Jones UK/with pic sleeve
Funeral Pyer/Disguises UK/with pic sleeve
Absolute Beginners/Tales from the Riverbank UK/with pic sleeve
The Damned: Problem Child/You Take My Money UK/with stiff label sleeve and inner punch out in tact Stiff
Northern Towns/Sharks split Swinger City
Radio Stars: Nervous Wreck/Horrible Breath Chiswick
Slade: Merrry Xmas Everbody/Don't Blame Me Polydor UK
Skids: Masquerade/Out of Town with pic sleeve Virgin
Slaughter and the Dogs: Where Have All the Boot Boys Gone/You're a Bore Decca with punch out in tact
Sugar: Believe What You're Saying/Going Home Creation Records UK

The Slits: Return of the Giant Slits w/insert CBS
I Roy: Musical Shark Attack Virgin
Big Youth: Rock Holy Negusa Nagast
Ciccone Youth: Get Into the Groove EP Blast First
Small Faces Greatest Hits Immediate white label promo
Small Faces: There Are But Four Small Faces Immediate pink label US first
Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs: Li'l Red Riding Hood MGM Mono first
Secret Affair: Business as Usual I Spy
Rose Tattoo: Scarred for Life Albert OZ
Raspberries: Side 3 w/insert Capitol
Kilburn and the High-Roads: Handsome Pye/Dawn
The Count Bishops: S/T Chiswick
Elvis Costello: Live at the El Mocambo Columbia Promo
Blue Cheer: Vincebus Eruptum Philips Mono first

Thrift Store Find #2

2009-09-04T00:59:00.000-07:00

BOLO BASH LP - BOLO SEAFAIR RECORDS. $7 Astoria, OR.

The Pacific Northwest has a number of amazing pioneering rock and roll labels. Etiquette, with classic released by the Wailers, Sonics and Galaxies, Jerden with classic sides by the Sonics and Bobby Wayne, and Dolton with classic cuts by the Fleetwoods and the Ventures seem to get the lion's share of attention by collectors and casual enthusiasts alike. One lable that I have always been quite fond of was Bolo Records, whom I first came across because of the Granny's Pad record by the Viceroys.

Seafair Records perhaps best embodied Seattle’s early days when a good effort would bring regional success. Run by founders Tom and Ellen Ogilvy, Seafair (and its associated imprints Bolo, Virgelle, and Nolta Records) can, among other achievements, be credited with issuing some of the most consistent stream of high-quality 1960s rockin’ teen-R&B of any label in the region.

In June 1960, Seafair Records released their debut rock ‘n’ roll 45, the Dynamics’ “Onion Salad.” The Ogilvys were enjoying working with Boles so much that Tom proposed that they start a new collaborative “sister” label with a name derived by conflating their two names: Bolo Records. This label debuted in September with the “Searching For Linda” 45 by Skip.

Over the next couple of years Seafair/Bolo signed, recorded, and released discs by the Continentals, Exotics, Galaxies, Frantics, Mystics, Titans, Mark V, and the Viceroys scoring a string of regional radio hits with excellent songs including the Dynamics’s “J.A.J.,” Tiny Tony and the Statics’ “Hey, Mrs. Jones” -- and the Viceroys’ “Granny’s Pad,” which reportedly became the biggest-selling local 45 up to that point in time and one that was re-issued nationally in a deal with Dot Records.

Bolo Records also issued three albums: January 1964, saw the release of the Viceroy’s Granny’s Pad LP, and September brought The Dynamics With Jimmy Hanna LP. Then their classic multi-artist compilation LP, Bolo Bash, came out in January, 1965.

Bolo Bash serves as a best of Bolo Records 45s. It has all the classics like J.A.J, Granny's Pad, Back to Granny's Pad, simply, this lp is on par with the Ettiquette christmas lp, and the Wailers and Company are go lp for rich diversity in northwest rock. Great find!

not on this album, but a great cut by the frantics

Thrift Store Find #1

2009-09-02T23:32:00.000-07:00

The other day I was in Astoria, OR. I picked up a 50 cent copy of the Seeds single Mr. Farmer/No Escape on GNP Crescendo Records. While No Escape exists as an alternate version of Pushing Too Hard, the bands best known song, Mr. Farmer offers some interesting mixing and organ work. Mr. Farmer, technically the Seeds fourth single, received modest air play and got them on regional and national television shows for a third round of record pushing in 1966, but didn't live up to the expectations set by Pushing Too Hard or Can't Seem to Get You Out of My Mind. Perhaps, if they varied the b-side a bit more it would have been a bigger record for them. No Escape takes the main riff and the melody of their biggest hit, but makes a slightly more raw sounding production the focal point of a quintessential teen angst song. All in all I would say it was a great single for 50 cents, and any other price.

The Child Prostitutes

2009-05-05T16:33:00.000-07:00

Formed as the Public Enemies, the Child Prostitutes, were a hard-edged trio led by Rotten Richie (drums). The band formed in 1980. One thing that set them apart was that their guitarist frequently doubled on harmonica. "Punk is a scene that died a long time ago," Richie told Good Times. "We just like to play good music and have a good time. But, yeah, you could call us a punk band. We're about as punk as it ever gets." I met former Child Prostitute Steve Sheppard while working as “misc. punk” in the low-budget zombie film the Necro Files 2. Although the guy ended up leaving the set after an unfortunate altercation with his penis and an actresses mouth, he kept his word and sent me his former band’s rehearsal tapes along with a number of Nuns rehearsal tapes and a live Dead Kennedys set at Muhubay Gardens. I have sat on this tape for a very long time, and never really shared it. But After listening to it today I have decided that it is way too good not to share. Enjoy.

Rats Ass by electricgroovebox
State Property by electricgroovebox
The Saucers They Came by electricgroovebox
You Know Who I Am by electricgroovebox

and now for something completely different

2009-03-08T17:53:00.000-07:00

Today I was looking through a magazine from a few years ago, and an even older magazine and it made me think about how horribly hit and miss the Fred Perry advertisement campaigns are.

Facebook Meme

2009-03-02T00:40:00.000-08:00

Think of 25 albums that had such a profound effect on you they changed your life or the way you looked at it. They sucked you in and took you over for days, weeks, months, years. These are the albums that you can use to identify time, places, people, emotions. These are the albums that no matter what they were thought of musically shaped your world.

IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER, Really.

Ray Charles, The Great Ray Charles -- This record reminds me of my grandad. And is one of my earliest musical influences along with the inkspots, the staple singers, and a lot of gospel and early country. I love this record, and to me it is one of my earliest memories of really loving music.

Neil Young, Harvest -- I went to see Neil Young with my dad in 1992. My dad was a big fan. and I know pretty much every song by osmosis. But this record really is beautiful, reminds me of my father, and of my childhood. It is one of those records you can re-discover over years and get different meanings from.

Gun N Roses, Appetite for Destruction -- What can I say, was one of the most nasty rock records of the late 1980s. It was not crap like all the other hair bands, it had attitude, and it was amazing. I went to see GNR with my dad, and the show was off the hook good.

the Sonics, BOOM -- I got this record for the first time at Golden Oldies as an early teenager. This was before the demand was really high. It started my long obsessive collection of Tacoma and other Northwest acts that would become one of my first record collecting passions. It also helped me form a mental bridge from punk to earlier forms of teenage angsty music. Because of the shop owner I have been lucky enough to meet and watch jam sessions with and even tinker with some of the area's truly great rock musicians. I am sure glad Jeff Miller sold it to me, and for this I will always drop money in his store! this is also one of those records where I have owned a bunch of copies of over the years.

Desomond Dekker, This is Desomond Dekkar -- Okay, anyone who was a skinhead, mod, rude boy, whatever has heard this record. Even ska kids. He was the cornerstone and the starting point. And really he blew me away the first time I heard him.

The Ramones, Subterranean Jungle -- Certainly not the high point in their career. However in 1985 or 1986. One of my earliest music purchases. But even this was an odd choice, it was an uninformed choice really, I liked the cover and bought it along with the Scorpions "love at first sting", the best of Devo, and Def Leppard's "pyromania", and some others that I can't honestly remember because I didn't listen to them as often as these four. "Outsider" is still one of my favorite songs ever.

Elvis Costello, Spike -- One of my LEAST favorite records of his creative years. But, I found it in a library, and listened to it to death. Then went out and bought EVERY Costello record I could find. It was an obsession after that. I love his music, and it opened up my musical world so much. and helped me land a wife.

Tommie Young, Do You Still Feel the Same Way -- I love this record, great soul classic. I come from a pretty musically obsessed family, with a wide range of tastes and soul music and r&b was introduced to me at an early age. But to be honest, until my mid-teenage years it was mostly the standard acts. It wasn't until I became a crate digging record obsessed nerd that I found a wider range of acts. This was one of the first. Later, through the mod subculture I began to be clued in on the "northern soul" acts. But Tommie Young, as well as Ruby Andrews was one of the first records to broaden that love.

Nation of Ulysess, Plays Pretty for You Baby -- Not their first record, but the one I still listen to the most. Amazing. Loved the record, covered their songs for years. So good.

The Germs, (GI) -- I had already been into punk for a long while, and at a pretty early age by the time I got this record. Although it did not defined me in any way as far as fashion or ideals throughout high school, it certainly defined my ideas of what "punk" sounded like for a long time afterwords.

Beat Happening, Jamboree -- What can I say, I live in Olympia for fucks sake. They set the blue print of what you can do in this city, and for any other band of their type. It is in the water. I love the simplicity and earnist approach. I am a big fan, needless to say.

Sonic Youth, Dirty -- Man. Okay, so that 100% song was played out, and I am not old enough to pretend I learned about them from some desert show in the middle of nowhere... But I did see that video, went to their concert, and became a fan ever since. And not really a fan of the music, although good, but what possibility they represent and boundaries they pushed. I remember all my "punk as fuck" friends would make fun of me for listening to that "emo crap", but really it is smart music, that I love and helped me be a more well rounded person (or so I believe).

Born Against, Nine Patriotic Hymns for Children -- I have listened to a lot of hardcore prior to this record, I have seen a million and one hardcore bands, and could list a BAZILLION hardcore records that informed my musical taste and my opinions on "the scene," but seriously, not many bands have so seriously altered my ideas of hardcore and what the music and attitude is about as much as Born Against. Macho without being stupid, Patriotic without falling to jingoism (patriotism as a form of protest) and simplicity and knowing that protest and anger are patriotic themes, the band was amazing.

The Jam, S/T, Modern World -- Okay, a two-fer on this one. But really I did buy them the same day from Golden Oldies. By this time in my adolescents I was beginning to hang out with skinheads and mods, and had already cropped my hair and started wearing things like sta-prest jeans and three button suits (which incidentally were abundant at the goodwill at the time). and for a while the Jam became the most important band in my life.

Minor Threat, discography -- I say discography, because honestly I can't say which singles or the out of step ep really caught my attention first. but to me, in the early 1990's, Minor Threat, the Germs, and the Jam were like a holy trinity. I was quite and ardent straight edger at the time (although not preachy) and Minor Threat both musically and thematically have been a huge part of my life since.

The Velvet Underground, S/T (their third record not the one that is with Nico) -- I know I said, in "no particular order." But, honestly if there was an order this would be number one. Not only is it HANDS DOWN WITH OUT A DOUBT my favorite record of all time, it is also one of the biggest defining records of my life. Bought at Golden Oldies, after a break-up, when I was down and out, and still with me today! It really pushed my idea of what pop-music could be, it really pushed my idea of what emotions could be expressed in a record, and it has a really complex-smoothness to it that is unmatched. I would straight up marry this record.

Cockney Rejects, Greatest Hits Vol. 1 -- Another record I picked up when I was about 13 or so. It also was what, at the time before I started to listen to ska/reggae and soul, what I thought of as "skinhead" music. It was great.

U-Roy, Dread in Babylon -- By the time I bought this record I already had a couple hundred ska and rocksteady singles and LP's. Of course I am speaking of Jamaican artists on this and not about third wave. I hadn't really began to purchase Roots, Dub, Dancehall, or anything else yet. But, on a whim, I bought this record. and it opened the flood gate. Beyond having three copies of this record, and worn out another two! I also have purchased, literally thousands, of Jamaican records of all areas since. It is kind of the finger in the dike record for me.

the Dead Boys, Young Loud and Snotty -- Another Golden Oldies (olympia) purchase. If you want to know what punk sounds like to me. Look no further. It is the most punk thing ever. Seriously.

the Who, Sell Out -- My favorite Who record, it is SOOOO underrated, I have been, LITERALLY because of my father, a life long Who fan. I am a FANATIC. and the band means so much to me as far as what you can do musically, but also, and this is a big also how you can as a person emerge from a youth culture without losing those aspects of yourself that drew you to it in the first place. The Who were mods who grew out of the culture, but still had that working class grittiness to them.

Pulp, Different Class -- Man, one of the best records ever. I have nothing bad to say about this ever! In fact I am a HUGE HUGE Pulp fan. Just after its release I was spending a lot of time with my friends James and Nathaniel hanging out with Hickey and Jason at the Brit Pop House.

the Undertones, S/T -- Around winter 1994 I was spending a lot of time with friends out in Aberdeen/Monetesano and greater "Grays Harbor", as well as with the same crowd here in Olympia. Everyone in the group was either a (anti racist) skinhead, a mod, or "punk as fuck". We were dumb teenagers, and it was fun as hell. Not that this record is a reference to that, but I bought this record that winter and listened to it pretty much EVERY SINGLE DAY.

Television, Marque Moon -- With out a doubt the most New York record ever made. Although I had it prior to living in the city, now the two can not be separated. Also seeing Television live is one of the best concerts I ever went to.

the Rip Offs, Got a Record -- Man. there was a point, when I was transitioning from my teenage/high school years to college, and at the time I was really disillusioned with the whole living in a youth culture thing, and kind of feeling my way around the world as an individual. and on no account of anyone I bought this record on sight and fell in love with it. It introduced me to the, then wildly popular, world of "garage punk" which one of my bands actually got to be a part of for a while, and really helped me get out of a rut I was in at the time as far as my involvement with "punk" music goes.

the Dictators, Live (Roir Tape) -- I had this tape in my car for years. My favorite cassette ever almost. Made me like "rock and roll" again after years of hating on it.

Rodger Collins - She's Looking Good

2009-02-23T20:36:00.000-08:00

The 1966 single "She's Looking Good b/w I'm Serving Time" by Rodger Collins released on Galaxy is a great uptempo "Northern Soul" number with kicking bass and jangly guitars, punctuated by a stax inspired brass section and a near Wilson Picket vocal delivery is a staple of a slew of Northern Soul comps and label archive comps.

But not long after scoring a UK hit and minor US hit with "She's Looking Good" and sharing the stage with Elvis Presley, Ike and Tina, and Redd Foxx, He decided to retire from actively making records. Occasionally returning to recording, with a wide range of luminaries such as Jerry Garcia and Tom Fogerty, Collins, deserves a second listen for his powerful voice.

Rodger Collins cut some good discs in the late 60's for Galaxy before leaving the business. Rodger became a Muslim after touring with Joe Tex who had also converted to Islam. Rodger is now known as Hajj Sabrie and still lives in the Bay Area.

Rodger Collins is best known on the UK soul scene for his side You Sexy Sugar Plum which was a big sound in the mid-70's and was released in the UK.

The release of Sexy Sugar Plum did mean that Rodger was contacted and interviewed in the UK newspaper Black Echoes. The article below is written by Neil Rushton.

Interview Part 1

Interview Part 2

GALAXY Discography: (Singles)

* The World Can’t Do Me No Harm (1960)
The Working Girl
* Give the Kids a Chance (1963)
The Biggest Fool
* She’s Looking Good (1966)
I’m Serving Time
* Hands Off My Girl (1967)
What Am I Living For
* She’s A Good Woman (1967)
Ain’t Going To Forget It
* Foxy Girls in Oakland (1970)
All Toe Down
* I’m Leaving This Place (1970)
Your Love, It’s Burning
* Back In The Country (1972)
Caught In Your Love
* Direct Me (1970)
Get Away From Me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MM1JfREkRoo
www.rodgercollins.com