Saturday, June 01, 2013

It may seem strange to you (and it certainly does to me), but I have becomr a little bit too obsessive in my free-time thoughts regarding the recent suicide of French intellectual (now, don't jump to any undue conclusions!) Dominique Vetter a week or so back. And the fact that this self-snuff` took place on the altar on none other than Notre Dame cathedral of all places holy or not only drives the symbolic point of his death protest home further than a Situationist could toss a petrol bomb! Now, it isn't like I was exactly a fan and follower of Vetter's (although the man's credentials, including the ransacking of the French Communist Party headquarters after the invasion of Hungary, certainly boosts him up a few notches in my book!), but the reasons for his self-obliteration as well as the weightiness of where he staged it is quite eye-opening, especially in a world where the pillars of what used to be Western Civilization are tumbling down around us while our "benefactors" cheer on the destruction in the name of whatever chic cause may dare enter their university-educated mindsets on any given week.

I'm talking symbolic to the point where my head's been doing topsy turveys just thinkin' 'bout a French rightist killing himself in one of the holiest places in France at least outside Lourdes where I recommend all of you criticizers of this blog go and SOAK YOUR HEADS as soon as possible! Really, I haven't felt so strange about a "current event" story like this since I found out that Susan Atkins was blowing her own progeny in front of The Family to show everyone just how much she loved li'l Zadfrack, and when you're thirteen and stuck in seventies Mercer County stuff like that is really creepy (but nowadays seem par for the nut course which only goes to show you how far we've degenerated if we've come to see incest as yet another value choice amongst the enlightened!).

I know its weird enough seeing what could be called right wing French intellectuals out and about especially since the ones who have been oh-so-influential with the beardier-than-thou crowd these past few decades have been overtly Marxist in their theories if not practices. And I know that anyone on campus who's taken a  few philosophy courses can tell you all about Derrida and Foucault not to mention the Golden Agers like Sartre and others who never did get that well-deserved universal condemnation despite their cheerleading efforts for a few of the more restrictive regimes this past century or so. So yeah, Vetter was quite different, and although if I dig harder into his entire oeuvre I might find something I disagree with him on I ain't gonna mention it if only out of respect (remember that word?). Leave that to all of those haughty big city writers and sycophantic wannabes re-living the communist revolutions of the past to the point where you just can't wait to see 'em all executed for being the useless idiots they most certainly will become once all of their hopes and dreams reach their logical conclusions.

Y'know, I never thought I would have said it, but France is one country that has people with lots of balls. I'm not only talking about their proud past (not counting the political-religious party known as the Huguenots or the proto-communist French Revolution) but their bravery in both World Wars and extreme intelligence regarding not getting involved in Bush's/Obama's overseas follies. The common hoi polloi out on les rues protesting the latest haute causes being crammed down their throats, not to mention the youth of Generation Identitaire give me hope knowing that there are more'n a few people over there showing extreme bravery getting off their hineys and attempting to take control of their destinies no matter how futile their actions may be. And while I'm at it, I don't mind saying that I certainly would take Marine Le Pen over any politician up and operating in Ameriga or any other nation for that matter! Even Brigette Bardot has become one celeb I don't mind hearing spout off at the mouth because from hers come some of the more intelligent musings on the fate of not only France but the entire used to be Western World!

Yeah the fact that Vetter's attention-grabbing suicide was held in a place of worship (which ain't something that's meant to be desecrated even though THE VILLAGE VOICE may tend to disagree) does weigh heavily against him as it should. But then again Vetter certainly was aware of what Notre Dame means as a symbol of the heart and soul of his country, a place which is being defiled even more by a rampant influx of hostile immigrants that Enoch Powell could have only imagined in his most feverish nightmares Not to mention a government that's so patronizing in the "we know what's best for you peons" fashion to the point that one certainly would long for the reintroduction of the guillotine. Like the rest of the West France is in the middle of a soul-tearing moral crisis that might seem oh so nice and la-de-da to all of those libertine kiddies out there but will only lead to a ruin akin to the past liberal fancies and their present-day ultimate outcomes, as if history hasn't repeated itself ad nauseum already.

But from all accounts I've come across at this late date, I'm definitely sure that Vetter's sociopolitical views were definitely more in a pagan-right mode, not quite pagan-fascist in an Italian fashion but one that was still leery of the Christian ideal even if Vetter undoubtedly found it admirable on some levels. This might also be the reason as to why he didn't see the spiritual vacuity of his actions, but who knows. I do get the impression that Vetter was a man who ultimately saw Christianity, while the backbone of European Civilization and thus to be admired, as an ineffectual scold against a dam of disaster that's bursting all over. In many ways he and his fellow "pagans" are right. After all I can't see any of the shallow, vacuous and self-absorbed Christians of today acting as a potent force against any breed of evil unlike those who stood up to greater forces over the past few millennium. And if they did these modern effetes would probably come off like Perry Como trying to quell a panzer division getting rolled right over in the process. What else could you expect from a faith that went from militant to feely good within the span of a generation?

Maybe the real reason I ain't exactly feeling so chipper over these current events is because, with the situation in Europe and the British Isles the way they are (immigrant riots in Sweden and a decapitated soldier in England), can these things be coming to an Amerigan city near me or perhaps even you in the near future?  Frankly I don't think the tri-county area is going to be bursting into outright violence at the hands of any foreign (or native born for that matter) hoards any day soon, but then again I believe I was wrong judging human nature quite a few times in my life so who knows. All I gotta say is that maybe William Shakespeare was right when, after people of his faith were being burned alive in London during the reign of Elizabeth I, he did the logical thing and split for the woods where he partook of early psychedelic drugs and wrote about colors swirling in the air. After all, living in squalor in the boondocks is a whole lot more satisfying than being attacked on metropolitan streets by crazies who think they are acting on the moral authority of Allah, or perhaps even their genitals for that matter. Find a small burgh of your own, and while you're at it stocking up on all the 'shrooms you can find wouldn't hurt either because I somehow get the suspicion it's gonna be a loooooong haul.
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Well, on that chipper note welcome to this weekend's post. Nothing spectacular here true, but some of the items up for scrutiny (like the Hawkwind double set) are definitely in the running for top spins of the year so maybe this 'un is one for the history books. In other words, I wouldn't poo-poo this 'un just yet even though I'm sure a few of you just might be teed off by my opening edi-too-real (although you could never refute it w/o resorting to using the most tired and worn-out arguments straight out of the 1971 edition of the UP AGAINST THE WALL handbook), so after your moral indignation calms down a bit read on, and learn for once that there's more to life than orgasms if you can believe that!


Hawkwind-LEAVE NO STAR UNTURNED: CAMBRIDGE JANUARY, 1972 2-LP set (Dirter Promotions, England)

Ever since BRING ME THE HEAD OF YURI GAGARAN inna early-eighties there've been a spate of double-disc Hawkwind live wares comin' out of England, mostly on small labels like Flicknife or Thunderbolt or a variety of minuscule companies that have sprouted up in order to cash in on seventies leftovers such as these. Most of the ones I've heard are pretty good while others were...well, nothing but cheap audience tapes consisting of halfway-there performances that were good for the archives but who knows what else. Music that had little to offer to the entire Hawkwind credo which a good portion of us reg'lar BLOG TO COMM readers have been in on ever since United Artists began promoting the group as the true sonic survivors of the addled psychedelic sixties. Well yeah, they can't all be SPACE RITUAL but then again some of the recordings that have been up for sale clearly ain't worth the hefty import prices most of us are usually happy to plunk down for what we hope would be a total sonic-induced space-rock excursion!

Thankfully LEAVE NO STAR UNTURNED is different, not only because it's a snazzily-packaged affair with a gatefold sleeve cover, solid blue vinyl and detailed liner notes courtesy of Hawkwind maniac Ian Abrahams, but because the performance is top-notch high energy rock 'n roll that doesn't let up one bit. Heavy metal in the old, pre-money go 'round sense with a hard-driving drone to it that'll give you the impression of interstellar travel w/o the use of extracurricular activities. The sound is also good enough (not that it ever mattered!) that this coulda passed as either an official release or top-notch bootleg had it gotten around back then, and I really can't find any fault with the thing on any level and you know how nit-picky I can get about such things!

Of special interest is the appearance of a rare "Pinkwind" set featuring both Hawkwind and "brother band" the Pink Fairies doing one of their no-holds-barred closing jams, this time on the Hawkwind "chestnut" "Born to Go." Considering how none of the Pinkwind sets have been released until now this truly is a landmark set that should satisfy fans of both acts considering their historical importance. Maybe Dirter or many of the other smaller labels out there will now start prowling in their attics to see just what exactly they can unleash on us hungry seventies rock fanatics who just "might" be getting tired of spinning the same Deep Purple albums over and over again trying to convince themselves that they were just as good as the MC5, and the sooner the better I always say!
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RONNIE BOYKINS CD-R burn (originally on ESP-Disk')

Bill Shute ought to be ashamed of himself sending me this. I mean, wouldn't he have known that I've actually OWNED a copy of this at least since the first big ESP reissue frenzy of 1980??? Well, at least the guy prodded me into listening to this 'un again since frankly I haven't played the thing in ages...but I was PLANNING on it, cross my heart and hope to spit!

A pretty good sesh here too from former Sun Ra associate Boykins, heard here not only on string bass but sousaphone leading a buncha names both familiar and not through some tuneage that not surprisingly sounds a whole lot like late-fifties Ra without the piano. Lotsa small percussion and a general mood that comes off a bit South Amerigan rhumba at first before switching into middle Eastern gear. Not only that but this was engineered by Marzette Watts, a guy who never did get out there in the free jazz world like he shoulda but boy did he leave us with a couple wowzers including the one on Savoy that always seems to be out of print! Overall, this kinda reminds me of Ra's THIS IS THE FUTURE which was a neat eighties bargain bin stuffer, so if you're in the mood for avant garde jazz at the point just before it went nova this 'un'll undoubtedly fill the bill.
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Siloah-SUKRAM GURK CD (Garden of Delights, Germany)

A disque so bizzaroid that I have not one, but two variations in my vast and expanding collection. Touted by many (along with the Ainigma album) as being the logical krautrock successor to the mid-sixties Amerigan garage band explosion, SUKRAM GURK comes off total acid casualty flip with the heavy organ/bass guitar/drums sound that'll remind you of those creeps who used to play down the street back when you were a kid. Only those creeps sorta fizzled out into nothingness while Siloah ended up making this album. Bonus track is total gush from yet another variation of the group (the first being some hippie free-for-all jam) complete with a guitarist and some rather proggy moves that just don't mesh well with my already well-worn digestive system.
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Various Artists-SNOWFLAKES ON PLUM BEACH CR-R burn (courtesy Bill Shute)

Another one of 'dem Bill throwtogethers, this time one that starts out pretty mid-sixties weepy in an Ernie Douglas fashion (with the Revelles and Plum Beach Incident) before going countrybilly and then back to weepy. Nothing here really wrangles the ol' stirrups (though the inclusion of Lucky Wray's "Teenage Baby," while old newz, got me jumpin'), but I will admit that I was knocked for a loop by the appearance of Harold Zahner, Johnny Smith & the Missouri Two's "Shake Baby Shake" which is one of those rockabilly records that come off so sub-basement primitive that even Carl Perkins sounds like Mantovani in comparison! Nothing but heavy gut-bucket rattle and throb here which is so appetizin' that you know a whole buncha self-appointed rockscribe types, were they to hear this clatter, would undoubtedly proudly/oneupmanly tag this as being "proto-punk." And naturally, stoopid enough me would fall for the come-on hook like and online credit card payment! Hope an album by Zahner and crew's forthcoming, but at this stage in the game I sincerely doubt it (and maybe hope not...I mean, I get the feeling these guys were probably making a pathetic attempt to sound "up to date" once 1965, let alone 1980 rolled around).
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Chris Wilson-RANDOM CENTURIES CD-R burn (originally on Marilyn)

Had this 'un inna collection ever since it was released, but I guess ol' Bill's sending of a copy sorta inadvertently shamed me into listening to it again after all these years. Actually not bad...the former Flamin' Groovie does the folk singing bit here sounding rather powerful (read: no early-seventies emote and mewl) whether he be doing "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" or even the Civil War chestnut "Rally 'Round the Flag." Tough and blues-y kinda like the way Peter Laughner was doin' it in his bedroom all those years ago, and if this weren't just custom-made for the Groovies/Loose Gravel kinda maniac in all of us I don't know what is!
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Various Artists-BALLAD OF A LITTLE RED BUCKET CD-R burn (courtesy of Bill Shute)

Last on the list is yet another Bill Shute send, one with some goodies and a few baddies, but nothing that made me up-the-chuck the way Bill did when he sent me that horrid Eyetalian Western with Lionel Stander as "Stinky Manure". The disque begins with a nameless act covering Lennon and Thunderclap Newman (probably some industry giveaway thing, and they do a good hippoid enough job at it) and zooms through some interesting pop-psych and downright good Amerigan garage (the post-Beacon Street Union Eagle's "Come In It's All For Free") before includng some cheezoid toy piano instrumentals as well as rarities and not-so's from the likes of the Leaves, Raiders and Seeds. Bill also tossed some country twang in here and there, and while he was at it he threw in three tracks from Marcy Tigner, this lady who used to sing like a li'l girl and used a doll called Little Marcy to sing through if you get my drift! Kinda feel sorry for her because from what I've read the lady seemed like such a nice person and all, and the people who listen to her these days are nothing but those RE-SEARCH "Incredibly Strange Music" decadent occult types who go for her records on a strictly yock-like level. Sheesh, imagine the late Mrs. Tigner going through eternity with that thought on her mind!
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That's it for now. And although you won't admit it, you will be seeing me midweek!

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