BLOG TO COMM

Happy July 4th! Hope you're celebrating indie-pendence in your own special and hopefully moral way, and not by tearing down statues of everyone but Nicholai Lenin like I know a few reg'lar readers probably are right at this very moment. As for me well, I got called in to do some of that dreaded work so I guess the real fun and jamz hotdog eating and goofing off will have to wait until tomorrow! Oh well, at least then I'll have a whole day to hole up in my room reading old fanzines and listening to music at least until GUNSMOKE comes on at six!

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Hey, I got my own entry on Wikipedia! Now I really am famous!!!:

Christopher Stigliano is an American far-right extremist, white supremacist blogger and former teenager who is known for his promotion of conspiracy theories, scientific racism, punk rock, old sit-coms, eugenics and white supremacist views. Stiggy describes himself as an anarcho-capitalist. The SPLC and the ADL say that is code-speech for neo-Nazi. 

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Anyway, time to face the music.Hope you dig this round of records, some of 'em actually contributed to the cause by the likes of Bill Shute, Paul McGarry and Bob Forward. Good stuff here if I do say so myself.


Original Cast Soundtrack-LES IDOLES LP (CBS Records, France)
Jean-Pierre Kalfon-MY FRIEND MON AMI EP (Pop Suprette Records, France)

Given just how much of a GENUINE KULTURAL ICON that Jean-Pierre Kalfon was (or maybe still is...although UGLY THINGS has listed him as dead 'n gone I can't find any real deal evidence on-line), it's a shame that so little of his musical output has been released. Of course the man is far more renowned for his acting abilities and reputation as a French Brando having appeared in a variety of genres (and even an Amerigan effort, the Walt Disney production of CONDORMAN which the Disney corporation would prefer to forget) while his musical endeavors have generally been more of an avocation, but from what little I can discern Kalfon was a fairly well known entity even in the world of French rock 'n roll belters. Maybe his fame should spread beyond the Gallic world as should way too many Frenchmen's efforts which were not only limited, not only by the language barrier, but by the cruel rumor being spread that the French just could not play rock 'n roll.

It's too bad that the only Kalfon that any English-speaking rock 'n roll fan might know about is via his track with Kalfon Rock Chaud entitled "Camion", the one that appeared on the SKYDOG COMMANDOS album way back '77 way. "Camion" was a number that once again proves the falsehoods about the French that have been spread around, coming off like the prime-era New York Dolls doing their version of "High School Confidential" in a fashion that might have even struck Jerry Lee Lewis dumbfounded. Kinda wonder why the group didn't record any more because this track proved just how important to the French musical mindset Kalfon was and well, I'm sure you would have loved coming across an album of the Rock Chaud in some mid-eighties flea market bin about as much as I would have, eh?

I raved bigtime about the film LES IDOLES about a month or so back and, despite the usual lack of pocket money to buy such things, actually got hold of the soundtrack to the thing that's how desirable it was for this depression-waged kiddo. The moom pitcher was a wild enough representation of 1968 hard pop yet commercial enough musique, but could the thing translate itself well into the vinyl medium?

Sure does, at least most of the time. The dialogue sans visuals is meaningless to a furriner like myself but the music still rocks as much even without the flashy avgarde images adding a dimension you never could get outta "rock videos".  Kalfon's vocal talents, along with femme lead Bulle Olgier's and equally legendary French actor Pierre Clementi's (Kalfon and Clementi did put together a band a few years later, the results of which I would love t' hear) really add a punk rock roar to the platter which doesn't make it as desirable as Iggy, but way better'n the reams of soundtrack platters that are cluttering up yer grandparent's haunt that are destined to turn up at the next garage sale and just try givin' 'em away! LES IDOLES is an album deserving of a re-release, perhaps with the usual outtakes and aural esoterica that such a product most deservedly needs especially in these rock-starved times. And as for backing band Les Rollsticks well, too bad they didn't continue out on their own because they could have delivered upon us an album that would have really struck that eternal chord in all of us!

A few years earlier Kalfon recorded an EP for CBS that unfortunately went nowhere in the craniums of the collective French teenage mindset. Only now, a good fifty-five years later, is MY FRIEND MON AMI being given a reissue by the fine folk at Pop Suprette, a label which I hope continues on a French rock reissue series if this spinner is any indication of the rest of the mid-sixties scene o'er there. And I dunno about you but I rate Kalfon even higher'n Ronnie Bird and some of the other early punk types as Kalfon sings ever so slightly off key in his gritty voice while fuzz guitar and the whole orchestral shebang tries to turn this into a big pop production that the grownups could enjoy along with the kiddoids. It brings back mid-sixties turdler memories for me and just might for you with its continental flair matched with vocals that would have been more at home singing along with the Seeds. A darn good surprise and pretty hard to find even in its reissued state so you better start looking and rather pronto at that!

A guy like Kalfon really oughta be the subject of an in-depth rock 'n roll examination worthy of UGLY THINGS stature. I unnerstan' there's an autobio of his out there somewhere albeit in his mother tongue, but as far as something in English goes I'm afraid we are out of luck...well, at least we are right now here in the middle of that beautiful sixties/seventies punk history dying right in front of our very eyes. Maybe one of you French readers close to the Skydog taproot of things can whip something up for our entertainment and educational benefit, hunh?

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Randy Holden-POPULATION II CD (RidingEasy Records)

Well whaddaya know! The classic Randy Holden POPULATION II platter is once again available for all of us nimnuls who passed on the earlier reissues (not to mention the original release!) oh so long ago. Fans of Blue Cheer will naturally go for the hard riffage and general heavy metal pounce that is present here, and even fans of the general caveman thunk of the true spirit of 1970 will remember why the hard sounds of the era (as exemplified by Holden and Co.) were the perfect antidote to all of that Cat Stevens meowing that was making that guy richer'n any of our rock 'n roll heroes will ever be! Sounds loud no matter what volume you play it at...if you really need to check out the quality of your hearing aids this is the spinner to do it with!

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Einstuerzende Neubauten-FUENF AUF DER NACH OBEN OFFENEN RICHTERSKALA CD (www.neubauten.org)

A purchase inspired by the Howard Wuelfing writeups available on Rocksbackpages, and a fairly good one that took me a few listens to get into but I managed to slip into that Meltzerian "Universe" like a pro. The massive noise cacophony that was expected really did not materialize, leaving the listener (mainly me!) drawing up all sorts of comparisons between the likes of Suicide and Nurse With Wound with a few thousand points in-between. Not only that but their version of "Morning Dew" even beats the one that turned up on some old Texas HIGHS IN THE MID-SIXTIES album! Fits in swell with the hard-hammering sounds that seem to soothe me into a restful condition more than even the Hawkwind, Amon Duul II and Can that seem to be heading towards the top of my own personal playlist.

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The Dream Syndicate-THE UNIVERSE INSIDE CD-r burn (originally on ANTI Records)

Never having been a humongous fan of the Dream Syndicate I must say that I was surprised by the fine jazz-cum-psychedelic drone play that for once didn't get my BS detectin' radar up the way it did when this group was taking up precious fanzine space in the mid-eighties. However there still seems to be that typically amerindie rock sterility to this that plagued many otherwise interesting groups that were mingling around in the anti-mainstream way back when. It all added up to being yet another reason I felt so inhibited by that music that was supposed to save us all from the clutches of Van Halen but missed by a wide margin. I don't expect any future spins of THE UNIVERSE INSIDE to reverse my initial impressions.

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ANDREW KLIMEK WCSB PART THREE/DOUG GILLARD WCSB PARTS ONE AND TWO/TIM SKI WCSB PART ONE CD-r burns

Klimek's part's just the tail end of the Mark P interview while Gillard seems to like interspersing things being broadcast on the mainstream station while his recs are playing (or was someone goofin' off with the radio dial?). Eh, the guy is a great programmer what with the likes of Patti Smith, early Who and Killing Joke getting some much desired airplay for once, even if it is on a low wattage college radio station. Of course there's still a whole lotta typical college radio "amerindie" stuff here that drives me just as bonkers as it did back then, but I've come to expect things like that to the point where I can actually "brush it off" like I do the myriad assortment of insults that lesser minds continually toss my way. As far as Tim Ski goes...your playlist is a little too typical FM college kid at least for this sport! Buy some Stooges albums and come back when they've attached themselves to your inner psyche but whatever, don't give up!

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Various Artists-SPANISH TURTLE BLINDMAN CORNBREAD CD-r burn (Bill Shute)

Eh, a nice way to wind up a week what with all of the Soul Jazz Bill thought would stimulate my stirrups. They have. Some latin-tinged tracks and downright bloozy efforts appear, and even the Herbie Hancock pre-jazz funk track "Cantelupe Island" (which some of you will remember from the Daily Flash live Cee-Dee) appears. 'n whatever you do, don't confuse the Sugarman 3 with Spaceman 3 (the former are the good 'un's!). Hey, it's that swell of a keeper that I'd listen to it over and over even if Bill had stuck a 78 of some yodeling cowboy smack inna middle of it!

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Feeling down in the mouth, sick, depressed and looking for that guiding light to rescue from the tediums of the day? Well then, you really do need some BLACK TO COMM back issues  in your life! Click on the highlighted link where total inspiration awaits, amongst other things.