BLOG TO COMM

Hokay, another boring post just choc-fulla the kinda musical moosh you've been trying to avoid for years on end. Well, why do you think they have ROLLING STONE if it weren't for people like you! But if you want at least a scintilla of sonic ramifications described in wordage you can appreciate well, you certainly have come to the right blog considering how the competition is either dead, decayed or still moving around waiting for someone to euthanize 'em thus giving us all a firm clear future of what this rock 'n roll writing is s'posed to be all about!

One of the highlights of the week WAS getting hold of the first two issues of Eddie/Eddy Flowers' BAMALAMA COMMUNIQUE which I previously didn't have, and as you already know this was a nice, pre-EDDIE PICKS THE HITS newsletter-y thing from the noted Gizmo that reeked of seventies-era fandom in a time and place when things were beginning to get a li'l too, er, hippypunquey for many peoples' tastes. And as you've already guessed they're pretty good too, so good that I reproduced the second one below (the first 'un's kinda hard to scan w/o me mangling it to death) just so you more ignorant people can get a good idea of what the thing was all about yourself. (Just sorta moosh 'em together to get the full flavor of it.) Nice piece of rockscribin' if I do say so myself, and I know some of you lonelier readers will appreciate the appearance of the infamous Adrienne Boobeau in this post. And I wonder why I'm suddenly thirsty for a glass of milk...

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Nice set of reviews I got there. Wouldn't wanna see anything bad happen to 'em! Anyhoo, thanks to the irregular bunch of guys who sent in the freebees for review like Bill, Paul 'n nobody else who I hope feel proud seein' their names in print. Which reminds me of a statement I actually made as a kid and that was --- did Richard Nixon keep a scrapbook of all the clippings he was mentioned in???

Bourbonese Qualk-PREPARING FOR POWER CD (Klanggallerie Records, Austria)

Borbonese Qualk are an English experimental music cum rock aggregation cum radical mouthpiece that has been active since the early-eighties at the least with a whole tubfulla releases out there for your listening enjoyment. There must be tons of these groups o'er there but I thought this 'un'd do me good enough if only to introduce me to some of the more atonal efforts that were coming outta blighty at the time. They're kinda like an AMM/This Heat mixture with some fairly tepid rock modes tossed in here and there. Interesting and perhaps entertaining to an extent but extremely tame next to the efforts of, say, early Throbbing Gristle. Let's just say I don't think I'll be splurging on any more Bourbonese Qualk efforts any time soon.

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Terry Riley-IN C LP (Columbia Masterworks Records)

Good thing that Columbia decided to reish this 'un on vinyl since IN C never was an easy one for me to espy in the record racks of the late-seventies. At least the ones around here, but anyway this boffo thick vinyl issue really does snuggle in well amidst the various "new music" platters I've been coughing up for a good fortysome-plus years awlready. Nice percussive repeato-riff music that sorta reminds me more of Steve Reich than they do Philip Glass with (of course) a nice tad touch of krautrock thrown in for good measure. You progressive rock fans of a seventies variety will probably go for it, and us normal types with inquisitive ideas regarding music and its possibilities might go for it too.

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The Soledad Brothers-THE HARDEST WALK CD-r burn (originally on Polydor Records)

Not bad 2005 release from this newer than new wave-ish English group that was trying for the same White Stripes market as alla those other bands. Still there seems to be a lot held back preventing these bro's from going over the top into total nerve shred. Still, who else on a bigtime label was doing gutbucket rural haller that sounded so rural that you could smell the horses from miles away? Even Blind Melon comes off urban next to this bunch! Lower your standards a bit and you'll probably like it a whole lot!

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The Sidewinders-CUACHA! CD-r burn (originally on San Jacinto Records)

Yeah, I gotta say that I like the old Sidewinders a whole lot more than I like the new ones, but dagnabbit this album really caught this ol' fanabla by surprise! The melodies aren't as downer as these one-dimensional newer 'n gnu amerindie platters can get 'n not only that but the performance has a deep emote to it that for once doesn't make you wanna drift off into Karen Quinlan-land like way too many of these post-seventies bands working in Patti/TV/Ramones territory tend to do. In fact, CUACHA! kinda reminds me of what the Droogs were up to around the same time! Overall they're even more dangerous than slamming up a tailgate at a nudist colony!

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THE PEANUT BUTTER CONSPIRACY IS SPREADING CD-r burn (originally on Columbia Records)

I remember loads of oldsters har-de-har-har-in' about those silly rock group names way back when, these PB types included. Good thing they never got to hear this debut album because they woulda been laffin' their fat asses off even more'n usual. As I'm sure some of the more astute rock 'n roll listeners of the day woulda as well. 

As far as this group being a Jefferson Airplane with strings goes the Conspiracy did have some late-sixties pop moves that could have made this a late-seventies flea market keepie. But overall these guys (and gal) were a pale imitation of a musical act that didn't have all of its oars inna water inna first place unlike some of the more "cheaper" aggregations of the day could do with ease. Why listen to this studio pop when the Seeds could deliver on even more thrills with less chords at their dispense?

Nothing that'd capture my rock 'n roll imagination any time soon and at least Fairport Convention could improve on the source a couple times over making for some efforts that sure stand the test of turntables more'n the Conspiracy ever did.

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Various Artists-IMAGINARY FERDINAND PONSIL CD-r burn (Bill Shute)

Sheesh, what does Bill Shute think I am, a spiritual five-year-old? Of course I'm one, but boy does listening to these old kiddie records remind me of my early days of trying to control my bladder until the commercials came on, failing in the process natch! Your favorite radio and tee-vee personalities of the past relate some of the better turdler sagas to amaze any real suburban slob youth, at least enough so mom and sneak off and take a well-deserved nap.

Tex Ritter's country-popsters about good manners kinda makes me wonder just how much he lived up to the pronouncements made on the disc, while listening to Don Wilson (with the help of June Foray) relate the story of Ferdinand the Bull kinda reminds me of some of the platters that still moil away in the fambly collection after a good fiftysome years of inactivity. Jerry Colonna's rendition of the Casey Jones story was more irritating than entertaining, while Mr. I. Magination doesn't seem like the kinda guy I'd want any kids of mine (if I had any) hanging around. 

In closing, I will say that if the folk played that "Peter Ponsil Lost His Tonsil" for me before I underwent my own throat-snip I think I woulda been spending more time in the psych ward than I woulda the kiddie room!

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Wanna have fun? Buy a whole slew of these back issues of BLACK TO COMM, read through 'em and if you find yer name mentioned you can sue me! Just kiddin' --- you can buy 'em and read 'em but you CAN'T sue me .Freedom of da press y'know.