BLOG TO COMM

August was never my fave time o' year, if only because when August doth arrive could September (and stool days) be far behind? Yes, even after all these years that PTDS is finely ingrained into my system and memories of days my folks always told me were the "best years of my life" (hah!) continue to bother me along with alla the other things that bug the bejabbers outta me as time creeps on. I can still recall the calendar I kept in my fart encrusted boudoir crossing off the days until that fateful day, which on second thought I must admit that I kinda looked forward to in some strange fashion since most of my summertime hours were spent doing excruciating yard work and other things that were meant for the betterment of the abode, and school meant a respite from alla that back-breaking slavery I was roped into in order to make me into a "man" 'r somethin' as ludicrous as that. It was sorta like a outta the frying pan situation or better yet the choice they give you in Louisiana, the noose or the firing squad. Best years of my life indeed...

Enough. If you hated the above rehash of many a miserable not-so-teary eyed reminiscence of days that I sure wouldn't wanna live again then by golly you'll hate the following over 'n over rehash of rockist rants that went out with the Edsel as they used to say on mid-sixties sitcoms. Sheesh, if you thought the hippies were bad with all their back-patting about how they "ended" the Vietnam War and gave us the sexual revolution making the world safe for those strange guys you see in rest stops inna middle of the night then you'll really hate my outta-tune attempts to revive THE GOLDEN AGE OF GONZOID ROCK SCREEDING to be found immediately below. Face it, what I have been doin' since 1981 awlready really died out 'round the time Lester Bangs croaked to the delight of many a mainstream magazine editor, the NME fired Nick Kent for good and Giovanni Dadomo hadda start writing for KERRANG in order to fund his drug habit. Of course while the era lasted it was grand giving us plenty of hard-edged reading that holds up even fifty years after the fact, but unfortunately the energy and stamina that kept up many a gonzoid rockscreeder and bedroom-produced fanzine just couldn't sustain itself in an era of MTV and cut 'n paste hype passing itself off as the New Generation of whatever it was that previous rock writing generation was doing. 

I just hadda wake up to the fact that it's 2021 and like, I'm the only breathing membrane on the face of this earth who really did give a shit alla these years even if it only made me more or less look like a modern day version of Charley Weaver. If you like this spew fine, if not you can go rub yourself to some really fine hackdom that can be found with ease on this monster that we call the internet. I mean, what else is new considering the idiotic tastes of most so-called music fans extant?

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WHAT THE POST OFFICE CAN DO AMAZON CAN DO EVEN BETTER DEPT.: You all know what happ'd with that George Russell set that the mailman gave to a total stranger (see below for a kinda/sorta update), but as far as general ineptitude goes I must admit that Mr. Zip was topped by Amazon! Well, a package from them was sent to the BLOG TO COMM HQ this past Monday, but to a different suite number where it was unceremoniously left of the front walk where just any ol' fanabla could go and pick the thing up, and that's just what some young enterprising sport did! Yes, no attempt was made to knock on my door or even keep the package until it could be delivered when someone was actually there to receive it --- the blasted package was just left to the elements in front of a totally different address where it could be scarfed up by just about anyone including people with NEFARIOUS INTENT. Makes me wonder where they get these drivers for Amazon, Torrance State Hospital?

It's not that I'm that concerned as this particular parcel was actually Brad Kohler's Christmas present! Oh well, I guess the guy will just have to do without, unless some cad's conscious does get the better of him and the thing is finally delivered to its rightful owner, mainly me then ultimately Brad! I will admit that it would do me good to have some repentant soul surrender his ill gotten to me though --- y'see, I haven't beat anyone up in quite a long time and given the amt. of stress that I've been enduring as of late I sure could stand to wail the daylights outta someone.

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Not that I want to sink to the level of my enemas and make fun of Kathy Griffin for her lung cancer diagnosis even though she would be the type to make fun of me had I been in her situation, but I'm sure most of you readers are expecting me to do just that. Y'know, like make jokes like the one where after all these years she finally made someone laugh etc. and so forth. So I won't.

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'n while we're on the subject of death, if looks like ol' "Duty To Die" did just that. About thirty years too late but wha' th' hey...

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Once again thanks to Paul and Bill for the encouragement.

George Russell-COMPLETE 1956-1960 SMALLTET & ORCHESTRA RECORDINGS 2-CD set (originally on Fresh Sound Records)

YEAH IT FINALLY CAME!!! 

Kinda-sorta that is, because the man who sold me the original 'un sent me a replacement outta the goodness of his heart and although I still wonder just why the Post Office would just give away the first one willy nilly at least I have this gigantic highmark in what's known as "avant garde jazz" in my possession and like, I am forever grateful for this mere miracle in life.

'n its a massive effort as well, one that I'm sure will take quite a few listening seshes to sit through and digest, but eat and digest you will these great angular, some may say atonal efforts from one of the bright mind of fifties arrangers who always seemed to lurk about in the jazz idiom without ever receiving the real hotcha accolades that nowadays seem to be awarded to lesser minds but wha' th' hey...

Lotsa bigtime players here too, some of whom aren't exactly known for their role in the advancement of free play but they sure do fit into the new cool bop unto new thing form a whole lot more'n some of you naysays might want to 'fess up to. Lots of 'em, like Benny Golson and Art Farmer, seem more like the usual DOWN BEAT fodder from back during the days when that rag would cover the free plays begrudgingly while pumping the ol' tried 'n true, but their presence here really does upgrade any feh impressions I mighta had of the pre-Ornette days of melodic if stilted sounds that woulda appeased people both cool world and bowtie.  

Disc One's personal fave is "Concerto For Billy the Kid" written with Bill Evans in mind and a fave highlight of the classic MIRAGE sampler of Third Stream efforts both top notch and kinda fruity. The flauten "Fellow Delegates" with the heavy duty pre-African Consciousness rap of the sixties balafon/conga solo also comes outta nowhere to surprise, while the mournful "Ballad of Hix Bleweit" just might bring a sad bluesy tear to even the crustiest of eyeballs.

And yeah, although I never did bring this up before, but dontcha think that "Chromatic Universe" from JAZZ IN THE SPACE AGE (complete with these interesting percussive effects featuring Russell pulling a string of beads...across the head of a drum that is) just might be channeling the early Cecil Taylor efforts which were making themselves more than known around the same time, with maybe just a tad of Sun Ra thrown in for good measure?

Besides featuring the presence of future TONIGHT SHOW bandleader Doc Severinson and John Coltrane, NEW YORK, NY displays some bop-cool narrative from Jon Hendricks. This mere fact perhaps makes this a concept album that beats ol' Sgt. Pepper by a good decade which is fine with me considering the rote rap about the Beatles' effort being the very first in rock concepts 'n all which was nothin' but a load of false hype to begin with. The hipster talk doesn't quite jibe here a good fortysome years after all that cool bop spewed from the lips of many a phony wore way thin, but the music, while not as nerve-wracking engaging, still manages to eke a few morsels of human juice outta one. Coulda been as good as those Stan Kenton traipses into the avgarde that I have written about before but just doesn't quite hit the target like the vast majority of numbers on disque #1 do. Might wanna just listen through it and wait for...

The REST of JAZZ IN THE SPACE AGE which for some strange reason was truncated for disque-fit purposes I guess but still features that new thing that seemed to epitomize an era which seemed to promise a rather bright future BUT LOOK WHAT WE GOT A GOOD SIXTYSOME YEARS LATER!!! Some of the neo-Ra interstellar traipses into the jazz idiom hear here do sound a tad dated but in a good way, as if anyone with real tastes in sound wouldn't wanna slip way back to 1959 when this was recorded and sorta work their way up to, say, 1981 before packing it in for good.

Might good. Even thinkin' of snatching up the Decca/Riverside set that Fresh Sound has released but fear that 'un gettin' lost inna mail as well.

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Cub Scout Bowling Pins-CLANG CLANG HO CD-r burn (originally on Rockathon Records)

Robert Pollard plays swingin' sixties pop with a California sunshine meets Beatles sunshine bent singing weirder than you ever were lyrics in a voice that just has to be a put on. Maybe not...sounds kinda respectable in that mellow Gordon Lightfoot style which might appeal to some of the Canadians in the audience. Strangely enough, this one reminds me of (but sounds nothing like) some of the better Shimmydisc (and there were one or two) efforts that came out inna late-eighties, that CAR RADIO JEROME 'un in particular. Quick cuts that seem perfect for this sunny August day, though like much of this new rock for an audience that must be out there somewhere I have the strange feelin' that it won't be gettin' much play 'round here. I mean, sunshine and me just don't mix that well...

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The Good Rats-TASTY CD-r burn (originally on Warner Brothers Records)

The Rats' foray into bigtime label territory didn't exactly do their legacy well, but this '74 platter on Warners sure puts to shame a whole load of pus that the WB corporation and their various tentacles were unleashing on an ever-tiring audience at the time. 

Pretty straightforward hard rock that is commercial enough what with the harmony vocals and other teenbo ear-catching stunts, but the bloozy and jazz influx for once doesn't bore but actually tingles the nerve nodes in ways that won't embarrass you one bit. Not bad at all, especially for those of you who went for some of those jazzier rock acts that popped up in the underground at the time. 

One of the New York rock scene bands that kinda/sorta made it bigger'n anyone woulda guessed,  even if in the long run all that resulted were a buncha platters that cluttered up the bargain bin and used racks of the late-seventies.

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The Pretty Things-SINGAPORE SILK TORPEDO - LIVE AT THE BBC & OTHER BROADCASTS 2-CD-r burn set (originally on Repertoire Records)

Anyone who was conscious inna mid-seventies remembers the big Pretty Things push courtesy Swan Song Records. After all, the legendary blues bunch had been pretty much outta commish since their '72 Warner Brothers effort FREEWAY MADNESS and with alla the ads popping up in the press and eye-catching album covers well, no wonder more'n a few unsuspecting souls thought these guys were a new glam rock group (especially with a name like that!) with hefty Led Zep backing to make things work out even finer!

Yes there was a lotta positive Things hubbub goin' on at the time and these English broadcasts are just a small reflection of the entire comeback mania that was up 'n about. True these Things weren't the same batch that did those neo-Stonesy platters for Fontana nor the psychedelic bunch that popped up on EMI there and Rare Earth here, but they were still a steady enough rock 'n roll bunch who really sound as if they were ready to make it big. In fact they kinda come off like one of those New York glam acts of the day who were destined for bigger things thanks to Aucoin or Mainman backing but flopped about despite it all. At least the Things had a good decade of practice behind 'em which helped out, even if for the most part this era of the band didn't quite capture the hearts and eardrums of the music listening populace. Drat!

Bright mid-seventies-styled hard rock with decadent tinges to appeal to the sicker members of the audience, recorded live for BBC radio and Tee-Vee with one trip into a German station for alla you lucky Teutonic types out there.

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Various Artists-DESPERATE ROCK 'N' ROLL VOLUMES  3 AND 4 CD-r burns (originally on Flame Records)

Yet more outta nowhere tracks from this great series of pre-Beatles raunch with the only real connectivity being that these numbers epitomize everything that was right about those days that leftists tend to hate with a roaring passion. Maybe if "Michael Row The Boat Ashore" was on one of these they'd like it, but no such luck.

Pretty snat collections too featuring tracks that sorta straddle the rockabilly, r 'n b and plain ol' rock borders sounding kinda snug when all stuck together. Highlights from the third volume include a track from I assume is the same John Fred who had the Playboy Band and a surprisingly cookin' Sonny Boy Williamson. Heck, even Ray Vernon's "Danger One Way Love Affair" with brother Link and the Raymen backing him turns up (tho thankfully not the a-side which I'm told is a total flop), and if Link himself didn't pop up on some of the other tracks what with their atonal guitar scratch I would be surprised!

Biggest surprise of all just has to be Fredale Mannew's "It's a Gas" which sounds strikingly similar to the version Alfred E. Neuman recorded way back '65 way! Yeah, I know that Fredale's an incorrect anagram of the famed MAD mascot's moniker (last name shoulda read "Manneu" which is kinda French-like) --- hmmm, maybe the angrammatic nom de whatever means that Brian Eno had something to do with this, eh?

The fourth 'un's equally worthy of your time (that is, unless your time's taken up with figuring out just how the heck to operate yer GRINDR app., sweetie!) with a wild rouser from Steve Alaimo that mighta gotten hin kicked off WHERE THE ACTION IS! not forgettin' a rarity from the back catalogs of Junior Wells. Personally I like the early garage rock of the Racketts doin' the Li'l Richard classic "Ooh My Soul" translating the proceedings into Caucasian and doin' a good job of it too!

Worth finding and probably easily enough to download somewhere out there so's ya don't hafta pay them overblown charges Midnight used to put on platters like these.

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Various Artists-LONG WALK TO THE WING-DING CD-r burn (Bill Shute)

Rather subdued compared with other burns if I do say so myself. The Little Julian Herrera track with future Mothers of Invention Ray Collins on falsetto was of historical interest and although I never did care for what I had heard from Juicy Lucy this take of "Who Do You Love" with ex-Misunderstood member Glenn Campbell's steel guitar really got me up and stompin' way more than I usually let myself go. I always like those old radio commercial jingle recordings that Bill tosses on these efforts as well. Amid all that are some fairly stable sixties pop sides that don't offend even if they don't stimulate, weirdo avgarde that sounds like Steve Reich via a Burroughsian cut up, and a good dunnowhatchadcallit from the feedback and distortion-riddled Die Raureiter and their "Stellar-Hate", a title that's near and dear to my heart! Even more fun than beating up first graders for their lunch money!

One thing that kills me is the song called "Tattoo" by the Double Dates about some gal who's repulsed by her boyfriend's tattoo covered body. If they did this song nowadays the sexes would be reversed.

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Lissen, I put a lotta hard work 'n effort into creating these back issues of BLACK TO COMM for them to be ignored and abused the way they've been for quite a pretty long period of time. Sure the correlation between me actually sweatin' 'n slavin' to create this PURE OF HEART effort and the ultimate results of you buyin' the thing means absolute nada in the end run, but I'm sure that if this was all some other situation where I was a member of some precious petunia protected class you'd think a whole lot different'n you do now! Howbout I tell you that I'm a gender fluid sorta female bald tattoo'd herniated Huguenot you'd buy a whole batch from me, eh? Didn't think so. Rayciss!