Tuesday, March 12, 2024

A RATHER BOLD EDITION OF "SINGLES GOING STROONAD" (a.k.a. I can't seem to figure out why the entire post ended up this way even after hours of hard scrutiny, and yes I checked all of the <b></b>'s and other settings but still came up total goose eggs)


 
The Troggs-"The Raver"/"You" (Page One Records)

Along with "Come Now" and "Feels Like a Woman", this Troggs track proves just how well attuned to the late-sixties/early-seventies high end of AM hot pop (or FM freeform if there were enough well-attuned program directors) they undoubtedly were. The grinding melody and twanging Jew's harp adds all the right tone colors and spice just needed to help beef up these Troggs sides even more, and it is too bad that the suburban bell bottom hippie wannabe market wasn't as attuned as it shoulda been or else this mighta've been a hit. Sheesh, the Kinks crawled onto the charts with "Lola" just around the same time so why not the Troggs? Flip is a standard bouncy pop effort not unlike quite a few other numbers to be found in these guys' catalog, nothing that I would call startling but still a testament to the eternal tuned-in-ness of the Troggs.

***
The Stooges-"Open Up and Bleed" (no label bootleg)
 

You already know... The Whisky-A-Go-Go version of the famed Stooges aural attack in all its lo-fi glory split between two green vinyl sides. The first being the creepy crawl beginning with Scott Thurston's harmonica weaving in and out of a beautiful repeato riff owing a whole lot to the early Velvet Underground (pardon my French) filtered through Alice Cooper at the height of his prowess. The second being the raging "LA Blues"-styled climax complete with feedback galore and a glitzed-out audience that probably didn't know (or care) what was goin' on. A perfect part of the late-sixties/early-seventies cataclysm in rock which gave us peons a good slice of sonic liberation that boldly stood against all of that peace 'n love hucksterism which unfortunately seemed to take the entire world by storm.
***

The Misfits-"Cough/Cool"/"She" (Blank Records reissue [obviously counterfeit] for jerkoffs like me who were too stupid to get it the first time)

This ain't your daddy's Misfits. More like your granddaddy's Misfits from way back in the days when they were a trio playing a driving electric piano dominated music that was sound quite different from the hardcore overdrive these guys made their fazoola with. The presence of this particular keyboard (or as the credits say, "electric sync piano") presents a nice throb of a pulse that recalls Suicide while overall the bunch seem to be hovering closer to the "progressive punk rock" style as exemplified by the likes of TV Toy and perhaps a few other NYC area acts that I'm sure never got 'round to issuing anything. Nothing to be afraid of in case you're cautious of what others may think. Of course more from this particular period in time would be welcome.
***

The Fun Things-"Where the Birdmen Fly", "Lipstick"/"(I Ain't Got) Time Enough For You", "Savage" 33 rpm 7-inch EP) (no label)

Dunno who put this mofo together but it sure is a fine reminder as to why Australia was the last hope during a time when high energy scions of rock and roll cataclysms past like ourselves were losing hope in a sea of MTV and the dinge of feelygood myopia. "Where the Birdmen Flew" is homage to Australian rock practitioners past taking the initial thrust and multiplying it in ways even the originators never could fathom, while "Lipstick" is more kineticism taken to the extreme where it ricochets just like that bullet in Andy Warhol's ribcage.  "Time Enough For You" is Rocket From the Tombs' "What Love Is" emulated and flipped over a few times. Closing out this reish's "Savage" which makes the case for the inclusion of Narcan with every purchase of this platter. When God wipes out Australia for its crimes he will spare this 'un. 

***

JOHN MENDELSOHN'S THE PITS EP (Bomp Records)

It's a given. If you liked Sparks and Christopher Milk as well as Earle Mankey's "Mau Mau" single you're just bound to go whole hog for this slab of El Lay rock 'n preen. You already know that Mendelsohn was not only a member if the original Sparks but Christopher Milk, and besides that he was (is?) a rockscribe of some renown...heck he's the guy who coined the phrase "garage band" which should earn him all the brownie points in the world even if I never cared for the stuff he used to write for CREEM back inna eighties. 

The Pits weren't anything that was going to shake the music industry to its rotten core but they had that El Lay take on the English rock pulse down flat. The so-called "disco" influence is miniscule at best (more mid-seventies bump 'n grind than late-seventies Travolta cheese) so I wouldn't be so self-conscious about listening to this if I were you. I'll bet this would have been a hit at Rodney's English Disco had that teenbo hangout stayed around long enough.

***

The Nurses-"Love You Again"/"I Will Follow You" (Teen-A-Toons Productions)

Howard Wuelfing never was what I'd call one of my favorite of the 3rd string rockscribes (he was up there!), but he sure did more than his share for THE cause! Not only with his writings for various publications both fan and pro but with a number of musical endeavors, his tenure with 1/2 Japanese sticking out foremost in my mind. The Nurses well --- not up there with the Japanese but they're still nice enough in that late-seventies new pop that was springing up all over the fruity plain sorta way. It doesn't have that hard gnarl one would have expected after reading Wuelfing's various writings re. everything and everyone from Can to Einsturzende Neubauten but sometimes things like that get in the way of my critical thinking. A good enough cramitintoyourskull distillation of that hard pop music that used to sound so revolutionary given that the times they were made in were so staid.

***
Bobby Fuller Four-"I Fought the Law"/"Love's Made a Fool of You" (Eric Records)

A too obvious choice for a singles going stroonad session but still pertinent to my everyday sorta being. A somewhat rare release on the Eric label, this is the big 'un from a guy who decided to take on the infamous Morris Levy, a man who had the magical power to make Fuller beat himself up and swallow gasoline, and as you woulda guessed Morris Levy won. A double-sided classic that might not mean too much to most of us, but fortysome years ago this really would have been as prized in my collection as all those scratched singles that harkened back to a past that woulda been one to remember had I only been front and center for what was happening.
***
The Bell Notes-"I've Had It"/"Be Mine" (Time Records)

These guys, along with the Fendermen, the Tune Rockers, the Royal Teens and a few other choices out there reallyreallyREALLY should have been on that early garage band sampler I reviewed last year. Yeah, the Bell Notes produced what some might call slightly "gingerbread-y" local rock, but at least it had a good bounce to it undoubtedly done up by the kinda guys who used to mime their music on BANDSTAND while cleaner cut than you'd expect teenbos sat trying to avoid staring into the camera. Speaking of the Bell Notes, I remember reading how none other than Miriam Linna's own eye doctor was in the group which had me wonderin' whether or not a Bell Notes exclusive was gonna pop up in the next issue of KICKS. None ever did, making me think that perhaps Miriam asked about doing an interview right when doc was doing the pressure test, and he was so startled by the question that the thing done dear rammed right into her socket gouging the dang eyeball out!
***
Rockin' Robin With The Wailers-"Rosalie"/"Interview on Bandstand with the Fabulous Wailers" (Eticant Records)

A side's the Wailers with Rockin' Robin Roberts doing a 1961 studio version of the LIVE AT THE CASTLE rouser while the flip's got the audio portion of Dick Clark's post-song chat with the Wailers on AMERICAN BANDSTAND back when "Tall Cool One" was rising up the charts a good two years earlier. Quality's AM car radio good enough for me, and for a guy who spent a good portion of the early-eighties trying to get just about any shard of info on these guys this is a godsend I sure wish came out a whole lot sooner! 

A good encapsulation of high energy rock 'n roll from a time when it was being presented on radio and television just as often as Rinso ads. Too bad this (and a ten-inch Wailers collection of mid-sixties demos) hadda've been put out by a couple of chiselers who not only released this material without the express permission of Etiquette Records but swindled me out of money I paid to have an ad printed in an issue of the duo's DO THE POP! fanzine, a mag that naturally never saw the light of day. (Sure I'm petty, but I'm also poorer as well. Hey, why do you really think I wrote this 'un up in the first place?)
***
Chuck Berry-"Little Queenie"/"Almost Grown" (Chess Records)

I suppose I should hate Chuck Berry if only because a whole slew of scrawny wire-rimmed white yammer-ons love him, but I won't stoop to any of their more pious than thou levels falling into their outdated white snivel trap. However, I gotta say that the overdrool regarding the man from the likes of such critics as Richard Reigel really does tend to turn me off of the guy given how these more "mainstream" scribes tend to elevate the man to godhood status, something which is kinda strange given Berry's various bathroom antics and state line crossings. But we gotta separate the man from the music I guess, and I'll try to do my best as usual.

To a fanabla of my musical caste "Little Queenie" is supposed to be the record that Marc Bolan swiped the closing line to "Get It On" from (see following review) but it's naturally more'n just that. A fairly good blast of late-fifties rock 'n roll so void of the usual traps that I find it extremely hard to think that such a one-dimensional jerkoff of a character such as Potsy Webber from HAPPY DAYS could have ever liked Berry as he was alleged to do in that episode where Richie has to man the store and forgo the rock 'n roll concert. Ditto for "Almost Grown" even if for the life of me the Ruben and the Jets version seems to overtake my mind.

Maybe Berry was singing for the kids instead of to 'em, but from what I heard about those parties of his where he'd corral some young teen things into his motel room and the shit would literally be flying...boy would I hate to have been a maid at one of those Quality Courts!
***
T. Rex-"Get It On (Bang a Gong)"/"Raw Ramp" (EMI/Odeon Records, Japan)

And speaking of "Little Queenie" well, I wouldn't exactly call this 'un a ripoff as Nick Kent once surmised. But it's an all-time classic and the song that got me listening to the radio serious-like 'stead of half-heartedly. I went on and on about the glory days of T. Rex and how they affected me in the very last issue of my crudzine so no need to get into it here, but for a surprise the flipster "Raw Ramp" which is not on ELECTRIC WARRIOR pops up and it's a beaut what with the line about "love your breasts" and all. Bound to get the twelve-year-old in you rushing to the bathroom! Sheesh had I heard this way back when I probably woulda done some spontaneous spurting that surely woulda gotten me kicked outta grade school. I mean, trying to control myself in sex ed was bad enough...
***
David Bowie-"Space Oddity"/"Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud" (RCA or Mercury if you got yours at a flea market like I did)

Yeah, I know..."where were you back in '72, was David Bowie the man for you"??? Maybe I'd take those lyrics a li'l more seriously if none other'n Metal Mike Saunders himself wasn't pumping up the Bowie bandwagon via his heavy metallic praise of the former Mr. Jones in the pages of PHONOGRAPH RECORD MAGAZINE. But eh, I believe we all have the right to change our minds, unless we don't have the right that is and according to many of you maybe I don't!

As for me, back when I was a mere adlo and the music of Bowie was first being played on the radio I sure thought his tuneage was the coolest thing to hit the airwaves since the previous Stones single or T. Rex for that matter. Of course when we all discovered just what a creepazoid Bowie really was (and I'm not talking about his weird personal lifestyle or open marriage with Mick Jagger either) maybe those old singles didn't sound as good as we remembered 'em. 

Nowadays with a good 50 years of hindquarters hindsight behind us all I can say is yeah, I guess records like "Oddity" were about as good an encapsulation of the anti-hippoid ideal and sway just as much as the works of other Third Generation spokesmen such as Alice Cooper and of course Bolan. And with rock 'n' roll as a potent force and generator of excitement long washed under the bridge to so speak maybe we can't afford to be as picky about it as we once were in 1979 ifyaknowaddamean...
***
Downliners Sect-"Cadillac"/"Roll Over Beethoven (Penniman Records, France)

Recorded mid-'63, this even out-primitives AT NIGHT IN GT. NEWPORT ST. (which you gotta admit was a pretty Cro Magnon platter in itself), so you can just imagine the pounce and teenage earnestness this effort exudes! Actually this slice of Downliners Sect does have the sort of garage primal push that's made more'n a few of their efforts all the more merrier (or punkier if you so desire), and I guess everyone who's been in on the Sect ever since their original albums began getting the fanzine huzzahs in the early-seventies already has this already so why blab any further?
***
Talking Heads-"Love Goes To A Building On Fire"/"New Feeling" (Sire Records)

Heh, Talking Heads before they started letting their artzy pretentions get the best of 'em while appearing in horrid videos that embarrassed just about everybody who was championing this bunch only a few years earlier. The horns and other beef ups don't hinder the mid-seventies pop leanings in the least. Dunno or care what you think but I woulda preferred hearing an entire album done up like this as opposed to what we eventually did get...I mean, who wouldn't?. When Greg Shaw wrote that he believed Talking Heads would put out a long player that was on-par with the David's ANOTHER DAY ANOTHER LIFETIME I wonder if he had this single in mind.
***
The Four Deuces-"W-P-L-J"/"Here Lies My Love" (Music City Records seventies repro)

Yeah we all know the a-side if only because of Frank Zappa's cover version as well as the fact that a New York radio station changed their call letters to this after the success of BURNT WEENIE SANDWICH. Here's the original which naturally has that Southern California r&b feel to it that wouldn't have sounded out of place in THE WORLD'S GREATEST SINNER...sheesh whenever I hear this, for some odd reason or another I keep thinking of all those Zappa landmark namedrops that conjure up just what a rundown hellhole that the Southern California area musta been even then! Flip's a more streamlined r&b track that's better on this side than that, which only goes to show you what an ignoramus I am about these sorta soundwaves.
***
TV Jones-"Eskimo Pies"/"Skimp the Pimp" (Nomad Records)

The only surviving artyfact of this pre-Radio Birdman group, unless someone discovered more and didn't tell me. Pretty good at least as far as being an example of what Deniz Tek did before he did that other thing that he became somewhat well known for. Early version of "I 94" graces the plug side sounding perhaps even better due to the rehearsal room quality while the other side's got this wild raver that for all I know never made it into the Birdman set list but it shoulda given its all 'round rousing abilities. 
***
Roogalator-"All Aboard"/"Cincinatti Fatback" 7-inch 33 rpm single (Stiff Records, England)

Must be a post EMI lawsuit edition because my copy came without a WITH THE BEATLES ripoff cover. Whatever the case may be here's an early Stiff single that's pretty hefty on the rootsier aspects of the pub rock experience which made up a good portion of the Stiff roster at least during their earlier days. Sheesh, I could see a number of my elder relatives thinking that, between the swing of "All Aboard" to the short haircuts sported on the missing sleeve that them kids are finally straightening up and listening to good music, at least until they get an earfulla "Cincinatti Fatback" what with its references to poontang (which I doubt they even knew what it meant, but who knows...). If your tastes in mid-seventies punkist desires tended towards the whole Feelgood/Groovies breed of past accomplishments you'll definitely like this 'un.
***
Ian Dury-"Wake Up!"/"What a Waste" (Stiff Records, Belgium)

Another Stiffie here, only this is one of those yellow vinyl offerings that popped up in shopping malls nationwide thus making Deviants records once again readily available to the general public. The a-side consists of Dury's big "hit" that was being pushed on FM radio all over the fruity plain, and although I should hate it not only for that but the fact that a faint disco beat can be discerned it does conjure up somewhat happy memories of seventies snazz pop and should be appreciated if only for that. The other side's even jazzier and actually more attuned to my own sense of off-kilter music. Perhaps this is because "What a Waste" reminds me more of the television shows and comic books I was gorging on at the time, but once you get down to it there's nothing at all wrong with that at all. Unless you're a sophisticated creep that is but which one of you readers isn't?
***
Died Pretty-LIVE DIED EP (Compassion Explosion Records bootleg)

Back to Australia and these guys who originally made a huge impression on me. Unfortunately after a while the quality of their recordings, like many on the Australian scene of the day, began to wane to the point where all of the original energy the group originally exuded seemed to pretty much evaporate. Not really an extended play as it is a 33 rpm single, the plug's got a version of Lou Reed's "Wild Child" that is somewhat faithful to the original and is good enough that it might have even put a smile on Peter Laughner's face. The other side probably would have as well although it bears only slight resemblance to the Pere Ubu original. Well, at least it does remind me of the kind of music that was making the mid-eighties a way more livable place than had we all hadda rely of the drek that CREEM was pushing on us at the time.
***
The Exploited-"Exploited Barmy Army"/"I Believe in Anarchy", "What You Gonna Do" EP (The Exploited Record Company)

Still dunno why it seemed oh-so-cool to dump on these guys, especially when you consider that records like this 'un were keeping the whole Britpunk moo'ment going on and on at a time when every upnose snoot'd go out of his way to declare p-rock's demise. OK you gotta admit that the Exploited were way deep with the likes of Gary Bushell and his demolishing of everything that was once good about SOUNDS, but at least they knew enough to publicly call him a "wanker" when even he jumped on the punk is dead bandwagon. Good enough for me thud snarl that sounds exactly like the same music that seemed so refreshing in the face of MTV moosh only to fizz out worse'n club soda once 1983 began rollin' in. 

Monday, March 04, 2024

BOOK REVIEW! FORBIDDEN WORLDS GIANT VOLUME 2  (Gwandanaland Comics, 2022)

Other'n HERBIE I gotta admit that I know practically nil about the ACG line of comic books, and if FORBIDDEN WORLDS is any example of what the rest of their stable was like I dunno if I'd wanna. Compared to the competition the horror sagas that pop up in this title (at least judging from what's to be found here) are pretty lamesville and woulda probably passed the scrutiny of Dr. Fredric himself, at least if you plied him with a few shots. Artwork's OK enough but doesn't exactly grab you by the kajoobies (none of the big names who did work on the title, people like Al Williamson, Joe Orlando and Frank Frazetta amongst others, pop up in this volume) and I gotta say that there just are too many happy endings, at least as far as the more romantically-inclined stories go.

To be as honest as Brad Kohler about it, there are a few goodies mixed in with the turdburgers like the one where some guy gives a cold shouldered gal a love potion and she still goes for him even after he stabs her and she's rotting away (well, that 'un WOULDA been tops on the Wertham hit parade), or the one where the hotcha lady (of course) married to the aged dudster (natch!) has a shriveled fortune teller type of woman (aren't they all?) put a deadly hex on him, and the lady's handsome boyfriend (well, he does look better'n you!) tells her not to pay the millions the gypsy is owed and to have her killed... Betcha never saw a story like that in yer life have ya??? Still given the track record of at least the stories that pop up here this one did come out on top!

There are plenty of other Gwandanaland titles to splurge on and I think you all got the idea which ones that would be worthy of you having in your own personal library. But whatever, leave FORBIDDEN WORLDS outta it --- no only is the price forbidden but the stories to be found within ain't gonna do your sense of comic book appreciation one bit of good neither! 

Friday, February 16, 2024

It's been awhile. As if you cared. Neither do I but it for those of you whose lives are so starved that you have to wait for something like this blog to lighten up you life well, here it is. To tell you the truth I know how some of you lonelier types feel given that the highlight of my day is to read the various NANCY and FERD'NAND comics that pop up on various sites such as GoComics and "X". Sad true, but at least I'm reverting even more into my single digit days when life seemed a whole lot more worthy of living in.

'n really, there ain't that much "personal" to write about this time, nor anything else that might be rottin' away in that root cellar in my head. Politics is a bore right now other'n for the thrill of seeing bad things happen to people I hate (plus it is fun watching the ongoing mental deterioration of our Commander in Chief [the one I'm sure most of you people voted for] who makes past presidents like Gerald Ford look stoic in comparison...a real hoot in fact!), although I still follow da nooze somewhat rabidly if only through my frequent skeedaddles over to the Ron Unz site. Right at this very nanosecond it seems as if my extracurricular (non-musical) activities are pretty much focused on, besides trying to get some music listening time in, the boob tube what with me watching nothing but black and white westerns (with a few trips towards BONANZA) as well as an occasional peek-a-boo at the Boomerang net for some old Hanna-Barbera cartoons when the mood fits. It might not be as bright lights and big city as your very existence, but it'll do.

In between that well, I'm burrowing through a few dozen boxes of randomly dumped in Cee-Dees collected over thirtysome years still in search of my Hoodoo Rhythm Devils platters. H'aint found them yet but I have about a dozen other recordings I've been looking for during past hankerin's for certain breeds of sound which at least will help ease some strain, or undoubtedly add to it. At this rate expect me to find the Devils spinners around the time they're ready to tote me to the paupers field which is an ignoble way to go out, but I don't think I'll be complainin' one bit. 

***

There've been quite a few deaths since we last spake that I think I should mention here including Can frontman Damo Suzuki and MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer, something which I guess makes Dennis Thompson the MC1. Mary Weiss from the Shangri Las too. And by the time this post hits the screen there will probably be many MANY more who I'll find out about a few months from now. Unfortunately there haint been any deaths that we can sure rah rah about, but I get the feeling that our reason to celebrate might be coming a lot sooner than the enemies of the Reich might think. Or at least we can hope and pray so.

***

Given my intense obsession with the Velvet Underground and their somewhat expansive saturation of the better moments of 60s/70s musical dynamism I was rather surprised by this particular entry into the myth, thanks to writer Peter Stanfield 'natch who seems to be my only go to source for truly critical appraisals these days. Never heard about filmmaker John Hofsess or his works, and although reading about his filmic efforts doesn't quite flibben my jib his use of the Velvet Underground (and the Who with "My Generation" and "The Ox"!!!) on the soundtrack to his BLACK ZERO split screen effort sure is something that fortunately adds to the canon of new and surprising things regarding the Velvets which was something I thought was mined out ages back. 

I'm even more curious about this act who also appears on the soundtrack called "The Gass Company" (one of many with that very name thus no concrete information's to be had) who surprisingly enough were one of the few acts influenced by the Velvets (at least according to Stanfield's descriptions) while Reed and Co. were still up and about! Heck I don't wanna see the movie at all...give me the soundtrack to Hofsess' BLACK ZERO and REDPATH 25 (or at least the pertinent portions) and I should be about as much of a happy camper as I can get to be these days.

***

Lotsa sounds to spurt about this time, some courtesy of Paul McGarry, others Robert Forward, and dagnabbit even more others courtesy of memeME! Had a nice time listening to and writing these things up here in the comfy confines of my fart encrusted bedroom, something which is fine by me since it sure beats doing something CONSTRUCTIVE like volunteering for Meals on Wheels. Speaking of being constructive, maybe its time for me do drag out my Creative Construction Company disque for yet another spin. I'll betcha that you've all noticed a rather AACM-ish direction that I've been taking these past few months. Maybe it has something to do with the long-lingering pangs I get thinkin' back to the days of the New Music Distribution Service looking through their catalog trying to figure out the best way to spend the pittance I usually had to spend on such frivolities as experimental jazz/classical albums and the grief I usually got for buyin' 'em as well! (Still remember my folk's puzzlement regarding me buying records by musical acts who weren't on tee-vee or being played on the radio and how they could even survive if nobody they knew heard about them and you couldn't even find their albums at the local record shop. Looking back, I don't think I did too good of a job explaining things either.) Anyway, dig in.


Richard Meltzer-FRANKIE CD-r burn

A portion of a mid-eighties reading of the famed Meltzer/Tosches novella by the first of the two, making for a way better presentation of the story of the infamous wild wall of manhood than had Edward Herrmann's syntho voice made an audio book of it. Unlike anything related to humor since at least the turn of the nineties, this saga is wonderfully offensive and pretty high-larious at that, and for that matter way funnier'n most of the stuff that is supposed to pass for har-de-har-har these sad and sorry days. Lotsa neeto asides regarding everything from Joe Franklin to various local hotspots too. Kinda makes me wish this book was around during my high stool days because if it had been boy would my public speaking class've been a hoot!

***

Map of the World-HIROSHIMA GIRLS 12-inch 45 rpm EP; NATURAL DISASTERS 12-inch 33 rpm EP (both on Stigmata Records)

A recent back and forth about the heavy duty Arab population located in the state of Michigan had me thinking about this brother/sister team (Khalid and Sophia Hanifi respectively) and their group Map of the World who recorded what I thought a rather dudster record on Atlantic sometime in the late-eighties. Having destroyed that cheapo tape ages back I somehow got to ruminating whether or not this group with the rather unpretentious (really!) name, despite my original judgement, were in fact one of those straightforward local rock acts who lacked the snootiness and pomposity of a good portion of the amerindie/alt sounds I've had the displeasure of hearing these past few decades. Y'know, the kinda act that woulda appeared at your local high school gym in '69, '79, '89 and even beyond and still sound as downhome straightforward each time out! So that's why I parted with some hard-begged to get these records given that sometimes I just gotta play a hunch!

For once that hunch turned out to be right because these pre-Atlantic Map of the World recs show a young bunch of kids who have heads screwed in tight and a musical flair that recalls mid-seventies retro-freshness more than it does quick flash up-to-date doldrums. Sophia has a uniquely strong set o' pipes which really drives the Map oeuvre home even more while brother Khalid's no slouch either handling the singing and guitar on some rather powerful material both original and cover (Patsy Cline's "Crazy" done up pretty unpretentiously straightforward at that). The sound surely ain't REM jangle, closer to Byrds jangle maybe with an approach to the poppier side of rock that might have you conjuring up mid-seventies Flamin' Groovies (no kidding!), early Move (REALLY no kidding!), late-eighties Droogs (reallyreallyREALLY no kidding!) or even better the Disposable God Squad, this obscure-o late-eighties NYC powerpop act who had a nice kinetic drive to their own retropop approach which of course got 'em buried by a load of subpar sputum as did Map of the World for that matter.

Sheesh, I even hear some early pre-puke your entire guts out Jefferson Airplane (at least on "Hiroshima Girls" which actually appears on both platters it's that good) and if I could like a song that reflects those San Franciscan acidstoops it's gotta be good! The rot that seemed to overtake ALL musical genres had not set in with Map of the World and like, when I hear these two spinners I am reminded of the brighter side of local perhaps not-so-innovative but still way digestible rock that always seemed to get tossed to the wayside in favor of some rather dire music.

I think I gotta get hold of their Atlantic LP so's I can remember why I loathed the thing. These records are the exact kind of rock 'n roll that I was craving for back during the early days of my crudzine when I really hadda peck out and search for records that suited my own personal sense of musical aesthetics more often than not failing to find the one that hit the musical G-spot. And for being done up by young 'uns at a time when "rock" "music" was splintered into about ten different factions that all sucked well, I sure wish there was more of this and less of that goin' 'round, nomesame?

***

Eric Dolphy Septet with Donald Byrd-PARIS '64 CD-r burn (originally on Hi Hat Records, Cyprus)

I dunno if Dolphy ever recorded anything that wasn't worthy of one's ears, and this effort certainly ain't one to do any chain breaking. Donald Byrd (who covered a whole load of jazz territory before and after this, his best known work being that Blackbyrds fave "Walkin' in Rhythm") fits in swell even in a more avgarde setting and to be brief about it I can't find a thing on this that would prevent me from spinnin' it again. Worth anyone's while.

***

Anthony Braxton/Richard Teitelbaum-SILENCE/TIME ZONES CD (Black Lion Records, Germany)

Definite Cage influence on Leo Smith's "Silence" while Leroy Jenkins' "Off The Top Of My Head" continues on that late-sixties Braxton trio delve into the classical avgarde approach to the new jazz thing. Both tracks should be highly up there on your own personal free music hit parade, that is if you're the type who still has an abnormal hankerin' for this sort of sound swirl that might be old news now but does anyone with a mind really care? 

Braxton's once again teamed up with synth player and former MEV member Teitelbaum on the rest making for even more classical/jazz hybrid what with Braxton's reeds swinging around and sometimes even fighting Teitelbaum's blips and blurbs. The final track was recorded at Bearsville studios making for a connection even if it is so slight between Braxton and Todd Rundgren if you can fathom that.

***

Ed Sanders-SANDERS TRUCKSTOP CD-r burn (originally on Reprise Records)

Saw this 'un in plenty of used bins during the 70s/80s but shied away thinking that Sanders' backwoods radical bumpkin act would be as overpowering as it was on the Fugs' grand goodbye THE BELLE OF AVENUE A. Actually this is fair as far as for being a representation of a counterkultur icon paying tribute to the music he grew up with while putting down the redneck culture behind it, but there should have been a whole lot more Michael Hurley Americana and a whole lot less Arlo Guthrie Woodstock hippie on display. AFTERTHOUGHT: that LP closer was a fine cap on the album and almost makes up for the hippie hickdom of the rest.

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HEAVY RAIN CD-r burn (originally on Guerssen Records, Spain)

Early seventies heavy rock lives on whether we want it to or not. And thankfully this particular entry into the annals of lunkdom is worth the exhumation given how it captures all of the worthy thud of the movement that evaporated once commercial music began to slicken up, heavy metal became a noun rather than a verb, and CREEM magazine was inundated with color glossy snaps of horrid hair groups who thought they were cutting edge tuffguys with their adolescent snarls. 

Like with the best of the movement, nervegrate takes precedence over fine playing (which is why the AOR FM-bred dolt kids of the late-seventies/eighties were the real descendents [no sic] of their hi-fi EZ-listening parents the way they preferred musicianship and quality over bared knuckle excitement like this), reminding me of just how bad things have slid never to return.

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The Desperate Bicycles-COMPLETE ANTHOLOGY (1977-1980) CD-r burn (originally on their Refill label etc. and so forth)

DIY sure meant squat once we all realized that maybe the people who were doing it themselves weren't exactly up to the task of making music worthy of listening to. How this fits in with the Desperate Bicycles, a group who formed for the express purposes of releasing their own platters, well...

Early trackage has that basement quality punkitude that makes for a good listening experience, but that later stuff just reminds me of the loss of faith I had in a musical movement I thought would have known better than to fall into some of the stalest ruts these guys said they stood against only a few short years earlier. Remember that feeling you had about what had become of "new wave" once 1981 set in? Yeah, me too.

Anyway, if ya wannit, ya gottit!

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Nervous Gender-HEPCATS FROM HELL 9/7/79 CD-r burn

Quality's definitely of the "Assembled in Mexico" variety but it only adds to the beautiful muffledness of it all. The same way that '74 cheapo press of WHITE LIGHT/WHITE HEAT only made it sound the way it shoulda thus disturbing hi fi nuts even more than they were when the original came out. 

Does come somewhat close to various Suicidal electroterror efforts yet retains an El Lay feeling that still woulda sounded boff in the confines of seventies NYC. But it ain't NYC it's LA with all the good and bad that implied. Meltzer's interview with 'em gives some insight into the inner workings and I'm ALMOST sorry I passed on their legit platters when they came out oh so many years later. 

I'm sure it turned more'n just a few heads in the late-seventies but only a few measly years later did it matter in the least?

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FULL MOON  CD-r burn (originally on Douglas Records)

I thought this was gonna be a hard-edged fusion/jazz rock effort not only due to free jazz drummer Philip Wilson's presence but because this popped up on the Douglas label, the same one that issued John McLaughlin's pre-flirty flirt albums as well as the essential WILDFLOWERS 5-LP collection of crucial beyond belief Studio Rivbea loft jazz (where Wilson not-so-surprisingly also appears). However this is a way more commercial than I would have expected outing, not without its moments but still slicked up in an El Lay cocaine and sluts all over the place fashion that tends to irritate more than inspire. For a better representation of this genre of music I'd stick with the Good God album or heck, even some of those early-seventies Zappa things that turned off fans of the original Mothers but somehow sound better'n what the guy would come up with a few measly years later.

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Mark "Moogy" Klingman-MOOGY CD-r burn (originally on Capitol Records) 

Before and after his tenure with Todd Rundgren's Utopia Moogy Klingman was leading his own acts such as Moogy and the Rhythm Kings appearing at various NYC bistros trying to get a foothold into the industry. Heck, I even reviewed a Max's Kansas City appearance by his Revue featuring Andy Kauffman here even if for all practical purposes it's more of a historical artifact due to Kauffman and not Moogy. This album doesn't do Klingman much better, being in that early-seventies singer/songwriter mode that sounds even lamer today than it must have then. Sorta like Carole King if she transitioned into Billy Joel. Well, at least it reminds me of the theme to some seventies sitcom I probably got a big kick outta way back when.

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Yugi Oniki-SHONEN BLUE CD-r burn (originally on Big Art Records)

I usually shy away from these newer than new (which for me is anything recorded after 1982) "updated" takes on various past accomplishments but decided to give this one a try because 1) Yugi Oniki is Japanese and they do tend to have a touch when it comes to various neo-VU sonic moves and 2) Oniki did provide the soundtrack for some Warhol mooms being shown at the University of Michigan 'r some other local school of learning which might not amount to much but the thought is nice.

Unfortunately this SHONEN BLUE effort from back '88 way takes more of its cue from Michael Stipe than it does Jamie Klimek and (as you would expect) tends to seep deep into that wall of gelatin that has effected more than just a few purveyors of the sound without the fury. Oniki should have had his head shackled to that guitar-less feedback screeching amp of Les Rallize Denudes until he learned what Velvets-infected PASSION really meant.

***

Don't blame me if you couldn't get hold of any of these magazines the first time around. As Lou Costello would have said, "they were there for ya!" (or did I use that 'un already? Too lazy to find out myself). But you could blame the hoity toity distributors who felt that these mags were beneath their high levels of sartorial (at least on a fanzine plateau) elegance, or you can blame it on these rags (and their editor) being so behind the times that it actually was ahead of them (only I was the only one who realized it). Then again while we're playing the blame game maybe I should also dump a load of it on all those distributors who so gladly offered to help out yet stiffed me (Nicholas from Chicago and that guy in Canada highly recommended by Bruce Mowat whose name escapes me come to mind) as well as the ones who gladly flipped me off regarding distribution over the phone in a display of snootful better-than-thouism. Then AGAIN, there were the ones who DID distribute the mag and shortchanged me (including the head of a nefarious record label who at the time was treated as a Brahmin on the "scene" even if he had to employ bodyguards when attending clubs) leading to even more heavy financial loss. So that's why you couldn't find these mags as readily as you should have and if you think I'm bitter about it all here in my advanced age well, naw not really... Still, if you think that these prices are inflated well, I gotta get back at least SOME of the moolah that I lost, right? It's either this or try gettin' 'em from your mother!


Friday, February 09, 2024

BOOK REVIEW! HIGH BIAS - THE DISTORTED HISTORY OF THE CASSETTE TAPE BY MARK MASTERS (The University of North Carolina Press, 2023)

For a fellow who still prides himself on delving into cassettes at a time when 8-tracks were the prevailing form of tapeage (so proud that my very first cassette player, inoperable since 1979, sits a good one foot from where I am typing this very schpiel) a book like HIGH BIAS comes off more like a vindication of my perseverance against the raging stoner box boy mindset that surely wasn't exactly the high point of seventies teenbo culture. 

This Masters guy (who also wrote that higher than highly recommended no wave book a couple decades back) actually spent the time and exerted the energy detailing the who what when wheres etc. of the cassette, spinning yarns regarding some pretty interesting things about the impact of those little things on a whole load of musical trends, some good and others of which we couldn't care one whit about. But he did it and he did a good job at it and it's all here and it does thankfully end up as a rather hallowed tribute to a once-overlooked innovation that, even sixty years after its debut, still seems to have about as much of an impact on a whole load of things as it did 'round '80 when these things finally surpassed the 8-track as the prominent tapemode most recommended to capture the music one would want to hear on the go. Or, when combined with pharmaceuticals, that music which was blasted in public places for people who were probably more attuned to the strains of Jan Garber.

You might think that things along the lines of eighties tape trading or the whole "cassette culture" mode that seemed to make up a good portion of OP/SOUND CHOICE's reason for existence nothing but a bad eighties memory but I don't. For me the cassette meant easily obtainable rare recordings, a cheap way for an act to release their music and (best of all) a nice eff-few to the bigname record labels who were beginning to look like even bigger downright evil frauds than any of us would have believed in the first place. If the cassette had never been invented boy, the access and distribution of music to folk in the boondocks like myself would have been quite stifling different.

Yeah, I coulda used some more juicy turdbits regarding this definite step up in the evolution of man. It woulda been nice to see some snaps of those early pre-recorded musical cassettes that were up and about a good four or so years before the advent of mass tape marketing, or for that matter the evolution of blank tape packaging with all of the strange and breakable contraptions these things came in. Shucks, if I were the guy pecking out this paen to home taping I woulda devoted an entire chapter to those cheap beyond belief "assembled in Mexico" three-packs that tended to fall apart after a good two plays. Eh, you can't have everything and I should be grateful that Masters slapped the tasty morsels regarding home taping that he did into this recollection of a not-so-distant past that was the best/worst of times in ways Dickens could never have fathomed.

The enclosed tape serves as somewhat of a soundtrack for the printed page although it seems (at least to me) somewhat of an arbitrary selection of current cassette label offerings. Sure looks nice and the musical selection rather tasty at that, but I couldn't tell you what was on it. Y'see, the thing jammed.

Thursday, February 01, 2024

BOOK REVIEW! THE COMPLETE MIGHTY MITE (Gwandanaland Comics, 2019) 

The Golden Age of Comics might have unleashed a whole passel of memorable costumed crimefighters that I'm sure even the youngest comic book fans know and love eightysome years after the fact. Howevah, who out there wouldn't admit that there were quite a few turdburgers mixed in with the wowzers as even a quick perusal through many of these titles woulda let on to even the doofiest of comic fans extant. Even a dabbler in comics such as I can think of many superhero losers who shoulda been exiled to Earth XXXXX ages back given some of the "mistakes" I made at various newsstands and flea markets over the years. And with these PD reprints courtesy Gwandanaland boy are we up front and center for some real losers who mercifully have been forgotten as the years rolled on, only to be dug up and exhibited like those dead nuns that the communists in Spain oh so proudly put on display way back in the thirties.

I dunno if you'd call Mighty Mite a superhero in the strictest form, but this half-humorous (and I'm being generous!) feature made for some of the hardest comic book reading I've had to endure in ages! Lemme tell you, I've had to suffer through many a lousy comic in my rather long span of existence but this one was like the printed page version of a King Kong-sized anal probe!

Mickey Mite, while dressed as a caped crimefighter at a costume party, quite by accident stops a holdup committed by your typical forties hood types which, come to think of it, is pretty much the same origin story of Don Martin's Captain Klutz a good twentysome years later. Thus is born Mighty Mite, a hero who I don't think is gonna be up for membership in the Avengers even if he was a Marvel-Age character, which he wasn't much to Marvel's credit. Later on Mite gets some actual powers thanks to a magic ring, one that turns him into Master Mite, the character that I assume Mickey was dressed up as at the party. Even later (in perhaps in yet another origin saga) a fairy princess bestows upon Mickey the ring (talk about a twisted continuity!), only this time the brat conjures up Gazooka, a guy who looks just like Mighty Mite grown up and with a five o'clock shadow. Gazooka comes off comparatively uncouth and irritated by his lot in superherodom, and given the stories he's in its not hard to wonder why.

Add in the usual one-dimensional galpal (who changes appearances drastically throughout the "hero's" thankfully short run) and some rather doofus storylines (like the one where Mite and girlfriend fly through the air in what looks like an inflatable wading pool with two kiddie balloons attached) and you got one reason to ditch your comics and do your homework like you're supposed to! There have been many a flub and misfire when it came to comic books and the characters that some detached publisher hoped woulda captured the public's imagination, and who other'n the creators' mothers would admit that this fart on the printed page's just but one of 'em.

Sunday, January 28, 2024

Time for me to do a li'l vileness signaling (which, like the spewing of oh-so-smart set prosody you readers engage in, is only done to make me feel warm and toasty not to mention SUPERIOR to you all) with another one of my big deal posts where I get to tell you about records and all other sorts of things that are happening in this utopian world of yours which just happens to be a dystopian world of mine. Gotta admit that I did have some moments of joy 'tween these "bigtime" posts what with the weather being so cold (at least it was for a good January weekend --- it's springtime warm as I type this!) that I had nothing better to do than stay snuggled up in the old farted up boudoir with a whole load of recordings and books to keep me well occupied. Just hope that we get one of them good ol' snowstorms soon so I can be holed up for a few days and just devote myself to these better things in life, getting away from the rat race that's been wearing me out for quite awhile so's I can really indulge in them oft neglected sounds 'n pix that make life more worthwhile than Bud Lite. But knowing me I'd probably have an appendicitis attack and die due to the ambulance not being able to make it through, so maybe I just better be glad just for the way things are right now.

***

Despite the tragedy of real life I sure have been crankin' these posts out at what could be described as a fever pitch as of late. Way more than I had been the last two years, and although I'm not quite ready to get back into my old weekly grind (which I doubt I ever will but eh!) I gotta say it sure is grand to be perhaps a bit more active in the rock fandom game than usual even if (as if I really cared) nobody's gonna read this. Actually this new pace is just fine since I don't feel as if I have to be pressured to get these posts out to you peons who eagerly await every dribble I have to spew, and to top that I really don't give a hoot when these things hit the blogosphere because really, does this blog matter at all other than to give me something to do with the little free time I have? Remember, it's my world and Frank Sinatra is just living in it, or something like that.

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Hey, howdja like that way doctored up snap of me I've posted on the upper left of the screen in yet another lame attempt at grabbing a little attention? AI sure can do some goldurned wonders, which it sure did with the pic taken from my teenbo years (and during a particularly enthralling Christmas break spent buying records and watching tee-vee!). Sheesh, I don't remember looking anything at all like that, especially with that luscious glory on top of my skull having skedaddled a good twenny or so years after this snap was taken!

Hey, I like it. It kinda reminds me of some eighties vintage Warhol work that was done up after everyone on this earth knew he had nothing to do with it but he was so mimeographed that it didn't matter. Better yet, it comes off like a snap from one of those SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE 'tween commercial inserts that they used way back when the show was actually funny. Then again it also reminds me of the front cover of the first Lewis Furey album and everyone knows what a floperoo that was (well, it was back when I gave it a listen oh so long ago --- who knows, maybe it's changed). Whatever I think of it one thing's for sure, and that is I never knew that my left hand could be so Plastic Man-esque pliable!

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A good fiftysome years too late, but at least it happened.

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Now onto the writeups, which I'll warn you aren't quite as on the ball as I would have liked but I can't be Christgau every day! Maybe my lack of Wheaties in the morn has contributed to my even more lack of creativity than usual or more likely it's the utter stupidity built right into my DNA, but rather than have no reviews I thought I'd just trudge on and present whatever I was able to muster up even during this dip in the roller coaster of my creative process. Be thankful for that, that is if your life is so vapid that you actually long for the type of dribble that I've been cranking out for a longer time that I can remember. Thanks be to Bob Forward for the donations.

Martin Rev-THE SUM OF OUR WOUNDS (CASSETTE RECORDINGS 1973-1985) CD (Bureau B records, Germany)

Smattering of various idea fleshouts courtesy the not-so staid mind of Suicide's "musical half". Familiar themes pop up just begging for the feral yelps of Alan Vega, although these tracks are powerful enough on their lonesome that maybe he isn't necessary a'tall. Stimulating to the nervous system in ways that haven't affected me in quite a while, THE SUM OF OUR WOUNDS not-so strangely enough has me flashing back to the days of my original prowling of the avgarde idiom, a time that I was pretty open to this music to the point where a whole load of yells and shouts were directed at me whenever something along the line of Varese would be spinning on the ol' stereo. Coulda used some detailed info on what's what tho. 

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John's Children-A STRANGE AFFAIR --- THE SIXTIES RECORDINGS 2 CD set (Grapefruit Records, England)

Shee-yucks! After making a Gnu Year's resolution not to spend any precious lucre on non-essentials what do I do but plunk down that hard-earned for John's Childrens material I've had in various configurations for years on end! Eh, it's got the Silence tracks which I've never lent ear to as well as some Andy Ellison singles that have eluded me so it ain't exactly like I was spending my moolah like a drunken sailor. It also got all of ORGASM not to mention a whole batch of different takes and other bits 'n feces which all sound great when placed under one solid roof. 'cept whoever put this one together left off the BBC seshes and Bolan's vocalized "Sally Was An Angel" from THE BEGINNING OF DOVES, but were these compilers ever perfect? Got any leftover Xmas cashage? If so, one of these little dandies just might be good way for you to pour your precious pennies down a rathole!

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Sonny Sharrock-SPACE GHOST COAST TO COAST/SAVAGES CD-r burn

One from Mr. Forward who seems to (at least some of the time) hone in on the musical wants and needs of mine with little if no error. This is the first time I got to hear all of the Space Ghost music laid down by guitarist supremo Sonny Sharrock right before his own capsizing and it sure exceeded my expectations. This swan song material's nowhere near the neo-new fusion I thought it was going to be and in fact it's pretty much on par with the man's various seventies workouts so don't worry that the guy went out on a sour note like Lou Reed did. I've heard and reviewed the 1974 Savages material before but it's pretty much hokay having this repeat in my collection! Now if someone could locate those live shows the man did with Material which everyone seemed so interested in yet hardly anybody got to actually hear.

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Bill Cosby-WHERE YOU LAY YOUR HEAD CD (Verve Records)

Don't worry, I only got this one for Sharrock's presence on the thirteen-minute closer "Why is It I Can Never Find Anything In The Closet (It's Long But It's Alright") which also has Don Pullen on the keyboards and Jack DeJohnette on drums. It ain't MONKEY POCKIE BOO but it's still listenable, as is the entirety of this album featuring various Bill Cosby compositions that were written pretty much in the same way Jackie Gleason did with all those make out albums of his that you still see at flea markets. He even does some percussion on a few of 'em. Other players featured include David Murray and John Scofield so you know that Cosby has some taste regarding the more out-there areas of jass (at least as far as Murray's concerned since Scofield was always a refined sort of guitarist --- classy yet somewhat engaging).

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Neo Neos-KILL SOMEONE YOU HATE CD-r burn (originally on Neck Chop Records/Another Label)

Refreshing switch from the usual neo neo-hippie feely-feel that passes for punk rock these days. Low-fi reminiscent of the old Screamin' Mee-Mees/Fuckin' Flyin' A-Heads scronk that seemed oh so admirable before many a lesser mind rammed the whole home-produced DIY lo-fi concept right into the dirt. The six-year-old singer spouting obscenities was a nice touch. Maybe its because I haven't been listening to any of the ten thousand other groups doing the frenetic grind lately that this sounds fair enough but whatever, I sure feel glad that the future is in the hands of such stalwart, stoic youth as these.

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Various Artists-A RECOMMENDED SAMPLER 2 CD-r set (originally on ReR Megacorp Records, England)

Now that some of that "Rock In Opposition" music that once seemed somewhat obtuse sounds rather adventurous and even toe-tapping in retrospect, perhaps I should hail Mr. Forward for jetting this 25th anniversary of the '82 Recommended Sampler my very way. 

Some of it sounds as unique as I'm sure it did to many an against the grain musical freak looking for something different in their musical pottage, while at times the usual Zappa specter seems to seep in (and I mean Zappa like in late-seventies Zappa when his usual egotistical musical approach became too overbearing even for the old time fans). It's full of surprises though, from soundtrack music for thirties-vintage French avant garde films (Felix Gasul) to late-seventies punk rock with the proper oomph to it (the Homosexuals). Something for (almost) everyone who at least reads this blog, and for me the more European it sounds the better. Even ends with Robert Wyatt's own version of "The Internationale" for all you spiritual communists out there, and judging from the response I get regarding this blog there must be many!

(One weirditie here's the presence of a Henry Cow spinoff group called the Black Sheep who perform a number called "Strangelove"...making me wonder whether or not this track is indeed a tribute to the famed Strangeloves of "I Want Candy" fame considering that those guys also went under the name the Sheep! Is the mess of a sound they make here supposed to be some sort of tribute to an act that I really doubt would have ever considered the Strangeloves to be part of their musical DNA makeup? Doubt it is but sheesh, wouldn't it be just marvy if it was?????)

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Hawkwind-OF TIME AND STARS, THE SINGLES CD-r burn

I tried to get info on this 'un via the internet, but all I could latch onto was some Arthur C. Clarke short story compilation. I guess this collection of early Hawkwind single sides was one of those come and go things if it's so obscure that it doesn't even turn up on discographies. (The Butterboy blog has not only the only mention of this item on the 'net but a download as well for all you penny pinchers out there.) Longtime Hawkwind fans have no need for this one, but if you're an upsprout wanting to learn something about this band and don't wanna spend the moolah why not go on Butterboy and discover for yourself what kind of a group Hawkwind was? It's got the classics from the English hit "Silver Machine" to those familiar Hawkwind showstoppers that unfortunately never did make their way to the charts here in the United States. Personal fave's the Robert Calvert effort "Urban Guerilla" which Jon Tiven once mentioned was custom made for the Deviants fan in us all. And it was!

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Yes, it has been reduced to me just wanting to see these magazines ridded from my presence. It used to be fun writing, pasting, distributing and waiting for the response as to what I and my various contributors have pecked out, but eventually it all became more like a business I took way too seriously which certainly did put somewhat of a damper on things. And besides, it does get rather tiresome painting a target on my back and having all of my "friends" take pot shots at it. It's come to the point where whenever I glance upon the stack of these unsold items piled up in the corner all I can think about is what a bad move (one amongst many) that I made in this at-times hideous thing called life. Tell you what, buy a whole sack load of these fanzines from me and maybe I'll stop with the nauseating self-pity. But I doubt it.