Slim pickings here this week. I guess the reality of cutting lawns and scouring roadsides for aluminum cans to cash in has taken the free time outta me and I just haven't been able to listen to all of those Cee-Dee-Ares that Bill Shute, Paul McGarry, Bob Forward and P.D. Fadensonnen have sent my way. Too bad for me (and you) because frankly at this period in time I sure can use all of the free time I can get and even more, given that I ain't exactly the spring chicken I used to be and well, I'd rather spend my remaining days goofing off just like I did when I was a young blubberfarm rather'n goin' out volunteering for various civic projects like all of those other elders do once they're retired and don't have the sense enough to plop down in front of the tee-vee for whatever little fun and jamz one might find there these days! I know we all must do our best to server mankind, and I am doing just that by gettin' outta the way and enjoyin' myself for once (and not inna bathroom, ifyaknowaddamean...).
But I did get to listen to the following burns, and thankfully they kept me well 'n happy more'n had I listened to THE MANY MOODS OF KAREN QUINLAN spinning over and over again. At least these precious plays kept me goin' on more'n usual which I will say did help stave off the yawns, and for that I am thankful to the fine fanablas who sent me these burns. As they say in the porn biz, keep 'em comin'.
PLATTER OF THE WEEK! Kim Fowley's ANIMAL GOD OF THE STREET (Skydog), a long-time bubbling under (but no more!) favorite which, surprisingly enough, has usurped such other late-night faves as PARIDIESWARTS DUUL and WHITE LIGHT/WHITE HEAT as top beddy-bye spins here at the BTC HQ. Fowley's albums were always solid and steady affairs, but this particular one (especially for being a bootleg) surpasses even those late-sixties wonders with its no-holds-barred lineup of tracks and topical subject matter that for once does not make you wanna puke. And hey, if anything really captures the true ideal and feeling of the Altamont Generation it is a track like "Is America Dead?" complete with all the pent up violence and hostility of the day rolled up into one neat track which sure makes the entire Jefferson Airplane schpiel wilt in comparison! All of your favorite 1969 rock moves are packed firm, full and completely on the draw in a way that'll make you wonder just why Fowley wasn't the real rock svengali of the early day (like I suppose he thought he was anyway)! If you haven't got it, you can't be a friend of Bill Shute (or mine either for that matter!).
Second most played beddy bye platters...both Mahogany Brain albums!
The Clear-FILL IT IN YOURSELF CD-r burn
Dunno much about who these Clear people are other than they hailed from Holland and that this was released in 1981, but this burn of a cassette release (complete with vinyl pops and crackles!) is a pretty outta-left-field surprise that deserves to get heard no matter how many years it has been since being laid to tape. Yeah it starts out kinda new unto gnu wave (copyright 1982 Bill Shute) like the rest of those indie wannabes who were but pale versions of previous glory, but then the gettin' gets good what with the shards of atonal guitar wails and hefty repeato-riffs to keep one more'n just "happy". There are even a few definite mid-sixties cops to keep you shaggy headed ones alert, and is that really a reggae song they tossed in that doesn't sound like a bad Police interpretation? The iffy sound quality only makes it all sound better in that raw and urgent way, and as far as final flirts go this one encapsulates everything good that the under-the-mainstream of the day stood for before that big dive that we never were able to crawl outta ruined us for life. Just try 'n find it...I dare you (nyaaah!)!
Giant Sand-TUCSON CD-r burn (originally on Fire Records)
Pretty iffy stuff here, with the few good moments of genius being washed over by a lot of musical twaddle that really don't gel in any way/shape/form. Horns and strings don't accentuate the music but merely get in the way, while the beyond-laid back sounds fails to stimulate those brain nodes ever in search of stimulation that can revitalize and give meaning back to this ol' life of ours. Which is sad because if the better songs were worked out more this might have been a decent release. Otherwise it's just more feh music that represents the final stage in that sad decline of a sound that used to make up the soundtrack for my life and like, I'm never gonna rest because you know it ain't gonna get any better.
Wire-SILVER/LEAD CD-r burn (originally on Pink Flag, England)
It ain't tingling my nodes like earlier Wire platters have, but SILVER/LEAD still has a good enough emote drone to it that doesn't exactly conjure up bad memories of eighties post (yech!)-punk downfall. Not rock 'n roll true, but there's still a nice rehash of late-sixties pop unto psych feeling that almost makes you wanna check the calendar to see what year it is. Downbeat yet still solid enough to make one forget most of the spawn of this band which usually came off more art project 'n anything. 'n somehow I get the idea that this is kinda what a solo Syd Barrett album from 1981 woulda sounded like.
Various Artists-BALTIMORE'S TEEN BEAT A-GO-GO CD-r burn (originally on Dome Records)
Ya take a buncha kids who grew up on Bobby Vinton, Frankie Avalon and the milder aspects of late-fifties/early-sixties teenybop rock 'n roll, thrust 'em smack dab into the moptop era and whaddaya got? Groups with tough names like the Executioners and the Impacts who just can't get that soft and melodic close-dancin' boy idol days outta their system! From the looks of it (or at least judging from this platter) Baltimore musta been filled with bands like these, not that there's anything evil about cheapo soft moody rock unless you're in the mood for a little Motorhead. Actually a few of these high school heavers (like Bobby J. and the Generations) approach BACK FROM THE GRAVE-level cheap guitar crank it out inna basement quality but some of the A-Go-Gos who appear here sound more like they Went-Went. But I'll take the whole slew of 'em over today's disco/schmooze/technowhiz that's for sure!
CHELSEA CD-r burn (originally on Captain Oi!)
I remember Lindsay Hutton moaning on endlessly (or something like that) about what a self-abusing snob Gene October acted towards him (or was that Brian Guthrie who was doin' the complainin'??? Arlo Guthrie?????). Considering how Hutton and I are as thick as genital pus maybe I should dismiss this recording on a mere sense of blogger pride, but I will be true to my own rock credo and say that this platter is...actually listenable! Pretty hotcha late-seventies British punk rock is what's in store, some of it rather anthemic (such as their clank take on the Seeds' "No Escape") while other moments unfortunately fall into the punk fake book series of Buzzcops and Sex Pisstakes. But these days all I gotta say is so what. Later on you even get a ballad called "Many Rivers" that reminds me of some outta-nowhere '71/'73 hot single with a bullet that woulda fit in swell with the teenybop renaissance prevalent on the AM dial them days. Nice bitta punk ya got there boys but I ain't giving up my Flamin' Groovies platters for this...yet!
Kaoru Abe and Masatuki Tarayanagi-7/9/70 STATION '70 CD-r burn
Dunno the whys, wheres and whatfores of this particular free player but it sure packs the proverbial pounce regarding the splat that's been a part and parcel of our musical heritage. True the idea of out-there saxophone teamed up with splintering shards of electric guitar grate ain't nothing new, but considering that this live in front of about five appreciative patrons gig was laid down in 1970 it sure was new then and maybe we should give it some credit if only for that! Tarayanagi's guitar playing does parallel and predict a whole slew of seventies guitarists from Derek Bailey to Rudolph Grey, and while Abe continues on the brave path burned by the likes of Archie Shepp albeit you better not expect him to break into some Ellingtonian rhapsody any time soon. Is it me or do these types of records sound better when under the stress of supreme mental anguish? If so, I sure wish I was under some right about now...
Various Artists-BEER-CAN OCTOPUS MOUNTIE CRASH CD-r burn (Bill Shute)
Another one of those mystery meat collections where Bill provided nada information as to what actually transpires on this. Good thing too because it was pretty fun just settling back and trying to guess what it was that in fact passed my ears the last hour that I sat listening to this thing. It's got some pretty hotcha stuff here too, from a slew of Aunt Jane's pickle commercials that are mildly entertaining in that snazzy fifties-humor kinda way, to a coupla of song poems and a nice batch of old time cylinders featuring more of that turn of the previous century music that sounds pretty hot when played next to the stuff ya hear on the radio these days!
The Aunt Jane commercials were taken off what I guess was some sorta promotional reel that was sent out to promote the new campaign to get Ameriga eating the product, mostly dealing with someone getting their tongue all twisted over the word "pickle" usually pronouncing it "pookle". Nothing outrageous mind you, but thankfully these commercials are in that tradition of those old radio spots which used to play on satire and spoof to the hilt while still being safe enough for everyday ranch house consumption. The song poems are crazy enough as well, the first one dealing with a gal who drinks beer and ties the cans to the back of her car (or something like that) and the second a country weeper about a guy in prison for drunk driving and vehicular homicide in the process. The latter one might have actually made a legit sixties country song given the depth of regret and sorrow the singer exudes and hey, if "Welfare Cadillac" could be a hit why not this heart-tugger???
Oh yeah, there are also a couple chapters from some old radio shows, but they were so boring that I couldn't care less if the hero got offed during the cliffhanging end. If I tuned in next time and found out they did I'd probably be the happiest guy alive!
But I did get to listen to the following burns, and thankfully they kept me well 'n happy more'n had I listened to THE MANY MOODS OF KAREN QUINLAN spinning over and over again. At least these precious plays kept me goin' on more'n usual which I will say did help stave off the yawns, and for that I am thankful to the fine fanablas who sent me these burns. As they say in the porn biz, keep 'em comin'.
***Anyway, Happy Mother's Day to whomever out there this would apply to. And a hefty ditto for Unhappy Child Support Day which I get the feeling many of you male readers suffer through on more holidays that just one!
***
Second most played beddy bye platters...both Mahogany Brain albums!
***
Dunno much about who these Clear people are other than they hailed from Holland and that this was released in 1981, but this burn of a cassette release (complete with vinyl pops and crackles!) is a pretty outta-left-field surprise that deserves to get heard no matter how many years it has been since being laid to tape. Yeah it starts out kinda new unto gnu wave (copyright 1982 Bill Shute) like the rest of those indie wannabes who were but pale versions of previous glory, but then the gettin' gets good what with the shards of atonal guitar wails and hefty repeato-riffs to keep one more'n just "happy". There are even a few definite mid-sixties cops to keep you shaggy headed ones alert, and is that really a reggae song they tossed in that doesn't sound like a bad Police interpretation? The iffy sound quality only makes it all sound better in that raw and urgent way, and as far as final flirts go this one encapsulates everything good that the under-the-mainstream of the day stood for before that big dive that we never were able to crawl outta ruined us for life. Just try 'n find it...I dare you (nyaaah!)!
***
Pretty iffy stuff here, with the few good moments of genius being washed over by a lot of musical twaddle that really don't gel in any way/shape/form. Horns and strings don't accentuate the music but merely get in the way, while the beyond-laid back sounds fails to stimulate those brain nodes ever in search of stimulation that can revitalize and give meaning back to this ol' life of ours. Which is sad because if the better songs were worked out more this might have been a decent release. Otherwise it's just more feh music that represents the final stage in that sad decline of a sound that used to make up the soundtrack for my life and like, I'm never gonna rest because you know it ain't gonna get any better.
***
It ain't tingling my nodes like earlier Wire platters have, but SILVER/LEAD still has a good enough emote drone to it that doesn't exactly conjure up bad memories of eighties post (yech!)-punk downfall. Not rock 'n roll true, but there's still a nice rehash of late-sixties pop unto psych feeling that almost makes you wanna check the calendar to see what year it is. Downbeat yet still solid enough to make one forget most of the spawn of this band which usually came off more art project 'n anything. 'n somehow I get the idea that this is kinda what a solo Syd Barrett album from 1981 woulda sounded like.
***
Ya take a buncha kids who grew up on Bobby Vinton, Frankie Avalon and the milder aspects of late-fifties/early-sixties teenybop rock 'n roll, thrust 'em smack dab into the moptop era and whaddaya got? Groups with tough names like the Executioners and the Impacts who just can't get that soft and melodic close-dancin' boy idol days outta their system! From the looks of it (or at least judging from this platter) Baltimore musta been filled with bands like these, not that there's anything evil about cheapo soft moody rock unless you're in the mood for a little Motorhead. Actually a few of these high school heavers (like Bobby J. and the Generations) approach BACK FROM THE GRAVE-level cheap guitar crank it out inna basement quality but some of the A-Go-Gos who appear here sound more like they Went-Went. But I'll take the whole slew of 'em over today's disco/schmooze/technowhiz that's for sure!
***
I remember Lindsay Hutton moaning on endlessly (or something like that) about what a self-abusing snob Gene October acted towards him (or was that Brian Guthrie who was doin' the complainin'??? Arlo Guthrie?????). Considering how Hutton and I are as thick as genital pus maybe I should dismiss this recording on a mere sense of blogger pride, but I will be true to my own rock credo and say that this platter is...actually listenable! Pretty hotcha late-seventies British punk rock is what's in store, some of it rather anthemic (such as their clank take on the Seeds' "No Escape") while other moments unfortunately fall into the punk fake book series of Buzzcops and Sex Pisstakes. But these days all I gotta say is so what. Later on you even get a ballad called "Many Rivers" that reminds me of some outta-nowhere '71/'73 hot single with a bullet that woulda fit in swell with the teenybop renaissance prevalent on the AM dial them days. Nice bitta punk ya got there boys but I ain't giving up my Flamin' Groovies platters for this...yet!
***
Dunno the whys, wheres and whatfores of this particular free player but it sure packs the proverbial pounce regarding the splat that's been a part and parcel of our musical heritage. True the idea of out-there saxophone teamed up with splintering shards of electric guitar grate ain't nothing new, but considering that this live in front of about five appreciative patrons gig was laid down in 1970 it sure was new then and maybe we should give it some credit if only for that! Tarayanagi's guitar playing does parallel and predict a whole slew of seventies guitarists from Derek Bailey to Rudolph Grey, and while Abe continues on the brave path burned by the likes of Archie Shepp albeit you better not expect him to break into some Ellingtonian rhapsody any time soon. Is it me or do these types of records sound better when under the stress of supreme mental anguish? If so, I sure wish I was under some right about now...
***
Various Artists-BEER-CAN OCTOPUS MOUNTIE CRASH CD-r burn (Bill Shute)Another one of those mystery meat collections where Bill provided nada information as to what actually transpires on this. Good thing too because it was pretty fun just settling back and trying to guess what it was that in fact passed my ears the last hour that I sat listening to this thing. It's got some pretty hotcha stuff here too, from a slew of Aunt Jane's pickle commercials that are mildly entertaining in that snazzy fifties-humor kinda way, to a coupla of song poems and a nice batch of old time cylinders featuring more of that turn of the previous century music that sounds pretty hot when played next to the stuff ya hear on the radio these days!
The Aunt Jane commercials were taken off what I guess was some sorta promotional reel that was sent out to promote the new campaign to get Ameriga eating the product, mostly dealing with someone getting their tongue all twisted over the word "pickle" usually pronouncing it "pookle". Nothing outrageous mind you, but thankfully these commercials are in that tradition of those old radio spots which used to play on satire and spoof to the hilt while still being safe enough for everyday ranch house consumption. The song poems are crazy enough as well, the first one dealing with a gal who drinks beer and ties the cans to the back of her car (or something like that) and the second a country weeper about a guy in prison for drunk driving and vehicular homicide in the process. The latter one might have actually made a legit sixties country song given the depth of regret and sorrow the singer exudes and hey, if "Welfare Cadillac" could be a hit why not this heart-tugger???
Oh yeah, there are also a couple chapters from some old radio shows, but they were so boring that I couldn't care less if the hero got offed during the cliffhanging end. If I tuned in next time and found out they did I'd probably be the happiest guy alive!
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