BLOG TO COMM

I've always been a guy who TOOTS HIS OWN HORN, but this is ridiculous! Actually I was scouring the basement looking for my copy of Richard Meltzer's A WHORE JUST LIKE THE REST just so's I could do a little needed research for a future review, and lo and behold what did I come across but none other than my old Polaroid Swinger photo album!!! Yes, that's none other than memeME!!! circa age eleven seen to the left of ya, and boy does this pic (and the rest of the ones re-discovered) bring back a whole lotta memories, some not exactly great mind ya but still a few nice ones do linger about. Of course after looking at the above snap the only real thing that comes to mind is...given the way I looked back then (and still do to a certain extent) no wonder everybody treated me like sheeee-it! I still am proud of my esteemed blubberfarm self tho if only because at least I had better taste in trash junk entertainment and overall lowbrow kultur back then more than you ever will, digging NANCY and DENNIS THE MENACE while combing the radio for late-fifties/early-sixties trash rock hits that were certainly scarce at the time! Hope you like it...just don't go 'round making a MEME outta it!

I'd show you the rest of the snaps that were taken, but for the sake of time I figured why should you wanna see everything from a covered bridge to my cousin pumping up his equally eleven-year-old bicep! It'd even more boring than had I chained you down for an hour or two of those home movies taken of me at Bedrock USA! However, I thought I'd at least present for your own glomming on my suburban upbringing a pic of my dearly departed dog Sam the Champion Fartster in one of the photos where he's not turning his head away from the camera at the last minute. It's not surprising that in most of the photos of this sometimes not-so-lovable canine he has this wild Manson-ish stare to him (and just LOOK at that glowing left eye!)...let's just say that training Sam to be a well-behaved dog was akin to trying to turn me into a nice and polite sissyfag Freddie Bartholomew type as had been tried many a time. I guess both he and I had much STRONGER wills and for that I salute you, Sam!

***

Ya know what I did this past Thursday night? It was a little before seven and while looking out my window to admire the deepness of the dusk sky I pondered, "The sky the way it looks right now would be much improved on with a nice droning backdrop based on elements of the Velvet Underground, Can and the Stooges. So I made one up in my mind, a repeato-riff that went something like "da-dum...da-dum...da-dum-dum-dum-daah-dum..." And you know what" It worked really good! You should try it sometime.

***

Not much else brewin' up around here as you can tell from the reviews below...all of 'em freebee offerings from the usual batch who are probably embarrassed over me mentioning their monikers each and every week so I won't. But still I am getting by with 'em since they do break up the monotony. Otherwise I'm putting my time in at the salt mines before spending my precious free hours doing things like mowing the yard and taking out the garbage. I actually gotta say that I enjoy cutting the grass this time of year because this is when all of those neat looking mushrooms start sprouting up across the lawn. Ever placating the brat in me, I like to think of those little mushrooms as being a village where small elves live and work merrily, at least until I turn them into mulch as the peaceful villagers cry forth with high-pitched screams of "HELP!" and "ARRRRGH!" Don't tell me that ain't funny!

Wendy Eisenberg-TIME MACHINE LP (Feeding Tube Records, available here)

I've heard my share of bedroom-level recording personal woo-woo stuff over the years, but this one ranks as one of the best! Originally released on cassette last year, TIME MACHINE is a quiet little affair featuring composer Wendy Eisenberg recording a number of rather nice 'n intimate songs usually backed by her own guitar or one of those chord organs that were all the rage when I was a kid, and as far as intimate personalist sounds go this 'un takes the awards. Sometimes this reminds me of some of those quieter Japanese groups who appeared on the infamous NIGHT GALLERY sampler or others the musical musings of some teenage gal in 1970's suburbia putting her slightly whacked compositions to tape in between reading 16 and watching PARTRIDGE FAMILY reruns. Quite invigorating in many ways...not at all the Joni Mitchell angst that I would have associated with a record like this and you might like it too!

***

The Now Generation-THE LEGENDARY SPAR RECORDINGS CD-r burn (originally on SPV - Yellow Records, Germany)

Given Bill's penchant for burning the strangest things I just knew there was gonna be an overt exploito nature to this. And as usual I was right! But as you know I can enjoy these imitations as much as I can the real meal deal, and THE LEGENDARY SPAR RECORDINGS by the Nashville-based Now Generation has its fair share of moments that do rise above the cheesy. Given these tracks were recorded during the late-sixties I was surprised at just how much of this had an early-sixties AM pop feel that's really not bad at all...sorta like a Four Seasons only done less dago-esque or something like that. Even the covers of the big hits like "You Showed Me" and "Rainy Night in Georgia" have some of the zip of the originals. One big caveat tho...this platter contains the dreaded ingredient known as JIMMY BUFFET!

***

TOMMY FOGERTY'S THE BLUE VELVETS (AND) THE GOLLIWOGS CD-r burn

Dunno why I ignored picking up the Golliwogs' 1975 album that was released to cash in on waning CCR-fever (especially since this was a used bin filler throughout the late-seventies), but at least it's good to finally get to hear these things despite my typical lethargy. The Blue Velvets material actually does sound in-tune with the better aspects of early-sixties garage band aesthetics with little of that era's "gingerbread" style to muck things up much. As I would have expected the Golliwogs-era tracks do sound commercial yet have that typically subdued cool that the best groups of the middle portion of that decade had to offer. Little if any of the more countryesque Creedence sound can be discerned, but only a turdburger'd deny that these guy were headin' for bigger things after giving these sides a spin!

***

Hawkwind-THE ROAD TO UTOPIA CD-r burn (originally on Cherry Red Records, England)

Well, I guess I shoulda expected it. An entire album of Hawkwind re-dos featuring the horn arrangements of some Mike Batt guy who really knows how to add the schmalz onto songs that were vibrantly beautiful four decades back. Now they sound like elevator gush but what else should one expect here in that future that Hawkwind sang so much about. Much worse'n all those other remake albums by people who were once on top of this slam bang music world but were reduced to resting on more'n just a few laurels and, once I get my head together why shouldn't I find it all just a li'l bit depressing?          

***

The Spots-BEAT BEAT BEAT CD-r burn (originally on Europa Records, Germany)

Mock Big Beat record that varies somewhere in between tepid and totally feh! I know that eager beaver German frauleins were more'n anxious to hear some of the home-grown variations of the mop top experience, but these Spots just don't have the same rock 'n roll drive to their fare that made alla that long hair rock so tasty inna first place. I'm sure der volk approved of the softer strains of teenage music being played in the haus but vhat about der Hans und Fritzes amongst 'em? All I could say had I been an aching Bundrocker during those particularly arid Aryan days woulda been "Hurry up Can, und qvick!"

***

Various Artists-STYLECRAFT ROSEBUD DOUBLE CD-r burn (Bill Shute)

Here's a different VIRTUAL THRIFT STORE FLOOR SWEEPING in that most if not all of the musical numbers to be heard are from those "song poem" records we've known about for years, or at least since those boho so-anti-Middle Amerigan types began touting them in order to look oh-so SUPERIOR to the rest of us'n all. As usual, these really are a fun hoot such as the one dealing with late-seventies tee-vee cop shows not to mention the disco wannabe "In Love In Love" with what's gotta be the shrillest spoken opening I've ever heard on disc, outside of Diamanda Galas. The radio ads for everyone from Ford (with the Four Lads re-doing their hit as "Standing On The Corner Watching All The FORDS Go By"!) to Gillette razor blades are a hoot as well. And while I'm at it, when was the last time you heard the old Frito Bandito commercial...without having a load of shame being tossed at'cha from better-than-thou knowitalls that is?!?!?!?

***

Did you get the hint yet? I've got a whole bunch of BLACK TO COMM back issues that art still available and like, I just KNOW that most if not ALL of you readers could use a few. So what's keeping you from clicking on the above link---your CONSCIENCE (hah!) or somethin'?