So, how have you been sweatin', or at least freezin' then once again sweatin' out then freezin' up again these past few weeks anyhow? (Yeah, there goes that azzole Chris gabbin' bout the weather agin---wotta imagination-less bore!) Bwah, talk about the roller coaster conditions we've been having to put up with so far this year! But eh, when I was a mere turdpole we had worse winters, but no matter what the situation is outside boy is it fun to stay indoors and cozy up with some hotcha music and boxes filled with old rock reading material so's I can get more'n my share of resensification in! Let's just say that whatever the weather is like, I have good enough an excuse to GOOF OFF and in these Salt Mine times o' mine boy do I need it!
Anyhow, I hope you can appreciate the toil 'n labor it took to to put this post together, fun yet hard but worth the effort just as much as that sixth-grade science project that unfortunately didn't blow up the entire school. But man it sure was worth the effort blowin' up whatever could be.
The releases just ain't pourin' out into my musical DNA the way they should (tho I did get a beautiful bounty of Feeding Tube items in a few days ago!), but given this is 2019 and we're so far away from the taproot of it all ("all" being the driving bared-wire intensity of music as we knew and loved it when we were younger and it made up THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES) what else should I expect in my old 'n decrepit age? 'n true, the flow of toonze worthy of mine ears is dribblin' like a leaky diaper on some low-class turdler in the local Dollar General, but at least I, in my olde tymey geriatric thinking way, ain't takin' the lack of high energy jamz sitting down! Hey, even a jaded ol' fanabla like myself faced with a future of downright death-reaffirming sounds can easily flash back to my teenbo years when the moolah was scarce and the fifty cents that went towards some flea market album hadda be put to PRETTY GOOD USE. But boy did my money go far when I made that right choice and picked up a beat up spinner that continues to satisfy me even until now! These days it's merely a matter of a slower'n usual market but when I do get those special sounds comin' my way things are bigger than the Fourth of July! Or in my case, Thanksgiving.
Otherwise I really gotta say one thing and that is FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ALL MY BORN DAYS (at least the adult ones!) I FEEL REALLY HAPPY AND ALL TINGLY AND GREAT TO BE ALIVE AND ALL THAT FUNTIME ROT THAT HAS ELUDED ME FOR THE PAST FORTYSOME OR SO YEARS OF MY MEASLY GROWN UP EXISTENCE!!! I think I know why, what with the kinda people I've known and eventually hated lo these many years being reduced to sputtering and priggish updates on all those scolds of yore (y'know, the same types who they originally RAILED against but eventually BECAME), not to mention the generally energetic hope for a BRIGHT AND POSITIVELY NEGATIVE (ponder that 'un fr'awhile!) FUTURE THAT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE SOME WEIRD DYSTOPIAN PHILLIP K. DICK SHORT STORY EVERYONE SEEMS TO THINK DEFINITELY IS UTOPIAN mess that we've been inundated with by our "betters" (usually meaning you!) my entire grown up and get off my ass life!
Not that the phony intellectual baddies, born of eighties fanzine culture and spoiled upper middle class entitlement (the exact same ones who practically escorted me into my hard right neo-fascist anarchic state!) have ceased to exist---in fact they've grown to stellar lesion! But at least there are now enough voices thanks to a technology that has freed us from the Dictatorship of the Cocktail Party Set (or rock magazine staff roster) to call these enlightened types on the carpet whenever and wherever they may spew their phony virtuousness at us all! In the old days all we could do was shout at the TV...now there are enough angry mammals out there that can shut down more than a few comments sections, and while that ain't exactly major progress in having that two-way discussion that usually turns into a one-way street (remember Eric Holder?) it is a nice and pleasant start. IN OTHER WORDS, all you finger-wagging computer catmothers who have been inundating us suburban slobs with your twisted anti-morality being tossed at us under the banner of fixing everything that's wrong with everything but yourselves better get used to getting YOUR feelings hurt! And boy do I relish that!
My Cat is an Alien-THURSTON MOORE PRESENTS ATP NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS 2006 LP (Feeding Tube Records)
First pick outta the Feeding Tube package. I've heard about My Cat Is An Alien more than a few times o'er the year but never picked any of their wares up. Perhaps I was under the impression that these two guys who make up the group were just dabblers in the whole experimental jiz scene that's brought forth many a disque, some brilliant and others feh. From this live offering this act proves that they are at least as good as the myriad of artists appearing on the Kendra Steiner Editions imprint the way they bend sound into the usual abstract realm yet retain a rock 'n roll sense---electronic blare sounding like a stripped down, nicer Controlled Bleeding that forces you to absorb yourself into what they are saying with their otherworldly instrumentation. And you don't mind it one bit!
Big Brother and the Holding Company-SEX, DOPE & CHEAP THRILLS 2-CD set (Columbia/Legacy)
Gonna hafta keep this 'un brief or else I'll be splatterin' sputum all over this particular post and for the sake of brevity I'd sure like to keep this one as streamlined as possible! And who in a millyun years'd think that these CHEAP THRILLS outtakes'd ever be issued! The band is as hot as ever while Janis sounds closer to Roky Erickson than even Robert Plant and the combination of the two is pretty amazing even fifty years down the road. As usual, this recording leaves you wanting to hear more, making me wonder when some of those pre-Janis tapes that reveal an even more carnal Big Brother will ever be unleasehed on a public that probably couldn't care one whit.
THE MONKEES' MONO SINGLES CD-r burn
Collected on one nice shiny pancake, now all those years of garage sale Monkee record browsing can be tossed right out the window. Great sound, great music and a great way to get a history of the group from their early prefab days right up until the bitter end when Davy Jones and Mickey Dolenz went out on a nice, commercial yet sleazy tone that reminds me of the Troggs of all people! What else can ya say about the group all the hipster types thought were pure fooey yet who made sounds that continue to stand the test of whatever test ya wanna throw at 'em! Only one beef and that is why compiler Bill Shute left the "Randy Scouse Git" single off...perhaps he was embarrassed by the nature of the title and didn't want my virgin ears to be poked any.
Various Artists-MASS AVENUE, THE BOSTON SCENE CD-r burn (originally on Rhino/WEA Records)
Better'n average lookback rock comp (especially if you got it free like I did!) that gives us at least a small look at the late-seventies Boston rock scene that turned a whole slew of heads way back in those more starved than usual rock 'n roll days. Yeah there's no Yarbles, Third Rail, Hot Rain or a thousand other local characters that never did quite get their doo-doo, but at least we've got some faves like Willie Alexander, the Lyres, the Classic Ruins and La Peste to keep us all hot and anxious like we were 40 + years back and this stuff was hitting us like nothing since the time your dad caught you inna bathroom with a copy of NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC. The big fans already have these in their original form, but for us cheapo neophytes----whew!
Raik's Progress-SEWER RAT LOVE CHANT CD-r burn (originally on Sundazed Records)
Here's one of those long known-about but rarely heard groups who seem to be legendary if only because of a few mentions in a variety of magazine articles o'er the years. After all these years I finally get to hear what these blokes were all about 'n whaddaya know they weren't too bad. Nothing that really squeezes the awe outta me like pus from a ripe pimple but it's still fine in that late-sixties obscure act outta nowhere makes good way. Boffo cover of the Amboy Dukes via MC5's version of "Baby Please Don't Go" as well as some tracks wafting between the psychedelic and pop vein that ain't exactly top notch when compared to the wilder aspects of the form but-----still nice!
Various Artists-US GARAGE GEMS, VOLUME 31 CD-r burn
I take it back...there still are plenty of good sixties-era local rock 'n roll recordings out there that are just being unearthed EVEN AFTER THIS LATE DATE! US GARAGE GEMS VOLUME 31 (didn't even know there were thirty others, or did I!) collects a sensational smattering of 'em too, and not just of the geekoiod variety but of a nice wide range of garage-y styles that'll bring back those memories like nothing since potrzebie! Y'know, back when rock was a way of life 'stead of just some backing music for whatever sin you felt like committing that day.
Wide variety too from the usual minor key cantatas to the all-out popsters and for once there's nary a turdburger in the batch! Personal fave of mine's by this band called the Spades whose "You Gotta Go" features the lead vocals of some guy who I doubt has even hit the crotch hair cycle yet---boy does he sound young! Amid the local hoo-hahs who were lucky enough to put their moans to wax are some relatively "big" names in the biz including Jonathan Halper of PUCE MOMENT fame (and naturally, this track comes from that!), Detroit's Third Power and.......DEL SHANNON?????
Sunn Trio-BALI KRANTON (1/8)/ FAYRUS (1/8) CD-r burn
Bob Forward didn't give me much info on this particular 'un other'n some newspaper clipping on the Trio that was pretty well done considering it was done by a professional news outlet of some sort. Too bad about the lack of info on this particular effort, but what I did hear was like Bit-O-Honey for the ears. First part has the three (one a progeny of two Arizona rock historical kinda guys) banging away on a gamelan set sounding pretty professional if you ask me even if I doubt the resultant sounds woulda ever made it onto the Smithsonian Folkways label. Later on it gets a li'l rock-y with the addition of some definite electric guitar and drum banging which leads me to believe...am I still listening to the same act or did Bob pull another fast one and switch groups on me in an attempt to make me look even more doofus than I usually do!
Various Artists-STATE OF YOUR QUIET VILLAGE CD-r burn (Bill Shute)
Good putzying around the house music here what with some sixties cheezoid instrumentals from everyone from the Ceyleib People to John Schroeder's Orchestra doin' their take on "Agent OO-Soul" not foo-gettin' the usual country twangs and "exotica" that usedta get yer Unca Ferd all hopped up when heard on his hi-fi system. There's also a number by a grown up Darla Hood of LITTLE RASCALS fame showin' off a rather sultry voice that makes me wanna know more about her adult singing career. Maybe that episode of THE JACK BENNY PROGRAM she guested on will pop up more sooner than later! The boogie-woogie of Amos Millburn churns some spirit as well. As usual, surprises and weird turns abound and after one of these things is over the only thing I can do is go....woooooosh!
Anyhow, I hope you can appreciate the toil 'n labor it took to to put this post together, fun yet hard but worth the effort just as much as that sixth-grade science project that unfortunately didn't blow up the entire school. But man it sure was worth the effort blowin' up whatever could be.
The releases just ain't pourin' out into my musical DNA the way they should (tho I did get a beautiful bounty of Feeding Tube items in a few days ago!), but given this is 2019 and we're so far away from the taproot of it all ("all" being the driving bared-wire intensity of music as we knew and loved it when we were younger and it made up THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES) what else should I expect in my old 'n decrepit age? 'n true, the flow of toonze worthy of mine ears is dribblin' like a leaky diaper on some low-class turdler in the local Dollar General, but at least I, in my olde tymey geriatric thinking way, ain't takin' the lack of high energy jamz sitting down! Hey, even a jaded ol' fanabla like myself faced with a future of downright death-reaffirming sounds can easily flash back to my teenbo years when the moolah was scarce and the fifty cents that went towards some flea market album hadda be put to PRETTY GOOD USE. But boy did my money go far when I made that right choice and picked up a beat up spinner that continues to satisfy me even until now! These days it's merely a matter of a slower'n usual market but when I do get those special sounds comin' my way things are bigger than the Fourth of July! Or in my case, Thanksgiving.
Otherwise I really gotta say one thing and that is FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ALL MY BORN DAYS (at least the adult ones!) I FEEL REALLY HAPPY AND ALL TINGLY AND GREAT TO BE ALIVE AND ALL THAT FUNTIME ROT THAT HAS ELUDED ME FOR THE PAST FORTYSOME OR SO YEARS OF MY MEASLY GROWN UP EXISTENCE!!! I think I know why, what with the kinda people I've known and eventually hated lo these many years being reduced to sputtering and priggish updates on all those scolds of yore (y'know, the same types who they originally RAILED against but eventually BECAME), not to mention the generally energetic hope for a BRIGHT AND POSITIVELY NEGATIVE (ponder that 'un fr'awhile!) FUTURE THAT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE SOME WEIRD DYSTOPIAN PHILLIP K. DICK SHORT STORY EVERYONE SEEMS TO THINK DEFINITELY IS UTOPIAN mess that we've been inundated with by our "betters" (usually meaning you!) my entire grown up and get off my ass life!
Not that the phony intellectual baddies, born of eighties fanzine culture and spoiled upper middle class entitlement (the exact same ones who practically escorted me into my hard right neo-fascist anarchic state!) have ceased to exist---in fact they've grown to stellar lesion! But at least there are now enough voices thanks to a technology that has freed us from the Dictatorship of the Cocktail Party Set (or rock magazine staff roster) to call these enlightened types on the carpet whenever and wherever they may spew their phony virtuousness at us all! In the old days all we could do was shout at the TV...now there are enough angry mammals out there that can shut down more than a few comments sections, and while that ain't exactly major progress in having that two-way discussion that usually turns into a one-way street (remember Eric Holder?) it is a nice and pleasant start. IN OTHER WORDS, all you finger-wagging computer catmothers who have been inundating us suburban slobs with your twisted anti-morality being tossed at us under the banner of fixing everything that's wrong with everything but yourselves better get used to getting YOUR feelings hurt! And boy do I relish that!
***'n so, here be da MOOZIK...like I said I got the new Feeding Tube stash which should brighten my days a bit, not to mention the boffo new Big Brother and the Holding Company collection featuring loads of previously unheard wonders, plus alla the goodies that Bill, Paul and even Bob sent have turned this post into something that has made doing blogs like this way more than just beneficial to my mere existence. Nice selection if I do say so myself. Dig in.
First pick outta the Feeding Tube package. I've heard about My Cat Is An Alien more than a few times o'er the year but never picked any of their wares up. Perhaps I was under the impression that these two guys who make up the group were just dabblers in the whole experimental jiz scene that's brought forth many a disque, some brilliant and others feh. From this live offering this act proves that they are at least as good as the myriad of artists appearing on the Kendra Steiner Editions imprint the way they bend sound into the usual abstract realm yet retain a rock 'n roll sense---electronic blare sounding like a stripped down, nicer Controlled Bleeding that forces you to absorb yourself into what they are saying with their otherworldly instrumentation. And you don't mind it one bit!
***
Gonna hafta keep this 'un brief or else I'll be splatterin' sputum all over this particular post and for the sake of brevity I'd sure like to keep this one as streamlined as possible! And who in a millyun years'd think that these CHEAP THRILLS outtakes'd ever be issued! The band is as hot as ever while Janis sounds closer to Roky Erickson than even Robert Plant and the combination of the two is pretty amazing even fifty years down the road. As usual, this recording leaves you wanting to hear more, making me wonder when some of those pre-Janis tapes that reveal an even more carnal Big Brother will ever be unleasehed on a public that probably couldn't care one whit.
***
Collected on one nice shiny pancake, now all those years of garage sale Monkee record browsing can be tossed right out the window. Great sound, great music and a great way to get a history of the group from their early prefab days right up until the bitter end when Davy Jones and Mickey Dolenz went out on a nice, commercial yet sleazy tone that reminds me of the Troggs of all people! What else can ya say about the group all the hipster types thought were pure fooey yet who made sounds that continue to stand the test of whatever test ya wanna throw at 'em! Only one beef and that is why compiler Bill Shute left the "Randy Scouse Git" single off...perhaps he was embarrassed by the nature of the title and didn't want my virgin ears to be poked any.
***
Better'n average lookback rock comp (especially if you got it free like I did!) that gives us at least a small look at the late-seventies Boston rock scene that turned a whole slew of heads way back in those more starved than usual rock 'n roll days. Yeah there's no Yarbles, Third Rail, Hot Rain or a thousand other local characters that never did quite get their doo-doo, but at least we've got some faves like Willie Alexander, the Lyres, the Classic Ruins and La Peste to keep us all hot and anxious like we were 40 + years back and this stuff was hitting us like nothing since the time your dad caught you inna bathroom with a copy of NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC. The big fans already have these in their original form, but for us cheapo neophytes----whew!
***
Here's one of those long known-about but rarely heard groups who seem to be legendary if only because of a few mentions in a variety of magazine articles o'er the years. After all these years I finally get to hear what these blokes were all about 'n whaddaya know they weren't too bad. Nothing that really squeezes the awe outta me like pus from a ripe pimple but it's still fine in that late-sixties obscure act outta nowhere makes good way. Boffo cover of the Amboy Dukes via MC5's version of "Baby Please Don't Go" as well as some tracks wafting between the psychedelic and pop vein that ain't exactly top notch when compared to the wilder aspects of the form but-----still nice!
***
I take it back...there still are plenty of good sixties-era local rock 'n roll recordings out there that are just being unearthed EVEN AFTER THIS LATE DATE! US GARAGE GEMS VOLUME 31 (didn't even know there were thirty others, or did I!) collects a sensational smattering of 'em too, and not just of the geekoiod variety but of a nice wide range of garage-y styles that'll bring back those memories like nothing since potrzebie! Y'know, back when rock was a way of life 'stead of just some backing music for whatever sin you felt like committing that day.
Wide variety too from the usual minor key cantatas to the all-out popsters and for once there's nary a turdburger in the batch! Personal fave of mine's by this band called the Spades whose "You Gotta Go" features the lead vocals of some guy who I doubt has even hit the crotch hair cycle yet---boy does he sound young! Amid the local hoo-hahs who were lucky enough to put their moans to wax are some relatively "big" names in the biz including Jonathan Halper of PUCE MOMENT fame (and naturally, this track comes from that!), Detroit's Third Power and.......DEL SHANNON?????
***
Bob Forward didn't give me much info on this particular 'un other'n some newspaper clipping on the Trio that was pretty well done considering it was done by a professional news outlet of some sort. Too bad about the lack of info on this particular effort, but what I did hear was like Bit-O-Honey for the ears. First part has the three (one a progeny of two Arizona rock historical kinda guys) banging away on a gamelan set sounding pretty professional if you ask me even if I doubt the resultant sounds woulda ever made it onto the Smithsonian Folkways label. Later on it gets a li'l rock-y with the addition of some definite electric guitar and drum banging which leads me to believe...am I still listening to the same act or did Bob pull another fast one and switch groups on me in an attempt to make me look even more doofus than I usually do!
***
Good putzying around the house music here what with some sixties cheezoid instrumentals from everyone from the Ceyleib People to John Schroeder's Orchestra doin' their take on "Agent OO-Soul" not foo-gettin' the usual country twangs and "exotica" that usedta get yer Unca Ferd all hopped up when heard on his hi-fi system. There's also a number by a grown up Darla Hood of LITTLE RASCALS fame showin' off a rather sultry voice that makes me wanna know more about her adult singing career. Maybe that episode of THE JACK BENNY PROGRAM she guested on will pop up more sooner than later! The boogie-woogie of Amos Millburn churns some spirit as well. As usual, surprises and weird turns abound and after one of these things is over the only thing I can do is go....woooooosh!
***Did I ever mention to you that back issues of BLACK TO COMM are still available? I think it might have slipped my mind o'er the past year. But there are some that are up 'n about and they can be yours for a mere song, and maybe some moolah as well! If you're interested in any unavailable issues, just ask and maybe you shall receive---photocopies, that is. For a fee, of course.
And the Raik's Progress gave us Tonio K., of Life in the Foodchain fame, the only Christian rocker to use the word "motherfucker" in a song.
ReplyDeleteAndrew Russ