BLOG TO COMM

Continuin' on with the utter PLEASURE of livin' in the NEW, ADVANCED WORLD we call the late-teens, a time when, although the best and brightest in music, comics, literature and plain ol' gonzoid rock scribin' is looooooong gone at least we have the rottin' carcass (in the form of archival digs and the like) to feast on. And as you might be able to decipher from my past umpteen years of writin' this blog I'm still hungrier'n a ten-year-old blubberfarm at an all-you-can-eat buffet when it comes to the glorious sounds of the 1964-1981 (roughly) era of rock 'n roll music and GOLDEN AGE OF ROCK SCRIBING that I can't get outta my system nohow! And with more goodies promised from those sainted days headin' our way (early Velvet Underground exhumations and the Suicide PUNK MUSIC MASS from 1971!) there ain't no way I'm gonna leave this earthly existence as long as I got these eternal efforts to look forward to!

The readin' situation is plenty hotcha in the here/now too...you will be readin' my impressions regardin' the latest UGLY THINGS in a short while, plus some recent books of interest are bound to get a mention or two in these "pages" as time crawls on. And between these wonders as well as the stacks of a good fortysome years of fanzines snuggled in my closet where my shoes oughta be (they're crammed under the bed!) you can bet that I won't be spendin' my free time volunteerin' for Meals on Wheels or dishin' slop out at the rescue mission when I could be readin' some old NME that has just come my way (more on those as time goes by as well!)

You won't believe this (as if you ever would lower yourselves to believe ME!), but 2019 is the BEST TIME EVER to appreciate the raw, driving music that typified the Metal Machine sound that captivated more'n a few souls during the at-times dank days of the seventies. And true, although most rock reading has been reduced to hypesheet cut 'n pasting there can be some downright exhilarating pro-rockist prose that captures the true excitement and energy of a sound that has been dismissed and loathed by way too many, including those fakes who pretend to love the sounds but only love the feeling of their egos being stroked. And if you're looking for some real deal topnotch scribblin' that embodies the spirit of that exciting music that has been dampered down for a much longer period in time than we care to imagine, well LOOK NO FURTHER THAN HERE!!!

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MORE SPACE-FILLING TIME-current turntable or whatever faves include Suicide-Alan Vega/Martin Rev (Ze)-after all these years the second album sounds quite better than I remembered, not so slick and perhaps the last truly New York City rock album to make its way out before the eighties dampened everything including Suicide for that matter! THE PAGE BLUES BAND LIVE IN EXCELSIOR SPRINGS, MO 1969-raw 'n alive post-English guy blues rock which really doesn't evoke all those bad memories I've had of white guys playing their amped up versions of old standards that was all the rage back then! Ornette Coleman-DANCING IN YOUR HEAD (Columbia)-I remember when this came out and all the pseudo-intelligentsia within earshot were gabbin' about its greatness. Sheesh, even phonus balonuses can be right some time! The Stooges-A THOUSAND LIGHTS CD (Easy Action)-It's always a pleasure to hear prime FUNHOUSE-era Stooges live and this cache from Natalie Stoogeling's collection really does fit the bill on those nights when I should be doing something more beneficial---like sleeping! MUSIK VON HARMONIA (Brain Records) und Can-MONSTER MOVIE (Spoon)-They haff vays uf making you bop!

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Well, after that pile o' somethingorother here are the writeups for this week. Got a few nice surprises in here for ya including a few things I've been waitin' to hear for quite awhile. Let's just call this 'un A VERY SPECIAL EPISODE OF BLOG TO COMM which is something that I titled one of these posts a good decade-plus back but since nobody reads those old 'un's who's gonna know that I'm doin' a little recyclin' unless I tell 'em so! Thanks to Bill, Paul and Feeding Tube---I would thank Bob Forward as well but sheesh, if only his Cee-Dee-Are burns would play without stopping or skipping every few seconds!!!

Various Artists-A2, AN A-SQUARE COMPILATION 2-LP set (Third Man Records)

This is merely a beefing-up of the old A-SQUARE OF COURSE Cee-Dee that was up and about awhile back, but this double duty set's got additional tracks and a cover that really brings back a whole lotta memories of what album covers used to look like back when albums mattered to a suburban slob such as I! Naturally all the greats are here from the poppier Thyme to the rip-roarin' MC5, plus the Rationals, Apostles and SRC help fill in the high energy gaps with those singles that were at one time so rare that we jumped for joy when a low-fidelity version of the latter's "Get The Picture" popped up on one of those early BOULDERS collections. What's best about this 'un is that now I finally get to hear the legendary Stoney and the Jagged Edge who prove that, had they only stuck around awhile, they could have been as popular as the Big Guns on the scene complete with albums that would be initially ignored only to be re-discovered by another generation looking for top notch rockist thrills via the cutout bins of their choice.

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Ancient Pools-COSINE LP (Feeding Tube Records)

Although COSINE might be that soothing sort of sound that you'll love slipping onto the ol' Victrola after a hard day at the Pedophile Support Group of your choice I gotta say that this one did not gel with me. Not that I'd call it an iffy spin, but the electronic pop heard on COSINE was not only too sullen and spiritless for my own being but rather reminiscent of plenty of these downer gal pop electronica grooves that have been goin' on ever since we were told we too could "do it ourselves" only when we did the results weren't just quite the same. I think some of you more forward-looking readers might snuggle up to it and if so well then snuggle you must!

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P.F. Sloane-SAILOVER CD-r burn (originally on Hightone Records)

This ain't one of those old guy re-does hit hits for a new label sorta jive nohow! Some old timers like Felix Cavaliere and Lucinda Williams help out and thankfully don't get in the way. Still powerful, perhaps because this doesn't make any concessions to the sick state of commercial pap that followed in its wake. As good as classic Dylan, and oddly enough reminiscent of ...Mott the Hoople? Yeah! Worth the search.

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Various Artists-SUGAR LUMPS VOLUME ONE CD-r burn (originally on Acid Jazz Records)

Boy did this 'un get all hot and bothered like a good record should! SUGAR LUMPS contains whatcha'd call a good selection of late-sixties English psychedelic pop and what has become known as "freakbeat", and it doesn't let up one bit what with the bevy o' talent that's in store within these grooves. Other'n the Factory's "Path Through the Forest" none of this is familiar to me but it sure cooks with heavy duty kinetic rock 'n roll that doesn't quit, what with the likes of Andy Lewis and Andy Ellison doing that post-John's Children deca-pop and the likes ot Templar and the Argonauts performing some of the better repeato-riff rock I've heard from a sixties group since the Velvet Underground! I was especially blown away by Groovy Ruben's recitation of "The Woeful Tale of Shakes Magoo" which I sure wish was one of those off-the-wall novelty-type records that hit the charts back when I was but a mere turdling.

You might not be as jump up and down excited over the thing, but if you get it and take it for a spin don't be surprised if you don't revert to age ten and start doing strange interpretive dances all over the basement!

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Ray Harlowe and Gyp Fox-FIRST RAYS CD-r burn

Some people may spill much more'n seed onna ground when they hear these early-seventies locally produced albums, but I found this particular one part and parcel as to just exactly what was WRONG with rock music (no longer rock 'n roll because that was like too---greasy or something) back during my growing up suburban slob days. 's got some jazzy moves and standard FM grooves that woulda been perfect for the more doobified in the audience, and listening to this makes me understand all the more whatever hatred and ire people like Greg Shaw had for the musical situation that popped up at the time. Maybe a whiff of incense, some pukka shells dangling in the doorway and an issue of GREEN LANTERN/GREEN ARROW would help? All I need to do is throw in a few "right on"'s for good measure and maybe a Peter Max poster or two.

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Tommy Keene-EXCITEMENT AT YOUR FEET CD-r burn (originally on Second Motion Records)

I know that I should hate this guy especially on aesthetic principles (as well as hate by association), but I will admit this spinner was better'n I or maybe even you would have guessed. Keene jangles his way through a slew of covers including those by Mink DeVille, the Flamin' Groovies, Television, Roxy Music and DONOVAN???...and doesn't come off like the doof you thought he would tryin' to attempt such a task! Actually Keene holds his own and thankfully eschews more modern electronese and gimmickry to present a straight-ahead pop rock sound that should appear to fans of the likes of not only Alex Chilton but the Raspberries and early-seventies Hollies for that matter. Quite a few guaranteed choice 1972 vintage AM spinners here with a production that makes me think THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN THE PERFECT FLEA MARKET FIND OF 1979 HAD IT COME OUT WAY BACK WHEN! It sure didn't, but we can dream can't we?

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Various Artists-SAN JACINTO WEDNESDAY REINCARNATION CD-r burn (Bill Shute)

No track listing on this 'un so as usual I'll have to do a LOTTA GUESSING! Well, some of it is easy like the Seeds' "Two Fingers Pointing At You" plus I believe that the Christian rock track present was taken from the Fraction MOON BLOOD album (could be wrong---that 'un's due to a re-play one of these days). But the rest is pretty up inna air. Some of it comes off like rather iffy early-seventies rock cusp FM fodder while the English psychedelic whimsy songs did have a rather bright neo-Tall Dwarfs meet Kevin Ayers and Syd Barrett touch to 'em...any clue to who they are Bill? Otherwise, a pretty good way for me to waste yet another Saturday afternoon when I should be out there playin' with the kids.

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Now that Easter's over and you have a li'l time to lay back and enjoy yourself, howzbout enjoying it with some BLACK TO COMM back issues that'll help you digest your rabbit casserole just as much as Brioschi! And it tastes better too! When it comes to easy chairs and BLACK TO COMM the two go hand in hand and you know it's true!