BLOG TO COMM

I may be ignored, I may be vilified and perhaps I may even be murdered for what I'm doing, but in no way will I BACK DOWN!!!!!! Here's hoping that you're filled with the same vitriol and loathing as I am or else you probably will not appreciate one letter let alone word of what I've written this warm 'n muggy day. The way I feel well --- let's just say that if you're in good straits as far as mental cogging goes you better turn your computer off until (maybe) the next post because in no way are you gonna come outta this feeling nice 'n happy that's for sure!

Maybe I shouldn't feel as homicidal as I do at this very nanosecond thanks to the pow'r-packed-parcels that have arrived, most notably the few from Robert Forward with more Richard Meltzer HEPCATS FROM HELL recordings of definite worth. A surprise package it 'tis as well since the latest includes the infamous Chris Burden episode which has been a favorite of mine ever since I first heard (part of) it sometime in the late-eighties thanks to the kindness of one Eddie Flowers. Burden's a guy who was, at least until the mid-seventies or so (afterwards he's a bit iffy what with those toy cars rollin' around 'n all), one to be GREATLY ADMIRED given the way he used to use his own corpse for punishment as art! Listening to him cuss and act all neofascist (a "put on" neofascist but halfway convincing enough for my tastes) like he does here really hits a warm spot straight in the middle of my brisket to be all gosh darn and personal about it. Too bad the part where Burden takes his Uzi and fires it out the KPFK window isn't on here, but otherwise I find listening to this Meltzer/Burden banter mighty inspiring in a life-reaffirming, feel good about yourself way! So take THAT alla you goody-two-shoe John Bradshaw, Leo Buscaglia and UP WITH PEOPLE types! 

Also like the ones where Claude "Kickboy" Bessy either guest hosts or sits in with his group Catholic Discipline, an aggregation that seemed to get more than their fair share of HEPCATS airtime I'll tell ya! People who think that the French were/are horrible rockers should listen to the works of Bessy as well as that of J.P. Kalfon (still waiting for a Crouille Marteau album!), Dr. Mix, Marie et les Garcons and a whole slew of Gallic groupings I and undoubtedly you have never even heard because you will change your opinions about them so-called "surrender monkeys" (not like us run from Afghanistan with our tails between our legs Amerigans) right away!

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So what else is goin' on in the wild and woolly world of what passes for my very existence? Well, besides some extraneous activities like writing a comedy routine based on the Moors Murders I've been handling a whole slew of real-life gosh darn it activities --- things like working (yech!) and getting rid of about sixty years of antiques that have cluttered up the abode and I'm not talking about whatcha'd call antique antiques but unsalable items that I don't think anyone would want in a millyun years. Anyway, if any of you are going to be in the tri-county area this September be sure to stop by and see the pile of offal I'm leaving at the curb for bulk pickup --- who knows, you might find some scrap wood for the ol' fireplace or perhaps even a few good bargains, that is if you're interested in half-finished projects and broken lamps and chairs that have been lying around ever since my mother got the notion to turn her love of antiques into a bonafeed business! Sheesh, you'd never see ME taking my personal passions and trying to make money off of them now, would you?

Also had the extreme pleasure of celebrating yet another birthday recently and although birthdays, like Christmas, sure ain't what they were when I was but a budding turdler I can still ooze some warm 'n toasties remembering the fun ones I lived through and at times even survived. For my birthday treat I was presented with a rather scrumptious dinner at The Elmton in Struthers Ohio, one of the few olde tymey mam 'n pap restaurants 'round these parts that's still up and runnin', and a good time I sure had ordering their broasted chicken with equally broasted potatoes which I only seem to get when I hit this outta the way suburban spot. Dining at The Elmton really does send me back in time (in a good way for once!) with that midclass restaurant-y atmosphere --- sheesh, all that's missing's the cigarette smoke with really does add a pleasant dimension to the pizzas that The Elmton's also pretty well know for!

It was also nice taking a ride to and fro the place reminding me of when Youngstown Sheet and Tube (employer of none other than Kenneth Patchen's very own dad and at one time mine!) was up and goin' full blast, scarin' the bejabbers outta me well into adolescence with all that noise and fire shooting all over the place! That's been torn down ages ago and Struthers is now a rather soot free and breathable place unlike it was back when windows had to be cleaned at least five times a week (I remember when kid show host Barney Bean'd repeatedly'd mention about going to Struthers High School football games and having to hold his nose throughout the entire proceedings!). I assume that it's a whole lot poorer compared to the days when industry was king and the unions made sure that the steelworkers were getting paid even better'n most white collar workers, but we can console ourselves that at least the air is crystal clear!

If you wanna see just a glimpse of what Struthers used to be like check out the Youngstown Ohio episode of ROUTE 66 with that opening shot of Sheet and Tube. (I believe I posted a clip from this 'un a good five or so years back, and as you know I do not like to repeat myself!) That's been torn down (replaced with a truck and trailer dealership and other smaller enterprises) and now that I'm much older and its been ages since those environmentalist types finally got their way at the expense of the local economy all I can say is that I sure miss the old industrial atmosphere of the place with the incessant churning, putrid sulfur and unbridled terror of it all. The perfect place for Throbbing Gristle or even early Pere Ubu to have recorded an album.

The chicken was excellent along with the broasted potatoes (which was actually a quartered lengthwise huge Idaho tossed in the broaster with the chicken thus taking on a lot of its greasy, tangy and spiced flavoring), although I thought the pizza wasn't up to snuff --- too floppy with a sauce that was somewhat too sweet and a cheese that was so chewy you could gag on it! Still I had two slices so you can say that I did get some enjoyment outta it, and the best thing about it is its economical value --- it stays with you all day! Gonna take the rest and crisp it up inna oven (got one of those pizza stones I'd like to try out) and maybe pour a whole load of Parmesan cheese (or better yet get some Romano) and see if that helps it out any.

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When I was but a young suburban slob I used to get really upset to the point of froth when the other kids would just about ALWAYS leave me out of their various plots and schemes. Of course being the verifiable cube that I was raised to be didn't help endear me to anyone (as if Mom's advice to get a haircut, learn to play the piano, perform at parties and the girls would come flocking to you had any meaning after 1945) so maybe it was best that I did what I did and stayed in my bedroom until reaching middle age. I've learned since those days of self-loathing and general sniveldom --- now I can leave people out of MY own personal doings and feel so good doing so. One thing I've learned along this horse crapped road of life's that it's sure great getting even and putting other people down! Makes me feel all --- holy inside.

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Hey, are you still getting all gaggy and eye-watery from alla that haze from those Canadian wildfires that continue to be roaring outta control? Don Fellman says it's bad where he is over in Flushing (no jokes) New York but it just hazes a little here, not as bad a few weeks back when I was actually forced by my cyster to wear a face diaper while cutting her yard. Gotta admit that I like that smoky smell which reminds me of the autumn when everyone's beginning to start up their fireplaces. Funny thing, but I keep mentioning to various folk that the reason for those wildfires is that Stokey the Bear from the old DUDLEY DOORIGHT cartoon is back in action, but surprisingly enough nobody seems to remember him! 

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Boo to Wade Oberlin for not sending me a copy of the latest issue of FAUX WOOD PANELING! Now I'll guess I'll have to actually dish out the dollars for one even though I am such an important person on this thing we call the blogosphere, at least to the point where I should be getting my copy gratis! An' I'm broke or else I woulda bought one but sheesh, being a rock "writer" certainly does not have its perks. I mean, it can't even get me a choice seat at Popeye's Chicken and Biscuits let alone The Elmton!

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More "current events" as far as the various turntable trivialities 'round here go:

Figures of Light-FEEDBACK MUSIC CD (FOL Records)

Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention-WE MAY PLAY SOME THINGS THAT MIGHT SOUND STRANGE LP (Zapped Records bootleg)

Pink Floyd-THE GRAND UMMAGUMMA PARTY CD (Alrarities Records bootleg)

WOODY'S TRUCK STOP CD (Kismet Records)

MOTHER MALLARD'S PORTABLE MASTERPIECE CO. CD-r burn (originally on Cuneiform Records)

The Thirteenth Floor Elevators-EASTER EVERYWHERE LP (Radar Records, England)

David Bowie-THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD CD (Virgin Records)

BRAKAMON CD (RCA Records, Spain)

Gaea-FUTURE UNIVERSE CD (self-issued)

Magic Muscle-LAUGHS AND THRILLS CD (Wide World Records, Germany)

The Rolling Stones-OUT OF TIME LP (Monroe Records bootleg)

The Third Ear Band-EXPERIENCES LP (Harvest Heritage Records, England)

Nico-DESERTSHORE LP (Reprise Records, England)

Siouxsie and the Banshees-LOVE IN A VOID LP (Banshee Records bootleg)

The Move-CALIFORNIA MAN LP (Harvest Records, England)

The Bags-"L. Frank Baum"/"Max Roach" 7-inch 33 r.p.m. single (Stanton Park Records)

Gavin Bryars, Christopher Hobbs-ENSEMBLE PIECES CD (GB Records)

John Cage-ATLAS ECLIPTICALIS FOR THREE FLUTES - EBERHARD BLUM, PICCOLO, FLUTE AND ALTO FLUTE CD (hatArt Records, Germany)

The Charles Mingus Orchestra with Eric Dolphy 1964-PARKERIANA LP (Ingo Records bootleg, Italy)

The Gun Club-FIRE OF LOVE LP (New Rose Records, France)

Peter Brotzmann/Sonny Sharrock-WHATTHEFUCKDOYOUWANT CD (Trost Records, Austria)

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Now for the reviews featuring items not only donated the the cause of rockism by Mr. Forward but by Paul McGarry, along with a few turdbits that I actually parted with hard-to-come-by pennies for! Sheesh, since I stopped publishing my crudzine ya'd think I'd have all the moolah in the world to dissipate into the pockets of mailorder and ebay peddlers but sadly enough that is not the case --- now, I would if only more people would care to stock up on a few back issues so whatever you do see the link below and take the hint---I know you guys are reading my back issue come ons given the high view count so it ain't like you don't have any excuses to be so kulturally deprived!!!!!

Note the plethora of recordings that some might call "avant garde" or "new jazz" that have popped up here. Seems as if my musical tastes are really heading back to my late-seventies interest in various "diddy wah" music as the hicks call it, something which I chalk up to the plain and dirty fact there's actually nothing popping up out there being created these days that dares to tingle my sonic nerve endings. The lack of anything archival also has me digging more and more into the ol' collection for my aural delights as you can tell from the listening list that proudly on display directly above. Gotta get used to this maybe not-so-gloomy fact anyway, because in a few shorter than short years I'm probably gonna be living off that pittance one calls Social Security and them old spinners I've had since my shoulda been wayward youth is ALL you're gonna read about here:

Bob Dylan-SHADOW KINGDOM CD-r burn (originally on Columbia Records)

Yeah the guy's been a living legend for at least the past sixty years and he smells funny, but at least he ain't milking his image while missing cues and singing offkey like Sinatra did taking advantage of his notoriety figurin' the doofs'd pay anything to see him before he croaks. Well, some of those concerts I've heard where Dylan telephoned it all in weren't exactly the man's tippy toppest moments (remember LIVE AT BUDOKAN as well as a bazillion bootlegs where it seemed as if the guy was just rushin' through it all to get it over and done?) and that goes for many a studio sesh as well. But on SHADOW KINGDOM Dylan actually presents himself as a pretty onna ball guy reworkin' the old chestnuts for some documentary that I'll bet I (or maybe even YOU) will never get around to seeing. Yeah some of these new and supposedly improved versions don't quite jibe with the originals, but if you've stuck around with Dylan this long through good 'n bad you're not going to abandon him now, are ya?

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Charles "Bobo" Shaw & Lester Bowie-BUGLE BOY BOP CD-r burn (originally on Muse Records)

A lotta people forget just how important the New York loft scene was to the advancement and development of that thing we call THE JAZZ O-MIND. Given the wealth of the newer than new freeform "Great Black Music" that took place in such places as Studio Rivbea not to mention the wider-than-wide assortment of albums that came out of that particular movement (such as the should be legendary five-LP WILDFLOWERS series on Douglas) you know that it was a crucial movement in the progress of and development of jazz to the point where even the tux 'n tails stodgies at DOWN BEAT were forced to cover it!

Here's a boff sesh from Rivbea featuring AACM star Lester Bowie and BAG founding member Charles "Bobo" Shaw doing some trumpet/drums duos which succeed even with a lineup that would seem foreign at least to the Leonard Feathers amongst us. Bowie once again proves as to why he was such a renowned trumpeter because even Miles Davis was speaking praise, and that guy never said anything nice about nobody so ya know he hadda been good! Shaw's drum work gets PRETTY CLOSE to the original intent of the message and meaning of the thump set forth oh so many centuries ago, but that's nothing new since I always knew he was one of the better trapsters on the set given his work with the Human Arts Ensemble and a few other exemplary efforts that are hidden in various dark corners of my very own collection. 

Definitely one out of many high points in the chronicles of the seventies jazz underground when it seemed as if this new thing was gonna burst forth upon us like a festering pimple just waiting to be squooshed! It never did (at least to my satisfaction) but at a time when names such as Anthony Braxton and Cecil Taylor were actually on the lips of more'n a few pseudo-intellectual college students it sure seems like the next humongous movement in sound!

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Harmonia-DOCUMENTS 1975 CD (Gronland Records, Germany)

Since I'm not made outta money (or Mayda Munny for that matter) I decided to pass on the Harmonia box set even though it has a neato book enclosed 'n maybe even a cool poster I can hang on the wall (if I decide to identify as a pre-pubescent girl that is). So 'stead of dishing out the big bux I saved a bundle by getting DOCUMENTS 1975 on its lonesome 'n true I'm missing out on alla the fringe benefits of the box set, but I figured out long ago that I can't have everything given that I couldn't AFFORD it all so why let that bug me like so many other things do! 

So now you know why I used to bitch heavily (albeit jokingly) about not being on the right promo lists just like R. Meltzer used to do! Gotta take after yer idols or else you ain't no fan!

Still's good to hear what I'll betcha's the final last word as far as any more Harmonia releases go. Sounding like Kraftwerk with lead poured up their asses, Harmonia take the usual "motorik" rhythms and double time 'em before getting even dreamier'n alla those interstellar nod outs that the likes of Kraftwerk as well as Neu! did. Not as punk rock as La Dusseldorf but heading in that direction. Pretty hotcha sounds that even get into those drones like the kind that a certain group whose name I fear mentioning at this time seemed to bank their entire existence on!

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Anthony Braxton-FOR ALTO CD-r burn (originally on Delmark Records)

Good thing I finally got McGarry to burn this for me before my hearing's shot for good. The first of Braxton's solo alto albums which shows the future star of the mid/late-seventies beret and stale doritos crowd playing a tonal, eloquent and (if you can believe it) copasetic music that's even quite pleasing to the ears --- before knocking you down with the standard hard scronk that still upsets quite a few precious petunias out there. Dedications to John Cage, Cecil Taylor and even fellow AACM member/bandmate Leroy Jenkins might give you a hint if you're one of the few readers not familiar with Braxton's output, and if you don't think this is just as "adventurous" today as it was back in '69 you've certainly got another thought comin'!

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Mother Mallard's Portable Masterpiece Co.-1970-1973 CD-r burn (originally on Cunieform, and before that Earthquack Records)

Even more of the same of what I encountered in last go 'round's Mother Mallard review. Seventies-vintage analog synths playing repeato riff sounds owing heavily to the minimalist composers and general experimental credo of the previous umpteen years. A mesmerizing delivery (even without the use of brain alterations) that could even be called "assessable" to blokes who just otherwise wouldn't give it the time of day. An electronic music that makes you feel like you're floating on air as Greg Prevost would have said. Check out the innovative sampling of Theresa Brewer which I somehow think she would not be flattered by.

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THREE BANDS PODCAST WITH CRAIG BELL CD-r burn

One from Mr. Forward that kinda threw me for a loop. Taken from some podcast whose name I couldn't make out (forget the host's own moniker as well), none other than one Mr. C. W. Bell, he of Cleveland underground rock music fame, gets the royal treatment as he talks about the past and plays three songs by three bands that I guess really mean a lot to the ol' fanabla. 

Being a long time Cleveland under-the-underground First Wave fan I really enjoyed listening to Bell tell the stories about his coming of rock 'n roll age not to mention his involvement in the various groups he has played in o'er the years --- really dredged up a whole load of feelings as to why I was so OCD over this stuff during my own musical coming of age. 

One clarification should be made regarding Bell's comments regarding Lance Loud and "Muscle Boys" --- the television appearance of Lance and co. was on THE DICK CAVETT SHOW and it weren't even the Mumps playing as Bell tells but a proto Mumpsian act with not only Lance and future Mump Kristian Hoffman but Loud's sister that went under the moniker Loudness. I'd post the video of it directly below but it looks as if it got taken down. Grrrrrrr...

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Boots Randolph-YAKETY SAX CD-r burn (originally on Bear Family Records, Germany)

And now for a saxophonist QUITE DIFFERENT than Braxton! Yeah, memories of "Yakety Sax" will take you back to the days of THE BENNY HILL SHOW and late-night seventies/eighties stoned out tee-vee viewing, and the Senor Wences ref on "Difficult" was nostalgia bubbling enough to remind me of more'n a few ED SULLIVAN SHOWs from my fainter than faint years. Not only that but each and every track on this collection's got that sixties instro feeling that gives you the same kinda thrill chills as anything Johnny and the Hurricanes ever whipped out. For alla you better-than-thou plastic jewelry and lipstick Northern snobs out there (and as for the girls...old joke true but still pertinent) this is the kinda music that you'll point to when you wanna prove that you really do like alla those rural hard workin' types despite what you'd call your own better snobbish judgement.

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Lou Harrison-MUSIC FOR GUITAR AND PERCUSSION --- JOHN SCHNEIDER, WELL-TEMPERED GUITAR CD (Etcetera Records, Germany)

Really wasn't familiar at all with Harrison's works other'n that collaboration he did with John Cage, so this collection was more than what I would call a halfway decent introduction to the works of a guy who is remembered much more for being a homo than for being a composer. But don't let that get inna way of you getting some enjoyment jollies outta this collection which I gotta say I found, fairly entertaining even if some of these compositions are way less aleatory and thus exciting than some of what Cage was up to way back when the guy was big name enough that he could even pop up on tee-vee game shows not only here inna USA but Italy as well.

Not surprisingly (at least for me) the only track here which actually grabbed my stirrups was "Canticle No. 3 For Ocarina, Percussion and Guitar" which dates way back to 1942 and reminds me a whole lot of Cage's various "First Construction in Metal" efforts, only with an ocarina and guitar added giving the found object clangs a rather ancient/third world gamelan-esque bent that sorta foresees Harrison's budding interest and influence. The rest is decent enough even if a whole lot doesn't even feature the guitar and percussion that well-hyped onna cover but guitarist John Schneider's "well tempered" axe going through a number of compositions that really don't come off that differently than many earlier classical guitar works. They still have enough of a unique aura to 'em, probably due to the Pythagorean tuning which is something I guess only a mathematician with a whole lotta time on his hands could come up with and hooray for him just for that!

For alla you people who got turned onto the avant whatever after listening to Eno and snatching up those Obscure Records platters, this just might suit you fine. Maybe not, but like I said I've given up second guessing you guys long ago!

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Hmmmm...don't think this post has turned out as negative and generally loathing of humanity as I thought it would. Must be doing something wrong. I'll try rectifying myself in the back issue segment directly below.

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In the annals of rock fandom there hasn't been a publication as vilified, as lied about and as utterly loathed as BLACK TO COMM. Hardly a dago bi when some enlightened being goes out of its way to spit upon the magazine for its honest and down-to-earth brass tacks reporting and righteously opinionated views. Views which have often run counter with the current mode of accepted breed of thinking that gets you in good with the body odor crowd, and if you'd WANNA be compatico with those kinda folk well... Let's just say you'll never see BTC mentioned in conjunction with any other fanzines when a history of the form in the eighties/nineties is bound to be written (not that I especially care given the general loathing I have for the type of person who would write such a piece in the first place)! Enough of that. Anyway, if you need a good reason to join in with the rest of the precious petunia revelers in post-gonz rock "journalism" why don't you buy one or even more copies (see highlight above) and really get your indignation all in an uproar like ya shoulda done ages ago.