tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52605012111559721252024-03-12T18:06:00.482-07:00Ugly ThingsMike Staxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05489151525114377124noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260501211155972125.post-53177587197460034742014-01-13T09:22:00.002-08:002014-01-13T09:22:58.056-08:00The Death of Creativity or a New Filter?
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><strong><em>By Doug Sheppard</em></strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">In a recent issue of <em>The Guardian</em>, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/oct/11/david-byrne-internet-content-world" target="_blank">David Byrne</a> lamented that the Internet “will suck all the
creative content out of the world”—pointing to the meager pittance musicians
get from streaming services and the way a large portion of books and movies are
now delivered electronically.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">I agree with some of Byrne’s points. Musicians (and all
artists, for that matter) should get paid better (including from streaming
services), streaming for free or a small fee may lead to a lack of appreciation
for music, and the blockbuster culture portended by all of the above is indeed
a concern.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">But then again, we’re already there. Almost everything
worthwhile in the last three decades was on independent labels—or by artists
who started on an indie. Take away the early ’90s grunge era (which wasn’t all
that great, but that’s another article) and a few notable exceptions, and what
you have on major labels during that span is utterly worthless: AOR, hair
metal, trendy dance music, tuneless (yet “critically acclaimed”) alternative
rock, nu metal, rap/hip hop, boy bands and divas.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">So assuming we’re not worried about the majors, should we
worry about the indies? Yes and no. I’d hate to think that the indie scene
would be eaten up by streaming, reducing us to a world where -- similar to the
way individual franchises like Google, Amazon and Facebook dominate the
Internet—there are only large entities. But it goes back to the same question:
What would we be losing?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">The double-edged sword that is the Internet has enabled me to
check out many cool bands that I would otherwise never have heard. But it’s
also given everyone with access to a computer a means to make
music—complicating an already unfiltered world. With majors and radio long
having abandoned their place in the filter, it’s left to the consumer to
separate the wheat from the chaff.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">And what a load of chaff there is. On club bills featuring
multiple bands, one or more is guaranteed to be lackluster or worse. Thanks to
the ability of independent labels to go straight to the Internet and skip the
previous distribution channels, a morass of mediocrity has been unleashed with
catch phrases like “in the tradition of the Stooges,” “hooks like Cheap Trick,”
“savage garage a la the Sonics,” and so on—mostly just signaling that the band
sounds <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">nothing</i> like what they’re
being compared to.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">In the vast majority of cases an artist that’s truly great—or
even very good—will get recognized in some way, be it a hit record, a local
following, a major label deal resulting from that local following, or at least
some acclaim at some point (occasionally even after the band breaks up).
(That’s not to say that every artist who achieves one of those things is
worthwhile, but you get what I mean.) So I don’t share Byrne’s worry about
great music going unheard.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">In fact, I think that if Byrne is even partially correct
about the Internet sucking creative content out—it’s a potential cause for
optimism. It may mean being exposed to fewer soundalike bands that have been
praised by their friends in blog posts. It may mean that I don’t have to sit
through another shitty Clash/Ramones/Black Flag wannabe on a punk bill, another
crummy New York Dolls knockoff that’s all clothes and no music, or the
“psychedelic” band that’s merely aimless jamming without songs. Maybe if the
Internet makes it impossible for such frauds to make music, it will be the beginning
of a new filter that the world has lacked for quite some time.</span></div>
Mike Staxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05489151525114377124noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260501211155972125.post-79204712797105861382013-05-05T20:38:00.000-07:002013-05-05T21:14:22.356-07:00The Seeds on Sundazed and other Record Store Day Scores<strong><em>By Doug Sheppard</em></strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Like the authorities catching up to the protagonist in a
biker exploitation film, time had caught up to Sky Saxon in 1970. Between
Altamont, harder drugs and the frowning faces of war protestation, there was no
room for <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">the Seeds</b>’ idealism and –
if analogies are in order – the times had indeed spoiled Sky’s fun. Rock was
now serious, like really <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">serious</i>, man
– discovering all kinds of wimpy folk, phony roots, long solos and (thanks to
Woodstock) corporate influences. Sky was Davy Crockett at the Alamo – or
rather, a rocker past him prime getting laid a lot at his Malibu home. But it
didn’t mean he didn’t have one last charge in him.</span></div>
<o:p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></o:p><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2IheBrJpCGcfPBEcmeKJZJ05JH9T8j7qxpQt-TfN1fugDsoXIxeDsYZwdEPmre2JDHXBz_Tf5RRvA-93Et10HaQP-sdGUvNYbUooynl_s639nA32iPhFdef5WKuuWXmE-5asdoIIU-TAE/s1600/Seeds+sundazed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2IheBrJpCGcfPBEcmeKJZJ05JH9T8j7qxpQt-TfN1fugDsoXIxeDsYZwdEPmre2JDHXBz_Tf5RRvA-93Et10HaQP-sdGUvNYbUooynl_s639nA32iPhFdef5WKuuWXmE-5asdoIIU-TAE/s1600/Seeds+sundazed.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Calling on old keyboard sidekick Darryl Hooper, plus three
new members, the re-sprouted Seeds departed GNP Crescendo for MGM and recorded
two killer singles that sadly never made it past the promo stage, falling into
permanent rarity status and never getting a legit reissue – until now, thanks
to Sundazed and Record Store Day.</span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></o:p></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">The Seeds’ first MGM offering, “Bad Part of Town” b/w “Wish
Me Up,” paired a biting fuzz rocker with a more flowery, keyboard-dominated
number that harked back to the band’s later GNP material. It was the heavy
influence of “Bad Part of Town” that would propel the even better followup,
“Love in a Summer Basket” b/w “Did He Die.”</span><br />
<o:p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></o:p><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">In spite of its title, “Love In a Summer Basket” isn’t so
much a floral excursion as it is a tidal wave of loud fuzz guitar squalls
crashing the shores of idealism as keyboards and flute weave in and out.
Perfection. And if that trip isn’t bad enough, then the war-torn flip of “Did
He Die” – rumbling bass, screeching guitar distortion and all -- blurs visions
even more, as Sky lets the Vietnam anxiety out by screaming “He shot him in the
head! He killed his bro-ther-ah-ah-ah-ah” without fear of pushing too hard.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">But when MGM President Mike Curb purged his label of acts
with drug influences (like the Seeds) just two days before its release, he
denied the world what would undoubtedly have been the finest Seeds album yet.
(The Seeds would go on to make one more great indie single the next year,
“Shuckin’ and Jiving” b/w “You Took Me By Surprise,” two barnstorming rockers
that up the heavy ante even more.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">This Sundazed gatefold double-single set not only replicates
the sound of the originals thanks to use of master tapes, but also offers a
great essay by Seeds scholar Jeff Jarema that finally reveals the names of the
other musicians (outside of Saxon and Hooper) on the MGM sessions, plus some
really cool vintage photos. File under “must have.”</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNE_Zk6xgG6CVl_gmgtKp-6AXHc2CVlLGcfzZdrPDRiBt0z3AWi3Yi8fALYaH3ustI5-uiBzHe91aMhuSi80ZjkvlB7mBit7a1bGE-3iw-YRoC1kfGyHC-sl-bGtdc-XimEwxGrktrYlFv/s1600/AdrianLloyd-mini.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNE_Zk6xgG6CVl_gmgtKp-6AXHc2CVlLGcfzZdrPDRiBt0z3AWi3Yi8fALYaH3ustI5-uiBzHe91aMhuSi80ZjkvlB7mBit7a1bGE-3iw-YRoC1kfGyHC-sl-bGtdc-XimEwxGrktrYlFv/s320/AdrianLloyd-mini.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Speaking of screaming punks, Sundazed has unleashed another
punk killer among its RSD releases, the lasciviously lustful “Lorna” by <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Adrian Lloyd</b>. Busting and burning the
surfboards he brandished in the Rumblers and the Sunsets, Lloyd unloads a
torrent of tribal drums, snotty vocals and screams (“approximately 25,” sez
Jarema in the liners) for a rightly regarded classic getting its first reissue
on a seven-inch. Possibly (and if so, justifiably) winded, Lloyd is a little
more restrained on the B-side, “Got a Little Woman,” a groovy rocker with “woah
yeah” call-and-answer vocals that’s pretty cool in its own right.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">No discussion of screaming rock ’n’ roll would be complete
without <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">the Trashmen</b>, who rode it
into the Top 10 with the infamous Rivingstoned rant “Surfin’ Bird” in 1963. By
1966, the hits had dried up, the British had come, and a trip was about to be
taken, but the Bird men defiantly stuck to rock ’n’ roll -- as evidenced by the
live versions of “Mean Woman Blues” and “Big Boss Man” on this RSD single on
Sundazed, which has done more than perhaps anyone else in spreading the
Trashmen gospel.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">SONY LEGACY<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Sundazed head Bob Irwin’s other employer, Legacy, also did
some great releases for Record Store Day – the best unquestionably being the
180-gram vinyl reissues of the mono mixes of three vintage <strong>Miles Davis</strong> albums: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">’Round About Midnight</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Milestones</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Someday My Prince Will Come</i>. Housed in sharp reproductions of the
original covers, the sound emanating from the grooves is nothing short of
stunning – presenting the material with a clarity that almost feels like being
in the studio with Miles, John Coltrane, Philly Joe Jones and (on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Milestones</i>) Cannonball Adderly.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK8Qh9XIVINynKBZqrEeMCTwhewb9JP-EDftmjwwwHiTNLF6xqA1_SihXlid0jBbbJz8Lqqoec-ryYKtALQCstqlh9aoJ9rPHprtI7Sz1Spothi_dyTDOArrcMORCMcvhk6pgbzE1dni8y/s1600/miles+davis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK8Qh9XIVINynKBZqrEeMCTwhewb9JP-EDftmjwwwHiTNLF6xqA1_SihXlid0jBbbJz8Lqqoec-ryYKtALQCstqlh9aoJ9rPHprtI7Sz1Spothi_dyTDOArrcMORCMcvhk6pgbzE1dni8y/s320/miles+davis.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Much has already been written about Miles’ first and third
Columbia offerings, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">’Round About Midnight</i>
and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Milestones</i>, respectively, what
with the all-star lineup and groundbreaking evolution of hard bop into modal
jazz – not to mention classics like the rearranged version of Monk’s “ ’Round
Midnight” on the former and the swinging title track of the latter. So that
leaves the mono vs. stereo question and, to these ears, much as I enjoyed the
stereo CD remasters, the more intimate sound of the mono mix is preferable.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Released on the heels of two landmarks, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kind of Blue</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sketches of
Spain</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Someday My Prince Will Come</i>
was bound to suffer in comparison. But it’s a fine album in its own right,
thanks to all of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kind of Blue</i>
lineup save Adderly and Bill Evans -- although here the mono mix is more of an
alternative for collectors.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Legacy has also given us 10 inches of previously unreleased <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Sly and the Family Stone</b> at their peak,
including “Music Lover/I Want to Take You Higher/Music Lover” from the Isle of
Wight Festival in 1970, the rare promo-only single version of “Higher,” and a
TV medley of “Sing a Simple Song/Hot Fun in the Summertime/Sex Machine/I Want
to Take You Higher” from 1969. Nice to have, but the best news is the insert in
this <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I Want to Take You Higher</i> EP
noting the upcoming release of a four-CD Sly box set with rarities and 18
previously unreleased tracks.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></o:p></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">BELATED BLACK FRIDAY<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4H78E8j9AgLGX1pecaN7Gk1YHhJ-pKBnIskUSbExC8oPpS1hyOVRB-km2wWdGmFQMeMPmIkYCAIBn_o9akcmFqoVqBFLi21vESxLa9cAhJyixtR6IQH4ABSVHTQbUde-0e7MorCDyUv3X/s1600/eric+burdon+and+greenhornes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4H78E8j9AgLGX1pecaN7Gk1YHhJ-pKBnIskUSbExC8oPpS1hyOVRB-km2wWdGmFQMeMPmIkYCAIBn_o9akcmFqoVqBFLi21vESxLa9cAhJyixtR6IQH4ABSVHTQbUde-0e7MorCDyUv3X/s1600/eric+burdon+and+greenhornes.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Black Friday has become to Record Store Day what Labor Day is
to Memorial Day – and spotlighted some worthy limited editions of its own the
last time around, including a self-titled 12-inch four-song EP by <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Eric Burdon & the Greenhornes</b> on
Readymade. Old-meets-new affairs usually signify guest appearances on remakes,
so I’m pleased to note that this is not only all new songs -- but the best
music that both Burdon and the Greenhornes have made in years. Hard rockers
(“Black Dog,” not the Zeppelin or even Timebox track), slow blues (“Out of My
Mind”) and flat-out rockers (“Can You Win”) fire up a package that makes one
wish for a full-length. Age can be detected in the old Animal’s voice, incidentally,
but like the bluesmen he’s long idolized, it’s fine seasoning, not wear.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Also worthy of investigation is Secret Stash’s single by <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">the Prophets of Peace</b>, “P.O.P” b/w
“46th Street Bump Time.” From the same 1974 session that produced one side of their
lone single (included on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Twin Cities Funk
& Soul</i>, reviewed in the upcoming issue) comes this previously
unreleased pairing of two fine Tower of Power-styled horn soul groovers: a
vocal number on the top side and an instrumental on the flip. Limited to 500
copies.<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: #0400; mso-bidi-language: X-NONE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: #0400;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Mike Staxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05489151525114377124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260501211155972125.post-85669421069067367752013-04-14T11:41:00.000-07:002013-04-14T11:41:23.090-07:00The Record Store Day Rebuttal
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><strong><em>By Doug Sheppard</em></strong></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">You would think that if an otherwise
struggling retail sector were reinvigorated at least twice a year by a
self-conceived holiday that spurs more in-store traffic and sales, it would be
celebrated by consumers and retailers alike. You would think. But proving that
the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">High Fidelity</i> stereotypes of
cantankerous record store clerks and narrow-minded collectors are nonfiction,
the onslaught of cynicism about Record Store Day is in full swing in the
blogosphere -- supposedly providing a bit of levity to us fools who actually
enjoy it every year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The critics -- who I’m not going to
single out in the interest of not starting a pissing match -- have a few
legitimate points. It may indeed be a last gasp for most record stores rather
than a rebirth, some releases take “limited edition” to idiotic extremes, and
it unfortunately does shut those without access to a record store out of the
process.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The majority of the anti-Record Store
Day arguments, however, are just silly. Addressing a few of them one by one:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-text-raise: -1.0pt; position: relative; top: 1pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“They’re
creating artificial rarities that end up on eBay.”</span></b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Yes and no. Some will start off at premium
prices and stay that way. A more discerning (and patient) consumer, however,
will note that prices of the vast majority of titles will rise briefly in the
ensuing weeks, then fall back down to the original retail tag within a month or
so. Copies of many even remain in record stores for weeks or even months after
Record Store Day. Finally, did it ever occur to those leveling this charge that
many of these items are of only limited interest, hence only worth pressing in
limited quantities? It’s wonderful to demand universal access, but someone has
to pay the bill.<span style="mso-text-raise: -1.0pt; position: relative; top: 1pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="FreeForm" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 9pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 9.0pt; text-indent: -9pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-text-raise: -1.0pt; position: relative; top: 1pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“These
are fetish objects that probably won’t be played regularly.”</span></b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Fetish objects in a collecting field? Whoever
heard of that? Record collectors buying more than they can listen to? Another
phenomenon I’ve never heard of. In all seriousness though, why should anyone
care what happens to items after they’re sold? <span style="mso-text-raise: -1.0pt; position: relative; top: 1pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="FreeForm" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 9pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 9.0pt; text-indent: -9pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-text-raise: -1.0pt; position: relative; top: 1pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Many
RSD customers don’t return.”</span></b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Assuming
it’s not hostage takers laundering ransom money, why should anyone care who’s
buying the records if you’re turning a profit? Even if Record Store Day adds
only a few new customers, that’s more than the store had before -- and probably
more sales as well. I mean, the goal of any retailer is to make money and stay
in business, right?<span style="mso-text-raise: -1.0pt; position: relative; top: 1pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="FreeForm" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 9pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 9.0pt; text-indent: -9pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-text-raise: -1.0pt; position: relative; top: 1pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“RSD
is not about building a community.”</span></b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> OK,
maybe it is my turn to be a cynic. “Building a community” in a record store
sounds like pretentious indie rock horseshit to me. I go to record stores to
buy records. Sure it’s nice if the clerk is knowledgeable and/or friendly, but
mainly -- I want to browse and buy stuff. Why else would I be there? The
coolest record stores aren’t the ones with “community,” but the ones with the
best records/prices. Besides, if that is your goal, community can be created
whenever people are together -- including on Record Store Day. (Just beware of
including in your community those horrible people who only play their RSD
purchases once.)<span style="mso-text-raise: -1.0pt; position: relative; top: 1pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="FreeForm" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="FreeForm" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Those who conceived Record Store Day
are to be commended. With the decline of tangible formats, someone had to do
something to generate a buzz and business -- and, judging by the long lines,
they’ve succeeded. Even critics would have to acknowledge that the alternative
-- doing nothing -- would have been much worse. Plus, similar to CD revolution,
many RSD titles may not have otherwise seen release/reissue. Vanguard, for
example, had been sitting on its psychedelic vaults for years before RSD
finally inspired the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Follow Me Down</i>
double-LP comp in 2011.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="FreeForm" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">But beyond all of that, no one is
forcing any consumer or retailer to participate in Record Store Day. You don’t
like it? Don’t do it. I won’t judge you as long as you don’t judge those of us
who have a good time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Mike Staxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05489151525114377124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260501211155972125.post-2357281542925418532011-12-15T09:39:00.000-08:002011-12-15T09:39:47.471-08:00The Moldy Dogs Story • By Jack Partain<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFIIsAynvAbq8v4K7Obp7YuJnUTV6yNljrjPTof0U3GfIpvWOyuvpSTjJratCp4nRchPng9Fvu6Lwo8docFbkqq5pDx64byQv863msTdXgqJa9hBZaqHjPB4w56fXpaf8Dgaf3XSROcuet/s1600/moldys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFIIsAynvAbq8v4K7Obp7YuJnUTV6yNljrjPTof0U3GfIpvWOyuvpSTjJratCp4nRchPng9Fvu6Lwo8docFbkqq5pDx64byQv863msTdXgqJa9hBZaqHjPB4w56fXpaf8Dgaf3XSROcuet/s320/moldys.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It may be hard to believe, but in the early and mid 1970s a small, independent punk rock scene was developing in St Louis, MO. In fact, the city was setup to become a regional hub of underground music. There were two universities in the city, Washington University and Webster College, both of which funneled artists and weirdos into record stores like Akashic Records, where the Stooges were worshipped. And from that group bands like the Dizeazoes, the Back Alley Boys, the Welders, and the Moldy Dogs would form, noisily incubating themselves in garages, dorm rooms, and basements throughout the city, pounding out and working through the Stooges-inspired blurt that would come to be known as punk rock. In addition there was a friendly weekly radio show, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rock It!</i>, hosted by Dave "The Rave" Thomas, who blasted punk rock and new wave music every Friday night from KWUR studios at Washington University. In short, everything was there—kids with funny haircuts and guitars and places to hang out—everything except places to play. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">And those places simply didn't exist. At least not in the traditional sense. Though bands like the Dizeazoes, a freaky cover band that specialized in wild versions of songs by the Troggs, Jerry Lee Lewis, and the Balloon Farm, were able to scrape together a few modest appearances at house parties, the early St Louis punk bands were, for the most part, too weird to fit in with the Top 40 style bands that dominated the rock clubs, and too electric to hang with the folk crowd.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">One band that was able to overcome these difficulties was the Moldy Dogs, a proto-punk duo made up of Wolf Roxon and Paul Major, who had formed in 1972. The Moldies were one of the only bands able to get regular gigs at local bars and restaurants in St Louis, a feat accomplished "with a great deal of difficulty," laughs Roxon, who worked tirelessly trying to find places for the band to play. Eventually, because of a mixture of hard work, luck, and good old fashioned persistence, the band was lucky enough to find two homes, local spots the Pastrami Joynt and The Grove.<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Acadian Grove ('The Grove') was a sandwich shop located in the Webster Groves area of St Louis, across the street from Akashic Records. Roxon had approached the owners of The Grove about the possibility of his band playing there during his regular rounds.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">"I was always the band member who scored the gigs in the early period," says Roxon. "This was primarily because I had the desire and gumption to walk into any bar or eatery and inquire if they were interested in booking live music. I had approached the owners of The Grove about letting us play and they agreed without an audition. This was very rare but, as the restaurant was relatively new, they may have never considered live music and figured there was nothing to lose. Boy, were they brave."<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">At the time the Moldy Dogs were performing as a full band but that didn't last long. After getting the job at The Grove, which Roxon had wisely set to debut a month later, band members who were "lackadaisical" about rehearsal gradually disappeared, "in typical Moldy Dogs fashion", laughs Roxon. Eventually only Roxon and Major were left and, after rehearsing six nights a week for a month, they developed four sets worth of material and debuted at The Grove as a duo. But, again, this incarnation was short lived. Very quickly the band would attract fans, some of whom would go on to join the band on stage. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">"We were not always a duo at The Grove," says Roxon. "Jimmy, a fellow student from Webster College, would sit in on harmonica. He played one hell of a blues harp. We also met a student named Willie who filled in on bass. Willie originally played with a female folk singer who performed during our breaks. But he seemed to enjoy our songs more, so we considered ourselves fortunate that he would join us. Willie was such an amazing musician that we never had to show him a chord progression of a song or even tell him the key in which we were playing. He seemed to have a sixth-sense when it came to music and knew where the song was going without any coaching."<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Major also remembers Willie and Jimmy. He recalls that Willie had jammed with the duo "like we'd been doing it together for years". And Jimmy? Well, that's another story.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">"[I] recall Jimmy having that deep down feeling too," says Major. "One of those dudes with a biker vibe. He had sold us some impotent magic mushrooms and we were bummed so a few days later he laid a new batch on us and they were amazing. We took them later that night and as we were in a frenzied, peaking situation he appeared saying 'Get the full trip this time?' like a voice from another dimension."<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Roxon was not present at this event. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">"Sorry I wasn't there," says Roxon nowadays. "Paul had all the fun."<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/ghZZm9Y749k?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But all of the fun wasn't had outside of The Grove. In fact there were a few interesting incidents which occurred inside. Roxon remembers a gig in which he and Major performed songs by the Velvet Undergound and the Rolling Stones for a crowd of "little old ladies with tinted blue hair and pant suits" which resulted in the owner of the venue, instead of firing the band, insisting that the band add "Venus in Furs" to their repertoire. And, of course, there was the inevitable appearance of friends, like the time Jon Ashline and Bruce Cole, who made up the legendary noise-garage duo The Screaming Mee-Mee's, paid a visit.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">"Jon and Bruce came by one night and became very drunk," says Roxon. "[They were] singing along with us and freaking out the other patrons. They were yelling slurs at us and we gave it right back. The waitress accused us of insulting the customers and really caused a commotion. Then we got in a fight with the waitress. Surprisingly, the owners backed us up, but, very wisely, refused to serve any more alcohol.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">And then there was the incident with the little girl.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">"In those days, I wore wraparound sunglasses," says Roxon. "During one performance, a little girl walked up to the stage between songs and asked for my autograph. All the patrons at the restaurant thought it was so cute and there was a hushed silence as everyone watched and listened. When I gave her back the signed paper she immediately read what I had written and looked very puzzled. She said 'What's your name?' I told her. 'Oh,' she said sadly, 'I thought you were Jose Feliciano.' Of course, I couldn't hold a candle to Jose and everybody screamed with laughter.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">"By far, our most memorable performance was at the Mayfest," Roxon continues. "The streets were crowded and the owners requested we play outside to attract customers. We gladly did and they rewarded us with pitchers of beer. This was one of the hottest days in May on record and the sun beat on our heads and guitars so intensely that I thought the glue on my acoustic was going to soften enough to pop it apart. We were soon joined by Willie and Jimmy. We probably gave our best performance ever, up to that point of our lives. I just remember that sun roasting my brain, the beer slurring my speech like a true blues scrapper, Jimmy wailing, and the notes burning on Paul's fretboard."<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But, as impromptu as this version of the Moldy Dogs had formed, it dissolved. Both Jimmy and Willie simply disappeared. Roxon says that the two were never actual members of the band, just musicians who "enjoyed the improvisation and jamming" on which the Moldies thrived at the time.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">While at The Grove, the Moldies continued to scour St Louis for places to play. They auditioned at large clubs and family style restaurants with names like "The Ground Round, Lums, and Sirloin this and that", according to Roxon, with very little success. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">"Truthfully, we failed a lot more than we succeeded," says Roxon. "In the early days, when we had a full band, we were 100% unsuccessful. For example, we auditioned for Marcos Imbibery, a new bar in University City. I knew Marco from Webster College. The bar catered to a country and bluegrass crowd. We looked a bit glam, our singer appeared to be a lounge performer (he eventually became a Barbara Streisand imitator) and our bassist had a homemade amp housed on a metal tv tray that we carried with great caution. It was a waste of time. We were finished before we even started. The club manager obviously told Marco that we couldn't be more wrong for this bar."<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The band even had a gig at Duff's, which was at the time, one of the premier clubs in St Louis.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">"Duff's was located in the Euclid Ave scene which offered a variety of music," says Roxon. "The manager let us play early on a weeknight. There was just a scattering of customers this early in the evening, but we had a favorable response. The manager understood our musical slant, and indicated we were capable of playing at his club, but he seemed to be recommending a little 'musical tweaking' of our sound. Had we auditioned with Willie and Jimmy, and played our blues repertoire, we probably would have landed the gig."<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But there were things working against the band other than their lack of "tweaking" when it came to acquiring gigs. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">"As a full group, it was harder to find jobs, primarily because the addition of a drummer meant the smaller restaurants and bars were off limits due to excessive volume," Roxon continues. "At the same time, the larger bars and clubs would never consider a band that played our repertoire. Of course, it was a waste of time trying to join the Musician's Union, which was a necessity for playing at some venues. Booking agents tended to steer clear of bands that were not union members. For us, it was easier getting booked as a duo because we were relatively quiet and willing to accept the gigs that no one else wanted." <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Despite these hardships, the band was lucky enough to land a regular gig at the Pastrami Joynt, where they would enjoy some of their greatest success, shortly after the gigs at The Grove dried up. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p>T</o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">he Joynt, as it was known by the band and their followers, was a family restaurant located in the University City area of St Louis. The band acquired a regular weekend gig despite the fact that they didn't fit in with the Top 40 theme of the restaurant.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">"Like all family style eateries in the Midwest, the entertainment was wholesome," says Roxon. "Top 40 hits were performed by clean cut performers who were very predictable. Songs sounded very much like the original recordings. To arrange your own version of a tune was pretty much unheard of in this scene."<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But the Moldies were able to land the gig through a strange combination of persistance, luck, and an uncanny ability to understand their audience. Much like the incident at The Grove where the duo inexplicably impressed a crowd of little old ladies, the Moldies once won over a crowd of hostile truckers.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">"There were some trucker types sitting at a table right in front of the stage," says Roxon. "They looked annoyed and began to mumble to each other under their breath while we set up our gear. So Paul and I quickly broke into 'Spider and the Fly', a Rolling Stones classic with humorous verses to which every man can relate. They really got into the lyrics and Paul launched into one of his gutsy blues leads that turned everyone's heads and caught their attention. The last verse, which we repeated, was full of accents: "She was common / Flirty /She looked/ About thirty " with the chord accents falling hard on the words that drove the song home. You could see their eyes open wider and their head bob to the rhythm. When we finished and went about packing our gear, the Truckers huddled around us and asked about the song—who recorded it, when, and so forth. This impressed the restaurant manger."<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">At the time Roxon and Major were still experimenting with their sound, which Major describes as "an electric fuzz and acoustic guitar". During performances they played both originals and covers, but shied away from Top-40 hits of the day, opting instead to play lost tracks from the 1950s and '60s. In addition the duo experimented with their stage show. Their wardrobe consisted of "Hawaiian shirts, Salvation Army uniforms, Boy Scout shirts, straight-legged black jeans, leopard skin or leather", all of which were considered bizarre by mid-70s St Louis standards. Roxon even created a costume consisting of an old pair of pajamas decorated with scrapped light switches and electrical sockets salvaged from an electricians visit to his apartment.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">"It actually backfired on stage since it scratched up my guitar," he laughs. "So they were gradually removed."<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In addition, the duo were strongly influenced by comedy and the parody music of the 1960s and 70s. Prior to forming the Moldy Dogs, Roxon had formed a basement freakout band with Jon Ashline called Wolfgang & the Noble Oval, and both members cite Dickie Goodman as a major influence. Later, both Roxon and Major found inspiration in the work of PDQ Bach, who became famous for interjecting classical music with modern pop music.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">"We played some instrumentals," says Roxon. "One being 'Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen' by the Andrews Sisters. Though the song was in minor, we switched back in forth with major or Paul would inject the 'Paint It Black' riff in part of the verse. It served as a 'musical goose' which would leave the senior listeners baffled. I also bought a portable xylophone and we worked out an arrangement of 'Springtime for Hitler'—instrumentally, of course. We always did our heartbreaking version of the <i>Gilligan's Island </i>theme or connect songs in a medley that didn't match. It usually worked on a number of levels, but mostly as musical kitsch for those listening."<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Roxon and Major both remember this time as a high point for the band.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">"The creativity level was high in the band [at this time]," says Major. "Wolf and I were writing a deluge of songs then... folk, punk, psychedelic, all kinds of moves."<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">"We never compromised our vision," continues Roxon. "Our main goal was to write and sound differently than any other band, yet remain within the musical language of the rock and roll genre. Our live act and venues may sound tame when compared to later punk acts and clubs, but, by the standards of the time and the environment in which we performed, we were very musically subversive and, somehow, got away with murder."</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/2TJgblNOqOI?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">And all of this was done in an atmosphere that was hardly ideal. The Moldies' equipment was "substandard by anyone's definition", says Roxon. Their amps were shoddy and beat up. A pole lamp substituted for a microphone stand, and their PA columns were very old and fragile. And getting to the gigs wasn't exactly easy.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">"We moved our decrepit equipment in my VW bug," recalls Roxon. "All the seats were removed and we stacked the guitars, amps, pa columns, props, etc, from the floor to within a foot or so of the inside roof. Paul would climb into this space and lie spread-eagle in order to hold everything in place. I sat on an amp and drove. A sudden stop would have ended our careers. Fortunately, we never had to worry about this... my brakes didn't work."<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">And once they arrived, the stage itself was another story.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">"It barely fit two people and it wobbled at the slightest energy released such as keeping time with your foot or smashing down hard on your guitar strings," says Roxon. "The vibrations from the wobbling stage would shake the mic stand, be picked up on the microphone, and the PA columns would waver and collapse on us, looking like the end of a Steve Reeves'<i> Hercules </i>movie."<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But the band was able to attract a small, dedicated, following, acoording to Paul Major. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">"We quickly picked up a following of local stoner teens and other people in town who were into the kinda sound we were," says Major. "[But] the place didn't dig the horde of barefoot potted pre-slackers who didn't buy much pizza..."<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">And, as a result, the band was kept on a tight leash. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">"We played for as much as five hours, that's 55 minutes on stage and a five minute break," says Roxon. "We did get free beer, but it was only available during our five minute break. We were not allowed to send a girlfriend over to the counter to retrieve a beer during our set. For all this, and playing 65-80 songs a night, we were paid between $10 and $20—as a group, not each. Most of the time we made under $15—just enough for a weekly change of guitar strings and maybe a hamburger."</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/iyKOMkc7SDk?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Despite all of this the band was able to find a temporary home at the Pastrami Joynt. The owner recognized and appreciated their hard work and even liked them. In addition, the clientele, which over time included both families dining out and college students looking for new music, appreciated the music they played.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">"Mixed with the older, familiar material came some edgier songs from the Stooges, Velvet Underground, or our originals," says Roxon. "The patrons tolerated these musical explorations probably because with just one acoustic and one electric guitar and maybe a harmonica, we were still listenable. Eventually a crowd began hanging out who requested these latter songs."<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Those that would request the songs by the Velvets and the Stooges were part of a group that would go on to form the nucleus of the early St Louis punk scene. Paul "Dirt" Wheeler, who had co-founded the Dizeazoes, was one of the bands' earliest fans and would go on to join the group as a bassist and be influential in arranging their performance at the Punk Out Party in Dennis Toler's apartment complex. From there the band would meet The Welders, the first all female punk rock band in St Louis, and Joey Schadler, who would record their first demo. The demo would make its way around town and catch the ear of David Thomas, who hosted the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rock It! </i>show on KWUR. Thomas was one of the most influential individuals in the early development of punk rock in St Louis. In addition to his weekly radio show, Roxon recalls that Thomas "had a knack for recognizing which bands would become successful" and remembers one night when he received a call from Thomas about a band playing in downtown St Louis.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">"One night Dave called us and said this band from Australia was playing at a club and we might like them because the guitarist's older brother had been in the Easybeats who had recorded one of our favorite songs, 'Friday on My Mind,'" says Roxon. "So we all piled in my VW and went to the show. Only about ten people were there, and our carload made up the bulk of the audience. Of course, the band was AC/DC and they were obviously completely unknown at this point." <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">From there the whole scene seemed to snowball into a big bang of activity. Several bands formed and the First St Louis Punk Rock Fest occurred in December of 1976. After that the Moldy Dogs would leave town for Los Angeles, later return for a brief time, and then disappear into the miasma of the punk scene crystallizing around New York City in the late 1970s. Roxon and Major would go on to play in The Tears together in New York and Roxon would form the Metros and Walkie Talkie and today lives in Vermont. Paul Major, under the pseudonym Top Dollar currently heads New York's critical darlings Endless Boogie.<o:p></o:p></span></div>Mike Staxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05489151525114377124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260501211155972125.post-78818776677581401492011-06-07T15:40:00.000-07:002011-06-07T22:33:37.463-07:00Robert Johnson, Meet Robert Johnson<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Robert Johnson: Lost And Found<o:p></o:p></span></strong></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Garamond;">by Barry Lee Pearson & Bill McCulloch</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Garamond;">University of Illinois Press, 2003</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3y0hNBqfwceGlnEpMtWd0bz8lpp-3hBPb_EAgLF1y9AysC1WOh4EuBtMXD_ii-fHhgvWbmpTjsJ59BEo0sA23Vz4xQyNK0FlOWb5SV6CjAHhS0CF0kCGa-PJlt356hZa5b9X9rIiBg6zY/s1600/Robert+Johnson+book.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3y0hNBqfwceGlnEpMtWd0bz8lpp-3hBPb_EAgLF1y9AysC1WOh4EuBtMXD_ii-fHhgvWbmpTjsJ59BEo0sA23Vz4xQyNK0FlOWb5SV6CjAHhS0CF0kCGa-PJlt356hZa5b9X9rIiBg6zY/s320/Robert+Johnson+book.jpg" width="206" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><strong>Book review by Phil Milstein</strong></span></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Garamond;">Through the efforts of a succession of dogged blues researchers, there is by now a modest-sized stack of verified information on the life of Robert Johnson. The emergence of this data has done nothing, alas, to stanch the systematic growth of a parallel mass of bullshit information about him — ye olde Crossroads Myth, and all that — that threatens to lap the real facts several times over. These twin views are at such variance that if the two Johnsons were ever to meet, they’d scarcely recognize one another.</span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Garamond;">Carefully surveying the most current set of valid Johnsonia, including an attempt to reconcile the many conflicts in the testimonies of Johnson’s acquaintances, Barry Lee Pearson and Bill McCulloch aim with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Robert Johnson: Lost And Found</i> to not only surgically discredit every last piece of the mythology that’s sprung up around Johnson like so much kudzu, but also to trace the original sources of those myths, and the paths they’ve taken on their way to becoming common misinformation.</span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Garamond;">They do a skillful enough job of this that something like a flesh-and-blood Robert Johnson begins to arise from the murk, shake off the mud and peel away the vegetation, and stand before us, finally, as a recognizable human being. The authors ought to be content to help bring him along to this point, but the righeous indigation with which they condemn all those complicit in fostering the mythological Johnson results in<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>an often infuriating read.</span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Garamond;">Pearson and McCulloch ignore the fact that history rarely emerges as a wholly-developed entity. It tends, instead, to grow in stages, beginning with a few scant facts coupled with patches of rumor and legend, and often smoothed over with pure invention. This process is entirely normal and human, and it is only in response to such primordial accounts that the more professional work can take place.</span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Garamond;">For Johnson, this more accurate version has been slow in coming. Given this vacuum, along with the essentially mysterious quality of his music— how else to explain, for instance, how a fit man in his mid 20s can sound as often as not like he’d just stared, unblinking, into life’s terrible chasm? — and the usual process of romanticization, and it seems perfectly natural for the kudzu to have so flourished.</span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Garamond;">While I applaud Pearson and McCulloch for their clear demonstration that their subject acquired his musical skills the old-fashioned way, their lack of sympathy for the dynamics of popular mythology strikes me as unmercifully clinical. By so successfully demystifying Robert Johnson, in fact, they have left him more mysterious than ever, as shorn of such stuff we are left with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">no</i> idea of the source of his dread.</span></div><br />
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</div>Mike Staxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05489151525114377124noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260501211155972125.post-39034310169879470362011-05-08T19:38:00.000-07:002011-05-09T10:41:27.902-07:00An interview with Jim McCarthy of THE GODZ<div style="text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Contact High with THE GODZ<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">By Jack Partain<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJUX9_-lul-mYueXSXyL4mY-QGikUxlmN3p_FxJi-t-SleM24ap-1s1yWoKZQT3DO1nMwIhRw_OaiSxItDzmfFxD7IAMwUjyPltPPalL4WUUYHVjtt6jAizX_hUA0_RLSZtXjQdxOI3Q36/s1600/godz1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJUX9_-lul-mYueXSXyL4mY-QGikUxlmN3p_FxJi-t-SleM24ap-1s1yWoKZQT3DO1nMwIhRw_OaiSxItDzmfFxD7IAMwUjyPltPPalL4WUUYHVjtt6jAizX_hUA0_RLSZtXjQdxOI3Q36/s320/godz1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">As a founding member of the Godz, one of the seminal freakout bands of the mid-1960s garage folk scene emanating from the energy of the Fugs and the freedom of legendary avant garde label ESP-Disk, Jim McCarthy holds an interesting place in rock and roll history. The Godz were one of the first bands to explore the devolution of rock & roll and the raw, instinctual music they produced was in direct opposition the high art excesses of popular music that would culminate in albums like <em>Pet Sounds</em> and <em>Sgt Pepper's</em>. Which also means that the band was in direct opposition to the hordes of adoring fans, massive record sales, and critical acclaim that artists like the Beatles and the Beach Boys enjoyed. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">But the Godz were on to something, and their influence has vibrated throughout the rumblings of underground music since their first album <i>Contact High </i>was released in 1966. Lester Bangs, one of the first to understand what the band was trying to do, claimed that though the Godz were quite possibly “the most inept band [he'd'] ever heard,” they reminded him of the “vast vacuous beauty” of New York in the 1960s. In his 1972 essay for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Creem</i> magazine titled "Do the Godz Speak Esperanto?", Bangs would go on to say: “The Godz were exciting to think about because they promised to break through and become even more outrageous by dynamiting all the stupid standards by which esthetic-minded critics and technique bound musicians sought to raise rock from pygmy squall to art form.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The Godz released four albums from 1966-1973. The first two, <i>Contact High </i>and <i>Godz 2</i>, contain the songs for which the band is best known: “Radar Eyes,” “Turn On,” and, of course, “White Cat Heat” (a song in which the band members screech like cats for two minutes over an eerie bass and drum accompaniment) are regarded as classics of proto-neo-psychedelic-punk and roll or whatever you want to call it. The final two albums (<i>Third Testament </i>and <i>Godzeuntheit </i>are almost universally derided as schlocky attempts at mainstream success. The Godz disbanded in 1973 and subsequent attempts at a reunion have proved disastrous.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Jim McCarthy is currently a photographer living in New York. He was kind enough to answer a few questions via email earlier this year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4B_QxLp2IiARLQIzY_BKIdKxwLdz_MFbsvAW1k0nfpBNhIVI1ufa2qR-331KRKHz8DJRTnczOXwaW1A-jEoVMrQA8gQk-dpOlze_FakODagWJFwwBp2fo5Xgg_1eMwTC0H1bXPc6ymrfi/s1600/godz+-+jimmccarthy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4B_QxLp2IiARLQIzY_BKIdKxwLdz_MFbsvAW1k0nfpBNhIVI1ufa2qR-331KRKHz8DJRTnczOXwaW1A-jEoVMrQA8gQk-dpOlze_FakODagWJFwwBp2fo5Xgg_1eMwTC0H1bXPc6ymrfi/s320/godz+-+jimmccarthy.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><em>Jim McCarthy</em></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">UT:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> Here's a slightly ridiculous question to start: where did the name 'The Godz' come from, and why the 'z' on the end?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Jim McCarthy:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> I don't find the question ridiculous, I think the name is ridiculous! It was intentional. When we were trying to come up with a name as cool as the Beatles, we passed through a great number choices. Larry (Kessler, bassist) was the one who said, “Fuck, why don't we just call ourselves The Gods?” and that name stuck. It was after we recorded the improvised tune “Godz,” and the engineer asked for the name of the song, that I told him, “Godz, with a z,” and the rest is history.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">UT:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> How did The Godz form? In Ray Brazen’s “This is The Godz Truth” you say that it came out of personal frustration and being inspired by seeing the Fugs. Is that the gist of it or is there more?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">JM:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> The Godz came about at a time that was personally depressing for me. I had just been released from the hospital and was recovering from hepatitis. My girlfriend and I also broke up and I was crashing on Larry Kessler's couch temporarily. Up to then I was singing in a very good covers band which was originally called the Dick Watson Five, but later changed to the Chosen Few. That group recorded an album of songs from the Broadway show <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Baker Street</i>, but in a contemporary rock style. An independent production on the United International label that went nowhere, and is now extremely rare.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxL2dWj8lGF0nGAiFA0SNJ9uAxzJ4uOTSEnBYcYlcPXnL_fDtkDQ0gaptuFqF1aOhzJA-QIAUVBYScUDasg0W8ZhTXZwLY_YcVvjwKpBWmZElW-kuDPHNax87OPm_XO8sJc8H57lXP25vb/s1600/godz+-+larry+kessler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxL2dWj8lGF0nGAiFA0SNJ9uAxzJ4uOTSEnBYcYlcPXnL_fDtkDQ0gaptuFqF1aOhzJA-QIAUVBYScUDasg0W8ZhTXZwLY_YcVvjwKpBWmZElW-kuDPHNax87OPm_XO8sJc8H57lXP25vb/s320/godz+-+larry+kessler.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Larry Kessler</em></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Larry (Kessler), Paul (Thornton, drums) and I had worked together at Sam Goody's record shop on West 49th Street and had been friends for a couple of years. Jay (Dillon, psaltery) was an acquaintance of Larry who was brought into the picture after the idea was born. The Fugs were a definite influence on me because it was after seeing them in rehearsal at the Astor Theatre that I phoned my guitarist and told him I didn't want to sing in a covers band anymore. That was the first step towards the formation of the Godz in my mind.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The music actually came about quite organically in Larry's living room and Bernard Stollman and ESP-Disk were a perfect opportunity to express our feelings at the time.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBT4AC7rkubXkg0gz60NSjSC4EGp1ogg5SDaZuPuP7QaZuwhg03UP11tYp_z-oqpoaSCZ2Eb3JYLBDNLW6U7b4FG50RWaUvBG0qJxcJgYnWDQZLiswdmIuZJ0mXl6TYmfJ3fwqz8nEfuv2/s1600/godz+-+paul+thornton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBT4AC7rkubXkg0gz60NSjSC4EGp1ogg5SDaZuPuP7QaZuwhg03UP11tYp_z-oqpoaSCZ2Eb3JYLBDNLW6U7b4FG50RWaUvBG0qJxcJgYnWDQZLiswdmIuZJ0mXl6TYmfJ3fwqz8nEfuv2/s320/godz+-+paul+thornton.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p><strong><em>Paul Thornton</em></strong></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">UT:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> The music of the Godz is almost always described by critics in the same way. Lester Bangs called the band "inept", others have used words like childlike or "like they just picked up their instruments without knowing how to play them...." etc, but how would you describe the music of the Godz?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">JM:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> Even though Paul Thornton had been in the music business previously, and I had been playing professionally for a couple of years, Jay was a painter with no previous music experience and Larry had no experience playing an instrument other than his childhood days playing violin, our approach to making music was entirely loose in structure. In that respect, we were influenced a bit by the artists already recording on ESP, such as Albert Ayler, Sun Ra, the Fugs as well as others. Paul and I would gather at Larry Kessler's place socially to play some music. Because of various substances we were entertaining ourselves with, the music was very loosely structured. So, even though some of us played instruments, we weren't very good. We determined early on that that was not important. What was important was to express our feelings as accurately, and immediately as possible. When Jay Dillon entered the picture, we thought of teaching kids in local schools how to express themselves through music, and I believe we tried it once, but that never really developed into anything substantial for us. Inept? Yes, we were inept and still are, but not without the ability to create. The idea was to not let our limitations stop us from expressing ourselves. It's obvious that we were doing something true, otherwise we would not have so many fans today. Fans who were not even born until much later.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The Godz’ music is as honest as it gets in the music business.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">UT:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> Did the Lester Bangs article in Creem come as a surprise to you?<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">JM:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> Total surprise. We had already disbanded a few years earlier. I was working at a clothing store on West 4th Street when while on a lunch break I spotted the magazine on the newsstand. I was a bit confused by the cover, “Lester Bangs on The Godz,” and when I bought and read it, I was ecstatic. Ecstatic and disappointed. Why couldn't this have been written a few years earlier, while we were still together? I think this is probably the most definitive essay about us and our music.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">UT:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> I never saw the Godz live. Can you describe what the band was like live?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">JM:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> Depending on the venue and the frame of mind we were in, the performances varied. I think we probably led off our shows with “White Cat Heat,” just to let people know what they were in for, if they didn't already know. One of our most common occurrences at shows was the inordinate amount of time spent trying to tune-up. If an audience member could survive this, which actually became part of the Godz experience, he or she might feel satisfied. We were constantly going out of tune, assuming that we were in tune to begin with, due to the cheap instruments, condition we were in, and very hard playing. I played so hard I literally destroyed my guitar. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">We never really attracted much of an audience outside of some close friends and admirers. The largest crowd we drew was at a concert sponsored by some students at Duke University in Durham, NC. It was a very respectable size audience that seemed to get what we were about, even though the local blues band opening for us did not.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">UT: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Do you resent the criticisms of the later Godz albums, <i>Third Testament</i> and <i>Godzuhnteit</i>?<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">JM:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> That’s a good question. The answer is, no. I myself never considered them to be Godz albums. Jay Dillon had left, and that was a significant change in structure, input, output and what it all meant at that point. We all pretty much knew that the original intent was finished. I think the third and fourth albums were a desperate attempt by the others involved to continue the concept, but it just didn't work the same without Jay Dillon's input. So, no I have never resented the criticisms of those works.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">UT:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> Are the Godz albums “New York” albums?<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">JM:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> I think they are “New York” albums because of all of the elements coming together the way they did. We all came from different backgrounds and NYC is what brought us together. I don't think ESP-Disk would have existed in any other town. I definitely think that those works were indicative of the New York scene at that time.<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">UT:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> Where did the idea for “White Cat Heat” come from? I'm sure you've answered this question a lot, but I haven't found anything addressing this specific topic and would love to know!<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">JM:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> One afternoon while we were trying to play music in Larry's one bedroom apartment on the Lower East Side, we were forced to endure the intense calls of Asia, his very much in heat Siamese cat. I don't remember what it was we might have been attempting, but it got to the point where her calling overwhelmed my singing, and I joined her. I think that kinda freaked her out, and she shut up for awhile. Anyway, that became our anthem.<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">UT:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> The Godz seem to be a band that came out of nowhere, a band with no real precedent in the history of popular music, but yet you chose to cover Hank Williams, and “May You Never be Alone” in particular. What is the significance of that song in relation to The Godz?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">JM:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> Do you really think there's no precedent? I'm not sure about that. Paul Thornton was not contributing original music to the group at that time. We were a very young, impromptu effort. Pretty much a “pipe dream.” Everything was being made up as we went along. Hank showed up because we had done all our original stuff, and decided to give Paul the spotlight. His favorite musician then and now is Hank Williams. As far as I know, there is absolutely no significance in that choice of songs, but who knows what was going through Paul's mind at the time.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">UT:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> Well, since you mentioned it—musically, what do you consider the precedents for the Godz?<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">JM:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> Maybe the Goon Show in England, but who knows who might have been doing something similar earlier on, and has never been recognized.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">UT:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> Can you give me some insight as to how the band decided what instruments might be included on which songs? I mean, take “May You Never be Alone,” for instance. How did the band decide how to put that song together with the flute then harmonica? I guess what I'm asking is how did the Godz actually put their songs together?<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">JM:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> I guess they just got started by the creator, the others joined in whichever way they felt might be appropriate. We were aware of our musical limitations and tried to vary sounds when possible. As for that song in particular, I guess it was just a matter of me finding a place in Paul's performance that worked. It needed to be bent a bit.<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">UT:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> Do you think that <i>Godz II</i> is an extension of <i>Contact High</i> or was the band trying to do something different with the second album? I mean, the two albums seem to get lumped together like they're a double album in most reviews and I was just wondering what you opinion is about the differences between the two albums?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">JM:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> I do think that <i>Godz 2</i> is a natural progression from <i>Contact High</i>, though not <i>Third Testament</i>. It's kind of like a one, two punch. In the beginning we were a little restricted by the limitations of the instruments at our disposal. When our first studio efforts were greeted with enthusiasm by Bernard Stollman at ESP-Disk, he helped us get some additional instruments through support from several companies. This enabled us to be a little more varied in our sounds. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">We really did have high (no pun intended) aspirations, and felt we could be widely successful. The problem was we were very anarchistic, and although I think we each had a different notion of what the Godz was about, essentially the first two albums were about bashing out our ideas in spite of our limitations. Our goal was not to sound awful, it was to sound as good as we could, but primarily to get our real feelings across. We were very inept in some ways, but we didn't let it get in our way, we forged on.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">In my opinion, the second album achieved the sound that I imagined would be strong enough to compete in the commercial market, while maintaining our individuality. Unfortunately, we were very bad at getting it all together enough to achieve that.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMW079NtYLF6OrMAsEeifGpXkpy6t_WIcMZ4qCAKUbNjAvd5jXGvZvrj9lA3H-6C4uBUWky1ImdCsA7Tgc7Lt2aPh-RbddTANtGZvpP7eoRdNyG4dA-kjib8FPmprK9mKoS0fofm-SQsst/s1600/godz+-+jay+dillon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMW079NtYLF6OrMAsEeifGpXkpy6t_WIcMZ4qCAKUbNjAvd5jXGvZvrj9lA3H-6C4uBUWky1ImdCsA7Tgc7Lt2aPh-RbddTANtGZvpP7eoRdNyG4dA-kjib8FPmprK9mKoS0fofm-SQsst/s320/godz+-+jay+dillon.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p><strong><em>Jay Dillon</em></strong></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">UT:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> Can you describe how the Godz actually stopped being a band (“broke up,” for lack of a better term)?<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">JM:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> In 1967, before, during and after the release of <i>Godz 2</i>, we were playing around at various venues in the NY / NJ area. Hallucinogens were commonly employed during these adventures. Experiences varied widely, but Jay Dillon never felt comfortable on stage. He was a very introverted person, and as we all felt, a very integral part of the equation. Some Duke University students in Chapel Hill, NC organized a concert at the Civic Center in Durham. Michael Soldan, a close photographer friend of Jay Dillon's and the band who shot the cover for the second album and allowed us to use his studio to rehearse, drove us down there and back, and even provided the strobes we used on stage. The concert, and accompanying events, were enjoyed by all, except for Jay, who remarked, “I’ll never do that again.” He didn’t.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">It was when we got back home that Jay announced he was leaving the band. In my mind, that was the end of it. That was the spring. We kind of went on hiatus for the summer, put out a couple of singles in an attempt at cracking the market, but not much in the way of performances, as I recall. I did drive cross country and back with some friends, hanging out in San Francisco and Berkeley for about a month. When I got back, I wound up getting involved with a woman who I married the following January.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">At this point I pretty much considered the Godz to be finished and was thinking of my music in solo terms. I returned to playing acoustic guitar and writing more personal songs. This is evidenced on <i>Third Testament</i>. I really don't remember exactly what I was feeling at that time, except that I felt like I was going along with the program, but not really believing in it. The Multitude was Larry's idea entirely. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The whole thing just seemed a little forced to me.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">UT:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> Why have attempts at a Godz reunion failed?<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">JM:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> We’re not kids anymore.<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">UT:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> Is it true that you never received any royalties from Bernard Stollman and ESP? Why?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">JM:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> I can only say that that matter has been settled recently, and I am not at liberty to discuss the details. As to the second part of your question, that's an excellent question.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">UT:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> Has your own opinion of the Godz been shaped by the writers and bands that have praised the band in the years after the Godz were a functioning band?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">JM:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> I don’t think so. Well, maybe a little. It’s made me happy to realize that our efforts didn't fall on deaf ears. I'm still amazed at how well known the band is. We could have been totally obscure. As for critics of the first two albums, fuck ‘em. Who cares?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Usually, I'm in agreement regarding opinions of the third and fourth albums. I am well aware of the value of our work and don't rely on the opinions of others for validation, but it's always nice to hear good things about yourself, and it probably does make me feel a bit more proud. Who knows what might have happened if we had that support while we were together.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">UT:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> Finally, which is more rewarding: rock & roll music or rock & roll photography?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">JM:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> Making rock & roll music is more rewarding, but photographing it in action, getting up-close and personal, is extremely rewarding for one who loves the genre. •<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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</div>Mike Staxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05489151525114377124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260501211155972125.post-61561634576245214322011-04-29T07:00:00.000-07:002011-04-29T07:00:26.996-07:00Another UT Writers' Playlist<div style="text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">JOE HEDIO<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinKO2y_3uRrT5m6uNwQvm1l3e-qS2HLo0B8G12rswzNUnW1rIW4pmwE41PjocaVQajHbJd5haLeCjna7ELEZOVxD4p6QMPOwchARMzlKAuIAX2PDtL65Yodg7Kz0pQ9gEpUVEg8hj8IeKc/s1600/Joe+Hedio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinKO2y_3uRrT5m6uNwQvm1l3e-qS2HLo0B8G12rswzNUnW1rIW4pmwE41PjocaVQajHbJd5haLeCjna7ELEZOVxD4p6QMPOwchARMzlKAuIAX2PDtL65Yodg7Kz0pQ9gEpUVEg8hj8IeKc/s320/Joe+Hedio.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">THE KINKS<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> – Kinks<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>/Kinda Kinks / The Kink Kontroversy</i> (Sanctuary): </b>The first batch of the deluxe Kinks reissue series. Even though I own probably 95.5% of the material, I’m amazed about the remastered sound, especially on Ray’s demos of songs such as “I Go To Sleep,” which no longer sound like crap. Also, a friend of mine donated one of his Kinks rarities for one of the bonus tracks, which is pretty cool.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc0r3I375Dav-w80FuC6VOQGFFaPP8GrFLPY5HBKGpF1loswRAMOMJkFJFJ3fUaN0t7HN9lbbZXodwzJ8UKrH7cnSfKOj4TyBG7fIaux3rbOicV9Qu__PTocx_S-_abGPLuZVnSTcmSeTK/s1600/Kinks+Stockholm+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc0r3I375Dav-w80FuC6VOQGFFaPP8GrFLPY5HBKGpF1loswRAMOMJkFJFJ3fUaN0t7HN9lbbZXodwzJ8UKrH7cnSfKOj4TyBG7fIaux3rbOicV9Qu__PTocx_S-_abGPLuZVnSTcmSeTK/s320/Kinks+Stockholm+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">V.A.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> - Stray Rays </i>(CD-R):</b> Continuing with the Kinks, this is a CD that Bill, the ModMan behind The Anorak Thing (<a href="http://anorakthing.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: blue;">http://anorakthing.blogspot.com</span></a>) made for me, which is comprised of choice Kinks covers, as well as songs that Ray Davies wrote that the Kinks never did such as “Little Man In A Little Box” by Barry Fantoni. A lot of musical holes and questions of mine were filled by this CD. Thanks, Bill!<br />
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<span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Ernie Kovacs Collection </i>(Shout! Factory DVD): </b>An excellent collection of the late (he exited the world the same year Mike & I came in) television comic’s work. Not everything works & there are dated spots, but there are many bits of staggering genius. The mind boggles at the thought of Ernie’s imagination coupled with today’s technology.<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">WINGS<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> - Band on the Run</i> (Deluxe Edition): </b>I got this for a friend for Christmas and I saw the live in the studio DVD and was so impressed that I got my own copy. A great album, with songs like “Let Me Roll It”, which sounds more Lennon than Lennon. Can this be considered a Power Pop Masterpiece?</div><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"></span><br />
<span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">JOHNNY HALLYDAY<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> – La Roi de France 1966-1969</i> (RPM): </b>I’ve heard a lot of negative things about Johnny Hallyday, the French Elvis, and I got this with a bit of trepidation. However, the songs on this CD such as his covers of “Black Is Black,” “Hush” and the Small Faces tune “My Way of Giving,” as well as the songs that feature the Darlings of Wapping Wharf themselves as the backup band are pretty creditable and entertaining. I also enjoyed RPM’s compilation of his ex-wife Sylvie Vartan.<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">JEAN SHEPHERD – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ticket to Ride</i> (Radio Spirits): </b>A 4-CD set of the musings and observations of Jean Shepherd of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Christmas Story </i>fame of Britain and Scotland on the verge of the Swinging Sixties while traveling with the Beatles on their Fall 1964 UK tour (he was interviewing them on assignment for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Playboy </i>Magazine). He doesn’t mention the Beatles until near the end, although he does talk a little bit about the Pretty Things, proclaiming them to look and sound “like the Four Andrews Sisters” (I wonder which Andrew Sister looked like Dick Taylor?).</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOPTS0TJrsFoAXBFOThWrGtjU5vnAF8XlHyykq-ZS83BJbdEei2ZwtHozi8pT4pJCt3-JB9Ce5MdpssHzAHh3L62Rc7fPexH7BQ4NS0t3O5lBxqiCOjM4QHi3TINeVf7HZA5R68fO4EaDA/s1600/jean+shepherd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOPTS0TJrsFoAXBFOThWrGtjU5vnAF8XlHyykq-ZS83BJbdEei2ZwtHozi8pT4pJCt3-JB9Ce5MdpssHzAHh3L62Rc7fPexH7BQ4NS0t3O5lBxqiCOjM4QHi3TINeVf7HZA5R68fO4EaDA/s1600/jean+shepherd.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div>Mike Staxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05489151525114377124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260501211155972125.post-60604637718276073932011-04-12T16:08:00.000-07:002011-04-12T16:08:50.461-07:00Mike Stax's Playlist of Current Faves<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN0Pez5U-_exTxDk5MToyMFSgsR6yWfneAc1a6ikP9wBVfsi7_SiXlTaGuaYem-88ycr9e1nRN5MxgaOFPzkNxiCZWXQ1IquS3rNpmDS8AsQH7j-6oJlQPT2s-uSNlk5jfRkHXygQ07yjB/s1600/michael+ca+1968+elmridge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN0Pez5U-_exTxDk5MToyMFSgsR6yWfneAc1a6ikP9wBVfsi7_SiXlTaGuaYem-88ycr9e1nRN5MxgaOFPzkNxiCZWXQ1IquS3rNpmDS8AsQH7j-6oJlQPT2s-uSNlk5jfRkHXygQ07yjB/s320/michael+ca+1968+elmridge.jpg" width="219" /></a></div><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">THE DOWNLINERS SECT – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Brite Lights – Big City</i> (Hand of Glory, 2011) 7” EP</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. Are you kidding? I’ve fantasized for almost 25 years about what this unreleased 1964 EP might sound like, but never thought I’d ever get to actually hear it. Miraculously, the long lost master tape surfaced and fell into the right hands, so now it’s been released to the world. It does not disappoint. This is the kind of teenage punk rhythm’n’blues that first fired my obsession, and it never ceases to thrill me. (more on page 200 of the new issue)<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">THE FLAMIN’ GROOVIES </span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">– <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Jumpin’ in the Night</i></b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">(Sire, 1979) LP</b>. I bought this and dug it when it first came out in ’79, and pulled it off the shelf every now and then for a spin. However, it wasn’t until a couple of months ago that it hit me just how great it is. Like most fans, I suppose I’d always felt it was overshadowed by the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Shake Some Action</i> album. That shadow has passed. This is every bit its equal; a brilliantly realized melding of Byrds, Beatles, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Aftermath</i>-period Stones. Top picks: “Yes I Am,” “Tell Me Again.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">JONATHAN RABB – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rosa </i>(Three Rivers Press, 2005) Book</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. Atmosphere is of paramount importance to me in fiction, and in this outstanding crime noir set in 1919 Berlin the atmosphere is so thick it feels like you’re swimming through it. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">THE MAGNIFICENT BROTHERHOOD – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dope Idiots </i>(World in Sound, 2010) CD</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. From Berlin 1919 to Berlin now, and the impressive debut album by these Berlin-based garage freaks. Music Machine and Seeds influence abound in the guitar-keys-bass-drums format, but they put their own inventive twist on the genre with memorable songwriting, strong vocals and a natural sense of chemistry and energy. Fave tracks: “Last Song About You,” “Degeneration.”<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">KELLEY STOLTZ – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">To Dreamers</i></span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">(Sub Pop, 2010)</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">CD</b>. Kelley Stoltz is one of those rare songwriters who manage to absorb ‘60s pop and beat influences and make them into something that seems new and fresh. There’s a strong Ray Davies flavor to his best work, that slightly whimsical sense of longing and nostalgia, tinged with darkness and regret—not to mention melodies you find yourself whistling unexpectedly weeks later. Top picks: “Love Let Me In Again,” “I Remember, You Were Wild.”<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizC9a3UfrxEQ0UZbDNaClQqfGuxHXKL2wlAlpbjZQIG9-lA2PPOAYfC7B-4lPbwDPi41JAh3Sntalfmm__W3yX24IUJQIAXNM1ihXTbY1ItnvgsJf-peSJrtUtevSLq9dAUrHPcIdxoYAW/s1600/contrasts+publicity+photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizC9a3UfrxEQ0UZbDNaClQqfGuxHXKL2wlAlpbjZQIG9-lA2PPOAYfC7B-4lPbwDPi41JAh3Sntalfmm__W3yX24IUJQIAXNM1ihXTbY1ItnvgsJf-peSJrtUtevSLq9dAUrHPcIdxoYAW/s320/contrasts+publicity+photo.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">THE CONTRASTS – She Didn’t Care (unreleased demo, 1966).</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Blistering fuzz guitar spattered greatness recorded at Gold Star by San Diego teen garage band. CD release on UT Records soon Read their story next issue.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">7.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">JIM SULLIVAN - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">U.F.O</i></span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. <b>(Light in the Attic, 2010) CD</b>. Jim Sullivan lived in La Mesa in the ‘60s, less than a mile from where I sit right now. He disappeared without a trace in the New Mexico desert in 1975. His 1969 album, <i>U.F.O.</i>, is a haunted loner masterpiece, sounding a bit like Tim Hardin, but with a more wide open, West Coast vibe, complete with sterling backing from Wrecking Crew musicians. There’s a subtle, eerie depth to Sullivan’s songs that’s hard to resist: “<i>It’s my time to go,</i>” he sings on one track, “<i>I just want the wind to blow / my ashes until they’re completely out of sight</i>.” Sullivan’s strange, fascinating, doomed story is detailed in the liner notes of this beautifully put together reissue. Picks: “Highways,” “U.F.O.,” “So Natural.”<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">8.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">ROY GAINES – Skippy is a Sissy</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">(RCA, 1958) 7” single</b>. I just heard this for the first time (thanks, Greg) and my drool-soaked jaw is still on the floor. Does anything rock harder than this superheated ’58 rocker out of Houston, Texas? I’m thinking not.<o:p></o:p></span></span>Mike Staxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05489151525114377124noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260501211155972125.post-62192365833274238322011-04-11T14:55:00.000-07:002011-04-11T14:55:59.592-07:00Writers' Playlists. part 4<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhDJEdehZMSjHOPw-2MQbzgk0vOWHobL4cVpeF5PmzgwOX4ZoOQWwJI-Fi6PW1Tz6CpFUtOqK6EVES8T2Q1WWrKcq2W_1brA2ib60FFMkmA6-L2QqbFX74tng0Hdz48Eyg5SHDzbvOa4-a/s1600/Phil_Milstein.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhDJEdehZMSjHOPw-2MQbzgk0vOWHobL4cVpeF5PmzgwOX4ZoOQWwJI-Fi6PW1Tz6CpFUtOqK6EVES8T2Q1WWrKcq2W_1brA2ib60FFMkmA6-L2QqbFX74tng0Hdz48Eyg5SHDzbvOa4-a/s320/Phil_Milstein.JPG" width="255" /></a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">PHIL MILSTEIN<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Jah Wobble: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Memoirs Of A Geezer</i> (Serpent’s Tail, paperback)</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. One has to have some belief in Wobble’s significance as a bass innovator to tolerate some of the more indulgent aspects of this book, but, when and if past that, his engaging (and surprisingly earnest) personality and raconteurial skills make for a smashing page-turner.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Coo-Coo Party Time, et al: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Seven Ways To Sunday</i> (Thick Syrup box).</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> With their boxed 3-LP debut, Half-Japanese were nothing if not audacious. Following suit, co-founder David Fair has compiled a reissue version of his stunning 1990 album as Coo-Coo Rockin’ Time that includes that album’s songs reimagined by six different acts; in other words, the original slab of genius plus six tribute albums to same, plus companion book.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Red Saunders Research Foundation (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hubcap.clemson.edu/~campber/rsrf.html</i>).</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Documentation of Chicago’s jazz and early R&B scenes so overwhelming in scope and depth that all but the insane can bear to take in more than small chunks at a time.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd2qxXDYSMwdB1Ijk_oVTnkdeNsmkt-VvctBu2von70vRjJsxNJOrRXbHvCoBcFI_w2pXl-WGT09GflK0f-NJ1FG1ndWVOb4z2wnQnelu9mMp5o0W34bc8UlJFiGDy2BuEbD3E_iYsITcj/s1600/greg2011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd2qxXDYSMwdB1Ijk_oVTnkdeNsmkt-VvctBu2von70vRjJsxNJOrRXbHvCoBcFI_w2pXl-WGT09GflK0f-NJ1FG1ndWVOb4z2wnQnelu9mMp5o0W34bc8UlJFiGDy2BuEbD3E_iYsITcj/s320/greg2011.jpg" width="177" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">GREG PREVOST<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Keith Richards – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Life</i></b> (Hachette Book Co) Keith's bio just confirms what we already knew-he is the coolest.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Nashville Teens - "Ella James" single</b> (United Artists #50880) Monster version of Move Monster. Issued in the US in 1969...my fave 45 lately.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Dave Davies - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hole In The Sock Of</i>…</b> Album-Bootleg. I keep pulling this out every so often...all his KillerKool mid-to-late 60's singles and unissued album cuts.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">"Spider" John Koerner, Tony Glover & Dave Ray - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lots More Blues, Rags & Hollers</i></b> (Elektra EKL-267) Second volume of 2 in the series issued in late '64. The title sums it up. Includes the great Dylanesque "Lady Day" and some killer steel slide by one of my fave slide players "Spider" John Koerner.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Donald Duck Adventures - The Gilded Man</i> by Carl Barks</b> (Comic Book). Barks, the inventor of 'Uncle Scrooge' has been an idol of mine since I discovered who he was in the early 70's. This is one of my favorite comics. I managed to collect all of his work over the decades (over 1000 stories).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mad Men</i> - TV Show (A&E)</b> One of the best. The show encompasses every aspect of the early 60's. Sort of an over the edge Peyton Place. I know—a new show—yes, it's GREAT! Highly recommended.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGizDyrIp7hhu_AGbDThNAGH1Af6YVWFpeuPgrNLj-4veWJjAUTCYZfdmnk2W91LdYkkKV8n5EG6V9UREFyvjnwqfeeuIrC3uZwZFQgqqUFdRAdN3r4xq50ANcZdg4sZfloNX7Ty-vw3QP/s1600/Eric_outdoors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGizDyrIp7hhu_AGbDThNAGH1Af6YVWFpeuPgrNLj-4veWJjAUTCYZfdmnk2W91LdYkkKV8n5EG6V9UREFyvjnwqfeeuIrC3uZwZFQgqqUFdRAdN3r4xq50ANcZdg4sZfloNX7Ty-vw3QP/s1600/Eric_outdoors.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><span style="font-size: large;"> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">ERIC COLIN REIDELBERGER<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Frankie Dymon Jr. – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Let It Out</i></span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> (BASF) (LP). An album of black power ruminations from poet/activist Frankie Dymon JR. with music courtesy of Achim Reichel and crew. It fits nicely under the Krautrock umbrella; encompassing poetry, groove based rock, folk & Psychedelia and above all – it’s a freaky trip.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Static Minds – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Electricity</i></span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">(Custom Made Music) (CD) Hard rocking North Carolina band mixes the power of the MC5 with the stadium friendly sounds of early Kiss and put forth a stomper of an album that smells of muscle cars and good weed.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Joachim Kuhn – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bloody Rockers</i></span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> (BYG) (LP) German free jazzer brews up a heady mix of the “New Music” and Psychedelic rock, spices it nicely, stirs it in a pot then lets it bore a hole in your brain.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Les Variations – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nador</i></span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> (Pathe Marconi / Magic Records International) Not only one of the finest examples of French post psych heavy rock but one of the finest examples of heavy rock period.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Young Flowers - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Blomsterpistolen</i></span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> (LP) Heavy yet meditative and elongated psychedelic blues based rock from Denmark that serves as the perfect musical accompaniment for my writing forays.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Cult Of The Damned</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> (a.k.a. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Angel Angel Down We Go</i>) </span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">(Movie). This exploitation classic consists of a sadistic Jim Morrison type Psychedelic singer who chooses to wreck havoc on a wealthy decadent family through mind trips, LSD and murder!<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0cbcAWJBm_fcT1HwKubBO8FRWIeq7koVej645rftWEXN65eADiy03aXudiRtScDEiLGoR17msiS9PHblfhIqtegwHba1OmODwVELNr_WaO1xWnp_azzkRv-4TOmCy0mFOnCKeClNvNDY2/s1600/doug+sheppard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0cbcAWJBm_fcT1HwKubBO8FRWIeq7koVej645rftWEXN65eADiy03aXudiRtScDEiLGoR17msiS9PHblfhIqtegwHba1OmODwVELNr_WaO1xWnp_azzkRv-4TOmCy0mFOnCKeClNvNDY2/s1600/doug+sheppard.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">DOUG SHEPPARD<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">1. WILSON PICKETT - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Funky Midnight Mover: The Atlantic Studio Recordings (1962-1978)</i> (Rhino Handmade) 6CD box</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. Finally the early works of the Wicked Man are reissued in the proper mono mixes on this complete overview of his Atlantic years. Not for completists – for soul fans, period.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">2. V.A. - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">With Love: A Pot of Flowers</i> (Ace/Big Beat, UK) CD</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pebbles</i> before <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pebbles</i>. Dig the expansion with 14 mostly great extra tracks.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">3. NIGHT SUN - Mournin’ (Second Battle, Germany) CD/LP</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. Legit reissue of German speedfreak hard rock from 1972.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">4. THE FABULOUS COUNTS</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. Way underrated Detroit funk band. The 1969 Cotillion album (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Jan Jan</i>) has been reissued, but my dream is an expanded version that rounds up their non-LP Moira singles, plus the singles they cut as Lunar Funk and Bad Smoke.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">5. DOUG SAHM - “Crazy, Crazy Feelin’” b/w “Baby, What’s On Your Mind” (Renner) 45</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. Killer horn-backed doo-wop ballad from 1961 backed with a fine bluesy rocker. Why have Sir Doug’s Renner sides never been reissued?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">6. CANYON - “Top of the World (Make My Reservation)” (MagnaGlide/London) 45</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. Killer bubbleglam from Ashland, Ohio produced by Kasenetz-Katz that actually managed to dent the Top 100 in 1975 and, in UT terms, features two former Es-Shades. Now if I could only find a stock copy with the B-side.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">ALEX STIMMEL<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></div><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Miles Davis - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bitches Brew Live</i> [Sony/Legacy CD 2011]</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. First off, Miles is sporting the funkiest outfits in the liner notes. Also, the music. The Isle of Wight set has been a favorite since Murray Lerner's Message To Love came out. Paired with essental early electric recordings of Bitches Brew tunes from Newport '69... but by '70 the band was taking things to a lithe, live level that became and remained so unlike what anyone else did, or could ever do.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Death - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Spiritual/Mental/Physical</i> [Drag City CD 2010].</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Great, recorded-in-a-garage punk from the Detroit trio. Tunes from their sole release, "For The Whole Wide World To See" (also reissued on Drag City), in demo version; rockin' jams (dig "The Masks": ad-libbed lyrics to the verse of "Got To Get You Into My Life" alternated with dirty thrash); sweet and surprisingly tender tunes like "The Change" and "David's Dream". Enjoyable even without knowing Whole World.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The Electric Flag - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Music From "The Trip"</i> [Sidewalk LP, 1968</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">]. Off-putting but somehow compelling, this early Moog rock entry and psychsploitation soundtrack pulls of the oddest full band score before swapping in some hot leads by Bloomfield & co. on side 2. Just generic enough the rest of the time that my girlfriend will actually listen to it because it sounds like Christmas music to her. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Those Shocking, Shaking Days</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> [Now & Then CD 2011]. </span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Skull-smashing comp from erstwhile hip hop crate digger label. Smooth & beautiful packaging without, & deep tracks within, all gems from tiny Indonesian presses that'll cost you upwards of a grand to find online. Ranging from JB struts to blissed-out Western style psych, all with a thick veneer of jungle funk. Has not left the CD player.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The Widow's Might</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> [WFMU DJ promo, 2010].</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Fall pledge drive promo from the ever-righteous "Sinner's Crossroads" show on WFMU. Every song that Kevin Nutt played in 2010 sent on data DVD - almost 700 tracks of gut-grabbing gospel. Heaven. Literally. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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</div><span style="font-size: large;"> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">RICHIE UNTERBERGER<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">1. Kiki Dee - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Fontana Anthology</i> (1963-1968) (KD-001) 2CD</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. Unauthorized two-CD set of virtually everything she recorded in her first five years has mucho sub-Dusty Springfield pop-soul-girl group guilty pleasure. (An official single-disc comp with slightly different contents has just come out on RPM.)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">2. Peter Green - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Peter Green Story: Man of the World</i> (Wienerworld) DVD</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. Excellent 2009 documentary, still unavailable on DVD in the US. Features plenty of new interview material from Green and fellow Fleetwood Macmen Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, and –most surprisingly –a wholly coherent Jeremy Spencer, who'd been hard to trace for decades after leaving to join the Children of God cult.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">3. Peter Green - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Blues-Rock God</i>.</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Self-assembled 80-minute CDR of the highlights of Green's 1966-70 work, mostly with the early Fleetwood Mac and mostly with Green as songwriter/lead singer. Tortured white British blues-rock at its apex, especially the long version of his magnum opus "Oh Well."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">4. John Walker & Gary Walker - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">No Regrets: Our Story</i> (John Blake). Book</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. Overlooked recent autobio from two of the three Walker Brothers tells the whole story beginning to end with straightforward, engaging clarity.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">5. Julian Palacios - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Syd Barrett & Pink Floyd: Dark Globe</i> (Plexus). Book</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. The most exhaustive bio of the legend to date. Another 2010 Barrett bio, Rob Chapman's <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Very Irregular Head: The Life of Syd Barrett</i> (Da Capo), is also recommended as a livelier read, though it's less intensely detailed.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">6. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Agony and the Ecstasy of Phil Spector</i> (VIXPIX Films/BBC Arena).</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Uneven but often compelling documentary, based around ultra-creepy interviews with the famed producer (likely the last he'll give) shortly before he went to prison.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgIzjnZNkrHuPRST3cmGUw5ilTpe_RCYZ3tt4aFlMqVo2oIllOf4A_lLRDiyKKdueH-2QxISKvQnlGZbOZWHYMrD1ErUvVxm7EResLeBTp_x9pO-ECoxwNJBmt-czYolNn3McIR1L8Ett9/s1600/Frank.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgIzjnZNkrHuPRST3cmGUw5ilTpe_RCYZ3tt4aFlMqVo2oIllOf4A_lLRDiyKKdueH-2QxISKvQnlGZbOZWHYMrD1ErUvVxm7EResLeBTp_x9pO-ECoxwNJBmt-czYolNn3McIR1L8Ett9/s320/Frank.JPG" width="306" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">FRANK VAN DEN ELZEN<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">V.A. – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Listen To The Voices: Sly Stone In The Studio 1965–70</i></span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> (Ace). Having all these revolutionary Sly Stone production rarities in one place is a godsend. Includes a pair of stellar Beau Brummels tracks that most <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">UT</i> readers won’t want to miss.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Bob Dylan – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bootleg Series Vol. 9: The Witmark Demos 1962–1964</i></span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> (Columbia). Having circulated underground for decades, this version, finally, is the<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>ultimate way to experience these early Dylan takes. Next up, I hope, will be a definitive 4-CD set of the complete Basement Tapes.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">V.A. – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The World Ends: Afro Rock & Psychedelia in 1970s Nigeria </i>(Soundway); V.A. – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Afro-Beat Airways: West African Shock Waves, Ghana & Togo 1972–1978 </i>(Analog Africa).</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Soundway and Analog Africa, among others in this field, are certainly having a detrimental effect on my bank account, but with such great music in my hands as a result I don’t mind one bit. Their superbly researched archival works do for African styles what Pebbles and its successor series once did for American garage rock.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1vHMWTXUKwioNMeXm5s4OdKWilHFoZkhKRS0RAzLyf87PGXAJMKEAOnSFz-ltLAGhZHkuVN6KxPS1sNmxFVB2rXyJPy0HuPK1bnFDC6Xu4fK0wxpaYgsHG96vuZJHFmos_pFvLDfHDgkh/s1600/Bill+Wasser.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1vHMWTXUKwioNMeXm5s4OdKWilHFoZkhKRS0RAzLyf87PGXAJMKEAOnSFz-ltLAGhZHkuVN6KxPS1sNmxFVB2rXyJPy0HuPK1bnFDC6Xu4fK0wxpaYgsHG96vuZJHFmos_pFvLDfHDgkh/s1600/Bill+Wasser.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">BILL WASSERZIEHER<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">1. Kaleidoscope – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">When Scopes Collide</i></span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">(Taxim). The great late-’60s band reconvened in 1976 for a one-off originally on Mike Nesmith’s Pacific Arts label. Chris Darrow, David Lindley (as De Paris Letante), Solomon Feldthouse, Chester Crill (AKA Max Buda, Templeton Parcely), etc., apply the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Beacon from Mars </i>treatment to Ellington’s “Black & Tan Fantasy,” Leiber & Stoller’s “Little Egypt” and the creepiest “Ghost Riders in the Sky” ever recorded. </span></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">2. Plimsouls – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Live! Beg, Borrow & Steal </i></span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">(Alive). Argue all you want, but the Plims were the LA band of the 1980s. Nobody rocked it harder or had better tunes. This Halloween ’81 show from the Whisky a Go Go, with the Fleshtones joining them, proves it. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span><strong>3</strong>. <strong>Coal Porters – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Durango </i></strong>(Prima). Former Long Ryders’ ringmeister Sid Griffin took his latest UK-based band, the Coal Porters, to Durango, Colo., to record this CD with producer Ed Stasium (Ramones, Talking Heads, Smithereens). It’s alt.-bluegrass with a punk-ish knees-up.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span>4. </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Stew – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Naked Dutch Painter </i></span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">(Smile). A nine-year-old live album by Stew of the Negro Problem found in a 99-cent junk box. Includes some of the cleverest wordplay since Dylan stole Eric Von Schmidt’s rhyming dictionary in 1961. The 11-minute title track is a hoot, once you sort out the naked Dutch painter’s a woman. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">5. </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Washington Phillips – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Key to the Kingdom </i></span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">(Yazoo). Phillips, a Texas gospel singer with a voice like “God driving an ice cream truck,” recorded for Columbia in the late 1920s. A weird mix of musicians ranging from Ry Cooder, Will Oldham and Gillian Welch to Phish and the Be Good Tanyas have covered him, which says something as he cut only 18 tracks and played something that looked like a fretless zither. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div><br />
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</div>Mike Staxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05489151525114377124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260501211155972125.post-71069677407194149692011-04-10T11:45:00.000-07:002011-04-10T11:45:19.691-07:00Writers' Playlists. Part 3Some more of our writers pick some recent faves...<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">DAVID LAING<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Jim Keays – “Whiskey Woman.”</b> The Masters' voice, aged like good liquor, on a fantastic cover of the Groovies' opus. With backing from members of fine Melbourne outfit the Pictures. Will appear on a forthcoming solo album that is gonna be almost too good to be true, and exactly the kind of record you've always wished your old heroes would make.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Hawkwind – “Needle Gun.”</b> From mid-'80's album <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Chronicle of the Black Sword</i>, inspired by Michael Moorcock's Elric character, although this one is clearly about Jerry Cornelius. Compact and high energy stun-guitar rocker to rival Calvert classics “The Right Stuff” and “Ejection.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Raconteurs – “Broken Boy Soldiers.”</b> I wasn't paying much attention at the time, but these guys were one of the great groups of the last decade or so. The mix of Jack Whites' blues rock raunch and Brendan Benson's classic power pop moves made for a perfect blend<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band – “Rendezvous.”</b> The late '70's Raspberries-lovin' Boss comes on all Searchers-meets-Phil Spector & the Wrecking Crew on this, his lost masterpiece. From the new set of pre-<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Darkness</i> sessions, The Promise. I've loved this tune since the Greg Kihn Band first cut it in 1980 or so. Oh go on then, have a laugh...<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Bermondsey Joyriders</b> – New London outfit led by Garry Lammin of the original Cock Sparrer line-up. I always though those guys were just some horrible Oi band, but, whatever they may have become, I've since found that their early stuff is just great, glam-influenced punk (check out their 1976 recordings on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Decca Sessions</i>) and this new lot continues the vibe, albeit with a slide-heavy sound that sits in between the Gorillas and one of Tim Kerr's punky blues outfits like Jack O' Fire. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Honest John Plain & The Amigos - '”70s Girl.”</b> Anthemic Mott-meets-Pistols rocker from Honest John Plain of the Boys and pals. From their rocking 2006 album "One More And We're Staying". <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">7. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Imperial State Electric</b>. Nicke from the Hellacopter's new group follow a Raspberries + MC5 = Kiss formula and deliver a super hard-pop album,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">8. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Psycho Daisies – “Sonically Speaking.”</b> Couldn't let this issue pass without mention of the death late last year of the great Florida guitarist Johnny Salton, best known for his work with Charlie Pickett & the Eggs. A rabid fan of great guitarists from Johnny Thunders to Nick Saloman to obviously Jeff Beck, John had a great feel and usually a great tone (and taste enough to cover the Crawdaddys!), and this mid-'80s album from his own post-Eggs outfit sits for me alongside records by his fave artists of the era, including the Gun Club and the Dream Syndicate <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">9. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Led Zeppelin - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">IV or whatever you wanna call it</i></b>. I'm now the big brother I never had... <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">10. And on my latest car-tape - Wooden Shjips - 'We Ask You To Ride', Paybacks 'Black Girl', Sensational Alex Harvey Band 'Midnight Moses', Dengue Fever - 'Tip My Canoe' & 'One Thousand Tears of a Tarantula', Devotions 'Rock'n'Roll Sister', Swedish Magazines 'Head On Ice' (Best Bon/Vanda & Young-era AC/DC-style song in decades came from Tasmania in 2005), The Steppes - Tourists From Timenotyet, The Hitmen 'War Of Hands of Time', Free - ' Fire And Water ' <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">PATRICK LUNDBORG<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">1. SONICS <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">– Explosives</i> (LP Buckshot, 1973)</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> The earliest, rarest and best Sonics reissue, featuring the top 11 tracks from their first two LPs plus a 45-only track, all in gloriously earsplitting Mono.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2. AGGREGATION – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mind Odyssey</i> (LP LHI, 1969)</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Many mainstream '60s psych LPs sound first great and then cheesy; this elegant tribute to mind expansion takes the exact opposite route.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>3. V.A. – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">RELAXED JOURNEYS VOL 2</i> (CD Chill Tribe, 2006)</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> A superb Norwegian selection from the vast European underground of modern psychedelic electronica; consistently cinematic and melodic.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>4. BELA BARTOK – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The String Quartets</i> (2-CD Philips, 1994)</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> The master of eerie modernism brings the listener into a space of sharp corners and not much comfort with this terse, almost skeletal chamber music.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">5. EZRA POUND – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Cantos</i> (anthology book, 1965)</b> One needs two dozen reference works to understand the "meaning" of this magnum opus of modernist poetry, but Pound's unparalleled grasp of rhythm and sound requires no explication.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>6. MASTERS APPRENTICES – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Vol 2</i> (EP Astor, 1967)</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> To complement your original mono album you need this marvy EP with two non-LP Bower masterpieces, and I finally scored a clean one!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">MICHAEL LYNCH<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1) <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Forever Changes: Arthur Lee and the Book of Love</i> by John Einarson</b>. You've all probably finished reading it by now, but I didn't get it until Christmas.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">http://anorakthing.blogspot.com/<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">timeonmyhands-yb.blogspot.com<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A pair of music blogs that never fail to entertain. The former primarily covers European '60s Mod, Freakbeat and whathaveyou with scores of rare goodies, and the latter regularly presents well-prepared mixes of old and new sounds.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">http://www.crawdaddy.com/index.php/sixties-archives/#archive<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Online scanned copies of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ugly Things</i> of the 1960s. They're not always easy to read, but they're quite often interesting.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5) <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Simon and Garfunkel</b>. A Long Island theater's recent presentation of rare S&G clips inspired me to take their five original Columbia LPs off the shelf and re-enjoy them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6) And finally...for some modern music grown from '60s pop seeds. I'll vouch for him: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">http://www.reverbnation.com/michaellynchmusic</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6BIFFYhsQ-7WACPa3_wrNoCIQhzWiyUpYQI9zB9AZwx2C9kwbaWdqhRhZbExhOU6_y1J0ykIG2mUfnWSBfCu_4vr8VhSZcS-Ick5I8s46Le7oUZRtmcIW-fNkEKZ9NHKD-YnBH6N-t66j/s1600/Peter_Markham.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6BIFFYhsQ-7WACPa3_wrNoCIQhzWiyUpYQI9zB9AZwx2C9kwbaWdqhRhZbExhOU6_y1J0ykIG2mUfnWSBfCu_4vr8VhSZcS-Ick5I8s46Le7oUZRtmcIW-fNkEKZ9NHKD-YnBH6N-t66j/s320/Peter_Markham.jpg" width="282" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">PETER MARKHAM<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1) <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Don Fardon – Selected 45’s ‘67-’69</b> (Young Blood, Vogue/Hit-ton). Top mod pop club sounds par excellence from the ex-Sorrows frontman—big interview with “the tallest man in British pop” in UT #32!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">) Julien Covey & the Machine – “A Little Bit Hurt” </b>(Fontana). A whopping blue eyed soul two sider from the former Brian Auger and Graham Bond drummer, co-written and produced by Jimmy Miller. Covey went on to popsike greatness as Philamore Lincoln.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3) <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Smoke –“ Have Some More Tea”</b> (Metronome). Yorkshire lads of “My Friend Jack” fame make it big in Germany with a stunning fuzz laden tale with obvious drug references. Where’s the UT story?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4) <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Marquis of Kensington – “Flash”</b> (CBS). The Kinks’ manager Robert Wace and record producer Mike Leander are broke, and crank out an instro monster that becomes a hit in Das Vaterland! They find a guy on the King’s Road to act as the Marquis on the record sleeve and TV appearances!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">) Small Faces – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Autumn Stone</i> 2 x LP</b> (Immediate). Simply the best album for a lazy Sunday afternoon!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6) <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hellraisers: The Life and Inebriated Times of Richard Burton, Richard Harris, Peter O’Toole and Oliver Reed</i></b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">by Robert Sellers</b> (book). A whole lot more “sex, drugs and rock’n’roll” than the recent Keith Richards biography!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFz3-FC6nnCJHai0hJJ8o32cSN9jYPH7d2GX6p4i_7BX0y2YiWX6FzHwM4c_NQyVZUPyE-jJw7J7JPLb3IlDKP3XBV7DZhp87jsfwUzIgWvR2uZzNGFbg1EEm2FKxVXw-TD-fVYS51I6lB/s1600/Greg16fixed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFz3-FC6nnCJHai0hJJ8o32cSN9jYPH7d2GX6p4i_7BX0y2YiWX6FzHwM4c_NQyVZUPyE-jJw7J7JPLb3IlDKP3XBV7DZhp87jsfwUzIgWvR2uZzNGFbg1EEm2FKxVXw-TD-fVYS51I6lB/s320/Greg16fixed.jpg" width="241" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">GREG McWHORTER<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">1. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">MICMACS </i>(French film -Warner Brothers Ent.)</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Capra collides with Terry Gilliam's Brazil in an unexpectedly fun movie.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">2. WILLIE EGAN - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Wow Wow: Rockin' the Blues</i> (CD -Empire Musicwerks)</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Upbeat proto-rock foot stompin' jump blues with crazy early-Ernie Freeman guitar.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">SENTARIANS "Don't Go" b/w "Flight" 45 (Jadt Records)</b> Are they garage or are they surf? Either way, this is an insanely great 60's waxing!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">SLEEPY EYES OF DEATH Volume II set</i></b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">(Japanese films -Animeigo)</b> Chambara films don't get any better than these nihilistic, blood-soaked, mini-epics starring Raizo Ichikawa, the Japanese James Dean.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">M.C. BEATON "Hamish Macbeth" novels</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">(Constable & Robinson Pub.)</b> Don't ask. After reading every hardboiled novel I could get my hands on, these books are nice light detective reading with a Scottish Highlands setting. Haggis and tea anyone?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">RIC MENCK<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1. Anything by <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Buddy Holly.</b> He is God to me.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2. Anything by <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The La's</b>. In my humble opinion, one of the best British bands ever.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Four Lovers - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">1956</i></b> (Bear Family CD). Pre-Four Seasons. Cooler than you might think.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Eddie Cochran Box Set </b>(Bear Family CDs). An unbelievably talented young man. Good looking too.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Dale Hawkins - "Susie Q"</b> (Checker 45 RPM). Just played it five times in a row. Pure genius.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6. The first three <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Ramones</b> albums (Sire Vinyl). My affection for the Ramones keeps on growing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkYy4wGIDXa3nCTx7MBgwWn4RdhpPLR9nxU37g8UHDb-tTUdu8FZClnyw5BOu3La-PXhPU4mpfEcJyLfIaA_uv2z7gnzdq_pY2U3IWifL79-RhyziKzyCnIhXIiE5eG-n7soNTxSfJOJMG/s1600/AaronMilenskiPicCropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkYy4wGIDXa3nCTx7MBgwWn4RdhpPLR9nxU37g8UHDb-tTUdu8FZClnyw5BOu3La-PXhPU4mpfEcJyLfIaA_uv2z7gnzdq_pY2U3IWifL79-RhyziKzyCnIhXIiE5eG-n7soNTxSfJOJMG/s1600/AaronMilenskiPicCropped.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></b></div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">AARON MILENSKI<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Josh Ritter's oeuvre</b>. I haven't had much luck with music from the 2000s, but this tremendous singer-songwriter is one of the few present day artists to really grab me, and every one of his albums is as good as the last.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Paul McCartney "Back Seat of My Car."</b> Many listens via ipod over the last few years have cemented its place as my choice for most perfect pop epic ever.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Jonathan Franzen – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Freedom</i></b>. Book. After all of the hype it was hard to resist this one, which is way overlong and is most certainly not the great American novel, but is a legitimately modern variation on previous generations' "great American novels," even sharing with Hemingway, Updike, Irving, et al misogyny thinly disguised as a failed attempt to convince the reader that he's that rare man who actually understands women. The weirdest thing about this book is the myriad of details that sound like they came directly from my life, as if Franzen knew me and decided to mock me.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">4. Happy Dragon Band - S/T.</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> LP. This is actually the same people behind the faux-Doors album by the Phantom, but in a weirdo synth-heavy proto-new wave mode, except that once the new wavers got hold of synthesizers they never did anything as creative as this.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">5. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Winner Take All Politics</i> by Hacker & Pierson and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Griftopia</i> by Matt Taibbi</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. Best of the many books I've read about what really caused our economy to collapse. Peripherally related to rock and roll because Taibbi wries for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rolling Stone</i>, which these days is far more interesting for its political and/or social commentary writing than for its pathetic attempt to still be musically relevant.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6. vintage videos by <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Kaleidoscope</b> (the UK psych band) and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Group 1850</b> (among others) on Youtube<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It continues to amaze me how people dig up stuff I never knew existed in the first place. Bands we think of as obscure and weird actually appeared on TV in their heyday, and I have to assume they blew away their contemporary audiences the way these videos blow me away now.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>Mike Staxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05489151525114377124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260501211155972125.post-16261905545959178672011-04-09T12:42:00.000-07:002011-04-29T16:15:13.222-07:00Writers' Playlists. Part 2More Ugly Things writers pick their recent favorites....<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoPrYO_Rxtb8nuM36mkSaiqAU4E8CAqpYtOAZs_MdXrH68ifCidpj_WVe7vzvO_FgLZDxP0wA1E5TH8NsSREvjVsYnLqKAgR3GwdP3Tf_-5cg_9JSKr4KPK52Eo3mtNzOTQC7GIH1ZLxJd/s1600/jc1_%2528bw%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoPrYO_Rxtb8nuM36mkSaiqAU4E8CAqpYtOAZs_MdXrH68ifCidpj_WVe7vzvO_FgLZDxP0wA1E5TH8NsSREvjVsYnLqKAgR3GwdP3Tf_-5cg_9JSKr4KPK52Eo3mtNzOTQC7GIH1ZLxJd/s320/jc1_%2528bw%2529.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">JEREMY CARGILL<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">White Fence - <i>S/T</i></span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> + <b><i>...Is Growing Faith</i></b> (Make A Mess/Woodsist, LP/CD) - Bedroom loner-psych from Darker My Love frontman. Melodic, jarring, scorching and gentle at once. My generation's Dan Treacy?</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">2. Maniac</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> (Blue Underground, Blu-ray) - Early 80's splatter that matters! FINALLY the crazed Frank Zito (Joe Spinell) meets a deluxe treatment. Co-produced and directed by all-time great character actor Spinell.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">3. <b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Wreckless Eric – </span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">His back catalogue kept findin' my ears during the production of the issue you're holding in your hands. Particularly the Len Bright Combo albums and <i>Le Beat Group Electrique</i>.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">4. <b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Biters - <i>S/T</i></span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> + <b><i>It's Okay To Like Biters</i></b> (Underrated, 10”/CD EP) - This is what Cheap Trick would sound like if they were still vital, shot with some 70's junkshop glam. Essential power pop.<o:p></o:p></span></span> <br />
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5. <span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Kevin Coyne - <i>Marjory Razorblade</i></span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> (EMI EUR, CD) - Sublime, poetic semi-acoustic (and acoustic) roots sojourns peppered with the occasional rocker. Slot this in next to <i>Beggar's Banquet</i> and ya may find it at the head of the table. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">6. Caravan</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> - <b>Caravan</b> (Island, LP) - Ideas that wouldn't catch fire with me elsewhere beautifically coalesce on this outing from the Canterbury scene. I keep comin back...<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">ANDREW CORBIN<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></div><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Orange</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Juice – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Coals to Newcastle </i>CD box set.</b> This fabulous reissue of the entire recorded output of the mighty OJ has seen a lot of play in my household, particularly their frequently slighted third album. Witty, charming, and one-of-a-kind, OJ were post-punk gems. I also enjoyed Edwyn Collins' 2010 solo lp <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Losing Sleep</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Emma Donoghue - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Room</i>: </b>Hands down, the best book of 2010 for me. A thrilling, disturbing, suspenseful, and moving reading experience.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Marvelettes</b>. Always amazing. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Smiths - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Unreleased Demos and Instrumentals</i> bootleg</b>. Like most reasonable folks, I'm a bit skeptical of bootlegs. This one, however, delivered exactly what it promised. This collection of previously unheard goodies from my favorite band made my year. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Jon Savage's <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Black Hole</i> comp of California punk</b>, reviewed in this issue of UT.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguzeaPaKHdh9RL476fY7r_n6bbCiARTawFizsnUcY9qUXNicgLLJay40WA_qccB2s1NlGs79ZkinNLptQSIChQHNqIKHFv398r80uB_i51qJWGHEfwzUHnPbZ7DF_iUhL72CnFSC6gEkDR/s1600/Gareth_at_Marsh_Court_crop_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguzeaPaKHdh9RL476fY7r_n6bbCiARTawFizsnUcY9qUXNicgLLJay40WA_qccB2s1NlGs79ZkinNLptQSIChQHNqIKHFv398r80uB_i51qJWGHEfwzUHnPbZ7DF_iUhL72CnFSC6gEkDR/s320/Gareth_at_Marsh_Court_crop_2.jpg" width="270" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></o:p></span></div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">GARETH DAVIES-MORRIS<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">DAVID BOWIE - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Best of Bowie</i> (EMI DVD).</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> This greatest hits package gathers up a whole slew of well-produced videos from the Dame’s lengthy career, including Julien Temple’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Jazzin’ for Blue Jean</i>, the terrific promos for the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lodger</i> material, vintage clips from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Old Grey Whistle Test</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Top of the Pops</i>, and the original Mick Rock shorts from the Ziggy Stardust era, later poached by Todd Haynes for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Velvet Goldmine</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">EARL SLICK BAND - debut album (Capitol LP).</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> First of two albums of melodic Seventies hard rock featuring a post-Bowie Earl Slick on guitar and a post-Stories Bryan Madey on drums, as well as the considerable vocal and songwriting talents of Jimmie Mack. The second, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Razor Sharp</i>, is heavier but I prefer the debut, especially for its wry homage to the legendary PJ Proby.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">DOMINIC FRONTIERE - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Name for Evil / The Unknown</i> (La La Land CD).</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Beautiful yet eerie orchestral pieces by a modern American composer who found his niche doing film and TV soundtracks and whose style, fittingly, echoes Bernard Herrman. This release pairs a minor Robert Culp horror flick and perhaps the best of the many <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Outer Limits</i> episodes that Frontiere scored, “The Forms of Things Unknown.”<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">TOM NEWMAN - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fairie Symphony</i> (Decca LP, Esoteric CD). </span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Having engineered Mike Oldfield’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tubular Bells</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hergest Ridge</i>, Newman appears to have spent the rest of the Seventies reading Tolkien and watching <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Midsummer Night’s Dream</i>. The resulting instrumental suite, featuring Newman’s old mate Jon Field (ex-July, Jade Warrior), is exactly the sum of its parts, recalling those first Oldfield works and later Jade Warrior releases like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kites</i> or <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Way of the Sun</i> and displaying the same effortless ability to shift between ambience and electric ferocity before stealing away to dreamland.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">STUART MACONIE - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cider With Roadies</i> (Ebury Press). </span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">A hysterical troll through UK life in the Seventies, Eighties, and Nineties with one of Britain’s finest rock journalists, Maconie’s 2005 autobiography addresses every musical trend therein, from loving ELP to hating Napalm Death and raising a glass with Morrissey. A real-life <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">High Fidelity</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">GARY MOORE - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Back on the Streets</i> (MCA LP, Grand Slamm CD). </span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">1978 solo debut from late Irish guitar hero, backed up by former bandmates from Thin Lizzy and Colosseum II and including the melancholy hit “Parisienne Walkways.” A personal favorite of mine, it showcases in one place the hard rock, blues, and prog/fusion genres that Moore mastered in his varied career, sadly now concluded. RIP Gary.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpUSxXUsaLUAVEVxFLHUukTQcEu8dbA78zKFUCUGX1pNCtdFhWxQSZoqsvJj2iz6zRH94xwzv4Rv2uuij10fMeqvjngFp_50aEmX9QkWhEOTnHrvzdYsrDBvb_1TfutAbxEarhpIceEmFE/s1600/tim+earnshaw.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpUSxXUsaLUAVEVxFLHUukTQcEu8dbA78zKFUCUGX1pNCtdFhWxQSZoqsvJj2iz6zRH94xwzv4Rv2uuij10fMeqvjngFp_50aEmX9QkWhEOTnHrvzdYsrDBvb_1TfutAbxEarhpIceEmFE/s320/tim+earnshaw.JPG" width="273" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">TIM EARNSHAW<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></div><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo6; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Design - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Design</i> </span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">and<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tomorrow Is So Far Away</i></b>. CDs. Dreamy sunshine pop from the early seventies that somehow sneaked under the radar. Impeccable and complex harmonies, strong playing, crystal production ... and great songs. Faultless, gorgeous, summer music. Out of print.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo6; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Sly & Robbie – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hot Dub</i></span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">.</span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> CD. A showcase for subtly mind-blowing musical muscle. Deep as a springwater well, bright as the Jamaica sun. Out of print.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo6; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Howard Roberts - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Antelope Freeway</i> </span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Equinox Express Elevator</i></b>. CDs. Two stunning albums from a jazz guitarist that defy categorisation (and therefore sales). Electric, avant garde, eclectic, hip, trippy, downright hilarious ... and out of print.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo6; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">John Le Carré - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Russia House</i></span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. Book. A late convert to the cause, I’m scarfing up everything by Le Carré that I can find. Currently trying to make this one last more than the single sitting that would finish it. We are not worthy!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo6; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Raymond Chandler – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Little Sister</i></span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. Book. I’m <i>always</i> reading something by Chandler, and have been for decades. The two-volume Library Of America edition is my bedside bible.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo6; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Osho – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Buddha Said</i></span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. Book. Osho is as big a Buddhist Bullshitter as any (and it’s a crowded field), but this commentary on some of the Buddha’s more useful quotes is, unusually, both insightful and a damn good read. Avoid everything else Osho does like the plague, though.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">DAVE GNERRE</span></span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Slacktone <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">– Into The Blue Sparkle</i> (GoBoy) CD</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-size: small;">. For my money, Slacktone is the best neo-surf band around – all their records come highly recommended, but they really take it to another level live, most recently contributing a blistering set at an Eddie Bertrand benefit gig in Huntington Beach.</span> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The Renegades – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cadillac, Thirteen Women</i> (Norton) 45s</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. Superb Birmingham beat/rock ‘n roll combo took a retooled version of Vince Taylor’s “Brand New Cadillac” to the top of the charts in Finland, then unleashed a wild version of Bill Haley’s “Thirteen Women.” Great sounds and I love the optional center! <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Richard Podolor – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">BB Polka</i> (Radio) 45</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. He produced Three Dog Night among others, but I’d rather dig his fluid guitar lines in the Super Stocks’ “Midnight Run” and the full bodied sound he got on the Roosters’ incomparable “One Of These Days.” This vintage instrumental really shows his prowess as a player - great picking throughout. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Classic Surf Films From The 50s & 60s </span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">(Tropics Entertainment) DVD</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. I never tire of watching vintage surf docs – this box from 2008 has four of them, all featuring terrific footage, some good music, and narration chock full of surfing’s unique, often humorous lingo.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDIrRabStPRchPECF6dktC8pmJ6Teq812oo_QaFeAGMIWwc1lpexe9pDlSrutuBZe5zSG3b2yv5TNtpsBz1llJEBQVZu8AVu3YVkc3iHsEvhVGZ4FYZJmwahwSx26roEqL8iGP8S7d5GMf/s1600/John+Hagelston.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDIrRabStPRchPECF6dktC8pmJ6Teq812oo_QaFeAGMIWwc1lpexe9pDlSrutuBZe5zSG3b2yv5TNtpsBz1llJEBQVZu8AVu3YVkc3iHsEvhVGZ4FYZJmwahwSx26roEqL8iGP8S7d5GMf/s320/John+Hagelston.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">JOHN HAGELSTON<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The Beatles – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">At The Hollywood Bowl</i></span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. </span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Nearly 50 years after the Fabs’ first US performances, this blast of energy remains infectious fun.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Budgie – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bandolier</i></span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">.</span></i></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-size: small;"> I’m not a huge hard rock fan, but took a chance on this disc based on a recommendation from the Galactic Ramble book – and it is indeed very solid early ’70s heaviness.</span> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
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</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">It’s A Beautiful Day – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">S/T</i>.</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> I already knew "White Bird," but was pleasantly surprised to find the entire LP is a varied, engaging SF psych record. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Mi Generacion – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">S/T</i></span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">.</span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> My fave recent "discovery" is Wah Wah’s 2 LP (plus 7") reissue of this Spanish band’s early ’70s recordings, which sound like prime-period CSN crossed with Peruvian group We All Together.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Os Mutantes – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mutantes</i></span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. The second album by these kings of Brazilian tropical psychedelia is as tuneful as it is eccentric. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Strange – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Souvenir Album</i></span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. Another megararity reissued by Shadoks, this Pacific Northwest group’s sole LP occasionally reminds me of early Neil Young in "desperate loner" mode.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">RALPH HEIBUTZKI<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></div><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Carol Clerk – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Saga Of Hawkwind</i></span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. Book. Filled with enough backstabbing, bitchiness and bitterness to make the Beach Boys seem like the best of friends...plus compelling accounts of the band's life and times, and some excellent music. Unmissable!<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Ninni Holmqvist – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Unit</i></span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. Book. In this unsettling tale, people over 50 and 60 are sequestered from society, but must submit themselves for drug and psychological testing, then donate their organs, little by little, until the final decision... <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Logan's Run</i> without the lasers.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Carlos</span></i></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> (IFC) DVD. His shaded mug adorned a Black Grape CD, now he's rotting in a French prison. A compelling six-hour look at one of the '70s' most notorious -- and equally iconic -- terrorist figures.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Roy Buchanan – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Live: Amazing Grace</i> (Powerhouse Records) </span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">CD. Tom Principato releases a nifty 45-minute live comp of one of rock's most underrated backwoods guitar heroes. Listen to the one-two punch of "Hot Cha" and "Amazing Grace," and you'll understand why.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Stiff Little Fingers – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Guitar And Drum</i></b>. CD. More of a cult band than ever, Jake and company still have plenty of fire left in them, as the thumping anti-boy/girl band title track should amply demonstrate.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The Vibrators – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pure Punk</i></span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. CD. 28 well-performed covers laid down by one of the ultimate '77 survivors...the most fun comes in hearing songs not commonly associated with Knox and co., such as the Stranglers' "Get A Grip On Yourself."<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheCpWycQb4oC2PLaBfT-rBNngmqzdOJvW3rxW-BkrwUK2W_rLsHZd4UXIU6LIUqYMkPEWjyph8kT3X21WdzoDbgcYFGbNMbDN7j1za7xs3TCduOLaPgaIr2wzb_GyIIYgkno_aV2guo9Cc/s1600/Al+James.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheCpWycQb4oC2PLaBfT-rBNngmqzdOJvW3rxW-BkrwUK2W_rLsHZd4UXIU6LIUqYMkPEWjyph8kT3X21WdzoDbgcYFGbNMbDN7j1za7xs3TCduOLaPgaIr2wzb_GyIIYgkno_aV2guo9Cc/s320/Al+James.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">AL JAMES<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Jim Sullivan - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">U.F.O</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">.</i> (Light In The Attic) CD. Lonesome country rock songs performed by Jim Sullivan, backed by the wrecking crew - my favorite re-issue of the year.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Damien Jurado and Richard Swift - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Other People's Songs Volume One</i> </b>(self-released) CD. Two of America's finest contemporary songwriters get together for a hazy covers album that lives online, free for everyone to enjoy (download and stream at http://otherpeoplessongs.tumblr.com/)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Ted Lucas - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Om Album</i></b> (Yoga) This is the album that you always wished a stoned folkie would make - side A is perfection.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Talk Talk - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Laughingstock</i> (Verve)</b> I've had the hardest time finding this album on LP. Finally picked up the Verve re-issue at the excellent De Capo Records in Utrecht, Holland.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">One Trip Pass</b> - (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">www.onetrippass.com</i>) I can look at Jay Carroll's mood boards for days and days.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Alec Soth - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Broken Manual</i> </b>(Little Brown Mushroom) Soth's new photo book and essays are about Americans that live off the grid in self imposed exile.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJi62u_ijvwFXpauJ-ZffCmuxjHUB9z7Sjzl-B5lK6rbu0hzxAxtR18W4qponv5RuvzaNAXbgNeDRWFLUIoIGkUNJ4MGNArEsbinSWGQ7x-Ql7G07UpTItQ6E4kM0umVgR_4jUJ5aqZCV1/s1600/Jarema_frat_photo_1984.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJi62u_ijvwFXpauJ-ZffCmuxjHUB9z7Sjzl-B5lK6rbu0hzxAxtR18W4qponv5RuvzaNAXbgNeDRWFLUIoIGkUNJ4MGNArEsbinSWGQ7x-Ql7G07UpTItQ6E4kM0umVgR_4jUJ5aqZCV1/s320/Jarema_frat_photo_1984.jpg" width="233" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">JEFF JAREMA</span></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Among <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">UT</i> readers, clearly I have no friends. If I did, at least <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">somebody </i>would’ve busted my chops (or presently barren noggin) after last issue; after that ‘playlist’ photo of me sporting a Sonny Bono wig. Actually, that was me letting my hair grow out c. ‘85/86 …briefly, in a less than successful response to UT#4 (or was it 99<span style="font-size: small;"><sup>th</sup> Floor #7?). It’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ugly Things, </i>after all. I thought you were <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">supposed </i>to send in an old photo. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in; mso-list: l5 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Beau Brummels:</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> With the last decade - whatever it was called - finally behind us, I am firmly decided on Reissue of the Decade: The Beau Brummels’ <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Magic Hollow</i> box set on Rhino Handmade. Really, I’ve know this since receiving an advance copy back when. But recently, I got too deeply involved in it again, particularly WB era Non-LP ‘n’ rarities (“Lower Level, “Lift Me”, “On the Road Again”, “Glass”, etc. etc.). For those in similar awe of Valentino & Elliott, prepare to get Brummeled beyond belief with expanded editions of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Triangle</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bradley’s Barn </i>(Rhino Handmade, again). The latter corrals two discs of outtakes and some amazing Sal solo outings like “Friends and Lovers” which is stylistically more deserving of the earlier, orchestrated <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Triangle</i>. On the subject of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Triangle</i>, my absolute favorite BB’s track for awhile now is “Nine Pound Hammer”. Sal Valentino recorded one magnificent vocal after the next throughout the Brummels’ original ‘60s run. But “Hammer” has to be one of his absolute<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>best. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">That’s my list. Lately, nothing else comes close.<o:p></o:p></span></span>Mike Staxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05489151525114377124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260501211155972125.post-46594996076477054552011-04-08T15:05:00.000-07:002011-04-08T15:05:24.254-07:00Writers' Playlists. Part 1<span style="font-size: large;">Last issue (#30) I asked each of our regular writers to choose five or six of their current favorite records, books, films or whatever and write a few sentences about each. The section was popular with readers so the plan was to do it again with #31. However, space proved to be tight so the playlists had to be dropped at the 11th hour. So I'm going to run them here instead. I'll add several each day.</span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">JEFF BALE<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">V.A. - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Real Cool Time Revisited</i> CD</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> - A killer expanded reissue compilation of Swedish neo-garage bands from the '80s. There's lots of amazing songs, both by relatively well-known (Nomads, Screaming Dizbusters, Stomachmouths) and obscure bands (Dolkows, Slobster).<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The Subways - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Young for Eternity</i> CD</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> - A super cool new UK punkish band with catchy songs and alternating male-female vocals. It somehow has a fresh, exciting sound despite recycling lots of classic riffs and hooks.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Plan Nine - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Generation Action</i> CD</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> - a ferocious Swedish punk'n'roll band with blasting guitars and driving rhythms that makes you wish you were seeing them in a rock'n'roll dive while totally wasted on Jaegermeister. That's a compliment.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Q65 - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nothing But Trouble</i> CD</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> - a terrific remastered compilation of this great Dutch beat punk band's many stellar tracks. In my book, there are very few songs from that (or any other) era as good as "Cry in the Night" or "The Life I Live."<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">22-20s - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Shake, Shiver, Moan</i> CD</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> - this UK group's second album is uneven, but "Heart on a String" may be one of the greatest rock songs I've ever heard. Period.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">R. Scott Baker - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Neuropath</i></span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> - one of the most provocative novels in the horror-scifi genre I've read in years. Not only is it really nasty and creepy, it also forces one to question - both biologically and philosophically - what being human really means. The answer is not reassuring.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaelk6MBA-blzOIgqb4uHEJkcVDe1rPmhff17sgWHTmSoAo27e-h5zNgamaQ9VrCbUMB4XRuj4TQSJsZi-bUXdFvUdxRfjII9dOw8mJ7ljoFZdtcajk6HNTpFqCS19dKYKKh0m2qg63CjP/s1600/Hunter+Bennett.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaelk6MBA-blzOIgqb4uHEJkcVDe1rPmhff17sgWHTmSoAo27e-h5zNgamaQ9VrCbUMB4XRuj4TQSJsZi-bUXdFvUdxRfjII9dOw8mJ7ljoFZdtcajk6HNTpFqCS19dKYKKh0m2qg63CjP/s320/Hunter+Bennett.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">HUNTER BENNETT<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></div><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">1. Flamin' Groovies – “Shakin'” (about 2 dozen live albums and compilations) Song</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> - Long after they had any business being good, the Flamin' Groovies (i.e., Cyril, George and a bunch of sidemen) cranked out this pop gem that's on par with anything they ever did. Check out a great clip of them performing it on Spanish TV here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXr0l3k9Keg<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">2. X - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">At Home With You</i> (Morphius Archives) CD</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> - Stellar second album from these Aussies is chock full of impeccably played punky hard rock. "T.V. Glue" features one of the most achingly beautiful trumpet riffs this side of "Alone Again Or." If I had to guess, I'd say the Laughing Hyenas listened to this record a whole lot.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">3. The Dirtbombs - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Party Store</i> (In The Red) CD</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> - Give 'em credit for recording an album of Detroit Techno covers. Give 'em even more credit for making it good.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">4. Robert Altman Movies</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> - Most of the time, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nashville</i> is my favorite, but sometimes I'll take <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Long Goodbye </i>or <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Short Cuts</i>. And just between me and you, I even like "Ready To Wear" (nee "Pret A Porter").<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong></strong></span></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>5</strong>.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Franklin W. Dixon – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">What Happened At Midnight</i> (Grosset and Dunlap)</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> - A diamond smuggling gang foolishly sets up shop in Bayport, the home of crime-fighting prodigies Frank and Joe Hardy. Be amazed as Frank dons tight pants, a Nehru jacket and a fake beard to squeeze a confession out of a suspect. I'm fairly certain I'm enjoying this even more than my kids are.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>6.</strong></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The Ruts - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Peel Sessions Album</i> (Strange Fruit) CD</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> - As potent a blend of punk rock and reggae as you're likely to come across in this lifetime.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyy-YwOpqpW3vTwZkTDmcCCt-oEifgfi36pwMyhidq1iAqgj2Eg4Ft7Js1N3PRdVbZWcDsZdBbgxaNzIkfTiLbocIg6JTqktgs4UGE-7buhn6Y0PwS_lPLjtWkeNw2_-Do0UsEKT_NA7nv/s1600/Biasotti.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyy-YwOpqpW3vTwZkTDmcCCt-oEifgfi36pwMyhidq1iAqgj2Eg4Ft7Js1N3PRdVbZWcDsZdBbgxaNzIkfTiLbocIg6JTqktgs4UGE-7buhn6Y0PwS_lPLjtWkeNw2_-Do0UsEKT_NA7nv/s1600/Biasotti.jpg" /></span></a></div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">DAVID BIASOTTI<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b><br />
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<div style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -0.25in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The Soft Boys – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Can of Bees </i>(Yep Roc) CD </span></b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">As much as I love their other stuff, I’d never checked out the first album until this 2010 reissue. Over the years I’d been led to believe it was inferior to critics’ fave <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Underwater Moonlight</i>, but, having spent a few months with it, I think I just may like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Can of Bees </i>a whole lot more.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -0.25in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">William Trevor – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Collected Stories </i>(ePenguin Kindle edition) </span></b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Like Balzac, Trevor’s one of those writers who just seems to take it all in, and when it comes to black comedy, there are few who get blacker than he does. My second copy of this collection is now in tatters, hence the e-book I’m currently reading.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -0.25in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">BBC Great British Railway Journeys </span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">With a copy of George Bradshaw’s Victorian era railway guidebook in hand, presenter Michael Portillo travels around the country along the old train routes in search of what’s changed or remained from those times. The series is an Anglophile’s dream, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Village Green Preservation Society </i>would serve nicely as its soundtrack. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -0.25in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Robert Fisk, Middle East correspondent, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Independent </i></span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">A hero journalist if there ever was one, Fisk has been on the relentlessly grim Middle East beat for decades now. Which make his recent reports from Egypt, and now Bahrain, all the more uplifting. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -0.25in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">School of Seven Bells – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Disconnect from Desire </i>(Vagrant) CD </span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">My judgment may be clouded by my love for the way this group channels the Cocteau Twins’ Gothic ethereality in a more OK computer, rhythmically charged direction and—who’s kidding who—the fact that the gorgeous vocals emanate from strikingly beautiful identical twins, but this is very much my record of the moment.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">LAURENT BIGOT<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">DESPAIR CDR</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. I can’t believe this pre-Vibrators material is still mostly unissued. Fab mid-70’s Lou-Reed-in-the-garage rock.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">SOUND CEREMONY [RON WARREN GANDERTON] - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Guitar Star/s-t</i> LPs</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. More 70’s Lou Reed by-product bordering on art brut… with the best anti-tobacco song ever!<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">BERLIN BRATS - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Believe It Or Rot</i> LP</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> (The L.A. Dolls have their album. 35 years after the facts, it’s about time)<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">PERSONAL & THE PIZZAS - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Raw Pie</i> LP</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. Seems like it’s getting hard for new acts to be both great and original, so you might as well mix the Stooges with the Ramones and sing about pizza while pretending to be from New Jersey.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">THE RUNAWAYS</span></i></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> movie. I had low expectations. It wasn’t perfect but still a fan dream come true.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">POLI STYRENE JASS BAND – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Drano in your veins</i> 45</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> (nice 1976 Cle eccentricity)<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-SrQ3n2tGpn13P_4K8p7ogOTiczcxXvWomQtRPMtJZSsKH_VpQhtQbu3chgLE1utAIwePnJnuprzppxGkfcIP27V5SpUk0TJ4i9jspd1CUWUyW98U10G1awPVePGn_WERUn-XhS1pMlfV/s1600/Alan+Bisbort.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-SrQ3n2tGpn13P_4K8p7ogOTiczcxXvWomQtRPMtJZSsKH_VpQhtQbu3chgLE1utAIwePnJnuprzppxGkfcIP27V5SpUk0TJ4i9jspd1CUWUyW98U10G1awPVePGn_WERUn-XhS1pMlfV/s320/Alan+Bisbort.jpg" width="232" /></a></div><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">ALAN BISBORT<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The Doors - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Morrison Hotel, 40th Anniversary Mixes</i></span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> (Rhino). CD What’s more impossible to believe—that this album is 40 years old or that, in this version and with all these bonus tracks, it sounds even better today? Believe ‘em both. From this distance it’s also possible to more fully appreciate the musical brilliance of Jimbo’s supporting cast. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Bert Jansch – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">L.A. Turnaround</i> (Drag City)-CD/DV. </span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">-First released in 1974 on the Charisma label, this reissue finds the Pentangler assuming the then-ubiquitous persona of “singer-songwriter.” His idiosyncratic singing and playing, happily, shine through the L.A. session veneer. Bonus disc has a 13-minute DVD of Jansch performing with Mike Nesmith at Charisma label founder Tony Stratton Smith’s Sussex mansion. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Gary Higgins – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Dream A While Back</i> (Drag City) CD.</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> In 2005, Drag City reissued Higgins’ psych-folk album Red Hash, which became a “classic” 35 years after its initial release. Jail time on drug charges curtailed the Connecticut native’s career then, but his recent resurgence is one of the “happy endings” UT readers live for. This collection of 6 songs are circa Red Hash (1970-71), more of the same dark, woodsy musings from a true original. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Fantastic Mr. Fox</span></i></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">directed by Wes Anderson. Film</b>. A “children’s” movie more entertaining and provocative than ten contemporary grown-up films, it pits underground heroes against over-ground villains. It features the best use of “Street Fighting Man” outside of Beggar’s Banquet. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Neil Young: Long May You Run, The Illustrated History</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> by Daniel Durchholz and Gary Graff (Voyageur) - Book</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. Consider this the visual (and essential) companion to Jimmy McDonough’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Shakey </i>biography. The lovingly and lavishly compiled ephemera of Neil Young’s life and career (mostly solo) reveals treasures on nearly every page.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3ccjjlnWuFEIW5wHC_vOO7PREmEmq_zTHcicrKXoJ7o0qcF5okFXf3DlAVD3eugqnQjh92Ec5ejLxSt6vZfYBkc-YdnaLc-uwHzWZo76jigzdG0mNVxlgAZyshfJ9Mu-ppVDhieSRAMuZ/s1600/Eric+Bluhm.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3ccjjlnWuFEIW5wHC_vOO7PREmEmq_zTHcicrKXoJ7o0qcF5okFXf3DlAVD3eugqnQjh92Ec5ejLxSt6vZfYBkc-YdnaLc-uwHzWZo76jigzdG0mNVxlgAZyshfJ9Mu-ppVDhieSRAMuZ/s320/Eric+Bluhm.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><span style="font-size: large;"> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">ERIK BLUHM<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo7; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Steve Gunn - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Boerum Palace</i> (Three Lobed Recordings) LP</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. An amazing folk 'n raga guitarist from Brooklyn-via-Philly. Really top-notch creatively, and you know how much I hate new music. Dealt from the hands Sandy Bull, JJ Cale, and Phil Yost held.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo7; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Grateful Dead - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Road Trips Vol. 2 No. 2 </i>CD</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. Caught on tape during the Northwest "Quick and the Dead" mini-tour with QMS and then back at home at the Carousel Ballroom on Valentine's Day '68, these recordings catch the group at their most faroutiest, working out new material that would become Anthem of the Sun. As psychedelic as things have ever been. Totally baller.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo7; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Big Love</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> series on HBO</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. I stayed in Utah for a while a decade ago. They got their own thing going on out there. Not exactly like this but it'll suck you in anyway. Bruce Dern's best role since the Seeker in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Psych-Out.</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo7; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Dino Valenti - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Get Together-the lost recordings pre-1970</i> (It's About Music) CD</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. Rescued from a storage unit after his passing, these long-lost tapes translate to two CDs worth of Tamalpais troubadour terrificness. Words can't describe how excited I am to listen to this over and over and over.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo7; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion and Cooking Manual</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> (Artisan)</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. Yes, I have more than one favorite cookbook but this one has seen the most action lately. If you haven't eaten at their Brooklyn and LES establishments, well you oughta. So yum.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Los Angeles Lakers</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. It's not hard to back your hometown team when they're like the best in the world.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnYJwK5RF432ILjW0C7rx1WGtCPqQd2QSmDDBvYnEbCeA3E6JOadwjuP_Z5Y7VlftkBZu-a4Xf5CEmnfsWD_Wc0XydjqXxdWh9MzJdSUBWC0POStBG_SLvqwCmy7g2Wkm-Rh9FI8ADQuU9/s1600/ZBoerger.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnYJwK5RF432ILjW0C7rx1WGtCPqQd2QSmDDBvYnEbCeA3E6JOadwjuP_Z5Y7VlftkBZu-a4Xf5CEmnfsWD_Wc0XydjqXxdWh9MzJdSUBWC0POStBG_SLvqwCmy7g2Wkm-Rh9FI8ADQuU9/s320/ZBoerger.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">ZAK BOERGER<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Roy Harper</b> and <strong>Bill</strong> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Nelson/Be-Bop Deluxe</b>. These two wordy, Northern English six stringers have occupied a massive amount of recent turntable time. Nelson’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Northern Dream</i> is particularly underrated.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Chris Petit – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Radio On </i>(plexifilms) DVD</b>. A slow-mo road movie, late ’70s post-punk style. Dig the scene where Wreckless Eric rules the jukebox…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Iain Sinclair – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hackney, That Rose Red Empire</i> (Hamish Hamilton, UK) hardcover. </b>The latest psychogeographic report on East London from Petit’s friend and co-conspirator.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4. <strong>Spider John Koerner – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Music Is Just a Bunch of Notes/The Secret of Sleep</i> (</strong>Nero’s Neptune) CD/DVD. Total genius from up north. My record of the year.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Phantom Payn Days – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Phantom Payn Daze</i> (Destijl) LP</b>. My other record of the year: these unreleased late ’90s tracks are as good as any Juergen Gleue did with 39 Clocks. Reissues of all the still OOP Clocks and Phantom Payn releases would seem to be in order?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Lee Sandlin – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Wicked River: The Mississippi When It Last Ran Wild</i> (Pantheon) hardcover</b>. A freewheeling crash course in pre</span><a href="" name="_GoBack"></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">–Mark Twain tall tales; legends; battle plans; and ecological histories.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggFQkYwjU5HAKNAMiuhBJh59Xc0LXmT0uDC_2EM-cEXbJscpyjDFkgCngjjDW289un23cckLGp8hqlhnqTaFatnRfS9RFhtlBPFike4TG1MMvenpU30RvMJ_8iroigJ6VAAPvRvWY4qk69/s1600/Burke_-_Dr._Iguana_logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggFQkYwjU5HAKNAMiuhBJh59Xc0LXmT0uDC_2EM-cEXbJscpyjDFkgCngjjDW289un23cckLGp8hqlhnqTaFatnRfS9RFhtlBPFike4TG1MMvenpU30RvMJ_8iroigJ6VAAPvRvWY4qk69/s1600/Burke_-_Dr._Iguana_logo.jpg" /></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">KEN BURKE<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Whole Lotta Shakin’</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> by JW Brown and Rusty Brown (Continental Shelf Publishing) Book</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. Finally, after decades of silence, Jerry Lee Lewis’s original bass player and father of “Child Bride” Myra Gale, tells his side of things. Fascinating.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Duane Eddy – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Birth of a Guitar Legend the Jamie Singles Sessions 1957-1962</i> (Jamie) CD</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. The best early works from the King of Twang with dynamite undubbed versions mixed in.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo1; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">JD McPherson – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Signs and Signifiers</i> (HiStyle</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">) <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">CD</b>. Modern-day jump and rockabilly doesn't get much better than this, go to YouTube and check out “North Side Girl."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo1; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Hayden Thompson – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Standing Tall</i> (Bluelight) 2CD.</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> The former Sun rockabilly lays down fresh studio tracks and a solid live set on the Smart two disc set.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo1; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Chuck Berry – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Have Mercy</i>: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">His Complete Chess Recordings 1969 to 1974</i> (Hip-O) 2CD</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. The true King of Rock 'n Roll’s final recordings for Chess contain a lot of vintage charisma.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo1; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Carl Reiner & Mel Brooks – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The 2000 Year Old Man: The Complete History</i> (Shout Factory) DVD</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. Everything they recorded plus some surprisingly flat TV appearances make this four disc set a must have for comedy fans.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>Mike Staxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05489151525114377124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260501211155972125.post-69697197763300348072011-04-07T10:39:00.000-07:002011-04-07T10:39:26.928-07:00Welcome to the Ugly Things Blogspot<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigTDGzdzq726TyXBl5-gMz5O4TQxVOyKiOMBjUhUXKEBTLZG0v-ed9g5ESF86T8SspF5AYhVv1XhMlaueNx3z-0CGiDmYB07bWCTFAHp0E4c4mMeIywsQyI_aN_2lA1Rgj_bgHgQ-XP5EW/s1600/UT31+cover.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigTDGzdzq726TyXBl5-gMz5O4TQxVOyKiOMBjUhUXKEBTLZG0v-ed9g5ESF86T8SspF5AYhVv1XhMlaueNx3z-0CGiDmYB07bWCTFAHp0E4c4mMeIywsQyI_aN_2lA1Rgj_bgHgQ-XP5EW/s320/UT31+cover.JPG" width="250" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">A short introduction for those who don't know who or what we are. UGLY THINGS is a rock'n'roll fanzine—yeah, a real PRINT fanzine. We've been publishing since 1983 covering what we like to call "wild sounds from past dimensions": the best lost, unknown and overlooked music of the 1960s and beyond. Published twice a year, each issue features around 200 pages of in-depth features, exclusive interviews, rare photos and more, including a massive review section sifting through hundreds of CD and vinyl reissues as well as music-related books and DVDs. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Bands and artists we have covered include: Them, Q65, The Pleasure Seekers, The Kinks, The MC5, The Misunderstood, The Belfast Gypsies, The Move, The Monks, The Creation, The Yardbirds, The Seeds, The Bush, Love, The Music Machine, The Phantom Brothers, Kim Fowley, The Missing Links, The Masters Apprentices, The Shangri-La’s, The Chocolate Watchband, Screaming Lord Sutch, The Downliners Sect, Meic Stevens, The Real Kids, The Damnation of Adam Blessing, The Outsiders, The Kinks, The Beat Merchants and The Pretty Things, and tons more.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">I've launched this blogspot to keep our readers appraised of what's going on in the world of UGLY THINGS, including previews of upcoming stories, and exclusive content that for one reason or another wasn't included in the print edition.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">You can also follow us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Ugly-Things-Magazine/89900510433">FACEBOOK</a> by becoming a fan of the magazine.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">And you can order the magazine at our webstore <a href="http://store03.prostores.com/servlet/uglythings/StoreFront?cart_id=572565">HERE</a>.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div>Mike Staxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05489151525114377124noreply@blogger.com0