FOR WISCONSIN

Union members are not radicals. People who support unions are not radicals. They are working people. People who vote. If you've been following the situation in Wisconsin, let's get out ol' Occam's Razor, and cut to the chase. What the Governor Scott Walker wants to do away with is the right for a group of people to collectively decide what they will, or will not, accept as compensation for a day of work, right? Anti-union naysayers will say that there are times when unions make it nearly impossible to fire people who are not up to snuff. While this could be true in some situations, doing away with collective bargaining altogether is like punishing the whole class because someone stole the teacher's pencil. It's doesn't wash. Collective bargaining should be a right. Think of it this way; who's to tell anyone who they can talk to, what they can agree to, and what they can do as a group, with or without a union?

Working people are also people who can make decisions about what they buy based on who's doing the selling. That's what boycotts are. The multi-billionaire Koch brothers, who donated heavily to Walker's campaign, to the tune of $34,000, and put up $340,000 for TV ads to help push Walker legislation, are often referred to as the guys holding the strings, the puppeteers to the Walker puppet, if you will. They also own the Georgia-Pacific paper manufacturing plant in Green Bay, Wisconsin, a big, no huge operation that employs, you guessed it, union workers. This plant makes the following brands that you may choose to stop buying immediately: Quilted Northern, Angel Soft, Brawny, Soft N' Gentle, Brawny Industrial, Vanity Fair, Sparkle, Dixie and Mardi Gras.

Money speaks for money, the Devil for his own
Who comes to speak for the skin and the bone
- Billy Bragg, There is Power In A Union

On a music related note, I think those are two incredible lines of lyrics. With or without music. Oh yeah, speaking of that, rather the lack of the usual escapist tunage, I've tried to steer clear of the non-music related soap box, I really have. Tonight I nearly tripped on it. I will regain my footing next post, I swear.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Billy Bragg - There Is Power In A Union mp3 at Zed Equals Zee
Woody Guthrie - This Land Is Your Land mp3 at Rocky52.net
Text and audio:
Walker Pranked By Caller Posing As Billionaire Donor David Koch at the Wisconsin State Journal
Read:
Anonymous Strikes Again at The Daily Kos (2.27.2011)
Majority in Poll Back Employees in Public Unions at the NY Times (2.28.2011)
Billy Bragg - There Is Power In A Union lyrics at Lyrics Time
Watch:
Anon Attacks Koch Brothers at YouTube

ALL THE YOUNG DUDES

I don't know what year it was, sometime after Mott the Hoople broke up, when Ian Hunter was touring with Mick Ronson. I went to see Hunter with my younger brother (who was, and still is, a diehard Mott freak), and a couple other guys. Having never seen Mott the Hoople live, it was bittersweet, not because we weren't seeing the Mott (we were, after all, getting to see him with Mick Ronson) but because the show was being held in the gymnasium of a local college, hardly an optimum venue. The sound was not what you'd hope for, in fact it flat out sucked. Still, it was Ian Hunter with Mick Ronson. I kept trying to block out the negative aspects and just enjoy it for what it was.

It was about mid-show, when my friend, Larry, took the wind right outta the sails. You know how sometimes people, when they're under the influence, can say something that is so dead on, that you wonder if they could have come up with it if they were straight? Mid-song, my friend Larry, who had ingested something more potent than alcohol, leans over to me and says "he's got to feel pretty silly down there." It stung, because he was absolutely right. There was Ian Hunter, with a top hat on, all dolled up, trademark shades and all, surrounded by the smoke from a fog machine, in the middle of a gymnasium floor. The audience was on the bleachers. Ian Hunter had been reduced to a pep rally.

That sad image stuck with me for years. I tried to block out the memory the best I could, but it would still reoccur. It was as if the splendor had been ripped out of Ian Hunter's life, and I had a hard time imagining him the recipient of the respect that he deserved. That was until another friend posted a video of Hunter online. It's Hunter, David Bowie, and Mick Ronson, at the Freddie Mercury tribute concert held in a packed Wembley Stadium, in 1992. They're playing with the Mercury-less Queen. The song, "All the Young Dudes," was written by Bowie, and given to Mott the Hoople in the early seventies. To say that the three are in their element, and know it, is an understatement. They're absolutely relishing it. Bowie in particular. At about 1:33 he says something in Ronson's ear, and you can almost hear him saying, "Isn't this fuckin' great?" The dude is feeling it. If you were to ask me a month ago, if the sight of a blissed out David Bowie would be watchable, I'd tell you to get out of my house. But, this sucker made me temporarily drop my Bowie hatchet. (It's bliss time at 2:25 in the clip.) I have come to the stark, and adult, realization that I don't have to like much about Bowie. This and that is okay. He doesn't have to "touch my soul," he just has to make a few songs that make me move, or make me think. That he can do.

Anyway, here's some Hunter, Bowie and Ronson stuff. The video I just mentioned is the one above. You have to check out the Mott the Hoople video of the same song, below. It is worthy. And the music...I forgot that some of these songs had so much going on in them. If you haven't heard them in a while, take a minute. And check that Bowie/Booker T mash up too. It's interesting, and surprisingly good.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Music:
Mott the Hoople - All the Young Dudes mp3 at Plain or Pan
Mott the Hoople - The Golden Age of Rock n' Roll mp3 at Plain or Pan
Mott the Hoople - The Ballad of Mott the Hoople mp3 at Plain or Pan
Mott the Hoople - 6 more songs at Plain or Pan
David Bowie - All the Young Dudes mp3 at Plain or Pan
David Bowie - Moonage Daydream mp3 at Giant Panther
David Bowie - Diamond Dogs mp3 at Giant Panther
David Bowie - Suffragette City mp3 at High Five City
David Bowie - Live in 1974, 14 mp3s at Captain's Dead
Mick Ronson - Like A Rolling Stone mp3 at Mediafire
Oddball:
BRAT - Fame (Bowie/Booker T mash-up) mp3 at AudioPorn
Video:
Mott the Hoople - Roll Away the Stone video at YouTube
David Bowie with Mick Ronson - Starman video at YouTube
David Bowie with Mick Ronson - Five Years video at YouTube

LET'S PUT ON A SHOW!

The Zeros (1977)

Today I happened on a recent video of the Zero's playing "Pipeline" and it was 1977 all over again. Humor me here, because all of this shit came flooding back. This is gonna be long.

Remember when your city didn't really have a scene? Back in 1977, my brother had gone up to L.A. to visit a friend and returned with a fanzine called Backdoor Man, put out by Phast Phreddie Patterson. It had a little blurb in it about a band from Chula Vista (a suburb of San Diego), called the Zeros. It mentioned that they did a cover of "Pipeline," which piqued my interest, because I was into surf music.

The Dils (ca 1975-76)

Not long after that, along with a bunch of like minded music freaks that I hung out with, I went to the Whiskey-A-Go-Go, to see one of the "Kim Fowley Presents New Wave" nights. They were a couple consecutive nights showcasing bands, that basically allowed any band that said that they were new wave or punk to get up and show what they were made of. (This particular night had the Germs, in their second gig ever.) Up near the stage, I began chatting with a couple of guys that happened to be from the San Diego area, so I asked them if they had ever heard of this band called the Zeros. One of them happened to be Guy Lopez (RIP), the brother of Robert Lopez, one of the Zeros. I asked to be introduced to his brother, and after introductions we both lamented the lack of a scene in San Diego. We swapped contact info and made plans to talk more once back home.

The Hitmakers (1977)

Later that night, I ran into Ron Silva, a guitar playing Beatle freak I knew vaguely in high school. He was with a guy named Jeff Scott. Scott had been in a band called the Dils, and was now starting his own band with Silva, which would be called the Hitmakers. Again, contact info was swapped.

The Zeros (1978)

Once back in San Diego, calls were made, and dots began to get connected. Talk was made about having a show in San Diego. It was like something out of "Our Gang," as in "Hey, let's put on a show!" The Hitmakers included two ex-Dils, Scott and drummer Joseph Marc; and the Zeros had played in L.A. with the current Dils, which had become a three piece with the other two original Dils, Chip & Tony Kinman. So, there was another band that might play.

The Dils, who resided in Carlsbad (just north of San Diego), were contacted and, over the course of the next few months, the first punk show in San Diego was planned. The bill would be the Hitmakers, the Dils and the Zeros. (Fyer collectors: The Dils backed out just before the flyers were printed, and then changed their mind and agreed to play. So there were two versions of the flyers, one without the Dils, and one with their name hand written with a Magic Marker.) It was a great line up, and it was the first show in San Diego proper for all three bands.

Just thinking about all of the bands that members of those three bands would go on to play in is mind boggling. In no particular order, and not counting the three we've been talking about: Catholic Discipline, Rank and File, the Sacred Hearts, the Crawdaddys, the True Believers, the Nashville Ramblers, Blackbird, Flying Color, the Black Diamonds, Cowboy Nation, PCH, and, one I just found out about tonight, Los Trendy. And I know I've left out a lot of other bands, not to mention solo ventures, which still continue; the most recent, an excellent ('76 era Groovies-ish) solo album by the Zeros' Javier Escovedo.

The Dils (ca 1979)

Now, all of these guys would have continued doing music regardless of the San Diego gig, but that's not the point. What caused me to stop for a minute and think about it was that, back then, you wouldn't have imagined that any loosely affiliated group of musicians would continue in music for years, much less decades. Nobody did it back then, except rocks stars and shitty go-nowhere bar bands. Since then, bands have been slowly chinking away at the irrelevant rock star armor. Now, decades later, there is room for mid-tier bands to do it for a living, and the word indie is a permanent part of the music lexicon. That would probably not be the case if punk rock hadn't have happened.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
The Hitmakers - Grow Up With Me mp3 at the Che Underground
The Hitmakers - The One I Like mp3 at the Che Underground (Note: These are actually just Jeff Scott and Joseph Marc, pre-Ron Silva)
The Dils - I Hate the Rich mp3 at Killed By Death
The Zeros -Don't Push Me Around mp3 at Pop Zeus
The Dils - You're Not Blank mp3 at Killed By Death
The Zeros - Hand Grenade Heart (demo) mp3 at Pop Zeus
The Dils, - Class War mp3 at Killed By Death
The Zeros - Beat Your Heart Out mp3 at Last Days of Man on Earth
The Dils - Mr. Big mp3 at Killed By Death
The Zeros -Wild Weekend mp3 at Last Days of Man on Earth
The Crawdaddys - Oh Baby Doll mp3 at the Che Underground (Ron Silva's later band)
Rank & File - Rank & File mp3 at Lumberjack Thief (Chip & Tony Kinman's later band)
Rank & File - The Conductor Wore Black mp3 at The Rising Storm


The Zeros (2010)

Video:
The Zeros - Don't Push Me Around, Wimp, and short interview (Sun Up, 1977) video at YouTube
The Zeros - Pipeline (live, 2010) video at YouTube
The Dils - Class War (live, 1978) video at YouTube
The Dils - Red Rockers (live, Hurrahs, 1979) video at YouTube
The Crawdaddys - Cadillac (ca 1979) video at YouTube
Visit:
Interview with the Zero's Javier Escovedo (1/4/2011) at Punk Rock '77 Thru Today
The Zeros- Early history by Javier Escovedo at The Mod Pop Punk Archives
The Zeros at Wikipedia
Javier Escovedo at Facebook Recent music streaming
Chip Kinman and PCH at MySpace Recent music streaming
Tony Kinman interview (audio) at Revenge of the 80s Radio
Los Trendy/Tony Kinman at MySpace Recent music streaming
The Dils at Wikipedia

THE DOCTOR IS IN

Just look at that album cover. Could it be any more enticing? The slipshot appearance, laceless shoes, cut-offs, fly open; none of that stops the good Doctor from making like he's something special. Even the title (which refers to a popular phrase in Jamaican chicken joints) seems to scream "like I really give a shit." It was an easy gamble back in the day. To think that this dubious portrait graces the cover of a great LP, undoubtedly Alimantado's best, is almost laughable. But a great LP it is, recorded between 1972 and 1977 at King Tubby's, Channel One, and Lee Perry's Black Ark. To top it off, some of it is over vocal tracks by Horace Andy (on "Poison Flour" below) and Gregory Issacs, among others. It's no wonder that Greensleeves reissued it as part of their Reggae Classics series. But now, even that one seems to be out of print. As my brother would say, you really should get this one.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Songs:
Dr. Alimantado - Poison Flour mp3 at Le Blog de la Grande Chose
Dr. Alimantado - Best Dressed Chicken In Town mp3 at Le Blog de la Grande Chose
Album:
Dr. Alimantado - Best Dressed Chicken In Town (full LP via Megaupload) at GPS Sonoro (Note: Click on album title right under song list)
Alternate album link:
Dr. Alimantado - Best Dressed Chicken In Town (full LP via Multiupload) at My Little Bubble (Note: Click on album title above album image)
Video:
Dr. Alimantado - I Killed the Barber (live) video at YouTube
Dr. Alimantado - Poison Flour (live, with long intro) video at YouTube
Visit:
Dr Alimantado's Keyman Records
Dr. Alimantado at Wikipedia

13 FOR SCUMBAGS

First, an obligatory Davie Allan selection:
Davie Allan & the Arrows - Cycledelic mp3 at Office Naps
And now, the main event:

Biker Soundtracks at The Big Bust Out - 13 full length LP downloads of biker movie soundtracks, in zip format. For the complete song listings, go to the Big Bust Out. I've just put those links down there for the lazy, hopped up, dropped out, filthy, sex crazed, aimless, leather clad hell heads that just don't give a damn about song titles.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Original Motion Picture Soundtracks:
Angels From Hell (zip) at The Big Bust Out
Born Losers (zip) at The Big Bust Out
Devil's Angels (zip) at The Big Bust Out
The Glory Stompers (zip) at The Big Bust Out
The Hellcats (zip) at The Big Bust Out
Hell's Angels on Wheels (zip) at The Big Bust Out
Hell's Belles (zip) at The Big Bust Out
Naked Angels (zip) at The Big Bust Out
Outlaw Riders (zip) at The Big Bust Out
Psychomania (zip) at The Big Bust Out
Satan's Sadists (zip) at The Big Bust Out
The Savage Seven (zip) at The Big Bust Out
The Wild Angels (zip) at The Big Bust Out

AND YOU ARE?

Seeing as how Jon Spencer's name has mentioned numerous times on posts about other bands, here's a few from the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. I've been listening to his different bands for a long time, but know this, I'm no coddler. He's put out his share of crap. Years ago, intrigued by the concept, I bought the Pussy Galore cover (in it's entirety) of Exile on Main St. on cassette. It was, in a word, unlistenable. Thrown into "sell later" pile, it stayed there for years. (Quick side story: After trying to sell it with a stack of other stuff to a record store, who wouldn't even pay a buck for it, I put it on Ebay, and because there were only 550 released, got a hundred bucks for it.)

Blues Explosion (French TV)

But I kept buying later Pussy Galore records, one by one, waiting to hit paydirt. There were moments on different LP's (particularly, their cover of the Barbarians "The New Breed" on Right Now, which ended up on a few mix tapes), but nothing that I could really fully sink my teeth into. Finally, when the Sugarshit Sharp EP came out, it seemed that they had finally hit their stride. Of course, they would break up shortly after that. Spencer would continue with Boss Hog amongst other bands, and continue the hit and miss track record of Pussy Galore. By the time he popped up with the Blues Explosion, I'd accepted the fact that every single Spencer release will have songs that go in the permanent mix, and some that suck. Here's a few that don't suck.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Music:
Blues Explosion - Ghetto Mom mp3 at Recidivism (Direct mp3 linking disabled. Go there to get it directly. One more click. Call the pol-ice.)
Blues Explosion - Sweet n' Sour mp3 at Bizart (Czech site)
Blues Explosion - Bent mp3 at The Daily Rind
Blues Explosion - Son of Sam mp3 at Spin.com
Boss Hog - Chocolate mp3 at Last Days of Man on Earth
Boss Hog - Monkey mp3 at Bizart (Czech site)
Video:
Pussy Galore - Alright video at YouTube
Boss Hog - I Dig You video at YouTube
Blues Explosion - Devil Got My Woman (Martin Scorsese) video at YouTube
Heavy Trash - She Baby (live, in store) video at YouTube
Read:
Blues Explosion at Wikipedia
Boss Hog at Wikipedia
Pussy Galore at Wikipedia

NEW RADIOHEAD, KING OF LIMBS

When it comes to Radiohead, I'll admit to having a sip of the Kool-aid, but not a whole cup. So you'll understand my bewilderment when it comes to the fuss over every burp and fart produced by the Radiohead camp. Nonetheless, for you fussers, here's some stuff from their new album, King Of Limbs, which was released digitally a few days ago. Dreary music fans are rejoicing. As you can imagine, it's all over the music blogs, so it's pretty easy to find. I just thought I'd play consolidator. First the video for "Lotus Flower", for which ol' Thom Yorke has devised a deadhead-mime hybrid dance.

Here's the music. I've only found six of the eight songs, but I'll add more links as I find them. In the meantime, you can listen to the whole thing streaming.:

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Full LP streaming:
Radiohead -King of Limbs (streaming) at ISO50
Individual songs:
Radiohead - Morning Mr Magpie mp3 at In All Caps
Radiohead - Little By Little mp3 (via Soundcloud) at HillyDilly (Click on the tiny download arrow)
Radiohead - Feral mp3 at Kata Rokkar
Radiohead - Lotus Flower mp3 (via Soundcloud) at HillyDilly (Click on the tiny download arrow)
Radiohead - Codex mp3 at Avenge the Virgins
Radiohead - Give Up the Ghost mp3 at Discheria ElRocco 0.01

SHE'S A STANLEY STEAMER

I have no words.

ROCKET FROM THE MACHINE

Here's a couple covers that Rocket from the Crypt did, of the Music Machine's "Trouble" and "Masculine Intuition". I looked for them, about a week ago, when I did the Music Machine post, and couldn't find them. Then, two days later, Mustard Relics posted them. (Wouldn't you just know it?) So anyways, head over to Mustard Relics if you want them, (I can't link to them, because the host has exercised his right to disable hot linking. You know, because he owns the music he's giving away for free. Whatever...) Also posted are the Seeds "Pushin' Too Hard," with the Klan's cover, and a couple covers by the Damned (dba Nazz Nomad and the Nomads), the Nips (Shane MacGowan's pre-Pogues outfit) and a couple of songs from the first Rocket album, so it's worth a visit (even if you have to strain your clicker).

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Contrast and compare:
Rocket From the Crypt - Trouble mp3 at Mustard Relics
Music Machine - Trouble mp3 at Mustard Relics
Rocket From the Crypt - Masculine Intuition mp3 at Mustard Relics
Music Machine - Masculine Intuition mp3 at Mustard Relics
Related:
Previous Music Machine post - Five songs and two videos
Previous Rocket From the Crypt post - 100+ songs and about eight videos

GREAT IDEA JIMMY

The Jim Jones Revue (or maybe Jim Jones in particular) must have seen a void. Because they've gotten a lot of attention for being a rock n' roll band. It had to have been one of those "why don't we do this, because no one else is right now" routines. "Let's just play old rock n' roll and turn it up really loud." Then the conversation probably turned to Little Richard, and after a few turns, segued into the initial rock n' roll promise of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. The drummer, probably the music nerd of the bunch, probably said "well, there's this bloke in America, Nick Curran..." which probably prompted some stink eye from Jones, as he probably uttered, "Enough. That's the end of the first band meeting. Let's go drink." Don't blame me, I didn't create the void.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Music:
The Jim Jones Revue - Hey Hey Hey Hey mp3 at Rollo & Grady
The Jim Jones Revue - The Meat Man mp3 at Superfan 2010
The Jim Jones Revue - Fish 2 Fry mp3 at sonnyvenice.phpnet.org
The Jim Jones Revue - Rock n' Roll Psychosis mp3 at Music Like Dirt
The Jim Jones Revue - Hunk O' Love mp3 at JimJonesRevue.com
The Jim Jones Revue - Get Back mp3 at Town Full of Losers
Video:
The Jim Jones Revue - The Princess and the Frog (live) at YouTube
The Jim Jones Revue - High Horse video at YouTube
The Jim Jones Revue - Shoot First video at YouTube
The Jim Jones Revue - A whole lot more videos at YouTube
Visit:
The Jim Jones Revue official website
The Jim Jones Revue at Wikipedia
Related:
Nick Curran - Past posts (music & video) about Nick Curran here

MUST BE BUTT UGLY

I thought it high time for some Bob Log III. For anyone put off by the whole helmet and face shield thing he's got going on, just listen to the stuff down there. And any of you PCers put off by his apparent preoccupation with the female form, what do you expect? It's show biz. That's part of the Bob Log III package. If you want to start going off, start with Doug Clark and the Hot Nuts, and get back to me when you been through all of their stuff. Anyway, the first one, "Booby Trap #2", sounds like Hound Dog Taylor meets Gary Glitter, with Jon Spencer singing. And it has girl singers and, buried in there somewhere, some horns; and buried way in the background, a dog barking. It has everything. It's a Friday night song. Suggested volume is loud.

The second, "Bucktooth Photo," one has some pretty mean picking, proving he's much more than just looks. The next few are sufficiently raunchy. Though, for my money, "Booby Trap #2" is the hit.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Bob Log III - Booby Trap #2 mp3 at La Tuerie

Bob Log III - Bucktooth Photo mp3 at Information Concerning the Safety of Dancing
Bob Log III - Bump Pow mp3 at The Bay Bridged
Bob Log III - Shinkansen Teh! mp3 at Musique Approximative
Bob Log III - Boob Scotch mp3 at Dontiki

Bonus:
Doug Clark & the Hot Nuts - Baby Let Me Bang Your Box mp3 at Tropical Glen

MEET NOLAN STRONG

Tonight was going to be all Dirtbombs. That was until I ran into their cover of Nolan Strong and the Diablos' "Daddy Rockin' Strong" (itself a loosely rewritten cover of Otis Blackwell's "Daddy Rolling Stone"). It was at Aquarium Drunkard, posted with another Strong cover by Cub Koda and a review of a recent Nolan Strong tribute album. Towards the end of the post, they had a quote from the guy who put together the tribute, Rich Tupica. Taken from an L.A.Times article on the tribute album, Tupica said “I put the record together because Nolan Strong’s voice is criminally overlooked. None of Nolan’s records have been in print for over 20 years. In fact, they never made it to CD. The goal of this record is to get people interested in seeking out some of his dusty old 45s.”

"Fortune was a big label in Detroit for a hot minute, until Motown put a cigarette out on them." - Rich Tupica

Now, old doo-wop may not be your thing, and I gotta admit, my tool bag's somewhat lacking in that category, but when it comes to unsung musicians and people who are passionate about getting them some recognition, it's a call to arms for all sorts of music freaks with the means to help out. If this were a random tribute album, I'd think otherwise, but this features the aforementioned Dirtbombs and Cub Koda, along with Reigning Sound, the A-Bones, Andre Williams, and Lenny Kaye; all rock n' roll eggheads. So, consider this a public service, so that maybe a half dozen other people might hear his music.

You'll notice that there's little in the way of a Nolan Strong bio here. That's because, between the piece at The Hound Blog and an article at the L.A. Times, Strong's story been researched and presented better than any lazy effort I could muster up. Read 'em!

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Nolan Strong & the Diablos - Mambo of Love mp3 at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban
Nolan Strong & the Diablos - The Wind mp3 at The Hound Blog
Nolan Strong & the Diablos - Adios My Desert Love mp3 at The Hound Blog
Nolan Strong & the Diablos - Baby Be Mine mp3 at The Hound Blog
Nolan Strong & the Diablos - Route 16 mp3 at The Hound Blog
Nolan Strong & the Diablos - Daddy Rockin' Strong mp3 at The Hound Blog
Nolan Strong & the Diablos - The Way You Dog Me Around mp3 at The Hound Blog
Nolan Strong & the Diablos - Jump, Shake & Move mp3 at The Hound Blog
Nolan Strong & the Diablos - 12 more songs at The Hound Blog
Covers:
Cub Koda - You're the Only Girl Dolores mp3 at Aquarium Drunkard
The Dirtbombs - Daddy Rockin' Strong mp3 at Aquarium Drunkard
Read:
Nolan Strong & the Diablos - Excellent profile at the Hound Blog
New tribute album celebrates unsung Detroit R&B star Nolan Strong at the L.A.Times

PROBLEMS ALL LEFT ALONE

Anyone who DJ'd back when it meant just playing records, invariably caught themselves between gigs and just short of money enough to agree to DJing at a wedding reception or two. I did it myself, about a dozen times. There were some couples, notably the music freaks, that would have playlists of stuff they wanted played. Others might give you a general idea of stuff they like. And there would be others that didn't even give it any thought whatsoever. One thing that was surprising is how many couples didn't think about their "first dance" record until the last minute. For an unprepared DJ this meant thinking fast on your feet.

One thing I learned after DJing a few weddings is to always have Lou Reed's "Perfect Day" on hand. For any couple that didn't have a preselected song, it was the go-to first dance selection. It's a beautiful song, and transcends generations and genres. It's short, slow, and it keeps building as it goes. By the time it starts fading, with Reed repeating the line "You're gonna reap just what you sow," there was rarely a dry eye in the house. Yes, it's sappy, but that's part of it's appeal. And, honestly, if a Transformer era Lou Reed didn't care about being sappy, should a wedding DJ?

Here's the version as released on Transformer, and the acoustic demo. The demo is nice to hear, because it's just Reed and guitar, without the orchestration. Imagining Reed having just written it with a particular person in mind somehow makes it a little more intimate. If you know the originally released version, you should give the demo a listen anyway. Even if you haven't drank sangria in the park, or fed the animals at the zoo, hopefully you've had a perfect day of some sort with a sweety. I have. This one's for her.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Lou Reed - Perfect Day mp3 at Dad's Records
Lou Reed - Perfect Day (acoustic demo) mp3 (via Box.net) at Les Enfants Terribles
Video:
Lou Reed and others - Perfect Day (BBC promo) video at YouTube With, among others, Bono, David Bowie, Suzanne Vega, Elton John, Burning Spear, Emmylou Harris,Tammy Wynette, Shane McGowan, Dr John, Evan Dando, Laurie Anderson and Tom Jones. (Sorry, no Link Wray.)
Lou Reed - Perfect Day (live, 1998) video at YouTube

IF IT WORKS, DON'T FIX IT

One minute and fifty nine seconds, that's it. That's enough. It the Music Machine's only legacy was the song "Talk Talk," that would be enough in annals of garage rock. They pack a lot into those two minutes. Fuzz, organ, groans, sneering vocals, simple solos, pissed off lyrics; the whole thing has a real FTW feel to it. You'd be forgiven if that was the only song of theirs you knew, because it was definitely the peak. And it was their first single.

If they'd stuck to a formula, things might have been different. The first album had other moments of greatness, utilizing some of the same elements, but there were serious departures as well. "Come On In" sounds like an early Doors song (it was released a year before the Doors first record). Still ominous, but different. It's a moot point though, because just a few songs into the album, there's a cover of Neil Diamond's "Cherry Cherry," which is everything that "Talk Talk" is not. It sounds like a completely different band, with flute and background vocals that would make Sergio Mendes proud. It's light, and airy. Today, you might call it twee. But it didn't fit. They'd given up the game, right there, on side one of the first LP. It was an unwise move, probably to cash in on Diamond's version which had been a hit earlier the same year. Regardless, the band split after one LP and the tour to support it. Lead singer and songwriter Sean Bonniwell regrouped with another cast as The Bonniwell Music Machine, recorded one more LP and had one in the can, when the machine broke down. Still, we'll always have "Talk Talk," and that's enough.

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The Music Machine - Talk Talk mp3 at Sous les Paves, la Plage
The Music Machine - Trouble mp3 at Sous les Paves, la Plage
The Music Machine - Double Yellow Line mp3 at The Bubblegum Machine
The Music Machine - Come On In mp3 at Iron Leg
The Music Machine - Cherry Cherry mp3 at Sous les Paves, la Plage
Video:
The Music Machine - Cherry Cherry video at YouTube (The sight of a flute player with a black leather glove slays me.)
Read:
Beyond The Garage - Sean Bonniwell's site
The Music Machine at Wikipedia

LITTLE RICHARD PENNIMAN

There's about a dozen early rockers that everybody should be familiar with. Some had outrageous personal lives, but none let their freak flag fly quite as high as Little Richard. In an era when rockers were predominantly butch, he was flamboyant. Not exactly swish, but not Link Wray either. Does it matter? Nope, just proves that he was the real wild deal. Before he quit secular music the first time in 1957, he'd frequented orgies, dated a stripper and had 13 singles that charted, all of them textbook rock n' roll records. And that voice! Who else shredded their vocal chords like that? Put him up against Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis, Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent and any other of his contemporaries, and he still comes out as one of the wildest.
Rip. It. Up.

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Little Richard - Long Tall Sally mp3 at One Sweet Song
Little Richard - Rip It Up mp3 at Kid America Club
Little Richard - Slippin' and Slidin' mp3 at Udenap.org (?)
Little Richard - The Girl Can't Help It mp3 at BlogRage
Little Richard - Good Golly Miss Molly mp3 at CustomerPages.com (?)
Little Richard - Keep A Knockin' mp3 at DrummerWorld
Little Richard - I Got It mp3 at Teenage Kicks
Little Richard - Tutti Frutti mp3 at Popdose
Little Richard - Jenny, Jenny mp3 at Diddy Wah
Oddball:
Little Richard - Royal Crown Hairdressing radio spot mp3 at Young Manhattanite
Blair -Little Richard Tells it like it t-i-s (spoken word) mp3 at Earth Is City. I'm no expert, but this thing flows. There are definitely flourishes of Penniman panache. But it's a little over the top to be Little Richard's; even he drew the line at unnecessary.
Video:
Little Richard - Long Tall Sally at YouTube
Little Richard - Ready Teddy (from The Girl Can't Help It) at YouTube
Little Richard - Tutti Frutti video at YouTube
Little Richard - Lucille/Good Golly Miss Molly (live, 1966) video at YouTube
Read
Little Richard at Wikipedia

IN COMPLETE AWE

Total unequivocal respect. Congratulations Egypt. It's all you.

The people have the power,
The power to dream, to rule,
To wrestle the world from fools,
It's decreed the people rule,
It's decreed the people rule.
- Patti Smith, People Have the Power

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Madness - Night Boat to Cairo mp3 at Le Blog de la Gande Chose

HU-HUH, HUHUH

Back when thrift stores were rife with vinyl, there wasn't much in the way of classic rock and pop schmaltz that you had to wade through, because most of those records were still being played. But there were a lot of other opportunities to pick up some keepers. Old Stones, some Tommy James, Aretha, radio station "Boss 30" compilations, you catch the drift. One of my friends had managed to score three copies of the first Stooges LP. My brother bought the first Wailers LP, and he didn't even know what he had (though I do remember "Dirty Robber" getting a lot of plays). Everybody I knew had their pick of just about any Martin Denny LP that was ever released (those suckers were everywhere). Another LP that was practically inescapable was the soundtrack to The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly featuring the music of Ennio Morricone. Because the Sergio Leone "Dollars Trilogy" (A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly) were played all the time on TV, just about everybody I knew was familiar with at least some of the cuts. So, it was wasn't unusual, in fact it was probable, that every collection that had any thrift store finds at all, had the Morricone soundtrack (if not the Hugo Montenegro cash-in LPs that covered the trilogy soundtracks over the course of two consecutive albums). And, that for many years, was all the Morricone music I knew.

After a few years of listening to that soundtrack album, I had, what seemed like a divine moment. Traveling through Europe solo, Florence, Italy was a no-brainer. I love art, and if ever there was an art city, Florence is it. I swear, you can through a rock in just about any direction and hit a Michelangelo piece. Anyways, so that's what I was there to do. I have a few vivid memories of my few days in Florence. One was looking at Michelangelo's David, for the first time, surrounded by several unfinished sculptures. The room was crowded, so rather than listen to the crowd, I put a tape that I'd just bought in my Walkman, "Lou Reed's Live In Italy." I listened to "Sister Ray" with Robert Quine on guitar, full blast. That's one memory. The other Florence moment was one of the highlights of my trip.

I was staying in a pensione, and as I was leaving one afternoon to go wandering, I passed the break room for the workers there. In the room were three guys, in their mid-twenties, taking a break. They were watching TV while they ate, and on the screen was one of Leone's films. I thought to myself "...classic". Then I noticed what they were eating. You guessed it, spaghetti. So now I still have that association, every time I hear anything from those soundtracks.

Morricone did more, much more, than just spaghetti western soundtracks. As innovative as those were, he did some that were way more out there.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

From The Good, the Bad ad the Ugly:
Ennio Morricone- Il Buono, Il Cattivo, Il Brutto (The Good, The Bad And The Ugly) mp3 at The Tape Is Not Sticky
Ennio Morricone- L’Estasi Dell’oro (The Ecstasy Of Gold) mp3 at The Tape Is Not Sticky
Hugo Montenegro - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (streaming) at Music.History.
Other work:
Ennio Morricone - Cavallina A Cavello mp3 at Impose Magazine
Ennio Morricone - Farewell to Cheyenne mp3 at Art Decade
Ennio Morricone - Valmonts Go Go Pad mp3 at The Cargo Culte
Ennio Morricone - Beat N.3 mp3 at The Cargo Culte
Ennio Morricone - Ninna Nanna Per Adulti mp3 at Clumsy & Shy
Ennio Morricone -Una Spiaggia A Mezzagiorno mp3 at Clumsy & Shy
Read:
Ennio Morricone at Wikipedia