la dimension de trastos: poly styrene

Showing posts with label poly styrene. Show all posts

Monday, February 17, 2020

THE OTHER QUEEN

The other night I ran into an X-Ray Spex song on a post somewhere and I got to thinking. Poly Styrene was a special breed, wasn't she? If you know X-Ray Spex, you know what I'm taking about. A great punk band, with her as singer, and a sax to boot. What really made her stand apart was that she really didn't seem to be beholden to punk rock. More than anything, she seemed emboldened by the whole DIY anything-goes thing. And she wrote good songs, really good songs.

It got me thinking, actually worrying, that she might slowly be forgotten. I hadn't searched for anything regarding X-Ray Spex or Poly Styrene in a while so I did. I shouldn't have worried. There's a fuckload of stuff online now, and a semi-new biography and a documentary in the works. Good. Let it spread.

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

Listen:
X Ray Spex - Oh Bondage, Up Yours mp3 at Quit Mumbling
X Ray Spex - I'm A Poseur mp3 at BZH Rock
X Ray Spex - I Live Off You mp3 at BZH Rock
X Ray Spex - Identity mp3 at Tumblr
X Ray Spex - I'm A Cliché mp3 at Killed By Death
X Ray Spex - Art-I-ficial mp3 at Tumblr
X Ray Spex - I'm Obsessed With You mp3 at BZH Rock
Visit:
Dayglo! The Poly Styrene Story - Article about the book at The Vinyl Factory
X-Ray Spex - Germ Free Adolescence - Long LP review at Pitchfork

Thursday, November 24, 2011

CELEBRATE BUY NOTHING DAY

When was the last time you could help a movement buy sitting on you ass at home? As we will be reminded ad nauseam over the next twenty four hours, tomorrow is known as the biggest shopping day of the year. It is also Buy Nothing Day, a day when you can use your free will, break away from the pack, and stay away from malls, department stores and sales. You can refrain from spending part of your life waiting in line to buy that heavily discounted flat screen that you don't need and can't afford. You can stop giving credit card companies your money to fortify the power and control they have over your daily life. Tomorrow could be the day that you start to think for yourself, objectively, and ignore what the media and sale ads tell you. Tomorrow, you can be free.

It should go without saying that, by not shopping tomorrow, you can also help the Occupy movement, without spending the night anywhere, without holding a sign, or participating in a demonstration. Buy Nothing Day, which has been in existence for several years, is part and parcel of what the Occupy movement is about. Freeing ourselves from the power that corporations, banks and big money hold over us. Buying nothing for a day, whether tomorrow or any other day, is empowering, liberating, and as any of my fellow tightwads will tell you, highly addictive. It's how you dig yourself out of that hole. And believe me, even if it takes a long time to do it, once you're out, you'll want to stay out.

As I did last year, for this Buy Nothing Day, I'm including the music of Poly Styrene (RIP) and X-Ray Spex, because for many in my generation, she was the first person who raised our awareness about conspicuous consumerism. (You can read more about her on previous posts here and here.) You also ought to check out The Story of Stuff and The Story of Broke video links below, they're great to share with anyone dubious of the Occupy movement. (Your pep talk free posts will resume tomorrow.)

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

Listen:
Poly Styrene - Black Christmas mp3 at Perfect Porridge
X-Ray Spex - Art-I-Ficial mp3 at Krucoff
X-Ray Spex - More cuts on this post (a few links are dead, but most are good)
The Go! Team - Buy Nothing Day mp3 at Naive Harmonies
Buy Nothing Day - The Album - 18 mp3s at Ted Dave
Video:
Poly Styrene - Black Christmas at YouTube
The Story of Stuff at YouTube
The Story of Broke at YouTube
Visit:
#Occupy Christmas page at AdBusters
The Story of Stuff official site
Buy Nothing Day at Wikipedia
International Buy Nothing Day
Occupy Wall St.
Occupy Together

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

THE DAY GLO HAS DIMMED

A couple of days ago, I posted a few things from Poly Styrene's new album Generation Indigo. I knew she had cancer, but the recent write up in the Guardian UK had an optimistic tone to it. So, I was shocked and saddened this morning when I found out that she had passed away. I debated about whether I should write about her again so soon, for fear of coming off like some sort of Poly Styrene glee club. But, you know what? Fuck it, I'm a card carrying member of that glee club, and have been for the last thirty plus years. Whenever I see bright contrasting colors, I think of Poly Styrene. Whenever I see anyone pull off their own style, regardless of "conventional" beauty, I think of Poly Styrene. And whenever I see someone buying in to the acquiring of unnecessary shit (which happens these days with more and more frequency), I think of the lyrics written by Poly Styrene. The 19 year old with braces was way ahead of her time. So, unashamed glee all the way.

For any of you younger folks that weren't around in the late seventies, hear me now: Poly Styrene was one of the most original, thought provoking individuals to come out of the punk movement, then and now. And I do mean individual. When seemingly everybody under the punk banner was doing nearly the same thing, and dressing the same way, Poly Styrene bucked the system, shopped at thrift stores and sang about rampant unquestioned consumerism. I wrote about her and X-Ray Spex back in November, and though I'm loath to repeat myself, I'll repeat myself anyways. (Repeating starts below the video.)

It might be hard to explain the significance of X-Ray Spex to someone who wasn't around at the time. If you've grown up knowing the term consumerism, you're more aware than most young adults were back then. In 1978, few people had any view whatsoever about consumerism, one way of another. So, try to imagine the context: While other bands were singing anarchy and white riots, X-Ray Spex wrote songs that made anti-consumerism relevant and fun. This was before any real anti-consumerism movement, before Adbusters, before "Live Simply" bumper stickers. The lyrics were thought provoking without preaching, and the music was loud. Here was a band without ripped clothing or intentionally shoddy appearance, with a singer in braces and a saxophone player, singing about subjects that were universal and doable. It wasn't mean spirited, it wasn't angry, it was simply a message; and by virtue of that, your guard down and receptors up, it was relatable and palatable. To top it off, with the combination of Poly Styrene's unique voice, and the inclusion of saxophone, they sounded like no one else.

Here are some mp3s that I linked to back then, along with some surprisingly current sounding stuff from her 1986 "Gods & Goddesses" EP and tracks from Generation Indigo.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~
{MORE MP3S AND VIDEO ADDED 4/28/11}

Saturday, April 23, 2011

OH BONDAGE, OH WELL

Poly Styrene never completed her shark jump. It's like she fell in and climbed out to live another day. I'm just glad she's on dry land. Let her get her bearings, she'll figure out what side she landed on. Despite the polish on her new stuff, it is good to hear that voice. I'm not going to call her on anything. I'm too busy avoiding the whole shark issue altogether.

X-Ray Spex - Oh Bondage! Up Yours! 1977

Don't get me wrong, I do like this new stuff, but in a different way than I do X-Ray Spex. "Thrash City" has a sort of glam beat, like T Rex without the T Rex sound, if that makes any sense. All of them are thickly produced. I was hoping for sparse.

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

New stuff:

Poly Styrene - Thrash City mp3 at Here Comes the Flood
Poly Styrene - White Gold mp3 at The Cargo Culte
Poly Styrene - Virtual Boyfriend (Creep remix) mp3 at μ sique
Poly Styrene - Generation Indigo Minimix mp3 at The Culture Of Me
Tons of X-Ray Spex at a previous post:
Poly Styrene's Black Christmas - NOTE: A whole bunch of X-Ray Spex
Read:
Recent profile at the UK Guardian

Friday, December 24, 2010

THE LAST CRUNCH

I rarely play Christmas music. I can't really see having music that I'd only play one month out of the year. If I still threw holiday bashes like the good ol' days, I might want some. Although, come to think of it, when I did have holiday parties, the music was usually something like Mudhoney, Sonic Youth, Pussy Galore...that type of stuff (which should tell you how long it's been since I actually hosted parties). But they were ramshackle events anyway. Just a bunch of the usual suspects, getting drunk, with a tree in the corner. So, I tip my hat to the hosts of holiday parties, and say, with all the sincerity that I can muster, better you than me.

Here's a few to get you through the last day. But not without a few notes about some of the songs. Listening to the Mojo Nixon cut, I just realized how much he sounds like Peter Wolf, in the early J. Geils Band. The Donnas thing is a cover of a horrible song by the Waitresses, so even this version is a little ill-conceived. The Slade song isn't their most rocking, but it's Slade, a band dear to my garish plaid heart. The Dick Dale song is uncharacteristically mellow, but nice (your Mom will dig it). It's hard to believe that the Kink's "Father Christmas" is thirty years old, I still think of it as their newer stuff. The Julian Casablanca cover of the Saturday Night Live skit is here even though he's always kinda bugged me, but I guess he has a sense of humor. Poly Styrene's making a return, because she started this whole mess the day after Thanksgiving. And, after you've sent the kids to bed, you can relax by the fireplace, and listen to William Burroughs tell the story of Danny the car wiper's Christmas. Wind down with a few from "The Hipsters Guide to Basic Holiday Jazz," while you take a bite of one of the cookies that the kids left out for Santa, just so they will believe for one more year.

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

Mojo Nixon & the Toadliquors - It's Christmas Time mp3 at Good Rockin' Tonight
The Donnas - Christmas Wrapping mp3 at Good Rockin' Tonight
Slade - Merry Xmas Everybody mp3 at Jellynuts.com
The Ventures - White Christmas mp3 at My Aimz Is True
Shonen Knife - Space Christmas mp3 at Lost In Your In Box
The White Stripes - Candy Cane Children mp3 at Indie Rock Cafe
Dick Dale - Silent Night mp3 at My Aimz Is True
The Kinks - Father Christmas mp3 at Indie Rock Cafe
Julian Casablancas - I Wish It Were Christmas Today at Indie Rock Cafe
James Brown - Go Power at Christmas Time mp3 at Plain or Pan
Lee Perry w/Sandra Robinson - Merry Christmas, Happy New Year mp3 at Music Like Dirt
Poly Styrene - Black Christmas mp3 at Lost In Your In Box
William Buroughs - The Junky's Christmas mp3 at Music Like Dirt
Chet Baker - O Come All Ye Faithful mp3 at Can You See the Sunset
Dexter Gordon - The Christmas Song mp3 at Can You See the Sunset
John Coltrane - Greensleeves mp3 at Can You See the Sunset

Friday, November 26, 2010

POLY STYRENE'S BLACK CHRISTMAS

THE DAY GLO HAS DIMMED: POLY STYRENE HAS PASSED AWAY (The latest, added 4/25/11)
NEW POLY STYRENE STUFF IS POSTED HERE (Added 4/23/11)

It's somehow apropos that the first holiday song I've run into, on "Black Friday" of all days, is Poly Styrene's new one "Black Christmas" a pop-ish reggae number, that features her daughter Celeste. It basically calls bullshit on all the phony Hallmark good cheer. While not quite what you'd call straight-up reggae (her pre-Spex 45 as Mari Elliot, "Billy, Billy," is a little closer to that), it is catchy, and dare I say, comforting to hear that voice again (though she has recorded since X-Ray Spex, it's been a while since I've heard any of it). There was a one-off X-Ray Spex reunion in 2008, that was released on a CD/DVD combo, but I haven't seen but a few clips ("Oh Bondage, Up Yours!" can be seen here). I think her last appearance was on Goldblade's "City of Christmas Ghosts" (video link below). Here's enough stuff (below) to reward you for participating in Buy Nothing Day. You did, didn't you?

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

Sunday, January 20, 2008

SAX RIOT

Probe is Turning On the People's M.O. is basically the "dig it or don't" type of posting. Title and artist, that's it. Sometimes the year, writing credits or catalog #s are included, but no bios, profiles or backstories, and rarely photos. It's there and it's rare, if you need further reason to download, do a little legwork. (In a way, it gives a little respect to the site visitors.) But, even a little legwork couldn't help me find more information on his latest post, "Riot" by Jeri Jorden. A web search turned up squat (only a mention on WFMU playlists and a small crappy scan of a Jorden LP). So, all I gots me is a hunch, far fetched at best.

Jorden seems to have a strong accent and a few of the lines sound like they could be in French, and given the vintage of the song (I'm guessing late sixties), it could be that the riots she sings of were the uprisings of May 1968 in Paris. That's a guess, I could be wrong about the language. And she is singing "Stop the Riots", a decidely unhip sentiment given that the record sounds, well, not like an unhip record. Come to think of it, Jorden sounds more like a Dutch name. My theory is full of holes.

Musically speaking, her singing is rather sedate, but that's not what prompted me to download it (and my guess is that it's not the reason it was posted). It's the incredibly abrasive saxaphones that got me. Seriously, it sounds like their reeds are made out of sandpaper. One sax wails ala Lara Logic (X Ray Spex' "Oh Bondage Up Yours"), while the other one just-fucking-blows. It sounds like someone was handed a baritone saxaphone and told "just do that fog horn thing you always do to annoy us..." On top of that, the guitarist, buried in the mix, is quietly manic.

Jeri Jorden - Riots mp3 at Probe is Turning-On the People (scroll to session 188)
X Ray Spex - Oh Bondage Up Yours mp3 at Dancing Queen Records