BEST LOUD

There's no urgency. I'm long past the age where you have to be the first to buy and dissect a debut LP from some hot shit band to somehow prove that you were in on it first. That's kid stuff. So, I sit back, listen to a few songs here and there, and deliberate. Oh, do I deliberate. You save money that way. I'm still on the fence about Savages. They don't strike a chord in me that hasn't been struck before, and I'm not using a capo. But, as they now have an LP out, I thought I'd go looking for something more than the couple of cuts I'd heard before. I'm still not convinced. There was a serendipitous detour though. One of the sites had a cut by the Heliotropes that I like, if for no other reason than it sounds like the Shangrilas doing the Stooges, "We Will Fall" stylee. If you try real hard. No, maybe Sabbath, or Dream Syndicate, or the Velvets, or what have you. Night Soil Man is down there because the other two bands made me think of them. You can't dance to any of them, but they're of sonic interest.

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

Listen:
Heliotropes - Psalm mp3 at The Deli
Heliotropes - Live show, good quality soundboard recording at NYC Taper 
Savages - She Will mp3 at The Key
Savages -Flying to Berlin mp3 at Rollo and Grady 
Savages - Shut Up mp3 at Indie Rock Cafe
Night Soil Man - Hyena (streaming) at YouTube

DIRTY TUB TIME MACHINE

Man, oh man. After hearing Savages' "Husbands," it was as if I went back to the late eighties. It was weird. I was afraid to go to the kitchen for fear of finding a sink littered with beers cans, full ashtrays and dirty dishes. Ah, the good ol' days. You'd never know it now, but this place used to be Grand Central Station. There were people over here just about every night, just hanging out. No one had kids, mortgages, or tee ball games. Just about all of my rockin' friends have moved away from this part of town, but ohhh no, not me. Like John Milner said in American Grafitti, "I'm staying right here, havin' fun, as usual." Where was I? Oh yeah, Savages reminded me a lot of Daydream Nation era Sonic Youth, and Night Soil Man, hence the flashback. Being as there aren't a whole lotta Savages cuts out there (they're newish), or Night Soul Man (woefully ignored online), I figured I'd fill in the blanks with some cuts off of Daydream Nation. I'm glad I did, because I ran into a cut from the expanded edition of the album, a cover of the Beatles' "Within You Without You," that's fairly noisy.

About Savages, it's four gals from the UK who look like they're on their way to rewarding careers in the business of making a racket. Really, I'd keep an eye on them. Night Soil Man are long gone, and I think their sole LP is out of print. But boy, talk about making a racket. Check the cuts of theirs (streaming only, so be it).

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

Listen:
Savages - Husbands mp3 at Le Blow (Look for the small "Download" button on the second streaming gizmo.)
Sonic Youth - Teen Age Riot mp3 at Vague Space
Sonic Youth - Kissability .mp3 at If It's Good
Sonic Youth - Eric's Trip mp3 at Pretty Goes With Pretty
Sonic Youth - Within You Without You mp3 at Cats Are Grey
Night Soil Man - We Cannot Be Controlled (streaming) at YouTube
Night Soil Man - Hyeena (streaming) at YouTube
Night Soil Man - Ant Farm (streaming) at YouTube
Night Soil Man - Sick Animal (streaming) at YouTube
Visit:
Night Soil Man article at the L.A. Times, 1990