IT'S PARTY TIME

Earlier this evening when I was driving south, I had one of those moments; the sort that isn't really deja vu, but makes you think of as different time. It was about an hour before the sun went down, and being that it was a sunny day and the sun was low, the shadows were long. I flashed back to all of the drives to L.A. (going north) in the early evening, to make it up there in time for one show or another. That trip down memory lane traveled past the Whiskey, the Masque, Tommy's, Turner's Liquor, Power Burger, that shop on Sunset that had a hologram in the window, Pinks, and other landmarks, ultimately landing me at a house on Detroit Street.

The unassuming supermarket in the photo above was the unofficial libation supplier of the nearby Detroit Street house. (Photo: Hilda Daniel)

That particular house was where my brother lived for a short time, and it had among it's tenants and visitors, a pretty significant portion of L.A.'s punk rock shake. By that I mean, not the major players, but tuned in, even after the much heralded first wave. I only made it to the house a few times, but every visit was memorable. (It was a party house par excellence, at least when I was there.) The one particular moment that entered my drive time dulled brain was standing in the entryway of the house, near one of my brother's room mates who had just returned from a party somewhere, slouched on the couch and more than a little tipsy. She was semi-singing and semi-shouting the lyrics to 45 Graves "Concerned Citizen," "You are not my friend!" It was, in my mind, an archetypal L.A. early 80s moment, and I've thought about it every time I've heard 45 Grave since. So, this is for K (who out of courtesy, will not be more positively identified) and the other Detroit Streeters.

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45 Grave - Concerned Citizen mp3 at Mustard Relics
45 Grave - Evil mp3 at Mustard Relics
45 Grave - 45 Grave mp3 at Mustard Relics
45 Grave - Black Cross mp3 at AliceBag.com
Bonus pain in the ass to download link:

Darker Scratcher - Full LP in zip format at Fantasmi Macchina (Right after where it says "Get it here" click on link that says "LAFMS") The first 45 Grave recording "Riboflavin Flavored, Non-Carbonated, Poly-Unsaturated Blood" was on this fine LAFMS compilation. The whole LP, which also features the Boyd Rice and Daniel Miller's "Cleanliness and Order" is entirely worthwhile and very different from the punk stuff of the time. LAFMS was the Los Angeles Free Music Society, which leaned towards the experimental.

Los Angeles Free Music Society home page

ATTN: PARTY PLANNING COMMITTEE

Don't get me started about New Orleans. I love that city. Within hours of my first arrival (on my only visit), my brother scored a Little Richard 78, and it just got better after that. There was a contingent of San Diegans that all happened to be going the same year, and we all had common friends in a couple that lived there, Harold and Holly. They lived right in the thick of it, both literally and figuratively. It was a great few days, I'll leave it at that.

Ever since then, my soft spot for New Orleans music has grown. Here's a random sampling. Not all are Mardi Gras related, but all have that feeling, that certain vibe that only one region can produce. Have fun; don't be stupid. Best advice I ever got.

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Professor Longhair - Tipitina mp3 (via Box.net) at Carnival Saloon
Ernie K-Doe - A Certain Girl mp3 at MBrownI.com
Dr. John, the Night Tripper - Mama Roux mp3 at Home of the Groove
Clifton Chenier - Zydeco Sont Pas Sale mp3 at Let's Polka
Eddie Bo - Check Mr. Popeye mp3 at Probe Is Turning-On the People
Dirty Dozen Brass Band - Feet Can't Fail Me Now mp3 at Home of the Groove
Professor Longhair - Going To Mardi Gras mp3 at Carnival Saloon
The Wild Magnolias - Handa Wanda mp3 at Vibrations Music
Lee Dorsey - Tears, Tears and More Tears mp3 at Home of the Groove
Sugar Boy Crawford and his Cane Cutters - Jock-A-Mo at Carnival Saloon
Fats Domino - Walkin' To New Orleans mp3 at Carnival Saloon
Bill Sinigal and the Skyliners - Second Line, Part I mp3 at Home of the Groove
The Meters - Hey Pocky-A-Way mp3 at Carnival Saloon
Dejan's Olympia Brass Band - Ain't My Fault mp3 at Carnival Saloon
Bonus:
Ernie K-Doe - WWOZ radio show mp3 at Beware of the Blog Over an hour of Mr. "Mother In Law" spinning wax and testifying on the air.
Neat images:
The Mistick Krew of Comus - 1873 Designs For Parade Costumes at Twisted Vingtage

COVER ORGY

Cover version blogs are like cover versions. Some pretty much suck, and some do a bang up job. It's a pain staking task, collecting a bunch of covers, so what's the point of doing that for either a mediocre song, or mediocre cover versions? Some of the cover blogs, when they do pick a good song, seem to pick versions that are either less interesting than the original, or just flat out copy it. Again, what's the point in that? To prove that you were able to find cover versions of the song? To prove you have a healthy sized record collection? I don't get it (but, then again, they didn't ask me). Rare is the cover music blog that manages to pick good songs as topics, and manages to follow through with interesting covers of widely varying origins.

Today I ran into a cover blog that does a good job of finding some good shit. My first tip that it would be better than most was the name of it, Versions Galore, which happens to be the name of an early U Roy LP, and if you know me, I like my U Roy. Of course, the versions in U Roy's title refers to a different kind of version, but it makes for a great cover blog title. (That is, if the blog in question is trying to attract U Roy fiends; which, if is the case, this time actually worked.)

Where was I? Oh yeah, covers. As far as I can figure, there are a few reasons to do covers. An obvious one is that you really love the song, or artist, so it's some sort of tribute. And then there are bands that can't really write, so they pad their repertoire out of neccessity. Some, particularly in the fifties and sixties, put out tamer versions hoping to gain airplay on stations unwilling to play anything slightly wild (ala Pat Boone covering Little Richard). And some bands with a wide reaching or particularly fervent following might cover a semi-obscure song, oft times released on a small independent label, to reach a bigger audience (like the Kingsmen getting a massive hit out of Richard Berry's "Louie, Louie").

So, about Versions Galore: when I landed on their homepage, right there was a cover by the Dirtbombs (one bonus point for posting the Dirtbombs, and another for referring to them as "garage rock messiahs"). So, I was off to the mother lovin' races. I ended up running into quite a few worthy posts. How many covers of the Meters' Sissy Strut do you need? How's about twenty two? Including one from a Polish funk band, accurately described as sounding like a "70's cop car chase scene." That's another thing, this guy isn't just posting rock related stuff. He's really digging to come up with some of these.

Here's a handful of songs, but definitely go there if these wet your whistle. The first one below, an afro funk cover of "Crosstown Traffic," is what sold me. I gotta say, Versions Galore is the best designed, most varied, and best all around cover version blog that I've run across. Plus, the guy writes with a little punch.

NOTE: Versions Galore, the hosting blog, is calling it quits and has removed all music from his blog. (9/26/2012).

YOU GOTTA COP TO PEREZ

You've got the list, right? The one with all the movies every well rounded young adult should see, if for no other reason than to have a point of reference when someone mentions them? If you don't have the list, La Dolce Vita is on there, along with about a half dozen other Fellini flicks. I saw it when I was a young adult, and it was my introduction to a musician every well rounded young adult should hear, if for no other reason than to have a point of reference when someone mentions them. That's a whole other list. (You know how this works, hipsters weren't invented yesterday.) I'm not talking about Nino Rota, who did a lot of Fellini's film scores. As you may have guessed from the photo above, I'm talking about the swanky Cuban, Perez Prado.

Prado's "Patricia" appears a couple times in the film, notably during a party scene, when a lady at a party starts to strip, in the middle of the party. Just before she gets down to business, one of the attendees says "Patriiicia, Patriiiicia!" As tame as the scene seems now, it was pretty decadent for the time. For some reason, I really wanted that song. For a few years, I had a song title in the back of my head, but no artist to go along with it. (This was before the interwebs.) Then, out of nowhere, an old fart radio station appeared in San Diego. If you were around these parts back in the eighties, you know the station I speak of, good ol' KPOP. The station played music from another era, primarily the forties and fifties, but it wasn't an oldies station in the classic mold. Because, instead of Elvis and his lot, KPOP played Glen Miller, the Ink Spots, Patti Page, Sinatra, and others like that, among them, Perez Prado.

The cool thing about the station was (besides unknowingly turning a younger audience onto records that were probably hipper than shit in their parents day), they had a semi-reliable playlist, meaning that you wouldn't hear Perez Prado just once. If you tuned in regularly, you were likely to hear "Patricia" and "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White" several times a week. (On AM radio no less. I miss that station.) So it was, that Perez Prado was embedded in the post-punk, pre-grunge, group of San Diego music scene barflies. So, here's a few from KPOP's playlist; and some from later, funkier and every bit as cool. Huuh!

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KPOP mainstays:
Perez Prado - Patricia mp3 at TropicalGlen
Perez Prado - Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White mp3 at IHS55
Perez Prado - Mambo No. 5 mp3 at Bailey Beach Boy
Funkier 70s stuff:
Perez Prado - San Luis Blues mp3 at Soul Sides
Perez Prado - Tequila mp3 at Soul Sides
Perez Prado - Circle mp3 at 45 Giri a Porta Portese

RARE BEATLES STUFF

Sometimes I just have to scrape my jaw off the floor. Yesterday, I was reminded why I love the the internet. For all of it's commercial annoyances, it is a great equalizer. By that I mean, it's the one place that just about anyone can put their stuff out there, and the whole world (with a few exceptions) can see it. This allows fiends of any particular field to collect, cut, paste, annotate, and upload sites about just about anything; and, if the subject happens to be a popular one with a lot of like minded visitors, no matter how extensive the site is, it's never really finished.

Last night, I ran into a Beatles site that is so extensive, I doubt that I will ever get through it all. I spent a couple hours browsing through it, and haven't even come close to scratching the surface. Before I go any further, let me say that I'm not particularly a Beatle fiend. I acknowledge their exceptional talent, but they don't rock my boat like a lot of other bands. That said, I can appreciate those people who consider it their life's work to dissect every bit of Beatle information to create a complete picture. The site I ran into yesterday is the ultimate Beatles time suck.

The navigation is rather chaotic. There are a lot of photos that lead to audio files of unreleased alternate versions, newsreels, or other pages with oddball stuff. You say you want a virtual tour of a street in Hamburg, with all of the clubs and hangouts that Beatles frequented? This guy has you covered. How about letters that Stu Sutcliffe's girlfriend (and early Beatles photographer) Astrid Kirchneer wrote to Stu's mother? Are you starting to get the picture? This dude is a fiend with a capital F.

There's one page with photo of a recording session, that has McCartney's daughter Heather sitting on the floor. This prompts a discussion, not only speculating which studio it was, but what particular date. It's a complete and total minutia overload. Music wise, different songs and eras get different treatment. There are short clips of the earliest recordings (we're talking pre-Beatles 50's stuff) all the way through complete alternate versions of George Harrison's "All Things Must Pass." The page for Sgt. Pepper's has a 6 part "Making of.." documentary, another with over 4o galleries of photos taken during the sessions, and another with isolated instrument tracks.

My best advise for sifting through this amazing collection is to just start clicking away, on anything and everything. But, if you run into something you want to find again, you had better bookmark it, because it may be impossible to retrace your steps.

The Beatles Source Home Page
The Savage Young Beatles: Extensive photo collection, from 1957 to 1963 (Ringo playing guitar?)
The Ultimate Acetate Collection: Just what it says. More outtakes and demos than you can shake a stick at.
The Concert Files: Recordings and clips from concerts from 1963 to 1966
TV appearances: Listings with screen shots of TV appearances from 1963 to 1970

Earlier Beatles related posts:
Wu-Tang vs The Beatles
The Beatles' Christmas Records

WHEN WERE YOU GONNA TELL ME?

Have you ever kept running across a band that seems to pop up everywhere? Every time you hear something that they've done, you move them up on the "check out these guys when you get a chance" list? You know the type; they haven't really made a misstep, and collaborate with a bunch of people that you already have a favorable impression of? The Sadies are one of those bands. Let's start at one of most interesting things about them. They've backed both Neil Young and Andre Williams. I mean, c'mon, how many bands would even have the opportunity, let alone lap it up? That right there is pretty impressive. (Any other band would consider it enough to back up John Doe and Neko Case.) A spot check of their discography reveals a band who can do "Search and Destroy," surf music, and the Bakersfield sound justice. Not many bands can play that tiny middle slice, between country pickin' and surf music. Could they be too well versed? It would be unfortunate if they went down as a five star house band. But, when you add it all up, you know why I'm paying attention? Because, my brother would have loved these guys. They're tight, and I bet they have awesome record collections.

Just watch it. This is top shelf stuff.

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Individual songs:
Neko Case with Sadies - Home mp3 (via Box.net) at The Adios Lounge
Neil Young with the Sadies - This Wheels on Fire mp3 (via Box.net) at the Adios Lounge
Gord Downie with the Sadies - Search and Destroy mp3 at Chromewaves
Andre Williams with the Sadies - Hey Truckers mp3 at Ricotta Park
Andre Williams with the Sadies - Shake A Tail Feather mp3 at Bloodshot Records
John Doe with the Sadies - It Just Dawned On Me mp3 (via Box.net) at The Adios Lounge
The Sadies - The Horshoe-Mossback mp3 (and four more) at Beat Surrender
The Sadies - I Wasn't Born To Follow mp3 (via Box.net) at Big Rock Candy Mountain
The Sadies - What's Left Behind mp3 (via Box.net) at The Adios Lounge
The Sadies - The Double Wide mp3 (via Box.net) at Groover's Paradise
Random oddball LP:
Andre Williams with the Sadies - Red Dirt LP download at Revenant Glint
Read:
The Notorious Good Brothers at The Adios Lounge (More mp3s!)
The Sadies at Wikipedia
The Sadies official site

AND BECAUSE HE'S COOL AS SHIT

Because I can't bear the thought of waking up and seeing Weller on my computer screen, here's an emergency nudge from ol' Mr. Dependable. And to commemorate this brainstorm, here's a link to three of his songs.

So get some Johnny Cash at Beat Surrender. You'll have to go there to download them. I do believe I've leeched enough of his links for a night. The songs are "Ain't No Graves," "The L & N Don't Stop Here Anymore," and "Country Boy." They're from Cash's privately recorded stash, released as Johnny Cash Bootleg Volume One: Personal File.

Johnny Cash post at Beat Surrender

DUDE, FIRE YOUR BARBER

My interest in Paul Weller made it halfway through side two of the Jam's second album. But I know Weller freaks, and how their appetite can be insatiable; and like anyone who really likes a particular artist, how tough it is for them to be objective. One night a few years ago, I spent the better part of the evening chewing the fat with a buddy of mine about the perils of coddling artists that you've liked for a long time; how hard it becomes to call a spade a spade. It's been a while since we've hung out, so I'm not sure if this is even something that he would be into, but I'm posting this for him, because he's the first person I thought of. Despite our differences in taste (the night we met, it was an extended Bruce Springsteen debate), we share a lot of common ground.

Here's the stuff Weller did at a live KCRW session. The full download link has an interview as well as artwork.

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Paul Weller - Out of the Sinking mp3 at Beat Surrender
Paul Weller - All On a Misty Morning mp3 at Beat Surrender
Paul Weller - Andromeda mp3 at Beat Surrender
Paul Weller - No Tears To Cry mp3 at Beat Surrender
Paul Weller - All I Wanna Do (Is Be With You) mp3 at Beat Surrender
Paul Weller - Time of the Season mp3 at Beat Surrender
Paul Weller - Pretty Flamingo mp3 at Beat Surrender

Paul Weller - Live at KCRW - Full session with interview and artwork
Thank Beat Surrender

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