March 31, 2018 Music from Bandcamp #13

b a n d c a m p

1) Send one of my bodies out the window - Image Over Being (Detroit, Michigan)

Drums, lots of drums, some squiggly line video game noises, and title words. Jackson Pollock music. What plane of existence is this?

2) Fix Them All - Kate Schroder (Ottawa, Ontario)

Drum loops, keyboards, more loops, spoken word munchkin voice "what do you want me to say?" Say say say what you want, but don't play games with my affection.

3) Contumaz (Fugitivo) - El Golem (Ciudad Juarez, Mexico)

Cool rotary/chorus effect at 2:30, reminds me of Black Hole Sun and Alvin Lee's vocals during the chorus of I'd Love To Change The World. Overall, it has a Dream On/Babe I'm Gonna Leave You mood to it. I interpret it as the end of an affair, the lyrics are pretty gloomy. The chorus translates to something like this:

Return to your torture

to the hanging gardens of bitterness

fly free since in order to suffer you were born

you are a fugitive because in the end you fled 

March 30, 2018 - Curtis Knight Zeus - The Devil Made Me Do It (1974)

During the mid-60s, New York singer Curtis Knight recorded some music with an unknown guitarist. After the guitarist became famous, Curtis began releasing these recordings, hoping to cash in. The result was expensive legal action.

By 1974, he was fronting a funk/rock group called Curtis Knight Zeus (or Curtis Knight, Zeus), and one of their songs is the groovy The Devil Made Me Do It. Fast Eddie Clarke is the guitarist, he later went on to join Motörhead. The recording I have is from the incredible Chains and Black Exhaust various artists compilation.

The song is built around a smooth funk groove. Curtis sings about a girl he met, and whenever he makes a move he gets in trouble and says that the devil made him do it. My favorite lyrical moments occur when those improvised vocals comes in during the chorus, at 0:46 and 0:57. For some reason it makes me think of The Fresh Prince in Girls Ain't Nothing But Trouble, except in the Prince's case he blames his situation on the girl.

At 1:50, Fast Eddie kicks out the jams with a fantastic solo that takes us to the end.






  

March 29, 2018 - The News - From the Moon (1970?)

So this is what The News were doing before they met up with Baby Huey Lewis - they were impersonating a Lebanese band. They should be in a Beirut prison, serving time for committing musical felonies like Bad Is Bad, Hip to be Square, and If This Is It. I have to admit that when I was 14 or so I bought the 45 of Heart and Soul. It had a good video and a classic guitar riff. OK, all kidding aside, the group that recorded From the Moon is called The News, and they were from Lebanon, but they had nothing whatsoever to do with that 80s AOR hit machine.

From the Moon is very similar in tone to Sky Men; hopeful aliens send out a staticky radio transmission:

We come from the Moon
We're looking for peace

Well, you're not going to find it on this planet, folks. Try somewhere else. At 0:42 they add some lushly layered Moody Blues-Ride My See Saw/Gypsy harmonies to the mix in an effort to calm the frightened Earth people. At 0:58, they attempt to communicate via an upbeat Close Encounters of the Third Kind keyboard pattern. Throughout it all, various chirping whirling space sounds flash across our minds. Perhaps they are sufficiently advanced that they will create peace by basically taking control, like the Overlords in Childhood's End.

Nope. They take one look at Earth and decide to return to the Moon, taking Richard Dreyfuss (and all copies of Mr. Holland's Opus) with them. Richard, don't you remember what Jerry sang on The Wheel? "If the sharks don't get you then the aliens will."




"Hey guys, there's Huey again, he keeps following us. What should we do? Let's hide in our big coats."

March 28, 2018 - Suicide - Ghost Rider (1977)

Two people in Suicide, Alan Vega and Martin Rev. Keyboard, drum machine, vocals, effects. And, thus, we have synergy. It's like what Marty Robinson said on WTTW during a pledge drive: "Woodstock. A concert. A documentary. And certainly more than the sum of those two parts." That's what Suicide was to the NYC CBGB punk new wave scene.

Ghost Rider is a cool name. Here's to my having no clue that it's based on a Marvel Comics character, and that Suicide named themselves after a Ghost Rider comic book titled Satan Suicide. Cheers. I wonder why there wasn't a track for this character on the Marvel World of Icarus album? I guess it's because Ghost Rider is an antihero and not a superhero.

The song begins with a three-note bass line pattern which is hooked to a repeated chord. Alan Vega, with his frantic hyperventilating delivery, says the Ghost Rider is a screamin the truth, America, America is killin' its youth. At 1:26 he lets out a little shriek and a colder and angrier keyboard tone pounces into the mix.

Ghost Rider is from their self-titled debut album. I thought about including their epic Frankie Teardrop on the blog, but it's too frickin scary.

March 26, 2018 - The Shaggs - My Pal Foot Foot (1969)

The story of the Shaggs plays out like Charlie's Angels: "Once upon a time, there were three identical girls who went to the home school academy, and they were each assigned math problems, rode bikes, played with dolls, and other hazardous duties. But I took them away from all that and now they work for me, recording weird songs with instruments they can't play. My name is Charlie Austin."

What key is this in? The malarkey of B flat minors, foot foot. What's the story of My Pal Foot Foot? Is it a pet, like a cat or dog? the nickname of a human friend? a kid who has weird feet? A cat/shark creature? My take is this: there is this tweenish girl who is obsessed with a neighborhood cat named Foot Foot. She wanders around after him, strumming an out of tune guitar that's plugged into a cheap battery-powered amplifier on wheels. Foot Foot is frightened by the awful sounds she makes and the bizarre way she sings about him, so he hides from her. Now, Foot Foot's owners have nothing against this girl, she isn't mean or anything, but she comes around to their house looking for Foot Foot all the time, all the while playing her cacophonous songs. One day, they decide to tell the girl that Foot Foot moved out. They don't like having to do this, but enough is enough. It's just better this way.

March 25, 2018 Music from Bandcamp #12

BC

1) How Ya Gwaan Crucify - Jahmings Maccow (Los Angeles, California)

Roots reggae blueprint: sweet harmonies, 'rasta' and 'babylon' lyrics, little percussive accents. My focus was on the bass. Good tone.

2) Sonata No. 1 BWV1001 - Adagio (in G-minor) - Maya Homburger (Oberstammheim, Switzerland)

This is lovely, great atmosphere. Rich deep tones. Bach on.

3) Destiny - Gonzalo Varela (Montevideo, Uruguay)

speed metal video game music. Fight'n Rage. Intense then goes into a cool descending chord pattern towards the end.

March 24, 2018 - Wire - French Film Blurred (1978)

What is the French film in Wire's French Film Blurred? I have been unable to pin it down, but I believe it could either be 1962's A Monkey in Winter (Un singe en hiver), or this one I found online. A Monkey in Winter supposedly has fireworks in it, and the other one is slightly blurry. I really have no clue. I suppose that's the disadvantage of not speaking a second language. It's hard to understand a foreign film if you don't know the language (and there aren't any subtitles). Oui c'est vrai, mon ami.

During the outro there is a quietly spoken part: Bad reception results in blurred perception. Does this mean they were watching a French film on a crappy TV in the French Alps or something? I know nothing.

Let's forget about all the lyrical meanings and focus on this incredible music. The opening notes contain a rattling echo reverb that rolls off the guitars, trailing away into the ether, then joined by octave notes that shake the scene up and down. The opening circles back at 1:29, and then at 1:38 those exciting octave notes springboard us higher; the drums kick in, a heavier rhythm guitar surfaces, and we are locked into a groove that goes to the end and that I wish went on for at least a couple minutes. A heavier band could have turned this groove into an entire song. But Wire were les artistes du punk rock, after all, n'est-ce pas? Their darkness required less bombast and more intrigue.

March 22, 2018 - Czerwone Gitary - Wedrowne Gitary (1967)

The most popular rock n roll band in the history of Poland is Czerwone Gitary (The Red Guitars). The nastolatkowie loved them, and the communist government's censors approved of their music as well, as long as they kept their songs clean and respectful. Their first album was released in 1966, and while they had obviously absorbed the sound of the Beatles, they also added their own cultural style. The legendary Krzysztof Klenczon was an original member.

Wedrowne Gitary (Wandering Guitars), is a perfect copy of the mid-60s pop coming out of England. It contains a ringing guitar lick, jaunty rhythm, and infectious vocals. I have no idea what the lyrics mean, but they sound extremely cheerful. It also has a requisite minor key middle section to alter the mood a bit.

They released a number of albums before splitting up in 1970 (they've reassembled in various lineups over the years, still a touring commodity in Poland today). Do yourself a favor, dear listener, and check out some of their songs on youtube.

March 20, 2018 - Swell Maps - Cake Shop (1980)

Swell Maps were an experimental post-punk band from Birmingham, England. They were formed by two brothers, Epic Soundtracks and Nikki Sudden. They recorded two influential albums, then called it a day.

Cake Shop (aka Cake Shop Girl), opens with an immediate dash of sparkling but clanky guitars and a high-pitched quavering keyboard tone. It's a hypnotic combination, and it's what instantly hooks me whenever the song comes up on random play. The words themselves never registered; although I heard them, they were just part of the music. They first come in at 0:15:

Cake shop girls grow fingernails

dead long and rather sharp

Is this a cake shop or a mortuary? The flavorless, atonal vocals give me pause to wonder. This is not music to inspire the cake shop girl in us. I will take my business elsewhere, especially as the lyrics go on to say

confectioners don't eat a thing

that's made inside their shops

bottles of crushed beetle

can be bought to turn things red

Yeah, eat those beetles! What a great tune, more so now that I understand the lyrics. It's a swell song, Swell Maps.

March 18, 2018 - Black Flag - Depression (1981)

Depression opens with twenty-three seconds of 'Iron Man' sludge, the time it might take for a person on the edge of insanity to smash his fist into a mirror, notice the physical pain that temporarily supplants his emotional trauma, study the blood and glass for a few seconds, stare at the now distorted stranger in front of him, then rage at the top of his lungs.

That's one possible daydream, under a slate-grey blanket pulled over a weekend afternoon.

Henry Rollins revs it up at 0:24:

Sitting here, all by myself
I ain't got no one else
The situation is bleeding me
There's no relief for a person like me

Greg Ginn's speed demon guitar roars alongside him, get on your feet and let that energy out, purge the anger and frustration. If you feel like smashing a mirror, well OK, but maybe jumping around would be a better release.

Later:

Everybody just get away
I'm gonna boil over inside today
They say things are gonna get better
All I know is they fuckin' better

Wow, intense. Listening to Black Flag can be very therapeutic. I feel much better. To the mirrors of the world I say, "reflect without fear. I shall not attack you."

March 17, 2018 Music from Bandcamp # (these go to) 11

It's one bandcamp louder, isn't it?

1) Nobody's Fault But Mine - Judge Gazza (Syracuse, New York)

Slide guitar blues. Whoa, this guy sounds like a cross between Captain Beefheart and Fat Albert. Great low throaty grrr.

2) Stop Pollution - Funkaround (Varna, Bulgaria)

Funk guitar with horns. I thought it was going to be another one of those retro funk/soul groups like Budos Band or Lettuce, then the vocals come in and they're full of sweet pop/Hansen mmmbop harmonies. Nice guitar solo in there. Horns almost do an Al green Let's Stay Together riff. Nice tune.

3) Andromedub - Gaggeldub (Berlin, Germany)

Lots of keyboards modulating and gurgling, processed drum machine sounds. Kind of simple, basic, probably not too much editing, but I've always been a fan of that approach. Keepin it real.

March 15, 2018 - Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band - Ella Guru (1969)

How many times have I played Trout Mask Replica in its entirety? More than likely, about five, and I haven't listened to it in its entirety for at least 15 years. That's going to change right now. Well, unfortunately I ran out of time and could not listen to it. Guess I'll see you in another 15, Trout Mask Replica. No, wait! I am listening to it now...I am on track #6, Moonlight in Vermont. I am going to have to pause it briefly in order to eat dinner, but I will resume afterwards, while writing this and watching the NCAA tourney. I mean, I can't just sit here and listen, I have to do other things to alleviate the musical weight of this album.It's now 8pm and I am in the home stretch. What an experience. It's like a David Lynch film, Blue Velvet or Eraserhead. Especially the cover...really strange.

On the surface, it is a jumble of experimental weirdness, deep rough moaning vocals, guitars scratching out riffs in sections that fill in spaces like a puzzle that will never be solved. It's completely bizarre, but also an artistic statement of the highest order. Ella Guru is my favorite song on the album, followed closely by Frownland, Moonlight in Vermont, and When Big Joan Sets Up. If this music freaks you out, well, that's supposed to happen.

March 14, 2018 - The Coasters - Charlie Brown (1959)

Fee fee fi fi fo fo fum, I smell smoke in the auditorium. From the soundtrack to the TV special, "Charlie and the Giant Snitches", the Coasters sing about all the bad things this kid does in high school:

1) Smokes in the auditorium
2) Gambles (throwing dice, and in the boys' gym, no less!)
3) Writes on the wall (bathroom wall? Principal's office wall?)
4) Goofs in the hall
5) Throws spit balls
6) Calls the English teacher 'Daddy-O'
7) Packs a switchblade

He's gonna get caught, just you wait and see...well, he hasn't yet so all you little narcs better keep your mouths shut...I'm lookin at you, Schroeder! Why is everybody always pickin on me? First of all, Charlie, you're obviously faking it. You're bad and you know it. Wait, is he really doing anything so terrible? He may not be a good influence, but it's not like he's slashing tires or beating people up...yet. The other kids are a bunch of suckups. Charlie will deal with them after school. But wait again...what was up with all that fee fi fo fum at the beginning? Are the other Coasters giants? Then Charlie had better listen up.

The music resembles Yakety Sax, which as it turns out was based on the sax solo from another Coasters' hit: Yakety Yak (don't talk back). Well, duh.....

The video is fantastic. The three guys have already stuck poor Charlie in the corner and later they put a dunce cap on his head. During the middle interlude, the Coaster with the sweet pompadour does an excellent dance. And how about the blackboard? CAT + DOG = ?, 2 x 8 = 19, and TEECHER. The Coasters rule.

March 12, 2018 - The Lee Kings - On My Way (1966)

Somewhere in 1963, the Beatles fired the first shot that announced the British Invasion. By 1966, the phenomenon had swept into every corner of the world, and talented new bands from England kept coming. I ask, who was the teen Paul Revere of this story? Possibly the scion (love that word) of some New York entertainment industry mogul (love that word as well, makes me think of molehill, of which my yard at the moment has...a few), or the hip American cousin of some enlightened British teen who knew it was just a matter of time. Then how quickly the world did fall.

Sweden's teens fell well. They formed their share of garage bands; with all those Volvos and Saabs it was only natural, right? They ingested the songs of their heroic conquerors and made their only goal the western shore? own recordings, many of which, though imitative, still stood on their own merit.

The Lee Kings released a song called On My Way, which appears on the compilation Searchin for Shakes: Swedish Beat 1965-1968. For this song, the Who is the influence of choice. The song begins with a My Generation riff, then into Kids Are Alright harmonies on the opening verse (though smoother and with a cool reverb freight train effect), a Substitute solo vocal starting at 0:40, then My Generation instrumental craziness at 1:30 (but crazier, more like what The Who did live), then, I don't know, a false ending Magic Bus kind of thing.

    

March 11, 2018 Music from Bandcamp #10

I am stuck on bandcamp, 'cause bandcamp's stuck on me

1) 26 February 2015 (White Bear) - north-without-end (New York)

I like the album cover. Watching the paint dry takes patience, and you can't have patience without paint. This is quite a minimalist piece, ambient, a presence in the room. I have lost all sense of time.

2) upanijjhana - I Am Somebody (Pokhara, Nepal)

There should be a horizontal line over the first a but I couldn't find an alt code. Scratchiness, sudden drum/bass, voices, birds, static, piano? whoa, wasn't expecting this piece to change. Interesting how it morphs into quasi-new age territory.

3) Forever - I, Ced (St. Louis)

High-end production gloss. Kind of modern Stevie Wonder, or Earth Wind & Fire, but jazzier. I like the piano and the vocal layers. I can hear a little Joe Jackson in the piano. At 2:39 it enters a trippier section. The final 1:30 has a nice groove. It has an extra 0:27 of silence on the end, not sure what that's all about.







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March 10, 2018 - Clancy Eccles - Rod of Correction (1971)

I say hail that man!...a so. Rod of Correction is one of my favorite early roots reggae tunes, primarily because of the vocals. Clancy Eccles sings with a cool deep Jamaican patois enhanced with just the right amount of reverb. Listen in particular when he sings Down in the bottom of the ocean,* 'down' has that long 'o' sound like 'cone'. Amazing. I wish he had made a children's album, can you imagine him singing tunes like Farmer in the Dell, Three Blind Mice, and This Old Man?

Like Now Be Thankful, its sunny disposition balances against a darker religious interior, but whereas Fairport's tune focuses on heretical imagery and torture from more of an inquisitional angle,  Rod of Correction is pure fire and brimstone, essentially warning non-believers about the power of the Almighty. Clancy sure sounds like he's in a good mood as he sings about how Lot's wife turned a pillar of salt, down in solemn Sodom and Gomorrah.

Rod of Correction was written as a political song in support of Michael Manley, for whose party, the People's National Party, Eccles was chief songwriter. Here's an interesting article about all that.

*I am curious about why we say "down in"; eg, Rick Nelson's Travellin Man...'Down in old Mexico" or "Down in old Hong Kong." What's up?

March 8, 2018 - Fairport Convention - Now Be Thankful (1970)

Now Be Thankful is like a tune out of medieval times, but the minstrels come bearing electric guitars, eh, Squier? So full of solemn and gomorrah nobility, self-assured and aware. But beware, take care, when you're at the Fairport Convention songs, they lurk in ye olden time castles of yore ancient kings. Join me in our minds, shall we? I'm already there. All those characters on the Full House album cover will be there, too. Dilly Dilly!

The chorus arrives somewhat abruptly, a sweet little stutter step:

Now be thankful
for good things below...

It took me by surprise I must say, when I first heard it one day. It's a good hook. The chorus changes the scene to more of a Prancing Pony hobbit singalong, pints swaying to and fro. Along the lines of And We Bid You Good Night.

The words are earthy, made of stone, fire, water, a red rose blooming, the wheel. Harvest time. Good things below. The earth giveth and keepeth on givething. However, lest ye feel thine heart warmed too much, there is a dark side to this song. It's kind of twisted and masochistic, be thankful to your maker. Obey your master. Sacrifice. Accept the torture you deserve. What is this wheel anyhow? Is it this? Is it the red rose of hell?

But each time I try to say that it's really a lovely song, then I'll have to say the words all came out wrong.

March 6, 2018 - The Everly Brothers - Love Hurts (1960)

Growing up, I only knew Nazareth's classic rock version of Love Hurts. The Everly Brothers sing it in their classic velvet close harmony style, each voice mirroring the other perfectly.  And whereas Nazareth perform it with amped up bitterness, the Everlys sing with empathy and tenderness, offering just a hint of resentment. Their version was recorded in 1960, a simpler, more innocent time of heartbreak and longing, but perhaps with fewer avenues for expressing grief than in the mid-70s. The result is more confusion and repression, some poor soul laying in his bed staring at the ceiling, as opposed to some macho beer guzzler wailing in his Trans-Am. Of course, the sentiment is nowhere near as messed up as J Geils Band's Love Stinks.

Love Hurts was written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, composers of other Everly hits like All I Have to Do is Dream and Bye Bye Love.

Phil (left) and Don Everly

March 4, 2018 - The Replacements - Shiftless When Idle (1981)

Paul Westerberg trashed some stuff at my college when the Replacements played there in 1987. I wish I could say I attended the show, but my brain was still in classic rock land at the time and I was therefore unfamiliar with most of their music. I probably knew a few of their songs, but nothing that made me think they were great. By the time I was older and wiser they had already broken up. My loss.

Shiftless When Idle is from their first album, Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take out the Trash!, which also features such tunes as I Bought a Headache and Kick Your Door Down. Bassist Tommy Stinson was around 15 when they recorded it. Amazing. The song opens with a great riff and drums, somewhat akin to Dr. Feelgood's She Does It Right. Straight ahead rock n roll to inspire drinking and breaking things.

March 3, 2018 Music from Bandcamp #9 #9 #9 #9 #9...

Bandcamp Revolution

1) La plus belle des musiques - Philippe Pilette et Anne Lapierre (Mascouche, Quebec)

This is the most French I've ever had to type. It translates as The most beautiful music. Little sounds of nature (beautiful music), various melodies in the vocals (I swear I hear Clementine in there). Sweet little flutes, the vocals are lovely. Guitar, a sample of Vivaldi. little kid voices. There are a lot of things packed into this sweet song. Really nice.

2) Közmunka - Korruptak! (Hungary)

Yeah! Hungarian punk rock! Heavy on the bass, mostly seems to come out of the right speaker. Lo-fi, Hi-energy. It's from a demo album. I like the album cover of dog biting finger as dog bones fly off behind.

This is how google translated the title and lyrics:

public Works

Get up
Do you have to go
The bastard screamed
Her voice is kicking
Dawn is hostile
The state needs your body!
Neon green vest is a cold flame
You're scratching the edge of the road!
The world is humiliating!
Do you have this soul?
Who cares?
Live propaganda,
Éhbérrel.
Exposed as a banner.
Lowered forever.
Neon green vest is a cold flame
You're scratching the edge of the road!
The world, the world humiliates!

3) Under the Unholy Command - Terrörhammer (Pančevo, Serbia)

Ominous Orc drums, breath of Balrog...this is likely an intro to some intense speed demon wickedness. Setting things up for some serious headbanging. Cool metal album cover.

March 2, 2018 - Buzzcocks - I Don't Mind (1978)

I Don't Mind is probably my favorite song by Buzzcocks, followed by Nostalgia, Lipstick, Everybody's Happy Nowadays, and ESP (no guitar solo, just a lick that plays over and over and over...). Boundless energy, layers of crunchy buzzsaw power chords, clever quick poetic lyrics with no time for solos. I mean, Pete Shelley only has 2:20 to get all those words out. He sprints through verse verse middle eight verse extended middle eight (with guitar accompaniment) verse. Punk Power Pop.

The main hook of the song is the brief 'chorus' that leaps out at the end of each verse:
But if you don't mi-i-i-i-i-i-ind
I don't mi-i-i-i-i-i-ind
Pete Shelley's voice rides the the melismatic rapids with ease.