Hip Hop Flyers

Party Flyers - - very image intensive...but very cool.

Via BoingBoing

Le Tigre Undercover Music Interviews

Undercover, an Australian music web site, has a boatload of interviews up, including this one with Le Tigre's Kathleen Hanna:

Le Tigre Undercover Music Interviews

Part 5 is interesting...she talks about wanting to work with Money Mark and Alfredo Ortiz - that would be interesting...hopefully that'll come true.

They've got lots of interviews with a number of bands, including the Dresden Dolls, Polyphonic Spree and lots more. Check out the full list here:

Undercover

And well, this got me all nostalgic for the Bikini Kill days and led me to this video:

Bikini Kill/Tobi Vail Interview - Windows Media File

which came from Emplive.com.

Two arms to hold you

So, finally, some music. Here's two tracks from Aztec Camera, both live and a wee bit hard to track down, not if you're a big fan of Roddy, of course. But what made me think of him is Edwyn Collin's recent hospitalization...and that led to this track:

Aztec Camera and Edwyn Collins - Consolation Prize (live) - REMOVED

Which, as you probably know, is an Orange Juice tune. This was recorded in 1990 at Glassgow Barrowlands and is available on the CD single for Good Morning Britain, which is only available used, as far as I can tell. They've played together quite a few times, it seems, over in the U.K.

And here's another live track as well, just for heck of it.

Aztec Camera - Stray (Live) - REMOVED

This was recorded live in 1991 and is also from a CD single, this time for Spanish Horses, and was part 2 in a series of 3 live cd singles. Again, used seems to be the only way to go, although Amazon doesn't have it listed. For the most part, I prefer his more up-beat stuff, but this is a nice live version of a pretty good song.

And, for your browsing pleasure, here's a link to Killermont Street, the official fan-site of Aztec Camera

Giant Robo

Thanks mighty TofuHut...for this:

Giant Robo!

videos.antville.org

videos.antville.org

I used to go here a lot, but hadn't been in awhile...just rediscovered the site.

It let me to this video by Metric and this one for for Leonard Nimoy....and a making of video for Bjork and Spike Jonze, "Triumph of a Heart."

podcasting is everywhere...

Here's a recent article on pocasting...
Podcasting gives voice to amateurs / Although it's not as easy as blogging, it's still worth the effort

I'm a bit confused about this whole phenomenon...at it's basic level, it's someone recording a "show" (on their pc) and allowing you to download it, right? So why the "podcasting" term? Isn't it just an audio file that you can listen to anywhere, just like any other? I'm not dissing the idea, just trying to understand it. In some ways, it seems like it's a new spin on an old thing. Something that is, currently, getting "marketed" really well. Don't get me wrong, I'm really glad it's happening because it's also making others sit up and pay attention, like KCRW, and we're starting to see more shows available for delayed listening. I guess what's confusing about it is that a lot of stuff is already out there, in the form of audio archives, it's just the name that's making it into something else. Am I way off base here? Or is podcasting more of a grass-roots level thing that is now being co-opted by the big boys to make their "audio archives" more fashionable and hip?

In the future, will we have everything available this way? Music on demand? Listen to what you want, when you want?

Nothin in my pocket!

The Dead Hensons have added a couple of new tracks to their site...if you don't know who they are, well, they're a cover band. But they only cover Sesame Street and Muppet tunes.. They're quite fun...in a nostalgic sorta way. I keep saying I'm gonna go see them play live, but haven't yet. I hear their live show is a good time.

The Dead Hensons - Rainbow Connection (live)
The Dead Hensons - Can You Picture That (Live)

There are a bunch more songs at their site including some clips from their 7".

Searching for the Why of Buy

I know this isn't music related, but the evolution of marketing is one of my current favorite topics....so if you have the time and are so inclined, there's an interesting article over at the LA Times about neuromarketing...using technology to track the brains responses to products.

Searching for the Why of Buy

In part of the article, they discuss a recent Pepsi/Coke taste test, while the taster was hooked up to an MRI machine:

Each swallowed sips of cola from a tube in a series of carefully calculated variations on the classic taste test. Each sip was preceded by a picture of a distinctively labeled red or blue cola can. Montague and his colleagues varied the order of the sodas, the labels and the timing of the sequence.

The volunteers had no preference when the drinks were offered unlabeled, the researchers discovered. But they overwhelmingly preferred Coke whenever that brand was displayed — no matter what cola was actually delivered through the sip tubes.

When the researchers analyzed the brain scans, they discovered that the Coke label appeared to activate a memory region called the hippocampus, along with structures in the midbrain known to compute the likelihood of rewards.

A brain region linked to the sense of self — the ventral putamen and the medial prefrontal cortex — also lighted up.

The Pepsi label prompted no such response.

lots of love

The message boards are filled with love for Edwyn on his site:

Sad To Hear

Join in, let's let him know we're pulling for him and his family.

According to the latest news, he's still in critical condition. More here, at the Scotsman.

Architecture in Helsinki

The new Architecture in Helsinki site is live...don't know when it went up but it's a jewel (WARNING - FLASH INTENSIVE). Check out the keepsake section, where they dish out a free rare mp3 from the pre-AIH days and also make sure to check out the music video section...the video for Do The Whirlwind is BRILLIANT and the song is incredible. It's got a Tom Tom Club kinda vibe to it, circa Genius of Love. It's catchy as heck.

Edwyn Collins

I just found out via Turquoise Days that Edwyn Collins has been admitted to the hospital over the weekend, he has sufferred from a brain haemorrhage. Doctors are trying to stabilise his condition.

Here's more from the Guardian.

There's a brief note up at his site, apparently posted by his wife:
•••••••••••
SAD NEWS

Edwyn suffered a cerebral haemorhage
on Sunday the 20th Febuary.
He is being well looked after in hospital.

When there is more to report I'll let you all know.

•••••••••••


Orange Juice - What Presence! - REMOVED
Orange Juice - A Place in My Heart (dub) - REMOVED

Both from the What Presence! single.

My thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family.

They had so many words

Drunken Boat are one of those bands that seemed to float just below everyone's radar. Why they never got more attention, I'll never know. Fronted by poet Todd Colby, the band released a number of albums between 1991 and 1995.

There's a bit of the Pixies in their sound, and their New York roots show as well. As the years (and we're only talking about a couple of years here) went on, their sound became more polished, a bit more pop, the peak example of this being their "See Ruby Falls" album which came out in 1992. The grittiness of their first two releases became a polished edge, many claiming it their best album. But, personally, their self-titled stands out as their best work. Songs such as "Pony" have lived in the back woods of my mind...stuck there, unable to be excised.

The albums were produced by Timothy Sommer of Hugo Largo fame, he even plays organ and guitar here and there. The other band members consisted of Steve Gross, Hadley Kahn, Glenn Petry, Todd Serbousek and Michael Colby. There were shifts in the members over the years, this list isn't reflective of one album, more a list of who was in the band over the years.

You can find a much more exhaustive review of all their albums over at Mark Prindle's site. It's well worth a few minutes of your time.

From: Drunken Boat
Drunken Boat - Pony (Warning...there are some bad words here!) - REMOVED
Drunken Boat - Accidents - REMOVED
From: See Ruby Falls
Drunken Boat - Day Long Day - REMOVED
Boat - Low Rider - REMOVED

Now, don't expect all of See Ruby Falls to sound like these two tracks, there are definitely tracks on here that have a much harder edge to them, like Pony. It was hard to pick just two, and I couldn't pass up Low Rider.

You can't purchase their albums new, it seems, but Amazon has them used for CHEAP...so run out and buy them, you have no excuse. You can also purchase Todd Colby's poetry at a variety of places, including Carbon Records, Soft Skull and Slow Toe Publications.

Ryan

I know this is everywhere right now, but I was excited to finally be able to see it. Go check out the short, Ryan. They've got it posted here:

NFB - Two Oscar nominations for the NFB

There's a preview for another short as well, Hardwood. Both are nominated for an Academy Award this year.

I haven't watched Hardwood yet, but Ryan is beautiful.

Unrest Anniversary Review

Check out the review over at bradley's almanac...

I saw Unrest back in the days...and they were great live...what a treat to have them do a surprise set.

Nothing Ever Falls Apart

Sorry for the lack of posts this week, it's the usual...work is keeping me very busy.



Here's another of those lost bands of the 80's...Zerra 1. Hailing from Ireland, the quartet definitely had a bit of younger sibling complex going on...there are moments when the U2 comparisons are almost too easy to make. But I've gone and done it anyway. Apparently, they opened up for the band, as well as The Cure. There's a lot of drama here, soaring music and vocals. Their guitar based sound makes them a little more timeless than the last couple of 80's bands I've covered.

Trouser Press gives them a bit of a scathing bio/review. In contrast, All Music Guide has a different take on the band:

The Irish quartet Zerra 1 had enough soaring harmonies and ringing guitars to follow in the footsteps of compatriots U2. And while commercial success never happened, Zerra 1 possessed too much talent to be written off as failed U2 impersonators.

On this album, the band is listed as Paul Bell, Grimmo, Michael Mesbur and Adrian Wyatt. Apparently, they had a bit of a revolving roster, although Paul Bell (vocals) remained a constant. Of special note on this album is the producer credit, Todd Rundgren and the photo credit, given to Robert Mapplethorpe. The album was released in 1984.

Zerra 1 -Mountains and Water REMOVED
Zerra 1- Young Love REMOVED

Again, the used market seems to be the only place to find any of Zerra 1's releases.

The Blow Again

Jona of YACHT fame is working on a new Blow album up in Olympia and it he's giving us a tiny tiny preview of one of the songs...I'm not going to link to it directly, but you can go check it out over at his site - - - -YACHT: Maker of Fine Musics and Hugs

It's in the middle of the page...it sounds oh so promising!

[ ]

if you've got some free time read this.

Classic cartoon themes as MP3s

Just caught this over at Boing Boing: Classic cartoon themes as MP3s.

What more could you want?

Here's a direct link...Classic cartoon themes.

Relax Brother, Relax

My Mean Magpie just released Relax Brother, Relax: A Twentieth Anniversary Tribute to Teenbeat Records and it's well worth checking out...

Especially like the In Camera Cover by Nora Drenaline.

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-all good piggies go to heaven!

If you thought yesterday's post felt dated, well, wait until you hear this one. I distinctly remember buying this 12" because a friend of mine wanted it...and, well, I think was buying it only because of that. That doesn't justify it, by any means. Anyway, again, there's very little information out there about these guys. I did find this discography, however, and it seems like these guys were a bit more prolific than Alone Again Or.

It seems that Secession was Peter Thomson, Carole Branston, Charlie Kelly and J.L. Seenan. They started out in 1983 and released a number of singles before they released their one and only album in 1987, from which this single comes. It seems that early in their career they were signed to Beggars Banquet and then switched to Siren, why I don't know.

As your listening to the A side, "Radioland," just wait until you hear the horn solo towards the end. Wow. It really takes it over the edge. It almost sound like a song someone would make to parody the whole 80's sound. Now, you flip the album over, and it becomes a little bit better. It's still, well, very New Wave, but at least it's a bit more listenable. The sounds of samples and wow...maybe it isn't that much better. No, it definitely isn't.

The vocals on Radioland actually remind me a tiny bit of Charlie Sexton...remember him? Simon Says starts out like a bad mixture of New Order and A Certain Ratio...and, well, I'll leave the rest up to you. I'm sure someone out there will be upset by my remarks.

Secession - Radioland REMOVED
Secession - Simon Says REMOVED
Secession - Everybody's Sneakin REMOVED

And, like Alone Again Or, it seems that your only chance of finding any of this stuff is through the used market. Or I'll sell you mine.

Sun Don't Shine at all..

So, remember how I said I was going to start posting some more obscure stuff, now that my turntable's all up and working? Well, here's a sample of that.

And these guys are so obscure, well, I can't seem to find anything out about them at all. Here's what I can discern from the 12"...three guys, with the last names of Angus, McKenzie and McKenzie. So, I'm assuming there's some blood relationship going on there, but who knows. That's it. That's all I know.

Wait...hold on a second...ahhh (I'm flipping through my LPs)...yes....remember (for those of you of the right age) Debut Magazine? The U.K. magazine that came w/an album? Debut04 had a story about them. Let's see...it turns out they are brothers, Derek and Keith McKenzie, and it's Colin Angus. And they're Scottish. From the article:

The trio formed after a confrontation in a second hand shop in Aberdeen between Colin and Derek. The pair were arguing over ownership of an old 60's "Love" album. Sense prevailed and it was decided that Derek would actually purchase the record and Colin would do a spot of pirating and tape it. The initial meeting led to them discovering they shared mutual interests besides the Love album and Keith was brought in to form the group. The name of the band was derived froma track on the aforementioned album.

Now, as far as I can tell, this 12" may be their only release. The article itself doesn't give any clue as to anything more, as it's written after they just signed to Polydor and they only had a demo tape at the time. So who knows, this may be the extent of it. I remember buying the 12" as a result of hearing the track on the Debut LP, and, although liking it, being slightly disappointed. It didn't seem to have quite the same edge as the Debut track.

Alone Again Or - Drum the Beat (from Debut04 - 1984) REMOVED
Alone Again Or - Dream Come True (Splintered Version - 1985) REMOVED
Alone Again Or - Smarter Than The Average Bear (Ursa Major - 1985) REMOVED

Oh, and one more thing. There may be a reason they only released this 12", I mean, this really sounds sorta dated. It's very 80's. My wife laughed when I played it for her. They are what they are though, and I don't think you'll find them anywhere else.

And for those of you that don't know, Debut Magazine was a UK publication that was a magazine and a full length album. The albums were generally filled with New Wave goodness. For example, this issue had Lloyd Cole and the Commotions, Parachute Club, Melody Makers, the Pogues, Nick Heyward, and Spandau Ballet, to name just a few.

CBGB may close due to rising real estate costs

Boing Boing: CBGB may close due to rising real estate costs

What more can I say?

New Wave photos...

Thanks to News of the dead for this one...

New Wave Photos by Philippe Carly

You can't afford to close your doors

In the spirit of keeping you on your toes, I'm gonna do an about face from my last musical post and bring up another band of my youth, Bad Brains. Now, if you don't know who these guys are, well, you've a lot to learn.

The original line-up consisted of Dr. Know (Gary Miller), H.R. (Paul Hudson) Darryl Jenifer and Earl Hudson. Originally a jazz-fusion band called Mind Power, they heard/saw the Sex-Pistols and things changed - The Clash was next and they begin to form a sound. Apparently it was a chance brief meeting with Bob Marley that completed the mix: a rastafarian hard-core punk sound.

In some ways, it's difficult to even talk about these guys, because their history, in the punk world is so influential. It's a lot like their first show:
"It was different, because we were all black and playing punk rock music. The news spread around DC," HR says. "Before we had even played our first show, people were coming up to me telling me how good the Bad Brains are."

And their praises are sung by many (from Greg Tate's bio):
The ‘brains not only influenced their once and future kindred Black rockers with these greatest riffs, but closer to the D.C. homeland, the Minor Threats and Black Flags and Cro-Mags of this world too, not to mention the Metallicas and the Nirvanas and the System of a Downs. They should have been as lavishly promoted and mass marketed as those bands, become likewise household names and such and truth to tell they might have if not for a glitch or two but such fanfare wasn’t in the cards. Yet as is the case with many an African American musical pioneers, I and I out-survived their over-hyped peers, remain creatively atop their game and will still blow any new jack’s butt off the stage if they have to.

Those once and future Black rockers included Angelo Moore of Fishbone and Corey Glover of Living Colour, among others. And so their sound echoed throughout the underground...and they never really stepped out of it, although they had brief brushes of fame in their later years.

There are so many things that could be said about this band, and I could never do them credit. I'd recommend going over to Astralwerks/Caroline and checking out their site, you can hear some more tracks and watch some video there. There's also a good early bio of the band over at Break My Face. And here's a bio from a Beastie Boys centric universe that's also decent, apparently Yauch is/was a huge fan, and he's produced their latest album, being released under the name Soul Brains. According to Jenifer:
"We never really intend to do anything. But I said, 'I want this record to sound like the old Bad Brains -- I want it to be straight-up hardcore. No tricks, no bells, no whistles. And I want the reggae to be straight rub-a-dub, no little riffs and stuff. The rock -- straight-up speedcore, the way we were known for doing it.' It doesn't have an 'I Against I' appeal to it; it's more like 'Rock For Light.' It's like the cousins of those riffs."

I don't know when that album is coming out, haven't found a release date for it yet, but it sounds promising.

So here are two tracks from the 1983 album, "Rock for Light." Strangely enough, this album was produced by Ric Ocasek (of the Cars). I'd love to hear some stories from how that came about...

Bad Brains - Banned in D.C. - REMOVED
Bad Brains - Rally Around Jah Throne - REMOVED

The above photo was taken by Cynthia Connolly, from her GREAT book, Banned in DC, which you can see more of and purchase over at Southern Records.

You can purchase their records from Amazon, as usual.

The Nomi Song

Musically, I was never a big fan of Klaus Nomi, but this looks like it'll be interesting.

The Nomi Song

The Blow Video!

The Blow CD sold out over at States Rights Records. It's still available at iTunes and the vinyl's over at K. But, the real reason for this post is they've got a bit of a treat up:

knowing the things that I know: the music video.

It's pretty cute, worth a few minutes of your time. And here's a direct link to the mp3 at States Rights as well.

The Blow - Knowing The Things That I Know

and Jona's in the video, he's the genius behind the music and Y.A.C.H.T.

FeedBurner

Anyone out there using feedburner? I'd love to hear your comments about it. I'm thinking of integrating it into gJp.

FeedBurner - Point your feed here. We'll do the rest.

More ASCAP goodness

So it seems that it takes Whil Wheaton to get the discussions going on the ASCAP license, I'm glad someone's questioning them...here's a BoingBoing link that goes further into it than before...
Boing Boing: Wil Wheaton: So, ASCAP to *license* podcasts? Readers respond.
If you've already read Whil's original comment, scroll down a bit...

My original posts can be tracked back from this post.

The Evens @ Mother India in Sacramento

So, saw the Evens tonight at Mother India in Sacramento. Having only heard two songs in advance of the show (their release is not out yet), I was pleasantly surprised. Ian's joining with Amy has taken him in a different direction. The combination of his voice with hers works really well and the stripped down sound allows their vocals to sit up front a bit more than normal. Imagine, if you will, the more experimental side of Fugazi combined with their mellower moments and you're somewhere close to their sound. Amy uses a good amount of effects on her drums and it adds a nice layer as well. Of course, a lot of the music was pretty political and Ian was his usual self, saying "bless you" to a random sneaze in the audience and inviting some people in from the outside through a side door towards the end of the show. He also managed to get the whole crowd whistling on one song and singing on another. In many respects, it's a great treat to see him in this band because it's a lot more intimate than his other projects have been and, because of this, he spends more time talking to the audience. Amy was pretty quiet, but she has a wonderful voice and is a fine drummer. Overall, a great experience. Especially when you consider the $5 cover charge, what more could you ask for? I mightl be seeing them again on Friday in San Francisco at the Swedish American Hall (Cafe Du Nord).

Dr. Dog is in the hi-zouse!

Some lo-fi goodness from Dr. Dog...

Dr. Dog - ABCs
Dr. Dog - Easy Beat

And you can find two more songs over at their :: sounds :: page and here's a link to their main page, as well.

I could never forget

Sometimes you just got to buckle down and give in...and accept the consequences of your actions. My post today is one that, well, I've been reluctant to do for awhile now. Why? Because, it one of those posts, like Paul's over at We're Here to Help You Thru Yr Changes, that you're a bit embarrased to put on display. Why? Well, in my case, it's because of the perception of the music that already exists. Even though the band was a huge part of my life back in 1982-85, they're not a band I really ever tell anyone I'm a fan of. Most people sort of scoff at their name, thinking of their "hit" single that they've heard WAY too many times and leaving it at that. And I'll admit, their hit was the beginning of their downfall, after that, it seemed to become nothing but attempts at re-creating what they had, their moment of glory. And they came close a couple of times, maybe not as close here in the states as they did in the U.K., but they did come close. And then they faded away, to be forever remembered as the band famous for the mid-80's prom hit, "True."



Yeah, that's right, I'm talking about Spandau Ballet. And now that I've got that off of my chest, I feel much better (yeah, right). Please, give me a second to explain before you go marching off, swearing to never visit my site again.

You see, before, True, there were two other albums, Diamond (1982) and Journey's To Glory (1981). And while you can definitely see a progression to the True sound building in those two albums, they are quite a different beast than True. And maybe, just maybe, you can blame it all on Steve Norman (sorry, Steve). You see, on their first two albums, Steve played guitar and percussion, adding more depth to their sound. Also, the band relied more on a full horn section, including Trumpet, Sax and Trombone (mainly on Diamond). And then, well, for some reason, Steve started playing Sax...and True was recorded and it was a BIG hit and well, he played sax pretty much from then on out. And it changed their sound. The rawness was gone, the layers of percussion sort of disappeared and they became, well, white pop-soul. Now, granted, Tony Hadley had a voice for it, he is a sort of crooner, but when you put him over their earlier albums, it created this mix of sounds that was a little different, a little more unique.
And in those early days, the band had a mixture of glam, punk and soul...and eventually, the glam and punk sort got washed away. In the beginning, they were a club band, hanging out with designers, hair-dressers and other musicians, like Steve Strange (Visage). I'm not saying their change wasn't intentional, because they've admitted they wanted to sell records, and True was written to be a blue-eyed soul album, a hit album. And I'm also not saying that I don't like True, it's a decent album, if I hadn't heard it so much, I'd probably like it a lot more. But what I am saying is that I think you should give their earlier stuff a listen, and if you like it, give it a shot. Diamond is a great album, with a variety of sounds and a lot of experimentation going on. I think you'll like it.

Spandau Ballet -Chant No. 1 REMOVED
Spandau Ballet - Innocence and Science REMOVED

Chant No.1 was a decent sized club hit, and the horns are great in this track. Innocence and Science is a bit harder to strip out of the context of the album, as it's part of a series of songs that blend into each other, but I felt I had to present two of the extreme sounds they playing with on Diamond, which both of these tracks are from. Journey's To Glory has a much rougher sound, being a more consistently club orientated album, but is also a great album. In terms of the better of the two, I'd have to go with Diamond, though, as they were experimenting a lot more and I think they succeeded pretty well in doing so. You can find Diamond and Journey's to Glory both at Amazon and any other fine musical retailer.

Wil Wheaton: So, ASCAP plans to *license* podcasts?

Wil Wheaton: So, ASCAP plans to *license* podcasts?

It seems others are starting to notice the ASCAP license scheme I talked about a last week here and here...Wil Wheaton weighs in and Boing Boing makes a mention of it.

Magnolia Electric Co - live show archive

Magnolia Electric Co have added a live show archive to their site, so far, there are three shows and they're looking for submissions. These are all in the flac format, so you'll have to have an application that can play or convert them. I use MacFlac to convert them to AIFF or mp3s. They sound pretty decent, I'm not a huge fan of the band, only recently have run across them, but it's worth checking out - you might remember Jason Mollina, the singer/songwriter from Songs: Ohia. Very much influenced by Neil Young.

Again, since we're talking about ska...

Christopher Porter's got a great piece on Dizzy Reece, one of the jazz greats who grew up in Jamaica and went to the Alpha Boys School along with a who's who of Jamaican musicians (that's a book or movie waiting to happen).

It's a two parter with some great music and it's well worth a read.
Part 1
Part 2

And the article over at Dizzy Reece's site that Christopher Porter wrote is definately worth checking out, it's referenced in the above links as well, and I put it hear in case you want to go right to the meat of it.

No time to tie your shoelace...

All this talk of ska lit a little fire under me and well, here I am at 12:00 o'clock at night posting this. I've been meaning to bring a little ska up more often, there's so much of it out there that is unknown and good and well, here we go.

Stranger Cole is one of the originals...what makes him stand out is his consistant working with others, especially Patsy Todd and Ken Boothe, a result of his shyness, so I've read. He started recording in 1962 and is still active in the music community, having moved to Canada in the 70's, I believe, and apparently changing his name to Stranjah Cole.

Cole's got a wonderfully soulful voice and you can hear the influence of American music in some of his recordings, like "Hey, Hey Baby." Here are three early tracks of his. You can find all of these tracks on the Trojan Collection, "Bangarang: The Best of Stranger Cole 1962-1972," which I highly recommend.

Stranger Cole - Rough and Tough - REMOVED
Stranger Cole and Patsy Todd - Hey, Hey Baby - REMOVED
Stranger Cole - Run Joe - REMOVED

Ska for the Skeptical

Via the ever wonderful Boing boing
Boing Boing: Ska for the Skeptical

A decent ska primer for those who have no clue...although they've left out some of the best in third wave ska...(The Untouchables and Toasters, to name just a couple) but, for a primer it's not bad. There are so many bands in this genre that it's difficult to list them all. Also, it seems that there should be a list of the albums for Rocksteady and the first and second wave, but again, I'm probably being overly critical.

here's a direct link to the page.

Boing Boing: Rock and Roll fonts

This is pretty, well, awesome, dude.

Boing Boing: Rock and Roll fonts

and a direct link here.

More Tuxedomoon info...

So I have e-mail confirmation (from one of the band members) of one date (SF) and two other dates are confirmed through Ticketweb.

March 19th @ Cafe DuNord in San Francisco
March 21st @ Knitting Factory in Southern California
March 30th @ Knitting Factory in New York

Since Winston Tong is living in San Francisco...I wonder what the chances of him showing up at the show is...?

Sacramento, Vol. 1

You really should take a second to go read Paul Shrug's post today...

We're Here to Help You Thru Yr Changes: Sacramento, Vol. 1

Tuxedomoon on Tour?

I just heard that Tuxedomoon will be touring various places in the states...

What? Gotta find out more...the only day I know so far is in San Francisco...which is good for me. Wow. It's a glorious day.

She gave me the look and then the evil eye!

I have a pretty big soft spot for ska and mod ... the problem is, a lot of it is bad...I mean, really bad. But when it's good, it's oh so good. From the first wave and the original rocksteady origins and on to the U.K. ska scene and then forward to the mid 80's revival and that's where The Untouchables step in. They were one of the best in the Southern California area, their album, "Wild Child" is a classic mix of soul and ska and they played it tight.

Without them, there would probably not be Fishbone or, for better and for worse, No Doubt.

I saw them back in 1988 or so and it was an incredible show, even if it was after their heyday. The great thing about a band like this was that they crossed boundaries - both racially and musically ...and in doing so the crowd was mixed...you had mohawks and suits dancing together...we had a big pit going that was one of the best I've ever experienced...people moving and dancing together.

"Wild Child" was their peak, musically, after that, it sorta fell flat. But check out these two tunes from the album and go ahead, resist the urge to skank.

The Untouchables - I Spy (For the FBI) - REMOVED
The Untouchables - Soul Together - REMOVED

and then run, don't walk and buy this album!

Will They Ever Understand?

Boing Boing: Napster-to-Go reviewed, math done

Why is it the labels do not understand the basic ideas behind selling music? Why are they so reluctant to find out what the future might hold? Why do these monthly fee based music services have no idea that it won't work? Why? Why? Why?

Here only the strong survive...

I'm going through my albums and singles trying to make some sense of it all and figuring out what to post next when I found this old ad for Data Age...it was a flexi-single that promoted their video games and well, I'll let it speak for itself.

mindscape ad

I was going to bring in my own single but realized someone else had posted it, so this is a link to the posting at Atari Age.

I think I like the like too

Check out The Like. Something about her voice...I just discovered them myself, so you're on your own here. The music isn't super inspiring, but again, the voice...

Lots of good info on their site and some more mp3s as well.

The Like - (so I'll sit here) waiting

The Like - Falling Away

blogger.com comments changed

Interesting change in the way the comments work. I like the new layout and the ability to see the other comments as you're typing in yours. Not sure if the layout is the best but it is an improvement.

anybody else notice it?

stumble

Every once in awhile you stumble upon something...and it surprises you.

I was looking for some sort of review of the venue that The Evens will be playing at in Sacramento on February 16th, just to get an idea of what "Mother India's Restaurant" might be like...with a name like that, well, who knows.

Well, in doing so, found out that it's a regular venue and thats when I stumbled upon Christian Kiefer

And well, I was surprised.

Here are links to two of his songs. There are more available here, as some live tracks here. Check him out, you might be surprised.

Christian Kiefer - Come Up
Christian Kiefer - Stumble

And again, check out his site, there's more tracks and he's a fellow blogger as well.

Shoplifting is safer than downloading

While I'm on the subject, Via the ever wonderful BoingBoing:

Shoplifting is safer than downloading

ASCAP Internet License Agreements

ASCAP Internet License Agreements

So I'm reviewing this a bit more, trying to make sense of what they've got in their agreement.

The "interactive 2.0" license specifically says it is "designed for sites and services that permit their users to select particular songs or pre-posted song programs, such as an album or set list. " Examples of this, to be more specific, are listed as:
1) Internet "jukebox"
2) Webcast of a concert with advance set list(s)
3) "Pay-per-play" or download of individual songs or albums

Now, it's number three that seems to apply specifically to us. But, where it seems to all fall apart is here (in the Interactive 2.0 License Agreement), in the limitations on license section, (6b):

"Nothing in this agreement grants you, or authorizes you to grant any user, or to anyone else, any right to reproduce, copy or distribute by any means, method or process whatsoever, any of the musical compositions licensed by this agreement, including, but not limited to, transferring or downloading any such musical compositiion to a computer hard drive, or otherwise copying the composition onto any other storage medium."

Now, that inherently seems contradictory to me. Is this saying it's giving me the right to give access to the songs, but not for the user to use them?

The other interesting part of this is the License Agreement starts out with the following:

"This is an experimental agreement which applies for its term only and is entered into without prejudice to any position you or we may take for any period subsequent to its termination."

What? So this is an experiment? How does that effect the validity of the whole agreement?

I'm not even getting into the specifics of licensing...tracking and reporting and the like. This looks like a huge ball of wax.

Are there any lawyers out there?

ASCAP and the web

It's interesting but I haven't seen any of the other mp3 blogs out there commenting on this, perhaps it's because the Podcasting crowds and the mp3blog crowds do not yet intersect that often.

Apparently, ASCAP is offerring a web license for publlishing music. It appears, upon my initial read, that for the mp3 blog community, a $340 license would cover the average mp3blog, renewable yearly. The question is, am I reading this right? Is it that simple of a solution to make this "legal?" Is that something I want to do or should do? Does anyone have any opinions on this or comments? Is anyone reading this? Do you really care?

Thanks goes to Steve for pointing this out over at Adam Curry's Weblog

Take my love and run! Take it!

The Higsons formed in 1981, somewhere in Norwich. They were one of the bands on the 2Tone label, a home for many ska bands during the time, but they didn't quite fit the mold of most of their label-mates. In some ways, they actually remind me of A Certain Ratio, mixing and mashing sounds from different styles together and coming up with something new.

The band consisted of Simon Charterton ,Terry Edwards, Stuart McGeachin, Switch and Colin Williams. The members for the most part have seemed to melted away, although Terry Edwards has his own web site with a good amount of background info. Apparently he went on to play with quite a few other bands, including Julian Cope, Nick Cave, The Creatures, PJ Harvey, Robyn Hitchcock and the Jesus and Mary Chain, just to name a few.

At the Mick Sinclair archive, there's a nice little review of the band from a 1982 live show which is worth checking out. They also recorded quite a few sessions for the John Peel show which are collected on the CD It's A Wonderful Life, available here. There are also a few other releases over at Amazon.



Both of these tracks are from the 1982 single, "Tear The Whole Thing Down."

The Higsons - Tear The Whole Thing Down - REMOVED
The Higsons - Ylang Ylang - REMOVED

I feel the numbness dragging, slow but far

Fiat Lux were one of those bands that almost made it...but not quite. They had a minor hit in the U.K. with their song "Secrets," and released a series of singles and e.p.s as well as various appearances on compilations but never managed to release a full length album. And it's really unfortunate, too. They've managed to stay within my lexicon of favorite bands throughout the years.

Fiat Lux was formed in 1982 in Yorkshire by Steve Wright, David Crickmore and Ian Nelson. And yes, that's Nelson as in Bill. And, I guess, having Bill Nelson as your brother is a bit of a help, as their first single was released on his label, as well as few of their other releases.

They broke up in 1985. Unfortunately, I don't know why. If anyone does, I'd love to hear the story. I've got this laserdisc release of their's that's pretty insane and soooo very typical of the time period. It's a combination of "music videos" and live performances that's, well, almost comical in its seriousness. Plus it's all shot on video so it has this very strange, home-made feel. If I remember correctly, it also involves mimes and clowns.

Ian, after they broke up, went on to briefly appear in a number of different bands, including Colourfield (Terry Hall) and BeBop Delux and is still out their making music. He's currently involved with a band called Moonstone.

From a Bill Nelson site:

(Ian Nelson)... did session work with The Colourfield on their 1985 Virgins and Philistines album. Was to be a member of a new version of Be Bop Deluxe in 1990 but the project never got off the ground. A few months ago Ian signed on full-time with Moonstone, and is plays with them. He is also a member of The Lost Satellites that performed at the Nelsonica 02 and 03 events. Still teaches college.

David went on to join a few other bands and is currently playing in the Durbervilles. From Hired History:
David has also continued to produce other artists, and with Mark & Lee of The Durbervilles, runs Anne Frank Studios. Recent output includes CDs from Ramon, Batinka and Shawn Hunter, all on SPLID records. David is not married, but instead eats small quantities of cheese and drinks straight Baileys on special occasions.

Steve (vocals) got out of the music business altogether and is apparently a freelance director.

These two tracks make up their first single. It's a little rougher than their later releases, but it's still pretty solid. It's definately a product of its times, and you can feel Bill Nelson breathing over their shoulders as you listen. The recording on this single has always felt a bit tinny to my ears, their later releases being a bit more lush and full. I'll post some more music by them in the future.

Fiat Lux - It Feels Like Winter Again - REMOVED
Fiat Lux - What is This Illness - REMOVED

Please be sure to check out this web site, Hired History, for the whole scoop on the band. This guy's done his homework. It's also where I got the image above.

**On a seperate note, if you'd like a g(ee)mail account, let me know.

Supergirl's got her hang-ups...

When I think of twee...I think of Tullycraft. Why? Because they embody everything that is twee...when you're listening to them, you're taken back to that time in 4th grade when your life seemed BIG...all that mattered where your comic books and toys and that cute girl(or guy) you had a crush on and well...what did that mean? What did you do with with those crazy feelings?

And that's were Tullycraft (and their predecessor, Crayon) live...they inhabit that world between ages 10 and 15 where things are just so different and you have questions you want to know the answers to but nobody understands...

And, yeah, I know, these guys aren't for everyone. Sean's voice is, well, undeniably unique and they aren't the best musicians in the world but when they hit it right there's something so magical there - it'll make you smile.

And they've just finished up a new album for a release in May...

You can find there stuff over at Amazon. They even have a tribute album, "First String Teenage High (the songs of Tullycraft played by people who aren't).

Check out these two songs from their site and if you like them, head over here, they've got a BUNCH more. Here's also a link to an interview that took place back in 1997.

Tullycraft - Superboy, Supergirl
Tullycraft - Pop Songs Your New Boyfriend's Too Stupid To Know About

I remember seeing Crayon live years ago, and boy where they fun...the drummer wore a lion's suit without the head and they put their all into it....

David Byrne and Arcade Fire

Found via Steve Holden's weblog...

Steve Holden's Weblog: David Byrne and Arcade Fire?

I know this is Talking Heads song...and Arcade Fire covered it...so, is this live version just Byrne/Talking Heads or something more?

later...

So apparently it is something more...it's Byrne joining Arcade Fire live on stage...found this out via i rock i roll.

and here's a direct link to the song...

ummm...yeah...

mya haha!

The Postal Service on KCRW

I've got to send you in this direction:

You Ain't No Picasso: The Postal Service on KCRW

thanks to You Ain't No Picasso...always on the cutting edge, eh?

His heart was beating in his chest that day

I don't know if you know who Joe Sorren is. If you don't, you should check him out. He's an AMAZING artist. One of my favorites. He takes the world and turns it upside down.

Well, it turns out Joe is also a musician. He's in a band called Sparkleface with Lyle and Stephen. Lyle, it seems is the ringleader, and a darn good artist as well.

Part of what makes their site kinda cool is that they share the process with you, with early versions of songs. It also seems that they change things out regularly, including a song of the month.

So go check out the Sparkleface site, and enjoy their music. There's more available at their site.

Lyle and Sparkleface - Henry's Song (work in progress)
Lyle and Sparkleface - Tsunami (February Song)

I'm a jet fighter, man, in the daytime!

Egads...the pressure is building up. You know it's bad when you start to feel obligated to do this. Why? Because work is piling up into huge stinking masses of time-sucking, um, things! Yikes.

So, without further ado and redo and kiddo, here is one of the best power-pop, paisley-mod bands ever, the Three O'Clock! I bet you didn't know there was more than one, eh? The Three O'clock were Michael Quercio, Greg Gutierrez, Mike Mariano and Danny Benair, although there were some others that floated in and out. They released four albums between 1983 and 1988 when they disbanded. Michael went on to join Game Theory and later, the Jupiter Affect, who are still making music. Greg (Louis) Gutierrez went on to form Mary's Danish and Jason Falkner, another later member, formed Jellyfish.

There's a great history of the band here. Oh, the amount of bands Rodney Bingenheimer affected back in those days...

Jet Fighter is one of those perfect pop gems...the music shimmers and glows with happiness and idealism. Bask in the glow that is the Three O'Clock.

The Three O'Clock - Jet Fighter REMOVED
The Three O'Clock - Sorry REMOVED

Woops....almost forgot...here's an Amazon link for their available CDs.

MARC HOCHMAN!!!!

Okay, now that I've got that out of my system...



Cetu Javu is one of those bands that basically loved Depeche Mode and wore it proudly, like a favorite shirt. Only, there was one strange thing about them....they were German, well, that isn't strange, but they sang most of their songs in Spanish.

So, you've got a German band, singing in Spanish who sound a lot like Depeche Mode.

What happened to these guys? Well, unfortunatly, I don't have the energy to find out. They do have an official web-site, which is pretty much useless at this moment. All Music has a bio, as usual. And there's a discography over here, which also claims they're working on a new album.

You might recognize Situations, it's sung in English and was a hit of sorts. These are both from the vinyl 12", and I left some noise in there for all of you kids who long for yesteryear.

Just close your eyes and imagine the needle lifting and floating over, hovering for a second before it drifts down...and the music starts.

Cetu Javu - Quien Lo Sabia? REMOVED
Cetu Javu - Situations 12" REMOVED

Amazon link - exercise your purchasing power.

oh, what a charmer!

So, I've got a bit of a special treat for you. Courtesy of My Mean Magpie, I've got the inside scoop on the Linger Effect.

Existing somewhere between New Order, Felt and Unrest, The Linger Effect have managed to capture a sound that isn't quite what you expect. Imagine if Factory Records where still around and you'd probably expect the Linger Effect to be on their roster. Kent Burt creates music that exists in a time of its own making. From the Internet Archive release page:

Kent Burt wouldn't deny the label of "New Wave" that is so easily attached to his music. Uninterested in exploring the political rhetoric or machimo he associated with the early 90's "punk scene" -- unrelated to punk as he understood it (Wire, Gang Of Four, the Fall) -- Kent settled into writing pop songs. If not apparent by the end of the album, Kent makes his influences quite clear with the inclusion of a cover of "Haystack" by obscure Factory Records recording artist Kevin Hewick.

This is the first internet only release for My Mean Magpie, and he's pretty excited about it.

So, without further ado, here's two tracks from the full length and an exclusive track as well, otherwise unreleased.

The Linger Effect - On Air
The Linger Effect - Proper Stranger
The Linger Effect - Charmer (Part II) EXCLUSIVE!

And be sure to head over to the Internet Archive for the full length release. And while you're there, My Mean Magpie has been archiving all of their releases as well, which is another scrumptious treat.

Be sure to take some time to head over to the official Linger Effect site as well. There's more music there as well.

Plus, if you head over here, there's another exclusive sneak peak for the Linger Effects next album.