you might get lost

But at least you'll have fun:
trashfan
a collection and commentary of 80's music videos...enjoy.

...silence...

Wow. It's hard to even type this one.

Just found out that Desmond Dekker died yesterday of a heart attack at 64 years old. I will miss him. He is the source of my son's name and a legend.

Desmond Dekker - The King Of Ska REMOVED

Jamaican Ska Star Desmond Dekker Dies

evolution

The Attorneys continue to pump out the music...and the fun part is they let us in on their process, sharing their demos and allowing us a peak into their creative process:

The Attorneys - Madison (live practice) REMOVED
The Attorneys - Madison (definitive version) REMOVED

Interesting to see the differences...and the similarities. They're seem pretty strong in the studio, would be nice to see them live.

_______________

The Guillomots have a demo track up on their myspace site, check it out, mellow and good. The more I here of these guys the more I like. Can't wait for the full length July 10th. It's slated to be called "Through The Windowpane." The track on their site is a demo of "White Rag." Their new video for "Lovesong" is out as well. I haven't been able to find that, but here's the acousitc performance of "Trains to Brazil"

REMOVED

TechTag: Music

Everybody's talking about it

and you really should check out Kwaya Na Kisser. Especially since today they've got a great Cure post. Scrumptious!

Now for something completely different...

Trying to keep you on your toes...



Start your weekend off HARD! Get rockin' kids...schools almost out, isn't it?

Acid King - 2 wheel nation

Acid King - Electric Machine

If that doesn't wake you up...you may as well be DEAD!

More tracks, plenty to purchase and lots of heavy guitars. Acid King.

TechTag: Music

Contest over in an hour

Enter now...your odds are really good...

Dresden Dolls giveaway

Is over!

TechTag: Music

Can there ever really be?

So many bands disapear...never to be heard from again. It's sad, really. One of the forgotten ones is Too Much Girl. I saw them play live once and bought this 45 (a split single with Yogurt) at their show. The thing I remember most about the show was that it was more of a performance than anything else...a political statement. That and the drummer had drumsticks that were around five feet long. I kid you not. AWESOME!

Too Much Girl - 5'9" REMOVED
Too Much Girl - Can't Get Dressed REMOVED

This next song, although not as strong as a recorded piece, was pretty amazing live. Especially when you're not expecting it.

Too Much Girl - 1 out of 3 REMOVED



The 45 was made with much love...a hand silkscreened cover and paper dolls of the band members...ahh...the days of diy rock. I beleive this was released in 1992, but don't quote me on that. Anyone know what happened to them?

TechTag: Music

THE LOVE SOCIETY

Arthur Lee, of Love fame, has leukemia...they're holding a benefit concert for him out in NY...check out the line-up: Yo La Tengo, Robert Plant, David Johansen, Ian Hunter Band, Alec Ounsworth of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Garland Jeffreys and others.

THE LOVE SOCIETY

I'm so disapointed

I'm trying to give you all a free CD and I get 3 comments? What's up? There's over 300 of you visiting me...

Come on...give it a shot! Just read this...it's not that hard!

TechTag: Music

Would the real Courtney Love please stand up?

Pay attention, kiddos. If you're a Dresden Doll's fan, I've got a small contest at the end of the post.

I did a post about Lois back in February...and briefly mentioned that she was the source for Courtney Love's (yes, THAT Courtney love) name...the origin? Lois' first band.



Both of these come from the untitled 1990 single release. Hard album to take a photo of. Can you say "purchase a scanner, guanoboy?"

Courtney Love - Motorcycle Boy REMOVED
Courtney Love - The Second Most Beautiful Girl In The World REMOVED

Apparently, so the story goes, Lois and Courtney were roommates at one point...and Courtney loved the band name and took it as her own. To be extremely lazy, I'll quote myself...I've heard Lois referred to as the Grandmother of the "Riot Girls" and such, and well, she's not that old, is she? This track is from her first "Lois" release. She's worked with lots of indie-hipsters, like Donna Dresch, Brendan Canty, Ian McKaye, Heather Dunn (Dub Narcotic) and others. You can get another track from Lois over at Epitonic, as well as some more bio info on her

Lots of tracks over at k records just waiting for you to buy them.

I heard that Epitonic got bought by NBC...wow. That would explain the re-design.

Oh yeah, Dresden Dolls. It's you're lucky day. My wife and I somehow ended up with a double purchase of their latest album, "Yes, Virginia..." Want our extra copy?

All you have to do is leave a comment with the most creative reason why I should give it to you. Best answer wins. And it's completely up to me. Muhahahaha! Don't forget to leave your e-mail so I can contact you. Just disguise it by spelling out the @ (at). You've got 24 hours. That means 12 noon on the 17 is the cut-off.

The contest is over, kids. Thanks for playing.

TechTag: Music

Is that whiskey?

Living in Los Angeles back in the late 80's early 90's allowed me the privilege of seeing lots of bands before they made it...and lots that never did. One of the more successful ones was Beck. I saw and met him numerous times in very small venues. Sometimes he was hard pressed to even draw a crowd. The first time I saw him play was at an art show. We were amazed at how hilarious he was and surprised that he wasn't drawing more of a crowd. We also joked about asking to do a music video with him, but never followed through with it. Oh well.



Blue vinyl! Yummy! Here's two tracks from his first single, a split 45 with Bean.

Beck - MTV Makes Me Want To Smoke Crack REMOVED
Beck - To See That Woman of Mine REMOVED

Apparently, the second song is only available on the single and the first was re-recorded a couple of times in different styles.

Here's a bit more info from this wonderful site:

"MTV Makes Me Want To Smoke Crack"... what can I say? It's one of Beck's oldest classics. No, it is THE oldest classic. It certainly holds up with anything he's written since, in my opinion. It was Beck's first real release, as a shared single with Bean on Flipside Records. Side A included "MTV" and "To See That Woman Of Mine." (Side B was given to Bean, who was Steve Moramarco, Beck's friend of "Steve Threw Up" fame.) Later, the song would be released to bigger numbers as a b-side on the UK "Loser" single, albeit in the more novelty "lounge" version.

To the surprise of many, it's actually quite a poignant song and commentary. On the surface, it's hilarious; dig a little deeper, and it's kind of sad. A song called "MTV Makes Me Want To Smoke Crack" would have been a dumb joke and/or novelty in hands of a lesser songwriter. As it turns out, it is actually one of the more autobiographical songs Beck has ever written, which gives it a powerful depth. He wrote the song while working at a video store in the fall of 1992. It was the last job Beck would have; after being canned, he went on unemployment, busked around, and then his music began to take off. His voice on the original recording is raw and he sounds rough and broken. The lyrics match.

Beck, in an article with the London newspaper, The Independant, remembered this time of mini-mall jobs. He felt disconnected from the other employees, and one day he "realised, 'Oh my God, everyone I'm working with is imitating a sitcom.' That's why I couldn't relate to them." It is this observation which inspired "MTV Makes Me Want To Smoke Crack."

So despite the title, Beck is not just making a comment about the videos you can see on MTV. Beck is rarely that straight-forward in his lyrics. He's using MTV, where everything is perfect and perky, to contrast that with his own life experience. To that point, he had been struggling for money, trying to make it; things were rarely perfect and perky. As Beck explains it, "It’s just a stream of conscience with a dulled mind. I wrote it while I was working at a video store. It has that mini mall, video store spirit to it." Beck's brilliance is in the details of his commentary, little observances and a great humor to convey the struggle and reality vs. the dream and TV.

NEWSFLASH:
Running a little contest/giveaway...check it out here.

TechTag: Music

amazingTYGER

This video is amazing...TYGER

You really should watch it.

Really.



via Drawn

Tag! You're it!

Just a quickie...some tracks from Agriculture Records:

Some dub influenced sounds from Once11:
Once11-A Long Beard
Once11-Trinidad and Tobacco

And some new downtemp DJ Olive tracks as well:
DJ Olive - Sub Bass Commandante
DJ Olive - At least some knots get untangled

The Perfect Fruit vs NOBODY!

Think about it...bananas are the perfect fruit. Wrapped in their own protective cover, easy to peel, very little mess and well, you can eat them plain or on your cereal or with peanut butter or...or...

And since it's Friday:

The Bananas - Casual Friday REMOVED

These guys are much stronger when they rock...

The Bananas - Nautical REMOVED

Give it a few minutes, it only gets better.

These Bananas come from Sacramento...and there are two more songs over at their myspace home.

And here's a few tracks from No People, LO-FI-PUNKY GOODNESS ALERT!!!



No People - Papercut Girl REMOVED
No People - That Spooky One REMOVED



And there's another track over at their myspace home.

TechTag: Music

Would you read me a bedtime story?

Back in my high school daze, my math teacher would give us these multiple choice tests...he'd lay out an equation and we'd have to pick whether the answer was a) sometimes, b)always or c)never equal to or less than or greater than some value.

Anyway...what do you care, right?



Greater Than One - Why Do Men Have Nipples REMOVED

Remember this band? No? Seems like most people don't. The only mention I can find is a brief entry at Trouser Press and their inclusion on some Wax Trax compilations. Anybody have any other info?

Greater Than One - Alpha 5 REMOVED

How 'bout those samples? Can you name 'em? You should be able to.

Both of these tracks come from their 1989 release, G-Force.

POW!

TechTag: Music

I lept off this building

Hey hey...a new release from Like a Stuntman hits the streets...on Highpoint Lowlife:

Like a Stuntman - Stan Places REMOVED



It's a short release, 6 songs, but worth it. "Stan Places" (the CD) is a bit more relaxed and less cold than "Fresh Air is Not the Worst Thing in Town," a small change in direction for them. Wow...cold can have such negative connotations...but that's not what I'm implying. I'm trying to imply that sort of German aesthetic, that Kraftwerk-like sound. "Stan Places" sounds like the album they created in their bedroom..."Fresh Air is Not the Worst Thing in Town" is the album they created in the gym.

And some bonus tracks, remixes from their last album (highly recomended):

Like A Stuntman - Making Competition Out Of Everything (Fisk Industries mix)

Like A Stuntman - They're Yellow And So Are Mine (randomNumber's Frontside Cab Mix)

Two more tracks available over at Highpoint Lowlife, from the web-only release, "Like a Remix." Click!

TechTag: Music

flotsam

Did you get the Architecture in Helsinki remix from their site yet?

You should...

Architecture in Helsinki - Do the Whirlwind (Metronomy remix)

Check out Metronomy's site and myspace spot as well.

hardly fashionable

Late again...more sad news...Grant McLennan from the Go-Betweens passed away on the 6th...more info and some tracks over at stereogum

Only 48....

Loop? What Loop?

Damn...lately I've been caught off guard quite a few times...Sea Note released a live Make-Up album in February. Recorded by Brendan Canty in 2001, it sounds like a definite must add. From Forced Exposure:

"A 13-song live album recorded and mixed by producer Brendan Canty at a one-night stand in Washington, D.C., at the Black Cat nightclub on an undisclosed night in the year 2000. Hear the sounds of this legendary group as they holler, flange, and fuzz through a bacchanal of bestial orthodontal arrangements. Make Up: the band who rock 'n' roll theorists have credited with inventing and presenting the brave aesthetic appropriated by an enormous proportion of 21st century musicians. These are the original famous monsters, the ace faces, the creatures who filled the clothes and the clatter with intent and stylish purpose, mania, and a sense of the surreal beyond."

The Make-Up - RU A Believer? REMOVED

Wikipedia has a lengthy entry on Ian Svenonious. Wow. Lots of music videos for Weird War. And Ian's working on a book..."The Psychic Soviet."



And apparently the High Llamas are working on a new album...what?

High Llamas - Nomads (live on KVRX)
High Llamas - Lobby Bears (live on KVRX) (this is really Painter's Paint)

from the KVRX web site...lots of live tracks there, check it out.

TechTag: Music

Things passing

Don't know how I missed this, but on April 23, Ian Nelson, brother of Bill Nelson and a member of Fiat Lux, a classic but little known band from the 80's, passed away in his sleep.

Fiat Lux - Feels Like Winter Again REMOVED

Here's some history on the band from a previous post.

Ian also played sax on some of the Be Bop Deluxe albums.


TechTag: Music

Anyone for some Apache Acorn Ravioli?

Apache acorn ravioli...mmmmmm

And look, they've even brought a place setting!

Acorn - Plates & Saucers



That's some tasty stuff...here's a second helping...

Acorn - Sent (Awake the Kraken)

I love that word...Kraken...say it with me, would you?

Kraken!

The best thing about doing this blog is discovering new music...and sharing it... And Acorn is a perfect example of this. Sharing their music only makes life a little sweeter.

Here's a link to their label, Kelp Records, check out all the dowloads they're handing out. Here's Acorn's site as well as their myspace home.
TechTag: Music

It's like a thugged-out Haircut 100

That's beautiful! Here's Spandau Ballet's Chant No.1 video...which I'd never seen...



Damn, I'm hatin' YouTube...too many good videos to ever watch 'em all.

TechTag: Music

the path less travelled

I love it when I stumble upon something...here's the path I took to today's find...

Stefan Tijs, a great artist, lead me to the Apers site, which in turn sent me to their label, Stardumb Records, where I found this:

Nathaniel mayer - I Found Out



What do I know? Not much...except this tune is something else. From their site:

"Back in the early 60's, when he was only a teenager, Nathaniel Mayer had a couple of top 40 hits for Detroit's Fortune Records (also the home of Mr. Dirty Andre Williams). Last year, after 35 years of silence, Nathaniel Mayer, backed by the Fabulous Shanks (with members of the Detroit Cobras), re-appeared with the great album "I Just Want To Be Held" on Fat Possum Records. On April 28th, at the Nothin' But the Real R&B Festival at the Waterfront in Rotterdam, Stardum releases a 7" EP with 3 tunes taken from that album that are issued for the first time on vinyl in a hand numbered, limited edition of one thousand."

Damn, that's a good song.

UPDATE: Andrew pointed out that this is a cover of a John Lennon song...'s funny, but I didn't even put it together until he mentioned it...'doh!

Here's Fat Possum where you can buy the album for $13...two other songs there, but the links seem to be dead. Here's the link to Stardumb, where the EP will be released shortly.



Oh yeah, and the Apers...check them out if you're into some good ol' fashioned punk rock...

The Apers - She Wants Everybody To Dance
The Apers - Kryptonite

As well as a ton more tracks over at their site.

TechTag: Music