Pete Molinari

Meat Is For Pussies...

John Joseph has a new book 'Meat Is For Pussies". His last book was epic...pretty stoked on this one...grab it here....

Ngoma

the kids are still banging in Botswana...

Just North of South Africa

Meanwhile, up in Botswana things appear to be a bit more low key...

Terror MC

On the African tip here's some new South African blood. Feeling the local dialect and the smasrt use of 'Under Me Sensi'

Treme et al.

Finally got through the entire season of Treme (I blame the World Cup & the Infant for the delay). Pretty joyous and devastating program. The last episode was co-written by George Pelecanos (I was introduced to his books way back in college by Nikos the Informant). Recommended (his detective enjoys DC hardcore). Anyway, saw his name in the opening credits and thought: this is going to get fierce.

Now I'm goin' to try to thread Treme together with Broosky's recent African posts and the World Cup:



another version...



Second clip found at Earth is no Resting Place.

Bhundu Boys

I can't believe I haven't posted about this lot before! One of my favorite African bands, in fact the band that really made me dig deeper into Zimbabwe and Zambian music. I first heard the band in the mid 80's on John Peel and Andy Kershaw's shows. They really exemplified the 'Jit Jive' sound that was coming out of Zimbabwe at the time, a mix of African chimurenga music with American rock and roll. Thanks to Peel and Kershaw the band actually received a fair amount of commercial success. Unfortunately the band couldn't avoid the curses of the African nation (disease and poverty) and a number of the band died...including leader Biggie Tembo...leaving the band in pieces...

Lost Boys

Eddie Current In The Bay...

...Bay area heads would be mugs to miss one of 3 Eddie Current Suppression Ring shows this weekend.....the Oakland show will be nuts...

Streak

I guess Glam is all the rage amongst collector nerds these days. I've always had a soft spot for Slade, Sweet and Mott the Hoople but am not too familiar with the more obscure gear. I just got this track by the band Streak. Class business from '73...

Riff Raff

We are all fans of Billy Bragg...I mean who isn't? His new stuff is all a bit cuddly and the thought of him playing One Love (with alternate words) to a bunch of middle class San Franciscans makes my stomach turn, there's no denying the brilliance of the man. You are all familiar with his band prior to his solo gig? Riff Raff did a couple of singles, but their debut is a a fuckin stormer...

Africa, Continued

Nikos, informant over at Bright Lines recommends a couple African treats.

North Korea in the World Cup

Watched this BBC doc about North Korea's run at the 1966 World Cup, held in England. They played games in Middlesbrough and Liverpool and the towns sort of adopted the team, even if (or more possibly because) the government struggled with how to handle the presence of a nation they did not recognize, and had fought against little more than a decade before.

Below is part 1/8. Pick up #2 and on here.

Love is....

Next Stop Soweto

Me and TP have independently been banging these newe comps from Strut. Shit ain't cheap but the sounds are pretty vital. Anyone who knows me is aware of my African fascination (especially Zambia & Zimbabwe).... this SA township stuff is pretty stirring, especially as a lot of it came during the bloody apartheid years....

Dum Dum Girls

This kinda follows the Frankie Rose post fromt eh other day... lots of C86 style shimmery indie around right now. Some is blah....but the good is worthy. Better than the hyped Vivian Girls are the Dum Dum Girls.....straight up Flatmates/Shop Assistants femme indie. LP on Sub Pop is smoking...

The Rats

I know we ahve been over the Fred Cole story here before....60's rocker, turned 70's punker, turned 80's cult figure with his band Dead Moon. I just picked up the Range Rats LP which is Fred and his missus doing country shit....fuckinm awesome. Check here if you wanna hear it. In the late 70's Fred did a band called the Rats (again with his missus Toody). Shit is epic. Here's some goods...

v

ZZ Top Cheap Sunglasses.

The Rider Song

My last post just kinda made me want to hear some more lamentin' Nick Cave...

Faithful, Cave

I don't care for the Decemberists. Not at all my thing. But Marianne Faithful and Nick Cave make one of their songs sound good to my ears:

The Equals

I didn't know this Eddy Grant. Pilfered from Dangerous Minds (again).

pretty lemmy

stumbled upon this dazzling image at dangerous minds.

Freestone

Freestone were a rock band who did a 'joke' 7" back in '77. Turns out the record is the fuckin nerd collector grail. Good shit I'll admit. Some-one just kicked out a more reasonably priced boot of the thing which is worth the 5 bones.... found this on some message board from one of the members..

O.K..... Freestone. In 1977, I was asked to come out to San Fransisco to hook up with my childhood buddies (Bobby Ronco and Drew Berlin) to see if we could get a record deal. I jumped at the chance! Having been in The New Society Band with Drew in the early 70's and Bobby being my best friend, I couldn't wait to get started and be with my good friends again! When I got there, it was fantastic! Free love, free sex, and free drugs! (Freestone) and lot's of music!
Being inspired by PUNK and me finishing my first of many installments in NYC with the SCREWS, Drew began working on a fast little ditty that he'd strum and sing for us casually and we'd always end up rolling on the floor with laughter! Bobby Ronco had written some great POP gems by now and Freestone set out to record them all. There was a little studio time left....so we recorded "Bummer Bitch" as a last minute joke! Along with "Church". Everything was captured in the first take! We did overdub the lead guitar break, pleading with our lead guitarist (Malcom Zane) to not tear it up during it. (and he could tear it up!) To let it be as simple and dumb (fitting the song) as possible. He just couldn't bring himself to play like that, so Drew stepped in and played the now famous 2 string, 1 note solo.
Freestone had established itself as a powerhouse of good musicians, songwriters, and showmen by 1978 with lots of great shows at The Golden Gate Park and downtown at the Mabuhi Gardens, the Fillmore West, and the Troubador in L.A.
It was now time to release a 45 rpm, 7 inch, vinyl record. The "Powers That Be" (our financial backers), preffered "Bummer Bitch" and "Church", so we went down to Los Angeles and pressed up around 2,000 copies. We purchased a half page add in the Bay Area Magazine (B.A.M.), distributed them everywhere and waited........ it took off! Richard Meltzer decared it the "Pick To Click of 1978" in B.A.M. Cyril Jordan, of the Flamin' Groovies (who also helped mix it) said that it reminded him of the Fugs.
The thing is..... is that it was a joke! We were making fun of the PUNK movement and it was taken seriously!
What was most ironic was that by 1979 "Power Pop" became the preffered genre and we had recorded many great "Power Pop" tunes but did not get to release them as 45's. So, thanks to the "Powers That Were" we missed our calling. Right place at the right time, wrong product!
Lou Adler was considering using it in the next "Cheech and Chong" film, (Up In Smoke) but it didn't get used. Seymore Stein, founder of "Sire Records" dropped by and showed interest in it but....never follwed up. Oliver Stone wanted to use it in a documentary a couple of years ago, but didn't.
"Bummer Bitch" becoming a cult classic and a very sought after collectors item, gives me a redeeming feeling, and it feels great to have been a part of our Rock and Roll history.
Me, Willie Braun (composer of "Church") and Freestone, wrote and performed a follow-up to "Bummer Bitch" called "Canine Corruptor", the chorus went like... "She's a Canine Corruptor, animal abductor, Canine Corruptor, God's creatures have all f!*#ed her!"... I wonder how THAT would have been accepted? had we recorded and released it. One just never knows!

ZZ Top

Class old Texan blues. I remember this performance on the Old Grey Whistle Test....

ZZ Top

Drummer knows what's going on. ZZ Top are the jam too.l... fella keeps the beat straight but ain't 'fraid to let loose the moves.

Turds of Mystery

....just beat you up and made out with your sister.

From WeatherEye Turds of Misery played only six shows during their short existence. Based in a small town on the outskirts of Winnipeg, Manitoba, the three-piece act quickly abandoned their first concept — an Alan Parson Project cover band — to focus on original tunes. The band included (from left) bassist Dave, drummer/lead singer Gord, and guitarist Bagpipes McDonald. One of their songs, I Seen You At The Corner Store, received some airplay on the local AM station in 1980. After the band split up, Dave returned to his career as a high school geography teacher, while Gord went to prison for stealing golf balls from the forest. Bagpipes, meanwhile, became the lead guitarist in the current touring version of Foreigner.

Airfix Kits

Bay Area's hometown heroes make a triumphant return from Texas....

Metal dads are awesome

White Walls

Just noticed that Ted Leo joined the league of negative space videos...



Precedents...

Frankie Rose

I really don't have a ton of time for the new wave of shoe-gazy/marychain inspired bands clogging up Brooklyn, nor the shameless rehashing of the Flatmates and Raincoats. Frankie Rose took me by surprise, the ex Vivian Girl somehow manages to harness the dreamyness and making songgggsss. Love this shit.

Brutal Knights

Nick Flanagan's Amazing Floor Show from t morton on Vimeo.

Not trying to be a hero...

Lego Cup

A friend called me a cunt for simply being American Saturday. Accurate in the Bush era, but... anyway, go England.

That said, Dizzee Rascal's "Shout for England" is embarrassing, yes? Always disliked that Tears for Fears tune.

Rory Gallagher Tattoo'd Lady 1975

The Templars' Greatest Hits

It's a pretty safe bet to call the Templars one of the best American Oi bands of all time. That might not being saying much, especially since the competition in this country has always been slim. Most American Oi music is horribly one-sided and boring. If you are not a fan of Oi music in general, then none of this probably matters to you anyway.

Thankfully, the Templars draw from more than just the Oi paradigm, with their early material adhering to a very lo-fi garage sound with a semi-clean guitar tone that reminds me of the Kinks or early Who, but also gives a big nod to the French skinhead bands from the early 80s. Look past the gruff vocals, and you'll hear a great garage band in the truest sense of the word (that's where they recorded their best stuff). In many ways they were ahead of the time, but like any Oi band with almost twenty years behind them, the Templars produced their fair share of mediocre songs, and also wrote the occasional patriotic tune that would have your ultra-liberal friend pulling at his collar. One can't help but smile at the irony of writing a song proclaiming "The Sixties are Dead!", when they themselves returned to that decade time and time again for musical influence. Do a little digging, and you will definitely find more than enough gems in their discography to secure their standing as one of the best punk bands of the 90s.

Luckily, I started the digging for you. Below is a link to my favorite Templars jams. If you are already a Templars fan, then let me know what I left off.



Carl's Templars Mix

Stitches

The Stupid Cup - Remi Gaillard

Remi Gaillard decided to turn a Amateur League game into a Champions League game.

A.R.E. Weapons

Goes from just a little nuts to "what?".

A.R.E. WEAPONS - DARKER BLUE TRILOGY - WHAT THE FUCK / SUBWAY / DE-EDUCATOR from Tim Barber on Vimeo.

World Cup

Starts tomorrow.... pretty excited actually, especially as I write this from Mexico where the opening game is Mexico/south Africa... here's some goals...

M.I.A Stikes Back

Love or hate her music, or politics for that matter, M.I.A. (Maya Arulpragasam) is well versed in the art of controversy starting. And to her credit, it keeps her top of mind in the music world.

Well, not to be outdone, after a very unflattering NY times article by Lynn Hirschberg. M.I.A. jumped into action. First by tweeting Hirschberg's cell phone number:

917.834.3158 CALL ME IF YOU WANNA TALK TO ME ABOUT THE N Y T TRUTH ISSUE, ill b taking calls all day bitches ;)

But it didn't stop there. Apparently Maya, the budding conspiracy theorist, secretly recorded the interview with Hirschberg to prove she was misquoted. It was posted on the NEET blog along with a new song, "I'm A Singer (Haters)":

There are also some great OpEd pieces here and here. As a side bar, Decembersists' Colin Meloy tweeted the following about M.I.A.:

M.I.A., the Glenn Beck of the left.

Suicide Record Club - Back in Action.

Suicide Squeeze, that is. Back in the 90's when singles clubs were all the rage, Suicide Squeeze put out some sappy indie singles, but pretty good records nonetheless- One of which a pre-annoying Modest Mouse (some of you may ask if there is such a thing?). Like it or not, that single brings a couple bills if and when it shows up on da 'Bay.

Well, they are at it again. Starting this July, SS will be releasing limited 7"'s from Iron & Wine, Coathangers, JEFF The Brotherhood and more. Each will be limited to 500 copies, half of which will be on colored vinyl.

Cults Cults Cults

In true indie fashion, NYC's "Cults" released their debut 7" in April which immediately sold out and went out of press. Did I mention it was on colored vinyl?

To my knowledge, in very un-indie like fashion, they are still together and managed to post the 7" for download on their site in various formats, MP3, OGG, Flac, MP4, etc.

The title track, Go Outside. Pretty much rules (see generic YouTube "video") below.

Cococoma

Their second record (released in 2009 on Goner Records, so I'm slow to it) is my first summertime fling of twenty-ten.

King Tuff

Logan hooked me up with this just before vacation. Dunno much about them, but the LP has been on repeat.... good shit.

Narco Corridos

I've been reading a book about the history of Narco Corrido... basically Mexican folk music that regales the exploits of gangsters and dug runners. Essentially Mexican gangster rap that has its roots in traditional folk music. Intense considering some 20,000 people have been killed in the last 4 years in Mexican drug wars...

World (Cup) Music 2

Focus... wildmen yodeling out that tune featured in Inarritu's Nike advert...

Film School

Lovely montage of cinematic staples (found at Dangerous Minds)

Pure from Jacob Bricca on Vimeo.

Junjo

Ace VP doc about the producer who dominated early dancehall - Henry 'Junjo' Lawes. Here's the trailer...

Musicians, Philosophizing

Found an (unintentionally) funny/ironic 1981 Musician Magazine interview between Robert Fripp and Joe Strummer. A snippet:

M: What’s the role of technique in all this?

F: Technique is part of what you do in order to get there. But when you’re there, you really don’t give a shit about technique.

S: Right, it’s a combination of innocence and expertise.

F: …and the more technique you have the more you throw away, and that gives you more authority. If you can only play one chord, and you play it with all you’ve got, that’s pure. If you can play 10,000 chords, but you play one that’s pure, it has an authority which the others don’t.

S: As Kierkegaard says, “Don’t fall in the cup of wisdom that you drink from.” What he’s saying applies to music, too. All those flurries of notes and runs are like falling in, when all you have to do is drink.

M: (To Strummer) That reminds me of that great line in “The Sounds of The Sinners”: “Waiting for that jazz note…

S: …Right, looking for the great jazz note that destroyed the walls of Jericho. You hit it. That’s what we’re after.

M: In a way, that’s what I felt happened that night I saw your show at the Palladium. There was this extraordinary energy coming through—a real feeling of oneness and unity. Is that what music is capable of? Is this what you’re aiming for?

S: Well, gosh, (laughs) maybe it has something to do with the price of the hot dogs that night. I don’t know, maybe you’re asking the wrong people.

Meanwhile...

Little Ann

I posted some Sharon Jones a while back and I've been digging into a lot of the Daptone catalogue. My favorite is an Lp by Little Ann. The story goes that this was recorded some 30 years years ago and the tapes left gathering dust on a shelf. So glad some-one found this and put it out. Pretty sublime soul vibes..

Top Ten

I was trolling WFMU today for more freebies. Stumbled on this (now dated) 2009 favorite list. Pretty solid selection.

Feelin' it

Why bother with the frustration of your own creative output. Apparently a killer cover will rock you just fine. This drummer is en fuego.

See more funny videos and TBT Videos at Today's Big Thing.

Alice Cooper. Pie in the Face.

Skip to the 3:55 mark.

Wave of Mutilation

Deck manages to reference King, Kubrick and the Pixies.

The Novice

One of the highlights of this weekend's festivities was catching Jeff Burke from the Marked Men's new band The Novice. Showcasing his new tunes backed by some folks from his new hometown in Japan this stuff was magical. Of course the ever mercurial Mr Burke makes it near impossible to find his shit.... but the B&M crew won't take no for an answer. Peep these tracks on a hidden myspace account.

here

More Chaos

I was pretty loose by the time Bastard played.... but I remember this one..

Best Band In The World

Too tired after the weekend. This band murdered it every time....

Turbulence Notorious (Diplo Rmx)

Know there's one or two Diplo fans on here, thought you might appreciate this one.

Chaos

Brought my buddy Jeff along for a Chaos initiation. The dude's a great photo'er. These photos capture our trip more than they do bands--including a stop at Memphis strip club The Pony thanks to endless delays by DELTA--but it's a taste of the good times.

Young Offenders F.C. Away team represented!


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Will Munro

Will Munro, who sadly passed away a week ago from brain cancer, was an artist and promoter from Toronto. He brought my band, Limp Wrist, to play his Vaseline party and it was probably some of the most fun that I have ever had. Inspiring to say the least. You will be missed my friend.

JA Shower Posse

Notorious Jamaican Gangster Vivian Blake died earlier this year. This 40 min doc examines the 'Shower Posse's' political role in the island's turbulent history and their expansion to foreign soil. Watch it here.