Category: Music
A Guide to Partying Through Autocracy?
I came upon this incredible clip of the great Gilberto Gil in 1972, 8 years after the military coup, while the dictatorship was certainly still censoring and suppressing dissenters. I guess this was around the time Caetano Veloso returned after living in exile in London. What a wonderful song. It gave me a brief moment of hope for what we have coming here. Then I remembered that during the last Trump term we just got more T Swift, style/genre mashups, riffs learned off of YouTube, etc. I guess that’s what happens when all culture disappears from the creative landscape. Maybe we’ll get some powerful music around 2033?
Theremin Workshop at WFMU
Went to a fun theremin workshop at WFMU’s Monty Hall in Jersey City with the lovely Dorit Chrysler. I’ve had a fascination with this instrument since I first heard of it in the late 80s — but it always seemed so mysterious and I never had the slightly clue how to navigate playing one. The class opened with Ms. Chrysler playing a piece of her music, which was really moving. After a short talk, she invited folks up to fumble around the 6 thereminis that they had around the stage (each with a pair of earbuds attached) a few times. One interesting point Dorit made was that both trained musicians and non-trained everybodies would be in the same boat playing the theremin for the first time. The one question I had was in relation to Chysler saying she was a “lefty,” so the tone arm of the theremin was on left. This confused me because I couldn’t really comprehend which side of the instrument (the volume or the tone) would be considered the “main” side (e.g., like the frets of a guitar). She confessed that it really hard to say and that you “really need both hands equally”. It was just a matter of what feels right. There were about 60 people in attendance but they said they’ll be doing smaller workshops (one person per theremin) throughout the year 2025.
RareMusic.com: 1997-99
I heard Al Gore talk about the “information superhighway” and I was intrigued. Not a joke. I didn’t even own a computer until I was 30, in 1996 (a Mac Quadra) but I was interested in the idea of putting my xeroxed zine CapSoul Reviews online. A year or so later, I shared an idea with my friend Dan Cook of Gimme Gimme Records (ex-NY, now LA). I thought we should take his rarest records and post them to the internet, promoting his store in the process. Was it mainly a plan to get my hands on some holy grail wax? Probably. He curated the playlists amazingly, maximizing elite record collector interest. I found a piece of code that embedded “Shockwave Audio” (which later evolved into Flash). I just needed to change the file name and it streamed the song and it was smoother and sounded better than other stuff out there (like RealAudio). I digitized some incredible vinyl. I wrote some funny blurbs. Made some primitive web graphics.
I was working at a public relations agency at the time and they had “Bacon’s” books with contacts for every editor in every newspaper and magazine in the US. I began faxing the URL to various tech and music beat writers. I dropped little postcards with the URL at Kim’s Video on St. Marks. The site was written up or mentioned in Details, the Rotterdam Dagblad, USA Today, etc – as well as popular web-based link portals like Suck.com, memepool (which now has a cryptocurrency named after it), and others. The Beastie Boys heard it, through future Grand Royal CEO Ian C Rogers. Grand Royal. RareMusic would eventually become a streaming channel on GrandRoyal.com. I was also approached by the fine people at Word magazine, which was a really cool site, to do a monthly playlist with blurbs for what they called “Junk Radio”
I ended up getting a job as a web producer at Comedy Central and I didn’t feel like coming home at night to work on yet another website. The channel was live on Grand Royal, until they went bankrupt, and that was the end of RareMusic.com. I stored the files on Iomega Zip drives lol. All gone. I do have CDs of the music we posted though. I’ve been making my way through lately, which is why it’s on my mind.
Uncle Neil is Back with Crazy Horse
Neil Young with Ralph Molina and Billy Talbot, the heaviest living rhythm section in rock, with second guitar from Willie Nelson’s nepo-baby Micah Nelson, dba Crazy Horse, played 2 nights this week at the Forest Hills Stadium, formerly known as the Forest Hills Tennis Stadium. I saw the first night.
It was a rainy day so I packed my nice umbrella but hired goons made me throw it into a box with hundreds of other nice umbrellas. It was rainy both nights.
We stopped by to say hi to Bill Sullivan, the Stadium’s kind creative director whose beautifully illustrated graphic portraits of past star performers (Beatles) and tennis greats (BJ King) who played there adorn the walls, along with plaques with bios that attach stylishly to the steel beams that hold the place up. He also does all the concert posters for the stadium and they are available on the first level (and online) at The Kiosk. There’s still a big tennis vibe to the place. Why would they play down its history as the original home of the US Open? It’s hard to think of another venue with such a deep music and sports history.
Our seats were in the middle of the floor, probably 20-25 rows back. There was an entire row in front of us that seemed like they were a cult of some kind. They all did a rain dance/chant and the rain actually stopped for a while! I found out later they were connected to the opening act, Rev Bill, which is some kind of anti-consumerist performance group or association and/or actual cult.
Neil and Crazy Horse came out and immediately launched into ‘Cortez the Killer’ and then hit after hit. I want to say, there is not anyone living or dead who I’d prefer to hear play the electric guitar than Neil Young, especially in this maximum rock context. His playing was as gorgeously unhinged and heavy as ever. We got ‘Cinnamon Girl,’ extra-extended guitar insanity on ‘Like a Hurricane’. ‘Don’t Cry No Tears’ (I felt like he played the suspended chord in reverse for a bit, intriguing, but I may have been hearing things). ‘Everybody Knows This is Nowhere’ and I might as well be on my knees but I’m still on my feet. ‘Powderfinger’ – the song with my favorite NY riff, the one he closes the verses with. ‘Vampire Blues’ from On Da Beach. Hyper-speeded out approach during the fast part on ‘Sedan Delivery’.
He also did a 3-song acoustic set. I nearly wept quite literally during ‘Heart of Gold’. I am, indeed, getting old.
There was an issue during the big finale, ‘Hey Hey My My’ (!!) where they sound kept going out (!!). You could only hear the stage monitors, barely. It would stop right before a rippin guitar solo but it would come back. I’m not sure why but I was completely convinced that this was a gag, as Neil seems capable of that kind of prank. I probably just wanted that to be true. I’m thinking it probably wasn’t.
“What’s your favorite planet?”
Neil repeated this a number of times throughout the set. Each time he would get a pretty weak “EARTH” from the 13,000 (sold out) fans. He shared some jolly disappointment as he said that he had been practicing to get the maximum audience response. He said very little else. He mentioned Bill’s work and talked about how the Monkees played there with Jimi Hendrix opening.
The venue is all around great with some of the usual challenges of big chaotic rock events. Mainly extremely large numbers of slow moving people, etc. Pretty poor design on some of high end portajohns, which feel like coffins. They gave me anxiety. You have to step up on a ledge inside the porta-coffin.
Had some slices at Austin Street Pizza beforehand. Pretty good, a solid choice for quick pre-show grub at the Forest Hills Stadium.
Film Screening: Born Innocent
There’s a big, shocking reveal in the Redd Kross documentary. Something that I don’t think people generally know about. I’m not gonna spoil it but check it out when you can. It was a fun screening last night at Nighthawk Prospect Park with a Q&A with director Andrew Reich, the former executive producer on the television sitcom ‘Friends’! He did a great job of capturing the dynamic between brothers Jeff and Steven McDonald, and also communicating the macro and micro about Redd Kross, the subtle and unusual reasons they’re such a great rock n roll band. I have a deep love for Redd Kross and so many amazing memories of seeing them play during their peak with Robert Hecker on guitar in the late 80s and early 90s. I’m s fan of their “sell out” period (‘Phaseshifter’ etc ) and I feel like this was semi glossed over, only covered as part of being “out of place in the industry.” But maybe there’s not much more to communicate about how deeply and uniquely they did not give a fuck. I think back to seeing them to seeing them during this period at Maxwell’s and mentioned that someone in the industry called them “the alternative Nelson.” Amazing. Long live Redd Kross.
Coincidentally, strangely and sadly, the @reddkross IG account posted a tribute to their former manager, Joanna “Spock” Dean, who just died. I actually knew her very briefly and we hung out in 1988. Seeing her face brought a few memories flooding back briefly, including traveling downtown to CBGB to see Redd Kross but failing to get in because it was during the CMJ convention and it was filled with CMJ badge-wearing dbags, even though she had considerable pull being their former manager. I didn’t know it at the time but Spock is an LA punk scene legend. She was a member off the all-girl band Backstage Pass and apparently played a big role in developing the Paisley Underground scene. I didn’t know her for long but she was so cool and I feel lucky to have spent the time. RIP Spock!
Get Over Yourself and Enjoy the Lemon Twigs
I’ve had an aversion to what might be described as overtly-retro dress up rock since the garage-rock revival of the 1980s. Back then it always had a bit of a Star Trek Convention vibe to it, even if I liked the music. I did like some of the bands but those Beatle Boots and 60s style hats were a turnoff. Often, a phoney or jive vibe infiltrated the band’s stage presence. I did, however, like the dress up components of the scene when it came to the girls who showed up in 60s miniskirts. My aversion stayed with me after this style of music became legitimately popular via bands like the White Stripes and the Black Keys. I just couldn’t get over it. At that point, garage rock was all over TV car commercials, and I was profoundly disinterested.
The Lemon Twigs feel different for some reason, although I was immediately skeptical for the same reasons when I first saw/heard them. While there may be nothing remotely original about their style, the execution of their compositions is impeccable and the brotherly close harmonies are wonderful. It’s pure rock candy in the best way. They also veer into catchy pop ideas that comes across in shameless in a really adorable. I feel like they’re really going for a HIT RECORD and I feel real respect for their approach. I hope they succeed and I feel like they have a great shot at it.
They totally pulled it off live. Great playing and singing. It was a totally fun time. TV was sold out and crowded but I didn’t have any interactions with jerks and didn’t get too claustrophobic. The opener, SUO, a power trio, were also excellent. I want to hear more. Bass was handled by the charming Josephine from the Josephine Network. I feel like she’s in half the bands in north Brooklyn these days. And I’m happy that there’s some semblance of a scene these days that doesn’t repel me.
Drunken But Influential Hard-Rocking Aussie Farmers Play NY, Featured in New Documentary
Cosmic Psychos with M.O.T.O.
Cake Shop, NYC, Saturday, September 21, 2013
I remember the name of the band the Cosmic Psychos from back in the early 90s but I didn’t know anything about them until recently. They are notable for being an relatively obscure Australian band that somehow got under the skin of the Seattle scene during the formative years of Grunge. Not too many other people knew about them. Now they’re celebrating 30 years if existence and are the subject of a new documentary called Blokes You Can Trust. The band comes from a long line of dumb and repetitive but loveable heavy Australian rock and roll music. The Saints, Radio Birdman, The Hard Ons, hell even AC/DC fits the bill. When it comes to the Cosmic Psychos, when the wah-wah pedal kicks in, I learned last night that they deliver powerfully inside the electric church.
This one’s for the cunt who took my farm – Ross Knight
I hate to give Eddie Vedder credit for anything because it’s hard to trust anyone who sits on surfboards playing ukuleles — but his comments about how great the Cosmic Psychos are live in the trailer for the documentary (below) are accurate. It appears that Mudhoney and Butch Vig bolster the film’s credibility on this matter. Kurt was a fan, of course. When they got onstage one floor beneath the baked goods at Cake Shop on Ludlow Street, their heavy machinery-operating style bent me over and plowed me. True, the guitarist looked like he was inches from death. He stumbled and almost knocked into me twice before they went on. It looked like his beer baby bump was about due and he wore a wifebeater. He had a dirty, orange John Boehneresque alcoholic glow. I imagine the Replacements’ Bobby Stinson might look like this now, had he lived. But the bloke channeled Ron Ashton in the best possible way and completely shredded the lid off during the entire event. Ross Knight, hunched over and driving the attack via his rural-yet-industrial, fuzzed-out bass and Lemmy-influenced vocal stylings. This is an interesting cat and there is a good Q&A with him via Austin Chronicle.
Leading contender for best rock show of the year 2013.
Check out the trailer for the new documentary
Separate post on opening act M.O.T.O. to follow, maybe.
Lawsuits Live 2013: FLAG in New York
L-R: Greg Ginn, Keith Morris
“This is a disclaimer. We are not Black Flag. We are FLAG. We play the music of Black Flag.” – Keith Morris, September 19, 2013 (before a note was played)
A lot has been said about Greg Ginn’s lawsuit against “FLAG”. Most of the associated internet trolling paints Black Flag founder, guitarist, songwriter, and sole financial proprietor as some kind of Mike Love-like ogre. While this is true, he is more than just a sketchy businessman who screwed over the best members of his former group (and also Henry Rollins. And every artist that ever appeared on his SST label). Greg Ginn is a musician tied sonically to the music of Black Flag. His great start/stop/off-kilter guitar riffs are probably the most recognizable thing about them. He is also the only consistent member of the band since he started it.
Back in June, I enjoyed the Greg Ginn Black Flag experience at Warsaw in Greenpoint, with Chavo Ron Reyes — the Decline of Western Civilization-era lead singer. Before that show, there was a huge amount of negative hype online because of some shitty quality YouTube videos circulating. They sounded so bad! I had tickets but my friend bailed on me and honestly I didn’t really want to go either. “Nobody wants to go to this bullshit,” said my friend Pat D, who was offered a free ticket to the sold out show. But cameraphone vids are an unfair benchmark. Amazingly, they sounded great and completely rocked all the hits. Greg seemed very gracious and appreciative, and I got wasted on Jameson’s with a date I met on the Internet (I otherwise would have had to eat the ticket).
FLAG were also really good and in some ways completely great. Even considering it was at Irving Plaza, possibly the worst venue in NYC and filled with distateful people from all age groups. Bill Stevenson is an unrelenting machine on drums. One of the best punk rock drummers of all time and appropriately on this SPIN list of best “alternative” drummers (writeup by funnyman Jon Wurster). Original Black Flag singer Keith Morris is a national treasure. He’s been with us all along, most notably with the Circle Jerks and now recently with the popular supergroup OFF! Keith is still completely manic and effective. The founding father of hardcore. They sounded amazing running through the early hits — and on Nervous Breakdown I finally let my guard down and banged my head like a kid. Dez Cadena, the guy that Henry Rollins modeled his schtick on, did a set of pre-Rollins numbers (Thirsty and Miserable, American Waste, Six Pack, etc). Chuck Dukowski wailed around the stage like a punk rock grandpa. Pretty cute stuff. My one issue was with beloved later-Descendents/ALL guitarist Stephen Egerton. While he’s a great player, the way he aped Ginn’s guitar solos note-for-note really bothered me. Greg may deserve this big “fuck you” but it offended my musical senses.
A full Black Flag reunion with Ginn and this line up of FLAG would be completely incredible but of course this is an impossibility.
Uninspired novelty Raymond Pettibon poster
Still The Biggest Balls in the Business. Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band Live
Bowery Ballroom, NYC, Sunday, September 16, 2013
Sold Out
Very few people accept the idea that watching Yoko Ono do her thing is entertaining. It’s interesting how you get universally similar reactions from very different types of people, all very negative. But to paraphrase Bill Murray in Stripes, one day Yoko Ono is going to die and you’re gonna say “I’ve been listening to her for years and I think she’s fabulous.” Sure enough, Yoko is now 80 years old. My dad was 81 when he died but he seemed decades older. She is still an all-out assault on your senses, ululating, sonically reverbulating, the like — but when combined with this particularly heavy crack incarnation of the Plastic Ono Band, the results are BIG. Head banging music.
This night was Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band’s only 2013 show, and it featured one Yoko, one Yuka, and one Yuko. They opened up with the show with an hour of Yoko’s films, some dating back to 1966. Bare 60s asses, and so on.
The band is amazing. Yuko Araki from a group called mi-gu is a seriously demure powerhouse drummer. They had to set up the fiberglass around her she didn’t blast waif Yoko out into the audience. A big room drummer. Behind the keys was her eminence (based on audience reaction) Yuka Honda from Cibo Matto. Yuka’s husband Nels Cline, feedback-enthusiast and Thurston Moore-gentrifier, most commonly associated with the dinner-party rock group Wilco was impressive on guitar, as he usually is. If anything, he deferred to the band leader and Yoko. Cline seemed to be channeling Adrian Belew at times, with an enjoyable 70s Talking Heads groove there for a good chunk of the show. The bandleader, as it were, is Sean Lennon — even though I didn’t realize it until three-quarters of through the show. Pushing 40, Seanboy is a surprisingly musical multi-instrumentalist. He has so much to work against, the reputation of every Jason Bonham, Ziggy Marley, or Julian Lennon (did I really need to say it?). He held his own against Nels Cline on guitar and generally guided the direction of the attack. The show featured one surprise guest, utility man Earl Slick from the mid-80s not-so-supergroup “Phantom, Rocker, and Slick” and John and Yoko’s Double Fantasy album. Slick’s pentatonic focus added a bluesier angle to Yoko’s guitar army on the last few songs, including Don’t Worry, Kyoko.
So, the question is: If Yoko Ono rocks hard live and nobody is there to hear it and nobody believes you because they can’t imagine how anyone could listen to that shit — did it really make a sound? <ululate>YES!</ululate>
Top photo: James Prochnik
Soul Legend Melvin Davis at Littlefield, Brooklyn
Some singers never lose their voice. Everyone can think of a few that have. Other voices were never great to begin with so it doesn’t matter so much when they start to go downhill. Melvin Davis has never lost his great voice. At Littlefield in Gowanus on Saturday, he sounded the same as he did on his great singles from the mid-60s, which I have to admit I wasn’t really familiar with. It was a real joy to watch this thrilled, deeply gracious 71 year old guy talk about his life in music and sing his never-hits. Davis has had in hand in so many different a) labels b) instruments in Detroit during its 60s musical hey day. He recorded for the amazing Fortune label but was also Smokey Robinson’s drummer for two years, on hits like Tears of a Clown, etc. Think about the thunderous drums on that track. Maybe it’s because he didn’t only focus on singing that his voice never got shot.
Melvin Davis never made much money. “My values don’t start with money,” he said humbly with a smile. “Not that that it isn’t on my list.” Adorable. This is a big man we’re talking about. Literally, the dude has gotta be at least 6’5 too. He thanked the popular Northern Soul movement from Blighty for appreciating all his obscure songs that didn’t make him any money at the time but that are in our hearts now. He showed real gratitude that he could come out and play to excited audiences, because of this renewed interest.
The Brooklyn Rhythm Band backed Melvin with a super-pro vintage sound and authentic playing. Completely complementary and not the slightest bit distracting,
Humbleness was the overriding theme of the night and it didn’t stop with the star of the show. Afterwards, I noticed Norton Records co-honcho Billy Miller waiting in line with a crowd of fans who wanted to meet him. Not only is Billy his personal friend of Melvin Davis — but he’s also reissuing some of his early work on Norton! See below. But he patiently waited with other fans get a word because above all Billy and his wife Miriam Linna are themselves big fans. Also, Norton’s business was recently savagely humbled by Frankenstorm Sandy, when their entire warehouse in Red Hook got destroyed — but they landed on their feet with the help of legions of fan volunteers.
This great show was brought to us by Brooklyn-based series called Dig Deeper. — and I reckon we should all stay on their list and keep an eye out for what else they have in store. Barbara Lynn is teed up to play Littlefield in Mid-October
Update: Just saw that Dig Deeper posted a video clip of the first song Melvin Davis did at this show, which I missed. It’s was Chains of Love, which I just saw The Dirtbombs do earlier in the day and probably their best known song. I did not know Melvin Davis did the original.
Dirtbombs Back on the Street, Autumn Afternoon Rock Treat
I’m single again and it was Saturday. Brooklyn Vegan pointed out that The Dirtbombs from Detroit, Michigan were playing a block party in Tribeca at 3pm in the afternoon. It was sponsored by a company called Shinola , a Detroit company that makes watches. Between this and the recently unveiled Nokia SmartWatch, somehow I’m now aware that people still wear watches.
I first came in contact with Mick Collins at Maxwell’s in Hoboken somewhere around 1990 (possibly 1989) when his amazing band the Gories opened a show for a less memorable band, since I really can’t recall who it was. I had never seen anything like it and to be honest I was pretty shocked by their messy assault, at first. I thought they were terrible. How did they even get the gig? I thought their black singer obviously had a great voice, like a vintage soul man – but I was just not ready for the trash heap, which I found overpowering from a conceptual perspective. Jarring. But like many tastes, you acquire them. Any Captain Beefheart fan will tell you that. And I’ve been a fan of Mick Collins for awhile, through the great Blacktop record and now his shit with The Dirtbombs
I first heard the Dirtbombs with their Ultraglide in Black LP, one of the best rock albums to come out around the time of 9/11 -2001. I also saw them live around that time and they were damn heavy — but then I lost track of what they were doing. They put out a record that was all techno covers and they sorta lost me. I stopped giving a shit.
BUT CHRIST ON A CRACKER THEY ARE BACK! The new record is a 60s bubblegum tribute and they sound great again. I was intrigued by a sample I heard (see Soundcloud embedded below). The full album is available for streaming on Spin.
Anyway, I got on my bike and weaved through endless tourist cattle walking on the Brooklyn Bridge. I got to Franklin Street just as the Dirtbombs were about to go on. Good timing. And they sounded fucking great. The show was way too quick but they exceeded most benchmarks for “rocking at street fairs”. Also, considering Mick was playing a cheap ass Squier Strat with a lone fuzzbox. Look, I have some issues with Stratocasters, both their sound and also sometimes the people who choose to play them — but he pulled it off anyway. Great version of Sly Stone’s Underdog (YouTube below). Heavy and to-the-point, or way too short, both. About 30 minutes. An autumn afternoon rock treat.
Undiscovered Brooklyn 