+ I AM SLOW +

Soooo...

I have been seriously slacking on the ye olden blog front as of late. I will (attempt to) blame it on being (semi) productive as of late, as much of my time has been spent plotting and recording downtown. Things on that front are finally (or so it seems) bout to hit serious pay dirt, and so I have been running at that full-steam (and awaiting the next major roadblock).

Things I have wanted/intended to blog about but haven't as of yet:

ITEM ONE:
While going through my records in an attempt to catalog and preserve everything I have unearthed more than a few blasts from the past. A few of them I put on to attempt to decide if it was maybe something I didn't need anymore. Do I really still need Hurl, Hal al Shedad, or Griver (and that's just G-H) anymore?
So I am going to not touch the 7"s until I can give up the time to go through them and document the experience of hearing most of that stuff for the first time in years.
Expect this soon.

ITEM TWO:







DONT HATE ON IT AMERICA!

ITEM THREE:
T2 "It'lll All Work Out in Boomland"
There is a point where Cream and King Crimson meet. This LP is that. First LP King Crimson caliber of writing as played by a power trio. Horns and piano pop up in the best spots. If you haven't listen to this and you don't stop and listen to this RIGHT NOW you have no idea what an injustice to yourself you are doing. As simple as that.
Plus...
Check out the nerdiest thing EVER:
http://www.boomland.ukf.net/boomland.swf

ITEM FOUR:
Arthur is back (soon). Thank gawd.

ITEM FIVE:
The Andy Votel "Vertigo Mixed" CD is the best mix I have heard since RJD2's "Your Face or Your Kneecaps" disc of many many years ago. Its an endless supply of fuzz bass riffs and faux-ginger baker breaks that change constantly from blistering tidbit to blistering tidbit. It's more effective (or so I think) than the Mablib "Blue Note" mix, when Sabbath or any of the Vertigo bands of that stature pop up it passes by so quickly that you barely recognize it. When Sabbath does appear it's done so subtly that you barely notice. Using just the harmonica at the start of 'The Wizard' from the first LP, aka no guitar, bass, or drums, as a transition is bloody brilliant. The closest it gets to obvious is a long section from Uriah Heep's 'Walking In Your Shadow' from the 1st LP. The rest is only familiar if you have spent time with Aphroditie's Child or Colosseum.
PS: You could totally use this to change people's minds about prog, SRSLY!
PPS: 'Kettle' by Colosseum is a hell of a jam.

FILLER!

Greetings, America.

So I have slowed down with the posting as of late, aside from the bullshit hype and lists. Since my return to OH-IO I have been sliding down a slippery slope of lackluster and so have been trying to avoid rambling about such BS.

Onward we march.

The BrightBlackMorningLight record is actually good, in fact quite good. I avoided it because of the wave of hype that swam ashore and carried them away, but apparently it was deserved. I do have a very soft spot for the Fender Rhodes and a love of ethereal vocals so I knew I would at least enjoy it some. Maybe the extremeness of their hippyster (PS: BJ Tibbs coined that phrase in the BTDATDBS days, motherfuckers owe him royalties) aesthetic (esp in marketing) made me a little skeptical, and understandably so. For we are at the dawn of the new faux-psych era wherein anything ran through 100ms of analog delay by a dude with long hair and a dime bag who claims to love Eno can magically have his NU band thought of as a wunderous work o' trippy (brah) majesty. Then suddenly some girl, who up until a week ago was busy fucking every graffiti dude in sight, hears it on myspace and thinks it sounds "oh so vintage" and she thinks yer headband "is just out of sight" etc etc etc...
But this, of course, none of that... this LP is the real deal.
I first heard it in the Sea Wolf van en route to SXSW in the middle of nowhere Tejas n the middle of the night. I think this set-up helped me just listen and take it in for what it is.
In this case the hype wins.
The piano riff that opens the record could be a Dead Meadow riff, were it not played on piano, and gives way to amazing dreamy vocals and subdued but spot-on drumming. I dig.

The other day Mr. Doug wrote about David Crosby's "If I Could Only Remember My Name" LP and since I have been addicted. It's a beautifully meandering Laurel Canyon work tragedy that should be placed on tape opposite "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere" and listened to while driving a LONG distance with a head full of whatever you like to put in yer head.
It's a forgotten masterpiece, period.

On Tuesday the Alejandro Jodorowsky DVD box set came out and I spent most of my afternoon attempting to track down a copy and sadly the only place in town with it is a 'Big Box' retailer which was a little of a let down (PS: why doesn't the Wex Store carry new releases when they come out?) but worth the search, obviously. The inclusion of the soundtrack to both El Topo and the Holy Mountain on CD is fucking marvelous (PS: I didn't know Don Cherry co-wrote so much of it), as I have attempted to find a RIP of it with no luck on 'ye olden interweb' a few times. I know there will be enough film nerd (something which I am not) blogging going on about this box so I won't eat up yer eyes with my ramblings on it; however, you no longer have a reason not to get turned on to Jodorowsky, as you can now buy his hot shit jamz at fucking Best Buy.

In closing I ask this:
Has anybody out there know a band that sounds A LOT like Gong, esp after Pierre Moerlen started drumming, BUT is fucking EVIL? If this band does not exist I am going to be required to start it immediately.

Death to false neo-psych!

THR33 UN1V3RSAL TRUTHZ!

1. flip-flops are the worst thing you can ever place upon your feet, period. (there is an exception -- and only one -- for jason r womeldorph)

2. every girl EVER has a crush on either levon helm or peter criss. its the truth, ask em.

3. drugs rule.

HYPE!

Monuments = Travis + Mike L + myself / Drone + Swirl.

We will play first.
Show up early... or don't.


Word!

I am drinking Mint Juleps and listening to 2112.
Fuck you, america.

OMGZ!

Drop everything you are doing right fucking now and immediately listen to "March to the Witch's Castle" by Funkadelic.

Fucking do it!



PS: It's on Cosmic Slop.

LIGHTHOUSE KEEPERS

So seriously.
Have you listened to Van Der Graaf Generator lately? You fucking should, dawg.

I had always chosen to dwell on the first couple albums, for whatever reason; however, I have been listening to Still Life and Godbluff nonstop for days now. There is a certain amount of piss and vinegar in those two that just grab you by the back of the neck and throw you around the room. There is just something about this band that is so sinister but smart and so evil but peaceful. It certainly doesn't hurt that Peter Hammil writes endlessly about the endless futility of modern life, albeit often through some sort of sci-fi allegory.
For whatever reason this band has never rang more true or sounded better to me than right now. Maybe it's caused by this second attack of winter making me want to doom and gloom it up a little bit more, or maybe its my general morose mood as of late, but this band is destroying my right now.

Also...
For those of you into the unfortunate format that is CD (and for those of us who download more music than we should) a few of their finer records just got a recent re-mastering with bonus tracks... and are worth hunting down as they sound WAY fucking better than the first gen CDs that are out there.

In Closing...
Apparently I am not the only one in the midst of a VDGG mindfuck. I opened up the newest issue of Wire and there is a great multi-page interview with Peter Hammill. Odd how these things line up sometimes...

PS: Were you aware that Charisma records was basically founded so that VDGG wouldn't get screwed over by another label (re: mercury).

BURNIN UP 'NAM!

Soooo...

Regardless of whether or not you know it, I have a weird thing for the Vietnam War that only continues to grow more and more. I have this big theory about the reason why our contemporary culture is borrowing more and more pieces of visual culture (seriously go to the gap... and be confused by how much psych typography and imagery is being used), as well as the obvious sounds being borrowed. The theory basically boils down to this: As our present 'War' seems increasingly analogous to the 'Vietnam War / Conflict' (re: no end in sight, total bullshit, and will be a historical black spot) the 'pop culture' of the time resonates in a much more understandable tone. Sadly this seems to be resonating without the political and social connotations, but then again we live in a 'fuck it' post-ironic world where there idea of making anything actually change just seems pointless... fuck, most of America doesn't even know if it really likes Journey or if it thinks it's being really fucking clever.

But...

I stumbled across the Merry Airbrakes record today (self-titled from '73) and my mind was fucking blown.



It was recorded by a fucking Vietnam vet and is fucking as honest, sincere, and beautiful as it gets. Its not post traumatic acid flashbacks or just bitching. Instead it's down home blues fireside take on the war. It's just simple and complete honesty. I have never heard a record quite like this before, or at least this personal of a take on one's experience at war.

Its worth checking out just for "Draftboard Blues," which is amongst the best songs about the draft ever. Plus "Vigilante Man" is a fucking electric slide blues stomp that will melt yer face off. The fact that the line "no it wasn't anything that id ever smoked" actually appears in the chorus of a song on here is almost too good believe.

CGR has it posted for download here.

Get it now!

I am not going to post the amazing handwritten notes about the album written inside the insert... you gotta downloaded it to read 'em... but they will blow yer mind.

Love in Stuggle!

THIS JUST IN (V2)

SMOKE DRUGS!
SMOKE DRUGS!
SMOKE DRUGS!
SMOKE DRUGS!

y0ut00bz

Since my return to CMH I haven't had much time to sit around on Mr. Internet (nor have a really wanted to), but this evening I found myself scouring through youtube. The results? I found some serious shit.

Camel // Never Let Go



Tangerine Dream // Ricochet



National Health // ???



Aphrodite's Child // It's Five O Clock



Crimson Fantasy // Fantasy Based on the King Crimson Themes



Japanese Mellotron Tape Change

Japan wins, YET again!

ON A WHIM

So yesterday I picked up two Larry Coryell records I didn't own and only one of which I had heard before. We all know that the 11th House is a fucking fusion monster and the 1st LP is fucking beyond gnarly, but I wasn't aware how gawdamn good Offering is.




It opens with this atonal white noise fuzz attack that eventually turns into this fucking manic melody. It like Inner-Mounting Flame meets Hot Rats. If you can dig on fusion you need to check out 'em jamz up on it.





Its nice outside. Fuck Mr. Internet.

THIS JUST IN!

Summer is fucking here!

Therefore:

High and listening to Little Feat!
SRSLY!
It was, after all, started by two ex-members of the Mothers of Invention.

This is the official "Sound of Summer '07" Sound, and remember this through the season. Funky AOR dixie light-rock is the sound of this summer, as I see it. If you are around people who aren't actually down with 'Operation Goodtymes' and you want them to 'get it' (or at least be able to pretend) then light-rock of any format is acceptable.
Atlanta Rhythm Section is another great flavor for this summer, and note their uber jam "I am so in to you" as a reason to dig 'em. "I am so in to you" is way up in my list of mega jamming singles ever, as it has the power to bring to me to my knees in the frozen food section during an attempt to gain a microwave pizza (this is not in way shape or form exaggerated or embellished) at a Big Bear (PS - we miss you) grocery store in the middle of night.

Also start drinking mint juleps, ASAP!

WILDFIRE (THEY CALLED HER)

Sooo...

I am presently at work, sitting up in the booth of sound at the horrid pit of faux-humanity that I sell my soul to for a above market price. They just installed public wifi here and I am fucking taking full advantage of it.

Well.. I just stumbled across this...



At the last record show I picked up a copy of Wildfire 'Smokin' from the mighty Paul 'O Athens, the man who has, or can get, every record you want. It is never cheap, as he has got the best shit at the show PERIOD and knows we want it.
The coolest thing about him, aside from his great taste, is that he will put on ANYTHING and often pulls out stuff you have never heard and demands you hear it. It's the sort of ACTUAL excitement you rarely get from dudes who deal in such rare records, aside from the late, amazing, and soooooo fucking mised Ken Stone.
Wildfire was one of those records that he said " I had to hear" and he was right.
Apparently only 5 copies of it have ever been unearthed, all in plain white sleeves with the band's name and the title written on them. One of Paul's friends found a copy and eventually pressed a limited to 500 re-issue in '96, which is what I purchased.
Fucking killer power trio guitar jamz and its on CD now... and rockadrome has it.
But if you look here you can download it.

The '96 re-issue LP has a very simple sleeve, as at the time nobody had been able to dig up much info on who the members of the band were, etc... so I was absolutely amazed to see that picture of the band as they look absolutely fucking amazing.
Peep that fist waving in the air, the glorious goofy grin, the 'merican flag, and just the pure fucking REALNESS that it encapsulates.

That picutre is what we all wish it looked like when TOTH play.
I think only Matt Miner could pull off that grin...


FUCK YEAH!

WARNING!

Unless you happen to be Jason R. Womeldorph sweatpants and/or flip-flops are COMPLETELY FUCKING UNACCEPTABLE ATTIRE ANYWHERE!
PERIOD!

Dearest America:

I apologize for my lack of recent entries, but I have had laptop vs internet issues as of late. They appear, for now, to be fixed so as to allow me to resume attacking your senses with useless information.

So lets begin!



I do not believe that there are many records recorded and mixed better than the orange self-titled Grand Funk LP. Much like the cover the bass is to focal point of the mix and it is absolute PERFECTION. The sound of a cranked tube amp clipping and rounding the Fender Jazz Bass attacking it into square waves then panned hard left. The guitar and drums are fantastic too, but SERIOUSLY listen to the fucking bass sound on this record on record, as I am sure (like the early yes re-masters) that they toned the gnarly on the bass down a bit.



The Mops have been making me very very happy as of late. They are regarded as Japan's 1st psychedelic rock band and released this one killer fucking LP in 1967. Apparently it was impossible to get acid in Japan at the time and so in order to try to achieve a 'higher state of being' they would blindfold themselves and flash strobe lights in their eyes until they had achieved the desired effect. That fact alone makes the record with checking out, as that is serious dedication to the psychedelic experience. The LP is the typical mix of covers and originals one would expect, but the covers are fairly amazing in that they were songs that had barely had time to make their way to Japan. The version of "Somebody to Love" is fucking unreal, but the real gem is their cover of "Inside Looking Out," which sounds less like the Animals original version and more like... oh the cover that Grand Funk does on the orange self-titled LP. Seriously, play them back to back. The originals are killer and sung in their native tongue. Thanks to Kyle for putting this on in the store for me so I could give it a listen.

In other news...
The FRDM! record is coming along... we got a practice space in downtown c'bus and are in the midst of FINALLY get what I have in my head to tape and should be playing shows by... may-ish, or so I hope... but you don't come here to read about that...

100% pro-d00m!
dig it!

SXSW!

Soooooo...

I did a post about the voyage to SXSW o'er at the new dark ages SXSW blog and then continued to not post a gawdamn thing after that... ooops...

Instead, however, of doing some day by day logical sort of re-cap or overview I am merely going to make a list... yes a fucking list.

SXSW:

1. 2 days in a van sucks. Even if the van is nice and you have your own bench seat. It still sucks. Sitting still sucks. The desert does rule though, everybody knows that.

2. My tolerance and ability to drink has nearly doubled (thank you free drinks, I heart thee) over the last few drink. I flat out cannot believe the volume of alcohol I consumed on Saturday. I thank you various corporations and magazines whom want to see 'FUCKING COOL' so you will spend as much money on my worthless generation as you can so as to get their money (read parents money mostly) as quickly as you can. Product placement rules! Lets go drink So Co in our Levis! PS: I am not bitchin' I saw Vietnam and Redman back to back on their tab.

3. Seeing this:



4. Kevin J. Elliott is a great dude to talk to when you have no idea what show to go to. He will know where to go, and in case of the rare time(s) he doesn't... well then he will join you for a drink.

5. Times New Viking were fucking amazing and it was great to freakout with friends from Columbus whilest they played. PS: How did pitchfork know we were all from Columbus? WTF BRO!

6. Entrance / TOTH / Earthless back-to-fucking-back! I haven't seen Guy (play live) since he went electric and he fucking ripped. The record was solid.. but fucking hell were they great. TOTH melted off my face as per usual, which I fucking neeeeeeeded desperately. Haven't seen any true metal since I left Ohio. Ending with Earthless! FUCK! Seeing Mario play drums in person and did anybody else notice how they miced his drums? WTF! The bonus at this show was bro-ing down with even more Columbus dudes. I remembered why I loved Columbus.

7. Talking to LA dudes about Columbus.

8. Talking to Columbus dudes about LA.

9. Being let down by the Portland / San Fransisco bands I *DID* manage to see.

10. This.

11. Missing most of what I actually cared about because I was busy having fun.

12. I am not good at being interviewed.

13. Etc etc...

AFTER SXSW:
So my moms lives in Austin and picked me up at the hotel on Sunday to stay for a few days and on the way home I ask to stop at the Half-Price Books near her house (in some weird suburb north of town) for no specific reason. Well what the fuck do I find but... A COPY OF 'MEDUSA' by TRAPEZE!
I almost paid (arguably) wayyyy to much for it at the last record show, but I scored a copy for 14 bucks. This blew my mind.
If you haven't heard this record download it now... you know how to find it. I will do a big review of it when I get back to Columbus tomorrow.

Finally to top off my 'lil trip to Austin, I got to see a showing of a restored 35mm print of El Topo this evening... with my Mom. Needless to say it was a great fucking close to a hell of a week.

I am still tired.

Tomorrow I return to Columbus after a month of adventure.

SXSW!

So yeah...
In the morning I am climbing aboard a van and heading (like every asshole in america) to Austin for SXSW.
Since this is the biggest topic presently in rockblog I thought I would inform you of where I will be.

All of these shows are with sea wolf

---------- --- --- --- -

Wednesday
3-5pm - Daytrotter (recording for internet site)
8pm - Official SXSW showcase - Blender Bar at the Ritz, 320 E. 6th St

Thursday
5:35pm Set time - Dangerbird Party @ Mother Egan's, 715 W. 6th St

Friday
2:30pm - Set time (Hot Freaks party) @ The Mohawk, 912 Red River St

---------- --- --- --- -

So yeah, c'mon c'mon and come out if you can.
Blah blah blah blah...

In other news.
I am going to bed.

FROM A DRY CAMEL!

I found these for you.
Outsider fantasy art, aka the next big thing.





And while we are looking at amazing things...



PS: SOCMZ put up some new tracks today and they fucking rip... get turned on at myspace.com/mindzoo666

ITEM ONE:
Check out this killer fucking writeup for the Plastic Crimewave Sound show tonight in Cleveland at Pat's. Take a minute to read it, as its some of the best music writing I have read in awhile. Steve Krakow has a fucking Doors tattoo! "I maybe gave them up for like 10 years. Then I read that [underground Japanese guitarist] Keiji Haino was once in a Doors cover band. Those first two albums are perfect."
Its a solid read. Do it.

ITEM TWO:
I found myself desperately wanting to hear ZZ Top's "Master of Sparks" last night circa 2AM. My records are back in Ohio presently, and so I got on ye olden soulseek and proceeded to procure a copy of Tres Hombres.
A few minutes later, after hitting play, I fucking remembered that the ENTIRE ZZ Top back catalog got 'remixed' in '87. And by 'remixed' I mean FUCKING SLAUGHTERED! The last thing the endless boogie of '70s Top needs is fucking gated reverb.
Luckily a lil' bit of hunting and I found some vinyl rips and discovered that last year they re-mastered (aka not remixed) Tres Hombres and and Fandango, but the fact that they did the remix in the first place is appalling.
I just wanted to jam 'em shits on my ipod whilest rollin' through the deserts of texas.
Give a dude a break.