tag:zubrecords.com,2005:/blogs/zub-alert?p=1Zub Alert2024-01-05T09:48:38-05:00Zub Recordsfalsetag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/73288692024-01-05T09:48:38-05:002024-01-05T09:56:22-05:00Oh, Canada! Or, the New Pornographers’ first two LPs reissued <p><meta charset="utf-8"></p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-huge" style="color:#000000;">I have a pile of vinyl sitting on a chair just waiting to be listened to. It’s time I started to get through to them, I recently reviewed The New Pornographers LP <i>Continue As A Gues</i>t, which I enjoyed very much. But I just received the 20th anniversary repress of their 2nd LP, <i>Electric Version</i>, and that reminded me I had the 21st Anniversary repress of their first LP,<i> Mass Romantic</i>. These two records are part of Matador Records' excellent Revisionist History series (and associated podcast). </span></p><p> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-huge" style="color:#000000;"><i>Mass Romantic</i> was first released in 2000 on the band’s Mint Records label, then picked up and remastered for the Matador Release in 2003. The 21st Anniversary repress was released in 2021 on cool red vinyl, including a 45 of the single ‘Letter From An Occupant’ (a completely different mix) backed by ‘/the End Of Medicine’ (which would be rerecorded for <i>Electric Version</i>) and a true B-side called ‘When I Was A Baby.’ <i>Electric Version</i> was released in 2003 and The 20th Anniversary repress is from 2023 and on an ultra-cool blue vinyl. Listening to these two records gives you a strong idea of what this Canadian ‘supergroup’ is all about. This is a band with a wicked pop sensibility, imaginative and melody-strewn songs, a pronounced vocal attack like the Beach Boys, a penchant for wall-of-sound production, quirky keyboards, very little guitar soloing, puzzling and intelligent lyrics, and stellar vocals (by chief songwriter AC (Carl) Newman and now alt-Americana goddess Neko Case. The band even has its own George Harrison third-wheel songwriter in the form of Destroyer’s Dan Bejar, who has a couple of songs on each record and by <i>Electric Version</i> is listed as a ‘secret member’ of the band.</span></p><p> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-huge" style="color:#000000;">So, on to <i>Mass Romantic</i>, both Sides 1 and 2 open with Neko Case singing lead, beginning with ‘Mass Romantic’, an impossibly catchy rocker filled with bubbly keys, then breaking down into Beach Boys style interludes before coming back strong. 'The Fake Headlines’ opens like The Beatles’ ‘A Day In The Life’ until insistent guitar chords lead to a soaring chorus, sung by Carl Newman. There’s a prominent accordion, and it's all over too quickly. ‘The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism’ is the bounciest, jauntiest tune about boozing that I’ve ever heard. When Neko joins Carl in the middle of the vocal, the tune lifts off to pop nirvana. ‘Mystery Hours’ is a strident, almost punkish tune screamed by Carl, missing much of the pop sheen of the preceding songs. ‘Jackie’ is a Dan Behar song, his first on the album. With Neko singing backup and Carl singing the bridge, it’s big and unique.</span></p><p> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-huge" style="color:#000000;">’To Wild Homes’ has saxophones and a Phil Spectorish wall of sound production. It’s another song written by Dan Bejar and sung in his reedy voice, Neko backing and Carl singing in the bridge and end, Side two starts with ‘Letter From An Occupant’, featuring Neko Case with an amazing lead vocal on top of a punchy power-pop crusher. It’s totally irresistible. ‘The Body Says No’ has a Spectorish opening that settles into a Beatley chorus and verses with snakey mellotron-ish</span></p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-huge" style="color:#000000;">keyboards. ‘Execution Day’ is a weird gem from Dan Bejar, with Carl singing very high above him in unison. It breaks into a second part, like two songs stitched together. ‘Centre For Holy Wars’ is a Newman banger with a twisty melody, Neko backing vocals, and distorted keyboards. It’s also catchy as hell power pop. Next up, ‘ The Mary Martin Show’ takes the power pop to critical levels, a frantic tune with an astounding melody, sax, terrific drums, and pounding guitar chords. It’s a total head rush and probably the strongest tune on the record. “Breaking The Law’ is an old Destroyer song by Bejar that ends the record on a melancholy note.</span></p><p> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-huge" style="color:#000000;"><i>Mass Romantic</i> is a fine first album, it brings me the flavor of Spectorish pop like The Ronettes, the melody of The Beatles (and Big Star), the reckless antics and sharp lyricism of early Elvis Costello and The Attractions, and the vocal harmonies of Brian Wilson. This record threw down the gauntlet that the New Pornos would be a force for years to come. There are at least five Carl Newman classics and a handful of Bejar’s egghead rock songs, all ruled by the voice, Neko Case.</span></p><p> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-huge" style="color:#000000;"><i>Electric Version</i> was actually the first New Pornographers record I purchased, or at least listened to. Someone at Horizon Records gave me the Matador in-store play copy, telling me I would like it. Thank the stars for Horizon, because I wore that CD out. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a distillation of everything from <i>Mass Romantic</i>, but clearer and poppier. It’s still up there with <i>Challengers</i> and <i>Brill Bruisers </i>as my favorite New Pornos record.<i> Electric Version</i> has the same lineup, with Kurt Dalhe as the new drummer. And Dan Bejar is now called a ‘Secret Member’, as he continues to lead Destroyer</span></p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-huge" style="color:#000000;">.</span></p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-huge" style="color:#000000;">Side one of <i>Electric Version</i> opens with a Neko Case lead vocal on ‘All For Swinging You Around,’ a groovy West Coast-sounding pop confection, filled with sax, keys, and guitar stabs. This goes into ‘The Electric Version’, Carl straining the high notes at a rocking pace, using very Attractions-like energy (think This Year's Model) with a Beach Boys vocal break. Absolutely terrific. ‘The Laws Have Changed’ is super pop with a strange ascending keyboard fill, turbocharged when Neko takes over the vocal. It's relentlessly catchy and irresistible. ‘Loose Translation’ has distant Carl Newman vocals with a typical rollicking melody, delayed guitar chords, and boppy keys. It’s good, but not the quality of the first three songs. ‘‘Chump Change’ is Dan Bejar’s first tune on the LP, punctuated with “ooh oohs” and lyrics about lesbian rage and drama queens. It's quirky but solid,</span></p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-huge" style="color:#000000;">one of his better efforts.</span></p><p> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-huge" style="color:#000000;">Side two opens with ‘The New Face Of Zero And One’, ripping off the drumstick clicks and power chords of Adam and the Ants 'Antmusic’, adding a catchy chorus that slides into a beautiful guitar riff over Carl’s sexy high singing. It’s sly, insistent, and imaginative. ‘ Testament To Youth In Verse’ is Dan Bejar’s finest moment, a multi-part song with breakdowns, his voice just killing the verses, and the big ending: “The bells ring no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no ” This part evolves into a multi-part Beach Boys vocal extravaganza, with a</span></p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-huge" style="color:#000000;">soaring ending that’s really remarkable. Bejar kills this one. Next up is Newman’s ‘It’s Only Divine Right’, a banger infused with keys and a powerful lead guitar riff. Neko’s “Ah’s” turbocharge the song, along with Carl’s killer melody. It’s power pop heaven. </span></p><p> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-huge" style="color:#000000;">Bejar’s ‘Ballad Of A Comeback Kid’ is typical yet enjoyable oddball pop, a breather after the first three songs. ‘July Jones’ is another Newman pop tart, with a tremolo guitar riff and “ooh la’s” woven in the thick mix. ‘Miss Teen Word </span></p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-huge" style="color:#000000;">power’ is another frantic tune with a sharp melody, polished off by Neko singing at the end of the choruses, the keys dance through it among the drum hits and vocals, There’s a guitar break, and it’s all over. ‘From Blown Speakers’ is a Newman tune with e-bow guitars, accordion, and an insistent melody. Another perfect pop gem for a perfect ending. As I mentioned earlier,<i> Electric Version</i> is the sound of the New Pornos sharpening and honing their skills, the record sounds better, the songs are better, and the playing is better. Carl Newman continues his run of wonderful pop gems, Dan Bejar contributes one amazingly good song (‘Testament To Youth In Verse’), Neko Case is Neko, and Kurt Dahle is a big improvement in the drummer seat. I feel that<i> Electric Version </i>is stronger than <i>Mass Romantic</i>, but both records are solid. It’s best to get both. The red and blue vinyl is cool, and <i>Mass Romantic</i> has the ‘Letter From An Occupant’ 45 as an extra bonus. Time to get your fair share of Canadian power pop on the turntable.</span></p><p> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-huge" style="color:#000000;">—-Steve McGowan</span></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/72452172023-07-21T09:34:36-04:002024-01-05T09:44:40-05:00Therapy? - Hard Cold Fire<p> </p><p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/321202/4d65e44f02ec52e221244868b30b4a2742b39436/original/therapy-cold-1.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p> </p><p> </p><p><meta charset="utf-8"></p><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">What if I told you about a great rock band from the East coast of Northern Ireland? A high-energy, power trio that drew from influences like The Jesus Lizard, Big Black, Husker Du, and Joy Division. If you know me, you’d probably think I was describing my own band. But of course I’m not. I’m talking about the Irish trio Therapy?, a band formed in 1989 and sounding as good as it ever has on the new (and their 16th LP!) called <i>Hard Cold Fire</i>. Therapy?, led by singer/guitarist Andy Cairns, are one of those bands that lives to play European gigs and festivals. They never even bother to tour the USA. I was very lucky to see them live in Atlanta once in 1993 and I became a lifelong fan since then.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Therapy? Has a sound cloaked in alternative metal. The guitars are heavy, but the rhythm section of Michael McKeegan (Bass) and Neil Cooper (Drums) are fluid and nimble, giving the band a pop undertow that is infectious. Cairn’s vocals are light and melodic, so the overall feel of the band is very Husker Du (<i>New Day Rising</i>-era), or like The Neighborhoods Emergo-era records (speaking of great power trios). <i>Hard Cold Fire</i> was produced by Chris Sheldon and the record sounds great. The multi-tracked guitars fill the mix with a great low sound, there is plenty of feedback, and the drums jump out of the mix. </span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">The LP starts with ‘They Shoot The Terrible Master’ (“In the head, in the head, in the head”) a mosh pit rager with tuned down guitar and flat out drumming. It’s a great start followed by the slower, more melodic ‘Woe,’ with a melodic bridge. ‘Joy’ is a tuned-down, Metallica-ish riff welded to a pure pop chorus the type of thing Therapy? do best. ‘Bewildered Herd’ is a more metal workout with Cooper killing it on the drums. There’s an arty spoken word bit followed by a not metal guitar solo (Cairns is a rhythm player).’ Two Wounded Animals‘ is all muted guitars over a great pop melody.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">“To Disappear’ has a drums-falling-down -the -stairs intro, flanged guitar and rattling bass as Cairns sings about vanishing. ‘Mongrel’ has a typical metal chord attack again bolstered by a great chorus:</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>I’m leaving/Not saying goodbye</i></span></h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>I like darkness/And darkness likes me back</i></span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr">
<span style="color:#000000;">As usual, the pop side of Therapy? Wins over the metal side, and that's a good thing. “Poundland Of Hope And Glory’ is the LP’s strongest track, a rager informed by Cairns watching the BBC Proms (an annual classical concert series) and hearing patriotic sing-along ‘‘Land of Hope And Glory.’ Stir in a reference to Poundland, a kind of Brit Big Lots, and acid begins to drip. (Link: </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.poundland.co.uk/"><span style="color:#1155cc;"><u>https://www.poundland.co.uk/</u></span></a><span style="color:#000000;">) </span>
</h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">After an ‘Iron Man’ style intro, the opening lyric of ‘Poundland” is:</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>The narrative/Is built on blood and death</i></span></h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>The legacy/Chokes on it’s last breath</i></span></h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>It’s not Jerusalem/Jerusalem’s a city in the Middle East</i></span></h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>Jerusalem/Is just another myth</i></span></h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>You’re hanging on/To your porcine crusade</i></span></h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>To escape from/Your reality of drab decay</i></span></h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>It’s not Jerusalem/Jerusalem’s a city in the Middle East</i></span></h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>Jeursalem/Is Just another myth</i></span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr">
<span style="color:#000000;">Here’s Andy Cairns talking about the track courtesy of Rock and Load Magazine:</span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://rocknloadmag.com/news/therapy-reveal-poundland-of-hope-and-glory/"><span style="color:#1155cc;"><u>https://rocknloadmag.com/news/therapy-reveal-poundland-of-hope-and-glory/</u></span></a>
</h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#4c4c4c;"><i>This track started out as a hard take on how people lose themselves in narratives to the point that the myth takes on greater importance than the fact,”</i> vocalist/guitarist <strong>Andy Cairns</strong> exclaims. <i>“Just like the old adage about the liar repeating the lie so much that they eventually believe it themselves, the culture around us is bursting with fairy stories we tell ourselves. Metaphor and hagiography surround us, but in a post-truth world, the Walter Mitty character is no longer a harmless fantasist but an incendiary zealot using misinformation and chaos to achieve their goals.” </i>Cairns continues, adding<i> “It’s easy to smirk at middle class parents whose Harry Potter loving kids are sent to private school because of the Hogwarts style uniforms, and easy to eye roll at adults who actually play Quidditch, a fictional sport from a novel written for children, but it’s not so easy to stomach the less savoury reinvention of colonialism as a lost paradise to which we should return.”</i></span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#4c4c4c;">‘Ugly’ is an epic with a great keyboard riff and a bit of a Stooges feel. End Track ‘Days Kollaps’ is a slower, almost ballad-like tune.</span></h3><h3 dir="ltr">
<span style="color:#4c4c4c;">There you have it. I feel like I’ve let you in on a secret. Therapy? = great band. </span><span style="color:#000000;"> <i>Hard Cold Fire =</i> great record. “Poundland Of Hope and Glory’ = Song Of The Year (So Far). Keep rockin’.</span>
</h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">—-----StephenMcGowan</span></h3><p dir="ltr"> </p><p dir="ltr"><a class="no-pjax" href="https://youtu.be/fDPZcfQYvF8"><span style="color:#1155cc;"><span data-rich-links='{"fple-t":"Therapy?-Poundland Of Hope And Glory (Official promo video)","fple-u":"https://youtu.be/fDPZcfQYvF8","fple-mt":null,"type":"first-party-link"}'><u>Therapy?-Poundland Of Hope And Glory (Official promo video)</u></span></span></a></p><p> </p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/72275612023-06-16T07:47:32-04:002023-06-16T07:47:32-04:00Moonage Daydream on HBO<p> </p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/321202/71996a62dfc2989d59573631e84dddebc25d7168/original/moonage-review.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><p><meta charset="utf-8"></p><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">This is by no means the typical rock documentary, in any way, shape, or form. Maybe it’s the subject: the always curious, never-stationary shark moving through creative waters, shape shifting, image changing dynamo that is David Bowie. There never was, or will be, another like Bowie, and this movie goes a long way to showing and explaining the phenomenon. Directed and produced by auteur Brett Morgen, who had approved use of the Bowie estate archives, and musically produced by Tony Visconti, who was in charge of musical mixes and the soundtrack. The movie is narrated by Bowie himself, in words from interviews and chat shows. </span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">The story starts with Bowie voice-over quoting Niesche, against a visual backdrop of fast cut images, especially focusing on space. We see clips of Major Tom and ‘Space Oddity,’ ‘Life On Mars’, and the bleak imagery of the ‘Blackstar’ video. Images fly by as home movies of crowds lining up to see Ziggy Stardust are shown, and there is exceptional footage and sound of the Ziggy-era band doing ‘Wild-Eyed Boy From Freecloud’ into ‘All The Young Dudes.’ This footage alone is worth the price of admission. The crowd is shown, not teenyboppers like at a Beatles show, but as true believers in front of their rock and roll messiah. Mouths are agape, many are crying, and there is a cult-like feeling among the freaks coming together in front of their fearless leader. This footage gave me goosebumps. Later, Bowie casually mentions he created Ziggy as a rock and roll messiah, but the fans put way more investment into Ziggy than he ever did. He mentions they were creating the 21st century in 1971, which is a hallmark of all of Bowie’s best work, being future-forward facing. There’s footage of Bowie wearing heavy blue eye makeup, Woody Woodpecker hair, and a bright blue suit with heels as he goes through a wringer of interviews asking him about his bisexuality. David handles everything with discretion and aplomb.</span></h3><h3 dir="ltr"> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">There’s live footage of the band doing ‘Jean Genie’ with Jeff Beck, which morphs into The Beatles ‘Love Me Do.’ Bowie is shown working in his studio, painting, mostly portraits on acrylic. There’s footage of him living in Los Angeles, a city he says he “detests,” living in the desert in isolation, being driven around like a tourist, and going through his heavy cocaine phase. There is live footage of the <i>Diamond Dogs</i> Tour, and a rousing version of ‘Cracked Actor’ where he holds a skull, Yorick-style.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Bowie discusses his older half-brother Terry, who introduced him to cool books, music, and fashion. Terry joined the Royal Air Force, developed schizophrenia, and stayed in hospital for the rest of his life. He seems to be aware of mental illness in his family and has some fear of it happening to him. Bowie tells an interviewer “I never became who I was supposed to be.” He is shown solo, with his 12-string acoustic, playing ‘Space Oddity’ in a version that ends with Ziggy footage of the same song. It’s beautiful and a masterful edit at the same time.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Bowie is shown challenging himself., moving from Los Angeles to West Berlin, (before the Berlin Wall came down) finding assistance with Brian Eno and Tony Visconti and developing a “new language” to make music (including Eno’s Oblique Strategies card sets). This was Bowie’s “Berlin Trilogy” when <i>Low</i>, <i>Heroes</i>, and <i>Lodger</i> were made. ‘Sound & Vision’ is played and Bowie discusses change, and there is a terrific live version of ‘Heroes’ with Adrian Belew playing the sustained guitar part. At this point in the film, Bowie is 33 years old, has released 17 LP’s, starred in a few movies, successfully shown his artwork in a few international galleries, and played John Merrick, <i>The Elephant Man</i>, on Broadway to critical acclaim. Morgen shows the ‘DJ’ video as well as ‘Boys Keep Swinging’ (Bowie in three different drag parts!) and the ‘Ashes To Ashes’ video. Bowie is traveling all over the world, describing himself as a “beatnik traveler.” They show him in Japan as interviews run with him explaining he didn’t want to expose himself personally so he used himself as a canvas to create characters. He discusses his artwork as portraits of people in isolation, and that his art is about searching for the truth.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">There are home movies showing the tanned, blonde haired Bowie in Thailand and Vietnam, discussing the pendulum swinging back, from icy and high tech to more happy. He records <i>Let’s Dance</i> and begins the 1980’s on a world tour, the ‘Modern Love’ tour, which he describes as “obvious and positive.” It was obviously and positively lucrative, and Bowie made a fortune touring worldwide. There’s live footage of ‘Modern Love,’ and Bowie’s voice is just killing it. There’s an interview where Bowie wonders if he needs to write anymore, as he realizes he is a great entertainer. He continues to tour (the ‘Glass Spider’ tour is shown), then footage of Ziggy doing ‘Rock and Roll Suicide.’ Bowie is shown in Japan, unhappy with touring, not wanting to “please people,” saying “My Work Is Not Me.” Then he meets his future wife, Iman - “That’s it. It was over.” Bowie is once and for all, finally, genuinely happy.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Discussing his work, he says “chaos and fragmentation is my throughline,” Live footage of ‘Hello Spaceboy’ is shown, a powerful rocker all about chaos. There’s a great sequence of splices with all Bowie’s movie parts, interspersed with Buñuel eyeballs and images from <i>Metropolis. </i>As Bowie discusses how “intriguing” it is to work outside the system, The Velvet Underground are shown. His last quote in the film is “If you feel safe in the area you’re working in, you’re in the wrong area.” From here the film goes to the ‘Blackstar’ video, where the little girl with a tail finds the astronaut corpse (Major Tom), and then to a modern recording of ‘Memory Of A Free Festival.’ Bowie, in his cancer weakened voice, sings:</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>The sun machine is coming down/And we’re gonna have a party</i></span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">He is singing in front of a crowd singing with him. This is the last image in this remarkable film.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">What a movie. Truly astounding. The imagery and story are perfect, and the subject endlessly fascinating. This may be the best rock doc I’ve <i>ever</i> seen. I can’t recommend this movie enough, please check it out on HBO or a number of streamers.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">—--Steve McGowan</span></h3><h3> </h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/72250322023-06-12T08:41:36-04:002023-06-12T08:42:29-04:00The New Pornographers - Continue As A Guest<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/321202/40f9744dbe1efb3eae925968f94342d8989d4d8e/original/new-pornos-guest-1.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><p> </p><p><meta charset="utf-8"></p><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">The Canadian pop titans known as The New Pornographers are back with <i>Continue As A Guest</i>, their Ninth studio LP. Recorded during the pandemic, leader AC (Carl) Newman is fully in charge of the songwriting duties, with singer Neko Case not contributing any material and the band’s George Harrison, Dan Bejar, off with his band Destroyer full time. With the collective/supergroup members stepping forward and receding or departing as their other passions demand, this time it’s all Carl’s show on <i>Guest</i>, and he has conjured ten subtle pop gems that reference the isolation of the pandemic and the preeminence of the internet.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr">
<span style="color:#000000;">The opening track, ‘Really Really Light,’ featuring Neko and Carl backing Kathryn Calder, is a peppy mid-tempo tune with bubbly synth and acoustic guitar. ‘Pontius Pilates’ Home Movies’ has a much darker feel, with a brooding, driving bass line and a jazzy sax opening and solo from Zach Djankian. ‘Cat And Mouse With The Light’ is a keyboard driven song featuring Neko Case’s lovely vocals, also featuring multi-tracked saxophones. It’s a slow paced slow burner. ‘Last And Beautiful’ has a repeating chord that changes pitch, with a chorus of “I don’t want to go by myself, come with me,' ' It's another New Pornos pop gem that will stick in your head forever. On ‘Continue As A Guest’ Carl sounds exactly like Scott Miller from Game Theory/The Loud Family, and the melody and lyrics on this one matches any great Scott Miller song. Our Game Theory <i>Postscript: Across The Barrier of Sound </i>review link is </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://tinyurl.com/zubbarrier"><span style="color:#1155cc;"><u>here</u></span></a><span style="color:#000000;">. The song has a strong sax part that reminds me of Wings, along with a lonely sounding steel guitar. It’s quite impressive. ‘Bottle Episodes’ uses tremolo laden guitar for a straight ahead pop exercise, nothing too flashy but something The Pornos can turn into magic, using the sax for a ‘Listen To What The Man Said’ style solo, and using mellotrons at the end. There’s an 8-bit intro on the keys for ‘Marie And The Undersea’ that reminds me of the Postal Service, as Neko sings, we hear drumsticks, sax, a Rickenbacker 12-string, and plenty of acoustic guitar into a keyboard breakdown that is followed by a cool sax solo. Neko’s voice absolutely kills on this one. ‘Angelcover’ has a slightly disco feel with great piano. It has a Bowie <i>Sound And Vision </i>feel, very sophisticated. “Firework In The Falling Snow,’ written by Carl and Sadie Dupuis, is an upbeat song with depressing lyrics, arpeggiated keyboards, and blocks of sax. ‘Wish Automatic Suite,’ the LP’s closer, is downbeat, but picks up after the intro into an ending twist.</span>
</h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">The New Pornographers are a fantastic band. <i>Continue As A Guest </i> is really the <strong>new</strong> New Pornographers, with Carl Newman in firm control over songs and production. Most of the old traits are there; excellent songwriting and lyrics that work on many levels, the astounding vocals of Neko Case and Kathryn Calder, inventive and challenging arrangements. This new band is embracing a more muted, mature pop, adding unexpected elements like saxophones, false endings, and the like.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>Continue As A Guest </i>is not the shiny beasts of pop like <i>Brill Bruisers</i> or <i>Whiteout Conditions</i> were, it brings a toned down approach to their normal manic pop thrill. I can’t say that there’s anything wrong with that. <i>Continue As A Guest </i>is a terrific record, working on many levels. It’s like a fine watch, take it apart and admire the inner workings, carefully crafted by AC Newman. It’s a beautiful pop machine.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">—-----Stephen McGowan</span></h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/72237422023-06-09T08:43:52-04:002023-06-09T08:43:52-04:00The Hold Steady - The Price Of Progress<p> </p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/321202/c99b19d01ae0e49d6714a36ccb4bab2b0bb071be/original/hold-steady-progress-with-photo.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><p> </p><p><meta charset="utf-8"></p><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">The Hold Steady return for their ninth studio LP as they reach their 20th anniversary as a band. They describe this LP as “ten narrative songs about people trying to survive in this modern age,” and I would agree that’s a pretty apt description. The Brooklyn-by-way-of-Minneapolis band continues to broaden and further their musical approach, all driven by speaker/singer Craig Finn’s wry lyrics about partiers, bartenders, stoners, and other lovable losers.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Opener ‘Grand Junction’, as my pal Randy put it, ‘‘has a straight melodic rip from Billy Joel’s ‘Piano Man.’” Except this one has lyrics about a road trip exclaiming “we do what we do to survive.” ‘Sideways Skull’ has rocking muted guitars pushing a tale of a rock obsessed female with lyrics like:</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>She bites down on the capsule</i></span></h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>and the blood comes from her mouth</i></span></h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>It’s hard to play rock in a halfway house </i></span></h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>I bet it’d be better if we weren’t such burnouts</i></span></h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>A beat up post and a glam-rock top hat</i></span></h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>isn’t gonna make any difference</i></span></h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>It never works when no one listens</i></span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">With Thin Lizzy touches and female backing vocals, this one is a Hold Steady gem.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">“Carlos Is Crying’ is about a friend whose sister left town with a “dickhead.” There is a very cool slide part at the end that makes the song. “Understudies’ is a meditative song about actors featuring a full string section(!) that works really well. It is a very sophisticated song for THS. ‘Sixers’ is about a girl with ADD. This one has a glockenspiel and the Horn Steady horns. ‘The Birdwatchers’ is a song about meeting up with a dealer, again featuring horns and a vibraphone. The breakdown in the song has a modern jazz feel before the epic guitar solo comes in. ‘City At Eleven’ is about a degenerate gambler who is in trouble, featuring electric piano and plenty of guitar riffage. ‘Perdido’ is another roadtrip/breakup song, a pretty riff coupled with desperate lyrics. ‘Distortions Of Faith’ is another slow ballad, with brushes on the drums, real piano, and clear, jazzy guitars, it is an evocative and cinematic sound. ‘Flyover Halftime’ is the epic closing song with great words from Finn:</span></h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>We got up to the parking lot a couple hours early</i></span></h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>To check up on the enemy/make sure we were fortified</i></span></h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>Everybody saw them at the matchup in the trenches</i></span></h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>the clash of the defenses</i></span></h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>Somebody’s gotta make a stop</i></span></h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>We were drinking from a cooler from the hatchback of a Honda</i></span></h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>He had to borrow from his brother</i></span></h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>cause his truck was in the shop</i></span></h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>Cause you’re gonna go rabid</i></span></h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>if you keep get bitten by the rat race</i></span></h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>You’ll be fighting and sniping at the factions </i></span></h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>within the same fanbase</i></span></h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>We all ordered gin to salute, </i></span></h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>when the hornets hit the flyover halftime</i></span></h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>But his eyes got so wild/and I could tell by his smile</i></span></h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>he was planning a stunt</i></span></h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>For the timeline</i></span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">The song, a great rocker, goes on to describe the big stunt (“there’s a fan on the field”) plotted above. It’s a bit of a throwback to old THS and a ton of fun.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">I’ve always loved The Hold Steady. Each LP is like a Christmas present for me. On <i>The Price Of Progress </i>they somehow continue to explore and expand on their sound. These songs, led by master lyricist Craig Finn, are a bit less rocking and more personal. The use of a real string section, vibraphone, and the horns really accented some of the songs. Keyboardist Franz Nicolay shines on this record, as do the interconnected guitars of Steve Selvidge and Tad Kubler. And let’s not forget the Hold Steady rhythm section, Galen Polivka on bass and Bobby Drake on drums, one of the best in rock. It is great to hear a band stretch and defy expectations, and, ahem, mature a bit. Do yourself a favor and make the trek to see them live or catch a livestream. It never works when no one listens.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">—---Stephen McGowan</span></h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/72211932023-06-05T09:04:20-04:002023-06-09T08:40:34-04:00The Postal Service: Give Up (20th Anniversary remaster)<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/321202/5ffb9396e7ce665368ef8e71f7d3ee57d0c9b249/original/postal-service-1.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p> </p><p><meta charset="utf-8"></p><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">It is hard for me to believe that this record, released in 2003, is twenty years old. It seems like yesterday when the Postal Service’s <i>Give Up</i> was released, but time moves inexorably faster when you’re older, I suppose. </span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">I've always been a fan of the synth duo, which I define as a band containing a keyboardist/programmer and a singer. Some of my favorite records have been made by synth duos,Soft Cell and Yaz/Yazoo come to mind. OMD. Soft Cell combined a punk approach to keyboard with sleazy and sad tales of life in seamy London melded with Marc Almond’s elastic, soaring voice. Yaz/Yazoo meshed Vince Clarke’s irresistible, gleaming melodies with Alison Moyet’s powerful blues vocals, spinning classic tales of love and loss. OMD, able to trade vocal leads on their wistful, atmospheric tunes, often as a duo. We love them so much there’s a Singles Going Steady podcast featuring each:</span></h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"> </span></h3><h3 dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<span style="color:#000000;">Soft Cell:</span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://zubrecords.com/singles-going-steady-podcast/blog/025-sgs-softcell-tainted-love-where-did-our-love-go-12-in"><span style="color:#1155cc;"><u>link</u></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> (‘Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go<i>’</i>)</span>
</h3><h3 dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<span style="color:#000000;">Yaz/Yazoo:</span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://zubrecords.com/blogs/sgs-001-the-buzzcocks-spiral-scratch-ep/posts/060-sgs-yazoo-nobody-s-diary"><span style="color:#1155cc;"><u>link</u></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> (‘Nobody’s Diary<i>’</i>)</span>
</h3><h3 dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<span style="color:#000000;">OMD:</span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://zubrecords.com/singles-going-steady-podcast/blog/6225900/071-sgs-omd-souvneir"><span style="color:#1155cc;"><u>link</u></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> (‘Souvenir<i>’</i>)</span>
</h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">This brings us to the Postal Service, a synth duo of sorts with keyboardist/programmer Jimmy Tamborello (from Dntel) and singer/guitarist Ben Gibbard (from Death Cab For Cutie), setting up a classic synth duo format, but then adding the extra spice of Jenny Lewis (Rilo Kiley) on backing vocals, making for a “super-sized” synth pop duo of three. These folks are all from the Seattle area, working individually on each track and sending each other tapes to be edited and added to, they created this little gem of a record. Naturally they released the LP on Sub Pop records, and <i>Give Up</i> became Sub Pop’s second highest selling LP after Nirvana’s <i>Bleach</i>.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">The overall sound of the duo is led by Gibbard’s smooth, high vocals which are heartfelt and distinct, combined with some heartbreak lyrics, all built around mostly simple, catchy as hell three chord songs filled with enough beeps and boops to divert your attention. Tamborello must be congratulated for his excellent use of drum patterns, samples, and fills throughout the record. </span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>Give Up</i> opens with a devastating one-two pop punch, starting with ‘The District Sleeps Alone Tonight,’ super pop with three repeating chords and filled with violin and pizzicato samples, drum filigree all over, and Gibbard singing heartbroken lyrics like “I am finally seeing/I was the one worth leaving.” It’s a beautiful, fantastical earworm kicked over by the next track ‘Such Great Heights’, more standard sounding synth pop with a killer melody from Gibbard, using two tracks to overlap his vocals in the verses, and adding a tiny guitar solo that’s just perfect. ‘Sleeping In’ references the Kennedy assassination and global warming, wrapped around a light tune with peppy drums and a glorious vocal. ‘Nothing Better’ is a song about a broken heart, full of icy keyboard tones, Gibbard’s vocals interrupted by</span></h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Jen Woods’ vocals (from Seattle band Tattle Tale and an indie solo artist), as the two square off during the song.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">’Recycled Air’ has a bit of a Beach Boys feel, with another simple guitar solo. ‘Clark Gable’ is a tale of looking for love “like in the movies.” With a high bpm, loud brassy samples in the choruses, and Gibbard’s melodic vocal, aided by Jenny Lewis’ backing, this is a sly piece of super pop. ‘We Will Become Silhouettes’ opens with strange, stuttered guitar samples, powered by Gibbard’s plaintive vocal singing in the choruses: “We will become silhouettes/When our bodies finally go.” This is a surprisingly heart wrenching song for synth pop.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Things veer into Soft Cell territory with ‘This Place Is A Prison.’ It's a dark, funereal song with bleak creaking samples and accordion accompanying Gibbard’s whispered vocal until strong drums come in, accentuating the fear and desperation of the song. ‘Brand ‘New Colony’ opens with an 8-bit Pacman-like intro, with a hopeful tale of breaking free. There is another super violin sample break followed by 12-string guitar and harmonized vocals. Pop just doesn’t get any better than this. The ending track, ‘Natural Anthem,’ is an amazing moody instrumental, bringing me to think of The Beatles’ ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ or something from PiL’s <i>Metal Box</i>. There's all kinds of drone and noise over a simple chord, and the bass drops out every eight bars or so, then right at the end, Gibbard’s vocal comes in and everything calms down. It’s a spectacular ending to this amazing record.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">To sum it up, <i>Give Up</i> is an absolute gem of a record. 20 years later it is as fresh and powerful as the day it was released. It is essential synth pop more in the Yaz/Yazoo or OMD mode than Soft Cell. I highly recommend this LP. Plus the vinyl is available in an ultra cool blue-silver variant. It’s funny how time fixes your memories. I remember giving this CD to my sister as a present, funnily enough. We have been estranged for years (another story for a different review). And I haven’t seen or spoken to her since then. I wonder if she ever listened to it. <i>Give Up</i>. indeed.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">—--Stephen McGowan</span></h3><h3> </h3><p> </p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/72194812023-06-02T09:48:41-04:002023-06-09T08:40:34-04:00What the Hell Did We Just Watch? Understanding Lennon/McCartney<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/321202/c696e8dde96faef75a0bf233bcd448090b63bff6/original/understanding-l-m-1.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/321202/703b47fdbfbc96032a71dc2c815c3829be980214/original/image.png/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><h3> <span class="text-big"> <strong>DOUBLE FANTASY</strong> D</span>
</h3><h3> </h3><h3> </h3><h3>
<span class="text-big"><strong> </strong></span><meta charset="utf-8">
<span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;"><strong>Adrienne:</strong> I have had insomnia since I was an infant. </span><meta charset="utf-8">
<span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;"> My latest sleep trick is falling asleep to YouTube videos on the iPad. While I usually fall asleep listening to English lessons, the algorithm somehow throws in an occasional curve ball. That is how I discovered<strong> </strong><i><strong>Understanding Lennon/McCartney. </strong></i></span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.youtube.com/@breathless345"><span class="text-big" style="color:#1155cc;"><i><strong><u>(Link).</u></strong></i></span></a>
</h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;"><i><strong>UL/M</strong></i><strong> </strong>is a 5 part documentary, divided thusly:</span></h3><div style="margin-left:0pt;" dir="ltr" align="left"><figure class="table"><table><tbody>
<tr>
<td style="padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;">Volume 1</span></p></td>
<td style="padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;"><i><strong>Together</strong></i></span></p></td>
<td style="padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;">2:30:41</span></p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;">Volume 2</span></p></td>
<td style="padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;"><i><strong>The Break Up</strong></i></span></p></td>
<td style="padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;">2:09:23</span></p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;">Volume 3</span></p></td>
<td style="padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;"><i><strong>The Seventies</strong></i></span></p></td>
<td style="padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;">1:51:40</span></p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;">Volume 4</span></p></td>
<td style="padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;"><i><strong>Last Dance</strong></i></span></p></td>
<td style="padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;">1:44:44</span></p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;">Volume 5</span></p></td>
<td style="padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;"><i><strong>Never Apart</strong></i></span></p></td>
<td style="padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;">2:36:57</span></p></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table></figure></div><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;">I sent Steve the link after viewing <i>Together. </i>“I am not sure what I think, but I can’t stop watching.” So that’s a 10+ hour commitment if you see it all the way through.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;">Reader, we saw it all the way through. </span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;">Without giving too much away, we decided we’d have a general debrief. <strong>Steve, </strong>what the hell did we just see?</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;"><strong>Steve: </strong>Without going into my usual detail, thus was a <i>very </i>lengthy documentary about John Lennon and Paul McCartney, their work together in The Beatles, the breakup of the Beatles, and their feuding and fighting through the 1970’s and Paul’s heartbreak and loss after John’s murder after 1981 until the early 1990’s. There is no information on who made this documentary or why they made it. There is no narration, just title cards to explain what is going on, but there is no doubt the person or people who put this together are super fans, having access to tons of interviews, outtakes, studio chatter, concert and television performances (especially mind blowing are John’s original ‘Real Love’ and ‘Free As A Bird’ demos), and footage of McCartney and Wings absolutely killing ‘Call Me Back Again’ live) and tons of Beatles and Quarrymen songs. They often cover the use of the music by running it through a huge, distant-sounding reverb, but this documentary must have used tons of material without permission and I’m sure will be a target for lawsuits. But that is Adrienne’s purview, not mine. Visually, there is a bit of a Ken Burns style, music running over montages of pictures and films, interspersed with live interview clips and performances. This gives the series a hypnotic, must-keep-watching feel. It's hard to explain but you can’t take your eyes off of it. </span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;"><strong>Adrienne</strong>, what was the point of all this?</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;"><strong>Adrienne: </strong>I think they made it because they could. This documentary opus demonstrates the egalitarian promise of the internet. Breathless345 (as the author is identified) has assembled found pieces of Beatles interviews, video outtakes, and stills and combined them with contemporary non-Beatle footage to create an AV stream-of-consciousness tone poem. I don’t know enough about video editing tools, but the layered montage/collage style of nearly the entire documentary is undoubtedly possible through the ready availability of tools to lay users outside of the fully equipped professional production company. What Pro-Tools has done for the remote, home recording of music appears to have a video analog. That combined with relatively easily accessed digitized source material makes it possible for a talented and ambitious individual (or small group) to produce, seemingly from nowhere, this gargantuan, complex piece.</span></h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;">The documentary makes time jumps backwards and forwards, but the distinct appearance of the subjects combined with the musical and title card cues makes this temporal cavorting pretty easy to follow. Overall, the effect is mesmerizing, hypnotic. I felt a bit like “Ringo” must have felt in "Help!” when he was commanded to “go to the window….” I was entranced! In Volume 5 when Nilsson talks of Lennon’s writing being akin to Joycean stream-of-consciousness, I literally replied to the screen “that’s exactly how I’ve been feeling about this programme mate!” (Yes--the British English spelling had penetrated my own thought bubble.)</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr">
<span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;">On the legal aspects, I’d argue that this is a prime example of how the Fair Use Doctrine in copyright <i>should</i> work, allowing for a creative assemblage of pre-existing materials to present an historical narrative, a viewpoint. Although that Doctrine relies on a facts and circumstances test where general guidelines, rules of thumb are notoriously unreliable. Anyway, if that’s of interest, see this link from Duke University’s Center for the Public Domain, </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/comics/"><span class="text-big" style="color:#1155cc;"><u>https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/comics/</u></span></a><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;"> , where Fair Use is explained in comic book form (incidentally in the context of documentary filmmaking).</span>
</h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;">Finally, the question:<strong>what WAS the point of all of this</strong>? I think it is the conjunction of a number of purposes/causes: a calling card as to the maker’s(s’?) skills (a portfolio), a compulsion to provide evidence as to their point of view (their hot take), and an opportunity to spend time with the Beatles and their circles in putting it all together. I think it is a passion project. As the creators of a commercial-free mountain of blog entries and over 100 podcasts ourselves, I sense a kindred soul. The internet and digitization meant this was possible to assemble and to distribute without a giant budget or commercial sponsorship.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;">Again, not wanting to spoil the party before I go, <strong>Steve, </strong>did any glaring anachronisms strike you?</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr">
<span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;"><strong>Steve: </strong>Nothing factual really came up for dispute, although John Lennon is always an unreliable narrator. He, especially in the live interviews, is great at manipulating the story into making himself always look the best, even at the expense of others. I have spent some time on Breathless345’s twitter page, and have come to realize his point of view is totally pro-McCartney. He links to an article from The Ruffian by Ian Leslie </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://ianleslie.substack.com/p/64-reasons-to-celebrate-paul-mccartney"><span class="text-big" style="color:#1155cc;"><u>link</u></span></a><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;"> that in turn references historian Erin Torkelson Weber’s book <i>The Beatles And The Historians: An Analysis of Writings About The Fab Four</i> (which I just ordered). Weber’s specialty is Beatles’ historiography and the way in which stories about the band have been shaped over time. Here’s what Leslie says about Weber’s book:</span>
</h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;">She observes that our ideas of John and Paul were formed in the aftermath of the band’s break-up and were shaped by members of a particular caste: young male rock critics. The men who edited and wrote for Rolling Stone and NME in the 1970s had a particular view of the world – a sense that the straight world was corrupt and dying about to be swept away by mind-expanding, rule-breaking radicalism. Lennon, with his soul-baring songs and shockingly experimental art was the true visionary of the Beatles. McCartney was the guy with the pretty face and pretty tunes - the salesman. Lennon called his former partner “a good PR man…He really does a job.” As it turned out, McCartney did a terrible job on his own behalf. He gave few interviews around the time of the split (the NME took to calling him ‘the hermit of St Johns Wood’) and didn’t talk much about The Beatles for years. This reticence came at a price. Lennon - hugely entertaining, highly opinionated - had the mic more or less to himself, and effectively shaped the story of The Beatles for decades to come. John portrayed himself as the creative life force of the band, with Paul as his musically accomplished but conservative and shallow sidekick. Lennon’s interviews were riddled with contradictions, falsehoods and exaggerations, but he spoke with such verve that journalists took what he said as gospel - as Weber puts it, they mistook Lennon’s emotional honesty for truthfulness. Critics and biographers took up Lennon’s theme, and his tragic early death, in 1980, sealed the deal. In 1981, the band’s biographer Philip Norman told the world, “John Lennon was The Beatles.”</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;">Here lies Breathless345’s whole <i>raison d’etre</i>. He/They seem determined to change this media bias toward McCartney and the point of view is anti-Lennon. The series portrays Lennon as an insecure, emotionally needy person who could be very angry and mean to those he loved. Indeed Lennon always needed a running partner, whether it was Paul, then Yoko, then May Pang, and Yoko again after the ‘Lost Weekend.’ He goes to great length to portray John’s view of Paul almost as a lover, and there are tons of homo-erotic implications implied. </span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;">Paul, generally, is shown as the hard driving yet unlimitedly talented worker, deeply hurt by John’s departure, but unafraid to soldier on on his own. McCartney didn’t want to talk about The Beatles; he wanted to let his music do the talking. Lennon, however, couldn’t shut up about The Beatles as his own musical output (after the masterpiece <i>John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band) </i>was slow and shallow (remember <i>Sometime In New York</i> with Elephant's Memory? No? Neither do I).To me, this is the point of the documentary. We see Lennon as a very insecure, competitive artist who is lazy and drug addicted, McCartney as a clear-eyed worker bee who brings Wings to mega success (remember <i>Band On The Run, Venus And Mars, Wings At The Speed Of Sound, </i>or <i>Wings Over America </i>(3LP’s!) what about <i>Band On the Run</i>?)<strong> Everyone</strong> had <i>Band On The Run</i>, and all these LP’s were on major rotation in my LP collection when I was a teen.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;">So, this seems a valid if heavy-handed point of view, certainly cutting against the grain of popular criticism. The other thing this documentary reveals is who was the boss of the Beatles. As Ringo said once: “It was John’s band, it was always John’s band.” The documentary goes back to the famous 1956 meeting of John, already the leader of the Quarrymen, and the young Paul McCartney, who impresses John with his version of Eddie Cochran’s ‘Twenty Flight Rock’ and even tunes John’s guitar(!) John recalls wondering if Paul was ‘too good’ to have in the band, thinking “he’s as good as me,” but John asks Paul to join the band anyway. George comes in as a friend of Paul’s, and Ringo, from Rory Storm and The Hurricanes, is brought in last to replace Pete Best. Three-quarters of the band were the result of that meeting, making adding Paul the lynchpin. John had to realize how much Paul had done to shape “his” band.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;">Still, Lennon was the leader of the band until the Strawberry Fields period, when his song contributions dropped and he gave up as McCartney’s output increased in volume and quality. Lennon despaired he couldn’t compete, and after Brian Epstein's death, became lethargic and unable to make decisions. This led to Paul, the first mate, taking over the ship through S<i>gt. Pepper, Magical Mystery Tour,</i> and the<i> Get Back/Let It Be </i>LP, movie, and live concert package. The other three had lost the will to be a band, but Paul kept them together, on a schedule, and productive. He was the only one with the ideas. Unfortunately, it was still John’s band, Yoko was next to him in the studio every day, and John continued to abdicate his responsibilities as he became a junkie. But The Beatles were never Paul’s band, as much as he may have wanted.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;"><strong>Adrienne, what is your take on my take, am I even close?</strong></span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;"><strong>Adrienne: Steve,</strong> I am not sure if we are close to solving the riddle of <strong>UL/M</strong> but unsurprisingly, we are close in many of our impressions. I jotted down the note for myself before I started the first entry, “Unreliable narrators: Paulie, John, AND Breathless345.” That’s not necessarily a condemnation, but a reminder that people tell our own stories as suits us in the time in place, emphasizing, de-emphasizing, concealing, revealing and PRETENDING to reveal information as it serves our purposes. Viewpoint isn’t a sin. I think one of the <strong>UL/M</strong> trailers claims the evidence is just presented in the doc and the impressions are left to the viewer, but the deck is stacked as you state. I am not sure that I’d go as far as calling it anti-Lennon, since there is fair critique, but it certainly is Team Paulie.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;">McCartney love has had a renaissance of late, and just as the cool kids in the 70’s saw John as a rebel saint and Paul as a sell-out, Paul is getting re-recognized as a musical genius and not just as the writer of facile pop ditties. The pendulum do swing, don’t it? I think Peter Jackson’s <i>Get Back</i> documentary<i> </i>scenes of Paul’s spinning “Get Back” from nothing in real time were epiphanic for viewers. What a gift that project is.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;">This dialectic--Paulism or Johnism, just as IN the Beatles, oversimplifies the complex relationship and ignores the role of the other members. Poor George--taken for granted again. Oh well, I’ll not run down that path, since this is a documentary about understanding J and P and not The Beatles.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;">So to sum up, I think you make some great points and I look forward to hearing more about the Weber book and call dibs on borrowing it! I guess a bottom line question is <strong>did you learn anything or gain any insight from this </strong><i><strong>Berlin Alexanderplatz</strong></i><strong> of Beatles documentaries, Steve? </strong>(Fassbinder’s movie is EVEN longer though!)</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;"><strong>Steve: </strong>It <i>was</i> an exhausting journey through the 10 hours-or-so of this series, but it was also wonderful and evocative. Having read so many books about the Beatles, I didn’t hear anything truly new. Many of the insights are from what was <i>not</i> mentioned. There’s not much talk of Pete Best, of Hamburg and The Cavern, the twin crucibles that forged the band, or of Brian Epstein. India and the <i>White Album </i>periods are given short shrift, while Allen Klein and the breakup machinations are looked at in detail. I would hold on to my belief the doc is anti-Lennon, as Yoko is portrayed as an self-involved grifter who never shuts up, and there is a twenty minute or so sequence of Lennon interviews where he uses the words ‘fag’ or ‘fags’ about fifty times. To our culture, this is not a word to be used, but for a British man born in the North of England in the1940’s, this would be common parlance in the 1970’s (he also uses the word ‘homosexual’ quite a bit). As Adrienne points out, the deck is stacked against John in the doc’s Point of View. I learned John and Paul truly loved each other and that both were genuinely hurt by their breakup, and both diminished by the loss of their partnership. But I think I already knew that. There is a lot of granular detail about the dissolution of their partnership and the ill will and paranoia that followed both men, maybe more than I would have cared to know. <strong>Adrienne,</strong> is it time for you to sum this up or are there more points to consider?</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;"><strong>Adrienne: </strong>The documentary’s self-described brief was understanding John and Paul not them all, not the band, so I can forgive some time jumps and sketchy periods. The POV stacks the deck that John had confused and intense feelings for Paul he was unsure he could contain, express, or command, and that ultimately it was romantic love and obsession. The doc also implies John’s devotion and Paul’s flirtation with that love was the creative fuel that drove their partnership. Paul’s use of his charm/looks as a tool paired with his clever gifts most certainly worked to bond John to him. Mimi spotted Paul’s manipulative nature from his first visits to their home. I think she also was worried about the bond (and adulation) John had made with this new friend. Paul is both a pretty and a witty person and there is no doubt he could use those advantages to get what he wanted. That is not to vilify Paul, who doubtless found his soulmate in John as well, someone who was clever as he but who had managed to form a band at a time they both were lost, lonely, and longing to play. I think the depth of that simpatico, when it was felt, evaded labels.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;">As for John’s use of the “f” word, I think breathless345 includes these passages to show John’s self-loathing, bullshit macho personna (diplomate, Macho School of Pretense, <i>summa cum laude</i>). Internalized homophobia is a well-known phenomenon of the coming out process and self-discovery; my perception was these clips were shown to build the case of John’s own conflict with and deflection of attraction, underscoring the doc’s POV. </span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr">
<span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;">While it is almost certainly true that these two could not get enough of each other from 1957 to 1965 or so, I think categorizing that union as <i>John loved Paul and Paul let him</i> oversimplifies history. I am not sure that is breathless345’s contention, but that it is probably the reductionist view many (I was going to say “the casual viewer” but do they exist for a 10+ hour experience?) would carry away from the doc. And as a summary, that’s my self-described brief met. They were a team. Theirs was a marriage of true minds until it wasn’t. Our dual review of detectorists discusses male friendship </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://zubrecords.com/alert/blog/detectorists-2-reviews"><span class="text-big" style="color:#1155cc;"><u>(link)</u></span></a><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;"> and there is no doubt the Nerk Twins were bonded is something more close than “friendship.” Labels? I promise I won’t end by saying “All You Need Is Love.”</span>
</h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;"><i>Understanding Lennon/McCartney</i> is immersive. The use of period quotidian footage of people dancing, walking, just being in the time frame paired with the distant soundtrack of Beatles together and solo or other contemporary songs had a dream-inducing impact on me. It felt like being in the mind of the doc makers, following their stream-of-thought. Mostly, it was spot on. The inclusion of <i>Rumours </i>era Fleetwood Mac jarred me (as in all contexts) but was perhaps included here as an allusion that warring exes can go on to perform together again? So we can stop it here, if you like <strong>Steve</strong>, dock the aircraft-carrier of a discussion, perhaps closer, perhaps not, to knowing what the hell we just watched.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;">--Steve McGowan and Adrienne Meddock</span></h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/72159992023-05-26T11:25:55-04:002023-05-28T16:43:44-04:00Secret Monkey Weekend Live at Inchoate Art Gallery, Greenville SC 04/22/23<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/321202/118eec0857ec70afd087e0cccfc7bed4d6d5bb39/original/smw-1.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p> </p><p><meta charset="utf-8"></p><h3 dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;">Secret Monkey Weekend are a unique band from Durham, NC that I have been following for years. This family band is led by Dad Jefferson Holt, guitarist and singer, with his two stepdaughters, Lila (the youngest one) on drums and vocals, and Ella (the older one) on bass and vocals. Five years ago when I used to go to their shows, the sisters were, well, little girls. Now they are confident young women, but still the cutest band you’ll ever see. Their music is Chuck Berry styled American pop, with songs about the family dog, cats, eating candy, and the like.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;">This particular Saturday The SMW brought me to Inchoate Art Gallery, deep in the West End Arts District off of Pendleton Street. Every time I am in this area I can’t believe how well it has been revitalized. Back in the day, you would <strong>never </strong>go down this street this far unless you were scoring drugs. Now it is all gentrified, full of (non-shooting) galleries and cool eating destinations. Inchoate is in a brick building on Lois Avenue. The area where the band plays is at the front of the venue, so their equipment is blocking the front door. There was no sign telling you to go around to the back to get in, which was annoying. I arrived early and hung out on the back patio with the band and Mom Laura. We are old friends and it was great to catch up with them. The club/gallery was cozy, with a front bar area and a squarish room (all concrete and brick - a very loud room) where the bands play. There was a big hole in the roof where they recently had water damage, but everything was dry. The room had picnic tables with art books and pads and lots of pencils and crayons, which was nice (Ella and Lila spent pre-show time drawing pictures of cats). Plus, being an art gallery, the walls were covered with local art that was all for sale, giving the room a comforting feel. They had a good PA system, although there appeared to be only one monitor, and the gallery owner was also occasionally adjusting the PA, doing his best. They obviously needed a soundman.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;">There was a solo opener who was very Ed Sheeran-like, and Secret Monkey took the floor late, around 9:30 pm. They started with a Jefferson song, ‘Half Moons,’ a staple in their set. Then they played a song they said was the Harlem Globetrotters theme (the Globetrotters having just been in town). This song was a bit of a mess. Plus I always thought that the Globetrotters theme was ‘Sweet Georgia Brown’ by Django Reinhart, which they did not play. Next was a song about their calico cat ‘Mimi,’ which was cute and pleasant. ‘All The Time In The World,’ the title of their LP, was next, sung by drummer Lila, who was also bashing her drums on a steady beat. Another cat song, ‘Merida,’ was next, led by Ella’s propulsive bass playing. Ella has become quite a strong bass player through the years, and she showed off her skills through the whole set. ‘Honey Num’ is a great earworm, sung by Lila and Jefferson, it’s a catchy song with a great guitar riff. ‘The Master’ was a new song about the villain on <i>Buffy The Vampire Slayer</i>, rocking and sinister. The band sounded strong, but there weren't many people there, so they cut some songs and ended with their anthem ‘Do The Secret Monkey,’ complete with “monkey to the left, monkey to the right” choreography and Jefferson’s take on the baby elephant walk in the solo. Super fun song! They ended up with an old song that went into ‘Go Your Own Way’ by Fleetwood Mac into some fun instrumentals.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;">It;’s great to see a band grow up and blossom like Secret Monkey Weekend. This family band continues to track their own path and remain true to their original sound. They are a truly original band, very cool and very fresh. I was glad to see them in Greenville and glad Thaddeus at Inchoate booked them. Cool venue and cool band. Please keep an eye out for these Secret Monkeys when they are around next time, and pick up their album!</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;">—------Steve McGowan</span></h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/72091082023-05-15T08:35:46-04:002023-05-15T08:35:46-04:00Robyn Hitchcock: Shufflemania!<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/321202/a279bca9503ec3ed4d50e50ee7bad263085e5307/original/shufflemania-1.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><p> </p><p><meta charset="utf-8"></p><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>Just like you may properly send a thank you note for a wedding gift up to a year after receipt, this review slides well into the first year of the release of </i>Shufflemania! </span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">It’s been a while since Robyn Hitchcock has released a new record, since the excellent <i>Robyn Hitchcock</i> in April 2017 on Yep Roc Records. Robyn and his partner, producer, muse, and label head Emma Swift (also an excellent singer-songwriter in her own right) released <i>Shufflemania! </i>In October 2022 on Emma’s Tiny Ghost Records. The ten songs on this LP are not as cohesive as<i> Robyn Hitchcock</i>, but the Swiftcock team has relied on some friends in their Nashville home to put most of the record together, as well as Robyn doing his vocals at Abbey Road Studios in London. They also enlisted help from Johnny Marr, Kimberley Rew (from The Soft Boys), and our pal Sean Ono Lennon, as well as some of the Wilco crew and Dr. Dog’s Drummer. Produced by Robyn and Emma, the record is a breath of fresh air.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Opener ‘The Shuffle Man’ has a real Lonnie Donegan British Skiffle feel, with lots of guitars led by an acoustic, it’s a dark, heavy pop with Robyn’s voice in the back of the mix. 'The Inner Life Of Scorpio’ is Robyn in his Bryan Ferry, <i>Avalon</i>-period. Slow and dreamy, Emma’s backing vocals are strong, and this one has Johnny Marr all over it on acoustic guitar. ‘The Feathered Serpent God’ has a Coral (electric)sitar and spaghetti western guitar notes over a slow, light song. The overall feel is of 60’s psychedelic pop, with Robyn name dropping Perry the stuffed lobster (star of the Swiftcock weekly livestream shows), describing him as “normcore.’ Tons of reverb and the electric sitar solo bring the end of the track.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">‘Midnight Tram To Nowhere’ is faux-blues with blues harp, pleasant with the drums coming in at the end. ‘Socrates in Thin Air’ is a standard Hitchcockian tale about Socrates. Filled with many guitars and piano, and Emma’s great backing vocals, the vibe is one not unlike a George Harrison song. “Noirer Than Noir’ is dark, kind of bossa-nova like, with lots of keys, almost a Jaques Brel feel. Robyn Hitchcock is Alive and Well and living in Perry’s orbit. ‘The Man Who LovesThe Rain’ is another Hitchcock classic, taking its title from a Raymond Chandler book, it wields an unforgettable melody, easily the strongest song on the LP, it has an arpeggiated guitar approach just like ‘Raymond Chandler Evening.’ Robyn and Emma harmonize beautifully. Another Hitch home run of a song. </span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">‘The Sir Tommy Shovell’ is a story about an imaginary pub Robyn wishes was nearby. It’s a real knees-up rocker with a driving beat and a 60’s feel, except with lyrics about “drinking responsibly.” The Raging Muse’ is a very Soft-Boys sounding tune, much like ‘Old Pervert.’ It's full of angular guitar rips and odd rhythms, with strange chorused piano, as Robyn goes on about fish (what else). Sean Ono Lennon is on this one. ‘One Day(It’s Been Scheduled)’ is Robyn in John Lennon mode, a pretty piano ballad with Beach Boys harmonies. It’s a great song and a great way to end the record.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Overall, I’m a huge fan of Robyn (and Emma) and I love this record. He’s such an inventive songwriter and lyricist and a master of melody. My grumbles with this record are honestly with the production. Robyn’s vocals are not as prominent in the mix as they should be, and everything is drenched in reverb and echo. Combine this with all the midrange guitars and it can be a bit of a sonic morass. I started listening to the LP on my small Alesis computer monitors and it sounded awful, so bad I switched over to my bigger JBL studio monitors, where it sounded much better. It’s a small grumble because when the songs are this good, you just want to hear them fully. While I applaud their DIY pandemic ingenuity in weaving together far-flung friends, I’d love to hear a mix by an outside producer.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">—-----Stephen McGowan</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3> </h3><h3> </h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/72034552023-05-05T09:36:51-04:002023-05-15T08:19:44-04:00Empire of Light on HBO<p><meta charset="utf-8"></p><p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/321202/81573e9484b8d679ac81e9a024320aa901d4fa60/original/empire-of-light-1-2.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p> </p><p><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Empire of Light on HBO</strong></span></p><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Director Sam Mendes is one of the best now working: starting with the amazing <i>American Beauty </i>in 1999, along the way directing two James Bond films, <i>Skyfall</i> and <i>Spectre</i>, as well as last year’s World War I epic <i>1917</i>. For <i>Empire of Light</i> he has teamed up with top cinematographer Roger Deakins, known for his work on the Coen Brothers' films <i>Fargo, O Brother Where Art Thou, </i>and <i>Barton Fink</i>. Deakins worked with Mendes on <i>1917</i>, making the whole movie look like one continuous shot (and winning Deakins an Academy Award last year).</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">So, to <i>Empire of Light. </i> The movie is set in the Empire Theater, a beautiful old art deco building that is starting to show its age, located in Margate, England on the Kentish coast. The wonderful Olivia Coleman (<i>The Crown) </i>is the duty manager at the cinema, pretty much handling the day to day affairs of the business. She is bipolar and has been taking lithium prescribed by her GP, and is having a very disturbing, quasi-consensual sexual relationship with her boss (Colin Firth, look elsewhere for Mr. Darcy).</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Steven, a young Black British man, joins the employees at the cinema and Hillary is smitten. She takes him upstairs to the unused top floor of the building “the pigeon coop.” The two are together at New Year’s Eve 1980; against a brilliantly shot scene of fireworks over the seaside water and buildings, Hillary impulsively kisses Steven, and their cross-generational romance is on.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Hillary stops taking her lithium, Steven reveals himself as a ‘rude boy’ who loves 2-Tone (black and white) music like The Specials, The Beat, and Madness. As Hillary is with Steven, she sees more and more racism directed towards him (it is early 1981, time of Thatcher, Skinheads, and The National Front), she watches a customer at the cinema be racist to Steven, and three NF skinheads taunt him by acting like chimpanzees.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">The couple take a trip to the beach to the soundtrack of The Specials’ ‘Do Nothing.’ Hillary finds out Steven has had his heart broken by Ruby, a girl that works with his mother in the local hospital. When Steven asks Hillary about the men in her life, she gets very agitated and destroys a large sandcastle they were building, screaming “I will not create under supervision!”</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Back at the cinema, a co-worker warns Steven about Hillary’s mental health, explaining she was hospitalized last year for a breakdown. Boss Colin Firth tells the crew they will be getting a”regional premier” of the movie <i>Chariots Of Fire</i>, so the crew works hard to spruce up the place. Hillary, however, has cut off the boss from his deviant sex games and refuses to ”pop-in” to his office anymore.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">During the premiere, the boss gives a speech, then Hillary comes up uninvited and gives a speech of her own, quoting W.H. Auden. When the boss yells at her in the lobby, she confides their affair to the boss’ wife in no uncertain terms. Retreating to her apartment with Steven, she is taken by mental health authorities and sectioned, or institutionalized. </span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr">
<span style="color:#000000;">While Hillary is gone, Steven works with Norman (Toby Jones, see our Detectorists reviews at </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://zubrecords.com/blogs/zub-alert/posts/detectorists-2-reviews/detectorists-2-reviews"><span style="color:#1155cc;"><u>link</u></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> ) to learn his job as a projectionist. Steven meets Ruby again and they start dating. Hillary returns to work, where Steven advises her to actually watch a film all the way through (which Hillary has never done). While the crew is having Hillary’s welcome back party, they hear hundreds of vespas and scooters descending on Margate. Dozens of National Front thugs line up at the theater after seeing Steven; they smash the windows and come in and start a riot, Steven fights back but gets stomped and sent to hospital. Here Hillary meets Steven’s mother. At first Hillary stays away, but with some sage advice from Norman she goes to see Steven, bringing him a copy of The Beat’s <i>Wha’Happen</i>. Steven is delighted to see Hillary, and his mom tells Hillary she makes him happy. Overjoyed with this, Hillary goes to the cinema and asks Norman to show her a film, his choice. Norman shows her <i>Being There </i>with Peter Sellers.</span>
</h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">When Steven returns, he tells Hillary he has taken her advice and will be returning to college out of town. Steven has a going-away dinner with his mother and Ruby but can’t shake the thought of Hillary. On the way to the train he and Ruby run into Hillary on a park bench. Hillary gives him a book and breaks down and gives him a tearful, hugging goodbye. The book she gives him is <i>High Windows</i>, a poetry book by Philip Larkin, once described as poems that made “despair look beautiful.”</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">This is a touching and affecting film. It made me cry. Olivia Colrman’s performance as a woman at the end of middle-age is spectacular. Hillary is a smart, funny, attractive woman who quotes Tennyson, reads W.H. Auden, and plays records like Dylan’s ‘Look Ma (I’m Only Bleeding),’Joni Mitchell’s ‘You Turn Me On (I’m A Radio),’ Cat Stevens, and The Specials. She’s a character looking for love and who wants to be loved, not used. The sort of woman often overlooked in a world that remains obsessed with youth.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">It is hard to say if it is only the specter of racism that gets in the way with her relationship with Steven; he is in love with her but afraid of what might happen to her as they move forward; they are both afraid of what society will think of them. </span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>Empire of Light </i>does not offer easy answers, it does give you tremendous visuals, terrific acting, but a bit of a duff plot. You’ll need to work out your own ending, but don’t forget - “despair made beautiful.”</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">—----Steve McGowan</span></h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/72034322023-05-05T08:43:50-04:002023-05-15T08:19:44-04:00Sirsy Live at Smiley's in Easley, SC 04/16/23<p><meta charset="utf-8"></p><p dir="ltr"> </p><p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/321202/d96b75cfe3f8fb8cfc00f2c25da19ad125325c95/original/sirsy-smiley.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><p dir="ltr"> </p><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">This was my first visit to Smiley’s in Easley, and I was pleasantly surprised by this club. Holding a spot in the downtown area, the club was a standard rectangular box with a small triangular stage up front in the left corner front window. The premises were clean and tidy, the servers extremely fast and pleasant, and the QSC sound system was excellent. Sirsy are a band consisting of a married couple from upstate New York, Melanie Krahmer on drums, vocals, bass pads, and flute, among other things, while hubby Rich Libutti plays a battered Rickenbacker 330 guitar via a raft of pedals, also playing bass notes on a synth pedalboard. Rich’s inventive playing combined with Melanie’s powerhouse vocals give this little 2-piece band the power and finesse of a four piece combo. Their music is unabashedly original pop, built around themes of love and overcoming adversity. The band and their music are relentlessly positive, and a healthy change from most music today.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">I’ve had the pleasure of doing sound for Sirsy many times, and I think of the duo as friends. I always try to catch them when they are in the area. Tonight’s show in Easley was a perfect chance. Walking in the club, they had just started playing ‘Like A Drum,’ which is their version of ‘We Will Rock You,’ quite the declarative anthem, Mel singing “I Beat My Troubles Like A Drum.” I made my way to the back of the bar to listen, and they played ‘Soul Sucker,’ a slinky song with Melanie playing flute, straight into ‘Cannonball,’ from <i>Coming Into Frame</i> with a funky riff and Mel’s voice clear and loud, this one got the crowd moving. Next up was ‘Lionheart’ from the same CD, which had a Police-like feel in the verses. During the first set, on a Sunday early evening, the crowd was small, around thirty or so, but everyone was paying attention and grooving to the band. ‘She’s Coming Apart’ was a great song with a killer chorus and Mel’s catchy whistling. They followed with a cover of Brandi Carlisle's ‘I’ll Play for You’ which Melanie killed on the vocals, truly outstanding. The band played a new song, ‘Seven Seas,’ a slow, wistful ballad with a great guitar riff from Rich. I even thought I saw him play a diminished chord! This was a good sign for future Sirsy music. ‘Crazy’ from <i>Revolution</i> was next, combining sexy vocals with a Led Zeppelin-ish stomp, followed by the super-pop of ‘Astronauts,’ featuring a wild solo from Rich using his turns-your-guitar-into-an-organ pedal. Next was a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Landslide,’ Mel again killing it with her vocals, followed by ‘Feeling Good’ by Nina Simone, Melanie sweeping the floor with vocals that electrified the crowd. This young woman can <i>sing</i>. To end the first set, Mel moved upstage, just singing with Rich on guitar, belting out the anthem ‘Brave And Kind,’ and winning over the audience completely. </span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Between sets, it was dark outside, and the club swelled with new people out to, uh, get drunk. The foursome next to me were slamming goldschlager shots like there was no tomorrow. When Sirsy took the stage the crowd was near one hundred. The second song of the set was ‘Revolution’ from the LP of the same name, one of their groove songs filled with tension, and got the crowd riled up. ‘Mary Concetta’ from the same LP, is a strong pop tune about Melanie’s grandmother, with the added bonus of Melanie playing melodica, tough and sweet at the same time. Next up was ‘Goner,’ a classic pop construction about a girl who’s hopelessly in love, with plenty of spaghetti western style guitar. ‘Lot Of Love’ was next, a sophisticated pop creation. By this time, the bar was full of drunks talking loudly over the band, especially the foursome in front of me and a large group in the way back of the club. Fortunately, they played another Fleetwood Mac cover, ‘Go Your Own Way, which quieted everyone down.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">They played ‘Tourist,’ from the <i>Sketches & Ghosts</i> single, a sinewy song with a ‘Paint It, Black’ feel, also one I’ve never heard them play live. This was followed by a great cover of Nancy Sinatra’s ‘These Boots Were Made For Walking’ which went into ‘The Twist,’ ‘Hound Dog,’ then ‘Whole Lotta Love.’ This medley revved up the crowd considerably. Next was ‘Hell No,’ a rave-up with another Led Zep riff, then ‘Death Of Me,’ a triumph-over-a-man song with some nasty guitar from Rich Libutti. At the end of the set, Mel dedicated the last song to her sister, who lives in Spartanburg and was in the crowd. They played Gloria Gaynor’s ‘I Will Survive’ for a great ending. The crowd was crazy and Sirsy made many new fans tonight.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Here’s the thing; this is a very talented band that tours the U.S. relentlessly. You can find all their recorded music on all the streaming services, they are great about doing livestreams and are active on social media. They are definitely worth your time and effort to seek them out, stream their music, buy some cool merch, and go to their shows. This band is too good to miss. I implore you to check them out, you won’t be sorry.</span></h3><h3> </h3><h3 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">—----------Steve McGowan</span></h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/71919432023-04-17T16:03:03-04:002023-05-05T09:08:50-04:00Robyn Hitchcock Live Stream From Tubby’s House March and April 2023 <p><meta charset="utf-8"></p><p> </p><p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/321202/85b4b220f7fbbd19b8fe0af023348f39fd5f0041/original/march-reg-2023-1-1.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><h3 dir="ltr"> </h3><h4>Robyn Hitchcock Live Stream From Tubby’s House March and April 2023 </h4><h4 dir="ltr"><meta charset="utf-8"></h4><h4 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Robyn’s been on tour in Spain through much of April AND our beloved Mandolin streaming service has decided to be an ex-service. If you are going into the Live From Tubby’s House DTs, let this recap of March with a wee April chaser console your heart.</strong></span></h4><h4> </h4><h4 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>03/08/23</strong> Robyn was <strong>not</strong> wearing a polka dot shirt tonight, and started with ‘I Love The Idea Of You ‘ from<i> Love From London</i> (Commentary Version) straight into the odd/wonderful ‘Trilobite.’ Having just turned seventy, Reg Played ‘Over The Waterfall,’ Emma Swift then joined, looking radiant as always, and the duo did ’The Yip Song,’ bouncy and very fun. For someone’s birthday, Robyn played a fantastic version of ‘Egyptian Cream.’ </span></h4><h4> </h4><h4 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Saying “I never play this acoustically.” Reg played a chimey version of ‘Acid Bird,'' while Ringo, one of their two Scottish Folds, jumped up next to him. Emma returned and grabbed the mercurial Ringo. The duo did a stellar version of ‘Pale Blue Eyes’ by Lou Reed. The duo had a long conversation about powdered food, Robyn’s dad, and many other things. Exit Emma.</span></h4><h4> </h4><h4 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Robyn played the recent ‘Sir Tommy Shovell’ from <i>Shufflemania! </i>Switching to an open G tuning, He played a very pretty ‘San Francisco Patrol’ from <i>The Man Upstairs</i>. Next was a pensive version of ‘Raymond Chandler Evening’ from <i>Element Of Light</i>. Also by request: The Beatles’ ‘I Saw Her Standing There.’ As RH played, Ringo chewed on the plant behind him and Tubby sat on the stool next to him, framing him like cat parentheses.</span></h4><h4> </h4><h4 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Emma returned, stylishly sporting a polka dot RH bandana. The duo did Townes Van Zant’s ‘Pancho and Lefty,’ Emma singing solo and absolutely killing it. Her voice is a marvel. The duo launched into The Beatles’ ‘Rain,’ which was fantastic, followed by ‘The Man Who Loves The Rain’ from <i>Shufflemania!</i> A last birthday request was ‘Ole Tarantula,’ Reg ended the show by raga-ing out on an extended instrumental. Another great show covering almost every phase of Reg’s career - from <i>Fegmania! </i>To <i> Shufflemania!</i>, Beatles and Van Zant covers, Emma solo, Lou Reed, and Raga with plenty of Scottish Fold activity!</span></h4><h4> </h4><h4 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>03/20/23 </strong>This was a special Monday at an undisclosed location in Portland, Oregon, as Robyn is on tour in the west coast right now. Resplendent in a floral pattern shirt, he opened with a wistful ‘September Cones,’ from <i>You and Oblivion. </i>Next was a bouncy version of<i> ‘</i>Flesh Cartoons<i>’ </i>from <i>Eye</i>. Then he was on to a request for ‘The Beauty Of Earl’s Court.’ again from <i>Eye</i>. A fresh faced Emma Smith appeared, and thanks were sent to the Fancy Feast Fund contributors, and they joked about cones. The duo stayed on <i>Eye</i>, singing a great version of ‘Cynthia Mask.’ They discussed touring and the ravaging of Robyn’s voice, then did a poppy version of ‘So You Think You’re In Love’ from <i>Perspex island</i>, then a plaintive, Lennon-ish ‘She Doesn’t Exist Anymore’ from the same record. </span></h4><h4> </h4><h4 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">RH then played Groover favorite ‘The Cheese Alarm’ from <i>Jewels For Sophia, </i>charming and funny. Reg rhapsodized about how much he loves cheese, then played ‘I’m Only You,’ a beautiful song from <i>Gotta Let This Hen Out!</i> Em appeared for more Fancy Feast thanks, and then the duo sang a lovely version of ‘Ride,’ also from <i>Perspex Island</i>. The two talked of God, rabbits, and cones and eventually played ‘52 Stations,’ from <i>Groovy Decay</i>. This version had a dark, Lou Reed feel. Em left the screen and Reg played ‘Globe of Frogs’ from the same LP, with a strong melody. Next up was ‘Be Still’ from <i>Love From London</i>, which Reg called his “George Harrison song.” Reg then played a wonderful “Airscape,” from <i>Element of Light, </i>all beautiful fingerpicking and melody. </span></h4><h4> </h4><h4 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Reg ran off to pee, and Em held the show down until a refreshed Reg returned for a discussion of cats and female mortality. And the duo sang ‘Birdshead’ from <i>You and Oblivion</i>, which was delicate and beautiful. Em left and asked Robin to play one more song, which was ‘Surfer Ghost’ from <i>Luminous Groove</i>. Reg began his ‘Raga’ workout and the show was over, the west coast groovers were excited for Wednesday's San Francisco show. Another great show, heavy on <i>Eye </i>and<i> Perspex Island</i>, and lots of obscure tracks. Robyn is obviously in a tour groove, and this improved the stream tremendously.</span></h4><h4> </h4><h4 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>03/27/23</strong> Another surprise Monday show, which I caught on replay early Wednesday. Robyn had a cool floral blue/white shirt that had a bit of a dazzle ship pattern. Mentioning he was playing “from an undisclosed location in Minnesota,” he opened up with a strong version of ‘Jewels For Sophia,’ which I have not heard in ages. Next up - The Kinks’ ‘Waterloo Sunset,’ an amazing tune done properly. Reg knew this one inside and out, well served! Next was a dark sounding ‘ The Leopard,’ from <i>Element Of Light. </i></span></h4><h4> </h4><h4 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Emma Swift appeared, looking lovely in a purple flowered dress. They thanked the Fancy Feast Fund contributors. Em talked about moving to California, and the duo sang ‘The Wreck Of The Arthur Lee,’ mid-paced and well done even after Em said she didn’t know it very well. Em adjusted the camera angle and they sang ‘ A Man’s Gotta Know His Limitations, Briggs,’ from <i>Ole Tarantula!</i> This was straight up fantastic. The duo discussed Alaska Airlines losing their luggage from Portland to San Francisco. Emma left to deal with the Groover chat. Reg played ‘City Of Shame,’ from <i>Black Snake Diamond Role</i>, sinister and poppy at the same time. The next request was ‘Surgery’ from <i>Gotta Let This Hen Out!</i>, very dark and one I never heard live before. Reg continued with ‘I Got A Message For You' from <i>Invisible Hitchcock</i>. </span></h4><h4> </h4><h4 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Emma returned and they played with “Lord Squeakington,” their squeaky cone figure. More Fancy Feast thanks, and Reg played ‘NY Doll’ from <i>Ole! Tarantula!</i>, with Emma singing backup, it was sad and poignant and beautiful. Emma left the screen and Reg continued with a great version of Syd Barrett’s ‘Terrapin.’ This led to a masterful version of ‘Chinese Bones,’ one of Robyn’s very best songs. Then right into ‘Shuffle Man’ from<i> Shufflemania!</i>, frantic and fun. Em returned and the duo did ‘If I Were A Priest’ from <i>Element Of Light</i>, a bit tentative but with extra lyrics about a cone, Em and Reg singing great together. Em thanked the Groovers and declared the show over. Reg did get to Raga-out for a few minutes and then the show was really over. Tonight’s stream was truly all over the map, from many of Reg’s little heard tunes to his best, great Emma singing, ‘NY Doll’ and ‘Chinese Bones,’ and a great Barrett cover, Another stellar show, another great month of streams!</span></h4><h4> </h4><h4 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Bonus mini-month!</strong></span></h4><h4> </h4><h4 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Before hitting Spain, Tubby and Co. hosted a single show in April.</span></h4><h4> </h4><h4 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>04/05/23</strong> I think the feed started early! It began a bit disorganized, Robyn in his white-on-black polka shirt strumming a tentative tune, then walking off camera, talking to Emma, followed by Emma entering to check on the video feed, and Robyn returning, playing a lengthy intro, welcoming all to Tubby Towers Studio B, mentioning Easter and Passover, then playing a mid-tempo ‘September Cones’ from <i>You & Oblivion</i>, which had a strong ‘Here Comes The Night’ feel. Next a request for ‘Noirer Than Noir’ from <i>Shufflemania!</i>, definitely hitting some John Lennon buttons.</span></h4><h4> </h4><h4 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">By request from Reg, Emma appeared, looking fine in a leopard smock. Thanks to the Fancy Feast Fund were given out. Eventually the duo sang “Creeped Out American Girl” from <i>Spooked</i>. This was direct and sounded like the anti-Tom Petty, who was mentioned at the end. Then the duo sang a great ‘More Than This,’ by Bryan Ferry. The high parts were fantastic. Squishy toy Mr. Squeaky the Cone was introduced while Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen were discussed. After much convo, the duo played ‘One Long Pair Of Eyes,’ from <i>Queen Elvis</i>, one of his best songs, sung perfectly by Em and Reg. Emma left for the laptop and the chat room. </span></h4><h4> </h4><h4 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Reg started on Groover requests, with ‘The Abyss’ from <i>Tromso, Kaptien</i>. This led straight into ‘Listening To The Higsons’ from <i>Gotta Let This Hen Out!</i>, a catchy tune with the ‘whoa-ohs’ throughout. Right into “Ultra Unbelievable Love’ from <i>Perspex Island</i>, done rockabilly style. Emma appeared with seltzer for Reg and more thanks for Groover contributors. After some discussion, the duo did ‘Sometimes A Blonde’ from <i>Spooked,</i> somewhat dark and Velvets-like and tantalizing. After a long convo, the duo did ‘Nietzsche’s Way’ from<i> A Star For Bram</i>, one I had not heard live before. Emma announced that Reg is going to tour Spain, and there would be no more streams in April, they will resume in May. The duo played ‘Virginia Woolf’ from <i>Robyn Hitchcock</i>, one of my favorite Reg songs. For a final song, the Duo played a slower-than-usual version of ‘Ride’ from <i>Perspex Island</i>. </span></h4><h4> </h4><h4 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">This was an epic stream, almost two hours, featuring obscurities (‘Nietzsche’s Way',' The Abyss’), hits (‘One Long Pair Of Eyes,' Virginia Woolf,’ ’Higsons’) Everything was put together, sounding great, and Emma always adding to the songs. It will be a long wait for the May streams!</span></h4><h4> </h4><h4 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">—---------Steve McGowan</span></h4><h4> </h4>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/71712832023-03-14T14:09:00-04:002023-04-01T05:25:49-04:00Robyn Hitchcock Live Stream From Tubby’s House February 2023 <h3><meta charset="utf-8"></h3><p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/321202/5c87524e71639a816b41b78ade1ceedb72b71b5d/original/tubby-review-1-2023-1-1.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p><h4 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Robyn Hitchcock Live Stream From Tubby’s House February 2023 </strong></span></h4><h4 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>2/1/23 </strong>Robyn opened by playing a bit of an instrumental, then launched into an energetic ‘Shuffle Man,’ propulsive and fun, he tore through the subject track of his latest album,<i> Shufflemania!</i> He discussed that cats Ringo and Tubby were nowhere to be seen, then Emma (off camera) asked him to move his chair, for a better camera angle, then he played the funeral song ‘When I Was Dead,’ one of my favorite songs, featuring a strong vocal Next was ‘One Day (It’s Been Scheduled)’ a poppy and pleasant new song. In Memoriam, next up was a David Crosby “twofer,” a beautifully picked ‘Everybody’s Been Burned,’ and an angsty ‘Almost Cut My Hair,’ sung in a high register. </span></h4><h4 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Emma Swift appeared and the duo thanked the Fancy Feast Fund contributors (tips designated for cat food), and after a chat started into ‘Almost A Blonde,’ a dark song with a descending chord pattern. Emma rejoined the party with Tubby, the one-eyed Scottish Fold, who promptly charged off camera. Em and Reg joked about Robyn’s songs, and after a bit, played ‘Socrates In Thin Air’ from <i>Shufflemania!</i>, very upbeat and well done. Tubby was back for a minute and ran away again. Emma brought him back for some “eye contact” while Robyn played a sad ‘Surfer Ghost,’ very folky. From here. He played ‘Ghost Ship.’ Then ‘Dark and Bones,’ droney and very Velvets-like. This one attracted Tubby to the seat next to Robin. Mentioning Phil Manzanera’s birthday, he played a beautiful ‘More Than This,’ saying goodbye at the end, he moved to his old 50’s Kay guitar, with a twangy bridge that does sound like a sitar, and did his ‘Raga-out’ extended instrumental, said goodbye again, petted and picked up Tubby, and went off camera. This was another great Swiftcock livestream. Robyn never ceases to amaze with a huge quality of top-notch melodic, whimsical, surreal, heartfelt songs. Emma is the special vocal sauce, the spice in the curry. This is as well as handling sound, pacing, and wrangling cats and chat rooms. As with last week’s show, they continue to get stronger each week.</span></h4><h4 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>02/08/23 </strong>Robyn was writing the set list as the show opened; Tubby was sitting next to him but quickly retreated. Reg, wearing his blue-with-white</span></h4><h4 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">polka dot shirt, started with a masterful ‘Chinese Bones,’ one of his prettiest and finest songs. Then was’ Mr. Deadly’ from <i>Invisible Hitchcock. </i>He then played another obscure song ’Demons and Fiends’ from <i>Spooked</i>. Emma Swift appeared, looking fantastic in a pink sweater. They had a long convo, then started with ‘Be Still,’ Their voices, as always, sounding great together. Reg and Em discussed Zen, who was described as a good boy. Reg played a made-up faux song called ‘Good Boy.’ Then into The Soft Boys’ (I want to be) An Anglepoise Lamp,‘ total power-pop heaven. Even a grooving Tubby jumped up on Emma’s stool and scratched himself. Reg continued with a folky version of ‘Underwater Moonlight’ which was just glorious. He called it “One of my top redemption by drowning songs.” Reg talked about his parents, and then played ‘Driving Aloud (Radio Storm)’ from <i>Respect</i>, Emma singing off camera. Em appeared again, saying she loved that song, and Em and Reg discussed Tubby, VR tech, the Groover chat, and ABBA. Then the duo did ‘I Often Dream Of Trains,’ Reg picked the song masterfully, and Emma provided harmonies to this beautiful song. </span></h4><h4 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">The chat continued about Valentines, Em being born in a “puddle of doubt” and Reg born in a “puddle of doom.” Then they did ‘The Yip Song,’ energetic and strong. Em departed, Robyn got some coffee, and played ‘Sayonara, Judge’ dutifully picked and sung. Next he played ‘Wouldn’t It Be Loverly’ from <i>My Fair Lady</i>, then ‘A Skull, A Suitcase, and a Long Red Bottle Of Wine,’ a great song but Reg seemed a bit tentative on this one. He tuned down a bit and did a great version of ‘Sinister But She Was Happy,’ (Em singing off camera).Reg announced he would be on tour with a band especially on the US west coast. Em appeared again, they thanked the audience, and Reg did ‘Sally Was A Legend” from J<i>ewels For Sophia</i>, and ended the show ‘raga-ing out’ on his Larrive Guitar. </span></h4><h4 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">What A great show. Plenty of deep and obscure cuts, some great hits, <i>My Fair Lady </i>and Soft Boys surprises, and plenty of Tubby! What more could a Groover ask for? </span></h4><h4 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>02/15/23 </strong>Robyn,wearing a very familiar blue with-white polka dot shirt, started off with a fast strummed version of The Beatles ‘’All My Lovin’ right into ‘Things We Said Today.’ Explaining this was a ‘romantic’ set, He did ‘My Wife And My Dead Wife,’ one of his best songs. The lovely Emma Swift appeared with some smashing heart-shaped pink sunglasses and a pink and red/ black flowered top. The duo started with ‘Birds In Perspex,’ a rather sober and mellow version, had a convo about the Dmaj7 chord, and then played ‘She Doesn’t Exist’ from ‘<i>Perspex Island' </i>straight into ‘Long Long Long’ by The Beatles. Surprisingly, ‘Idonia’ from <i>Luxor</i> was next, a song I don’t think I’ve ever heard him play. Next Fancy Feast thanks were given out, and Em left while Reg played ‘Gene Hackman,’ one of his funniest and strangest songs. Next was Glen Campbells’ ‘Wichita Lineman,’ sung beautifully with a few clams during the solo. Em returned and they did ‘Into The Arms Of Love,’ from <i>,Respect. </i>Em asked for ‘Human Music’ and Robyn played a beautiful version as Tubby sat next to him. Reg went into a ‘Jaunty’ version of ‘Bass.’ Perry the stuffed lobster was thrown at him, and he had a talk with Pezmeister, and asked about ‘Swifto and Tubbs,’ the cop duo. Emma stayed and they played ‘Walk On By,’ which had a big false start as they worked out the chords. ‘Take two was much better, Emma sounded great, but they screwed up the ending, laughing about rehearsing these things. Next was ‘The Man Who Loves The Rain’ from ’<i>Shufflemania!,’ </i>which was top-notch with a beautiful Hitchcock melody. Thanks again for the Fancy Feast fund donations, and discussion of Perry doing international pop songwriting. Emma Stayed and they did ‘I Used To Say I Love You’ from <i>‘I Often Dream Of Trains,’ </i>Em sang beautifully. The duo had a long convo, then Em retreated, and Robyn did ‘Lady Waters and the Hooded One.’ This was a great ending to a different show with lots of deep cuts, tracks from <i>Luxor, Perspex Island, Element of Light</i>, and many cool covers (Beatles, Burt Bacharach). This was maybe my personal favorite of all three shows.</span></h4><h4 dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">—Steve McGowan</span></h4>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/71589242023-02-22T20:50:21-05:002023-02-22T21:14:07-05:00The 65th Anniversary Grammy Awards on CBS<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/321202/8e21b556645ed3eab5533c8f809e8fe530448053/original/2023-grammy-social.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><meta charset="utf-8"></p><p dir="ltr"><meta charset="utf-8"></p><h3 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><meta charset="utf-8"></h3><p dir="ltr"><meta charset="utf-8"></p><h4 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">I usually pay no mind to the Grammys. To me, the Rock Hall of Fame is a much better, entertaining show. The Grammys are all about the music business, and by the business, of course I mean the industry. It’s all about the radio-friendly unit shifters and artists the great unwashed love. This is the night the unknowable stars come down from Xanadu or Poochie’s home planet or Valhalla, wherever they are from, and entertain us. How bad could it be?</span></h4><h4 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Well, CBS got off to a good start by selecting Trevor Noah, former host of The Daily Show, to be the Grammy host. Trevor is so cute and funny, he’s really irresistible (Adrienne calls him “my TV boyfriend,” and I do admit half the time I look at him there are little red hearts surrounding his head on the screen). But I digress. Trevor intro’d the show and went straight to Bad Bunny, who led a Puerto Rican-style dance party through the aisles and on to the stage, singing/rapping exclusively en Español. The beat was fierce and the party was on. Trevor, now in the crowd, introduced Brandy Carlile via her wife and two children, who were adorable, and Brandy played ‘Broken Horses,’ the only performance of the night even close to being rock and roll. With two guitars/bass/drums/backup singers, the song was strangely reminiscent of Neil Young and Crazy Horse. I was pretty impressed with Brandy and sad that A and I missed her play live in Charlotte at the Willie Nelson show that Willie didn’t play (that’s another story).</span></h4><h4 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Time to roll out the awards. J-Lo (Jenny From the Block) presented Best pop vocal LP which went to Harry Styles for ‘Harry’s House.‘ All through the show, they consulted a council of ‘superfans,’ who each tried to convince us of their choice for LP of the year, the contestants being Lizzo, ABBA (!?). Beyonce, Harry Styles, Bad Bunny, Kendrick Lamar, and Brandy Carlile. This was a good conceit to tie the fans together with their favorite artists. One of Harry Styles' fans was an older grandma type who just thought he was soooo cute and a ‘nice boy.’</span></h4><h4 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Viola Davis, having just won a grammy for a spoken word project and becoming an EGOT (Emmy-Grammy-Oscar-Tony) winner, presented Best R&B song which went to ‘Cuff It’ by Beyonce. An hour into the show, Beyonce wasn't there yet, so producer Nile Rogers accepted for her. The next presenter was Shania Twain, wearing a lurid red wig, sporting a creepy-yet-sexy clown hooker vibe. She gave the best country LP to Willie Nelson, who was not at this show either, but he beat the tar out of all the young pretenders. I hope he was trippin’ balls in his bus.</span></h4><h4 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Now was the time for … Billy Crystal! He intro’d a new award for Berry Gordy (head of Motown Records) and legendary Motown singer/songwriter Smokey Robinson. The Legend himself, Stevie Wonder, appeared to sing along with four young men who looked like the teen Temptations. They sang ‘The Way You Do That Thing You Do,’ and Smokey himself appeared and sang ‘Tears Of A Clown,’ Smokey appears ageless and his voice is still a national treasure. The party continued with Stevie singing ‘Higher Ground’ with half-man/half-bear Chris Stapleton, who added soulful vocals and some nice guitar licks. It was all very good fun, ending with Smokey presenting the award for best duo to Sam Smith and Kim Petras for ‘Unholy.’ Sam has changed from milquetoast gay singer to essentially to big binary DGAF superstar. Kim Petras is a stunning blonde who I fell in love with watching them on Saturday Night Live the other week. So imagine my surprise when she accepted the award, thanking the fellow transgender pioneers who broke the glass, especially the late Sophie. I was a little nervous but my love stood strong. You go, girl!</span></h4><h4 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">One of Lizzo’s ‘big girl’ backup dancers gave her an emotional intro, and Lizzo did her song ‘Special,’ a gospel tinged banger that was powerful and steady. SZA presented best ‘musica urbano’ LP which went to Bad Bunny for his ‘‘Un Verano Sin Ti’’ LP. BB gave a heartfelt thanks, saying his music was “Love & Passion,” and he spoke mainly in Spanish. Harry Styles played next, doing ‘As It Was’ on an elaborate rotating set, almost falling off the spinning wheel at one point. He was dressed like a Christmas tree covered in silver icicles, and the song reminded me of Ah-Ha (oh that 80s synth pop riff!) That’s all I have to say about that. </span></h4><h4 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Hot Girl Grammys started with Cardi B presenting the best rap LP. She was stunning in a dress made out of diamond shaped mirror shards, and also Kendrick Lamar won for his ’Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers’ LP. Kendrick was very gracious and grateful in his thanks. </span></h4><h4 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">The ‘In Memoriam’ death roll started with Kasey Musgraves playing ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter’ on Loretta Lynn’s guitar (with her name inlaid in the fretboard). There was a long list this year, and the roll call ended with Sheryl Crow, Bonnie Raitt, and Mick Fleetwood (playing a small hand drum), doing a sweet tribute to Christine McVie (Fleetwood Mac) with her ‘Songbird.’ </span></h4><h4 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">For some reason, Madonna appeared in full-on diva mode. The crowd was ignoring her. So she told them when and where to clap, giving Jeb Bush realness. She was as over it as I am over her. She did talk about “Provocative” artists and then introduced Sam Smith and Kim Petras.</span></h4><h4 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Aaaaaannd, the orgy was ON. Their Caligula-like performance of ‘Unholy’ was off the charts. Sam wore huge red platform boots and skintight leather/vinyl red pants. They were our FedEx carrier tonight, as Sammy had a package for you, and they weren’t shy about showing it off. All this was happening with plenty of half-naked dancers worshiping Sam. Meanwhile, In the back, Kim Petras was writhing in a cage, sporting a skintight red dress and thigh-high boots. This made me feel funny. Like I climbed the rope in gym class. Sam doffed a top hat with devil horns, and by the fade out I was imagining myself as the meat in a Kim/Sam sandwich.Their tune was pure, straight-up sleaze, and I loved every bit of it. While they mopped the stage, James Corden presented Best Electronic LP to … Beyonce (wha’?) Anyway Queen Bey brought her Grammy total to 32, the most of any artist ever. (Eclipsing the late Sir George Solti).</span></h4><h4 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Mary J. Blige played ‘Good Morning Gorgeous’ with a cool set, string players playing strung up TV’s. LL Cool J presented a new award, the Dr. Dre Impact Award, to who else, Dr. Dre. There was a nice video about his rap productions, his ownership of Beats, and his philanthropic work. Dre gave a gracious speech that segued into the celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. The Roots’ Black Thought told us hip-hop started 50 years ago when DJ Cool Herc played a community center in Harlem, both rapping over records and ‘scratching’ records on the turntable. This particular tribute was curated by Questlove, and they jammed a lot of hip hop into a short time. Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel and Scorpio of the Furious Five gave us The Message, Kings of Rock Reverend Run and DMC <i>were</i>, LL Cool J did some of ‘Rock The Bells,’ and Salt ‘N Pepa gave the proceedings some girl power, Chuck D. and Flavor Flav represented for Public Enemy, Ice T reminded us he wasn’t always po-po, and Queen Latifa pleaded for U.N.I.T.Y., Busta Rhymes came out and killed with his super-fast flow, Missy Elliot reigned, and the set wrapped up with Nelly and ‘Hot In Herre.’ It was a joyous celebration. Jay-Z was going crazy in the crowd, and a great time was had by all.</span></h4><h4 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">The Rock presented the best solo performance, which went to Adele for ‘30,’ Adele was hilarious in her thanks, keeping it as real as ever. Country singer Luke Holmes was introduced by the bar owner of the venue where Luke cut his teeth, a club in Boone, NC. Luke came out and played ‘Going, Going, Gone.’ The best thing about his performance was his custom made Gibson J-200 guitar, in a beautiful blue color with his name on the fretboard. The song he was playing, however, was very formulaic and in that ‘Country Pop’ mode that has infected the radio. His band had three electric guitars, one acoustic, drums and bass, and a steel player just to play G, C, and D. </span></h4><h4 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Now I’m not much for body shaming anyone, but what is up with all these big guy country stars? Where we come from, a country singer lives on a steady diet of bacon, cigarettes, beer, whiskey, meth, and corn squeezins (moonshine).They are always slim and malnourished looking. Think of the prototype: Hank Williams. These big country stars make me nervous.</span></h4><h4 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr">
<span style="color:#000000;">First Lady Dr. Jill Biden presented a new award, for songs that make a positive social impact. This went to Steven Hajipour, an Iranian dissident, for his song ‘Baraye,’which deals with the current protests going on in Iran versus the Islamic government. Song of the Year was presented to Bonnie Raitt for ‘Just Like That,’ a beautiful ballad about a mother’s loss of her son who had given another life via an organ transplant. Having received a life-saving transplant myself, this one hits very hard. Please check it out at </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Skd0XR3twCA"><span style="color:#1155cc;"><u>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Skd0XR3twCA</u></span></a><span style="color:#000000;">. Bonnie was genuinely shocked about winning; up against Beyonce, Lizzo, Taylor Swift, and Adele, she choked back tears during her acceptance speech, making a point to mention John Prine. </span>
</h4><h4 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Chris Martin of Coldplay, wearing that stupid hackysack hat, presented Record of the Year, which went to ‘About Damn Time’ by Lizzo. Lizzo was as excited as a schoolgirl, thanking Beyonce and all her fans. They cut to the fans ‘focus group’ table, talking about Album of the Year. Then Steve Lacy played ‘Bad Habit’ with Thundercat, The song was breezy pop that reminded me a bit of early Rick James, and Thundercat slayed on a many, many stringed bass guitar.</span></h4><h4 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Olivia Rodrigo, last year’s winner, presented Best New Artist to Samara Joy, a young jazz singer who sounds a bit like Sarah Vaughn. I would have loved to hear her perform, but it was time for Album of the Year. Trevor brought up the grandma Harry Styles fan who read the card giving him the award for ‘Harry’s House.’ She was as thrilled as he was. Harry gave a great acceptance, reminding people there is really no ‘best’ in music. The show was basically over but we still had to sit through an eight minute DJ Khalid song. I really don’t get this guy, he appears to have NO ability or talent of any kind except for being a hype man. Anyway, out on the road in front of the arena, he had a band, and a table festooned with food and wine, Medieval Times style. Round the table were Lil Wayne (with auto tune), Rick Ross, John Legend (with piano), and, thankfully, Jay-Z. They were playing ‘God Did,’ which featured a strong verse from Wayne and an exceptional break from Jay-Z, but in general this song had no cool beats, no new samples, or any recognizable hooks. It was a piece of ready made dreck just like Luke Holmes’ song. A total waste of time and talent. So mercifully, this year’s Grammys were over.</span></h4><h4 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Plus points for Trevor Noah, Brandy Carlisle, and Sam and Kim. Not every awards show makes me consider my sexuality, but this one especially did. The Motown and hip-hop tributes were stellar, and the Grammys get kudos for a much more inclusive show than the Rock Hall of Fame. They tried hard this year, and I really believe it paid off. Until next year, see ya all you Stars!</span></h4><h4> </h4><h4 style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">—---Steve McGowan </span></h4>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/71506582023-02-08T14:51:40-05:002023-02-22T18:17:41-05:00Robyn Hitchcock Live Stream from Tubby’s House on Mandolin 01/25/23 <h3 style="text-align: justify;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/321202/4ca2edeb62f80eca4d0117ad8e57d2320e8f0099/original/12023-tubby-thumbnail-1.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsImxhcmdlIl1d.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_none" alt="" /></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">I’ve missed too many Robyn streams here at the end of the year/start of the new year, so it’s time to get with the Groovers again. Robyn (AND the marvelous Emma Swift) are now streaming on Mandolin, and do shows from Tubby’s House in London when they are not residing in Nashville, TN. This week’s show opened with an intro, an introduction of Tubby, (sitting on a stool next to Robyn), and announcing an all request show starting with 'Debbie Reynolds,’ followed by a beautiful, poppy ‘Ferries.’ Next was a stately version of ‘My Sins.’ Following a brief discussion with Emma, Reg played ‘Vibrating’ and ‘Globe of Frogs,’ both from the same record. Emma Swift appeared, replacing Tubby, and the duo thanked fans for contributing to the Fancy Feast Fund. </h3>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">The duo launched into an intimate version of ‘Madonna Of The Wasps,' their voices, as always, complementing each other perfectly. After an extended convo, the duo picked up with a groovin’ ‘Ride.’ Next was another long convo, discussing rump, Ron Wood, Perry the Lobster, and more, then Emma left to check the online chat, while Reg played a fast ‘Sinister But She Was Happy.’ Next up, he played an instrumental ('Mr. Ringerson’s Picnic’) from his upcoming instrumental album Life After Infinity. This one had a bit of a ragtime feel. </h3>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">Now it was time for Perry the Lobster to read the news from year zero, followed by ‘Holloway Johnny,’ an Irish sea shanty(!). Right into a beautiful ‘I Often Dream Of Trains,’ and the return of Emma Smith at the end brought some real frivolity. Reg got it together and the duo did a power-pop style version of ‘UpTo Our Nex.' Em took off and Robyn did a fantastic version of ‘Cathedral.’ Last song coming up, Emma appeared and they both said goodbye and thanks, then Robyn played ‘Element of Light,’ just killing it with his fingerpicking and singing on a fantastic song and “raga-ing out” in the middle and at the end, switching to an old, cheap Kay 50’s guitar and totally going full raga. </h3>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">This was quite an expansive and thought-provoking show. As the new year comes in, Robyn appears to be getting even better and stronger. It is great to be along for this ride, watching him improving with his very talented muse, Emma Swift. I think we will see big things for this duo this year. </h3>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">—-Steve McGowan</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/71435802023-01-26T14:03:14-05:002023-01-26T14:17:03-05:00Catch-up Review! 2021 Rock N Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/bab1d4e5b45624622f16fa4d0a716c52f2d6a233/original/hof-2021-blog-1.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_regular">I noticed the other day that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2022 was airing on HBO in anticipation of the 2023 ceremony. This made me realize I had not finished my review of the 2021 broadcast. The time gap? There lies a tale for another day. With 2023’s event looming, there’s no motivation like a deadline, so here we go, 2021. </span></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_regular">The Hall Of Fame keeps rolling along. The show abandoned live music last year (2020) due to Covid, but was back strong now with a strong list of both female and black artists. </span></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_regular">The first inductee was Carole King, introduced by Taylor Swift, singing the feminist anthem ‘Will You Love Me Tomorrow.’ Carole could have won a HOF award just on all the memorable hits she and husband Jerry Goffin wrote; they cranked them out in NYC’s Brill Building. Songs like ‘Pleasant Valley Sunday’ (for the Monkees) and ‘Natural Woman’(for Aretha Franklin) and many, many others .Once divorced, she wrote and recorded <em>Tapestry</em>, the ultimate singer-songwriter album and a staple possession of any and every young woman of the day. It sold over 25 Million copies. Carole came out to the piano, and with her old band, played ‘It’s Too Late,’ and ‘Up On The Roof,’ sounding strong and confident. A surprise was next, as James Taylor showed up and he and Carole did a sweet version of ‘You’ve Got A Friend.’ Taylor Swift inducted Carole, and after a few words, Carole thanked Aretha Franklin. Jennifer Hudson, making the rounds as Aretha in her new biopic, started ‘Natural Woman.’ Jennifer began slowly but ended up tearing the roof off the sucka - she is a phenomenal talent. </span></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_regular">Next out was Dr. Dre to induct LL Cool J. Dre explained that LL is the kind of artist all generations like, from your middle school kids to college age to momma’s age, even your Grandpa. LL was the first act signed to Def Jam Records, and as had a lot of memorable hits over 5 decades, including ‘I Need Love,’ ‘Around The Way, Girl,’ ‘Doin’ It,’ ‘Going Back To Cali,’ and 'Mama Said Knock You Out.’ LL got up to play, wearing a cool silver space suit style jumpsuit, and rolled out a medley of his hits, Eminem showing up for one song (‘Rock the Bells’) and J-Lo on another(‘All I Have’). It was crazy good fun. </span></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_regular">The next section was ‘Early Influences’ featuring three shorter video clips. First, Tom Morello inducted Randy Rhoades, Ozzy Osbourne's guitarist who played on ‘Crazy Train’ and many other essential metal tracks. Ringo Starr inducted Billy Preston, who played on the <em>Let It Be</em> LP, and also played with the Rolling Stones, and had his own hits with ‘That’s The Way God Planned it’ and ‘Will It Go Round In Circles.’There was a too-short clip for Kraftwerk, the German electronic band that practically invented electronic music and have been a massive influence on all genres. </span></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_regular">The highlight of the evening was next, with the induction of the Go-Go’s. Drew Barrymore gave a real fangirl introduction while changing into a towel, applying cold cream, and wrapping a towel on her head (like the band did on the cover of <em>Beauty And The Beat</em>). Once inducted, the band gave their thanks then tore into a great mini-set. Singer Belinda looked stylish in a multi-colored shift dress and plastic jellies. Charlotte the lead guitarist wore her standard black Catholic school dress with white lace collar, bassist Kathy was all Texas cowgirl, wearing jeans, a giant denim duster, and cowboy hat. Powerhouse drummer Gina sported a high-tech workout suit, and ‘pixie' guitarist Jane wore a plaid suit with Doc Martens and a Mohawk. The girls tore into ‘Turn To You’ and then a raucous ‘Vacation,’ followed by ‘Head Over Heels,’ and a sweet ‘Our Lips Are Sealed’ (RIP Terry Hall, and the subject of SGS 024, linked <a contents="here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://zubrecords.com/singles-going-steady-podcast/blog/024-sgs-the-go-go-s-our-lips-are-sealed">here</a>) and ended up with a triumphant ‘We Got The Beat,’ which resulted in an extended standing ovation. Finally, the HOF recognized the first US all-girl band to write and play their own songs and have big hits and record sales. Not to forget the Go- Go’s influence on millions of young boys and girls that wanted to start a band. </span></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_regular">Angela Bassett, who played Tina Turner in the movie <em>What’s Love Got To Do With It</em> , was there to induct Tina Turner. The tribute began with Keith Urban and H.E.R. who did ‘It’s Only Love,’ originally recorded by Tina with Bryan Adams. Mickey Guyton appeared and sang ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It,’wearing a black leather dress and blue jean jacket.The winner tonight,however was Christina Agulierra, who smashed a version of’ ‘RiverDeep, Mountain High,' which I would argue is one of the best American singles ever made. </span></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_regular">Clarence Avent was given the Ahmet Ertegun Lifetime Achievement Award. Clarence was an African American manager who promoted black identity and culture and who watched out for his clients’ money. He was known as ‘The Godfather’ in L.A. Sadly, you may have read that his house was recently broken into and his wife murdered. Patti Smith: of all people Patti was there to induct Todd Rundgren. His mixture of skewed pop. power-pop and prog-rock was in evidence in the video clip, showing him playing early signature hits ‘Open My Eyes’ as well as ‘Hello. It’s Me’ and a Utopia song. The Hall had a joke on Todd, playing a clip of him entering the Berklee College Hall of Fame in 1970, swearing he would never accept a Rock Hall Of Fame Induction. So off went the Todd segment with sad trombones. Next up, Gary Clark Jr. played a song by Charley Patton, the great bluesman. Clark killed it and provided a great tribute. Next up was Dave Chapell to induct Jay-Z. Dave insisted that Jay “Was Still Ours,’ meaning an important part of black culture. This had me thinking that Rock and Roll was invented by black culture. When I think of Rock and Roll, I think of Chuck Berry and Little Richard. This year's awards made an effort to include African-American artists, so often ignored and excluded by the Hall Of Fame named for the genre they created. </span></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_regular">Jay-Z (Shawn Carter) has a legendary story, growing up and selling drugs in Brooklyn’s Marcy Projects, he went pro with his rap game, started his own label,and proceeded to make a fortune. He is a symbol of success for Black America, and in his speech mentioned working for Obama during the last election. The guy has juice,as they say. Finally it was time for The Foo Fighters, inducted by Paul McCartney. Wait…What…Who? Yes., Macca was there and compared Nirvana to The Beatles and The Foo Fighters with Wings. A strange comparison for sure but the Foos got on stage and rocked it out. I don’t really think this band is HOF material but it seems like someone is throwing Dave Grohl a bone. After a medley of their hits, the Foos played ‘Get Back’ with Paul and it was a truly excellent version </span></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_regular">So, this HOF has really straightened things up with plenty of girl power and African-American swagger. This was a great show with lots of fantastic performances and very little drama. It’s already time for the next one. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_regular">—-Steve McGowan</span></h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/68049402021-11-10T17:51:33-05:002023-01-26T08:13:18-05:00Hello Again, Live Music: Elvis Costello & The Imposters @ Belk Theater CLT 10/20/21<h3><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/3a5bfdcc4bc81b1650ba2c2ac79ecde03c871ebb/original/charlie-and-elvis.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_none" alt="" /></h3>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Elvis and Charlie in CLT 10.20.21 </strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_small">photo by Adrienne Meddock</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<h3>The last time I saw live music in person was March 7, 2020. The promise of a masked and vaxxed audience in a well-ventilated venue lured me back to see old favorites Elvis Costello & The Imposters in Charlotte’s Cesar Pelli designed Belk Theatre. What a way to poke my head out of the lockdown-shell: beautiful modern opera house venue and the promise of a super-charged Costello, whose cancer scare seems to have infused him with a heightened creative near compulsion. </h3>
<h3>I was the first one in the hall and the ushers were chatty with me. No opener, no intermission they tell me. 600 on the main floor, 450 in the balconies. Ushers patrolled the hall to make sure people kept their masks on. There were scarcely any reminders needed in an older and devoted crowd. </h3>
<h3>Costello played voraciously, like he'd just gotten out of jail. Energetic, playful. Purposeful. In good voice. Pete Thomas was an absolute MONSTER on the drums--really great sound for him tonight. Steve Nieve was spectacular as usual, especially on the unexpected request for <em>Get Happy!!</em>'s ‘Motel Matches.’ (I see this has been added to subsequent show sets). Elvis asked the 3 regulars if they were up for it and off they went. The keys were magnificent as ever, Nieve reveling in the old classic. Newcomer Charlie Sexton played along as on-the-job training, it seems. </h3>
<h3>Sexton, whose dreamy Chet Baker looks were all over record shops promo posters in the 80s was along for this tour, having pinched for Steve Nieve on a few early dates of the tour. Evidently he has spent my consciousness interregnum in Dylan’s band becoming an intuitive and creative guitarist gunslinger. I wouldn’t be mad if he became a fixture in the Imposters. A promo photo from EC labelled “The Imposters” hit social media early in the week--not sure if we are getting a teaser for something more permanent. A little of the old Jake Riviera huckster magic lingering? Anyway, Steve Nieve had been holed up in France "the Victor Laszlo of rock n roll" as EC said, unable to get his letters of transit, and now they were five on this tour. </h3>
<h3>The band is a lethal weapon--and reminded me of a high-strung but utterly responsive show horse--watching for EC's hand signs and audibles as they turned on a dime. Peak performers at peak performance. Both loose and tight-as-Spanx. My view of Davey was mostly blocked by a close and great view of EC. I did see (and hear) he had the upright out at a point. LOTS of new material, and killer renditions of <em>Hey Clockface</em> tunes. Bliss. </h3>
<h3>I took a few scribble-in-the-dark notes. The version of ‘Everyday I Write the Book' was a slowed-down R & B dance number--more Chi Lites and less Temptations to my ears. New song ‘Penelope Ha’penny’ was an escapee from <em>Get Happy!!</em> (Davey is a lovely bass player, but a Bruce Thomas unexpected rollicking, ever-changing bass line would be a welcome addition here. Yes, I know it sounds like I can’t get over the ex, but <em>Spanish Model</em> only reminds me how adore a BT bassline). <em>Rubber Soul-Revolver </em>era Beatles also came through at points. It’s already a favorite. Man, I can hardly wait to hear this with Kitten and Brianna! </h3>
<h3>‘Uncomplicated’ interspersed with ‘Shotgun’ is the sort of encyclopedic-musical-brain playful reference we want from EC. Charlie Sexton put on his cowboy tooled-leather-saddle patterned Tele for 'Country Darkness,' which was perfect, He and Davey chimed in on backing vocals, Steve joining in from time to time. It was a big but not crowded sound. </h3>
<h3>There was a running side drama between EC and his guitar tech, who only sometimes seemed to have the guitar ready at the right time, at least not often enough for EC’s liking. He began 'Watching the Detectives' with his big hollow body, switching mid-song to the Jazzmaster. At the show at Anthem, he had guitar pedal drama. <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubbeastly" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubbeastly">tinyurl.com/zubbeastly</a> He rolled through both times OK, but mo’ shows, mo’ problems. </h3>
<h3>After the impromptu aforementioned ‘Motel Matches,” the band attacked ‘Tonight The Bottle Let Me Down,’ the Merle Haggard honky tonk barn burner. I think the last time I heard this played live with this band was at the Grand Ol’ Opry on the Almost Blue, Almost ‘82 tour! Charlie launched in like a true Nashville Cat and this was an exuberant shit-kicker of a romp. A pleased and surprised EC exclaimed “Setlist? What the FUCK is that!” </h3>
<h3>A new ‘Brilliant Mistake’ arrangement seemed informed by the wider-America: it had a Latin American, Samba-esque approach, with Pete trading the sticks for mallets. Very slinky and super-cool. The<em> Spanish Model </em>and Senastian Krys collaborations may have opened EC’s unsated musical appetites south of the US border. Maybe we have South to look forward to. He slid into ‘Boulevard of Broken Dreams,’ using lots of Dusty-Springfield-style hand flourishes to conduct the band mid-song. He often had Charlie and Steve trade solos--key solo and then a guitar solo. That was new and welcome. It didn’t feel excessive and was quite cool. </h3>
<h3>There was a new arrangement for ‘(I Don’t Want To Go To) Chelsea’ and the band, including Charlie were entirely fused with the song. It was transcendent as all five were just merged. And then they morphed into a new song, called, I think, ‘Magnificent Hurt.’ Wow. </h3>
<h3>They played straight through, no breaks, no lengthy stories that allowed the band to go out and smoke a butt. He played an energetic “Farewell, OK’ (the 2020 streamed release) and said goodnight. But they just stayed and played. So much better than the encore game we usually have to play with artists. </h3>
<h3>With the reimagining (Spanish Model) and remastering of This Year’s Model at least half a dozen songs from the album were included in the set, but it didn’t feel particularly like a TYM-centered show. The EC Wiki setlist is here if you want the complete grocery list: <a contents="http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Concert_2021-10-20_Charlotte " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Concert_2021-10-20_Charlotte">http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Concert_2021-10-20_Charlotte </a>
</h3>
<h3>What a fantastic show. EC has hit his SIXTH decade playing live and he has remained fresh, vital, inventive and driven. The new songs are strong. Two albums are slated for 2022, one with Burt Bacharach and the other I hope will feature ‘Penelope’ and the other new-to-us songs.* I am not sure how, but they keep making it fresh. </h3>
<h3>--Adrienne Ha’penny Meddock. Sulky Girl No More </h3>
<p> </p>
<h3>*The new album was announced as <em>The Boy If</em> since the review was written</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/67961152021-11-02T16:18:09-04:002021-11-02T16:18:09-04:00Review: Netflix's Inventing Davis Geffen <h3> </h3>
<h3><span class="font_small"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/f952460b195c023cbd85a70e52eead10950c5693/original/inventing-david-bw.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span></h3>
<h3>David Geffen would have to be invented if he didn't already exist. First aired on PBS (<em>American Masters</em>), then on Netflix, this view of Geffen, agent, record label owner, and movie producer, is mostly from his own words, with some impressive special guests. </h3>
<h3>Geffen was born to a wealthy Jewish family in Brooklyn. Not a good student, he dreamed of going to California and working in the movies. The day he graduated high school, he drove out to California, getting parts as an extra in a few films. Coming back home to NYC, he got a job in the mailroom at the William Morris Agency. He then applied for a talent agency job. Told he needed a college degree, David, full of chutzpah, told everyone he had graduated from UCLA. Still in the mailroom, he waited for the denial letter from UCLA to arrive and changed it to show he had graduated. That’s how he got his first proper industry job. </h3>
<h3>Back in California with fellow mailroom worker Eliot Roberts, the duo picked up agency clients such as Laura Nyro and Crosby, Stills and Nash. Geffen was very enthusiastic about his clients’ music and very hands-on with his clients. All the artists in the singer-songwriter genre in L.A. gathered at his office, playing music and smoking weed. When Geffen found Jackson Browne, a sensitive songwriter with movie-star good looks, other record execs told him he’d have to start his own label, so Asylum Records was born. They quickly signed The Eagles, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, and Linda Ronstadt. </h3>
<h3>The doc makes a distinction between New York musicians, having to claw for record deals and work with shifty agents, and the California model, where agents found the musical artists and nurtured them, even allowing some records to fail in terms of sales to help the artists grow. Clips from artists, such as Glenn Frey from the Eagles, sing David’s praises. Eliot, his label and management partner, became a ‘super’ agent with Joni. The Eagles, and Neil Young on his roster. </h3>
<h3>In 1980, Geffen started Geffen Records (under Warner Brothers) and his first signing was... </h3>
<h3>Donna Summer. This was the disco queen in her last throes, as the pop music scene entered the ‘new wave’ period. Still. Geffen Records went off like a rocket, signing the right acts at the right time, including Whitesnake, Lennon and Ono, Aerosmith, Guns & Roses, Elton John, XTC, and a little band from Washington State called Nirvana. Geffen got into it with Neil Young, who released Trans, Re-Act-or, and a rockabilly record, Geffen/Geffen Records sued Young for not making “Neil Young music.” Neil fought back hard, making Geffen look like a clown. </h3>
<h3>By 1990 Geffen Records was sold for well over a billion dollars. Having already bought Jack Warner’s mansion in Los Angeles, Geffen decided to become a movie mogul. The Geffen Film Company released <em>Risky Business</em> (with Tom Cruise) in 1983 and Beetlejuice in 1988. They produced Broadway adaptations of <em>Cats </em>and <em>Dreamgirls</em>. Proceeds from these hits allowed him to start Dreamworks Studios with Stephen Spielberg and Jeffery Katzenberg. David had come to be the movie mogul he dreamed of as a boy. </h3>
<h3>In interviews, Geffen seems genuinely warm and convivial. He isn’t afraid to talk about his 10 year relationship with Cher, although he is and always been a gay man. He carefully tells the story of how he forged the William Morris Letter. He’s just a schlub from Brooklyn that took the off-ramp to fame that is now worth $10.1 billion Dollars. He has a modern art collection bigger than a museum's and a couple of yachts. All of this does not seem to impress him. He gave $400 million to UCLA for a new medical school, perhaps finally settling up with his fake alma mater. </h3>
<h3>David Geffen, while inventing himself, did not seem to forget about friends and loyalty. He is much loved in the entertainment industry and not out for blood or treasure. </h3>
<h3>It’s a good invention indeed. </h3>
<h3>-----Steve McGowan</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/67440622021-09-12T20:44:04-04:002021-09-12T20:44:04-04:00SHQ July Swelter: Wherein we all get a case of the Nixons<h3><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/6788212f94d24da83387af4dfbe99ae4e2d6b755/original/july-rh-shq.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></h3>
<h2><strong>Friday July 2: “Insertion Issues” </strong></h2>
<h3>Auspicious beginning! The Telecaster is out and ‘Give it to The Soft Boys’ starts us off, with some random video looping courtesy StageIt that lends an unintentional arty, cool effect. It’s a bit of artistic trouvé luck so far, but we’ll see if we get it straight before it makes itself unwelcome. </h3>
<h3>For ‘Vibrating’ RH switches to the acoustic as the Tele’s connection is loose causing a jittery sound, the aforementioned “Insertion Issues.” Robyn brings out the harp--usually the cats’ bane--but the coast seems clear and RH belts out a harmonica accompaniment to ‘Only the Stones Remain.’ Yeoman Andy Washington had posted a video of Tubs, pre-show, snoring wheezily--seemingly impervious to anything. After the song, we get the Tub report from Robyn, like the stones, Tubby remains! Didn't seem to affect him either way.” Are these SHQ shows becoming staples to the kitty boys like they are to us? </h3>
<h3>Utility support player Andy Washington, who is leading tech on these shows in Emma’s absence, had posted a pre-show video of Tubby the Scottish Fold snoring wheezily and sleeping deeply as he was curled in a chair in “Studio C.” </h3>
<h3>‘Museum of Sex’ gets a do-over, as RH stops and starts “let’s try that riff again.” I think it is rather enjoyable, but Robyn informs us “that section of the show was complimentary,” He had been trying to nurse the bad cable, but no dice. </h3>
<h3>‘Tonight’ and ‘Recalling the Truth’ are smoother sailing and then ‘Egyptian Cream’ is rather inspired, replete with a wonderfully rapid chugging guitar as undergirding. We are informed that this was “in E, a very, very positive key.” </h3>
<h3>We get a shout out, “Happy Birthday, Debbie Harry. I met her once. My biggest moment in show business.” Andy chimes in with an update: Tubs is still sleeping. It may be an SHQ first. </h3>
<h3>Perhaps a nod to Debbie, next is ‘Blonde Sometimes.’ Out comes the harp again, Tubby still curled up, dozing with Perry the stuffed lobster. ‘This Could Be the Day’ pleases us Groovers but doesn’t aggravate Tub--a great combination. RH tells us it featured “ a little Franz Ferdinand Scots-beat -- not sure if that came through.” </h3>
<h3>We go “back to the key of D” for “what happened to Morris Windsor and self a few years ago”: ‘Goodnight Oslo.” It’s upbeat and enthusiastic and the commentariat is wigging out. “This gig is awesome!” The show has seemed both exceptionally enthusiastic and comfortable. Just great. </h3>
<h3>‘Devil’s Coachman’ leads to ‘Raymond and The Wires,’ completing the transportation dyad. The song is so moving, it makes it hard to breathe. Always glad to have it pop up on SHQ. In the nick of time, Tubby appeared for his showbiz moment, held up for the punters to ooh in approval, a perfect sign off. </h3>
<h2> </h2>
<h2>Wednesday July 7 </h2>
<h3>No review: we must have been vibrating this week. </h3>
<h2> </h2>
<h2>Wednesday July 14: Return of The Emma! Nashville </h2>
<h3>It’s Bastille Day, we’re in strange digs in Nashville, and The Emma is here as promised! She’s back from a long Covid-disrupted trip to Australia, we’re meeting up in the US to prepare for the Newport Folk Festival dates for Blonde on the Tracks. Tubby and Ringo have been spared travel for the month or so in the US by remaining in London. </h3>
<h3>Somebody ring it!?! We start with Groover favorite ‘The Cheese Alarm.’ RH tells us he wrote in 1997 outside a Chicago Hotel. The biggest improvement since those days? One can get oat lattes all over the place! We transition from the dairy to the approaching climate revolt with a song Robyn and KT Tunstall put together on a 2008 expedition of artists who were taken to see first-hand the impact of climate change.”There Goes the Ice. </h3>
<h3>A pair of birthday dedications were next.To celebrate Tanya Donelly’s birthday Reg played her ‘Feed the Tree’ and for the late Soft Boy Matthew Seligman, ‘Insanely Jealous. Lovely.’ </h3>
<h3>The sweaty Nixons, so prevalent in London’s summer, are in abundance in Nashville. RH needed to “wipe those old Nixons that follow me from continent to continent.” </h3>
<h3>Enter...Emma! “You look like one of my better dreams,” he beamed. It’s great to have them reunited, as is evident by the next song, their duet ‘Trams of Old London.’ It's perfect and we are all reminded it has been a hard two months. </h3>
<h3>One of my favorites, ‘Heaven’ is one Robyn tells us he’d been pining to sing again with Emma. We also get wonderful duets on ‘Glass Hotel,’’Sayonara Judge,’ and a “spritely dismal” ‘rendition of The Yip Song.’ </h3>
<h3>A little mock prickly banter and they break into song, RH improvising ‘My Next Divorce’ and Emma jumping right in. Groovy marital decay? </h3>
<h3>‘Somewhere Apart,’ ‘Queen Elvis,’and a wee bit of ‘Queen of Eyes’’ finishes off this Sweet (Someone else’s) Home Sweet Quarantine. Good to have the voice and the banter and the presence of Emma back. </h3>
<h3>--Adrienne “Liberte Egalite Fraternite” Meddock </h3>
<h3> </h3>
<h2>July 23 </h2>
<h3>Today is the birthday of your author, and SHQ was an inspired way to celebrate the day. Robyn is resplendent in a purple floral shirt, jumping right in with ‘I’m Only You,” played on the very bright acoustic, you know the one with the light headstock and neck and dark body. Its tone is so bright, it just rings. They are still in Nashville, beaming from borrowed digs. </h3>
<h3>‘Acid Bird’ shows Robyn in great voice today, hitting the highs quite well. He’s picked up the Gibson and it is ringing. Borrowed digs are great for guitar sounds, including this one. Love the sound. Robyn points out on the heels of the song marking decay that he “didn’t instantly turn grey, I gradually turned white.” Me too, Reg. </h3>
<h3>Next up, ripe for July is “I Got the Hots For You,” and while London has been toasty, the wet air of the American South is nonpareil on the kind of heat that just bastes its objects. RH in TN and ME in NC. The song ends without a bang, RH proclaiming “instead of a butch John Lennon ending” we got a “rather exhausted diva on a lilypad in the middle of a lake, rehearsing.” We’ll take it! </h3>
<h3>Robyn coaxes his acoustic into delivering a wonderful, persistent drone for ‘Strange.’ RH announces “I’m requesting this because you (Emma) quite like it.” Aww. They duet on ‘Fifty Two Stations.’ </h3>
<h3>We are in Newport Folk Fest prep mode, where Emma will sing songs from Blonde on the Tracks to Robyn’s guitar accompaniment. Emma gives her take on ‘Queen Jane Approximately’ and it is solid as ever. Emma says Reg is now a “Nashville picker like Dave Rawlings with a slightly more ambitious shirt and a slightly cheaper guitar.” Fair play. RH notes that on this short trip to the US they are without the Folds, so that they are like The Beatles without John Lennon or the Jimi Hendrix Experience without Jimi.” We do love to see the kitties! </h3>
<h3>The second BOTT cut was ‘I Contain Multitudes,’ which Dylan has never performed live. The live score stands at ES: 7 and BD:0 for live renderings. She might need to give him pointers before he trots it out on stage. </h3>
<h3>RH’s ‘Feathery Serpent God” gets the melodic, folky treatment; someone in the comments mentions Nilsson. That singer-songwriter feels summoned by this one. Lovely. </h3>
<h3>Robyn tells us the next album will feature “weedy, Nordic backing...weedy things in a clump.” After a stream of consciousness he informs us that the iPhone 17 will be part of us as we evolutionarily merge with our phones. I, for one, welcome the hands free convenience. </h3>
<h3>To get in “Newport Folk Festival mode” RH plays a song he recorded with “Gill and Dave,” ‘Television.’from Spooked. RH digresses on his failed attempts to woo the ladies with his Beefheart inspired lyrics. </h3>
<h3>That leads us to the lady in the room. We are in full-on Newport Folk inspiration, with another Bob number, ‘You’re A Big Girl Now,’ the final track on Emma’s Dylan album and the final track for us Groovers on this Friday SHQ. </h3>
<h3>--Adrienne “Another Year Older and Deeper in Debt” Meddock </h3>
<h3> </h3>
<h2>7/30: Welcome Back to Studio C, London </h2>
<h3>RH is in great spirits, safely ensconced in Studio C after the unfamiliar digs and Newport Folk festival shenanigans. Our London home feels familiar and safe. ‘Sudden Town,’ ‘Surgery.’ and ‘Mr. Rock ‘N’ Roll give us a Robyn in great spirits. Emma is still jet-lagged and I am a bit too. Well exam-drafting lagged, not quite so globe-trotting and glamorous as the jet kind. </h3>
<h3>RH has the folkie/troubadour acoustic Gibson out, its white rectangular pick guard giving us full-on Newport Folk hangover. Nice. Sounds great on ‘Autumn Sunglasses.’ Tubby, who we’ve missed terribly during the US break, appears, a fairly disdainful participant. RH assures us he’d been watching attentively.He may be an aviator yet remains a haughty feline to the core. Even Ringo allows himself a moment on camera. We Groovers gush. RH requests a “Nixon remover” and informs us, ominous, that the SHQs “may continue for sometime.” </h3>
<h3>It’s on to Dave’s request, ‘Let’s Go Thundering,’ and for afters, a musical Mary statuette, which RH plays for our entertainment while he tunes. It actually made for a nice effect. Perhaps Mary will join the SHQ gang in future. </h3>
<h3>The slide comes out for ‘Going to Live in the Trees,’ and it is incredibly energizing. Yay! It leads into the elegiac ‘NY Doll,’ invoking the late Arthur Kane. Emma is running support today, assisting with song request acknowledgements from off camera. Emma is such a trouper and faced down the clumsy festival schedulers at Newport Fest to ultimately triumph in a lovely set on the main stage. </h3>
<h3>‘Sleeping with Your Devil Mask,’ a 1987 tune, which RH tells us is when “the world went to hell, but it took a while to get there.” A medley of Dylan’s ‘Lo and Behold’ sliding into ‘Ode to Billie Joe’ is an unexpected and nice pairing. This grouping ends with recent song ‘Upgrade Me,’ which I really like. </h3>
<h3>“Tip me or I’ll play ‘Desolation Row’” Robyn taunts. But the Groovers dig it immensely, tipping in support, comments demanding more. “I don’t understand people; I understand cats,” RH remarks. </h3>
<h3>We get a weather-related song, “a dismal song of mine,” ‘Old Man Weather.’ Mid-song, RH tells us “there was supposed to be a flute solo here, but I couldn’t face putting one on the record.” He does play harmonica, I guess that’s the working man’s flute. Sounds great, anyway. </h3>
<h3>That’s back to London, where in bidding farewell and “Love on ya,” RH proclaims they are taking Perry the lobster out for a curry. Nice to be back in Studio C. </h3>
<h3>-- Adrienne “Choctaw Ridge” Meddock</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/67340792021-09-02T13:33:22-04:002021-09-02T13:41:58-04:00The Hold Steady's New LP: Open Door Policy<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/c15eb9112e4db626d9b0461eaceb0251b7e633b8/original/hold-steady-odp-crop.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<h3>It’s no secret that Adrienne and I were geeks. We met at a High School Model United Nations conference and I believe life has never been the same for either of us. Both history wonks, we knew that The Open Door Policy was started in the 1890s by Secretary Of State Hayes. It applied to China, which was being split into ‘Zones of Influence’ by the colonial powers, especially the British, Dutch. Portuguese, German, and baby imperialist Americans. This new policy allowed any country to deal with and trade with any zone in the territory. To work this title into the Hold Steady narrative, it seems like guitarist Tad Kubler’s songwriting territory has been opened up to other songwriters, especially keyboardist Franz Nicolay and guitarist Steve Selvidge on the new album with the wonky name-check. (Lincoln wonks will note Secretary Hayes and JG Nicolay served as Lincoln's assistants--it is all tying nerdily together). </h3>
<h3>‘The Feelers’ is a Led Zeppelin pastiche, featuring keyboardist Franz Nicolay doing his best ‘John Paul Jones’ impression on the Fender Rhodes. ‘Spices’ is a knockout, with a killer guitar riff that reminds me of a That Petrol Emotion song, which itself goes to Captain Beefheart.</h3>
<ul> <li> <h3>Hear The Hold Steady 'Spices' at this <a contents="link" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3Bf8zLEqWk">link</a>. </h3> </li> <li> <h3>Hear That Petrol Emotion 'V2' at this <a contents="link" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERizt7I3onI">link</a>. </h3> </li> <li> <h3>Hear Captain Beefheart 'Hot Head' at this <a contents="link" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKOGgH40d_0">link</a>.</h3> </li>
</ul>
<h3>‘Lanyards’ is a meditative tune about being a washed up entertainer; ‘Family Farm,’’ is a half-power typical Hold Steady anthem,led by the Horn Steady horns and some cool group vocals. It’s topped with some killer Craig Finn lyrics: </h3>
<h3><em> I almost rolled my eyes when they asked me how to score, </em></h3>
<h3><em> but sometimes it feels sweet to be the teacher </em></h3>
<h3><em> When she was combing through the carpet I could not resist her charms, </em></h3>
<h3><em> she brought me to a fortress called the family farm, </em></h3>
<h3><em> and out along the towers there were guards with heavy arms, </em></h3>
<h3><em> I guess there was some tension with the neighbors. </em></h3>
<h3>'Unpleasant Breakfast' is my favorite tune: Craig’s proto-rap over a Curtis Mayfield chord that’s completely deconstructed and group-sung “whoo’s'' in the back. It’s as Memphis as THS gets. ’Heavy Covenant’ has a toy organ sound, horn and some wonky guitar. It’s another irresistible song with angry lyrics. ’The Prior Procedure’ has a real mid-period Beatles Revolver-era feel. ‘Riptown’ is a bare-bones tune with prominent acoustic guitar. ‘Me & Magdalena’ has a straight Zeppelin feel. ’Hanover Camera’ again has that Stax/R&B flavor, electric piano and a little Thin Llzzy guitar feel. Bonus track ‘Parade Days’ ends up the LP, again a meditative song about the American Dream. </h3>
<h3>This is the eighth THS LP. They continue to evolve and not repeat. Seems like Frank Nicolay and Steve Selvidge are asserting themselves more. Craig Finn’s singing has improved, and he is the best lyricist in rock since Morrissey. It’s a fine record that should be in your sphere of influence. </h3>
<h3>-----Steve McGowan</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/67101802021-08-07T23:49:58-04:002023-01-26T08:13:18-05:00Questlove's Summer of Soul Provides Context and Cool<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/878f9513adc3a026e1f4f02ca343005cc27a6418/original/summerofsoulhd.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Questlove's directorial debut is a dazzling contemporary look at a summer series of concerts filmed in Harlem in 1969. The new documentary is based on over 40 hours of high quality video tape made by Hal Tulchin (read his obit <a contents="here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/14/arts/television/hal-tulchin-90-dies-documented-a-little-seen-black-woodstock.html">here</a>). Shot on faith, Tulchin was convinced that something worth capturing was happening in Mount Morris Park. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">And was it ever. Questlove as director has placed the concert in context, politically, socially, and spiritually so that the marvel of the Harlem Cultural Festival, and the pride and uplift that the event brought to the community, is undeniable and unmistakable. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">The performances are, of course, astounding. If you’ve read anything about this film, you’ve probably heard about the moving “passing of the torch” mic-share by Mahalia Jackson to Mavis Staples. Stevie Wonder’s drum solo. The impossibly high notes David Ruffin, newly solo from the Temptations, hits on ‘My Girl.’ It’s true, they are all there. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">For me Nina Simone and Abbey Lincoln with husband Max Roach set the cultural high watermark. As one attendee remarks, Simone seemed like “an African princess.” Her ‘Young, Gifted, and Black’ is a rallying call, a statement of what is and what should be. Power couple Lincoln and Roach are the embodiment of cool, elegance, and excellence. When Nina Simone reads a poem by one of The Last Poets, the impact, even today, is a haymaker to the conscience. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">So this documentary is not just a concert film, but a contextual history. After the upheaval of 1968 and the assassinations of MLK and RFK, the escalating death toll of Vietnam (that fell disproportionately on black and brown communities), emotions and tempers were running high in the summer of 1969. The Harlem Cultural Festival was series of 6 Sundays concerts from leading performers, black excellence in action, all sponsored by the City of New York. The same year a poorly planned three-day festival was held outside Woodstock, NY, the contrast is palpable. While the “Black Woodstock” is attended by all ages, people in their Sunday best, just arrived from church for the concert series. From its concert film, the music at Woodstock appeared to be almost a sideshow (in part because of the over-attendance and measly sound system); the audience at Mount Morris is rapt by each performer, there to groove on the music. Woodstock was the party you throw when your parents are out of town; Harlem Cultural Festival was a tent meeting revival. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">There is so much to love here. I imagine this will become a staple for social studies teachers who want to show what that time was like. It is only a slice, but as the Fifth Dimension sings, surry down: it’s a stoned soul landmark film.</span></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/67034382021-07-31T19:30:13-04:002021-07-31T19:32:52-04:00MUSIC IS OUR FRIEND: King Crimson at ATL's Fox Theater<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/8b681f0c4792e9e99e4c833a9b415c0423291f3e/original/kingcrimson-atlanta-2021.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p><span class="font_large">This was it for me. My first rock show since the pandemic began. First since my transplant surgery and stroke. The tour: Music is Our Friend. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">And the band was the legendary King Crimson, the band that essentially invented ‘prog-rock,’ holding forth and riding on all cylinders at the famous Fox Theater in Atlanta. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Now, I have always been a carrier of the punk/DIY music gene, but I got into Crimson around the time Adrian Belew was the singer. What I always appreciated about KC is their ability to play rock with an almost orchestral approach. These guys read music and practice their instruments (how very un-punk/DIY). After being made fun of by some drunk asshole (since my stroke I use a walker, so hey look at the old guy at the rock show with the walker! Well, that douche very nearly had his skull smashed by the old guy with the walker), and we entered the Fox. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">The venue is fantastic, styled like a Moorish castle. I have seen many memorable shows there (Squeeze, The Police, and both Costello and R.E.M. many times), but I hadn’t been back to the Fox for years. Great place, good seats, great sound. This leads me to the band, the seven-headed beast of Crim. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">KC is led by guitarist Robert Fripp, known for playing on Bowie’s Berlin trilogy of records, and on a few Blondie songs. He is a precise and exacting guitarist who plays complicated riffs that are out of this world, along with mellotron-sounding keyboards. Next to Fripp is singer/guitarist Jakko Jakzyk, who can sing just like early KC singers Greg Lake and John Wetton. Next to him is the terrific bassist Tony Levin, who played on the modern Peter Gabriel records. He plays a five-string Music Man bass and the Chapman Stick, a 10-string instrument with frets that is ‘tapped’ to play, giving a combination bass and lead sound. Rounding out the back row is Mel Collins, original member playing all manner of saxophones and flutes (fun fact: Mel played sax on Foreigner's ‘Urgent’). But the frightening part of KC is the front of the stage, with not one, not two, but THREE drummers. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Why? Why? To my left was Pat Mastelotto, who worked with XTC and seemed to be the ‘alpha’ drummer. Next to him, wearing his trademark bowler hat, was Jeremy Stacy, drummer and keyboardist. Gavin Harrison was the third drummer who was really number two on the drummer chart. Just walking in and seeing the stage was humbling, the soundman in me was panicking. The three drumkits up front, percussion, cymbals, electronic pads, keys, etc. etc. in my quick calculation were at least 72 inputs. Imagine trying to mix all that! </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">After a fine opening set by the California Guitar Trio (who played at the Bohemian in Greenville once), there was an announcement that there would be an intermission and a warning for no photography or phone use of any kind during Crimson’s set.KC started at 8:30 pm with an extended three drum piece (‘The Drumsons’) that was astounding. The first set was heavy on the older material, including ‘Islands’ and ‘Lark’sTongue In Aspic 5’. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Fripp played with skill and aplomb all night, and Jakko sang very much like Greg Lake. The first set ended with a mind-bending version of ‘indiscipline’ by Adrian Belew, using the three drummers for a fantastic intro. Then, as Jakko said, “there's an interval.” So: intermission. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Set 2 had Jakko finding his inner John Wetton during ‘Red,’ and they played a mellotron-heavy ‘In The Court Of The Crimson King.’ There were two encores for the very enthusiastic crowd, ending with an eight minute version of ‘Starless,’ the lights turning blood red on stage as Fripp and Jakko each played their odd-time two-note filigrees and Tony played a very odd figure on the Chapman stick. Outstanding. Weird. Wonderful. Crimson! </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">----Steve McGowan</span></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/66965422021-07-26T23:34:34-04:002021-07-26T23:34:34-04:00What Is It About Panel Shows and the Brits?<p><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/c728d578b986d87a1c1c4e42b5cc43ff874c9ed2/original/would-i-lie.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>R: Feminist icon Germaine Greer, Alan Davies (<em>QI), </em>Richard Osman <em>(Pointless), </em>some bloke named Jermaine. F: David Mitchell, Rob Brydon, Lee Mack on an episode of<em> Would I Lie to You.</em></strong></p>
<p><em><span class="font_large">Born in America, but a uniquely British phenomenon, the Panel Channel features celebrity parlor games where comedy is the point and points don’t matter. --BritBox description Panel Channel </span></em></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Enjoying my BritBox subscription inevitably has led to poking around the suggested shows. When I was a little kid, the post-nightly news slot was filled with American panel shows <em>What’s My Line?</em> and <em>I’ve Got A Secret.</em> These featured panelists whose careers on Broadway, publishing, and film in the 30s and 40s gave them name recognition and poise on camera. This made them great choices for these frequent forays into our homes. Kitty Carlisle and Arlene Francis, people in my young mind known only for being on TV, were typical of the Dinner at 8, 21 Club crowd that seemed to pop by the set for the fun of it, a sort of noblesse oblige for the entertainment of the common folk. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">So I’d seen some panel shows on BBC America, so I figured they might be too “inside baseball” for a US viewer, but what the hey. I’ve watched enough Britcoms (see my review of Upstart Crow at <a contents="here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://zub.band.upstart" style="">zub.band.upstart</a>) to maybe find my way through many of the “celebrities” and references on these shows. So I plunged into the panel zone. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">BritBox has their current lineup in a “Panel Channel” collection, a great chance to sample the genre. So what have I noticed? </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">There is a panel class of performers that wander from panel set to panel set (is it the same studio for most of these? Do the sets wander in?) Panelists loosely fall into the following groups </span></p>
<ul> <li><span class="font_large">Known for acting </span></li> <li><span class="font_large">Known for comedy </span></li> <li><span class="font_large">Known as public intellectual </span></li> <li><span class="font_large">Known for being on other panel shows </span></li> <li><span class="font_large">Fallen political figures (!) </span></li>
</ul>
<p><span class="font_large">The panel class has castes. On one show, they may have authority, like a host or permanent team captain, but they have no permanent clout on another show. Most participants have no rank and mosey from exposure to exposure on these shows, promoting their latest projects or their general panelist notoriety. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">There are brainy panels, which ask substantive questions and high concept shows that have a goal that must be met by the end of that episode. Most have the pretense of a scoring system, ostensibly being built around a game. So what have I found? </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>The gold standard:<em> QI.</em></strong><em> </em>Focused on obscure factoids and story telling by the host. Good smart show. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>BritBox calls it:</strong> a “clever comedy quiz show full of quirky facts, in which contestants are rewarded more if their answers are 'quite interesting.'” </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Host:</strong> Stephen Fry then Sandy Toksvig </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Regulars:</strong> Alan Davies (pronounced the Welsh way, as Davis) </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Panelists:</strong> Three join Alan to answer questions. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Particulars:</strong> Each panelist has a gag buzzer for toss-up questions. This is a pretty shallow gag, and of course Alan is always the odd man out on the buzzer theme. Wrong answers are flashed on a huge screen while a blaring klaxon sounds. The producers have the likely wrong answer at the ready to flash boldly on the immense screen, but sometimes the panelists throw a real curveball. The obscure questions are aided by hints by the host and they meander to an answer eventually, It’s usually pretty genial, with Alan serving as the affable butt of the joke. Good fun. Each series features subjects from a letter of the alphabet. The last series on BritBox is R. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">An episode from Series Q: <a contents="here.&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xE1W1NXQmjI">here</a>. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Level of British Culture Difficulty: </strong>If you drink Twinings tea, you should be alright. </span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>My personal favorite:</strong><em> <strong>[Insert Name Here].</strong></em><strong> </strong>The premise is that host Sue presents a common first name, say Jane, and all the answers will be about persons named Jane or common variants, like Janet or Jeanette. The winning team selects the greatest Jane in history for the show’s Hall of Fame. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>BritBox calls it:</strong> Comedy panel show about people with just one thing in common - they all have the same name. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Host:</strong> Hosted by Sue Perkins of <em>Bake-Off </em>fame (<em>Great British Baking Show</em> as shown in the US), a gig she got after she and Mel were let go in the great Paul Hollywood purge of that show. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Regulars:</strong> Two permanent team captains, Josh Widdicombe and Richard Osmon (an impossibly tall fella who is a kind of line judge on <em>Pointless</em>). </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Panelists:</strong> A rotating slate of two guest panelists for each team is featured each show. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Particulars: </strong>Josh’s team usually features an historian. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><a contents="Here’s a promo" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oduN-AaTOc">Here’s a promo</a> from the ‘Frank’ episode.</span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Level of British Culture Difficulty:</strong> You have seen every episode of <em>Fawlty Towers.</em> </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Least favorite: Pointless</strong> An impossibly arcane elimination scheme (some teams get a return despite being eliminated from a round, others go away forever) gathers teams of pals/relations/partners who play a sort of reverse<em> Family Feud</em>. I did not like it enough to bother to sort all that out. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>BritBox calls it: </strong>The quiz show that rewards "pointless" knowledge. Contestants try to score as few points as possible by plumbing the depths of their general knowledge to come up with the answers no one else can think of. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Host</strong>: Alexander Armstrong </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Regulars:</strong> Richard Osmon is there “correcting the errors and providing the comedy.” </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Panelists:</strong> None! Four pairs of connected teammates (spouses, neighbors, siblings, coworkers) compete to score the least in 3 rounds and then try to score nothing in the final round. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Particularities: </strong>The goal is to get the LOW score of a survey to a prompt, with the ultimate goal being scoring a correct answer that earned no survey responses, aka was pointless. For example, “Top 10 Charting Records With ‘Don’t’ in the Title.” And there are 2 rounds of 7 or 8 answers. The first partner gets one slate, and then the second gets another slate of yet more answers. Sheesh! So not a traditional panel show. And the prize money is dismal, like 1000 pounds--and I have never seen a winner, who must be pointless in the final round. This is more of a traditional game show, not a true panel show, even though BritBox includes it under this tab. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>If you dare: </strong><a contents="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glNfFpzNXG4&nbsp;&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glNfFpzNXG4" style="">here.</a></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Level of British Culture Difficulty:</strong> Know three meanings of “Brighton rock” </span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Good Fun:</strong> <strong><em>Would I Lie to You? </em></strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>BritBox calls it: </strong>Comedy panel show where contestants have to bluff about their deepest secrets and the opposing team must decipher which ones are true. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Host:</strong> Rob Brydon (Of my beloved <em>Gavin and Stacey</em> fame as well as<em> The Trip</em> mock road docs with Steve Coogan) </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Regulars: </strong>David Mitchell (see our review of Upstart Crow <a contents="here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zub.band/upstart">here</a>) and comedian Lee Mack are resident team captains. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Panelist: </strong>Two-a-side guests, including public intellectual Germaine Greer. Probably the most varied group of guest panelists of the panel shows. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Particulars: </strong>Home Truths (a panelist reads a story, sight unseen and must answer questions from the other team, who must judge whether the story is true, or a lie), This is My … (introducing a person with one team supplying each members’ story of how they know the person, the other team votes which story is true), and then another round of panelists telling stories that must be judged as true or false by the opposing team.. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Is Germaine Green a cannibal fantasist?</strong> <a contents="See for yourself" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7PNxgucJrM">See for yourself</a>. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Level of British Culture Difficulty</strong>: Can name 2 of the Queen’s corgis </span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>More fun with Surveys:</strong> <strong><em>8 Out of 10 Cats </em></strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>BritBox says: </strong>Do you prefer ketchup or world peace? The theory of evolution or argyle socks? This irreverent and revealing comedy panel show addresses the oddest topics and then polls the public to see what they think. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Host: </strong>Jimmy Carr </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Panelists:</strong> Team captains for 3-aside panels. Rob Beckett is the regular captain of one side, and a guest team captain serves on the opposing side. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Particularities: </strong>Jimmy Carr, an old-school stand-up, starts the show with a monologue somewhat related to the first survey. Lots of stand up punctuates the activities. It takes over nine minutes of riffing on Brexit before the first survey result is shown, the topic was something like “what are British people talking about this week?” This is not my particular cuppa. Is it yours? <a contents="See." data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sehTpCdSJwQ">See.</a><strong> </strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Level of British Culture Difficulty:</strong> Can understand a “Northern” accent </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Panel Show Mash-Up:</strong> <strong> 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown </strong>BritBox may or may not have Countdown itself, but it DOES have this panel show cocktail. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>BritBox says:</strong> the panel show is the perfect mashup of topical hit "8 Out of 10 Cats" and the cerebral words-and-number game "Countdown" as the anarchic comedians of the former take on the brainbox format of the latter. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Host: </strong>Jimmy Carr can’t ruin the sheer fun of the <em>Countdown</em> games. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Regulars: </strong>There are FOUR regular “staffers” for this show. The word whiz for the Boggle-like portion of the show is Susie Dent. The Vanna with the math skills of Archimedes is Rachel Riley. Comedian Joe Wilkinson is a dogsbody for gags and tasks. A self-promoting guest sits next to Susie and helps relay breaking news from the dictionary and delivers canned gags from their acts. Lots of C-list acts, including one guy who did the fake eyeballs lark. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Panelists:</strong> Two teams of two, Sean Lock and John Richardson each regularly sit on each side and are joined by another celebrity. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Particularities: </strong>Susie and Rachel are borrowed from regular<em> Countdown.</em> Each break is bookended by a word scramble for the audience to solve based on a naughty jumble. Rachel puts up the letters for the contestants’ Jumble word puzzle and then walks all through the math portion. Numbers drawn at random have to be added, subtracted, multiplied, and divided as gets closest to a randomly generated three digit number. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Try it <a contents="here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFpnUeUB71o">here</a>. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Level of British Culture Difficulty: </strong>Completes <em>Times</em> crosswords in pen </span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Most Promising:</strong> <em><strong>As Yet Untitled </strong></em></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong><em>BritBox says:</em> </strong> featuring an eclectic mix of A-list and up-and-coming faces, <em>As Yet Untitled </em>sits everyone round a small table for a discussion about ... well, anything. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Host:</strong> Alan Davies (pronounced the Welsh way as ‘Davis’) is a well-known face to British viewers. His “magician who solves crime” drama<em> Jonathan Creek</em> was in constant rotation on BBC America 20 years back.(Brit mystery shows always seem to have the strangest naming conventions for their main characters’ surnames). </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Panelists</strong>: 3 guests join Alan around the table, changing each week. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Particulars: </strong>The last item of each show is to reflect on the conversation and come up with a title for the show they just shot. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Sample conversation <a contents="here " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43nRRCY4kfQ" style="">here</a> (Jon Ronson’s Them is a family favorite). </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Level of British Culture Difficulty: </strong>Bridget Jones Diary </span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong><span class="font_large">Meh: Mock the Week </span></strong></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>BritBox says:</strong> With his planet-sized brain, Dara O Briain hosts this fast paced, irreverent, and topical panel show in which two teams of comedians take satirical swipes at the news and world events. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Host:</strong> Dara O Briain, who evidently has a planet-sized brain. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Regulars: </strong>Hugh Dennis is a regular panelist, brain size astronomically undetermined. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Panelists:</strong> 5 guests join the 3-aside teams. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Particulars:</strong> <em>Whose Line Is It Anyway? </em>(the original Brit version was a blast) meets news satire. Smacks of try-hard humor. This is the most stand-up filled panel show of the lot. I did not like it enough to give it more of my time, but YMMV. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Try it <a contents="here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JRydVdC3Ps">here</a> (even The Jam’s 'News of the World' theme doesn’t save it for me). </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Level of British Culture Difficulty</strong>: For fans of the original British <em>Whose Line Is It Anyway? </em></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span class="font_large">As a host of a podcast named ‘Singles Going Steady’ I’d be remiss to not mention<strong> Never Mind the Buzzcocks. </strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Hosts:</strong> Several over the 25+ seasons </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Regulars:</strong> Phil Jupitus (longtime UK music scenester) is a permanent team captain, with a rotating roster of opposing team captains. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Panelists: </strong>Team captains are joined by a pop star and a celebrity. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Try it:</strong> On YouTube; not on BritBox currently. <a contents="This episode " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pH3F2X9JdOs">This episode </a>features British boy group Jedward and Charlie Higson (<a contents="see" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://tinyurl.com/getuphigson" style="">See</a> the review of his show with Madness). </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Level of British Culture Difficulty:</strong> You can tell the members of Jedward apart </span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Panel shows.</strong> We really have nothing like it anymore regularly in the US. Game shows are cheap to make and quick to shoot and have a toehold in the day, syndication, and network prime time schedules. Maybe there’s a corner of the multi-channels and multi-platformed golden age of TV that is making panel shows for the US, but a return to the celebrity panel show peopled by Broadway’s finest seems unlikely to come back soon. The Brits score a real spectrum of participants. I have enjoyed my exploration and look forward to new seasons being released.</span></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/66882742021-07-16T17:45:40-04:002021-07-16T17:45:40-04:00June SHQ: Intercontinental Grooving<h3>
<em><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/9fd2fc6843b4a514007ff5580bd5eef2ee7e98b3/original/rh-morris-terry.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /> So June finds us well into the parallel arrangement with our Sweet Home being based not only in London (The Scottish Folds, Robyn, and sound reinforcement by Andy Washington) but in Oz, with Our Emma preparing for her Australian tour in support of the Blonde on the Tracks album. Emma mainly joins us in the comments section of the StageIt stream.</em> <em>You'll also see the return of the Prodigal Steve to reviews this month.</em>
</h3>
<h3><strong>6-2-21 SHQ RH Songs by Request </strong></h3>
<h3>Robyn Hitchcock appears in one of his trademark patterned button up shirts, this one resembling a floral couch pattern in the most magnificent way imaginable. First up is ‘Sinister But She Was Happy.’ </h3>
<h3>We then get a folksy-quirky version of ‘Statue with a Walkman.’ Robyn’s higher range is right on target and subtle. We get a great spoken word break in a Dylanesque accent lending the perfect level of goofiness. </h3>
<h3>Dissonance on ‘DeChirico Street’ offers the right note of Hitchcockian dismalia, enough to keep it off-kilter while it still chugs along poppily. That’s the magic RH balance in essence--a real groove with enough imbalance to make sure we know who we are listening to. </h3>
<h3>“The Nixons” are starting -- a little sweat in Studio C. Andy is doing production and Emma is in Oz, newly out of quarantine. RH brings out the harmonica for ‘Bob Dylan’s Dream,’ the Martin Carthy connection explained. This is a straggler tune from last week’s Dylan’s birthday celebration. No Folds seem to be traumatized by the harmonica break. My own cat decides that it is a good time to sneak out of the room for the feline equivalent of a smoke break, away from the cat-taunter harp sound. </h3>
<h3>Tubby the cat checked in when the harmonica stopped and settled in on RH’s feet while he played a song inspired by the Python song ‘Always Look on the Bright Side of Life,’ ‘The Man Who Invented Himself.’ The harmonica silence also convinces my cat it is safe to return to the room. Emma tips Tubby on StageIt from Australia! </h3>
<h3>“Raymond and the Wires’ is next, a song about both trolley buses and RH’s late father. The song is an aching remembrance and clear-eyed reckoning of the past, not cheap nostalgia. It just wrecks me. </h3>
<h3>Next up is a request for Donovan. RH kicks it off with a hopeful “let’s see what this sounds like!” ‘Sunshine Superman’ calls on both RH’s lower and mid ranges. Tubby gets a shout-out incorporated into the silly 60’s lyrics. As he wipes the sweat, RH remarks, “NIxon’s the one--it’s a lie he was a ghastly person and the people that followed him worse.” I am hollering “AMEN” at home, having volunteered on the McGovern campaign in 1972 to defeat Nixon. Alas, a 10-year-old’s passion only resulted in 7 votes for George in my county. </h3>
<h3>‘Upgrade Me,’ a pandemic era new song, follows. Tubby gets featured in a verse. The lyrics are clever and it is a worthy entrant into the RH canon. Great images. It has been recorded for the upcoming album. </h3>
<h3>Of ‘When I Was Dead’ Emma tells us in the comments, “Fun Fact: editing this song for the lyrics book was a massive pain in the arse.” I hope the lyric book will hit my doorstep soon! I am excited to have this Tiny Ghost Press debut in my hands! </h3>
<h3>RH urges us to “turn on the phantom Emma Swift apps” for harmony on the next song, one he loves to sing with her. ‘Heaven’ gets a very lovely vocal from Robyn without said app, with some delicate guitar picking punctuated with a downright drone on the chorus. RH comments “Funny how accurate your dreams can be” as he always wanted to do this--sing for us so immediately, I suppose. We’re for it too. </h3>
<h3>While introducing ‘Light Blue Afternoon’ Robyn tells us how much his relationship with his mother has improved since her passing. So many of us give up trying at that point, it is good to hear there is always room for improvement. </h3>
<h3>A bit of ‘I Often Dream of Trains’ wraps up tonight’s SHQ. </h3>
<h3>--Adrienne Meddock, Please consider supporting Senator McGovern in ‘72! </h3>
<p> </p>
<h3>6-4-21 Sargent Pepper’s Sweet Quarantine Club Band </h3>
<h3>Oh boy! I was lucky to double dip on SHQ this week with the anniversary celebration for <em>Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band</em>. Emma is still in Australia, so Robyn is solo with the support of Andy and the Folds in Studio C, London. </h3>
<h3>We begin at the start: 'Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,’ gently picked to enhance the dreamlike vocals. It is a real contrast to the bombast of the album’s opening. The tempo picks up and the strums become insistent as Billy Shears is introduced and with a little effort, we launch into ‘With A Little Help From My Friends.’ </h3>
<h3>The Telecaster comes out for 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,’ but the connection seems loose at the cord, so he sings acapella while switching to acoustic and harmonica for the remainder of the song. “The Freewheeling Sgt. Pepper,” he jokes. </h3>
<h3>The harp’s out so we get an upbeat start to ‘Getting Better.’ Not a trace of dismalia is to be found on this slice of Paul glad break of optimism. “Paul was always on the right side of his drugs,” explains Robyn. Perfect. </h3>
<h3>‘Fixing a Hole’ is well-suited to Robyn’s range and we get delicate verses, martinet bridges, and buoyant choruses. It is salve for the soul. </h3>
<h3>We take a tech break to call -- Morris Windsor! Robyn explains “Morris and I met a few years ago through TINDR.” LOL. Morris explains “it’s an experiment in sound” as he will attempt to sing back ups via the phone while Robyn sings to a recorded CD track. The sound is not great but the spirit is perfect. A true collaboration with Andy Washington adding the sound reinforcement in Studio C. Morris will be in-studio next week, which makes me giddy. </h3>
<h3>I noted that ‘Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite’ had Robyn “eating it up with a fork! Nice picking too!” So I was pleased. Robyn notes that he heard Paul “play it in concert recently and surprisingly, it sounded nothing like that. On to side 2 and George Harrison.” </h3>
<h3>And is it ever. ‘Within You Without You,’ or the song that confused the kiddies back in '67, sounds surprisingly good without what feels like the album's army of sitars. Somehow RH gets a great tone and I never missed Ravi-sounds even once. </h3>
<h3>“That was raga time! Here comes Paul with the antidote to everything,” leads RH into ‘When I’m 64.’ “Paul obviously didn’t know anything about me or Emma when he wrote this,” he concludes. He adds “the flavors were changing drastically from one Beatle to another,” during this period. </h3>
<h3>‘Lovely Rita’ and ‘Good Morning Good Morning’ are both upbeat and joyful. RH even plays a “drum break” of his guitar body. Playing a complete Beatles album among like-minded souls has got to be wish-fulfillment. </h3>
<h3>‘Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (reprise)’ and ‘A Day in the Life’ are well-suited to Robyn’s voice, despite his regret that it is “sadly without the vocal delay.” </h3>
<h3>“This track was supposed to be the beginning but they kept it back as a single,” is his introduction to dreamy, slow, and contemplative “Strawberry Fields Forever.” </h3>
<h3>This special SHQ winds down with a George song recorded during the Pepper sessions, ‘Only A Northern Song.’ Time flew and it was great to have an intimate tour of a landmark album with a circumspect acolyte. </h3>
<h3>--Adrienne Meddock, Stop My Mind From Wandering Where it Will Go </h3>
<h3> </h3>
<h3>6/11/2021 SHQ <em>Element of Light </em>with Morris Windsor </h3>
<h3>I was very excited for this show, in part because two Soft Boys would be in the same location (3 it turned out--Kimberley showed up in the comments!) Morris came up to London for SHQ to sing backing vox in person (not on phone) and add percussion and generally assume his responsibilities as an Egyptian. </h3>
<h3>Andy Washington was doing the honors as Emma was still in Australia. We open with ‘If You Were A Priest,' Morris with maraca in one hand and brush on snare with the other. On ‘Winchester’ Morris’s lonely highs are still extant and the sound is lovely. Brush + snare and tambourine come out for ‘Somewhere Apart’ (incidentally the title of his new lyric book--have you ordered yours yet?) Robyn asks Morris, “Did you count that?” Morris replies that he “can’t sing and count. We just looked at each other, maybe, with no counting at all.” Ha, that was our method in our band the Beef People too, mostly. </h3>
<h3>Robyn reminisces that his “gran had Ray Bans, pre-dated the Velvets by a year.” Morris: “Oh, what a groover!” </h3>
<h3>‘Ted, Woody, and Junior’ has Morris grabbing both maracas, alternately striking and shaking them. Sounds great. This little bit of percussion does wonders for the SHQ sound. </h3>
<h3>Robyn tells us that the version on <em>Element </em>featured a “stadium rock version” we get the 2020 version of ‘The President’ with new Trumpy context “hundreds of years later.” Robyn plays slide and it suits. </h3>
<h3>He tells us he wrote the next song in Highgate, never having been in LA. He and Morris reminisce about traveling from San Francisco to LA with a deli tray they had at the prior night’s gig, a perk that was new to them. They listened to<em> Heroes</em> side two the whole way, they recall. </h3>
<h3>Morris plays shaker (the pro-version of a Tic-Tac box) on the beautiful, atmospheric ‘Raymond Chandler Evening,’ always a stand out. </h3>
<h3>Robyn needs to “rehydrate the Nixons” before moving on to ‘Airscape.’ RH declares it “one of my favorite RH songs,” but not before riffing on the movie <em>Yesterday</em>. “The Beatles and Ed Sheeran--what a team,” deadpans Robyn. Morris plays stick and tambo. There are a few flubs and they crack each other up while continuing to play. These two have band closeness still. </h3>
<h3>Introduced as “very much a British seaside song,” it is time for ‘Bass.’ We always love the low range on the sonorous chorus! The Groovers rejoice. </h3>
<h3>Andy lets the boys know Kimberly is in the chat and Morris and Robyn are chuffed. Give it to the Soft Boys. </h3>
<h3>‘Never Stop Bleeding’ has Morris back with the pro-Tic Tac shaker. Robyn hypes ‘Lady Waters and the Hooded One’ by barking “give it up for...The Plague!” It is stirring during our own pandemic times to hear this song, with Emma in and out of lockdown in Australia. </h3>
<h3>Morris, man of many noise makers, adds electric guitar to the proceedings to join RH on ‘Tell Me About Your Drugs.’ Morris even took a lead and solo! </h3>
<h3>‘Each of Her Silver Wands’ ends the <em>Element of Light</em> show. Next week Morris will be back for <em>I Often Dream of Trains</em>. What a gift these shows are. </h3>
<h3>--Adrienne Meddock, save your illusions for yourself </h3>
<h3> </h3>
<h3>6/16/2021 SHQ LA Songs by RH </h3>
<h3>The Covid rise in Melbourne has meant that Emma’s Australian tour must be postponed as new lockdowns are being ordered there. It has been a strange homecoming for her, so much of it in quarantine lockdown in a hotel. </h3>
<h3>Today’s show is an LA “sinister-rom-creepy special,” with songs about or inspired by Los Angeles. </h3>
<h3>First up is ‘The Man with a Woman’s Shadow,’ from <em>Moss Elixir</em>. Robyn plays the harmonica because Tubby’s not in the room. My possibly deaf older cat (or perhaps she can’t be arsed by anything) is sleeping through. Robyn’s Nixons have started already. Tubby surprises us by coming in to investigate the action--he is choosing to ignore the harmonica. Ah, curiosity and felis catus. </h3>
<h3>The Doors’ ‘Love Street,’ Robyn’s low speaking voice is trotted out (love it) and he picks the acoustic through the whole song, a Spanish-style Krieger of sorts. </h3>
<h3>Arthur Lee, who discovered The Doors, is our next LA stop. “The Red Telephone” was recorded by Lee’s Love, is well-suited to Robyn’s voice. The swirling guitar gives us a nice psychedelic-acoustic take. Robyn tells us he was stuck in LA making a record, “all his dreams came true.” He listened in the studio to an Arthur Lee tape as part of that experience. </h3>
<h3>The natural follow up is ‘The Wreck of the Arthur Lee’ from <em>Respect</em>. I love the dismal optimism of the song, but that is RH’s wheelhouse, is it not? RH tells the story of meeting Arthur Lee, really a bit of a confrontation. We’ve heard this before, but it is always welcome, like a family story now. </h3>
<h3>Robyn switched “to a different out of tune guitar,” for a Flying Burrito Brothers request, ‘Sin City.’ “LA police, they come in different flavors.…” </h3>
<h3>Up next ‘Nietzsche’s Way,’ which provokes RH’s comment, “well, that was performed.” Tough crowd, he is. He tells us he had no idea what LA stood for when he was younger, he thought maybe London Airport. He eventually learned from Rolling Stone. </h3>
<h3>A Beatles request for a George song brings us ‘Blue Jay Way.’ RH gets a great drone going. Has he a sitar hidden in that Gibson? I never thought of it as an LA song, but there it is in the lyrics. </h3>
<h3>Marcus suggested a song that Robyn had forgotten! He had to relearn his Patreon song ‘No Cure for LA.’ He plays the song with real enthusiasm, so great suggestion! </h3>
<h3>The next song is introduced “by some old friends of mine, before they lost their drummer. A mention of <em>Mulholland Drive </em>gets R.E.M. 's ‘Electrolite’ on tonight’s card. </h3>
<h3>The top hat and harmonica come out for Tom Petty, a song with a “lot of creepy longing--one of the greatest things to which humans can aspire.” “Free Fallin’’ ensues, and I can swear to it, be I believe the lyrics were given an appropriate Robyn upgrade to “she loves cheeses...,” which would be a serious improvement to this Petty averse listener. It’s a very LA song and Tubby seems California-cool with the harmonica playing. </h3>
<h3>We are offered a Henley-off: ‘Hotel California’ or ‘Boys of Summer.’ Voting in the comments ensues while the beloved RH LA song, ‘Raymond Chandler Evening’ is up. Robyn tells us he plays it “all the time, but we keep requesting it.’ He seems a bit baffled about our collective devotion to the song. </h3>
<h3>‘Boys of Summer’ wins the fan poll, and Robyn tells us we ‘have now escaped any chance of me singing ‘Hotel California.’” Andy calls the ‘Boys” lyrics to an agitated Robyn, who stops the nonsense. “I really hate this song. I don’t know why I am doing it. I’ll play one of my own. One of my unhappiest LA songs.” </h3>
<h3>He goes out with ‘Vegetation and Dimes,’ clarifying as he signs off, “I don’t hate that song, I hate doing it.” Avoiding an Eagles-related fatwa, I suppose. Well, Lebowski had it right. </h3>
<h3>--Adrienne Meddock, loves cheeses, America too </h3>
<p> </p>
<h3>6/18/2021 SHQ<em> I Often Dream of Trains</em> with Morris Windsor and Terry Edwards </h3>
<h3>Wow! 2 Scottish Folds, 3 players and 1 Andy in support! Full house in Studio C for the full album live stream of <em>I Often Dream of Trains </em>as part of the Sweet Home Quarantine shows. Robyn is joined by Egyptian bandmate Morris Windsor and all-around utility player Terry Edwards (ex-a bunch of bands, including The Higsons (?!) --will the Hen finally be Let Out?) </h3>
<h3>Robyn assures us this is a redux version, not in official album running order. Robyn opens the show on keyboards (!) with “Nocturne (Prelude)’ and ‘Flavour of NIght.’ He hits some wrong notes, cracks himself up, and restarts. “It’s OK, Tubby,” he calls out; even the cat's a critic. On to ‘Flavour of Night.’ RH counts in Terry Edwards on horn at the far end of the studio, and this giant harmonica monster totally freaks out Tubby (lot of noisemakers in Studio C today, Tubbs) and he asks Morris to keep time, and the shaker comes in. The Edge (stuffed monkey) and Perry the lobster look on from chairs. Morris and Terry are playing off camera. Ta-da! Combo!</h3>
<h3>The combo crowds on screen and ‘Sometimes I Wish I Was a Pretty Girl.” Terry's on keys, Morris on tambo, and Robyn on acoustic. I am admiring Morris’s Capitol Records shirt. The logo was all over Capitol Studios for Rufus Wainwright’s Judy show, so I am happy to see it. (<em>See </em>the review of the Rufus show at tinyurl.com/rufusjudy). They went straight into ‘Sounds Great When You’re Dead’ The verses are Robyn's and they all sing on the choruses. Sounds pretty good. </h3>
<h3>Top hats come out for all 3. They’ve been “specially chosen because none of them fits.” Terry says, “you know the saying, if the hat doesn’t fit, wear it.” They launch into a lovely three way harmony on ‘Uncorrected Personality Traits.’ Andy claps for all of us for the performers in Studio C and it really does sound great. </h3>
<h3>Robyn grabs the Telecaster, full of tremolo. RH asks if if the keys or guitar need to come up in the mix, and Terry interjects “or talent!” He’ll do nicely here, I think. Great addition. ‘This Could Be the Day’ sounds great. Since it keeps the same “wobble rate as the prior song” we get ‘I Often Dream of Trains,’ Robyn alone with the Tele. He praised Perry for the sound working out so well. </h3>
<h3>Picking up the acoustic, Robyn performed the lonely ‘Autumn is Your Last Chance,’ a song he’d written for Bryan Ferry. “I don’t think he ever heard it.” </h3>
<h3>Morris rejoins with the shaker for ‘Heart Full of Leaves.” Terry brings a trumpet. He’s a really Swiss Army knife of instrumentation. ‘My Favorite Buildings’ gets an almost skiffle feel, Morris on maracas, Terry with the shaker, and playing the trumpet on the end of the song, sounding great with the “kitchen echo” providing a nice effect. </h3>
<h3>All three sing ‘Trams of Old London’ intro, and Terry grabs a guitar, Robyn thanks us for joining this highly experimental show (its been successful from where I sit).‘Ye Sleeping Knights of Jesus” rounds out the album. </h3>
<h3>Robyn wishes Sir Paul a Happy Birthday and Terry plays piano on ‘Photograph,’ the other Ringo’s great hit (the feline one has not deigned to show himself in some time). Robyn’s lead, Terry and Morris's backing vocals and the longing of the lyrics are really poignant as we realize what a beautiful time we’ve all had together today. </h3>
<h3>--Adrienne Meddock, I wait for eternity. Or Basingstoke. Or Reading. </h3>
<p> </p>
<h3>6/25/21 SHQ Sea Shanties and more! </h3>
<h3>Today’s show will contain SEA SHANTIES by the suggestion of Andy Washington, an idea so skewed it must be perfect. Robyn is wearing the theme in his most maritime print, the flying fish. He says he’s ready for press gang picking. Ahoy! </h3>
<h3>He begins in the key of E--”the key of confidence!” with ‘Give Me A Spanner, Ralph,’ harmonica blaring. I don’t believe I caught this on a previous SHQ. Tubs must be out of Studio C. He tells us this one was written in 1973, and the Nixons he is sweating are in honor of his presidency of that year. </h3>
<h3>‘I Want to Tell You About What I Want’ is always welcome, and the sound is glitching in an artful way, as phrases are randomly repeated. It is a neat effect. The song is so lyrically delicious that an extra bite here or there won’t go wasted. Commentarians say they are having glitches too. It’ll work out. </h3>
<h3>Robyn songs will intercut the shanties' “fundamentally erotic sound to vintage Bob Dylan fans.” The harmonica comes out, the cats are upstairs, and the traditional ‘Fare You Well Lovely Nancy” is begun and suddenly brightened by bass and depth controls rounding out the wonky sound. Fab! Andy has jiggled a cord and reset the interface. RH: "Excellent wiggling!" </h3>
<h3>Robyn proclaims it a “cat-free and harmonica-rich night” and points out that the next song, while his, is not technically a sea shanty. ‘Not Even A Nurse’ follows, harmonica still out and resounding. “Sleeping with Your Devil Mask’ is next, and it looks like he is playing slide bare-fingered, and a very vigorous version. For a hot day, he’s very vigorous and upbeat. </h3>
<h3>The next song is a sea song, if not a shanty, and the lyrics are landing hard with me today: ‘Luminous Rose.’ The carnage of the European wars is a visceral and ever present companion in old Blighty, American shores largely spared from its physical impacts. Too much perspective. </h3>
<h3>We get a true traditional shanty, ‘Sam’s Gone Away,’ with Andy joining in on percussion by request, tapping a glass. It is an upbeat number, expressing the longing to go to sea. Poor sod. </h3>
<h3>Robyn tells us we’re "going over the Tropic of Capricorn of the show, past the equator in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Sea Shanties by R Hitchcock Show.” </h3>
<h3>‘Ghost Ship’ a dreamlike seafaring tale, with a mid-song shout-out for Tubbs as he dares to enter Studio C’s temporarily harp-free zone. When the song ends, he tests Tubbs for harmonica sensitivity. Tubbance actually ventured further in the room and allowed Robyn to hold him for the first show in several weeks. </h3>
<h3>‘Raining Twilight Coast’ features beautiful fingerpicking. The sea theme has been a great idea and I am quite enamoured. We get a “live with no effect naked singing R Hitchcock" on ‘Adventure Rocket Ship.’ Next, a Patreon “song in A that didn’t make the new album.” Robyn is in great voice and is very energetic. There are “trains across the ocean for drunken submarines” is one line, uniting two big themes. He’ll call it ‘My Sunken Life’ or ‘There Goes Tomorrow.’ “That’s for Emma.” </h3>
<h3>The show concludes on a sea shanty, the Pogue-esque traditional ‘South Australia.’ </h3>
<h3>--Adrienne Meddock, Out of Dramamine </h3>
<p> </p>
<h3>6/30/21 SHQ RH Songs by Request </h3>
<h3>Since I have been in the hospital for three months (here’s the story if you're interested (<a contents="link" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/100030567801734/videos/528531878175734/">link</a>), I have been absent from SHQ shows for some time, and I really miss them. This week Emma was in Australia, and a chap named Andy Washington took over the technical what-nots. When I tuned in, Reg was playing ‘Clean Steve,’ one of my favorite and most bizarre Robyn songs. ’I Wanna Go Backwards,’ a pretty riff attached to a biblical story involving Elijah and vegetarianism went straight into ’I Got The Hots,’ from the Soft Boys’ legendary <em>Underwater Moonlight</em>, sounding great performed solo. This went straight into Beefheart's ‘I’m Gonna Booglarize You,.Baby,’ a song only RH could do this well. </h3>
<h3>Robyn went on to explain that <em>Underwater Moonlight</em> turns 41 next year, so we should be hearing more songs from that legendary LP. (Fun fact: when in The Beef People, Adrienne and I turned our very young drummer Rhett onto this record. To this day, it's still in his top five ever!) Continuing the blues theme and Beefheart sound, Reg did a slide-driven version of ‘Positive Vibrations.’ </h3>
<h3>A little more chat, and Reg spilled out a beautiful ‘Globe Of Frogs,’ then ‘Ole Tarantula,’ the zoological portion of the set. Then a jaunty version of Syd Barrett’s ’Terrapin.’ Robyn locked on screen with an intense stare and did a very intense version of ‘Insanely Jealous.’ Nearing the end, he did fan-favorite ‘Gene Hackman and a short version of 'Queen Of Eyes,’ and it was over. </h3>
<h3>Half of <em>Underwater Moonlight</em>, Beefheart, Barrett, and other Hitchcock gems, all I (and Reg) needed was Emma Swift! Next Week… </h3>
<h3>-----Steve‘I’m not sure if I’m Gonna Booglarize You,.Baby,’ McGowan</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/66729232021-06-28T15:16:45-04:002021-06-28T15:16:45-04:00May Flies: Sweet Home Quarantine with Robyn Hitchcock & Emma Swift<p><span class="font_regular"><strong><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/a62d487628d46075b7a56202e57f28de8c74c376/original/reg-may-trim.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></strong></span></p>
<p> </p>
<h3><strong>5-5-21 RH BY Request</strong></h3>
<h3>Robyn Hitchcock is sweaty with the new May heat. Declaring he’s in a “clammy paradise,” because he took a couple of “Nixon pills” and he's come up with some new compound from Tubby and Ringo rubbing against his skin. Barb's request kicks off the show, ‘Acid Bird’ from <em>Black Snake Diamond Role</em>. Robyn is soldiering on in the clammy weather. (To read about sweaty Nixon, see <a contents="https://medium.com/age-of-awareness/how-sweat-cost-richard-nixon-the-1960-election-e87712dd9d55" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://medium.com/age-of-awareness/how-sweat-cost-richard-nixon-the-1960-election-e87712dd9d55" style="">here</a>) There's some light blinking too; Tubby quickly ran off unhappy with the strobe effect. </h3>
<h3>The next request is also from <em>Black Snake Diamond Role</em>. Chris requested ‘Out of the Picture’ and the Groovers went wild in the comments on StageIt, tipping 10 notes by the dozens, and praising Chris for his taste. Meanwhile back in Studio C Ringo the Scottish Fold (not the steady back beat of the Beatles) is stuck in the window treatments somewhere slightly off camera as Emma is attempting to disengage him. Ah, success is Emma appears with the rescued Ringo. his collar having been caught in the curtains. </h3>
<h3>Next up Robin explains is an English song written in Scotland he carries it with him like a cloud wherever he goes ‘Dismal City’ from <em>Tromso, Kaptien</em>, recorded with the Venus 3. and I'm loving that the songs and requests span his oeuvre. The end of this song is pure, concentrated Reg. </h3>
<h3>Next is discussion of circular breathing of monks on Monk Mountain as originally envisioned by Lennon. RH speaks of the globules that spawned him. “Dismalia is everywhere” explaining that this song is from LA, but its “not LA’s fault!” ‘Vegetation and Dimes’ from <em>Perspex Island</em> is played for Matt’s birthday. There’s a “slight shift in the spectrum of the universe,” says RH as Emma joins the room. The discussion goes to Barbie things from her youth. Since neither of them drive, a dream car is of little interest to them. </h3>
<h3>They sing ‘Mexican God’ from <em>Jewels for Sophia</em>. They ponder scenes of the great rockers, belting out songs together in one mic, sharing halitosis. I’ll be looking at the classic performance films in a new light. </h3>
<h3>‘Time Coast’ from <em>Robyn Hitchcock</em> is up next, with its special tuning. Next up is ‘The Man in Me,’ a special request for Emma to sing one of her Dylan interpretations. Emma tells us she is particular about certain things for no apparent reason, but it pays off here. </h3>
<h3>I have no attribution for this great line I jotted down, sans context, which I suspect began with R and concluded with E: “Do you have a lizard in your Rolls Royce or are you just pleased to see me?” </h3>
<h3>Cinco de Mayo is noted by Bob Dylan’s ‘Isis’ (I married Isis on the 5th day of May…). We’ve heard this on a previous SHQ and it is perfect for the day. Another repeat I’m glad to hear is ‘N.Y. Doll’ followed by the “reliably snappy” ``Queen of Eyes,’ which always is wonderful with Emma’s vocal backing. </h3>
<h3>Emma tells us she’s heard the song before meeting RH and thought he was a really “Zen guy. I like it when you pretend to be philosophical.” And we end with ‘Be Still’ from<em> Love From London</em>. Perry gives us a wave goodbye with his pincers! </h3>
<h3>--Adrienne Meddock, O, Mighty Isis, lift me now with wings that fly </h3>
<h3><strong>5-12-2021 </strong></h3>
<h3>Hello fellow Groovers and soon to be Groovers! Tonight’s show opened with a birthday request,’I Got the Hots for You’ (Soft Boys), one reaching back so far that Robyn stumbled on a lyric or two, making himself laugh. Still sounded great and we are all allowing each other a little room for pandemic brain. </h3>
<h3>Kitty Ringo entered with Emma -- there’d been some rustling in the background -- and the Groovers in the comments feared that Ringy had been wrapped in the window treatments again. Emma assured us all was fine. Next up, ‘Creeped Out’ from <em>Spooked</em>. </h3>
<h3>“Out come the NIxons,” explained Reg, wiping down his sweaty brow. He assured us he’ll do the same when we see him in person somewhere down the line. </h3>
<h3>He played for us “country-style” ‘Uncorrected Personality Traits,’ solo accompanied by chugging guitar. It was pretty cool considering how the glorious harmonies by the Egyptians or Emma are such hallmarks of the song. “Imagine hearing Johnny Cash singing Lou Reed,” he tells us. </h3>
<h3>The appropriate Mothers’ Day request was made by Orrin--’Insect Mother.’ RH beautifully accompanies himself, picking the notes. </h3>
<h3>Max’s request was “truly dismal,” and RH asked Emma to “put a little icing on the tombstone.” ‘Wax Doll’ from <em>Queen Elvis </em>was lyrically beautiful and the song’s structure nearly suite-like, so give me this dismalia any day. </h3>
<h3>Robyn defined the Home Counties as those close to London: bourgie, suburban, supposed to be safe. Emma explains she will be beaming Wednesday’s show to us from her homeland. I have jotted down “Garfield manifested in fat Ringo kitty.” I hope I was not slagging off Ringy but this was actually part of the banter. </h3>
<h3>RH and Em perform ‘Oh, Yoko,” as a beautiful duet. RH reminisces about seeing Yoko and Sean performing together. Steve and I saw Sean not so long ago in The Claypool Lennon Delirium (read the review Sean hated at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubdelirium" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubdelirium">tinyurl.com/zubdelirium</a>) and wish Yoko could have sat in on a tune or two then. </h3>
<h3>Emma and Reg banter, noting that they “married each other for our private hells. Try to figure out what our private hells are from Twitter and chat to make our lives a little better.” Emma decided that Ringo needed to be “exiled” to another room, leaving RH to sigh, “a judiciary after my own heart.” </h3>
<h3>Emma returns and the two perform a little faster and more upbeat ‘Mad Shelley’s Letterbox.” The harmonies are stellar as per usual and we even got a “free mistake” as Robyn points out of the stray high note stuck somewhere. </h3>
<h3>Ross requested Emma’s ‘No Happy Endings,’ and it is lovely. </h3>
<h3>There are a few glitches tonight as the wifi has been in heavy use making arrangements for Emma’s upcoming Australian tour. </h3>
<h3>Ruth’s request ‘Alright, Yeah’ solicits Robyn regretting having never been on The Muppet Show. He believes some of his own movements would support the muppets’ performing style. I can see that. It’s time to play the music. </h3>
<h3>To celebrate his birthday, we get Donovan’s ‘Mellow Yellow,’ with a nice spoken word breakdown from Reg remarking on D’s 75th birthday. It’s this sort of gem the muppets missed out on. </h3>
<h3>Emma and the “Earl of Tubbance” return for ‘One Long Pair of Eyes,’ and the discussion following has Emma cautioning Reg “leave the facts to me, guv. I’ll do the administrivia.” Robyn notes that SHQ is fueled by “chaos and cheese,” which really ought to be the Tiny Ghost slogan. </h3>
<h3>The show ended with ‘Ride,’ and I’m off amid the chaos to find some cheese! </h3>
<h3>--Adrienne Meddock, quoter of two 70’s TV shows </h3>
<h3> </h3>
<h3><strong>5-19-21 A Bob Dylan Celebration </strong></h3>
<h3>In honor of the man’s 80th, RH has a Dylan-focused show for us. We set the SHQ machine for 1965, and we get a downright peppy ‘If You Gotta Go, Go Now (Or Else You Gotta Stay All NIght)’ to set the tone for a joyous occasion. Next up, RH channels in turn his inner Lennon as well as Bob. Quite nice: ‘I Threw It All Away.’ </h3>
<h3>On May 5 we got ‘Isis,’ with its mention of the date and it is back this week. For a Bob song I didn’t know before, it is now a favorite. Emma, still in Australia, is lending sound advice on the sound in the comments and actually fixes an issue from afar. Go Em! Competence is on display as Marcus is updating the Robyn Base/AskingTree in real time. Andy Washington is a yeoman substitute sound reinforcement at the SHQ locus in quo.</h3>
<h3>Tubby, a Bob fan, wanders in, and does not brook with being picked up by RH. Robyn comments, “sometimes I think that’s my attitude to show business, the whole hundreds of years I’ve been in it.” I find that people's personalities are either cat-like or dog-like (I am sure this is a commonly observed notion). RH: cat-like persona confirmed, as if we did not already know that.</h3>
<h3>‘Not Dark Yet’ followed by ‘Lo and Behold!’ from the<em> Basement Tapes</em>. Robyn is really making a meal of this song. I noted RH was having “fun with Bob having fun.” </h3>
<h3>The cat removal device--the harmonica--comes out, and we know the cats may freak and remove themselves from Studio C. (My own old feline gal, possibly a little deaf as well as ignoring any discussions I try to initiate, is looking concerned at the sound, but quickly settles in). </h3>
<h3>After the harp break in ‘She Belongs to Me’ RH asks Andy “is he alright?” Can’t have the Earl of Tubbence in distress. All is well, but my younger cat enters and is looking all around the room looking for the distressed creature crying out. We have a 50% disapproval rating for harp Chez Nous. </h3>
<h3>‘If Not for You’ is played by request for Clark’s 30th anniversary, very nice rendition and sentiment. </h3>
<h3>Back to the <em>Basement Tapes</em> for a Rick Danko tune. ‘This Wheel’s On Fire’ as the AbFab theme was always nails on a chalkboard to me (sorry fellow Adrian, Edmonson). Robyn savors the lyrics and doesn’t overemphasize the chorus. I never thought I’d dig the song, but RH is a convincer. </h3>
<h3>Andy reports the cats have settled in to sleep next to him, so they have conquered their harp fears for the moment. Next up is a song Robyn and Em have worked up, and he promises it will sound fantastic solo: ‘Sweetheart Like You.’ The Groovers in the StageIt chat tell Emma “we can hear you singing along in our minds!’ Me too! </h3>
<h3>Robyn is really flexing his range on these songs. Sounds great, but might be a bit warm in Studio C. “Wipe away those Nixons, HItchcock!” he admonishes himself. </h3>
<h3>RH risks a little mouth harp for ‘It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry.’ Gotta have harp for a train song. Andy reports afterwards that the Folds slept through the harmonica outbreak. Good kitties. Maybe a little separation ache for the travelling Emma is keeping them close. </h3>
<h3>‘The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest’ follows. The whole show has been stellar--not many individual observations by me. RH pays homage to a hero while making these songs his own. It’s a nice trick! </h3>
<h3>Before playing the last song, RH commented “so many pilots in the cockpit, better than the other way round.” Can’t argue with that. I think it was remarking on the multi-part production for this SHQ. </h3>
<h3>The final song was ‘Bob Dylan’s Dream,’ based upon a Martin Carthy song. He and Bob played folk spots in the UK together in the 60s. (Influential on contemporary folkies, Carthy’s arrangement of ‘Scarborough Fair’ was pinched by Simon and Garfunkel). Emma spoke to us live from her true quarantine home--a hotel in Sydney. After some technical wrangling, we got a pre-recorded version of ‘Visions of Johanna” from the Crypt in London. It’s a very nice space with fancy mics that the Groovers are oohing over in the comments. </h3>
<h3>Happy Birthday Bob! </h3>
<h3>--Adrienne Meddock, Just Like A Woman </h3>
<h3> </h3>
<h3><strong>5-26-21 SHQ Live on Tape! RH Songs by Request Recorded at The Crypt, London </strong></h3>
<h3>Robyn welcomes us and tells us there was a serpent at the beginning of it all, the primordial snake. That snake? ‘Serpent at the Gates of Wisdom.’ Big reverb on the vocals, and the sound is great. Plus we're getting actual multi-camera work. This is big time! The fragility of the softer vocals comes through very well. </h3>
<h3>RH is in the StageIt comments with us Groovers since this is pre-recorded and his hands are free! He’s watching at home with Tubs. He asks “is the snake a souped-up cinema attendant, guarding the gates?” Snake eggs lead to frog eggs…. </h3>
<h3>‘Globe of Frogs' is next. Robyn invokes Mrs. Watson, his primary teacher at Coleridge School up the road. He’s not sure if it was her he was singing to. </h3>
<h3>‘Lizard Song’ continues the scaly creature triptych. Robyn tells us “I wrote that and the 70s were safely at an end.” Now we know who to thank. </h3>
<h3>Emma appeared, and a discussion of their slightly-less mad old lady haircuts are the topic. This leads to a discussion of The Sundays’ Harriet Wheeler’s fabulous hair. Robyn tells us he wrote the next song on a train from Boston to New York. Emma joins him on ‘Agony of Pleasure.’ Robyn's high range is solid tonight and I get a definite Amtrak vibe. </h3>
<h3>Next is ‘Ole! Tarantula,’ which Robyn tells us “is a metaphor, duh.” Robyn brags to Emma “I did a Dave Rawlings then.” Em: “what and play guitar as well?!?” </h3>
<h3>The menagerie theme continues with ‘Birdshead’ and ‘The Leopard,’ which was written in North London. Robyn tells us it is hard to sing with volume or projection. Sounds fine, Guv. </h3>
<h3>‘Bass’ is next, yay! What a fun song, with the sonorous low “bass” chorus, the fish/vocal range pun is in its highest and best iteration. </h3>
<h3>In leading into ‘Madonna of the Wasps,’ they discuss Neko Case covering the song. They riff a bit and we end up with Emma’s suggestion of a Tiny Ghost Records project, <em>Dylan Sings Madonna</em>. The Groovers are behind you! Make mine blue marbled vinyl! </h3>
<h3>--Adrienne Meddock, Awaiting 'Tangled Up in True Blue'</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/66602292021-06-15T14:27:41-04:002021-06-15T14:49:14-04:00Rufus Does Judy at Capitol Studios<h3>
<span class="font_small"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/58f91005fa1f82924273138bbc7156f52f9d361d/original/rufus-does-judy.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span>To acknowledge Judy Garland’s 99th birthday, Rufus Wainwright put together a spectacular streaming concert experience. Since 2006, when Rufus released his own version of “Judy Live at Carnegie Hall,” he has performed the double album in its entirety at a limited number of full-orchestra shows in London, Toronto, the Hollywood Bowl, and Carnegie Hall itself. He repeated some Judy dates in 2016, the 10th anniversary of the audacious project. </h3>
<h3>Rufus has streamed a number of “Quarantunes” shows (compilation here: <a contents="link" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZgUT2jRXWg" style="">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZgUT2jRXWg</a>), and has even done whole album streams (hate that I missed Want One). But taking on the lodestone ‘Judy Live at Carnegie Hall’ (JLCH) album in a pandemic will call for some creativity. </h3>
<h3>How to do it? In place of a full orchestra is a tight jazz combo of pros and the venue, like Carnegie Hall, echoes with the spirit of Judy Garland. They chose a live recording room in Capitol Studios, a hallowed space where Frank Sinatra and Judy and other great belters recorded. Set up in one room are the band, Rufus, and an audience of one: the woman who won an Oscar for portraying Judy Garland, Renee Zellwiger. Renee is given a headphone mix, a clear view of the players, and a comfy chair to groove on it all. </h3>
<p><span class="font_small"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/82340f7f7e83fa629c4dbd282a881ac22a9ce142/original/renee-crop.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span></p>
<h3>The concert streaming platform is new to me: VEEPS. Like the Madness stream (see our account at <a contents="tinyurl.com/higsongetup" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/higsongetup">tinyurl.com/higsongetup</a>), the show streams at predetermined times across several days, to give international fans prime viewing times). There was a rewatch feature that I didn’t utilize and can’t vouch for. There was seamless streaming to my TV system (something that is not true of all interfaces). Sound and look was great. </h3>
<h3>As a lead up to the show, Rufus answered several questions in a prerecorded piece about why Judy, why Capitol Studios, preparation for the 2006 Carnegie Hall performance, and his role in bringing Judy to a new generation. </h3>
<h3>Like on ‘JLCH,’ we get a true overture with snippets of highlights to come and get a good look at the combo: piano, guitar, drums, and upright bass. Pretty hot jazz combo. </h3>
<h3>Rufus is shown backstage, getting ready, donning his sparkling black tuxedo jacket and finally sliding on fabulous glittering ruby loafers. The homage comes full circle. He enters the studio, where the band is playing, masked, </h3>
<h3>Renee joins the room, assuming her place as audience of one. Rufus announces that this show is the finale to his Quarantune shows, and that he has selected outrightinternational.org, a global LGBTQ support organization, as the charity they will promote that night. </h3>
<h3>Columbia has told him they have selected a vintage mic, used by Judy, for Rufus’ vocals that night. He is chuffed. <span class="font_regular"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/486c6897d078a20c3b9ab1bed31374d84282539c/original/the-mic-crop.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span>
</h3>
<h3>The opening song is ‘When You’re Smiling,’ a bit of a chestnut, but Rufus is in absolute control of his instrument and gives it life. I’ve seen Rufus live a few times, and tonight his voice is the best I’ve ever heard. Magic mic. </h3>
<h3>Renee and Rufus will chat some between this evening. Rufus explains that the first time he performed ‘JLCH’ he was newly sober; the performance left him very drained and feeling very close to Judy. </h3>
<h3>The second time around, he felt he was channeling Frank Sinatra--I guess self-assuredness will do that for you. More ring-a-ding-ding, less zing-zing-zing. </h3>
<h3>On ‘Do It Again,’ he told Renee he got to show his tessitura high range. I of course think of Tessie Tura, the gimmick stripper from Gypsy. But who doesn’t. It is a very delicate performance, but totally in control. </h3>
<h3>On ‘You Go To My Head,’ Rufus loses some lyrics, but seamlessly sings on without losing a beat. I like that he is not a perfectionist here. Seeing some fallibility amid this Herculean (Jud-ean) task works in the intimate atmosphere of the show. ‘Alone Together’ is next, a heartbreaking beauty. </h3>
<h3>Next is that Jazz Age speed rap, ‘Putting on the Ritz.’ Notoriously difficult to spit with its rapid fire lyrics and syncopated rhythm, as Bertie Wooster noted, the chap, Berlin, ‘Has too many words and note enough notes.” (See the classic Jeeves & Wooster scene here: <a contents="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zO9axGrzDE0" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zO9axGrzDE0">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zO9axGrzDE0</a>). The zippy version attempted by our gang is a bit too much, as there is a bit of a word pileup and they need to restart. Second time: nailed it! </h3>
<h3>Rufus tells Renee that he hated the song and wanted to take it out of the set then realized that you don’t mess with Judy’s set, although you felt she was suffering from that list, given the difficulty level. Arlen and Gershwin were her favorites, so he let that guide him. Her picks are his. </h3>
<h3>They talked about song pushers and writers. The McGarigle Sisters (his mom and aunt) tried for years to get fellow Canadian Celine to sing one of their songs. Dion’s people charged $100,000 for her to select your song. I guess the access to resulting royalties made the system pay off for the chosen songwriters, eventually. </h3>
<h3>After belting out ‘San Francisco,’ Rufus laughed exhaustedly in relief. “Well that’s half done. We’ll see if I can come back and finish it.” Renee: “I’d be dead!” He promises a change of wardrobe, so I am looking forward to what he has in store. </h3>
<h3>Returning, Rufus has changed to a natty teal patterned suit and sequined top. The ruby slippers remain where they belong. He performs ‘I Can’t Give You Anything But Love’ and ‘That’s Entertainment,’ winding up with ‘Come Rain or Come Shine,’ blazing back for the second half. </h3>
<p><span class="font_small"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/3b2923444d02094d01470a05b5b6a72e10ab262b/original/rufus-suit.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span></p>
<h3>Taking a break, he chats with Renee about their Thai food snack at intermission, which he is thinking might not be the most buoyant choice for the athleticism needed to perform ‘JLCH.’ He compares notes with Renee about performing ‘Come Rain or Come Shine,’ which calls for a cathartic, physical performance. Feeling the heat of the Thai and the performance, the jacket comes off to reveal the fabulous sequined tank. </h3>
<h3>‘Foggy Day in London Town’ is a song that Rufus feels is all Judy’s, her version is forever supreme. Judy died in London, where she spent the last years of her career. Rufus finds the song “haunted.” </h3>
<h3>Special guest time. Sister Martha Wainwright Zooms in from Montreal to sing a heart-felt ‘Stormy Weather.’ the final track on the original ‘JLCH” album. </h3>
<h3>We’re on to bonus and assorted material now and right off, things get dicey. Rufus chose to perform the problematic ‘Rockabye Your Baby (with a Dixie Melody)” and ‘Swanee.’ These were signature Judy songs, and they NEVER were acceptable. Time has not helped them except by widening the circle of listeners who see the problems. These are songs that really celebrate and nostalgize minstrelsy, the contorted take on race that was a staple of the 1800s entertainment. White performers in black face sang and danced exaggerated caricatures of African American performers. “Swanee” even alludes to Al Jolson’s black face performances. </h3>
<h3>Rufus recognized they were problematic. But a mere mention of the troubling content is insufficient. The concert comment section was on fire, showing that these songs cause more discomfort than consciousness raising. Some “forgotten” lyrics or updated lyrics commenting on the racist nature of the songs are needed now. If the melody is so dang compelling, imagine how catchy a truthful lyric could be. </h3>
<h3>Thank God it is now time for the final guest, Kristen Chenowith. While Judy’s “other daughter” Lorna Luft performed with Rufus at Carnegie Hall, Kristen is here to sing ‘After You’ve Gone.’ They nimbly trade verses and join each other in duet at other points. At the song's conclusion, they compare ruby footwear. Kristen has impossibly high and tiny heels, which she holds against Rufus’ robust ruby loafers. Everyone is properly appointed for the occasion. </h3>
<h3>“But Not for Me’ gets a fulsome, emotive Broadway-style performance. They then take on the Judy/Barbra duet from Judy’s TV show a mashup of “Get Happy/Happy Days (Are Here Again)’ Kristen Chenowith is a straight-up angel. </h3>
<h3>Last up is ‘Chicago,’ and Renee is aflutter. I recommend you tweak the lyrics the way I always have, singing that Chicago is “the town that Billy Sunday couldn’t pronounce!” Belt it out; you’ll feel better. Rufus: I am available with this sort of rewrite of the terrible Rocakbye/Swanee lyrics. Text me! </h3>
<h3>To summarize: VEEPS platform: works fine. Columbia Studios: what a great place to make passionate noise. Rufus’ singing voice: better than ever. Now if he can only hit the right notes on problematic material.</h3>
<h3>Hear our Rufus Singles Going Steady pod at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubacross" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubacross.">tinyurl.com/zubacross</a>.</h3>
<p><strong>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of zubrecords.com, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcas" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcas">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcas</a>t Lots of cool things to read and listen to at<a contents=" zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" style=""> zubrecords.com</a></strong></p>
<p> </p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/66537472021-06-08T21:45:53-04:002021-06-08T22:46:09-04:00April Sweet Home Quarantine with Robyn Hitchcock & Emma Swift<p><span class="font_small"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/cdcba41d302f202265dc97f02415f93a868702ab/original/rh-and-em-april-2021.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span></p>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><strong><span class="font_regular">Who made that request? </span></strong></h3>
<h2><strong>4/7/21 </strong></h2>
<h3>Welcome welcome to April! Tonight I scoot in a wee bit late; RH enters my screen adorned in a top hat and playing’ Erasing Your Life’ from the <em>Tromso, Kaptein</em> record, followed by what Robyn introduces ”one of my fertility songs especially for Easter,” ‘Globe Of Frogs.’ In wanders Tubby, who Robyn declares “ a great copilot tonight.” </h3>
<h3>RH is in a good mood. a small frog trinket from an adventure in Exeter appears and is briefly placed on RH's top hat brim. It's on to ‘Fat Angel,’ the Jefferson Airplane cover of a Donovan tune. The Scotsman gets a little kinder look in the halls of the Zub, probably more than most places, and this is an excellent choice of cover. Go Donovan!</h3>
<h3>Ringo and Emma enter. RH announces that is haircut is set for him for the 18th -- a startling return to civility and civilization that we hardcore lock-downers share. My last haircut was March 5, 2020, in the before-days, so imagining getting a haircut makes me feel ... wistful? Someone remarks they've been in a glamorous psychedelic prison. They share Sid Jones recollections about his ever-growing nose, leading into a duet on the next song. RH claims his song to be very like him, adding “you're bound to have favorites,’ It's ‘Antwoman’ from <em>Jewels for Sophia.</em> </h3>
<h3>It’s time for banter. They explain that when they have a question they ask Perry the Lobster who “lobsplains” responses to their questions after he's Googled them. </h3>
<h3>Emma sings ‘Chelsea Hotel Number 2,’ the Leonard Cohen song, RH providing the accompaniment. Robyn calls the Chelsea Hotel a flophouse, having been there during the so-called heyday and mincing no words. </h3>
<h3>Next up Robyn plays request by himself, but first the Saga of the Elaborate Gluten-free Donut, the “Gordon Jamsey” must be told. We hear of the yellow pinky disc, and somehow the discourse goes to religious rites and transubstantiation. Back to the music, and we’re treated to ‘Sally was a Legend,’ Emma adding inventive backing vocals on another <em>Jewels for Sophia</em> track. </h3>
<h3>Emma left to find Ringo. RH plays a request for “a song performed on <em>Storefront Me</em> but not performed elsewhere, ’Let's Go Thundering.” Then the capo comes out for a request, ‘Strawberries Dress’ from <em>Love from London</em>. </h3>
<h3>Tubs, Emma, and Perry the Lobster enter with Kristoff the Frog. Tubs high-fives. We are reminded that Perry has pincers so he can't high five. </h3>
<h3>RH and ES launch into ‘Chinese Bones.’ They tell us the Dead and Suzanne Vega performed the song in 1988. Emma asked who's who as between them, that is who represents the Dead and who's playing Suzanne. Robyn replies “I think of us as Simon and Garfunkel.” </h3>
<h3>They tell us that Dave Rawlings and Gillian Welch perform the song perfectly. They don't have email, though, they joke you have to contact them by pigeon. Robyn improvises that “ Norm the messenger pigeon went to work with some other pigeons…” as he spins the tale of the Rawlings-Welch pigeon service. </h3>
<h3>The next song has a glitch and Emma chides him “why practice when you can tweet?” as she steers him into playing their final song for the night ‘Brenda's Iron Sledge.’ Thinking of Robyn's comment at another show about his lack of commercial acumen, I am left to wonder if Andrew Ridgeley's presence could have made the tune the ‘Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go’ of the surreal. </h3>
<h3>--Adrienne Meddock, I want to hit that high... </h3>
<p> </p>
<h2>4/14/21: That 70’s Sweet Home Quarantine Show </h2>
<p><span class="font_small"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/33f3be7966fe627a6f5a8b580e359d6c03684667/original/kung-fu.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span></p>
<h3>Tonight’s show features songs from the 1970s. Robyn reminds us that's pretty good as the 70s is the decade he started to write, the 80s were a flower bed from the 70s compost heap from which he grew. Take that, 70s! </h3>
<h3>So the plan is that Robyn will play mainly covers of 70s songs but he'll bookend the show with songs that he wrote in the 70s. Hence, the opening song is ‘Insanely Jealous’ from <em>Underwater Moonlight. </em> </h3>
<h3>Humans are capable of enormous emotional swings: Robyn moves to the 70s covers with Rupert Holmes’ ‘Escape (The Pina Colada Song).’ He asked us to imagine what was going on in the 70s as he adds lyrics about “Jimmy Carter,” and intejects a few more 70s movers and shakers into the lyrics of the old AM radio chestnut. It is a fairly spirited cover with the silly scat bridge matching the absurdity of the truly inane song. Upon finishing, Robyn assures us he'd like to take us down Columbus Avenue in the rain and spin us around and sing the song to us as he'd like us to hear it. As Rupert would like us to hear it. </h3>
<h3>Next up: Nick Drake's ‘Parasite’ from 1972’s <em>Pink Moon</em>. It sounds like a cousin to ‘Dear Prudence’ in RH’s hands but without the psychedelic overtones, if you can imagine that. </h3>
<h3>Robyn doesn't miss a chance to conjure Bryan Ferry and he selects the song Ferry dedicated to Humphrey Bogart, ‘2HB’ </h3>
<h3>Em and Tubby appeared and Tub is very much enjoying the scritches he was getting, for a change. Either R.H. or Em makes the great comment “I talk about you because I like your hair.” Emma comments about the ring light needing adjusting and Robyn comments “better the ring light than the ringworm.” They’d both make great characters for a future Hitchcock composition, 'The Ring Light and the Ringworm.'</h3>
<h3>RH then sings the inescapable 70s soundtrack staple, ‘Stayin Alive,’ with Emma harmonizing. Since the Bee Gees spanned the homelands of both Robyn and Emma they each swap personal stories of friends of friends who had encounters with the young Gibb family. Robyn tells us that his former father-in-law told stories of running off the Bee Gees from rehearsing in the TV studio where he worked on Saturdays. </h3>
<h3>Emma and RH experiment with Robyn singing falsetto with Emma singing the lower part and then they switch it up, vice versa. It's very fun and silly but also well done. As the song ends Emma giggles saying "the Gibb Brothers: the biggest influence on the Soft Boys.” They wonder if Morris (Windsor, drummer for Soft Boys and Egyptians) likes the Bee Gees as he very much likes the Beach Boys. I don't think they came to a resolution. </h3>
<h3>Still “in the 70s” Emma professes her love for Rod Stewart. Robyn comments, “ legally he can only marry models.” He goes on to suggest that Ron Wood is Rod’s sleeper cell in the Rolling Stones and can get him in if he needs. Perhaps model shopping. </h3>
<h3>When we get to the Rod song it's ‘Maggie Mae,’ with Emma singing and pulling faces at the surprisingly problematic lyrics. I guess it's a little more thought provoking and stark singing those words without the pop radio accompaniment as most of us learned to sing it. It’s like sunlight showing how aged some of the lyrics seem. Still It reminds me how much I loved this song as a kid, not yet 10. It was the sort of song I'd listen to and think one day I will have these big feelings or at least have cause for the big feelings I'm already feeling. </h3>
<h3>It is interstitial time, and Robyn pledges he'll learn sitar the next time Emma is out of town. Emma goads him “just like you learned to play the banjo that you got when you first moved to Nashville?” Robyn answers that he sees the banjo is a kind of corrupted sitar. </h3>
<h3>They move into the next request proclaiming it to be almost the right thing like a gift from your grandma, and instead they provide a different Bowie song than requested, ‘Drive In Saturday.’ </h3>
<h3>Then Robyn performs solo ‘Green is the Colour’ from the movie <em>Move</em>, music Pink Floyd wrote the 1969 film. </h3>
<h3>He follows this with one of the greatest love songs of the 70s or any decade, ‘Kung Fu Fighting.’ I have great affection for this song. The Beef People, our band, rehearsed above some storefronts. In one room of our upstairs “Beef Nest” were personal effects of what looked like a circa 1974 divorcee. There were period albums, polyester clothes, TV Guides with time capsule schedules. The gem of them all was the Carl Douglas album, <em>Kung Fu and Other Great Love Songs.</em> I’ve never listened to the song the same way again. </h3>
<h3>Emma returned with Tubby and Robyn realizes that he played a 1969 song on a 70s show and apologizes profusely. He tells a story of Lou Reed’s bass player as the bouncer at Irving Plaza and I lose the thread but it was very funny. Ephemera into the ether. </h3>
<h3>They share vocals on the next 70s nuggets, ABBA’s ‘Dancing Queen.’ Robyn adds a very low voice for the verses while Emma does interesting things vocally that are appropriate and fun. When they conclude, Emma announces that RH is wearing a polka dotted onesie. </h3>
<h3>For Harold Lapidus they play the request ‘Only Living Boy in New York’ by Simon and Garfunkel; it's very lovely. Recall Paul Simon recently sold his publishing catalog, so there's been a lot of focus on his songwriting on my social media. In many ways he's been unfairly forgotten as a writer. I guess he’s the Donovan of American folk, unfairly dismissed as a mere Bob wannabe. </h3>
<h3>Emma then performs Blondie's ‘Heart of Glass’ and at her invitation Robyn make up his own verse and it's all great fun and that's our 70s grooving night. You know, I don’t think we got the other RH bookend. </h3>
<h3>--Adrienne Meddock, Looking for her Elephant Flares </h3>
<h3> </h3>
<h2>4/21 SHQ: Robyn HItchcock Songs by Request </h2>
<h3>The show opens as Robyn, along with Perry the Lobster, kicks off the all- request Robyn Hitchcock show with one of my personal favorites, ‘My Wife and My Dead Wife.’ He's had a real haircut and is in good voice and mood. On the line “my wife sits in a chair” he gazes at Perry park next to him on a seat. I love that he has fun with his old songs, even ones as revered as this. </h3>
<h3>Robyn offers a twofer: letting requester Chris know that “this is what you get when you rub the lamp with the right kind of polish.” ‘Railway Shoes’ follows, with emphatic guitar accompaniment, Robyn's getting great droning overtones from his acoustic. The Groovers in the StageIt comments are well pleased. </h3>
<h3>Soft Boys are up next. Robyn informs this was written back when he put as many chords as he could to a poem he'd written in his songwriting. He tells us he'll play as many as he can remember. The request for ‘It's Not Just the Size of a Walnut’ when he hits the name Kenneth in the lyrics he pauses an aside, “I've just sent an email to Kenneth….” Back to the song, a Beatles-meets-Beefheart-meets-balladeer mashup. </h3>
<h3>Tubby's in Studio C with Emma. Ringo is lurking. He's eaten 3 of Tub’s meals that day, naughty Ringi. Emma announces the next song, ‘Socrates in Thin Air,’ is on the upcoming Hitchcock album on Tiny Ghost Records. She is a one-person full-court-press promotion team and it's great. </h3>
<h3>70’s song holdover from last week's gig comes with a story. The Soft Boys had a wonderful gig in Edinburgh on the bill with the Only Ones, The Groovers all hold their breath and yep it's ‘Another Girl, Another Planet’ and I turn into a quivering bowl of trifle. Robyn finishes, suitably moved by this nonpareil pop lodestar, saying "you can only write that once and most of us haven't written it at all." </h3>
<h3>Emma announces her June tour to Australia. She is permitted to travel because of her Aussie passport so she's going alone: no cats, no Reg. She’ll rehearse with a pick-up band when she hits the continent. She tells us that Robyn will continue SHQ while she's gone. There's some dispute over whether it is going to be pre-recorded or transcontinental or how that will be arranged. The Groovers get a treat of a long time SHQ favorite ‘(A Man's Gotta Know His Limitations) Briggs.’ </h3>
<h3>Hitcho announced he has a fall tour in New England with Emma. The Groovercasts will continue, which Emma jokingly dubbed them the “Live from a Quite Shit Hotel on a Dubious Highway” shows. </h3>
<h3>The Folds went to the vet’s for kitty dental care so I imagine that was a project. This was by way of introduction to ‘Television’ from <em>Spooked </em>with Emma joining on vocals. This is a very delicate song with a very quiet wind down, a very nice denouement for the evening. Emma suggests they have a new album project, <em>Simply Having a Dismal Christmas Time</em>. Robyn suggests it will not be a full-assed Christmas album but maybe just one cheek. We see what you meant there. </h3>
<h3>Robyn puts on his best Bob-voice and uses his bare finger to play slide guitar on ‘We're Going to Live in the Trees’ another one from <em>Spooked</em>. </h3>
<h3>Emma comes back in time to hit the 5-minute extension and sings ‘Who Knows Where the Time Goes’ and it's a Sandy Denny folk lady revival. Is that Pachouli I smell? </h3>
<h3>The extra time isn't wasted because we get ‘Sickie Boy,’ the Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3 tune. But now our bonus time has run out and we're sent on our ways, bidding us peace and love, channeling the other Ringo. </h3>
<h3>--Adrienne Meddock, Looking for a Bargain on Iron Sledges </h3>
<h3> </h3>
<h2>4/28/21 Mostly RH Songs Requested by Us All </h2>
<h3>So we are winding down April with a collection of songs “almost entirely requested by y’all.” I like that Robyn has adopted the great southern collective pronoun “y'all.” Having spent my formative years in the Midwest our collective noun was you guys, which I felt was sexist and non-inclusive. Y’all has great utility in that it can be used to address more than one person in the second person. Y'all is very practical. Next to biscuits (the fast bread, not cookie), “y’all” is one of the best inventions of the American South. Oh and chess pie. </h3>
<h3>Things get off to a cracking start with 'The Man with the Light Bulb Head’ played to a very serious accompaniment. Enter Perry Lobster as the Man with the Light Bulb Head -- he's come to turn us on. Robyn then adds, ”all sorts of things happen, sometimes, when they have to.’'</h3>
<h3>Today there are triple birthday wishes for Groovers. The first up was Quigly’s request, ‘The Rain’ from <em>Groovy Decay</em>. But in true Robyn style, the next request is not for a birthday Groover, “I Got a Message For You’ from <em>Invisible Hitchcock</em>. He tells us it's a song who's tuning he could not work out so it is a redux version. Back to the happy birthday requests, Eliza gets ‘The Green Boy’ from <em>A Star for Bram</em>. He says the songs are like a branch with a heavy bird on it and off he goes on weightless birds…. </h3>
<h3>Emma joins us to discuss the popular demand for the return of the top hat in the StageIt comments, RH shows us the "capacious curvy body" of his lovely blond guitar. And they sing ‘Only the Stones Remain’ from the Soft Boys’ <em>Underwater Moonlight. </em>
</h3>
<h3>Emma imagined Hitchcock and Perry celebrating the pink moon at Stonehenge: She'd seen a photo on the internet and had envisioned it. A few more birthdays were noted, Taurean birthdays. Emma and Robyn sing us a particularly lovely version of ‘Cynthia Mask,’ harmonies and picked guitar on the verses and it's just great. </h3>
<h3>A discussion of “third from Rod” turns a mention of Rod Stewart into a Sweet Home Quarantine drinking game. Robyn and Emma have been singing all day so their voices are bit fragile Gildabeest requested ‘Trilobite.’ RH said he skip the intro which he admitted could be a bit tedious </h3>
<h3>There was talk of 90 per cent of trolleybuses ending in a great conflagration and of "the Parthenogenetic Lord--the great Scottish Fold in the sky." And then a pitch for the transport museum in London which is a particular Swiftcock favorite. </h3>
<h3>We finally get to the third birthday request, for Cassidy, who gets name-checked in ‘Time Coast’ from the <em>Robyn Hitchcock</em> album. </h3>
<h3>Back to banter. They compare their performances to a Christmas cake with really good bits but with a stray raisin. Here's why it's mostly RH by request: there's been a request for something different. Robyn tells us “this really doesn't sound like this but let's see what happens.” It's Jimmy Webb’s ‘Wichita Lineman’ and Robyn hits a lovely high “line” on a vocally challenging song he acquits in lovely fashion. </h3>
<h3>I saw Jimmy Webb in concert a few years back, he’s from the mold of great composers/poor vocalist, surrounded for the tour by gunslingers. Webb is an important to hot-air balloonists as the songwriter of ‘Up, Up and Away.’ which popularized the sport that provided a living for my family for over a dozen years. ‘Wichita Lineman’ is a song that's much better than it needs to be for an AM radio hit. And now I'm melancholy about Glen Campbell, and the lyrics of the song, and the loss of longing, and radio trips with my family to fly balloons at county fairs all over the Midwest, and it's too much f****** perspective. Now that's a performance and a solid song that can elicit all that. </h3>
<h3>Next up is a request for Syd Barrett song. Robyn skips the intro and gives us the low range bookend to the ‘Wichita Lineman’ high notes with a rumbly ‘Baby Lemonade’ from 1970’s <em>Barrett </em>album. </h3>
<h3>Emma returns with Tubby. Robyn asks “do you think we will be able to stand when we do shows again?” having spent over a year performing seated shows twice a week for us via StageIt. They are pre-recording shows for use while Emma's gone on her Aussie tour and in quarantine. </h3>
<h3>After a rousing version of ‘The Yip Song’ from <em>Storefront Hitchcock, </em>they go out on ‘Get Back,’ a Beatle song request fulfilled. RH says he might do ‘Let It Be’ Emma jokes, that's a show “Robyn Hitchcock does the songs of The Beatles badly.” </h3>
<h3>That April's Sweet Home Quarantine. </h3>
<h3>--Adrienne Meddock, I could use a small vacation, but it doesn’t look like rain</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/66356582021-05-20T15:13:57-04:002023-04-27T17:58:42-04:00Madness: The Get Up! Global Live Stream<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/0d96feaa7bd2bef310fe196bcaa4740384586d64/original/suggs-and-charlie-higson.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></strong></p>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><strong>Charlie Higson and Suggs at the London Palladium </strong></h3>
<h3>The weekend of March 14, Madness, the stalwarts of the nutty, nutty, second-wave ska sound, hosted a bold streaming event. The ticket price ($24 in the US) was healthy and a real production promised in return, featuring notable British comedic Swiss (Toni) Army knife, Charlie Higson (of The Fast Show fame). (Don’t get the Swiss Toni reference? Raising a reference, in a way,<a contents=" is like making love to a beautiful woman" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBw-aEixWuo" target="_blank"> is like making love to a beautiful woman</a>). Turns out he and Suggs are neighbors, and instantly for me Britain became an island populated by all my favorite people borrowing cups of treacle from each other, just like in my imagination. </h3>
<h3>To a rabid consumer of a certain brand of British comedy and music, this offer was irresistible. The show aired at several points between May 14 and 17 on the new-to-me Driift platform. I opted for the Friday night concert, just like the real thing. </h3>
<h3>A Zoom session with the band discussing and introducing videos was the streaming pre-show. The first video I caught was ‘Wings of A Dove,’ a big production with a choir on a plane, along with the usual Madness mugging and OTT production and it was wonderful. Still, I was a little concerned that $24 for a Zoom was something most might bring ire from those less entertainment starved than I if <em>this </em>was what we were in for. </h3>
<h3>The ‘Driving in My Car’ video was up next. Not a green-screen production, the then-seven lads crammed into a Morris, lip-synching in front of a projected background. They were quite proud of it technically, and recalled renting the film projector was $500 quid. I don’t believe I’d caught either video back in the day. In the pre-YouTube days, seeing a music video was all happenstance. I recall waiting up late to watch USA <em>Night Flight</em> in case they’d show a video I hadn't seen before, eventually there was MTV's <em>120 Minutes</em>. But early on there were always videos showing up in weird places such as bumpers between shows on odd cable networks. Well, enough digression, at least of this variety. </h3>
<h3>But now it's time for the real show. <em>The Get Up!</em> begins with a newsreel parody, the band arriving, formal Nutty Boy style, at the London Palladium theatre. Fears allayed: it is incredibly high quality as cast to my TV screen. Time to settle in. </h3>
<h3>
<em>The Get Up! </em>writer Charlie Higson plays both the house manager (Victor Marley) and a bartender right out of <em>The Shining</em>. Victor discusses with the band all the others who played there, from the Stones to Vera Lynn, a veritable who's who of English music hall entertainment and he also throws in The Crazy Gang. Of course we all remember The Crazy Gang. Thanks to the pandemic there will be no audience present and the show will be attended by the ghosts of former audiences and those that should have been there. The mass loss of life and weirdness of shows in the Covid era make this land a little more morosely with me than I’d have expected. </h3>
<h3>Of course the Queen is in the Royal box for the proceedings (keyboardist Mike Barson doing the honors). Is it really British comedy without drag and a skewering of HRH? Covid and the loss of Philip can’t keep her from a good show. </h3>
<h3>The framing device is that the band is attending a performance of the staged Madness story. The curtain opens on a set of someone’s mum’s lounge, the band forming and rehearsing together. The current Madness is playing the nascent Madness, before an audience of the current Madness, in a possibly haunted by otherwise empty theatre… plus the “Queen.” Audience Madness thinks the cast is too old “they’ve gotta be in their 60s!” So audience Madness will heckle and reminisce from the seats as “Madness” plays out their own origin story on stage. </h3>
<h3>The band works out the arrangement of ‘My Girl's Mad at Me,’ and it is fun as the current Madness grumbles and complains about the “actors’” version on stage. As a B-story, sax player Thommo has been attempting to find the rest of the band, exploring the nooks and crannies in and outside the Palladium. Will he be reunited with the rest of Madness? </h3>
<h3>Next up is ‘Bed and Breakfast Man’ and Madness sounds great, as does ‘Feel So Fine’ (a Johnny Preston cover). “Suggs” leaves rehearsal for a Chelsea football game, and the band decides to audition other singers. </h3>
<h3>In comes .. Roland Gift! His voice is still wonderful, and I am thinking about the connections, Fine Young Cannibals featuring the guitarist and bass player from fellow 2-Toners The (English) Beat (<a contents="it’s complicated" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://2-tone.info/the-beat/">it’s complicated</a>). The band keep insisting they don’t like ska, and we get a runner with bassist Mark asking for rockabilly and drummer Woody eagerly asking for heavy metal, each playing a short bit entirely unrepresentative of their preferred genre. </h3>
<h3>But we don’t get a “slightly rockabilly version” of ‘Concrete and Clay,’ the mid-60s beat era pop hit by Unit 2 + 4. (Watch their vintage, high quality film <a contents="here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zstZkoGyZS4">here</a>.) This is a genius choice for his vocal range, Gift showing his great highs in this ska-rock steady version. Hmm, I think he’d make some band very, very happy. </h3>
<h3>But another candidate for lead singer has shown. We hear an approaching scooter and of course it is who we’d hoped, the Modfather himself, Paul Weller. Paul plays deadpan pretty well, as jokes about Woking abound and he plays eager and earnest. They ask him if he knows Jimmy Cliff’s ‘The Harder They Fall,’ and Paul deadpans sure, and play it in D, or H if they don’t know it in D. What follows is not mod, rockabilly, scooter cool, or heavy metal but a ska/rock-steady respectful to the original version. He can still belt it out and it is another smart cover choice for a guest singer. But he needs to leave to catch the last train to Woking. </h3>
<h3>Suggs returns and is given one more chance to sing for “The Invaders” (as the kick drum says). It is time for “The Prince,” leading into ‘Madness’ their cover of a Prince Buster classic. They had been toying with band names “Morris and the Minors” and “The Invaders” as on their drum kit. No rockabilly, no heavy metal, they have found their inspiration and their name: Madness. </h3>
<h3>The narrator brings us up to speed as Act One winds down on “those teen boys from North London…” Audience Madness, joined by a now-found Thommo, is not having it, as they watch their origin story. “Why are they so obsessed with this ska stuff?” </h3>
<h3>And so the band has been christened Madness. Scene. </h3>
<h3>END ACT ONE. </h3>
<h3>OPEN SCENE TWO </h3>
<h3>The band has now achieved success and we have a concert in progress. A horn section has been added and we kick off with “One Step Beyond,” and it’s a cracker. Act One ended on Prince Buster, and Act Two starts covering their inspiration. Giving props. </h3>
<h3>We are getting the big Madness show now, with ‘Embarrassment.’ The songs are so evocative, I am reminded that there really needs to be a Madness musical. </h3>
<h3>But now there is a NEW song, ‘Baby Burglar,’ and it sounds like it belongs. ‘NW5,’ the bittersweet broken relationship song from <em>The Liberty of Norton Folgate</em> is next. This album is so terrific you really have to grab it if you haven’t already. It’s a gobsmacker. </h3>
<h3>‘House of Fun’ elicits dancing in the royal box between HRH and Marley. It makes everyone dance. Madness is on a full-tilt roll: ‘Baggy Trousers,’ “Shut Up.’ and ‘Night Boat to Cairo.’ They then add in a second new song, ‘If I Go Mad’ and it is another solid addition to the catalog. </h3>
<h3>The show is going so well, so well produced, sounds great, looks like a big stage production, that ‘Our House’ sneaks up on me. Despite its ubiquity, this song has never lost its luster for me. They rip through its paces, reminding me again of its place in my personal pop pantheon. </h3>
<h3>Is that the show? Higson as Marley gives a bit of a Shakespearean epilogue, leading to what would have been an encore if there were an audience other than themselves. We get ‘It Must Be Love’ and ‘The Cruellest Comedy,’ appropriate for the grand theatre setting. </h3>
<h3>The show is over and we file out of the theatre. We finally get a good look at the “Victor Marley” portrait hanging in the corridor that the band members have checked out at various points in <em>The Get Up! </em>He’s been dead for decades according to the plaque! Well, he did tell us the place was full of ghosts. The Nutty Boys knew it, and just went with the flow. Madness. </h3>
<h3>The band still has it. Suggs is a compelling frontman, making the most of his limited range and strong accent, utilizing them as secret weapons. Each player steps up and shines when the song demands it, never hot dogging for the sake of ego. They are an absolute unit, surprisingly built to last. </h3>
<h3>We had tickets for Madness in May 2020 postponed due to Covid. I am looking forward to seeing them in person in summer 2022.They are still writing great songs and sound as good as ever. Maybe they’ll work in some rockabilly or heavy metal! </h3>
<h3>--Adrienne Meddock</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/66268782021-05-10T18:13:20-04:002021-05-10T18:26:42-04:00March Grooving with Robyn Hitchcock & Emma Swift<h2><span class="font_regular"><strong>We have stored up a number of accounts of the fantastic Sweet Home Quarantine Shows given by Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift from their Nashville home. For excellent trainspotting setlists of these shows, see Marcus Slade’s impeccably curated listings at The Asking Tree, beginning with the first show <a contents="https://askingtree.com/gigs/2824" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://askingtree.com/gigs/2824" style="" target="_blank">https://askingtree.com/gigs/2824</a></strong></span></h2>
<p> </p>
<p><span class="font_regular"><strong><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/0ab948c7ef3094ea2aa7b89ef3062731dff959d1/original/cropped-robyn-nick-glasses.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></strong></span></p>
<h2 style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_regular"><em><strong>R Hitchcock in N Lowe saluting spectacles.</strong></em></span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular"><strong>3/3/21 Lou Reed Show </strong></span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">What a night to skid in late. I join with Lou night in full swing, Robyn and Em singing from Swiftcock Towers! I barely catch the song, and they converse, riffing on The Ramones somehow being in harnesses like Cirque du Soleil and opening for themselves and, as with the best of their banter, I can’t tell if I am glimpsing their skewed hive mind, lost from being late, or a beautiful amalgam of of both. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">But tonight is about Lou Reed, and the two launch into a wistful ‘Candy Says,’ Robyn’s brightest tone acoustic pulling duty as the axe of choice. Lou could write a pretty song, couldn’t he. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">Robyn announced after the song that he is holding a trolley bus fundraiser for the trolley bus deprived “namely me.” He thanked the Groovers for a thoughtful Zoom greeting that they put together for his birthday. He seems genuinely moved, so well done, Groovers. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">Next up is a request for Harold Lepidus, ‘Coney Island Baby,’ sung by Emma and joined on the last chorus by RH, in his best Lou impersonation. It’s fun and lovely at the same time. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">Then, we’re back to the party mode, Lou being a man who felt the extremes. It’s Velvet Underground Lou again, ‘Beginning to See the Light.’ RH is having a blast with his Lou-isms abounding. The chorus ends by repeating “How does it feel to be loved?” Robyn assures us “one day we’ll find out.” He then launches into “Rock n Roll Heart,” Em across the room, off-camera, infectiously joining the chorus, and quickly dancing on screen with Tubby. It’s a Lou Party! </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">Robyn then continues on the VU vein with “I’m Set Free,” and I am sadly prematurely exiting from a very fun and loving acknowledgement of the great Lou Reed. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">--The Adrienne Underground featuring Meddocko (Imagine a Warhol banana cover here) </span></h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular"><strong>3/10 No-theme Theme Show </strong></span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">I enter with Robyn playing ‘Idonia’ from<em> Luxor,</em> playing his lovely Gibson with the dark neck with the mother of pearl lozenge inlays. Both sound great. He informs us that he has utilized “guest tuning,” having made up an alternate to the tuning that he now can’t work out, but he has selected a “Roger McGuinn vocal setting.” Hee. Next is <em>moss elixor</em>’s ‘Heliotrope’ and I am put in a spring state of mind, the daffodils are out and I imagine flowers turning their faces to follow the sun as it traverses the sky. I remember the fields of sunflowers in Kansas, watching the sun’s arc in unison, and the lovely song ends. RH informs us that he can’t say no to a rage and bowl of rose leaves. Such blends make stellar songwriting for sure. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">He plays ‘Glass’ by request, a personal favorite, and he’s in great voice this evening. Emma joins and the interstitial banter turns to contentious divorces, which dissolves into an achy rendition of The Beatles’ ‘Rain.’ </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">Appropriately, we next get an RH original, “inspired by a Raymond Chandler story he never wrote,” ‘The Man Who Loves the Rain.’ He and Em provide a nice version and RH discourses on leaving cups of tea on Raymond Chandler's 2 graves, or so my notes appear to claim. Em leaves RH to perform ‘I Saw Nick Drake’ and a becaped Em returns with Ringo, the cape donned in honor of “Stevie Wonder’s cape at the 1984 Grammys.” RH called David Crosby Emma’s “spirit father.” Emma, puzzled, asked why. RH, to us, “Stone me, if she had a moustache and 200 pounds, she’d look like David Crosby.” So that explains it. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">Next up is ‘Time Coast’ from the <em>Robyn Hitchcock </em>album, and they kid, mid-song, that it includes “an intended Stephen Stills track, left in by mistake.” Next up is a request by “our favorite Libran, if he was a Libran…: </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">Dylan’s ‘Shelter from the Storm,’ their voices making the song their own and it’s a lovely version. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">At the break, RH is absolutely smitten with Em’s cape. She notes the last time she wore it was at the Stevie Nicks’ show, where it was required. They noted the mark of one year of the Sweet Home Quarantine Shows. They recognize that pandemic memories have faded as events and lyrics have been forgotten. I think we all feel this weird effect on our brains and understanding of time. But avoiding the maudlin, RH breaks into a beatbox hastily rendered ‘Escape (The Pina Colada Song),’ Emma joining in, vocalizing. SHQ has brought us the rarest and most unusual and (unlooked-for) gifts. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">Next up is ‘Tell Me About Your Drugs’ from <em>Element of Light</em>. And my notes have gone off on a trip so I’ll draw to a whimper of a close rather than a bang on this No-theme Theme show. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">--Adrienne Known-to-don-a-cape Meddock </span></h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular"><strong>3/17 Technically 99th Show Celebrating the 100th Sweet Home Quarantine </strong></span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">The landmark show opens with ‘Bass’ from <em>Element of Light</em>, which RH remarks at the conclusion “it just stops, for some reason.” I love how his songs have minds of their own. On to another personal favorite, ‘Strawberry Mind,’ which he admits he “had to look this one up.” What follows is an upbeat, exuberant, carefully picked version of the great song. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">He chats afterward with Perry the Lobster, RH, replying to his “whispered” inquiry, “No, no strawberries were harmed, this is a show where nothing is damaged.” A lovely commentary of why we’ve followed for scores of shows. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">The next song he introduces as being “designed for a bank of synthesizers, but it never got that far.” It’s ‘You’ve Got’ from <em>You & Oblivion</em>, sans synthesizer one, but great nonetheless. Then, in response to a request for something from the forthcoming album, RH introduces “something in the same key as ”a song from that record,” ‘Feathery Serpent God.’ </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">Emma enters with Ringo, who is high on a gifted catnip pillow, sent by a Groover. E Swift notes it is “the ultimate vibe improver.” The confession comes that Perry keeps the set list, but Groover Marcus keeps the reliable list, according to Emma, but RH wonders about his qualifications, it seems, “Does he have pincers?” </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">On that note, Emma joins in on ‘Flesh Number One (Beatle Dennis)’ from <em>Globe of Frogs</em>. Then it is time for an Emma feature from <em>Blonde on the Tracks</em>, ‘Going, Going, Gone.’ “<em>Planet Waves</em>” notes a Groover in the StageIt comments. RH replies “Yes, and it waves back.” Someone suggested the mashup ‘Simple Twist of Balloon Man,’ and RH notes they were both highly played. Maybe they are onto something. It does lead to RH riffing on the line “a cat who gets things done.” These little improvised songs could form the backbone of their own SHQ compilation. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">They sing ‘The Devil’s Coachman’ from <em>Queen Elvis</em>, and then Emma’s off to “find a bottle of Perry.” RH plays ‘I’m in Love with a Beautiful Girl,” ending it with a nice “proto-rager” flourish. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">Em enters with an unusually chill Tubs, blissed out on catnip. Em notes the house “smells like a hippie den,” and remarks that she misses “the smell of clubs: stale tobacco, beer..” RH notes that a graffito in the Hope & Anchor reads “police smoke cocks heavily,” an apt introduction to their “Rock n’ Roll Toilet,” a Soft Boys treat and SHQ Groovers favorite. With an eye toward the upcoming Nick Lowe song, RH suggests that Nick would be more likely to be found in a Rock n’ Roll spa. Having read Will Birch’s excellent Nick biography, <em>Cruel to be Kind,</em> (our interview with the author is at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubcruel" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubcruel">tinyurl.com/zubcruel</a>) I had the feeling Nick is a bit posh around the edges. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">Emma, putting on her “gravitas face,” sings the requested Prince classic ‘Nothing Compares 2 U.’ Emma wonders if they shouldn’t do a 70’s Theme show. RH replies “they felt dismal at the time, but now seem…” A global pandemic puts the yucky excesses of the 70s in their place, I think. But Emma is undaunted. “Can I get you in one of my onesies? Who’d you be in ABBA?” RH speculates he’d be “the darker haired woman or the least beardy man.” </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">The show closes with the two of them singing ‘Cynthia Mask.’ Next week, it’s Nick Night for we Groovers. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">--Adrienne Meddock, guest Groover </span></h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular"><strong>Nick Lowe Birthday Show: Friday Grooving? </strong></span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">Nick Lowe and Robyn Hitchcock are longtime figures on the British music scene. RH describes him as his “oldest froleague.” He calls the Soft Boys getting a break opening for Elvis Costello, a high point in their careers. A good gig in the late 70s for sure. Of that gig, he recalls Nick dropping his Senior Service cigarette, which RH picked up and used to light his own. The Stiffs were traveling by pack in those days I suppose, NIck and EC. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">Incidentally, I believe I am attending on a rare (for me) Friday, the afternoon show geared for the European Groovers. My notes are bereft of clues, so I am relying on my fickle pandemic brain for that detail. But this was one of the birthday shows, I am certain of that! </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">So now we launch into the Cream song ‘Badge,’ as they are noting Eric Clapton’s birthday as well. “Add phasing in your head,” urges Robyn. Next Nick’s birthday celebration checks in on RH’s ‘My Favorite Buildings are Falling Down,” a request from<em> I Often Dream of Trains</em>. Robyn tells us the country side of Lou Reed can imagine Nick Lowe singing it. He assures us we’ll be in Nickland soon. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">But oh no--sound trouble! Emma comes in and tends to the tech, while RH mutely mugs to the camera with Perry the Lobster. She gets the sound back and it’s <em>Black Snake, Diamond Role</em>’s ‘A Skull, A Suitcase and a Long Red Bottle of Wine.” </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">Now we’re “moving into Nicksville, and moving to a guitar with different tuning.” RH is wearing his “Nick Lowe spectacles in honor of Nick Lowe” and it’s ‘Endless Grey Ribbon’ offa the UK version of<em> Labour of Lust</em>. RH introduces the next song, noting “this song could have been written by Nick” and describes how they moved in West London as sort of mirror images of each other. Are they still mirrors? RH is still mistaken for Lowe. He asks Em, “Do you think he has mad old lady hair like me? He probably has a secret barber.” They imagine Nick Lowe is more put-together in quarantine than they have been. Emma notes “You’ve taken the Crosby ‘I Almost Cut My Hair’ approach to Covid.” </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">On to ‘Detective Mindhorn,’ but Robyn is a bit off, and Emma, trying to sing along, quips, “Pitch! Should we try that again?” RH: “Might be best for them if we don’t.” But they do, and the next time through it’s perfect. RH sums it up. “See, that was easy.” Love these two. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">Robyn tells us he always felt he was Nick Lowe’s “younger, hippie brother.” He notes that “there’s been more than usual a man at the bottom of the garden playing emotive piano ballads.” Emma asks eagerly if they can play “Elton John songs for his birthday?!?” Robyn is chagrined, “Tell me you don’t like ‘Tiny Dancer.’” Em’s love of rock’s schmaltzier moments is rearing its head. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">Fight averted as Emma must sing ‘I Knew the Bride,’ and it's a fine version but I can’t believe how tired I am of this song. Not your fault, Nick, Em, or RH. (It was the cue music at my dinner theater workplace that tables needed to cash out. Stress!) Interstitial banter turns to Dylan’s “old guy, Vincent Price moustache.” Perhaps it is more of a Chuck Berry. At any rate, this leads to “the twangy side of me,” Robyn Hitchcock’s ‘I Pray When I’m Drunk.’ </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">Robyn introduces the next song as “requested by me, one of my favorite Nick songs, from <em>The Convincer</em>, ‘Lately I’ve Let Things Slide.’ It’s less morose than Nick’s “too much fucking perspective” versions I’ve heard live; the song is almost upbeat in Robyn’s hands. Nice job. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">Emma returns with snacks, and the conversation turns to truckers “talking cheese” and specifically to Kris Kristofferson in<em> Convoy </em>wearing trucker hats. You know, patented, au courant SHQ banter. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">Robyn introduces the next song as one that “Nick really likes” and that they’ve sung together. ‘So You Think You’re in Love’ from <em>Perspex Island</em>, another personal favorite, I’m with you, Nick. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">Emma wonders if they should add 5 minutes time onto the StageIt hosted show, RH cautions, “only one of us is a great singer, and neither of us is a great guitarist…” but the button IS pushed and it is time for Emma to lead on the perfect Nick song, ‘Cruel to Be Kind,’ RH joining the chorus as they play it “mid-tempo, like The Eagles!” </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">The banter resumes with an exuberant “Pub rock! High-five!” This is a call back to the discussion of a bad CSN and possibly Y documentary that closes with a goofy “High-five!” Emma goads RH: “say something Nick Lowe would say, ooh, can you do Lou doing a Nick song as a gift to me?” </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">The ensuing ‘I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass’ (<em>Pure Pop for Now People/Jesus of Cool</em>) IS sung by Robyn cum Lou Reed and it is the platonic ideal of such things. He even throws in a little Johnny Cash, appropriately, at the end (recall Johnny was step-father to Nick’s one-time wife, Carlene Carter). Robyn describes this version as “The late, great Pisceans do Nick Lowe.” </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">Time runs down with ‘Mr. Kennedy’ and the sun sets on The Basher’s birthday bash. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">--Adrienne Meddock, American, Squirming </span></h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular"><strong>3/31 Guest Grooving Again </strong></span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">Greetings, Groovers. Eyes on the Swiftcock Studio C this week are mine again, as I sub in for dyed-in-the-wool Feg Steve. Tonight we’ll have RH songs and celebrations of the birthdays of Richard Thompson and Ronnie Lane. I was lucky enough to get my second Covid jab this afternoon, so any side effects will hopefully enhance the general grooviness of these wonderful, intimate shows. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">RH opens with ‘Captain Dry’ from <em>You & Oblivion</em>. Robyn is playing the lovely Gibson with the lozenge inlays on the neck and they sound great together. He observes that he “definitely recorded that song at sometime. I have no memory of writing it, but it sounds like me.” He explains that Johnathan Demme had suggested it for inclusion in <em>Storefront Hitchcock</em>. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">Next up, a song he notes is “sadly not ‘Roadhouse Blues,’ but ‘Star of Hairs.’ He quips the<em> Invisible Hitchcock</em> track “would have been a natural for Marc Bolan or an artist of their calibre.” On that note, enter Ringo Stardust, coming in for a little love from RH. The kitty reportedly smells great tonight and Robyn pronounces him “a perfect Fold.” </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">The Richard Thompson birthday remembrance kicks off with ‘Calvary Cross,’ which RH starts with a lovely picked interlude, sounding very Richard-Thompson-NPR-bumper-tune, as is apropos. He notes that it is not quite the 1975 version of the song, ”but 1975 is hard to access.” It is a lovely rendition. The next song, “is by me, but it is as dismal as Richard Thompson could have written.” It’s ‘Luminous Rose’ from <em>Globe of Frogs</em> and I am not mired in dismalia at all. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">Enter Emma, and the two of them are excited to discuss the venture Tiny Ghost Press, the literary arm of their in-house media empire. I think it quite literally is in their house. It is a fantastic idea that they seize the means of production for their creative works, adding to their recording endeavor, Tiny Ghost Records. Tiny Ghost Press will debut with a beautiful illustrated lyric book, S<em>omewhere Apart: Selected Lyrics 1977 - 1997</em>, featuring Robyn’s work, coming to us in “high summer.” Order here: <a contents="https://robynhitchcockofficial.bandcamp.com/merch/somewhere-apart-selected-lyrics-1977-1997&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://robynhitchcockofficial.bandcamp.com/merch/somewhere-apart-selected-lyrics-1977-1997" target="_blank">https://robynhitchcockofficial.bandcamp.com/merch/somewhere-apart-selected-lyrics-1977-1997 </a></span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">Emma launches into ‘I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight,’ their second Thompson song. Reaching for a capo “that limits the bloodstream to the guitar,’ Robyn switches guitars again. Emma jokes “you are channeling Elvis Costello” because RH keeps changing instruments. Conversation veers in a few directions, culminating in RH’s making up a silly song about eggs, breaking it down to a beatbox again, as he has tended to lately. Emma asks, “is that your version of ‘Avalon’?” RH: “Eggalon. Must be the love object that turned into a bird, so there’d be an egg. So it all adds up.” </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular"> Ronnie Lane’s day is not forgotten and The Faces “Ooh La La” kicks off that part of the celebration, Em and Reg trade verses, joining together on the choruses. “Written by birthday boy Ronnie Lane,” Robyn adds in a dj voice, mid-song. The last verse is entropic, as they make each other laugh. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">“Dig the clams, folks, here we go,” says Robyn as they quickly launch into ‘I Want to Tell You About What I Want’ from <em>Robyn Hitchcock</em>. Discourse then turns to a discussion of the Beach Boys, “Everybody hates Mike Love, mention his name and plants wilt . . by your works ye shall be known, he nails himself to that very unlovely cross … (referring to the MAGA hat Love wears) Emma, laughing, interjects into the tirade “Happy Easter, folks!” </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">She announces that the Christmas cards have finally all gone out, so coming at Easter makes them a twofer! The capo is on, and Emma is ready to sing as Robyn plays, the wrong thing. “Want to get the chords right, Guv?” They start over, this time getting right “1952 Vincent Black Lightning,” the Richard Thompson song. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">Next up is “Itchycoo Park,” perfect for RH’s voice, with Emma calling the questions out and harmonizing. Transcendent and simple, a great salute to Ronnie Lane. “The duck-feeding lyrics are a gas, and they know it,” RH comments, adding in beatbox “phased drums.” He really is a rhythm machine these days; Biz Markie, watch your back. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">They suggest the upcoming album, <em>Check Out that Tram with Mira Sorvino</em> (a gatefold double album, natch). </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">RH breaks into “San Francisco,” admonishing us to wear some flowers in our hair, in a low voice. Emma objects “with that baritone, you sound like a creep in the park!” So they move on to “Balloon Man,” a not-creepy, pretty, picked version with Emma in harmony and that is SHQ for March. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">--Adrienne Meddock, It’s All Too Beautiful</span></h2>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/66163022021-04-28T14:46:48-04:002021-04-28T16:34:07-04:00R Hitchcock & E Swift Sweet Home Quarantine February 2021<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/9240ba29ed8dfd5597b7d04271dc9ca443d1827a/original/rh-and-es-february.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Lo-res Image of Reg & Em, Sweet Home Quarantine </strong></p>
<h2><em><strong>So we are a bit late in sharing our thoughts on the marvelous Sweet Home Quarantine shows with Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift. Here are accounts of the February SHQ shows. </strong></em></h2>
<h2>
<strong>Wednesday SHQ 2/3</strong> </h2>
<h2>I have been a loyal Wednesday (and occasionally Friday) Groover for the extraordinary series of home concerts from the Nashville home of Robyn Hitchcock, Emma Swift, Scottish Folds Tubby and Ringo, and their Furry Cabal of stuffed animals. While usually Steve writes these reviews, I've been tagged in to relay my impression of tonight’s intimate concert from the Swiftcock Sweet Home Quarantine. While Steve is detailed and methodical, I tend to be more big picture than play-by-play. So here goes; I’ll probably swing to the latter. </h2>
<h2>The night began with a Groover favorite, ‘The Cheese Alarm,’ Robyn’s guitar ringing (like said cheese alarm) crisp and bright. The Edge (stuffed monkey) provided the name of the next requester for ‘Chinese Water Python,’ played as a beautiful instrumental with medieval musical forebears (at least as I heard it). A very lively ‘Point It At Gran’ followed. Robyn spoke with a mixture of sadness and straightforwardness of reaching for memories that only your departed parents could share and confirm. </h2>
<h2>Emma entered in a black and white polka dot halter top, bringing Reg a white on black polka dot cuppa to coordinate with his white dot on black shirt. She joined him on ‘Fifty Two Stations,’ her inventive harmonies bringing much to the arrangement. </h2>
<h2>Studio C was quite warm tonight, and they apologized to the snowbound Groovers, who were not similarly situated. They bantered about perms, and the smell of perms. They launched into ‘Somewhere Apart.’ Emma sang one of her new songs, ‘Impossible Air.’ She is undertaking the song-a-week challenge in 2021, so perhaps we’ll hear a new Swift composition on the regular. </h2>
<h2>Robyn sang a silly song on the necropolis theme as the banter had taken a turn towards the goofy macabre. Emma left to find power for the laptop, while Robyn sang a song in honor of Arthur Kane’s birthday, the lovely elegiac ‘N.Y. Doll.’ </h2>
<h2>Emma returned with Ringo Morrissey Stardust, their gloomier cat with ‘Year-round Affective Disorder.’ Robyn and Em launched into ‘Upgrade Me,’ one of the great Patreon tracks from 2020. Reg announced mid-song “there he is!” as other cat Tubby wandered into the room. Tubbins remained elusive though, uncaptured. Having spent the last two days stalking my feline overlords BB then Banana to capture them for their annual well-kitty visits, these feline disappearing arts are well known to me. </h2>
<h2>RH announces, “it’s Graham Nash’s birthday, so let’s play another one of my songs…” They then rated the members of CSNY in various categories (nicest, best moustache) before playing ‘Chinese Bones,’ a song he’d have liked to have CSNY perform. I can hear it. I also heard Simon and Garfunkel, of all groups, doing a pretty good version in my imagination (not the similarly dubbed nighthawks from detectorists, as discussed in each of our reviews of that perfect series at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubtreasure" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubtreasure">tinyurl.com/zubtreasure</a>). </h2>
<h2>Emma grabbed a cheat sheet for the real Graham Nash song, from the 1971 Deja Vu album that Reg said was “the badge of all Groovers” of that time. Emma sang lead on ‘Our House.’ This is one of those AOR FM staples to which I am fairly immune, its charm lost to me, having become twee and mundane through overplay and over-familiarity. They managed to make it sound fresh. They joked about Young leaving the Stills-Young band, mid-tour, via telegram. Emma said she’d need to send a fax from the office in these quarantine days, to Robyn in another room of the house. They laughed, but guys, your Groovers like our little Wednesday Family Fun Nights. I’m requesting Al Green, stat, to keep us together! </h2>
<h2>--Adrienne Meddock, Substitute Groover </h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2><strong>Wednesday 2/10 SHQ </strong></h2>
<h2>Steve called me yesterday that he’d be missing this week’s session and making sure I’d guest again, so I will see if I can juggle banter and song description a little more adeptly this week. This week’s Sweet Home Quarantined has been billed as an acknowledgement of Valentine’s Day (you noticed I didn’t say “celebration”), that will no doubt feature Groovers’ requests for Robyn’s dismalian view of love and relationships setting the tone for the night. So on to “Valentine’s and Anti-Valentine’s” songs. </h2>
<h2>Robyn opens the show playing Yolanda’s request, a song he claims he has not played in “29 years,” ‘Ultra Unbelievable Love.’ He plays an insistent, chugging accompaniment on acoustic. He segues to Keith’s request, repeating the line from the prior tune, “there are no jokes in the Bible, Keith,” and it’s the brilliant “My Wife and My Dead Wife,” an ebullient take on <em>Blithe Spirit</em>. This is a fun and confident version, with subtle and limber passages alongside louder peaks. The word “chiaroscuro” flashes across my lips, but I think that might sound pretentious; however, there are shades from dark to light, love to menace. </h2>
<h2>‘Fly Me To The Moon,’ a request from a few weeks back has now been worked up, Robyn giving it an almost classical guitar feel. He remarks, “it’s beautiful, but very watery, liquid, there are no barbs…” He calls it a song from his parents’ time. </h2>
<h2>Then it’s time for a “Groover’s” interpretation of love, courtesy of Bob, one of Robyn’s musical saints, and “Spanish Harlem Incident.” Both Robyn and Emma inhabit these Dylan songs, finding elbow room for their own expression. (See <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubblonde" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubblonde">tinyurl.com/zubblonde</a> on Emma’s lovely album of Dylan covers). </h2>
<h2>Then it’s an “on brand” RH song, with its hallmark “dismalia,” ‘Comme Toujours,’ the French splattered song from <em>The Man Upstairs</em>. It is damned perfect, of course. Robyn shows his higher register is still very much in play. </h2>
<h2>Emma enters with Scottish Fold “Ringy,” the more easily bribed of their feline cohort. Emma jokes about a Robyn Sinatra covers album. “Will it be Fly Me to The Moon’ and 12 others or twelve versions of ‘Fly Me to the Moon’? Robyn scoffs, saying he much prefers “Anarchy in the UK'' and knocks out a lovely, slinky coffeehouse version worthy of Jacques Brel. Yes please, we all say. </h2>
<h2>The pair play RH’s ‘Death & Love’ and then retell the story of being fined on a ferry in Venice on the way to the train station, a recurring staple tale for SHQ. 122 Euro fine, I believe. Emma then tells us Perry & The Edge are a couple and Bowie wrote ‘Heroes’ for them. </h2>
<h2>Emma introduces a song from Tapestry by request, “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow.” I saw Emma earlier responding to the tweet request, lauding the mature 70s version on Carole King’s Tapestry (today is the landmark album’s 50th birthday). She compared it to the 60s girl group version of the Goffin/King composition by The Shirelles. Emma gives it a third spin, and treats it almost as a torch song. </h2>
<h2>Robyn says YES in answer to the title question. They are so lovely together. There is banter about sparrows who don’t do their homework being stared down by professors with bad breath. The magical realism of the Swiftcock home. </h2>
<h2>This introduced RH’s solo ‘All I Wanna Do Is Fall in Love.’ RH then played “One of my 3 cheerful songs” by request for “Mr and Mrs Velvis,” who had it played at their wedding. ‘I’m in Love with A Beautiful Girl.’ </h2>
<h2>Emma returned with “the great Valentine story no one wanted to hear,” that of the Edge and Perry. They riffed on movie remakes the duo might be right for, and evidently Robyn thought Billy Joel was the star of “When Harry Met Sally.” Emma changed gears,“going from the inane to the dismal’ they played the Roland S. Howard song, ‘Shivers,” one sung by Nick Cave in their band, The Birthday Party. This is the work of “a late, great” fellow Aussie songwriter whom Emma feels was a kindred spirit. </h2>
<h2>Next up was ‘Glass Hotel,’ which I don’t think we’ve heard recently but was a frequent feature in early SHQ shows. Robyn is really thrashing, then intricately picking in an always-right acoustic version of a song that feels like home for us now because of the SHQ-created connection. </h2>
<h2>Emma waxes about a hotel on the French beach, where Robyn plays ‘Comme Toujours’ and hands her an eclair. Robyn says he’d prefer to bring her an accordion. Then it is a musing on instruments they like and don’t like and then Robyn invents a scene with Tim, the Aussie middle school crush that Emma wistfully recalls played the sax. Robyn states curtly that he remembers very well about Tim. Our Quarantine parents playfully spar. </h2>
<h2>Then it is on to the pros and cons of ‘Careless Whisper.’ Emma loves it, and sings a little. Robyn admits his commercial instincts are nothing compared to George Michael and that even Andrew Ridgely at HIS side would not have made ‘Brenda’s Iron Sledge’ crack the public consciousness. For me, “guilty feet have got no rhythm” is one of the goofiest lines in pop culture, whether you love or hate ‘Careless Whisper.’ </h2>
<h2>Then it is on to their lovely version of ‘The Ghost In You.’ Emma’s inventive harmonies along with Robyn’s Hitchcockian interpretation make this version quite lovely. I had to cut out early, so tonight's wrap up is a mystery! </h2>
<h2>--Adrienne Meddock, Grooving for two, grooving for you </h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2><strong>Wednesday 2/17 SHQ </strong></h2>
<h2>Guest Groover again, for another RH requests Sweet Home Quarantine show with our heroes Robyn, Emma, Tubby, Ringo, and the furry cabal. These Wednesday evenings are a real lifeline to me in this endless, trying isolation that is Covid Days. Well, pip, pip, let’s look lively and start the grooving! </h2>
<h2>It is ‘Serpent At The Gates of Wisdom,’ with a nice spoken word discourse about Yahweh being expelled from the Garden, back when he was known as Steve. In and out of the usual lyrics, RH sings a line about “Space Oddity on the phone,” since someone’s phone played a bit in the background during the performance. Quick one he is. </h2>
<h2>‘Let Me Put It Next to You’ follows by request. RH claims when they played it in the Soft Boys, there were so many people playing it was hard to tell what the last chord was…. </h2>
<h2>Next up, since Limbaugh was in the news today, was the song RH wrote with him in mind, <em>moss elixir</em>’s ‘Devil’s Radio.’ The lyrics were updated for the occasion, “Limbaugh, now he’s finally in limbo…” A quick chat with Perry the Lobster led into <em>You & Oblivion</em>’s “Surgery,” by request. Robyn is having fun with these songs tonight. </h2>
<h2>Emma joined with Tubs and announced Robyn got his first Covid injection, an occasion for which he’d washed his hair, which was in floppy splendor tonight. They mused on Guy Pearce, <em>Pricilla, Queen of the Desert</em>, and launched into ‘You Got A Sweet Mouth on You Baby,’ from <em>Jewels for Sophia</em>. Very nice with Em’s harmonies. Oblivion, they tell us, is always with us, a bit like the Holy Spirit. </h2>
<h2>On to RH + Venus 3 territory, with ‘Up to Our Nex’ from <em>Goodnight Oslo</em>. Robyn does a great drum break with hand motions and beat box vocals, and it is all upbeat. Emma passed along queries from the comments about why the “nex” spelling and there is no answer but a digression on Bluetooth and the man RH met in London with a perfectly round head who was a Turkish Capricorn born on Christmas. Somehow, I think that summed up RH’s interaction with Bluetooth technology. </h2>
<h2>Emma left for a task and Robyn solo is in great voice with an insistent, driving guitar on ‘Keep Finding Me,’ the<em> Luxor</em> tune. Robyn laments not having a fader and says Perry will get one and operate it. </h2>
<h2>Emma returns, and we now know her task: a backing track is playing and breaks into an ambitious ‘Wuthering Heights’ in the original super-high Kate Bush key. I never cottoned to Kate, but Em’s enthusiasm makes this fun. </h2>
<h2>The duo play their Dylan duet, ‘Just Like A Woman.’ Their voices are perfectly suited for the song and for the arrangement. I can appreciate their love of the song, but that love is not contagious as far as I am concerned. As a little kid, I found these lyrics demeaning (and I WAS <em>a little girl</em> at the time) and I appreciate their interpretation but the JLAW mental block I have is deep and wide and tall. </h2>
<h2>Emma leaves Robyn to play ‘Arms of Love,’ an always welcome tune, Emma and Perry returned for the requested ‘Flesh Cartoons,” which has a few stutters, but it is great anyway. </h2>
<h2>‘Mad Shelly’s Letterbox’ followed, highlighting inventive harmonies™ by Em, and that’s it for Grooving this Wednesday. Next Wednesday we are promised a George Harrison birthday celebration and I think that is a guaranteed treat. </h2>
<h2>--Adrienne Meddock, whose letterbox is full of extended warranty offers </h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2><strong>Wednesday 2/24: George Harrison Birthday Celebrated </strong></h2>
<h2>What a night to be late! When I joined, Em and Robyn were in conversation about a less than optimal gluten-free donut. Robyn did not enjoy it, but as the conversation turned to movie Bonds RH conjectured that Roger Moore might like the donut, on whatever plane he is currently on. They wonder: what of Sean Connery? Emma shared a sweet memory of her dad making cinnamon donuts for her and her then boyfriend Paul’s visit. </h2>
<h2>The George commemoration resumed with Emma singing ‘Something;’ it’s very lovely and sentimental, not a trace of Victorian squids. Robyn’s acoustic is very bright tonight, and a nice contrast to Emma’s ethereal vocals on the Harrison highwater mark with The Beatles. Well, one of them. I’m a bit of a ‘Taxman’ or ‘Here Comes the Sun’ fan, the latter I sang to myself delivering Chicago Sun-Times and Tribunes at dawn, back when tweens did such things. </h2>
<h2>Emma tells us <em>Abbey Road</em> was her first Beatles record (on CD, natch!). Emma tells us she has changed her favorite Beatle to John, part of her marriage’s contractual obligation to Reg. The reason the cat is named Ringo is that John seemed somehow inappropriate. Robyn says the surviving two are looking well, living for those who have passed on. </h2>
<h2>‘If I Needed Someone’ is next by very popular demand, and we get a wonderful, melodic Swiftcockian take. This led to a discussion of their respective sources of nihilism. Robyn launched into ‘Gimme Love’ but only lasted a few bars before declaring it “too Zen.” </h2>
<h2>Robyn then performed ‘Old Brown Shoe,’ a song I always found disjointed and jagged, a bit unformed. Robyn brought cohesion to the entropy that always struck me in the <em>Let it Be</em> version. Harrison’s clever lyrics became unburied. It occurs to me I’ve never heard a Beatles “naked” version of ‘Old Brown Shoe.’ I’ve given myself homework. </h2>
<h2>Announcing that RH found himself at the crossroads of Dylan and The Beatles, he could always “count on George to dissolve into a bowl of rose leaves.” This was by way of introduction to a song from the <em>Living in the Material World </em>LP. Afraid of it being too pretty, RH asked to “imagine Lou Reed singing it.” It’s “The Lord Loves the One,” with Robyn occasionally replacing “Lord” with “Law,” a change he thought was permitted, as it was closer to George’s intentions. </h2>
<h2>Emma took this opportunity to terrorize Robyn with Starship’s “We Built This City,” I have a handwritten note of Robyn’s reply that I can only hope is accurate: “like sunlight to an aubergine,” which is probably 50% accurate and one hell of an image. </h2>
<h2>We move on, having witnessed “one of the most inane introductions to one of George’s saddest songs” ‘All Things Must Pass.’ Emma sings a sweet and sad and poignant version, redolent with grief, regret, acceptance, and aching. RH recalls seeing <em>Let It Be</em> session footage with a version of ‘All Things,’ The Beatles playing it “with all the enthusiasm of a George song.” Ah, to be the third best songwriter in a band that reigns in the pantheon of greats. </h2>
<h2>It is then time for us all to pick our Wilbury names. Reg and Em are Ghastly and Shiny? Well moonlight strikes and I am turned into an aubergine and must sign off. </h2>
<h2>-Adrienne Meddock, aka Thumper Wilbury</h2>
<h2><em>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of zubrecords.com, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at t<a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast">inyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a><a contents=" tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast"> </a>Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a></em></h2>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/65584132021-02-25T11:39:18-05:002021-02-25T11:39:18-05:00150 Glimpses Of The Beatles by Craig Brown <h3><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/b838ef068a92403ed3ba88ef0735c6443fbcac2b/original/150-glimpses-of-the-beatles.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsInNtYWxsIl1d.jpg" class="size_s justify_center border_none" alt="" />I’ve read dozens of books about The Beatles, and I’m pretty familiar with all the old stories. So, as this book opens up, I got the impression it would be a retelling of many of the same chestnuts. Luckily was not at all the case. Brown’s book looks at The Beatles and their fans and their cultural significance. The ‘Glimpses’ are short chapters, moving back and forth in time, all offering different perspectives, and it works surprisingly well. </h3>
<h3>An early glimpse involves touring the childhood homes of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, now protected by Britain’s National Trust. Brown notices there is not much left to protect; the sites had to be ‘re-created’ from newer additions, and period correct (but not authentic) furniture added. Add to that, both tour guides forbid notes or pictures, as it turns out they are working on books of their own, It’s a sad scenario. </h3>
<h3>Another glimpse involves Pete Best, the drummer that was kicked out of the band right before stardom. This is the typical story, but Brown takes a deep dive, following Best’s career after The Beatles until the present day. </h3>
<h3>This is a great approach. </h3>
<h3>Brown goes on another sad tour of Beatles sites in Hamburg, Germany. The sites are essentially all gone and the city does not seem to care. </h3>
<h3>He looks at The Beatles from the standpoint of fans: there is a long discussion of the ‘Paul Is Dead’ phenomenon, and one glimpse compares the Queen’s Christmas addresses with The Beatles fan club Christmas flexi discs. </h3>
<h3>In short, this is a gem of a book that takes a very different tack on the Beatles. It ends with a touching session about manager Brian Epstein; from his suicide back to The Cavern Club where he first saw the band and met them. </h3>
<h3>If you are a Beatles fan (and who isn’t?) you will find this book a fun, unexpected, and interesting read. Fresh Beatles stories remain to be told! </h3>
<h3>-----Steve McGowan </h3>
<h3>If you want to read other Beatle blog entries we write about the new multi-volume <em>White Album</em> here: <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubreviewwhitealbum" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubreviewwhitealbum">tinyurl.com/zubreviewwhitealbum</a>, invite you to mix your own single volume new <em>White Album </em>here: <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubwhitealbum" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubwhitealbum">tinyurl.com/zubwhitealbum</a>, wish Ringo a happy 80th as we watch his celebration concert here: <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubgearfab" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubgearfab">tinyurl.com/zubgearfab</a>, and even watch the alternate Beatle history <em>Yesterday</em> here: <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubyesterday." data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubyesterday.">tinyurl.com/zubyesterday.</a>
</h3>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of zubrecords.com, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast Lots of cool things to read and listen to at zubrecords.com.</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/65533602021-02-19T13:31:13-05:002021-02-19T13:51:17-05:00Sturgill Simpson - Cuttin' Grass Vol 1 (The Butcher Shoppe Sessions)<p><span class="font_small"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/7a08f6a3eae97fa9e576ea2374d090af7b306fe6/original/cuttin-grass.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span></p>
<h3><span class="font_regular">I’ve written about Sturgill Simpson a few times, seeing him live in electric rock mode with Tyler Childers (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubsturgill" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubsturgill">tinyurl.com/zubsturgill</a>) and the amazing bluegrass live stream he did from an empty Ryman Auditorium (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubryman" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubryman">tinyurl.com/zubryman</a>). Sturgill was raising money for charity, and he told his fans if they reached a certain amount of donations, he would make a bluegrass record. Well the fans came through, blowing the roof off in donations, and the result is Cuttin’ Grass Vol 1. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_regular">I’m not a huge fan of Sturgill, but he is one of the most authentic American artists of our time. He’s a great songwriter with a truly commanding voice. What I really admire about Sturgill is his single-mindedness; he absolutely will not play the Nashville music/major label game. He got himself kicked off of his label on purpose, and now he does what he wants, his way. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_regular">Sturgill has reworked 20 of his own songs bluegrass style, and the material is all from his first four LP’s, including his first band <em>Sunday Valley, High Top Mountain, Metamodern Sounds In Country Music, </em>and <em>A</em> <em>Sailor's Guide To Earth</em>. He keeps the arrangements traditional, and these songs work very well in bluegrass form. Sturgill, a Kentucky boy, has this music in his blood, and he’s a natural. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_regular">Recorded at The Butcher Shoppe, a nondescript studio (once owned by John Prine) in the industrial Germantown area of Nashville, this is a one-take kind of record, no overdubs, the real deal. Sturgill used his longtime producer/engineer Dave ‘Ferg’ Ferguson, and the results are pretty spectacular. ‘Breakers Roar’ from Sailor’s is an uptempo revelation. Sturgill’s voice has never been better. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_regular">The assembled players are among the best bluegrass has to offer. Sierra Hull on mandolin and vocals is a real standout, as well as Stuart Duncan on fiddle. Scott Vestal on banjo and Mike Bub on double bass are rounded out by Tim O’Brien and Mark Howard on guitars, and Sturgill’s regular drummer Miles Miller hits the snare and sticks. It couldn’t be a better lineup. It also should be noted Duncan and Bub played on Steve Earle’s turn at bluegrass, The Mountain, in 1999. (See Adrienne’s review of Earle live at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubtinyearle" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubtinyearle">tinyurl.com/zubtinyearle</a>). </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_regular">Other highlights include ‘Just Let Go’ from <em>Metamodern</em>, which is given a bouncy treatment and sparkling fiddle. ‘Life Ain’t Fair’ from High Top Mountain has the classic call and response vocals; it sounds like an old classic. ‘A Little Light’ turns into a bluegrass gospel take on the road to heaven. <em>Metamodern</em>’s ‘Life Of Sin’ is a perfect bluegrass specimen. ’Living The Dream,’ with its six note start/stop figure, is a great workout for the band. It should be noted that there is not a lot of instrumental stretching out or “look at me” soloing. Sturgill keeps the arrangements tight and bound to the songs, which just seem to fly by. ‘Railroad Sin’ is joined with a blistering Scruggs-like banjo and has the feel of a Bill Monroe track. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_regular">‘Turtles All The Way Down,’ from Metamodern has that Kris Kristofferson feel: Kris goes bluegrass. It’s quite catchy with an undeniable melody. The record ends with ‘Water In A Well,’ a sad lament from <em>High Top Mountain</em>, and once again Sturgill Simpson has pulled off another one. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_regular">In a letter to his fans, he spoke of growing up with bluegrass. He’s a Kentucky mountain boy with a birthright to this music. His young protege, Tyler Childers, has also recently ”gone bluegrass” with his new <em>History Of Violence </em>LP. I’m not a big bluegrass fan, but good music is good music, and this is among the best. This Appalachian music is descended from English, Scottish and Irish ballads and African-American blues and jazz. Being a Scot with old Irish heritage, this is really my music, and sometimes it does strike me like something in my DNA. Coming from poor, hardscrabble coal miners in Kentucky or tenant farmers in the highlands of Scotland or the fields of Ireland, this is the music of a poor, proud people. Don’t forget bluegrass was once called “hillbilly” music and made fun of by the Nashville hit-making country set. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_regular">Sturgill Simpson is a true trailblazer, and he has made a fantastic record rediscovering his roots. Listening to Cuttin’ Grass, I must admit it had a calming and almost therapeutic influence on me. Sturgill has very high standards and he does what he wants. He’s a true artist, and I cannot wait to see where he goes next. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_regular">----Steve McGowan</span></h3>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of zubrecords.com, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at<a contents="&nbsp;tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast"> tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast">zubrecords.com</a>.</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/65489062021-02-12T19:00:00-05:002021-02-15T10:53:17-05:00Upstart Crow: The Sitcom's The Thing<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/46dabcaf726413d11326a79f3653543c6f5d243f/original/upstart.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"> </p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_regular">Ben Elton is the author behind three seasons of one of the most inventive and emotionally compelling comedies, BBC’s<em> Black Adder.</em> Historical accuracy interlaced with hilarious and well-crafted anachronisms, the series finale is one of the most effective ever. I won’t spoil it for you if you have not yet had that experience. Ben Elton may be most familiar to Alert readers as Lord Mintcake on University Challenge on the “Bambi” episode of <em>The Young Ones, </em>which he also co-wrote. He was one of the posh kids along with Emma Thompson, Stephen Fry, and Hugh Laurie on the Footlights College team. Nice company, as you can see: <a contents="The Young Ones H/Q....On University Challenge&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wi5SJKI6RpU" target="_blank">The Young Ones H/Q....On University Challenge </a></span></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_regular">So when the BritBox streaming service came my way this Christmas, I jumped to see what I had been missing. BBC’s <em>Upstart Crow</em>? What’s that? David Mitchell (<em>Peep Show, That Mitchell & Webb Look</em>) appeared to be playing at being Will Shakespeare in the promo thumbnail. This could go either way. What’s with the name? I have learned to be cautious: while I love him as the fiendishly clever Edmund Blackadder, Rowan Atkinson is known mostly as the decidedly opposite Mr. Bean, a character and show up with which I will not put. (Read in a posh bird voice, please).Likewise, is this<em> Upstart Crow</em> a collapse into lowest-common-denominator comedy or a continuation of Mitchell’s past fine work? When the opening credits listed series creator/writer Ben Elton, my cheeks and jaw unclenched. This might be in my particular comedy bailiwick. </span></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_regular">The show was created as part of the British national 400th anniversary observance of the Bard’ death. So here’s the set up:: Will splits his time between a rented room in London, where he is close to the Red Lion Theatre, home to Burbidge’s troupe that regularly presents his plays; the Red Lion itself, for rehearsals and performances; his multi-generational home in Stratford-Upon-Avon; and in the office of his nemesis, a rival playwright and Elizabethan striver, who as Master of Revels, must license all performances. The nemesis, Robert Greene, historically proclaimed Shakespeare an “upstart crow,” a climber who thieved much of his work from colleagues, like a crow stealing trinkets. What an upstart! </span></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_regular">In Stratford, Will lives with his parents, a bitchington of a sullen teen daughter, his young twins, and his wife Anne. His father is constantly demanding that Will secure a Shakespeare family coat of arms, which are granted by the Heraldry office, manned by nemesis Robert Greene, of course. There are plenty of opportunities for Will’s London world to come to Stratford, mixing with the extended family. </span></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_regular">In the London lodgings, Will keeps company with Ned Bottom, his servant, and Kate, the landlady’s daughter. Kate wants to be an actor, a career which is forbidden to women by law. She reads and speaks several languages and, like a literate Lucy, is constantly scheming to appear in one of Mr. Shakespeare’s shows. Ned doesn’t read, but he is no fool. He is always on hand to debunk Will’s dubious claims to creating neologisms and pithy sayings. </span></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_regular">The theatre company of three features a lead who also manages the company, a man renowned for playing women, and a juvenile actor who parodies Ricky Gervais, and does so well. Somehow it all works. </span></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_regular">The show balances high and low adeptly. Will is a self-involved, self-proclaimed genius. The gentlemen in Will’s orbit are Christopher “Kit” Marlowe and Robert Greene. Marlowe is always looking for a Will cast-off play he can present as his own, and is a bit of a gadabout. Greene you know. As Cambridge graduates, they often must perform tasks for the Crown, as learned gentlemen would. Spies, inquisitors: gentlemen always have tasks to perform at the bidding of the Her Majesty. </span></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_regular">In later seasons, a London pub became a set piece. The landlady, Lucy, is formerly enslaved African who bought her freedom by selling a diamond ring she cut straight off her captor, appendage and all. She is quick to remind us no, it was not worn around a finger. </span></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_regular">As with all sitcoms, there are catchphrases, but these are all based in character and are pretty funny. There are runners, like Will recounting to his family his awful stagecoach commute from the city to Stratford. Will calls nothing by its name; all things are described with obtuse and pun-ridden metaphors, usually in multiple ways. The characters all make seemingly prescient comments that could describe current events. And of course there are quotes from the plays and sonnets. Events usually give background to the plays we know, fabulized. Clever word play sits beside goofy situations. </span></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_regular">One of the silliest and most fun features is coined faux anachronistic blue language: Assington, Boobington, Bitchington (which I slipped in above), Ballingbrooks (what a gentleman has in his puffling pants), Crappage, Bumshank, and more. It’s great fun and quite silly. They only occasionally dip into the doths and -eth suffixes, using them sparingly like a rare spice. Assington Richard Greene, as befits his bullying, supercilious ways, has a habit of speaking in asides to the audience (reminding us that, as is the custom, he cannot be seen by the others during these speecheths), wherein he pronounces each letter in “ion” endings and “ed” endings as “Ed.” The actor, Mark Heap, portray-ed Brian the artist on ‘Space-ed,’ a great Edgar Wright-Simon Pegg series from the early aughts. I had a suspis-ee-on I had seen him before. </span></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_regular">The credits and scene titles are styled as Elizabethan woodcuts, primitively animated. The XTC fan in me squeals with delight each time these appear, reminiscent of some of their finest record sleeves. </span></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_regular">I am no Shakespeare expert. One of the most unbearable people I encountered in my drama days was a high school girl who pretentiously auditioned with Puck’s epilogue from<em> Midsummer Night’s Dream</em>, after first explaining it to us in demeaning detail, assuming we’d never “get” it. Ever since then, I brace myself for the twee, Anglophilic, smug pseudo intellectuals who wrap themselves in Willie Shakes’ works. <em>Upstart Crow</em>, I’m glad to report, is probably not for them. It is too irreverent with its subject, too loose with history, and has way too much fun weaving life events and friends’ and families’ suggestions into the fabric of Will’s canon. Even the hormonally plagued teen daughter has great ideas!</span></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_regular">Will you like it? It is clever, fun, the opposite of hagiography, and NOT a slow builder. You’ll know sometime during the first episode if it works for you. If you are not familiar with Shakespeare’s works, I don’t think you’ll need cheat notes or a narrator to get you through. If you know a little, you’ll just be a beat earlier on the set ups. </span></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_regular">So I guess it is time for a little forced Shakespeare paraphrasing: this sitcom’s the thing, wherein they’ll catch the laughter of the audience. Or not. Do give it a try if you like your comedy sharp, smart, and silly all at one. </span></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_regular">-Adrienne Meddock</span></h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/65478722021-02-10T14:00:00-05:002021-02-13T21:47:09-05:00HBO's Lovecraft Country<h3> </h3>
<p><span class="font_small"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/319a0a62a71e765ab086704a83b5048dd8b24ae9/original/lovecraft-country-thumbnail.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_none" alt="" /></span></p>
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<h3><span class="font_regular">In a nutshell, I absolutely loved this show. It was must-see TV at my house. Also, the show is a complete mess. Written by Misha Green (also behind the historical show <em>Underground</em>), Lovecraft Country is an adaptation of Matt Ruff’s 2016 novel, and is all based on sci-fi horror writer H.P. Lovecraft and his stories. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_regular">Lovecraft in real life was a vehement and abhorrent racist, so it is great to see a show upend his story. Like the recent, amazing adaptation of Watchmen (see our review at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubwatchmen" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubwatchmen" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubwatchmen</a>),<em> Lovecraft Country</em> is made by and featuring African-Americans. Showrunner Green hits all the horrible points of Jim Crow racism, and producer Jordan Peele brings all the formidable horror tropes. The cast are proud, fearless, smart characters that will not be cowed. Lead actors Jurnee Smolett and Johnathan Majors are mesmerizing, and, it must be said, the absolutely hottest couple on TV. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_regular">The show is set in 1960’s Chicago, where Atticus ‘Tic’ Freeman (a Korean war vet) is searching for his father, lost in ‘Lovecraft Country,’ in Devon Country, Massachusetts. Traveling to New England with Leticia ‘Leti’ Lewis and his Uncle George, who compiles the ‘Safe Negro Travel Guide’ aka ‘The Green Book,’ they encounter a murderous white sheriff. The sheriff takes them in the woods to lynch them, but they are saved by the appearance of ‘Shoggoths,’ underground tunneling beasts with rows of teeth. The beasts rip the police apart and our heroes get away. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_regular">Here is another point about <em>Lovecraft Country</em>. It is gory. Disturbingly gory, excessively. The CG effects are amazing and there are some scenes so disturbing I would not even try to describe them. Let’s just say, never have sex with a Korean Kumiho. Tic and his friends discover Ardham Lodge, owned by Titus Braithwaite, and the idea of a magic-run secret society is moved forward. Due to a great-great Braithwaite raping and impregnating Tic’s great-great enslaved ancestor, Tic has the magic in his blood and the Braithwaites want it. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_regular">In the second episode, the heroes find and rescue Tic’s father Montrose (Michael K. Williams) but Uncle George and Leti are (spoiler) shot and killed. Christina Braithwaite and her ‘friend’ William are introduced; they are the scariest, most Aryan-looking white people. Christina uses magic to resurrect Leti, but George does not survive. Episode three involves Leti buying a run-down mansion in Chicago, and Peele uses the best haunted house tropes. ‘Day One,’ ‘Day Two,’ just like many horror movies. The place is of course haunted, and a black medium is brought in to remove the malevolent ghost. Christina tells Tic that they are looking for missing pages from the Society’s ‘Book Of Names’ and she needs help to find them. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_regular">By episode four, this show is all over the place. Tic, Leti, and Montrose break into a Boston museum to find the pages in the vault below. Leti’s sister, Ruby, who’s ambition in life is to work at the cosmetics counter at the Marshall Fields department store, is introduced. She sleeps with Christa’s ‘friend’ William. In a remarkable scene, Ruby wakes up to see she is a white woman. William has a potion that changes her, and she uses it to get her job at the store. Unfortunately, the potion does not last long, and when it wears off, Ruby sheds her skin, literally, in nasty and bloody chunks. Ugh. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_regular">Episode six is a stand alone episode about Tic’s Korean lover Ji-Ah (Jamie Chung) who is cursed to be a Kumiho, a fox monster that kills men during sex. When she almost kills Tic, she sees his future and his death, but, terrified of the Fox and its deadly tails, he up and leaves her. It’s an amazing episode and Jamie Chung is a real star. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_regular">Hippolyta, George’s wife and Tic’s aunt, has never believed the cover-up story about his death. She finds a way to get to the Winthrop Observatory in Lancaster, Kansas and figures out how to open a portal to the future. She realizes she can be anything she wants, and is a dancer with Josephine Baker in 1920’s Paris, becomes a Dahomey Amazon and, incredulously, fights and kills a group of Confederate soldiers. She ends up in space, and returns to Chicago. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_regular">While she is gone, Hippolyta’s daughter Diana, traumatized by the murder of Emmett Till, and put under a spell by the sheriff, is followed by two very scary ghosts, Topsy and Bopsy, the characters from the cover of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. They catch and attack her, leaving her to turn into a Topsy looking character and they wither her arm. Atticus tries a spell of protection for himself that does not seem to work, but after a shootout with the police at Leti’s mansion, his own personal Shoggoth appears and turns a squad of police into bloody viscera. Looks like the spell worked after all. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_regular">Towards the end of the series, they time-travel to Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1921 to get the Book Of Names. Once again, the genocidal race attack in Tulsa is shown on TV. (this was the centerpiece and opening scene in Watchmen). I’m truly ashamed to say that I never knew anything about this event until Watchmen, and I have a degree in History. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_regular">The ending is set up with Christina trying, as did her father, to cast herself a spell of immortality. Tic’s wrists are slashed, but Leti saves the day by stabbing Christina with her own sword, and Ji-Ah (who has come to America to help out) becomes the Fox and uses her tails to stop Christina.When Christina says she can’t use magic, Leti tells her, “It’s not just you, it’s all white people. Magic is ours now.” It’s a triumphant moment and a few minutes later, young Diana, freed of the Topsy and Mopsy curse, appears with her new robotic arm and slowly, painfully chokes the life out of Christina. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_regular">I’ve only scratched the surface here. I loved this show but there is just...too much. Plot over plot over subplot forever. It’s crazy trying to really make sense of it. I enjoyed the ride, but it was bumpy and jaw-dropping. I do admire Misha Green and Jordan Peele for showing us a new kind of TV, and not being afraid to confront the terrible institutional racism in this country.</span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_regular"><em>Lovecraft Country</em> is one wild ride. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_regular">---Steve McGowan</span></h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/65364802021-02-01T14:44:02-05:002021-02-01T14:44:02-05:00This Is Spinal Tap - Virtual Reunion for PA Democrats<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/b260351b7cfda9db410f623a992c26f8527d7742/original/spinal-tap.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<em>This Is Spinal Tap</em> is a touchstone in my life. Indeed, most musicians are great fans. The 1984 film is the ultimate parody of musicians and life on the road. It was probably the first of the so-called ‘mockumentary’ films, and it is still the best. Largely improvised, the movie was directed by Rob Reiner (playing Marty DeBergi, basically Scorsese in <em>The Last Waltz</em>). The movies’ three leads are Chris Guest as dull guitarist Nigel Tufnel, Micheal McKean (Lenny from the TV show Laverne and Shirley) as the leonine frontman David St, Hubbins, and the very underrated Harry Shearer (the voice for Mr. Burns, Reverend Lovejoy, and many others on The Simpsons) as the ‘intellectual’ bassist Derek Smalls. </h2>
<h2>I’ve seen <em>Spinal Tap</em> so many times I can quote almost every scene, and the quotes are all epic: </h2>
<h2><em>“This one goes to eleven” </em></h2>
<h2><em>“There’s a fine line, between stupid...and clever” </em></h2>
<h2><em>“Too much f*cking perspective” </em></h2>
<h2><em>“None...none more black” </em></h2>
<h2><em>“You come in here...looking like an Australian’s nightmare” </em></h2>
<h2><em>“We need to record it in dubly” </em></h2>
<h2><em>“You can’t exactly dust...for vomit” </em></h2>
<h2>There are too many to list. I was in a cover band called ‘Goes To Eleven,’ and my trusty Soldano guitar amp...yes indeed...goes to eleven, because “that’s one louder!.” </h2>
<h2>So, I was pretty excited to see the principals of the movie were meeting as a fundraiser for Pennsylvania Democrats, I had to see it. The show was a pretty professional Zoom type call with Patton Oswalt as the host. I really like Patton, and he was a fanboy but knew his stuff about the movie. Rob Reiner began, explaining that the band Spinal Tap was created for a TV variety show, a parody of the 1970’s music show <em>Midnight Special</em>, with Reiner doing famous host Wolfman Jack. Russ Kunkel was on drums and Loudon Wainwright III on keys! </h2>
<h2>They said when they pitched the movie, they didn’t have a script, so they made a ‘test movie’ to get financing. Only one minute of that film was used in the final version, the band as “The Thamesmen” in their British Invasion phase, playing ‘Gimmie Some Money’ in perfect black and white video. The drummer was Ed Begley Jr., and he made an appearance on the stream, saying he played drums “like the little tire on your car that you use when you have a flat.” </h2>
<h2>They mentioned uber-jazz drummer Greg Bissonette played drums live on their 1990’s reunion tour. The ‘Mime Is Money’ scene was shown with Polymer Records’ Bobbie Fleckman, one of the indelible characters in the movie. Fran Drescher (<em>The Nanny</em>), who played Fleckman, now appeared on the stream and was charming and beautiful, The boys said when she was on set they really had to straighten up, and you got the impression they all had a crush on her. Next up was Billy Crystal, the ‘Bitter Mime,’ who was very funny and showed merch he’d sold at his Broadway show, winter toques embroidered “Mime is Money.” I learned the blonde mime he is berating in the scene is actually Dana Carvey. </h2>
<h2>The song ‘Big Bottom,’ in which the two guitarists also play bass, and bassist Derek Smalls boosts to a double neck bass, was next, Rick Parnell was the drummer and John Sinclair played keys, which was ironic as Sinclair left Spinal Tap to play with the Tapish Uriah Heep! They showed the famous Nigel Tufnel scene with all the amazing vintage guitars (from Norman’s Guitars in California) and the Marshall amp that “Goes to eleven.” Nigel’s cluelessness still makes me laugh. Then the scene at the (fake) Graceland where the band tries to sing ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ at Elvis’ grave. Too much f*ucking perspective. </h2>
<h2>A few more scenes were played, then they talked about getting the band together to do the live scenes, including opening for Iron Butterfly at Gazzari’s on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. Turned out there was an issue with Iron Butterfly’s schedule, so they played first! So Spinal Tap headlined with Iron Butterfly opening. They explained that all the live scenes in the movie with the band playing were filmed on one day, so there was a marathon of moving cast, crew, costumes, and equipment to five or six locations in the Los Angeles area. Somehow they managed to pull it off. </h2>
<h2>The wonderful Paul Schaffer appeared, talking about his turn as record promo man Artie Fufkin. He has since met many, many promo men and he said all of them say something to the effect of “I’m the Artie Fufkin of the (Your Area Here).” Thoughts turned to the recently departed Fred Willard, who was obviously held in the highest regard by these amazing actors. They said Fred was “a window on to another world.” His scene as the commander at the Air Force base (where the band has another disaster of a show) is shown, and you can see Chris Guest as Nigel losing it and hiding behind another band member. Fred was the player that consistently broke up all the others. </h2>
<h2>At the end some politics were addressed, as this was the point of the show/fundraiser. It was great to see and hear Guest, McKean, Shearer, and Reiner chat. They feel like old friends, and they are all ridiculously dry and funny. Chris Guest is known as the master of Mockumentary films, with <em>Waiting For Guffman</em>, <em>A Mighty Wind</em>, <em>For Your Consideration</em>, and <em>Best In Show.</em> I see Michael McKean has a thriving Broadway presence, and is amazing as Chuck McGill on <em>Better Call Saul</em>, Also, whenever I see him on the Food Network’s <em>Food, Fact or Fiction? </em>I’ll usually stop and watch. Harry Shearer is a constant presence on The Simpsons, has a public radio comedy show, and has written three books. Rob Reiner (Meathead from Archie Bunker) still makes movies, acts, and is an activist for the Democratic party. </h2>
<h2>All of these guys are 70-ish, but they are as vital and funny as ever. The movie was described by Oswalt as “part of the vernacular, “ and that is true for Adrienne and me. Not a day goes by that I won’t quote the film. I love <em>Spinal Tap,</em> and I love it’s creators, and this was a genuinely heartwarming and informative stream. </h2>
<h2>-----Steve McGowan </h2>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at<a contents=" tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank"> tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/65351622021-01-30T19:09:17-05:002021-01-30T19:09:17-05:00Chuck Klosterman: Killing Yourself To Live (85% Of A True Story)<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/cc97e6870616821f550dc3988419ff18edce12fc/original/klosterman.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>This is an old book, copyright 2005. I found a copy at a thrift store in Durham, NC. I had read Klosterman’s <em>Fargo Rock City</em> years back, I knew he was a great writer that worked within the rock critic mode (he wrote for <em>Spin</em> magazine in its heyday) and expanded and usually improved on the form. </h2>
<h2>The conceit of the book is that Chuck, on assignment from <em>Spin</em>, rents a car (a Ford Taurus he calls the ”tauntaun”) and travels the USA looking for places famous rock stars have died. This is a strange, weird journey that is ultimately about Chuck and his life. He hangs out in the ruins of the club in Rhode Island where Great White caused a tragic fire. Within a few minutes, he is doing cocaine off a pickup truck hood with some new friends. </h2>
<h2>He goes to Georgia to see where the Allman Brothers motorcycle accidents happened, but there is really nothing there. A trip to Mississippi to see what is left of the Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash leaves him 50 yards away, in a deep swamp full of poisonous snakes. He never sees the remnants. Wisconsin has a plaque marking the spot where Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper died in a plane crash. It’s a tiny, hard to find plaque in the middle of a cornfield. </h2>
<h2>The story quickly becomes a meditation on death and love. Klosterman’s travels are punctuated with amazing ruminations on popular rock culture, as when he spends a few pages comparing and contrasting Foghat’s ‘Slow Ride’ with Edgar Winter’s ‘Free Ride.’ He nails the essence of Led Zeppelin fandom, patiently explaining that at some time in their lives, an American straight white male finds Zeppelin to be their favorite band, usually just for a short time. </h2>
<h2>By the time he gets to Seattle to see Layne Staley’s nondescript condo and Kurt Cobain’s plowed over greenhouse, the book is truly about Chuck. It is full of reminiscing about the three or four most important relationships he’s ever had. He doesn’t seem to understand women particularly well, but he is keenly self-aware. The crowning part of the book is a lengthy comparison of the four Kiss members’ (Paul, Gene, Ace, and Peter) solo LPs and how they exactly relate to his female relationships. I know it sounds ridiculous but Klosterman is a writer of such quality that he makes it work. </h2>
<h2>Add to this a Kafka quoting Cracker Barrel waitress in North Carolina, high schoolers in Montana asking him for weed, and a bizarre scene in Minneapolis involving a sultry rock chick that jumps on a roof in high heels, and you have more than enough elements for an epic tale. The dated parts of the book include Chuck describing the new-fangled GPS system in the “tauntaun,” among other things. </h2>
<h2>This is a great read, and Klosterman is one of those rock critic authors that really gets it. I found this book extremely entertaining and devoured it. I am late to the game here, but glad I played. Recommended. </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan </h2>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at<a contents=" tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank"> tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/65298542021-01-25T07:49:45-05:002021-01-25T07:49:45-05:00Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division by Peter Hook<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/2dd358a258bbd7be64a4382826f2f9cea9192ab8/original/hook-book.jpeg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpeg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>There’s no secret how much I love Joy Division; I've been following the short-lived group since 1979. I’ve read many books about the band, including Deborah Curtis’ <em>Touching From A Distance</em> and Jon Savage’s excellent oral history of the band, <em>This Searing Light, the Sun and Everything Else</em> (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubsearing" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubsearing" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubsearing</a>). Peter Hook, Joy Division’s bass player, has written the definitive account of the band: forming, struggling, and ending with singer Ian Curtis’ suicide on the eve of an American tour in 1980. </h2>
<h2>
<em>Unknown Pleasures </em>was published in 2012, Hook’s second book after <em>The Hacienda: How Not To Run A Club</em>. I have read his third book, <em>Substance: Inside New Order</em> which is a long and excellent read. Hooky’s writing style is conversational, he doesn’t mince words, and he tells it like he remembers it. </h2>
<h2>The story starts with the famous Sex Pistols gig at the Manchester Free Trade Hall. Hook and his buddy, Bernard Sumner, see the show and it changes their lives. Like any typical Mancunians, they not only think “I can do that,” but that “I can do that <em>better</em>.” They quickly form a band, Stiff Kittens, that goes through drummers and vocalists. They settle with Ian Curtis, a bit older and married, unlike the other members, and Stephen Morris on drums. </h2>
<h2>The band rehearses and the story is fairly straightforward, driving along British motorways in a freezing van, playing shit gigs, and getting into it with other bands. Now known as Warsaw, the band releases the <em>Ideal For Living </em>EP (financed by Ian). You can only put so much time’s worth of songs on a side of a 45, and they overloaded the time, making the record grooves unstable. The recording sounds like crap and everyone hates it. At this point, two very important people come into the band’s orbit: manager Rob Gretton and Granada TV and future Factory Records boss Tony Wilson. Gretton gets the restarted band (now Joy Division)better gigs, more exposure, and better press. People start to really turn out at the shows. </h2>
<h2>Hooky describes much mischief on the road and bad blood with other bands, including Slaughter and The Dogs. When they opened for the Cure, they were completely snubbed. Hook reckons they were jealous of Joy Division. Gretton and Wilson convince the band to record the first LP, <em>Unknown Pleasures </em>(<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubunknown" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubunknown" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubunknown</a>) for independent label Factory, retaining artistic control, and not being under the yoke of a major label. This turns out to work very well for the band. </h2>
<h2>About three quarters into the book, Hooky makes the astute observation that the book is as much about Ian Curtis as it is about him. Ian comes off as a real music head, a lover of Iggy and the Velvets (the band covered ‘Sister Ray’), and an intellectual. Hook points out that Ian loved to be one of the lads on tour, chatting up birds and getting pissed. Ian was also very driven about the band. As they tour and Ian’s epilepsy grows, he starts to have fits onstage. No matter how bad the fits are, he insists that he return to the stage or play the next gig. No one tells him to stop. </h2>
<h2>Hook is obviously devastated about what happened to Ian. He says the band weren't mature enough to handle Ian, they just went along. He mentioned Ian being all things to all people:one man with the band, another with his wife, and someone else again with his mistress Annik. An early suicide attempt leaves the band a chance to do a gig without Ian, with guest singers. Hook guiltily writes about the relief he felt that Ian wouldn’t be there. The gig turns into a riot. </h2>
<h2>One of the bands that comes off well in the book are Buzzcocks. They are supportive of the Manchester bands and take Joy Division on a tour as an opener. Hooky says they usually upstaged Buzzcocks almost every night. </h2>
<h2>As the band approaches making their second LP, <em>Closer</em>, Ian is in bad shape, with his seizures continuing, divorce impending, and a new girlfriend, he just couldn’t handle all the pressure. Ian did not handle the pressure; he hanged himself just before the band’s first US tour. Hooky is upset even today, he says that the band just didn’t see it coming. </h2>
<h2>
<em>Unknown Pleasures </em> is a great read from not just an observer but a participant in a seminal post-punk band. It’s a sad, tragic tale perhaps only redeemed by the transcendent music the band left us. Hook is straight and unflinching in his writing. A story worth delving into, and thanks also to the Greenville County Library for stocking such a cool book. </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan </h2>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at<a contents=" zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank"> zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/65280152021-01-22T16:30:05-05:002021-01-22T16:30:05-05:00Robyn Hitchcock: -The Man Downstairs: Demos and Rarities<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/d98e77c62ca8f9515d7257b344743cc9c0eb4716/original/man-downstairs.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>In 2014, Robyn released <em>The Man Upstairs,</em> a folk record produced by the legendary producer Joe Boyd, known for his work with Fairport Convention, Sandy Denny, and Nick Drake. Robyn has said the concept of the record is like a mid-1960’s Judy Collins LP: half covers and half originals. <em>The Man Upstairs </em>is a real triumph for Robyn and an excellent record. </h2>
<h2>Which brings us to <em>The Man Downstairs</em>, a set of demos he recorded prior to <em>The Man Upstairs</em>. None of these songs made the <em>Upstairs </em>cut, but it’s an interesting collection. This is also the second full-length release on Robyn and Emma Swift's own Tiny Ghost Records. They are taking a total anti-Spotify position, and I applaud them for it. I’ve purchased everything they’ve released so far. Spotify notoriously is a miserly deal for the artists featured. Our Singles Going Steady Podcast can be heard on Spotify, a deal which provides no income for us. </h2>
<h2>Of the ten songs on <em>The Man Downstairs</em>, Robyn’s cover selections are the best, He does a beautiful version of Nick Drake’s ‘River Man,’ a surprisingly good folkie version of ‘Arnold Layne,’ the first Pink Floyd single written by Syd Barrett, originally produced by Joe Boyd. There is a dark take on Townes Van Zant’s ‘The Tower Song’ that is exceptional. Of course, there is a Dylan cover, ‘Born In Time’ from Dylan's eccentric 1990 release <em>Under The Red Sky.</em> As usual, Robyn gives these impenetrable Dylan tunes a melody and clarity you often don’t hear in the master’s version. </h2>
<h2>Robyn’s own songs are a mixed bag, but the Johnny Cash take on ‘I Pray When I’m Drunk’ (later to appear on 2017’s <em>Robyn Hitchcock</em>) is still embryonic but getting into shape. ‘Oh Seeing Your Photograph’ is a beautiful song, delicately picked on an acoustic guitar and with a lovely Robyn melody. </h2>
<h2>This is a record for Robyn fans. If you are not so familiar with him (and why not?) try <em>The Man Upstairs </em>or <em>Robyn Hitchcock.</em> But if you are a fan (and you should be!), you will love some of these tunes, especially the inspired covers. </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan </h2>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast </a>Lots of cool things to read and listen to at<a contents=" zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank"> zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/65242632021-01-18T16:57:22-05:002022-03-16T09:37:20-04:00Monty Python: Almost The Truth Documentary<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/9433dcda4ab453554c45f905ac177f3f0a38ae34/original/python.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<hr><h2>Monty Python’s Flying Circus is in my DNA. The British comedy troupe that performed four seasons of their anarchic, silly television comedy show started in Britain in 1970. By 1974, my very young self was watching these shows presented in the Boston area by WGBH. By 1977, having moved to South Carolina, I watched on SCETV. I almost never missed an episode. </h2>
<h2>This documentary, available on Netflix, is a six part series produced by Castle Rock entertainment in 2009. I watched it at least once previously, but I seem to have forgotten most of it. As with many things, the catalyst for rewatching the show came from the one and only Neko Case. Neko, a solo artist and singer for Canadian supergroup The New Pornographers (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubpornos " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubpornos" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubpornos </a>and <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubpornoslive" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubpornoslive" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubpornoslive</a>) has one of the best voices in rock, and her Twitter and Instagram accounts are thought provoking and intelligent. She is a champion for animals and there are lots of pictures of her pets, and nature where she lives. </h2>
<h2>I was struck by a tweet Neko sent out recently: </h2>
<p><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/98e37035a0ce2523f532ae951bae93f07e1f05ef/original/neko-tweet.gif/!!/b:W10=.png" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>So, intrigued, I decided to rewatch the documentary, and Neko is right. Of the dozens of interviews, there are only three subjects are female; Carol Cleveland (who was<strong> <em>in</em></strong> the troupe), Nancy Lewis (their American manager), and Olivia Harrison, standing in for the late George. Dozens and dozens of male comics and performers are interviewed, but there’s no Tracy Ullman, no Tina Fey, no French and Saunders, no Amy Pohler. This is funny because on thinking about Monty Python, I never had any male friends that were really into the show. I do know many female friends who are totally into their comedy and can recite lines with the best of them. </h2>
<h2>The first episode covers the formation of the troupe. These lads were Oxford and Cambridge types, John Cleese heading for a law career, Graham Chapman, an actual medical doctor. Teaming up with Eric Idle, Michael Palin, and Terry Jones, the group picked up American illustrator Terry Gilliam. The five British members all had worked as writers, honing their style on shows such as <em>The Frost Report</em> and <em>Do Not Adjust Your Set</em> (with Gilliam’s animation and Neil Innes’ Bonzo Dog Band). The interviews with the Pythons are always interesting and fruitful. Cleese is very smart but a bit of a blowhard, Terry Jones is passionate and uncompromising, Eric Idle is seen as sort of the manager, while Palin and Chapman are top-notch writers. When they pitch the show to the BBC, they are told, “Okay, but just twelve episodes.” </h2>
<h2>Episode two covers the years of the television show, how the group struggled with finding an audience and getting a regular time-slot on the BBC. The Pythons, although silly and crazy, were very strong on writing - the wild skits were carefully written.* Slowly and steadily, the show picks up a fanatical audience. The interviews include Steve Coogan, Russell Brand, Phil Juptius, and Alexi Sayle. They are all in awe of the show. </h2>
<h2>Part three deals with the interpersonal relationships of the troupe. Cleese is considered the star but is a bit of a diva. Chapman struggling with alcoholism, comes out as gay (Chapman died in 1989, they use old interviews and memories from his partner). Even as Michael Palin is becoming the ‘glue’ of the group, Cleese leaves the show in the fourth season, the TV series is quickly over. </h2>
<h2>Episode four deals with the Python’s pivot to movies, focusing on <em>Monty Python And The Holy Grail,</em> a production done on the cheap but hampered by both Gilliam and Jones directing at the same time. This causes many issues, Carol Cleveland calling both of them “Loonys.” Graham Chapman emerges as a fine leading man, even when he can’t get on the rope bridge because of severe DT’s from drinking. The movie turns out to be a triumph, especially in America. As episode four ends, Eric Idle sets up the next installment; in the 70s when asked what their next movie would be, he’d answer: “Jesus Christ: Lust For Glory.” </h2>
<h2>Episode five deals with <em>The Life Of Brian </em>movie, the troupe taking a very long time to draft a script. Also, because of the religious themes, no one would touch the film’s financing. Enter George Harrison, friend of Idle and huge Python fan. He mortgaged his mansion at Tittehurst Park to come up with the movie financing “because he wanted to see it.” The shooting and production of the movie are much smoother this time around, but the troupe was not prepared for the right-wing religious backlash. Jesse Helms tried to have the film banned in North Carolina. (Adrienne: my family and I crossed a PTL picket line to see the film in Charlotte). As usual, though, even bad press is good promotion, and the movie is a triumph. </h2>
<h2>Part six deals with <em>The Meaning Of Life</em> movie, which some members felt was a step backward, as it was basically a collection of skits, and the troupe talks about Graham Chapman’s death from cancer. The Pythons give him a raucous sendoff at his memorial. The rest of the episode deals with post-Python careers; Cleese doing <em>Fawlty Towers</em>, Palin travel documentaries and <em>Ripping Yarns</em> with Terry Jones, Eric Idle and <em>Spamalot</em>, and Terry Gilliam becoming a big-shot movie director. </h2>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="6NdrZoldiHQ" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/6NdrZoldiHQ/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6NdrZoldiHQ?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
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<h2>This is a wonderful, if anthro-centric, documentary. Since its making, a second Python, Terry Jones, has passed. The documentary covers well over 40 years of Python. In their own way, they were like a favorite band. Always challenging, inventive, entertaining. They definitely changed the face of comedy as we know it now, not just a few leading male comics. Thanks to Neko for the tip: Python belongs to everyone with the right amount of warp to their sense of humor. </h2>
<p> *Adrienne: Incidentally, it is these well crafted and maintained scripts that are the real key to their win in Gilliam v. American Broadcasting Co., an important American copyright case. It was ABC’s butchering of Python episodes for US broadcast specials that was in essence copyright infringement of the scripts that they were based on. That gave the boys the right to prevent ABC from further airing the nonsensical compilations. 538 F.2d 14 (2d. Cir. 1976). </p>
<p> </p>
<h2>-----Steve McGowan </h2>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast </a>Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/65217202021-01-15T11:27:15-05:002021-01-15T11:39:09-05:00A Song for Joe: A Streaming Tribute to Joe Strummer<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/25f2295d205d9229ee14f6c08b745502a0db0aa7/original/joe-strummer.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2><em>Raise a toast to St. Joe Strummer </em></h2>
<h2><em>I think he might've been our only decent teacher </em></h2>
<h2>
<em>Getting older makes it harder to remember we are our only saviors</em> </h2>
<h2>----The Hold Steady, ‘Constructive Summer.’ </h2>
<h2>Sixty eight years after he was born, and eighteen years since he died. It is still hard to get around the fact that Joe Strummer, a legendary figure in punk and rock music, isn’t with us. I always felt that The Clash were the punk band that mattered the most to Americans. As a college kid, you would see copies of <em>London Calling</em> in various dorm rooms, along with the obligatory Springsteen and Bob Marley records. The Clash were savvy enough to bring a real rock show, and they were undeniably passionate about their music. Seeing them open for The Who at Shea Stadium seemed like a thing that would happen to them. The later period Clash embraced and established ‘World Music,’ as they expanded their scope into real reggae, jazz, R&B, and lots of british folk music, whilst championing the new rap and hip-hop sounds. Joe Strummer and Mick Jones were at the forefront of all this. </h2>
<h2>Which brings us to <em>A Song For Joe</em>, a multi-band tribute to Joe’s music spearheaded by NYC rocker Jessie Malin, with proceeds going to Save Our Stages (<a contents="www.saveourstages.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.saveourstages.com" target="_blank">www.saveourstages.com</a>). Dozens of artists contributed, and this is a great watch if not a bit of a mixed bag. The pacing of the stream is a bit set off at the beginning, with new uncovered footage of Joe and The Mesceleros live in 2001 in England at Brixton Academy. They rip through The Equals’ ‘Police On My Back’ and Joe is mesmerizing. I would have thought they might have saved this clip until the end, as this is the best thing on the stream. </h2>
<h2>There is plenty of great stuff on this steam besides Joe himself. SoCal ska band The Interrupters does a fantastic version of ‘Get Down Moses’ by Joe and The Mesceleros from the <em>Streetcore </em>LP. This band is tight and all over the song, just drums, bass, guitar, keys and a great lead singer, Aimee Interrupter. Jeff Tweedy channels Woody Guthrie on an acoustic ‘Death Or Glory,’ he definitely gets it. Tom Morello goes full on folkie (with harmonica!) for a slow, sly version of ‘Bankrobber.’ Very unexpected. Craig Finn and Tad Kubler (from the Hold Steady) do a fantastic version of ‘Washington Bullets’ from <em>Sandinista! </em> They make it sound like a classic Hold Steady tune, and when Finn sang the ‘Constructive Summer’ lyric about Saint Joe Strummer at the end, I honestly shed a tear. </h2>
<h2>Jesse Dayton did a very hot rockabilly version of ‘Janie Jones’ (just guitar and snare) that was extremely well done. He is a real up and comer. ‘London Calling’ was represented by the very talented Butch Walker, singing strong and giving a great take for this Clash classic. Folkie-punk Frank Turner did a strong version of ‘White Man In Hammersmith Palais,’ a very British song about racism that is not easy to pull off. Turner killed it. Dave Hause, another folk-punk guy, played a 12-string acoustic version of ‘Coma Girl,’ also from <em>Streetcore</em>, and one of Joe’s best songs. Hause did the song justice. </h2>
<h2>In the middle of the pack, we have Jesse Malin doing ‘Johnny Appleseed’ backed by a full band and with horns. He has a lot of passion but I’m not sure if this was the right song for him. Hinds, a very cute four girl Spanish group, did a lighthearted version of ‘Spanish Bombs,’ which was really sweet and funny. Joe Ely, who toured with The Clash, did a workmanlike version of The Bobby Fuller Four’s ‘I Fought The Law,’ a Clash staple. Brian Fallon did ‘Long Shadow,’ a song Joe wrote for Johnny Cash. Fallon’s version was dark and apocalyptic and right on point. The Dropkick Murphys (some of them, anyway) ran an energetic, sloppy, oh-so-punk version of ‘Tommy Gun.’ Lucinda Williams(!) and her band did ‘Straight To Hell’ from <em>Combat Rock</em>. Lucinda came off as a wizened veteran who completely channeled Strummer. </h2>
<h2>There were a few low points, and some of them were really low. Cherry Glazerr doing ‘Charlie Don’t Surf’ was a disaster. Nikolai Fracture from the Strokes did a never ending ukulele version of ‘Police And Thieves’ that was just terrible. Surprisingly, my man-crush Josh Homme and Troy Van Leeweun from Queens Of The Stone Age did ‘Train In Vain (Stand By Me),’ which was questionable at best. From what I understand, this song was almost completely a Mick Jones composition, so I was confused, to say the least. Josh Klinghofer did a very mediocre version of ‘Rudy Can’t Fail.’ For me, the absolute worst was Eugene Hutz (from Gogol Bordello) singing his own song about the night he met Joe. It was a tuneless mess. YMMV, as always, but the hearts in the right place were not salve for my ears. </h2>
<h2>After covering the good, the middle, and the bad. There was one more mind-blowing sequence. Bob Weir (Grateful Dead) recounted meeting Joe after a gig. They went up on the roof and got wasted, stayed up all night, and Weir said Joe asked him all about Pigpen. Then Weir played ‘Death Or Glory.’ It wasn’t bad, the whole thing was just weird and surreal. </h2>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="522hHPWLoxA" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/522hHPWLoxA/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/522hHPWLoxA?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
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<h2>A Song For Joe is still streaming and you should catch it. I do miss Joe and his music, he was a great teacher and a true one-of-a-kind. </h2>
<h2>Raise a toast! </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan </h2>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast </a>Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/65189582021-01-12T12:09:11-05:002021-01-12T12:22:03-05:00HBO's Perry Mason<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/7da8cab8a46fc686ae0c27a27757c948f6792b6d/original/perry-mason.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>This is not your Grandpa’s<em><strong> Perry Mason</strong></em>. The original TV series with Raymond Burr and Barbra Hale ran from 1957 until 1966, and seemed to live eternally on TV in afternoon syndication. It was one of my favorite shows, with the clever lawyer (Burr) inevitably getting confessions on the stand, it made the legal profession look dangerous and glamorous. </h2>
<h2>What I didn’t know at the time was that <em>Perry Mason</em> was the creation of one of America's most popular novelists, Erle Stanley Gardner, born in Malden, Massachusetts and who went to Valparaiso Law in Indiana (the university where Adrienne’s father once taught). The stories were among the most popular ever published in the U.S. </h2>
<h2>Which brings us to HBO’s reworking of <em>Perry Mason</em>. Set in post-depression Los Angeles, Perry is a hard-luck private detective shaken by his experiences in World War I and newly divorced. He never sees his young son. Perry is played by Matthew Rhys, a Welsh actor last seen in The Americans. The show is set in 1932 with Perry working for lawyer E.B Jonathan (masterfully played by national treasure John Lithgow). </h2>
<h2>This is essentially an origin story, as when Perry starts the eight-episode run he is not even a lawyer yet. The acting on this show is beyond excellent, with Juliet Rylance as Della Street, first E.B.’s assistant then Perry’s. The twist with Della is that she is a lesbian in a very uncompromising time, same with the wonderful gay Hamilton Berger, then the assistant District Attorney, played by Justin Kirk, who will save Perry with his legal advice. Shea Whigham plays the very salty Pete Strickland, Perry’s detective partner, Chris Chalk is outstanding as Paul Drake, a black LAPD cop who is subject to unending racism by his own force. </h2>
<h2>Of course Stephen Root is Maynard Barnes, the LA district attorney who is gunning for a mayor position. The scenes with Root and Lithgow in court are second to none. The show stealer, however, is Tatiana Maisany as Sister Alice McKeegan of the Radiant Assembly of God, a thinly veiled version of Aimee Semple McPherson, whose Foursquare church used stage techniques, costumes, and the new technology of the times, radio. Like Aimee, Sister Alice’s Radiant Assembly of God Church deploys faith healing and speaking in tongues on adherents; the services are intense and frightening. </h2>
<h2>Along with the exceptional acting, this very <em>noirish</em> series uses the old locations throughout Los Angeles to great effect. It is beautifully shot and wonderful to look at. </h2>
<h2>I won’t give away the plot, but there is a heinous murder of a baby, and the twisted, turning story runs on this. E.B and then Perry try to save the child's innocent mother amid intrigue. In the course of the show, Perry becomes a lawyer and this death penalty case is his first. Of course the LAPD is involved, and not in a good way, as well as the Radiant Assembly. Sister Alice promises a resurrection! </h2>
<h2>This show, quickly renewed for a second season, was for me absolute must-see television. Matthew Rhys was amazing as Perry. I devoured every second of this show, the acting, the plot, the subplots, the sets, the look of the show, the cars, the music all perfect. The gritty resurrection of the Perry Mason character is the real miracle here. </h2>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="_5O3cMmg3JQ" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/_5O3cMmg3JQ/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_5O3cMmg3JQ?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
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<h2>----Stephen McGowan </h2>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/65166012021-01-08T15:34:24-05:002021-01-08T15:36:15-05:00Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift Online parts 26-29<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/803cd27905845bde710a9ea128968a37bdd9a254/original/reg-em-28.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>
<strong>Robyn Hitchcock with Emma Swift Live From Sweet Home Quarantine (all requests) Part 26</strong> </h2>
<h2>Robyn said hello and mentioned he had a “stack of requests,” and launched into a “divorce” song, ‘The Devil’s Coachman,’ which was typical Robyn: sad and surreal and very good. Next was ‘Luckiness,’ from <em>Propellor Time</em>, a song I haven’t heard him do live before. Emma Swift came in, thanking everyone and generally being sweet. Reg said they’d play some “dismal requests,” and they started with the great ‘The Wreck Of The Arthur Lee,’ the duo’s voices working wonderfully together. </h2>
<h2>They spoke about future streaming shows and doing Brian Ferry and John Lennon shows. Then the duo sang ‘Birdshead,’ from <em>You And Oblivion</em>, continuing the obscure Hitchcock song vein. It was a gorgeous, gentle song, a real gem in the set. Emma left and Robyn said “my complete lack of faith in humanity” has been proven since he wrote this song 42 tears ago. He then did The Soft Boys ‘Human Music’ from <em>A Can Of Bees</em>, with some prescient lyrics: </h2>
<h2><em>The wind explodes and rips itself to pieces everywhere </em></h2>
<h2><em>It itches in the chimney and it suffocates the air </em></h2>
<h2><em>The angels tried to anchor but they never get the chance </em></h2>
<h2><em>Their limbs are numb and twisted so they're going to have to dance </em></h2>
<h2><em>What scares you most will set you free </em></h2>
<h2><em>That's what the angel said to me, he said </em></h2>
<h2>
<em>Ooh baby, when that human music plays I don't know why</em> </h2>
<h2>Hitchcock, like last week, was really on a roll. Emma appeared with Tubby, who had business elsewhere. Next was ‘Filthy Bird’ from <em>Moss Elixir</em>, one of my favorite Hicthcock songs. There was no Deni Bonet violin as featured on the album, but a great version nonetheless. Emma came back with a docile Ringo, and the duo did ‘A Man’s Gotta Know His Limitations, Briggs.’ This is another great, somewhat obscure song from <em>Ole! Tarantula</em>, Reg dropped a verse and there was a bit of confusion, but this was great to hear. “On the subject of tyranny and global disaster,” they did ‘Brenda’s Iron Sledge,’ where we got Robyn’s nickname from: </h2>
<h2><em>Please don’t call me Reg, it’s not my name </em></h2>
<h2>After finishing, they did a bit of ‘Funky Town.” Then Reg played ‘San Francisco Patrol,’ from his fine <em>The Man Upstairs </em>LP, he picked the chords and Em and he sounded just amazing on this aching love song. It was truly beautiful. They had a long talk about Robyn’s crush on Liz Phair, and ended with ‘Saturday Groovers,’ sometimes with the ‘Wednesday Groovers’ lyric instead, in honor of the constant listeners. They cut it short and thanked everyone. Robyn really delivered tonight with some more deep cuts, and Emma, as always, was great. </h2>
<p> </p>
<h2>
<strong>Robyn Hitchcock with Emma Swift Live From Sweet Home Quarantine (all requests) Part 27</strong> </h2>
<h2>Robyn and Emma did not do a Wednesday show this week. I made plans to catch the Friday show (earlier in the day, designed to go out to European fans). At the last minute I had a medical appointment and for the first week ever I missed the show...AAAARGH! </h2>
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<h2><strong>Robyn Hitchcock with Emma Swift Live From Sweet Home Quarantine (1990’s by request 2) Part 28 </strong></h2>
<h2>The show opened from Studio C, Robyn said “turn on your rose colored mind.” He started with R.E.M.’s ‘Electrolite,’ in a very folkie, MTV-Unplugged style. Emma appeared with “Prince Tubbenstein,” and then Perry the stuffed lobster. Emma described Billy Bragg as “the Jane Fonda of folk-rock, and the duo sang Bragg’s ‘Heaven Help Us All’ with its lyric about being a “dedicated swallower of Fascism.” Every week the protest songs are getting just a bit more pointed. When they spoke about Billy Bragg, Emma mentioned going to five Billy shows in a row in Australia. </h2>
<h2>Next was Pavement(!) and a pretty version of ‘Range Life,’ Emma singing lead. They caught me by surprise on this one. It was quite charming. After, Tubby caused a ruckus moving the blinds behind them. Tubby continued as Robyn played Beck and ‘Devil’s Haircut.’ Complete chaos and lots of fun. Emma came in at the very end, and they segued into ‘Stuck In The Middle With You’ by Stealers Wheel. It fit perfectly with Beck. Robyn offered a “shameless plug for my new single,” and he and Em did the new version of ‘The President.’ It’s a terrifically sad and poignant song, and continued their protest song theme. They encouraged the audience to vote. </h2>
<h2>Emma talked about her 90’s crush on Evan Dando, and the duo did a stellar version of The Lemonheads ‘It’s A Shame About Ray.’ Emma asked if Reg could play ‘Mrs. Robinson,’ and he launched into it. They stopped as they hadn’t rehearsed it. Next up was Radiohead and ‘High And Dry,’ a smashing version sung solo by Emma. Her voice is always the best. Emma talked about Jarvis Cocker and her crush on him in the 90’s, then they did ‘Common People,’ Emma again singing lead. This is such a wry tune about the British class system: </h2>
<h2><em>You will never understand </em></h2>
<h2><em>How it feels to live your life </em></h2>
<h2><em>With no meaning or control </em></h2>
<h2><em>And with nowhere left to go </em></h2>
<h2><em>You are amazed that they exist </em></h2>
<h2><em>And they burn so bright </em></h2>
<h2><em>Whilst you can only wonder why </em></h2>
<h2><em>Rent a flat above a shop </em></h2>
<h2><em>Cut your hair and get a job </em></h2>
<h2><em>Smoke some fags and play some pool </em></h2>
<h2><em>Pretend you never went to school </em></h2>
<h2><em>But still you'll never get it right </em></h2>
<h2><em>'Cause when you're laid in bed at night </em></h2>
<h2><em>Watching roaches climb the wall </em></h2>
<h2><em>If you called your Dad he could stop it all, yeah </em></h2>
<h2>This was an amazing take. Emma said they had to do a song “from their favorite Twitter boys, Liam and Noel,” and they did Oasis and ‘Champagne Supernova,’ which I must admit was very good. The last song was Robyn’s ‘You’ve Got A Sweet Mouth On You, Baby,’ from <em>Jewels For Sophia</em>, this is Reg in full-on Dylan mode, and it was lovely. They had time to show off Tubby and talk about next week. A loose, fun, great show with a lot of laughter and some great cover pics. </h2>
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<h2>
<strong>Robyn Hitchcock with Emma Swift Live From Sweet Home Quarantine (RH Songs by request) Part 29</strong> </h2>
<h2>Robyn started off reading a story about “the Three Directions,” surreal and very British and very Robyn. After a portion of the story, he picked up the guitar and did a pretty version of ‘Belltown Ramble’ from <em>Ole Tarantula!</em>, a song I’ve never heard him play live. This was a take on Dylan and very good. He had a minimum of chat and went into The Kinks ‘Dedicated Follower Of Fashion,’ Reg was totally able to channel Ray Davies, and this was a special cover choice. Then it was right into ‘Things We Said Today,’ by The Beatles, Robyn reminiscing about seeing <em>A Hard Day’s Night</em> in 1964. His version was peppy and more than workmanlike. Emma Swift was introduced, they discussed Perry the Lobster, and then played ‘Trams Of Old London,’ from <em>I Often Dream Of Trains</em>. As usual, their voices were great together. Robyn seemed to be on a real nostalgia kick tonight. Emma talked about how Robyn loves museums and those who work in them. Robyn did a silly Kate Bush voice, and the duo had a good laugh. </h2>
<h2>Reg and Em did ‘Love Hurts,’ which was surprisingly good, originally written by Boudleaux Bryant for The Everly Brothers. “Written in 1999, after an exhaustive tour,” Robyn introduced ‘Mr. Kennedy,’ a very straightforward and melodic song, helped tremendously by the two voices. Robyn did a fingerpicked, different approach on ‘Autumn Sunglasses,’ with Em singing, this is one of my very favorite songs from <em>Robyn Hitchcock</em>, and the delicate version tonight was astounding. Emma went to wrangle a cat after discussing the comments section. </h2>
<h2>Reg, alone now, did ‘Sickie Boy’ from<em> Propellor Time</em>. This is a typical Reg meditation on the state of life, with a lyric “and a loser is someone who wins once in a while.” Next Reg did ‘Autumn Is Your Last Chance,’ a sad, beautiful, so melodic song. From <em>I Often Dream Of Trains</em>, this is unquestionably one of his best songs. I felt privileged to hear it. </h2>
<h2>Emma returned, saying “We’re gonna celebrate Bruce Springsteen’s birthday by playing a Leonard Cohen song.” Emma sang ‘ Famous Blue Raincoat,’ and it was stunning to hear her superb voice on this one. Another inspired, nostalgic cover. </h2>
<h2>Emma said “that was your nightly bummer,” and the duo did ‘The Executioner,’ from <em>EYE</em>. It was dark and a great slow burner. They ended up the show with The Soft Boys and ’I Want To Destroy You,’ which Robyn dedicated to Mitch McConnell. It was wonderful and due to time they stopped early. This was another great show, I’m not sure how they keep doing it, but I’m glad they did! </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan </h2>
<p> </p>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/65158542021-01-07T17:16:59-05:002021-01-07T17:16:59-05:00Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift Live Stream Shows 30 -33<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/9fc04bae80e403d24147ef2e0877a3f26dd81a5a/original/reg-em-29-with-tubs.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2><strong>Robyn Hitchcock with Emma Swift Live From Sweet Home Quarantine (RH songs by request) Part 30</strong></h2>
<h2>Robyn opened the show with part 2 of the Three Directions story, getting surreal, and then really surreal. First song was ‘Unsettled’ from <em>Globe Of Frogs</em>, a driving version with a bit of a strage, quiet single note breakdown. After, Reg mentioned he was taking off his spectacles because “he didn’t want to see anymore.” Next request was something from Dylan’s <em>Time Out Of Mind</em>, released on this date 23 years ago. Robyn did a very good version of ‘Cold Irons Bound,’ in kind of a blues shuffle version, As usual with Dylan, Robyn’s melodic voice and clarity with the lyrics bring the song to life. </h2>
<h2>Emma Swift appeared, wearing “100% polyester” in tribute to the recently departed Helen Reddy, the famous Australian singer and 70’s feminist icon. The duo launched into ‘Filthy Bird,’ one of my favorite songs from <em>Moss Elixir</em>. They knocked it out of the park on this one. Emma talked about Robyn’s new haircut, no longer looking like Karl Lagerfeld. Going for the ‘raga’ intro, they did ‘Madonna Of The Wasps,’ another very strong Robyn tune only improved with Em’s singing. </h2>
<h2>They spoke of “energy vampire” Colin Robinson and the TV show <em>What We Do In The Shadows,</em>’ then Emma took a solo singing tour on Leonard Cohen’s ‘Chelsea Hotel #2,’ which was sad, beautiful, and amazing. They talked about Leonard Cohen, and the California fires. Emma asked if they had something “fun” to play, Reg said “no.” He did ‘City Of Shame’ from <em>Black Snake Diamond Role</em>, which was straightforward and wonderful. After they talked about Scott McCaughey and Bill Reiflin, and did ‘Up To Our Nex,’ from <em>Goodnight Oslo</em>, which was surprisingly poppy. </h2>
<h2>After a lengthy discussion of liquor and quarantine, Robyn played ‘Young People Scream,’ hitting a high note that made Emma laugh out loud. They closed out with ‘Queen Elvis,’ always one on their best, while Em held Ringo the cat. These two are relentlessly fun and always, always make me feel better. Thanks (Don’t Call Me) Reg and Em. </h2>
<h2><strong>Robyn Hitchcock with Emma Swift Live From Sweet Home Quarantine (John Lennon Birthday Week Edition) Part 31 </strong></h2>
<h2>Because of the Vice-Presidential debate, a poll was taken by the Wednesday Groovers (on Facebook) and Robyn and Emma decided to move the live stream this week a day early, and at 8 pm Eastern. Robyn appeared and said there would be no stories tonight, just Lennon and Lennon-related songs. He started off, solo, with a really super version of ‘Gimmie Some Truth.’ As I mentioned in an earlier post, the protest songs are getting sharper. He introduced the next song as “one of the B-sides of the first Beatles record I ever owned.” He did a terrific version of ‘I’ll Get You.’ It’s obvious the Beatles are deep in Robyn’s DNA. He commanded this one. </h2>
<h2>He started another song ‘Everybody Loves You (When You’re Down And Out)’ but quickly stopped, saying it was the wrong one. Then right into ‘Isolation,’ a magnificent, simple song that Reg killed, wrenching his voice perfectly. Then Emma Swift appeared, after a bit of banter, they both sang on a lovely, folkie tinged version of ‘Rain.’ This had a serious Summer Of Love vibe and their voices were great together. Emma mentioned she had a new, original song coming out soon, ‘The Soft Apocalypse.’ They went into a mind-blowingly good version of ‘Dear Prudence,’ Reg nailing the fingerpicked guitar. This is one of my favorite songs, ever, and these two really got it. </h2>
<h2>Emma mentioned <em>The White Album</em> was her favorite, and she grabbed their cat Tubby for a brief cameo. Tubby was not having it tonight, but they launched into a bright, peppy version of ‘Oh Yoko.’ After discussing shoplifting and smoking weed, they did a driving version of ‘Mind Games,’ Em’s harmonies really shining. After, Emma discussed how ‘Mind Games’ was a “pagan song” and theorized that Bowie may have been an influence. </h2>
<h2>Reg, solo again, did a pretty version of ‘Yes It Is,’ a difficult song to play with some tricky harmonic twists. He did well with it, then straight into a folk-rock version of ‘#9 Dream.’ Emma reappeared with Perry the Lobster, and the duo did a stunning version of ‘Across The Universe,’ another of my favorite songs ever. The singing and playing were extraordinary. After a discussion of improving their amount of “brain RAM,” Reg mentioned that Andy Partridge showed him how to play ‘Ram On,’ but then mentioned this was a Lennon show so we would not be hearing that one. Next was a loose, fun version of ‘The Ballad Of John And Yoko.’ </h2>
<h2>Reg discussed that he was visiting his therapist and he was bringing Perry as his “comfort lobster.” The duo then did a sparkling version of ‘Jealous Guy.’ stopped half way through, and into ‘Whatever Gets You Through The Night,’ a pleasant and unexpected cover. Germaine the Koala appeared, Em mentioning he was a “rocket koala,” to which reg said “it’s going to be a long long time.” Running short on time, they did a tiny scrap of ‘She Loves You,’ and the show was over. </h2>
<h2>This was a stellar, magnificent show, Robyn knows his Beatles/Lennon inside and out. Emma is always the secret sauce. It’s so fun to watch them interact, they are like a comedy duo in between songs. It was all just wonderful. </h2>
<h2><strong>Robyn Hitchcock with Emma Swift Live From Sweet Home Quarantine (RH songs by request- UK and Europe Friendly) Part 32 </strong></h2>
<h2>It takes a lot for me to miss a Wednesday Groovers show (I’ve only missed one previous), but I had to watch the Spinal Tap reunion for Pennsylvania Democrats at the same time on Wednesday. So luckily I can still catch the Friday show. </h2>
<h2>The show opened with another episode of the story ‘The Three Directions.’ After the surreal reading, Robyn said “Here beginneth the musical portion of the show,” but he had some issues tuning the guitar. Once resolved, he played ‘Acid Bird’ from <em>Black Snake Diamond Role</em>. Great song but seemed a bit tentative, surprisingly. More tuning, and he said he would play a song he hadn’t played in thirty years. This was ‘The Cars She Used To Drive’ from <em>Groovy Decay</em>, which was surprisingly breezy. There was a break to adjust Reg’s hair. He then did ‘Strawberry Mind,’ from <em>Fegmania!</em>, a surprising and welcome song, sung in his higher register, Robyn seemed to get his groove on this one. He was commanding and compelling after the tentative beginning. </h2>
<h2>Reg switched to a more-in-tune Gibson guitar and the wonderful Emma Swift appeared. The duo started with ‘Be Still’ from <em>Love From London</em>, as usual their voices were great together. Ringo the cat made a short appearance. They discussed ‘Detective Mindhorn’ from <em>Robyn Hitchcock</em>. This is a great, melodic tune, Beatle-esque and the vocals were impressive. Em and Reg were really having fun, cracking each other up. So much fun. </h2>
<h2>Emma said she had a new single coming out, and the duo played her song called ‘The Soft Apocalypse.’ Emma singing solo, this one was a show-stopper, a sad tale of quarantine. Emma is really finding her voice, this is a stunning song not immediately reminiscent of anyone. Really, really impressive. A discussion of the Velvet Underground ensued, and Emma went off-camera. Reg did ‘DeChirico Street’ from<em> Moss Elixir</em>, one of my favorite songs. </h2>
<h2>Tubby now made a brief appearance. Emma returned and they did ‘Winchester’ from <em>Element Of Light</em>. They play this one quite a bit, and Reg’s strumming combined with Emma’s backing vocals was very poppy and pretty. There was an extended discussion about the last time Reg wore ‘flares,’ and he said it was 1977. Eventually the duo played ‘Television’ from <em>Spooked</em>, which was a bit dismal and quite wonderful. The harmonies were outstanding on this one. It was a great ending to the show. </h2>
<h2>These two are to be commended for their fearlessness. Reg reached back to play some real oldies, and Emma’s new song was spectacular. There were tuning issues and Robyn seemed to be uncertain at the beginning, but they got the groove and had a great time playing for us. The fun spirit, the great songs, and the inane banter is infectious. Love on ya, Reg and Em! </h2>
<h2>
<strong>Robyn Hitchcock with Emma Swift Live From Sweet Home Quarantine (RH songs by request) Part 33</strong> </h2>
<h2>The show started with a glimpse of Tubby and Emma Swift. Robyn mentioned that he was wearing his “Nick Lowe glasses,” and read one more chapter of his extended story ‘The Three Directions.’ He stopped the story in mid sentence, and picked up his acoustic and did ‘This Could Be The Day’ from 1984’s <em>I Often Dream Of Trains</em>. His playing was self-assured and the show was off to a good start. He then did the beautiful instrumental ‘Heartful Of Leaves’ from the same LP, his playing magnificent on a slow, Nick Drake inspired tune. </h2>
<h2>Then he did ‘Not Even A Nurse,’ an B-Side from <em>Trains </em>that was on the Yep Rock CD reissue. Reg said he’d never played it before. Emma appeared, and after some banter (her fantastic new song, ‘The Soft Apocalypse,’ is now out for download on Bandcamp). They did a very stripped down version of ‘I Used To Say I Love You,’ another Trains B-side from the Midnight Records CD reissue. Very pretty and sad dismalia with fantastic singing from the duo. </h2>
<h2>Perry the Lobster and Germaine the Koala appeared, and the duo did ‘Adventure Rocket Ship’ from <em>Ole Tarantula!</em> The duo were really on tonight, Emma doing a bit of counter melody. This is a wonderful, fun Reg song and they delivered it well. They discussed the song a bit, and after some tech adjustments, Emma sang Dylan’s ‘Simple Twist Of Fate’ from her covers LP<em> Blonde On The Tracks</em> (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubblonde" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubblonde" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubblonde</a>). Her beautiful voice brought an emotional gravitas to this song only hinted at in the original. </h2>
<h2>Emma moved off camera, and Robyn said “he never plays this song” as an intro to ‘Mr. Deadly’ from <em>Invisible Hitchcock</em>. This is one I indeed never heard him play live, and acoustically it definitely had an early Bowie feel. He broke straight into ‘Don’t Talk To Me About Gene Hackman,’ an unlisted track from the <em>Jewels For Sophia</em>, a fan favorite and a hilarious song. Emma reappeared, they discussed Gene Hackman, with Emma mentioning she loved ‘twee English.’ Then they dedicated ‘Sometimes A Blonde’ to a couple of Groovers celebrating their fourth wedding anniversary. This <em>Spooked</em> track was perfect for Reg and Em. Totally beautiful. They discussed the songs they have left for the time. They did the bright and Beatley ‘Alright Yeah’ from <em>Moss Elixir</em>. Our duo were having a great time, Reg playing great guitar, and the two of them singing like angels. </h2>
<h2>They mentioned cats Tubby and Ringo were fighting just off camera and “a lot of shit was going down.” After some discussion, Reg said the next song was about his mother, with a lot of “macho ultraviolence” added. The duo did ‘Light Blue Afternoon’ from <em>Tromso, Kaptein</em>, a very strong Hitchcock tune with one of his signature melodies. To end up, they did a fast version of ‘The Queen Of Eyes,’ a classic song from The Soft Boys’ <em>Underwater Moonlight</em>. This one is a regular feature, and the duo did it justice. </h2>
<h2>They said their goodbyes, ending another remarkable show. Robyn and Emma having fun and at the top of their game. I loved the material from <em>I Often Dream Of Trains</em> and the B-Sides. Reg continues to bring up old songs that are done well, and always keeps it interesting. Emma, as always, is just a fantastic singer. I truly enjoyed every minute of this one. </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan </h2>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com </a>
</h3>
<h3> </h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/65158262021-01-07T16:26:58-05:002021-01-07T16:26:58-05:00Steve Nieve Stream: Lo Res New Year's Eve<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/47d7b0839690d95b0627691505519492072568d2/original/nieve-lo-res.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>Steve Nieve, the classically trained, agile, and accomplished keyboardist, has been streaming quarantine shows from his home in France (near the English Channel) as “the Immobile Tour” (<a contents="tinyurl/com.zubimmobile" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl/com.zubimmobile" target="_blank">tinyurl/com.zubimmobile</a>). His crew at home consists of Muriel Tedori, his French wife and cameraperson, and her son, Antoine Jules Ulysse Quessada, known professionally as AJUQ, a singer and drummer. Tonight’s show was their new year's eve ”Lo Res Evening,” and it did not disappoint. </h2>
<h2>The show started with The Zombies ‘This Will Be Our Year,’ a perfect beginning with Steve singing. Muriel was doing her hype-man bit very well, as it was 30 minutes to the new year in Paris. AJUQ sang the ballad ‘Stain Of Hope,’ which was beautiful. They played a pre-recorded message from Chris Difford, who was solemn in his garden shed, but his wit (always on display in this Squeeze lyrics) shone through. Their bond is strong: Nieve was friends with Squeeze before joining a band himself, and even toured with Squeeze during pianist interregnums. </h2>
<h2>AJUQ sang ‘Oh How They Danced,’ a wonderful, understated ballad. Next message was from Alex Cornish, a favorite at Chez Nieve. In a surprise. AJUQ sang Green Day’s ‘Wake Me Up When December Ends,’ which turns out to have a great melody; he also played drums. Steve remarked that “I love Green Day.” Up next was a video from Elvis Costello singing the Tin Pan Alley standard, “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve,” accompanying himself on acoustic very nicely. Sounded fantastic. AJUQ sang ‘Next Year’ by The Foo Fighters. A video from French artist Kelly had him singing ‘Amazing Grace.’ Then AJUQ warned it was time for kitsch and they played Europe’s ‘The Final Countdown’ (complete with sampled blaring horns!) for the new year beginning in France. The party was on. </h2>
<h2>Steve slowed it down with ‘What A Wonderful World.’ It was indeed wonderful as he and AJUQ traded verses. AJUQ said “I’ve got a message for all of you,” And they launched into The Turtles’ ‘Happy Together,’ lots of fun with a neat solo from Steve. Waiting for a call, Steve started ‘One Minute To Midnight.’ This was interrupted by a call from their friend Sophie Auster, in New York, who sang her song ‘Mexico.’ Next was a call from Imposter Davey Faragher, playing upright bass with his son, Charlie on drums. Steve played along as they did ‘Let It Roll,’ a great walking blues. Steve did a snippet of a song and kissed Muriel and AJUQ. </h2>
<h2>Next call was from Attraction/Imposter drummer Pete Thomas from Los Angeles, wearing a cowboy hat and playing a cowboy guitar. He and Davey play in a cowboy band in LA, Jack Shit, and Pete shows genuine affection for the genre He sang surprisingly well on a “prairie” song called ‘Hold That Critter Down,’ adding some yodeling. It was remarkable. When AJUQ, who grew up backstage at Costello shows, joined in on drums, mother Muriel joked “You dare!?” AJUQ, acknowledging the “audacity”, replied “I dare!” while nonchalantly playing drums, backing a giant of the drumming world. </h2>
<h2>Waiting for AJUQ to reload the Instagram stream, Steve sang ‘The Roads’ especially for Muriel. It was surprisingly touching. AJUQ sang an impassioned version of ‘It’s A Brand New Day,’ with some French verses. </h2>
<h2>Saying “I used to hate this song, but I’ve come around,” AJUQ launched into Cher’s ‘Believe.’ This was, again, surprisingly good, in their hands out went the robot vocals and it became a ballad with soaring vocals. Next call was Elvis from Vancouver Island: he played ‘This Year’s Girl’ with Steve playing along. This went straight into ‘Out Of Time,’ a great Stones cover. Elvis then played his new single, ‘Farewell OK,’ just released on the Internet. Elvis outlined a busy release schedule, speaking excitedly about the upcoming remix of <em>This Year’s Model</em>. Spanish language singers are overdubbing the old masters, which he says sound remarkably fresh. He told Steve that “you, Pete, and that other guy” made an incredible recording. Then they reprised ‘The Final Countdown’ for the UK midnight. </h2>
<h2>A constant of these multi-device streams is technical glitches. The hosts restarted the computer and tried to call Elvis for a final song. Playing the piano, a reconnected Costello sang ‘It’s Time That You Love,’ a beautiful ballad by Tom Waits sung with real passion. </h2>
<h2>Next video was from Kathryn Williams, singing a sweet song along with playing acoustic guitar. She has a delicate voice and the song was great. There was discussion of how to end the show. Once settled, Steve sang Springsteen’s ‘Hungry Heart,’ the last thing I expected to hear. They restarted Instagram, and Muriel sang “Indoor Fireworks,’ it was charming and lovely. </h2>
<h2>Glenn Tilbrook appeared on video, and did a great, effortless version of ABBA’s ‘Dancing Queen’ for his recently departed uncle; it was his uncle's favorite song. AJUQ followed with a solemn version of Tom Waits ‘Downtown Train,’ stately and wonderful. On camera was Benmont Tench, with a positive message for the new year. To end things up, AJUQ sang Bowie’s ‘Heroes.’ impassioned vocals with amazing piano backing from Mr. Nieve. </h2>
<h2>They did a Zoom look-in, which was a bit of an audio mess, but they were having a great time with the fans. They ended with ‘What’s So Funny ‘bout (Peace, Love and Understanding)’ with the Zoom crowd singing along, time lags turning it into a totally disjoined round. We didn’t mind; it was a fitting end to a fantastic show and a celebration of the intimate community we had all built together. They added on an instrumental piece (Bach?) at the very end which was a sweet way to part. </h2>
<h2>These three put on a great party. It was uplifting and inspiring and with a level of incredible musicianship The song selection was broad (Green Day, Foo Fighters, ABBA, Waits, Tin Pan Alley’s Frank Loesser) and there was love through the whole two and a half hour show, along with great guests. Thanks Steve, Muriel, and AJUQ! You have been a beam of light and hope in the darkening gray of 2020. I couldn’t think of a better way to start 2021. </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan </h2>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/65146872021-01-06T09:56:27-05:002021-01-06T09:56:27-05:00McCartney III<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/d0733c41a020707a064648412d64cd3af3d95360/original/mccartney-iii.jpeg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpeg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>50 years after <em>McCartney</em> and 40 years after <em>McCartney II</em>, Paul found himself in lockdown and decided to make this record “for fun,” playing all the instruments himself. This true “solo” recording follows the pattern of those previous records and the results are indeed good. Let’s look at the tracks. </h2>
<h2>‘Long Tailed Winter Bird’ starts with acoustic guitar alone, then builds up, adding bass, then crunchy guitars, and Paul’s voice layered like a chorus. In come the drums and keyboards. It’s a bit of a show-off piece, but Paul can loop and add instruments with the best. “Find My Way’ is a bit of classic McCartney pop, using a strong falsetto and an active drum beat, along with bass-heavy moogy horns. Paul sounds like he’s having a great time. </h2>
<h2>‘Pretty Boys’ begins all acoustic, but then electric guitar comes in and then the rhythm section. It’s irresistibly catchy, Paul’s voice showing his maturity. ‘Women And Wives’ has Paul adopting his ‘Get Back’ voice attached to a piano based ballad. It’s sad and touching. ‘Lavatory Lil’ sounds like an <em>Abbey Road</em> track, with a cool descending chord pattern. The lyrics are not completely PC, but it’s Sir Paul, so he means no harm. This is one of the better songs, with some great guitar work. </h2>
<h2>‘Deep Deep Feeling’ is a raw and honest track: </h2>
<h2><em>You know that deep, deep feeling </em></h2>
<h2><em>When you love someone so much </em></h2>
<h2><em>You feel your heart's gonna burst </em></h2>
<h2><em>The feeling goes from best to worst </em></h2>
<h2><em>You feel your heart is gonna burst </em></h2>
<h2><em>Here in my heart </em></h2>
<h2><em>I feel a deep devotion </em></h2>
<h2><em>It almost hurts </em></h2>
<h2><em>It's such a deep emotion </em></h2>
<h2><em>Now every time it rains </em></h2>
<h2><em>It sometimes gets too much </em></h2>
<h2><em>You know I feel the pain </em></h2>
<h2><em>When I feel your loving touch </em></h2>
<h2>It’s good to hear Paul let loose with some vulnerability. Also, this one clocks in at over eight minutes long, quite an epic with a false ending. </h2>
<h2>‘Slidin’’ is a heavy rocker, guitars augmented with keys. Paul hasn’t forgotten his rock roots, and this one is in the ‘Let Me Roll It’ Mode. It’s pretty impressive from start to finish. ‘The Kiss Of Venus’ harkens back to <em>RAM</em>-era McCartney, a fine acoustic number that sounds like Paul is down on the farm: it’s stripped down and beautiful. ‘Seize The Day’ is great pop, led by Fender Rhodes piano. Paul sounds very youthful in his vocal delivery; it’s another one of the better tunes on <em>McCartney III</em>. </h2>
<h2>‘Deep Down’ is a slice of stately pop, with horns and keyboard bass. It’s forward looking McCartney, with hints of Radiohead in the mix. LP closer ‘Winter Bird/When Winter Comes’ has Paul describing his farming chores in a great acoustic melody. His voice is still amazing. This one sounds like it’s from 1970's <em>McCartney</em>. A fantastic way to end the LP. </h2>
<h2>Paul McCartney is 78 years old. He’s released at least fifteen solo records. Oh, and he was a Beatle. He has nothing to prove to anyone, but this lion-in-winter phase suits him well. McCartney III covers a lot of familiar ground, but still somehow manages to see a way forward. It’s truly extraordinary. </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan</h2>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/65122092021-01-02T14:12:27-05:002021-01-02T14:12:27-05:00Search Party<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/7b8770b68ff5fa18b63540c0aa3acccbe84f7435/original/search-party.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>
<em>Search Party </em>aired its first two seasons on TBS, the third season it went to HBO Max. I have just finished binging all three seasons of this show, and it is a weird, wonderful, dark, <strong>dark</strong> comedy. The show revolves around four major characters in New York City. There’s Dory Sief, played by the magnificent Alia Shawkat, an underemployed and underutilized person. Her boyfriend Drew Gardner (John Reynolds) is a sweet goofball that is more of a reactive type. The scene stealers are her friends Eliot Goss (a very, very out total narcissist and liar) played by the remarkable John Early and Portia Davenport (a beautiful but high strung actress) played by Meredith Hagner. </h2>
<h2>I’m not going to give away what happens in this show, I think you should watch it and be caught under its spell like I was. Season one deals with the disappearance of Dory’s college acquaintance Chantal Witherbottom. Dory is determined to find this person; or is she looking for herself? In the second season, the foursome is involved in an accidental murder, and they all go to some lengths to cover it up. Season three involves the sensational trial of ‘Gory Dory’ and her submissive boyfriend Drew. </h2>
<h2>There is so much more going on, including a mob subplot, a cop that’s on to them, a crazy upstairs neighbor, and bit parts from MVP character actors like Wallace Shawn, Annette O’Toole, and Louie Anderson. The show reminds me a little of High Maintenance (see <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubmaintain" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubmaintain" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubmaintain</a>) as NYC is a character, it’s very funny and it is very dark. If that sounds up your alley I think you should spend some time with this <em>Search Party</em>. </h2>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="oSmvtX-d6GU" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/oSmvtX-d6GU/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oSmvtX-d6GU?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>----Steve McGowan </h2>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast </a>Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/65122052021-01-02T13:51:02-05:002021-01-02T14:50:25-05:00Seth Rogen's' An American Pickle <p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/45777be0c4b6992b3e0b57e0014595f21b7bf485/original/american-pickle.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Washington Irving's story <em>Rip Van Winkle</em> was first published in 1819. The trope of someone falling asleep/under a spell/unfrozen caveman lawyer is as old as storytelling itself, and this trope is the basis for <em>An American Pickle</em>. Rogen plays Herschel Greenbaum, a ditch digger in a village in Eastern Europe in 1919. He marries Sarah, but on their wedding day the town is destroyed by Russian Cossacks, and it's on to America for Hershel and Sarah. </h2>
<h2>They want to get rich - for Sarah enough to buy her own gravestone, for Herschel, he just wants to try seltzer water. Herschel gets a job at the pickle factory, making enough to buy a small burial plot for the Greenbaums. His job is killing rats with a club, but one day a multitude of rats drives him to fall into a vat of pickles, just as the factory is condemned. Two kids find and awake him in the abandoned factory, in 2019, the pickle brine having kept him the same as he went in and in fine shape. </h2>
<h2>Herschel meets up with his great grandson, Ben (also played by Seth Rogen), who has a place in Brooklyn and has spent five years developing an app called Boop Bop, which gives companies ethical scores. The fish out of water part with Herschel is not overdone; he's not as interested in the new tech as the fact that Ben owns over 30 pairs of socks. Also, Ben has a Soda Stream so unlimited seltzer! Ben's parents are dead and Herschel drags him to the Greenbaum burial plot, now decrepit and stuck between highways, strewn with weeds and garbage, and with a huge billboard hanging overhead. </h2>
<h2>Herschel says prayers for the dead, Ben seems to have lost his faith, and when a crew shows up to put a new billboard (Russian vodka) on the sign, Herschel believes they are Cossacks and gets into a big fight. He and Ben are arrested for assault and this ruins Ben's reputation as an ethical coder. He's now unable to sell his app. </h2>
<h2>Ben and Herschel are at odds, and there's a lot going on. Herschel declares he will make $200,000 to buy the billboard and cut it down. Using items found in dumpsters, including cucumbers, he makes his own pickles (just cucumbers, salt and rainwater). His little pickle cart in Williamsburg takes off. Ben calls the health department and Herschel is shut down. Herschel bounces back by using a small army of NYU interns, gets the pickle business up to code, and makes the money he needs to cut down the billboard and clean up the Greenbaum plot. </h2>
<h2>There's a lot of silliness in this movie, but it has a sweet, heavier undertone of family and especially Jewishness. Herschel is not the smartest fellow, but he is a hard worker that puts family above all. He's also very religious. </h2>
<h2>When Herschel says some truly awful things about Jesus in a debate, he is the newest victim of cancel culture. He gets Ben to smuggle him to Canada, but pulls a switcheroo, Ben is arrested as the wanted Herschel and deported; Herschel returns to Brooklyn as “Ben.” The real Ben, back in Eastern Europe, gets in touch with his Jewish heritage and spends time in the synagogue. Herschel goes through some old pictures of Ben’s and realizes the Boop Bop app is named after Ben's parents. Herschel returns to Eastern Europe ( “Alexa told me how to get here”) to get Ben. They realize they are family and must stick together. The movie ends back in Brooklyn with both men saying prayers for the dead at the Greenbaum plot. </h2>
<h2>This was a surprisingly touching and sweet movie, despite all the silliness. Rogen was obviously struggling with his own Jewish identity, and this is a great love letter to his ancestors. Showing on the can-you-get-it HBO Max, you could do a lot worse than <em>An American Pickle</em>. </h2>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="tHsqU8yK3Nc" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/tHsqU8yK3Nc/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tHsqU8yK3Nc?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>----Steve McGowan </h2>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/65101982020-12-30T10:08:17-05:002020-12-30T10:08:17-05:00The Creem Magazine Documentary<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/063ca0b97aab402d64c78fd1f77be92ecb448724/original/creem-doc.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>If you are of a certain age, you remember <em>Creem</em> as a true rock and roll magazine. They ran from 1969 until 1993 and the magazine was a must have in my house as a kid who devoured rock and roll news. This is a very well done documentary that involves many of the <em>Creem</em> journalists that are still with us. </h2>
<h2>
<em>Creem</em> started in Detroit when Barry Kramer, who owned four successful ‘head shops,’ cashed them in to raise money to publish a magazine. He was initially guided by Tony Reay, who wanted the magazine to be a serious treatise on blues and blues-rock. Kramer wanted something more irreverent, more rock and roll, and Reay was jettisoned. The magazine was outstanding in its coverage of local bands like the MC5, The Stooges, Bob Seeger, and Ted Nugent (the doc shows an amazing pic of the Nuge and Patti Smith hanging out backstage!) </h2>
<h2>In the post racial riots of Detroit in 1967, while many magazines dealt heavily in the politics of the time, the <em>Creem </em>staff dove deeper into music. David Gilmour look-alike Dave Marsh was the chief editor. The first offices were on Cass Avenue in a seedy section of downtown, where bands would play and crash. Kramer was paying the staff $5 a week each and everyone seemed happy to be there. In 1970, the indomitable Lester Bangs appeared, writing a bad review of the MC5. Lester would do anything to push the envelope, but no one could argue that he wasn’t a great writer. Check out his article on Black Sabbath from 1975, entitled ‘Take Your Mother To The Gas Chamber.’ </h2>
<h2><a contents="https://web.archive.org/web/20071011081625/http://www.creemmagazine.com/_site/BeatGoesOn/BlackSabbath/BringYourMotherPt001.html&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20071011081625/http://www.creemmagazine.com/_site/BeatGoesOn/BlackSabbath/BringYourMotherPt001.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20071011081625/http://www.creemmagazine.com/_site/BeatGoesOn/BlackSabbath/BringYourMotherPt001.html </a></h2>
<h2>After making a mark and planting the flag as <em>Creem’s</em> heart and soul, Lester was on stage with the J.Geils band writing the review on his typewriter while they played. At the end, of course, he smashed the typewriter. Writer Jaan Uhelszki appeared onstage with Kiss (in Kiss makeup) for a story. </h2>
<h2>Gaining some financial success, Kramer moved the magazine (and staff) to a farmhouse compound in Birmingham, Michigan. For two years things got a little weird and stir crazy with the staff in each other's pockets. Uheleski states that the magazine was sexist and a ‘boys club,’ but admits that a lot of the sexist content was written by her and other women writers. <em>Creem </em>definitely pushed the envelope, but that is what made it <em>Creem</em>. It was the 1970’s, as they seem to repeatedly justify, sigh… </h2>
<h2>As the magazine grew, and went nationwide, the staff did not grow and everyone was pushed to the brink. I have a whole box full of my buddy Joey’s <em>Creem</em> magazines from the late 1970’s. They are treasured possessions. Magazine features included were a goofy ‘Creem’s Profiles,’ a parody of a Dewars scotch ad (in which famous people tried to appear contemplative and interesting), and irreverent ‘Star’s Cars’ (Devo getting on a bus, Joe Perry in an expensive sports car he had totaled). </h2>
<h2>They then moved offices to downtown Birmingham, Michigan, for real office space. Chad Smith, the Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer, tells a great story of him riding his ten-speed bike from his nearby home in Michigan to the <em>Creem</em> address. As he arrives, the door opens and out comes Alice Cooper! We’re not worthy! When the Runaways got a bad <em>Creem</em> review, Joan Jett arrived to kick the writer’s ass. He sneaked out the back! Joan’s epic and funny letter to the magazine is a highlight of the documentary. </h2>
<h2>There is a lot of discussion of the merits and attitude of <em>Creem</em> vs. <em>Rolling Stone</em>. RS is painted as being run by a trust fund baby who likes to hang with celebrities. They do culture and politics. <em>Creem</em> was run by a bunch of dirtbags who lived for rock and roll; in a way the magazine was rock and roll. In one scene, Dave Marsh is credited with coining the term ‘Punk Rock.’ Cut to the great Legs McNeil; Legs says that Dave is “such an asshole” and is no way the originator. But indeed <em>Creem</em> embraced punk in a way no other magazine did. They knew what the good stuff was. </h2>
<h2>Lester Bangs is portrayed as sort of a ‘dancing bear,’ a big, cuddly, but unpredictable entertainer, and a guy who had some real problems. But his jousting with Lou Reed was amazing, because he loved Lou so much. The two would meet up, get hammered, and basically yell at each other. The article where he slugged it out with Lou was called ‘Let Us Now Praise Famous Death Dwarves:’ </h2>
<h2><a contents="http://freaklit.blogspot.com/2013/10/let-us-now-praise-famous-death-dwarves.html&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://freaklit.blogspot.com/2013/10/let-us-now-praise-famous-death-dwarves.html" target="_blank">http://freaklit.blogspot.com/2013/10/let-us-now-praise-famous-death-dwarves.html </a></h2>
<h2>Check out his article on Lou’s Metal Machine Music, entitled ‘The Greatest Album Ever Made,’ it is genius rock crit. </h2>
<h2><a contents="http://www.rocknroll.net/loureed/articles/mmmbangs.html&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.rocknroll.net/loureed/articles/mmmbangs.html" target="_blank">http://www.rocknroll.net/loureed/articles/mmmbangs.html </a></h2>
<h2>Things start to go south for <em>Creem,</em> with Dave Marsh leaving for New York and joining the hated <em>Rolling Stone</em>. Publisher/owner Barry Kramer gets heavily into drugs and is an absentee owner. His wife goes to rehab, and Barry comes to visit and snorts blow in her rehab bathroom. In 1976, Lester left, also heading to New York. In 1981, Kramer died of an accidental overdose. He was found with a bag over his head filled with Nitrous Oxide. Lester died in 1982 after relapsing with drugs after quitting. <em>Creem</em> hung on until 1989, but their rock and roll dream was over. </h2>
<h2>Barry Kramer left the operation to his young son JJ Kramer, now a lawyer, who obtained all the rights and articles from the magazine. This documentary is part of him restoring <em>Creem </em>and its legacy. The film includes interviews with many involved in the music scene of <em>Creem’s </em>heyday as well as those shaped by a love for the magazine, including Wayne Kramer (MC5), Suzi Quatro, the reclusive Peter Wolf, Greil Marcus, Michal Stipe, Alice Cooper, Mitch Ryder (who played once at Cass Ave.), Robert Christgau, and a very excited Kirk Hammett (Metallica) who was a <strong>big</strong> fan of the magazine. There’s some great old video, some amazing pics (one with Lester rolling his eyes standing next to Debbie Harry stands out), cool animations, and concise interviews. </h2>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="GUcCMNRTZpI" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/GUcCMNRTZpI/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GUcCMNRTZpI?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Adrienne and I watched the doc through a streaming agreement with the Carolina Theater in Durham, one that benefitted the shuttered venue and the filmmakers. The film captures a bit of the excitement, joy, and absurdity of rock that <em>Creem</em> both celebrated and heckled. If you read <em>Creem</em>, I’m assuming you have already seen it. If you were there and haven’t yet, you must see this film. If you weren’t, it is even more vital that you do. </h2>
<h2>Boy Howdy! Give it a spin. </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan </h2>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/65085842020-12-27T12:56:05-05:002020-12-27T13:10:54-05:00The Go Go's Documentary<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/e0653c671e615ce84ef54a779d943bbc4dba18d2/original/go-gos.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>When you watched MTV in 1982, there was a great video from an all girl band, The Go-Go’s. This cute, flirty video was attached to a great tune called ‘Our Lips Are Sealed’ (see our Podcast on this single at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zublips" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zublips" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zublips</a>). This video was very popular and the band seemed to appear out of nowhere. I always loved the Go-Go’s, buying the single and their first LP <em>Beauty And The Beat</em> right away. It helped that they were on I.R.S. Records, the label that had R.E.M., Buzzcocks, Stranglers, and many others. In those days I would buy unknown artists if they were on the ‘right’ record label, and The Go-Go’s didn’t disappoint. </h2>
<h2>The new Showtime aired documentary, The Go-Go’s, does not disappoint either. Director Alison Ellwood, who previously made the <em>History of the Eagles </em>documentary, does a great job here. Beginning with the band’s true Los Angeles punk rock beginnings, singer Belinda Carlisle and guitarist Jane Weidlin are misfits that want to form a band. They add Margot Oliveria on bass, Elissa Bello on drums, and score major points by adding a real musician, Charlotte Caffey, on lead guitar. The band at this point is a true punk band, loud and fast, playing clubs like The Masque with contemporaries like The Germs and The Alley Cats. </h2>
<h2>With manager Ginger Canzoneri on board, things slowly start to happen for the Go-Go’s. First casualty was drummer Bello, quickly replaced by Baltimore’s Gina Schock, which was a huge upgrade in musicianship for the band. Shock is ambitious and gets the band to rehearse every night; the interviews with her are always surprising and funny. After opening for Madness at the Whisky in L.A., the band goes to Britain to support Madness and The Specials on their U.K. tours. Manager Ginger sells almost all her possessions, including her car, to get the band to Britain. The band is spat at and confront nasty National Front skinheads at every gig, but they impress both headliner bands (the interview with The Specials Lynval Golding is priceless) and as a result, get a 45 pressed by Stiff Records (‘We Got The Beat’). </h2>
<h2>Back in L.A., The Go-Go’s are bigger than ever, with an import record in the shops. Bassist Oliveria is unhappy with the band’s turn to a more pop sound, and she is jettisoned to be replaced by Kathy Valentine. The now classic version of the band is set. Typically for the record business, no label has any interest in an all-female band that writes their own music. They finally signed to I.R.S. in 1981 and quickly recorded the debut album <em>Beauty And The Beat</em>. Aided by $6000 left over from a Police video (Miles Copeland is the impresario behind both his brother Stewart’s band and IRS Records), they make the video for ‘Our Lips Are Sealed,’ They get a plum slot opening for The Police and on tour their LP passes The Police in the charts. It would soon go to number one on the charts. </h2>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="GsiRfL11I08" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/GsiRfL11I08/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GsiRfL11I08?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<h2>From this point forward, the documentary gets into the same old rock tropes. The band is on an endless touring treadmill, drug use becomes rampant, drinking is a big problem, and poor Charlotte Caffey is living a secret life as a full-on heroin addict. The follow up record, Vacation, does not do as well. They finally get a break from touring when drummer Gina Schock has to have heart surgery. </h2>
<h2>Back together, they go to England to record <em>Talk Show</em> with famed producer Martin Rushent. The singles ‘Head Over Heels’ and ‘Turn To You’ do well, but the LP sells fewer copies than ever. They unceremoniously dump manager Ginger Canzoneri, which is one of the sadder interviews in the film. Ginger is deeply hurt and the new so-called professional management is even worse for The Go-Go’s career. After the band tells her she can’t sing lead on one song, Jane Weidlin quits the band. They get a new bassist, Paula Jean Brown, and move Kathy Valentine to guitar. </h2>
<h2>Finally, Charlotte Caffey gets to rehab and straightens up. She realizes she can’t tour and stay sober, so she and Belinda finally break up the Go-Go's. Shock and Valentine are both crestfallen. </h2>
<h2>The end of the film glosses over the many later reunions, but does show the band together rehearsing a new song, ‘Club Zero.’ The band members are all sober, Jane Weidlen has gotten a bi-polar diagnosis and has her issues under control, and these old vets seem glad to see and play with each other again. It’s a very positive end to a dark story. The Go-Go’s are triumphant through all of the sexism in the boys club of rock and roll. They are still not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which is ridiculous. This was, and is, a great band that came out of punk and did things their own way. The documentary is extremely well done and definitely worth your time. </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan </h2>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/65069602020-12-24T09:43:20-05:002020-12-24T09:43:20-05:00Buz & Muf's Pick Through The 2020 Litter<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/526b25e74f49c1fb22a72c26a8626b8cece92c40/original/buz-muf.gif/!!/b:W10=.png" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>BUZ AND MUF PICK THRU THE 2020 LITTER </h2>
<h2>Buz & Muf, the original Zub kitties, picked thru the litter for our Alert readers, separating the gems from the crap. For 2020, a litter box of a year if there ever was one, their spirits guided us to these magical finds, all of which helped us get through this <em>annus horribilis</em>. We’ve featured many of these on Alert! </h2>
<h2>RECORDS </h2>
<h2>The Neighborhoods <em>Last Known Address</em> </h2>
<h2>Arrow Beach <em>Juicy Fruit Castle </em>
</h2>
<h2>Baxter Dury <em>The Night Chancers </em>
</h2>
<h2>X <em>Alphabetland </em>
</h2>
<h2>Emma Smith <em>Blonde On The Tracks</em> </h2>
<h2>Ultimate Fakebook <em>The Preserving Machine</em> </h2>
<h2>Pretenders <em>Hate For Sale</em> </h2>
<h2>Bob Mould <em>Blue Hearts </em>
</h2>
<h2>Elvis Costello <em>Hey Clockface </em>
</h2>
<h2>Metz <em>Atlas Vending </em>
</h2>
<h2>Various, <em>Strum and Thrum: The American Jangle Underground 1983-1987 </em>
</h2>
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<h2>BOX SETS </h2>
<h2>Pylon Box </h2>
<h2>Elvis Costello & The Attractions <em>Armed Forces </em>box </h2>
<p> </p>
<h2>BOOKS </h2>
<h2>
<em>The Birth Of Loud </em>by Ian S. Port </h2>
<h2>
<em>Solid State </em>by Kenneth Womack </h2>
<h2>
<em>To Hell and Back </em>by Walter Lure </h2>
<h2>
<em>Cool Town</em> by Elizabeth Grace Hale </h2>
<h2>
<em>Party Out Of Bounds</em> by Rodger Lyle Brown </h2>
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<h2>MOVIES </h2>
<h2><em>1917 </em></h2>
<h2><em>Little Women </em></h2>
<h2><em>Hamilton </em></h2>
<h2><em>Bad Education </em></h2>
<h2><em>Greyhound </em></h2>
<h2><em>American Valhalla </em></h2>
<h2>Creem documentary </h2>
<p> </p>
<h2>TV </h2>
<h2><em>Detectorists </em></h2>
<h2><em>Walking Through History </em></h2>
<h2><em>Watchmen </em></h2>
<h2><em>High Maintenance </em></h2>
<h2><em>The Outsider </em></h2>
<h2><em>Grand Designs </em></h2>
<h2><em>The Plot Against America </em></h2>
<h2><em>South Side </em></h2>
<h2><em>Taste The Nation </em></h2>
<h2><em>I’ll Be Gone In The Dark </em></h2>
<p> </p>
<h2>STREAMS </h2>
<h2>Steve Nieve’s<em> Immobille</em> Tour </h2>
<h2>Clownvis Presley, <em>Clownvis to the Rescue</em> </h2>
<h2>Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift, <em>Sweet Home Quarantine</em> </h2>
<h2>Secret Monkey Weekend Quarantine Half-Hour</h2>
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<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/65054742020-12-22T10:55:27-05:002020-12-22T10:55:27-05:00HBO's I'll Be Gone In The Dark<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/8fcc24931d5d8ad6612afe94c22959464920ed0d/original/gone-in-the-dark.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>
<em>I’ll Be Gone in the Dark </em>was one of the most frightening, sad, and remarkable shows I’ve ever seen. It could only have been a true story as there is no way that you would ever make up a tale like this. </h2>
<h2>There was pure evil in California in the guise of the ‘Golden State Killer,’ also known as the ‘East Area Rapist.’ Between 1973 and 1986 this unknown monster was responsible for 13 murders, 50 rapes and 100 burglaries in three different crime sprees in three areas across California. </h2>
<h2>The story is told over six episodes, through the lens of Michelle McNamara, a writer who started True Crime Blog in 2006 and rediscovered this case. The case gets its hooks into her and she becomes completely obsessed with it. Her doggedness in following the case wins her trusted friends in law enforcement and key people in the ‘citizen crime’ movement (like minded, non-law enforcement people). </h2>
<h2>HBO’s series, directed masterfully by Liz Garbus, slowly unravels the timeline of the crimes. No one can find or identify this person, though his modus operandi is similar in every crime. He seems to be an unknown specter in the dark, moving at will and doing whatever he wants. Garbus uses many interviews with the victims to understand the trauma they have been through. She also has an almost endless amount of phone and computer data from McNamara to rely on and make the story real. </h2>
<h2>The story is framed using McNamara, her sleuthing, and her family as its center. We hear all about her courtship and eventual marriage to comedian Patton Oswalt, who seems to be the <em>nicest </em>guy ever. Soon they have a daughter and all is well at home but the case grinds on. </h2>
<h2>In 2013, McNamara wrote an extensive article on the case for Los Angeles magazine. I urge you to check it out. </h2>
<h2><a contents="https://www.lamag.com/longform/in-the-footsteps-of-a-killer/&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.lamag.com/longform/in-the-footsteps-of-a-killer/" target="_blank">https://www.lamag.com/longform/in-the-footsteps-of-a-killer/ </a></h2>
<h2>This story leads very quickly to a book deal (what becomes the true crime masterpiece I’ll Be Gone In The Dark), which leads to even more pressure on the author. She’s working on a book and still actively trying to solve the crime. Indeed, in an unheard of move, law enforcement allies turn over thirty-odd boxes of evidence to her to check out. </h2>
<h2>Unfortunately, things get very dark, as Michelle has been fueling herself with prescription drugs. In 2016 she died in her sleep with adderall, xanax, and fentanyl in her system, her tolerance exacerbated by an undiagnosed heart condition. McNamara’s allies join together to finish her book, which when done is considered a triumph. Even better news, with new, advanced DNA testing, the police are able to find the killer in 2018. He pleaded guilty to all crimes to avoid the death penalty. This leaves Michelle’s <em>Letter To An Old Man</em>, a message to the killer himself published in the book, even more prescient: </h2>
<h2><a contents="https://www.deadgoodbooks.co.uk/michelle-mcnamara-golden-state-killer-book/&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.deadgoodbooks.co.uk/michelle-mcnamara-golden-state-killer-book/" target="_blank">https://www.deadgoodbooks.co.uk/michelle-mcnamara-golden-state-killer-book/ </a></h2>
<h2>Once apprehended, there is much information about the killer’s upbringing; he had a life of abuse when young. His family members are totally devastated by the discovery of his secret, dark spree. But the final episode is mostly devoted to the victims, all of whom are scarred and damaged in some way. The ruin and pain this man brought on people is incalculable. The victims make the best, meet up together, and enjoy each other's comfort. And their lives go on. </h2>
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<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="6_EVR1fI68o" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/6_EVR1fI68o/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6_EVR1fI68o?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
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<em>I’ll Be Gone In The Dark </em>is a remarkable series. It is a difficult watch but covers so many things. I was riveted with every episode, the questions of trauma, overcoming trauma, and dealing with plain, pure evil. Much to consider after seeing this. </h2>
<h2>-----Stephen McGowan </h2>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/64943782020-12-08T11:59:13-05:002020-12-08T11:59:13-05:00A Man Called Destruction by Holly George-Warren<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/51f65e5a3900ad5b91c55f1809750c7ddb409d2a/original/alex-chilton.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>Because I am an obsessive music geek, I was an early adopter of Big Star. I read of them as an influence on many bands, sort of a Velvet Underground of power-pop. Their first two LP’s are undeniable, and I especially like <em>#1 Record </em>(the first LP) the best. Bandleader Alex Chilton, the subject of A Man Called Destruction, Holly Geoge-Warren's book published in 2014,has developed a rabid cult following, helped tremendously by Cheap Trick, Paul Westerberg, Teenage Fanclub, and even Counting Crows. I’ve played with local bands that worship The Replacements and Westerberg, and by default Alex Chilton. I personally don’t really get it. In the Big Star story, Chris Bell (the other bandleader and songwriter) is my hero. He was the one that meticulously crafted <em>#1 Record</em>, then quit /or was kicked out of Big Star before <em>Radio City</em> (the 2nd Big Star LP) before dying in a car crash. I’m going to include a lengthy excerpt from a review of mid-period (1980) Alex Chilton live at Maxwells in Hoboken, NJ from Glenn Morrow (from the Individuals and Bar/None Records) that I think gets straight to the point about Chilton: </h2>
<h2><em>Sometimes you have to respect a guy for not trying. Alex Chilton, the laziest man in rock and roll, is back. At least he was for one week in September when he shuffled through a series of dates in the Metropolitan area….He has left the beautiful boo-hooing loser behind. The new Alex is a self-avowed swine tramp, throwing dime store pearls at the strangely doting crowd….Alex Chilton’s back as a stick singer with a three piece band to back him up. Does this mean he’s gone back to his Box Tops roots? Not exactly. Besides abandoning the guitar and the heartbroken stance, he’s abandoned his white soul inflections and his glorious falsetto for a half- spoken midrange. Occasionally, he’ll trail off into one of his better known registers just to show he’s still got it, but he doesn’t want to use it. … </em></h2>
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<em>Alex doesn’t want no sympathy, doesn’t want you to like him, he wants to annoy, and ultimately he comes off as pretty funny. Trash humor is what Chilton is all about, whether it’s singing ‘Chances Are’ in a mock lounge croon, or the bizarre waltz beat Porter Waggoner tune ‘The Rubber Room,’ in which Alex stretched his voice out of shape with hillbilly gurgling and rockabilly hiccups. On ‘Tramp’ he delivered some Otis Redding soul maneuvers with the greatest lack of care….</em> </h2>
<h2><em>Like a Memphis version of Rock And Roll Animal, in fact, Clinton reminded me a bit of Lou Reed, circa 1975, slightly paunchy in plain t-shirt and jeans mixing banality with the occasional glimmer of greatness. ...I can’t say I was exactly moved, but he did make me laugh, and there was one inspired moment during ‘Tramp’ where Chilton started pumping through his old soul moves, whipping the band into a frenzy. I shivered once and saw the spectre of that 16-year-old kid who growled his way to the top of the charts so many years ago….To be so fucking talented, a great songwriter who doesn’t seem to be writing anymore, a gifted guitar played who chooses just to sing, a singer who chooses to warble off key. It doesn’t take much to sit in the corner laughing while the bull trashes the china shop. Come on, Alex, ain’t it about time you took the bull by the horns? </em></h2>
<h2>That sums it up beautifully. <em>A Man Called Destruction</em> was published in 2014, and Holly George-Warren is to be commended on such a fine, well researched and written book. She seems to talk to everyone involved with Alex all through his career. Still, it is the ultimate slacker story. Alex came from Bohemian parents (dad a jazz musician, mom an artist and friend of local artists, lived through an early tragedy when his brother died unexpectedly, and by sixteen was singing for the Box Tops, a band who made the Top 40 with 'The Letter' in 1967 with young Alex’s distinctive and deceptively wizened vocals at the center. Touring with the Beach Boys, singing Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham songs, Alex appeared to be living the pop star dream. The dream didn’t interest him much. </h2>
<h2>Big Star is portrayed as doomed by being the only white rock band on soul powerhouse Stax records. Still you would have liked to hear more. If you had a band that was given unlimited access to a state of the art recording studio (Ardent in Memphis) what would you do? They rehearsed little and hardly toured, Alex half-assing it most of the time. </h2>
<h2>After Big Star’s implosion, Alex went solo and had a few decades in the wilderness, drinking and drugging and womanizing. He was the kind of guy that would steal bandmates’ girlfriends. He also had a habit of using people up and discarding them. He lackadaisicaly “produced” the Cramps, moving the faders with his stocking feet (!). He adopted a no rehearsal policy, even for studio recordings. He truly was the laziest man in rock. </h2>
<h2>Alex then moved to New Orleans to clean up, and his renaissance began. Holly talks to the dB’s, who played with him in New York, but he quickly burned through Chris Stamey and Peter Holsapple. The Replacements toured with him, and he found their drunken antics hilarious. Counting Crows took him on tour and gave him special perks. The Bangles wrote him a check on the spot for their cover of ‘September Girls,’ and Cheap Trick recorded ‘In The Street’ for That 70’s Show, providing a steady royalty paycheck for Alex. Finally, he and drummer Jody Stephens joined Jon and Ken of The Posies for a Big Star reunion. Even this promising combo really doesn't get anywhere. </h2>
<h2>Passing in 2010 from a heart attack, Alex is never portrayed as a mean guy, but someone who is immensely talented who never really tried. He abandoned his son, Timothee, who may be in prison now. He was the ultimate half-asser. <em>A Man Called Destruction </em>presents a strange and depressing tale of squandered talent. Holly George-Warren has written a corker of a book about American underground rock’s wastrel founding father. </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan </h2>
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<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com,</a> an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast </a>Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a> </h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/64879802020-11-29T12:35:17-05:002020-11-29T12:35:17-05:00PJ Harvey Dry Reissue<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/75e00318512b38fb04f56c834a5fc7ed2ab65b8c/original/dry-new.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br><br> </p>
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<h2>Polly Jean Harvey seemed to appear, fully formed, out of nowhere in 1992 with Dry. This wisp of a woman with a Telecaster, Marshall half-stack, and crack rhythm section was Britain's answer to <em>and</em> antidote to grunge. She was almost always compared to Patti Smith, but that's a lazy, male opinion. At worst, she was a one-woman Pixies, using lots of old blues forms, the loud-fast-loud ethic, and bizarre, psycho-sexual lyrics. </h2>
<h2>Coming from the rural South-West (Dorset) in a village of 600 people, she has hippie parents that listened to Pink Floyd, Howlin’ Wolf, and Captain Beefheart. She worked these influences like a maestro. <em>Dry</em> is one of the coolest and effective debut records since Costello’s <em>My Aim Is True</em>, and it firmly cemented Polly’s place in the rock firmament. </h2>
<h2>This is a timely and important vinyl reissue. Opening with ‘Oh My Lover,’ Harvey is resigned to sharing her beau with another. She seems resigned to the universal female condition, and the track, with spooky harmonium, has a bit of an Appilachian murder ballad feel. </h2>
<h2>Things start to rock with the one - riff ‘O Stella,’ then the magnificent ‘Dress,’ a precursor of ‘Man Sized’ from her follow-up Rid Of Me. It's a propulsive, drum heavy mover, featuring Polly’s remarkable vocals and lyrics, again about trying to please her man. </h2>
<h2><em>Put on that dress </em></h2>
<h2><em>I'm going out dancing </em></h2>
<h2><em>Starting off red </em></h2>
<h2><em>Clean and sparkling, he'll see me </em></h2>
<h2><em>Music play, make it dreamy for dancing </em></h2>
<h2><em>Must be a way that I can dress to please him </em></h2>
<h2><em>It's hard to walk in the dress, it's not easy </em></h2>
<h2><em>I'm swinging over like a heavy loaded fruit tree </em></h2>
<h2><em>If you put it on </em></h2>
<h2><em>If you put it on </em></h2>
<h2><em>If you put it on </em></h2>
<h2><em>If you put it on </em></h2>
<h2>This one is a total rager and a highlight of the LP, adding real cello to the track for emphasis. ‘Happy And Bleeding is a tale of losing virginity: </h2>
<h2><em>So fruit flower myself inside out </em></h2>
<h2><em>I'm happy and bleeding for you </em></h2>
<h2><em>Fruit flower myself inside out </em></h2>
<h2><em>I'm tired and I'm bleeding for you </em></h2>
<h2><em>This fruit was bruised </em></h2>
<h2><em>Dropped off and blue </em></h2>
<h2><em>Out of season, happy I'm bleeding </em></h2>
<h2><em>Long overdue </em></h2>
<h2><em>Too early and it's late, too </em></h2>
<h2><em>Too early and it's late, too </em></h2>
<h2><em>Mind and body </em></h2>
<h2>Polly plays some simple and essential slide on this one. It's surprisingly pretty and touching. </h2>
<h2>‘Sheela-Na-Gig,’ (a famous fertility statue) Is another psycho-sexual stomp, with an avalanche of drums and guitar chords, Polly is on a rampage: </h2>
<h2><em>I've been trying to show you over and over </em></h2>
<h2><em>Look at these, my child-bearing hips </em></h2>
<h2><em>Look at these, my ruby red ruby lips </em></h2>
<h2><em>Look at these my work strong arms and </em></h2>
<h2><em>You've got to see my bottle full of charm </em></h2>
<h2><em>I lay it all at your feet </em></h2>
<h2><em>You turn around and say back to me, "he said" </em></h2>
<h2><em>Sheela-na-gig, Sheela-na-gig </em></h2>
<h2><em>You exhibitionist </em></h2>
<h2><em>Sheela-na-gig, Sheela-na-gig </em></h2>
<h2><em>You exhibitionist </em></h2>
<h2>‘Hair’ has a syncopated guitar riff like Beefheart, as Polly spins her own version of the Samson story. It is a sly and understated song that explodes open in the middle. ‘Joe’ is super high energy, in the Pixies mode, almost like the Feelies doing the Pixies. ‘Plants And Rags’ has a Nirvana ‘Heart Shaped Box’ vibe, ending with an atonal violin part. The LP ends with ‘Water,’ great slabs of loud-soft Telecaster guitar, distorted, rubbery bass, and Polly’s vocal fragile in the back. A great way to end this astounding record. </h2>
<h2>Released at the same time were Polly’s 4-track demos, the reissue LP is called <em>Dry - Demos</em>. It has the eleven songs on Dry in order, on very clean, stripped down versions. Lots of acoustic and Polly’s vocals. ‘Dress’ again is a highlight, ‘Happy And Bleeding’ is a true lament, and ‘Sheela-Na-Gig sounds like a demented coffeehouse number. ‘Plants And Rags’ maintains that Nirvana vibe in a good way. If you are interested in how songs are built up and produced, Dry - Demos is a must listen. There are good bones to be built upon here. </h2>
<h2>As I mentioned, Dry is an astounding debut. I have nothing but admiration for PJ Harvey, then the name of the band, and Polly Jean Harvey, the artist. She arrived and stayed as one of the more interesting artists in rock, and she came out of the gate screaming. If you don’t know this record you should remedy that promptly. If you do, get the vinyl. </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan </h2>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a> an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/64846382020-11-24T11:32:48-05:002020-11-24T11:32:48-05:00Walking Through History with Sir Tony Robinson<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/763adeaf4dcadeba0e79d37b70461d7192ed5d06/original/walking-through-history-jpeg.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>This is a gem of a television show produced by the British channel BBC four. The presenter, Tony Robinson, was Baldrick (a dogsbody) on the wonderful Rowan Atkinson series <em>Black Adder</em>. Fresh off his terrific history/archeological series Time Team, Tony’s new show is four seasons of him taking long (60 miles) walks over four days in a particular area in Britain in order to tell a historical story. So you have an interesting presenter, beautiful scenery all over Britain, and a great story of British history in each episode. </h2>
<h2>Season one is a great example of the formula, one episode tracing the birth of the Industrial Revolution in Britain led by Richard Arkwright, the inventor of the spinning frame (water frame), which enabled manufacturing of textiles on a large scale. (Previously, textile making had been small-scale industry, woven in homes). In every episode, Tony meets experts, usually historians from local universities, but keeps these academic interactions short and concise. There’s a lot of information but it’s presented in a breezy manner. </h2>
<h2>So, what we have here is a hybrid travel-cum-history show, and I find it utterly charming. Season two has Tony in The Lake District, following the path of Roman occupation in this region of Britain. There’s a great episode in Cornwall, famous for it’s smuggling. (Adrienne’s note: as we learn on <em>Poldark</em>!) Tony explains how and why the smuggling started (Britain was broke after the war of Independence in the American Colonies and taxed the hell out of goods) and how it all worked, attached to wonderful panoramic views of this beautiful coastal area. </h2>
<h2>Season three has a great episode of the building of the Leeds and Liverpool canal, used to send coal to the industries in the south and returning with, um, ‘night soil’ from London (human waste) that was fine fertilizer for the farms up north. The canals are real works of architecture and the waterfowl they attract now are stunning. </h2>
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<h2>Season four has the story of Victoria and Albert’s love of the Scottish Highlands, less than 100 years after the clearances (of tenants) and the dissolution of the Clans, ending up with Queen Victoria buying and rebuilding Balmoral Castle. Another amazing episode shows the German occupation of the Channel Islands of Guernsey and Jersey during World War II, the Nazis shipping forced labor (mostly from Eastern Europe) to the islands and the stories of the brave British that tried to hide these escaped laborers. It really wasn’t that long ago. </h2>
<h2>Available on Amazon Prime, Walking Through History is right up my alley. Your mileage may vary, but it’s a show that is informative and beautiful to look at. Join Tony (now <em>SIR</em> Tony Robinson) for a walk through Britain’s history. I think you will find it rewarding. </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan </h2>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of<a contents=" zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank"> zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/64828252020-11-21T10:25:53-05:002020-11-21T10:34:51-05:00Elvis Costello - Hey Clockface <p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/8582b6155da9047242bfe3f4103464a311efeb70/original/hey-clockface.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>As the COVID crisis began, Elvis Costello headed from touring the UK to Helsinki, of all places, to record, by himself, a couple of solo songs. Then to Paris to meet up with a horn heavy combo including Steve Nieve and AJUQ (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubimmobile" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubimmobile" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubimmobile</a>), to record the bulk of the <em>Hey Clockface</em> Tracks. He finished more new tracks off in New York with a combo featuring Bill Frisell. The tracks were fast and loose. Although I believe Elvis has, in The Imposters, probably the best rock band in the world, It is refreshing to hear him collaborate in new alignments. Some of his best work has been done with Allen Toussaint, Burt Bacharach, and especially The Roots on <em>Wise Up Ghost. </em>
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<h2>The fourteen songs on <em>Hey Clockface</em> are quite remarkable, opening with the majestic ‘Revolution #49,’ which starts with a very Middle Eastern horn, reminiscent of a call to prayer, transported to some kind of Lawrence Of Arabia scene. It’s a spoken word tale about hanging on to love. Strange, glorious, and regal sounding. ‘No Flag’ is one of the solo Helsinki tracks, A noisy, electronic track with distorted guitars and an insistent bass that sounds like it could be on <em>When I Was Cruel</em>. Elvis intones about the dissolution of self and beliefs: </h2>
<h2><em>I could write you verses and recite more than one </em></h2>
<h2>
<em>But they're not worth the paper that they're written on</em> </h2>
<h2>It’s quite a jolt after the intro song. </h2>
<h2>‘They’re Not Laughing At Me Now’ is a tender, sad acoustic tune with jazzy horns and an odd organ sound. Piano and drums crash in the middle to great effect. This is a classic post <em>KIng Of America</em> Costello tune, reminding me somehow of ‘Indoor Fireworks.’ Opening with a distorted baritone guitar, ‘Newspaper Pane’ is a word packed gem, another twisted tale of love: </h2>
<h2><em>They were all cut down in a cavalry charge </em></h2>
<h2><em>Weeping, Miss Imogen said to her priest </em></h2>
<h2><em>"I gave him my virtue </em></h2>
<h2><em>It was the least I could leave him </em></h2>
<h2><em>On the eve of departure </em></h2>
<h2><em>Though I will long for him now and hereafter </em></h2>
<h2><em>And the child I'll be raising may have his blue eyes </em></h2>
<h2><em>What if he grows up and dies </em></h2>
<h2><em>On some distant unnamable hillside or field </em></h2>
<h2><em>Because a king and a concubine put a mark on his shield </em></h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2>With the beatbox drums and the 60’s organ sound, the tune could almost be a throwback to the <em>This Years Model </em>era, but the horns and Costello’s amazing vocal delivery give it more of a <em>Look Now </em>treatment. </h2>
<h2>‘I Do (Zula’s Song)’ is a dreamy, classical-tinged tune, with piano, horns, upright bass and a straight rip from ‘Toreador Song’ from <em>Carmen </em>by Bizet. We see what you did there, Elvis. He’s in full crooner mode, and sounding fantastic. This one is a stunner. </h2>
<h2>The lyric for ‘We Are All Cowards Now:’ </h2>
<h2><em>They're coming for our Peacemakers </em></h2>
<h2><em>Our Winchesters and Colts </em></h2>
<h2><em>The rattle of our Gatling Guns </em></h2>
<h2><em>Our best cowboy revolts and threats and insults </em></h2>
<h2><em>We are all cowards now </em></h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2>Obviously a fierce anti-gun screed. This one has Elvis back in his R&B mode with a very strange chorused vocal part. Lyrically amazing but the tune is only average for this year’s master. </h2>
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<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="i_ERPpbvAW8" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/i_ERPpbvAW8/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/i_ERPpbvAW8?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
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<h2>‘Hey Clockface/How Can you Face Me?,’ Is a song we heard on the last tour and found it very interesting. This take is straight 30’s jazz, rollicking piano, clarinet, spoons...very old timey. It sounds like a classic jazz side from that era, not easy to do. To drive the point home, they break into a snippet of Fats Waller’s ‘How Can You Face Me Now’ from 1934. The whole thing is quite joyous, and no one can pull off this musical shape shifting better than Elvis. ‘The Whirlwind’ is a beautiful tune and melody, again written from the point of view of a disappointed young woman. Elvis provides a tour de force on the vocals, and the piano is stately and amazing. There’s a whiff of <em>Painted From Memory</em> on this one. Again, Elvis hits it out of the park. </h2>
<h2>With ‘Hetty O’Hara Confidential’ we get another beatbox electronic tune, with the cheesy organ, lyrics jam-packed about an old-fashioned gossip columnist: </h2>
<h2><em>Who's got your girlfriend? </em></h2>
<h2><em>And who had her first? </em></h2>
<h2><em>Reading her column was essential </em></h2>
<h2><em>Hetty O'Hara Confidential </em></h2>
<h2><em>She could kill a man with a single stroke </em></h2>
<h2><em>She is not the one you want to provoke </em></h2>
<h2><em>If you can't take the heat </em></h2>
<h2><em>Or you can't take a joke </em></h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2>This one is a rollicking good ride. Elvis is almost rapping at points, and he does it well. ‘The Last Confession Of Vivian Whip’ is another piano driven ballad about a lonely woman. Elvis croons admirably and the backing is almost Brodsky-like, It’s a pretty and sad song, but I’m afraid it doesn’t quite match up to ‘The Whirlwind.’ </h2>
<h2>‘What Is It I Need That I Don't Already Have?’ starts with somber, acoustic strumming that gives away to horns and strings. In waltz time, a man looks back on the material things that hold him back. </h2>
<h2><em>What is it that I lost that I don't really need </em></h2>
<h2><em>Some glasses for my eyes </em></h2>
<h2><em>And an hour or two of speed </em></h2>
<h2><em>My hands don't blister, my hands don't bleed </em></h2>
<h2><em>But I'll never be contented, repent or ever be lamented </em></h2>
<h2><em>'Til I'm planted down like rotten crops </em></h2>
<h2><em>And covered up with weeds </em></h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2>This is a sad song and a very mature topic. Elvis is obviously looking back and, whether writing in character or not, his years are slipping through. ‘Radio Is Everything’ is basically a spoken word piece without the regal backing of ‘Revolution #49.’ He rails against hate on the radio: </h2>
<h2><em>You don't need to see my face </em></h2>
<h2><em>Radio is everything </em></h2>
<h2><em>You don't need to know my name </em></h2>
<h2><em>Radio is everything </em></h2>
<h2><em>The lie that I tell </em></h2>
<h2><em>It just doesn't matter </em></h2>
<h2><em>If I should deceive you </em></h2>
<h2><em>Or if I should flatter </em></h2>
<h2><em>If your bankroll gets thin while some kitty gets fatter </em></h2>
<h2><em>Radio is everything </em></h2>
<h2><em>From the straight to the narrow to the broadcast from within </em></h2>
<h2><em>Radio is everything </em></h2>
<h2><em>Radio is everything </em></h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2>It’s quite remarkable and stands up to repeated listening. </h2>
<h2>‘I Can’t Say Her Name’ is another acoustic tune that sounds like it could be home on <em>National Ransom</em>, it has that 30’s jazz vibe. Trumpets and barrelhouse piano join in. Like ‘Hey Clockface,’ it’s a joyous song not even ruined by Elvis’ take on scat singing. It makes me smile. </h2>
<h2>‘Byline’ is a story of broken lovers, this is a piano-driven ballad with a strange chorus part. It’s short, sad, pretty, and to the point. Another winner and <em>Hey Clockface</em> goes out on top. </h2>
<h2>This is Costello’s thirty-first record. This amazing artist, after all this time, continues to innovate and impress. The themes show Elvis to still be angry at times, just presenting his arguments with a much more, ahem, ‘mature’ delivery. He’s considered a new style, writing from the female perspective, as on <em>Look Now</em>. He continued to pursue old time jazz tropes, that began with <em>National Ransom</em>, and continues to improve on that theme. He’s also not afraid to cross into noisy electronica, a la <em>When I Was Cruel</em>. His singing and lyrics are always nonpareil, and the new collaborators are truly astonishing. He continues to experiment, invent, adopt, and adapt. Here’s to more to come! </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan </h2>
<p> </p>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast </a>Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/64811522020-11-19T08:57:30-05:002020-11-19T08:57:30-05:00Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift Online parts 22-25<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/3bbfe88ad95177595039d072748575a3d55fef94/original/reg-em-show-25.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<h2><strong>Robyn Hitchcock with Emma Swift Live From Sweet Home Quarantine (all requests) Part 22 </strong></h2>
<h2>“Whatever I am, I’m something from the distant past.” Said Robyn, wearing his top hat and Lennon specs, looking like a crazy undertaker, then launching into ‘Serpent At The Gates Of Wisdom’ from 1993’s <em>Respect</em>, a very Lennon-esque song. Emma commented off camera after that “oh that hat makes you extra creepy” and Reg switched to his Telecaster (electric) and did ‘The Abandoned Brain’ from <em>Invisible Hitchcock,</em> a surprisingly sad and sweet song I’ve never heard him play live. </h2>
<h2>“Please welcome Miss Emma Swift, from the 21st century,” said Reg, and the duo did ‘The Yip Song,’ also from <em>Respect </em>and as Robyn explained, was about “the death of my father.” The duo sounded great on this one. Emma remarked that that one was both “poignant and inane.” Next up was a magnificent version of ‘Glass Hotel’ from <em>EYE</em>, played beautifully with a bit of raga guitar, this is one of Robyn’s finest songs and Emma sang marvelously on it. </h2>
<h2>Finally the top hat came off, and they did a song from Emma’s <em>Blonde On The Tracks</em>, her (at that time) upcoming Bob Dylan covers LP (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubblonde" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubblonde" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubblonde</a>). She sang ‘Queen Jane Approximately’ from <em>Highway 61 Revisited</em>. She made this into a lovely tale, with her sweet vocal, unlike Dylan’s snarl. Robyn spoke very highly of the new Emma record, and she then left to find a cat. Robyn said he was playing a new song that he dedicated to a fan who had just lost her beloved cat. The song was vaguely positive and folkie, I think it was called ‘It’s Been Scheduled,’ and Reg dropped some of the lyrics. </h2>
<h2>Em returned with Ringo the cat, who was quite docile tonight, and the duo did ‘Mad Shelley's Letterbox’ from the recent <em>Robyn Hitchcock</em>, kind of a surreal Beatles mashup but obviously a Robyn Hitchcock song. This one was a real highlight. Perry the lobster appeared, and Em commented on how Reg was more and more insane each week. Reg played electric, solo on ‘Sayonara Judge’ from the same LP. It was a sad, slow meditation augmented by Emma’s singing off camera. After he asked for “Swifto” to come back, they talked about making Tiny Ghost Records guitar picks and Tubby socks. Next was ‘Airscape’ from <em>Element Of Light</em>, another one of Reg’s strongest tunes. Beautifully played and with wonderful lyrics: </h2>
<h2><em>Your perfect lover's never there </em></h2>
<h2><em>And if she was, she wouldn't be </em></h2>
<h2><em>And neither, though, would you </em></h2>
<h2><em>Save your illusions </em></h2>
<h2><em>For someone else </em></h2>
<h2><em>Save your illusions </em></h2>
<h2><em>For yourself </em></h2>
<h2>They mentioned the Wednesday Groovers Facebook group, and that the following week Emma will be promoting <em>Blonde On The Tracks</em>, so no Wednesday show then. They used the last minute or so to do Adventure Rocket Ship, for just a minute or so. Another great show from Reg and Em! </h2>
<p> </p>
<h2><strong>Robyn Hitchcock with Emma Swift Live From Sweet Home Quarantine (the Social Distancin’ 1990s) Part 23 </strong></h2>
<h2>After a week off, I was really missing Robyn and Emma. I did get the 1 of 50 <em>Blonde On The Tracks</em> cassettes this week (already got my orange vinyl LP) so that was super cool. Nashville had a bad storm and the power was out for a bit, delaying the show for one hour. </h2>
<h2>Reg appeared wearing “a surviving shirt” from the 90’s (black with white polka dots, natch), and started with a Grant Lee Buffalo tune, ‘Fuzzy’ where he got to sing the chorus very high. Emma then appeared and announced they would do a Tanya Donnelly song (a Belly song) ‘Feed The Tree.’ Em sang backup and it was lovely. Emma spoke about her Lee purple corduroy flares and silver Doc Martens she wore nonstop in the 90’s. Em introduced the next tune as “grim” while Reg said it was one of his favorites. Emma sang Radiohead’s ‘Fake Plastic Trees’ solo and wonderfully, an amazing song that’s not easy to sing. Em said that <em>The Bends</em> was still her favorite Radiohead LP. </h2>
<h2>Em went out of shot and Reg played a fairly straightforward version of ‘Man In The Moon’ from R.E.M. Emma sang off camera in the choruses. Very well done, Robyn seemed really into these covers tonight. Emma returned and they discussed other R.E.M. covers and the first polka dot shirt Reg saw, worn by Ringo! (Starr, not their cat). Reg called Em “the Bob Dylan of wives.” Next up was Mazzy Star’s ‘Fade Into You,’ Emma singing solo in her lower register. It’s a very pretty but very repetitive song. </h2>
<h2>Reg held up a picture of Stonehenge, actually a coaster. They discussed doing a “dismal Neil” tune, and played ‘Unknown Legend’ from Neil Young’s 1992 LP <em>Harvest Moon</em>. Their voices worked really well together on this one. After, they discuss doing ‘Candy’ by Iggy and Kate Pierson. They then did a knockout version of Prince’s ‘Nothing Compares To U,’ Emma just killing it on the vocal. </h2>
<h2>Perry the stuffed lobster appeared, and they discussed Sinead O’Connor, and they said they were going to Manchester. Em said she was Noel and Reg Liam. They did a great, playful version of ‘Look Back In Anger’ which was also quite touching. They ended up with a few verses of a mostly a cappella version of ‘If You Want To Be My Lover’ by the Spice Girls This was hilarious and fun, and a great way to end the show. Good to have them back! </h2>
<p> </p>
<h2><strong>Robyn Hitchcock with Emma Swift Live From Sweet Home Quarantine (Blonde and Silver On The Tracks Edition) Part 24 </strong></h2>
<h2>The show opened with Robyn offering hellos to his “blurred and beautiful friends,” saying in honor of Emma Swift’s new LP, <em>Blonde On The Tracks</em>, (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubblonde" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubblonde" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubblonde</a>) they would be going to “Lake Dylan” and he launched into a pleasant version of ‘Desolation Row’ from <em>Highway 61 Revisited</em>. This is a song with a lot of lyrics and Robyn did well with it, playing in a drop-D guitar tuning, with the addition of round-the-neck harmonica. Emma then appeared reading some of the StageIt comments, and thanking the folks for the success of <em>Blonde On The Tracks</em>. Emma sang ‘Sooner Or Later (One Of Us Must Know),’ from her new record and originally on Dylan's <em>Blonde On Blonde</em>. Emma’s version had a SoCal singer-songwriter feel, with perhaps a touch of Linda Rondstadt in there (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zublinda" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zublinda" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zublinda</a>). Robyn complimented Emma as a singer, and went into ‘Country Pie’ from <em>Nashville Skyline</em>, using his ‘Elvis’ voice in bits. A bit heavy on the corn -pone, it wasn’t the strongest Dylan cover. Next up, Reg played ‘Ring Them Bells’ from <em>Oh Mercy</em>, a nice folkie, stripped down version. </h2>
<h2>Emma returned and sang ‘Going Going Gone’ from <em>Planet Waves</em>, Emma delivering a meditative and torchy vocal. Only she could bring a torch vibe to a Dylan tune. Germaine the female (stuffed) koala appeared, they discussed the differences of E. Swift and T. Swift to get <em>Blonde On The Tracks</em> into the Australian charts. Emma sang ‘Things Have Changed,’ Dylan’s contribution to <em>The Wonder Boys </em>soundtrack. Reg and Em appear to know <em>all </em>the Dylan songs. </h2>
<h2>Emma was off again and Robyn did a slow, stately version of ‘Senor (Tales Of Yankee Power’) from <em>Street Legal</em>. Beautifully picked and sung by Robyn, it was very touching. When Emma returned, they did ‘Tangled Up In Blue’ from <em>Blood On The Tracks</em>. Very well done but Emma goofed the lyrics (reading on the phone) but they got it back together. They played out the last minute with ‘Tiny Montgomery’ from <em>The Basement Tapes</em>. This was a bit of a chaotic show, with a first song over eleven minutes long, but with Reg and Em we would not have it any other way. </h2>
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<h2><strong>Robyn Hitchcock with Emma Swift Live From Sweet Home Quarantine Part 25 </strong></h2>
<h2>Robyn opened tonight's show saying there would not be as much chat, as he was playing requests, and he launched into ‘Mystic Trip’ from <em>Black Snake Diamond Role</em>, from 1981. I’ve never heard him play this live and it was a short, pleasant, surreal tune. He went right into ‘The Devil's Radio’ from <em>Moss Elixir</em>, mentioning Rush Limbaugh and radio spreading intolerance and hate, as prescient today as in 1996. </h2>
<h2>He called for Emma Swift to help him on the next song, and she brought their cat Ringo for a cameo. They did the rewritten version of 'The President’ that Reg sent out to the ongoing Republican Convention. A beautiful and sad song. Em explained her <em>Blood On The Tracks</em> record was doing great without being on Spotify, and Reg explained “We are socialists.” The duo did a slow, superb version of the Soft Boys ‘I Want To Destroy You,’ Em’s high vocal transforming the song, and Reg adding the verse about Rupert Murdoch. </h2>
<h2>Emma asked for a romantic song, and they talked about The Soft Boys doing ‘Funkytown.’ Emma headed off and Robyn said “this is a song I wrote last week.” It was a meditative song (I think) called ‘The Man Who Loves The Rain.’ He then did ‘Give Me A Spanner Ralph’ which had a cool bluesy feel. ‘Strawberries Dress’ from 2013’s <em>Love In London</em> was very folkie and had a bit of a John Lennon flavor (think a faster ‘Julia’) and was outstanding. </h2>
<h2>Robyn, still solo, did ‘Dismal City’ from <em>Tromso, Kaptien</em>, a surprisingly bouncy, upbeat song for the supposed dismal lyric. Emma showed up with Jermaine the stuffed female koala, while they talked about their cat Tubby. The duo did a fabulous version of ‘Time Coast’ from the recent <em>Robyn Hitchcock</em> LP. This one has a great sort of <em>Revolver</em>-era Beatles feel, and Emma was superb on the harmonies. </h2>
<h2>Em went off picture again and Robyn said “I’d like to imagine Frank Sinatra singing this one.” He then did ‘My Wife And My Dead Wife,’ a classic from <em>Fegmania!</em>. This is a signature Hitchcock song and he delivered it with energy and enthusiasm. Reg said he had another new song “I’ve written for the Republican Convention,” (again, I think) it was called ‘The Cross, The Dollar, and The Gun.’ This one was Reg in full-on Dylan mode. Emma returned for a closer, and the duo did ‘One Long Pair Of Eyes,’ a staple of the live set, a fantastic song, and sung with authority by Em and Reg. I always love to hear this one. They made it all the way through before the StageIt host closed. </h2>
<h2>I never get tired of Robyn and Emma, these Wednesday shows are so uplifting and wonderful. Keep groovin! </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan </h2>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/64776752020-11-14T12:05:18-05:002020-11-14T12:05:18-05:00Beastie Boys Story on Apple+ TV<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/5334b4b503dfbeebe8c08a31aa056767b8a7fc02/original/beasties.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>This was a very interesting way to present a history of a band. <em>Beastie Boys Story</em>, directed by their longtime video collaborator Spike Jonze, features the two surviving members of the band, Mike Diamond and Adam Horovitz (third member Adam Yauch passed away in 2012) telling their story to an audience in a large New York theater, their talk augmented by pictures and videos. </h2>
<h2>Diamond and Horovitz are excellent storytellers and move things forward. The takeaways I got about the Beasties begin with the fact that they started as a hardcore band in downtown New York City, when they were young, like fifteen. The trio (four at that time with drummer Kate Schellenbach) were always into all kinds of music, until they went through a strict ‘all we do is listen to rap’ phase. </h2>
<h2>The Beastie Boys became the Beasties through two key contacts: producer Rick Rubin and manager Russell Simmons, whose brother was in Run D.M.C. They were guided by these two who thought they needed a white b-boy band on their roster. Indeed, after a few singles on Rubin and Simmons’ Def Jam records, the Beasties were touring, opening for Madonna. There is a great story about how this came about that I won’t spoil. </h2>
<h2>Finally, the band gets to make their first LP, <em>Licensed To Ill</em>, with a last minute addition, a little song called ‘Fight For Your Right (to Party).’ Combined with the cheaply made, ubiquitous MTV video, the Beastie Boys really blew up, touring constantly, in the US, UK, and Japan. Horowitz notes that the incessant touring, the drinking, the girl in the go-go cage, the Budweiser box for the turntables, and the inflatable penis on stage started to turn the band into the very thing they hated: they were becoming the party bros and frat guys they used to make fun of. Management wanted to keep them on the road, but not liking what they saw, basically they quit. They got off the touring carousel that can destroy most bands. They took time off. </h2>
<h2>Moving to Los Angeles, signing with Capitol Records, and working with the Dust Brothers, they spent a year (and all their money) making the sample-heavy masterpiece <em>Paul’s Boutique</em>. The band was thrilled with the record, but the record completely stiffed in the marketplace. The Beasties had to scale down, learn to play instruments, and made <em>Check Your Head </em>and <em>Ill Communication</em>. This last LP brought the mega-hit ‘Sabotage’ and it’s bizarre 70’s style cop video. They started touring again, to much smaller crowds, but as they remark, the crowds were “weirdos like us.” </h2>
<h2>It didn’t take long before the Beasties were back on major festival stages. The rest of the movie is basically a tribute to Adam Yauch, a true iconoclast, interested in everything, trekking to Tibet and starting a free Tibet foundation and a huge Tibet benefit concert in 1994. </h2>
<h2>I do not own a Beastie Boys record. They will always have a place in my heart for playing ‘Radio Radio’ with Elvis Costello on <em>Saturday Night Live</em>. I love their videos. But I’ve personally always considered the Beasties kind of a joke, too close to the thing they claimed to parody. To see the clips and hear the stories of the band is a bit of a revelation. They are full of love for music and each other and they obviously miss Adam Yauch. This is an entertaining and interesting pseudo-doc. Fans will dig it and it brought me to a new appreciation of the band. You surely fit in one camp or the other. </h2>
<h2>If you have Apple+ TV I would definitely check it out. </h2>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="ZCyqR2RXoQU" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/ZCyqR2RXoQU/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZCyqR2RXoQU?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
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<h2>----Steve McGowan </h2>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/64740932020-11-10T08:06:05-05:002020-11-10T08:06:05-05:00Joy Division - Closer (40th Anniversary Reissue)<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/228a4995509ce6db87c54c52b59096965ea3cd92/original/closer-40th.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>It's difficult to talk about Joy Division’s second LP, <em>Closer,</em> a towering piece of post punk perfection. Ian Curtis, singer and lyricist for the band, took his own life in May 1980 (see our Peter Hook review at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubpermanent" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubpermanent" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubpermanent</a>), and <em>Closer</em> was released in July 1980. This LP is a 40th Anniversary reissue, beautifully packaged and on a cool clear vinyl (see our <em>Unknown Pleasures </em>40th anniversary reissue review at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubunknown" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubunknown" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubunknown</a>). </h2>
<h2>Closer is many things, but it is definitely the sound of a band making a quantum leap in their sound and approach. Joy Division went from a part-time combo to a full time, fully formed band, opening for Buzzcocks on their UK <em>Different Kind Of Tension </em>tour and blowing them away almost every night. It’s also the sound of a confident studio band, led by amazing producer Martin Hannett, who had a vision of sound for this band the band themselves could not grasp. The reissue has been remastered and sounds even cleaner than the original. </h2>
<h2>Ian Curtis, suffering from epilepsy, his marriage failing and about to lose his young daughter, was caught up in a new partnership with a Belgian woman. Love, indeed, was tearing him apart. The overarching feeling of Closer, lyrically and musically, is one of guilt. Curtis’ lyrics moved on from Manchester stories (on <em>Unknown Pleasures</em>) to more personal stories. Listening to it now, you can tell he was not well. </h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2>Closer starts off with ‘Atrocity Exhibition,’ a title taken from a JG Ballard experimental novel, featuring tribal drums and wild, cat-strangling guitar. It wouldn’t be out of place on Bowie’s <em>Scary Monsters</em>. Ian intones throughout: “This is the way, step inside.” ‘Isolation’ is full of Stephen Morris’ mechanical drums, lead bass (from Peter Hook) and icy synths. The music sounds like isolation. In a cool studio trick, Hannett brings the ending back in reverse. </h2>
<h2>‘Passover’ features a sparse drum pattern with otherworldly guitar set way in the back. The song develops a bit of a pulse and then back to the sparse drums. Bernard Summer’s guitar is challenging and covers a lot of ground in the back of the mix. The song slows down like a watch spring running out. For one riff repeated throughout, ‘Colony’ is remarkable, with strange, strangled guitar and an insistent bass. Ian declares in the middle: ‘God in his wisdom took you by the hand/God in his wisdom made you understand.” It’s quite a workout. The driving proto-disco of ‘A Means To An End’ has a ‘Ceremony’ like riff (see our podcast at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubceremony" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubceremony" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubceremony</a>) and an odd descending chord progression. Singer Curtis sings in a bit more languid manner through this one. This is the second song that slows down at the end, using tape and/or time processing. </h2>
<h2>‘Heart And Soul’ has a peculiar synth bass, with spooky vocal and guitar treatment from Hannett, like the rest of the band is playing in another room. “Heart and Soul, one will burn” is the main lyric, with Curtis sounding resigned. ‘Twenty Four Hours’ is more typical of an <em>Unknown Pleasures</em> track, all bass heavy, more traditional rock, less experimental, attached to a sad lyric: </h2>
<h2><em>So this is permanent, love's shattered pride. </em></h2>
<h2><em>What once was innocence, turned on its side. </em></h2>
<h2><em>A cloud hangs over me, marks every move, </em></h2>
<h2><em>Deep in the memory, of what once was love. </em></h2>
<h2><em>Oh how I realized how I wanted time, </em></h2>
<h2><em>Put into perspective, tried so hard to find, </em></h2>
<h2><em>Just for one moment, thought I'd found my way. </em></h2>
<h2><em>Destiny unfolded, I watched it slip away. </em></h2>
<h2>‘The Eternal’ is full of Hannett production touches, with a funeral keyboard motif, synth voices, and drums totally full of reverb and delay. Curtis’ voice, however, is clear and full, and this is a requiem of a song. The LP ends with ‘Decades,’ featuring a church organ sound, as Curtis sings: </h2>
<h2><em>Here are the young men, the weight on their shoulders, </em></h2>
<h2><em>Here are the young men, well where have they been? </em></h2>
<h2><em>We knocked on the doors of Hell's darker chamber, </em></h2>
<h2><em>Pushed to the limit, we dragged ourselves in, </em></h2>
<h2><em>Watched from the wings as the scenes were replaying, </em></h2>
<h2><em>We saw ourselves now as we never had seen. </em></h2>
<h2><em>Portrayal of the trauma and degeneration, </em></h2>
<h2><em>The sorrows we suffered and never were free. </em></h2>
<h2>The slow unspiraling of this song is a fitting ending to <em>Closer</em>. As I have spoken about in other reviews, this is not Goth music. It's the sound of a band adopting Bowie, Iggy Pop (<em>Idiot</em> and <em>Lust For Life</em> era) and some krautrock. It’s a celebration of a band that quickly ascended to the height of their powers. Perhaps a band that, especially in Ian Curtis’ case, burned too brightly too fast. There is a feeling of regret running through <em>Closer</em>, but these are not rock and roll tropes. <em>Closer</em> is real life, real pain, real death. It’s also beautiful, masterful art. </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan </h2>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/64740892020-11-10T07:58:06-05:002020-11-10T07:58:06-05:00Greyhound on Apple+ TV<p> </p>
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<h2>When I heard that Tom Hanks was starring in a movie about the battle of the North Atlantic in World War II, for some reason I thought of that Progressive insurance commercial. The one featuring the coach who teaches new homeowners not to become their parents. It has a scene with a guy reading a novel about submarines, and the punchline is “you know who else reads books about submarines...your Dad.” </h2>
<h2>I’ve always been a history buff and especially of the WWII era. I remember my preteen self reading just about every book about the War in my small local Massachusetts library. This book interest eventually would change to rock and roll biographies for me, but I was more than interested in this new Hanks film. </h2>
<h2>Greyhound was made for a theater release, but the pandemic put a stop to that and Apple flashed the cash needed to buy the rights. It seems like <em>Greyhound </em>is Apple’s version of Disney's Hamilton (see our review at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubmyshot" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubmyshot" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubmyshot</a>) as far as trying to get people to sign on to their services. They could do a lot worse than Tom Hanks as their flag bearer. </h2>
<h2>
<em>Greyhound</em> the movie is a straightforward affair. It’s a fictional tale with a lot of realistic elements, based on C.S. Forester’s novel <em>The Good Shepherd</em>, written in 1955. Hanks plays Captain Ernest Krause, commander of the Fletcher class destroyer USS Keeling (radio call sign Greyhound) on his first trip across the Atlantic. Krause is shown as a good and devoutly Christian man. There is an intro scene on the West Coast, showing Krauses’ bride-to-be Evelyn (Elisabeth Shue) in December 1941. We then move immediately to the convoy action in late 1942. </h2>
<h2>At this early point in the war, Britain was cut off from supplies, and relied on these convoys to move food, medicine, military items, rubber, and oil among other essentials. The so-called ‘Battle Of The Atlantic’ as shown here, really involved a supply chain. Knause is in overall command of the escorting of 37 defenseless merchant ships, aided by two British destroyers and one Canadian. Once sailing beyond the range of airplane cover, they enter the so-called ‘Black Pit,’ a five day area with no air cover until they get closer to Britain. This ‘Pit’ was the area that the German U-Boats (submarines) plied, often working in groups together called ‘Wolf Packs.’ </h2>
<h2>Once we get past the short intro, <em>Greyhound</em> is pretty much a non-stop action movie. The USS Keeling and the other destroyers are spread thin trying to defend against the U-Boats, who quickly sink five merchant ships. Night time is especially terrifying, with the escorts having no visual contact with the U-Boats basically running free among them. </h2>
<h2>There is a surprising amount of technology on these destroyers. They have above sea and below sonar, and experienced listening capabilities. Of course, being 1942, the sonar sometimes quits inexplicably or gets frozen in the North Atlantic. The U-boats have their own tricks, including the <em>Pillinwerfer</em>, a large canister filled with gas that would circle around in the water and sound and look/sound like a U-Boat propellor screw, causing the destroyers to waste their depth charges while the actual U-Boat gets away. </h2>
<h2>This is an action packed movie, and still after seeing so many submarine films, the shot of a speeding torpedo headed towards a ship is terrifying. Kudos to Hanks (in his screenplay) for not showing what’s going on inside the U-Boats. They are just silent, unknowable sentinels and very, very scary. Hanks knows it’s not a submarine movie, it’s a convoy escort movie. </h2>
<h2>I’m not going to go into any more spoilers, let’s just say that if this period of history interests you, or you’re a Hanks buddy like I am, you need to see <em>Greyhound</em>. Extremely well done and reverent about it's topic, it’s only 90 minutes and packs a lot in. The movie ends with a note that over 3500 ships were sunk in the North Atlantic in WWII. There’s not much more to say after that. </h2>
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<h2>---Steve McGowan </h2>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/64659882020-10-29T15:44:14-04:002020-10-29T15:44:14-04:00Taste The Nation with Padma Lakshmi<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/dc8930a9a020c04c9b2636fe5d71815c51ea1585/original/taste-the-nation.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>There is a lot going on in this Hulu network food show. Padma Lakshmi, food writer and fixture on the show <em>Top Chef</em>, hosts this ten episode show in which she examines American food from an immigrant perspective. This, to me, sounded a lot like Marcus Samuelsson’s show <em>No Passport Required</em> (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubmarcus" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubmarcus" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubmarcus</a>). Quite quickly, however, the differences appear. Marcus’ show is produced by foodie site <em>Eater</em> and concentrates on the restaurateurs, while Padma’s show is backed by the ACLU and truly deals with the colonialism in American food assimilation. </h2>
<h2>Padma is originally from India and understands the immigrant experience, a key point in the series. Immigrants come to the US, bring their own food, and that food gets thrown in the American culinary ‘melting pot.’ Episode one deals with El Paso Texas, and there is a lot to unpack, focusing on a car wash that has also served as a burrito joint since the 1950’s. The owner himself is a Trump supporting Syrian immigrant who is happy to use Mexican workers that cross the border every day to work. These are the loyal, hardworking employees and the implication is that they also work for less money. Making burritos, it’s noticed that they use flour tortillas, an item that didn’t exist in Mexican corn-centric cuisine. Wheat was unknown in Mexico until the Spanish arrived, so that the burritos really are a symbol of colonialism. </h2>
<h2>In episode four Padma visits The Gullah areas of the South Carolina coast and makes red beans, a recipe so popular nowadays that even Martha Stewart has a version. This is not so much a tale of immigration but of slavery, as the Gullah cook much as they did in slave times. The people she visits have a restaurant when they teach children how to cook their Gullah recipes. Quickly losing their pigeon language, the Gullah people are shown trying hard to hold on to their culture.</h2>
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<h2>In a totally different approach, Padma visits Los Angeles, which is a hotbed of Persian (Iranian) immigrants and their food. The Persian diaspora came to Los Angeles in the 1970’s when the Shah was deposed and the Ayatollahs took over. These Iranians that left tended to have money, and love the freedom in the US. It’s made clear that most Iranians are not radicals, and who doesn’t love kabobs! Episode seven is the saddest episode, all about Native Americans in Arizona. These are people who literally suffered genocide and forced resettlement. Given rations of cooking oil, flour, and lard by the government, they came up with Fry bread, which turns out to be a shameful symbol of conquest. Going through the desert, Padma and her Native companion forage for a meal, flowers, seeds, succulents, and even meat (a type of rodent). Padma visits a healer that uses all manner of plants to treat health issues. To see the pride and patience of these people after all they’ve been through is astounding. </h2>
<h2>This is a great series. It sneaks up on you until you realize it’s not just about food. Like Marcus Samuelsson, Padma is beautiful (she was a model) and interested in the subjects. She is a good interviewer who is not confrontational. The visuals on the show are top-notch, and I learned a lot about how food and assimilation work in the USA. The show has its own voice and makes and earns a place in the increasingly crowded streaming food show world. I am glad I made room for it and think you will be too. </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan </h2>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/64629342020-10-25T12:18:21-04:002020-10-25T12:18:21-04:00Metz - Atlas Vending Plus Live at The Opera House Stream<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/9f1b277eb2ccf97f2979ebe29c2349faacff831c/original/atlas-vending.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>Let’s hear it for Canada. Metz, the three-piece, Toronto based noise-rock band, (reviewed at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubmetz" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubmetz" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubmetz</a>) has released an amazing new LP, <em>Atlas Vending</em>, their fourth full-length. Guitarist/vocalist Alex Edkins, bassist Chris Slorach, and drummer Hayden Menzies continue to expand and refine their pummeling, sometimes atonal music, and this is a sound that owes some to bands like The Jesus Lizard and Shellac. Not for the faint of heart, but worth the investment. </h2>
<h2>The ten songs on <em>Atlas Vending</em> have a lot to offer. Opener ‘Pulse’ is a slow burner with a relentless bass drum figure. When the song breaks open like a nuclear explosion, all is right in the world. Drummer Menzies is an absolute powerhouse, and Edkins’ guitar lines are complete atonal six-string insanity. ‘Blind Youth Industrial Park’ is a relatively straight rocker with background ‘aaahs,’ very reminiscent of an early Mission Of Burma (our Burma podcast is at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubacademy" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubacademy" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubacademy</a>) track. It’s a new twist for Metz and really impressive. </h2>
<h2>The two minute ‘No Ceiling’ is a hyperspeed rocker that has the bones of a Ramones (Ramones podcast at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubheyho" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubheyho" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubheyho</a>) tune, with an almost ‘regular’ chord progression. It’s a little gem and is over way too quickly. ‘Hail Taxi’ is again, a more melodic song with some hardscrabble lyrics: </h2>
<h2><em>Hard sell, the structures fall through the floor </em></h2>
<h2><em>Bend into it, can't make the shoe fit </em></h2>
<h2><em>Brand new morning taking hold </em></h2>
<h2><em>Did you censor your senses </em></h2>
<h2><em>Of all those living their lives on top of you? Yeah, yeah </em></h2>
<h2><em>I'm sending messages </em></h2>
<h2><em>I'm sending messages </em></h2>
<h2><em>I'm sending messages to you </em></h2>
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<h2>‘Sugar Pill’ has a tsunami of sound in the intro, followed by a cool, weird progression. It’s a desperate, high intensity sound that’s different for Metz, high up on the guitar neck, a bit like a Sonic Youth <em>Daydream Nation </em>track. ‘Framed By The Comet’s Tail’ is a bitter tale of a bad relationship, with a vaguely eastern guitar figure. It has a sort of early Public Image Limited feel (PiL review at<a contents=" tinyurl.com/zubrotten" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubrotten" target="_blank"> tinyurl.com/zubrotten</a>). ‘Parasite’ has almost a early 80’s hardcore sound: Menzie’s drums and Slorach’s bass just mowing down all in front of them, with Eadkins screaming about the “bastards” coming. It is dark, heavy, and totally Metz. The LP closer ‘A Boat To Drown In,’ is an uncompromising, walloping tune clocking in at 7 minutes and 37 seconds. Again, the choruses and vocals remind me of a Clint Conley Mission Of Burma song. </h2>
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<h2>I’ve checked a few reviews of <em>Atlas Vending</em>, and a particular hipster site (guess which one) is ripping Metz for being ‘commercial.’ That idea is a bunch of crap. The band has its own musical language and they are expanding and developing, like all great artists do. They have very few peers that can do what they do, and their sound isn’t for everyone. </h2>
<h2>I’ve found this is one of those paint-peeling, noisy rock records that sounds like three young men kicking it out. Metz make me want to run into a brick wall, or jump on a folding table like a drunk Buffalo Bills fan. In this depressing time, the nasty noise of Metz is a balm for my soul, very much like the new Bob Mould record I recently reviewed (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubheartsbob" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubheartsbob" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubheartsbob</a>). Here’s to Metz, and thank you Canada! </h2>
<h2>The stream of the band live is from the empty Opera House in Toronto. Metz started <em>Atlas Vending </em>and played it in order. The intro was in arty black and white and by the middle of ‘Pulse’ turned to color. ‘Blind Youth Industrial Park’ was just amazing, and it was good to see these guys in action. I’ve never seen them live, but they are pretty image-neutral, just three Canadian lads wearing T-shirts and playing cool gear. Guitarist Eadkins with a Fender Jazzmaster and a few cool pedals (his noise box of choice is the trusty ProCo Rat distortion pedal). Bassist Slorach had a neat 70’s Gibson RD bass and some distortion pedals; his tone was amazing. Powerhouse drummer Menzies had a 70’s Ludwig clear kit with color stripes. He was probably the most compelling to watch. </h2>
<h2>The only thing missing from an outstanding version of ‘No Ceiling’ was a moshing, stage-diving crowd, off limits in the time of Covid. This one is a true anthem and Metz tore it up. ‘Hail Taxi’ was also excellent, Eadkins nailing the vocal and guitar. Metz were as tight as can be; they sounded like they had been touring. The push-pull rhythm of ‘Draw Us In’ was a top-notch workout for the rhythm section. By the time they played ‘Sugar Pill,’ Metz was on a pummeling rock groove. ‘Framed By The Comet’s Tail’ was amazing, still reminding me of a heavier version of a PiL song. Between the sledgehammer bass and guitar was a delicate guitar figure, it was very well done.’Parasite’ was a revved up rocker led by Menzies insane drumming. </h2>
<h2>The Metz boys, having not said a word to the viewers, ended up the stream with the epic ‘A Boat To Drown In.’ The monster choruses disappearing a few minutes in for a long, long coda with a single repeated bass note. This is Metz exchanging noise for much artier impressions, and it was beautiful. Leaving the guitar looper pedal on, the band left the stage. After the credits rolled, they showed Metz playing ‘Negative Space’ from their first LP. There was one more epic version of ‘Wet Blanket’ from the same LP, and the show was over. </h2>
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<h2>Usually watching a stream, at least for me, involves a band I’m familiar with, like Guided By Voices (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubgbvstream" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubgbvstream" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubgbvstream</a>). I’ve never seen Metz before, and this was a pleasant surprise. I did try to book them at a local club a few years back, (you know who you are) but they seemed to know little about this Sub Pop Records band, and wanted to do a”local metal night.” Sigh. This was the stream that absolutely makes me want to go and see Metz, when it’s safe, and get crazy in the front row with the kids. The band was extraordinarily tight, the stream well recorded and with great video. It only makes me like <em>Atlas Vending</em>, and Metz, even more. </h2>
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<h2>---Steve McGowan </h2>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/64572892020-10-16T12:49:47-04:002020-10-16T12:49:47-04:00Lydia Loveless - Daughter<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/cae5d573e4c4e35200f681511f4103a82323e811/original/daughter.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2 style="text-align: center;"><em>“Love is not enough, I wonder if it ever was” </em></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;"><em>Lydia Loveless, ‘Love Is Not Enough’ </em></h2>
<h2>I first became aware of Lydia Loveless a few years back, as she was touring on the <em>Somewhere Else</em> record. I was the sound guy for her and the band at a Horizon Records show. Lydia has it all; smart, a great songwriter with an amazing voice. She gets bonus points for her super cool midnight blue Rickenbacker 360 guitar. At our show, they also performed a stellar cover of Kirsty MacColl’s ‘They Don’t Know’ (check out our Tracey Ullman podcast at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubdontknow" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubdontknow" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubdontknow</a>, featuring Lydia’s version). </h2>
<h2>I have read that Lydia has acrimoniously left her label, Bloodshot, and gone through a divorce. She now lives in Raleigh, NC with her new partner, has her own label, and hopefully things are better. You wouldn't know if they were after listening to the ten songs on <em>Daughter</em>. This is a record of disillusionment and letdown. It’s a backwards looking, classic breakup record, intensely personal and a bit of a beautiful downer. But it sounds like she earned the right to be in a blue funk. </h2>
<h2>Lydia’s music is classified as ‘Americana’ or ‘Country.’ Indeed it has many of these elements, but her pop sensibilities come through strong on Daughter. Recorded at Wilco’s Loft in Chicago with noted producer Tom Schick, this is a sprawling record, using many cool production touches, but always held together by Lydia’s remarkable voice. She has a voice like a hardscrabble Neko Case; it’s a strong, evocative instrument and always up in the mix. </h2>
<h2>Opening with ‘Dead Writer,’ a song about escaping your problems, the production bursts open almost in a Beach Boys way. ‘Love Is Not Enough’ is a real stunner, a classic pop song that is given almost a Byrds-like treatment. It’s catchy and sad, filled with chiming Rickenbacker guitars, as Lydia comes to some hard realizations about “living in a rut.” One of the best songs I’ve heard this year. </h2>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="nNWG66iSJKg" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/nNWG66iSJKg/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nNWG66iSJKg?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
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<h2>“How did it come to this, dividing our possessions” is the first line from ‘Wringer,’ a sort-of upbeat tempo tune with atmospheric keys in the back. ‘Say My Name’ has almost an old R&B feel attached to a lyric about obsession. “I was the one that wanted more, now I’m sitting round at home” is a key lyric from ‘Never,’ a bass driven song that’s a bit more uptempo. </h2>
<h2>‘Daughter’ is Lydia at the low ebb: </h2>
<h2><em>There’s never been a better time to be alive </em></h2>
<h2><em>The arms of opportunity are spread wide </em></h2>
<h2><em>I wanna be a part of you but it’s not enough </em></h2>
<h2><em>If I gave you a daughter would you open up </em></h2>
<h2><em>Oh to be like Mary full of grace </em></h2>
<h2><em>You’d be worshipping my body and my brain </em></h2>
<h2><em>Cuz I know you never take me at my word </em></h2>
<h2><em>It’s always something you’ve already heard </em></h2>
<h2><em>Why can’t I show you this side of me </em></h2>
<h2><em>And prove to you who I could be </em></h2>
<h2>It’s relentlessly sad, with a sparse, simple keyboard and Lydia’s astonishing vocal. ‘When You’re Gone’ is a story of a friend’s attempted suicide. Key line: “I lie awake, and wonder when it’s coming for me.” Album closer ‘Don’t Bother Mountain’ has a civil war vibe, think Elvis Costello and T-Bone Burnett and ‘The Scarlet Tide,’ plaintive and pretty. </h2>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="y1eITVaRPpI" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/y1eITVaRPpI/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/y1eITVaRPpI?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
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<h2>Lydia Loveless, as young as she is, has a lot to work out on <em>Daughter</em>. I’d have to say this record is an unrelenting downer. But like all great art, it is beautiful in it’s own way. I cannot wait to hear what kind of record a happy, contented Lydia Loveless will make. I hope she gets her chance by the next one. </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan </h2>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/64572792020-10-16T12:49:37-04:002020-10-16T12:49:37-04:00Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift Live Online parts 18 - 21<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/3fa1057198e2407e839d5f61a76b17ff7cc79b9c/original/reg-em-show-25.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2><strong>Live from Sweet Home Quarantine (EYE outtakes and requests) pt. 18 </strong></h2>
<h2>This was an interesting, historical show, with Robyn concentrating on <em>EYE’s</em> outtakes and demos. Depending on which CD you have, you would need both the 1995 Rhino Records version and the 2007 Yep Roc Records versions to be aware of these tracks. Starting off in the kitchen (Studio B) with his small mahogany acoustic, Robyn said the first song was “Not from <em>EYE</em> but part of that harvest of glorious pain.” He started off, solo, with ‘The Devil’s Coachman’ from <em>Queen Elvis,</em> singing at the end: </h2>
<h2><em>Yesterday I saw the Devil in my food </em></h2>
<h2><em>I wasn't hungry but I played with it </em></h2>
<h2><em>Blood red horns gouged through my scrambled (egg) </em></h2>
<h2><em>Yesterday I saw the Devil in my heart </em></h2>
<h2><em>I was expecting him, the doctor came </em></h2>
<h2>
<em>I have to call the doctor every time we kiss </em> </h2>
<h2>Next up was ‘Transparent Lover,’ from the Yep Roc outtakes, a beautiful, folkie song. Robyn’s voice: very strong and his guitar playing: stellar. Before the next song, ‘Sweet Ghost Of Light,’ Reg mentioned he was trying to do things “in a more earthbound way” when he wrote it. This <em>EYE </em>bonus track had a distinct Velvet Underground/Lou Reed feel, like ‘Candy Says’ crossed with an early Bowie song. </h2>
<h2>Emma Swift made an appearance, noting the usual John and Yoko calendar in the background had been replaced with a picture of Linda Ronstadt (our Ronstadt review at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zublinda" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zublinda" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zublinda</a>). Reg and Em did a poppy, upbeat version of ‘So You Think You’re In Love’ from <em>Perspex Island</em>. Robyn commented on how lovely Emma looked and she replied “ I went to the Dolly Parton School of Beauty.” The duo then did <em>Queen Elvis</em>’ ‘One Long Pair Of Eyes,’ beautifully picked on the guitar with that hint of Olde English folk history, it was truly stunning. </h2>
<h2>Emma left to read the comments on the computer and Reg introduced the next song as “the last song I wrote in the 1980’s and the first of the 1990’s.” He played ‘She Doesn’t Exist’ from <em>Perspex Island</em>, a sad lament for lost love that had top-notch playing and singing. Emma returned and they did ‘Airscape’ from <em>Element Of Light</em>, one of his best tunes. After this one there was some news about Ringo the cat, who apparently has now been sleeping on the sofa. The duo continued with ‘Raining Twilight Coast,’ a proper (non bonus) track from <em>EYE</em>, in which I detected a little bit of Southern California singer-songwriter influence. Maybe it was just the watchful eye of Linda Ronstadt on the wall holding sway. </h2>
<h2>The show ended up with ‘Century,’ a more obscure <em>EYE</em> bonus track, only on the Yep Roc CD. Emma returned with Ringo’s brother Tubby, and the duo did ‘The Beauty Of Earl’s Court,’ another Yep Roc EYE bonus track that is also a bit obscure. The duo talked through a bit of this one, Reg comparing the lyrics to T.S. Eliot, and emphasizing a Bowie-esque part in the middle. </h2>
<h2>Robyn and Emma continue to take us on a great journey every week. Their singing and playing gets stronger, and the timeline of Robyn’s work is coming much more into focus. Another great show! </h2>
<h2>
<strong>Live from Sweet Home Quarantine (80’s by request part. 2) pt. 19</strong> </h2>
<h2>Tonight’s show found one Robyn Rowan Hitchcock in extreme verbose mode. He could not stop talking, for better or worse. His pre-song rap involved lycanthropes “more and more werewolves around these days,” and “thinking about flying jellyfish,” which of course brought us to Bryan Ferry. Solo in Studio B (with the John and Yoko calendar returned), Reg did a superb version of ‘Take A Chance With Me’ from Roxy Music’s <em>Avalon</em>. He was again playing his Gibson Nick Lucas acoustic, wearing round National Health specs, and sounding very good. Once finished, there was a discussion of 9th chords, which Robyn described as “majesty and doom.” </h2>
<h2>Using the harmonica, Reg did a dubious version of ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me)’ by Simple Minds, a weird cover done very folk-style. Emma Swift appeared, wearing her 1987 Pretenders T-Shirt. The duo did a fantastic version of John Lennon’s ‘Watching The Wheels.’ It was moving and wonderful, respectful, and mid-tempo. After, Emma commented “you are rich in monologues tonight, Hitchcock.” A second, even more suspect cover was Robert Palmer’s ‘Addicted To Love.’ Em and Reg were quite silly, and the best part was at the end when they sang “you’re addicted to Tubs.” Honestly, I wasn’t really sure why they did this one. They really seem quite egalitarian in accepting requests. </h2>
<h2>Emma left, Robyn switched to his Larivee acoustic and played a beautiful version of R.E.M. 's ‘King Of Birds’ from Document. This was in an open tuning and very pretty. Emma returned, and the duo surprised me with Echo & The Bunnymen’s ‘The Killing Moon,’ Em singing solo and, as usual, killing it. This was a brilliant cover. For the next song, Em played her Gibson acoustic along with Reg, and they did The Triffids ‘Wide Open Road.’ Again, she sang solo and this became a sad, sweet countryish lament. </h2>
<h2>Next was the obligatory Psychedelic Furs cover, ‘All That Money Wants.’ My issue with Reg singing Psych Furs is that their songs are so much like his, and vice versa. After, there was an extended discussion of Marmite versus Vegemite. The duo then did ‘Free Fallin’ by Tom Petty. I know they are pals with Benmont Tench, but I personally didn’t need to hear this one. I spent most of my life listening to Robyn Hitchcock, Elvis Costello, Graham Parker etc. instead of Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen. I realize that music is not mutually exclusive, but I got the feeling Em and Reg might be playing to the cheap seats here. </h2>
<h2>They proceeded to make it all up when Emma sang ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’ by Crowded House. It was sad and spectacular, until she lost the lyrics and it train-wrecked in the middle, which was a shame. They ended with a jokey version of The Human League’s ‘Don’t You Want Me,’ which mercifully cut off as time ran out. </h2>
<h2>I’ve loved every one of these shows, every week, but there was a feeling tonight that maybe Reg and Em might be trying too hard to please the patrons. I don’t expect them to be a karaoke machine. I’d love to hear covers that mean more to them, whether Bowie or Syd or Beatles or Neil Young. Plus the real mark of a Dolly Parton School of Beauty alum is playing “Coat of Many Colors.” If they’re into it. </h2>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/884f8d2234d3b70414eafff456298d55215c78c1/original/rh-em-pt-19.png/!!/b:W10=.png" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>
<em>Postscript</em>: I wrote this review on Thursday after the Wednesday show, and I started feeling guilty, thinking maybe I was too harsh on Robyn and Emma, Then on Friday, they sent us the video (of the second show) of the Euro feed on Friday. Such nice folks! </h2>
<h2>Robyn started solo playing his small mahogany acoustic and harmonica on Simple Minds ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me). Then he did Roxy Music and ‘Take A Chance With Me’ from Avalon with his Telecaster. This was a very strong cover. Emma appeared and sang solo on The Cure and ‘Friday I’m In Love,’ a beautiful mope-fest. Next up was ‘Addicted To Love,’ this time Robyn using a cool shift delay on his electric and totally hamming it up on the vocals. Em sang backup on this Robert Palmer staple and I have to admit it was much better than on Wednesday. Emma left and Robyn switched to acoustic for a stunning version of Lennon’s ‘Watching The Wheels’ with Em appearing to sing with him. </h2>
<h2>There was a discussion of Robyn’s mullet and his hair. He said next week he’d look like Karl Lagerfeld. Robyn doffed a top hat for Tom Petty’s ‘Free Fallin’ It was well done with both Reg and Em singing, but I just don’t like this song (And Adrienne dislikes Petty so much that she mooned his videos when they played on MTV). I’ll leave it at that. Emma took the hat and left. Robyn then did R.E.M.’s ‘King Of Birds’ solo, beautifully picked and sung. Reg told a story about meeting Nick Lowe in 1977 and later living near him in London. He then did a bouncy version of ‘All Men Are Liars.’ Emma returned and they spoke about Rick Astley and ‘Rickrolling.’ They proceeded to have Emma sing lead on Crowded House and ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over.’ Her voice was sparkling and sad at the same time. They didn’t break down like on Wednesday and this was the absolute highlight of the show, They ended up with The Human League and ‘Don’t You Want Me Baby,’ with Reg toning down his vocals, and Emma adding a verse from Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Dreams’ which was quite brilliant. So after the second show, the 80’s covers are just alright with me. </h2>
<h2><strong>Live from Sweet Home Quarantine (Jewels For Sophia & A Star For Bram) pt. 20 </strong></h2>
<h2>This show moved to Robyn’s 1990’s output, the <em>Jewels</em> LP being one of my favorites. Opening up in Studio B, Robyn was talking to Perry the stuffed lobster like some warped version of Hamlet’s Yorick. He grabbed his Gibson acoustic and launched into ‘Don’t Talk To Me About Gene Hackman,’ a bonus CD track from <em>Jewels For Sophia</em>. When he got to the line that name-checked Andie McDowell, he mentioned “I wrote this in 1997.” Once done, he mentioned most of the songs were in E, “A Key Of Confidence.” Next was ‘Daisy Bomb,’ from <em>A Star For Bram</em>, presented in a jaunty and fun manner. </h2>
<h2>Emma Swift then joined the proceedings, and Reg said “this is a dismal one, dedicated to the man in the red tie.” They then did ‘Mexican God’ from <em>Jewels</em>: </h2>
<h2><em>Dreaming your eyes away, closed to the future </em></h2>
<h2><em>Pray for amnesia to finish you off </em></h2>
<h2><em>This is the evil I wished on so many </em></h2>
<h2><em>Time will destroy you like a Mexican god </em></h2>
<h2><em>Moon in a cup, crushed garlic and babies </em></h2>
<h2><em>Sailors all stagnant and bloating and rough </em></h2>
<h2><em>The horror of you floats so close by my window </em></h2>
<h2><em>At least when I die, your memory will too </em></h2>
<h2>Afterwards, Emma mentioned they had their new label, Tiny Ghost Records, merch available, and Reg went electric, getting his Fender Telecaster out. The duo did a strong version of ‘Antwoman,’ then Em went off to find a cat. Robyn changed to acoustic and did his song from the movie The Judas Kiss - ‘Judas Sings (Jesus And Me),’ one of his more overtly serious songs: </h2>
<h2><em>You're so degraded, you're so alone </em></h2>
<h2><em>Nothing can save you, not even the phone </em></h2>
<h2><em>This is the capital of </em></h2>
<h2><em>Bad luck and dope </em></h2>
<h2><em>Breaking a piece of you is </em></h2>
<h2><em>Your only hope </em></h2>
<h2><em>Nobody loves you but Jesus and me </em></h2>
<h2><em>I've got my reasons... </em></h2>
<h2><em>You're so corrupted, you're so extreme </em></h2>
<h2><em>God and the angels are out of your dream </em></h2>
<h2><em>This is the century of </em></h2>
<h2><em>You don't believe </em></h2>
<h2><em>In anything but what's up your sleeve </em></h2>
<h2><em>So what's up your sleeve? </em></h2>
<h2><em>Nobody loves you but Jesus and me </em></h2>
<h2><em>I've got my reasons so does he </em></h2>
<h2><em>I want your money but he wants your soul </em></h2>
<h2>Next, Reg, still solo, played ‘I Saw Nick Drake’ (from <em>A Star For Bram</em>), a pretty, folky, gently-picked-on-the-guitar song. This was a real highlight and showed Robyn’s folky roots. Emma returned with Tubby for a minute, and Robyn switched to electric. They sang a great ‘Sally Was A Legend,’ Reg’s guitar with plenty of delay on it, getting almost a sitar-like sound. Afterward, Robyn mentioned “my grandma was called ‘the shuffler,’” apropos of nothing. Back on acoustic, Em and Reg did a great, playful version of ‘Viva Sea-Tac’ with its cockeyed lyric about the great Northwest: </h2>
<h2><em>People flocked like cattle to Seattle </em></h2>
<h2><em>After Kurt Cobain </em></h2>
<h2><em>And before him the rain </em></h2>
<h2><em>Hendrix played guitar just like an animal </em></h2>
<h2><em>Who's trapped inside a cage </em></h2>
<h2><em>And one day he escaped </em></h2>
<h2><em>Do you want to pay for this in cash? </em></h2>
<h2><em>Viva! Seattle Tacoma, viva viva Sea-Tac </em></h2>
<h2><em>Viva! Seattle Tacoma, viva viva Sea-Tac </em></h2>
<h2><em>Viva viva viva viva viva </em></h2>
<h2><em>They've got the best computers and coffee and smack </em></h2>
<h2>Emma disappeared again and Robyn did an energetic version of ‘The Cheese Alarm,’ one of <em>Jewel’s</em> funniest songs, always reminding me of a Monty Python sketch. </h2>
<h2>With two songs to go, Reg said “let’s wheeze through these beauties.” Em and Reg did ‘No, I Don’t Remember Guilford,’ one of Robyn’s best and emotionally bare songs. It was beautiful, their voices going together perfectly. After Emma said “I love the grim ones,” and they ended up with ‘You’ve Got A Sweet Mouth On You Baby,” from <em>Jewels</em>, a slow, stately, Dylan like tune. </h2>
<h2>Personally these records are among my favorite Hitchcock titles. It was great to hear these songs, and the addition of secret weapon Emma Swift was fantastic. I couldn’t have asked for a better show. Great work, Em and Reg! </h2>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/2cef57e509e767c06b21d8b3893d5771145539a8/original/reg-em-pt-20.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>
<strong>Live from Sweet Home Quarantine (All Requests) pt. 21</strong> </h2>
<h2>Tonight’s show was a real gem. Reg had a false start until he was sure the stream was up. Back in Studio B, he played his small body mahogany and started with ‘Cathedral,’ from <em>I Often Dream Of Trains</em>. He played it in a pretty, folky style picking out the notes. ‘Cathedral’ is one of the strongest songs from a wonderful record. Next up, he described ‘Autumn Is Your Last Chance’ (from <em>Trains</em>) as “one of my first prototype songs for Bryan Ferry.” Playing solo, this was a beautiful, wonderful song. </h2>
<h2>Finally it was time to “summon up the great muse Emma Swift.” Emma appeared and the duo sang ‘Light Blue Afternoon,’ from <em>Tromso, Kapetin </em>and their voices were great together on this upbeat tune. Emma mentioned that her new Dylan covers record <em>Blonde On The Tracks</em> comes out soon, (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubblonde" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubblonde" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubblonde</a>) so the duo did Dylan’s ‘The Man In Me’ (most will remember this song from <em>The Big Lebowski</em> soundtrack). Emma sang solo and this was a great teaser for her record, and her new label Tiny Ghost Records. </h2>
<h2>Finishing up, Em asked Robyn “have you got something inane to play?” and she departed. Robyn, playing an as yet unseen Gibson Songwriter acoustic, did a slide heavy version of ‘Live In The Trees’ from <em>Spooked</em>. Emma returned and they sang the sad ‘Underground Sun’ from <em>Ole Tarantula</em>: </h2>
<h2><em>Stand in the water </em></h2>
<h2><em>with your red 'n' white bikini dots </em></h2>
<h2><em>Telling your daughter </em></h2>
<h2><em>This is where we are and what we've got </em></h2>
<h2><em>I know you're there </em></h2>
<h2><em>I can relive you </em></h2>
<h2><em>Silhouetting on the golden sea </em></h2>
<h2><em>I feel with you </em></h2>
<h2><em>Even though I know </em></h2>
<h2><em>You're not with me </em></h2>
<h2><em>Underground sun </em></h2>
<h2><em>Underground sun </em></h2>
<h2><em>I miss you </em></h2>
<h2><em>You lie so lonely </em></h2>
<h2><em>Listening to the silence of the graves </em></h2>
<h2><em>You don't belong there </em></h2>
<h2><em>You belong down south among the waves </em></h2>
<h2><em>Underground sun </em></h2>
<h2><em>Underground sun </em></h2>
<h2><em>I miss you </em></h2>
<h2>Reg’s guitar playing was sparkly and bright, and the song was upbeat despite the very sad lyrics. Next up was ‘Winchester’ from <em>Element Of Light</em>, Em and Reg with superb unison vocals, followed by a discussion of making funny faces when you sing. </h2>
<h2>Emma requested ‘The Queen Of Eyes,’ a classic from The Soft Boys <em>Underwater Moonlight</em>, and they played a fun and power-pop influenced version. Emma left for a second and came back with Tubby the cat. Playing solo, Robyn did what appeared to be a brand new song, ‘Upgrade Me.’ Emma laughingly shared a chat room post calling that night’s Reg ‘nuttier than a squirrel turd.” The duo then sang a breezy version of ‘Saturday Groovers’ from <em>Goodnight Oslo</em>, always one of my favorite Reg tunes. They ended up with the super-surreal ‘ Trilobite’ from <em>Mossy Liquor</em>: </h2>
<h2><em>Trilobite, right Dwight's in the light-bite </em></h2>
<h2><em>Trilobite, right in the light-bite, Dwight </em></h2>
<h2><em>Basking on the shores of time </em></h2>
<h2><em>The little stone creature ain't dead to the world </em></h2>
<h2><em>They call him </em></h2>
<h2><em>Trilobite, right Dwight's in the light-bite </em></h2>
<h2><em>Trilobite, right in the light-bite, Dwight </em></h2>
<h2><em>Clicking away for a second of fame </em></h2>
<h2><em>A billion years later they give it a name </em></h2>
<h2><em>They call it </em></h2>
<h2><em>Trilobite, right Dwight's in the light-bite </em></h2>
<h2><em>Trilobite, right in the light-bite, Dwight </em></h2>
<h2><em>When I'm too wasted these rocks to clamber </em></h2>
<h2><em>Then lean me on the cliff and encase me in amber </em></h2>
<h2><em>And a creature from future in </em></h2>
<h2><em>Way out when </em></h2>
<h2><em>Will clock my fossil and name me Sven </em></h2>
<h2><em>That's a nice name </em></h2>
<h2>This was a wonderful way to end a great show, Reg sounding his best and Emma always wonderful, with an almost perfect Swiftcock song selection. Well done! </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan </h2>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://vtinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/64539832020-10-12T13:46:32-04:002020-10-12T13:46:32-04:00Bob Mould - Blue Hearts<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/b652404ede95cbd88939fbfac828020592b2115f/original/blue-hearts-2.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<h2>I live for music. It’s probably the most important thing in my life. I’ve written here about Bob Mould, the excellent <em>Sunshine Rock</em> LP (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubsunshinebob" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubsunshinebob" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubsunshinebob</a>) and his recent solo tour (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubboblive" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubboblive" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubboblive</a>). Bob is a giant figure in my musical canon. Husker Du (get your own umlauts) showed me the way, along with Buzzcocks and Elvis Costello. I’ve pretty much bought every solo record he’s made, and I have the 24-CD <em>Distortion</em> box on the way. I’ve patterned a lot of my own music after him (and fellow Husker Grant Hart, RIP). Bob is very, very important to me. </h2>
<h2>There’s no mistaking these pandemic times have been incredibly hard for all of us. I am usually a pretty optimistic person but have been cut low by this overwhelming situation. My calendar for years has revolved around upcoming live shows; now, the calendar is blank. This may be too much information for a record review, but the point I’m trying to get to is that from the bone-crushing intro to the second song on <em>Blue Hearts</em>, ‘Next Generation,’ Bob Mould is back, he is rocking ferociously, a la <em>Zen Arcade</em>, and he is pissed off. And it is manna to my soul, just the inoculation of snarl I needed in a rather hopeless time. </h2>
<h2>For me, this record is nothing but life-affirming. Someone gets it, I feel they get me, and the raging, nasty rock is like a warm, comforting bath. Listening to <em>Blue Hearts </em>(and I’ve listened to it a lot), I don’t feel the need to dissect it like a normal review. The whole thing is tremendous, and cathartic. Get it and bathe yourself in these life-infusing sounds. </h2>
<h2>Bob really makes the most of his voice on <em>Blue Hearts</em>, and his guitar playing and tone, well there is no one, absolutely no one that makes a guitar sound so noisy and so good. His longtime rhythm section is just fantastic. Jason Narducy on bass is always right there, and I heard a few almost lead-like passages in a few songs. Jon Wurster, a contemporary of our band The Beef People (he was in the NC band The Right Profile back in the day) is the perfect drummer. There, I said it and I meant it. He kills every song. By the way, both Jason and Jon have the funniest Twitter accounts, you should really check them out. (Twitter has been a lifeline in these times too, get an account and follow your favorite artists if you haven’t already). </h2>
<h2>Recorded at Electrical Audio in Chicago (Steve Albini’s studio, though he didn’t produce the record), the fourteen songs on <em>Blue Hearts</em> rip together non-stop, after the first song, an acoustic ‘Heart On My Sleeve.’ From there, the LP cranks until ending with a more contemplative ‘The Ocean.’ </h2>
<h2>Like I said, I don’t need to discuss individual songs. <em>Blue Hearts</em> works as a whole. It’s easily the best record I’ve heard this year. On the heels of the spectacular Sunshine Rock, Bob Mould remains an essential clarion of beautiful noise, continuing to make great, cohesive albums. </h2>
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<h2>In this year of social distance, Zoom connections, online concerts, and remote everything, real, gut-punching and new sounds are more vital than ever. Music like this feels like all I’ve really got; Bob Mould is keeping rock, and me, alive. </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan </h2>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
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<p> </p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/64514942020-10-08T06:26:35-04:002020-10-08T06:26:35-04:00HBO's Bad Education<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/b28b1032313ee9fcc976c4e51bd66c08405af7b2/original/bad-ed.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>It seems like I write a lot of reviews of HBO shows, and I must admit that I believe their quality is still very high across the board. HBO is where this little gem of a movie snuck up on me, directed by Corey Finley and adapted by Mike Makowsky, unfortunately from a true story. The story involves a dramatization of the town of Roslyn, Long Island (NY) and a gigantic scandal involving embezzlement from the school budget in the early 2000’s. </h2>
<h2>The two main conspirators are assistant superintendent Pam Gluckin (Alison Janney) and Superintendent Dr. Frank Tassone (Hugh Jackman). Tassone has turned the Roslyn High School into fourth in the nation in testing scores, and they are gunning for number one. This is the kind of school that feeds students straight to the Ivy Leagues, and the students (and over-concerned parents) are willing to overlook a lot in order to get their kinds in the right schools. Tassone’s overhaul has raised Roslyn property values considerably, and at first he appears to be a genuine, concerned, involved administrator. </h2>
<h2>Pam Glucken has control over the finances, but when her idiot son tries to do an overhaul on her beach house, he is caught using the school credit card - that Pam gave him. The ensemble cast of school administrators, led by an excellent Ray Romano, want to turn in Pam, but Frank argues it would ruin the school’s status. His impassioned speech convinces the administrators to do nothing for the good of the school, and Pam is forced out due to an ‘illness.’ She leaves Tassone a post-it saying “I’m not the sociopath here.” </h2>
<h2>Tassone, who claims to have a deceased wife, is shown on a Vegas trip hooking up and falling in love with a former student, a male ‘dancer.’ The frequency of his trips to Vegas intensify. Meanwhile, a reporter at the High School paper starts digging into the school finances and finds lots of unexplained money going out. She follows a check’s trail to a Manhattan building where Tassone lives with his partner of thirty-three years. Tassone is taking trips on the Concorde, getting facelifts, and buying a house in Vegas for his young lover. In one hilarious scene, middle aged Jackman is trying to dance with his young Vegas lover. While Jackman himself is a powerhouse song-and-dance guy, the character of Frank Tassone is geeky and awkward, and Jackman makes us believe it. </h2>
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<h2>Once the school newspaper uncovers the story, the wheels come off, the police are involved, and everyone goes to jail. Tassone embezzled $2.3 million and Gluckin $4.2 million. Tassone betrayed his long time partner and let the school down. The image and the man were two very different things. Maybe Pam was not the sociopath there, at least not the ONLY one. </h2>
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<a contents="https://nymag.com/nymetro/urban/features/9908/" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://nymag.com/nymetro/urban/features/9908/" target="_blank">https://nymag.com/nymetro/urban/features/9908/</a> Is the link to the <em>New York</em> magazine article that inspired the movie.HBO proves true to excellent form: the acting is superb from Jackman and Janney, as well as Romano, and some of the dim-witted family of Pam Gluckin. It’s a cautionary tale, and for a cable service movie, it’s truly outstanding. </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan </h2>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/64479872020-10-02T16:39:03-04:002020-10-02T16:39:03-04:00Guided By Voices: World Tour 2020: One Night Only<p> </p>
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<h2>We had tickets to see Guided By Voices at The Cat’s Cradle this October 2020. Their tour, like everyone else’s tours, has been cancelled due to the pandemic. So I was quite happy to hear that GBV had decided to do a livestream show for the amplified-to rock faithful. From their local club in Dayton, Ohio, The Brightside, they produced a rock show with great sound, lights, cameras and almost no crowd in the audience. </h2>
<h2>I’ve seen GBV in a few incarnations, but this current band is probably the strongest lineup, featuring terrific drummer Kevin March, bassist Mark Shue, rhythm guitarist Bobby Bare Jr, and the amazing guitar wizardry of Doug Gillard. This was the most I’ve paid ($25) for a streaming show to date, but GBV certainly gave you value for money. They started up a little rough, and I won’t pretend to be familiar with all the material (GBV alone just released their 30th LP, <em>Mirrored Aztec</em>), but around the fourth song ‘Everybody Thinks I’m A Raincloud (When I’m Not Looking)’ they hit a perfect groove. This <em>Half Smiles Of The Decomposed</em> track is a superb, classic song, power-pop and pop-rock folded into a perfect confection. </h2>
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<em>Mirrored Aztec</em> was represented with ‘To Keep An Area,’ a more pensive, classic 70’s type song. By this point in the show, GBV frontman/leader/singer ‘Uncle Bob’ Pollard was getting his vocals together, and there is no doubt that he has one of the best voices in indie rock today. One big surprise was lead guitarist Doug Gillard was not playing his black Gibson Les Paul Custom (a guitar he has owned since he was seventeen and that has absolutely no finish left on the back of the neck). Tonight he played what looked to be an older, red Gibson ES-330 guitar, much like an Epiphone Casino, which is completely hollow. It sounded great. </h2>
<h2>‘Twilight Campfire’ from <em>Isolation Drills</em> had a late 60’s feel, a bit like a Zombies song, another pearl in the Pollard collection. About 15 songs in, they hit ‘Motor Away,’ an old classic from <em>Alien Lanes </em>that I have played in a number of bands. Even without the crowd, GBV were tearing it up. This continued with the uptempo ‘I Am A Tree’ from <em>Mag Earwhig!</em>, a showcase for Gillard’s guitar and March on drums, with bassist Shue using his white (Dee Dee Ramone looking) Fender Precision bass to great effect. </h2>
<h2>Bob, working on his kicks and kung fu moves, led GBV through a punishing, apocalyptic ‘Cut Out Witch’ from <em>Under The Bushes Under The Stars</em>. The recent ‘Man Called Blunder’ sounded great next to the older tunes. ‘Chasing Heather Crazy’ from <em>Isolation Drills</em> is another one of those super-pop tunes Pollard slips right by you. This is a Beatles-level thing of wonder. This was quickly followed by the 70’s sleaze of <em>Bee Thousand’s</em> ‘Hot Freaks,’ Pollard strutting around like Lou or Bowie. </h2>
<h2>Pollard and Gillard played ‘Drinker’s Peace’ from <em>Same Place The Fly Got Smashed</em>, pretty and surprisingly delicate. They were 28 songs in when they hit ‘Glad Girls’ from <em>Isolation Drills</em>, a total earworm not unlike Cheap Trick. Next up was ‘The Rally Boys’ from <em>Zeppelin Over China</em>, in which all five members sang on. <em>Bee Thousand’s</em> ‘Tractor Rape Chain’ was given a majestic, wonderful power-pop arrangement, no lo-fi treatment here. This was followed by ‘The Official Ironman Rally Song’ from <em>Under The Bushes Under The Stars</em>, where Pollard used his remarkable voice to great advantage. ‘Blue Jay House’ from the recent <em>Warp And Woof </em>had the feel of a 60’s spy film theme. </h2>
<h2>‘The Best Of Jill Hives’ from <em>Earthquake Glue</em> was a great choice, followed by the superb pop of ‘Jane Of The Waking Universe’ from <em>Mag Earwhig!</em>, a fantastic mix of The Hollies and baroque pop. By song number 46, they played a powerful version of <em>Bee Thousand’s </em>‘Echos Myron,’ kind of an unofficial history of the band. The last four songs were the amazing ‘Teenage FBI’ from <em>Do The Collapse</em>, a complete earworm, then ‘The Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory’ from<em> Bee Thousand</em>, a pretty ballad that’s always been a GBV favorite. <em>Alien Lanes </em>‘Game Of Pricks’ may be the best, catchiest song Pollard has written, and that is saying a lot. The band finished up with <em>Bee Thousand’s</em> ‘I Am A Scientist:’ </h2>
<h2><em>I am a pharmacist </em></h2>
<h2><em>Prescriptions I will fill you </em></h2>
<h2><em>Potions, pills and medicines </em></h2>
<h2><em>To ease your painful lives </em></h2>
<h2><em>I am a lost soul </em></h2>
<h2><em>I shoot myself with rock & roll </em></h2>
<h2><em>The hole I dig is bottomless </em></h2>
<h2><em>But nothing else can set me free </em></h2>
<h2>There you have it. 52 songs, two and a half hours. There can be no doubt that Guided By Voices are as important, vital, and inspirational as ever. Bob Pollard is thought of as an elder statesman, but this guy and his band will kick your ass. It’s not just the sheer output of their material, it's the sustained quality. He is a master of rock songwriting, and his band is incredible, </h2>
<h2>Long live GBV! </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan</h2>
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<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/64453922020-09-29T14:54:18-04:002020-09-29T14:54:18-04:00Begin The Begin: R.E.M's Early Years by Robert Dean Lurie<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/4bcbd0933537e31a22d93b8a722378b6000c5589/original/begin.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>This is the third book I’ve read recently about Athens and its bands. First was <em>Cool Town</em>, (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubathens" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubathens" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubathens</a>) by Elizabeth Grace Hale. Elizabeth, a professor at the University of Virginia, was an Athenian in the late 80s, where she owned a small club and played in a band. Her well-written book’s focus is on the development of the Athens scene; it’s thoroughly-researched and definitely scholarly. The second book was <em>Party Out Of Bounds</em> (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubbounds" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubbounds" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubbounds</a>) by Rodger Lyle Brown, who was there, in Athens, almost from the very beginning. His book concentrates on the people and bands of the Athens scene, and I found it a gread read. Now I’ve finished <em>Begin The Begin</em>, an R.E.M.-centric book by Robert Dean Lurie. Robert lived in Athens and he knows the place and people, but he was not really there during the growth and explosion of R.E.M. Still, he has written a compelling book. </h2>
<h2>I never lived in Athens, a city about 90 minutes away, but our band mate in The Beef People, Ken, went to school at UGA in the early 80s and was up on what was going on with local bands. As far as R.E.M. is concerned I can honestly say I saw them dozens of times before and after the ‘Radio Free Europe’ single on Hib-Tone Records (see our podcast at<a contents=" tinyurl.com/radiofreezub" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/radiofreezub" target="_blank"> tinyurl.com/radiofreezub</a> for some great R.E.M. stories). I saw them so much because I was going to shows almost every weekend in Athens and Atlanta, and they were always the opening band. Early R.E.M. was a thing to behold, with the melodic bass, ringing guitar, and the whirling dervish antics of Michael Stipe. We could all tell they were going somewhere. </h2>
<h2>Lurie’s book is interesting in that he does not interview any band members. He is clever in using the reams of existing interviews, and this seems to work well. He does, however, talk to many, many folks that knew and helped them, including Kathleen O’Brien (who essentially got the band together), Velena Vego, soundman Pat theWiz, Stipe’s friends from the Midwest, lots of booking agents and promoters, and record label people. </h2>
<h2>R.E.M. was a band featuring a tortured artist/chameleon frontman, a 60’s loving record collector guitarist, and two Macon, GA boys on bass and drums that could really play. They worked very hard to get what they wanted, playing all over the Southeast in lots of terrible pizza places-cum clubs, and were careful along the way. They were very canny about their career in music, getting a lawyer and a manager early on, and working their growth album by album. </h2>
<h2>I have many friends who are big R.E.M. fans, but I’m always surprised at how they got into the band, usually via <em>Green</em> or <em>Monster</em>. This confuses me. I personally loved <em>Chronic Town</em> and <em>Murmur</em>, and I stopped buying their records after <em>Fables</em> (or maybe <em>Document</em>). As they got bigger (and supposedly better) I kind of lost the plot. But that’s me. What I’m getting at is that if you want to know how R.E.M. got to <em>Green</em>, you need to read <em>Begin The Begin</em>. </h2>
<h2>Lurie does a few things in this book that I really like. One is he actually tries to make sense of Stipe’s lyrics. He really tries to give us some explanations about the lyrics and comes up with some interesting conclusions. I applaud him for trying. Second, he brings himself into the book a little bit, as when talking with Athens legend/village cryer Ort, he mentions a girl coming up to the bar to get a picture with Ort, “because he looks like Santa.” There’s a good story about going to Velena Vego’s house, and the best one is when he interviews Jeff Walls (who passed recently) of Guadalcanal Diary, and conveys a story of bad weed etiquette. I like these personal anecdotes. </h2>
<h2>R.E.M. have always basically been good guys who wanted to have a band, they wanted that band to be successful, and they worked hard enough to make it happen. If you are a fan I would say this is a must-read. If you aren’t, this is a chronicle of the end of the traditional music-making machinery that’s as old as the Beatles: form a band, start small, work yourself up via playing live, get a record contract. In the Internet-wired world, this model doesn’t really exist anymore. Lurie breaks it all down and you can’t forget this was always, always a talented band that treated people right. I applaud Lurie, R.E.M., and <em>Begin The Begin</em>. </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan </h2>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/64434912020-09-26T12:39:33-04:002020-09-26T13:05:08-04:00Ringo Starr's 80th Birthday on YouTube<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/0f9d65970b97ba9b0fde46a3121ab0ad7d975f3d/original/ringo.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>It’s fashionable to slag Ringo, and I’ve done it myself (see our Posies podcast at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubposies" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubposies" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubposies</a>). Heck, the Beatles’ fable machinery even does it in <em>A Hard Day’s Night</em>. That’s part of the group’s public persona. Let’s face it, Ringo was an integral and important part of the Beatles. They would not have been the Beatles without him. There’s no argument that he is one of the greatest drummers that ever played, and you can’t really say that about the other Beatles and their musical (not songwriting) ability, except for Paul McCartney. Essentially the Beatles had the world’s best rock rhythm section. </h2>
<h2>Ringo is also a survivor. He spent a good two decades after the Beatles’ breakup as a blackout drunk. I know people who worked with him during this period and let’s just say he wasn’t a nice guy. But he straightened himself up, formed his All-Starr Band, and is spreading his own version of peace and love all over. He’s now a beloved figure to just about everyone. </h2>
<h2>The intro of this show was Ringo in quarantine, behind his drum kit. He looks fantastic and nowhere near eighty years old. The nice thing about this show was that, as he said, it was “a charity gig,” proceeds going to the David Lynch Foundation, MusicCares, WaterAid, and Black Lives Matter. The first song was Ringo and the All-Starr band, live pre-pandemic, doing ‘It Don’t Come Easy,’ which is just a great song. </h2>
<h2>Next, percussionist Sheila E. joined in on ‘Come Together,’ with Ringo playing drums from his remote location. Ringo just killed it on the drums, bashing away and doing it right; Sheila was fantastic. The song ended by adding in bits of ‘Revolution’ and ‘All You Need Is Love.’ Then there was a clip of the David Lynch Foundation and Transcendental Meditation, which Ringo learned in India with the Maharishi. </h2>
<h2>Sheryl Crow did an astounding version of ‘All You Need Is Love,’ with multiple screens showing her singing, playing ukulele, drums, piano, accordion, bass, electric guitar and cello(!). So talented! Next there was a clip for WaterAid, an organization that brings clean water to impoverished communities. </h2>
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<h2>Then, Joe Walsh showed up in person at Ringo’s quarantine site. Another famous survivor, he was wearing shades and just seemed like a big goofy kid. They showed a clip of Joe doing a green-screen performance of ‘Boys’ that was pretty Nu-Wave and wacky. Ringo introduced a clip from the Beatles documentary 8 Days A Week, the segment where the Fabs refused to play to a segregated audience in Jacksonville, FL, and successfully had the venue integrated for their show. Kind of mind-blowing to think of four pasty boys from Liverpool taking that stance in the time and place. (Read more <a contents="here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://greenlining.org/blog-category/2013/1964-civil-rights-and-the-beatles/" target="_blank">here</a>.) Then they ran the Black Lives Matter clip, and Ringo talked about his love of black music, especially Little Richard, Ray Charles, and going to see Sister Rosetta Tharpe at the Cavern club. </h2>
<h2>Ben Harper, with Dave Grohl on drums, did ‘I’m Down (But I’m Not Out)’ on a cigar box guitar. Next up was a very professional video of Ringo’s ‘Give More Love’ featuring many friends, including Peter Frampton, Jackson Browne, and Elvis Costello. Very well done. They showed the MusicCares clip, and then a pre-pandemic live performance of Gary Clark Jr. doing ‘Come Together.’ This was a heavy, strident version on which sharpshooter Clark surprisingly eschewed a real solo. </h2>
<h2>The last two songs started with the All-Starr Band pre-pandemic performance of ‘ With A Little Help From My Friends,’ Ringo singing just as you remembered. Finally, Paul McCartney, whose appearance was promised in a teaser, showed, but was not as exciting as advertised. They showed an older clip of the McCartney Band doing ‘Helter Skelter’ with Ringo on drums, Ringo beat the hell out of his kit and Paul was Paul, it was wonderful but not a new collaboration that many were hoping for. </h2>
<h2>In the end, Ringo did it right. He continues to bring a positive message, a workmanlike presence to-great music, and a great charitable spirit. Did you know he was in the Beatles? </h2>
<h2>Happy birthday, Richard Starkey! </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan</h2>
<p> </p>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/64375452020-09-18T15:47:48-04:002020-09-18T16:09:30-04:00Pretenders - Hate For Sale<p> </p>
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<h2>With<em> Hate For Sale</em>, the 68 year old Chrissie Hynde proves that her band (Martin Chambers, drums, James Walbourne, guitar, and Nick Wilkinson, bass) are as important and vital as ever. It’s great to hear a guitar rock band with hooks and melodies, and <em>Hate For Sale</em> delivers this in droves. Producer Stephen Street has helped them craft a real rock sounding record, Chrissie playing rhythm, and always featuring drummer extraordinaire Martin Chambers. </h2>
<h2>Starting things off, ‘Hate For Sale’ is a barrelling rocker complete with a false start, then kicks in with guitars thick and juicy, Chrissie’s harp, and her cocksure vocals. It’s a killer beginning to a real rock record. ‘The Buzz’ hearkens back to 1980’s Pretenders, a nifty single note riff and classic Kinks-like chord progression paired with Chrissie’s oh-so-sexy vocal. The lyrics are comparing love to a narcotic you can’t get enough of. It’s a classic Pretenders song. ‘Lightning Man’ is their stab at reggae, and it’s not at all bad, with choppy guitar and echoed melodica. Nick Wilkinson’s bass is a real standout here. </h2>
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<h2>‘Turf Accountant Daddy’ has a glammy stomp and a bit of a T-Rex feel. It’s still a balls-out rocker with a cool synth break in the middle. ‘You Can’t Hurt A Fool’ is a smoky R & B ballad, like a recent Nick Lowe tune. Chrissie’s voice is unimpeachable and James Walbourne features on Steve Cropper-style lead guitar. This one is another standout. ‘I Didn’t Know When To Stop’ is a nod to early (Ramones, Pistols) punk, full of bar chords, tearing guitars, and Chrissie’s harmonica. Walbourne has a crushing solo, and this band is rocking like a bunch of youngsters. ‘Didn’t Want To Be This Lonely’ has a Bo Diddley swagger, Telecasters raging on with handclaps and a stinging solo. It’s just perfect. </h2>
<h2>There are a few songs towards the end of the record that aren’t as strong, but I must say that <em>Hate For Sale</em> is really a triumph. It’s not an exercise in nostalgia, just a band doing what they do best (see our review of X’s<em> Alphabetland</em> for a similar story at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubalphax" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubalphax" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubalphax</a>). Chrissie’s voice and songwriting are a treasure, and although I was never a huge Pretenders fan (see our podcast at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubpretenders" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubpretenders" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubpretenders</a>) I’ve always admired her. If a band like The Rolling Stones put out a record of this quality the world would be astounded. For Chrissie and The Pretenders it’s no big deal. For listeners, this is a BFD: rock solid and unrepentant. </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan </h2>
<p> </p>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/64342452020-09-15T14:59:56-04:002020-09-15T14:59:56-04:00Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift Live Quarantine Show Part 14 - 17<p> </p>
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<h2><strong>Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift Live Quarantine Show Part 14 - <em>Element Of Light</em> (bonus tracks) </strong></h2>
<h2>Tonight’s stream, featuring bonus tracks from Robyn and The Egyptians’ second album, was delayed for an hour as Emma Swift was streaming a performance from her new Dylan covers record, <em>Blonde On The Tracks </em>(<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubblonde" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubblonde" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubblonde</a>)<em>,</em> for Australian TV. The show started solo with Robyn and his Gibson acoustic in ‘Studio B,’ the kitchen of the couple’s East Nashville, TN home. The sound and picture were excellent as he did an almost Bluegrass sounding version of ‘The Leopard,’ an <em>Element Of Light</em> bonus track. Introducing the next song, Reg said “I used to live on the edge of a wood, and would prowl around looking for fossilized rats and birds caught in the barbed wire.” He then played ‘The Black Crow Knows,’ a dark tune with the chorus: </h2>
<h2><em>If you want to know what the future holds, the black crow knows </em></h2>
<h2>Emma Swift tardily appeared, explaining that she had been taping an Australian show called Rock Show that she had always dreamt of being on. Robyn switched to his Larrivee acoustic, and the duo sang ‘Birdshead’ (on <em>You & Oblivion</em>), Robyn picking the tune in a very folk-rock style. Emma went to tend the streaming tech, and Reg explained the next song was about the apocalypse in 1986, which, according to him, was Ronald Reagan. This was for ‘The Crawling,’ another disconcerting song from the <em>Element</em> bonus tracks. </h2>
<h2>Emma returned, and they talked about the Isle Of Wight, where Robyn was living when composing this record, and then they sang the (surprisingly poppy) ‘Tell Me About Your Drugs:’ </h2>
<h2><em>Do you believe in the Holy Ghost? </em></h2>
<h2><em>Tell me about your drugs </em></h2>
<h2><em>Do you like the things that hurt you most? </em></h2>
<h2><em>Tell me about your drugs </em></h2>
<h2><em>Do you wish you were somebody else? </em></h2>
<h2><em>Tell me about your drugs </em></h2>
<h2><em>But you wake up and you're still yourself </em></h2>
<h2><em>Talkin' about your drugs </em></h2>
<h2><em>Ah, we get messed up by forces that we just don't understand </em></h2>
<h2>They then went into ‘I Used To Say I Love You’ from<em> I Often Dream Of Trains</em>, a simpler, more earnest song, it was very pretty. When it ended Reg said “like so many songs, it just stopped.” Robyn said “I’d love to hear Paul McCartney sing this” before he did a lovely version of ‘Vibrating’ from <em>Globe Of Frogs</em>. Emma and Reg discussed (their cat) Tubby’s production skills, and mentioned they could barely afford his services anymore. Robyn said “I never play this” and did a very Dylan-ish version of ‘You’ve Got A Sweet Mouth On You, Baby’ from <em>Jewels For Sophia</em>. Afterwards, Emma mentioned “I’m the 21st century muse and belong in none of these songs.” </h2>
<h2>Since they were cut off on the last show, Robyn did ‘Lady Waters And The Hooded One,’ the last track on<em> Element Of Light</em>, all the way through. This tale of the plague is constructed much like an old English folk song: </h2>
<h2><em>"Will you dance with me, Lady Waters?" </em></h2>
<h2><em>And a bony hand plucked her gown </em></h2>
<h2><em>"Will you dance with me," said the Hooded One </em></h2>
<h2><em>"For the plague has now reached this town." </em></h2>
<h2><em>"No, I'll never dance," says Lady Waters </em></h2>
<h2><em>"For I see that your name is Death." </em></h2>
<h2><em>And beneath her mask she was sweating </em></h2>
<h2><em>At the Hooded One's fetid breath </em></h2>
<h2><em>"Will you dance with me, Lady Waters? </em></h2>
<h2><em>For the fire dies in your grate </em></h2>
<h2><em>And your guests have gone and your lord's asleep </em></h2>
<h2><em>And the plague has reached your estate." </em></h2>
<h2>This was just beautiful and fantastic. Announcing next week would be “80’s requests,” the duo did a funny version of ‘Victorian Squid’ from <em>You And Oblivion</em>, and the show was over. </h2>
<h2>They say when you break a song down to its basic elements, such as acoustic guitar and vocals, you can really tell whether it’s quality. I was truly impressed by many of these ‘bonus’ tracks Robyn wrote in the mid 1980’s. He obviously was on a roll - this was an amazingly good show and I can’t wait for next week. </h2>
<h2><strong>Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift Live Quarantine Show Part 15 - 1980’s Night </strong></h2>
<h2>Back in Studio B tonight, the stream started with Robyn drinking a cup of tea. He said hello and that he would be wearing his “spectacles” to read the cheat notes for these songs. With that, he began, solo, playing R.E.M.’s ‘You Are The Everything’ from <em>Green</em>. After finishing he called the song “a particular, beautiful dream.” Talking to ‘producer’ Emma Swift off-camera, he explained the story of finding his jacket (the checkered one he was wearing) on his first U,S. tour in 1984, in Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco, where he said he was often asked “hey, aren’t you Nick Lowe?” Reg then played Don Henley’s ‘Boys Of Summer,” doing a credible folk-rock version and mentioning the “folds of summer” (a reference to their Scottish Fold cats, Tubby and Ringo) in the lyrics. Afterwards, Emma Swift appeared (with Tubby), saying she had been “yearning to hear your homoerotic take on ‘Boys Of Summer’ for years. In the spirit of the 1980’s, Emma had both big hair and an outfit with big shoulder pads! </h2>
<h2>Emma sang with Robyn on Julian Cope’s ‘Charlotte Anne,’ their voices were stellar and this one had a bit of a psychedelic folk sound. Next was The Psychedelic Furs ‘Love My Way,’ a lovely version, if a bit loose. They followed with another Psychedelic Furs song, ‘The Ghost In You,’ one that they play regularly. This sounded wonderful and again very much like a Reg song. Time for Emma to get her own song, and she said; “yes groovers this was my request.” She sang solo on Cyndi Lauper’s ‘I Drove All Night,’ using her very powerful voice to good effect. She’s always superb. Reg went solo on the next one, Roxy Music’s ‘To Turn You On’ (from <em>Avalon</em>) which, stripped of all it’s production, Robyn turned into a wonderful, Lennon-type declaration: </h2>
<h2><em>Spring Summer whenever </em></h2>
<h2><em>Winter through Fall </em></h2>
<h2><em>I'd do anything to turn you on </em></h2>
<h2><em>Anything to turn you on </em></h2>
<h2><em>I could leave you as you were </em></h2>
<h2><em>If I wanted to </em></h2>
<h2><em>Then I wonder is it fair </em></h2>
<h2><em>Now you're on your own </em></h2>
<h2><em>Who cares about you </em></h2>
<h2><em>Except me, God help me </em></h2>
<h2><em>When things go wrong </em></h2>
<h2><em>I do anything to turn you </em></h2>
<h2><em>Must phone me, you know me </em></h2>
<h2><em>When things go wrong </em></h2>
<h2><em>I do anything to turn you on </em></h2>
<h2>The next song was a real surprise; Emma singing the Smiths’ ‘There Is A Light That Never Goes Out.’ One of those great songs you sometimes forget about. She flubbed a line but it was no problem. The two of them then played a neat version of a song written by Robyn’s bandmate in The Soft Boys, Kimberley Rew: ‘Walking On Sunshine’ by Rew’s band, Katrina and The Waves. It was fun and they sang the horn parts, scat-style. Donning a top hat in homage to Tom Petty, the duo ended up with The Traveling Wilburys ‘Handle With Care,'' again a strange yet satisfying cover song, its Beatley-power pop nature brought full center. </h2>
<h2>This was a strange bunch of songs, especially after last week’s show of obscure <em>Element Of Light </em>outtakes. Emma and Robyn are trying to have good fun, and it is infectious, even when a few of the songs didn’t work as well as you’d think. But hey, how often do you hear Robyn Hitchcock sing ‘The Boys Of Summer? </h2>
<h2>Thanks to Reg and Emma! </h2>
<h2><strong>Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift Live Quarantine Show Part 16 - RH Songs By Request </strong></h2>
<h2>Tonight’s show started off in Studio B (Reg and Em’s kitchen in Nashville) with Robyn playing his Gibson Nick Lucas model for the whole set. He started with ‘Freeze’ from <em>Queen Elvis,</em> one of his most surreal songs: </h2>
<h2><em>There's a justice in this world </em></h2>
<h2><em>And I know just what she's called </em></h2>
<h2><em>She's called Elaine </em></h2>
<h2><em>There's a dead man in your heart </em></h2>
<h2><em>And he takes up too much room </em></h2>
<h2><em>And I know just what he's called </em></h2>
<h2><em>He's called Steve </em></h2>
<h2><em>There's a farmer in the clouds </em></h2>
<h2><em>And he's sowing golden seeds </em></h2>
<h2><em>And he's feeding on your dreams </em></h2>
<h2><em>That's the only thing you need </em></h2>
<h2><em>And I know just what he's called </em></h2>
<h2><em>He's called Ray </em></h2>
<h2><em>I'm starting to freeze </em></h2>
<h2><em>Freeze </em></h2>
<h2>We were off to a great start. Next up was ‘Serpent At The Gates Of Wisdom’ from <em>Respect</em>, a song with a much poppier construction and a Beatleish descending chorus. After this was over, Robyn said: “speaking of angels, here comes Miss Emma Swift.” Emma, in a jumpsuit, (an adult onesie) appeared on screen and there was a discussion of ‘Glam’ onesies, Reg saying “I didn’t know onesies happened in Glam rock.” </h2>
<h2>Emma sang solo on Robyn’s ‘NY Doll,’ a beautiful story based on the documentary about Arthur Kane from the same band: </h2>
<h2><em>I was a New York Doll </em></h2>
<h2><em>I was really something </em></h2>
<h2><em>On a map that never ends </em></h2>
<h2><em>I was the pulse of it all </em></h2>
<h2><em>But there's always poison </em></h2>
<h2><em>To drink alone or to share with friends </em></h2>
<h2><em>One in a million people hit you </em></h2>
<h2><em>Like a window pane </em></h2>
<h2><em>Sincerely I remain, Arthur Kane </em></h2>
<h2><em>I found myself in the church </em></h2>
<h2><em>I needed something </em></h2>
<h2><em>Bigger than the world I knew </em></h2>
<h2><em>But in the library of your memory </em></h2>
<h2><em>People live in their books </em></h2>
<h2><em>Til the pages close </em></h2>
<h2><em>Close on me </em></h2>
<h2><em>Like they're gonna close on you </em></h2>
<h2>This was a really beautiful and touching song, with Emma’s bright, clear vocal really making it extra-special. Introducing “an old folk song from the television era,” Robyn and Emma did ‘Balloon Man’ (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubrobyn" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubrobyn" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubrobyn</a>) which was both light-hearted and funny. These two seemed very at ease and having a great time tonight. ‘Saturday Groovers’ from <em>Goodnight Oslo</em> was next, both Emma and Robyn singing, and they continued having a good time with this one. Then Emma went off to find Tubby the cat and Reg introduced ‘Ordinary Millionaire’ from <em>Propeller Time</em> as a song “Johnny Marr wrote and I wrote the words for.” Once finished, he talked about the song and mentioned “There’s nothing like a divorce.” </h2>
<h2>Tubby’s brother Ringo appeared with Emma, and was patient on camera for a few minutes, and then Reg did ‘De Chirico Street’ from <em>Moss Elixir,</em> one of my personal favorite Hitchcock tunes. Emma returned and they did ‘The Wreck Of The Arthur Lee’ (again from <em>Respect</em>), which had a very strong David Bowie vibe. Perry the stuffed lobster appeared, and Em and Robyn talked about living in England, with Robyn saying to Em “darkness and damp bother you.” They then did ‘Madonna Of The Wasps’ from <em>Queen Elvis</em>, a song they play quite often and really drove it home, with some talk afterwards of Reg playing on Letterman back around that time of the album’s release. </h2>
<h2>They then did ‘I Pray When I’m Drunk,’ a Johnny Cash pastiche from Reg’s last record, <em>Robyn Hitchcock</em>. Next Robyn did ‘A Globe Of Frogs’ solo, then Emma appeared again with a not so cooperative Tubby. With just a couple of minutes to go, they did a few verses of ‘The Queen Of Eyes,’ both singing, and stopped just before the time cut off. Another loose, relaxed show featuring superb songs and terrific singing. </h2>
<h2><strong>Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift Live Quarantine Show Part 17 - <em>EYE </em>(in full) </strong></h2>
<h2>Tonight Reg was playing songs from his 1990 release <em>EYE</em>, which many consider a continuation of the <em>I Often Dream Of Trains</em> album. The move to the kitchen (Studio B), seems permanent; that’s where we began this show with Robyn and his Nick Lucas Gibson playing ‘Flesh Cartoons’ solo. Honestly this song sounded as fresh as it did in 1990, Robyn sang wonderfully and was resplendent in his black shirt with white polka dots. Switching to his small-body mahogany guitar, he did the instrumental ‘Chinese Water Python,’ a delicately picked guitar figure running through the tune. </h2>
<h2>Emma Swift made an appearance, while Robyn said “I try to be an unrelenting downer.” He mentioned this next song was influenced by R.E.M., and he and Em did a pretty version of ‘Cynthia Mask.’ Perry the stuffed lobster said hello at the song’s end. Next up was ‘Beautiful Girl,’ a more straightforward pop tune, which Reg played very fast. Afterwards, Emma mentioned Tubby and Ringo (their cats) had “disappeared.” Em and Reg did ‘Executioner,’ which had a distinct late era John Lennon vibe. Emma had a request, so they did ‘Queen Elvis,’ with Robyn saying to Em “This goes out to you, darling.” The song was beautiful and tender, and Emma’s voice adds a lot to the mix. She headed off camera after this. </h2>
<h2>Robyn, solo again, did ‘Satellite,’ a song that can’t help but remind me of Lou Reed’s ‘Satellite Of Love:’ </h2>
<h2><em>I lie to my eye </em></h2>
<h2><em>The wire inside </em></h2>
<h2><em>Don't tell me this is not the best of all disguises </em></h2>
<h2><em>What goes around comes around to </em></h2>
<h2><em>What comes around goes around </em></h2>
<h2><em>What goes around comes around to </em></h2>
<h2><em>What comes around goes around </em></h2>
<h2><em>I tried the night </em></h2>
<h2><em>First-hand clock time </em></h2>
<h2><em>Don't tell me this is not the best of all devices </em></h2>
<h2><em>Emma returned and the duo did the very surreal ‘Linctus House.’ </em></h2>
<h2><em>I understand how everything sometimes </em></h2>
<h2><em>Turns out to be nothing, You say </em></h2>
<h2><em>But I wonder if you do </em></h2>
<h2><em>And if we understood each other </em></h2>
<h2><em>There'd be no need to talk </em></h2>
<h2><em>But even that, even talking is out of reach </em></h2>
<h2><em>Should I say it with flowers or </em></h2>
<h2><em>Should I say it with nails? </em></h2>
<h2><em>I'm not the kind to push you around </em></h2>
<h2><em>But I don't want to make myself vulnerable </em></h2>
<h2><em>And if I was on my knees </em></h2>
<h2><em>You'd have a pretty good view of my skull </em></h2>
<h2><em>And I happen to know you're carrying a chisel </em></h2>
<h2>After this one, there was a short discussion about failed relationships, Reg saying “It’s still worth having them,” and Emma asking him if <em>EYE </em>was his <em>Blood On The Tracks</em>, to which Reg responded “blood on the tram!” </h2>
<h2>Robyn did ‘Aquarium’ solo, and Emma returned saying “I’ve got something inane,” which was an Iguana puppet. Together they did a great version of ‘Agony Of Pleasure,’ which was very Bowie-ish, and then time was up. </h2>
<h2>One of my favorite Hitchcock records, he didn’t get to all of it tonight, but it was a great show and as usual very entertaining. </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan</h2>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/64313002020-09-11T13:00:31-04:002020-09-15T15:00:10-04:00Detectorists - 2 Reviews!<h2><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/0406588e9a07eb2286308f633ecbe1aa3f4c8f8a/original/detectorists.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2>When you read a well-crafted book, see a compelling movie, or in a few rare cases, watch a particularly special television series, you feel you have made friends. When you have read the last page, left the theater, or finished the last episode, you find yourself grieving that it is over, missing your friends, and regretting that you can never experience the work for the first time again. <em>Detectorists </em>is such a show. </h2>
<h2>The hauntingly beautiful theme song gives you some idea you are not wandering in on an ordinary Britcom: </h2>
<h2><em>Will you search through the lonely earth for me </em></h2>
<h2><em>Climb through the brier and bramble </em></h2>
<h2><em>I'll be your treasure </em></h2>
<h2><em>I felt the touch of the kings and the breath of the wind </em></h2>
<h2><em>I knew the call of all the song birds </em></h2>
<h2><em>They sang all the wrong words </em></h2>
<h2><em>I'm waiting for you </em></h2>
<h2><em>I'm waiting for you </em></h2>
<h2><em>Will you swim through the briny sea for me </em></h2>
<h2><em>Roll along the ocean's floor </em></h2>
<h2><em>I'll be your treasure </em></h2>
<h2><em>I'm with the ghost of the men who can never sing again </em></h2>
<h2><em>There's a place, follow me </em></h2>
<h2><em>Where a love lost at sea </em></h2>
<h2><em>Is waiting for you </em></h2>
<h2><em>Is waiting for you </em></h2>
<h2>I have wanted to watch this series for a while now, even going to the library twice to try to get my complimentary Acorn license through the county system (I am cheap). Well, no dice, and lock down meant I should stop lollygagging and figure out how to make watching it happen. <em>Detectorists</em> just had Adrienne bait all over it--British comedy about weird hobbyists starring notable genre actors. OK, I’m in. </h2>
<h2>First is the title. <em>Detetectorists</em> takes its name from the preferred term of address for serious metal detector enthusiasts. The machine they remind us at a few points in the series, is a metal detector. Those who operate the machine are detector<em>ists</em>. You don’t call the person who takes pictures of your bones an x-ray after all. So this is the world we will be entering, one of sensitive, serious, specialized hobbyists. </h2>
<h2>My goodness: this series is spectacular. It is a delicate and finely wrought as the cloisonne pieces of the Staffordshire Hoard, crafted here with loving expertise by Mackenzie Crook--writer, director, and one of the leads. You know, Gareth offa <em>The Office</em>. This is a tiny slice of life comedy centered on Lance (Toby Jones), and Andy (Crook), who spend their spare time searching rural (and fictional) Danebury, Essex, England, with their state-of-the-art metal detectors. In a countryside where Saxon gold, Roman relics, Norman treasures, and World War II bombs wait just below the topsoil, this is a hobby with real hope of making important and lucrative finds. But mostly pull tops. So many pull tops. </h2>
<h2>Andy and Lance usually detect in tandem, alone together as they each patiently, methodically scan the rows of fields for finds, which they share at the weekly meetings of the Danebury Metal Detecting Club (DMDC). Wearing huge headphones to hear their detector signals, they have a deliberate and studied pattern. When they get a signal, they dig out a careful dirt square. They call over the other and discuss the find, placing it in one of the ziplock bags stashed around their waists. Then they carefully replace the soil plug they dug. It's a bit of a ballet. </h2>
<h2>Getting a landowner’s permission to detect is a source of stress and conflict in the series. The first series is on the land of an odd duck farmer, happy to have them detect anywhere but the paddock. Stay out of the paddock! Well, there’s the Chekov’s gun for the season! Keeping permissions exclusive, having alternate sites for detecting is critical for our guys. </h2>
<h2>All seven DMDC members are carefully drawn, specific, and fascinating. President Terry’s wife, Sheila, is ever present but not a detectorist herself, but is always there because she adores her husband unreservedly. Crook gives each member their turn, their moment. And frankly, we’re rooting for each DMDC member. Especially against their rival group, the hated AntiquiSearchers, and especially, especially the pair they dub “Simon and Garfunkel” because of their similar appearance.The slow burn of the Simon and Garfunkel gags pay off magnificently in the end. </h2>
<h2>The actors are so perfect in their roles it took me forever to recognize two actors from <em>EastEnders</em>, the long running British soap I’ve watched for over 30 years. They inhabit and seem real here. </h2>
<h2>Before embarking on <em>Detectorists</em> I urge you to watch an episode of British mainstay series, <em>Time Team</em>. I just happened to be working my way through <em>Time Team</em> at the same time as <em>Detectorists </em>and the lineage us unmistakable. For twenty some years, Time Team featured presenter Tony Robinson (Baldrick offa <em>Black Adder</em>) along with a team of history and archaeology specialists descending upon a site to swarm and dig over three days to prove a hypothesis. In one particularly funny episode, they tear the floor out of a lovely Tudor home looking for King Canute’s mead hall. I bolted upright in one episode in which they enlisted the help of some local detectorists who’d made finds on one of the sites. Evidently, so did Mackenzie Crook. (some spoilers:<a contents=" https://inews.co.uk/culture/detectorists-people-find-realise-hold-close-102357" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://inews.co.uk/culture/detectorists-people-find-realise-hold-close-102357" target="_blank"> https://inews.co.uk/culture/detectorists-people-find-realise-hold-close-102357</a>) </h2>
<h2>I really don’t want to spoil this beautiful series for anyone, not even in a small way. It is striking for the sensitive and nuanced portrayal of Andy and Lance’s friendship. I can’t recall a better portrayal of a pair of non-romantically entwined people; they know each other so intimately and want the best for each other. Maybe Leslie Knope and Ron Swanson exhibit that kind of bond, but here to see two men in a strong, meaningful friendship is revelatory. They are both bright and underemployed, sharing tales of quiz shows like <em>Mastermind</em> and <em>QI,</em> quizzing each other, ribbing poor contestant performance. Their relationship feels real and lived in. </h2>
<h2>We get clear looks at each man’s home lives. Even there, no character is a stereotype or a mere sketch. The redoubtable Diana Rigg appears as Andy’s partner’s mum! Lance’s ex (and the man who made her an ex) fill out this world in the first series. We go to Lance’s day job in a fruit and veg warehouse and get to know some of his coworkers. We even go to Andy’s partner Beck’s work, and see how toxic the workplace is for her spirit. Andy and Lance are so fully realized that we worry for them, rejoice for them, and even scold them when they take missteps. </h2>
<h2>
<em>Detectorists</em> is a perfect work. There is nothing out of place, no wincing moments where something missed the mark, like a bad line, poor performance, or weird set piece. If you can make some time to wander the fields of Essex with the DMDC you’ll find this treasure.</h2>
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<h2>-----Adrienne Meddock</h2>
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<h2>So sad to hear of Diana Rigg’s passing. She was an important and vital part of this show, and we will miss her terribly. </h2>
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<h2>Thanks to Adrienne, I’ve been made aware of the most magical, wonderful, sweet television show that is perfect for pandemic binge-watching. Both Adrienne and myself are serious anglophiles (hell, I’m British, can I still be an anglophile?) and I believe you can watch this show on Amazon Prime, Hulu, and Acorn TV (there’s only three seasons in total). </h2>
<h2>It’s a quick binge and by the end I really, really didn’t want the show to be over. <em>Detectorists</em> debuted on BBC four (the ‘arty’ BBC channel in Britain) and is written and directed by Mackenzie Crook, who was on the British version of <em>The Office</em>. </h2>
<h2>Set in the fictional town of Danebury in England, Crook plays Andy, a day-laborer finishing his archaeology studies. The show is mostly about Andy and his pal Lance (Toby Jones), who works at a vegetable wholesaler and drives an ancient Triumph TR7, who are detectorists, or metal detectors. The show follows their personal lives and the exploits they get into with their DMDC (Danebury Metal Detecting Club). Now, doesn’t that sound like a powerhouse show? Not so much? </h2>
<h2>The acting and characters in <em>Detectorists</em> are just sublime. Andy and Lance are, as you might imagine, not alpha males. The women in their lives are much smarter and understanding. I really do not want to spoil the series for you, because it is so worth watching. These two mates are out in the fields everyday, looking for gold, and mostly finding beer can pull tops (remember those?), buttons and even Matchbox toy cars. </h2>
<h2>The Danebury club is the perfect picture of a group of English eccentrics, and we learn about them as the series moves forward. Terry, a retired policeman who is the club president is one such character, along with his wife Sheila, who makes a mean lemonade. Villains are represented by another, dodgier club headed by “Simon and Garfunkel.” </h2>
<h2>The dialog and acting (Diana Rigg and her real-life daughter have important parts) in this show is second to none, and there are very cool flashbacks to treasure being buried in ancient times. Magpies are also an important plot point. Again, I’m trying hard not to give you any spoilers, but <em>Detectorists</em> is like the Slow Food version of television. Local ingredients and dialogue, and a nutritious and very sweet ending. It’s all about two pals hanging out, solving each other’s problems, and talking about <em>University Challenge</em> (a British game show a bit like <em>Jeopardy!</em>) With all the insanity in the world today, this show was a real respite, a shelter in the storm. I encourage you to seek out <em>Detectorists</em>. Every minute is sweet and lovingly crafted. It may not be gold, but it is television treasure. </h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2>Fans of "Detectorists" might enjoy a recent book on the series, with a foreword from Mackenzie Crook: <a contents="https://www.colinsackett.co.uk/landscapesofdetectorists.php" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="Fans%20of%20%22Detectorists%22%20might%20enjoy%20a%20recent%20book%20on%20the%20series,%20with%20a%20foreword%20from%20Mackenzie%20Crook:%20https://www.colinsackett.co.uk/landscapesofdetectorists.php" target="_blank">https://www.colinsackett.co.uk/landscapesofdetectorists.php</a>
</h2>
<h2>-----Steve McGowan</h2>
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<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/64240982020-09-03T16:18:10-04:002020-09-03T16:18:10-04:00Ultimate Fakebook - The Preserving Machine<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/09dec5db8bc9f3c3fa136f56c91e91dadf0842ec/original/ufb.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>This is an odd story. Ultimate Fakebook are a very, very good pop-punk band that broke up sixteen years ago. The Manhattan, Kansas based band had a short-lived deal with Sony music. My friend and drummer nonpareil Kevin Heuer introduced me to UFB back in the day. We went to see them in Atlanta and it was one of the best rock shows I’ve ever seen. Forward to sixteen years later, and UFB is back, with a new record, <em>The Preserving Machine</em>. Guitarist and vocalist Bill McShane, bassist Nick Colby, and drummer Eric Melin are back, still playing power-pop, but working out some different sounds and arrangements. </h2>
<h2>Starting with the single ‘We're Sharing The Same Dream Tonight,’ the tale of an all-night party with a heavenly chorus, is a pop-punk anthem of the highest order. Bashing drums, falsetto vocals, crunchy guitars: it’s insistent and undeniable, even ending with an acoustic guitar coda. ‘After Hours At Melin’s’ is the second single and another killer slice of pop-punk. The lyrics list all the UFB touchstones: </h2>
<h2><em>30 pack, VHS, Mr. Show, Air Guitar, Megadeth, Superdrag, I Get Wet… The Beatles or the Stones (no way) The correct answer is always Cheap Trick. </em></h2>
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<h2>This song is what I call a head-floater. An expression our pal Joey used to denote something so good your head would detach from your body and float around the room! </h2>
<h2>On the piano driven ‘Sad Soldier’ McShane sings “I just remembered that music is my God” and tells a story about having kids during these scary, messed up times. ‘Manhattan KS’ is a harder edged rocker about their hometown, Bill McShane hitting some high falsetto vocals. This one trucks along at warp speed and is a great helping of undeniable rock. ‘Juliet’s Fools’ has strings and piano and wouldn’t be out of place on a Guided By Voices record. McShane’s vocals are very good. It’s a beautiful song and not at all pop-punk (no guitars). </h2>
<h2>‘Hey Gemini’ is powered by Eric Melin’s drums and has an amazing diminished solo progression that’s a true earworm, along with mellotron and toy piano augmenting the power chords. It’s weird and catchy as hell and I love it. ‘This Unfrozen Girl’ is classic pop-punk with a typical UFB lyric, sad and whimsical: </h2>
<h2><em>I saw her in the checkout line </em></h2>
<h2><em>With poster board and sharpie signs </em></h2>
<h2><em>She wrote: “Dinosaurs and dresses, princesses and weapons” </em></h2>
<h2><em>She blows up the text erasing every line </em></h2>
<h2><em>See how she describes her heart </em></h2>
<h2><em>No fear to kiss electric sparks </em></h2>
<h2><em>So wild to stop the pain and hunger </em></h2>
<h2><em>Just like you 15 years younger </em></h2>
<h2><em>She can see right through their eyes </em></h2>
<h2><em>Making all the young boys cry </em></h2>
<h2><em>No “how” or “where” or “why” will own her </em></h2>
<h2><em>This unfrozen girl </em></h2>
<h2><em>Then I saw her high school band… Sarah and the Fake-Bake Tans </em></h2>
<h2><em>She sang “Prom is not forever, but all dogs go to heaven” </em></h2>
<h2><em>My comedienne ain’t giving up her mic </em></h2>
<h2><em>See how she describes her heart </em></h2>
<h2><em>No fear to kiss electric sparks </em></h2>
<h2><em>So wild to stop the pain and hunger Just like you 15 years younger </em></h2>
<h2><em>She can see right through their eyes </em></h2>
<h2><em>Making all the young boys cry </em></h2>
<h2><em>No “how” or “where” or “why” will own her </em></h2>
<h2><em>This unfrozen girl </em></h2>
<h2><em>No one else can fathom her kingdom </em></h2>
<h2><em>No one else is here on her trip </em></h2>
<h2><em>But she couldn’t care less cuz she’s the Queen at 4AM </em></h2>
<h2><em>And her heart is her armor now </em></h2>
<h2><em>And so the fun begins </em></h2>
<h2><em>Now she’s dancing every night </em></h2>
<h2><em>Shaking off the past frostbite Exclusionaries scared of new tunes </em></h2>
<h2><em>Never realize what they lose </em></h2>
<h2><em>So she puts up Christmas lights and rainbows on her welcome sign </em></h2>
<h2><em>So inspired by her courage to be </em></h2>
<h2><em>This unfrozen girl </em></h2>
<h2>‘My Music Industry’ is a harder rocker, and an angry tale of UFB’s time with Sony music. It reminds me very much of Superdrag at their best. Typical lyric: </h2>
<h2><em>Straight to bandcamp/ sucks is my hashtag </em></h2>
<h2><em>No one gives a shit/ here comes another hit </em></h2>
<h2>‘(Sequel) Electric Kissing Parties pt.2’ is a nod to their first record. It’s a meditation on how hearing a song from your past can bring you back to that time in your life, kind of a three minute dissertation on aging and the healing power of rock and roll. The song is catchy and undeniable and very, very sly. </h2>
<h2>‘Fake ID’ is a slower anthem, almost six minutes long, another reminiscence about growing older: </h2>
<h2>
<em>There’s no rock and roll in my veins/ just vessels filled with songs of rage/ and those memories and a fake ID/ whose picture slowly starts to fade/ away. </em> </h2>
<h2>Ultimate Facebook has made one of the sneakiest and satisfying comebacks in a long time. It reminds me of the recent Neighborhoods record (review at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zublasthoods)" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zublasthoods" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zublasthoods</a>). UFB have embraced some new production and arrangements, they are older and they address that on <em>The Preserving Machine</em>, but it’s still one of the best records I’ve heard this year. As Bill McShane says, “it’s been so long, since I heard that song.” Please check this one out! </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan</h2>
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<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/64213502020-08-31T17:18:07-04:002020-08-31T17:18:07-04:00Party Out Of Bounds by Rodger Lyle Brown<p> </p>
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<h2>I’ve been reading a lot about the Athens, GA music scene and how it came to be. Grace Elizabeth Hale’s <em>Cool Town</em> is a fantastic, scholarly treatise on how a scene formed in Athens (review at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubathens" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubathens" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubathens</a>). Right now I’m reading <em>Begin The Begin</em> by Robert Dean Lurie, which is specifically about the rise of R.E.M., Athens’ most famous band. It was written after the events described in this book and Lurie is canny enough to quote often from Rodger Lyle Brown’s book: Party Out Of Bounds: The B-52’s, R.E.M., and the Kids Who Rocked Athens, Georgia. This book was originally published in 1991 and has recently been given a 25th anniversary republication. </h2>
<h2>Brown lived in Athens from 1977 to 1987, and was a participant in the scene, so he knows what really happened and the people who made it happen. This book really concentrates on the bands and the way the scene grew, with deep dives about the B-52’s, Pylon, and R.E.M. among others. The book starts circa 1978, with the B-52’s coalescing as a drag/dance/camp show that played parties in town. Next thing you know, they played New York City and quickly became the talk of the town. They make a single with DB Recs Danny Beard (who had a huge crush on Kate Pierson) and soon enough major record companies are sniffing around. </h2>
<h2>This does not go unnoticed by the UGA art students that become Pylon, led by bassist Michael Lachowski. He figures they can take an art approach to their music and these non -musicians form the band with the goal to play New York, get on the cover of New York Rocker magazine, and then break up. The Athens to New York pipeline works again, so Pylon makes a single with Danny Beard and quickly become the critics’ darlings. They forget to break up, at least for a few years. </h2>
<h2>The B-52’s, reject their first label deal offer, get big-time management, sign with Warner Bros., and produce their first record. They have outgrown Athens and move to New York as a band. Athens’ stalwarts, the Method Actors, then appear in the story. They are another band beloved by critics, and Vic Varney of the Method Actors ends up managing Pylon. About this time, things are stirring with Peter Buck and Michael Stipe, who meet a rhythm section from Macon, Georgia (Bill Berry and Mike Mills) and begin rehearsing in an old church. We know what happens next. </h2>
<h2>Lyle Brown is really good at setting the picture of the times, whether discussing the many non-musicians who made things happen, like Kathleen O’Brien, who pretty much single-handedly put R.E.M. together, or local folks like Ort, the scene's town cryer/village idiot. Brown’s descriptions of the beer-soaked, partied out dorms are almost poetic. He also seems to have got almost everyone involved to contribute great stories. </h2>
<h2>
<em>Party Out Of Bounds</em> is a vital, interesting book. I’ve never heard Vanessa Briscoe, Pylon’s singer, called a ‘party girl’ before. Brown doesn’t forget bands such as Oh-Ok and Love Tractor. I also learned everyone loved Love Tractor, Bill Berry drummed with them for a time and Peter Buck wanted to join. Having lived nearby and attended and/or played many of the venues mentioned in the book, I feel like this is a book about my friends, although most are acquaintances at best. The Athens scene is definitely a one of a kind story, and I loved reading this book that is very band and music-centric. Rodger Lyle Brown has produced a readable, well-researched, fun book. Invite yourself to this Party; dance this mess around! </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan </h2>
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<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/64195822020-08-28T15:20:10-04:002020-08-28T15:20:10-04:00Vivian Howard's Somewhere South on PBS<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/ef52964c753e7a8886e0737ce148bb6dafecb406/original/vivian.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>I’m a big fan of Vivian Howard. Her show <em>A Chef's Life</em> ran for five seasons on PBS and I’m sure I’ve seen them all. She is a classically trained chef that cut her teeth in New York City but came back to her home, the eastern North Carolina town of Kinston, to open a fancy farm-to-table restaurant, <em>Chef And The Farmer</em> (<a contents="https://www.vivianhoward.com/chef-the-farmer" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.vivianhoward.com/chef-the-farmer" target="_blank">https://www.vivianhoward.com/chef-the-farmer</a>), with her husband Ben Knight. Vivian’s show generally focused on an ingredient used in her southern cooking at the restaurant, her sourcing and discussing the ingredient, and then her cooking with that ingredient. We see where Vivian gets clams, beans, eggs, persimmons, etc., and all the local characters from whom she gets them. </h2>
<h2>The show, however, was so much more than I think they imagined it would be. First it detailed the struggle of opening <em>Chef And The Farmer</em>, and a devastating fire early on that the restaurant survived. It deals with the relationship between Vivian and her husband Ben, her parents who offered to help her start the business, and her long time relationship with <em>Brothers Farm</em> and its main man, Warren Brothers, an important supplier, and Ms. Lillie, who I believe works at the farm. Vivian is not concerned about looking bad, she seems anxiety ridden and can be quite snappy in the kitchen. Her quality standards are very high and she wants things done her way. She’s a real person with real problems. One triumph shown in the series is publishing her cookbook, <em>Deep Run Roots</em>, and the fancy book tour that follows. She was on the <em>Today</em> show and toured in a food truck in support of the book. Small town girl makes good. </h2>
<h2>After pretty much exhausting the ideas in <em>A Chef’s Life</em>, Vivian is back with <em>Somewhere South</em>, again on PBS, with six episodes in the first season. She still follows a featured ingredient and does quite a bit of travel investigating its origin and exploring different versions of cooking it, and often deals with immigrant communities in the US who introduced the ingredient to US cooking or have their own interpretations of what we may view as an all American basic. Her show has transformed from the personal journey of <em>A Chef’s Life</em> to a food as culture show, and there are (mostly) pluses and some minuses to the new approach. </h2>
<h2>Episode one is 'American as Hand Pies' and she visits a factory in Winston-Salem, NC that has been producing these pies for decades (link here <a contents="https://bgpies.com/about/" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://bgpies.com/about/" target="_blank">https://bgpies.com/about/</a>). In West Virginia she explores the Italian immigrants who came to work the coal mines and the ‘pepperoni rolls’ they would take in the mines for lunch. As it turns out pepperoni rolls are still a big food item in that area. Talking empanadas, the Latin American hand pie, leads to a Texas family that settled from Spain centuries ago, Jewish people that <em>had</em> to convert to Catholicism, living in Mexican Texas before the state was conquered by the US. These people suffered racism almost to the present day, telling stories of the lightest skinned family member going out to get hamburgers as to avoid conflict with the redneck locals. 'Hand Pies' is well put together and interesting. </h2>
<h2>The episode on dumplings leads us to Chinese immigrants in Mississippi. It’s great to see the power of America, second generation Chinese folks speaking with a thick-as molasses Mississippi southern accents and wearing tons of Ole Miss gear making real deal Chinese dumplings and Jewish families in Jackson, Mississippi making matzo ball soup. Returning to Kinston, she stops in Durham, NC (Adrienne’s stomping grounds) to check out a few restaurants that also make dumplings. </h2>
<h2>The greens episode involves nearby neighbors from NC, the Lumbee Indians, who have a special collard green sandwich that looks delicious (here’s a link <a contents="https://www.ourstate.com/collard-sandwich/" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.ourstate.com/collard-sandwich/" target="_blank">https://www.ourstate.com/collard-sandwich/</a>). Vivian explores how greens are sometimes used for chow-chow in eastern NC. She visits Clarkston, GA to get greens recipes from African immigrants, and ends up in Cary, NC to sample Indian recipes from that area’s sizable Indian community, new twists on greens. </h2>
<h2>The highlight of the series is when Vivian has a summit with a number of up and coming African-American chefs. It’s obvious she has come to realize that southern cooking is mostly an appropriation of African (or Slave) cuisine, and to see her break bread with chefs such as B.J. Dennis (champion of Gullah and Geechee cuisine) and Mashama Bailey (owner of Augusta, GA’s <em>The Grey </em><a contents="https://thegreyrestaurant.com/" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://thegreyrestaurant.com/" target="_blank">https://thegreyrestaurant.com/</a>) is remarkable; we get to hear these chef’s discuss their views on ‘Southern’ and ‘Soul’ food. Vivian also visits <em>The Grey</em> and goes to Edisto Island in SC to sample Gullah culture. </h2>
<h2>Vivian is no airbrushed television personality. She’s a real person who is an excellent chef and this series shows that she is trying to learn more. She is still growing as an interviewer, but the show is smart enough to let those she visits take the center stage and tell their own stories. We are all improved by following this part of her journey, and to boot there are some amazing recipes. <em>Somewhere South</em> takes an incisive look at the many influences and cultures that have made and keep remaking southern cuisines. Living and eating in the American South makes it mandatory viewing for me, but there is much to appreciate here for anyone anywhere as the fascinating stories come together. </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan</h2>
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<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, <em>Singles Going Steady</em>, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/64144552020-08-21T15:05:10-04:002020-08-21T15:18:47-04:00Emma Swift - Blood On The Tracks<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/3cf55784a0e84996cca043af5b57ce21f4eaf5de/original/blonde-on-the-tracks.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>There’s something about great art that makes you think and re-evaluate your positions. When listening to Emma Swift’s new all Bob Dylan covers record, <em>Blonde On The Tracks</em> (which is as fine a record as I’ve heard this year, but more on that later), I went to my default position on Bob Dylan. That position is that I’ve never been a big fan of Dylan and he never really meant much to me, the old punk rocker. </h2>
<h2>But as I thought about Dylan, I did start to realize he has made a big difference in my musical life. I’ve never owned many Dylan records, I do have <em>Blonde On Blonde</em> and a Greatest Hits, I believe. I’m pretty familiar with <em>Highway 61 Revisited</em>, <em>Planet Waves</em>, and some of <em>The Basement Tapes</em>. One of the first songs The Beef People learned was ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues,’ which we chose literally because we could rev it up and it was, like most of our early songs, mostly two chords. </h2>
<h2>I’m no Dylanologist, but from reading lots of rock books, (none specifically about Dylan) know his earlier story better than I thought. The young folkie from Minnesota that worshipped Woody Guthrie, spent time in New York City in the early 1960’s with Ramblin’ Jack Eliott and Dave Van Ronk (think the Coen Brothers movie <em>Inside Llewyn Davis</em>), and became a king of the Greenwich Village folk scene. Dylan’s songwriting became less introspective and more political and he quickly became ‘the voice of his generation.’ </h2>
<h2>Watching the Pennebaker Dylan documentary <em>Don’t Look Back </em>(“Who threw the glass?”), shot during a 1965 tour of Britain, brings this all home. Rail-thin, leather jacket, shades, skinny black jeans, and jewfro, Dylan is quite possibly the coolest guy that ever walked the planet. In the ultimate scene for me, backstage hanging out, Donovan Leitch plays ‘To Sing For You,’ then Dylan grabs the guitar and kills ‘It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue.’ The look on poor Donovan’s face is priceless, an apostle awestruck in front of the messiah. </h2>
<h2>In 1965, Dylan ‘goes electric,’ a folk apostate renouncing the faith in the mother church, playing very loudly with his band at the 1966 Newport Folk Festival. He is continually changing, evolving, and deceptive about his intentions. He is the master of creating his own mythical image. </h2>
<h2>When I think about Dylan’s influence, he is sort of the Old Testament of rock, a huge figure to later prophet John Lennon and The Beatles (‘You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away’). Pretty much giving The Byrds a career (‘Mr. Tambourine Man’), and inventing The Band, a group beloved by all the pub rockers and pre-punk people I love (think Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe). Dylan’s influence runs far and wide, from Johnny Cash to Joni Mitchell to Neil Young to Townes Van Zandt, and even to Lou Reed, The Velvets, PJ Harvey, Hendrix, XTC, and The Specials. There is very little music he hasn’t influenced. </h2>
<h2>Some of the best Dylan songs have been performed and interpreted by other artists (The Byrds brought him a new audience with their ‘folk-rock’ version of ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ and Jimi Hendrix with his mind-blowing psychedelic rock take on ‘All Along The Watchtower’ come to mind), and in that spirit of remake/remodel we can finally talk about Emma Swift and <em>Blonde On The Tracks</em>. She is a spectacular singer from Australia with a beautiful voice, and she definitely knows her Dylan. She recorded this record during a period of writer’s block and depression, looking to Dylan’s canon for solace, enlightenment, and redemption. </h2>
<h2>The LP starts with ‘Queen Jane Approximately‘ from 1965’s <em>Highway 61 Revisited</em>, a not so obscure tale of a woman headed for a fall. The production is bouncy, full of 12-string Rickenbacker guitar, and with Emma providing a very Linda Ronstadt (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zublinda" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zublinda" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zublinda</a>) type vocal, reminiscent of ‘Different Drum.’ Next up is ‘I Contain Multitudes’ from Dylan’s new LP <em>Rough And Rowdy Ways</em>. This song is a bit of an elegiac retrospective, this take is very stripped down, Emma’s beautiful voice restrained and completely in control. Of all the Dylan cover choices, this is unexpected and very welcome. </h2>
<h2>The flipside of the single ‘Queen Jane Approximately’ from Blonde On Blonde is ‘Sooner Or Later (One Of Us Must Know)’, a song about lost love. The production (from Wilco’s Pat Sansone) is impeccable, using some great pedal steel. Somehow this reminds me of a great Dusty Springfield track. 1975’s <em>Blood On The Tracks</em> is represented by ‘Simple Twist Of Fate,’ an autobiographical song about the dissolution of Dylan’s marriage. Emma’s take is sparse and again has that Laurel Canyon (Joni Mitchell, Judee Sill) singer-songwriter feel. It’s a very moving and sad song. </h2>
<h2>Emma goes back to <em>Blonde On Blonde</em> for the full, almost 12-minute ‘Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands,’ written for Sarah Dylan (the wife who was broken up with in <em>Blood On The Tracks</em>). </h2>
<h2><em>With your mercury mouth in the missionary times </em></h2>
<h2><em>And your eyes like smoke and your prayers like rhymes </em></h2>
<h2><em>And your silver cross, and your voice like chimes </em></h2>
<h2><em>Oh, who do they think could bury you? </em></h2>
<h2><em>With your pockets well protected at last </em></h2>
<h2><em>And your streetcar visions which you place on the grass </em></h2>
<h2><em>And your flesh like silk, and your face like glass </em></h2>
<h2><em>Who could they get to carry you? </em></h2>
<h2><em>Sad-eyed lady of the lowlands </em></h2>
<h2><em>Where the sad-eyed prophet says that no man comes </em></h2>
<h2><em>My warehouse eyes, my Arabian drums </em></h2>
<h2><em>Should I put them by your gate </em></h2>
<h2><em>Or, sad-eyed lady, should I wait? </em></h2>
<h2>I admire Emma for tackling this one. It is the sign of a true Dylan fan. She sings superbly, but eleven plus minutes is a bit too much for me. This is quickly made up by ‘The Man In Me’ from 1970’s <em>New Morning</em>. Most remember this song from the movie <em>The Big Lebowski</em>. Emma takes on this one as a straight, poppy tune. It almost sounds like The Band are backing her up. </h2>
<h2>‘Going Going Gone’ is from <em>Planet Waves</em> and I remember Richard Hell and the Voidoids covering this on <em>Destiny Street</em>. Emma sings this one with complete authority, again reminding me a bit of Linda Ronstadt. The LP ends with ‘You’re A Big Girl Now,’ from <em>Blood On The Tracks</em>, Emma sounding very soulful and sad as befitting the song’s breakup theme. </h2>
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<h2>Emma Swift is a singular, vital voice. <em>Blonde On The Tracks</em> is an excellent record. It made me reevaluate Dylan and all things Dylan. Dylan is in great hands with Emma. I must also mention you can get the LP through Emma’s label, Tiny Ghost Records, via Bandcamp at <a contents="https://emmaswift.bandcamp.com/ " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://emmaswift.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">https://emmaswift.bandcamp.com/ </a>The customer service is exceptional and you get a neat personalized letter with every order. Running my own little record label, these folks are an inspiration. I can only hope we’ll be hearing more from Emma soon! </h2>
<h2>-----Steve McGowan</h2>
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<p><iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/2enmCwBrqUEakhOqTqheQk" width="300"></iframe></p>
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<p>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a></p>
<p> </p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/64129862020-08-19T17:11:30-04:002020-08-19T18:15:04-04:00Cover Charge Compilation<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/1995962cb5a1a559140c5e74f6f0ab67f63978f6/original/cover-charge.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>This compilation was a <em>great</em> idea. The Cat’s Cradle, in Chapel Hill/Carrboro North Carolina, is a true rock institution. If you think your city has a good club, it’s <em>not</em> as cool as The Cradle. They’ve been around since 1969. I’ve seen countless shows there (in their many locations) and The Beef People played there in the 1980’s. Just off the top of my head I remember shows by The dB’s (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubamplifier" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubamplifier" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubamplifier</a>), The Pressure Boys (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubtina" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubtina" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubtina</a>), The Pixies before the first breakup (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubeyrie" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubeyrie" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubeyrie</a>), The Zulus, The Morrells, and playing there ourselves with Lifeboat. The last show we saw at the Cradle was Stiff Little Fingers and The Avengers (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zublittlefingers" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zublittlefingers" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zublittlefingers</a>, <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubsuspect" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubsuspect" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubsuspect</a>, <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubavengers" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubavengers" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubavengers</a>). </h2>
<h2>The idea of this compilation is for bands with North Carolina roots to provide a cover song for the project, with proceeds going to keep the Cradle afloat. I can’t think of a better cause for local music.You can buy it, download only, at <a contents="https://covercharge.bandcamp.com/" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://covercharge.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">https://covercharge.bandcamp.com/</a> and it is a must have. </h2>
<h2>When I go to visit Adrienne in Durham to do Zub stuff or to record podcasts, the first thing I do (usually at the Durham Co-Op) is get a copy of <em>The Indy </em>and pore over the Cradle, the Station, and Motorco listings. In a very similar way, this compilation is like a typical Cat’s Cradle upcoming listing. That means, for me, about 20 percent of shows are must see, maybe 40 percent are ‘maybe,’ and probably about 40 percent are shows I’m not interested in. There’s no snark here, really that means the Cradle has universal booking taste and book a lot of excellent bands that I just might not be interested in. That broad booking is part of the secret of the Cradle’s longevity, and that broad sampling is reflected here. </h2>
<h2>There are 25 songs on the compilation and my 20 percent favorites begin with The dB’s and their cover of The Kinks ‘I’m On An Island.’ It’s an inspired cover. I had a brief interview with dB's drummer Will Rigby and he confirmed this was the original four-piece dB’s (Chris Stamey, Peter Holsapple, Gene Holder, and Will) recorded in bits and finished at Chris Stamey’s studio. He hinted of a further Kinks related single by The dB’s! </h2>
<h2>Don Dixon and Marti Jones offer a somewhat oddball John Sebastian cover, ‘Respoken’ that was written for the 1966 Woody Allen film <em>What’s Up Tiger Lily</em>. A brief chat with the legendary Mr, Dixon (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubimbibe" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubimbibe" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubimbibe</a>) revealed they learned the song for a West Coast tribute to the Lovin’ Spoonful, so they recorded it at their home in Canton, Ohio. Needless to say, it is a mesmerizing little gem with amazing production and the beautiful vocals of Marti (and Don with one of the greatest voices in rock). Fantastic. </h2>
<h2>Sarah Shook and the Disarmers have an amazing version of the Cigarettes After Sex song ‘Apocalypse.’ I’ve never heard Sarah sing so low key and beautifully, her vocal is <em>smouldering</em>. And it is a song from 2017! </h2>
<h2>Another great, inspired cover is by Florence Dore. She and her crack band (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubdore" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubdore" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubdore</a>) play Marshall Crenshaw’s ‘Somewhere Down The Line; (from his <em>Life’s Too Short</em> LP), and aided by Mipso’s Libby Rodenbough on violin, it’s a great take, led by Florence’s voice and of course produced and mixed by Don Dixon. I interviewed Florence and she said they put the recording together remotely, people adding their parts, and she relayed a great story about using facetime to be the drum engineer on Will Rigby’s drums. Florence told me, after finishing the song, she basically came up with the idea for the <em>Cover Charge</em> project, and along with Steve Balcom, Lane Wurster, and Shawn Nolan they got the project going! </h2>
<h2>Following my formula with 40 percent of bands in my ‘maybe’ category, there are a LOT of other cool covers on this download. Indie stalwarts Superchunk do a fine version of Kathy Valentine’s ‘Can’t Stop The World’ from The Go-Go’s <em>Beauty and the Beat</em>. It’s great to hear The Connells and their Rickenbacker guitars on Richard Thompson’s ‘Keep Your Distance.’ The Love Language do a very respectful version of Teenage Fanclub’s ‘Everything Flows’ (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubconcept" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubconcept" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubconcept</a>). Dex Romweber kills it with a version of ‘A Face In The Crowd,’ a song sung by Andy Griffin’s Lonesome Rhoades character in the movie of the same name. </h2>
<h2>The Old Ceremony does a pleasant version of Love and their ‘Alone Again Or.’ Django Haskins really has an impressive voice, and he deploys it well here. The Mayflies USA channel the Smiths with ‘There Is A Light That Never Goes Out,’ a beautiful song and a beautiful cover. Terry Anderson (the famous bandleader of Raleigh rock stalwarts The Fabulous Knobs, a band that was on the scene even before The Beef People) and his band cover McCartney’s ‘Every Night,’ and it’s every bit as good as you’d think. </h2>
<h2>The 40 percent on the compilation that doesn’t really get me going includes some other beloved artists, like Iron & Wine, Hiss Golden Messenger, Tift Merritt, Mount Moriah, and Chatham City Line, that are simply not manna to my old punk ears. Your results may vary significantly, and probably do. I know that many of these artists are many readers’ 20 percent. But that’s what is great about the compilation and about the club it supports: there is a place for your loves, your friends, and those you wish well and simply nod politely to in the hall. And they <em>all</em> have come through for the cause. </h2>
<h2>This is a wonderful compilation. Done for the right reasons. Kudos to Florence Dore for getting it off the ground. Please consider buying a copy. I asked Florence how the sales were doing, and she didn’t have any figures, but hinted the project was going well. I hope so, we have tickets for upcoming venue shows with Guided By Voices and Hoodoo Gurus, so we can’t wait to get back to the Cradle…. </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan</h2>
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<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, <em>Singles Going Steady</em>, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/64107822020-08-16T14:22:36-04:002020-08-16T14:22:36-04:00The Public Image Is Rotten<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/1e7f93390165937cd70ccb30edfb6a3d267c6378/original/pil.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>There can be no argument that John Lydon is a polarizing figure. I think you are generally with him or against him. So, I’m firmly in the Lydon fanboy camp. The Sex Pistols were a big deal to me and Public Image Ltd. showed me an entire new world, of true post-punk music. There is a reason I have two copies of <em>Metal Box</em>. Those early PiL records had a gigantic influence on me. I will never forget seeing them at the Agora in Atlanta on the <em>Metal Box </em>tour circa 1980. </h2>
<h2>This brings us to <em>The Public Image Is Rotten</em>, the 2017 documentary focusing on the story of PiL, and my recent pandemic entertainment. The story is dominated by Lydon, who is always a bit of a know-it-all. Fortunately, almost everything he says is at least somewhat true. I’ve read both of his memoirs so there is a lot of familiar ground gone over early on, and John still has axes to grind, especially with Sex Pistol impersario-manager Malcolm McLaren. </h2>
<h2>That being said, that the movie alsos talk to the other members of the original, <em>First Issue</em> PiL is impressive. Jim Walker the drummer (who I have never seen interviewed) explains they were quite a dangerous bunch, but he left once the money ran out. There is scant footage of guitarist Keith Levene, who even today does not appear to have kicked his drug issues. Jah Wobble (bassist) gets much screen time, but is demonized as someone who took advantage of PiL tracks for his own record sales. </h2>
<h2>The <em>Metal Box</em> era band features drummer Martin Atkins, who is very coherent and provides great insight into what was going on. His contributions to the documentary’s story are invaluable. Around this time we hear from the inevitable Thurston Moore (seemingly a must-have for any documentary on this musical era), Ad-Rock from The Beasties, and Flea, who provide plenty of hero worship. The old footage and story of the near riot at NYC’s Ritz (where the band played behind a screen) are told. </h2>
<h2>John is set up and arrested in Ireland, and the story of the making of <em>The Flowers Of Romance</em> is one of a strange process, Lydon, Atkins and producer Nick Launay with a (when awake) Levene. All coming in and doing their parts (or, in Levene’s case, erasing his parts) at different times. Jeanette Lee, whose picture is on the <em>Flowers Of Romance</em> cover and who is mentioned as a band member, is not mentioned in the film. They have a quick deadline before John has to spend some jail time to get the recording done. </h2>
<h2>The mid-period PiL is covered, but this is an era where I lost interest in the band, even with the incredible John McGeogh on guitar. Let’s just say Lydon goes through lots of musicians. His comeback is on <em>Album</em>, but it’s clear that producer Bill Laswell brought in the tracks, played on much of it, and recruited the all-star musician staff for the sessions, including Ginger Baker and Steve Vai! Lydon himself seems proud that he has been accepted by the professional musician community. </h2>
<h2>Beginning in 1993, Lydon took about ten years off from PiL, playing reunions with The Sex Pistols, and raising his nieces (The Slits’ Ari Up’s twins) with her mother, his wife Nora. John talks about how much he loves kids and how he has learned so much by being with them. After a British butter commercial (hilariously shown in the film) Lydon has enough money to reform PiL, with guitarist Lu Edmonds (the Damned), drummer Bruce Smith (the Pop Group), and Scott Frith. This is the band that continues to this day and the one I saw give a stellar performance in Atlanta a few years ago. Lydon is an artist and a survivor, and with new management from his longtime pal John ‘Rambo’ Stevens, things are good again with PiL. </h2>
<h2>I’ve just read in the news that John’s wife Nora has advanced dementia and he is her full-time caregiver now. Underneath the snarl, piss, and vinegar is a kind-hearted man. If you are interested in PiL this movie is a great place to start, but you need to be on team Lydon. If not, it may not be your thing and is not likely to win you over. </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan</h2>
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<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/64086822020-08-13T13:38:31-04:002020-08-13T13:38:31-04:00Sturgill Simpson Live Stream at the Ryman<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/d45ac9d64e0b20edec2997ced19df4519ba0416e/original/sturgill.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>Sturgill. He is the man. After having his most recent tour cancelled halfway through due to the pandemic, a tour that I saw in Asheville, he contracted COVID-19 and was out of commission for a few weeks. Then he stirred up shit on the Internet, and achieved his dream of getting his record company to <em>drop</em> him. I got the impression he was over music for awhile, but tonight he seemed energized and ready to go, with a full-on Bluegrass band. </h2>
<h2>Sturgill explained he started a fake organization - ‘Dick Daddy Survival School,’ to raise money for Music Cares, Nashville, wounded vets and other charities. He promised to do a show and release an LP this year if he raised $200K; his fans have spent $248,000 to date. That’s what this show tonight was about. </h2>
<h2>Opening with ‘Living The Dream’ from <em>Metamodern Sounds In Country Music</em>, he revealed, in the empty Ryman, a totally crack band of Bluegrass vets. Upright bass, banjo, mandolin, another acoustic (plus Sturgill’s) and violin, and Sturgill being an iconoclast, the non-Bluegrass purist inclusion of a snare drum. Next up was ‘A Little Light,’ and both songs sounded like Bluegrass classics. The <em>Metamodern</em> songs continued with ‘Life Of Sin,’ basically the story of Sturgill’s career. Next was ‘All The Pretty Colors’ from his first band, Sunday Valley. He introduced it as a song “he played in a punk rock band in Kentucky,” and it was a high-tempo scorcher. </h2>
<h2>Sturgill spoke before ‘Long White Line,’ (again from <em>Metamodern</em>), mentioning he had “difficultied” his way out of a record contract, and talked about getting back to Bluegrass, music from “gravel parking lots and porta-potties.” He said this was the music that was in his heart and soul. </h2>
<h2>Next up, ‘Breaker’s Roar,’ from <em>A Sailor’s Guide To Earth</em>. This was a song with Bluegrass trappings but with a much more sophisticated and deep underpinning, Sturgill singing: </h2>
<h2><em>Oh, how the breakers roar </em></h2>
<h2><em>They keep pulling me farther from shore </em></h2>
<h2><em>Thoughts turn to a love so kind </em></h2>
<h2><em>Just to keep me from losing my mind </em></h2>
<h2><em>So enticing, deep dark seas </em></h2>
<h2><em>It's so easy to drown in the dream </em></h2>
<h2><em>Oh, and everything is not what it seems </em></h2>
<h2><em>This life is but a dream </em></h2>
<h2><em>Shatter illusions that hold your spirit down </em></h2>
<h2><em>Open up your heart and you'll find love all around </em></h2>
<h2><em>Breathing and moving are healing </em></h2>
<h2><em>And soothing away </em></h2>
<h2><em>All the pain in life holding you down </em></h2>
<h2>This song was just stunning, and his voice never better. In the same way, (<em>A Sailor’s Guide’s</em>) ‘All Around You’ had a Bluegrass framework, but this is an R & B, soul music song in bluegrass trappings. I could hear Sam Cooke singing this: </h2>
<h2><em>There will be days </em></h2>
<h2><em>When the sun won't shine </em></h2>
<h2><em>When it seems like the whole world is against you </em></h2>
<h2><em>Don't be afraid </em></h2>
<h2><em>Life is unkind </em></h2>
<h2><em>You can let go of the pain if you choose to </em></h2>
<h2><em>'Cause time slips away </em></h2>
<h2><em>Skies fall apart </em></h2>
<h2><em>It ain't too hard </em></h2>
<h2><em>A universal heart </em></h2>
<h2><em>Glowing, flowing, all around you </em></h2>
<h2><em>There will be nights that go on forever </em></h2>
<h2><em>Like you're long-lost at sea </em></h2>
<h2><em>Never to be found </em></h2>
<h2><em>Just know in your heart </em></h2>
<h2><em>That we're always together </em></h2>
<h2><em>And long after I'm gone </em></h2>
<h2><em>I'll still be around </em></h2>
<h2><em>'Cause our bond is eternal </em></h2>
<h2><em>And so is love </em></h2>
<h2><em>God is inside you all around you </em></h2>
<h2>It’s devastating. </h2>
<h2>They followed up with the Sunday Valley song ‘Sometimes Wine,’ back to traditional Bluegrass. Then they did ‘Time After All,’ a meditative song from Sturgill’s first record <em>High Top Mountain</em>. This was followed by some true, traditional Bluegrass, beginning with ‘Pretty Polly,’ which I’m familiar with through Ralph Stanley. Then Sturgill did his own ‘Railroad Of Sin,’ which fit in beautifully, and they ended up with the Stanley Brothers ‘Sharecropper’s Son.’ </h2>
<h2>I can’t hardly tell you how much admiration I have for Sturgill Simpson. Including this stream, I've seen him three times, and each time it was like seeing a completely different artist. His talent really appears to have no limit. His songwriting otherworldly, singing so expressive: Sturgill does not chase any sort of musical trends. Sturgill does whatever the hell he wants, and he’s great at whatever the hell he wants. He coyly said he was going to release TWO albums this year, intimating he might have different takes on the same material. Will there be a rocking version and a Bluegrass version of the same songs? Sturgill might do this just because the Sturgill, free of the old label restraints, is just gifted and ornery enough to do it. </h2>
<h2>He is back to his Kentucky roots, perhaps influenced by his tour-mate Tyler Childers (see our live review at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubsturgill" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubsturgill" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubsturgill</a>), and the results are spectacular. Sturgill is still miles ahead of his audience. Follow him, it’s a wonderful ride as you follow along in his wake, trying to catch up. </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan </h2>
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<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, <em>Singles Going Steady,</em> is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/64045512020-08-07T13:26:48-04:002020-08-07T13:26:48-04:00Nick Lowe and Los Straitjackets Live at Haw River Ballroom Download <p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/3f5f8f2869834a55735a94e56551d009644ac8fa/original/cover.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>What a lockdown gift! This is a download-only release from Yep Roc Records via Bandcamp, made available in the midst of the stir-crazy spring of 2020. This show was recorded in 2019, the night after we saw Nick and Los Straitjackets at The Orange Peel in Asheville (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubnickpeel" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubnickpeel" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubnickpeel</a>). There is a fairly lengthy description of the show in that post, but there are a few things about this download release you should know. </h2>
<h2>First, it sounds <em>fantastic</em>. There’s no studio trickery here, just vocals, Nick’s acoustic, and the Staitjackets’ two electric guitars, bass, and drums. These guys deliver the goods, and Nick’s vocals are amazing throughout. The Los Straitjackets’ mini-set, delivered without Nick in the middle of the show, is super high energy and lots of fun. </h2>
<h2>Second, the band and especially Nick seem to be having a <em>really great</em> time, and it comes through loud and clear on the recording. Every time I listen to this set, it improves my mood and has me smiling and bopping along. There are many highlights on the twenty-six songs on this recording. There’s a smashing version of ‘Raging Eyes’ (from <em>The Abominable Showman</em>), and a smoky take on ‘You Inspire Me’ from <em>Dig My Mood</em>, a song I could hear Nat King Cole swooning on. </h2>
<h2>Third, there’s plenty of new/recent Nick and Los Straitjackets tunes, including the rockabilly rave-up ‘Tokyo Bay’ (<a contents="tinyurl.com/tokyolowe" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/tokyolowe" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/tokyolowe</a>), the bouncy ‘Love Starvation,’ and the exceptional ‘Blue On Blue,’ one of Nick’s finest, and also newest. Of course, they play the classics, ‘Cruel To Be Kind,’ and a slowed-down ‘Heart Of The City.’ Elvis Costello has been playing this one a lot on his recent tours, but Nick’s rearrangement is ultra-cool. We didn’t get this one in Asheville, but we did get a fantastic version of Rockpile’s ‘Heart.’ And so it goes. </h2>
<h2>Nick closes out with his stunning ‘When I Write The Book,’ and another famous song he wrote, ‘(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace Love And Understanding,’ and in a great twist, he closes with a version of Costello’s ‘Alison.’ </h2>
<h2>I’m not a big download guy (MP3 is a little sonically thin for my ears, luckily Bandcamp lets you get full .wav or FLAC files), but Nick fans, or just those who want to hear a master singer/songwriter and fabulous band at work, won’t find a better collection. Yep Roc are to be commended for releasing this, and the timing was heroic! </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan </h2>
<p> </p>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, <em>Singles Going Steady</em>, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/64026992020-08-05T13:25:38-04:002020-08-05T23:52:30-04:00Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift Live Quarantine Show Parts 10 through 13<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/95f258c1267fb90ee634564678d537621a3c6fc1/original/rh-pt-19.png/!!/b:W10=.png" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2><strong>Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift Live Quarantine Show Part 10 - All David Bowie Requests </strong></h2>
<h2>I’ve really come to look forward to these streaming sessions from Robyn and Emma’s couch in Nashville, and they never seem to disappoint. After the Friday afternoon Syd Barrett show, they were back on schedule for Wednesday night and a special, all-request David Bowie show. Our hosts seemed to be in a good mood months into lockdown. By way of an intro, Emma noted of her floppy-haired, home-shorn companion, “Robyn’s brought (Andy) Warhol’s hair.” They started off with a great version of ‘Soul Love’ from <em>Ziggy Stardust</em>, but the mic levels were way too hot, distorted and distracting. The commenters on the feed, which Emma keeps an eye on, alerted her and the levels were set properly for the second song. </h2>
<h2>Emma Swift sang a solo, gorgeous version of ‘Moonage Daydream’ which was really stunning. Afterwards, Robyn spoke of Bowie as a genius, along with “Virginia Woolf, Willian Shakespeare, and...Tubby (the Cat).” The two of them did ‘Starman,’ these stripped down versions really showing off how great Bowie’s melodic gifts were. This was followed by a terrific version of ‘Quicksand’ from <em>Hunky Dory</em>, as the the lonely lyrics go: </h2>
<h2><em>I ain’t got the power anymore </em></h2>
<h2><em>Knowledge comes with death’s release </em></h2>
<h2>Robyn switched to his electric guitar (a Fender Telecaster) and beautifully picked ‘Life On Mars?’ Emma sang alone again, her voice is a wonderful thing, we need to hear her on more recordings. In introducing ‘Heroes’ Robyn said this song was “Bowie and Eno’s take on a Velvet Underground song … so this is how I imagined Lou Reed playing it.” Reg rolled out a slow, stately, very ‘Perfect Day’ type version of ‘Heroes,’ and it truly gave me chills. I hope he will record this version sometime. </h2>
<h2>Robyn mentioned that Syd Barrett was a big influence on Bowie, and he did ‘Sons Of The Stone Age’ (from <em>Heroes</em>) which would not have sounded out of place on the Syd Barrett covers show. Emma mentioned learning and playing these songs was “very emotional” and that ‘these songs go way back.” It was obvious that both Reg and Em are big, big Bowie fans. They did a great, bouncy version of ‘Drive-In Saturday’ from <em>Aladdin Sane</em>, Em remarking “It’s so catchy, that one.” This was followed by what I could only describe as the ‘jaunty pop’ of ‘The Prettiest Star.’ When the duo did ‘Kooks’ from <em>Hunky Dory </em>I was struck at the inherent folkiness of these early Bowie songs. I always associate Bowie with weird synths, big bands, and time-stretching Eno and Visconti production, but most of his songs were written with an acoustic and can be played that way without losing their essence. Robyn and Emma get that. </h2>
<h2>They finished up with a pretty funny version of ‘Golden Years,’ Reg vamping it up a bit, and were able to do about half of ‘Wild Is The Wind,’ Nina Simone style with Emma singing solo before the feed cut off for time. </h2>
<h2>Another great show, David and Robyn and Emma. A special trio. </h2>
<h2><strong>Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift Live Quarantine Show Part 11 </strong></h2>
<h2>Part 11 was where the show had some real issues. There were some issues with <em>StageIt</em>, their streaming platform, so our intrepid duo moved the show to Robyn’s Facebook page, starting about 30 minutes late. Robyn, looking a wee bit flustered, played solo on his Gibson acoustic, while Emma, I believe, was frantically working on the streaming issues. Reg played ‘Raymond & The Wires,’ a wistful song about his Dad and trolleybuses, from his latest Yep Roc record <em>Robyn Hitchcock</em>. He then did ‘The Cheese Alarm’ from <em>Jewels For Sophia</em>, and then my computer just quit. Took me a while to get back online, but when I finally did, they had moved back to <em>StageIt</em>, and things slowly returned to normal. </h2>
<h2>Reg and Emma together sang ‘Ruling Class,’ from <em>Luminous Groove</em>, and there was a discussion of the song afterwards, Robyn saying it was an “exhumed B-Side.” Discussion of the British class system somehow brought up Boris Johnson, to which Reg snapped a vulgarism, viewed by non-Brits as misogynist (they don’t seem to view it as gendered). Emma was horrified at the word choice and they agreed they were playing these shows to get away from all that political noise. Emma picked one of her favorite Hitchcock songs, Reg saying he “recorded it twice with the Soft Boys,” and played ‘Rock And Roll Toilet.’ After the song Robyn commented “I wrote that song and then lived it.” </h2>
<h2>Introducing it as his “newest song,” the duo did ‘Take Off Your Bandages,” a beautiful and angry song about the school shooting in Florida. Robyn switched to his Fender Telecaster and did an electric version of ‘America,’ from <em>Groovy Decay</em>. This song featured Robyn whistling(!). Appearing to be less panicked, the duo did a beautiful version of ‘Autumn Sunglasses’ from <em>Robyn Hitchcock</em>, a song they were doing live when we last saw them (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubreglive" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubreglive" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubreglive</a>). Their voices were great together on this one, and Emma ended up saying “it’s been a stressful day.’ </h2>
<h2>Robyn did a beautiful version of ‘Veins Of The Queen’ from <em>Queen Elvis</em>, they looked for Tubby the cat but Em said Robyn’s bad language was “below Tubby’s standard.” Robyn switched to acoustic and he and Emma did ‘Glass Hotel,’ a very Lennon-esque tune and very sad: </h2>
<h2><em>Seems like you were in a glass hotel </em></h2>
<h2><em>Seems like there was someone else as well </em></h2>
<h2><em>It seems like, it seems like, a dream </em></h2>
<h2>Now in encore time, they played ‘Wild Is The Wind,’ the Bowie via Nina Simone cover. Emma sang solo and torched the hell out of the song. What an amazing voice she has! The duo ended up with one verse of ‘Listening To The Higsons,’ and this fraught-with-peril, spanning-platforms show was done. Robyn and Emma are to be commended for getting the show on and cheering us all up. </h2>
<h2><strong>Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift Live Quarantine Bob Dylan Secret Show Part 12 </strong></h2>
<h2>Due to the last show being a bit of a debacle, Robyn and Emma sent me an invitation to a ‘Secret Show’ for Bob Dylan’s birthday. This one was a present from Robyn and Em via the infamous Zoom platform, the unofficial meeting place of this quarantine period. Logging in it took a few minutes to get everyone sorted, muted, and ready to go. Quite laughable. Robyn was at their kitchen table in their East Nashville home and false started three times before he was able to properly launch ‘She Belongs To Me.’ I’ve mentioned numerous times how Robyn Hitchcock brings a gravitas and sense of melody to what seems to be thrown-off songs and lyrics of Dylan. Robyn makes these songs fantastic; it’s like he is singing the Old Testament of rock. </h2>
<h2>During ‘Desolation Row’ (from <em>Highway 61 Revisited</em>) there was some glitchiness with the feed, slowing down and speeding up, a bit unsettling but not too bad. The video and audio on Zoom was much better than <em>StageIt</em> (the platform they usually use) so that was a real plus. I was having technical problems of my own though, my computer conveniently cutting off at critical moments. When I returned, Reg did ‘Tryin’ To Get To Heaven’ from <em>Time Out Of Mind</em>, and introducing ‘Clothes Line Saga’ from <em>The Basement Tapes,</em> he posited that Bob “had been listening to Bobby Gentry’s ‘Ode To Billy Joe.’” At this point, Emma Swift appeared, plugging her forthcoming new record, <em>Blonde On The Tracks</em>, a collection of Dylan covers. </h2>
<h2>They then played ‘The Man In Me’ from <em>New Morning</em> but probably known to most of us as the Dylan song in <em>The Big Lebowski</em>. Emma sang lead, and she was wonderful as usual. Then...Tubby appeared! Tubby, the one-eyed member of the Swiftcock Scottish Fold cat duo, was docile and so very cute and hung around for a few minutes. Reg and Em did ‘Just Like A Woman,’ a lighter, more fingerpicked version that their first Bob Dylan covers show when they played it, and their voices sounded great together. Then my computer quit, again. </h2>
<h2>Returning to the show, Robyn discussed how Dylan’s songs explore “The comfort of doom,” and proceeded to play ‘Shelter From The Storm’ from <em>Blood On The Tracks</em>. Robyn’s highlight of the night was his amazing performance of ‘Not Dark Yet’ from <em>Time Out Of Mind</em>,'' a rendition truly raising goosebumps, picked beautifully on an acoustic. Emma brought him a cup of tea and he remarked “who thought the apocalypse would be such a constant.” Robyn then did ‘Visions Of Johanna,’ a Dylan song he seems to almost inhabit better than Dylan himself. Reg owns this song, and remarked that he’d been “working on it since 1968.” </h2>
<h2>There was some talk about Lou Reed, and Reg played the intro to ‘Sweet Jane,’ but quickly changed for a last song request of ‘The Times They Are A Changin,’ which in his version was much more power-pop than folk protest. We were able to watch as Reg and Em figured out how to sign off Zoom, and again they brought us a wonderful show and a special treat. I immediately ordered Emma’s new LP! </h2>
<h2>Happy birthday, Bob. </h2>
<h2><strong>Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift Live Quarantine Show Part 13 - Element Of Light (in full) </strong></h2>
<h2>Robyn and Emma’s show tonight focused on his 1986 <em>Element Of Light </em>record, recorded with his band the Egyptians. Reg was back in ‘Studio B,’ the kitchen table in their East Nashville home, with a John and Yoko calendar on the wall. As they got the tech together, as Emma does all the tech, she got it together, Robyn played ‘Ghost Ship,’ a B-side from that era that wasn’t really released until 1995 on <em>You And Oblivion</em>. This is a great song and Robyn played it beautifully. </h2>
<h2>Emma appeared and mentioned they had a new audio interface, and indeed the sound was much, much better than the previous streams. She also brought Perry The Lobster, the stuffed crustacean that they said “migrated from the couch.” Now it was time for <em>Element Of Light</em>, and Emma and Robyn both sang ‘If You Were A Priest,’ which had a bouncy, folk-pop sheen to it. Emma mentioned it “sounded like the Psychedelic Furs.” (see part 5 at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubtubby" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubtubby" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubtubby</a>) On ‘Winchester,’ Emma sounded especially good, with Robyn saying at the end “How do you harmonize like that? It’s incredible.” </h2>
<h2>Before playing ‘Somewhere Apart,’ Robyn said the song was “Inspired by ‘Remember’ by The Plastic Ono Band.” Indeed this song was totally Lennon-esque. Instead of the piano on ‘Ted, Woody and Junior,’ Robyn turned it into a light, softly picked, gentle folkie tune. It was remarkable. Then Emma appeared with Ringo, their Scottish Fold cat with two eyes (Tubby only has one) and they discussed the next song ‘The President.’ Reg talked about the tension of the cold war and Ronald Reagan and said this was about “nostalgic presidential dread.” ‘The President’ is about Reagan’s visit to the cemetery in Bitburg, Germany where Nazi SS officers were also buried. Robyn sang in his high, Neil Young voice: </h2>
<h2><em>He’s standing in a cemetery inside the Western zone </em></h2>
<h2><em>I listen on the radio, I’m glad I’m not alone </em></h2>
<h2><em>I know you’re out there, I know you’re out there somewhere </em></h2>
<h2><em>I can almost hear it raining </em></h2>
<h2>On to side 2 of <em>Element Of Light</em>, Robyn played one of his finest songs, ‘Raymond Chandler Evening,’ which brings all Reg’s strengths into focus. Clear, beautiful melody, wonderful guitar, and very clever and surreal lyrics. </h2>
<h2>The surreal songs continued with ‘Bass:’ </h2>
<h2><em>The juicy flounder and the tender chub </em></h2>
<h2><em>Will swim around you when you leave the pub </em></h2>
<h2><em>Their mouths are open and they will not shut </em></h2>
<h2><em>Unless you kiss them all behind the hut </em></h2>
<h2><em>But don't go messing with a guy like Reg </em></h2>
<h2><em>He'll leave you gurgling behind the hedge </em></h2>
<h2><em> </em></h2>
<h2>Emma and Reg laughed their way through this one, and after he said “I think I really nailed the human condition on that one.” Next up was ‘Airscape,’ one of those truly impressive Hitchcock tunes that well transcends his influences and shows his singular songwriting genius. It was spectacular. Reg switched from his big body Gibson acoustic to his small bodied Gibson Nick Lucas model and did a sad version of ‘Never Stop Bleeding.’ As time was running out, he ended with the last track on <em>Element Of Light</em>, ‘Lady Waters And The Hooded One,’ a song about the plague and death, that has a very old English folk quality to it, much like ‘One Long Pair Of Eyes.’ It was really impressive to hear this whole record played acoustically. It makes you realize just how good the songs are, and sometimes they are improved in this stripped down form. Thirty-four years later, <em>Element Of Light </em>never sounded better. </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan </h2>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, <em>Singles Going Steady</em>, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/64000452020-08-02T13:20:52-04:002020-08-02T13:20:52-04:00ESPN's The Last Dance<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/d95f83dc8b49fcfd2b0d6950e06e9bb54247639a/original/last.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<h2>I don’t really think that our <em>Zub Alert</em> blog is a particularly sports-friendly space. Everyone knows sports, and sports podcasts (along with murder podcasts) are consistently toward the top of ratings with most listeners. I myself am a sports fan, but a bit of an outlier here in the Upstate of South Carolina. In my area, Clemson University college football is king. Full stop. I will now watch Clemson and the University Of South Carolina college football, but it’s not a way of life for me. I love NFL Football, and am a long-suffering fan of The Atlanta Falcons. I also love hockey, and am a big Boston Bruins fan. As far as basketball, though….not so much. Alumna Adrienne is a diehard University Of North Carolina college basketball fan. I like to watch March Madness, but as far as pro basketball goes, it’s just not my thing. </h2>
<h2>This brings me to ESPN’s <em>The Last Dance</em>, a ten-part series on Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls and their second attempt for a three-peat NBA championship, having won three championships from 1991-1993 and won two in 1996 and 1997. The Bulls allowed a film crew exclusive access for the 1998 season, and the documentary makes great use of it. We all know that the Bulls are going to win ‘the last dance,’ as their coach Phil Jackson put it, but it’s how the story gets there that is the interesting thing. </h2>
<h2>First, ESPN was able to get this documentary done in time to show early during the pandemic, a time of no live sports of any kind. I think this gave <em>The Last Dance </em>an audience that was probably much greater than it might have been. There are a few issues to be dealt with in this series, which is really all about Michael Jordan. The number one issue to me was that Jump 23, Jordan’s production company, is a partner in the creation of the series. There can be no doubt they are trying to make Michael look good. </h2>
<h2>That being said, the main takeaway is that Michael Jordan, as a basketball player, wasn’t a nice guy. He was a fearsome presence in practice and workouts and was rough on his teammates. This is made clear in the series, at one point he gets into a fight with teammate Steve Kerr and is thrown out of practice. He is also portrayed as a very, very, very competitive guy. An alpha on the court. As the series follows his career from wonderkid at UNC to being drafted by the Bulls, I learned a lot about Michael. </h2>
<h2>I lived through his glory years, and there was a time where Michael Jordan was one of the most famous figures, not just among athletes, but worldwide. Of course he famously made a stunning last minute shot that won the National Championship for this college team and left college ball early for the pro draft. On getting signed, he wanted a shoe deal with Adidias, but they turned him down flat. This led to his manager working a small deal with a running shoe company from Oregon, called Nike. They were hoping to sell a few hundred thousand dollars worth of shoes, but even in his first year, Jordan sold $1.3 million of his shoes. Nike would never be the same again. The show mentioned that the NBA is in 128 countries now, but before Jordan joined the Olympic dream team in Barcelona in 1993, the NBA was only in twelve countries. Jordan almost single-handedly put the NBA on the map. </h2>
<h2>I remember Spike Lee and his ‘Mars Blackmon' commercials (“It must be the shoes”) which look as hip and cool as ever, and the McDonalds ads, and the Gatorade ‘I wanna be like Mike’ phenomenon. Of course, there was the <em>Space Jam</em> movie, which was a huge hit. There can be no doubt that Michael was ubiquitous in those days, a cultural phenomenon. </h2>
<h2>The series makes no bones about Michael. I suppose he was the greatest player of our time (Is that true, LeBron? Kobe?) (Adrienne: I think that “our” is too limiting!) and they show him in that light. Even when the Bulls get literally beat up by the Detroit Pistons and lose in the playoffs, Jordan vows to work out harder in the offseason, bulk up, and come back and beat them. There is a good bit of footage dealing with his teammates, Scottie Pippen seen as a bit of a baby, and Dennis Rodman? They deal with Dennis’ acting out, but don’t give any explanation of his true issues. Drugs, alcohol, mental issues? Anyway, it’s obvious these players, along with Horace Grant and Steve Kerr, realize they need to hitch their wagons to Jordan. </h2>
<h2>There is a truly touching sequence with Steve Kerr, whose father was a Middle East expert at UCLA. His father takes over American University in Beirut and is killed by terrorists. Kerr dedicates himself to basketball, a sport his dad loved, and becomes a clutch three-point shooter. </h2>
<h2>It seems like Michael Jordan was a player who could <em><strong>both</strong></em> make all his other teammates better and practically win games single handedly. There are many interviews with opposing players, and most agree he was unstoppable. There are a lot of present day interviews with Jordan, and he hasn’t mellowed a bit, he seems like he still wants to play, arguing that he had this player’s number or how he knew how to beat that player. He’s still a fierce competitor at heart. </h2>
<h2>The series goes into his gambling issues, and here things get a bit murky. Playing golf for $10,000 a hole, and such. They even speculate about his retirement between the three-peats as maybe being a suspension from the NBA for gambling abuses. Of course, then NBA commissioner David Stern is trotted out, saying it didn’t happen. What else would he say? The gambling issue is also used to paint a more sinister tale of Michael’s father’s death, killed by two punks who wanted to steal his Lexus while he slept at a rest area in North Carolina. This doesn’t appear to have any truth behind it. They do show, however, Michael’s ill-fated attempt to be a baseball player with the Birmingham Barons. He quit when the baseball lockout started. </h2>
<h2>They do talk about Michael and the senate race in North Carolina, African-American Harvey Gantt, the popular mayor of Charlotte running against famous racist Jesse Helms. Michael’s mother asked him to record a PSA for Gantt, but he refused, saying “republicans buy shoes too.” This was not his finest moment. (Note: it was just reported that the Michael Jordan agency will donate 100 million dollars to racial equality organizations in the US, so maybe we shouldn’t be so hard on him). </h2>
<h2>After the Bulls (spoiler alert) win the second three-peat, Jordan retires as the Bulls are broken up. Jerry Krause, the General Manager, and the Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf are never shown in a good light, if there are villains in this story, they are the ones. Jordan retires and the series is over. There’s no mention of Jordan’s ill-fated comeback with Washington or the poor job he is doing in the front office of the Charlotte Hornets. </h2>
<h2>This is a ten-hour series. There is a lot to take in, and I found it to be very entertaining, the relentless drive and perfectionism of Michael Jordan, warts and all. Not enough is said about his teammates, and especially about coach Phil Jackson (who went on to win five NBA championships in Los Angeles). As in my review of the <em>Grant </em>series, I have questions about revisionist history and who is telling your story. Michael made sure we got to see what he wanted. </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan</h2>
<p> </p>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/63909912020-07-23T13:37:04-04:002020-07-23T13:37:04-04:00Grant on the History Channel<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/1ac432e0d2aaf2067c49ee1489667bad1b4d8e2f/original/grant.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>
<em>Who lives, who dies, who tells your story...</em> is one of the amazing lyrics from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical Hamilton (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubmyshot" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubmyshot" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubmyshot</a>), adapted from the biography of Alexander Hamilton written by Ron Chernow. Chernow’s last book, <em>Grant</em>, was a comprehensive story of the life of General Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th President of the United States. This three part, six hour series is based on his book, and produced by a team led by actor Leo DiCaprio. Right from the beginning, it’s clear that this is a rehabilitation of Grant’s image and place in history. </h2>
<h2>I’ve always been a history buff, but as taught in (my South Carolina) High School, Ulysses S.Grant was always portrayed as lazy, ineffective, corrupt, and a drunk. According to this series, nothing could be further from the truth. They almost immediately attack two similar ideas that came from later Southern revisionist historians. The South obviously lost the war, but in truth they won the peace and in many ways have controlled the narrative. When you think Civil War generals, who comes to mind? Not U.S.Grant, more likely Robert E. Lee. The first point concerns why the war was fought. The series makes it clear that the reason there was a Civil War was slavery, clear and simple. The second point they bring up, at the end of the series, is how the South later advanced the ideas of states rights, heritage, and the so-called ‘lost cause.’ The Grant miniseries lays waste to this idea, pointing out that later Southern historians could not defend any position on slavery, so they made up the ‘lost cause’ claptrap. </h2>
<h2>Grant’s reputation seems to have been caught in this backwash. </h2>
<h2>The conceit of the series is to use actors as well as talking head historians, and Grant gets real props for its use of a diverse group of knowledgeable “heads” providing the commentary, including Ta-Nehisi Coates, author of the collection of essays on the Reconstruction, <em>We Were Eight Years In Power.</em> Other heavyweights include General David Petraeus and Elizabeth Samet, English professor at West Point, and plenty of commentary from Chernow himself. </h2>
<h2>Ulysses was born in Ohio in 1822, a simple son of a tanner, with no interest in the family business. His love was horses, and he became quite an impressive equestrian at a young age. Somehow his father got him into West Point, the training ground of most Civil War generals. The narrative goes that Gallant Robert E. Lee was valedictorian, one of the few graduates in history to emerge with an unblemished record, but Grant, portrayed as a scrappy, scruffy Goofus, was only a middling student with many demerits. After graduation, he fell in love with and married Julia Dent, of a wealthy Missouri family that had many slaves. Grant’s father was a vehement abolitionist and none of Grant's family attended the wedding. </h2>
<h2>Ulysses made a name for himself during the Mexican war in 1846, with a brave display of horsemanship during one battle to get supplies for his troops. After that war, he ended up in Oregon Territory, lonely and despondent for his family. This is one of the two times the series shows Grant drinking, and he has to resign his post. Things went from bad to worse for Ulysses, living in a cabin on his father-in-law’s property and working in the fields with the slaves. He sold firewood in the town and failed at a number of career choices. Given a slave by Julia’s father, Grant set the man free, which Ta-Neishi Coates describes as “walking away from your house.” A slave was worth at least $1000 at the time, a lot of money for the broke-ass Grants. </h2>
<h2>The Civil War changed everything, with Grant leading an Illinois regiment and moving up in the ranks quickly. He is a decisive and impressive commander, rarely retreating. He quickly makes a name for himself in the ‘Western’ theater of the war. There is a lot of the series devoted to the military campaigns, as this is where Grant made his name. The scenes are vivid and often graphic, the History Channel ante up for realistic production values. While Lincoln’s generals in the east were getting outsmarted by Lee and his army, Grant was only held back by timid higher ranking Union officers. He won a bloody, pitched battle at Shiloh, with over 23,000 (13,000 Union, 11,000) Confederate) casualties. Grant was portrayed as a ‘butcher’ and briefly considered resigning. </h2>
<h2>Soon he would have a victory at Vicksburg, controlling Confederate supply lines. By 1864, he was promoted to Lieutenant General, a position previously only held by George Washington. Lincoln made him in charge of all Union armies, and Grant trained his eye on Lee. After a terrible battle in ‘the Wilderness’ in Virginia, Grant prevailed and Lee laid down his arms at Appomattox. Five days later, with the Civil War over, was the Good Friday assassination of Lincoln. Julia and Ulysses were to be the guests of the Lincolns at Ford’s Theater that night, and Grant was an intended target of the Booth Conspiracy to decapitate the Union’s leaders. </h2>
<h2>Ulysses served two terms as President, and his administration was viewed as corrupt. In reality, Grant himself was not corrupt, or drunk, but many of his cronies were. He oversaw reconstruction and by the end of his first term had almost completely stamped out the influence of the Ku Klux Klan in the southern states. Grant was a hard worker for African American rights, using Federal troops (with congressional approval) in the southern states to enforce Reconstruction laws. As the series makes clear, however, war weary white Americans grew tired of the expense, and the South resented the occupation and social and political gains by freedmen. The North basically gave up on the black man. It was a terrible thing to hear. </h2>
<h2>Once out of office, Ulysses and Julia took a two year worldwide vacation. Everywhere he went, crowds of up to 250,000 people would show. He was the world's most famous American. On returning home, the Wall Street firm he headed went belly-up. He was screwed by the Bernie Madoff of his time. Back to nothing, and now suffering from cancer, he decided to write his memoir, aided by Mark Twain, who worked to get Grant a better book deal than the magazine serial he had originally agreed to, assuring him that now sales would provide handsomely for the Grant family. Willing himself to live through immense pain, he finished the book two days before he died. The book was a huge success, earning about $12,000,000 in today’s money for his family. </h2>
<h2>The story and series of <em>Grant</em> is a true American story. A simple, poor man rises to military and political greatness, tries to do the right thing, and is knocked back many times. I learned a great deal from <em>Grant</em>, especially about revisionist history. History Channel should be applauded for this series, which has both excellent production and a stellar script, and Ron Chernow for his book. </h2>
<h2>
<em>Who tells your story</em>, indeed. </h2>
<h2>----Stephen McGowan</h2>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, <em>Singles Going Steady</em>, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>
<h3> </h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/63869872020-07-18T15:11:41-04:002020-07-18T15:11:41-04:00So This Is Permanent: Peter Hook & The Light tribute to Ian Curtis<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/fb921da958802adecfd67a1b70a0cd12c0200609/original/hook-stream.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>May 18, 1980, was a terrible day: the day young Ian Curtis, frontman and lyricist for Manchester, England’s Joy Division, took his own life. Thus began the ‘myth’ of Joy Division (see our <em>Unknown Pleasures</em> reissue review <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubunknown" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubunknown" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubunknown</a>, our Joy Division podcast is at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubjoy" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubjoy" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubjoy</a>, and our review of Jon Savage’s fine book about the band is at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubsearing" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubsearing" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubsearing</a>) as viewed through the prism of a tragic suicide. </h2>
<h2>Forty years later, Peter Hook, bassist for Joy Division and estranged member of New Order, offered this stream from Macclesfield, England’s Christ Church, of his band, The Light, playing every Joy Division song. This show was captured in 2015 on the 35th anniversary of Ian’s passing. </h2>
<h2>Before I discuss the show, I want to talk about my experience seeing Peter Hook and the Light. I was lucky to see them at The Orange Peel in Asheville NC in 2017, they were doing the <em>Substance</em> tour, playing one set of Joy Division material and one of New Order. I must admit I attended the show with some trepidation, but Hook and his small band (drums, keys, guitar, Hook on lead bass, and Hook’s son on second bass) really delivered. The lesser-known Joy Division material they played was outstanding, and there was a lot of love and respect for the songs and the audience. This was unlike the very confrontational, jagged New Order show we saw in 1983 at the 688 in Atlanta (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubceremony" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubceremony" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubceremony</a>). The Light show was definitely a celebration of the music and I left impressed with Peter Hook and his band. </h2>
<h2>So, rewind to 2015 and the show that was just released. It was obviously a more introspective affair, in an old church with a beautiful stained glass backdrop. Hooky said there were 500 tickets sold and over 10,000 requests. The band performed <em><strong>every</strong></em> Joy Division song. The set was 47 songs long, and the stream is almost four hours. I don’t know how they did it, but they paced the show well. Hooky had a handwritten book of lyrics he occasionally consulted, and as the band tore through the early, pre-<em>Unknown Pleasures</em> catalog. ‘Novelty’ and ‘Digital’ were exceptional. Next, playing <em>Unknown</em> in order, I was struck by the heaviness of ‘Day Of The Lords,’ coming off like a sludgy Stooges track. Singer Rowetta Idam (known for her work with Happy Mondays) took the lead vocals on ‘Insight,’ and ‘New Dawn Fades’ and infused these tracks with a beautiful soulfulness. </h2>
<h2>Hooky sang lead on the other songs, and his voice was quite a good approximation of Ian’s, his bass playing (along with his son, Jack Bates) off the charts. They blew it out with a stunning version of ‘She’s Lost Control,’ a little more keyboard-oriented (keys from Andy Poole) than the original but stunning nonetheless. ‘Interzone’ was totally frantic punk rock. As they approached playing the second Joy Division record, <em>Closer </em>(released after Ian’s death, a collection of songs Joy Division never played live), there was a masterful version of ‘Dead Souls,’ one of Joy Division’s finest songs. Rowetta returned to wipe the floor with the funeral-like ‘Atmosphere,’ and I saw some in the crowd crying. </h2>
<h2>Now into <em>Closer</em>, ‘Atrocity Exhibition’ featured some truly nasty guitar from David Potts, spitting out barbed-wire riffs from his Fender Telecaster. Rowetta returned to sing ‘Colony,’ which gave the song a bit of Northern Soul spring. The final quarter of the set had the band playing singles and B-sides such as a kick-ass ‘Ice Age,’ a triumphant ‘Transmission,’ and a cathartic ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart,’ the whole crowd singing every word. Hooky ended the marathon with ‘Ceremony,’ dedicating it to “Stephen and Barney,” his estranged bandmates from Joy Division/New Order and the final song was B-Side ‘In A Lonely Place.’ </h2>
<h2>Peter Hook is to be commended for playing a moving tribute. Donations were taken for epilepsy, a condition Ian suffered from. This was a genuinely touching tribute. It was an almost superhuman band effort, but it was exceptionally well done. I love this band, Joy Division, very much and it was fantastic to hear all the material performed live. </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan</h2>
<p> </p>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, <em>Singles Going Steady</em>, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a> </h3>
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<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/cf4a03f14e911e77a5ac2cbac7deb551a4c98513/original/hook-setlist.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/63856502020-07-15T16:23:26-04:002020-07-15T16:23:26-04:00There's No Bones In Ice Cream - Sylvain Sylvain's story of The New York Dolls<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/3e76471c0ab9c12b0982a7844c2a2655b1a97dcd/original/sylvain.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<h2>On my continuing effort to learn a little more about the New York rock that I play in my new band (we are named Babylon, after the Dolls song, after all) I have gone from the Walter Lure Heartbreakers’ book to Sylvain Sylvain’s memoir, written in 2018, likewise co-written by Dave Thompson. </h2>
<h2>Sylvain comes across as cool, clear headed, and much less of a drug casualty than most of the others in the band (David Johanson had other issues). Sylvain remembers everything pretty well and isn’t afraid to burst bubbles in Internet-spread “factoids,” like the legend that the Dolls were supposed to open for Lou Reed on a British tour. The Dolls are listed on the posters of that era. Lou, being from NY and not at all impressed with the Dolls, would have none of it, and despite what you read on the Internet, the Dolls never opened for or played with Lou Reed. </h2>
<h2>His early story is quite fascinating. Born in Cairo, he was an Egyptian Jew whose father worked in an international bank and spoke five languages. They were well to do until the Suez crisis in 1956 that brought the end of British rule and ascendance of Nassir as the new Egyptian leader. Nassir removed all foreigners and Jews from important posts, and the family emigrated to France, where his dad became a tailor. They resettled in Buffalo, NY, a winter climate where his mother was miserable; eventually, they made their way to Brooklyn and Queens. </h2>
<h2>Sylvain’s musical story is pretty standard, learning to play and going to shows. One thing tailor’s son Sylvain really had going for him was his fashion sense. He started a clothing line, <em>Truth and Soul</em>, which was very successful and from which he made some real money, enough to go to Britain in the early 1970’s and buy and ship back a Marshall amplifier and a used Jaguar. He sold clothes at Woodstock and through his clothing connections, met Malcom McLaren and Vivienne Westwood, who became his longtime friends. </h2>
<h2>Sylvain tells a great high school story about being challenged to fight some kid after school, by the kid’s older brother. Resigned to his fate, Sylvain showed up for the afternoon fight: the little brother turned out to be future Doll Billy Murcia. They were already pals so they went through the motions of a fight on the playground and no one was wiser. These two met the older Arthur Kane, and fashion plate Johnny Genzale (<em>nee</em> Thunders) who was wishy washy about joining the band. Once David Johansen was found, the New York Dolls really started to get it together. </h2>
<h2>Sylvain is not starry eyed, the part where the band is together and playing is a short part of the book, because, as he says, they were only together a few years and really didn’t play that many gigs. He realizes the band couldn’t really play, as Ronnie Van Zant said when the Dolls opened for Skynyrd, “y’all don’t know how to play but y’all boogie like hell.” The Dolls do well in New York and California, and are huge in Britain, but they just didn’t click with mainstream America. Sylvain realizes their amazing look just pissed people off. They were too ahead of their time. </h2>
<h2>He understands the impact The Dolls had on Kiss and Aerosmith, which was plenty. He gives a good insight into the down and out New York of the 1970’s, post Velvets and pre CBGB’s, when there wasn’t a lot really going on. Unlike the Heartbreakers book, Sylvain does not obsess over the drugs. Arthur was a terrible alcoholic, and Jerry Nolan and Johnny were famous junkies. Sylvain relays the story as a visit from Iggy Pop to a hotel in LA, where Iggy got Johnny into smack; there was no turning back. Surprisingly, Malcolm McLaren turns out to be a great friend and real fan of the Dolls, even wanting Sylvain to join this new group in England called the Sex Pistols. Imagine what that might have been like! </h2>
<h2>This is a well written and informative book. Sylvain was there and he remembers. If you are at all interested in this period of pre-punk rock, it is an essential read! </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan </h2>
<p> </p>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/63821162020-07-10T14:32:33-04:002020-07-10T14:32:33-04:00Hamilton: Notes on the Biography, the Play, the Movie<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/f4c236d855cbcfbe39d00c8b74493a198f8a74d1/original/hamilton-movie.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>I somehow got in the habit of picking up historical biographies. I have never been one for the “Great Man” theory of history (if anything, I am a dialectic stan), but my favorite local bookstore and Costco always have a pile of alluring titles, so I fell into the habit of picking up and having a historical bio at hand. So the stack of Chernow <em>Hamilton</em> books called to me and I found it a fascinating and surprising read. I had always had a low level hostility toward Ham, feeling that somehow the Federalists were the bad guys in the early years of the country, that Hamilton was some sort of monarchist apologist. I had read Nancy Isenberg’s excellent bio, <em>Fallen Founder: The Life of Aaron Burr</em> and H.W. Brands’s <em>The Heartbreak of Aaron Burr</em> so I had a new-found sympathy for the feminist Burr. For me, the murder and the later attempted traitorousness became footnotes in Burr’s more complex life. So I picked up <em>Hamilton</em> almost itching for a pro-Burr fight. Team Aaron! </h2>
<h2>Hamilton’s story is one of an improbable and breathtaking rise above circumstances, buoyed by his intellect and cunning. Chernow does a remarkable job detailing Ham’s early life on the Carribean island of Nevis and the communal support that carried him to the mainland for an education. He was quite literally one smart bastard, his brains and savvy making a path for him, all the way into the tent of George Washington during the Revolution. By now, you probably know the story. Team Aaron? </h2>
<h2>Without embellishment or sentiment, the dual tracks of Burr and Hamilton’s lives seem destined to cross, and they do, multiple times. There are several titles that make hay on this seemingly inevitable collision of personalities and philosophies, one that played out in the infamous duel in Weehawken. By now, I am primed for this conflict and have moved from Team Aaron to Team Aaron-ish. The Chernow book is meticulous and comprehensive but also highly readable and understandable. I even managed to follow and be interested in the financial discussions that showed the real genius of Hamilton. Maybe his love of labyrinthine financial transactions is really at the root of my Hamilton distrust; if he dug that, how could I dig him? Team Math? </h2>
<h2>OK, I’ll watch C-SPAN; there I saw Lin-Manuel Miranda perform a song at the White House for Barack Obama, a piece from his proposed hip-hop album on Alexander Hamilton. I was charmed but skeptical. (<a contents="Link to White House performance" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNFf7nMIGnE" target="_blank">Link to White House performance</a>.) That tune became instead the opener for the Broadway play, <em>Hamilton</em>. Still, I still thought Burr was the one with the compelling story. Burr educated his daughter without gender restraints, supported women’s rights, and was staunchly anti-slavery. His grandfather was Jonathan Edwards, the Great Awakening preacher, a super interesting guy. At least the song Miranda debuted was sung by Burr. Hmm. Maybe there is something here to this Miranda project. Team Lin? </h2>
<h2>Flash forward a few years and <em>Hamilton</em>, the musical, emerges as a Broadway juggernaut. I was fortunate to catch the show on its first national tour at Durham’s Nederlander-affiliated theater. I had seats close enough to see the performers’ spittle fly and was dazzled by the stagecraft and thoroughness of the storytelling. And our Aaron Burr, portrayed by a magnetic Nik Walker, stood out in a uniformly great cast. You know I liked that. (<a contents="Link to review" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.newsobserver.com/entertainment/article221206715.html" target="_blank">Link to review</a>,) <em>Hamilton</em> the play, is an immersive experience that manages to hit all the key points in the Chernow biography, maintain nuance and sensitivity about the two central figures of Burr and Hamilton, give grace notes to figures like Lafayette and Laurens, and portray the key women in Hamilton’s life, sisters Elizabeth and Angelica Schyler, as figures with intellect and agency. Team Hamilton! </h2>
<h2>There are so many clever and perfect moments in the show. For example, there’s a rap battle between Thomas Jefferson and Hamilton that manages to serve the story of the show, the style of the musical, the development of the characters, and the spirit of the history. That’s just one great moment of many. For me, the biggest lump in the throat moment came during “Dear Theodosia,” a two-hander where Burr and Hamilton sing to their newborns of their love and hopes for them. Knowing the stories of the lives of Theodosia Burr Alston and Philip Hamilton deepened the impact of this number for me, added layers of meaning to the lyrics. Miranda is such an astute and avid historical pupil, <em>Hamilton</em> is unique that in the more you know, the richer the experience of Hamilton becomes. The collaboration with Chernow on the book for the musical and Miranda’s dedication to an unvarnished, circumspect look at Hamilton and contemporaries makes this more than it needed to be. Team Introspect. </h2>
<h2>I had an unusual introduction to the other leading American Revolution musical. In the 80s, pre-home Internet, my insomnia often led to watching overnight movies on cable superstations. Unable to sleep, I began watching an in-progress overnight movie about the Continental Congress. Oh look, there’s the White Shadow as Thomas Jefferson. Hey, that’s Dr. Craig from <em>St. Elsewhere </em>as John Adams. They go on about some legislation, and I begin to think maybe I will finally get some sleep. Then it happens: John Adams, unprompted and with no warning, begins singing. WHAT! There was no on screen channel guide in those days to tell me what’s happening, but I eventually learned that this was a musical, the slightly ham-fisted <em>1776</em>. <em>Hamilton</em> is no <em>1776</em>; its history and the songs are seamless. There are no abrupt stop acting and start singing moments. Still, Team Sleepless! </h2>
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<em>Hamilton</em> is so packed with reference and nuance. Watching the film for a second time with the tweet along, following the #Hamilfilm and Historians At The Movies #HATM hashtags, it became clear that <em>Hamilton</em> is so dense it becomes a bit of a Shmoo, providing the observer precisely their heart’s desire from the experience. I saw people proudly tweet out “that’s a West Wing reference” when there is an actual historical quote dropped in the musical. <em>Hamilton</em> does have a Russian nesting doll, or perhaps a shelf of dolls, approach to meaning and impact on the audience members. Miranda is clever enough a student of pop culture as well as the history to mean all these layers of reference. If you are a musical lover, you get the quotations and nods to classic theatre. Hip Hop classics get their turn, tributes paid like footnotes to Miranda’s influence and indebtedness to his forebears. Hear him talk about it in regards to the big “I Want” number, “My Shot,” at this <a contents="link" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/rottentomatoes/videos/vb.7899892356/735575327212381/?type=2&theater" target="_blank">link</a>. The complexity of the lyrics lead the staid <em>Wall Street Journal</em> to break the lyrics down in this recent <a contents="article" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://graphics.wsj.com/hamilton/?mod=e2fb&fbclid=IwAR3ZSX6KW_cDauhV6hMa_isp4qlCmd97c14BR-2S3lHbtvsuPg4-GhmJouk" target="_blank">article</a>, including analyzing the rhyme schemes with an algorithm! Team Layers! </h2>
<h2>The hot button issue I saw raising the most dissention on Twitter was the play’s treatment of “paramour” Maria Reynolds by Hamilton himself, who seemingly takes sexual advantage of an abused woman. Historically, the Reynolds were thought to be opportunists agreeing to use Maria’s allure and their collective wiles to seduce then extort our “hero.” What really went on here? Historically, Hubby Reynolds seems to have been something of a litigation abuser, bringing frivolous suits in attempts to lift himself out of poverty. Collusion between spouses to entrap a mark was a thing at that time; in fact, the late 1700s were sort of a boom time for these lawsuits. A lawyer like Hamilton would have been well aware, and the papers would have been filled with these sensational, tabloid-style stories, meaning striver Reynolds would have been well aware also. (<a contents="See link" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://reginajeffers.blog/2013/04/23/criminal-conversation-during-the-regency/" target="_blank">See link</a>.) </h2>
<h2>By law, wives were essentially in a servant relationship with their husbands, and diversion of a wife’s sexual services, legally which belonged exclusively to the husband, was actionable even if the spouses were not estranged as a result of the affair. This cause of action was known as “criminal conversation,” a misnomer since it is a civil action for damages and talking has nothing to do with it. Simply proving the sexual act has occurred entitles the husband to monetary damages, and the court simply set the amount of compensation based on the evidence of harm presented at trial. The scam set-up went: couple engineers the schtupping, the husband then demands payment. The blackmail is to avert the public lawsuit to which any husband would be entitled. You can see the checkmate situation this sets up: pay now to keep it from being made public in a lawsuit or pay later as the result of a public lawsuit ADDING in the damage to reputation and public standing. This may have been what Mr Reynolds had designed and Maria was the instrument of the ploy. Team Vexatious Litigation! </h2>
<h2>But back to the play: Maria seeks lawyer Hamilton’s protection from her brutish husband. That is a blemish in the play--Hamilton responds, in song, to Maria’s entreaties by essentially licking his lips, noting (echoing Eliza’s falling-in-love song) that Maria is “helpless” and he can’t say no to her. This serves the musical call back and sets up the parallel with his relationship with his wife but is ugly human relations at best and perhaps the clumsiest storytelling in the play. The awkwardness of this as a story point is shown perfectly through comedian Katerine Ryan’s routine, which, to his credit, I saw retweeted by Miranda. <a contents="Link" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://twitter.com/Lin_Manuel/status/1279219123944402944?s=20" target="_blank">Link</a>. Team Smackdown! </h2>
<h2>The filmed version of the stage play was gruellingly shot around the 8-show-a-week Broadway schedule in a few days by the play’s director and longtime Miranda collaborator, Thomas Kail, who knows just where the show’s moments and icons are located. There is one particularly breathtaking sequence, shot from the viewpoint of Hamilton, where we see a close-up of Burr and then look past him to the shattered face of Eliza. This takes advantage of the medium, a view only the lead actor could have had in the past. Team Movies! </h2>
<h2>To cap off a Ham immersive 4th weekend, I listened to an original cast interview with Seth Rudesky on Sirius XM’s On Broadway channel. Miranda detailed the grueling three day schedule in which two regularly scheduled shows were filmed in addition to three special performances without audiences concentrating on close ups. It was well publicized that they pushed the film production schedule so it could be viewed during lockdown, almost as a public service. Each actor was asked about what historical tidbits informed their performance, Leslie Odom (Burr) talked about putting Burr’s feminism as a thread that informed his interactions and performance on stage. You know I like that! I also watched <em>The Undefeated Presents: Hamilton In-Depth</em>, provided as an extra with the Disney Plus presentation of the movie. It is a thoughtful discussion of the development of the play from workshop to Broadway, and there are plenty of great moments with the original Broadway principals and Director Kail. Particularly striking was Miranda’s description of the play’s casting of people of color, like himself, in all the major roles as “the story of America then being told by America now.” Team Perspective. </h2>
<h2>The incredibly high cost of <em>Hamilton</em> is a hard pill to swallow. Hip hop, born as the music of the streets by the disenfranchised, becomes the engine of a billion dollar Hamil-industry. Lottery tickets at bargain prices and Ham for Ham performances on the street outside the theater were attempts to open access to what remains an elitist, very expensive show. Even the touring show tickets are dear (mine was a generous gift, exactly how generous I am afraid to know). The movie version is shown via a pay streaming venue, one that requires high speed internet. Perhaps the real lesson of <em>Hamilton</em> persists: democracy and equality for some, not all, was the result of the Revolution. Miranda makes some gallant inroads to mitigate the harshness of the realities of Broadway economics, but Broadway is an instrument of the financial system that the subject of its best known contemporary show put into motion at the birth of the republic. Maybe that’s the real lesson of<em> Hamilton</em>. Maybe, as Angelica sings, equality for everyone will be included in the sequel, WORK! Team More Perfect Union. </h2>
<h2>So where do I come down on this historical showdown? Team Aaron or Team Alex? How do you choose between a pair of New York politicians, both anti-slavery, both brilliant prodigies, both of service in the Revolution: in many ways so alike. The stupidity and savagery of dueling as a dispute resolution mechanism shows just how deeply flawed these times and men were. <em>Hamilton</em> is a beautiful work by artists at every step simultaneously creating the best work of their lives, an artistic apotheosis. It is more nuanced than pure hagiography, but as <em>Hamilton</em> tells us, it is only one interpretation. History is always a function of “who lives, who dies, who tells your story,” as the cast reminds us in the haunting closing number. As we nationally examine how we think of ourselves by those we choose to honor in the public squares and the stories we tell ourselves, we have just begun to reckon with the false narratives and faux paragons. I think the lesson of <em>Hamilton</em> is that the complexities of history cannot be reduced to a team sport. </h2>
<h2>PS...if you haven’t had enough <em>Hamilton</em>, you really haven’t had the complete experience until you hear the first act performed by Muppets. Well actually it is just one incredibly busy and clever voice actor (Ricky Downes III) re-imagining of Hamilton Act I with appropriate (and hilarious) Muppet casting. Downes performs, multi-track, all the voices and adds special Muppet script touches. Very, very well done, it is really indescribable. Links to <a contents="YouTube" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZzDP-vQXao" target="_blank">YouTube</a> or to <a contents="SoundCloud" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://soundcloud.com/user-661911689-512310759/hamilton-act-1-but-its-the-muppets" target="_blank">SoundCloud</a>. Since Disney owns the Muppets now, perhaps they, Miranda, and Downes will make this a fully realized adaptation.</h2>
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<h2>----Adrienne Meddock</h2>
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<p><span class="font_large">Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, <em>Singles Going Steady</em>, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a></span></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/63802132020-07-08T18:36:12-04:002020-07-08T18:39:30-04:00Mrs. America on FX/Hulu<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/8d222e26718f9f2e2739285e697121d53d749e7a/original/mrs-america.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>Power, seduction, and lies. All are on painful display in <em>Mrs. America</em>. </h2>
<h2>Dahvi Waller, a producer and writer on <em>Mad Men</em>, created and runs this astounding show. The show is set during the second wave of the Women’s Rights era in the 1970’s up to Ronald Reagan’s election. The series quite possibly has the best group of actors I’ve ever seen gathered on a television show, beginning with the impeccable Cate Blanchett as Phyllis Schlafly, the anti- women’s rights crusader, facing off with Rose Byrne as a note perfect Gloria Steiniem, Margo Martindale as the tough as nails Bella Abzug, and a fantastic turn from former Stiff Records’ artist Tracey Ullman (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubdontknow" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubdontknow" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubdontknow</a>) as Betty Friedan. </h2>
<h2>That’s just scratching the surface, as John Slattery, Sarah Paulson, Uzo Aduba (Shirley Chisolm!), Jeannie Tripplehorn and Elizabeth Banks are on board too. The nine episodes of <em>Mrs. America</em> are all wonderful, beginning with episode one, 'Phyllis', we meet this extremely intelligent expert on arms control. Indeed she advises actual generals and admirals about nuclear policy. It’s clear Phyllis wants to get somewhere, and when this Equal Rights Amendment appears, she sees an opportunity to gain the spotlight. </h2>
<h2>Phyllis and her (Eagle Forum) group quickly made a name for themselves, blocking the ERA ratification in her home state of Illinois, bringing the Forum to the attention of Gloria Steinem and the National Women’s Political Caucus, and her <em>Ms.</em> magazine cohorts. The series moves into gear when these grass roots organizations try to work with real, Washington politicians. As McGovern is seeking the nomination, he wants Shirley Chisolm, a fellow Democratic presidential candidate, to release her delegates. Shirley’s room is bugged and the Democrats are playing hardball. Gloria and her people get involved, brokering a deal. When the McGovern people get what they want, they screw the feminists out of their part of the deal. Welcome to Washington, D.C. </h2>
<h2>Betty Friedan agrees to debate Phyllis Schlafly, and is winning until Phyllis gets her worked up, and Betty loses her composure (and the debate). It’s not a good look for the pro-ERA forces. A second debate, involving Phyllis and her husband (Bobby Cannavale as Tom Snyder is a complete gas!) goes poorly for Phyllis, who cites a court case that doesn’t exist. Phyllis responds to this setback by returning to school for a law degree. In episode six, Phyllis is seduced by power, joining forces with a much more radical, anti-feminist, anti-abortion, anti-homosexual group that is thinly aligned with the KKK. It’s amazing what she would do to get 15,000 more names on her mailing list. </h2>
<h2>Phyllis is never made out as a monster, more of a woman who is looking for validation in a man’s world. There are a few scenes with her (scary) fallout shelter in the basement, and when she realizes her son is gay, she’s heartbroken but doesn’t reject him. The music in the show is almost always perfect. In 1977, Phyllis is at a luncheon, and gets ‘pied’ in the face (that was a thing in the 1970’s) as the Ramones ‘Blitzkrieg Bop’ (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubheyho" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubheyho" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubheyho</a>) is blasting. Later in the same episode, Phyllis opens a package addressed to her rebellious teenage daughter (who changed her name at Princeton) to find a mixtape. There is a fantastic, long scene where Phyllis sits and listens to The Runaways ‘Cherry Bomb’ (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubcherry" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubcherry" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubcherry</a>), you can see the gears working in her head, and from this tape she somehow gets the idea to make ‘doctored’ tapes of the feminist leaders saying things they really didn’t say. Seduction of power. Only Blanchett could pull this off. </h2>
<h2>Margo Martindale is fantastic as Bella Azbug. When the Women’s Rights Commision, which she leads, is offered a fifteen minute meeting with President Carter, she cancels and gets a two hour, substantive meeting. After the meeting, the ‘Georgia Boys’ call her into the office and fire her, saying they “won’t let a woman tell them what to do.” Bella realizes they had already fired her before the meeting but hung her out to dry. Welcome to Washington, D.C. </h2>
<h2>The series ends with Reagan’s election in 1980. Phyllis has thrown her organization full force behind Reagan, and is fully expecting a cabinet position. She gets a call directly from Reagan, who explains she’s too divisive to put in the administration. Welcome to Washington, D.C. </h2>
<h2>This is one of the most fascinating, well acted series I’ve ever seen on TV. Dahvi Waller and FX have created a gem. This conflict, feminist versus anti-feminist, was perhaps the original ‘culture war.’ The mini-series is written well and seems to give all involved a fair shake, even someone as polarizing as Phyllis Schlafly. </h2>
<h2>Just as a side note, in the real world, the ERA has now been ratified by 38 states, but the deadline for its passage has run out and some states have attempted to revoke ratification, leaving a great deal of legal uncertainty. While the House Of Representatives has passed a bill to further the ERA acceptance process, the Senate does not appear willing to take up the bill. </h2>
<h2>Welcome to Washington, D.C. </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan</h2>
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<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="iu09-7Wq3fs" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/iu09-7Wq3fs/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iu09-7Wq3fs?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/63767422020-07-05T15:24:03-04:002020-07-05T15:32:19-04:00HBO's The Plot Against America<h2><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/30089c4c1acd04474b7bf147700c8b1fd8687473/original/plot-against-america.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Fear presides over these memories, a perpetual fear. </h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">-- Philip from Philip Roth's <em>The Plot Against America</em> </h2>
<h2>This is a tough one. Philip Roth's book <em>The Plot Against America </em>was published in 2004, it is a re-imagining of history where isolationist, anti-war candidate Charles Lindbergh (with Montana Senator Burton K. Wheeler as his Vice-President) runs for US President in 1940 and defeats Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Roth's story is told from the vantage point of his childhood in Newark, New Jersey, as the Lindbergh supporters and their America First Committee-types take over. Lindbergh makes deals with Hitler and Nazi Germany, reaching “The Iceland Understanding,” as well as with Tojo’s Japan, “The Hawaii Understanding.” His main goal is to keep the United States from war, but with a serious undercurrent of fascism and anti-semitism. </h2>
<h2>If this sounds far-fetched, these views have historic proof. This is VERY much the historically proven view of the abdicated King George the Sixth, the then Duke of Windsor, as shown in Netflix’s <em>The Crown</em>. See Season 2 episode 6, “Vergangenheit.” Lindbergh was probably the most Nazi-sympathetic American. Both men were guests of the Nazi government and toured the war machinery and other government “installations.” So this is alt-history with the weight of real historical roots. </h2>
<h2>The HBO adaptation of this book is produced by David Simon (<em>The Wire</em>) and Ed Burns, and they pull no punches. A lot goes on in the six episodes. We follow the Levin family: father Herman (Morgan Spector) an on the rise insurance man and New Deal leftie, mother Bess (Zoe Kazan) taking care of their two boys, the older Sandy (Caleb Malis) moody yet a talented artist, and younger Philip (Azhy Robinson). The other three key characters are Alvin (Anthony Boyle) , their orphaned nephew, Bess’ sister Evelyn (Winona Ryder) and Lindbergh-supporting Rabbi Lionel Benglesdorf (John Turturro). </h2>
<h2>The series starts in 1940. It’s hard for us to remember, but due to his completing the first solo New York to Paris flight, Charles Lindbergh was a true American hero. He was much more famous and beloved than, for example, a reality TV host. From the first episode on, the Jews living in Newark are still shown as the ‘other,’ forced to live in their own neighborhoods, enduring open antisemitism. Herman Levin believes in America, and thinks of himself as an American, not a Jew first. He will be disabused of that notion. </h2>
<h2>In the second episode, Lindbergh wins the presidency, to a stunned disbelief of the Jewish community, which already sees the underbelly of the Nazi movement. Troubled nephew Alvin tires of inaction and enlists in the Canadian military to “kill some Nazis.” </h2>
<h2>“Every day I ask myself the same question: How can this be happening in America? How can people like these be in charge of our country? If I didn’t see it with my own eyes, I’d think I was having a hallucination.” -- Philip Roth's<em> The Plot Against America </em>
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<h2>By episode three, Alvin is a radar expert who gets his leg blown off while serving in Norway. To call him disillusioned is an understatement. Sister Evelyn is involved with Rabbi Benglesdorf (a widower) who is on board with Lindbergh’s disturbing Jewish resettlement policies. They devise a program called ‘Just Folks’ to send urban Jewish kids to the US heartland. Levin's boy Sandy is lined up to go live on a farm in Kentucky. The family takes a long-planned trip to Washington, DC that is met with overt and ugly antisemitism from both citizens and the police. Once home, Bess starts making plans to take the family to Canada. </h2>
<h2>In part four, Rabbi Benglesdorf (and his now assistant and fiancee) Evelyn get close to the White House, meeting with First Lady Anne Morrow Lindbergh, who convinces them to attend a state dinner welcoming Nazi foreign minister Von Ribbentrop. At the event, they are snubbed by Lindbergh, talked down to by real life famous antisemite (and in-story cabinet member) Henry Ford, and Evelyn dances with Von Ribbentrop, making for an awkward newsreel moment. </h2>
<h2>This series moves like a terrible slow-motion car crash. You can see what’s coming but no one seems to be able to stop it. The new Jewish resettlement program is now called ‘Homestead 42,’ in which employers get whole families to move out to the heartland. Herman and his family are marked for Kentucky, but Herman quits his good insurance job and starts working for his brother’s produce business, they won’t have to move, yet. </h2>
<h2>Jewish news reporter Walter Winchell loses his job, and decides to run for president. At a rally in Newark, attended by Herman, a bunch of brown shirts show up and cause a riot, while the police do nothing. It’s a chilling and terrifying scene. The battered Herman goes home and Bess says they must go to Canada. </h2>
<h2>In the packed finale, Walter Winchell is assassinated and there is an outbreak of anti-Jewish violence. Alvin, the radar expert, is contacted by the Canadians in a plot to assassinate Lindbergh, Alvin tracks Lindbergh’s plane with radar and it disappears. Vice President Wheeler takes over, declares martial law, closes the borders (leaving the Levins stranded in the US), and uses the FBI to round up all the Jews he can, including Rabbi Bengelesdorf. All kinds of mayhem breaks out across the US as Jewish shops are attacked, sort of a ‘night of the long knives’ meets Kristallnacht. There is an intense and heartbreaking scene where Evelyn, sure they are coming for her next, begs Bess to take her in. Bess will have none of it, telling Evelyn she loves her, but she “never wants to see her again.” The acting from Zoe Kazan is astounding. First Lady Lindbergh, whisked away to a mental hospital by Wheeler, is able to get a radio broadcast taped. In a bit of a <em>deus ex machina</em>, she calls for a stop to the FBI investigations, to the violence, and for a special election in 1942 for president. </h2>
<h2>The public follows Mrs. Lindbergh, and the series ends with a beautiful, unsettling montage of the election, set to Frank Sinatra’s ‘That’s America To Me,’ over images of people voting, ballot boxes being stolen and ballots burned. They leave it at that, will FDR win? It’s not spelled out. </h2>
<h2>This is one of the most thought provoking pieces of television I have seen in a long time. I urge you to watch this, I think you’ll get a lot out of it. I just kept saying to myself, this can’t happen here… </h2>
<h2>It can’t happen here? Right? </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan </h2>
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<h4><span class="font_large">Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast </a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a> </span></h4>
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<p> </p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/63749762020-07-03T14:00:37-04:002020-07-03T14:00:37-04:00Iggy Pop - Post Pop Depression Live at The Royal Albert Hall<p> </p>
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<h2>I recently reviewed <em>American Valhalla</em> (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubvalhalla" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubvalhalla" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubvalhalla</a>), the amazing film about the making of Iggy’s landmark comeback record <em>Post Pop Depression</em>. The band is led by Queens Of The Stone Age frontman Josh Homme and features QOTSA members Dean Fertita and Troy Vanleeuwen as well as Matt Helders (Arctic Monkeys) on drums and Matt Sweeney (Chavez) on bass. The <em>Valhalla</em> movie shows some of the triumphant <em>Post Pop</em> tour, but this date from 2016 at London’s Royal Albert Hall is a smashing success. Kudos to Eagle Rock entertainment for allowing this entire show to be on free stream. </h2>
<h2>This is a rock show like no other. Beautifully and professionally shot, with a minimal stage, the band is up and vamping through the changes to ‘Lust For Life’ when Iggy pops up, like a whirling dervish. The band, all in matching red tuxedos (!) are having a great time and providing especially stellar backing vocals. An abrasive, metallic take of ‘Sister Midnight’ from <em>The Idiot </em>follows, then ‘American Valhalla’ from <em>Post Pop Depression</em>, Iggy repeating in the lyric: “I’ve nothing but my name.” The coolest thing about this band and their choice of material is that there are no Stooges tunes. They start with the Bowie produced records of the mid 1970’s and move forward to the very Bowie-esque touches of <em>Post Pop</em>. </h2>
<h2>By the sixth song of the set, the band is plowing through ‘Some Weird Sin’ from <em>The Idiot</em> and Iggy has jumped into the crowd. He gets back up on stage, no shirt, a cut on his temple, bleeding, and totally rocking out. What more could you want from an Iggy show? The band does a great arrangement of ‘Funtime’ (a song I just saw Hoboken’s The Bongos cover see the review at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubearlbongos" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubearlbongos" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubearlbongos</a>) with the whole band (including drummer Helders) singing strong backup. <em>The Idiot</em> theme continues with ‘Tonight,’ in which Homme provides a striking solo and offers Iggy a sly grin when he’s done. ‘Sunday’ turns into a 12-string guitar duel at the end, with Homme and Vanleeuwen really tearing into the tune. </h2>
<h2>‘German Days’ from <em>Post Pop</em> is an industrial, grinding wonder that sounds like it was from the 1970’s. I must mention that Iggy is a complete ball of energy throughout this show, and he is in full, complete control of his voice. He sounds as vital and dangerous as ever. The next four songs are the meaty part of the set, beginning with a strident version of ‘Nightclubbing,’ featuring not one but two epic Homme solos, followed by a superb, poppy version of ‘Gardenia,’ one of the best songs on <em>Post Pop Depression</em>. Then a celebratory ‘The Passenger,’ bringing the London crowd to their feet. Then there is a great take on ‘China Girl,’ replete with steel drum and toy piano, ending with a truly heroic guitar solo. </h2>
<h2>The encores start slow but are busted wide open when they play Iggy’s title song from the Alex Cox film <em>Repo Man</em>. Iggy tears this one up. Next was ‘Baby’ from <em>The Idiot</em>, the band sounding like Can trying to play the Moody Blues’ ‘Tuesday Afternoon.’ ‘Chocolate Drops’ featured Josh Homme playing some great slide and a stagehand joining in and hitting some field chimes(!) The band ended up with ‘Paraguay,’ Homme switching to bass and Sweeney to guitar. This take is very much like a classic Iggy song, until he gets to the end and starts swearing like a longshoreman. Telling the crowd “that was nothing personal,’ then they close out with ‘Success’ from <em>Lust For Life</em>. An amazing, twenty-two song tour de force is over. </h2>
<h2>This must have been the show of the year in London. This is what the underbelly of rock looks and sounds like, with a little spicing up from Josh and his crew. Iggy is still a vital, essential artist and he deserves your time and effort. Fight off the <em>Post Pop Depression</em> and stream this show! </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan </h2>
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<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="Q-cR_iGS1X8" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/Q-cR_iGS1X8/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Q-cR_iGS1X8?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
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<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, <em>Singles Going Steady</em>, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/63674112020-06-26T14:17:40-04:002020-06-26T14:17:40-04:00Comedy Central's South Side<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/f9c8aa23c179ec64e499c4603ec590e1d829bc81/original/south-side.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>This was one of my early pandemic television series binges. There’s no doubt that writers/actors Bashir Salahuddin and Diallo Riddle are on a hot run. These two came up as writers on <em>Late Night With Jimmy Fallon</em> and currently have <strong>two</strong> television series running, the wonderful <em>Sherman’s Showcase</em> on IFC and this gem of a show, <em>South Side</em> on Comedy Central. </h2>
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<em>South Side</em> is set in the Englewood area of Chicago, a place most of us only know as a gang filled, violent, hopeless world. Of course, in the world of <em>South Side </em>as seen by Bashir and Diallo, there is laughter, love, goofiness, and people striving, hustling, trying to move up. </h2>
<h2>The main characters are Simon and Kareme, new graduates of community college. Simon loses his corporate gofer job when they see his rap sheet: lots of missed child support payments from numerous baby mothers. Kareme is a science and astronomy nerd, but fails to get a bite at the planetarium, interviewed by someone who has never even heard of his community college. </h2>
<h2>So, the two go back to their dead-end jobs at the Rent-To-Own store, managed by Kareme’s brother (and roommate) Quincy. This is the center of the storytelling throughout the series. The other main characters are two police, Sergeant Turner (a wonderful Chandra Russell) and her inept partner Officer Goodnight (played by Bashir Salahuddin). Turner is all about Turner, happy to accept ‘honorariums’ for her service and a real horn dog for the men (any men) on her beat. There is a Public Defender, Allen Gayle, played by Diallo Riddle, who is desperate to move up to Alderman. </h2>
<h2>So here’s an obvious fact, this is a very African American centric show. How could it not be? Characters call each other words I would never think of saying, ever. There’s a whole episode about stepping. Another about spades (the card game). A terrible episode where lawyer Allen Gayle books the fancy country club for a function, and they ‘make a scheduling error,’ that denies him service. Somehow, the craziness and hopelessness of the <em>South Side</em> world is given such a gentle touch, it’s all funny and not tragic. This is the genius of Bashir and Diallo. </h2>
<h2>Main characters Simon and Kareme get into all kinds of hustles. One episode involves them moving Viagra to old folks' homes like it’s meth. Another involves selling street-side popcorn in front of the movie theater. There’s an episode in which they get involved with crypto-currency, local, called ‘Litcoin.’ The best one involves them selling meatballs with the ‘mild sauce’ out of the Rent-To-Own. </h2>
<h2>Much like <em>Sherman’s Showcase</em>, <em>South Side</em> is a wildly entertaining, one of a kind show. I really loved the first season (10 episodes) and I can’t wait for the second. I couldn’t recommend this show more. </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan</h2>
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<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/63636902020-06-23T14:16:22-04:002020-06-23T14:16:22-04:00No Passport Required with Marcus Samuelsson<p> </p>
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<h2>Our “brief” at <em>Zub Alert </em>is to write about all things “zub”: cool, masterly, paradigmatic works, no matter the field or subject. The common thread is that we like them and want to make sure you know about them too. So today, that means I am writing about what might loosely be called a “cooking show.” </h2>
<h2>I was turned on to this PBS show by my friend Fitz, who is a great barometer for all things cool. Marcus Samulesson is an award winning chef with a famous restaurant, <em>Red Rooster</em>, in New York City. He also has an amazing story of his own. Born in Ethiopia, his mother died of tuberculosis when he was three. He and his sister were then adopted by a family in Sweden. On the show, he recounts being told when he started his career that a black man could not be a chef in Europe; so he left for the United States, as so many do, to achieve his dreams. </h2>
<h2>So, the conceit of <em>No Passport Required</em> involves Marcus travelling all over the US and connecting with immigrant enclaves. There is no need to leave the US to learn about the world, and I found this an interesting and inventive show. The show is a PBS production in concert with the foodie website <em>Eater</em>, so Marcus often visits some of the hotspots showcasing the young gun chefs in each city. </h2>
<h2>There are two seasons of six episodes each, and of course you cannot think of a food-as-culture show without the long, lanky shadow of the late Anthony Bourdain looming. Marcus himself was featured on Anthony’s show, putting him firmly on the star chef map. Marcus is a very good looking man with a beautiful smile, and he is very enthusiastic about learning the various cultures and their food. He seems to have an insatiable curiosity and that works well in the show. He is not as good when the conversations turn to unpleasant things about the immigrant experience, but that is a minor quibble. </h2>
<h2>I myself am an immigrant, having come to the US from Scotland in the 1960’s. As a white man with no accent, I never had the issues many immigrants do, but I understand what it means to leave a life behind and to try to make a new one. Both of my parents came from some of the worst slum tenements in Glasgow, and they were determined to give their kids a better life. This is one of the reasons I enjoy the show so much, there’s always the question: where is your home? Where are you from? </h2>
<h2>Season one features the Arab communities in Detroit and Dearborn, the strong Vietnamese settlements around New Orleans, and in the third episode, a heartfelt look at the Mexican community in Chicago. To see these people, some of the hardest working in America, being shut out via xenophobia, ‘the wall,’ repudiation of DACA, etc. is heartbreaking. They are strong, good people who only want a chance to work, and who work hard in all kinds of restaurants. I wish all Americans could see and learn from this show. </h2>
<h2>Samuelsson spends time in Queens, NY with a healthy Indo-Guyanese community along Liberty Avenue. This was a culture I knew nothing about, and their food is a great amalgam of Indian, Chinese, Caribbean, and African with Indeginous elements. In Miami, you’d expect he would be with the Cuban community, but the show concentrates on the Haiitan people in the city, their proud heritage, the hardships they have endured, and their very interesting cuisine. The last show of season one features the Washington D.C. area and the Ethiopian community, where Marcus is right at home. His Ethiopian model wife is featured in this one as they learn about traditional dances and the importance of Ethiopian coffee. It’s a great episode. </h2>
<h2>Season two features the Fillipino community in Seattle, and the Armenian people in Los Angeles. The Armenian genocide is discussed and you realize what tough, successful, hard working people these are. The show visits Houston and its Nigerian community, the world’s biggest outside Nigeria, showing a varied and delicious cuisine. The Philadelphia episode features, of course, Italian food, with visits to the downtown market and to some of the oldest restaurants in America. Las Vegas is all about the Chinese influence, beginning with the railroad workers in the 1800’s. Finally, season two closes with a great Boston episode. I lived in greater Boston for some time, and I knew the Portuguese influence was great, but Samuelsson also looks at the immigrants from The Azores and Cape Verde and their influences. </h2>
<h2>American culture really, truly is made by immigrants and outsiders. Seems like we have forgotten that. This wonderful show will deeply connect you with culture, history, and people that you may have previously known nothing about. It’s a great watch, Marcus is a super host, and the food is stunning! Anthony Bourdain would be proud, I am sure. </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan </h2>
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<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="_-wjxwSZAZE" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/_-wjxwSZAZE/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_-wjxwSZAZE?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
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<h3><span class="font_regular">Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast </a>Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a></span></h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/63605792020-06-20T15:16:48-04:002020-06-20T15:16:48-04:00Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift Live Streams 6 through 9<p> </p>
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<h2><span class="font_large"><strong>Robyn Hitchcock & Emma Swift - Live From Home Sweet Quarantine Beatles By Request Part 6 </strong></span></h2>
<h2>I’ve been following Robyn and Em’s streaming shows from the beginning, using the StageIt platform (<a contents="www.stageit.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.stageit.com" target="_blank">www.stageit.com</a>). This one had to be one of the best: an all-Beatles request show. The streaming on my end was terrible, so I missed the first song, ‘Back In The U.S.S.R.’ and only caught the end of what sounded like a beautiful ‘Dear Prudence.’ They were both singing and Emma remarked that Robyn was singing too loud in her ear, to which Robyn commented on his fresh breath and proclaimed it “A Minty Loudness.” </h2>
<h2><em>Adrienne: I did catch Back in the U.S.S.R., which was upbeat and energetically heart-felt. Later in the show, Em confessed this was her “request,” which Robyn took as a fairly stealthy way to start the show. “Dear Prudence” featured beautiful harmonies by the pair, a song that supports their blended voices perfectly. </em></h2>
<h2>The duo stuck into ‘She Loves You’: fun, upbeat, and irresistible. After the song Reg remarked that this was The Beatles period “before the drugs, when they were full of pep.” Perry the stuffed Lobster made an appearance, then they played a stunning version of George Harrison’s ‘Something,’ Robyn really getting all the licks in on his acoustic and Emma singing this one solo, beautifully. The twosome appeared very relaxed in their living room, particularly Robyn, who seemed to be in his element with the material. </h2>
<h2>At this point, Emma left to get tea, and Reg played a nice solo version of ‘Things We Said Today.’ After he got a cup of tea and they did a very cool version of ‘Old Brown Shoe,’ the end of which was highlighted by their one-eyed Scottish Fold cat, Tubby, appearing on the back of the couch. After some parading of Tubby, Reg and Em did a wonderful version of ‘Across The Universe.’ It was really poignant and strong. They then attempted a Wings tune, ‘Band On The Run,’ which had a lengthy interruption in the middle as the two talked. The lyrics about being “stuck inside of four walls” were very apt. </h2>
<h2>Next up, a Ringo solo tune, they did a moving version of ‘Photograph,’ giving the song extra gravitas, something Ringo’s slightly ponderous version doesn’t seem to tap. Then came ‘A Day In The Life,’ a surprisingly good cover for just two voices and an acoustic guitar. They shouted out to all the health care workers, grocery workers, and other essential workers. Robyn and Em finished up with a stellar version of ‘The Ballad Of John And Yoko,’ and the show was over. There’s no doubt that this music is in Robyn’s DNA, he seemed at ease with all the songs and even the hard guitar bits. Emma Swift is a terrific singer and stood out, especially on ‘Something.’ I can’t wait to hear what they do next. </h2>
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<span class="font_large">Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift - Live From Sweet Home Quarantine Part. 7</span> </h2>
<h2>After their triumphant all-Beatles show from last week, Robyn and Emma were back on their couch at their home in Nashville to stream the 7th show of their Wednesday night series. The introductions were pleasant, and Perry the stuffed lobster made an appearance, Robyn wondering “What furry crustacean reminds you of Rod Stewart?” They launched into ‘Uncorrected Personality Traits’ from <em>I Often Dream Of Trains</em>, with more than a little giggling between the duo. </h2>
<h2>Speaking about the quarantine, Robyn mentioned “by the Socratic method we are furniture.” They explained they would do a Beatles cover that was not requested last week, and then did a stirring version of ‘Help!’ Emma described Robyn as “The Beatle no one asked for,” and Robyn laughed out loud. They then did ‘So You Think You’re In Love’ from <em>Perspex Island</em>, one of Reg’s poppier songs, and the duo killed it, with Emma showing a 1977 Australian tea towel used to wipe Robyn’s brow. Next up was ‘Madonna Of The Wasps,’ a staple of their live set, beautifully done, followed by ‘Balloon Man’ (see our SGS Podcast on this single at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubrobyn" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubrobyn" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubrobyn</a>) which he admitted was not a favorite among his own songs but he did mention it had made him the most money. </h2>
<h2>The next ‘dismalia’ tune was introduced as “from one of my recent divorces” and they did ‘Trouble In Your Blood‘ from <em>The Man Upstairs,</em> a very Dylan-like tune. The Beatles showed up again with ‘Rain,’ where Em and Reg turned this psychedelia into a sunny, sweet pop song. Lovely. Robyn seemed very relaxed and Emma was great, looking especially beautiful with her hair up, like an early 1960’s film star. They continued to sing wonderfully together, but Reg went solo for the alternately tuned and carefully picked ‘Heliotrope’ from <em>Moss Elixir</em>, a wonderful little tune. Tubby the cat made an appearance and they discussed his love for romantic comedies “Tubs turns out to be a rom-com freak...who knew?” </h2>
<h2>They had a bit of a dodgy time with The Soft Boys’ ‘Brenda’s Iron Sledge’ (“please don’t call me Reg...that’s not my name”), with an extended middle discussing Waiting For Godot, but it was all good fun.They ended up with ‘I Want To Tell You About What I Want,’ a truly great tune from the recent <em>Robyn Hitchcock</em> record on Yep Roc, and, after Robyn showed off his impressive Dalek voice (from the BBC’ s Doctor Who), they finished up with about half of ‘You & Oblivion’ before the stream cut off for time. Another wonderful show. I would have liked to hear Emma get her own song, but these two are so charming and entertaining, I will happily wait until next time. They are holding shows Wednesday evenings at 9 Eastern via StageIt, with a Friday afternoon quasi-encore (some songs may differ) geared to the European audience. </h2>
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<h2><span class="font_large">Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift - Live From Sweet Home Quarantine Part. 8 </span></h2>
<h2>Tonight’s streaming show from Robyn and Emma seemed to concentrate on some of their more reflective songs, and this night was especially a triumph. For the first time, Robyn played his old, battered Telecaster (first time playing electric guitar on the stream) and it sounded great. They opened with ‘If You Were A Priest,’ with excellent harmonies and Reg in his big polka-dot shirt. They then did ‘A Skull, A Suitcase, and A Long Red Bottle of Wine,’ a slow, beautiful rumination on death. Afterwards Emma said “one man’s dismal is another man’s affirmation” to which Reg snapped back “Well, look at the success The Bible’s had.” </h2>
<h2>Back to acoustic, they did ‘Mr. Kennedy’ from the Soft Boys reunion <em>Nextdoorland </em>record, after which they discussed the polka dot shirt, Robyn saying he picked it up from Ringo then Dylan because “by then I had already contracted The Beatles.” Robyn played a beautiful version of ‘I’m Only You’ from <em>Gotta Let This Hen Out</em>, a delicate riff and a beautiful melody, with a long guitar solo at the end. Emma got her own new song, ‘Teach Me How To Be Small,’ a complete knockout with her powerful, evocative voice and terrific lyrics. I cannot wait for her new record. They kicked off this part of the set with ‘No, I Don’t Remember Guilford,’ one of Robyn’s saddest songs with a beautiful melody. Emma then left to make tea and Robyn was solo. </h2>
<h2>Using his Telecaster again, he did a pensive version of ‘I Often Dream Of Trains.’ Switching to acoustic, he then did ‘1970 In Aspic,’ a standout song from his recent <em>Robyn Hitchcock</em>, an all-around-great record. Em returned with Tubby the cat, the “Earl of Tubbance appears,” and “off he goes.” They discussed who would play Tubs in a movie, Emma said Timothee Chalomet as he was “the thinking person’s crumpet.” </h2>
<h2>Midway into encore time, Robyn and Em did a great ‘Cynthia Mask’ from <em>EYE</em>, their voices working so well together. They mentioned the Friday afternoon show would be all Syd Barrett, and Robyn said they would do their “customary chaotic fadeout,” as they got to play about half of ‘Antwoman’ before time ran out. </h2>
<h2>Another great show with some of my favorite Reg songs, and the extra bonus of fantastic new Emma Smith songs. These two are really on a roll! </h2>
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<h2><span class="font_large">Robyn Hitchcock - Live the Social Distancing Syd Barrett Part 9 </span></h2>
<h2>There’s no secret that Robyn is a huge fan of Syd Barrett, the early leader of Pink Floyd and famous rock acid-casualty/ mental illness sufferer. This show was scheduled early on Friday afternoon in Nashville as to play for the British and European fans in the evening, and this was entirely a Robyn solo outing, Emma just running the technology. </h2>
<h2>This streaming show was built around Syd Barrett’s second LP, <em>Barrett</em>, and Robyn didn’t disappoint, playing the entire LP in order. Here’s where I must tell you of my uneasiness about the subject. When I was in high school, my friend Sven and I used to listen to Syd Barrett at marvel at the weirdness of his songs, kind of like a proper-British Beefheart. We always thought his music was otherworldly, but I never thought we clearly understood what a damaged person he was. Apparently the combination of LSD and schizophrenia really did poor Syd in, to the point where he would become catatonic for hours or days. Looking back now, I feel more than uneasy celebrating the music that was the product, the direct result of someone in this condition. </h2>
<h2>Despite this painful provenance, the music is, in it’s own way, remarkable, and it obviously had a great and long-reaching impact on one young Robyn Rowan Hitchcock. In describing the <em>Barrett</em> record, he referred to “the imploding Syd.” He started with his acoustic and played ‘Baby Lemonade,’ no Emma, and ended with the commentary “and it fades out…” Reg broke out his old Fender Telecaster to play electric on ‘Love Song,’ and on ‘Dominos,’ after which Robyn commented “you can hear him pacing as he unravels.” ‘It Is Obvious’ was a sad, melancholy song Reg played very well. He then did ‘Rats,’ talked to Emma a bit afterward, and played ‘Maisie,’ of which he said “I named my daughter after the song.” </h2>
<h2>Continuing to follow the album’s order, side two began with ‘Gigolo Aunt,’ an upbeat, poppy version of “a song we used to play in the Soft Boys.” After this one of their cats Ringo appeared and Robyn gave him a hug on camera. ‘Wined And Dined’ was sent out to Graham Coxon (of Blur), and again given a pretty, poppy delivery from Robyn. After ‘Wolfpack,’ side two ended with the song ‘Effervescent Elephant’ to which Reg said this “could be written by Robyn Hitchcock.” </h2>
<h2>There was still encore time remaining in the stream, so Reg did song songs from <em>The Madcap Laughs</em>, Syd Barrett’s first LP. ‘Octopus’ was pretty and wonderful, ‘Late Night’ dark and beautiful, and after ‘If It’s In You’ Robyn signed off, speaking of Syd and the Barrett record, saying “that record is in my DNA.” It certainly must be, as if you didn’t know Syd Barrett’s material, you could easily interpret any of these songs as regular Hitchcock tunes. Robyn seems fascinated with the mental dissolution of Syd, but his love and respect for the music shines through. He knew all the words, and there were a lot of words. This was a very different stream from the others, one that has made me think about musicians, their influences, and their legacies. </h2>
<h2>Next week - David Bowie! </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan</h2>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/63566002020-06-17T14:07:19-04:002020-06-17T14:07:19-04:00HBO's The Outsider<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/ce42f7019a0e0e73afa84b11570468f6ae438033/original/outsider.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<h2>Okay, they got me on this one. I realize that Stephen King is an icon in America. Of course <em>I</em> never have been interested in him. I have not read one of his books. I loved <em>The Shining</em>, but let’s face it, that is more of a Stanley Kubrick movie than a Stephen King story. I think I’ve seen <em>Maximum Overdrive</em>, but that was pretty silly. </h2>
<h2>So, why am I writing about <em>The Outsider</em>? I generally watch whatever’s on HBO on Sunday nights, (except that dragon show) and it caught me. The atmospherics are truly creepy and the acting is beyond stellar. The premise is fairly straightforward: a high school baseball coach (Jason Bateman) in rural Georgia kills and mutilates one of his pupils, his DNA is everywhere on the scene. Then, after being arrested by police detective Ralph Anderson (an amazing Ben Mendelsohn), things start to go….off. </h2>
<h2>They have video proof and more DNA evidence that the coach was in Ohio at a conference when the murder occured. Which brings the question: what is going on? The first two (of ten) episodes move slowly, with the police more than flummoxed about what is happening. By the third episode, they have brought in eccentric ‘savant’ investigator Holly Gibney (played perfectly by Cynthia Erivo) who begins to piece things together. She details a trail that the police could not find. </h2>
<h2>All the familiar Stephen King tropes are here, the power of evil, psychic power, a ‘magic’ or ‘touched’ character (Holly Gibney), and something happening that is unbelievable. The slow pace and creepy presentation drew me right in, however. The mid-part of the series consists of a lot of Ralph Anderson saying he doesn’t believe in ‘monsters,’ only in facts and science, until he finally starts to see what Holly is telling him. </h2>
<h2>By episode seven, the characters are getting on board with the idea that they are literally chasing a ‘bogeyman’ (known as ‘El Cuco’), and the pace speeds up as they try to stop him. I’ll try not to give any spoilers, but there is a showdown at a cave site that is creepy and violent. And a twist, a BIG twist at the end. </h2>
<h2>So, thanks to HBO, I watched an (adaptation) of a Stephen King novel, and I enjoyed it. I went along for the ride, and I liked the ride. Right now you could do a lot worse with your viewing choices (I’m talking to you, Tiger King fans). Give it a spin, <em>The Outsider</em> is a well done miniseries. </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan </h2>
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<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="eNDKWr3Xmjk" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/eNDKWr3Xmjk/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eNDKWr3Xmjk?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
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<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/63512932020-06-12T14:48:34-04:002020-06-12T14:48:34-04:00Uncontollable Urges to Build: 'Grand Designs' Considered<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/6abd5e76e10f29800879eec335c12dbe7ffbb872/original/grand-designs.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>Part of the flattening of the globe is our access to programming from everywhere, uploaded by fans and only sporadically monitored on YouTube. Staples of national television, ubiquitous in country, now have new international viewers who come wide-eyed and appreciative to what has become part of the furniture at home. Via YouTube you can get over a dozen national versions of the <em>Great British Bake Off,</em> for example. For me, I just bumbled upon <em>Grand Designs</em>, a staple of TV in the UK for over 20 years and my new obsession. </h2>
<h2>
<em>Grand Designs</em> has a simple brief: follow the construction or restoration of an interesting new home. Kevin McCloud, the host, is a designer, not an architect, but savvy enough about building projects to bring his sceptical eye to the process and ask the homeowners the tough questions. How much are you over budget? How far behind “shed-yule” are you now? Are you sure you want to go up all those stairs when a child forgets a school book? He crawls over the builds, tours factories making innovative materials and construction systems, and sometimes lends a hand on projects. He is perfectly fitted for the task of hosting the show. </h2>
<h2>So each of the now 200+ episodes (including specials and versions from other countries) selects a home construction project to follow. Some are from scratch, others conversions of existing structures, and others hybrids of new additions or adaptive reuses. What they share in common is homeowners with a strong vision, a central passion. That may be following an aesthetic ethos (such as minimalism) or philosophical outlook (sustainability); proving a concept (we will build a home using X new construction material/method); or simply bringing into being a personal design for living. Kev does a great job of drawing a thematic line around the owners’ central principle and following it through the project to remind us what makes this build unique. </h2>
<h2>Because each project, each set of owners are unique, the shows are addictive and singular. I have seen two episodes (so far) where old water towers were readapted--and these episodes, owners, and (re)uses (indeed the water towers) were nothing like each other. These shows end up really being a study in passion, obsession, and drive, as the owners hang on to their project goals while they negotiate with planning officials, architects, site workers, and sometimes even Kevin, to realize their imagined, grand designs. </h2>
<h2>The creative urge, the desire to create something with meaning and value, undergirds all great art. Whether a single, an album, a book, a film, or a grand design for a home, the passion, the compulsion of the visionary is fascinating. Compromises, conflict, and victories, small and large lurk behind all such works. Grand Designs, primarily the vision of presenter Kevin McCloud, does a bang-up job of taking us through these stages on some idiosyncratic, awe-inducing homeplaces. </h2>
<h2>What: <em>Grand Designs</em> television series; each episode dedicated to an interesting home build </h2>
<h2>Where: Netflix (Seasons 10 and 15 as of May 2020); Tubi Series label 11 and 12 that I think are 13 and 14 really), YouTube (many seasons, specials, Australian and NZ versions). </h2>
<h2>Why: Masterly, succinct distillation of human urge to create, leave a legacy, one house at a time. </h2>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, <em>Singles Going Steady</em>, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/63491382020-06-10T17:47:10-04:002020-06-10T17:47:10-04:00The Beatles Yellow Submarine Official Sing Along Watch Party and Inside The Yellow Submarine Book<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/b00c95042b35bd508676ed87ebbb61be79675627/original/yellow-sub-movie.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/3005e1c40a7ba39e68337e8ebca9ed25ca5048bb/original/nside-yellow-sub.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>The Beatles still manage to remain vital and relevant fifty years after they broke up. On April 25, they pulled a surprise: a YouTube viewing of their 1968 animated film, <em>Yellow Submarine</em>, adding sing-along captioning in the style of the film’s graphics. In a prior blog, I wrote extensively about the <em>Yellow Submarine </em>soundtrack at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubmarine" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubmarine" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubmarine</a>. The movie itself has a unique position in the Beatles’ canon. </h2>
<h2>By this point in their careers, The Beatles had soured on making movies, they were unhappy with the <em>Help!</em> project, and for the first time, were savaged in the press for the rudderless <em>Magical Mystery Tour</em>. So, the animated <em>Yellow Submarine</em> movie is a Beatles movie with almost zero Beatles involvement. They considered the soundtrack as a ‘dustbin’ for songs that weren’t up to snuff, especially George’s, and they had almost no input on the movie. Hell, they were even too apathetic about the project to do the voiceovers for themselves, the four Beatles characters. This was the very definition of a contractual obligation film, made to fulfill their three film deal with United Artists. </h2>
<h2>I must admit, it had been a LONG time since I had seen this movie. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever seen it all the way through. I remember it being hard to follow, lots of hard to process accents and squeaky dialog. </h2>
<h2>Watching the entire film again, I was really amazed at the animation. The print has been hand-and digitally-restored and is top notch. I was going to try to offer a synopsis, but the plot is pretty nonsensical. In that respect it is a series of vignettes, heavily hippie, pop art, and drug influenced, loosely retro fit around well-known Beatles’ lyrics. </h2>
<h2>Led by Canadian producer George Dunning, the film as I understand it, was given out in 12 to 13 minute parcels to various animators, such as Ron Campbell, who also worked on the Beatles Saturday morning cartoon show. The juxtaposition of the terrific music and the trippy animation just works. The stream I watched was horribly out of sync with the dialog and sound effects, but it didn’t really matter. The cut of ‘Eleanor Rigby’ with the ‘lonely people’ pictured reminded me an awful lot of Terry Gilliam’s animation with Monty Python’s Flying Circus. It’s a beautiful, tender vignette. Upon meeting Jeremey Hillary Booby, there’s a great scene where ‘Nowhere Man’ plays. ‘Lucy In The Sky’ uses amazing rotoscoped images that really work well with the song. </h2>
<h2>Of course, the highlight for me is the scene with ‘Hey Bulldog,’ one of Lennon’s great rockers, as the lads are being chased by Blue Meanie bulldogs, There’s also an earlier scene when the Yellow Submarine arrives in London, and there are quick cuts of city pictures that remind me very much of <em>Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.</em> I did not join the sing along, as I really wanted to experience the movie. The Beatles themselves finally do appear in person, in a (short, contractually obligated) live action farewell at the end. </h2>
<h2>Basically, the Beatles did it again. As weird and nonsensical as this film is I enjoyed it very much, and I smiled through most of it. There are a lot of clever Beatle puns in the dialog that I only understand now. From what I’ve read about the Yellow Submarine movie, it seems to be considered as a landmark project in ‘bringing back’ animated films. John Lassiter from Pixar lauded it as a very important film, and its influence can be seen on <em>Schoolhouse Rock </em>and PBS’s <em>The Electric Company</em>. Even when they weren't trying, The Beatles somehow brought everyone together again. </h2>
<h2>All you need is love, and hand washing! </h2>
<h2>This brings me to a very interesting Beatles book Adrienne sent me, called <em>Inside The Yellow Submarine: The Making Of The Beatles Animated Classic</em> by Dr. Robert R. Hieronimus. This book, published in 2002, chronicles the difficult birth and construction of the <em>Yellow Submarine </em>movie. Indeed the Beatles themselves were completely hands off, but United Artists had a three picture deal and they still owed one. Al Brodax, the New York American producer of The Beatles saturday morning cartoon, used TVC, or TV Cartoons, in London to make the series and had them work on the movie as well. He hired Canadian George Dunning as the director and Czech Heinz Edelman as the art director. </h2>
<h2>Working under a strict deadline and breaking almost every rule of animation movies, somehow <em>Yellow Submarine</em> was made. Behind the scenes, it’s a very interesting story, basically pitting the American ‘money-men’ versus the British and European ‘artists.’ They didn’t invent a new style, but greatly improved on old techniques. </h2>
<h2>Animation films are made to the soundtrack. This is a cardinal rule. The dialog is recorded and is used as the lead for the animation. This did not happen on <em>Yellow Submarine</em>, as there was never a clear script. An outline by Lee Minoff was later punched up by Erich Segal (who wrote <em>Love Story</em>!) and later writers were also involved, including uncredited Liverpool poet Roger McGeogh to add a real ‘Liverpool’ touch. The script changed until the film’s release. </h2>
<h2>This is the story of the whole making of the movie, which was basically controlled chaos, different teams working on different parts and the directors having to piece it together. There were a few things the ‘artists’ were united about. One, they were not going to make a ‘kiddie’ cartoon like The Beatles Saturday show. This was considered the lowest form of animation sausage making. Second, they had a universal disdain for the Disney style of animation. Remember, the Blue Meanies all wore Mickey Mouse ears! </h2>
<h2>Another thing the book makes clear is that acclaimed artist Peter Max had nothing to do with <em>Yellow Submarine</em>, although he seemed to take some credit for it later in his career. The amazing Heinz Edelman was the lead, drawing the Beatles figures and coming up with the Blue Meanie characters. He was a genius working in two dimensions. </h2>
<h2>There are many great stories in this book, especially who did what and who gets credit. There are many different versions of the same stories and it’s fun to try to figure out who to believe, an animators’ <em>Rashomon</em>. Hieronimus has done a great job of interviewing almost every person involved in the movie, and he lets them speak. </h2>
<h2>As the movie nears completion, The Beatles get wind of it and seeing the footage, get excited and want to be involved. They offer to provide the voices (way too late to be of any use), and John Lennon inexplicably starts to take credit for the story. The premier of the movie is a success, with the last look at Beatlemania with the crowds at the London premier, but the movie is not well distributed in Britain. The British press is still cool on The Beatles after <em>Magical Mystery Tour.</em> The film does much, much better in the USA. </h2>
<h2>There is a long period when the movie ownership is in dispute, and it only gets a limited release on VHS and shown on TV a few times. There is extensive talk of the ‘Hey Bulldog’ sequence, shown in the British version but removed from the US version. The scene (with the most rocking song in the movie) is put back in for the restoration. Things get settled and there is a full, fabulous restoration done for the 30th anniversary in 1998. The soundtrack is redone in 5.1 sound and the DVD and sound are amazing. Again, somehow, the actual movie release is not well rolled out in Britain or the US. </h2>
<h2>To a person, everyone that Hieronimus speaks to, especially serious artists like Heinz Edelman, realize that, no matter what else they’ve done, the only thing they’ll be known for is <em>Yellow Submarine</em>. The Beatles paint you a different color, and those who worked on the eleven month film shoot will always be remembered for it. </h2>
<h2>That being said, <em>Yellow Submarine</em> was the first animated feature to make a splash since the Disney pictures of the 1950’s. It was very influential on people such as Monty Python's Terry Gilliam, and Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (MTV era video makers), and especially the creators that would form Pixar, such as John Lassiter. <em>Yellow Submarine</em> had a positive message, and it still thrills young and old alike. Maybe John was right, when he sang “nothing is real.” </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan </h2>
<h3><span class="font_regular">Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, <em>Singles Going Steady</em>, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a> </span></h3>
<p> </p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/63335432020-05-28T16:08:12-04:002020-05-28T16:08:12-04:00Cool Town by Grace Elizabeth Hale<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/1b8b8d7b01626418024e1e3c3f8fd261017087e3/original/cool-town.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>What makes a scene? How does it happen? More specifically, how did the sleepy Southern college town of Athens, GA become a powerful and influential beacon for indie culture and music? </h2>
<h2>It’s all here in <em>Cool Town: How Athens, Georgia, Launched Alternative Music and Changed American Culture</em>, the excellent new book by Grace Elizabeth Hale. Hale is now a professor of American Studies at the University of Virginia, but she was there for much of the heyday of the Athens scene. She knows the region, people, bands, and artists and has written a well-researched and thorough book about the scene in Athens. </h2>
<h2>It all begins with New York and Warhol’s Factory, with a regular on the scene, Jerry Ayers, having been part of that scene and returning to Athens to be a <em>Zeilig</em> like figure, mentoring and taking in young artists, and contributing to the songs by both The B-52’s and R.E.M. When the B-52’s form, basically on a lark and kind of a drag show/dance party for their friends, things happen quickly. Ayers and others have New York connections, and before you know it The B-52’s are playing at Max’s Kansas City. </h2>
<h2>Athens is a place that has a tradition of DIY going back to the true 1960’s hippies, growing their own food and weed and being self-sufficient. Kate Pierson of The B-52’s came from this tradition. Athens downtown had cheap rents, cheap food, and an Art School at the University Of Georgia that often let the students do what they wanted. </h2>
<h2>Add to this the Atlanta connection of record store owner Danny Beard (who founded DB Recs, releasing records from bands such as The B-52’s (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zub52s" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zub52s" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zub52s</a>), Love Tractor, and Pylon (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubcrazy" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zub52s" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubcrazy</a>)) and things start to happen. The B-52’s hit it big, fast, and are beloved in New York City. Next up is Pylon, a true art-funk, post punk collective formed by bassist Michael Lachowski as an art project. They start up rough but being ‘from Athens,’ they are given a choice of picking who they open for in New York (quickly settling on Gang Of Four). Pylon grows and develops and their unique post-punk sound brings locals and critics to view them as the ‘best’ band in Athens. </h2>
<h2>Hale is an academic and the book is a bit weighty, it’s not meant to be a band tell-all, it’s more of a methodical explanation of how and why the scene unfolded as it did. She is very well versed in the underlying gender dynamics in the scene, the class differences, and especially the racism that is always, always beneath everything. </h2>
<h2>There is a great description of some of the forward thinking programs going on at the UGA Arts program, students and teachers given plenty of freedom (or lack of oversight). Then it’s time to talk about R.E.M. </h2>
<h2>Hale bursts many bubbles in the myth of R.E.M., a band whose Michael Stipe and Pete Buck weren’t even from the south, and is careful to roll out their story. They were musicians that wanted to play, and maybe make a career out of being a band. They rehearsed and toured incessantly, a new model for Athens bands, and they weren't a big deal on their first trips to New York. I had seen R.E.M. numerous times before their Hib-Tone single was released, and everyone knew they were going places. They were just too unique and too good. </h2>
<h2>The success of R.E.M. (<a contents="tinyurl.com/radiofreezub" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/radiofreezub" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/radiofreezub</a>) brings outsiders to Athens, like The Flat Duo Jets and Dreams So Real. These bands are not held as ‘authentic’ by the scene and don’t last in Athens long. There is a period, after Pylon’s first breakup, where Love Tractor and The Squalls are among the better bands, along with the new, more confrontational BBQ Killers. </h2>
<h2>Hale gives a great description of the folk and ‘outsider’ art tradition in and around Athens, featuring artists like Howard Finster. Michael Stipe, in particular, fell hard for this type of art and it was part of R.E.M. 's iconography (Finster painted the cover of <em>Reckoning</em>). In their own way, R.E.M. pushed against their so-called ‘Southerness’ while also embracing it. </h2>
<h2>Hale was an Athens resident when she and her husband and some friends opened The Downstairs, a restaurant and club that appears to have booked many of the same bands that Adrienne and I did at Studio B in Greenville. She tells of the new crop of bands, some harder edged like Porn Orchard and David Barbe’s Mercyland (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubmercyland" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubmercyland" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubmercyland</a>), and she reveals the story of the tragic Athens figure Vic Chestnut. </h2>
<h2>I’ve really only scratched the surface of what’s in this book. Having been on the periphery of the Athens scene during these years I found it a fascinating and essential read. Grace Elizabeth Hale is to be commended for the rigor and enthusiasm she brought to the subject. This is a book easily on the scale of Gina Arnold’s <em>Route 666 </em>(about the growth of Nirvana and their effect on youth culture) or Michael Azerrads’ <em>Our Band Could be Your Life</em> (a chronicle of thirteen seminal American indie bands in the 1980’s). It’s that good, and will get you thinking about the accident of time, place, talent, and pure luck colliding to make something new. </h2>
<h2>Dance this mess around! </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan </h2>
<p> </p>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/63253612020-05-21T16:22:36-04:002020-05-21T16:32:15-04:00X - Alphabetland<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/3d505b4318cf9cacdb9406c58a83e9a1dba3088d/original/alphabetland.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<h2>Without warning, they just did it: here’s <em>Alphabetland</em>. Los Angeles’ original punk rockers X just released their first record in 35 years with their original lineup. Dropped via Bandcamp and Fat Possum Records with no advance warning, <em>Alphabetland</em> is an absolute revelation. </h2>
<h2>X have been road warriors for decades, and I was lucky enough to see them at Charlotte’s Neighborhood Theater a few years ago. The members are now in their mid 60’s, yet this band rocked like a bunch of teenagers. I left bewildered at how good they were and seeing them honestly helped me pick up a guitar again and start playing. Totally inspirational. </h2>
<h2>So, to <em>Alphabetland</em>. The record jumps out of the speakers on the opening title track, guitarist Billy Zoom hitting a muted riff very reminiscent of The Ramones’ ‘I Wanna Be Sedated,’ while singer Exene Cervenka never sounded better: </h2>
<h2><em>Blue you wear like martyr blue </em></h2>
<h2><em>Atom bomb bruises, cold war flu </em></h2>
<h2><em>Blue you wear like martyr blue </em></h2>
<h2><em>Atom bomb bruises, cold war flu </em></h2>
<h2>This song smashes into ‘Free,’ following a long tradition of X with lyrics about personal liberty and responsibility, bassist Joe Doe singing: </h2>
<h2><em>The church is burning </em></h2>
<h2><em>Bullets are flying </em></h2>
<h2><em>You hurt my sister </em></h2>
<h2><em>She didn't do nothing </em></h2>
<h2><em>The sky is fire, the rocks are sighing </em></h2>
<h2><em>It's all so quiet at the end </em></h2>
<h2>‘Water and Wine’ has that pseudo-rockabilly stomp that X perfected through songs like ‘Breathless,’ with a killer Zoom solo and Exene singing about the class divide: </h2>
<h2><em>The divine that defines us </em></h2>
<h2><em>The evil that divides us </em></h2>
<h2><em>There's a heaven and a hell </em></h2>
<h2><em>And there's an "oh well" </em></h2>
<h2><em>Who gets passed to the head of the line? </em></h2>
<h2><em>Who gets water and who gets wine? </em></h2>
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<h2>‘Strange Life’ is a punk rager, Exene and John singing together as they do on their seminal <em>Los Angeles</em> release. Drummer D.J. Bonebrake is all over this record, smashing, crashing, and with the addition of Doe’s fluid bass and Zoom’s raw growl, this is X. Not some new, slicked up version, but the old friends you knew from <em>Wild Gift</em> and <em>Under The Big Black Sun</em>. </h2>
<h2>‘I Gotta Fever’ has a cool, inverted chorus progression, and ‘Delta 88 Nightmare’ (a very old X song) is one minute and thirty seven seconds of slam dancing punk; it’s just the best. “Star Chambered’ is a classic X tune in that it mixes the very personal and the outside world, think of songs like ‘The World’s A Mess, It’s In My Kiss’ as an example: </h2>
<h2><em>I could have been star chambered </em></h2>
<h2><em>On the tree of rock 'n' roll life </em></h2>
<h2><em>Or maybe a railroad wife </em></h2>
<h2><em>I was railroaded once or twice </em></h2>
<h2><em>I might've dodged a bullet chambered </em></h2>
<h2><em>In the alley running for my life </em></h2>
<h2><em>I'm sure that I dodged a knife </em></h2>
<h2><em>I finally learned my lesson once or twice </em></h2>
<h2><em>Where did I put my wings? </em></h2>
<h2><em>I can never find those things </em></h2>
<h2><em>Now I'm running, running late </em></h2>
<h2><em>I might be stuck here at my gate </em></h2>
<h2><em>Though you may be dearly departed </em></h2>
<h2><em>Dearly departed </em></h2>
<h2><em>I'm just getting started </em></h2>
<h2>‘Angel On The Road’ is a tale of being on the road, full of Zoom’s buzzsaw guitar and Bigsby vibrato chords. ‘Cyrano DeBerger’s Back’ was a song John Doe wrote for the Flesh Eaters, but here is a great, almost funky take with some of the best singing I’ve heard from John and Exene, and a Billy Zoom saxophone solo (!). </h2>
<h2>Ending up with the thrashing ‘Goodbye Year, Goodbye,’ X is getting a little nostalgic: </h2>
<h2><em>Beats keep beating my brains in </em></h2>
<h2><em>Everyone's talking so loud </em></h2>
<h2><em>Why can't we stop for a minute </em></h2>
<h2><em>And pull away from the crowd? </em></h2>
<h2><em>What gives us the right to be so loud this silent night? </em></h2>
<h2><em>Guzzling tequila, spilling cups of coffee </em></h2>
<h2><em>One lover died but another is hoping </em></h2>
<h2><em>Chimes are chiming for hearts that are broken </em></h2>
<h2><em>Goodbye year, goodbye </em></h2>
<h2><em>Please don't make us cry </em></h2>
<h2><em>So long year, so long </em></h2>
<h2><em>We'll sing you out with a song </em></h2>
<h2>This is a powerful, triumphant record. If you thought X was played out, they have a clear message for you: they are as vital and important as ever, maybe even more so. Reviews I’ve read say <em>Alphabetland</em> doesn’t stand up to their first few records. I’m not so sure about that. I know I need this new X album in my life. I think you do, too. </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan </h2>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/63203762020-05-17T20:44:20-04:002020-05-17T20:58:22-04:00Robyn Hitchcock & Emma Swift shows 2 through 5<p> </p>
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<h2><strong>Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift Live Online for Nashville Tornado Relief Part 2 </strong></h2>
<h3>We love to blog about the shows, films, music, tv, books and even the occasional art exhibit we see. In the days of social distancing precautions, artists are moving their works to streaming platforms and Zub is going there with them. </h3>
<h2>Two of my favorite performers are back. I already talked about the first show by Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift for a fundraiser for their East Nashville community (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubregem" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubregem" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubregem</a>). This was the second show in the series, on the StageIt streaming platform. Robyn and Emma played on the couch in their house, as before. These shows are incredibly can-do and public-spirited, and also make-do as artists cobble together presenting shows from what they have on hand. So, the streaming connection was pretty poor as the world attends Zoom meetings with each other and kids rewatch <em>Frozen 2</em> and gobble up bandwidth; there were a number of glitches, and cut outs. But we all soldier on in trying times and band together at virtual shows. </h2>
<h2>The couple has a vast stuffed menagerie they incorporate into these shows. Robyn and Emma showed off their stuffed lobster, Perry, and Robyn welcomed us to the “Swiftcock show.” This night, they were mostly playing requests, and the ten songs in this show were some of Robyn and Emma’s best, with some of Robyn’s more whimsical, surreal songs. They opened with a bouncy ‘Don’t Talk To Me About Gene Hackman.’ Robyn was playing his pearloid neck Nick Lucas model Gibson acoustic, and it was set up better for sound this time, not so drowned out by the vocals as in the first show. Reg mentioned “I wrote this song in 1997” when he got to the Andi McDowell reference in the lyric. It was a funny, fun start to the set. </h2>
<h2>To introduce ‘Antwoman,’ they showed Radcliff the stuffed ant who was “only missing one leg,” and launched into a fine version of this <em>Jewels For Sophia</em> song, Emma’s vocals really adding to the arrangement. Em apologised for the poor Wi-Fi, and with “Here’s a song in D,” they did a lovely version of ‘Madonna Of The Wasps,’ one of Reg’s strongest tunes. Perry, the aforementioned lobster, and Jermaine, the female stuffed Koala, were shown off, and we got shirt buying tips: “ Buy a nice loud shirt from a local business,” and “bespoke is the way.” Emma went to get tea and Robyn played ‘Trilobite’ from <em>Mossy Liquor</em>, an odd, alliterative song that I really love. </h2>
<h2>‘Listening To The Higsons’ in a stripped down arrangement was really groovy, and they closed it out with a good bit of Bowie’s ‘Golden Years’ (!) Next up was the sparkling ‘One Long Pair Of Eyes’ (a very Dylan influenced song) from <em>Queen Elvis</em>, Emma again adding a lovely backing vocal. The duo seemed to really be having fun and were definitely less nervous than the first show. Em and Reg had a long discussion of Reg’s hair - with Reg wishing he could have “David Bowie hair.” Emma wished Robyn would go back to his 1986 mullet hairdo. Robyn switched to a small mahogany wood Gibson acoustic to sing a tribute to the recently passed Bill Rieflin (who played in Robyn’s band The Venus 3 as well as King Crimson). He said Bill was “even darker than I am” and dedicated the song to friends who have died from cancer. He then did an astounding version of ‘Underground Sun’ from <em>Ole! Tarantula</em>, singing “I feel with you, even though I know you’re not with me.” </h2>
<h2>Continuing with the death and loss theme, Robyn played ‘The Speed Of Things from <em>Moss Elixir</em>: </h2>
<h2><em>You held my hand when I was crying </em></h2>
<h2><em>You were allergic to bee stings </em></h2>
<h2><em>I threw some earth onto your coffin </em></h2>
<h2><em>And thought about the speed of things </em></h2>
<h2><em>I kissed you by the clear, cold river </em></h2>
<h2><em>I felt like I was growing wings </em></h2>
<h2><em>But I grew horns and found another </em></h2>
<h2><em>Oh, a girl to share the speed of things </em></h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2>Emma returned and they did a powerful new song of hers, which I believe was called ‘No Happy Endings.’ She has a beautiful voice and this brand new song sounds like a great introduction to a new Emma Swift record. They ended up with about half of ‘A Man’s Gotta Know His Limitations, Briggs,” scooping up Tubby, their one-eyed Scottish Fold cat, for a cameo. It was a wonderful time despite the Internet issues. </h2>
<h2>Our Robyn Podcast is at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubrobyn" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubrobyn" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubrobyn</a> and a review of a prior live stream show at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubreglive" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubreglive" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubreglive</a> </h2>
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<h2><strong>Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift Online Live From Home Sweet Quarantine Part 3 </strong></h2>
<h2>This is the third review I’ve written of Robyn and Emma streaming a show from home. The first is at (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubregem" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubregem" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubregem</a>). These first two shows, through the StageIt streaming platform, were fundraisers for the East Nashville TN community where Robyn and Emma live. Tonight’s show was called ‘Live from Sweet Home Quarantine’ and tonight’s money went to Robyn and Emma directly. </h2>
<h2>Tonight, on the couch at their house, they launched into ‘Ride’ from <em>Perspex Island</em>. Robyn played his small body Gibson mahogany guitar and his and Emma’s voices were strong together. They seem to improve with each show. Then straight into The Soft Boys ‘Only The Stones Remain,’ with some spoken asides: Robyn - “Tubby is behind the rooter,” Emma - “It’s called a router!” Then later in the song, “He’s gone back into the kitchen.” Em asked Robyn what he wanted to play next, and he replied “something dismal.” </h2>
<h2>They did ‘No, I Don’t Remember Guildford,‘ a Dylan like tale of a relationship dissolution from his <em>Jewels For Sophia</em> LP. The breaking of the songs into just three elements (acoustic guitar, two vocals) seemed to split this beautiful melody into solitary, glittering gems. At the end, Emma commented “Oh yeah, that was dismal.” There was talk of this song being one of her favorites, then Perry the stuffed lobster appeared. Robyn was drinking his tea from a mug celebrating the marriage of British Royals Anne and Mark in 1973. Emma remarked that they have “terrible taste in crockery” but like to collect “shitty royal crockery.” Reg pointed out that “The Royals collect our stuff.” He said something about Prince Charles having an <em>EYE</em> T-shirt. These two are nothing but charming. </h2>
<h2>Then then rolled out another magnificent Hitchcock tune, ‘Heaven’ from <em>Fegmania</em>! His guitar wasn’t quite loud enough but it was not a real issue. Afterwards Reg said that was “Just Like Janis Joplin and Rick Danko,” which somehow led to a discussion of Bryan Ferry and his hair quiff gel, his sharp pyjamas, and his Earl Grey tea. Robyn switched guitars and they did Joni Mitchell’s ‘Amelia,’ where Emma sang lead and just knocked it out. Robyn played solo next while Em got tea, and did a new (unrecorded) song called ‘Spangle Rock’ that mentioned Buddy Holly, Jim (Roger) McGuinn (when his name was still Jim), and Tom Petty among others. </h2>
<h2>It was already encore time, Robyn dedicated the next song to Matthew Seligman, the Soft Boys bassist, who apparently has the virus. He then did an exquisite version of ‘Chinese Bones’ from <em>Globe Of Frogs</em>, with a sweet melody tied to a Dyan-esque lyric: </h2>
<h2><em>Watching Romeo dissolve I was tempted to join him </em></h2>
<h2><em>By the mirror of the lake where the statues unfurled </em></h2>
<h2><em>I had never seen a man so abuse his reflection </em></h2>
<h2><em>As the light shines through your Chinese bones </em></h2>
<h2><em>Watching Juliet unrobe I would hasten toward her </em></h2>
<h2><em>But around her feet I sat that her serpent was curled </em></h2>
<h2><em>And her eyeballs had rolled up so her pupils had vanished </em></h2>
<h2><em>And the light shines through your Chinese bones </em></h2>
<h2>There was also a new verse added about Peter Sellers(!). Em brought their one eyed Scottish Fold cat, Tubby, into frame. Robyn mentioned that he (Tubby) “hasn’t been flying his missions” in his Tubby biplane, and the duo mentioned they’ve been doing some home recording. The next two songs were a bit more upbeat, ‘Saturday Groovers’ and ‘Ole! Tarantula!’ during which Reg flubbed a line, and hilariously played harmonica (as Emma held it) the wrong way around. Perry made a final appearance, and they mentioned an upcoming show would be “All Bob Dylan.” They closed out with Roxy Music’s ‘Oh Yeah (On The Radio)’ from their <em>Flesh And Blood </em>record. </h2>
<h2>Another magical evening with Robyn and Emma. They cheer me up, and the music is exceptional. Thanks, you two! </h2>
<p> </p>
<h2><strong>Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Smith - Live From Sweet Home Quarantine - The Social Distancin' Bob Dylan Part 4 </strong></h2>
<h2>Tonight was the fourth installment of Robyn and Emma Swift streaming from their home on the StageIt platform (<a contents="www.stageit.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.stageit.com" target="_blank">www.stageit.com</a>). Tonight’s show was billed as an all-Dylan show. I have never been much of a Dylan fan, but in the live Robyn review (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubreglive" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubreglive" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubreglive</a>) I wrote: </h2>
<h2>
<em>Here’s another thing about Robyn Hitchcock. He is a true Dylan acolyte. I myself have never been a big Dylan fan. I understand his importance but I don’t really dig his sound. Robyn always does a Dylan cover, and they are always amazing. He gives the tunes a gravitas, a sense of mystery and melody that are only hinted at. Last year in Asheville, he opened the set with ‘Not Dark Yet,’ which he made sound like the best song ever written. If you’re like me (and you’ve seen plenty of artists do shitty Dylan covers) I encourage you to find a copy of </em>Robyn Sings!<em>, a two disc set of all Dylan covers by Reg. It’s amazing. </em>
</h2>
<h2>After some pleasantries, Dylan talk, and Robyn dubbing Dylan “the matrix where it all begins and ends,” Robyn and Emma were quick out of the gate with ‘Shelter From The Storm’ from <em>Blood On The Tracks</em>, their voices strong and powerful. They mentioned that they were playing mostly Dylan requests, and also a tornado watch was on right now in Nashville. Stuffed animal pals Jermaine (the female koala) and Perry (the lobster) made a quick appearance. They did an almost bouncy version of ‘Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right’ from <em>The Freewheeling Bob Dylan</em>, with Emma sounding super singing solo on a few verses. </h2>
<h2>Reg and Em talked of John Prine’s passing, and did a touching version of Prine’s ‘Speed Of The Sound Of Loneliness,’after which Robyn remembered Hal Wilmer, the Lou Reed producer and <em>Saturday Night Live</em> music executive, who also just passed. As they talked about playing “cheery” Dylan songs, Robyn said “No matter how dark it gets, it still remains relevant.” They then did another <em>Blood On The Tracks </em>song, ‘Simple Twist Of Fate,’ which Emma sang solo, bringing to it a soulful take. Emma went to get tea, and Robyn played “My favorite song In the world,” ‘Visions Of Johanna’ from <em>Blonde On Blonde</em>. This sprawling, almost Biblical song was given a great, slow interpretation by Robyn, slowed down and savored, not spitting out the lyrics (like Dylan) and bringing a strong melody to the party. </h2>
<h2>Describing the next song as “a follow up to ‘Sad-Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands,’ Reg did ‘I’m Not There’ from <em>The Basement Tapes</em>. Emma returned and could not find their cats, Tubby and Ringo, but did have tea and Quacky the plastic duck. Both Robyn and Emma sang all of ‘Lay Lady Lay’ from <em>Nashville Skyline,</em> a song in which you can really hear Dylan’s influence on Robyn’s songwriting. Next up was ‘Just Like A Woman,’ with a very pretty (!) arrangement where Emma and Reg sang all of the song in unison. They closed the show with another <em>The Basement Tapes</em> song, ‘Open The Door, Richard’ which ran over time, and the stream cut off. </h2>
<h2>Another great show. The streaming issues have improved, and these two are so talented and funny. I understand the importance of Bob Dylan. Watching the movie <em>Don’t Look Back </em>was revelatory, I recommend it highly if you haven’t seen it. But I never can get my head around the sound of Dylan’s music. To see artists like Robyn and Emma show us the beauty in Dylan’s music is a wonderful experience. Robyn especially seemed happy to be playing songs by his hero, and that feeling was infectious. </h2>
<h2>Open the door, Robyn! </h2>
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<h2><strong>Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift - Live From Sweet Home Quarantine part 5 </strong></h2>
<h2>So, I’m now at the point where I really look forward to Robyn & Em’s streaming shows. After last week's Bob Dylan show, they were back on a regular Hitchcock themed show. The platform is StageIt (<a contents="www.stageit.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.stageit.com" target="_blank">www.stageit.com</a>) and the streaming was lo-res but not so bad tonight. They opened with Reg saying “I hope you are utterly zen’d out” and they launched into ‘Sometimes A Blonde’ from <em>Spooked</em>. It appears that Robyn and Em have spent some of their downtime rehearsing, as their voices sounded super together. </h2>
<h2>Next up was ‘Nietzsche’s Way’ from <em>A Star For Bram</em>, sort of a take on Spirits’ ‘Nature's Way.’ Robyn flubbed a word and started giggling. He dedicated the next song, ‘Airscape,’ (from <em>Element Of Light</em>) to Soft Boy/ Hitchcock Solo/ Thomas Dolby bass player Matthew Seiligman, who was in an induced coma due to the COVID-19 virus. They stopped for tuning issues but Reg said he was just “hitting some bad notes.” He called Emma “E. Smith,” leading to a bit of a kerfuffle. Once they did ‘Airscape,’ though, all was forgiven, a truly beautiful song with Emma nailing the high notes. </h2>
<h2>Emma went off to find a cat, and Robyn solo played ‘Satellite,’ from <em>EYE</em>, and the feed went dead for about 30 seconds. When they came back, Reg was still playing and Emma apologised profusely. Perhaps someone tripped over something. Introducing the next song, they mentioned the next show would be an all-Beatles cover show. Can’t wait for that! Robyn played Emma’s request as a teaser, a surprisingly good cover of ‘Rocky Racoon’ from The Beatles’ <em>White Album</em>. Emma brought the bag of cat treats to lure Tubby and Ringo, Perry the stuffed lobster made a cameo, and it was already encore time. </h2>
<h2>The duo did a great cover of The Psychedelic Furs ‘The Ghost In You,’ a song that sounds like Reg wrote it. Then Tubby (one of their two Scottish fold cats, Tubby the one with one eye and a Twitter account @asktubby) was scooped up for an appearance. “Tubby the Aviator” was given a delicious shrimpy snack. Next up was ‘Mad Shelley's Letterbox’ from Robyn’s excellent self-titled new record (the purple cover with Reg holding a cat). Robyn sang the first 20 seconds in his Richard Butler voice, which was pretty funny. </h2>
<h2>They ended up with ‘The Queen Of Eyes,’ a Soft Boys song from <em>Underwater Moonlight</em>. Reg saying “I can’t believe I wrote this.” And finished up with the devastatingly wonderful ‘Glass Hotel,’ from <em>EYE</em>. Robyn’s voice is still strong and powerful, and Emma’s the perfect foil. Another uplifting, terrific performance from these two. Can’t wait to hear The Beatles show! </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan </h2>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast <a contents="" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a>Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/63136272020-05-12T14:55:10-04:002020-05-12T14:55:10-04:00High Maintenance<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/faca207e342bf3c03fccad88bbb142ff26e2c193/original/high-m.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>Kind and weird. </h2>
<h2>Those are the two words that come to mind when I think of Katja Blichfeld and Ben Sinclair’s remarkable HBO series <em>High Maintenance.</em> Blichfeld is an Emmy award winning casting director known for her work on 30 Rock. Ben Sinclair is an actor and filmmaker who plays the lead in the show, known only as ‘The Guy,’ his name unmentioned on the show. This creative team was married to each other (before the series) and then divorced (during the series) but continue to work on the show side by side, together almost every day. The show started on the Web, as Vimeo exclusive content, and was then bought by HBO. HBO’s move reminds me a little bit of the Matador Records formula. I recall reading an interview with a Matador exec who mentioned signing a band because they had a great touring presence and were selling 100,000 copies of their records; it was a no-brainer to sign them. I imagine HBO felt the same about <em>High Maintenance</em>. </h2>
<h2>The conceit of the show is that each thirty minute or so episode follows ‘The Guy,’ who is a small level cannabis (and sometimes mushrooms) dealer in New York who generally bikes throughout the city to make his deliveries. Each episode focuses on his clients and what is going on with them. New York City is a major, constant character in the story, and along with The Guy, the stories revolve around them. </h2>
<h2>I have just finished binge watching all four seasons (I think 34 episodes) of <em>High Maintenance</em> on HBO back to back, and it’s been a wonderful ride. The show is kind in the depictions of ‘The Guy's’ clients. I’ve never seen a show that presented so many cool and different people and their varied lifestyles. There’s gay, straight, asexual, and polyamorous families. There are plenty of people of color, and all manner of economic levels are presented. The young and the elderly get a spotlight. There is even a superb episode, ‘Grandpa’ in the first season that is essentially shot from a dog’s perspective! There is another great episode. ‘Ex’ that deals with a painfully lonely, agoraphobic man who’s mother (and roommate) has passed away. The man gets some mushrooms and spends an adventure-filled day in the city out of his solitary apartment. </h2>
<h2>The Guy is a good dealer and has two sure fire rules. One, you need an introduction from someone you know to use his services. The one time he breaks that rule he gets robbed. Two, he comes to you, to your place, and does business behind closed doors. This is the window into the series showing you all the amazing clients, where and how they live. This is also where New York City comes in. I’ve often wondered why people would want to live in such a cramped, unforgiving space. But the New York City presented in <em>High Maintenance</em> is (generally) a judgement free area. This is where you go when you are the weird, the freak, the misunderstood, the queer, the other. You can live your life here the way you want and you can definitely meet like-minded people. </h2>
<h2>This is the kind of show that doesn’t spell everything out, and it is better for it. You never see where The Guy gets his supplies from. Season two starts off with ‘Globo,’ in which some kind of catastrophe has happened to the city. It’s never talked about specifically, but it hangs over the whole episode. The one constant, of course, is The Guy. He appears happy, is very even-tempered, funny and well liked. He smokes a lot of weed. Like, a <em>lot</em>. But he still manages to bike, upright, all over the city every day. </h2>
<h2>The show has made me re-think my own perspective on cannabis. Even though I’ve been a rock and roll musician most of my life, I never smoked. I’m no angel; I made up for it in alcohol, but I was never drawn to pot. <em>High Maintenance</em> shows how important weed is to many people. It is presented on the show as a major anxiety reducer, and there is plenty of anxiety in New York City. Compared to alcohol, weed on this show looks pretty good. His clients are not hopeless stoners. Most have jobs or a serious hustle(or two) going on. Later, when The Guy takes care of his friend’s RV vehicle, dubbed ‘Steve Harvey,’ he is shown smoking it up and driving all over the city, no problem. The one bad experience comes via The Guy’s veterinarian, who is wracked with guilt at having to euthanize sick pets. The vet decides to do mushrooms, and at first he does much better, but he overdoses himself fairly quickly and falls into psychosis. </h2>
<h2>So most trips are benevolent, though not all. The Guy himself has a wild trip after a bike accident where he breaks his arm. In hospital, he cranks up the pain meds and continues to use his weed vape pen. He is totally out of it. Other than that, there is a great <em>Big Lebowski </em>themed bowling sequence in one episode where a character takes too much Ketamine (not supplied by The Guy). Everything else is generally pretty mellow. One of my favorite episodes has to be Season three’s ‘Dongle,’ dealing with a new arrival from Puerto Rico, working construction trying to earn money for his sister. It’s a sweet story of the man falling in love with the bodega worker who serves him coffee every morning. Set on the Fourth of July, it also shows the moment The Guy is going to breakup with his girlfriend, a very damaged person he has been extra kind to. There’s no fireworks (literally), but you can see on The Guy’s face that it’s over. </h2>
<h2>The final episode of the fourth season, which just aired, is ‘Soup’ and is mostly about The Guy. Just like actor-creator Ben Sinclair, The Guy’s family is from Phoenix and are Jewish. He is hosting his niece (who is in NYC at Barnard) as they are snowed in before leaving to visit Phoenix. It’s a reminiscence about families and how uptight they can be. His niece is depressed and on Klonopin. In the end, they have a nice Hanukkah evening together and he tells his niece she is okay, that we are all just trying to maintain. At the airport, The Guy decides not to go, but he has signed over his dog, FOMO, as a support animal for his niece (FOMO loves his niece), and sends her off to Phoenix. She kisses him and says “Bye, Uncle Rufus!” Rufus. Who knew. </h2>
<h2>Kind and weird. </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan</h2>
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<p>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast </a>Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/63067192020-05-06T12:35:53-04:002022-03-16T12:51:54-04:00Arrow Beach - Juicy Fruit Castle<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/bc81b5bf17d1ccce83951277891df56bdb08e79a/original/juicy-fruit.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<h2>I’ve seen Arrow Beach, a Triangle based NC band, twice (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubbeach" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubbeach" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubbeach</a>). I’ve seen the lineup change and become friends with them, and I have to say they are without a doubt one of my favorite bands. The band released a fine debut CD a few years ago and this one, <em>Juicy Fruit Castle</em>, is the follow up. </h2>
<h2>Arrow Beach has a lot going for it, including the chief songwriters being guitarist/producer Mike Nicholson and lead singer/producer John Ensslin. These two write music that often has a power pop overlay, but with a serious glam-rock influence. Think vintage 70’s era Sparks or T. Rex. They hit a lot of the influences that I truly love. </h2>
<h2>The CD was recorded at Hondo Creek in Pittsboro, NC where Mike Nicholson works. So, as you would imagine, they have a great, great sounding record. The drums in particular sound amazing. Another cool thing about this band is their all-female rhythm section, drummer Amy Hall and Bassist Charity Quick. Amy is terrific and so is Charity on the four-string, although some of these tracks feature former member bassist Tray Batson, who tears it up on a few songs. The production on the record is excellent, but like most bands that have their own studio, it can be a little overbaked, maybe a few too many additions here and there. </h2>
<h2>Opening with the slow burner ‘Cutoffs And Bows,’ featuring a stately 12-string guitar progression and some cool mellotron sounds, is an atypical and interesting way to open a CD. ‘Attention To Detail’ showcases Ennslin’s sometimes confusing and vaguely threatening lyrics. A happy 12-string guitar follows a tale of love that gets twisted: </h2>
<h2><em>Make me an offer, what would you pay for my silence? </em></h2>
<h2><em>Make me an offer, what would you give to keep me quiet? </em></h2>
<h2>‘A Slow Divorce’ is my favorite tune on the CD, a real rocker that’s just a verse and a chorus, showcasing John Ennslin’s amazing voice as he sounds like Marc Bolan while a Move-like ‘Brontosaurus’ riff stomps through. The vocals, the distorted bass, the heavy guitar: it’s rock heaven! </h2>
<h2>‘Skywriter’ again channels 12-string era Beatles or something like Ringo’s ‘It Don’t Come Easy.’ “Strangers In Airports’ returns to Ensslin’s weird and twisted lyrics; </h2>
<h2><em>I can be found in the airport lounge, drinking with your dad </em></h2>
<h2><em>C’mon, c’mon faster, faster </em></h2>
<h2><em>Get up, get off, get on </em></h2>
<h2><em>Faster, faster </em></h2>
<h2><em>I’ll be dead before I’m gone </em></h2>
<h2><em>Faster, yeah </em></h2>
<h2>I’m not exactly sure what he’s on about, but it’s a killer song. ‘Eraser’ is another twisted love tale, the singer searching for a girl to embrace, but by the end, over a goth-y progression, “<em>I will embrace her</em>” changes to “<em>I will erase her</em>.” ‘Kevin’ is a great little tune, Ensslin proclaiming: </h2>
<h2><em>You say it’s over, but it’s not over </em></h2>
<h2><em>It's never over, with us </em></h2>
<h2><em>To be honest, is to be unkind </em></h2>
<h2><em>Being honest, is such a waste of time </em></h2>
<h2>‘Under The Bleachers’ is a terrific pop confection. I can hear it in the background of pretty much any teen drama on the CW network. Ensslin isn’t afraid to steal a line from Patti Smith as Mike Nicholson keeps things moving along with his cool chord progression. ‘Guest Of A Guest’ is a four-on-the-floor dance tune, Ensslin with the balls to steal lyrics from ‘Hotel California,’ singing about “<em>sweet summer sweat</em>” and “<em>some dance to remember, I dance to forget</em>.” All the while killing it with his soaring voice, channeling Russel Mael of Sparks. Closer ‘Juicy Fruit Castle’ is a real rocker, one of their standouts, featuring a guitar/drum breakdown and John Ensslin screaming "<em>It’s only rock and roll!</em>" </h2>
<h2>It is, after all, only rock and roll. But Arrow Beach brings an attitude, intelligence and a knowing wink to this old recipe. I urge you to seek out this record. Arrow Beach wears its influences on its sleeves but damn if it doesn’t make them new, exciting, and original. </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan </h2>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a>. Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/63015152020-05-01T13:32:49-04:002020-05-01T13:32:49-04:00Walter Lure - To Hell And Back<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/5792678f4c19c4eb1d6af15745e736d4d45ad382/original/lure.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>Drugs have always been a thing in rock and roll. The bands that I grew up with, from The Beatles to The Stones to The Velvets, Iggy, Bowie, etc. all were well versed in drugs. It’s funny for me, someone who has never done any drugs in my life (alcohol is a separate story, kids) to think of some of the better cover songs I sing in my band Babylon. There’s Lou’s ‘Waiting For The Man,’ The Beatles ‘Tomorrow Never Knows,’ Big Black and ‘Racer X’ (a paean to speed), Bowie’s ‘Ziggy Stardust,’ and The Heartbreakers. Oh yes, The Heartbreakers with ‘Born To Lose’ and especially the Dee Dee Ramone penned ‘Chinese Rock’ (“all my best things are in hock”). I’ve always loved the Heartbreakers, more so than the Dolls, and I am firmly in the Johnny Thunders fanboy club. </h2>
<h2>It was with a lot of interest that I picked up this book by Walter Lure, the last living Heartbreaker (besides Richard Hell) entitled <em>To Hell And Back: My life in Johnny Thunders’ Heartbreakers, in the words of the last man standing</em>. Written with Dave Thompson, it is a slight book that covers a lot of ground. Walter is obviously the smart one in the group, having gone to college and minored in Chemistry, he gets a good job at the FDA. He offers a very unique take on ‘being there’ in New York in the early 1970’s, going to shows and seeing ‘That Kid’ at every show. When Walter goes to see the Dolls, ‘That Kid’ is, of course, Johnny Thunders. </h2>
<h2>Lure writes with a bit of a jaded eye about the scene in New York, saying what is now thought of as a ‘golden era’ was really just a few bands (Dolls, Suicide, a few others) and a very insular scene. He doesn’t have much good to say about CBGB’s, and once joining The Heartbreakers their venue of residency would be Max’s Kansas City. His induction into The Heartbreakers starts off the book with Jerry Nolan cutting his hair, and Johnny shooting him up. Dee Dee Ramone was always around as well. </h2>
<h2>This Heartbreakers' story, mostly, is a junkie story. There are endless descriptions of scoring dope. Johnny Thunders is portrayed as a genuinely nice guy who is already riding on his Dolls coattails, his career derailed by his love of dope. This is a story of a band of junkie brothers. Once they jettison Hell and get Billy Rath in on bass, they get plucked for the Sex Pistols ‘Anarchy’ tour along with The Clash and The Damned. The day they arrive in London is the infamous day that the Pistols swore on TV at Bill Grundy…’The Filth And The Fury.’ Most of the gigs are cancelled, but a few are played, with all the other bands in awe of Johnny due his stature as a Doll alumnus. </h2>
<h2>Lure offers some real insight about the band. He realizes they were much better musicians than the UK punks, and that their music is straight rock and roll and not really punk at all. He seems to understand that The Heartbreakers will have a limited shelf life and don’t really fit in. To that effect they can’t get a record deal - no one wants to be involved with a bunch of junkies. They finally do get hooked up with Track Records, owned by ex-Who managers Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp, and the sessions for <em>L.A.M.F</em>. go well. But this turns out to be the record that can’t get a proper mix. It ends up muddy and horrible sounding, after many attempts at mixing, and all involved are disappointed. They are back to playing gigs basically for drug money. </h2>
<h2>The Heartbreakers’ wheels start to come off, Jerry Nolan quits, then comes back, Billy and Walter go to New York to find a new drummer, and Johnny Thunders starts a new band. It all falls apart quickly and without much drama. Lure writes: </h2>
<h2><em>I didn’t doubt that Johnny would survive. The time he had spent in the United Kingdom had done nothing to diminish the power of his mystique nor the fervor of his most besotted acolytes, Journalists, musicians, anybody who had ever considered, in a wholly unironic way, the purchase of a T-shirt emblazoned with the legend “too fast to live, too young to die”- they clung to Johnny like bats in a belfry, desperately hoping that just a few scraps of his glamour would rub off on them. </em></h2>
<h2>Walter is there for everything that happens in British punk, but he’s not a big fan. He’s dismissive about most of the bands. They are friends with Siouxie and The Banshees, and there is a great story about seeing early Buzzcocks in Manchester. He is also quite open about his bisexuality, having no problem sleeping with whomever he fancied, although his long term relationships in the book are all with female partners. </h2>
<h2>It takes Walter a long time to get off dope, but he does it, gets back to New York, and gets in on a job at a stock trading company, learning how to use computers. He continues to play occasional Heartbreakers reunions, and with his own band, The Waldos. There is a long trail of death and sadness, however. Johnny Thunders, Jerry Nolan, Billy Rath all dead, Walter’s younger brother gets caught up in dope and dies suspiciously in rehab. Many lives are broken. In some sort of a happy ending, Walter connects with his son, now nineteen and entirely raised by his mom, they become friends, and with a real, steady job and a healthy music outlet, now sober Walter Lure can get on with his life. It is a heartwarming end for the otherwise sobering Heartbreakers junkie’s tale. </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan </h2>
<p>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast </a>Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/62999682020-04-30T12:29:14-04:002020-04-30T12:29:14-04:00HBO's Watchmen<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/2fe376fd83aaede8dacc28e2d8bf1114d8db3169/original/watchmen.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>My first pandemic series binge. I’d like to say a little bit about the 9-episode series of <em>Watchmen </em>on HBO. First of all, I know this is a very beloved comic from the DC comics world. I personally am not a comic book guy, and I don’t know hardly anything about the <em>Watchmen </em>universe. I haven’t read the comics and I haven’t seen the recent movie. So, comic book geeks, please go easy on me here. </h2>
<h2>I have read that <em>Watchmen</em> has been a bit of a white whale project; many have tried to adapt this series and have been unsuccessful in the past. HBO put its money behind <em>Watchmen </em>by hiring Damon Lindelof, who was a producer on TV’s <em>Lost </em>and the HBO series <em>The Leftovers</em>. He has not stuck to a straight interpretation of the comic series, but calls his Watchmen a ‘remix’ of sorts. </h2>
<h2>So, I’m going to try not to give you too many spoilers. The first thing I love about <em>Watchmen</em> is the acting. Regina King, as Sister Night/Angela Abar, is the central character, and she is top-notch, along with Don Johnson (!), Tim Blake-Nelson, the amazing Jean Smart (who also features in our Legion appreciation<a contents=" tinyurl.com/zublegion" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zublegion" target="_blank"> tinyurl.com/zublegion</a>), and, wait for it...Jeremy Irons! </h2>
<h2>There are some important truths in <em>Watchmen</em>.Though set in 2019, It begins with the 1921 Black Wall Street Massacre in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This is one of many racial atrocities that are not discussed in our history books. The racial component of the show is right up front. The President is Robert Redford and people of color are getting reparations, or, as they call it, ‘Redfordations.’ In Tulsa, there is an organized good old white supremacist group called the Seventh Kavalry, who are so violent that the police in Tulsa must wear masks and not reveal what they do or where they live. </h2>
<h2>In essence, it’s a war between two vigilante groups. The police chief is killed and Angela learns some horrible secrets about him. This is where Jean Smart comes in as the FBI investigator. She is a total badass. Other characters appear, Tim Blake-Nelson’s Lookingglass, Dr. Manhattan, and, in a castle on one of the moons of Jupiter, is Jeremy Irons as Adrian Veldt. </h2>
<h2>The show is one of those that is astounding to look at, there is a lot of time stretching and character development, and it is a pretty exciting ride. It’s not afraid to tackle very heavy concepts like institutional racism, and governments using fear to control the people (wait until you see the squid!) </h2>
<h2>Then again, it’s also a comic book, and there are some giant holes in the plot that aren’t addressed. </h2>
<h2>One of the bonuses of the show is the music. The in-show backing is done by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, and it does have a cool Nine Inch Nails feel that works well in this context. Also, I can appreciate a show where a whole episode is called ‘She Was Killed By Space Junk’ in which Jean Smart’s character unwinds by listening to Devo. </h2>
<h2>I enjoyed <em>Watchmen</em>. If you take it for what it is, it’s an enjoyable ride. If you really think about it, it doesn’t make a lot of sense. It took me out of my comfort zone and I liked it. </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan </h2>
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<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast </a>Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/62988462020-04-29T14:33:52-04:002020-04-29T14:33:52-04:00En Famille, Online With Steve Nieve; The Immobile Tour<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/1640039e92f4f41b249fbf78afe40d6b100d3ee2/original/nieve.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>For over a month, Steve Nieve (best known in Zub circles as Elvis Costello’s longtime keyboardist) has been streaming cozy piano-based salon shows from his home in Normandy, France. The “Daily Improvisation” shows, recently dubbed <em>The Immobile Tour</em>, are a family affair, featuring his partner Muriel Téodori as hype man, cinematographer, and sometimes vocalist and her son, AJUQ, a six foot-nine drummer, singer, and sometimes collaborator with Steve Nieve. The two have toured as a duo, drums, keys, and vocals. This duo are two exceptionally talented folks with whom to share lockdown. Nieve has been the longtime embodiment of musical mastery for Elvis Costello, plucked from formal training at the Royal College of Music to be part of the Attractions. His classical training and music theory chops have been a secret weapon fueling Costello’s compositional ambition and flights of fancy since their association began in 1977. </h2>
<h2>Using the Facebook Live platform, the troupe interacts real time with viewers, AJUQ manning his Instagram simultaneously on his phone. The shows are intimate and charming. Lovely moments happen, such as Davey Faragher, Nieve’s bandmate in the Imposters, sending comments in the chat. What a moment of joy for all, as Davey had been an early Covid patient, to see him interacting and reporting himself well on the mend. Muriel, with her beautiful accent will call out “Benmont is here,” or the names of other musical family friends in the chat. Of course to us, that’s Benmont Tench of The Heartbreakers and keyboardist with Imposters Pete Thomas and Faragher in Works Progress Administration, the supergroup with members of Nickel Creek. We feel like we are in a lovely after-dinner gathering of musician friends. </h2>
<h2>The shows have been a mix of requests, improvisations (Steve takes notes --E, F, C sharp!- on requests and improvises pieces around the progression), and specialty themes. Steve proudly displayed an old synth he’d found in storage, excitedly sharing “this will be perfect for the Brian Eno (Day 26) show!” There was a Mark Hollis Talk of Talk Talk show (Day 31), a City and Towns theme (Day 29). A <em>Get Happy!</em> Day, a day of happy songs, and of course, and a very special visit by EC--Elvis Costello-- himself. </h2>
<h2>Day 24, the Special Elvis Costello show, was a bit like a favorite uncle coming over. AJUQ, who had grown up as part of the Costello extended touring family, is called “Antoine” by Elvis, just as members of my family call our 90+ year old uncle “Kenny,” a name he’d not been called since a wee lad by anyone other than my grandmother and her branch of the family. I thought it was funny for someone who should be no stranger to stage names to call “AJUQ” by his given name. And of course they had an outstanding multi-continental performance of a number of Costello favorites, including a brand-new song. </h2>
<h2>Day 34 brought the Special Squeeze Daily Improvisation with guest Chris Difford. During the Attractions interregnum in the late 80s, Nieve played with Squeeze, during the gap between Jools Holland’s stints. There are long ties between the Squeeze and Costello musical families. My first time seeing them was on their joint “English Mugs” tour in 1981. EC famously produced the landmark <em>East Side Story</em>, a near perfect testament to the genius of the Difford-Tillbrook songbook. His voice is a backing vocal to the band’s best known song, “Tempted.” It was Costello who suggested that new Squeeze keyboardist and pub rock ringer Paul Carrack, whose smooth vocals made Ace’s “How Long?” ascend to the one-hit wonder pantheon, take the lead on the song. </h2>
<h2>The Special Squeeze Daily Improvisation began with a lovely piano version of ‘Pulling Mussels (From the Shell).’ Muriel showed us a tableau of items she laid out as a “hint” for the days theme--items mentioned in “Tempted.” They admit from the outset there are so many great Squeeze songs, this show may be Part 1. The big guns come out from the start, as AJUQ prepared to sing “an obscure Squeeze song” and they launched into a tender “Tempted.” The last verse featured him playing along on drums, kicking the song into overdrive. His kit is a great collection--a snare, often muted by a hand towel, a high hat and cymbal, and a tom nestled in a stylish wicker chair, which he tells us acts as a kick/floor tom. Sometimes he uses brushes, other times sticks. They then launched into an upbeat ‘Goodbye Girl,’ Muriel joining on chorus harmonies, sometimes joined by Steve. It is great fun. They read comments from <em>Look Now</em> producer Sebastian Krys, who gushed about them making his day. </h2>
<h2>As they wait for a guest to call in, Steve plays the Difford/Costello composition ‘Boy with A Problem’ as an interlude. The technical collaboration between Chez Téodori-Nieve and distant guests depends on blind, or perhaps more aptly, deaf faith: the remote player plays without hearing the collaborators, and Steve, AJUQ, and sometimes Muriel join in on their end, cueing visually and with intuition to play in time with their guest. It mostly works! Special Squeeze began with Chris Difford calling in from a room that looked EXACTLY how you would imagine a great English wordsmith’s inner sanctum would: tudor beams, high ceiling, and a spectacular convex mirror (Muriel asked--is that a sorcièr? Oeil de sorcièr, or sorcerer’s eye is the proper decor name). Chris said it is his writing room. </h2>
<h2>After some technical wrangling, Chris launched into a beautiful version of ‘Take Me I’m Yours.’ His voice is self-assured and perfect. This version is terrific--especially since he cannot hear his French contributors. But Steve takes a solo when prompted by Chris and it is magic. </h2>
<h2>These are old friends, swapping stories and comparing notes on life under lockdown in their towns. Chris admits he hates not being out among the audience and seeing people. They launch into ‘Cowboys Are My Weakness,’ a solo Chris song that the pair had played on tour together. AJUQ eventually joins on drums and of course it is so nice; Chris’s daughters are commenting to each other in the chat about their dad’s voice being so strong and reassuring. It is family time not only at Chez Téodori-Nieve but on Facebook live. </h2>
<h2>They all swap great stories about Lou Reed. Chris suggests that there be a Special Lou Reed, that he’d come back and sing a number. He introduces his version of “Up the Junction” as a bit Lou Reed-ish. Chris ends with ‘Cool for Cats,’ the song he described as “the one that did all the damage.” The old friends swap stories, including Steve recalling his first time seeing Squeeze, which was also the first time he had a beer! There are lots of great stories and great warmth between these old friends. And then it is Goodbye Chris. </h2>
<h2>AJUQ and Steve decide to improvise a piece while they wait for the call from their second guest for the day. EC does call in, and gushes about the show so far, which he has been streaming. He tells us the original plan for <em>East Side Story</em> was a double album with the four sides to each have a different producer: Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds, Elvis Costello, and PAUL McCartney! There are terrific inside tales and insights throughout this episode. </h2>
<h2>EC plays ‘Someone Else’s Heart.’ a song he recorded for the Squeeze project produced by Steve Mandel. These songs are being slowly released as Record Store Day exclusives, the Squeeze <em>Swindles </em>series on Yep Roc. It is a terrific version and Costello remarked on the complexity and sophistication of Tilbrook’s song structure. It is then on to ‘Messed Around,’ the boogie woogie standout from <em>East Side Story</em>. There is a fantastic story about mixing this song in the studio. </h2>
<h2>There is camaraderie and planning and then we are played out to the sounds of ‘Another Nail in My Heart.’ Day 34 or done. Plans hang in the air for Special Lou Reed, another Squeeze day, EC joining them for a suite of songs on the theme of colors. <em>The Immobile Tour</em> is somehow on a roll. </h2>
<h2>Still, covid hangs like a sinister off stage villain, lurking just outside camera range. Muriel had written with iconic French singer, Chrisophe, who died of coronavirus complications on April 17, a loss they feel and share with us. These salons are an unbelievable privilege for us to experience, the community we create feels like a real one. There is so much loss now, it is sweet to have a thoughtful, loving reprieve with what feels like family. Hope to see you at Chez Téodori-Nieve. </h2>
<h2>The material is all available on Facebook, on the Steve Nieve Page: <a contents="https://www.facebook.com/stevenieveofficial/ " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/stevenieveofficial/" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/stevenieveofficial/ </a>The shows generally start a few minutes after 1p Eastern time in the US, early evening in France and England. The troupe welcomes comments via e-mail <a contents="theimmobiletour@gmail.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="email" href="mailto:theimmobiletour@gmail.com" target="_blank">theimmobiletour@gmail.com</a>. They have created a collage of their social media posts now available as a tour poster, pre-order at <a contents="https://www.leetchi.com/c/the-immobile-tour-poster&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.leetchi.com/c/the-immobile-tour-poster" target="_blank">https://www.leetchi.com/c/the-immobile-tour-poster </a>
</h2>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of<a contents=" zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank"> zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/62972852020-04-28T15:36:19-04:002020-04-28T15:36:19-04:00American Valhalla - The Movie<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/5be473317dcef5acc7ca88a84f923427c8243da1/original/valhalla.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>This 2017 movie is about the creation, production, and touring of Iggy Pop’s <em>Post Pop Depression </em>record. Co-directed by Joshua Homme (Queens Of The Stone Age) and photographer Andreas Newman, this is one amazing, astounding music film. The people at Castle Rock entertainment authorized a free live stream during the pandemic and I wouldn’t miss this for anything. </h2>
<h2>If you’re a musician, the opening scenes of this movie tell you everything you need to know. The <em>Post Pop Depression</em> band is onstage, vamping through the changes in the intro to ‘Lust For Life.’ The band features Matt Helders (Arctic Monkeys) on drums, Matt Sweeney (Chavez) on bass and guitar, as well as QOTSA members Dean Fertita and Troy Van Leeuwen on guitars and bass with Joshua Homme as bandleader on guitar. Now they’re not quite the Sales brothers (Tony and Hunt, on bass and drums on the original<em> Lust For Life</em>), but they have matching suits and they do a great job with the meaty material. Then Iggy pops up from between some amps, and it’s <em>on</em>. The way these battle hardened rock vets look at each other while Iggy does his thing is tremendous. They all have shit-eating smiles, like little boys who just shoplifted something naughty. They look at each other, and those grins say: “<em>We’re playing with...Iggy!</em>” </h2>
<h2>I saw these looks when this band was on <em>Austin City Limits</em>, and also on a completely different band, backing Iggy in Athens, Georgia in the early 80’s. His backing band then were basically all the members of Blondie (except Chris Stein and Debbie), and they had those grins the whole night! Imagine playing with your greatest idol, as these bands were fortunate enough to do. </h2>
<h2>Anyways, for a movie about Iggy and Joshua, <em>American Valhalla</em> is surprisingly beautiful and contemplative. I was stopped in my tracks early on to see and hear the late Anthony Bourdain conducting many of the interviews, he being among Joshua and Iggy in my own pantheon of rock heroes. The story starts with Iggy at his home in Miami, needing to make a new record, thinking of his legacy, and ultimately approaching Joshua Homme about a collaboration. Joshua agrees as it turns out his lifelong dream has always been to work with Iggy. While he’s on tour with Queens, Iggy sends him a package of handwritten notes, reviews, poems, and ideas to review. Gears begin to turn. </h2>
<h2>They start the project at Rancho De Luna in Joshua Tree, California, a recording-studio slash retreat in the middle of the desert. It’s so beautiful there and the band, Iggy, Josh, Matt, and Dean work with owner/engineer/chef Hutch Hutchinson, living and eating together and forming a formidable unit. The songs come together quickly. The photography of the desert segments is especially stunning. They move back to Los Angeles and Joshua Homme’s Pink Duck studio to finish; it goes quickly and the project is over. Homme is overtaken by literal <em>Post Pop Depression. </em>
</h2>
<h2>Luckily, they have convinced Iggy to tour. Homme adds Van Leeuwen and Sweeney to the band and they work up the new songs, and a number from the <em>Idiot/Lust For Life</em> era records Iggy made in Berlin with David Bowie and the Sales brothers. On the morning Iggy has a 4 am flight to Los Angeles to begin rehearsals, they learn of David Bowie’s passing. The band and Iggy soldier on, and they have a transcendental first rehearsal. </h2>
<h2>The movie ends with fine footage of the tour and shows,highlights being Detroit, Berlin, and The Royal Albert Hall in London. It’s a testament to the power and influence of Iggy Pop, and the genius of Joshua Homme. Joshua realizes he’ll never get a chance like this again, and he tries to enjoy it as it is slipping away. </h2>
<h2>I haven’t seen a better movie about the artistic process, about people who care about what they are doing, musicians having the back of a legend who continues to surprise them. I cannot recommend American Valhalla enough; as Anthony Bourdain would say…”This is the good stuff.” </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan </h2>
<h2><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="fgf45HiGGSE" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/fgf45HiGGSE/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fgf45HiGGSE?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></h2>
<h2> </h2>
<p>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at<a contents=" tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank"> tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast </a>Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/62959302020-04-27T13:39:57-04:002020-04-27T13:39:57-04:00Peter Holsapple Combo - Amplifier EP<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/83493e234699bf95c58f26713163b87c05ceb96f/original/phc-amplifier.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span class="font_large">If you are a Zubland regular, you know I am a huge fan of Peter Holsapple and his (now disbanded) combo. We did an extensive Podcast about the dB’s a while back at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubamplifier" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubamplifier" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubamplifier</a>. Peter’s solo career went on hiatus for a while, ten years or so, but he came back recently with the fine <em>Game Day</em> solo LP (on Omnivore Records), on which he played pretty much everything himself. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">We saw him last year with his new combo, Will Rigby (of the dB’s/Steve Earle) on drums and vocals and the fine Glenn Jones on Fender bass and vocals. That review is at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubphc" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubphc" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubphc</a>. The combo really brought out some of the songs from Game Day, more rocking and swinging. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">This brings us to<em> Amplifier EP</em>, a five song, (250 copies only) self released 12” record on red vinyl. The songs were recorded live at Boston’s Q Division studio, and they were going for a live-before an audience vibe as opposed to a studio recording with some fans. The result is a bit of an intentional bootleg sound, but the performances are stellar. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">The EP opens up with ‘In Too Deep,’ from <em>Game Day</em>, with a loping dB’s feel and a desperate vocal, it’s a classic Holsapple tune. This is followed by a new tune, ‘That Kind Of Guy,’ about record collectors, the kind of guy who has “Bix Beiderbecke tattooed on his neck,” who has the whole Stooges “Down On The Street reliquary,” and has “Brian Jones’ shoe from the bottom of the pool.” It is the most fun, wonderful song I’ve heard in a long time and it makes this record. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">There is a top-notch version of the dB’s ‘Amplifier,’ slightly rearranged and elongated. Peter kills the guitar solos throughout. This is probably Peter’s best known song and he is doing well to embrace it. ‘I Can’t Keep From Crying’ is a blues staple by Blind Willie Johnson famously covered by Ten Years After, but the PHC version follows the Blues Project cover from 1966 on their <em>Projections </em>LP. That band featured Al Kooper before he left to form Blood, Sweat and Tears, and it’s fun to hear Peter tear into some rockin’ blues. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">The last song is ‘Don’t Mention The War,’ a terrifying and sad tale of a relative broken by service overseas. Uncle Lonnie, the protagonist of the song, is now a nightmare fueled blackout drunk following whatever happened to him in the war. The song is a dirge of sorts but heartfelt and lyrically incisive. It was released as a solo single in 2017. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">We recently saw the combo at Christmas (see <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubphcguests" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubphcguests" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubphcguests</a>), where they played all these songs and never sounded better. This is a must have EP with some top notch material. The band will go on indefinite hiatus in February, with Glenn Jones releasing his third solo CD and Peter booking some solo gigs. They are so good together, Will, Peter, and Glenn. We hope the musical fates bring them together again soon. This EP is a pretty good simulacrum of seeing the band live, so it will help fill the gap in the interim. Fans of Peter’s work definitely will want to get this EP. Quickly, before they are all gone! </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">----Steve McGowan </span></p>
<p><span class="font_regular">Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a></span></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/62932862020-04-24T12:34:06-04:002020-04-24T12:34:07-04:00Game Theory - Across The Barrier Of Sound: Postscript<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/722b3b11989f27e1d40c4e227b8a87b095ddb54c/original/barrier.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Game Theory, the San Francisco based band led by Scott Miller, was one of the most influential pop bands of the 1980’s. They are one of those ‘greatest bands you never heard of’ types. They existed in several line-ups led by Miller over a decade, seemingly breaking up and reforming constantly. After their final breakup, Miller continued with his new band, The Loud Family, releasing a number of amazing records, almost all produced by Let’s Active’s Mitch Easter. Miller died in 2013, leaving a brilliant power pop legacy in the recordings of both bands. </h2>
<h2>The wonderful people at Omnivore Records (who re-released the first three Posies LP’s) have painstakingly reissued all of Game Theory’s output. They’ve done a superb job. This <em>Across The Barrier Of Sound: Postscript </em>features the very end of the band, from 1989 to 1990. This version was Miller on guitar and Vocal, Michael Quercio (from The Three O’Clock) on bass and vocals, Gil Ray on guitar and keys, and Jozef Becker (True West, Thin White Rope) on drums. This lineup of Game Theory did not last long, they only toured the west coast, and only made a handful of studio recordings. </h2>
<h2>Postscript, on CD, has twenty four tracks, mostly demos, some live, and some studio recordings. Many of the tracks are versions of songs that would appear on the first Loud Family record, the superb <em>Plants And Birds And Rocks And Things</em>. This is at best, a transitional collection of recordings. It’s not a proper, curated album, just a bunch of demos and works in progress. That being said, I’d listen to Scott Miller demos all day long. His skewered-pop sensibility is second to none. One reviewer mentioned that Game Theory wasn’t College Rock, it was more like ‘Post Grad Rock.’ Intelligent, challenging and beautifully crafted. </h2>
<h2>Highlights of this collection include a tasty version of The Beatles’ ‘All My Loving,’ an early version of ‘Aerodeleria’ called ‘Go Back To Sleep Little Susie,’ ‘Take Me Down (To Hallo),’ and ‘The Second Grade Applauds.’ The last four songs all reappear on The Loud Family record, some with different lyrics. There are two versions of his anthem ‘Inverness,’ with lyrics like: </h2>
<h2><em>At night I know </em></h2>
<h2><em>That there's someplace I can go </em></h2>
<h2><em>When there's no placing waking light </em></h2>
<h2><em>And I'll dream clichés </em></h2>
<h2><em>That I've dreamed a thousand ways </em></h2>
<h2><em>I'm not above clichés tonight </em></h2>
<h2><em>The playground viewed from blessed height </em></h2>
<h2><em>Ohh, Inverness </em></h2>
<h2><em>I bet you've never actually seen a person die of loneliness </em></h2>
<h2><em>Ohh, Inverness </em></h2>
<h2>
<em>All in good time</em> </h2>
<p> </p>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="N6QBBhIA10g" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/N6QBBhIA10g/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/N6QBBhIA10g?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe> Inverness</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>There’s a great cover of Brian Eno’s ‘Needles In The Camel’s Eye,’ and a live version of The Monkees ‘The Door Into Summer,’ which Quercio introduces as a song from Naked Eyes. He also covers Big Star’s ‘Back Of A Car,’ and there is a Quercio lead vocal on the Three O’Clock’s ‘A Day In Erotica.’ The highlight for me is Miller’s demo of ‘Slit My Wrists,’ especially prescient from someone who took his own life: </h2>
<h2><em>The more alone I felt the more the celebration grew </em></h2>
<h2><em>All the way down Van Ness Avenue </em></h2>
<h2><em>But I no longer take so lightly walking down that street </em></h2>
<h2><em>With nothing left between it and my feet </em></h2>
<h2><em>But what I need is not cut cost </em></h2>
<h2><em>What I need is a life where I've won </em></h2>
<h2><em>All the times that I've lost </em></h2>
<h2><em>What I need is not ways to go on </em></h2>
<h2><em>What I need is to slit my wrists and be gone </em></h2>
<p> </p>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="v0g0ky0cpqY" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/v0g0ky0cpqY/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/v0g0ky0cpqY?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe> Slit My Wrists</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>There is no doubt that Game Theory and The Loud Family, both led by Scott Miller, made some of the most influential music of our time. They are our generation’s Velvet Underground, our Big Star. I love his music, to me it is like a magic, fragile butterfly. Fragile and astounding. I must say I loved listening to <em>Across The Barrier Of Sound: Postscript</em>, but I would not recommend it as a doorway into Scott Miller’s music. I’d start with The Loud Family’s <em>Plants And Birds</em> or Game Theory’s <em>Two Steps From The Middle Ages</em>. This record is for the diehard fans. I encourage you to seek out his music. Before you know it you’ll be a diehard too. Let’s hope Omnivore will re-release The Loud Family catalog as well. </h2>
<h2>--Steve McGowan </h2>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com </a>
</h3>
<h3> </h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/62872342020-04-19T15:31:41-04:002020-04-19T15:31:41-04:00Baxter Dury - The Night Chancers<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/62d7ef58083ac266aa448a1dc4e6231870c7dcf0/original/night-chancers.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>For someone who is such a fan of his father, the late Ian Dury (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubreasons" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubreasons" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubreasons</a>), I know very little about Baxter Dury’s career. I knew he had released a record or two but <em>The Night Chancers</em> is actually his sixth record. I must say, I find this record extremely interesting and enjoyable. Baxter’s modus operandi is both similar and different to his old man; bubbling bass synths, clean guitar, killer pseudo-funk bass work, synth strings on top, and lots of backing female vocals carrying the melody. Baxter proto - raps his way through the ten songs on <em>The Night Chancers</em>, and the voice does remind you of our Ian. It’s not a bad thing. </h2>
<p> </p>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="x_x9tB2Qsyk" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/x_x9tB2Qsyk/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/x_x9tB2Qsyk?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Opener ‘I’m Not Your Dog’ starts all Kraftwerk-inspired, sequenced up until Baxter opines “I’m not your fucking friend.” and the backing voices enjoin the title in French (‘Je ne suis pas ton chien’) as Baxter spins a tale of social media addiction. It’s a great opener. Next cut ‘Slumlord’ is a real wonder, with killer bass and funk guitar while Baxter goes on about a character who doesn’t seem very nice “I’ll shout you down in a slumlord way...scary people, saying silly shit.” It’s a mesmerizing tune. </h2>
<p> </p>
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<p> </p>
<h2>‘Saliva Hog’ marries an almost reggae bass figure with the story of “A slobby spiv..with a high level bronzer.” As the backing vocals intone “Who the fuck are you my friend.” It’s like a smoother version of something from Metal Box era PiL. Baxter is also clever in how he keeps the songs short and to the point (the whole record is 30 minutes total, and that’s perfect). </h2>
<h2>On ‘Sleep People’ the story is about hotel hallway carts, dreaming new dreams, and “free drinks for the pencil thin” as a hypnotic bass riff throbs on. </h2>
<h2>‘Carla’s Got A Boyfriend is classic Dury(old or new): </h2>
<h2><em>Carla’s got a boyfriend </em></h2>
<h2><em>He’s got horrible trousers </em></h2>
<h2><em>And a small car </em></h2>
<h2><em>Carla’s got a boyfriend </em></h2>
<h2><em>I spotted him on Instagram </em></h2>
<h2><em>Followed him about a bit </em></h2>
<h2><em>Carla’s got a boyfriend </em></h2>
<h2><em>Bit of designer hair </em></h2>
<h2><em>Sloppy facial looks </em></h2>
<h2><em>Carla’s got a boyfriend </em></h2>
<h2><em>I might take care of him to be honest </em></h2>
<h2>This is just chip-off-the-old-block Dury. </h2>
<h2>‘The Night Chancers’ describes a man left at a hotel by his lover. It’s all desperate times and desperate measures: </h2>
<h2><em>You call me from a taxi telling me how good I can be </em></h2>
<h2><em>And how much you miss me </em></h2>
<h2><em>But you’re a kilometer away </em></h2>
<h2>By the ending tune, ‘Say Nothing,’ the backing singers are repeating “Baxter...loves you” like a Greek chorus. </h2>
<h2>
<em>The Night Chancers </em>is a remarkable record. It’s not an Ian Dury record, but it reminds you of one. How could it not? Baxter is following the family trade and yet doing things his own way. This is a very British and European sounding record. If you’re familiar with and like Ian’s work you’ll enjoy Baxter. If not, give <em>The Night Chancers</em> a spin anyway. It’s unlike most anything out there now. </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan</h2>
<p> </p>
<h3><em>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast </a>Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a></em></h3>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/62853872020-04-17T11:42:41-04:002021-12-07T07:13:07-05:00Celebrating Jamaican Passover with Clownvis<p><span class="font_small"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/a1b2a22afcf80e886259192e0cff23d83d9f3ed9/original/clownvis-to-the-rescue.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span></p>
<h2><span class="font_large">When my family moved from a series of college towns in the midwest to the foothills of North Carolina, I experienced a bit of a culture shock. The 1974 talent show of my country K-8 featured an uncool Elvis tribute, very hoary and unhip to my self-defined “refined” tastes. Bobby Pitts, who had an uncanny Elvoid voice for an 8th grader, performed his winning entry, “American Tree-ology,” with enthusiasm and studied accuracy. One gal’s pure camp is another’s pure devotion, I guess. And the crowd of parents and kids embraced the costumed performance with such warmth and enthusiasm that it carried him to victory and also gave me my first exposure to Elvis impersonation. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_large">Beyond the direct tribute artists, the “Elvis-plus” impersonator can add another layer of pathos, bathos, or just straight-up weirdness to The King. There’s El Vez, the self-proclaimed Mexican Elvis, who blends mariachi and Latin influences with alternative musical influences to create a weird, wonderful, and empowered musical melting pot. There’s Charlotte’s own RenElvis, “the Philippino Spawn of Elvis,” who performs originals as well as covers. For every possible cross-pollination, there is an Elvis. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_large">I knew this, but yet was pretty unprepared for the comic marvel that is Clownvis Presley. Clownvis is a comic improviser who knows his own schtick inside-out. He is a perfect blend of clown and Presley--pompadour, sideburns, facepaint, red nose, jumpsuit, oversized belt buckle--an Elvis clown. He has a strong Presley-style singing voice and a repertoire of originals and quasi covers that are belly laugh goofy. For example, my favorite, ‘Chili Dog’: </span></h2>
<h2><em><span class="font_regular">Suckin’ on a chili dog, </span></em></h2>
<h2><em><span class="font_regular">suckin’ on a chili dog, </span></em></h2>
<h2><em><span class="font_regular">suckin’ on a chili dog, </span></em></h2>
<h2><em><span class="font_regular">suckin’ on a chili dog, </span></em></h2>
<h2><em><span class="font_regular">Oh yeah, suckin’ on a chili dog </span></em></h2>
<h2><em><span class="font_regular">Long after the thrill of </span></em></h2>
<h2><em><span class="font_regular">suckin’ on a chili dog, </span></em></h2>
<h2><span class="font_large">Yes, that is sung to the tune of John Cougar Sometimes Mellencamp’s ‘Jack and Diane’ and it only gets funnier the longer it goes on. It is absurd and goofy and kind of poignant, like much of Clownvis’s act. Taking the grossest and least poetic line of the song and magnifying it into one of the clown’s best-known songs encapsulates Clownvis. His insipid brilliance is the blend that perfects his comic smarts. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_large">I was introduced to Clownvis by total surprise: he was the opening act for The Blasters at Raleigh’s Pour House. More than a little trepidation crept up my spine on seeing this bill listed because on paper, this could be very, very unfortunate. Instead, he had me cracking up at his weird non-sequiturs (is Ted Danson dead? You can tell me. No really. Is he dead?) that sound stupid now but landed perfectly that night. He is a complete entertainer. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_large">Clownvis has been performing a nightly review on Facebook live. I attended nights 16-19 before writing this appreciation. He has a very catchy theme song, ‘Clownvis to the Rescue,’ the name of his show. He appears with Squeeb, a bust of an alien, and Robodawg, a toy exactly what you think. They talk to each other, read from the chat, give shouts out, sing, and drink red wine. It has online glitches but has at its heart an organizing thread, a comic idea he carries through the show, and sometimes night-to-night. Last night, he combined the “Jamaican” wine, Gnarly Head, with the first night of Passover to lead to a performance of Desmond Dekker’s ‘Israelites.’ It was pretty funny. Lots of riffing on Bob Gnarly, Passover, and blood on your door to get the Angel of Death to pass, all blended together into at least comedy bronze if not gold. He called back to the prior night’s command to please to go to the window at midnight and sing ‘Chili Dog,’ goofing on all the viral videos of neighbors singing out their windows during lockdown. It is cozy, funny, and entertaining. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_large">He begins shows with a call to “The Mayor” (on a Bozo phone) requesting bandwidth enough to send his message out to the people. He has been on about the bandwidth being gobbled up by “banjo pluckers” giving living room concerts, cutting into his fair share. It is all silly, and all pretty good fun. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_large">The shows air at 10pm EDT on his Facebook page, <a contents="www.facebook.com/ClownvisPresley/" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.facebook.com/ClownvisPresley/" target="_blank">www.facebook.com/ClownvisPresley/</a>, and past episodes have been archived. After a long day of work emails and Zoom meetings, an unabashed clown is just about the right recipe for relief. I recommend it, personally. </span></h2>
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<h2><span class="font_large">--Adrienne Meddock </span></h2>
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<p><em><span class="font_large">Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a></span></em></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/62820792020-04-14T11:56:46-04:002020-04-14T11:56:46-04:00Sirsy Online Show Series<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/9cf5b73e27325afc046581443affcbd1b48a8bc3/original/sirsy-couch-2.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p><span class="font_regular"><em>We love to blog about the shows, films, music, tv, books and even the occasional art exhibit we see. In the days of social distancing precautions, artists are moving their works to streaming platforms and Zub is going there with them. </em></span></p>
<h2>I have written about the scrappy two-person band Sirsy, from upstate New York before at (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubsirsy" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubsirsy" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubsirsy</a>). Husband and wife duo Rich Libutti and Melanie Krahmer were scheduled to play in Asheville, NC this night, but since their gigs have been cancelled due to the pandemic, they decided to stage three online shows from their house. The show on Thursday featured Sirsy playing their <em>Coming Into Frame</em> record in order. Saturday’s show had the band playing their <em>Revolution</em> record in order, and Tuesday featured an on-the-couch acoustic performance. </h2>
<h2>Thursday’s show came from the band’s basement ‘Studio’ where they were set up pretty much like when they play live. Rich playing his battered Rickenbacker 330 through a raft of pedals, and Mel playing drums, with both of them triggering bass and other instruments (Mel with her drumsticks, Rich with his feet). Mel does the singing and she is known for her powerhouse vocals. </h2>
<h2>On their YouTube channel, the broadcast was great looking (lots of bandwidth, unlike the heartfelt but sometimes glitchy Robyn Hitchcock/ Emma Swift benefit show reviewed at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubregem" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubregem" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubregem</a>), and the sound was extremely good. These two are tech savvy and know what they are doing.There was no ticket price although donations were accepted for the band, and the broadcast started with over 200 watching and went as high as 350 people. </h2>
<h2>Mel was a little sick with a scratchy throat but she sang beautifully, killing it on the opener ‘Cannonball,’ which ended with Rich exclaiming “that was awesome!” ‘Lionheart,’ a song Mel described as being about “finding courage in this life,” was extremely tight. It’s obvious the band has been on tour all year. Sirsy plays a blend of earnest pop that always reminds me a bit of the pop catchiness of They Might Be Giants without the bizarre elements and snark. ‘Picture’ had a very cool REM-ish intro, while ‘Killer’ had a darker vibe than most of their upbeat stuff. ‘Red Letter Day’ had a neat R & B feel with a great solo from Rich and some judicious use of the Whammy pedal (a guitar effect that provides higher notes in the scale you are playing). </h2>
<h2>When they played ‘Gold,’ Rich switched to bass guitar and Mel moved forward to a keyboard. This was a very pretty ballad that I had never seen them play this way before. Mel introduced ‘Lot Of Love’ with a great story about playing at a local elementary school. When she told the kids they were doing a love song they got the typical “ew...gross” reply from the kids. It’s a happy song and very positive, and featured Rich mugging at the camera. Mel introduced ‘She’s Coming Apart’ as “autobiographical,” and it also features Mel whistling! These two are very earnest and genuine, and fun. Lots of fun. This show was a real triumph. </h2>
<h2>Saturday’s show featured the band playing their <em>Revolution</em> record in order. This 2007 release showcases some of Sirsy’s strongest songs. The set up was basically the same, from their basement studio. They seemed to have a few more set up issues tonight, and started up with about 160 watching. Melanie had to call her mom before they began to make sure she was watching. She did and assured us “Mom’s On.” Rich showed off a SECOND camera that he controlled with a footswitch, and they launched into ‘Revolution,’ one of their tougher, catchier songs that also featured Mel playing flute (!). They unfortunately ran into sound issues with the second camera, as switching to it screwed up the sound (I’m guessing the camera microphone was on). </h2>
<h2>There was a cardboard Star Wars stormtrooper in the background wearing the new Sirsy t-shirt. They mentioned they had lots of t-shirts made for the West Coast tour they were supposed to be on. Rich took some time and they got the audio on the second camera fixed. ‘Sorry Me’ is one of their prettier and more wistful songs. ‘Leftover Girl’ was a standout, featuring Rich’s picked guitar figure and Mel’s powerhouse vocal. They were quickly back in the swing after the tech issues. Rich switched guitars for a heavy version of ‘Crazy,’ a bit of a metal-edged stomper, and they stuck a few lines of Black Sabbath’s ‘War Pigs’ in the middle, with some cool soloing from Rich. After the song, Mel sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to a fan. Next up was ‘Waiting For Rain,’ a very pretty and catchy song with a heavier bridge. </h2>
<h2>‘Oh Billy’ has a spooky guitar figure and again reminds me of They Might Be Giants, at this point the show had almost 350 viewers, and as they rocked it out, I was having some internet streaming issues. Sirsy burned it down with the torchy ‘Still,’ a true showcase for Melanie’s amazing vocals. The story of Melanie’s grandmother, ‘Mary Concetta,’ featured her on melodica, and on ‘Mercury’ she played the flute again. Rich played a nice keyboard intro on the last song, ‘Fireflies.’ Again, these two provided lots of fun and positive energy. They really feel like your friends, the music is catchy and interesting, and the talent they have is impressive. </h2>
<h2>Tuesday’s show was billed as an ‘On The Couch’ acoustic show. Turns out the couch wasn’t conducive to playing music so the duo set up on stools in front of the couch. Melanie and Rich seemed a little more nervous about this performance, but the twelve songs they played were great arrangements with a few surprises. They had the second camera working fine, the stream was good, again the sound excellent. They did have an issue with the camera shaking with foot tapping, but what are you going to do? Even Sirsy finds their tunes irresistible. As usual, almost every song was a showcase for Melanie’s vocals, starting with ‘Goner.’ On ‘Soul Sucker’ the mix of a clever acoustic riff with Melanie’s soulful voice and flute was wonderful. </h2>
<h2>At this point there were about 261 viewers, very active on the comment board, lots of diehard Sirsy fans. ‘Hurricane’ from their first record, was fun and the scat singing at the end wasn’t even embarrassing. Mel and Rich gave away a T-Shirt, then played a pretty version of ‘Leftover Girl,’ The version of ‘Thieves’ from their <em>Sketches and Ghosts EP</em> was wonderful, a great chord progression, cool (!) kazoo part, and hand claps. Rich switched to bass guitar for an astounding version of Nina Simone’s ‘Feeling Good.’ Mel burned this one down. </h2>
<h2>They did a hilarious version of ‘Try,’ with ‘It Takes Two’ by Rob Bass in the middle, Mel OG rapping “get away from me/ if you’re contagious.” Sirsy wrapped it up with ‘Cannonball,’ one of their strongest tunes, and a wicked version of The Beatles’ ‘Oh, Darling!” Mel and Rich, as I’ve said before, are so genuine and honest with their music, they feel like your good friends. They are a remarkable little band and these three nights cheered me up immensely. Thanks Sirsy! </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan </h2>
<p>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast </a>Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/62774992020-04-09T16:24:48-04:002020-04-12T18:22:28-04:00Solid State: The Story of Abbey Road and the end of The Beatles AND The Beatles - Abbey Road (Super Deluxe Edition)<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/beefbdf0f802193e642487db0e9d39cd1caf2d1a/original/abbey-road.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>I’m a stone cold Beatles freak and have read way, way too many books about this band. Kenneth Womack, a dean of English at Monmouth University, has written an excellent book about the making of <em>Abbey Road</em>. It seem as if Mark Lewisohn (author of <em>The Beatles: Recording Sessions</em> and a book I have read five or six times) has somehow been supplanted as the ‘official’ Beatles historian. Instead of Lewishon, Womack writes the liner notes for the <em>Abbey Road </em>remaster. </h2>
<h2>Before we get to Womack’s <em>Solid State: Abbey Road and the End of The Beatles</em>, let’s discuss the <em>Abbey Road Super Deluxe Edition</em>. Although <em>Let It Be</em> was released after <em>Abbey Road</em>, it was recorded well before <em>Abbey Road</em>, as part of the soundtrack for the aborted movie, <em>Get Back</em>. The Beatles were very unhappy with the <em>Get Back </em>sessions, and together they decided to go out with a ‘proper’ LP, using producer George Martin and generally ‘behaving’ themselves, so that confusing timeline is the origin of <em>Abbey Road</em>. </h2>
<h2>The remaster of <em>Abbey Road</em>, released in September 2019, is amazing. Sir George’s son Giles Martin helmed the remixing and remastering. By this point in The Beatles recording career, technology had improved dramatically. <em>Abbey Road</em> was the first Beatles LP to be recorded on eight-track (instead of four, or in the case of the earliest records, two tracks) and featured the new EMI TG12345 console, a ‘solid state’ design as opposed to the REDD consoles that were tube (or as the British say, ‘valve’) driven. The new console gave the engineers more control and a brighter, punchier sound, as compared to the warmer, less precise ‘valve’ tones. This technology has held up well for the remixes and remastering, which is stellar. The bass sounds fantastic, you can hear little bits of reverb on the vocals, and instruments like Billy Preston’s organ on ‘I Want You (She’s So Heavy)’ sound fresh and new. </h2>
<h2>The delicate, beautiful, ‘Here Comes The Sun’ really shines with the remaster, the 12-string acoustic shimmering and the bass and drums holding a more muscular bottom than I remembered. ‘Because’ is another highlight, with the layered vocals and harpsichord, then Moog synthesizer. It gives the Beach Boys a run for their money. The highlight and centerpiece of Abbey Road, of course, is the medley The Beatles called ‘The Long One.’ Starting with ‘You Never Give Me Your Money,’ and ending with ‘Her Majesty,’ the nine song pieces (three by Lennon, six by McCartney) never sounded better, from the sped up ‘tack’ piano in ‘You Never Give Me Your Money,’ to the obviously Fender amped guitar in ‘Sun King.’ Paul McCartney’s voice on ‘Golden Slumbers’ is perfection, especially when added to George Martin’s regal orchestration. Ringo’s drums on ‘The End’ sound almost three dimensional, and the three different guitar solos (from George, Paul, and John) really stand out. </h2>
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<em>The Super Deluxe Edition </em>contains three CD’s, the remixed, remastered original LP and two discs of outtakes and different studio versions. These for me are the real diamonds, a window into how the Beatles’ creative process worked. There’s an early take of ‘I Want You (She’s So Heavy)’ at Trident studios, with the Beatles getting requests from the neighbors to ‘turn it down.’ The “last chance to be loud” version is a great, loose jam led by the greatest voice in rock: John Lennon. Halfway in - Billy Preston takes over and <em>burns </em>down this take on his Hammond Organ. There’s McCartney’s impossibly effortless acoustic demo of ‘Goodbye,’ a song he gave to Mary Hopkin (an Apple Records artist), that sounds like it came off of his solo McCartney record. George Harrison gets a ragged demo of ‘Something’ (just vocal, guitar and piano) that points toward what the finished song would become. John and Paul are making ‘The Ballad Of John and Yoko,’ on their own (John, vocal and guitar; Paul, drums) and John tells Paul “you’ve got to go faster, Ringo,” to which Paul says “OK George.” Most interestingly, there is an early paste-up of ‘The Long One’ medley, with ‘Her Majesty’ in between ‘Mean Mr. Mustard’ and ‘Polyethene Pam.’ It’s odd to hear. Don’t they know the iconic order? We really are present at the inception. </h2>
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<h2>Then there’s Kenneth Womack’s <em>Solid State</em>. It’s very well written and covers a strange period in Beatle history. Womack has written <em>Sound Pictures</em> about the life of producer Sir George Martin (Beatles and otherwise), and brought a unique perspective into the Beatles' activities. This period was when all the Beatles knew the band was coming to an end. John was fighting heroin addiction, and his heart was truly now with Yoko Ono. He didn’t need the band anymore. George was full of frustration at not getting his songs on Beatle records, and as <em>All Things Must Pass </em>would show, was ready to move on. Even Ringo had ideas for solo records, although he was the happy worker of The Beatles. Paul still thought he could keep the band together. But it really wasn’t his band. He seemed to have forgotten that. </h2>
<h2>Add in a John and Yoko car accident, major squabbles over management, and John and Paul fighting (unsuccessfully) to buy their song catalog, and there was way more than enough tension in the band. As Womack explains, however, the Fabs were very disappointed with the <em>Get Back </em>sessions, and they seemed to want to go out on top. They decided to be civil to each other and let George Martin produce, not to let the chaos of <em>The White Album</em> seep in. As such, each member brought in finished songs with clear ideas on how they should sound. This is one reason why there are not so many outtakes from <em>Abbey Road</em>. Womack talks a lot about studio technology in Solid State, the new console and the eight-track getting many pages. There is a surprising amount devoted to the (then new) Moog synthesizer, a new, large, and expensive toy. George Harrison was fascinated by the Moog and had one delivered to the UK along with the machine's ‘handler.’ It would see a lot of work on <em>Abbey Road</em>, from ‘Maxwell’s Silver Hammer’ and ‘Here Comes The Sun’ to ‘Because’ and the annoying filtering noises on ‘I Want You (She’s So Heavy).’ Both George and Paul became quite proficient at using the Moog, although it had a keyboard, they both used the ‘slide strip’ (where you just move your finger along a strip to hit the pitch you want) to make the notes. </h2>
<h2>Womack also discusses the competitive nature of the sessions. George Harrison came in with arguably the two strongest songs, ‘Something’ and ‘Here Comes The Sun,’ that made John and Paul really step up their game. John came through with ‘Come Together’ and Paul with the ‘You Never Give Me Your Money’ medley. Womack approaches a lot of the sessions via George Martin, who kept the ideas straight, the instruments in tune, and provided the magnificent orchestrations. There’s a lot going on in the book, and if you are a Beatles head you need to read it. </h2>
<h2>When I think of <em>Abbey Road</em> a lot of things come to mind. I realize for a lot of people this is their favorite Beatles record, and I can see why. It’s the Beatles at their meticulous, exacting, calculating best. This is one of the reasons I’m not such a big fan of <em>Abbey Road</em>. It almost seems too calculated. The idea of it creeps me out, but when I listen to the record it’s always good (well, most of it). I’m surprised it doesn’t get flagged more on all the things the Beatles stole. There’s Chuck Berry in ‘Come Together,’ the generic 50’s Fats Domino sound of ‘Oh Darling,’ The Moonlight Sonata played backwards on ‘Because,’ and the whole idea of ‘The Long One’ medley taken straight from The Who’s <em>Tommy</em>. I also can’t believe Lennon didn’t get sued over ‘Sun King,’ which is a straight rip of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Albatross.’ </h2>
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<h2>That being said, <em>Abbey Road</em> is a great record to go out on, except for maybe ‘Maxwell’s Silver Hammer.’ ‘I Want You (She’s So Heavy)’ is a proto metal song and one of my favorite Lennon tunes. McCartney is really in command, and George Harrison is undeniable. The execution outstrips the concept, I suppose. It’s a great reissue. There is a great book. It’s The Beatles! </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan</h2>
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<h2>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at<a contents=" tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank"> tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast </a>Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
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<p> </p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/62717172020-04-04T12:55:56-04:002020-04-04T13:04:49-04:00No Sleep Till Canvey Island or My Surprise Musical Paternity Test<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/2706a7c081067bcef79702534a1dbcbfaca66437/original/canvey.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<h2>We have sung the praises of Will Birch’s fantastic new biography, Cruel to Be Kind: The Life and Music of Nick Lowe with a mini pod (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubprewill" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubprewill" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubprewill</a>) and a maxi interview podcast (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubcruel" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubcruel" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubcruel</a>) and even posted a Spotify playlist of all the available songs mentioned in the book (<a contents="tinyurl.com/spotifycruel" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/spotifycruel" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/spotifycruel</a>). Cruel to Be Kind whet my appetite to read more of Will Birch’s insightful and entertaining writing from his perspective as both a first-hand observer and a participant. A winter cold gave me a great opportunity to download and read Birch’s “prequel” to the Nick book, a history of the rise and fall of England’s Pub Rock scene. The book, now out of print, is available as a Kindle download from the author. So download I did. </h2>
<h2>My awareness of Pub Rock was long-running but pretty vague. In college, I eagerly snapped up a cut out copy of 1970’s eponymous <em>Brinsley Schwarz</em> album with the striking-borderline-garrish Barney Bubbles gatefold cover. I listened maybe once or twice, but was more interested in the more contemporary Lowe, digging particularly on <em>Pure Pop/Jesus of Cool</em> and <em>Labour of Lust</em>. Those are pretty perfect records, so that’s tough competition. The album-oriented rock station of my high school days, WROQ-Charlotte, played enough Pub Rock (or at least talked about it) that the names of the major players, Dr. Feelgood and Chilli Willi rang a bell even if the music didn’t. So what is this Pub Rock thing and why should I care? </h2>
<h2>Well, as it turns out, Pub Rock is my musical parent, in a core, genuine way I never fully understood. This book may be YOUR musical Maury Povich moment: is Pub Rock YOUR musical father? </h2>
<h2>The DNA test shows: Pub Rock was about appreciating songcraft, no matter the source. Covering songs across genres because they are well-written, fun, goofy, or because they speak to you or because you have an interesting take was close to a bedrock tenet of the bands aligned with Pub Rock. Eggs Over Easy, an American group doing a long residency at a club in London lived by this example and the audience, among them nascent Pub Rockers, found this exhilarating. A principle was born. This was something we truly believed in The Beef People, playing songs we loved from contemporaries (e.g. Method Actors’ ‘Rang-A-Tang,’ a zillion Pylon tunes) or for ironic commentary (the skeevy ‘Naughty, Naughty’ by creepy uncle rocker John Parr, Hank Jr.’s ‘All My Rowdy Friends (Are Coming Over Tonight).’ </h2>
<h2>The DNA test shows like minded bands attended each other’s shows and had a healthy competition. This sounds like a thriving local scene similar to what we all shared in Greenville in the mid-80’s. A few small clubs served as home base for the bands. </h2>
<h2>My most exciting discovery in the book is the detailed, fly-on-the-wall story of the birth of Stiff Records. Pub Rock begat Stiff Records and spurred the punk, DIY, and new wave evolutions that rapidly emerged. The Stiff Big Bang was set off by the admixture of entrepreneur-provocateur Jake Rivera and graphic savant Barney Bubbles with the bravado and can-do of Nick Lowe (whose musical contributions as an artist, songwriter, and in-house producer were essential to Stiff’s success). The final catalyst David Robinson, who kept the Stiff name when Riviera split with Elvis and Nick in the early 80s, remains a bit of an enigma in the story--essential yet a bit of a cypher in the flamboyant Stiff world. And Stiff Records was the ground zero, the epicenter for much I readily identify as my musical bedrock. Pub Rock was the bedrock upon which that, in fact, rests. </h2>
<h2>So as you read along, you see that there really is not a break between Pub Rock and “New Wave.” The iconoclasm, dedication to songcraft, and can-do attitude of Pub Rock WAS the bone structure of New Wave/Post Punk and related sounds. While first-wave Punk revelled in a big FU to musicianship (or at least pretended to), mastery was not an embarrassment in Pub Rock, and yet there was room for playfulness. </h2>
<h2>Will Birch writes of the scene with an insider’s detailed knowledge (he was a member of Pub Rock band Kursaal Flyers during much of the genre’s heyday) but enough circumspection to be a reliable guide to the scene. You only have to recall his lyrics to 'Starry Eyes,' the paradigmatic power pop single to know that he can make words do his bidding. The book is well written, insightful, and eye--opening. Is Pub Rock in your musical DNA? Get the <em>No Sleep Till Canvey Island</em> home test and see. </h2>
<h2>No Sleep Link:<a contents=" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MXFBCRR/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&amp;btkr=1&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MXFBCRR/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1" target="_blank"> https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MXFBCRR/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1 </a>
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<a contents="http://willbirch.com/" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://willbirch.com/" target="_blank">http://willbirch.com/</a> </h2>
<h2>Kursaal Flyers’ Forthcoming Box Set: <a contents="https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/kursaal-flyers-little-does-she-know-the-complete-recordings-4cd-capacity-wallet/" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/kursaal-flyers-little-does-she-know-the-complete-recordings-4cd-capacity-wallet/" target="_blank">https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/kursaal-flyers-little-does-she-know-the-complete-recordings-4cd-capacity-wallet/</a>
</h2>
<p> </p>
<h3>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" style="" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>
</h3>
<h2> </h2>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/62685362020-04-01T14:44:05-04:002020-04-01T14:44:05-04:00Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift Live Online for Nashville Tornado Relief<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/dd595b3b99d237c609d65f1ca57e91d465d867c0/original/stage-it-2.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>We love to blog about the shows, films, music, tv, books and even the occasional art exhibit we see. In the days of social distancing precautions, artists are moving their works to streaming platforms and Zub is going there with them. </em></p>
<h2>This is the new normal, I suppose. Robyn and Emma were hosting a fundraiser for the East Nashville Community, where they live. This area was hit hard by tornadoes as well as, like all of us, the new pandemic. The idea now is that these online shows are the new (and maybe only) way for musicians to make any kind of money. So it’s even more impressive that Reg and Em were doing this as a fundraiser. </h2>
<h2>The platform they used was called StageIt (<a contents="www.stageit.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.stageit.com" target="_blank">www.stageit.com</a>). You log in, buy a ticket (very inexpensive) and have the option of ‘tipping’ the artist during the show. There is the obligatory ‘comment’ section where the punters can talk to each other and what not. Luckily you can full screen the show and block that noise out if you are distractible. The artist is responsible for staging the show. </h2>
<h2>When Em and Reg came on, they were completely charming. The show was from their home in East Nashville, on the sofa with paintings from Robyn’s dad on the wall behind them. The vibe was loose and comfortable, like you were in the living room, with the two of them playing songs, telling jokes, and just generally having a great time. </h2>
<h2>The eleven songs in the set featured two covers and nine Hitchcock originals, starting with ‘Light Blue Afternoon’ from his <em>Tromso, Kaptein </em>LP. The duo introduced their quarantine friends, Leonard (the flying fish), Jermaine (the female koala), and Perry (the lobster). Robyn was playing a Gibson Nick Lucas model acoustic that was overpowered a bit by their vocals, but hey, it’s a concert in a living room. ‘Glass Hotel’ was next, Emma cracking Robyn up with Leonard the flying fish. After the song, Emma complained about Robyn’s four cheese pizza recipe and there was a sense of British doom as they discussed the possibility that the tea kettle may be broken. At this point, their cat Ringo (the one with his own biplane) made a brief appearance. </h2>
<h2>Robyn switched to a less cool-but-better sounding Larrivee Guitar and was checking the time on an old fashioned round dial clock. They mentioned that anyone donating $100 or more got their choice of handwritten song lyrics by Robyn, and Emma pointed out that they had already raised $7000. He did ‘Sinister But She Was Happy’ from <em>Moss Elixir</em> and ‘Raymond Chandler Evening,’ from <em>Element Of Light</em>. He (and Emma) were in fine voice tonight. The banter between this couple was priceless, Emma telling Robyn “I’ve never known you as a comfortable person, ever” followed by comparisons of the two as “Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell” or “Bette Midler and Lou Reed.” This ended with Robyn musing about Bette Midler replacing John Cale in the Velvets. </h2>
<h2>The duo killed it on ‘Virginia Woolf,’ one of the strongest songs from Robyn’s great recent LP <em>Robyn Hitchcock</em>, followed by an appearance by Perry the lobster. Emma took the lead on Neil Young’s ‘Motion Pictures,’ which was elegiac and very beautiful. Emma recommended Young’s <em>On The Beach</em> as the “best Neil Young LP.” One song was cut short as Robyn thought their time was up, leading to a minor squabble where Emma told him to let her worry about the time...she got a 20 minute encore added. When asked how that was done, she replied “I pushed a button.” By this point, Quacky the plastic duck and Terence the trolleybus made an appearance, followed by a lovely version of ‘Queen Elvis.’ </h2>
<h2>There was talk of the non-appearance of Tubby the cat, and after Robyn playing a tender ‘Madonna Of The Wasps’ we were treated to “The Earl of Tubbance.” Tubby is their one-eyed Scottish Fold and the cutest cat this side of his brother Ringo. A surprise song was ‘Television’ from <em>Spooked</em>, in which Quacky got some vocals in. These two ended it up with a verse and a chorus of Bob Dylan’s ‘Just Like A Woman,’ and just like that the concert was over. </h2>
<h2>Robyn and Emma are a charming and fun couple. The internet feed was not the greatest, the sound not perfect. Still, you can’t beat the experience of seeing your favorite artists in the comfort and intimacy of their, and your, homes. These two pulled it off wonderfully. Can’t wait for the next show! </h2>
<h2>Our Robyn Podcast is at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubrobyn " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubrobyn" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubrobyn </a>and a different live review at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubreglive&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubreglive" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubreglive </a>
</h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan </h2>
<p><em>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a></em></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/62664282020-03-30T13:29:34-04:002020-03-30T13:29:34-04:00Pylon Reenactment Society at The Foundry, Athens GA<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/3f6becda9bf449e75d311790b3329090c77d4fbe/original/20200228-223709.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>I just saw Pylon Reenactment Society (aka PRS) a week before this at The Earl with The Bongos. They were wonderful and had a great show. What changes in a week? Well, honestly, not much. The Foundry is a very nice venue, with a big, long stage, TWO balconies with tables (my pal Bob and I sat at the lower balcony) with great views and great sound. PRS was able to spread out on stage, and they seemed to be REALLY having a great time in their hometown. </h2>
<h2>The set was essentially the same as last week. As I have mentioned before, a band that began as a Pylon tribute band has really flowered and is writing great original material of their own. They played sixteen songs; five were new. This is a great development. Opening with ‘Beep,’ they played the atmospheric new song ‘Compression,’ then the Pylon classics ‘Cool’ and ‘Dub.’ ‘Dub’ got the crowd and the band going. Guitarist Jason NeSmith was all over the tunes, bass genius Kay Stantion was again in top form, and keyboardist/cheerleader Damon Denton was jumping all around like a hype-man. Drummer Joe Rowe was solid as ever, not flashy but the crucial heartbeat of what really is a dance band. </h2>
<h2>Of course, singer/frontwoman Vanessa Briscoe-Hay is the true star of PRS. Her vocals are as good as ever, and her kinetic energy, dancing, and stage prowling were infectious. The mid-set songs were ‘Messenger,’ a great new song (and single - our Podcast at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubmessenger" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubmessenger" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubmessenger</a>), another interesting new song called ‘Educate Me,’ the classics ‘Crazy,’ (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubcrazy" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubcrazy" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubcrazy</a>) and ‘Danger,’ followed by another new tune, the funny ‘Twister’ (yes, about the polka-dotted gymnastic game). They ended up with ‘Feast On My Heart’ (a song The Beef People played for YEARS), and ‘Stop It’ (“don’t rock and roll”). The crowd was pleased, the band was sweaty and glowing, and everyone was having FUN. My friend Bob hadn’t seen Pylon since 1981, and he was smiling for ear to ear (as was I). </h2>
<h2>Encores included ‘Precaution’ and the dance party that is ‘M-Train’ (“woo woo!”). I’m so happy that Vanessa continues to fly the flag for the unique, post-punk, funk, art-dance of Pylon. They are one of the most original and unique sounding bands in America, right here in our backyard. If you haven’t seen them please make the effort. They are essential. </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan </h2>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/67fb7ff791948189e439cda163c28f986e929591/original/20200229-012456.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" style="" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/62650632020-03-28T16:13:28-04:002020-03-28T16:29:43-04:00Secret Monkey Weekend Live at The Station, Carrboro NC<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/16ea99336d2e803266f99479dbd9e0778881a616/original/20200308-203155.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Much like Greenville’s Hyperchina, I have to tell you Secret Monkey Weekend are one of my favorite bands. I have been involved in a great recording project with them that we will talk more about in the future. This Durham, NC band is a real treat. They are a family band, led by dad Jefferson Hart on Vocals and guitar, and featuring his seventeen year old daughter Ella on bass and vocals as well as their secret weapon, twelve year old Lila on drums and vocals. For this show they were augmented by ‘Uncle’ Tim Smith on keyboards. </h2>
<h2>Tonight at the Station, they played a strong set of older Jefferson songs, some great originals he has written with his daughters, and some very cool covers. As you might imagine, Secret Monkey Weekend are a band without artifice or pretense. They are just fun. Jefferson, a diehard Fender guitar man, had a new ‘Jimmy Page’ model Fender Telecaster that sounded great. Young Ella is an amazing bassist, playing with precision and plenty of oomph. Along with her sister Lila, they bashed through some great original songs, like ‘Maybelle’ (about the family dog), ‘Candy Station,’ a Bo Diddley rave up about the concession stand at the movies, and ‘Honey Num Num,’ a softer, catchy earworm. Uncle Tim was great at filling in the gaps on keys. </h2>
<h2>The band is always aware of their North Carolina roots. Tonight they did a great cover of Don Dixon’s (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubimbibe" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubimbibe" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubimbibe</a>) ‘Your Sister Told Me,’ and the dB’s (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubamplifier" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubamplifier" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubamplifier</a>) ‘Big Brown Eyes,’ Ella really killing the latter on bass. Watching this band always makes me smile and feel good. The girls are young but they are great musicians. Secret Monkey Weekend reminds you every time how much fun music can and should be. </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan</h2>
<p> </p>
<p>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/62593192020-03-23T15:36:37-04:002020-03-23T15:54:48-04:00Florence Dore Live at The Station, Carrboro NC<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/5454fe2350e08dbf2c7346571cf2c554ec9ab109/original/florence-2.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Florence Dore is a singer and songwriter who is also a professor of Literature at The University Of North Carolina. She has written a fine book called <em>Novel Sounds</em> that connects Southern Literature with rock and roll. She also released a solo CD, <em>Perfect City</em> in 2002. Now she has enlisted a truly crack band and was warming up a batch of new songs for a new recording project (at Mitch Easter’s (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubactive" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubactive" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubactive</a> <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubqdash" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubqdash" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubqdash</a>) Fidelitorium with Don Dixon (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubimbibe" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubimbibe" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubimbibe</a>), no less). </h2>
<h2>So, the band, dubbed The Defenestrators, were Jeremy Chatzky on bass who was a total ringer. He has played with Springsteen (yes - Springsteen!) and many others and brought a certain McCartney-esque flavor to the songs, especially the <em>Revolver</em> sounding track ‘Perfect World.’ He was outstanding. Lead guitarist Mark Spencer (Son Volt) was another ringer, getting an amazing variety of tones out of his beautiful orange hollow-body Gretsch guitar, he crushed it on the new ‘Rebel Debutante.’ Peter Holsapple is a favorite here on our Zub Alert! (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubamplifier" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubamplifier" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubamplifier</a> <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubphc" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubphc" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubphc</a> <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubbyephc" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubbyephc" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubbyephc</a>) and he was the utility man, providing rhythm guitar, an occasional lead, accordion, and backing vocals. Drummer Will Rigby is as good as they get, and Florence’s vocals were strong and her songwriting tight. </h2>
<h2>Florence’s sound is definitely Americana, with a bit more energy than most. They played seven new songs that were a bit both placid and rocking. Again, with a band like hers and her lovely vocals, everything was pleasant and new sounding. But at the end, they absolutely rocked the house with Patty Griffin’s ‘Silver Bell,’ a truly inspired cover this band blew up. </h2>
<h2>It was good to see The Station packed full for Florence and her band. This club has booked a lot of quality bands and it’s not always as well attended as I’d like for the bands. Tonight was special. The sound was great, the band amazing. I am very interested to hear Florence’s new record as the signs bode very well indeed for a carefully crafted and smart work. And with her backing band, this crew will definitely defenestrate gimmicky, staid Americana. </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan </h2>
<p>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/62565052020-03-20T15:21:11-04:002020-03-20T15:21:11-04:00Hyperchina At Artistry Galleries, Greenville SC<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/ac7f5ab975cb3703f081ac21a92a53467e2b4e0f/original/20200306-213736.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span class="font_large">It’s no secret I’m a big fan of Hyperchina. I have recently recorded and produced their first CD, so I am pretty familiar with the band and their music. I like them because they are a local band in my hometown of Greenville, SC that has a very original sound. I hear a lot of early Joy Division, plenty of Pixies, and a touch of stoner rock in their music, and that is something you just don’t hear in these parts. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">The venue, Artistry Galleries, is a great space, a big garage with a stage, lights, and PA. The sound is boomy but that just seems to ensure that everyone has a good time. The people at Artistry are really bringing something cool and different to the community. They even have a blacksmith shop! </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Unfortunately, this night, the area had some power issues (I think someone hit a pole nearby), and it was uncertain if the show would go on. Luckily the power came on just in time for the show to happen, but it meant the room had become pretty cold during the outage. Around 40 degrees. Anyway, this ensured there wasn’t a very big crowd. Those who didn’t go really missed it, though. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">From the beginning banger, ‘Casualty,’ to the gothy ‘October Song/Head In The Clouds,’ Hyperchina came out of the gate strong and raging. Frontman and guitarist Mike Sharpe is a cool cucumber with a great voice. His second in command, Steven Reeps, on the short-scale bass, was solid and essential. Drummer Ryan Taylor shined on tracks like ‘Voices,’ he is a real ‘professional’ drummer and a big asset to the band. New guitarist Philemon ‘Phil’ Mwezi was outstanding tonight. After a sort-of-shaky first gig, Phil now was playing with command and ripped some great leads on his EMG-pickup equipped Gibson Les Paul. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Reeps took the mic for ‘It’s Too Late,’ a Dead Kennedys-ish punk stomper which was tons of fun.The ballad-like ‘Dead Weight’ was one of the best tunes, helped with a killer new lead from Phil Mwezi. ‘Clothes Make The Man’ is a tension filled rocker that I’ve always loved. Hyperchina played a few brand new songs, the Sex Pistols-meet-Pixies tinged ‘Medal Of Regret,’ which I immediately liked on first listen. Another new one, the proggy sounding ‘Yearling’ was an interesting closer. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Hyperchina are easily one of the more interesting and inventive local bands. I advise you to keep an eye on them. They are much more than the sum of their parts. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">----Steve McGowan </span></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p><span class="font_regular">See Hyperchina with Babylon (Steve’s band) at the 27 Club in Asheville Saturday April 25th or at the Radio Room in Greenville with Babylon on Thursday May 7th. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_regular">Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" style="" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a></span></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/62524902020-03-17T14:51:39-04:002020-03-18T00:04:02-04:00Sturgill Simpson and Tyler Childers at Harrah's Cherokee Center, Asheville NC<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/36692e0e340c51f99b851f5e5e2eb959d1c9451a/original/20200223-193814.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_left border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/2b46d993ed1a2f0124e0b092586ea348f57916d5/original/20200223-212704.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_right border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<h2> </h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2>This was a night of discovery. Once again, due to my pal Russell, I was inserted into a musical scene that is not my own. Usually when I write about a band, I know them pretty much back to front. These two acts were almost new to me, and the night unfolded as a wondrous surprise. The so-called US Cellular Center (or now the Harrah’s Cherokee Center) are just fancy names for the ancient Asheville Civic Center (opened 1974), which might as well be a sibling to the now-destroyed Greenville Memorial Auditorium, just about the same size with a 7600 seat capacity. On the way in, Russell told me a story of his parents taking him to this venue when he was seven to see the Kiss <em>Love Gun</em> tour. Not only a great story, it explained a lot about Russell. As we dodged the endless $10 craft beer vendors and made it to our seats, I realized Russell had scored some great tickets. The seats were almost directly to the left of the stage, the same height as the elevated stage, so turning your head right showed the entire venue. It was kind of like being on stage. A little bit of sight blockage, but not too bad, and outstanding sound. </h2>
<h2>On the dot at 7:30 the lights were out and Tyler Childers and his band took the stage. The first thing I noticed was the weird-ass backdrop, a huge painting of wildflowers in a meadow with a barn on the left, a trailer on the right, and a goat in the foreground in the middle. The treeline in the back was dotted with clouds and the sun on the left and the moon on the right. I was puzzled, to say the least. Especially when during one song they put the spotlight just on the goat. Tyler was dressed all in denim and a ball cap, and reminded me a little visually of Jimmie Rogers, ‘The Singing Brakeman.’ Tyler is from Kentucky, and his music is very Appalachian, it’s not honky-tonk, not countrypolitan, but much more hardscrabble, lots of acoustic guitar, not so much steel or Telecasters, and likely to have banjos, mandolins, and/or fiddle. It’s very authentic, especially when paired with his unique, effortless voice that sounds like Loretta Lynn’s kid brother. I was impressed by his lack of artifice and the genuine aspect to his music. His band (keys, bass, drums, steel/lead guitar, and lead/banjo/fiddle guy along with Tyler’s acoustic) were crack and on top of it. The drums especially sounded superb for such a big room. </h2>
<h2>As an aside, here is a good article about Tyler from Rolling Stone: </h2>
<h2><a contents="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/how-songwriter-tyler-childers-became-the-21st-century-voice-of-appalachia-707257/&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/how-songwriter-tyler-childers-became-the-21st-century-voice-of-appalachia-707257/" target="_blank">https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/how-songwriter-tyler-childers-became-the-21st-century-voice-of-appalachia-707257/ </a></h2>
<h2>Tyler Childers mostly played tunes from his two Sturgill Simpson produced LP’s, <em>Purgatory</em> and <em>Country Squire</em>. He is a crack songwriter who’s been compared to John Prine (see link above). The fourth song, ‘Feathered Indians,’ had a lyric that knocked me out: </h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular"><em>Lookin' over West Virginia </em></span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular"><em>Smoking Spirits on the roof </em></span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular"><em>She asked ain't anybody told ya </em></span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular"><em>That them things are bad for you </em></span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular"><em>I said many folks have warned me </em></span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular"><em>There's been several people try </em></span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular"><em>But up till now, there ain't been nothing </em></span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular"><em>That I couldn't leave behind </em></span></h2>
<h2>He followed this with ‘Whitehouse Road,’ another <em>Purgatory</em> track about invincibility and self destruction. The sold out crowd at the venue ate it up. The 20 and 30 something couples swilling those craft beers were singing every word. Tyler is no secret to these folks, he’s a big star and they treated him as such. ‘Bus Route’ is one of those perfect, coming of age stories that I’m surprised hasn’t been snapped up by some mega-star like Tim McGraw. Full of fiddle and his terrific vocal, it’s a song that looks back to and forward from Country music, whatever that is now. I say that because artists like Tyler Childers are remaking Country in their own image, not just, as Sturgill might say, “playing dress up and singing the old songs.” Tyler brings an authority and reality to his music that transcends the old songs. ‘House Fire’' from <em>Country Squire</em> was another standout, sounding like a classic bluegrass burner. They played 16 songs, well over an hour, ending up with Charlie Daniels Band’s ‘<em>Trudy</em>.’ The band left the stage and Tyler finished up solo with a haunting ‘Nose To The Grindstone,’ a companion piece to Darrell Scott’s elegiac ‘You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive.’ As with the former, ‘Grindstone’ deals with the life in a coal mining town: </h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular"><em>Daddy worked like a mule mining pike county coal. </em></span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular"><em>He messed up his back he couldn't work anymore. </em></span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular"><em>He said one of these days you'll get out of these hills. </em></span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular"><em>Keep your nose on the grind stone and out of the pills. </em></span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular"><em>See the ways of this world just to bring you to tears. </em></span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular"><em>Keep the lord in your heart you'll have nothing to fear. </em></span></h2>
<h2>The crowd was in Tyler’s pocket. The scary thing was that he commanded the stage. It was not in any way too big for him. I can see this young man going very, very far. He played an astounding set in Asheville. </h2>
<h2>Adrienne and I saw Sturgill Simpson in Charlotte, the weekend we (A & I) met after some 25 years of no contact (so, that was nice) at the ill-fated Willie Nelson Outlaw Fest featuring Willie, Brandi Carlisle, Sturgill and Elvis Costello. The only artist to actually play that night was Sturgill. I remember enjoying his set, but thinking he couldn’t decide if he wanted to be a Country or a Jam Band artist. I think the true answer, having seen him again, is neither. Sturgill is one of those guys who is a real contrarian. I was going to write something along the lines of “Sturgill Simpson DGAF,” but that’s not true. Sturgill Simpson will not put up with your, or anyone else’s, bullshit. I really think you should read this interview from Uproxx to get a taste of what I’m talking about: </h2>
<h2><a contents="https://uproxx.com/indie/sturgill-simpson-interview-sound-and-fury-tour/&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://uproxx.com/indie/sturgill-simpson-interview-sound-and-fury-tour/" target="_blank">https://uproxx.com/indie/sturgill-simpson-interview-sound-and-fury-tour/ </a></h2>
<h2>This guy is not playing the music industry game. I love him for that. </h2>
<h2>It was about 9:30 pm when Sturgill and his crack band took the stage. They were all wearing Nudie style suits, band in red, Sturgill in black. He announced: “Anyone need an asshole, because we’re about to rip you a new one.” Yikes! Sturgill revved up his Gibson Les Paul and they played his new LP, <em>Sound and Fury</em>, all of it. In order. All ten songs. Sturgill had three HiWatt Amplifiers (think Marshall, but louder and cleaner, as used by Peter Townsend of The Who), reminding us <em>Sound and Fury</em> is not country, and it’s not jam. It’s a fever dream cross-pollination of 70’s rock and maybe something like The Cars. It’s unique and powered by Sturgill’s amazing guitar playing. This was evident in ‘Remember To Breathe’ and ‘Sing Along,’ where he was blasting notes like Eric Clapton in his prime (think 1968) , but still avoiding the blooze lead cliches. The man is an original on the guitar, and on every song he sounded like two (or three) guitarists at the same time. Bobby Emmett, the sunglassed keyboard man, got mad props for his all-analog setup: a Hammond Organ, a battered clavinet, a Wurlitzer piano, a spectacular sounding mini-Moog, and a real honest-to-God Mellotron, the kind with the tape loops built in. He was a critical part of the sound, especially on the new material. Bass man Chuck Bartels and drummer Miles Miller were also outstanding. </h2>
<h2>Watching Sturgill, I can’t help but think of Josh Homme, from Queens Of The Stone Age, another guy who does whatever he wants while being a one of a kind songwriter, guitarist, and singer. <em>Sound and Fury</em> especially has a bit of the QOTSA <em>Songs For The Deaf</em> in its DNA. To continue on how excellent a guitarist Sturgill is, here's some inside guitarist baseball for you. Most guitarists are Fender Stratocater guys (Hendrix, Clapton, Gilmour) or Gibson Les Paul guys (Slash, Billy Gibbons, Frampton). These guitars have serious differences in sound and playability. Well, Sturgill is one of the very few out there that plays both guitars, and plays them well. He exchanged his Les Paul for a 1954 Fender Stratocaster (first year they were produced) and smoked on that as well. These guitars are worth anywhere from $30,000 to $225,000 to guitar collectors (not because they sound that great, because they are very scarce and historic). Sturgill made his sound right. </h2>
<h2>Before the last song of the <em>Sound and Fury</em> set, Sturgill told the crowd, “we’ll do one more, then play some stuff for you Yeti Coolers.” Ouch. In my section, a lot of those Tyler Childers couples had already left, although there was a good crowd cheering the rocking Sturgill on still. He then played some great material from <em>A Sailor’s Guide To Earth</em>. The one-two punch of the beautiful ‘Oh Sarah’ was followed by the melancholic ‘Breakers Roar.’ On these songs the fire of his guitar work was replaced by his undeniable voice: Sturgill Simpson has one of the most affecting voices in music today. His Kentucky grit runs through the most amazing vocal tones, the man doesn’t sing rhythm and blues, he is a true soul singer. ‘Brace For Impact’ came on all Rolling Stones swagger, with a definite seventies feel. His astounding cover of When In Rome’s ‘The Promise’ still comes across as a classic soul song. It brought a tear to my eye. Ending up with ‘Turtles All The Way Down’ from <em>Metamodern Sounds In Country Music</em>, a song that reminds me a bit of Nillson and Glen Campbell, then William Bell’s ‘You Don’t Miss Your Water,’ Sturgill again burned down the house with this soul classic. He noted “A lot of you Yeti Coolers have found the door” before closing out with a blown out ‘Call To Arms.’ </h2>
<h2>It’s hard, three pages in, for me to express what I saw and heard. Sturgill Simpson is a unique talent who won’t play the game and refuses to be pigeonholed. He’s not Country, he’s not Rock, he’s not Psychedelic. He doesn’t need a producer. He doesn’t need your approval. He is a true artist trying to make his music and avoiding the normal traps associated with big-level music (Grammys, touring, drug abuse, lack of family life). He's not going to "play dress up and do the old songs." </h2>
<h2>It makes me wonder when an artist is moving faster than his audience can keep up. That is a rare thing. Russell heard a patron in the Men’s room complaining about Sturgill’s “new shit.” I’ve heard similar things at QOTSA shows. Sturgill is restless, he knows he’s good. He <strong><em>i</em>s</strong> good. He’s way ahead of us. This makes me think of Bob Dylan, who was always, and still is, restless, unconcerned about giving his audience the same old thing, and searching for something new. I’m not going to say Sturgill Simpson is the new Dylan. But on this night in Asheville, he could have been. Only time will tell, but Mr. Simpson, I’m in your corner. </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan.</h2>
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<p>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" style="" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a></p>
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</div>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/62483352020-03-13T16:50:44-04:002020-03-13T17:14:47-04:00The Bongos and Pylon Reenactment Society Live at The Earl, Atlanta GA<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/601b73cbd2b63e5ccfd120fccff61d5f4c99b122/original/20200221-220921.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_left border_" /> <img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/ee4f1b02aacf7be8902de00b5a7a59c5b580e962/original/20200221-205749.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_right border_" /></p>
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<h2>Pylon Reenactment Society just keeps getting better. The Athens, GA band is led by original Pylon singer Vanessa Briscoe-Hay and was formed as a tribute to her former band (see our Pylon Podcast at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubcrazy" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubcrazy" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubcrazy</a>), but as they have continued, PRS has started to write plenty of their own original music. After taking the stage at The Earl, a small and cozy club in East Atlanta with great sound, they revved up ‘Beep’ from Pylon’s <em>Chomp</em> LP and then went into a new song, called ‘Compression.’ </h2>
<h2>Vanessa is a fearless and wonderful frontwoman, prowling the stage barefoot, and using her amazing voice to great effect, from the nasty growl she can get on ‘Cool’ and ‘Dub’ (the next two songs in the set) to the sexy purr she uses on songs like ‘Crazy.’ Guitarist Jason NeSmith was amazing on ‘Cool,’ and played the old Pylon material with reverence, but some of the new material like ‘Educate Me’ and ‘Twister’ he adopted a more Andy Gill (Gang Of Four) style that was amazing. I even heard a few whole guitar chords! In my mind, the secret weapon in PRS is the outstanding bassist Kay Stanton, who I just saw a few weeks ago playing with Oh Ok. She is a demon on the bass, always solid with the perfect tone, and having so much fun. Watching her, I realized that ‘Dub’ is just an open G note repeated through the whole song! She also killed the bass on the single ‘Messenger’ (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubmessenger" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubmessenger" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubmessenger</a>). </h2>
<h2>Keyboardist Damon Denton is a welcome addition, providing great atmospheric tones, percussion, and cheerleading the band through their dance party vibe. Drummer Joe Rowe is as solid as they get, especially shining on ‘Crazy,’ (original Pylon drummer Curtis Crowe was in the audience), and getting the dancing going on ‘Danger.’ For the last four tunes of the set, PRS played two great new songs, ‘Twister’ (about the game) and ‘I’ll Let You Know,’ a more sweet, meditative song with a nice guitar solo. They cleaned up the place with ‘Feast On My Heart’ (a Pylon tune my band The Beef People always played) and ‘Stop it’ (“Don’t rock and roll, no no no no”). This is a great band, true to their post-punk roots, genuinely fun and inclusive. Can’t wait to hear a new record. </h2>
<h2>The Bongos have always been one of my favorite bands. They are the leaders of the Hoboken ‘Maxwell’s’ scene from the 80’s, along with the dB’s, Feelies, Raybeats, Bush Tetras, and Fleshtones. Their first record <em>Drums Along The Hudson</em> is a pure power-pop classic, and their later period material was big on MTV, like ‘Numbers With Wings.’ I wasn’t really sure why the original Bongos were reuniting for a show in Atlanta, but I was glad to be there. Using PRS’s gear, they took the stage and exploded into ‘In The Congo.’ For a bunch of older guys, they had the energy and exuberance of twenty-somethings. And I must say, The Bongos looked <em>great</em>. Drummer Frank Giannini was killing his kit in a smart suit and beret. Guitarist James Mastro looked like a central casting NJ Italian guy: pork pie hat and bowling type shirt. Bassist Rob Norris had a serious Wilhem Defoe vibe. And then there was bandleader Richard Barone. He always had the McCartney ‘cute’ looks. And he’s still got ‘em, Paul. Jet black hair, impeccably suited, with Elvis Costello’s <em>Trust </em>era glasses, he was a vision with his Gibson Les Paul Special (TV Yellow, of course). And The Bongos were skinny, really skinny, all of them. Don’t they come from the land of Chicken Parm? A bunch of great looking guys. </h2>
<h2>All that doesn’t matter if they didn’t deliver, but they did. The energy and precision of their seventeen song set was astounding. Barone sang the high parts like he never aged, the soloing was tremendous, and the rhythm section completely solid. They tore through a great deal of <em>Drums Along The Hudson</em>, including ‘The Bulrushes,’ ‘Video Eyes,’ ‘Glow In The Dark,’ ‘Telephoto Lens,’ and the very Feelies-like ‘Three Wise Men.’ They did a song from their <em>Phantom Train</em> LP called ‘My Wildest Dreams,’ which was very strong. </h2>
<h2>During the show, we heard that Richard Barone’s Mom and other family were in the house. His 91 year old mom was right up front with us. What a gas! There was a very atmospheric version of ‘Sweet Blue Cage’ that featured Mastro and Barone on dueling E-Bows (a handheld device that makes a guitar string sustain indefinitely). Then they did a spirited version of Iggy Pop’s ‘Funtime’ which seemed perfect for The Bongos. Towards the end of the set, they did ‘Barbarella,’ a crowd favorite and great singalong. They ended the set with their incredibly good cover of T-Rex’s ‘Mambo Sun.’ </h2>
<h2>For the encore, they invited all of Pylon Reenactment Society (and Curtis Crowe) onstage and Barone duetted with Vanessa on a great version of Bowie’s ‘Heroes.’ It was a sweet and transcendent moment. They ended up with the wonderful ‘Numbers With Wings,’ the bass and drums taut and supple at the same time and Barone’s vocal performance just beautiful. </h2>
<h2>One postscript to the show, I did speak with all The Bongos after the show, except Richard (who was kind of mobbed) and I must say all three guys were thoughtful, and genuinely nice. I felt like I had attended a special event. This is the show of the year so far in 2020! </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan</h2>
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<p>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a></p>
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<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/9d5cd1c55ab73756f4a199e9dc3dd49b437d7a48/original/20200221-220913.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/21afcaa1e427399013efaaa60e7c54665212853c/original/20200221-205652.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/62373162020-03-04T15:42:26-05:002020-03-04T15:42:26-05:00The Birth Of Loud by Ian S. Port<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/44e7f020d99a2b16941b50eea23bff562c279531/original/birth-of-loud.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>I’m a guy that knows a thing or five about guitars. You may know I’ve been a musician, guitarist, and bassist for over three decades. I also ran and owned a musical instrument shop, so I have quite a bit of what most would call useless knowledge about guitars and instruments. So with that background, Ian S. Port’s <em>The Birth of Loud </em>is one of the best books about guitars and music I’ve read. It particularly added to my knowledge of and details about the inside workings of Fender and Gibson guitars. </h2>
<h2>Port’s book begins with the birth of the electric solid body guitar, viewing that development through the prism of Leo Fender, the California inventor and leader of Fender Musical Instruments, and Les Paul, the astounding guitarist and inventor of multi-track recording and the inspiration for the Gibson guitar model that bears his name. It’s really a story of synergy, with the guitar makers building products that influence the music of the time, and the music of the time influencing what the guitar makers built and their businesses. This is a wise approach as this diad -- Team Fender or Team Gibson -- is the basic division is rock music. While the world is full of wonderful idiosyncratic guitar makers, this pair are really the Coke and Pepsi of rock guitars. </h2>
<h2>Indulge me in an overview, an abstract of sorts of <em>The Birth of Loud</em>. Port begins with Team Fender. Leo Fender was born in 1909 in the Fullerton, California area, to parents that owned an orange grove. He had no formal engineering training but was the kind of guy that could look at something and figure out ways to improve it. He came up building radio equipment and by 1946 was providing primitive sound systems for the country bands playing in the Fullerton area. </h2>
<h2>Team Gibson’s story takes a more circuitous route. Lester Polfuss was born in Waukesha, Wisconsin in 1915 to a bit cushier life. He was always fascinated with the guitar, playing as a sideman with major acts such as The Andrews Sisters, and by the mid 1940’s Les Paul was imagining an electric guitar sound that was loud, clean, and feedback-free. </h2>
<h2>The story is a well-researched but very readable explanation of how the solid-body electric guitar was developed. There is not too much jargon or guitar-speak for those who don’t play. It shows Leo Fender as a tinkerer and improver who built instruments for what the player wanted. Paul Bigsby, another local California luthier, is given a good share of the due in the production of the Fender guitars, as it truly appears that Leo pretty much stole his design. </h2>
<h2>The first Fender electrics, the (pre-Telecaster) Esquire, Broadcaster, and ‘Nocaster’ are discussed, the local country players loving the guitars but having a lot of problems with them. First made with necks with no truss rod (a steel rod inside the neck that counteracts the pull of the strings) the initial run of guitars had major bowed neck issues; Fender would add a truss rod after the first runs. Leo’s idea, as compared to fancy Gibson hollowbody guitars, was an almost Model-T like assembly line, necks bolted onto bodies with simple finishes and appointments. Guitars that could be cheaply assembled and ultimately built to last. </h2>
<h2>Les Paul’s search for the sound in his head led to him building ‘The Log,’ basically a railroad tie with an Epiphone neck and a pickup on it. He was literally laughed out of the Gibson offices upon showing them his prototype. Les was determined to make it big and realized he needed a musical partner. This is where Mary Ford (Colleen Summers) came in. Les was playing with stars such as Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole but he came to the realization that he’d always be a sideman, so he took his new fangled multi-track recording and the voice (and strong guitar playing) of Mary Ford and produced a number of his own hits that made the duo major stars. </h2>
<h2>By the end of the 1940’s, Jimmy Bryant recorded with Speedy West on a Tennessee Ernie Ford track playing his Fender; the Telecaster had arrived in Country (and never left). Orders skyrocketed for the new instrument. Meanwhile, Les and Mary had a string of hits starting with ‘Lover’ and going to ‘How High The Moon.’ Gibson guitars, based in Kalamazoo, Michigan, realized they needed a solid body electric. Plant manager Ted McCarty and his team came up with the Gibson Les Paul, more expensive than the Fender, with a glued-in neck, carved top, and fancy gold paint (known as a ‘gold top’). The guitar space race was on. </h2>
<h2>In 1950, Leo Fender came up with an idea that really changed the course of music. He invented the ‘Fender Bass,’ called the Precision Bass (because it was fretted). Instead of the bass player in the band carrying a huge acoustic ‘doghouse’ bass, the player could now bring the guitar sized Fender bass and plug it in. It was quickly adopted all over the US by all types of combos and musicians. </h2>
<h2>The story continues with the effect these instruments had on musicians. Muddy Waters, in Chicago, adopted a Telecaster and played a loud, blues style which would later be copied in Britain. Les and Mary recorded their smash ‘Vaya Con Dios’ and were featured with the Les Paul guitars all over America. The next figure discussed is Buddy Holly, who looked like a ‘regular guy’ with his space age, brand new Fender Stratocaster model. The impact of Holly’s visit to Britain was incalculable, with a band then known as The Quarrymen changing their name to The Beatles. The British influential guitar band, The Shadows, themselves were totally influenced by Holly and his Strat. </h2>
<h2>By the end of the 1950’s, Gibson faced the realization that their Les Paul guitars just weren’t selling. They stopped production in 1960 and offered a SG (a thinner and somewhat flimsier model) with the Les Paul name for a year or two. Leo continued to enjoy success with the surf music craze in California. There is a great sequence on how he developed a special Showman amplifier for Dick Dale, after he had blown up a whole string of amps. Leo figured out how to build an amp that could handle his volume. </h2>
<h2>By 1963, Fender was dominating Gibson on the solid body guitar sales. Les Paul and Mary divorced, and Les lost his guitar model. The new three-chord rock and roll was here to stay. Jimi Hendrix enters the picture, working the chitlin’ circuit and playing with all the greats, learning his craft and showmanship.There is also a great passage about the bass giant Carol Kaye (from the wrecking crew, studio musicians in Los Angeles) who picks up the Precision Bass and shortly afterward is playing Brian Wilson’s parts on ‘Good Vibrations.’ </h2>
<h2>By 1964 the appearance of The Beatles causes a panic among the manufacturers. Of course they played Rickenbacker Guitars (a company just down the road from Fender in Santa Ana) and Hofner (German) basses. The Fender sales team literally tried to bribe The Beatles into using Fender gear, but this failed spectacularly. What did happen, however, due to The Beatles was a major increase in sales of guitars and amplifiers for every manufacturer. </h2>
<h2>Behind the scenes, Leo Fender was worried. His health was not good and Fender was now too big for him to run. He decided to sell his company to CBS corporation for $13 million, an astounding sum in 1964. The golden years of Fender came to a quick end. In July 1965, Bob Dylan appeared at the Newport Folk Festival with a full electric band and playing a Fender Stratocaster. This was a watershed moment for Dylan and Fender. </h2>
<h2>It took a lonely, insecure prodigy from England to change the fortunes of Gibson guitars. Playing with the Yardbirds, there was no better guitarist in Britain than Eric Clapton. He left the band and joined John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, playing his ‘old’ 1960 era Les Paul through an English Marshall amplifier (itself a hod-rodded version of a Fender Bassman design). He recorded with the amplifier all the way up, getting a screaming ‘rock’ tone from his Les Paul. His sound would change everything. Clapton moves on to Cream, and is involved in an onstage guitar duel with Jimi Hendrix early on in the Cream story. Hendrix destroys Clapton, who leaves the stage, but they become close friends. Jimi is, of course, playing a Fender Stratocaster. </h2>
<h2>The story continues as both Fender and Gibson, bought out by corporate overlords, fall into bad times. The Les Paul guitar is reissued and becomes one of the most important rock guitars. By the 1980’s, both companies are bought by concerns that improve their production dramatically. </h2>
<h2>The story ends with the deaths of Leo Fender and Les Paul. Fender is back on the upswing and Leo has started Music Man and then G & L Guitars. Gibson is back in ascendancy, especially with the hard rock revival. Port makes the point that both men lived through an era that saw the horse and buggy all the way through to the space shuttle. </h2>
<h2>It’s a wonderful read and I’ve only scratched the surface. I highly recommend The Birth Of Loud even to non-musicians. Turn it up! </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan </h2>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/62337992020-03-01T19:38:34-05:002020-03-01T19:38:34-05:00The Swimming Pool Q's and Mitch Easter's Balderdash Ltd. at The Vista Room, Atlanta GA<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/8822cb467b730f4ab344448f5c0a8e89a3cee111/original/200208-075931-1.jpeg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpeg" class="size_m justify_left border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/fef883e21f00727e9aa1370223caf413ed4f745f/original/20200207-215154.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<h2> </h2>
<h2>The Vista Room is a cool place, in a strip shopping center. It appears to be an event space attached to a restaurant. There is a great stage, solid sound, and lots of lighting. Soon after we arrived, Mitch Easter and Balderdash Ltd. took the stage, and from the get go they <em>killed</em> it. Mitch is an extraordinary guitarist, not flashy but so tasteful, and he understands how to get real guitar tone. He mostly played a very cool Gibson SG Special with two P-90 pickups and SG Standard appointments through a Vox AC30. They opened with Let’s Active’s ‘Every Dog Has His Day.’ and the show was on. The slow burning ‘Ton Of Bricks’ from Mitch’s solo record <em>Dynamaco</em> was a highlight, Mitch using the quiet-to-loud method to great effect on his guitar. </h2>
<h2>Bass player Shawn Lynch was a real anchor for this band, his lines fluid and melodic. He was playing an impossibly rare 1966 Fender Precision Bass with a slab body (no contours) that looked brand new through a vintage British made Vox Defiant bass amp (solid state and probably just like one Paul McCartney used) and he sounded great. He also provided most of the difficult backing vocals on Mitch’s songs. The power-pop boogie of <em>Dynamaco’s</em> ‘1 ½ Way Street’ went over very well. </h2>
<h2>Midway through the set, Mitch and Shawn switched to their Rickenbacker Guitars (Mitch’s blue 330 that he played on the ‘Every Word Means No’ video and Chris with a rare 4000 one pickup bass) and did fantastic versions of ‘Waters Part’ and ‘Ornamental’ from the early Let’s Active records. Mitch also did a song I did not recognize, one he described as a ‘Texas’ song. It may have been a Roky Erickson tune, but I’m not sure. </h2>
<h2>The engine of Mitch’s band is the very impressive drummer Chris Garges, he of the very quick 1-2-3-4 stick click intro. Chis is much like Mitch and Shawn, playing lots of difficult, tricky stuff and making it seem effortless. The drumming really stood out on ‘Sudden Crown Drop,’ a Mitch tune that reminds me a little of a Loud Family song. They moved on to an astounding cover of The Bay City Rollers ‘Rock And Roll Love Letter,’ that seemed maybe over the head of the crowd a bit. Mitch and Balderdash Ltd. ended with Let’s Active’s ‘Every Word Means No’ (check out our singles Going Steady Podcast at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubactive" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubactive" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubactive</a>). The crowd loved it, the band was impressive, and Mitch, so known as a producer, is really an amazing songwriter and performer all on his own. </h2>
<h2>It had been a few years since I’ve seen The Swimming Pool Q’s, the Atlanta band formed in 1978. They have been a touchstone in my life since I first saw them with Adrienne in Greensboro in 1981 (check out our Podcast at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubmisfit" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubmisfit" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubmisfit</a>). I’ve seen them dozens of times, we booked them repeatedly, and they’ve played at special events in my life. There truly was a lot of love in the Vista Room when the Q’s took the stage, led by singer/guitarist Jeff Calder and the wonderful singer Anne Richmond Boston, they launched into ‘Big Fat Tractor’ (originally from their first record <em>The Deep End</em>) and they proceeded to play a fantastic seventeen song set. </h2>
<h2>Calder is still the King of Pain on the microphone, not afraid to clown around. The best part of being up front at a Q’s show is watching them crack each other up onstage, which they do a lot. They did ‘Building With A Clock On Top,’ an early, obscure song included on <em>The Deep End</em> CD reissue, then ‘Purple Rivers,’ one of Anne Boston’s vocal highlights. Anne is the consummate singer and frontwoman, she commanded the crowd with her beautiful singing all night. Then straight into ‘Yin Yang’ from the masterful 2003 release <em>Royal Academy Of Reality</em>. The band covered a lot of territory in this set. </h2>
<h2>‘For No Reason,’ from <em>Royal Academy</em>, was a surprise standout and showcased Calder’s sly vocals. The Q’s rhythm section is as good as they get, navigating Calder’s often-Beefheartian beats with precision and aplomb. Original drummer Robert Schmid (who also played in The Method Actors) is now the bassist, and Bill Burton, looking rakish in a pork-pie hat, is the killer drummer. They are a very non-flashy and underrated duo, wiping the floor on lofty tunes like ‘Sacrificial Altar Of Love,’ and of course the unofficial Q’s anthem ‘Rat Bait.’ </h2>
<h2>The band member I stood directly in front of, of course, was the Q’s magnificent lead guitarist, Bob Elsey. Bob is a thing of wonder, playing the craziest lines and progressions with such ease (he hardly ever looks at the fretboard). He played his white Fender Stratocaster (with a humbucker pickup in the neck position) through his ancient Music Man combo amp and his Boss pedals, and he left the crowd speechless. His playing is the true ‘special sauce’ that makes the Q’s, the Q’s. </h2>
<h2>They ended with a spirited version of ‘The Bells Ring’ from their first major label record, <em>The Swimming Pool Q’s</em>, followed by encores of <em>The Deep End’s</em> ‘Black Bug’ and Reality’s ‘The Do What And The Who What.’ It was a magical show, the crowd had a wonderful time, and the band seemed genuinely pleased. After all these years, I was lucky to see two bands still at the height of their powers. Thanks Q’s, thanks Mitch, thanks Vista Room. </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan </h2>
<p>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at t<a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">inyurl.com/SGSPodcast </a>Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/62302342020-02-27T17:04:43-05:002020-02-27T17:04:43-05:00Improv from the Mothership: The Second City at Carolina Theatre<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/eec18ed330daf8c0b0a37b4487e0b084fbc595f7/original/second-city.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<h2>Adrienne: When I was a kid and showed signs of being a bit of a wise cracker, my dad, always one to blow things out of proportion, hepped me to the wonderful world of The Second City. I tell a funny story about making jokes with a kid at school? Well, maybe we are the next Nichols and May! Dad shared stories of going to Chicago’s Old Town in his college days when luminaries such as Nichols, May, Arkin, Paul Sills & Sand, and Burns & Schrieber were on the stage. Given to embellishment, I have no idea who he actually saw, but the idea was set early that The Second City was the one true source of the finest comedic minds. The SCTV show, featuring the Toronto company, only reinforced the family deification of The Second City as the fount of the best comedy. </h2>
<h2>Following this legacy, I have caught shows in Chicago at The Second City Mainstage, the springboard to <em>SNL</em> and other fame over the past 3 decades. I saw Rachel Dratch, Scott Adsit (Pete on 30 Rock), and Kevin Dorff (<em>Conan’s Late Night</em>) in a couple mainstage shows. I caught an all-star fundraiser there one summer that featured famous alumni Fred Willard, Tim Meadows, George Wendt, Jack McBrayer, Alison Tolman (fresh off her Emmy win in <em>Fargo</em>), David Koechner, and Aidy Bryant (then and now of <em>SNL</em>). Even TJ the Sonic guy was there! Part of the sport of seeing these shows is the excitement that one day you will be able to say you saw some breakout star back in the day. </h2>
<h2>So The Second City has companies and theaters in Chicago, Toronto, and Hollywood and several touring companies. Durham’s Carolina Theatre is a regular stop for the Chicago touring company. There is a hierarchy in The Second City world, and a national touring company seems to be pretty high cotton, beginning with classes, moving through the etc stage and touring companies and ending on the main stage on Wells Street, Chicago. The players are almost always clever and inventive, with some stars burning particularly bright. </h2>
<h2>This year the revue was called “Laughing For All The Wrong Reasons” and featured a crazy-talented ensemble of triple-threat plus performers, singing, dancing, improvising, delivery jokes and pathos in turn. In Chicago, the Mainstage shows are two acts of most scripted sketch comedy, much of it developed in improvisation, followed by a third act of improvisation that the audience is invited to stay and watch and contribute suggestions. </h2>
<h2>This week, Steve was in Durham for multiple Zub projects, so we added a stop at The Second City show to the itinerary. I think it’s best that he give us a newcomer’s perspective on a show. </h2>
<h2>Steve: My history with Second City mostly comes from the amazing Canadian TV series, and I know that the Second City mothership is a true pipeline of talent to <em>Saturday Night Live</em>. Unlike Adrienne, I had never seen a Second City live show, and this was a revelation. There were six performers, all excellent. My first impressions were that there would be a lot of stand-up type stuff, but there really wasn’t. The performers all sang, danced, and really worked together well. Every performer was excellent in their own way. Jumpsuited Megan Babbe was great at talking with the audience, and really shined in a sketch with Kiley Fitzgerald as they played “two eggs’ that were all over the crowd members. Kiley and George C. Owens shared a hilarious sketch where Owen’s kid asks his Mom (Kiley) lots of difficult questions, like “why does my friend have two moms?” </h2>
<h2>Jackie Southee and Evan Mills were excellent, Mills playing a lot of over-the-top characters, such as the randy waiter at Southee and Owen’s date (Owens’ character having such anxiety he must read all his answers from cards). Jordan Stafford was a true standout, getting his own soliloquy in one case and playing a disillusioned male exotic dancer in another. Throughout the show were recurring bits, lots of music, singing and dancing. They did a couple of improv things that were stellar as well. This was a very entertaining show. I left thinking that I could see any or all of these performers on <em>Saturday Night Live</em>, probably sooner than later.</h2>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/62248162020-02-23T13:01:15-05:002020-02-23T13:01:15-05:00Linda Ronstadt: The Sound Of My Voice<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/34a6150fb40f8c92bcd868a6078418acd0897402/original/linda-r.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<h2>It’s easy to forget about Linda Ronstadt, the ubiquitous singer of the 70’s and early 80’s, but <em>The Sound Of My Voice </em>is a breezy and enjoyable look back at her career. I had forgotten just how popular she was. Eleven platinum selling records is no mean feat. I had forgotten how cute and sexy she was but how she really didn’t play on that so much. Mostly, I remember, and as this documentary reinforces, her amazing, amazing voice. </h2>
<h2>The movie follows her early life, daughter of Mexican and German heritage, growing up in Tuscon, Arizona. Moving to Los Angeles as a teenager, it did not take long for Linda to get a hit record (‘Different Drum’) with her teen band, the Stone Ponys, and get a gangster manager. Convinced by the suits and record company people to go solo, Linda connected with many of the Southern California musicians including backing band members would become The Eagles, but especially one time partner J.D. Souther, featured in the doc and looking very much like a Confederate general. </h2>
<h2>Linda made a lot of friends and a lot of female musician friends, including songwriter-performers Karla Bonoff and Emmylou Harris, and later on Bonnie Raitt and Dolly Parton. All are featured in the movie and all speak very highly of Linda’s vocal perfection (and perfectionism) and her supportive friendship. There is a great deal of excellent footage of Linda singing, leading an all-male band, and just killing it. </h2>
<h2>Things really start to catch fire for Linda when she joins forces with Peter Asher (from British act Peter and Gordon, brother of longtime McCartney girlfriend Jane Asher, and head of Apple Records USA). His hitmaking touch as a producer lead to the huge single ‘You’re No Good’ for Linda, and then many of her hit pop records. </h2>
<h2>Linda became a huge star, regularly playing giant arenas. She mostly managed to avoid the pitfalls of the road, although a dalliance with diet pills is discussed. I have read in other books that Linda was very, very insecure about her performances. She was very much in control of her career but unsure of her singing on stage, which the footage shows is always great. </h2>
<h2>One of the most amazing things about Linda Ronstadt is how she controlled her career. Over everyone’s objections, she made not one, but three LP’s of classic standards with the Nelson Riddle Orchestra. These records all did very well. She starred on Broadway in Joseph Papp’s <em>The Pirates Of Penzance</em> operetta and its soundtrack, and then in the filmed version. Most scary to the record executives, she made <em>Canciones De Mi Padre</em>, an LP of traditional Latin and Mexican songs (sung in Spanish) inspired by her father. His singing filled their house when Linda was a child and fueled her choice to follow a musical path. The record was a complete smash and she proved to the record company people that there was a sizable Latin market wanting to buy this music from the majors. She made the country harmony <em>Trio</em> LP with Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris, which was another success. </h2>
<h2>Of particular note to us in Zubland, in the late 70’s, Linda recorded four songs by Elvis Costello and explored new wave. There is little attention on this phase of her career in the film, one that irritated, to put it mildly, a certain angry young man (and his young fans like myself). After seeing this movie, EC offered <a contents="his own sensitive observations" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.elviscostello.com/#!/news/298768" target="_blank">his own sensitive observations</a> on those days and the film. Songwriting royalties on Linda’s records provided important financial support to the nascent EC & The Attractions, then touring small holes in the US. </h2>
<h2>There can be no doubt that Linda Ronstadt was quite a pioneer and outstanding singer. Unfortunately she now suffers from Parkinson’s Disease and can no longer sing with her clear, trademark obedient instrument. She was never a songwriter, but her voice was always amazing. I must admit that her career never interested me much. But she obviously brought a lot of happiness to millions of people, and seems like a very grounded, intelligent, musically curious, and driven person. It is always nice to have your presumptions challenged, and I’ll be damned, <em>The Sound Of My Voice </em>is a fun treat. You needn't be a fan of any of the phases of Linda’s varied musical directions to marvel at the tenacity and craft of this distinctive American songbird in this eye-opening film. </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan</h2>
<p> </p>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="eDMYAsu5PvI" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/eDMYAsu5PvI/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eDMYAsu5PvI?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/62206842020-02-19T18:16:14-05:002020-02-19T18:16:14-05:00The Peter Holsapple Combo Live at The White Mule, Columbia SC<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/967e47ddf970de04d8e60d5a3737a922aca2b283/original/20200116-221004.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>I have written quite a few times about Peter Holsapple and his fine combo, live review at (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubphc" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubphc" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubphc</a>) and their recent Christmas residency at (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubphcguests" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubphcguests" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubphcguests</a>). This is a tough, melodic band featuring Peter Holsapple, from the dB’s and unquestioningly one of the best songwriters in the game. (Our dB’s Podcast is at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubamplifier" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubamplifier" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubamplifier</a>). Imagine my surprise, then, to see the e-mail announcing the Combo’s FINAL shows, at The White Mule in Columbia and then a couple of shows in Florida at the 30A Songwriters festival. </h2>
<h2>I think (I have no inside knowledge) that the Combo just couldn’t make ends meet, and that is a damn shame. I suspect Peter can probably do better financially just playing solo, but I’m not sure what happened here. I do know we have lost one of the best, most proficient bands in the South. </h2>
<h2>I took my pal Bob to the show and we were pleasantly surprised at The White Mule, more an ‘art space’ than club, it has a nice bar and ambience and a good stage and sound system. When the PHC took the stage, Peter was playing his Gibson Les Paul guitar, which was giving him a lot of tuning issues during the first two tunes, but he is a consummate professional and tuned-as-he-went. </h2>
<h2>By the third song, the band hit a groove with the pretty ‘Away With Love’ (as at the Christmas show, most of the set was made up from material from Peter’s <em>Game Day</em> solo record). He immediately went into the new ‘That Kind Of Guy,’ his love letter to record collectors. As I’ve said before, this is a wonderful and fun song that he needs to put out a recorded version as soon as possible (it is featured on the <em>Amplifier EP: Live At Q Division</em>). </h2>
<h2>Drummer Will Rigby and Peter have that we’ve-played-for-decades-together connection, and bassist Glenn Jones is always on top of it, with melodic playing, never showboating, adding the perfect high harmony vocals. Another highlight was the instrumental ‘pH Factor,’ a great surf/spy tribute, originally a dB’s b-side. Only playing a twelve song set, the Combo killed it with their version of ‘I Can’t Keep From Crying,’ Peter ripping into some very cool guitar soloing. The more than awesome dB’s ‘Amplifier’ followed, and I was completely surprised to hear them end the set with a fine version of the dB’s ‘Neverland.’ It was a fantastic show. My pal Bob was thrilled. I hope somehow Peter and the Combo don’t quit altogether. Peter’s world-class songwriting always shines, but never more radiantly than with this taut, simpatico trio. Surely, that can’t be over. We miss them already. </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan </h2>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/62172502020-02-16T15:44:23-05:002020-02-16T15:44:23-05:00Jason Ringenberg live at The Radio Room, Greenville SC<h2><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/06ecea139c6001132e187966b525d1a3b45d229d/original/20200206-214736.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></h2>
<h2>It’s always a treat to go to a show at your hometown club. The Radio Room is where my current band (<a contents="https://www.facebook.com/babylonrocksyou/" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/babylonrocksyou/" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/babylonrocksyou/</a>) plays and we’ve done some Zub multi-band shows there. It’s a comfortable, sort-of-dive place with good folks and a good attitude. </h2>
<h2>There’s no way around this: Jason Ringenberg is a national treasure. Back in the day we used to go see Jason and The Scorchers (this would be in the early-mid 1980’s) and they were a fearsome, rocking band. Jason, Warner Hodges, Jeff Johnson, and Perry Baggs were essentially the inventors of indie Americana rock (along with The Blasters and Los Lobos). </h2>
<h2>As the years passed and the Scorchers waned, Ringenberg pursued a solo career, which I must admit I didn’t follow closely. He went through a fallow period and came back strong as ‘Farmer Jason,’ playing children’s songs and travelling the world. I did sound for Farmer Jason at The Bohemian Cafe in Greenville and it was a blast, for kids and adults both. </h2>
<h2>Tonight at The Radio Room, Jason and his guitar played two fine sets. The first set included some really terrific storytelling, about Link Wray (as an intro to Jason’s song ‘Link Wray’) and a great story of becoming a resident artist for the U.S. National Parks in the Sierra Nevadas, that introduced ‘John Muir Stood Here.’ Ringenberg’s voice is a unique and wonderful thing, not twangy but sweet and country (he’s from Southern Illinois) with a touch of a yodeling-warble. His acoustic-electric guitar playing was great and fit the songs perfectly. He ended with a Farmer Jason song that he described as “the best song to ever come out of Nashville,” which was, of course ‘The Tractor Goes Chug Chug Chug.’ </h2>
<h2>The second set was all-requests, the audience filling out ballots and Jason choosing the songs and calling out the requesters. It was great fun, and he spun through a number of great songs, including The Scorchers’ ‘White Lines,’ Merle Haggard’s ‘Rainbow Stew,’ and Lefty Frizzell's ‘Long Black Veil.’ He did a very excellent version of R.E.M.’s ‘Driver 8.’ With his gold lame shirt, boots and fancy hat, Jason was every bit the honky tonk star, and he punctuated his songs with a great pseudo-clogging/kicking dance. </h2>
<h2>He’s that rare combination of a performer that is enthralling, humble, funny, and totally in command. He ended with a great story about how much he loves The Ramones, and did a shitkicking version of ‘I Wanna Be Sedated.’ </h2>
<h2>The show was a real treat, Jason did not disappoint. </h2>
<h2>-----Steve McGowan </h2>
<p>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/62154862020-02-14T16:14:51-05:002020-02-14T16:14:51-05:00Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera and Mexican Modernism at the NC Museum of Art, Raleigh NC<h2><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/a623cc397d325b62a1259e1b9adfeac2dbdc10f6/original/exhibit.png/!!/b:W10=.png" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></h2>
<h2>I don’t think I’ve written about visual art before, but I must say this exhibition at Raleigh’s Museum of Art really, profoundly moved me. I, like many, learned much about Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera via the excellent Julie Taymor biopic <em>Frida</em> (2002), in which the paintings of Frida (played by a terrific Salma Hayek) actually come to life. But seeing the visual depiction of the arc of their lives displayed in person is a lightning strike. </h2>
<h2>I’m familiar with Diego Rivera’s work, a fairly well-to-do Mexican who studied in Paris and became known for his amazing murals and his paintings of Mexican life, especially of calla lilies. Frida Kahlo was a woman affected by polio and then a horrible bus accident that left her bedridden for much of her life. She had an easel made so she could paint in bed, and her work is defined by Mexican cultural elements and the obvious pain she went through. </h2>
<h2>The exhibition at the NC Museum of Art was especially interesting in the way it illustrated Frida and Diego’s lives. Beside the artwork, there are many, many pictures of the artists, early drawings, and Mexican traditional dress (which Frida championed). Both artists were Communists and embraced a pro-Mexican movement known as <em>Mexicanidad</em>, a passionate nationalism rejecting colonialism. There are also amazing portraits of Frida by Nikolas Muray, a Hungarian-American photographer with whom she had a tempestuous on-off affair. </h2>
<h2>On entering the show, you see Rivera’s 1943 painting <em>Calla Lily Vendor</em>: </h2>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/b0ec85f56569a018a18d6b82c5284267a36eafd1/original/resized-calla-lilly-vendor-611-789-s.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<h2>It’s a true thing of beauty. </h2>
<h2>There is an early painting of Rivera’s from his studies in France. It’s an expertly executed cubist still life that could easily be mistaken for a Braque or Picasso. It’s obvious that Diego was a quick learner. Next up is Frida’s 1943 work <em>Self Portrait as a Tehuana</em> (Tehuana referring to the traditional dress worn since Aztec times by ladies in Oaxaca Mexico). Diego is literally on her mind in this painting, and it is a stunner: </h2>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/b15f0d865c67967ad79c31de341530009257759a/original/self-portrait-as-a-tehuana.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<h2>I just couldn’t stop looking at this painting. It really spoke to me, all her worries and insecurities about her lover laid bare for all to see. </h2>
<h2>In the next room, there are many photographs, and some of Frida’s technical drawings, including the ones of her body after her miscarrage. This is such a sad image. There is also a reworking of the Statue Of Liberty as a technical drawing that was surreal and outstanding. </h2>
<h2>After seeing many photos of Frida with her treasured pets, rabbits, birds, monkeys, etc. we see <em>Self Portrait With Monkeys</em> from 1943: </h2>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/405616f3b22a2fd49322a45e9066f43c2cf1e73e/original/monkeys.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<h2>Again, strangely evocative and otherworldly. </h2>
<h2>The final painting I’d like to discuss is <em>The Love Embrace of the Universe, the Earth (Mexico), Diego, Me, and Senor Xolotl, 1949:</em> </h2>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/0fab48c741910aed9a8def53d2becd59448aaa3b/original/love-embrace.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<h2>Wrapped in ancient Mexican imagery, there is a lot to unpack in this painting. I couldn’t help but think about women having to be mothers to baby-men. It made me laugh and smile. </h2>
<h2>This was an exceptional exhibit. I’ve only touched on a little bit of it. One of the best things about this show was that it was busy, crowded. There was a lot of Spanish being spoken, in many accents, Mexican, Venezuelean, Columbian, etc. The Hispanic people have a rich and beautiful culture, and it was great to see it celebrated in North Carolina. So much to be proud of. </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan</h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2> </h2>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/62080072020-02-07T15:53:09-05:002020-02-07T15:53:09-05:001917: The Movie<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/44608ea185f098f9c3f511e3a5901cd8483521f1/original/wwi.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Wartime photo of Scottish soldiers, mascot in the trenches during WWI </h2>
<p> </p>
<h2>You may know that I was born in Scotland. I proudly display a shadow box with a number of medals and ribbons from a distant relative who served in the infantry, in a Scottish unit in WWI. I’ve always been a history buff, so when my parents gave me this set of medals, I cried a little bit. The First World War was a very real and existential crisis for the British and the French, and hundreds of thousands of Americans served and died as well. </h2>
<h2>I’m going to try to talk about Sam Mendes’ movie <em>1917</em> without giving out too many spoilers, mostly because I think you have to see this movie. Much has been made of how the movie is constructed as one continuous shot. But it is much more than an exercise in impressive film editing, it is a well-constructed, suspenseful story about bravery, endurance, and unbelievable odds. It tells the story of two British soldiers sent behind enemy lines with a message to call off a planned attack, one that British High Command believes is being set as a certain, disastrous trap. What follows is tense, exciting, and believable. </h2>
<h2>A close analog to this movie is Steven Spielberg's <em>Saving Private Ryan</em>. Stangely, 1917 does not have as much war action as that movie, it’s more about the journey and the terrifying hellscape that the war has caused. <em>1917</em> is well into the established trench warfare, in which networks of shelters, tunnels, and communications had been dug into the countryside. The movie is a collection of amazingly terse scenes, unexpected twists, and unforgettable images, much of it in that purpose-built war maze. </h2>
<h2>Actor George McKay inhabits the battle-hardened, yet baby-faced stoic Schofield, who has already somehow survived the Battle of The Somme, and the picture follows him on the mission. Andrew Scott (Fleabag’s hot priest) has a great turn as a shell-shocked commander, and Benedict Cumberbatch in another great performance as Commander MacKenzie. As with most British films, you’ll spot familiar faces at many turns, although Colin Firth almost slipped by unrecognized by me. </h2>
<h2>I have written about the WWI film by Peter Jackson <em>They Shall Not Grow Old </em>(<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubpoppies" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubpoppies" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubpoppies</a>). It is a fine documentary about WWI. Adrienne has written about the remarkable <em>JoJo Rabbit</em> (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubjojo" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubjojo" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubjojo</a>) by Taika Waititi, set in WWII. <em>1917</em> is nominated for several Oscars this weekend; it deserves them (as does <em>JoJo Rabbit</em>). They each show the scars of war in skillful, moving ways and will be gateways for viewers to want to learn more about the War to End All Wars...and its sequel. </h2>
<h2>The stagnant, literally entrenched warfare of The Great War created an otherworldly, beaten moonscape in swaths of Europe, depicted eerily in <em>1917</em>. A generation of men were lost. I have been thinking of those medals in the shadow box, and the young people whose lives were shredded in the process of earning them. We cannot forget them. We cannot forget. </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan</h2>
<p> </p>
<p>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of zubrecords.com, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast Lots of cool things to read and listen to at zubrecords.com</p>
<h2> </h2>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/62069662020-02-06T15:54:32-05:002020-02-06T23:46:12-05:00Sirsy live at Bombshell Brewery, Holly Springs NC<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/f46f1def0dbd1b68fde73835756297b2d84bf53f/original/sirsy-1.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>The word to describe Sirsy is <em>genuine</em>. They know what they are and they know what they are about, an amazing ‘little’ band. I say ‘little’ because this band is just two people: singer, drummer, flautist and keyboard pad-playing Melanie Krahmer and beat-to-hell Rickenbacker 330 guitarist Rich Libutti. Rich also plays bass notes with his feet and has a fearsome guitar pedalboard. This upstate, NY based combo was a regular visitor to The Bohemian Cafe in Greenville SC, where I was lucky to get to meet and work with Melanie and Rich, running sound for them at least 10 times. </h2>
<h2>These two are about the nicest people I’ve met in the business, and their band is fun, funny, and thoroughly entertaining. Melanie is a powerhouse singer, and in Holly Springs she was featured on new songs such as ‘Like A Drum,’ and ‘Death Of Me.’ Sirsy’s music is very pop oriented, their originals somehow reminding me of They Might Be Giants without the snark. Their journeyman musicianship at myriad styles, great drumming, and sense of humor reminded Adrienne of Christmas (see <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubchristmas" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubchristmas" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubchristmas</a>). They earnestly sing tunes about their families, health issues, bullying, etc. That sounds depressing but in reality the band is uplifting. One little girl seemed to know all the words and was utterly enchanted as she mouthed along to the songs, enthralled. </h2>
<h2>At Bombshell Brewery, they had friends in the local opening band who were obviously big fans. Their friends seemed to have brought out a big crowd, and Sirsy rocked them. Original songs like ‘Cannonball’ and ‘Crazy’ went over a storm. This duo is smart enough to know who they are playing for and why they are playing. They dropped in plenty of covers, including ‘uncool’ stuff like Fleetwood Mac, played with appreciation but with a definite Sirsy imprint. The crowd absolutely loved it. They also played a pseudo-disco version of Black Sabbath’s ‘War Pigs’ that was genius. </h2>
<h2>Melanie and Rich are a tight, self-contained, entertaining, and thoughtfully assembled duo. They are currently touring the South of the US right now. If you haven’t seen them, a Sirsy show is inclusive, fun, and more than worth investment of your time. Every time I see them, I smile and have a great time. Join me in digging this band; your results will NOT vary! </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan </h2>
<p> </p>
<p>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com" target="_blank">zubrecords.com</a></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/62034082020-02-04T16:17:41-05:002024-01-05T09:31:45-05:00Arrow Beach Live at Slim's, Raleigh NC<h2> </h2>
<h2><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/ecb9f8e4de57f16aa50a6e20246c49221288a9a9/original/20200124-202059.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2>This was the second time I’ve seen Arrow Beach, first being at The Station in Carrboro opening for the Peter Holsapple Combo. Arrow Beach was then a five piece, Drums, bass, guitar, guitar/keys, and singer. They blew me away that night with their very cool, glammy 70’s sound that was extremely unique. Tonight at Slim’s they were a fighting-fit four piece, with a new bass player and no utility guitar/keys player. The band is even tighter than last time and playing mostly a bunch of new songs. </h2>
<h2>Singer/frontman John Ensslin (ex-What Peggy Wants) is captivating to watch. He’s magnetic, <em>louche</em> and a very good singer, able to channel <em>Idiot</em> era Iggy on songs like ‘Skywriter’ and upbeat Bowie on ‘Juicy Fruit Castle.’ He can scream with the best, and hit some amazing high notes. His lyrics are a clever, skewed take on traditional rock tropes. The band really got it going with the new ‘Under The Bleachers,’ a sideways power-pop slab served up by powerhouse drummer Amy Hall. This was followed by ‘Cutoffs And Bows,’ a very 70’s Sparks sounding (think <em>Kimono My House</em> - era) slow burner. </h2>
<h2>Mike Nicholson is the guitarist and the glue of Arrow Beach. Playing a Brian May Red Special (rarely seen on local stages) through a Kustom padded/pleated tube amp, he is the rock master, slashing out chords and riffs and leads, all often at the same time. Adrienne remarked that he generally sounds like two guitars playing at the same time. It’s true; he’s a remarkable player and obviously knows how to write a great song. </h2>
<h2>The set was way too short (only nine songs), but they ended with the two best songs from their first release, ‘The Lady, Or The Tiger,’ featuring the killer female rhythm section of new bassist Charity Quick on her very cool G& L bass and drummer Amy Hall. Ensslin crooning over some threatening spy chords from Nicholson, it’s super catchy and rocking at the same time. Last song was a reworked version of ‘Lady Of Elsinore,’ a total ‘Rebel Rebel’ style cooker, the band full-on and killing. </h2>
<h2>Arrow Beach is a great band, referencing without cribbing from the best off-kilter rock of the mid-70’s. Please keep your eye out for them. Go see them...solid gold! </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan </h2>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/61999302020-02-01T16:42:55-05:002020-02-01T16:42:55-05:00Love Tractor and Oh Ok at the 40 Watt, Athens GA<h2><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/5834717c9d30dabc989385933616392c06d76717/original/20200117-213753.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></h2>
<h2>Two great bands from the Athens 80’s heyday recently played a special reunion show at the fabled 40 Watt Club. This was a magical evening in Athens. I got to the club early and watched it fill up from the back bench, dozens and dozens of people who I recognized but whose names I didn’t remember. This was a homecoming (all ages!) show of sorts. Pretty quickly when I recognized John T. Edge (director of the Southern Foodways Alliance, if you watch food TV on PBS you’ve probably seen him). I knew it was going to be a <em>zub</em> night! Next up, saw members of Pylon Reenactment Society (our PRS Podcast <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubmesenger" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubmesenger" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubmesenger</a>) including amazing bassist Kay Stanton. I was too starstruck to say hello! </h2>
<h2>Shortly afterward, Michael Stipe and entourage appeared. He looked really good and was smiling and happy. Pretty much everyone in a band in Athens was there, including Mercyland/Sugar bassist and Drive By Truckers producer David Barbe (Our Mercyland Podcast <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubmercyland" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubmercyland" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubmercyland</a>). </h2>
<h2>The place filled up fast, and Oh Ok took the stage, singer Linda Hopper, bassist and singer Linda Stipe, and the aforementioned Kay Stanton on second bass. They had a drummer, keyboardist and guitarist as well. Oh Ok launched into ‘Permanent’ from their <em>Wow mini album</em> and the dance party was on. The two singers sang great and looked wonderful. Linda Stipe plays an <em>old</em> Danelectro bass that is so small, maybe smaller than small scale. It sounds amazing though, and backed up with Kay’s Fender sound the minimalist, light dance pop of Oh Ok sounded wonderful. It wasn’t long before<em> third </em>bassist Trish Whatley (Flash To Bang Time) appeared, and later a FOURTH bass player, Armistead Wellford from Love Tractor. Four basses all playing on stage! For reals! </h2>
<h2>The crowd absolutely loved Oh Ok. They played 45 minutes, pretty much everything they know (most of their songs are about two minutes long), and ended, as they usually do, with the first song they played - ‘Permanent.’ </h2>
<h2>The crowd thinned just a little bit before Love Tractor, so I was able to get up front. Our band, The Beef People, opened for Love Tractor a few times in Athens in the 1980’s, and always had a great time with them. They have a very unique sound, kind of Southern Gothic Surf. Most of their tunes are melodic instrumentals, but there are a number of songs with vocals. The three original front guys headed the band again: Armistead on bass and Marks Cline and Richmond on guitars . This is an all-Fender guitar band, bright and snappy. They were joined by two members of The Glands, guitarist/keyboardist Doug Stanley and drummer Joe Rowe. They had one or two special guest drummers as well. </h2>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/a5f0ad3abcb260e54e3abbeee612552f312971cc/original/20200117-230047.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Opening with ‘Beatle Boots,’ the band played and sounded great. Standouts included ‘Rudolph Nureyev’ and ‘Spin Your Partner.’ Armistead played clarinet on one song and it was great fun. Love Tractor played a long set and, like with Oh Ok, the crowd ate it up. The true highlight was when R.E.M.’s Bill Berry appeared on stage, with his handsome and talented young son Owen, both playing acoustic guitars on Love Tractor’s cover of Kraftwerk’s ‘Neon Lights.’ It was a great arrangement and it was killer. </h2>
<h2>Love Tractor played a couple of great encores. They were as good as they ever were in the 1980’s. Along with Oh Ok, it is so great to see the older punks and DIY bands doing their thing. The sense of community and <em>esprit de corps</em> among musicians in Athens is unmistakable. It was definitely a Zub kind of night! </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan</h2>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/687084e78b2c1233258de4ec2d3ab9cbaf6b0fb9/original/20200117-200722.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/61974472020-01-30T16:59:08-05:002020-01-30T16:59:08-05:00January 2020 Roundup<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Welcome to 2020! Here’s a few things we’ve been hearing and seeing: </h2>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/17965f6e25e0e43e175d861e80e3a2c544141a88/original/saratoga.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_left border_" /></p>
<h2>The Successful Failures: <em>Saratoga </em>
</h2>
<h2>It’s great to hear a band that really knows what they are doing. The Successful Failures are from New Jersey, led by frontman/songwriter Mick Chorba, and have been at it since 2006. <em>Saratoga</em> is a fine record, opening with ‘Because We’re Ghosts,’ a song that reminds me of vintage Steve Earle and Superdrag at the same time. ‘Love You So’ has really nice backing ‘aaahs’ and features the word <em>portmanteau</em> in the lyric. “The Ocean And The Stars’ is a very strong tune, really sounding like something from Earle’s <em>Copperhead Road</em>. ‘Disgruntled Bankers’ ascends into almost a Springsteen-esque mode. It’s big and brash a very well put together. </h2>
<h2>“Already In Two’ is full of cool piano echoes, reverse loops, and stomping pop, and reminds me a bit of early Posies. This is definitely swinging Americana music with a hint of power pop; most recommended to those into said things. </h2>
<p> </p>
<h2><a contents="http://thesuccessfulfailures.com/blog-wp/" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://thesuccessfulfailures.com/blog-wp/" style="" target="_blank">http://thesuccessfulfailures.com/blog-wp/</a></h2>
<h2>____________ </h2>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/ce4f6d92cf13b8948d0e82d77334e773b865bf55/original/brindle.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_left border_" /></p>
<h2>Travels With Brindle: <em>Greetings From Rocky Point EP</em> </h2>
<h2>Chelsea Spear is the leader, songwriter, singer and ukulele player(!) for Boston, Mass. band Travels With Brindle. Her music is super stripped down twee (in a good way) just uke, cello, and percussion. The overall vibe reminds me a little of Asheville’s Mad Tea Party, without the old-timey feel. Spear’s lyrics are ironic and funny, and sometimes a little twisted (as on ‘Happy Birthday, Chicken Boy’). ‘Feather’ has a musical saw which is pretty neat. Keep an eye out for this bunch. </h2>
<h2><a contents="https://travelswithbrindle.bandcamp.com/releases" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://travelswithbrindle.bandcamp.com/releases" style="" target="_blank">https://travelswithbrindle.bandcamp.com/releases</a></h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2>_____________ </h2>
<p> </p>
<h2>Beatles Cartoon Pop Art Show featuring Artist Ron Campbell </h2>
<h2>My early love for The Beatles as a wee lass grew substantially from their namesake witty and irreverent Saturday morning cartoon. What a time! Beatles on the radio, Beatles on the TV: heaven. I was thrilled to read that one of the cartoonists responsible for that series and for <em>Yellow Submarine </em>would be present for a show at a nearby gallery. Ron Campbell is an Emmy winning artist also worked on iconic animated series from <em>Scooby Doo</em> to the <em>Rugrats</em>. If you remember charming, real, hand-drawn children’s animation, you probably know and love his work. </h2>
<h2>One of the advantages of being based in two states is covering twice the territory. I saw Ron’s show in NC and Steve in SC. We agree the work is wildly creative and captures the spirit of The Beatles perfectly. I was fortunate to have a long conversation with the affable Mr.Campbell and discuss my beloved obscure spy-spoof cartoon, <em>Cool McCool</em>, a series he directed. He even drew me my own Cool original on the certificate of authenticity accompanying the print to which I treated myself. </h2>
<h2>Ron Campbell tours signing works and chatting with fans. In early 2020, he is in the US southeast. His works are smart, funny, vibrant, and alive. Keep an eye on his tour and go meet this key Beatles figure and see his fantastic pop art works. </h2>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<h2><a contents="http://www.beatlescartoonartshow.com/" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.beatlescartoonartshow.com/" style="" target="_blank">http://www.beatlescartoonartshow.com/</a></h2>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/61732532020-01-25T18:19:55-05:002020-01-25T18:19:55-05:00New Order: Decades<h2><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/0741def28c1f458342cc9b8661bc1e906dd91c60/original/new-order-decades.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2>New Order is another band that is a constant in my life. Their music is always inventive, different, and unique. New Order: Decades is a bit documentary, a bit concert film. During the Manchester International Festival 2017, the band collaborated with international YBA (Young British Artist) Liam Gillick to reinvent its sound and its presentation for a project called <em>So It Goes</em>. The film follows the band and their team as they try to recreate this show in 2019, culminating with a filmed version of the final show in Vienna. (Our New Order podcast is <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubceremony" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubceremony" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubceremony</a>).</h2>
<h2>Decades begins with the band back home in Manchester, England, in the site of the old Granada TV studios. They reminisce about their beginnings as Joy Division (our Joy Division podcast is <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubjoy" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubjoy" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubjoy</a>). Tony Wilson, their champion and head of Granada TV, thought so highly of Joy Division that he started a label, Factory Records, for them. He, along with manager Rob Gretton, and of course the original singer of Joy Division, Ian Curtis, (whose suicide led to Joy Division becoming New Order) are all remembered fondly. </h2>
<h2>The band is shown getting ready for these special ‘reinvented’ shows, which involves a great deal of technical work,especially from drummer Stephen Morris. One conceit of these shows is to play by human hand what had previously been produced by complex sequencing, through a 12-piece ‘synth orchestra’ of young conservatory musicians from Manchester. New Order pushed 1980’s technology to its maximum as far as sequencing, sampling, and drum programming; this ‘orchestra’ will deconstruct and distribute these parts among the young musicians, who will play all the untwined sequenced parts live. The documentary does a great job of showing how monumental this re-scoring and redistribution of the complex, computer generated sounds across a dozen pairs of hands was. </h2>
<h2>Much is made of the beginning of the band, especially adopting Gillian Gilbert as the new member. She is portrayed as a calming influence on ‘the lads’ and easily holding her own in the band. One of the best parts of Decades are insightful interviews with the band’s team, such as the wonderful writer Jon Savage (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubsearinglight" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubsearinglight" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubsearinglight</a>) and especially artistic director Peter Saville, responsible for all the Factory/Joy Division/New Order record artwork. </h2>
<h2>The art direction for this series of shows, however, is handled by Liam Gillick, a heavyweight British conceptualist/modernist. He designs a modular series of interlocked cubicles for each of the ‘synth orchestra’ members, who play in their cubes behind opening/closing blinds. It’s an impressive, ever-changing backdrop and works well for this show. He discusses the work and his designs for the collaboration, and it’s clear that he truly loves and admires New Order. </h2>
<h2>The band’s very close connection with Manchester is shown as they roam about the city. These scenes let us get to know the two newest members of the band, Tom Chapman on bass and Phil Cunningham on guitar, who replaced departed bassist Peter Hook. Little is said about the acrimonious breakup with Hooky, but Bernard does praise the prowess of the previous bass player, although does not speak his name. </h2>
<h2>Interspersed throughout the film are the live performances, mostly from Vienna. The band sounds fresh and vital, and the ‘synth orchestra’ is a great addition. It’s funny, because guitarist/New Order singer Bernard Sumner is shown earlier on as saying he “never wanted to be a singer or a frontman,” but he mostly is just the singer now. The show features great tunes such as ‘Plastic,’ ‘Subculture,’ and ‘Bizarre Love Triangle.’ The highlight for certain is an inspired ‘Your Silent Face’ from <em>Power, Corruption And Lies</em>. An encore of Joy Division’s ‘Decades’ is played, which may be a bit <em>too</em> reworked, but it is a lovely tribute. </h2>
<h2>If you are a New Order fan, you’ll need to catch <em>New Order: Decades</em> on Showtime. If not, it is a worthy watch nevertheless from a most iconic and forward thinking band who decades on are still reinventing and deconstructing themselves in ambitious, and successful ways. </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan</h2>
<p> </p>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="8EtoSZ5Jvh4" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/8EtoSZ5Jvh4/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8EtoSZ5Jvh4?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/61546942020-01-23T14:27:50-05:002020-01-23T14:27:50-05:00I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson<h2><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/0caabdb14082acc811f4911bc1cc61168da5cf34/original/i-think-you-should-leave.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></h2>
<h2>Tim Robinson is a sui generis comedy force. His characters are angry, awkward, loud, stubborn, ignorant, and prickly. And irresistable, somehow. Tim Robinson is a <em>Saturday Night Live</em> alumnus (where his unique skill set was under utilized), who together with Sam Richardson (Richard Splett on <em>VEEP</em>) created the amazing Comedy Central show <em>Detroiters</em>. <em>Detroiters</em> is notable for hilarious and bizarre world building, as we follow the low-rent advertising escapades of the Cramblin Duvet Agency, but in the end it is an almost sweet rumination on friendship. </h2>
<h2>
<em>I Think You Should Leave</em> is a different kettle of fish. Presented on Netflix and with only six less-than 20 minute episodes, it is eminently binge-worthy. The show is a loose collection of sketches, often gross, insulting, and very, very funny. While they never say it, each socially apocalyptic sketch could easily reach a crescendo with the demand “I think you should leave!” Tim Robinson is the king of being the guy who is insulted when he gets called out for his frenetic faux pas. The backing crew, many from <em>The Lonely Island</em> co-producers and <em>Saturday Night Live</em>, are all spot on. </h2>
<h2>This show reminds me a bit of <em>Monty Python’s Flying Circus</em>, which is high praise from me. It can be totally absurdist, like the scene where the hot dog car crashes into a tailor shop, and the guy wearing the hot dog costume doesn’t own up to driving it there. The automobile design focus group sketch is pure mania, and the scenes where the washed up singers try to record hits are very close to the bone. </h2>
<h2>This was one of the best, funniest, unexpected shows I’ve seen in a long time. It has been approved for a second season. I think you should leave this review and start bingeing, now! </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan </h2>
<p> </p>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="vrZkGgoVSFk" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/vrZkGgoVSFk/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vrZkGgoVSFk?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/61400652020-01-21T15:39:26-05:002020-02-03T23:53:26-05:00The Neighborhoods: Last Known Address<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/73b399214cc450a715b7fef39efb52f8fc872e6a/original/hoods-lka.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<h2>This is an improbable and unexpected story. I can’t overstate to you how much the Neighborhoods, a fine rock band from Boston, MA, meant to me (and to Adrienne). Playing with them was the spark that lit the fuse for us to begin booking bands at Studio B in Greenville in the 1980’s. This is all recalled in our Singles Going Steady Podcast (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubhoods" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubhoods" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubhoods</a>). We booked and saw the Neighborhoods countless times, and there is no doubt in my mind that there was a few year period where they were the best live band in America, bar none. </h2>
<h2>On record, however, with the Hoods, there was a slight case of diminishing returns. The Hoods had a fine indie first record, <em>Fire Is Coming</em>, followed by the truly wonderful <em>The High Hard One</em> and equally good <em>Reptile Men</em>. Their last two records, <em>Hoodwinked</em> and especially <em>The Neighborhoods</em>, showcased a band trying to move up, grab the brass ring, with heavier, more metal tendencies on the production end. I don’t blame the Neighborhoods for wanting to become ‘major label,’ as they truly had the talent and songwriting to do it, but for whatever reason it didn’t work. They went their separate ways; Minehan took the Bob Stinson/Slim Dunlap seat in the recent reboot of The Replacements, and he has stayed in rock running the fine Wooly Mammoth Studios in Waltham. The band broke up for awhile, and then, the core of David Minehan (Vocals, Guitar) and Lee Harrington (Vocals, Bass) found a new drummer, Johnny “Rock’ Lynch and they started playing again around Massachusetts. </h2>
<h2>What I am trying to get at, is that the Neighborhoods have not released a studio record since 1991. When I heard they had a new record on the way, my first thought was….trepidation. Could they really catch the old magic? Almost twenty years later? Would there be anything left in the songwriting bucket? How could a band produced by a guy who owns a world class studio not put out an overproduced mess? I must say my expectations were low. Really low. </h2>
<h2>Well, what a surprise. <em>Last Known Address</em> starts with the rocking ‘Half Life,’ featuring David Minehan’s amazing vocal and guitar, singing a, um,<em> mature</em> lyric along the lines of “<em>I hope my half life’s not used up</em>.” Its an astounding beginning, and then the Hoods grab your throat with ‘Bygone Era,’ a wonderful lyric of being young and goofing off, referencing the life changing music of the time, like the Pistols - “<em>cause if the music starts to suck out loud, you know what we’ve got - a good bygone era.</em>” ‘I Go Dark’ is Minehan at his catchiest, poppiest best, carefully backed by Lee Harrington’s vocals and Lee and Johnny's rhythm section. It could be from a Cheap Trick record, the song is that good. The record’s beginning is set off by ‘Billy The Kid,’ a lament of the passing of a friend, full of acoustic guitar and out of the way keyboards, as well as terrific backing vocals. This is a mature, meaningful song as good as anything Paul Westerberg has ever written. </h2>
<h2>The production on the record is thick and big, but the cake is not overbaked. There is still the sound of a band playing, unlocked to any computer grid, and it’s not chock full of unnecessary sounds. ‘Don’t Look Down’ brings the very much missed lead vocals of bass-god-of-thunder Lee Harrington. Lee has an effortless ability to rock out with his singing. The song is pretty much a boogie stomp with a great power pop chorus, and Lee pretty much kills it. ‘In Case Of Creeps’ has a menacing Damned via Ministry riff, the Hoods are pouring it on on this one, then it goes into a silly slow part - the Hoods have always had a wicked sense of humor and this one really showcases that silliness. It even sounds like Lee is playing an upright bass in the ‘interlude.’ ‘Save Yourself’ has the feel of a <em>Hoodwinked</em> track, with a killer sliding chord riff and four-on-the-floor drumming, it’s balls out all the way. ‘The Stowaway’ is another more ‘mature’ Dave song. The song follows a protagonist who is kicking drugs and appears to be stowing away in the wheel wells of a jet airliner. It’s another masterful song, with a great story and mid tempo approach. It’s kind of a ‘Space Oddity’ set closer to earth, even ending with mellotron flourishes. </h2>
<h2> ‘My Loss, Your Gain’ has a cool syncopated drum figure and some wonderful bass gymnastics from Lee Harrington. This tale of love lost is buoyed by the boys’ ‘who hoo’ backing vocals. “Parasites,’ I believe is an older song that ranges into some cool funky textures. The gist of the song involves a woman who needs/gets cosmetic surgery: </h2>
<h2><em>You’re just another plain Jane looking to live someone else's life </em></h2>
<h2><em>Into the chapel of the scalpel, and the parasites </em></h2>
<h2>This is a great, sprawling tune that covers a lot of territory. David Minehan is at the top of his game. ‘The Tiled Room’ actually <em>does</em> sound like a Replacements tune. A really good one. It’s a great story of teenage lust and longing. This amazing record ends with Lee and his anthem, of sorts ‘We Are All Alone.’ Again his vocal is superb, as he relates a tale of dying loved ones, augmented by some sweet slide from Dave. It’s a beautiful, heartfelt song that really sticks with you. </h2>
<h2>So there it is, the Neighborhoods and <em>Last Known Address</em>. Somehow, this long-mothballed band has made a fresh, terrific record from start to finish. All my worries and preconceptions were defeated by this record. The singing and playing are the best. The age-appropriate songwriting is something Dave and Lee should be proud of. It’s perfectly produced, and still has that Hoods sense of humor. This is why I believe in rock. The Neighborhoods sure do, and they are still the <em>best</em> at it. </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan</h2>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/be439c9449a4e9c659fbf6d04fa44d9508030273/original/hoods-live.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/61321772020-01-18T20:59:46-05:002020-01-18T20:59:46-05:00John Mulaney and The Sack Lunch Bunch<h2> </h2>
<h2><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/b9c07aeed0fd8e0d37bb1509329cc845f44a0ba0/original/sack-lunch-bunch.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2>There’s nothing like nostalgia for the kids TV we grew up with. John Mulaney, the stand-up comic and former Saturday Night Live writer, understands this very well. With his co-writer, Marika Sayer (also from SNL) and songwriter Eli Bolen, he has created his own special on Netflix that skewers these classic TV shows. For one thing, Mulaney realized how weird and scary some of these shows were, and that oddness is in full effect on <em>The Sack Lunch Bunch</em>. </h2>
<h2>He has a cast of super talented (<em>Broadway</em>-level talented) children to pull this one off. And pull it off he, and the kids, do. I don’t want to provide many spoilers, but the songs are amazing, especially the one about Grandma’s new boyfriend, and the special guests sublime, including Broadway vets Andre De Shields, Annaleigh Ashford, and Richard Kind(!) Music is brought by David Byrne, yes, <em>the</em> David Byrne, and Jake Gyllenhall has the big ending. </h2>
<h2>One of the best moments in the special, however, is when they talk to the kids about their fears. It’s honest, uncomfortable, and funny all at the same time. Mulaney has a great way with these kids, and this is a spectacular Netflix special. Join the <em>Sack Lunch Bunch </em>and get your year started right: the honest, uncomfortable, and funny way! </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan </h2>
<p> </p>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="omUnQ5ej6dY" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/omUnQ5ej6dY/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/omUnQ5ej6dY?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/60942402020-01-13T10:18:40-05:002020-02-07T21:26:20-05:00Gerwig's Little Women: Punk AF?<p> </p>
<p><span class="font_regular"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/5d4108ec45ae3411356cdda7f9896e78abbe1a45/original/little-womens.png/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.png" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></span></p>
<h2><span class="font_regular">What does it mean to be punk? To me, it is about bursting over-inflated egos, defying pompous icons, challenging prescribed social roles, and celebrating self expression over conformity. That’s a pretty good summation of Greta Gerwig’s brief in her approach to retelling Louisa May Alcott’s classic American novel,<em> Little Women</em>. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">I am a Gerwig fan. I loved her in <em>Frances Ha</em> and <em>Mistress America</em>, both filmed from scripts she co-wrote (with partner Noah Baumbach), dug her immensely in Whit Stillman’s <em>Damsels in Distress</em>, and was impressed by <em>Lady Bird</em>, her stunningly fun and astute coming of age film. She is immensely perceptive as a writer and a figure of empathy as an on-screen performer. So I was a little surprised she selected the slightly hoary Alcott novel as her next project. But her script and direction show us Alcott’s iconoclastic heart and creates a fresh and exciting film. Finding something new, fresh, and rebellious in a 150 year old tale of childhood domestic memories seemed an impossible order. But the film is fresh and defiant, like its heroine, Jo March, and its visionary, Greta Gerwig. That’s at least a little bit punk, isn’t it? </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">So what does Gerwig do to shake up this often remade classic? Time jumps. We are in the past, in the present, in real life with Alcott, in the world of the roman à clef with author Jo March. The actors portraying the March girls are so young, I sometimes had trouble knowing where I was in time (is that a 20 year old playing a teen or playing a 20 something?) Yet, it wasn’t unsettling and Gerwig usually left enough clues for you to get a toehold quickly enough. I liked the blurring of Jo and Louisa, something that spoke a fundamental truth about the work (the novel <em>Little Women</em>) and was also deft film making--it used the visual medium to advantage to drive home the point of the equivalence of these women. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">Greta takes some liberties with the story--the school for girls in the film was one for boys in the book--still, that seem to be channeling Alcott’s inner urges. In her diaries, Alcott discusses being forced to marry Jo off in the novel, something she had not intended or wanted. This becomes a scene in the film, where essentially Jo and Louisa become one in the same, using the publisher’s requirement as a bargaining chip to improve her book deal. It seems a school for girls is closer to what a less restrained Alcott would have wanted to write about. And it would have been run by the unmarried Jo. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">Another change also gives Jo more agency. She gets her inheritance, Aunt March’s grand house, and makes plans on her own without her publisher-enforced love interest’s even being in the picture. When Jo makes a romantic gesture, it is at the urging of those who know her best, her family, especially her sisters. It underscores the centrality of her family to her true self and also made the decision to pursue romance ultimately her own. Jo at last has the independence Alcott would love to have provided for her. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">The movie is lush. The cinematography is poetic. Gerwig insisted that she film in Massachusetts. The landscape feels authentic to the time and place of the novel and the camera loves everything it takes in. I found myself thinking of Altman’s <em>Gosford Park</em>, another almost painterly film that still feels lived in and realistic. And scarves! So many scarves! New Englanders need scarves and everyone wears one. Hoorah! </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">Alcott, famously, did not want to write <em>Little Women</em>, and did so only because her publisher demanded a novel for girls. She wrote it quickly, based on the only girls she knew, her sisters. The book has been a totem for girls since it was published, readers picking a Marsh sister as their own avatar, the “are you a Charlotte or Samantha” of the YA set. I grew up with a family friend, a Meg, who named her three daughters for the other March sisters. This book is that central to some. I was too busy reading a heady mix of horse books, Tolkein, and poetry to make time for Little Women in my own youth. Gerwig’s dive down to the meaningful girl power at the heart of the truly seminal novel, inventor of a type of domestic realism, tells me I should have made time. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">I have only seen snippets of Katherine Hepburn and June Allyson as Jo in earlier adaptations of <em>Little Women</em>. These movies each felt overwhelmingly nostalgic, rose-colored. Greta Gerwig’s film made me appreciate the boldness of Alcott for her time, the iconoclastic punk af essence of Alcott’s audacity. This film is great; it made me want to read the book. So bursting over-inflated egos and pompous icons? Several deserved comeuppences, so CHECK. The very act of a second-time film director taking on what became an old chestnut does those things. Challenging social roles? A woman director who understands the critical role of artistic and personal freedom and finds and liberates Alcott’s voice--yes, CHECK. We end up with a well realized work of expression and celebration of self, damn the conformists. CHECK. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular"><em>Ipso facto</em>, Greta Gerwig’s <em>Little Women</em> IS demonstrably proven to be punk AF.</span></h2>
<p><span class="font_large">Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part of <a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com">zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at<a contents=" tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast"> tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at zubrecords.com</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span class="font_large"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="AST2-4db4ic" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/AST2-4db4ic/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AST2-4db4ic?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></span></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/60860452020-01-11T14:27:51-05:002020-01-12T00:09:17-05:0033 1/3 - The Modern Lovers by Sean L. Maloney<h2><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/3078e5c347e0b9c97daff8a87712bf6834a3ea8f/original/33-and-a-third-modern-lovers.jpeg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpeg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></h2>
<h2>Adrienne and I were asked recently to be guests on the Punk Lotto Podcast. Punk Lotto is hosted by two brothers, one in NC and one in Phoenix, AZ. They draw an LP and an EP from a single year, selecting the records chosen by a random number generator based on their numbered rank on the Rate Your Music Punk charts. A and I got the pick of the draw and chose the year 1976, and the LP we were to discuss was <em>The Modern Lovers</em>, released in 1976 on Beserkley Records and the EP <em>Burn My Eye</em> by Australians Radio Birdman (<a contents="https://punklottopod.simplecast.com/episodes/the-modern-lovers-radio-birdman-w-singles-going-steady" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://punklottopod.simplecast.com/episodes/the-modern-lovers-radio-birdman-w-singles-going-steady" style="" target="_blank">https://punklottopod.simplecast.com/episodes/the-modern-lovers-radio-birdman-w-singles-going-steady</a>). </h2>
<h2>We clearly love this record as we have already featured Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers’ single ‘Roadrunner’ (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubrunner" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubrunner" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubrunner</a>) on our Singles Going Steady Podcast, and it is a record that we are pretty familiar with. Still, wanting to be a good host, and being a fan of the 33 ⅓ book series (all about important albums) I got a copy of Maloney’s book. I also generally serve as the designated Zub reader for when A’s time is tight; it was almost compulsory that I add this to my reading list. </h2>
<h2>The book is structured along the songs on the record, but includes songs from the CD reissue that weren’t on the original LP (‘Dignified And Old,’ ‘I’m Straight,’ and ‘Government Center’), but that is a minor quibble. His conceit for the book seems to be “the struggle between the old and the new world,” a concept that’s the crux of Richman’s ‘Old World,’ a track featured on this album. As such, there's a LOT of discussion about the growth and gentrification of Boston in the 1970’s, with contemporary Mayor Kevin White a central figure in the book. The rock scene in Boston is well-covered; there are plenty of pages about Aerosmith and J. Geils and the Tea Party venue as well as the growth of free form FM stations such as WBCN. </h2>
<h2>I found the stories about Boston very interesting, as I was raised in the suburbs of the city (near Natick, where Jonathan is from) and remember a lot of the events involved in the story. As to the <em>Modern Lovers </em>LP itself, there is not as much information, as Richman himself is notoriously private. The facts are that the songs on <em>The Modern Lovers </em>are all demos, mostly recorded in 1972. The band was involved in a label bidding war, but Richman himself disowned the early recordings. They were never meant to be released as an LP; the songs were not recorded as a cohesive album. So, like most great things in rock, <em>The Modern Lovers</em> LP was a brilliant mistake. </h2>
<h2>Even so, there is no doubt that The Modern Lovers LP is a very influential recording. It’s often called the bridge between The Velvet Underground and The Sex Pistols. It is definitely a proto punk triumph. And for a seemingly cuddly guy, Richman himself is a contrarian and not at all willing to play the record business ’game;’ that’s pretty punk if you think about it. </h2>
<h2>If this is a record you love, you should get this book. If you don’t know the record, it is accessible and essential and the book a useful backstory to appreciating this seminal work. A great companion read is Ryan H. Walsh’s <em>Astral Weeks</em>, which covers the same era in Boston but through the lens of Van Morrison, who lived in Boston while recording the album in the title. Sean Maloney’s book, focused on <em>The Modern Lovers</em>, also has covered Boston rock from that angle for a similar time and place; he’s done a great job with this book. Read the book and spend some time with Jonathan. Stay in love with rock and roll. </h2>
<h2>—-Steve McGowan</h2>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/60662482020-01-07T16:45:12-05:002020-01-07T16:45:12-05:00Peter Holsapple Combo Live At The Station (Christmas Residency) , Carrboro NC<h2> </h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/7737d7c2baafc3b5319cf0ab27d90467b28acc97/original/phc-live.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />In the past year and a half, I have traveled to Durham many times for Zub Records business. At Christmas break Adrienne and I work on podcasts, but we always make time to see local bands. We’ve had the luck and good timing to catch the always amazing Peter Holsapple Combo, and we have sort of watched this band grow from it’s get go. We wrote about their April residency at the Station (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubphc" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubphc" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubphc</a>), and this was the third and last show of their Christmas residency. Boy, was it a doozy! </h2>
<h2>Peter Holsapple, one of North Carolina’s rock treasures, is well known for his stellar songwriting with the dB’s (see our podcast at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubamplifier" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubamplifier" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubamplifier</a>). He has made a ‘comeback’ of sorts with his fine solo LP, <em>Game Day</em>, and shortly after formed his combo with dB’s/Steve Earle and the Dukes’ drummer Will Rigby and bassist Glenn Jones. Since then the Combo has produced a fine live EP, <em>Amplifier</em>, and a Record Store Day single ‘Christmas Must Be Tonight,’ (The Band cover). </h2>
<h2>This night’s show started off with a fiery first set heavy on <em>Game Day</em> songs, with an early appearance of the great new song ‘That Kind Of Guy,’ Peter’s paen to record collectors, with lyrics like “I have the entire ‘Down On The Street’ reliquary,” and “I’ve got Pattie Boyd’s copy of Stone Alone.” It’s a wonderful song. Peter sang wonderfully, his guitar work was superb, Glenn Jones is always solid on the bass and the high vocals, and Will Rigby is a fantastic drummer, and great singer. They did ‘White Train’ from the dB’s <em>Like This </em>with Will singing, and it was stellar. The ended up the set with an ominous, heavy version of ‘The Death Of Rock,’ and it was time for the second set and special guests. </h2>
<h2>Florence Dore was up first, wonderfully singing a cover of The Pretenders’ ‘2000 Miles.” She should be fronting her own band, hopefully we’ll see that in the future. She is also author of the fine <em>Novel Sounds</em> which traces the impact of early Rock and Roll of southern fiction. Next up were Glenn Jones’ other band, The Goodloves, whose vocals powered the band through Nick Lowe’s ‘Cruel To Be Kind’ and some Christmas classics. They also did a cool version of the Bee Gees ‘Life On Broadway’ (!). It was all great fun. </h2>
<h2>The Combo did ‘Merry Christmas Baby’ with Will on vocals, then both sides of their new Record Store Day single, a cover of The Band’s ‘Christmas Must Be Tonight’ and ‘It Felt Like Summer (But It Looked Like Christmas).’ Then it was time for Chris Stamey, who came on and did ‘Home For The Holidays’ and ‘I Can’t Believe It’s Christmastime.’ I must say it was magical to hear Chris and Peter singing together again. The best and strangest part was the version of ‘Amplifier,’ which turned into a bit of a jazz odyssey - cum - guitarslinger duel. Stamey would not be denied on the lead guitar action, and he and Peter were ALL Over their fretboards. It was an amazing workout. Before I could bring my jaw off the floor, everyone was on stage doing a great version of ‘Feliz Navidad.’ </h2>
<h2>This show was so much fun, Peter and his Combo are an accomplished, amazing, and entertaining band. The guests were all wonderful, the vibe was friendly and happy. Everything you could want in a holiday rock show! </h2>
<h2>--Steve McGowan</h2>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/60550632020-01-01T13:04:15-05:002020-01-01T13:04:15-05:00Buz and Muf's 2019 Wrap-Up<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/359ca380806981d76ca9c6ab346f882aee955afc/original/buz-and-muf.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong><span class="font_large">Favorites from '19: Buz & Muf's Year End Pick Thru The Litter (Commemorative Edition Redux) </span></strong></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Our fanzine <em>Zub Alert</em>, featured of cool stuff “selected” by the Zub kitties, Buz and Muf, in each issue. We did this last year and by gum, here it comes again. Here are the 20 or so persons, places, and things that made 2019 memorable. </span></p>
<p><strong><span class="font_large">Better late than never </span></strong></p>
<p><span class="font_large">We finally got to see some acts that had long been on the list. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">1 Stiff Little Fingers </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">2 Blondie </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">3 The Specials </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">4 Teenage Fanclub </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">5 George Clinton </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">6 Fishbone </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">7 OMD </span></p>
<p><strong><span class="font_large">New Sensations </span></strong></p>
<p><span class="font_large">These were welcome newcomers to our ears: </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">1. The Claypool Lennon Delirium </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">2. Amyl & The Sniffers debut album </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"> </span></p>
<p><strong><span class="font_large">Everything old is back again </span></strong></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Classic artists making great records. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">1 Joe Jackson <em>Fool </em></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">2 Bob Mould <em>Sunshine Rock</em> </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">3 The Rubinoos <em>From Here</em> </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">4 Andy Partridge & Robyn Hitchcock <em>Planet England</em> </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">5 Buzzcocks Reissues </span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong><span class="font_large">Old dogs, new tricks </span></strong></p>
<p><span class="font_large">The Figgs <em>Shady Grove</em> </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Redd Kross <em>Beyond The Door</em> </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">The Specials <em>Encore </em></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"> </span></p>
<p><strong><span class="font_large">Cool cats </span></strong></p>
<p><span class="font_large">In print: Will Birch, <em>Cruel To Be Kind</em>; Deborah Harry,<em> Face It</em>; Frye Gaillard, <em>A Hard Rain</em> </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">In film: <em>They Shall Not Grow Old</em>, <em>JoJo Rabbit</em>, and <em>Yesterday</em> </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Small screen: <em>Sherman’s Showcase</em>, <em>Detroiters</em>, <em>Legion</em>, Ken Burns’ <em>Country Music</em>, and <em>Mindhunter </em></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"> </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"> </span></p>
<p> </p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/60455932019-12-25T18:31:53-05:002019-12-25T18:31:53-05:00Robyn Hitchcock at The ArtsCenter, Carrboro NC (With Spotify Playlist)<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/b424cea301d9dd2518254d64e27e817f0439c473/original/robyn.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Thinking about this review, I was realizing that Robyn Hitchcock is one of those musical artists that has been a constant in my life, like The Posies, or Mission Of Burma. Of course, I was aware of the weird beauty of The Soft Boys, with <em>Underwater Moonlight</em> being one of my favorite LP’s ever (Beef People drummer Rhett Lawrence rates <em>Underwater</em> one of his top three LP’s, hopefully part of the dividend of those days). </h2>
<h2>Robyn’s solo career, of course, I didn’t follow so closely. It took our amazing, departed friend Joey Lindsey to get us excited about Robyn’s career post Soft Boys. <em>Fegmania!</em> Was one of Joey’s all time loves, and he could quote from Robyn’s lyrics at will. (By the way, Joey is the one who invented the expression for trendiness, Zub, that we adopted as our label name). I clearly remember <span class="font_regular">not</span> going to see Robyn on the <em>Fegmania!</em> tour when he and The Egyptians were playing in Athens. Undeterred, Adrienne and Joey went and of course had a great time. I would never miss a local Robyn Hitchcock show again. </h2>
<h2>Another quick Joey story, he always called Robyn ‘Reg’ from the lyric in ‘Brenda’s Iron Sledge,’ “<em>Please don’t call me Reg/It’s not my name</em>.” Reg is our Twitter buddy, but I’m sure he is sick of me always calling him Reg. I have been converting my CD collection to hard drive, and just checking, I have 16 Robyn Hitchcock CD’s (not counting Soft Boys, or Egyptians), and I’ve listened to them all many times. Favorites include <em>Eye</em>, <em>A Star For Bram/Jewels For Sophia</em>, and <em>Moss Elixir/Mossy Liquor</em>, as well as <em>Ole! Tarantula</em>. His latest LP, <em>Robyn Hitchcock</em> (the purple cover with the cat) is one of his strongest in a very long time. </h2>
<h2>As time has gone on, my duties as soundman at Horizon Records have allowed me to work with Reg three or four times. He’s always amazingly good, friendly, and so, so talented. His songwriting is a twisted mix of 60’s Syd Barrett with Dylan and a little <em>Revolver </em>spiced in. He has a way around a melody unequaled by hardly anyone, and his cover choices are fabulous. I believe Robyn has been rejuvenated with a new muse, the excellent singer Emma Swift, as his partner. He also is featured on the excellent <em>Planet England</em> collaboration with XTC’s Andy Partridge (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubplanet" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubplanet" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubplanet</a>), a must have for anyone who loves old school British pop. </h2>
<h2>I was able to catch Robyn on October 31, 2004 at Smith’s Olde Bar in Atlanta. My father, living in Alabama, was nearly dead from pancreatic cancer. He was in tremendous pain and had wasted away to a wraith-like appearance. I kissed him goodbye, told him how much I loved him and left for Greenville via Robyn and Atlanta. Robyn played a very inspired Halloween set, all the songs about death and ghosts, and he has many of them, like ‘My Wife And My Dead Wife,’ ‘Raymond Chandler Evening,’ and especially ‘A Skull, A Suitcase, And a Long Red Bottle Of Wine.’ It was a magical, spooky show. The next morning I found out that my poor father’s heart had given up; he died from a heart attack instead of the inevitable cancer. In many ways it was a relief, and Robyn was somehow with me through it all. </h2>
<h2>So, on to The ArtsCenter, in Carrboro NC, in the same strip mall as The Cat’s Cradle, the space is a 350 seat theatre with great sightlines and decent sound. Reg was playing solo, only his acoustic and Dylan-on-a-holder harmonica, but they had a grand piano and he played a few songs on that as well. He launched into some classic Soft Boys material, beginning with ‘Only The Stones Remain,’ cleverly connecting The Rolling Stones and Stonehenge, followed by ‘Tonight’ from <em>Underwater Moonlight</em>, a song I had never heard him do solo, and ‘Queen Of Eyes,’ his Beatlesque staple. Robyn was off to a great start. ‘Raymond And The Wires,’ a song about his Dad, was followed by the amazing ‘I Want To Tell You About What I Want,’ two exceptional songs from <em>Robyn Hitchcock</em>. This was followed by ‘Autumn Is Your Last Chance ’ a beautiful acoustic ramble from <em>I Often Dream Of Trains</em>, and a truly amazing song, with a bit of a Nick Drake feel. The first part of the set ended with the jokey ‘Listening To The Higsons’ (whoa-oh)’ which Adrienne and I love, being fans of the UK comedy series <em>The Fast Show</em> (Charlie Higsons’ after-band foray into “Brilliant” sketch comedy). </h2>
<h2>At this point, Robyn took to the piano, and impressed me with his keyboard playing. ‘Flavour Of Night’ from <em>Trains</em> was beautiful, ‘The Man Who Invented Himself’ was jaunty, and ‘Somewhere Apart’ sounded like a Lennon outtake. Back on the guitar, Robyn did ‘One Long Pair Of Eyes,’ from <em>Queen Elvis</em>, a song that I swear has origins in an Olde English folk melody, so catchy and beautiful. Robyn really blew it out when the superb voice of Emma Swift joined him for ‘Virginia Woolf ‘ from <em>Robyn Hitchcock</em>: </h2>
<h2><em>Virgina Woolf she was good for a quote </em></h2>
<h2><em>Virginia Woolf knew that stones do not float </em></h2>
<h2><em>She was alright, she was alright, </em></h2>
<h2><em>She was all messed up </em></h2>
<h2>They duetted on ‘Glass Hotel’ and ‘Linctus House,’ two of Reg’s strongest tunes from <em>Eye</em>, and then a spectacular version of 'Queen Elvis'. Emma exited, and Robyn did ‘A Skull, A Suitcase, And A Long Red Bottle Of Wine.’ I’d be lying if I told you I didn’t tear up a bit. </h2>
<h2>Robyn came out for the encore and did ‘I Wanna Destroy You,’ with new lyrics about Rupert Murdoch, “<em>He’s acquired Jerry Hall, but he’s never been in the Stones</em>.” Robyn, after talking about Dylan in between almost every song, ended this magnificent concert with a jaw-dropping version of Dylan’s ‘She Belongs To Me’ from Dylan’s <em>Bringing It All Back Home</em>: </h2>
<h2><em>She's got everything she needs </em></h2>
<h2><em>She's an artist, she don't look back </em></h2>
<h2><em>She's got everything she needs </em></h2>
<h2><em>She's an artist, she don't look back </em></h2>
<h2><em>She can take the dark out of the nighttime </em></h2>
<h2><em>And paint the daytime black </em></h2>
<h2><em>You will start out standing </em></h2>
<h2><em>Proud to steal her anything she sees </em></h2>
<h2><em>You will start out standing </em></h2>
<h2><em>Proud to steal her anything she sees </em></h2>
<h2><em>But you will wind up peeking through her keyhole </em></h2>
<h2><em>Down upon your knees </em></h2>
<h2>Here’s another thing about Robyn Hitchcock. He is a true Dylan acolyte. I myself have never been a big Dylan fan. I understand his importance but I don’t really dig his sound. Robyn always does a Dylan cover, and they are always amazing. He gives the tunes a gravitas, a sense of mystery and melody that are only hinted at. Last year in Asheville, he opened the set with ‘Not Dark Yet,’ which he made sound like the best song ever written. If you’re like me (and you’ve seen plenty of artists do shitty Dylan covers) I encourage you to find a copy of <em>Robyn Sings!</em>, a two disc set of all Dylan covers by Reg. It’s amazing. </h2>
<h2>It’s amazing. He’s amazing. He is truly a musical constant in my life. </h2>
<h2>Thank you Robyn. </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan</h2>
<div class="setlistImage" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/robyn-hitchcock/2019/the-artscenter-carrboro-nc-1b9a9dc4.html" target="_blank" title="Robyn Hitchcock Setlist The ArtsCenter, Carrboro, NC, USA 2019"><img src="https://www.setlist.fm/widgets/setlist-image-v1?id=1b9a9dc4" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="Robyn Hitchcock Setlist The ArtsCenter, Carrboro, NC, USA 2019" style="border: 0;" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.setlist.fm/edit?setlist=1b9a9dc4&step=song">Edit this setlist</a> | <a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlists/robyn-hitchcock-7bd68674.html">More Robyn Hitchcock setlists</a>
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<p><iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/4g3Yp5DOXtaUt4BeuspT4g" width="300"></iframe></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/60447812019-12-24T16:58:17-05:002019-12-24T16:58:17-05:00The New Pornographers Live At Haw River Ballroom, NC<h2><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/b5700721b4664ba8b4992311753cef5972e65f9c/original/pornos-live.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2>I’ve recently reviewed The New Pornographers fine new release <em>In The Morse Code Of Brake Lights</em> (at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubpornos" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubpornos" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubpornos</a>). The Vancouver, Canada ‘supergroup’ featuring the songwriting of Carl Newman is one of (if not the) best pop bands of our era. I own all eight of their LP’s and this is the third tour in a row I have seen. They are a big band with a lot of moving parts, featuring Carl Newman on vocals and guitar, the superb Neko Case on vocals, Kathryn Calder on keyboards and vocals, toque wearing (totally Canadian) bassist John Collins, keyboardist and Ken Norton lookalike Blaine Thurber, Todd Fancey on the Explorer guitar copy and baseball cap, with Joe Seiders on drums and vocals and new singer/violinist Simi Stone. Mad Uncle Dan Bejar is not touring with the band this time, as he is busy with his own band Destroyer. </h2>
<h2>The Haw River Ballroom is a beautiful venue in the middle of nowhere, in Saxapahaw, NC. It’s in an old, redone textile mill. There’s not much seating but it’s a great room with good sight lines and great sound. The band started up with ‘Falling Down The Stairs Of Your Smile’ from <em>Morse Code</em>, answering the question I had about the tricky bass line, which indeed is played by the fantastic John Collins. This was followed by ‘Sing Me Spanish Techno’ from <em>Twin Cinema</em>, ‘You’ll Need A Backseat Driver’ from <em>Morse Code</em>, and the amazing ‘Dancehall Domine’ from <em>Brill Bruisers</em>. The Pornos really, really make the most of their singing chops, with Newman joined by Case, Calder, Stone and drummer Seiders on almost every song. I was getting a late 60’s vibe from their singing arrangements, hearing Beach Boys and the Mamas and Papas elements as well as some classic girl group backings. ‘Crash Years’ from<em> Together</em> was a welcome surprise, and a great showcase for Neko Case. Her voice is a true force of nature and Newman did well to feature her early and often during the set. </h2>
<h2>The middle of the set featured one of their finest tunes, ‘My Rights Versus Yours’ from <em>Challengers</em>. This delicate song was brilliantly handled by Newman’s vocal and the restrained backing. It was one of the highlights of the evening. Follow up was ‘The Laws Have Changed’ from <em>Electric Version</em>, a revved up rocker with a little bit of early Elvis Costello and the Attractions in its DNA. The twenty-six songs the New Pornographers played included eight from <em>Morse Code</em>, and songs from all eight of their LP’s. It was a truly fantastic set. They are the kind of band, as I said before, with a lot of moving parts. There is not a lot of individual instrumental virtuosity, Collins’ bass being the standout with Seiders drumming. The keys and guitars all lock in to create the fantastic pop confections of the band, and the real standout is the singing. One surprise was ‘Testament To Youth In Verse,’ a Dan Bejar song that Carl sang from <em>Electric Version</em>. When they got to the “no no no no no no” coda it was truly mind blowing. The middle of the set ended with a terrific version of ‘All The Old Showstoppers’ from <em>Challengers</em>, packed full of Seiders’ drum fills and Neko vocals. </h2>
<h2>The beginning of the end third of the set did drag a bit, but they finished up with Neko killing it on ‘Mass Romantic’ from their first LP. The encores included a somber ‘Challengers,’ then ‘Moves’ and ‘Brill Bruisers.’ The band seemed genuinely happy with the sold out crowd and the ecstatic response they were getting, they wrapped up this love fest with ‘Letter From An Occupant’ from <em>Mass Romantic</em>, which Carl Newman introduced as “their first song.” It was a wonderful and magical night. No one does pop music with such aplomb and sophistication as The New Pornographers. Let’s hear it for Canada! </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan</h2>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<div class="setlistImage" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/the-new-pornographers/2019/haw-river-ballroom-saxapahaw-nc-439ab77f.html" target="_blank" title="The New Pornographers Setlist Haw River Ballroom, Saxapahaw, NC, USA, North American Fall Tour 2019"><img src="https://www.setlist.fm/widgets/setlist-image-v1?id=439ab77f" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="The New Pornographers Setlist Haw River Ballroom, Saxapahaw, NC, USA, North American Fall Tour 2019" style="border: 0;" /></a>
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</div>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/60039562019-12-11T12:20:40-05:002019-12-13T00:06:33-05:00Robyn Hitchcock and Andy Partridge - Planet England EP<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/b655d89a912447d1a0077ed53f52263ceda6bab2/original/planet-england-ep.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>What a cracking surprise these stalwarts have brought us! This EP is the most welcome, enjoyable four songs I have heard in a long time. It’s so good to hear Andy Partridge (from XTC - see our podcast at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubxtc" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubxtc" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubxtc</a>) writing and playing again. He and Robyn Hitchcock began this project in 2006 (!) at Andy’s shed/recording studio in Swindon, England. The finished record was definitely, defying the cliche, worth the wait. According to the Ape Records company promo, Robyn says “Andy and I are the same age and suffer from the same record collection, especially the B’s: Barrett, Beatles, Beefheart.” </h2>
<h2>Track one, ‘Turn Me On, Deadman’ is (of course) a total Beatles pastiche, including the ‘Taxman’ bass riff, with Andy and Robyn providing heavy duty vocal harmonies. There’s a bit of mellotron and phasing, bringing us to an almost Dukes Of Stratosphear (XTC’s psychedelic alter ego) sound. This hits all the buttons, all at once. The (orchestral) harp at the end is a real mind-bender. </h2>
<h2>Second track, ‘Flight Attendants, Please Prepare For Love,’ also features Hitchcock’s lead vocal and indeed sounds like a Robyn Hitchcock and The Egyptians production. Andy keeps the whole sound bathed in effected slide guitars. It’s a great bit of fun. </h2>
<h2>Track three, “Got My... “ is a beautiful picked acoustic melody that sounds like it could have been on XTC’s <em>Skylarking</em>, or, more specifically, Paul McCartney’s classic solo album <em>RAM</em>. This track has some lead vocals by both Andy and Robyn. When they get into the “aaah’s” the song becomes a real amazement. There are ‘Fool On The Hill’ flutes/recorders and some sneaky castanets. This is a gem of a song, with perfect Beatles references and jewelbox construction. </h2>
<h2>‘Planet England,’ the fourth and last track, opens with an English rainstorm, Robyn singing a tale of eternal Britishness. The bass is everywhere on this one, perhaps Andy outdoing old bandmate bassist Colin Moulding a bit, but keeping it cool as hell. There is an undeniable melody to this one, as it rolls along like an unofficial national anthem. And it is unafraid to let the infernal English rain linger, and linger to conclude the track and the EP. </h2>
<h2>I must make mention of Andy’s production on this record. The sound is layered and complex for an amazingly thickly-woven sound. He does throw in a LOT of elements, but it’s never too much and the resulting tapestry is very, very good. I know much of XTC’s travails involved Andy not wanting to use an outside producer. On <em>Planet England </em>he shows how well he can do the job. He and Robyn are a match made in pop heaven. Of course fans of XTC and Robyn and his groups absolutely must grab this record ASAP and with great gusto, but newcomers will also be charmed by the lush and literate songs. Andy and Robyn’s social media contacts tell us there is further collaboration in the offing. Please let it not take another 12 years; let’s hope a full-length recording will be forthcoming, sooner will be much better than later! </h2>
<h2>—-Steve McGowan </h2>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/0c6617fb9b72ba337108b32c08e99e09de456c21/original/andy-and-robyn.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/59903322019-12-03T15:47:59-05:002019-12-03T15:47:59-05:00Elvis Costello & The Imposters at Piedmont Hall, Greensboro NC<h2><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/49100047fe486234e72729dd10f7b3c9cbf428fe/original/costello-gb-1.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2>This is the third time I’ve seen Elvis Costello & The Imposters in the past 363 days. We saw the <em>Look Now</em> tour at the DAR Hall in Washington D.C.in November 2018, and the Costello/Blondie tour at The Anthem in D.C. this July (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubbeastly" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubbeastly" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubbeastly</a>). Both amazing shows and both very different. Anyone who knows me knows I am a diehard Elvis Costello freak, and this year’s shows have probably brought me to around 55 Costello shows I’ve seen. </h2>
<h2>But first, we had to deal with the nightmare of the Greensboro Coliseum complex, as detailed in our Parliament/Funkadelic review (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubfunky" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubfunky" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubfunky</a>) and our B-52’s/OMD/Berlin review (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zublobster" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zublobster" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zublobster</a>). The good news, this was a true Zub corporate show, with Adrienne and I and our graphics/logo Czar Jill attending with her cool hubby Hank. They know Greensboro like the back of their hands. The Piedmont Hall is a brand new venue at the complex, and the Coliseum was also having a show at the same time, with trap and reggaeton singer Bad Bunny. So when we went to the parking lot we were definitely profiled by the nice man at the booth, asking the four old white folks if they were going to Elvis Costello. He gave us better directions to parking at Piedmont Hall. We ended up with a GREAT parking spot ...right next to the Coliseum entrance for Bad Bunny. Piedmont Hall was almost a mile away with no safe walking to be had. Once again the Greensboro Coliseum failed us miserably. Their crowd control and organization were beyond the worst. </h2>
<p> </p>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="GAgXYYW0nNA" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/GAgXYYW0nNA/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GAgXYYW0nNA?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
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<h2>Anyway, the brand new Piedmont Hall was a nice venue, a bit low ceilinged (Elvis could not use his three video screens at this venue), standing room only, capacity around 2000. We had great sightlines and the sound was very good. This show was part of the ‘Just Trust’ tour, and indeed Elvis played four songs from <em>Trust</em>, opening with ‘Strict Time’ straight into ‘Clubland.’ At one point he mentioned “We don’t take requests, it’s a mind-reading thing, we know what you want to hear next.” ‘Green Shirt’ from <em>Armed Forces</em> featured ‘Professor’ Steve Nieve on the keyboards, with a version showcasing sequenced synths in the style of Kraftwerk. Elvis was in good humor throughout the show and told an extended tale of falling in love with a cab driver in Arizona, by way of an intro to ‘Accidents Will Happen.’ He mentioned the tryst was doomed when his lovely cabbie wanted to hear Pink Floyd and he wanted to heat Freddie Fender. Elvis played a bit of Freddie’s ‘Before The Next Teardrop Falls’ before launching into the song. There was a song from the oft-forgotten <em>Momofuku</em>, ‘No Hiding Place,’ that seemed a bit strained. He bounced back with ‘Watch Your Step’ and a raucous ‘Lover’s Walk’ from <em>Trust</em>, showing off the incredible rhythm section of Davey Farager (bass) and the ageless Pete Thomas as vital on the drums as ever. ‘Radio Radio’ was brought out next, a song from <em>This Year’s Model </em>that I haven’t heard in a while, and then ‘Less Than Zero’ from <em>My Aim</em> <em>Is True</em>. Only Elvis can turn a paranoid tale of a facist leader into a crowd sing-along. </h2>
<h2>The next three songs really kicked it in gear, and all featured the twin goddesses on backing vocals, Kitten Kuroi and Brianna Lee, both absolutely beautiful, and both superbly talented singers. Their addition to the touring band has improved Elvis’ sound tremendously. On <em>Get Happy!</em>’s ‘Motel Matches, they added a gospel component to Elvis’ torch song. They provided intense backing on ‘Uncomplicated’ from <em>Blood And Chocolate </em>(and one of my favorites from this show). Their singing on ‘Watching The Detectives’ was outstanding. I also must mention, I’ve seen these musicians play ‘Watching’ at almost every show, but Pete Thomas was just killing it on the drums. </h2>
<h2>Elvis played his ‘Costello’ Jazzmaster, a Burns 12-string (on ‘Accidents’) and his blonde Telecaster quite a bit, even on ‘Watching The Detectives.’ The acoustic guitars on stage stayed on their stands all night, which was fine with me. He did sit at the grand piano to do two new songs (that we, as regular concert goers, have heard quite a bit). ‘A Face In The Crowd,’ previously a piano/vocal number, was now played with the whole band with Nieve playing organ, and the ladies again adding a bit of a gospel sound. This one is really coming together. He also did the political screed ‘Blood And Hot Sauce,’ which sounds like a <em>National Ransom</em> track that has the feel of a 1930’s song. You can almost see Pappy O’Daniel or Huey Long riling up a crowd to the chorus. There is a good song there, but it’s a bit long. The only song from <em>Look Now</em> was ‘Burnt Sugar Is So Bitter,’ a co-write with Carole King. Elvis told a great story about asking Carole if a chord was an Am or an Am9, and Carole saying “Don’t you know by now?” There was a slow motion intro to ‘High Fidelity,’ which quickly revved up and was followed by the very Stax-like ‘King Horse,’ Kitten and Brianna again tearing up the vocals while Elvis hit some falsetto notes of his own. </h2>
<h2>The band slammed through the ‘hits’ at the end, with a great ‘Pump It Up’ followed by Nick Lowe’s ‘Heart Of The City,’ which is just the best song, then ‘Peace Love And Understanding’ and ending with a smooth take on ‘Alison.’ Twenty one songs, the band sounding relaxed, fun and confident, Elvis in a great mood, the backing singers never better. A set with pretty much anything you’d want to hear. </h2>
<h2>Elvis IS King. </h2>
<h2>—--Steve McGowan</h2>
<div class="setlistImage" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/elvis-costello-and-the-imposters/2019/piedmont-hall-greensboro-nc-3b9d102c.html" target="_blank" title="Elvis Costello & The Imposters Setlist Piedmont Hall, Greensboro, NC, USA 2019, Just Trust"><img src="https://www.setlist.fm/widgets/setlist-image-v1?id=3b9d102c" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="Elvis Costello & The Imposters Setlist Piedmont Hall, Greensboro, NC, USA 2019, Just Trust" style="border: 0;" /></a>
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</div>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/59804992019-11-26T19:32:59-05:002019-12-24T00:03:05-05:00Debbie Harry - Face It<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/79939acb08aa1c27bd592f55526ca40b4f2f0b56/original/face-it-2.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>The Opaque Memoir. </h2>
<h2>First off, I enjoyed Debbie Harry’s book <em>Face It</em>, it was a breezy read and had a bit of filler, but also some sweet ideas. We just saw Blondie with Elvis Costello recently (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubbeastly" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubbeastly" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubbeastly</a>) and ordered the book at the gig. In sum, the 74 year old singer of Blondie has a lot of rock stories, but she doesn’t give much away. </h2>
<h2>I’ve always liked Blondie, never been a super-fan, but I know a bit about their story. I know they were considered the ’worst’ of the CBGB’s bands and that it took them a while to get their sound together, unlike bands such as the Ramones and the Talking Heads. The band adopted a DIY attitude and made things happen for themselves, which is something Adrienne and I did with the Beef People. Harry and Stein are fueled by the lifelong partnership that endures well beyond their romantic past, a closeness forged by their common vision. </h2>
<h2>Harry talks about her childhood adoption and this seems, as you would imagine, a big factor in her life. She is always worried about abandonment. She was aware of her looks early on, and is frank about her ability to use them to get what she wants. She moved to New York City early on for the beginning of the punk era, and it’s truly amazing the names she drops, from Andy Warhol to The New York Dolls, to Jean Basquiat, Stephen Sprouse, everyone who was anyone in New York. She offers a thumbnail of the growth of the band but not really offering much in-depth detail. Working with Mike Chapman and <em>Parallel Lines</em>, with ‘Heart Of Glass,’ was their big break. </h2>
<h2>For a memoir, there are not a lot of dirty details. Chris Stein loved to photograph her and they would always end up in bed after a shoot, which to me is kind of sweet. She does debunk the oft-repeated story that she and Chris were caught in the act in the horrendous johns at CBGBs. Kind of prudish to make that point, in some ways. Still, Debbie is not all coy; she really appears to enjoy sex, briefly mentioning fetishes and sex toys, but again avoiding the details. For someone not afraid to use sex to sell her music, the memoir is fairly reserved. </h2>
<h2>But we are mainly here for the music. There is much talk of the band falling apart, mostly due to Chris Stein’s major auto-immune illness that almost killed him. Debbie still offers no light on their romantic breakup, which is odd as Chris is the one constant in the book. She speaks of lawyers and bad business deals, but again offers no details. Also she gives the impression of a long heroin addiction, but no filling in the facts on that one either. </h2>
<h2>It’s good to remember that Debbie has had a pretty strong acting career, including <em>Videodrome</em>, <em>Union City</em>, and of course <em>Hairspray</em>. John Waters is a big fan and friend. She also had a number of interesting solo records and worked with The Jazz Passengers. But at her core, Debbie is a punk and a true New York woman. </h2>
<h2>I believe much of this book was taken from in depth interviews with British journalist Sylvie Simmonds, but again there is a bit of filler here. Two things I learned about Debbie and Blondie were that they wanted The Specials to play on ‘The Tide Is High’ and that after Chris Stein she was involved with magician Penn Jillette(!) Who knew? </h2>
<h2>It’s a good read but a guarded one for a memoir. Debbie keeps it close to the vest, talking about daily routines, her dog, thumbs, and other nonsense. I’ll always love her and Chris’s music, and along with Patti Smith, Debbie is the most iconic female figure in punk. She is so much more than her looks, and some book reviews have focused on her as a pretty lady, failing to recognize that she and Chris were the prime creative engine behind the most popular band to come out of the CBGB’s scene. I do hope there's a follow up with a bit more of Debbie in the story when she is really ready to Face It. </h2>
<h2>—--Steve McGowan</h2>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/59768552019-11-26T01:14:17-05:002019-11-26T01:14:17-05:00Ken Burns - Country Music - Part 4 of 4 <p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/edeaea0d3f6a91a627952a94d277f13396ae1b3f/original/country-music.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>So this is the last installment of my blogs on Ken Burns’ expansive look at Country Music from the 1920s to 1990s. It was ambitious project, not perfect, but in these episodes he must tie together the threads an ultimately stick the metaphorical landing on the leap into the world of Country Music. </h2>
<h2>4 of 4 Episodes 7 <em>Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way?</em> and 8 <em>Don’t Get Above Your Raising </em>
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<h2>Here’s a link to a Guardian review of the series. They are cutting the episodes in half for the BBC, which seems a very bad idea: </h2>
<h2><a contents="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/nov/21/country-music-by-ken-burns-review-bbc4&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/nov/21/country-music-by-ken-burns-review-bbc4" target="_blank">https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/nov/21/country-music-by-ken-burns-review-bbc4 </a></h2>
<h2>Episode 7 is <em>Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way? 1973-1983</em>. </h2>
<h2>Marty Stuart opens the episode, in 1972 he was 13, and he tried out for Lester Flat’s band, and played the Opry with them. He called it a “ Wizard of Oz moment.” Historian Bill C. Malone discussed the paradox of country music, in how much the music changes. In the 1970’s defining country music was difficult, but country would continue to gain popularity. By now the Ryman Auditorium was no longer suited for the Opry, being in a bad area of town, and having no air conditioning. Nashville built a new home ‘Opryland USA,’ which seated 4000. In March 1974 final Opry show was done from the Ryman, with the last song ‘Will The Circle Be Unbroken.’ A young Garrison Keeler was there (for <em>New Yorker </em>Magazine) and most certainly got ideas for his own <em>Prairie Home Companion</em> radio show. When Opryland opened, President Nixon was a guest there. </h2>
<h2>The ‘C’ in Country music means cash. Dolly Parton was on the Porter Waggoner show for seven years. Recorded ‘Muleskinner Blues’ of which Dolly comments was “like an Heirloom - something you hold in the family.” ‘Joelene’ was a song Dolly wrote herself, and became a #1 single. Holly Williams (Hank Williams Jr’s daughter) comments on the theme of ‘Jolene’ “please don’t take my man even though you can.” When Dolly finally went out on her own, she left Porter Waggoner and wrote ‘I Will Always Love You,’ later to be famously covered by Whitney Houston. </h2>
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<h2>With Country duets such as Loretta Lynn & Conway Twitty, and George Jones & Tammy Wynette people saw their own lives in their songs </h2>
<h2>George and Tammy were in their own little heaven onstage, they recorded ‘Hold On’ in 1973 and almost divorced. They finally did divorce in 1975. George Jones was described as “George can’t tolerate happiness.” Producer Billy Sherrill got them together for one more duet LP, using Bobby Braddock, the songwriter of ‘Golden Ring.’ </h2>
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<h2>As the 1970’s continued, the Nashville Sound became even smoother, known as ‘Countrypolitan.’ Billy Sherrill reinvented old rockabilly singer Charlie Rich, got Tanya Tucker’s career started, moving their sounds away from twang. Then Olivia Newton John had her songs promoted to Country, to which Jean Shepard comments “The music is getting away from us,” While the Country Entertainer of the year goes to … John Denver? Marty Stuart commented that “not everyone agreed with the changes and that country was losing its soul.” </h2>
<h2>From this came a new wave of songwriters, represented by Guy Clark, with well crafted songs, many of these songwriters were from Texas. Rodney Crowell comments that Texas songwriters are the “best liars in the world.” The Exit/In was a new venue in Nashville, with a younger audience of Bohemians. Rodney Crowell comments that all he wanted was to get on the Exit/In stage. The songwriters would meet at the home of Guy Clark, who told Rodney “be a star or be an artist.” Townes Van Zandt was a new songwriter who drank heavily, was depressed and used heroin. His song ‘Pancho and Lefty’ was covered by many, Emmylou Harris says the song is “so poignant it's heartbreaking.” </h2>
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<h2>The opening up of Country to more ethnic influences is shown via Johnny Rodriguez, who Tom T. Hall heard in Texas had him come to Nashville. Rodriguez had 15 top ten hits and was the first Mexican-American in Country music. In 1975, Freddie Fender had a huge hit with ‘Before The Next Teardrop Falls, which was ’ #1 on the country and pop charts. </h2>
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<h2>Waylon Jennings is introduced as singing as good as Hank, and also a good songwriter, Kris Kristofferson comments that “his voice tore me up.” Jennings’ family loved country music, and he was drawn to Hank Williams. In 1959 Waylon toured with Buddy Holly. Bobby Bare heard him, invited him to Nashville. Chet Atkins didn’t know what to do with him. Hazel Smith comments that Waylon wanted his live music to sound like the record. Willie Nelson says “he wanted to do it his own way and used his own band in the studio.” In 1972 Waylon’s new contract with RCA was with his own production company. He used an independent studio ‘Hillbilly Central.’ Made the music he wanted to make, with Cowboy Jack Clement as producer. ‘Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way’ is a song about which Ray Benson (Asleep At The Wheel) comments “ we need a change, this song was a call to arms.” Waylon’s <em>Dreaming My Dreams</em> LP was a huge hit. He changed the way records were made in Nashville. </h2>
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<h2>In the 1970’s string band music was not played on radio. Marty Stuart was still with Bill Monroe who he says was tuned to “The Ancient Tone.” Now Ricky Scaggs was coming of age, and they show footage of a very young Scaggs playing. Vince Gill joined a bluegrass band that opened for Kiss. Lester Flatt played with Chick Corea and Kool and the Gang. Played nine encores. Played with The Eagles and Gram Parsons with Emmylou. Emmylou comments “Gram had a foot in country and rock and roll.” The Flying Burrito Brothers was Gram’s band and Parsons was friends with the Rolling Stones, helped them with ‘Wild Horses,’ then influenced Emmylou Harris. Parsons introduced her to Louvin Brothers harmonies. Emmylou discovered herself as a singer via country. </h2>
<h2>Willie Nelson was called too good and too different, eventually the mainstream found out. By 1972 Willie was huge in Austin, Texas, where he had his Armadillo world HQ. Willie brought Waylon Jennings down for his famous 4th of July Picnic, bringing together hippies and rednecks. Nelson got artistic control over his music and recorded <em>Red Headed Stranger</em>. It was done in a small studio, only cost $4000, with spare instrumentation. Billy Sherrill comments that it “sounds like a bad demo” and the record company will put it out and it will “die a quick death” When they put it out Sherrill says “we were wrong as hell, and after that everyone left Willie alone.” The LP sold steadily. Willie did the pilot for a new show <em>Austin City Limits</em>. </h2>
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<h2>Gram Parsons dies of an overdose. Emmylou says she wanted to make a country record in memory of Gram. Again the sincerity of country music is explored, with Rodney Crowell, speaking of Emmylou, says “her voice winds up somewhere in your heart and it feels good in there.” Emmylou had #1 hits on the country charts , she was more country than Nashville. Emmylou formed The Hot Band with Rodney Crowell, they played all over, opened for James Taylor, Merle Haggard, Elton John. Dwight Yoakim makes the observation that “Emmylou is the rose that bloomed on our musical consciousness.” </h2>
<h2>Waylon Jennings wanted music to sound like they played live. Hazel Smith coined the term ‘Outlaw Country’ referring to living on the outside of the written law. These artists were doing what they wanted to do. <em>Wanted: The Outlaws </em>LP featured Jennings, Jessi Coulter, Willie, TomPaul Glazer and this LP crossed over and became the first certified platinum country record. Hazel Smith says the “music was truth.” ‘Good Hearted Woman‘ was a big hit. Waylon Jennings comments that “Nashville needs us,” while Willie Nelson says he “loved being an outlaw.” Willie released <em>Stardust</em>, a record of old pop songbook standards, which was on the charts for 551 weeks. </h2>
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<h2>In the mid 1970’s, Hank Williams Jr. started playing gigs at 8 years old. He was on the Opry at age 11, and sang ‘Lovesick Blues.’ His mother Audrey Williams pushed him hard. At 18 he dropped his mother as manager and set his own way. Hank struggled for years, and attempted suicide. Charlie Daniels comments that Hank Jr did “a complete turn.” Hank went to Muscle Shoals studio in Alabama, he was attracted to Southern Rock, and recorded an LP. Hank Jr. had a horrific accident, basically falling off a mountain, his face was broken, nose torn off, and he had to have his face reconstructed. Waylon Jennings helped him promote the record. ‘Family Tradition’ started a stream of #1 records. </h2>
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<h2>Roseanne Cash grew up in Southern California. She went on the road with her dad Johnny Cash for three years, where Cash gave her a list of his 100 essential country songs. In 1979 she married Rodney Crowell, who produced her. Of her song ‘7 Year Ache’ Rodney says “this is a great song and it's about me.” Roseanne’s LP went gold. At this time Johnny Cash added Marty Stuart to his band. </h2>
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<h2>Dolly Parton’s rise is discussed with Brenda Lee saying “she’s crossed all boundaries,” as they show Dolly in pictures with John Belushi, Andy Warhol, and Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter. Dolly herself comments “I wanted more,’ she signed to LA management and her song ‘Here You Come Again’ sold a million, as the LP went platinum. Dolly was a very savvy artist. Holly Williams says she was “most impressed with her songwriting.” Then Dolly acted in the movie <em>9 to 5</em>, and easily became the most famous woman in Country Music. </h2>
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<h2>Country Music was becoming big again with bands such as Alabama, who used rock style productions, Ronnie Milsap, The Oak Ridge Boys with ‘Elvira’ - Barbara Mandrell, Kenny Rogers ‘The Gambler’ were all huge. Country radio stations grew rapidly. Emmylou Harris comments on the breakthrough she had “when she heard the soulfulness of George Jones.” Billy Sherrill explains “you can’t understand George Jones.” Jones’ life was spiralling out of control, with a cocaine problem, and continually missing concerts, giving him the name ‘No Show’ Jones. He was living sleepless and paranoid. George filed for bankruptcy, lost his house, lived in his car. His ex Tammy Wynette was hooked on painkillers. Billy Sherrill brought them back in 1980, for the LP Together Again. The single ‘Two Story House’ went to #2, then Jones recorded ‘He Stopped Loving Her Today’ (written by Bobby Braddock and Curly Putnam)in the song, the singer only stops loving her because he’s dead. Bobby Braddock, discussing the song, says he “thought the strings were perfect.” Billy Sherrill remembers Jones said “nobody will ever buy that morbid son of a bitch.” Of course it went straight to #1 on the charts. Eddie Stubbs says it was “meant to be, a song George Jones was meant to sing.”</h2>
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<h2>In the early 1980’s, Merle Haggard was working on a LP with Willie Nelson and they needed a song , so they did ‘Pancho and Lefty’ and the LP sold over a million. This was a famous Townes Van Zandt song. Merle and Willie got it from the Emmylou Harris version Willie sang it with Bob Dylan backed up by Marty Stuart. </h2>
<h2>Chapter Eight is <em>Don’t Get Above Your Raising 1984-1996</em>. Vince Gill starts off by saying “country music is not supposed to stay the same.” By 1984 Country Sales decreased, and the good times were gone. With the birth of two new Country TV cable networks, sales would quickly double. This episode deals with what is and what isn’t country. Historian Bill C. Malone explains that “don’t get above your raising means don’t forget where you came from.” There is footage of Johnny Cash smoking at AP Carter’s grave. By now Cash’s records were not selling. In 1986 he was unceremoniously dropped from Columbia Records. Johnny Cash was a way of life for America. Dwight Yoakim described this as “an insult to anybody who’d ever listened to music.” </h2>
<h2>Ricky Scaggs played with Ralph Stanley, and in the1970’s was part of Emmylou’s Hot Band. They show Scaggs doing a bit of ‘Don’t Get Above Your Raising’ for the cameras. In the mid 1980’s Scaggs releases amazing video of this song with Bill Monroe. A slew of new artists appear including George Strait, reminiscent of old fashioned dance hall country, Strait had 60 #1 singles. Randy Travis and his deep baritone voice, his debut LP sold 3 million copies. Reba McEntire in 1984 wanted to be more country. She was an example of women standing up for themselves in the industry. Naiomi Judd explains the story of the Judds, who moved back to Kentucky, then moved to Nashville, and were on local TV. Their first LP in 1984 went to the top of the charts with ‘Why Not Me.’ These acts were part of what were known as ‘Neo-Traditionalists’ revitalizing Country Music because country was so far into pop. </h2>
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<h2>Dwight Yoakam comments that listening to Emmylou Harris connected him to Buck Owens, and Dwight loved the Bakersfield Sound. Dwight’s band played with The Blasters, The Gun Club, Los Lobos, all in the LA post-punk scene. ‘Honky Tonk Man’ Marty Stuart says Dwight “brought style back, absolute swagger.” Dwight had strong opinions about his career and Darius Rucker says “he was a big influence on me.” Dwight and Buck did ‘Streets Of Bakersfield’ on the CMA’s. For the outsiders. </h2>
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<h2>Wynton Marsalis, discussing Country, says “there’s a truth in the music.” </h2>
<h2>Nashville grows. Artists cover many styles like Nanci Griffith, Lyle Lovett, KD Lang, Steve Earle. This is all part of the so-called ‘Golden Age’ where you could hear these eclectic artists on the radio. Kathy Mattea was produced by Alan Reynolds, who comments that Kathy’s “roots were folk, but she wanted to be country.” </h2>
<h2>In 1989 Vince Gill was the singer for Pure Prairie League, then backed up Rosanne Cash. Vince refused a tour as a member of Dire Straits, and his new LP had a duet with Reba McEntire ‘When I Call Your Name.’ Gill says “I love the emotion of music.” Vince wrote a song for Keith Whitley. ‘Go Rest High’ which would become a classic. Vince sang it at George Jones’ memorial service. </h2>
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<h2>Garth Brooks came up at the Bluebird Cafe, 1987. He and John Vezinor grew at the Bluebird. He was signed by Capitol - produced by Alan Reynolds. Was the vanguard of country mega stars like Alan Jackson, Clint Black, and Travis Tritt. Garth Brooks was a superb live act. His ‘Friends In Low Places’ went to #4 in the pop charts, with 5 million sales, His third LP had 8 million sales. In 1993 Garth sold out Texas Stadium. In 1991 Billboard goes to Soundscan sales which show that new country is selling great, while country music is the biggest on radio. New women in country are represented by Shania Twain, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Tricia Yearwood who opened for Garth Brooks, had the single ‘She’s In Love With A Boy,’ and later married Brooks. </h2>
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<h2>At the CMA fan fair there is a great story of Garth Brooks showing up unannounced and signing for 20 hours. During this time, radio in America consolidated, down to chasing the big hits only. Country indies became ‘Americana’ a movement supported by Emmylou Harris. She made people remember - Vince Gill describes Emmylou as “the great conduit.” Emmylou recorded at the abandoned Ryman, and her only guest was Bill Monroe. She started a campaign to save the Ryman, which reopened in 1994. </h2>
<h2>Ricky Scaggs promises Bill Monroe that he will carry on his musical tradition before Monroe dies at 84. Monroe’s funeral is at the Ryman. Scaggs and Marty Stuart refocus their careers. Scaggs says he was going “back to the front porch.” Marty Stuart comments ”I became a success machine, I left myself behind, I needed to go back to the roots, go back and start again.” Marty married Connie Smith as he promised when he was young </h2>
<h2>Johnny Cash, is writing letters to his daughters. Roseanne Cash sings ‘I Still Miss Someone’ for the documentary cameras and says her Dad “worked out his problems onstage.” Johnny and June were in Branson, Missouri, a new concept where the audience comes to see the artist. In 1993 Producer Rick Rubin asked Cash to do an LP for his label. Cash’s 1994 <em>American Recordings</em> won acclaim with the song ‘Delia’s Gone’ The record was ignored by country, but the LP sold. In 1996 ‘Unchained’ with Tom Petty and Marty Stuart won a grammy. Johnny Cash recorded three more LP’s with Rubin, and recorded ‘Hurt’ by Nine Inch Nails’ which had 2 million in sales. Roseanne Cash says the last song Cash heard was ‘The Winding Stream.’ Johnny Cash died in 2003 at 71 years old. His service was held at the Ryman. </h2>
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<h2>In the ending sum up - they bring forth the idea of the hearts, pain and suffering of the people needs to be and is part and parcel of country music. Emmylou comments that the music has to change over a montage of images from Dolly Parton to Taylor Swift. <em>Country Music</em> ends, peacefully and gently, with sound and footage of Maybelle Carter. </h2>
<h2>Ken Burns has done it again. I learned so much and this series gave me much to think about. For me, the idea of ‘authenticity’ in music gets my head spinning. Is Country more authentic than other forms of music? I remember the Rodney Crowell quote that country is “truth telling, even when it’s a big fat lie.” What’s the difference between the Man In Black and Prince in his Purple cape? Or a Nudie suit and safety pins and bondage trousers. In the end, the music, the art, must speak to you in some way. That idea itself transcends any genre of music, country, jazz, classical, or rock. Authenticity is where the heart is, I suppose. Mr. Burns and company have given us much to think about.</h2>
<h2>--Steve McGowan</h2>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/59717802019-11-24T22:11:01-05:002020-02-16T11:39:31-05:00Taika Waititi's Dangerous Highwire Act: Nazi Satire "Jojo Rabbit"<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/bafaaac31ec92e540c3cefe14275fb807cc82168/original/jojo-shoes.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<em>Jojo Rabbit</em> begins with ‘Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand:’ The Beatles ‘I Wanna Hold Your Hand’ sung in German, played over scenes out of the Richard Lester school of musical movie wackiness. There are montage antics, screens divided into multiple actions, and joyful exuberance straight out of <em>A Hard Day’s Night</em>. Since the drive home from the theater, the line from ‘London Calling’ about “phony Bealemania” has been running through my head. I think of the point director/writer/star Taika Waititi is making here is that kids are ready to be fanatics, true believers, embracing fads, belonging to The Group. Johannes Betzler is scrawny, sensitive, and lonely. We learn his big sister is dead and his father has disappeared into World War II for two years. In the Hitler Youth, Jojo will have a keen knife, a cool outfit, and plenty of playmates with whom to shoot and blow things up. A good Nazi, his imaginary playmate is Adolf himself, whose pictures adorn his walls like a pop star. Connection made for both Jojo and the audience. </h2>
<h2>As a kid, my first exposure to World War II was through the sitcom <em>Hogan’s Heroes</em>. When I was old enough to learn about real Nazis in grade school, I was shocked and felt betrayed by this facile, whitewashed comedy. Stalag 13 was no laughing matter when I learned that there were death camps and real horrors happening just off screen from this goofy version of the war. How could they. Now I was wading in, eyes open and voluntarily to a modern attempt to find some humor in those days in <em>Jojo Rabbit.</em> </h2>
<h2>Taika Waititi is responsible for my favorite comedy series of last year, <em>What We Do In The Shadows </em>and the amazing movie of the same name that established that comedy world. I also dug the sublime <em>Hunt For The Wilderpeople</em>. I guess everyone else knows him for <em>Ragnarok</em>, but superheroes are not always high on my viewing list. So when I saw the trailer for Taika playing a Hitler Youth’s imaginary friend Adolf, I held my breath that he’d be able to cross that particularly treacherous highwire and take us along with him safely to the perch on the other side. The good news is that he mostly manages this dangerous feat. </h2>
<h2>Taiki Waititi, son of a Maoiri father and a mother of Ashkenazi Jewish descent, takes on the most difficult comedy reclamation task of modern times: using satire to defeat the Nazi monster. Mel Brooks achieved this in a way by reveling in the tastelessness of ‘Springtime for Hitler,’ the sure-fire stinker of a Broadway show at the center of 1967’s <em>The Producers</em> and the musical and movie of that musical that followed decades later. The humor works there because the sheer awfulness of making Hitler the subject of a light romp is the crux of the joke. There, the remove of an actor playing a Nazi, not actually being a Nazi, gives the audience a little more license to laugh. At the opposite end of the spectrum is <em>The Day the Clown Cried,</em> a sort of white whale of a buried dramatic work. Jerry Lewis, a decade before his dramatic turn for Scorcese in King of Comedy (and there is no way to read this without needing a<em> Silkwood</em> shower) plays a circus clown in a concentration camp who leads children to the gas chamber. This film is infamous for its bad taste as a failed attempt at profundity. So Taika had gales of film comedy history as well actual history blowing strong headwinds against him as he embarked on this work. Will his footing be secure? </h2>
<h2>We are brought into the madness of the war through Jojo’s POV. Kids’ unique view of war can be handled well on film. In particular, the 1987 movie <em>Hope and Glory</em> does a remarkable job at showing the wonder and beauty of the Blitz to a child, a nostalgic but unsentimental look at the London of the time. Kids are resilience machines, delicate and fragile certainly, but their minds and bodies can help them adapt to unthinkable conditions as nature propels them on their prime directive to grow, to thrive, and to maximize any mental nutrient toward those ends. So that imperative weighed in favor of this project. </h2>
<h2>So, this film. Now comes sensitive ten-year old Jojo and his snaggle-toothed round boi bestie (non-imaginary category) Yorki, who throw themselves into the Hitler-Jugend. This is really the only organized activity for boys in 1945 Germany, and they are eager to belong and to serve. A camp mishap sidelines him and leads Jojo to volunteer on his own for the local Nazis, putting up posters and delivering conscriptions, while Yorki continues on in the organized camp, getting armed as the war is drawing into its final months and the Reich is low on troops. I won’t recap and risk spoiling it, but the struggle to maintain humanity during a time of rampant dehumanization, to resist evil, and, ultimately, to find love are all major themes handled deftly. Taika Waititi is a great storyteller, revealing for us his characters’ inner lives in an unvarnished, not always flattering way. </h2>
<h2>Unlike <em>The Producers</em>, there is no play within a play and familiar comedy faces Sam Rockwell, Stephen Merchant, and Rebel Wilson are actual Nazis, no filter. Rockwell, the one-eyed youth camp commander, is complex in the role. He has a soft spot for Jojo and his mother Rosie (as well as for flamboyant battle wear). Taika does not push this to the “good people on both sides” facile point, but there are moments of light and tenderness in the dark horror of the Nazi machinery, but not to the point where Nazis are excused or resisters are diminished. </h2>
<h2>Jojo himself can be monstrous, as he decides to serve der Fuehrer by writing a book on the true nature of the Jewish people. In the attic, his mother has hidden Elsa, a young Jewish school girl who reminds her of her late daughter. Of course Jojo discovers Elsa, and deciding what to do with her is his major moral dilemma. He begins by interviewing her to get the inside story for his anti-Semitic monograph; Elsa baits Jojo with outlandish stories about the nature of her people, fueling his spectacular, fanciful drawings. This relationship becomes the most important in the film; no spoilers. </h2>
<h2>The film uses anachronistic music cues, sometimes German language versions of well known songs. We hear Bowie as well as The Beatles in German, as well as Jack White’s Monkees-in-German cover of “I’m a Believer” that is all over the trailer. There is some Wagner, as would be expected when the Third Reich is on the march, There is also a Love track, ticking the cool-vintage-criminally-overlooked-genius box for art house film soundtracks. I think you’ll enjoy the Spotify playlist: </h2>
<h2><a contents="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2C21356nYgKbURFUHt2c3d#_=_&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2C21356nYgKbURFUHt2c3d#_=_" target="_blank">https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2C21356nYgKbURFUHt2c3d#_=_ </a></h2>
<h2>When mania and fanaticism take hold of a people, those whipped-up winds are not steerable. Taika used the money and clout of his Marvel Universe success to leap into this high-wind, highwire crossing to tell a small scale story of how fervor impacts a single family, told through the eyes of a young boy. Waititi's humane, heart-felt comedy sensibilities humanizes monsters of a fictional origin (<em>What We Do In the Shadows</em>’ vampires) and of a very real kind (Nazis here). <em>Jojo Rabbit</em> has already won the People’s Choice Award at TIFF--I anticipate it will grow in regard over the years. This film worked for me. Still, be mindful this film is at its core a delicate balancing act, though, and not everyone will enjoy taking each precarious step with Taika. He does get you to the other side, so just don’t look down and follow him where the film leads. In the end: ta-da! Ultimately, the view is breathtaking.</h2>
<h2>--Adrienne Meddock</h2>
<p><strong><em><span class="font_large">Edit to add: </span></em><span class="font_large">Waititi did win the Best Adapted Screenplay for <em>Jojo Rabbit </em>at the 2020 Academy Awards</span></strong></p>
<h2><span class="font_regular"><strong>Thanks for dropping by. This blog is part o<a contents="zubrecords.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://zubrecords.com">f zubrecords.com</a>, an indie label run by people who make and love music! Check out Alert for blogs on music, films, books, and more! Our podcast, Singles Going Steady, is on all major podcatchers and at <a contents="tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast">tinyurl.com/SGSPodcast</a> Lots of cool things to read and listen to at zubrecords.com</strong></span></h2>
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<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="Cxr5RqINwr4" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/Cxr5RqINwr4/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Cxr5RqINwr4?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/59701892019-11-22T21:54:14-05:002019-11-22T22:07:28-05:00Stiff Little Fingers and The Avengers at Cat's Cradle, Carrboro NC<h2> </h2>
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<h2>It was great to be back at the big room at The Cat’s Cradle. The Carrboro, NC club, just a few blocks away from the UNC Chapel Hill campus, is a venerable concert space. Getting to see Stiff Little Fingers on their 40th anniversary tour of the release of <em>Inflammable Material</em> was also something I had been really looking forward to. </h2>
<h2>First, we were caught by surprise by The Avengers. They are a San Francisco based outfit that formed in 1977, opened for The Sex Pistols on their last show, and recorded tracks with the Pistols Steve Jones producing. They only released a three song EP (on Dangerhouse Records, where X got their start) before breaking up. Original members singer Penelope Houston and guitarist Greg Ingraham were joined by Zeros bassist Hector Penalosa, and the Avengers brought forth a very solid, anthemic pop-punk. Ingraham’s slashing chords and Houston’s terrific vocals powered these songs, such as ‘The American In Me’ and ‘We Are The One.’ Even with a break when Ingraham’s Marshall amp quit (luckily SLF lent them a spare), their set was taut, melodic and thought provoking. Penelope Houston was a great frontwoman for this band, and after their set I couldn’t help but think San Francisco youngsters like Green Day probably listened to a lot of Avengers. I left them thinking I need to get more Avengers records in my life. </h2>
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<h2>Stiff Little Fingers are a band originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland that came up during the so called ‘Troubles’ (the civil war in Ireland), like their contemporaries The Undertones (see our Undertones Podcast <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubcousin" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubcousin" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubcousin</a>). Where The Undertones mostly avoided the Troubles in their songs, Stiff Little Fingers, led by songwriter/guitarist Jake Burns, wrote concise punk anthems about the war. Their first LP, <em>Inflammable Material</em>, was independently released and steeped in songs about ‘The Troubles.’ Word was out that they would play all of <em>Inflammable Material</em> on this tour. I couldn’t wait. </h2>
<h2>Taking the stage, Burns was joined by original bassist Ali McMordle and longtime guitarist Ian McCallum, with drummer Steve Grantly. The band backdrop was impressive, using a flame motif, with drapes for the Marshall amp cabinets covered in flames. They played a number of songs from <em>Nobody’s Hero</em> and <em>Go For It</em>, including ‘Nobody’s Hero,’ the awesome, melodic ‘Just Fade Away,’ ‘At The Edge,’ and ‘Safe As Houses.’ I had forgotten what a great songwriter Jake Burns is, and his voice was totally strong. The Marshall amps sounded great, the band was very, very loud, but the vocals were way out in front. </h2>
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<h2>Jake Burns, who lives in Chicago now, was affable and full of stories, explaining how the band really wanted to be like The Clash. To their credit, SLF played a bit of new material, such as ‘Strummerville’ from <em>Guitar And Drum</em>, and ‘My Dark Places’ from <em>No Going Back</em>. Introducing this song, Burns talked about his own struggles with depression and urged those that need help to talk about it. Discussing Chicago, Burns played a new song, ‘16 Shots’ about the shooting of Laquan McDonald. It was a great song and good to see that Burns and SLF haven’t lost any of their perspective. </h2>
<h2>Jake Burns talked about “four scruffy lads from Belfast” going into a cheap recording studio to record Inflammable Material before launching into ‘Suspect Device,’ one of the strongest songs from the punk era, and just as relevant today as then: </h2>
<h2><em>They take away our freedom </em></h2>
<h2><em>In the name of liberty </em></h2>
<h2><em>Why can't they all just clear off </em></h2>
<h2><em>Why can't they let us be </em></h2>
<h2><em>They make us feel indebted </em></h2>
<h2><em>For saving us from hell </em></h2>
<h2><em>And then they put us through it </em></h2>
<h2><em>It's time the bastards fell </em></h2>
<h2>This, and the rest of <em>Inflammable Material</em>, got the packed Cradle crowd going. The twenty-five minutes or so of this LP flew by, ending with their other punk classic, ‘Alternative Ulster.’ The band was impossibly tight, the rhythm section terrific, the guitars and vocals sounding wonderful. This is a classic band that still has a future ahead if they choose. I was extremely impressed with SLF. I’d forgotten how varied and melodic their material was. Combined with The Avengers, the old punks still rule! </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan </h2>
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<a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/stiff-little-fingers/2019/cats-cradle-carrboro-nc-139d2d39.html" target="_blank" title="Stiff Little Fingers Setlist Cat's Cradle, Carrboro, NC, USA 2019, 40 Years of Inflammable Material"><img src="https://www.setlist.fm/widgets/setlist-image-v1?id=139d2d39" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="Stiff Little Fingers Setlist Cat's Cradle, Carrboro, NC, USA 2019, 40 Years of Inflammable Material" style="border: 0;" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.setlist.fm/edit?setlist=139d2d39&step=song">Edit this setlist</a> | <a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlists/stiff-little-fingers-7bd6b20c.html">More Stiff Little Fingers setlists</a>
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</div>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/59621612019-11-15T17:37:35-05:002019-11-15T17:37:35-05:00Redd Kross Live At The 40 Watt, Athens GA<p> </p>
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<h2>I don’t really have a good excuse, but I’ve never seen Redd Kross live. The super power-pop band from Los Angeles has been together, led by older brother Jeff McDonald on guitar and vocals, with younger brother Steven McDonald on bass and vocals, since 1978. Redd Kross have made a number of fantastic LP’s, and they never broke up, but did take a bit of a hiatus (about six years starting in 1999). Well, Redd Kross is back, and their new LP <em>Beyond The Door</em> is definitely one of my records of the year (see the review at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubkross" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubkross" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubkross</a>) and I was very excited to see that they were playing nearby. </h2>
<h2>The McDonald brothers are joined by lead guitarist Jason Shapiro and (also Melvins) drummer Dale Crover. Taking the stage at the 40 Watt club in Athens, they were a knockout from the get go.They opened with ‘Beyond The Door’ from the new LP and then their amazing version of Sparks’ ‘When Do I Get To Sing My Way,’ an inspired and demanding cover that they pulled off beautifully. Redd Kross is a band that understands rock and roll, they know it’s about the party, about the fun. When they ripped into ‘Uglier’ from <em>Researching The Blues</em>, guitarist Shapiro tore it up on his battered, stripped Les Paul Custom, and Jeff was jumping all around. The crowd was theirs. </h2>
<h2>One of the best parts of the Redd Kross show is the interaction between the brothers McDonald. Steven offered a heartfelt introduction for his brother’s ‘What’s A Boy To Do,’ a classic from the new LP. Steven McDonald is a rock show all to himself, wearing a white suit, long locks flowing, and wielding an Epiphone Thunderbird bass like a scimitar, he sang and played like an angel, and was a grade A ham showoff all night. Fantastic. The brothers never seem to tire of making each other laugh while playing, and their fun is infectious. ‘Stay Away From Downtown’ from <em>Researching</em> was a great Lennonesque workout. </h2>
<h2>Toward the end of their non-stop set, they did ‘Annie’s Gone’ from <em>Third Eye</em>, probably the closest to a ‘hit’ they ever had. This great song still held up at the 40 Watt. They followed with a cover of ‘It Won’t be Long’ by The Beatles that was truly excellent. They closed out the set with a crazy version of ‘Linda Blair’ from <em>Born Innocent</em> and ‘Annette’s Got The Hits.’ </h2>
<h2>Redd Kross absolutely blew me away, they were tight, rocking, sang great, and were so much fun. They remember the prime directive of rock: have fun and keep the party going. This is a must-see band still at the height of their power. Stop making excuses and go see them as soon as possible. </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan</h2>
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<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/5d98dd7b4d0542b320c9a25c48df8ed5443e0950/original/20191018-222300.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/redd-kross/2019/40-watt-club-athens-ga-7b9d863c.html" target="_blank" title="Redd Kross Setlist 40 Watt Club, Athens, GA, USA 2019"><img src="https://www.setlist.fm/widgets/setlist-image-v1?id=7b9d863c" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="Redd Kross Setlist 40 Watt Club, Athens, GA, USA 2019" style="border: 0;" /></a>
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</div>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/59621492019-11-15T17:27:25-05:002019-11-15T17:27:25-05:00Ken Burns - Country Music - Part 3 of 4<p> </p>
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<h2>This is the third installment of 4 blogs about Ken Burns’ latest documentary series <em>Country Music</em>. I hope you’ll join me for all four blogs. Anyone with an interest in any kind of music should find food for thought in this series, as I did. I’ll share ideas I was chewing on as I watched and reflected. </h2>
<h2>3 of 4: Country Music Episodes 5 <em>The Sons and Daughters Of America</em> and 6 <em>Will The Circle Be Unbroken? </em>
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<h2>Episode five is <em>The Sons and Daughters Of America 1964-1968</em> dealing with the rapid changes in America and in Country Music. By the mid-1960’s the nation was involved in civil rights struggles. Country records were not selling, artists had to tour to make money, with long miles of ceaseless traveling. By 1964 Johnny Cash was headlining tours, with Carl Perkins, The Statler Brothers and The Carters. Cash dressed only in black. He was very interested in the folk revival, social protest, and Bob Dylan.</h2>
<h2>Cash appeared with Dylan at the 1964 Newport Folk Festival, there is priceless footage of the two of them playing Cash’s ‘I Still Miss Someone’ together on the piano. Cash recorded ‘The Ballad Of Ira Hays’ about an American Indian returning from WWII. Johnny was restless and recorded <em>Bitter Tears </em>about US and Indian relations, the record wouldn’t get played on the radio. He did benefits for Native Americans. Meanwhile, Johnny Cash’s personal life was a mess. He was still having an affair with June Carter, and using drugs. He was briefly jailed for possession of more than 1000 amphetamines. The Ku Klux Klan said Cash’s wife Vivian (an olive-skinned Italian woman) was a negro. Cash’s problems led to cancelled shows. He famously smashed the footlights at the Opry, and even after his divorce, he was such a mess that June Carter would not marry him. </h2>
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<h2>Larry Gatlin tells the story of Roger Miller, from Oklahoma, who was a fiddler, songwriter, but had weak record sales. Ralph Emery commented that Miller was “king of pill takers.” Miller recorded ‘Dang Me,’ then the follow up ‘King Of The Road,’ which hit #3 on the pop charts and outsold The Beatles in England. Roger Miller had his own TV show. </h2>
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<h2>By the mid 1960’s, country was a 100 million dollar business, the backing musicians in Nashville that played on all the major recordings are discussed. Backing musicians of the so-called A-Team included Pig Robbins, Bob Moore, Pete Drake, Lloyd Green, Floyd Cramer, Hank Garland, Harold Bradley, the Anita Kerr Singers and/or the Jordanaires. They would do 15-20 sessions a week, 3 hours each. The musicians created ‘The Nashville Sound,’ popular and smooth, not so twangy or hillbilly. </h2>
<h2>This brings us back to the twang and Bakersfield, California with lots of beer joints ‘The Bakersfield Sound’ had a sharp, bright edge and was led by Buck Owens and his Buckaroos. Buck fashioned his sound for AM Radio, simple melodies and lyrics, recordings all bright and no bass. The Bakersfield sound had that ‘Tom Joad glare.’ Unabashed twang, a sound like a locomotive coming through the living room. Buck had a chip on his shoulder, from growing up hard during The Depression. Owens liked The Beatles, and The Beatles loved him, with Ringo doing his song ‘Act Naturally.’ Owens did Beatles songs with his band in Beatles wigs. Via the Fab Four Buck got a whole new audience. The great story of Loretta Lynn is introduced, in 1965 Owen Bradley encouraged Loretta to write her own material. Loretta describes her songs like ‘You Ain’t Woman Enough’ as “The songs are just life.” ‘Don’t Come Home A Drinkin’ came out in the era of Women’s Liberation and was a #1 hit, femminist and real. Then ‘The Pill’ was also big changer, and after that ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter.’ Roseanne Cash describes Loretta: “she was a radical, a badass.” Reba McEntire comments that she was “A strong willed woman, a survivor.” </h2>
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<h2>By the Mid 1960’s the battle for Civil Rights was being won, with black Americans getting the right to vote. The story of Charley Pride is discussed. His voice and music were too good to ignore. Charley played Negro League baseball. In Nashville he worked with producer Cowboy Jack Clement. Charley had to ‘get by’ and impress people like Faron Young, and had no interest from labels until Chet Atkins and RCA. They sneakily released his record with no mention of his race. Ralph Emery tells the story of a crowd in Detroit seeing him for the first time and did not know he was black. Charley had big hits even on the pop charts. He was the first black artist on the Opry since DeFord Bailey. Charley Pride had 29 #1 hits, and 12 gold albums. </h2>
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<h2>Merle Haggard was from Oklahoma, an ‘Okie,’ whose Dad died when he was nine. Haggard was in trouble at a young age. He married at 17, but in 1957 was given 15 years in San Quentin, he was 20 years old then. Prison changed him. He saw Johnny Cash in Prison and vowed to become a musician. Merle was paroled 2 ½ years later, and began playing in Bakersfield. He wrote ‘Swinging Doors,’ ‘The Bottle Let Me Down,’ ‘Mama Tried,’ ‘Hungry Eyes.’ Dwight Yoakim comments that Merle is the “Poet of the common man.” Dwight describes ‘Mama’s Hungry Eyes’ and says Merle Haggard is the greatest poet ever in American Music. </h2>
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<h2>Women in Country Music are discussed, beginning with Connie Smith who recorded ‘Once A Day.’ There is a great story told by Marty Stuart about meeting Connie Smith, he told everyone he would marry her, and years later, he DID marry her. Jeannie Seeley was a songwriter and singer who did ‘Don’t Touch Me.’ In 1967 the Porter Waggoner Show featured Dolly Parton. Vince Gill describes Dolly: “her voice was spellbinding, she’s one of the greatest songwriters in history.” ‘Ode To Billie Joe,’ in 1967 was a huge hit for Bobbie Gentry, selling 3 million copies. Roseanne Cash describes the song as one where “you see every scene.” Jeannie C. Riley released ‘Harper Valley PTA’ which was written by Tom T. Hall about hypocrisy and went to #1 on all charts, selling 7 million copies. Meanwhile June Carter is touring with a drug addicted Johnny Cash. June gave him an ultimatum, and they got Cash a doctor. He cleaned up in 1968, recorded at Folsom Prison, he was taken in by the convicts who loved his ideas of redemption. The Folsom Prison LP gets rave reviews, and Cash becomes a superstar. I clearly remember my parents owning and playing this record. Finally, cleaned up, he gets married to June. </h2>
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<h2>Episode six is <em>Will The Circle Be Unbroken? 1968-1972</em>, which seems to reference the period of Country Music the film makers identify with the strongest. Vince Gill starts the show with a comment about how the old music comes back around. In 1968 the Vietnam War was in full effect and America was divided. At this time Bluegrass Music was marginalized and not played on the radio. The new Folk Music revival helped Old Time Music, one of the stars of the Folk revival were the New Lost City Ramblers, and Mother Maybelle Carter played with them at the Newport Folk Festival. Flat and Scruggs had a big boost via the <em>Beverly Hillbillies</em> TV theme ‘Ballad Of Jed Clampett.’ Also their music was used in the popular <em>Bonnie and Clyde</em> movie and ‘Foggy Mountain Breakdown.’ We are introduced to George Jones, with Brenda Lee commenting that “George was a country song.” Billy Sherrill, commenting on Jones, said “he looks like a possum.” With ‘White Lightning’ in 1959, Jones developed his own style with tight control of his voice. His third wife was Tammy Wynette, about who Brenda Lee says “Tammy wasn’t very happy.” With Billy Sherrill’s production he had a huge hit with ‘Apartment #9.’ Sherrill took after Phil Spector and his ‘Wall Of Sound’ Between the hits ‘D-I-V-O-R-C-E’ and ‘Stand By Your Man’ they sold over 5 million copies. Jones and Wynette went on the ‘Mr. & Mrs. Country Music’ tour. </h2>
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<h2>1969 brought Johnny Cash the <em>Live At San Quenti</em>n LP with ‘A Boy Named Sue’ written by Shel Silverstein, a great writer of novelty songs. </h2>
<h2>Bob Dylan was now working with Nashville session musicians on his LP’s <em>Blonde On Blonde</em> and <em>John Wesley Harding</em>. Many folkies came and recorded in Nashville, the greatest of these were The Byrds. </h2>
<h2>Gram Parsons is introduced, his band came to Nashville, used famous session musician Lloyd Green on steel guitar. The Byrds played the Opry (they were the 1st rock band there) and were booed. Their LP <em>Sweetheart Of The Rodeo</em> was shunned by both Country and Rock, but, as Elvis Costello notes, was the beginning of Country Rock. </h2>
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<h2>Bobby Braddock introduces the story of Kris Kristofferson, whose dad was a general in the Air Force, Kris was ROTC, went to Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, and “Loved William Blake and Shakespeare.” Kris became an instructor at West Point. But he quit all that after a visit to Nashville, where he saw Cowboy Jack Clement and Johnny Cash. Kristofferson moved to Nashville, and became a janitor at Columbia Studios. He was disowned by his family, but became friends with Johnny Cash. He auditioned for Fred Foster and wowed him. Then Kristofferson wrote ‘Bobby McGee,’ and in his commentary about that song he says it was influenced by the film <em>La Strada</em> by Fellini(!). In 1970 the Janis Joplin version of Bobby McGee became the #1 record (posthumously). </h2>
<h2>By 1969 Johnny Cash was a big star with a weekly TV Show taped at the Ryman. On his show he had country, Motown, Rock, James Taylor, Odetta, Joni Mitchell, and explored forgotten sections of society, with a gospel song every show. Cash played with Louis Armstrong on ‘Blue Yodel #9,’ a Jimmie Rogers song. He had Merle Haggard on his show, and Cash told his audience about Merle’s prison time. With Bob Dylan in his <em>Nashville Skyline</em> period, he played on Cash’s TV show. Roseanne Cash comments that Dylan and Cash playing ‘Girl From The North Country’ changed her generation, and opened the possibilities of country music. </h2>
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<h2>Willie Nelson, discussing Kristofferson, says “Kris is probably the best songwriter.” Larry Gatlin says that Kris is the “best lyricist ever, ever.” At this time, Kristofferson is the top songwriter in Nashville. Sammi Smith did his song ‘Help Me Make It Through The Night.’ Charley Pride and Rodney Crowell talk about Kris’ lyrics, examples being ‘Loving Her Is Easier ‘ and ‘Sunday Morning Coming Down’ Crowell says it has “sorry and woe and some hopefulness at the same time.” Johnny Cash loved the song ‘Sunday Morning Coming Down,’ and Cash sang the song on his TV show, and refused to take out the ‘stoned’ lyric. Kristofferson also played on Cash’s show. </h2>
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<h2>Glen Campbell had a TV show from LA, and Hee Haw from Nashville with Buck Owens and Roy Clark was a huge TV show. <em>Hee Haw</em> played up the hillbilly image. But Charlie McCoy was the music director and the show was very serious about it’s music choices. <em>Hee Haw</em> was a very popular show that broadcast 25 years, 22 of those syndicated. </h2>
<h2>Country Music is mostly apolitical and populist, but had songs about the Vietnam War. ‘My Son’ by Jan Howard, a singer and mom who lost two sons in the war. In 1969, Earl Scruggs joined the anti-war protests, but no other artists from Nashville did. Merle Haggard wrote ‘Okie From Muskogee,’ Bill C. Malone, the historian, comments that the song started the rednecks versus hippies fight but was a tribute to small town American life. ‘Okie’ was a huge hit, considered a rallying cry for ‘the silent majority.’ </h2>
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<h2>Elvis Costello, discussing Johnny Cash, views him as a uniter, was a hero to counterculture, but at the same time didn’t criticise President Nixon. Johnny Cash played for the troops but opposed the war, according to Roseanne Cash. When Cash performed at White House, he didn’t do ‘Welfare Cadillac ‘ but played ‘What Is Truth’ instead. </h2>
<h2>Willie Nelson never hit it off with Nashville. Tom T. Hall comments that Willie “didn’t sound like Nashville.” Fred Foster is quoted saying “Willie, they’ll catch up one day.” Willie Nelson recorded 14 LP’s, none sold well. Willie concentrated on writing, but went back on the road. He was a star in Texas, so he moved to Texas and started over. </h2>
<h2>In 1971 the U.S. begins a withdrawal from Vietnam. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band now appears with ‘Mr Bojangles.’ John McEuen, speaking of his band, describes it as “jug band and folk rock,” and they recorded with Earl Scruggs, Doc Watson and Maybelle Carter, These west coast hippies wanted to back up the legends. McEuen says they “wanted to make an old record.” With the country elders, they created magic in the studio. Roy Acuff showed up to listen. “It Ain’t Nothing But Country” Ended with ‘Will The Circle Be Unbroken.’ The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band triple disc LP, was big on colleges, obviously influenced the Burns documentarians, and is now considered one of the most iconic LP’s in Country Music history. “Things may be bad, but they’ll get better.”</h2>
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<h2>---Steve McGowan</h2>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/59572162019-11-11T21:02:07-05:002019-11-11T21:02:07-05:00Mudhoney and Pissed Jeans at The Grey Eagle, Asheville NC<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/4486a3518d5c5db4afe8a81d70a78d999314915d/original/mudhoney.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<h2>I know what I like, so I generally go to shows with bands or artists I’m pretty familiar with, but tonight’s show was different. All I knew about Mudhoney was they were a pioneer in Seattle’s grunge movement, and of course I was familiar with ‘Touch Me I’m Sick’ and a few other songs. Pissed Jeans I was not at all familiar with. So this show was an amazing, delightful rock surprise. </h2>
<h2>Pissed Jeans are from Pennsylvania and have been playing for about thirteen years. They are a three piece with a Tasmanian Devil of a singer, Matt Korvette. They follow a punishing noise rock formula shaped by bands such as The Jesus Lizard, Scratch Acid, and Metz. To this they add a much cleverer lyrical bent, they are a very smart band trying to play dumb. These guys are not youngsters, but from the get go they unleashed pummeling slabs of rock and didn’t quit, Korvette all over the stage and clowning the crowd. Here’s an example of Korvette leading the crowd: </h2>
<h2><em>Korvette: “Hey!” </em></h2>
<h2><em>Crowd: “Hey!” </em></h2>
<h2><em>Korvette: “Whoah!” </em></h2>
<h2><em>Crowd (louder): “Whoah!” </em></h2>
<h2><em>Korvette: “I Have A Small Penis” </em></h2>
<h2><em>Crowd: “silence” </em></h2>
<h2>My pal Chuck opined that Korvette may have gotten some things from The Meatmen’s Tesco Vee. Songs like ‘Ignorecam’ and especially ‘The Bar Is Low’ got the crowd going. I loved this band. They made a new fan tonight. </h2>
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<h2>Mudhoney are the pioneers of Seattle’s grunge scene, still with three original members, singer/guitarist Mark Arm, lead guitarist Steve Turner, and drummer Dan Peters. New guy bassist Guy Maddison has only been with them since 1999 (!). Mudhoney took the stage and destroyed. Very little banter, just rolling out one rocker after another. Arm’s voice was abrasive in the best way and and his scream a punk rock thing of beauty. I’m sure Mudhoney get tired of this, but I do hear in them <em>everything</em> that Nirvana took. </h2>
<h2>Anyway, Mudhoney had a bit of a psychedelic feel, occasionally referencing the MC5, often sounding like a smarter Stooges. They had a lot of killer songs and many great riffs. Standouts were, of course ‘Touch Me I’m Sick,’ ‘21st Century Pharisees,’ and an amazing ending with ‘Fix Me’ from Black Flag (see our Flag Podcast <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubflag" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubflag" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubflag</a>). Mudhoney, after all these years, is a fearsome rock machine. The crowd tried to form what felt like an obligatory pit, but being Asheville, it was more a friendly pushing circle. </h2>
<h2>What a great, surprising evening: two bands that I wasn’t too sure about completely rocked my world. Let’s hear it for Sub Pop! </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan </h2>
<div class="setlistImage" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/mudhoney/2019/the-grey-eagle-asheville-nc-239db853.html" target="_blank" title="Mudhoney Setlist The Grey Eagle, Asheville, NC, USA 2019, Morning in America"><img src="https://www.setlist.fm/widgets/setlist-image-v1?id=239db853" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="Mudhoney Setlist The Grey Eagle, Asheville, NC, USA 2019, Morning in America" style="border: 0;" /></a>
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</div>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/59534062019-11-07T22:23:26-05:002019-11-07T22:23:26-05:00Ken Burns - Country Music - Part 2 of 4<p> </p>
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<h2>This is the second installment of 4 blogs walking through Ken Burns’ latest documentary series <em>Country Music</em>. I hope you’ll join me for all four blogs. Anyone with an interest in any kind of music should find food for thought in this series, as I did. I’ll share ideas I was chewing on as I watched and reflected. </h2>
<h2><strong><span class="font_regular">2 of 4: Country Music Episodes 3 <em>The Hillbilly Shakespeare </em>and 4 <em>I Can’t Stop Loving You</em></span><em> </em></strong></h2>
<h2>Episode three, <em>The Hillbilly Shakespeare</em>, is all about the Country genius, Hank Williams. In the post World War II era there were rapid changes in America. The growth of ‘Honky Tonk’ music is discussed, basically pared down Western swing. This music came up with the explosion of jukeboxes across the US. Hank Williams would become the giant of honky tonk, his songs connected with the audience. Saying, ‘It all begins with a song,’ Hank Williams learned to play from African - American guitarist Tee-Tot. Hank was a bad binge drinker. In 1946 he met Fred Rose, got a recording deal, and recorded ‘Move It On Over’ in 1947. I learned that the National Life and Insurance Company of Nashville owned WSM and the Opry and used the entertainment to sell insurance policies. We hear a little about Eddy Arnold, a pop crossover who was managed by Colonel ‘Tom’ Parker (later the manager of Elvis Presley) and had five #1 Country songs in 1948.</h2>
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<h2>In 1946 Ernest Tubb was on the Opry, he was a singer who Idolized Jimmie Rogers, but played electrified, sang ‘Walking The Floor Over You.’ </h2>
<h2>He played Carnegie Hall with Minnie Pearl, later opened the famous Ernest Tubb record shop in downtown Nashville. The idea that Bill Monroe ‘invented’ Bluegrass music is pursued in this episode. He is given credit for starting a whole new genre of music. Monroe was temperamental and a perfectionist. He changed his band in 1945 with Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs (master of the three finger (not clawhammer) banjo technique) whose banjo virtuosity is compared to Edward Van Halen on the guitar. The Stanley Brothers are mentioned, West Virginia voices with coal dust in them. In 1948 Flatt and Scruggs left Bill Monroe and Monroe would feud with them for years. </h2>
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<h2>Maddox Bros and Rose did a Honky Tonk version of ‘Muleskinner Blues.’ They are described as an electrified hillbilly band in overdrive wearing outlandish Nathan Turk costumes. They put the boogie in country music. In 1948 Little Jimmie Dickens appears, he was a great self-promoter, one of the first to get the outrageous stage clothes from Nudies in Hollywood. This episode illustrates the idea that songwriters can make it in Nashville. Hank Williams was still an unreliable drunk, and split with wife Aubrey. Then wrote ‘I Saw The Light.’ He sobered up, Aubrey and he reconciled, and he was on The Louisiana Hayride (a local show much like the Grand Ole Opry) and did ‘Lovesick Blues.’ Hank Williams played the Opry in 1949. By June 1949 Billboard magazine used Rhythm and Blues and Country Music names for the charts instead of ‘Race’ and ‘Hillbilly’ music. Commentator Marty Stuart, discussing Woody Guthrie, says Woody is “one of the purest Country artists God ever made.” I learned that Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters were on a show in Knoxville, Tennessee with Chet Atkins, then moved to Missouri for a national show that debuted in 1950. Hank Williams improves his songwriting - ‘the Divine Gift’ - writing ‘I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry.’ His secret was ‘sincerity.’ Next single was ‘Hey Good Lookin.’ </h2>
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<h2>He started drinking again, and wrote ‘Cold Cold Heart.’ We hear the story of Kitty Wells and her song ‘It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels’ which was an answer song, and she was the first woman to go #1 on the Billboard Country & Western chart. The episode ends with the death of Hank Williams. In 1952 he divorces and writes ‘You Win Again,’ as he begins using drugs (as well as alcohol), and deteriorates fast. Died at 29 years old. He had 20,000 mourners in Montgomery, Alabama and ‘Your Cheatin’ Heart’ was released posthumously. He is considered the very definition of Country Music. Funnily enough, while this was airing, I traveled through Montgomery and visited Hank’s grave. It was a touching site, described in our Whitey Morgan review (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubtonkin" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubtonkin" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubtonkin</a>). Commentators on this episode included lots of Marty Stuart and Vince Gill. </h2>
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<h2>Episode four is <em>I Can’t Stop Loving You</em> and deals with the growth and beginnings of the Nashville sound that dominated the 1960’s and 1970’s. </h2>
<h2>In 1953 the 20th anniversary of Jimmie Rogers’ death brought the original Carter Family together for a show. This same year Bill and his estranged brother Charlie Monroe performed together. In 1953 a new generation began with Chuck Berry and ‘Maybellene.’ There is a great sequence about segregated radio where it is clear the white people were listening to the black radio stations and the black people were listening to the white radio stations. So much for segregation. The city of Memphis is introduced as is Johnny Cash, who moves to Memphis, worked as a salesman, and learned from Gus Cannon, an African-American man who recorded in the 1920’s. Cash’s older brother died, and this had a major impact on his life. In 1954, he married, and moved to Memphis. Memphis was a hotbed of ‘race’ music, as shown with Elvis Presley and ‘That’s Alright Mama,’ one of his first two songs recorded at Sun Records, with producer Sam Phillips. On the flipside, Elvis did a Bluegrass staple, ‘Blue Moon Of Kentucky.’ In late 1954 Johnny Cash auditioned for Phillips, recording ‘Hey Porter.’ Elvis Costello, commenting, describes Cash’s band, The Tennessee Two as “like a punk band, so vivid.” As we move into the modern era, there is video, like the amazing footage of Johnny Cash impersonating Elvis, hair teased out and all, it’s hilarious and classic. Rockabilly is mentioned with Wanda Jackson the ‘Queen Of Rockabilly’ and ‘Let’s Have A Party.’ Very influential singing act the Louvin Brothers are only briefly discussed, but this episode shows the beginning of the ‘smoothing out’ of Country Music. In 1957 Boudleau Bryant and wife Felice (Nashville songwriters) wrote ‘Bye Bye Love’ for the Everly Brothers (Paul Simon is shown talking about how much he loved it), then the Bryants wrote ‘Wake Up Little Susie’ and ‘All I Have To Do Is Dream.’ </h2>
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<h2>In a key development, Owen and Harold Bradley built a bigger, newer studio in Nashville and RCA built a new studio headed by Chet Atkins - this was the beginning of the so-called ‘Music Row.’ In 1959, Patsy Cline appeared, she sounded like a throwback. Owen Bradley saw her talent. Then recorded ‘Walking After Midnight’ with her. There is great footage of wee Brenda Lee, who started at age 7, singing ‘Dynamite,’ a little girl with a BIG woman’s voice. In this episode, commentators discuss that nostalgia is a basic staple of Country Music, and has been from the beginning. The idea of rural life, the old ways, the old values may be better than all this modern stuff. The end of the 1950’s is shown through the popular songs, with the Kingston Trio winning a Grammy for C&W in 1959, Marty Robbins and ‘El Paso’ #1 in charts is a great example of ‘story’ songs, like Lefty Frizell and ‘Long Black Veil’, which Roseanne Cash describes as “It’s bedrock.” <em>Songs Of Our Soil </em>was Johnny Cash’s first concept album, followed by ‘Folsom Prison Blues.’ Merle Haggard saw Johnny Cash at San Quentin, they have older footage of Haggard (now passed) talking about how seeing Cash changed his life to go legit and become a musician. </h2>
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<h2>Felice and Boudleau, the Bryants, sold over 900 songs. Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge in Nashville is the place where songwriters hang out, like Willie Nelson, who wrote ‘Hello, Walls’ that was recorded by Faron Young. Marty Stuart hits the nail on the head by explaining “Nashville had It’s business act together.” In 1958, the CMA, Country Music Association opened a hall of fame. The new studios brought new pop production elements which came to be known as ‘The Nashville Sound,’ like Brenda Lee with ‘I’m Sorry.’ Another example was Patsy Cline produced by Owen Bradley with ‘I Fall To Pieces,’ described as “Country Music now wearing city clothes.” We are introduced to Loretta Lynn the ‘Honky Tonk Girl,’ who, when she got on the Opry, was taken under the wing of Patsy Cline. Patsy recorded ‘Crazy’ (by Willie Nelson), Willie tells the story of going to Patsy’s house to get her to hear the demo. The song was so popular it placed in the pop charts. In 1962 Ray Charles released <em>Modern Sounds In Country Western Music </em>with the smash ‘I Can’t Stop Loving You.’ He was still not really accepted in Nashville. Meanwhile, meeting on tour, Johnny Cash and June Carter start having an affair. In 1963 Cash recorded ‘Ring Of Fire.’ Patsy Cline played a benefit and flew out of Kansas City but the plane crashed, and Hankshaw Hawkins and Patsy Cline were killed, Patsy was only 30 years old. The song ‘Crazy’ is described as the #1 jukebox tune of all time. This episode featured Roseanne and Carlene Carter as well as John Carter Cash commenting, and Willie Nelson always telling a good story. </h2>
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<h2>----Steve McGowan</h2>
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<p> </p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/59482902019-11-03T15:01:24-05:002019-11-03T15:01:24-05:00Ken Burns - Country Music - Part 1 of 4<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/edeaea0d3f6a91a627952a94d277f13396ae1b3f/original/country-music.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<h2>This is the first installment of 4 blogs walking through Ken Burns’ latest documentary series <em>Country Music</em>. I hope you’ll join me for all four blogs. Anyone with an interest in any kind of music should find food for thought in this series, as I did. I’ll share ideas I was chewing on as I watched and reflected. </h2>
<h2>1 of 4: <em>Country Music</em> Episodes 1 <em>The Rub</em> and 2 <em>Hard Times</em> </h2>
<h2>There can be no doubt that Ken Burns and his filmmaking crew are the absolute best. I have seen <em>The Civil War</em>, <em>The Roosevelts</em>, <em>Jazz</em>, and the astounding <em>Vietnam War</em> series. I always learn so much about the subjects of his documentaries. When I heard the new Ken Burns series would be called <em>Country Music</em>, I was intrigued. In eight episodes (about two hours each) broadcast over two weeks on PBS, <em>Country Music</em> took its rightful place among Burns’s excellent body of work. </h2>
<h2>The first episode,<em>The Rub - Beginnings 1933</em>, begins with two important thematic points: Country Music as the child of many cultural influences and Country Music as truth telling. </h2>
<h2>First up, the “inclusion” thread begins by highlighting the famous Thomas Hart Benton mural The Sources Of Country Music, which is housed in the Country Music Hall of Fame. Way in the background of the mural, past the white fiddlers, white dulcimer players, and white square dancers, sits a lone black man (dressed, naturally, as a farm hand) playing a banjo (an instrument brought from Africa via the slave trade). Very tiny in the way back of the picture, literally across the railroad tracks, are a group of black women dancing. Inclusion!? </h2>
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<h2>This brings me to my first nitpick about the series. That is they desperately try to bring a sense of inclusion into Country Music. While there is no doubt that Country Music owes a HUGE debt to African American innovators, the INDUSTRY has been notoriously exclusionary. The real truth was there was only ONE black man who was a member of the original Grand Ole Opry, the amazing harmonica player DeFord Bailey, and that musical giant Ray Charles never made inroads into Nashville, despite recording a massively popular Country album. Indeed, it would be late in the 1960’s before Charley Pride was accepted, but still, Country Music seems to have a limit of only one black man at a time. In fact, we talk about the exclusion of bestseller Li’l Nas X’s 'Old Town Road' from the Country Music charts this very year in our podcast with with Frye Gailliard (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubfrye" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubfrye" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubfrye</a>). I wish the documentary had been more forthcoming on this point. </h2>
<h2>Despite these clear, arbitrary racial lines, much, much is made in the documentary of Country Music being ‘real,’ and ‘authentic,' the second thread. I was struck by a comment from the astute Rodney Crowell at the start of the first episode, where he calls Country Music “truth telling, even when it’s a big fat lie.” This insight stuck with me through the whole series. The rest of <em>The Rub</em> is basically a set-up episode, where I learned WSB radio in Atlanta stood for “welcome South, brother” and WLS Chicago was run by Sears and stood for “world’s largest store.” The gospel roots of Country are shown, noting “why should the Devil have all the good tunes.” The boom of instrument manufacturing is shown via the growth of acoustic guitars, Martin Guitars in Pennsylvania and Gibson Guitars in Michigan. There is a startling aside about the Prohibition era and the jazz age - the well-known racist Henry Ford promoted old time (Country) music, as he believed Jazz was a Jewish conspiracy to Africanise America. (!) Truth telling? Inclusion? </h2>
<h2>The ‘birth’ of Country is traced to RCA Victor setting up a temporary studio in Bristol, Tennessee in 1927, where singers came from all around to record. Of course the Carter Family showed up from the mountains of Virginia, as well as Jimmie Rogers, all the way from Oklahoma. Roseanne Cash commented that these old mountain songs her family recorded were songs more ‘captured’ rather than ‘written.’ So the “birth” is really more of the advent of Country Music as a commodity since so many of the songs have deep roots in traditional songs brought and developed by communities in diaspora in America, especially African and Northern European emigres. </h2>
<h2>The running narrative of Country Music revolves around the story of the Carter Family all the way through to Johnny Cash and Roseanne Cash, Country’s First Family. Yet the first hero and star of Country was Jimmie Rogers. Rogers’ innovated a distinctive ‘Blue Yodel,’ was known as the singing brakeman (trading on his working man roots on the railroad and establishing marketing practices in Country), and with his song ‘Everybody Does It In Hawaii,’ he brought in the Hawaiian guitar, the precursor of the pedal steel guitar. Jimmie even worked with a young Louis Armstrong on ‘Blue Yodel #9.’ </h2>
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<h2>In 1928 the Bristol temporary studio hosted the second Carter Family sessions, showcasing Mother Maybelle and her unique guitar fingerpicking style known as the ‘Carter Scratch.’ It was then that they recorded the immortal tracks ‘Keep On The Sunny Side’ and ‘Wildwood Flower.’ A great section of this episode shows the evolution of the latter tune from a African American church song to being “captured” as a Carter Family melody, and finally being used as the melody in Woody Guthrie’s ‘This Land Is Your Land.’ The episode ends with the onslaught of the Great Depression and the death of Jimmie Rogers (from tuberculosis) at age 35 in 1933. <em>The Rub</em> featured a number of great women of Country providing commentary, especially Roseanne Cash and Dolly Parton, who’s version of Jimmie Rogers’ ‘Muleskinner Blues’ plays over the credits. This made me think, of all things, The Cramps, who did a great version of ‘Muleskinner Blues.’ There is a long line between Jimmie and The Cramps. Roots run both ways in Country. </h2>
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<h2>Episode two, <em>Hard Times</em>, starts in 1933, four years into the depression. This episode examines how the music that became known as Country Music split and developed around regions of the nation. There is the story of Fred Maddox and his family moving to California from Alabama, going from crop pickers to musicians, and forming the Maddox Brothers and Rose. It also shows the change in how the business ran during the hard times. </h2>
<h2>During the Depression, records didn’t sell, but ‘free’ radio was big, supported by commercial sponsors who paid for live, instudio musical performers. One of the biggest national shows was the Chicago WLS National Barn Dance, the high wattage station blasting this music out to much of the America. We see the story of Gene Autry, who learned to yodel and did imitations of Jimmie Rogers. The ‘singing cowboy’ became a craze across the USA and overseas. In 1934 Autry was in a ‘B’ Movie then the <em>Phantom Empire</em> movie series, he starred in 10 feature films in two years, establishing a Hollywood archetype. By 1937 there were over 400 westerns with singing cowboys. Over a money disagreement with the studio, Gene Autry was replaced by Roy Rogers, one of the legendary Sons of the Pioneers. There can be no doubt of the influence of the singing cowboys on music from our era. Nick Lowe was very taken in by these cowboys (see our talk with Cruel To Be Kind biography author Will Birch at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubcruel" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubcruel" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubcruel</a>) and even artists such as Elton John and Bernie Taupin penned ‘Roy Rogers’ on the 1973 album <em>Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.</em> The fabrication of the singing cowboy fable is a uniquely American tale born of the depression. </h2>
<h2>The concept of ‘swing’ music came from Jazz clubs in Harlem, New York City. In Tulsa, Oklahoma they were dancing to swing’s leading light, Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys. He gave hillbilly music a dance hall beat from Texas. This band became really big, Willis being an outrageous, colorful figure, although a binge drinker and depressive. His band Introduced drums, and amplified steel guitar. When pop star Bing Crosby recorded his song ‘New San Antonio Rose,’ Wills said he “went from hamburgers to steaks.” In Nashville, WSM became a clear channel station with 50,000 watts. Then the Grand Ole Opry moved to the Ryman Auditorium, where Pee Wee King brought in Roy Acuff and his Crazy Ten E Seeans. They sang ‘The Great Speckled Bird’ at the Opry. Acuff was a singer with a string band, and quickly became the Opry’s biggest star. RJ Reynolds Company decided to sponsor thirty minutes of the Opry to NBC nationwide. </h2>
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<h2>Bluegrass Music is introduced through The Monroe Brothers - Charlie and Bill. They incorporated influences from black musicians and the blues into mountain music to create bluegrass. Bill moved to my home of Greenville, SC for a gig playing live at a local radio station and started developing the ‘high lonesome blues.’ When the brothers played the Opry, they had three encores. </h2>
<h2>The Opry shows were really variety performances. In this episode there is a discussion of comedy at the Opry, with the well-heeled, well-educated debutante Sarah Collie becoming the country bumpkin Minnie Pearl and being a huge hit, starting in 1940! This is someone who was still a fixture in the syndicated Hee Haw program 30+ years later! The same year, Gene Autry straightened out his contract, and was back in the movies. A personal appearance in Dublin, Ireland brought a crowd of 300,000 people. They go behind the scenes of music money making with the story of ASCAP, the music composition licensing service, which doubled its rate charged for collecting songwriters’ royalties - so BMI was created, charging a lower rate. Acuff-Rose Publications became a musical powerhouse in Nashville. In 1941 war begins for America with the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor. Country artists enlisted in droves and wrote songs about the war. WWII nationalized country music, as American servicemen from all over were now made aware of this music via Armed Forces Radio and their buddies playing it on bases and in the field. After the war, Gene Autry’s career was done. Bob Wills got out of the service in 1943, and his band got bigger than ever. </h2>
<h2>To circle back, in the late 30s, the Carter Family was falling apart. A.P. Carter and his wife Sara split but they did agree to record together the landmark song ‘Will The Circle Be Unbroken.’ Both Marty Stuart and Roseanne Cash talk about this iconic song. Not selling any records, the Carters went to a Mexican ‘border blaster’ station XERA (‘I Heard It On The X’) that with 100,000 watts reached clear across the country Sara Carter quietly married her young cousin, Coy Bayes. Soon, Sara Carter stopped performing completely, so Mother Maybelle got the new generation of Carter Sisters, her daughters, to join her and soldiered on. The way was being paved for new stars. This episode featured great commentary from historian Bill Malone and the ever-present Marty Stuart. It laid the groundwork for the explosive talent to emerge on the scene in the next episode.</h2>
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<h2>Next Time: <em>The Hillbilly Shakespeare</em> and <em>I Can't Stop Loving You.</em>
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<h2>----Steve McGowan</h2>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/59445232019-10-30T19:22:38-04:002019-10-30T19:22:38-04:00The New Pornographers - In The Morse Code Of Brake Lights<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/81be64e47bb1015118e595f8793e57e7f873b926/original/new-pornos-lp.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>As you might know, I am a pretty serious record collector. Any band that I like from my youth, I usually have all of their records. I was thinking about the New Pornographers, Carl Newman’s Vancouver ‘supergroup,’ and I realized that I have all of their records. So you’d be right in imagining that this review of In <em>The Morse Code Of Brake Lights</em>, their brand new LP, would be pretty positive. </h2>
<h2>This record has a lot of themes: cars, ‘things falling,’ things falling apart. It’s a pop fantasy with a serious sadness underneath. With the recent albums <em>Brill Bruisers</em> and <em>Whiteout Conditions</em>, the Pornos have been moving toward a much more keyboard-based sound, and this is also true of Morse Code. Carl Newman, the main songwriter and vocalist, has tweeted extensively of his love for The Cars (RIP Ric Ocasek) and in places you can really hear that influence on this record. </h2>
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<em>Morse Code</em> opens with ‘You’ll Need A New Backseat Driver,’ the amazing vocals of Neko Case filling the verses and astounding choruses. The drums don’t come in until a good third of the song is over, very cleverly put together is this one. We’re off to a good start. ‘The Surprise Knock’ uses sampled voices much like a Loud Family record. It’s a very upbeat song with Carl Newman giving his all, singing cheery lyrics about paranoia, C4 explosives, and war while Joe Seiders tears it up on the drums. </h2>
<h2>‘Falling Down The Stairs Of Your Smile’ has a killer slinky bass line, not sure if it is bassist John Collins or done on a keyboard. The choruses with Neko and Kathryn Calder have that classic pop bliss the New Pornos are known for. It’s a total earworm. ‘Colossus Of Rhodes’ has a full-bore production, with orchestral string flourishes, chugging sequenced synths, tons of vocals, and guitar you can really hear along with train-chugging drums. It’s almost too much, right on the edge of excess without going over. </h2>
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<h2>‘Higher Beams’ sounds like it has a string quartet, and is a slower jam sung by Newman, tracing an immigrant’s thoughts: </h2>
<h2><em>Deep in the culture of fear, we all hate living here </em></h2>
<h2><em>But you know when you can’t afford to leave? </em></h2>
<h2><em>So you stay in the lines, navigate the land mines </em></h2>
<h2><em>Should have gone for the guided tour </em></h2>
<h2><em>Got lost, I could see what we’ve crossed. I knew the cost </em></h2>
<h2><em>In the higher beams, that temporarily blind </em></h2>
<h2><em>That change your mind </em></h2>
<h2>‘Opening Ceremony’ is filled with ghostly keys and has a great Newman melody. It is restrained, poppy, and very pretty. ‘One Kind Of Solomon’ is a pop fever dream, sounding a bit like an older Pornos track, frantic and jammed full of lyrics: </h2>
<h2><em>Solomon had his following </em></h2>
<h2><em>They had been calling him by so many names that he lost track of all of them </em></h2>
<h2><em> Famous for nearly killing the kid and expecting </em></h2>
<h2><em>That his blind faith was as honorable as the next thing </em></h2>
<h2><em>He prayed for happy landing </em></h2>
<h2><em>Solomon knew astronomy </em></h2>
<h2><em>Didn't take Ptolemy to say "The Pharisees got nothing on me" </em></h2>
<h2><em>Sooner or later you see that side of the cannon </em></h2>
<h2><em>As you look up from the jar you had your hand in </em></h2>
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<h2>The LP closes with ‘Leather On The Seat,’ another everyhing-plus-the-kitchen-sink production. Neko’s amazing vocal holds it together, and it’s a majestic ending to another great Pornos album. </h2>
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<h2>No one sounds like The New Pornographers. They’ve consistently produced a steady stream of amazing, clever, intelligent pop records. <em>Morse Code</em> is no different. I have some minor quibbles about the production, which can border on overwrought, but it is a great record. I can’t wait to see them again. </h2>
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<h2>---Steve McGowan</h2>
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<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/6e784a8e191dfdc2e8d30a63a40426468c0a50ad/original/new-pornos-band.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/59408242019-10-27T20:15:09-04:002019-10-27T20:21:18-04:00King Crimson at The Cobb Energy Center, Atlanta<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/9fb5083a166d264b5677c27082b209edf4408662/original/kc-logo.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>Everything about King Crimson is weird, wonderful, and different. Would you imagine an old punk like me would be a fan of the ultimate prog-rock band? Weird things happen. Years ago, my dear, departed friend Joey sat me down and played me his copy of <em>Lark’s Tongue In Aspic,</em> Crimson’s fifth album released in 1973. To say it was a mindblower was an understatement, the first track (‘LTIA, Part 1’) beginning with all kinds of hippie dippie percussion that seems to go on forever, until Robert Fripp’s absolutely howling metallic guitar screams into the picture. Wonderful. I was aware of <em>In The Court Of The Crimson King</em> (with the iconic ‘21st Century Schizoid Man’) and, to some degree, the metal workout of <em>Red</em>. But I was never a Crimson fan, until 1981’s <em>Discipline</em>. I had been following Adrian Belew’s career, and he, Fripp, Tony Levin, and Bill Bruford had a hell of a quartet. This would eventually morph into the ‘double-trio’ that recorded the <em>Vrooom</em> EP and the astounding <em>Thrak</em> record. I’ve followed Crimson pretty closely since 1981 until now. </h2>
<h2>That being said, King Crimson is a band that is a way of life among their fans. I make no claims to being an expert on this band. But I have seen King Crimson seven times now. So, the newest incarnation of the band, the ‘Seven-Headed Beast,’ features guitarist/bandleader/keyboardist Fripp, bassist/Chapman stick player Tony Levin, singer/guitarist Jakko Jakszyk, horns and wind instruments by Mel Collins, and THREE drummers, Pat Mastelotto, Gavin Harrison, and drummer/keyboardist Jeremy Stacey. The ensemble was at the very nice Cobb Energy Center in Atlanta, great acoustics, great seats, great sightlines, all in a 2700 or so capacity sold out theater. This was their 2019 celebration tour, being the 50th anniversary of the first Crimson LP, <em>In The Court Of The Crimson King</em>. </h2>
<h2>Different. A King Crimson concert is different from any other. No photography is allowed, ever. No recording. No use of phones at any time. Old fans are ready for this, and new fans are met with plenty of signs telling you to put your phone away. They will throw you out if you use your phone. The idea is that the band wants you, the listener, to be present in the music. Taking the phones away really helps. I can’t remember enjoying a cellular-era concert experience more, without the constant shining screens in the air. It really works. A King Crimson show, with it’s impressive, beyond top level musicianship, excellent sound, and dearth of any rock tropes (no video screens, no backdrop, no fancy lighting, no talking to the audience) reminds me of going to see a classical ensemble. It’s very civilized and very enjoyable. </h2>
<h2>The show was set for 7:30 pm. And King Crimson was playing at 7:30 pm. We were in the lobby finding our seats when they started. The band broke up the show into two parts with a 20 minute intermission (also very civilized). Right up was ‘Neurotica’ from 1982’s <em>Beat</em>, singer Jakko covering the Belew vocals and Mel Collins’ sax playing all over. The band sets up with the three drummers up front, with Collins, Levin, Jakko and Fripp on a riser behind them. Traditional prog was the core of ‘Cirkus’ from <em>Lizard </em>(1970), which was a showcase for both Jeremy Stacey’s keyboard work and Jakko’s vocals (sounding very much like original Crimson’s Greg Lake). Next up was ‘Red’ from the same LP (1974), an evil, metal workout that I really love. Tony Levin’s shifting bass was a highlight amidst Fripp’s take-no-prisoners guitar, and all three drummers were full bore (I know you may be thinking, three drummers? But this is King Crimson, it’s weird and wonderful and it works). ‘Moonchild’ from <em>In The Court Of The Crimson King</em> got a great audience response, all full of mellotrons, e-bow guitar, and more I-swear-that’s-Greg-Lake vocals. “Elektrik,’ from 2003’s <em>The Power To Believe</em>, was a pseudo-electronica workout with Fripp and Jakszyk playing delicate guitar filigree on top. They ended part one of the show with a heavy, heavy take on ‘Level Five’ from <em>The Power To Believe</em>. Now for a civilized twenty minute intermission. </h2>
<h2>Part two of the show began with a drum workout, and then a beautiful version of “Epitaph’ from <em>In The Court Of The Crimson King</em>. Jakko’s voice and the oh-so cool mellotron sounds were spine-tingling. After a portion of ‘Lizard’ the seven-headed beast lumbered into ‘Larks Tongue In Aspic, Pt. IV’ from 2000’s <em>The Construktion Of Light.</em> This was a thirteen minute or so metal workout with so, so many parts. A wonder to behold. It also had an extended solo from seventy year old Robert Fripp showing him to be one of the fastest guitarists on the planet, and not just fast but precise, never missing or flubbing a note. Astonishing. As the set neared the end, they did a fabulous intro to ‘Indiscipline,’ (from 1981’s <em>Discipline</em>) featuring Mastelotto, Harrison, and Stacey in an extended drum-off before the howling body of the song came in. Weird and wonderful. Next was ‘Starless’ from <em>Red</em>, a beautiful slow-burner showing Tony Levin at the top of his game, holding together an impossible sounding bass line. </h2>
<h2>‘The Court Of The Crimson King’ brought the crowd to its feet. Funny I just saw the Claypool Lennon Delirium do an incredible version of this song (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubdelirium" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubdelirium" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubdelirium</a>) but this was KING CRIMSON. There is no better version. Another, lengthy standing ovation, and they were off stage and back for the ultimate encore, a workout on ‘21st Century Schizoid Man:’ metal riffs, raunchy sax, screaming distorted vocal, jazz-improv like middle, the amazing start-stop section. It was all different, weird, and wonderful. Fripp has said he believes this song was the first metal song, and as with everything Fripp, he is probably right. </h2>
<h2>King Crimson. Really hard to define. Amazing show, remarkable music, best musicianship ever. Rock as classical chamber music. Total respect for the audience. Not putting up with ANY bullshit from the audience. Heightened expectations, heightened outcomes. Weird, wonderful, and different. Long live the King! </h2>
<h2>--Steve McGowan </h2>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/84c087a0d217eb23aaa6ee67445c3bf3300b7442/original/kc.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Rolling Stone article about ‘21st Century’ (in two parts) </h2>
<h2><a contents="/www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/king-crimson-interview-writing-21st-century-schizoid-man-891600/&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http:///www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/king-crimson-interview-writing-21st-century-schizoid-man-891600/" target="_blank">/www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/king-crimson-interview-writing-21st-century-schizoid-man-891600/ </a></h2>
<h2><a contents="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/king-crimson-21st-century-schizoid-man-influence-kanye-west-892305/&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/king-crimson-21st-century-schizoid-man-influence-kanye-west-892305/">https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/king-crimson-21st-century-schizoid-man-influence-kanye-west-892305/ </a></h2>
<h2>A Spotify playlist made by Brad Carr approximating the set: </h2>
<h2><a contents="&nbsp;https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1xN7zbko6juvaSMeH2z3bO" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1xN7zbko6juvaSMeH2z3bO" target="_blank"> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1xN7zbko6juvaSMeH2z3bO</a></h2>
<p> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1xN7zbko6juvaSMeH2z3bO</p>
<div class="setlistImage" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/king-crimson/2019/cobb-energy-centre-atlanta-ga-4b9c173e.html" target="_blank" title="King Crimson Setlist Cobb Energy Centre, Atlanta, GA, USA 2019, 2019 Celebration Tour"><img src="https://www.setlist.fm/widgets/setlist-image-v1?id=4b9c173e" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="King Crimson Setlist Cobb Energy Centre, Atlanta, GA, USA 2019, 2019 Celebration Tour" style="border: 0;" /></a>
<div>
<a href="https://www.setlist.fm/edit?setlist=4b9c173e&step=song">Edit this setlist</a> | <a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlists/king-crimson-1bd6b568.html">More King Crimson setlists</a>
</div>
</div>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/59331162019-10-20T18:12:08-04:002019-10-20T18:12:08-04:00Bob Mould Live At The Grey Eagle, Asheville NC<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/b6d7fa9bd589a389c27b786356cd2ac49fbffb3f/original/bob-live.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>So, here is a quick definition for you: </h2>
<h2><span class="font_large">ca·thar·sis </span></h2>
<h2>/kəˈTHärsəs/ </h2>
<h2>the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions. <br>"music is a means of catharsis for them" </h2>
<h2>Similar: purgation </h2>
<h2>This is, to me, what Bob Mould’s music is and always has been about, from Husker Du to Sunshine Rock (see our review at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubsunshinebob" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubsunshinebob" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubsunshinebob</a>) and everything in between. But to see Bob Mould live is a total cathartic experience. His songs are full of anger, hate, lust, pain, regret, confusion, hope, loss, redemption, and ultimately, love. I have seen Husker Du twice (Our Huskers Podcast <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubmileshi" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubmileshi" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubmileshi</a>) and Bob three times solo, and it’s been an amazing experience every time. From the start to the end, old late 1980’s Strat in hand (the silver one tonight, or is it gunmetal?), Fender Twin turned up loud and plenty of screaming distortion via pedals, Bob puts his whole being into putting the songs across. </h2>
<h2>I get what you might describe as a spiritual charge from a good rock show or a great songwriter. The concerts are my place of communion, and they give me life. Extending this analogy, I’d have to say that Bob Mould is a great vessel for the rock and roll spirit. He’s reigns high in its temple, an apostle or prophet through whom that musical spirit moves. </h2>
<h2>Did I mention Bob Mould played a show at the Grey Eagle? Playing alone, he marched out and launched into ‘The War’ from Beauty And Ruin, immediately followed by Husker Du’s ‘Flip Your Wig’ and ‘I Apologize.’ Living in Berlin has been good for Bob, he was trim and looked great, ran all over the stage just like Husker Du days, and played intricate and cutting guitar throughout. His voice is not classically perfect, but by sheer will he puts his terrific songs forward. Did I mention how much he was smiling? He seemed to be having a really great time. Sugar’s beautiful ‘Hoover Dam’ followed, <em>Workbook’s </em>‘See A Little Light’ was a touching moment. He did ‘Sunshine Rock’ from the new album. Bob talked with the crowd, was totally in command of the stage, and seemed to be at peace now with his Husker Du past, which he has not always embraced. He wrapped up the set with a spectacular, heart-wrenching version of ‘Sinners And Their Repentences’ (from <em>Workbook</em>). This was followed by a Husker’s heavy encore of <em>Zen Arcade’s </em>“Something I Learned Today,’ ‘Chartered Trips,’ and a sing-along of ‘Makes No Sense At All.’ </h2>
<h2>This was a special trip to the rock and roll alter. Husker Du and Bob Mould and the late Grant Hart, exceptional and sensitive songwriters who are not afraid of noise or feelings, loom large for me. They taught me how to play and what equipment to use. They showed me that so-called ‘Punk’ music can be cathartic, can have real emotional depth, and Bob Mould is still the high priest as far as I’m concerned. </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan </h2>
<p> </p>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="QGVIyxoVk00" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/QGVIyxoVk00/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QGVIyxoVk00?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/59301182019-10-17T22:14:41-04:002019-10-20T18:00:03-04:00Pixies - Beneath The Eyrie<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/16ade14db4db068444918c9616348699069c6062/original/eyrie.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsImxhcmdlIl1d.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<h2>The Pixies debut album, <em>Surfer Rosa</em> was released in 1988, launching the ‘classic’ Pixies era from 1988 to 1991, with <em>Come On Pilgrim</em> and <em>Doolittle</em> all the way to <em>Trompe Le Monde</em>. It took me a while to warm up to Pixies, but when I fell for them, I fell hard: they are great. </h2>
<h2>Since their early days they have been a major influence on other bands, specifically (but not limited to) Nirvana. But with that high regard for their golden era comes a downside; I don’t think there is another band that gets so much stick from the press for not repeating their early sound. Since reforming, the Pixies new material has been pretty well panned, including <em>Indie Cindy</em> and especially <em>Head Carrier</em>. Still, I don’t want to hear them make <em>Surfer Rosa</em> again. The band is older and wiser, and, somehow...darker. </h2>
<h2>This new record is ‘Goth,’ according to Black Francis. Francis has gone through a divorce, and ace guitarist Joey Santiago is out of a stint in rehab, a record made now is bound to be of and from a darker place. But all is not gloom: new bassist Paz Lenchantin is a welcome, positive addition, great on the bass, backing vocals, and composition, co-writing some of <em>Beneath The Eyrie’s </em>strongest songs. </h2>
<h2>This record is very well recorded, sounds great, and is even a bit slick. Francis is using his lower register voice more, but Santiago’s crazed-surf guitar is same as ever. David Lovering’s drumming is nothing short of excellent. Highlights of the twelve songs on the record include the opener ‘In The Arms Of Mrs. Mark Of Cain’ starting with a super-cool spy theme type riff and ending with a huge Santiago guitar riff. ‘On Graveyard Hill’ (written by Francis with Lenchantin) has the patented Pixies bass intro, loud chorus, and lots of back and forth as Francis goes on about the witching hour and a beautiful conjurer. This song is everything you want from the Pixies. When we saw Pixies play ‘Catfish Kate’ on the Colbert Show, Adrienne remarked that the vocal didn’t even sound like Black Francis. It is thirty years on since we first heard him, and after a few listens, ‘Catfish Kate’ has really grown on me, with an undeniable hook throughout. </h2>
<p> </p>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="E2o-65chdoc" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/E2o-65chdoc/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/E2o-65chdoc?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>‘This Is My Fate’ has a looping, oom-pah beat and reminds me of a classic Tom Waits tune. It’s a drinking song for sure, with a black heart underneath. </h2>
<h2>‘Long Rider’ is another strong rocker (again co-written by Lenchantin) with an ‘I Believe’ lyrical bridge. It’s rocking but in control and classy, and much slicker than early Pixies. ‘St. Nazaire’ is a balls-out rocker, Francis screaming and swearing, Joey Santiago all over the place, while Francis spins a crude tale about going down on a Selkie. The records ends with ‘Death Horizon’ a mostly acoustic tale of drinking and mortality with a classic Black Francis melody. </h2>
<h2>I’ve listened to <em>Beneath The Eyrie</em> a lot, and I truly like it. I like Pixies. I like Frank Black. The press I’ve read about this record amounts to “not too bad,” or “getting better.” I think the issue with the Pixies are the expectations. They are not the college kids that made the early records. They are grown-ass adults, making a more adult version of their art. Good for them. Death to Pixies. Long live Pixies! </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan</h2>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/f4e136211a4a0b5653a29f0e7f306221bce857bd/original/pixies-4.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/59252412019-10-13T16:03:20-04:002019-10-13T16:03:20-04:00Whitey Morgan and the 78's - Live at Iron City, Birmingham and at Soul Kitchen, Mobile AL<h2><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/3482982600bdf3840c11c43e113cfd9839e25edd/original/whitey-bill.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2>In my earlier review of Whitey and the 78’s, I mentioned that my friend Russell worked for Whitey for a time. When Russell asked if I wanted to go with him to see two nights of Honky Tonk in two cities in Alabama, my response was, obviously, “hell yeah.” </h2>
<h2>As I wrote before, this band plays real Honky Tonk indebted to both Haggard and Jennings, with a touch of the rock (think early AC/DC) to boot. Whitey is a great performer and his band keeps getting better. </h2>
<h2>Authenticity is a hallmark of Country Music, according to almost everyone interviewed in Ken Burns’ Country Music PBS doc. I have watched all episodes aired so far, and the stories of Jimmie Rogers, The Carter Family, Bill Monroe, and the amazing Hank Williams have been fascinating. As with all of Burns’ documentaries, I have learned so much. On this trip we went to Montgomery, Alabama, and took the time to visit Hank Williams’ gravesite. The cemetery was empty and the visit strangely touching: the great ‘Hillbilly Shakespeare’s’ songs engraved on his marker, Hank buried next to his true love, wife Audrey. I think artists like Whitey Morgan fully understand the tradition that reaches back to Hank, Jimmie, and the others. </h2>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/b13e84f4b165c4f22a35d3c52f5e7bf89d161199/original/hank-grave.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>The venue in Birmingham, Iron City, was a great spot with a good stage and great sound, the best I’ve heard at a Whitey show. The soundman believed in turning the solos up (many don’t, or don’t bother). They opened with a killer version of ‘Bad News,’ and quickly were tonkin’ through Johnny Paycheck’s ‘Cocaine Train.’ Pedal steel man Brett Robinson, a skinny Alabama boy with a big cowboy hat, was outstanding throughout. There was a sad tale of love gone wrong, ‘Back To Back,’ a true tear-in-your-beer tune. </h2>
<p><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/0eb7dba68c2462dbd22080bb9026b3c78eec11aa/original/whitey-live.jpeg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<h2>Whitey mentioned he had been off the road, and he needed “time off from his time off,” before launching into ‘It’s Been A Long Time (Since I Had A Good Time),’ one of his many excellent drinking songs. Shortly after, this was followed by his cover of ‘That’s How I Got To Memphis,’ highlighting the tasteful and so in the pocket rhythm section of Alex Lyon (bass) and Eric Savage (drums). Being a bass player myself, I was astounded by how effortless Alex’s playing was; he makes it sound simple, but his playing is anything but simplistic or basic. There was an astounding version of ‘Bourbon And The Blues,’ extended at the end with an amazing descending part that reminded me a little of ‘I Am The Walrus.’ The end of the set featured an always great cover of ZZ Top’s ‘Just Got Paid,’ and Whitey’s superb version of Springsteen’s ‘I’m On Fire.’ The crowd-pleaser ‘I Ain’t Drunk, I’ve Just Been Drinking’ followed. Encores were ‘Sinner’ and a cover of ‘Fire On The Mountain.’ For being off for three weeks, Whitey and the 78’s delivered the goods. </h2>
<h2>The next night we headed to the coast and Mobile, Alabama, a city I’ve never been to. Downtown definitely had a mini - New Orleans vibe. The venue, Soul Kitchen, was an old converted Woolworth’s, with a good stage and so-so sound. This was the band’s first time in town, and even though we heard most of the same songs as the prior night’s set, this was a very different show. Whitey, the drinking song king, was, like a Christmas tree, a little lit up. Honestly it didn’t affect his performance: he flubbed a couple of verses, and, for the taciturn Whitey, was very, very chatty with the audience. </h2>
<h2>The band was loud and powerful and turned on a dime. In addition to the aforementioned songs, there was an authentic version of Merle Haggard’s ‘Swinging Doors,’ and a killer ‘Me And The Whisky.’ Tonight’s MVP was definitely lead guitarist Joey Spina, absolutely tearing it up all night and providing great vocal backups. He even blew up his high-priced boutique amp and ran off stage to get a little spare amp, got it set up and was playing before the song was over. The new guy on keys and vocals (I think his name is Edmund) really added a lot to the sound. The liquor was flowing, on stage and off, and Whitey seemed genuinely happy. The crowd (drunker than the band) was totally apeshit for the show; Whitey and the band made a lot of fans in Mobile. </h2>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/7042cac25b2c0816bdeffa89766757f03bf46333/original/whitey-amp.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Whitey and the 78s are still poised for bigger and bigger things, I believe, as long as they don’t let the bottle bring them down. As I watch the Burns’ series, I am reminded that there is a price for authenticity in the hard-living honky tonk world. Let’s hope Whitey doesn’t become a cautionary tale, because he deserves a story with a better ending, one in keeping with his talent. </h2>
<h2>Here’s to you, Whitey Morgan! </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan</h2>
<p> </p>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="NIeRF-UWA10" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/NIeRF-UWA10/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NIeRF-UWA10?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe> Whitey and The 78's Live in Birmingham 9/19/2019 from Youtube</p>
<p> </p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/59143162019-10-03T14:44:54-04:002019-10-05T02:17:55-04:00The Figgs - Shady Grove<h2> </h2>
<h2><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/963cdc81b77f197f743964460cfd7b3a7cd1023a/original/shady-grove-cover.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></h2>
<h2>The Figgs are a very, very fine band from Saratoga Springs, New York, who have been together for thirty two years, and in the best way, sound like they have been together forever. They have an almost telepathic connection, vocalist and guitarist Mike Gent, vocalist and bassist Pete Donnelly, and drummer and sometime vocalist Pete Hayes. We reviewed them live recently at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubfiggslive " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubfiggslive" style="">tinyurl.com/zubfiggslive </a>and our description of this band was: </h2>
<h2>The band is from Saratoga, NY (Home of the Adirondack Chair), and has gone through scrappy, Replacement-y phases to a cool sort of later period Rolling Stones sound now to a wonderful R&B tinged phase that reminds me a bit of the best of British Pub-Rock. Their songwriting is concise, not at all indulgent, and the lyrics and melodies are unstoppable. They tick ALL the qualification boxes on the ride-or-die band checklist. </h2>
<h2>Which brings us to The Figgs’ newest release <em>Shady Grove.</em> Dear readers this is a TRIPLE LP. You heard right. Three records, two CD’s. Twenty five songs. One hour and fifty one minutes of music! When I hear ‘triple LP’ I immediately think of The Clash and <em>Sandinista! </em>That was a fun listen but ultimately was held together with filler and some indulgent stuff that weren’t really songs. I’ve listened to all of <em>Shady Grove</em> many times now. I can tell you it is a great collection. There may be a little bit of filler (The Figgs are not known for their instrumentals, and some are included here) but there are a number of killer, killer songs on this collection. A triple album is a commitment, and that devotion is earned here. </h2>
<h2>Probably the best rocker on the record is ‘Grab Your Pack,’ a relentless rocker from Mike Gent showing off the tension in a riff. Lyrically, everything goes wrong in the song, dancing people turn to plastic, then end up covered in plastic. People are looking to escape, go across the Atlantic, but they get into a panic. It’s one of the best rock songs I’ve heard in a long time. Pete Donnelly’s ‘Reset Switch,’ with its insistent “There’s A Riot Goin’ On” chorus is a great follow up song, and also catchy as hell with no distorted guitar in sight. ‘Shady Grove’ is a slow-jam blues burner, very unlike anything I’ve heard from The Figgs, but it is beautiful with Mike Gent giving it his all on the smoky R&B vocal. There’s cool electric piano, a tasteful, not-too-many-notes blues solo followed by a cool acoustic guitar solo. These guys are still brimming full of ideas. </h2>
<p> </p>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="L489vK_wfRk" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/L489vK_wfRk/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/L489vK_wfRk?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>“Sleeping Dogs (Part 1 and 2)’ features a great acoustic approach, a delicate descending chord change, and Donnelly’s amazing, amazing bass playing. He’s one of the best bassists I’ve ever seen, fluid but not overly flashy or busy. ‘Part 1’ morphs into ‘Part 2,’ becoming a late-night trance jam. This is really mature, cool music. ‘Bad Decisions’ has a great Hayes beat and Donnelly singing, going into Motown territory. </h2>
<h2>Gent’s ‘A Little Sip’ is an absolute gem, a rollicking chord change with a superb power pop chorus. Yes, it’s that good, sounding like it could be a Beatles or Badfinger tune, or a Will Owsley song. It is that good. Donnelly’s ‘Brandenburg Gate’ is another great bookend, sounding a bit like a later period Paul Westerberg song, insistent and insightful, he sings: </h2>
<h2>I never wanted anything/ Until I needed everything/Now I’d give anything, for you </h2>
<h2>Opening with a harp flourish (?) ‘When Mandy Comes,’ written by Gent, is very slow and poppy with a great melody The lyrics deal with the tale of a girl: </h2>
<h2><em>She met older men, and did nothing then/ Went back to boys/ And seemed annoyed </em></h2>
<h2><em>On the screened in porch/ We’d laugh of course/ And take our time/ With weed and wine </em></h2>
<h2>Donnelly’s ‘Black Alabaster’ has a full R&B horn section and again feels like a classic Motown song. No one does stuff like this anymore, and it’s great. ‘Quitters Unite!’’ has Pete Hayes on vocals with what sounds like some kids. It’s a hilarious song. </h2>
<h2><em>So what do you do/ When the boss has you blue/ Each day is a test/ </em></h2>
<h2><em>So take a shit on his desk </em></h2>
<h2>‘Waves Make Patterns’ is a classic sounding Donnelly song, with an R&B, indie feel and some great lyrics: </h2>
<h2><em>I tried to replace the locks/ Roll out the fuses and zero the clocks/ I’m a man with a reset switch / Familiar terrain makes a body twitch </em></h2>
<h2><em>All the waves make patterns/ It remains in static </em></h2>
<h2>The collection closes with ‘Pink Palace (Loop)’ a tight, sinewy groove with synth-pop overtones. Donnelly really puts this over and it will stick in your ear. Shady Grove ends with the Stones-groove of ‘Down At Le Sound’ (a live standout) that is just about the perfect Figgs song. </h2>
<h2>The triple LP has about five instrumentals. ‘T.C Is Here’ opens the collection and is a tribute to a friend that is gone. ‘Walking To Scribner Village’ is a short pop instrumental reminiscent of <em>RAM</em>-era Paul Mc Cartney. ‘P.J. Is Here’ is a synth workout. ‘E.H. Is Here’ is a prog-rock sounding instrumental, with bass. drums, and mellotron sounds. It’s pretty cool. ‘Newburyport’ is a seven-minute plus melodic instrumental that calls out for a vocal and lyrics. </h2>
<h2>I enjoyed all of this collection. It’s an engaging, sprawling, quality, mature statement from one of America’s best (and not well known) indie bands. It’s well written, not indulgent, well played and well recorded, and is not inflated to triple disc length by filler. Plus, it has a very high percentage of TERRIFIC songs on it. Hunt this one down. The Figgs earn and deserve your ears. </h2>
<h2>------Steve McGowan</h2>
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<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/437c2d77f1d8b612a9f6bff510ee07919818011d/original/figgs-band.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/59119852019-10-01T17:02:11-04:002019-10-01T17:02:11-04:00The Lassie James Songbook, Vol. 1<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/d7e097269ccaeeac66c4ef3f75f0e65c8f4cbc6b/original/lassie-songbook.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>A few months ago, Adrienne and I saw Don Dixon at Imbibe in Chapel Hill (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubimbibe" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubimbibe" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubimbibe</a>). Don was playing songs from this new project with novelist John Bare (from that review): </h2>
<h2><em>This was not a typical show for Don Dixon, the North Carolina rock legend, voice of Arrogance, and fine solo artist. Seated on stools coffeehouse style, were Don, guitar in hand, alongside novelist John Bare, who read from his book manuscript, ‘Fair-Skinned Brunette with the Porcelain Shine.’ The protagonist in the book is one Lasssiter “Lassie” James, and the story is set around and about the town of Chapel Hill and the UNC campus. The travails of Mr. James and his adventures with the title character, a fair skinned brunette named Fats, were the thread of the songs and readings. </em></h2>
<h2>Bare’s novel is not published as of this date. The novelist wrote the lyrics to the songs that Don played, with Dixon providing the melodies and music. Don told me after the show how much he loved working this way, kind of a Brill-Building old school approach to songwriting. So with John Bare sitting by his side providing the set-ups, readings, and commentary, Don Dixon played for the first time from the ‘Lassie James Songbook.’ </h2>
<h2>
<em>The Lassie James Songbook, Vol.1</em> is recorded and now available on Spotify and other streaming sites. The recording features a murderer’s row of North Carolina talent, including: </h2>
<h2>Jeffery Dean Foster – vocals </h2>
<h2>Jim Brock – drums </h2>
<h2>Beth McKee - piano and accordion </h2>
<h2>Matt Smith - pedal steel and dobro </h2>
<h2>Robert Kirkland - acoustic guitar </h2>
<h2>Mitch Easter - electric guitar </h2>
<h2>Don Dixon - bass, backing vocals </h2>
<h2>Marti Jones - backing vocal on ‘I Fell in Love with Emmylou’ </h2>
<h2>The whole thing was recorded at Mitch Easter’s Fidelitorium Studio (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubactive" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubactive" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubactive</a>) by Mitch and Tammy White and produced by the man himself, Don Dixon. To say that this recording sounds great is a major understatement. The playing, arrangements, performances and especially Dixon’s songs (with John Bare’s lyrics) are all top-notch. </h2>
<h2>My only quibble, and it’s a minor one, is that Don Dixon doesn’t sing lead. Jeffery Dean Foster (a contemporary of The Beef People) handles the vocals, and he is stellar. Having heard Dixon sing these songs first, I miss the ultra-soulfulness of his delivery. Indeed the R&B stylings of Dixon have been turned instead into a kind of super-Americana approach (and Dixon <em>is</em> the producer, mind you). ‘Would You Like To Slow Dance’ has a Cajun-style accordion. ‘Redhead From Detroit’ almost has a Western swing, with plenty of steel guitar and real piano. It’s great to hear the incomparable Marti Jones on the soaked-in-country shuffle ‘I Fell In Love With Emmylou.’ </h2>
<h2>‘The Displaced Man’ even crosses into Elvis Costello (<em>King Of America</em>-era) territory. It’s a real heart wrencher. ‘How Do You Like Your Eggs’ is a boogie barnburner, with Mitch tearing it up on the guitar. ‘She’s A Baptist And A Communist’ (“she’s the femminist I want to kiss”) keeps a little of that Dixon soul smoke. It’s a great song, as is ‘No Songs About Mamas Or Trains,’ a bit of a thinking man's take on Waylon Jennings with a killer melody. ‘Fair Skinned Brunette With The Porcelain Shine’ is a classic, classic country-style ballad. Simple and effective chords with nothing wasted. </h2>
<h2>By the time they get to the end with the bouncy ‘Whiskey Kisses,’ I realize this is one of the strongest collections of songs I’ve heard in a long, long time. I'm not big on the Americana, but Bare and Dixon and their all star cast are showing why they got where they did. It’s a satisfying and amazingly good listen. </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan</h2>
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<p><iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/album/3InY9RfOfTLcg91vQrAj5D" width="300"></iframe></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/59070232019-09-26T23:34:25-04:002019-09-26T23:34:25-04:00When Movies Wuz Dumb<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/aa588d7212ece7b19a52d3eb35eec2ed713a7c2f/original/rock-roll-high.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>I was able to see a one night only 40th Anniversary screening of <em>Rock And Roll High School </em>at the amazing Carolina Theater in Durham as part of their revival programming. Wednesdays often mean Laura Boyes’ ‘Movie Diva’ series, featuring women as strong characters, and where we saw an amazing, restored in 4K <em>Some Like It Hot</em> the week before. <em>Rock And Roll High School </em>could fit in Movie Diva in in its own way: it features strong female characters (all too rare in rock stories) as their own agents for the action in the film. But the monthly series ‘Cinema Overdrive,’ which features cult and gonzo movies, brought us this gem. The trailers for the Overdrive series included lots of movies I have soundtracks to, like <em>Breaking Glass</em>, <em>Times Square</em>, and <em>The Fabulous Stains. </em>
</h2>
<h2>So, <em>Rock And Roll High School</em> was released in 1979, it’s a teen (exploitation?) flick featuring The Ramones. The plot reminds me of when movies really were proudly, unabashedly dumb. The high schoolers at Vince Lombardi High are driving the principals to nervous breakdowns with their bad behavior. Enter Principal Togar, played with an evil kick by Mary Woronov, and her two young ‘Hall Monitor’ henchmen. They have to fight high schoolers rock rebel Riff Randell (P.J. Soles) and her genius oh-you’re-smoking-hot-when-you-take-off-your-glasses nerd pal Kate Rambeau (played by Dey Young). There’s a funny subplot in which Jock Tom Roberts (Vince Van Patten) needs help trying to get set up with Riff. Help comes from Eaglebauer Enterprises (Clint Howard) </h2>
<h2>Riff has written songs for her favorite band, The Ramones, and her crush is the adorable Joey Ramone (?!). If she can only get the songs to The Ramones, all will be perfect. So the movie turns upon The Ramones coming to town for a Big Show, where pretty much all the subplots meet up. I didn’t even mention the great comedic turn of Paul Bartel as Mr. McGree, the school’s music teacher, who goes from Mozart to hip-daddio Ramones devotee in one fell swoop, or the continuingly exploding white mice. </h2>
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<h2>The Ramones are both a great choice and a weird one for this movie. <em>Rock And Roll High School </em>came from B-movie master Roger Corman. Corman’s studio was known as a creative cradle and <em>RRHS</em> was mostly directed by Allan Arkush (who went on to do <em>Caddyshack II </em>and <em>Get Crazy!</em> and a LOT of TV direction), but the story for the film changed many times, first known as <em>Disco High </em>and then <em>Girl’s Gym</em>. This was one of the cool facts ‘Cinema Overdrive’ curator Adam Hulin told us about this movie in the introduction. They had originally wanted Cheap Trick as the band, which would have been a very different movie experience, more heartthrob and Glam, less Punk and offbeat. At the time they were selected, The Ramones were NOT featured on mass market tees in every mall in the country as they are now. They were fairly obscure, underground, and very unlike the “popular” rock music of 1979. Making them the central dream figures of the movie was part of the joke. But thank goodness for that: The Ramones made the film timeless. I mean, it could have been Quarterflash or some other musical footnote of 1979. </h2>
<h2>The Ramones look great in the Ramones signature leather jackets, torn jeans, and print tees, and they do some minimal acting (“I like pizza!”). The true highlight of the movie is the footage of the band onstage in their prime. All young and very much alive, they tear through the short set in the movie; the cinematography is excellent. Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee, and Marky of course absolutely kill it in the faster-than-you-can-believe live pace. This was the same band the first time I saw them (see our podcast SGS <a contents=" tinyurl.com/zubheyho" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubheyho" target="_blank"> tinyurl.com/zubheyho</a> for more) and that was an mouth-dropping experience. </h2>
<h2>Oh, and Riff gets her songs to The Ramones, who play ‘Rock And Roll High School’ the next day at VLHS: the kids go crazy for the band and song, have a full-on dance riot, take over the school, and then blow it up, thanks to Kate’s chemistry acumen. D-U-M-B everyone’s accusing me. It was great! </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan</h2>
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<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/db898a0d4c1e7d72d827ca99a6a00069ef2cba7d/original/rrhs-2.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/59008572019-09-21T19:22:11-04:002019-09-23T15:27:18-04:00The Rubinoos: From Home<h2> </h2>
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<h2>One of my favorite Facebook groups is called ‘I Love Power Pop,’ full of musically astute fans posting all kinds of cool music. The most fun about the group, however, is the members arguing with each other whether what they’ve posted is really power pop. This happens with about fifty percent of the postings, and it’s a lot of fun to follow. I’m not sure what the real definition of power pop is, but I <em>can </em>assure you the Rubinoos are the real power pop deal, often described as “the Beach Boys with a garage band backing.” </h2>
<h2>The Rubinoos are a legendary power pop outfit from Berkeley, California. Formed in 1970 when the boys were just teenagers. They were stalwarts on the indie label Beserkley, and had hits with a cover of Tommy James’ ‘I Think We’re Alone Now,’ and their own ‘I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend.’ The band has been at it for decades, on and off, but thanks to superfan and producer Chuck Prophet, they are now on Yep Roc Records and have a stellar new LP, <em>From Home</em>, featuring the original Rubinoos lineup. </h2>
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<h2>This new record, with Prophet’s help, is a beautiful power pop blueprint. It sounds like as if it was still 1979. The band plays with joy and abandon, and a noticeable lack of snark or distortion. The melodies are top-notch, and the singing nothing short of impressive. The opener ‘Do You Remember’ has a trashy drum sound and spidery guitar riff perfect for the lyrical nostalgia trip, referencing both The DeFranco Family and The Troggs. ‘Do I Love You’ has a very familiar guitar riff, as heard in ‘Betty’ by local Greenville SC band King Cotton and the Remnants. Their guitarist told me the riff comes from Roy Buchanan’s version of Tyrone Davis’ ‘Can I Change My Mind,’ It has a bit of a beach music feel with Jon Rubin’s vocal shining throughout. ‘Phaedra’ of course references the Greek Goddess: </h2>
<h2><em>Phaedra, goddess of an ancient age </em></h2>
<h2><em>Perfect was the way they made ya </em></h2>
<h2><em>Seven thousand years ago </em></h2>
<h2><em>Seven thousand years ago </em></h2>
<h2>This track sounds like a Raspberries tune, it is catchy as hell and amazingly well done. </h2>
<h2>‘Heart For Sale’ is a stone classic, outdoing Big Star at their own game, just acoustics and Rubin’s beautiful voice. It’s the kind of a song everyone who writes songs wishes they could write. ‘Honey From The Honeycombs’ is a love song to a female drummer: </h2>
<h2><em>You’ve got your Charlie’s and your Ringos </em></h2>
<h2><em>Your jazz guys with their bongos </em></h2>
<h2><em>But I’ll take Honey - Honey from the Honeycombs </em></h2>
<h2>The band really gets into the harmonies on this one, it’s all great fun. “Rocking In Spain’ has a Glitter band drum swagger with the obligatory Little Richard “whoo’s.” Sounds like a single from 1972. ‘Masochist Davey’ has the descending Big Star intro, but with a lighter feel and cool electric piano, tied to a slightly twisted lyric: </h2>
<h2><em>He’s gonna show you things about yourself that you don’t want to know </em></h2>
<h2><em>Go on and try a little tenderness </em></h2>
<h2><em>See how far it goes, see how far it goes </em></h2>
<h2><em>Masochist Davey, oh, he’s only happy when you put him down </em></h2>
<h2><em>Masochist Davey, ooh yeah, you’ll need to learn a little monkeyin’ around </em></h2>
<h2><em>Masochist Davey, he’s only happy when you make him cry </em></h2>
<h2><em>Masochist Davey, he’s just that kind of guy, just that kind of guy </em></h2>
<h2>‘Pretty Close’ is a bit of a reworked ‘Love Is Like A (Heatwave)’ totally breezy and full of Al Chan’s walking bass runs. Another great thing about this record is all twelve songs clock in at about three minutes each, living proof of the maxim, “don’t bore us, get to the chorus.” They get to the hooks then move on to the next one. Album closer ‘Watching The Sun Go Down’ sets the Rubinoos on full Beach Boys power, although I thought the melody was reminiscent of ‘Sister Golden Hair ,’ this is a beautiful, harmony filled ballad again featuring Rubin’s amazing vocal. </h2>
<h2>There it is, From Here is a triumph of old school power pop. Back when melodies and singing and songs were the thing. The Rubinoos have made a wonderful return. Do you remember? Don’t worry if you don’t: you soon will. </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan</h2>
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<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/da630d9410ffee0960b84bed6cba74a97afae206/original/rubinoos.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/58969302019-09-18T16:04:22-04:002019-09-18T16:04:22-04:00The Searing Light, The Sun And Everything Else: Joy Division - The Oral History<h2><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/06acf587bd1d5c7952d8502b0a672c13de3e1fe0/original/jd-book-2.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></h2>
<h2>This excellent book was put together by Jon Savage, one of Britain's preeminent music authors. His 2002 book England’s Dreaming is one of the best books on the U.K. Punk scene. This book, being an oral history, does not showcase Savage’s writing, but instead his savvy interviews with the subjects. He asks the right questions and gets surprisingly in depth answers from all involved. Savage is not interested in the ‘myth’ of Joy Division, but in what really happened. </h2>
<h2>Sadly, many of the crucial figures in the book are no longer with us. Of course singer Ian Curtis’ suicide effectively ended the band. Other key people associated with Joy Division have passed, including manager Rob Gretton, genius producer Martin Hannett, and Factory Records owner Tony Wilson. Luckily, Savage conducted a number of earlier interviews that he can take from to flesh out the book. </h2>
<h2>I won’t give everything away, but here are my brief takeaways from the book. One, the band Joy Division was not interested in being rock stars or even being famous. The band was just something they had to do, a way to escape the grim cityscapes of 1970’s Salford and Manchester. In this way, Joy Division, as a band was much, much more than the sum of its parts. </h2>
<h2>Next, producer Martin Hannett really was a genius, making the band’s noisy, angry punk into true sonic artwork (check out our Joy Division Podcast at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubjoy" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubjoy" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubjoy</a>). His contributions can not be diminished, neither can the artwork done by Peter Saville, both LP covers done before he heard the music. </h2>
<h2>Joy Division built a reputation very fast, according to all in the book, their shows were mesmerizing without any typical rock artifice. Shortly after the release of Unknown Pleasures they were opening for the Buzzcocks on a 30 date U.K. tour, and most of the audience came to see Joy Division, leaving early, every night. </h2>
<h2>Ian Curtis was getting sicker and sicker, having grand mal epiliptic seizures, often on stage. The rock and roll lifestyle was not good for him. He left his wife, Deborah (excerpts from her fine book, Touching From A Distance, are included here) after she gave birth to their first child, and took up with a Beligian woman, Annik. Between the band, the illness, the child, the women, and a looming American tour it’s not too hard to see what would happen. As there was no ‘adult’ in the organization’ to help, Ian would tell everyone what they wanted to hear. The people in the band were all in their early 20’s and all agree they were clueless. </h2>
<h2>This book is extremely well put together, I can’t recommend it highly enough. It does cut through the bullshit. Jon Savage has taken the myth and brought it to reality. </h2>
<h2>-----Steve McGowan</h2>
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<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/00b53aed81fafaaf430ca495a3e8aedfcb7f07f6/original/jd-tube.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/58924702019-09-14T22:51:15-04:002019-09-14T22:51:15-04:00Berlin, OMD and The B-52's at The White Oak Amphitheater, Greensboro NC<h2> </h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/1335a2043881152bad845b5b8be89d8952d2ba03/original/b-52s-2.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />The last time we were at The White Oak, it was for George Clinton/P-Funk and Fishbone show (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubfunky" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubfunky" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubfunky</a>), and the security and check in at the venue were very cumbersome, slow, and user-unfriendly. Even arriving early, we missed the first Fishbone song due to gate-checking sluggishness. This time, things were even worse. We were able to park about 100 yards from the amphitheater entrance, but there was a ‘fun fair’ or ‘carnival’ in front surrounded by chain-link fence. We had to hike a mile, in a 90 degree parking lot, facing the sun, and then walk the carny gauntlet pass the milk bottle toss, ring toss, and whatnot. We also saw someone make the same trek...on crutches. By the time we got to our seats (after waiting in the long, single file line for the non-fire-code, uneven staircase) I was a sweaty, angry mess. The people at White Oak have absolutely no organization. We will think very hard before we go to another show at this rinky-dink, poorly designed and crowd-managed venue. </h2>
<h2>Luckily, there was time to recover, cool down, and try to get into a better mood. Berlin came on, and I wasn’t expecting much. They were surprisingly good and very energetic. Terri Nunn looked great and sang wonderfully, opening with the one-two punch of their well-known ‘No More Words’ and ‘The Metro,’ a baller move. Bassist/vocalist John Crawford (an original member) was also looking good and playing great. Guitarist David Diamond was a whirlwind of energy, and the synth player had all the vintage sounds nailed. Terri came way out in the stands to sing ‘Take My Breath Away,’ which was a real crowd pleaser. Being the first of three bands, Berlin only had eight songs. They closed out the set with ‘Sex (I’m A…)’ and a surprisingly good cover of AC/DC’s ‘Highway To Hell.’ A good performance from an underrated band. </h2>
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<h2>OMD, a synthpop duo from Liverpool, has always been one of my favorites. This was my first time seeing them, and it was a treat. Frontman/bassist Andy McClusky charged out on the opener ‘Enola Gay,’ and this was no dour men-looking-at-their-keyboards show. It was upbeat, powerful, and visual: McClusky was all over the stage all the time. During their twelve song set, they played many of their movie hits (‘Tesla Girls,’ ‘If You Leave’) and with the singing and keyboards of Paul Humphreys, OMD put on a terrific show.In addition to ‘Tesla Girls’ they played ‘Talking Loud And Clear’ from their <em>Junk Culture</em> LP. Humphreys synth patches were spot-on, just like the records. Stuart Kershaw was very strong on the drums, and Martin Cooper played amazing, real saxophone and extra keyboards. The four men, often three with Andy just singing and dancing, filled the amphitheater with sound. My personal highlight was ‘Joan Of Arc (Maid Of Orleans)’ from their iconic <em>Architecture And Morality </em>LP. This majestic tune, full of choral synth samples, military drumming, and Andy’s soaring vocal, made me tear up a bit, Andy mentioned they had not played in Greensboro for 34 years! He was an appreciative and engaging front man. They ended with a big surprise, ‘Electricity’ from their first run of singles. It was great to hear OMD and their energy and professionalism set the bar high. </h2>
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<h2>Before the B-52’s set, they used the backdrop video on stage as their own TV channel. This was a nice touch, as they ran videos of Tom Tom Club, early R.E.M., Romeo Void, Devo, and our favorites Pylon! They had service announcements and videos for great places like Nuci’s Place in Athens, and they showed ‘Detroit Rock Lobster,’ a B-52’s v. KISS mash-up. </h2>
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<h2>When they came on it was time for the party. They launched into ‘Private Idaho.’ Pixie Kate Pierson had a long red wig and a cool 60’s green fringe dress, while the very tall Cindy Wilson had a huge bouffant blond wig and a cool as hell silver dress with what appeared to be lizard/dinosaur ridges on the shoulders and sleeves. Party captain Fred Schneider looked cool without any crazy outfit. After the manic energy of OMD, it seemed fine, but a little draggy. They quickly picked it up with an inspired version of ‘Mesopotamia,’ including Cindy on the bongos. OK, this was not going to be an oldies show just going through the motions but the real B-52’s. </h2>
<h2>The B-52’s have a crack band, with ace bassist Tracy Wormwoth and drummer Sterling Campbell providing a superb rhythm section, Ken Maiuri holding down the keyboard station and second guitar, and the amazing Greg Suran spinning out those classic Ricky Wilson and Keith Strickland guitar parts. The band was second to none, and the sound was good throughout. Cindy absolutely killed the vocals on ‘Give Me Back My Man,’ practically turning it into a torch song. There were three of four newer songs (Including ‘Deadbeat Club’) when Fred was off stage, and Kate and Cindy didn’t really command the stage. Again, though, they picked it up with a beautiful version of ‘Roam’ (a real crowd favorite) and Fred came back for an insane, fun ‘Party Out Of Bounds.’ They ended the set with ‘Dance This Mess Around’ and ‘Love Shack.’ The encore featured a wild, wonderful ‘Planet Claire’ (Fred going crazy with a walkie talkie) and of course a stupendous ‘Rock Lobster,’ replacing the Yoko Ono part with a snippet of ‘Low Rider’ by War. </h2>
<h2>This was the B-52’s 40th Anniversary tour. They have been around a long time, but their body of work really stands up. They are still the world’s greatest party band. And, being from Athens originally, they are ours in the American south. Watch out for that Bikini Whale! </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan</h2>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
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<a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/berlin/2019/white-oak-amphitheatre-greensboro-coliseum-complex-greensboro-nc-39cbd3f.html" target="_blank" title="Berlin Setlist White Oak Amphitheatre, Greensboro Coliseum Complex, Greensboro, NC, USA 2019, 40th Anniversary"><img src="https://www.setlist.fm/widgets/setlist-image-v1?id=39cbd3f" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="Berlin Setlist White Oak Amphitheatre, Greensboro Coliseum Complex, Greensboro, NC, USA 2019, 40th Anniversary" style="border: 0;" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/orchestral-manoeuvres-in-the-dark/2019/white-oak-amphitheatre-greensboro-coliseum-complex-greensboro-nc-139cbd3d.html" target="_blank" title="Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Setlist White Oak Amphitheatre, Greensboro Coliseum Complex, Greensboro, NC, USA, American Tour 2019"><img src="https://www.setlist.fm/widgets/setlist-image-v1?id=139cbd3d" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Setlist White Oak Amphitheatre, Greensboro Coliseum Complex, Greensboro, NC, USA, American Tour 2019" style="border: 0;" /></a>
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</div>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/58821822019-09-05T18:45:20-04:002019-09-05T18:45:20-04:00The Hold Steady: Thrashing Through The Passion<h2> </h2>
<h2><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/d051bd1c6119310a850dc6813ea79a01954f729e/original/hold-steady-trashing.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2>I put on this record, and there it is, that Midwest sing - speak and the master of lyrics: </h2>
<h2><em> Said you’re kinda catching me at a transitional time </em></h2>
<h2><em> I’m a bright light burning into a dark horse </em></h2>
<h2><em> She said I’ll strap on the saddle, and I’m sorry about this city’s a cesspool… </em></h2>
<h2>So launches ‘Denver Haircut,’ the first song on <em>Thrashing Through The Passion</em>, and I feel like I’m hanging with my old friends. There was a time when The Hold Steady was, in my opinion, the absolute best band in America. I’ve seen them five times, and they are always, always excellent. </h2>
<h2>It’s been years since their last LP, <em>Teeth Dreams</em>, which I don’t believe holds up as well as the earlier records. But The Hold Steady seem revitalized on <em>Thrashing</em>, retaining the twin guitar attack of Tad Kubler and Steve Selvidge, the same rhythm section of Galen Polivka (bass) and Bobby Drake (drums) rejoined by keyboardist Franz Nicolay. The secret sauce, as always, is provided by vocalist/truth teller Craig Finn. </h2>
<h2>Apparently five of the songs on Thrashing have been released as digital singles. I’m a huge fan, but I didn’t follow those releases, so the whole record is new to me, and it’s coherent and amazing. ‘Epaulets’ is augmented by a cool horn arrangement. ‘You Did Good Kid’ has a nifty chime pattern, with Finn going on about a lovable loser: </h2>
<h2><em> The drifters in the kitchen /Were thrashing thru the passion </em></h2>
<h2><em> Boys, let's try to keep it on the carpet </em></h2>
<h2><em> You wouldn't be so impressed with the sunrise </em></h2>
<h2><em> If it wasn't for the darkness </em></h2>
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<p> </p>
<h2>‘Blackout Sam’ has that classic barroom Hold Steady intro with a similar loser lyric: </h2>
<h2><em> Now promise me you won't forget </em></h2>
<h2><em> The nights that haven't happened yet </em></h2>
<h2><em> Separate the smoke from all the cinders </em></h2>
<h2><em> Put another sticker on the van </em></h2>
<h2><em> Carpet at the party house, tear it up and take it out </em></h2>
<h2><em> Somebody should check on Blackout Sam </em></h2>
<h2>‘Entitlement Crew’ has a great palm-muted guitar and standard Hold Steady progression, well punctuated with horn stabs and Nicolay’s cheesy organ sound. 'Star 18’ sounds like a track from Stay Positive, or in other words a great Hold Steady song. Slashing power chords married to Finn’s spoken story lyrics, and a classic-rock/Zeppelin guitar solo. This is a Finn tale of warning for a female friend: </h2>
<h2><em> The amphetamines did what the amphetamines do </em></h2>
<h2><em> And she was chewing through her cheek at the National Zoo </em></h2>
<h2><em> And the dress she was wearing made a nice case for natural </em></h2>
<h2><em> selection </em></h2>
<h2><em> So, hold steady at the Comfort Inn </em></h2>
<h2><em> Mick Jagger's at the Mandarin </em></h2>
<h2><em> Once you get good, you can get it wherever you are </em></h2>
<h2><em> Notify the next of kin </em></h2>
<h2><em> Mariel Hemingway with perfect skin </em></h2>
<h2><em> And some creep with a camera who said he's gonna make you a star </em></h2>
<h2><em> You gotta wait in the car </em></h2>
<h2>‘The Stove And The Toaster’ is a tale of on-the-margins behavior, rocking again with a horn arrangement, and the rock solid guitar pyro solo. </h2>
<h2>The Hold Steady is easily described as Thin Lizzy paired with egghead storytelling. Craig Finn is no singer, but his lyrical and storytelling gifts are so much better than most bands it’s laughable. This is a triumphant return for a great band. It’s good to see and hear my old friends again. </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan </h2>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/1d487c4d4f45ea5582591f7c6de45d845bbc72f2/original/hold-steady-band.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<h2> </h2>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/58774752019-09-01T20:46:29-04:002019-09-01T20:46:29-04:00August 2019 Roundup<h2>What caught our, eyes, ears, and forks in August? </h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/16cd2fee5df70120be0c612de9c9ef0d53093044/original/perlys-frony.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></h2>
<p> </p>
<h2>Perly’s, Richmond, VA. We came across the marvel of Perly’s Delicatessen while on official Zub business. In February, while in Richmond, VA to see Joe Jackson (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubfool" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubfool" target="_blank"><em>tinyurl.com/zubfool</em></a>) at The National, I spied a deli called Perly’s near our downtown hotel. A search on my phone showed it was the real deal. We ate there before going home and the food and restaurant were perfect. Now, I don’t pretend to be any kind of a Delicatessen expert. I’m just a Goy from the tenements in Glasgow, but I know good food and this is the place. We usually get the pastrami which is tremendous, hot with cheese, choice of bread and any dressings you want. They have homemade ‘everything’ potato chips (same toppings as an everything bagel) and dill fries (mmmmm!). Another regular Zub choice (if you play your times right, you can stop on the way to AND from metro DC and develop your own favorites) is the all-beef hotdog, on a sesame roll with kraut and grainy mustard. Desert is always the warm chocolate babka with coconut macaroon ice cream. Yes, you heard right. I believe the deli dates back to the 1930’s, full of old world wooden booths and cool subway tile work. It even has a bar! Perly’s is now a destination. If you are headed up north on 95 from the less deli-full side of the Mason-Dixon, a side trip to Perly’s will make you forget where you thought you were heading. Except plotting your return. <a contents="https://www.perlysrichmond.com/" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.perlysrichmond.com/" target="_blank"><em>https://www.perlysrichmond.com/</em></a> - Steve </h2>
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<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/44dab68d3750ca6f5057b1c18e506822f7579d10/original/nandos-alex.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Nando’s Peri-Peri, Alexandia, VA. I saw this great video on the Eater website about Nando’s chicken. <a contents="https://www.eater.com/2019/7/18/20699362/video-nandos-chicken-chain-explainer-video " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.eater.com/2019/7/18/20699362/video-nandos-chicken-chain-explainer-video" target="_blank"><em>https://www.eater.com/2019/7/18/20699362/video-nandos-chicken-chain-explainer-video </em></a>Needless to say after watching that video, I was feeling a bit cheeky for some Nando’s. They are all over the U.K., but in only a few locations in the U.S. Luckily, we had a few Nando’s near us on our D.C. trip to see Squeeze, one of the lucky U.S. Nando’s locales. Our Crystal City, VA hotel was a few blocks away, so it was lunch at Perly’s (see above) on the way up, late dinner at Nando’s. The space is comfortable and colorful, we were seated right in the front by the window for people watching. Here is what we ordered: </h2>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/21c44b2385c2ba8b31cc41657c338fd54e4d9bbb/original/nando-order.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Which looked like (salad first): </h2>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/0eccb7a06f25d62d61a7cff31e946c01f6b56172/original/img-4631.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>The food was genuinely fantastic. The peri-peri sauce on the chicken skewers was hot and flavorful, great rice and a tasty side caesar. A said her salad was top notch, and there were plenty of leftovers. Nando’s was a real cheeky treat! You should absolutely try it if you are ever in the D.C. or Northern Virginia area. Get cheeky! - Steve </h2>
<h2>--------------- </h2>
<p> </p>
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<p> </p>
<h2>Duncan Reid and the Big Heads. We received a single from Duncan Reid and the Big Heads, entitled ‘Kelly’s Gone Insane.’ Reid was the bass player for The Boys, a British punk/pop outfit that came up with Gen X and The Clash. Astute readers will remember The Boys sticker on Paul Weller’s Rickenbacker on the back cover of <em>All Mod Cons</em>. Reid would have earned his bones in the Zub world for that alone. ‘Kelly’s Gone Insane,’ on Manchester’s Crocodile Records, has a light, power-pop feel. Duncan has a slight yet tuneful voice and the melody in the song is very strong. The production also has a light touch. I like the song and I bet it comes across even stronger live. </h2>
<h2>-Steve </h2>
<h2>-------------- </h2>
<p><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/69581e916e90a43d00617bb7bfb3a88df6942deb/original/kokyu-store.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<h2>KoKyu Empire, Durham, NC. Flip Filippini has been conquering the notoriously rich (and maybe a little spoiled) Durham, NC food scene this past decade. His Korean barbeque fusion has been a standout since the days his brightly tagged KoKyu trailer was a fixture at music festivals like Shakori and at Motorco’s weekend brunch. In the past 5 years, he has mostly blocked his wheels and opened the brick-and-mortar Na’Mean, focusing on lunch fare, like bowls, bahn mi, and Italian subs (all crazily creative and cross-pollinated with each other’s influences) and now boasts a second Southpointe area location, which celebrates the street food that started it all. Back on the menu are my reasons for living: duck fat tater tots and short rib quesadilla. Flip understands how to combine disparate ingredients across cultural divides to create culinary alchemy. The quesadilla features not just the tender and smokily spiced Korean BBQ short rib but caramelized onions and melting gorgonzola on a tortilla. I think there is cilantro too. Anyway--it has the “4 flavors” perfectly balanced to perfection. He usually has a slider cousin version with the ingredients too, which is also fantastic. I can’t tell you how much I missed and worship this dish. It is perfection. Oh, and there’s chili sauce on the ‘dilla too! It is all flooding back, taste by taste…</h2>
<h2><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/d7dfc6fff080bb1f3862a8f04629fd96347f2b38/original/kokyu-food.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2>The tots are not only cooked in duck fat but seasoned with rosemary and salt, and are not to be missed. The Southpointe location is bright, cheerful, and funky, with several self-serve bev taps. Service is friendly without being fussy or annoying. The signature order tracking by playing card from the food truck days has been kept too. I loved it when I drew the Lemmy card for brunch: Ace of Spades. Where was I? Oh... there are canned teas that are outstanding! I got the oolong both times and am not likely to change from that success. So worth seeking out when you are in the Triangle. http://www.kokyubbq.com/ -Adrienne </h2>
<p>----------------------------</p>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/3afed1524d896148ec8e8cf5b3f24f23c2e6fdb0/original/baskets.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Baskets, FX. ‘Baskets’ is a Faberge egg of a human relationship comedy whose description reads like a lost sketch from Hee Haw. I hope you will keep the first part of the statement in mind if you find yourself drifting in the description to the latter. The season finale just aired, so the good news is that if you have NOT watched before, you have the entirety of the 4 season run before you. Lucky you. If you have been a devotee, like I have, you now find yourself wondering how carpet sales in Denver are going, how Martha’s doing at Costco Insurance, and if Dale was ever able to reopen the business college: these people became real to me. </h2>
<h2>So here’s the brass tacks: Chip Baskets (Zack Galifianakis) is a failed classically trained clown trying to make a living in his ancestral home of Bakersfield, CA. He has an identical twin, Dale (Zack Galifianakis), who speaks with an obnoxious western NC accent, and a Sikoursky of a mother, Christine, played by the sublime Louie Anderson (who deservedly won an Emmy for the portrayal). There’s a bullet train, family rodeo, an additional pair of twin brothers, Korean Christian groups, Arby’s, hobos, juggalos, rail riders, trailer park family, life coaching, more extended family members, a handsome, mature Carpet King, and more. It never talks down to any characters or plays their tragedies for sport. Louie Anderson becomes Christine almost instantly before your eyes. I chose a Faberge egg as the metaphor because it is delicate, finely crafted, made of the most precious materials, and is a rare luxury. ‘Baskets,’ which sounds like it will be a goof, is a delicate study of all its characters, giving care and consideration to each, even the often oafish Dale. I wonder if I can get a ‘Baskets’ lunch box to go with my ‘Remains of the Day’ one? The final season is streaming now at<em> <a contents="https://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/baskets" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/baskets" target="_blank">https://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/baskets</a></em>
</h2>
<h2>-Adrienne</h2>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/58772142019-09-01T14:24:09-04:002019-09-01T14:32:54-04:00Dirtbag Diamonds: Amyl And The Sniffers - S/T<h2> <img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/052f451895562a8092fb1e9dc209a3862298e3e8/original/amyl.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></h2>
<h2>Melbourne, Australia is where the action is. This debut LP by Melbourne’s Amyl And The Sniffers is absolute proof that rock is alive and well. On their Rough Trade Records debut, these Aussie youngsters spin out eleven scuzzy, high energy, proto-punk tunes. They are short and to the point, the band steals from everybody good (Damned, Radio Birdman, AC/DC, Stooges <em>et al</em>): this is definitely the shit. </h2>
<h2>These Dirtbag Diamonds open their album with ‘Starfire 500,’ which has a lengthy boogie-metal intro one could imagine being played as the crowd waits for frontwoman Amy Taylor to take the stage. Let the headbanging begin! When Amy comes in, she sounds like Joan Jett’s little sister. There’s plenty of soloing from guitarist Dec Martins; things are off to a good start. The sped-up Stooges riff of ‘Gacked On Anger’ is right on time, filled with bassist Gus Romer’s monolithic throb. ‘Cup Of Destiny’ is AC/DC played at Ramones hyperspeed, featuring drummer Bryce Wilson holding together the stops and starts. There’s even a nod to Queens Of The Stone Age in the bridge. The Damned bass line that starts ‘GFY’ points to the pissed off title of this one ‘Go F*ck Yourself.’ It’s a joyous punk hardcore thrash that Amy blasts through. </h2>
<h2>‘Angel’ is slightly slower, a true love song, with call and response backing vocals and a very Vapors/Lambrettas sounding guitar riff. ‘Monsoon Rock’ has another sped up AC/DC riff that is incredible, all packed into two minutes and twenty-five seconds, led with a typical Sniffers lyric: </h2>
<h2><em>I ain’t gonna lie, I ain’t gonna sugar coat it </em></h2>
<h2><em>The rockin’ rock was happening’/ And it was fucking lit </em></h2>
<h2>The insane boogie of ‘Control’ is like Zeppelin at 100,000 rpm, with a snotty punk female killing it on vocals. ‘Got You’ is another twisted love tale, that breaks into Ramones territory: it’s catchy and anthemic. ‘Punisha’ hits a Motorhead vein. I could definitely hear Lemmy singing this; it’s a thick slab of juicy dirtbag rock. ‘Shake Ya’ has an Interpol-tinged intro riff before veering into full-on AC/DC action. Fast and furious and rocking. Album closer, ‘Some Mutts (Can’t Be Muzzled),’ is AC/DC’s ‘Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap’ played at punk tempo. It’s a great way to end a great LP. </h2>
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<p> </p>
<h2>This LP was produced by Englishman Ross Orton, who produced the Arctic Monkeys <em>AM</em>. It sounds great, but very much like an independent release from 1978. It’s a dirty, somewhat low-fi rock sound, no sheen at all. This band is too young to remember all the influences they assimilate, so they just pick and choose what they want. It’s a great statement from a band that obviously loves to rock, play fast, and get to the bar fast. Already their live shows are the stuff of legend. Heirs to great Aussie bands such as Radio Birdman, AC/DC, The Saints, and Rose Tattoo, <em>Amyl And The Sniffers </em>is a killer debut. Keep your eye on these diamonds. </h2>
<h2>--Steve McGowan</h2>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/58748672019-08-29T22:49:45-04:002019-08-29T22:49:45-04:00Metz: Automat<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/1682482e08c37b97ecd6f6d7789edbd47709d4ba/original/metz-automat.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<h2>Metz is a Candian trio on Sub Pop Records, that plays an inventive and punishing version of guitar based noise rock. They are loud, almost anti-melodic, and owe a great debt to bands such as Big Black, The Jesus Lizard and anything that was on Amphetamine Reptile Records. Their last LP, <em>Strange Peace</em>, was a triumph produced by the indomitable Steve Albini. <em>Automat</em> is a collection of their earlier singles (A and B sides) as well as some demos, and as it is set chronologically, giving a good picture of the band’s path. And being built from singles, <em>Automat</em>, obviously earns notice at Zub, home of the Singles Going Steady Podcast. </h2>
<h2>The earlier tracks on <em>Automat</em>, such as the opener ‘Soft Whiteout,’ are as uncompromising, and, er, noisy as they come. Screaming vocals don’t add any melody, and Metz shows off it’s rough-and-tumble rhythm section of bassist Chris Slorach and drummer Hayden Menzies. ‘Lump Sums’ has a grinding, Big Black sound, with a repeated chord from guitarist/vocalist Alex Edkins drilling all the way through. (Producer Albini’s Big Black will be the subject of a forthcoming SGS podcast). The massive drum sound of ‘Dry Up’ is positively Bonham-esque, and this one is a stage-diver special. The stop-start rhythm in the intro to ‘Ripped On The Fence’ reminds me of early Helmet. This one has more of a listenable melodic vocal, showing a little melody emerging in Metz-land, and it’s great. The single version of ‘Negative Space’ moves along very quickly, sporting some disturbing effects on the vocals. Slorach’s bass has a real Killing Joke feel on this one. The lumbering weirdness of ‘Automat’ has a bit of a sixties psychedelic feel, all super delayed and echoey with mantra-like vocals. </h2>
<h2>On the demo version of ‘Wet Blanket,’ from their 2012 LP <em>METZ</em>, Edkins has a John Lydon-esque vocal as the band crunches its way through a two chord stomp. ‘Dirty Shirt’ is a real rocker, showing off riffs that could be from a Nirvana, or even better, a Germs record. It has a real hook and makes me want to jump up and down on the couch! ‘Leave Me Out’ again has a strong Nirvana feel, the melody starting to nip at the heels of the noise. This is killer, no compromise, punk AF rock. The echoey ‘Can’t Understand’ turns up the string bending in the verses, but has a strong hook in the chorus. The frantic, insistent riff of ‘Pure Auto’ is amazing, veering more on hardcore than noise rock. <em>Automat</em> ends up with the amazing ‘Eraser,’ following a bruising heavy funk bass line, this is one of Metz’s strongest missives, slabs of heaviness and pure angst fighting guitar skronk all the way through. </h2>
<h2>So, on its own, <em>Automat</em> holds up as a great collection of songs. Here in Zubland, the noise-rock is not a huge thing, although Adrienne and I both love Mission Of Burma and I am a total fanboy for Big Black. Metz is not for everyone. It’s the sound of testosterone rock, young folks, loud guitars, bass and drums and giving f*** all about standard rock/band/pop conventions. I salute their little Canadian hearts. Keep the noise coming. </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan</h2>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/b98b23e7728e5faa65cbc15f9c17252e811b30ee/original/metz-blurry.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/58687532019-08-24T12:43:30-04:002019-08-24T12:43:30-04:00Redd Kross - Beyond The Door<p style="text-align: right;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/640607c8b8573e32b1b60c4a38334d4b4c36b136/original/redd-kross.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>From the Redd Kross website in their biography: </h2>
<h2><em>Their self-aware pre-spandex Glam bubblegum garage psychedelic Cheap Trick/Kiss/Revolver post-Kim Fowley rock and roll. Degenerate, sweet: tongues in cheek, song-long winks. </em></h2>
<h2>Redd Kross is a band that has always been the bridesmaid, never the bride. They’ve been on the sidelines of (deserving) big rock stardom for decades, even sharing Nirvana’s manager when the Seattle band went stratospheric. The McDonald brothers, Jeff on guitar and vocals and Steven on bass and vocals, have been in this band since their teen years and have always stuck to their guns of making super glammy rock with killer melodies, hooks, and musicianship. I myself have always admired them from afar, checking out the occasional song and always liking it. (Adrienne is a fan of <em>The Spirit of ‘76</em>, the cult film featuring Redd Kross and the McDonald brothers in acting rolls, but too hadn’t found the time to explore). </h2>
<h2>
<em>Beyond The Door</em>, however, is like a glitter bomb going off, from start to finish full of KILLER songs, melodies, lyrics (all concerning pop culture and/or trash culture) , and the<em> joy </em>of rock and roll. This record snuck up on me from behind and BOOM! It knocked me over. They start off with the mission statement ‘The Party,’ full of high harmonies and psychedelic <em>Revolver</em> sounding bass and guitar riffs, it zips by at just over two minutes. ‘Fighting’ has a harder, earlier Cheap Trick vibe with a superb chorus. You could hear Robin Zander singing this one for sure. ‘Beyond The Door’ starts off like a Sweet single, bass and ‘yea yea yeas’ with a boogie swagger. It’s sensational, the kind of song other bands fail miserably at, but the McDonalds give it the melody and vocal treatment that puts it right over the plate. </h2>
<p> </p>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="I4QE08QTVXY" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/I4QE08QTVXY/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/I4QE08QTVXY?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>They bring it down for ‘There’s No One Like You,’ a truly pretty ballad that picks up in the middle, giving off a heavy<em> #1 Record</em> Big Star vibe. Pretty tremendous with drummer Dale Crover working it out perfectly. The centerpiece of the record is ‘Ice Cream (Strange And Pleasing)’ one of the catchiest tunes I’ve heard since The Posies first few records. It has a sixties feel, but Redd Kross has absorbed their influences so well this song doesn’t point to one influence. Jason Shapiro on lead guitar gets some amazing string-bending on this one. </h2>
<h2>‘The Party Underground’ has a great late-60’s feel, a little Beach Boys, a little ? and The Mysterians, and a lot of glam rock, full of twisty lead guitar. ‘What’s A Boy To Do’ starts off all Big Star, exploding into a super-catchy melody. Steven’s bass dominates this one, and he’s just great. Just when I think this record can’t get any better, Redd Kross pulls off a spectacular cover of Sparks’ ‘When Do I Get To Sing My Way,’ a song you couldn’t imagine getting the killer rock treatment. This is fantastic (Steven played bass for Sparks for a few years), fun, and catchy as hell. Again, Redd Kross understands that rock and roll can and should be <em>fun.</em> The Sparks cover is a wonderful way to close what I must say is the record of the year so far. See you at the Redd Kross shows in Carrboro, Charlotte, and Athens! </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan</h2>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/fc7fd696617726e180990d0974a93292bbf60132/original/redd-kross-live.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/58676252019-08-23T12:20:48-04:002019-08-23T14:41:36-04:00Spotify Playlist for Will Birch's 'Cruel To Be Kind' Nick Lowe Biography<h2><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/1716939b20aa645e5f8826e807a2b75a9fc997fc/original/cruel-spotify.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2>With Will's help, we have compiled a Spotify playlist for his excellent Nick Lowe Biography <em>Cruel To Be Kind - The Life And Music Of Nick Lowe</em>. This playlist follows every song mentioned in the book that is available on Spotify, in chronological order. </h2>
<p> </p>
<h2><a contents="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/551ryjGjdzbMcSaeDmHaZp?si=LqW-kXnrQTucXYZRcWsE9Q" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/551ryjGjdzbMcSaeDmHaZp?si=LqW-kXnrQTucXYZRcWsE9Q" target="_blank">https://open.spotify.com/playlist/551ryjGjdzbMcSaeDmHaZp?si=LqW-kXnrQTucXYZRcWsE9Q</a></h2>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p><iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/551ryjGjdzbMcSaeDmHaZp" width="300"></iframe></p>
<p> </p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/58676112019-08-23T11:25:20-04:002019-08-23T11:25:20-04:00Marshall Crenshaw and Squeeze at The Kennedy Center, Washington DC<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/59e566b7106a4883ddae2103c0bc2c689eb8ea48/original/squeeze-band.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<h2>The Kennedy Center is a storied venue indeed. I was very excited to be going to such a historic venue, so when we arrived via shuttle bus, I was surprised that the building had an almost Soviet-era look. Adrienne remarked that it looked like it was built as part of a collective’s five year plan. The building was built in 1971, and it looks like it. The space, home to three separate performance spaces (<em>Dear Evan Hansen</em> was playing next door), had kind of an old mausoleum vibe, with threadbare red carpets and burgundy jacketed ushers. It reminded me of a very old school steak house. </h2>
<h2>The concert hall itself was very nice, holding about 2500 people, great sight lines, comfy seats, and good sound. We had both forgotten who the opening act was, so imagine our joy and surprise when Marshall Crenshaw wandered on stage! Playing a big hollow body Guild guitar, Marshall gave a masterclass in fine pop songwriting in his nine song-set. He opened with two of his strongest tunes, ‘There She Goes Again,’ and ‘Fantastic Planet Of Love,’ both showing his still very strong voice and top-notch guitar chops. “Live And Learn’ from his <em>Jaggedland</em> LP was a real standout and a song I wasn’t familiar with. I noticed he had his guitar tuned down at least a full step, which sounded a little weird but filled the sound and allowed him to cover all the vocal notes. We did a squee! When he played ‘Whenever You’re On My Mind’ (see our podcast <a contents="tinyurl.com/marschcren" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/marschcren" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/marschcren</a>) which is just a fantastic pop song, from the guitar riff to the melody to the great soaring chorus. After a story about how he wrote some of his early songs after two cups of coffee, ‘caffeine rock,’ He ended his short set with two songs from his first LP, ‘Cynical Girl’ and ‘Someday, Someway.’ Marshall was a welcome and wonderful treat. The crowd was attentive and appreciative. There are very few who can write, sing, and play like he does. </h2>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/c11bf8ad2d78e13db28acf8b2fecb500600297e5/original/marshall-1.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>At 9 p.m. sharp, the seven person band that is presently Squeeze took the stage to raucous applause. This was billed as ‘The Difford and Tilbrook Songbook Tour 2019,’ and it did not disappoint. After straightening things out (like the sound mix) with ‘Footprints’ and ‘Big Beng’ they launched into ‘Hourglass,’ and this show was ON. The sound was good, although Glenn Tilbrook’s guitar was often too low in the mix. The rhythm section of Simon Hanson (drums, vocals) and Yolanda Charles (bass vocals) was astounding. Hanson is a solid as they come, and handled the Gilson Lavis busy-busy drum parts of old Squeeze with aplomb. Yolanda was a vision in a tailored suit and pencil skirt, just laying it down on her five string Fender Jazz bass. In her hand, the bass is unbelievably smooth, classy, and tasteful. Next up was <em>Argybargy</em> standout ‘Pulling Mussels (From The Shell), wherein the crowd erupted. Tilbrook and guitarist/vocalist/lyricist Chris Difford were really singing well, and Stephen Large was outstanding on keyboards and vocals. Tilbrook delivered a stinging solo on his battered Fender Telecaster. </h2>
<h2><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="soS_Sr_D1cM" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/soS_Sr_D1cM/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/soS_Sr_D1cM?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2>About midway through the set, they did ‘Someone Else’s Heart’ from <em>East Side Story</em>, a great slow burner sung by Difford. Utility man/steel guitar/guitar/mandolin/vocal guy Melvin Duffy added some great atmospherics to this one. This was followed shortly by a rollicking ‘In Quintessence’ from the <em>ESS</em> LP. Difford took to the mic for an inspired version of ‘Cool For Cats,’ singing in a proto rap style reminiscent of Ian Dury (see our Ian Dury podcast (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubreasons" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubreasons" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubreasons</a>). Tilbrook used a uke for a terrific version of ‘Cradle To The Grave’ on which the whole band sang. Next up was a surprisingly heavy version of ‘Slap And Tickle,’ with Stephen Large karate chopping his vintage Moog synth, and with Tilbrook adding a Hendrix-style guitar solo. It was astonishing. Squeeze hit hard on their classics to end the set, beginning with their R&B standout ‘Tempted’ (featuring a hilarious karaoke projection of the lyrics “‘Tempted’ in the style of Squeeze”). </h2>
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<p> </p>
<h2>By now the whole crowd was on its feet and singing along. They sped through ‘Goodbye Girl’ and a wonderful ‘Up The Junction’ (from the <em>Cool For Cats</em> LP) that features Difford's unimpeachable British kitchen-sink story lyric. They ended the set with <em>Argybargy</em> standout ‘If I Didn’t Love You,’ (<a contents="tinyurl.com/tinysqueeze" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/tinysqueeze" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/tinysqueeze</a>) but the crowd demanded more. The encore started with ‘Take Me I’m Yours,’ the standout hit from the first Squeeze LP, and was followed by a terrific ‘Is This Love?’ from <em>East Side Story</em>. They ended with a uptempo version of ‘Black Coffee In Bed,’ very much showing their Smokey Robinson/Motown influences (see our Costello podcast for more about Smokey <a contents="tinyurl.com/smokeydeclan" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/smokeydeclan" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/smokeydeclan</a>). </h2>
<h2>What a show. Squeeze seemed very relaxed, were very powerful, and very, very good. Adrienne and I had both seen them last year at different shows and we both agreed this time around was much better. We posited that they weren’t promoting their newest LP, <em>The Knowledge</em> this time (they did two tunes from this record) and felt freer to cover the whole songbook. It also seems like Chis and Glenn, the songwriting engine and founders of Squeeze, are getting along well, and everyone in the band seemed joyous and happy to be there. Their joy was infectious, as this was one of the best shows I’ve seen in quite a while. </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan</h2>
<div class="setlistImage" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/squeeze/2019/john-f-kennedy-center-for-the-performing-arts-washington-dc-6b9fdaee.html" target="_blank" title='Squeeze Setlist John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, DC, USA, "The Difford and Tilbrook Songbook" USA Tour 2019'><img src="https://www.setlist.fm/widgets/setlist-image-v1?id=6b9fdaee" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="Squeeze Setlist John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, DC, USA, " style="border: 0;" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.setlist.fm/edit?setlist=6b9fdaee&step=song">Edit this setlist</a> | <a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlists/squeeze-63d6ba3f.html">More Squeeze setlists</a>
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</div>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/58663362019-08-22T12:28:15-04:002019-08-22T12:28:15-04:00The Claypool Lennon Delirium Live at the Red Hat Ampitheatre Raleigh NC<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/da9ce852f53f2b1df40bc69e87d86e22f6d58b1c/original/claypool.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<h2>Okay, being such a massive Beatles fan, getting to see Sean Lennon was a real treat. Let’s look at the facts: </h2>
<h2>Paul McCartney still tours (he’s great) and I’ve seen him a couple of times. </h2>
<h2>Poor John Lennon has been dead since 1980. </h2>
<h2>George Harrison has left us in 2001. </h2>
<h2>Ringo still tours and was just in Durham, but he’s...Ringo. </h2>
<h2>So, as Adrienne said, going to this show was like getting to see .5 of a Beatle. The Claypool Lennon Delirium is Les Claypool (of Primus) and Sean Lennon. The two of them decided to create a band that would play 60’s style prog-rock and psychedelia. The new LP (created just by the two of them) is called <em>South Of Reality</em> and is a true psychedelic pastiche, imagine XTC as the Dukes Of Stratospheare, with a more jam-band take, and with a LENNON singing. When I heard this song, ‘Blood And Rockets…’ I knew I wanted to see this band: </h2>
<h2> <a contents="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcOHiGonWwU&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcOHiGonWwU&nbsp;" style="" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcOHiGonWwU </a>
</h2>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="XcOHiGonWwU" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/XcOHiGonWwU/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XcOHiGonWwU?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<h2>So, it turns out, while I was in Durham, the Claypool Lennon Delirium were in Raleigh, playing with The Flaming Lips. It’s the last show of the package tour, and we decided to go at the last minute. Surprisingly there were plenty of good seats available. Unlike the White Oak in Greensboro, the check in and security took seconds, the seats were great, and the sound was pretty good (more about that later). </h2>
<h2>The Delirium are a four piece, with Paul Baldi on drums, Money Mark (keys/synths with the Beastie Boys and Beck -- see Adrienne’s blog on his Moogfest appearances, <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubmoog2" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubmoog2" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubmoog2</a>) on keys, Les Claypool on bass and vocals, and Sean Lennon on guitar and vocals. The set leaned heavily on <em>South Of Reality</em> material, early highlights being ‘Cricket Chronicles Revisited…’ with a faux Indian feel, and ‘Little Fishes,’ which has a ‘Norwegian Wood’ style riff. Getting to hear Claypool play bass was a real treat - he is truly a master and had the best bass sound I’ve ever heard at an outdoor show. One caveat to this; his bass was so loud and prominent in the mix it overpowered everything, including the drums. Claypool sang well and the band avoided needless jam-band doodly doo (they stuck to the songs). Drummer Baldi was solid and quite unflashy, but again, you could not hear him very well. Money Mark was killer on the keys, with his beard, long hair, and top hat he suspiciously looked like he could be in .38 Special, but his mostly Moog synth playing was outstanding, reminiscent of a weirder Keith Emerson or Rick Wakeman. He was a real highlight of the band. Stranger even was Sean Lennon; the voice, oh my gosh, THE VOICE. So much like his dad, it was frightening. Plus, he is quite the lead guitarist. This Lennon could shred! </h2>
<h2>When they started in on the above-mentioned ‘Blood And Rockets…’ I honestly think I had an out of body experience. The song is like all of John Lennon’s tunes on <em>Sgt. Pepper’s</em>, with maybe a few McCartney riffs packed in there as well. Truly amazing. There were some great takes on ‘Easily Charmed By Fools’ and ‘Boriska,’ this band really had it going on. As they launched into the next song I was about to say to Adrienne that this tune reminded me of King Crimson. Then I realized they were playing a cover of ‘In The Court Of The Crimson King.’ Magnificent! Very soon afterward as the sun disappeared, Claypool started a familiar sounding drone on the bass. The Claypool Lennon Delirium did a cover of The Beatles’ ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ with Sean Lennon singing and wailing on backward guitar. This is something I never thought I would hear. They weren’t done, as they did an inspired cover of Pink Floyd’s ‘Astronomy Domine’ as a closer. </h2>
<h2>I was recently at the George Clinton/P-Funk show, where the MC said “welcome to the universe of George Clinton.” This is the same, other dimension, feeling I get with The Claypool Lennon Delirium. They have their own universe, they do their own thing, and they do it very, very well. Sean Lennon is not his dad, he’s really trying to be himself, and I get the impression that Les Claypool is a bit of a mentor for him. Together they create a very cool psychedelic musical universe of their own, but one that acknowledges and celebrates their forebears, literal and musical, that combined in the Big Bang from which they emerged. </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan</h2>
<p> </p>
<div class="setlistImage" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/the-claypool-lennon-delirium/2019/red-hat-amphitheater-raleigh-nc-6b9fb2fe.html" target="_blank" title="The Claypool Lennon Delirium Setlist Red Hat Amphitheater, Raleigh, NC, USA, Summer Tour 2019"><img src="https://www.setlist.fm/widgets/setlist-image-v1?id=6b9fb2fe" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="The Claypool Lennon Delirium Setlist Red Hat Amphitheater, Raleigh, NC, USA, Summer Tour 2019" style="border: 0;" /></a>
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</div>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/58585172019-08-15T01:09:52-04:002019-08-15T01:09:52-04:00Mindhunter TV and Book Review<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/d8a25b72dcbd25c9c55fdced8244bb79ec2e378a/original/mindhunter.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><em>Mindhunter</em> is one of my absolute favorite TV shows, right up there with <em>Fleabag</em>, <em>Legion</em>, <em>Mr. Robot</em> and <em>The Crown.</em> In a nutshell, the show begins in 1977 with two FBI agents setting up a behavioral science unit. They are starting to realize that ‘process killers’ (soon to become known as ‘serial killers’) are a thing and they spend a lot of time interviewing these killers in prison, trying to figure out what makes them tick and how to profile them. Along the way, the two agents, Holden Ford and Bill Tench, are asked to help local community police with cases they can’t get a handle on. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">The show’s producers are David Fincher and Charlize Theron, and if you’ve seen Fincher’s movie <em>Zodiac</em> you will understand how <em>Mindhunter</em> works. There’s not a lot of gore or violence, mostly talk and theorizing about unspeakable crimes. Like in <em>Zodiac</em>, this show thrives on tension and stress, and it is masterfully done. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">The acting is absolutely first rate, as the show’s leads, Holden Ford (played with innocence and naivete by Jonathan Groff, and Bill Tench (Holt McCallany, playing against type as a good guy and mentor to young Holden) are characters you can really dig into. Luckily, the show has strong (and sometimes much smarter) female characters, Hannah Gross playing Debbie Mitford, Holden’s psychology student girlfriend, and the wonderful Anna Torv as Wendy Carr, the real brains and leadership of the operation, as a psychology expert from Boston University who joins the FBI team. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">In season one, Holden meets with Edmund Kemper (played to a tee by Cameron Britton) the ‘Co-Ed Killer,’ in prison, and finds him highly intelligent and self-aware and on a second visit with Tench they start to put their profiling plan in place. Later they meet with killer Monte Rissel, and realize both killers have serious mommy issues. The FBI duo work on a frustrating case in Pennsylvania that had three people killing a young woman, but the DA on the case only charges one for the murder. They also meet with Jerry Brudos, a killer with a nasty shoe fetish. I won’t give this one away, but there are issues with the case that present themselves in Holden and Debbie’s bedroom. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">The acting, pacing, writing on this show are much like a real movie, I’m imagining that has something to do with Theron and Fincher. Also, the seventies sets and cars are a real gas to look at. It really gives you a visual spectacle along with a psychological workout. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">I liked this series so much that I read the book it was based on, <em>Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit</em> by John E. Douglas and his co-author Mark Olshaker. The <em>Mindhunter</em> character of Holden Ford is based squarely on Douglas and Bill Tench on FBI agent Robert K. Ressler. Many of the stories in the book are reproduced in season one of the TV series, and reading this book, you can see why Douglas was called the ‘serial killer whisperer.’ He is able to break down potential criminals with almost psychic strength, and explains his methodology in the book. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">After two years, <em>Mindhunter</em> is coming back for a second season. Supposedly we’ll be seeing Charles Manson, Son Of Sam, and a good deal about the Atlanta Child Murders. You’ve got time to binge season one. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Highly recommended! </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">---Steve McGowan</span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="WtTKAWSxKj8" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/WtTKAWSxKj8/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WtTKAWSxKj8?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></span></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/58499292019-08-07T00:36:28-04:002019-08-07T00:37:29-04:00Fishbone and George Clinton with the P-Funk All-Stars, Greensboto NC<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/bb505e6677802e2d90981067aa0bbdda4e7bc63c/original/bootsy.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>This was a much-anticipated show. Adrienne and I had seen George Clinton and P-Funk at the Blind Tiger in Greensboro late last year, and it was an absolutely wonderful show. But the extra bonus tonight was FINALLY getting to see Fishbone. I’ve always loved Fishbone, although I don’t have all the records. I’ve seen their excellent documentary, <em>Everyday Sunshine</em>, more than once, and this portrays a frighteningly great band that has had a lot of bad luck. Heck, one of the original members joined a cult and the band had to break him out. That’s just one of the fascinating stories in the movie. </h2>
<h2>Having been in D.C. the night before (see Blondie/Costello review at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubbeastly" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubbeastly" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubbeastly</a>), we were slightly late for the 6:30 pm show at the White Oak Amphitheatre, arriving about 7 pm We missed the first band, and were stuck in a <em>very</em> long, <em>very</em> slow line to get in for about 30 minutes. This place needed some real organization. We heard Fishbone starting their set with ‘Party At Ground Zero,’ but didn’t get in and to our seats until the beginning of their second song. The seats were uncomfortable but the view and sound was very good, if very loud (luckily, I had my earplugs). Fishbone didn’t play long, being an opening band, but they made the most of their time. Frontman Angelo Moore was a Tasmanian devil, thrashing all over the stage, playing his sax, and giving us a little of his alter ego, ‘Dr. Madd Vibe’ when soloing on his theremin(!). Original members Norwood and Phillip ‘Fish’ Fisher, on bass and drums respectively, were killing the groove throughout as Fishbone spun out their very unique mix of punk, funk, ska, R&B, and anything-else-they-damm-well-feel-like-playing. Norwood was one of the funkiest bassists I’ve ever seen, and Phillip played his drum kit set with his back to the crowd. Early on, Angelo sailed out into the crowd, walking on the backs of the seats like he was a teenager, and led the crowd in a “F*** Trump/ F**** Racism” chant. The crowd went nuts. I can see why all the bands in the <em>Everyday Sunshine</em> documentary all agreed that Angelo Moore was the best frontman they’ve ever seen. All I can say was that Fishbone could have played a lot longer. It was more than I ever could have expected. </h2>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/48529944d51111e94148a4bd140acef4a6c18cfd/original/angelo.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<h2>Just looking at the stage from a soundman perspective, George Clinton and the P-Funk All Stars made me nervous. There were somewhere between 12 and 14 wireless vocal mics. There’s a full drum kit, a bass, three separate guitar rigs, one keyboard station, and at least a couple of horns. Somehow, someway the sound people running the show did a great job with this seeming simmering chaos. Around 9:30 pm, the core band was jamming and the singers skanked on stage, led by George himself. The party was ON. Wearing a silver outfit and clean shaven, I didn’t recognize George until I heard his voice. Second tune was ‘Get Off Your Ass And Jam,’ they had the crowd out of the seats, and EVERYONE was funkin’. This included Fishbone, with many band members sitting on the lawn for the show, as excited to see P-Funk in effect as the rest of us. </h2>
<h2>Early on one of the low-voiced MC’s told us, “welcome to the universe of George Clinton,” and this was totally true. The world of Clinton is a magical, alternative place, with it’s own language, folk tales, iconography, and the groove. Always the groove. George and his mob play such a cool, funky amalgam. There’s a little bit of EVERYTHING in his music; funk, R&B, doo-wop, rock, jazz, keyboard explorations, prog: EVERYTHING. But it’s all P-Funk. Almost every song was a highlight, with 10 or so singers up front, including three very attractive ladies strutting their stuff. 'One Nation Under A Groove’ led to the funkiest of funky ‘Flash Light,’ again with the whole crowd grooving. </h2>
<h2>Guitarist Blackbird McKnight tore through the Hendrix-like ‘Maggot Brain,’ a true epic rocker. They got pretty raunchy on ‘Dirty Queen,’ but that’s what the funk is all about. ‘Cosmic Slop’ was also a highlight leading into ‘Give Up The Funk.’ George, now 78 years old, was onstage for the whole show, active and singing, with an occasional stretch sitting on his onstage ‘throne’ (which was a folding chair). As they wound down, or I should say, wound UP the set, there was only one missed note, when the funk ground to halt as Clinton grandson Tra’zae rapped. The change so close to the end was a cue for many to head for the exits to beat traffic. Their loss as, of course, George ended this farewell tour set with one of his biggest hits, ‘Atomic Dog,’ a magical way to exit the Clinton universe back to our drudgery. I’m pretty sure this will be the final tour for George, and farewell is not a marketing ploy. I’ve been lucky enough to see him and P-Funk three times. His music is like no other, and there will never, ever be another like him. Just like Sir Nose de-void of funk, you made me dance, George. Thanks. </h2>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/c22ce1a44aed7296e1d18d91c77bcb501bc9ff45/original/pfunk.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<h2>---Steve McGowan</h2>
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<h2>Live at The Greek Theater, LA (Whole Show)</h2>
<h2><a contents="https://www.facebook.com/georgeclintonpfunk/videos/405641913390410/" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/georgeclintonpfunk/videos/405641913390410/" style="" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/georgeclintonpfunk/videos/405641913390410/</a></h2>
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<a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/parliament-funkadelic/2019/white-oak-amphitheatre-greensboro-coliseum-complex-greensboro-nc-539e07a5.html" target="_blank" title="Parliament-Funkadelic Setlist White Oak Amphitheatre, Greensboro Coliseum Complex, Greensboro, NC, USA 2019, George Clinton's Farewell Tour"><img src="https://www.setlist.fm/widgets/setlist-image-v1?id=539e07a5" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="Parliament-Funkadelic Setlist White Oak Amphitheatre, Greensboro Coliseum Complex, Greensboro, NC, USA 2019, George Clinton's Farewell Tour" style="border: 0;" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.setlist.fm/edit?setlist=539e07a5&step=song">Edit this setlist</a> | <a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlists/parliament-funkadelic-3d6f1cf.html">More Parliament-Funkadelic setlists</a>
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</div>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/58475022019-08-04T21:10:06-04:002019-08-07T00:05:00-04:00Elvis Costello & The Imposters with Blondie at The Anthem, Washington D.C.<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/0c2506e386247cf52afb2d841025fa7f2daa0232/original/blondie-live.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>Just to start off, I need to tell you about The Anthem. The venue, part of the same entertainment company as the 9:30 Club, opened last year and is right on The Wharf, just downstream from the Jefferson Memorial on the Potomac in SW Washington, D.C. It overlooks the waterfront in a very ritzy new development full of restaurants, shops, and mixed use living. The area is newly vivacious and the venue is one of the nicest I’ve ever been to. The space holds about 5000 people, has a big floor area and three floors of balconies. We were on the third floor, but we could see and hear everything. The Anthem is impressive and I have to gush: comfortable, uncrowded seats, high tech stage, good sight lines, and great sound. There is easy access to bars, food, and really nice, roomy restrooms. Adrienne reports it is the only busy public space she’s been where there was not a massive line out the ladies’ room door. It is very well considered and appointed, a real dream of a venue. All I can tell you is that if you can see a show The Anthem, do. Be prepared to be a little disappointed in all other clubs--this is the pinnacle. </h2>
<h2>So the performers had quite the setting to rise to. I had some trepidation as Blondie took the stage. Internet reviews had been saying 74 year old Deborah Harry’s voice was weak and frail, but as they ripped into ‘One Way Or Another,’ I could hear this was DEFINITELY not the case. Debbie was in fine form and good voice, and looking fabulous as usual, prowling the stage like a cat throughout the show. Guitarist Chis Stein, silver-haired at 69, played perched on a stool but ripped some amazing solos when needed. The second song, ‘Hanging On The Telephone,’ had TWO false starts in a row. The band was completely unfazed and finally drummer Clem Burke ignited the song. </h2>
<h2>Seeing Clem, Debbie, and Chris was an extra treat for me. Despite all of the shows I’ve been to, I had never seen Blondie before. I have seen Clem play in Athens with Iggy Pop, but that was decades ago. 66 year old Clem Burke is a force of nature on the drums, playing like he was 16 years old. He is a complete master, a joy to watch, and truly the beating heart of Blondie. They did a stellar version of ‘Maria,’ with Debbie’s vocals and the killer melody making it like a lost classic girl-group song. There was a rock steady version of ‘Rapture,’ where guitarist Tommy Kessler ripped some metal-edged soloing, and Debbie flowed her rap flawlessly. </h2>
<h2>But they are not resting on their ample and well earned laurels. Blondie caught us off guard with a version of Lil Nas X’s ‘Old Town Road,’ much to the crowd’s amazement. (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubfrye" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubfrye" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubfrye</a> for a discussion of Li’l Nas X and the country charts controversy). This was followed by a very atmospheric, ambient ‘Fade Away And Radiate,’ then a triumphant version of ‘The Tide Is High,’ with the whole crowd singing along with Debbie to Clem’s latin-reggae drumming and keyboardist Matt Katz-Bohen’s mariachi horns, all held down by super-solid bassist Leigh Foxx. They ended up the set with a muscular ‘Atomic,’ and a wonderful version of ‘Heart Of Glass,’ Debbie’s vocal right on and keyboardist Katz-Bohen coming forward with the world’s biggest keytar I’ve ever seen. They slyly slipped some of Donna Summer’s ‘I Feel Love’ in at the end. Just wonderful. </h2>
<h2>For the encore, Blondie ripped one from the prior day’s headlines. They projected the ersatz Presidential Seal with the two-headed Eagle, hammer and sickle, and talons clutching golf clubs and cash, while doing a perfect rendition of Matt Munro’s ‘From Russia With Love.’ The crowd just went completely crazy. Blondie’s finale was a beautiful ‘Dreaming,’ showing off Clem Burke’s errorless powerhouse drumming. It’s amazing how many boundaries this so-called punk and new-wave band have broken. They conquered disco, and explored reggae and Latin, prog-rock ambience, early hip hop, rockabilly, and just good old rock. Blondie is a pop omnivore and encompasses all of this and more. A truly great show. </h2>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="9cNK04IB45Y" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/9cNK04IB45Y/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9cNK04IB45Y?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe> Blondie 'Dreaming' at The Anthem from You Tube</p>
<h2>As we waited for Elvis and The Imposters to go on. I noticed some issue on stage. To get into some guitar geek stuff, Elvis plays through THREE guitar amplifiers. You need a splitter box to go from one guitar input into three amps. And before his guitar signal even gets to the amps, he has a (pretty big) pedal board at his feet. These stomp-boxes might be used for reverb, delay, and other distortion effects. So, they rolled out Elvis’ amps on a platform, but his tech was obviously having a problem with the pedal board. They futzed around for about fifteen minutes, then took the pedal board off stage, then brought it back on, still not working. When they finally started the show about 20 minutes late, the pedal board was STILL not working, and was off stage, no doubt receiving the guitar tech version of CPR. Elvis simply plugged his Fender Jazzmaster straight into the three amps (no pedals) and they were off. I was imagining him throwing a tantrum but he was fine. </h2>
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<h2>They kicked off with early notables: ‘Pump It Up,’ then ‘Mystery Dance,’ then ‘Less Than Zero.’ The band was hot and Elvis sounded great. Again, I’ve been reading a lot of grousing on the Internet about the set lists for these Blondie shows being ‘uninspired.’ I’m not even sure what I want to say about that. Elvis has well over twenty LP’s, so you might not get to hear your favorite Elvis tune. Having seen E.C. over fifty times, I could do without hearing ‘Alison’ again, but it’s always a privilege to see the man and his band. I’ve seen him pissed off, but never, ever going through the motions. There was a stirring version of ‘Clubland,’ a rocking ‘Accidents Will Happen,’ and a super cool “Green Shirt,’ on which ‘The Professor,’ keyboardist Steve Nieve, really sounded great. </h2>
<h2>Elvis mentioned that the setlist had gone out the window, and tore into ‘Waiting For The End Of The World’ followed by a wonderful ‘Beyond Belief,’ both songs sent to the stratosphere by backing vocalists Kitten Kuroi and Brianna Lee. These two singers have been mainstays on the last few tours, and they are sparkling highlights on the show. They were both stellar throughout. </h2>
<h2>Elvis played one ‘new’ song, ‘A Face In The Crowd,’ on the piano. This has been played on the last couple of tours I’ve seen, but this was the first time the whole band played on the tune. While the poor guitar tech brought out the (still not working) pedalboard after 45 minutes offstage, Elvis waved him off and explained they would get back to the ‘“New Wave Hits” after this one, and he said he is working on a Broadway show based on the 1957 movie and story of Lonesome Rhodes This was followed by ‘American Gangster Time,’ a song from <em>Momofuko</em> that E.C. only plays in D.C. I wonder why... “Burnt Sugar Is So Bitter’ was the only song from <em>Look Now</em> played, followed by a surprisingly great ‘So Like Candy’ from <em>Mighty Like A Rose</em>, adding snippets of Linda Ronstadt’s ‘You’re No Good’ at the end. Then there were rollicking versions of <em>Get Happy’s</em> ‘I Can’t Stand Up For Falling Down’ and ‘High Fidelity,’ both nailed by bassist Davey Farager and the amazing drums of Pete Thomas (this whole night was a drum clinic). The set ended with ‘Everyday I Write The Book’ and ‘Alison,’ the ladies tearing it up on the vocals as Elvis started to get a little hoarse. </h2>
<h2>The encore was all-Nick Lowe material, a bashing version of ‘Heart Of The City’ followed by a heart-rending ‘(What's So Funny Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding.’ This was set to images of Elvis’ relatives from the Great War (see <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubpoppies " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubpoppies" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubpoppies </a>for review of WWI documentary <em>They Shall Not Grow Old</em>), as well as images of some boys KIA, and had a pretty strong political bent. The crowd loved it, it was a marvelous show, always great to see a performer and band at the top of their game. Elvis is still King. </h2>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="cV0S61N0I7w" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/cV0S61N0I7w/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cV0S61N0I7w?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe> Elvis and The Imposters (What's So Funny Bout) Peace Love and Understanding at The Anthem</p>
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<h2><a contents="https://www.cbsnews.com/video/the-unlikely-story-of-washington-d-c-s-new-music-venue-the-anthem/" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.cbsnews.com/video/the-unlikely-story-of-washington-d-c-s-new-music-venue-the-anthem/" style="" target="_blank">https://www.cbsnews.com/video/the-unlikely-story-of-washington-d-c-s-new-music-venue-the-anthem/</a></h2>
<p> </p>
<h2>-----Steve McGowan</h2>
<div class="setlistImage" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/blondie/2019/the-anthem-washington-dc-3b9e0c28.html" target="_blank" title="Blondie Setlist The Anthem, Washington, DC, USA, Co-Headlining Summer Tour 2019"><img src="https://www.setlist.fm/widgets/setlist-image-v1?id=3b9e0c28" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="Blondie Setlist The Anthem, Washington, DC, USA, Co-Headlining Summer Tour 2019" style="border: 0;" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.setlist.fm/edit?setlist=3b9e0c28&step=song">Edit this setlist</a> | <a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlists/blondie-4bd68b26.html">More Blondie setlists</a>
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<div class="setlistImage" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/elvis-costello-and-the-imposters/2019/the-anthem-washington-dc-339e0c31.html" target="_blank" title="Elvis Costello & The Imposters Setlist The Anthem, Washington, DC, USA, Co-Headlining Summer Tour 2019"><img src="https://www.setlist.fm/widgets/setlist-image-v1?id=339e0c31" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="Elvis Costello & The Imposters Setlist The Anthem, Washington, DC, USA, Co-Headlining Summer Tour 2019" style="border: 0;" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.setlist.fm/edit?setlist=339e0c31&step=song">Edit this setlist</a> | <a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlists/elvis-costello-and-the-imposters-bd609da.html">More Elvis Costello & The Imposters setlists</a>
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</div>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/58429542019-07-31T12:47:54-04:002019-07-31T12:47:54-04:00July 2019 Roundup<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/2c4bd0f43fed3223ffd0cf563d92a565c6a20c6d/original/fried-goat.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_left border_" /></p>
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<h2>Brian Heinbaugh lives in my neighborhood, and he is a lifetime Dad rocker. I even played in a band with him for a short while. He’s a guy that’s always played music, and he’s cool and can write a decent song in a certain Southern Rock-via-Neil Young Style. He’s one of the singers, guitarists, and songwriters from the Augusta, GA-based Fried Goat. </h2>
<h2>This new CD <em>Rock & Roll Saves Lives</em>, is a pleasant pastiche of early 80’s pop and metal, a little Americana and folk, all filtered through a Southern lens. Examples are the opener ‘L.A. Moon’ with a bit of a .38 Special feel. </h2>
<h2>‘China Made Me’ is a ‘Lucifer Sam’ rerip/rewrite. ‘Long Goodbye’ is halfway to a Band song, with some barrel-house piano. ‘Leaving Ain’t Easy’ has some folk-rock leanings with a pretty chorus. It’s all good fun. </h2>
<h2>The CD ends with an earnest cover of Springsteen’s ‘Light Of Day.’ It’s good to hear Brian and his band still working at it. This CD is not the typical Zub fare, but they are doing their thing and doing it well. Check them out at: <a contents="http://www.friedgoat.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.friedgoat.com" target="_blank">http://www.friedgoat.com</a> </h2>
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<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/7ebba04d1c94994556f6427d6d6a6b76bfed22be/original/dot-dash.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_left border_" /></p>
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<h2>We received a single link from the band Dot Dash, a power-pop outfit from Washington, DC. They have releases on Canadian label The Beautiful Music and I think they are definitely worth checking out. Their new single is </h2>
<h2>‘Unfair Weather’ and here is the YouTube link: </h2>
<h2><a contents="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SQfXgNe5Lk&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SQfXgNe5Lk" style="" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SQfXgNe5Lk </a></h2>
<h2>It has the great lyric: “<em>I was hellbound fake leather/ Don’t call it a jumper, you know it’s a sweater</em>.” This song gives me a real early Lloyd Cole and The Commotions vibe. Check out Dot Dash at <a contents="http://facebook.com/dotdashdc" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://facebook.com/dotdashdc" target="_blank">http://facebook.com/dotdashdc</a> </h2>
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<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/3afec0a9c04c865fc7ce2e346389f1610c0209f1/original/brothers-steve.png/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.png" class="size_m justify_left border_" /></p>
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<h2>We received another single link from L.A. Power pop outfit The Brothers Steve, on California label Big Stir records. Their digital single ‘Angeline/ Carolanne’ is a neat slice of power pop that reminds me a bit of Imperial Teen. ‘Angeline’ is crammed full of guitars but has a vocal scat solo session that is boss. Very catchy. </h2>
<h2>‘Carolanne’ could be a Three O’Clock song, full of beautiful harmonies, with a Beach Boys nod toward the end. Paisley Underground denizens will feel right at home with The Brothers Steve. Check them out:<a contents=" https://www.facebook.com/TheBrothersSteve/&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/TheBrothersSteve/" target="_blank"> https://www.facebook.com/TheBrothersSteve/ </a> </h2>
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<h2>--Steve McGowan</h2>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/58366482019-07-25T15:18:06-04:002019-07-25T15:18:06-04:00The Best Stuff: Buzzcocks Reissues<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/f82742e46067a0dc7bdf223dae6634dc7ad0a84a/original/buzcocks-reissue.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2>I have blogged at (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubrebuzz" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubrebuzz" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubrebuzz</a>) and (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zubrippete" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubrippete" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubrippete</a>) about Buzzcocks, and Adrienne and I have podcasted at (<a contents="tinyurl.com/spiralscratch" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/spiralscratch" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/spiralscratch</a>) and (<a contents="tinyurl.com/zublovespete" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zublovespete" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zublovespete</a>). We named our podcast Singles Going Steady. I’ve covered this before, but Buzzcocks mean everything to me, and the new Domino Records 40th Anniversary reissues of <em> Singles Going Steady</em> and <em>A Different Kind Of Tension</em> are the best this amazing band ever did. It makes me feel sixteen again. </h2>
<h2>Both LP’s are lovingly reprinted on thick card stock with original Malcolm Garrett artwork, have the color inner sleeves, and come with a deluxe booklet (Jon Savage worked on a lot of this). The music is remastered from the original ¼ inch tapes, and the band and Martin Rushent’s production never sounded better. Plus, <em>Singles</em> is in a cool lollipop purple vinyl and <em>ADKOT</em> is in a bright yellow that are both fantastic. Zub has taken notice of the yellow vinyl. </h2>
<h2>When my sixteen year old self bought the I.R.S. Records version of <em>Singles Going Steady</em> (it was a collection of Buzzcocks singles collated for the US market) EVERYTHING changed. I already had the Sex Pistols record and was obsessed with Elvis Costello, but this was the band for me. The sixteen songs on <em>Singles Going Steady </em>whipped by at breakneck speed, but the melodies and the lyrics were something I jumped on. It was truly the ‘Beatles at 45 rpm’ effect. In chronological order, the single ‘A’ sides on side one, and ‘B’ sides on side two, <em>Singles </em>opens with ‘Orgasm Addict,’ a song from the earliest Howard Devoto era of Buzzcocks. The subject matter was just what a sixteen year old boy wanted to hear. Who write songs about sex addicts? Plus it was the funniest song, a good example being among the list of who Johnny-want-fuckee will sex up: </h2>
<h2><em>Children of God and the Joy Strings, International Women with </em></h2>
<h2><em>no body hair </em></h2>
<h2>Next is ‘What Do I Get,’ a lament anyone can commiserate with, set to a great riff and a minimal guitar solo(!). Also Steve Garvey’s descending bass is more than amazing. The lyric “<em>I just want a lover like any other, what do I get?</em>” is simple, economic, and plaintive. A perfect little line from Pete Shelley, chief songwriter and a genius lyricist. It a classic song in my canon, one of many Buzzcocks songs on that list. Here is my band covering it in the 90’s. <a contents="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bi3hs5GKCmc" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bi3hs5GKCmc" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bi3hs5GKCmc</a> </h2>
<h2>The third tune is ‘I Don’t Mind’ matching trickier Ramones chord changes with all kinds of layering backing vocals. It’s a sad tale of a lover being looked over by their partner. It’s another masterful song with Shelley’s true from the heart lyric. 'Love You More,’ with it’s football terrace backup vocals, mines much of the same territory: </h2>
<h2><em>Oh my love again/what I say is true/though it may sound plain/ I Love </em></h2>
<h2><em>You </em></h2>
<h2>Then we have ‘Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve)’ which is a true Buzzcocks triumph, all rushing drums, crushy chorused guitars, and a great riff based on an E chord.The muted section in the middle builds it back up. It is the ultimate pop-punk statement all in two minutes and forty-one seconds. You can see why it was the grand finale (featuring all band members, all famous guests) of the Pete Shelley Memorial show last month at the Albert Hall in London. It is simply not just the pinnacle of Buzzcocks songs, but an essential modern standard. Here is my take on it: <a contents="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BH9qCQdXBFg" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BH9qCQdXBFg" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BH9qCQdXBFg</a> </h2>
<h2>‘‘Promises’ has a jaunty attack fitted to a story of disillusionment: </h2>
<h2>
<em>We had to change/but you stayed the same/you wouldn’t change/ Oh what a shame</em> </h2>
<h2>Shelley sounds hurt and bitter on this one. Things are changing as Buzzcocks progress. And they change dramatically with ‘Everybody’s Happy Nowadays,’ owing a bit to Kraut-rockers Can, It’s a blissful pop (hardly even punk) where Shelley discusses the illusion of life - but it’s okay, because ‘Everybody’s Happy Nowadays.’ His high chorus vocal is a killer with the mantra “<em>life’s an illusion, love is the dream</em>” oft repeated. This is the type of song I thought about plenty as a young pup. </h2>
<h2>Second in command Steve Diggle gets the next single ‘Harmony In My Head,’ a more straightforward punk riff (with the two-note solo from ‘Boredom’ repeated). Diggle sometimes is overlooked, even by Zub, but this is a solid tune and well put together. Still holds up today. </h2>
<h2>Side two of <em>Singles Going Steady</em> offers the B-sides of the aforementioned singles, and it starts with a doozie. The two chord rip of ‘Whatever Happened To?’ deals with the consumerisng and branding of love. The lyric is a stunner: </h2>
<h2><em>Whatever happened to twin sets?/Whatever happened to hi-fi? </em></h2>
<h2><em>Whatever happened to TV sex?/Whatever happened to you and I? </em></h2>
<h2><em>Your passion is a product of highlight and detail </em></h2>
<h2><em>That come-hither look, bonus offer retail </em></h2>
<h2><em>Whatever happened to pick-up trucks?/Whatever happened to yellow pages? </em></h2>
<h2><em>Whatever happened to burning books?/Whatever happened to new ages? </em></h2>
<h2><em>Your emotions are cheap, cut-price cash-and-carry </em></h2>
<h2><em>You wear your heart on your sleeve for any Tom, Dick or Harry </em></h2>
<h2><em>Your love is a cashed-in cheque/Oh, oh, that's the way of all flesh </em></h2>
<h2><em>Whatever happened to Chairman Mao?/Whatever happened to God above? </em></h2>
<h2><em>Whatever happened to the cow?/Whatever happened to plug-in love? </em></h2>
<h2><em>Your pasteurized life so fit for consumption </em></h2>
<h2><em>Ooh, those undressing eyes, so strictly commercial </em></h2>
<h2><em>Your love is a cashed-in cheque/Oh, oh, that's the way of all flesh </em></h2>
<h2><em>All flesh/All flesh </em></h2>
<h2>Following this up is ‘Oh Shit,’ a most negative kiss off to a lover. It’s as punk as Buzzcocks get but has a great guitar solo. “Autonomy’ is another Steve Diggle tune, led by John Maher’s amazing drumming with a choogling descending riff. Dealing with power and freedom in a relationship, it’s another great Diggle song, with a tight guitar solo ending. ‘Noise Annoys’ has a weirdly wonderful start/stop before going into an almost Dadaist musical approach with minimal lyric “<em>pretty girls, pretty boys, have you ever heard your Mama scream Noise Annoys!</em>” Again it has a playful Krautrock influence to it. “Just Lust’ is a dark punk song, the crunch guitars and chorus pedals going strong while Shelly sings of a physical relationship: </h2>
<h2><em>You're driven to possess, it hurts, it's so unjust </em></h2>
<h2><em>Just lust, just lust </em></h2>
<h2><em>If nothing matters less, then I wouldn't make a fuss </em></h2>
<h2><em>Just lust, just lust </em></h2>
<h2><em>I was slow to catch on </em></h2>
<h2><em>And that just makes it worse </em></h2>
<h2><em>If passion is a fashion </em></h2>
<h2><em>Then emotion is a curse </em></h2>
<h2>‘Lipstick’ is a true classic, using the awesome ‘Shot By Both Sides’ riff that was given to Magazine when Howard Devoto left. I get the feeling everything Green Day ever learned came from this song. Guitar riff, crunchy rhythm, up front bass, and insistent drumming. Adrienne once mentioned to me that this band was like a Swiss watch, with all the parts necessary to make the band tick. This song is a good example of that. ‘Lipstick’ is a good example of Shelley’s economical lyrics: </h2>
<h2><em>When you kiss me </em></h2>
<h2><em>Does the lipstick on your lip stick on my face? </em></h2>
<h2><em>Will you miss me </em></h2>
<h2><em>In your dreams does your lover have my face? </em></h2>
<h2>'Why Can’t I Touch It’ is an almost-reggae, dadaist masterpiece clocking in at six minute and thirty-five seconds. Again Shelley is dealing with illusions, but I think this might involve some type of drugs. The song always makes me smile: </h2>
<h2><em>Well, it seems so real/I can see it </em></h2>
<h2><em>And it seems so real/I can feel it </em></h2>
<h2><em>And it seems so real/I can taste it </em></h2>
<h2><em>And it seems so real/I can hear it </em></h2>
<h2><em>So why can't I touch it? </em></h2>
<h2><em>So why can't I touch it? </em></h2>
<h2>Buzzcocks kind of dub it up through this trip on the absurd. The rhythm section of Garvey and Maher really shine on this one. Side two ends with ‘Something’s Gone Wrong Again,’ another epic at four minutes and twenty nine seconds featuring the one-note piano a la ‘I Wanna Be Your Dog’ and a great seven-note guitar figure. Shelley has a laundry list of complaints: </h2>
<h2><em>I turned up early in time for our date </em></h2>
<h2><em>But then you turn up late, something goes wrong again </em></h2>
<h2><em>Need a drink, go to the pub </em></h2>
<h2><em>But the bugger's shut, something goes wrong again </em></h2>
<h2><em>Something goes wrong again/And again </em></h2>
<h2><em>And again, and again, again and something goes wrong again </em></h2>
<h2><em>Ah, something goes wrong again </em></h2>
<h2><em>Something goes wrong again </em></h2>
<h2><em>Something goes wrong again </em></h2>
<h2>This song has a wonderful, out there solo in it that I’ve always taken notice of (and stolen). It sounds amazing. </h2>
<h2>Listening to this over and over, I can hear many things I’ve stolen in my own music, a turn of phrase, a lyrical approach, a single note guitar ending (like on ‘Lipstick’) , a weird chord turn. I’ve received so much from Buzzcocks and this LP helped form the punk rocker (and eventually musician) that I’ve become. </h2>
<h2>But wait...there’s another LP to talk about! </h2>
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<em>A Different Kind Of Tension</em> was the last Buzzcocks LP before their first breakup, and as its title suggests, is kind of the sound of a band falling apart. I always felt <em>Singles Going Steady</em> was the sound of a band giving good advice about love, like an older brother looking out for you. <em>ADKOT </em>is the sound of that older brother starting to have a breakdown. The LP starts with ‘Paradise,’ and you can immediately tell Buzzcocks are a tougher, more muscular band. Martin Rushent’s production is strong. Pete Shelley exclaims: </h2>
<h2><em>Where in the world are we/Everything's fake nothing's real </em></h2>
<h2><em>I guess it just depends on how you feel/Why are you wasting my time </em></h2>
<h2><em>With questions when everything's fine/Why are things so nice </em></h2>
<h2><em>Is this the place that they call paradise/Oh, it's paradise </em></h2>
<h2>The music is hyper-fast, hyper-tight, and the chords use a four note pattern and modulate all over. ‘Sitting Round At Home’ is a great Diggle tune, muffled vocal, muted guitars, and faux-funk bass thumping in the intro before busting into a breakneck tempo. The lyric consists of the title mantra repeated, and a few lines like “<em>Whatever turned you off, was it the turning on, Ideal state of mind, increase your perception.</em>” Next up is the magnificent ‘You Say You Don’t Love Me,’ which I consider personally one of the best songs ever written. It’s a song that inspired me to be a songwriter. Simple and effective chord changes, judicious use of flanging on the guitar, a beautiful guitar solo, and the most amazing lyric: </h2>
<h2><em>You say you don't love me </em></h2>
<h2><em>Well that's alright with me 'cause I have got the time </em></h2>
<h2><em>To wait in case someday, you maybe change your mind </em></h2>
<h2><em>I've decided not to make the same mistakes this time around </em></h2>
<h2><em>As I'm tired of having heartaches, I've been thinking and I've found </em></h2>
<h2><em>I don't want to live in a dream, I want somethin' real </em></h2>
<h2><em>And I think I understand now the way that you feel </em></h2>
<h2><em>You say you don't, you say you don't </em></h2>
<h2><em>You say you don't </em></h2>
<h2>Even today, this song gives me the shivers. It’s the best Pete Shelley ever did, and he wrote a lot of great songs. </h2>
<h2>‘You Know You Can’t Help It’ is a more laddish take from Diggle, a tale of lust from the male point of view. Diggle gets a lot more songs on this record, and they generally hold up. This is a great rocker but for Buzzcocks a bit lyrically dim. Diggle immediately makes up for it with the frenetic ‘Mad Mad Judy,’ with rhythm section Maher and Garvey blasting away. There is an amazing, chorused bass riff set to an off chord that highlights the insanity described in the song. Diggle tells a Mancunian story at the end, leading into Shelly’s ‘Raison D'Etre.’ A repeating, insistent bar chord pattern that is not blues based underpins the song, which appears to be Shelley’s coy come-on to a potential boyfriend. There is an extended(!) and amazing guitar soloing part from the middle until the end. No one is Jimmy Page but Shelley and Diggle hold their own. This is another one of my favorite songs. </h2>
<h2>Side two opens with the frantic ‘I Don’t Know What To Do With My Life,’ a great song but sounding like a band falling apart. They would tour for <em>ADKOT</em>, but somehow to me Shelley’s songs do sound like he’s truly going to have a breakdown. This is illustrated by ‘Money,’ which in the right hands could have been a Joy Division song. It’s a slower tempo, with stabbing chords and a lonely, echoed vocal and lyric: </h2>
<h2><em>What is inside me/ Is caged here beside me </em></h2>
<h2><em>Life is a zoo </em></h2>
<h2><em>I'm labeled him/ And it's labeled you </em></h2>
<h2><em>Life is a zoo </em></h2>
<h2><em>Life's a zoo </em></h2>
<h2><em>You are a stranger/ But I'm even stranger </em></h2>
<h2><em>What can I do </em></h2>
<h2><em>Life's getting stranger/ Strangers are stranger </em></h2>
<h2><em>What can we do </em></h2>
<h2><em>Life's a zoo </em></h2>
<h2>This crashes into ‘Hollow Inside.’ I had read quite a bit of T.S. Eliot in high school, and combined with my Catholic school studies, kind of understood some of it. Obviously Shelley was cribbing Eliot’s ‘The Hollow Men.’ His poem grapples with the weakness of spirit, the impossibility of hope, and ideas concerning religious conversion. Shelley’s tune is a beautiful melancholia, with filigreed choused guitar on top of the hammering rhythm. His lyric intones: “<em>Hollow inside? I was hollow inside / But I couldn't find out what the reason was / Why I was hollow inside? I was hollow inside / But I couldn't find out what the reason was.</em>” As a young man this song made a true impression on me. What punk wrote about T.S. Eliot? Not even the mighty Costello would consider working that territory. I haven’t heard another artist reference Eliot since the amazing tunes of Scott Miller and his bands Game Theory and The Loud Family. Duly impressed. Next up is ‘A Different Kind Of Tension', another ‘laundry list’ song, offering up an idea and the opposite of it. The intro sounds like something Franz Ferdinand stole, and the tune has a futuristic production with bass runs, and spidery soloing. There’s even some vocoder! The lyric is like this: </h2>
<h2><em>Wait here, go there </em></h2>
<h2><em>Come in, stay out </em></h2>
<h2><em>Be yourself, be someone else </em></h2>
<h2><em>Obey the law, break the law </em></h2>
<h2><em>Be ambitious, be modest </em></h2>
<h2><em>Plan ahead, be spontaneous </em></h2>
<h2><em>Decide for yourself, listen to others </em></h2>
<h2><em>Save money, spend money </em></h2>
<h2><em>Be good, be evil </em></h2>
<h2><em>Be wise, be foolish </em></h2>
<h2><em>Be safe, be dangerous </em></h2>
<h2><em>Be satisfied, be envious </em></h2>
<h2><em>Be honest, be deceitful </em></h2>
<h2><em>Be faithful, be perfidious </em></h2>
<h2><em>Be sane, be mad </em></h2>
<h2><em>Be strong, be weak </em></h2>
<h2><em>Be enigmatic, be plain </em></h2>
<h2><em>Be aggressive, be peaceful </em></h2>
<h2><em>Be brave, be timid </em></h2>
<h2><em>Be humane, be cruel </em></h2>
<h2><em>Be critical, be appreciative </em></h2>
<h2><em>Be temperamental, calm </em></h2>
<h2><em>Be sad, be happy </em></h2>
<h2><em>Be normal, be unusual </em></h2>
<h2><em>Stop, go, live, die </em></h2>
<h2><em>Yes, no, rebel, submit </em></h2>
<h2><em>Right, wrong, sit down, stand up </em></h2>
<h2><em>Create, destroy, accept, reject </em></h2>
<h2><em>Talk, silence, speed up, slow down </em></h2>
<h2><em>This way, that way, right, left </em></h2>
<h2><em>Present, absent, open, closed </em></h2>
<h2><em>Entrance, exit, believe, doubt </em></h2>
<h2><em>Truth, lies, escape, meet </em></h2>
<h2><em>Love, hate, thank you, flunk </em></h2>
<h2><em>Clarify, pollute, simple, complex </em></h2>
<h2><em>Nothing, something, stop, go </em></h2>
<h2><em>Live, die, yes, no </em></h2>
<h2><em>Rebel, submit, right, wrong </em></h2>
<h2><em>Sit down, stand up, create, destroy </em></h2>
<h2><em>Accept, reject, talk, silence </em></h2>
<h2>Again, the simple yet complex ideas Shelley puts forth in these so-called ‘punk’ tunes are sophisticated and so forward thinking. Buzzcocks are nothing if not intellectually stimulating, and they rock! It all ends up with Shelley’s ‘I Believe,’ a statement of humanity and individuality bar none. There’s the twanging guitar, the chorused power chords, Maher’s all over the place drumming, and Garvey holding it all down. Shelley makes the ultimate proclamation: </h2>
<h2><em>In these times of contention, it's not my intention to make things plain </em></h2>
<h2><em>I'm looking through mirrors to catch the reflection that can't be mine </em></h2>
<h2><em>I'm losing control now, I'll just have to slow down a thought or two </em></h2>
<h2><em>I can't feel the future and I'm not even certain that there is a past </em></h2>
<h2><em>I believe in the worker's revolution </em></h2>
<h2><em>And I believe in the final solution </em></h2>
<h2><em>I believe in, I believe in </em></h2>
<h2><em>I believe in the shape of things to come </em></h2>
<h2><em>And I believe, I'm not the only one </em></h2>
<h2><em>Yes, I believe in, I believe in </em></h2>
<h2><em>When I poison my system, I take thoughts and twist them into shapes </em></h2>
<h2><em>I'm reachin' my nadir and I haven't an idea of what to do </em></h2>
<h2><em>I'm painting by numbers but can't find the colors that fill you in </em></h2>
<h2><em>I'm not even knowing if I'm coming or going, if to end or begin </em></h2>
<h2><em>I believe in the immaculate conception </em></h2>
<h2><em>And I believe in the resurrection </em></h2>
<h2><em>And I believe in, I believe in </em></h2>
<h2><em>I believe in the elixir of youth </em></h2>
<h2><em>And I believe in the absolute truth </em></h2>
<h2><em>Yes I believe in, I believe in </em></h2>
<h2><em>There is no love in this world anymore </em></h2>
<h2><em>There is no love in this world anymore </em></h2>
<h2>When he declares “<em>There Is No Love In This World Anymore</em>,”it’s somehow easy to believe. Peter Shelley sounds like a man who has sailed around his soul, he may not like everything he’s seen, but he’s not giving up. This is supported by the short ending ‘track’ “Radio Nine,’ imagining a world in which Buzzcocks are on all the radio dials. Kind of a happy, if fanciful ending. I felt like <em>ADKOT</em> was a true life lesson. I listened carefully, and I got so much out of it. I learned much about songwriting and not being boxed in by so-called ‘punk’ rules. I learned there is nothing better than a great melody. And I got a master class in lyric writing. Intelligent, emotive, economic lyrics. Often Buzzcocks are thought of as teenage music, but this is real world, grown up stuff. You really need these records, in your life, every day.</h2>
<h2>I believe in Buzzcocks. </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan </h2>
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<h2> </h2>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/58318072019-07-21T19:20:35-04:002019-07-24T09:37:30-04:00European Kings: The Stranglers Feline Limited Double LP<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/f3043ae8c3c1790ad8027dda3c6bdf91b0565820/original/feline-reisue.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h2> The Stranglers, from Guildford, in England, are a band that had a great impact on me. They were a bit older than the young ‘punk’ upstarts in England in 1977 and they already knew how to play. But age and skill did no harm in making their first two LP’s, <em>Ratticus Norvegicus</em> and <em>No More Heroes</em> both stone-cold punk classics (and both produced by the incredible Martin Rushent), and their weird, third apocalyptic record <em>Black And White</em> remains to this day one of my all-time favorite records. The band was known for a tough-guy, in-your-face, misogynistic stance. I believed this to be a bit of an act, as proved by the later records. </h2>
<h2>After recording their ‘classic’ LP’s for EMI/United Artists, and after the success of their sixth LP <em>La Folie</em> featuring the waltz ‘Golden Brown’ and a mellower pop sound, the band was at a bit of a crossroads. They had jettisoned their management, grown tired of EMI, and had signed with Epic in the UK, getting the infamous ‘complete control’ over the product. The first LP for Epic, <em>Feline</em>, was released in January 1983. It was a great departure for these grizzled punk vets, the music having been informed by new, lovely acoustic guitars purchased by singer and guitarist Hugh Cornwell and singer/bassist JJ Burnel. </h2>
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<em>Feline</em> is a real pop surprise, all muted tones, acoustics combined with drummer Jet Black’s new electronic drums, and much more organic piano and organ sounds from keyboard man Dave Greenfield. The music hearkens back to the punk Stranglers doing Burt Bacharach’s ‘Walk On By,’ the point being they were old enough to know about some of the pre-beat era pop and they had the chops to play it. There is some real crooner stuff on <em>Feline</em>, and it’s all pretty great. </h2>
<h2>So, I’m really not sure why, but in February the Stranglers store offered a new, limited version of <em>Feline</em> on two LP’s. It’s on 180 gram vinyl, remastered, and limited to 1000 copies including a signed (by the current band members, notably missing front man Cornwell) art print. The first vinyl disc is black vinyl and has the original LP, and the second disc <em>Clawing At The Sky</em> is on red vinyl, all bonus tracks, 7-inch edits, 12” mixes and two unreleased tracks. It’s a Stranglers fan’s dream. <a contents="https://stranglers.tmstor.es/cart/product.php?id=42010" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VeaLssGXb4" target="_blank">https://stranglers.tmstor.es/cart/product.php?id=42010</a> </h2>
<h2>Feline opens with ‘Midnight Summer Dream,’ a classy sounding melody sung-spoke by Hugh Cornwell over gypsy guitars and JJ Burnel’s insistent bass. It’s like Kraftwerk trying to play Hot Club Jazz. This is a strong opener and <em>Feline’s</em> second single (featured in a remix on the <em>Clawing At The Sky</em> disc, the second disc in this release). It’s at a leisurely tempo and oh-so Euro sounding, plus it clocks in at over six minutes. ‘It’s A Small World’ opens with an XTC-like acoustic riff and those strange electro drums. Hugh again sings in an offhand manner, but the choruses are quite strong, JJ lending vocal backups. This one has a bit of a teutonic feel. Dave Greenfield and his choral synth sounds give a great ascending ending. ‘Ships That Pass In The Night’ opens like a slow-burn funk song, due to JJ’s killer bass line. It quickly morphs into a Thomas Dolby type of tune with some off-kilter synth work and Hugh crooning away. </h2>
<h2><em>Suddenly you see a mast/ Approaching you pretty fast </em></h2>
<h2><em>‘Hope it’s not like the last/ But it just sails right past </em></h2>
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<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="S8DZPEtwoNg" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/S8DZPEtwoNg/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/S8DZPEtwoNg?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe> Midnight Summer Dream on The Kenny Everett Show from You Tube</p>
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<h2>Side one ends with ‘The European Female (In Celebration Of)’ a killer tune from JJ Burnel, crammed with Greenfield’s synth-celeste, Hugh’s faux-Django guitar, and Jet Black’s tamed electro drums. A beautiful melody and a truly strong song, this one reached number 9 in the UK record charts. It’s a later period Stranglers classic. </h2>
<h2>Side two opens with ‘Let’s Tango In Paris,’ another strong and sophisticated vocal melody from Hugh Cornwell. The intro is a little bit reminiscent of ‘Golden Brown,’ Listening to it over again today I’m impressed at how complicated the arrangements are. ‘Paradise’ was the third single from Feline, sung by JJ with backing vocals from his then-girlfriend Anna von Stern and France L’Hermitte, it’s a frothy bit of synth pop that could be on a Thompson Twins LP, until JJ speaks in the middle: </h2>
<h2><em>I don’t think anyone’s ever found paradise </em></h2>
<h2><em>Because paradise is based on lies </em></h2>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="9VeaLssGXb4" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/9VeaLssGXb4/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9VeaLssGXb4?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe> European Female on The Tube from Youtube</p>
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<h2>‘All Roads Lead To Rome’ has a real Kraftwerk feel, Hugh speaking his way through most of this one. It’s heavy on the synths and four-on-the-floor electronic drumming, but the keys on parade are a real showcase for Dave Greenfield. ‘Blue Sister’ is a beauty of a song, a bit more uptempo, still very Euro and synth based, but has some of the old-school Stranglers stops and starts. Hugh croons again through this one. It’s a little gem of a tune.The LP closes with ‘Never Say Goodbye,’ utilizing the acoustic guitars, real piano, and JJ’s ever-present bass. It sounds like a melody from the 18th century, some kind of cool, lost folk tune. Again amazingly sophisticated with a piano riff reminiscent of ‘Don’t Bring Harry’ from <em>The Raven</em>. Hugh’s voice is in fine form. It’s a great way to end a great LP. </h2>
<h2>The second disc, <em>Clawing At The Sky</em>, on a cool red 180 gram vinyl, gathers b-sides and remixes from this record, with varying results. First up on Side One is a ‘radio edit’ (presumably for the BBC in England) of European Female. It’s a punchy, better mix, with the jazzy acoustic guitar brought up in the mix, and about twenty-five seconds shorter than the LP version. Then a ‘Special Single Mix’ of ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream,’ only three minutes forty-nine seconds instead of six minutes and eleven seconds. They drop the lengthy keyboard intro, but the mix sounds similar, just edited. This song lends itself well to the editing. Rounding out the singles from the LP is a ‘radio edit’ of ‘Paradise,’ a bit shorter and to the point. </h2>
<h2>The b-side, ‘Pawsher,’ is a bit of an atmospheric workout, very euro-mecha pop with some free-form Hugh guitar. The only lyric is the word ‘Pawsher’ repeated over and over: there’s yer experimental Stranglers. The b-side ‘Permission’ is a treasure, honest to God reggae (even more than Black and White’s ‘Nice N’ Sleazy’). JJ’s bass is outstanding, and the vocal melody is unbeatable. This may have been too upbeat for the <em>Feline </em>LP, but it’s a great tune and well produced. </h2>
<h2>Side 2 of <em>Clawing At The Sky</em> opens with the (12” Special Mix) of Midnight Summer Dream. Clocking in at ten minutes and thirty-eight seconds, it’s an epic of epic proportions. It sounds perhaps a bit sped up, unbelievably. But the edits and the remixing are a triumph for the production team of The Stranglers and Steve Churchyard and the mixing of Tony Visconti. The song is atmospheric and hypnotic. As I said above, I loved this song with some editing, but I love this extended version as well. A good song is a good song, I suppose. </h2>
<h2>The b-side ‘Savage Breast’ has a weird recorder-sounding keyboard and a bit of a sixties psychedelic feel. Hugh’s vocal is very good, but you can see why it’s a b-side after a few listens. The next b-side is the first in the Vladimir and Olga series, a number of related b-sides The Stranglers would spin across their next few records. This is a hilarious easter egg. The full title of the tune is: </h2>
<h2>(The Strange Circumstances Which Lead To) Vladimir & Olga (Requesting Rehabilitation In A Siberian Health Resort As A Result Of Stress In Furthering The People's Policies) By The Upper Volga Corn Growers Co-Operative Association Choral Dance Troupe Ensemble </h2>
<h2>Set to a Russian folk melody, Hugh narrates the story of Vladimir and Olga, travelling and getting ‘bead mold madness.’ tripping balls, they cause a huge traffic jam in Odessa. This is weird and funny and very, very clever. </h2>
<h2>Last up is the ‘Aural Sculpture Manifesto,’ a mostly spoken word piece in which The Stranglers are definitely “taking the piss.” </h2>
<h2>There you have it. <em>Feline</em> was successful in the UK and truly established The Stranglers all over Europe. They were always (JJ Burnel being a Frenchman) a Euro-centric band, ignoring (and being ignored back by) the US. This particular package is beautifully done and a must have for fans. Those with a milder interest and a love of Euro pop should definitely check out <em>Feline</em>. It’s a pop, post-punk record with a little bit of the snarl of the old Stranglers. All hail the European Kings! </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan. </h2>
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<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/e7359c1dd3f10ee52d9726050865ff2f5fffd8c9/original/feline.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/58251512019-07-15T13:35:35-04:002019-07-15T13:44:31-04:00FX's Legion: An Appreciation<h2 style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/4eae92cc328e13deaa423702d20cf1d7dc9db495/original/legion-ill.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></h2>
<h2>I must confess: I am NOT a comic book geek. Back in the 80's, when naught but convenient stores were open for late night prowling, Steve and I did indulge in buying the occasional comic book out of boredom and curiosity. This led to an occasional comic store visit, where our best haul was a Spider-Man Meets David Letterman issue. So if you are looking for comic book canon and expertise, you’ll not find it here. At best, I was a dilettante at even being a comic dilettante. </h2>
<h2>Evidently, superheroes and comics have had a resurgence and success in pop culture in the last decade that I have largely ignored. I checked IMDb and 2008’s <em>Iron Man</em> was my last participation in this phenomenon. </h2>
<h2>So how did I end up riveted by Marvel’s <em>Legion</em> showing now on FX? How do I love thee, <em>Legion</em>? Let us count the ways. </h2>
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<span style="color:null;">1. Spectacular art direction</span>.</h2>
<h2>The time in which the series is set is intentionally undefined and fluid. Season 3 introduces the notion of time travel (some temporal time shifts always took place, but this is full-on time manipulation) so the design has taken a much heavier specificity. There has always been a heavy presence of 60's and 70's color themes and designs. Sets are sometimes set in imaginary and imagined spaces, institutional, and secret governmental spaces. They all are other-worldly and strange. And we get to travel to the astral plane from time-to-time. It is all meticulous and detailed. </h2>
<h2>Costumes too can be time-defying, time specifying, or fantastic and elaborate. Each outfit worn by a character is integral to the scene and serves the story. </h2>
<h2>2. Music cues.</h2>
<h2>The soundtrack weaves classics, contemporary, and bespoke recordings into the story in an organic and absolutely perfect way. Showrunner Noah Hawley even recorded some atmospheric covers for inclusion on the soundtrack. The Who play an important story-telling role in <em>Legion</em>, with ‘Happy Jack’ and ‘Behind Blue Eyes’ being used effectively to propel the plot. And the lead ingenue is called Syd Barrett! There are plenty of musical Easter Eggs to keep music lovers on their toes. </h2>
<h2>3. Song and dance integrated.</h2>
<h2>The cast includes Bill Irwin, a well-established dancer-mime-clown, Dan Stevens, who is enough of a musical heavyweight to have been cast as the Beast in the live action remake of Beauty and, well, him, and Jemaine Clement, who is not only an actor of notable range but also half of New Zealand’s fourth most popular comedy-folk duo, Flight of the Conchords. Showrunner Noah Hawley uses these performers' skills to serve and stretch the already ethereal world of<em> Legion</em> a world where when characters can no longer speak their thoughts, they may find themselves singing or dancing them. </h2>
<h2>4. Humor.</h2>
<h2>While themes of love, betrayal, mental illness, the nature of reality, Armageddon, the threat of conformity, looming terror, the meaning of memory, and the inescapability of fate are deeply woven threads in the fabric of the story, the cast includes several skilled comedic actors: Bill Irwin, a literal clown; Jean Smart, best known as a sitcom star; Jemaine Clement, who rose to prominence as a comedian; Hamish Linklater, from <em>The New Adventures of Old Christine</em> sitcom; and <em>Parks & Recreation’s</em> Aubrey Plaza. </h2>
<h2>Plaza is jaw-droppingly good. Menacing, vulnerable, physically embodying multiple characters, serving the complicated story as needed. She can be demonic, alluring, repellant, and comical all at once. She is so much more than the deadpan April Ludgate. </h2>
<h2>5. Dan Freaking Stevens.</h2>
<h2>He is not the cuddly floppy-haired <em>Downton Abbey</em> heart-throb here. He sings, dances, and relays a range of emotion from lovesick puppy to the embodiment of pure existential threat. All with an American accent. In one particularly wonderful scene on the astral plane, he argues with a smarter version of himself, who speaks in his perfect British posh accent, of course. Why he and Plaza have not collected all the awards, I don’t know. I suspect The Shadow King may be at work. </h2>
<h2>6. Constant Disruption of Expectations.</h2>
<h2>The show does not go where you think it will. In this last season, I have given up on trying to predict what is next. I still care about the characters and want to see where showrunner Hawley takes us, but this is not an unconventional love story, a superhero squad origin story, or a sci-fi gee-whiz adventure. <em>Legion</em> is all and none of those things. It is more interesting than any of those things alone. </h2>
<h2>7. Every Freaking Body on the show.</h2>
<h2>Rachel Keller, Syd Barrett, has a complicated life story and “power” (hey, this is a Marvel comix co-production, remember) and she has proven herself up to the bad-assery the character has unleashed. I hope that this abused character’s arc, for good or ill, provides some agency for her. However, this season she’s hanging with the show’s Big Bad, the suave Navid Negahban as the personification of pure evil or the real savior of mankind. His multi-lingual, languid operator is seducing her to his will, so seemingly goodbye agency, Syd. But again, see point 6. </h2>
<h2>The physical warrior of The Gang is played by Amber Midthunder, She is the other half of Bill Irwin’s character. I don’t want to give away more, but their relationship is unlike anything I’ve seen before. Jeremie Harris has had the fate of becoming a literal mainframe, so his character has already found the logical extension of his power over memory. </h2>
<h2>David’s possible deus ex machina has turned up in this last season as the character Switch (Lauren Tsai). It is early days so my personal jury is out on how the character will serve the denouement of the story. </h2>
<h2>Notably, the cast is more diverse than we typically see. Asian, Arab, Indigenous (both American and Maori), African American, and Latin actors are featured, stretching representation well beyond the pretty blonde and blue-eyed leads. </h2>
<h2>In short, the show is complex, visually stunning, unlike anything else, and well-stocked with a virtuoso cast at the height of their powers. There are 27 episodes total, wrapping in August 2019, so a couple of weekend binges and you can catch up for the finale. </h2>
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<em>Legion</em> is not for everyone. It is for more folks than have discovered it so far, perhaps you, dear reader. I suspect its reputation will grow in the next few years as folks discover this exceptional show. If you are not transfixed by the end of Episode 1, maybe you are not right for <em>Legion</em>. Smart, funny, surprising, stylish, contemplative, wistful, masterly, and lyrical with a solid pop culture referential pedigree: Legion and I are registered at Nordstrom, Belk, and Target.</h2>
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<h2>---Adrienne Meddock</h2>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="w60S3jC-odg" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/w60S3jC-odg/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/w60S3jC-odg?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
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<p> </p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/58211032019-07-11T12:06:34-04:002019-07-12T11:57:19-04:00Yesterday: The Movie<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="IGgxBU96hz8" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/IGgxBU96hz8/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IGgxBU96hz8?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
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<em>Imagine there’s no Beatles...see if you can</em>. That is basically the conceit of Danny Boyle’s new film <em>Yesterday</em>. Boyle is an accomplished British film-maker, having such titles as <em>Trainspotting</em>,<em> 28 Days Later</em>, and <em>Slumdog Millionaire</em> on his resume. The screenplay is by Richard Curtis, a Kiwi who has written for BBC TV’s <em>Blackadder</em> and <em>The Vicar of Dibley</em>, and movies <em>Four Weddings and a Funeral</em>, and many others including the rom-com holiday juggernaut, <em>Love Actually</em>. With this high-powered creative team, and a Beatles-centric theme, I was expecting quite a film. </h2>
<h2>I found this film strangely touching, but I think it affected me in a way it wasn’t intended to. The story concerns struggling musician Jack Malik, living on the English seaside in Lowestoft, Suffolk (with some beautiful local scenery used throughout). Jack (well played by Himesh Patel) struggles with his singer-songwriting gig, playing his simple, uninspiring music (tunes like ‘Summer Song’ and ‘Dinosaur’) and is shown doing the musician- paying- his-dues thing, including lots of terrible gigs. Most musicians in the audience will be familiar with this part of the story. Through it all he is given amazing support from his manager and childhood friend, Ellie (played by Lily James, who is beautiful and radiant and you immediately wonder why they aren’t romantic). It’s set up at the beginning that Jack thinks of her as a sister. This part is not so believable. </h2>
<h2>So slight spoilers ahead are needed to discuss the film, but I think I’ve held back the biggest jaw-dropping moment. </h2>
<h2>So the big thing happens, Jack is cycling home after a late-night gig (and a blow-up with Ellie where he tells her he’s quitting music) when there is a mysterious short worldwide power blackout, in the middle of which Jack is hit by a bus. After a few days in hospital (with Ellie by his side), he’s out and hanging with his friends. They give him a new guitar to replace his run-over one, and he plays ‘Yesterday’ on it for them. This is the first point in the film I started to cry. The idea of a bunch of people hearing ‘Yesterday’ for the first time was a little too much for me. </h2>
<h2>So the science fiction component of the film involves The Beatles. And maybe some kind of alternate universe deal. After the blackout, no one remembers The Beatles or their music. The stock ‘Google search’ scene is used well in this movie, as the occasional post-black out erased existence comes up, impacting a few odd items besides The Beatles. So Jack slowly comes to realize he may be the only person in the world that remembers The Beatles. A certain suspension of disbelief is needed here. So what would you do in his place? He quickly begins making lists of all the Beatles songs and rehearsing, rehearsing, rehearsing “his” new repertoire. There are a few great scenes where he frantically tries to remember lyrics, especially ‘Eleanor Rigby.’ </h2>
<h2>Everything is fairly predictable from this point. Jack records a local demo, gets on local British TV, is ‘discovered’ by Ed Sheeran and opens a show in Moscow for Sheeran. Sheeran is good playing himself, but it’s a thankless task, as he creates a songwriting duel with Jack. When Sheeran plays ‘Penguin’ it's pretty meh, and Jack comes up with ‘The Long And Winding Road.” Guess who wins. </h2>
<h2>Jack is quickly swooped up by the evil record conglomerate, taking on Ed Sheeran’s manager (played with one-note grace by SNL’s Kate McKinnon) and is immediately poised for stardom. Of course, Jack is torn. He wants to be a famous musician but he realizes he’s living a lie as he hasn’t written any of these great songs. There is a cool subplot involving a geezer from Moscow and an older lady from Liverpool (where Jack visits for inspiration, and Strawberry Fields home has just been demolished) who stalk him. When he meets these two he’s sure they are going to ‘out’ his secret, but for whatever reason they do remember The Beatles, and they are glad that Jack has brought the music to the world. The lady’s quote is "without The Beatles, the world is worse…" I think this is the central point of the movie. </h2>
<h2>At this point, the story turns into a standard love story. It’s a bit sappy but again I was affected by it. Ellie follows Jack to Liverpool, she professes her love, he seems clueless, and they are on the verge of a drunken tryst. Of course it doesn’t happen, and next day Ellie tells him he’s had "ten years to make his move." Jack has to go right now to be famous in Los Angeles. He plans to play his big debut in his hometown, at the once-defunct Pier Hotel. During the gig, Jack is cracking up over the loss of Ellie, turning ‘Help’ into an effective primal cry of a man with personal, professional, temporal and epistemological crises converging at once. After this gig, he meets the two other people who remember The Beatles. They tell him thanks and give him an address. </h2>
<h2>In the most evocative scene, Jack visits the address. I won’t give it all away but it is a stunning sequence, and Jack now understands what he has to do. This scene worked for me, but Adrienne found it distressing. I imagine most Beatle fans will fall in one camp or the other. We agreed it was very well done. </h2>
<h2>Jack gets on the bill at another Ed Sheeran show, at Wembley Stadium, where on stage he fesses up that he hasn’t written the Beatles songs, and makes “his catalog” downloads free to all, and he professes his love for Ellie. It's sappy and a predictable move, but satisfying. The Curtis take on the rom-com recipe usually has bitters liberally sprinkled in the treacle (Emma Thompson in <em>Love</em> <em>Actually</em>, anyone?). There is a happily-ever-after end here though: Jack goes home, starts a life and has kids with Ellie, and becomes a music teacher. </h2>
<h2>Himesh Patel has a perfect voice for the task of the film: a little guy simply presenting songs that speak for themselves. The song selection skews a little Paul-heavy, but that suits the troubadour one-man, one-guitar presentation of these classic songs. He does not mimic the vocals that we know by heart, and that makes for one of the more believable parts of this fanciful story. He presents the songs with care and competence. </h2>
<h2>So, for a film that’s so much about The Beatles, <em>Yesterday</em> is a bit of a mess. The science fiction doesn’t make sense (to be known henceforth as The <em>Wonderwall</em> Paradox), the love story is predictable, and it’s hard to see exactly what it all means. Nevertheless, I was moved by this movie. I could not imagine a world with no Beatles. They have made such a profound impact on my life. I found the love story somehow spoke to me. If you are a certain age, I suppose this is a must see movie. Many audience left the multiplex, gently humming Beatles songs to themselves, to each other. The movie I compare it to of course is Julie Taymor’s <em>Across the Universe</em> which is a real stunner of a sixties tale set to The Beatles music. I’m interested in what you think about Yesterday. Imagine. </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan </h2>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/58177452019-07-08T17:36:11-04:002019-07-08T17:37:43-04:00Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures 40th Anniversary<h2> </h2>
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<h2>I bought Joy Division’s <em>Unknown Pleasures</em> when it came out in 1979, from Horizon Records in Greenville, SC, back when they were above the Manor. </h2>
<h2>I want to try to talk about why I love Joy Division so much, and this LP is the entry point. There is much mystique around the band that obviously dealt with singer and lyricist Ian Curtis’ suicide before the release of their second LP <em>Closer</em>. Let’s face it, there is nothing bigger to create a mystique than a rock and roll suicide, and Curtis’ story is a whopper. </h2>
<h2>The fashionable pop-culture legend of Joy Division and the late trendy co-opting of the cover art to emblazon everything from strip mall tee shirts to socks and throws endangers the musical legacy of a genuinely important band. But that is not for this discussion. </h2>
<h2>I’d like to try and get away from the mystique and talk about the band and the music they made that I love so much. It was just a few days ago that I went to Horizon Records (still in Greenville, but now on the corner of Main and Stone ) and bought the 40th anniversary vinyl edition of <em>Unknown Pleasures</em>. This is a cool reissue, on red vinyl, with the ‘original’ Peter Saville pulsar rendering artwork in white, not in black. It’s on Warners UK now, Factory Records being long gone, but it’s a beautiful record. </h2>
<h2>This is another important part of Joy Division, the care they took with their artwork. The images on all the Factory Releases, done by Peter Saville, are real artwork.The packaging was always first rate and a little mysterious. A Joy Division record would always be a serious thing, beginning with the artwork. </h2>
<h2>Let’s talk about the sound of the band on <em>Unknown Pleasures</em>. It’s a cold, icy, post punk. Curtis’ dour vocals set to Stephen Morris’ incredibly tight, metronomic drumming, Bernard Sumner’s guitar from another planet, and the all-encompassing ‘lead bass’ of Peter Hook. The antecedents involve a lot of Iggy Pop, especially his Berlin/Bowie records <em>Lust For Life</em> and <em>The Idiot</em> (I know, <em>The Idiot </em>is what Ian had on his turntable the night he hung himself) but also earlier Stooges are an influence, and certainly a good bit of the Velvet Underground. The band they are often compared to is The Doors, but that is a lazy correlation, mostly made due to Ian’s low voice. There are few traditional keyboards and little of the sixties in Ian’s lyrics. The otherworldly production is by the amazing, departed Martin Hannett, who was such a perfectionist he made Morris record his drums individually, played alone, to get more control over the sound in the studio: first the kick, then the snare, then hi-hat, etc. Most producers want a great ‘room’ sound for the drums. Hannett removed the room sound. He is the one that made the sound that made Joy Division.</h2>
<h2>Side A of <em>Unknown Pleasures</em> opens with ‘Disorder,’ all bass and drums and space age guitar. Hannett provides synth swoops, sonar blips, and sonic what-not, while Hook and Morris tightly move it along. Curtis’ lyrics are reminiscent of William Burroughs - he is looking for a guide in this confused world. ’Day Of The Lords’ has a slowed down Stooges feel to it, augmented with a weird string synth sound. It’s a gripping tune and one of their best, with Ian repeating “where will it end?” until he ends up screaming at the end. ‘Candidate’ is a bit of a meandering tune, full of echoey effects and gives the impression of Ian being lot in the wilderness. It’s simple, with very little guitar, but will stick with you. The fade up of ‘Insight’ leads to one of those classic Hook bass riffs that carry the song. Curtis sings some ominous lyrics: </h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;"><em>Guess your dreams always end / They don't rise up just descend / But I don't care anymore / I've lost the will to want more / I'm not afraid not at all / I watch them all as they fall / But I remember when we were young. </em></h2>
<h2>Side A ends with ‘New Dawn Fades,’ fed by a powerful, ascending guitar riff from Sumner. Ian’s vocal sounds a bit like Lou Reed on this one.The song slowly builds as Ian sings “"Me, seeing me this time, hoping for something else" and ends with a guitar solo. It’s a majestic tune. </h2>
<h2>Side B of <em>Unknown Pleasures</em> opens with a true masterpiece, ‘She’s Lost Control,’ with a very-high up the neck bass riff, weirdly treated-sounding-like Kraftwerk drums, and another guitar riff sounding as if beamed in from Venus. The lyrics are about a woman Curtis met who had (and died from) epileptic seizures.This has a very Berlin era David Bowie feel to it, and it’s not surprising it was covered by Grace Jones. ‘Shadowplay’ is another amazing track, more rocking and guitar oriented, with real guitar soloing, Curtis again revealing his <em>Naked Lunch</em> inspirations. Next up, ‘Wilderness’ - even with a propulsive bass line - this is one of the weaker tracks. It’s quickly forgotten by the Iggy-isms of ‘Interzone,’ (Burroughs again) a truly rocking cut, influenced by Northern Soul cut ‘Keep On Keeping On’ by N.F. Porter. It’s joyful Joy Division.The dark, gloomy ‘I Remember Nothing’ ends the LP, Ian is looking at himself again, and he doesn’t like what he sees. </h2>
<h2>This is an amazing disc that has withstood the test of time, mystique or not. The true conceit of Joy Division is that the music is intensely personal. It’s stellar post punk made by regular punks that had the right team (the manager, the producer, the label, the artwork) in place to further their vision. I loved this music before Ian passed, and I still love it. It means a lot to me. If you have not listened to <em>Unknown Pleasures</em> don’t let the misdirection of the current shallow faddish faux fandom prevent you from discovering the pleasures you will most certainly know, spin after spin. </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan </h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2>Some interesting links: </h2>
<h2><a contents="https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2017/jul/26/nirvana-nevermind-fashion-co-opted-band-t-shirt&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2017/jul/26/nirvana-nevermind-fashion-co-opted-band-t-shirt" target="_blank">https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2017/jul/26/nirvana-nevermind-fashion-co-opted-band-t-shirt </a></h2>
<h2><a contents="https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/unknown-pleasures&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/unknown-pleasures" target="_blank">https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/unknown-pleasures </a></h2>
<h2><a contents="https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/how-joy-divisions-unknown-pleasures-image-went-from-underground-album-cover-to-piece-of-cultural-ubiquity/2019/06/14/26e75338-8c76-11e9-adf3-f70f78c156e8_story.html?utm_term=.087ea26862c0" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/how-joy-divisions-unknown-pleasures-image-went-from-underground-album-cover-to-piece-of-cultural-ubiquity/2019/06/14/26e75338-8c76-11e9-adf3-f70f78c156e8_story.html?utm_term=.087ea26862c0" style="" target="_blank">https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/how-joy-divisions-unknown-pleasures-image-went-from-underground-album-cover-to-piece-of-cultural-ubiquity/2019/06/14/26e75338-8c76-11e9-adf3-f70f78c156e8_story.html?utm_term=.087ea26862c0</a></h2>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/d63981ebc80ca9fbb2b746010a0e02681acfb8f9/original/unknown-condom-joy-division.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/58092822019-06-30T12:54:37-04:002019-06-30T12:54:37-04:00Elvis Costello & The Imposters - Purse EP<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/e532c14a35cbde812b0bf13cfd9b07d99f35b689/original/purse.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>In April, for Record Store Day, Elvis Costello and The Imposters (Steve Nieve - keyboards, Davey Farager - bass, and Pete Thomas - drums) released the four song EP <em>Purse</em> (“where the secrets are kept”). These are the last tracks from the sessions for Elvis and the Imposters’ excellent LP <em>Look Now</em>, released last year and very well produced by Sebastian Krys. These four songs offer two amazing tracks, and two that are more like songwriting exercises. Let’s open the<em> Purse</em>. </h2>
<h2>The first track, ‘Everyone’s Playing House’ is co-written with Burt Bacharach and has that classic Bacharach sound. Meaning that, you can immediately hear Dionne Warwick singing this one. This is a strong cut that would have been a standout on <em>Painted From Memory</em>, the Bacharach-Costello album-length collaboration. It’s given a light, classy keyboard-heavy touch by Sebastian Krys’ production. Elvis himself wrote extensive notes for these songs, and he explains better than I could. </h2>
<h2><em><span class="font_regular">Astute listeners may detect a thematic musical link to the Look Now song, "Don't Look Now," this is because they were originally written to be successive numbers, in a stage adaptation of Painted From Memory. To carry the story forward I wrote a variation based on Burt Bacharach's open melody leading to a refrain of my own invention that had something of the schoolyard taunt about it. </span></em></h2>
<h2>It appears that Elvis and Burt were working on a Broadway adaptation of <em>Painted From Memory</em>, but apparently the book didn’t have enough dancing cats, or animatronic apes, or whatever is big on Broadway now. Imagine that. </h2>
<h2>The second cut, ‘The Lovers That Never Were’ was co-written with Paul McCartney and demoed for McCartney’s <em> Flowers In The Dirt</em>. This track, Elvis’ version, is the true standout on <em>Purse</em>. It was recorded (and over-produced) by Macca for his <em>Off The Ground </em>LP, the original demo version with Paul on guitar and Elvis on piano was released recently from the extras on the re-release of McCartney’s <em>Flowers In The Dirt</em> and is a revelation. This is in the mold of their co-written ‘So Like Candy’ (which appeared on Elvis’ <em>Mighty Like A Rose</em> LP) featuring a stately ascending progression and a killer chorus. It seems working with Sir Paul has toned down Costello’s wordiness, and that is a good thing. Here are some of Elvis’ comments: </h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular"><em>I played piano on that cut, so when it came to working out this arrangement, I felt most at home on the Wurlitzer electric piano while leaving the more expansive, orchestral flourishes of grand piano in the more capable hands of Steve Nieve.Sebastian Krys recorded and mixed this cut in "hard stereo," that is more radically panned than most other Look Now recordings, leaving space for the vocal parts and guitar figures that give our version a character and dream-like mood distinct from Paul's unbeatable one-man and his guitar, (with his mate playing piano) version or his later more elaborate rendition on the album Off The Ground. </em></span></h2>
<h2>‘If You Love Me’ by Johnny Cash is the third song, a previously unreleased song, that I believe was a fragment of a Johnny Cash song completed posthumously by Costello. It totally sounds like a <em>King Of America</em> out-take, full of driving acoustic guitar, Hammond organ, and backing vocals. Not his strongest effort, but a darker production take on this might have yielded a song for <em>Blood And Chocolate</em>. </h2>
<h2>The last song features ‘Down On The Bottom’ (words Bob Dylan, music Elvis Costello). This comes from the <em>Basement Tapes</em> sessions, where a number of artists, led and produced by T-Bone Burnett and including Jim James, Rhiannon Giddens, and that Mumford guy, take unused Dylan lyrics and set them to their own music. Costello’s arrangement is almost a gospel approach. This is not my cup of tea. I’m sure Elvis was thrilled to put a tune to the Great Man’s words, but in my opinion (kind of like Adrienne’s take on Steve Earle covering Guy Clark, see <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubtinyearle" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubtinyearle" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubtinyearle</a>) Elvis himself has eclipsed the master. It’s a bit of a throwaway. </h2>
<h2>There you have it One amazing song, one great song, and two exercises in see-what-I-can-do. I’ve included a playlist so you can hear Purse, the various McManus/McCartney demos, and Jim James’ take on ‘Down On The Bottom.’</h2>
<p> </p>
<h2>---Steve McGowan</h2>
<p><iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/62bOXluobut33Z8zEUU3Va" width="300"></iframe></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/58015652019-06-24T12:17:10-04:002019-06-24T12:17:10-04:00Still Standing There: Steve Earle & The Dukes at Carolina Theatre Durham 6/19/19 <p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/562aa95d1e84625dd56967ee6d96c01c4ccca5bd/original/steve-earle-2019.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span class="font_large">Steve Earle has an X factor that I can’t explain, but that continually pulls me to him. It first caught me in the early years of the last decade when, on faith, I went to see him and an earlier version of The Dukes* at my beloved local venue, the Carolina Theatre of Durham. I previously had a bare awareness of him from his 80's days as part of the new Nashville singer-songwriter corps, that included artists like Rodney Crowell and Dwight Yoakam. Earle’s image of swagger and hard living didn’t draw me in to learn more. I went to a redneck high school; I had more than my share of second-hand honky-tonking. But hearing a happenstance NPR review of <em>Jerusalem,</em> one of his post-jail, post-sober albums, led me to believe that perhaps he was someone worth seeing and hearing. So noticing Earle was in town, on a whim, I paid at the door and was unprepared for what I was in for. He opened with “I Feel Alright,” and, from its stummed intro onward, I did and I was hooked. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">So let me lay a little groundwork of my fascination with Earle and his work and then discuss the show in support of his new album. </span></p>
<ul> <li><span class="font_large"><strong>Point one: </strong>Earle is a prolific, deft, and solid songwriter. He easily explores and interprets genres, like traditional music on The Mountain (both Celtic and bluegrass), country rock, Texas swing, folk, psychedelia, and even blends in the contemporary influences of sounds from his home for the last decade or so, New York City. It is Americana in the broadest sense in that he eagerly consumes and interprets from the broad spectrum of American music. He adapts, changes, learns, and tries on new musical garb, constantly a student of songwriting and on the hunt for new expressions. </span></li> <li><span class="font_large"><strong>Point two: </strong>His indignation is righteous. He proudly comes from the hippie, anti-Vietnam war roots of the late 1960s and protest songs and proclamations of that time. Having grown up in a rural “hippie” community in the South myself, there exists a strong but rare strain of peace-loving, traditional music embracing folk, who still revere their regional roots. For Earle, those roots are Texan. </span></li> <li><span class="font_large"><strong>Point three: </strong>in concert, Earle has some personal pheromone cloud that is a bit bewitching and floats into the audience. I am not sure how he exudes this life force, but to me it was palpable, entirely unexpected, and a bit unwelcome, truth be had (that’s what TBH means, right, LOL). Feeling a bit funny, I thought to myself “oh, so THIS is why he has been married 20 times.” Probably couldn’t be helped by those involved. If you are reading this, odds are YOU’VE been married to Steve Earle, at least once. That’s just statistics. I usually don’t select my fandom based on Tiger Beat-like reactions, so I was a little irritated at the sensation, but it is part of the Earle legend and I must acknowledge the inexplicable Earle magnetism. Maybe it is the raw talent that mesmerizes, vibrates from him. </span></li> <li><span class="font_large"><strong>Point four:</strong> Earle is a creative force in multiple disciplines. Songwriter. Multiple instrumentalist. Singer. Actor. I even read his magic realism novel, I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive. Oozes creativity. </span></li>
</ul>
<p><span class="font_large">So I have seen Earle maybe half a dozen times, perhaps more, and am an admirer. Let me tell you what was notable about this most recent show. This tour is in support of <em>Guy</em>, a tribute to one of his songwriting idols and mentors, Guy Clark, and a bookend to a Townes Van Zandt album released a decade earlier, honoring his other main mentor (I saw that tour too). </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">First, the vocals were a bit buried. The fellow Earle acolyte with me remarked “is that him or the sound system’s fault?” Fair point. There is no mistaking it seems he feels less charged, less forceful than pre- and during-Allison Moorer (the most recent ex) days. This last marital split was definitely a cruel cut <a contents="(read this for more)" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/jun/14/steve-earle-so-you-wanna-be-an-outlaw-interview" style="" target="_blank">(read this for more)</a>. Was he holding back? Were the vocals buried in the mix? Despite muddy singing vocals, Earle was conversational, passionate about sharing stories of Guy and Susanna Clark, eager to reminisce about the early, pre-record deal days in Nashville, playing bass for Clark, rooming with David Olney, playing in songwriter’s circles in unusual hangouts in town. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">So we heard a bunch about and by Guy Clark, as was to be expected. My fellow Earle acolyte remarked, “the problem is he writes songs that are so much better than his idols’.” Having seen the “Townes” tour, that the inherent problem of these albums’ conceit. So there were plenty of Clark tunes in the set, the first 5 all were, and the last encore ended with Clark’s “Old Friends.” But the audience came alive nine songs in with a rapid succession of “I Feel Alright” (from his sober comeback album of the same name), “Guitar Town,” and “Copperhead Road.” Having these “hits” early in the set helped quell the crowd, nipping in the bud building restlessness below surface politeness. On the “Townes” tour, a vocal heckler called violently for “Copperhead Road,” which was not placed high on the set list that night for his liking. Earle stopped, stared him down, tersely replying, “I know my job.” </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">So writing and playing these catchy, compelling, story-driven songs are the core of his job. He and The Dukes were dutifully on task that night, tightly presenting over 2 dozen songs, many his own. <a contents="Link:" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/steve-earle-and-the-dukes/2019/carolina-theatre-durham-nc-1b9129e8.html" style="" target="_blank">Setlist link</a> With so many great albums, you are doomed to miss some favorites, but I was happy that “Galway Girl,” “Hardcore Troubadour,” and “Billy and Bonnie” all were included. He sang a verse of "Galway" as “her eyes are black and her hair is blue,” which I’d not caught at any prior show. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">The band members fluidly change instruments, especially The Mastersons’ Eleanor Whitmore, who earned MVP status in turn on fiddle, keys, mandolin, and vocals AFTER having opened the show with her husband, who is lead guitarist (mainly) in The Dukes. Earle always has stellar support, and the versatile Dukes shone again. After 2 dozen songs, they returned for an encore that was remarkable in that Earle favorites did not feature. “Sweet Little ‘66” from 1987’s <em>Exit 0</em> did kick off the encore, but then he slid into Bruce Springsteen (!) with a bit of “Racing In the Street,” and “Pink Cadillac,” before ending with Clark’s “Old Friends.” </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">So how does this show rate? Earle seems a little tired, a little sad, but determined to share with his audience matters of real importance to him. This was personal history, memoir. Neither Earle the Activist, nor Earle the Lover (and inevitably, the Spurned Lover) were in attendance. With the recent release of John Walker Lindh, I was wondering if “John Walker’s Blues” would appear in the set. With rumbling of new conflicts in the middle east I was wondering if any of the Iraq War protest songs might surface, or Bush-era rallying cries from “The Revolution Starts Now.” He didn’t even include the bouncy “Home to Houston,” a first-person story song in which a private contractor truck driver in Iraq prays/bargains that he avoids RPGs and makes home in one piece. None did. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">But this album and tour are reflective, internal, not about politics, personal or otherwise. Here it seemed was Earle the Reminiscent, an aging man looking back on his first days in Nashville, remembering a young man aching to share songs and learn his craft. He has learned his job so well that his beloved masters have become eclipsed by the student. As with my first Earle show, I decided, day of, to attend, compelled, beckoned. I can’t quit him, and he seems to feel the same way about us, his fans. It’s his longest relationship and shows no signs of strain. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">--Adrienne Meddock, The Unrepentant Earle Acolyte</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span class="font_large">* </span>Incidentally, this included Will Rigby, a frequent flyer in things Zub, featured in the upcoming dB’s pod, the Kimberley Rew pod, SGS 33 <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubhairdo" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubhairdo" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubhairdo</a> (drummer) and reviewed as a member of the Peter Holsapple Combo <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubphc" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubphc" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubphc</a></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/57939182019-06-16T23:22:36-04:002019-06-16T23:22:36-04:00The Specials live at The Fillmore, Silver Spring MD<p> </p>
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<h2>So this was it. The culmination of a 40th anniversary (for The Specials) and forty years of me wanting to see the band. This is one of the longest trips Adrienne and I have taken to see a band, and driving from northern Virginia through D.C. to Silver Spring, MD, in the daytime rush was crazy (it took us two hours to get from the hotel to the venue, about 20 miles). I can tell you it was <em>so</em> worth it! </h2>
<h2>The reformed Specials, headed by original members singer Terry Hall, singer/guitarist Lynval Golding, and bassist Horace Panter, were touring on their 40th anniversary and on the heels of their fine new release, <em>Encore</em> (see our review at <a contents="www.tinyurl.com/zubencore" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.tinyurl.com/zubencore" target="_blank">www.tinyurl.com/zubencore</a>). The first leg of the tour in Britain was graced with universally great reviews on the Twitterverse, so we were hoping for a good show. </h2>
<h2>The Specials, from Coventry, England, came out with their first self-titled LP (produced by Elvis Costello) in 1979, and were the vanguard of the second Ska wave, playing an uptempo hybrid of Reggae and Jamacian dance music welded to British pop. Their independent label, Two-Tone Records, was the launching pad for Madness, The Selecter, and The (English) Beat, among others. Their ethos was always, always foremost anti-racist, challenging represive government and staid social norms. They were OG “woke” and have maintained political passion at the heart of their work. Political commentary punctuated the set, funny and biting. The set was a backdrop of protest signs. The Specials remain on a mission. </h2>
<h2>Despite this political bent, The Specials had a reputation of being a sloppy, party type live band. But this reformed version of the band couldn’t have been more professional. The core three were augmented by guitarist Jake Fletcher, keyboardist Nikolaj Torp Larsen, drummer Kendrick Rowe, and two horn players, Pablo Mendelssohn and Tim Smart. The Specials came on to rolling spotlights and an air raid siren and launched into ‘Man At C&A’ from <em>More Specials</em>, a song dealing with nuclear war and fighting with the Ayatollah. This was followed by ‘Rat Race’ and ‘Do Nothing’ from the same LP. Next up was ‘Vote For Me,’ a new classic from <em>Encore</em> dealing with politicians and their hypocrisy. The single-only (from Ghost Town) ‘Friday Night Saturday Morning’ followed, a sing-along about a geezer with a serious drinking problem. “Blank Expression’ and ‘Doesn’t Make It Alright’ from The Specials were rolled out, then the band really kicked into gear with a Latin-flavored ‘The Lunatics Have Taken Over The Asylum,’ the VERY anti-gun song ‘Blam Blam Fever,’ and the magnificent ‘A Message To You Rudy,’ the horn players taking over, with the whole crowd skanking and singing along. Then they played an unexpected ‘Stereotype,’ using cha-cha rhythms, musak tempos, and a great toast/rap from Lynval at the end. Toasting, the Jamiacan spoken word art form over music (see our review of The Toasting/Sound System movie <em>Babylon </em>(<a contents="www.tinyurl.co/zublion" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.tinyurl.co/zublion" target="_blank">www.tinyurl.co/zublion</a>), was the precursor of rap/hip hop, and Lynval shone all night toasting along to their songs, Specials-style. Activist Saffiyah Khan (who was the DJ before the set) came onstage to do ‘Ten Commandments’ from Encore, and she quickly walked into the crowd, continuing her spoken word manifesto, while the band killed a deep, dub, reggae groove. Horace’s bass was truly outstanding and drummer Kendrick, making for a tight, hypnotic setting for Khan’s words. </h2>
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<h2>They blew through ‘Nite Klub,’ ‘Do The Dog,’ ‘Concrete Jungle,’ and ‘Monkey Man’ (featuring Lynval’s full-on clowning mode). By this point the crowd was insane. Terry Hall’s vocals were solid and true on ‘Gangsters’ (see our podcast <a contents="www.tinyurl.com/zubgangsters" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.tinyurl.com/zubgangsters" target="_blank">www.tinyurl.com/zubgangsters</a>), and they ended the set with ‘Too Much Too Young.’ Lynval, the beating, beautiful heart of The Specials, came back on and led the band through a cover of the Skatillites ‘Eastern Standard Time.’ This was followed by the BEST version of ‘Ghost Town’ I’ve ever heard, the horns right in place and Nikolaj’s keyboards leading the attack, while the whole band sang the ghostly refrains. It was heaven! The Specials, with Saffi joining on backing vocals, ended with ‘You’re Wondering Now’ (...what to do, now this is the end) walking off stage while the crowd kept singing. </h2>
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<h2>This was the show of my dreams, and the show of the year. This band is as strong and good and relevant as ever! </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan</h2>
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<div class="setlistImage" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/the-specials/2019/the-fillmore-silver-spring-silver-spring-md-4b91831a.html" target="_blank" title="The Specials Setlist The Fillmore Silver Spring, Silver Spring, MD, USA, Encore 40th Anniversary Tour 2019"><img src="https://www.setlist.fm/widgets/setlist-image-v1?id=4b91831a" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="The Specials Setlist The Fillmore Silver Spring, Silver Spring, MD, USA, Encore 40th Anniversary Tour 2019" style="border: 0;" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.setlist.fm/edit?setlist=4b91831a&step=song">Edit this setlist</a> | <a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlists/the-specials-bd6b12e.html">More The Specials setlists</a>
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<p> </p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/57898532019-06-12T23:26:01-04:002019-06-12T23:26:01-04:00Don Dixon and Secret Monkey Weekend at Imbibe, Chapel Hill NC<h2><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/c399c09b41aa6da67d14518b729247331c2d9987/original/img-4068.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></h2>
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<h2>This was not a typical show for Don Dixon, the North Carolina rock legend, voice of Arrogance, and fine solo artist. Seated on stools coffeehouse style, were Don, guitar in hand, alongside novelist John Bare, who read from his book manuscript, <em>Fair-Skinned Brunette with the Porcelain Shine</em>. The protagonist in the book is one Lasssiter “Lassie” James, and the story is set around and about the town of Chapel Hill and the UNC campus. The travails of Mr. James and his adventures with the title character, a fair skinned brunette named Fats, were the thread of the songs and readings. </h2>
<h2>Bare’s novel is not published as of this date, but we plan a Singles Going Steady Podcast for the book release. The novelist wrote the lyrics to the songs that Don played, with Dixon providing the melodies and music. Don told me after the show how much he loved working this way, kind of a Brill-Building old school approach to songwriting. So with John Bare sitting by his side providing the set-ups, readings, and commentary, Don Dixon played for the first time from the ‘Lassie James Songbook.’ </h2>
<h2>This was as interesting and as eclectic a set of songs as you might expect, Bare’s lyrics touching on young romance, lust, college life, and what he claimed was an obsession with biscuits and whiskey, the book’s constant companions. There is even a murder mystery subplot, but I don’t want to give everything away. </h2>
<h2>Don Dixon, famously known for his record production acumen, is one of the great voices to come out of the North Carolina music scene. His supple, sturdy vocals are the epitome of a fine rhythm and blues man, and are so powerful he rarely even needs a microphone. He can still swoop up the falsettos and high harmonies. With range, control, gravel, and purr: his voice is truly awesome. The chord changes for these songs were often elemental, but always impressive and spot on. </h2>
<h2>He rolled through the Lassie Songbook, there were fun, humorous tunes like ‘She’s A Baptist And A Communist,’ ‘No Songs About Mamas Or Trains,’ and ‘How Do You Like Your Eggs?,’ there were also touching songs like ‘The Displaced Man,’ ‘Whiskey Kisses,’ and ‘I Fell In Love With Emmylou.’ Chapel Hill spots were name-checked, places like Sunrise Biscuits (as we passed by on the way to the show, Lady Zub explained to me that Sunrise was THE place for biscuits). All in all, this was a fascinating and entertaining night of great new music, performed by a real master. I hope to see the book published soon. </h2>
<h2>Playing after Don Dixon was the charming and funny Secret Monkey Weekend, the family band with the dad and his two young daughters (see <a contents="www.tinyurl.com/zubsmw " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.tinyurl.com/zubsmw" target="_blank">www.tinyurl.com/zubsmw </a>for their first review). Tonight they were sans added keyboards and playing as their true core: a rockin’ three piece. I’ve seen this band many times and they continue to get better. Dad Jefferson had what looked to be a new Strat and was sounding great on guitar and vocals. Bassist Ella was really laying it down on her Rick bass. And Secret Monkey secret weapon Lila had her smaller custom-made ‘suitcase’ drum kit (perfect for this smaller venue) and was singing and drumming up a storm. I really love their recent original songs, such as the earworm ‘Honey Num-Num,’ their ode to their dog ‘Maybelle,’ ‘Candy Station,’ and the better-than-fun ‘Do the Secret Monkey (Dance).’ They also covered some great NC bands, like The dB’s ‘Big Brown Eyes’ (held together by Ella’s standout bass playing), and getting Don Dixon up to sing with them on his own song, ‘Your Sister Told Me,’ a track from his <em>Romeo at Juilliard</em> album. Also of note was the cover of Rick Rock’s ‘Buddha Buddha’ mashed-up with ‘Hang On Sloopy,’ the not-so secret precursor of that song. It was a fun and impressive performance from this family band. </h2>
<h2>A night of music and literature that was the best way I can think of to spend your time in Chapel Hill. It could only be improved by the addition of a Sunrise cat-head biscuit. </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan</h2>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/57795552019-06-04T12:52:35-04:002019-06-04T15:06:38-04:00The Figgs live at The Cave, Chapel Hill NC and Heyday Guitars, Winston-Salem NC <p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/3dfbdd07c46389350b892fe392408469120ecc79/original/20190530-224622.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/58839639a5e009621f0748ace4d53ad586904de6/original/20190530-224641-1.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">(The Figgs at The Cave)</h4>
<p> </p>
<h2>I was going to start this particular review by discussing how the Figgs should be playing much bigger venues, should be getting bigger crowds, etc. etc. But after seeing this astoundingly good band two nights in a row, I can tell you that The Figgs can take you or leave you. They’re doing fine. They are easily one of America’s best bands, having been together thirty-two years “since Thatcher was Prime Minister,” as bassist Pete Donnelly reminded us. They’ve released at least thirteen LP’s, with not a bad one in the bunch, and are getting ready to release a TRIPLE LP, <em>Shady Grove</em>. Check out the new single ‘Grab Your Pack’ on their Indie-a-go-go page: </h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;"><a contents="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-figgs-shady-grove-pre-order#/&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-figgs-shady-grove-pre-order#/" target="_blank">https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-figgs-shady-grove-pre-order#/ </a></h2>
<h2>This is fantastic! What I’m trying to tell you, dear reader, is YOU need to get on The Figgs train. The band is from Saratoga, NY (Home of the Adirondack Chair), and has gone through scrappy, Replacement-y phases to a cool sort of later period Rolling Stones sound now to a wonderful R&B tinged phase that reminds me a bit of the best of British Pub-Rock. Their songwriting is concise, not at all indulgent, and the lyrics and melodies are unstoppable. They tick ALL the qualification boxes on the ride-or-die band checklist. </h2>
<h2>Thursday night at The Cave in Chapel Hill was a blast. The room really IS low ceilinged, giving off a real Cavern Club vibe. Lady Zub and I were at the back, the sound was great but we only caught glimpses of the band. They played a good bit of new material from <em>Shady Grove</em>, as well as a number of songs from <em>Sucking In Stereo</em> and <em>Palais</em>. The opened with a song from one of guitarist Mike Gent’s solo records, ‘Servo Lock,’ and the Figgs were off and running. Highlights were the amazing new ‘Grab Your Pack,’ (see link above) where Gent and Donnelly trade vocals (and places), and a very rocking ‘Something’s Wrong’ from <em>Sucking In Stereo</em>. There was an interesting cover of Dylan’s ‘My Back Pages,’ and it quickly was time for the second set. </h2>
<h2>The boys, led by Pete Hayes’ tight as hell drumming, romped through a great second set, including Donnelly’s take on Tom Waits ‘Tango Till They're Sore.’ The ending group of songs ‘We’ll Be Doing Time,’ ‘Kill Me Now,’ and ‘Simon Simone’ got the crowd worked up, then Hayes took the mic to sing a shambolic ‘We'll Be Doing Time.’ This gave me some uncomfortable flashbacks to The Replacements on the Let It Be tour (listen to our podcast SGS 008 at <a contents="www.tinyurl.com/zubwilldare" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.tinyurl.com/zubwilldare" target="_blank">www.tinyurl.com/zubwilldare</a> for more insight on this story). Fortunately, The Figgs snapped out of this and played four more, ending with Donnelly’s beautiful ‘Phases Of The Moon.’</h2>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/3d9c3d55a84cef37ec598cf4d946acc3f4bdb94f/original/20190531-211241.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">(The 1966 Fender Twin with the 1964 Gibson SG)</h4>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/c99772b67bf85f87a2dde9e969c45f3e10ccdeca/original/20190531-211233.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">(The 1964 Gibson SG)</h4>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/0e53c8daec8ddd309854ce65abeabe2499276d8a/original/20190531-213317-1.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">(Pete Donnelly and his 1965 Fender Jazz bass)</h4>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/b9f712268cdfdd8abd7b1f21a9fd291dec995c14/original/20190531-213333.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">(The Figgs at Heyday Guitars)</h4>
<p> </p>
<h2>Friday night at Heyday Guitars in Winston-Salem was a real treat. The store is very cool, full of used mid-priced, weird, cool guitars. Owner Michael Slawter is a super-nice individual and a real Johnny Thunders freak, so I had to tell him all about my band, Babylon (<a contents="www.facebook.com/babylonrocksyou/ " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.facebook.com/babylonrocksyou/" target="_blank">www.facebook.com/babylonrocksyou/ </a>on Facebook if you’re interested). He worked for the famous Sam Moss, whose Winston store always had an amazing selection of every desirable vintage guitar. Anyway, it was a smaller, diehard Figgs crowd and we were able to sit right up in front of the band. Tonight we could see them as well as hear them, and again The Figgs didn’t disappoint. They played 29 songs in Chapel Hill and tonight they played 34. </h2>
<h2>With the venue being a guitar shop I must talk for a minute about The Figgs’ gear. Drummer Hayes had a neat red sparkle Rogers kit that looked to be late 60’s vintage. Bassist Donnelly had a beat-to-hell 1965 Fender Jazz bass, Lake Placid Blue with matching headstock. Guitarist Gent has a 1964 Gibson SG cherry red with Vibrola tailpiece, the ‘George Harrison’ model, played through a real 1966 Fender blackface Twin amplifier. Very, very nice. </h2>
<h2>At Heyday, The Figgs opened with the same first seven songs, including the Dylan cover, sounding totally on top of it. Gent’s guitar sound, mostly via the neck pickup, has a real thick, satisfying low end without too much treble. Donnelly wasn’t afraid to use a Boss Blues Driver guitar distortion pedal, and he played plenty of amazing ‘lead bass,’ Lady Zub mentioned more than once that Donnelly played the bass in ‘the forbidden zone.’ You bassists will know what that’s about (the highest notes below the double dots on the neck). There was a VERY inspired cover of Arthur Alexander’s ‘The Girl That Radiates That Charm’ that sounded extra Elvis Costello-y (see our Podcast with author Frye Gaillard for a discussion of Arthur Alexander <a contents="www.tinyurl.com/zubfrye" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.tinyurl.com/zubfrye" target="_blank">www.tinyurl.com/zubfrye</a>). They rolled out ‘Drug Dilemmas’ and ‘Reset Switch’ and set one was done. </h2>
<h2>Set two was a corker, with the bluesy ‘No Time Is The Wrong Time To Groove,’ and ‘She Can’t Say No Either,’ which was a bit of a sing-a-long for the enthusiastic klatch of true Figg devotees comprising the congregation. They showed their true colors with a great version of The Stones ‘Hang Fire,’ then crushed it with ‘The Daylight Strong.’ This was followed by ‘Reaction,’ ‘Set The Stage,’ and ‘Attack VCA.’ As a wonderful memorial noting his passing that day, drummer Hayes sang an acapella version of Roky Erickson’s ‘Song For Abe Lincoln,’ and a rough ‘Quitters Unite’ (with a lyric about taking a shit on your desk). They ended with ‘Simon Simone,’ an amazing ‘Down At Le Sounde,’ ‘The Trench.’ and ‘Static.’ </h2>
<h2>This is a GREAT band. The crowd included peeps from Pittsburgh, California, Boston, and South Carolina (oh, that was me!) They have super-fans. Because they are something special. It’s time for you to get on The Figgs train, cause it’s a hell of a ride. </h2>
<h2>I’ll Include the two setlists and my own Figgs Spotify playlist for your enjoyment. </h2>
<h2>-----Steve McGowan</h2>
<div class="setlistImage" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/the-figgs/2019/the-cave-chapel-hill-nc-2b91b81a.html" target="_blank" title="The Figgs Setlist The Cave, Chapel Hill, NC, USA 2019, Shady Grove"><img src="https://www.setlist.fm/widgets/setlist-image-v1?id=2b91b81a" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="The Figgs Setlist The Cave, Chapel Hill, NC, USA 2019, Shady Grove" style="border: 0;" /></a>
<div>
<a href="https://www.setlist.fm/edit?setlist=2b91b81a&step=song">Edit this setlist</a> | <a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlists/the-figgs-63d7c667.html">More The Figgs setlists</a>
</div>
</div>
<div class="setlistImage" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/the-figgs/2019/heyday-guitars-winston-salem-nc-6b91b61e.html" target="_blank" title="The Figgs Setlist Heyday Guitars, Winston Salem, NC, USA 2019, Shady Grove"><img src="https://www.setlist.fm/widgets/setlist-image-v1?id=6b91b61e" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="The Figgs Setlist Heyday Guitars, Winston Salem, NC, USA 2019, Shady Grove" style="border: 0;" /></a>
<div>
<a href="https://www.setlist.fm/edit?setlist=6b91b61e&step=song">Edit this setlist</a> | <a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlists/the-figgs-63d7c667.html">More The Figgs setlists</a>
</div>
</div>
<p><iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/user/wxjxjvfuasnmwaql8m0m548m4/playlist/6Hfz1f5iUUVWbUmvJS8080" width="300"></iframe></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/57716392019-05-28T20:45:10-04:002019-05-28T20:45:10-04:00Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets - Love Starvation EP<h2> </h2>
<h2><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/9885b29f0807248b2d9f0426ba3aad5bcbb892d7/original/love-starvation.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">I recently read an article that said Nick Lowe was in the ‘third act’ of his career. This EP, three original songs and a somewhat obscure cover, along with last year’s 4-track <em>Tokyo Bay</em> EP (<a contents="www.tinyurl.com/tokyolowe" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.tinyurl.com/tokyolowe" target="_blank">www.tinyurl.com/tokyolowe</a>), provide plenty of evidence that Nick’s third act is the equal of or better than the first two. Mind you that Nick’s first 2 acts surpass most singer-songwriters, so this is no small thing. I remember a quote from Nick in his 40’s saying essentially that in twenty years he’d <em>really</em> be able to write a good song. Now, seventy-year old Nick Lowe really does write really <em>good</em> songs, and lots of them. But let’s not forget his genius backing band, Los Straitjackets, they of the surf music and Mexican wrestling masks. At first this pairing seems incongruous, but after the <em>Tokyo Bay</em> EP triumph and after seeing Nick and The Straitjackets live twice (<a contents="www.tinyurl.com/zubnickpeel" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.tinyurl.com/zubnickpeel" target="_blank">www.tinyurl.com/zubnickpeel</a>), they seem a perfect fit. There’s no schlock, just great arrangements from a band that can essentially play anything (check out their take on the <em>Game Of Thrones</em> theme). Nick and the Straitjackets are a team, not a singer and a backing band, but an astute combination that unites to serve their common love of early, pre-British invasion American rock and roll. The EP opens up with ‘Love Starvation,’ with a strong Ritchie Valens-at-the- beach vibe. This demonstrates the alchemy of combining Nick and The Straitjackets: plenty of trebly surf soloing serving a classic Nick tale of love lost. Chris Sprague’s drumming is a real standout on this one. ‘Blue On Blue’ is a classic, sounding like it belongs on an Everly Brothers record. The simple four chord attack is beautiful and evergreen, Nick’s weathered voice never better, and the quiet breakdown in the middle will bring you to tears:</span></h2>
<h2><em>In my mind/ I’m on the end of a ball of twine/ That she jerks from time to time/ time for blue on blue</em></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">This one is a real triumph. Instant classic. ‘Next up, ‘Trombone’ is a peppy pop tune that has some Burt Bacharach elements. Bassist Pete Curry kills this one, and of course there are trombones. This one will sneak up on you and you’ll be humming it all day. EP closer ‘Raincoat In The River’ was a Phil Spector production for Sammy Turner from 1961 and is considered a ‘Northern Soul’ track. (We discuss the British ‘Northern Soul’ phenomenon in SGS 025, Soft Cell/Tainted Love (<a contents="www.tinyurl.com/zubtaintedlove" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.tinyurl.com/zubtaintedlove" target="_blank">www.tinyurl.com/zubtaintedlove</a>). There is also a version from 1965 by Rick Nelson, and an even more obscure version from Australia’s Dig Richards in 1962. I’m thinking Nick was aware of all these versions, but his biographer Will Birch postulates that he is probably working from the Sammy Turner cover (<a contents="http://nicklowebiography.com/" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://nicklowebiography.com/" target="_blank">http://nicklowebiography.com/</a>). His cover still sounds like a Nick Lowe original. It’s a beautiful, Brill-Building sort of timeless pre-beat group pop, and it is wonderful. Nick Lowe knows better than ever how to write perfect, aching pop/rock songs and to select rare cover gems.You need the <em>Love Starvation</em> EP: Nick proves he’s still the Jesus of Cool!</span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">---Steve McGowan</span></h2>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/57582692019-05-17T13:29:44-04:002019-05-17T13:29:44-04:00Moogfest Moments 2019 Part 2 or Clem Burke is not a Metronome<h2> </h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/2c6b01830131c971b958bfe780832fdaef4eb82a/original/moogfest-2.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></h2>
<h2>Part of the Moogfest manifesto is the celebration of inventiveness and ingenuity in electronic instruments. Thursday’s programming in the big hall of CTD celebrated a blending the earliest mechanized playback--the piano roll--and later innovation--the Moog-Buchla PianoBar in what Money Mark called the Echolodeon. </h2>
<h2>Money Mark has collaborated significantly as a performer, writer, and producer with the Beastie Boys and Beck (the catchy keys on “Where It’s At” are his) and is touring this summer as part of the mind-blowing supergroup The Claypool Lennon Delirium. He is the kind of musical mad scientist that Moogfest celebrates. </h2>
<h2>Kicking off Moogfest 2019 in the big hall, Money Mark filled the stage with what is best accurately described as musical contraptions: a modified boombox that made him a one man hip hop ensemble, a drum kit tricked out with automated mallets and sticks to become a machine-played drum kit, a regular drum kit, which would have a human player, and a U shape array of keyboards, including a foot-played Moog (one that would appear the following night in the Dorit Chrysler theremin show). In the center was a pneumatic pump and piano roll that fed data to the PianoBar, which was then synthesized and played: the Echolodeon. Or at least that’s what I got in the 2 times over the weekend I caught him playing in what he billed “Money Mark v. The Dead Pianist.” Because a pianist’s exact playing of the tune is recorded in the punch holes of the piano roll, the long dead artist is made to play through the synthesized sound. Woh. </h2>
<h2>The sheer array of items was astounding, but the Echoldeon was the star. The piano roll he was using, over 100 years old, was the music for “Amazing Grace.” After converting the signal to midi, he manipulated the sound through the synthesizer--a very different sound. To learn more about the Echolodeon, here’s a ScienceFriday segment: </h2>
<h2><a contents="https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/money-mark-is-reviving-dead-pianists/&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/money-mark-is-reviving-dead-pianists/" target="_blank">https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/money-mark-is-reviving-dead-pianists/ </a></h2>
<h2>If you are unfamiliar with piano rolls, this is helpful: </h2>
<h2>
<a contents="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uL9NudhhSQE " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uL9NudhhSQE" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uL9NudhhSQE </a>(1980s era video of making piano rolls). </h2>
<h2>Also on the bill Thursday was another producer-artist, Craig Leon. Leon is Singles Going Steady Podcast royalty by virtue of his work with so many of our darlings: The Ramones, Blondie, and Richard Hell, among others. His performance was a conceptual piece, a continuation of his earlier “Nommos” work. It will be released as “The Canon: The Anthology of Interplanetary Folk Music Volume 2.” About 20 minutes into the performance, I wondered if I was being taken over by prog fever of some kind, since I’d seen Utopia in that room a few months before and Adrian Belew a few weeks prior. Am I a prog rocker? Can’t be…. </h2>
<h2>As with many of the Moogfest pieces, the video accompaniment was an integral part of the experience. There is a complex alien visitation and anthropological underpinning to the piece. Heady stuff. But my real excitement was to hear Leon and Blondie keyboardist, Jimmy Destri, in conversation the following day. </h2>
<h2>Destri is super affable and inventive. He talked some about being influenced by prog rock, especially King Crimson, which is not what you expect coming from the CBGB’s scene. He described playing the Farfisa through Leslie cabinets for some gigs, often doubling the guitar line. </h2>
<h2>There was a lot of gear talk, Destri described using the PolyMoog on Rapture, and then lamenting losing a pair of PolyMoogs and a Hammond during the flooding from Sandy. He and Leon talked about working with Giorgio Moroder on Call Me, on which Destri played an ARP Odyssey. Blondie had an interest in disco, and I think they played “I Feel Love” as a cover in the early days. This lead to a little drummer talk. </h2>
<h2>First, they gushed about the live drums on “I Feel Love,” an otherwise Moog-born synth piece. “I Feel Love” really was a seismic shift in how everyone thought of making music, and of course Moogfest would bear this reverence out. (If you haven’t heard 026 Sparks/Number One In Heaven www.tinyurl.com/zubno1in, we talk about the song, Moroder, and their influence). This lead into a discussion of producing the Blondie records. Evidently, drummer Clem Burke did NOT play to a click track. As they began adding more and more electronic elements to Blondie, this took more and more of a work around, Destri bringing in a drum machine, and more synths--he was clearly vital in Blondie’s best known records. Even the metronome itself got a turn on final recordings. Destri was with the band for the comeback album, “No Exit,” and the big hit “Maria,” but left the band last decade. It was wonderful being a fly on the wall for old comrades from the early days of American punk to talk about its inner workings. </h2>
<h2>As Destri and Leon swapped stories, the subject of the first Ramones album, which Leon produced came up. Destri joked, “you had to overdub DeeDee if he had to play more than one string!” So I guess that’s a pretty telling about the true punk, DIY roots of the rhythm sections of Blondie and The Ramones. And Clem Burke gets his moment in the sun as the subject of a new documentary My View: Clem Burke https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgpL1loMCq4 </h2>
<h2>Next time, I’ll wonder why Martin Gore keeps showing up where I am.</h2>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/57533242019-05-13T18:33:40-04:002019-05-13T18:36:27-04:00Tyler Ramsey Live at the Bohemian Cafe, Greenville SC<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="7U6TyOqSWQE" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/7U6TyOqSWQE/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7U6TyOqSWQE?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">(Track used with express permission of Tyler Ramsey)</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<h2>Asheville’s Tyler Ramsey is a local treasure. This was his third visit to The Bohemian, and not only is he an amazing, evocative guitarist and singer/songwriter, but he is also one of the nicest people I’ve done sound for. This does make a difference. There does appear to be a inverse principle that the nicer, more talented artists cause the least trouble and very much vice versa. He is the proof of that rule. </h2>
<h2>Since departing Band Of Horses in 2017, Tyler has produced the impressive <em>For The Morning</em> LP, and his short set was loaded with material from this fine new record. His guitar playing is sad and precise, and his economic use of words on songs like ‘The Valley Wind’ is spectacular. He played Gibson and Guild Hollow-body electric guitars through a dark-sounding Matchless amplifier, and wasn’t afraid to use the harmonica holder a la Dylan. </h2>
<h2>‘Cheap Summer Dress’ from the new LP was an astoundingly good song, full of longing and heartache. It somehow reminded me of Don McLean at his best. ‘Your Whole Life’ had a Nick Drake feel, so fragile and beautiful. This is an artist that plays and sings so well, you don’t miss any band elements. His stripped down approach is all these songs need. ‘The Nightbird’ continued in this vein, a beautiful piece of lacework disguised as a song. </h2>
<h2>The end of the set featured a stunning song from his <em>A Long Dream </em>LP called ‘No One Goes Out.’ </h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;"> </h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;"><em>And I fell in love/with the girl from a dream/It was after a show </em></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;"><em>And she sat on the bar/I had been drinking/And wanted to talk to her </em></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;"><em>It took me a while/Just to get through the crowd </em></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;"><em>No one goes out anymore </em></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;"><em>No one goes out anymore </em></h2>
<p> </p>
<h2>This one brought out something in my eye, I was a little bleary, I guess. He did a roundhouse Instrumental, and a surprising version of The Pretenders’ ‘Back On The Chain Gang,’ before ending with the beautiful ‘A Dream Of Home’ from the new LP. Tyler Ramsey is worthy of your attention, if he doesn’t yet have it. While ‘No One Goes Out,’ if you get a chance to see him, prove that wrong. Good songwriting, singing, and guitar playing, well worth going out for. </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan</h2>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/57410552019-05-02T22:39:27-04:002019-05-02T22:39:27-04:00Babylon: The Movie<h2><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/0ab0a08a526b20504e1a7a9dc13a7675bc5c8f1b/original/babylon-movie.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2>It's great to see a movie that fills in lots of holes in your musical knowledge. <em>Babylon</em> is a very British film from 1980 that was co-written by Martin Stellman, who wrote <em>Quadrophenia</em>, and directed by Italian-born Franco Rosso. The film has been rarely seen in the US, and there is a new 2019 restored version that we were able to see recently at Durham’s Carolina Theater. </h2>
<h2>The story is set in the depressed, segregated areas of Brixton in London, and concerns Jamaican sound system culture. Started in the 1940’s in Jamaica, sound systems were large, homemade speaker systems connected to a turntable. The sound system crews would have custom tracks pressed on vinyl (often just one record at a time), put on parties, charge admission and provide food and drink. The person controlling what is played on the turntable is known as ‘The Selector’ and the DJ’s would rap and/or sing over the tracks, a process known as ‘Toasting.’ </h2>
<h2>The plot follows a young man named Blue, played by Aswad singer (a very popular British reggae outfit) Brinsley Forde. There is a competition between his crew, the Lions, and the Ital crew. The movie follows Blue and his many tribulations, losing his job and being belittled by a racist boss, being chased and beaten by the Police for being black on the street, fighting with his father and leaving home, and losing his girlfriend. He falls in with some friends that mug a helpless man, and he wants no part of that life. Returning to the storage area for the Sound System, he finds their gear smashed and National Front (a very right-wing, racist UK group) graffiti sprayed everywhere. In a rage, he stabs a racist neighbor with a screwdriver. The movie ends with the Police, looking for Blue, smashing in the doors where the Sound System clash between the Ital Lions and rival crew is being held. </h2>
<h2>This movie, though set in England, is much like a foreign film. The main characters all speak in a Jamaican patois, and the new version of the film has updated subtitles for North America. The overall feel is almost like a gritty documentary, the acting and music are great, but the pervasive racism in London is a real eye-opener. There is even a scene where an elderly white woman tells the crew to “go back to your own country,” although of course these young men are all born in England, and respond “this <em>is</em> my country!” </h2>
<h2>Musically, there can be no doubt that sound system culture was a strong influence on modern rap. The systems bring the bass and drums and the ‘toasting,’ the sometimes spoken, sometimes melodic live patter over recorded music, to form the basis of the crowd-moving music. This DIY resourcefulness provides both community and a sense of pride for the young English Jamaicans. It’s a remarkable and intriguing movie, and I recommend it, very entertaining and a real learning experience. </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan</h2>
<p> </p>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="Gtl9Il6Uhek" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/Gtl9Il6Uhek/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Gtl9Il6Uhek?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe> Babylon Trailer 2019</p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/57382302019-04-30T23:33:33-04:002019-04-30T23:33:48-04:00Moments from Moogfest 2019: Part One<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/84552c247e40a1c7dd2516b7a58092681580f81d/original/header-moogfest.png/!!/b:W10=.png" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><span class="font_large">So this was my 4th year at the (now) Durham-based festival that bills itself as celebrating “Future Sound/Future Thought.” Each year the festival seems to suffer some whispered rumors about major management, planning, and booking upheavals, and reported glitches, whispers made in the interim between the Monday following the fest to the Wednesday the following year before it starts. Moogfest ultimately always pulls off an entertaining and idea-provoking immersive experience when the day one comes. The behind-the-scenes drama seems to have little impact on attendees other than a little bonus sturm-und-drang while waiting for the year to pass between fests. But I love this festival. If you are on the fence about coming, do. My city is amazing and the festival atmosphere is charged with intellectual and inquisitive electrons. Attending Moogfest is like taking a smart bath. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">There were some administrative glitches: last year’s high tech, chipped bands returned to simple cloth ones in 2019 and there was no festival app, making venue and scheduling management frustrating. You were instead given a paper schedule with small print and the nostalgic “filling station map” fold. The website was not interactive as it had been in the past, where you could click on an artist’s name and go to the biographical description. In previous years you could sort by venue and by artist, making hitting your personal interests easier. Not this year. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">So, a few basics about the festival. There are 2 main hubs of activity: the American Tobacco Campus (ATC), a gorgeous reclaimed cigarette factory complex, and Durham's Carolina Theatre (CTD). Both have multiple performance and meeting spaces. In addition, clubs, churches, smaller performance and meeting venues have been pressed into service. This year, a gorgeous new performance space, the Durham Fruit & Produce Company, was added to the mix. The Moog pop-up factory and Guitar Center music store were at ATC, along with free outdoor performances in The Cage, an open air enclosure. There are always free events at Moogfest--last year a record fair and a Ralph Stedman exhibit (I attended a Skype Conference interview with him last year that was weird, wonderful, and endearing) as well as Saturday outdoor performances open to all. Moving to April meant for perfect temperatures and our trademark Carolina Blue skies--on most days. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">And about Future Sound/Future Thought. Moogfest is loosely described as about Future Thought by day, featuring a series of workshops for engineers and speakers on music, futurism, culture, politics, technology, privacy, and their interplay. Keynotes this year were Martin Gore of Depeche Mode and Daniel Miller of Mute Records in Conversation and Investigative Reporter Jason Leopold and Questlove discussing "Hacking the Truth" about their divergent disciplines' search for that elusive virtue. Quest subbed for Thomas Dolby, hospitalized the day before for a nasty kidney infection. There are performances in the day as well, but the real serious getting down is a night, the Future Sounds component of the festival. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/8c0cb107454ff8d3627c773992cf683b77728cf9/original/quest-in-convo.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_right border_" /></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">But what are the moments I most remember from Moogfest 2019? </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">I’ll start by saying this festival celebrates the history of electronic music and honors its major figures and elders as one of its continuing, strongest organizing threads and one of the best things they do. This year, I basically stalked Patrick Gleeson, who worked with the men behind the brand names in getting machines that would allow him to tour with Herbie Hancock’s jazz septet in the early 70s. He worked with Don Buchla, who told him to go to hell when he wanted a keyboard to play live, Bob Moog (Gleeson was his 11th customer), and Alan R Pearlman, whose ARP machine ended up being perfect for touring with Herbie. Imagine, if you are not yet suitably impressed, imagine needing a car and calling Henry Ford, the Dodge Brothers, and Walter Chrysler to see what they each can cook up for you to drive to work. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Gleeson may be best known to those of you in Zubland as the co-engineer of <em>Are We Not Men? We Are Devo! </em>(see <a contents="SGS 030 Devo/Satisfaction" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubsatisfaction" target="_blank">SGS 030 Devo/Satisfaction</a>). A quick trip to Wikipedia will tell you just how key he was in the world of music of all kinds in the past 50 years. His performance Thursday night in the big hall of the CTD was riveting, performed via Ableton Live on a laptop. I also saw him play a few pieces in the Meyer immersive spacial sound venue, The Armory, including a piece from the <em>Jazz Criminal</em> album, which he composed with collaborator Jim Lang, who was also on hand in our small demo listening party. The room was set up with 16 independent speaker channels and the sound engineer pushed sounds around the room, live, as by his side Gleeson manned the Ableton system. This was so beyond quad sound—it is a truly gob-smacking experience. </span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/8e1f9e1b09f5d37059ee3dedd33c5dd91c6cf42f/original/gleeson-av.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Just a little on this year’s Meyer system—it was less showy than last year’s spacial system, that had spinning, glowing speaker arrays throughout the room. Less flash this year, visually, but the sound was mouth-dropping. The Armory room is unusual in that it is a bit like a ballroom/gymnasium with a parquet floor and a balcony ringing the room—I guess to view the dance marathons, etc, going on below. The smaller array speakers are positioned overhead, suspended around the balcony, the sound permeating the space. It was really something. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/96bd649049572d7df11106e4c1e8adfd2592611c/original/glees-arms.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Patrick Gleeson presented a fantastic historical talk on Sunday morning. I was sure I’d be able to catch him and talk Devo. I mean, who is going to get up on Sunday morning on the last day of a four-day fest? The talk was billed as a career-spanning discussion of his life in electronic music, “From Buchla Box to Ableton Live.” I forgot this is Moogfest, as I scurried to grab one of the few remaining seats in a packed theater. Attendees of Moogfest are hardcore and of course this talk was in demand. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">What followed was a mesmerizing, interactive discussion of the evolution of these instruments, Gleeson's work with Herbie Hancock, and finally the compositional role of AI. He told the audience members they would probably have a role as curators over AI scores for TV and movies. He had a career in the 80s and 90s composing film and TV scores himself and seemed to think trite, obvious AI scores were about what the industry deserved. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Finally, Gleeson told a great story about being at NAMM where they had his old Moog 3. “Would you like to play it?” they asked, eagerly hoping they’d reunited old lovers. “NO! I’ve suffered enough!” was his reply. He has returned to live performance in recent years, in part energized by the apt tool he has found in the Ableton. I’ve seen Suzanne Ciani wrangle the Buchla, like some enchanted old timey telephone operator, and heard her talk about how she can’t imagine a more perfect instrument for what she does. I think they are probably both right. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Well, I didn’t get my Devo discussion in for all the fawning fanboys during and after the presentation. Me being a 9th level introvert had nothing to do with it, I’m sure (rolls eyes at self). </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Next time I’ll talk about talking smack about Clem Burke, the drummer from Blondie…</span></p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/566d8f48cf9429139ef1e1e62e4983b9c40eca76/original/a-moog-2019.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsInNtYWxsIl1d.jpg" class="size_s justify_left border_" /></p>
<p><span class="font_large">--Adrienne Meddock (@ CTD + wristband)</span></p>
<p> </p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/57364192019-04-29T15:53:29-04:002019-04-29T16:00:43-04:00Nick Lowe and Los Straitjackets at The Orange Peel, Asheville NC<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/d4d73bf9ca3d2a5a5e9497c255720052ffa03092/original/img-3863.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>I Love The Sound Of Wrestling Masks </h2>
<h2>It had been less than a year since I saw Nick and the Straitjackets at the much smaller Grey Eagle in Asheville. It was a great show and I was 20 feet away from the great man himself. But since then, they’ve released the ‘Tokyo Bay’ double 45 (see our Podcast at <a contents="www.tinyurl.com/tokyolowe" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.tinyurl.com/tokyolowe" target="_blank">www.tinyurl.com/tokyolowe</a>) and will have the new <em>Love Starvation</em> EP out soon, both on North Carolina’s Yep Roc Records. </h2>
<h2>At the larger Orange Peel, seated in front, sightlines were awesome and the lighting and sound first class. Los Straitjackets (Chris Sprague - Drums and Backing Vocals, Pete Curry - Bass, Greg Townson - Guitar, and Eddie Angel - Vocals and Guitar) were decked out in their trademark Mexican wrestler masks and playing their custom Dipinto surf guitars. Nick had his Gibson J200 acoustic and was in fine voice. </h2>
<h2>They started with a crowd pleasing ‘And So It Goes,' then straight into “Ragin Eyes.’ one of the cuts I discussed in my Nick Lowe 1980’s greatest hits playlist blog (<a contents="www.tinyurl.com/zubbasher" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.tinyurl.com/zubbasher" target="_blank">www.tinyurl.com/zubbasher</a> ). </h2>
<h2>Nick and the band seemed to be really having fun with each other, and were very appreciative of the enthusiastic crowd. Nick early on told a funny story about the worst thing ever said on stage: ”We’re going to do a new one.” He assured us that all the songs were about two and a half minutes long so you wouldn’t have to wait forever if there was one you didn’t like. The towering, Everly-like ‘Without Love’ was a real standout. Seeming throwaway ‘Shting-Shtang’ was a pleasant rhythm and blues workout. </h2>
<h2>From the new upcoming EP, we heard a lovely cover of ‘Raincoat In The River’ by “Australian Cliff Richard” Dig Richards, proving that Nick doesn’t just know how to write them, he knows how to pick a great cover as well. Starting with “I’ll be a long, gone daddy…” Nick and the Jackets tore through the rockabilly ‘Tokyo Bay,’ sounding every bit as good live as on record. </h2>
<h2>Then, as on last tour, Nick was off the stage and the Straitjackets got their own mini set of explosive and funny surf tunes. Highlights included a clever take on the <em>Game Of Thrones</em> theme, the craziness of ‘Itchy Chicken,’ and The Hollies’ ‘Bus Stop.’ They were a ball of energy, never missed a note; the crowd went wild. </h2>
<h2>Nick walked back onstage to the ending strains of ‘I Love the Sound Of Breaking Glass,’ and picked it right up. Playing two stellar songs from the new EP, ‘Love Starvation,’ was masterful, but ‘Blue On Blue’ was a stunning ballad both timeless and remarkable. His voice and lyric gave me goosebumps on this one. They cleaned up with a raucous ‘Half A Boy And Half A Man,’ a wise take on ‘Cruel To Be Kind,’ a slowed down version of ‘Heart Of The City,’ and a boisterous ‘I Knew The Bride (When She Used to Rock And Roll).’ </h2>
<h2>For the encore Los Straitjackets appeared in their Riddler suits, festooned with question marks. They did a ‘Wipeout’ style instrumental where drummer Chris made an underwater sound with a big glass of water, getting water all over himself. It was hilarious. Nick came back on declaring, “Now, that’s entertainment!” They ended with a slow ‘What’s So Funny About (Peace Love And Understanding’) (made famous by Elvis Costello but written by Nick) and a touching cover of ‘When I Write The Book,’ which became a big crowd sing-along. </h2>
<h2>I’ve seen Nick many times, but this may have been the best yet. The fun and freedom between him and the Straitjackets is infectious. As he enters his Lion-In -Winter phase, the songwriting is incomparable. Nick is an international treasure, and if there is a real Rock and Roll Hall of Fame he needs to be in it. Please check out his new <em>Love Starvation</em> EP when available. If you like rock and good songwriting, you won’t be disappointed. </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan</h2>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/57330172019-04-26T00:33:33-04:002019-04-26T00:38:01-04:00Peter Holsapple Combo Live at The Station, Carrboro NC<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/562fda2cd5e7e960f29661021b5f11a155f83330/original/holsapple-combo.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<h2><span class="font_large">This was the fourth week of the Peter Holsapple Combo ‘residency’ at The Station; meaning that they were playing every Tuesday night in April, and featuring a special guest every week. I’ve seen the Combo about four times in the last six months, and I was surprised at how much energy they provided on this night. The usually laid-back Peter Holsapple was full of pepper, as they say, in fine voice and playing guitar with exceptional intensity. Bass man Glenn Jones was nailing it down on his Fender Jazz, and provided some excellent backing vocals. All was held together by the incredible Will Rigby on drums and vocals, Will always being a solid, inventive and intuitive timekeeper. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_large">The first set provided some great tunes from Peter’s solo <em>Game Day</em> LP on Omnivore Records, including ‘Tuff Day.’ a slash-and-burn ‘In Too Deep,’Game Day,’ and a very heavy take on ‘Don’t Mention The War.’ These were interspersed with dB’s nuggets such as ‘Big Black Truck,’ and ‘We Were Happy There,’ although the older Holsapple’s range isn’t as lithe as his younger voice, his voice is lived-in, expressive and still perfect for these tunes. Highlight of the set by far was the new ‘I’m That Kind Of Guy’ in which Peter recites all the cool music he collects, including ‘Repeat When Necessary,’ and a new line about.”I’ve got Brian Jones’ shoe from the bottom of the pool.” This needs to be a single right away! </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_large">Set two started with a rollicking ‘pH Factor,’ then guest Django Haskins (from The Old Ceremony) came onstage. Their first song was a cover of the Zombies ‘This Will Be Our Year,’ beautifully sung by Haskins. They then played a Haskins song, ‘Tender Age,’ with a real ‘Eight Miles High’ vibe to it, and they ended his set with a fantastic cover of Pink Floyd’s ‘Lucifer Sam’ (see link below). I’d love to see this band and this singer work together some more. Django was a real treat. Set two continued with more of the introspective songs from <em>Game</em> <em>Day</em>, including ‘Continental Drifters’ and ‘Inventory,’ Peter and the boys picked it up at the end with a powerhouse version of the dB’s ‘Amplifier, and an amped-up cover of Buddy Miles’ ‘Them Changes.’ I’ve heard them play these before, but tonight they were delivered with undiluted ferocity. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_large">The Station is to be lauded for supporting such a great band. The sound at the club was stellar. The band amazing, the guest a pleasant surprise. Holsapple is not resting on his laurels: he was and is one of North Carolina’s greatest songwriters, singers, and guitarists. Please don’t overlook him and the combo wherever they are in the future. As Peter proclaimed from the stage, “this is the GOOD rock.” </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_large">----Steve McGowan</span></h2>
<p> </p>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="2P9sr-Po6Vc" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/2P9sr-Po6Vc/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2P9sr-Po6Vc?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p> </p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/57054652019-04-03T12:15:35-04:002019-04-03T12:15:35-04:00Secret Monkey Weekend At Magnolia Music Cafe,Wake Forest NC<h3><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/781d10528a47bc03ee973ba38bca23e4857ab223/original/smw.png/!!/b:W10=.png" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></h3>
<h3> </h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">Imagine a band, a family band, where the singer and guitarist is the dad, and the bassist/backup singer is his 16 year old daughter, and the drummer/ other lead singer is his 11 and a half year old daughter. This imaginary band is real, is from Durham, NC, and they are called Secret Monkey Weekend. They are cute and funny and talented and they rock. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">I’ve seen the band three or four times and always been charmed by them, but after a short hiatus over the winter, they are back and better than ever. Led by Dad Jefferson Hart, a veteran of many local NC bands, they play a number of his alt-country styled pop tunes. The bassist, Ella, is quite amazing on her instrument and sings great backup. She is a real strength of the band. The secret weapon of Secret Monkey, however, is the young Lila on the drums and vocals. She is a joy to watch, playing and singing with real intensity, almost looking angry as she concentrates. You haven’t lived until you’ve heard Lila grunt during a cover of ZZ Top’s ‘Jesus Just Left Chicago,’ or her singing lead on The Stones’ ‘Happy.’ </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">The band was augmented tonight by ‘Uncle’ Tim Smith on keyboards, a pleasant presence on stage and a fine, unshowy keyboardist that added greatly to the overall sound. Bassist Ella ground through a number of Chuck Berry style walking bass patterns with easy aplomb. She sang great backup but no lead vocals tonight (I’ve heard her sing Squeeze’s ‘Cool For Cats’ in the past...mind blowing!) </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">Jefferson was in good voice and played some tasteful lead guitar, especially on his black Fender Stratocaster. The original Secret Monkey songs included the pretty ‘Honey Num-Num,’ ‘Candy Station,’ and a great new song ‘Do The Secret Monkey,’ complete with band choreography. These songs are my absolute favorites. They also tackled ‘Funkytown,’ ‘Under My Thumb,’ and a joyous version of The Romantics ‘That’s What I Like About You.’ Imagine an 11 year old drummer knocking that one out! </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">Dad Jefferson payed a clever homage to past local NC bands, the band running through Peter Holsapple’s ‘Big Brown Eyes,’ Chris Stamey’s ‘Something Came Over Me,’ Arrogance’s ‘It Ain’t Cool To Be Cruel,’ Rick Rock’s magnificent ‘Buddah Buddah,’ and The Woods’ ‘Battleship Chains.’ This was a very clever tribute to the bands that came before and some of whose members Jefferson has played with. I was impressed. It’s good to see such a unique, fun band, and a band led by a man that understands his musical history. Secret Monkey Weekend is the best! </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">----Steve McGowan</span></h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/56988922019-03-28T23:15:46-04:002019-03-28T23:15:46-04:00Whitey Morgan and The 78’s at The Blind Tiger, Greensboro NC<h2> </h2>
<h2><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/079d15ae6871c739fc662e787458126132245dd4/original/whitey.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></h2>
<h2><span class="font_large">It’s always good to step into someone else’s scene. Whitey Morgan is an artist I wasn’t aware of until a few months ago. He is a real-deal honky-tonk king, carefully following in the footsteps of Waylon Jennings and Merle Haggard, and Whitey and his band, the 78’s, are at the top of the game. Seeing the show at The Blind Tiger in Greensboro was the second time I’ve seen him in five months, and he and his band keep getting better. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_large">My friend Russell introduced me to Whitey Morgan. The story goes that Russell went to so many shows that Whitey asked him to work on the tour selling merch. Russell has been to at least seventy-five shows, and he has encouraged me to go with him to the local shows. In this world of faux-pop crap ‘country’ music, watered down FM pop, Whitey is a real throwback, in a good way. The band honky-tonks in an authentic style, and Whitey’s songs are all about what matters: love, love-lost, drinking, getting high, and drinking some more. His cover choices are exceptional, as he proved at the top of the night: second song of the set was Johnny Paycheck’s ‘Cocaine Train,’ delivered in a way that would make Johnny proud. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_large">‘Honky Tonk Hell,’ from the <em>Hard Times and White Lines</em> record, was a powerful ballad kick started by Brett Robinson’s amazing pedal steel guitar. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_large">‘That’s How I Got To Memphis,’ from Whitey’s excellent new <em>Sonic Ranch</em> record, has a classic, almost Glen Campbell feel, well presented with the interplay of Robinson’s steel and Joey Spina’s lead guitar work. Spina in particular was on fire this show. I noticed him watching a young hotshot guitarist in the opening band, but no one was was showing up Joey tonight. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_large">‘Still Drunk, Still Crazy, Still Blue’ was a strong tale of woe bearing some resemblance to Skynyrd’s ‘Tuesday’s Gone.’ The rhythm section of Eric Savage on drums and Alex Lyon on bass was solid, and as unflashy as you’d want for a honky-tonk band. Acoustic guitars and backing vocals were held down by the mischievous Tony Rodriguez, who hit all the vocal notes with ease. The 78’s tore through a great arrangement of ZZ Top’s ‘Just Got Paid’ that showed off Whitey’s great cover selection chops. They also did a stellar honky-tonk version of Springsteen’s ‘I’m On Fire.’ </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_large">Whitey’s signature song has to be ‘I Ain’t Drunk (I've Just Been Drinking)’ which drove the crowd in Greensboro crazy. They tore through this one and the rest of the set, ending up with an epic version of ‘Sinner’ from the Honky Tonks and Cheap Motels record, a song with a dash of Bob Seger in its DNA. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_large">The last song was a truly awesome version of Townes Van Zandt’s ‘Waiting Around To Die.’ I’ve never heard a better version. Whitey Morgan is at the top of his game. Sonic Ranch is a great record, and it sounds amazing, recorded in the Neve room at the Sonic Ranch Studios in Tornillo, Texas, one of the best studios in the US. He and his band are poised to move up. They are hard not to like, have the chops, keep it old school, and play superb covers. Expect to see him at the Greensboro Coliseum next time. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_large">It is not the usual Zub scene, but the crowd was friendly, welcoming, happy, and even a little diverse. Peak musicianship viewed before a roomful of folks who to a person knew it didn’t get any better. Who wouldn’t want to share in that. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_large">----Steve McGowan</span></h2>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/56910242019-03-23T23:15:10-04:002019-03-23T23:17:09-04:00Adrian Belew Live at The Lincoln Theater, Raleigh NC<h2> </h2>
<h2><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/e07e8764a6bce864ed0fea446e6ffb3e245d7ee8/original/belew.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></h2>
<h2>Adrian Belew Live at the Lincoln Theater, Raleigh NC 3/15/19 </h2>
<h2>This is the third time I’ve seen Adrian Belew and his band in the past two years or so, and I think I’ve finally realized why I love him so much. The music is superbly technical, and could be described as prog-rock, but it also has an overwhelming Beatles influence. As a huge fan of Belew-era King Crimson and of The Beatles, he’s right up my alley. </h2>
<h2>Belew wasn’t a minute into his first song, King Crimson’s ‘Matte Kudasai,’ when I realized the <em>fun</em> and the <em>joy</em> he and his band have playing music. Belew, singing and making all manner of unrecognizable sounds with his signature Parker Fly guitar, had a smile plastered on his face the entire show. It was as if he was saying “isn’t this great,” like we were all in on the joke. </h2>
<h2>And his band, oh <em>my</em>. The Power Trio has a new member, Saul Zonana, who sang backing vocals and rotated between keys, percussion, and guitar, making for a quartet. Jordan Perlson was a stalwart on the drums, but the real VIP of this band was bassist Julie Slick. What she added was always in perfect service to the song, whether thunderous root notes, thrashing chords, or threading through intricate scales on her five-string Lakland, Slick is as good a bass player as I’ve seen this side of Tony Levin. Adrian and Julie also were having the best time up on stage, and the feeling was infectious. </h2>
<h2>The set was broken into two acts, Act One featuring Crimson’s ‘Happy With What You Have To Be Happy With,’ as well as the aforementioned ‘Matte Kudasai.’ The Beatle-y ‘Big Blue Sun’ was a standout, as were ‘Ampersand’ and ‘Fish Head.’ </h2>
<h2>Set two featured some stellar songs from his brand-new release, <em>Pop-Sided</em>, including a wondrous song called ‘Wait To Worry.’ This was followed by a great version of ‘Big Electric Cat,’ and ‘Men In Helicopters.’ The end of the set featured The Bears’ ‘Superboy,’ an astoundingly funky version of Zappa’s ‘City Of Tiny Lights,’ and a suite of Crimson covers (‘Three Of A Perfect Pair,’ ‘Frame By Frame.’ ‘Sleepless,’ and ‘Neal And Jack And Me’). An amazing encore of ‘Theela Hut Ginjeet,’ and this joyous show was over. Every member of the audience was beaming, happy and excited. Adrian’s joy is contagious. While prog rock can sometimes feel more like slog rock, Belew makes this music ecstatic. </h2>
<h2>---Steve McGowan</h2>
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<a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/adrian-belew/2019/lincoln-theatre-raleigh-nc-1b920d88.html" target="_blank" title="Adrian Belew Setlist Lincoln Theatre, Raleigh, NC, USA 2019, POP-SIDED"><img src="https://www.setlist.fm/widgets/setlist-image-v1?id=1b920d88" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="Adrian Belew Setlist Lincoln Theatre, Raleigh, NC, USA 2019, POP-SIDED" style="border: 0;" /></a>
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</div>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/56863572019-03-19T23:02:29-04:002019-03-20T17:23:19-04:00Teenage Fanclub Live at Haw River Ballroom, Saxapahaw, NC<h2><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/8e4f09f4f698ace8943217c9961c26a00811e54f/original/fanclub.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></h2>
<h2><span class="font_large">Merge Records kicked off their 30th Anniversary celebration season with a special gift for the faithful: a rare visit from Scotland’s power pop paragons, Teenage Fanclub. The beautiful riverside setting had to struggle to keep up with the loveliness the band brought: intricate, perfectly wrought delicate musical petit-fours we gladly gobbled until the last crumb. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_large">When the Fanclub took the stage at the Haw River Ballroom, they quickly announced that this was the last show of a three month tour. Needless to say, the five-man Fanclub was a tight as any rock band I’ve ever seen. Over the course of the nineteen song set, I never heard one bum note. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_large">Frontman, singer, and guitarist Norman Blake was in fine form, pleasantly introducing the songs in his thick Glaswegian accent. Ah, the sounds of home! He was playing a semi-hollow-body Gibson 335 through a Vox AC15 amplifier and sounding great. From my seat in the balcony, with his glasses, he bore a striking resemblance to Mike Myers’ Dad in<em> I Married An Axe Murderer </em>(“Let’s Get Pissed!”) The lean, balding and distinguished looking Raymond McGinty played solid and tasteful lead guitar through what appeared to be a mid-60’s Fender Jaguar (I used to own one just like it, and if I could have made it sound like his I would have kept it) while he sang lead on about a third of the songs. New bassist Dave McGowan (must be a relative? A McGowan from Glasgow…) was a melodic beast on the Rickenbacker bass. Drummer Frances McDonald was solidly on time, and the fiddly bits on keys were provided by Euros Childs. All five band mates sang backup, to great advantage. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_large">They opened with a head-floating ‘About You’ from the <em>Grand Prix</em> record. The set was heavy on tunes from the album <em>Songs From Northern Britain</em>, including a beautiful, Big Star take on ‘Start Again,’ and a Hollies sounding ‘Bad World.’ <em>Man-Made’s</em> ‘Only With You’ was a beautiful, Southern-California styled pop, featuring acoustic guitar and a strong keyboard figure. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_large">There were two songs from the hard-to-find first record, <em>A Catholic Education</em>, but the standouts were still for me the <em>Bandwagonesque</em> songs, an Alex Chilton sounding ‘Alcoholiday,’ and a rousing version of ‘The Concept’ at the end of the set. The encores were ‘The Fall’ from Shadows, followed by a Badfinger cover - ‘Lay Me Down’ - which Norman claimed was the first time they ever played it live. Of course it was perfect. With <em>A Catholic Education’s</em> noisy ‘Everything Flows,’ the show, and the tour, was over. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_large">Adrienne and I discussed for some time the secret of Teenage Fanclub’s excellence: what is it? This was one of the best shows I’ve seen in a long time. It seems that they adopt a Big Star version of power-pop that really favors the more bubblegum side of pop. Where a similar group like The Posies incorporates Zeppelin licks and British Invasion bombast, the Fanclub keeps it simple, not very rhythm and blues influenced. They use more of a Beach Boys than a Beatles inspiration. Their British Invasion influences run to the more commercial, such as Herman’s Hermits and Gerry and the Pacemakers and perhaps even early Donovan. And in their hands, there is nothing wrong with that. The Fanclub formula usually involves four chord patterns, 4/4 time, and beautiful harmonies. They have little use for odd time signatures or chord progressions, but their calculations are worked to perfection. They are right now probably the perfect power-pop band. I’m proud of them, proud to be a Scotsman from Glasgow, and proud of Merge Records. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_large">----Steve McGowan</span></h2>
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<a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/teenage-fanclub/2019/haw-river-ballroom-saxapahaw-nc-4b925f4e.html" target="_blank" title="Teenage Fanclub Setlist Haw River Ballroom, Saxapahaw, NC, USA 2019"><img src="https://www.setlist.fm/widgets/setlist-image-v1?id=4b925f4e" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="Teenage Fanclub Setlist Haw River Ballroom, Saxapahaw, NC, USA 2019" style="border: 0;" /></a>
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</div>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/56709562019-03-06T13:20:44-05:002019-03-06T13:24:57-05:00The Specials: Encore<h2 style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/ab416280d710152e222f819e7ed4ed554a8113c9/original/encore.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></h2>
<h2>Following what happened to The Specials after their 2nd LP, <em>More Specials</em>, the beginning of The Fun Boy Three, and the start-up of The Special AKA, since 1981, is exhausting. Check the Wiki page if you are interested, but be aware even in short form it is a long read: </h2>
<h2> <a contents="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Specials&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Specials" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Specials </a>
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<h2>As of 2019, the Specials are back. Leader/Keyboardist Jerry Dammers and guitarist Roddy Radiation are not on board. Original drummer John Bradbury passed away in 2015. The reformed Specials feature original singer Terry Hall, singer/guitarist Lynval Golding, and bassist Horace Panter. Steve Craddock (from Paul Weller’s band) is on guitar. This is as close to the old Specials as we’ve seen in a long time, and their new LP <em>Encore</em> is a stunner. </h2>
<h2>This LP reminds me a bit of Madness and their late period masterpiece <em>The Liberty Of Norton Folgate</em>. On <em>Norton</em>, Madness drops the early nutty-boys ska sound for a rhythmic Kinks vibe. On <em>Encore</em>, The Specials drop the Prince Buster ska sound for something approximating reggae pop. The sound and approach is excellent, and The Specials haven’t lost their sharp lyrical attack. The scourge of racism and disillusionment with political leadership are the main themes, all delivered devastatingly well. </h2>
<h2>They open with ‘Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys,’ a funky cover from the early -70’s multiracial band, The Equals, with a great groove that wouldn’t sound bad on an Edwin Starr record. ‘BLM’ is Lynval Goldings’ tale of racism through his life, echoing disappointment with Winston Churchill. All set to a super greasy funk. ‘Vote For Me’ has a bit of the Dammers-era keyboard sound, a jaunty reggae for Terry Hall to tear down politicians and their hypocrisy. It’s a classic Specials track. </h2>
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<h2>Next up is a surprising cover of the Fun Boy Three track ‘The Lunatics,’ lyrics as prescient as ever, the treatment less dour, more latin flavored. ‘Breaking Point' is a bizarre, if effective Jacques Brel flavored attack on technology. ‘Blam Blam Fever’ is a cover of an obscure 60’s reggae side by The Valentines, attacking gun culture (yes, you, USA) and sounding like the perfect Specials tune. </h2>
<h2>From the new Specials website: <a contents="https://www.thespecials.com/&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.thespecials.com/" target="_blank">https://www.thespecials.com/ </a>
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<h2><em>‘The Ten Commandments’ is an answer song, a response to Prince Buster's Ten Commandments of Man (1965) which is essentially a list instructing a woman to be a supplicant to Prince Buster's ego. Now it's an all-out fuck-you, kick-ass glorious Ten Commandments addressing rape culture, misogyny, self-worth and alt-right "pseudo-intellectuals on the internet" with 20-year-old Saffiyah Khan. Saffiyah was photographed in 2017 squaring up to a member of the EDL, with the most incredible beatific smile on her face, at an anti-racist march in Birmingham. She was wearing a Specials t-shirt. The band saw the photo and got in touch. </em></h2>
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<h2>From the Wiki page, a description of the EDL: </h2>
<h2><em>The English Defence League is a far-right, Islamophobic organisation in the United Kingdom. A social movement and pressure group that employs street demonstrations as its main tactic. </em></h2>
<h2>‘Embarrassed By You’ is a super-catchy reggae pop tune about being shamed by your peer group. As usual, The Specials don’t flinch on addressing uncomfortable topics. ‘The Life And Times (Of A Man Called Depression’ is a spoken word rant by Terry Hall about his bipolar diagnosis and how he has regained control of himself. The musical background here is a strange brew of Broadway horns, light-ska, and Doors style keys. The LP closer, ‘We Sell Hope,’ fuses vibraphone and bass guitar to a somewhat happy, hopeful lyric, albeit delivered in that sad Terry Hall manner. </h2>
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<em>Encore </em>is really the surprise of the year so far for me. The Specials are still a vital, activist musical force, and their music is spectacular. Everything old is new again. Don’t miss it this time. </h2>
<h2>----Steve McGowan</h2>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/56661842019-03-02T01:13:23-05:002019-03-02T01:13:23-05:00Excons: Sea Shanties<h2><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/59a101a6df3d5d2fe136a29fe6fdf15ba9fdbc93/original/sea-shanties.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">Who are the Excons? If you live in the North Main area of Greenville, they are our friendly local neighborhood band. This is their second LP and it is a great disc. They went to Echo Mountain Studio in Asheville and basically cut the tracks live. Echo Mountain is famous for recording The Avett Brothers, among other great acts, and I really must say the sound quality of this record, Sea Shanties, is fantastic. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">The LP was pressed at Kindercore in Athens and the sleeves done locally. Its a quality package, looks great, artwork is wonderful, and it’s all top notch. I applaud them for their attention to detail. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">The band’s sound is not easy to pigeonhole, and that’s a great thing. The first LP reminded me a bit of Athens, GA’s Love Tractor, a kind of odd yet preppy rock. <em>Sea Shanties</em> ups their game considerably, with stronger vocals, keyboards, bass, drumming and songwriting. It’s a loose, fun, inventive white boy groove, and it’s cool. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">Lyrically, I would loosely define the themes on <em>Sea Shanties</em> as involving suburban ennui, or ennui in general. A quick listen gives forth the topics of and themes concerning: power, protection, entitlement, destitution, persecution, and alienation. Let’s take a quick listen: </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">‘Romans Of The Modern Age’ starts with a killer delayed bass groove and Brett Heisel’s funky Rhodes piano. Everybody sings at times. The song runs through a loose funky groove, it’s a great opener. ‘‘I Know How The Rich Live’ has a deeper, keyboard accented groove with Porter Whitmire’s sparse yet effective guitar. The lyrics reference both Gershwin’s ‘Summertime,’ Dylan’s ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’ and The Zombies ‘Time Of The Season.’ Clever boys indeed. ‘Clutching Fists’ has a nice acoustic guitar fill, starting off like a 70’s SoCal singer-songwriter tune, but devolving into another neat loose white boy funk. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">‘Loss Of Power’ features drummer John Byce and his 70’s era Acetone rhythm machine, not heard by these ears since Wall Of Voodoo was doing ‘Mexican Radio.’ Has a nice guitar trill throughout, as well as a sharp glockenspiel. Byce’s drumming is especially jazzy and intricate on this one. ‘Sailor,’ sung by bassist Taylor Vandiver, is a bit more straightforward pop with a super guitar hook. It’s very catchy but still a bit off-kilter in that groovy Excons mode. ‘Frontline’ opens with Byce’s glockenspiel and the Rhodes electric piano, with a cool descending turnaround into a great keyboard solo. This one gets high marks for using the term “Case Quarter” in the lyric. There is a little messy breakdown at the end, saved by the solid bass figure. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">‘Corrected Posture’ is ruled by a rollicking bass line, more in your face and less down tempo, cribbing lyrics from songs titles as varied as Radiohead to John Coltrane. This is one of the strongest tracks with an impressive call and response vocal set. ‘Handstand,’ with a harmonica intro and middle, retains a strong feel of mid -period Dylan. Referencing topics such as the Summer Of Love and Free As A Dove, and ‘It’s Alright Ma, It’s Only A Flesh Wound,’ it’s more straightforward folk-pop than you’d expect from Excons. ‘Lowlights’ is one of their older songs, re-recorded for this disc, again with a loose angular funk.The bass is insistent and the drums scattershot-yet-together. Porter’s voice is strong and in control. This is a signature Excons’ song and a great ending to a great LP. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">Excons are inventive and original, they don’t sound exactly like anyone else. This is a big plus in my book. They have gone to the effort and trouble to produce a cool, high quality LP. Not many bands go to the effort. You should definitely check them out. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">----Steve McGowan</span></h2>
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<p><span class="font_regular"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/513f029141a84189774d322029899a46de044904/original/excons.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/56565402019-02-23T12:43:02-05:002019-02-23T12:43:02-05:00Bob Mould: Sunshine Rock<h2><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/b7a7c92a0940793152ef7914bae6a7a66fa36b3d/original/sunshine-rock.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">It’s truly difficult for me to review a Bob Mould record. It’s like reviewing your guitar teacher’s music. I don’t know Bob and he never gave me a lesson, but I taught myself how to play guitar listening to Husker Du, Sugar, and <em>Black Sheets Of Rain</em>. His music (and Grant Hart’s ) mean everything to me. I even had an guitar amp setup very much like his and Flying V guitars (He played an Ibanez copy of a Gibson V throughout the Husker Du days, I owned a couple of different Gibson Flying V’s. In Bob’s solo career and with Sugar, he played a 1987 Fender Stratocaster Standard with lace sensor pickups. I stopped following him on that guitar path). </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">I was completely blown away by Husker Du on the <em>New Day Rising</em> tour, scarred for life (in a good way) after seeing the <em>Black Sheets Of Rain</em> tour, and had my head spun, <em>The Exorcist </em>- style, after seeing Sugar on the <em>F.U.E.L</em>. tour. Bob Mould always, always had THE band. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">So, to completely digress, and without being too pedantic (I hope), there is a concept in teaching called ‘scaffolding,’ basically meaning that teachers use students’ existing knowledge and understanding to help them grasp new concepts. I bring this up in reference to the many <em>Sunshine Rock </em>reviews I’ve read. Reviewers never fail to mention how much some of this material reminds them of Husker Du and Sugar, Bob Mould’s previous bands. It’s a simple way to explain his music. I also think it’s wrong. Mould works with a narrow paintbox, the guitar-bass-drums power trio, but this excellent record is not Husker Du, and it’s not Sugar. It’s Bob Mould as he is now. And Bob Mould has made a great record. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">What I love about Mould is how uncompromising and musically restless he is. There really is no repeating himself on this record, which is supposedly his ‘upbeat’ record after a trilogy of records referencing the loss of his parents. Yes, this is an upbeat record (for the notoriously downbeat Bob) , but it has its reflective, angry, and bittersweet songs. It wouldn’t be Bob Mould otherwise. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">The record opens with ‘Sunshine Rock’ - genuinely upbeat, with lots of vocal pads, some distant keys. It’s classic Mould pop. Strings are a great touch. He never made being happy sound so sad. On ‘What Do You Want Me To Do’ we get a more typical Mould rager, with a coiled up melodic riff, and lots of “ooh’s” in the background. ‘Sunny Love Song’ features bashing drums from the amazing Jon Wurster (Superchunk, Mountain Goats). This one references Mould’s travels from California to Berlin, where he has been living and where the record was written. This one has a classic bridge, and the lyric: </span></h2>
<h2><em><span class="font_regular">“We should write a sunny rock song every day” </span></em></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">‘Thirty Dozen Roses’ is fast and loud and approaching (yes, I said it) Husker Du intensity. ‘The Final Years’ is lyrically related to Husker Du’s ‘These Important Years.’ Strings come in towards the end and it’s a beautiful song, wonderfully produced. ‘Irrational Poison’ sounds like a harder edged <em>Workbook - </em>era tune, with super -pop call and response vocals and pretty backing vocals. More strings on this are a pleasant surprise. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">‘I Fought’ is a four to the floor, three chord screamer, not a ‘Sunny Pop Song’ by any means. Just three chords and a sack of hell. Mid tempo with all the guitars piled on, ‘Sin King’ is reminiscent of a <em>Black Sheets Of Rain</em> track. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">On ‘Lost Faith’ - Bob says it’s a New Order rip (see the link below), and I can hear Bernard Sumner singing this. Jason Narducy provides the Peter Hook-ish bass, and the keys are prominent. Speaking of Narducy, have you checked out the records he made with the band Verbow? Go check them out. Now. I’ll wait….Meanwhile , Bob sings: </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular"><em>“I’ve lost faith in everything, everything, everything.”</em> </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">That’s not very sunshine rock. The accordion is a great touch. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">The lyric on ‘Camp Sunshine’: </span></h2>
<h2><em><span class="font_regular">“The days I get to spend, making music with my friends, always most important to me. </span></em></h2>
<h2><em><span class="font_regular">There's always songs galore, I’m always writing more, I think about the kids we used to see. </span></em></h2>
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<em><span class="font_regular">Some get sick and pass away, others find a different place to play. Believe me there’s nowhere I’d rather stay.” </span></em><span class="font_regular"> </span>
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<h2><span class="font_regular">It’s just clean guitar and voice , a stunning song with Bob taking stock of his life. No distortion needed. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">‘Send Me A Postcard’ is a wacky cover of the 60’s Shocking Blue (known best for the hit 'Venus') tune. The band sounds like they are having a blast kicking through this. Wurster killing it again on the drums. ‘Western Sunset’ ends the record in the most pop way you’ll hear from Bob since ... Sugar (I said it again!) Awesome descending guitar riff and call/response vocal. Strings again, used magnificently. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">Bob Mould is his own man. He does what he wants and continues to rock like no one’s business. Screw the ‘Elder Statesman’ label. His band will blow all comers off the stage: anywhere, anytime. </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">----Steve McGowan </span></h2>
<h2><span class="font_regular">Check out this Sterogum article with Bob (especially the Foo Fighters part!): </span></h2>
<h2><a contents="https://www.stereogum.com/2032046/bob-mould-sunshine-rock-daily-show-sugar-husker/franchises/interview/weve-got-a-file-on-you/" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.stereogum.com/2032046/bob-mould-sunshine-rock-daily-show-sugar-husker/franchises/interview/weve-got-a-file-on-you/" style="" target="_blank"><span class="font_regular">https://www.stereogum.com/2032046/bob-mould-sunshine-rock-daily-show-sugar-husker/franchises/interview/weve-got-a-file-on-you/</span></a></h2>
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<p><span class="font_regular"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/f6e7e1123ba5b45f880f519ab222b85a7c94b7ef/original/bob-mould-band.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/56533622019-02-21T12:46:26-05:002021-02-25T11:15:52-05:00What Do You Want?<h2><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/964fda0563b8cbff61a4f65af1fc421c653c4191/original/mercantile.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></h2>
<h2>In reanimating Zub Records, we have re-entered a very different music world than when we wound down in the prior millennium. We are more connected than ever through tools like Facebook and Twitter and this site, but at the same time the monetary side is both scarier (when did prices go up so?) and more exciting because we are able to be in such close touch with you all. So we ask: what do you want? </h2>
<h2>If there is demand, we’ll make stuff you want want with our new logos: Zub Records, The Beef People, and Singles Going Steady Podcast. Cool, locally produced SGS tees are available now in the Zub store. We love making the podcast and are also planning some Zub Records releases and would love for you to help spread the word by..wearing a tee shirt? Cap? Enamel pin on your work shirt? Sipping from a logo mug in the boardroom? You tell us. Sure all the stuff would be cool, but what would you actually buy? </h2>
<h2>The survey is 3 quick questions and there is a place for your comments. It’s on Google Forms at <a contents="tinyurl.com/zubswagsurvey&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/zubswagsurvey" style="" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/zubswagsurvey </a>
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<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/e76f97606efaf1a7a9e78a95fc998f36def3c311/original/merch-x-3.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<h2>Thanks for taking the time...</h2>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/56436662019-02-14T18:26:16-05:002019-02-14T18:31:18-05:00Joe Jackson: Fool and Live in Richmond, VA<h3> </h3>
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<h3><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/e336f639c9692cbeebb932c6fa130b0da0341174/original/fool.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />There are only a handful of bands I really want to see that I'll never see live. XTC, The Jam and The Stranglers come to mind. Joe Jackson has also been on that list. For whatever reasons, I never was able to catch him live. <em>Look Sharp!</em>,<em> I’m The Man</em>, <em>Beat Crazy! </em>and<em> Night and Day</em> are all among my favorite records. With the release of his 20th record, Fool, and celebrating a 40 year long career, I was thrilled when Adrienne scored tickets for his show at The National in Richmond, Virginia. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">A theater build in 1923 and holding about 1500 people, the sold-out venue was the perfect place to see Joe and his amazing band. We had second row floor seats in front of the drummer, and the view and the sound did not disappoint. The conceit of the show was that Joe would concentrate on 4 records from his 40 year career: <em>Look Sharp!, Night and Day, Laughter and Lust, </em>and <em>Fool.</em> </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">Coming on one at at time to a recorded drum pattern, drummer Doug Yowell, bassist Graham Maby, and guitarist Teddy Kumpel joined Joe on keys and vocals for a sober intro of ‘Alchemy,’ from <em>Fool</em>. Half-way in they crashed into ‘One More Time’ and it was on. I cannot overstate how amazing a drummer Doug Yowell was, absolutely crushing every song. Teddy Kumpel was an effective and tasteful guitarist, his leadwork reminiscent of mid period Steely Dan. Original Joe Jackson Band member Graham Maby was and is in the bassist pantheon; the only complaint was his expensive Spector 5-string bass didn’t have enough treble definition. All three provided excellent backing vocals. Joe was in fine voice and his keyboard playing exquisite throughout. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">Early highlights were ‘Big Black Cloud’ and ‘Fabulously Absolute’ from <em>Fool</em>, combined with a beautiful version of ‘Breaking Us In Two’ from <em>Night and Day</em> and an astounding cover of The Beatles’ ‘Rain.’ The middle set consisted of ‘Cancer’ from <em>Night and Day</em>, followed by the amazing ‘Friend Better’ and the supercharged title track from <em>Fool</em>, featuring a sea shanty verse, a tango middle, and a middle eastern dervish riff. It was all that and more and astounding to hear live. This was all followed by a fun ‘Sunday Papers’ where Joe forgot a few lines. The band laughed along with him. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">They wrapped up the show with a mega-medley of Steely Dan’s ‘King Of The World’ into ‘You Can’t Get What You Want (Till You Know What You Want)’ from <em>Body and Soul</em> into ‘Ode To Joy’ from <em>Fast Forward</em> followed by a frenzied ‘I’m The Man.’ The crowd was wild and demanded an encore. Joe didn’t disappoint. There was quite a bit of equipment movement onstage. Teddy gets a keyboard, Graham a glockenspiel, and Joe shows us the 1979 era drum machine he used on ‘Steppin’ Out.’ He explains that they usually deconstruct the old hits but tonight they will try to play it just like the record. The drum machine is hooked up, and we’re off, Doug on snare and cymbal, Teddy on organ, Graham on glock, and Joe on piano. Drums and synth bass come from the box. They play ‘Steppin’ Out,’ a beautiful and evocative song from 1982. I immediately start crying, because it’s just too much, and so beautiful. A raging ‘Got The Time’ follows, and they pick up where they left off with ‘Alchemy,’ band members going off one by one. An amazing band, a masterful show. It was worth the wait, Joe. </span></h3>
<p><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="Pw2OBR8Cls0" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/Pw2OBR8Cls0/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Pw2OBR8Cls0?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
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<h3><span class="font_large">Joe’s new record, <em>Fool</em>, recorded with the above band, is as great and vital a recording as he has made. It is on level with (and probably above) Costello’s current release and critical comeback <em>Look Now</em>. The band is incredible, Joe’s songwriting is diamond sharp and as caustic and funny as ever, and the melodies are impeccable. ‘Fabulously Absolute’ sounds like it could have been on one of his first three records, with a bouncy, sharp new-wave edge. ‘Dave’ is a happy-go-lucky tale of mortality with a great Joe piano riff. The aforementioned title track ‘Fool’ is a true tour-de-force, so much crammed into one song, but it works and works well. ‘32 Kisses’ is a patented Joe Jackson bittersweet love song that sticks in your head. Joe designed this record as an LP, eight songs ,four a side, 20 minutes a side. It works well. This is one of his strongest outings in a long time. He’s found the right band and made the right record. Please check it out. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">And if you get the chance to catch Joe live with this line up, don’t hesitate. Their chemistry is like a true band: a playful, interactive, and sympathetic admixture, reflecting its own alchemy. It was not at all a show by a star and sidemen as is the case with some long-established acts. Wow. Joe remains The Man. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">----Steve McGowan</span></h3>
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<p><span class="font_large"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="75tQdIAIXM8" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/75tQdIAIXM8/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/75tQdIAIXM8?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></span></p>
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<div class="setlistImage" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/joe-jackson/2019/the-national-richmond-va-4b9503d2.html" target="_blank" title="Joe Jackson Setlist The National, Richmond, VA, USA 2019, Four Decade Tour"><img src="https://www.setlist.fm/widgets/setlist-image-v1?id=4b9503d2" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="Joe Jackson Setlist The National, Richmond, VA, USA 2019, Four Decade Tour" style="border: 0;" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.setlist.fm/edit?setlist=4b9503d2&step=song">Edit this setlist</a> | <a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlists/joe-jackson-4bd6b78a.html">More Joe Jackson setlists</a>
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</div>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/56282892019-02-05T08:18:04-05:002019-02-05T08:18:04-05:00Buzzcocks LP Reissues: The Good Stuff<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/5bdbb734d9ab0e73f0f427e16f8c8cd60e812c93/original/buzzcocks-band-reissue.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h3><a contents="http://www.dominorecordco.com/uk/news/24-10-18/buzzcocks-announce-details-of-40th-anniversary-editions-of-another-music-in-a-different-kitchen-and-love-bites/" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.dominorecordco.com/uk/news/24-10-18/buzzcocks-announce-details-of-40th-anniversary-editions-of-another-music-in-a-different-kitchen-and-love-bites/" target="_blank"><span class="font_large">http://www.dominorecordco.com/uk/news/24-10-18/buzzcocks-announce-details-of-40th-anniversary-editions-of-another-music-in-a-different-kitchen-and-love-bites/</span></a></h3>
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<h3><span class="font_large">BUZZCOCKS: THE GOOD STUFF </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">Just received in the mail from Domino Records the new reissues of Buzzcocks first two LP’s, <em>Another Music In A Different Kitchen</em> and <em>Love Bites</em>. These were planned for release before bandleader Pete Shelley sadly passed away in December. The LP’s have the original Malcolm Garrett artwork, an eight-page booklet compiled by Jon Savage (the British music writer famous for England’s Dreaming, an authoritative book about The Sex Pistols), and look and sound terrific. Mine are on black vinyl but there are limited copies available on colored vinyl. Of course, I had to get the CD’s as well. The remaster is from the original ¼-inch tapes and sounds amazing. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">From the first strains of 1978’s <em>Another Music From A Different Kitchen’s </em> ‘Fast Cars’ I remember how much this music means to me. The speedy tempos, the catchy hooks, the underrated rhythm section of Steve Garvey (bass) and John Maher (drums). It’s the perfect pop-punk blueprint. “No Reply’ whips along and has an honest-to-goodness guitar solo. It’s a typical Shelley rant, pleading and pissed off that he’s getting no communication. ‘You Tear Me Up’ is a bitter, whiplash kiss-off to a lover, and the act of love-making: </span></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><em><span class="font_large">Something about the way you drool and kiss </span></em></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large"><em>Makes love, seem nothing like this</em> </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">‘Get On Our Own’ runs through the same themes as Brian Wilson’s’;‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice,’ with some oohs and aahs in the background. Maher’s drumming is everywhere, and there is a concise guitar solo with the ‘Boredom’ motif in the middle. ‘Love Battery’ has one of those classic chord progressions. It’s a song my bands have covered many times, mining the lyrical themes of ‘Orgasm Addict.’ “Sixteen’ is the first song so far that breaks three minutes. Steve Diggle (guitar) and Shelley (guitar, vocal) plow through a two chord riff like their lives depended on it. Again there are a couple of tightly wound solos on the track before it breaks down into some backwards effects (thanks to producer Martin Rushent). Then it blasts back off into the riff and Shelly declaring: </span></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><em><span class="font_large">And I hate modern music </span></em></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><em><span class="font_large">Disco, boogie, and pop </span></em></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><em><span class="font_large">They go on and on and on and on and on and on and on </span></em></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><em><span class="font_large">How I wish they would stop </span></em></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">‘I Don’t Mind’ is one of the classic Buzzcocks singles. Catchy as hell, backing “football terrace chant” vocals, upbeat, fast, punchy, catchy. Beatles on 45 rpm. “Fiction Romance’ is a quintessential Pete Shelley song, setting romance truly as fiction: </span></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><em><span class="font_large">A fiction romance </span></em></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><em><span class="font_large">The love of the ages </span></em></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><em><span class="font_large">That never seems to matter in my life </span></em></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><em><span class="font_large">A fiction romance </span></em></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><em><span class="font_large">On magazine pages </span></em></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><em><span class="font_large">That never seems to feature in my life </span></em></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">It’s a timeless and wonderful song, plus well over 4 minutes long! ‘Autonomy’ features Diggle getting some of the singing in, a song with a descending circular riff. A bit slower than the other songs but strangely satisfying. ‘I Need’ is another Shelly-makes-a-list song (of the things he needs): </span></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><em><span class="font_large">(I need) Sex / (I need) Love / (I need) Drink / (I need) Drugs / ( I Need )Food / </span></em></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><em><span class="font_large">(I Need) Cash / (I Need) </span></em></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><em><span class="font_large">You to love me back </span></em></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">Ii’s fast and vaguely Ramones-like, and rips along with a chorsed bass solo(!) by Garvey. Album closer ‘Moving Away From The Pulsebeat’ is an art-school special, clocking in at OVER seven minutes, featuring double-tracked drumkits (thanks again, Martin Rushent) in a mutated version of the Bo Diddley beat, with plenty of single note soloing from Shelley, fading out and then a snippet of ‘Boredom’ is played, followed by the ‘Pulsebeat’ sound. It’s an LP ending that would make George Martin proud. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">Buzzcocks’ second LP, <em>Love Bites </em>was recorded and released six months later in 1978, again produced by Martin Rushent and recorded at Olympic Studios in London. From the beginning scrapes of ‘Real World’ to the infectious bass and drum riff, you know you’re in for a treat. Shelley and company are back with a purpose, and begins the best six songs in a row I’ve heard on an LP. Second up is the epochal ‘Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)’, THE classic Buzzcocks single. The riff, the hook, the lyrics, the clever breakdown, the backing vocals, it’s all there. Pop perfection in two minutes and forty-two seconds. Third’ is ‘Operator’s Manual’, with it’s buzzsaw guitar attack: </span></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><em><span class="font_large">Operators manual / Tells me what to do </span></em></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><em><span class="font_large">When emotions blow a fuse /Indicating blue </span></em></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><em><span class="font_large">Operators manual / Tells me what to find </span></em></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><em><span class="font_large">And how to make adjustments / When you tamper with my mind </span></em></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><em><span class="font_large">Oh, operators manual /I'd just fall apart without you </span></em></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><em><span class="font_large">If only I had a mechanic / Then somehow I know I'd pull through </span></em></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">Fourth is ‘Nostalgia (For An Age Yet To Come)’ which is one of Shelley’s cleverest lyrics: </span></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><em><span class="font_large">About the future I only can reminisce </span></em></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><em><span class="font_large">For what I've had is what I'll never get </span></em></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><em><span class="font_large">And although this may sound strange </span></em></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><em><span class="font_large">My future and my past are presently disarranged </span></em></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><em><span class="font_large">And I'm surfing on a wave of nostalgia for an age yet to come </span></em></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">Of course this is all wrapped up in a super catchy pop confection. Fifth is ‘Just Lust’ a dark and meditative paen to … well, you know. Has a great negative sounding riff break that fits the lyrics perfectly. Also has a spot on guitar solo, you could tell Kurt Cobain listened to this … a LOT. ‘Sixteen Again’ carries the theme from ‘Sixteen’ on Another Music In A Different Kitchen. Almost a surf-type riff opens it up, full of their patented super-pop, it’s a wonderful tune. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">Next up is ‘Walking Distance,’ a powerful, drum filled instrumental. Again the rhythm section shines. The Buzzcocks had an amazing rhythm ‘engine room’ with Garvey and Maher. ‘Love Is Lies’ gives Steve Diggle a song to sing, and features acoustic(!) guitar. His deeper voice is a good counterbalance to Shelley’s Mancunian whine, and it’s a solid song. ‘Nothing Left’ is a bit of an epic (4:28): </span></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><em><span class="font_large">Did you love me? / I'd like to think so </span></em></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><em><span class="font_large">But I was blameless / So why did you go? </span></em></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><em><span class="font_large">'Cause I've nothing left at all / At all, at all, at all, at all, at all, at all, at all </span></em></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><em><span class="font_large">I've nothing left at all </span></em></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><em><span class="font_large">I've lost a lover /And I am certain </span></em></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><em><span class="font_large">I'll get another /So why'm I hurtin'? </span></em></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">This one lumbers along, with an ‘outside’ guitar solo, breaks down (a little bit quieter now) then builds back up (a little bit louder now) to a crescendo. ‘E.S.P.’ runs it’s little three-note riff into the ground, as Shelley and company pick up on some Can influences, chords moving behind the riff. It’s really a bit hypnotic and almost hits the five minute mark, mostly because they wanted to set a record for the slowest fade-out on record. Having done that, it then becomes the slowest fake-out, as the song comes blasting back up after the fade. Clever Trevors. LP closer ‘Late for The Train’ is another extended art-school special (notice a pattern here), with the double-tracked drums giving a rapid double kick sound, lots of backing vocals, backwards effects, and studio mastery courtesy Mr. Rushent. It’s like if ‘Taxman’ went punk, with no vocals. This track would make a great movie soundtrack. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">Well, there they are. Two reissues of records that mean the world for me. I’ve never outgrown them. I took my punk songwriting style from them. I believe Pete Shelley to be one of the more gifted and lyrically amazing songwriters ever. I believe the rhythm section is what rock is about. I believe Steve Diggle to be a great rhythm guitarist and strong songwriter on his own. I believe Martin Rushent was one of the truly great record producers. I believe so much would not have happened, from Naked Raygun to Soup Dragons to Nirvana and especially Green Day, without the Buzzcocks. I believe in Buzzcocks. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">-Steve McGowan</span></h3>
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<p><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/fd37c4ac4f1fc8d5e23380efa64fd64e0737c94e/original/another-music-reissue.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_left border_" /></span><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/0265d5daaa0d6906ae82b4e9d2824ea0910baabe/original/love-bites-reissue.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_right border_" /></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/56143452019-01-26T20:17:25-05:002020-01-22T22:16:10-05:00Revisiting Yellow Submarine by The Beatles<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/87ea6e44621f570ea1d52de63094b71519bf8b79/original/yellow-submarine.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h3><span class="font_large">This blog is about The Beatles’ <em>Yellow Submarine </em>movie soundtrack, released in 1969. It is informed by a <em>Daily Beast </em>article by the excellent writer Colin Fleming. Check it out </span></h3>
<h3><a contents="https://www.thedailybeast.com/when-the-beatles-let-their-freak-flag-fly&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/when-the-beatles-let-their-freak-flag-fly" style="" target="_blank"><span style="color:#2980b9;"><span class="font_large">https://www.thedailybeast.com/when-the-beatles-let-their-freak-flag-fly </span></span></a></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">What I get from the article is an appreciation for The Beatles more ‘out-there’ music, and a love for the song ‘Hey Bulldog’ in particular with a great appreciation for George Martin’s orchestrated soundtrack on side B of the LP. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">This all ties in with an excellent book I’ve been reading: </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large"><em>Sound Pictures: The Life Of Beatles Producer George Martin - The Later Years 1966-2016 </em> by Kenneth Womack. Here is the Goodreads link: </span></h3>
<h3><a contents="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38921047-sound-pictures?ac=1&amp;from_search=true&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38921047-sound-pictures?ac=1&from_search=true" style="" target="_blank"><span style="color:#2980b9;"><span class="font_large">https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38921047-sound-pictures?ac=1&from_search=true </span></span></a></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">There are six Beatles songs on side A of <em>Yellow Submarine</em>. Fleming claims these songs alone would be one of the greatest EP’s ever made, but I think he is blinded by the excellence of ‘Hey Bulldog.’ I hear two gems and basically middling to less quality Beatles material. Let’s look at each song in order. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">‘Yellow Submarine’ - A song written for Ringo, recorded at EMI studios (Abbey Road) on a night when when George Martin was off, so the boys went crazy while the headmaster was away. The horns are taken and spliced in from from a BBC record. Everyone (The Beatles, their roadies, and their pals) got in on the sound effects. Was included on the US and UK versions of <em>Revolver</em>. It was also a double ‘A’ side single with ‘Eleanor Rigby’ released in 1966, so to the Beatles this track was considered an ‘oldie.’ </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">‘Only A Northern Song’ - Originally recorded early on for <em>Sgt Pepper’s</em>, considered by George Martin to be underwhelming, and put on the pile for the <em>Yellow Submarine </em>reject songs. Definitely a cast-off. The Womack book shows what The Beatles really thought of the <em>Yellow Submarine</em> project: </span></h3>
<ul> <li> <h3><span class="font_large">(George Martin) “I suggested that he (Harrison) come up with something a bit better.” </span></h3> </li> <li> <h3><span class="font_large">The Beatles openly displayed their disdain for the feature-length cartoon, deliberately planning to commit their weakest songs to fulfill the four tracks that they were contractually obligated to deliver for the soundtrack. As George (Martin) later recalled, “If they had and rubbish, as they considered it, at the end of the session, that would be one of the songs. There used to be a standing joke: ‘Ah, good enough for <em>Yellow Submarine </em>...let them have that one.’” </span></h3> </li>
</ul>
<h3><span class="font_large">‘All Together Now’ - A McCartney penned children’s song, The Beatles at their most simplistic and elemental in their modern era. Uke, acoustic guitar, harmonicas and lots of backing singers. This song was also recorded when Martin was on holiday, listing Geoff Emerick as both producer and engineer. From Fleming’s article: </span></h3>
<ul> <li> <h3><span class="font_large">Even when McCartney did what could have been dross, he remained one of our peerless melodists. He could out-melody you, and that’s really where he separates himself from every other rock composer. That is the home ballpark, you might say, in which McCartney was unbeatable. </span></h3> </li>
</ul>
<h3><span class="font_large">‘Hey Bulldog’ - John Lennon rips this slice of psych-pop, the true gem of the rock tracks on this record. McCartney’s bass is completely off the charts, played high up on the neck, fluid and melodic with many notes. As for the guitar solo, check out the ‘White Pedal’ if you guitarists want to get the exact emulation of the 100 watt Vox transistor amps The Beatles were using. It even has a ‘Yoko ’knob! </span></h3>
<h3><a contents="https://reverb.com/p/jext-telez-white-pedal-2017&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://reverb.com/p/jext-telez-white-pedal-2017" style="" target="_blank"><span style="color:#2980b9;"><span class="font_large">https://reverb.com/p/jext-telez-white-pedal-2017 </span></span></a></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">The track turns into sheer madness at the end with the dog barking and screaming.This is a song I’ve covered many times, It echoes Pink Floyd’s ‘Lucifer Sam.’ </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">Recorded with the basic tracks Lennon’s piano, McCartney on tambourine, Starr on drums, and Harrison on electric rhythm guitar, Paul’s fantastic bass, more guitars and vocals were quickly overdubbed, as well as a searing solo courtesy of Lennon on Harrison’s Gibson SG Standard guitar. This is the sound of The Beatles rocking out without any strings, arrangements, backwards effects, or seagull noises. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">‘It’s All Too Much’ - A much better Harrison tune, still not deemed worthy for release on a ‘proper’ Beatles LP . Obviously influenced by Hendrix, the track is offset by a clever George Martin horn arrangement. Track was started at De Lane Lea studios so EMI man (engineer) Geoff Emerick could not attend the sessions. He busied himself engineering <em>Odessey And Oracle</em> by the Zombies at EMI (Abbey Road). The horn players were not given an arrangement and had to learn on the fly. Session brass player David Mason (heard on ‘Penny Lane’) from Womack’s book: </span></h3>
<ul> <li> <h3><span class="font_large">... lifted a section of baroque composer Jeremiah Clark’s <em>Prince Of Denmark’s March </em>(commonly known as the <em>Trumpet Voluntary</em>) , which afforded Harrison’s composition with a robust flavor of Englishness. </span></h3> </li>
</ul>
<h3><span class="font_large">‘All You Need Is Love’ - Recorded and written for the international <em>Our World</em> TV broadcast, this is Lennon at his peacenik finest, absolutely shined up into a diamond by Martin’s sting and horn arrangements. A true Beatles classic. Supposedly recorded ‘live,’ but…(from Womack’s book) </span></h3>
<ul> <li> <h3><span class="font_large">“I was still worried about the idea of going out totally live,” George Martin later wrote. “So I told the boys ‘We’re going to hedge our bets. This is how we’ll do it.I’ll have a four-track machine standing by, and when we go on the air I’ll play you the rhythm track, which you’ll pretend to be playing. But your voices and the orchestra will really be live and we’ll mix the whole thing together and transmit it to the waiting world like that.’” </span></h3> </li>
</ul>
<h3><span class="font_large">So there it is, in my estimation, two great songs, ‘Hey Bulldog’ and ‘All You Need Is Love,’ and a couple okay ones, ‘Yellow Submarine,’ and ‘All Together Now’ held down by the two boat-anchor Harrison ‘tunes.’ I think The Beatles succeeded in their goal of making this side their dustbin of material. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">Now, side B of <em>Yellow Submarine</em> features George Martin’s orchestral score for the film. This is where the 14-year old me found the gateway, the entry point for classical music. Silly as it may sound, it was my first appreciation of classical as ‘real’ music. Womack’s book deals briefly with the history of EMI (Abbey Road) Studios and their rich marriage with the best of the English classics, something George Martin was keenly aware of: </span></h3>
<ul> <li> <h3><span class="font_large">Studio 1 had opened during a gala November 1931 ceremony hosted by Sir Adrian Boult, the very same maestro who would blow fifteen-year old George Martin away with the BBC Symphony Orchestra’s rendition of Debussy’s <em>Prelude a l’apres-midi d’un faune </em>at the Bromley County School in 1941. EMI Studios required nearly two years of construction, and the November 1931 event featured Sir Edward Elgar conducting the London Symphony Orchestra’s performance of his own <em>Hope and Glory</em>- including the famous <em>Pomp and Circumstance </em>march, before which Sir Edward joked to the musicians that they should “play this tune as if you’ve never heard it before.” </span></h3> </li>
</ul>
<h3><span class="font_large">As we did with side A, lets go over the seven pieces of music Martin provided for the soundtrack, recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra, in order. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">‘Pepperland’ - So breezy, with a string section breakdown, harp, and an arrangement. that just slides along and sounds like classic movie music. Fleming says in his article: </span></h3>
<ul> <li> <h3><span class="font_large"><a contents="The “Pepperland” theme" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXTKH1Pti34" style="" target="_blank"><span style="color:#2980b9;">The “Pepperland” theme</span></a><span style="color:#2980b9;"> </span>is as memorable as any in 1960s cinema. Good old George hit upon a big-time melodic refrain there. It’s pure movie soundtrack heaven. </span></h3> </li>
</ul>
<h3><span class="font_large">And Womack goes in some detail in his book about George Martin’s influences: </span></h3>
<ul> <li> <h3><span class="font_large">In spite of the fact that scoring the animated feature was a work for hire as far as George was concerned, he pointedly drew his inspiration from Maurice Ravel, “the musician I admire most,” he later wrote. While his youth had been characterized by his early love for Claude Debussy, Martin had cleaved ever closer to Ravel throughout his Guildhall days and beyond. For Martin Ravel “was one of the greatest orchestrators of all time.” In many ways, Martin’s score for Yellow Submarine acted as a long-playing form of homage to Ravel, whose influences can be heard in the nooks and crannies of the film’s incidental music. “ </span></h3> </li>
</ul>
<h3><span class="font_large">‘Sea Of Time’ - Full of clever references to Within You, Without You’ and using some Indian instrumentation, George reportedly had a devil of a time getting the British classical chaps to play the sliding raga string parts. The song devolves into a Mary Poppins like breakdown before breaking into a lovely waltz. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">‘Sea Of Holes’ - Has an ‘Underwater’ feel and backwards effects, something you don’t normally (ever) hear on classical recordings. Has the spidery marimba sounds and tugboat brass, and a little bit of tape echo. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">‘Sea Of Monsters’ - Ominous yet happy, trilling flutes dueling with moaning cellos, then coming back to the ‘Pepperland’ motif, then to what sounds like an Elgar march, into a crazy western theme. Wild backwards effects end it out. There’s also a sly reference to J.S.Bach’s <em>Air on the G String.</em> </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">‘March Of The Meanies’ - A taut, high strung march theme, with surging strings and horns, very evocative and ...cinematic? </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">‘Pepperland Laid Waste’ - Sad and dreamy strings that explodes into a staccato Bernard Hermann - Hitchcockian type thing. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">‘Yellow Submarine In Pepperland’ - Uses the ‘Yellow Submarine’ song in a number of ways. Martin really knew what he was doing.- a pretty upbeat and glorious ending. Here’s how Fleming describes the score in his article: </span></h3>
<ul> <li> <h3><span class="font_large">Martin’s orchestral numbers on <em>Yellow Submarine</em> always suggest to me a strobe light with its power failing and a shirt draped over it, this anglerfish flickering in the dark. I find it comforting. The Beatles, of course, never granted him the opportunity anywhere else to write like this. I hear a man enjoying himself. </span></h3> </li>
</ul>
<h3><span class="font_large">There we have it, one of the oddest releases in The Beatles catalog, two decent rock songs and a way forward in classical orchestrations. I now own recordings by Debussey, Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner, Charles Ives, etc. It’s all because of you, George Martin. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">--Steve McGowan</span></h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/56093042019-01-23T16:41:17-05:002019-01-26T15:01:12-05:00They Shall Not Grow Old : THE Documentary of The Great War<h3><span class="font_large">The print Zub Alert served a community ‘zine for us, Adrienne and Steve, to share our enthusiasms for our pop culture discoveries in the old media world. We will continue in that spirit to share our thoughts and experiences for things we think are worth your time and attention. When we see something we like, we’ll say something, even when there is not a clear relation to music. This essay is an example of that broader embrace. </span></h3>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/d56dc2b7bfa8dc973ea1149cfeb92eb6fbcab7d0/original/poppies.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><strong><span class="font_xl">They Shall Not Grow Old: THE Documentary of the Great War</span><span class="font_large"> </span></strong></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">It’s not often that I go see a movie in the theater, or can honestly tell you it was a privilege to see a movie, or see a film that made me silently (and openly) weep on multiple occasions. I am, of course, discussing <em>They Shall Not Grow Old</em>, the breathtaking World War I documentary directed by Peter Jackson, the New Zealander responsible for <em>The Lord Of The Rings </em>movies. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">I’m not sure if the correct word for what Jackson has done with this film is directed or perhaps assembled. Under the auspices of the British Imperial War Museum, he was tasked to make a film using the hundreds of hours of celluloid shot of British troops during the war. The idea was to have a movie for the Armistice Day centennial (100 years from the 11th hour of the 11th Day of the 11th month, 1918). </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">Jackson spent four years compiling this movie, and it shows. This is not a Ken Burns style documentary. There are no narrators or historians, and the strategy and tactics of the war are not discussed. The only voices heard are from hundreds of hours of interviews the BBC conducted with British World War I vets. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">So the story is really about the individual British soldier and his experiences during the war. The outbreak of war, chaps signing up, and basic training in The British Army are all shown in black and white. It was astounding to hear how many underage soldiers signed up, just teenagers. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">When the soldiers disembark in France, there is a WOW moment to top all cinematic wow moments.The footage turns full color and pristine, a la <em>Wizard Of Oz</em>. All of a sudden it practically looks like a modern war movie, such as <em>Dunkirk</em>. They then move to the front and the trenches and everyday life is discussed in detail, from horrible food to even worse latrines, trench foot, lice, rats, and the ever-raining artillery and gas attacks. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">Finally the soldiers, with the help of new-fangled Tanks (soldiers thought they were water tanks!) prepare to go over the top of the trenches and attack. This is a truly horrifying part of the film, with the carnage reaching maximum levels. Jackson does not flinch in showing the dead, blown-up, or rotting bodies. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">There are a few segments where the soldiers talk about their German counterparts, quickly realizing they were much the same. Hungry, cold, frightened, underage and not wanting to be there. The captured German soldiers appear happy to be out of the trenches and help their British enemies. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">Without much explaining, the war is over and the troops all think what now? Many of them have known nothing but war. The ending of the movie deals with the vets coming home to a depressed Britain, with no jobs and no prospects. The vets realize no one can understand truly what they went through. They all seem to realize the futility of the whole war. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">Over a million British men died fighting World War I. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large"><em>They Shall not Grow Old </em>ends with a short how-this-was-made documentary narrated by Peter Jackson. He obviously used the tricks from the <em>Lord Of The Rings</em> movies to clean up the footage. Got it running a the right speed, colorized, and used voice overs to give the soldiers in the clips voices, many of which are “We’re in the pictures!” </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">There has been some dispute among critics that Jackson may have gone too far in his film restoration. I will link to a couple of articles: </span></h3>
<h3><a contents="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/peter-jacksons-new-documentary-isnt-perfect-but-its-implications-are-immense/2019/01/18/e9956baa-19cf-11e9-9ebf-c5fed1b7a081_story.html?noredirect=on&amp;utm_term=.5d4f91a3b0e1&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/peter-jacksons-new-documentary-isnt-perfect-but-its-implications-are-immense/2019/01/18/e9956baa-19cf-11e9-9ebf-c5fed1b7a081_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.5d4f91a3b0e1" target="_blank"><span class="font_large">https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/peter-jacksons-new-documentary-isnt-perfect-but-its-implications-are-immense/2019/01/18/e9956baa-19cf-11e9-9ebf-c5fed1b7a081_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.5d4f91a3b0e1 </span></a></h3>
<h3><a contents="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/a-few-thoughts-on-the-authenticity-of-peter-jacksons-they-shall-not-grow-old&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/a-few-thoughts-on-the-authenticity-of-peter-jacksons-they-shall-not-grow-old" target="_blank"><span class="font_large">https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/a-few-thoughts-on-the-authenticity-of-peter-jacksons-they-shall-not-grow-old </span></a></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">There is a lot of critical blah-blah, but both authors agree that this is the greatest documentary ever made on World War I. I say if it brings new eyes on this fast-fading conflict, the “War to End All Wars,” then Jackson has a smash success on his hands. You MUST see this movie. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">--Steve McGowan </span></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">From <em>For The Fallen</em> by Laurence Binyon </span></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: </span></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. </span></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">At the going down of the sun and in the morning </span></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_large">We will remember them.</span></h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/56034132019-01-19T12:58:15-05:002019-01-19T13:47:25-05:00Stellar Playlists! And the winner is...<h2><span class="font_large"><strong>Stellar Playlists! And the winner is...</strong></span></h2>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/1aefab064b88f786af4f75eef4675e123ca1ea40/original/space-winner.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Thanks to all of you who entered the Space Song Playlist Contest and took up the challenge of selecting 5 songs with a space theme of your own device. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">One thing is clear: the Only Ones “Another Girl, Another Planet” is a Zubland favorite. A playlist of that song repeating 5 times would have be the head-and-shoulders winner of any Zub community poll. Oh, that sounds FUN. BRB! </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">First things relatively first: What was the sub theme of A’s Playlist?</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/2ca381b479ae8e820a1a6b8afa9a7d522e88c803/original/orrery.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></span></strong></p>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Orrery</h2>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>A MUSICAL ORRERY: OUR SOLAR SYSTEM </strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Orreries are the coolest things! Models of the solar system turning on differing gears to emulate the varied orbits. LOVE. Surely a model could be built of lyrical references, a musical orrery. So songs were selected because of lyrical content that mentioned the major objects in orbit in the solar system that we live in. Don’t @ us about Pluto being a dog in the Sparks song and Neptune’s daughter being the mention in the Pixies song. A gal’s got obfuscate the theme a little for a bit of a challenge! So here are the songs with the titular or lyrical connection that provide a roadmap from the Sun to the edges of our system. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Sun:</strong> Solar Sister/Posies </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Mercury:</strong> Riding on A Rocket/Shonen Knife (ithe lyrics also give a nice overview of the Solar System) </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Venus:</strong> Hey, Venus/That Petrol Emotion </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Earth:</strong> Planet Earth/Devo </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><em>And orbiting Earth… </em></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Earth orbiting satellites:</strong> Another Satellite/XTC </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Moon/Van Allen Belt: </strong>There’s A Moon In The Sky (Called the Moon)/B-52’s </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Mars:</strong> Life on Mars/Bowie </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Jupiter:</strong> Symphony 41 (Jupiter Symphony)/Mozart </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Saturn:</strong> Saturn Boy/Helium Kidz </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Uranus: </strong>Intergalactic/Beasties </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Neptune:</strong> Mr. Grieves/Pixies </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Pluto: </strong>Angst in My Pants/Sparks (well, before 2006, officially) </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Deep space objects: </strong>Out of Limits/Marketts &/or Ventures </span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span class="font_large">Oh, and: </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>My-Very-Educated-Mother-Just-Served-Us-Nine-Pizzas = </strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Mercury-Venus-Earth-Mars-Jupiter-Saturn-Uranus-Neptune-Pluto</strong></span></p>
<p> </p>
<h4><span class="font_large"><em><span style="font-size: 1.4em;">But you came here for an announcement of another kind. </span></em></span></h4>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size: 1.4em;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/e5eab89a0f1e3b7b3c5c4bf94b5fc04c43216516/original/medals.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></span></p>
<h2><strong><span class="font_large">The winner of the Space Song Playlist Contest is: </span></strong></h2>
<ul> <li><strong><span class="font_large">CHUCK MIMS </span></strong></li>
</ul>
<p><span class="font_large">We love Chuck’s acknowledgement of the king of space music, Sun Ra, with a witty choice of NRBQ’s cover. And who can take a trip to space without a ride on the Mothership? Funkadelic is inspired. Lou, Stones give a nice, classic tone. And the Only Ones will provide the planetary anthem for Earthlings in their future interplanetary travels. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Please display your 3 Zub stickers with pride! </span></p>
<h4><strong><span class="font_large">Sonic Space Force Silver Star for Distinguished Service to Ears </span></strong></h4>
<ul> <li><strong><span class="font_large">Tie: FITZ HAMRICK AND RANDALL COX </span></strong></li>
</ul>
<p><span class="font_large">We love Fitz’s decade and genre spanning tight set, and the bonus is a nice touch. It reflects the varied nature of the universe itself, so well played. Randall’s playlist is MOOD supreme, and puts us in mind of the melancholy space movies of the 70’s, like THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH and SILENT RUNNING and the strong inner-demon, inner-space lyrical themes show the space between our ears is really the ultimate terra incognita. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">How could we pick one over the other? We didn’t. 2 stickers each for meritorious and distinguished space playlisting. </span></p>
<p> </p>
<h2><strong><span class="font_large">Special Distinctions (1 sticker each) </span></strong></h2>
<ul> <li> <h4><span class="font_large">The J.D. PowerPop Star Cluster For Distinguished Service to PowerPop </span></h4> </li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-size: 16.8px;">For excellence in theme blogging</span></p>
<ul> <li><strong><span class="font_large">The PowerPopulist Blog <a contents="(link)" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://powerpopulist.blogspot.com/2019/01/spaced-based-powerpop-playlist.html#links">(link)</a></span></strong></li>
</ul>
<p><span class="font_large">It is especially important in these days when we spend so much time indoors in the Northern Hemisphere, that you supplement your PowerPop diet to maintain your USDA recommended levels of personal Pop. Frequent visits to the PowerPopulist will keep your PowerPop levels HIGH and humming. </span></p>
<ul> <li> <h4><span class="font_large">The Baker’s Half Dozen Gold Star for Extra Effort and Stellar Documentation </span></h4> </li>
</ul>
<p><span class="font_large">For showing there’s no limit on space, but there are citations </span></p>
<ul> <li><strong><span class="font_large">Indigo Skye </span></strong></li> <li> <h4><span class="font_large">The Intergalactic Intergenerational Quartet Commendation </span></h4> </li>
</ul>
<p><span class="font_large">For group effort by relatives that still yielded only 4 songs </span></p>
<ul> <li><strong><span class="font_large">Marsha and Jessica Meddock </span></strong></li> <li> <h4><span class="font_large">The Sportsmanship Athletic Cup </span></h4> </li>
</ul>
<p><span class="font_large">For loving the game but seeking no prize </span></p>
<ul> <li><strong><span class="font_large">Jackson Bly </span></strong></li> <li> <h4><span class="font_large">The Distinguished Jan Terri Content Cross </span></h4> </li>
</ul>
<p><span class="font_large">For maximizing content featuring Jan Terri </span></p>
<ul> <li><strong><span class="font_large">Rebekah Radisch </span></strong></li> <li> <h4><span class="font_large">The Kent Brockman “Welcome Our Alien Overlords” Medal </span></h4> </li>
</ul>
<p><span class="font_large">For a sensitive and multilingual acknowledgement of our companions in space. </span></p>
<ul> <li><strong><span class="font_large">Zack Bly </span></strong></li>
</ul>
<p><em><span class="font_large">So send us a note at zubrecordsltdco@gmail.com and let us know where to send those cool stickers! Send a pic of where you stick ‘em! Please--where the sun shines. </span></em></p>
<h3> </h3>
<p> </p>
<h3><span class="font_large"><strong>ENTRIES (unranked) </strong></span></h3>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Zack Bly </strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">(1) Praying to the Aliens - Gary Numan / Tubeway Army </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">(2) Calling Occupants - Klaatu </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">(3) Flying Saucer Attack - The Rezillos </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">(4) Subterranean Homesick Alien - Radiohead </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">(5) El U.F.O. Man - Jonathan Richman </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Rebekah Radisch </strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Jan Terri—Beam Me Up Scotty </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Jan Terri—Journey To Mars </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Peter Schilling—Major Tom </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Nena—99 Luftballoons </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Records—Starry Eyes </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Jackson Bly </strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Space Oddity - Bowie </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Space Junk - Devo </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Starship - Jefferson Starship </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Supersonic Rocket Ship - Kinks </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Walking on the Moon - The Police </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Randall Cox </strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">SPACE COWBOY-Kacey Musgraves </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">LADIES AND GENTLEMEN WE ARE FLOATING IN SPACE-Spiritualized </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">OUTER SPACE-Danny Brown </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">? ALL THE WAY DOWN-Sturgill Simpson </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">THE SPACE RACE IS OVER-Billy Bragg </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Indigo Skye</strong> </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Florence and the machine - Cosmic Love </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">https://www.discogs.com/Florence-The.../release/12798412 </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">The Shins - A Comet Appears </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">https://www.discogs.com/.../d7ab9fd6-7f94-4d4a-ac98... </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Lemon Jelly - Space Walk </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">https://www.discogs.com/Lemon-Jelly-Space.../release/130809 </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">The World of Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, Volume 2: Songs from the Radio Ballads, released in 1971 on Argo Records. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Space Girl’s Song </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Eliza Charly Space Girl </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">https://mainlynorfolk.info/shirley.../songs/spacegirl.html </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">The Only Ones - Another Girl Another Planet </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Another_Girl,_Another_Planet </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Fitz Hamrick </strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Hum - Stars </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Aimee Mann - Lost in Space </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">B52's - There's a Moon In the Sky (called the moon) </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">They Might Be Giants - The Ballad of Davy Crocket (In Outer Space) </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Pink Floyd - Astronomy Domine </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Bonus Track (zub!) - Radiohead - Subterranean Homesick Alien </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Chuck Mims </strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Stones - 2,000 Light Years From Home </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Only Ones - Another Girl, Another Planet </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Lou Reed - Satellite Of Love </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Funkadelic - Cosmic Slop </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">NRBQ - Rocket # 9 ( Sun Ra Cover ) </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Marsha Meddock & Jess Windance Meddock </strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">"Space Cowboy" by Steve Miller band </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">"Space Oddity" by David Bowie </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">"The Second Man to Walk on the Moon" by Plastic Operator. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Moonage Daydream Bowie </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>PowerPopulist </strong></span></p>
<p>And NOW, for our listening pleasure: A Crowd-Sourced Space Songs Playlist, so we are all winners (dodges thrown veggies and fruits). </p>
<p>(iNSERT sPOTIFY PLAYLIST)</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p><span class="font_large"><a contents="link" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://powerpopulist.blogspot.com/2019/01/spaced-based-powerpop-playlist.html#links"><strong>link</strong></a></span></p>
<p> </p>
<iframe src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/user/wxjxjvfuasnmwaql8m0m548m4/playlist/0P9CzWet05IiZTAnSSANBE" width="300" height="380" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/55999332019-01-17T10:27:25-05:002019-01-17T10:33:50-05:00Songs That Shaped Punk Rock<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/bddfa8ac72ec52cf48b28355cf0745cf0b3b8714/original/louie-louie.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsInNtYWxsIl1d.jpg" class="size_s justify_left border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/8ad838bc8fe5cba15440b8a350f135f61e9a1e52/original/house-of-the-rising-sun.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsInNtYWxsIl1d.jpg" class="size_s justify_left border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/fc4801b61542fbba01ab4b6e3c58d92d15d9f9ca/original/wild-thing.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsInNtYWxsIl1d.jpg" class="size_s justify_left border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/a46e51f379b5854622706786ef593effb10a0d12/original/surfin-bird.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsInNtYWxsIl1d.jpg" class="size_s justify_left border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/13d010c482645808127f1493a2fd4fc6715106c3/original/steppin-stone.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsInNtYWxsIl1d.jpg" class="size_s justify_left border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/9c353f9cca9df71c04ff1f87c48050841a23649f/original/1969.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsInNtYWxsIl1d.jpg" class="size_s justify_left border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
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<h3><span class="font_large"><a contents="https://consequenceofsound.net/2018/01/the-50-albums-that-shaped-punk-rock/" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://consequenceofsound.net/2018/01/the-50-albums-that-shaped-punk-rock/" target="_blank">https://consequenceofsound.net/2018/01/the-50-albums-that-shaped-punk-rock/</a></span></h3>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<h3><span class="font_large">So, I recently read a great article on the Consequence Of Sound Website about “The 50 Albums That Shaped Punk Rock.” The article actually listed many <em>punk</em> bands as influencing punk, which is interesting. This got me thinking about individual SONGS that truly influenced punk. I’d like to present a few in the context of my own band, The Beef People, and other bands from the true punk and hardcore scenes. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">My own story in starting a band began around 1981. I was at Furman University in Greenville, SC and completely clueless about my future plans. My track at college was something vague, like History, English, or (God forbid) law school. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">So I decided to start a band. Could I play guitar? Hell no. Sing? Not well. Write songs? Erm. From this my own punk rock/DIY experience began. I latched on with my High School pal Sven, who was light years ahead of me on the guitar, and I started to practice. No lessons, learning everything the hard way and doing things (guitar fingering and technique) as wrong as possible, but still I persevered. It took me almost a year to properly play a bar chord, and from then on that key opened the lock to punk rock. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">In my estimation, the ultimate punk rock precursor is The Kingsmen and ‘Louie, Louie.’ It is three chords, literally thrashes along, you can sing any lyrics you want to it because the original is indecipherable, and it’s everybody’s first song they play when they’ve learned bar chords on the guitar. The early Beef People played it, Black Flag released it as a single, Motorhead did it, and it was a staple of Iggy Pop’s live set for decades. Need I say more? </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">Another song we played was The Animals’ version of the blues chestnut ‘The House Of The Rising Sun.’ Sounded great with a cheap Vox guitar (Like I had) and Russ Morin playing organ. ‘Wild Thing’ by the Troggs was another super-easy punk chestnut, and I’m not talking the guitar heroics-of-Hendrix version. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">A lot of the American punk groups looked back to 60’s ‘Garage’ punk and surf music. The Ramones made a thrash of ‘Surfin’ Bird’ by The Trashmen - it was perfect for their slightly stoopid image. They also did The Rivieras ‘California Sun,’ a bit incongruous for four bruddas from Queens. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">The Dead Kennedys did a magnificent surf-inspired cover of Elvis (Presley’s) ‘Viva Las Vegas with some additional twisted lyrics. Washington DC’s Minor Threat did a light speed version of The Monkees' ‘Steppin’ Stone.’ The Patti Smith Group made their name on her inspired take of Them’s ‘Gloria’ - adding the intro “Jesus died for somebody’s sins but not mine.” Devo, arguably more performance art than punk, had a field day with The Rolling Stones’ ‘Satisfaction,’ pulling it apart and removing all the recognizable bits. Even the American country canon was fodder for some punks, with Johnny Cash’s ‘Ring Of Fire’ remade by both Wall Of Voodoo and Social Distortion. Art-punk monolith Mission Of Burma covered The Stooges ‘1969’ and ‘1970’ as well as Pere Ubu’s ‘30 Seconds Over Tokyo.’ Burma spinoff The Volcano Suns did a fine version of the MC5’s ‘Kick Out The Jams.’ </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">The British punk groups often looked to the American proto-punk bands. The Sex Pistols were known to play Jonathan Richman’s ‘Roadrunner,’ which in itself owes a heavy debt to The Velvet Underground’s epochal ‘Sister Ray ’ The Pistols regularly covered The Stooges ‘No Fun’ and wrote more than one song that was directly taken from Iggy and The Stooges ‘Raw Power.’ Rotten et al also covered The Monkees’ ‘Steppin’ Stone,’ Chuck Berry’s ‘Johnny B. Goode,’ and (for a British perspective) The Who’s ‘Substitute.’ The Damned were cheeky enough to blitz through The Beatles ‘Help,” and The Clash did clever covers of The Bobby Fuller Four’s ‘I Fought The Law,’ Junior Murvin’s ‘Police And Thieves’ (a real reggae track), and Vince Taylor’s rockabilly opus ‘Brand New Cadillac.’ Joy Division also covered The Velvet’s ‘Sister Ray’ in a way only Joy Division could: with all four members bashing it four-to-the-floor.. </span></h3>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/a004ad816fe798533af9ae9fd0374a2fa4e6d3a0/original/substitute.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsInNtYWxsIl1d.jpg" class="size_s justify_left border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/3fe23e2ce6421d60ee15335758eea7b1c417edda/original/i-fought-the-law.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsInNtYWxsIl1d.jpg" class="size_s justify_left border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/1d423bd753b497ee2b4bcc9af833fffc5c902d78/original/brand-new.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsInNtYWxsIl1d.jpg" class="size_s justify_left border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/80d61cbfde85ef42b58454a904fbc24d37aa2069/original/gloria.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsInNtYWxsIl1d.jpg" class="size_s justify_left border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/8a332e8acd2d1a5ca714b598d4544b14fe6e2818/original/satisfaction.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsInNtYWxsIl1d.jpg" class="size_s justify_left border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/d8357b023a32f2dd6150fc7dc17218bcbbf543e3/original/roadrunner.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsInNtYWxsIl1d.jpg" class="size_s justify_left border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<h3><span class="font_large">The songs that truly influenced some of these early punk and hardcore bands are all over the map, but almost all are generally easy to play, lyrically simple, and great basic rock and roll. I’m going to include a playlist for this one - please comment if there is any track you think is really missing. These are the progenture sounds that lit the way for the punk revolutionaries of the late 70s and then their children, the little siblings of the 80s, like my own band. Everyone has to start somewhere. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">---Steve McGowan</span></h3>
<iframe src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/user/wxjxjvfuasnmwaql8m0m548m4/playlist/1y7LIChq1Kxx7PNJpzDbvH" width="300" height="380" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/55938152019-01-13T11:35:56-05:002019-01-17T08:46:33-05:00Space for Me? Space Song Contest Hint!<h2><strong>Space for Me? Space Song Contest Hint! </strong></h2>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/299090320529bea89d607ec23585c038aabb1a8f/original/space-dogs.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<h3><span class="font_regular">I hope that you are all having a blast (pun really wasn’t intended) thinking of songs for your space playlists. If you are still deciding on your 5 entries, consider adding an extra organizing element to help you narrow down a playlist to your self-imposed parameters. Since this is only an exhibition, I have blown out the limit of 5 (have you oticed I have a thing about rules?) and also because I couldn’t use my organizing gimmick if I were only limited to 5 (hint, hint). </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_regular">Do you get what I’m after? Well, my very educated mother just served us nine pizzas! Good thing I didn’t need to go out of the neighborhood for my inspiration. </span></h3>
<p><span class="font_regular"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/2ca381b479ae8e820a1a6b8afa9a7d522e88c803/original/orrery.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_left border_" /></span></p>
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<h2>A's Exhibition Space playlist </h2>
<h3><span class="font_regular"><em>Solar Sister</em> (Posies) </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_regular"><em>Riding on the Rocket</em> (Shonen Knife) </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_regular"><em>Hey Venus</em> (That Petrol Emotion) </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_regular"><em>Planet Earth</em> (Devo) </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_regular"><em>Another Satellite</em> (XTC) </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_regular"><em>There’s A Moon in The Sky (Called the Moon)</em> (B-52’s) </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_regular"><em>Life on Mars</em> (Bowie) </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_regular"><em>Symphony 41</em> (Mozart) </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_regular"><em>Saturn Boy</em> (Helium Kidz) </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_regular"><em>Intergalactic</em> (Beasties) </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_regular"><em>Mr. Grieves</em> (Pixies) </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_regular"><em>Angst in My Pants</em> (Sparks) (well, before 2006, officially)</span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_regular"><em>Out of Limits</em> (Marketts/Ventures) </span></h3>
<p> </p>
<h3><span class="font_regular">Got a guess? The comment function is STILL being fixed by our web hosts, so feel free to come over to Facebook (facebook.com/zubrecords) or send us an e-mail if you want to guess! zubrecordsltdco@gmail.com </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_regular">You can send your entries to the same places. Deadline remains 11:59p EST, Friday 1/18. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_regular">Orbiting, </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_regular">-A</span></h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/55878212019-01-09T09:47:47-05:002019-01-11T00:56:16-05:00Nick Lowe In The 1980's - A Greatest Hits<h3><span class="font_large">Nick Lowe In The 1980's - A Greatest Hits Spotify Playlist </span></h3>
<p><span class="font_small"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/a636f2219551775348ded4e7720667ffc318c47f/original/nick-the-knife.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsInNtYWxsIl1d.jpg" class="size_s justify_left border_" /></span><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/bf46e91e90baf70186a486443442c8d7997a29a4/original/abominable-showman.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsInNtYWxsIl1d.jpg" class="size_s justify_left border_" /></p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/0157495bb6a4e24ee9830ca1f13ebf03537a8cb9/original/cowboy-outfit.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsInNtYWxsIl1d.jpg" class="size_s justify_left border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/7289b0950a33e44ba3b6a3738e88d7ac143f0ed4/original/the-rose-of-england.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsInNtYWxsIl1d.jpg" class="size_s justify_left border_" /></p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/6c091b0b9647dc7a48e3fe262216a7c427360eab/original/pinker-and-prouder.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsInNtYWxsIl1d.jpg" class="size_s justify_left border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
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<h3><span class="font_large">Recently, I read a fine article by Mark Binelli about Nick Lowe in Rolling Stone, and I urge you to take a minute and Check it out: </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large"><a contents="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/long-strange-wonderful-career-nick-lowe-755373/&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/long-strange-wonderful-career-nick-lowe-755373/" style="" target="_blank">https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/long-strange-wonderful-career-nick-lowe-755373/ </a></span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">There was a passage in this article that ignited a spark: </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large"><em>For that reason, in part, there’s a timeless quality to Lowe’s repertoire; at their best, his songs achieve a level of craftsmanship that nearly erase their composer. Even limiting your choices to the Eighties, when Lowe was partying too much and making uneven records, you could make a playlist of deep cuts (“Ragin’ Eyes,” “My Heart Hurts,” “Raining Raining,” “Crying in My Sleep”) that would sound like a lost greatest-hits album unearthed in a vault. </em></span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">This, of course, got me thinking about a playlist of Nick Lowe songs from the 1980’s. I went back and checked out the five records Nick released in the 80’s (Party Of One was released in 1990) and had no trouble picking out a stellar, greatest-hits style playlist. Here are the albums and the songs I’ve chosen. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large"><em>Nick The Knife</em> (1982) (Rockpile’s Dave Edmunds and Billy Bremner play on this record) </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">Burning </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">Stick It Where The Sun Don’t Shine </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">Queen Of Sheba </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">My Heart Hurts </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">Raining Raining </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">One’s Too Many (And A Hundred Ain’t Enough) </span></h3>
<p> </p>
<h3><span class="font_large"><em>The Abominable Showman</em> (1983) </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">Raging Eyes </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">Man Of A Fool </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">Mess Around With Love </span></h3>
<p> </p>
<h3><span class="font_large"><em>Nick Lowe And His Cowboy Outfit </em>(1984) </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">Half A Boy And Half A Man </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">God’s Gift To Women </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">Maureen </span></h3>
<p> </p>
<h3><span class="font_large"><em>The Rose Of England</em> (1985) </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">The Rose Of England </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">I Knew The Bride (When She Used To Rock And Roll) </span></h3>
<p> </p>
<h3><span class="font_large"><em>Pinker And Prouder Than Previous</em> (1988) </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">Crying In My Sleep </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">Love Gets Strange (John Hiatt) </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">Lovers Jamboree </span></h3>
<p> </p>
<h3><span class="font_large">I’ve arranged the songs in chronological order as I think there’s a great flow to them as is. Nick was in the band Rockpile (with Dave Edmunds, Billy Bremner, and Terry Williams) in the late 1970’s. This band recorded two solo LP’s for Dave Edmunds, Nick’s <em>Labor Of Lust </em>(his second solo album) and the famous <em>Seconds Of Pleasure</em> (Under the Rockpile name). Rockpile was a fearsome band with strong pub-rock, power-pop, and rockabilly roots. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">The <em>Nick The Knife</em> sessions are practically a Rockpile record, and they have that feel. ‘Burning’ feels like it could be on Nick’s <em>Labor Of Lust</em> (the 1979 masterpiece featuring his break-through single “Cruel to Be Kind”), and ‘Stick It Where The Sun Don’t Shine’ sounds like a Dave Edmunds song. I didn’t even include Lowe’s remade version of ‘Heart,’ a fantastic tune first featured on Rockpile’s <em>Seconds Of Pleasure</em> LP. ‘Queen Of Sheba’ is a great timeless change of pace that very much reminds me of Lowe’s ‘When I Write The Book.’ ‘My Heart Hurts’ is a classic tune written with Nick’s then-wife Carlene Carter. Carter is from songwriting royalty herself, daughter of June Carter Cash, perhaps best known as co-writer of “Ring of Fire.” It’s a sly, clever, catchy piece of pop that sneaks up on you. “Raining Raining’ hits that top level of craftsmanship that Mark Binelli discussed in his article, this is a sharp take on a Smokey Robinson styled song. ‘One’s Too Many (And A Hundred Ain’t Enough)‘ was written with The Fabulous Thunderbirds Kim Wilson, and has that snakey, South of the Border-via-Sun-Records feel. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large"><em>The Abominable Showman</em> is considered one of Nick’s lesser albums, with some dated production values (the 80’s!) and Nick haphazardly adopting a stronger love of country idioms. Still, ‘Raging Eyes’ is as good of a bouncy house of a tune as you’ll hear. ‘Man Of A Fool’ adopts many of the Motown/Four Tops tricks as ‘Raining Raining’ with another great lyric. It’s a stunningly good song. ‘Mess Around With Love’ is another timeless classic in the vein of ‘Queen Of Sheba.’ </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large"><em>Nick Lowe And His Cowboy Outfit</em> is a strong outing with nods to roots rock, played by a band of pub-rock veterans including Billy Bremner (Rockpile), Martin Belmont (The Rumour) and Paul Carrack (Ace, Squeeze). ‘Half A Boy And Half A Man’ is a Tex-Mex roller rink stomper, bubbly and infectious. ‘God’s Gift To Women’ is a pop amalgam of honky tonk and pure pop ‘Maureen’ is another welcome throwback to the Rockpile/<em>Labour Of Lust</em> sound. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large"><em>The Rose Of England</em> is somewhat of a pop triumph, including great takes of John Hiatt’s ‘She Don’t Love Nobody,’ Elvis Costello’s ‘Indoor Fireworks,’ and Moon Mullican’s rockabilly classic ‘7 Nights To Rock.’ The title track ‘The Rose Of England’ features a mature pop craftsmanship that almost loses the Nick Lowe trademarks. A remarkable song. ‘I Knew The Bride (When She Used To Rock And Roll)’ unleashes an undeniable boogie woogie that is a staple of every wedding in the UK ( and many in the US). </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large"><em>Pinker And Prouder Than Previous </em>is maybe the weakest of the 80’s records, as it doesn’t have a lot of Nick songs on it, containing mostly covers and collaborations. ‘Crying In My Sleep’ is a bleary, teary eyed ballad that sounds like is was recorded after a long night. There is an astounding take of John Hiatt’s ‘Love Gets Strange’ that is given an early Merseybeat treatment, full of twisting chord changes. It’s still one of my favorite Nick recordings. ‘Lover’s Jamboree,’ written with Paul Carrack, serves up an upbeat honky tonk, funky and rocking - the perfect way for Nick to end the 1980’s. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">So there’s my Nick Lowe playlist - Greatest Hits of the 1980’s.Thanks to Mark Binelli. 17 songs (one cover tune), 53 minutes. None better. Pure pop for now people. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">---Steve McGowan</span></h3>
<p> </p>
<h3><span class="font_large">Here is the link to the Spotify Playlist:</span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large"> <a contents="https://open.spotify.com/user/wxjxjvfuasnmwaql8m0m548m4/playlist/4ZVJz6CjTssiBaIl5fhtwh?si=HSWBitfyRU-6MZZAGCcfgw" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://open.spotify.com/user/wxjxjvfuasnmwaql8m0m548m4/playlist/4ZVJz6CjTssiBaIl5fhtwh?si=HSWBitfyRU-6MZZAGCcfgw" target="_blank">https://open.spotify.com/user/wxjxjvfuasnmwaql8m0m548m4/playlist/4ZVJz6CjTssiBaIl5fhtwh?si=HSWBitfyRU-6MZZAGCcfgw</a></span></h3>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p><iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/user/wxjxjvfuasnmwaql8m0m548m4/playlist/4ZVJz6CjTssiBaIl5fhtwh" width="300"></iframe></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/55802732019-01-04T17:42:17-05:002019-01-11T17:06:14-05:00Contest: Space is the Place for SINGLES<h2>Contest: Space is the Place for SINGLES </h2>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/1b0676ce781a23751b18bdee1c0f1e848620cf07/original/a-trip-to-the-moon.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font_small"><strong>From A Trip to The Moon (1902) </strong></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span class="font_large">A friend recently IM’d me that she needed “5 songs about space...quick!” I rattled off a few songs at least loosely related to the firmament and it seemed to do the trick to get her released from Somali pirates, win a scavenger hunt, or come up with a theme party Spotify playlist as the case may have been, but it got us thinking. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Of what? </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Of a fun CONTEST for the Zub community! You are always on our minds, dear readers and podsters! </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>The rules: </strong>List 5 songs that have something to do with SPACE. You can have an additional sub-theme, like space travel, space objects, or aliens, or maybe pick a particular genre (5 raga space songs? I DARE you). The more creative, the better. Bonus points for links to Discogs and degree of difficulty! The songs do NOT need to have formally have been released as singles. A quick explanation of why each song was selected is permitted but not required. </span></p>
<h3><span class="font_large">Example: </span></h3>
<p><span class="font_large">5 songs somewhat about food (we can’t just give you space, can we) </span></p>
<ol> <li><span class="font_large"><em>Fish & Chip Paper</em> (Elvis Costello & Attractions) </span></li> <li><span class="font_large"><em>With A Cantaloupe Girlfriend</em> (The Three O’Clock) </span></li> <li><span class="font_large"><em>Cups & Cakes</em> (The Thamesmen) </span></li> <li><span class="font_large"><em>Yes, We Have No Bananas</em> (new to public domain!) </span></li> <li><span class="font_large"><em>Polk Salad Annie</em> (Tony Joe White, bite me Elvis) </span></li>
</ol>
<p><span class="font_large">I am not sure any of those are actually about food, but you get the idea. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>The prize:</strong> Bragging rights, natch. <strong>AND 3 BRAND NEW Zub stickers! </strong></span></p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/e48065536b474bd185c605ef8c5e7796f0eca513/original/zub-stickers.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Ooh--high quality vinyl stickers! Wonder which 3 I'll win?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>How to enter:</strong> Submit your list to the comments to this post by 11:59 pm January 18! </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">The comments are MODERATED and won’t appear when you submit, but that way we ensure that our comment section isn’t full of ads weight-loss miracles and male-enhancement devices. You’ll have to search out those items on your own time.</span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Can't wait to see you entries!</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span class="font_large">--A</span></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/55795812019-01-03T15:50:07-05:002019-01-03T15:50:07-05:00So You Want To Podcast?<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/9cd5fd7cf6e0b87273c89a1393dfc1275be313e9/original/img-3615.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsImxhcmdlIl1d.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<p><span class="font_large">We've had a lot of fun doing the Singles Going Steady Podcast. One of the more surprising things I've run into is how many people who have told me "I want to do a podcast!" Here is where I’d like to share with you, briefly, some tips on the technical aspects of producing a podcast. As you may or may not know, I have decades of audio experience, owning my own recording studio, selling gear, and doing live sound. So let me share a few things you will need to create a useable podcast. </span></p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/3b79d8196e0535c18b2fe506b267468d7324a22b/original/img-3600.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span class="font_large">First, you’ll need microphones, as many as people talking on your podcast. Adrienne and I use AKG 414’s. These are fairly expensive studio-grade microphones. They are large diaphragm, powered mics. This means the diaphragm, or area inside the mic that picks up sound, is large and can pick up frequencies from low to high. A powered mic uses a +48v “phantom power.” This is provided by your mic preamp. The mic will not work without this so-called phantom power. The mics we use have three pin locking XLR cables out, like a stage or studio mic. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">You’ll need to shop around for a mic, there are many great choices from brands such as Shure and Audio-Technica as well as AKG. There are also podcast-ready mics that have a USB connection only. All I can say is that you get what you pay for with microphones, as the more money you spend the better you will sound. Check Craigslist for deals on used gear as well. Remember, however, an expensive microphone tends to pick up unwanted room noises, so you’ll need a quiet place to record your podcasts. We record Singles Going Steady in an almost studio-like media room, and in a living room. On one podcast you may hear a lawn mower in the background!. Keep aware of things like outdoor noises, HVAC, etc. You can record just about anywhere if you are careful. </span></p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/8b5549bb314e6c1eced1940de87714bf901aa8f5/original/img-3602.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_left border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/c7b9e13b388f378528bbd642ea0e4b3f4ffce2fc/original/img-3607.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_right border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
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<p> </p>
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<p> </p>
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<p> </p>
<p><span class="font_large">Next, you’ll need what they call a USB interface. This will convert your mic signals to USB and send them to your computer. You can get a two-channel USB interface for less than $99. We use the Behringer UMC404HD, with enough channels for 4 mics, headphone signal out, and MIDAS designed preamps (MIDAS is a fancy audio company). The interface has XLR and USB inputs, and phantom power. The preamps sound good - the headphone amp is a bit noisy, but the whole unit is around $150. We can have up to four mics at once if we have guests. We plug the mics into this interface, USB it to the computer, and from the interface run a little separate headphone mixer. It’s a Behringer HA400 - run the headphone out from the interface to this box, and then you can control 4 separate headphone mixes. It’s a $25 item and again a bit noisy, but the headphone mix doesn’t get recorded. </span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/508c2f6b5b53fc298304ed5b0fc070509e3cb8d2/original/img-3610.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_left border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/d9c5fd864dc0cb866de9eb76da799bf41bbf0fcc/original/img-3597.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_right border_" /></p>
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<p><span class="font_large">So, then you’ll need headphones to hear yourself and others when recording. We use the AKG K72 headphones, closed back (which means they cover your ears) and sound great for about $50 each. Remember, if you use open-backed headphones, some sound will escape from them perhaps causing feedback and/or phasing issues on your vocal mic. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">I almost forgot, you will need a small desktop mic stand, try to get one that is solid and won’t transfer vibrations, and a ‘Pop’ filter. This is a $10 item - A screen you talk into before your voice hits the mic. They are very effective in removing overloaded ‘P’ sounds and will help you to sound much better. You can attach the pop filter to the mic stand and you’ll be all set. You will need XLR or USB cables to hook your mics to the interface, and you’ll need a short ¼-in. Guitar cable to connect the headphone box to the interface. </span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/c55a6d27a0aab1ff4362a8081d8a2b33cf7ce18b/original/img-3605.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
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<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/f4dec79891b4377741c1e9574647d50d372631a5/original/img-3618.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p><span class="font_large">Now you have signal ready to go to your computer. You will need a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) program to record the audio. There are many choices and you’ll have to do your homework here, but I recommend the program REAPER, a multi track recording software that is almost free. It can be as easy or difficult to use as you make it. On Singles Going Steady, we usually have 3 stereo tracks, one for my voice (Stephen), one for Adrienne’s voice, and one for backing tracks (whatever songs we are discussing). You can edit, automate volume, add limiting and expanders, etc. etc. Once you have your tracks the way you want, you “Render” them onto a .wav file (a final mix) and then they will be converted to .mp3 for a podcast. We use Audacity (A different DAW program) for editing and .mp3 conversion. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">A final note as I haven’t told you all of my secrets. Google is your friend. Do your research on gear and software. Look for used gear if you are on a budget. Once you have gear use Google for tips on how to improve your sound. Put the time and energy in, and you will get a great podcast of your own. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Just don’t make it about singles. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Any questions? Hit me up at <a contents="zubrecordsltdco@gmail.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="email" href="mailto:zubrecordsltdco@gmail.com" target="_blank">zubrecordsltdco@gmail.com </a></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Steve McGowan</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span class="font_large"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/c6bb7bc401ffad7a607aa995fa687ef873d1b15b/original/img-3624.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/55769052019-01-01T21:31:51-05:002019-01-01T22:05:51-05:0020 from '18: Buz & Muf's Year End Pick Thru The Litter (Commemorative Edition)<h2><strong>20 from '18: Buz & Muf's Year End <em>Pick Thru The Litter</em> (Commemorative Edition)</strong></h2>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/359ca380806981d76ca9c6ab346f882aee955afc/original/buz-and-muf.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /><span class="font_large">Our fanzine <em>Zub Alert</em>, featured of cool stuff “selected” by the Zub kitties, Buz and Muf, in each issue. In that spirit, here are the 20 or so persons, places, and things that made 2018 memorable. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Everything old is new again </strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">1. <em>The Beatles 2018</em> (<em>The White Album</em>) </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">2. Susan Ciani live score for 1920 silent film <em>The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari</em> (Moogfest) </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">3. Pylon Reenactment Society with new music + Pylon classics </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">4. New vinyl sales continue to rise </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">5. Posies stellar deluxe reissues on Omnivore </span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Everything old is back again </strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">6. Zub Records Ltd. Co. is back, baby. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">7. Blasters/Dickies/X/Posies/PiL/Utopia still getting it done on the road </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">8. New film series MovieDiva featuring strong women of Hollywood’s golden age </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">9. Joan Jett reminds us she is the real deal in doc <em>Bad Reputation </em></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">10. Psychic TV plays blistering multi-media set at Moogfest </span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Old dogs, new tricks </strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">11. Beef People are back, now in pod form: <em>Singles Going Steady Podcast </em>debuts </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">12. <em>Look Now </em>released:Elvis Costello’s best album in decades, spectacular live date </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">13. New Peter Holsapple Combo/<em>Game Day</em> Solo album </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">14. Guided By Voices, Squeeze both release new music and bring great live gigs </span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Cool cats</strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">15. <em>Singles Going Steady Podcast</em> T-Shirts (available for sale, BTW) </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">16. Spectacular Chihuly installation at Biltmore </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">17. Introducing Gritty, the pinnacle of sports mascotry </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">18. Spectacular TV shows: <em>Legion, Mr. Robot, Mindhunter, Mrs. Maisel </em></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">19. Georgia O’Keefe exhibition at NCMA featuring contemporary kindred artists </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">20. Grandma style pizza at Hutchins Garage </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>Bonus:</strong> Zombies’ <em>Odessey And Oracle </em>50th reissue (now available)</span></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/55746892018-12-30T22:29:53-05:002020-06-29T00:24:16-04:001-1-2019: Return of the Prodigal Public Domain<p> <img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/d1c7e36e4e3dbc63bd7f4eecbc23ae134f400ffc/original/sonny-bono.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><strong>Sonny and Cher</strong></h3>
<h2>1-1-2019: Return of the Prodigal Public Domain</h2>
<p><span class="font_large">17 U.S.C. section 101 et. seq is the US Copyright Act, a bit of legislation I have seen change and expand over the past 30 years of professional curiosity. In that time, I have seen the growth of the US public domain come to a screeching stop. A magic 20 year extension of copyright protection was added to all extant works as a matter of law in 1998. This meant no new works were added to the public domain body of writings, fine art, films, songs, dance, or photography that we are all free to use as we like, whether they are liberally incorporated into new works or copied wholesale. </span></p>
<ul> <li><span class="font_large"><strong> What is the public domain?</strong> Works that are not under anyone’s control or ownership are essentially common stock, free to use, remix, and reuse. Thus, a work in the public domain, like Shakespeare’s plays or Mozart’s compositions, can be reproduced and used freely by anyone with or without alteration. It can be adapted to create a new work that itself can be protected by copyright to the extent of the newly composed portions. The public domain spurs new creations, like <em>West Side Story</em>, based on <em>Romeo and Juliet</em>, and even <em>Pride & Prejudice & Zombies</em>. </span></li>
</ul>
<p><span class="font_large">That was the impact of the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA). Sonny was a California congressman and former pop star and songwriter. Best known as the mustachioed half of “I’ve Got You Babe” duo Sonny & Cher, he was a proponent of extending the time of copyright protection from life of the author plus 50 years to the longer term of life of the author plus 70 years. His skiing accident death turned the bill he proposed into a bit of a memorial statute. So, 20 years was added by fiat to all then existing protected works in 1998 and thus songwriter Sonny had a legacy for his survivors. </span></p>
<ul> <li><span class="font_large"><strong>What is copyright?</strong> Briefly, in the US, it is the automatic protection for original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression, or “OWAFTME” as I have nicknamed it. The copyright owner has the exclusive right during the period of protection to authorize copies of that work, including reproductions, adaptations, translations, transformations and derivative works, public performance or displays as the case may be for the kind of work and the exclusive right to license and authorize others to do those things. And that exclusive period of control is now roughly not only for the life of the author but also for that of one generation of their descendants’: life plus 70 years. </span></li>
</ul>
<p><span class="font_large">After 11:59 pm Monday night, this protective bubble bursts, and there will be works that once again are free for all of us to use as our own: in the public domain. There is still the 20 year extension bubble going forward over more recent works, but now the life plus 70 protected works of those "authors" (the term by which all creators of any work, from choreography to sound recordings are known) will mean works of an author who died in 1948 will be free to use by all as to use as we like as of midnight 1-1-2019. Works made for hire are not gauged by the death of the individual creator but generally have a set 95 years from publication. So 1923 works join the public domain then too, even those works made for hire for a corporation, many of them still in existence. And many publishers and film companies continue on in the same or conglomerated form, exploiting those old cash cows, still in copyright works. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Why did we do it? This 20 year windfall was seen as putting the US on a more even keel with other industrial countries, particularly with Europe, where life plus 70 years was a typical term. But rather than being PROSPECTIVE term for new works, where the idea that copyright is an incentive for creators to make and release new works, the change was made for all works, including those created decades before, whose authors were long cold in the ground and beyond any such coaxing. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">The term rules are made more complex by the various extensions of term for the 1909 Act works, a law effective until 1-1-1978. (The current Copyright Act, is known as the 1976 Act. I know: this is The Law, home of obfuscation.) Those 1909-governed works originally had technical rules about publication and notice which caused many works to fall into the public domain on a technicality. Add in the US joining the international Berne Copyright Convention in 1989 and having to reinstate protection to foreign copyright owners who’d lost protection due to those old arcane rules. Copyright law is a complex and fierce, like barrel filled with biting, angry weasels whose tails are tangled. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Perhaps most importantly, these 1923 works were created with the expectation of 28 years protection. If the work was profitable, authors would renew for another 28. It's a myth that the length of the term of copyright provided incentive any of the copyright term extensions for works created arguably before 1-1-78. The laws under which they were created offered no such extensive posthumous protection. </span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/0b281089a0e46446546e0f5c4b4741913aec905b/original/steamboat.jpg/!!/undefined/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p><span class="font_large">So who was the real recipient of this government largess? Now, this little rat pictured on this page, born in 1928, avoids the public domain until the end of 2023 (1-1-2024). I am sure that is just a coincidence. Without the Sonny Bono term extension, Steamboat Willie Mickey would have entered the public domain after 2003 (1-1-2004), a scant 5 years after the enactment of the CTEA. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Copyright is a bargain: limited time protection and financial and other control in exchange for public disclosure. This quid-pro-quo is to fuel our marketplace of ideas. Over-protection stifles new works as too much control limits the leeway for new works to build upon prior ones. A thriving public domain is one of the ways the regime balances the scales in favor of free expression. I’ll be popping my cork at midnight for the return of that auld friend, the American public domain.</span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">-A</span></p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/55691532018-12-26T00:09:16-05:002018-12-26T10:17:03-05:00A's 12/22-25 Live Tweet Session Godzilla Movie Marathon<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/e958b642f7c396e10ee07b4b0fbcaf57ee659feb/original/little-godzilla-1994-02.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p> </p>
<h2><span class="font_regular">A's 12-22 to 25 Live Tweet Session Godzilla Movie Marathon</span></h2>
<h3>
<span class="font_regular">I had a blast live tweeting </span>El Rey Network's Kaigu Christmas <span class="font_regular">marathon for the last few days. Here is a link to the unrolled thread if you want to relive or see for the first time!</span>
</h3>
<p> </p>
<h3><strong><span class="font_regular"><a contents="Live Tweet Thread: Kaigu Christmas" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1076471696104873984.html" style="" target="_blank">Live Tweet Thread: Kaigu Christmas Part 1 MONSTER SIZE Thread</a></span></strong></h3>
<h3><a contents="A kaiju of a thread: Part 2!" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1076623398359453698.html" style="" target="_blank"><strong>A kaiju of a thread: Part 2!</strong></a></h3>
<p> </p>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/55653222018-12-21T23:29:56-05:002018-12-22T17:40:52-05:00Monsters of Holidays Past/Present<h3><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/af2f28ea183fb761af113b2285619308f36e6fb6/original/mechagodzilla.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></h3>
<h2 style="text-align: center;"><strong>WHICH KAIJU WRECKS A CITY BEST?:</strong></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;"><a contents="https://twitter.com/i/status/1074680621899800578" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://twitter.com/i/status/1074680621899800578" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/i/status/1074680621899800578</a></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;"><strong><span class="font_large">ADRIENNE'S LIVE TWEET:</span></strong></h2>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><strong><span class="font_large"><a contents="@LtdZub" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://@LtdZub" target="_blank"><span style="color:null;">t</span></a></span><a contents="tinyurl.co/livekaijutweet" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tinyurl.com/livekaijutweet" target="_blank"><span style="color:null;"><span class="font_large">inyurl.com/livekaijutweet</span></span></a></strong></h3>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="hZ0ZwrEWZ00" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/hZ0ZwrEWZ00/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hZ0ZwrEWZ00?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p> </p>
<h3><strong><span class="font_regular">The El Rey Network is showing a multi-day Kaiju film marathon, as is their practice over recent years, and I will be checking in and out over the course of the run to see Tokyo taking on these enormous invaders. For me, monster movies have special holiday significance. They bring to mind the dear friend who coined the term “Zub” and fond remembrance of monster movie marathons we shared. This year will be no different. </span></strong></h3>
<h3><strong><span class="font_regular">My introduction to Joey Lindsey was through the US mails. I was visiting Steve and in the day’s mail he found a strange lumpy envelope, return address Joey Lindsey. Inside? An enormous dead Palmetto bug. I was disturbed--was this some veiled threat? I mean seriously, who mails a dead bug? </span></strong></h3>
<h3><strong><span class="font_regular">But Steve, doubled over with laughter. The whole thing left me thoroughly confused. I mean seriously, who mails a dead bug? Why is it funny? Who is this person? “He’s great! You’ll love him!” I was not convinced. </span></strong></h3>
<h3><strong><span class="font_regular">So I was dubious and not unwary when we finally met up. I remember being entirely guarded. “Why did you mail Steve a dead bug?” I finally had to ask Joey (why this was not coming up already in conversation, I don’t know). “Oh, he was dead? He was alive when I mailed him.” </span></strong></h3>
<h3><strong><span class="font_regular">!!!! </span></strong></h3>
<h3><strong><span class="font_regular">OK, strike as non-responsive. Why? “I thought it would be funny.” Steve of course was chuckling vigorously during the whole exchange. I am not sure how that inauspicious beginning grew into one of my closest bonds for the next 20 years, but it did. I can’t explain how smart, snarky, funny, sensitive, and unblinking Joey was but what a gift to have known him.But let’s talk about monsters, not just mini ones delivered in the mails. </span></strong></h3>
<h3><strong><span class="font_regular">Ted Turner’s cheesy Atlanta UHF channel, audaciously billing itself as a national cable “Superstation,” filled the airwaves with cheap programming and unusual gimmicks. I believe they ran Godzilla films during the Christmas-New Years couch potato entertainment void as counter programming to sentimental holiday dreck. Steve, Joey, and I shared a few of these marathons, establishing a weird counter-culture family tradition of sorts. Joey delighted especially in the Mothra girls, but he reveled in the cheesy excess of all of it. That passion was contagious. And he kindly answered my questions, so many questions. “Is Godzilla a good guy or bad guy? Who’s that? Is this supposed to be campy?” We were forming a fellowship around the shared experience of this pop culture oddity, the monster movie. </span></strong></h3>
<h3><strong><span class="font_regular">Kaiju, the fancy proper name for this film genre of giant monsters attacking, can be boring, clumsy, and heavy handed. The original Japanese Godzilla, Gojira, is a thoughtful meditation on power, politics, and nuclear morality and war’s consequences. The strange re-edit for American audiences that spliced in Raymond Burr, introduces some US condescension to the proceedings, at least to my mind. There are bad Kaiju, fantastically entertaining Kaiju, with the bulk of the flicks falling somewhere in between. </span></strong></h3>
<h3><strong><span class="font_regular">But for me, these movies bring memories of friendship, sharing, and communal appreciation. I’ll laugh at poor effects. I’ll mock cheesy lines and overblown performances. I’ll fold particularly memorable lines into my own future speech. But mostly I’ll remember the feeling of forging a bond over pop culture shared. That bonding urge is certainly behind this Zub endeavor. </span></strong></h3>
<h3><strong><span class="font_regular">So, I hope you’ll join me and perhaps we’ll share the Kaiju love! I’ll live tweet some over the marathon using the Zub account, @ltdzub </span></strong></h3>
<h3><strong><span class="font_regular">You can also follow the El Rey Network there too. They are already tweeting up a storm about the approach of the monsters. </span></strong></h3>
<h3><strong><span class="font_regular"><a contents="@Elreynetwork" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://twitter.com/Elreynetwork" target="_blank">@Elreynetwork</a> on Twitter: Holiday marathon El Rey-style means 96 continuous hours of Godzilla and friends! KAIJU CHRISTMAS begins Saturday, December 22nd 6a ET and runs through Christmas Day on <a contents="@ElReyNetwork!&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://twitter.com/Elreynetwork" target="_blank">@ElReyNetwork!&nbsp;</a></span></strong></h3>
<h3><strong><span class="font_regular">I am pretty sure we won’t need to experience all 96 hours to express our appreciation, but I hope to see what you think!</span></strong></h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/55569552018-12-16T22:49:57-05:002018-12-16T22:52:35-05:00A's 12-16-18 Live Tweet Session The Simpsons 30th Anniversary<h3><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/2820d75b289c9630a867121b2bdaf4bedd331b59/original/family-portrait.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></h3>
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<h3>A's 12-16-18 Live Tweet Session The Simpsons 30th Anniversary </h3>
<h3>I had a blast live tweeting The Simpsons 30th Anniversary mini-marathon today. Here is a link to the unrolled thread if you want to relive or see for the first time! </h3>
<h3><a contents="https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1074292736747028481.html" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1074292736747028481.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:null;">https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1074292736747028481.html</span></a></h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/55543172018-12-14T14:39:43-05:002018-12-16T16:38:00-05:00The Simpsons Forever: The Cromulent World of Springfield In Which I Still Live<p> </p>
<h2><strong>The Simpsons Forever: The <a contents="Cromulent" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://simpsons.wikia.com/wiki/Memes_and_idioms">Cromulent</a> World of Springfield In Which I Still Live</strong></h2>
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<h3>In the 80’s, finding the cool, the offbeat, the under-the-radar works of creative genius speaking to your own peculiar skewed sense of taste could not be found via sub-Reddits, streaming everything, and social media shares. Word-of-mouth and reading trusted publications, like<em> Trouser Press, Creem,</em> and The <em>Village Voice</em> were our only insights into music, films, authors, artists, and other creators that piqued our curiosity. Local free papers, like <em>Creative Loafing</em> published locally in a few cities,<em>The Spectator </em>and <em>Independent</em> in the NC Triangle, and photocopied ‘zines from the local record stores were also a source to find works that rose above the mediocre noise of most mass culture. </h3>
<h3>Word of mouth brought me to Matt Groening’s <strong>Life In Hell </strong>cartoons. I found a subversive, brilliant, weird, uproarious, and byzantine world filled with frustrated anthropomorphic rabbits, fez wearing twins (maybe lovers, maybe brothers, maybe both), goofy magazine mock-ups (<em>Lonely Tyrant: The Magazine for Abusive Bosses Whose Employees Hate Their Guts</em>), and phenotypical charts like “The 9 Types of High School Teachers” (The Fossil, The Dip, The Jock….) Beef Person Ken Norton turned me on to the miraculous Life In Hell microcosm. I hungrily devoured each collection as it was published, with punchlines added into our own private lexicon. None of the local free papers carried it, so mine was a <em>Life In Hell</em> life in hell, waiting for Groening. Now there is an online archive: <a contents="http://lifeinhellarchives.tumblr.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://lifeinhellarchives.tumblr.com">http://lifeinhellarchives.tumblr.com</a>
</h3>
<h3>Then, the <em>Voice</em> had a really interesting article about a new kind of television network that would soon start broadcasting: Fox. As a TV upstart, they were interested in more adventurous programming, including scheduling a weekly variety show, back then something entirely missing from TV and considered moribund for about a decade. This brave entrant in the variety competition would star Brit Tracey Ullman, who I knew as a Stiff Recording artist. I wanted to see how this audacious experiment would play out. </h3>
<h3>To make a long story longer, The Tracey Ullman Show remains as one of my all-time favorites. Maybe I’ll sing its praises in future. But now, imagine my excitement when it was known that the show would also feature a short cartoon clip from my beloved rabbit cartoonist, Matt Groening. An animated <em>Life In Hell</em>?!?! Excited utterance! </h3>
<h3>Then it aired. But there were no rabbits. No twins. No <em>Life In Hell</em>. There was instead--this yellow family with bizarre hair and odd names. Two of my favorites from the show ensemble, Dan Castellaneta and Julie Kavner (who I had loved since she played Rhoda’s little sister, Brenda Morgenstern), were voicing the parents.That was good.The cartoon script was low key and mildly amusing.OK, I thought: I don’t hate this, even though it is not what I was hoping for. </h3>
<h3>Then came the Christmas special, really a pilot for The Simpsons series. In <em>Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire,</em> Springfield arose fully formed and breathtaking, born perfectly realized like Botticelli's Venus. I was utterly hooked. My whole family was. I was living with my parents while I was in grad school and Thursday Simpsons viewings were instantly sacrosanct. My aunt loves to tell of calling my dad and being told “Can you call back? The Simpsons are on.” My dad had done doctoral work in philosophy, been to Harvard’s Business school, and run his own aircraft manufacturing factory: hearing call back I’m watching my cartoon struck her as downright goofy. But this was no kid’s cartoon.The Simpsons was the rightful heir to the Rocky & Bullwinkle social satire crown. It was smart, insightful, satiric, sweet, scathing, exuberant, and flat-out funny. What else could you want? </h3>
<h3>And I still am still watching, 30 years on. I’m one of the few die hard originals that hasn’t turned my nose up, lamenting the loss of its one time perfection. Of course staff writers have changed, the context has changed, tastes have changed. But I call Springfield home, still. Like an aging ballerina, of course The Simpsons doesn’t stick all the moves, but the spirit and poetry are there, still intact. So, I’m still there for The Dance. And there are still dazzling moment where it works and the old magic is back. </h3>
<h3>Did I tell you about the time I ran a half-marathon? I watched half of the episodes in real-time on the FXX Network’s inauguration of their “Every Simpsons Ever” programming. And I did pretty well in the even-longer marathon of the growing library of episodes the following year. I still derive great pleasure spending time in Springfield, and not just in the classic episodes of the “golden age” however you define that. Send-ups of pop culture, political satire, meaningful human relationships, philosophical discourse--it is all there. Still. </h3>
<h3>But some things have not aged well in Springfield. Exhibit A is Apu. Comedian Hari Kondabolu points out in his documentary <em>The Problem with Apu</em> that the character is a problematic, racist, broad-stroke, and lazy stereotype. Debate within the Indian American community has alternately praised Apu as a paragon of education (he has a Ph.D. in Computer Science!), diligence, and entrepreneurship, a real exemplar for immigrant aspiration versus many others expressing opinions closer to the documentary. The show made a bad attempt to address the controversy, which may have worsened matters. <em>See</em> <a contents="'The Simpsons' Finally Tried to Address the Apu Controversy and Just Made People Sad" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://fortune.com/2018/04/09/simpsons-addresses-controversy-of-racial-stereotyping-apu/">'The Simpsons' Finally Tried to Address the Apu Controversy and Just Made People Sad</a> . Representation matters, and Apu’s clumsy accent voiced by an non-Asian American actor is at best tone deaf.</h3>
<h3>My own solution is something like revealing Apu was suffering from <a contents="Foreign Accent Syndrome" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.utdallas.edu/research/FAS/">Foreign Accent Syndrome</a> for all these years and a cure from Dr. Hibbert (or heck--let’s give Dr. Nick a win) has him speaking henceforth in the voice of any of the great Indian-American comedians. The source of the old accent? He suffered a trauma while watching Peter Sellers in the 60’s similar tone deaf portrayal of an “Indian” man in <em>The Party</em>. Al Jean, call me! </h3>
<h3>Another sadness is the loss of beloved members of the Springfield community (not you, Dr. Marvin Monroe, <a contents="you were never popular" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://simpsons.wikia.com/wiki/Marvin_Monroe">you were never popular</a>). Maude Flanders, Edna Krabappel, Homer’s mom Mona, Good Ol’ Grimey, Bleeding Gums Murphy: we’ll mourn ya ‘til me join ya. The real life murder of Phil Hartman (Lyle Lanley, Troy McClure, Lionel Hutz) and the deaths of original producer Sam Simon and the unparalleled Marcia Wallace (Mrs. Krabappel) feel almost like family losses. </h3>
<h3>So not every visit to Springfield is memorable. But a bad day in Springfield is better than the greatest day in whatever Hades-drenched Hole they inhabit on the Big Bang Theory. Come visit me there. </h3>
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<h3><span class="font_large">Adrienne’s Creme de la Creme Distillation of the Marathon: A Dozen D’ohnuts </span></h3>
<h3>Say you don’t have an iron bladder and a hardcore dedication to run a Simpsons 10K-like mini-marathon Sunday. I understand that not everyone can have an embiggened episode endurance like me. So I have highlighted the absolute can’t miss episodes from Sunday’s run, which in turn was selected by longtime showrunner Al Jean. But really there is something worthwhile is each episode, on or off the list. </h3>
<h3><span style="color:#9b59b6;">+9 a.m. “Life on the Fast Lane” (Season 1, Episode 9) </span></h3>
<h3>This episode is an absolute family favorite focusing on the Simpson marriage and the lure of romance with that stereotype, the super-sexy bowling instructor. </h3>
<h3><span style="color:#8e44ad;">+9:30 a.m. “Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment” (Season 2, Ep 13) </span></h3>
<h3>Will Homer lose his immortal soul over stolen cable? Worry with Lisa. </h3>
<h3><span style="color:#9b59b6;">+10 a.m. “Radio Bart” (Season 3, Episode 13) </span></h3>
<h3>You don’t have to know about Baby Jessica falling down the well and transfixing American TV viewers to love this Bart prank gone wrong that inspires a celebrity awareness single featuring Sting. </h3>
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<span style="color:#9b59b6;">+10:30 a.m. “Marge vs. the Monorail” (Season 4, Episode 12)</span> </h3>
<h3>This is listed as nearly everyone’s Top 5 episode, a stone-cold classic penned by Conan O’Brien. “I call the big one Bitey!” Leonard Nimoy! And a giant donut as a hero. Perfect. </h3>
<h3><span style="color:#9b59b6;">+11 a.m. “Cape Feare” (Season 5, Episode 2) </span></h3>
<h3>Kelsey Grammer is tremendous in this parody of Cape Fear as Sideshow Bob, whose murderous rage against Bart leads the family into the Witness Protection Program. I am giggling just thinking of all the highlights in this first-rate episode. There is even a Gilbert & Sullivan musical climax! </h3>
<h3><span style="color:#9b59b6;">+11:30 a.m. “Lisa’s Wedding” (Season 6, Episode 19) </span></h3>
<h3>Alternate timeline episodes are usually gold. This one sure is. A fortune teller shows Lisa her future courtship with an English foreign exchange student. Will his posh family accept their American in laws? What do you think. </h3>
<h3>+12 p.m. “Treehouse of Horror VI” (Season 7, Episode 6) </h3>
<h3><span style="color:#9b59b6;">+12:30 p.m. “Homer’s Phobia” (Season 8, Episode 15) </span></h3>
<h3>John Waters stars as a kitsch store vendor adored by Homer--until he learns he is gay. Especially timely appearance of Annual Gift Man. Hope America’s steel workers are still reaching for that rainbow! </h3>
<h3>+1 p.m. “Trash of the Titans” (Season 9, Episode 22) </h3>
<h3>+1:30 p.m. “Viva Ned Flanders” (Season 10, Episode 10) </h3>
<h3><span style="color:#9b59b6;">+2 p.m. “Behind the Laughter” (Season 11, Episode 22) </span></h3>
<h3>A pitch-perfect parody of “Behind the Music” type shows, the episode takes us behind the scenes to show us the real life Simpsons. Another perfect episode. </h3>
<h3>+2:30 p.m. “HOMR” (Season 12, Episode 9) </h3>
<h3>+3 p.m. “She of Little Faith” (Season 13, Episode 6) </h3>
<h3>+3:30 p.m. “Three Gays of the Condo” (Season 14, Episode 17) </h3>
<h3>+4 p.m. “The Way We Weren’t” (Season 15, Episode 20) </h3>
<h3><span style="color:#9b59b6;">+4:30 p.m. “Future-Drama” (Season 16, Episode 15) </span></h3>
<h3>Another episode set in the future/alternate timeline. What will life be like in 2013? </h3>
<h3>+5 p.m. “The Seemingly Never-Ending Story” (Season 17, Episode 13) </h3>
<h3><span style="color:#9b59b6;">+5:30 p.m. “The Haw-Hawed Couple” (Season 18, Episode 8) </span></h3>
<h3>“No man should have to outlive his fictional wizard!” This episode focuses on relationships--Bart and Nelson developing a friendship and Homer and Lisa bonding over sharing the “Angelica Buttons” fantasy books. Sweet but not cloying. </h3>
<h3>+6 p.m. “Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind” (Season 19, Episode 9) </h3>
<h3>+6:30 p.m. “Gone Maggie Gone” (Season 20, Episode 13) </h3>
<h3>+7 p.m. “Once Upon a Time in Springfield” (Season 21, Episode 10) </h3>
<h3>+7:30 p.m. “Angry Dad: The Movie” (Season 22, Episode 14) </h3>
<h3><span style="color:#9b59b6;">+8 p.m. “Holidays of Future Passed” (Season 23, Episode 9) </span></h3>
<h3>This is probably my favorite episode of the last 10 years. See which space captains Bart’s sons are named after! Alternate future timeline done really well. Perfect episode. Maybe Maggie is a Zub Records Ltd. Co. recording artist! </h3>
<h3>+8:30 p.m. “Treehouse of Horror XXIII” (Season 24, Episode 2) </h3>
<h3>+9 p.m. “Brick Like Me” (Season 25, Episode 20) </h3>
<h3><span style="color:#9b59b6;">+9:30 p.m. “Treehouse of Horror XXV” (Season 26, Episode 4) </span></h3>
<h3>All the Halloween episodes are fun, even if it is just looking for aliens Kang and Kodos to make their annual appearance. This year’s features interaction between Ullman-era Simpsons and the current iterations. </h3>
<h3>+10 p.m. “Halloween of Horror” (Season 27, Episode 4) </h3>
<h3>+10:30 p.m. “The Town” (Season 28, Episode 3) </h3>
<h3>+11 p.m. “Gone Boy” (Season 29, Episode 9) </h3>
<h3>+11:30 p.m. “Bart’s Not Dead” (Season 30, Episode 1) </h3>
<h3> </h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/55529992018-12-13T19:15:58-05:002022-05-09T04:58:24-04:00The Most Important Album of 1968 Wasn't The White Album. It Was Beggars Banquet<h2><strong>The Most Important Album of 1968 Wasn’t The White Album. It Was Beggars Banquet. </strong></h2>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/a6d61b968a496761c5bfb4ab1d7c3af5fe1060e2/original/beggars-banquet.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
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<h3>Well, that’s a whopper of a pronouncement. Jack Hamilton in Slate has published a very interesting article. He posits the importance of <em>Beggars Banquet </em>to the Rolling Stones far outweighed <em>The White Album</em> (<em>The Beatles</em>). </h3>
<h3>Of course, The Beatles versus the Stones argument is a rock perennial, but I wanted to try to give this a good think-through. I mentioned I might want to write about this, and got a reply from Adrienne: </h3>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><strong><em>As I think on the Stones, that shitty band that opened for Clinton was the end result. Crotch rock. That's not their fault, but I don't think it is a blueprint for anything as expansive as the White Album. </em></strong></h3>
<h3>I tend to agree with Adrienne on almost everything musical. But think about what could have happened to The Beatles if somehow they had stuck together.<em> Let It Be</em>, for example, was their attempt to document rehearsals before a BIG live event. They were going to play live again. Instead, since it never happened (just on the Apple Corps roof) we get the good looking, band-died-young corpse. They didn’t stick together, or live long enough to play the US Festival or for whatever global corporate hack that needed “All You Need Is Love.” </h3>
<h3>The Stones never quit touring; this reality informed them and still does. They never faced the madness that The Beatles did when they toured No one before or since faced that craziness, and you can’t really blame The Beatles for quitting the road.Then again, if they had toured again in 1970, there would have been real PA’s, security, etc. </h3>
<h3>Hamilton’s points, as far as I can tell, tend to really be more about The Stones than<em> Beggars Banquet </em>versus <em>The Beatles</em>. The Stones were demoralized, having recorded the failed <em>Their Satanic Majesties Request </em>in 1967. Brian Jones, the one-time leader of the band, was drugged out and falling apart. <em>Beggars Banquet </em>is the sound of The Rolling Stones growing up, reinventing themselves, with Keith Richards and Mick Jagger truly leading the charge. </h3>
<h3>Everyone knows I’m a Beatles guy, but listening again to <em>Beggars Banquet,</em> there is no denying it is an astounding record. It OPENS with ‘Sympathy For The Devil,” one of the most essential songs in the Stones canon. The LP is informed by country and bluegrass and Mississippi blues in the same way The Beatles is informed by Arthur Alexander, Bob Dylan, and Little Richard. As with <em>The White Album</em>, I hear a thousand bands directly reflecting songs like “No Expectations,” “Dear Doctor,” or “Factory Girl.” The down and dirty blues of “Parachute Woman” is the real deal, and i’m surprised at how the wordplay in “Jigsaw Puzzle’ reminds me of Dylan’s “All Along The Watchtower.” Add to this, the amazing “Street Fighting Man,” a very controversial single in 1968. The original cover reminds me of a Clash or Dead Kennedys single; </h3>
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<h3>There can be no doubt that <em>Beggars Banquet</em> is a timeless record: it probably saved The Rolling Stones as a band. As Hamilton says, it showed that rock bands could have second acts. I am not sure that elevates its stature to Most Important Album 1968 Olympus. I do not think it reverberates in the corners of almost all modern music genres in the way I argue that <em>The Beatles</em> almost certainly did here: <a contents="https://tinyurl.com/zubreviewwhitealbum" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://zubrecords.com/alert/blog/the-beatles-2018-remaster" target="_blank">https://zubrecords.com/alert/blog/the-beatles-2018-remaster</a> </h3>
<h3>I can’t hold it against the Stones that they are still touring at seventy. Paul still is. They both made the music that made the music. In my view, there is still nothing like <em>The White Album</em>. </h3>
<h3>What say you? Does your winning entry for the Single Disk White Album Contest </h3>
<h3>( <a contents="https://tinyurl.com/zubwhitealbum" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://zubrecords.com/alert/blog/the-zub-records-singles-going-steady-white-album-contest" target="_blank">https://zubrecords.com/alert/blog/the-zub-records-singles-going-steady-white-album-contest</a>) now include “Street Fighting Man”?</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/55483362018-12-10T19:16:59-05:002018-12-18T14:29:46-05:00The Zub Records/Singles Going Steady White Album Contest! NOW OVER<h2><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/5aabdc3c1adea0756c40d91e5de9f2079eb06d8f/original/sgs-t-shirt.png/!!/b:W10=.png" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></h2>
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<h2><span class="font_regular"><strong>Distilling The White Album to a Pure Concentrate </strong></span></h2>
<h3>Our friend and star commenter Fitz recently made the point that The Beatles <em>The Beatles</em> (commonly known as The White Album) was perhaps too full of filler; he posited that it could be a KILLER single LP. </h3>
<h3>This got me thinking - if YOU were to select the songs for the single White Album, what songs and running order would you choose? This is our contest. Post your versions in the comments. Adrienne and I will pick a winner and the winner gets a spankin' new Singles Going Steady T-Shirt, free shipping to US/Mexico/Canada. Deadline is Midnight, Monday December 17th (EST). You must select FIFTEEN songs, two sides, 7 on one and 8 on the other. Song choice AND running order will be considered. See my picks below.</h3>
<h3>In the classic iteration, there are two LP’s with thirty songs, in this order: </h3>
<h3>Record 1 /Side A </h3>
<h3> 1. Back In The U.S.S.R. (Side A) </h3>
<h3> 2. Dear Prudence (Side A) </h3>
<h3> 3. Glass Onion (Side A) </h3>
<h3> 4. Ob - La - Di - Ob - La - Da (Side A)</h3>
<h3> 5. Wild Honey Pie (Side A) </h3>
<h3> 6. The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill (Side A) </h3>
<h3> 7. While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Side A) </h3>
<h3> 8. Happiness Is A Warm Gun (Side A) </h3>
<h3>Record 1 /Side B </h3>
<h3> 9. Martha My Dear (Side B) </h3>
<h3> 10. I'm So Tired (Side B) </h3>
<h3> 11. Blackbird (Side B) </h3>
<h3> 12. Piggies (Side B) </h3>
<h3> 13. Rocky Racoon (Side B) </h3>
<h3> 14. Don't Pass Me By (Side B) </h3>
<h3> 15. Why Don't We Do It In The Road? (Side B) </h3>
<h3> 16. I Will (Side B) </h3>
<h3> 17. Julia (Side B) </h3>
<h3>Record 2/Side A </h3>
<h3> 1. Birthday (Side A) </h3>
<h3> 2. Yer Blues (Side A) </h3>
<h3> 3. Mother Nature's Son (Side A) </h3>
<h3> 4. Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey (Side A) </h3>
<h3> 5. Sexy Sadie (Side A) </h3>
<h3> 6. Helter Skelter (Side A) </h3>
<h3> 7. Long, Long, Long (Side A) </h3>
<h3>Record 2/Side B </h3>
<h3> 8. Revolution 1 (Side B) </h3>
<h3> 9. Honey Pie (Side B) </h3>
<h3> 10. Savoy Truffle (Side B) </h3>
<h3> 11. Cry Baby Cry (Side B) </h3>
<h3> 12. Revolution 9 (Side B) </h3>
<h3> 13. Good Night (Side B) </h3>
<h3>And of course the 2018 Deluxe version expands the album to SIX discs and offers outtakes and incorporates alternate versions. Let’s go the OTHER way. So, for our argument, we will parboil the original to just FIFTEEN songs, 7 or 8 on either side. </h3>
<h3>Here’s my choices: </h3>
<h3>Steve’s KILLER White Album: </h3>
<h3>Side A </h3>
<h3> 1. Back In The U.S.S.R </h3>
<h3> 2. Dear Prudence </h3>
<h3> 3. Happiness Is A Warm Gun </h3>
<h3> 4. Julia </h3>
<h3> 5. I Will </h3>
<h3> 6. I'm So Tired </h3>
<h3> 7. Blackbird </h3>
<h3> 8. While My Guitar Gently Weeps </h3>
<h3>Side B </h3>
<h3> 9. Yer Blues </h3>
<h3> 10. Mother Nature’s Son </h3>
<h3> 11. Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey </h3>
<h3> 12. Sexy Sadie </h3>
<h3> 13. Revolution 1 </h3>
<h3> 14. Cry Baby Cry </h3>
<h3> 15. Helter Skelter </h3>
<h3>Or; Steve’s KILLER White Album v. 2 (Yoko Edition) </h3>
<h3>Side A </h3>
<h3> 1. Revolution 9 </h3>
<h3> 2. Revolution 1 (Just kidding...it's REALLY Revolution 9) </h3>
<h3> 3. Revolution 9 </h3>
<h3> 4. Revolution 9 </h3>
<h3> 5. You Become Naked </h3>
<h3> 6. Revolution 9 </h3>
<h3> 7. It’s A Goal! </h3>
<h3>Side B </h3>
<h3> 8. Revolution 9 </h3>
<h3> 9. Revolution 9 </h3>
<h3> 10. Bagism </h3>
<h3> 11. Revolution 9 </h3>
<h3> 12. Revolution 9 </h3>
<h3> 13. Being Hit By A Car </h3>
<h3> 14. Revolution 9 </h3>
<h3> 15. Revolution 9 </h3>
<h3>What say you? Too Fluxus? Please post YOUR versions in the comments… </h3>
<h3><a contents="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/f/fluxus" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/f/fluxus" target="_blank"><span style="color:#2980b9;">https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/f/fluxus</span></a></h3>
<p> </p>
<h3><strong><span class="font_regular">Here is ADRIENNE'S super-cool version, using the Esher Demos and studio outtakes (cause who said she couldn't):</span></strong></h3>
<h3><strong>(SIDE A) </strong></h3>
<h3><strong>1. You’re So Square/Why Don’t We Do It In The Road? </strong></h3>
<h3><strong> 2. Helter Skelter </strong></h3>
<h3><strong> 3. Glass Onion </strong></h3>
<h3><strong> 4. Back in the USSR </strong></h3>
<h3><strong> 5. Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except for Me And My Monkey </strong></h3>
<h3><strong> 6. I’m So Tired </strong></h3>
<h3><strong> 7. Yer Blues </strong></h3>
<h3>
<strong>(SIDE B</strong><span class="font_regular">)</span>
</h3>
<h3><strong> 8. Revolution 1 (Rehearsal) </strong></h3>
<h3><strong> 9. Happiness is A Warm Gun (Esher) </strong></h3>
<h3><strong>10. Dear Prudence (Disk 5) </strong></h3>
<h3><strong>11. Blackbird (Esher) </strong></h3>
<h3><strong>12. Julia (Esher) </strong></h3>
<h3><strong>13. Cry Baby Cry (Esher) </strong></h3>
<h3><strong>14. While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Esher) </strong></h3>
<h3><strong>15. Across the Universe (from CD 6)</strong></h3>
<p> </p>
<p><strong><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/14e8da2b075290569e48ab186ce18d52a3f43e29/original/contest.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></strong></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<h3>Thanks for participating in Zub’s first contest of the new era. Whether you entered, tried to enter, thought about entering, or simply enjoyed others’ ideas of a distilled White Album, thank you! </h3>
<h3>First off, an announcement. We had an entry we disqualified from an R. Starkey, who list his or herself as being from “Liverpool, All Those Years Ago, Peace and Love.” I am sorry, we need a current address for a proper entry, so I afraid the entry was disqualified. Also, look at Starkey’s distilled White Album: </h3>
<h3>A </h3>
<h3>Don’t Pass Me By (2018 Disk 1) </h3>
<h3>Good Night (2018 Disk 2) </h3>
<h3>Good Night (Track 5 Disk 4) </h3>
<h3>Good Night (Track 6 Disk 4) </h3>
<h3>Good Night (Track 7 Disk 4) </h3>
<h3>B </h3>
<h3>Good Night (Track 7 Disk 4) </h3>
<h3>Good Night (Track 6 Disk 4) </h3>
<h3>Good Night (Track 5 Disk 4) </h3>
<h3>Good Night (2018 Disk 2) </h3>
<h3>Don’t Pass Me By (2018 Disk 1) </h3>
<h3>Mr. or Ms. Starkey, that feels like a lot of Ringo. Maybe better luck in a future contest. </h3>
<h3>But the Zub Singles Going Steady T-shirt goes to: </h3>
<h3>BOTH Kim Stahl and Jack Bly. </h3>
<h3>We loved both of them and hope you will wear your shirts in good health and often. </h3>
<h3>Peace and Zub, </h3>
<h3>A and Steve</h3>
<h3> </h3>
<h3> </h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/55435462018-12-07T00:45:23-05:002018-12-07T00:54:53-05:00Operator's Manual: Pete Shelley (1955-2018)<h3><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/0b391aeae785b48ba599f5b65c2db25f6a8d556d/original/shelley-mondrian.jpg/!!/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></h3>
<h3> </h3>
<h3><span class="font_regular">Operator’s Manual: Pete Shelley (1955-2018) </span></h3>
<h3>Pete Shelley was a real hero. A true personal inspiration. For me he was the magic bridge between the 60’s pop of my parents (The Beatles especially), and this new, rebellious rock referred to as ‘Punk.’ Upon hearing Buzzcocks in 1979, I immediately knew this was “Beatles on 45 rpm.” Super-sped up, but with an unmistakable melody and amazing hooks. Shelley’s nasally voice wasn’t classically great like Lennon or McCartney, but he always got a lot out of what he had. </h3>
<h3>And the lyrics, oh the wonderful writing. Razor sharp and concise and poignant. Pete Shelley definitely had a way with words. “I just need a lover like any other, what do I get?” is a universal theme. So is “In your dreams does your lover have my face” from ‘Lipstick.’ The entirety of “ You Say You Don’t Love Me “ is breathtaking: </h3>
<h3><em>You say you don't love me </em></h3>
<h3><em>well that's alright with me 'cause I have got the time </em></h3>
<h3><em>To wait in case someday, you maybe change your mind </em></h3>
<h3><em>I've decided not to make the same mistakes this time around </em></h3>
<h3><em>As I'm tired of having heartaches, I've been thinking and I've found </em></h3>
<h3><em>I don't want to live in a dream, I want something real </em></h3>
<h3><em>And I think I understand now the way that you feel. </em></h3>
<h3>Who hasn’t ever felt that way? Buzzcocks were one of the catalysts, along with Elvis Costello and Husker Du, that pushed me over the line at age 20 to pick up a guitar and start a band. They were my inspiration, not just the great songs and arrangements, but the cool sleeves and artwork and the sense that they were truly in control of what they were doing. Today I read a quote from Shelley from The Guardian: </h3>
<h3><em>"I’m not interested in being able to play. A musician is like another brand of entertainer. There are plenty of musicians that I enjoy watching that are entertainers. But I wouldn’t want to be that, because the thing with an entertainer is that there is always that dishonesty, which is what punk tried to get rid of. It was like, you’re not pretending to be something you are not. You are just what you are. Punk is an art of action. It’s about deciding to do something and then going out and doing it. "</em></h3>
<h3> I can’t think of a better description of Punk, and I know Adrienne and I have always adopted this exact ethos. Pete Shelley had the songs, the sounds, the lyrics. Every song I write I hold up to his standard, and I’ve only written a few that come close. I encourage you to listen to<em> Love Bites, Another Music In A Different Kitchen, A Different Kind Of Tension</em>, or <em>Singles Going</em> <em>Steady</em> and see how it was all done, so beautiful and so real...you can touch it! </h3>
<h3>When were thinking about how we could breathe life into Zub again, our thought immediately went back to our original passion for music. Shelley and Buzzcocks are Ground Zero for that. It’s in the name of our podcast, a tribute to that seminal album, <em>Singles Going Steady</em>, in the 001 episode of Spiral Scratch. To cite a favorite Buzzcocks’ song, they are our Raison d’Etre. Thanks, Pete</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/55426682018-12-06T14:45:34-05:002018-12-06T14:53:16-05:00Evan's Dilemma: Under The Sun<h3> </h3>
<h3> </h3>
<h3> </h3>
<h3> </h3>
<h3><strong><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/a55391cd1b3e4bdfd51b88843ae8050eb7aff5ec/original/evan.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Joel McCreight is a true believer. He is an extraordinarily talented singer and guitarist, and a fine songwriter. Evan’s Dilemma is his band and have been around in some form or another since the 1990’s. They are a Greenville institution. His longtime partner in crime is the superb drum master Kevin Heuer. The two of them have been at it forever, and they have produced another great record. </strong></h3>
<h3><strong>You Zub readers may remember that I was the original bass player in the band, and they produced a fine cassette for Zub back in the day. I also produced some great material for them at my studio, so these guys are close to my heart. They are my friends and I’m thrilled they are still putting out great music. </strong></h3>
<h3><strong>The sound is a slightly heavy power rock, heavy on melody, propulsive and catchy. Joel can write some great hooks, and then shake them up, as on the downward inversions on ‘Into Your Glory.’ ‘Brothers And Sisters’ is the quintessential Evan’s Dilemma song, breezy, catchy, vaguely reminiscent of U2, with a lyrical content that straddles the lines of modern and Christian rock. The band has always had a thoughtful spiritual view, and this song is a great example. ‘Earth Song’ (with some blistering guitar) and ‘Under The Sun’; are reminiscent of later-period Midnight Oil, a band that hasn’t crept into many people’s consciousness, but is a welcome reference for me here. </strong></h3>
<h3><strong>‘Be A Little Better’ reminds me of a McCartney anthem, featuring some nice piano and understated Ringo beats from Mr. Heuer. ‘Dreamer’ is another beautiful ballad with Joel in his best voice. LP ender ‘Sunrise’ is an epic jam Joel is so good at writing. </strong></h3>
<h3><strong>The sound is fantastic and has a big production. They play so well that I would have loved to hear a few stripped down songs, hearing Kevin’s drumming and Joel’s vocals without so many guitars and synth pads. But that’s just my style..Like i said, Joel knows what he is doing, he’s a true believer, and Under The Sun is a great recording from a once (and maybe future?) Zub band. Best of luck to them on this new release from the extended Zub family!</strong></h3>
<h3><strong>Evans Dilemma is playing an album release show at the Bohemian Cafe in Greenville, SC at 3 pm on December 8, 2018, along with J .Michael King and Niel Brooks! </strong></h3>
<h3><span class="font_regular"><a contents="http://horizonrecords.net/new-tunes-from-old-friends-evans-dilemma-begins-what-we-hope-is-a-new-holiday-tradition-with-a-holiday-in-store-show-on-saturday-dec-8th-at-3-p-m-with-j-michael-king-and-niel-brooks-along-for/" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://horizonrecords.net/new-tunes-from-old-friends-evans-dilemma-begins-what-we-hope-is-a-new-holiday-tradition-with-a-holiday-in-store-show-on-saturday-dec-8th-at-3-p-m-with-j-michael-king-and-niel-brooks-along-for/" target="_blank"><span style="color:#2980b9;">http://horizonrecords.net/new-tunes-from-old-friends-evans-dilemma-begins-what-we-hope-is-a-new-holiday-tradition-with-a-holiday-in-store-show-on-saturday-dec-8th-at-3-p-m-with-j-michael-king-and-niel-brooks-along-for/</span></a></span></h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/55407132018-12-05T11:49:34-05:002018-12-05T12:15:58-05:00The Printed Word: Goodreads<h2><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/2bdbed4ca904c83f18639adb86192bee48d3239d/original/dunces.jpg/!!/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_left border_" /></h2>
<h2><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/34088f0d357f019c8ce3548cc845c0cfc4fa30d2/original/1984.jpg/!!/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2>
<a contents="" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2545338104" target="_blank"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/ef992d37d2f67f305bc1cf5bfe39ba636a99a57a/original/beatles-recording-sessions.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></a><br> </h2>
<h3><strong>From my youngest days, I was an early and avid reader. I remember elementary school and the SRA system, always miles ahead of my peers. Always read at a level three or four grades ahead. Reading practically every book in the school library. </strong></h3>
<h3><strong>During high school I dedicated my reading to literature. I decided I wanted to be an ‘Educated Person,' whatever that means. So it was Joyce, Dostoyevsky, Camus, Blake, The Bible, Faulkner, Steinbeck, Orwell, Yeats, etc, etc. Devoured them all. Even understood some of it. </strong></h3>
<h3><strong>A little later, it was chess books and history, then historical biographies. My room was always, always full of books. And records. This was before I became a musician. Books, music, music and books. This is really the story of my life.</strong></h3>
<h3><strong>Now that I am a musician of sorts, I have dedicated myself to </strong></h3>
<h3> </h3>
<h3><strong>mostly rock biographies, and the occasional history book. The Beatles are and endless source for me. I’ve read everything, and The Beatles Recording Sessions is my new Bible. I’ll read any useless book about rock, from Lou Reed to Tom Petty to Lita Ford and Anvil. My brain is stuffed with rock ephemera. I love it. </strong></h3>
<h3><strong>The other person I know who reads as much is Adrienne. Her house IS a library. Between the two of us, we want to share with you our love for and thoughts about the printed word, and hear what you’ve been reading. Our list is heavy on rock reads with some humor titles for now, but look for us to broaden the scope with time. Adrienne’s dying to tell you about a great Aaron Burr biography... </strong></h3>
<h3><strong>So come over to Goodreads and watch our listed titles and reviews of Zub books grow. What books move you?</strong></h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/55360542018-12-02T14:13:06-05:002018-12-02T18:34:37-05:00Moving Pictures: Letterboxd<h3> </h3>
<h3><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/76669521d1a59724462d19912afb080d1aaa9bc9/original/metropolis.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></h3>
<h3> </h3>
<h3> </h3>
<h3>In reanimating Zub for the wired world, we wanted to keep alive the spirit of the old <em>Zub Alert</em> photocopied ‘zine--sharing the excitement of things we loved with the Zub community--but be able to use the wonderful social media tools now available to better vivify our enthusiasm. Letterboxd is one of the ways we are doing that; you’ll see the link on many of the Zub pages. </h3>
<h3>On Letterboxd, we will add reviews and links to films we discuss on the Singles Going Steady Podcast and continue to grow the listings of music, classic, art, and cult films over time. If you share a passion for film, you might find Letterboxd a great tool for tracking what you’ve seen, want to see, or even what you hope to avoid seeing again. It is another forum where we can discuss pictures that move us. </h3>
<h3>My interest in classic films grew out of my love of design. Before moving south at 11, my family lived in the midwest and took frequent trips into Chicago where world class design, art, and architecture were happily inescapable. This grew into a fascination with Art Deco design and architecture. In my teens, I stumbled on a book of movie posters from the 20’s and 30’s and realized that these films could be a time machine to transport me back into a world immersed in the height of my design passion. </h3>
<h3>At that time, the mid-70s, classic films were relegated to the occasional UHF broadcast, library screening, school showing, or rare arthouse revival. Cable was in its infancy, and there were about a dozen TV channels over the air in my rural Iredell County. Still, the book served as a talisman, a to-do list of a kind, to discover flickering glances of the lost Art Deco world. In college, I voraciously attended campus film screenings of both classic and “art” films, as well as attending the cult and new release of music and art films at Chapel Hill’s then two downtown movie houses. I saw <em>This Is Spinal Tap</em> first run at the Varsity, where the “Vandermint Auditorium” scene, fictionally set in that town, drew uproarious appreciation from me and the stink eye from the only 5 or 6 other patrons who did not appreciate my hardy showing. </h3>
<h3>The Cafe and Then Some, where Steve and I both worked in the first Beef People days, served as an arthouse theatre on Wednesday nights. Ted Bruce curated a first class slate of wonderful films that were also an education for me. </h3>
<h3>Now everything is seemingly available on a streaming service, TCM, or even YouTube. I am deliriously pleased to live near a fantastic vintage movie house, the Carolina Theatre of Durham, a 1926 beauty that while sadly not Art Deco, is a classical jewel now dedicated to live events and has 3 screens, including the 1000+ seat Fletcher Hall. Jim Carl curates a wonderful Retro series, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. </h3>
<h3>The Carolina Theatre has hosted a number of silent films accompanied by live players, including <em>Nosferatu</em> and <em>The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari</em>. Seeing a silent film in a huge theater with live musicians, just as the place was built to present is beyond special. Seeing the sprawling <em>Giant</em> on an enormous screen or <em>Lawrence of Arabia</em> make it worth getting off the couch putting on pants and shoes and leaving home. </h3>
<h3>This year the Carolina added a Movie Diva series on selected Wednesdays, curated by Laura Boyes and that has put me over the moon. The inaugural run focused on independent women and this spring will focus on pre-Hays Code films revolving around women, many that I have not yet seen. I expect you will be hearing and reading about those in the months to come. </h3>
<h3>Movies have long been entwined with the Zub endeavor. In the early days, when VCRs were prohibitively expensive for young musicians, stores rented machines along with tapes. <em>Dr. Strangelove</em> was a favorite. “He’s gonna see the Big Board!” became a favorite repeated line, especially by our roommate, John Toke. When we mailed out promo copies of our single, <em>Fragile/Nothing You Can Do</em>,we tracked mailings and airplay using “The Big Board,” a corkboard-mounted map, and referred to in our best George C. Scott impression. </h3>
<h3>So come over to Letterboxd and watch our listed titles and reviews of zub films grow. What pictures move you?</h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/55338702018-11-30T14:37:13-05:002018-12-10T18:11:06-05:00The Beatles (2018 Remaster)<h2><strong>THE BEATLES: (2018 Remaster) </strong></h2>
<p><strong><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/45e9407004a3cc36775bd8283a3308115de1a851/original/white-album.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></strong></p>
<h3>When Adrienne and I decided to restart Zub Records, we envisioned the Singles Going Steady Podcast as a way to share what we considered cool music with our friends. I personally listened to a lot of music podcasts and generally was underwhelmed. Everyone has an opinion, but the way it is delivered can be annoying. A and I agreed that out Podcast would be more like us talking with you about music, not telling, just talking. We really are interested in building a like - minded community of music lovers. </h3>
<h3>So what’s all this got to do with The Beatles, you’re asking. It’s funny to me because I want to write today about the new 50th Anniversary reissue of what has come to be known as <em>The White Album</em>. This is my first blog about an album, a double LP at that,and I must tell you that I humbly believe that this is the best rock record probably ever made. That’s a big and a bold statement. I think <em>The Beatles</em> is basically the complete blueprint for all modern rock and roll. </h3>
<h3>The thirty songs on the two LP’s encompass everything from beautiful balladry (“I Will,” “”Julia”), out and out weirdness (“Glass Onion,” “Wild Honey Pie”), weird-ass storytelling (“Rocky Racoon,” “The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill”), John Lennon at his craziest (“Happiness Is A Warm Gun,” “Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey”), Paul McCartney at his most McCartneyist (“Martha My Dear,” “Honey Pie”), scorching rockers (“Yer Blues,” “Helter Skelter”) and straight out classic songs for the ages (“Dear Prudence,” “Mother Nature’s Son,” “Blackbird,” “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” “Revolution 1”). </h3>
<h3>Completed in 1968 following the death of their manager Brian Epstein and after a stay at the Maharishi’s compound in Rishikesh, India, The Beatles, especially John, Paul and George returned with dozens of new songs. It’s true that this record is the sound of the band falling apart, with the other three members being essentially sidemen for the chief songwriter. Tensions were high during the extended recording sessions, and at some point each member of the Beatles truly believed the other three wanted them out. Indeed, Ringo and George both quit the band for short periods. George in particular was chafing under John and Paul, his many new compositions being passed over. He would get his revenge soon enough with the triple solo LP <em>All Things Must Pass</em>. </h3>
<h3>One of the jokes Adrienne and I have about different recording formats (remember, we’ve had LP’s, Cassettes, 8-Tracks, CD’s, DAT’s, MP3’s, FLAC, etc etc. in our lifetime) is “How many times am I going to have to buy <em>The White Album</em>? Well, I must say, this new reissue is a must have. It has been remixed by George Martin's son, Giles, and improved considerably. The extended version’s SIX CD's are comprised of the first two discs with the original double LP, with four discs containing the amazing ‘Esher’ four-track demos that have long been bootlegged, and many, many actual studio outtakes, excerpts of a few that were available on Vol. 3 of the Beatles<em> Anthology</em> series. This is a great way to understand their studio process. “Helter Skelter,” for example, is shown as a 12 plus minute dirge before being honed into the proto-metal monster it became. If you are a Beatles freak like me, this is a must have. If you aren’t, I truly encourage you to give it a listen. You can hear the influence of <em>The White Album </em>in almost every kind of music since. </h3>
<h3>So how many times are you going to have to buy <em>The White Album</em>? You MUST get it THIS time. It is the Rosetta Stone for decoding modern rock. </h3>
<h3>Here is a link to a great story by Colin Fleming about Lennon’s song “Yer Blues.” He specifically mentions Lennon trolling Clapton, but I also believe Lennon’s targets were the whole British blues revival, including Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac. </h3>
<h3><a contents="https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-beatles-yer-blues-how-john-lennons-trolling-of-eric-clapton-birthed-a-rock-and-roll-classic&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-beatles-yer-blues-how-john-lennons-trolling-of-eric-clapton-birthed-a-rock-and-roll-classic" target="_blank">https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-beatles-yer-blues-how-john-lennons-trolling-of-eric-clapton-birthed-a-rock-and-roll-classic </a></h3>
<h3>Here is a link to The Beatles official site and <em>The White Album</em> page. </h3>
<h3><a contents="https://www.thebeatles.com/album/beatles-0" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.thebeatles.com/album/beatles-0" target="_blank">https://www.thebeatles.com/album/beatles-0</a></h3>Zub Recordstag:zubrecords.com,2005:Post/55140542018-11-14T18:31:06-05:002018-12-06T14:55:41-05:00Our First Zub Alert! (Click To See Post)<h2><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/321202/dfbf82c821f5996c3773c32df85b89bcff81edc0/original/zub-alert-v1-1.png/!!/b:W10=.png" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></h2>
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<h2><span class="font_large"><strong>Our First <span style="color:#e74c3c;">Digital</span> Zub Alert! </strong></span></h2>
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<h3><span class="font_large">This website, blog, and podcast are run by Adrienne Meddock and Steve McGowan. We are partners in The Beef People, an original indie music band from Greenville, SC that was active in the 1980's. Steve is the guitarist, singer, and chief songwriter. Adrienne is the bassist, singer, and also a songwriter. The Beef People played hundreds of gigs, built up a solid local following in SC, and created Zub Records to release the Beef’s Demo cassette and the Fragile/Nothing You Can Do 45 rpm single. After Steve and A parted ways, there were a few Zub cassette releases by Evan's Dilemma, The Orchid People, Gary Seven, and Chum Jacket, and then the label went into hibernation. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">Zub also promoted shows. During the Beef People heyday, A and Steve started up "Tuesday New Music Night" at Studio B in Greenville SC, booking scores of national and regional bands they introduced to the Greenville area, creating a true music "scene." An integral part of this process was the homemade 'zine Zub Alert that Steve and Adrienne created, wrote, and mailed out to hundreds of fans several times a year. </span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large">Now, Zub has reawoken. We look at this blog as a virtual Zub Alert of sorts, a way for us to connect with the community of like-minded people: lovers of cool music, films, books, and even weird household hints. </span></h3>
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<span class="font_large">Now that Zub has arisen, we want to bring together the old community with the new. A and Steve have created the Singles Going Steady Podcast to discuss the great art form that is the single recording in its variety of forms: 45s on vinyl, flexi-discs, cassingles, CD singles, and more! Both podcasters have spent their lives recording, playing, watching, listening, writing, and collecting music. We hope to illuminate some great singles that may be lost in the shadows to you, and maybe talk about tracks that are your favorites as well as ours. The focus will be on the punk, new wave, and DIY eras of the last century or more recent recordings that continue in that spirit. We want you to be part of this, please leave (non-trolling) comments here or on the podcast pages. </span><span class="font_large"> </span>
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<h3><span class="font_large">But Zub Records has resumed its true form: a vinyl record label. In due time we will roll out some great reissue music. Our first release since reanimation is slated to be a Beef People collection on vinyl. This will contain the seven songs from the Demo cassette, the Fragile 45, and a number of unreleased studio recordings and live tracks from the original mid-80s era. Through this site, we hope to build a community to support these endeavors; we have plans for this and other releases in the future, new, old, re-released, and never-before heard. We promise: it's gonna be so zub... </span></h3>
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<h3><span class="font_large">Steve & A</span></h3>
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<h3><span class="font_large"><strong>p.s. </strong></span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large"><strong>We’re glad you found us! If you want to subscribe to our Singles Going Steady Podcast, we are on many, many podcast apps, including: </strong></span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large"><strong>Antennapod </strong></span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large"><strong>Castaway </strong></span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large"><strong>Castbox </strong></span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large"><strong>Castro </strong></span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large"><strong>Google Play Store </strong></span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large"><strong>iTunes </strong></span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large"><strong>Overcast</strong></span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large"><strong>Player FM </strong></span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large"><strong>Podbean </strong></span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large"><strong>Podcast Addict </strong></span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large"><strong>Radio Public </strong></span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large"><strong>Spotify </strong></span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large"><strong>Stitcher </strong></span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large"><strong>TuneIn Radio </strong></span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large"><strong> </strong></span></h3>
<h3><span class="font_large"><strong>And we are adding more by the day! We hope you will visit the page for each episode where there are tons of useful related links to the artists and things we discuss.</strong></span></h3>
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<p> </p>Zub Records