My Predictions for 2012 # 1

The bank holiday for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee will be on Tuesday 5 June. To form a long weekend of celebration the late May bank holiday will be moved to Monday 4 June.
So here's my prediction- Thatcher dies June 4th, giving the masses a true cause to celebrate on the 5th.

Streets (Beggars Banquet Compilation)- (1977)

 I remember this  LP, the first ever release on Beggars Banquet. It's a great compilation.
Must have sold my copy years ago, but thanks to the excellent 666 Music For Life
blog you can get it here:

Death- For The Whole World To See ( 2009- recorded 1974)

 I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. When I was told the history of the band and what year they recorded this music, it just didn’t make sense. Ahead of punk, and ahead of their time.
Jack White- quoted in The New York Times (2009)

 A remarkable record - a kink in the linear history of rock music.
The Hackney brothers started out as an R&B band, but, inspired by Alice Cooper, switched to rock (after Death they would play gospel and later reggae).
Ignore Wikipedia- this was recorded in '74, not '73 (the liner notes have the dates of the songs as being written in October- December '74), demos for an LP that was never released, not least because of the group's unwillingness to compromise over their name.
Black musicians from Detroit playing fast punk (but with a degree of musical polish) in 1974- I still can't get my head around it.
New York Times article here.

David Hackney – guitar; Bobby Hackney – bass, vocals; Dannis Hackney – drums 

The Smiths live at The Hacienda July 6th 1983

Another repost with restored links:

It's a pity you didn't sign the Smiths…
God to Tony Wilson, in the movie 24 Hour Party People.

Here's another film:

In 1982 Factory Records impresario Tony Wilson opened a nightclub in a disused Bollywood cinema . It was named The Hacienda (the name comes from a slogan of the radical group Situationist International: "The Hacienda Must Be Built", from Formulary for a New Urbanism by Ivan Chtcheglov) and given the Factory catalogue designation FAC 51.

This was The Smiths 14th gig, their 2nd at the Hacienda. To date they had only released one single. Two days previously Morrissey had given his first national radio interview on the David Jensen Show.

Press:

Smiths sign to independent label Rough Trade
The Smiths, generally considered one of the brightest prospects to emerge this year, have signed a long-term deal with Rough Trade Records. They say this "represents a conscious decision of preference" for the independent label, which was competing against three major labels, one of whom offered a six-figure cash advance. Their single 'Hand in Glove' has already been released, and they are currently in the studio with producer Troy Tate recording tracks for their first album and follow-up single.
New Musical Express, July 9, 1983

Why the importance in carrying flowers?
Morrisey: "They're symbolic for at least three reasons. We introduced them as an antidote to the Hacienda when we played there; it was so sterile and inhuman. We wanted some harmony with Nature. Also, to show some kind of optimism in Manchester which the flowers represent. Manchester is so semi-paralysed still, the paralysis just zips through the whole of Factory..."
Sounds, June 4, 1983
Line up for those born too late or just plain indifferent:
Morrissey- voice
Johnny Marr- guitar
Andy Rourke- the bass
Mike Joyce- drums

These are AVI files. I play them on DivX player.
Use Windows Media Player?
Have a look here.

The Dictators Go Girl Crazy (1975)

My name is Malcolm McLaren
I have brought you many things in my time but the most successful of all
was an invention of mine they called punk rock.
 
So Malcolm Mclaren tells us in his movie The Great Rock n Roll Swindle that he invented Punk Rock.
Jon Savage, in his excellent study of Punk, England's' Dreaming, states:
In the autumn of 1975 British Punk had begun at 430 Kings Road...

The earliest reference to print to 'punk rock' came in the early 70's, and the Garage bands of the 60's were retrospectively given the label by Lenny Kaye,  writing the sleeve notes for the Nuggets album in the autumn of 1972. For the etymology of the term punk rock see Jon Savage's blog.
The Ramones made their vinyl debut in the USA in April 1976, but of course, no homegrown 'Punk' records appeared in the UK until the Damned released New Rose in October 1976 .
Listening to John Peel's Punk Rock Special (December 1976) we can hear the sort of things that punks were listening to, and much of it had been around a while (in rock n roll terms) by the time the Pistols released their debut (Anarchy in the UK) in November 1976.
Look at the first few (pre Sex Pistols) issues of Punk (which first appeared in January 1976); the mag covers Lou Reed, The Ramones, Talking Heads,  Patti Smith, Television, David Johansen, Richard Hell, The Heartbreakers, Blondie, Iggy Pop, The Dictators and Eddie and The Hotrods...
Ah, whatever. Looks like there were two things happening at the same time, New York and London. Both trying to put a bit of life back into rock, probably the first post modernist take on pop music (although Ziggy Stardust has a valid claim to this). And at some point (the release of The Ramones?) they inevitably came together.

Here's a great American LP from the pre- punk days:

Review from Punk
 

The Dictators were formed in New York City in 1973.

There's a rehash of John Holmstrom's 1977 write up on The Dictators here: http://www.thedictators.com/punkmag.html.

There Is No Authority But Yourself...

Anarchy is a personal choice, an act of commitment, a decision in your own head to pursue a life that is ENTIRELY your own, free of restriction, free of fear, free of intimidation. OK, so you won’t change the world tomorrow by becoming an anarchist today, but it’s a start.
Everything has to start somewhere, where better than in yourself?
Crass, It’s Your Life, Live It (flyer) c.1980


‘There Is No Authority But Yourself ’:The Individual and the Collective in British Anarcho-Punk
Rich Cross
Music & Politics 4, Number 2 (Summer 2010)

The Cramps Live at Napa State Hospital (1978)

This is a repost from 2009 along with restored links:

 

In much the same way that I still refer to all recorded music as ‘records' I am still inclined to refer to any moving picture media as ‘a film’. I may post the occasional film, but it won’t happen that often.
The other day I was leafing through The British Journal of Psychiatry and I came across an article on music therapy for in-patients with schizophrenia
(2006 189: 405-409. doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.105.015073 if you’re interested) that reminded me of this film.
Whatever you want to call that genre of raw B- movie horror punk that has its roots in early rockabilly and still flourishes to this day, The Cramps bestrode it like a 60 foot woman. The Cramps coined the phrase Psychobilly (or rather, lifted it from a Johnny Cash song). How about Rock n Roll?
Napa State Hospital, California a 500-bed, four-story, Gothic-style asylum opened in 1875, when the institution in San Francisco became overcrowded.
In June 1978 The Cramps gave a free concert for patients at the Napa State Hospital that was recorded on a Sony Portapak by the San Francisco collective Target Video.

Line up:
Nick Knox- drums
Lux Interior – vocals
Poison Ivy -guitar
Bryan Gregory –guitar

In his treatise Meanings of the Intellect al-Farabi (872–950), dealt with music therapy, where he discussed the therapeutic effects of music on the soul. Robert Burton wrote in his 17th century  classic work, The Anatomy of Melancholy, that music and dance were critical in treating mental illness, especially melancholia.So how about this?

These are AVI files. I play them on DivX player.
Use Windows Media Player?
Have a look here.

Fixed Links...

The links for the 2009 music posts are now fixed.  For some I have added links to alternative sources. There's videos of The Smiths and The Cramps that I will renew very soon.
I'll tackle the 2010 posts later this month. Meanwhile if you come across a dead link let me know, it's a big help.
Enjoy the music and thanks for your ongoing support.

Jeffrey Lewis - 12 Crass Songs (2007)

Exactly what it says on the cover, 12 Crass songs covered by Jeffrey Lewis.

You can have a listen by downloading it from the cosmozebra blog.

Бригадный подряд (1986)

Kolya  Mikhailov — vocals, guitar
Dima Babich — bass
Sasha (Santer) Lukyanov — guitar
Igor (Said) Sayikin — drums
Fedya (Hippo) Lavrov — percussion, sound effects.

Leningrad, The Soviet Union, 1986. The city was at the forefront of the Soviet underground music scene.
Cracking, raw hardcore sound here, heavy distorted guitars, some Oi type chanted vocals. Only 192 kbps but hey, this was Leningrad.
The group's name transliterates as Brigadni Podryad , which is, by my reckoning, something like 'mercenaries' (hired brigades)?

Dead Links...

New Year. As good a time as any to attend to the broken links, of which I'm sure there are many. If you find any dead links please let me know. I don't want disappointed visitors.
I'll keep you updated regarding the progress made in renewing the links.

The Milkshakes Sing and Play 20 Rock & Roll Hits of the 50's & 60's (1984)

A genius.

When I listen to a Billy Childish record I want to play my guitar.

When I see a Billy Childish painting I want to paint.

When I read a Billy childish poem I want to write poems.

When I see Billy Childish I want to grow a fine moustache

and ride an old bicycle. 

That's how much I like Billy Childish.

Camper Van Beethoven -Telephone Free Landslide Victory (1985)

This is the expanded 2004 reissue.
Quirky Indie rock interspersed with instrumental tracks that sound like Russian Ska Music. In fact one of the bands from which Camper Van Beethoven evolved was called Estonian Gauchos - if there were gauchos in Estonia I can imagine them producing the sort of music featured here. Remarkable.

David Lowery -lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Jonathan Segel - violin, keyboards, guitar, backing vocals
Chris Molla -guitar, backing vocals
Victor Krummenacher -bass, backing vocals
Anthony Guess -drums

That's probably going to be it from me until after the holidays. Have a good time folks. Do your bit to promote freedom.

This Is Big Audio Dynamite (1985)

You can hear this coming if you listen to Combat Rock and Rat Patrol by The Clash. A sophisticated groovy sound laced  with soundtrack samples.
The first words heard on the LP are Get three coffins ready, spoken by Clint Eastwood in Per un pugno di dollari . I've often wondered if Mick was thinking of his former bandmates there...

The outstanding E=MC²   references the films of Nicholas Roeg, with soundbites from one of my all time favourite movies, Performance. 

 

United we stand, divided we're lumbered-Johnny Shannon as Harry Flowers

I like a bit of a cavort, I don't send 'em solicitor's letters. I apply a bit of pressure - James Fox as Chas

At the death, who is left holding the sodding baby?- James Fox as Chas

Don Letts - sound effects, vocals
Dan Donovan - keyboards, photos
Leo Williams - bass, vocals
Greg Roberts - drums, vocals
Mick Jones - vocals, guitar