The Neon Vernacular - Halloween Show

NeonVernacular_HalloweenMix by Theneonvernacular on Mixcloud

The Neon Vernacular's Halloween radio broadcast. Our show, hosted by Ladybug and me, streams live on http://praradio.org, every Sunday 6-8pm Pacific Time. Occassionally, we'll post episodes to our MixCloud account. 

Count Vertigo- I'm a Mutant / X Patriots (1979 -- Mississippi Records, 2011 *MR-086)

Reissued for the first time, a crazed Portland punk record from 1979. A side project of Ice Nine, Count Vertigo only existed for this one record as a band. Side A features "I Am A Mutant" - an uneasy little song with a relentless menacing organ riff. On the flip is "Patriot X" ...an angry political song that still rings a little too true. Two heroic punk anthems not to miss, if you like that sort of thing (Little Axe)

So, all of a sudden I've got these cold feet about steady upping the new Mississippi joints at GC. Eric and Warren had both given me a passing "that's cool" like a year or so ago, but... I reckon I'd like to reestablish that before I go wild on them again. Cause shit----they have got SO MANY great new LPs. Its kind of hurts my feelings (in the best of ways!) just trying to keep up anymore. I already know I won't up that super-great Khansahib Abdul Karim Khan joint here (Owl's got a good one, though), because I'm aware that Canary Records is not as down with the sharity on their in-print co-releases. Same with the Arhoolie & the Lomax records. No GC ups for them. I've recently gotten the encouraging green light from Sahel Sounds. What I'm wondering is, has the game changed for Mississippi, now that they've (reluctantly) upped a web-distro site and they're pressing bigger runs? I'm always up for a little mischief, but I'm not trying to bust anyone's chops. I just like ripping vinyl, and playing the selector. I reckon I'm hoping that I can one day can pivot this spot into a decent dj or music supervision gig. Film soundtracks- That's what I'd love to be doing. Ghostcapital has thusfar been a fun and productive way to spend my free time when my young one's tucked into bed. The golden oldies is what I'm all about & I just hope to keep at it, and hope you readers keep enjoying the effort. Anyways...here's the new Portland punk 7" reissue from them dudes. Junk is tight. I'd like to invite someone from Mississippi to write me at nicholab503@gmail.com, and let me know whether they're frowning or smiling when I up their jams. Dig it.



Download Link: Count Vertigo- I'm a Mutant / X Patriots (1979 -- Mississippi Records, 2011 *MR-086)

Miki Jaga & His Dance Band- S/T (Akpolla, AGB 74 - Nigeria? *1983)

This one is crazy hot! Wild & loose Nigerian(?) funk with freaky synth tendencies. Super dancing sounds. I just borrowed this gem from my new friend Jason. Miki Jaga & His Dance Band is incredibly great and fairly unknown. Nigerian pressed. A total must.

So, Jason is new to Portland. He will likely be keeping this Miki Jaga jam in the same crate as his William Onyeabor once he gets to spinning at the just-opened Beech St Parlor here in NoPo. With this record and a Tumblr as essential tokens of his dj steez, I can tell you--- I'ma be there, wearing bells and shit. Dig it!

320 vinyl rip by yours truly.



Download Link:  Miki Jaga & His Dance Band- S/T (Akpolla, AGB 74 - Nigeria *1983) ***Re-Upped 7/31/12
Side A

1. Ukpovbegbanen
2. Kpalamule

Side B

1. Vbenosawenmwighaye
2. Ivba Ni Kalo

Ghostcapital Guest Mix: CD/FM Radio (*by Chris Cilla, 2011)

Chris Cilla is a Portland underground cartoonist whose weirdo comix manage to melt my delicate cerebrum. His style is amazingly off-kilter, with an aesthetic lean toward oddball heros like Basil Wolverton or golden-era outsiders Fletcher Hanks and Boody Rogers, for starters. Chris is the only fellow I've ever known who has vocalized an abiding love for first-wave Scrooge McDuck comics. Just check the cover art- My man rules! This CD/FM Radio mix-disc offers more of Cilla's eccentric, mixed-up, stoney vibe- just in an auditory format. Dig it. Must admit, I was supremely disappointed not to see even a single track here by Chris' beloved Donald Fagen. (Ha!) I had already figured that for certain. Here's a wild ride through burnt-out garage riffs, sweeping funk grooves, and brief forays through the prog-driven haze. I would highly recommend consuming these selections while perusing Mr. Cilla's excellent new comic book- The Heavy Hand. (Details below)

Download Link: (V/A) Chris Cilla- CD/FM Radio (Ghostcapital Mix, 2011)

1. Loaded To The Gills / Michael Liggins & the S... 4:15
2. Black Sheep / SRC 4:42
3. Kol Basti / 3 Hur-El 2:12
4. Refrigerator / Electric Eels 3:28
5. Black Sabbath Medley Reversible / Ruins 2:16
6. Oral Fixator / Mondo Guano 4:16
7. Commercial for 'CD FM Radio' / Radio Myanmar 1:57
8. Answer Lies Beyond / Master's Apprentices 3:38
9. Nehadar Zèytkèwen / Tèwèldè Rèdda 4:02
10. Ventricular Refibulation / Jack Officers 3:58
11. Slow Dope Motion / Bargain Town 0:44
12. Sensi For Sale / The Tufftones 4:11
13. Tiny Postulation 4 / Lucas Moseley 4:37
14. Down in the Bottom / Creepy John Thomas 5:12
15. Spider & The Fly / Monocles 2:04
16. UFO / Sun Ra and his Arkestra 8:37
17. Django / Thrones 2:46
18. Rap Machine / Whodini 4:58
19. Invisible Wind / Jackie Stoudemire 5:10
20. Small Talk / Tall Dwarfs 3:35



The Heavy Hand, Chris' first graphic novel, was published by Portland's Spark Plug comics imprint in late 2010. A primo specimen of contemporary comic absurdism, it reads like a musty, beer stained David Lynch cartoon. I will make no attempt to synopsize, but will say I personally keep rereading it in the hope that this book's many bizarre, anachronistic details will one day all fall into place. As author/oracle, Chris has told me he "like[s] to think they will." Perfect. He's also given me permission to post a handful of image scans from he book, in conjuction with his rad mix-disc. So, take a looksie:

FXFU: March 19th (PDX)

Hot off the presses, it's the poster for FXFU on 3/19/11. I'll be spinning records between the bands with another fellow named Black Sandwich.

Here's the schedule:

* 5:00 DOORS OPEN
* 6:00 YES, FATHER
* 7:00 SURPRISE GUEST
* 8:00 WHAT HEARTS
* 9:00 OLD LIGHT
* 10:00 MIKE COYKENDALL AND THE GOLDEN SHAG
* 11:00 PIGEONS
* 12:00 STIFFWIFF

Eagles Lodge
4904 SE Hawthorne
Portland, OR 97215

Doors Open at 5pm.

Aidan Coughlan- Finn Found Findhorn (In-Progress, 2011)

A slow-burning acoustic song-cycle recorded on dictaphone by Aidan Coughlan in 2011. This collection stands as a work in progress- Here are the first five songs. Additions will be upped, in edits to this post, just as quickly as they come in. My sister Kendall thinks that most of these sound like lullabies, which makes sense: They have all been written and cut in Aidan's living room after his young ones have been put to bed. He feels that most of what he's writing betrays a current sense of new-parental exhaustion & intellectual atrophy. As for the chosen process: He'd say he's taking his cues from Finnegan's Wake, and publishing these "fragments from a Work in Progress" as the songs are developed. And, as for the final product: Aidan's looking toward collections like Leadbelly's Library of Congress Recordings, for example, in offering a simply recorded document of the songs he's writing & playing at this given moment. No more, and no less.

You can download these songs individually via soundcloud (limit 100 per song), or by the batch via multiupload, here: Aidan Coughlan- Finn Found Findhorn: Tracks 1-5. (Work-in-Progress, 2011)




1. Greyskull's Fables Are Mine
2. A Fairer Thing Than That
3. I Never Had a Rovin' Eye
4. The Bells of St. Anthony
5. Please

Ghostcapital DJ Set at FXFU 3-19-11

People of Portland- I'll be spinning some records for FXFU on March, 19th.

Mike Coykendall, Old Light & certain of the FXFU honchos are some of my very best neighbors here in lovely Mt. Tabor. Good people with great live bands. Sweet vibes guaranteed.

The show is at the Eagle's Lodge (at 50th & Hawthorne), which- thanks to the some of the great Exiled Records shows (Rick Bishop & Bill Orcutt, Sic Alps & Magik Markers...)- has become one of my very favorite *occassional* venues in town. Does that place have flavor? Believe it. The most.

$5 appears to be the suggested donation. Kids are welcome & free. The beer is cheap. See you there?

"FXFU is a ramshackle affair celebrating music here in Portland, a kinda anti-SXSW but too lazy to be too overtly political, though that is the dominant ethos. That and a love for community. There’s also a bar, DJ’s, food and a colossal eagle soaring over Mt. Hood. And it’s only a $5 suggested donation to help us pay for the rental of the lodge & equipment. Kids are free! Come down and have fun with a bunch of great bands on a nice, warm saturday in March!"

Old Light
Mike Coykendall & the Golden Shag
Stiffwiff
Pigeons
Yes, Father
What Hearts
DJ Black Sandwich
DJ Nicholab (Ghostcapital.blogspot.com)

http://www.fxfu.org

Aidan Coughlan- III (Self-released, 2002?)

Unreleased is more like it. This recently rediscovered collection of bedroom tracks is yet another reminder of the near maddening brilliance of Aidan Coughlan. I'd imagine we all have that friend who's seemingly boundless creative capabilities manage to shame and inspire you all at once. Well, Aidan is that friend for me. I don't think I've heard better music anywhere than in a 5-person living room when someone hands Aidan the guitar. No hyperbole. Aidan writes songs that I swear I've heard before. They can kill me. I call it maddening because I just can't seem to resign myself to his profound aversion to self-promotion. He's just too great not to make it, but he is no doubt a serious hermit (and also now, a family-man), and maybe that is that. I am dating this collection at 2002, but that is a guess. He lived in Harrisonburg, VA at the time that he recorded this. I'm sure this will be an exciting find for all our friends & peoples from that time & place. Aidan & I have both since settled down in Portland, OR. I am still entertaining the hope that one day Aidan will be ready again to write & record more music. Hopefully some fans of this blog will enjoy this heretofore unknown morsel from one of Portland's best kept secrets. Many thanks to Mr. Nicklaus Combs for pulling this one from the vaults. Even Aidan thought this was lost forever.



Download Link: Aidan Coughlan- III (Self-released, 2002?)

1. Intro
2. Wed to Another
3. Pull the Rider Down
4. Not So Long Ago
5. Until the fire consumes us all
6. I am your only son
7. They Sent a Girl to Comfort me
8. Morning Song
9. I am a machine
10. All Down the Waterside
11. Staines Morris
12. Oh my true Love
13. You don't love me anymore
14. All on another day
15. David's lamentation
16. Three Gold rings
17. The Seasons Round
18. Dame Durden
19. Untitled Piano Piece

The Magick Heads- Before We Go Under (Flying Nun, 1995)

In celebration of their imminent Portland tour-date (@ Holocene, 10/5), here's another side-project from some founding member(s) of The Clean- This time, its Robert Scott. The Magick Heads sound like folk-rock out of the Paisley Underground, with female-led vox from Jane Sinnott. The title track was apparently written and released in 1993 as an indie pop single on Teenbeat for Barbara Manning. Must admit, I'm a bit fonder of the MH vibe than that of the actual songs. (Perhaps unrelated, but I feel the same way about L.A.'s Rain Parade. )*Anyhow, I'm fairly sure this rip has a higher bit-rate than the one previously available at Kiwi Tapes.

"Dunedin, New Zealand folk-pop group the Magick Heads was led by singer Jane Sinnott and guitarist Robert Scott, the latter the onetime bassist for the seminal Clean as well as the frontman for his own longstanding unit the Bats. 3D's guitarist David Mitchell played drums in the original Magick Heads lineup, which formed in 1991; other players floated in and out of the group's ranks, with Sinnott and Scott joined by drummer Jim Strang for their 1994 Flying Nun debut Before We Go Under." (Allmusic)




Mediafire Download Link: The Magick Heads- Before We Go Under

1 Standing at the Edge 3:00
2 Sweet Angel 3:08
3 42 Degrees 2:54
4 Two Different Things 2:09
5 Seventh Sense 2:16
6 Hear From You 2:42
7 Before We Go Under 2:54
8 New Floor 2:46
9 Twilight 2:19
10 Light of the Night 2:33
11 Gotta Go Home 2:19
12 The Beast of Bodmin Moor 3:13
13 Good Books 1:45

The Great Unwashed- Collection (Flying Nun)

In the wake of the 1982 breakup of the legendary Clean, brothers David and Hamish Kilgour continued writing songs together; adopting the tongue-in-cheek name Great Unwashed, they released the 1983 LP Clean Out of Our Minds, a collection of primitive home recordings with a slightly experimental bent. The record was well received by steadfast Clean fans, and with bassist Peter Gutteridge in tow, the Kilgour brothers played a handful of live dates. A five-track double single subsequently appeared, and in mid-1984 the Great Unwashed swelled to a quartet with the addition of Ross Humphries; however, by the end of the year, the group disbanded. (Last.fm)

So, I'd posted Clean Out Of Their Minds a few months back, but this one has it all. A newly aquired 250-ish VBR rip. Can't wait to see The Clean next week at Holocene, on their very short US tour. Already bought the ticket. You can prolly expect at least one other Flying Nun record to go up here in the next week, 'cause somebody's excited!



Mediafire Download Link: The Great Unwashed- Collection (Flying Nun)

1. Hello Is Ray There ?
2. Meanwhile
3. Small Girl
4. Thru The Trees
5. Yesterday Was
6. Toadstool Blues
7. What U Should Be Now
8. It's A Day
9. Hold Onto The Rail
10. What You're Thinkin Now
11. Obscurity Blues
12. Quickstep
13. What Happened Ray?
14. Duane Eddy
15. Neck Of The Woods
16. Can't Find Water
17. Born In The Wrong Time
18. Boat With No Ocean

Aidan Coughlan- Auburn Eternally

I am basically an acolyte for the music of Portland, OR's Aidan Coughlan. His surrealist folk ballads are easily some of the best songs being written today. His most recent collection was recorded in '08 on reel to reel by The Graves' Greg Olin.


"Mrs. Jones"


Mediafire Download Link: Aidan Coughlan- Auburn Eternally

The Whines- Hell To Play (2010)

Hell To Play is the debut LP from The Whines. They play part scuzzy garage psych, and part lo-fi pop dirge. Their album was recorded (mostly) by two members of Eat Skull, and was recently released on limited press LP on Exiled Records' Meds imprint. Purchase the LP from Forced Exposure.

Mediafire Download Link: The Whines- Hell to Play (2010)

1. To Be True (03:32)
2. For Your Safety (04:43)
3. Love Revisited (02:53)
4. 13 Floors (04:12)
5. Here We Sit (04:00)
6. It's Raining (02:52)
7. Vacation (03:29)
8. Down the 2 Tracks (04:31)
9. Straybird (02:36)
10. Cut Meat (02:08)
11.Rotten Beach (04:19)

Grouper- Wide

Wide is an early Grouper album from 2006- drony, minimal lo-fi echo psych out of Portland, OR. Recently re-released on LP in very limited quantity by Weird Forest.

Mediafire Download Link: Grouper- Wide


Read full review of Wide (Limited Vinyl Edition) - GROUPER on Boomkat.com ©

Ghostcapital DJ Set: Wed April 7th @ Tanker Bar

Hello Portland. I am officially a DJ, once again. My first set here in the Rose City will commence at the Tanker Bar on Wed, April 7th from 8-ish till 1-ish. Be a pal and come out. Bodies=Success in this equation. I want to keep this gig, and make it bi-weekly. See you there?

WED, APRIL 7th 2010
8pm-1am
Tanker Bar
4825 Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard
Portland, OR

http://www.tankerpdx.com/

Mississippi and Exiled Records

An ode to my favorite record shops.

Portland happens to be blessed with a couple of totally dynamite Record Shops. They are- Exiled and Mississippi. Both are boutique stores that only stock what they like. What's more, they're thriving as neighborhood hotspots in spite of this here interweb. They're so great! I love me some record shopping, but I must say that, as a busy dad, I have less time than ever to troll through mountains of third-rate record bins searching for those hidden gems. I'm just more inclined to go visit these good folks- each happen to have two of the best curated small (& oddball) selections, new or used, that I have ever come across. What's more, both shops put out some amazing records themselves, usually limited to editions of 1000. I basically just snatch up whatever they release, and I have only been even mildly disappointed once or twice. Its downright inspiring to see them succeed in doing what they love, especially in context of the amazon/iTunes behemoth. They are a credit to their neighborhoods, to Portland, and also to the virtues of the small indie record shop. In fact, that's mostly what they sell... RECORDS!!!


Here's what I like most about each:

Mississippi Records: An unbeatable selection. Vinyl only, and some tapes. They also have a fantastic selecton of vintage stereo equipment at nice reasonable prices. You couldn't throw a rock in there and not hit a record worth having. From Irma Thomas to Animals and Men, I eagerly collect nearly anything they release. I encourage everyone out there to do the same. FYI, many of their earlier albums fetch nice sums on ebay now that they're out of print. That's why I'm at peace providing you, the reader, with the following link:
Mississippi Records Download Thread. I'd suggest starting with Washington Phillips, Lipa Kodi Ya City Council, Orchestra Regional de Kayes, Oh Graveyard..., 70s Thai Orchestra, Malcolm X Memorial and Last Kind Words. Well, they're all pretty much super. The only ones I'm not wild about so far are Ntsamina and The Rats- though I do love Fred Cole, especially Dead Moon.

Exiled Records:

Likewise an outstanding selection, with even more of an emphasis on oddball experimental, psych and outsider music. They also sell cds & bizarro arthouse movies. They have handmade Rick Bishop cd-rs, Sublime-Frequencies and Siltbreeze Releases and handdrawn Sun Ra records on their wall, all great indications of what Exiled is all about. This is the place that turned me on to likely the best African Psych record that you've never heard; Chrissy Zebby Tembo and Ngozi Family. Trust me, buy it NOW! Exiled also has a nice website, which Mississippi is lacking. When at home, I pretty much browse Other Music, Boomkat, Forced Exposure, eMusic and Exiled Records to stay up on what's new in the stores. Exiled only puts up albums they like, which makes browsing less tedious and also just prompts me to look into just about everything they put on. For you out-of-towners, its also a great place to buy those Missisippi releases, which you should definitely DEFINITELY do.