FOLLOW US ON:
GET THE NEWSLETTER
CONTACT US
Thee Oh Sees deliver one of the best albums of 2011
08.03.2011
11:39 pm
Topics:
Tags:


John Dwyer, the Linda Lovelace of rock and roll.
 
Thee Oh Sees’ Castlemania is a real contender for my top ten records of 2011.

My introduction to TOS was at SXSW in 2009 when they performed an exhilaratingly demented show at Emo’s. Frontman and group mastermind John Dwyer attacked his guitar like a man wrestling an alligator while inhaling his microphone with the gusto of a amphetamine-crazed porn star auditioning for Deep Throat 3D . It was one of the most riveting and ridiculous live shows I’ve ever scene. And the band was as tight as a baby’s scrotal sac.

Castlemania consists of 16 tracks of garage rocking mayhem and twisted psychedelia sure to please the hearts and souls of fans of The Fugs, Velvets, Holy Modal Rounders, Zappa, Beefheart, Roky Erickson, The Troggs and The Archies.

Here’s a taste of Thee Oh Sees’ Castlemania.
 

 

 
A video to give you the jitters, “Meat Step Lively”  from 2009’s Help after the jump…

READ ON
Posted by Marc Campbell
|
08.03.2011
11:39 pm
|
Poly Styrene’s new video pays homage to Michael Jackson
07.22.2011
02:56 pm
Topics:
Tags:


 
Poly Styrene’s new single “Ghoulish” deals with the last few years of Michael Jackson’s life. An interesting subject for the singer of “Artificial.”

In an interview before she died, Poly explained the inspiration for the song:

There was all these pictures of him, and the nose had fallen off, and the white face, and the ghoulishness. But then I just wanted to say, I see through that. I see through that, he was probably quite a nice guy.”

“Ghoulish” will be released as a digital EP on August 8 including, appropriately, a dance re-mix produced by Hercules and Love Affair.
 

 
Via The New York Times

Posted by Marc Campbell
|
07.22.2011
02:56 pm
|
Some Weird Sin: Iggy Pop on Dutch TV, 1978
07.21.2011
08:32 pm
Topics:
Tags:


 
Two cool clips from Dutch television’s Top Pop of a lip-syncing Iggy Pop in 1978 and a low-key interview. Although it is just pantomime, it’s pretty badass pantomime. For whatever reason he’s doing the seldom heard “I Got A Right” from the James Williamson-era, plus “Some Weird Sin” from Lust for Life.
 

 

 
After the jump: A 1978 TV performance of “Some Weird Sin.”

READ ON
Posted by Richard Metzger
|
07.21.2011
08:32 pm
|
Totally groovy video of Debbie Harry on ‘Kids Are People Too’ in 1980
07.21.2011
04:25 am
Topics:
Tags:


 
While musician and rock archivist Jim Laspesa is putting together his own website, which will feature music and pop culture related clips from the past 30+ years, he’s been uploading a few gems to Youtube. Here’s a little something that is new to the Interweb: a 1980 appearance by Debbie Harry on ABC’s Sunday morning children’s show Kids Are People Too. Sassy.
 

 
Thanks Jim.

Posted by Marc Campbell
|
07.21.2011
04:25 am
|
Murdoch’s The Sun newspaper hacked by Lulzsec
07.18.2011
06:06 pm
Topics:
Tags:


 
Click on the above image to see larger version.

Breaking news! Read all about it! Err, maybe not…

Rupert Murdoch’s flagship daily UK tabloid The Sun was this evening hacked by a group claiming to be Lulzsec, who uploaded a fake front page story that Murdoch’s cold, lifeless body had been found in his private glasshouse, after overdosing on palladium. Oh, if only. The website still seems to be down, and we are assuming that service will be back to normal by tomorrow, but by gum this was a good prank!

Thanks to Joe Spencer for the eagle eyes!

Posted by Niall O'Conghaile
|
07.18.2011
06:06 pm
|
‘Songs In The Key Of V’: The secret teachings of the The Velvet Underground
07.18.2011
03:48 pm
Topics:
Tags:


 
The premise of “Songs In The Key Of V” was to compile a collection of tracks that I felt echoed elements of The Velvet Underground in a significant way. I’m not saying these songs could not have existed if The Velvet Underground had never appeared on planet Earth, though I doubt they would, but at the very least I think it’s quite probable that these songs, to greater and lesser degrees, were influenced, consciously or otherwise, by the music of The Velvet and/or the band’s individual members.

My criteria in choosing these particular tracks/artists was that they should have the feel, sound or attitude of the Velvets, either as a group or as solo artists. I wanted to detect an aura or infusion of the spirits, the distinct urban rhythm, drone and streetwise sensibility of Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison, Nico and Moe Tucker. And in these songs I do, some more clearly than others.

01. I’m Going Out Of My Way - Stereolab
02. Failures - Joy Division
03. Bad Vibrations - Black Angels
04. She Cracked - Modern Lovers
05. The Modern Age - The Strokes
06. Down 42nd St. To The Light - East River Pipe
07. Tell Me When It’s Over - Dream Syndicate
08. Blue Flower - Mazzy Star
09. Always The Sun - The Stranglers
10. Leif Erikson - Interpol
11. Hanging Out And Hung Up On The Line - Julian Cope
12. Looking For A Way In - Cornershop
13. Shine A Light - Wolf Parade
14. The Moon - Cat Power
15. Sleepin’ Around - Sonic Youth

I’d be interested in hearing from Dangerous Minds readers what songs they feel have the Velvet touch.

NSFW. The video contains some nudity.
 

Posted by Marc Campbell
|
07.18.2011
03:48 pm
|
The Dictators live in New York, 1981
07.15.2011
05:56 pm
Topics:
Tags:


The Dictators in 1977.
 
Proto-punk rock monsters The Dictators performing live at Irving Plaza, NYC in 1981.

Taking inspiration from The Who and The Stooges and in the same league as no-nonsense asskickers like Earthquake and Blue Oyster Cult with a sardonic, streetwise, sense of humor, The Dictators were punk in attitude and arena rockers in spirit. I saw them on several occasions in 1977 and no matter where they played they blew the roof off the motherfucker. They embodied the power and glory of rock and roll while poking some fun at it at the same time. They had their priorities straight: cars and girls.
 

Posted by Marc Campbell
|
07.15.2011
05:56 pm
|
Where slamming in the pit began: Southern California’s notorious Cuckoo’s Nest
07.15.2011
01:53 am
Topics:
Tags:


 
Urban Struggle tells the tale of notorious Southern California punk club the Cuckoo’s Nest. In the early 1980s, the Costa Mesa venue hosted seminal punk and hardcore bands from The Ramones and The New York Dolls to local heroes like TSOL, The Circle Jerks, Fear and Black Flag. The club was the first to have a slam pit and was a magnet for cops and punk haters. The fact that it shared a parking lot with a honky tonk didn’t help.

This 1981 video has long been out-of-print, but a new documentary, We Were Feared, which covers the same scene and bands is soon to be released by Endurance Pictures. Consider this a long teaser. Some great footage of legendary bands.
 

Posted by Marc Campbell
|
07.15.2011
01:53 am
|
‘The New Wave’: dorky Hollywood ’77 report features the Germs & Rodney Bingenheimer
07.14.2011
04:04 pm
Topics:
Tags:

image
The Germs’ Pat Smear & Lorna Doom get touchy-feely with lead singer Darby Crash in The New Wave
 
“Not exactly wholesome, you might say,” notes slick & laid-back narrator Andrew Amador at the end of this weird and rather incomplete look at the burgeoning new music scene in Los Angeles.

Inexplicably opening up with the highly New York sounds of Patti Smith’s version of “Gloria,” The New Wave seems to have been a quick segment put together by erstwhile TV host Amador and shot by someone called Andre Champagne. I wonder if and where it actually aired. It’s an interesting enough artifact in that it features:

  • The earliest footage of Rodney Bingenheimer outside of his biography Mayor of the Sunset Strip
  • Footage of The Germs with Darby Crash in full feathered-and-waxed Bowie mode
  • A Sunset Strip marquee within the first 30 seconds featuring Pasadena’s Van Halen!
  • A bit too much footage of The Quick’s heartthrob lead singer Danny Wilde dreaming of stardom. He’d later do the music scene proud by forming the Rembrandts and recording “I’ll Be There For You,” the fittingly excruciating theme for the TV show Friends.

 

 
Originally posted on 10/26/2010.

Posted by Ron Nachmann
|
07.14.2011
04:04 pm
|
The legend of Jimmy Smack
07.14.2011
12:08 pm
Topics:
Tags:

image
 
After I posted this mix in April I received a fair number of requests to post my archive of private press vinyl by the mysterious early 80’s Los Angeles performance artist Jimmy Smack. Seeing as how I don’t know another soul that has this material and/or the inclination to share it, here ‘tis ! Anybody that attended or played shows in the post-punk Los Angeles underground circa 1982-83 most certainly came in regular contact with Jimmy Smack. He was a good decade or more older than most of the bands and was quite the scene fixture in his town of San Pedro where his Star Theatre was a primary hang-out and rehearsal space for early iterations of The Minutemen, Saccharine Trust and the rest of the fertile South Bay contingent. His live performances were incredible: Basically the man, made up in elaborate corpse-paint (certainly the first I ever saw), in fall tartan gear playing amazing electric bagpipes accompanied only by a then de-rigeur Dr. Rhythm drum box and reciting in a demonic Beefheart-esque growl some occasionally great, occasionally goofy (in a “going insane inside my brain” kind of way) doom and gloom poetry. All of this punctuated by unexpected and frightening screaming fits and wild underwear dancing. Indeed Smack claimed to have been a member of the L.A. Ballet company (whenever it existed) and was evidently also a professional choreographer. I purchased these pieces of vinyl directly from the man at various shows back then and had scarcely listened since. In revisiting them I’m truly blown away by his electric bagpipes and creative drum box mangling. If you didn’t know what you were listening to you’d be forgiven for thinking it to be some wild modular synth playing. I’m glad to be able to present these extremely obscure works for your listening pleasure. Doubtless this stuff deserves to be presented in a proper album format someday.

Death or Glory 7” E.P. :

 
Depression/Hating Life 7” :

 
Anguish 12” single :

 
(below: Jimmy Smack in 2009)
 
image
 
Jimmy Smack Vinyl Archive
 
DROVE UP FROM PEDRO An Early History Of San Pedro Punk By Lina Sedillo-Litonjua
 
thx Jeff Karlsen !

Originally posted 06/03/10.

 

Posted by Brad Laner
|
07.14.2011
12:08 pm
|
Page 115 of 139 ‹ First  < 113 114 115 116 117 >  Last ›