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Rarely seen video of Patti Smith on daytime TV in 1978
05.22.2011
07:37 pm
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Patti Smith appears on the Mike Douglas Show - March 8, 1978.

A giggling Kristy McNichol seems quite amused by Patti. Anne Meara, Jerry Stiller and William Shatner were also on the same program. Imagine a Shatner/Smith duet of “Rock and Roll Nigger.” One can only dream.

Patti is ostensibly on the show to promote her book Babel. Odd to see a poet making the daytime television rounds to promote a book of poetry that was published in a limited edition. She ends up spending most of her time talking about Muhammad Ali.
 

 

Posted by Marc Campbell
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05.22.2011
07:37 pm
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Does Henry Rollins pass the ‘Man Test’?
05.16.2011
09:34 am
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Man Test was a British TV program where famous people are asked a series of questions on their private lives, and asked to rate their feelings on certain topics from one to seven. The overall score will determine whether a person falls more into the “masculine” or “feminine” category. Where do you think Henry Rollins lands? The answer may surprise you.

Richard recently stated that it was vogue-ish to hate on Rollins. About as vogue-ish as it was to idolize him in the 80s and 90s? Personally I have mixed feelings about Hank - I do like him, but think he is also capable of massive dick moves. The infamous clip of Rollins “confronting” a group of young people (known in some particular circles as “hipsters”) in a NY café is a great example - his confrontational stance makes the situation much worse and he makes a lot of unjustified assumptions about these kids, assumptions that could very easily apply to him too. Being over-tattooed is definitely one.

On the other hand, I’ve only just recently watched The Henry Rollins Show, as it never aired in the UK as far as I knew. To my mild surprise I like it and him. He comes across well, though that would be the point of having your own TV show I guess. But Rollins is an excellent interviewer, holding back on inserting his own ego into conversations and good at creating rapport with his guests. The Werner Herzog and Steve Buscemi interviews are good examples. I don’t even mind his rants on the show, which is more surprising as I am not a fan of his stand up. It’s hectoring, and not as insightful or as clever as he thinks it is.

Man Test gives some surprising insights into Henry Rollins’ character. The show, from 2000, asks him some direct questions about his love and family life, which he is not afraid of answering openly. Rollins is not a man who wears his intelligence lightly, which works against him sometimes, but he is definitely an interesting character. Personally, I would like to know if he is a fan of TLC’s “No Scrubs”?
 
Henry Rollins - Man Test Part One
 


 
Henry Rollins - Man Test Part Two
 

Posted by Niall O'Conghaile
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05.16.2011
09:34 am
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Fucked Up - the best live band in the world deliver the single of the year?
05.13.2011
09:23 am
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Fucked Up are the best live band in the world right now. And you can take that to the fucking bank. Last night I saw them again, playing in Manchester, and even though I dithered about going all day, the second they launched in to their first song I knew I had made the right decision. Even the old ex-punks and the hard rock daddies agreed, showing their appreciation with beer-bellied body slams and hardcore dance moves they hadn’t busted in 20 years.

Fucked Up are a band who inspire genuine devotion in their fans, a reaction that goes much deeper than than simply liking the music and thinking they are pretty cool. They connect with their audience at a primal level. Singer Pink Eyes spends about 85% of the show in the crowd doling out as many sweaty bear hugs as he can manage. Their moshpits are intense but friendly and positive. They don’t hector their crowd or treat them like idiots, and they don’t use macho posturing to prove any kind of credentials. They are inclusive. You don’t come away from their show feeling weak and inadequate because some guy is over compensating for his white-bred privilege. If, as Richard stated the other day, Henry Rollins is the punk rock Charles Manson then Pink Eyes is the punk rock Santa Claus. And I’d rather get a present than get stabbed. 

Matador are currently gearing up to the release of the next Fucked Up album David Comes to Life on June 7th (US, June 8th UK) with four digital releases available to buy or download for free at 192 kbps. David Comes To Life is a 78 minute rock opera set in 80s Thatcherite Britain and if these tracks are anything to go by this album is going to be really good - “The Other Shoe” is already a very strong contender for single of the year.

Fucked Up - “The Other Shoe” Download here
 

 
Fucked Up - “A Little Death” Download here
 

 
Fucked Up - “Ship Of Fools” Download here
 

 
Fucked Up - “Queen Of Hearts” Download here
 

 

 

For more info on David Comes To Life visit davidcomestolife.com, or check out the Matador Records blog. I have to be honest with you guys - I haven’t been genuinely excited by a rock band in about, ooh, at least a decade. More. But Fucked Up are making me fall in love with rock music all over again. If you ever get the chance to see their shows, do it!

Posted by Niall O'Conghaile
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05.13.2011
09:23 am
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Flamin’ Groovies TV promos
05.12.2011
06:00 pm
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“Shake Some Action,” both the song and album, is one of my all-time favorites. The Flamin’ Groovies’ celebration of sixties garage rock and their punkish power pop sound was too ahead of its time for the USA . They moved to England where they found an audience receptive to their brand of unadulterated rock and roll.

Here’s two promo videos from The Groovies followed, after the jump, by a terrific performance of “Slow Death” on French TV.


“Shake Some Action” - November 1, 1987 on French TV show “Decibels.” This incarnation of The Groovies features only two of the original group: Cyril Jordan and George Alexander. With Jack Johnson and Paul Zahl from Roky Erickson’s band.

“Slow Death” -1973 The Marquee, London, England. Firing on all cylinders. Chris Wilson, Cyril Jordan, George Alexander, Tim Lynch, Danny Mihm
 

 
“Slow Death,” 1972 TV performance after the jump…

READ ON
Posted by Marc Campbell
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05.12.2011
06:00 pm
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Fred and Patti Smith perform ‘My Generation’, 1978
05.11.2011
04:52 pm
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The other Smiths.

The family that plays together stays together. Patti and future husband Fred ‘Sonic’ Smith perform My Generation at the Second Chance Club in Ann Arbor, 1978.

Despite the rough quality of the video, this rocks!
 

 
Same time and place, Patti does Rock and Roll Nigger.
 

Posted by Marc Campbell
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05.11.2011
04:52 pm
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Sonic Youth raw and live in 1991
05.10.2011
10:57 pm
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Sonic Youth perform fiery versions of “Mary Christ” and “The Bedroom” in the parking lot of the San Franciso Tower Records in 1991. Video shot by Matt Cornell.
 

 

Posted by Marc Campbell
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05.10.2011
10:57 pm
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From Heaven With Love: Download the best of Lizzy Mercier Descloux for free
05.09.2011
08:12 pm
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Lizzy Mercier Descloux was a multi-talented French recording artist who made waves in the New York underground in the 1980s. Perhaps best known for her early 80s no wave-meets-funk output, she found more commercial success later in the decade with a world music inspired sound. The girlfriend and sometime business partner of the entrepreneur Michel Esteban, she was signed to his uber-hip ZE Records, also home to Was (Not Was), Kid Creole & The Coconuts, James White, Suicide and many more. She released three albums and a bunch of singles for the label, before moving on to CBS in 1984.

Unfortunately Lizzy Mercier Descloux passed away in 2004. Since then the re-established ZE Records have been doing a cracking job at re-releasing her older material. Her sound was distinctive - sometimes abrasive, sometimes energetic and always exciting. Now ZE are giving away a twelve track compilation of the best of Descloux’s work called From Heaven With Love, available for the next seven days only from the official ZE website. The only catch is that you sign up to the record label’s mailing list, but really you should consider doing that anyway as their catalog and roster of acts is immense. This is a taster of what is on the comp:
 
Lizzy Mercier Descloux - “Wawa”
 

 
Lizzy Mercier Descloux - “Hard-Boiled Babe” (what a beat!!)
 

 
Lizzy Mercier Descloux - “Slipped Disc”
 

 
To download the 12 track From Heaven With Love compilation, go here.

Posted by Niall O'Conghaile
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05.09.2011
08:12 pm
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Iggy Pop’s tribute to Ron Asheton: Ann Arbor, April 19
05.07.2011
03:46 pm
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This is simply lovely. Iggy is such a gentleman.

“Iggy Pop speaks of his friend, Ron Asheton and the sings “Ron’s Tune” written by him and James Williamson at the Tribute to Ron Asheton concert.”

Michigan Theater, Ann Arbor. April 19, 2011.

Artwork by the supremely talented Jeremy Wheeler.
 

Posted by Marc Campbell
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05.07.2011
03:46 pm
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‘Before I Pass Away’: Insane live Monotonix video
05.06.2011
02:31 pm
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They are now history, having played their last concert in London on March 6th, 2011, but this live video of kamikaze Israeli garage/noise rockers Monotonix is a fun souvenir from one of their frenzied final performances. Shot at the Echoplex in Los Angeles.

With no money available for a music video, director Julien Nitzberg (“The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia”) put out a call for Monotonix friends and fans to bring any manner camera or iPhone to document this show from their farewell tour.

The Monotonix later described this as the most chaotic, violent show they ever played. Because the band always insisted on playing in the crowd not on the stage, one camera and an iPhone were accidentally destroyed when crowd members, surging to get close to the band, knocked over the camera operators.

The Monotonix were Ami Shalev, Yonatan Gat, and Haggai Fershtman.
 

 

Posted by Richard Metzger
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05.06.2011
02:31 pm
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Portrait of Poly Styrene as a young artist: 40 minute documentary
05.02.2011
02:56 am
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Here’s an intimate look at the much-beloved Poly Styrene. This BBC documentary from 1978 took me a little while to track down, but here it is in its entirety. Well-directed by Alan Yentob.

Poly was such a extraordinary combination of vulnerability and strength.

Integrating voice-overs of Poly reciting her lyrics with live performance footage and life offstage, Who Is Poly Styrene? is an unusually personal documentary of a young artist grappling with the sudden pop stardom from which she would eventually flee.

Identity
Is the crisis
Can’t you see
Identity identity

When you look in the mirror
Do you see yourself
Do you see yourself
On the t.v. screen
Do you see yourself
In the magazine
When you see yourself
Does it make you scream

When you look in the mirror
Do you smash it quick
Do you take the glass
And slash your wrists
Did you do it for fame
Did you do it in a fit
Did you do it before
You read about it

I probably overuse the words “rarely seen” and “rare” when it comes to sharing stuff on DM but in this case the terms are truly applicable. Up until now, this was not easy to find on the net. Enjoy.
 

Posted by Marc Campbell
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05.02.2011
02:56 am
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