Upside Down: The Creation Records Story is a roller coaster of film, which tells the incredible tale of one of the most important independent record labels of the past fifty years - Creation Records. 

This excellent film reveals how the gallus Glaswegian Alan McGee started the label with a £1,000 bank loan in the 1980s, and went on shape music in the 1980s and 1990s, as he made Creation home to such talents as The Jesus and Mary Chain, Primal Scream, Medicine, The Pastels, Teenage Fanclub, BMX Bandits, Super Furry Animals, The Boo Radleys, Saint Etienne, Momus, My Bloody Valentine, 3 Colours Red and Oasis - who were signed for £40,000.

McGee originally thought Liam Gallagher was the band’s drug dealer, as he told the Sun:

“I was up in Glasgow seeing my dad and I wasn’t sure I’d even go to the gig. I got there early by mistake. Oasis were on first, before most people arrived. There was this amazing young version of Paul Weller sat there in a light blue Adidas tracksuit. I assumed he was the drug dealer and that Bonehead, the guitarist, was the singer.

“It was only when they went on stage I realised it was the lead singer Liam Gallagher. I knew I had to sign them.

“Noel and I talked after the show and just said ‘done’ and he turned out to be a man of his word.

“I was lucky to be there. We didn’t send out scouts. Most of my signings were because I happened to see new bands. That couldn’t happen any more. If a new band as much as farts it’s all over the internet.”

Upside Down: The Creation Records Story brilliantly captures the creativity that came out of the chaos of the legendary McGee’s drug-fueled reign as President of Pop.

“I was on one continuous bender from 1987 until 1994. Until Oasis came along the Creation staff were more rock and roll than the bands we signed. Then Oasis came along and things got even crazier.

“I was permanently off my head on cocaine, ecstasy, acid and speed. We’d be awake for three days.

“We went one further than having dealers hanging around. We just employed them instead.

“But they were different times. If you behaved now like we used to people would phone the police.”

Upside Down: The Creation Records Story is now available on DVD, with a short cinema release, details here.
 

 
Oh shit, Gang Gang ! It’s everything time. Yes, I’m excited. Gang Gang Dance is one of the most potent bands going these days, hitting so many of my pleasure receptors at once. A band that understands mystery and darkness, groove and texture. Savor it, there’s no other band like ‘em.
 

 
Apparently the Fab Four consisted of John Legend, George Michael, George Lennon and Larry.

 
(via Nerdcore)

 
These photographs by Frank Marshall of heavy metal devotees in Botswana, Africa are simply amazing, oozing style and attitude.

Botswana metalhead Tshomarelo Mosaka describes the scene:

Metal is given very extreme respect and great dignity in Botswana. A metal gig here is like a religious ritual among the metallers, they become very, very delighted or even crazy sometimes whenever there is an upcoming gig. They will spend weeks preparing their leather pants, boots and other metal attire – it’s like they are preparing for war!”

One of the only white metal musicians in Botswana, Giuseppe Sbrana, shares his take on where the scene’s fashion sense comes from: 

A good example of where we get the style from is Motorhead’s Ace Of Spades cover. Also, many metalheads in Botswana are cowboys from the villages and farms, so they mix the cowboy image with a biker metal look. Many wear hunting knives and parts of dead animals. We drink from the hollowed-out cow horns.”

Cue the Ennio Morricone.
 

 
Some serious Misfits influence in this photo:
 

 
The names these cats have given themselves are hardcore poetry: Bone Machine, Morgue Boss, Bound By The Moon, Coffinfeeder, Venerated Villain and my favorite Apothecary Dethrok. I’m buying some leather and changing my name to Malcolm Sex Formal D. Hyde Sinister Minister.

Be your own hero, anytime anywhere. Dudes, you rock!
 

 
See more of these wild photographs and read the entire article over at Viceland:
Atlas Hoods: Botswana’s Cowboy Metalheads

 
Poet, musician, film maker, photographer, publisher, world traveler, spiritual seeker and cosmic New Yorker, Ira Cohen has died at the age of 76

Author of dozens of books of poetry and “The Hashish Cookbook” (under the pseudonym of Panama Rose), Cohen also published the works of his friends William Burroughs, Gregory Corso, Paul Bowles, Brion Gysin, Jack Smith Harold Norse and many others.

Cohen made many pilgrimages to India and Kathmandu (where he ended up living for several years) and chronicled his journeys in extraordinary photographs. His travels took him to Morocco, Tunisia, Afghanistan, Spain, Japan…but all roads eventually lead back to New York City’s Lower East Side.

As a film maker, Cohen developed a style distinctly his own by photographing images reflected in Mylar plastic. The Invasion Of Thunderbolt Pagoda and Brain Damage were directed by Cohen in the late 1960s using this mirror effect. The Invasion Of Thunderbolt Pagoda was released in 2006 on DVD by the folks at the late lamented Arthur Magazine. Cohen conjured some of the same cinematic spirits as his peers Jack Smith and Kenneth Anger.
 

Jimi Hendrix photographed by Ira Cohen
 

In certain artistic and literary circles, Mr. Cohen was a touchstone. “Ira was a major figure in the international underground and avant-garde,” Michael Rothenberg, the editor of Big Bridge magazine, an Internet publication, said in an interview. “In order to understand American art and poetry post-World War II, you have to understand Ira Cohen.”

If you spent any time in downtown New York’s art scene during the past five decades you would have undoubtedly crossed paths with the open-hearted and wise gentleman who described himself as a “multi-media shaman.” Ira Cohen stayed relevant throughout his life, never square and never predictable. He was magic. His sphere of influence only grew larger as he grew older. His International reputation as a world class artist and wizard continued to flourish right up to his death on April 26.

Here’s an excerpt of The Invasion of Thunderbolt Pagoda which features a score by the original drummer of the Velvet Underground, Angus MacLise.
 

 
A trailer from a film on Ira Cohen and scenes from his film “Brain Damage” after the jump…

 
The Dangerous Minds Radio Hour kicks off it’s 21st episode with special guest DJ Comet of Mod Cinema who excitingly rummaged through his musical collection to
bring rare tracks from France, Australia, Germany, Brazil, UK, Japan, and the good ol’ USA.
 
Francoise Hardy “L’amour en prive”
The Gibsons “City Life”
Peter Thomas Sound Orchestra “Oh, Oh, Oooh, Ei Ei Ei - Wo Immer Es Auch Sei”
The Doves “I’ll Cry If You Make Me”
Gal Costa “Lost in the Paradise”
Charizma and Peanut Butter Wolf “Talk About a Girl”
Bertrand Burgalat “Pleased Me”
Alan Brackett & Scott Shelly “Best Times”
Steve Martin “Love Songs in the Night”
Connie Stevens “Tick Tock”
The Rotary Connection “Memory Band”
Dee Edwards “Why Can’t There Be Love”
M.E.D. “Can’t Hold On” (instrumental)
The Tremeloes “I Swear”
Oh! Penelope “Lait Au Miel”
Judy Mackenzie “New Song”
Pascale Audret “Affole-Toi Marie”
Cliff Wagner “Red Spots”
Lee Hazlewood & Ann Margret “Sweet Thing”
Chris Stamey “the Summer Sun”
Astrud Gilberto “Number One to the Sun”
Lyn Murray “Love Hate Love”
 

 
Download this week’s episode
 
Subscribe to the Dangerous Minds Radio Hour podcast at iTunes
 
Video bonus: Four years after Detroit soul group The Dramatics broke into
the Top 10 with their hit song Whatcha See is Whatcha Get they appeared
as themselves in the very strange 1975 Blaxploitation film Darktown
Strutters.
 

 
Produced by the The Rolling Stones’ manager Andrew Loog Oldham and directed by Peter Whitehead Charlie Is My Darling documents the band’s 1965 two city tour of Ireland. A somewhat haphazard affair, the film is none-the-less a fascinating glimpse into the life of The Stones on the road, backstage, performing and getting drunk. It also includes some footage of fans rioting at London’s Royal Albert Hall which was later inserted at Oldham’s behest to make the movie more commercial.

Whitehead directed one of the seminal films about the swinging sixties, Tonite Let’s All Make Love In London, and the exhilarating documentary of the infamous beat poet gathering at Royal Albert Hall, Wholly Communion. After seeing Wholly Communion, Oldham picked Whitehead to direct a freewheeling film that would compete with the success of the Beatle movies. The result was something a bit darker and rougher than anything produced by the Beatles at the time.

Charlie Is My Darling was given its premiere at the Mannheim Film Festival in 1966 when Joseph von Sternberg was Director of the Festival. He said - “When all the other films at this festival are long forgotten, this film will still be watched - as a unique document of its times.”

Filmed over three days in Dublin and Belfast, the film captures the boys in all their pristine and unspoilt pagan energy and satanic glory - soon after the release of their first big single in America - the record which established them there - “I can’t get no satisfaction”.

The passionate stage performances are finally wrecked by fans getting on the stage - the boys have to flee for their lives over railway lines when they arrive in Belfast. Scenes in the dressing room are highlighted by Keith playing acoustic Blues guitar - showing what a master he was on the guitar, and how serious he had always been about Blues music. Interviews with Charlie and Bill are very revealing - but most poignant of all is the interview with Brian Jones in which he discusses his threatened future as a Rolling Stone. Speaking only of ‘time’ and ‘insecurity of his future as a Rolling Stone’, he seemed already unconsciously aware of his fate. Did he not deliberately bring it upon himself?

The film ends with the legendary scenes of Keith and Mick drunk in the hotel ballroom - Keith playing the piano (extremely well!) and Mick doing an accurate and subversive impersonation of Elvis.”

The rights to Charlie Is My Darling and its soundtrack became entangled in legal problems when Allen Klein took over management of The Stones. Klein had a rep for being difficult (which is putting it kindly) when it came to controlling the band’s assets. So the original cut of the film was never released on video. A DVD version was released in England with a soundtrack of generic instrumental pop as background music and is basically unwatchable.

Here’s the real deal:
 

 
In another twist on the apparent death of 9/11 mastermind Osama Bin Laden, it turns out that US Special Forces were pretty much helpless to find the world’s most wanted terrorist.

It took one of Jamaica’s most heroic and physically capable dreads, Konfu Dread, to use his “so excellent” kung-fu powers—which he deems “amongst the greatest”—to take down the man who eluded so many leaders and armed forces. 
 

 
After the jump: all four ass-kicking episodes of the Konfu Dread saga so far!

 
It’s OK: The Beach Boys’ 15th Anniversary TV Special aired in 1976 on NBC. It was a weird affair created when Brian Wilson was at the lowest ebb of his struggle with substance abuse and depression. Produced by Lorne Michaels and written by John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, the show features a barely willing Wilson lured back into the studio and, in a bit that is both funny and sad, onto the beach and a surfboard. As most of us know, Brian was not a surfer and in this clip he’s barely a pedestrian. I have a feeling this may have been therapeutic for Brian.
 

Three Villagers and a Farfisa.
 
The Village Square was a weekly TV series that originated in Charleston, South Carolina and was syndicated all across the USA. It aired every week from 1965-68. The show’s house band The Villagers would cover current top 40 hits while the Village Dancers would Frug and Pony in their ultra-groovy go-go boots

In this video, The Villagers cover “Funky Broadway’ while singer Dana Douglas displays his signature serpentine dance moves. Down South, even the white kids know how to mess that shit around.