32 years ago and the writing was already on the wall…and this was before CDs hit the market.
Pinning their hopes on punk and power pop while not really supporting either didn’t help an industry in freefall. And despite the hype in this clip, generic bands like 707 barely created a ripple on the American airwaves. It wasn’t until Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” was released that the record execs felt a slight trembling in their scrotal sacs before things went cold again.
Ironically, good old vinyl is back and one of the few bright spots in the currently downsized music marketplace, selling more than it has in the past few decades.
Note Michael Nesmith on the Marquee (in 1979!), some punk bands on a club calender and the Dickies’ appearance. Tower Records R.I.P. And while Frampton came alive and eventually became zombified, Patti Smith still reigns!
Feast your ears on the pulsating pop perfection of “Bitter Pill” from former Bananarama/Shakespears Sister member, Siobhan Fahey.
Fahey has been performing again under the Shakespears Sister moniker since 2009. Although I’m a big fan of her music, I must confess that I did not know this. I’m glad she’s back. I didn’t know how much I’d missed her.
I first got wind of this track, released under her own name, on Larry Tee‘s Electroclash Mix compilation in 2003—in fact I bought it because of this song—but I was actually unaware until a couple of weeks ago that Fahey has actually recorded quite a lot of worthy music since then. Her 2009 album Songs From the Red Room is a very high quality product, indeed, on constant rotation at here at chez Dangerous Minds. I find her electro-glam sound absolutely relevant in this decade. Siobhan Fahey is a damned fine pop songwriter. Catchy pop music will never go out of fashion and she’s got a genius knack for coming up with effortlessly memorable melodies.
And she’s still freakin’ gorgeous. Always easy on the eyes, and now nearly 53, Fahey looks to be in her mid-thirties and is still a highly credible, sexy, sleekly feline front-woman. If any performer from the dreaded 80s is worthy of a second act—and let’s face it, few are—it’s Siobham Fahey. Don’t tale my word for it, watch the video and see for yourself.
“Bitter Pill” was re-vamped by the Pussycat Dolls for their debut album PCD in 2005, mashed together with the chorus from Donna Summer’s “Hot Stuff and re-titled “Hot Stuff (I Want You Back).” No surprises, it’s vastly inferior compared to the original.
Fahey herself recorded a rockier version of “Bitter Pill” with Adam & The Ants six-string maestro Marco Pirroni (a permanent member of my pantheon of guitar gods—he’s so underrated as a musician that it just pisses me off) for Songs From the Red Room. It’s available direct from the Shakespears Sister website and all the usual places. Siobhan Fahey’s got new material out this very week.
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!
Another gem from the BBC vaults via Adam Curtis’s blog: The Rock and Roll Singer, a documentary from 1969 that follows down-on-his-luck American rock and roller Gene Vincent for the first four days of a low budget English tour:
Gene Vincent had been a massive star only ten years before, but now much of that had gone and he takes you into a very British world of small dance halls on the Isle of Wight, cheap hotels where he has to tell the woman on the desk that he will be sharing with his roadie, and a rehearsal room in the basement of a pub in Croydon - where the walls are lined with old mattresses, plus a fantastic touring van.
It is just a wonderful film, full of long hand-held takes - and at the end you watch a man completely exhausted by his performance backstage in a tiny dance hall, and he really doesn’t want to do it any more. But then the promoter comes up from the darkness and leads Vincent like a child, by the hand, back onstage to do an encore.
Less than eighteen months later Vincent died - because an ulcer burst in his stomach.
An Australian couple are claiming to be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene. Alan John Miller and Mary Suzanne Luck have set up base on a huge property in Queensland’s Bible Belt along with a growing number of followers:
Followers joined forces in 2009 to buy a $400,000, 240ha property where they hold weekly meetings and plan to build a centre catering for international visitors.
In a bizarre coincidence, land clearing has created a giant cross on neighbouring properties that can be seen from space using Google Maps. Local residents insisted it was not carved deliberately.
Police are said to have been called to investigate screams in the area, only to discover members taking part in a healing exercise where they shout to help process “past soul damage” and ill feelings.
—snip—
Mr. Miller was born in Loxton and has two children from a previous marriage, which he says ended after he “began to remember details” of his past life.
Tailoring his appearance to look like Jesus, he yesterday held a workshop in Albury, New South Wales, where he stood by his claims and said at least “30 or 40” people had bought blocks around Wilkesdale.
“Mary and myself haven’t ever encouraged people to move out there. Some of the people we don’t even know,” he said.
In one recording he said: “There’s probably a million people who say they’re Jesus and most of them are in asylums. But one of us has to be. How do I know I am? Because I remember everything about my life.”
Scare small children and household pets with this DIY mask of famous German schlager-meister, Heino. Known for his constant sunglasses (for an eye condition), mellow bellow, and his goofy “oompa”-laden volksmusik, Heino’s vibe is probably not possible to appreciate unless you have a bit of the volk in you, I’d imagine, but don’t let me stop you from trying.
Below, a clip of Heino singing a Alpine folk tune with some shiny happy people in the comedy film Blau blüht der Enzian (which I’m sure is absolutely hilarious).
One more (why not?) of Heino singing “Carnival in Rio”:
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.
Sean Hoare, the News of the World phone-hacking whistleblower has been found dead at his home in Watford, the Guardian reports:
Sean Hoare, the former News of the World showbiz reporter who was the first named journalist to allege Andy Coulson was aware of phone hacking by his staff, has been found dead, the Guardian has learned.
Hoare, who worked on the Sun and the News of the World with Coulson before being dismissed for drink and drugs problems, is said to have been found dead at his Watford home.
Hertfordshire police would not confirm his identity, but the force said in a statement: “At 10.40am today [Monday 18 July] police were called to Langley Road, Watford, following the concerns for the welfare of a man who lives at an address on the street. Upon police and ambulance arrival at a property, the body of a man was found. The man was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after.
“The death is currently being treated as unexplained, but not thought to be suspicious. Police investigations into this incident are ongoing.”
Hoare first made his claims in a New York Times investigation into the phone-hacking allegations at the News of the World.
He told the newspaper that not only did Coulson know of the phone hacking, but that he actively encouraged his staff to intercept the phone calls of celebrities in the pursuit of exclusives.
In a subsequent interview with the BBC he alleged that he was personally asked by his then-editor, Coulson, to tap into phones. In an interview with the PM programme he said Coulson’s insistence that he didn’t know about the practice was “a lie, it is simply a lie”.
Earlier this year, Sean Hoare contributed to a BBC documentary, “Tabloid Hacks Exposed”, which examined the extent of illegal activity perpetrated by News International employees when obtaining a story, particularly the interception of computer email communications and phone hacking.
“Tabloid Hacks Exposed” was made for the BBC’s Panorama strand, and was first broadcast in March 2011, and is essential viewing.
Phone hacking was once dismissed by executives at News International as the illegal work of “one rogue reporter”. The defence collapsed with one journalist at the News of the World being sacked and the original police inquiry having to be re-opened.
Panorama exposes the full extent of the “dark arts” employed by journalists across the industry to get their story. The programme reveals a dishonourable history of law breaking that went beyond phone hacking and questions the police inaction that let it continue.
Great photo series from photographer Andrew Bush called “Drive” (also the title of a book you can purchase here). He’s posted 66 photos of Los Angelenos in their cars on his website. A lot of the snaps were captured in the late-80s through early-90s. I like how some of the drivers are completely oblivious that they’re being photographed.
So a friend of mine runs a club night in manchester and had a lot of flyers left spare. So he sent them my way in hope that i could put them to better use than going to the bin men. And here is what i created… i have used a mixture of pleating and layering (as you can see in the second to last picture) as well as making stiff 3d triangular prisms. i love the structure of this dress and the angular silhouette.
Great Beast 666 Ouija board, handmade by James Woodford:
Litho print mounted onto hand stained and treated board with colour matched felt backing for that luxurious touch. Complete with planchette designed and fabricated by myself. In wood. Again hand finished to a high standard. Each board has a hand-made bag for safe keeping, covered in Crowleys unique interpretation of the Unicurcal hexagram.
This will be in a limited edition of 50 Ouija boards. £200.00. Order here.
Photographer Brad Elterman was smack dab in the middle of L.A.‘s rock and roll vortex at a pivotal time in the 1970s. His camera caught some of the energy of the moment in sharply etched fragments of time.
Elterman’s career started with a borrowed camera at the age of 16. His first photo, of Bob Dylan performing onstage, was published in 1974.
That lead to endless nights of covering the rock scene in Hollywood encompassing pop, punk and rock bands including Joan Jett and The Runaways, Rod Stewart, David Bowie, the Sex Pistols, Kiss, Queen, Blondie, the Ramones, the Bay City Rollers, Abba, Boney M, Kenny Rogers, The Who, Leif Garrett, Michael Jackson, etc.
“It was my education in life,” says Brad, who left school to travel with bands and visit European magazine editors at the age of 19. “I had a front row seat in life which took me everywhere from Munich to Tokyo to Rio.” Brad toured Japan with teen idol Leif Garret, traveled to South America with German pop stars Boney M, and did tour dates with The Eagles and Rod Stewart, just to name a few.
Elterman has an almost Zen gift of being in the right place at the right time, capturing unguarded moments that seep through the cracks of his subject’s facades.
He’s published a collection of his extraordinary black and white photos in a limited edition of 500 copies. While “Like It Was Yesterday” seems to have gone out of print, Amazon has a few for sale here. You can also purchase prints of Elterman’s work at his website, which is worth visiting for more detailed views of these and many more photographs and his fascinating descriptions of how they came about. I’m waiting for his memoirs.
Cherie and Marie Currie. A video interview with Brad Elterman and more photos after the jump…...
