It’s called rock ‘n’ roll and it can change your life.
01. Love and Only Love
02. Powderfinger
03. Born In Ontario
04. Walk Like A Giant
05. The Needle And The Damage Done
06. Twisted Road
07. Fuckin’ Up
08. Keep On Rockin’ In The Free World (w/ Dave Grohl, Pat Smear, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett and Taylor Hawkins [Foo Fighters], Dan Auerbach [The Black Keys] and K’NAAN)
Watch it in 720p.
The inimitable Bernard Falk’s quirky tale of a lost Beatles’ tape, and the men who hoped to make some money from its discovery.
The tape was recorded by Beat musician Teddy Taylor in Hamburg, on Christmas Eve, 1962. Taylor was the lead singer with Kingsize Taylor and The Dominoes, one of the dozens of Merseyside bands formed in the late 1950s, that hoped to match The Beatles’ 60’s success. Kingsize sold one million records on the continent, but had lacked any success back home. This sadly led to the band splitting-up in 1964. Taylor went onto the ordinary life as a butcher in Southport, where Falk interviewed him about the mysterious discovery of a “lost Beatles’ tape”.
Falk died in 1990, and is sadly now remembered for his hosting the ill-conceived late-night, interview series, Sin on Saturday, which was famously pulled after only 3 episodes. Clips from Sin on Saturday regularly make top 10 worst program lists, mainly for the legendary appearance of a drunk Oliver Reed, which is a shame, as Falk was a talented journalist, who made quirky, intelligent, entertaining and memorable TV reports. A hint of Falk’s skill can be seen here, when he catches up with likely lads, Teddy Taylor and The Beatles first manager Allan Williams - who famously gave the band away to Brian Epstein. Both are memorable characters and the footage of seventies disco dancing is fabulous.
First broadcast on BBC’s Nationwide, September 17th, 1973.
With thanks to Nellym
When you work on a blog, you have to deal with the occupational hazard of Internet trolls on a daily, even hourly, basis. Being told how fat, old, ugly, ignorant, that you’re “on Obama’s payroll” and stupid shit like that throughout the day gets old really fast. Moderating the Disqus thread in the morning means you take your coffee with a nice slice of invective, even for the most innocuous things (like the idiot I banned who reacted to me posting a Neil Sedaka video—Neil fucking Sedaka!—as if I was the biggest fool on the planet, that my shitty taste in music had made me the goat boy laughingstock of the entire Internet, etc., etc. Why all the hate for Neil Sedaka, buddy? Forget your meds that day?).
In any case, this morning, I happened upon an especially inane string of LOL moments courtesy of a YouTube comment thread supposedly about the nearly forgotten early 70s British prog band Atomic Rooster (former members of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown).
What do any of these comments have to do Atomic Rooster? Nothing, not a blessed thing:
These comments reminded me of Brit wit Adam Buxton’s recent series on Sky HD in the UK, Adam Buxton’s Bug. Bug is ostensibly a show about music videos, but the music videos themselves are really just an excuse to give Buxton a reason to do his hilariously droll comic readings of YouTube comment threads. Here he is reading the thread for Die Antwoord’s “Enter the Ninja” video:
After the jump, the Atomic Rooster clip for “Devil’s Answer” that begat all this silliness…
Felted portrait of King Crimson circa 1972 by Wasawasawa
There’s not really all that much by way of film or video footage of the pre-80s incarnations of King Crimson. As in nearly none. Thankfully what does exist tends to be fantastic. Here’s an intense run-through of “Larks’ Tongues in Aspic” on Germany’s Beat Club TV show in 1972, with Robert Fripp, David Cross, John Wetton, Bill Bruford and Jamie Muir.
And speaking of Larks’ Tongues in Aspic
The album will also come out as a CD/DVD-A combo package with a new stereo mix and the 5.1 new surround mix, alt mixes by WIlson and the video footage; and as a more modest- priced two CD set.
They were making a film, and Alex Harvey was the director, creating the different scenes, to which SAHB put the sound track. And what a great film it was too.
It’s 30 years since Alex Harvey died on the eve of his 47th birthday. Hard to believe, but there it is. It seems so recent but is now so very far away. Yet, we all need some Alex Harvey in our life, just to remember the brilliance of the man, and of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band. Here is Alex in a brief interview with “Whispering” Bob Harris on the Old Grey Whistle Test, where he talks about his early days as the Scottish Tommy Steele, playing in the Big Soul Band, and performing in the musical Hair. The key thing to note here is the long apprenticeship Harvey had before he reaped success.
Previously on Dangerous Minds
3 bonus tracks from SAHB, after the jump…
The maniacs at Aggronautix have come up with another freaky bobblehead to add to your collection: Blowfly!
BLOWFLY is the alter ego of legendary singer songwriter Clarence Reid. The inventor of the Miami soul sound, Reid has written massive hits for KC and The Sunshine Band, Gwen McRae (1975’s R&B #1 hit ‘Rocking Chair’), Betty Wright and Sam and Dave along with his own successful recordings, most notably the hit ‘Nobody But You Babe’. Yet it is Reid’s mysterious and shocking alter-ego, BLOWFLY, which continues to shock and entertain audiences with his insane brand of funky X-Rated parody albums and filthy originals. With a career spanning nearly 50 years and over 20 albums, Blowfly’s 1965 recording, ‘Rap Dirty’ is often referenced as the first rap song and Blowfly was the first rapper to have a record banned! His albums are legendary and have been acknowledged as highly influential within the rap community.
Get yours right here. Limited edition of 500.
Check out this video of Blowfly and Jello Biafra (dressed as the Pope) at Oakland’s legendary Stork Club.
Poor guy. I’m sure all he wanted was to talk to the founder of The Modern Lovers
For the record, I’ve seen Jonathan Richman twice (once for his Because Her Beauty Is Raw and Wild
Crimes against rock ‘n’ roll: Case #672 - hair band, name and origin unknown.
Can you name the myriad ways in which this fails?
Update: DM reader Justin has the answer. They’re Shotgun Messiah, a glam metal band originally from Sweden.
I don’t know. Sounds like Shotgun Messiah is shooting blanks.
Stevens looks appropriately continental in this live performance for French TV in 1967.
Dig the shades and the velvet suit. Ultra-hip. Too bad he turned into a hippie and grew all that facial hair.
Cat sings about a dog. “I Love My Dog.”
Cub Coda, Radio deejay Pat Appleson and George Carlin
Ann Arbor’s Brownsville Station formed in 1969. Their style of rootsy, blues-based rock and pile-driving rockabilly along with their theatrical glammy threads and punky attitude put them in the same school as The NY Dolls, The Stooges, Alice Cooper and the MC5. Their 1973 hit, “Smokin’ In The Boy’s Room,” is an anthemic punk stomper later covered by Motley Crue and Alice Cooper. Brownsville Station was the definition of a one hit wonder but among hardcore rock fans they were always respected for their no bullshit approach to rock and roll. They kept it fun and real. And part of that was due to their lead singer and guitarist Cub Coda’s undying allegiance to keeping the music pure and unadulterated in the tradition of the legendary rockers who came before him: Chuck Berry, Gene Vincent, Bo Diddley and Link Wray.
The break-up of Brownsville Station in 1979 didn’t slow the beat of Coda’s rock ‘n’ roll heart. Coda was a smart cat with a huge record collection and a real passion for popular music’s history - a boogie woogie evangelist and rock ‘n’ renaissance man. He wrote dozens of liner notes (mostly for blues and roots albums) and was a regular contributor to several music magazines, including The Vinyl Junkie. He formed several bands over the years and played solo, mostly in small clubs and bars and continued to record right up to his death of kidney disease in 2000. He was all about the music.
I’ve been reading some of Coda’s liner notes and excerpts from a book he contributed to, “Blues For Dummies.” I think my favorite piece he wrote was this short review of the re-issue of The Shagg’s “Philosophy Of World.” He gets at the very essence of The Shagg’s goofy magic.
The guilelessness that permeates these performances is simply amazing, making a virtue out of artlessness. There’s an innocence to these songs and their performances that’s both charming and unsettling. Hacked-at drumbeats, whacked-around chords, songs that seem to have little or no meter to them (“My Pal Foot Foot,” “Who Are Parents,” “That Little Sports Car,” “I’m So Happy When You’re Near” are must-hears) being played on out-of-tune, pawn-shop-quality guitars all converge, creating dissonance and beauty, chaos and tranquility, causing any listener coming to this music to rearrange any pre-existing notions about the relationships between talent, originality, and ability. There is no album you might own that sounds remotely like this one.
Brownsville Station on The Midnight Special. Too cool for school.