This is a trip. What appears (at least to the guy who filmed it) to be footage of the New York Dolls playing at the Central Park Bandshell in 1973 is actually the Harlots Of 42nd Street fronted by Gene Harlot.

Despite getting the details wrong, the guy who shot the footage described its history with good humor and warmth:

Two young parents with a Super8, taking their young children out for a walk in Central Park in 1973. They lived on the east side and preferred listening to Perry Como and Bread. The children would later renounce this lamentable music upbringing and go see the Ramones in the early 1980s. Perhaps this brief vision of glam caused them to stray.

And what of the Harlots? This is what David Johansen had to say about the band:

We used to compete with the Harlots of 42nd Street which was a group of guys who looked like truck drivers but dressed like the Dolls and wore, like, fishnet stockings over these big muscular hairy legs. They were my favorite band.”

 

 
The Harlots of 42nd Street were a fixture at the legendary Coventry club in Queens, NY and various venues in Manhattan. They released a 45rpm record on the Sunburst label in 1974: “Cool Dude & Foxy Lady / Spray Paint Bandit.” They disbanded shortly after releasing the record.

This may be the only known footage of The Harlots. As mentioned earlier, the title credits are wrong. The fellow who shot the film also claims that the guy dancing in front of the stage is Lou Rawls. Must have been tripping.
 

 
For your listening pleasure: “Spray Paint Bandits.”

 
Personally, I think this is punk as fuck. Neil Young and Crazy Horse (Billy Talbot, Ralph Molina and Frank “Poncho” Sampedro) rock the garage with “Oh Susannah”—the first video from the new album Americana —coming June 5th.

The vintage film footage in the video is quite striking and may cause a bit of a stir. There’s a kid smoking in it. YouTube busted one of my videos (“88 Lines About 44 Women”) that had a kid smoking in it…but I’m not Neil Young.
 

 
Patti Smith and Lizzy Mercier Descloux as Arthur Rimbaud and his sister, Isabelle Rimbaud. Photographed in 1977 by Michel Esteban.
 

 

 
More after the jump…

 
Spanish pop star and provocateur Albert Plá croons among the ‘shrooms in this psychedelic video in which his prick takes on a life of its own - a dilemma a great number of men are familiar with.

Exactly what kind of mushrooms are those?

Plá is a big deal in Spain and I can see why. Well-hongos.
 

 
Living in New York City in the 1980s one could not help but be suffused with the sounds emitting from beat boxes tuned to the dance party grooves of Kiss F.M. - it was the sound of the city. Sadly, KISS is no more. The powers that be pulled the plug on the station and 98.7 on the dial is now a sports channel.

Birthplace Magazine reports:

DJ Red Alert, a pioneering radio icon responsible for helping launch the careers of dozens of hip hop artists, broadcast for the last time from New York’s KISS-FM, his radio home during the early days of hip hop and throughout the years. The station, WRKS (98.7), announced a change in format on April, 26, 2012, shocking KISS-FM listeners who had been tuning in for decades.

ESPN has now taken over the frequency while former station rival WBLS (107.5) will “absorb” the KISS-FM branding. It is unclear how much of 98.7′s KISS staff will also move down the dial.

“Kool” DJ Red Alert, along with his WBLS counterparts Mr. Magic and Marley Marl, helped usher in what is often considered hip hop’s “Golden Era,” bringing rap music to New York’s airwaves in a groundbreaking way. Besides being a DJ for artists and groups such as Afrika Bambaata and KRS-One, Red Alert was also personally responsible for managing and breaking artists like the Jungle Brothers, A Tribe Called Quest and Queen Latifah.

The Bronx Hall of Fame member became emotional during his final 49 minute-long mix, thanking staff at Kiss-FM. “Lord gave me the best. I respect y’all. I thank y’all. Y’all don’t understand how I feel. I love y’all.” Red Alert said, his voice breaking down. He then ended his long broadcasting career at 98.7, speaking to his listening audience, many who have grown up listening to Red’s familiar voice, distinctive style and custom catchphrases, telling them, “Once again, I’m signing off. 98.7, Kiss-FM. God bless each and every one of y’all. I’m outta here.”

A little bit of New York City died over the weekend. Reminisce on this: Red Alert’s goodbye KISS - a mix in two parts.
 

 
John Peel’s Record Collection will go online tomorrow, 1st May. The John Peel Center for Creative Arts will start uploading details of the DJ’s famed collection. Each week 100 discs will be made available, covering every genre of music, and unveiling 2,600 albums over the coming 6 months.

Tom Barker, Director of the John Peel Center for Creative Arts explains:

Each of these releases of 100 records will be accompanied by one mini documentary video of a featured artiste for that week. These are pretty special, as the artistes have been chosen by Sheila, John’s wife, and their children - so they are all artistes who meant something to John and his family.

When you come to the website you will see John Peel’s home studio, from which you will be able to access the contents of the record collection as it is added each week, as well as other videos added each week, photos, peel sessions and radio shows. Once in the collection you will be able to move up and down the shelves of the record collection, picking out certain choice records and going through the first 100 as though you were standing in front of the shelves in John’s studio.

You will be able to see the hand-typed cards that John diligently typed for every album in the collection, the record sleeves, as well as listening to tracks via spotify and itunes where available.

And because we know that John meant a great deal to many people, we will be helping you to connect with other music lovers and Peel fans through our John Peel Archive social media accounts. Look out for never-before seen material, like letters to John, being exclusively released via social media. This will also be a great way to stay up to date with new material being released each week - so please do ‘follow’, ‘like’ and say hello - we want to hear from you and your stories of John.

In our heads throughout the planning process, has been making sure that we do John (and his fans) proud and ensure that the legacy of this legendary man lives on.

We hope you like the John Peel Archive - and that John would have done too.

Check the site from tomorrow on to see what goodies will be uploaded.

Updates will be tweeted on the John Peel Archive .

John Peel on Facebook, G Plus and Pinterest

Now here’s a John Peel Day Mix made by ttfb.

01. “Itchy Cut” - Cowcube
02. “New Rose”  - The Damned
03. “The Voice Of John Peel” - Delia Derbyshire
04. “O Superman” - Dan The Drummer
05. “Hard Row” - The Black Keys
06. “Cuntry Music” - Listen With Sarah
07. “Diddy Wah Diddy” - The Magic Band
08. “Shotgun Funeral” - Party Of One
09. “High Resolution” - Dj Rupture
10. “Two Sevens Clash” - Culture
11. “Death Letter” - Son House
12. “The Classical” - Pavement
13. “Groovin’ With Mr Bloe” / “Green Eyed Loco Man” - The Fall
14. “YMCA” - Galactic Symposium
15. “The Light At The End Of The Tunnel (Is The Light Of An Oncoming Train)” - Half Man Half Biscuit
16. “My Radio Sounds Different In The Dark”  - The Would Bes
17. “The Kill” - Napalm Death
18. “Live At Maida Vale” (Excerpt) - Jeff Mills
19. “Abridged Too Far” - People Like Us
20. “Speed” - Pico
21. “Roy Walker” - Belle And Sebastian
22. “Doctor ?” / “Chime” - Orbital
23. “Dr Dre Buys A Pint Of Milk” - Grandmaster Gareth
24. “Tokyo Registration Office” - Hyper Kinako
25. “Dracula Mountain” - Lightning Bolt
26. “The Nation Needs You” - The Cuban Boys
27. “John Peel Is Not Enough” - Clsm
 

 
How did I miss this wonderful exchange that happened between Siouxsie Sioux and Paris Hilton a little over 10 years ago?! THIS is why I adore Siouxsie!

Let’s hope Siouxsie runs into Kim Kardashian next!

Backstage with Simon & Garfunkel and John & Yoko

An alarmingly zonked David Bowie presents the award for the Best Rhythm and Blues Song by a Female Artist at the 1975 Grammy Awards.

Wait for Aretha Franklin’s quip near the end.
 

 
Henry Rollins spins some of Iggy Pop’s classic tracks and a few lesser known songs in a nicely done career overview of America’s patron saint of punk rock.

Henry runs it down thusly:

We are going to go at it somewhat chronologically, although I may have a couple of songs out of order on that front but by and large, it’s a trip through the man’s catalog. Two hours isn’t enough time to be completely release-by-release, so I went for what I thought sounded good.”

01. The Stooges - 1969 / The Stooges
02. The Stooges - I Wanna Be Your Dog / The Stooges
03. The Stooges - Down On The Street / Fun House
04. The Stooges - T.V. Eye / Fun House
05. The Stooges - Search And Destroy / Raw Power
06. The Stooges - Raw Power / Raw Power
07. The Stooges - Open Up & Bleed / Heavy Liquid
08. The Stooges - Scene Of The Crime / Anthology Box - The Stooges & Beyond
09. The Stooges - Gimme Some Skin / Anthology Box - The Stooges & Beyond
10. The Stooges – Johanna / Heavy Liquid
11. The Stooges - Tight Pants / Anthology Box - The Stooges & Beyond      
12. Iggy Pop & James Williamson - Consolation Prizes / Kill City
13. Iggy Pop – Funtime / The Idiot
14. Iggy Pop - The Passenger / Lust For Life
15. Iggy Pop - New Values / New Values      
16. Iggy Pop - Get Up And Get Out / Soldier        
17. Iggy Pop - Run Like A Villain / Zombie Birdhouse
18. Iggy Pop - Repo Man / Repo Man Soundtrack
19. Iggy Pop - Fire Engine / Anthology Box - The Stooges & Beyond
20. Iggy w/ Debbie Harry - Well Did You Evah! / Red Hot + Blue: Tribute To Cole Porter      
21. Iggy Pop - Bang Bang / Party      
22. Iggy Pop - He’s Frank / Heroes Soundtrack
23. Iggy Pop - This Is A Film / Arizona Dream
25. Iggy w/ Teddybears – Punkrocker / Soft Machine
26. Iggy Pop - Fix Me / Rise Above 24 Black Flag Songs to Benefit the WM3

Rollins, like myself, found much inspiration in the first Stooges album. For me, there was a delayed reaction. It took me seven years after hearing that seminal chunk of punk before I started my own band in 1976. One of my first gigs was at a country and western bar in Boulder, Colorado. The shitkickers, bikers and assorted mountain men grew homicidal when my group, The Ravers, tore into “I Wanna Be Your Dog.” At the end of the song, the place fell silent and it suddenly hit me as hard as a pool cue to the forehead that being a punk in the land of “Rocky Mountain High” was as about as much fun as being set upon by a pack of rabid wolves. But I got used to it.

Of all the records I own, some of the most frequently played, decade after decade, are ones that Iggy has had something to do with. One of the great hot-night listens of all time, perhaps the purest rock & roll recording I have ever heard, is the self-titled first album by the Stooges. So minimal and perfect. Every note, beat and lyric are essential to the whole. The older I get, the more I learn about music, the more amazing this album is to me.” H. Rollins.

So kick back and enjoy the show.
 

 
Two solid sets of hard rock and a bit of blues and country by Jack White at New York City’s Webster Hall from this past Friday. First set is with his all-female band The Peacocks followed by a set with his dude band Los Buzzardos.

I lean toward The Peacock set - more roll, more thump and more organic feeling. Drummer Carla Azar, from Autolux, is particularly fine. Dig the barefoot technique. White and The Peacocks reminds me of Bo Diddley with Lady Bo and The Duchess.

White mixes it up with new stuff off his “Blunderbuss” album and older songs from The White Stripes, The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather…as well as a couple of covers.
 
The Peacocks
Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground (The White Stripes song)
Missing Pieces
Freedom At 21
Love Interruption
Hotel Yorba (The White Stripes)
Two Against One (Rome cover)
Top Yourself (The Raconteurs song)
I’m Slowly Turning Into You (The White Stripes)
Blue Blood Blues (The Dead Weather song) (With “Screwdriver” Riff Intro)
Take Me With You When You Go

Los Buzzardos
Sixteen Saltines
I Cut Like a Buffalo (The Dead Weather)
Weep Themselves to Sleep
Trash Tongue Talker
You Know That I Know (Hank Williams cover)
We’re Going to be Friends (The White Stripes)
Hypocritical Kiss
Hello Operator (The White Stripes)
Carolina Drama (The Raconteurs song)
Catch Hell Blues (Fragment) (The White Stripes)
Seven Nation Army (The White Stripes)
Goodnight Irene (Leadbelly cover)
 
Update: It appears that Vevo was offering the entire show for one day only (Sunday). Kind of a drag. Sorry. You can watch the show in segments here.
 

 
Thanks to The Gothamist.