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Mr. Dream’s ‘Trash Hit’ for your listening pleasure
03.02.2011
05:07 am
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Brooklyn post-punk trio Mr. Dream has just released their debut album Trash Hit and it is a fine slab of hard rock that reaches for and occasionally achieves some anthemic heights that recall The Pixies, Nirvana and 70s punkers The Skids, Stiff Little Fingers and a wee bit of The Birthday Party.

Mr. Dream is Adam Moerder (vocals, guitarist), Matt Morello (vocals, bass guitarist) and Nick Sylvester (drums, producer). Moerder and Sylvester are both rock journalists and they’ve managed to do something few rock writers pull off: rock it like they talk it.

The more I listen to this sucker, the more I’m digging it. Turn it up loud!

Here’s Trash Hit:

 
Via The Village Voice

Posted by Marc Campbell
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03.02.2011
05:07 am
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‘Wesley Willis, The Daddy of Rock ‘n’ Roll’: Full length documentary
02.22.2011
03:05 am
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The good people at See Of Sound continue to offer stellar rock documentaries over on their Youtube channel and I’m pleased to be able to showcase them here at Dangerous Minds for your viewing pleasure.

Wesley Willis: The Daddy Of Rock ‘n’ Roll directed by Daniel Bitton is a sweet, non-exploitive documentary about the weirdly wonderful, tormented, talented and irascible Wesley Willis who died at the age of 40 in 2003.

God gave me this rock career to keep me busy. Back in 1991 I used to hit old people with folding chairs. Suddenly, I moved to the north side of Chicago, Illinois in 1992. It made a rock star out of me at last. I’m the daddy of rock n roll! I’m Wesley Willis, I’m 36 years old. I play music and do art. I have schizophrenia. I have chronic schizophrenia. Roger Lee Carpenter asked me for $600. He told me that if I dont give him $600, he was going to blow my brains out. Thats when I started hearing demons. I have three demons: Nervewrecker, Heartbreaker, and Meansucker….I yell, I scream, I holler at people on buses.”

Willis recorded several hundred songs that were like mini-explosions in a pop culture fireworks factory. Obscene, hilarious, poignant, surreal and angry, Willis had a unique take on the modern world and there will never be another like him.
 

 
Via See Of Sound

Posted by Marc Campbell
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02.22.2011
03:05 am
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‘loudQUIETloud’: A film about the Pixies
02.20.2011
11:55 pm
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loudQUIETloud documents The Pixies first reunion tour which took place in 2004. I saw their recent re-reunion tour last year and while the band sounded solid the performance lacked passion. I felt they were going through the motions. I kept waiting for the group to look as if they were having fun. Kim Deal appeared to be enjoying herself. The audience loved them. So what do I know?

From A.V. Club

Coming more than 10 years after an acrimonious breakup, the Pixies’ reunion tour was called “Pixies Sell Out,” a cheeky reference to their instantly sold-out shows and the blunt reality that they’re doing it for the money. No one should begrudge them the latter: It’s one thing for bands to crash on couches and blow the door proceeds on beer and greasy spoons at the beginning of their careers, but once they get into their 30s and 40s, there are bills to pay. For fans of the seminal alt-rock quartet, the Pixies’ reunion was momentous, but in the solid behind-the-scenes documentary loudquietloud, the band comes across as considerably more muted in its enthusiasm. While there are no big meltdowns, the members don’t really function that well as a unit, and by all indications, they wouldn’t spend another minute together if the tour weren’t refilling the depleted accounts that royalties can no longer cover.

A nice balance of well-photographed live footage and backstage anti-drama, loudquietloud is probably the only all-access (or part-access, anyway) recording of the ‘04 tour, and it’s valuable for that alone. Following the Pixies from their first rehearsal through the last night of their tour-ending New York City stint, the film contrasts the fans’ passion and energy with the band members’ cool professionalism. They all have reasons for distraction: Frontman Charles Thompson (a.k.a. Frank Black) and guitarist Joey Santiago both have wives and children back home; bassist Kim Deal, accompanied by her twin sister/sole confidante Kelley, is only one year removed from drug and alcohol rehabilitation; and drummer David Lovering is dogged by a Valium addiction that nearly derails the tour. When they aren’t performing together, they retreat into solo projects: Thompson looks for a new label for his Frank Black records, Deal works on songs for her band The Breeders, Santiago labors over a independent-movie score, and Lovering practices his magic act.

Whatever serious issues they might have had with each other in the past seem to have been tabled for now—indeed, they aren’t ever hostile or even unkind in the whole film—but they don’t exactly come across as a family, either. Make no mistake: Theirs is a mercenary reunion, and one they’ve paid plenty of dues to deserve.” Scott Tobias

loudQUIETloud in its entirety:

 
Via See Of Sound

Posted by Marc Campbell
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02.20.2011
11:55 pm
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BBC4’s Reggae Britannia documentary liberated
02.19.2011
02:10 pm
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Somebody’s finally liberated Reggae Britannia, BBC4’s excellent—though by no means not exhaustive—documentary on the origins, growth and influence of British reggae from the ‘60s to the present. Reggae Britannia takes you from the scene’s ska beginnings in the hands of the children of the country’s first post-war wave of Carribean immigrants (known as the Windrush generation), through to the emergence of Bob Marley, the first Brixton riots, the UK sound system phenomenon, the Two-Tone era, reggae’s merging with punk and appropriation by pop, and more. Reggae Britannia is definitely worth a look.

Here’s the trailer…click on any of the title links or graphic above to check the full thing. And please, watch instead of embed so we can hold off our friends at the Beeb from bringing it down for at least a short while.
 

Posted by Ron Nachmann
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02.19.2011
02:10 pm
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Bad Brains live in Florida 1987: Full show in high quality video
02.17.2011
02:07 am
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Proshot high quality video of the Bad Brains playing in Florida on March 20, 1987. Shorter clips from this show have appeared on the Internet but nowhere near this quality. This is the Bad Brains’ performance in full and it looks and sounds great.

The Chevrolet banner hanging from the stage declares that “This is the heartbeat of America.”  I agree. But the college kids on spring break that make up the audience seem clueless.

Setlist:

1. Intro
2. I
3. House of Suffering
4. Daytripper/ She’s a Rainbow
5. She is Calling you
6. The Youth are getting Restless
7. I against I
8. At the Movies

total runtime 24:49:21
 

Posted by Marc Campbell
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02.17.2011
02:07 am
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Velvet Underground documentary from 1986 puts it all together in a nice package
02.14.2011
04:57 am
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Originally broadcast in 1986 in the UK, The South Bank Show’s Velvet Underground documentary was directed by Kim Evans with the help of Mary Harron. It contains interviews with Lou, John, Sterling, Moe, Nico, Warhol and lots of early Velvet performance footage, including stuff shot by Jonas Mekas. For hardcore Velvet fans none of this will be new, but isn’t it nice to have it compiled in a visually pleasing package? And for the casual VU fan, this is essential.

John Cale: “The only reason we wore sunglasses on stage was because we couldn’t stand the sight of the audience.”
 

Posted by Marc Campbell
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02.14.2011
04:57 am
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‘Jesus Christ Savior’: Klaus Kinski’s 1971 punk rock apocalypse
02.13.2011
04:21 am
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Here is Klaus Kinski’s inspired, sublime, psychotic and fearlessly confrontational performance of Jesus Christ Savior with English subtitles. Working from footage shot in 1971, Kinski biographer and film director Peter Geyer reconstructs the infamous night in which Kinski psychically assaults and provokes an audience of 5000 curiosity seekers at a concert hall in Berlin. What was intended to be the first night of an extended tour ended in a theatrical crash, burn and resurrection of almost Biblical proportions. Kinski is to theater what punk rock is to music. God bless his tormented and beautiful soul.

You know from his opening words ‘Wanted: Jesus Christ, for anarchistic tendencies’ that Kinski’s spin on the messiah story is going to be an interesting one. Standing alone on the stage in complete darkness save for the light of a single spotlight shining directly on him, Kinski elaborates on his subject but soon becomes increasingly irate when the audience tries to speak over him. As the tension builds between audience and performer, Kinski notes that Christ did not have a big mouth, unlike some of the ‘pigs’ in the audience.
 
It becomes increasingly obvious that the vast majority of people who paid ‘ten marks’ to get in did so just to cause trouble. The audience becomes increasingly antagonistic towards Kinski, who responds in kind and eventually screams at them and launches a microphone stand off of the stage. He exits, and a promoter comes out and asks the troublemakers to leave. Kinski then returns to a group of roughly a hundred people, and once again tries to deliver his monologue, but it’s obvious that the anger he feels is overpowering him and the message he intended to deliver is lost.

As all of this plays out in front of the camera, we feel the political tensions that were brewing in Germany at the time. Kinski is frequently called a fascist by members of the audience, most of whom are younger hippy types obviously rebelling against the far right politics of the generation that preceded them. Kinksi’s bursts of anger only add fuel to this fire, and it’s fascinating to watch it all spiral out of control and to watch how Kinski’s personality completely erodes any Christ-like tendencies he may have initially hoped to demonstrate. For a show that should have preached love, tolerance and compassion, Kinski Jesus Christ Savior turns remarkably fast into a series of hate filled diatribes and outbursts of uncontrollable rage.

Kinski’s absolute commitment to and embodiment of his art is awe-inspiring. This goes beyond acting into the realm of transfiguration. Divine intoxication.

“The ultimate acting is to destroy yourself.” Klaus Kinski.

 
Previously on DM: “I am not your Superstar’: Klaus Kinski as Jesus Christ.”

Posted by Marc Campbell
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02.13.2011
04:21 am
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A short film on the life and times of Futura 2000
02.02.2011
04:59 pm
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12ozProphet, “the largest graffiti, street art and pop culture community online”, collaborated with film maker Justin Hogan in the creation of this short documentary on graffiti legend and pop culture icon Futura 2000.

Leonard (Futura) talks about the early days of being a street art pioneer, his experiences with The Clash, Madonna, life in Brooklyn and his current projects.
 

Electrifying video of Grinderman performing at Big Day Out
01.30.2011
05:32 am
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Nick Cave, the Jimmy Swaggart of punk, leaps into the pit as Grinderman sets the night sky on fire over Sydney. This raw and electrifying fan video was shot last Wednesday at the Big Day Out festival in Australia.

In your face.

Posted by Marc Campbell
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01.30.2011
05:32 am
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Iggy Pop’s infamous ‘Lust For Life’ freak out on Dutch TV 1977
01.27.2011
05:44 am
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Iggy’s notorious 1977 performance of “Lust For Life” on Dutch TV show TopPop was a media sensation. Frustrated by having to lipsynch with no band, Iggy went apeshit and tore up some scenery, knocked over some potted plants and body slammed a stagehand. It got him tons of press and record sales. “Lust For Life” was propelled into the Dutch Top Ten.

Iggy’s no fool, so when he returned to Holland the following year he was prepared for another bit of performance art and so were the press. As you can see in the sequence where he is lipsynching to “I Gotta Right” he’s surrounded by a ring of cameramen. While not as dramatic as the previous year’s telecast, Iggy still gave an intensely deranged performance.

Iggy made no attempt whatsoever to even pretend to be singing the songs. Instead he used his body as a diversion from the artificiality of the moment and made it real. Almost mocking the situation

As I watched these clips it hit me that Iggy is among a very small handful of artists who are keeping Antonin Artaud’s Theater Of Cruelty and Julian Beck’s Living Theater concepts alive. Can you a imagine a more inspired bit of casting than to have Iggy portray Artaud in a film of the French provocateurs life. “I Wanna Be Your Frog.”  Or the Bunuel version: “I Wanna Be Your Andalusian Dog.”

Here’s Iggy being a very bad bad boy.
 

Posted by Marc Campbell
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01.27.2011
05:44 am
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