tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-192860232024-03-14T10:45:37.455+01:00Son Of Eet U SmakelijkPunk stuff, etc.Nielshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08579889924374160663noreply@blogger.comBlogger116125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19286023.post-10642669595517687692011-04-17T14:19:00.004+02:002011-04-17T16:14:17.587+02:00RIGHT SIDE OF THE GOTHIC FENCE<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bTwlxP-0pLs/Tara_8nd8rI/AAAAAAAAAUY/-zLJPdVbnU8/s1600/dancemacabre.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5596526279099544242" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bTwlxP-0pLs/Tara_8nd8rI/AAAAAAAAAUY/-zLJPdVbnU8/s400/dancemacabre.jpg" /></a> <br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Though I knew and liked some punk back in 1981-82, the doors really opened around summer '82 when I heard three Dutch punk records that totally changed my ideas of what music should be like: The 20-song, 30-minute <em>History's What's Happening</em> by The Ex, the ramshackle Jam-on-78 of <em>Schliessbaum</em> (Trockener Kecks) and last but not least, the brilliant live-split-mini-LP (complicated huh?) <em>Wielingen Walgt!</em> by the Nitwitz and Gotterfliez. I played those records (or the tapes that they were on) relentlessly that summer, and when on a bike trip passing through Amsterdam I'd fantasize about those amazing people that were making this music <em>right here, right now!</em> What I didn't know was that in punk things were moving so fast, all of these bands had already either split up or were being thoroughly revised by then. Nitwitz and Kecks had lost their original singers and went their respective hardcore and pop ways; The Ex got a new drummer and became slower and more experimental. Gotterfliez' half-record - a strange off-kilter take on early Siouxsie - I probably played most of all; hearing it back some of it doesn't hold up that well, though I still love the long melodica-flavoured Change. When I later found out their singer Astrid had started a new band called Dance Macabre, I was already too deep into the louderfaster stuff to be bothered. I did hear their 1983 LP but didn't think much of it, so it was a nice surprise when I found it at some flea market last week, put it on and actually liked it. It's all pretty Gothic (as their name and the LP's cover already give away), but just raw, fuzzy and jumpy enough to be on the right side of the fence (also reminds me of the Svatsox' great <em>Ruins </em>LP in that way). Here's three stand-out tracks:</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://www.gvsss.nl/eetusmak/dancemacabre-scars.mp3">Scars</a></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://www.gvsss.nl/eetusmak/dancemacabre-whataboutme.mp3">What About Me</a></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://www.gvsss.nl/eetusmak/dancemacabre-hell.mp3">Hell</a></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">(Dedicated to Vincent, ex-Dance Macabre and Squelettes bassist, who passed away February this year)</span></div>Nielshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08579889924374160663noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19286023.post-12674387419742974822011-03-26T11:03:00.003+01:002011-03-26T11:49:27.275+01:00NEDERAFTERBEAT<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-exWMIrWeY2s/TY26jpiaEsI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/DzUOxpDDvZA/s1600/SAM_3359.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588327834245010114" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-exWMIrWeY2s/TY26jpiaEsI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/DzUOxpDDvZA/s400/SAM_3359.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">While you won't find any "real" mid-60s Nederbeat at flea markets anymore, compilations from the turn of the 70s are still plentiful; I always like to check them out for the lesser-known tracks. The bands on the 1970 LP pictured above aren't "Nederbeat" anymore (no "Nederteat" jokes, please), but have split into pop and rock camps just like their colleagues abroad. It's funny to hear just what bands were all the rage that year; at least three bands (the post-Robbie van Leeuwen Motions among them) go for an all-out Blood, Sweat and Tears sound, not my cup of tea(t). Eddy Owens, who later turned into Danny Mirror of "I Remember Elvis Presley" infamy, does a Cats-type ballad. Ginger Ale do a pretty horrible faux-classic piece. Tee-Set and George Baker cover the teeny-bop area. There are three real finds: the reformed Q65's great heavy pop thumper <a href="http://www.gvsss.nl/eetusmak/q65-dontletmefall.mp3">Don't Let Me Fall</a>; After Tea's beautiful desert-fried <a href="http://www.gvsss.nl/eetusmak/aftertea-sun.mp3">Sun</a> (Calexico could have done this one), and Penny Wise (forerunners of glam rockers Amsterdam) whose <a href="http://www.gvsss.nl/eetusmak/pennywise-lilycomenearme.mp3">Lily Come Near Me</a> is actually "proper" Nederbeat as it's from 1968.</span>Nielshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08579889924374160663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19286023.post-3381102320455959412011-02-26T19:21:00.004+01:002011-02-26T19:43:39.199+01:00NO LEATHER, BRISTLES, STUDS, BUT ACME<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z_chVMmTYDI/TWlFnWZpUvI/AAAAAAAAAT0/1CWzuYDjxHE/s1600/acmeattractions.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578066155805430514" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z_chVMmTYDI/TWlFnWZpUvI/AAAAAAAAAT0/1CWzuYDjxHE/s400/acmeattractions.jpg" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Saw this one at a charity shop today and just knew I couldn't miss; handmade black/white cover: check; 1980 vintage: check; reference to legendary punk shop: check. Only point of concern was the back cover mentioned a sax, but at 25 cents this was a risk I could take. And I'm glad I took it; this is a very nice slab of powerpop/punk. Too bad someone cut a piece off of the top, but hey, you can't have it all. And it's nice to be able to put a new record at the front of my A-C records box; grew a little tired of that Action Pact cover. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Just as much fun as finding a record like this is fantasizing how it could have ended up where I found it; the not too exciting town of Heerhugowaard. Maybe this once belonged to a member of local punk band Blitzkrieg?</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://www.gvsss.nl/eetusmak/acmeattractions-anyway.mp3">Anyway</a></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://www.gvsss.nl/eetusmak/acmeattractions-neveragain.mp3">Never Again</a></span></div>Nielshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08579889924374160663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19286023.post-37547446192618508012011-02-12T22:36:00.004+01:002011-03-26T12:06:45.784+01:00DRIELANDENPUNK<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-up0AUkwbtAQ/TVb9tEnXGRI/AAAAAAAAATs/OYZFYF2eBLE/s1600/if.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572920539692341522" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-up0AUkwbtAQ/TVb9tEnXGRI/AAAAAAAAATs/OYZFYF2eBLE/s400/if.jpg" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">You won't find anything about this band on the 'net; guess that's what you get with an un-Googleable/ unSoulseekable name like If. (I had a similar problem years ago when I was doing a post about the band London. Now Gerogerigegege, Splodgenessabounds or Ziffels, that's more like it!) I guess you can file this under Wormerpunk even though they weren't even Dutch. My band Gepopel once gigged with them + the Sox Pistels (Svatsox doing old punk covers!) around december '84, I vaguely recall they were a three-piece of mixed genders, and each one was from a different country; New Zealand, Switzerland and ?? I guess the Ex/ Villa folks put them up and helped them put out this EP, on which they sound like a slightly folkier version of the Ex, with great vocals (David Thomas meets PiL?) by a certain Flak who I believe was the New Zealand part of the band. The stamp design looks like it's made by Peter Pontiac (I don't think it's in any of his <em>Pontiac Review</em> books), the 33/45 rpm is a nice touch (I wonder if they knew about the Tandstickorshocks EP?), and oh yeah, they also had a song (called Eat Yourself Under The Table or something) on the Emma 2LP comp. That's it. Anyone who knows more: drop in!</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://www.gvsss.nl/eetusmak/if-1-soldierssing.mp3">Soldiers Sing</a></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://www.gvsss.nl/eetusmak/if-2-grit.mp3">Grit</a></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://www.gvsss.nl/eetusmak/if-3-lefthandpath.mp3">Left Hand Path</a> (1985)</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">P.S.: Jos dropped in to give us the following ifno (thanks, Jos!):</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Hey Niels, some more InFo on IF: they were Mark and Dieneke, and they came from New Zealand to live in holland for a while, since Dieneke originally stemmed from Rotterdam. In NZ they used to have a band called Flak. First IF drummer was Rob who used to play in the amazing Dutch group (V/H) De Straks), and when he quit he was replaced by Flavia from Switzerland.<br />After this 7" they also released a 9-song 12" called Terminal. After that they returned to NZ.<br />(Actually, both pieces of vinyl are still available through me, if anybody's interested... (> mailorder@theex.nl).<br /></div></span><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div>Nielshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08579889924374160663noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19286023.post-59321769121269136862011-02-06T16:06:00.003+01:002011-02-06T16:46:52.559+01:00FIRST FIX OF THE YEAR AT DROPSTYLE, PT. 1<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/TU7BCNpMyhI/AAAAAAAAATk/dvwXTbUC9qU/s1600/ziffels.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5570602032870246930" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/TU7BCNpMyhI/AAAAAAAAATk/dvwXTbUC9qU/s400/ziffels.jpg" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I saw fellow vinyl junkies around these parts get paler and shakier as the month of January dragged along, but at last on February 5 Dropstyle opened its doors again... A quick browse throught the punk/wave (I hated it when - around '82? - the moniker "new wave" gave way to "wave"... Makes me think of heavily flanged guitars and Flock of Seagulls hair) bins yielded this nice 80's DIY single.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">The Ziffels (named after a pig in the Green Acres TV series!) were from Groningen, a town with a disproportionate amount of great sleeve/poster designers as well as silkscreen printers; anyone who's ever been to the Vera club will know that. In the old Groningen tradition (starting with what I believe was the first Grunn-punk EP, <em>Stad & Plat</em> by Roeg Toeg in 1981) the Ziffels' sleeve is beautifully silkscreened in no less than 4 colours (five if you count the green). The music is pretty slickly-produced REM-type indie rock, which may put some of you readers off but just remember that over here in 1986 sub-sub-sub-sub-sub-Cure "wave" was what 90% of bands were playing so this sounded just great back then. Plus the songwriting is really strong.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Don't know anything about the Ziffels except a few stray mentions I found on the 'net. I saw them on TV back in '87, on the Jonge Helden show that showed lots of cool bands but had the irritating habit of making every band jump around and pull faces. The Ziffels acted relatively cool, although according to some internet source their drummer got an epileptic seizure during filming, which they kept in the video much to his dismay!</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://www.gvsss.nl/eetusmak/ziffels-colddayinbermuda.mp3">Cold Day In Bermuda</a></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://www.gvsss.nl/eetusmak/ziffels-pennyblack.mp3">Penny Black</a></span></div>Nielshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08579889924374160663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19286023.post-7656116835090291332011-01-04T23:05:00.003+01:002011-01-04T23:17:12.178+01:00ACK JOB<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/TSOaF9jAlnI/AAAAAAAAATY/Pyr9lctluYo/s1600/ackackackack.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5558455792316749426" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/TSOaF9jAlnI/AAAAAAAAATY/Pyr9lctluYo/s400/ackackackack.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">In rock music, words and music belong together; separating one from the other makes no sense (exhibit A: Bob Dylan lyrics books). With punk, you could go one step further and say you can't separate the music from its package. A punk <em>song</em> is just a pop song, only louder and cheaper sounding. A punk <em>record</em>, now that's something else! Its crude homemade graphics, funny catalog numbers, self-ridiculing sleeve notes ("recorded at home in their spare time"), even its smell are just as important as the actual tunes engraved in its vinyl. The best punk blogs out there recognize this fact and obsessively post scans of not only the records' front and back covers but also labels, lyric sheets, stickers, coffee stains, etc. etc.<br />Seen in this light, putting together a punk compilation CD is a bit of a challenge. It's not just a case of "you had to be there", but also of "you had to hold, feel and sniff the actual 45s".<br /><em>Black Hole</em>, last year's compilation of early Californian punk put together by the great Jon Savage, got reviewed in a regional newspaper last week; it got only two stars. Now the guy who reviewed it had Zucchero in his top ten year list, so I guess it's no big deal. But it got me thinking. If the aim of a punk compilation is to introduce outsiders to its greatness, then you have to separate the music from its package (and historical context) and treat punk songs like pop songs. Looking at <em>Black Hole</em>'s track listing, I can see it's expertly put together but relying too much on historical importance and too little on killer tunes. Here's the changes I've made while compiling my own modified <em>Black Hole</em> (now called <em>Ack Ack Ack Ack</em>; easy to Photoshop!):<br />- Forming (Germs): the historic first LA punk record, and a mess. Changed it to Lexicondevil, their second record.<br />- I Hate The Rich (Dils): brilliant but an acquired taste; I went for Mr. Big, their Pop Song.<br />- Peer Pressure (Screamers): changed it to Vertigo for no particular reason.<br />- Murder By Guitar (Crime): swapped it for Hot Wire My Heart so the listener can say: hey, I know that song!<br />- Wimp (Zeros): replaced it with its A-side, Don't Push Me Around.<br />- We Are The One (Avengers): kept it of course, and used it as the CD's opening track.<br />- Anti Anti Anti (Consumers): great to include this little-known band (that were from Arizona, but never mind), but I went for Concerned Citizen, one of their songs later exhumed by 45 Grave.<br />- ABCD (Randoms): first release on the great Dangerhouse label, but you need the B-side, Let's Get Rid Of New York.<br />- Trouble At The Cup (Black Randy): hmmm, the Awful Noise aficionado in me says "Yes!", while the Punk Evangelist says: let's swap it for the Deadbeats' Kill The Hippies, skewed but also catchy.<br />- Nothing Means Nothing Anymore (Alley Cats): Classic. Stays on of course.<br />- Solitary Confinement (Weirdos): prefer A-side We Got The Neutron Bomb, slightly slower and with a Dolls-ish swagger.<br />- Beat Your Heart Out (Zeros): traded in one Zeros track for a track by those other great Mexican punkers the Plugz: Achin'.<br />- We're Desperate (X): Great, but changed it to Los Angeles nevertheless.<br />- 624803 (Offs): I'd swap this punky reggae ditty for the Nuns' classic Decadent Jew.<br />- Seventh World (Sleepers): We're treading sensitive terrain here, I've been a huge Sleepers fan ever since I found their first EP, and for years it seemed the only other person in the world who shared my admiration was Mr. Savage, who did all he could to revive interest in the band. So, from one Sleepers fan to another: Seventh World... great! She's Fun... ever better! Psychedelic Punk with backward guitars, how can you go wrong?<br />- Situations (Middle Class): Another Savage favourite and half post-punky, half ultra-fast hardcore-before-hardcore, I'd go for the hardcore bit: Out Of Vogue.<br />- Survive (Bags): A no-brainer, one of the greatest songs in the history of mankind.<br />- Media Blitz (Germs): traded it in for the equally short but catchier What We Do Is Secret.<br />- Love Is Just A Tool (Middle Class): We've already had Out Of Vogue, so why not give another brilliant Tooth And Nail track a chance, and add another female voice to the proceedings: UXA by UXA.<br />- Pony Dress (Flesh Eaters): great choice (Jay Reatard should have covered this one).<br />- Black Hole (Urinals): talk about Jay Reatard, but, great as this is, I'd change it for Ack Ack Ack Ack for short sharp shock value.<br />- Victims of Terrorism (Aurora Pushups): if we're going to do obscure one-offs, why not the Eyes' Take A Quaalude Now (aka TAQN)?<br />- The American In Me (Avengers): stays of course, but be sure to use the more in-yer-face version off their 12".<br />- California Uber Alles (Dead Kennedys): well, with Jerry Brown back, how can you go wrong? Single version, of course (slower and less smurfy).<br />- Sound Of The Rain (Dils): two Dils tracks and no Black Flag?? The sound of the rain gives way to the sound of a Nervous Breakdown.<br />- Los Gatos (Sleepers): yes, I know they're brilliant but let's just include their pals Negative Trend and the slow, haunting Black and Red (you can hear Flipper lurking around the corner).<br />There, that's it; I've changed 20 of the 26 tracks but I hoped I stayed true to Jon Savage's vision (I could have added some suburban pop punk like Red Cross or the Crowd but didn't).<br />Hope it gets 3 stars this time around. </span><br /><p><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><a href="http://www.gvsss.nl/eetusmak/ackackackack.mp3">Ack Ack Ack Ack - The Podcast!</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Changed the running order around a bit and you get this:</span></p><p><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">1 avengers - we are the one<br />2 germs - lexicondevil<br />3 dils - mr. big<br />4 randoms - let's get rid of new york<br />5 crime - hot wire my heart<br />6 x - los angeles<br />7 weirdos - we got the neutron bomb<br />8 nuns - decadent jew<br />9 alley cats - nothing means nothing anymore<br />10 sleepers - she's fun<br />11 zeros - don't push me around<br />12 deadbeats - kill the hippies<br />13 plugz - achin'<br />14 screamers - vertigo<br />15 bags - survive<br />16 consumers - concerned citizen<br />17 uxa - uxa<br />18 middle class - out of vogue<br />19 eyes - taqn<br />20 germs - what we do is secret<br />21 avengers - the american in me<br />22 flesheaters - pony dress<br />23 urinals - ack ack ack ack<br />24 black flag - nervous breakdown<br />25 negative trend - black and red<br />26 dead kennedys - california uber alles</span></p><p><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></p></span>Nielshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08579889924374160663noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19286023.post-64046471690092045942010-12-16T22:44:00.006+01:002010-12-16T23:18:37.311+01:00FROM THE ENGLISH PISSPOT<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/TQqKJKg47EI/AAAAAAAAASg/NhTjTtj5s9E/s1600/nightingales.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551401380733316162" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/TQqKJKg47EI/AAAAAAAAASg/NhTjTtj5s9E/s400/nightingales.jpg" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Not much to say, except this is effing brilliant. The Nightingales used to be the Prefects, Birmingham Ur-punks that had a legendary 10 second song (VD) as well as a legendary 10 minute song (the wilfully dull and repetitive Going Through The Motions). Whereas the Prefects's complete recorded legacy amounts to one Peel Session, the Nightingales put out lots of records throughout the 80's. At a time when most post-punk bands were going for a smooth, overproduced sound, the Nightingales kept on banging and scratching away; they're sort of the missing link between early Rough Trade ramalama (Swell Maps et al) and later 80's noise like Big Flame and Dog Faced Hermans. Singer Robert Lloyd also ran the Vindaloo label of We've Got A Fuzzbox And We're Gonna Use It fame (who probably sold 50 times as many records as the Nightingales). Oh yeah, here's a nice picture of the guys standing in front of a pub called In The English Pisspot, can somebody tell me where this was taken?</span></div><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/TQqPrnGBWRI/AAAAAAAAAS4/RSi8wSVzeXQ/s1600/nightingales2.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 250px; HEIGHT: 255px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551407470078941458" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/TQqPrnGBWRI/AAAAAAAAAS4/RSi8wSVzeXQ/s400/nightingales2.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://www.gvsss.nl/eetusmak/nightingales-urbanospreys.mp3">Urban Ospreys</a></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://www.gvsss.nl/eetusmak/nightingales-cakehole.mp3">Cakehole</a> (both 1983)</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div>Nielshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08579889924374160663noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19286023.post-45281198133556868742010-11-25T21:36:00.002+01:002010-11-25T22:33:49.815+01:00FALL-OUT BOYS<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/TO7JSTdgc0I/AAAAAAAAASY/fKx8iSfRYJo/s1600/fallouts.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5543589507638522690" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/TO7JSTdgc0I/AAAAAAAAASY/fKx8iSfRYJo/s400/fallouts.jpg" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Way back in the wilderness years of 1991-92, as grunge was sweeping the nation(s), I discovered a different kind of noise. VPRO Radio had a weekly show called <em>Stompin'</em> that was a grab-bag of primal r&b, soul, powerpop, punk and garage, and while I never cared much for the 80's garage revival, this new garage stuff had a freshness and excitement about it that elevated it above mere "neo-60s". Thee Headcoats, New Bomb Turks, Oblivians, Gories, all legendary (even, what's the word - "seminal") bands these days. One band seems to be all but forgotten though, and back then it was my favourite of the bunch: The Fall-Outs!</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">1992 single <a href="http://www.gvsss.nl/eetusmak/fallouts-dontwantthesun.mp3">Don't Want The Sun</a> was their 1 minute 58 of fame, a brilliant combination of 1965 vintage Kinks infused with the spirit of quirky 80's hardcore (Angst, Rebel Truth). After that, the records came few and far between, the band seemed to split up every other year, and tours were non-existent, so the Fall-Outs slowly slipped into oblivion.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Looking back, the Fall-Outs seem like a forgotten Evil Twin brother of that other Northwestern band, Nirvana; it's almost eerie how much they had in common: both bands were from rural Washington, were three-pieces, had blond singers with raspy voices, recorded cover versions of Dutch 60's songs (hear the Fall-Outs' 1993 Cuby + Blizzards cover <a href="http://www.gvsss.nl/eetusmak/fallouts-yourbodynotyoursoul.mp3">Your Body Not Your Soul</a>), had members of Mudhoney helping out in their rhythm sections, and combined 60's pop with 80's punk. Guess Nirvana just combined the "right" 60's pop with the "right" 80's punk. Plus Kurt was cuter.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">One advantage they have over Nirvana though is that their singer, Dave Holmes, is still alive. Better still, in 2004 they (once again) reformed and put out a great LP called <em>Summertime</em>, which disappeared without a trace. It's much poppier than their early stuff, but still has the trademark spare scratchy sound; check out <a href="http://www.gvsss.nl/eetusmak/fallouts-flowersforhours.mp3">Flowers For Hours</a>.</span></div>Nielshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08579889924374160663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19286023.post-69685055502362234012010-11-12T21:20:00.002+01:002010-11-12T22:00:14.817+01:00YOU SHOULD HEAR THE SINGLE VERSION, PT. 1<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/TN2iRSlgyrI/AAAAAAAAASQ/lkpG9lSM7rs/s1600/boys-idontcare.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 399px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538761534666230450" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/TN2iRSlgyrI/AAAAAAAAASQ/lkpG9lSM7rs/s400/boys-idontcare.jpg" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Someone puts out a single, then it becomes a hit - or doesn't; in any case, when it's time to do an LP, they re-do the song that was on the single, because they think the original sounds too primitive (Rezillos), there's a sax on the original that they decided was not punk (Suburban Studs) or simply because the single was recorded in Mono (Beatles, Otis Redding, lots of other 60s stuff). But then, years later, when the music gets reissued, comped and put on radio playlists, you'll always get the LP versions instead of the original - often superior - ones!</span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I first heard the Boys' <em>I Don't Care</em> on their LP, and didn't care; too rushed, too crass, trying too hard to be punk it seemed. When I got the actual <a href="http://www.gvsss.nl/eetusmak/boys-idontcare45.mp3">single</a>, I was surprised to find out it was much slower, poppier and er... nicer! Basically this is the earliest pop punk record, predating the (Shelley) Buzzcocks and Generation X by about 6 months (it was released March 1977 I think). So can somebody explain to me why they put the <em>LP version</em> on their "Punk Singles Collection" CD???</span></div>Nielshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08579889924374160663noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19286023.post-7731640361286951222010-10-13T20:34:00.002+02:002010-10-13T21:07:38.361+02:00PHANTASTIC PHRONT COVERS PT. 2<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/TLX8bWzX42I/AAAAAAAAASI/X0cIM7pV2Uk/s1600/robhoeke.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527601664574874466" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/TLX8bWzX42I/AAAAAAAAASI/X0cIM7pV2Uk/s400/robhoeke.jpg" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">You can find loads of old Rob Hoeke records, but most of them will be by his boogie-woogie combo. His R&B Group records - the ones you need - are a bit scarcer but still not too hard to find; at least I come across this one, 1967's <em>Save Our Souls,</em> every now and then. You probably know their brilliant Sonics-style piano stomper Margio, which has been comped countless times; this LP is right from that era and mixes similar garage stuff (like the great <a href="http://www.gvsss.nl/eetusmak/robhoeke-letsgetoutofhere.mp3">Let's Get Out Of Here</a>, clocking in at 1:26!) with cool attempts at Blonde On Blonde-style Dylan (Lights Have Been Changed), melodic folk rock (Drinking On My Bed, another hit) and oh, also some boogie. Singer on most R&B Group cuts wasn't actually Rob Hoeke himself but bass player Willem Schoone, a tall blonde guy who looked like a Dutch Brian Jones (and is now known around these parts for having been in loads of "famous" local cover bands like Shoreline).</span></div>Nielshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08579889924374160663noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19286023.post-34240323885838242752010-10-09T11:46:00.002+02:002010-10-09T12:00:52.794+02:00OH WHAT A GIVEAWAY<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/TLA6OW8U--I/AAAAAAAAASA/d4h2ky7arY0/s1600/subterraneans-mrjudge400.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525980761134791650" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/TLA6OW8U--I/AAAAAAAAASA/d4h2ky7arY0/s400/subterraneans-mrjudge400.jpg" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">There's this great little internet record store that I stumbled across some time ago; it only carries 7 inch records, mostly of the Dutch/ German "Schlager" sort, but every time I check it out I find a great treasure hidden inbetween; the Tits, Blitzz, Fallouts (Dutch 60s version), Yardbirds, and last week this gem by the Subterraneans, all at 1 or 2 Euros each.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The Subterraneans were 2 ex-members of legendary (and sadly unrecorded) 60's proto-punks the Kick; they were one of the first Dutch bands to move away from electric Beat to acoustic pre-war blues inspired sounds. Flipside <a href="http://www.gvsss.nl/eetusmak/subterraneans-explainallthisstufftome.mp3">Explain All This Stuff To Me</a> is my pick of the two tracks.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">O.K., as I'm in an altruistic mood today I'm going to give you the name of the record store... It's <a href="http://www.-----svinyl.nl/">http://www.-----svinyl.nl/</a> (insert the first name of the drummer for Dutch punk legends The Vernon Walters)!</span></div>Nielshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08579889924374160663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19286023.post-56785379667715846872010-10-03T13:15:00.002+02:002010-10-03T13:43:16.794+02:00NOT THE SIMPLE MINDS SONG<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/TKhmBtD5kbI/AAAAAAAAAR4/xshQk3QiMGI/s1600/aliveandkicking.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523777122431766962" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/TKhmBtD5kbI/AAAAAAAAAR4/xshQk3QiMGI/s400/aliveandkicking.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I have a sneaking suspicion all the DC/Dischord-related records I've been scooping up at the local 2ndhand record store lately (Deadline, Dain Bramage, Rain etc.) are actually the very same copies I offloaded at that place some 15 years ago... But then who can explain this find? I've never owned a copy of the <em>Alive and Kicking</em> comp. EP, and god knows I've been looking for it back in my DC-obsessed days. It's worth it's weight in gold alone for the presence of the greatest Gray Matter track ever, <a href="http://www.gvsss.nl/eetusmak/graymatter-walktheline.mp3">Walk The Line</a>; an earlier version than the one on their own record, more primitive and with Jeff Turner doing some great almost Darby-like screaming.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">The rest ain't no great shakes, although I'll post Marginal Man's re-recording of er, <a href="http://www.gvsss.nl/eetusmak/marginalman-marginalman.mp3">Marginal Man</a>, because it sounds better than the one on their first LP. Oh yeah, and Mission Impossible's <a href="http://www.gvsss.nl/eetusmak/missionimpossible-icanonlytry.mp3">I Can Only Try</a>, for being the world's first recording featuring Dave Grohl!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">P.S.: I'm proud to say I once got this very Gray Matter song on Dutch national radio, when a band I was in in the 90's was invited to play some favourites on air. Of course, the other guys forgot to take CD's with them, so it was my party. (Since you asked: this track is also on the Gray Matter CD) (Since you asked pt. 2: the other stuff played was Johnny Burnette's Train Kept a-Rollin', some old K-era Beck song and the Louvin Brothers' When I Stop Dreaming - during which our very hip record plugger started laughing, thought it was a great joke)</span>Nielshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08579889924374160663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19286023.post-16199907753795891482010-09-17T23:08:00.004+02:002010-09-17T23:20:02.349+02:00DEAD LETTER BLUES<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/TJPZIopqpQI/AAAAAAAAARw/oxckHhX-iKM/s1600/deadline.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517992710833349890" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/TJPZIopqpQI/AAAAAAAAARw/oxckHhX-iKM/s400/deadline.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I often hear people remark how this whole internet business should have been around 25 years ago, in the "punk days", when everybody was writing loads of letters and sending eachother records, tapes, etc. Another remark that gets thrown around a lot is how "blogs are the fanzines of today". Here I beg to differ: when as a wee 16-year-old I started my own 'zine, I filled it up with whatever bullshit (bios, lyrics, doodles) I had lying around; it didn't really matter that much as it wasn't about content, it was about communication, walking up to people at gigs pestering them to buy my little rag. With this blog it's the opposite: I only post when I think I really have something to say, and then, sitting at home, sipping my Tullamore Dew and clicking my mouse, it disappears into cyberspace. All content and no communication.<br />This letter-writing stuff we used to do 100 years ago actually held a lot of advantages over today's emailtwitspacebook. For instance, you could wait two or three months before replying, and blame the postal service! Try waiting 2 months before replying to an email (which I do, in most cases); they'll think you're dead, or an asshole (or both). Also, the tapes/ flyers/ zines/ records that would arrive through Ye Olde Snail Mail were real artefacts that you could hold, look at and smell. Try smelling an mp3.<br />One of my most treasured cassettes ever was taped for me in 1986 by a certain mr. Ian MacKaye. Thinking about it now it amazes me how someone like him would even take time to reply to my stupid letters, let alone send me a tape of unreleased music! (Sure beats a myspace page.) I was totally crazy about the tape, must have played it 3 months on repeat, Embrace and Dag Nasty were my new favourite bands. Oh yeah, and then there was this old demo from 1982 tagged onto the end of side B by Deadline, a short-lived band that I knew from <em>Flex Your Head</em>. Back then I thought this was "just" pretty good old hardcore punq.<br />Funny how nowadays I find it hard to recall the chimey sub-U2 sounds of Embrace, but the Deadline tape has grown and grown to be an absolute classic! Much more powerful than their <em>Flex Your Head</em> tracks (although I liked those as well), but still sorta primitive, this is a perfect example of more-than-the-sum-of-its-parts hardcore. No overdubs, sloppy drumming, out of tune guitar, and yet it's so powerful and slightly sinister to boot, in a Mecht Mensch/ Tar Babies kind of way.<br />This tape was eventually released as a one-sided LP in 1989; I had a copy but sold it long ago; luckily I found another copy in the Dropstyle bargain bin last week! The mastering on the LP is incredible, the low-end jumps out of your speakers. Dischord have recently reissued it on CD, if that's your cup of tea. Anyway, here's some highlights... No, let me rephrase that: here's some randomly chosen tracks, as all 11 tracks are equally great:</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://www.gvsss.nl/eetusmak/deadline-i.c.a.mp3">I.C.A.</a></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><a href="http://www.gvsss.nl/eetusmak/deadline-closeddoor.mp3">Closed Door</a></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><a href="http://www.gvsss.nl/eetusmak/deadline-outsidethelaw.mp3">Outside The Law</a></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><a href="http://www.gvsss.nl/eetusmak/deadline-m.a.d.mp3">M.A.D.</a></span>Nielshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08579889924374160663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19286023.post-31876783546897038092010-09-05T14:28:00.003+02:002010-09-05T14:40:39.839+02:00THIS IS ROTTERDAM, NOT THE MISSISSIPPI<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/TIONMPJwQtI/AAAAAAAAARg/N0WDj-kjQ_Y/s1600/kingkongep.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513405610197009106" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/TIONMPJwQtI/AAAAAAAAARg/N0WDj-kjQ_Y/s400/kingkongep.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">OK, so tell me which town the following bands are from: 10CC, Barclay James Harvest, Sad Cafe. Any idea? Now tell me which town these bands are from: Joy Division, Buzzcocks, Fall. Got it in a micro-second?<br />In the immediate pre-punk era, there was no way of telling where a certain band was from; all local peculiarities were wiped out in favour of a generic Trans-Atlantic style and accent; no local references were used except for generic mythic Rock & Roll places like Mississippi, New Orleans, etc, places where the band in question probably had never ever set foot. This was one of the things that Punk "fixed": bands would sing about their own lives, in their own accents, again. Well, some of them. For a while.<br />Over here, Rotterdam bands like Rondos and Tandstickorshocks had a very identifiable sound of their own, as far removed from "Rock" (and most of their Amsterdam "rivals") as they could get: staccato, clean, primitive. I've posted the incredible 12-song Tandstickorshocks EP before; what I didn't know at the time is that their singer/leader Ronnie Roteb (nicknamed after his employer, the Rotterdam Waste Disposal Company) also sang for Railbirds, a band from 1 or 2 years earlier. They were on the 1979 Rondos debut/split EP, and couldn't be further removed from the "Rotterdam style"! This is meat and potatoes punk Rock with guitar solos (!) and ruff singing, in fact it's hard to believe this is actually the Tandstickor... guy. So much for local peculiarities.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://www.gvsss.nl/eetusmak/railbirds-lonely.mp3">Lonely</a> (from split EP with Rondos, 1979)</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://www.gvsss.nl/eetusmak/railbirds-dancingwithgodandpogowiththedevil.mp3">Dancing With God And Pogo With The Devil</a></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://www.gvsss.nl/eetusmak/railbirds-gotohell.mp3">Go To Hell</a> (from King Kong Records double EP, 1979)</span>Nielshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08579889924374160663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19286023.post-29813393594717347152010-08-31T21:18:00.004+02:002010-08-31T21:43:16.749+02:00BIG ANGLOPHILE WILL NAVIGATE US THROUGH A CHANGE OF STYLE<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/TH1WbHP_MBI/AAAAAAAAARY/k4skQNGq-CI/s1600/howardwerth-front.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511656542773915666" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/TH1WbHP_MBI/AAAAAAAAARY/k4skQNGq-CI/s400/howardwerth-back.jpg" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/TH1WQH2eKlI/AAAAAAAAARQ/mRchZmpXBrU/s1600/howardwerth-back.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511656353956768338" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/TH1WQH2eKlI/AAAAAAAAARQ/mRchZmpXBrU/s400/howardwerth-front.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">In 1965, while on a U.S. tour, Ray Davies of the Kinks smacked a Musicians' Union official in the face; as a result the Kinks were banned from playing the USA for 5 years. This turned them from British Invasion hitmakers into an obscure, exotic acquired taste. The Kinks' American record company shrewdly turned their inability to come over and promote their records into an asset, cultivating their faraway English quaintness and printing up Union Jack badges with the band's name on them. This pretty much started a whole subculture of American Anglophiles who, sick of Woodstock pompousness and L.A. cowboy fashion, turned to Old Blighty for their musical heroes. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">California especially seemed to be fertile ground for this Anglophile cult, despite - or probably because - it was the epicentre of laid-back country-rock. Almost all future key players in the L.A. punk scene started out rabid Limey fanatics: The proto-Germs bonded over a love for Queen and Yes; Alice Bag was crazy about Elton John (and sported similar glasses!); future Frontier label boss Lisa Fanchier was a card-carrying Mott the Hoople fan club member; Rodney Bingenheimer's club was even called the English Disco! To top it off, L.A. band Sparks liked England so much they moved there (a move 180 degrees contrary to the more common westward trek of UK musicians at the time). No wonder the Los Angeles punk scene would stylistically become the most extreme one in the States, avoiding any boogie or blues inflections, instead focusing on fast, staccato rhythms and cheap transistor distortion.<br />Dangerhouse records pretty much epitomized all that was cool, new and extreme about L.A. punk; their legendary catalog of a little more than a dozen 7 inchers (Bags, Dils, Weirdos, Avengers etc. etc.) contains nary a clunker. Then there's Howard Werth's "Obsolete". The least favourite and collectable Dangerhouse release by about 1000 miles, everybody seemed to wonder what moved them to put out a record by an old English hippie who used to sing for prog rockers Audience. Well, now you know.<br /><a href="http://www.gvsss.nl/eetusmak/howardwerth-obsolete.mp3">Obsolete</a></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.gvsss.nl/eetusmak/howardwerth-mangoman.mp3"><span style="font-size:100%;">Mangoman</span></a></div></span><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">P.S.: The cover scans don't really do justice to its beautiful day-glo colours. I scanned both front and back because they fit together so nicely, just like those old Roger Dean gatefolds!</span></div>Nielshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08579889924374160663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19286023.post-58091429648405650972010-08-29T14:21:00.003+02:002010-08-29T14:31:05.643+02:00PHANTASTIC PHRONT COVERS PT. 1<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/THpRXMXcZHI/AAAAAAAAARI/XWcA4igEpVU/s1600/lionelhampton.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510806552939619442" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/THpRXMXcZHI/AAAAAAAAARI/XWcA4igEpVU/s400/lionelhampton.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">This beautiful French 10 inch declares Lionel Hampton to be squarely in the "R 'n R" (R et R?) camp, a reminder that back in the Fifties mr. Heybabareba was universally slagged off by Serious Jazz Critics. Also note that, while mr. Hampton is holding his cymbal in the air, there seems to be a piece of the cymbal stand still attached to it!</span>Nielshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08579889924374160663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19286023.post-64056833498188076912010-08-25T20:42:00.002+02:002010-08-25T21:25:26.970+02:00TAKE THE STICK FIGURES CRAYOLA BOWLING<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/THVlXUJU5nI/AAAAAAAAAQ4/hMaKIK3anvk/s1600/stickfigures.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509421170376894066" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/THVlXUJU5nI/AAAAAAAAAQ4/hMaKIK3anvk/s400/stickfigures.jpg" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">It took a while, but I've finally played the whole pile of 1-buck-each records I obtained a couple of weeks ago. So OK, there's loads of stuff I'll never play again (anyone looking for that elusive Red Beat, Weird Strings or Family Fodder 45, get in touch!), then there's loads of New Wave Hits I couldn't pass up (c'mon, Party Fears Two is a classic). Also a pile of Dutch stuff like Catapult and Long Tall Ernie & Shakers, some of which I won't play a lot but I feel it's my Patriotic duty to have them. That leaves about a dozen of true jewels, my current favourite being the Stick Figures 1981 EP. Never heard of them, but the sleeve looked cool, even though there's no info on it apart from the members' first names. A quick Google search taught me they were from Florida and put out this EP in 5 different covers, each designed by a different band member. One blog compared this EP to late-70s NY No Wave, but while there's scratchy guitars, weird noises and lopsided rhythms galore, there's also some nice melodies to be found, especially in Rachel (Nolastname)'s singing.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Whereas I usually and lazily get my mp3s from Soulseek, I had to do some old-fashioned vinyl ripping myself this time, as these tracks were nowhere to be found!</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://www.gvsss.nl/eetusmak/stickfigures-1-crayolabowling.mp3">Crayola Bowling</a></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://www.gvsss.nl/eetusmak/stickfigures-2-september.mp3">September</a></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://www.gvsss.nl/eetusmak/stickfigures-3-n-light.mp3">N-Light</a></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://www.gvsss.nl/eetusmak/stickfigures-4-ellisotivatordub.mp3">Ellis Otivator Dub</a></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div>Nielshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08579889924374160663noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19286023.post-60847631781753820862010-08-23T18:20:00.005+02:002010-08-23T19:36:29.614+02:00BE A VENGER! (SUMMER SALE PT. 4)<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/THKgRDgRlqI/AAAAAAAAAQw/kZumwiemMQM/s1600/avengers-escapeintime.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508641509086434978" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/THKgRDgRlqI/AAAAAAAAAQw/kZumwiemMQM/s400/avengers-escapeintime.jpg" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><em>(Wot, Als Je Haar Maar Goed Zit without the yellow? No, it's the Avengers!)</em></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Two more Dropstyle finds. There have probably been more Avengers than Antidotes; this is the Dutch mid-80s version. They put out three pretty good 7 inches but were either 5 years too late or 5 years too early to earn the appreciation they deserved. First EP <em>Escape In Time</em> was recorded without a bass player and sounds like a mid-90s Crypt record, raw and primitive. The <em>All I Ever Wanted</em> 45 from a couple of years later is a slicker affair, with typical late-80s production, but still great songs. Singer Jeroen Vedder and drummer Jerry Goossens would later write Dutch punk history <em>Het Gejuich Was Massaal</em>, as well as compile the <em>I'm Sure We're Gonna Make It</em> CD. I used to see those Avengers EPs in record stores everywhere, for years. By 1986 the novelty of self-released records had worn off; before, people would buy anything that looked interesting, now they would only check out the stuff that was part of their particular clique. Which to today's collectors is good news, 'cuz you should be able to find these EPs at a reasonable price!</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://www.gvsss.nl/eetusmak/avengers-piggies.mp3">Piggies</a></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://www.gvsss.nl/eetusmak/avengers-rubberdoll.mp3">Rubber Doll</a> (from Escape In Time EP, 1986)</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://www.gvsss.nl/eetusmak/avengers-allieverwanted.mp3">All I Ever Wanted</a></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://www.gvsss.nl/eetusmak/avengers-standingontheoutside.mp3">Standing On The Outside</a> (All I Ever Wanted 7", 1988?)</span></div>Nielshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08579889924374160663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19286023.post-8044733430418045142010-08-13T18:57:00.002+02:002010-08-13T19:12:31.741+02:00RADIOHEADLESS CHICKENS<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/TGV6BwzEtpI/AAAAAAAAAQo/MinEsixNmrk/s1600/Hometown-Atrocities.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 396px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504940290227877522" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/TGV6BwzEtpI/AAAAAAAAAQo/MinEsixNmrk/s400/Hometown-Atrocities.jpg" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">In the midst of Dropstyle's one-buck-each feeding frenzy, I bumped into this one. Feeling a little guilty already about scooping up so many beauties at next-to-nothing, I told Benno: you should keep this one, it's worth a few bob! The next day, as I resumed my vinyl hunt, Benno said: guess what, I've found two more copies of that EP, want one?</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><em>Hometown Atrocities</em> is a fairly typical late 80's UK punk sampler. It's also the holy grail for Radiohead collectors, as Headless Chickens feature one Thom (then still plain "Tom") Yorke on guitar and backing vocals. <a href="http://www.uncontrollableurgh.com/headlesschickens-idontwanttogo.mp3">I Don't Want To Go To Woodstock</a> is a nice piece of slightly glammy pop punk, a bit out of step with the other 3 bands that are more U.S./Dischord-y, as a lot of UK bands were at the time. Like Mad At The Sun, whose track <a href="http://www.uncontrollableurgh.com/madatthesun-thiscouldbe.mp3">This Could Be...</a> rises above most of their UK "Emo" peers thanks to some nice staccato guitar and its raw, basic production.</span></div>Nielshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08579889924374160663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19286023.post-70831875589770238912010-08-11T17:46:00.003+02:002010-08-11T18:04:16.847+02:00SUMMER SALE PT. 2<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/TGLILq27yFI/AAAAAAAAAQg/htZFWRt9r4g/s1600/modernenglish.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504181797408983122" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/TGLILq27yFI/AAAAAAAAAQg/htZFWRt9r4g/s400/modernenglish.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Even though I never heard Modern English, and always had a vague suspicion they were a sub-Joy D. doomy kind of band, I had to scoop this one up. Big surprise! Their <a href="http://www.uncontrollableurgh.com/modernenglish-swansonglass.mp3">Swans On Glass</a>/ <a href="http://www.uncontrollableurgh.com/modernenglish-incident.mp3">Incident</a> 45 from 1980 is actually a slab of great, catchy, scratchy and slightly unhinged post-punk, sort of like the Scars circa "Horrorshow".</span>Nielshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08579889924374160663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19286023.post-29923762309809851952010-08-09T21:13:00.002+02:002010-08-09T21:33:25.748+02:00SUMMER SALE PT. 1<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/TGBT-dIub8I/AAAAAAAAAQY/AodtbcP1aVA/s1600/xxoo.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503491077084966850" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/TGBT-dIub8I/AAAAAAAAAQY/AodtbcP1aVA/s400/xxoo.jpg" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">One of 86 seven inch records I bought at the great Dropstyle (Hoorn, NL) record store last week; they held an insane summer clearance sale with <em>all</em> 7 inches going for 1 Euro each!</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Never heard of XXOO, but a peek at the back cover of their 1982 EP revealed this is actually Half Japanese. Apparently, they used the name XXOO ("kisses and hugs") to highlight their sensitive side, playing 3 love songs that sound like a blueprint for Daniel Johnston's career. <a href="http://www.uncontrollableurgh.com/xxoo-howwilliknow.mp3">How Will I Know?</a> is the only original; <a href="http://www.uncontrollableurgh.com/xxoo-thatswhattheysay.mp3">That's What They Say</a> (Buddy Holly) and <a href="http://www.uncontrollableurgh.com/xxoo-tracksofmytears.mp3">Tracks Of My Tears</a> (Miracles) are covers.</span></div>Nielshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08579889924374160663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19286023.post-87185143148079925052010-08-01T19:56:00.002+02:002010-08-01T20:27:31.216+02:00KBD SOUL<img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500502526498888450" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/TFW156oa2wI/AAAAAAAAAQE/NNm0WHi8iqU/s400/joetex.jpg" /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">A Mekons fan once wrote: "Rock is the only kind of music that sounds better when performed by people who can't play". This doesn't hold true for every type of rock though: nobody wants to hear badly played funk, jazzrock or metal. But badly played punk, garage and soul: can't get enough of it! Personally, I'd like to rephrase above saying as "rock (punk/garage/soul) sounds <em>just as good</em> when performed by people who can't play", as I like slickly-produced, well-played punk (Rezillos, Generation X) as much as I like the Mekons. Likewise with soul, I love slick stuff like Etta James + strings just as much as yer ultra-primitivo Fortune records stuff.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">One of my favourite soul singers, Joe Tex, put out loads and loads of singles in a bewildering variety of recording quality and slickness. In his case, I prefer his more primitive stuff, which for some reason can mostly be found on the "big" Checker label (I guess some smalltime producer leased them the recordings). 1963's "You Keep Her" was an answer record to James Brown's "I Found Someone"; I love the flubbed trumpet note in the first chorus. "Baby You're Right" is more or less the same song (or vice versa as an earlier recording predates "You Keep Her"). Both songs sound like they're recorded in some barn using one microphone. Joe Tex would achieve superstardom only months later with the great "Never Been In A Riot"... er, "Hold What You've Got".</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://www.uncontrollableurgh.com/joetex-youkeepher.mp3">You Keep Her</a></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://www.uncontrollableurgh.com/joetex-babyyoureright.mp3">Baby You're Right</a></span>Nielshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08579889924374160663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19286023.post-76974534676505779182010-07-31T21:09:00.002+02:002010-07-31T21:28:08.402+02:00THE MAJORETTE, THE MAJORETTE<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/TFR1MlaYU5I/AAAAAAAAAP8/5w4kK5GNxTk/s1600/Tonight-Drummer.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 397px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500149903987856274" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/TFR1MlaYU5I/AAAAAAAAAP8/5w4kK5GNxTk/s400/Tonight-Drummer.jpg" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Tonight were a bunch of early Powerpoppers, Drummer Man (1978) was their first single; it was a sizable hit in England at the time, big enough to land them on Top of the Pops. I like the song, especially the "Lazy Sunday"-Cockney rasp of their singer, reminds me a bit of a pop band called the Look (that had a 1980 hit with "Tonight"!) (I'm sorry, I've just finished reading Nick Tosches' <em>Where Dead Voices Gather</em>, and as a result I'm seeing occult musical connections everywhere.)</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Funny thing is, there are 38.000 Powerpop compilations out but Drummer Man - or any song by Tonight, who're supposed to have done 4 singles - isn't on any of them. Guess they should have put it out in a hand-crayoned pressing of 148 copies, with half of the press run melted by an irate ex-girlfriend, in order to warrant Powerpop credibility.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://www.uncontrollableurgh.com/tonight-drummerman.mp3">Drummer Man</a></span></div>Nielshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08579889924374160663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19286023.post-29982504594432944782010-07-23T21:20:00.002+02:002010-07-23T21:46:28.155+02:00FLAMIN' BINTANGS<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/TEnrwXcHApI/AAAAAAAAAP0/Y2ZiHGVljsE/s1600/bintangskraayeveld.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497184036340564626" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/TEnrwXcHApI/AAAAAAAAAP0/Y2ZiHGVljsE/s400/bintangskraayeveld.jpg" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The Bintangs were the closest thing the Netherlands had to the Flamin' Groovies. Starting out in the 60's as a typical bluesy Nederbeat group, by the turn of the 70's they excelled both at meaner-than-the-Stones bluesrock and fun uptempo rock & roll, the latter under the guise of Kraaijeveld (an offshoot that gradually came to include all original Bintangs members!). They had a couple of pretty big hits and made some critically-acclaimed LPs, although their 1969 debut LP <em>Blues on the Ceiling</em> is relatively overlooked. Like the title says, here they turn the blues upside down, changing chestnuts like Smokestack Lightning around until they're barely recognizable. This "freaky" approach lasted only one record. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Fast forward six years: Kraaijeveld's 1975 swansong <em>Johnny Do It Faster</em> is a great piece of glammy proto-punk that wouldn't have seemed out of place on <em>Clap Your Hands & Stamp Your Feet</em>. After this, they'd continue as a reconstituted Bintangs, releasing the classic Genuine Bull LP (recorded at Rockfield studios, to continue our Groovies analogy!). </span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://www.uncontrollableurgh.com/bintangs-smokestacklightning.mp3">Smokestack Lightning</a></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://www.uncontrollableurgh.com/kraayeveld-johnnydoitfaster.mp3">Johnny Do It Faster</a></span></div>Nielshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08579889924374160663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19286023.post-42595984478352932232010-07-21T09:23:00.006+02:002010-08-27T18:08:26.197+02:00LOST SOUNDS FROM A LOST YEAR<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/TEarZ5Xs60I/AAAAAAAAAPs/gjuwxiw1kJM/s1600/infexion.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 281px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496268856637582146" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/TEarZ5Xs60I/AAAAAAAAAPs/gjuwxiw1kJM/s400/infexion.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><em>Infexion, Castricum, 1979</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">1979 seems to be the Lost Year of Dutch punk. The first bunch of bands faded away, the second bunch were just starting out. There were maybe only one or two records released in that year, but as a gestation period for punk's second wave ("punks that started making music" as opposed to "musicians that started playing punk") it was a hotbed of activity. Activity that slowly switched from the "big" clubs like Paradiso to small, squatted, self-organized places like NoName and Kaasee, where loads of legendary bands like Bugs, Gospelfuckers, Infexion, 123, the Duds, Ketchup, (Amsterdam) Scabs, Motorboat etc. would play, bands that never got around to making records to assure their place in "KBD" annals.<br />Early 1979 I spent a lot of time in Amsterdam. My parents and I went to the Scientology church every week; this wasn't as bad as it sounds, the people working there were mostly nice (if misguided), underpaid hippies, and the boredom of their "communication course" was relieved by the thrill of walking around Am'dam during the coldest winter ever. (Ironically, that very Scientology church was briefly squatted and used to put on punk gigs in the early '80's.) It's funny how, a stone's throw from much of this punk activity, the 11-year old me never, ever encountered punks or saw other evidence of punk (flyers, grafitti). I guess that goes to show how much of history is dictated by the artifacts future generations can hold, look at and listen to. In other words: records!<br />Infexion from Amsterdam were one of the "biggest" punk bands of the period; they played at the legendary 1979 Punk Festival that had the village of Castricum invaded by crazy punk hordes (and was called off after one day!). On these two demo tracks you hear a band that's already moving towards the ultra-fast 4/4 style of the Nitwitz and Pistache BV.<br /><br /></span><a href="http://www.uncontrollableurgh.com/infexion-plo.mp3"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">P.L.O.</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /></span><a href="http://www.uncontrollableurgh.com/infexion-dumbdumbcop.mp3"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Dumb Dumb Cop</span></a>Nielshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08579889924374160663noreply@blogger.com3