the ponderosa and the ark of the weak heart

Twenty-two floors above, the green JCBs resemble not so much a rise of the machines as their last bronchial rattle. Scrabbling in the dirt for purchase. Listing drunkly like a man with motor neuron disease. Clinging to employment.

The blueprints for fuel efficient housing will be rolled out where they are needed least, I suspect.

They will not be built round here - not in my lifetime, at any rate - nor in those mountainous rural backwaters to the east, where every last penny of huminatarian aid is siphoned to stem a tide of mainiacs squatting behind RPGs.

Or to line the pockets of a few bent shopkeepers.

At present, those compact intended domiciles exist only as a byproduct of social etiquette. I am supposed to peer out my window and enthuse.

"Oh! What an excellent idea! How nice to see all those young men doing something constructive at last."

Instead, I am having none of it.

The solar panels look splendid. The clay brick and whitewashed wall. When the 4x4s eventually pour in behind the fence with offers, those same young men will hurry back to their street corners. Their leaky tenements and blistered detention zones. Brewing milky teas over toast while they huddle in pyjamas.

A scrum of newspapermen will descend on them with cameras - to take their picture as a local concilor rumbles into a microphone and hands out diplomas - and the instant will immediately be interred.

They will tear down the two little houses they have built. Harvest its parts for organ transplant.

They will lay polythene sheeting over the supparating foundations to prepare the space for a car park.

They will chisel and gouge and my contorted face will be at the window still. A little more lined, simian. A monkey. A nun. A sentinel fed by tubes.

A stain.

Gradually fading away to nothing like a sun bleached snapshot. A splash of urine drying in the crotch of a mildly befuddled hospital patient.

There will be no spontaneous protest which has not first been vetted three times over by the politically correct. The first out of the trenches will be mown down as they fumble for the switch on an antique bullhorn. The ones idling just behind will obediently fall back to their beds.

The nursey is what we know. Sand. Gravel. We fasten to its smoke and mirrors even as the generators fail.


Postscript:
The LP which came to be known among collectors as "E-E Saw Dub" - twelve original Jacob Miller riddims mixed and overdubbed by King Tubby at his Waterhouse studio - was a paper sleeve only limited release, mislabelled as Earl Zero's "City of the Weak Heart". Recorded at Randy's and Joe Gibbs, and produced by Ian and Roger Lewis of Inner Circle, these dubs are celebrated in no small part as the result of quite innovative techniques involving synth patterns overlaid by IC keyboardist, Bernard 'Touter' Harvey and enhanced by Tubby.

"Ghetto On Fyah Dub", too, specifically brings Augustus Pablo's contribution centre stage.

While the original vinyl release is much coveted and fetches exorbitant prices at market, the LP was subsequently reissued in digital format - with two bonus cuts - as "King Tubby Meets Jacob Miller in a Tenement Yard" through the independent UK label, Motion Records, active between 1996 and 2007.

Horsemouth Wallace & Santa Davis: drums and percussion;

Ian Lewis: bass guitar;

Chinna & Michael Chung & Roger Lewis: guitar;

Bernard "Touter" Harvey: keyboards and synthesizer;
Augustus Pablo: xylophone.

▼ JACOB MILLER / INNER CIRCLE (FAT MAN RIDDIM SECTION): GHETTO ON FYAH DUB from "E-E Saw Dub" 12" / LP (E-E Saw) 1975 (Jamaica)

out of the fish, a dark crocus emerges

According to those annals curated by Ubu Projex, Proto Pere stole under the wire into what was soon to become Ubuttoir De Facto in the city of South Euclid, Ohio sometime in late 1975. Therein seeding the earliest documented shoots of their "Heart of Darkness".

While drummer, Scott Krauss shares writing credit on its definitive coupling with "30 Seconds Over Tokyo" - released on Hearthen (Hearpen) in that same year - the dress rehearsal is anchored solely by Tim Wright's bass; the shadowy weight of an exploratory craft set adrift with one hand pummelling on its rotten hull.

Quite what the cargo is, or where it is going, is subject to conjecture.

Undecided. Agitated. It sails drunkenly on stagnant, uncharted waters. 

Underlining Conrad; foul orchids; the potential for misdirected violence.

In its protean form, it remained unreleased until its appearance on the terminal drive of Cooking Vinyl's "Datapanik in the Year Zero" some twenty-one years later. Its direct descendant, more than any other offering from Pere Ubu, perfectly anticipates the concrete chambers and valves of Joy Division's "Unknown Pleasures". Muscle and tendon infused with lead.

Peter Laughner is restrained. Strung out. Focused. Pere Ubu, a coiled tuberous corm.

In one song - one might reasonably claim - stocking a reservoir of refracted dystopia for years to come.

Well. We have been here before, you will doubtless recall. I am infected with the unfolding of the crocus still:

"At times a virus infected spider scrabbling over shards of brittle glass, at others a bleak mushrooming nerve agent, the corpulent presence of Thomas and the nihilistic but hugely inventive experimental tones created by Laughner coalesced into a cold blue flame licking out broken windows in the seedy bars of Cleveland to ignite pockets of interest outwith even America."

That Pere Ubu's earliest Cleveland recordings continue to elicit fascination owes much to Laughner's part in the group dynamic, of course, but does not alone explain it. Those nutrients percolating down into the basement propelled Ubu out of the tombs into the blank triumph of "The Modern Dance" and beyond. Peter Laughner's tragic demise was a wound which Pere Ubu survived. In those days before David Thomas chased out Vachel Lindsay, or outwardly bore witness to Kingdom Hall, the forces which galvanized him seemed not so much biblical as tainted by universal pollutants.

Vietnam. Recession. Listlessness. Fright.

The interment of an irrational optimism which flourished briefly in the 1960s.

Much of the time, I find myself not so much in disagreement with any dire prognosis, as simply astonished that one day continues to follow on the last; an endless succession of crisis and war - disorder - a flipbook animation of human distemper travelling all the way back to Adam and Eve.

One holocaust after another.

So. Same as it ever was. A tangle of angels and words. Jihadi. Pulchritude. 

Mortal combat.

Endurance of the human condition through procreation rather than spiritual rebirth.

The 'p' in Hearpan might be Anglo-Saxon for 'th' - the whole a harp or lyre - but I hear mostly moist flutterings. A deluge of insects.

David Thomas: vocals; Peter Laughner: guitar;

Tim Wright: bass; Dave Taylor: EML synthesizer.

▼ PERE UBU : HEART OF DARKNESS (REHEARSAL) from "Disc V: Terminal Drive: Rarities (Datapanik In The Year Zero)" 5 x CD (Cooking Vinyl) 1996 (US)

message for the common wealth

Produced for Micron Music by Lloydie Slim.

Recorded at Randy's Studio and King Tubby's Studio, Kingston.
Mastered by Kevin Metcalfe.

"Special thanks to Lee Perry, Bunny Lee and Roger Campbell
who helped to make it happen."

Distributed by Carib Gems Ltd., 154 Rucklidge Avenue, London N.W.10.

▼ PRINCE FAR I: PSALM 1 from "Psalms For Far I" LP (Carib Gems) 1975 (Jamaica / UK)

none too slim slow slider

Originally released on the 1975 Total Sounds Jamaican LP imprint - and again on Grounation in the UK in that same year - "Roots of Dub" lays down the 'law' at Kingston 11, Waterhouse, mixed straight up and round the corner in the delapitated bungalow which served as King Tubby's infamous studio; the 4-Track hub of heavily tampered with drum and bass, "Tubby's Home Town Hi-Fi", frequented by everybody from Bunny Lee and Lee Perry to Glen Brown and Augustus Pablo.

An electronics prodigy, Osbourne Ruddick - King Tubby - built his first, modest, amplifier (and radio transmsitter) in 1962 at the age of twenty-one; the pioneer to the sound system officially first put into action commercially in 1970, producing back to back 45 versions featuring Tubby's trademark echo, reverb and phase effects. A crowning achievement on the slider.

"Roots of Dub", produced by Bunny Lee, was only Tubby's second 'official' release, backed once again by house regulars, the Aggrovators. His debut, "Dub From the Roots", hit the streets a year after Lee Perry's 1973 co-produced dub classic "Blackboard Jungle" appeared on Perry's own Upsetter label. Tubby was encouraged to cement his growing reputation as master mixman with a follow-up issued under his own name, stepping out from behind the desk for a well received sequel and striking a regal pose.

The mid seventies finally saw him catapulted centre stage. Ragamuffin nobility, if not by Elizabeth's appointment.

His original Home Town Hi-Fi incredibly came under direct attack from the police at a Dance Hall in 1975 when he was investigated for performing publicly without a permit. Lacking sufficient funds merely to grease a few palms, the official response was to immediately put down the offending animal - his sound system - in a hail of government issued bullets. A riot very nearly ensued.

In similar circumstances to those shrouding Prince Far I, King Tubby himself was gunned down outside his home in 1989 by an alleged prowler. The culprit was never apprehended. It pays to travel incognito. Sovereign ghettoes or otherwise.

Produced by Bunny Lee. Mixed by King Tubby.

The Aggrovators:
Bass: Robbie and Fully; Drums: Santa, Carlton Barrett, Brother Benbow;
Lead Guitar: Chinna; Rhythm Guitar: Tony Chin, Family Man, Brother Bogga;
Piano: Touter Organ: Ossie Bongo, Brother Ian.

▼ KING TUBBY: ROOTS OF DUB from "King Tubby: The Dub Master Presents The Roots Of Dub" LP (Total Sounds) 1975 (Jamaica)

anchor snapper

ANC 1021.

Lifted from their 1975 LP, "Elastique" - also released on the UK independent Anchor label - "Why Did You Do It ?" remains as taut and inviting a proposition as a 38" peach in a g-string.

Brassy white funk delivered without irony or criminal remorse. The last gasp of live circuit desperadoes drowning in Johnny Walker watered down with flat Cola served in plastic cups.

A hangover in a goldfish bowl doubling as a dressing room.

Fronted by Elmer Gantry - one time vocalist and guitarist in Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera as early as 1967, and session singer with the Alan Parsons Project on the track "Psychobabble" - it was his decision to team up with newcomer, 'Kirby' which directly led to their modestly securing a UK Top 20 hit. Buoyed by Steve Emery on bass and Jim Russell on drums, Stretch stepped into the studio and promptly laid down a number of Gantry and Kirby compositions. Produced by an aspiring Martin Rushent, a tide of journeymen horn players - including Mike Bailey and Ron Carthy - were brought in to further augment the mix. An inspired development.

The resulting 45, penned by Kirby, garnered more than its share of radio play and lingered in the UK charts for nine weeks without actually troubling the Top 10. It should have gone much higher, but them's the breaks; worn knicker elastic or not.

With no small thanks to 'Scarab' for reminding me why this originally was one of the very first songs posted on SibLINGSHOT ON THE BLEACHERS.

Hold the cocaine and stretch limousine. Keep the champagne on ice. "Why Did You Do It ?" was sadly a flash in the pan.

▼ STRETCH: WHY DID YOU DO IT ? from "Why Did You Do It ? b/w Write Me A Note" 45 (Anchor) 1975 (UK)

agitated: another porky prime cut

RT 008.

Recorded on May 25th, 1975, and released on Geoff Travis' UK label some three years after these Clevelanders finally disbanded; by which time Nick Knox was firmly installed in the percussive seat of psychobilly cheerleaders, The Cramps.

Dave E. (McManus): vocals; Nick Knox : drums;
Brian McMahon: rhythm guitar; John Morton: lead guitar.

Written by Brian McMahon. Recorded By Paul Marotta.
Artwork by John Morton.

▼ THE ELECTRIC EELS: AGITATED from "Cyclotron b/w Agitated" 45 (Rough Trade) 1978 (UK / US)

come in, captain howdy

ouija board |ˌwiːdʒə|
noun trademark
a board printed with letters, numbers, and other signs, to which a planchette or movable indicator points, supposedly in answer to questions from people at a seance.

ORIGIN late 19th cent.: Ouija from French oui ‘yes’ + German ja ‘yes.’

Produced by Peter Jenner ;
engineered by John Leckie, Mark Vigars.

Additional musicians:
David Bedford; Steve Broughton; Bill Bruford; Dave Cochran; Dave Gilmour; John Paul Jones;
Chris Spedding; Ray Warley; The Grimethorpe Colliery Band.

▼ ROY HARPER: HALLUCINATING LIGHT from "HQ" LP (Harvest EMI) 1975 (UK)

king leopold's ghost

"mistah kurtz, he dead."

The world is seemingly populated with souls who would deny the Holocaust.

Blink, and you will have missed it.

Events which echo those horrors bring them tumbling out of the woodwork like so many blind worms, quick to point the finger of conspiracy even as they conspire. The planet is full of souls in denial; quick to maim in order to secure a place in the next world, or line their pockets in this. The coffers of their church.
The world is full of sycophants who would sooner look the other way.

The world is full of twisted motherf@ckers.

The wheel that turns is like that which steers the boat. The river thickens and congeals. Turns crude; the polluted arteries of a stricken heart.

Originally released in 1975, with Peter Laughner on guitar, "Heart of Darkness" found a subsequent reissue on Radar's 1978 12" anthology of Pere Ubu's first three 45's: "Datapanik in the Year Zero", & on Rough Trade's 1985 retrospective, "Terminal Tower".

hearthan HR 101, 1975.

David Thomas: vocals;
Peter Laughner: guitar;
Tim Wright: bass;
Scott Krauss: drums.

from ubuprojex:

"The name derives from an anglo-saxon word for harp.
The p is a transliteration of the anglo-saxon thorn,
a letter that was pronounced th.HEARTHAN
(pronounced hay-are-than, rhymes with van) gradually gave way to
HEARPEN (pronounced hay-are-pen) as the label's name."
 

Conrad's "Heart of Darkness";
originally published in three parts in 'Blackwood's Magazine', 1899.

▼ PERE UBU: HEART OF DARKNESS from "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo b/w Heart Of Darkness" 45 (Hearthan) 1975 (US)

UBU PROJEX: BUYER'S GUIDE TO PERE UBU

lose your chains

illustration by ib.

Hello, Ramone666. And Groover's Paradise.

pri•ma don•na
noun
the chief female singer in an opera or opera company.
• a very temperamental person with an inflated view of their own talent or importance.

DERIVATIVES
pri•ma don•na-ish adjective

ORIGIN late 18th cent.: Italian, literally ‘first lady.’

Cleveland, Ohio, February 1975. An atypical loft rehearsal sewing the viral spores which would ultimately seed both Pere Ubu and the Dead Boys: Rocket from the Tombs; a marriage born of the symbiotic partnership between one David Thomas and guitarist, Peter Laughner, and an uneasy alliance forged with fellow Clevelanders, Gene O' Connor (later Cheetah Chrome), David Bell and Johnny Madensky.

Penned by Laughner and O' Connor, "Ain't It Fun" - as sung here by David Thomas - prompted those disparate individuals to temporarily invite Stiv Bators in to contribute vocals, with Thomas sidelined on keyboards and saxophone. As much as Thomas's abrasive stylings infuriated certain elements within the group, it was quickly decided that Bators was too much the prima donna and Thomas was reinstated merely as the lesser of two evils. Much of the material thrown up during this period would subsequently form the core of those songs called on by the Dead Boys, with Chrome and Bators reunited in NYC. Thomas and Laughner virtually rejected all of it save for the Ubu staple, "30 Seconds Over Tokyo".



It would be inaccurate to attempt to establish that there was ever a Cleveland scene in the strictest sense. Prior to Rocket from the Tombs, affiliated bands like Slash and The Mirrors were almost uniformly ignored by club promoters and prospective audiences in Ohio alike. The American midwest sought shelter in beer and qualudes and celebrated denial between swinging shifts while they burned all the rubbers back in Akron. Desperate for recognition, if not outright patronage, Laughner and O' Connor submitted demos to John Sinclair over in Detroit. A calculated move; the heavy welted imprint of both the MC5 and the Stooges on their sound could scarcely be denied. However politely pitched, their pleas fell on deaf ears. The White Panthers had troubles of their own.

F@ck it, boys and girls. Enough was enough.

Starved of all options, crumbling into acrimonious conceits, Rocket from the Tombs could only descend back into dust. As elsewhere in time - in a thousand foul smelling back bedrooms, or garages or lofts - circumstances dictated mutation; the survival of the most determined, if not quite the fittest. The rest, as every f@cker will insist, is history.

Crocus Behemoth be damned.

Good evening; siblings and muthaf@ckers. The night is not so young, and I am desperate too.
 
▼ ROCKET FROM THE TOMBS: AIN'T IT FUN from "The Day The Earth Met Rocket From The Tombs" CD (Smog Veil) 2002 (US)

UBU PROJEX: BUYER'S GUIDE TO PERE UBU (WITH LINKS TO SMOG VEIL)

stationary target

"Young Americans" era jones, 1975.

Stepping off American Bandstand - but not the white powder - The Thin White Duke turned introspective and hit the black on Bleaker Street for his follow-up release, "Station to Station", in 1976. Paralyzing psychosis and paranoia informed both the writing and performance in the studio throughout, and the blue-eyed energized soul of its predecessor was derailed in the process; taking a mysterious detour which would ultimately culminate with those synth laden collaborations with Brian Eno and old friend, Tony Visconti in Berlin between 1976 and 1977.

For all the accusations which were hurled in its direction, in hindsight "Station to Station" was potentially David Jones' most 'real' statement since "Hunky Dory", dealing as it does with genuine emotions, however numbed and blunted. The distance employed between artist and audience has little to do in this instance with artifice and industry chicanery.

The line between persona and persona non grata - a white line, admittedly - is more confused or interrupted than deliberately blurred.

I feel as passionately about this record as anything realized on vinyl between "Space Oddity" and "Scary Monsters... Super Creeps". Ever the ardent Österberg admirer and champion, one gets the sense that with this LP Bowie finally gave himself the break of accepting his limitations as an intuitive performer and finally began to build on his own unique capabilities to adopt and absorb from varied sources without fear of criticism or put-down. The theatre is tempered with restraint and the desire to cultivate from crippling experience. The Jacques Brel, Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill influences which would dominate later work make their first appearance here, with little apology, on his bold decision to end the album with a cover of Dimitri Tiomkin and Ned Washington's "Wild is the Wind", originally recorded by Johnny Mathis for the movie of the same name in 1957.
It reeks of cabaret and greasepaint, beyond a doubt, but the face melting on stage under the footlights just as irrefutably belongs to David Jones himself.

Stay tuned, and keep reading between the lines. Keep one eye open for the train.

David Bowie: vocals, guitar, tenor and alto saxophone, Moog, Mellotron;
Carlos Alomar: guitar; Roy Bittan: piano;
Dennis Davis: drums; George Murray: bass;
Warren Peace: backing vocals; Earl Slick: guitar.
Produced by David Bowie and Harry Maslin. Recorded in Los Angeles, September-December 1975.

▼ DAVID BOWIE: STAY from "Station To Station" LP (RCA) 1976 (UK)

▼ DAVID BOWIE: WILD IS THE WIND from "Station To Station" LP (RCA) 1976 (UK)

PURCHASE STATION TO STATION REMASTERED + BONUS TRACKS

brothers grimm

Out of the ashes of the monumental Neu!, featuring brothers Klaus and Thomas Dinger, Nikolaus van Rhein, and Harals Konietzko.

Produced by La Düsseldorf and Konrad Plank.

RIP, Klaus. Fetch me a f@cking engel with tinfoil wings. And a stick to beat it with.

▼ LA DÜSSELDORF: DÜSSELDORF from "La Düsseldorf" LP (Germaohon) 1976 (Germany)

drugstore cowboy

▼ LESTER BANGS & PETER LAUGHNER: DRUGSTORE COWBOY / I'M SO BORED / G'BYE LOU from "The Creem Office Sessions: 1975 / 6 x MP3 (WFMU) 2007 (US)

on the road to damascus

Overheard from a ten year old girl at the Primary School which my son attends:

"I hate the jews. They have destroyed my country."

That not enough is done in European schools to educate the young with regard to the Holocaust is regrettable. As a child myself, this was not so much the case. The sectarian indoctrination behind the quote is all the more disturbing considering that this young girl is from Egypt; her parents are economic migrants* and relocated here after her father had an affair with another Egyptian woman, as her mother is fond of confiding in strangers.

* Contrary to popular misconception, the term "economic migrant" is not pejorative but describes:

"Someone who has moved to another country to find work. While much media focus has been on economic migration to the UK, few are aware that there are several million Britons living abroad today, most having migrated for economic betterment; no-one disputes their right to do so."

Postscript:

Further to an e-mail I just received, let me expand: the purpose of this post was not to blur or contradict the sad reality of the current plight of wholly innocent Gazan citizens; the intention was to express my own disconcertion that there is a growing prejudice which seeks to deny the Holocaust as undisputed historical fact. That, to me, is alarming. Let me also add that this same girl has been led by her parents to attest that the Holocaust was a myth. Rest assured, if any child at my son's school were to have voiced a similar opinion with respect to Muslims, the repercussions would be palpable. I would also advise the sender of the aforementioned e-mail to please refer to previous posts on the subject of the situation in Gaza.

In addition, the fact that nobody has commented suggests to me that people are wary of voicing an opinion which, one way or another, might be deemed as objectionable. That is understandable. As many individuals are seemingly crippled by political correctness as children are, undoubtedly, by bombs and contempt.

▼ BIG STAR: HOLOCAUST from "Third: Sister Lovers" (PVC) 1975 (US)

PURCHASE THIRD / SISTER LOVERS

down on the farm

▼ GRINDERSWITCH: PICKIN' THE BLUES from "Macon Tracks" LP (Capricorn) 1975 (US)

OUT OF PRINT

one who yawns

geronimo (goyaałé: 'one who yawns'). chiricahua apache chief.
omaha, 1898. photograph by adolph f. muhr.

This post is prompted by all the bad news permeating through Tuesday. It is like a lunatic asylum out there. I turned on the radio and wanted to climb back into bed. I will fold my cheek into the pillow tonight and wish for a cool sea breeze blowing in from the west. And no dreams at all.

▼ JACK NITZCHE: ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (OPENING THEME) from "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (OST)" LP (Fantasy) 1975 (US)

PURCHASE ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST SOUNDTRACK

héctor lavoe: mi gente

born héctor juan pérez martínez, september 30, 1946 in ponce, puerto rico; died june 29, 1993 in the bronx, new york city.



From Wiki:

"The first thing he did in New York was visit El Barrio, New York's "Spanish Harlem." Héctor was disappointed in the condition of El Barrio which contrasted with his vision of "fancy Cadillacs, tall marble skyscrapers and tree-lined streets." Hector stayed at his sister's apartment in The Bronx instead."

Lavoe quickly secured his position as lead vocalist with Orquesta New York; Kako All-Stars; and Johnny Pacheco. In 1967, he met and auditioned for Salsa superstar, Willie Colón.

'Pacheco, co-owner of Fania Records and its recording musical director, arranged for Lavoe to record with Willie Colón on his first album El Malo. Willie never officially asked Lavoe to join his band, but after the recording, Willie said to him, "On Saturday we start at 10 p.m. at El Tropicoro Club." '



Under tutelage of Colón, Lavoe developed a drug habit which was to eventually undermine his success as a functioning entertainer. Despite seeking guidance and assistance through his involvement with Santería, Lavoe continued to be plagued by spiritual and emotional tragedies. He died from complications arising from AIDS in a charity hospital in NYC. His body - and that of his son, who had died six years earlier, in 1987 - was later exhumed from its plot in Saint Raymond's Cemetery, the Bronx, and reinterred in his native Ponce at his family's request.

This song, perhaps more than any other Lavoe's signature, was written by Johnny Pacheco.

▼ HÉCTOR LAVOE: MI GENTE from "La Voz" LP (Fania) 1975 (US)

PURCHASE HÉCTOR LAVOE: LA VOZ
FANIA RECORDS OFFICIAL WEBSITE

through the looking glass: 1975

original heartbreakers. left to right:
jerry nolan; richard hell; walter lure; johnny thunders.

Walter Lure:

"I never liked Richard Hell's versions of the songs we played, but Richard was in another world.

It's not hard to find people like that in the industry, but he considered himself to be the only thing that was like serious art. His attitude really kept you away from a lot of his stuff. Some of the songs were good, and the lyrics were great. He was a funny guy. I just never really wanted to follow him around because he was an obnoxious idiot."

Bob Gruen (Photographer for 'Rock Scene Magazine'):

"Richard Hell was a junkie who got out of bed with his hair messed up. He didn't notice, and everyone thought he looked good. He is credited with the idea of holding clothes together with safety-pins. The way I understand the story is that a girlfriend was angry with him and cut up all his clothes. He wanted to go out that night and he had nothing to wear, so he put his clothes together with safety-pins. Malcolm McLaren happened to be in the club that night and saw it and thought it was a fantastic style, 'a fascinating style' as Malcolm put it."

From 'Punk", 2001, Cassell & Co Publishing. Compiled by Stephen Colgrave and Chris Sullivan.

PREVIOUSLY: NEW YORK DOLL ; LOST VALLEY (OF THE DOLLS) ;
(I BELONG TO THE) BLANK GENERATION ; THE NEON BOYS

patti smith: horses

"horses in the snow".

Produced by John Cale at Electric Lady Studios under the watchful ghost of Jimi Hendrix. Written by Patti Smith, after Chris Kenner.



"horses" era patti by robert mapplethorpe, 1975.

We Three guitar by Tom Verlaine and Allen Lanier. And Jimi makes four.

▼ PATTI SMITH: LAND: HORSES / LAND OF A THOUSAND DANCES / LA MER (DE) from "Horses" LP (Arista) 1975 (US)

PURCHASE HORSES REMASTERED

lester bangs & peter laughner

design by ib, with original "creem" logo by r. crumb.

Here's 2/6 tracks I cribbed from the evergreen WFMU about a year ago from a "... rare bootleg of Lester Bangs and Peter Laughner jamming in Creem's offices in 1975 or 1976."

To quote myself (because I am a shamelessly self-promoting aged f@cker) from a comment I left over there at the time:

"Oustanding snapshot of two perpetual delinquent Peter Pans taking the Velvets for a stroll off the leash. I'd love to know if there were motes of dust dancing in the sun streaming through the office windows, or if the sun outside was wan and wintry..."


☚ lester conway bangs poses for kate simon.
(perhaps the t-shirt reads best as a message from beyond the grave:
"last of the shite bloggers")


For those of you familiar with Lester's writing for Creem magazine out of Detroit through the 70s, and his tragically doomed solo project with The Delinquents, this jam is a joyously received treat. Lester started out freelance for "Rolling Stone" in 1969, but was 'canned' by editor, Jan Wenner four years further down the line for a negative and "disrespectful" review of some old hippie group who went down a storm at Woodstock. Lester was quite often negative - especially and contrarily with regard to artists he held in the greatest esteem - but he was never less than entertaining.

Anyone who suggests otherwise is either running on empty so far as humour is concerned or is a good deal more clinically depressed than Lester ever was.

Thank you to WFMU's Lukas for the original post.

▼ LESTER BANGS & PETER LAUGHNER: SEVENTEEN from "The Creem Office Sessions: 1975/6" MP3 (WFMU) 2007 (US)

▼ LESTER BANGS & PETER LAUGHNER: LESTER RAY from "The Creem Office Sessions: 1975/6" MP3 (WFMU) 2007 (US)

PURCHASE PSYCHOTIC REACTIONS & CARBURETOR DUNG

neil young: cortez the killer

Before Sunday shyly arrives with its threat of tortured failure and betrayal, I want to give up a little honesty. This is for Beer and Matt and Nathan and Brushback - who I very nearly forgot to mention in my inebriated state - and Jon and a whole lot of others. Keep On Keeping On, motherf@ckers.

I just glanced up at the kitchen clock. I'm too late.

Where would punk rock be without Neil Young ?

▼ NEIL YOUNG + CRAZY HORSE: CORTEZ THE KILLER from "Zuma" LP (Reprise) 1975 (US)

ZUMA