*V/A -"MURDER PUNK
VOL 1. & 2." CDs (Murder Punk Inc - bootleg)
V/A - "BLOODSTAINS
ACROSS YUGOSLAVIA " LP (Bootleg)
"The Punkists are, I reckon,
fashionable and ideological movement at the same time. The Punkists are
consciously leaning towards ugliness, they dress awkwardly, squarely. That
is the fight between sincere ugliness against dishonest beauty."
The Punkists around the
world have been pissing their pants in the last few months, following the
releases of a few more bootleg compilations of hard-to-find 77-82 punk.
In the sea of overleaping releases it was great to see someone put out
some rare Australian and Yugoslav punk material. As expected, both are
bootlegs, with no address or with a fake address, as is the case with "Murder
Punks", as if someone would bother chasing the royalties from the people
who released the CDs. Anyway, "Murder Punk Vol 1 & 2" have apparently
been released by someone from Forced Exposure, who has an extremely sick
sense of humour: the contact name is that of Martin Bryant, all with his
liner notes, PO Box, and even a fax number. I know a Yank who sent a fax
to 'Bryant' believing that the CD cover gave him a genuine address, to
inform him of his arrival to Oz to look for some collectable punk records.
No wonder he never heard back. Whoever compiled these two CDs must have
an impressive collection. Hats down to the "Ugly Things" serial, but late
70s and early 80's punk is where it was at. Sure 60's punk ignited the
rock'n'roll flame, and some "progressive" rock (in fact, street r'n'r bands
like Buffalo) shook the ground a bit, but Razar, Leftovers and The Victims
awakened the anti-WASP conservatism amongst the masses and laid a seed
of hope (with sporadic, but big let-downs such as the "Piss Christ" case).
The battle is not over yet, but the end is in sight, kids. Since most songs
are nearly completely undecipherable to my ear, I wouldn't jump to conclude
that the lyrics are particularly anti-conservative. However, never before
in Australian music history have a big number of bands produced so much
primal noise on vinyl. I guess most records have that cool lo-fi sound
just by accident, since probably noone actually could produce them
properly so they just played with the knobs in the studio and the result
was, in the most cases, several minutes of loud bliss. Virtually not a
single dud band on those two CDs, but a couple of songs I can survive without.
If one day we, Australians, get to choose the punk anthem it would be the
"Television Addict" by the Victims. The Chosen Few predate some Aussie
metal punk bands, such as Bored! and Powder Monkeys by some 10-15 years
and I bet The Dirty Lovers listened a lot of Fun Things. Very hard to pick
up just a couple of best bands on "Murder Punks", so I always go for playing
both CDs back-to-back. It works every time. Hopefully we'll see more of
it in the near future - I want some Quick and the Dead, Johnny Demon and
the Devils, the Press, Young Identities, Just Urbain, Bodysnatchers, the
Upsets, Public Execution, Screaming Tribesman, Mystery of Sixes, the Boys
Next Door, etc.
It is amazing to realise
how different from its American and British counterparts Australian punk
was at the time. Of course they didn't play it backwards, or upside-down,
but the bands on "Murder Punks" have a lot more in common with "Bloodstains
Across Yugoslavia" than with the "Killed By Death" series. I don't know
why, so I'll speculate that punk bands in both Australia and Yugoslavia
had heard, at the time, very few commercially successful bands from the
USA or UK and decided to make similar sort of racket. And it sounded great!
The only two problems I
have with "Bloodstains Across Yugoslavia" LP are the absence of many songs
from the 7"s (all tunes were previously released as singles) and ignorance
of by far much punkier songs from the same era. The liner notes are fine,
with a couple of factual errors (and a few spelling ones as well),
but if I don't care no one else should. Won't get much into each band,
just to mention that Pekinška Patka were unbeatable and if you want to
hear some of the best punk bands from former Yugoslavia this album is a
great place to start.
"I like The Punkists. Maybe
with further evolution, as everything else in the world, they will become
self-contradiction? But, for now, they are so innocently, bravely and childishly
ugly."
("Murder Punk 1 & 2"
CDs are available from Forced Exposure, PO Box 9102, Waltham, MA 02254,
USA; Ask your local record dealer to get you a copy of "Bloodstains..."
LP from some of the Euro distributors.
*STRIPER #1 (Comics)
I'm afraid you won't be
interested in ordering a comic magazine done completely in Serbian unless
you either understand the language, or enjoy watching the pictures only
or are a die hard comics collector. Judging by this issue, current state
of the comics scene in Serbia is quite fine, thank you very much. There
is a diversity of styles and at least 50% of the authors whose work has
been published in Striper are my cup of tea. It also contains an interview
with Aleksandar Zograf and it wouldn't surprise me if #2 is already out.
How about a whole issue in English?
(Radovan Popovic, Gospodara
Vucica 103a, 11000 Beograd, Yugoslavia)
*BALDIE #1
From the restless bunch
in Clacton-On-Sea comes this fine (short, though) newsletter with some
interesting graphics, reviews, poetry and other bits and pieces. Their
hearts are definitely in the right place, so it's a pity they don't invest
their creativity in something bigger (as in volume). Judging by the editorial,
they are planning more of it, asking for contributions from whoever comes
up with anything cool.
(12 Chestnut Ave., Clacton-On-Sea,
Essex, CO15 2BG, U.K. - and it's free!)
*LOŠI DECKI - "LOŠI DECKI"
CASS
Everyone knows that The
Humpers' first LP "My Machine" was released in Croatia (then Yugoslavia)
some years ago. The gentleman responsible for this atrocity, as well as
for releasing pre-Humpers combo Suicide Kings and fine L.A. garage band
the Morlocks, is Zdenko Franjic. In the late '80s he saved Yugo underground
r'n'r from drowning in the sewerage and vomit of popular music. He's been
quiet in the last few years (for obvious reasons) and now he came up with
his own band. And given that Franjic can boast long experience in good
r'n'r, I must say I'm a bit disappointed. Sure, these are live recordings
and sound quality isn't all that great, so I'll wait to hear a proper release
before the final judgement. In the meantime, Loši Decki debut tape has
all the beginners' errors - many cliches (the band's name translates as
"Bad Boys"), dodgy punk rock riffs (with a riff here or there that brings
to mind some gothic punk) and silly lyrics. Not bad, but way below my expectations.
(Listen Loudest!, Samoborska
97c, 10090 Zagreb, Croatia)
*MOTORPSYCHO - "ANGELS
AND DAEMONS AT PLAY" CD
PRAY TV - "WESTONA"
CD
Don't be under an impression
that these two bands' very different styles can be easily reconciled
- the only reason they're cramped into one review is that both CDs
are perfect examples of how Top 40 should sound. Motorpsycho hail from
Norway and they've been around for quite some time - this should be their
4th or 5th album, I believe. I had only heard a couple of songs by them
prior to this album and eliminated them as another Black Sabbath/Mudhoney/Helmet
wannabes, but... The first time I listened to the "Angels..." CD was the
day after a pot binge, when I was feeling very relaxed and in want of a
good soundtrack to suit the mood, which they certainly provided. Since
then, I've tried pursuing some other people to get into them, but to no
avail. It seems nobody digs this except for me - didn't even see any reviews
so far. Don't know why, as this is contemporary commercial psychedelia
at its best. I mean, Motorpsycho could easily piss all over the Chemical
Brothers and other so-called psychedelic bands. The entire 60 minute-length
CD is jam-packed with beautiful mesmerising sounds, ranging from pop songs
to the tunes when they just let the tape roll and muck around a riff or
three (as on the 13+ minutes long epic "Un Chien d'espace"). Motorpsycho
aren't ashamed of showing their influences, but there's much more here
than just them playing their record collections. The arrangements have
to be heard to be believed, and my only concern is how they do it live.
Especially since they should be coming this way very soon, unless Perth
misses out again. This CD comes with a bonus album "Blissard", which is
not as good as "Angels...", and therefore doesn't get as many kicks on
my stereo.
Pray TV have probably started
around the same time as Motorpsycho and, same as them, never achieved any
big commercial success. A couple of years ago they were signed by some
American major and even played several gigs there, but the deal went through
quickly. "Westona", their latest release, is the first album I listened
to fully, so I can't compare it with the old ones, but I guess they're
pretty similar. It's straight ahead pop we're talking about here and Pray
TV does it best in Australia at the moment. Not that I'm too keen on the
whole Aussie pop thing, but the fact is that we're doing it better than
the rest of the world, thanks to the bands like Pray TV and Fizzleheads
(by the way, what's up with them?). You want some beautiful casual music?
Buy yourself some happiness in the form of "Westona"! It is disappointing
that Triple J picked up not one of the songs off this album, while some
of the crappiest bands like Mr Blonde, Even and You Am I are being flogged
to death on the airwaves. This CD comes with seven bonus tracks of the
band playing with some four track reel to reel and producing some amazing
tape loops.
(Shock Records)
*HELLACOPTERS/GLUECIFER
- "RESPECT THE ROCK" SPLIT CD EP
A-BOMBS - "FIVE
STUPID MEN" CD EP
Scandinavia is for punk
rock in late '90s what Australia used to be in the late 80s and earlier
this decade. While the Powder Monkeys, Hoss and Splatterheads keep it quiet,
somebody had to take over. The Nomads started it all, but the Hellacopters
are the current kings of Scandinavian punk (even though the Silverbullet
threaten to kick them off the throne) and on "Respect The Rock" EP (also
available as a 10") they teamed with Gluecifer - another promising band.
"You are Nothin'" is taken from the forthcoming second album by Hellacopters
and if the rest of the album is this good, we better run to the nearest
nuclear shelter. It's followed by another couple of great songs and then
it turns into a 500 pound rolling machine that is Gluecifer, who contribute
three tunes. They even covered "No Way" by Bored! - trying to get themselves
an Australian tour or what? A-Bombs are not distinct from what the rest
of Scandinavian punks sound like, with just a dash of Rocket From The Crypt.
As far as I'm concerned, the land of the Vikings is where its at right
now for punk rock. We only have to wait and see for how long, since my
major concern with all these bands is that they copy Americans a lot -
typical covers, lettering, "motherfucker" in every song, and even dressing
and posing as Yanks, as if somebody has to do it now when punk is very
quiet in the U.S. I'm glad that Aussies never made the same mistake.
Since the Hellacopters had their place in this fanzine from #1, however,
it is nice to see they went this far and dragged heaps of excellent bands
along with them. Give 'em some money, will you?
("Respect.." available from:
White Jazz Records, BOX 2140, 103 14 Stockholm, Sweden; A-Bombs, Outside
Society Production, fax: +46 8 650 46 17)
*REVELATORS - "WE TOLD
YOU NOT TO CROSS US" CD
While listening to the Revelators,
I feel like being ripped off - the idea of having a band with one guitar,
drums and vocals has been in my mind for ages, and before I finally got
my shit together and found a couple of guys on the same wave-length,
along came this CD with the same line up. No reason to be sad here, because
the Revelators are one hell of a good band. "We Told You Not To Cross Us"
has been recorded in just a few hours straight onto DAT and the Crypt Records
deserve the prize for unearthing some of the best talent around today.
The Revelators prove that great records are easy to make - if only some
other bands would just have the vision. There's nothing new here, just
three guys making a lot of glorious noise in 30 something minutes. They've
often been compared to the Oblivians, but I find the Revelators even
more exciting. "Don't Look at Me When I'm Looking at You" is the winner
of "The Best Punk Song in 1997" award, following a tough tie-break with
the rest of the songs (all 15 of them) on this album.
(Crypt Records)
*THE AUTHORITIES
- "PUPPY LOVE" CD
THE HUNS - "LIVE
AT THE PALLADIUM 1979" CD
Ryan Richardson gave us
these two CDs when he visited. His label released the Authorities and the
Huns on vinyl, but Get Hip Records did the CD versions. Anyway, the
Authorities recorded the songs that ended up on "Puppy Love" CD in 82/83,
but don't bother trying to find the original release unless you're prepared
to pay lotsa bucks. I guess they are a perfect example of changes occuring
in American punk in those days - they were probably one of the last combos
not giving up to hard core, despite some flirting with it in several songs.
Sadly, hard core took over, but reissues of the records as good as this
one are here to show us how it should've remained - keep it short and to
the point, never lose a listener's attention and finish it all in around
twenty minutes. A true classic!
The Huns weren't as fast
as the Authorities and had keyboards in their line up, but that certainly
doesn't make them any less punk. This album was recorded live in Dallas
in 1979 and the sound quality is just great, but they lacked the songs.
Some of them are quite decent and the rest is pretty average. I'd rather
listen to the Authorities again.
(Get Hip Records)
*DEVIL DOLL - "DIES IRAE"
CD
I kept stumbling across
positive reviews of this Slovenian/Italian band for several months, causing
me to constantly think about them, so I decided to contact their record
label in Italy. Soon after the tape version of "Dies Irae" album came in
with "Devil Doll Chronology", a very informative biography of the band
and its leader Mr Doctor. He certainly is an interesting person and I was
eager to hear the music, but there came the disappointment. Devil Doll
is one of those bands whose bio reads better than they sound. I was impressed
by the first couple of minutes of the album - it starts as an eerie gothic
opera of some sort, but then turns into the worst possible Meat Loaf kinda
thing. Won't trust the reviewers anymore.
(Hurdy Gurdy Records, S.
Marco 5499, Venice, Italy)
*ŠUMSKI - "SAFARI" CASS
V/A - "KEKERE
AQUARIUM 94-96" CASS
Kekere Aquarium is a Croatian
label specialising in "noise, folk, jazz-funk, experimental, etc." bands.
They started in 1992 and have released around 20 cassettes so far, two
of which they sent for a review, knowing that the next step from Uzurlikzurli
is the world. "Safari" is the second cassette album for Šumski - an extremely
interesting band that is hard to categorise. Here's what the guys from
the band said on their influences: "Can, Faust, Amon Düül, Blurt,
Minutemen, Captain Beefheart, Jablkon, Django Reinhardt, John Coltrane,
Disciplina Kicme..." and there's really nothing more to add to it, except
a bit of The Residents as well. They are a trio, but play a range of various
instruments - from the common ones to those more obscure, such as a xylophone,
pipe, and all different sorts of percussions. On this tape they've been
helped by some additional musicians in pursuit of as many diverse sounds
as possible. And they succeeded for sure, without losing their sense of
humour for one second - and that's what it all should be about. Šumski
may wear their influences on their sleeves, but they definitely are one
of the most original bands I've heard in the last couple of years. I only
wish for a different production of some instruments (especially the guitar)
and would like to see their next release on vinyl or CD. Judging by some
reviews, Šumski can't match their quality in live shows, which isn't surprising
since the three of 'em play about 74 instruments. They're also
involved in the Drums Parade, the "street performances with 15-20 drummers",
so hopefully they'll manage to release that sometime soon. "Kekere Aquarium
94-96" is a sampler cassette of the bands that have recently put out their
stuff on this label. Not many samplers that I've heard so far have done
much for me, probably due to the choice of songs. Most bands on tape are
Touch & Go/AmRep style of noise and good at it. The rest are more extreme
and weird, and that's the direction I'd like to see this label take in
the future.
(Kekere Aquarium, Kornal
Šeper, Voltino 42, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; srkseper@ffzg.hr)
*BING - Live at Grosvenor
Hotel (date forgotten)
The live shows we've been
attending in the last year weren't that exciting. Again we've seen only
three shows - Radio Birdman were a bit worse than on B.D.Out 96, Mach Pelican
were good, but we've "heard it all before", so Bing saved the year. Some
guys at some party mentioned seeing them and the drummer suggested
to us to come to their gig and give 'em a go. One boring support band and
two pints of Guinness later and Bing took to the stage. What followed is
a blur, mostly due to my drunkenness and hypnotic sounds Bing sent from
the stage. They were a classic trio line up and with just drums, bass,
guitar and vocals managed to give a completely different meaning to The
Wall of Sound. Each song glued my ears to the speakers and transported
me into beautiful state of numbness (I wish I smoked some pot before the
show!), and as the gig progressed the feeling of overwhelming happiness
started pouring out of my every pore. I hate name-dropping as much as the
next person, but it's easiest to just say that bits of Can, Faust, Cul
de Sac, The Velvets' 3rd LP and New Wet Kojak could be heard in Bing's
music. The songs were quite long, and were usually based on a couple of
repetitive ("Repetition gives you power") riffs on guitar, driving bass
lines and manic, often nearly free jazz-like drumming. Vocals were barely
audible (hopefully intentionally) and basically treated just as another
instrument. Each and every song Bing performed that night was an epic in
itself and it seems kinda logical that they played only six songs in around
thirty minutes - anything more than that would just spoil the concert.
Sadly, the audience didn't seem to appreciate the beautiful music of Bing
and the only comment I have is: Perth crowd is a bit of a worry! I mean,
here they had probably the best band in town in last 10+ years, yet nobody
seems to recognise their strength. So typical! The word is that Bing have
split up and all my hope to have them interviewed for this issue is gone.
*ONE NIGHT ON THE TOWN
- 4 OCTOBER 1997
"I decided it would be a
real fun idea to get fucked up on drugs and go see Tangerine Dream with
Laserium." Thus spoke Lester Bangs, but in our version it should go like
this: "We decided it would be a real fun idea to get fucked up on pot and
go see a couple of events in this year's Artrage Festival." We've done
it and it was fun!
After a couple of cones
at our place we walked down to this food hall and ordered a Chinese meal
for dinner. Our hostess tried to sell us the tickets for this big charity
dinner the following weekend and she wouldn't take no for an answer, even
though we insisted that we would have a few people over at our place for
my birthday. A meal later we jumped on a bus and went straight down to
Greenwich bar to see some independent short films made by women, a part
of Independent Film Festival. They hadn't set up the tickets stall yet,
so we ended up in the bar buying ourselves some drinks. There were no
other guests except for these six people making some sort of a film. They've
been repeating a scene with some of the cheesiest dialogues for five times
in a row and at the end a guy is being slapped by a woman after telling
her: "Claire, I think you have fantastic breasts." What a trip!
Shortly after, we went into
the projection room and had a nice chat with a guy who organised the whole
festival. He used to play in a really good garage rock band Tarantulas.
They were around in the mid 80s, but late last year had one reunion gig,
which was great. Richard (I think that's his name) turned out to be a very
interesting and nice person, and we ended up talking for good fifteen minutes.
Only about ten people showed up for the film, but as long as I had my drink
and Dazzlers I wouldn't care. Two films were fiction, although the program
claims that "Portland" is a doco - it didn't seem like a doco to me.
I preferred "Portland", a film about the group of teenagers taking a trip
to Portland, Oregon, probably because it featured music by the Trashwomen.
Other two films were documentaries - one about women boxers and the other
about India. The latter was the best film I've seen in the festival, an
absolutely fantastic one hour-long piece on several different subjects
- Indian film industry, erotic sculptures in Hindu temples, a circus, and
religious fanaticism. It was mostly black & white, apart from the Indian
movie scenes, and with very little or no dialogue. It was good to see some
other sides to that country and the director, Nina Davenport, succeeded
in being very objective by giving us just a handful of stories to judge
India for ourselves. "Hello Photo" is one of the most beautiful pieces
of cinema I've seen in the last fifteen years.
"S/M in the S/Out" was next.
It took place in the Blue Room - quite a decent place that I'd like to
see being used for more events in future. The entire show was about mostly
lesbian S&M practice and it ran for three days. First couple of nights
were taken up by short films, followed by a "round table discussion" on
the third day, which we missed. Anyways, of six films on offer only one
and a half were slightly explicit. Maybe I had a wrong perspective on the
S&M thing, but most of the movies were pretty "tame", which is to say
it wasn't all whips, leather and chains. All films were obviously done
on a very low budget by women who know how to use the resources to the
maximum. My eyes were stuck to the screen throughout the whole event, but
I must admit i didn't really feel that "hot" at all. It was silly on my
behalf to expect that these films would make me rush into the nearest sex
shop and buy all the gear. However, I still appreciate people having different
sorts of interests in sex and hopefully I'll try all of it eventually.
Worth mentioning is that the soundtrack for the Australian film "None of
the Above" was done by Vladimir Divljan - the guy who wrote "Uzurlikzurli"
song. After the screening they set up the live show. I was worried, yet
tempted for the sake of it, that they would use this old dentist
chair about half a meter before me, but the live action thing were two
naked women doing this really bizarre dance. One had threads going from
her fingers to the back of the other woman's body and they danced around
the Blue Room audience. Then it was over and we took the last bus home.
*THE MODERATE #1
When the first issue of
Year Zero came out a few years ago, many souls were irritated by the fanzine's
personal writing style. Soon after Dave Lang (not Laing as in the guy who
ran Dog Meat Records) pumped out a couple of more issues and started winning
"The Most Hated Person" polls in some fanzines. I don't know what the problem
is with you people out there - art should be first and foremost personal!
Aren't you sick of mediocrity of the mainstream media? Well, I am and when
my stomach starts turning upside-down I run into my shelter and grab a
copy of The Moderate, a bong and some cool music for the background. Since
reading Year Zero #1 I became a blind follower and am glad that I've been
with it through all the changes, or, to be precise, developments. From
issue to issue, YZ's editor showed some slight changes in his attitude,
particularly regarding some of the biggest topics at the time (major labels,
et al.), and that's what makes him a valid author, unlike many of his counterparts
who seem to hang onto one thing forever. The last time we heard from him
was in the late 97, when YZ was published with another great Aussie fanzine
Resistant Harmony. Nobody seemed to know what had happened to Mr Lang and
some of us thought he pulled out of the zine making. Fortunately, as other
zine makers know, that is not an easy thing to do. So, finally, in August
this year The Moderate #1 saw the light of day. At first I expected it
to be just a publication with some of Lang's work, but it turned out to
be his brand new fanzine. If you want to find out why it isn't called Year
Zero just buy the damn thing. I am not concerned about the name,
even though you'll all realise that the content is 100% Year Zero. The
Moderate is anything but moderate. Mr Lang still has the same strong attitude
towards important things, and in this issue he particularly furthered his
already "in depth" writing style. Some people don't seem to like it, but
I've got no problem with it. In fact, I feel like he could've kept going
on and on for a bit longer. Anyway, The Moderate contains a great Jad Fair
interview, Jad Fair tour diary, a writing on "What Is Music?" festival,
an amazing article on Miles Davis's late 60s/early 80s music and lots of
record reviews. Is the Moderate facing a long life ahead? I certainly hope
so. ($2 + postage from: PO Box 76, Greensborough VIC. 3088, Australia)
*JACQUES BREL-"QUAND ON
N'A QUE L'AMOUR" DOUBLE CD
If there's one thing I like
about David Bowie, it's him turning me on to Jacques Brel many years ago
when I heard his cover of "Amsterdam". Since then I searched through many
record stores looking for records by this great Belgian singer/sonwrtiter,
until I finally got this double CD set for my birthday. Don't know what's
your opinion on the whole French chanson scene, but I always loved it -
give me Charles Aznavour, Edith Piaf and alike anytime! If you don't love
it, you don't love music; simple as that. Mr Brel was born in Belgium and
started his career in France in the early 50's, and a while later took
over the world selling millions of records. I've got no idea how many records
he sold in the English-speaking countries, due to the language barrier
and stuff. Even though I did French at school (and was very good at it
until I stopped communicating in French), it took me some time to get into
these CDs, but since then I've been playing them nearly every day. If you
would like to hear the genius at his best try these CDs, his greatest
hits. The liner notes will give you an insight into Brel's work (hey, he
liked Dino Buzzati as well!), and here is just a tip of an iceberg. Thirty
seven songs in all, ranging from typical French ballads (quite depressive
ones, as well) to the cabaret-style songs. Apparently, he wrote not only
about your typical "I love you" thing, but also about some not so pretty
stuff (drunks, hookers, etc.). Fortunately, there are a couple of books
on him available, so I'll check them out one of these days. I'll have to
immerse myself in illegal substances and imagine I can understand him,
or better yet, that he's singing through me. It's great to see that his
son France started "Fondation Brel" that, among other things, publishes
a quarterly magazine dedicated to Jacques Brel and his work. Their address
is: Fondation Internationale Jacques Brel, Place de la Vielle Halle aux
Biés 11, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium. Contact 'em! I certainly will.
(Barcley)
*BLACK TO COMM #22 + CD
In the letter accompanying
the latest issue of his magazine, Chris Stigliano stated that he was unhappy
how it turned out, not only because of several errors made by the printing
plant, but also because of his writing. I can only say that this is probably
the best BTC so far, and Stigliano's only concern should be the future
- i.e. how to keep up high quality work in the days to come. It seems that
he's entered the cul de sac in his brilliant writing style (not to mention
his "point of view", which only promotes the things he hates- a bad adverisement
for Spin and Loolapalooza is still
an advertisement,
and I do not understand why he does not dedicate the space to more worthy
things). After reading five out of six latest issues of BTC I begin to
feel like I'm reading the same thing all over again. On the other hand,
if this is your first encounter with "America's only high-energy magazine"
you will be more than eager to try to get back issues (also available from
the editor). Mr Stigliano approaches some reviews in a rather routine manner
(no wonder - there are hundreds of 'em), but he compensates with
in depth writing on Alice Cooper, Sidewinders, Planets, Kraut Rock, etc.
This one also has an excellent article on Steve MacKay (check your "Funhouse"
LP), but Steve Hesske is nowhere in sight. Why?
On the top of everything
you get a CD compilation with rare and unreleased stuff by Carbal Kitchen,
Milk, Umela Hmota, The Rockin' Blewz, Dom, Brian McMahon, Simply Saucer,
The Moving Parts, Backsnider and Umela Hmota 3, and a "hidden", exclusive
track at the end! Despite its lo-finess, CD rocked the only time I listened
to it (my old CD player is dead and the new one hasn't come in yet).
(Chris Stigliano, 714 Shady
Ave., Sharon, PA. 16146-3149, USA - US$13 will cover for magazine, CD +
postage in the U.S., other countries send US$17 or write first)
*OPENERS II-The Lyrics
of Roky Ericson
Nearly every song written
by the greatest living poet in the world and all round nice guy Roky Ericson.
Hundreds of songs that perfectly present his tormented, but happy soul,
alongside several delightful short stories. Great photographs of the man
- check the "Roky as Santa" one! If that doesn't sound tempting, here are
a few quotes by the genius himself: "Casey, where does this wire go? We've
got to find out where this wire goes! They might be transmitting something!",
"If they find out you're coming, are they going to be there when you get
there?", "Who is Pink Floyd? Is he some kind of clown or something?", "I
guess I'm awake!", "It's so hot out here! It's like someone had a bonfire
roasting weenies!", "If we don't recognize these places, is that good or
bad?", "Put it on that station you like, Casey, you know, the one with
the Mexicans playing Beethoven.", "You didn't put anything in my cigarette,
did you, Casey?", "I'm gonna get up and I'm gonna go outside and smoke
a cigarette like I promised myself I would.", "If you go, act like I'm
there. I'll be just here, relaxing for you." (2.13.61)
Originally published in Uzurlikzurli #3, February ’98.