Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Interview with Coven - 8/08/08

Took me a million years to make an entry linking to this, but here it is:

Plastic Tales: Interview with Coven

The entire band had briefly reunited in a rare celebration of Jinx Dawson's recent resurrection from a heart attack. Many things are discussed including journeys to Hell, proto-goth groupies, Linda Ronstadt, Frank Zappa, Timothy Leary and Jack LaLanne's neighborly qualities.

Hole in the Sky

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Archives Backlog Hodown Jamboree

Been neglectful of the blog because of a side project loosely related to the blog. A bit contradictory? Yeah, well, Jesus was a crossmaker:

Playlist and Archive for Monday (6/23/08)

This past Monday I hosted Plastic Tales and someone called in to request some Arcade Fire. I told them to reevaluate everything and then call back. A half an hour later he called back and requested Blue Oyster Cult. So, one man can make a difference. True story. Seriously.

Here's some highlights for ya:

I played "Lay Down" by The Strawbs because I gave away to tickets to their show (they're still around!)

"It Came in the Night" by the elusive band A Raincoat. The film was originally used in the Kenneth Anger film Rabbit's Moon, seen above. Some kind of lonely clown.

And finally the hilarious "Minotaur's Song" by The Incredible String Band. Now, I know I've played some bad homemade music videos on this blog before, but this is by far the worst. Although... this kid is 15 and he's probably just learning how to animate. Plus he's got really good taste. So I give it a thumbs up!

Monday, June 9, 2008

Plastic Tales Review (May)

Playlist and Archive for Monday (6/2/08)

I've been gone for about two months. What have I been up to? Well, two things. I was in Europe for a while, in the UK and attending the Cannes Film Festival. More on that in the days to come. I've also been working on a video webisode series called Polyester Dreams, loosely based on my radio work. More on that to come as well. Also, Arcana Obscura the radio show is no more and I have devoted myself to Plastic Tales exclusively.

In the meantime, the next few posts will be some videos of songs I've played in my blogging absence:

"Dambala," by the voodoo Obeah man, Exuma. The anti-Bob Marley.

"Rene," by the Small Faces. Whoever made this video is my hero.

"Cries from the Midnight Circus, " by the Pretty Things, a song about how they used to eat at diners frequented by prostitutes after they played shows.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

More Decent Nouveau Retro

Via KEXP, I found another nouveau retro band that isn't terrible. In fact, I quite enjoy these guys. Howlin' Rain was founded by Ethan Miller, who also founded Comets on Fire which I briefly lauded previously.

They sound kind of like a cross between krautrock (a la the German band Jeronimo) and Deep Purple. Here's a video of a live performance of the above studio track.

I've listened to both of their albums and recommend them both.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Arcana Obscura Review (3/8/08)

Playlist and Archive for Saturday (3/8/08)

The prodigal son returns! I've been away for a week now. Still here in New York, but I've been horrified by a gnome (or... Duende), dismayed by a death, and confounded in the search for an elusive letter. But I better start reviewin' some shows!

I played "Wicked Annabella" by The Kinks, so here's some kid drumming along to it.

This band needs no introduction. Arthur Lee and his band Love.

Finally, I played "Woman Tamer" by Brooklyn's own Sir Lord Baltimore. Couldn't find that song anywhere, but here's Steve McQueen racing cars set to "Kingdom Come."

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

David the Gnome 2: The Reckoning

Dear lord, a gnome is terrorizing Argentina. A goddamn gnome! Watch the video, it's... I don't even know.

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Plastic Tales Review (3/3/08)

Playlist and Archive for Monday (3/3/08)

Excellent show. We had an Obeah man sing an ode to the demon formerly known as an Assyrian god, Baal. We also had Blueberry Pancake laud the merits of hanging clowns. I'm all for it.
As we often do, we heard the great Q65. Here is a 1980 live performance of the song:

And Beautiful Flyaway from Alice Cooper's oft overlooked first album, Easy Action:

Also, I'm excited about something. Can you guess what it is?
Fine, it's the return of R.O.B. the Robotic Operating Buddy in Smash Bros. Brawl.

Friday, March 7, 2008

An Olive Branch for Jill Sobule

Alright, in response to my last post, I am now an unpolished rock donor for Jill Sobule's new album. Why, you ask? Several reasons.

1. I may have been a bit unfair in my caustic assessment of her career. After she commented, I did some due diligence and checked out some of her post-1995 albums. They're not as Kate Bush or Elliott Smith as I would personally like, but they're fairly interesting and way better than Jewel. Also, she had two hit songs, not one. Anyone who knows me is aware of my love/hate relationship with the 90s, the decade that created the monster that is me.

2. She is a prog rock fan. I cannot risk offending one of the three women who actually like prog rock. When I host Plastic Tales I get a lot of calls, usually requests, sometimes guys who just want to chat about Nursery Cryme. None of them are female. One time I heard a woman's voice on the other line but it actually just turned out to be the girl who hosts the electronica show that comes on after mine. Nuts.

3. I donated $10, I am but a poor and humble graduate student. Does anyone out there have a bunch of money? Donate some to her, with the stipulation that she cover one of my favorite songs. I have one in mind. It has been forgotten by all, yet it still stands on the shoulders of giants long sunken beneath the waves. Soul Song by Saturnalia:

Thursday, March 6, 2008

I Kissed A Girl

Major news sources reported that 1990s one-hit wonder Jill Sobule is begging for money online. You may remember her hit song "I Kissed A Girl," which caused some scandal when it came out in 1995. I literally cannot conceive that in 1995 this song was considered controversial, but my memory is less than adequate.

What happened to Sobule after her hit? I never really followed the careers of these female singer-songwriters after some kind of mid-90s fever dream dropped them all at our doorsteps, threshholds smeared in goat blood to ward off the coming of nu-metal. According to Wikipedia she went on to record a song about an aging lesbian aviatrix succumbing to Alzheimer's. Huh.

Well now we know. Sans record deal, she's begging for money online to make a new CD. Successfully, I might add. To me this is vaguely reminiscent of when L7 tried to drum up publicity in 2000 by offering up the sexual favors of drummer Dee Plakas to one lucky raffle winner.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Don't You Know You'll Stain The Carpet

Two fake memoirs debunked in the past month. Love and Consequences and Misha: A Memoire of the Holocaust Years. In an already difficult to penetrate industry, these people are making it even harder. Troubling.

The interesting thing is that when caught, they always say the same thing.
James Frey said: "People cope with adversity in many different ways, ways that are deeply personal. My mistake, and it is one I deeply regret, is writing about the person I created in my mind to help me cope, and not the person who went through the experience."

Misha Defonseca said: "The story of 'Misha' is not actual reality, but was my reality, my way of surviving," and at times she "found it difficult to differentiate between what was real and what was part of my imagination."

One could say that these are valid pontifications regarding the nature of the Self and the construction of identity. If one were inclined to be an asshole. It's actually just a really nice therapeutic way of saying "I told the lie so much, I came to believe it myself." But that’s as much as I feel like saying, and that’s neither here nor there.

In other news, I headed out to the remains of Midnight Records and talked business with a curious gentleman. I also picked up an LP of The Way We Feel by Complex, an excellent album with a poorly designed cover:

Monday, March 3, 2008

Searching For My Mainline

At the Roky Erickson show, the opening act was one of Thurston Moore's ubiquitous and irrelevant side projects.
He did however play one song that caught my interest, a tune about how he wasn't "a young man anymore." True, but it was not until today I realized the song is a recently discovered, previously unheard Velvet Underground song from a 1967 live show entitled "I'm Not A Young Man Anymore." It sounds like it would be great as a studio track, but Lou Reed's unfiltered opiate monotone does it in for me.



Source: Dead Flowers: Anglophiles Anonymous

I Never Had The Bloody Hammer

I went to see Roky Erickson and the Explosives at Webster Hall on Saturday night. It was a pretty excellent show and he played almost the entirety of The Evil One. Like many of these aging musicians who currently tour, his voice has aged but is not changed so drastically to detract from the thrill of hearing a living legend.

The oddest thing is that he yells, "Thank you!" after every single song, grinning like a child at his accomplishments. And his very talented lead guitarist also seems to be his guardian and caretaker. It's actually quite heartwarming. Here he is playing a song that I really enjoy about the Bermuda Triangle. I have this song but I can't remember what album it was on.

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Conspiracy Watch NYC: Val Kilmer Wears His Sunglasses Indoors

So he can, so he can
Keep track of the visions in YOUR dreams!
Taken at Big Apple Con, October 2007.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Arcana Obscura Review (2/23/08)

Playlist and Archive for Saturday (2/23/08)

The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, glam gods and architects of Bon Scott's karmic retribution. This is them, but a lot older:

Next we had "Drip Drip" by progressive folk freaks Comus. The only video of the song I could find was a music video someone had made of himself playing Final Fantasy Tactics. I don't really understand the internet.

And finally I played "Timothy" by UFO, thanks to the recommendation of one Julian Cope. I couldn't find a video of that, but I did find an interesting television appearance of them playing "Rock Bottom." Achtung, German headbanging youths of 1973! Check out the TV host who strips and writhes on the floor in ecstasy as well as the lusty middle-aged woman fanning herself with money.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Some Randy Maniac Bishop

Somehow today I was reminded of a video I had as a lad. The video involved a sea captain and a wisecracking duck who travelled around in a magic hot air balloon. Or something like that. It was called Monster Hits: Are You Afraid of the Dark?

They travelled around encountering different monsters, who then proceeded to sing songs, or people sang songs about them. For instance, there was a ballad about what a lonely life Igor has as well as a jaunty ragtime number about Dracula's biting fetish. Frankenstein's Monster also shows up, voiced by a Boris Karloff impersonator. So basically this video made me the man I am today. Fucking lawsuit.

The animation in this video was so bizarre. It was some kind of really early computer animation. I was able to find a video of one of the songs, a little ditty sung by a British explorer who warns America's children not to get "chummy with a mummy, or the mummy might get chummy with you." I was glad to learn this, since when D.A.R.E. and the Police Athletic League were trying to impart that very same wisdom to our 5th grade class I was like, "hey guys, I already know." So here's the goddamn mummy video:

Archaeology jive.

Arcana Obscura Review (2/16/08)

Playlist and Archive for Saturday (2/16/08)

You're racing like a fireball and dancing like a ghost, so let's start you off with some Deep Purple:

I danced myself right out the womb. Is it strange to dance so soon?

Also, I did play some new stuff. Occasionally I emerge from my polyester cave and put my ear to the ground for new sounds. The Chuck Dukowski Sextet, for instance. A band eponymous to Chuck Dukowski, former Black Flag bassist and key SST Records figure. The latest album, Reverse the Polarity, has a divergent sound simultaneously reminiscent of X and Shocking Blue, not to mention various girl groups and female fronted bands of the mid 90s that were beloved to my teenage years. Some of the tracks venture into a spacey mournful realm of reverb banshees, and those are the ones that most fit with Arcana Obscura.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Plastic Tales Review (2/11/08)

Playlist and Archive for Monday (2/11/08)

Highlights:
I've made it no secret that on Monday's show I interviewed Jinx Dawson.

But don't let that take away from the rest of the show! We had some good stuff in there. First I glammed the shit out of things with the wonderfully androgynous Sweet:

After that we moved on to swarthy looking Greek band Aphrodite's Child, with their sorrowful ruminative number "It's Five O' Clock." Take a look at the organ player. He just might be the coolest man who ever lived, a man who must wake up in a different backyard every night. Also, check out the dancing invisible men at the end:

Finally we have the melancholy drug ballad "Sugar Man" by Rodriguez. The only decent video I could find of the studio version looks like a goddamn iPod commercial:

I often think that my life would be so much more enriching if I played the organ.

UPDATE: Yeah, so that organ player from Aphrodite's Child I posited as so cool? Scored motherfucking Blade Runner. His name is Vangelis.

Monday, February 11, 2008

Interview with Jinx Dawson

Yes, that's right. I interviewed Jinx Dawson of Coven on Plastic Tales From The Marshmallow Dimension. We talked about many things including witchcraft, Charles Manson, Black Sabbath, Jim Morrison and Charlie Chaplin. Listen to the show here! I say "wow" a lot, but it's still awesome. The interview is about a half hour or so into the show. I plan on transcribing it soon.

Saturday, February 9, 2008

Plastic Tales Review (2/4/08)

Unfortunately, Monday's show was only broadcast over FM in the NYC metro area, as the internet stream was disconnected.

The good news is that the next Plastic Tales and all subsequent shows are now available LIVE IN FRANCE over aupradio.org (American University in Paris) and soon on French cable channel 199. The cable channel alone will reach over THREE MILLION HOMES in Paris and other major French cities. Far fucking out.

Anyway, here's a video of "Seasons of Change" by Australian band Blackfeather:

Playing recorder on that track is Bon Scott, who would later front AC/DC and go on to drink himself to death in 1980.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Arcana Obscura Review (2/2/08)

Playlist and Archive for Saturday (2/2/08)

Highlights:

We heard a lot of strange music such as: the incomprehensible 60s avant-rock band The Godz covering The Beatles, an eight minute long song by Fire about magical shoes, and of course, the manic vocals of Fred Cole with Dead Moon.

We played the titular song by German band Lucifer's Friend. Though there is no video for that song, I did find one for Ride in the Sky. I really like this band, but while I watched the video I was amazed by how weird looking these men are. The guitarist looks like a shrunken Andre the Giant, and the singer looks like someone forgot to take Steve Coogan out of the dryer.

This song wins a TUT Award (Terrific Use of Tuba).

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Capitol Offense

I might just be really out of it politically, but I had no idea Mike Huckabee played bass in a classic rock cover band. Prepare yourself for the butchering of Steppenwolf:

Thought I'd spare you the Freebird.

Saturday, February 2, 2008

Nouveau Retro: It's Not All Terrible

That's right, you heard me. There are a few modern bands with distinctly retro sounds that actually pull it off. Not only can they mimic obsolete genres, but they actually add something to them.

Who are these bands? Not in any particular order:

1. The Chesterfield Kings

The Chesterfield Kings are the result of a failed science experiment from the 1980s in which musicologists attempted to clone the Rolling Stones. After the disappointing single Start Me Up, the Stones were cloned using DNA from their discarded syringes. But something went wrong akin to Lex Luthor accidentally creating Bizarro, and we were left with a wholly unique musical act. The album to check out? The Mindbending Sounds of the Chesterfield Kings. The first track, I Don't Understand, is their signature song as far as I'm concerned.



2. Midlake

Midlake's release from 2006, The Trials of Van Occupanther, is the closest you're going to get to a modern equivalent of mid-70s Fleetwood Mac. Only replace Steve Nicks with a whiny guy whose art school thesis project most likely involved found objects. I know that sounds bad, but it's actually quite good. Sadly, the single Roscoe is the best song on the album. Listen to this song and then listen to Rhiannon and Gypsy. You'll see what I'm talking about.



3. The Brian Jonestown Massacre

I've been listening to these guys since 1998, and I've never been disappointed. The antics of frontman Anton Newcombe were popularized in the 2004 documentary DiG!, depicting the rivalry of BJM and the Dandy Warhols. I've seen them live a few times, and it's a bit like going to see a hockey game, because 2 out of 3 times the band erupted into violence. In 2004 at the Mercury Lounge, Anton punched out his guitarist because he didn't like the guy's girlfriend. This is why there are so many lineup changes. Unfortunately, these days Anton spends more time writing vitriolic anti-Bush rants on his MySpace blog than writing new music. But the man is hell with a sitar.



4. Comets On Fire

I'm not really sure what to say about this band, except that after hearing Hatched Upon the Age, I had to have the album. It's hard to really pin down where their retro sound lies, but to me it is reminiscent of certain early 70s Krautrock. Listen to the track here.

And that's all I got. For now.

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Conspiracy NYC Update: Delicious Synchronicity

A few days ago I posted about a photo I took of a gentleman who runs around Wall Street dressed like a priest holding signs with crazed anti-Semitic slogans:

It has been brought to my attention by Adam Holland that this man is actually Brother Nathanael Kapner, and that he was once Mickey Kapner, guitarist and organist for a psychedelic band known as Rebecca and the Sunnybrook Farmers. I was merely posting my "Conspiracy NYC" segment of the week, and I had no idea of its synchronicitous connection to psychedelic rock. Don't believe me? Check out the man's Livejournal! Oh yeah, and the guy was originally Jewish.

Monday, January 28, 2008

Arcana Obscura Review (1/26/08)

Playlist and Archive for Saturday (1/26/08)

Highlights:

I hoped to get some videos of songs played but the pickings were scarce. I played the soundtrack to the Kenneth Anger film Lucifer Rising, composed and performed by Jimmy Page. Jimmy Page and Anger had a fight so Page wouldn't let him use it. What to do? Get Manson Family member Bobby Beausoleil to make a new one from prison! I couldn't find a satisfactory trailer of the film but I instead found this video of two metal dudes in a Barnes & Noble being more metal than you'll ever be:

I also played the excellent "Hymn 43" by Jethro Tull. Here is a video of some guy playing the bongos along to the song, with a special surprise at the end:

And finally, another highlight was "Shine On Brightly" by psychedelic mainstay, Procol Harum. Unfortunately, the only thing I could find was a man who believes lava lamps and darkness are acceptable music video fodder. So just consider this audio:

The day ain't fucking over.

Conspiracy Watch NYC: Salvation à la Mode and a Cup of Tea

I was walking on Wall Street when I noticed a old priest prowling about, brandishing a crucifix and a sign, getting Bronx cheers from all the traders and tourists. I quickly pursued and yelled "Hey!" He suddenly turned around with a jaunty ghoulish grin and I snapped this photo:
His sign read "ACLU JEWS ARE ANTI-CHRIST." I was confused as to whether these aforementioned Jews were simply anti-christ or whether they were all simultaneously, the Anti-Christ. We may never know.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

For Your Future's Sake, I'm The Candidate

For Today For Tomorrow Forever!
He's Bringing Dandy Back... For America

Friday, January 25, 2008

A Letter From Jinx Dawson


A little while back I wrote to Jinx Dawson of Coven regarding the short article I wrote earlier in this blog. This was her response:

My Dearest A...

I thank thee for thy most kind comments...The blood in my veins warmeth...I was so intriqued by thy blog site I put a section at my pages for my cherished friends to get to thee...And I thank Thee Most Humbly....Thy Friend...J

Seriously, I think she must have bathed in Ayesha's flaming pools beneath the ruins of Kor. She still looks as good she did when she recorded Blood on the Snow.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Plastic Tales Review (1/21/08)

Playlist and Archive for Monday (1/21/07)

Highlights:

Here is Arthur Brown performing Eternal Messenger at the first Glastonbury Festival in 1971 (note the KISS makeup way before KISS thought of it):

Here is a most ridiculous video by the Wallace Collection:

And here are the Amboy Dukes performing "Journey to the Center of the Mind" featuring a very young gun enthusiast Ted Nugent:


And of course, there was Sam Gopal fronted by Lemmy Kilmister.

I host next on 2/4/08!

Update: I just noticed that guy at the beginning of the Arthur Brown video might as well be Hyde from That 70s Show. And Charlie Manson shows up at 1:43. And Jesus, could white people ever dance?

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Is There Life On Mars?

Sailors fighting in the dance hall

Oh man, look at those cavemen go
It's the freakiest show

Pepto-Bismol Monster

Colleague and student of my alma mater, Sean Traynor, directed the following video in accordance with the heartfelt desire of a madman to make his own Pepto-Bismol commercial. Observe:

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Conspiracy Watch NYC - Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Peapods

New York City has always been a place for foul smelling prophets to take their message of fractured logic to the streets. Unfortunately, for every high rise condominium that goes up, a wild-eyed Cassandra is put down. It was in this fashion that the Daoine Sidh were banished from the gentle shores of Albion.

I sometimes run into these messengers, most recently on the subway (D Train). A strange old woman came into the car and stood there motionlessly with her sign on a sandwichboard:
"White demons couldn't succeed to destroy the natural human race using war, Mendell & Hitler. Will they succeed using clones to replace plants, human, animals slowly but surely? Will demons use nuclear to expediate (speed) the process?"

Yes, her story pretty much checks out. But one question, if I may. Who or what is Mendell? A jive-talking barber from the Bronx? Apocalyptic comedian (and voice of Gizmo) Howie Mandel? The only candidate I can think of is scientist cleric Gregor Mendel, who studied inherited traits of peapods. His work laid the groundwork for early genetic science. If this woman was so concerned with plants being cloned, why wouldn't she equate Gregor Mendel with Hitler?