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.

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!

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.

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."

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.

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.

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).