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).

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.

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.

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.

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.