Saturday, October 27, 2012

Bird is the Word! #2
























And, fur this installment, the 2nd of what I feel will be many more to come, I leave you with a pic of your humble author. "Ah-well, everybody's heard, about the bird..."



Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Latest slabs....

Added a few new discs to the library lately, thought I'd go over a few of them with you's...
As usual, I'm a little behind on the shit I write about, say, somewhere's between two and twenty two years...
So what. Just shut up.
Relax and listen to this shit.

Again, I AM NOT A REVEIW GUY!!!! I am just some asshole in Minnesota...

First off, is an album described as "a dark meditation on Americana. It’s the blues shaped by the avant-compositions of La Monte Young and Dylan Carlson. It’s drone rooted deep in the American tradition." , I'll see that, and raise you three words:

Sweet Desert Drone.

Headdress - "Lunes" 




Ethereal is correct. Makes me want to be laying in the desert at night, and staring at the sky. (guess you'd have to been there...)
 It's the music to that foggy patch of vision between the hot air and the ground you can only see from a distance. At the same time it makes me want to push my tubes to the limit and see if I can't come up with some "otherworldly" type of feedback.. You know, that noise of electricity.....
Yeah. I like it. I recommend it. 
I will, and you should, support these cats.

Here's their links:
http://southerndrone.wordpress.com
http://southerndrone.tumblr.com
http://soundcloud.com/headdress
http://www.myspace.com/southerndrone
http://noquarter.net/bands/headdress.php
http://mexicansummer.com/release.php?art...




NEXT


On the subject of A New Americana or for that matter, the sound of open road, Wino and Connie Ochs collaborate for a release on Latitudes. 
"Labor of Love" came about, so the story goes, as Wino was touring for his acoustic album, "Adrift", (which was written as a means for him to drive away personal demons) with Ochs acting as driver/Support act/confidant. 


These mark their first recordings as a result of that time together. 


This album is cleansing. A self-forgiveness, a moment to allow yourself the peace that is necessary. I can without a doubt tell that this was written in a soul searching period, and as anyone who would say pain will evoke the truest art, as is so with healing. So will the act of living itself. to live true, is to be true. Get it? Good.
Because that's what this album feels like.


It also comes in a great package. Not only the vinyl, but the C.D. as well. 500 copies
Die-cut cover w/ foil stamp. 180 gram Green vinyl. 


http://shop.southern.com/latitudes/
http://blog.southern.com/2012/03/wino-and-conny-ochs-release-labour-of-love-on-latitudes/







Bird is the word...






Correctly name everyone in all four pictures, and show up for your prize in the lavatory.


Thursday, May 3, 2012

The Sickness post #4 - Pailhead

Back in the mid-to-late '80's I used to listen to radio shows on KFAI/Fresh Air Radio and late at night and for the life of me, I can't recall one name of one show. But it did turn me on to a lot of new shit. It was almost like sitting around with the 2 people on the air, just spinning random records and discussing them.

It's where I first heard Helmet, Alice Donut, and you guessed it, Pailhead. It wouldn't be surprising to hear those particular bands played back to back with "Dr. Teeth & the Electric Mayhem" from the Muppets mixed into the set. If I'm not mistaken, I believe I was briefly in love with the Hostess of this program.

I first heard "I Will Refused" on one of these shows. In fact, I taped the entire show and would listen to it regularly. Now, if I still had this tape in my possession....... like gold in my hand!

I remember it took me a long time to identify that it was Ian MacKaye (Minor Threat, Fugazi) singing. What threw me even more, once someone finally hipped me to who exactly it was, was the fact that it was a collaboration between him and Al Jorgansen of Ministry.
"Trait" 12" e.p.

 The vinyl I found from them was the "I Will Refuse" b/w "No Bunny" 12" E.P.  and the "Trait" E.P. both on Wax Trax from Chicago.  The "Trait" E.P. had 4 songs, and was essentially two 7" e.p.'s on one 12". "Don't Stand in Line" b/w "Ballad", and "Man Should Surrender" b/w "Anthem".
"I Will Refuse" b/w "No Bunny" 12"

Years later I eventually found both of these 7"'s, but I've still yet to find the "I Will Refuse" single on 7" form.

The music is killer. You wouldn't put it together on your own, but once you hear the "drum-machine heavy" pounding rhythms, and the signature piercing of Ministry's guitar sound, combined with Ian MacKaye's "I'm fucking shouting at the top of my lungs!!!" vocals (see "Man Should Surrender", or the chorus on "I Will Refuse") you can feel exactly what they were going for, and it rips.

Highly recommended.

It's sad that this is pretty much all there is of this. All the above songs have been released together as a C.D. and I believe some of it appeared on a Ministry compilation, but that's it. Unless someone cracks open a vault, and providing there is anything even in that vault, there's no more material.

They say; "Allways leave 'em wanting more!", and these days, it's extremely rare for a band to sit on anything that can be sold.

The Sickness post #3 - My Vinyl - Husker Du

Probably my favorite local band of all time, there's not a lot I could write about this band that already hasn't been heavily documented. In fact, I'm just beginning the book by Andrew Earles.

But my own collection isn't too shabby. I just really wish I had more flyers... and being from Minneapolis hasn't made that any easier.

-The earliest piece of vinyl I have is the "Amusement" b/w "Statues" 7" on Reflex Records from 1980. Reflex was odd in the sense that it cataloged it's releases by letter, therefore their first 7" was aptly cataloged as Reflex "A".

I always thought this was strange because after "Z", where do you go? "AA" and so on? Could it be that the band could clearly see their end? I suppose depending on who you ask, that could be the case.

-"Everything Falls Apart" (Reflex "D") 1982  12" on 45 RPM. Fucking brilliant e.p. if you ask me. Absolutely essential.

I've always been curious about the matrix lettering on this. Besides the words "Barefoot And Pregnant" appearing in the inscription, unless you go by the track listing, side one and side two aren't specified on the label OR the matrix inscription. Instead, one side has a black label, the other blue. On the record, where the matrix number would normally appear, it says "Refelx Black" & "Reflex Blue" respectively.

I've got two copies of this. One of which, I cant bare to remove from the shrink wrap.
I know.

-The next album, "Land Speed Record" is the same case. I just can't bring myself to open it, since it's a copy on "New Alliance" from 1981 (NAR-007)
This album was my introduction to Husker Du. And I still think of the fact that this was recorded in a room that I spend so much of my time in, The 7th St. Entry.

The first pressings of this came with an insert with tour dates and was a run of 6000. The second press had an insert but no tour dates and the covers are on a heavier stock for the first two pressings than the third and fourth, which state "Marketed by SST records" on the back cover.

Re-issues on SST have changed a bit over the years and eventually anything that said New Alliance was removed. With the addition of a U.P.C. barcode. The stock is of a lighter weight and is white on the inside.

It was also released in the U.K. by Alternative Tentacles in the early '80's.

 -"Eight Miles High" b/w "Masochism World" 7"  Released in 1984 and was apparently out of print until about '90 when it was re-issued on different colors. (vinyl) It was also re-issued as a 10" together with the " Makes No Sense At All" 7" in the '90's.

-I have an early press of Zen Arcade. (No barcode, extra heavy card stock) (SST # 027) 1984. This double record is insane awesome. It's gotta be up there with some of the finest material the band has ever done.

 It can be hard to date some of Husker Du's records since the packaging hasn't really changed all that much. And that seems to be the case for a lot of SST releases. You really have to know what you're looking for when you're dating them. The card-stock can be different, even the construction of the cover itself can all come into play. And even the matrix numbers aren't always be helpful. (see "Everything Falls Apart")

From what I've read about SST pressings, is when it comes to re-issues, they didn't really keep that great of tabs on how many were made. It seems they would do a random colored vinyl press of 1,000, and when they sold out or got low on them, they would press 1,000 more on a different color.
I believe all of these copies were ones that carried a U.P.C. code on the back cover.
That can be a "tell", at least to some extent. Earlier copies didn't have a U.P.C. on the back.

-"Metal Circus" SST Records (sst 020) 12" 45 RPM. No Barcode.

 *** I have another copy of Metal Circus that's a mis-press and plays side 4 of "Zen Arcade." Does ANYBODY  have any more information about this record!? It even shares the same etching in the run-off section.
 I bought it at a local record fair from a guy who said his brother used to work at Northern Lights back in the day. He did have some cool shit. Including the only Ramones album I've ever seen signed by the entire band. A copy of "Leave Home" (with Tommy!!!)
I've looked for info about this but have found nothing. Not even the insanely thorough "Husker Du Database" was able to yield me any info.

-"New Day Rising" (SST # 031) 1985 was for the longest time, my absolute favorite release from this band. (I've since held that opinion about most of the catalog). I have two copies of this L.P., the first press and a re-issue on blue vinyl.

-"Makes No Sense At All" b/w  "Love is All Around" 7" (SST # 051) 1985 Orig. press.

-"Flip Your Wig" L.P. (SST 055) 1985. Early copy, no u.p.c.

-"Candy Apple Grey" L.P. (Warner Bros. # 25385-1) 1986. Their first release for Warner Bros.
-I've yet another sealed Husker's release and it's a 12" single of "Don't Want To Know If You Are Lonely", a single from Candy Apple Grey.

-4 song 7" compilation that was a freebie with N.M.E and features 1 song from Husker Du, a version of "Ticket To Ride" by the Beatles. It's interesting...

-"Warehouse: Songs And Stories" 2XL.P. w/ a promo sticker and stamp.

"Warehouse" is another of my favorites, this one showcasing their latter years.

-And finally, I have a promotional double L.P. called "The Warehouse Interview". It's got song clips and interviews about the album. I've came across this a few times and have upgraded my copy twice now.


To date, this is my entire Husker Du collection. There's plenty of singles, and more out there. The rarest, are probably the cassette compilations put out by Reflex back in the day of bands from the local scene. Any leeds....?

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Rock 'N' Roll Artwork #1

This is my first post about art pieces. The subject will mostly cover album covers, show posters, etc.

I've many framed pieces upon my walls from some great artists from the beginning of Rock 'n' Roll to now. (none that command prices like these do!)
 Not a lot of words on these posts, just really great artwork.

Original art for "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath"


One of my all-time favorite classic artists is Drew Struzan, who is nowadays most famous for hundreds of pieces for the Star Wars franchise, as well as Indiana Jones movies.

He got his start at the infamous Pacific Eye and Ear after a fateful trip to the unemployment office shortly after graduating college. Pacific Eye and Ear in the 70's, was THE place for state of the art album cover designs.

He is now the #1 most collected artist in the world.

Among the bands Struzan personally designed were albums by Black Sabbath, Roy Orbison, Iron Butterfly, The Beach Boys, Earth, Wind & Fire, & The Bee-Gee's.

Struzan also illustrated Alice Cooper's "Welcome to My Nightmare", which Rolling Stone has declared one of the 100 best album covers of all time.




The original piece.

Back cover of "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath"


These are just a few of my favorite designs (and albums!)
For more info and examples of his work, as well as tons of killer Album covers, check out originalalbumcoverart.com That is where I found these examples.
 This is a quote from the website, about Struzan: "When Drew applied his talents to album covers, his abilities, coupled with the creative that I brought to the collaboration, produced a body of work the likes of which the music industry had never seen." I also recommend www.drewstruzan.com



Another cellebrated artist from the Metal world is Joe Petagno. Petagno is the designer of the Motorhead "Warpig", and the cover artist for nearly all of their albums.



Joe worked for another of the the companies who set the standards for album cover art, Hipgnosis. Joe met Lemmy while designing  space warriors for Hawkwind. He had previously done work for Led Zeppelin, Roy Harper, and Nazareth.












Do yourself a favor and pick up "Orgasmatron - The Heavy Metal Art of Joe Petagno"
if you can find one. It's chock full of great pieces. A lot of dark, Satanic type works, along with an outstanding collection of Warpig paintings. Both used, and not. And be sure to check out www.petagno.dk


















Tuesday, May 1, 2012

My Vinyl - Thin Lizzy




     L.P's & 12" E.P.'s








"Thin Lizzy" 10 song s/t L.P. US pressing on London Records (blue "stereophonic" label) (PS 594) U.S.A. 1971. (VG+)











 "Vagabonds of the Western World" 8 song L.P. on London Records (XPS 636) (blue "stereophonic" label) U.S.A. 1973. (VG++)








"Night Life" L.P. - Vertigo/Phonogram (VEL 2002) U.S.A. 1974. (G++)







 "Fighting" 10 song L.P. on Mercury Records (SRM 1-1108) (record club version? # R 124384 on label and cover) U.S.A. 1975. (VG+)








"Jailbreak" - Vertigo (7884 7E2) "Back to Black" re-issue series. 180 gram in all original packaging w/ die-cut cover.200? (M-)









 "Johnny The Fox" 10 song L.P. - Mercury Records (SRM-1-1119) U.S.A. 1976.









"Bad Reputation" 9 song L.P. Mercury Records (SRM-1-1186) U.S.A. 1977. 2 copies. 1 (VG+) 1 sealed.









 "Live And Dangerous" 2xL.P. Warner Bros. Records (2BS-3213) U.S.A. 1978. Excellent copy. Recorded live from the 1976 "Johnnt The Fox" tour, & the 1977 "Bad Reputation tour.  One of the best live records in Rock and Roll. Well worth owning a couple "back-up" copies... (VG+++)







 "Rocker (1971-1974)" L.P. London Records of Canada (LC50004) Canada 1977.
 A compilation of early recordings mostly from singles, and some un-released. 10 songs. (VG)








 "Black Rose - A Rock Legend" L.P. - Warner Bros. (BSK 3338) U.S.A. 1979. (VG) "Promotional Copy Not For Sale" sticker on front cover.

"Black Rose - A Rock Legend" L.P. - Vertigo/Phonogram (6360 169) Germany 1979.








"Chinatown" L.P. - Warner Bros. (BSK 3496) U.S.A. 1980.
(VG+)








Philip Lynott - "Solo In Soho" - Warner Bros. (BSK 3405) U.S.A. 1980. (VG)









"Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of the War of the Worlds" 2xL.P. - Columbia/CBS (PC2 35290) U.S.A. 1978. White label promo w/ stamp & title strip. (VG+)
Amusical adaptation of The War of the Worlds radio broadcast. Phil Lynott appears throughout the album on vocals.







"Renegade" L.P. - Warner Bros. (BSK 3622) U.S.A. 1981.
Featuring Snowy White (Pink Floyd) on drums. (VG+)









"Thunder And Lightning" L.P. - Warner Bros. (9 23831-1) U.S.A. 1983. (VG)









  "Thunder And Lightning" b/w "Still In love With You" (live) 12" single. - Vertigo/Phonogram (LIZZY 1212) England 1983. (VG++)








"Life - Double Live Album" 2xL.P. - Warner Bros. (23986-1 G) U.S.A. 1983. Gold promo stamp on front cover. (VG+)









"Dedication" Picture disc 4 song 12" E.P. - Vertigo/Phonogram (LIZP 114) U.K. 1991. (VG+)








 "Still Dangerous" Live at the Tower Theatre Philadelphia 1977 L.P. - VH1 Classic Records (VH00132) U.S.A.(?) 2009. Comes with bonus 7" of "Bad Reputation" b/w "Emerald". (M-)

Bonus 7" single from "Still Dangerous"