(shrug) Pfffffft (shrug)

• Full-blown obsessed with The Sex Pistols as of late.  Yes, they were the main germ that caused this sickness I've been battling for the last 20 years, but after a long separation from their songs and story, it's coming back in a stampede.  Savage's England's Dreaming, which seemed like a stuffy textbook to me as a teen, has now become exciting as a desk reference:  the details, the context, the impact.  I find myself shrugging off punk more with each passing year, but hearing shit like this makes it impossible to shake.  Comforting and inspiring to have this sweep over me again, as an adult.  Few bands could claim to have accomplished more. 

• Hatching a plan to release a fanzine in mid-2013.  Outlines, meetings, formatting concerns and printing have already been addressed.  2 much-needed interviews are scheduled, one comprehensive feature on punk singles from a specific time and place (neglected!) is already underway, featuring what has to be the authoritative discography of the era/locale in spreadsheet form.  In short, things that have been kicking around upstairs for a while are finally on their way out in a real, tangible way.  I need this project, if only to decrease the dread I feel upon waking every morning. 

• Nearly every new band I hear is embarrassing crap.  Please point me toward something that isn't.  I'd like some examples. 

Geraint Watkins

I first became aware of Geraint Watkins in 2010, after seeing him open for and perform with Nick Lowe at a tiny playhouse (aka: church rec room and/or Boy Scout hall) in Mill Valley (!!!). Sure, it was a major goddamn thrill to see Nick Lowe and his band perform in such an tiny place, but Geraint's opening set is what sticks with me from that night. My buddy Mike, a Stiff Records fanatic, was also in attendance and was (of course) familiar with the lone 45 Geraint did for label in 1979, under the appropriately down-home moniker of Otis Watkins, no less. To open the evening, Geraint simply walked out on stage, sat at the piano and played "Easy To Say 'Bon Temps Rouler'", a song so wonderful that I found myself routinely humming it months after the fact. Stop at nothing to hear it (all it will take is a search on Google). That song is featured on "In A Bad Mood", his 2009 album on Goldtop Recordings, which I am ready to fully endorse here.

My assumption is that you'd encounter reviews of "In A Bad Mood" in some white wine folk/blues (ahem) journal loooooooong before coverage would appear in a Rock'n'Roll zine of any sort. And that's fine, really. "In A Bad Mood" is cut from the same cloth as the recent Nick Lowe albums: low on volume and velocity, high on quality and class. Standouts like "Only A Rose" and "Champion" are weathered, but not in any false, whiskey-soaked cliche way. The borderline zydeco version of "Heart Of The City" works too, shockingly. The performances by the supporting cast, which includes Lowe on guitar throughout as well as personal fave Martin Belmont (Ducks Deluxe, The Rumour), stay loose and allow Geraint to sing and play these songs as if he were in your corner bar. Or your living room. Or thousand seat theatre. It's great.

Naturally, my fascination with Watkins took my pocketbook to eBay and Discogs, where I secured his 70s material. The Otis Watkins 45 mentioned above, "You Talk To Much" b/w "If You're Ready To Rock", is a noteworthy quick glimpse of good time UK R&B.



The real winner of his 70s outings is the lone LP he recorded for Vertigo in 1979, Geraint Watkins and The Dominators. This is a peculiar pub rocker in that flirts with both Rockabilly and New Orleans stumble rather than amphetamine-centric rock. I enjoy the living hell out of it, as does my lady friend. Geraint comes off as a fun-loving, on-the-prowl rocker, which is great. It's always party time on this LP, for real! Mickey Gee's guitar is a thing of beauty here and The Dominators' attack augments Geraint's piano really well. There are enough amped-up moments to make this one a legitimate rocker. but it's still faithful to the material and a good-time LP to enjoy whilst drinking at home. See their great versions of "Casting My Spell" and "Don't You Just Know It" for proof.

Give this guy a listen. Please.

R.I.P. Brendon Annesley

Thank you

2011

New music, shmew music. Here's a list of the 10 best records I bought this year, regardless of release date. Dig in the used bins (physical or online), as there's certainly more gold there than in the new release trough.

10) WILDWEEDS - S/T LP (Vanguard, 1970)
A perfectly great rocky-rolly band fronted by a young Al Anderson, captured in his formative years prior to joining the illustrious and world-beating band known as NRBQ. Even then, his soulful, big-as-hell voice matched his mish-mash songwriting perfectly. Soul, rock, folk and country all at once. See "Mare, Take Me Home" here for a quick winner with staying power.

9) MICHAEL NESMITH - Compilation LP (Pacific Arts, 1978)
I just got sick of buddies babbling about how great his First National Band records are, so I made a budget pick-up to see for myself. Surprisingly, these buddies of mine DON'T have shit for brains. This collection is merely a place holder for the legit LPs it compiles, all of which I've got an eye out for. An easy, mandatory look into this must be made by Burrito Brothers bros.

8) COCKNEY REJECTS - Greatest Hits Vol. 1 LP + 7"EP (EMI, 1980 [though mine is this 1993 reissue job on Dojo w/bonus 7"EP])
I think hearing too many shitty Clash records soured me on UK punk for a decade or so. Enter the recent Cock Sparrer reissues and Old Speckled Hen becoming readily available and BOOM: I'm a boot boy. Well, not really. This record SOUNDS perfect and has made me convulsively yelling "Shitter!!!" (accented, of course) whilst stomping around my dining room.

7) UTOPIA - Deface The Music LP (Bearsville, 1980)
Yes, one of the more embarrassing admissions I must make this year is that I sought out and purchased a Utopia album (I even put back the first few $3.99 and $2.99 copies for being "just too expensive"), but this one's light on the prog-suck. T.Rund's a popper of the absolute highest order when he wants to be, and this tribute/concept album of Beatles emmulation is actually chock full of good songs.

6) GOLLIWOGS - Pre-Creedence LP (Fantasy, 1975)
My single most jammed tune of the entire might've been CCR's "It Came Out Of The Sky". Nothing of the pre-CCR Golliwogs matches the intensity of that, but this collection of singles'n'shit is great American garage rock. I feel like the East Bay should be littered with this LP, but it's not. Should be in every home in Alameda County.

5) NAKED LADY WRESTLERS - Accidents flexi 7" (Thrasher, 1984)
The humorous legacy of this band is made up of more stories than recordings, which might be for the best. Still, it's the duty of every small town fuckwad to embrace localism and set out to capture their hometown punk nuggets (a more difficult feat if you're from L.A., but I digress). Thank you, faceless Discogs seller, for allowing me one faint glimpse at civic pride. I called Max Volume a couple years ago, asking about master tapes and reissue nonsense. Biafra's had it under lock and key for several years now. Hope it happens.

4) The Great PAUL MAROTTA Backstock Dump
What an absolute pleasure it is to stroll to the record shop and procure the following unplayed/sealed items for nice prices:

• V/A - THOSE WERE DIFFERENT TIMES 3x10"/Book (Scat, 1997)


• PAUL MAROTTA - Agit-Prop Piano 12" (Do Speak, 1983)


• HUDSON-STYRENE - A Monster And The Devil 12" (Tinnitus, 1989)


• THE STYRENES WITH CHARLOTTE PRESSLER - True Confessions 12" (Mustard, 1982)


• STYRENE MONEY - I Saw You 7"EP (Mustard, 1977)


• PAGANS - Street Where Nobody Lives LP (Resonance, 1989)

If only walking into a record shop was this fruitful EVERY TIME. Fuckin' A, bub. There's just YEARS of unbeatable, life-altering music on these records. Still more to pick up...

3) LIVERPOOL ECHO - S/T LP (Spark, 1973)
I've been searching the landscape for Beatles-After-Beatles knock-offs (see that Utopia record) that come off more like Badfinger or The Flame than they do the legit Fab Four. What can I say? It's just more my speed. Liverpool Echo is a distant 2nd to Rockin' Horse, but occupying the same general orbit.

2) DAVID NUDELMAN - Lays An Egg 7"EP (Planet Pimp, 1994)
The one Nudelman record that seemed to escape my grasp more than the others, which was frustrating since I remember seeing it EVERYWHERE shortly after it came out and for years afterwards, but whatever. The genius at play here is impossible to deny. "Too Lazy To Pee" and "Finger Fucking Time" are bonafide classics of the Budget Rock novelty variety, but the kickers are the Dave-As-A-Ladies-Man testimonial snippets from beauties like D'Lana Tunnel and Elka Zolot. Also, along with a few Trashwomen songs, "Lays An Egg" marks the debut of Kreayshawn, who calls Nudelman an asshole on this very disc!. Records like this don't come out anymore. Which is total fucking horseshit.

1) THE CRAMPS - Surfin' Bird 7" and Human Fly 7" (Vengeance, 1978)
Stroking, petting and licking these two debut singles brings me endless amounts of joy. Perfect records by a perfect band. Life-changers, really.

What I'll be doing for the next 2-3 months

2009 was the banner year for this beer, one that I've enjoyed annually since the age of 18 or so. 2009 was IT though. 2010? A little too FOOFY. 2011? Back with a goddamn bang! Had my first last night, after some Little Star Pizza, while watching Oakland get Occupied on TV (and on my porch). While I'll leave it to Beer Advocate and various other pundits to describe the nerdy stuff, I will say that this is spiced juuuuuuust right this year (2010 was TOO MUCH and resembled cinnamon Nestle Quik). I'll be enjoying it on a nightly (YES, NIGHTLY!) basis as long as it is available.

Palatal Expander #3

I hope everyone enjoyed the break. I didn't.



Because of this, I can think of no better reason than to return to the justly ignored digi-spew that is the Palatal Expander series. I willingly took (small) chances and actually purchased the records listed below in an effort to listen to shit out of my comfort zone. Recent findings, fair and foul....

Simon & Garfunkel - Wednesday Morning, 3AM LP (Columbia Records, 1964)

Ummm...WHY? Well, I'm 33 years old and I had never heard Simon & Garfunkel without their assigned baggage as 60s icons. In my lifetime, the context that this band has been presented and exalted in is pure history book stuff: the soundtrack to every documentary on the era, signifier of some grand shift in national consciousness and pop-as-poetry heroes. Time/Life horseshit. But a good buddy laid a CD-R smattering of his recent faves on me and, right next to Hubble Bubble and Johnny Kidd, was "I Am A Rock". It was the first time I had heard any Simon & Garfunkel without some Super-8 footage of some schmoes getting body-painted in a field somewhere. And wouldn't you just know it: "I Am A Rock" is a great Rock'n'Roll song. So, armed with a pocket containing maybe 3 crumpled up $1.00 bills, I made my way to Telegraph Ave. and plunked down $1.99 for a used copy of their debut effort, a record that doesn't exactly strengthen their cases as ROCKERS, but introduces them in what I can only imagine is the least offensive manner possible. "Exciting new sounds in the Folk tradition" is only a half-truth. Much of what's featured here are known folks songs, executed faithfully and, truth be told, incredibly plainly. It's difficult to imagine a time and place where "Go Tell It On The Mountain" could be described as exciting or new. Perhaps on the fucking mountain when dude was up there, actually tellin' it. Not on this fuckin' record and not compared to ANYTHING else available in 1964, that's for sure. But, as my CD-R buddy told me, S&G's vocal interplay really is quite awesome: they sing together in such an interesting and perfect way that's it's as creepy as it is impressive. The passion here is obviously in their originals, including "The Sound Of Silence", which, as Garfunkel's annoyingly cute liners point out, was Simon's first attempt at a major, defining, important piece of work. Hearing it NOW, without a blitzkrieg of back story and social significance, I can actually say that it's a great piece of songwriting and something that I can actually enjoy listening to.



John Phillips - John, The Wolf King Of L.A. LP (Dunhill Records, 1970)

Our boys at Hacking At Slop prompted a visit to Berkeley's Rasputin's basement and, following in the footsteps of Kegerator General Mr. sonny house, I too pony'd up for a copy of this gem. Life has improved drastically since the purchase. Why, just last night I spun this record while eating linguine and clams with my lady. As we all know, Phillips was slime in its most awesome form: incest and peppermints, casualty of The Canyon, unreal highs and lows in pursuit of Utopia via his perch as Dr. Good Times, M.D. He's not the sort of STONED BRO one finds endearing, like Doug Sahm or even Dennis Wilson. No sir. Dude's gotta a palpable ick about him that's you only wanna observe at a distance. With songs like "Drum" or "Malibu People", you can't stay outside. Perfect songs like this suck you in. Sure, you come out sticky, but you still groove. Such a weird, wonderful record, decadent and filled with great, dark countryish pop. I fucking LOVE it.

What is it that drives a man to madness?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rare-Punk-Holy-Grail-OPUS-Atrocity-Procedures-/220835705018?pt=Music_on_Vinyl&hash=item336ad570ba&autorefresh=true#ht_1187wt_945