Friday Not-a-Farce: Round and round the heavy psych-groove-doom-about in approx 40 years

Too busy for much in the way of words today, hopefully you get the idea though.

From Allmusic.com:

Setting heavy metal's evolutionary clock back to the stone-age days of Saint Vitus with their debut Volume One was seemingly not enough for San Jose's Sleep, who decided to time travel all the way back to the pre-historic days of earliest Black Sabbath with their second album, Sleep's Holy Mountain. Indeed, while Kyuss' Blues for the Red Sun and Monster Magnet's Spine of God are more frequently cited as the most influential and important albums in launching the American stoner/doom metal scene, not even these landmark releases compare to Holy Mountain for sheer devotion to unadulterated doom and copious weed consumption. In fact, as monolithic opener Dragonaut descends into a bass solo at its conclusion, one would be forgiven for expecting the band to segue straight into N.I.B. -- such is their similarity to classic Sabbath. Instead, they grind into The Druid, which despite a quick nod to the Sabs' Electric Funeral, actually begins to establish Sleep's personality, as riff upon massive riff in the form of songs like Evil Gypsy/Solomon's Theme and the groove-heavy Aquarian flow from the speakers like molten lava. In an age of machine-gun double-bass drums, Sleep's most startling quality had to be their seemingly endless patience. As they slowly embark upon the mammoth power chords of the title track and From Beyond, they also prolong the buildup of tension before delivering a final release of cathartic proportions. Besides greatly inspiring next generation doomsters like Electric Wizard, such unwavering dedication to weed would also set the stage for their controversial and unfortunate swan song Jerusalem -- featuring a single, mind-bending 52-minute track.

After the demise of Sleep, Matt Pike (guitar) went on to form the hugely successful High on Fire; the remaining two members Al Cisneros (bass, vocals) and Chris Hakius (drums) are now in the hypnotic psych-rock Om.

Sleep - Dragonaut (1992) (4.02 MB mp3: right-click and Save As to download; play using the handy little embedded player below)

There's no escaping the Black Sabbath connection:

Black Sabbath - Into The Void (1971) (4.02 MB mp3: right-click and Save As to download; play using the handy little embedded player below)

Fifteen years after the demise of Sleep, it's descendant Om has released it's third amazing, incredible album in a row: Pilgrimage.

From a review at PopMatters:

It definitely takes some time to get into Om, but don’t let impatience hinder you from experiencing the epic combination of peace and chaos that Al Cisneros and Chris Haikus convey through their music.

--by Rajkishen Narayanan

Om - Pilgrimage (2007) (6.13 MB mp3: right-click and Save As to download; play using the handy little embedded player below)

Which (sonically) brings us right back to 1967 and Pink Floyd's second album A Saucerful of Secrets:

Pink Floyd - Set the controls for the heart of the sun (1969) (4.93 MB mp3: right-click and Save As to download; play using the handy little embedded player below)

Oh, you're so observant! Yes of course that's not the cover of A Saucerful of Secrets: it's Ummagumma (1969). And the version of Set the Controls... is from the live part of that same album. It's a better version.

First BBQ of the season

Yesterday was a luverly day, and so it was decreed by Ms. K and a number of friends that we would barbie the q. Hence I raced home from work, out again for charcoal and kindling and balsamic and wine, back home once more.. and proceeded to build a miniature raging inferno in the back yard (see left).

We used my choice little portable barbie which I picked up two summers ago for about $20 at the Big Red Shed. When it's folded up and packed away it's basically a big metal handbag.

I cooked 12 sausages, 2 half-chickens and some chicken breast fillets on it. The only thing I might have done differently would have been to wait a few more minutes before whipping the meat out, because the sausages charred a little too much. But I tell you what, when you've got people snapping at your heels, hurrying you to get the food cooked -- people who just don't understand the fine art of cooking with fire -- people who think barbequing on gas is the bee's proverbial.... well it's hard to stand around casually poking things with a stick saying "You gotta wait.. you gotta wait".

Harry was no help at all, sifting around, trying to get at the chicken and sausages; he was also very funny though, because he found that if he got too close, the invisible (!) heat from the coals made his eyeballs start to melt and he spent a lot of time sneaking around on his belly, blinking in bewilderment. You can see him there on the left, taking stock of the situation and licking at his harbalz. (Harry! Company! Stop it!)

Some BBQ music:

Herbie Hancock - Chameleon (7.21 MB mp3: right-click and Save As to download; play using the handy little embedded player below)

Goodness I'm bald....

Cum on feel the noize

Stuff.co.nz: Quiet Riot singer Kevin DuBrow found dead from unknown causes at his home in Las Vegas. He was 52.

Bugger it. I'm saddened.

Best known and loved for their 1983 cover of Slade's Cum On Feel The Noize, Quiet Riot were pretty huuuuuuuuge for me there for awhile.

Blue Oyster Cult - Don't Fear The Reaper (2.92 MB mp3: right-click and Save As to download; play using the handy little embedded player below)

I wish these rockstars and musicians would stop dropping dead. Here's the video for Cum On Feel The Noize.

Christchurch: party capital of the south

So, Lorna Catherine Harrow-Hodginson participated in a multiple-participant sexual act on a balcony in downtown Christchurch, one Friday afternoon.

In full view of the public.

However, it all may not be as simple as all that. First of all, a bunch of drugs were involved. I mean, no shit (read the story). You'll also notice that the judge who bailed her forbade her to return within 100m of Latimer Square, and said:

"If you work, I would prefer you work in the more open area of Manchester Street, rather than (Latimer) square."

Latimer Square, which has a reputation as being used by young people hooking for trade. Work as in hooking. Manchester Street as in the "red-light" district.

So what we're really talking about is a party with drugs and hookers in the middle of the afternoon, which spilled out of the hotel room/apartment it was being held in and onto the balcony.

Umm:
1. Isn't 17 a bit young for a girl to be working as a prostitute? I'd have to check the law, but surely the legal age is at least 18?
2. Either way, I trust that young Lorna is in no way being exploited, abused, coerced or otherwise forced against her will into any "group sex on balconies in the middle of the afternoon".
3. Who the hell does Christchurch think it is? Las Vegas?

POSTSCRIPT
Lorna was picked up in Latimer Square again on Friday, and held in custody over the weekend (Poor wee mite! All that noise! All that piss and vomit!). This time the judge has given her a 7pm to 7am curfew. Not that that's gonna get in the way of any more group sex on balconies in the middle of the afternoon.

Which is just as well, and for that one really has to say, Praise the Lord. If there's one thing I think we can all agree on, it's that there should be more group sex on balconies in the middle of the afternoon. In fact, in answer to the ubiquitous question "What Does Wellington Need", I really only have one answer: "group sex on balconies in the middle of the afternoon".

Awesome.

I wonder if council community-project funding could be arranged.

Neu!

Hey.

++

You still coming here?

It's been pretty quiet, aye? I've been pretty busy, is why.

Hope to get back to regular blogging shortly.

I feel a wreck without my, Friday Farce

If there's one thing I can't stand, it's panic attacks in the morning. Absolutely not. Won't have a bar of it. Makes it so hard to get out the door and off to work, I tell ya. And as for keeping my hand in with this *cough* tedious *cough* minutiae of berlogging? Forgeddabouddit.

(Ok, just kidding about the tedious minutiae.)

But so sometimes yer just have to have a bit of tenderness, dontcha. And not the Otis Redding kind. I'm talking the "I'm Iggy Pop and I'm coming down from the whirly-wind ride of the fallout from the implosion of the Stooges and I'm hanging out in Berlin with my new BFF David Bowie and we're gonna make a weird proto-electro rekkid" kind.

Iggy Pop - China Girl (4.69 MB mp3: right-click and Save As to download; play using the handy little embedded player below)

(image courtesy of The Rising Storm.)

In 1976, The Stooges had been gone for two years, and Iggy Pop had developed a notorious reputation as one of rock & roll's most spectacular waste cases. After a self-imposed stay in a mental hospital, a significantly more functional Iggy was desperate to prove he could hold down a career in music, and he was given another chance by his longtime ally, David Bowie. Bowie co-wrote a batch of new songs with Iggy, put together a band, and produced The Idiot, which took Iggy in a new direction decidedly different from the guitar-fueled proto-punk of The Stooges. Musically, The Idiot is of a piece with the impressionistic music of Bowie's "Berlin Period" (such as Heroes and Low), with it's fragmented guitar figures, ominous basslines, and discordant, high-relief keyboard parts. Iggy's new music was cerebral and inward-looking, where his early work had been a glorious call to the id, and Iggy was in more subdued form than with The Stooges, with his voice sinking into a world-weary baritone that was a decided contrast to the harsh, defiant cry heard on Search and Destroy. Iggy was exploring new territory as a lyricist, and his songs on The Idiot are self-referential and poetic in a way that his work had rarely been in the past; for the most part the results are impressive, especially Dum Dum Boys, a paean to the glory days of his former band, and Nightclubbing, a call to the joys of decadence. The Idiot introduced the world to a very different Iggy Pop, and if the results surprised anyone expecting a replay of the assault of Raw Power, it also made it clear that Iggy was older, wiser, and still had plenty to say; it's a flawed but powerful and emotionally absorbing work.

-- allmusic.com

Oh hell yeah.

Two quick things while I think of it

Fuck me, it's Wednesday already. Wow. Y'see what happened is that on Friday morning I was horsing around with Ms. K -- we do that a bit, horsing around... you know, all-in wrestling, slap wars, that kinda thing -- and in doing so I managed to cause myself grievous bodily harm in the lower back department.

So commenced a heady and delicious 48 hours or so of a combination of extreme pain and opioid-induced delirium. That's right, I doped myself up on Norflex, Codeine and Ibuprofen and I went back to bed. And that was it until midday Sunday. I did get up and play cricket on Saturday, still extremely high -- and honestly it wasn't much fun. It was important to try and keep moving just a little, though.

Importantly, I had just the right record to play during those long and contented hours warm under the duvet, and I'll be touching on that shortly. But for now, let me present Tron Guy:

... and then The World of Grace Jones:

Parkour

Yeah, so I posted some videos of some friends (and other people) doing some parkour in Wellington.

The Garbage and the Flowers

Over on the Wellingtonista I also pimped the very excellent Garbage and the Flowers' show tomorrow night at Happy.

They're playing tomorrow night (Friday Nov 2nd) at Happy with Birchville Cat Motel and Panel of Judges.

Maximum Joy Number Two (crosspost)

Over on the Wellingtonista I pimped the very excellent DJ Name's upcoming night at Mighty Mighty.

DJ Name was my partner on the decks when we did the krautrock thing a whiles back.

You could probably pop along to this after you see The Garbage and the Flowers (with Birchville Cat Motel and Panel of Judges) at Happy.

seht-tastic: Duck and Cover

I'm pleased but somewhat shy and embarrassed to note that a guy called Jamie wrote a kinda-career overview-slash-review of my seht solo-project. It's on a blog which he contributes to called Duck and Cover.

It's a pretty good music blog, too, although he likes Battles and I don't. You should check it out.

(PS: my other site is here, including a discography. Thx.)

More reviews of The Black Wood

The Stumps (myspace) latest CD The Black Wood (Last Visible Dog link) has picked up a couple more good reviews at AnimalPsi and Foxy Digitalis.

Despite the decidedly self-deprecating title (reified through the arboreal sub-title and booklet art), the work of The Stumps is rather cerebral, quite elevated psychedelia with no overt hints of humor [...] all untitled pieces populating a spectrum from pure guitar-derived drone pieces to scuzzy, austere garage-psych in classic NZ style. Tracks are a technicality, for the most part, as the dark shimmer of the opening drone transitions into a krautrock free-fall in the final third of the second, picking up to Faustian thrust in the third. [...] The ambient conversation and wayward percussion of track four contradict nicely the deep lapses of dark ambience found, for example, on the 12 minute track which follows, a subterrestrial bisection where guitars writhe and glisten in the rich soil of electronic ether. A wrenched, white-jazz bombast cuts the effect briefly, then again in earnest as the band returns gear to the guitars and kit travails of before; squealing electronics are used throughout, stabbing an additional plane of sharp static to the mix. [...] Recommended.

-- AnimalPsi (read the full review)

Upon entering into “The Black Wood” one will initially find navigation hard to manage, as sounds appear from long distances, erupt and dissipate back into the dark abyss from which they sprang. Imagine echoing reverberations bouncing off the burnt out husks of trees tease the mind conjures images of what may or may not be laying in wait for you… then suddenly the dark feelings dissipate as a gentle rain begins to fall. But as the last rays of light leave and complete darkness takes over, the sounds shift their tone, implicating a rising danger moving closer towards you. Finally, when the drumming begins you know you must find your way out of this place … and when your pace quickens, everything erupts into a head-on chase, accompanied by heavy drum and bass interplay through which a reverb-drenched guitar weaves chaos in and out of the mix..

Essentially the first three tracks of this recording would make quite a memorable soundtrack to some form of horror film or ghost tale. In many ways, this suite offers similar feelings that arise while listening to Tetsuya Ohashi’s soundtrack to Kaneto Shindo’s “Onibaba.” The sense of juxtaposition of very spatially oriented arrangements with very structured interludes, presents a high level of tension that manages to find its way to a wonderful and very satisfying resolution with the close of the third movement. [...] 8/10

-- Cory Card, Foxy Digitalis (read the full review)

Thank you to our reviewers, we're glad you like the record.

PS. Though Cory Card and I both write for Foxy Digitalis, he is not under any compulsion to write nice things about my band.

Kiwi T-Shirts

This is really, really good news.

I was affeared that the Kiwi T-Shirts shop had vanished forever from Wellington when it moved from its previous location on the corner of Chews Lane and Willis Street (for the "massive" Chews Lane project).

About a month ago I went hunting for it at its purported new location -- 27 Manners Street, according to the whitepages. It was nowhere to be found. "Oh noes" wailed I -- fearing the worst -- to anyone who would listen, "how'm I gonna make my one-off slogan art tee-shirts now?" (Galleryhag)

But riding past the location in a bus, yesterday, all my fears evaporated upon spying the new signage, and Kiwi T-Shirts man in the window, hanging up the good ol' trusty "print goofy images of your nephews and nieces on mousepads and white shirts" shop stock.

First up out of the blocks at the new location is gonna be...

WHAT WLD
CARAVAGGIO
DO ?

... I think...

Mystery Monday: *j ****w

(Congrats to "Kate's Dad" for correctly identifying the previous mystery as being Johnny B '77 by Jack Bruce from his 1977 album of surprising goodness, How's Tricks.)

A new regular feature showcasing mysterious tunes that take my fancy, juxtaposed with mysterious results from Google Image Search. Listen up, clickety-click and go where the web takes you...

Prizes will be awarded if you can tell me what/who the track is.

And if you are a maker of mysteries and would like to contribute to this feature, contact me offline to organise stuff.

Friday Farce: Travelling Riverside Blues

(dammit I forgot to hit "publish" on this one -- that'll teach me to blog drunk)

Travelling Riverside Blues is a blues song written and recorded in Dallas, Texas by legendary bluesman Robert Johnson. Johnson's June 20, 1937 recording has a typical 12 bar blues structure, played on a single guitar tuned to open G, with a slide. It was first released on the 1961 compilation LP King of the Delta Blues Singers. The song has proved popular with more recent blues musicians.

(God bless Wikipedia).

Robert Johnson - Travelling Riverside Blues (2.43 MB mp3: right-click and Save As to download; play using the handy little embedded player below)

Led Zeppelin recorded a version of the song at the BBC studios in 1969, but it was quite different from the original, and it's more a tribute to Robert Johnson than a cover. The song showcases a riff by Jimmy Page (also in open G tuning), and in the lyrics Robert Plant quotes many Robert Johnson songs, such as "She studies evil all the time", from Kind Hearted Woman Blues, and "Why don't you come on in my kitchen", from Come on in My Kitchen (which is heard during the song's solo).

Led Zeppelin - Travelling Riverside Blues (2.24 MB mp3)

Despite being broadcast on the BBC several days after it was recorded, it never appeared on any of the band's official albums; the recording remained virtually unknown until appearing on disc 1 of the Led Zeppelin Box Set about 1990 or so (it has subsequently turned up on the Led Zeppelin BBC Sessions album, and on the expanded Coda album from the Complete Studio Recordings box set).



...which is a crying shame, because it's a brilliant track. I remember hearing it for the first time on Pirate FM about 1990 and being absolutely floored by it.

Puke!

Billy Idol - Happy Holidays (2006)

Someone fucken kill me now.

Resurrecting history pt. 2

Late January, 2005
Operational HQ, Urewera National Park

It's meal time at the base in the heart of the forest, but Tame Iti is upset and rather off his food. He has changed into his coat of many colours*, and is far more interested in talking radical politics than eating. On the table between them is a ceremonial meal of roasted meat; the ritual sacrament is known as The long arm of the law. The DragoAngel of Attractive Home Lighting Solutions is pestering Tame Iti to tell him if he's going to eat his share of the food, and if not, can he have it. Tame Iti is talking about Eldridge Cleaver, and paying no attention. Now the DragoAngel is paying no attention either, he is humming softly. Beneath his breath he is singing along to the song playing on the radio...

What is happening to my skin?
Where is that protection that I needed?
Air can hurt you too
Air can hurt you too
Some people say not to worry about the air
Some people don't know shit about the...
Air... Air...
It can break your heart

* This is how Tame Iti, ever the prankster, refers his camouflage casual wear.

The Killer

My friends, when you've reached the end of yourself and you feel there's nowhere left to turn, may I present to you: The Killer

This one is based on a classic dry martini, but takes your brain into other dimensions by using very strong spirits and making it as dry as possible. You are prevented from being knocked out instantly only by the lemon garnish, which keeps everything nicely grounded.

90 ml (3 oz) Tanqueray 10
15 ml (1/2 oz) French vermouth, dry (Noilly Prat)
5 ml (1 tsp) exceptional quality absinthe
fresh lemon peel

Chill a martini glass. Chill it properly - we're talking ice + water in the glass, sitting for 15 minutes. Place to one side.

In a martini mixing glass (or cocktail shaker), add the vermouth over a couple of handfuls of ice (cracked + cubes makes a good combo) and stir with a long-handled mixing spoon. Discard the vermouth. Over the ice add the gin, and again thoroughly stir with the spoon.

Discard the ice and water from the chilled martini glass. Rinse the glass with the absinthe, and and then discard. Strain the gin into the glass.

Make the garnish by cutting a couple of strips of lemon peel, squeezing them over the drink -- spraying everything with lemon oil -- and then dumping them in the glass.

Notes:
1. All liquid measures based on the rough equivalency that 1 single measure = 30 ml = 1 (liquid) oz.

My new favourite blog: Shirley the Great

Shirley The Great: Shirley Shirley bo Burley, Banana Fana mo Murley, Fee fi fo Furley, Shirrrleeeee!!

Two sample posts:

Chillax
Oh sweet baby Jesus, I think my cafeteria cooks with laxatives... (ouch)

Fork You
omg, I'm so hungover that I almost started eating my lunch with a pen.


I bleeve my work here is done.

The album of a The Sneak

Remember The Sneak? (I know, I know... how you could ever forget!)

Anyways, the other night I was 'round at The Sneak's house, drinking all her vodka and coke, and I took some photos. Today I made an album of a The Sneak on a The Catbook: