TIME ONCE AGAIN FOR FANZINE FANABLA!!!

You though/hoped I forgot, huh? Well, here are a whole batch of music fanzines (Golden Age of Rock Writing or not) that I just know you'll want to know more about, and given just how hard these mags are gettin' to latch onto please do feel grateful, bub! 

Unfortunately, most of the fanzines from the aforementioned GA that I oh so desperately want and maybe even need were printed up in rather limited editions, sometimes on spirit duplicators or ditto'd. Who knows how many of 'em were thrown away by some mom prowlin' through her son's room looking for pornography. I guess fanzines were just as fair game. I'd sure like to fill up those gaps in the ol' collection and am in the market for loads of rarities, but after a spell of thinking I figure why bother! I mean, how long do I really have on this here planet and it ain't like I'm gonna hold and cherish these later editions the same way I do items procured during my younger days! But sheee-yucks I'd sure like to read 'em!

Not only that, but there are entire genres of rock fanzines that I sure do need to know much more about especially now that I'm in my front porch and rocker years and wouldn't mind finding out about 'em before I make the great leap into that cruddy flea market in the sky. F'rexample, I sure could use a whole lotta them early/mid-seventies French fanzines that were plugged into the underground decadent current of the day...the kind like the one Patrick Eudeline mentioned where he copped Michel Bulteau of Mahogany Brain fame's want ad for a drummer and the two spent hours talking about everything but drums! I have some issues of PARAPLUIE and I saw via Ubupopland the one that the Pole label put out with the Mahogany Brain article I  translated about a decade back, but there's gotta be more out there just begging to be eyeballed! 

Golly ned, but I sure do welcome any information (personal or not) and even leads as far as obtaining any of these publications...I'm sure someone out there reading would want to be nice to me FOR ONCE IN YOUR PATHETIC LIVES and lend me a helping hand, or even foot for that matter. At this point in time I'll take any appendage you have.

Like I once said many a time, if any of you were making the kinda rags that I'm on the lookout for and don't want to send me some, if not all of your wares well, do you REALLY want to go to your graves without experiencing the honor and glory of having the world remember you and your efforts which have until now been washed away by the tide of utter banality?  Face it bub...get your mag mentioned in this blog and well...if somebody does happen to read this they'll know who you are and might even like you for it! But given the state of humanity these days I doubt it.

***

When I do happen to get hold of a much-desired seventies-era rock 'n roll fanzine you can bet it's toss the confetti time 'round these parts. And with the third issue of COWABUNGA you can also bet there's a lotta tiny bits of paper to pick up because this mag definitely was one of many that delivered on some rather good scribing at a time when it seems that most rock mag readers were more enthralled with the ROLLING STONE style of laid back haze whose odor lingers on even to this very day. 

Unfortunately COWABUNGA editor John Koenig doesn't have much to write about in this late '74 edition of the mag, but his few fanzine reviews are enlightening to the point when I sure wish I could scoop up the third issue of INITIAL SHOCK if only for the article on the various mid-sixties garage bands who managed to make their way out of the Midwest. The cover feature on the Astronauts (the Colorado surf group, not the anarchist punk rock band) was nice in that sorta just discovering 'em way, and I sure ain't complaining about the long review of the November issue of CREEM that reminds me of just how good the mag coulda been when their writers didn't drop the ball. Perhaps this was due to some of the contributors who eventually showed us all just how jerkoff they really were (no names mentioned, but I'm sure you know who these miscreants are) but still a good portion of your favorites managed to deliver in ways to make most all of us feel all warm 'n glowin'.

Editor John Koening's musings are also a hoot to read as he ponders what has happened to all of his favorite fanzines that have seemingly kicked the bucket, as well as what happened to THE NEW HAVEN ROCK PRESS's Jon Tiven, once a person who made many an appearance in the pro and fanzine publications of the day but who by the middle portion of that decade must have done a Houdini. I did get a kick out of Koening's editorial praising the various fifties rock 'n roll revival groups since he believed that they would spur kids on to listening to the real thing. Funny but Greg Shaw once felt the same way and said so in an issue of WHO PUT THE BOMP! a few years earlier. Anyway, it is somewhat amusing to see Koening lump together such definite grease band acts like Sha Na Na and Flash Cadillac in with Brownsville Station and the Flamin' Groovies, the latter two who I never saw as fifties revival acts in any wayshapeform. But if Ron Weiser thought the Groovies were on the same level of revival rot as Sha Na Na, well...

I can always use more fanzines like COWABUNGA in my cluttered up bedroom, and hopefully a few more will sneak their way into my abode and save me from the curse of stumbling across some rather dire rock writing that one can find on the internet. Hope more of these manage to make their way into my life but you know how blue I'm gonna turn holding my breath until some actually do! 

***

Now here's one of those fanzines that it seems everybody knows about but nobody (at least that I know of) has ever seen. An ambitious one too, and even though THE LITTLE SANDY REVIEW does not necessarily deal with rock 'n roll music it still is something that any true fanzine aficionado would want to sink into if they claim even in the remotest to be a fan of the form.

Well known and perhaps even loved in folkie circles, THE LITTLE SANDY REVIEW was an endeavor that really must have been a labor of somethingorother given that the thing ran from 1959 to 1966 and that the editors (including future ROLLING STONE contributor and otherwise good guy --- he got Lester Bangs back into the pages of that rag --- Paul Nelson) managed to get it out on a regular basis...somewhat.  Of course I know that 99.99999...% of you readers could care one whit about these world saving strummers and for the most part neither can I, but who could deny that all of the effort and love and post-hours paste up that went into this thing resulted in a mag of real beauty and downright funtime reading. And, that is, even if you could care less about what you're reading about. 

Well, they also covered those long-forgotten blues and backwoods country strummers and I don't mind reading about those innovators!

This 'un (#30) is a digest-sized issue with over 100 pages filled with a plethora of reviews, snide attitude, and photos taken by noted snapper David Gahr, a guy whose gypsy pix make it to these pages even if for the most part gypsy music is not mentioned in the slightest. On the cover is Maria D'Amato, a member of the Jim Queskin Jugband who would later be known to one and all as Maria Muldair, once they scrubbed her up and gave her some modern clothes. "Midnight at the Oasis" was far from what she was doing in the mid-sixties and I'll betcha that if someone would have told her that she'd have a laid back radio hit in a few years she wouldn't believe it either.

I really got into the brief snide reviews and neat historical trip into the hardcore nature of the sixties folk movement even if for the life of me I wouldn't buy a good portion, if any, of the records reviewed or patronize the artists who recorded them for that matter. Too bad a mag along the lines of THE LITTLE SANDY REVIEW didn't spring out of rock fandom for that really would have boosted the movement manyfold.

***

After all these years I gotta admit that I really have grown to appreciate THE FAT ANGEL GAZETTE (here simply called FAT ANGEL). Sure it is a typical early-seventies English kitchen table production with a heavy California prejudice that doesn't quite appeal to my own tastes, but editor Andy Childs and crew are somewhat open to the type of music I tend to appreciate and well, this mag does have a swerve to it to the point where I'm willing to read an article on a group even if I don't care for the band one whit. This fanzine always did have more than its share of West Coast San Fran fan-drool attitude true, but then again its also got the early-seventies punk spunk ideal that also manifested itself in everyone from the Deviants to all of those Ladbroke Grove groups who were always heard rehearsing "Waiting For My Man" when you'd walk past their enclaves.

This ish (#7) is just as good as the others even if the Grateful Dead take up the cover just like they did with the rest of those early-seventies English fanzines. Yes, San Fran rules hefty-like here, but then again the Dead article is readable, not as good an historical and opinionated rundown as the one Nick Kent did in NME but swell enough The Mad River piece made for an intelligent if brief history of the group that of course would be surpassed by future articles but whaddaya expect given this was 1972. 

The reviews rank high if only because none of them have that getting high on life early-seventies dipsterism that was being sledgehammered into an entire passel of kids who should have vehemently resisted. There are even some moments of downright SURPRISE here...take the review of Alice Cooper's KILLER done up by a never heard of before and probably never heard from again person named "ashley" who wrote these just gotta get'cha all hot and bothered words:

For high-energy rock, Alice Cooper ranks with the MC5, the American Dream, the Velvet Underground, Pink Fairies, and all the other tasty bands that seem bent on doin' our heads in.

Dunno about you, but I tend to get all warm 'n toasty when I read words like that! And I didn't even mention the page-long review of the then-current two-LP Velvet Underground collection (the one with the imitation Warhol lips cover) that had just made its appearance in the record racks there and (with a greatly inflated price) import bins over here!

***

While we're in the land of dental atrocities here's another entry into the fanzine realm albeit one that came out at a much later time than the one mentioned above. Sheesh, but wasn't Europe just brimming with fanzines, some of 'em good and other eh, and although I don't exactly know where TEXAS HOTEL BURNING fits in (or even what the title means---probably the title or lyrics to some song that's slipped my rather slippable mind) I gotta say that I find it somewhat..."there". This mag came outta the Land of Scot and despite my reservations I'll be man enough to say that it is a fair enough effort. Nothing near the quality of THE NEXT BIG THING mind ya, but a nice little effort. 

Maybe there's not enough here for this Amerigan to appreciate (steeply ensconced in the way things are over there) but otherwise OK enough what with pieces on the Buzzcocks (one of those career roundups which read like NOW IT'S MY TURN TO WRITE ABOUT 'EM! which is cool enough for me), the Severed Heads (who I never heard given their early-eighties artpose moniker!), Eurovision (???) and Ivor Cutler! That "article" seems to be a letter to the mag from a 62-year-old guy and I can hardly read it the print is so small and my eyes are so weak, but this very same guy is the reason why I bought the mag in the first place! Well, it's a nice enough way to spend a few moments out of your life and considering some of the competition at the time (mid-eighties) its pretty hotcha.

***

Now back to the land of men with big tits, mainly AMERIGA. It shouldn't be much of a surprise to know that there has been a whole load of important rock 'n roll gulcher out there that I have missed out on over my many years of trying to keep you (as well as myself) INFORMED. But like I said, it would take about a few thousand me's to go through everything, available or not, that is important to the entire cause of rock 'n roll as an unchained form of suburban ranch house expression. But when something of interest does hit the boards and I'm in a position to grab hold of the thing well, you can bet that I'll go to town on it the same way Elton John did changing his young charge's nappies.

Here's one fanzine I never even knew existed until very recently. You all know that most of the time I'm "out of the loop" as far as these things go, but when I find a long-gone item that is worth the time and effort to dwell into boy can you bet that I'm going to go full hog into my OCD mode which might be good for my own sense of rockist splendor but bad for my wallet.

The funny thing about SAVAGE DAMAGE DIGEST is that the entire name brand went from internet to print and not the other way 'round like the effort you're now reading. Frankly I gotta say that the concept of fanzines in the here and now is financially verboten (at least for depression-era wages me) and that having to wait months to get some information out that can be disseminated immediately these days might not be quite the way for one to express themselves, especially if one has an ever-dwindling bank account. But sheesh, if it just ain't great having a fanzine to read in the privacy and comfort of your very own bathroom, and just try to drag your computer in there when you're up for taking a dump (I don't have one of those smartphones that remind me of Phineas J. Whoopie's 3-D Blackboard.)

It must have cost a bundle to put these out what with the slick paper and fine layout. And not only that but the actual contents are something that go lock 'n groove with the entire concept of high energy rockscreeding what with articles on everyone from Brinsley Schwarz, Hamilton Ontario's Teenage Head, Gene Vincent and even some of those newer thingies that never did excite me but wha' th' hey... The first ish has a cover story on Link Wray's early-seventies post/Raymen and pre-Robert Gordon years which is a subject oft overlooked in rockism circles, while #4 even sports an interview with former Electric Eel Brian McMahon, done back when the guy was trying to re-ignite his career, that's quite informative but not so much as the one that was done in issue #21 of my own crudzine! But whatever, these mags are worth the look see if any should happen to turn up wherever these things happen to turn up these days.

***

A number of folk over the years have actually come up to me saying "Chris, you mean you never ever read an issue of __________?". And yes it is true. Hey, it's not like I was a pampered upper-class trust fund kiddie like most alla ya readers, and in no way could I have afforded to purchase even a slight portion of the top notch magazines that were catering to the more underground than thou crowd who were definitely richer beyond my wildest dreams. I mean, I once held an issue of MATTER in my paws for a good fifteen seconds and didn't get Jim DeRogatis' better than the rest REASONS FOR LIVING long after that publication had breathed its last. I never (even to this day) read most of the big 'uns like, say, TRULY NEEDY and although I wonder if I had missed anything important by not latching onto these rags I console myself in the fact that I'm positive very little that would interest me appeared in such publications. Kinda like the ol' fox and the grapes story, but unfortunately it rarely makes me feel any the better because of my past (and present, and future) financial hangups.

  

One of these many upper-echelon fanzines that came out during my early days of struggle was STRANGE THINGS ARE HAPPENING. Dunno if you could call this 'un a fanzine in the strictest sense (well, it does sport a barcode on the cover which should be a tipoff that this ain't exactly one of those kitchen table projects) but it sure has that fanzine spirit that propelled more'n just a few rags throughout the eighties and beyond. Nice slick cover, typeset innards and some of the more palatable names in the fanzine biz do pop up in the mix. Besides, its nice to know that there were some magazines that catered to the true blue rock 'n roll subset that were actually worth pouring through!

The contents seem to be custom made for those of us who either lived through or were retroactively enthralled with the wild mid-sixties of rock "coming of age" or whatever them intellectuals called it. Suits me fine even if there are way too many fanzines and webpages etc. that have been doing that for years, but be honest for once and tell me that we always could have used more, eh?

Slapping Krazy Kat on the cover with an actual article and strips inside was an interesting enough move as was the selection of acts STRANGE THINGS ARE HAPPENING chose to feature. A somewhat eclectic choice too what with the Dukes of Stratosphear battling it out with Genesis P'Orridge and the Weirdos and beach moom pitchers fighting it out with Syd Barrett for precious space. It was mags like this that sure made me feel inadequate with my own crudzine knowing that, given my slim finances (selling scrap metal for money to publish the thing) and general pariahness I'd never get something like this outta my own gassed up bedroom cut/paste/collate/staple efforts.

***

First there was SNIFFIN' GLUE, then there was SNIFFIN' FLOWERS, and now (actually the mid-eighties) there's SNIFFIN' ROCK, the third in a line of sniffin' fanzines that ought to say something regarding these home-produced efforts, only I really couldn't tell you what at this time. It's a nice and sturdy thing, comes with a flexi-disc (which is lacking from my copy) and it concentrates on some of the better and meatier rock 'n roll sound and sway of the day. It sorta straddles the same areas of rockist concerns as THE NEXT BIG THING did 'round the same time, and considering the nice print job and the mag's overall spirit this one did rank as one of the highlights in that failed attempt to keep rock 'n roll alive before it ALL fell into that horrid ditch of appealing to the worst aspects of youthdom extant (cleanliness, straight minds and hearts...). Yech...

***

In past "fanablas" there were a quite few reviews regarding a rather spiffy English fanzine entitled PANACHE, a mag that was definitely at the tippy top of the 'zine realm as far as content, layout and general fan-oriented attitude went. So like, what's keeping me from giving this should-be legendary mag yet another plug? Haw, the joke's on me because this particular PANACHE is not the same one that photographer Mick Mercer had been putting out since the late-seventies but a totally different effort that came out of the wilds of San Francisco! 

Considering that there were a number of fanzines entitled WHITE NOISE and at least two goin' 'round calling themselves NEW AGE why not a pair with this particularly neeto title that conjures images of class and style, something a few fanzines out there sure coulda used a whole lot more of.

Gotta say that this PANACHE does not quite sway me the way that Mercer's effort did. Like a whole lotta these nineties-on publications the layout is too slick, the writing tepid (certainly not of the post-Meltzer growl or suburban slob energy that makes HOMEMADE SHIT such a highly-anticipated read) and for some strange reason I don't think any of the staff nor their readership could fathom the deep down beauty of a song the stature of "I Heard Her Call My Name". Still gets hefty points for featuring the should-be-infamous Japanese gal group the 5678's on the cover. The rest though, is just too new (with all of the negative connotations that might imply) for my own personal sense of sartorial inelegance.

***

More honest than George Washington me must admit that this issue of REAL STUFF ain't one of those grab me by the psyche fanzines in the way a whole number of these self-produced efforts tend to appease my own warped sense of rockism. However I should say that this English effort does get the points for layout, the ability to wrangle interviews with biggies like the Go Gos, Wall of Voodoo and that guy from Drinking Electricity whoever they were not to mention devote a page to San Fran scenester Vermillion Sands listing her past accomplishments and interests. Bonus points for a two-page retrospective on the GTO's who sure needed some rememberin' at the time. This is issue #3 in case you're keeping count.

***

I never knew that Ireland produced their own version of ZIGZAG. It was (is?) called HEAT and as far as copping the look and feel of ZZ they sure did a fairly swell job what with the flippant writing and coverage of things both pertinent to the cause of "rock 'n roll" and not. Most if not all of the text was lettered a la THE NEXT BIG THING and as far as covering alla the new and hipster sounds that were comin' outta the late seventies go they seemed to be about as much on the ball as all of those English weaklies that the rich Amerigan kids could afford (but not me --- have I told you about my financial straits lately?!?!). It's what you'd expect meaning there's no heavy emphasis on the grittier underground thud of the day and the records you would expect to be reviewed most definitely are, but it sure filled its purpose filling the locals in on a whole load of music from a local perspective. I'm sure that more'n just a few kids o'er there were mighty grateful that HEAT came along and if I were in Ireland at the time I guess I would have liked it a whole lot as well.

***

The mid-eighties were just filled to the brim with fanzines dealing with a whole slew of rockist-related genres both past and present. I sure do recall a whole buncha 'em out there that would have broken the bank had I decided to snatch 'em up. MAKING TYME is one I missed out on back then and to be truthful about it this is no great lost because this issue, although somewhat good, is rather predicable. Then again so is this blog so who am I to act all huffy puffy about it! 

Given the title you know where these guys' loyalties lie, what with the stories on the by-now infamous Eyes and Syn along with the always neeto to read old ads which remind me of what life and attitude used to be like before the hippies hadda come in and lovey dove everything up. News and reviews regarding the revival groups of the day pop up and although this scene, just like every other teenbo craze out there didn't last too long and looked somewhat foolish within a few years there's a whole load of positive vibrations regarding them days just oozing from the pages. And I should talk about hippies given what I have just written (I mean..."positive vibrations??????")!

***

If there's one word that should be forever banished from the English (or any other) language it's "nostalgia". Hokay, I think that "iconic" and "gender" should also be forever omitted from being uttered by those in on the latest in cool cat vocabularies as well, but for today let's talk that first word I brought up which only reminds me of all of those television shows and movies from the seventies that were being made about the earlier portion of the century to the point of nausea. Not that there's anything particularly wrong with that, but people back then seemed to be nostalgic for all the wrong reasons! Take the obsession with things "fifties" which was hotcha stuff from the very late sixties and even well into the eighties...now there was plenty great about the fifties but these things sure weren't being played up in any of those moom pitchers or tee-vee shows that I was viewing way back when. 

Take the music of them days f'rexistence...loads of rheumy-eyed memories of some of the soppier moments in fifties music were always being trotted out in these various productions as examples of the best that era had to offer. You couldn't escape hearing songs like "The Great Pretender" and "Little Darling" whenever you'd eyeball some fifties-oriented program or moom pitcher feature way back when, but where in blazes was the real hard and earth-moving sounds of the day like "Green Mosquito", "Red River Rock" or "Tall Cool One"??? Like Greg Shaw somewhat said, a love of fifties rock 'n roll (or in my case television, comics, mooms) was NOT nostalgia but just an appreciation of good, hard-hitting media that just happened to bop more'n a few young 'uns right between the ol' psyche. And with recording artists like Helen Reddy and Barry White cluttering up the charts really, who could blame 'em?

So why'n heck was this particular fanzine entitled NOSTALGIA anyway? You got me because like there's nothing calculated to extract the warm 'n toasties outta either the depression-bred old folks or the baby boom ingrates in these pages. Sheesh, a mag with Carla Bley on the cover has about as much to do with nostalgia as Howard Stern has to do with good taste! 'n not only that but there's not one attempt to dig into the more superficial elements of just how ginchy groovy leather jackets and skirts with poodles on 'em to be found. Why the heck this mag was called NOSTALGIA is way beyond me although I'd bet'cha that an explanation can be found in some other issue.

I liked the Bley interview where she discusses plenty of the JCOA/Watt Records efforts, and the article on the psychedelic era of the Pretty Things' career was actually well written even if not much if anything new is sheds on the subject. It also is good to know that Arthur Lee was still remembered in the waning days of 1975 but sheesh, Traffic were always a boring bunch to listen to and I can give not a whit about anything Andy Frazer might have had for breakfast let alone had to say. While I'm on a rampage perhaps I should mention to you that anyone who would even THINK of giving space to the likes of David Crosby and Graham Gnash ought to check into the re-education camp of his/her/its choice. Otherwise I gotta say this is a pretty nice although not engrossing fanzine attempt and hey, it could have been worse as we all very well know given some of the offal that has crossed my eyes these past few years, if not longer.

***

Unfortunately this particular ish of 3:AM (Vol. 2 No. 1) just didn't thrill me the way that the one I reviewed in the previous Fanabla sure did. Probably cuz there ain't enough rock 'n roll in it for my tastes, and although I sure like reading about those old horror and pre-glitz films that I'll never see in a millyun years I also like editor Joe Johnson's takes on various musical maniacs that I either grew up with or sure wish I had grown up with. 

Sad to say, but there certainly is a lack of that CREEM (classic early-to-mid-seventies CREEM that is) styled crazed coverage here, the kind I strive for in my own scribbles (usually missing the target by miles but YOU just try it!). We sure coulda used more of that "gonzo" writing back when fanzines like this 'un were up and about in the dank 80s, 90s, 00s, 10s, but all we got for our troubles was Parke Puterbaugh. Eh, why should I complain since 3:AM's a great li'l homemade rag that does succeed with what it delivers and like, why quibble considering the plethora of downright turdburger reads that have been produced o'er the past few decades awlready!

***

Back in the seventies people would put out anything and claim it to be a fanzine. That's just what Cy. K. Delic did here and if I ever saw him on the street I'd definitely pulverize him for attempting to pass these five one-sided pages as a publication of any sort of worth. Very little text here other'n some brief mention of a Devo fan club and a local somethingorother who had just passed on, but otherwise I just don't get the idea that clip art collages and pix lifted from the newspaper are really worth the time and bother even if your thoughts are clean and your heart is pure. Aw shucks, it's just a nice and I assume freebee tossout so why don't I just leave the thing alone...I mean, it ain't hurtin' anyone!

***

I believe I've owned this issue of INSIDE OUT ("volume 1") ever since it hit the stands or wherever they sold fanzines back in those days and like well, I'm too lazy to check into my box of long-gone out of print rags to find out. If not well...here's a mag that looks more like a high school literary magazine than something devoted to the better portion of sixties rock 'n roll and yeah, the material mentioned in these pages is older than Methuselah and has been through the wringer more'n just a few times. Despite all that INSIDE OUT will get'cha all remembering just how fun and exciting it was reading about them groups that we could only dream about hearing (by the late-seventies the flea market stands with the passionate sixties-vintage albums had been all cleaned out), but reading about 'em while keeping a good lookout was a fine way to pass the time.

The inside repro job ain't the best but back then ya hadda work with whatever you had at your disposal (the reason why the type in my early issues went from tiny to even tinier given how the copiers at my disposal only had three settings), but editorette Beverly Paterson sure was lucky to wrangle interviews with Paul Revere, Sky Saxon and two of the Standells! I hope this bit of duty in the service of humanity counts in her favor when she's up for the Nobel Prize. Sheesh, if they gave on to Barak Obama they'll give one to anybody!

Paul Revere sounds gracious enough considering the at-times curt words he had for his former singer and bonafide teen idol Mark Lindsay, and Tony Valentino and Larry Tamblyn from the Standells kinda remind me of a coupla old fogies on the front porch talking about The War Between The States even at this early stage in the game (1987). Of course Sky Saxon is his old sunlight self talking about the animals and how others swiped his ideas for fun and maybe even profit. If you've been listening to these guys ever since you can remember, these chit chats almost come off as if they were being told to you by a personal friend you've known all these years, and if admitting this makes me out to be a sentimental old fanabla I do try to keep that under my hat even though said hat seems to slide off in windier than usual weather.

Not only is INSIDE OUT a fine representation of what the creme de la sixties was all about, but just how fun it is remembering about it all a good twentysome years later when we sure could have used a lot less MTV and a lot more high energy in our lives.

***

And finally well...it ain't a fanzine but I paid for it and I gotta stick it in this blog someplace. LID was an early '00's glossy magazine that, from what I could tell, came off like a mostly picture mag with some dialogue that was aimed at the New Yawk chi-chi crowd who like to show off just how down with the ethnics they are while dining at some of the most expensive places imaginable. 

Well, that's the impression I get of it and well, I had the idea that this Andy Warhol retro ish would've been something that would have definitely benefitted my entire nervous system. It does have some rare snaps and tries somewhat to capture that hotcha 60s/70s Warhol attitude and feel, but actually I got the same irritating upper class snob feeling from this that I got from those late-eighties ART FORUM magazines that were crying Chicken Little over Jesse Helms threatening to off a whole load of artistes' gravy train grants as if these people actually had to be supported rather than go out and make themselves a living doing something more attuned to their talents like digging ditches. 

Sheesh, I liked it back when art was stuff like Chris Burden and guys who could paint lifelike enough pictures of nice looking nude women, but anymore I could care less 'bout these effete snobs making all of these socially aware creations that have the meaningful lifespan of a flea. The strangest thing about it all is that even Warhol didn't approve of all those socially conscious better-than-thous who were cluttering up the art world in the eighties, and if the guy's been posthumously canceled for his opines I have yet to hear about it!

Well, at least the pages weren't perfumed.

BOOK REVIEW! LINGER ON - THE VELVET UNDERGROUND  - LEGEND, TRUTH, INTERVIEWS BY IGNACIO JULIA (Ecstatic Peace Library, 2022)

I've pretty much given up on Velvet Underground books because of their propensity to rehash old stories or (especially) personal reflections that always fall flat like we want to hear about someone's next door neighbor's best friend who listened to them and died in a motorcycle accident (always happens). However, this four-year-old collection of interviews and whatnot from #1 Velvets fan Ignacio Julia is a different ball of opium. And besides it must have been remaindered because P.D. Fadensonnen got me this book for Christmas and well, the choice was a whole lot more better than had he sent me pre-skidded underwear.

Although it ain't what I could deem "awe inspiring" it sure is a boss effort. For one thing it was written and compiled by one of the bigger Velvet Underground fans out there who's got any clout. Another is that, even though the same old stories seem to be trotted out there's still a lot of interesting turdbits and insight to be found even for an old fanabla like myself who used to have fantasies about reading every article written in every language (translated of course) about the Velvets, or at least whatever is was being written before they ceased being a cult legend and became a name brand. The interviews with all of the band members ('cept for hard-to-gets like Angus Maclise and Electra) and various other fan faves like Lenny Kaye were also great...I mean I'll listen to anything Kaye has to say even it it is about the Grateful Dead or James Taylor, and any bit of ephemera regarding Lou Reed, at least when he was a representative of civilization at its best, is what I'd call much needed in my energy-starved existence. They even dug that hideous creature Jackson Browne up to talk up the early Nico days and although I hate that pitiful example of singer-songwriterdom (and his role in getting Richard Meltzer fired from ROLLING STONE) at least he does some puttying up the gaps in the Velvets information puzzle.

With Constantine Radoulovich and Philip Milstein seemingly MIA for good I'm sure glad that Julia has taken up the general rah rahs regarding the Velvets. And this is a pretty snazz way to do some Velvet Underground cheerleadin'. 's not bad at all...if you can find it in the cheap part of your locak bookstore it might be a read worth the pilferin'.    

I go through this every dadblamed year but bear with me anyway. And considering the length of this post bear with the fact that it's just too dang hard to proofread this thing to a "T" so expect a misspelling or some other gaffe. Whatever you do...don't frown over it or your face just might freeze...look what happened to Anastasia Pantsios.

Where was I? Oh yeah...it is somewhat frightening to get through one's cranium that we are now (even as we speak!) In The Year of Our Lord 2026, a fact which is, especially for all of us finely aged high energy rock 'n rollers out there, downright impossible to cram into the ol' medulla obligation! Really, who amongst you readers just can't fathom the fact that the glory year for everything that was just custom made for us discriminatory suburban slobs, mainly 1966, was A GOOD SIXTY YEARS AGO!  And for you downright picked olde tymey readers the rockin' (and morally correct) year of 1956 a good seventy solar spins as well! We can go on and on (like, 100 years since sound moom pitchers began comin' out) but it'll only make all of use feel older'n Methuselah and why should we get so Debbie Downer even if we ALL are ready for the boneyard in one capacity or another (it's just a matter of TIME...)! Of course I know that what I just wrote's pretty cornball and thus fitting for this blog, but seeing how far a distance it has been since the days of music as that power-packed "International Youth Language" (at least back when we really were youths) and the sorry sopping mess it has become it can get pretty soul-crushing when you get your mind down to it. 

'66 undoubtedly was the last good year for real people like myself to exist ('63 was the last REALLY good 'un) and just the mere thought of it should make a true believer in all that's right and just  downright shudder. It was a time when the Big Beat was at its height and the teenagers still had their heads on straight before the hippie and "relevant" right on movements blew any type of true youth expression out of the water and into some rather disturbing areas I prefer not to think about. Yes 1966, the year of punk rock supremacy (at least until '77) and the last year of what I would consider the REAL Golden Age of Television before the old shows began to peter out and the new ones made for a good reason to devote more time to music. Sheesh, you shoulda been there. Too be we all couldn't have STAYED.

But if you woulda told me back during my youthful days that there would even be a 2026 I undoubtedly woulda called you downright bonkers. Way back during my "formative" years I thought (at least in the dark reaches in the back of the ol' cavern) that this earth probably had a handful of years left in it and that by 1984 it was all kaput bye and gone. Or worse yet, perhaps this planet would turn into a place that was so disturbing and antiseptic it wasn't worth living in. Considering what eventually did happen, the feely-good happyhappy twinkle atmosphere and how the eighties were times that made one long for the dank grit that made groups like Suicide, the Stooges, Dolls and Throbbing Gristle possible, it was obviously the latter. 

It would have been best if it all did come to a crash way back when mankind (not that all-inclusive "humankind" I keep hearing about) still had some deep-seated fortitude. At least this world of ours would have gone out with something dangling between its legs ifyaknowaddamean.

***

I can't complain about 2025. At least this was the year that I finally got to hear a recording by the legendary if obscure beyond belief Cleveland avant garage band Harlan and the Whips which only left me hungering for more from that reel now in the possession of Paul Marotta. But as for 2026 well...it's another year another set of resolutions regarding this blog which it seems that I and only I really care about before tossing all of it into that spiritual wastebasket. Looking over the past year I do feel perhaps a tiny atom of remorse in the fact that I surely have been slacking --- ONCE AGAIN --- as far as delivering on them posts that I know a tiny minority really look forward to reading but wha' th' hey... I'll try slipping a few more'n the usual scant batch your way in '26, but given my current situation where a whole load of my spare time is still taken up with real life I doubt it'll be that many more, Lucky dog you.

***

Yeah, I know the following is nothing more than one of my frequent ramble-ons but it just has to be said by me (because no one else will), so let me take the time to eulogize none other than the late and perhaps greater-than-great Brigitte Bardot. Not only was this once-adored nonagenarian former big name in mid-twentieth century hoo-haw one of the classiest and longest-lived sex symbols to pop out of the entire genre , but Bardot was definitely a woman who, by her thoughts and actions, sure aged a whole lot more gracefully than any of her contemporaries ever could ever have hoped.

Besides having a body that made more'n few teenbo boys request locks on bathroom doors, Bardot was perhaps thee toppest of top sex appeal-oriented actress of the fifties (way superior and classier than Monroe and Mansfield if I do say so myself) what with her attention getting appearance in the infamous AND GOD CREATED WOMAN (or, for you less the art house movie types, DEAR BRIGITTE). Besides appearing alongside such greats as Jane Birkin and Billy Mumy what tried and true fan could forget her singing career which bestowed upon us such unforgettable hits as her collab with Serge Gainsbourg "Bonnie and Clyde" which I sure wish got around more over here in the states.

We all know just how controversial to the hilt Bardot eventually became post-retirement what with her definitely against the tide of proper thought opines that got her into plenty of eau chaude. Before it became de rigour Bardot was out and about criticizing various slaughtering methods involving the throat-slitting and blood draining of animals (dunno if they stun 'em first or not), although her definitely non-Film Industry approved views on a whole variety of sociopolitical topics pretty much made her a somewhat loathed person especially in these prissier-than-prissy modern times. Which to all of that I say...well, you KNOW already so why repeat myself?

Bardot's numerous utterances on everything from Islam, cave dwellers/shrub scouts (despite a nude scene in some moom I forget the title of that had her kissing an equally nude Birkin!), the "MeToo" movement of a decade or so back not to mention her support for the only hope France has (Marine Le Pen) might make some of you readers all the more happy that she hit the carbon cycle. It sure makes the "to the right" of Atilla the Hun (or better yet, even to the right of Brigitte Bardot) me happy that not all of these big name stars were so on-the-ball insufferably righteous when it came to them causes du jour that sure got them more'n ample virtue signaling free publicity, savvy? 

Comes as no surprise to me that a whole slew of the "tributes" pouring in totally ignore her acting career and even the work she has done for that pious cause of animal welfare which everybody pretends to believe in, instead concentrating on all of those things the lady said that were somehow so downright finger-wagging for shame even though I would consider them rather run of the mill everyday, at least amongst the work and slave kinda people I tend to be around! I know that not speaking ill of the dead went out with the Edsel, but I haven't seen this amount of frothing at the mouth hatred of any of the recently deceased since Charlie Kirk's jugular splatter a few months back! I guess that here in the bleak twenty-first century if you've committed one socio-political sin, you've committed 'em all, and Bardot sure committed more than just one offense against these terminally upnosed types.

Sheesh, some people have even called her that by-now meaningless denigration "fascist" as if you saw any of those kinda people exposing their beautiful bodies in various stages of undress for all to see (yeah I know...there was the German [they weren't fascists but try telling that to anyone these days] ideal of perfect feminine beauty on parade 'n all, but at least Bardot shaved her pits)! The meaning of words really do change as time, and those in control of the vocabulary, deem them to change. In these blacklist days when the slightest dissent can ruin one's life Bardot was a woman who spoke her mind, and I gotta say that in the here/now that takes a lot of courage if you want to be invited to cocktail parties with drinkies and little wieners wrapped in dough. And boy, this postmortem being performed on Bardot's legacy really does prove the old adage where people can go from liberal to conservative as time goes by without changing their opinions one bit!

If Brigitte Bardot was the Nazi some have been making her out to be all I can say is STENGTH THROUGH JOY, and you sure get a whole lotta joy watching some of her films, eh?

Maybe I should also mention the demise (at the hands of his own son no less, and not Joey Stivic as I originally thought) of Rob Reiner, who I guess is now dead from the neck down as well!

***

In 2024 I compiled a list of all the "extraneous" music, recordings not slated for any specific reviewing purposes that is, that I spun throughout the year, only the entire list got "blued" out into total extinction due to a few quick mis-keys on the computer keyboard. And dollars to douchebags you can bet that I was somewhat upset given how this all happ'd in November with only a few weeks left until completion and yes, I at first fathomed that perhaps that my split-second gaffe was an unconscious move on my brain's part telling me, in clandestine terms in order to not offend me, that such an idea was totally 'tardsville and should have been bud nipped as soon as I had conjured it up in whatever's left of my mind. Then again, sometimes if you want to remain fresh you GOTTA act young and stupid!

I mean, looking back at those playlists that loads of self-important types used to send with their letters to THE NEW YORK ROCKER and MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL did ooze out some snide airs of "I got this and you don't look how on-the-ball I am" one-upmanship, but then again I really enjoyed reading through the lists that not only Brian Doherty in the pages of his SURRENDER but Bob Moore in his VERSION blessed us with. Maybe it all wasn't kismet and all that I thought to give the idea of yet another playlist of my extracurricular spins a second go at it. By the way, I've been searching throughout boxes and boxes of the usual flotsam/jetsam for this not-quite-a-fanzine pamphlet Moore unleashed on us where he mentioned his recent spins, and I've been on the hunt for it for over forty years now! Naturally I've had no luck finding it along with a few wanna read over again items that have seemingly vanished, so if any of you have one you can jet my way well, ignore my plea as usual.

Here's what I've been spinning in chronological order roughly form mid-December 2024 until the very beginning of this year (actually up to the moment this is posted), mostly on days off and Sundays when I had some time to search through record piles and boxes of CDs trying to find those rarities that Bob Forward and Paul McGarry burned for me. In retrospect I gotta say that my choices for casual listening really did reflect my moods and tastes as they changed throughout the past 365, from avant to punk (and sometimes both were the same thing!) to whatever I dug up that I haven't played in quite some time. Maybe my playlist will spur you onto listening to some of the platters (tried to concentrate on my vinyl this year like I did last, more or less succeeding although not as much as I had hoped) that I've given the time of day to this past solar spin. 

Some oft-ignored recordings as well as old pals pop up here, and who knows but maybe there'll be a few surprises to prove to you that I always was a way more eclectic aficionado of sonic miasma than you people'd ever give me credit for. Should mention that this list consists of material listened to all the way through with no halfway/somewhat played items (listened to in part and discarded) mentioned a-tall. 

Maybe the mere sight of the following will inspire you to latch onto a few of these recordings to discover for yourself just how eclectic and all-encompassing I am when it comes to the realm of music! Maybe it's just a detailed study of a mind filled with all types of inexplicable musical obsessions. Then again, maybe this'll be the "new" NWW list. Then again, maybe who's really gonna bother reading it at all, even you devoted readers who've been with me through thick, thin, and even thinner.

Sheesh, you might even want to seek out actual copies, burn offa the internet or (heaven forbid)  swipe a few! And it's all in chronological order too! (NOTE - this list does not necessarily connotate approval but to be honest about it mostly does.)

Amon Duul II-PHALLUS DEI LP (Sunset Records, England)

The Spotnicks-OUT-A SPACE - THE SPOTNICKS IN LONDON LP (Swe-Disc Records, Sweden)

Anais Nin-ATLANTIS INCEST ONE-SIDED LP (no label)

The Third Ear Band-EXPERIENCES LP (Harvest Heritage Records, England)

THE SUPERLATIVE DAVID BOWIE CD (Grove Music Records bootleg)

Hawkwind-THE TEXT OF FESTIVAL CD (Eastworld Records)

Oliver Lake-NTU : POINT FROM WHICH CREATION BEGINS CD (Freedom Records, Japan)

The Human Arts Ensemble-UNDER THE SUN CD (Freedom Records, Japan)

Limbus 3-COSMIC MUSIC EXPERIENCE CD (No Label)

Chick Corea-CIRCULUS CD (Blue Note Records, Japan)

Les Rallizes Denudes-BAUS 93 CD-r burn (originally on The Last One/Tuff Beat Records)

Crawlspace-DOGS BEGIN TO CRAWL, SNAKES BEGIN TO HOWL CD-r (Slippytown Records)

Art Ensemble of Chicago-REESE AND THE SMOOTH ONES CD (Charly Records, England)

Limbus 4-MANDALAS CD (Spalax Records, France)

Nucleus-HEMISPHERES CD (Hux Records, England)

Art Ensemble of Chicago-GO HOME + CHI CONGO CD (Free Factory Records, EU)

Crawlspace-CRAWLS PACE 2-CD-r set (Slippytown Records)

Cromagnon-ORGASM CD (ESP-disk/Calibre Records)

Ornette Coleman-SKIES OF AMERICA CD (Sony Records, Japan)

MY SOLID GROUND CD (Second Battle Records, Germany)

The Mothers of Invention-TRICK OR TREAT LP (Bizarre Records bootleg)

Patti Smith-TURN IT UP LP (Dog n Cat Records bootleg)

Really Red-REST IN PAIN LP (CIA Records)

Art Ensemble of Chicago-CERTAIN BLACKS LP (Inner City Records)

Various Artists-12 UK PROTO-PUNK TRACKS CD-r burn (via Youtube)

Tangerine Dream-ALPHA CENTURI LP (Ohr Records, Germany)

The Patti Smith Group-FREE MUSIC STORE LP (Brigand Records bootleg)

Tim Buckley-GOODBYE AND HELLO LP (4 Men With Beards Records)

International Harvester-SOV GOT ROSE-MARIE CD (Silence Records, Sweden)

Milford Graves-CHILDREN OF THE FOREST CD-r burn (originally on Black Editions Archives Records)

Bergerette-BEGUILED CD (Doc Plenty Products)

The Moogy Klingman Revue with Andy Kaufman, Max's Kansas City 1974/Patti Smith-Max's Kansas City 1974/Hot Lunch-Max's Kansas City 1977 CD-r burn

Philip Glass-TWO PAGES/CONTRARY MOTION/MUSIC IN FIFTHS/MUSIC IN SIMILAR MOTION CD (Elektra Nonesuch Records)

Luther Thomas-11TH STREET FIRE SUITE CD (Corbett Vs. Dempsey Records)

TASAVALLAN PRESIDENTTI CD (Love Records, Sweden)

Milk-"Boy Can I Dance Good" live at the Willoughby Ohio YMCA 1973 CD-r burn 

Kikagaku Moyo-"At Here Present", "Green Sugar"/Amon Duul II Play "Phallus Dei" CD-r burn

Tuli Kupferberg and the Fuxxons-KNITTING FACTORY 1992 CD-r burn

Guru Guru-ESSEN 1970 CD (Garden of Delights Records, Germany)

Myriam Gendron-M*A  D*E*L*I*R*E CD (Feeding Tube Records)

The Revolutionary Ensemble-MANHATTAN CYCLES CD-r burn (originally on India Navigation Records)

Smegma-LIVE AT THE NEW PARIS, '98 CD-r burn

The Astronauts-COMPETITION COUPE CD-r burn (originally on RCA Victor Records)

Jeffrey Shurdut's Impossible Beauty Orchestra with Bern Nix and Sabir Mateen-THE DREAM OF A RIDICULOUS MAN CD-r burn (No Label Record Label)

Mother Mallard's Portable Masterpiece Co.-1970-1973 CD-r burn (originally on Cuneiform Records)

Syd Barrett- BARRETT CD (Harvest Records, England)

Amon Duul II-LIVE IN MUNICH 1969 CD-r burn

Syd Barrett-FINAL SESSIONS ABBEY ROAD STUDIOS 1974 7-inch 33 rpm EP (Magic Mushroom Records bootleg)

Can-WALDBUHNE JUNE 1971/Amon Duul II doing "Kanaan" 1969 CD-r burn

Lou Harrison-MUSIC FOR GUITAR AND PERCUSSION CD (Etcetera Records, Germany)

The Velvet Underground-EVIL MOTHERS LP (Skydog Records bootleg, France)

Amon Duul-LUA-LUA-HE LP (Trademark of Quality bootleg)

Ornette Coleman-ORNETTE COLEMAN BROADCASTS LP (J For Jazz Records bootleg, France)

Wurm-EXHUMED 2 LP set (Org Music Records)

ALTER EGO PERFORMS PHILIP GLASS 2-CD set (Omm Music Records)

Roxy Music-WHEN YOU WERE YOUNG LP (Eli Records bootleg, Germany)

Lou Reed-ROCK 'N' ROLL ANIMAL LP (Phantom Records bootleg, France)

David Bowie-LOW LIVE LP (bootleg)

Swans-REAL LOVE LP (Mantra Music Records bootleg)

Philip Glass-MUSIC IN TWELVE PARTS 3 CD set (Nonesuch Records)

Michael Cousins-AKA MAGIC MICHAEL + BONUS TRACKS CD-r burn (no label)

MAGMA 2-CD set (Univeria Zekt Records, France)

ROCK FOLLIES CD (Virgin Records, England)

The Mothers of Invention-PIG MUSIC LP (Mr. Natural Records bootleg)

ANCIENT ROMAN MUSIC CD-r burn

Ornette Coleman-DANCING IN YOUR HEAD CD (Verve Records)

The Fabulous Wailers-THE ORIGINAL GOLDEN CREST MASTERS CD (Ace Records, England)

James Blood Ulmer-ARE YOU GLAD TO BE IN AMERICA? CD (DIW Records, Japan)

THE CRUMMY FAGS CD-r burn

Butch Morris-CURRENT TRENDS IN RACISM IN MODERN AMERICA CD-r burn (originally on Sound Aspects Records)

Robert Calvert-CAPTAIN LOCKHEED AND THE STARFIGHTERS CD (BGO Records, England)

Crawlspace-SPHEREALITY CD (Sympathy For The Record Industry Records) 

Frank Zappa-A TOKEN OF MY EXTREME LP (Zapped Records bootleg)

Bernie and the Invisibles-ALL POSSIBILITIES ARE OPEN LP (My Mind's Eye Records)

LES IDOLES LP (Monster Melodies Records, France)

John Cale-ACADEMY IN PERIL LP (Reprise Records)

Amon Duul-COLLAPSING - SINGVOGEL RUCKWARTS & CO. CD (Spalax Records, France)

LINK WRAY CD (Polydor Records)

Alien Planetscapes-CBGB 4/27/90 CD-r burn

THE SAVAGE ROSE CD (Polydor Records)

The Guru Guru Groove-THE BIRTH OF KRAUTROCK 1969 CD (Purple Pyramid Records)

Siouxsie and the Banshees-THE SCREAM CD (Geffin Records)

Neu!-72 LIVE! CD (Captain Trip Records, Japan)

12-Cent Donkey-CASH VALUE CD-r burn (Slippytown Records)

Anthony Braxton-OPEN ASPECTS (DUO) 1982 CD (Hat Hut Records, Switzerland)

The Grateful Dead-CREAM PUFF WAR CD (Red Robin Records bootleg)

Sun Ra-WE TRAVEL THE SPACE WAYS/BAD AND BEAUTIFUL CD (Evidence Records)

Doug Brockie's Infinity-THE HIGH COUNCIL OF INTERGALACTIC BLUES CD (Arcturus Records)

Swell Maps-WHATEVER HAPPENS NEXT 2-LP set (Rough Trade Records, England)

Birdbrain-I FLY CD (Persian Cardinal Recordings)

Jatra-LIVE 1978 CD-r burn

Henry Flynt-YOU ARE MY EVERLOVIN'/CELESTIAL POWER 2-CD set (artist's label)

Various Artists-GODS OF HEAVY - UNRELEASED TRACKS BY ROCK'S HEAVY MASTERS CD-r (Full Seeing Eye Records)

Rashied Ali/Leroy Jenkins-SWIFT ARE THE WINDS OF TIME CD-r burn (originally on Survival Records)

Bob Dylan-HARD RAIN CD (Columbia Records)

Freedomland-YIA YIA'S SONG CD-r burn (Rent Control Records)

MONTAGE CD (Sundazed Records)

The Velvet Underground-LIVE AT THE BOSTON TEA PARTY DECEMBER 12TH, 1968 2-CD set (Keyhole Records, England)

The Great Imposters-DOLLARS IN DRAG, A TRIBUTE TO DAVID BOWIE LP (Rare Records)

Marie et les Garcons-'76/'77 LP (Instant Records, France)

Alice Cooper-EASY ACTION LP (Straight/Warner Brothers Records, Canada)

The Gibson Brothers-PINE TOP BOOGIE LP (Homestead Records)

Stalingrad Symphony-STRUGGLE CD-r burn (no label)

Luther Thomas, Daniel Carter, Blaise Siwula, Jeffrey Hayden Shurdut-OUTCRY CD-r burn (No Label Record Label)

ANGEL IN HEAVY SYRUP IV CD (Monotremata Records)

The Red Krayola-COME ON DOWN CD (Drag City Records)

Dark Sunny Land-EMANATIONS FOR A RETURNING CD (Skachimawakee Records)

Big Brother and the Holding Company-TRIBAL STOMP CD (Head Records bootleg)

The Aliens-NYC CD-r burn

Melodic Energy Commission-MOON PHASE COMPENDIUM CD (Vapor Records, Canada)

Gavin Bryars, Christopher Hobbs-ENSEMBLE PIECES - ORIGINAL OBSCURE RECORDS RECORDINGS CD (GB Records)

THE SECOND ANNUAL REPORT OF THROBBING GRISTLE CD (Mute Records)

Muhal Richard Abrams-YOUNG AT HEART/WISE IN TIME CD (Delmark Records)

Kraftwerk-RADIO BROADCAST : 25 January 1974 HR1, Frankfurt CD-r burn

Klaus Schulze-IRRLICHT CD (Spalax Music, France)

Link Wray-SOME KINDA NUT : MISSING LINKS VOLUME 3 CD (Norton Records)

Amanaz-AFRICA 2-CD set (Now-Again Records)

Earth People-SIMPLE...ISN'T IT? CD (Undivided Vision Records)

Julius Hemphill-REFLECTIONS CD (Freedom Records)

Frank Lowe-FRESH CD (Black Lion Records, Germany)

Rashied Ali + Frank Lowe-DUO EXCHANGE CD (Survival/Knitting Factory Records)

The James Marshall Human Arts Ensemble-AUTONOMOUS OBLAST CD (Freedonia Music Records)

Mother Mallard's Portable Masterpiece Co.-LIKE A DUCK TO WATER CD-r burn (originally on Cunieform Records)

Rocket From The Tombs-WMMS-FM "HEAVY METAL SHOWCASE" May 5th 1975 CD-r burn

Don and the Goodtimes-THE ORIGINAL NORTHWEST SOUNDS CD-r burn (originally on Beat Rocket Records)

The Red Crayola with the Familiar Ugly-THE PARABLE OF ARABLE LAND 2-CD set (Charly Records, England)

The Cleveland Orchestra, George Szell, Conductor-DVORAK - SYMPHONY NO. 5 IN E MINOR OP 95 "FROM THE NEW WORLD" LP (Epic Records)

Amon Duul-PARADIESWARTS DUUL LP (Ohr Records, Germany)

Philip Glass-MUSIC IN TWELVE PARTS PARTS 1 & 2 LP (Caroline Records, Italy)

Freedomland-AMUSEMENT PARK CD-r burn (Rent Control Records)

George Harrison-ELECTRONIC SOUND CD (Zapple Records, Japan)

Tyrannosaurus Rex-A BEARD OF STARS CD (Castle Classic Records, E.E.C.)

Annexus Quam-BEZIEHUNGEN CD (Ohr Records/Spalax, France)

Marc Bolan & T-Rex-ELECTRIC WARRIOR SESSIONS CD (Purple Pyramid Records, England)

Joseph Jarman-SONG FOR CD (Delmark Records)

Roscoe Mitchell Quartet-LIVE AT "A SPACE" 1975 CD (Sackville/Delmark Records)

Annexus Quam-OSMOSE CD (Spalax Records, France)

Roscoe Mitchell-DUETS WITH ANTHONY BRAXTON CD (Sackville/Delmark Records)

JOHN CAGE SHOCK VOL. 3 CD (Omega Point Records)

Tyrannosaurus Rex-A BEGINNING 2-LP set (A&M Records)

THE EDGAR BROUGHTON BAND LP (Harvest Records, Germany)

Sandy Gurvitz-SANDY'S ALBUM IS HERE AT LAST! LP (Verve Records)

THE BEST OF T. REX CD (A&M Records)

LARRY CORYELL & THE ELEVENTH HOUSE AT MONTREAUX CD (Vanguard Records)

T. REX CD (A&M Records)

Terry Riley, Pierre Marietan, Par Le Germ-KEYBOARD STUDY 2, INITIATIVE 1 CD (Tempel Records, France)

Sun Ra and his Astro Infinity Arkestra-ATLANTIS CD (Evidence Records)

Music Revelation Ensemble-NO WAVE CD (Moers Music Records, Germany)

JOKERS CD (Underground Records, Japan)

Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart-PROVIDENCE COLLEGE, RHODE ISLAND APRIL 26th 1975 2-CD set (Keyhole Records)

The Sensational Alex Harvey Band-FRAMED CD-r burn (originally on Vertigo Records)

ELEPHANT'S MEMORY CD (the Buddah, not Apple one) (Collector's Choice Music Records)

Chrome-LIVE AT ON BROADWAY 1981 CD-r burn

Up-Tight-SWEET SISTER 1994-2003 CD-r burn

3/3-SANBUN NO SAN 2-CD set (P-Vine Records, Japan)

WILD MAN FISCHER MEETS SMEGMA, or WILD MAN FISCHER AND SMEGMA SING POPULAR SONGS LP (Birdman Records)

Crawlspace-THE SPIRIT OF '76 CD (Gulcher Records)

ALAN SILVA AND THE CELESTRIAL COMMUNICATION ORCHESTRA 2-CD set (Sunspots Records, Italy)

Kurt Schwitters-URSONATE UND ANDERE KONSEQUENTE DICHTUNG CD (Wergo Records, Germany)

THE 25-YEAR RETROSPECTIVE CONCERT OF THE MUSIC OF JOHN CAGE 3-CD set (Wergo Records, Germany)

The Mothers of Invention-WEASELS RIPPED MIAMI LP (Mr. Natural Records bootleg)

The Troggs-BLACK BOTTOM LP (New Rose Records, France)

Tiny Tim-LOST & FOUND LP (Secret Seven Records)

Kim Fowley-BORN TO BE WILD CD (Imperial Records)

Anthony Braxton-B-XO- NO-47A CD (Sunspots Records, Italy)

Blue Cheer-OUTSIDE INSIDE LP (Garageland Records, Sweden)

THE SIDEWINDERS LP (RCA Records)

Can-EGE BAMYASI LP (United Artists Records, New Zealand)

Amon Duul-EXPERIMENTE CD (Captain Trip Records, Japan)

Sadistic Mika Band-GOLDEN BEST CD (Toshiba EMI Records, Japan)

INTRODUCING THE ELEVENTH HOUSE WITH LARRY CORYELL CD (Vanguard Records)

THIS IS...THE SAVAGE YOUNG SONICS CD (Norton Records)

Can-Y(O)U LP (bootleg)

THE ESSENTIAL SANDY BULL 2-LP set (Vanguard Records)

FRANK VINCENT ZAPPA CONDUCTS THE ABNUCLEALS EMUUKHA ELECTRIC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA PERFORMING LUMPY GRAVY PRIMORDIAL 12-inch 45 LP (Zappa Records)

Party Boys-NO AGGRO LP (Independent Project Records)

The Velvet Underground-PEEL SLOWLY AND SEE, DISC ONE CD (Polydor Records)

MUSIC REVELATION ENSEMBLE CD (IW Records, Japan)

Pharoah Sanders-TAUHID CD (Impulse Records)

FAIRPORT CONVENTION LP (Polydor Records, England)

JUKIN' BONE LP (RCA Victor Records)

The Sweet-DESOLATION BOULEVARD LP (Capitol Records)

Anthony Braxton-THIS TIME CD (Sunspots Records, Italy)

Amon Duul II-CARNIVAL IN BABYLON CD (Captain Trip Records, Japan)

Various Artists-YA GOTTA HAVE MOXIE VOLUME ONE 2-CD set (AIP Records)

The Sonics-BUSY BODY!!! CD (Norton Records)

Joseph Jarman/Anthony Braxton-TOGETHER ALONE CD (Delmark Records)

The Lollipop Shoppe-JUST COLOUR CD (Rev-ola Records)

Charles Gayle-UNTO I AM CD (Victo Records, Canada)

SOLDIERS OF ROCK 'N' ROLL - AN AUDIO DOCUMENTARY OF RADIO BIRDMAN LP (WEA Records, Australia)

The Move-MESSAGE FROM THE COUNTRY LP (Harvest Records, England)

Frank Zappa-ROAD TAPES VENUE #1/1 LP (bootleg)

KRAFTWERK + KRAFTWERK 2 2-CD set (Germanophone Records, Germany)

Von Lmo's Refrigerator-5-28-1980 Max's Kansas City/WHY YOU...MURDER ME?-1974/Blue Humans-6-23-1988 CBGB's NYC CD-r burn

Various Artists-WILDFLOWERS VOLUMES 2 AND 3 CD (Gravity Records)

Group Inerane-GUITARS FROM AGADEZ CD (Sublime Frequencies Records)

Sandy Bull-INVENTIONS CD (Vanguard Records)

Roscoe Mitchell-NONAAH 2-CD set (Nessa Records)

Original Motion Picture Sound Track Featuring THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra-FRANK ZAPPA'S 200 MOTELS 2-LP set (MCA Records)

Savage Rose-YOUR DAILY GIFT LP (Gregar Records)

THE FUGS FIRST ALBUM 2-LP set (Akarma Records, Italy)

Roxy Music-BETTER THAN FOOD LP (Gravity Records bootleg)

CREME SODA CD (Radioactive Records)

Kraftwerk-KARUSSEL DER JUGEND LP (bootleg)

Can-UNLIMITED EDITION 2-LP set (Harvest Records, Germany)

The Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, Conductor-BOLERO/LA VALISE 10-inch LP (Columbia Records)

AGENTS OF MISFORTUNE one-sided LP (bootleg)

ELEPHANT'S MEMORY LP (Apple Records)

The Electric Eels-AGITATED - 1975 LP (bootleg)

STAN KENTON CONDUCTS THIS MODERN WORLD 10-inch LP (Capitol Records)

Pink Floyd-"Interstellar Overdrive"/"Astronomy Domine", "Two of a Kind", "Flaming" 10-inch 45 rpm EP (bootleg)

Mose Allison-I LOVE THE LIFE I LIVE LP (Vinilissimo Records, Spain)

A CONDENSED HISTORY OF FRANK ZAPPA & THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION FEATURING FLO & EDDIE LP  (Mr. Natural Records bootleg)

Melted Men-JAW GUZZI CD-r burn (originally on Feeding Tube Records)

Frank Lowe-FRESH CD (Black Lion Records, Germany)

Mahogany Brain-WITH (JUNK-SAUCEPAN) WHEN (SPOON-TRIGGER) CD (Mellow Records, France)

Mahogany Brain-SMOOTH SICK LIGHTS CD (Spalax Records, France)

Tim Buckley-THE DREAM BELONGS TO ME CD (Manifesto Records)

James White and the Blacks-OFF WHITE LP (Ze Records)

MUSICA FUTURISTA 2-LP set (Modern Silence Records)

JOHN CAGE LP (Tomato Records)

NEU! 75 LP (United Artists Records, England)

David Toop/Max Eastley-NEW AND REDISCOVERED INSTRUMENTS LP (Obscure Records, England)

Various Artists-KRIS NEEDS PRESENTS DIRTY WATER 2 2-CD set (Future Now Music, England) 

GOD BLESS THE RED KRAYOLA AND ALL WHO SAIL WITH IT CD (Charly Records, England)

Jackelope-SALTIER THAN EVER! CD (Challenge Records)

The Art Ensemble-1967/68 5-CD set (Nessa Records)

Kongress/Funeral of Art Part 2, Von Lmo 12-2-79 Max's Kansas City NYC, Von Lmo Radio Spots CD-r burn

Ornette Coleman Trio-LIVE 1965-1966/The Rice Miller Band-"Red House", "Shot in the Head"/The Guitar Bashers-"Don't Mess With The USA" CD-r burn

David Peel-LIVE AT CBGB CD (Captain Trip Records, Japan)

MUSICA FUTURISTA 2-CD set (a different collection than the 2-LP set listed above) (Cramps Records, Italy)

CARAMBOLAGE CD-r burn (originally on David Volksmund Produktions Records, Germany)

Fraction-MOON BLOOD CD (Phoenix Records)

Hawkwind-THE WEIRD TAPES NO. 1 --- SONIC ASSASSINS CD (Hawkwind Records)

Floh de Cologne-GEYER-SYMPHONIE CD (Spalax Records, France)

Zappa-AT THE OLYMPIC/200 MOTELS 2-LP set (Trademark of Quality Records bootleg)

Brian Sands-FIXATION LP (Bizart Records)

15-60-75-JIMMY BELL'S STILL IN TOWN LP (Water Brothers Records)

Sonny Sharrock-MONKEY-POCKIE-BOO CD (Sunspots Records, France)

Lord Buckley-A MOST IMMACULATELY HIP ARISTOCRAT CD (Collectors Choice Music Records)

Thy Byard Lancaster Unit-LIVE AT MACALESTER COLLEGE CD (Porter Records)

Various Artists-BEYOND THE CALICO WALL CD (Voxx Records)

The Art Ensemble of Chicago-AMERICANS SWINGING IN PARIS CD ((EMI Music, France)

JUMP CD (Kismet Records)

The Art Ensemble of Chicago-TUTANKHAMUN CD (Black Lion Records, Germany)

Ornette Coleman-THE EMPTY FOXHOLE CD (Blue Note Records)

Can-LIVE ROCKPALAST 1970 CD (Rox Vox Records, EU)

Michael Hurley, the Unholy Modal Rounders and Jeffrey Fredricks and the Clamtones-HAVE MOICY! LP (Rounder Records)

The Sonics-LIVE FOR FANZ ONLY LP (Etiquette Records)

Pere Ubu-DATAPANIK IN THE YEAR ZERO 12-inch 45 rpm EP (Radar Records, England)

The Fugs-TENDERNESS JUNCTION LP (Edsel Records, England)

Various Artists-AN AFFLICTED MAN'S MUSICAL BOX LP (United Dairies Records, England)

Kluster-ADMIRA CD (Important Records)

Frank Lowe-BLACK BEINGS CD (ESP/ZYX Records, Germany)

The Art Ensemble of Chicago-THE SPIRITUAL CD (Black Lion Records, Germany)

Harvester-HEMAT CD (Silence Records, Sweden)

DAKOTA CD (Radioactive Records)

The Stranglers-RATTUS NORVEGICUS/BLACK AND WHITE 2-CD set (Capitol Records, EU)

Black Oak Arkansas-KEEP THE FAITH CD (Sequel Records, England)

Cruel, Cruel Moon-STILL LIFE CD (Moonbase Records)

The Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy Conducting-GROFE - GRAND CANYON SUITE LP (Columbia Records)

Karlheinz Stockhausen * Krzysztof Penderecki * Earl Brown * Henri Posseur * the Rome Symphony Orchestra Conducted By Bruno Maderna-THE NEW MUSIC LP (RCA Victrola Records)

Brian Sands-REHEATED CHOCOLATE TANGOES 12-inch 45 rpm LP (Bizart Records)

T. Rex-ELECTRIC WARRIOR LP (Reprise Records)

Turner and Kirwan of Wexford-ABSOLUTELY AND COMPLETELY LP (Peters International Records)

Various Artists-A BUNCH OF STIFFS LP (Stiff Records, Germany)

The Screaming Gypsy Bandits-IN THE EYE LP (Or Records)

LOU REED AND THE VELVET UNDERGROUND LP (Pride Records)

SONIC YOUTH LP (Neutral Records)

SUICIDE LP (version with additional live tracks released in 1980) (Red Star Records)

CLUSTER II CD (Spalax Records, France)

Mirrors/the Electric Eels/the Styrenes-THOSE WERE DIFFERENT TIMES CD (Scat Records)

Jukin' Bone-WHISKEY WOMEN LP (RCA Records)

Alan Snake-AXE PRESSURE LP (Bizart Records)

Malcolm Mooney and Tenth Planet-INCANTATIONS LP (Milvia Son Records)

THE TROGGS TAPES LP (Penny Farthing Records)

Twink-THINK PINK LP (Pirate)

ALAN VEGA LP (PVC Records)

WHITE LIGHTNIN' LP (Island Records)

Ilhan Mimaroglu/John Cage/Luciano Berio-ELECTRONIC MUSIC LP (Turnabout Records)

Robert Quine/Fred Maher-BASIC LP (Editions EG Records)

Ton Steine Scherben-WARUM GEHT ER MIR SO DRECKIG LP (Indigo Records, Germany)

Dark Sunny Land-KON TANN KOR CD (Gulcher Records)

Philip Glass-SYMPHONY NO. 4 "HEROES" FROM THE MUSIC OF DAVID BOWIE AND BRIAN ENO - SINFONIEORCHESTER BASEL CONDUCTED BY DENNIS RUSSELL DAVIES CD (Orange Mountain Music)

CREATIVE CONSTRUCTION COMPANY VOLS. 1 & 2 CD (Jazz District Records, Japan)

F/i-SPACE MANTRA/BOY DIRT CAR SPLIT LP CD (Koala Foreskin Retraction Records, Australia)

The Bizarros/The Rubber City Rebels-FROM AKRON LP (Clone Records)

The Beastie Boys-COOKY PUSS 12-inch 33 rpm EP (Ratcage Records)

Mars-N.N. END LP (Feeding Tube Records)

Kawaguchi Masami's New Rock Syndicate-CAT VS. DOG LP (Palindrome Records)

The Holy Modal Rounders-ALLEGED IN THEIR OWN TIME LP (Rounder Records)

Screamin' Jay Hawkins-A SPELL ON YOU : B SIDES AND RARITIES LP (Wax Love Records, Germany)

Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band-LICK MY DECALS OFF, BABY CD (Reprise/Rhino Records)

Guru Guru-UFO CD (ZYX/Ohr Records, Germany)

Various Artists-THE AKRON COMPILATION LP (Stiff Records, England)

The Holy Modal Rounders-VOL. 1 LP (Prestige Records)

TRACTOR LP (Thunderbolt Records, England)

THE HOMOSEXUALS RECORD 12-inch 45 rpm album (Recommended Records, England)

The Good Rats-RATCITY IN BLUE LP (Ratcity Records)

F/i/Boy Dirt Car-SPLIT LP (RRR Records)

Elliot Murphy-THE MURPHYS - THE 1973 AQUASHOW DEMOS with the "ABRAHAM LINCOLN CONTINENTAL"/"HISTORY" single (Red Lounge Records, Denmark)

Kim Fowley-ANIMAL GOD OF THE STREET LP (Skydog Records bootleg, France)

CLUSTER & ENO LP (Sky Records, Germany)

Various Artists-NEW YORK EYE AND EAR CONTROL LP (Matador Records)

Philip Glass-"LOW" SYMPHONY CD (Point Music Records)

SUISHOU NO FUNE CD

Can-SOUNDTRACKS LP (Celluloid Records, France)

Ultravox-SYSTEMS LP (bootleg)

Various Artists-GROIN THUNDER - TROGGS PUNK NOIZE FROM ALL OVER THE PLACE! 2-LP set (Dog Meat Records, Australia)

Pink Floyd-FLOWERS AND VEGETABLES LP (bootleg, Germany)

The Velvet Underground-1966 LP version with all black cover and non-peelable banana (bootleg)

Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band-THE SPOTLIGHT KID/CLEAR SPOT CD (Reprise Records)

John Cage-EARLY ELECTRONIC AND TAPE MUSIC CD (Sub Rosa Records)

The Grateful Dead-MASON'S CHILDREN CD (Scorpio Records bootleg, Italy)

Manster-ATLANTIC RECORDS DEMO CD-r burn

The Coba Seas-UNREFORMED LP (Norton Records)

BIG BROTHER AND THE HOLDING COMPANY LP (Mainstream Records)

Joseph Jarman/Famoudou Don Moye-EGWU-ANWU (SUN SONG) 2-CD set (India Navagation Records)

Einstuerzende Neubauten-FUNF AUF DER NACH OBEN OFFENEN RICHTERSKALA CD (Indigo Records, Germany)

John Cage-LOLLIPOPS 3-CD set (El Records, England)

Dark Sunny Land-EMANATIONS FOR A RETURNING LP version (One Hand Records)

Fred Frith-SPEECHLESS (Ralph Records)

AN EVENING WITH WILD MAN FISCHER 2-LP set (Bizarre/Reprise Records)

DISCO TEX AND HIS SEX-O-LETTES LP (Chelsea Records)

Various Artists-ULTRA VIOLET'S HOT PARTS SOUNDTRACK LP (Kama Sutra Records)

Tim Buckley-STARSAILOR LP (Straight/Warner Brothers Records)

Pink Floyd-RELICS LP (Sounds Superb Records, France)

E. Power Biggs-FESTIVAL OF FRENCH ORGAN MUSIC LP (Columbia Records)

Rancid Vat-BURGER BELSEN LP (Brilliancy Prize Records)

Mahogany Brain-SOME COCKTAIL SUGGESTIONS LP (Fractal Records, France)

Mick Farren-VAMPIRES STOLE MY LUNCH MONEY LP (Logo Records, England)

Glenn Branca-SYMPHONY NO. 1 CD (ROIR Records)

Anthony Braxton-THE COMPLETE BRAXTON 1971 2-LP set (Arista Freedom Records)

THIS IS GURU GURU LP (2001 Records, Germany)

Frank Lowe-OUT LOUD 2-LP set (Triple Point Records)

The Velvet Underground-PROMINENT MEN LP (no label bootleg)

Ethix-"Bad Trip"/"Skins" 7-inch 45 rpm single (Mary Jane Records)

UFO-EARLY FLIGHT 1972 LP (Purple Pyramid bootleg)

MILES DAVIS/JOHN COLTRANE/SONNY ROLLINS LP (Ozone Records bootleg)

The Box Tops-THE LETTER/NEON RAINBOW LP (Bell Records)

Jonathan Halper-"Leaving My Old Life Behind"/"I Am a Hermit" 7-inch 45 rpm single (Puck Productions)

Alice Donut-BUCKETFUL OF SICKNESS AND HORRORS IN AN OTHERWISE MEANINGLESS LIFE LP (Alternative Tentacles Records)

Yoko Ono/John Lennon-TWO VIRGINS LP (Apple Records)

THE BLACK EARTH PERCUSSION GROUP LP (Opus One Records)

Les Rallizes Denudes-LE FESTIVAL DE FLEUR COMPLET A AVRIL 1975 GOTENBA CD (Ignitus Records)

Various Artists-THE BABY M TRIAL SIDE A CD-r burn

Tertiary Trio-TITLE GOES HERE CD-r (Rent Control Records)

T. Rex-ELECTRIC WARRIOR 30th ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION CD (A&M Records)

NEW YORK DOLLS CD (Mercury Records)

THE SOUNDS OF THE JUNKYARD CD (Smithsonian Folkways Recordings)

15-60-75-20 CD (Reedurban Records)

Pierre Monteaux, Paris Conservatory Orchestra-STRAVINSKY - RITES OF SPRING LP (RCA Victor Records)

Lou Reed, John Cale & Nico-PARIS 29.1.72 LP (no label bootleg)

Paul Revere and the Raiders-GREATEST HITS LP (Columbia Records)

YOKO ONO/PLASTIC ONO BAND CD (Secretly Canadian Records)

T. Rex-UNCAGED CD (Pilot Records, England)

PHILIP COHRAN AND THE ARTISTIC HERITAGE ENSEMBLE CD (Katalyst Entertainment Records)

Metal Boys-TOKIO AIRPORT CD (Acute Records)

M. Bulteau-RINCURES CD (Fractal Records, France)

Steve Peregrine Took's Shagrat-LONE STAR CD (Captain Trip Records, Japan)

Fripp & Eno-(NO PUSSYFOOTING) CD (EG Records)

Philip Glass-MUSIC WITH CHANGING PARTS 2-LP set (Chatham Square Records)

Lou Reed-METAL MACHINE MUSIC 2-LP set (RCA Records)

Edgard Varese-THE VARESE RECORD LP (Finnedar Records)

Jan Steele/John Cage-VOICES AND INSTRUMENTS LP (Antilles Records)

Siouxsie and the Banshees-100 CLUB 1976 CD-r burn

The Tielman Brothers-TV SHOWS CD (Samsam Music, Holland)

Ruby and the Rednecks-LIVE COVENTRY 1973 CD-r burn

Manuel Gottsching/Ash Ra Tempel/Ashra-THE PRIVATE TAPES VOL. 6 CD (Maniken Records, Germany)

John Cage-SONATAS AND INTERLUDES - SUSAN SVREEK, PIANO CD (Centaur Records)

Earth People-NOW IS RISING CD (Undivided Vision Records)

The Velvet Underground-IN 1966 THERE WAS... 2-LP set (Velvet Records bootleg)

Siouxsie and the Banshees-LOVE IN A VOID LP (Banshee Records bootleg)

George Crumb-MUSIC FOR A SUMMER EVENING (MAKROKOSMOS II) LP (Nonesuch Records)

The Red Krayola-SINGLES CD (Drag City Records)

Joan LaBarbera-TAPESONGS LP (Chiaroscuro Records)

MUSIC OF EDGAR VARESE LP (Columbia Records)

RASPBERRIES LP (Capitol Records)

Hawkwind-HALL OF THE MOUNTAIN GRILL LP (United Artists Records)

The 13th Floor Elevators-LIVE "S.F. 66" LP (Lysergic Records)

Iggy Pop & James Williamson-KILL CITY LP (Bomp! Records)

Frank Zappa-PIGS AND REPUGNANCE CD (Flashback World Productions bootleg, Luxembourg)

Sirone Bang Ensemble-CONFIGURATION CD (Silkheart Records, Sweden)

Etron Fou Leloublan-BATELAGES CD (Belle Records, Japan)

Art Ensemble of Chicago-A JACKSON IN YOUR HOUSE/MESSAGE TO OUR FOLKS CD (Charly Records, Germany)

Rudolph Grey-MASK OF LIGHT LP (New Alliance Records)

BIZARROS LP (Mercury Records)

T. Roth and Another Pretty Face-FACE FACTS LP (Reflection Records)

Kim Fowley-THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL LP (MNW Records, Sweden)

The Leather Secrets-LIVE CBGB 1974 CD-r burn

Kluster-KLOPFZEICHEN CD (Hypnotic Records)

Magma-1.001 DEGREES CENTIGRADE CD (Le Chant Du Monde Records)

Kickbit Information-BITKICKS CD (ATM Records, Germany)

Roxy Music-CHAMPAGNE AND NOVOCAINE LP (The Amazing Korneyfone Record Label bootleg)

Various Artists-FUNF FIGUREN AUS VERSCHIEDENEM MATERIALIEN LP (Musikerinituative RE records bootleg, Germany)

The Cramps-1976 DEMO SESSION LP (bootleg)

Patti Smith Group-RADIO ETHIOPIA CD (Arista Records)

Lou Reed-WORDS & MUSIC MAY 1965 CD (Light in the Attic Records)

The Seeds-A WEB OF SOUND 2-CD set (GNP Crescendo/Big Beat Records, England)

D.o.A THE THIRD AND FINAL REPORT OF THROBBING GRISTLE CD (Mute Records)

Pere Ubu-390 DEGREES OF SIMULATED SOUND LP (Rough Trade Records)

Various Artists-LE ROCK D'ICI A L'OLYMPIA LP (EMI Pathe Records, France)

James Chance & the Contortions-LIVE AUX BAINS DOUCHES CD (Ze Record)

The Deviants-DISPOSABLE CD (Captain Trip Records, Japan)

Brian Colligan's Mad Science-REALIZATION CD (Sirocco Music Limited Records)

Various Artists-DO WHAT THOU WILT LP (no label)

Bob Dylan-PASSED OVER AND ROLLING THUNDER 2-LP set (The Amazing Kornyfone Record Label bootleg)

Good Rats-RATS TO RICHES LP (Radar Records, England)

James Chance-"That's When Your Heartache Begins", "Schleyer's Tires"/"McGraw Army Base", "Theme From Grutzi Elvis" 12-inch EP (Ze Records, France)

Stan Bronstein/The Elephant's Memory Band-OUR ISLAND MUSIC LP (Muse Records)

Various Artists-NEW YORK REALLY HAS THE BLUES VOL. 1 LP (Spivey Records)

Sandy Bull-FANTASIAS FOR GUITAR AND BANJO LP (Alternative Fox Records)

Pink Floyd-OUTTAKES FROM OUTER SPACE CD (Hippy Shit Records bootleg, Israel)

Alice Cooper-PRETTIES FOR YOU/EASY ACTION CD (Retro Records, Germany)

Well, one thing's for certain and that is I can sure gauge the ebb 'n flow of my tastes this year watching 'em veer from free jazz to pop to the classical avgarde in a variety of choppy waves! And (undoubtedly) you can tell what groups I've been drooling about by matching my reviews from last year's posts with other efforts by THIS WEEK'S OBSESSION who made the turntable grade (i.e. Bolan, Flipper...). 

Gotta say that it is also interesting to note just how my own feelings regarding certain sounds can change as time goes on...f'r example during one listening sesh I found myself quite immersed in THE GRAND CANYON SUITE yet was not as up on Brian Sands' REHEATED CHOCOLATE TANGOES 12-inch 45 which is an all time top ten entry of mine. Maybe various environmental conditions had my nervous system re-aligned somewhat different than usual. The real unfortunate thing regarding my listening desires was my inability to find various efforts I was desperately needing to hear like the Black Oak Arkansas live album, Edgar Broughton's WASA WASA and the Kleiner's Kabalah Syringe burn which was one of my bigtime plays during the dreaded year of 2021.

But what I consider the best thing about this list is that most of the music that turns up is way way older than old, perhaps a good half-century at that which is fine considering how music as a heavy duty thrust ended for me when the hard-edged portion of the 1964-1981 generation of cataclysmic aesthetics gave way to a new era of glitz replacing blitz. In all it was sure fun digging through the collection glad in the fact that I own all of these wondrous slabs of sound, though pretty well miffed that I didn't have 'em all back when I was thirteen and really coulda used 'em!

***

Of course later than late, but here's the Christmas Card I got from the wonderful guys at Plug 'n Socket Records, home of the Droogs and some other acts that hopefully will be putting out more records as the days roll by. I dunno what the Greek here means one iota (even though I discovered that I do have Greek blood in me, and no back door jokes please) but if any of you out there are good translators please do tell me. Unless it's OBSCENE of course...I mean, I've heard about those Chinese tattoos people get which may look good but translate into some rather foul sentiments! And who can forget those English language t-shirts that the people wearing them over in Asia do not understand but would get them into plenty of hot water if they wore 'em over here! 

And guys, I hope that the posting of last year's card helped you move some records south of the border!

Sheesh, these guys were the only ones (other'n a few inside-the-circle types) to wish me a Merry Christmas! The rest of you can slam sharp sticks up your hershey highways, only I know you'll just love taking that suggestion to heart.

***

I managed to rope in some real sweeties for Christmas as well as actually purchased a number of pretty good lulus, all of which you can obviously read about directly below. Brad got me the Sweet LP while P.D. Fadensonnen was responsible for the Velvet Underground and Les Rallizes Denudes. (Still making my way through Robert Forward's various parcels which is a Herculean task as I love to say given how he splits 'em up and it ends up that I start off with one and can't find the other.) I snatched up the rest if only to prove that I'm really not as much of a grifter as many of you make me out to be. These reviews are gabbier than usual this time, but blame it on the cold weather forcing me to stay indoors more often.

Frank Zappa-THE HOT RATS SESSIONS 6-CD box set (Zappa Records)

Once I get Frank Zappa's condescending tone and egomania outta the way I find that I really can enjoy those early Mothers of Invention records despite knowing the fact that the guy sure wasn't one of the greater human beings to walk the fact of this earth. But then again are YOU??? Am """"""""I""""""""? Let's wait until all of the chips are cashed and maybe in 500 years look back and just see which of us were a finer example of humanity at its best.

Still, who reading this doesn't still enjoy those Zappa-related Bizarre-era trips into various sonic and societal reconstruction anyway? I sure do as the above list proves, and when it comes to Zappa I gotta admit that I find his last of the original Mothers/pre Flo and Eddie era the best era for the ol' stinkeroo. Of course I really like what Kaylan and Volman did for the act 'n all, but its platters like WEASELS RIPPED MY FLESH that continue to get me throbbin' fifty years after first lending ear to 'em. HOT RATS as well, and like if you too were a fan of this particular trip into what would eventually go under names like "jazz rock" and "fusion" well, you just might be in Hog Heaven getting hold of this six-disque fiftieth anniversary effort commemoration from '19 which gets low down about the tracks and sessions that eventually made up that interesting bit of aural latex solar beef.

Only the biggest of big Frank Zappa fans are gonna be able to stand listening to this in one, two or even more sittings but strangely enough I really enjoyed the various jamz and early workouts to be heard even if they do tend to go on longer than I'm sure the casual Zappa aficionado could possibly stand. Loads of surprises such as the facts that Ian Underwood was just as much a part of this as Zappa and that part of these sessions were passed off (without proper credit) on WEASELS, BURNT WEENY SANDWICH and CHUNGA'S REVENGE are finally brought to light, undoubtedly because Zappa's been dead for over thirty years and like who's gonna come after him this late in the game. Betcha Zappa didn't even pay royalties to everyone who popped up on those 'un's either. 

Even partial and basically unfinished numbers manage to sound whole and, at least for this shorter attention span than a flea's life scribe, they make for more than adequate backdrop for a variety of extracurricular activities from doing dishes to tidying up the house (and for you readers, less moral duties).

You also get the '87 remix which ain't as bad as those other late-eighties releases where Zappa redid most of the instrumental parts, as well as radio ads which I'll bet never aired in your local market and behind the scenes bric-a-brac relayed by Zappa and others. And to cap it all off the final dieque ties up loose ends the way I like complete with the story of Willy the Pimp as well as Captain Beefheart's vocal track for it and nothing but! 

The whole shebang even comes with a "Zappaland" board game (based on the album) which you could say is a CANDYLAND for aged heads which I find somewhat neat even if I wouldn't play it in a million years. But still, it reminds me of the nineties when bootleg CD sets were coming out with all sorts of enclosures and inspiring gimmicks the big guys shied away from and yeah, a good half-century ago it woulda seemed strange that someone would have even conceived of a Zappa board game in the first place but it sure is a neet-o thing to know one exists. Sorta.

***

THE SWEET LP (Bell Records)

People who are usually "in the know" and are thus to be looked up to by the rest of us used to kvetch about how the earlier portion of a decade was lousy for pop (or rock n roll if you so desire) but the later part was just gangbusters! Well, at least it was "true" as far as the fifties, sixties and seventies went...after that it was just a matter of the levels of unbearability that the music inflicted. NOTHING (at least of a up and in front of you value) was good anymore after that! But I do exaggerate...

I dunno if I really can follow the whole early part of decade bad/later part great line that's been passed off on us by many a rock critic who claims to know more that any of us do. Well, look at it through the mind of this definitely non-rockcrit expert...the early-sixties, oft used as an example of an era where teenbo pop was nothing but controlled and bland aural snooze, had some pretty hot records on and off the charts. By the latter portion of that decade things got kinda clogged up as anyone who was subjected to "Hey Jude" or "Aquarius" will tell you. Ditto the seventies...sure there were tons of exciting rock acts coming atcha during the latter part of the decade but you hadda really be in on the loop to know anything about even such commercial acts as the Ramones or Talking Heads, groups that were considered tres evil by the usual disco/AOR/slick country dolts I and undoubtedly you had to exist with! And living where I did, let me tell you that bands such as those might as well have been Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops as far as anyone around me was concerned because nobody I knew even knew who they existed, and if they did would have definitely loathed them!

These same nabobs will disagree, but there is no doubt that the early-seventies were more open to easily accessible rock n roll via the airwaves, with more top notch and downright lasting hits that anyone can imagine being played in somewhat heavy rotation. Sure you had the sudzy housewife music and Jesus Christ Superstar to contend with, but there were also the early glam rumblings, surprisingly good hard rock, pre-disco soul with passion and out-of-the-way surprises that made for a backdrop to some mighty fine comic book reading. And the Sweet really figured into it all, what with their singles that really hitcha in the ol' psyche and made channel shifting in the car oh so fun even if mom was getting more'n just irritated by it all.

This particular album was a Christmas gift from Brad Kohler and it sure is one present that really does make for some more than just passible listening pleasure even if I was expecting him to get me some Dinky Toys. Never had this 'un (sheesh, I don't even recall seeing it in the flea market piles of the day like I would the fantastic SUNSET BOULEVARD) so it is a welcome addition to my older than old collection. Besides, THE SWEET just goes to remind me that, although I once went into fits of rage hearing "Little Willy" over and over again when it first came out the song, the group and the entire glam punk genre really did say more to people like myself than the "safe" stuff that was being pushed ever did.

Really (no doubt about it), this is a non-stop example of what hard rock or heavy metal if you prefer was supposed to represent at the time, even more so than the fading Zep or Sabbath could hope to. Face it, those guys and the other metal mongers of the day were rusting away faster than a 1970 Thunderbird when the Sweet started to pop up, and for being a dreaded "bubblegum" group they sure proved that the pre-teenbo nose-picking suburban slobs who bought them records up were really hipper than alla them stoner boxboys ever were!

You get a whole buncha the biggies from "Little Willy" and "Blockbuster" to "Wig Wam Bam", and with these plus the unfamiliar yet potent sounds packing this such as the overlooked "Man From Mecca" you got an album from 1973 that stands with RAW POWER and the first Dolls as something that really does roar strongly against some of the more offal-like efforts many of you geriatric types hadda endure.

Only the swansong "You're Not Wrong For Loving Me" stenches on with its acoustic guitar strums and Orleans-like harmonies. Hate to know what the Sweet were thinking about including a track like that, but the rest of this just goes to remind me that for a spell some of the kids, and the ones you thought were total turds to begin with (y'know, straight "C" students) really were alright!

***

Alice Cooper-MICHIGAN 1970 CD (bootleg)

Given the lack of live Alice tapes from the EASY ACTION period albums like this one are definitely more than just "welcome" here at the BTC offices. MICHIGAN 1970 sounds typical audience cassette quality warped but it still packs a wallop even though only two tracks from ACTION are performed and one of 'em, "Mr. and Misdemeanor", ain't exactly one of the better ones that appeared on that classic slice of 60s/70s cusp high energy. Still, getting over the disappointment over the fact that tracks like "Below Your Means" or "Refrigerator Heaven" weren't included but eh, this show's still a fine bit of raw power. 

An early embryonic and strikingly different version of "Eighteen" pops up and we all know what a track like "Black Juju" would come off live after seeing the MIDSUMMER'S ROCK special, but you'll want to hear it all anyway because they sounded good to you then and they undoubtedly sure do now. By the way, "Black Juju" contains a load of "Lay Down and Die, Goodbye" making for a quite surprising and unique listening experience if I do say so myself.

Just give it a whirl and it's not hard to see why so many people "in the know" from Lester Bangs and Mick Farren to Greg Shaw were placing hefty bets on Alice being the Next Big Thing in this sphere we call hard-edged rock 'n roll. Like T. Rex, these guys were just too good to make it huge but they managed to helping to make the seventies a great place to tune into any decent local station. Like I said in the Sweet review above, were the early-seventies really inferior to the latter part of that decade? 

***

Les Rallizes Denudes-CRITICAL TRIP - LIVE KOKUMEIKEN, TOKYO 13/03/1987 LP (Survival Research Records, Australia)

It is amazing that these Les Rallizes Denudes albums with fresh material are continuing to make their way out even a good twentysome years after the original Denudes onslaught of records began appearing,  And hey, what else can anyone add to the litany or praise regarding this group and the plethora of primal pumping under-the-underground music that this group managed to unleash for almost three decades? 

The recent release's as good as any true-blue fan'd hope what with Mizutani and company's amazing abilities to keep alive the psychedelic age well beyond what any reasonable person woulda thought was its natural lifespan, and it sure is swell to know that throughout this time the sound sway and style remained untouched, making me wish that many other acts remained stagnant in their original glory w/o progressing onto rather trite musical tangents the way too many once-vibrant aggros did. Worth it especially for the very upbeat prelude to the traditional set closer "The Last One" with an electronic repeato drone that reminds me of the conclusion of "Ladytron"!

The locked groove ending drone a la METAL MACHINE MUSIC is great too...just don't let it play on and on lest you cut straight through the vinyl right into your turntable!

***

The Beatles-ANTHOLOGY 2 2 CD-r set (originally on EMI Records)

It would figure that "Real Love" sounds more like post-Wood ELO than it does the Beatles. And fans were waiting decades for this? Only goes to show you just how numbed some of the more hippified peacenlove corners of the Beatles fan base could get. Y'know, the ones who for years looked like they coulda been characters in DOONESBURY 'r somethin' with their sports jackets that have the elbow patches. The kind that used to religiously watch 60 MINUTES and WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE CLASS OF '64. Real Garrison Keillor types.

The rest's a mix of Beatlemania-era television and studio efforts as well as a hunk of PEPPER stuff that'll thrill fans of that album (who look like they coulda been characters in DOONESBURY of course). Yeah it's an interesting selection of rarities and different versions that you've heard on bootlegs for years on end true, but frankly at this point in time I think I've heard enough Beatles to last me ten lifetimes. 

***

The Grateful Dead-BIRTH OF THE DEAD 2-CD set (Rhino Records)

After reading more and more about that long strange trip I really couldn't give one whit about I gotta say that after all's said and done it really does seem as if Pigpen was the only real hero in the entire Grateful Dead saga! While the rest of the group were blowing their minds on illicit chemicals Pigpen was drinking himself to death (which some might think is a more romantic way to go...me, eh!), and when the guy refused to progress from his simple ? and the Mysterians-styled organ playing they hadda slowly phase him out with the more proficient Tom Constanten before the Pig's booze-related condition sidelined the guy for good. Fact is, the Pig was the de-facto head, face and even body of the Dead but Jerry Garcia and the rest just weren't letting his lack of proficiency keep 'em from explorin' alla them psychedelic journeys what with the guy's punk rock tendencies gettin' in the way!

You've probably already heard the first disque in this package. It's taken from those Scorpio and Autumn Records demos recorded '65 way that have been bootlegged to death, and if you don't think that I think this is the only Dead worth lending ear to you are most certainly in the wrong. This is the group at their most listenable, sounding more like contenders for inclusion on NUGGETS rather than the psychodouchebags they became what with the comparatively "primitive" teenybop tunes and naturally Pigpen's portable organ playing. 

At this point the Dead's sound fit in perfectly with the jangly folk rockin' Autumn Records style, and to upset any of the more astrological types who may have tuned into this blog be aware that these guys were closer in spirit to the clean cut and matching suit and tie Beau Brummels which, if you were a resident of the Haight at the time, woulda been about as cool as sounding like Jan Garber. But for me songs like "Confusion's Prince" and "Can't Come Down" are primo examples of a whole load of the fun and jamz that the mid-sixties had to offer for suburban slob kids whose main connection with the outside world was daily viewings of WHERE THE ACTION IS.

The live 'un doesn't quite light me up...not that they're downright evil but these tracks, just like all of the other live tunes these guys were cranking out in the mid-sixties, really aren't that potent. Proficient maybe, but proficiency never did cut it with any of those scraggly mid-sixties (or later) punk types anyway. Face it, the Dead live weren't anything to really roar about...they were good and at times could produce energetic performances, but compared with an act such as the Thirteenth Floor Elevators or even those loathed "teenyboppers" the Seeds (an act who really had the teenbo guys and gals frothing at the mouth crazy...just ask John Cale) these toons do come off somewhat pedestrian. They're nice and worth keeping on the turntable but sheesh when you look at some of the competition these guys really do not stack up.

BIRTH OF THE DEAD is still a worthwhile pick up for any true blue BLOG TO COMM tuner-inner if only for those who haven't heard the demos. Live stuff...well, it does make for a somewhat toe-tapping time but kinda think of it as the free fortune cookie you get after a great Chinese meal...nothing special but it comes with the rest so eat 'em. In all these recordings prove that maybe Pigpen shoulda remained the head of the Dead and if so maybe the trajectory woulda gone in a quite different (and more rock 'n roll attuned) direction. But somehow I doubt it.

***

The Velvet Underground and Nico-SEPT 1966 - PROVINCETOWN MA, CHRYSLER ART MUSEUM EPI PERFORMANCE CD-r burn

And now for a completely different set of Warlocks! Crawling out of the woodwork are some more of these crucial early Velvet Underground recordings which surprisingly enough continue to be discovered long after we all thought the well went dry. Naturally this particularly primitive effort's something that all of you long-time Velvets maniacs will cherish hearing despite the Flintstones-level audience sound.

We get the familiar as well as some surprises (like two versions of "Little Sister", both unfortunately cut off before completion) as well as first album familiarities that still wiggle them nodes the way they did way back when you first heard them. Other beautiful moments include strange comments regarding the EPI visuals being shown while the music roars on, not forgetting some guy introducing the group while describing their attire as if some hip haberdashery was actually sponsoring 'em. 

The chic mystique and general might that made the Velvet Underground such an under-the-counterculture force is evident despite all the complications. Arrhythmic and atonal instrumental music fills the gaps between songs taking off from where "Noise" began and, given just how much we ALL could have used this way back when the corpse was still fresh, these songs do have a certain spiritual affectation to them that is just as hit you in the ribs hard as it was back '80 way when albums like ETC. sure seemed like the missing piece in the puzzle for stranded suburban slobs such as myself! I'm sure that longtime fans already know what to do now, eh? Good luck searchin'---you'll need it.

***

Never what you would call anybody's fave fanzine ever, BLACK TO COMM was a rag that didn't but shoulda gotten whatch'd call heavy duty hosannas as far as these olde tymey kitchen table-produced efforts go. Was it the lack of money (working on an extremely penny-pinching shoestring budget) or was it my propensity to irritate a good portion of my readership whether intentionally or not (usually the former). If you want to see why for yourself well, what is keeping you?