Friday, December 26, 2008

Friday Morning Cartunes...December 26, 2008

Vibravoid - Christmas On Earth...+ (Nasoni) 7"
Keiji Heino - A Secret...excerpt (Swordfish) LP
Vibravoid - Save My Soul...+ (Nasoni) 7"
Julian Cope - Psychedelic Odin (Head Heritage) CD
Bert Jansch - The Bright New Year (Earmark) LP
Davey Graham - Black Is The Colour Of My True Loves Hair (Stamford Audio) LP
Headdress - Skydye (Mexican Summer) LP
Howlin' Rain - Wild Life (3 Lobed) LP
Weldon Irvine - Walk That Walk; Talk That Talk (BMG) LP
Blackbirds - Give Me Freedom (Long Hair) LP
Omar Rodriguez Lopez - Mexico / El Monte T'ai (N20) LP
Exploding Meet - Mutants (Look For The Flare) CD
Circle - Meronia (Ektro) CD
Dragontears - Masters Of War (Bad Afro) LP
Rod Stewart - Cindy's Lament (Vertigo) LP
Jade - Away From The Family (Lightning Tree) CD
L.A. Getaway - Ole Man Trouble (Atco) LP
Che - The Day The Pirate Retired (Low Desert Punk) LP
Nebula - Carpe Diem (Sweet Nothing) LP
Colour Haze - Lights (Elektrohasch) CD
Wax Attic - Jessie Spano (indie) LP
Mothers Of The Lower East Side - Chores Of Various Design (indie) CD
"the band whose name is a symbol" - Suburst Finish (pre-release) cdr
Acid Mothers Temple - Light My Fireball (Bambalam) CD
Zone Six - Something's Missing (Sulatron) CD
Graveyard - Blue Soul (Tee Pee) CD

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Top Releases 2008

Acid Mothers Temple - Cometary Orbital Drive Bambalam CD
Ancestors - Neptune With Fire North Atlantic Sound LP
Brant Bjork - Punk Rock Guilt Low Desert Punk LP
Black Mountain - Into The Future Jagjaguwar LP
Blood Ceremony - S/T Rise Above LP
Boris - Smile Southern Lord LP
Burning Saviours - Nymphs & Weavers Blood Rock LP
Cloudland Canyon - Lie In Light Kranky LP
Colour Haze - All Elektrohasch LP
Julian Cope - Black Sheep Head Heritage CD
Dragontears - Tambourine Freak Machine Bad Afro LP
Dungen - 4 Subliminal Sounds LP
Earth - Bees Made Honey Inside... Southern Lord LP
Eden Express - Que Amors Que Holy Mountain LP
Endless Boogie - Focus Level No Quarter LP
H.Espvall/M.Batoh - S/T Drag City LP
Josephine Foster - This Coming Gladness(Bo'Weavil) LP
Grails - Take Refuge In The Clean Important LP
Grails - Doomsdayers Holiday Temporary Residence LP
Grand Magus - Iron Will Rise Above LP
Graveyard - S/T Tee Pee LP
Grey - Sisters Of The Wyrd (Kreation) LP
Hellacopters - Head Off Wild Kingdom LP
El Hombre Mysterioso - (Nasoni) LP
Howlin Rain - Magnificent Fiend Birdman LP
Leadfinger - Rich Kids (Bang) CD
Linus Pauling Quartet - All Things Are Light Camera Obscura LP
M.Mucci - Under The Tulip Tree Tall House Recording Co. CD
Nebula - Peel Sessions (Sweet Nothing) LP
Oresund Space Collective - Inside Your Head Sulatron CD
Pack - Funeral Mix Tape Mint LP
Plastic Crimewave Sound - S/T Eclipse LP
Pontiak - Sun On Sun Thrill Jockey LP
Wayne Rogers - Infinite For Now Twisted Village LP
Sienna Root - Far From The Sun Headspin LP
Space Debris - Elephant Moon Indie LP
Sword - Gods Of The Earth Kemado LP
Sunn O)) - Domkirke (Southern Lord) LP
Alexander Tucker - Portal ATP LP
Ufomammut - Idolum Supernatural Cat LP
Vibravoid - The Politics Of Ecstasy Nasoni LP
Zaphire Oktalogue - S/T (Nasoni) LP

Friday, December 19, 2008

Friday Morning Cartunes...December 19, 2008

Sunn O)) - Why Dost Thou Hide Thyself In Clouds ? (Southern Lord) LP
Circle - Havuporti (No Quarter) CD
Peter Leopold - Serpentine Lane (Gear Fab) LP
Emmanuelle Parrinen - Topaze (Lion) LP
Dungen - Finns Det Nagon Moulighet (Subliminal Sounds) LP
Crazy Dreams Band - Nightcrawler (Holy Mountain) LP
Josephine Foster - All I Wanted Was The Moon (Bo'Weavil) LP
Spyrogyra - Dangerous Dave / Van Allen's Belt (Timeless) LP
Calliope - California Dreaming (Buddah) LP
Karen Dalton - In A Situation (Light In The Attic) LP
Karen Beth - Something To Believe In (Decca) LP
Anne Briggs - Wishing Well (4Men With Beards) LP
Damon & Naomi - Once More (20 20 20) LP
Serena Maneesh -Sapphire Eyes (Playlouderrecordings) LP
Dragontears - The River (Bad Afro) LP
May Blitz - The 25th Of December, 1969 (Akarma) LP
Graveyard - Blue Soul (Tee Pee) CD
Witchcraft - Queen Of Bees (Rise Above) CD
Nebula - The One (Sweet Nothing) LP
Leadfinger - Bad Penny (Bang) CD
The Bevis Frond - The Wind Blew All Around Me (Flydaddy) CD
Hawkwind - Night Of The Hawks (Flicknife) 12"
Acid Mothers Temple - Brainstorm (Trensmat) 7"
Kinski - Master Of The Universe (Trensmat) 7"
Mudhoney - Urban Guerilla (Trensmat) 7"
Space Ritual - Otherworld (Esoteric) CD
Julian Cope - Come The Revolution (Head Heritage) CD
TK Webb & The Visions - God Bless The Little Angels (Kemado) LP
Earthless - Sonic Prayer...Live (Tee Pee) LP

Friday, December 12, 2008

Friday Morning Cartunes...December 12, 2008

Amon Duul II - Hawknose Harlequin (UA) LP
Krokodil - Odyssey In Om (Second Battle) CD
Material - Memory Serves (Elektra Musician) LP
Circle - Luikertelevat (No Quarter) CD
"the band whose name is a symbol" - Proglodyte (pre-release) cdr
Triple Burner - Kelvin Says / The Wherewithal (Madrona) LP
The Green Mist - Black Louie's Ambergris (Bang) CD
TK Webb & The Visions - Dreen Drone Death / 1000 Horns (Kemado) LP
Jane - Daytime (Brain) CD
Vibravoid - The Politics Of Ecstasy / Doris Delay (Nasoni) LP
El Hombre Misterioso - Lo Solido Se Desvanece (Nasoni) LP
Zaphire Oktalogue - Data Burst Over Bradford (Nasoni) LP
White Hills - Walking Uphill Against The Wind (indie) LP
Grails - Origin-ing (Temporary Residence) LP
Tom Carter - Royal Bel Air (Important) LP
Big Jeezus Truck - Rock 'N' Roll Bruises (advance) cdr
Elias Hulk - Rock 'N' Roll Life (Indie) CD
Earthless - Godspeed (Tee Pee) LP
Julian Cope - The Subtle Energies Commission (Island) CD
Crawlspace - Dancing In Your Head (Theme from a Symphony by Ornette Coleman) (Behemoth) 10"
Cold Sun - Fall (World In Sound) LP

Monday, December 8, 2008

Elias Hulk "Unfinished Business"

In October of 2007 I received an email of thanks For airing a piece of music from a gentleman by the name of Bernie James, drummer for a great and long gone English quintet called Elias Hulk. I thought this was pretty cool as I have been a fan of the groups lone 1970 release for quite sometime. I first ran across Elias Hulk as an aficionado of early 70's hard rock on a comp tape in the early 80's that a friend had made for me. Re-issued 1st in the 80's it wasn't until 4 years ago that I finally tracked down a euro vinyl issue on Astrozombie from some dude in Greece I think. BGO records in the UK released an official re-mastered cd version in 2007 which I have been carrying in the shop since and still spin and sell regularly. Elias Hulk were a very short lived band but their album "Unchained" from back in the day is a testament to the many young bands influenced by others and their surroundings who made their mark willingly and presumably for themselves without too many expectations. Their music was a raw combination of fairly blistering progressive-hard rock-blues and you can name drop the comparisons to Sabbath, Leaf Hound, Groundhogs, Ten Years After etc if you need too. Bernie and I struck up a dialogue and lo and behold, 38 years later, I hold a newly released official 3-song cd by Elias Hulk. Now a 4-piece with 3 album period Hulks and guitarist/singer Phil Clough (Elias Hulk '71 post LP), Bernie and the boys kick it old school all these years later with some pretty solid gusto. "Unfinished Business" leads off with "Beneath My Disguise" a great little number with some funky keys and snaking guitar interplay, solid blues leads and a pumping rhythm section. "Rock 'N' Roll Life" has a lazy rocking lope which makes me think a little of Creedence, Stones circa "Exile" and all things R&R! A perfect in the pub, beer drinkin' nugget. The eps closer, a cut entitled "Heroes" has a sadness too it from the opening progression of keys and vocals and the anthemic soaring guitar chords. The song deals with the subject of fallen comrades in arms in music and hits all the rights chords in all respects. Congrats guys and welcome to the new millennium!

Friday, December 5, 2008

Friday Morning Cartunes...December 5, 2008

Jack Rose - Cathedral et Chartres (3 Lobed) LP
M. Mucci - Eramosa (Tall House Recording Co.) CD
Mark Carmody - Birds Of Grey (demo) cdr
Plastic Crimewave Sound -The Pasture (Eclipse) LP
Beld - Silver Slide (demo) cdr
Snakefinger - Golden Goat (Ralph) LP
Alexander Tucker - You Are Many (ATP) LP
Six Organs Of Admittance - It Was Written (Durtro) 7"
Julian Cope - Safesurfer (Island) CD
Mighty Baby - Jug Of Love (Sunbeam) LP
Jade -Bad Magic (Lightning Tree) CD
Anne Briggs - The Snow It Melts The Soonest (4Men) LP
Spirit - Aren't You Glad (Columbia) LP
Circle - Tuhat (Ektro) CD
Omar Rodriguez Lopez - City Dreams Inside A Truck (Infrasonic) LP
Scientists - A Place Called Bad (Sub Pop) CD
Nebula - Cosmic Egg (Sweet Nothing) 7"
JT IV - Destructo Rock (Galactic Zoo Disk) LP
Arbouretum - Time Doesn't Lie (Thrill Jockey) LP
Edgar Broughton Band - Smokestack Lightning (Harvest) CD
The Uncooperatives - Pressure Cooker (Indie) CD
Big Jeezus Truck - Its Not Me (It's You) (Retox) CD
Che - Sounds Of Liberation (Man's Ruin) CD
Magnolia - Tag dig sjalv i kragen (Transubstans) CD
Gas Giant - Too Stoned (Loudsprecher) CD
Oresund Space Collective - Fornix (Sulatron) CD
ST Mikael -Higher (Subliminal Sounds) LP

Friday, November 28, 2008

Friday Morning Cartunes...Nov. 28, 2008

Floh De Cologne - La Grande Tristesse(Requiem) ZYX LP
Achim Reichel - Tanz Der Vogel In Den Winden (Zebra) LP
Electric Orange - Schatten (Sulatron) CD
Julian Cope - Preaching Revolution (Head Heritage) 7"
Karen Beth - Come December (Decca) LP
Linda Perhacs - Moons & Cattails (Guerssen) LP
Spirogyra - World's Eyes (Timeless) LP
Malicorne - La Fille Aux Chansons (Gamma) LP
Sunray - Ocean (Earworm) 12"
Dungen - Mina Damer Och Fasaner (Subliminal Sounds) LP
Clutchy Hopkins - 4:08 (Cratedigger) LP
Omar Rodriguez Lopez - Of Ankles To Stone (Infrasonic) LP
Circle - Mercy & Tuesday (Ektro) CD
Grails - Predesination Blues (Temporary Residence) LP
Suishou no Fune - Till We Meet Again (Holy Mountain) LP
Thunderbolt Pagoda - Horizon On Fire (Mutant Music) LP
Earthless - Blue (Tee Pee) LP
White Wires - Stayed Up Late / Yeah Yeah... (Going Gaga) LP
Awesome Color - Outside Tonight (American Dust) LP
TK Webb & The Visions - Shame (Kemado) LP
Magnolia - Kung Bore (besegrad) (Transubstans) CD
Pentagram - Walk In The Blue Light (Relapse) CD
Burning Saviours - Looking After The Phyre (Transubstans)
Zaphire Oktalogue - Carrion Fly (You're Adorable) (Nasoni)LP
Quicksilver Messenger Service - The Fool (Capitol) LP

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

A Few Hot New Items.....

Ronnie Hayward - Hobo Son 12" vinyl only Canadian release of epic hurtin country and rockabilly proportion....sellin like hot cakes on a cattle drive. Ronnie sounds like his heart done got busted again and his stand up bass and voice takes the point on homeon every number. Solid, live backing by a band from Calgary, AB called 5 Star Homeless...that'll flat git it!

Giant Sand - Provisions 2 x LP set on... Yep Roc(home of the has beens?) Not a chance ! Howe now joins the ranks of Dave Alvin, Robyn Hitchcock and John Doe to name but a few on the label. This new outing sounds like classic Giant Sand from "back in the day". Full musically speaking and with the witty insight Gelb always provides as the true scribe he is. Desert soaked, sunny and dry...Truly Provisional!!

Funkadelic - Toys A monster UK release on wax and cd giving us all a batch of previously unissued trax from the ultimate psych funk practitioners. No duds, only buds! This has been a long time comin! More trax on cd than wax....oh well what can ya do?

RaTX - Got Live.....Drag City releases a 3rd album from Jenny Herema ex of Royal Trux....god damn this broad has a howl and a half! She's got a full metal jacket of a band as well, who sturm and twang the rawk from sleazy start to sleazy finish! Can you say Yowza!

White Wires - S/T.....Local label Going Gaga Records, vinyl only and ltd to 325 copies, silk screened cover. Power pop, rockin trio with Ian Manhire (guitar, voice), Luke(ex-MDMarxists on bass) and Ally(Felines) on drums. Manhire is the new hope in Fat Cat city with his record label and the bands he's in and the young and old he inspires....this lp is cut classic late 70's style with one foot in KBD punk and the other in pure catchy pop. Pogo till ya puke!

Nerves - One Way Ticket....this anticipated release is on Alive/Bomp and it features the legendary trio of Peter Case, Paul Collins and Jack Lee. Lee wrote "Hanging On The Telephone"...covered hit wise by Blondie way back in the day. This record sizzles with energy... studio, live and demo material and so far ltd. to 500 color wax beauties.....sold alot last week.....kinda stuff bands like White Wires draw their breath on!

Neko Case - Tigers Have Spoken......better late than never VINYL version....ltd heavy tip on style gatefold sleeve with star studed supporting cast....her best ever....maybe?

Lucinda Williams - Little Honey.....double LP set for under 20 bux!!!!!....hot and like Mr. Hayward way back there, sellin like hot cakes......

Shawn Lee and Clutchy Hopkins - Clutch Of The Tiger.....moody, dark, spare and funky on all levels.... mostly instrumental epic double lp and single cd....just as mysterious as before on the Luv & Haight label.

Brant Bjork - Punk Rock Guilt ....finally gettin it in on wax and after sellin a bucket on cd since april, yer 12" petroleum based thirst may now be quenched....easily one of the most stoned top 10 releases of the year.........Monsta grooves babies!

Graham Day & The Gaolers - Triple Distilled... Graham(Buff Medways, Prisoners, Planet, Solarflares - to name a few) roars back with his 2nd for the godlike uk label Damaged Goods. It's a power trio he fronts with a Woggle or two so the pedigree means awesome Medway garage wallop! The getting better with age thing is proved agin!!

Friday, November 21, 2008

Friday Morning Cartunes... November 21, 2008

John Handy & Ali Akbar Khan - The Soul & The Atma (BASF) LP
Steve Hillage - Garden Of Paradise (Virgin) LP
Josephine Foster - All I Wanted Was The Moon (Bo'Weavil) LP
Octopus Syng - Square Tragedy (Nasoni) CD
Crazy Dreams Band - Asian Rollers (Holy Mountain) LP
Alexander Tucker - Husks (ATP) LP
National Health - Squarer For Maude (Charly) LP
Third Ear Band -Dragon Lines (Harvest) LP
Pentangle - The Snows(Reprise) lp
Pererin - Teithgan(Guerssen) Lp
Man - We're Only Children (UA) LP
Family - A Song For Me (Reprise) LP
RaTX - Too Badd (Drag City) LP
After Tea - Jointhouse Blues (Progressive Line) CD
Troyka - Natural (Cotillion) LP
Neutral Spirits - Can't Leave It This Way (Void) LP
Lost & Found - Living Eye (Decal) LP
Headdress - Moon Of Sheding Ponies (Mexican Summer) LP
Grails - Acid Rain (Temporary Residence) LP
Birds Of Avalon - Shakey Tiger (Volcom) LP
Eden Express - Kaleidoscope (Holy Mountain) LP
Causi Sui - Soledad (Elektrhasch) LP
Elder - Ghost Head (Meteor City) CD
Heavy Winged - Gruesome Pillow Talk (3 Lobed) LP

Monday, November 17, 2008

Plastic Crimewave Sound...NO show

As many may know, Plastic Crimewave Sound and Mondo Drag were turned away at the border last Thursday due to"shoddy" paperwork and could not appear as scheduled at the Dominion Tavern. This had nothing to do with Ottawa, the problem lay elsewhere. "the band whose name is a symbol" played an ear-splitting 2 hour set of instro-rock befitting their style and the 75 + crowd in attendance got their bang for $5 ! All expenses were covered and the group express their heartfelt thanks to all who witnessed and for the overwhelming positive response for the bands 2nd performance. The last time my ears rang like that was post Acid Mothers Temple 'o7. I also have heard that PCS will reschedule and play Ottawa in the not to distant future. In the meantime track down their 3rd self titled album on the Eclipse label as it's truly killer. Birdman is currently out of stock but more should be arriving soon.

State Of The Vinyl Nation

I've been yappin' my theories in the shop for the last few months and think now, I should probably get this down and out so you can all chew on this for a bit....The vinyl comeback...? What exactly does this entail? When I opened this shop in 1991 people thought I was nuts! Firstly, I opened in "tough economic times" (gee... sound familiar?). Secondly I was damn determined to carry NO mainstream crap and flog mostly vinyl and its the second half of this that could of had me "certified"! Back in 91' there were still lots of indie labels releasing lots of vinyl around the globe but it was the major labels with all the "classic" and "vaulted" stuff that had really tightened the noose on a well rounded selection of wax. European major releases were hard to come by and really expensive and many "casual" music consumers were making the switch even if unwillingly to cd. Why on earth would you pay $30 or more for Tom Waits "The Black Rider" on vinyl, when you could get the cd for $10 or less?. Even the indies who normally released a fair amount of vinyl would sometimes not put the wax out and only offer the digital format. I guess each full length release would merit pre-thought..."does this artist have a market on vinyl, now, anymore or in the future". On hindsight I think this "process" was smart in some cases and for sure, economically driven. In any event, the "comeback" of the 12" petroleum based format has been ongoing for about 6 years now near as I can estimate and "comeback" is little more than a catchphrase to get interest up. There's no doubt however that over the last few year ends that the LP has figured in a small percentage of total year end results in terms of mass consumption numbers. I think I prefer the term "resurgence" to the format for a number of reasons. There are alot more records getting released the last 2 or 3 years and this past year in particular, both on the new release front and the reissue front. The key factors pertain to the demographics. "Kids" 13-20 are buying wax it seems and of course not all, but they seem to vocally express their interest and the word "cool" is also often attached when making a purchase. Even a number of them echo the "sounds better than cd" claim and whether this is simple parroting or in the scientific comparison category, remains to be seen. In the end, it in fact, matters not! Believe me, this age group were NOT, by and large buying vinyl when I opened in 91'! The other demo is the return of the45-60 year olds to vinyl. Common scenario's are "set up the in storage turntable" and "got my records out of the attic." This demographic also now have the time and some money to spend cuz the "kids are all but growed up or at the very least teens (and likely plundering Mom and Dad's Dylan and Clash records"!....it's another circle.....! Sadly this crowd all to commonly express their sorrow at "dumping" their records back in the day and many feel rrather silly for it at the same time. Oh well, some lessons are learned the hard way. I should point out as well that no matter the age, those that bought wax pre-88" and maintained the love of music have never stopped buying. The lp was never totally extinct...it just went into hiding.
Look, there's no shortage of used turntables, new or used in all manors and cost and if ya dig music there's still ton's of relatively cheap used wax out there and as I've said no shortage of new pressings either. Right now the major labels are flooding the record pressing plants with tons of orders and creating large traffic jams (a real drag on the indies who never gave up the cause to begin with), with release delays a plenty! I don't think there's a person around that could have predicted the amount of vinyl that has or will be released as of late and I tell you there is no sign of it slowing down.
One thing to keep in mind though is that no matter what gets put out it's all pretty limited by any standard and you still have to remember..."you snooze you loose"... in very many cases. When tracking down records from the used bins, particularly out of print titles, the fun or thrill is in the hunt and many releases once common are now truly getting scarce. You have to go shopping often to get what you want, records do not grow on trees. I highly except that the majors don't have freakin' clue though on what they should actually be re-releasing...a few truly classic albums have been done but so far there's some really seriously large voids that need to be filled and many are as obvious as the nose on the face! Given the fact that the majors since the early 80's have bitched about "bad business" does not reassure me of the right choices that will be made for reinventing the 12" wheel so to speak.....I got a great idea...give me a call...I can tell you what to do and where to go! No matter what though, happy hunting, there's tons of amazing music out there and all yours to discover!

Friday, November 14, 2008

Friday Morning Cartunes... November 14th 2008

Dedicated to Miriam Makeba and Mitch Mitchell...RIP........look for the flare...

Ravi Shankar - Raga Kirwana (World Pacific) LP
Suarasama - Lebah (Drag City) LP
Jack Rose - Calais To Dover (3 Lobed) LP
Cowboy Junkies - Crossroads (Latex) LP
Grey - Fields Of Grey (Kreation) LP
Dragontears - Masters Of War (Bad Afro) CD
Dungen - Mina Damer Och Fasaner (Subliminal Sounds) LP
The Free Pop Electronic Concept - Chewing Gum Delirium (Wah Wah/Vampi Soul) LP
Scott Bradford - Samsara (Probe) LP
Maurice McIntyre - Life Force (Delmark) LP
Muddy Waters - Bottom Of The Sea (Cadet) LP
RATX - You Should Shut Up (Drag City) LP
Electric Orange - Schrasng (Sulatron) CD
Peter Green - Bottoms Up (Reprise) LP
Chicken Shack - If I Were A Carpenter (Deram) LP
Jimi Hendrix - The Wind Cries Mary (Reprise) LP
Alasehir - Bone Fire...excerpt (Important) CD
Elder - Riddle Of Steel Pt. 1 (Meteor City) CD
Titan - Pilzmarmelade Pt. 1 (Wakusei) LP
Church Of Misery - Born To Raise Hell (Kult Of Nihilow) LP
Hawkwind - Magnu (UA) LP

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Thanks...

I would like to thank the 68 people who donated to CKCU-FM in our annual funding drive, showing their love for "Friday Morning Cartunes" and the station. Over the course of my last 3 shows (10.5 hours of quality radio), you responded with a collective effort totaling $ 4081.00 ! That's $ 388.00 per hour........THANK YOU ALL !

Friday, November 7, 2008

Friday Morning Cartunes...November 7th 2008

Brother JT - Medication (Birdman) CD
Snakefinger - The Model (Ralph) LP
Goon Moon - Apple Pie (Black Diamond) LP
Alexander Tucker - Poltergeists Grazing (ATP) LP
Dino Valente - My Friend (Epic) LP
Rodriguez - Sugar Man (Light In The Attic) LP
Mooseheart Faith - Golden Light (De Milo) LP
Jimi Hendrix Experience - If 6 Was 9 (Track) LP
Merryweather, Richardson & Boers - City Boy (Kent) LP
Jukka Tolonen - Silva The Cat (Janus) LP
Eloy - Through A Somber Galaxy (Harvest) LP
Cave - Hunt Like Devil (Permanent) LP
Miasma - Rabbits Foot (Rise Above) LP
Dungen - Finns Det Nagon Mojlighet (Subliminal Sounds) LP
Grails - Doomsdayer's Holiday (Social Registry) LP
Dragontears -The River (Bad Afro) CD
Vibravoid - Incense & Peppermints (Nasoni) LP
Che - Sounds Of Liberation (Low Desert Punk) LP
Oresund Space Collective - Optic Chiasm (Sulatron) CD
"the band whose name is a symbol" - God II (pre-release) CDR
Plastic Crimewave Sound - Giant's Eyes (Eclipse) LP
Debris - Tricia (Anopheles) LP
Kawaguchi Masami's New Rock Syndicate - Theme From... (Palindrone) LP
Steve Lacy - Forest (ESP-Disk) LP
Ronnie Hayward & Five Star Homeless - The Hobo Son / All Alone Blues (Smokin' Ace) LP

Monday, November 3, 2008

Sad News...

Detroit rhythm and blues legend Nathaniel Mayer passed on from our world on Sunday, Nov.2/08. Nat had suffered a stroke earlier this spring. It saddened me greatly when I saw the email that Ian Jeans forwarded me this morning. Not that I knew Nathaniel well, I did, as some know, have him on the Birdman Stage at Bluesfest in 2004. I thought he was totally the coolest, lotsa attitude but super genuine and a real card. Jeff Meier (Rocket 455 etc.) had called me months before the festival to urge me to book Nathaniel. I jumped at the suggestion and confirmed his appearance within days. I had heard he had lived pretty rough and had been likely screwed by various people who "handled" him, cashing in of course on the legendary singer status from days gone by ("Village Of Love" early 60's). His performance that day was great and the crowd loved him! Roughly a year or so ago, Nat's "Why Don't You Give It To Me" on the Alive record was released and it's a great one! Backed by a group of the Detroit underground garage rock constabulary this is a fitting tribute to a true legend. I'll never forget shaking Nat's hand late on the night of his bluesfest set and with his white 3-piece suit, ball cap purched on head, cigarette in mouth, he said to me all gravely voiced..."thanks man and I'm taking the rest of the beer back to the hotel, cuz we're gonna party". The image of him heading off in the dark with a green garbage bag full of warm Coors light is something I'll always remember....it was hilarious! Nat I hope you find peace in the valley as well as some cold brews.....to all of his friends and musical accomplices, my deepest sympathies.

Friday, October 31, 2008

Friday Morning Cartunes Oct. 31, 2008......Doom

UR - Halloween (indie) 7"
Flower Travellin' Band - Black Sabbath (Lion) CD
Black Sabbath - Behind The Wall Of Sleep (Earmark) LP
Graveyard - As The Years Pass By, The Hours Bend (Tee Pee) CD
Burning Saviours - The Giant (Rise Above) 7"
Entombed - Black JuJu (Man's Ruin) CD
Earthride - Vampire Circus (Southern Lord) CD
Cloudland Canyon/Lichens - Exterminating Angel Part !! (Holy Mountain) LP
Witchcraft - I Know You Killed Someone (Rise Above) 7"
Jerusalem - She Came Like A Bat From Hell (Grabaciones) CD
Hairy Chapter - There's A Kind Of Nothing (Second Battle) CD
Toner Low - Evil Machinery On The Rise (Freebird) LP
Village Of Dead Roads - Descendants Of The Dendrites (Meteor City) CD
Place Of Skulls - Darkest Hour (Exile On Mainstream) CD
Blood Ceremony - The Rare Lord (Rise Above) LP
Cathedral - Dearth AD / Tree Of Life & Death (Nuclear Blast) LP
Grand Magus - Chooser Of The Slain (Rise Above) LP
Eternal - Electric Funeral (Rise Above) LP
Mourn - Children Of The Circle (Rise Above) LP
Pandemonica - Heaven's Gate (Pan) LP
Excalibur - Light In The Dark (Retro Disc) CD
Acid King - Four Minutes (Man's Ruin) CD
Electric Wizard - Wizard In Black (Rise Above) LP
Ufomammut - Blind (Rocket) LP
Acrimony - 100 New Gods (Leaf Hound) CD

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Local Yokels...Garaga

Well, officially in the last 12 month period I think there's been 11-13 local artists release an actual vinyl LP !!! If this is the "comeback" of vinyl then I would say that a number of us here in Ottawa at least, have embraced the thought in some way. Garaga have been working there craft for well over a year or so now and it's nice that they have properly documented this existence with a record (in both senses of the word). Depending on your opinion of caliber, the pedigree involved here is most definitely a "dedicated rock 'n' roll soldiers" kinda thing. Neanderthal Sponge, Harshy, Werbo, Stand GT, MS Gesus, Polaris and King Kung are a smattering of the members various tours of duty. Whether you know any of the groups previous efforts is of little consequence as the group stand well enough on their own merits. Having said that, Garaga to my ears, play a blend of infectious twin guitar rock that fills both the need to hear a hard edged mid-tempo chug with a keen sense of melody and pop. I do hear ghosts of past projects. There's an anthemic quality to many of the 10 tracks on this effort and a solid lyrical sense of humour. Ya'll remember fun...? This Garaga album has it! The record itself is a pretty shade of bloodish red and is 180 Gram and a cd included. The black embossed sleeve is stark but striking with it's red lettering. Key cuts are "Rock Hamster", "Death From Holidays", "Flirty Gurdy" and "Brain Buster". Great recording job as usual by Yogi and this album will make a good addition to any rockers collection.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Friday Morning Cartunes Oct.24/08

Traffic - Every Mothers Son (Polydor) LP
Lacewing - Paradox (Mainstream) LP
Buffalo Killers - It's A Shame (Alive) CD
Pack A.D. - Wolves and Werewolves (Mint) LP
Tony Hill - Lineage (Rubric) CD
Bevis Frond - Undertaker (Rubric) CD
Dead Man - I Must Be Blind (Crusher) LP
Deep Purple - No No No (EMI) CD
Status Quo - Drifting Away (A&M) LP
Brant Bjork - Locked & Loaded (Low Desert Punk) CD
Warlocks - So Paranoid (Tee Pee) LP
Euroboys - All Of My Money (Virgin) CD
The Soundtrack Of Our Lives - Heading For A Breakdown (Warner) CD
Hellacopters - Carry Me Home (Universal) CD
El Hombre Misterioso - Fallin' Down (Nasoni) LP
Blind Dog - Thundergroove (Meteor City) CD
Castor & ...the band whose name is a symbol - Jambone...Live (demo) cdr
Dragontears - Masters Of War (Bad Afro) CD
Plastic Crimewave Sound - Shockwave Rider (Eclipse) LP
Mammatus - The Righteous Path Through The Forest Of Old (Rocket) LP
Three Man Army - Another Day (Castle) CD
Epitaph - I'm Trying (Universal) CD

Thursday, October 23, 2008

The Sun is Out But You Are Not....

What a sleepy Thursday! Got some pretty swell stuff in today. Two exceptional new lps restocked and both are destined to be OOP soon I figure. The Helena Espvall / Masaki Batoh album and the new Josephine Foster vinyl released in the UK on Bo'Weavil...very ltd. Also in are reissues of 2 really great '68 and '70 psych lps on the Mainstream label by December's Children(finally!!) and Lacewing(nice west coast edge). Also very fresh, are new albums from Jolie Holland, Holly Golightly, Plastic Crimewave Sound(re-stock), Lili Z (Volt/No Talents chanteuse), Vivian Girls, Blackout Time, Lucinda Williams and Starlite Desperation.

New stuff on the horizon...Windy and Carl, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, Brant Bjork & The Operators(1st time ever on wax !!), Graham Day & The Gaolers, Ludella Black(Headcoatee),
Earth(finally wax on "Bees..."), Sunn O))) and a ton more......remember new stuff every week!

The hottest sellers this month so far are Brant Bjork and his "Punk Rock Guilt " album , The Pack A.D.'s 2nd called "Funeral Mix Tape", Acid Mothers Temple's "Journey Into The Cosmic Inferno", Wild Billy Childish & The M.O.T.B.E. "Thatcher's Children", Oneida "Preteen Weaponary" and Pontiak's "Sun On Sun".

Show Alert
Nov 15th @ Irene's... Maximum RnR with Crack Kills (St Hyacinthe, Que) and Garaga

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

A Cold Wind Blows...Warmth Is Found

on the table today...Magnificent Brotherhood...a Berlin based beat/garage band who debut on World In Sound with a smokin' organ driven sound that recalls a psych-soulful 60's influence....I think some of these guys were in Liquid Visions....excellent...kinda even Doorsy in spots. I got an email a couple of weeks ago from a dude in Finland whose name is Jaire. He thanked me for spinnin' his stuff on the show! His recording moniker is Octopus Syng and he has several excellent albums out on the Nasoni label and I really dig his devout take on psychedelia. Combining an eastern edge that meets Syd-era Floyd, he indeed at times, makes me think it is from the period, very cool and honest stuff. I will review the newest Octopus Syng "Birds Of Morning Are Never Late" in detail shortly. Another album I actually played twice today spurred on by another recent email from a band abroad was by an English group known as Earthling Society. Their latest and 4th full length is called "Beauty & The Beast" and thus far is a cd only release I believe to be on their own "Four-Zero" record label. This Lancashire based group are psych fans who have delved into many of it's styles in the past and although I have tended to lean towards the heavier, space rock side of some earlier recordings I must say that their newer direction...more organic perhaps?, is easily like able and maybe even more varied as a whole album goes. "Syd" comes to mind a bit here as well and there is a bit of a pop side showing that may have been hinted at on the "Albion" album(the first). Lots of twelve string and mellotron making this effort quite different than say their last! I also revisited with a couple of old friends in the form of King Khan and BBQ and the original release they did for the Goner label awhile back. Someone actually asked me to play it, lost interest by the second cut and then focused on what Sonics album to purchase! As the "dynamic duo" were being ignored and the umpteenth "Here Ain't The Sonics" vinyl quickly left the house I found myself tappin in rhythm to the raw assed r&b grunt that Mark and Khan seem to do so well. I had forgotten how infectious this album is, of course now repacked with extra trax as a double wax set from In The Red Records.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Go See These...

Saturday, Nov. 1st Cold Coffee & Salty Boots, Folk Hum and the Saint Bernard of Love
@ Clocktower Brew Pub $ 6.00

Saturday, Nov. 20th Muffler Crunch with Qor'umn @ Dominion Tavern $ 8.00

Saturday, Nov. 20th Fleshtones and guests @ Zaphods $ tba

Live Show Alert

..."the band whose name is a symbol" make their second appearance in support of monster psych rock greats Plastic Crimewave Sound at the Dominion Tavern on Thursday Nov. 13th at The Dominion Tavern. America's Mondo Drag will also be on the bill and it'll cost ya $ 10.00
This is a Birdman/CKCU co-presentation.

"the band whose name is a symbol" have pretty much sold out of their debut ltd. lathe cut lp. 2 or 3 copies will be available at the show on the 13th. A new album will be recorded this Sunday the 26th of Oct. and will be released as a ltd vinyl album of 100 copies. Tentatively called "Superficial Marks" this record will be available exclusively at Birdman Sound and will be released on the 20th of December this year.

Is This Important ?

Is this important? Whenever this blog thing started, everyone said I needed one. Well here it goes, I'm starting. I'm gonna do this instead of the birdman website, http://www.birdmansound.com/ just cuz I'll be able to do it and Aardvark won't have to do his thing anymore as a charitable donation to Birdman Sound. Dave's a great guy who is now knee deep in community radio as a Program Director at CHUO-FM here in Ottawa. Tough job? Yep! I did it 20 years ago at CKCU-FM as many of you know. Lotsa fun and challenging but a lot of work!

In any event, I will attempt to keep this blog real and regular and it will be my way of getting my ya-ya's out further than I already do. I'm a junkie when it comes to music and have dedicated for better or for worse an entire lifetime to it so far and lord willin' I'll stop when I drop. This blog will serve those interested as another information source based on my personal views and takes on music and the business. As I like to say "a person's taste in music is their own business". This could be taken a few different ways pertaining to me but I'm sure ya'll will figure it out.

I will be posting my play lists from my radio show here which is called "Friday Morning Cartunes" and is heard weekly on the radio dial in Ottawa, Ontario at 93.1 FM and on the net at http://www.ckcufm.com/ . The show runs every Friday morning my time at 9:30 am and goes until 1:00 pm. Just in case you don't know, I have had this same time slot for 20 years now and have been at CKCU since '85. Prior to that I was at CHSR-FM in Fredericton, NB for 5 years. I also plan to entertain you with record reviews and only positive ones. I'll also try and keep ya informed as to upcoming releases that I think you should care about and to relay tidbits of music oriented thought and news if you will, just as a matter of fact kinda thing. Shows to see and places to go will also be bandied about....

I just got an advance copy from Lars Krogh at Bad Afro in Denmark, of the new Dragontears album called "Tambourine Freak Machine". Another mind blower spaced out psych rawk monster from the Danish theatre...Those Baby Woodrose, On Trial dudes know their shit! Wow!
I'll let ya know when it's in house as the release date says Nov. 8/08....vinyl and cd. The first one is still floating around and if you don't have it....git it...wicked as well!

Other stuff that I like tons lately are new albums from Grails, El Hombre Misterioso(Peruvian stoner psych), Causi Sui, Pontiak - "Sun On Sun", Helena Espvall and Masaki Batoh's new album, Josephine Foster, Plastic Crimewave Sound, Alexander Tucker's "Portal" on ATP and the Pack A.D.'s "Funeral Mix Tape" on Mint records. The recent Dungen 12" that's out as a ltd edition of 1000 is a killer and I'll review their new full length maybe by weeks end cuz I should have one tomorrow !

The Record Convention was a huge waste of time ! Poor turnout notwithstanding, a bunch of dealers did not appear either this time.....No surprise I guess as the organizers from Montreal do NO advertising whatsoever.....funny given all the hype about "the vinyl comeback" and yet here in Ottawa it would have looked like we existed in another dimension. Record shows are pretty painful here in any event as it's mostly a bunch of hapless gomers still looking for some shit by the Beatles or Dean Martin or whoever......in fact the majority of the "usual suspects" at the Ottawa shows bear more than a striking resemblance to the freaks in "Vinyl", that hilarious, pathetic and somewhat sick Canadian documentary on the wax obsessed! Oh well what can ya do?.....not go again...ever?