Infant Sorrow - Get Him To The Greek Soundtrack

Britain has given us some great rock icons like John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Elvis Costello, and of course, Aldous Snow. Arguably one of the greatest musicians and singers of the past decade, Aldous Snow is the epitome of what a rockstar should be. Although a fictional character consummately played by comedian Russell Brand in the movies Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him To The Greek, Brand breaths fresh air into fictional musicians and soundtracks everywhere.

Instead of a traditional soundtrack, Infant Sorrow: Get Him to The Greek is promoted as an Infant Sorrow Greatest Hits album. Over the past couple of years, there have been some amazing soundtracks filled with original songs by actors portraying “rockstars,” like John C. Reilly as Dewey Cox on the Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story soundtrack. Nowadays, soundtracks tend to be overlooked, especially if there is original music actually sung by actors. Don’t underestimate these thespians because you will be pleasantly surprised.

On the Forgetting Sarah Marshall soundtrack, Russell Brand performed two of Aldous Snow’s signature songs, “Inside of You” and “We’ve Got To Do Something,” the latter being an Infant Sorrow song. Snow appears to have been part of the Britpop movement, which occurred during the mid to late 90s music scene. Britpop is alternative rock music that was inspired by 60s and 70s British pop music.

One can argue that some of these songs won’t make any sense if you haven’t seen the movie, but they are quite enjoyable nonetheless. If you like bands like Flight of the Conchords, Tenacious D and/or the fictional band, Spinal Tap, then you’ll love Aldous Snow and Infant Sorrow.

As Spinal Tap did over 25 years ago, Aldous Snow makes fun of the current music scene and kicks of the album with “Just Say Yes.”  Alternative music never seemed so blunt and funny about using drugs until now.

For those who haven’t seen the movie, “Furry Walls” will probably make no sense out of context, but rest assured it’s just as catchy and enjoyable as all the others. Even Hanson covered the song because they loved it so much.

“Going Up” is one of the most accessible songs on the entire album and could actually be released as a single. The song talks about overcoming obstacles and mocking those who didn’t support you. There is a great message in this catchy, comic song.

“The Clap” is arguably the best song on the album by Aldous Snow and has a Rolling Stones kind of feel. It has great beats, ludicrous lyrics, and a catchy chorus that will leave you in stitches as you sing along.

On the majority of the songs, Aldous Snow seems like Liam Gallagher of Oasis and other current British superstars, but on “I am Jesus” he sounds like Brandon Flowers from The Killers. His wide range of singing abilities is shocking, yet amusing with these parodies about current popular music.

“African Child” is a great parody of all the trendy musicians caring about foreign politics and issues. It’s a hilarious jab that will leave you shaking your head in disgust, but in a good way. All the songs are profound parodies and most could actually be released as real singles, especially Jackie Q’s songs.

Jackie Q, played brilliantly by Rose Byrne, sings two amazing songs “Supertight” and “Ring ‘Round” that emulate today’s pop music scene. They are two perfect pop songs that you will immediately fall in love with. You could actually believe they are “real” pop songs, not parodies, but once you actually listen to the lyrics…Oh Boy! It kind of makes you wonder if all pop songs are this dirty albeit not as blatantly and overtly obvious.

Overall, these 15 songs will keep you entertained and laughing long after you have stopped listening. Too bad Aldous Snow and Jackie Q. don’t really tour because I would definitely pay to see them perform live!

Get Him To The Greek came out on DVD and Blu-ray September 28, 2010. -- Mr Brownstone


Buy here: Get Him To The Greek [Explicit]

DEFENCE

One of the cuts is of course defence. Leaks, Liam being angry etc etc.

But...

Has anyone actually looked at defence in terms of national expenditure?



In terms of National Expenditure it doesn't even warrent it's own segment!

The breakdown:
Total Spending by Function
Values in £ billion

2008 2009 2010 2011
Total Spending 576 631 661 681
Pensions 100 110 117 123
Health Care 204 221 239 244
Education 76 80 86 84
Defence 38 42 44 46
Welfare 88 94 105 109

For all the debate, Defence is nothing on the national budget in comparison to social expenditure.

I honestly am in shock that a government - even a coalition government that has to appease yogurt weavers- would consider such a miniscule section of national cost to be worthy of a 10% minimum cut when health can continue spending its merry way.

Note: if they get rid of the desk pilots and civil servants rather than making sure troops are under-equipped and die unnecessarily then the cut will be fine - unfortunately as I have posted in the past, the last people to be cut are those that aren't on the front line!

Fist – Turn the Hell On

Iron Maiden with Di’Anno or Iron Maiden with Bruce Dickinson?

That’s a debate Pope and I love to have, over and over, endlessly for the last 19 years.  Pope’s firmly in the Dickinson camp, and his reasons are sound. Dickinson had the pipes, the air raid siren vocal chords, and there’s no doubt he’s a great frontman.  Without Dickinson, Maiden never would have become, well . . . MAIDEN.

But that’s not what it’s about for me.  With Di’Anno, Maiden possessed something they lost the day Dickinson walked into the band room; something primal, something raw, something vital. Maiden’s first album, and the entire, early NWOBHM scene was around raw guts.  It was a D.I.Y. effort created entirely from passion.  The NWOBHM was heavy metal’s punk rock moment.  Their rebellion against the status quo.  It was metallers taking their records and distribution literally into their own hands.  Scores of bands pumping out furious, riff-maddened metal, on clumsy, self-manufactured, barely produced singles and tapes. Selling em by hand out on the streets.  It was bizarre guys having air guitar battles at sweaty, stink-filled underground metal clubs, and frothing at the mouth at the next band to emerge onto the scene.

And it didn’t last long.  NWOBHM started around 1979 and by 1981, certainly by 1982, the scene had already bowed down to the man, becoming a commercial megalith.  If you followed the music, you could feel the transition hit you like running into a brick wall.  There it is, right there, when Maiden switched to Dickinson, when the Tygers of Pan Tang switched to Deverill, when Def Leppard put out High N' Dry.  In each of their own ways, these moves heralded the death of the raw NWOBHM in favor of a slicker, more produced, more commercial sound.  Not that it was all bad mind you, just different.

And not my NWOBHM.  My metal was guts, baby.  Riffs flying at the speed of sound.  Technically, maybe not the best.  Vocals were strained.  Playing was primitive.  But passion.  God, the NWOBHM was about passion.

And to that effect, I offer you this brand new Metal Mind reissue of the debut album from long forgotten early NWOBHM hooligans, Fist.  Don’t go looking here for the refined polish of Number of the Beast-era Maiden.  Fist were plying their workingman’s trade way back when the scene began, releasing their first single on a Neat Records compilation tape way back in 1979.  Many times in Ripple reviews, Pope or I will write the words “we can’t understand why this band didn’t find a bigger audience.”  Not here.  Here, it’s beautifully clear why Fist were never commercially successful.  Their sound is barely finished, their playing sufficient, their singing rough.  And damn I wouldn’t have it any other way.   Raw, primal passion, baby, it’s all raw passion.

Remember this is the punk moment of metal, and Fist burst out of the gate with that flag flying high.  “Hole in the Wall Gang,” sums it all up perfectly.  Staggering, stuttering riffs married to a sledgehammer beat and walloping bass.  Their sound is familiar, certainly a product of the era.  Think a combination of early Praying Mantis with On Through the Night-era Def Leppard and you’ll get the feeling.  And if those names give you giddy chills, then Fist will too.

I was being a bit flippant when I said their playing was sufficient.  In truth, these cats could pump out a riff and a quick solo with the needed precision of their sound.  Sure, it’s not “Phantom of the Opera,” by Maiden, but it’s not supposed to be.  It’s tough and ballsy and would’ve got the yobs shouting with fist-clenched beer stein in the pubs.   Keith Satchield used the full range of his voice, like a young Joe Elliot, often straining his vocal chords beyond their comfort zone.  But I dig that.  I’m the guy that prefers Tino Troy’s vocals in Praying Mantis over the many singers who came later who could clearly sing better but lacked that “guts.” I’m the guy who prefers Di’Anno.  I dig Satchield.

“The Watcher,” is another perfect period rocker, a jaunty, thudding riff-fest, sounding even more Mantis-like this time, but with all their own style.  Fist knew how to write a song, their compositional strength is strong and they always know how to throw that chorus or bridge at you to hook you fast in your seat.  “Collision Course,” is a mid-tempo, near power ballad that actually rocks.  “Forever Amber,” chugs along with a Nugent intensity.  “Axeman,” is fierce and has such groove it’s downright sexy.  “Vamp” is a proto-Leppard rocker.  And the whole album is like that.  A perfect microcosm of all that I loved about the early NWOBHM movement.  Energy, melodies, riffs and hooks.  And the more I listen to this album the more I love it. 

Two bonus tracks tacked onto the end complete the package.  “Brain Damage,” and “Law of the Jungle,” and these tracks burn!  If anything, these tracks are heavier than most of the cuts on the album proper, and definitely fill the disc out. This was a great debut record, a lost NWOBHM classic, finding a band just brimming with promise.

Turn the Hell On won’t please all metal fans.  Heck, it may not even please all NWOBHM fans.  It’s ugly and has warts and flaws.  But if you’re like me, and see the Di’Anno Maiden as the true king of metal, then I expect you’ll find those blemishes on the Fist album to be just as beautiful as I do.


--Racer

Buy here: Turn The Hell On (Remastered)

DOCTOR WHO;FIRST GLIMPSE

First tiny whiny glimpse of the Doctor Who Christmas Special in the preview for BBC drama this season (nearly at the end!)-



ht: Bleeders

Proto-metal Report - Featuring Lucifer's Friend and Night Sun

What was going on in Germany in the early 70’s that they were able to produce such kick ass world class heavy rock? And what’s wrong with the world that the music of Lucifer’s Friend and Night Sun are not being played on your local classic rock radio station right now? The debut albums from both of these bands are required listening for all fans of the mid-tempo hard n heavy realm.

The debut album from Lucifer’s Friend was first unleashed in 1970 and the opening song “Ride The Sky” is something everyone needs to hear. Released the same year as Led Zeppelin III, the song was accused of ripping off “Immigrant Song” but it turns out “Ride The Sky” came first. Take a listen for yourself and see if the opening fanfare played on French horn sounds similar to Robert Plant’s wailing vocals. Zep has been known to pinch some riffs here and there, but this might just be a weird co-incidence. But you never know. It wouldn’t surprise me if Jimmy Page was intrigued by a band named Lucifer’s Friend given his interest in the occult.

Even though Lucifer’s Friend were a German band, they were fronted by British born belter John Lawton. His high pitched voice soars above the heavy, gloomy music perfectly. I must admit the first few times I listened to this his voice reminded me a bit of Mickey Thomas but luckily there are no cheesy songs like “Fooled Around & Fell In Love” or “Jane.” The heavy organ sound makes for immediate comparisons to Deep Purple and Uriah Heep, but Lucifer’s Friend are probably closer to early Atomic Rooster in their blend of doomy guitar/organ interplay and they rarely venture into full on Emerson, Lake & Palmer prog.

All 8 songs on the original album are great. There’s everything from creepy slow ones like “Keep Goin,” mid tempo groovers like “Toxic Shadows” and faster ones like their theme song “Lucifer’s Friend. The latest edition of the CD comes with 5 bonus tracks that vary quite a bit. “Horla” is from 1970 and fits in perfectly with the album. However, there are some songs from 1973 that are pretty lame pop-rock junk like “Our World Is A Rock N Roll Band” with horrible synths and David Cassidy style vocals. Just goes to show what happens when the record company demands a hit!

Lucifer’s Friend went on to make a few more albums but changed their style quite a bit from the debut, which is where Night Sun comes in. Another German band with a high pitched screamer and pounding organist, this sounds like it should have been the second album from Lucifer’s Friend. Their debut album Mournin’ from 1972 has been described as Lucifer’s Cousin or Lucifer’s Friend That Came With The Other Guy.

Album opener “Plastic Shotgun” is an insanely complex song that will make your head spin. Night Sun has a bit more ELP in their sound than Lucifer’s Friend but are too heavy to be a full on prog rock band. “Got A Bone Of My Own” and “Slush Pan Man” are dead ringers for Death Walks Behind You-era Atomic Rooster outtakes. “Blind” has a nice jazzy groove to it similar to Deep Purple’s “Lazy” with some nice guitar work. Fast ones like “Crazy Woman” and “Nightmare” use the “Speed King” template to excellent effect.

Sadly, both of these albums are out of print but used copies can be found in all the usual places. Both of these albums belong on your stereo if you love Captain Beyond, The Groundhogs, Hard Stuff and all of the bands already mentioned. It might cost you, but heavy rock this good is hard to find.  -- Woody

Buy here:  Lucifer's Firend

Buy here: Mournin' [2010 Reissue Vinyl]

THE WAR IS OVER

First World War that is.

Yup, the last £59.5 million of reparations by the Germans were paid on Sunday, 92 years after the Armistice.

COMICS BAN

Whilst I am on the subject of comics, the American Library Association has released its annual banned list - a celebration of free speech.

The list gives the reasons why people thought the graphic novels should be banned. My comments in bold

On the Graphic Novels section we have:

Absolute Sandman: Reasons: Anti-Family, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group. Erm 75 chapters challenging our perceptions of reality, story telling and life.

Blankets: Reasons: Sexually Explicit content, Other (unspecified. Mea Culpa haven't read

Bone: Reasons: Sexually Explicit content, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group, Drugs. Huh? I presume the drugs bit is about the Red Dragon smoking and all the beer people drink

Fun Home: Reasons: Sexually Explicit Content. haven't read

Maus: Reason: Anti Ethnic. WTF???????? A book about the Holocaust based on the author's father and told in a simple form of cats, dogs, mice, and pigs.

Pride of Bagdad: Reasons: Sexually Explicit Content. Sex with lions

Tank Girl: Reasons: Sexually Explicit Content. And Kanga sex, don't forget Kanga sex

The Dark Knight Strikes Again: Reasons: Sexually Explicit Content. Superman and Wonderwoman banging at 10,000 ft. Seriously ban it for the horrendous artwork

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Reasons: Nudity, Sexually Explicit Content and Unsuited to Age Group. Invisble man rape, yeah OK

Watchmen: Reasons: Unsuited to Age Group. Right, how? Too challenging for the little dears?

FEAR OF HEIGHTS cont...

Rich is reporting that Pornsak Pichetshote, Jonathan Vankin And Joan Hilty are to be made redundant by Vertigo.

I've written in the past (here and here) about my fears for Vertigo and this seems to confirm it.

Vankin and Hilty were responsible for the critically acclaimed original Graphic Novel division while Pichetshote has had a string of hits including the award-winning Unwritten, We3 and Losers among others (the latter two as deputy).

Well what's next?

I presume Karen Berger will be gone next and Vertigo folded up. That seems the most logical root.

Although others have said this could mean that Wildstorm editors could be shifted over to Vertigo leading to a revitalised line, I doubt it. Vertigo does seem to sit uncomfortably with the current DC headhonchos.

DC is becoming worse by the month, day even. It is like watching an old man playing 77s to remind him of his childhood. The shift to the Silver age characters is almost complete in the DC universe and there appears to be no room for modern, adult comic books in this world of Dan Didio and Geoff Johns (dead cats aside).

So I suspect no room for Vertigo - you know the publishing arm that released Neil Gaiman's Sandman, DMZ, Losers, Y:The Last Man, etc etc etc.

I'll quote myself I think:

Vertigo stands alone among mainstream publishing companies for its sheer variety and nerve...someone in Warner Bros should really start looking at the management of DC as a whole because there appears to be some serious retro, backwards-looking, sales-dropping, movements happening at the moment without the kudos that the likes of Vertigo gives the company.

Devo – Something For Everybody

I’m going to let you all in on a secret.  For a few months now I have been conducting a social experiment.  This experiment requires asking people the question “Do you like Devo?”, and then recording their answers.  Analyzing the collected data has allowed me to separate the population into two distinct categories.  We’ll call them Categories A and B just to keep things simple.

Category A consists of the people who seem almost offended by my question.  They refuse to respond with a concise answer such as yes, instead going on at length about the “great” and “important” Devo.  Reluctantly, I have been forced to stop a few of these marathon tirades when I ran out of tape in my voice recorder.  These instances only seemed to fuel the proverbial fire however, normally resulting in the interviewees launching into yet another fiery string of statements containing adjectives such as “amazing”, “fantastic”, and “visionary”.  Shockingly, although there is an almost overwhelming amount of passion on display in Category A, it seems that passion does not translate into a large percentage of the overall population.

Quite the opposite, Category B contains the vast majority of people interviewed.  Striving again for simplicity I have lumped similar groups of responders together.  Thus the people who responded to my question with “Who?” along with the people who had little working knowledge of the band, yet knew of their existence, are classified the same way.  Below I have included a sample conversation which effectively simulates my exchange with one of the latter people.

    “Do you like Devo?”

    “Yeah, no.  That song "Whip It" sucks.  Oh, and those hats they wore in the
video were soooo stupid.”

    “I see.”

Admittedly I belong squarely in Category A, but I have tried to keep my personal feelings from affecting the experiment.  My hypothesis is this.  I believe that if a person from Category B actually sat down and listened to Devo’s new album Something for Everybody, I could ask them a second time whether or not they like Devo and their new response would be a resounding yes.  Here is why.  (Alright, that’s enough of the academic nonsense!)

Something for Everybody is a fantastic album that rocks from start to finish.  How do I know?  Easy.  It makes me happy and invigorated every time that I listen to it.  Not good enough?  How about this.  Even though there have been countless imitators, the band still manages to produce a sound that is unmistakably Devo.  Guitars and synthesizers go to war with each other in a battle for supremacy alongside drums that alternate between sounding organic and computerized.  The vocals are playful, sincere, and unique in this age of growlers or ultra-polished, vibrato leaden sound-alikes.  And then there are the songs.  Oh, the songs!

Opening salvo “Fresh” is a fine introduction to the album, but for my money the real show begins with track number two.  “What We Do” serves as Devo’s mission statement, assuring the listener that they know exactly what they are doing with catchy mantra-like lyrics layered over pulsating synthesizers and a driving backbeat.  More standouts quickly arrive with the dual threat of “Mind Games” and “Human Rocket”.  “Mind Games” is so “Girl U Want” catchy it should be quarantined by the Center for Disease Control.   “Human Rocket” begins with a pre-liftoff warm-up, quickly ignites the engines to build speed and energy, breaks through the atmosphere with a guitar solo, and finally deploys the parachutes to bring the listener back to Earth.  Don’t feel a proper album is complete without a heartfelt ballad?  Fear not my friends.  “No Place Like Home” is there for you with it’s fatalistic social commentary evoking a range of emotions similar to the classic “Beautiful World”.  Truthfully, picking a few songs to highlight from the album is tough as each one is memorable and strong.

The bottom line here is that everyone searching for a fun, high quality, engaging album need look no further.  Take it from someone who was through being cool years ago.  You may think you don’t like Devo, but after listening to Something for Everybody you may just find yourself ordering your very own energy dome (those stupid hats).  Did you know that they come in blue now?

-- Penfold

Buy here: Something for Everybody

I FIND YOUR LACK OF MASK DISTURBING

Heh!


ht: Geeks

Dafni - Sweet Time

Music and chemistry are similar.  Both can be expressed mathematically.  Certain combinations of sounds or substances result in repeatable reactions.  The musician and the chemist experiment with elements to produce a desired result.  Both rely on measures.

One major difference between music and chemistry is chemistry lacks heart.   Chemistry’s measures are prescribed and the results are immutable.  It is an expression of matter.  Music, on the other hand, is an expression of the soul - it answers no questions but makes statements solely for the sake of human expression. The results are transient and subject to critique and widely different interpretations.  When you make something chemically it is what it is. It can be nothing else unless you add something or take something away.  Music is what it is to each person who hears it and its effects change with the listener.  Combine music and chemistry and you end up with musical alchemy.

What got me thinking of this is Dafni.  She sent us her upcoming album Sweet Time  (produced by Dan Janisch and  set to be released on October 19, 2010 on her own label “Daffer Doodle Music.”).  It was a lazy Sunday evening, after a very hectic Saturday and laborious afternoon, that I first listened to the eleven track CD. 

Dafni’s full name is Dafni Amirsakis, but, she goes solely by her first name “Dafni.”  I don’t know what it is with single name musical artists - Sting, Madonna, Pink, Slash, Meatloaf etc.  I never understood the need, or desire, of an artist to hide his or her true identity from the public. In Dafni’s case it might be a marketing choice to hide her foreign, difficult to pronounce, Greek last name.  However, her Greek heritage is part of a great back story. It was the beauty of her grandmother’s voice, inherited by Dafni, that saved her family from the Italian soldiers when the Italians invaded Greece during World War II. The album is dedicated to Dafni’s late grandmother.

Dafni’s voice is reminiscent of Norah Jones and Madeleine Peyroux. She also channels a little Billie Holiday.  Her music is soft, mellifluous and boasts a jazz Americana sound.  On a lazy Sunday evening it provided the perfect background music by which to relax on the sofa with a Martini.

Dafni does more than sing.  She also plays electric and acoustic guitar.  On “Sweet Time,” Mark San Filippo, a disciple of Billy Higgins, who played with Kenny Burrell and Herbie Hancock, plays drums. LA session musician Geoff “The Wolfman” Rakness thumps the electric and upright bass.  Studio hand Pete Kavanaugh strums the electric guitar on four of the songs and former X, Bob Dylan and Alice Cooper guitarist Tony Gilkyson plays on three.  Solo performer Dan Janisch shows up with guitar in hand on one song, and with guitar, three-string bass, percussion and background vocals on another. Michael Bolger, known for his work with Rancid, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Tony Joe White and Jewel, adds accordion, piano and trumpet, and singer Lisa Finnie provides background vocals. Dafni wrote each one of the songs on the album and they all come across as very inspired and personal. 

I thoroughly enjoyed the album so I decided to read the press kit and this is where my mind started to wander toward the similarities and dissimilarities between music and chemistry.  Here are some excerpts that pushed me in that direction: 

As she was gaining a basis in classical music and jazz, Dafni was also pursuing an interest in science first studying psychology in Chicago, then pre-med at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.  She switched majors again after falling in love with the bane of most med students’ existence: organic chemistry.While pursuing her doctorate in chemistry at UCLA, Dafni’s musical career progressed through a combination of hard work and serendipity. . . .

So how does one get from a doctorate in organic chemistry to writing and performing extraordinary jazzy, sultry, music?  The two disciplines, at first, seem so different.  Then it struck me. Dafni’s attention to detail is impeccable.  Each song is tight.  The vocals exacting.  The technical ”organic chemistry” side of Dafni shows up in these production values and in her attention to detail. But, humans are not robots. We desire more than technical mastery, especially in music.  In her singing and songwriting Dafni finds emotional release. That is also what makes this a great album and Dafni an excellent up and coming musical talent  She is a vocalist who pays attention to the details; she has an incredible voice and a brilliant mind; and she uses music as her emotional outlet.  Dafni has learned how to manipulate music and substances for their ultimate effect.  She is not just a chemist and not just a musician.  She is a musical alchemist and I hope she continues to experiment.

 -  Old School

MILI-VANILLA

Vanilla - default option. When you can't decide what you want, you default to that which is comfortable.

And the same with Labour.

Back to the left, bye bye Blairism.

One winner is Ed Balls who has finally defeated Mili-Senior and will be looking for a higher profile in the next few days.

The Unions will be pleased as punch that they swung it.

And of course Mili-Junior.

However, the weird thing is...I was in the bank today and it had Mili-Senior giving a speech on the conference platform.

Because the sound was off, I couldn't hear what was being said so had to look at the body language alone.

Mili-senior strode about the platform as if he had won.

Mili-junior sat there with bambi eyes, staring at the headlights, frozen with one thought in his head: "Oh shi...."

UPDATE: Actually thinking about it - the post title refers to Milli Vanilli, the band that was done for mouthing other singers' voices. Quite an appropriate metaphor come to think about it.

Ripples Around the World - Featuring Elikeh, Janaka, and King Sunny Ade

 Final exams.  A beach.  A roaring fire.  Some mind-altering fungi.  And King Sunny Ade.

Such was my first excursion into the magical world of African music.  After a beach blow-out, I remember sitting on the floor of Greg's apartment, King Sunny's Synchro System playing at a low volume.  I remember floating within the music, levitating across the talking drum, drifting along with those amazing, serpentine guitar lines.  From that moment, I was hooked.  A near lifetime love affair that has only grown deeper with time.

Admittedly, African music, and world music in general, isn't for everyone.  Languages have to be overcome.  Unfamiliar song structures have to be overlooked.  But once you dip into that world, music will never be the same.  When you want to turn down the noise, when you want to dance, when you want something uplifting and buoyant, or aggressive and defiant.  It's there.

Even our good buddy Ray over at Ray's Realm fell under the spell of Amadou and Miriam's The Magic Couple, about as mesmerizing and haunting a release from any genre that we'd heard in a while.

With that in mind, and with the celebrated release of a brand spanking new King Sunny album, let us, oh waverider, drift on back down to that magical place and see what the world of World Music has in store for us this month.

Elikeh – Adje! Adje!


Afropop from Togo via Washington D.C., and let me tell you, we really got something here.  Togolese singer-guitarist Massama Dogo combines afrobeat, rock, roots, and jazz into one trance-inducing, pulse-throbbing mass of sound called “Afro-high.”

And high it is. Elikeh’s new album, Adje Adje! brings forth all the beautiful polyrhythmic passion that makes afropop so delightful, and blends in some serious guitar, some soaring horns, and some gorgeous vocal harmonies.  Jubilant, buoyant, festive. Dogo’s lyrics, sung in English, French and the African languages of Ewe and Mina are layered over the nonstop percussive festival that is afrofunk.

I don’t know what each particular song means.  In fact, my digital copy of the album doesn’t even have separate song titles, just “Track 1,” and “Track 2”, etc.  But this doesn’t bother me.  Rather than concentrating on each individual track, when I play Adje! Adje! I take in the whole album at once.  One joyous, rebellious celebration of freedom, percussion, rhythm and dance.   Beats blend into horns into guitars into vocals back into beats.  The entire album percolates and pulsates, as if it wants to jump out of the player and dance itself.   Even the songs that are clearly revolutionary mantras bubble with a totally infectious spirit of dance and life. Truly magnificent. 

If you are a fan of afropop of any kind, King Sunny to Fela to Toure Kunde, you will find lots to love here.  If you’ve never explored afropop before, but wanted a recommendation on a new album to go with the classics of the genre, look no farther.  Adje! Adje! has arrived. 

Buy here: Adje!Adje!

Janaka Selekta – Pushing Air

Incorporating Indian textures with downbeat groove and vibrancy, San Francisco DJ Janaka Selekta has created what may be the downtempo album of the year. 

Rich aural passages flow seamlessly like water gently cascading through a wild brook.  Beats add and accentuate the passages without ever overwhelming the overall effect, one of transcendental mediation set to the dancefloor.   Beautiful, evocative, rhythmic, seductive.  Just a few words to describe the airy, spirituality of the album.

"Awake" soothes with its bass heavy hypnosis, layered with the air of the exotic.  "The Escapist," is just that, a mind-bending, or mind-releasing journey out of the self, riding the sitar to nirvana.   Strident beats, a destination. "Reborn" sounds as fresh as it's name implies with angelic female Hindi vocals.

All of us, no matter how hard we rock, need to take a few moments now and then to chill, let the noise settle, the spirit soar.  For that, let Janaka be your guide.

A chill out journey worth taking.

Buy here:  Pushing Air

King Sunny Ade – Baba Mo Tunde

And finally we get to the master himself.  The man who began my entire odyssey with African music and then world music as a whole.  King Sunny Ade is a legend the master of Juju, a form of African music based on spiraling, snaking, hypnotic guitar lines, weaving and bobbing in and out of the call and response vocals, and the ever present talking drum.

Rhythm is the king here, punctuated with King Sunny’s mellow voice and serpentine guitar.  There really are no words to describe King Sunny’s music.  Going to one of his shows is a vast, undulating, meditative, hypnotic experience where music is the Lord, rhythm is the Church and King Sunny is the pastor.  12, 15 people on stage, who knows how many.  Drummers, percussionists, singers, guitarists, bassist, keyboard players.  And drummers, did I say drummers?  Lots of drummers.  6 hour long sets.  Sweat.  Dancing, swirling, spinning, and sweat.

It is a music to experience, to feel, not to analyze.  And as the first album the King Sunny has recorded in ten years, Baba Mo Tunde takes its place right along side his classics.  In fact, “Baba Loun Sohun Gbogbo” ranks right up with Synchro System as definitive King Sunny.  Just close your eyes and let it all flow over you.  Let your body loose, hips swaying, mind floating.  A heady, uplifting, aural orgasm.

--Racer

Buy here: Baba Mo Tunde








I couldn't find any videos from the new King Sunny album, but here's a classic older track to give you a taste.

A SOLO RAP

Enjoy



ht: geeks

WHAT A BOOB

Funny that I was talking to friends the other day about how uneasy Americans seem to be with the human body.

Ignore the fact that it is home to the largest porn industry in the world, boobs are bad!

When Sex and the City first arrived on the screens here in the UK there was a big fuss about the sensation it was cuasing in the States with graphic sexual scenes and chat.

Then I saw it and thought: "Meh"

It was nothing that hadn't been broadcasted on Play for the Day in the 70s.

Now the latest scandal is Katy Perry's cleavage making an appearance on Sesame Street with Elmo.

It has been withdrawn because of complaints from parents.

Shish - the same parents who are happy for extreme violence to be shown on prime time I spose!

Anyway, here it is:



And here's a quite amusing report on it:

MARK MILLAR'S SECRET REVEALED

Mark Millar, comic writer, publicist, creator of Kick-Ass... and in his spare time - Aquaman!!

MARK MILLAR:


AQUAMAN:


Pic hts: All About George, Ramascreen

THE DOCTOR AND CORNELIUS

Remember Michael Moorcock writing Doctor Who?

Well here's an extract!

..The pirates, drawn from a hundred worlds and a dozen space-time continua, have come at last. Only a few, watching them from their decks and towpaths, refuse to acknowledge their power. Some even drop to their knees, bowing in respect to the inevitable, as peasants paying homage to a feudal lord.

By evening Cornelius is among them, broadcasting his formal greeting to all the rival factions on the planet, telling them, canal by canal, how much they must give and in what form, be it an ingot of newtonium, platinum bullion, provisions or crew. (Always he requests that ingot. Surely he knows there is not that much newtonium in existence?) His price is high, but the price of defiance would be higher.

When the barges are filled and brought to the great central basin called Grande Bayou, inventories are carefully made and receipts supplied. Then the recruiting begins to replace any skilled complement killed in battle or retired.

Peet Aniv, nick-named ‘the Locust’, stand high on her elegant prosthetics, making notes, quietly relaying orders, while Cornelius, his features engulfed within the plain, etched mask he always adopts in public, sits to one side of her desk, his glowing melancholy eyes fixed on the distance, looking towards Saint Marx’s islet, where once, it is said, he courted a novice and lost her to the only enemy whose superiority he has ever acknowledged and whom he calls God.

One burgher, in a hasty attempt to demonstrate his compliance, offers to show off a marvel to the captain alone. He leaves a wealthy man, but perhaps a marked man, too. Captain Cornelius frowns and puts what could be a string of beads into his pocket, rattling them while brooding on another matter.

At last, after a week, the peaceful tension is dispelled and the pirates prepare to leave, their tolls all gathered, while Saint Marx’s bells sound the end of tax-taking. In return for this price, Venice will know protection for another decade. Captain Cornelius nods to Peet Aviv. The ledgers are signed off by pirates and canal captains in a flurry of silken pomp and brilliant armour. Then the skiffs rise skyward and are gone amongst the broad ribbons of cloud. And those whose eyes strain at their scopes see the Paine standing for a moment to catch the solar winds, her wide sails filling, her instruments glowing and winking in the shrouded, perpetual twilight of her decks. Then she’s gone, too, a vast and fleeting glow against the black glare of space, no doubt making for her home base in the dwarf galaxy of Canis.

A memory of loss and glory. As if the multiverse had allowed Venice and audience with her own proud, cold soul.

Captain Cornelius inspects certain items of treasure, searching for that fabulously valuable ingot of newtonium, puzzles over his data and his charts, confers with Peet Aniv and begins to understand that fear he has always exploited but never until now known. For there are dark tides running through the universe; currents so powerful they drag whole galaxies with them, streaming gravities so strong they swallow light and threaten Captain Cornelius’s familiar existence; ultimately they will threaten every form of sentient existence and if unchecked will absorb the whole of Creation. But for now the photons press against his sails as he once presumed the would do for ever, and he tacks into the solar winds, continuing his long search for the one artefact which might lead him to something and guarantee his life, his ship’s life and the life of the universe he loves. He sails in from the Rim, daring the drag of the galactic Hub, still searching. Searching for the only being he acknowledges as his peer, who might join him or at least help him; who is known simply as ‘the Doctor’...

Get the book here

Ht: Life, Doctor Who and Combom

A Sunday Conversatin with Green Monkey Records

Don't get me wrong.  It's not that I'm jaded, but having been doing this Ripple thing for the better part of three years, I've heard a lot of music come through the Ripple doors.  And while a good chunk of that music's been pretty good, not much of it has been surprising. Most of it just fits nicely into the preconceived notions of genre and category.  That was until the Green Monkey Anthology came through my door.  To put it bluntly, I expected one thing and got another thing entirely.


And what I got was good.  Very good.  Garage, psych, powerpop.  Keen original post punk pop the likes of which went right to my happy zone.


With that, it was only a matter of time before we had to get Tom Dyer, the main monkey, to stop by the Ripple office, plop on down on the red leather couch and spill the beans on all things green and monkey.

You detail the entire history of Green Monkey Records in the insert of your excellent CD anthology, but for our readers, let's refresh.  How did you get started running an independent record label?

Well, traditionally there are two main ways people start labels. Either as business to make some dough off artists or as artists to get their skwak out. Occasionally there is something in between. For me it was definitely case #2. I was a late bloomer. Though always a music lover and a singer of sorts, I didn’t start playing guitar until I was 25. Had an art/punk band in Seattle around 1980 that was pretty cool in a tortured sort of way that really didn’t get too far – couple demos –but enough to convince me I needed recording gear. Did a bunch of one-man-band (me) recording and started recording my friends’ bands. By ’83 I had enough stuff of my own and other peoples’ that wasn’t getting put out anywhere I decided to start putting it out. Green Monkey was born and the next level of personal entertainment was up and running.


What motivated you? Did you tap into a particular local scene or were you aiming to capture a sound?

We were mostly limited to the sound we could get by the kind of gear that we used and the dinky studio space I had. That said, there was and is now an esthetic to my work. I have always had a greater leaning toward dissonance than your average American. When we were kids my brother bough Beatles and I bought Stones. When I was 17-18 it was all about Trout Mask Replica (drove my mom nuts). Later I was more interested in Ornette and Coltrane than Miles (Miles is great!), way more interested in Harry Partch and Stockhausen than Beethoven (z-z-z-z) and at one point I definitely wanted John Lee Hooker to be my personal savior. He was a guitar genius and had an even cooler voice than Johnny Cash.

Back in the 80’s when I had a little 8-track studio, I mostly got my clients word-of-mouth. Some of them like The Hitmen or the Fallouts became GMR artists for a while. Some folks I sought out like the Green Pajamas (after I bought their cassette) or The Life (got told about ‘em). Some would send me stuff like Glass Penguins that I liked and we would try to get something done on the cheap. I think the music we put out at that point was fairly inconsistent stylistically. It was just whatever was around that I liked.

I will say that over time there is a certain sound to my work that moves beyond the gear. It has something to do with intent and will.

Which was your first release?

GM001 Local Product (various artists) and GM002 Tom Dyer – Truth or Consequences were released simultaneously in ‘83, in a no doubt calculated manner to seem more important than we actually were. Both were totally recorded on Tascam 2340 4 track reel to reel with a little 6 channel Tapco board, a spring reverb, an analog delay and crappy mikes. We were totally living. We could overdub for crissakes! Kids in the Garage Band world have no way to understand how totally fucking cool that was to be able to do at that point.  Put ‘em out on cassette – 150 copies each – off to the big time.



Who's been your biggest selling artist to date?

The Green Pajamas by a mile. Book of Hours by the PJs is the top seller at around 5 thousand copies worldwide. It was released in the US, Germany, Greece and Australia – each version with different tracks. I just reissued it on CD after 24 years with all the tracks from every version, plus an unreleased track. Made me very happy. Still work with Jeff Kelly (PJ #1). I think he is doing brilliant stuff at the present.



There's so much to learn about running a label, share with us some of the lessons you've learned along the way.

Well, lesson one is it was always hard to get paid and still is. I became pretty conscious of cash flow back when as it really became difficult to keep funding the next project. I think it is a lot easier to get your music out to an audience in the internet age, but don’t kid yourself – it’s still work. As Andy Warhol said, it’s all about work. I like to work. I like to do things that I think have artistic merit. I think the trick is to know what you want to do and not get too sidetracked by all the silly extra stuff that will suck up all your time.



What's been your label's high point? Low point?

Two high points, one low point. First hight point, 1987 when we did the Green Pajamas - Book of Hours and The Life - Alone. It felt like we were in the verge of something in regards to commercial success. Wasn’t able to get it to go to the next step, which led to the low point, ’91 or so. It had become a chore. At that point I had put so much time and energy into it with diminishing returns, I was a dad, needed to back off, make a living and take care of life. Had to let it go.

Second highlight is now. I am at a place in my life I can do this at a level that I find satisfying. I am putting out my music and other peoples’ music I like. I don’t really care if somebody thinks it is crap or not, it is just what I am doing and I will let it get to whatever level it can get to.

What's inspired you to jump back into the ring and relaunch the label?

In the period after the initial output, I went back to school, got my bachelors, masters and doctorate while working full-time and raising kids. I never stopped recording (thus Songs From Academia, Vols. 1 & 2), but it was a lot smaller part of my life. Have my doctorate, have a job, kids are out of the house. Time to rock. Beside my gig as president of a small college, this is mostly what I do with my time nowadays.


The music industry has changed significantly since the pre-grunge days?  What changes have you seen and how are you approaching dealing with this changes?

Obviously the biggest change is the internet. It used to be that record companies were the filter to decide what was “good music” – people that were too crummy couldn’t make records. That started changing with the whole DIY thing in the 80’s – then the internet blew it up. Record labels don’t matter anymore. Anybody can get their music in front of the world. The filters used to be at the front – can you get stuff released – now they are at the end – how do you differentiate yourself from the 2 million crummy bands on MySpace. It is about reviews, PR, social networking and as always playing live, which by the way, I rarely do.

 

What changes do you see ahead for the music industry?

Well, the death of plastic seems pretty inevitable. There is still a shrinking market for CDs and vinyl, but your average person is pretty happy with their iPod and that seems irreversible.

On a more musical note, I see no more significant changes in popular music. Ever.

In the 20th century music changed as the technology to make it changed. First, there was the ability to record music. Changed everything, Then the ability to overdub made it possible to record music you could not perform live. Then the electric guitar changed everything again, making sounds that were previously impossible to make. Analog synthesis created the last batch of new timbres that popular music would require. Digital sampling was the final piece, as the hip hop guys brought John Cage’s notion that all sounds have musical validity to the mainstream.

In the past technological change in making sounds drove new music. I do not think there are any significant departures left on the kind of sounds that can be made. We can make them all.

I think what you have going forward is simply differing combinations of styles – personalization. Jazz is a great example. It runs a progressive course from New Orleans Jazz in the early century and by the end of the 60’s it has hit avant garde squawking and fusion. Sweet to scratchy – all been done. Everybody in jazz now works somewhere within that range. No place new left to go.

By the way, I hope I am completely wrong about this.

What's the biggest challenge facing you today as an independent label?

Just finding time to get things done. I’m pretty much a 1 ½ person operation. If I had greater ambitions there would be larger challenges, but at this point I am pretty happy to put things out at small but consistent level and let thing go where they go.



Are you working now primarily with your old catalog of artists?  Will you be looking for new artists?

My plan is to do a few things.

First, put out my own TD music. I’ve mostly got the old stuff out that I want out, so from here on it will be pretty much new. Second, is to re-release old catalog, just cuz I think it is great stuff that should be heard. Third is to put out new music from some old GMR folks, mostly Jeff Kelly/Green Pajamas, but we’ll see. Fourth is to put out completely new stuff by people that I’ve never done anything with. I’ve got a new band, Sigourney Reverb, that I like and may do some stuff with.

As time goes on I expect I will shift out of old stuff entirely. It will be all done. Probably take a few years though.



Are you a club rat, constantly searching live venues for cool acts?

Nope. Never was, always was a record guy. If I go out and see a band, it is very deliberate; I know about them from hearing something and check it out.



What are you looking for now?

The ecstatic experience. Music that makes me feel. Someone that can replace John Lee Hooker as my personal savior.



What would you like to see happen for the future of the music industry and your label in particular?

Well, I am of course perfectly fine with becoming an international superstar and having Jeff Kelly be bigger than Lady Gaga.

As for the industry, I think the decentralization of popular music that is ongoing is an unstoppable trend. I think digital music is here to stay, but I think due to increase storage crappy MP3s will go away.



Any final words for our waveriders?

Buy all our stuff. It’s better than everybody else’s.