Captain Beefheart is safe as milk, flowing saws in a can and bananas are melting in the SUN!!

Heat Wave!!!

set the controls for the heart of the sun
avoid being blistered by the sun
don't forget
sea, sex and sun!!!
***

Captain Beefheart: Safe as Milk (1967) ***1/2
For years, I've had a lousy re-issue bastard called Captain Beefheart at His Best (1989), which deservedly received a slam from The Captain Beefheart Radar Station.
Lousy sound!!
Lousy mix and they dropped..."Dropout Boogie"!!!
The bastards!!!!

Praise the good Captain, the situation has been rectified and I am now in possession of a proper release of Safe as Milk...with bonus tracks!!!

Listening to early Cap is different...
unique...
straight r & b
NOT straight r & b...
brilliance
still o d d
more...traditional?

a young Captain?????????
with overt influences????????????????

Fav songs:
Electricity - breaks away from tradition and creates it's own
Yellow Brick Road - always found this really catchy...I've always wanted to go to OZ.
Call On Me - moves me...
Plastic Factory - hard rockin' precursor to "Hard Workin' Man"

Is this the place for a neophyte Beefheartian to start?
I started with Unconditionally Guaranteed (1974) in high school...liked it...didn't think it was that weird...
next got Trout Mask Replica (1969) and umm...
You could say that I thought it was weird...
I knew it was fucked!
I knew, I knew...it was worth working through...
not all classics are EASY.

So my answer would be ---- start with Clear Spot (1972) --- a little bit of everything, then go fishing for trouts!!!
***

Can: Flow Motion (1976) **1/2 Saw Delight (1977) ***
What to make of latter Can?
No Damo...No Malcolm...
I haven't listened to these that much...but from what I have, it's --- enjoyable.
Doesn't hit the peaks of days past.
Lower expectations, and let it silently
...wash over you.

Conclusion - inconclusion = pleasant if you're a fan...but start with Damo or Malcolm!!
[aside: I should add Soon Over Babaluma (1974) and Landed (1975) are pretty great, and are the first ones without Damo.]
***

Melt Banana: Cell-Scape (2003)
crazy crazy crazy
I LOVE IT!
Closer to The Boredoms than Acid Mothers Temple
(And that can mean whatever you want it to mean!!!!).

This is my first Melt Banana and this is a group definitely to be explored.

after a ridiculous amount of sweat, they end the album with a 10 minute journey to the stratosphere.

chaos
then...peacestorm
***

Random Ramblings

What was the music you heard growing up? For me, my Dad was into jazz - mainly big band - lots of lps
[aside: including the classic Herb Alpert: "Whipped Cream" lp with that delicious cover!].
I love a LOT of jazz (Miles and Coltrane would be top 10 artists of all-time for me), but still can't get into big band shit...

With all the shit going on in the world today...where the fuck are today's punks???

Pere Ubu...
The first album I had of Ubu was Worlds in Collision (1991) which, you know...is good, catchy and a few songs are even great, BUT...it's not early Ubu.
Fortunately, Randy supplied a couple of early Pere Ubu albums, (as well as Rocket from the Tombs)
I have no idea why the fuck I never got into these guys in the late 70s...
Why does that happen?
You miss a band you really shouldn't have. [aside: I blame the booze!]
Hey, who cares? Just enjoy it today...I'm currently grooving to The Modern Dance (1978).

Betty Davis is funky as shit...check her out...

Do you know who wrote / performed the 3rd song referenced in my opening salvo?
I know the first 2 were easy...but didja get the last one?
Answers: Pink Floyd, Violent Femmes...Serge Gainsbourg.
***

John Cage meets Sun Ra!!

John Cage Meets Sun Ra (1987)
So...I'm done downloading from Live Music Archives for the weekend and decide to get all intellectual and go visit UBU Web.

A great site full of poets...readings....poets reading...and....
John Cage Meets Sun Ra!!!!

A complete album from 1987 and recorded June 8th, 1986 at the "Sideshows by the Seashore: Coney Island, NY".

What to expect with these 2
f
a
r
o u t
musicians?

let's see...sounds like a flute...bells...a synth?...chimes!?
some nice conversation between the 2...

hello sun...hello john
nice day...yes it is
wanna freak people out?...sure.

oh oh..john's in a trance!!!!
hey...where did everybody go?? hello? hello? um...hello?
all i hear is a crackle...
WAIT
this is john fucking cage...
this IS the song!!!

oh...he came back!!!
hi john! where's sun?
this sounds like a sad sound poem about aging...* sigh *
i hear ya john
...damn he's gone again.
what?!
there's a crowd??
the most polite crowd...EVER!!
now it's....beautiful.

and the first side ends
and the second begins

ominous
then...silence...
getting their shit together?

oh, hi john

as i listen...
i understand...

the value of silence...

they applaud the silence
...a great crowd!!

now they're rockin'!
intensity
interactions
entwined genius

what???
it's done!!!!
way too fast!!

This is a great listen, and can be downloaded from UBU Web...
great wild shit...

Verdict: worth the download
***

Boredoms bore through brains, Kevin Coyne sings for Syd Barrett, Walter Wegmuller reads tarot cards and Parliament IS Osmium!!

The Boredoms: Super AE (1998) *****
the mind...
expanded
manipulated
fucked
...ever since my friend Randy hooked me onto the incredible Japanese noise bands, Acid Mothers Temple & The Boredoms.

This album takes you on a wild trip...
a roller coaster ride through the cranium.

The best advice I have for a "noise-experimental-avant garde-krautrock" music newbie is to....
ACCEPT!
Forget your preconceived notions of music...music is whatever you want it to be! It can be found anywhere and everywhere. Appreciate the beauty (AND ugliness) of sound.

I actually found a translation of whatever the hell they're singing about on the net...click on the Boredoms link above. Now that's dada (or is it mama
mama
it's S U P E R !everything!

[aside: doing a bit of searching on Japanese Noise Bands, has brought up a couple more bands to explore: Melt Banana and Merzbow. Musical discoveries never stop...yeh!!!]
***

Random Thoughts

I put on The New Faggot Cunts right after The Boredoms, and it felt like a very linear progression. Very impressive stuff. Free download at Puzzling Music Archive. Nice name, huh?
hahahahaha....certainly stands out like a motherfucker!!

Silver Apples: Silver Apples (1968) / Contact (1969) *****
I'm listening to this right now, and it's freaking me out...once again!
These guys were so far ahead of their time...
mind blowing
intense, wild, experimental
playful, thought-provoking
highly enjoyable...highly recommended.
thoughts from a silver apple ("You and I")
we don't have time for little things
there is no room for little things
because life is full of important things.

My friend Mole has a blog where he puts up the playlists for his radio show on...
ta..da!!
CFMU
McMaster University
my hometown of Hamilton Ontario...."a long long long time ago!!!"
There are links to his radio show on it...check it out, lots of good old fantastic weirdness. Mole's blog.
***

Kevin Coyne with Achim Goettert: Opera for Syd (1999) **** bootleg
This was a stage presentation put on by Kevin and Achim, and the Syd in question is none other than...Syd Barrett.

"Ain't this weird?" category
I pick out around 10 cds to take to work each day [aside: I don't listen to them all...I just like choice!], so I picked out this cd.
While driving to work I heard on the radio that Syd Barrett had died at the age of 60! Of course, I put this on immediately.

This record is fucking great!
I'm not sure why, but I had low expectations for this album.
No idea why...a feeling.

I was W R O N G!
It's blowing me away.
depraved and disturbed
energy and intensity
Another thing about Kevin Coyne -
when it comes to writing
singing about the mentally ill /
no one does it better / more attuned / sensitive
true or honest
than Kevin Coyne
(Born: January 27, 1944 Derby, England
Died: December 2, 2004 Nurnberg, Germany)

[aside: "House on the Hill" is probably my fav song about the mentally ill. Find it on Marjory Razorblade (1974).
Case History (1972) is my fav album about mental illness.]

This should be released immediately!!!
***

Cool web site alert

NPR Music Mavericks.
Play Harry Partchs' instruments and more fun!
I thought I sounded good on the "Metal, glass and bells"!! almost

You can even listen to the whole series (13 parts) on RealPlayer if you want and various interviews with oddball composers.
I'm listening to some interviewer trying to get Lamonte Young a chair. It seems to be taking them a bit of time to get their shit together! Hilarious!!
***

Walter Wegmuller: Tarot (1973) ****
This 2 cd set involves favs of mine: Ash Ra Tempel / Cosmic Jokers!

Walter introduces the 36 or so (actually 8!) people that co-wrote each song on the album to kick it off.

rockin' elements
jazzy elements
folk elements
space elements...sometimes o v e r t h e t o p ....
throw together in a vat of acid
(or other mind-altering substances)
and...record baby record!

cd2 starts off on another
planetary dimension and I feel like I'm in a gypsy tent...
I can't find the door
the walls are invisible.

unknown corridors
more dark
more ominous
the end is nearing
the tarot
reveals
t r u t h...
whatever you want it to be!

Great stuff as is everything I've heard Ash Ra involved in. Walter on AMG.
***

Parliament: Osmium (1970) ****
Different from the more familiar and famous Parliament albums. More Funkadelic-like in tone and feel.
Lots of Eddie Hazel...lots of gospel singing...lots of acid...lots of EVERYTHING!!
Let the party begin!! The greatest funkers of all-time are here!!

I Call My Baby Pussycat - awesome start...a classic!
Put Love in Your Life - psychedelic gospel baby and we all need a little love in all our lives...great singing, great guitar.
Little Old Country Boy - this is awesome...what a hook! who put the acid in my cornflakes?
Moonshine Heather (Takin' Care of Business) - not bto...mercy...just funky bizness
Oh Lord, Why Lord / Prayer - back to church for healings after moonshine heather
My Automobile - very cool song...i wouldn't think that driving with Mr. Clinton would be the brightest of ideas...
"George, look out!! Flying spaceships!!!!"
"Shaadap and have more of this...fucking white boys!"
There is Nothing Before Me But Thang - fucking right!!! great rawkin' song.
Funky Woman - reminds me of the old days...
Livin' the Life - gospel psychedelic jesus acid guitar
[aside: hey...great name for a band: "Jesus Acid Guitar"...feel free to steal]
The Silent Boatman - Bagpipes. There are fucking bagpipes in this song!?!

This album moves between genres fast and quick, which some may cite as a weakness...
not necessarily me...
This is the most underrated, ignored CLASSIC album by the funkers. If you love the psychedelicized acid guitar work of the early years (as I do)...what are you waiting for?? Get this album NOW!!
***

A Big One! Impressions Part 2, Faust, old recollections and free music download sites! And More! Whew!!

Free Music Downloads.
And legal too!!!

#1 - Live Music Archive.

They have some live concerts available for free download. How many? Oh, only about 37,000.

It only includes artists who are trade-friendly. So...no worries about artistic infringement and all that legal stuff.

I've downloaded some great shows by Dream Syndicate (yes!!!), Cracker, Hammell On Trial, Josh Ritter (mainly for the Guru, but it sounds good), Acid Mothers Temple (double YES!!!), Soul Coughing (cool!) and there's tons more to check out and explore...awesome site!!!!

#2 - Puzzling Music Archives

Another great free, legal music download site. Nowhere near as big, but sure as hell more
w e i r d...
For those of you into the weird fucked-up shit (like me), check out Fat Worm of Error, New Faggot Cunts and especially Deerhoof!
***

Impressions (Part 2)

Can: The Peel Sessions 1973-1975 (1995)
Finally! Some live Can! It's great. The 1st track with Damo is the best...he's wild! The rest is without Damo, but I still love their later stuff.

Dream Syndicate: Medicine Show (1984)
I remember buying this when it came out in 84, and I was into them. Then I sold my lps [aside: * sigh cry sob *...I hate youth, alcohol and lack of money!] and the only cds I had of theirs was the first (great) and a scratched copy of their greatest hits.
forward 20 years later * BAM!!! *
I've got back into these guys once again! It's cool re-discovering great music. These guys also have a couple of shows on "Live Music Archive" that I've already downloaded.
I've listened to the 1987 set from Greece and thought to myself: "Self. These guys were awesome live! I've got to check out the 20 or so live shows that Steve Wynn has on Live Music Archive"...real raw guitar-based rock'n'roll..."John Coltrane Stereo Blues" absolutely blows me away every time!
Steve Wynn Official Web Site.

Captain Beefheart: Captain Hook 1974 (1993) bootleg
This is a boot from a concert with the so-called "Tragic Band".
Well...I think this concert is the tops!!!
The Captain's in great voice, the band's tight and rockin'.
I always liked Unconditionally Guaranteed (1974). First purchased on 8 track when I was around 15 0r 16.
I love how the Cap throws out poetry every so often to an unsuspecting crowd...great show!Here's a link to a note from Michael Smotherman (keyboardist for the Tragic Band) which I think sheds some light on this period of the Cap. Interesting.
P.S. I agree that Bluejeans and Moonbeams (1974) indicated that the Cap needed a break to rejuvenate...which he did!!

Alex Harvey: Rock Workshop (1970)
Early pre-Sensational Alex Harvey is relatively straightforward, but his charisma and personality still shines through (check out "Born in the City"..."You To Lose" is interesting even though it sounds like Alex isn't totally comfortable in this style). A number of instrumentals surprisingly. I find him intriguing...whom knows? Maybe I'm even related to him!
***

Faust: Faust (1971) **** / So Far (1972) *****

free your mind...
experience
different places...
crevices...
holes in the soul...
a murder mystery
for fortune seekers...
a junkie's paradise
where Miss Fortune
is the heroin
surging
through your veins

sunshine girl
sits crosslegged
knitting rainbows
reading Henry Miller
and sipping wine

it's a rainy day
sunshine girl
it's a rainy day.

"It's a Rainy Day, Sunshine Girl" & "No Harm" are my 2 favorite Faust songs! ...
why do they want Daddy to take the banana?
what does it matter that tomorrow is Sunday??

These are definitely questions worth pondering!!!
What twisted perversions are they talking about???
I mean...bananas and daddy? and on Sunday!!!!

Brilliant...great Faust web site
***

Recollection Time

Out of the blue...old thoughts...
The Violent Femmes playing their first Canadian show...
ever...
a minister's son
from Milwaukee Wisconsin
in my hometown of Hamilton, Ontario.

Now get this...
In the basement of my old
Roman Catholic Church...
Canadian Martyrs'...
2 blocks from where
Harvey Dog
was raised
as a young pup...

My buddy JK and I got shitfaced [aside: as usual] and the band played great and we stood at the side...pounding 'em back like thirsty motherfuckers...and I pissed next to the bass player, Brian Ritchie, and he verified it was their first time in Canada...he was friendly.
The band got high outside...
my old Church, my old Grade School...
how times had changed
how times had changed.

We got drunker...bought a cool red Violent Femmes t-shirt...had a few more drinks...
broken glass,
a hand in the broken glass...a little blood...more drinks
Mickey DeSadist of The Forgotten Rebels was there...he sang with the opening act...good, but the ol' noggin's a little dull on the details...

a good time was had by one and all...

then I went back to JK's
...and we had, if I recall

...a few more drinks.
***

Depression Status: Well, I've worked really hard on controlling this depression bastard and the hard work is paying off. One thing I've learned through this ordeal (which has been going on intensely for over 3 years now) is that controlling depression requires work...forever!
some of the hardest work I've ever had to do.

So if you're struggling...keep working hard
you can get over it.

positive vibes
positive vibes...
***

Vaspers has added more Camouflage Danse mp3s for free download! Here's the link for details and lyrics and all kinds of good stuff.
***

Guru T-Lu on the New York Dolls: One Day It Will Please Us To Remember Even This (2006)
"David Johansen sounds like Randy Newman fronting a rock band."
[aside: the album sounded good on first listen. Can't compare to the original 2. How could it?]
***

Great conversation between Thelonius Monk and some reporter.
"What kinds of music do you like?"
MONK: "I like all types of music."
"Do you like Country and Western?"
MONK: "I like all types of music."
***