Friday, July 17, 2009
Summertime: too hot for blogs
Got back from taking a bunch of clients on a camping trip to Mount Moresby, which went well. Everyone made it back safe and sound, which to me, made it a very successful trip!
Forthcoming blogs will include:
Listening response and thoughts on Jandek's "Newcastle Sunday" and "Hasselt Saturday". Thanks to Big Bruce!
I'm thinking a bit more krautrock...maybe a page (1/2 done) on Satin Whale - and others.
And whatever the hell I feel like writing about. I've gone back to writing and doodling in a notebook, and I didn't think I'd go back to such a quaint format! Lots of fun!!
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It's too hot today! Get outside!!
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Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Music Babblings: Troggs, Ramones, Bintangs, LSD Connection, Nazca and Nucleus!!!
The Troggs: Archaeology disc 1 of 2 - man, the incredible proto punk metal "I Want You" - later covered very effectively by MC5, but this version smokes even that - has an incredible, barely contained, intensity and Presley's (Reg) vocals suit the song perfectly and makes it fucking ominous.
Incredibly underrated! I'm just on disc 1, and it sounds like side 2 may get weaker
BUT
the first disc fucking rocks...[aside: just as I type this, "Any Way That You Want Me" slows things down a lot - yet - this is also rocks in a way, and i'm a sucker for the cello]...oh yeh..."I Can Only Give You Everything" is another stone cold classic. It reminds me of one of my fav Kinks songs - "I'm Not Like Everybody Else", which is classic punk done 1965 style.

Listening to The Ramones: "All the Stuff and More, vol. 1" reminded me of what a brilliant vocalist Joey Ramone was. The Ramones were awesome, and I highly recommend the dvd: "End of the Century: The Story of The Ramones" which I own and cherish and need to rewatch very soon.
I have a fondness for The Bintangs. To these ears, they epitomize what I think a good original bar band should sound like. These Dutch rockers have been around since 1961, and I just finished listening to "Alright" from 1991 - not expecting much...ya know, albums from 60s artists in the 90s don't usually yield too many positive results (Ian Hunter excepted), but this album was great...catchy, rockin', decent lyrics, 2 different style singers - one gruff, one smooth...short, economical songs that get right to the point. Man, these guys are great!!
For some reason, I've been enjoying Nazareth and Status Quo lately. I'm regressing back to grade 10...that's alright, isn't it?
Various: LSD Connection, vol. 7 (60s-70s released 2005) I already wrote about this series, and this is one of it's finest volumes. One heavy classic after another! Epizootic...Crank...Terry Brooks & Strange...Orion's Beethoven...one after another...classic after classic...I'm going to look up each of these guys. Here's the lineup:
Intro
Who's This Man - Utopia
Sinbad - Epizootic
Don't Push Me Away - Crank
Ruler of the Universe - Terry Brooks and Strange
El Nino del Tercer Milenio - Orion's Beethoven
Pain - Jenghiz Khan
Scarboro Fair - Ugly Custard
I Saw a Killin' - Josefus -
Demon and Eleven Children - Blues Creation
Children of the Universe - Banchee
Enjoy Yourself - Dragonfly
Stealer - Corporal Gander's Fire Dog Brigade
Gente - The (St. Thomas) Pepper Smelter
Whisky - Whisky David
Out of the Shadows - Clap
Man, Blues Creation!!! Awesome!!! Josefus...yeh, that was a fantastic song as well! A series I can't recommend enough...here's that damn link...here. Try any of them.
Nazca were quite the awesome band from the mid 80s. Very jazz experimental, with classical elements...always interesting...fascinating. From Mexico, releasing 2 albums in their too-brief lifetime. Nazca (1985) Estacion de Sombra (1986) and a live one released in 1988, but not sure when recorded.
The Pebbles series is even more brilliant than I expected!
I finally heard Ian Carr's Nucleus, and thought "We'll Talk About It Later" (1971) was great rockin' jazz. Harder than I expected. Definitely worth hearing more Nucleus albums. You can find Ian Carr's discography at Catasto Music Rarities.
[aside: man, I'm still digging The Troggs! "My Lady" just finished and I loved it! Another classic!!]
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Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Additional info on Les Rallizes Denudes
keep it quiet, but if you're interested in hearing Les Rallizes Denudes: Volcanic Performance (4 cds with material from 1975-1979) or Double Heads (6 cds with material from 1980-1981), you may want to head over to this very cool blog.
L'ombre du son (Shadow of Sounds)
Don't forget to say: "Thanks dude!!"
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Monday, June 15, 2009
Les Rallizes Denudes, Mott the Hoople, Sand & 3 youtubes of Les Rallizes!!!
Les Rallizes Denudes: I just re-read the chapter on them in Julian Cope's "Japrocksampler", and these guys blow my mind! Mizutani is a complete original - master conceptual artist - guitar hero - visionary...all I can say is that if you haven't listened to Les Rallizes then do a blog search and find some (any) of their albums, crank up the volume, and take a mind-blowing trip through the galaxy and you will come out the other side a BETTER person.
Hijackings, reclusiveness, stubborn refusal to sell-out, politics, noise assaults...it's all part of their history! I've gots to find the Ethan Mousike DVD on Les Rallizes!!!!
Check out:
1) Unofficial home page of Les Rallizes Denudes - in Japanese! Oh well...
2) Get some, hear some, change your fucking life by clicking this motherfucking link to the incredible We Have No Zen, and grab yourself some Les Rallizes and LISTEN!!!
3) Julian Cope presents Japrocksampler.com for Les Rallizes and other great Japanese "refusenik" (to use Julian's terminology) bands.
Are there any more irritating fans than those of the "jam" bands like Widespread Panic or Phish? Just listen to one of their live albums (well - you don't have to - that's my job) and hear the fans mindlessly cheer farts from the stage.
Sand: Golem (1974) but get the 2 cd Ultrasonic Seraphim instead. Vulture II really stood out to me. Fantastic krautrock. My concise notes from May 29th: "wild wild shit!" Sometimes my perceptions and descriptions amaze me...sheesh!!!
The May 2009 issue of MOJO has a great article on Mott the Hoople. The original Mott are reuniting this October. It's just a few live dates, so it should be fun - but, I kinda doubt they'll be coming to Haida Gwaii. Is Ian Hunter the world's coolest 70 year old rock star ever? If you can, definitely check out the MOJO article. Some cool pics and some interesting tidbits. The most interesting to me was that Benazir Bhutto was a fan! She was Seadiver 262 (Mott's fan club) and her fav Mott song was "All the Way From Memphis". Wild...
Ian Hunter's great official web site.
Did you know that Paul Hoffert from Lighthouse fame actually produced the Flower Travellin' Band's: Made in Japan (1972)!!
Feast your eyes on some Les Rallizes Denudes awesomeness...thanks notcatfish
and even more sensory assault!!!! thanks ashtrayheart23
why stop now!!! thanks notcatfish
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Friday, June 12, 2009
The High are Highs, the Lows are Low...
The Good
Our Charksi O'Shea, who stays over at our place some weekends, made the local paper as the Happiest Grad. She was over the top happy and it showed in her pictures. Char Char the Superstar!!
The Sad
One of my closest clients passed away yesterday. He was 55 and his health was poor, BUT...it still came in out of the blue. Died in his sleep. He and another client were the 2 that helped me the most when I first started the ol' Life Skill career. He was very personable and friendly, easy to talk to, and had a great sense of humour. He will be missed!! Don't forget to tell them that Angelo Mosca sent ya RJ!!!
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Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Poetry: All Lost at the Supermarket
aka/ White Boy on Reserve I
deep crease
thick skin
sun-soaked
facial features
stare
across the aisle
into my
startled eyes
at the supermarket
we both seem
stuck
in the moment
i nervous
puzzled
- obviously depressed
…scared??
he impassive
stoic
…confident
i realize…
i have let my guard down
…backed up a step
lost the upper hand
slowly>>>
he turns away
continues
his shopping
i pause for
a moment
to reflect:
white boy on reserve lost another one.
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by John Harvey 05/14/09
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Back on the Rock and Music Listening habits disclosed...am I weird???
Back from a stressful car buying trip to Prince Rupert & Terrace. Both our cars died, but buying 2 at once is a little too much man.
Weed ain't free...
2 bicycles = exercise & +++ for the environment!!!
ya don't spend much while on the island
but
when you go mainland
you gotta shop shop shop
til you wanna drop
guru's course got cancelled...so we came back early, and I still got some holidays left and am taking it easy man...
the weather is cool...i mean hot
and bring out any number of 70s rock cliches and apply to me - the booze but + the friends and "in the summertime" and the "livin' is easy" ya gotta "roll on down the highway"
yowza!!!
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Musical Ramblings
OK...is this weird? My listening habits --
- print up a "listening list" of about 5-6 pages by elimination from my "music collection list". Done in Word 2003.
- listen to my mp3 player the majority of the time.
- always keep the mp3 player as close to 1 gb as possible.
- make selections from my "listening list".
- listen to the mp3 alphabetically based on cd title.
- delete off mp3 when listened to.
- cross off the album from my "listening list".
- i choose the cds sometimes by 1) randomly pointing at the list or 2) choosing based on what artist has the most "outstanding" cds to listen to or 3) the 2nd cd of a 2 cd set (gotta listen to them close together!) or 4) occasionally just pick something from the list i feel like listening to! dammit!!
- and to prove i'm wild and unpredictable, i'll even pull out an lp - and there's NO "lp listening list"!! i'm so fucking rad...
Why did I go on about that? oh yeh...Feist and Cat Power were on the mp3, and I like Cat Power better, but certainly don't mind Feist, but I doubt I'd ever non-randomly put on Feist, but I could listen to Cat Power...and, I was surprised that both were on my mp3 player so close together, when neither is really my fav kind of music. I had to, ya know, justify this to myself or something.
Yeh, I guess I am weird.
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Mungo Jerry doing the classic "In the Summertime" 1970. thanks blechdackel
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Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Music Diary: Daevid Allen & the University of Errors, Mittelwinternacht and Jandek!!!!
Here are the last 3 cds I've listened to today.
Daevid Allen & the University of Errors: Melkweg 2006 (2006) A live show from the lovable stoned pixie himself, the brilliant Daevid Allen. Excellent show with a few Soft Machine covers.
Mittelwinternacht: Mittelwinternacht (1971) I love saying the name of this band
over and over
and over
until I'm laughing like a maniac while the music hovers in the background always ready to pounce.
First time listen - really enjoyed it, and another fine example of excellent krautrock
and the name totally ROCKS!
Jandek: On the Way (1988)
OK Mole...you're right!
Jandek's brilliant!! I love this cd!!
I would either consider this:
a) A perfect introduction to the world of Jandek. It's accessible in..ya know, a Jandek sort of way. "Message to a Clerk" actually rocks! The blues is the basis for this collection and it certainly keeps the music focused.
or
b) As I gain more exposure to his music I'm finally "getting" it, and in the same way I find Captain Beefheart totally accessible after 30 years of making my life better...
[aside: I actually picked up a 0.49 cent 8-track of "Unconditionally Guaranteed", when I was 14 in 1976 on holiday in the States and just starting my obsession with hearing everything at least once. This was my first listening experience of one of my Top 10 favs of all-time - Captain Beefheart.]
...I find myself feeling very comfortable in Jandek's world, and one I look forward to continue visiting on a regular basis.
Wow!! Was that almost a comparison of Jandek to Captain Beefheart (I think?)...
Not Jandek's official home page nor Corwood's, but rather a fan site - paraphrasing big_bruce.
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Holy shit! Plastic People of the Universe: Pasijove (1978) just started and it's sounds fucking incredible!! later...
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Tuesday, May 19, 2009
LSD Connection, Music Diary: Circle, Miles Davis, Sun Ra!!!!

excuse me - cough cough -
mice in flight
hallucinatory rings
love the insanity it brings
of the universal skull
is full of holes
and listening to this blot of acid is something that will open eyes pupils lenses holes and that scary filmy layer of the eye (is that the lens?) that freaks me out every time they showed us in grade school on some unsuspecting frog but
no i never cried
instead i took a dose of daily acid and this fantastic series of hard heavy satanic hilarity serious as shit music is something to treat the ears and dry the tears and cleanse the soul and...dammitt...listening to this series will make you feel good...
and introduce you to a lot of amazing obscure bands that deserve a listen. I first heard on LSD Connection the following artists...
The Bintangs - these guys are like the best fucking bar band ever...
November - i had to find all 3 albums and they're all great...
Sir Lord Baltimore, Yesterday's Children, tons more...
I don't know who put this together, but they did an amazing job and they deserve recognition and being hired by some record company if record companies had brains but we know how that story ends...
you can find it at the Crotchbat blog.
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Music Diary
The "Awesome":
Circle: Gathering (1971) this isn't the current Circle, whom i also dig, no, this is corea braxton holland and altschul weaving a tapestry quite unlike anyone else...the percussion and sound of this reminds me of aec (arts ensemble of chicago) and i luv em both and after miles this is easily the best corea i've heard and braxton continues to astonish me.
Miles Davis: Complete On the Corner Sessions, disc 2 (2007) obviously brilliant...
(and even more jazz...)
Sun Ra: Disco 3000, disc 2 (1978) sun ra continues to shine with his music that can take my hand and lead me through the universe without moving my fat lazy ass off this chair away from the computer...this particular 2 cd set is one of his best....don't be frightened of disco cause if this is disco then disco is the most brilliant shit out there and disco haters can fuck off...
John Cale / Terry Riley: Church of Anthrax (1971) this was way more melodic than i remembered and i forgot how much i love john cale's voice...on the one song he sings...
Hook: Hooked (1968) / The Hook Will Grab You (1968) i'm a sucker for this heavy (and yes somewhat cheesy) psychedelic rock'n'roll and is there a job out there for exploring this obscure shit and bringing it forth to the people of good taste????
Roky Erikson: Hallowe'en 1979-1981 (2008) is as incredible as i thought it would be...roky rockin' at his hardest...yessss!!!!!
and finally...i'm done writing this style...Whew....
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Sunday, May 17, 2009
Parliament-Funkadelic dvd, Midnight Special: T. Rex, The Guess Who and Kraftwerk!!
Watched about 9 songs worth of Parliament-Funkadelic Live 1976: The Mothership Connection dvd and loved it. The Guru didn't mind it, but an hour's worth of funk was enough for her. I'll finish it up later, but I can tell you that it's funking amazing. I've never seen George so skinny, and it's quite amazing to see people that high, still be that tight!
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The Guru and I have been watching old Midnight Special performances on youtube and there are some gems! Here's T. Rex from 1973 absolutely wailing away on "Bang a Gong" and putting it all out there! The backing singers are awesome...talk about high energy! I'm pretty sure that's Marc's wife Gloria Jones on the right...and Seals & Crofts do the intro!! thanks benbrownbass!
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Wow...and The Guess Who doing "American Woman" on the Midnight Special around 1973-4? The great late Kurt Winter wailing away on lead guitar. I always liked this version of the band. shhh...no need to mention Burton's outfit.... thanks 1979Silverburst!
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And how can we pass up Kraftwerk doing "Autobahn" from Midnight Special in 1975...we can't...bahn bahn bahn the autobahn...everybody!!! thanks rasslsk!
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Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Music Diary: Gentle Giant, Maneige, Wertmuller Project & Paul McCartney!!!
The excitement never stops here at the old carnival, and to increase the excitement that little bit more, I present to you the first and (hopefully) not the last one of Harvey Dog's Music Diary!!
Yep - I decided to comment on the last few cds (no matter how embarrassing!) I've listened to on my mp3 player and let the muse guide my fingers over the keyboard.
Gentle Giant: Philipshalle - April 1971 Dusseldorf, West Germany opening for Colosseum. I've been a fan of Gentle Giant ever since I was first introduced to them in high school by JK [aside: thanks JK!]. I don't listen to them as much as I did in my high school daze, but I'm still a fan. This concert has lousy sound, but is the earliest Gentle Giant live show I've found. Still - 38 years later from a portable tape recorder? I'll take it, rabbit, I'll take it! What stood out for me was Gary Green's harder guitar sounds, a really cool sound from the violin, and a bit of a harder edge than the Giants were noted for. *** for fans * for initiates (start with the studio albums!)

ahhhhhh....the dog is looking adorable passed out on the floor beside me...
Maneige: Les Porches (1975) Here's some prog from Montreal in the mid-70s. Only recently heard about them. First listen. Some beautiful stuff here! Worth investigating!!
Currently listening to: 3/3 self-titled lp japan 1973. All I can say is: "Fucking WOW!"
Wertmuller Project - disc 1 of Berlin 2008 at the Quasimodo Club November 2008 with Peter Brotzmann & Keiji Haino!! This is fucking explosive and tore my brain apart...
the mind smiled with delight

as sounds wafted through my body
pushing the pollution
out of thoughts
life
cleansing the soul with some awesome playing by everybody involved here.
Peter Evans tp
Peter Brötzmann tarogato/cl/as/ts
Mars Williams sso/as/ts
Keiji Haino g/voc/electr
Marino Pliakas b
Michael Wertmüller d
death metal free-jazz? That's what BigO has to say and I can see the point...also why the fuck do I want to argue with BigO for?!?! Great site for live downloads and political articles!
I am still in my infant stages when it comes to Brotzmann & Haino, but will continue to explore the mind-fields they create...I must...no...we ALL must explore these musicians...it will make us better people intellectually and that makes us more sexually attractive which will reduce hatred thus eliminating the need for warheads and explosive devices when the only explosive device needed is a cd of this wertmuller project then we can love not hate and prosper and grow in harmony and...
[aside: the above paragraph was written under the influence of 3/3 which is freaking me out and a touch of the mary jane]

Paul McCartney: Red Rose Speedway (1973) Well - this was definitely a let-down after the Wertmuller Project, but let's not be harsh! This was my first listen to this critically despised album, which is bizarre coming from an early Beatles fan. The album was pretty mediocre. McCartney did bounce back with Band on the Run (1973) & Venus and Mars (1975). His renaissance can be foreshadowed from the bonus cuts on this cd edition. I mean "Hi Hi Hi" is a great rock'n'roll song, that must have kicked live!! I'd say **1/2 for the original album & *** with the bonus cuts.
Well, there you have it! I will now go back to freaking out with 3/3...from Japan!
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Saturday, May 09, 2009
BC Ferries strikes again!!! Holidays postponed!!!!

Thursday, May 07, 2009
Back online - Blog Rejuvenation on the way! Holidays!!! Bachman-Turner Overdrive!!!!!
To the only other option out here. The guy I refused to go to originally because his attitude stank and he was extremely rude. I guess I had to whore myself out and since I'm back online - I'M LOVING IT!!!
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I've been a lazy lazy Harvey Dog for the past 5-6 months on the blog.
too much work
too much stress
too much letting work
increase my stress
BUT
we're heading off-island for a week starting on Monday.
Man - I am so looking forward to this -
I could shit...
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The Guru has been surprising me lately with her musical tastes.
Get this.
Mott the Hoople!!!
Bachman-Turner Overdrive!?!@(?!!!!!!
...and I thought she hated rock'n'roll!
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When I get back from holiday, it's time to re-energize this blog and shake the piss outta it!!
ideas are circling the brain
looking for a place to land
...
a detailed ongoing thought process review while watching "All You Need Is Love"
more musical bios
more funny / stupid / ludicrous conversations (imaginary or/and real)
interviews?
all kinds of shit!
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Here's a clip of Keith Moon introducing Bachman-Turner Overdrive doing the classic "Takin' Care of Business" from their prime! thanks RockingHardV3!!
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Friday, April 17, 2009
No Internet at Home!! The Joy of Rural Living!!!
Get this...
Our ISP guy is getting sued by some group, and he has proceeded to block the radio signals, so now we no longer can access the net. The solution according to the suers? Go to another ISP - oh, that leaves, let's see - dial-up or dealing with a big old jackass who yells at his customers. He's so bad, that I went there first, and he offended me so much, that I refused to business with him.
BUT
now he's the only hi-speed guy around!
What choice? It may take a week...it may take a month...it could take a couple of months. This is the way the guy operates.
Oh well...patience, dear boy, patience...I can access the net at work (which is what I'm doing now - on my break, boss - really!) so there may not be too much action on my blog. Then again, I've been negligent and uninspired, so a rest may recharge the ol' batteries.
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Quick little musical thing - I'm listening to Tony Joe White's "Swamp Music" disc 3, and he's fantastic. I love...I mean, I LOVE his voice!! Great songs...highly recommended!!!!
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Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Musical Thoughts (from a week ago!!): Rodriguez, Pussy Galore and Styx?!?!?!
Rodriguez: Cold Fact (1970) This is quite the find. Recently reissued bringing it the attention it deserves. I had read about Rodriguez in MOJO and Uncut, and he sounded like he was right up my musical alley. A week or two later, I found out that my digital music trading buddy had this [aside: thanks Brant], so I quickly threw in a request, and lo and behold...I WAS right. It is right up my musical alley! Awesome find! Review on AllMusic. A little like angry Dylan on the street corner singing to the wind that is blowing through the trees....
sometimes you love a musician / band right away...then it fizzles....
sometimes the love returns a second time...then it fizzles once again...
then comes Pussy Galore
I had underestimated them until "Live in the Red" blared through small headphones connected to my mp3 player...
and rocked my ears like a motherfucker & I wondered
"why did it take me so long?"
I had loved Jon Spencer's Blues Explosion immediately...then it fizzled...now this has brought back the love...
ya know...it makes ya think...nothings permanent...
oh yeh, now where was I?
The Guru and I had friends over the other night and we did the youtube thing of watching videos seeing who could get more absurd in their selections (Bay City Rollers anyone?), but when someone requested Mr. Roboto by Styx, I think the line was drawn between kitsch and cheesy, and just plain BAD. [aside: I'm not a Styx hater - but, Mr. Roboto??? I mean - they really couldn't have been serious???? Could they?????????????????]
ok whatever...guess there's worse...
then I realized that not everybody is a freak when it comes to music and may not dedicate their spare time unearthing obscure shit that maybe a handful of freaks would care about --
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