Back from Jasper, Bunch of new music: Impressions (part 1)

Greetings blog readers of the universe!!!

After a great visit to Jasper, Alberta and soaking in the beauty of mother nature I am back to the blog.

In the past couple of weeks I have accumulated more music and will do the old sharing of first impressions

re-impressions

pre-impressions.

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The Heads: Under the Streets of a Headlong Drive (2006)

I'm not sure if putting this on first thing in the morning at work was the most brilliant idea I've ever had (especially when trying to learn sql server 2005!), but hey...

I would call it heavy space rock with a bit of an edge. The singer sounds like some lost ghost of Ian Curtis or Virgin Prunes [aside: I haven't heard these guys for 24 years so have no idea what I'm talking about...I should get some Joy Division!]

First Impressions: Interesting...Heavy [aside: as it's playing I'm starting to wish I was on the right kind of drugs, but I'm at work! Damn!]

Last 2 songs definitely fit into the Boredoms, Acid Mothers camp...best stuff on the cd.

John Cale: Ocean Club 1976 (1976) bootleg

This is great! Cale is in awesome voice and the contrast of Cale and Patti Smith singing "Abilene" cracks me up. The Guru chuckled as well.

You could tell Patti was trying so hard to be significant in front of her heroes (Lou was there too). I don't blame her...fuck, who wouldn't be! Link to info on great Cale site.

(while listening to) Sun Ra: The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra Vol. 1 (1965)

From the very first notes of this album I knew I was going to absolutely love it...man...

it's mind blowing stuff for blown minds.

It's going crazy man.

"Other Worlds" is definitely an appropriates title! Awesome!

Why do I love the sound of bells in w a y o u t h e r e jazz? Coltrane does the same thing and I love it.

Flying Island: Flying Island (1975)

Never heard of this one until someone passed it along...cool jazz-rock fusion...lots of violin work so if you're a fusion fan...go for it! Pretty obscure shit.

Pink Floyd: A Saucerful of Secrets (1968)

I've always been a fan of Floyd yet never had this one.

Early Floyd is more where my head is at these days than later Floyd. Very spacey...

"Let There Be More Light"
starts off the album on a space journey

floating into stratospheres

melting the atmosphere...great beginning

"Remember a Day"

I have this one on Relics and always liked it.

dreaming

soaking up energy

in a field of poppies

sleepy and languid

i dream i dream

"Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun"

is absolutely awesome...

"Corporal Clegg"

had a wooden leg

drugs rhyme with bugs

rhymes rhyme with times

line by line

i drink wine

feeling fine...

yes, obvious rhymes here

that's neither here nor there

...um...ok...

"A Saucerful of Secrets"

i am scared that

the secret is here

the secret is nowhere

no it's now here

what the hell is in that saucer anyway?

"See-Saw"

ok...i guess it's a rest from the intensity of the rest of the album...so so

"Jugband Blues"

syd is not here

syd is not there...boy, syd sure has personality in his singing...great stuff.

Great album.

Gong: Time is the Key (1979)

This is really Pierre Morlen's Gong and it's certainly not as

o u t t h e r e

as Gong is with that crazy guy Daevid Allen.

It's nice, but I would go back to the wilder Gong or Acid Motherhood with the Acid Mothers first. Visit Planet Gong.

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Jasper was beautiful by the way...the weather was great, the hiking was great.

felt at peace

at ease

saw elks (dozens)

bears - 2 (1 dead, 1 alive crossing the highway)

coyotes (also crossing the highway)

...and the vicious Poobah!!

In our car!!!!!

Jasper Photos.

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Link for free Camouflage Danse downloads!!

I want to give out a link to Vaspers the Grate for free downloads of his Camouflage Danse: "Inside Sessions" (1987). Incredibly, it's all improvised...lyrics and all! I'd say if you like experimental music with "Hawaiian wah-wah guitar feedback, acoustic guitars, and Leonard Cohen-esque lyrics" which Vaspers describes as an "electronic psychedelic industrial space rock jam band" then this is the ticket for you. It certainly is for me. I've been getting into classic krautrock, space rock, weird shit, avante garde and this fits right in there.

The image is a Camouflage Danse poster from Vaspers' site. Very nice...

Give it a listen!!
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Tiger Lillies play with animals, first time listens and poetry inspired by Buckley...Tim that is!!

OFFENSIVE BAND
OFFENSIVE SECTION
OFFENSIVE MATERIAL
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

The Tiger Lillies: Farmyard Filth (1997)
I first heard The Tiger Lillies on The Gorey End, a collaboration with The Kronos Quartet. It was a blast...
completely different
from anything else. The Guru is a big fan as well. However, The Gorey End CANNOT prepare you for this musical platter.
Nothing could!

As they describe it on their web site: "the most extensive collection of songs dealing with zoophilia in recorded history. Flies, Sheep, Hamsters, German Shepherds, Giraffes, Pigs and Calves, a veritable Noah's ark of beasts are paraded before the listener. Other subjects include amputees, pensioners and transsexuals. You have been warned."

This is completely accurate...I should mention that the instrumentation consists of an accordion, musical saws, Eminance removable neck bass, recycled drums and toys. It's like you stumbled into some offensive,
hilarious
dark underground cabaret.
I have no knowledge of cabaret music, but it's very listenable and catchy, occasionally beautiful
with words enticing and
shocking
...and the way they say: "c-ock" cracks me up.

So, dudes and dudettes...if you're not....I repeat...NOT easily offended, check them out for a very surreal
bizarre
twisted time. These guys are fucked! A site with lots of photos of the band playing live and a site with some info.
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FIRST TIME IMPRESSIONS

Sun Ra: Strange Celestial Road (1980) Awesome!! Do yourself a favor and listen to SUN RA!

Thee Hypnotics: Soul, Glitter and Sin (1991) Ok...didn't really hit me.

Iggy Pop w/ David Bowie: The Mantra Sessions (1977) [Confession Time: When I was 20 or so, I really identified with Iggy. I mean...I fucking understood what Iggy was about!! I knew why he cut himself...I knew why he attacked the audience...I knew why every show HAD to be extreme...had to be on the edge...nothing less than TOTAL commitment would suffice. If you didn't go to the edge then...a safe, boring, predictable life awaited you...and that had to be avoided at all costs.
I guess it had something to do with low self-esteem, never feeling good enough, fear...as for Iggy...musta had something to do with that whole trailer park upbringing.]
As for this pretty famous bootleg? It's fantastic. This is primo Iggy and it is Iggy's show. Bowie sticks to the background. Good for him.

Pink Floyd: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967) I'm not sure why it took so long to finally get this album, but I'm glad the time finally came. It's pretty o u t t h e r e. I need to listen closer to the words (I was at work programming away). Maybe I'm starting to understand the reason for the cult of Syd.

Art Ensemble of Chicago: Bap-Tizm (1972) These guys are awesome, and so is this great live album. Intro by John Sinclair.

Kevin Coyne: Wild Tiger Love (1991) I've never been disappointed by any of his albums, and this album continues that streak. Kevin Coyne official web site.

Strata Institute: Cipher Syntax (1988) This is a free download at Steve Coleman's M-Base web site. This is a great album. Jazz. Pretty rocking jazz, actually. There must be 15 cds worth of downloads at his site. He wants people to download his music, and he writes about his philosophy on this. Very interesting...
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Poem written while listening to
Tim Buckley's "Starsailor"

float to the beat
of the whispered raven

let the flight
teach
the wisdom of
elusive truth

babies starve in the street
children die in the street
we turn our heads
we turn our heads
and still search for

truth...

it's swimming in the river
it's walking on mountains
it's riding through
the desert

it's living in the
pulse of every
movement
every moment

sweep aside
passive
indifference

it's alright to be scared
it's alright to be scared
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Prog Archives, Random thoughts, Ponty meets King Zappa and Ambrose Slade slide in at the end

I want to start off by providing a link to a great site. The Prog Archives. This is a great site to find info on obscure krautrock, space rock, or any kind of music that encroaches upon that dreaded term: p r o g r e s s i v e.

An excellent reference site that includes many bands not included in the All-Music Guide, which is also a fantastic reference. Isn't the internet wonderful?
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Random Thoughts

When I was little Harvey Puppy, I bought John Cale: Music for a New Society (1982) **1/2 when it came out. I didn't understand or get into the mother at all. I tried...
it was dark
depressing...all the things I usually like! No dice. Couldn't get into it.
Well, years later and the lp is long gone, so I got a copy on cd and put it on thinking I missed something in my younger years.
Nope. I still can't get into it. I love Cale, and I've read some pretty great reviews for this album...well, it's just one of those things.

Ash Ra Tempel: Ash Ra Tempel (1971) ***** I love this album.

I've been starting to collect old Captain Beefheart shows. I'll never get a chance to see the Captain live, and the closest I can get is listening to these mediocre tapes and feeding off the energy contained within. I have one from Portland 1971, and one from Vancouver 1973. Thank God for crappy audience tapes!

OK. After talking about the Flaming Lips in my last post, I got a hold of a copy of the new one. At War with the Mystics (2006). How many times do you hear "rock" stars in interviews always say that the new album is "harder" than the last one, and "we're back to rockin' man". I can understand they're viewpoint and the attitude. BUT. If you have to talk about "rockin'" you ain't "rockin'".
[aside: I'm referring to interviews in MOJO and Uncut where the Lips talk about how they're rocking again...blah blah blah]
Anyway...what about this album? I think it sounds great! I don't see that they rock like the early albums (that attitude is gone, man...sorry), but it's catchy, upbeat and a fun listen. The electric guitar is more prominent than on "Yoshimi", and it sounds a little more open. Good stuff.

The Sunburned Hand of the Man: No Magic Man (2004) is pretty fucked up. I really like it! Interview with the head Hand of Man, John Moloney.

I'm listening to Soul Jazz's "Universal Sounds of America", which is great as are most Soul Jazz compilations, and it includes the full length "Space is the Place" by Sun Ra. This was my second listen to this incredible 20+ minutes within the past 3 days. It really is amazing...the 20 minutes just fly by.

Big Star: #1 Record - I've heard and read tons of positive things about Big Star, and listening to this I can see that it's certainly catchy. These guys and The Raspberries do give "pop" music more depth than the usual 70s AM "pop" fare.
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Jean-Luc Ponty: King Kong (1969) Finally I have this interesting slab of Zappa instrumental compositions done by Ponty under Frank's dictatorship. Zappa has at times in my life been my MOST favorite artist. This is also a really good album to listen to if you're programming. I love the sound of the violin in a rock context. Good shit!
[aside: One of my favs is Sugar Cane Harris' amazing violin and vocals on Little Richard's "Directly from My Heart to You" on Zappa's: Weasels Ripped My Flesh.]
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Let's stay positive! Ambrose Slade: Ballzy (1969) Ambrose Slade were the precursors to Slade and this early album from 1969 is extremely charming and enjoyable. "Roach Daddy" is a buzz, covering Zappa's "I Ain't Got No Heart" is fun and well-done,...nothing revelatory or totally mind blowing,...just a cool little obscure artifact from a cool period in music.
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Flaming Punks on Acid, Red Krayola Rule, Embryos and Sun Ras are cool!

The Flaming Lips: Finally the Punk Rockers are Taking Acid 1983-1988 (2002) ****1/2
I got a great fucking deal on this 3 cd set. $30 at a used cd store place in Mississauga, Ontario. This was my first "real" introduction (I had heard "She Don't Use Jelly" when it was a college hit) to the band, and remains to this day, my fav Lips album.

The early music has more raw energy, compared to the great, but VERY precise later albums. I really really really like Yoshimi and maybe the new one ("At War with the Mystics") will make me a believer ...BUT....

I cannot lie. I like the early
punky fun
crazy
d r u g
induced lyrics
one million billion
brain cells
swirling in a
vat of acid
spewed out like only you can when you're young, dumb, and full of acid fried goodness.

I love shit like "Jesus Shooting Heroin", "One Million Billionth of a Millisecond on a Sunday Morning" and the Alice Cooper "Levity Ball" influenced "The Ceiling is Bending". You just can't hear those riffs often enough!

I really should get the "Fearless Freaks" documentary on the Lips. They are definitely worthy of more investigation. Flaming Lips official web site.
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I am thoroughly enjoying Red Krayola's "Introduction", and the deconstruction of "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" called (appropriately) "Breakout" is fantastic. Ya gotta love the older guys who are still interested in "creativity". There is so much to enjoy in this album, that different bits leap out on every listen. Highly recommended.
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EmbryoNNCK: No-Neck Blues Band and Embryo (2006) Don't expect the blues, but expect an album of primitive beauty with music floating in and out of the ear
voices come
voices go
peace approaches
and this is an excellent new album by early krautrock pioneers Embryo and The No-Neck Blues Band (the NNCK part of the name) who sound incredible. I will be looking into NNCK in the future.
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Sun Ra: Space is the Place (1972) ***** This album is one hell of a motherfucker. This was the first Sun Ra that I completely fell in love with.

Space
is the
Place
Space is the Place
and we all need to find our space
and we all need to find our place
and we all need to listen
to the master of the sun...
the RA man!!!!

Cool Sun Ra web site.
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