West Side Story

This tale, and updated version of Romeo and Juliet, of course, displays the unnecessary bigotry and hated of the "other" in NYC in the early 60's. The stupidity of fighting for "turf" is highlighted as a Latina (played  in a very un-politically correct manner by the very white Natalie Wood) falls in love with a "pollack" as their different factions fight for the streets of NYC.

Again, the cinematography and sets (obviously on a sound stage, but very effective none-the-less) is superb, with special kudos to the lighting and set dressers. As I said, I have always loved the choreography of these types of films and this is especially well done - Jerome Robbins did an incredible, unforgettable job here - and Leonard Bernstein shines with his music for Stephen Sondhelm's lyrics, creating fantastic songs that stand the test of time and have been covered by musicians as varied as Tom Waits and Alice Cooper (which may be a reason why this resonates so strongly with me).

Of course, the story of two outcasts falling in love heartened my heart, as well, as I have always been an outcast in the crazy world we live in - although, of course, I didn't want to end up as these characters did! Naturally, in today's world of ultra-violence, this story of rival gangs is pretty quaint, but it's a good story, told well, with style (man, the PR's all dress like MInk DeVille!) and flash.

I'd be surprised if anyone has not seen this in this day'n'age, but if not, make the time while it's available on Netflix!

Fiddler on the Roof

I have always been a sucker for 60's musicals, having grown up in that time, living with the soundtracks and often singing the songs in one fashion or another - home, school, in the playgrounds. I always loved the choreography that was displayed in these movies (as well as in the various variety shows of the time) and appreciated the way the films would combine the music and visuals.

Fiddler is set in the early 1900's Russia and focuses on the changes that a family goes through as the daughters grow up and become independent while the Tsar eventually evicts the Jews from their village.

I am sure that I was entranced by the fact that the main characters were rebelling against the "tradition" that the older generation was extolling, as was happening everywhere in the 60's - the movie is obviously a simile for the then-modern times. The father eventually comes around and understands that things like love matter more than tradition and that tradition does not supercede the ultimate political authority, which is what squashed the rebellion of the 60's.

The cinematography is especially nice, with effective bits such as the father, who has regular conversations with God, suddenly finding himself far away from the people whose situation he is discussing with God. But, the sights in general are effective and rich in colors and show fine direction with lots of fantastic shots'n'angles (a wow shot - stark white geese against a grey graveyard scene).

It is a sad story, but also filled with hope and love that they pray will overcome the situations that they find themselves in - as many can relate to in this modern day'n'age, as they could in the 60's.

A timeless tale, as people try to find themselves and try to find love in a world that cares nothing for them, for what else can we all do?

recommended gigs and live streams

8-27-20 - Atomic Video Jukebox Live Stream

8-29-20 - the B-52's free live stream at 8:00 pm
8-29-20 - The Tell Tale Hearts video viewing party at 1:00 pm Pacific Time at the TTH's FB page

9-2-20 - Monk and the Po Boys LIVE at the Sand Dollar

9-4-20 - The Zombies live stream - 9:00 pm

9-18-20 - the Delta Bombers live stream 6:30 pm Pacific time

9-26-20 noon through 9-27-20 noon - Life is Shit Virtual Festival from the Dive Bar

10-31-20 - Rayford Brothers LIVE at the Sand Dollar

Echo in the Canyon (movie)

Laurel Canyon was, of course, LA's center for its folk rock scene, with the likes of the Buffalo Springfield, Mamas and Papas, Byrds, Joni Mitchell, Jim Morrison, and many, many more living in the somewhat secluded neighborhood, which was still just over the hill from Hollywood. This documentary concentrates on this folk-rock scene with some fantastic period footage, interviews with some of the survivors and a concert and recordings done by more modern artists such of Jacob Dylan, Beck and Fiona Apple. For me, the concentration on the newer artists is a bit overdone, especially as they try to put the period into some sort of historical perspective, without having lived it. Their performances are quite good, but don't match the originals, which just goes to show how talented the 60's musicians and singers were/are.

But, this is well worth seeing for the original music and the fine footage that was uncovered, as well as the modern interviews with those who were there - Roger McGuin, David Crosby, Michelle Phillips, Graham Nash, Stephen Stills, etc. - along with the likes of Ringo, Jackson Browne and Tom Petty, in his last film interview. Amazing music that is still highly influential and that will make you want to pull out your old albums once again!

RIP Walter Lure

Sad to hear of Walter's demise - gawd knows what the Heartbreakers would have sounded like without him, although he emulated Johnny's style, I think he kept the group more grounded and helped to hold it all together.

recommended live streams

8-26-20 - The Hypnotiques live stream at 8:00 pm
8-26-20 - Goldtop Bob LIVE at the Sand Dollar

8-27-20 - Atomic Video Jukebox Live Stream

8-29-20 - the B-52's free live stream at 8:00 pm

9-2-20 - Monk and the Po Boys LIVE at the Sand Dollar

9-26-20 noon through 9-27-20 noon - Life is Shit Virtual Festival from the Dive Bar

10-31-20 - Rayford Brothers LIVE at the Sand Dollar

RIP Ron Heathman of the Supersuckers

Former Supersuckers guitarist Ron ‘Rontrose’ Heathman has died 
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Ugly Things #54

Obviously, Ugly Things was always intended to be Mike Stax's tribute to the Pretty Things and with the untimely death of Phil May a couple of months ago, of course, Mike had to dedicate this issue to the great man. With remembrances from Mike, naturally, along with friends and peers and highlighted by an interview/tribute with the PT's guitarist Dick Taylor, May receives a fine send off from many of the people that he touched and influenced.

There is a cornucopia of treats inside besides Phil, including stories on 60's bands The Paisleys, the Electras and the Search, a bit of craziness regarding Hasil Adkins, and innumerable reviews of wild releases - records, books, movies and more!

As always, this is essential reading for the discerning rock'n'roller!

The Schizophonics - live stream from the Casbah, Saturday August 15, 2020

(Photo by Becky DiGilio Photography)

On Saturday, the Casbah hosted the Schizophonics' live stream for their only show of the summer - strange times indeed that we are living in! Although there was not a live audience (other than a few friends/workers), the Schizo's still put on a full-throttle, high-energy show, with Pat leapin'n'dancin' non-stop, to the extent that he literally tore the soles off of his shoes! (No joke!) From the opening "Black to Comm" (MC5, of course) through to the last note, they blasted through songs from their various records, along with wild covers of Roxy Music and more, only taking breaths to take a few phone calls  (!) and online requests. Totally fun and this is the kind of show that makes me miss live music!

Hopefully, we can get back to normal again sooner rather than later, so we can get back to rockin'n'rollin'n'rantin'n'ravin'! Note: If this band can wear masks while performing, you can wear a mask to go to the store! 

The Energy of Slaves - Poems by Leonard Cohen

As I said, I became a fan of Cohen's via his music in the late 60's as I was learning to play folk music on the acoustic guitar. These books belonged to my wonderful sister, Sharon, who helped me discover him and who is now cleaning excess items from her house so I claimed them.

This edition was published in 1972 although, of course, the poems stem from a period of a number of years, but this still shows growth from The Spice Box of Earth in my mind, although those were already strong works. Here, his lines are shorter and to the point, but still with terrific imagery and his clever sense of humor, as he tells tales of relationships won and lost, lust, love, boredom and violence. He is self-referential at times, with snippets of songs, older poems, mentions of lovers, such as the famous Marianne, and more. There is a certain power to her form, and the words will stick with you, whether or not you can say what he meant to say.

My love of poetry is very particular, but I thoroughly enjoyed this and look forward to finding more of his books, as I have not read many. Recommended for those who dig this kind of thing.

Leonard Cohen - The Spice Box of Earth

I became a Leonard Cohen fan in the late 60's when I first started to learn to play the guitar, due to my older brother and sister's enthusiasm for his music. He began his career as a poet of some renown before deciding (correctly) that music would bring his words to a larger audience. This 1961 book was Cohen's second collection of poems (prior to his musical career), which was met with literary acclaim, but he then moved to the Greek island of Hydra for several years before releasing any further works.

While his meanings may sometimes be fairly impenetrable, Cohen always has a fine turn of phrase, and, at times, can be quite direct in his thoughts. Occasionally, his cadence reminds me a bit of Bukowski, although the subject matter is extremely different, but he can be similarly down-to-earth. Anyone who is a fan of his music is familiar with his poetic lyrics which range from sweet stories of love to almost vulgar sexuality and violence. Love'n'lust, jealousy, observations of life and more infuse his words with personal connections and intimacy.

Those who dig a post-Beat style of poetry should absolutely research his writings. A major talent, indeed.

Black Angel's Death Song - Sinning With a Policy

While post-70's popular music was pretty much universally atrocious (with certain exceptions, of course), the LA underground scene in the 80's and 90's had a hugely diverse group of fantastic musicians playing a wide variety of incredible music to a devoted crowd of followers. Punk rock ethos infused just about every style of music possible, with some amazing results. Musicians overlapped, as well - a couple of these gents also powered Trash Can School - to create a crazily terrific time.

BADS were certainly influenced by the Velvet Underground, but much more, as well, and these variables join together for their hip, unique sound. This CD, released by Hell Yeah Records, a division of Dionysus, combined two previously released vinyl EPs. While they concentrated on the more psychedelic angle - "More" sounds practically like something Spacemen 3 might do - they would also tackle Germs-like punk rock ("Brothers and Sisters"), hard-edged, twisted riff-rock ("Brown Water/Nothing Remains"), a mellow ballad ("Bernadette"), an intense - musically and lyrically - bit of mid-tempo, anti-racist politicization in "N*gger" (today's racial insensitivity in the news is nothing new), a kinda/sorta Velvet-y dynamic number in "What Will It Take?", a powerful, stompin', repetitive riffer for "In These Times" and a highly original jammy take of the Doors' "The End" that closed their Sinning With a Policy vinyl release.

The Brett Sessions EP opens with an almost country-ish "Roller Coaster" (sounding almost nothing like their other material) but "Destroy the Evidence" is more like it with convoluted licks'n'rhythms in a mix of 70's punk'n'Devo, and "Nothing Equals Nothing" is my favorite song of theirs: a high-energy guitar riff interspersed with start'n'stop dynamics and sing-along chorus - only complaint is that it is far too short! "What Do You Mean" is nice'n'droney, in a melodic, psychedelic way, "12 Stations to Go" is simply a cool, Catholic School rocker, there's a touch of Dylan in "Spanish Cobras", s sad, Nick Cave-ish (or is that more Spacemen 3?) ballad in "Fall In the Fire" and it all concludes with a slow psych/country number appropriately titled "Are You Done?".

A bit of psych, a bit of punk, some hep noize, cool drones and just plain rock'n'roll all thrown together in this cement mixer of sounds. Dig it!

recommended live streams

8-13-20 - DJ Atomic VJ's music videos starting at 8:00 pm
8-13-20 - Gold Top Bob LIVE at the Sand Dollar - wear a mask!

8-15-20 - the Schizophonics live stream from the Casbah at 8:30 pm

8-18-20 - the New Waves live stream 7:00

8-26-20 - The Hypnotiques live stream at 8:00 pm

The Chicken Hawks - Hard Hitting Songs For Hard Hit People

Chronology has never been my strong point and as years go by, I lose track of any linear timeline, but considering that this CD was released in 2001, I assume that we met and started gigging with Sioux City Iowa's Chicken Hawks in the late 90's/early 2000's and became friends with cool cat'n'kitten leaders of the pack, Pete'n'Betsy. Pete's hip/trashy/cool guitar stylings backed up scantily clad Betsy's powerful vocals with a revolving rhythm section (even this CD has two different sets of bass'n'drums) on blues/punk /garage songs of Iowa desperation.

Starting out with "Rollin' and Tumblin'", a Link Wray-ish take on the blues classic with some added swirling keyboards and biting slide guitar which appropriately goes into "101 Blues" that highlights more of Pete's slippery slide in this ode to Hollywood and its charms, followed by the punkier "Darksider" and the frantic frenzy of "Punch Up". For "Honky Tonk Girls" they add some pertinent honky tonk piano behind this bit of r'n'r, sing-along swagger, "Lime Ricky" is more bratty punk rock with hip "oh yeahs" answering Betsy's sassy vocals, the auto-biographical "Should Have Stayed Home (And Did LSD)" is a bit more garagey with more slithering slide guitar work, while "Texas Plain" is practically Stones-y, they do a group sing-along for "Sing Sing Prison Blues". and get pretty hilarious is the fast-paced "Ain't Got a Tan" and go full-throttled punk-blues for the fiery finale "Pearl". (There's a secret bonus track reprising "Rollin' and Tumblin'" with male (Pete?) vocals for those who don't turn off their set right away!)

Pretty freakin' great set of tunes from these hip folks from the unlikely Iowan flatlands. Fun memories from a better time, thanks to RAFR Records!

The Plague - Albert Camus

Since the Corona Virus hit the States, this classic tome has been on the best-sellers list and so, it has been a bit pricey. Now, a few months in, the price got to a point where I felt justified in picking it up and checking it out.

Somewhat similar in style and concept to A Year of Wonders, The Plague is set in Oran, a real-life French port city on the Algerian coast, although the story is completely fictionalized, despite Oran having been visited by various plagues over the centuries. Like AYOW, it narrates the trials of a quarantined city, separated from the rest of the world and doing what they can to live through a devastating, contagious disease. The narrator's identity is kept hidden until the end (for no real reason), but one main character is the town's doctor, whose tales give us a window into the various residents' reactions to the isolation, to their loved one's illnesses, and to their life lived in unrelenting anxiety.

Although written and set in the late 1940's, other than the mentions of inventions such as the phone and cars, the style of writing seems much more archaic to me, albeit that could be due to the translation from the original French. Considered an "existentialist classic", I actually find the writing a bit clumsy and stilted and do not see the multiple meanings that supposedly apply to some of the writings (according to Wikipedia, anyway).

The story follows numerous members of the city as they live - or die - through the plague. I find it interesting that the city secludes itself but it does not require individual isolation - in fact, it seems to encourage gatherings at bars and restaurants, until someone is diagnosed as having the plague. Of course, it spreads throughout the city and the townsfolk struggle to deal with life under these conditions. Oddly, at one point, one character goes into a monologue against the death penalty, merely as an aside, but an interesting one. This is completely out of the blue and nothing of the sort is ever repeated - apparently, just something that Camus wanted to put into print, although I suppose there could be some sort of simile to the situation that the townsfolk found themselves in.

Of course, eventually, the plague finishes its reign and the town does its best to return to normalcy, it whatever way that expresses itself to the different inhabitants. Somewhat anti-climatic in the story, as happens in real life, I suppose. There's no real heroes or villains, nothing particularly uplifting or even totally depressing - just reporting the incidents as they happen. I guess this is what leaves me feeling uninspired after reading this - I think in our real-life, current experiences, there are more ups'n'downs, more true good'n'evil - we shall see what the people who live through the days of COVID write of their experiences!

Eater - All of Eater

Eater started when a couple of 15 year old North London kids - Andy Blde (vocals) and Brian Chevette (guitar) - decided to form a band (named after an obscure Marc Bolan lyric) by simply telling people that they had a band! Eventually they decided that maybe they should actually play a show or two and enticed Ian Woodcock (bass) and Dee Generate (and later Philip Rowlans on drums) to join in. A year and a half later, it was all over in a blur, but they put out several records, caused a bit of mayhem and had a lot of fun. This is a 28 cut collection, apparently, truly, all of Eater.

Ian was the only one who knew how to play when they started and he does his best to add a bit more musicality to the mix with fast moving bass runs moving throughout the numbers. The songs are super-short, fast-paced, simple-but-catchy 70's punk - not genius but about average and better than most of the crap that's around today. They threw in some covers, too, like a high-speed take on "Sweet Jane", Alice Cooper's "Eighteen" done as "Fifteen" and stripped down beyond minimalism, but very hip, Bowie's "Queen Bitch" (relentless!), the Velvets' "Waiting For the Man", also stripped to bare bones and sped up and T.Rex's "Jeepster" as "Jeep Star", oddly with almost no guitar in the mix.

Their first single was a couple of their catchiest numbers, "Outside View" and "Thinking of the U.S.A." - both sing-along tunes that move'n'groove and have some pretty neat changes. Although these tunes appear late in the CD running order, the ones that follow sound a bit more mature (there's even basic guitar solos!) so I surmise that they are later recordings, but that's only a guess.

Fun stuff for lovers of 70's British punk rock'n'roll. Sure, they're not the best of the batch, but they're pretty darn cool, regardless!

The Who - BBC Sessions

I find it extremely hard to believe that I have not ranted'n'raved about the release before, but I'll be damned if the blogger search will show me anything. I know I bought this when I first saw it, so maybe I've had it for longer than I've had this blog, but it's still strange. In any case...

I am a huge Who fan and have been since I first heard them blasting over the AM radio in the 60's - probably "I Can See For Miles" first and then their subsequent terrific hits and FM radio cuts and amazing albums. This disc is, obviously, BBC Radio sessions, mostly from the 60's, with enough variations on the songs that you know'n'love to make you need this album!

Apparently, most artists did a take-off Radio One jingle during their sessions and the Who were no exception, with a modification on "My Generation" ("talkin' 'bout my favorite station"), before a brief interview with Pete and a tough "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" with an incredible feedback section. Being good Mod boys, they take on the Young Rascals "Good Lovin'" with fun energy, followed by James Brown's "Just You and Me, Darling" (they were a bit too white to really do an effective James Brown cover, but it's a cute try), but their version of "Leavin' Here" is right up there with the Birds for a r'n'r interpretation, "My Generation" is pretty damn close to the original take, although the noise ending is amped up a bit (in a great way!), and they pull out a couple of fine album cuts highlighting their harmonies, "The Good's Gone" and "La-La-La-Lies" then a fast'n'biting "Substitute", a pretty hip take on "Dancing in the Street" with a ferocious fuzz solo, another relatively obscure, but cool, one, "Disguises", and a bane of Roger's existence, the gender-bending hit "I'm a Boy".

More good, clean fun with "Run, Run, Run" (with an extended guitar break), Entwistle's "Boris the Spider", the whimsical "Happy Jack", Daltrey's "See My Way" (although, I know Pete said that he helped with Roger and Keith's numbers, and this has some real Townsend-isms in it), but the biggest revelation is "Pictures of Lily" with a hip organ part! The arrangement is essentially the same, but no French Horn, the guitars seems somewhat changed and the keys effect the entire feel, in a neat way! I actually covered "A Quick One" in a band due to the intensity of their appearance on the Stones' Rock'n'Roll Circus, but this earlier representation is pretty damn perfect, as well. Then we jump from '67 to 1970 for another crack at "Substitute", my fave obscurity, "The Seeker", the stunningly powerful "I'm Free", their extraordinary take on "Shakin' All Over" then another jump to 1973 for a couple of the weaker numbers on the disc - "Relay" and "Long Live Rock" - both good, but not up to their previous standards, and the whole shebang closes with another jingle, this time changing up "Boris the Spider" very briefly!

I'd say that this is a must for any fan - great cuts all the way through!

RIP Wayne Fontana

'GAME OF LOVE' SINGER DEAD AT 74 
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Son of a bitch, another one gone. This was a great song, although I can't say I'm overly familiar with the rest of his catalog. Still, way too young.

RIP Jan Savage of the Seeds

The Seeds were one of my favorite 60's bands and Jan's guitar playing was definitely a big influence on me on my garage days. So sorry to hear of his passing.

recommended live streams

8-7-20 - DJ Atomic and James Q. Mayhem VJ's music videos starting at 8:00 pm

8-15-20 - the Schizophonics live stream from the Casbah at 8:30 pm

8-26-20 - The Hypnotiques live stream at 8:00 pm

Tommy Dorsey Livin' in a Great BIg Way - Peter Levinson

Not something that I would have normally picked up for myself, but my lovely wife found this at a thrift store and thought that I might enjoy it. I'm not much of a Big Band guy personally, but I dig reading about almost any musician's life (unless I actively dislike their music) and learning how they did what they did.

Coming from a rock'n'roll upbringing, it's kinda fascinating to hear how the Big Bands worked, as it's a very different fashion - members move from group to group regularly and, of course, they had charts that they had to read (instead of memorizing) and especially interesting, each band had their own arranger to work out the various parts for the group based on their line-up. Again, as a rock'n'rollers, I'm used to groups making their own arrangements individually and I would never have thought of hiring someone to do it for you, but it makes sense for these "orchestras". It is somewhat amazing that the groups were able to maintain a coherent sound when they used outside arrangers (Tommy used several different ones at a time) to put together the music (that was also written by others, of course).

Tommy and his brother Jimmy came from a musical family and, in fact, their father insisted on them becoming musicians to avoid working in the local coal mines. Their talent made them in demand early on, even at a time when there were plenty of stellar musicians on the scene, and they made a good living even during the Depression and cut hundreds of tunes with various combos before forming the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra. The brothers volatile relationship meant that this orchestra did not last long, but each brother ended up fronting his own group and were each responsible for a staggering number of hit records.

Tommy's temper and perfectionism meant that members came and went - one estimate was as many as 250 in 5 years!! But he made many careers, including a skinny kid's named Frank Sinatra, who led the group on innumerable hits.

For me, the myriad musicians and characters that appear in the story are mostly unknown so listing them - the people coming and going from the band, the hangers-on, the arrangers, the friends'n'fans, etc. - continually does get to be a bit much. I'm sure this information is much more important to those in the know, but regardless, Levinson tries to keep the story moving throughout.

Tommy was able to keep his band going for longer than most, and even had a reunion with his brother Jimmy for a few years at the end of their lives, before the hard living brought both of their lives to early ends. They kept Big Band music alive for a number of years, but with the advent of rock'n'roll (ironically, Elvis Presley was a guest star on several TV specials that they hosted in the late 50's), their draw had greatly diminished by the time of their deaths.

I'm sure that fans would find this even more enjoyable, but I got a kick out of the book and appreciated looking at this musical style from a different perspective.