RIP Leanne Cowie of the Scientists

Drummer for legendary Aussie indie rock band The Scientists dies: 'She was the beating heart'

Another gone far too young. The Scientists were one of the more original bands out of the 80's - great, noisy stuff that I still listen to all the time and have even covered!

RIP Larry Tamblyn of the Standells

 

Larry Tamblyn, Co-Founder of Garage-Rock Band the Standells and Brother of Russ Tamblyn, Dies at 82

The Standells were a huge influence on my 60's leanings - so many great tunes!

recommended gigs

     

Friday 3-21-25 - Femaliens, United Defiance, Hollow Mute at Red Dwarf

Saturday 3-22-25 - Femaliens, Negative Nancys, Wyatt and the Ashes, Not For Sale, Ugly Boy, We Might Die at Rangels Boxing Ring

Saturday 3-22-25 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 3-23-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at Red Dwarf's Sunday Brunch

Monday 3-24-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Wednesday 3-26-25 - Bear Supply at Red Dwarf

Friday 3-28-25 - Thee Swank Bastards, the Implosions and the Surfers of Mercy at Red Dwarf

Saturday 3-29-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Boulder City Beer Fest and late night at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 3-29-25 - The Hypnotiques at the Golden TIki

Monday 3-31-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Friday 4-4-25 - Christina Jean and the Howlers, Memphis Vampires and the Hideaway at Red Dwarf

Friday 4-11-25 - Go Betty Go, Lords of Altamont, the Shakewells at the Usual Place

Wednesday 4-23-35 - The Holy Smokes, The Centuries, Lady Luck Lexy and Bo Peep and the Backbeat at the Sand Dollar Spring Mountain

Saturday 4-26-25 - The Ghastly Ones, the Shakewells, Gamblers Mark, Toe Tags at Swan Dive

Saturday 5-10-25 - the Venomous Pinks, the Minges, the Has Nots at the Griffin

Sunday 5-25-25 - New Bomb Turks, The Baboon Show, Civic, Cromm Fallon and the P200 at the Usual Place

Tuesday 5-27-25 - Detroit Cobras, Pure Sport, the Implosions at Grey Witch's grand opening

The Long Goodbye - Raymond CHandler

 

I don't know how much time had supposed to pass since the last book in the series but in this one Marlowe has rented a house (!) in Laurel Canyon (!) as opposed to his sketchy apartment in Hollywood, or his combined office/living space. He helps out a drunk in need at Dancers - the site of the blackmail in The Little Sister - and, of course, that leads to his latest adventure.

On a side note, it is completely hilarious that Chandler complains about stores "already" filling up with "overpriced Christmas junk" the week AFTER Thanksgiving and that the newspapers were saying that you needed to get your Xmas shopping done "early"! These days, that would be considered late!

So, I'm writing this as I'm reading the book and it is laid out basically like a series of vignettes - at least so far. He becomes friends with the drunk he helped out and, naturally, that leads to multiple murders, corrupt cops, a trip to Tijuana and a stay in jail. After that case plays out he is immediately hired by a stunningly beautiful woman to find her missing wealthy writer (and abusive drunk) husband, with little clues. But, Marlowe's resourcefulness and friends in the biz help him find the gentleman and return him home - although it is believed that he is also being blackmailed, but his rescue from yet another unscrupulous doctor comes first!

Lots more happens, natch, and more unscrupulous characters come out of the woodwork, more murder, more intertwined happenstances - seeming coincidences that are far too coincidental! Of course, it all fits together eventually, with even more murders, apparent suicides, beatings, etc., although not everyone lives to see it happen. Gangsters, cops, politicians, reporters and, of course, beautiful women all help'n'hinder Marlowe and some are both corrupt and legit.

There is a bit of a twist at the end, although not completely unexpected, but everything does fall into place and is explained and while Marlowe may lose some friends, he gains a one night stand - the first so far in this series, despite all of the lost chances.

I quite enjoyed this one - this and The Big Sleep are rightfully among his best known works. I will see what else is out there...

Kraven the Hunter - movie

 

It's funny but as a kid - hell, as an adult until now - I never really thought about the name Kraven rhyming with "craven" - not exactly a heroic - or powerful villain - name. Wonder what made Stan Lee (I believe) use that word, although, as I said, I didn't think of the implications until now, since it was in writing, rather than spoken.

In any case, I'm not sure why Marvel thought to use this character as the basis for a stand alone movie. He was an interesting Spider-Man villain, but not really one of his top foes. And, in typical movie fashion, they changed everything about the character, his origins, and his motives. Not to say that the movie as a movie is bad, but it has little to do with the comic book character.

The Rhino is also extremely, extremely different than the comic version and there is a strange, even in these settings, villain only known as the Foreigner, who has vague powers - possibly hypnosis combined with teleportation? I'm not sure...And, of course, there is a beautiful woman who has helped Kraven become who he is and has rescued him from certain death more than once.

Nice use of a Black Sabbath song, though, to soothe the savage Baby Boomer who doesn't appreciate the "Changes" you made to the story! And an appearance by the Chameleon?! (Also, nothing to do with the original character, but such is life in modern Marvel movies).

Not a bad movie - I enjoyed it, in fact - but almost nothing to do with the 1960's version of Kraven. Those who are not entrenched in Marvel lore will probably enjoy it more as they would not be expecting a different tale.

RIP Jesse Colin Young

Jesse Colin Young, Who Sang Youngbloods’ 1960s Anthem ‘Get Together’ Before Going Solo, Dies at 83

---

Sad to hear. His "Darkness, Darkness" is a fave of mine....

The Little Sister - Raymond Chandler

 

As with all of Chandler's stories, nothing is easy for Phillip Marlowe and simple things like a missing person escalates into multiple murders, tough guys, movie stars (that was a change!) and lots of convoluted escapades. A young woman from Manhattan, Kansas asks for Marlowe's help in finding her brother who moved to LA and eventually stopped writing. His boarding house is beyond sketchy and murders pile up rapidly from there. Naturally, everything gets complicated, as well, as more'n'more characters appear, making it difficult to keep track of everyone - at least for me!

It is interesting that here Marlowe references previous cases (he is working in Bay City again) and previous characters. Keeps the continuity and all that...Once again, Marlowe gets doped up by an unscrupulous doctor - that tends to happen to him, apparently. This time out there's apparently a "reefer" gang that Marlowe got mixed up in - among other things, naturally.

But there are sexy movie stars - Marlowe has a lot more self-control that I had as a single man, as he continuously turns down offers of sex - with all kinds of connections to various characters, gangsters, numerous murderers - so many that it's difficult to keep track of them all - blackmail, of course there is, and Chandler's patented complicated twists'n'turns.

The fun thing about murder mysteries is trying to figure out the who-dun-it, although with Chandler's stories, there's really no clues as to who has really done what, as he makes it seems like one person, then another, then another is the villain until he wraps everything up in the end, kind of out of nowhere.

Again, I like his writing style and these are quick reads, but this one was a bit overly complicated just for its own sake and a bit strained, in my mind. I'll continued on the journey into Marlow-land, though, and see where else it goes.

recommended gigs

    

Friday 3-14-25 - Soldiers of Destruction, Lean 13 and Burlesque at the Double Down

Friday 3-14-25 - The Queers, Stagnetti's Cock, Gob Patrol, Battering Ham and At Odds at Backstage Bar and Billiards

Saturday 3-15-25 - Shanda and the Howlers at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 3-15-25 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 3-16-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at Red Dwarf's Sunday Brunch

Monday 3-17-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Monday 3-17-25 - Big Like Texas, Wyatt and the Ashes at PTs 6560 Warm Springs

Friday 3-21-25 - Femaliens, United Defiance, Hollow Mute at Red Dwarf

Saturday 3-22-25 - Femaliens, Negative Nancys, Wyatt and the Ashes, Not For Sale, Ugly Boy, We Might Die at Rangels Boxing Ring

Saturday 3-22-25 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 3-23-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at Red Dwarf's Sunday Brunch

Monday 3-24-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Wednesday 3-26-25 - Bear Supply at Red Dwarf

Friday 3-28-25 - Thee Swank Bastards, the Implosions and the Surfers of Mercy at Red Dwarf

Saturday 3-29-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Boulder City Beer Fest and late night at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 3-29-25 - The Hypnotiques at the Golden TIki

Monday 3-31-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Friday 4-4-25 - Christina Jean and the Howlers, Memphis Vampires and the Hideaway at Red Dwarf

Friday 4-11-25 - Go Betty Go, Lords of Altamont, the Shakewells at the Usual Place

Wednesday 4-23-35 - The Holy Smokes, The Centuries, Lady Luck Lexy and Bo Peep and the Backbeat at the Sand Dollar Spring Mountain

Saturday 4-26-25 - The Ghastly Ones, the Shakewells, Gamblers Mark, Toe Tags at Swan Dive

Saturday 5-10-25 - the Venomous Pinks, the Minges, the Has Nots at the Griffin

Sunday 5-25-25 - New Bomb Turks, The Baboon Show, Civic, Cromm Fallon and the P200 at the Usual Place

Tuesday 5-27-25 - Detroit Cobras, Pure Sport, the Implosions at Grey Witch's grand opening

RIP Bruce Joyner

 

Just heard that Bruce Joyner (singer of the Unknowns, among many other projects) has passed away.

The Unknowns were a fantastic band and among the first musical friends I made in Southern California.

Terribly sorry to hear of the sweet and talented man's passing.

The Lady in the Lake - Raymond Chandler

 

In my continuing saga of Chandler/Marlowe books, we come to the next episode, this time a missing wife who ran away, but didn't do quite what she said and in the process, her disappearance coincided with another woman's murder and that, of course, leads to much more murder'n'mayhem.

There are innumerable cases of mistaken identity along the way as well as people pretending to be someone other than themselves, which makes the tale even more confusing than usual. There are lots of coincidences, plenty of people opening themselves up when they didn't have to (but it sure helped to solve the case!) and, of course, Marlowe just beaten up a few times and even jailed at one point, for no particular reason.

There's a bit of suspension of disbelief needed at times, but still enjoyable and, again, Chandler has a good style and a fun way with words, and I always dig hearing about my old home, Hollywood.

The High Window - Raymond Chandler

 

As I promised, I am continuing in my Chandler/Marlowe adventures with this, the third installment in the series. These are relatively quick'n'easy reads, and a nice diversion from real life, so I may go through the entire installment, although I also may decide to take a detour here'n'there, so don't hold me to it. It is nice to read about my old stomping grounds in Hollywood, even if it were in a very different time. It still resonates nicely and makes me miss the city.

In any case, here the Private Eye Marlowe is asked to recover a very valuable missing coin from a rich widow and, of course, as he investigates, murder'n'mayhem follow him. If anything, this tale might be more convoluted that the previous ones and it can get a bit confusing trying to keep track of the seemingly disparate threads. 

This time out Marlowe does not get any of the girls, although, in one way or another, he manages to help three lovelies without getting romantically involved with any of them. As usual, there are a couple of clever, unexpected twists but he does manage to pull them all together in a neat package at the end. 

I know that most people who might care about this sort of thing are already well versed in Chandler, but if not, and you dig mysteries and old Hollywood, these are entertaining reads.

RIP Brian James

 

That first album is stellar punk rock - still their best by far. Sad to hear of his passing - his guitar fueled this fire.

recommended gigs

   

Friday 3-7-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at Skinny Bar

Saturday 3-8-25 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 3-9-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at Red Dwarf's Sunday Brunch

Monday 3-10-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Tuesday 3-11-25 - Victims Family, Nasalrod, Fat Dukes of Fuck, the Bitters at the Dive Bar

Tuesday 3-11-25 - the Double Whammys at Composers Room

Friday 3-14-25 - Soldiers of Destruction, Lean 13 and Burlesque at the Double Down

Friday 3-14-25 - The Queers, Stagnetti's Cock, Gob Patrol, Battering Ham and At Odds at Backstage Bar and Billiards

Saturday 3-15-25 - Shanda and the Howlers at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 3-15-25 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 3-16-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at Red Dwarf's Sunday Brunch

Monday 3-17-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Monday 3-17-25 - Big Like Texas, Wyatt and the Ashes at PTs 6560 Warm Springs

Saturday 3-22-25 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 3-23-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at Red Dwarf's Sunday Brunch

Monday 3-24-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Wednesday 3-26-25 - Bear Supply at Red Dwarf

Friday 3-28-25 - Thee Swank Bastards, the Implosions and the Surfers of Mercy at Red Dwarf

Saturday 3-29-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Boulder City Beer Fest and late night at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 3-29-25 - The Hypnotiques at the Golden TIki

Monday 3-31-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Friday 4-4-25 - Christina Jean and the Howlers, Memphis Vampires and the Hideaway at Red Dwarf

Friday 4-11-25 - Go Betty Go, Lords of Altamont, the Shakewells at the Usual Place

Wednesday 4-23-35 - The Holy Smokes, The Centuries, Lady Luck Lexy and Bo Peep and the Backbeat at the Sand Dollar Spring Mountain

Saturday 4-26-25 - The Ghastly Ones, the Shakewells, Gamblers Mark, Toe Tags at Swan Dive

Sunday 5-25-25 - New Bomb Turks, The Baboon Show, Civic, Cromm Fallon and the P200 at the Usual Place

Farewell, My Lovely - Raymond Chandler

 

After re-enjoying The Big Sleep, I pulled this one - I understand it to be the follow-up to TBS - from the library. Phillip Marlowe stars in this, as well, and while the character and storyline is similar, this tale is a little cringe-worthy in the 21st Century for being quite un-PC. I doubt that Chandler really meant anything by it, but there's a lot of racism here, not unusual for 1940, and for a "street-wise" private eye, I suppose. A bit of kudos to the library system for not censoring this, so that we know what the world was like back in the day.

Chandler certainly did have a way with descriptive words though and his analogies'n'similies are quite entertaining. But that said, in this episode Marlowe gets knocked around quite a bit and even is doped up (against his will) and so his narration goes a bit screwy when he is not of sound mind. This is a good literary device, but between this and his (now dated) slang, some of the narration can be hard (for me, at least) to follow exactly, although you catch the gist.

It's another complicated tale, with ex-cons randomly killing while looking for an ex-girlfriend (Marlowe just happens to get caught up in that) and a client getting murdered while Marlowe is supposed to be his bodyguard. As Marlowe follows up on tips and various lines, he runs afoul of the law and the crooks, and doesn't exactly enamor himself with the ladies who are trying to help him along the way.

I didn't think that this one worked as well as The Big Sleep and while the various tangents were mostly tied together by the end, some were left kind of dangling and some were pretty tenuous. Still entertaining and I will continue on a Phillip Marlowe kick for a little while as they are quick reads and fun diversions from the insanity of the modern world.

The Big Sleep - Raymond Chandler

 

I can't remember the last time that I read any Chandler - in fact, I didn't remember that I HAD read any Chandler until I got into this one and remembered bits'n'pieces - and I definitely saw Bogart playing this part, as well. But, I was randomly looking at the Libby app and trying to think of something to idle away some time and this came up.

Everyone knows Phillip Marlowe, the strong, quiet, smart, handsome Private Eye with a personal code of honor that doesn't always have him see eye-to-eye (so to speak) with the law or with the beautiful women that he inevitably runs into in the course of his cases.

Chandler writes with Marlowe in the first person, describing all he sees and does in the hard-boiled, down-to-earth language of the time, which is a big reason why this series became so popular. He also has intricate, multi-layered plots that spins you around until you don't kow where you're going until he pulls it all together in the end.

This tale starts with a simple blackmail and turns quickly into multiple homicides ('the big sleep") that, at first, seem unrelated - other than the fact that Marlowe is in the middle of it all - but Marlowe solves it all in the end.

I doubt that I need to recommend Chandler to anyone who cares about murder mysteries, but if by some wild chance you are interested in such things and haven't read him, do so!

RIP David Johansen

David Johansen, New York Dolls Lead Singer, Dies at 75 Following Stage 4 Cancer Diagnosis 

---

Hard to believe that they are all gone now - and all far too young.

The NYD were a huge influence on me, even though I admit that I didn't quite understand them when I first heard them but they soon became an all time fave.

David couldn't "sing" in the traditional sense (and that was undoubtedly one reason why the Dolls didn't get bigger than they did at the time) but he was a helluva frontman and a terrific lyricist. 

Damn, it sucks getting old and watching your r'n'r heroes go...

recommended gigs

  

Saturday 3-1-25 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 3-2-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at Red Dwarf's Sunday Brunch

Monday 3-3-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Friday 3-7-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at Skinny Bar

Saturday 3-8-25 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 3-9-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at Red Dwarf's Sunday Brunch

Monday 3-10-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Tuesday 3-11-25 - Victims Family, Nasalrod, Fat Dukes of Fuck, the Bitters at the Dive Bar

Tuesday 3-11-25 - the Double Whammys at Composers Room

Friday 3-14-25 - Soldiers of Destruction, Lean 13 and Burlesque at the Double Down

Saturday 3-15-25 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 3-16-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at Red Dwarf's Sunday Brunch

Monday 3-17-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 3-22-25 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 3-23-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at Red Dwarf's Sunday Brunch

Monday 3-24-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Wednesday 3-26-25 - Bear Supply at Red Dwarf

Friday 3-28-25 - Thee Swank Bastards, the Implosions and the Surfers of Mercy at Red Dwarf

Saturday 3-29-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Boulder City Beer Fest and late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 3-31-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Friday 4-11-25 - Go Betty Go, Lords of Altamont, the Shakewells at the Usual Place

Wednesday 4-23-35 - The Holy Smokes, The Centuries, Lady Luck Lexy and Bo Peep and the Backbeat at the Sand Dollar Spring Mountain

Saturday 4-26-25 - The Ghastly Ones, the Shakewells, Gamblers Mark, Toe Tags at Swan Dive

Sunday 5-25-25 - New Bomb Turks, The Baboon Show, Civic, Cromm Fallon and the P200 at the Usual Place

David Bowie Made Me Gay - Darryl W Bullock

 

The subtitle "100 years of LGBT music" describes the story told here - tales of various musicians who were not strictly heterosexual throughout the last century. This obviously and certainly does not try to be all encompassing but it does its best to give an idea of the LGBT community's influence on modern music.

It begins by introducing Tony Jackson, an influential New Orleans pianist and songwriter who mentored Jelly Roll Morton and pretty much anyone else who came in contact with him. From there we move to the more well known Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith (and some contemporaries) and eventually to the likes of Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Liberace.

Bullock apparently tries to be thorough and talks about various record labels dedicated to "risque" and "camp" songs along with a number of nearly-unknown actors who dabbled in music - I suppose these recordings are important in the evolution of LGBT music, but the characters are not that compelling. Although once we get to the 60's and the likes of Joe Meek, things start to pick up again.

Naturally, Wendy Carlos' Switched On Bach gets a chapter - deservedly - and mentions that George Harrison put out an electronic album in 1969, which I knew nothing about! The glam rock scene is also a indisputable topic, although oddly, when talking about Lou Reed, Bullock declines to mention his long affair with the transsexual Rachel and infers that Lou was always straight.

There's a section on lesbian musicians and female-run labels, festivals and more that I was not aware of at all, despite their apparent success. Chapters follow on country and disco, which are not big interests for me (although “These Cocksucking Tears” does sound intriguing!). Funnily enough, Joan Jett and James Williamson played with one singer - apparently country-ish, who I never heard of - who was big at Rodney’s English Disco!

The early punk and new wave scenes were famous for embracing all sexualities (until the macho hard core reared its ugly head) as well as the New Romantics and various permutations (Boy George, Visage, et al) who were well dressed fodder for the scene. There was plenty of blandness - and the rare good tunes - in 80's popular music, and also plenty of varying sexuality. Bullock makes Frankie Goes to Hollywood sound much more subversive than I ever thought they were - I might have to give them a listen, although I'm sure there was nothing there to interest me at the time (nah, still isn't interesting musically in the least, although certainly, blatantly gay). And who knew that Dead or Alive named an album after a Shangri-Las song?! (Although Bullock doesn't acknowledge the steal - or homage - for some reason.)

We move on to "homo hop" - another genre that I did not know existed as I have yet to hear a subdivision of rap that I care for - which has to be even more difficult to exist in than gay country, since rap is known for its homophobia and misogyny. For the same reason, I had no idea that reggae was so backwards concerning gays. Of course, repressive countries are known for their homophobia and Bullock briefly mentions some brave musicians in China, Russia, Africa and other countries.

Nice to see Phranc mentioned in the section on modern female singer-songwriters and, as the book comes to a close, Bullock seems to try to shoe-horn in as many people as he can, as he also talks about the resurgence of some of the artists.

100 years is a long time to try to cover but Bullock does his best to give an overview of this timeline and has certainly enlightened me to artists and scenes that I knew nothing about and had never even heard of. I doubt that anyone will care for all of the music talked about herein, but the book does inform and teaches how music would not have evolved into what it is today without the input from a wide variety of "minorities". 

recommended gigs

 

Thursday 2-20-25 - the Silhouettes at the Double Down

Friday 2-21-25 - the Silhouettes with VaVoom at the Double Down

Sat 2-22-25 - the Silhouettes at Red Dwarf

Saturday 2-22-25 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 2-23-25 - Thee Swank Bastards with special guys the Silhouettes at Red Dwarf's Sunday Brunch

Monday 2-24-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Tuesday 3-11-25 - Victims Family, Nasalrod, Fat Dukes of Fuck, the Bitters at the Dive Bar

Tuesday 3-11-25 - the Double Whammys at Composers Room

Friday 3-14-25 - Soldiers of Destruction, Lean 13 and Burlesque at the Double Down

Friday 4-11-25 - Go Betty Go, Lords of Altamont, the Shakewells at the Usual Place

Wednesday 4-23-35 - The Holy Smokes, The Centuries, Lady Luck Lexy and Bo Peep and the Backbeat at the Sand Dollar Spring Mountain

Saturday 4-26-25 - The Ghastly Ones, the Shakewells, Gamblers Mark, Toe Tags at Swan Dive

Sunday 5-25-25 - New Bomb Turks, The Baboon Show, Civic, Cromm Fallon and the P200 at the Usual Place

Punk Rock An Oral History - John Robb

 

I really need to keep track of where I first hear about a book or record, cuz I can't remember at all where I first heard of this 2006 tome, but I just discovered it very recently and was able to find it at a reasonable price, so grabbed it. It seems like it should actually be called British Punk Rock, as it is completely Brit-centric, but since that's where Robb is from, that makes sense, I suppose. He has quite a history in music, apparently, although I have never heard or even heard of him or his band, the Membranes - guess I should see what they're about while I'm at it...

In any case, this is another book in the Please Kill Me mode (which pre-dates this one by 10 years or so, and had an almost identical subtitle) with snippets of interviews with early participants compiled together in a chronological order to make a coherent story. Of course, most of the early punks grew up in the late 50's and 60's, making them exposed to the wildness that was early rock'n'roll and most everyone has pretty stellar taste in music (although I never got the reggae/punk connection, which seems to be a British thing, overall), which is why they created such cool sounds themselves!

Funnily - to me, anyway - Robb puts footnotes on glaringly obvious things but not on some very British things and people that Americans like me have no idea about. But, I guess if I really cared, I could look them up, couldn't I? (I just did and discovered that someone was talking about a soccer player - I never would have guessed, even in context there was no clue.) Also, early on I noticed a blatant error in the footnotes, so take it all with a barrel of salt...

Most of the people interviewed actually come off very well, somewhat modest in their accomplishments and acknowledging their influences - except for Lydon, of course, who, as always, comes off pretty insufferable. As we all know, the New York scene is where everything started and those bands - especially the Ramones - were the blueprint for the London scene, although Robb's narrative makes it sound like punk existed only in England, even while he talks about the importance of bands like the Ramones (and others), as when he calls Damned, Damned, Damned the first punk album! Clearly, he means the first British punk album, as the New York scene had already released a number of LPs.  Laughable since he already talked about how much the Ramones first several albums (among others) influenced everyone in Britain.

Sniffin’ Glue was the beginning of the British punk fanzines - influenced by the Ramones and NY’s Punk magazine, of course. I loved it when I could find it back in the day but had no idea that by the end they were going 20,000 issues! Wonder if that’s a piss take cuz that’s amazing!

As an aside - Robb mentions Eddie Cochran a few times but spells it “Cochrane” - no idea why but kind of annoying! Things like this and other bits I've already mentioned makes Robb a bit unreliable, but, as I said, the main characters interviewed - with a few exceptions - do their best to set the record straight and not over-sensationalize their (legit) accomplishments. Hilariously, Robb also mentions that  what he calls "punk's second wave" (although probably at least 3rd by then, in reality) were the "true punk bands fulfilling punk's original prophecy". Certainly up for interpretation, although he seems to be equating hard core (I suppose I should say "Oi bands", since it's Britain) with punk rock, which is not the same in my mind, so there ya go...

So, as time goes on Robb gets into bands that I have never heard and have not been interested in (although maybe I should check some out and see what I've been missing) so the book starts to flag for me and is nowhere near as exciting as the early days. But, I'm sure that others will find this period more interesting than the original days, if that's where their interest lies. Having said that, there are some interesting groups in the post-punk/goth/mod/whatever scenes, so there's always something to bring back interest. He ends things in 1984 - a decent place considering he's not trying to create a history of punk rock!

Naturally, this was a big endeavor and Robb should be heralded for that, despite some minor quibbles. Certainly a good read for fans of real punk rock!

RIP Rick Buckler

Rick Buckler, The Jam drummer, dead at 69 

---

I loved the first two Jam albums - a great mix of punk rock and the mod-era Who that was definitely driven by Buckler.

Got to see them once about the time of the 2nd album and they were ferocious! 

Sad to hear of Rick's passing.

Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young - Live at Fillmore East 1969

 

Stills and Young have discovered the master tapes for this show, recorded a month after their smash set at Woodstock, and compiled and mixed the original 8 track tapes, keeping it all analog. A similar set to the famous Four Way Street double live album, this nonetheless has some variety and a few surprises.

This opens will a full performance of "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes", as opposed to the few seconds of the finale that appears on Four Way Street. This ode to Judy Collins - Stills' lover - has a bit of melody variations from the recorded version and shows the four seeming to enjoy themselves and the sound that they are creating. As they would always do, they start off with the four of them acoustically, then move onto a few solo slots (although they seem to support each other more here than on Four Way Street and mix things up a bit more) before bringing on Greg Reeves and Dallas Taylor (bass and drums) for an electric set.

So, they collaborate on their harmony-drenched cover of "Blackbird", "Helplessly Hoping", "Guinnevere" (with some striking acoustic guitar interplay), Nash's "Lady of the Island", Stephen gets bluesy on "Go Back Home" (as he did on "Black Queen" on 4 Way), Young gives us his terrific "On the Way Home", back to Stills and his fine finger-pickin' on "4 + 20", Nash accompanies himself just on organ for an unusual "My House", there's a nice Young number that I'm unfamiliar with, "I've Loved Her So Long" (with neat harmonies) before Steve finishes the acoustic portion with his great "You Don't Have to Cry".

Crosby's "Long Time Gone" has always been one of their best electric tunes, with terrific guitar interplay, subtle organ touches and, of course, their harmonies and vocal interplay between Crosby and Stills. Another highlight is the famous "Wooden Ships" (cowritten between Crosby, Stills and Jefferson Airplane's Paul Kantner, who also covered it), with the same instrumentation and interplay, followed by Stills' "Bluebird Revisited" given a powerful, organ-fueled performance here - sounds like Steve on the keys, as he was a terrific player. Young's "Sea of Madness" is one that I always loved from Woodstock and this performance is at least as strong and he continues to shine in his "Down By the River", which would become a two guitar workout between Stills and Young and damn if this isn't one of the better recorded versions of this classic as the two of them play harmony lines as well as play against each other (even if one of them is slightly out of tune!). For the finale, they go back to "wooden music" (as they called it) for the amazing, harmony-drenched classic "Find the Cost of Freedom".

Yes, I've been a fan since this combo first appeared and this is truly a solid performance from start to finish. I know that many critics maligned 4 Way for various reasons, but damn if this isn't the better record, IMHO. Fans will definitely want it!

On the Road with the Ramones - Monte Melnick and Frank Meyer

 I should have gotten'n'read this 2019 book ages ago, but for whatever reason it eluded my grasp. I just happened to check our library for it and lo'n'behold, they had it! 

Melnick is, of course, the Ramones tour manager from the start to the finish and Frank Meyer is our old friend from the Streetwalkin' Cheetahs and innumerable other groups - far too many to name - who has managed to be involved in videos, movies and books as well as a star-studded musical career (he is on tour with Handsome Dick Manitoba, as of this writing!).

The Ramones changed the course of musical history with their first album and their incredible live shows and there is basically no one making music today that does not owe them a debt of gratitude! Obviously, I have read other books telling their story before, but here is a new persepctive.

Monte became friends with Tommy early on and formed a band together called Triad after the Tangerine Puppets (Tommy's band with Johnny) broke up. They were fast friends who saw lots of amazing acts and decided to try a power trio themselves. That split up and Tommy started working at the Record Plant and was involved with Hendrix's Band of Gypsies album, among others! That story always amazes me!

The Ramones tale is also always fascinating, even though I naturally know the gist of it all, so the story flows quickly and it is an easy read. Again, this is a book where the story is told from interviews with the folks who were there - from the band members to friends to family - even the parents! 

This tale also includes the behind-the-scenes folks - the road crew that normally does not get much mention but they keep the band going on tours and without them, there wouldn't be a show. The crew is usually crazier than the bands themselves and it seems that this bunch is no exception!

They get into a bit of the band's personalities - Johnny's racism, Joey's OCD, Dee Dee drug abuse and crazy girlfriends, Marky's alcoholism and bug eating, etc. Tommy seems like he was always pretty steady and CJ just liked to party and pick up chicks! Of course, Johnny ending up marrying Joey's girlfriend caused a lot of friction and more than one person says that "KKK Took My Baby Away" was about that since Johnny was racist - kinda wow!

Of course, we go through the entire career, right through the end and beyond, with post-career accolades and more, right up through their deaths. 

Really well done - kudos to Melnick and Meyer for a great job of telling the tale that everyone who loves rock'n'roll needs to know. Sorry it took me so long to pick this up!

The Hellacopters - Overdriver

 

Anyone who knows me or has read this blog knows that I have been a fanatical follower of the Hellacopters since first discovering them in the 90's - I think Payin' The Dues might already have been out. I was floored by their Detroit-styled, noise-ridden punk'n'roll, with great songs, crazed guitars and lots of attitude. They cleaned up their act some as they evolved, but always had solid songs and terrific guitar playing throughout. They split up in 2008 for a number of years before reforming and releasing Eyes of Oblivion in '22 and now this is their latest follow up.

I must admit that although I have dug pretty much everything that the band has done, these "reunion" records are not quite as great as their previous work. On "Eyes..." they had Dregen back on second guitar but due to some medical issues (as I understand it), he does not appear on this record and Nicke handles all of the lead guitar work himself - some extra rhythm guitar work is provided by the keyboardist (long time member Boba) and new bassist Rudolf de Borst (they still have original drummer Robert Eriksson, as well).

The songs are also just not as dynamic as the earlier work. Not to say that this is a bad record - it definitely still rocks powerfully - but is just not as memorable as pretty much everything that Nicke and company did previous to their split. Fans will need to pick it up, of course, but if you're just starting out discovering the Hell's, grab their earlier stuff first, for sure - Super Shitty to the Max (Swedish Grammy winning!) and Payin' the Dues are monsters!

recommended gigs

               

Friday 2-14-25 - the Minges, Crimson Riot, VaVoom at the Double Down

Saturday 2-15-25 - TV Party Tonight 10th Anniversary at the Double Down with live music by Stagnetti's Cock

Saturday 2-15-25 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 2-17-125 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden TIki

Thursday 2-20-25 - the Silhouettes at the Double Down

Sat 2-22-25 - the Silhouettes at Red Dwarf

Saturday 2-22-25 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 2-23-25 - Thee Swank Bastards with special guys the Silhouettes at Red Dwarf's Sunday Brunch

Monday 2-24-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Tuesday 3-11-25 - Victims Family, Nasalrod, Fat Dukes of Fuck, the Bitters at the Dive Bar

Tuesday 3-11-25 - the Double Whammys at Composers Room

Friday 4-11-25 - Go Betty Go, Lords of Altamont, the Shakewells at the Usual Place

Saturday 4-26-25 - The Ghastly Ones, the Shakewells, Gamblers Mark, Toe Tags at Swan Dive

Sunday 5-25-25 - New Bomb Turks, The Baboon Show, Civic, Cromm Fallon and the P200 at the Usual Place

Dr. Feelgood - Richard A Lertzman and William J Birnes

 

Of course, I have known about such doctors - maybe not this one specifically, although it's possible - but I did not know of the extent of celebrities who availed themselves to such medical specialists. I certainly had no idea - which was the point - of John F. Kennedy's numerous illnesses and weaknesses and injuries. The way he is described here, he sounds like a near-cripple that Max Jacobson brought to life and gave him his presidential career!

The doctor’s personal story is fascinating, as he began his career in Germany, but had to escape to Praque when the Nazis came to power (he was warned of his upcoming arrest by a grateful Nazi patient), then to Paris and eventually to New York. The tales of this progression are fascinating, but it is when he starts his practice in America that he begins to treat major celebrities - Cecil B DeMille, among them.

(As an aside, I think it is fairly hilarious that his second wife was named Nina Hagen!)

His fame and practice continued to grow in New York and his list of clients - if this book is to be believed - is almost beyond belief! I won't list them all here (there is an appendix at the end of the book), but there are harrowing tales of addiction caused by Jacobson's "magic elixir", and careers rising to great heights and terrible depths.

There is certainly speculation and sensationalism in this book and I believe that the narrative needs to be taken with a grain of salt. When the authors get into the Marilyn Monroe affairs with JFK and Bobby Kennedy and intervention by the CIA, there is no way that they could know for a fact the things that they intimate. But, it all makes for a good story! Same with the conspiracy theory of JFK's murder, in which they conflate basic knowledge of the event and basically say that it is a fact that the CIA was behind it. I'm not saying that this isn't plausible, but it seems that the authors purposely confuse basic facts just so that no one takes them too seriously.

After a few patients had severe side effects and some even died, there was finally a investigation into the doctor's methods and eventually he lost his license and, even though some patients stuck with him til the end, he was disgraced and died in infamy.

This is a wild story, if even a fraction of it can be believed! Fascinating and enthralling and at just a few hundred pages, it is a quick'n'easy read. Check it out for some crazy tales of 60's celebrities and presidential misbehavior! (The story of JFK running through a hotel naked is a new one for me!)

recommended gigs

              

Friday 2-7-25 - the Implosions, Tippy Elvis, Triple Splits at Red Dwarf

Friday 2-7-25 - the New Waves at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 2-8-25 - Bear Supply at the Double Down

Saturday 2-8-25 - Cheap Trick at the Westgate

Saturday 2-8-25 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 2-9-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at Red Dwarf's Sunday Brunch

Monday 2-10-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Friday 2-14-25 - the Minges, Crimson Riot, VaVoom at the Double Down

Saturday 2-15-25 - TV Party Tonight 10th Anniversary at the Double Down with live music by Stagnetti's Cock

Saturday 2-15-25 - Surfer Joe at Fat Cat

Saturday 2-15-25 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 2-16-25 - Surfer Joe at Red Dwarf's Sunday Brunch

Monday 2-17-125 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden TIki

Sat 2-22-25 - the Silhouettes at Red Dwarf

Saturday 2-22-25 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 2-24-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Tuesday 3-11-25 - Victims Family, Nasalrod, Fat Dukes of Fuck, the Bitters at the Dive Bar

Friday 4-11-25 - Go Betty Go, Lords of Altamont, the Shakewells at the Usual Place

Saturday 4-26-25 - The Ghastly Ones, the Shakewells, Gamblers Mark, Toe Tags at Swan Dive

Sunday 5-25-25 - New Bomb Turks, The Baboon Show, Civic, Cromm Fallon and the P200 at the Usual Place

Why Don't You Smile Now - Lou Reed at Pickwick Records 1964-1965

 

Everyone knows that Lou was a staff songwriter for Pickwick before forming the Velvet Underground from the ashes of the Primitives, which was a band created to capitalize on Lou's song, "The Ostrich", that the label was - hilariously - thinking would become a new dance craze! A few of Lou's tunes have appeared previously - I have a comp album with "Cycle Annie", for instance - but this is the first time (that I know of, anyway) where a good number of songs written by (not necessarily performed by, although some are) Lou at this time have been compiled in one place.

Seeing as these tunes are approximately 60 years old and certainly haven't been stored in pristine conditions, the sound quality varies - "The Ostrich" is particularly poor, unfortunately - but overall, it's pretty good.

As Lou would always say, the types of songs also vary pretty wildly, from primitive garage to girl groups to doo wop, crooners, Beach Boys/Jan and Dean influenced vocal-surf tunes and other pop of the times. Lots of Phil Spector rip-offs, some pretty cool soul-ish tunes, and, of course, Lou's own guitar weirdness is occasionally evident, even in these early days.

The Crawdaddies did a terrific, Velvet-styled version of the title song early on - still don't know where they first heard the tune, especially as their version sounded very different to the one included here by the All Night Workers. Ah, the detailed liner notes tell me that the Downliner Sect did a version (that I don't own), which explains that "mystery".

Overall, the songwriting is surprisingly strong, overall, considering that cuts by the Primitives and the Beachnuts were pretty trashy, and probably could have been hits if they had been in the hands of known artists and a more established record label. 

This is a pretty fun comp, especially if you're a fan of early 60's sounds that these tunes emulate and were part of. The CD comes with a huge, 40 page booklet with tons of info from Lenny Kaye and especially Ritchie Unterberger, who interviewed others who were involved, on the sounds herein. Not cheap, but worth it for fans of Lou and the early 60's!

Carole King - Tapestry

 

As one of the biggest selling records of all time, this album needs no introduction to anyone who cares about such sounds, but I bought the CD for the first time recently, after reading about various singer/ songwriters and wanting to revisit it. While I always dug wild, electric guitar rock'n'roll more than anything, I certainly had a soft spot for the singer/songwriters back in the day and King was better than most, as she had been writing hits for others for years as a contract writer before making her own records. 

Every song here was written or co-written by King and her syncopated piano starts off the up-tempo "I Feel the Earth Move", the oft-covered tune (even the Golden Gods did this one!) that was (rightfully) a big hit for her, which is followed by the melancholy ballad "So Far Away". "It's Too Late" is a Grammy-winning mid-tempo tale of love that's run its course with some fine playing all around - people like James Taylor and Joni Mitchell appear on the album to help out, along with some highly talented session musicians. "Home Again" is a lesser known tune but still fine, highlighting Carole's soaring voice, the life-affirming "Beautiful" follows, with the melancholy ballad "Way Over Yonder" closing side one of the vinyl album with some lovely gospel-tinged backing vocals added. (The amazing Merry Clayton is credited as a backing vocalist - sounds like her work here.)

Side two opened with the song that gave James Taylor a big hit, the sweet "You've Got a Friend" (hers naturally dominated by piano, as opposed to Taylor's more acoustic guitar-oriented take), "Where You Lead" is another mid-tempo with neat, girl-group-styled backing vocals and a nice arrangement with some organ giving a little variation to the acoustic piano dominance, and "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" is, of course, the song that she wrote that became a big hit for the Shirelles in 1960 - slowed down for a powerful performance with Joni Mitchell assisting on the vocals. The surprisingly sassy "Smackwater Jack" is a bouncy number of murder'n'mayhem, the title ballad is, ironically, my least favorite, as it is a bit saccharine, even considering the surroundings, but they come back for a strong performance on the 1967 Aretha Franklin hit that Carole penned, "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman".

The CD includes a couple of bonus tracks, one that I never heard before, "Out In the Cold", which could have easily fit in with the rest of the tunes here - possible even stronger than a couple of them, and a live, solo version of "Smackwater Jack". 

I know a lot of my friends will not be interested in this album, but for those who appreciate the singer/songwriter scene of the 70's, this is one of the best ones.

recommended gigs

             

Saturday 2-1-25 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 2-3-25 - The Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Friday 2-7-25 - the Implosions, Tippy Elvis, Triple Splits at Red Dwarf

Friday 2-7-25 - the New Waves at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 2-8-25 - Bear Supply at the Double Down

Saturday 2-8-25 - Cheap Trick at the Westgate

Saturday 2-8-25 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 2-9-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at Red Dwarf's Sunday Brunch

Monday 2-10-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Friday 2-14-25 - the Minges, Crimson Riot, VaVoom at the Double Down

Saturday 2-15-25 - TV Party Tonight 10th Anniversary

Saturday 2-15-25 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 2-17-125 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden TIki

Sat 2-22-25 - the Silhouettes at Red Dwarf

Saturday 2-22-25 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 2-24-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Tuesday 3-11-25 - Victims Family, Nasalrod, Fat Dukes of Fuck, the Bitters at the Dive Bar

Friday 4-11-25 - Go Betty Go, Lords of Altamont, the Shakewells at the Usual Place

Sunday 5-25-25 - New Bomb Turks, The Baboon Show, Civic, Cromm Fallon and the P200 at the Usual Place

Now You're One of Us - The Incredible Story of Redd Kross - Jeff and Steve McDonald with Dan Epstein

 

I've known and played with Redd Kross for, shit, almost a half century or so now (although haven't played together in decades and my bands were nowhere near cool enough to be mentioned in this book) and have always been a fan of their totally un-serious version of punk rock mixed with power pop, pop culture, bubblegum, glam, metal and whatever else crossed their demented little minds. We've been pals with Dan Epstein for quite a number of years (decades) as well, so the combination meant that we had to pick up this book as soon as we could!

Although they are both a couple of completely lovable goofs, the McDonald brothers are actually quite intelligent and well spoken and they have terrific taste in music. Considering that they are up to ten years younger than me, they were discovering the same hip music that I was at the same time that I was, despite being little kids. Although they grew up in Southern California, they were in a suburban town and far enough away from the happenings (since they were too young to drive) that they learned about bands from the same Circus/Creem/Rock Scene magazines that I did and only occasionally were able to convince their parents to drive them to a rock show - and eventually to punk rock gigs.

Being music fanatics, it was only a matter of time before they wanted to start their own band and even though Steve was only 11, he was incredibly talented and kinda pushed Jeff to learn guitar. When they met Greg Hetson, another guitarist, and found a fellow school-band member drummer, their dream became reality and they started playing shows as the Tourists.

There are lots of tales to be told and people come'n'go from the band at an alarming rate, but they become Redd Kross, manage to record Born Innocent and, after a few years and some various comp cuts, Teen Babes From Monsanto along with cuts for the Teenage Lovedolls movies, which they also appeared in. I saw a number of the various lineups, including the one with Tracy'n'Janet (first time I saw them, I believe), with Dez Cadena (covering Blue Cheer) and, among others, even at least one with a hair metal drummer that they had for a short time (I had forgotten about this drummer until the book reminded me)! Oh yeah, and the time they played the Country Club (a pretty big place) with Roy McDonald (no relation) on drums and surprised him by saying "drum solo!" and walking off stage!

Obviously, there's a lot I never knew about the guys, their career and their opinions of their records (apparently they don't care for the sound of Neurotica and Third Eye but dig Phaseshifter and I don't see a big difference and naively just assumed that the records sounded how they wanted them to sound). As with many of us, they were disappointed that they didn't get the chances that others did, but RK got a lot of chances that I wish that I had gotten, so there you go! 

Eventually, they get tired of the grind and take a multi-year break in which Jeff basically becomes a stay-at-home dad and Steve works on all kinds of projects, from producing various artists to playing with Sparks for five years! Again, I had absolutely no idea! He also ends up playing with Off! and the Melvins but the itch returns and they come back with Redd Kross for multiple new albums, tours (we saw them with the Melvins in 2019), reissued records and renewed respect.

After reading so many books on 70's rock stars who ruined their lives and became miserable as they got older, it's nice to see that the brothers are healthy, have strong romantic and familiar relationships and can still rock together! There's a new double album out and it doesn't look like these youngsters have any plans to stop any time soon. Long live Redd Kross!

I also gotta say that I can't imagine a better fit than Dan Epstein for this book - a talented writer and a fine musician who has had some terrific power-pop-influenced bands himself and who can appreciate the wacky pop culture references, as well.

Great job all around! Get it!