Even though I am a Fender man, I would own and play a Steve Jones model Gibson Les Paul in a fucking heartbeat. Hell, I know every lick off of Never Mind The Bollocks, therefore I fucking deserve one. Getting this on my birthday on July 17th would rule.
Picking up where I left off last time…
5. Radiohead – In Rainbows (Initially self-released; physical edition on TBA Records/RED Distribution) – In which a best-selling band tells Capitol/EMI to fuck off, tries out the validity of selling music as name-your-own-price stand-alone mp3s, and succeeds. Oh yeah, the album’s pretty fucking good, too. In a post-script, now that the physical release is out, I’m planning to get my own copy… of the vinyl edition. (http://www.inrainbows.com, available on CD, vinyl, and through iTunes)
4. Bright Eyes – Cassadaga and Four Winds EP (Saddle Creek (US)/Polydor (EU)) – Having tried everything from four-track basement recordings to simultaneous electronica and folk workouts, Conor Oberst proceeds to channel Electric Warrior-era T.Rex by way of Brian Wilson and succeeds quite nicely. The preceding Four Winds EP is included here because the five “B-sides” on it are just as strong as the album tracks and could have easily fit amongst the rest of the track sequence if Conor and company had so chosen to shoehorn them in. (http://www.saddle-creek.com and http://www.thisisbrighteyes.com, available on CD, 180-gram vinyl (Cassadaga is a 2LP set) with bonus mp3 download, and through iTunes)
3. Koharu Kusumi – Mitsuboshi (Zetima) – The first of two semi-pseudonymous solo albums from Morning Musume’s Miracle Beam in 2007 (her second, Kirarin Land, came out too late for this list and will be explored in more detail later in the week), Koharu (sometimes as herself, sometimes as her animated doppelganger Kirari Tsukashima) delivers a wildly varied set of pop songs. A solid debut effort even though technically, it’s not really supposed to be her first solo album… or is it? (http://www.helloproject.com, available on CD)
2. The Stooges – The Weirdness (Virgin/Caroline) – Negative reviews be damned: this was worth the 30-plus-year-wait. Anyone declaring this album to be “weak”, “modern”, or “sellout” didn’t really listen to this album and shouldn’t consider themselves to be punks or even music lovers. And yes, almost a year since this album dropped, I must admit that Steve Albini’s hands-off “production” isn’t all there sometimes (the bass is barely audible on “Passing Cloud”). Fortunately, the songwriting by Iggy and the Asheton Brothers, and the playing by the entire band (with new Stooge Mike Watt on bass, and punk rock’s answer to John Coltrane, Steve MacKay, returning to his Fun House sax position) is more than solid enough to make up for it. (http://www.myspace.com/iggyandthestooges, available on CD, double LP and on iTunes)
1. Morning Musume – Sexy 8 Beat (Zetima) - This time around, they get the top spot all to themselves and with good reason. Starting off both 2007 and their 10th Anniversary with a bang, they delivered a studio effort that is solid from beginning to end (featuring one of their best ever singles, “Egao YES Nude”, and one of their most underrated, the preceding “Aruiteru”), both this album and the Stooges’ album coming out early in 2007 made the rest of the year a veritable anti-climax musically. It’s only a matter of time before the rest of the world catches up with these young ladies. (http://www.helloproject.com, available on CD)
After many a delay (engagement announcement preparations, day job bullshit, inability to keep my hands off of my new USB turntable, and finally, the goddamned flu), I’ve finally gotten around to doing my top albums of 2007 list. Since trying to do individual reviews for the ten albums is a bit out of the question of the moment (I’ll be starting anew this week with a couple of slightly overdue reviews), I’ll use this as an excuse to reignite the Pagoda Five feature for 2008 as well.
10. Desoto Jones – Aurora (Deep Elm) An up-and-coming post-emo group led by three brothers deals with tragedy in the form of having to bury their father during the time they were recording the album. One can only hear this and wonder what kind of an album Hawthorne Heights will deliver as the follow-up to If Only You Were Lonely once they kick Tony Brummel to the curb and finish mourning their fallen comrade Casey Calvert. (http://www.deepelm.com – available on limited edition CD and through iTunes and eMusic.)
9. Northern Liberties – Ghost Mind Electricity (Badmaster) Third album from the Philadelphia trio that discovered the fine line between Joy Division and the Misfits. Recorded at the legendary Inner Ear Studio in Virginia (home of 98% of the Dischord catalog) with its equally revered owner/engineer Don Zientara, its’ the trio’s most accomplished recording yet. (http://www.northernlibertiesband.com – available on CD)
8. Paramore – Riot! (Fueled By Ramen) The trolls at PunkNews.org that complain about this album not being punk enough or being terrible don’t know what they’re talking about. “Misery Business” and “crushcrushcrush” are only the tip of the iceberg on this group’s second album. (http://www.fueledbyramen.com, available on CD, limited edition vinyl and limited edition CD/MVI combo)
7. Koda Kumi – Black Cherry (Avex Trax). A concept album? Looks like one to me, even if that wasn’t Kumi’s intention. The only difference between this and Dark Side Of The Moon is that Ms. Koda didn’t have to fly to Pompeii to make the companion movie. (http://www.rhythmzone.net/koda, available on CD)
6. Tommy Heavenly6 – HeavyStarryHeavenly (DefSTAR). A stronger effort from Tomoko Kawase’s darker alter-ego than her eponymous 2006 release, and her best solo work since Tommy Airline. Earth calling Amy Lee: You’ve been out-gothed; turn in your piano and quit ripping off Tori Amos and your ex-bandmates. (http://www.sonymusic.co.jp/Tommy/)
The top five of this list in about an hour…
SEX PISTOLS SING NEW SONGS
First New Material in 30 Years
http://www.egigs.co.uk/index.php?a=12046
The Sex Pistols are set to record their first new tunes in 30 years after the success of their recent reunion tour, they have been inspired to head back to the recording studio according to www.wenn.com. The legendary punks returned to the live scene for a series of gigs in November last year. They were so excited about how well received they were by fans that it has convinced the band to start to create the new songs.
You can read a review of their show at the MEN Arena, Manchester here.
Johnny Rotten (John Lydon), Glen Matlock, Steve Jones, and Paul Cook hope to start recording their new material in the first half of this year.
This will mean the new songs could be showcased during their appearance at the Isle of Wight Festival in June.
Drummer Paul Cook said, “There’s talk of new material. The only problem is that it’s a bit hard to work on anything as John and Steve are in America and Glen and I are in the UK. So, it’s a case of finding the time to get together.”
Although a whole album looks unlikely, Paul suggested, that the band are indeed hoping to have the new material would be ready for their festival appearance, “We might not pull together an album but hopefully there will be some new stuff in time for the summer.”
Whether the new songs will become as legendary as their classics “Anarchy in the UK”, “God Save the Queen”, “Pretty Vacant”, and “Holidays in the Sun” remains to be seen. Very few bands have taken a long hiatus and reformed to make successful ‘new’ classic tunes.
Regardlng that last line… tell that to the Stooges, New York Dolls, and Mission Of Burma.
From PunkNews.org:
Influential San Francisco noise punks Flipper are currently in the studio with former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic and producer Jack Endino working on a new album. The band was formed in 1978 and reunited in 2005. Novoselic was asked to join in September 2006 after former bassist Bruno DeSmartass left. Since 2006 Flipper and Novoselic have been working on recording a new album, their first new material in 15 years.
According to drummer Steve DePace:
[The album is] 99% there, if not done. We’ve got 10 songs, and we just did another round of mixing. The album sounds great — I think it’s some of our best work ever. That also is an indicator for more future songs to come. We know we can write songs with Krist now that sound just like Flipper.
The band also hopes to re-release their entire back catalog sometime in 2008. The bands’ first two albums are currently in legal limbo with producer Rick Rubin, and are largely out of print. In addition to the album, the band is currently putting the finishing touches on a new DVD. It is titled Flipper Live: Target Video 1980-81 and is due out February 19, 2008. You can check out the artwork on the DVD’s release detail page.
Flipper released their last album, American Grafishy in 1992 before splitting up in 1995.
Here’s, along with the news of my first publishing credit happening next year, what Ray was alluding to at IntlWota.com yesterday: On Christmas Eve, I proposed to my girlfriend of three years, Tara Welsh. She said Yes.
The next day, if I hadn’t done that the night before, I probably would have eloped with her after what she did this year.
Tara had been teasing me with tales of how I was going to love the big gift she’d gotten me for Christmas this year. As I was about to find, she wasn’t kidding…
When I got to her house on Christmas Day, after opening the smaller items she’d gotten me, she told me to close my eyes and put my hands on the couch at my sides. I did so. I closed them tight. She went into the other room, came in, and laid this big surprise gift on my lap. When I am told to open my eyes. I look down and see this:
A GUITAR SIGNED BY IGGY POP, RON ASHETON, AND SCOTT ASHETON, THE ORIGINAL AND FOUNDING MEMBERS OF THE STOOGES. It immediately registered to me that it was a Stooges-signed guitar because Ron Asheton’s signature is the biggest one. I am surprised that I didn’t shit myself. The Stooges are, along with Morning Musume, my favorite band, and Ron Asheton is one of my favorite guitarists ever. At the same time Tara put the guitar on my lap, she also put framed pics of the Stooges signing the pickguard and the letter and certificate of authenticity on the coffee table in front of me. Seeing the Stooges picture really drove it home for me.
The guitar itself is a Glen Burton Stratocaster. Coincidentally, if I were to ever buy a new electric guitar, it would probably be black and have a rosewood fretboard like this one.
A close-up of the signed pickguard. From top to bottom, the signatures are Scott Asheton (drummer), Ron Asheton (guitarist), and Iggy Pop.
When Tara got the guitar, these pictures and a certificate of authenticity came with it. She framed the pictures, a very nice touch suggested by a friend of hers.
To quote my good friend Vee, “Tara will be great for you, for the rest of your life. …AND THAT [referring to the guitar] PROVES IT.”
Best Albums of 2007 feature will happen soon, sorry it’s been late in starting.
5. Alvin & The Chipmunks “Christmas Don’t Be Late”. Original, OLD-SCHOOL Alvin and company. No CGI or ProTools involved.
4. Joey Ramone & Friends “Merry Christmas (I Don’t Wanna Fight Tonight)”. A live rendition from the last show Joey ever performed (12.11.01).
3. Reina Tanaka “Kira Kira Fuyu No Shiny G” . Not really a Christmas song, but it was on Morning Musume’s 7.5 Fuyu Fuyu EP that came out right beforehand, and what Tanakachiii fanatic wouldn’t want The Wonkylicious Sex Bomb under their tree?
2. PetitMoni “Pittari Shirari Xmas”. A live version. This one’s for Vee, who adores Hitomi as much as I adore Reina.
1. Spinal Tap “Christmas With The Devil”. From their appearance on Saturday Night Live… in May of 1984, complete with the interview that preceded. At least there wasn’t an 18-inch Stonehenge this time around.
And finally… one of my short stories, “The Man In The Hummer”, was accepted for publication by <"http://www.myspace.com/jadedsilencepress">Jaded Silence Press for their horror anthology Deliver Us From Evil, to be released in early 2008. More on a release date when I get it. I found out Saturday afternoon and sent them the corrected final draft yesterday. –>
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
This turned up when I was using iTunes’s “Just For You” feature:
Someone actually thinks that a band that repulsed me back when I was in junior high school (especially their alleged “classic” album) would be a good recommendation for a Ramones fan? On what grounds? Someone needs to tell whoever came up with this that no punk rocker in his right mind would ever be caught dead listening to motherfucking Journey!
My favorite MoMusu plus Vee’s (pinocracy from Pink Wota) favorite MoMusu, looking (and sounding, judging from “Kanashimi Twilight”) more punk rock than noted Rubinoos plagarist Avril Lavgine could ever dream of being.
And if the title of this post wasn’t enough quoting of these Philly punk legends for you, there’s always this installment of Nothing Nice To Say…
Paul Fox, guitarist with influential English punk band The Ruts (“In A Rut”, “Babylon’s Burning”), died this morning of inoperable lung cancer. Condolences can be left on Fox’s MySpace page.
Fox (the gentleman in the fatigues taking a bow, being helped by one of his bandmates) did, if not his last ever show, then one of his last ever, with the surviving members of the Ruts (lead singer Malcolm Owen died of a drug overdose in 1980). Longtime Ruts fan Henry Rollins (pictured above far right; Henry has often played Ruts music on his radio show Harmony In My Head) took Owen’s place at a benefit for Fox earlier this year. Details on the show at Captain Sensible’s MySpace blog here, and Rollins’ journal entries on rehearsing with the band and getting ready for the show here, here, here, here, here, and on playing the show with them here.
Select Ruts downloads for your perusal:
In A Rut
Babylon’s Burning
Staring At The Rude Boys
These three tracks are in AAC format (128kpbs, full CD quality) and will only be up for two weeks. If you like what you hear, you can buy this CD with all of their recorded output for Virgin from Amazon.
The Ruts Peel Sessions LP (out of print)
This album will be up indefinitely due to its rarity. This is a cassette rip done right to my PowerBook from a few months ago and is also in AAC format. If you’re the copyright owner and you have a problem with this, consider reissuing the damn thing (I’m sure Rollins would wholeheartedly agree with me) and I’ll gladly take it down.
R.I.P. Paul. Hope you’re having a nice reunion with Malcolm.
