Iggy makes "quieter jazzy" album

Here's news from out of left field. "Preliminaries" is the name of the new album and Ig says it's a quieter record with jazz overtones, the result of him tiring of listening to "idiot thugs with guitars". It's on EMI, not Virgin, and there's a video message and sample song in the embedded clip above.

The sample track "King of the Dogs" is a raucous New Orleans/Jellyroll Morton rag, well-removed from the reflective stuff on "Avenue B". The album also seems to have Europe in its sights as Iggy's video statement on a French music website indicates. There are two more video blogs scheduled so more will be revealed but it's a fair bet any thoughts of a re-configured Stooges are on the back-burner, if it was ever a possibility.

The usual tip of the hat to Cathy Benson-Burke of iggypop.org for the mail. That's always the place for the latest and greatest on all things Pop and Stooge.

There goes Sunday...

Well, I said something would turn up for Sunday- but I didn't expect this.

This weekend Wrong Turn play two big shows with Leadfinger from Wollongong. Leadfinger main man Stew Cunningham has played in some of this country's most rockin' bands including Proton Energy Pills, Brother Brick & Asteroid B-612. The boys are in town to launch their new album, "Rich Kids", which has just been released by Spanish label Bang! Records.

Leadfinger solo at the Labour In Vain? I'm there.

Hell Summer.

...in more ways than one. Following on from my recent trip to Sydney, this week my day job had me spending some time up in the bushfire-affected area north of town. You know, I had always thought "scorched earth" was just a phrase. I know better now.
But enough of that.
Sadly, an impending relocation by guitarist/vocalist Kirsty Stegwazi means Melbourne scene veterans Hand Hell are calling it a day this week, with a final show at the Old Bar on Friday.

They were great at last week's Applecore festival. Get down if you can.

Speaking of festivals, the Summertones roadshow hits town this weekend:

Mistletone is one of the best labels in town, with a wide roster of local and international acts. As well as being great value, (that's what, 28 acts for $35?) this should be pretty special. I understand they will be taking over the entire Espy for the day. Rumours of a shuttle bus fleet to help Fitzroy coolsie scum find their way south to St. Kilda proved to be untrue, however.

If for some unknown reason you don't fancy that, well, Rosie Westbrook and the Leisuremasters are playing around the corner at Pure Pop Records, at 3.00 and 4.00pm respectively.

I have no idea about Sunday, but I do have Monday off, so no doubt some sort of shenanigans will be had.

Ten Most Hated Bands

Avoidance rather outright hatred is my preferred action when I hear worthless music, which is why I only rail occasionally about that sort of stuff in these rants. 411.mania.com Mikey Migo missed a few chances to lay the boot in on his list of the Ten Mosted Hated Bands and his comments about the sanctimonious and diabolically unoriginal U2 are downright flaccid.

Is vomiting the new black?

Katy Perry set some sort of mini-trend by throwing up backstage at the Brit Awards earlier this month - and then telling people about it via Twitter. A few days later this report surfaced of one of the Veronicas playing tongue hockey with a Vines member after he'd been talking (not texting) on the white porcelain telephone. Scandalous stuff, but of course Keef did it first and better, even if bulemia wasn't ever his issue.

Personally, I find the Veronicas' pale and plastic, trailer-trash-meets-electronica take on music and celebrity-ism nauseating enough, even without being told of chunky vomitus exchanges. Katy can kiss my arse - when she's done with girls.

Ironic sequel or what?

UK musicians are complaining that Swiftcover, the company that Iggy advertises, won't cover them.

Of course Swiftover is definding itself, saying Pop was appearing in the ad as an "actor", not a "musician". Who'd ever think an insurance company would try to weasel out of something?

Daptone dealt a blow: Can you help?

From Mike Watt's mailing list. Daptone is the home of Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings and a bunch of worthy soul artists. I'm not sure Rod Stewart being inconvenienced will upset many readers but the burglary should.

As you may have heard through the grapevine by now, Daptone was broken into last night. Unfortunately, there was a lot of equipment (mics, pre-amps, monitors, turntables, guitars, amps, computers, etc.) stolen and damaged. It is going to take us a while to go through everything and take full stock of what was stolen, and we are not supposed to touch anything until the cops come back to collect fingerprints so we can only guess what's missing from some mic drawers and cabinets....

I would like to ask for everyone's help first in keeping an eye out for all of our stuff showing up on ebay/craigslist/local music
shops, and secondly (and more realistically) keeping an eye out for good deals on headphones, mics, pre-amps, etc. I could really use a heads up on any kind of studio package for sale or studio equipment to be possibly bought or borrowed as soon as
possible. We have a session scheduled for Friday to lay down some music for (I know this sounds surreal) Rod Stewart, and I'm going to have to get the studio running by then...

Upon first glance we are definitely missing:

- Fender Super Guitar Amp in case
- Fender Deluxe Guitar Amp
- A whole bunch of headphones and wires
- Nydia's HP laptop computer
- One Desktop MacIntosh Computer
- One Purple Audio API style lunchbox with four Purple Audio Biz mic pre-amps
- 2 Yamaha NS10 monitors
- Vintage Harmony Rocket Guitar
- One steel string acoustic guitar
- Martin Tenor sax in a gig bag
- Technics 1200 turntable
- Ion USB turntable
- Teac Receiver/stereo amp
- Sony dual deck CD burner/player

Thanks for keeping eyes open for us. AND PLEASE PASS THIS MESSAGE ALONG TO ANYONE YOU THINK MIGHT BE ABLE TO HELP US.

Thankfully, we all still have our health, ambition, tape machines, and sense of humor intact. You can slow us down, but you can't stop us. Sleep well knowing we here at Daptone will continue to...

Keep putting Soul up,

Gabriel Roth

Daptone Records
115 Troutman St.,
Brooklyn, NY 11206
http://www.daptonerecords.com

Now, this is clever...

How do you put together a flimclip for Hoodoo Guru Dave Faulkner playing with The Master Plan (whose pedigree is the Fleshtones via the Dictators) when the principals are spread around the world? Like this:

Thanks to Lindsay Hutton of The Next Big Thing for being ahead of the pack with the heads-up, as usual.

Interstate action.

First off, apologies to the people of North Sydney. I don't know quite how I broke that ticket machine at the train station, but I did, and you all had to wait while the guy reset it.
And to the hotel I'm in- I dropped that iron and it broke. It was a cheap iron. Buy some better ones.
Now, to business.
Friday night, Sydney:

The New Christs and Sin City are playing the lovely Excelsior, in downtown Surry Hills. Not sure who is in this lineup, but they are always worth a look. Always.
While down the road a bit, at the Lansdowne, there's a bunch of stuff going on:
Aah, the Lansdowne. The first time I ever heard Mudhoney was when I played "Touch Me, I'm Sick" on the juke box there.
Back in Melbourne, though, Saturday sees the 9th Applecore Festival held in a suburban backyard:
That's an amazing bill for $10.00. BYO, no glass, no dickheads.

New look I-94 Bar

There's a bit of work underway. It's still in progress but you can see it here.

All suggestions for improvements gratefully accepted. And yeah, I know the navigation bar blinks in Firefox. That bug's being addressed.

The Podcast thingie has moved too. You can access it via the sidebar here or directly at the new host Libsyn. It sure beats the clunky place it was hosted before.

The Awful Truth

The Arizona Daily Star newspaper has sued a local punk rock band for copyright infringement because it used a slain police officer's photo to illustrate its album.
More here.

Wow, things are getting weird on the fringes. I wonder how many family photos reporters from the Daily Star have swiped from mantelpieces while "death-knocking" relatives of the deceased, or if they've ever raided a MySpace site for a picture to illustrate a news story? It beats going through the rubbish bin for a living.

This band, The Awful Truth, put out an album called "Kill A Cop For God." Everyone knows there's never a cop around when you need one so that makes as much sense as fucking for Jesus or strapping on a bomb for Allah. I'd be more inclined to sue the band for naming themselves after a Michael Moore mockumentary (sorry Moore fans but I can't bring myself to use the term "movie" in connection with his name.)

New Christs new album news

Just in from Wollongong:

MEDIA RELEASE
February 17th 2009

THE NEW CHRISTS TO RELEASE NEW ALBUM IN MAY

Twenty five years after they first formed and more than five years since the release of their last studio album, The New Christs are set to release their brand new full length album in May.

It has been an interesting journey since Radio Birdman front man Rob Younger formed The New Christs in 1984 to support Iggy Pop on his Australian tour of that year. A number of single releases featuring several line ups of friends followed before the band recorded and released their debut album ‘Distemper’ in 1989.

Following the European tour in support of the album release, the band split up before briefly reforming in 1990 to support The Ramones on their Australian tour. Once again after that tour the band took a three year hiatus before Rob teamed up with bassist Christian Houllemare (Happy Hate Me Nots) and Bill Gibson (Lemonheads, Eastern Dark) to record 'The Pedestal' ep and 'Woe Betide' mini-album. This was then followed by the 1997 release of the album 'Lower Yourself' which the band once again toured Europe on the back of.

In 2001, The New Christs recorded their full length album 'We Got This' but due to problems with the label who had initially commissioned the recording, it would be some time before it was finally released and by that time due to various reasons the band had once again split. After spending a couple of years producing bands and touring with the reformed Radio Birdman, Rob assembled the current version of The New Christs in 2006. Former bass player Jim Dickson returned to the band and new recruits Stu Wilson (drums), Dave Kettley (guitar) and Brent Williams (guitar) led the band into a new era.

They headed off to Europe, playing to adoring fans across Spain, France, Germany and Belgium while also managing to play some shows in their home country. With the bands line up the most stable in the history of The New Christs, they churned out a bunch of new songs in preparation for the recording of a new album.

December of 2008 saw the band begin work on their as yet untitled full length album which has been scheduled for worldwide release on the Impedance Records label in May 2009. The New Christs will kick off a European tour at the Azkena Rock Festival in Spain on May 16th to support the release.

In the meantime you can get a live preview of what to expect from the album this Friday February 20th in Sydney when the band take to the stage of the Excelsior Hotel in Surry Hills.

If I was in Melbourne next week...

...I know where I'd be on Friday night (or Saturday morning, given the late starts at this venue.)



Choices are there to be made in Sydney too, down the track:



Observant vets of the Sydney band scene of the '80s will note Decline of the Reptiles on the bill as support.

Peter Perrett looks back

The Old Fart's retrospective music magazine of choice Mojo has a detailed look back on The Only Ones here. I should have paid more attention to their body of work in the past so maybe the prospect of re-issues will make me.

Mick Medew & The Rumours' stinging cover of "Another Girl, Another Planet" on their forthcoming album (on I-94 Bar Records, of course) is another reason to go back exploring. Here's the original:

Ten reasons to give up the demon drink

Not.

BTW, this be the blog's 500th post. Don't all comment at once.

TV on PSF

There's a great Television retrospective from the band's early days on Perfect Sound Forever.

In case you haven't already heard

I-94 Bar Records are delighted to announce the signing of Australia's leading exponents of suave voodoo garage rock and roll, The Intercontinental Playboys.

The Playboys have been treading the boards in their home country for the last decade, winning a reputation as one of the hardest-working outfits on the underground garage scene.

Their new album, 'Hymns of The Flesh', was conceived over mint juleps on the terrace of a decaying plantation mansion while the Playboys were on holiday in Louisiana.

Plans to lay down tracks at a resort in Bermuda were dashed when visa irregularities and a paternity suit (settled out of court) had them turned away at the border.

The Playboys do their best work in the dark anyway and recording had them locked away in catacombs underneath Tardis Studios, at Marrickville in Sydney's Inner-Western Delta, for the best part of a year.

It was serious business, fuelled by hard liquor (shaken, not stirred) and Cuban cigars. The Playboys even undertook a vow of abstinence, eschewing pleasures of the flesh to conserve bodily fluids and maintain a pure focus on the sessions.

Post-production, guitarist Benedict Van Der Smuts applied a series of experimental electro-magnetic sound treatments to the finished tape, which was passed through a bath of animal blood blessed by a Haitian voodoo priest.

The result is 'Hymns of the Flesh', which treads a similar path to one established by their debut, 'Ladies, May We Introduce Ourselves', and then deepened by 2005's 'Sonic Seducers', but has a whole new bag of hooks thrown in.

While it's true that the Playboys still mine that rich '60s musical stream first tapped by the Cramps, the Music Machine, Question Mark & the Mysterians and the Fuzztones, they apply their own skewed vision.

Working without a safety net (or bass player), they apply thick layers of organ (Michelangelo Alluro) and fuzz (Benedict Van Der Smuts) to an irresistible rock and roll beat (Lorenzo-Bob de Chauvel), upon which charismatic frontman Tom Von Spatula lays down his sermons.

The Intercontinental Playboys rock like the house band from the Island of Dr Morpheus with a chronic fuzz fetish.

Theirs' is a hypnotic but probing sound that?s won many hearts down the years, and the Playboys have supported the likes of Rocket Science, You Am I, The Strokes, T-Model Ford, The Monarchs, Freddy Negro, Penny Ikinger, the Persian Rugs and JJ Speedball.

' Hymns of the Flesh' will be released in mid-2009 with the band playing selective shows until then and a more extensive run of shows thereafter.

The Intercontinental Playboys join Klondike's North 40 and Mick Medew & The Rumours on I-94 Bar Records. Release of the debut album for Mick Medew & The Rumours is imminent.

www.i94barrecords.com

Glimpses of NY punk

There's a nice showreel from a US video production house here. Joey Ramone and friends, the Two York Dolls and Manitoba's Wild Kingdom are among the tidbits.

Airfare wanted

The Stooges en el programa de Sánchez Dragó

So there's a Spanish book? I'd be grateful if someone could give me a rough translation of what this is all about. The Spanish have a true appreciation of the finer things in life (Real Rock and Roll being one of them) so if this tome is any good I sure do hope they share and publish in English.

Sonic Youth pop the major label pimple

Following their departure from major label Geffen, Sonic Youth's 18th album is due out on indie imprint Matador in June. The label says, in part:

"We've not had a record in our recent history that's been the subject of nearly as much speculation and anticipation. Suffice to say we're pretty amazed at the way the band delivered something this neoteric while still sounding like, well, themselves. Less of a reinvention and perhaps more to do with a particularly awesome dozen songs."

Sheesh. You're not the only one who had to look up "neoteric".

Here's the track listing:

1. Sacred Trickster
2. Anti-Orgasm
3. Leaky Lifeboat(for Gregory Corso)
4. Antenna
5. What We Know
6. Calming The Snake
7. Poison Arrow
8. Malibu Gas Station
9. Thunderclap For Bobby Pyn
10. No Way
11. Walkin Blue
12. Massage The History

Note the usual selection of rabbit-down-a-hole titles and in-jokes. So we know they didn't leave their sense of humour at the exit when leaving Geffen.

Here's the cover:



It's called "The Eternal" so any enlightenment on why it looks like an ad for Clearasil can be left in the Comments section.

Mortality happens in threes

First Ron Asheton...now Lux Interior. Should the adage about these things happening in threes be true, I've formed a view on who should be next. Click here to find out.

Kid "Congo" Powers on Lux

There's a nice piece by guitarist Kid "Congo" Powers on the late Cramps singer (and his former bandmate) on his blog.

Sonic Reducer - Joey Ramone & Friends

Unreleased MTV footage from the 1988 Glitter Acid Trash Ball at the Ritz in Manhattan. That's Marky Ramone on drums, Cheetah Chrome (Dead Boys) and Ritchie Stoltz (Plasmatics) on guitar. Daniel Rey's also on guitar so who's the bouffant guy on bass? Props to Russell from the Please Kill Me mailing list for the heads-up.

Not so hot.

In the wake of a pretty rough week, some welcome distraction.
All quotes pinched from elsewhere, for your convenience. But I couldn't find a poster for this one:
Johnny Casino rocks into Melbourne next Friday 13th. February, for a special two set appearance at Yah Yahs. This is quite possibly your last chance to catch Johnny Casino and the Secrets before they head to Europe and the UK to promote the European vinyl release of his latest long player "I Am Who I Am, Not Who You Want Me To Be". Goodtime rock'n'roll.

Two sets from Mr. Casino will provide all the vitamins, minerals and energy of a fucking month long residency by most other bands. This will be a great night.

On Valentine's Day, what could be better than taking your date to see a documentary about Melbourne's libertarian smut king, Paul Elliot?


In the great lost tradition of the late-night Aussie TV infomercial, as compered by the likes of Issy Dye, comes TOTALLY WEIRD SHIT, a 'documentary' that explores the trials and tribulations of alternative bookstore owner Paul Elliot and his 'World Famous' Polyester Books. While 'pa and ma' record and bookstores are going by the way of the dodo in favour of dumbed down retail chains stocking semi-trailers-full of environmental waste, Polyester has stood its ground in a competitive and cut-throat consumer environment.
It's screening at the store itself, at 330 Brunswick St. Fitzroy, from 6.00pm.
Then, later on, the Old Bar presents a very special night:

To commemorate Bon Scott we have selected a handful of bands and players that are able to pay tribute to the man behind some of AC/ DC's classic songs. As always these nights are always sold out so get in early if you wanna witness the madness:BON VOYAGE, a superstar group put together for this night including members of Blacklevel Embassy, Devil Rock Four, the Hell City Glamours and featuring SPOD as Bon Scott.
That looks unmissable to me.

Next time- special bi-state edition.

A Ramone + Tommy Hilfiger = 500 buck jeans

Wasn't it only a matter of time before noted punk rock fan Tommy Hilfiger teamed with Marky Ramone to launch a label of Ramones-inspired denim gear. With jeans priced at up to $US495, the clothes sound an absolute steal. Which is the only way most people may get to wear them. See it here.

Cyril Jordan and Roy Loney ride again

There are two names who haven't played a proper show together since 1971. The Flamin' Groovies founders are going to rectify that at the annual Ponderosa Stomp festival in New Orleans in March.

Cyril and Roy will be backed by the A-Bones. Here's the full Stomp line-up:

Wanda Jackson, Roddy Jackson, Alton Lott, Carl Mann, Johnny Powers, Jack Earls, Dale Hawkins, James Burton, Dan Penn And Bobby Emmons, Howard Tate, Otis Clay, The Hi Rhythm Section, The Remains, Question Mark And The Mysterians, The Legendary Stardust Cowboy, Bobby Patterson, Wiley And The Checkmates, The Bo-Keys, Lil Buck Senegal And The Top Cats Featuring Stanley "Buckwheat Zydeco" Dural, Dennis Coffey, Robert Parker, Jivin Gene, Ray Sharpe, Long John Hunter, Texas Johnny Brown, Little Joe Washington, James Blood Ulmer Trio, L.C. Ulmer, Little Willie Littlefield, Lil Greenwood, Jerry McCain, Kenny And The Kasuals, Classie Ballou, Deke Dickerson And The Eccofonics, Roy Loney And Cyril Jordan Of The Flamin Groovies Backed By The A-Bones, Lazy Lester

The Ponderosa Stomp is a not-for-profit that celebrates American music and makes something of a speciality of bringing together estranged rock and pop notables. More details here.

James Williamson

So what's the rumour about James Williamson playing with the Stooges again? That's him in the photo as he looks today, doing well in his career as a senior executive for Sony and as an audio industry decision maker. Thanks to Block for the heads-up. It also seems he's more into lap steel today, judging by this link.

And just for old time's sake, here's Ken Shimamoto's I-94 Bar interview which marked a public re-emergence of sorts for Strait James.

Ryan Adams and a broken heart

I never thought Ryan Adams would rate a mention here (I couldn't name a song of his if you held a gun to my head) but this "review" of a Melbourne gig is so funny it merits a link. It reads like the work of a spurned girlfriend (as in: "He didn't speak to me and the set was badly list so I'm going to have a crai...")

Ramones Are Not Dead

Adelaide filmmaker Suzy Ramone is set to debut a short movie about her Ramones tribute band, the Ramonettes. The full story of "Ramones Are Not Dead" is here.

It omits the fact that the Ramonettes ranks include Andrew Bunney, a former member of the Exploding White Mice who were tagged by many (unfarly as it turns out) as a Ramones tribute act. That's Bunney and the other Ramonettes pictured above.

Ted Nugent and a Great Moment in Media Interviews

I'm in debt to Tony Slug (ex-Hydromatics, now in new US-based band The Consultants) for this gem:

Ted Nugent, rock star and avid bow hunter from Michigan , was being interviewed by a French journalist and animal rights activist. The discussion came around to deer hunting.

The journalist asked, "What do you think is the last thought in the head of a deer before you shoot him? Is it, 'Are you my friend?' or is it 'Are you the one who killed my brother?'"

Nugent replied, "Deer aren't capable of that kind of thinking. All they care about is, 'What am I going to eat next, who am I going to screw next, and can I run fast enough to get away. They are very much like the French."

The interview ended at that point.

Buffalo Springfield drummer Dewey Martin

Dead at 68. Details here.

Sid Vicious as Elvis crooner?

Putting his client in a cabaret revue at the Sands in Vegas was Malcolm McLaren's plan to raise a defence fund kitty for accused murderer Sid Vicious, according to the man himself. I don't think so.

More Cramps

There's a nice ode to Lux Interior and the Cramps here.

Ed Kuepper's guitar

I never knew it was on display here. As it should be. If the Saints largely sucked at their recent ATP and Don't Look Back reformation shows, it wasn't down to Ed.

Lux Interior

So I guess everyone's heard the news. I got the following email this morning:
For Immediate Release:February 4, 2009 Lux Interior, lead singer of The Cramps, passed away this morning due to an existing heart condition at Glendale Memorial Hospital in Glendale, California at 4:30 AM PST today. Lux has been an inspiration and influence to millions of artists and fans around the world. He and wife Poison Ivy’s contributions with The Cramps have had an immeasurable impact on modern music.The Cramps emerged from the original New York punk scene of CBGB and Max’s Kansas City, with a singular sound and iconography. Their distinct take on rockabilly and surf along with their midnight movie imagery reminded us all just how exciting, dangerous, vital and sexy rock and roll should be and has spawned entire subcultures. Lux was a fearless frontman who transformed every stage he stepped on into a place of passion, abandon, and true freedom. He is a rare icon who will be missed dearly.The family requests that you respect their privacy during this difficult time.

For me, writing about the death of Lux is like writing an obituary for my teen years. This band was so important to me. Other bands- Birdman, the Clash, the Flesheaters- taught me things, but no one taught me as much as the Cramps did.

They taught me about a secret world of cheap aesthetics, that meant while my friends played immaculate albums through expensive stereos, I played thrift shop singles through a portable record player the size of a phone book- and found that they sounded better that way.

They taught me that it was OK to have fun with music, to mix up humour and guitars and sex, but never to let the joke go too far.

And the music- aside from their own stuff, like "TV Set", or "Garbageman", there were all the gems I found through the Cramps, like Andre Williams, ? and the Mysterians, Warren Smith, Alex Chilton, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Randy Alvey, the Red Crayola, and so much more.

I have so many memories- the joy of finally deciphering the lyrics of "Drug Train". Tracing their logo onto homemade tapes, and t-shirts. Helping to do the window display for "Psychedelic Jungle" at the (old) Missing Link record store. Picking up a copy of NME at the time of their lawsuit with IRS Records, and then putting it down quickly, because the article quoted their real names, and I didn't want to know them. Those early bootleg albums. Writing the liner notes for "Born Bad vol. 3". Signing myself out of hospital to see their first Melbourne show, at Festival Hall. Meeting Lux and Ivy after a show at the Venue a few days later- from where I sit now I can see the bone necklace I was wearing that night, that Lux so loudly and openly admired.

But that's going to have to do for now. This is getting harder and harder to write. I'm gonna go and play some music.

This is probably a good time to mention that for various reasons I'll be taking a week or so off from here, too.

In memory of Lux Interior

R.I.P. Lux Interior of the Cramps

Rumours have been about online all morning. Damn it, it's true. The official statement:

Lux Interior, lead singer of The Cramps, passed away this morning due to an existing heart condition at Glendale Memorial Hospital in Glendale, California at 4:30 AM PST today. Lux has been an inspiration and influence to millions of artists and fans around the world. He and wife Poison Ivy’s contributions with The Cramps have had an immeasurable impact on modern music.

The Cramps emerged from the original New York punk scene of CBGB and Max’s Kansas City, with a singular sound and iconography. Their distinct take on rockabilly and surf along with their midnight movie imagery reminded us all just how exciting, dangerous, vital and sexy rock and roll should be and has spawned entire subcultures. Lux was a fearless frontman who transformed every stage he stepped on into a place of passion, abandon, and true freedom. He is a rare icon who will be missed dearly.

The family requests that you respect their privacy during this difficult time.

Pistol a future Stooge?

He's out of a gig with the demise of his radio station employer and the canning of his Jonesy's Jukebox program and we haven't heard much of the Pistols playing live lately, so is this L.A. Times article a pointer to Steve Jones signing on with the Stooges? Scroll down for the key info.

Let me take you by the hand

and lead you through the streets of Melbourne...
Lonsdale Street
Little Lonsdale Street
Caledonian Lane

The VIP bar was a different story, though.

Records Fairs

These are wonderful places to go people-watching.

The downside of living in Australia is that there isn't the critical mass of events, geek collectors or genuinely collectable artefacts. The circuit's well-established and the same old faces (and unwanted records and CDs) keep turning up.

You thought "High-Fidelity" was just a movie? The record fairs at Parramatta Town Hall or the Glebe Community Centre (both in Sydney) say otherwise. For every relatively well-adjusted, budget-aware browser there are three smelly, Coke-bottle wearing OCD patients whose Army surplus backpacks make negotiating the crowds twice as tough.

What keeps people coming to record fairs? Surely eBay's slashed the guts out of the marketplace. Maybe not. There's still a sub-culture of people who need the tactile feel of an LP sleeve between their fingers. A few of them lok like they crave huiman interaction. Plus, postage often makes the real cost online album procurement prohibitively expensive, at least when you're buying from offshore.

The bottom line is that attending a record fair brings with it the thrill of the chase, the remote possibility that you might just stumble across something like a mint copy of the Psychosurgeons' blood-stains "Wild Weekend" 45 or a test pressing of "(I'm) Stranded" on the original Fatal label.

Perfect Noise Forever has a great piece on record fairs here. Smell the geekdom.

X-Aspirations re-issue

X's seminal 1980 album has been re-issued on CD by Aztec Music. I think Ken from Forth Worth likes it.

R n R's Ugliest Men

What? No Hank van Helvete? Here.