The evils of MP3

MP3s make sharing music easier. They also make a commodity of music and cheapen its value. And they sound shittier than lossless music.

Think you can pick the difference between MP3s of differing compression? Try this quick test.

Bootleg DVD shows MC2 at the Finnish line

One piece of MC5 ephemera I won’t be buying is the Japanese bootleg DVD of the band’s Finnish TV appearance in its dying days. If you haven’t seen the brilliant rockumentary “The MC5: A True Testimonial” a segment of this desultory 1972 gig – which was a contract filler with the Five down to a rump of Sonic and Brother Wayne plus a hired engine room – was fairly central to the movie’s second half, which showed a once great band on its last legs.

By his own admission, Wayne Kramer was lost to his smack habit by that stage and if Fred Smith wasn’t also on that path, he was about to join him. Rob Tyner stayed home with his family, Dennis Thompson was out-of-order and Mike Davis too wasted to notice he’d been sacked. The set list was mostly covers and the survivors apparently ran foul of promoters for being the MC2 rather than the expected MC5.

Here’s a taste of the out-of-tune shambles. If you’re still really desperate despite seeing this, let Google be your friend.

This (Easter) weekend

Apart from my usual annual Lindt binge, I think it'll be pretty quiet. There's that Witch Hats LP launch previously mentioned, and I may try to catch Wagons at Young & Jacksons on Sunday. They're playing for free, between 3.00pm & 6.00pm, if Henry and co. can figure out the dress requirements. I mean, they wouldn't want to show Chloe up.


















Next week, though, they will be starting their "Lightning Strikes Twice" tour. Tour dates in full:

Sun March 30: The Retreat, Melbourne

Wed April 2: Electric Light Hotel, Adelaide

Thu April 3: Edinburgh Castle, Adelaide

Fri April 4: The Pub, Bendigo

Sat April 5: National Hotel, Geelong

Wed April 9: Oxford Tavern, Wollongong

Thu April 10: Brass Monkey, Cronulla

Fri April 11: Woodport Inn, Erina

Sat April 12: Hopetoun Hotel, Sydney

Sun April 13: Great Northern Hotel, Byron Bay

Thu April 17: Shark Bar, Miami Tavern, Gold Coast

Fri April 18: Bon Amici's, Toowoomba

Sat April 19: Sol Bar, Coolum Beach, Sunshine Coast

Jay Reatard

Meant to mention this earlier, actually.
Local outfit Stained Circles brought Jay out for a tour, to coincide with their local release of his excellent "Blood Visions" LP.
I only got to one show, the Tote BBQ on the Monday, but it was well worth it.
The album runs through 15 tracks in 29 minutes- if anything, he played harder and faster live. There's a bit of YouTube from the Brisbane show here that'll give you an idea.
And there were excellent supports, including the slightly demented UV Race, and one of Digger & the Pussycats final shows before they leave for a (47 date) European tour.
Definitely an early contender for gig of the year.

BBQ update

My, my, if I'd got to the bottom of that bag of hickory chunks a bit quicker- like, by sometime in 1991- I could have been 55c better off. Oh well, no point crying over spilt marinade. Here's some recent pork:

And some more recent ribs- beef asado ribs:

Trimmed, with all the bones removed except one- this is what I threw away:

They then got marinated and rolled before cooking:

Sorry about the blur in that last shot, I was hungry, and couldn't be arsed taking another one.

Noise 1- MIBEM March 28th

MIBEM - that's the Melbourne International Biennale of Exploratory Music- kicks off on March 28th, running through to April 2nd 2008. They promise:

An expansive variety of contemporary music forms including improvisation, audio-visual works, composition, electronica, free jazz, noise rock and contemporary classical music. Curated by noted local artists/composers, Anthony Pateras and Robin Fox, the Biennale will bring over 50 international and Australian musicians from the cutting and far edges of contemporary music together for a series of inspired and boundary-expanding sonic explorations

I'm interested in the opening night show at the Tote ,which features
Y35.3, amongst others, and also the David Chesworth action - an installation- at the Toff in Town on 30th. March, too, but there is plenty going on.

Noise 2- Music Isn't Noise!

There's a new move to get recognition for inner-city venues, in a similar vein to the now-defunct Fair Go For Live Music initiative of a couple of years back.
At the moment all it really is is a website, and a Facebook group, and the whole thing is a bit Fitzroy-centred, but hey, if you go to see bands there (and I'll put my hand up to being an occasional visitor, particularly to the Old Bar) you may want to lend some support. If you don't want to, that's fine, but please hold your whining when your favorite venue gets closed by noise complaints. Just a thought.

Hall of Lame (2)

For the truly obsessive, here's the whole two-song performance by the Stooges. "Burning Up" is better than "Ray of Light" (thanks for the prompt on that title) but Ig singing someone else's song off-key isn't the same as him mangling his own tunes. Ron's solo is pretty cool though.

Hall of Lame

I don't object to the Stooges figuring in a tribute to Madonna on the occasion of her induction to the Rock and Roll (sic) Hall of Fame, just to the song and performance being so lame.

Just in - Ron Asheton's take on this as reported in the Detroit Free Pres:

Don’t be too worried, Stooges fans: They haven’t sold out to the other side.

So proclaims guitarist Ron Asheton, who Monday night joined band mates Iggy Pop, Scott Asheton and Steve MacKay as the Stooges to play a pair of Madonna songs — “Ray of Light” and “Burning Up” — during the latter’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Asheton was reacting to online reports that have described the band’s scheduled performance as a “tribute” to the dance-pop star, whose music is a far cry from the Stooges’ own gritty, primal Detroit rock.

“The Stooges represent everything that’s against what she is,” Asheton told the Free Press from his New York hotel Monday afternoon before the show. “I don’t wish her ill. I don’t hate her or anything. But I’d never even heard of these songs until I had to listen to a tape and figure out what’s going on with them.”

In reality, Asheton said, Madonna asked the Stooges to perform as an act of protest: The group, widely considered a linchpin of early punk, has yet to be inducted by the rock hall, despite six appearances on the nomination ballot. By inviting the group on stage, she sent a message, said Asheton.

Last year’s rock hall ceremony featured a similar demonstration, when the night’s inductees performed the Stooges’ “I Wanna Be Your Dog” during a jam session finale.

“Basically she was upset that we’ve been nominated so many times and never made it, so she asked us to play in protest. And it was under those auspices that I thought we were doing it,” Asheton said. “At first I went, ‘Whaaat?’ Then Iggy said, ‘Why don’t you think about it?’”

It came together quickly: Madonna reached out to Iggy Pop just two weeks ago, Asheton said. The band, which had not performed together since closing out its latest tour in December, worked on the songs long-distance, with the Ashetons in Ann Arbor and Iggy home in Florida.

“Iggy said, ‘We’re gonna rock them up — just play ‘em like Stooges songs,’” Asheton recounted. “They actually sound pretty cool. We just rock ‘em out. You wouldn’t even recognize them as Madonna songs. I never thought I’d say this, but I’ve actually enjoyed playing them.”

On Monday afternoon Asheton had yet to meet Madonna, who was an elementary school student in Rochester Hills when the Stooges started shaking up the Detroit rock scene in the late 1960s. He said if he encounters her during the rock hall’s afterparty action, he’d be sure to be polite.

But he can’t help feeling a little cynicism about the whole ordeal: He probably wouldn’t be in the Stooges without it. With Madonna’s entry into the hall of fame drawing criticism from some diehard rock corners — and with the star’s new album due in April — he figures she may have more than one motivation for handpicking his band.

“I thought that right off the top — that, gee, I just heard she’s got a record coming out, and she’s trying to get a little Stooge shine. She’s a savvy businesswoman,” he said. “I think she actually does like the band. She wouldn’t have asked for us if she didn’t. But she’s also using us for business purposes.”

New Christs return to Sydney

The Solution back story

Here's the inside story from bassist/video producer Jim Heneghan about the "You Gotta Come Down" film clip:

"The Solution’s “You Gotta Come Down” promo film was shot on one roll of Super-8. A roll of Super-8 runs for about 3 minutes and 20 seconds of moving pictures. The song “You Gotta Come Down” runs 3 minutes and 23 seconds. So Super-8 was a perfect choice for a one-shot, one-take Super-8 promo film.

"But The Solution had logistical problems to solve. Since Nicke is in Stockholm and Scott is in Detroit, we had Scott shoot a close-up of himself on his crappy VHS camera gear and send it to us in Stockholm. Then we played that VHS tape on a TV and let Nicke drum along with Scott on the TV.

"But that crappy video had playback issues and what you see in the video is the grainy result, for better or worse.

"The Solution will not be televised indeed!"

The Solution

Long time between drinks. Sorry for the absence but I've been busier than a one-armed bricklayer in Beirut. Here's something to tide you over - the new film clip from the US/Scandi soul band The Solution. That's Scott Morgan on vocals with Nicke Royale (Hellacopters) on drums.

Band member Jim Heneghan came up with the concept and shot the clip, with Scott "mailing in" his self-shot vocal on an ancient video camera from his home in Ann Arbor.

This is "You Gotta Come Down" from the new "Will Not Be Televised" album.

Witch Hats- "Cellulite Soul" album launch 23 March

This promises to be a stormer.

I've had the album for a while now, and it's an amazingly assured piece of work. It summons up memories of a lot of my favorite sounds from the past, but in ways I can't quite put my finger on. There's nothing exclusively sonic, just more of a general feel. You can clearly hear the bands' willingness to push boundaries and play with elements, but still keep sticking in great hooks and choruses. As far as debut albums go, it's up there with the best.

They are planning launches in most capital cities, as well as a US tour later in the year.

Oh, and this is happening at the Northcote Social Club, if you were wondering.

HushHush 3

Dolores San Miguel probably has hosted more live gigs than you've had hot dinners, and she has another one lined up this weekend.

HushHush invades Cherry Bar with a spectacular night of home grown rock 'n' roll!
Featuring the 2008 return of The Fearless Vampire Killers, playing tracks from their soon to be released debut E.P, along with The Breaks and the kaleidoscopic sounds of Tonight is Like Space Invaders. Discs will be spun by the iconic Cherry D.J's, well into the wee hours.

I've been to both of her previous Hush Hush nights, and they were very good value indeed. This one goes in til dawn, at Cherry Bar, and may well become a more regular, semi-permanent thing soon.

Pink Fits hit

Wollongong's excellent Pink Fits make a lightning visit to Melbourne this weekend, but still manage to cram three shows into two days.

I've heard the new mini album, just out on Off The Hip, and it's excellent. I missed them last time around, won't be making that mistake again. And that Tote afternoon show is with the Ooga Boogas, too. Tasty.

Don't lose it.

If you read that Kylie post from a while back, you'll notice that they prohibit mobile phones and cameras being taken into the preview, which I guess is fair enough.
But the letter I got this week with a recent promo- a promo single at that, with only one track on it- goes a fair bit further.

There's a second page, which is meant to be signed and dated and sent back to someone whose job title is given as "VP, anti piracy" to signify agreement.
It's all a bit over the top, really. I wasn't planning to upload it, or to sell it, just listen to it a few times before chucking it on a shelf. As far as I can see, they expect me to adopt the fucking thing.
I just hope, for the seller's sake, that the world's greatest music collection, currently for sale on ebay, doesn't include any EMI promos.

She's back

Detroit bad girl Niagara is back in town this week, with a new show opening at Outre Gallery on Saturday 16th. February.

Sadly, though, only Sydney get to see her play live, in front of the Hitmen, next weekend on 23rd February.

She and her co-conspirator in all things art and rock, Colonel Galaxy, are two of the nicest reprobates you could ever hope to meet. Get along if you can, and remember:.

Malvina Reynolds

It's not often I listen to folk music, but this has really caught my ear.
Issued by the enigmatic and esoteric Omni Corporation, it's an extended version of her John Hammond-produced LP, "Malvina Reynolds Sings The Truth", which first appeared on Columbia in 1967, and it really is excellent. She seems to have been quite a woman.
At times her voice sounds cracked and parched, at other times she gets some real fire and sass going. She can really make that guitar ring, too, in a way that reminds me of Leadbelly at times.
And yes, the lyrics are laden with mid 60s social concern, but she writes a mean line when she wants to, as in "The Devil's Baptizin'". The added live tracks were recorded between 1965 and 1977- but they show that she could still cut it, even aged 77.
Some samples of her music are available here, though sadly it doesn't include any of the tunes she wrote for "Sesame Street".
There some sort of circular irony at work when you consider her best-known tune, "Little Boxes", now gets regular airing as a TV show theme, but at least it's the theme for a show about subverting suburbia. I think she would have appreciated that.

Harem Scarem- reissue and reformation

It's about time this thing got a run.

The good people at Atzec Music have just reissued Harem Scarem's astonishing 1986 LP, "Pilgrim's Progress", and its great to hear it again. It's been remixed, includes extra live tracks, b-sides and other good stuff, and also has a fat booklet of liner notes, including some very interesting observations from singer Chris Marshall, although no one's ever been able to explain that cover art to my satisfaction. I've had it on high rotation for the past week or so. The band are reforming for one show only (or at least, no other shows have been confirmed as yet) at the Corner Hotel on March 29th.

Anyway, another dig in the archives brought this to light:

Forgive my bias when I say that B Side was Australia's best fanzine for much of the 1980s. The Harem Scarem piece mentioned on the cover is an interview that the lovely Caroline Birkett, assistant editor, did with Chris about a month before the album came out, and is still a pretty good read.






As ever, just click on those images to enlarge.

Died Pretty return a triumph

Died Pretty reformed for the first of a handful of shows on Friday night, running through "Doughboy Hollow" from go to whoa and then giving us a mini-greatest songs sent as the encore. It was part of the Don't Look Back festival where a band reprises one of their great works. Do not miss these shows. This will not be repeated.

There's a review at the I-94 Bar but here's an old clip from French TV with almost the same line-up.