Archives Added

Check out some new old stuff. Recently added a big pile of mostly band reviews from an older blog of mine. Dig in!

And more to come…

No Age, Nouns (Sub Pop)

released May 8, 2008

Just another noisy indie band from L.A., two guys creating a wave of harsh/pretty angular sound with a guitar and drums and often unintelligible lyrics. Sounds like something you’ve heard before, and more often than not, No Age fail to come up with any songs that will set them apart. Still, there’s an ability to find the beauty in their cacophony that indicates the potential for growth, and there’s enough here to keep me from writing them off just yet. 10 of the 12 songs clock in at under 3 minutes, the whole thing wrapped up in barely over half and hour. The brisk, tight package works to their advantage, moving from one idea to the next before wearing out its welcome. Best song: the punky “Here Should Be My Home”, a bouncy two minute wonder with a great guitar break right in the middle which kicks the hook up a notch.  I’m filing them away for future reference - if No Age have it in ‘em to evolve, they might have something here.

152 songs

all of which I think are worth checking out

ted1

boozy rant no. 1: “The Creem Book” and Dreems of more…

“The Creem Book” has been a contentious topic among the rockcit establishment, and, by extension, the rockcrit geek subculture, which I suppose I am completely entrenched in and mixed up with no matter what I used to think. “The Creem Book”, (for those philistines who don’t know how many Chuck Eddy blog there are as of today) is Creem: America’s Only Rock ‘n Roll Magazine, by Robert Matheu and Brian J. Bowe. Like many others, I have stated on the record that it has too much later stuff, not enough early stuff. Of course, I, like almost everyone else who has leveled this criticism at the book, have no stake in the game. And the game here is a costly one for everyone involved. There’s ongoing litigation which I know virtually nothing about regarding who owns Creem and it’s vast library of intellectual property. That’s an important issue for anyone who cares about the legacy of this great magazine, but as someone who’s buying the book and keeping it on their shelf for the rest of their lives, it’s not a factor in the value of the collection itself.

I like the book a lot actually. I can’t really complain at all. The material is so good that you couldn’t possibly go wrong. The fact is that Matheu and Bowe did more than just not go wrong, they put together a gorgeous book. They knew how important it was to reprint everything for the most part how it originally appeared, and they did a great job selecting pieces that gave a good, broad cross-section of everything that Creem was over the years.

Giving a broad general history had to be exactly their goal. It was kind of the only choice they had when given the opportunity to publish this book. I mean, wouldn’t it be yours if you put yourselves in their shoes? Based on what their logical motivations had to be, up to and including making a profit (and don’t ever kid yourself that Barry Kramer’s motivation, first and foremost, wasn’t doing exactly that), mission definitely accomplished. The kids who are going to find this on the shelf at their local libraries in 5, 10, and 15 years are going to have their minds blown that such a thing ever existed. It’s more than good enough, it’s proof that this was the best rock ‘n roll magazine that ever existed. At it’s supposed nadir, it was still a million times better than anything else out there on the national level.

So I can get why that would be the approach for a book like this, the first time out. As a hard-core Creem fan though, I think that what I’d prefer, and this is just me, are definitive examinations of narrow themes. With those archives at your fingertips, you could tell the whole story of the American pre-punk era, from the Velvets to the Ramones, and it would be one of the definitive histories of that music that could ever be published. Not to mention all of the big name stars - a whole book on the Stones or Dylan would be more objective and interesting than any of Jann Wenner’s hero-worship tomes.

Hell, if they want a sure-fire seller on your hands, put out the Creem Book of Metal. In the 70’s, Creem covered more metal in a more thorough and (actually, comparatively) serious way, than anyone else. Put all that together with the material from the 80’s Creem Metal magazine and you’ve got every metal fan’s wet dream, people who wouldn’t ever get around to buying any other Creem book would HAVE to own that one.

And, on the topic of Creem Metal, I think it’s an incredibly underrated magazine. People are kind of nostalgic about Rip magazine these days, but Creem Metal did it the best. I was a teenage New Jersey stoner kid in the mid-80’s and I absolutely worshiped CM, it made me stop buying Hit Parader around the age of 15 or so,… I still grabbed the occasional Circus but just for the pictures.

And then there’s the “Complete Creem Record Reviews” 3-volume set, and the book(s) of JUST Creem pictures with the original captions! Oh, and of course the internet archive of letters to the editor, and every Eleganza on demand! As someone who has no money in the game, I’m very elaborate about the number of projects they should have going right now…

I think they did a great book, and I’m glad to hear that the people behind this one want to do more. I just hope that whoever ends up owning the Creem library keeps getting it out there to us, the public. Even if my dream books never get made, I’ll buy every single one that comes out (well, maybe not the Kiss Super Special,… no, that’s not even believable… of course I’d have to buy that, probably the Van Halen and Motley Crue ones too).

Some words I live by…

In the interest of sharing a bit more about me, a few favorite quotes:

“Wherever the crowd goes, run the other direction.” - Charles Bukowski

“Freedom is what you do with what’s been done to you.” - Jean-Paul Sartre

“When one burns one’s bridges, what a very nice fire it makes.” - Dylan Thomas

“No valid plans for the future can be made by those who have no capacity for living now.” - Alan Watts

“I know only that what is moral is what you feel good after and what is immoral is what you feel bad after.” - Ernest Hemingway

“Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing.” - Salvador Dali

“The one thing that can solve most of our problems is dancing.” - James Brown

“Good things happen to those who hustle.” - Anais Nin

My story, so far (an introduction of sorts)

I was born in Levittown, PA at the end of the sixties. In my youth, I could name every US President, in order, from Washington through Carter (don’t ask me to try it now), and I loved the Philadelphia Phillies (still do). When I was ten years old, my family moved to central New Jersey and I spent the next three or so years pretending I was from the Philly streets. In junior high school I was published for the first time, in The Trader Speaks. I was a basebll card geek and wrote for them as well as Baseball Card News and Sports Collectors Digest; got to meet and interview Jim Kaat, Gaylord Perry, and Darryl Strawberry in his rookie year. Believe it or not, I know, real shocker: never really fit in, kind of a dork, got picked on in boy scouts…. this continued to be the norm into my adolescence, then I grew into a scuzzy little teen, settled into my niche among the freaks and geeks, and, most importantly, got religion, meaning women and rock ‘n roll, which were the same thing in my book.

I somehow got through high school, the last couple of years in a decidedly psychedelic haze. This achievement is all the more amazing when I consider how many days I ditched the school bus for the train into New York City where I would wander all day among the denizens of 42nd Street and the dime bag Rastas in Washington Square. A few years of community college followed, taken up mostly with history and literature courses while avoiding the pre-req sciences and math, a path which culminated in a whole bunch of credits and a decent GPA but no degree to speak of. When I turned 21, I wandered into the Court Tavern, got turned on to punk rock, and emersed myself in the New Brunswick music scene. I co-hosted the “Overnight Sensations” radio show on WRSU with Bryan Bruden and Ethan Stein, wrote record reviews and did interviews for a half dozen or so different zines including Flipside and Fizz, getting the opportunity to bring attention some local legends (Mad Daddys, Bad Karma, Raging Lamos, Motel Shootout) as well meet and interview some of my heroes (Joey Ramone, Lux and Ivy, Wayne Kramer, The Cheater Slicks).

I moved to Seattle in 1997, stopped writing, lived on Capitol Hill, and eventually met a cute little Oregon girl and got married. Flash forward seven years later, we got divorced (mostly amiably, mostly), and I found myself living up on the north end, 15 miles out of downtown with two wonderful cats and nowhere to go. My newly re-found bachelorhood provided me with all kinds of thrills, sexual and romantic adventures unmatched at any time in my life, but there was still something missing. Right about then an old friend fell back into my life, a series of coincidences leading her to an apartment less than a half-mile from my own front door. She eventually moved in, and we’re one hell of a team - roommates on a rampage. I think we’re both gonna help each other find what we’re looking for, and it sure is nice to have someone around who’s got your back. The future is uncertain - she’s a rolling stone, and surely won’t stay in one place long enough to gather any moss. But I know I have been changed forever and I can’t wait to rip off the seal that’s been hiding the next great chapter in my life. Stay tuned for more details…

please stand by

Marvelous Marvin (Slight Return)

The Time Flys

There’s two things to learn from this review of The Time Flys new record that ran in the SF Weekly earlier this year:

The Time Flys - Rebels of Babylon (Birdman)

Garrett Kamps

Published: February 21, 2007

I saw these New York Dolls wannabes at 12 Galaxies over a year ago, and after the set I mentioned to the singer, “You know, you guys spell your name wrong,” ’cause, like, they do: It should be “the Time Flies.” And the singer looks at me like, “Whatever, dork,” (total Fast Times moment), and I feel like a smarty pants ’cause dude just proved he’s in a band of glammy poseur clods. Well, turns out the joke was on me for giving a shit. These guys don’t care if they spell their name wrong, they don’t care if they sing about what it’s like to be a shark, and they certainly don’t care if I care. But here’s what they do care about: They care that their guitars sound just shitty enough (blown out and crunchy), that the drums sound like they were recorded outside the building they were played in — basically, they care that I know they know all about obscure ’70s punk 7-inches. Well, great. I know that. And because I know that I can’t really say the Time Flys [sic] screwed anything up here, as the record they’ve created is about as hard to make as a bowl of cereal — Drinking Beer to Make Music to Drink Beer To. If the guys in the Weirdos aren’t showing up to Time Flys [sic] shows, it’s simply because these days the bands that invented this sound have day jobs and read books. — Garrett Kamps

Ok,… are you on the same page as me?  Yup, the Time Flys are a great band, and Garrett Kamps must be a completely insufferable dick.

Befriend The Time Flys on MySpace

Get the new record, Rebels of Babylon, on Birdman Records

Jay Reatard

“Bands” are all the rage these days on the rock ‘n roll scene, but there are a few really happenin’ solo artists out there, and one of the best is Mr. Jay Reatard, himself formerly of some pretty damn good groups, The Reatards, The Final Solutions, and Lost Sounds.  Now he’s got his own album out, Blood Visions, on In The Red.  While his previous groups all had pretty distinct individual sounds, they were also each very different from each other.  In that same spirit of creativity and inventiveness, Jay has put together an eclectic platter, playing all of the instruments himself, that features screaming punk bashers alongside new wave-inspired pop nuggets and weird hybrids that hold up well alongside their Wire/Eno/Adverts influences.  Definitely one of the best releases of 2007 so far.  Not to be content with one of the top albums of the year alone, he’s already got another record in the can, the Night of Broken Glass EP, which is also being released on In The Red.  “It’s All Over Again” from that release is the featured song on my profile this weekend, and once you hear it, you’ll know that this guy has put out another essential record and if you’re like me, it’ll only whet your appetite for more.  Be one of the lucky ones who are hip to Jay Reatard while he’s in his prime, instead of 20 years from now, when most people will just be catching up with him.

Befriend Jay Reatard on MySpace

Get the rekkids direct from In The Red