19 April 2013 (Day 200) – Being Sick At The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame

My illness continues and I’m down to my last music related DVD.  Or should that be DVD box set?
At least it kept me busy.

(AV 31) Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Live (2009)

This is a massive 9 DVD set that includes live performances from the first 25 Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction ceremonies.  At each ceremony all of the inducted acts are invited to perform two or three of their classic numbers, frequently with fellow musical superstars (especially Bruce Springsteen) deputising for departed, estranged or deceased inductees.  New members are inducted by a fellow musician of their choice and then provide an acceptance speech.  Each disk contains approximately an hour of live performances selected from these ceremonies. The package’s outer cover provides no idea of each disc’s contents other than a mouth watering list of the various acts whose performances are included.

So far, so good.  Unfortunately, the package makes for frustrating viewing owing to the way in which the performances have been sequenced.  The entire performance of any one act is not included in its entirety; any that are have been spread across the various discs.  Moreover, although each disc is titled, no real theme is apparent in each disc’s selection except for Disc 6, titled I’ll Take You There, a showcase of black acts.  And given the way black musicians are presented in the remaining 8 discs -  usually supporting white acts or appearing in otherwise all white superstar jams and with only Aretha Franklin given their own track – this probably well intentioned showcase could be accused as tokenism, or worse, pandering to racist purchasers.  Women are also under represented in the collection, but this is a consequence of the overall selection process rather than any problem in compilation.

As a result, the key to enjoying this package lies in selecting individual tracks.  And there’s some magnificent performances here, far too many to list here.  My personal favourites include an awesome version of Train Kept A Rollin’ performed by the combination of  Metallica, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Joe Perry, Ron Wood and Flea; Wilson Pickett’s In The Midnight Hour with backing from Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band; Bo Diddley’s performance of Bo Diddley backed by Robbie Robertson and Eric Clapton and, best of all, a sublime version of the Beatles While My Guitar Gently Weeps initially by Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, Steve Winwood and Dhani Harrison which gets transformed to another level courtesy of Prince’s inspired fretwork.

But there’s one other reason to purchase this set.  Included in the extras for the first 8 discs are randomly selected and arranged induction and acceptance speeches from the ceremonies.  (Unfortunately, none of these are specifically identified in the packaging.)  These provide some great moments of heartfelt emotion, such as Bono’s wonderful induction of Bob Marley and Pete Townshend’s tribute to The Rolling Stones in which he reveals the extent to which they influenced The Who.  And then, there’s also Paul McCartney’s induction of John Lennon as a solo act in which he refers only to Lennon’s work in The Beatles! 

But some of the acceptance speeches are also memorable and not all of them for their positivity.  The two most notorious acceptances  - Mike Love’s as part of the Beach Boys induction in which he baits a number of the superstar members of the audience and the speeches by all the inducted members of Blondie which revealed the extent of the rift between present day members Chris Stein, Deborah Harry and Clem Burke as opposed to former members Gary Valentine, Nigel Harrison and Frank Infante  - are present here.  Brian Johnstone quoting Bon Scott during AC/DCs induction was a nice touch, as was the members of The Grateful Dead bringing out a life sized cardboard cut off of Gerry Garcia with them onto the stage.  Hearing Johnny Ramone actually say something nice about deceased Joey was a genuine shock but for mine the best moments were listening to founder and Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner’s seeming incomprehension whilst reading The Sex Pistols letter of refusal and Jeff Beck’s humourous speech as part of The Yardbird’s induction.  It went something like this; “I did record other stuff after the Yardbirds. Someone said that I’ve a lot to be proud but I’m not.  They [pointing to the other members of the band] kicked me out so f**k you!”

18 July 2013 (Day 199) – More DVDs

There has been minimal improvement in my condition.  The phlegm in my throat appears to have broken up a little but I’ve now got a migraine.   This limits my ability to do anything other than view DVDs and I’m beginning to run out of those with a musical theme - in concert performances, documentaries or the occasional compilation of an act’s video clips.  Hollywood musicals are a definite no go area.

I’ve always had a conceptual difficulty with Hollywood musicals.   There’s a story, it proceeds and then at some key or otherwise undetermined moment, the characters break out into song and an elaborate choreographed dance routine.  Just like in real life.  I know musicals aren’t made to be taken literally and songs are meant to express the inner feelings of the characters at the given moment but I simply don’t buy it.  There have been moments in my life where I have burst into song to express an emotion but I don’t sing with perfect pitch and, as far as I’m aware, there are no moveable walls in my house that conceal an orchestra or dancers.  All I know is when I burst into song unaccompanied people stick fingers in their ears and ask me to stop.

Instead I see the musical as something that works best when the actors in them portray real people who sing like the majority of people on the planet (that is badly).  So step forward the adaptation of Mama Mia!  or Woody Allen’s Everyone Says I Love You.  Movies set in a form of fantasy land (such as the Wizard Of Oz) or in a scenario that accounts for why the characters can sing (such as Singin’ In The Rain) are conceptually solid enough to hold my interest, provided of course the music is OK.

But I digress.  In between fits of sleep, today I watched;

(AV 29) The Flaming Lips – The Fearless Freaks (2005)

This documentary was compiled by band associate Bradley Beesley from over 400 hours of footage, home super 8 movies and other sources.  It is a comprehensive history of the band until the release of the Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots album.  Although just about every past and present member of the band is featured, the emphasis is firmly on Wayne Coyne and Steven Drozd, their families and their hometown of Oklahoma City.  Scenes set in the latter appear to silently demonstrate just how their surroundings have influenced the creation of such mind blowing, escapist music and, in Drozd’s case, descent into drugs.  In one unforgettable gruesome scene, Drozd describes his heroin addiction to camera whilst calmly setting himself up for a hit.   Fortunately there’s enough music from across their career to keep fans happy and each track can be played in full outside of the film.

(AV 30) Paul Simon – Under African Skies (2012)

This documentary was produced to mark last year is a 25^th Anniversary of Simon’s Graceland album and can be purchased separately or, as in my case, part of the extended version of the album.  There are effectively two parts to the story; the genesis/recording/live performance of the music and the consequent furore surrounding Simon’s breaking of the United Nations anti apartheid  cultural boycott of South Africa.  To tell these stories, Simon journeyed back to South America for a special concert featuring all of the original musicians and a discussion with Ray Tambo, the founder of Artists Against Apartheid and arguably his most outspoken critic.  Simon comes across as slightly naïve about the South African situation.  He eloquently explains how South African music inspired him to seek out the musicians and record with them and that he couldn’t see how his actions could possibly hinder the anti apartheid fight.  After all, he did not discriminate against the black musicians with whom he recorded and toured the world and whose talents he brought before the world.  Naturally they do not say a bad word about him, however, Tambo makes the telling observation that Simon’s actions only benefitted just those musicians and not the wider population, which is why the boycott was in place in the first place.  This appeared to be the key argument that leads Simon to apologise for the offense he caused.  And yet, one can’t help but think that by creating the music and the furore Simon might have generated as much publicity for the anti cause as had the rockers with the Sun City album.  It is absolutely fascinating stuff and an issue that can be debated forever.  Pity, though the documentary makes no reference to the track recorded with Los Lobos and the furore that track has since generated regarding its authorship.

17 July 2013 (Day 198) – In Bed With The Ramones

Still no improvement in my condition but I only started taking the antibiotics yesterday.  At least I managed to find someone get the heating duct repaired today and so can try to recover in some degree of comfort.

The quest for something to occupy my time continues. (Un)Fortunately lethargy gives way to a bit of sleep and four of my waking hours at home without “M” are spent in the company of “Da Brudders” Ramone.

(AV 28) The Ramones – It’s Alive 1974 – 1996 (released 2007)

The Ramones played 2265 gigs before calling it a day in 1996 and this release is a magnificent testament to that achievement.  Its two discs and 113 tracks covers 33 different performances over their 22 year history including concerts and appearances on TV programs.  Every classic Ramones  track is present, including latter day notables such as Pet Sematary, Bonzo Goes To Bitburg and R.A.M.O.N.E.S.

I suspect Disc 1 will be the one that Ramones freaks will play the most often.  It commences with rough black and white footage of three tracks (Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue, I Don’t Wanna Go Down to the Basement and Judy Is a Punk) filmed in CBGB’s in September 1974.  It is a true revelation for any students of the evolution of punk as it conclusively proves that The Ramones in New York City and The Saints in Brisbane had arrived at the same musical point simultaneously and completely independent of each other.  For evidence, listen to these three Ramones tracks and then compare them to the hard to get Saints album The Most Primitive Band In The World Live From The Twilight Zone, Brisbane 1974.

The rest of Disc 1 contains a variety of, mainly US, appearances as the band gradually tighten their sound and learn to run the tracks together, eliminating the awkward silences that are apparent between numbers early on.  There’s a lot of great material here, especially a sensational four track appearance on TV’s Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert in August 1977.  The opening number here, Loudmouth, is an absolutely magnificent and exciting performance that must have won over more than a few fans and the remaining numbers (Here Today Gone Tomorrow, Chinese Rocks, and Teenage Lobotomy) are almost as good.

But it is the final 14 tracks of the disc that forms the holy grail of this entire collection and the single reason to splash out your hard earned if you’re a fan.  These tracks were recorded at The Rainbow Theatre in London on December 31, 1977 which, as all true Ramones fans will tell you, was the performance immortalised on their seminal live album It’s Alive.  (How this was not played up in the marketing for this release is beyond me unless the motive was to preserve sales of the CD.)  This is the Ramones performance and miraculously most of the key parts of the show, especially the explosive finale of I Don’t Wanna Walk Around With You, Pinhead, Do Yo Wanna Dance?, Now I Wanna Be A Good Boy, Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue and We’re a Happy Family, have been preserved.  The footage quality is not great and there are times where you think that the soundtrack and footage are not in synch, but I don’t care.  This is how I prefer to remember the band – young, healthy and super aggressive.
 

DVD 2, by comparison, becomes less exciting as it goes on.  Age and other factors gradually catch up with the band so that, by the end, Joey and Johnny are relatively static on stage.  (Crucially, only a total of 11 tracks come from the  final 8 years of the band’s history.)  However, there is still a lot of good material, especially the opening 11 tracks, Blitzkrieg Bop among them, which come from an appearance on German television in September 1978. There’s also a performance of Rock ‘n’ Roll School, appropriately enough on Sha Na Na’s TV show,  as well as some awkward appearances  on the BBC’s Top Of The Pops and better ones on The Old Grey Whistle Test.  And then there’s a 9 track sequence from their set at the original Us Festival in California in 1982.  Despite the inspiration the band derived from Californian surf music, somehow the combination of a daytime set, bikini clad girls in the audience and a large stage seems to dilute the music. Still it is fascinating watching the band try their hardest to win over probably its toughest audience.    

16 July 2013 (Day 197) – Death And Life

I wake up to find nothing’s changed and so I resolve to see my doctor.

My clinic takes daily appointments at the same time each morning.  As I wait for that to tick over I watch the Today program and see an incredibly touching piece of footage.  It was of a woman dying of cancer in hospital who receives a phone call from her idol, Bette Midler.  On the footage I saw (its apparently on You Tube and runs for 9 minutes), Midler asks if there is anything she could do for her; the dying woman asks her to sing Wing Beneath My Wings.  Bette, presumably unaware she’s being filmed, then sings it, clearly crying at one point.  Only her dying fan can see the performance via a smart phone which prevents us from seeing it.  It is simultaneously touching, uplifting and incredibly sad (the woman died a few days later) and earns my admiration for everyone involved.

Shortly afterwards, I’ve made my appointment but the memory of the video remains with me.  I muse over the way in which people respond to the knowledge of their own impending deaths.  Some find solace in a variety of mechanisms – prayer, visits from friends and music among them.  Some refuse treatment and others bury themselves in work.  And then there’s Warren Zevon.

(AV 26) Warren Zevon – VH1 (Inside Out) (2004)

This was the obvious DVD in my pile to watch.  It is a documentary which shows Zevon’s response to the cancer diagnosis that ultimately killed him, compiled largely from a video diary he kept for most of this period, encompassing recording sessions and a David Letterman Show appearance that turned out to be his last live performance. Refusing chemotherapy, he decided to record as many songs as possible in the estimated 6 month period he had been given.  He has little difficulty in having musician friends assist him in the studio including Jackson Browne, Don Henley, Timothy B Schmidt, Ry Cooder and Bruce Springsteen among others.  Parts of it make for difficult viewing, especially his goodbyes to people in New York City, his increasingly obvious physical deterioration and growing realisation of his fate.  The pain is especially visible as he struggles to complete the vocals for the final two tracks recorded for his The Wind album, Disorder In The House (the track with Springsteen) and the poignant Keep Me In Your Heart.  Despite all of that, the documentary ends on a relatively happy note with the disclosure the he outlived the 6 month prognosis which was long enough to see the birth of twin grandchildren.

(AV 27) I’m Not There (2007)

This is the biopic that was inspired by and based on the life of Bob Dylan.  It was co-written and directed by Todd Haynes in an non linear fashion clearly influenced by Dylan’s structure of Chronicles Volume One.  Like the book, not every aspect of Dylan’s life is touched upon and the storytelling moves around a number of phases of his career.  But what Haynes added to the mix was turning aspects of each of these phases into fiction, with one character in each clearly modelled on the Dylan of the era.  For the most part, I could discern what was happening in almost all of the stories with the possible exception of the one involving Richard Gere.  This part seems to refer to the Rolling Thunder Revue, as seen when a heavily disguised Calexico performs Goin’ To Acapulco, and contains references to the Pat Garrett movie (Gere’s character is Billy the Kid) but I couldn’t work out the connection.  The parts involving Cate Blanchett as the electric Dylan and Christian Bale as the folkie Dylan are the most straight forward and impressive.   To fully appreciate this, you must have a familiarity with Dylan’s life, otherwise, I’d suggest you read the Wikipedia entry about the movie before you start.

But there wasn’t much time to contemplate the movie.   By the time it ended, I headed off to the doctor who diagnosed a viral infection and prescribed antibiotics.  This in itself is a sign of the nature of my illness as the Doc normally doesn’t do this. 

Somehow, I think I’ll be watching more DVDs over the next few days.

15 July 2013 (Day 196) – Touch Me, I’m Sick*

(* With more apologies to Mudhoney fans)

I wake up today and I feel even worse.   Throat, head, head, ears even appear to be clogged with phlegm and my voice is reduced to a croak.   I can’t read or concentrate, ruling out work, reading or any form of conceptual writing.  The last thing I want to do is lie in bed and listen to music.  I really need to be mentally active in some way which reduces my options to watching DVDs. 

Fortunately, I’ve developed a reserve of music DVDs that I’ve yet to watch and so have an opportunity to do some catching up.  In between spells of sleep, I manage to watch:

(AV 23) Ramones – Raw (2004)

This is a documentary based largely on films shot by Marky Ramone during his last 8 years in the band.  Interspersed with this is a live performance shot for Italian TV in 1980, a primo performance of 8 tracks, news reports and other items.  (The Italian show can also be played as a stand alone item on the disc.) It doesn’t hold together all that well – there’s really no sense of any theme or narrative arc to hold it together – but individual bits and pieces are worth viewing.  Among these are scenes shot from the inside of buses and cars of insane, mostly South American, fans, a performance of Take It As It Comes with The Doors Robbie Krieger on guitar and a visit by the band to the Melbourne Zoo.

(AV 24) Jimi Hendrix – Band Of Gypsys (2011 re release)

This is a documentary put together by the Hendrix Estate.  It tries to argue that Jimi’s break up of the Experience in favour of an all black trio marked a significant evolution in Jimi’s appeal to Afro American audiences.  I’m not entirely convinced by this argument which is very much undermined by some of the content of the documentary. It makes perfectly clear that the band was put together under pressure from elements in the Afro American community and that band’s only gigs at The Fillmore on 31 December 1969 and 1 January 1970 were held to meet a contractual commitment for a live album (i.e Band Of Gypsys, reissued as the 2 disc Live At The Fillmore East).  Even more importantly, a number of the talking heads attest that at this stage of his career, Jimi wanted to do nothing more than record in the studio with as many different musicians as took his fancy.  Interspersed throughout the documentary are 8 performances from one of the gigs.  A DVD option allows these tracks to be played on their own in full, resulting in an one hour performance.  Irrespective with how you view the historical impact of the shows, this musical footage and content is riveting

(AV 25) Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds – The Abattoir Blues Tour (2007)

With the exception of this year’s gig at the Myer Music Bowl, this was the only Cave tour I missed in about 20 years.  The gig to have seen on that tour was the one at the Melbourne Town Hall but it sold out very quickly and I didn’t want to hear this band at the other tour venue, Festival Hall.  The footage of this show explains why. Disc 1 was shot at The Brixton Academy in London and incorporates a gospel choir in much the same way as the Town Hall gig, I believe.  Disc 2, shot at The Hammersmith Odeon also in London would have been in the vein of the Festival Hall show.  Naturally, tracks the Abattoir Blues/Lyre Of Orpheus albums are highlighted with only a handful of classics thrown in.  There’s nothing especially significant about the release other than being a professionally shot and edited film of one of the world’s great live outfits.

By the end of the day, my situation worsens. Something appears to have happened to the heating again.  After her return from work, I set up “M” with the ladder and she ascends into the ceiling.  The unit is fine but a section of the heating duct has collapsed.  It’s in a spot I cannot reach and, in any case, I’m not well.  What else can happen?

July 13/14 2013 (Days 194/195) – Here Comes Sickness*

* With apologies to anyone expecting this to be a post about Mudhoney.

Sometimes you just know that you’re getting sick and there’s not a lot you can do about it.  Today was a prime example.  The delivery of my two papers at the seminar went well enough but I could hear my voice begin to crackle.  Not helped by the venue which was simultaneously draughty and humid, I felt my energy levels decrease to the extent that I sat outside the venue for the penultimate session (still listening to the speaker mind you) and re-entered for the final panel session.   As soon as that was over I had to walk a few blocks in lightly falling rain to my car and, by the time I arrived home, knew I was done for.

“M” then reminded me that we were due at a friend’s significant birthday celebration.  We decided to go for a short while and then return home and spend the rest of the evening and all of Sunday in bed.  I next rang Mikey to offer my season ticket for Sunday’s home game against Essendon (it was going to be live on TV in any case).  He accepted it gratefully and off we went .

We ended up travelling across Melbourne’s suburbs to arrive at the Pink Rabbit Record Bar in trendy Kensington.  If I were ever going to run a café, this would be the sort of place I would want.  Opposite the railway station, on a quiet suburban shopping strip in a tree lined street, there is probably more than enough passing traffic to make it a going concern, with seemingly little in the way of competition.  We were supposed to have the beer garden out back to ourselves, but the rain put paid to that.  A pretty go flow of delicious finger food kept everyone happy and the décor scheme kept me happy.  There were lots of framed old style gig posters and other items on display including a crazy selection of album covers (The Ritchie Family album anyone?) that were also available for sale.  I was rapt to be seated with “M” in a corner underneath a poster for Frank Zappa’s movie 200 Motels; a photo book of NYC’s former punk haven CBGB’s rested above my head next to a vinyl box set of Queen’s albums.  Such eclecticism though was not apparent with the music on offer.  A DJ attached to the venue spun an inspired mix of mostly 60’s classics, deftly merging garage classics, with Motown, southern soul and more commercial offerings that flowed beautifully. 

Speeches came about 2 hours after we arrived and not a moment too soon.  Rapidly failing, we took our leave and returned home, with a detour to drop off my ticket at Mickey’s.  I took immediately to bed and basically stayed there for the rest of the weekend, cheering on the Bulldogs as they threatened to pull off an upset against Essendon only to concede some late goals to lose by an undeserved 31 points.  My listening matter more or less came as I was proceeding to and from the seminar venue;

(# 530) The dB’s – The Sound Of Music (1987)

If the world was fair, everyone would have heard of The dB’s, their songwriters Peter Holsapple and Chris Stamey would be spoken of in the same breath as Lennon/McCartney, Jagger/Richards, etc and this album would have been a mega hit.  Full of memorable supremely melodic power pop, mostly written by Holsapple, this album turned out to be their final album until a comeback album released last year.  It starts with a bang encompassing the unbelievably catchy Never Say When and Change With The Changing Times before surging into the moody I Lie, the choruses of Molly Says and the quirky Bonneville (which strikes me a s an uptempo version of Steely Dan’s Barryville). Think Too Hard, Working For Somebody Else and Today Could Be The Day are just as good.  If you like the Fountains OF Wayne, give this a listen and prepare to be impressed.

(# 531) Supersuckers – Live At The Magic Bag, Ferndale Michigan (2004)

Early on this album, frontman Eddie Spaghetti announces “We are the Supersuckers, the best rock’ n’ roil band in the world”.  But after an explosive opening of the very best of the band’s repertoire – Rock ‘n’ Roll Records (Aren’t Selling This Year), Rock Your Ass, Bad Bad Bad, The Evil Powers Of Rock ‘n’ Roll and Creepy Jackalope Eye – you realise that is actually a statement of intent.  And this for a show in a small club in the States on, of all days, a Tuesday night.  The tempo almost never flags, except for occasional humorous  between track patter by Spaghetti , as the band careens through the traditional concerns of many of middle America’s rock bands - drinking, gambling, cars and shooting.  By the time you get to the encores, including a cover of Thin Lizzy’s Jailbreak and their own legendary Born With A Tail (encompassing a detour into one of their country tunes , this one hailing the benefits of marijuana), you realise that Eddie is correct.  When he repeats the statement at the end of show, he’s not boasting but casually stating a fact.  Whatever you might think, on the evidence of this one album, the Supersuckers were at least on this one night, the best rock ‘n’ roll band in the world.  And it remains the album that I’ve played most over the last 12 months.  

12 July 2013 (Day 193) – Great One Offs

Ordinarily, I look forward to Friday as it marks the start of the weekend.  However, tomorrow I’ll be presenting a couple of presentations at an all day seminar as well as sitting on a panel of experts.  I spend part of the day putting the finishing touches on these presentations, proof reading, sending a personal biography/introduction to the organiser, etc.   I leave work at the end of the day wishing I didn’t have to do this, or that I could view this as a one off, but I know it is an essential and part of my job.  Fortunately “M” understands, and suggests we spend a night on the town, or at the very least, dine out and we do just that.

The hope that Saturday would be a one off was not a thought that had occurred to me in isolation.  It had, in fact, provided me with the theme for today’s listening.  By this I mean albums produced by acts that produced just the single – great – album.  Interestingly this definition encompasses four definition situations starting with:

(# 526) Thunderclap Newman – Hollywood Dream (1970)

Thunderclap Newman were a band initially put together by The Who’s Pete Townshend to showcase some tunes written by the band’s former chauffeur John ‘Speedy” Keen.  The band also included jazz pianist Andy “Thunderclap” Newman and 15 year old guitarist Jimmy McCullough who would eventually play with Paul McCartney in Wings.  Townshend, who produced the album, also was their bass player under the alias Bijou Drains. 

This is a tremendous album full of brilliant late 60’s/early 70’s pop/rock.  The centrepiece is the magnificent hit single Something In The Air, a tune that has been endlessly recycled in soundtracks and commercials.  Wild Country, with a Townshend sound alike vocal, should have been a massive hit as well and Hollywood, a track about aspiring to a successful and excessive Californian lifestyle, is so good that two versions were produced.  The band make a cover Dylan’s Open The Door Homer their own, bettering the original with The Band that was eventually released on The Basement Tapes and the title track is a solid instrumental that closed the original album on a memorable note. (The album has since been reissued with bonus tracks.) Unfortunately the band never released another album and is regarded today as a one hit wonder, but that shouldn’t distract you from the fine music on offer here.

(# 527) Jello Biafra With D.O.A – Last Scream Of The Missing Neigbours (1990)

An inspired, though obvious, paring this was the one off that was to eventually result in another one off.  On this, former Dead Kennedys vocalist Biafra and veteran Canadian band D.O.A produced a magnificent collection of raging instant punk classics.  As the case on any album where Biafra is involved, the lyrics contain a fierce political outlook that matches the music perfectly as heard in opening tracks That’s Progress, Attack Of The Peacekeepers and Wish I Was In El Salvador.  But it is the final two tracks that really set this album apart.  The first is a cover of that old warhorse We Gotta Get Out Of This Place, which is so ferociously rendered that even it can be taken as a political statement. Even better, and even more ferocious, is the 14 minute closer Full Metal Jackoff, a Biafra state of the union address about the degeneration of urban life that leaves people with little alternative but to turn to a life of crime or serve in the army, each option replete with dubious moral choices.

(# 528) The No WTO Combo – Live From The Battle In Seattle (2000)

This live album was recorded during the 1999 World Trade Organisation Meeting in Seattle which was the venue for much violence.  The contains Jello Biafra on lead vocals, then former Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil on guitar, former Nirvana bassist Kirst Novoselic and his bandmate in his band of the time Sweet ’75, Gina Mainwal.  How well you regard the album depends on your reaction to the polemics of Battle In Seattle, a 15 minute introductory Biafra spoken word piece in which his charisma, humour and political commitment are showcased in equal measure. On the remaining tracks, the band kicks up an almighty din; New Feudalism and Electronic Plantation were new songs and the others were covers.  These are the Dead Kennedys’ Let’s Lynch The Landlord and a shorter, but no less ferocious, version of Full Metal Jackoff.

(# 529) Danny & Dusty – The Lost Weekend (1985)

This wonderful album is the result of a 36 hour session involving members from three of the key bands of LA’s “Paisley Underground”.  The album was the brainchild of Steve Wynn (The Dream Syndicate) and Dan Stuart (Green On Red) who also roped in members of The Long Ryders (Sid Griffin, Stephen McCarthy and Tom Stevens) as well as others.  Naturally the music has a loose feel to it which suits these roots rockers perfectly.  It opens with a couple of absolute gems, The Word Is Out and Song For The Dreamers , incorporates darker lyrical fare in Down To The Bone and Baby We All Gotta Go Down and a cover of Dylan’s Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door.   Naturally as I sat to write this I discovered the album was no long a one off, with the band having released a couple of albums in 2007.