Space Blues

May is going to be busy...

2007-02-25T18:52:00.000-08:00

We have 4 bands playing in May. Young Love is an up-and-coming act signed to Island, and the others are 3 very fantastic bands from NYC. The pop music never ends...

It's been a long time comin'

2007-02-23T07:38:00.000-08:00

The last post on here was my birthday, over a month ago. I guess I have just been far too busy to comprehend doing anything of the writing type, even though I have been writing some songs here and there. L.X. Remington and I are going to record some tunes sometime, make some DIY cd releases, give 'em out to people, have fun with it, etc. I've been listening to so many inspiring artists lately that my head and heart are getting into this band thing. Jens Lekman, Loney, Dear, Antony & The Johnsons, Robyn Hitchcock, Richard Hawley (his Coles Corner LP is just breathtaking) and Kings Of Convenience. Working band name is The Rafters. I've always wanted to use that name, and now I may get the chance. One song I wrote, "Chamonix Soul", I am especially proud of:

From the lights shut off downtown To the vacancies on Shelley Road This town’s locked in winter’s grasp

Made a college rock comp last night...Reivers, Too Much Joy, Primitives, Icicle Works, Robyn, Church, REM, Replacements, Pere Ubu, etc. Good mix.

The live music schedule coming up in Hartford is going to be ace: Young Love, The Picture, The Gaskets, etc. Middle Distance Runner were mega last weekend. What a bunch of swell guys they were, nice, prompt, tight on stage, fun afterwards. All bands should be this cool, no headswelling with this lot. I do enough egomaniacal things myself...

Until next time, and hopefully not too much later...cheers!

As I grow older, other things die

2007-01-18T10:45:00.000-08:00

I've been busy lately, so that means I am lousy in getting back to people when they call, write, et cetera. So, today I see this e-mail from my good friend Anthony out in Seattle:

Hey man,
What's up? How come you never return calls anymore? I've been trying to call you to see what you've been up to and I also wanted to let you know I went to Fla for Xmas and found out both ALL Book & Records closed & Craig (from Craig's Collectibles) passed away. I wasn't sure if you knew. I understand you are the King of Conn. Clubs now. Give me a call.

TTYL
Anthony

What a shot in the soul, and I am not talking about the unreturned phone calls bit. You see, today, I turn 34 years old, along with Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells, Iggy & The Stooges' Raw Power, and a host of other records released in 1973. When I have birthdays, at least lately it seems, I reminisce about the old days, especially with music. I am instantly transformed back to that goofy 17 year old Palm Beach Gardens High School kid with the James t-shirt. You know...the one with the flower. I remember how vivid the days were when I went to Sound Splash on Northlake Blvd., with Matt and John playing Blake Babies records, or the new Dinosaur Jr. major label debut release, whatever. It was exciting, so I relive the days by visiting, and re-buying, some of these old records. When Anthony stated that All Books & Records closed up shop in the above e-mail, well, that crushed me for the time being. I was all set to go to Florida for the holidays this coming December, and I've been thinkng that I was going to drop a couple hundred bucks on some old vinyl and cd singles. All Books & Records had a great selection of UK indie singles, including lots of Madchester-era stuff, famous and obscure. I commented here earlier this month, on Hartford Courant rock music critic Eric Danton's Sound Check blog, about mom and pops going by the wayside. Well, here's another one to add to the list. Don't even get me started on Yesterday & Today Records in Miami Beach. They closed up about 12 years ago and I have been depressed and emotionally wrecked ever since. That's for another, possibly multi-part, entry later on.

R.I.P. All Books & Records. I pissed a lot of money away there, and loved every minute of it.

Shit Robot, shite speed

2007-01-12T21:44:00.000-08:00

It's Friday, I am at home, didn't go out sans dinner with my wife Sara and her dad, and I am actually enjoying my laziness at home this evening. All I have been doing is ripping some .wav files of some 12"s I have rec'd as promos from labels. That way, see, I can listen to them at work and in the car and be prepared with what sounds will come out when I play the wax next weekend at Shag Frenzy. Tonight, so far, it's been an all-DFA ripping session, 'cos I got me hands on a pile of wax courtesy of those Astralwerks cats who distribute the DFA shit in North America.

SHIT ROBOT Wrong Galaxy/Triumph 12"
HOT CHIP Over And Over Remixes 12"
THE JUAN MACLEAN Love Is In The Air Remixes 12"

Now, this is strange. Whilst looking for some info on Shit Robot, I came across a review that said this:

The latest release from DFA's ever virile stud-farm, Shit Robot (aka Marcus Lambkin) certainly knows his Carl Craig - with this mislabeled 12" (it says 33rpm... it isn't) harking back to his 69 days.

I recorded this at 33rpm like the label says, and, I swear, it sounded ok. I'm going to go back and see what it's like at 45rpm. Strange, right? Someone is full of shit, them or me...or maybe this record actually sounds ok at either speed. *time elapsed.....* OK, this record sounds stupid at 45rpm. These reviewers are complete and utter fools.

Watching how the other half lives

2007-01-05T07:26:00.000-08:00

One of the best memories of my first deejay gig, The Foundation in West Palm Beach, FL, is the first time I heard "Human Nature" by Gary Clail/On-U Sound System. It's a wonderful piano-laden baggy house stomper, not unlike a Mondays track, but with social and political statements. Gary Clail/On-U Sound System was basically Clail "toasting", Adrian Sherwood producing, and members from Tackhead and Dub Syndicate playing the tunes. The LP Emotional Hooligan is a welcome addition to anyone well-versed in dub, funk, house or all three. But the real standout is "Human Nature", mixed by a young Paul Oakenfold and Steve Osborne. and released on Oakenfold's, at the time newly-formed, Perfecto Records label. DJ Messiah played it one night and I was just sucked into the beats, the words, the pianos, et cetera. Criminally forgotten in most dance music circles, especially here in the States, but every once in a while it will pop up on some compilation to capture the era or some deejay mix who just knows what a great banger it was/is/will always be. If you can locate a copy of it, grab it. Essential rhythm and commentary.

GARY CLAIL/ON-U SOUND SYSTEM Emotional Hooligan (Perfecto/RCA, 1991) buy used here

Loving The Orb is easy because they're beautiful

2007-01-04T10:49:00.000-08:00

So, the deal is this: I am sitting here at the office, busy as all hell because it's a new year and I have a new assignment to go along with my old one, and The Orb is soothing me right into lighthearted happiness and bliss. If The Orb's chief resident Dr. Alex Patterson is indeed a real doctor (I really have no clue), then he is the master physician to write a prescription to chill out. Hearing The Orb's ambient house live classic double album Live 93 on headphones while trying to collate, fabricate, extricate and deviate is something of a godsend for, what is turning out to be, a long 4 day workweek.
The voice samples are catchy and fun, from Martin Luther King and U-Roy to Rickie Lee Jones (on the classic "Little Fluffy Clouds") and Minnie Riperton. Riperton's "Loving You" hit from the 1970's is sampled on "A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules From The Centre Of The Ultraworld", arguably their signature cut, as well as their debut single, which ends Live 93 on a 18'52" journey into, well, the Ultraworld. Patterson, who has done Orb collaborations with the likes of Steve Hillage (System 7, ex-Gong), Jimmy Cauty (ex-KLF, ex-Space) and Thomas Fehlmann, leads us all into the countryside rave setting without the Vicks or the glowsticks. Rather, you just sit there, staring at the night sky, gazing at the stars, and wondering what it all means. It's simple, really. According to The Orb, it means relax.

THE ORB Live 93 (Intermodo/Island, 1993)
Criminally out of print in the US, but used copies can be found here.

Want Ad Women

2006-12-21T08:28:00.000-08:00

All day long, and I mean all day, I have had the classic #1 single "Want Ads" in my head. I woke up this morning, and I just had the desire to hear it, so I went through my collection and grabbed some Capitol best of compilation I hadn't listened to in years. It's such good Detroit soul, but they were no Motown act. They were signed to Holland/Dozier/Holland's Hot Wax label, which was set up upon the famed writing/production team's exit from the aforementioned Motown Records. Honey Cone had a song here and there that charted, but never topped "Want Ads", which has been sampled a few times as of late by people who just know. Next step for me is getting Soulful Sugar: The Complete Hot Wax Recordings, because having a 10-track best of just ain't enough soul when it comes to Honey Cone.

2007: What the fuck happened?

2006-12-20T06:47:00.000-08:00

2007 will be just another year to these trance DJ's who parade around with their rockstar shades and record crates full of boring Miami South Beach trash. For me, however, a person firmly planted in the love and lust of acid house, 2007 is a time to remember the groovy majesty that was Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty. For it was those two, under their guises The Justified Ancients Of Mu Mu, The Timelords, The KLF, whatever, that brought acid house and sampling to grand heights and fiery crashes. If I am not mistaken, they were the first UK house act to have a Billboard Top 5 hit in the USA with "3 A.M. Eternal [Live At The S.S.L.]", and they were the last act to drop a dead sheep onto Brit Awards partygoers enjoying their cocktails, awards, drugs, etc.

The story is, well, storied, well travelled, etc. Drummond was a Scot who formed a Liverpool label called Zoo, putting out early singles by the likes of Echo & The Bunnymen, The Teardrop Explodes and The Wild Swans. Cauty was in a going-nowhere mid-80's act called Brilliant, working with Killing Joke's Youth in the process. When Drummond decided to make a hip hop album in 1987, he and Cauty got together and the rest is history. The album was called 1987: What The Fuck Is Going On? and was 40 minutes of schizophrenic UK hip hop, acid house, bleeps, blips, and cuts. Only 25 minutes of the album was void of samples, and it was those other 15 minutes that prompted Abba to sue the band, thus halting all sales of the album. The duo was ordered to turn over the master tapes and destroy all the unsold copies, and they did so in a field in Sweden during a trip to meet Abba, which never happened anyway. 1987 is an album that is highly sought after these days, trading for upwards of $50-100 depending on the condition.

A few more guises afterwards [The Timelords, with their classic Dr. Who/Gary Glitter inspired dance track "Doctorin' The Tardis", The Jams] brought the duo into KLF phase, with classic singles ["Kylie Said To Jason", "What Time Is Love?"] and classic albums [Chill Out, The White Room]. From hip hop to ambient house to stadium house, the duo has done it all. The Orb's Alex Patterson and Jimmy Cauty worked on a project called Space, which was to have been the debut Orb album, and Chill Out is regarded by many as the best ambient album of all time, a 44 minute journey, in Drummond's mind, through the American Gulf Coast, from Texas to Louisiana. The White Room brought them into the mainstream and remains a classic from the early rave days.

One could go on forever with the stories about Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty, and this blog tell the story with 3264398 entries. The reason 2007 is important in KLF Communications history is quite obvious. For starters, the entire KLF Communications catalogue will have been deleted for 15 years in 2007. After the dead sheep incident, they released a statement basically saying they were retiring from the music industry and deleting all the back catalogue. In the UK, where most of these releases came out, they are still out of print. Additionally, it's now been 20 long years since they lost a lawsuit and changed sampling and copyright laws forever. A classic album is long gone, relegated to bootlegs running for $30 and originals going for much, much more. I am fortunate to have a copy of it, albeit bootleg cd, and I am thankful every time I put it on. It's a mess...one glorious mess. God bless the Church of The KLF. Kick out the jams, motherfuckers...all aboard the train to Trancentral.

REVISITED: Nightmares On Wax "A Word Of Science"

2006-12-18T11:51:00.000-08:00

NIGHTMARES ON WAX
A WORD OF SCIENCE
WARP [WARP LP 4]
1991

The first N.O.W. album was, to the untrained ear, a schizophrenic mess. Most everyone nowadays remembers them for their chillout/trippy hip hop masterpieces Smokers Delight and Carboot Soul. While both are indeed classics of that genre of dance music, their debut was fully realized during the time when acid house and Madchester was heading out of fashion and warehouse/farm raves were all the rage. Not sounding chilled out enough to be like the aforementioned albums, A Word Of Science does have one of the finest ambient tracks ever, the oft-chronicled "Nights Interlude". Really, most any ambient/chillout compilation worth your hard-earned cash should have this track on it. It's a standard of sorts, a Warp Records classic to rival the Big Life Records classic, "Little Fluffy Clouds", by The Orb. The schizophrenia herein lies with the big beats of hip hop tracks like "Mega Donutz" and "Playtime" residing next to rave classics like "Dextrous" and "Aftermath". The identity of N.O.W. was still developing, and the rave kids, obviously, were going to be sorely disappointed with the rest of their catalogue from 1995 onwards. They were a duo comprised of George Evelyn and Kevin Harper, but Harper left immediately after this album and it is apparent that his love of rave music was the reason why this album has the bleeps and blips. Evelyn carried on with the N.O.W. name and his brand of chilled out hip hop shone brightly in the mid-90's. With Stereo MC's in the midst of their 9 year hiatus during the middle of that decade, N.O.W. carried the UK hip hop flag for a good long while. The Bristol crews during the years 1994-1998 [Portishead, Massive Attack, Tricky] were a bit on the dark side of the genre, and Evelyn made classic records that were a bit lighter for the soul. But, it all started here, and whether you want to dance in a warehouse or sit on a sofa, this record is a bonafide classic of both the rave and chillout genres, and deserves a listen. Essential.

The Picture & Shag Frenzy this Saturday night

2006-12-11T12:57:00.000-08:00

THE PICTURE will be playing this Saturday night at my club night in Hartford, SHAG FRENZY.

Get into it. Get well fit. Disco down with Saint Nick. Come out and join Sara and I for a holiday party that leans more on party than most others. No gift swaps, no fireplace, no "quiet voices", just pure, unadulterated nightclubbing 'til the clock stops. Please join us for our final 2006 Frenzy!!! We love you all!!! Really...we do.

SHAG FRENZY
feat. THE PICTURE [playing live at 10PM]

SATURDAY 16TH DECEMBER 2006
9PM-2AM
NO COVER
21+

DJ SETS BY STEPHANIE DISCO at 9PM, JOHNNY STRANGLER at 11PM & GARAGE FLOWER at 12:30AM.

SWEET JANE'S
88 PRATT STREET
DOWNTOWN HARTFORD
near the Hartford Civic Center

The Horrors invade Hartford THIS SUNDAY NIGHT

2006-10-26T10:26:00.000-07:00

THE HORRORS will be in Hartford, their second ever U.S. show, this Sunday, 29th October, as a part of the first annual Shag Frenzy Halloween Party. Celebrate the holiday of evil with the most talked about, ghoulish garage rockers in England right now!!!

SHAG FRENZY HALLOWEEN PARTY
feat. THE HORRORS

7PM DOORS, 9PM BAND
21+ WITH VALID ID
ADMISSION: $3 with two (2) cans of nonperishable food, $5 without food

SWEET JANE'S
88 PRATT STREET
DOWNTOWN HARTFORD
INTERSECTION OF PRATT & TRUMBULL STREETS, NEAR THE CIVIC CENTER

THE HORRORS Myspace
"SHEENA IS A PARASITE" Music Video

120 Days

2006-10-05T07:00:00.000-07:00

120 DAYS
120 DAYS
VICE/WEA
2006

The little press blurb that is written on the back of this self-titled release by Norway's 120 Days throws in words like "Neu!", "Kraftwerk", "guitar", et cetera. Needless to say, I was intrigued to listen to this cd. Was it going to be a full-on Krautrock-by-way-of-Norwegians album or was it just desperation in describing another run-of-the-mill electronic band who happen to also hold instruments that have strings attached to them? Well, it's definitely more like the former, although this isn't some 4 song, 45 minute sterile German knockoff by any means. You can, if you want to, dance to this record, and you can, if you want to, get lost in it's beauty with headphones on a rainy morning.

Opening track "Come Out, Come Down, Fade Out, Be Gone" is an epic of an opener, clocking in at nearly 9 minutes. It has a chugging analogue synth melody and dissonant, drowned deep guitars. It wouldn't sound out of place next to Primal Scream's "Autobahn 66", another track owing heavy royalties to the Krautrock regime. "Sleepwalking" is fabulous and has that kind of Kasabian vibe to it, the dancy rhythms with chunky basslines and a vocal that isn't really different from that of the mighty K either. "Get Away" harkens back to that quintessential postpunk bass riff of old over a cold, dark programmed drum beat, sounding not too far off from something on the first few Sisters Of Mercy singles before they were signed by WEA. Don't worry, because, vocally, they never make it into Andrew Eldritch territory, so don't fret about having to figure out if you need to wear black eyeliner when you hear it.

120 Days are nothing new, really, and that can be evidenced by listening to it or checking how many names in this review I checked as an influence or peer. But, they succeed in making a rhythmic album that transcends the normal, boring 4/4 techno dancefloor, as well as making a record that can be ambient without being monotonous and sterile. The way I try to describe this band to my friends is basically this: Kraftwerk, Can, Neu!, Suicide, Primal Scream, Kasabian, Spacemen 3, Spiritualized, Slowdive and Cocteau Twins, all mixing in a bowl of Norwegian pop goodness. Eat it up.

The DFA Remixes, Chapter Two

2006-10-04T07:57:00.000-07:00

THE DFA REMIXES, CHAPTER TWO
DFA/EMI/ASTRALWERKS
2006

Reviewing and listening to a DFA remix album always means 2 things: the average song length will end up being 8.5 mins and James Murphy/Tim Goldsworthy are spot on as being two of the most consistent and entertaining remixers in the industry today. The elements of disco-era basslines, No Wave percussion, and bleeps that would make Warp Records proud are evident as always. This second set of remixes (the first was released earlier in the year) proves no different. 8 tracks in 72 minutes means disco thunder for the hipsters and the unhip alike. Everyone can groove to this stuff.

Tiga starts it off with his single “Far From Home”, off his excellent Sexor album from earlier this year, with the DFA completely making this campy little fingersnapper into a melodic, Kraftwerkian romp with synth melodies that remind me of the German synth pioneers’ classic “Autobahn” single from 1974. It’s utterly beautiful, the kind of song that can end a night of clubbing on a high note, especially with the last 3 minutes bringing about a “going to Sunday church” feeling.

“Shake Your Coconuts”, the 2003 single by Danish electro duo Junior Senior, is given the typical DFA disco treatments, with a postpunk-sounding bassline that wouldn’t be out of sorts with a Gang Of Four record. At just over 5 minutes, it is the shortest song on the record, and also one of the best. If you don’t dance to this song, the rigor mortis has already set in.

Hot Chip’s “Colours” is next, and is my least favorite mix on the album. It’s not because it is a bad song or that the DFA totally muck it up. Not at all. But, it’s really very ambient, not beat heavy, and its inclusion as the third track of a 72 minute dance tour de force just makes me feel that it should have ended the album on the “next morning come down”.

The fourth track is much better, as N.E.R.D.’s hit “She Wants To Move” is given the Murphy/Goldsworthy touch, with nifty little D.A.F.-sounding synth flourishes touching Pharrell & company’s muddied up funk and raunch. The percussion is outstanding, and the amount of cowbell is just perfect, if you ask me.

I’m not the biggest Nine Inch Nails fan, but I did kinda fancy last year’s single “The Hand That Feeds”, and in DFA remix format, I like it even better. Trent Reznor’s immediacy and tension from the original track is still here, but this is the first time I’ve thought about swaying to a NIN song as opposed to wanting to mosh and do cheesy goth dances. You know the kind I’m talking about, those chicks with the big boots, stomping on a dark floor. James and Tim actually make Trent Reznor into a fun artist.

My favorite track is the 13 minute epic mix given to Goldfrapp’s 2006 song “Slide In”. Alison’s fragile, sultry vocal is thrown into a percussion crock pot, evoking the old sounds that Salsoul Orchestra would throw in to their disco epics of the late 1970’s. I can see Larry Levan in heaven, right now, grooving to this, playing it at the Paradise Garage in the sky. Somewhere in my fantasy world, Shiela E. and A Certain Ratio's Simon Topping are playing with Goldfrapp and the DFA in some seedy disco in the dirtiest part of the city. Yes, the song is that good.

The typically funky Chromeo is given the harsh electro treatment on “Destination Overdrive”. I really like the original, and this remix is a bit on the harsh side, a la Daft Punk or Justice if they were twiddling the knobs. And, I swear, there is this little “da da da da” part that reminds me of Hardfloor’s classic acid single “Acperience”. Maybe I am crazy.

It’s no surprise that UNKLE’s “In A State” is here, as the final track, because Tim Goldsworthy was one of the founders of influential UK label Mo' Wax, home to UNKLE, DJ Shadow, etc. To be honest, I only bought the first UNKLE album, Psyence Fiction, and have heard nothing at all since. Having said that, I have no clue what the original sounds like, and, in remix form, it’s pretty entertaining. Not one of my favorites here, but a fitting song to include at the end of the album. If only that damn Hot Chip song was last!

Overall, a highly recommended remix compilation for those who want to groove in a club or in a living room, and for those who want to look cool having a cd with that DFA lightning bolt on the sleeve art.

I feel hoaxish, and this town ain't big enough for both of us

2006-09-27T20:43:00.000-07:00

Paul Vance is not dead. It was a hoax. A fucking hoax. No wonder the Yahoo news link I provided in my blog post yesterday was broken. I figured my shit HTML skills were worse than I thought. I really feel stupid. Maybe Elvis is not dead after all.

Onto other avenues, a statement of fact I realized today is that Sparks' Kimono My House LP from '74 is absolutely genius. I listened to that and The Stooges' Funhouse all day today at work. The sleeve for Kimono My House is one of my all-time favorites as well. It was their first for Island, a start of a string of four classic records, all essential, all quirky eccentric protopunk genius.

Greenpeace are extremely pus*****!!!!

2006-09-27T13:36:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while (ok, a lot), I read Amazon.com customer reviews, especially the music ones. Reviews with 1 star always get me fired up and provide a fun read 99% of the time. Like this one, below, for Bad Religion's masterpiece, 1990's Against The Grain. This guy is funny and I particularly love the "music for Nerds" and Greenpeace references. He must be on the money, because he capitalized the word "nerd" for us. Calling out a band like Bad Religion as having lyrics that "aren't serious either" just makes me giggle, because, you know, singer Greg Graffin only writes lyrics about cars and girls and not about interpersonal relationships or chaos in our ecosystem. Hahahaha out loud funny! Click the link that says "See all my reviews" below and check the other ones out. Apparently, he cannot spell the word "p****" very well. Or "violence". Or "heavy". Or....

Punk Rock For Nerds, February 12, 2006

Reviewer:

Screen Names are fu*king stupid "Signatures are fu*king stupid" (Locations are fu*king stupid) - See all my reviews

Granted, I don't hate Bad Religion as some of their songs are good and How Can hell Get Any Worse? is a great album, but seriously, what is this? Is this even punk? People who call this hardcore have absolutly no idea what they are talking about. You call this hardcore? If you do think that, you suck. This is immensly inferior and a huge insult to real hardcore albums. it's all more pop than punk. Compare this to Minor Threat's "COmplete DIscography", and CD Makes ATG sound like a dispolable pop rock band.

Against The Grain is a total insult to Bad Religion's album discography. ALong with their extremely cheesy INto The Unkown, this one falls flat and is third rate music of the genre it's trying to take. this is really just third rate fake hardcore punk.

This is basically punk for Nerds. Issues such as man polluting the ecosytem (Modern Man), Children isolation (21st centurt digital boy), Religion (OPeration rescue), etc. THere isn't anything punk! This sounds like Greenpeace, Greenpeace are extremely pus*****, far from punk, flat and safe. The lyrics aren't angry, they aren't serious either. Where are all the topiucs pukn was about? Nihlism, LEft wing (clash, crass, dead kennedys), anarchism, anti-corporations, or just plain rebellion? NOne of this is there, only for nerds to think they are cool with Bad Religion.

The music itself is pretty bad. There music is extremely poppy, the riffs are bland and boring, and with the stupid "whoa-whoa-whoa" type vocals are extremely boring and lame, the songs sound the same. There are a few songs that are worthy, but the whole album fo r that matter is just terrible. And this stuff is just a waste for a punk. THis would definitly attract wussie PETA groups, thinking they are rebellious. THe music is just terrible. Don't waste your time with this, listen to Bad Brains, basically the hardcore bands from the birth to it't early death by the early 80's. Go straight for the source.

Basically, hardcore is dead (punk, is not dead, just the subgenre of pukn is), and this pathetic attempt at trying to make it a genre fails. There is nothing good about this album or punk, because the topics basically have nothing to do with it. Skip this.

Paul Vance dead at 68

2006-09-26T20:00:00.000-07:00

Paul Vance, a local boy from New Milford, died earlier this month of lung cancer. While you may not know him by name, you will know him by the #1 song he penned for Brian Hyland called "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini", which rose to the top of the charts in 1960. A classic by all means, and another local musician/songwriter lost this year (Gene Pitney died in April). God bless you Mr. Vance, and thanks for the classic rocknroll music.

A college rock mix brought to you by the letter 'C'

2006-09-25T10:24:00.000-07:00

Why did I do this? Why would I make a mix cd with no sense or purpose? Why choose a random letter and go from there? Well, the answer, for arguement's sake, is that last week I had a head cold and I was hopped up on meds. I wanted to hear Cabaret Voltaire, so I grabbed their 1987 album Code, which is out of print and going for an average $75 for used copies (glad I have mine still). I had this idea that, maybe I would start there, in order with the letter 'C', and make a mix cd of stuff from my high school days, which was in the time of the term college rock. High school, college, whatever. They were great years for me, and these songs were a vital part of those years. The results are as follows, as if you care. This week's letter will be, I think, 'D'. Get it? CD? Er, yeah.

Please note: I am trying to upload a nice picture of the letter 'C', but Blogger is being a real bastard right now.

Cabaret Voltaire - Sex, Money, Freaks - 1987
The Call - Everywhere I Go - 1986
Camouflage - Neighbours - 1988
Camper Van Beethoven - I Was Born In A Laundromat - 1989
Caterwaul - The Sheep's A Wolf - 1989
Chickasaw Mudd Puppies - Jambalaya - 1991
The Chills - Heavenly Pop Hit - 1990
The Church - Metropolis - 1990
Clan Of Xymox - Michelle - 1986
Close Lobsters - Let's Make Some Plans - 1988
Cocteau Twins - Blue Bell Knoll - 1988
Lloyd Cole - Sweetheart - 1990
Concrete Blonde - Joey - 1990
The Connells - Stone Cold Yesterday - 1990
Consolidated - This Is A Collective (12" Mix) - 1990
Julian Cope - Charlotte Anne - 1988
The Cramps - Goo Goo Muck - 1981
The Creatures - Fury Eyes - 1989
The Cult - Dreamtime - 1984
The Cure - Push - 1985

I Ran?

2006-09-18T17:48:00.000-07:00

Me & Mike Score from A Flock Of Seagulls, 28 April 2006.
A Scary Bunnies Photograph...taken by one of the hoppy hoppers.

Weekender: I Am Festival in the daytime, Shagging at night

2006-09-18T15:42:00.000-07:00

First of all, we deejayed a set at the I Am Festival in New London, Saturday afternoon. The weather was aces, the people were lovely, the bands were hot and the organizers were well perfect. Thanks Sean and Rich! What we played:

KING OF WOOLWORTHS - NUADA
LILY ALLEN - SMILE
TOM VEK - C.C. YOU SET THE FIRE IN ME
THE FRANK AND WALTERS - CEMETRY GATES
THE WALKMEN - THE RAT
THE ARCADE FIRE - NEIGHBORHOOD #2 (LAIKA)
TIN BANGS - HE'S SO PRETTY
BELLE & SEBASTIAN - WE ARE THE SLEEPYHEADS
BEES - CHICKEN PAYBACK
PRIMAL SCREAM - ROCKS
THE B-52'S - 52 GIRLS (REMIX)
CAMERA OBSCURA - LLOYD I'M READY TO BE HEARTBROKEN
THE SMITHS - VICAR IN A TUTU
ARAB STRAP - THE SHY RETIRER (REMIX)
THE PIPETTES - PULL SHAPES
HOT CHIP - OVER AND OVER
CANSEI DE SER SEXY - LET'S MAKE LOVE AND LISTEN DEATH FROM ABOVE
LE TIGRE - I'M SO EXCITED
WE ARE SCIENTISTS - THE GREAT ESCAPE
THE PRESETS - GIRL AND THE SEA
THE POSTAL SERVICE - SUCH GREAT HEIGHTS
FEIST - MUSHABOOM (POSTAL SERVICE REMIX)
THE STONE ROSES - MADE OF STONE ((808 STATE MIX)
GORILLAZ - DARE
KASABIAN - CLUB FOOT (JAGZ KOONER MIX)
LADYTRON - DESTROY EVERYTHING YOU TOUCH
BLUR - GIRLS AND BOYS (PSB 12" MIX)
BJORK - BIG TIME SENSUALITY
GOLDFRAPP - OOH LA LA
FRANZ FERDINAND - MATINEE
THE JUAN MACLEAN - GIVE ME EVERY LITTLE THING

Then, Shag Frenzy was later that night, and it was fucking mega! 200+ showed up, and the dancefloor was moving all night long. No setlist, because my mistress of the evening, Pabst Blue Ribbon, prevented me from using a writing instrument. Some pics here on the blog thingy, more pics there. I am truly grateful for everyone who showed up.

Danse macabre!:

Me, in my Mancunian splendour, and Sara, my love:

Snowden and The Horrors, Whitney and Mirah

2006-09-13T15:38:00.000-07:00

Snowden cannot commit to 24 September, but have expressed interest in either 6 or 7 October, which is a Friday and Saturday. Perfect I say. Perfect I am.

The Horrors show...well...that is indeed happening! The date will be Sunday, 29 October, and The Hartford Advocate will discuss sponsorship with us, which is jolly good.

I'm trying. Hartford will be so much more than party cover bands and watered down brews. We will be rocknroll machine music. Er, yeah.

In other news...Whitney is totally available now, er, soon! Guess Bobby Brown's prerogative is getting a good lawyer...or a hot piece of ass in which he can lay out some lines and get a quick snort.

I am in love with Mirah. Her records, her looks, breathtaking. Love love love.

Download an MP3 of hers and check it.

New London's I Am Festival is this Saturday...and it's free

2006-09-11T16:45:00.000-07:00

Yeah! Free indie rock! Free people watching! Free good weather in downtown New London!

Sara and I, aka Shag Frenzy, will be deejaying between the bands at New London's I Am Festival until about 630p, at which time we will head into Hartford and do the Frenzy proper at Sweet Jane's. Please come out and support the ones who are making a scene happen in this beautiful state of Connecticut.

FROM I AM FESTIVAL'S MYSPACE:

We are pleased to announce the schedule for I AM FESTIVAL, taking place September 16th on the gorgeous Waterfront Park in Downtown New London.
All times are subject to slight change.

12:00-1:05 Incognito Sofa Love (opening party)
1:20-1:55 Matt & Kim
2:15-3:15 RYE COALITION
3:40-4:15 Crooked Hook
4:35-5:10 The Feverfew
5:35-6:15 Quiet Life
6:40-7:20 GIRL TALK
7:45-8:35 CALLA
9:00-10:00 RAINER MARIA

***all bands' Myspace pages found on I Am Festival profile friends list***

Also, during the daytime, expect filler DJ sets by none other than SHAG FRENZY! Connecticut's hottest hipster dance party comes to I AM FESTIVAL for a daytime jaunt before they rock their monthly dig that night in Hartford.

DIRECTIONS TO I AM FESTIVAL BY TRAIN:

Pretty simple... whether you're coming from New York or Boston or Philly or whatever, all you have to do is buy a train ticket that says "To: New London" on it. The train literally takes you to I AM FESTIVAL. The train station is located at Waterfront Park, where the festival will take place. The festival is free, so all you have to do is get here and party! If you wanna party all night and need a place to stay for the night, let us know and we can probably hook you up with a sweet place and a sweet afterparty. It'll be a blast!

(By the way, same goes for a bus. Greyhound is located at the train station!)

DIRECTIONS TO I AM FESTIVAL FROM NEW HAVEN, NEW YORK way:

* Take I-95 NORTH.
* Take EXIT 83 toward NORWICH / CT-32 / DOWNTOWN / NEW LONDON
* Stay STRAIGHT onto HUNTINGTON ST
* Continue straight until you see SAVER gas station and you can no longer go straight. Take a LEFT onto BANK ST. Find parking downtown and head towards the waterfront.

DIRECTIONS TO I AM FESTIVAL FROM PROVIDENCE, BOSTON way:

* Take I-95 SOUTH
* Take the CT-32 exit- EXIT 84S-N-E- toward DOWNTOWN NEW LONDON / NORWICH
* Take the CT-32 N exit- EXIT 84N-E- toward NORWICH / STATE PIER / HODGES SQ
* Take EXIT 84E toward STATE PIER / HODGES SQ
* Stay STRAIGHT onto WILLIAMS ST
* Turn LEFT onto HUNTINGTON ST (the first light)
* Continue straight until you see SAVER gas station and you can no longer go straight. Take a LEFT onto BANK ST. Find parking downtown and head towards the waterfront.

DIRECTIONS TO I AM FESTIVAL BY FOOT:

Get downtown. Walk towards the water. Get on the pier. You're bound to find it!

Kiss Me Like The Ocean Breeze

2006-09-11T07:18:00.000-07:00

I don't know if last night's Little Steven's Underground Garage show was New York themed or not. With the 5 year anniversary of 9/11 being today, I assume that maybe it was, in some way, a tribute to the great city. Little Steven Van Zandt opened with one of the most beautiful monologues I've ever heard on radio, documenting NYC's great musical heritage via the nightclubs and the artists themselves. From The Cotton Club and the Duke to Hilly Kristal's CBGB's and The Velvets playing at Warhol's Factory, Van Zandt covered it all and with a dirty, gritty, sinful NYC drawl that made it just alright, y'know? He lead off with "Sweet Jane" and then went into The Bronx's Blues Magoos' 60's classic "(We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet", arguably two of the finest NY songs ever written and recorded. Unfortunately, for me, I was only in the car for those first 15 minutes or so of the show and, well, radio reception in my house is basically non-existent due to the fact that I am in the woods, so to speak.

I've got garage and protopunk in my veins today, going so far as to bring in some key rocknroll cds for the long, dreary Monday work day.

VA - Girls With Guitars (Ace Records UK)
VA - MOJO Music Guide Vol. 1 - Instant Garage (free with Mojo June 2003)
The Lords Of The New Church - The Lords Of The New Church (IRS)
The Pretty Things - The EP Collection (See For Miles Records UK)
Oasis - Familiar To Millions (Big Brother)
Iggy & The Stooges - Raw Power (Columbia)
The Stooges - Funhouse (Elektra)
The Dictators - Manifest Destiny (Asylum)

Arab Strap broke up! Aye! No!

2006-09-08T10:39:00.000-07:00

I'm too sad to even write about this right now. Aidan and Malcolm are gods of the perverted Scots rock. As Arab Strap, they will be sorely missed by me and countless others.

Their final album together, The Last Romance, is genius. As usual.

Eric Danton reported it first. Read it from his music blog. He has some links to Arab Strap MP3's as well.

Snowden and The Horrors are coming to Hartford?

2006-09-07T21:05:00.000-07:00

Snowden, from Atlanta, GA, may play on Sunday, 24 September. They are dreamy, shoegazey, and have a new record out called Anti-Anti on Jade Tree.

The Horrors, from London, UK, may play on Sunday, 29 October, for a nifty Halloween Costume Party of sorts. These cats have all sorts of press going in England right now (see classy NME cover shot above) and are the next big thing according to, um, everyone in England.

Venue is confirmed and it will be Sweet Jane's in Downtown Hartford on Pratt Street. The only thing in the way is the bands giving us the final word. I am really trying to get some nice, young indie bands to play here, dammit, and hopefully we can get a nice little scene going here in H-Town.

Stay tuned. Remember that Space Blues is your live indie rock mate.

Junior Boys in New Haven tomorrow night, Priestess on Friday

2006-09-05T17:55:00.000-07:00

Ontario's fun electropoppers Junior Boys are playing at Cafe Nine in New Haven for a whopping $6. I hope to be there...you should hope so as well.

Also, Priestess is at the same place on Friday night.

Support the nice bands we have coming to town, ok?

Asobi Seksu

2006-09-05T12:17:00.001-07:00

Wow. An update! Who'da thunk it? Sorry for the lack of anything, but I've been busy and then fell ill for the long, holiday weekend. Yay for me. Onto greener pastures...

Asobi Seksu, which, when loosely translated in English from Japanese, means "playful sex", is a new-ish band on the shoegaze scene. They hail from NYC, are signed to indie Friendly Fire, and have a fresh, summery album entitled Citrus that has been recently released. Their sound is, well, ethereal in that Cocteau Twins/Lush/Pale Saints vibe. Basically, insert any circa-1986-89 4AD band here and there you have it. Lead singer Yuki Chikudate sings in half-English, half- Japanese, so there's no telling what you're getting other than a sexy, breathy, delicate vocal over swirling, fuzzy warmth. With all the jittery, frenzied electro-disco-new wave music out there nowadays, Asobi Seksu is perfect for that post-nightclubbing comedown on a Sunday morning. Pills, hot tea, and biscuits are optional.

Friendly Fire Recordings, 2006

Asobi Seksu MP3 Downloads (From Friendly Fire Recordings' web)

Polvo

2006-08-24T18:30:00.000-07:00

Do you remember Polvo? Yeah, probably not, as I reckoned. They were a strange fucking lot, from North Carolina, inked to Merge and then Touch & Go, friends with Sooyoung Park, etc. Guitarist Ash Bowie was once a part of Mary Timony's famed indie band Helium. I remember the first time I heard them was in the nearly-famous Sound Splash on Okeechobee Blvd. in glorious West Palm Beach, FL. Must've been 'round 1992 or so, and I checked out their debut long playing record called Cor Crane Secret. I couldn't figure out if they were shoegazers, indie rockers who couldn't tune for shit, Husker Du-lovers, an American band who should have signed to the UK's Too Pure, or all of the above. It was a glorious fucking mess...there was definite melody but, fuck me, it was just so messy. Their next long player, Today's Active Lifestyles, was another kick in the pants of poppy math rocky noise. They broke up around about 1999 or so. I'm sure their instruments are still out of tune, even if they are all playing on their own now.

Cor Crane Secret 1992 Merge Records

Today's Active Lifestyles 1993 Merge Records

Celebrate The New Dark Age 1994 Merge Records

A Polvo fansite

Bloody Hell, Pt. 1

2006-08-23T17:50:00.000-07:00

Fuck me, but I finally heard Justin Timberlake's new single, "Sexyback", on the radio tonight. I love the fucking song. Seriously. I need help now. It's infectuous and, well, sexy.

Also, whilst listening to WCCC's 80's At 8 show, they played my favorite Ratt song ever, which is, of course, "Back For More".

Wow.

Sambassadeur

2006-08-23T11:30:00.000-07:00

This album is nearly a year old, and I'm willing to bet that most, if not all of us, in the Hartford area has never heard it before. Sambassadeur are a part of the Malmo, Sweden-based Labrador Records pedigree (pun intended), along with Acid House Kings and The Radio Dept. The sound is the usual Swedish twee sound, if Sarah Records was still in the biz and leaving Bristol, UK for Sweden. Lush, shimmering pop with pretty vocals that remind one of Saint Etienne one moment and fellow Swedes Cinnamon and The Cardigans the next. Does anyone remember a 4AD band called Swallow? Probably not, but I swear that "New Moon" reminds me of Swallow's "Sugar Your Mind". The dog days of summer are here, and Sambassadeur's self-titled album is perfect pop for mostly now people.

Labrador Records, 2005

Sambassadeur Myspace
"New Moon" MP3

Hello

2006-08-23T09:58:00.000-07:00

Space Blues, the name, is lifted from a song by 80's UK postpunk band Felt.

Space Blues, the blog, is on the internet for the sole purpose of offering news and reviews on the forgotten music, those bands local to Hartford/New Haven that do not crank out cover tunes in sports bars. Additionally, it is a place to discuss the kinds of bands, records, etc. that CT-area newspapers and blogs sometimes forget to mention. In no way is that a swipe to their choices of subjects. All I am saying, pretty baby, is that there are several thousand bands that never get a write-up or a concert date in our state, and often times they are worthy enough of being written about for all of us to see.

"I will be the first person in history to die of boredom..."
Lawrence, 1986