A Bikini Kill post, its relative merit in the eye of the individual, as it should be

Better known, I'd guess, but in my opinion not quite as good as Le Tigre (see previous Le Tigre post), from Olympia Washington came these radical riot grrrrl rockers, who certainly had a moment of two.

Bikini Kill were vocalist Kathleen Hanna, guitarist Billy Karren, bassist Kathi Wilcox, and drummer Tobi Vale. They first surfaced on a pair of early EP's 1992's "Bikini Kill" and "Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah", which was a split EP with  band called Huggy Bear from 1993 (I've never heard the Huggy Bear tracks, anyone else?)....the self titled and Bikini Kill's half of the split are paired as "The CD Version of the First Two Records", and it's rough, loud, sloppy, and pretty damn cool.....it contains the earliest version of their best known track, "Rebel Girl", as well as other short blasts of semi-classic girl punk such as "Suck My Left One", "Double Dare Ya", and a bunch more......if you're looking for a sampler, don't come here, this is for fans of the band or historians, I happen to like it, but the definitive Bikini Kill album was their first full-length......

I think "Pussy Whipped" is one of the better albums of 1993. It's much better done than the early EP's, simillar, but better......"Rebel Girl" shows up here as well, but also "Star Bellied Boy", "Sugar", and other 90 second blasts of riot grrrl greatness. Their finale was 1996's "Reject All American", a somewhat similar album, which is I'd say a bit under-appreciated (although really, not as good as "Pussy Whipped"), again, a batch of 90-second or so snarls, "Bloody Ice Cream" and "Capri Pants" are the standouts.

After their dissoluton, Kill Rock Stars Records released a collection of their singles, imaginatively entitled "The Singles", with Joan Jett appearing on three tracks (including another version of "Rebel Girl", but this disc completes the picture, you wouldn't want to be without "Rah Rah Replica" especially "I Like Fucking"........

Pretty good stuff, in particular if you liked my Le Tigre post a while back, or say Red Aunts or Frightwig. Odd to think of this stuff as "period piece" already, but that is certainly what it is....

THE CD VERSION OF THE FIRST TWO RECORDS-01 Double Dare Ya/02 Liar/03 Carnival/04 Suck My Left One/05 Feels Blind/06 Thurston Hearts the Who/07 White Boy/08 This Is Not a Test/09 Don't Need You/10 Jigsaw Youth/11 Resist Psychic Death/12 Rebel Girl/13 Outta Me

PUSSY WHIPPED-01 Blood One/02 Alien She/03 Magnet/04 Speed Heart/05 Lil Red/06 Tell Me So/07 Sugar/08 Star Bellied Boy/09 Hamster Boy/10 Rebel Girl/11 Star Fish/12 For Tammy Rae

REJECT ALL AMERICAN-01 Statement of Vindication/02 Capri Pants/03 Jet Ski/04 Distinct Complicity/05 False Start/06 RIP/07 No Back Rub/08 Bloody Ice Cream/09 For Only/10 Tony Randall/11 Reject All American/12 Finale

THE SINGLES-01 New Radio/02 Rebel Girl/03 Demirep/04 In Accordance To Natural Law/05 Strawberry Julius/06 Anti-Pleasure Disertation/07 Rah! Rah! Replica/08 I Like Fucking/09 I Hate Danger

Links should be along pretty quckly, these are very short albums, should upload quickly.

Blondie rarities wrap up

Wrapping up this stack of Blondie rarities, all of these from 1978-80.....mind you it's been several years since I have listened to some of these, some may be less than great audience recordings, but if my memory doesn't fail me (and it often DOES), seems like most of them are pretty good.

Starting with a Boston set from 5/27/78, what can we say? The band had released, by this point, three of the four classic albums they had in them ("Eat to the Beat" was not around yet), so they had three nearly flawless albums from which to draw material, it's amazing the fine quality material that got left out of each set (actually this Boston set must have been pre-"Parallel Lines" as well).....most of my faves make this one...."Fan Mail", "Youth Nabbed as Sniper", "Detroit 442", "Look Good In Blue"......on and on we could go. For those first four albums, this was a band with a TON of classic material, and in general it was performed to perfection. All of it sounds as good today as it did in high school. This set encores with the New York Dolls "Jet Boy" as they often did ("Blondie was my baby!")

Next up, a set from the Paradise, 4/4/78, just listened to this one, and a fine one it is, with excellent sound, a fine set list, etc....also from 1978, a show from the El Mocambo in Toronto 3/8/78.....lesser sound, similar (great) set list.

Moving to 1979, we have a set from Pawtucket Rhode Island....quite heavy on the "Parallel Lines" stuff, but still room, at least for "Fan Mail" and "Youth Nabbed as Sniper". A show from Dallas later in the year begins to incorporate some "Eat to the Beat' era stuff ("Dreaming", at least)....."Picture This Live" combines two shows, interspersed with one another, Dallas (1980) and Philadelphia (1978)......Finally from 1980, two disc set from Hammersmith, with LOTS of "Eat to the Beat" material, the great "Living in the Real World", "The Hardest Part", "Accidents Never Happen".....GOD what a great band. If there were a demand, I'd put up the four "original" classic albums (all FOUR of them 5-star efforts), but why would you be interested in these and not already own them?

One of the greatest of all American rock bands, seriously......one of the truly GREAT bands of the 1970's... after "Eat to the Beat" they attempted to become more musically diverse, and biff bang pow, it was all over, but even at that I give them credit for "trying".....these live shows kick total serious ass. Please enjoy them.

LOOK GOOD IN BLUE (BOSTON 5/27/78)-01 X-Offender/02 Detroit 442/03 A Shark In Jet's Clothing/04 In the Sun/05 Presence, Dear/06 Denis/07 Fan Mail/08 Look Good In Blue/09 Man Overboard/10 Cautious Lip/11 I'm On E/12 I Didn't Have the Nerve to Say "No"/13 In the Flesh/14 Kidnapper/15 Rip Her To Shreds/16 Youth Nabbed as Sniper/17 I'm Gonna Love You Too/18 Jet Boy/19 Kung Fu Girls

THE PARADISE BOSTON 4/4/78-01 In the Sun/02 X-Offender/03 Hanging On the Telephone/04 Detroit 442/05 Fan Mail/06 Picture This/07 11:59/08 Pretty Baby/09 Presence, Dear/10 Sunday Girl/11 Denis/12 I'm On E/13 Will Anything Happen/14 Fade Away And Radiate/15 One Way Or Another/16 Youth Nabbed as Sniper/17 Heart of Glass/18 Bang a Gong

PAWTUCKET RHODE ISLAND 7/5/79-01 Dreaming/02 One Way Or Another/03 Hanging On the Telephone/04 Look Good In Blue/05 Youth Nabbed as Sniper/06 Pretty Baby/07Slow Motion/08 Sunday Girl/09 In the Flesh/10 Man Overboard/11 Heart of Glass/12 11:59/13 Rip Her to Shreds/14 In the Sun/15 X-Offender/16 I'm On E/17 Kung Fu Girls/18 A Shark In Jet's Clothing


TORONTO 3/8/78-01 In the Sun/02 X-Offender/03 Detroit 442/04 A Shark In Jet's Clothing/05 Fan Mail/06 Look Good In Blue/07 Man Overboard/08 Rip Her To Shreds/09 Fade Away and Radiate/10 Presence Dear/11 Denis/12 I'm On E/13 Little Girl Lies/14 Kidnapper

PAWTUCKET RI 7/5/79-01 Dreaming/02 One Way Or Another/03 Hanging On the Telephone/04 Look Good In Blue/05 Youth Nabbed as Sniper/06 Pretty Baby/07 Slow Motion/08 Sunday Girl/09 In the Flesh/10 Man Overboard/11 Heart of Glass/12 11:59/13 Rip Her to Shreds/14 In the Sun/15 X-Offender/16 I'm On E/17 Kung Fu Girls/18 A Shark In Jet's Clothing

DALLAS 12/1/79-01 Dreaming/02 In the Sun/03 11:59/04 Slow Motion/05 Sunday Girl/06 In the Flesh/07 Jam/08 Funtime

PICTURE THIS LIVE (TRACKS 1-6 & 13-15 DALLAS 1980, TRACKS 7-12 PHILADELPHIA 1978-01 Dreaming/02 In the Sun/03 Hanging on the Telephone/04 Look Good In Blue/05 Slow Motion/06 Sunday Girl/07 X-Offender/08 Picture This/09 Denis/10 Fade Away and Radiate/11 A Shark In Jets Clothing/I Know But I Don't Know/12 One Way Or Another/13 Heart of Glass/14 11:59/15 Bang a Gong/Funtime

HAMMERSMITH 1/20/80 DISC 1-01 Dreaming/02 Slow Motion/03 Shayla/04 Union City Blues/05 The Hardest Part/06 Atomic/07 Living In the Real World/08 Denis/09 Picture This/10 Die Young Stay Pretty/11 Accidents Never Happen/12 Love Victim

HAMMERSMITH 1/20/80 DISC 2-01 Heart of Glass/02 Eat to the Beat/03 Hanging on the Telephone/04 Louie Louie/05 I Feel Love/06 Heroes/07 I Feel Good/08 Sunday Girl/09 Pretty Baby/10 One Way Or Another

If there are any of my older posts you'd like to see reprised speak up.....I traditionally haven't liked doing that, but I will start doing so now......speak now!

Reprising "Random Blondie Rarities", by request

Couple years ago I put up a bunch of my Blondie boots and demos, not sure if it was all of em or not, but that was ancient history, in blog terms, and at least one if not a couple have requested that I reupped them, which I usually don't do, unless the mood hits me.... went back and checked and the original post was 11/19/11, in the Mediafire era, so of course none of the links are reusable (MORE work for me)...... but looking back on the post, hell, I know I have a BUNCH more Blondie boots than just those...... so what i will do is, paste the original text of the post here, because it includes a sentimental story (for me ONLY) of a now-departed friend who lived to tell anyone within earshot of the time he had drunken sex with Deborah Harry, and this will give me a starting point..... I will reup the album that went with that post, and then tomorrow, we'll get to the rest of em.....sort of an oversight on my part I guess, that I never put up the remainder of this stuff, I assume a good bit of it is kinda hard to find....... so, here, is the text of the original post:
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Just felt like putting up some Blondie, no particular reason.... always did enjoy their work and I think it has REALLY held up well over the decades. They played near my home last year or the year before (I think with Cheap Trick, even) but I wasn't able to attend....wonder what the crowd was like....God, I hope not screams of "Do RAPTURE!".....prefer if it were the senile ones like myself singing along with "Youth Nabbed as Sniper"....anyway, as I said, one of my favorite bands of the 1970's, I have quite a bit of material and I decided on these selections, I think they are relatively hard to locate and they are all quite good and listenable. I hope that you enjoy them, I know the band are still out there somewhere, and if they play a club near you, don't make the same mistake as me and miss them. A good friend of mine,a musician now deceased, claims to have had sex with Debbie Harry, he swore by this story until the day he died.....yes, I'm sure I missed it, having attended a threesome with Liz Phair and Lita Ford......anyway, Chuck (my friend) rest in peace and if they have music blogs wherever you are, I hope you can access these rarities:

(as always, links in comments section, as always, I'll get them up tonight if Mediafire cooperates) (2013 EDIT- Of course,  Mediafire is no longer a part of this thing):

1975 DEMOS-This is the oldest recording of the band I can find, at least a year before their debut album came out. The sound quality is good, the songs are unfamiliar to me, but they are quite enjoyable. The claim is this is a demo tape, if so, it is certainly good enough that I would have signed them given the option: 01 Out In the Streets/02 Platinum Blonde/03 Puerto Rico/04 The Thin Line

QUARTERS TO DOLLARS-This is a vinyl bootleg, probably from around 1978 or so, and as vinyl boots go, this is a good one as well. I don't think I remember ever seeing it online before, basically a live rendering of their first album, I threw a couple of "Alternate Versions" of a couple studio tracks at the end:

01 German Lullaby/02 In the Sun/03 Look Good In Blue/04 Little Girl lies/05 In the Flesh/06 Man Overboard/07 Rifle Range/08 Moonlight Drive/10 A Shark In Jet's Clothing/11 Kung Fu Girls/12 X Offender/13 In the Sun (alternate version)/14 X Offender (alternate version)

Now, a couple of high quality, ear-popping concerts....the first 12/23/76 at the legendary CBGB:

01 Money Go Love/02 Poet's Problem/Little Girl Lies/03 Rifle Range/04 Bermuda Triangle Blues/05 Banter/06 Banter/07 Contact In Red Square/08 Presence, Dear/09 Rip Her to Shreds/10 Kung Fu Girl/11 In the Sun/12 X Offender/(2nd set) 13 Fan Mail/14 Poet's Problem/15 Look Good In Blue/16 Banter/17 Contact In Red Square/18 Moonlight Drive/19 A Shark In Jet's Clothing/20 Presence, Dear/21 Band Intros/22 X Offender

And finally, an awesome set from the San Francisco Old Waldorf, 9/12/77. Of the four sets, here, this one is the best, an awesome performance and fabulous sound quality. Of the four, also, this is most likely the most acessible, and you may have heard it before. If you have not, though, HIGHLY worthwhile

01 X-Offender/02 Youth Nabbed as Sniper/03 Fan Mail/04 Cautious Lip/05 I'm on E/06 Detroit 442/07 I Didn't Have the Nerve to Say No/08 Bermuda Triangle Blues (Flight 45)/09 Presence, Dear/10 Contact In Red Square/11 A Shark in Jets Clothing/12 In the Sun/13 Heart Full of Soul/14 Playing With Fire/15 Moonlight Drive.

Let's cast these upon the waters and see how many hits/comments they generate, I have LOTS more of them, of varying vintages and qualities. As always, leave a comment should you be inclined, and should you desire more rare Blondie, there is more to be had, simply for the asking!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving if I don't talk to you before then.

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OK, I actually put up only four albums, my work ethic at that time was nothing like the Herculean efforts I turn in anymore (guys, IT IS SARCASM, again, I AM NOT saying this is a good blog, nor that I am willing to do the work to make it one), hell I probably have 15 more or so, so I guess we may as well put up a few more of them in order to balance tomorrow's/today's volume of stuff......I haven't listened to a lot of these in a while, so the sound quality may vary, if I get a chance I will carpet bomb them and point out some of the better ones.......

In addition to the four sets outlined above (1975 Demos, Quarters To Dollars, San Francisco 1978, and CBGB 1976), for today, lets add a couple of more VERY early (1975) CBGB shows, they are short sets, one from 7/18 and one from 8/15 and will both fit on a single CD, they cover "Femme Fatale" which I think is the only version of that great song that I have by Blondie.

Let's also go with a two disc set, from the Palladium, New York, 11/12/78, by now of course they had a wealth of classic material to perform......Hell, ALL of my favorites, "Fan Mail", "Detroit 442", "11:59", the encores ("Sister Midnight", "Heroes", and "Bang a Gong" feature guest performer Robert Fripp, if I recall correctly this may be an audience recording which I generally don't like much, but I'm going to put ALL of this stuff up and let you guys decide.

Finally for today, a good one from Boston, 11/4/78, great, great stuff, even "Heart of Glass" (not my favorite by any means but the first of Deborah's adventures into the worlds of other musical stylings......

OK, got a bunch more of these for tomorrow also......I really should have done this whole thing up a couple years ago, but what did I know? I was just a kid.......anyway, see above for the track lists for the first four albums, and here are the track lists for the remaining ones:

CBGB 7/18/75-01 Little Girl Lies/02 In the Flesh/03 Moonlight Drive/04 Charlotte the Harlot/05 Platinum Blonde/06 Man Overboard/07 Thin Line/08 Heat Wave/09 Attack of the Giant Ants (End Cut)/ CBGB 8/15/75-10 Heat Wave/11 Man Overboard/12 Little Girl Lies/13 A Girl Should Know Better/14 I Cover the Waterfront/15 Femme Fatale/16 Lullaby (An early version of "Just Go Away"), 17 Attack of the Giant Ants (end cut)

THE PALLADIUM NYC 11/12/78 DISC 1-01 Intro/In the Sun/02 X-Offender/03 Hanging on the Telephone/04 Detroit 442/05 Fan Mail/06 Picture This/07 11:59/08 Pretty Baby/09 Touched By Your Presence Dear/10 Sunday Girl/11 Denis/12 I'm One/13 I'm Gonna Love You Too/14 Will Anything Happen/15 Fade Away and Radiate

THE PALLADIUM NYC 11/12/78 DISC 2-01 I Know But I Don't Know/02 One Way Or Another/03 Be My Only/04 Kung Fu Girl/05 Robert Fripp Intro/06 Sister Midnight/07 Heroes/08 Bang a Gong

BOSTON 11/14/78-01 In the Sun/02 X Offender/03 Hanging On the Telephone/04 11:59/05 Pretty Baby/06 I'm Always Touched By Your Presence Dear/07 Sunday Girl/08 Denis/09 Fade Away and Radiate/10 Fan Mail/11 Picture This/12 One Way Or Another/13 Kung Fu Girls/14 Heart of Glass/15 Bang a Gong/16 Studio 54

Plenty more coming your way tomorrow! Hope you guys like these, they are pretty great for the most part!

A pretty good Veruca Salt post, at least I think so, maybe some won't

Think of "Nuggets", the original......now, think of a similar creation, made in, say, the year 2030 with the great singles of the 1990's "alternative rock" (what a nauseating term) movement......it'd be pretty cool, right? The Breeders' "Cannonball"......Filter's "Hey Man Nice Shot"......Flaming Lips' "She Don't Use Jelly"......and of course, the epitomy of the early  1990's one-shot wonder, Veruca Salt's fantastic "Seether".......

Veruca Salt were guitarist/vocalists Louise Post and Nina Gordon, drummer Jim Shappiro, and bassist Steve Lack....look, I am NOT going to pretend this was some great overlooked band, but "Seether" is one of the absolute greatest singles of that era, hard rocking, catchy, and with cryptic lyrics (what the fuck is a "seether" anyway?).......one of my favorite singles of the early 1990's, no kidding......all that sweet feedback guitar, "I try to keep her on a short leash, I try to calm her down"....don't know why but it works fine for me, and when someone makes "90's Nuggets", this should be the leadoff track, perhaps.

"Seether" became a minor hit on alternative radio stations ca.1994-5, and was followed up with/included on  the debut album "American Thighs"....."Thighs" is a pretty fair album, featuring not only "Seether" but also "All Hail Me" and "Sleeping Where I Want", not a classic by any means but a really pretty fair album......really, the only one they had in them......this expanded edition includes a few bonus cuts, including a goofball rendition of "My Sharona"

To capitalize on the surprising success of the album, they released the EP "Blow It Out Your Ass It's Veruca Salt", which is a decent 4-song effort.....album #2, "Eight Arms To Hold You" is, well, not great, save for the clever single "Volcano Girls" with it's smart "Glass Onion" reference......and, for me, this is where Veruca Salt and I part ways. Nina Gordon and Louise Post had some sort of falling out, leading to Post leaving the band and releasing the quite listenable solo effort "Tonight and the Rest of My Life".

The post-Gordon lineup released an album or two, can't say I've ever heard them though....thought what I would post instead would be Gordon's aforementioned album with it's lovely title track and the rocking "Bad Way".....also have a live set from 1994 at The Chocolate Factory, it's pretty damn good as well.....

I was reading that the original lineup has reunited and were working on new material, but I just have a feeling, this is one whose moment (and they had one), has passed.......just a hunch and I wish them all the best

AMERICAN THIGHS-01 Get Back/02 All Hail Me/03 Seether/04 Spiderman 79/05 Forsythia/06 Wolf/07 Celebrate You/08 Fly/09 Number One Blind/10 Victrola/11 Twinstar/12 25/13 Sleeping Where I Want BONUS TRACKS-/14 She's a Brain/15 Bodies/16  Aurora/17 My Sharona/18 Sundown

BLOW IT OUT YOUR ASS IT'S VERUCA SALT-01 Shimmer Like a Girl/02 I'm Taking Europe With Me/03 New York Mining Disaster 1996/04 Disinherit

EIGHT ARMS TO HOLD YOU-01 Straight/02 Volcano Girls/03 Don't Make Me Prove It/04 Awesome/05 Last Time/06 With David Bowie/07 Benjamin/08 Shutterbug/09 The Morning Sad/10 Sound of the Bell/11 Lonliness Is Worse/12 Stoneface/13 Venus Man Trap/14 Earthcrosser

LIVE AT THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY 1994-01 Pale Green/02 All Hail Me/03 Stoneface/04 Forsythia/05 Straight/06 Sleeper Car/07 Seether/08 Spiderman 79/09 Victrola/10 25/11 Straight/12 She's a Brain/13 All Hail Me/14 Stacey Please

TONIGHT AND THE REST OF MY LIFE (NINA GORDON)-01 Now I Can Die/02 2003/03 Tonight and the Rest of My Life/04 Badway/05 Horses in the City/06 Hold On To Me/07 New Year's Eve/08 Fade to Black/09 Number One Camera/10 Got Me Down/11 Too Slow To Ride/12 Hate Your Way/13 The End of the World

Links In a little while.............

Death From Above 1979

The fucking band is CALLED "Death From Above 1979", the album didn't come out in 1979....actually it came out in 2004 or 2005 or something.....from Toronto Canada, they were a noisy sort of dance/punk act with some grungy riffs thrown in there, they made but one full length (the also made a handful of EP's that I don't have)...however, the on album they did have in them, "You're a Woman, I'm a Machine", is pretty damn good, I must say, just gave it a re-listen on this morning's commute, and it is not bad at all.....any of you Canadians (paging Mark E?) have any of the EP's? Or, do they (quite possibly) suck? All I know is I found this disc to my liking, perhaps my friend Anonymous has some clue as to the members' sexuality (he seems to worry a GREAT deal about this subject, and is of course always welcome to chime in with his evaluations of the various artists' level of masculinity. (He SAID he was going away, but seemed awfully interested in Marc Bolan's sexual preferences, frankly  something that 99% of people could give three shits about, in particular with Bolan being, you know, dead and all.)

Death From Above 1979 were Jesse Keeler on bass and vocals, and Sebastian Grainger on drums and vocals......the bass serves as the "lead" instrument as it often does in "pure noise" stuff like this, and it works well, very fine bass playing and drumming, often indecipherable lyrics; smooth as silk track transitions, and some really fine moments, really, such as "Blood on Our Hands", "Sexy Results", "Pull Out", and really most of it.....works well as an album as a whole, if you know what I mean....NOT NOT NOT for everyone, but maybe if you liked the Big Black stuff I put up a while back (this is tamer than that, by far), you may enjoy this.

You gotta love people, really, you do.......the comments I've been getting of late.....WHAT are they supposed to be accomplishing......I KNOW I don't provide artwork, tag all tracks, only use the bitrate I GOT the thing in, etc, etc, I KNOW THIS and point it OFTEN......I DO NOT CARE IF ANYONE ALIVE DOES NOT LIK THIS BLOG......really......certainly it's not for everyone. It's NOT supposed to be a "big time" blog like the marvelous work done by ChrisGoes, or the amazing "Twilight Zone".....and the reason, as I've stated so many times, is simple....I DON'T WANT TO DO THAT MUCH WORK......my drill is I think of a band or act that I think might be of interest to a handful of people.....I walk to my CD room (maybe 15-20 ft away), grab their discs, write some nonsense about them, check maybe Wikipedia for my facts, use I TUNES to upload the disc, THEN FUCKING FORGET ABOUT IT. That's it......that's ALL there is.....if you want artwork, go find it......if you want the tracks "tagged", great, do it yourself.......I am not about to change a fucking thing. If you don't like it, there are probably AT LEAST 1000 OTHER blogs out there that will suit your needs much more than this one.....I have NEVER, not onc, claimed that this blog was "good".......have I? Fuck no, I ADMITTEDLY say it's a minor league effort, generally thrown together when I'm half wasted.......it gave me something to do when I had my health issues, and it's fun for me to maybe hear a disc I haven't heard in a while and maybe share it with some folks who might like it......but if you don't like this blog, for WHATEVER the reason (you want artwork, or tags, or a different bitrte, or, the latest one, you think I "support the gay agenda" (the strangest one yet by a HUGE margin), PLEASE avail yourself of one of the infinite number of internet blogs which I WILL FREELY ADMIT are better than this one. I will sleep just fine at night, one way or the other......thanks to the kind people who DO appreciate what I am attempting to do here, but this is MUCH MORE addressed to the OTHER folks, who tell me regularly how much they dislike the blog, yet seem to turn up fairly regularly to comment on the reasons as to why........just seems to me there would be better places to spend your time, but, as always, EVERYONE is welcome here, even if it, by the creator's own admission, is FAR, FAR from the "best" blog on the web, and will NEVER BE CLOSE......one more time, the reason is I DON'T WANT TO DO THAT MUCH WORK!

YOU'RE A WOMAN, I'M A MACHINE-01 Turn It On/02 Romantic Rights/03 Going Steady/04 Go Home, Get Down/05 Blood on Our Hands/06 Black History Month/07 Little Girl/08 Cold War, Listen/09 You're a Woman, I'm a Machine/10 Pull Out/11 Sexy Results

See ya'll tomorrow......be back with something else WITHOUT artwork, without track tags (unless that's how it comes), and in whatever fucking bitrate I got it in....don't like it? Tough shit.

The Best T Rex post ever, unless you have reservations

T Rex began of course, as Tyrannasaurus Rex, hippie-folkie-psych blather than many love to death.....I am NOT one of those "many" to be  honest, personally I find this early stuff beyond silly and close to unlistenable.....being honest here, sorry if I hurt anyone's delicate feelings. I mean really....they actually released an album called "My People Were Fair and Had Sky In Their Hair, But Now They're Content to Wear Stars on their Brows"......no, REALLY....they also had the goofball "A Beard of Stars" which featured the goofy "Ride a White Swan", a single of some merit I guess, I may have a copy of it here somewhere that I can "treat" you with.

Anyway, T Rex went electric/glam in 1970 with them "T Rex", coupling glitter/glam riff rock with almost eqully nonsensical lyrics, and became popular almost immediatley, more so in the UK than here though.

T Rex is not really a great album, but it IS a corner stone in the UK glitter/glam scene of the early 1970's....short tracks which still carry forward plenty of thier silly folky/psych pretensions: "The Children of Rarn".
, "The Wizard"..NOT a classic, but then......1971's "Electric Warrior" IS a "classic", a "classic" of super stupid electro-glam-riff-rock, featuring of course the legend that is "Get It On (Bang a Gong) with it's remarkable lyrical complexities, not to mention lesser known treasures such as "Rip Off", "Jeepster", and "Cosmic Dancer"....it is almost impossible to listen to this with a straight face, a period piece of almost embarassing hilarity......myself, I LOVE it!

Even better for my money, though not quite as popular was "The Slider".....this thing is a masterpiece of "stupid-rock", almost every tune a "classic: when we look at it in that light.....where to begin? "Metal Guru" which was a huge hit in the UK and contians the lyric "Metal Guru is it you?", my younger brother at the time interpereted it as "Metal Guru is a Jew".......there is a LOT more, the title track, "Rock On", "Ballrooms Of Mars", "Spaceball Riccochet", and especialy my fave the rockin "Buick Mackane".......simply cannot give this 5 stars, even though it is "perfect" for what it sets out to do, lets go four stars and all be happy.....

A short run really, the follow up "Tanx". really sucks the big 'un,  they try to regain the innocent stupidity of "The Slider" with poor results....really stuff like "Tenement Lady", "mad Donna", and the noxious "Born to Boogie" could have been outtakes from "Electric Warrior" or "The Slider"......this was one bus ride that had reached the last stop. "Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow" is even worse, presented here for the comdy factor alone. Same goes for "Bolan's Zip Gun", an atempt yet, to go (lord) "in other musical directions".....there's a reasn you likely haven't heard it, trust me.

Since I'm feeling evil, and to ensure that "Anonymous" feels I have done enough to promote the "Gay Agenda", I have a couple comps here, including the FOUR disc "20th Century Superstar Series" which has more shit on it than the most rabid T Rex fan could clamour for, ALL KINDSA SHIT here, from the "Ride a White Swan" era and lots more!

Do have a live album or 2 here, "Live at the BBC 1970-71" captures them at their glammy best, and a rare boot from 1977, although they had had the fork stuck in em by now, is of interest.......T Rex are an important part of early 1970's glam rock, imagine should they come out today, they'd be laughed back to the  but they sounded good at the time, and Marc Bolan had the right look for the right time.....it was fun  while it lasted! One last note, I think Bolan was once quoted as saying "NOTHING in my career has been an accident!", prior to being killed in, well, an automobile accident........sweet irony I guess.......

I am not about to search out all their folkie albums, here are the 1970's glitter/glam hard rocking albums, hope you enjoy them as much as yer pervered uncle does!

By the way, I think Dave Sez and Julian have made amends, at least I hope so......it was a misunderstanding, and you guys  are BOTH valuable contributors to this site, I'd HATE like hell to lose either of you......as for ol' "Anonymous", he has me figgered out I'm afreard: I posted sexy pictures of Erin Andrews to throw you guys off the track, because my TRUE plan here is to promote/support the gay agenda which he hilariously lays out in one of his comments (truth is, I just like Erin Andrew's ass).....he says he's leaving this "gay blog' forever, I personally say don't let the door hit you on the way out, please, please, GO AWAY FOREVER!

One minion had a good idea though....if Dave Sez (or anyone) wants the "keys' to this blog, they are welcome......write your own stuff, post it yourself, and some day I'll wake up and say "DAMN I don't hav to do SHIT today!"......any serious contributors who would LIKE to have the blog keys, contact me at csgmiller@sbcglobal.net and we can certainly talk, I like the idea!

T REX-01 The Children of Rarn/02 Jewel/03 The Visit/04 Childe/05 The Time Of Love Is Now/06 Diamond Meadows/07 Root of Star/08 Beltane Walk/09 Is It Love?/10 One Inch Rock/11 Summer Deep/12 Seagull Woman/13 Suneye/14 The Wizard/15 The Children of Rarn (Reprise)

ELECTRIC WARRIOR-01 Mambo Sun/02 Cosmic Dancer/03 Jeepster/04 Monolith/05 Lean Woman Blues/06 Bang a Gong (Get It On)/07 Planet Queen/08 Girl/09 The Motivator/10 Life's a Gas/11 Rip Off

THE SLIDER-01 Metal Guru/02 Mystic Lady/03 Rock On/04 Slider/05 Baby Boomerang/06 Spaceball Rocochet/07 Buick Mackane/08 Telegram Sam/09 Rabbit Fighter/10 Baby Strange/11Ballrooms of Mars/12 Chariot Choogle/13 Main Man/14 Cadillac (Extended)/15 Thunderwing (Extended)/16 Lady (Extended)

TANX-01 Tenement Lady/02 Rapids/03 Mister Mister/04 Broken Hearted Blues/05 Shock Rock/06 Country Honey/07 Electric Sam and the Factory Hen/08 Mad Donna/09 Born Boogie/10 Life Is Strange/11 The Street and Babe Shadow/12 Highway Knees/13 Left Hand Luke and the Beggar Boys/14 Children of the Revolution/15 Jitterbug Love/16 Sunken Rags/17Solid Gold Easy Action/18 Xmas Riff/19 20th Century Boy/20 Free Angel

ZINC ALLOY AND THE HIDDEN RIDERS OF TOMORROW-01Venus Loon/02 Sound Pit/03 Explosive Mouth/04 Galaxy/05 Change/06 Nameless Wildness/07 Teenage Dream/08Liquid Gang/09 Carlisle Smith & the Old One/10 You'v Got to Jive To Stay Alive-Spanish Midnight/11 Interstellar Soul/12 Painless Persuassion vs the Meathawk Immaculate/13 The Avengers (Superbad)/14 The Leopards Featuring Gardenia and the Mighty Slug

BOLAN'S ZIP GUN-01 Light Of Love/02 Solid Baby/03 Percious Star/04 Token of My Love/05 Space Boss/06 Think Zinc/07 Till Dawn/08 Girl In the Thunderbolt Suit/09 I Really Love You Babe (Prescision Debating)/10 Golden Belt/11 Zip Gun Boogie (Live)/12 Do You Wanna Dance/13 Dock of the Bay/14 Solid Baby/15 Till Dawn (Marc's Guide)/16 Tll Dawn/17 Till Dawn/18 Girl In the THunderbolt Suit (Bluejean Bop)/19 Dishing Fish Wop (Golden Belt)

LIVE AT THE BBC-01 Hot Rod Mama/02 Deora/03 Pavillions of the Sun/04 Dove/05 By the Light of the Magical Moon/06 Elemental Child/07 The Wizard/08 Ride a White Swan/09 Summertime Blues/10 Jeepster/11 Cadillac

MARC BOLAN & T REX DISC 1-01 The Road I'm On (Gloria)/02 Blowin in the Wind/03 The Wizard/04 Beyond the Risin' Sun/05 The Third Degree/06 San Francisco Poet/07 Eastern Spell/08 Hippie Gumbo/09 Misfit/10 Jasper C DeBussey/11 Desdemona/12 Midsummer Night's Scene/13 Sara Crazy Child/14 The Lilac Left Hand of Menthol Dan/15 Sleepy Maurice/16 Highways (Alias Misty Dust)/17 Child Star/18 Chateau In Virginia Waters/19 Puckish Pan/20 Lunacy's Back/21Debora/22 Hot Rod Mama/23 Scenscof/24 One Inch Rock/25 Salamanda Pal/26 Consuela/27 Juniper Section/28 Nickelodeon/29 Pewter Suitor/30 The Seal of the Seasons/31 Catblack (the Wizard's hat)/32 Chariots of Silk/33 Iscariot

MARC BOLAN T REX DISC 2-01 King of the Rumbling Spires/02 Do You Remember  ALternate Vocal)/03 Do You Remember/04 Once Upon the Seas of Absinniya/05 Ill Starred Man/06 Demon Queen/07 By the Light/08 Lofty Skies/09 Elemental Child/10 Dove/11 The Prettiest Star/12 Oh Baby/13 Ride a White Swan (Intro)/14 Ride a White Swan/15 Ride a White Swan (Outro)/16 Untitled Poem/17 Jewel/18 Diamond Meadows/19 Beltayne Walk/20  Suneye/21 Childe/22 The Children of the Rarn/23 Hot Love/24 King of the Mountain Cometh/25 Mambo Sun/26 Cosmic Dancer/27 Get It On/28 There Was a Time -Raw Ramp/29 Rip Off

MARC BOLAN AND T REX DISC 3-01 Jeepster/02 Life's a Gas/03 Sailors of the Highway/04 Telegram Sam/05 Cadillac/06 Baby Strange/07 Metal  Guru/08 Thunderwing/09 Spaceball Ricochet/10 Children of the Revolution/11 Jitterbug Love/12 Xmas Flexi Message/13 Solid Gold Easy Action/14 Born To Boogie/15 20th Century Boy/16 Highway Knees/17Electric Slim and the Factory Hen/18 Left Hand Luke and the Beggar Boys/19 The Groover/20 Blackjack/21 Truck On (Tyke)/22 City Port/23 Teenage Dream

MARC BOLAN & T REX DISC 4-01 Venus Loon/02 Painless Persuassion vs the Meathook Emmaculate/03 Change/04 Till Dawn/05 Light Of Love/06 Zip Gun Boogie/07Think Zinc/08 Solid Baby/09 New York City/10 Chrome Sitar/11 Dreamy Lady/12 Christmas Bop/13 Jupiter Liar/14 Dawn Storm/15 London Boys/16 I Love to Boogie/17 Laser Love/18 Life's an Elevator/19 To Know Him Is To Love Him/20 Teen Riot Structure/21 The Soul of My Suit/22 Dandy In the Underworld/23 Celebrate Summer

LIVE LONDON 3/18/77-01 Jeepster/02 Visions of Domino/03 New York City/04 Soul of My Suit/05 Groove a Little/06 Telegram Sam/07 Hang Ups/08 Debora/09 I Love to Boogie/10 Teen Riot Structure/11 Dandy In the Underworld/12 Hot Love/13 Get It On (With the Damned)/14 Jeepster (bonus)/

LIVE LONDON 3/18/77 DISC 2-01Telegram Sam (Bonus)/02 Token of My Lov (Bonus)/03 Teenage Dream (Bonus)/04 Zip Gun Boogie (Bonus)

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By request the best Gang of Four post ever

Someone (I ALWAYS forget who requests these things) asked for some Gang of Four, I don't have a hell of a lot, but I'll certainly share what I DO have.....for whatever reason, they are simply one of those bands for which not a hell of a lot of rarities/boots/whatever exist, but of course I'll share the stuff I DO have, be it easy to find elsewhere or not.

The original "Gang" were vocalist Jon King, guitarist Andy Gill, bassist Dave Allen, and drummer Hugo Burnham (they changed lineups a few times, and I'd like to mention bassist Sara Lee also because she was really a DAMN fine bassist)...

The Gang produced some incredible post-punk, politically motivated, and INCREDIBLY stripped down rock, the very DEFINITION of "not for everyone", but, before we go much further, let me say that I LOVE their shit to death......it didn't sound like ANYTHING else, and they were MAD about shit, which, if you follow my theories, makes for the best rock n roll......

Thier debut, "Entertainment!" is a classic of the post-punk era features some of their better works" "Return the Gift", "Anthrax", "Great Men", and especially "At Home He's a Tourist".....this particular version, thankfully, contains the "Yellow" EP, so we get some added Gang stuff such as "He'd Send in the Army" and my absolute fave "Outside the Trains Don't Run On Time"......classic album that should be in EVERYONE's collection!

These latter two track also appear on "Solid Gold" (1981) (different versions), "Solid Gold" is also one you'd want, it includes the classic "Cheeseburger", and "Paralysed".....another good disc, though not quite as essential as the expanded "Entertainment!". (Note: My "Solid Gold" is a vinyl rip, as is my "Another Day Another Dollar " EP.....not in the greatest shape so I found a digital version, similar to the expanded "Entertainment!/Yellow" coupling, which couples "Solid Gold" and "Another Day Another Dollar" quite nicely.

They struck it rich again in 1982, releasing "Songs of the Free", which includes what I assume is their best known track "I Love a man in Uniform", and also the very fine "We Live as We Dream, Alone"....this is yet another of those acts that maybe got shortchanged just a bit in the States for being to "British", but so it goes, I really like ALL thier shit,and,  even if I didn't always know EXACTLY what they were bitching about, they sure as hell always sounded pissed whatever the issue.

Should you be in the mood for simply a sampler comp, "A Brief History of the 20th Century" is a decent one, touching on most of the highlights of the first three classic albums, but I don't recommend it as I really those three albums are essential, and the comp (shockingly, to me at least) doens't include such obvious material as "Outside the Trains Don't Run on Time". We've also got  a fine Peel Session, and a few  live discs, the quite common "At the Palace 1984" and the maybe a tad more rare "Southhampton University 1979", and "Bournmouth Town Hall 11/22/79"

Personally I find everything here essential, wish I had a few more live ones (DaveSez?), sounds like they were the real deal live......I look at them as basically a European ancestor of Rage Against the Machine, hell, they (Rage) were from the US and half the time I never knew what THEY were bitching about either, but like the Gang, they sure as hell sounded committed. Comment away, and if you have any other goods by this fab band, please share, they were a great one, for a while there. I know they did release a few albums post -"Songs of the Free", but as I recall they were fairly disappointing so they are not here (I don't have em anyway).

ENTERTAINMENT! (W/"YELLOW" EP)-01 Ether/02 Natural's Not In It/03 Not Great Men/04 Damaged Goods/05 Return the Gift/06 Guns Before Butter/07 I Found That Essence Rare/08 Glass/09 Contract/10 At Home He's a Tourist/11 5.45/12 Anthrax/13 Outside the Trains Don't Run On Time/14 He'd Send In the Army/15 It's Her Factory/16 Armalite Rifle

SOLID GOLD (W/"ANOTHER DAY ANOTHER DOLLAR EP")-01 Paralysed/02 What We All Want/03 If I Could Keep It For Myself/04 Outside the Trains Don't Run On Time/05 Why Theory/06 Cheeseburger/07 The Republic/08 In the Ditch/09 A Hole in the Wallet/10 He'd Send In the Army/11 To Hell With Poverty/12 Capital (It Fails Us Now)/13 History's Bunk!/14 Cheeseburger (Live)/15 What We All Want (Live)

SONGS OF THE FREE-01 Call Me Up/02 I Love a Man in Uniform/03 Muscle For Brains/04 It Is Not Enough/05 Life! It's a Shame/06 I Will Be a Good Boy/07 The History of the World/08 We Live As We Dream, Alone/09 Of the Instant

PEEL SESSIONS-01 I Found That Essence Rare/02 Return the Gift/03 5.45/04 At Home He's a Tourist/05 Natural's Not In It/06 Not Great Men/07 Ether/08 Guns Before Butter/09 Paralysed/10 History's Bunk!/11 To Hell With Poverty

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE 20TH CENTURY-01 At Home He's a Tourist/02 Damaged Goods/03 Natural's Not In It/04 Not Great Men/05 Anthrax/06 Return the Gift/07 It's her Factory/08 What We All Want (Live)/09 Paralysed/10 A Hole in the Wallet/11 Cheeseburger/12 To Hell With Poverty!/13 Capital (It Fails Us Now)/14 Call Me Up/15 I Will Be A Good Boy/16  The History of the World/17 I Love a Man In Uniform/18 Is It Love/19 Woman Town/20 We Live as We Dream, Alone

SOUTHHAMPTON UNIVERSITY 11/14/79-01 Essence Rare/02 5:45/03 Anthrax/04 It's Her Factory/05 Blood Free/06 Contract/07 Damaged Goods/08 Not Great Men/09 Natural's Not In It/10 At Home He's a Tourist/11 Return the Gift/12 Ether/13 Armalire Rifle/14 Rose Anne/15 Glass/16 Can't Stand My Baby


BOURNMOUTH TOWN HALL 11/22/79-01 I Found That Essence Rare/02 5:45/03 Anthrax/04 It's Her Factory/05 Blood Free/06 Damaged Goods/07 Not Great Men/08 Natural's Not In It/09 Information/10 At Home He's a Tourist/11 Return the Gift/12 Ether/13Armalite Rifle/14 Glass/15 Damaged Goods/16 Roseanne/17 Can't Stand My Baby

AT THE PALACE 1984-01 We Live As We Dream, Alone/02 History's Not Made By Great Men/03 Silver Lining/04 The History of the World/05 I Love a man in Unform/06 Paralysed/07 Is It Love/08 Damaged Goods/09 At Home He's a Tourist/10 To Hell With  Poverty!

Please continue with the requests, it is OK by me, trying to think of what to do ON MY OWN every day is a pain in the ass, especially after the brain trauma I suffered, so request away, and see what happens! Super Bowl weekend, take it to the fuckin bank, Seattle 27 Denver 21 how bout THAT fuckers?