BROADCAST #22
AIR DATE: 05-29-07

Fanatics! I am finally in Denmark. What should have been a one hour flight from Stockholm to here took a few extra hours. About 5 hours. Airline strike had me switch airports and take two flights and then they lost my bag, even though I saw it leave the airplane here in Copenhagen, it still took me an hour to get it. Then the promoter either didn’t wait for me or couldn’t see me even though I stood where I was supposed to. I took a cab here and ran through soundcheck and lights and will be on in a little while. I am stuck together with many layers of dried sweat but I am somehow awake and not feeling the jet lag that has been dogging me for the last few days. My dreams of going to the very fine Sex Beat record store have been dashed. I have one last chance to check out some record stores in Scando, when I have a few hours free on Friday when I will be in Helsinki Finland. As far as record stores, I have not been having a good time on this trip. I was really hoping to find some good stuff in Stockholm but it was not to be. The search is never over. I think the promoter guy found me a copy of the Sort Sol best-of, that should be pretty cool to check out. Now, what’s really the big news here of course, is this show Engineer X and I have whipped up for you. We put this together last week so we could avoid a re-broadcast and risk boring you. We may have to resort to a re-broadcast at some point this year but I want to stave it off for as long as possible. Enough of my flapping! I hope you dug the show! Thanks for listening and please tune in when we will be all the way live with another killer show. STAY FANATIC!!! --Henry

For you Fanatics who can’t live without hearing this show again or if the original broadcast time is too hard on your sleep cycle here’s the re-broadcast schedule. USA: Fridays: 0200 – 0400 hrs. PST / UK: Fridays: 1000 hrs. – 1200 hrs. / Continental Europe: Fridays 1100 hrs. – 1300 hrs. / Australia: Fridays 2100 hrs. – 2300 hrs.

Sort Sol – Off Morning: In honor of the great land of Denmark, we start tonight’s show off with a track from an early album from Denmark’s very own Sort Sol called Dagger And Guitar. Before they were Sort Sol, they were called The Sods and they released a very cool album called Minutes To Go that I have been listening to for years. Ian was the one who found The Sods but I don’t know if he ever followed up on the Sort Sol stuff. I got a copy of the Dagger And Guitar album from Lydia Lunch in 1984 on a tape as she is on the record and performs very well. I think I got my actual copy of the record in Sweden when I was there in summer 1984 in Jonokoping I think. It has been so long now that I forget how but I got a test pressing of this album. I might have gotten it from Knud, the band’s bass player. Anyway, Sort Sol, cool band I think. Great summer listening. None of their records are pressed in America I don’t think but they are worth checking out. There’s a new best of out called Circle Hits The Flame which I will try and find while in Scandinavia.

New York Dolls - Jet Boy: From the classic self-titled debut. I remember seeing this album here and there at people’s places in DC before I left town but I had never heard the album until I moved out to California in 1981. When I heard the album it knocked me out. I learned a lot about music from the Black Flag guys. I checked out so many bands and albums in my first couple of years in the band, it’s like I had never heard music before. Everyone in the band had differing tastes in music. I think it was Dez who was playing the Dolls album. Dez has great taste in music and everything he played I ended up liking pretty much. Perhaps it was in part because of how they looked that this album wasn’t a bigger deal when it came out, it’s not as if it’s not great from start to finish. I’m still playing this one.

Von Sudenfed – Flooded: From the soon to be released Tromatic Reflexxions album. Engineer X gets records weeks before they come out because he’s the man. He got this one several weeks ago and played it for me, knowing I would freak out when I heard it. Von Sudenfed is Andi Toma and Jan St. Werner of Mouse On Mars and none other than Mark E. Smith of The Fall. I don’t know anything about M.O.M. but I know a little about Mr. Smith and at this point, many of you do too. I have not seen any press on this album that comes out June 5th in America and I am seeing two release dates for the UK, June 5th and May 21st. In any case, we have a copy and you’re hearing it NOW! I have played the album twice now and it’s pretty cool but I am into it mostly because MES is on it. If it was just some guy singing, the music wouldn’t hold me really but it’s still cool. For me, it’s more Mark E Smith to listen to and that’s a good thing because I am not getting a kick from that new Fall album as yet and this is helping me somewhat. You can type the band’s name into your browser and you will probably find some info on the band. I think there’s an interview with them in the new issue of Wire Magazine.

PJ Harvey - As Close As This / My Own Private Revolution: these were the two extra tracks on the A Place Called Home CD single by PJ Harvey released in February 2001. I went through her discography recently and saw that there was a lot of her stuff I had not heard because I didn’t have all her singles. I went here and there and picked up a few and have listened to them and have come to the conclusion that they are very great and I am happy to have more of her stuff to listen to. The album this single comes from is called Stores From The City, Stories From The Sea which I must admit really didn’t do it for me when I got it compared to her other albums which grabbed me a lot quicker. This one seemed like a clean singer-songwriter kind of thing and not the raw and dangerous Polly Jean I had come to know and appreciate. I should go back and listen to this one again as it’s been awhile. I am really liking her Peel Sessions CD as well as her last album Uh Huh, Her. There’s no album of hers that’s not good, just perhaps ones you like more than others.

Daniel Higgs - O Come And Walk Along: From the Ancestral Songs album. This is Daniel Higgs from Lungfish, of course. I didn’t know this album was out and honestly, I don’t remember how I found out about it. Could have been when I was looking around online for information about one of Higgs’ other projects Pupils. In any case, I saw, I ordered and received and here it is. This is a noisy and intense record. Higgs is so great, all the Lungfish records are worth checking out. One of the Higgs joints that gets overlooked sometimes is the one he recorded for Ian MacKaye’s Northern Liberties label called Magic Alphabet. Speaking of the Northern Liberties label, I hope Ian releases more stuff on it, so far, so good, that Et At It record was really cool too but back to Daniel Higgs. He makes frightening music that speaks to your very core. He is a deep and heavy man and the resonant music comes from a great, dark well from deep inside his deepness. And it’s good.

Andrew Hill - Pittsburg Impasse: From the recently released Andrew Hill-Solo 3CD collection. I ordered it from Mosaic and looking around, I have not been able to find it retail anywhere. There are two Andrew Hill releases on Mosaic Select, I am finding the other one at Amazon.com but not this one. This set is limited to 5000 pressed. I don’t know how long that lasts in the world of Andrew Hill Fanatics but at the end of this, I will put in the site address so you can check it out if like. Two pieces from these sessions were released many years ago but now, you get all the rest of it and it’s all brilliant. I have played this set twice now and it keeps revealing itself more and more. Check this one out if you can. As you know, we lost Mr. Hill recently. http://www.mosaicrecords.com/

Ute Lemper Maskulinum –Femininum: From the Berlin Cabaret Songs CD. Back in the day (1450) someone gave me a copy of Ms. Lemper’s albums City Of Strangers and I went out and got other records of hers as soon as I could. I don’t know much about her besides she is a highly trained singer and has been in Chicago and has made a lot of records in different languages. I believe she’s German. Just type in her name into your browser thang and you can check her site. I like the music but I don’t know much about it.

Early Man - More To Me Than Meat And Eyes: From the Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters soundtrack CD. Luckily for me, Engineer X had an extra copy of this one because I was about to buy it for this one song. I am a fan of this band and always like it when a band puts an unreleased song on a film soundtrack or even better, makes a song just for the film itself, as the lads of Early Man did for this one. I don’t know anything about the film but I like I said, I am a fan of the band and tracks like this are perfect for our show. I have only played a few times but I am liking it. I hope Early Man has another record in them as the Closing In album was really cool. I like the why of their band as much as I like the music they make. Early Man is Adam Bennati on drums and Mike Conte vocals and guitar The boys were raised as Pentacostalists and upon discovering Metal, were disowned by their family and friends but went onto rock nonetheless. For that alone, I will be their fan until they call it quits. Death is the answer to my prayers, yeah!!!

The Bosstones - Mope-Itty Mope: You can find this 1959 A-side on many Doo Wop compilation CDs and box sets. I pulled this from the Doo Wop Box Vol. 4 on Rhino. The band was from Philadelphia as far as I can read and I have only heard this song and the other side of this single which is Wings Of An Angel, which is nowhere near as cool as this song.

The Planet The - Arty Movie: Form the Physical Angel album. We have listened to two tracks from their other album You Absorb My Vision and this is our first dip into this one. I like this album pretty much but like You Absorb much more. I think Arty Movie is my favorite track on this one. I don’t know much about the band, Engineer X turned me on to the band. It looks like they have not released an album in a couple of years but it very well could be they have and I don’t have the cool radar to pick up on it.

Nico - Janitor Of Lunacy (Demo): From the new 2CD set called The Frozen Borderline: 1968-1970. Nico Fanatics rejoice, or at least groan a little! With this release you get The Marble Index and Desert Shore albums, 16 tracks in all and you also get 17 outtakes and demos. For some, that’s a whole lot of Nico, I know. It’s always interesting to me when these kind releases emerge so many years after the fact, makes me wonder what other treasures sit stored waiting to be heard. It’s a shame to have music not be heard. Does that ever trip you out that all you have to do to completely nullify someone’s music is to put it out print or withhold it in any way? It’s such a fragile thing. More stuff to be heard the better I think. I was so happy when I saw this Nico record on the new release list.

Gang Wizard - The Pretty Ape: Form the Byzantine Headache CD. A California band that gives me hope that there is something left in that happy state that still kills. It’s good to hear music that destroys itself and everything around it as it comes out of the speakers. Engineer X gave me this a long time ago and I am sorry it took me this long to get it onto our show. This is one of the easier titles of this band to find. There are a lot of split singles and out of print stuff in their catalog. If you liked what you heard, the rest of the album is great like this track is. Some may call this stuff noise or anti-rock but to me that’s just lazy and dismissive thinking at this point. There are some bands that might be all lumped together and that’s ok but I think they are making real alternative music. They make a lot of alt bands sound like just so much rock. It’s about time that something came along to shake things up and these guys are part of that.

Public Image Ltd. - The Suit: From the Second Edition album or the Metal Box, depending on which version you have. Public Image Limited is getting quite a bit of play on the show this year. Well, that’s ok by me. The band’s 2nd album, Second Edition is my personal favorite of the few PIL albums I have. My original version of this album, in the metal case is still sitting over at Dischord House, all rusted out. I don’t know why I never take it with me, I think I like the idea of it half-lifing away. I have not played it for decades now. This album, to me, is the best album Lydon ever did. It’s a stark, scary and brilliant thing, a Post Punk classic. I picked a copy of PIL’s Flowers Of Romance album in London the other day, so we’ll get some stuff from that one on soon as well as the re-mix version of This Is No Love Song that was also released on the Commercial Zone album but re-mixed for the single. We heard the CZ version recently but not this version so we’ll have to get to it.

Astor Piazzolla - Butcher's Death: From my favorite Piazzolla album, The Rough Dancer And The Cyclical Night on American Clave. Under my roof, Astor Piazzolla of Argentina is the King of Tango Music. You might have someone else in mind but for me, he is the man when it comes to the Bandoneón. I have not heard a great deal of Tango music and so I don’t know how different Piazzolla was from other Tango players. I had never heard him until one time the band and I were traveling somewhere and Theo mentioned that Piazzolla was his favorite musician. I asked who he was and everyone in the band basically said, “You haven’t heard of Astor Piazzolla?!” Whatever. Just tell me a few of the records to check out and I’m on it. Melvin told me to check out Zero Hour so I went to the record store and found that album as part a 3CD set that also contained the album we checked out tonight. As soon as I heard this music, I was a total Fanatic and since have checked out many of his records. There are some I like better than others, the ones I don’t like as much is mainly because of some of the instrumentation. Astor Piazzolla passed away in 1992, I remember it because Theo took it hard.

Pere Ubu - Real World: From the classic album, The Modern Dance. I think the last time we played Pere Ubu it was from this album. I am sorry that we did not get to a different album tonight but this is the song I wanted to bring in. I have been thinking about the September 11th attacks and that no air defense was sent to investigate why these planes were doing u-turns in the sky unchecked for so many minutes. I remember voice on one of the FAA tapes asking if this was “real world” and it made me think of this song. On a happier note, there have been four recent Pere Ubu re-issues with all kinds of goodies stuffed onto them. Tenement Year, Worlds In Collision, The Story Of My Life and Cloudland are out and all re-readied for much enjoyment. You can go to the very well done Pere Ubu site to get all the wonderful details of the changes made to each CD that are too numerous to list here. All mine are on order and when they come in, believe me, we will be checking out tracks from these records. Here’s that site address: http://www.ubuprojex.net/

Terry Turtle - Don't Talk To The Dead: From Turtle’s Old Man CD. Turtle is one half of Harrisonburg VA’s Buck Gooter. You remember them, we have listened to them twice now. This CD was sent to me by Billy, the other half of the band recently. If you like what you heard and want to know more, here’s an address to check them out at: http://www.littlegrillcollective.com/bg/

Brian James Gang – Man With No Name: From the Brian James Gang CD. Brian just sent me this and tonight I listened to the whole thing and it’s really cool. It’s a very noisy and in-the-red album. Everything seems pushed hard level wise which really gives it something dangerous. As many of you Fanatics know, Mr. Brian James was in a band called The Damned and was the man who wrote songs like New Rose and Neat Neat Neat. That’s right! After his time in The Damned, which was the first two albums, he went on to play in Lords Of The New Church with Stiv Bators and then into solo stuff. I have some of it, not all of it. He’s a pal of Casey Chaos from Amen and I asked him if I Brian was cool about getting an e-mail and by way of answer, I got an e-mail from the man himself. We went back and forth a couple of times and he asked if I wanted copies of his new stuff and of course I said yes and the other day his album and EP came in the mail and now you have heard it. I hope you liked it. It’s only on import in America at the moment but perhaps that will change at some point.

Funkadelic – America Eats Its Young: From the album of the same name released in 1972. The whole gang’s on this one. Bootsy, Eddie, Catfish, Bernie, George to name a few. I didn’t hear this album all the way through until the 80’s and really liked it. There was a time when the Funkadelic stuff was pretty hard to find and then thankfully the Funkadelic catalog hit CD and the rest of us late comers got a chance to get on board. I have always been lucky to be in bands with people who had really great taste in music and I have been introduced to new music that way for years. Many years ago, I had heard a few Funkadelic albums but not all of them and never had the chance to really get into them until they hit CD. When you start to get your head around Funkadelic and Parliament records, it’s hard to imagine those guys could come up with all that music. Total immersion in the catalogs of both bands is a must.

Brian Eno – Cindy Tells Me: From one of my all time favorite albums, Here Come The Warm Jets. I never play this one in the cold months, I don’t know why. I have always thought this album was perfect for the hot nights of moist unmoving air. Here in LA where I am stationed at this time, I don’t get the moisture requirement needed for full appreciation but there’s no shortage of heat so it’s pretty good. There are some amazing players on this album, his first one after leaving Roxy Music. Among some of the monster players: Fripp, Wetton, Manzanera, Paul Rudolph of The Pink Fairies and many others. This album was remastered a few years ago and it sounds better than ever so make sure you get the 2004 mastering if you can if you don’t already have this great album.

Slayer – Catatonic: From Eno into this?! Sure! This track is from Slayer’s most recent release, Christ Illusion. There’s a lot of records to listen to these days and so I don’t get to listen to everything as many times as I want to and this is one of those records I have yet to really a lot of times. I have played this record a lot, it’s Slayer and so I am interested but I have yet to get into this album to the extent I have gotten into God Hates Us All, that one I have spent a lot of time with. I will get this one under my belt as the summer burns.