HARMONY IN MY HEAD

BROADCAST #21
AIR DATE: 05-16-06

Hello Fanatics! I do hope you enjoyed the show tonight. I thought we brought out some great songs. I am back from the studio and will send this into Tony, our site guy so he can get these notes up to you. It’s late but I still have some work to do which means I have enough time to listen to Eno’s Here Come The Warm Jets again. It’s an every night thing at the moment. I get into these jags where I have to listen to a record over and over. I imagine many of you have the same problem with records or songs you’re into. I hope that you dug the Pseudo Existors tracks we listened to and that you check out the record on Overground. Until next week, stay Fanatic!!!

--Henry (Fanatic from Washington DC)

For you Europeans, Australians and New Zealand Fanatics, there is a re-broadcast time of Friday mornings, 0200 – 0400 hrs. West coast time so you all can check out the show and not have to set your alarms to too rude an hour. If you want to download this show, http://www.rollins-archive.com/ is the place to go for that.

Unrest - Make Out Club: I know I am driving you crazy with all the Unrest. I have been on an Unrest jag for weeks now and I can’t get off it. I am playing Perfect Teeth, the album this song is from, all the time. Did any of you Fanatics notice that their split single with Shudder To Think is on two different labels? Big Drag and Union Hall?

The Birthday Party - Capers: From the Prayers On Fire album. This album doesn’t get mentioned enough as the brilliant piece of work it is. Not to take anything away from the efforts of Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds, they’re amazing but you would be remiss not to check out every single BP release. I think you all know by now that The Birthday Party and The Bad Seeds both have Nick Cave and Mick Harvey in common. Previous to that, they were both in the Boys Next Door, which was just the BP under a different name. They BND album Door, Door is really cool as well. All this stuff is in print and shouldn’t be missed. Short Discography of The Birthday Party: Prayers On Fire, Junkyard, The Bad Seed EP, Mutiny In Heaven EP.

Sightings – Internal Compass: From the Arrived In Gold album. NYC’s minimalist sound annihilators with their latest. Their work definitely separates the wheat from the chaff. I don’t think the lads go out of their way to clear rooms with their craft, I think it’s just the way they’re hearing sound. We’ve played these guys before and we will no doubt be back to them. For those of you who have not yet experienced the glorious aural evisceration of Sightings, you might find their sonic landscape impenetrable at first. Some might just call it a bunch of noise and be done with it but if you really listen, there’s a lot going on. A lot more going on than in most rock and roll camps. This is hungry music, nonstandard and uncompromising.

The Stooges – Down On The Street: I was told that the original title of this song was Down On The Beach. The song’s opening line “Down on the beach where the faces shine” make sense in a different way than it had all these years. I thought the reference was to faces shining under streetlights, which I thought was kind of cool. No mater, the song and the album it came from Fun House are amazing. I have to think you Fanatics have this one already but if you don’t, Fun House is one of those completely essential records I think. Hopefully The Stooges will be heading out for festival dates this summer and you never know, there could be an album at some point. Fingers crossed. Seeing The Stooges play in Australia this year was one of the best live music experiences I have ever had. Right up there with Zeppelin, Clash, Bad Brains, Minor Threat, etc. Iggy and company still kill it.

Amen - Justified: The phone at my office rang a few days ago, Mr. Casey Chaos on the line. He was back in America after a long stint in Scandinavia. He told me he was al done with a new Amen album. I will do my best to get a track to play before the record comes out so we can all bask in the greatness of Amen’s superior strength and brutality. Tonight you get a track from their malevolent masterpiece We Have Come For Your Parents.

The Brief Weeds – Magic Pail: From the Songs Of Innocence And Experience EP on K records. The Weeds hail from Washington DC. To be enjoyed and not taken all that seriously. It’s Brendan and Guy from Fugazi and Rites Of Spring along with Eddie who was also in Rites. All four lads were in One Last Wish. For the Brief Weeds, they all copped British accents and fake names. For fun, they actually recorded several songs, many of which are actually really great. It’s interesting to me that even when these guys were just fooling around, they were pretty damn good. I was always a fan of The Brief Weeds and would request a copy of their most recent low-tech adventure. This stuff is all at least 20 years old now but still really cool. They eventually released two singles on K Records: Songs Of Innocence And Experience EP and A Very Generous Portrait EP.

One Last Wish – Break To Broken: While we’re on the topic, let’s listen to a One Last Wish track. I am so glad they finally decided to put this one out. The band played a handful of shows in 1986 and recorded in November of 1986. I saw their first show in late summer of that year. I don’t think they played many times. They recorded the tape and it sat for years. Finally, it was released and it’s in print right now from the friendly folks at Dischord. Here’s the band info address: http://www.dischord.com/bands/onelastwish.shtml.

The Fall – Hip Priest: From the one of the best records I have. The Fall’s 1982 Hex Induction Hour. This album was just re-released, complete with remastering and extra tracks. If you are going to get one Fall album and this was the one, you would be doing alright. This is one of those moments a band has that they never get back but somehow The Fall kept cracking it open album after album. Too bad we’re not going to get our live shows out west as The Fall have imploded, exploded—something. They’re not going to finish their American dates. This will be the 2nd one in a row where the band didn’t make it out here. I have to wonder if at some point, promoters will start to consider them too high risk to book. Let’s hope not. I am waiting on my remastered and expanded edition of Are You Are Missing Winner to arrive. We’ll get into that album as soon as it gets here. That unofficial Fall site address again: http://www.visi.com/fall/.

Kraftwerk – Pocket Calculator (Dentaku): This is an interesting version of Kraftwerk’s Pocket Calculator from their album Computer World. Some of you Fanatics might remember we listened to the band doing this song in German (Taschenrechner). I was told there was yet another version in Japanese and so I put that in one of the show notes and one of the Fanatics sent me a file of the song, which we are listening to tonight. I was also told there is a version done in French. I have not heard it yet. When and if I get a copy of that, I will play it.

Spizzoil – Cold City: Spizz is probably best known for his 4th single, Where’s Captain Kirk released in 1979 on Rough Trade. Tonight we’re going for the 1t track off his 2nd single with this song plus Red & Black, Solrisation and Platform 3. I don’t know much about Spizz. I heard this song on a compilation album called Labels Unlimited. I just found this best of called Where's Captain Kirk: Very Best Of Spizz and I picked it up to check out more of the man and to play this song for you. Hope you dug it.
http://www.spizzenergi.com/spizz/index.html

Sun Ra – Friendly Love I: From the Friendly Love album. From 1973. Wasn’t released at the time but released now, thanks to the good folks at Evidence. Another album from 1973 that appeared on Impulse, Pathways to Unknown Worlds is paired up on the same CD as Friendly Love. I wonder of Friendly was part of the Impulse deal and the label chose not to release it. I’m sure someone somewhere knows. It’s great that we’re now being inundated with Sun Ra CDs, DVDs and LPs. May it never end.

The Pseudo Existors – Poison / Beyond the Zone: Fanatics rejoice! John Esplen and his label Overground Records has done it again. Many years ago, I bought a compilation album of bands on the Dead Good label called East. The band that really stuck out was the Pseudo Existors. I knew nothing about them. I asked other people, no one had that record and no one had any information on the band. Years later, I found out they had an EP on Dead Good. I managed to find one. The cuts on it were: Pseudo Existence, Coming Up For Air, Now and Modern Warfare. All great. At some point, an LP of the EP, East comp. cuts and other tracks came out as a not so great sounding LP called Stamp Out Normality. So, a couple of weeks ago, Esplen writes to tell me that he’s releasing a CD of all this stuff under the same title as the LP. I write back with Fanatic enthusiasm of course and ask him what he knows about the album version. He says his version is coming from real tape and it sounds great. It arrived here the other day and it sounds fantastic. What a cool band. So, out of the Fanatic state of enthusiasm this release has put me in, we are playing two tracks off this newly released CD. Please check out the Overground label. John had great taste in music and always takes risks in the stuff he releases. This Pseudo Existors release is a perfect example of doing the right thing and standing up for the music. Dig it Fanatics!! http://www.overgroundrecords.co.uk/.

The Evens - Mt. Pleasant Isn’t: Another track from The Evens 1st and only release so far. The Evens as many of you Fanatics know is Ian MacKaye and Amy Farina. Ian has been in a few bands here and there, Teen Idles, Minor Threat, Embrace, Fugazi, nothing of any great consequence of course, but worth mentioning all the same. Amy, some of you may know from her work with The Warmers, a solid Dischord Records outfit. As far as I know, the Evens are working on another album at the moment and will get that one out as soon as they can.

The Warmers - Iwaay: From The Warmers self-titled LP. I was living in NYC around the time the Warmers were playing out. I got to see them at Brownie’s I think. They were great live. Recently, Dischord released a post LP session they did as an EP and I was glad of it. I had them on CDR for a long time and was glad to see them getting out there. Both of these records are great and if you liked what you heard tonight and have not checked tem out, both LP and EP are great and in print from your pals at Dischord. http://www.dischord.com/

The Dregs EP: Dregs Of Humanity / I’m Insane / Fatal Attraction / Schoolgirls In Bondage. One of the classic E-bay pay too much records. This is a great post first wave Punk 7”. My favorite track on the record is I’m Insane, especially the count-in at the top. And then there’s Schoolgirls In Bondage, I hate to let down the side on this one but come on, how ridiculous but how great. The kind of song you write when you have absolutely nothing to say but you’re going to say it anyway. I can’t seem to find any info on these guys. I can’t remember how I got to them. I have had the record for a long time. s

Brian Eno – Dead Finks Don’t Talk: From Here Come The Warm Jets. What can one say about Eno?! Eno, the genius composer, producer, innovator, ETC. Stuff Eno did 30 years ago are still being ripped off now. If Eno resonates with you, it might turn out to be one of the greatest and most substantial music connections you will ever make. When I listen to the Warm Jets album, I am always so happy I got into his work. I listen to this album a lot in the summer for some reason and plan on playing it a lot this year. Eno is a universe unto himself.

The Lurkers – Gerald: From the classic Fulham Fallout album. Many of you Fanatics know how much I love the Lurkers. Evers since I heard them in the late 70’s, I have been a Lurkers fanatic. Playing this song tonight because there’s moments on this song that remind me of Dead Finks by Eno. If you have not checked out Fulham Fallout and the
Great follow-up album God’s Lonely Men, they are both fantastic and thanks to the Captain Oi! label, both records are in print on CD with all kinds of extra tracks.

Art Tatum – I Would Do Anything For You: It’s great to have the latitude on this show that we have and it’s great to know that you Fanatics are open minded and always up for pretty much anything I bring. I am sure there’s been quite a few songs that didn’t do it for you or you thought were awful but thanks for listening to them all the same. Engineer X and I were in a conversation the other day about Jazz pianists. There’s a great story in a Fats Waller biography where Fats took Art to bars around wherever it was they were, New York, Philadelphia, I forget and let Art shred on the omnipresent piano and reap the free beer that came their way. When you hear the argument/discussion trying to determine who the greatest Jazz pianist of all time was. Art Tatum and Bud Powell are often names you hear and it’s not for nothing. The track you heard tonight was from The Standard Sessions on Music & Arts. http://www.duke.edu/~njh3/biography.html.