Just Because - Mo-Dettes

A recently unearthed video rarity from 1979..."White Mice" by the Mo-Dettes. Fantastic!

More New York nightclub footage

Following up from the great video from The Tube earlier this summer, here's another find: A trip through more clubs of 1980s New York City, albeit slightly more underground and on the performance art side of things. Included are the Palladium, Limelight, Danceteria, Wah Wah Hut, Mars, The Copa and more. Karen Finley, Ethyl Eichelberger, Michael Musto, Holly Woodlawn, Kenny Kenny, Jayne County, and others make appearances. This montage is from the videos of Nelson Sullivan, created by Robert Coddington for the Avant-Garde-A-Rama at PS 122 NYC.



As an added bonus, here's some sort of TV commercial made for the Ritz (now Webster Hall for those of you who don't know). Judging by the quality, I'd say it was made for cable access.

Upcoming shows

The recently reunited Naked Raygun hit the northeast for some shows to recapture that feeling. If the NY-area shows weren't on a weekend, I'd be there trying to recapture that feeling myself.



The folks at Part Time Punks have put together another great retro nostalgia trip this year. Maybe even better than last year. The October 11 all-dayer in LA will include appearances by the Raincoats, Section 25, my buddies Medium Medium, The Jazz Butcher (glad to see he's still at it), Kid Congo Powers, and more. Tickets are currently only $20.00 - what a bargain! Buy tickets here.

Daily travels

From the Dutchess County Fair 2009. It made me want to be a farmer:

Ellie Greenwich RIP

Ellie Greenwich - RIP

Andy Warhol's Index & Nico letter to Danny Fields

An extremely rare & wonderful book published in December 1967, a copy is currently available on eBay. As the description states, it's even rarer to find this with the Velvet Underground flexi, as well as most of the pop-ups intact. Click on the images for a closer look.



"Andy Warhol's Index is a rare 1960's art book featuring many photos of the Velvet Underground and other Warhol Factory associates, and a paper record of the Velvet Underground's unreleased track "Noise." It is rarely found with the disc and all the elements present, as is the case here; all pop ups, fold outs, and other gimmicks are present and in good condition save for a broken (but easily replaceable) rubber band in the pop up cube, and a balloon melted between it's 2 pages (every copy we've seen has these flaws, which occur with the passage of time.) Only one of the 8 "tear out" strips on the second to last page is present, and the Velvet Underground disc is detached, as is commonly found. In VG+ condition, with some light impressions on the foil front cover. A great artifact of Warhol, the Velvets, and the 60's."



Also available from the same seller, is a handwritten letter from Nico to Danny Fields, dated March 1st, 1974.

Here's an extraordinary Velvet Underground rarity--a handwritten letter from former Velvets lead singer Nico to Danny Fields, her longtime friend and A&R man (who signed her to Elektra Records.) Dated March 1, 1974 Nico asks Fields for help in locating two posters she particularly liked and wanted to reprint to advertise concerts she was giving in France. She goes on to say she is "drowning in the melting snow," mentions that her old friends Paul (Morrissey) and Andy (Warhol) are acting "kind of hostile" towards her, "because I do not see myself running around like a doll. I look more like a prehistoric figure with rags hanging around her & worn out boots." She mentions "I was busted last September" and "how it is interesting how one likes to react to violence. Somehow ones ability does not remain so limited."





Lastly, hands up for how many folks knew the Velvets played with Sly & the Family Stone...I don't see any hands. Well, they did.

The Bronx 1979

New York Times reporter David Gonzalez shares some memories & wonderful photos of the south Bronx, circa 1979. View the slide show (with audio) here.

Ephemera Friday - Borscht & Chappaquiddick

Thanks to my long lost friend Debbie U for sending these along! What a pleasant surprise.

Chappaquiddick flyer for our demo tape, 1983:


Borscht collage flyer that I don't recognize, 1983 or 84:

Your Heart Out #10 - Folklore - out now

The tenth issue of Your Heart Out is now available to download for free. Affectionately known by the codename: Folklore. That's folklore as in the study of traditional beliefs or at least beliefs popularly held. That's folklore as in new perspectives, invectives and necessary mischief. Or to put it in more conventional terms, the new issue features Postcard's last stand, UK hip hop's winning hand, folk, blues, bossa and beyond ...

And of course, don't forget our brothers & sisters in arms at:
The London Nobody Sings and The New York Nobody Sings.

Eggs & Sausage

Here's a beautiful little custom video for Tom Waits' Eggs & Sausage made by Jackie Lay. Thanks to Debbie D for the link!

Eggs and Sausage from Jackie Lay on Vimeo

From Joy Division To Happy Mondays

Thanks to Cerysmatic Factory for pointing the way to this great historical doc on Factory Records. Let's hope it stays up for a while. BBC 4 documentary about the legendary record label Factory Records. Footage and interviews with members of Joy Division, New Order, Section 25, Happy Mondays and more...

Before & After: Going Up the Country

Before:


After:

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Here's the next film from Wes Anderson, and it's a version of one of my favorite childhood books, Roald Dahl's Fantastic Mr. Fox. While it looks like it will be fun, and I plan on seeing it, I must admit to being disappointed that it's all American accents. They're supposed to be British! Surely, Wes, you of all people must have realized this. This should be out around Thanksgiving.

Arthur Kane: I, Doll

I, Doll: Life and Death with the New York Dolls by Arthur "Killer" Kane
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3 stars for the curiosity factor alone. Enjoyable enough but it could have used much better editing, and overall thought to the whole presentation.

One overriding thought struck me while reading most of the book - that I've never read a memoir like this where the protagonist(s) seem to lack any responsibility for themselves at all. Kane seems to hold everyone else responsible for the failure of the band. It was a revelation as well as to how much he claimed to hate David Johansen. For hardcore Dolls fans only.

ON/OFF: Mark Stewart from The Pop Group To the Maffia

This Thursday in Los Angeles there will be a screening of "ON/OFF: Mark Stewart from The Pop Group To the Maffia." Does anyone know if this will be screening in New York? I had mentioned this a year ago, and the DVD was supposed to be released last November, but I haven't heard anything since...if anyone knows anything please leave a comment or email me.

Date: Thursday, August 20, 2009
Time: 8:00pm - 11:30pm
Location: The Silent Movie Theater, 611 N. Fairfax, Los Angeles, CA
Buy tickets: http://cinefamily.org/calendar/thursday.html#on

"This one's a must for all post-punk junkies! The name of singer/industrial hip-hop pioneer Mark Stewart may not be instantly familiar, but his influence is felt the world over. From his early days with confrontational post-punk pioneers The Pop Group to his myriad collaborations with acts like Trent Reznor, Massive Attack and Primal Scream, Stewart has provided ghostly beats and haunting vocals for over thirty years, and shows no signs of stopping.

German filmmaker Tøni Schifer, who followed Stewart with a camera for three years, has crafted a detailed, intimate portrait of the artist, supplemented by interviews with Stewart himself, his Pop Group co-horts Dan Catsis, Gareth Sager and John Waddington, Keith Levine (P.I.L.), Janine Rainforth (Maximum Joy), Douglas Hart (The Jesus & Mary Chain), Fritz Catlin (23 Skidoo), Daniel Miller (Mute Records), Nick Cave, Mick Harvey, Massive Attack and many others, plus some terrific never-before-seen vintage performance footage. Plus, the scenes of the wildly eccentric Stewart interacting with his mother are not to be missed! Straight from Berlin, director Tøni Schifer will be in attendance for a post-screening Q&A, and Part Time Punks DJ Michael Stock will be on-hand throughout the night to spin a heavy dose of post-punk history!"

Even more Woodstock memories - Beginning or end?

Friend of Stupefaction, Ed Ward, has a terrific piece on the Woodstock Festival 40 years later in the Boston Phoenix. It may not be what you expect...

"I didn't go to Woodstock. But I was teaching a "student-initiated course" in pop-music history at Antioch College at the time, and a number of my students announced that they were going to miss a couple of classes because they had tickets to Woodstock that they'd bought through the mail. Although I was their age — or a little younger — I had no desire to join them, and I warned them that the thing would be crawling with cops."

Jim Dickinson RIP

Jim Dickinson - RIP

Destination Venus

Thanks to Lindsay for bringing this to my attention...Faye & Eugene from the Rezillos/Revillos discuss their career in this half hour doc:

In Tom Waits neighborhood

Courtesy of Creative Review

Waits / Corbijn

Photographer Anton Corbijn will have a new book collecting his work with Mr. Tom Waits published some time in September. Click here to pre-order "Waits".

Michael Viner RIP

Michael Viner - RIP. Visit the New York Nobody Sings for more information.

Rashied Ali RIP

Rashied Ali - RIP

With Don Cherry & James Blood Ulmer:

Les Paul RIP

Les Paul - RIP


For more info on this film visit Les Paul Film.

With Mary Ford:

Good luck with that

Click on the image for a closer view:

More Woodstock memories

In case you've been under a rock lately, you'll know that this coming weekend is the 40th anniversary of the Woodstock happening in the good old upstate Empire State. This Thursday, the folks at Morrison Hotel Gallery will be throwing a shindig at their Bowery space in honor of this.

Woodstock festival photographer (and MHG co-founder) Henry Diltz, and Woodstock festival producer Michael Lang, will be on hand to sign copies of The Woodstock Experience (Genesis Publications), a limited edition double book set with text by Lang and photos by Diltz. Michael Lang will also sign copies of his just released book The Road to Woodstock (Harper Collins). At 7PM the Morrison Hotel Gallery will unveil a special exhibition of photographs, some never before seen, from Woodstock '69 in honor of the 40th anniversary of the storied festival. The exhibit will feature iconic photographs of many Woodstock performers and the large festival crowds. Photographs by Diltz, Jim Marshall, Baron Wolman and Lisa Law will be on display and available to purchase.

Where: 313 Bowery, NYC 10003
When: Thursday, August 13, 5:00PM-until?

Alright, now who's getting the Altamont tribute together?

Liquid Liquid at Lincoln Center

Here's a review of the Lincoln Center show from Saturday.

The Liquid Liquid portion is brief but good: "After so overwhelming a display of maximalist firepower, Liquid Liquid’s spare, insistent funk provided welcome contrast. The group’s lean, propulsive mix of disco, dub and punk elements, fashioned with the vocalist Salvatore Principato’s quasi-nonsensical keening and yelping, Dennis Young’s perky marimba, Richard McGuire’s throbbing bass lines and the drummer Scott Hartley’s rock-steady beat, has had an incalculable impact among hip-hop and postrock circles. Here, as if preserved in amber, the group sounded as tight, kinetic and provocative as ever."

In the opening paragraph, it says LL played at Paradise Garage - does anyone know if that's true? It also says there were 10,000 at the show on Saturday. It was packed, very crowded, but that number seems high to me.

Here's a decent video of the Rhys Chatham finale:

Daily travels

Flipping through records in a used vinyl store in Kingston, NY, today, I came upon this not very common, but not very good, "new wave" compilation/marketing exercise released by A&M Records in the early 1980's. The weird thing is is that someone (could it be you, Phil?) took a sticker from my old band, Chappaquiddick +5 (circa 1983-1984) and stuck it on the cover. I did a double take! They also stuck a Michelob beer sticker on there, but I know nothing about that.

Willy Deville RIP

Willy Deville - RIP. Thanks to Lindsay for the link.

John Hughes RIP

John Hughes - RIP

Just Because - Dexy's Midnight Runners

Punking Out

If you liked yesterday's post regarding the Blank Generation film, you'll love this as well.

Punking Out was filmed in 1977 around CBGB and features some high quality, in-your-face, front row footage of the Dead Boys, Ramones, and Richard Hell & the Voidoids performing, as well as interviews with club employees and fans, including a VERY young couple of kids by the names of Lydia Lunch and James Chance. Visit the film's official website. A DVD of the movie is available for only $14.95. That's a steal! Plus, you're buying it directly from the filmmaker himself.

Here's the trailer. The quality of the actual DVD looks a lot better than this video does: Punking Out

Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer

Someone shared this on Facebook yesterday, and I was reminded of the godlike genius of Phil Hartman, god rest his hilarious soul...

The Blank Generation

Trailer:


Part 1 (Patti Smith, Television):


Part 2 (Ramones, Talking Heads):


Part 3 (Tuff Darts, Wayne County):


Part 4 (Blondie, Harry Toledo):


Part 5 (Marbles, Miamis, Shirts, CBGB’s New Year’s Party):


Part 6 (New York Dolls, Heartbreakers):


Visit the official Blank Generation film website.

Billy Lee Riley RIP

Billy Lee Riley - RIP. Thanks to Lindsay and the Hound for the news.