Before & After: You're So Vain

Before - Carly Simon (1972)

After - Tony Randall & Jack Klugman (1973)

3/5's of the Velvet Underground is better than none at all: Amazing footage of Lou, John & Nico at Le Bataclan 1972

 

This is amazing and a must see for fans of the Velvet Underground - fantastic footage shot in France in 1972. It marked the occasion of the first appearance together of Lou Reed, John Cale & Nico, since the break up of the band that these three appeared on stage together. Recordings have been bootlegged over the years (now available legally), but I've never seen the footage. Just amazing! Unfortunately I can't post it here as embedding has been disabled, but you can see it here on YouTube.

Cocksucker Blues

We've run it before, and we'll run it again...as long as it keeps popping up online.
Watch it while you can.

Friday Ephemera: Roxy Music (1972)

"Threatens to revitalize the entire world of rock 'n' roll."

The Smith Tapes - released tomorrow & Kickstarter campaign ending soon!

From the NY Times today, The Smith Tapes: "...more than 100 interviews with rock stars, artists and assorted radicals recorded from 1969 to 1972 by Howard Smith, a longtime writer for The Village Voice. They have now been cataloged and packaged for the digital era as “The Smith Tapes” and will be released in monthly batches over the next year. The first, with John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Lou Reed, Frank Zappa, Mr. Clapton and others, comes out Tuesday through Amazon’s MP3 store and next week on iTunes. Read the entire article here. If physical formats are more your thing, donate to the Kickstarter campaign (trailer below)which will make available a boxset of these recordings.

The Smith Tapes - Facebook
The Smith Tapes - Tumblr
The Smith Tapes - Soundcloud
The Smith Tapes - Kickstarter







The Smith Tapes Box Set - 

Charles Mingus Cat Toilet Training Program

Thanks to the official Charles Mingus website for this one:  

In 1972 Charles put together the "Cat-alog"-- an instructional pamphlet for toilet training your cat. It took him about three or four weeks to train his cat, Nightlife. "You've got to get the cat thinking!"

Charles Mingus Cat Toilet Training Program

1. First, you must train your cat to use a home-made cardboard litter box, if you have not already done so. (If your box does not have a one-piece bottom, add a cardboard that fits inside, so you have a false bottom that is smooth and strong. This way the box will not become soggy and fall out at the bottom. The grocery store will have extra flat cardboards which you can cut down to fit exactly inside your box.)

Be sure to use torn up newspaper, not kitty litter. Stop using kitty litter. (When the time comes you cannot put sand in a toilet.)

Once your cat is trained to use a cardboard box, start moving the box around the room, towards the bathroom. If the box is in a corner, move it a few feet from the corner, but not very noticeably. If you move it too far, he may go to the bathroom in the original corner. Do it gradually. You've got to get him thinking. Then he will gradually follow the box as you move it to the bathroom. (Important: if you already have it there, move it out of the bathroom, around, and then back. He has to learn to follow it. If it is too close to the toilet, to begin with, he will not follow it up onto the toilet seat when you move it there.) A cat will look for his box. He smells it. (Continued after the jump)

Movie of the Week: Deep Purple Live In Concert 1972-1973 Copenhagen & NewYork

I have a friend, old enough to remember, who insists that any contemporary band would shit their pants if they caught Deep Purple in the era this concert footage dates from. I can't say I agree, but I love to hear him say it.

For more Deep Purple, click here.

Movie of the Week: Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band - Full Beat Club Sessions, Bremen (4/12/72)

Photo by Philippe Gras

Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band
Radio Bremen, Funkhaus, Bremen, Germany
TV Program 'Beat Club'
April 12, 1972
1. Hair Pie Bass Solo (The Mascara Snake) (0:00)
2. Click Clack Take 1 (3:08)
3. Click Clack Take 2 (6:51)
4. Golden Birdies and Band Intro (8:18)
5. I'm Gonna Booglaraize You Baby Take 1 (11:12)
6. I'm Gonna Booglaraize You Baby Take 2 (15:41)
7. Steal Softly Through Snow (Band Instrumental) (20:49)
8. I'm Gonna Booglaraize You Baby Take 3 (24:18)

Movie of the Week: The Harder They Come (1972)

The film & soundtrack that pretty much propelled reggae music (and Jimmy Cliff) into the international consciousness, The Harder They Come is the story of Ivanhoe “Ivan” Martin (Jimmy Cliff) who moves to Kingston and struggles to find work. He proves to be a talented reggae singer, but can only release a record by signing away the rights to music mogul Hilton (Bob Charlton), who pays him a meager $20. His friend Jose (Carl Bradshaw) introduces him to the marijuana trade and Ivan eventually becomes a violent outlaw.

The hit record soundtrack includes now standard reggae fare with tracks by Cliff, Desmond Dekker, Toots & The Maytals, The Melodians, and others.

Buy the DVD here.
Buy the soundtrack here.

Movie of the Week - The MC5: Live on the Beat Club (1972)

Explosive!

1. Kick Out the Jams - 0:00
2. Ramblin' Rose - 9:03
3. Motor City's Burning - 13:00
4. Tonight - 18:15
5. Black To Comm - 26:20

Movie of the Week - David Bowie and the Story of Ziggy Stardust

Shot by Mick Rock

Didn't I Blow Your Mind This Time: The Delfonics, Harlem NYC, 1972

The Delfonics in front of the Apollo Theater, 125th Street, NYC, May 1972. Read the story behind this stunning photograph over at The Loose Book. Its available in the book, Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing: The Apollo Theater and American Entertainment.

Shot By: Robert Frank - The Stones Exile In Hollywood (1972)

Movie of the Week - Cocksucker Blues

 

 Cocksucker Blues by Robert Frank, 1972:

 

Beefheart radio & TV commercials 1970-1973

Lick My Decals Off Baby spot C:


Lick My Decals Off Baby spot B:


Lick My Decals Off Baby spot A:


Beefheart-Cooder tour spot B:


Beefheart-Cooder tour spot A:


Clear Spot spots A & B with Wolfman Jack:


Warner Reprise combo spot:


Thanks to T. Tex for sharing this little zipfile of goodness. Grab everything here, and get:

• Clear Spot spots A & B (Wolfman Jack)
• Warner-Reprise combo spot
• Beefheart-Cooder tour spots A & B
• Lick My Decals Off Baby spots A, B & C
• Lick My Decals Off Baby TV spot

The Sacred Triangle - Bowie, Iggy, & Lou 1971-1973

Now available on DVD at See of Sound

Leonard Cohen - Bird On A Wire

Available in September from See of Sound is this wonderful film of Leonard Cohen performing in 1972. Also, of interest is this blog by film maker Tony Palmer (pictured left) detailing his restoration of the film in preparation for the DVD release, and debunking myth's at the same time.



Originally released in 1972 and directed by celebrated British filmmaker Tony Palmer, Bird on a Wire follows Cohen on his 1972 European tour and contains 17 classic performances, 4 poems and tour footage. After several edits it was relreleased in 1974. Like many films from the era it was thought that the original print had been lost, but in 2009 more than 290 rolls of film in rusted cans were discovered containing much of the original rushes and soundtrack of the 1972 film. Tony Palmer was able to restore much of this footage and it is now available on DVD for the first time. Also included is a limited edition reproduction of the iconic 1972 film poster and is in deluxe digipak packaging.

Track Listing * Avalanche * Suzanne * Tonight Will Be Fine * Passing Through * Sisters of Mercy * Who By Fire? * Story of Isaac * One Of Us Can't Be Wrong * The Partisan * Sisters of Mercy * Chelsea Hotel * Nancy * Famous Blue Raincoat * Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye * So Long, Marianne * Bird On A Wire

MC5 - Gold again

In 1972, the MC5 had three songs used on a soundtrack for a long forgotten film entitled Gold. It turns out that this film will be getting the reissue treatment at the end of July. As it says on IMDB, the tagline for the film was "A turned on tale of the new American dream." Okay... If you can tell me what this means after watching the trailer below you're a better man than I.

Although it will be interesting to hear the MC5's music in the context of the movie, something tells me the music itself is the best part. If you want to skip the movie, pick up a copy of Babes In Arms from ROIR - a long in-print compilation of MC5 rarities that is out of this world.



Thanks to Retro Kimmer for the news. Read more about Gold and the MC5, and download a clip of the film here.

Stones In Exile - the art discussion and connecting dots

Lets connect some dots, shall we? With the recent reissue of the Stones' Exile On Main Street, and the release of the Exile documentary, there's been a lot of talk about the album, the "new" tracks, the musicians...everything except the artwork. For me, the artwork has always been fascinating, and added hugely to my perception of it, and the Stones themselves, for a long time. In case anyone else is interested, I wanted to point the way to a few articles & links that discuss & display the art for this landmark album. After all, designer John Van Hamersveld used previously published work by legendary artists in their own right - photographers Diane Arbus and Robert Frank (the director of Cocksucker Blues). The images above & below are courtesy of Van Hamersveld's site. I definitely recommend a visit.



I suggest reading the following:

About the artwork at RockPopGallery: "...when the buying public took their first look at the design and imagery of the sprawling record cover, most people admitted that they didn’t “get it”. Having just soaked in Warhol’s ultimately-iconic "cover with a zipper" for Sticky Fingers, fans should have been ready for anything, but John Van Hamersveld’s designs seemed to confound them..." Continued here.

On a personal note, Godlis discusses his take on the album, Diane Arbus, Robert Frank, and the beginning of his own serious journey into photography: "With the Stones re-release of Exile on Main Street this week, I've found myself thinking about how closely tied in this album is with my own relationship to the medium of photography. In the summer of 1971, the Rolling Stones were down in the south of France, recording the basic tracks for Exile. That same summer - on July 26,1971 - Diane Arbus took her own life in her apartment at Westbeth in New York City. Within months of her tragic death - "late fall of 1971" - plans were already underway for a book and a retrospective show at the Museum of Modern Art. This according to Neil Selkirk, who personally made all the prints for the exhibition at Diane Arbus' own darkroom on 29 Charles Street in the West Village (His fascinating essay that is the centerpiece in the "Diane Arbus Revelations" catalog is must reading)." Continued here.