New Book of Note: Sounds of Two Eyes Opening by legendary SST Producer/Engineer, Spot

A new photography book by Spot is available now. You may remember seeing his name on countless releases (including Black Flag, the Minutemen, and Husker Du) on the SST label. Sounds of Two Eyes Opening looks back at SoCal life from the very late 60's through the early 80's.

Order it direct from the publisher, or on Amazon.

Corporate rock still sucks: A TV commercial for SST and Cruz Records

Hat tip to Joe Carducci

Movie of the Week: Reality 86'd (with Black Flag, Painted Willie & Gone, 1986)

Here's an extra holiday weekend edition of Movie of the Week:

Every touring independent band on the road these days owes a debt to Black Flag. Reality 86'd is a first hand look into the mid-80's American scene, featuring three SST bands on tour (the label's usual practice back then of packaging bands together on the road), it would be Black Flag's final fling as they toured behind the album, In My Head. Hat tip to Music Ruined My Life.

Three bands and crew, 2 Dodge Ram extended cab vans, one equipment truck, one PA system traverse the continental US for six months. A road documentary shot from the inside of the last Black Flag tour ever (the 1986 In My Head US tour.) Featuring behind the scenes proceedings and live performances from Black Flag, Painted Willie, and Gone (Ginn's side project, then featuring Sim Cain and Andrew Weiss (later of the Rollins Band). David Markey was along for the entire trip as the drummer/singer for Painted Willie, documenting the six month tour with his Super-8 camera as it happened. Also features roadie Joe ("Planet Joe") Cole, soundmen Davo Claasen and Dave "Ratman" Levine, and the tour manager who kept it all together, Mitch Bury. A crucial turning point in American underground rock. The end of the line for a trail blazing American band.

Shot in 1986 and completed by director David Markey in 1991 for We Got Power Films.

Less Than Zero

Art by Raymond Pettibon. Source, Black Flag Facebook.

Friday Ephemera: Black Flag

Source

Joe Carducci invades NYC and WFMU

Best known as the author of Rock and The Pop Narcotic, Friend of the blog, Joe Carducci, will be in New York next week for some readings as well as an appearance on John Allen's WFMU show. Besides his books, he is also known for his tireless work at SST during its peak years in the 1980's. He's one interesting dude.

Here are all of the details:

Reading & book signing:
Book Thug Nation
http://bookthugnation.com/pages/about
100 N. 3rd St., Brooklyn
on Friday, October 12, 7:30pm


He'll be reading from (the links go to Joe's very own book dealing/publishing website - order direct!):

LIFE AGAINST DEMENTIA - Essays, Reviews, Interviews 1975-2011
"The learning is profound, the critique is total." - James Parker

ENTER NAOMI - SST, L.A. and All That...
"I was totally consumed by it to the point that I was one of those douchebags that reads whilst walking along." - Layla Gibbon

WYOMING STORIES - Yeung Girl, The Winter Hand, Homo Vampyrus
"I like how you write." - Budd Boetticher

ROCK AND THE POP NARCOTIC - Testament for the Electric Church
"#1 atop the Stolen-by-a-supposed-friend chart twenty-years running!" - Rentrak

On October 10, he'll be a guest on John Allen's WFMU show from 6:00AM to 9:00AM. Here's the 2008 2-parter John & Joe did that's the only audio chronology of L.A. Punk extant in cyberspace:
http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/29352
http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/29667

Guess what? Corporate Rock Still Sucks...

Or, how the snake keeps eating its own tail. Over at the New Vulgate, Joe Carducci chimes in & adds some much needed perspective on the Nirvana Nevermind anniversary, the recent issue of Billboard magazine memorializing the grunge scene, along with SST Records & the early days of the alternative & independent label//distribution scene.

There still is a Billboard magazine, but somehow its recent cover story on the 20th anniversary of not so much Seattle or grunge or Sub-Pop, but of Geffen Records’ release of Nirvana’s “Nevermind”, or rather its platinum breakthrough, made me wonder if the dead are now memorializing the living -- they seemed so much more alive than we, after all. It isn’t a very good issue, but the wonder is that the magazine staff managed to cough up any kind of major themed effort. And given there is no current cultural activity that warrants the effort it would have to be part of a celebration of some contrived numeric anniversary of some major copyright property. This may be why the lead names touted on the cover do not include Bruce Pavitt or Jack Endino.

“How we won. What we saw. What we lost.” Sounds like Billboard itself is speaking from the grave. If it really wants to know what we lost they might have observed the thirtieth of SST Records back in ’08 if the recording of Black Flag’s debut 45 is the marker, or this November if the “Damaged” album’s release is the ancient totemic idol. Admittedly Greg Ginn is not the conventional copyright holder to get behind an advertorial trade paper synergy…. Which brings to mind the question, Is this Billboard issue, “The Lessons of Grunge,” the first editorial cover story in years, or just another vanity cover purchased by the grunge industry? Just asking. The issue itself is thicker than usual, tho I can’t say I pick up the issues as I used to. Continued here.


Its interesting to note, if only to me, that I agree with him on Alice In Chains. And also, my favorite Sub Pop band at the time was always The Fluid...underrated, unreissued, and definitely not platinum. And not from Seattle.

The Descendents

Joe Carducci & the New Vulgate strike again with a great remembrance of the Descendents whose Milo Goes To College has to be one the great albums of the 80's. Apparently, it's edited from an essay that will appear in the forthcoming book, Party With Me Punker, by Dave Markey and Jordan Schwartz slated for a spring 2011 release.

"In 1980 I wasn’t aware of the first 45 by The Descendents, “Ride the Wild/It’s a Hectic World” (Orca 001). It was recorded by Spot at Media Art in Hermosa Beach in September 1979 with help from Dave and Joe Nolte of The Last. The 45 was released in early 1980, though undistributed anywhere but stores in Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, and at Zed in Long Beach. The first Descendents I heard was the track, “Global Probing” on the second New Alliance compilation, Chunks. SST had turned Mike Watt onto Systematic Record Distribution, where I was, which was easy enough since he and D. Boon were working for Greg’s SST Electronics company, assembling his tuners. Later in 1981 The Descendents Fat e.p. came out on New Alliance and I ordered it immediately for distribution around the country. It was one more idiosyncratic masterpiece of what was coming to be known as L.A. hardcore." Continued here.