Robyn Hitchcock @ Slim's 2/27/06

By Marc Holden

In case this hasn't been posted yet, a friend who was at the show told me about the show.

Minus 5 set (incuding a Neil Innes song)

Robyn--acoustic
Gigolo Aunt (Barrett)
Aquarium
One Long Pair of Eyes
Beautiful Girl

w/Minus 3
If You ere a Priest
Acid Bird
When I Was a Kid
Ole Tarantula
Madonna of the Wasps
A Man's Got to Know His Limitations, Briggs
Somewhere Apart
Sally Was a Legend
Creeped Out American Girl
Underground Sun
Beautiful Queen
Driving Aloud (Radio Storm)

encore w/Minus 5
Cigarette, Coffee, and Booze
Eight Miles High
I Wanna Destroy You

2nd encore (Peter drumming and Bill on bass)
Listening to the Higsons

btw--Scott is playing at the Parkside tonight. The other members of the Minus 5 are probably going to show up. There seems to be no confirmation that Robyn plans to attend as well, but I bet the show will be pretty freaking fantastic, so don't miss it if you don't have to. Later, Marc

Dirty Pretty Things, The Zodiac, Oxford

By Chris Mugan
Published: 28 February 2006

You pays your money and takes your choice, so if someone shells out upwards of £70 for a ticket, they are bound to enjoy themselves. Most other people, though, were left bemused by Carl Barat's first official UK date since the demise of his former band The Libertines.

It had been a long time coming. Barat had maintained a dignified silence while his ex-bandmate Pete Doherty became trapped in a cycle of arrest, court case and post-clink gig, interrupted by the occasional record release.

Only partially explaining Barat's quiet was a tumour operation that laid him low last year, but now he was back with a new outfit, still finding their feet after low-key dates in Paris, Italy and Ireland and a secret UK gig.

The four-piece began in explosive fashion - The Libertines with added snarl, mainly channelled through Barat's barely-repressed fury. There were his short, tense guitar solos and slack-jawed drawl that reminded us of how much Razorlight's Johnny Borrell owes him.

He was joined by musicians who rampaged over his favoured electric sea shanties. Former Libertine drummer Gary Powell was as dependable as ever, with Didz Hammond, from nearly men The Cooper Temple Clause, providing bouncy basslines and Anthony Rossomondo a woozy chug on rhythm guitar. In this confused mess, all that connected them was dressing in Barat's image, boho chic with leather jackets.
Songs were delivered in such a breathless rush, it was impossible to get a grip, though there was an impression that energy had replaced craft. Highlight "Bang Bang You're Dead" was instantly irresistible, though when Barat sang with Morrissey-level disdain the words "so easily lead", Doherty immediately sprang to mind.

Signs of what the Things lacked came with a handful of Libertines numbers. "Death On The Stairs" retained a clarity and engaging characterisation missing from new material, while their take on "I Get Along" was eminently raucous.

So while the prodigal Libertine may have frittered away his talent, it turned out that it was he who carried the band's vision. Barat, meanwhile, supplied taut tunes and a pithy turn of phrase. He may regain those qualities to accompany his steely determination to succeed, though he will struggle to replace that old magic born of twisted chemistry.

Touring to 24 May (see www.dirtyprettythingsband.com)
Also in this section

Driving with Doherty

POLICE 'CHASED' DOHERTY FOR AN HOUR BEFORE ARREST

LATEST: Troubled rocker PETE DOHERTY was chased by police for an hour before he was arrested on suspicion of stealing a car and possessing hard drugs on Monday (27FEB06).

The BABYSHAMBLES frontman was allegedly spotted by traffic cops driving on England's M6 motorway in a Jaguar car that had been reported stolen in London.

Doherty is then said to have been chased by a series of police vehicles, including several motorbikes, before driving the wrong way up a one-way street in Birmingham where he was stopped and arrested.

Witness MIKE KELLY tells British newspaper The Times, "I saw a large, blue Jaguar being chased at speed up a one-way street the wrong way.

"He was being followed by a police Volvo and was headed off by a grey, unmarked vehicle with its lights flashing...

"When the Jaguar came to a halt I could see it was Pete Doherty that had been driving. I recognised him straight away. He had two passengers, one in the front seat and one in the back, who both looked a fair bit younger.

"When the police approached the driver's side Doherty got out without a struggle. He looked completely out of it, staring into space and looked pale and washed out. He didn't seem too steady on his feet."

The two passengers, aged 18 and 19 and from Dundee, Scotland, were also arrested on suspicion of possessing class A drugs.

A police spokeswoman confirms the stolen car was spotted on the motorway at 8.18pm on Monday. Doherty was arrested at 9.15pm and bailed yesterday (28FEB06).

Doherty, who previously romanced supermodel KATE MOSS, was slapped with 13 nights in prison in January (06) and ordered to attend a rehabilitation programme following his February conviction on seven drug counts.

At that hearing, the judge warned he could face further time behind bars should he break his community service order.

GSOTD: Preaching The Blues

"Preaching The Blues" by the Gun Club

I was up this morning, blues walking like a man
I was up this morning, blues walking like a man
worried blues, give me your right hand

And the blues fell mama's child, tore me all upside down
blues fell mama's child, tore me all upside down
travel on ol' Jeffrey Lee, ya know, can't seem to turn him around

So, Preach the Blues
Preach the Blues now

Blues, is low down shaking chill
Blues, is low down shaking chill
you ain't never had them, I don't believe you will
Blues is an achin' old heart disease
Blues is an achin' old heart disease
it's like consumption, baby, killing me by degrees

So, Preach the Blues
Preach the Blues now

I had religion, Lord on this very day
I had religion, Lord on this very day
but, the womens and the whiskey, they would not let me pray

Gonna get me religion, gonna join the Baptist church
Gonna get me religion, gonna join the Baptist church
Gonna be a Baptist preacher, so I don't have to work

GSOTD: Jack on Fire

"Jack On Fire" by The Gun Club

I am like Jack, I am from southern land
I'm holding your happiness in my hand
the sun behind me is a sexual red
and all your bounty-hunting ghosts are dead

I am like Jack and I tell you this
I will be your lover and exorcist
In the stillness of the mosquito sunset
you will make love to me to your very best

Hey, hey, I'm a Jack On Fire
hey, hey, your lips kiss Jack on Fire

Way back in the Indian days
nothing could drive the heat away
drive the search and murder of lost enemies
drive deep into what is never seen

And like Jack, there is a heat to the fight
like a moth detects a heat to the light
and like Jack, I will covet everything that is you
because, the heat in you will temporarily do

Hey, hey, I'm a Jack On Fire
hey, hey, your lips kiss Jack on Fire

(noise)

When you fall in love with me
we can dig a hole by the willow tree
then, I will fuck you until you die
bury you and kiss this town goodbye,

it will be unhappy, it will be sad
but, it will be understood that I am BAD!
so don't you go and lie to me
'cause everyday is judgement day with me

Eels With Strings: Live at Town Hall

'Eels With Strings' was recorded only two months after Eels` 'Blinking Lights and Other Revelations' was released in 2005.

As on that studio set, this live performance allows Mark Oliver Everett ('E') to slow down and take more chances with his arrangements. Conjuring a vibe at once sinister, stirring and vulnerable, the ever-troubled E delivers a heart-aching 22-song set enhanced by string quartet, lap steel, upright piano, musical saw and an assortment of other toys. Pop parodies like 'I Like Birds' and 'Hey Man (Now You`re Really Living)' are interlaced with emotionally raw numbers like 'If You See Natalie' (which laments the suicide of his sister) and 'Bus Stop Boxer.'

Thanks to the stellar backup band, E`s husky voice and sad stories become all the more desperately lovely.

SYV: Sex Beat

Click on the title bar to see "Sex Beat" by the Gun Club.

GSOTD: She's Like Heroin To Me

http://www.nomorelyrics.net/song/188046.html

"She's Like Heroin To Me" by The Gun Club

I cannot get a look at it
so, I'm burning them on the deal anyway
I see her come down from the top of the stairs

I guess that I'd be cool, but there's a tickle in my veins
I've been a real good tombstone, but now I'm blowing away

She is like an eye-blue swimming pool
but, she will never know that she is there
we sit together drunk like our fathers used to be
I'm looking up and God is saying, "What are you gonna do?"
I'm looking up and I'm crying, "I thought it was up to you!"

but now,

She's like Heroin to me
she's like Heroin to me
she's like Heroin to me
she cannot miss a vein

don't let her take her love to town
they will never fill her heart
she needs a passion like her father's used to be

I know, because I'm like the train shooting down the mainline
I know, because I'm like the Indian wind along the telegraph lines

and she's like Heroin to me
she's like Heroin to me
she's like Heroin to me
she cannot miss a vein So mainline it!

I cannot get a look at it
so, I'm blowing back my trouble to the east
while we sit together sad like our fathers used to be

I know a perfect run by the sleep it puits in my heart
I know my special rider, I can feel her in the dark

she feels like Heroin to me
she feels like Heroin to me
she's like Heroin to me
she cannot miss a vein

Gun Club Cover Art

GAOTW: The Gun Club

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Gun Club were a rock band from Los Angeles in the 1980s led by flamboyant singer/guitarist, ex-rock critic Jeffrey Lee Pierce.

History

The band was formed by Pierce and Kid Congo Powers and initially called Creeping Ritual. They went through several lineup changes before settling on "The Gun Club", a name suggested by Circle Jerks singer Keith Morris.

Kid Congo left before the first album to join The Cramps. Other notable members include bassist Rob Ritter and drummer Terry Graham, who had both previously been in The Bags. Rob left after the debut album to form 45 Grave, and changed his name to Rob Graves. Later, Patricia Morrison, then known as Pat Bag, one of the founders of The Bags, joined to play bass on two LPs Danse Kalinda Boom and Las Vegas Story before leaving to join The Sisters of Mercy and then The Damned.

Their first album, 1981's Fire of Love, is regarded as a classic by many rock critics. One critic has written that the "album's lyrical imagery is plundered from voodoo, '50's EC comics and the blues," 1 while another notes that "Nobody has heard music like this before or since."[1] Fire of Love sold well and arguably received the best reviews of any release from the band.

Along with The Cramps, X and other bands, they set much of the tone for the Hollywood rock scene in the 1980s. (Vince Neil of Mötley Crüe is rumored to have borrowed some of Pierce's distinctive look for his own early career.)

In 1992, Pierce returned to his musical roots by recording an album of mostly pre-war blues songs with his long time collaborator, the British blues Guitarist Cypress Grove.

Pierce continued leading various incarnations of the Gun Club up until his death in 1996.

Romi Mori and Nick Sanderson went on to found the band Freeheat, with ex-members of Jesus and Mary Chain Jim Reid and Ben Lurie.

They helped influence the cowpunk scene that developed in their wake and a wide variety of bands ranging from Social Distortion in the 1980s to The White Stripes today.

Discography

Fire of Love (1981)
Miami (1982)
Death Party EP (1983)
Sex Beat '81 (Live) (1984)
The Birth, The Death, The Ghost (Live) (1984)
The Las Vegas Story (1984)
Danse Kalinda Boom (Live) (1985)
Mother Juno (1987)
Pastoral Hide and Seek (1990)
Divinity EP (1991)
In Exile (1992) Compilation
Live In Europe (1993)
Lucky Jim (1993)
Early Warning (1997) Rarities and demos

RIP: Barnie Fife

Actor Don Knotts dies at 81

Knotts played Mayberry's hapless Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife.

By Louie Estrada

THE WASHINGTON POST

Sunday, February 26, 2006

Don Knotts, the rail-thin comic actor who was perhaps best known to millions of TV viewers as bungling Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife in "The Andy Griffith Show" and the squirrelly landlord in "Three's Company," died of lung cancer Friday night at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He was 81.

Knotts, who often played high-strung characters, won five Emmys for Best Supporting Actor during the 1960s as the swaggering but hapless Fife. The deputy's constant fumbling, a recurring sight gag, was typical of Knotts' self-deprecating humor.

Don Knotts won five Emmys for his role as Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife on 'The Andy Griffith Show.' He also appeared in 'Return to Mayberry' in 1986.

Knotts developed the character when he heard that Andy Griffith, with whom he had worked in the play "No Time for Sergeants," was putting together a TV pilot set in the fictional North Carolina town of Mayberry.

The series was a huge success during its run from 1960 to 1968, consistently ranking in the top 10 of the Nielsen ratings.

Knotts and Griffith remained close friends and reprised their roles in the 1986 TV movie "Return to Mayberry."

"Don was a small man . . . but everything else about him was large: his mind, his expressions," Griffith said Saturday. "Don was special. There's nobody like him."

Knotts left television in 1965 to devote more time to family-oriented film comedies that featured his bug-eyed expressions, high-pitched voice and perfect slapstick timing.

His movie credits include "The Incredible Mr. Limpet" (1964), "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" (1966), "The Reluctant Astronaut" (1967), "The Shakiest Gun in the West" (1968) and "The Love God?" (1969).

In the 1970s, Knotts teamed with fellow comic actor Tim Conway in the Disney movies "The Apple Dumpling Gang" and "The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again."

Knotts returned to television in the late 1970s, joining the cast of ABC's popular sitcom "Three's Company" as the cad landlord Ralph Furley, a would-be swinger who usually donned an ascot and colorful leisure suits. He remained with the show until its final season in 1984.

He also performed in dinner theaters and did voice-over for animated films.

Most recently, he was the voice of Mayor Turkey Lurkey in last year's movie "Chicken Little."

Additional material from The Associated Press.

GSOTD: Gracie

http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Gracie

"Gracie" by Ben Folds

You can’t fool me
I saw you when you came out
You got your momma’s taste
But you got my mouth

You will always have a part of me
Nobody else is ever gonna see
Gracie girl

With your cards to your chest
Walking on your toes
What you got in the box
Only Gracie knows

And I would never try to make you be
Anything you didn’t really wanna be
Gracie girl

Life flies by in seconds
You’re not a baby
Gracie, you’re my friend
You’ll be a lady soon
But until then
You gotta do what I say

You nodded off in my arms watching TV
I won’t move you an inch
Even though my arm’s asleep

One day you’re gonna wanna go
I hope we taught you everything
You need to know
Gracie girl

There will always be a part of me
Nobody else is ever gonna see
But you and me
A little girl
My Gracie girl

GSOTD: One Down

http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/One

"One Down" by Ben Folds

I WOKE up and I drove to work
On the wrong side of the road
What the hell would I do
I must admit I didn't know
ANDREW came along y'all
To add a couple lines or so
I got one I finished yesterday
And I got three-point-six to go

One down
And three-point-six
Tomorrow
And I'm outta here
One down
And three-point-six
Tomorrow
And I'm out of here

People tell me
Ben, just make up junk
And turn it in
But I never was alright with turning in
A bunch of shit
Don't like wasting time
On music that won't make you proud
But now I've found a reason
To sit right down and shit some out

One down
And three-point-six
Tomorrow
And I'm outta here
One down
And three-point-six
Tomorrow
And I'm out of here
Yeah, yeah...

I love you more than
Any man has loved before I
Love you more than
All the stars up in the sky
I think that we should
Settle down and
Live happily forever
After
What do you think of that?...

I'm really not complaining
I realize it's just a job
And I hate hearing belly-aching rockstars
Whine and sob
'Cause I could be bussing tables
I could well be pumpin' gas
Yeah, but I get paid much finer
For playin' piano and kissin' ass

this is one i wrote just an hour ago
and three-point-six at last
One down
And three-point-six
Tomorrow
And I'm outta here
One down
And three-point-six
Tomorrow
And I'm out of here
One down
And three-point-six
One down
And three-point-six
Tomorrow
And I'm out of here

News Flash: Crack Cocaine = Sexy!!!

Pete Doherty has been voted Sexiest Male by the readers of NME and NME.COM.

The Babyshambles singer has rounded off a turbulent couple of months, which have seen the star narrowly escape a lengthy jail sentence, with the knowledge that he is still sending hearts up and down the UK into a flutter.

Heartthrobs Richard Archer from Hard-Fi, Carl Barat, Liam Gallagher and Maximo Park's Paul Smith narrowly missed out on the honour of being the poster-boy of choice for the year.

Kirkwood keeps substance at forefront

When part of your legacy includes influencing one of the most noted bands of the last 25 years, going back to square one can't be easy.

Curt Kirkwood, former frontman of the Meat Puppets, one of Kurt Cobain's favorite bands, is currently touring the country with not much more than his guitars and a few changes of clothing. There are no tour buses or entourages, no venues filled with fans brimming with anticipation, not even musicians backing him. The memory of that stardust-laden night in 1993, when Cobain invited Kirkwood and his brother, Cris, onstage for what would become Nirvana's most glorious moment, is now distant.

These days, Kirkwood says, "There's way less bombast, so when you do engage (fans) they're not preoccupied with the onslaught of the noise. They're able to take a little more in, I think. There is that opportunity, for sure, and it's a lot of fun. I'm having a blast doing a solo tour."

Kirkwood's fame might have peaked with "Unplugged in New York," the live Nirvana release that showcased three Meat Puppets' songs. But in terms of his art, Kirkwood's skills have not diminished. "Snow," his debut solo effort, packs the dual emotional and musical punch that marked the Meat Puppets' music. With the assistance of producer Pete Anderson, who has worked with Dwight Yoakam, Lucinda Williams and Roy Orbison, Kirkwood has produced a stripped-down album that resonates because of its ideas, not its flash.

"Pete just has a sense of economy that's hard for me to get," Kirkwood says. "I'm a guitar player and a singer, so I want to put harmonies on everything, I want to put a bunch of guitar on everything, and then I want to pretend that I'm a drummer and get in the way there. A lot of it is just the economy that Pete brought to it, making me stick to my guns, saying, 'Don't worry, it will hold its own with just guitar and vocals.'"

The minimalist approach allows Kirkwood's lyrics equal, if not greater, prominence than his music. Thus the images are enhanced as in the line "what a beautiful weapon you've got in your eyes," from the shimmering "Beautiful Weapon," or "we can paint a checkered future/the same old windows, brand new glass, from "Here Comes Forever."

Kirkwood says his lyrics are often experimental. A line from the title track about "snow settling on barbed wire" is more imagined that experienced because "I haven't grown up around snow, I wasn't around it when I wrote that song," he says. "That song was more about taking a chance, the realization that a lot of good stuff is hard-earned. There are good things that come your way, but a lot of things in my life that are really decent are a balancing act."

The Meat Puppets were, of course, one of those good things, but the band tested Kirkwood's equilibrium beyond the bounds of any tightrope walker. After Cris Kirkwood succumbed to the madness of drugs, Curt Kirkwood could not put the pieces back together himself.

Still, the legacy endures. Critically acclaimed, admired by musicians such as Cobain and Black Flag, the Pups, as they were affectionately known to their hardcore constituency, attracted a small, loyal following that was in no way commensurate with their ability. Live Meat Puppets show were part hoedown, part punk, and all sweaty, with slam-dancing mosh-pitters vying for space with swing dancers.

Kirkwood, when prodded, agrees that live concerts were special and beyond the norm of the average rock concert.

"We always understood that, "he says. "We thought we were the best thing there was. That helps, having that kind of confidence and actually knowing it. We didn't have to believe in ourselves. We really were sold. We thought what we were doing was on to something. I've been in other bands, and I'll play music with anybody ... but with the Puppets, we started doing stuff we'd seen our heroes do."

No wonder Cobain loved them.

REM, Bright Eyes sign up for anti-war concert

REM frontman Michael Stipe, Bright Eyes and Rufus Wainwright are to take part in an anti-war concert in New York next month.

The acts, along with Fischerspooner, Public Enemy's Chuck D, Devendra Banhart and Peaches, have all confirmed thair appearance at the 'Bring 'Em Home Now' event on March 20 at Hammerstein Ballroom, reports Billboard.

The event is tied to the third anniversary of the United States' invasion of Iraq, and will also feature a speech by activist Cindy Sheehan.

Proceeds will benefit Iraq Veterans Against The War and Veterans for Peace.

Fischerspooner's Casey Spooner said of the event: "It is impossible not to react to the current state of affairs through personal action and artistic production.

"We have been at war for three years. One desperately feels the need for someone to speak some sort of truth, either poetic or factual."

SYV: Ben Folds "Songs in Progress"

Click on the title to view.

GSOTD: All U Can Eat

"All U Can Eat" by Ben Folds

Son look at all the people in this restaurant
What d'you think they weigh?
And out the window to the parking lot
At their SUVs taking all of the space

They give no fuck
They talk as loud as they want
They give no fuck
Just as long as there's enough for them

Gotta get on the microphone down at wallmart
Talk about some shit that's been on my mind
Talk about the state of this great of this nation of ours
Poeple look to your left, yeah look to your right

They give no fuck
They buy as much as they want
They give no fuck
Just as long as there's enough for them

[Piano Solo]
(oooaaahhhhhhhh)
(oooaaahhhhhhhh)

Son look at the people lining up for plastic
Wouldn't you like to see them in the national geographic?
Squatting bare-assed in the dirt eating rice from a bowl
With a towel on their head and maybe a bone in there nose
See that asshole with a peace-sign on his licence plate
Giving me the finger and running me out of his lane

God made us number one because he loves us the best
Well maybe He should go bless someone else for a while, give us a rest
[They give no...]
Yeah and everyone can see
[They give no...]
We've eaten all that we can eat

[Piano Solo]

The Paddingtons: Hop & Grape Review

21 Feb - Manchester Hop & Grape

In Manchester, the weather is decidedly wintry. So what better way of warming up ones cockles, than with some rock & roll music? The Paddingtons have (at great length) been likened to Babyshambles, and known for being mates with Pete Doherty. They’ve also become pals with other big boys of the playground, The Bravery. All exponents of shambolic angular indie pop. That’s all a bit dull however, and probably, not very true. It is probably better to ignore the paper talk, and have an open mind.

The Paddingtons have come a very long way from posting up MP3s on a Libertines forum, and are currently being tipped for bright things. Signed to Alan McGee’s Poptones label (home of King Biscuit Time aka Steve Mason of the brilliant Beta Band and Cherrystones). The official blurb on the Poptones website tells of “a thousand-mile-high thrash of fuzzed-out rock and like the imitation of Christ that is Joey Ramone and baptised by the proto-punks, The Saints.”

Bloody Hell. They sound a bit good! Can they live up to this hype? Repeat mantra “Open mind, open mind…”

On arriving at the Hop’, it was sad to find that The Paddingtons were not going to live up to their namesake bear by giving out free marmalade sandwiches, but no matter, the lights dimmed, and it was time to see what unfurled.

First band on – The Five O’clock Heroes - were tuneful enough, and possessed a singer who was reminiscent of many-a post punk outfit. Tight, angular guitar with pulsating bass drones and yelps and howls to get the indie kids down the front in the mood. That said, even though the band got a warm response, the overwhelming feeling was that ver kids wuz here to see The Paddingtons.

The Paddingtons walked on stage to some very heavy sounds, and schlinked and shimmied their way to their positions. As the lights went up, eyes focused in on a shambolic, drunken sprawling mess.

Rule one: Don't believe the Poptones website.

Rule two: The kids fucking love it.

Tom, the 'singer' wobbles to and fro in a lagery haze, virtually shouting his way through the set. The boys and girls down the front go mental and jump up and down, crowd surf... and hurl things at the band in a piss-weak-lager frenzy. There is the general indie guitarist moping from the two axe grinders flanking the vocalist, and generally, everybody laps it up.

21 kicks the kids into yet more frothing, apart from the ubiquitous sullen indie girls stood in the wings nonchalantly mouthing the lyrics, and hoping for an obscure B-Side.

The set wobbles along and everyone has a good rock'n'roll time of it, although it has to be said, The Paddingtons have a lot more in common with Oasis (drunk, shouty, arrogant) than their pal Pete Doherty.

The band, sporting general charity shop clobber, apart from the bizarre guitarist who looks like a police photofit of Captain Sensible, and seem destined for a bigger stage. Gawd knows why, but they genuinely seem like a band on the ascendancy.

Throw in a cover of Molly's Lips (made famous by Nirvana) and you've got a room full of happy teenagers, throwing shapes (and beer) at the stage.

At the aftershow shindig, the band danced away to their favourite tunes, before turning ugly, and causing a huge Bash Street Kids dust cloud punch up, triggered by biting a unfortunate drinker. The attack was unprovoked, and the Hull five piece got their just reward when the bouncers took them outside and smashed their faces up.

Less rock and roll, and more a case of too much ale in a set of feeble teen stomachs.
All in all, a romp through indie land to the soundtrack of drunken teens having a blast. It's certain that all concerned wouldn't have it any other way.

[review by Mof Gimmers]

Where Are the Prawns?

Only Robyn Hitchcock knows

By OLIVER HALL

Wednesday, February 22, 2006 - 12:00 pm

When I go see Heart of Gold this weekend, I wonder how many of my fellow Neil Young fanatics in the audience will know that in between Stop Making Sense (1984) and Heart of Gold (2006), Jonathan Demme directed another concert movie: 1998’s Storefront Hitchcock, 77 minutes of Robyn Hitchcock playing in a New York City storefront. In many ways, Storefront Hitchcock has more in common with Demme’s 1987 Spalding Gray performance film Swimming to Cambodia than it does with Stop Making Sense. Whereas Stop Making Sense is an elaborate stage show with costumes, set changes and an enlarged live-band version of Talking Heads (featuring Bernie Worrell of P-Funk), Storefront Hitchcock is just Robyn Hitchcock alone in the sort of downtown venue where Gray once delivered his monologues. Aside from Deni Bonet, who joins Hitchcock onstage to play violin on two lovely songs, and the passersby who stop to peer in through the giant picture window behind the stage, Hitchcock holds the stage alone for more than an hour, saying whatever comes into his head, singing in all reaches of his considerable range and playing psychedelic guitar.

Robyn Hitchcock’s first band, following some years he spent as a Cambridge (England) folkie, was the Soft Boys, who emerged in the dread year 1977 with the EP Give It to the Soft Boys. The band remains difficult to categorize and was not beloved of the English rock press. Already in 1977, Hitchcock, the Soft Boys’ singer-songwriter, was crafting a persona out of what he found in British comedy, Syd Barrett and Captain Beefheart that was too whimsical to connect with a politicized rock scene, though that doesn’t explain how the gorgeous harmonies and killing guitar on songs like “The Yodeling Hoover,” “I Wanna Destroy You” and “There’s Nobody Like You” went largely unnoticed. Still, I suppose it is understandable that a nation of people facing extreme poverty, racist violence, gender issues and the threat of mutually assured destruction would overlook the work of an artist whose consuming obsessions were tomatoes and crabs.

Certain ideological blind spots among the band’s audience notwithstanding, it is true that for every indelible, perfect recording the Soft Boys made—and there are many—there was at least one bewilderingly dull piece of shit. “Where Are the Prawns?” Now, come on, what the fuck was that all about? I have long suspected that Robyn Hitchcock shares a certain kind of perversity with XTC’s Andy Partridge, the same quirk that (in a more virulent degree) led Bob Dylan and Elvis Presley to bury tracks that (had they been played on the radio) could have incited riots in grocery stores for cheaper booze, instead releasing and energetically promoting garbage that would have made Judy Garland puke an opioid rainbow. Like: Did the Soft Boys really have to release three versions of “Have a Heart, Betty (I’m Not Fireproof)” when version #1 is one of the most thrilling rock records I have ever heard? And that version didn’t even surface until 1993, on the excellent and abominably out-of-print Ryko collection The Soft Boys 1976-81. The other versions are total dog slop.

After the Soft Boys broke up, Hitchcock released two remarkable and very different solo albums: the Bowiesque Black Snake Diamond Röle and the mostly acoustic I Often Dream of Trains (in the manner of my Stalinist enemies, I am eliding the unlistenable Groovy Decay). I Often Dream of Trains is the only album of Hitchcock’s I know that approaches the consistency of his live sets, which never disappoint. His live guitar playing is as inventive and surprising, if not as technically proficient, as Richard Thompson’s; his voice is in top shape; and he is more than likely to pull out something supremely holy and unexpected, like his cover of the Byrds’ “Draft Morning.” The music on Trains is so beautiful, the playing so controlled and seemingly effortless, the sound and mood so bare and so timeless, it’s easy to forget that Hitchcock is singing “Oh Vera, my sweet/I would offer you some meat/in exchange for a good loaf of wax.” If, up till now, you’ve never heard of Robyn Hitchcock and you’re wondering why, well, that’s probably as plausible a reason as any.

ROBYN HITCHCOCK AND THE MINUS 5 (WITH PETER BUCK OF R.E.M.) PERFORM AT THE COACH HOUSE, 33157 CAMINO CAPISTRANO, SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, (949) 496-8930. FRI., 8 P.M. $17.50. ALL AGES.

Rollins Labeled A "Possible Threat"

Feb 22, 2006

Story by: Matt Pullman

Henry Rollins has got something personal against the Aussie government. According to a recent blog entry on his website, Rollins ran into some trouble on a recent flight from New Zealand to Australia during the Big Day Out Tour. Rollins wrote that he received a letter from a member of the Australian government informing him that the passenger sitting next to him during the flight reported him to a National Security hotline. Rollins was reading Ahmed Rashid’s Jihad: The Rise Of Militant Islam In Central Asia during the flight, prompting the fellow passenger to call the hotline. Rashid’s book focuses on how extreme poverty and religious suppression in the areas surrounding Afghanistan have created a breeding ground for militant Islam.

Rollins told the audience during the tour that he received a letter fr
om a "nice woman" who worked "in one of those government areas that deals with anti-terrorism matters."

Although the official seemed to be siding with him (the individual who contacted Rollins said that they get plenty of letters “submitted by lunatics”), Rollins decided to let loose on the country’s government.

"Please tell your government and everyone in your office to go fuck themselves. Tell them twice. If your boss is looking for something to do, you can tell him I suggest he go fuck himself. Baghdad's safer than my hometown and your PM is a sissy,” Rollins responded.

The ordeal hasn’t slowed down Rollins a bit as he will take his “25 Years Of Bullshit” tour to Europe in March. No word on what will be his reading selection for the flight.

www.henryrollins.com

SYV: Brick

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GSOTD: Bastard

http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/

"Bastard" by Ben Folds

The old bastard left his ties and his suit
A brown box, mothballs and bowling shoes
and his opinion so you'd never have to choose
Pretty soon, you'll be an old bastard too
You get smaller while the world gets big
The more you know you know you don't know shit
The whiz man'll never fit you like the whiz kid did

So why you gotta act like you know when you don't know?
It's okay if you don't know everything
Why you gotta act like you know when you don't know?
It's okay if you don't know everything

Close your eyes close your ears young man
You've seen and heard all an old man can
Spread the facts on the floor like a fan
throw away the ones that make you feel bad

Kids today gettin' old too fast
they can't wait to grow up so they can kiss some ass
They get nostalgic about the last ten years
before the last ten years have passed

why you gotta act like you know when you don't know?
It's okay if you don't know everything
Why you gotta act like you know when you don't know?
It's okay if you don't know everything

Tears land on a hand on the chest
The old bastard had a paradigm arrest

You got smaller and the world got big
The more you knew we knew we didn't know shit
The whiz man never fit him like the whiz kid did

Why you gotta act like you know when you don't know?
cause It's okay if you don't know everything
Why you gotta act like you know when you don't know?
It's okay if you don't know everything

SYV: Rock This Bitch

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GSOTD: Always Someone Cooler Than You

http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/

There's Always Someone Cooler Than You by Ben Folds

Smile
Like you've got nothing to prove
No matter what you might do
There's always someone out there cooler than you

I know that's hard to believe
But there are people you meet
They're into something that is too big to be

Expressed
Through their clothes
And they'll put up with all the poses you'll throw
And you won't

Even know
that they're not sizing you up
They know your mom fucked you up
Or maybe let you watch too much TV

But they'll still look in your eyes
To find the human inside
You know there's always something in there to see

Beneath
The veneer
Not everybody made the list this year
Have a beer

Make me feel tiny if it makes you feel tall
But there's always someone cooler than you

Yeah, you're the shit but you won't be here for long
Oh, there's always someone cooler than you
Yeah, there's always someone cooler than you

Now that I've got the disease
In a way I'm relieved
'Cause I don't have to stress about it like you do

I might just get up and dance
Or buy some acid-wash pants
When you don't care then you got nothing to lose

And I won't
Hesitate
'Cause every moment life is slipping away
It's ok

Make me feel tiny if it makes you feel tall
But there's always someone cooler than you

Yeah, you're the shit but you won't be it for long
Oh, there's always someone cooler than you
Yeah, there's always someone cooler than you
Oh, there's always someone cooler than...

Life is wonderful
Life is beautiful
We're all children of
One big universe
So you don't have to be a chump

And you know (you know)
That I won't (I won't)
Hesitate (hesitate)
'Cause every moment life is slipping away (away)
It's ok (it's ok)

Make me feel tiny if it makes you feel tall
Oh, 'cause there's always someone cooler than you

Yeah, you're the shit but you won't be it for long
But there's always someone cooler than you
Oh yeah, there's always someone cooler than you
Because there's always someone cooler than you

Cooler than you (boy)
Cooler than you (girl)
Cooler than you (sir)
Cooler than you (my lady)

Dick Cheney's Quail Hunting School

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SYV: Underground

Click on the title bar to view "Underground" by Ben Folds Five.

GSOTD: Hiro's Song

http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Hiro's

Hiro's Song by Ben Folds

My Name is Hiro I am 51
Since 1980 life has been no fun
And I don't want to die
I left my family for the secretary
Oh, oh
Oh, oh
Oh, oh

Her name is Yuko she is 22
She and my daughter were best friends in High School
They say I'm crazy and it's temporary
But I refuse to rot like my contemporaries

I wanna explode
In a Karaoke Supernova

I don't wanna grow old
Won't you let me, Won't you let me explode
I don't wanna grow old
Won't you let me, Won't you let me explode
In a Karaoke Supernova, yeah

Last night she dressed me up in hip hop pants
The phat g-stylin rides below your ass
She wants to show me to her mom and dad
I told her I would not be down with that

cuz lately I can feel the years between us
I hope to God my friends at work don't see us
Tonight she asked me if I've ever seen Jesus
Cuz she had backstage passes for three of us

I don't wanna grow old
Won't you let me, Won't you let me explode
I don't wanna grow old
Won't you let me, Won't you let me explode, oh oh
In a Karaoke Supernova, yeah

So now she's gone and broke my heart goddamn her
Turns out she's been fucking this drum programmer
She likes his style, she likes his rock start glamour
Well she's an infant! he can damn well have her!

I don't wanna grow old
Won't you let me, Won't you let me explode
I don't wanna grow old
Won't you let me, Won't you let me explode
I don't wanna grow old
Won't you let me, Won't you let me explode
I don't wanna grow old
Won't you let me, Won't you let me explode
In a Karaeoke Supernova

Vehicular Rotation - Week Ending 2/19/06

John Wesley Harding - It Happened One Night
Squirrel Nut Zippers - The Inevitable
R.E.M. - Reckoning
Sonic Youth - Goo
Lou Reed - Different Times (In the 70's)
Descendents - Livage!
Robyn Hitchcock - Storefront Hitchcock
Uncle Tupelo - Anodyne
Paul Westerberg - 14 Songs
Billy Bragg & Wilco - Mermaid Avenue

SYV: "Landed" on Letterman

Click on the title to view Ben Folds from the Late Show w/ David Letterman.

GSOTD: Rockin' The Suburbs

http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/

Rockin' The Suburbs by Ben Folds

Let me tell y'all what it's like
Being male, middle-class and white
It's a bitch, if you don't believe
Listen up to my new CD
(Sha-mon)

I got shit runnin' throught my brain
It's so intense that I can't explain
All alone in my white-boy pain
Shake your booty while the band complains

I'm rockin' the suburbs
Just like Michael Jackson did
I'm rockin' the suburbs
Except that he was talented
I'm rockin' the suburbs
I take the cheques and face the facts
That some producer with computers fixes all my shitty tracks

I'm pissed off but I'm too polite
When people break in the McDonald's line
Mom and Dad you made me so uptight
I'm gonna cuss on the mic tonight
I don't know how much I can take
Girl, give me something I can break

I'm rockin' the suburbs
Just like Quiet Riot did
I'm rockin' the suburbs
Except that they were talented
I'm rockin' the suburbs
I take the cheques and face the facts
That some producer with computers fixes all my shitty tracks

In a haze these days
I pull up to the stop light
I can feel that something's not right
I can feel that someone's blasting me with hate
And bass
Sendin' dirty vibes my way
'Cause my great great great great Grandad
Made someones' great great great great Grandaddys' slaves

It wasn't my idea
It wasn't my idea
Never was my idea
I just drove to the store
For some Preparation-H

Y'all don't know what it's like
Being male, middle-class and white
Y'all don't know what it's like
Being male, middle-class and white
Y'all don't know what it's like
Being male, middle-class and white
Y'all don't know what it's like
Being male, middle class and white

It gets me real pissed off, it makes me wanna say
It gets me real pissed off and it makes me wanna say
It gets me real pissed off and it makes me wanna say

FUCK!

Just like Jon Bon Jovi did
I'm rockin' the suburbs
Except that he was talented
I'm rockin' the suburbs
I take the cheques and face the facts
That some producer with computers fixes all my shitty tracks

These days
Yeah yeah
I'm rockin' the suburbs
Yeah yeah
I'm rockin' the suburbs
Yeah yeah
You'd better look out, because I'm gonna say 'Fuck'
You'd better look out, because I'm gonna say 'Fuck'
You'd better look out, because I'm gonna say 'Fuck'
You'd better look out, because I'm gonna say 'Fuck'