Forums » Shakin' Street

List of newest posts

    • March 10, 2014 1:32 PM CDT
    • AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    • March 8, 2014 2:48 PM CST
    • Playlist 03/08/14

      Social Distortion Indulgence
      Bob Mould Sacrifice/Let There Be Peace
      Blodwyn Pig See My Way
      Sensible Gray Cells Halfway to Hollywood
      Soft Boys He's A Reptile
      Kaiser Chiefs I Predict A Riot
      Bishops Free To Do What You Want
      Holy Wave Psychological Thriller
      Rebel Set Dropout
      Barbacoa Hammerhead
      Fleshtones What You're Talking About
      Coyote Men All Action Man
      Baby Woodrose Bubblegum
      Launderettes Just Dropped In
      Dark Colours Since 1865 Midnight Train
      New Math Invocation
      Mystic Eyes Higher Than I'm Down
      Chesterfield Kings Baby Doll
      Hi-Risers ATM Inside
      Cherrypops Versteck' dich
      Dark Seas Cali Bud
      Dum Dum Girls Rimbaud Eyes
      Sisters of Murphy Katie Dear
      Sisters of Murphy The Rehab Song
      Sisters of Murphy Doesn't Matter Where You Are
      Black Lips Drive By Buddy
      Ted Hale and the Transcendence Mongo Kitty
      Mozes and the Firstborn Bloodsucker
      Manchester Social Club Remember, Remember
      Fast Cars You're So Funny
      Teenage Head You're Tearing Me Apart
      Dickies Communication Breakdown
      Descendents Rotting Out
      Stiff Little Fingers Nobody's Hero
      Godfathers Gone To Texas

    • March 8, 2014 8:08 AM CST
    • The Jeff of the Future Radio Show will be on the air and the web on Saturday March 8th from 1:00-3:00PM EST. In addition to the usual punk and garage, Jona from The Sisters of Murphy will be stopping by with some of their Celtic-tinged rock and roll. You can listen at 89.7 WITR-FM in Rochester, NY or streaming live at http://witr.rit.edu.

    • March 7, 2014 8:48 PM CST
    • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzQHM7mCAOY

    • March 7, 2014 7:03 PM CST
    •  Radio What Wave Playlist Mar 6/2014.  Psychos and Other Unusual Canadians   Part 2  

      1. Bloodshot Bill....16 Chicks..recorded live on Just Another Punk Show on CHRW, 5/25/2007. Bloodshot Bill is a psycho in more ways than one and sorta summarizes the title of this show. And he's playing in London Tues Mar 11th at Call The Office along with Fireball Grant. And he's going to be interviewed by the yammer phone later on during this show!

      2. Hank and Frank....Nancy Sinatra....from a late 80's demo that ended up on a What Wave cassette. The ultimate insane duo from London Ontario!

      3. Tuerto Loco....Glaciers....recorded live on Radio WW 5/12/11. Features Hank the singing bookman on lead insanity and vocals. He might just have a buddy named Frank.

      4. Shanker and Romps....Hole In My Sock...from the Pancakin' CD. Ottawa duo that appeal to the kid in us all! And they are a lot of fun live!

      5. Shanker and Romps....Arboretum Arboretum...from the Sing For Your Summer CD....anyone that can sing a song about a tree museum is OK by me.

      6. E. J. Brule...Tabarnak!Make My Day....from It Came From Canada Volume 4. A man who makes noises with his body....ya, really.

      7. E.J. Brule...Killer Whale Attack....from It Came From Canada Volume 3. This one man musical/noise force came from Montreal and is still playing occasionally.

      8. King Khan BBQ Show....Animal Party....from a 7" on Fat Possum Records from 2008.

      9. Supreme Bagg Team...20th Century Dog Faced Boy...from their only LP on OG Records from 1989. Toronto combo featuring a singer who spent a lot of time either on the floor, or flying through the air. All in the name of fun.

      10. Supreme Bagg Time....Crankin' With Elvis...from Mr Garager's Neighbourhood, an LP we put out with OG Records.

      11. Battered Wives...Uganda Stomp...from a 1980 7". Toronto combo who were forced to change their name to The Wives due to protests...

      12. The Curse....The Killer Bees....from a 1978 7" from Toronto. The first all female punk band from Toronto.

      13. The Sinners....No Brains...from a 7" from this London combo. And the song title sums up this show.

      Right around this time Bloodshot Bill phoned in to yammer about his big show on Tuesday at Call The Office, along with Fireball Grant. We yammered about touring, records and spaghetti flavoured lip balm. And yes, Bill is supposed to have some when he comes to London next week.

      14. Bloodshot Bill....Martian Chicken...from the 10 " record on Squoodge Records.

      15. Bloodshot Bill...Space Date....as above.

      16. Bloodshot Bill...Rat Fink....from the Rockabilly Trash LP.

      17. Bloodshot Bill...5 and 10....as above and usually a staple of Bill's live show.

      18. Bloodshot Bill...Blue Days, Black Nights....from The Lonesome Road LP on Norton Records, Bill's latest.

      19. UJ3RK5...Anglican....from their 1980 12" on Polygram. Out of Vancouver and had David Wisdom, host of CBC's Brave New Waves, a highly influential radio show from the 80's and 90's across Canada.

      20. UJ3RK5...Locater....as above.

      21. Robbie Rox....The World Is Mad....from Construction Site, his 1980 debut LP. Toronto singer who had a shaved head and looked like a wrestler, decades before it wa a cool look. Combine that with his falsetto, and you've got the perfect candidate for this radio show!

      22. Robbie Rox...Raw....from the LP of the same name.

      23. Robbie Rox....Reeming Me....from the Construction Site and had to cut this one short as we ran out of time, but not tunes.

       

      Thanx for all the phone ins tonite, there were lots. Thanx for the emails, facebook messages and Heys!. And thanx for tuning in to part 2, next week we continue with part 3 of Psychos and Other Unusual Canadians.

      You can listen to the archived show at:


      http://chrwradio.ca/programs/radio-what-wave

    • March 3, 2014 1:37 PM CST
    • Radio What Wave Playlist.....Feb27/2014

       

      1. Dave Campbell....My Way...from the Finding The Real CD. Local artist and you can get his CD for free at Grooves Records here in London Ontario.

      2. Heart Attack Kids....Have Heart....from their brand new download called Hooligans....local 2 piece.

      3. The Mogs....Bored....from the El Mogamundo CD on What Wave Records. 3 piece outta Hamilton/Burlington who are presently looking for a drummer.

      4. The Connexions....Against The Tide....from their brand new CD called Connect Four. From Newfoundland and connected with these guys via the garagepunk hideout.

      5. Frankie And Jimmy....Let It Rock....from their soon to be released LP, Scream The Blues. Hamilton based duo who play out a fair bit.

      6. Nazi Drugs...Atomic Terrorist...from the Dawn On Me CD. Penssylvania duo who have their own little label called Martian Ambassador Records.Another connection via the garagepunk hideout.

      7. Grim Imperials....Morningside Lane....from the Martian Ambassador comp Terrible Things Always Happen.

      8. Ding Dongs....Are You Ready?...from the Rang Tang Ding Dong LP on Norton Records. For those that don't know, this is Bloodshot Bill and Mark Sultan's 2 piece project.

      9.Devo....Jocko Homo....from the Stiff 7" and goes out to Bob Devo who passed away last week.

      10. Devo....Uncontrollable Urge....from the Are We Not Men? LP. Never ever understood this, but metal heads used to cruise by people they thought were punks and yell out of their car 'Hey Devo!!!' Just doesn't make sense, but then neither did metalheads back in those days.

      11. NY Dolls.... 7 Day Weekend....from A Hard NIght's Day CD on Norton, the Marty Thau demos that they shopped around to the major labels. Probably my favourite NY Dolls track of all time, not only for it's idealism, but the way they plow through it, bringing a whole new life to this Gary US Bonds tune! And this is the start of our very short trib to Marty Thau, a HUGE influence on the music that we here at WW HQ's listen to!!

      12. NY Dolls....Back In The USA....as above.

      13. Suicide....Rocket USA....from their debut on Red Star Records (Marty Thau's label).

      14. The Ramones....Basement....1975 demo produced by Marty Thau.

      15. The Ramones....Boyfriend....as above...

      16. The Fleshtones....Shadow Line...from Marty Thau Presents 2 x 5 LP. God fucking damn....what can you say about a guy that was at the very beginnings of the above bands!!! HUGE INFLUENCE on music back then AND what we listen to, to this very day!! Ran outta time due to the hockey game, but i was going to play some Real Kids from their first LP, again on Marty's label, Red Star. There is a book of Marty's memoirs being prepared and hopefully his death doesn't put a kibosh to that.

      Thanx to all that tuned in and for all the crazy phone calls, emails, facebook messages and Heys in passing! As always we ran outta time but not tunes.

      Next week we carry on with part 2 of Psychos and Other Unusual Canadians!! And it's a full 90m show, so we'll be playing some far out tunes....including Bloodshot Bill who is playing at Call The Office on Tues March 11th!!

      You can listen to the archived show at:
      http://chrwradio.ca/programs/radio-what-wave

    • March 7, 2014 4:15 PM CST
    • Back in the early 80s the Greek Titans of Mythology were furious with mankind over some long forgotten reason. Hyperion deemed that most of these fleeting occupiers of Earth were unworthy.

      Hyperion, the Greek Titan of light and father of the sun, the moon and the dawn selected his chosen ones who were anointed with a lysergic substance, then given vintage 60s guitars, trippy compact organs, fuzz pedals, attitude and a mystical reverence in order to spread a garage beat and psychedelic disease to all the Continents of the planet.

      This music plague became known as "Hyperion's Revenge"

       

      INTRO
      UNCLAIMED - UGH
      PRIMATES - JUST MY KIND
      ZEBRA STRIPES - INTRO '66
      UNTOLD FABLES - WATCH YOUR STEP WOMAN
      YARD TRAUMA - DREAMT IN COLOR
      BERRY PICKERS - ALL ABOARD
      ZEBRA STRIPES - EL PASEO
      PANDORAS - I WANT HIM
      UNCLAIMED - NO APOLOGY
      UNTOLD FABLES - I TRY
      ZEBRA STRIPES - YOU DON'T LOVE ME
      PANDORAS - CRY ON MY OWN
      SPECIAL ONES - THE SPECIAL ONES
      YARD TRAUMA - NO CONCLUSIONS
      UNCLAIMED - THINGS IN THE PAST (YEAH O' YEAH)
      UNTOLD FABLES - PRESSURE
      ZEBRA STRIPES - THE TRIP
      THEE FOURGIVEN - LOVE IS FADING

    • March 7, 2014 2:36 PM CST
    • "We're gonna do something really big , now , like THEE ALICE COOPER GROUP ! Alice  Cooper..."

      Very anxious to see this....I like the idea of a documentary JUST about The Alice Cooper Group , but , I guess there's no separation of the two.....It seems like the surviving members of the band have a much  better relationship , today , and can tell the whole story in words....and music , too. Hope this plays  Chicago.    Some of these films don't.    John.

    • March 7, 2014 9:54 AM CST
    • My friends at the Banger Films have just wrapped up this Alice Cooper documentary they've been working on. I've yet to see the final version, but saw a few unedited versions about 7 months ago. Looks pretty amazing. 

      [URL=http://s66.photobucket.com/user/Mattkillings/media/super-duper-alice-cooper-poster1_zps3633774f.jpg.html][IMG]http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h264/Mattkillings/super-duper-alice-cooper-poster1_zps3633774f.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

      Premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival this April.  

    • March 7, 2014 12:38 PM CST
    • NEXT SHOW "VOIX DE GARAGE #18" = SPECIAL "WOMEN'S DAY" ON WEDNESDAY 12th MARCH!!!!!

    • February 27, 2014 2:23 PM CST
    • Voix de Garage #17 – My-My Kinda Tracks  (26/02/2014)

       (Jingle)  Know Your Product / The Saints / Eternally Yours / 1978 / Australie (Brisbane) 

      This is Rock ‘n Roll / The Kids / The Kids / 1978 / Belgium 

      Gods are Bored / The Datsuns / Death Rattle Boogie / 05/10/2012 / New Zealand (Cambridge) 

      I want you to come over / The Fells / The Fells / 1997 / US (Tucson, Arizona) !!!!!

      *5' French talk*

      7 & 7 Is / Love / Da Capo / 1966 / US (LA)

      Pay To Cum / Bad Brains / Pay To Cum (single) / 1980 / US (Washington DC)

      I Like Your Style / The Bots / Sincerely Sorry / 2013 / US (LA)

      Taking the City By Storm / The Haskels / S/T E.P. 7″ / 1980 / USA (Milwaukee Hits)

      Pretty Pretty Pretty / The Fleshtones / Beachhead / 2005 / US (NYC)

      Troubled Times / Thee Headcoats / Headcoatitude / 1991 / UK (Chatham)

      *The 60's Chapell* : Jump & Dance / The Carnaby / single / 1965 / UK (London) 

      * The Return of the Chapell* :Quick Joey Small / Kasenatz-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus / single / 10/1968 / US 

      *The lesson from Norway* :Sell your Body (TO THE NIGHT) / Turbonegro / Scandinavian Leather / 28/04/2003 / Norway 

      Meilla Voisi Tunaau Olla Hauskaa / Se / Killed By Death #6 (Great Punk sHits) / 1993 / Finland

      Let’s go (where the action is) / The Twistaroos / Twisted! / 2010 / Norway

      *Must be played at MAXIMUM VOLUME*: I’m Sick of You / The Stooges / single / 1977 (recorded 1972, Raw Power outtakes) / Us (DETROIT STOOGES CITY)

      - See more at: http://www.trensmissions.ens.fr/voix-de-garage-17/#sthash.5NSEhPA6.dpuf

    • March 6, 2014 4:18 PM CST
    • Listening to Marty Thau Presents 2X5 today. Great comp, Fleshnotes, Bloodless Pharos, Student Teachers...etc. 

    • March 6, 2014 4:14 PM CST
    • Does New Orleans still have the Rock Around? I want to take my wife who has never been to NOLA. Or Memphis. 

    • March 6, 2014 4:12 PM CST
    • Jane Dearosaurus Rex said:
      I would love to be able to find dirt cheap flights for Burgerama in March. And I did find dirt cheap flights to Orlando for Florida is Dying earlier in March but I would have to miss too much work during a new-hire probationary period.

      I wish I could make it to this too. Good line up. 

    • March 6, 2014 4:05 PM CST
    • Ha ha ha ha!

    • March 6, 2014 4:10 AM CST
    • So funny and sooooooooooooooooo true indeed !!!

      By the way, tonight only at the Carnaby Freak Lodge, International Top DJ Minty Vinyl will be spinning teenbeat a go-go to make you shake and shimmy all nite long you groovy Hip-mods and swingin' Pussycats !

      So you'd better jump in your mini-skirt, comb your fringe; shine your pointed boots, grease your moptop and get ready to get wylde to the sound of the 60s platters that matters !

       

      Be there or be square !

    • March 5, 2014 2:21 PM CST
    • It is flippin' hilarious and true! And ya know what? I always click on those posts, read those articles and listen to those tunes! This article goes for more than just DJs, concert posters, album covers, record store ads- all guilty, and I still dig it.

      Consumer of vintage, hip, gritty, low-Fi swag - ChazDaddy

    • March 5, 2014 7:33 AM CST
    • Now THIS is funny...

      And yes, I've been guilty of this myself. And, ya know what? It's STILL funny as hell. Why? Because it's true?

    • March 6, 2014 2:12 PM CST
    • hot bagels is fuzzed-out, lo-fi, garagey indie punk rock. The band released Toasted on LP, CASSETTE, and DIGITAL this month. 
      The 15 mind melting tracks on Toasted range from 43 seconds to just over 3 mins in length and were recorded in "cars, basements, apartments, and practice spaces" around Chicago over the last three months. Hot Bagels is the essence of DIY and a band to watch and experience in 2014.

      FFO: Jay Reatard, Mineral, Screeching Weasel, Guided By Voices, whatever noisy indie rock punk shut up

      LP comes with lyric sheet and DOWNLOAD LINK (which includes mp3s of album & music sheet so you can play along at home and at one or all of the shows-Let's jam?)

      BUY IT HERE: http://behappyrecords.storenvy.com

      LISTEN HERE: http://hotbagels.bandcamp.com

    • March 4, 2014 4:24 PM CST
    • Haven't posted in a few weeks here so this will be a double post.  My most recent program featured a mini-set of songs from later-era Devo in honor of Bob Casale and the program before that was comprised entirely of surf rock music.  

      Play list for March 4th, 2014:

      1. La Luz - Sure As Spring
      3. La Luz - Phantom Feelings
      3. Martin Van Ruin - American Moon
      4. Holy Wave - Psychological Thriller
      5. Temples - Shelter Song
      6. Habibi - Far From Right
      7. Tire Swing Co. - I Awoke
      8. Middle Sister - Maudite
      9. Handsome Ned - One Hundred Miles of Open Road
      10 The Hidden Cameras - Doom
      11. Dum Dum Girls - Cult Of Love
      12. Devo - Big Mess
      13. Devo - Freedom Of Choice
      14. Devo - Through Being Cool
      15. Roky Erickson & The Aliens - I Walked with A Zombie
      16. The Hoop - Phog Lounge
      17. The Vapids - Powerchords and Skateboards
      18. Light Bulb Alley - Liquor Store (Rough Mix)
      19. The Basements - Wrong
      20. The Black Angels - Better Off Alone
      21. Teenanger - Psychic Sonya
      22. Wanda Jackson - There’s A Party Goin’ On
      23. Handsome Ned - One Hundred Miles of Open Road
      23. Stompin’ Tom Connors - The Horseshoe Hotel (Live At The Horseshoe 1971)
      25. Lou Reed - Nobody’s Business

      Download/listen to the pdocast here:  http://cjamlog1.cjam.ca/mp3dirnew/36-Revolution_Rock-20140304-1030-t1393929000.mp3

      A blog post on Devo's Bob Casale:  http://revrock.blogspot.ca/2014/03/devos-bob-casale-1952-2014-show-498.html

      Surf rock program February 25, 2014:

      1. Os Morgans - Opus (Portuguese Nuggets Vol 1: A Trip To 60's Portuguese Beat Surf And Garage Rock - 2006)
      2. The Future Primitives - Everybody Up (Fender IV Cover) (Songs We Taught Ourselves - 2013)
      3. Wes Dakus & The Rebels - Cavalier Twist (Wes Dakus & The Rebels Vol 1 - 2006)
      4. The Mel-Tones - Kung Fu Saturdays (Surf Sensation - 2004)
      5. Jon & The Nightriders - Hit Man (Charge Of The Nightriders - 1984)
      6. The Surfites - Surf Reveille (It Came From The Hideout - The Best Of The GaragePunk Hideout Vol 1 - 2011)
      7. Les Skyliners - Entre Nous Il Est Fou (Les Introuvables - Volume 2 - 2007)
      8. Les Devalons - The Lonely One (instrumental) (Les Introuvables - Volume 7 - 2007)
      9. Polaris! - Hypnovista (Polaris - 1997)
      10 Eddie Angel - Kawanga (Eddie Angel's Guitar Party - 1997)
      11. The Panasonics - Penepede (Introducing The Inscrutable Panasonics (Featuring Eddie Angel On Guitar) - 1995)

      DERK BRIGANTE OF SURFPHONY OF DERSTRUCTION 2000 SEGMENT:

      12. Takeshi Terauchi - Moanin’ (The World Is Waiting For Terry - 1967)
      13. The El Caminos - Hornets Nest (Reverb Explosion - 1997)
      14. Yuzo Kayama - Crazy Drivin’ (The Exciting Sounds of Yuzo Kayama And The Launchers - 1966)
      15. The Surf Coasters - Redzone Deadzone (The Surf Coasters - 1999)
      16. Goggle-A - Reverb Chase (Dendeke Rock Combo - 2003)

      17. Takeshi Terauchi & The Bunnys - Terry’s Theme (Let's Go Terry! - 1966)
      18. Takeshit Terauchi & The Bunnys - Black Carnation (Let's Go Terry! - 1966)
      19. Martin Schiller - The Innocuous Pastiche meets Professor Adventure (The Innocuous Pastiche meets Professor Adventure - 2011)
      20. The Vy-Dels - Unknown (New Wave Surf Party! - 1981)
      21. The Junior Raymen -I’m Branded (Rumble '66 - 1966)
      22. Dead Ghosts - Commanche (That Old Feeling Single - 2010)
      23. Pow Wows - The Horse Thief (Live) (Bent Out Of Shape - 2013)
      24. Davie Allan & The Arrows - High Rise (Cycle Breed - 2008)
      25. The Vondells - Dill Pickles (The Vondells (Unreleased - 2003))
      26. Progressives - Man Of Mystery (Lost Legends Of Surf Guitar Vol III - 2003)
      27. The Bell Peppers - Salt Shaker (Sizzling Hot Bell Peppers - 2013)
      28. Dick Dale And His Del-Tones - Tidal Wave (Summer Surf - 1964)
      29. Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet - The Case Of The Missing Lady Fingers (Dim The Lights, Chill The Ham - 1991)

      Download/listen to the podcast here:  http://cjamlog1.cjam.ca/mp3dirnew/36-Revolution_Rock-20140225-1030-t1393324200.mp3

      A blog post on Japanese surf artist Takeshi Terauchi & The Bunnys:  http://revrock.blogspot.ca/2014/02/takeshi-terauchi-lets-go-terry-show-497.html

    • March 1, 2014 7:10 PM CST
    • I took it in today Kopper. J. Gravity showed me how to change the strings and a few other things about the guitar as I had them check my guitar out to make sure it is okay. I purchased a handful of strings and a lot more picks. I like to use white picks because dark picks scuff the leather pick guard. I want to replace the pick guar with a plastic one. Thanks a lot about the reccomendation. I am loving the tone on the guitar, especially now with my new fuzz pedal.

    • February 28, 2014 11:10 AM CST
    • Having an adventurous spirit, when I get promo CDs from artists I’ve never heard of at KSFR-FM, if it looks interesting, I’ll consider playing a track on my radio show without listening to it first. But before I do this, I always check the credits to make sure there are no cellos. Seriously, with few exceptions, few instruments sap the rock ’n’ roll out of a song faster than a dreary cello.

      So imagine my surprise when I popped Wheel of Talent, the new CD by The Fleshtones, into my car stereo only to strings — a cello and a violin, to be exact — on the very first song.

      Nooooooo!

      Actually, the strings on “Available,” which pop up later in the album on “How to Say Goodbye,” turned out to be more of a slight misstep, perhaps a jarring texture, than a deal-breaker. Wheel of Talent, produced by Detroit’s Jim Diamond, shouldn’t be seen as The Fleshtones’ attempt to channel Mantovani.

      Elsewhere on the album you’ll find a ton of The Fleshtones’ trademark garage-forged “Super Rock.” It’s a high-octane noise that they’ve been pounding out for decades. Queens natives Peter Zaremba (vocals, keyboards, harmonica) and Keith Streng (vocals, guitar) formed the band in 1976, playing a pumped-up hybrid of garage rock, punk, New Wave, and soul.

      Despite Zaremba’s stint hosting an alt-rock show on MTV in the ’80s, Super Rock never got to be super famous. As they sing on the frantic, autobiographical “It Is as It Was” on this album, “We didn’t have a whole a lot of money/But we did what we wanted to.”

      I love the classic Fleshtones sound, so my favorites here are hard-driving tunes like “What You’re Talking About,” “Roofarama,” and “Veo La Luz,” in which The Fleshtones go bilingual — it’s got a fuzz-heavy guitar (with a riff right out of The Yardbirds’ “Heart Full of Soul”) and Spanish lyrics. I wouldn’t be surprised if this were an outtake from their 2012 EP en Español, Quatro x Quatro.

      (This song has apparently been in the band’s repertoire for a long time. Fooling around on YouTube recently, I stumbled across a 1988 live performance of the Fleshtones performing the English-language version, “I See the Light,” originally done in the ’60s by The Music Explosion.)

      “Hipster Heaven” is a good-natured, fast-rocking poke at one of The Fleshtones’ favorite targets in recent years, the contemporary hipster (this one’s got “a new tattoo and money from home”). There’s even a decent tribute to The Ramones here with “Remember the Ramones.” (“You don’t know what it means/To hit the Bowery and make the Scene/For a rock ’n’ roller and a kid from Queens.”)

      But, getting back to those cello songs, it’s obvious on Wheel of Talent that The Fleshtones are trying to stretch beyond their garage/punk roots. Recorded in Spain by renowned Spanish garage-punk producer Jorge Explosion, the strings on “Available” and “How to Say Goodbye” give those tunes a definite retro pop sheen. The former sounds like a rocking Fleshtones tune with some weird strings joining in, but the latter sounds like something that might have appeared on AM radio in the late ’70s (though it also reminds me a little of The Decemberists).

      There are other tracks that also seem to be aiming for richer textures. For instance, on the classy “For a Smile,” guest vocalist Mary Huff (from Southern Culture on the Skids) sounds a little like Jackie De Shannon. “Tear for Tear” is a slightly jittery stab at the greasy early ’60 teen-pop sound. It made me think of Gene McDaniels’ “Tower of Strength.” And surprisingly good is the horn-fortified, soulful “What I’ve Done Before,” on which The Fleshtones sound closer to Van Morrison than they’ve ever come before.

      Once I got (almost) used to the idea of The Fleshtones with strings and came to an uneasy peace with those songs, the only other track that bothered me was “The Right Girl,” which is sung in a phony British accent. If you’d told me that David Bowie was doing guest vocals here, I’d probably buy that story. Instead, I suspect this is some kind of in-joke among the band. But I don’t get it.

      All in all, Wheel of Talent is a good album with a few bugs in it. It’s good to see The Fleshtones still willing to experiment. But next time, I hope they forget the fake English accents and the cello.

      Also Recommended:


      * Todo Roto by Wau y Los Arrrghs!!! Listening to The Fleshtones singing “Veo La Luz” made me hungry for some of the real stuff. Fortunately, the premier Spanish-language garage rockers of this era, Wau y Los Arrrghs!!!, released a new album not too many months ago. It’s produced by Jorge Explosion, who also produced The Fleshtones’ sessions in Spain. But no, Mr. Explosion didn’t bring in a string section for Todo Roto.

      Led by singer Juanito Wau, this is a fuzz ’n’ Farfisa band (or it that a Vox organ?) that never lets up. Each song, it seems, rocks harder than the last one. Even the ones that start off slow tunes like “No Me Veras Caer” are permanently scarred by Wau’s crazy screams.

      While Wau, naturally, is the focus of most of the tunes, his Arrrghs are a tight little unit. On the instrumental “Rescate Griego” they prove they could even be a pretty exciting surf band on their own.

      * Records to Ruin Any Party Vol. 4 by various Voodoo Rhythm artists. I first heard Wau y Los Cantan en Español, which was released on my favorite Swiss label — and in fact, one of my favorite labels anywhere, Voodoo Rhythm.
      Arrrghs!!! on their first album,

      How can you describe a Voodoo Rhythm collection to someone unfamiliar with the artists? Here, verbatim, is how label owner “Beat-Man” Zellar (better known as “Rev. Beat-Man”) explains it in his promo one-sheet. “This compilation may contains Dirty Words and way too Loud Guitars Trash Blues Garage Punk, overdriven Boogie Blues Folk and Weimer Republic 1920s Jazz Cajun and Pure Snotty One Man Band Trash Punk.”

      Got that? The English is broken but the spirit is clear.

      The sampler features label stalwarts like those German blues punks The Juke Joint Pimps, the Swiss garageman Roy and The Devil’s Motorcycle, New Zealand songwriter Delaney Davidson, and not one but two bands — The Monsters and Die Zorros — involving Beat-Man himself.

      Among the artists on this collection that I’d never heard of before were Becky Lee and Drunkfoot, a one-woman band from Arizona that performs a slow, sad, pretty love song called “Old Fashioned Man”; The New Primitives, a South African garage band; and Heart Attack Alley, a New Zealand group whose sound might be described as neo-skiffle.

      Voodoo Rhythm proves once again to be a virtual United Nations of trash rock. Which is why I love them.

      Blog Bonus: Here's some videos:

      First, a recent live clip from The Fleshtones



      Here's that old clip of "I See the Light" in English



      Here's a live clip of Wau y Los Arrrghs!!!



      And here's Becky Lee & Drunkfoot

    • February 27, 2014 9:49 AM CST
    • "Duty Now" is great! Gotta be their most fucked up album, not counting the Hardcore Devo stuff.

      You probably already know that the new Teengenerate record is actually the clean '94 "Egg Studio" sessions of Get Action. I wouldn't say it's necessarily better than Get Action  (a top 10 alltime favourite) , just different. It's well worth picking up. And by "clean", I mean clean by Teengenerate standards. It's still REALLY dirty. Comes with great pics and liner notes too.