...IT'S TOO BAD , BECAUSE THERE WAS A TIME THAT WAS'NT TRUE. FOR ALL THE LIMP POP MUSIC OF THE 50'S AND 60'S (STILL BETTER THAN THE LIMP POP DREK OF THE 80'S AND BEYOND.) , THERE WAS STILL SOME CUTTING EDGE STUFF IN THE TOP 100 FOR YEARS. NOW , WE'RE JUST TOLD WHAT IS "CUTTING EDGE". I'M NOT TALKING JOHN CAGE OR STOCKHAUSEN , BUT , LITTLE RICHARD , LINK WRAY , JERRY LEE LEWIS , THE TRASHMEN , AND EVEN ELVIS , WE TAKE IT FOR GRANTED NOW , BUT , THAT WAS HEAVY SHIT .  THEN , OF COURSE , YOU HAD ALL THE GREAT MID-60'S "NUGGETS" ERA HITS , AND EARLY HARD ROCK , BEFORE IT GOT SOFT. EVEN THE LEGENDARY STARDUST COWBOY GOT INTO THE BOTTOM OF THE CHARTS IN 1968 , WHILE BLUE CHEER MADE IT TO THE TOP. BUT  , EVERY ERA HAD IT'S DULL ,LAME POP MUSIC , AS WE ALL KNOW.

Ok, this is cool - especially if you're a science nerd like me.

A joint study from the Spanish National Research Council, The Center for Research Mathematics, and 2 Spanish Universities has been studying almost half a million pop songs from 1955-2010.  They analyzed the songs on the basis of pitch (harmonic transitions, chord structure, melodic range, tonal arrangements), timbre (sound texture, tone quality, instrument diversity, performance expression) and the intrinsic loudness of the recording (that is, the volume level applied during production, not the volume controlled by the listener).

What they found was a logarithmic and power law-driven decline in the diversity of all pitch and timbre parameters, accompanied by a simultaneous increase in the applied volume of pop recordings.  The lead investigator told Reuters: "We found evidence of a progressive homogenization of the musical discourse. In particular, we obtained numerical indicators that the diversity of transitions between note combinations - roughly speaking chords plus melodies - has consistently diminished in the last 50 years."  From their final discussion:

"Much of the gathered evidence points towards an important degree of conventionalism, in the sense of blockage or no-evolution, in the creation and production of contemporary western popular music. Thus, from a global perspective, popular music would have no clear trends and show no considerable changes in more than fifty years."

Damn!  It's a nice validation to what many of us have known all along: all of the interesting stuff comes from outside of the mainstream.  

The Reuters short version: http://ow.ly/czhf6

The full journal article, with all the data (caution: copious nerd-speak): http://ow.ly/cziCM

I have a crappy Silvertone Rockit 21 guitar with practice amp, an MXR M-173 classic fuzz pedal and a Boss FVR '63 Fender reverb fuzz pedal. I know my guitar is cheap, but I can get a cool sounding garage tone going and the pedals add a bit of bang to things. I plan on getting a larger amplifier before too long.

I'll miss him.  He was a really nice guy.

so sorry to hear. i just ordered an import copy of their latest from Dirty Water this week too.

such a good band. now in peace...

Gutted. His music will live on, though.

Very sad...He was still so very young. My thoughts go out to his family and friends at this terrible time.

Horrible news
really sad!
He was a nice guy
RIP

Love going out to Thee Vicars & Chris's family right now, I'm so shocked. He was one of the most fun, awesome people I ever met. Super nice guy. R.I.P. xxx

just the sweetest kid in the world, and so talented, and so funny,  ♡ You Chris !

OMG, really sad news.

Terrible, terrible news only knew the music love and thoughts to those that knew him. X

really bummed out about this. so sad, he was so young, and a nice guy. RIP. x

The Maggots are good but not 100% sure they are from Sweden...can't go wrong with The Nomads though.

Playlist 07/28/12

DUH	New By Ronco
Spider Fever	Don't Let Deth Get In the Way
Off!	I Got News For You
Bloody Hollies	You're So Cold
Wild Evel and the Trashbones	The Avenue of Death
Redd Kross	Lady In the Front Row
Stems	Jumping To Conclusions
Bevis Frond	Lights Are Changing
Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich	Hold On
Who	Run, Run, Run
Shocking Blue	Send Me A Postcard
Animals	When I Was Young
McFadden's Parachute	Hometown
Knyghts of Fuzz	Genny
Nevermores	Lilly's 11th
Lyres	Don't Give It Up Now
Hoodoo Gurus	In The Echo Chamber
Damned	Billy Bad Breaks
Died Pretty	Winterland
Long Ryders	Still Get By
Plasticland	Flower Scene
Adult Net	Incense and Peppermints
Sugar	Gift
99ers	Move It
White Wires	I'll Remember You
Joey Ramone	What Did I Do To Deserve You?
Electric Mess	Falling Off The Face of the Earth
Pygmies	Don't Care About You
60 Second Swingers	Lonely & Blue
Sixty Minute Man	Lazy Eye
Headons	Glassbowl
Bourbon Scum	Rumble
White Pagoda	Brand New Baby
Angry Dead Pirates	I Don't Mind
Stupidity	This Love Is For Real
Molting Vultures	Rocketship To Freedom
Northside Garage	Leave Me Alone
Ace	Whisper Explosion
Rocket From The Tombs	I Sell Soul
Godfathers	Gone To Texas

I'll be on the air and web playing garage, punk and psychedelic tunes from 1:00-3:00PM EST on Saturday July 28. Listen on 89.7 WITR-FM in Rochester, NY and streaming live at http://witr.rit.edu

Hi, you should check my video of the best albums of 2011 and you'll find some great bands:

Thee Vicars! Guitarist died today R.I.P

Hi, you should check my video of the best albums of 2011:

Anybody have this? Looks amazing! Worth picking up???

http://www.dukeupress.edu/Catalog/ViewProduct.php?productid=20245

Description
For nearly twenty years, the much-beloved music magazine Roctober has featured work by some of the best underground cartoonists, exhaustive examinations of made-up genres such as “robot rock,” and an ongoing exploration of everything Sammy Davis Jr. ever sang, said, or did. But the heart of the magazine has always been the lengthy conversations with overlooked or forgotten artists. Flying Saucers Rock ’n’ Roll gathers the most compelling of these interviews. Eccentric, important artists—including the rockabilly icon Billy Lee Riley, the jazz musician and activist Oscar Brown Jr., the “Outlaw Country” singer David Allan Coe, and the pioneer rock ’n’ roll group the Treniers—give the most in-depth interviews of their lengthy careers. Obscure musicians, such as the Armenian-language novelty artist Guy Chookoorian and the frustrated interstellar glam act Zolar X, reveal fascinating lives lived at rock’s margins. Roctober’s legendarily dedicated writers convey telling anecdotes in the fervent, captivating prose that has long been appreciated by music enthusiasts. Along with the entertaining interviews, Flying Saucers Rock ’n’ Roll features more than sixty images from the pages of Roctober and ten illustrations created for the book by the underground rock ’n’ roll artist King Merinuk.

Contributors
Steve Albini
Ben Austen
Jake Austen
John Battles
Bosco
Ken Burke
Mike Maltese
King Merinuk
Ken Mottet
Jonathan Poletti
James Porter
"Colonel" Dan Sorenson
Jacqueline Stewart

About The Author(s)
Jake Austen is an independent music writer and the editor of Roctober magazine. He is the author of TV-a-Go-Go: Rock on TV from American Bandstand to American Idol, the editor of A Friendly Game of Poker: 52 Takes on the Neighborhood Game, and a founder and co-host of the cult-favorite dance show Chic-a-Go-Go, which airs on Chicago Access Network Television (CAN-TV).

I should've guessed that JB, obvious really. Memphis, Micks home town??

John Battles said:

Thank you , M.G.    -     A "SLAB" OR "FULL SLAB" IS A FULL ORDER OF PORK OR BEEF RIBS.    A Half - slab , half of the same.....

I'm surprised they have'nt mentioned that on that program. If they REALLY wanted to see "Man vs. Food" , they should have see me tear away at a full slab at Rendezvous Barbecue in Memphis (Where , just by chance , The Stones have been known to get their 'cue on.).
 
Mark George Harrison said:

You never fail to put a smile on my face JB! What is a 'full slab?' never heard of that before, and Ive watched a lot of 'man versus food!'

John Battles said:

 No , it's true. Mick is from The Deep South . He led the big migration to England that was later followed by The Walker Bros. , Jimi Hendrix , Suzi Quatro and Sparks. He had to take a course in Assimilation , though when he attended The London College of Economics. IN OTHER WORDS , WHEREAS AN ENGLISH PERSON MIGHT SAY "BANGERS AND MASH , PLEASE" , MICK WOULD HAVE SAID , "A FULL SLAB , WITH LOUISIANA HOT SAUCE , CORNBREAD , AND WHAT SIDES HAVE YOU GOT?".

 "TEA , milk and sugar , with lemon , if you will".        "Sweet tea , ma'am"

 " I SAY , I DON'T ARF FANCY HER !"    "Gaaahhh damn ! She's hot as July Jam".

" I quite like Muddy Waters on Chess Records , me. It'd be an HONOUR  to share the same stage with him , one day....AHHHHH. As if that'll ever happen." 

"Muddy Waters? I filled his car up with Regular , once. Purdy good guy to shoot the shit with.".

 Mark George Harrison said:

Are you trying to imply Micks not from the deep south JB? The ever changing Jagger voice has always amused me, from well spoken middle class young man to naughty cockney to cringe inducing faux American accent. Still, when you've got his money!

John Battles said:

Mark George ,    WHA' , Y'MEAN , SOUTH OF LONDON?

I've been too busy to just look it up , but , for eons (That's aoens in Yankeese.)

 I thought Jagger was saying " I'm gonna hit and run rape her in anger"
(In "Midnight Rambler" ) , which , I thought , even for him , was misogynistic as Hell , though , obviously , not coming from the First Person P.O.V. , but from a role played in the song.     But , then , it occured to me , he was probably saying "Rapier" , as he's reading off a list of weapons ( " Knife - sharpened tipee - toe , shoot 'em dead....cloak and dagger....stick my knife right down your throat".).

I also thought an audience member was saying "CODS , HAM !!! CODS , HAM !!!" , BUT , Rock'n'Roll fucks upyour ears.

Mark George Harrison said:

Sorry JB, I did wonder at you getting something wrong!

A lot of Jaggers lyrics are hard to decipher due to his 'southern drawl!'

John Battles said:

THAT'S WHAT i WAS SAYING  , THAT THE CORRECT WORD WAS RAPIER , THE WAY I ORIGINALLY HEARD IT , THOUGH , WAS RAZOR.   FROM "HONKY TONK WOMEN ON , IT'S CORRECT LYRIC , FIRST.           ANYONE WANT TO TACKLE "MIDNIGHT RAMBLER , AND STAY FASHIONABLE , WHILE WE'RE AT IT?
 
Mark George Harrison said:

Whiskey in the jar is rapier JB, not razor. 

John Battles said:

"Hot and Nasty" , Black Oak Arkansas - "They call me hot and nasty , they call me Mr. Pansy.".       Actual lyric - "They call me Mr. Fancy".

Johnny Thunders (And Walter Lure's Heroes) "Too Much Junkie Business"

"Your the coolest thing in town , with your face flat on the ground. Friends went through your pockets as the coffee went down...."

"...AS THE COFFIN WENT DOWN".

( I thought they were saying "Coffee" in reference the suposedly surefire way to revive an OD victim by pouring hot coffee down their throat , which , reportedly , is how original Dolls Drummer, Billy Murcia , died. ).

 

"Honky Tonk Women" , YOU KNOW WHO. "I laid a Divorcee in New York City..."

                                 "I LATER DID THE SAME IN NEW YORK CITY....". 

 

"Whiskey In The Jar" (Trad.) - Dubliners , Thin Lizzy.

" I first produced me pistol , and then produced my rapier." 

"And then produced my razor.''.

 

David Bowie - "Hang on To Yourself" -     "And we move around like tigers on vaseline"

                "If you like f*gg*ts and vaseline".  I'm sorry , that IS what it sounded like until I saw the actual lyrics.

 

"All The Madmen "- "My libido split on me , give me some good old lobotomy."

                           "And The Beatles split on me...." (Very topical for 1971.)

"Ziggy Stardust" - "He could lick 'em by smiling....." . Do I have to say it?

                           "The kids were just crass"     "The kids were just crap.".

 

"Suffragette City"  "AW , DOOGIE , DON'T CRASH HERE"  

                           "There's usually dope 'round here....".

 "Width of a Circle"    'To which he laughed insane "Kahlil Gibran".

                           "To which he laughed and said "God's will , children."

 

Romeo Void (I forget the song.)    "Get THAT JERK OFF YOUR MIND" (Do I have to say it?).

 

Thank you , M.G.    -     A "SLAB" OR "FULL SLAB" IS A FULL ORDER OF PORK OR BEEF RIBS.    A Half - slab , half of the same.....

I'm surprised they have'nt mentioned that on that program. If they REALLY wanted to see "Man vs. Food" , they should have see me tear away at a full slab at Rendezvous Barbecue in Memphis (Where , just by chance , The Stones have been known to get their 'cue on.).
 
Mark George Harrison said:

You never fail to put a smile on my face JB! What is a 'full slab?' never heard of that before, and Ive watched a lot of 'man versus food!'

John Battles said:

 No , it's true. Mick is from The Deep South . He led the big migration to England that was later followed by The Walker Bros. , Jimi Hendrix , Suzi Quatro and Sparks. He had to take a course in Assimilation , though when he attended The London College of Economics. IN OTHER WORDS , WHEREAS AN ENGLISH PERSON MIGHT SAY "BANGERS AND MASH , PLEASE" , MICK WOULD HAVE SAID , "A FULL SLAB , WITH LOUISIANA HOT SAUCE , CORNBREAD , AND WHAT SIDES HAVE YOU GOT?".

 "TEA , milk and sugar , with lemon , if you will".        "Sweet tea , ma'am"

 " I SAY , I DON'T ARF FANCY HER !"    "Gaaahhh damn ! She's hot as July Jam".

" I quite like Muddy Waters on Chess Records , me. It'd be an HONOUR  to share the same stage with him , one day....AHHHHH. As if that'll ever happen." 

"Muddy Waters? I filled his car up with Regular , once. Purdy good guy to shoot the shit with.".

 Mark George Harrison said:

Are you trying to imply Micks not from the deep south JB? The ever changing Jagger voice has always amused me, from well spoken middle class young man to naughty cockney to cringe inducing faux American accent. Still, when you've got his money!

John Battles said:

Mark George ,    WHA' , Y'MEAN , SOUTH OF LONDON?

I've been too busy to just look it up , but , for eons (That's aoens in Yankeese.)

 I thought Jagger was saying " I'm gonna hit and run rape her in anger"
(In "Midnight Rambler" ) , which , I thought , even for him , was misogynistic as Hell , though , obviously , not coming from the First Person P.O.V. , but from a role played in the song.     But , then , it occured to me , he was probably saying "Rapier" , as he's reading off a list of weapons ( " Knife - sharpened tipee - toe , shoot 'em dead....cloak and dagger....stick my knife right down your throat".).

I also thought an audience member was saying "CODS , HAM !!! CODS , HAM !!!" , BUT , Rock'n'Roll fucks upyour ears.

Mark George Harrison said:

Sorry JB, I did wonder at you getting something wrong!

A lot of Jaggers lyrics are hard to decipher due to his 'southern drawl!'

John Battles said:

THAT'S WHAT i WAS SAYING  , THAT THE CORRECT WORD WAS RAPIER , THE WAY I ORIGINALLY HEARD IT , THOUGH , WAS RAZOR.   FROM "HONKY TONK WOMEN ON , IT'S CORRECT LYRIC , FIRST.           ANYONE WANT TO TACKLE "MIDNIGHT RAMBLER , AND STAY FASHIONABLE , WHILE WE'RE AT IT?
 
Mark George Harrison said:

Whiskey in the jar is rapier JB, not razor. 

John Battles said:

"Hot and Nasty" , Black Oak Arkansas - "They call me hot and nasty , they call me Mr. Pansy.".       Actual lyric - "They call me Mr. Fancy".

Johnny Thunders (And Walter Lure's Heroes) "Too Much Junkie Business"

"Your the coolest thing in town , with your face flat on the ground. Friends went through your pockets as the coffee went down...."

"...AS THE COFFIN WENT DOWN".

( I thought they were saying "Coffee" in reference the suposedly surefire way to revive an OD victim by pouring hot coffee down their throat , which , reportedly , is how original Dolls Drummer, Billy Murcia , died. ).

 

"Honky Tonk Women" , YOU KNOW WHO. "I laid a Divorcee in New York City..."

                                 "I LATER DID THE SAME IN NEW YORK CITY....". 

 

"Whiskey In The Jar" (Trad.) - Dubliners , Thin Lizzy.

" I first produced me pistol , and then produced my rapier." 

"And then produced my razor.''.

 

David Bowie - "Hang on To Yourself" -     "And we move around like tigers on vaseline"

                "If you like f*gg*ts and vaseline".  I'm sorry , that IS what it sounded like until I saw the actual lyrics.

 

"All The Madmen "- "My libido split on me , give me some good old lobotomy."

                           "And The Beatles split on me...." (Very topical for 1971.)

"Ziggy Stardust" - "He could lick 'em by smiling....." . Do I have to say it?

                           "The kids were just crass"     "The kids were just crap.".

 

"Suffragette City"  "AW , DOOGIE , DON'T CRASH HERE"  

                           "There's usually dope 'round here....".

 "Width of a Circle"    'To which he laughed insane "Kahlil Gibran".

                           "To which he laughed and said "God's will , children."

 

Romeo Void (I forget the song.)    "Get THAT JERK OFF YOUR MIND" (Do I have to say it?).

 

To Kopper - Yeah , Tony Barber from the (Latter day) Buzzcocks was playing with The Creation at this time...Barber also played in Sham 69 , UK Subs , and reportedly (Tho' he denied it.) The Pork Dukes. In 2001-2 , The Buzzcocks were making plans to reform , after an extended hiatus , so Barber was alternating between The Creation and The Buzzcocks.....Pardon my Rock journalism. I was at the New York show and the two Chicago gigs. They were ON FIRE !!!! 

Trace - I was'nt able to access this recording , but I will try again.

I do know one person who made a top notch audio recording of , I think , the second night , but , I have'nt seen them in a long time , and don't know if they made copies for anyone , except , presumably , the band.

 I did hear , recently , The Creation are still gigging on occasion.

I LOVE it! 

Radio What Wave Playlist....July 29/2012

This show was kinda messed up as we had transmission problems at CHRW....not me on the board fucking up, but something wrong with the signal being fed to the transmitter. I stayed after the show with the Station Manager and we were able to get it somewhat fixed...helps being an electronics tech from way back....hahaha...

1. Tommyknockers....We Want The Airwaves....from a double LP called Gabba Gabba Hey on XXX Records from 1991. This is our pal Rich Coffee's combo making a great opening...also there's a Ramones tribute happening at Call The Office on Friday Aug 3rd. Tommyknockers will not be there as Rich has hung up his rock'n'roll shoes after way too many years in the trenches.

2. The Regulators...What's In The City...from their only 7" and for Jeff Morritt who passed away last week.

3. The Stance...Impossible Baby...from the Shall Inherit The Earth CD and the start of our East coast set....Stance were from Halifax and played London a coupla times a few years back.

4. The Shats...My Swingin' Girlfriend...from a 7" comp called East Infection on Foul And Fair Records.

5. Walkin' Jacks...She Tells Me...from their Drop Dead CD. Buncha characters from various places on the east coast that get together to record some real cool tunes.

6. Deadly Hearts...The Wobble...from their self titled and only CD as drummer Myles Deck has moved to Toronto.

7. Methadones...Heart Of The City...from their 20th Century Power Pop Riot CD. Dan Vapid and The Cheats are here in London tonite and that is 3 of the 4 members of the Methadones. It's a Speed City Records 15th Birthday Party...coolest record shop in London Ontario.

8. Methadones...I'm About To Crack...from the Career Objective CD.

9. Methadones...Bored Of Television...from their Not Economically Viable CD.

10. Kirk Special....77's....from his CD, The Fewer The Facts The Stronger The Opinion...from Adelaide Australia and he was in town 2 years ago....great one man band!

11. Regulators...That's Right, Nothing's Left...flip of the above single and is appropriate as only 2 of The Regulators are still with us. One of the early London Ontario punk combos.

12. Dennis Most...I Love My Car...from the Instigate Me CD that just came into our clutches. Dennis' claim to fame, is his KBD anthem Excuse My Spunk.

13. Stupidity...Move...from the CD of the same name. They are from Sweden and were in the US for several weeks this summer.

14. Pow Wows....Number 13...from their brand new Get Hip single. From Toronto.

15. Fill Spectre...Homesick Party Girl...from the Scare Your Friends CD and is a one man project of one of the Pow Wows...

16. Tyranna....Johnny...from their recent LP on Rave Up  Records...Toronto punks from the late 70's who finally get a real record out!

17. Light Bulb Alley...Pepper Spray...from the Garagepunk Hideout CD called We Love Trash.

18. Ross Daily...Radio Sucks....recorded live at Call The Office 4/9/96 when they opened for The New Bomb Turks. Local combo who are re-uniting for one show only tonite.

19. Ross Daily...I Don't Want You Around....from a 7" they released in 1995.

20. Johnny Terrien and the Bad Lieutenants...El Camino Warrior...from a 7" on Speed City Records.

21. Beat Happening...Revolution??...not sure of the song title, but recorded live at Call The Office 3/18/91 when they opened for Shadowy Men...Calvin Johnson of Beat Happening was doing a solo show in town on the eve of this show.

22. Dynamite Pussy Club...Testify...from the Church Of Yeah CD.

23.Ben Vaughn and Kim Fowley...Chasing The Dragon from their CD, Kings Of Saturday Night from 1995. Fowley yammers as only he can and Ben masters the telecaster!

24. Blue Demons...Cougar Country....from their recent Boppa Do Down 7".

25. Living Deadbeats...Time...recorded live at Call The Office 7/23/12. Great live show on a really hot monday night...glad i booked the next day as a vacation after that one!

26. Living Deadbeats...Control Freak....from their brand new 12" .

27. The Mongrelettes...Boy Is Gone...from the latest Lost In Tyme Fanzine CD...#6, which just came out.

28. catl...Get Outta My Car...from their recent Soon This Will All Be Gone CD...

Thanx for all the phone-ins to tell me the signal was messed up!!  Much appreciated as you guys are on top of things!!

Back again next week with more noise...

Here's the archived show:

http://chrwradio.com/podcasts/94-9CHRWThu1800.mp3

http://chrwradio.com/podcasts/94-9CHRWThu1830.mp3

http://chrwradio.com/podcasts/94-9CHRWThu1900.mp3