A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican 
Dec. 23, 2011

I love Kinky Friedman, but something he said at his Santa Fe Sol Stage & Grill concert a couple of weeks ago irritated me. (Hey, if the Kinkster doesn’t irritate everyone in the audience at least a little, he’s not doing his job.)

Kid Congo & Pink Monkey Birds at Knitting Factory Brooklyn, NY, 2010

He basically said that the only musical acts worth seeing these days are “geezers” like Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Billy Joe Shaver, Iggy Pop, and Levon Helm (and, I suppose, by extension, Kinky Friedman.) He said something similar in his recent interview with my distinguished colleague Rob DeWalt.

I’m willing to cut Kinky some slack. After all, he’s 67 years old, and I’m just a kid of 58. But, jeez, when he talks like that, he sounds like the crotchety old goats of my youth. He should be tied up and forced to listen to nothing but Allan Sherman’s “Pop Hates the Beatles” for 72 straight hours.

The truth is, our modern world is full of great musical artists. I try to spotlight them nearly every week in this column. It’s fair to say that few, if any, of them will get the mainstream recognition of Dylan and the others. But to those with ears to hear, the underground is spilling over with crazy talent making timeless sounds.

This little rant got going in my head the other day when I was driving to work listening to Gorilla Rose, the latest album by Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds. Brian Tristan, aka Kid Congo Powers, plays some of the most interesting sounds being produced today. It’s a wild mix of mutated ’60s Chicano rock, surf, garage, and spooky, noirish R & B.

This album (which is named for an L.A. performance-art character Powers met as a lonesome teenage punk) is a worthy follow-up to his previous work, Dracula Boots, which took similar paths into bizarre dimensions. It’s full of cool-groove instrumentals and weird tales that Powers recites.

I don’t think I’ve ever read any article or review of Kid Congo that didn’t mention his impressive résumé. And I won’t break precedent here. He was the original lead guitarist in the pioneering punk-blues band The Gun Club. And he also served time in The Cramps and Nick Cave’s Bad Seeds. This, friends and neighbors, is what you call credentials. When I saw him and the PMBs play in New York last year, they did some great Cramps covers (”Goo Goo Muck” and “I’m Cramped”) and an even better cover of Gun Club’s “Sex Beat.”

Gorilla Rose starts off with a jamming little instrumental called “Bo Bo Boogaloo.” It sounds as if it came out of some archetypal mod à go-go teen dance club in a 1960s spy thriller. There’s a snaky, sinister organ that reminds me of early ’70s Nigerian music and some serious distorted guitar. The next song, “Goldin Browne,” is driven by a throbbing funky bass lead, while Powers recites “Dark colors, black leather/Stray pets, bad habits/Medicine cabinets, Chairman Mao/Aladdin Sane, Goldin Browne.” And then he repeats it.

The words to the slow, slinky “Catsuit Fruit” are even more mysterious — basically, he lists a bunch of fruits. “Cherries, bananas, lemon, grape, peach, lime ...”

Then there’s “Our Other World,” in which Powers tells a story about being a kid working in a Hollywood record store. He recalls seeing Rick James losing his temper and breaking copies of Parliament’s Gloryhallastoopid as a drag-queen shoplifter ODs in the jazz section.

In “Bunker Mentality,” Powers and The Monkey Birds do a pretty good impersonation of The Fall. Powers even sounds like Mark E. Smith. And, truth be told, I can’t understand a word he’s saying; though I don’t care, because I like the music — jungle drums and repeated cranked-up guitar riffs.

Meanwhile, “Hills of Pills,” with its falsetto vocals backing Powers’ spoken word, reminds me of The Black Lips. The music is dominated by a basic blues-riff slide guitar (hinting at Mickey & Sylvia’s “Love Is Strange”). And this tune should win the prize for Best Use of Kazoo in a Non-Jug-Band Setting.

“Lullaby in Paradise” starts out like some lost Lou Reed song, perhaps the ugly cousin of “Perfect Day.” It’s a slow tune lead by a wistful, almost jazzy electric guitar (with some weird grating distortion in the background). Then the tempo picks up as the guitar attacks a basic soul riff before slowing down again.

Kid Congo is full of surprises. He’ll take a simple neo-punk song like “At the Ruin of Others” and go into different dimensions with a crazy discordant guitar solo that would make Sonic Youth blush. And a little later, just for a few moments, there’s a pseudo East-Indian or Arabic guitar part that sounds like the early days of psychedelia. But then it fades, never to return — leaving a listener to wonder, “Did I imagine that?”

That’s basically how I feel about much of this crazy good album.

Also recommended:

*  El Camino by The Black Keys. Now here’s a decent 21st-century band that might actually have a decent chance of achieving a level of popularity and (gulp!) fame.

Granted, I liked them better in their early days — not that long ago — when they were just a couple of nerdy blues geeks from Ohio who would give up everything just to touch the hem of the garment of T-Model Ford.

These days singer/guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney sound like they’re searching for the ghost of Mark Bolin. This album, produced by Danger Mouse, has a glam-rock sheen. When I saw them live nearly a decade ago, they reminded me of the old proto-metal monsters Blue Cheer. Listening to the new album, I wonder how that could have been so.

The Keys are a lot slicker now than their days of bashing out their high-volume blues as a two-man band, but don’t get me wrong. They’re still rocking. “Lonely Boy,” with its fuzzy, rubbery guitar hook, is nothing short of a gas. And “Gold on the Ceiling” has a healthy blues crunch, even though the main riff is played by some sort of keyboard instead of a guitar, while the minor-key “Mind Eraser” is downright soulful.

So don’t begrudge them their success or their efforts to evolve. I just hope that, as they progress, The Black Keys don’t forget why we liked them in the first place.


Blog Bonus: Here's a song from the Kid Congo Powers show I saw in New York last year. (I didn't shoot this, but I'm pretty sure I was standing right next to the person who did.)

You're just a kid. Matthew. I'm 58, and I thought I was the oldest one here until I saw Old Man Shore's post.

I might have shared this story here before, but last summer while in Austin, I took my son to Emo's to see Stiff Little Fingers. ABout halfway through the first song, the youngsters started their slam dancing. I got hit in the back and knocked around and realized my fucking dentures had been knocked loose. I retreated to the back. I don't think I could have stood the irony of losing my false teeth at a punk rock show.

In case you missed it, here's a good podcast for us oldsters:

http://garagepunk.ning.com/profiles/blogs/big-enchilada-34-grandpappys

I'm 60 and despite the fact that some days my back aches and my knees hurt, I am NEVER going to be too old to Rock and Roll. I love all those bands you mentioned above plus hundreds more. Rock and Roll isn't just music - it's a state of being.

Age can only be a barrier if you let it.

That guy could squeal up a storm, the Treniers were amazing

Somewhere , I said Dave Hill was the sax man for The Treniers. It was Don Hill.

My first show ever was Grand Funk Railroad & Bloodrock at the Fillmore East in NYC in 1970. My first punk concert... Occurred before there was a term called Punk Rock, that was Iggy & The Stooges @ The Academy of Music 1973.  saw The NY Dolls and Dictators at The Coventry in Queens later that year and saw Johnny Thunders Heartbreakers  & The Ramones again, at the Coventry on Queens blvd in 74!  ( pre CBGB's  era ) 

John Battles said:

Well , I lived there for 12 years. The ones that mess you up the most. I did'nt see Really Red , but , I liked the "Suburban Disease" EP , and their much earlier stuff , now that I've heard it. Never bought their LP , tho' I thought it was cool they did Red Krayola's "War Sucks"....I wanted to see them , heard they were really good , live , but , all the Hardcore violence was putting me off my food , y'know. I liked SOME H.C. - Bad Brains , Fear , D.O.A., stuff like that.   Butthole Surfers were terrible , that first time I saw them at the Dead Kennedys gig , but , I guess MDC , and certainly , Stickmen , made them look that much better. Paul Leary told me , later , even he felt it was a very bad night.  Scott Edgerton , that name is very familiar...He MIGHT have been Lithium Xmas ' first Drummer , who was , as I recall , also the Drummer from a group called Spazbot , whom I did a lot of shows with , usually on weeknights , when we were'nt a threat - HA HA HA HA . But , their founding Drummer was quickly replaced by Gitiim Chackamoi , who's from Nigeria , originally. She was the best drummer in town.Everyone wanted  her in their band , and she freelanced a lot , but mainly played in LXmas and The Howling Dervishes , which was also my Brother , Tom , Chuck Rose , from Ft. Worth Punk band , Cringe , and  , later , he was Johnny Carroll's last Bass player. He and myBrother still play in bands together, today.  BUT , the guy from EARLY LITHIUM AND SPAZBOT WAS ALSO A VERY GOOD DRUMMER. I think the late Reagan Eskridge (Could that be who you meant ?) from Quad Pi also played a few gigs before they arrived at Gitiim.

I talked about this , elsewhere , but , Bobby Soxx did'nt seem like such a threat at the time , just starved for attention. When I first met him , he  seemed pretty mellow. We had some very tame verbal disagreements , I guess because maybe he thought I was somebody he couldtalk down to , but , I really was'nt impressed. I heard some rumors and some thingsthat were probably true , but , I think , when Hardcore took over (Even tho' there were no Hardcore bands of note in Dallas . Some , like NOTA , and Stinky Shits , did'nt last long.), he sort of got left behind , though you could'nt call what he was doing "Punk" anyway , it was just slow death. The Butthole Surfers liked them a lot , tho. I could'nt stand 'em. I was'nt alone. But , years later , when I heard Bobby was going to jail for the attempted murder of his Girlfriend (Who lived to testify against him.), I was kind of thrown back. Most of the things I'd heard about him did'nt concern violence at all. I never really saw him in a violent situation at all , and I saw him around a lot , even in the daytime (Rule #1 , back then , was , it's not Punk to be seen in the daytime . Complain about being prejudged by society , but , don't  go out IN society.) . So , I knew him , in passing , but , I don't think that many people were really terrified by him. Maybe scared enough to not want to hang out with him , but , not like they thought he'd hurt them or anything. I did'nt really start going to see The Butthole Surfers , in earnest , until early '84  , after I bought their first EP ,and decided I liked them. They were different every time , never did the same set , twice , and got increasingly theatrical (And Gibby got increasingly nekkid.), and more Psychedelic.

Their gigs in Dallas became events , but , the one time I saw them , here , I was'nt feeling it , anymore.         I guess I felt I had to make the rounds , I was underage and without a car thru the heyday of Dallas Punk , and when better touring bands came thru on a regular basis. When I was a little older , I had to go out and find out for myself what I did and did'nt like. Looking back , most people agree it was a good time , peaking at or around 1986.

Shit, you're from Texas? Cool, did you ever see Really Red (I always missed 'em)? Yeah, regarding Lithium Xmas, my friend Scott Edgerton had a younger brother who was (I think) and original member. Small world... Stickmen w/ Rayguns, everyone I know was scared shitless of Bobby Sox. When I visited Dallas, tho', he seemed like a nice guy to me. Wish I'd seen the Surfers when they were at their most chaotic. I met Gibby and Paul, very cool folks, but that was years later. You made the rounds!
 
John Battles said:

First show ever - KISS , July , 1976 , with Bob Seger (Still kicking ass - check out "Live Bullet" , if it sets you back over a dollar , you was robbed.)  , and the now - popular Power Pop cult heroes , Artful Dodger. I was 11 years old (Before it was the norm to be a preteen at a KISS concert.) , so , of course , I loved it. I thought everyone on the bill was really good , actually.

This show got me out of a potential hazing when I started Jr. High. Some uptight older kid was giving me a lot of shit , when another one said , "Hey. Leave that guy alone. He was at The KISS concert.".

First Punk show ? uhhhhhh....Some people would say "That's not Punk , that's New Wave" , to which I'd say , "That's not I don't give a shit , that's I really don't give a shit."

But , the first show of note , for me , was at a house party in Denton , Texas , 1980 . My Brother's band at the time , The Jetsons (Feat. The future MC 900Ft. Jesus , Mark Griffin.)were playing with Chef Physique and Brave Combo , who used to be GREAT , no World Music , just Garge Rock Polka.). That was when I realized , like Leo Sayer put it "Hmmm...now waitaminnit ...I CAN DAAAAAANCE!!!". I was on the fence about a lot of the new music , but , that show turned my head around (Tho' we had to miss Brave Combo.).

Useless trivia : Mark Griffin went on to become a founding member of Lithium XMas , the still underrated Heavy Psych outfit. Several years later , my Brother , Tom Battles , joined the band , as well , and , in between , the Husband and Wife team that led Chef Physique briefly joined Lithium Xmas ( Who had NINE members at the time. Plan 9 only had eight .). 

Until I had an ID stating that I was 19 , tho' (All the cool kids had believable fake IDs , they tell me.), I did'nt see a lot of bands besides The Jetsons , The Telefones , 10 minutes of Chron Gen , Plimsouls ('81) , Robin Lane and The Chartbusters (same) , The Clash (82) The Stray Cats (same) and The Dead Kennedys w/MDC , Hugh Beaumont Experience , Butthole Surfers and Stickmen With Rayguns, also in '82 . DKs WERE VERY GOOD , I WAS STILL REALLY INTO 'EM. Hugh Beaumont Experience had their moments , they were pretty funny. They were all younger than me , which was encouraging.

Well , I lived there for 12 years. The ones that mess you up the most. I did'nt see Really Red , but , I liked the "Suburban Disease" EP , and their much earlier stuff , now that I've heard it. Never bought their LP , tho' I thought it was cool they did Red Krayola's "War Sucks"....I wanted to see them , heard they were really good , live , but , all the Hardcore violence was putting me off my food , y'know. I liked SOME H.C. - Bad Brains , Fear , D.O.A., stuff like that.   Butthole Surfers were terrible , that first time I saw them at the Dead Kennedys gig , but , I guess MDC , and certainly , Stickmen , made them look that much better. Paul Leary told me , later , even he felt it was a very bad night.  Scott Edgerton , that name is very familiar...He MIGHT have been Lithium Xmas ' first Drummer , who was , as I recall , also the Drummer from a group called Spazbot , whom I did a lot of shows with , usually on weeknights , when we were'nt a threat - HA HA HA HA . But , their founding Drummer was quickly replaced by Gitiim Chackamoi , who's from Nigeria , originally. She was the best drummer in town.Everyone wanted  her in their band , and she freelanced a lot , but mainly played in LXmas and The Howling Dervishes , which was also my Brother , Tom , Chuck Rose , from Ft. Worth Punk band , Cringe , and  , later , he was Johnny Carroll's last Bass player. He and myBrother still play in bands together, today.  BUT , the guy from EARLY LITHIUM AND SPAZBOT WAS ALSO A VERY GOOD DRUMMER. I think the late Reagan Eskridge (Could that be who you meant ?) from Quad Pi also played a few gigs before they arrived at Gitiim.

I talked about this , elsewhere , but , Bobby Soxx did'nt seem like such a threat at the time , just starved for attention. When I first met him , he  seemed pretty mellow. We had some very tame verbal disagreements , I guess because maybe he thought I was somebody he couldtalk down to , but , I really was'nt impressed. I heard some rumors and some thingsthat were probably true , but , I think , when Hardcore took over (Even tho' there were no Hardcore bands of note in Dallas . Some , like NOTA , and Stinky Shits , did'nt last long.), he sort of got left behind , though you could'nt call what he was doing "Punk" anyway , it was just slow death. The Butthole Surfers liked them a lot , tho. I could'nt stand 'em. I was'nt alone. But , years later , when I heard Bobby was going to jail for the attempted murder of his Girlfriend (Who lived to testify against him.), I was kind of thrown back. Most of the things I'd heard about him did'nt concern violence at all. I never really saw him in a violent situation at all , and I saw him around a lot , even in the daytime (Rule #1 , back then , was , it's not Punk to be seen in the daytime . Complain about being prejudged by society , but , don't  go out IN society.) . So , I knew him , in passing , but , I don't think that many people were really terrified by him. Maybe scared enough to not want to hang out with him , but , not like they thought he'd hurt them or anything. I did'nt really start going to see The Butthole Surfers , in earnest , until early '84  , after I bought their first EP ,and decided I liked them. They were different every time , never did the same set , twice , and got increasingly theatrical (And Gibby got increasingly nekkid.), and more Psychedelic.

Their gigs in Dallas became events , but , the one time I saw them , here , I was'nt feeling it , anymore.         I guess I felt I had to make the rounds , I was underage and without a car thru the heyday of Dallas Punk , and when better touring bands came thru on a regular basis. When I was a little older , I had to go out and find out for myself what I did and did'nt like. Looking back , most people agree it was a good time , peaking at or around 1986.

Shit, you're from Texas? Cool, did you ever see Really Red (I always missed 'em)? Yeah, regarding Lithium Xmas, my friend Scott Edgerton had a younger brother who was (I think) and original member. Small world... Stickmen w/ Rayguns, everyone I know was scared shitless of Bobby Sox. When I visited Dallas, tho', he seemed like a nice guy to me. Wish I'd seen the Surfers when they were at their most chaotic. I met Gibby and Paul, very cool folks, but that was years later. You made the rounds!
 
John Battles said:

First show ever - KISS , July , 1976 , with Bob Seger (Still kicking ass - check out "Live Bullet" , if it sets you back over a dollar , you was robbed.)  , and the now - popular Power Pop cult heroes , Artful Dodger. I was 11 years old (Before it was the norm to be a preteen at a KISS concert.) , so , of course , I loved it. I thought everyone on the bill was really good , actually.

This show got me out of a potential hazing when I started Jr. High. Some uptight older kid was giving me a lot of shit , when another one said , "Hey. Leave that guy alone. He was at The KISS concert.".

First Punk show ? uhhhhhh....Some people would say "That's not Punk , that's New Wave" , to which I'd say , "That's not I don't give a shit , that's I really don't give a shit."

But , the first show of note , for me , was at a house party in Denton , Texas , 1980 . My Brother's band at the time , The Jetsons (Feat. The future MC 900Ft. Jesus , Mark Griffin.)were playing with Chef Physique and Brave Combo , who used to be GREAT , no World Music , just Garge Rock Polka.). That was when I realized , like Leo Sayer put it "Hmmm...now waitaminnit ...I CAN DAAAAAANCE!!!". I was on the fence about a lot of the new music , but , that show turned my head around (Tho' we had to miss Brave Combo.).

Useless trivia : Mark Griffin went on to become a founding member of Lithium XMas , the still underrated Heavy Psych outfit. Several years later , my Brother , Tom Battles , joined the band , as well , and , in between , the Husband and Wife team that led Chef Physique briefly joined Lithium Xmas ( Who had NINE members at the time. Plan 9 only had eight .). 

Until I had an ID stating that I was 19 , tho' (All the cool kids had believable fake IDs , they tell me.), I did'nt see a lot of bands besides The Jetsons , The Telefones , 10 minutes of Chron Gen , Plimsouls ('81) , Robin Lane and The Chartbusters (same) , The Clash (82) The Stray Cats (same) and The Dead Kennedys w/MDC , Hugh Beaumont Experience , Butthole Surfers and Stickmen With Rayguns, also in '82 . DKs WERE VERY GOOD , I WAS STILL REALLY INTO 'EM. Hugh Beaumont Experience had their moments , they were pretty funny. They were all younger than me , which was encouraging.

Pretties for you was some awesome evil psyche shit!

Bobby said:

Yer right on dude, I was just talking about the band, not the album.

The first 3 or 4 AC albums were the shit!

Bobby said:

I love the Alice Cooper album, but was talking about the BAND Easy Action... Somehow nobody knows who they are... 

John Battles said:

"Easy Action" (Alice Cooper Group) was mentioned , somewhere....I agree , it's a great , overlooked album , but , like "mAN wHO sOLD tHE wORLD" , it had the unlikeable position of preceding the big breakthrough album , "Love It To Death". Still , my personal favorite of the first two A.C. albums would be "Pretties For You". Not even as coherent as "Easy Action", it's a motherfuckin' mindfuck. Everything California Psych should have been , but seldom ever was (The fact that the band played their first show as Alice Cooper , supporting Blue Cheer , speaks volumes...get it? volumes? Is this thing on?).

Yer right on dude, I was just talking about the band, not the album.

The first 3 or 4 AC albums were the shit!

Bobby said:

I love the Alice Cooper album, but was talking about the BAND Easy Action... Somehow nobody knows who they are... 

John Battles said:

"Easy Action" (Alice Cooper Group) was mentioned , somewhere....I agree , it's a great , overlooked album , but , like "mAN wHO sOLD tHE wORLD" , it had the unlikeable position of preceding the big breakthrough album , "Love It To Death". Still , my personal favorite of the first two A.C. albums would be "Pretties For You". Not even as coherent as "Easy Action", it's a motherfuckin' mindfuck. Everything California Psych should have been , but seldom ever was (The fact that the band played their first show as Alice Cooper , supporting Blue Cheer , speaks volumes...get it? volumes? Is this thing on?).

I love the Alice Cooper album, but was talking about the BAND Easy Action... Somehow nobody knows who they are... 

John Battles said:

"Easy Action" (Alice Cooper Group) was mentioned , somewhere....I agree , it's a great , overlooked album , but , like "mAN wHO sOLD tHE wORLD" , it had the unlikeable position of preceding the big breakthrough album , "Love It To Death". Still , my personal favorite of the first two A.C. albums would be "Pretties For You". Not even as coherent as "Easy Action", it's a motherfuckin' mindfuck. Everything California Psych should have been , but seldom ever was (The fact that the band played their first show as Alice Cooper , supporting Blue Cheer , speaks volumes...get it? volumes? Is this thing on?).

"Easy Action" (Alice Cooper Group) was mentioned , somewhere....I agree , it's a great , overlooked album , but , like "mAN wHO sOLD tHE wORLD" , it had the unlikeable position of preceding the big breakthrough album , "Love It To Death". Still , my personal favorite of the first two A.C. albums would be "Pretties For You". Not even as coherent as "Easy Action", it's a motherfuckin' mindfuck. Everything California Psych should have been , but seldom ever was (The fact that the band played their first show as Alice Cooper , supporting Blue Cheer , speaks volumes...get it? volumes? Is this thing on?).

dave , if I knew how , I would. It's a wonder I can do this much , as I'm self - taught.

"Little Willy" was the first 45 I bought with my own money. Still , it was about 6 years until Sweet had another major U.S. hit , and that's a long time when you're a kid.....I was'nt really into them for a long time , but , when I did some investigating , I discovered  that this was a fucking ace band , as their peeps would say.....Every facet of their career (Except maybe the post - Brian Connolly era. Even some of that is OK. NOT ESSENTIAL.), including  the very early Psych and Bubblegum stuff , has it's charms. I saw the reformed group in , I think , '89.It was Andy Scott and Mick Tucker , both of whom had my jaw on the floor , and , subbing  for Brian Connolly was Mel McNulty of very early Iron Maiden , and later , Slade II , now known as "Slade" . And even THAT has'nt got Noddy out of his easy chair to take back what's his. Oh , well. It's his affair , he does'nt have to prove he sounds like Bikini Atoll.

They came back a couple of times , sand Mick Tucker. Bet your ass I went to all three shows . We don't get this stuff handed down to us on a platter. Slade's last US tour , in '83 , was cancelled due to medical issues.  Our own Suzi Quatro (S'cuse me , I mean , wor Suzi...) has'nt toured the states , to my knowledge , since 1979 (I could have seen her , then , at an all ages festival , but I only knew her thru "Happy Days" , and thought it was OK at the time.) ..... Then , a pre - scandal Gary Glitter sang a total of two songs in the whole of his U.S. performing career , when the World Cup was held in Chicago. It was a $40 ticket , and an otherwise abhorral bill (Yes , James , Scorpions , Fleetwood Mac with only Mick and John , and probably not even Billy Burnette....ugh.). I knew , I sensed it , they'd only give him two songs. I was right. I also learned , later , that they were letting people in free , because no one bought advance tickets. I STILL don't know where the Hell the venue is , though.

So , yeah , I saw Andy Scott's Sweet three times. D'jer wanna make something of it ?

BRIAN WAS UP FOR HIS OLD JOB, WHEN THE SWEET WERE DISCUSSING A REUNION , BUT , his drinking HAD LEFT HIM , SADLY , A WRECK . Reportedly , he'd cleaned up by then , but an English guy told me , when he was living , Brian was lovingly called "Shakes". tHERE'S A DOCUMENTARY on Brian , now on You Tube , made about a year before he died. You will not find it easy to get thru.
 dave said:

Ha, Slade, alright, ya sold me, I'll be looking up their stuff! Hey, I do like the Sweet now, tho' it took years. You might think about putting those 2 cassettes on youtube, sound screamin' (and no Meteors, thank Christ! Ugh, psycho-billy, non, just gimme Cramps)

John Battles said:

There's so many.....But , since I was just talking about 'em-

Lithium Xmas "Aneurysm" (Cassette only. Some of the same material turned up on a CD , "Bad Karma" (?) , years later. ). Total mindfuck Hard Psych. Covers of Beefheart , Ultimate Spinach , Alice Cooper Group , Nilsson , Red Krayola , Lemon Pipers , George Harrison and the cast of "Godspell". No mere Psych Replacements , they made every song their own , with room for songs of their own.....But , what they could do with "The Iron Butterfly Theme" , now that , you should hear (It appears on "Helldorado" , a collection of then - new originals and covers from the early days.).

Washington Dead Cats (Same?)  Also cassette only. French Psych/Psycho/Horror Rock , with Pere Ubu embellishments. They're still around . These hommes did not suck The Meteors' tit. They were into something different , altogether.

David Bowie "The Man Who Sold The World" - Maybe not underrated , so much as overlooked , it has the unfortunate disctinction of preceding "Ziggy Stardust", and , largely , only remembered , today , because Nirvana covered the title track. T. Tex Edwards' version of "Black Country Rock" is so much better , it's not funny. This album reeks of nihilism and paranoia . and it's as heavy , or moreso , as the first two Sabs' records.Marc Bolan's on it , too !

Slade on Stage  - I know it's quite likely no one will back me on this , but , of their three official live LPs , I've always thought this one was hands down , no contest , the best.

It's 1982 ,the band is just getting on their feet again . Two years prior to their one good - sized American hit , and more than 5 years since a real chart single in The UK (Barring Re- appearances of "Merry Christmas , Everybody.") , the band had just recently set Reading ABLAZE with a surprise appearance , and they were'nt looking back.

Faster than a speeding Punk record , Heavier than The New Wave of British Heavy Metal , capable of turning England over to The Geordies with one detonation of the atom bomb blast that is Noddy Holder...... LOOK ! UP ON STAGE !!! fuck me , IT's SLAAAAAAAAAAADE !!!!!!

 

One of my personal favorites is Easy Action.  I have never heard anyone who is not me bring them up.

If oceans was whiskey & I was a dove, I'd dive into it & never come up

Mark e Smith

"We didn't have a positive song until we wrote 'Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue.'" - Dee Dee Ramone

''you created the monster,not me''--John Lydon

 " If you say Punk is not Rock 'n' Roll ,  well , that's wrong. And , if you say Punk is not a form of Rock'n'Roll , well , that's wrong. Punk , to me , is the art of cramming into one second what it used to take all night for us to do. When The Elevators would play with , say , The Conqueroo , at the end of the show, when we'd both played our sets , you HAD to jam. Don't even think of what kind of Hell they'd raise if you did'nt jam.".

"I like The Sex Pistols , sure. They remind me a lot of Fiorello La Guardia. My favorite Sex Pistols song? Hmmmmm. I have it. The First Sex Pistols Song I ever heard? I guess "Hot Cars".

"Somebody sent me a Talking Heads tape.   It's hard to listen to !". 

Roky Erickson.

I'M A godless shit, but I like a good xmas song... you got some goodns

John Battles said:

I'm trying to avoid Xmas songs , if I like 'em or not. But , my favorites are "Christmas in The Congo" by Teddy and The Tall Tops ( The band, recently reformed , has been based in both Dallas and Austin. The original , Dallas - based group - then consisting of Ted Roddy (A distant Cousin to Elvis Presley.) , Jim Heath (The Reverend Horton Heat.) , Phil Bennison (Homer Henderson.) and Jas Stephens (Of The Ft. Worth 60's Teen Garage band , The Neurotic Sheep.- released this in 1983.)..... It's got a Bo Diddley beat , Ted's Elvisian croon , Jim's cutting Rockabilly/R'n'B guitar lines , and cool lyrics. A Christmas song you don't have to wait til Christmas for.

Bob Seger "Sock it To Me , Santa" Foot - in - ass Garage Rock'n'Soul shouter that Mitch Ryder was probably envious of. A hit all year 'round !

Slade - Merry Christmas , Everybody.

Sonics - Santa Claus.

Elvis - Two way tie - "Merry Christmas , Baby" and "Santa Claus is Back in Town".

OK , now , I'm starting to remember it's almost Xmas. L'chaim , y'all.

 

Sonics

Bobby said:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-it0GAZ9JZI&feature=related

andre Williams

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZnZ5EEOWSM

I'm trying to avoid Xmas songs , if I like 'em or not. But , my favorites are "Christmas in The Congo" by Teddy and The Tall Tops ( The band, recently reformed , has been based in both Dallas and Austin. The original , Dallas - based group - then consisting of Ted Roddy (A distant Cousin to Elvis Presley.) , Jim Heath (The Reverend Horton Heat.) , Phil Bennison (Homer Henderson.) and Jas Stephens (Of The Ft. Worth 60's Teen Garage band , The Neurotic Sheep.- released this in 1983.)..... It's got a Bo Diddley beat , Ted's Elvisian croon , Jim's cutting Rockabilly/R'n'B guitar lines , and cool lyrics. A Christmas song you don't have to wait til Christmas for.

Bob Seger "Sock it To Me , Santa" Foot - in - ass Garage Rock'n'Soul shouter that Mitch Ryder was probably envious of. A hit all year 'round !

Slade - Merry Christmas , Everybody.

Sonics - Santa Claus.

Elvis - Two way tie - "Merry Christmas , Baby" and "Santa Claus is Back in Town".

OK , now , I'm starting to remember it's almost Xmas. L'chaim , y'all.

That's just at this second. It might be different in a few.

The Business- Step intoChristmas or Reigning Sound- If Christmas Can't Bring You Home.

Here's a few:

Sonny Vincent - Semper Fidelis 30 years anthology 1972-2002 (Rocking Bones)

Tongan Death Grip - Chula Vista (P-Trash)

Dead German -Vicious Repent (Dead Beat Records)