Saturday, 7 March 2009

This just in from Exile's Swedish correspondent

A true story.
I know these people.
Four of them went to the same high school as me. The guy standing to the right - Tommy Hagman - was in my class. Extremly funny guy. Would propably have been expelled after the first year if he had not left to form this awful, awful band. Me and my friends were hunting imports of US records and thought Tommy was crazy and this music was the most uncool thing in the universe but he was working class, from a small paper mill town along the coast, as was most danceband musicians. The scene was strictly low brow and very gay without being openly gay and these people were making ridicuolous amounts of money. When the rest of us went to university they all had their private villas and drove mercedes. The most popular dancebands had their own private jets. So just think for a moment, that you were growing up in a small paper mill town in northern Sweden, on the same latitude as northern Alaska, and you discovered that you were not that good in icehockey and did not see drinking vodka as a career, this gave you an option to travel, have sex every night in a new town, play music and earn seven figures yearly. So they do not really care if we laugh at them.
Propably still not do.
And one more thing, if you think these clothes and these haircuts are BAD you should see some pics from their very unfortunate mid 80:s Flock-of-Seagulls-new-romantics period.

Erik the Swede

Tonix website here.
(Looks like the 80's photos have been purged!)

A bad Swedish dance band joke

"Hey honey, did you find a Swedish dance band for our anniversary party?"
"I got the Schytts!"
"So you didn't find a band then?"

Free Hossein Derakhshan

More information here.
حسين درخشان

Friday, 6 March 2009

Shut up weirdo!

Attention NEW YORK!

Tackhead tickets at half price from goldstar.com!
$11 plus $3.50 service charge.
See here for all the gig details.
(I am so jealous!)

Swedish dance bands of the 70's





Be very afraid!
More. So much more here (including the band with the most unfortunate name; The Schytts.)
(Again my thanks to SirMick!)
UPDATE:
Hundreds more sartorially challenged Swedish dancebands here.

Bazooka Production No. 1 (Feb 1975)

Much more art from the very wonderful "Bazooka Graphique" crew here.

I am not sure when I first came across the Bazooka art collective, sadly not as well known outside France as they should be. They did some illustrations for the NME back in 1977 and were responsible alongside Barney Bubbles for the stunning cover for Elvis Costello's 'Armed Forces' album. I have to keep sending off to France for their books (a very expensive way of getting them by the time you pay postage!) I will have to start squirreling away my pennies as there is a new book due out in June.
There was a site 'Une Regarde Moderne' that commented on the news daily in art form and from what I can gather with my (very) limited French that there were problems with the manipulation of copyrighted photos.
Pranksters! They used to do supplements for the French paper 'Liberation' and after the artwork was approved they would change it just before printing!
And to those of you who think that it is just "painting over photographs" well - you haven't a fucking clue!

Kiki Picasso - Minh

Kiki et Loulou Picasso's blog 'Underground' can be found here.
Much more art here.

Thursday, 5 March 2009

Loulou Picasso - ("( ' o ' )"){pOoL!!

Loulou et Kiki Picasso's blog 'Underground' can be found here.
Much more art here.

Nerdcats

More here.
(Thanx SirMick!)

Wilco & Feist collaborate

&

Leslie Feist joins Jeff Tweedy for a duet on the next Wilco album due in June.
Story at 'Pitchfork' here.

Haqq (Truth)

Calligraphy by Fahdi (Samir Malik)

Sufi تصوّف‎


'Sufi Dancer' by Marie Taylor.

Fidel Castro's blog

Reflections by Comrade Fidel here (published in 8 languages!)

"I will never enjoy a curry again!"

Woman bites off partner's tongue!
Story from the 'BBC' here.