Ray Lowry 1944 - 2008

Just found out that Ray Lowry died last week.
For anyone brought up on the NME in the 70's & 80's you will know his work.
He designed the 'London Calling' sleeve for The Clash and went on tour with them to America in 1979, dubbed the 'war artist' by Joe Strummer. The resulting drawings were used in Road Manager Johnny Green's Clash book 'A Riot of Their Own'.
There is an obituary from MOJO here.

One of my favourite cartoons of his was of a blues player's funeral procession with the words ..."well apparently I didn't wake up this morning" coming from the coffin!

kill yr idols

Pitchfork has this documentary available to watch online for the next 5 days or so here.

Kiki et Loulou Picasso - BAZOOKA GRAPHIQUES

Unfortunately not that well known outside of France.
The Bazooka crew have been graphic terrorists since the mid seventies.

You can step into their world here.
If you speak French there is an 8 minute audio documentary here and more examples of their work can be found here and here.

Killer Luka's Amazing Dolls!

Killer Luka has five of her incredible creations over at Dennis Cooper's blog today.
Please check them out.
They are truly amazing.

The doll above is 'Edie as The Broken Girl'.

March 6th 1970 Fillmore East NY

'Miles Runs The Voodoo Down'
(Early & late show versions.)
here.

Imagine Miles Davis as the opening act for Neil Young? But that's the deal in the '70s, especially when you wanted to play New York's Fillmore. The Davis Sextet opened for Neil Young and Crazy Horse and The Steve Miller Blues Band for two nights at the Fillmore East, March 6-7 (Friday-Saturday).

This was the Miles who had released In A Silent Way and Bitches Brew less than a year before, had put out Live-Evil the previous month and would release Jack Johnson the following month.

If playing support act bothered Miles, it didn't show in his music. Miles wrote in his autobiography of that period: "The sound of my music was changing as fast as I was changing musicians, but I was still looking for the combination that could give me the sound I wanted. Jack DeJohnette gave me a certain deep groove that I just loved to play over, but then Billy Cobham gave me a more rock-like sound. Dave Holland played the stand-up bass and I could groove behind that in a way that I couldn't when Harvey Brooks brought in his electric bass sound. The same thing with Chick (Corea), Herbie (Hancock), Joe (Zawinul), Keith (Jarrett) and Larry (Young), too. I was seeing it all as a process of recording all this music, just getting it all down while it was flowing out of my head."

There were two shows each night. Columbia recorded both nights, but this show remains unissued. This two-night gig was Wayne Shorter's last as a member of the Sextet. (He did remain with Davis for a studio date on March 17.) Columbia finally released the March 7 show as It's About Time in 2001. This series of shows at the Fillmore in the '70s was available at Miles Trees and the general consensus was that this March 6 recording sounded much better than the official March 7 release.

As an aside, between these two shows Bill Graham brought in a Sabrett hot dog vendor off the street to feed the bands, the crew, and some members of the audience.

If you like the electric Miles or the jazz-rock Miles, this one's for you.

Lineup:
Miles Davis - trumpet
Wayne Shorter - tenor & soprano saxophones
Chick Corea - electric piano
Dave Holland - acoustic & electric basses
Jack DeJohnette - drums
Airto Moreira - percussion

(BigO)

Dear Red States...

Dear Red States,

We're ticked off at the way you've treated California, and we've decided we're leaving. We intend to form our own country, and we're taking the other Blue States with us.

In case you aren't aware, that includes Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota , Wisconsin , Michigan, Illinois and all of the Northeast.

We believe this split will be beneficial to the nation, and especially to the people of the new country of New California.

To sum up briefly:

You get Texas, Oklahoma and all the slave states.

We get stem cell research and the best beaches.

We get Nancy Pelosi. You get Sarah Palin.

We get the Statue of Liberty. You get WalMart.

We get Intel and Microsoft. You get WorldCom.

We get Harvard. You get Ole' Miss.

We get 85 percent of America 's venture capital and entrepreneurs. You get Alabama .

We get two-thirds of the tax revenue. You get to make the red states pay their fair share.

Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22 percent lower than the Christian Coalition's, we get a bunch of happy families. You get a bunch of single moms.

Please be aware that Nuevo California will be pro-choice and anti-war, and we're going to want all our citizens back from Iraq at once. If you need people to fight, ask your evangelicals.

They have kids they're apparently willing to send to their deaths for no purpose, and they don't care if you don't show pictures of their children's caskets coming home.

We do wish you success in Iraq, and hope that the WMDs turn up, but we're not willing to spend our resources in Bush's Quagmire.

With the Blue States in hand, we will have firm control of 80 percent of the country's fresh water, more than 90 percent of the pineapple and lettuce, 92 percent of the nation's fresh fruit, 95 percent of America's quality wines (you can serve French wines at state dinners) 90 percent of all cheese, 90 percent of the high tech industry, most of the U.S. low-sulfur coal, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools, plus Stanford, Cal Tech and MIT.

With the Red States, on the other hand, you will have to cope with 88 percent of all obese Americans (and their projected health care costs), 92 percent of all U.S. mosquitoes, nearly 100 percent of the tornadoes, 90 percent of the hurricanes, 99 percent of all Southern Baptists, virtually 100 percent of all televangelists, Rush Limbaugh, Bob Jones University, Clemson and the University of Georgia.

We get Hollywood and Yosemite, thank you.

Additionally, 38 percent of those in the Red states believe Jonah was actually swallowed by a whale, 62 percent believe life is sacred unless we're discussing the death penalty or gun laws, 44 percent say that evolution is only a theory, 53 percent that Saddam was involved in 9/11 and 61 percent of you crazy bastards believe you are people with higher morals than we lefties.

By the way, we're taking the good pot, too. You can have that dirt weed they grow in Mexico .

Sincerely,

Blue States

(thanx to smeggers)

JAY SPACEBUBS! - This post is for you...

Why did Piglet go to the toilet?
He was looking for Pooh!

J - there's a bear in there -
in the 'com-pooh-ta'!

love Daddy
X
X
X

'Horses' (Live) - Brooklyn Academy of Music December 1, 2005

Here is a live recording of Patti Smith and her band performing the album 'Horses' from 2005.
Tom Verlaine on guitar as well.

Stormin' Normisms - Happy Birthday George Wendt (for yesterday)

George is a big (no pun intended) music fan.
There were always reports in the 80's NME that he was at this gig or that one in London.
Mostly post-punk bands.

Obama roasts McCain

Dudu Pukwana

Dudu Pukwana & Spear
'Flute Music'
Here.

As already mentioned here I was lucky enough to live in London when Dudu was playing around town.
In fact I saw him in London, Glasgow, Liverpool & Amsterdam.
I also worked at a jazz club in London for a while (100 Club) and when he would play there we would have a few ales...
At the end of the night we often found ourselves catching the same bus and Dudu would play his sax to me and whoever else was there at the bus stop.
Wish that I had thought to record those impromptu sessions on my walkman.

This music is just perfect as the weather starts warming up.

There is a Dudu Pukwana discography to be found here.

Urban Prairie

This is another great online magazine.

New online magazine h+

A new online magazine edited by RU Sirius can be got here.

Palin as President

Have fun here.

(Keep your mouse away from the red phone!)

Kanye West new mp3

Kanye West has a new mp3 'Heartless' (unmastered) available to download at his blog here.

Krzystof Penderecki

Dennis Cooper's The Weaklings blog has a very informative post today on the Polish composer
Krzystof Penderecki.
David Lynch and Stanley Kubrick both used his music in films.
Check it out.
'Matrix 5' can be got here here.

The Reigning Queen (and Kings) of Soul

Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings.
Three tracks: '100 Days, 100 Nights', 'Medina' & 'Genuine'.
Recorded for the Giles Peterson show on the BBC earlier this year.
You can get it here.

A bonus 2 minutes of Mark Ronson in the studio (sort of-hopefully?) taking the piss out of himself here from the Diplo-Santogold mix 'Top Ranking'.

Simone Maynard

'Food & Desire - Conflict II' by Simone Maynard.

The power of the blogworld!
Through a comment left here (thank you) I have just discovered this young Melbourne artist.
The painting above has been selected to be in the running for a prize in portraiture at the Newcastle Region Art Gallery this November.

There are other examples of her work and lots more at her blog which you can find here.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOBBY ACE!

Bob Weir is 61 today.

Here is the Grateful Dead acoustic set from the Melkweg in Amsterdam on this day in 1981.

Back in the 80's I worked in the Milky Way bookshop.
Sounds like a really cool job?
From a distance of 25 years, it seemed that the only customers were very stoned hippies wanting copies of the Kabbalah.

'Cats Flushing Toilets' - music video

More Pink Nasty

Here is footage of her singing 'Burn'.

Pink Nasty

Pink Nasty (AKA Sara Beck) is worthy of your attention.

This will get you her duet with Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, 'Don't Ever Change' (the ultimate in power ballads!) and her cover of Usher's 'Burn'. As a bonus there is also her video for 'Away Message' included.
There is an interview at Aquarium Drunkard here.
Oh and she has a brother called Black Nasty.

Late addition.
Here is a demo for her upcoming third album.
It's a song about getting drunk and buying a dog!

Glenn Kotche - 'Monkey Chant' (live) & solo drumming

Obama Raises The Dead - Review of Monday night

Review from 'Rolling Stone' can be found here.

Phil Lesh & Friends / Bob Weir & RatDog New Year's Eve 2008

Photographs by Herb Greene.

Bark in the New Year with Friends!

Bob Weir and RatDog join

Phil Lesh and Friends for two nights, 12/30-12/31

Special Announcement from the Band:

Just as Hunter warns us to be skeptical when times are great - "when life looks like easy street", etc. - when times are as tough and scary as right now, it's time to plan a party. It's also time to savor our roots, and that means... New Year's Eve Show (plus one!)!

So here's the facts: December 30th and 31st, Bob Weir and RatDog and Phil Lesh and Friends/Phil Lesh and Friends and Bob Weir and RatDog, at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, with the Jackie Greene Band opening both nights.

Which band will open which night will be determined by a coin toss. We may ask our favorite President-elect to officiate. We'll let you know the results.

Pre-sales: GDTS Too (www.gdtstoo.com) and Musictoday (www.musictoday.com) will start accepting postmarks for GDTS Too and be initialized for internet sales via Musictoday starting on Thursday, October 16. Musictoday to start at Noon EST as normal. Pre-sales for GDTS and Musictoday shall conclude on Friday, October 31 at 6:00 PM EST.

Public OnSale is confirmed for Sunday, November 2 at 10:00 AM PST.

(From the RatDog site)


Photos from Monday night here.

THE DEAD at P.S.U. 'CHANGE ROCKS' (13/10/08)

You can listen to the concert here:

http://www.wklitz.com/

Glenn Kotche

What can I say about this guy? If you have heard Wilco or seen them live you will know how good he is. Here is 'Mobile parts 1 - 3' from his solo album of the same name. As a bonus there is also a version of 'Spiders (Kidsmoke)' by Wilco recorded live at 'The Palace' here in Melbourne on the 26th of March this year.
Glenn has also worked with the Kronos Quartet and details of their collaboration can be found here.
Here is an article by Glenn Kotche on Steve Reich's 'Clapping Music'

Spiritualized

Spiritualized will be playing at the Hi-Fi Bar on January 8, 2009.

2009 Laneway Festival lineup

Bit disappointed with this line up though hopefully Four Tet will be doing a sideshow.

John Cleese says "Michael Palin no longer the funniest Palin."

The Grateful Dead / Lille Fairgrounds - France / 13th May 1972

You can get 'Trucking' - 'Drums' - 'The Other One' - 'He's Gone' (SBD) from the gig here.

More photos and other info can be found here.

Bruce Springsteen said...

"Hello Philly,

I am glad to be here today for this voter registration drive and for Barack Obama, the next president of the United States.

I've spent 35 years writing about America, its people, and the meaning of the American Promise. The Promise that was handed down to us, right here in this city from our founding fathers, with one instruction: Do your best to make these things real: opportunity, equality, social and economic justice, a fair shake for all of our citizens, the American idea, as a positive influence, around the world for a more just and peaceful existence. These are the things that give our lives hope, shape, and meaning. They are the ties that bind us together and give us faith in our contract with one another.

I've spent most of my creative life measuring the distance between that American promise and American reality. For many Americans, who are today losing their jobs, their homes, seeing their retirement funds disappear, who have no healthcare, or who have been abandoned in our inner cities, the distance between that promise and that reality has never been greater or more painful.

I believe Senator Obama has taken the measure of that distance in his own life and in his work. I believe he understands, in his heart, the cost of that distance, in blood and suffering, in the lives of everyday Americans. I believe as president, he would work to restore that promise to so many of our fellow citizens who have justifiably lost faith in its meaning. After the disastrous administration of the past 8 years, we need someone to lead us in an American reclamation project. In my job, I travel the world, and occasionally play big stadiums, just like Senator Obama. I've continued to find, wherever I go, America remains a repository of people's hopes, possibilities, and desires, and that despite the terrible erosion to our standing around the world, accomplished by our recent administration, we remain, for many, a house of dreams. One thousand George Bushes and one thousand Dick Cheneys will never be able to tear that house down.

They will, however, be leaving office, dropping the national tragedies of Katrina, Iraq, and our financial crisis in our laps. Our sacred house of dreams has been abused, looted, and left in a terrible state of disrepair. It needs care; it needs saving, it needs defending against those who would sell it down the river for power or a quick buck. It needs strong arms, hearts, and minds. It needs someone with Senator Obama's understanding, temperateness, deliberativeness, maturity, compassion, toughness, and faith, to help us rebuild our house once again. But most importantly, it needs us. You and me. To build that house with the generosity that is at the heart of the American spirit. A house that is truer and big enough to contain the hopes and dreams of all of our fellow citizens. That is where our future lies. We will rise or fall as a people by our ability to accomplish this task. Now I don't know about you, but I want that dream back, I want my America back, I want my country back.

So now is the time to stand with Barack Obama and Joe Biden, roll up our sleeves, and come on up for the rising."

(October 4)

John Martyn

Photograph by Mark McNulty.

One man, one guitar, an echoplex and some fx.
Sounds like nothing and nobody else.
If you haven't heard John Martyn before get this.
Two tracks recorded live in Milan in 1979 ('I'd Rather Be The Devil' & 'Small Hours') with the added bonus of his version of Portishead's 'Glory Box.
Absolutely superb.
There is a 'New York Times' review here of his gig last week in NY and below is footage of Danny Thompson and him performing 'Solid Air' - a song that was written about Nick Drake.

Tweedy & Obama

Jeff Tweedy says

"I think that there are a lot of reasons to be involved with this campaign. It almost feels to me like a last chance to start getting things right and to start putting things on the right path towards having not only a country that reminds me of the one I feel like I grew up in, but having a country that reminds me of the one that I felt like we used to aspire to when I was growing up. This is the first time in my life that a politician has really re-awoken that spirit in people."

(Jeff Tweedy)

Poster by Morning Breath.

How I wish I was going to this

MOM (R.I.P.)

I'm Voting for Obama...

...because Sarah Palin shot my mom!