New Angel Corpus Christi disc out now on Gulcher:
From the press blurb; '"Divine Healer' is Angel's first full-length release since her sadly overlooked major-label disc in 1995, White Courtesy Phone' (on Herb Alpert's Almo label).  The core band of Angel (vocals, accordion, harmonica), Rich Stim (guitar, bass, piano), Dave Mahoney (drums), and George Earth (guitar, bass) is augmented by contributions from songwriter Don Ciccone, Dean Wareham (Galaxie 500 and Luna), bass player Nancy Kravitz, and behind the mixing board, Craig Leon (Ramones, Blondie, etc.), Mark Bingham (MX-80, Social Climbers, etc.), and Dave Nelson.
A couple Angel faves are resurrected for all the ears who missed 'em the first time: "Pull Girl" is a tasty piece of mutant bubblegum, like Veronica Lodge fronting Suicide, and "Candy" is even sweeter.  The Ross/Stim songwriting team also give us "You," "Rock & Roll Shoes," "Sadder," "Sleepwalker," and with help from Don Ciccone, "I'll Say Goodbye" and "She Said."

OK, some straight propaganda here, the Dictators are out 'n about again, just make sure you catch 'em.
Friday, May 30, Maxwell's, 1029 Washington Ave. Hoboken, NJ
Tuesday, June 10, The Casbah, 2501 Kettner Blvd. San Diego, CA
Wednesday, June 11, Spaceland, 1717 Silverlake Blvd. Los Angeles, CA
Thursday, June 12, Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St. San Francisco, CA
Friday, June 13, Dante's 3rd and Burnside, Portland, OR
Saturday, June 14, Crocodile Cafe, 2200 2nd Ave. Seattle, WA
Saturday, June 21, Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey St. New York, NY

LINK: Amazing site that houses video-interviews (in quicktime) w/ a whole bunch o' NYC scenemakers; H.D. Manitoba, Leee Black Childers, David Johanson, Danny Fields, Martin Rev, John Holmstrom, et f'in' cetera. Like I said; amazin', but you might need a decent cable or DSL connection (some ungodly time in the middle o' the night usually also does the trick). GO!.

LINK: Here's a bunch o' pics taken at the opening of some exibition at Manitoba's, lots of old familiar (wrinkled) faces. GO!

Post-Eyerack. That what they're putting the UK's dismal zero in the way of points display in the Eurovision Song Carry On. Nowt to do with plumbing new depths in sub karaoke galumphing then? While all that was happening though, Avy and I were doing some Avant gardening at Le Weekend in Stirling. This is a yearly event curated by David Keenan of The Wire which brings outsider gear to Scotland. I'm not up to any speed whatsoever with this stuff but it's fun to gawp for at least a day. LW isn't yer average festival and The Tolbooth isn't yer average joint. It's a civilised place and being an auld guy I likes that.
After a wee spell in Europa Records ( a store withan amazing vinyl grooveyard oot the back) it was time to go hang aboot and take in sets by Damon and Naomi with Ghost. Not the ghost that inhabits The Tolbooth, the Japanese ensemble. Very atmospheric and if you were scoring a film this would be the way to go... quality haunted psychedelic folk.
Next up was Arthur Doyle. A strange cat says Thurston Moore and that turns out to be quite the understatement. As droolingly incoherent as much of his pieces were, Arthur was strangely entertaining. No question, he looks like an old homeless guy but his sax and piano attacks were equal parts captivating and un-nerving. Folks with weak stomachs were runnin' for the exits. Arthur Doyle is here, Arthur Doyle is Here he scatted, yes he is but he is also (way) out there. Caught up with my auld mucker, Edwin Pouncey who was utterly to blame for the period I spent writing for Sounds. A top guy who's lose none of his edge over the annums. Le Weekend is a weird scene but lang may it convene. It reaches parts other festivals could never reach let alone tweak.

LINK: You'll probably have to sign up somewhere, but some guy has put up a bunch o' pictures of the Flamin' Groovies in France durin' the 70s at the Groovies' Yahoo club that are well worth the bother. GO!

Swamp Rats - Disco Still Sucks!. (Get Hip).
Now here's one I've been wanting to hear ever since I had to pick up my jaw after first exposure to these guys on the debut volume of the 'Back From The Grave' LP series. Their insane take on the Sonics' 'Psycho' included there was/is even louder than the originators were able to master, and that's obviously a pretty hefty trick to pull. Over the years a couple of other song appeared on various comps (an equally raunchy take on 'Louie Louie' and a rippin' version of the Sparkles 'Ain't No Friend Of Mine'), all of which left me beggin' for more (and unable to track down a copy of a 1980 collection called 'Disco Sucks' put out by the band, hence the title here). But now we finally have the band's entire output in one place, including a four page detailed history. "So does it deliver?" I hear you axe. Well, to be honest; no. The above mentioned tunes are easily the cream of the crop here and still sound way beyond compare, but at this late date I have trouble findin' any excitement in hearin' garage band staples like 'In The Midnight Hour', 'Hey Joe' or 'Till The End Of The Day', no matter who plays 'em. Most bizarre is that their savage take on 'Psycho' was originally backed by a nails-across-blackboard version of the Fab Four's 'Here, There and Everywhere', makin' you wonder if it's actually the same band !. So by all means dig in for the good 'uns on deck, just be prepared to lift the tone-arm with some regularity when spinnin' this.

LINK: (via Jan Kooi) And while we're on a Mad Daddy trip why not dig this site that houses a couple o' complete shows of boppin' and blastin' funny-farm broadcastin'. GO!.

The New Nortons Have Arrived
It's always a great day 'round here when the latest batch of Norton releases lands on my doorstep. Few labels are able to keep the quality control up in the long run, but Norton has done just that ever since the mid 80s, and the dynamic duo from Brooklyn that runs this biz should have long been given awards and unlimited funds to further their crusade. Their latest offerings include a new live album by Andre Williams (backed by ace Dutch combo Green Hornet), that's easily the man's best since his return to the world's stages. Green Hornet supply him w/ a soulful groove that has been lacking from most of his recent recordings and it suits him just fine. 'Wavy Gravy !' rounds up a truckload (50 no less) of airchecks by legendary Cleveland DJ The Mad Daddy (hipped to most us youngsters by the Cramps on their first LP). Breathtakin' atom-smashin'-zoomeratin'-mello-jello radio broadcasts that are way beyond the scope of the overpayed ego-jocks that litter the airwaves these days. 'The Fabulous Wailers' is the CD edition of an earlier Norton vinyl set roundin' up this Northwest band's earliest instrumental sides of which 'Tall Call One' was an actual bona-fide hit, tho' the rest of the material hardly slouches behind. Four previously unreleased demos plus new liners by Billy Miller ads to it's desirability. Roky Erickson's Wake Up To Rock'n'Roll' 45 is a taster for Norton's up-comin' 'Don't Knock The Rok' full length of late 70s live recordings of the Rokster w/ the Aliens, and judging from this it's gonna be a winner!. The series of jukebox 45s that Norton has been pushin' our way for a while now has turned into an amazing collection of some 70 discs, latest additions include 4 blazin' rockabilly two siders by the mighty Benny Joy, the insane Musical Linn Twins (related to Ming & Ling perhaps?) and wild R&B screamers by Phil Flowers and Poontang Perkins. Great, great stuff that only makes me whish I had a jukebox to house the little buggers....

LINK: (via Dubbelmono) Punk jokes. GO!.

And you wanna know why bands like the Nitwitz (or just about anybody else) love tourin' Spain?. Just dig these pics of some rather extreme audience participation!. GO!.
And while you're at it, why not download the Nitwitz latest masterpiece 'Rock'n'Roll Conquistadores' here.

LINK: Great article on the Dictators in Detroit's Metro Times. GO!.

LINK: Lowcut # 4 is online: http://www.lowcut.dk, This time with the following content: Live Reviews: Gore Gore Girls, The Flaming Sideburns, Elmo Williams and more as seen from the bar. Record Reviews: The Cramps, The Blow Tops, Leg Hounds, Scat Rag Boosters and many more. Features: Grrrls Riot Festival in Aalborg and a LowCut report from National Danish Radios "independence day". Interviews: The Movement, The Felchers and Geisha + Danish Rock news, movies and more.

UPDATED: The ever cool I-94 BAR; incl. (ao) an interview with Radio Birdman bassist Jim Dickson on touring, bands and dinner. GO!

LINK: (via Jan Kooi) '90s punk decries punks of today.
BERKELEY, CA—Nineties punk Drew Tolbert, 29, expressed scorn Monday for the punks of today, denouncing them as "phony poseurs unworthy of the word 'punk.'" GO!.

I guess this thing is on?... so some kind of introduction might be in order... this is the latest manifestation of something called THE NEXT BIG THING. A beastie inspired by the mighty Dictators that set sail in the heady months of 1976 into '77. Although the first (proper) issue didn't come out until 1977, there was a pilot in late '76. It had a drawing of Eddie and the Hot Rods, Iggy and Cyril Jordan on the cover that I clocked in an old Sounds Barry Lazell (God bless 'im) column. None of those survived and that's probably for the best. How come I'm still involved in all this hoo-hah is as much a surprise to me as it is to anybody else. specially being way past old enough to know better but "involved" I am so we (you and I) might as well lump it and I'm not altogeher happy with the state of music circa May 2003. Moaning old get mayhap, Garage Rock surge overground notwithstanding, a guy has the right to air his tuppenceworth. I have it on good authority from one Tony Parsons, on IPC notepaper, that I'd never amount to being a writer and I don't recall ever claiming to be. He, on the other hand...

So NBT - Next Blog Thing - operates under te ethos that there really only is good and bad. Music, Film, whatever and we don't dig pigeonholes or demographics. If it floats wir boat, we'll tell you. If it dosnae and we figure you ought to be hep to that then we'll hoist that up the ol' flagpole also. Sometimes we crew members may even disagree (Turbonegro - I say nay, Jeroen says Yay!), viva la controversy...

So yeah, with the (substantial) aid of my buds - Jeroen (Vedder) and Steve (Coleman), we've set this thing to comment on popular culture as it festers. We share a common goal to rid the planet of the limited shelf-like shite that permeates our collective existence. If you ain't all the way down with that then please "log-aff" as they holler around these parts. Between us we'll guide you outta the lame-erkey wilderness. So there you have it. I've rattled on enough. Pans are underway for a new volume of actual print too, so I'll let you know about that in due course. So here goes, NBT hauls its wee bahookie into cyberspace, 26+ years after #1 hit the streets. Welcome then...

New York City - Catch the Fleshtones at the downtown Virgin Megastore (52 E 14th St. – near Union Square Park), Thursday, May 15 at 6 pm.

Rat Scabies has teamed up w/ two former Godfathers, and they are set to take on the world as the Germans. The MP3 available on their site sounds like an early Godfathers 45, and that ain't no bad thing. GO!.

And yet another reunion; "Crime are back in business with a new studio LP on the way. Johnny Strike (guitar & vocals), Mike Lucas from the Phantom Surfers (bass) and Hank Rank (drums). The band are continuing rehearsals and will be jamming with various guitar players until they find the right one. The band plan on recording their new album this summer". GO!.

The return of Creem magazine. GO!.

This month's releases from Ace Records. GO!.

After the massive amounts of Dutch beat boots of recent years there's a sudden flood of legal CD reissues around at the moment from both the Popinstituut and BR Music that cover both the big names and the more obscure acts. And it's obviously great to see this stuff finally available to those interested in fine sound quality and expertly annotated (for those of you outside Holland may I recommend the fine folks at Bomp mailorder, easily the best, and cheapest source for this, and other cool stuff). Tho' amazingly enough the bootleggers still come up with obscurities that the majors overlook. Cases in point; Bonny St Claire's 'Tame Me Tiger'/'I Surrender' 45. Best know over here for at least 30 years of aural atrocities and an ever failing battle against alcoholism, this boot turns up two amazing late 60s tracks, the first a solid rocker, the second a current fave on the UK northern soul circuit. The Sandy Coast's first 45s are collected on a great 10" entitled 'Subject Of Our Thoughts' that shows that, even with a decent choice in covers (Byrds, Small Faces), they were most comfortable w/ their own brand o' folky beat tunes (of which 'I'm A Fool' was recently covered by the Thanes). Another major find is the re-issue of the 'Tiener Band Show!' comp LP, the Dutch equivalent of those 'Live at the Cavern/Star-Club' type o' discs that combine ragged live-in-the-studio performances dubbed w/ audience screams, that I've always found the best way to hear continentals bastardise the Chuck Berry songbook !. Last, and certainly not least, is a mysterious lookin' disc w/ a sleeve that shows a B&W pic of a dog and is entitled 'Please, No Smoke!', that turns out to include a 1967 live set by Van Morrison backed by Cuby & the Blizzards (!). Taped off Dutch radio the sound quality is only so-so, but jeez, I really can't imagine anybody not wanting to hear this at least once. Van is in fine form and the Blizzards at times sound like a bluesier Velvets. Great, great stuff !. The flip is some Cuby live recording of more recent vintage, but still pretty solid, 'cept for the horid "symphonic' take on 'Window Of My Eyes'. The whole thing gets rounded off by 60s Italian band Gli Uragani and their cover of 'You're Body Not Your Soul', more inter continental cross fertalisation that nobody ever knew about. Hey, I might be biased living here, but the amount of great music that came from mid 60s Netherlands never stops to amaze me. Whatever happened to these people anyway?, did they really all became keyboard salesman and data typists?.

Turbonegro (or Turgidnegro as I call 'em now) brought their wares to Glasgow this past Thursday (8/5). Always had a wee thing for the records but figured the schtick was bogus. Alas my fears were totally founded. It turns out that the 'negsters are a ploy. A warning which lays out what could happen if Andrew Lloyd Webber got his hands on some Dictators riffs and gave them to the corrie-fisted dumbasses in Saxon. The singer, Uncle Lumpy or Demis Cooper or whatever his name is is particularly irritating. The ironic double bluff doesn't wash and as prog-punk goes this is tired marketing with a money-hoovering agenda. I know perfectly well-balanced individuals that disagree but would I lie to you? If you want to support Norwegian R&R - Fly Gluecifer, they belt it out with a gusto that these guys never could. Get a hold of The Tracemen's immense "She's Got A Hard On"... do anything, but consign this bag of shite to the dumper where they belong. I guess we should really have begun to wonder when fellow stodge-rockers Queen of duh Stone Age staryed hailing 'em. Denim delininquents with a Pierre et Gilles overbite or an average at best abberation that will soon pass. Turbonegro are here to fleece the world and I've got a feeling y'all are being cheated. Knew I shoulda saved my ticket money for The Raveonettes...

Kidnappers - Ransom Notes & Telephone Calls (Alien Snatch).
Somewhere halfway 'tween the better Rip Off releases and the Hives at their rockinest best lies the territory occupied by the Kidnappers, a young German trio set to take the globe by storm w/ their explosive brand o' punky-rock'n'roll. A version of Lolli & the Chones' 'Everybody Hates Me' should give some clues, while closer inspection reveals that 'Hey, Hey, Hey' liberally quotes the Dolls' 'Mystery Girls' and 'Excuse Me' is a thinly disguised rip of the Count Bishops take on 'Teenage Letter'. Obviously the kind of influences one can wear w/ pride, but rest assured that their own material easily compares. These guys are on a mission, and I suggest you donate to their cause ASAP.

Was wondering about whatever happened to the long promised Runaways documentary film (yep, I wonder about such things early in the morning!) and came across this lengthy, but interesting, interview w/ Victory Tischler-Blue (AKA Vicky Blue) that made me even more curious. GO!

While diggin' thru' some ol' 'zines here at HQ, I came across an excellent interview w/ Greg Shaw in an issue of Black To Comm (anybody knows if this mag is still in biz ?). And guess what, it's available on-line. Long, but definitely worth your while. GO!.

Rubber City Rebels - Pierce My Brain (Smog Veil).
Dunno how many of you remember the Akron Ohio hype of yore, the net result of which was that it all but buried a couple o' great bands. And yep, the Rubber City Rebels was one of 'em. A fantastic split LP w/ the Bizarros on Clone from '77 and a lone full-length for Capitol three years later were by and large ignored and the band soon faded into obscurity. So it was a real surprise to learn that the guys have not only returned to the stage in recent years but even came up w/ a entire new album thanks to the kind folks at Smog Veil. And whatever you think about reunions the final question on any disc should be "is it any good?". The answer here bein' affirmative, as we're dealin' w/ a batch o' solid contempo p-rock tunes that shows this gang of rebels can still cut it, grey hairs or no. If you haven't been introduced yet, I'd suggest you first pick up some of their earlier works (also available from Smog Veil) to get some idea where these guys are coming from, and once you've come to grips w/ that (or if you've been diggin' 'em since whenever) you'll find that this new disc 'll sit comfortably next to the vintage stuff.

Why bother?; Greg Ginn planning Black Flag reunion (at least he's smart enough not to get Rollins involved). GO!

Joey Ramone's Birthday bash. GO!.

Dee Rangers - Pretty Ugly Beat (White Jazz)
The members of this Swedish band have been producing infectious beat music in one form another since the mid-eighties. Featuring several former members of the Maryland Cookies, the guys decided to dedicate themselves to nothing but 60s inspired punk sounds in 1997. With a string of singles on labels such as Estrus and a recent debut long player on White Jazz, the Dee Rangers have by their own admission always struggled to put "that sound" on wax. However, in January they made a long anticipated trip to London and holed-up in Toe Rag Studio for a week. The result is a punchy thirty plus minutes of beat-punk that features inspired guest appearances from Parsley Lion on keyboards and Don Craine on backing vocals/maracas. Pretty Ugly Beat kick-starts with the vengeful Won't Be Back Again and is followed by Come On (I'm A P.U.B.) complete with frantic harp blowing and lacerating guitar licks. Other highlights include Musta Petteri - a twanging intro based on a Finnish traditional tune, Everything I've Got To Give - a new arrangement of a familiar song with "Dee Sect" appeal, and the closing I'm Lost, a nasty slab of brooding Eurobeat if ever there was one. On this evidence the Dee Rangers need to forget the message of the opening track and book a return trip to London as soon as possible. In the meantime, look out for an ep on Munster that contains four bonus tracks from the Toe Rag sessions.