So here's the hot ones from the past 12 months as far as I'm concerned. I could list several dozen cool reissues, but since they're nearly all released by the various labels mentioned in the sidebar, I suggest you dig around a bit and select your own picks. Signing off for 2005. Best wishes for the new year to all you NBT readers out there.

Records:

A-Lines - A-Lines
Black Lips - Let It Bloom
Black Time - New Vague Times
Cocorosie - Noah's Ark
Dictators - Viva Dictators!
Digger & the Pussycats - Watch Yer Back
Fevers - Love Always Wins
Ghetto Ways - Solid Brown
Nitwitz - Sex, Lies and Duct Tape
Reigning Sound - Home For Orphans
Spinvis - Dagen Van Gras Dagen Van Stro
Teenage Fanclub - Man Made
zZz - Sound Of zZz

Live:

Black Lips (Rotterdam)
Black Time (London)
CocoRosie (Utrecht)
Count Bishops (London)
Eddie & the Hot Rods (London)
Lyres (Rotterdam)
Television (Utrecht)

ROKY in The Austin Chronicle

New York Dolls on New Year's Eve!

Hard Rock Cafe - Times Square, 42nd st & 7th ave, NYC

Rock & Roll this new year's eve with a show put on by Little Steven and his Underground Garage... NY Dolls will headline with a 45 min. set supported by The Troggs, The Mooney Suzuki, The Woggles, The Fab Faux and others TBA.

Broadcast live on ESPN & ESPN 2 @ 12:30 am! Also streamed worldwide on MSN.com

Find out about tickets

Update at 6.51pm - Chuffin' Hell... I just read Kopper's thing about the tickets for this being $300 a pop!? For that m sort of money surely you would expect The Fleshtones and not The Woggles? A rare stab at humour (forgive me or don't). The world hast surely tilted off its axis. Maybe it's like a fine for crossing the threshold of The Hard Rock Cafe. Oh well. The people who would really like to see a show like that would most likely not be able to afford it. Tis an ill-divided planet.

The real action is at Union Pool in Brooklyn. No doubt about it.

End of the year lists are like the proverbial death and taxes so here's mine. In alphabetical order, cut and paste the artist/title into Google. Many of the act sites are listed on the LH side of this guff.

If you're in NY tonight then head to the Lakeside Lounge for the Amy Rigby show there.

If not then you'll have to make your own entertainment.

Louie Louie – Angel Corpus Christi (Gulcher)

The Barracudas – The Barracudas (NDN Records)

Humming By The Flowered Vine – Laura Cantrell (Matador)

Viva Dictators – The Dictators (Escapi)

Beachhead – The Fleshtones (Yep Roc)

Fuck Y’all EP – Fuck Y’all (Slutty)

Hacienda Brothers – Hacienda Brothers (Proper)

Rock & Roll Is Dead – The Hellacopters (Universal)

Triangle, Dot and Devil – Messer Fur Frau Muller (Aerocccp)

101 Songs about Cars, Girls and Food – The Morells (Almeron)

Think About It – The Morells (Hightone)

We’re An American Band – MX80 (Family Vineyard)

Music For Orphans – Reigning Sound (Sympathy)

Black Hole Rock – Mike Rep and The Quotas (Old Age/No Age)

Little Fugitive – Amy Rigby (Signature Sounds)

Weaselmania – Screeching Weasel (Fat Wreck)

Aloha! Go Bananas – The Spazzys (Fur)

Ready To Go – Suzy & Los Quattro (No Tomorrow)

Feber 2 – Lennart Persson Sweethearts – Various Artists (Amigo Musik)

Designs In Music - Ben Vaughn (Soundstage 15)

Happy trails to you and yours in 2006. Over and out of it.

While RSI and a rather bizarre infection in my fingers is (still) keeping me away from the computer, the positive side is that I have plenty of time to catch up on reading and spinning discs. Tho' I promise to try to give you a rundown on what I've been into before the end of the year.
In other "news"; Alice 'n me spend last weekend in (former rock-city) Groningen for some Christmas shopping and a visit to the local museum (pictured). Even with the Vera club no longer bein' the hot spot it once was, a trip to Groningen is still well worth the bother. Good/cheap record shops, restaurants and musea will always be a plus... And just today we hit The Hague for a visit to the Gemeente Museum. Which, besides the (excellent) usual collection, had some amazing stuff on display by Constant Nieuwenhuijs and Jessurun de Mesquita. Also did a long walk in the freezin' cold to dig some of the city's architectural highlights, and again it was well worth it. NBT tourist info; Who woulda thunk it?

So, you're looking for some Christmas music to make that party swing right? Well, Mike McEchron has stepped up to the plate and saved you. Click this BLACK CHRISTMAS link and you'll get what you deserve.

If you're playing around on the computer, killing time before the world starts to turn again, visit EVAN JOHNS site. I googled him after pulling out "Please Mr Santa Claus" and there he was.

Circumstances prevent me from covering last night’s BEATSTALKERS show at any great length but I can tell you that they pulled it off. They built the critter and people dragged themselves along to the fabled Glasgow venue where the band played regularly some 40 years ago. Augmented by backing singers and brass there was a certain oomph added to the material which included their recorded work and some “standards”. Particularly impressive was a glam marinated sprint through “Stagger Lee”. The Thanes did what they do prior to The ‘stalkers and turned in a fine, possibly too short set of long forgotten and some never known beat nuggets. I left to catch a train with a flu virus stompin’ on my noggin and it’s showing no signs of abating at the minute. My “Christmas” is pretty much on the ropes. I hope you’re faring somewhat better…

Update @ 15.50 hours - Mr Cruickshank confirmed that Zal Cleminson (SAHB) joined the band onstage toward the end of the show and fired things up a gear. It really was a good-natured affair. Like something set up for a great lost episode of Taggart or something. It was more like a social than your regular Barra's rock show. With a special ambience specific to Glasgow and then some.

Just got the word from Mr Vahlberg that FREAK SCENE RECORDS in Stockholm will be starting a closing-down sale on Tuesday (27th). This is one of the last proper record stores on earth and sad news. Juan Capel has done one heckuva tour of duty but he's had enough. And who could blame him? Juan has been a huge supporter of NBT over the years and we wish him nothing but the best.

Yesterday was supposed to be the shortest day but it didn’t feel like that from where I was sitting. Another relative kick in the ribs was the recent realisation that it is Thursday and not Friday. Bollocks indeed. But anyway, the days are fair drawing out and ‘tis the season that yours truly would prefer to be over. The faux bonhomie is in full swing and the (scum)hordes are buying up tons of stuff neither they or you need. The fact they can spend their brains out until late into Saturday means that all kindsa daftness will probably ensue. I don’t think the stores are closing here at all this year?

Need to get to compiling a list of “gear of the year”, assembling a cd, that type of activity. Roll on 12.30pm tomorrow! Beatstalkers at The Barra'lands tomorrow night, be there and be whisked back to what seem like better days.

Check out this NPR interview with AMY RIGBY. She'll be back out this way (hopefully) in Spring 2006...

Ben Weasel's latest entry really resonated with me and he's a young 'un compared to Methusalah here. I scored a copy of his combo's Weaselmania for my nephew's Christmas, hoping that it'll rub off in some way or other. Screeching Weasel really were something y'know and this latest Fat Wreck release is a belter if you need to hit upside the head to that fact. Then you can stock up on the albums...

"To all our friends and enemies alike, we at Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Company offer season's greetings -- hillbilly style, naturally! And we'll be celebrating in such suitable style at Otto's Shrunken Head this Thursday, December 22nd, so stroll, bike or scooter on over and join us, won't you? Next week's show will be our LAST at Otto's until Spring!" Thursday, December 22nd ~ Otto's Shrunken Head ~ 538 East 14th Street (just west of Avenue B), Manhattan ~ From 8:00 until 10:00 sharp ~ No cover ~ Last Otto's show is on December 29th! ~

Seems as though the Lefsetz thing I posted earlier links to an i-Pod commercial so bollocks to that. Too bad because it's very entertaining and the link took me directly to the "podcast". Anyway, nothing is ever simple, it seems.

So what to report? Absolutely sod all happening in this neck of the woods. Gearing up for The Beatstalkers on Friday and very much looking forward to not having to drive to the open prison of a dark foreboding morning until January 4th 2006. I have a dentist appointment on the 9th, gimme that any ol' day!

Let me know if there's anything I should be letting folks in on. Something in your locale perhaps? Don't care where on the planet it's happening, we have readers in every percievable nook and cranny looking for action. Me? I'm getting the bunker ready for some serious batoning of them hatches.

I think that the "security" isssue is sorted now. Tis early days but fingers and everything else crossed that the bugs won't work, cyberinfection wise...

Had the misfortune to have to go out in the early afternoon yesterday, Whoa nelly! The scumhordes were out in droves and all the rages that converge to result in the "festive" mulled variety were bubbling away in the cauldron. I made it but it was touch and go for a wee whiley. Today, we're off to see a "heart-lifting" movie called - wait for it- "Merry Christmas" at Filmhouse in Edinburgh. My ticker ain't in the habit of being raised above working level but we'll see how it goes...

Update - Well the movie wasn't awful but not my kinda thing really. Railing perilously close to being a costume drama, it all seems a little contrived to the point of beyond obvious. It also has "Trevor" from Eastenders in it. Can't exactly recommend that it's a good use of two hours to be honest but there y'go...

Way more Christmassy and very likely to warm the cockles of your ticker is the ability to download Angel Corpus Christi's "Still Feels Like Christmas" for the duration of this holiday season. Go get it!

The amount of decent seasonal tuneage this year is meagre but, completely out of the blue (no pun intended), a lowly 7" by The Come-Ons arrived at this here manger in a sharp hand stamped bag. Three songs, wrapped up in signed brown paper and string. The A-side is an original - "Christmas Lights of Blue", when you flip this baby over there are versions of "Don't Forget To Feed The Reindeer" and "My Favourite Things". I wonder sometimes, how this girl and boys haven't been discovered and thrust upon our undeserving world and then the penny drops. They actually offer entertainment value and our "friends" in the "business" evidently aren't down with that. You (however) can and may download the "Reindeer" portion whist learning about said combo in readiness for the revolution HERE.

Well, after listening to Sounds of the Sixties this morning, I have a desire to buy a Roger Whittaker compilation but that, as they say, is my problem. The other problem with this computer is still persisting so i'm trading warily. As it is, there's sod all to report anyway except to remind you about The Beatstalkers show at the Barra's in Glasgow this coming Friday (23rd). If anything REALLY scintillating turns up then i'll jump on this sucker and will check e-mail periodically. One is thinking of resolution on a number of fronts including my seemingly compuholic tendancies. Of course it wouldn't last but what if it did? What if it did?

Update - The Beatstalkers were on the Janice Forsyth Show on Radio Scotland this morning during the alst hour. You can catch that on the Listen Again feature available through the BBC website. They sound very much up for it and knocked out a groovy version of "Ramble On" in the studio to make sure the listenership got that.

Hello everybody. Getting ready for the Festering Season? Good. There are several hurdles to be overcome on this end including some kinda security issue with this thing I tap away at. I need to get that sorted out before I leave we open to all kindsa nasties which they don't do cream for. Please bear with this. There is almost nada to report anyway so you're not missing owt. If anything REALLY important goes down then I'll brave the cyber cooties to bring it to you. Cannae say fairer than that...

The Human League, The Proclaimers and… The Woggles were among the entertainers that hit up Edinburgh last night. I dragged my arse, through the birdshit canopy that is the underside of the train tracks along the Calton Road to Studio 24 for the latter but due to a coughing fit, I didn’t stay until the end. The venue was bloody Baltic and figure the cold and the smoke must have triggered something to make me feel decidedly gubbed. Anyways, the instro-mental stylings of Preston Pfanz and the Seaton Sands kicked things off quite nattily. With a perfectly measured set both in tuneage and length. Other combos could do well to take a leaf out of their book. I saw The Woggles once before, opening for the very wonderful Girl Trouble in San Francisco. Their Fleshtones approximation disturbed me then and it does so now. It makes me pine for the real super-rock deal and as entertaining as these Atlanta chaps can be, they’re not Zaremba, Streng, Milhiser and Fox. Throwing all the ‘tone shapes, The Woggles work hard but I detect little of themselves in their g*r*ge-r*ck pantomime. These are the Great Grandchildren of Nuggets and the crazy paving to the big burny fire is festooned with good intentions. Sometimes though, that ain't enough.

Preston Pfanz and The Seaton Sands have a 45 available on Forth Bridge Recordings. comprising "Knock Hill Chicane" and "Forth Dimension". The Valves claimed there was "no surf in Portobello", well - there's a fair head of twang to be had in close proximity some 28 years later.

"Hey folks
Jingle balls'n'bells to all you goodly people, especially Andrew & Lisa Perry, lovebirds of this parish, who recently tied the knot! Huzzah!
Saturday the 17th is set for the Sonic Reducer Xmess Thang, a riot of tinsel, bonhomie, alcoholic beverages, and twisted festive funk, soul, garage, punk, soul'n'junk 45s. Expect a snow-capped mountain of tuneage, including Clarence Carter's Back Door Santa, The Sonics' Santa Claus, Otis Redding's White Christmas, Fountains Of Wayne's I Want An Alien For Christmas, and TWO versions of the cockle-warming Christmas In Vietnam (neither by G Glitter!) ...
Our guest spinner for Old Saint Nick's fave hoedown of any annum is Tony 'The Folkie' Bailey, one of yer ever-lovin' SR crew's oldest and bestest friends, and he'll be dishing top drawer 45s from his legendary stash, kept under maximum security at a secret lair, high above the Holloway Road.
Truly, Jambo don't come no better, bar none ...
This Saturday will also mark BigKegShandy's birthday, and you're all invited to come and take the piss out of his increasingly Ray Reardon-ish hairline ... Tips on superior hairpiece manufacturers, under plain cover, will be gratefully accepted ...
If we don't see you at the bar, have a kool yule, and gear noo yerr ...

Selah! Joss & Joe"
---------------------

Sonic Reducer At Filthy MacNasty's - Saturday December 17th - 7pm - Free
68 Amwell Street EC1
Tube: Angel
Tel: 7837 6067

Next SR: Saturday January 7th ...

"The first showing in Scotland of "WE JAM ECONO" The Story of the Minutemen will take place at STEREO on Kelvinhaugh Street, Glasgow on Sunday 18th December. It's at 7pm and entry is a meagre £4 at the door.

All (any?) profits will be sent to the film makers and in addition to the movie there'll be dj's playing the hits and rarities from The Reactionaries on. Plus screeing of live footage of the band in action. Don't choke, do it... econo."

I made a brief, relatively unsuccesful attempt to attempt some Christmas shopping earlier. Not in a busy, bustling metropolis you understand but basically, my retailophobia is accelerating. The condition is now bordering upon apopleptic with no sign of regress in sight. Even in the relatively quiet backwater that I tried, it's too busy. People buying anything and everything to quell an urge to over extend themselves. You get the same crap everywhere now. Market forces have seen to it that conned-sumers like the limited choice. Of course, you can shop on-line but that too is fraught with problems. The fact that you'd have to factor delivery into the fray is, at this point, not really an option. My mind hurts at the very consideration of another patrol but tomorrow, as they say, is another, er, day. Another can o' worms more like...innit?

RIP - Richard Pryor

It's too late an outing for Gran'paw here but you young 'uns are cordially encouraged to hightail it along to Optimo in Glasgow tomorrow (Sunday 11th December) to catch Quintron & Miss Pussycat... "The story goes as such: A club owner-turned outlaw flees Chicago and meets an oil painting puppet theatre founder in New Orleans. There, Quintron's Swamp-tech / Noise / Mood meets Miss Pussycat's Puppetry / Minimal Electronic Soundtracks. This one will be mental. You will also be helping the band out if you attend as they sadly lost pretty much their entire studio when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans."

What's with this weather? Less than a week ago it was sub zero, now its miserably damp but mild. Stand by for mutating viruses everybody. Just in time for your Christmas break. Coughs and sneezes are everywhere, Brits have a stiff upper lip, they don't like to stay in until their cold, flu, whatever is gone. They like to share, particularly the denizens of large open plan, call centre-esque offices. However, jockeying for some imaginary position of status will always win out so what's the point in mithering about it.

Don't forget The Woggles show in Edinburgh this coming Tuesday at Studio 24. It's a school night I know but it'll all be over by 11pm so it's kinda like a matinee. Besides Aram needs to cover his stake on this. Maybe Mr Coleman will write something about his encounter with the band at Dirty Water last night over the next day or so to put you in the mood?

Let's see what else... I guess the deadline for objections to The Cameo debacle passed yesterday. let's hope that enough of us responded to get this ridiculous notion banished from our collective radar. It'll be a couple of weeks before we find out what the verdict on the planning application will be. Fingers and everything else crossed then, eh?

Jings, crivvens, help ma boab... just found this Broons/Oor Wullie site on Tom Morton's Beat Croft blog.

Don't forget the Mose Allison documentary on BBC4 tonight at 9pm then again at 2.30am (Saturday morning). I think it's on again Sunday also (late, going into the wee hours of Monday). They bumped the duet with Amy apparently. Daft but what could one expect. The main thing is that it's on and the music will tower above the pontificating by Mose fans. The thought of Jools Holland giving a demo of the Mose style would be funny if it didn't creep me out so much. However, this is the guy that's done it all and started the whole enchilada. All hail to the king!

Update - Well it could have done with another half hour at least but this was a largely satisfying endeavour. There's a decent balance between Mose himself and his "famous fans". Further clips can be found here including Amy's duet on "Was". This cut will appear on her forthcoming "Everything And Nothing Too", out January 30th 2006 on Shoeshine.

Mose will be in London with his trio at Pizza on the Park from 13-23 January 2006.

The stupid season is well underway. The time when people get even more cavalier with common sense than normal. It's no secret that I hate Christmas (or pretty much everything) but I do have a soft spot for a decent seasonal tune. The Raveonettes "Christmas Song" being one of the very best examples of the type in a long time. And how did I discover it? Through a blinkin' TV ad for a Garden Centre that pushes trees and all manner of other festive bollocks to the tinsel junkies. But anyway, I digress, much as I just want to hibernate in the bunker - sometimes one has to go amidst the hordes of zomboid subscribers to all this hollow tosh. One doesnae have to like it though and the napper-nipping volume of the Christmas music in my local supermarket tonight caused me to formally complain to the cashier about it. People around nodded in agreement and someone was sent to turn it down. If it had been The Ramones, loud wouldnae have been a problem, but Whitney Houston and East-feckin'-17? - just say no. Thankyou but no. No.

Soon available on Norton is a set of Dictators rarities and previously unreleased material. These songs have been doin' the rounds among fans for ages (see the DIY sleeve on the left that I found on the web), but it's great to finally see 'm appear legit. The album will be preceded by a 45 featuring the stellar 16 Forever in it's original 1978 incarnation. Demand a rush release here!

Some good things happenin' en France c/o Rockin' Prod. So mark your calenders.
More details on the Fleshtones tour as soon as they come in...

Don't let this be your winter of discontent, friend! Please come join Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co. in December for its final four shows of the winter at Otto's Shrunken Head. Brrrr!

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8TH / OTTO'S SHRUNKEN HEAD /
538 East 14th Street (just west of Avenue B) /
Two BIG shows, from 8:00 until 10:00 sharp / No cover!

Sincerely,
Michael "Ballads, Boogies & Blues"

In a galaxy far, far removed from all the bullshit awards and Hall’s of Fame that plague our daily existence, there are people who really deserve the accolades that these corporate could never understand. Take Feathered Apple Records from Switzerland as an example. Serving up long-lost slabs of sixties beat of the kind that that simply can’t be. The Sevens were from Basel where the label is based. The joins between the covers and their own fare comes together like a cool piece of invisible patchwork comprising fragments of the brit-scene that inspired them. Fairly Animal-istic. The album is available on cd and vinyl, the latter in a neat repro sleeve with a heavy stock poster tucked into the jacket. The reverse of said wall adornment has the liners and some memorabilia and photos, all curated painstakingly to give the group a voice in 2005.

The Jackie Fountains were a Swedish combo that have unwittingly part of The Stranglers Family Tree. However, before you roll your eyes and think – oh god, not those hippie bandwagoning shysters then rest easy, this was way before all of that bollocks. One of the founding members, Hasse ended up in the pre-Burnel version of that band and co-wrote their “Strange Little Girl”. Anyways, the rich seam of Swedish beat proves that country has always been ahead and The Fountains twang resonates as wantonly today as it did when it was cut. If you have the slightest interest in the period then you oughtta be hightailing it over to the FA emporium. Thrills guaranteed bird-flu free.

While we’re on the subject of beatsville ala 60's, don’t forget about The Beatstalkers pre-Christmas extravaganza at The Glasgow Barrowland Ballroom. They’ll be frugging it up with The Thanes and are promising all kinds of surprises on the night. See you down thonder!

NORTON NEW YEARS EVE BLAST!
Make plans for Rockville now to start the new year off with a Rumble, but not before sending this old year off by Crashing The Party here in Brooklyn, USA with MC Mighty Hannibal as the A-Bones and their special guests the Black Lips (insane new album LET IT BLOOM on In The Red label, kids!) blast off on New Years Eve at Union Pool, with the creme of the local disc jockey crew spinnin' their tiny little brains out: WFMU's Dave The Spazz and Rex of Fool's Paradise fame, Crypt Records' Tim Warren and the Little Killers' Andy Maltz. Union Pool boasts a beautacious old bar, excellent bathroom facilities, and a new showroom with all new fabulous sound system, lights, dance floor and full bar-- plus a great big stage with velvet curtains, plus under the stars patio smoke-n-booze patio lounge for huffers, puffers and overheated Booty Greeners! Rumor has it that the Mighty Hannibal will instruct the curious with Fishing Pole dance lessons, and that the Great Gaylord may be squatting to the E! Also, the 24 hour Kellog Diner is a block away for wee hour eggs and grits! Pass the hot sauce! Union Pool, 484 Union Ave at Meeker, Brooklyn NY (718) 609-0484

Black Lips - Let It Bloom (In The Red). The Black Lips were the big surprise of the Rotterdam Primitive festival earlier this year. What with their previous discs only hinting at what was a rather spectacular live set.
With their latest album Let It Bloom they have finally managed to capture their brand of hi-octane rocket fuel on wax. There's a strong Back From The Grave-like feel to the proceedings but without a hint of retro-isms. This is strictly here and now. Great songs and a scope that is way beyond the reach of your average garage band, this is a strong contender for album of the year.

The closing dates for the SAVE THE CAMEO campaign are looming large. If you haven't already done so, please DO IT NOW! Even if you're not from around these parts, if you have time, lodge an objection. The more, the better the chance that the Council will notice the error of this way.

Apparently the "for sale" signs are soon to go up if they haven't already. Dark days for those of us who neeb independent cinema like oxygen.

So, Amy "did" Edinburgh last night and people came out. The show was also louder than the Glasgow set and underlined the fact that this Cabaret Voltaire place will be more than ready to take over from The Venue when it ceases to operate. It's a great space. Ms Rigby and co were blowing a head of steam just two days into the adventure. It really is something to see her front a band and I hope this is the start of a boost to her status here. It's about fucking time is an understatement. During her visit we also became acquainted with the great Wreckless Eric whose "Whole Wide World" makes an appearance in Amy's set. Eric is magnanimous when he says she should change the gender but the girl plays it in the original male perspective. Check the Amy Rigby site and if she's in your 'hood then do yourself a favour and cut along. The wheels are in no danger of falling off this time out.

MOSE ALLISON documentary "EVER SINCE I STOLE THE BLUES" to air on BBC4, December 9th.

Mr Rooney sent a message to the effect that this very Sunday night, 11pm - Kid Congo and the Pink Monkey Birds at The Sub Club in Glasgow. He might even sneak out and go... I just got back from seeing The Damned, it didn't move me and the keyboard player made it sound fairly heinous here and there. Wreckless Eric did the bizzo though, his half hour delivered more vitriol than the Carry On Up The Punk Rock Oldies seem to be able to conjure up here at the close of 2005. The sooner this year is over, the better!

THE WOGGLES
+ Preston Pfanz & the Seaton Sands @Studio 24.
Tuesday 13th December 7:30pm-11pm
Tickets £4 at the door.
24-46 Calton Rd.
Edinburgh. T:0131 558 3758

"All the way from America. Combine a splash of surf, a pinch of rhythm and blues, a few fistfuls of soul, a whole lotta 60's-inspired rock n' roll, and you get the musical phenomenon that is The Woggles. From songs that shake the rafters to shows that tear the roof off, The Woggles are a four-man delivery system for 200-proof butt-shakin' r-o-c-k."

Amy Rigby's first UK show with a purpose built band kicked off last night at The Riverside Club in Glasgow. Considering this was the combo's first public outing it all went off swimmingly. Much of the set was culled from the latest album, "Little Fugitive" but there were also airings of a full-scale "All I Want" plus a groovin' flamey "You Tore Me Down".

By the time these folks get a few shows notched up this is gonna be a nifty outfit. Skewing away from the trad country path and into twang pop brush. Catch the show in Edinburgh on Saturday at Cabaret Voltaire in Edinburgh. It starts at 7pm.

Sad to hear that The Weirdos had to cancel their tour with The Damned because of personal stuff. It was the main reason for going. Also Patricia Morrison isn't with The Damned either. Bummer. Just have to close my peepers and let the ol' soul drift over to Ljubljana where The Nomads will be tearin' it up as only they can.

Anyway, that's the scoop. More later...

It must be St Andrews Day. There's a programme about Harry Lauder on TV tonight.
Don't think i'll bother with the Mel Gibson facepainting today though. Amy Rigby in Glasgow tomorrow, now there's something to look forward to...

Dunno if anyone remembers the Sixties/Indie club Magic Bus that became Scooter in the mid 90's but the man responsible for playing the Seeds and Manfred Mann at such nights, now cloaks himself under the name of DJ Astroboy and guests at MONDO a GO-GO in Edinburgh this Saturday 3rd December. In the Loft at The Venue, Calton Road. 11pm-3am.

Due to Hogmanay the next Mondo will not be until Jan 28th, so its your last chance to catch some GO-GO action of 2005. Admission discounts are available for Xmas nights out with a group of 10 or more, contact the_gogo@hotmail.com

(note the underscore)

Had a lot of communication today about the latest raft of R&R Hall Of Fame inductees, it was even on the Drivetime news. All part of the “corporate hospitality” vibe. Professional form-fillers flexing their committee, er, muscle. It’s maybe good for the acts in question to have a bit of a piss-up but it has less than fack-all to do with rock’n’roll as I understand that condition. The same way as "the best R&B album in the world ever" doesn’t have a morsel of r & bleedin’ b on it. The HOF is like the Queen’s birthday honours list and “awards” in general, these things seldom, if ever, go to deserving parties. If they do, then it’s by accident rather than design. “Ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated” – part 517b.

You'd think that girl + lap steel would add up to some strain of alt. country, right? Well wrong-ola! Megan Hickey is The Last Town Chorus. A sort of apocalyptic, desert-fried Mazzy Star-esque mood music that can be starkly haunting one minute and downright ethereal the next. A beautiful, sometimes brutal soundscape. Her fragile cover of Bowie's "Modern Love" could really open this up to a wider audience but you know how flakey hipsters can be. By the time the album is ready in Spring of next year these songs should be ready to fly. This is sparingly cinematic bordering on church-like.

There's a free show tonight at Mono (8pm) in Glasgow should you fing yrself in that locale. Catch her before the bush telegraph glows red-hot.

I put this together last night and got sidetracked from posting when Larry Sanders came on. Hey now, it can happen…

Porchsleeper hail from Detroit and until my big nee’bur Per of Hagred sent their second album my way I’d never heard of ‘em. They sound like a Southern-fried Replacements channelling NRBQ to come up with a very superior forward-looking twist on the trusted bar band formula. Anthemic, infectious, there was a time when this stuff could have ruled the world and hearing this, it feels like everything is possible. Of course, we know that’s a crock but it’s good to remember from time to time, what it means to believe. Let this Midwestern combo indulge you in some classic American pub rock with a little pedal steel seasoning as heard on “The Rub”. They also reinterpret The Cure’s “Jumping Someone Else’s Train” like you never expected to hear it, indicating that there’s a couple shots of suss bubbling away amidst the suds.


Future Pilot AKA has a two song taster for the forthcoming “Secrets From The Clockhouse” album just out on the Creeping Bent imprint. It’s a timeless pop chestnut that would have lit up Top Of The Pops if that was still a valid showcase. “Eyes Of Love” features Stuart and Sarah from Belle and Sebastian on vocals in it verily snaps, crackles and pops like The Herd Vs Roy Wood on 2-Tone. Heck, this might even be 3-Tone? Recollecting a golden age when the single was all-powerful. Enchanting isn’t a word I’m prone to cough up but this is all that.

The Plaintiffs “La Familia” is the latest release on Career Records outta Bozeman, MT. Headed up by Seattle-ite and Longshot Joey Kline, there’s a sprinkling of BOC sounding fairy dust evident from the get-go that hits my buttons square. “Final Chance” has a metallic twang and a quasi-spaghetti western type storyline. There’s a cool tongue in cheek humour which pervades the songs and keeps them outside of the pastiche farm. These guys had fun cutting this and that feeling is caught here. They’ve got a lot of chops and they’re not afraid to ham them up. “One Eye Open” is Blue Oy-ska Cult and asks the question “what’s that sound?” Fookin’ entertainment mate, remember that? You will if you get a couple of shots of this baby across your bows. “Can I Ever Get Away With Anything” is a 21st Century Gene Pitney with a spot on Phoenix Nights and “Happy New Year” is my pick for ushering in a rollocking zero 6. Let’s hear it for the Pacific Northwest.

Messer fur Frau Muller’s “Triangle, Dot and Devil” on Aerocccp is dressed in a trim little digipak that wreaks of class. This Messer Chups related soundscape is perhaps a little more “commercial” than it’s twisted exoticabilly relation but no less jaw-dropping. These Moscow-based miscreants are making music that will be ahead of it’s time in the next century. These guys know how to score and surely it’s just a matter of time before they get hijacked for a major ad campaign. From the rubber stamp fetishism of the jacket art to the knowing throb of the grooves, it’s hard to convey exactly how entertaining this is. Les Baxter and Martin Denny transported out of this world and into another where the original Cramps blueprint is the only religion. This is instro and it’s mental. In equal measure. (Note - This blogger text doesn't recognise the proper text. Not even copying from word).

Wee Rock Records is a Springfield, Mo based label which has recently put out The Gentleman Callers “Don’t Say What It Is”. A quality selection of garage punkin’ tuneage that should appeal to those who recognise that the trick of serving this stuff up in 2005 is to inject a healthy dose of themselves into the soup. Sometimes authenticity just isn’t enough and I can report that these gents seem to have given up a couple of their souls to retain a sense of identity. A snotty, swirling primordial groove. “If You Want Me To Love You Again” was recorded for Kopper’s St. Louis based rock’n’roll radio show “The Wayback Machine”. And who the chuff cares if “Square Peg” is just a reconstituted “I Can Only Give You Everything”. At this juncture on a Friday night? Not me.

asteroid b-612’s “Reading Between The Lines” has been revitalised and reactivated by No Tomorrow Records. In keeping with that stable’s services to the R&R community, they’ve cut and shut this collection to prove in no uncertain terms that this combo weren’t just another bunch of antipodean stoogealikes. “Lines” plots an arc of stratospheric rock action. There was a lot of light and shade amongst the bombast and the slow burners like “Still Waiting” are arguably more potent than the straight-out faster and louder songs. In a sort of Reigning Sound sense. The bonus tracks include covers of 19th Nervous Breakdown, Brother Roy’s “Second Cousin” and a Mirror Blues/Final Solution wind-out. An old legion rock spectacular paying homage to some roots that didn’t often show.

That's yer lot then. Charabang leaves for the superfugginmarket in 10 minutes. Don't forget The Last Town Chorus shows in Edinburgh (tonight) and Glasgow (tomorrow). Of course, I'd love to be tearin' up with them Nomads in Helsinki tonight but 'tis not possible. Stand by for news on a public meeting regarding The Cameo debacle this coming week - but later, OK? A haggis breakfast awaits...

Still futzing around with this e-mail trouble I've been having for over a week now. Can't seem to get to the bottom of it at all so the whole system may have to be zapped and reinstalled. Before I do real damage and necessitate such action anyway. Not an appealing consideration but needs must, etc. Blogger at least allowed me to upload images this morning so that's something. The icy arctic blasts we're promised in this part of the world along with everything else make hibernation an option. Further north, they're taking a real pasting. In this period of inefficiency, it's certainly an attractive proposition.

Add a couple of dollups of the severe "cannae be arsed" virus and you'll get an idea of where I'm at circa November 25th 2005. Hopefully our US friends have had a good ol' Thanksgiving bash or two over the pond there. If it gets as cold as they're predicting we'll be able to skate over there in a week or two maybe... or then again, perhaps no'.

THE DIRTY WATER CLUB
in The Boston Music Room
178 Junction Road, Tufnell Park N19

FRIDAY 25th NOVEMBER


THE PRISCILLAS
These girls graduated with honours from the Rock’n’Roll High School (old boys including The Ramones, of course) and then spent a salubrious term at the Academy of Tragic Melodies (the Shangri-Las‚ finishing school, in case you didn't know). Looking like they’ve just stepped out of a Russ Meyer movie, these four girls with big boots, big hair and very small skirts rip through a handful of punk charged sixties go go groovers, delivering a mix of punk and garage rock with pop hooks and attitude a plenty. This is fun with a capital "F". Their last gig of the year so don’t miss it!

THE CHOKE
Despite being been formed for a mere five months, they are already the hottest band in New York. Coming across sounding like sixties girl groups and Motown, filtered through the attack of garage rock and anthemic punk'n'roll they've got the songs and the attitude to take on the world. Catch 'em early before the real hype starts as they take on England this November.

SPOOKEY
Yes! Another all girl combo! From Japan! These teenaged garage pop rockers hail from Hamamatsu and have been described as The Shangri-Las meet the Ramones with a healthy dash of the Clash (and, it goes without saying, truckloads of cuteness!). Formed in 2002, they came to the UK for the first time last year after a British group on tour saw them and persuaded them that they had to come over here. On that first visit they toured with the Priscillas and became firm friends. So who better for them to play with this time around?! On their more recent visit earlier this year they toured with the Briefs and won over a legion of new fans, including Captain Sensible (who invited them to support the Damned on their Japanese dates later in the year). This gig coincides with the release of their debut album on Killer Records. www.spookey69.com

THE RANDOM HEROES
Formed in 2002, the Heroes mix the melody and song writing of Screeching Weasel and The Queers with the speed of late period Ramones. After spending a year or so playing locally, honing their set, they released their debut EP, "Bigger Than Jeebus", and then toured throughout the UK. Their debut album is out in the summer of 2005 on Killer Records.

Not a lot of time at the moment to populate this thing due to one thing and another. Haven't got to the bottom of the e-mail hiccup either which is getting to be a right pisser. But anyway, looks like I won't have to spend a half hour scraping the ice off the car this am. The lull before the alleged (snow) storm. Just so long as I get stranded here and not at the dreaded stalag. Weather permitting this weekend, check these shows out... of course any kids in the Helsinki area will be going to see The Nomads. Correct?

"The Last Town Chorus will visit the UK next week for a few shows. Megan's first solo dates in the UK... lap steel, voice and a digital thing.

+ 25 November (Friday) - London, England @ 12 Bar Club 9PM. Produced by Comes With a Smile magazine. With James William Hindle.

+ 26 November (Saturday) - Edinburgh, Scotland @ Henry's Jazz Cellar . 8PM. With Denghis.

+ 27 November (Sunday) - Glasgow, Scotland @ Mono 8PM"

RIP - Link Wray. The rumblin' man is gone... (I'm not at home right now and the only articles are in Danish and Spanish that Imants Krumins supplied via e-mole). Ben Gart for the info. Sleeve is a NORTON RECORDS release.

In keeping with the things falling apart theme that's going on around here, I seem to be able to get e-mail in but not out. Not sure what the chuff is up but it be getting worked on. So if I don't respond to something I should get back on then that's your reason.

Can anybody out there send me an mp3 of The Raveonettes "Christmas Song"? Just for use while I procure an actual copy. Just tried to buy it from itunes.com an it spat the dummy because I don't have a zip code. Funny that because I'm in the UK you donkeys. No dis to the four-legged variety intended. This would have been my first digital buy but they can go and stick it now. There has to be an efficient, easy way to distribute downloads don't you think? The crumbling vestiges of the old music biz simply don't wash anymore. Bob Lefsetz should be in command of the next generation.

Some music to chew over until some equilibrium is restored...

The Morells anthology “101 Songs about Cars, Girls and Food”, a 4cd set of live material featuring those Springfield, Mo. veteran rockers kicking it up like practically no-one else can. Limited to 500 numbered copies, everything you need to know about the history of rock’n’roll is burned into these shiny circular tablets. The curator of this fine collection can be contacted here… tomtaber_14411@yahoo.com

“Stoneage Cameos” is a tribute to the Hoodoo Gurus “Stoneage Romeos” featuring the songs re-told by 21st Century Aussie combos. You may well ask what the point is but it’s a consistent recreation, with not a lot being added to the originals. SC has The Spazzys performing “I Want You Back” but the standout is “My Girl Part 2” by Spiderbait. There’s a cheeky wee update of “Be My Guru” by The Persian Rugs and an avoid at all costs rogering of “Leilani Part 2” by The Sailors in a Blue Monday treatment. Neither decoration or owt else.





4 two-cd sets of material that have been collated by the Swedish Feber (Fever) journos that boast a wealth of treasure and conduct a grand tour of music in a mixtape style setting. You may not enjoy all of it all the time but, like a well-programmed radio format, there’ll be something along in a short time to get those juices flowing. These Amigo Musik collections encompass "Folk" (Andres Lokko), "New York" (Mats Olsson), "Sweethearts" (Lennart Persson) and "Mainstream" (Jan Gradvall). "Sweethearts" is a girls singin’ soul comp and my hands down favourite but the others have much to commend also. Some inclusions will leave you scratching your head but for the most part, it’s fun to just go with the flow. "Mainstream" is the weirdest one, with Leo Sayer rubbing shoulders with The Raspberries and Todd Rundgren, go figure but it works.

Google Feber Compilations and you should be able to find these. The Amigo site had nowt when I looked.

The uploading of images seems to be knackered again. I've had umpteen goes at loading the poster for Friday's GREASE MONKEYS show at The Wee Red Bar, Edinburgh College Of Art on Friday coming (18th) but it's not working. But head along for a good pummelling why dontcha...?

Update at 6.47am 17/11 - It's working now...

This Cameo thing is really bugging me and has prompted consideration of the following. Based on the ramifications of business and the murky worlds that inform it, this might be completely naïve but here goes…

Couldn’t the Filmhouse mount a campaign to buy the place and absorb it into their portfolio? It would be good to see independent cinema grow and not the multiplexes.

What if everybody who objects pitched in to buy The Cameo and run it as is? Maybe even as a club whose members would support it?? Big Sean could make an investment instead of wasting his money on the SNP?

Judging by what I heard on the wireless this morning, this application has been made by the seller, City Screens. Their angle is to set up the equivalent of 4 home cinema systems to take over from a world-class screening space. The representative of the seller tried to make a case for their proposal but failed to mention that they hadn’t actually applied for a Change Of Use for the building. This could offer hope

Whatever, there are rumblings now that Edinburgh’s great family cinema, The Dominion is not long for this world either. The demise of these two East of Scotland establishments is not progress. More like slapping a band-aid on a festering wound. I figure that the Edinburghers would be better trying to sort out Princes Street and leave The Cameo alone. Quietly doing more for the place than a whole boxload of Hogmanay shennanigans.

Anyway, some further tactics for the campaign which is gaining momentum...

Please note the following:
1. Shortcut to the facility to object to the application.

2. It's absolutely vital that everyone who objects completes the Comments box on the form by making a specific objection - if you leave it blank or make a general objection then your objection will not be registered. It's best that your objection is on a technicality rather than about the loss of the Cameo as we know and love it (which would be ignored). Here is a suggested objection: (please vary wording!) :

I object that this application is being submitted under Listed Building Consent when it is a clear CHANGE OF USE application. The proposed use will be as a public house with film screening facilities, not as existing cinema with bar facilties.

3. It is also essential to write to The Clerk of the Licensing Board, 343 High Street, Edinburgh EH1 1PW as they have approved the first stage of the licence to turn it into a pub, without any questions. They must be pressured to recognise that it is not a simple extension of the existing Cinema Liquor Licence but instead an application for a public house licence.

The deadline for all objections is December 9th.

The Nomads will play Helsinki on Saturday 26th November as part of the Flaming Sideburns 10th Anniversary Blowout. No doubt limbering up for their assault on Slovenia (and Croatia?) in December. (Thanks to Kalevi for the info)

The natives are getting restlesser.

SAVE THE CAMEO. It's your duty as a cinemagoer!

If you aren't, it's your duty anyway.

The lack of action here is (hopefully) only temporary. Stand by for further details. Or don't, as the case may be. Your patronage is important to us but you don't need to hold. Just come back later.

How could Edinburgh Council even consider letting somebody turn the Cameo Cinema into a "Super Bar"? Read about it here.I don't have time to go off on one here about what I reckon to such a proposal but I'll be lodging my disgust with the relevant parties.

If you're from around here, or have ever visited the place during a visit to Scotland, then you should too.

Also in the capital, STUDIO 24 is still in trouble and I'm not sure how long The Venue will exist in its current mode. Things are not good.

From Murray Ramone...

"Description:

In the early 70's, rock photographer Bob Gruen and his wife Nadya purchased a portable video recorder. In a period of three years they shot over 40 hours of New York Dolls footage. Now for the first time ever this footage is unveiled. This feature length documentary captures the band during early performances in New York at Kenny's Castaways and Max's Kansas City, then follows the Dolls on their tour of the west coast, including footage from the Whisky A Go Go, the Real Don Steele Show, Rodney Bingenheimer's E Club and much more. Intercut with revealing interviews, backstage banter and late night debauchery, this is THE definitive document of the New York Dolls.

Song Titles:

Human Being, Bad Detective, Subway Train, Personality Crisis, Trash, Vietnamese Baby, Lookin For A Kiss, Jet Boy, Who Are The Mystery Girls, Private World, I'm A Hoochie Koochie Man, Great Big Kiss, Babylon, Frankenstein, Chatterbox, Pirate Love, Down Down Downtown, Pills

Other Info: Label: MVD, Running Time: 230 mins. Region Code: 1 Format: DVD"

"You are most cordially invited to join Shane Faubert, Jeremy Lee and Gary Pig Gold
as THE NEXT BIG THING kicks off the 2005 New York INTERNATIONAL POP OVERTHROW Festival with their very good pal indeed, DAVE RAVE on Thursday, NOVEMBER 17.

The BAGGOT INN, 82 West 3rd Street (between Sullivan and Thompson) NYC
212 477-0622"

A missive from Mr Spence...

"Howdy!

You've got the opportunity to hear the Grease Monkeys without having to leave the
comfort of your own home and rubbing shoulders with the great unwashed!

We've got a live session on Vic Galloway's "Air" show on BBC Radio Scotland this coming Monday, 14th November. The show's from 8.05pm to 9.30pm, and you can find it on the dial at 92.4 - 94.7FM, 810MW (585MW, Dumfries). We'll be "showcasing" some tracks off our next album, as well as talking shite (no doubt, awkwardly) with Vic.

Also, we've got a few gigs coming up just after that, here's the lowdown....

FRI 18TH NOV - EDINBURGH, WEE RED BAR w/ THE NUKES

TUES 22ND NOV - GLASGOW, 13TH NOTE w/ SPOOKEY, RANDOM HEROES, CHEVY & THE CHASERS

FRI 25TH NOV - GLASGOW, STEREO w/ THE NUKES (Scottish Hobo Soc. show)

MON 12TH DEC - GLASGOW, BARFLY w/ THE WOGGLES

...further details nearer the time. Okay, tune in Monday night - drop off after yer coco! 'til then, Adios! ......................Jim & the Grease Monkeys"

Those in or near San Francisco should head for the S.F. rock & roll filmfest this weekend. Main features are All Kindsa Girls and Edgeplay, plus live entertainment by the Flakes and Tina Luchessi.

AVAILABLE SOON!

Alle Macht der Super-8 - Berliner Undergroundfilmer stellen sich vor Catching a Glimpse of West-Berlin Subculture, 1978-1981

"West Berlin at the end of the 1970s: a new generation is looking for the truth of being amongst the debris of the past. The "nouveau sauvage" (Neue Wilde) establish the Galerie am Moritzplatz, the SO 36 opens, and bars like Schizzo, Café Mitropa and Risiko turn the night into day. Everyday life turns into art, and art becomes mundane. 'Nothing is true – everything is possible' is the sign of the times. The films of Alle Macht der Super8 emerged at the margins and in the middle of this transformation. Super8 technology was cheap and easily available. Anyone could work in this medium without expertise or investment. Anyone could materialize his own subjective view of the world and share it with others.

In 1981, these films were collected by a man called padeluun, himself a movie maker, musician and network activist. What emerged from this was Alle Macht der Super8, a nine-hour long compilation of these films that went on tour through West Germany, Austria and Switzerland in the same year.

This DVD presents twelve Super8 films, selected from the original programme and newly restored. Also featured are Knut Hoffmeisters Deutschland, interview clips, and original documents.

These films speak about the paradoxes of a movement that never was a movement and never wanted to be a movement. Alle Macht der Super8 – Berliner Undergroundfilmer stellen sich vor gives a glimpse of West Berlin subculture in the years 1978-1981: radically subjective, riotously funny, without compromise."

Films
01. Pommes Frites statt Körner, Yana Yo FRG 1981, 5:24 min.
02. Ohne Liebe gibt es keinen Tod, Ingrid Maye & Volker Rendschmidt, FRG 1980, 4:35 min.
03. Der Elefant vom Potsdamer Platz, Peter Fischer Piel, FRG 1980, 7:35 min.
04. Berlin – Alamo, Knut Hoffmeister, FRG 1979, 8:50 min.
05. Hammer und Sichel, Walter Gramming, FRG 1978, 4:31 min.
06. Don´t forget to leave the highway, padeluun, FRG 1979/80, 6:58 min.
07. Underground USA, Ika Schier, FRG 1980, 5:39 min.
08. Die Enthüllung des Phantoms, Hella Santarossa, FRG 1978, 8:28 min.
09. Handlich, Ruza Spak, FRG 1980, 8:53 min.
10. 3302, Christoph Doering, FRG 1979, 14:35 min.
11. Nur Geld ist aufregend, Axel Brand & Anette Maschmann FRG 1980, 11:58 min.
12. Darum oder Was erwartest Du?, Jürgen Baldiga, FRG 1980, 6:12 min.

Bonus Material
Deutschland!, Knut Hoffmeister, FRG 1980, 21:15 min.
"Alle Macht der Super8" - Interviews of Yana Yo, Axel Brand, Knut Hoffmeister and padeluun (12:30 min.)
Catalogue "Alle Macht der Super8" (1981) PDF

THE DIRTY WATER CLUB in The Boston Music Room, 178 Junction Road, Tufnell Park N19

TOMORROW!... FRIDAY 11th NOVEMBER

CHRIS WILSON & HIS GROOVIN' FLAMES

Chris Wilson joined The Flamin' Groovies to replace the departing Roy Loney as lead singer and spearheaded their proudly Anglophile masterpieces, including Shake Some Action, Flamin’ Groovies Now! and Jumpin’ In The Night before going on to form The Sneetches. Bringing things up to date, Chris has now moved to London and joined the ressurected Barracudas. With appreciation for the Flamin’ Groovies as high as it’s ever been, Chris figures that there are enough people out there wanting to hear the songs that he recorded and played on during his time with the Groovies. So with the most rabid of fans on board, including members of The Scientists, The Barrracudas, The Scoundrelles and Silver Chapter, be prepared to hear note- (and attitude) perfect renditions of such favourites as the aforementioned, as well as Slow Death, You Tore Me Down, Between The Lines, When I Heard Your Name and many more classics besides.

The Scottish District "Cooncil" wants to nurture "oor" musical talent. Why do I find this so creepy? Politicians and pee-hee'ers, not a recipe for success in my experience. However, the 21st Century Jackie Dennis may be preferable to some of the derivative bollocks that the "young yins" indulge in. Those with a phd in form filling will be only too glad to steer them toward oblivion.

Guilty until proven innocent it is then.

The upcoming Scottish shows by Amy Rigby are her first UK outings with a band.

But not just any band, several of the same combo that'll be bringing the ol' Dirty Water Club down this impending Friday.

Tony Thewlis, Rob Coyne and Yan Quellian will be joining Amy for what will hopefully be the first of many. A little bit country and a whole heapin' helpin' of rock'n'roll. Oh yes! You can do one or both, 1st December (Glasgow) and 3rd December (Edinburgh). Take yer pick.

Pictured this afternoon just a couple o' miles down the road from HQ while out there havin' fun in the warm november sun. Maybe this global heathing thing ain't such a bad deal after all...