OK, I know - I said I was bailing but let me just leave you with this Fleshtones Video Chronology and Kim Salmon talking about Blood Red River and other stuff at the I-Bar in the run-up to impending Scientists ATP shows in Australia next week.

A missive from Mr Taber...

"Hi, folks!

In what will likely be Almeron Records final release, I've just received 500 copies of "Always Heed the SYMPTOMS- 'LIVE' in 78".
27 cuts in excellent sound quality, with a total time of 78 minutes. Some classics done LIVE from their classic (and valuable!) original lp, plus a nice mixture of 50s, 60s, and 70s well-known (and not so
well-known) classics. It doesn't suck!

It's $14.99 plus $3.01 postage ($7.01 overseas)= $18 (or $22).

Paypal to tomtaber_14411@yahoo.com, or check, m.o. to Tom Taber, 3746 Tuthill Road, Albion, NY 14411. USA.

Thanks, Tom

p.s. Want an extra copy for a friend (or to put away still sealed)? Just add an extra $10!"

On top of sundry other headaches, I've been having trouble with Blogger and Google today. Pretty low on the list of priorities but just another hassle. This shit should work right?? In these days when we're expected to be contactable etc every hour of the day?? I tell you, this week has made me an arbiter of this ditch MySpazz/Faceblock/Blogger movement that's gathering momentum. Unfortunately I'm addicted so we'll see but one of these outages is gonna push me too far. On top of that the apocalyptic weather conditions that were supposed to engulf us haven't materialised in this part of the world.

The quality of light as I drove back from my daily penance yesterday evening was comparable with summer. Bloody cauld mind you but that's not a problem. There was a micro show flurry this morning but other than that nothing. Even the high winds have subsided. I'm sure that by Wednesday, when we least expect it, mother nature will put her climate boot up our collective jacksy. Anyway, I'm about to switch this blighter off until tomorrow. Aye, right...

Peter C Johnson 1978 – 1981 compiles tracks from the A&M and CBS albums he made during this time. This limited reissue has been put together to benefit the Mark Sandman Music Project in Cambridge, Ma.

Mark Sandman of Morphine died onstage in Italy in 1999. He was “an essential thread in the fabric of Cambridge life” and this facility has been set up in his memory. For anyone who doesn’t know PCJ was all about minimal instrumentation/maximum atmospherics before most. His alumnus includes Nils Lofgren and Bonnie Raitt as well as Carlene Carter and Irene Cara (!). The song “Snowblind” is one of my favourite cuts of all time because every time I hear it I’m transported to another place. It’s dream-like ability to conjure up a trancelike condition has been long overdue. My vinyl copy can rest up now.

Hopefully, as well as providing much needed financial aid to a good cause, this compilation will introduce PCJ to a whole new generation. People who need this kind of aural pop kaboom to soothe away the bullshit that passes for what’s left of the established music biz. This stuff sounds a lot fresher than most all of the stuff that was “happening” at the time. Built in obsolescence wasn’t part of the gameplan back then. There was room to breathe. 30 years later we can use all the clean musical air we can get. So head over to CD Baby, listen to a couple of cuts and see if you agree.

Don’t lollygad though, you need to score one before they’re all gone and you have to live with yet another regret on top of that pile you have already.