The legendary Kid Congo Powers, co-founder of the Gun Club, guitarist for The Cramps and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, will be releasing his new album with his group Kid Congo & the Pink Monkey Birds this spring.

Titled Gorilla Rose, the album follows in the footsteps of the band’s 2009 Dracula Boots with more ram-charged boogaloo, sleazy psychedelia and Chicano garage rock. In The Red records is gearing up for the new album by releasing a series of oddball limited edition vinyl-only records by the band. The first of these releases dropped this week in the form of the “Five Greasy Pieces” subscription series.

This is a very limited edition (250 of each) series of five different singles each containing two brand new tracks. Starting in January, In The Red will be issuing one of these a month.

The fifth and final single in the series will come with a handsome box in which all five will be housed. The only way to obtain these singles is to buy a subscription on the In The Red website. In March In The Red will be issuing a live LP by the band titled Live At The Prom which will be another vinyl-only limited edition release available exclusively online and at live shows.

29.3. D – Berlin- White Trash
30.3. D - Frankfurt - Ponyhof
31.3. F - Lyon - Le Clacson
01.4. F - Montpellier - La Raf
02.4. F - Macon - Cave a Musique
03.4. F - Gigors - Gigors Electrique
04.4. F - Marseille - L'Embobineuse
05.4. CH - Geneve - L´Usine
06.4. F - Dijon - La Vapeur
07.4. F - Paris - Point Ephemere
08.4. F - Beauvais - L´Ouvre Boite
09.4. F - La Rocjhelle - La Sirene
10.4. F - Lorient - Le Galion
12.4. UK - Leeds - Brudnell Social Club
13.4. UK - Newcastle - The Cluny
14.4. UK - Glasgow – Optimo presents at Glasgow School Of Art
15.4. NI - Belfast – TBC
16.4. EI - Dublin – The Mercantile/Ubangi Stomp Club
17.4. EI - Cork - Crane Lane theatre
19.4. UK - Manchester - Deaf Institute
20.4. UK - London - 100 club
21.4. UK - Bristol / TBC
22.4. UK –Brighton – Green Room
23.4. SF - Helsinki - Bar Loose
29.4. Barcelona
30.4. Madrid

Haven’t really had time to gather my thoughts this past couple days but here are a couple of clips from the MM show on Saturday. A real triumph. Everyone involved gave it their all, so much heart and spirit and hard work to put together in the first instance but more than justified by the performance. The sound was great too which isn’t always the case in The Arches.




If you want more then head over here and take your pick.

The vibe in the room was tremendous and I really hope that they can somehow do it all again, all over the place. You need to experience this first hand.

RIP - Jane Russell

RIP - Suze Rotolo

RIP - Mark Tulin (Electric Prunes)

RIP - Eddie Kirkland

Thanks To Jasmin for the link...

Where some people avoid and ignore, I mope and wallow and it’s not an attractive disposition. I’m not really too well versed in avoidance but I would dearly love to learn how to ignore. If these were Olympic events then I would be way up the table rankings. Presumably drinking can alleviate certain elements, at least briefly but that’s not my bag anymore, at least not here at home. Stimulation just isn’t forthcoming and as entertaining as tearing some lacklustre music a new one might seem, that’s not what this backwater is for.

Mr Stigliano should be aware that I did start some reviews and then got sidetracked. Really need to hook up the various players and replace some cables. In retrospect, seems that I’ve been avoiding doing that pretty good so maybe you ought to take that first statement with a pinch of salt.

The Monorail Film Club presents Blank City.

Tomorrow night (Sunday 27th) at GFT.

Mondo Morricone at The Arches in Glasgow tonight (Saturday 26th).

Listen to this.

The Primevals are set to journey south in April and then they’ll hop over to France for a few days to spread the word on Disinhibitor. Re-issued on Twenty Stone Blatt and available in blood red vinyl and on CD. I imagine you can “download” it too but who in their right mind wouldn’t want one of the more tactile editions? There are some landfill artefacts you just can’t do without. If you’ve sat through one of my sermons on de-cluttering and take issue with any of this, including the “right mind” stuff then please be informed that I have no idea where I’m at if truth be told so that's my get-out clause.

Here are the show dates...

9th April : London, 229 Club at The Water Rats (Kings Cross)
10th April : Brighton, The Hydrant club
12th April , Rennes, Le Sambre
13th April : Paris, La Féline
14th April : Dijon, Deep Inside Klub
15th April : Pagnier, Chez Paulette
16th April : Nîmes, Café Olive

Managed to drag myself out to attend a genuine world premiere screening last night but it didn’t take place at the Glasgow Film Festival, this one went down at the Bo’ness Hippodrome.

Northside is the first feature by a couple of local chaps (Bruce Strachan and Simon Beattie) shot in this area rather than being a documentary on the Factory Records post-baggy (?) band. Brought this far on what must be considered fumes as compared to a real budget, it hangs together pretty well. Like a darker aspect of Take The High Road intersecting Glen or Glenda with a rumour of Bill Forsyth. If The Broons ever made it to “the pictures”, the lady that plays Mrs McLeod would make a “braw” Maw.

It was the first time that the makers saw it on a proper (big) screen too and even though the date is 2009, this was the first time it had made it beyond family and friends DVD players. The venue really adds a sense of occasion to something like this. Not sure where it might be seen next but maybe you can find out here.

Brother David Alvin... Justified! (thanks to HT)

I’ve had to face the fact that I can’t head out for any the Palmyra Delran shows with Stupidity & The Cocktail Slippers!.

A mix of vacation time conflict and most damaging, the escalating over-budget of upgrading the bunker in recent times, means that I have to sit this one out. Guess the fact that I’m actually typing this rather than thinking it makes it all final.

While I’m not altogether relishing hearing about how I missed out on some real big fun – that’s just the way it goes sometimes. Anyway, that doesn’t mean that you can’t go. The shindigs start tonight!

Fri Feb 25: VIRUS, Örebro, Sweden (plus the Satans!)
Sat Feb 26: NEW BOWL HALL, Stockholm, Sweden (plus the Satans!)
Tue Mar 1: REVOLVER, Olso, Norway
Wed Mar 2: VERTSHUSET, Sarpsborg, Norway
Thur Mar 3: HOUSE OF ROCK, Moss, Norway
Fri Mar 4: BRYGGETAKET, Fredrikstad, Norway

RIP - Eddie Serrato

Mr Duff wishes it to be known... "Following from the February 4th Edinburgh celebration of the life of Lux Interior, we're doing it all again on the West Coast this Friday, the 25th February in Bar Bloc.

Some new bands, some repeat performances, all giving it up for Lux, the frontal lobe of the greatest rockandroll band ever to ooze over your record collection. Join us and throb to the Songs The Cramps Taught Us from...

• The (new) Pharisees • Iain Shaw • The Charles Randolph Rivers Slim Rhythm Revue • Acid Fascists • The Bastard Suits • Z28 • The Kosher Pickles • The Fnords • The Bucky Rage • Filthy Little Secret • Louise McVey & The Cracks In the Concrete •

All of this and extremely cool interband dancing tunes from the esteemed record collections of DJ Brydo and Mickey Rooney from the Primevals! Free badges and Cramps Family Tree CD for first 50 in the door.

Exclusive liner notes by Ian Johnston (author of the Wild, Wild World of The Cramps) and by me. £5.00 at the door and all profits to charity, www.dec.org.uk

Records on at 9pm, first band on at 10.30pm, close at 03.00am.

I don’t even switch the computer on before I go to work in the morning anymore, part of the regime change in this particular part of the world. There’s some bunker guff to contend with this evening so I’ll leave you in the company of Girls On Top. Ulf sent me the link yesterday with the message “bet you love this”. I’m pretty sure that I met the singer at DWC once and this 7” only release is possibly something that you won’t want to pass up. What's not to?

Good old fashioned punk rock daftness in all its glory. And it reminds me that there’s a Phobics around here someplace that requires my attention and subsequently yours.

The weekend went by in a blip. Mixed blessing but in my particular case, more of a mixed curse.

The soon to be released to cinemas restoration of The African Queen is cracking and perhaps proof that digital editing can be used for good. Seven years in the process and well worth catching if it plays near you. A sixty year old masterpiece. Angela Allen who worked as continuity girl and even Katherine Hepburn's stunt double here and there during the film. they don't make them like this anymore. Films nor Angela Allen.

The second part of the No Wave strand was a bit of a bust although there were aspects of “Letters To Dad” that I liked. Almost typed “that were interesting” there which would reveal too much of my advancing ADD. For some reason, I got it into my head that Wildgirl’s GoGo-rama was to feature in one of the films but that was delusional and I cut out before the final slice. Hopefully my leaving meant that it was bearable for the remainder of the audience but I wouldn't count on it. So I made my way past the Reel Big Fish queue at the ABC and just made it to the station in time for the train that would speed me toward home. Thankfully there were no stragglers from the bigots gala that took place earlier in the day.

And if there was, they were gye quiet.

And to box off this weekend of culture, the Nic Cage fracas that is Ghost Rider was on TV. Utter piffle and a missed opportunity to use the grandeur of Rev/Vega to sprinkle it with at least some memorable music. I fuh-fuh-faded away during it and woke up after it was all over

I don’t check spam very often. Mainly because I get hammered with it but just recently I found several legit mails in that howff and a lot more bogus messages in my regular in-box. ISP can’t stop it. There are bots generating cyber-reams of this crap to bombard us with and I don’t have the will or the mind to police it. So I just delete everything. Inevitably there will be (mail) casualties but that’s the line in the sand.

There are a dozen or so sites that I check pretty much daily even although they’re not updated regularly. The rest are totally random and even sites that purport to be about news aren’t refreshed to the extent that they used to be. Cutting to the chase, the sheer volume of crap has overwhelmed everything and I’ve pretty much decided that I’m not playing anymore. The scale of my disentanglement will be in direct correlation with my getting shorter by the minute fuse. Even I’m not sure what I mean by that but the general timbre is correct.

Winter doldrums?

Join Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co. this week for two hours of uplifting songs about bears, hot dogs and grandma! Um...feeling better yet?

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24th / OTTO'S SHRUNKEN HEAD /538 East 14th Street (just west of Avenue B) in ol' Manhattan's East Village / Two neo-classical shows, from 8pm sharp until 10pm / No cover!

Most sincerely,

Michael

Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co.

"Ballads, Boogies & Blues"

A missive from Ericland.

ATTENBERG (Trailer) from filmswelike on Vimeo.

"Attenberg" is a strangely compulsive piece. It combines some genuine heart with some toe-curlingly awkward moments to arrive at an downbeatly positive conclusion. Must admit to the hairs standing up on my neck when the credit music cut in. One thing I would say is that the main character Marina is more of an Alan Vega fan than outsight Suicide but many of you will enjoy the exchanges and the way that the music is cut in there, paricularly with regard to "Bebop Kid". I was hoping the director would be there to explain the connection but she wasn't.

There's another aspect to the soundtrack that is cool also but I won't spoil that. For those of you around these parts, the film will be screened again this afternoon at the Cineworld megaplex. Not sure where it stands with regards to distribution in any given territory. I imagine it'll make the rounds on DVD but would be best enjoyed on the big rather than the flat screen.

"The Blank Generation" programme afterwards took place in exactly the same room as the last Suicide show in Scotland. When the CCA opened. It's more of a lecture hall vibe than a proper cinematic experience but it was good to see "Punking Out" with other people. many of whom weren't even born when the material was shot. It was all running late so I left to make the traipse home. Through the war torn streets that is Glasgae on a Saturday night.

Today it's the restored version of "The African Queen" and then more no-wave shenanigans. Topped off with another run through the jungle on this an "auld firm" day.

Taking some time out of getting nowhere with getting the bunker to some stage of normality. The Glasgow Film Festival is in full swing and although I don’t have the wherewithal to attend anything like the amount of screenings that I want to, I’ll be over there today and tomorrow. Before then I’ll be getting bombed on UPVC cleaner and paint fumes, trying to keep as far away from myself as is possible.

Gracias for the messages with regard to keeping this show on the road, it seems as though the idea of deep sixing all of this goes somewhat against the grain. Perhaps I’m over-reacting or then again, maybe what I’m involved with is past its sell by date? To try and explain without being terribly cryptic – when your faith in something/someone is shattered it can have a devastating effect. I don’t use that D word lightly but understand that even although one’s ticker is dead set on something then there’s no earthly reason that said situation will come to pass.

In addition, when someone says they’re going to do something then I expect them to follow through. Well people who I consider to be friends anyway. I know the planet is festooned with others that just blah their brains out and that this could be considered naive but it’s my one last olive branch to the human condition.

And - try as I might, the ability to unscramble eggs eludes me

RIP - John Strauss (info via Sam Elwitt's fb)

Will the new Wirelessnapper album be the soundtrack to the Big Society clambake that’s supposed to go down on this sceptic isle? And also in the news, the word that we’ll all be able to score our tickets to the 2012 Ollimpix soon – I typed it like that to give particularly inept spellers a chance when they’re googling.

As if I wasn’t down in the dumps enough, this is almost grist for outright killing one’s self. I dread to hear what’s next. The western world is unravelling at a rate of knots that far outstrips anything global warming is ever likely to achieve. Did you see that chump Cameron on the TV last night? I actually had to switch the box off just in case the Grundy effect got to be too much and I kicked the set in. We’re living in an extended, Rory Bremner-fied spoof only it’s for real. I’ve tried what Chance the gardener might have done with the remote control and it can’t be changed. It just rattles on.

Don’t think I’ll put the telly on at all tonight actually Because I’ll end up watching the Brits and getting wound up even tighter. Does the expression “hair trigger” ring any bells.

So there’s really only one avenue left for me this evening...

RIP - David F. Friedman

(info via Ian Johnston on facebook)

Hey Ho... Mets Go?

(link via Please Kill Me)

Spent much of this weekend cleaning, sorting and trying to figure out what’s going on with all the framed stuff that’s got to go back up on the walls. Maybe some of it won’t. Anyway, it’s an ongoing project that’ll take some weeks to achieve. Where else is it going to go? Landfill? There’s some pretty nice stuff and I should tag some of it so that they go to good homes when I get hit by a bus or whatever.

In addition to everything else, I feel burned out. Like the constant banging of my head agin a brick wall is beginning to hurt. It feels like the antithesis of that "no pain, no gain" claptrap. I’ve had plenty of the former since 2011 came calling. I tried to listen to some recently received music today – no names, no pack drill – and was uninspired. Do you even like to read about music anymore? After all you can pretty much hear and decide everything yourself. In these “people have The power” times, the power in question is a shift. Do I like writing about music? Not when it feels like a chore or that I feel like I just recycle the same old guff time after time, which I’m convinced that I do.

I wade through what feels like review directories. Where the type is way too small to be processed and think to myself that I really can’t retain any more information. In fact, I seriously need to consider erasing some of what does seem to rattle about the canyons of my napper. I just read about The Ramones lifetime achievement grammy and think to myself what a peculiar world this has become.

“Look out honey ‘cos they’re using technology” never sounded so glib or indeed final. The “technology” in question has robbed us of our attention spans. The future may well be written on handheld devices that will control your mainframe but that doesn’t mean that we should just accept it. Does it? I patently don’t have any answers and generally have to be dragged kicking and screaming into any given situation. I’m not keen on having my comfort zone invaded and reconfigured. The fiscal turbulence will no doubt continue and emerging economies will manoeuvre themselves away from this 45th generation one-time nation.

Or not.

As Chris says... "finally, a proper Ron Asheton tribute show".

My generally mundane idyll has been turned upside down of late. And although the disruption may not be of cyclone or life-threatening proportions, it has blown up a fair degree of disarray in one way and another. I could never be considered a risk taker but I elevated my head above the parapet and well, I shouldn’t have for want of a more full explanation. The reverberations of this are rough and will take some time to process.

Far as I can tell, there’s no "app" to deal with such turbulence. All I can hope is to emerge from the dank tunnel with the spiritual and domestic wreckage in some perspective at least. Contentment not containment, that kind of outcome.

You might have thought that this had become a repository for reporting RIP notices. I’m still considering posting one for the blog but when all is said and done, it’s time to resume sort of activity. I’m hoping that the disenfranchised feeling can be overcome.

I do appreciate the fact that some of you folks are wondering what the heck is going on? If I told you I’d have to kill me. I’m like Cher, looking for the solution of how to ratchet back time. On the more tangible aspect of these past weeks, the bunker has been spruced up and might even be in a position to resume the R&R B&B within a couple of weeks. Way overdue and even further over-budget, I’m having to face the cold hard facts that there won’t be much in the way of gallivanting anytime soon.

Did you look at this Google “art project” thing? All very clever and setting us up for the times when it will be impossible to leave your own midden heid. But you will be able to flounce “virtually” across the planet. People are having a hard enough time trying to differentiate what’s real and what’s not without all this malarkey. How much real is there actually left out there? Not much as far as I can tell. And then there’s the big news that The White Stripes have split. Something that troubles my parish not one iota other than the fact that such an event is considered news. The pulsebeat of the media machine is as weak as those vital signs of the industry(ies) that it purports to represent.

I do tend to be in a minority when it comes to an opinion on the work of Jack White. I preferred him when he was in Goober and the Peas. This new Wanda Jackson project is not a patch on “Heart Trouble”. It was a celebration of the fact the lady could still cut it.

Believe me, I know all about where good intentions can lead.

Thanks Marty... before Lenny and Squiggy there was The 3 Haircuts!

RIP - Gary Moore

Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co. celebrates presidential history this month with an appearance at the Rodeo Bar. Stovepipe hats optional, yet always encouraged.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9th / RODEO BAR / 375 Third Avenue (at the corner of 27th Street) in icy Manhattan / Two log-splitting sets, from 10pm sharp 'til 12:30am / No cover!

Historically yours,

Michael

Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co.

"Ballads, Boogies & Blues"

RIP - Tura Satana

(just read Brother Patrick B's message...)

For your listening pleasure.
And be sure to read Kogar's instructions closely...

To mark two years since Lux headed on out of this world, a charity shindig in his honour will take place at Henry's in Edinburgh tonight. Mr D'uff is the social secretary and he'll be making sure things go with the proverbial bang!

RIP - Maria Schneider

Crispin Glover at Filmhouse (Edinburgh) this coming Sunday (6th)

(Thanks to Adele for the link)

TFC on SVT (Thanks Kjell)

There's an outside chance that perhaps the greatest rock'n'roll doc of all time could get a fire lit below it again. Please encourage all parties to come to a solution for the greater good. Future generations will thank you - provided someone can educate them with regard to the fact that some things are worth paying for. If like me, you've held out and not acquired a "bootleg" then this is a great chance.

"With the aptly titled MC5: A True Testimonial, [director Dave] Thomas captures the taste for revolt in Detroit that inspired the MC5, a desperation that fueled more important pop figures (besides just Motown artists) than maybe in any other city — an outlaw eruption that ranged from Parliament/Funkadelic to Iggy Pop." - Elvis Mitchell, New York Times

“It’s a great document of the band, it’s a great document of life, and it’s a great document of things ... far and beyond the band.” - Jackson Smith, Detroit-based musician son of Fred & Patti Smith

"Music so extraordinary that it transformed the lives of all who experienced it demands the release of a documentary that does the MC5 justice. Few bands have ever seen so much go so wrong so quickly and have been so misunderstood in the process. A True Testimonial represents a belated opportunity to set things straight, put things right. The fans deserve it. So does the band. And so does the music." - Don McLeese, author of Kick Out The Jams (Continuum 33 1/3 series)
___________________

It's now been over 8 years since the last authorized screening of the MC5 - A True Testimonial documentary at the Detroit Film Theatre on October 30, 2003.

http://www2.metrotimes.com/music/story.asp?id=5598

In that time, all the alleged 'copyright infringement' claims made against David Thomas, Laurel Legler and Future/Now Films have been thoroughly litigated, found to be without merit and the film has reportedly been cleared for released, once the various music licenses are secured.

The poll questions are:

A) Do you still care?

B) Would you pay to see it in a theatre?

C) Would you be interested in a legitimate DVD package?

Care to weigh in? Please do, your comments will be appreciated.

Vote here: http://tinyurl.com/MC5-ATT-poll

And, by all means, please share that link with anyone who might find this a pertinent topic.

KOTJMF!!!

RIP - John Barry

Amen to this.

(Lack of) progress report... I spent most of today doing the back-breaking and largely thankless task of pulling up and disposing of old carpet(s). The bunker is in serious disarray and I've established that it's not necessary to get "permission" from any local authority to install laminate flooring in said living space. The TV is disconnected and the only music available is via computer. I should fire up the steepletone but it's all a bit like cooking for one. I'm threatening myself with the prospect of going out for a walk. Actually, I'd go along the road to the pictures but it's that Danny Boyle pish that's on and I have standards. Such as they are...

RIP - Gladys Horton (Marvelettes)

RIP - Charlie Callas

Hello,

We'd like to bring your attention to this Sunday's Monorail Film Club, an incredible one-off film that is a key part of what was a fast developing 1960s world cinema scene in part influenced by the French New Wave, in this case especially Godard. Unavailable for a long time, Switchboard Operator is the story of a tragic romance between a young telephonist and a coprporation rat catcher set in Belgrade. A brilliant looking, compelling film.

Selected and introduced by Al Kingsbury, a contributor to the Monorail Film Club. Al runs a fortnightly dj night called Fantastic Adventures, every first and third Friday at the 78, Kelvinhaugh Street, Glasgow.

Switchboard Operator,
(Makavejev, Yugoslavia, 1967)

GFT Cinema 2
Sunday, 30 January, 7.30pm.

GFT box office: 0141 332 6535

Oh no, here we go again... Just saw Amy's thing on facebook.

RIP - Charlie Louvin

Gracias to SLQ for flagging this up via fb. No idea what it is but it's great!

Laura Cantrell’s return to Glasgow at the Recital Room yesterday went very well. Arranged very last minute to the extent that it didn’t make the brochure, the show was sold out well in advance of the evening. Later tonight, she and Mark Spencer will perform as part of the Dylan tribute rolling revue (much of it not so thunderous for my dinero) and I’m pretty sure that will introduce and re-acquaint her accordingly ahead of a return in May to punt the new “Kitty Wells’ Dresses” set to appear on Shoeshine/Spit and Polish on Easter Monday, the day after Roy and Cyril blitz London with them A-Bones.

A nicely paced set consisting new and old favourites and the lady’s voice sounding damn good. I had no idea that mark was in Son Volt these days but his fretwork is as mellifluous as it ever was. And if you don’t have tickets for their whistle stop at The Water Rats on Wednesday then you’re too late.

There were one or two moments when the clock was well and truly turned back and hearing some of those songs again made me realise how much I missed them. Strangely, the first thing I heard this morning was a clip on Radio Scotland of Laura rehearsing “Mr Tambourine Man”. If everything goes to plan then the re-establishment of Ms C into the hearts and minds of UK audiences will be the formality that it ought to be but in these days of the zip attention span, then you can never underestimate the flakiness of any particular audience at any given time.

And to some extent I include myself in said demographic.

Thanks to Robster for the YT link. Seeing as how SVT wasn't playing ball...

Who?

Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co. , that's who! And with a January installment of its last-Thursday-of-every-month residency at the tiki bar where the weather's always tropical, Otto's Shrunken Head!

THURSDAY, JANUARY 27th / OTTO'S SHRUNKEN HEAD/
538 East 14th Street (just west of Avenue B) in snowy ol' Manhattan /
Two colossal shows, from 8pm sharp until 10pm / No cover!

Frostily yours,

Michael
Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co.

"Ballads, Boogies & Blues"

What was that Commodores thing about "easy like a Sunday morning"?

I never realised how much this sounded like "the sound of young Glasgow"... Thanks to Angel Aparacio Trujillo for flagging it up via fb.

I’ve been following this non-story about the slowing of “digital” sales and also the ongoing seemingly end days of HMV. Opposite sides of the same coin. Have you been in an HMV lately? It’s like going into Homebase or B&Q, a very depressing experience. There are bargains to be had if it’s landfill you’re after but it ceased to be a music store eons ago. Let it die and support the true independents that struggle on week to week.

The slippage in digi-sales is perhaps a direct ailment of getting nothing for your money. Oh, the tune? That’s incidental because there are several generations that aren’t educated to the fact that artists might have to be recompensed for their work. There are those who buck the trend, that work hard and get sales, but they’re way below what they used to be. Just today, I saw that ad at the cinema where they harp on about the film being recorded by a camera in the theatre and being made available for “download”. Who in their right mind, that you know, would seriously watch anything of that quality on their flat screen HD TV let alone anywhere else.

To my mind, anyone recording anything thusly is wasting their time or at best needs their heid looked. It’s greed that strangulating these industries, the same symptom that puts popcorn sales before the film and charges over the odds for (just the) tune(s). Ignorance of not respecting artwork/photos and liner notes or lyrics is not necessarily a crime. It’s about respect and valuing the work that has gone into creating it. Neither of these commodities is taught to any degree because we’re all caught in the glare of consumerism even at this late stage.

There was something on TV about selling hooky cigarettes and tobacco this week and how much the government is losing in revenue from this. Perhaps that's why petrol is going through the ceiling, the toffs have got to make their corn somehow. The garage that I go to is the closest one to the refinery but it's still nudging £1.30 a litre. Getting angry about something like this takes my mind off other matters and correlates with needing to find something beyond the bullshit we are constantly bombarded with.

A friend recently asked the pertinent question of “where would we be without music?” in relation to it helping them and theirs though a rough patch. It doesn’t even bear thinking about is perhaps the answer but it ain’t ever going back to how it was so we need to get used to that. So lap up the experience of the record store or the cinema while you still can because there those out there that won’t be happy until each and every one is boarded up and that you have to go through their cartel. Do everything you can to stop that.

LUX LIVES!!! 2011 - Edinburgh edition.

I curse the consideration that put this on the same night as Laura in Glasgow but as you're aware, I curse a lot... and have to sadly sit this one out but you don't have to.

BMX Bandits 25th Anniversary this Sunday (23rd)

Can't view the Matt and Kim vid due to copyright restrictions so instead I shall digest the Glasgow Film Festival program and try and figure out what to see. This will undoubtedly be followed by falling asleep in front of the TV and waking some time later wondering WTF? I've no idea why I'm committing this to the blog but at least it's something. Tomorrow is Friday (right?) maybe that's significant. Then again.

I’m going to try something here, just to see if it’s still possible or if I can still do it, perhaps both.

There are reasons why I haven’t been around these parts much lately. Something happened that really took the wind out of my sails but there are positive aspects to the horizon. I booked my ticket for the Loney/Jordan/A-Bones bun fight in April. And much more imminent is the arrival of wir ain Ms Laura Cantrell to Glasgow this coming weekend for Celtic Connections. She has her own (sold out) show on Sunday and is also taking part in the Dylan tribute (Monday). It’ll be good to see her and hopefully there’ll be news on when her Kitty Wells tribute album will be available.

There’s a brand new Eric and Amy track on the latest episode of Radio Free Song Club...

I’ll attempt to take up the slack on what I haven’t been doing this past while but it could take some time to gather any sort of momentum. Add the ongoing work on the bunker (that I wish had never started) to the fankle and the urge to scurry off into the sunset (or should that be moonset) is high.

All I ever seem to do here is post RIP's these days...

RIP - Don Kirshner

RIP - Susannah York

Glasgow Film Festival programme launches on Thursday (January 20th).

Ms Laura Cantrell is at The Water Rats in Kings Cross, The London on January 26th.

Tickets can be booked here.

The Godmother of rock'n'roll on BBC Four tonight.

(Thanks to Mr Percival for the link)

Unbelievable! (Thanks to Mr Duff for the linkage)

RIP - Trish Keenan (Broadcast)

How completely amazing would it be to be able to do this!? (Thanks to HT for the info)

I'm hoping to resume normal programming this weekend. Let's see how that notion pans out.

RIP - David Nelson

Lose your troubles; lose your pants.

A new year's thought from your friends at Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co. This week at the ol' Rodeo Bar!

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 12th / RODEO BAR /375 Third Avenue (at the corner of 27th Street) in Manhattan /Two rootin' tootin' sets, from 10pm sharp until 12:30am / No cover!

Sincerely,

Michael
Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co.
"Ballads, Boogies & Blues"

A message from Emily at Tracer Trails...

Hello there

It's a warming winter mailout from Tracer Trails, with all the turn-of-the-year news you can stomach on top of a giant nut roast, christmas cheeses and three gallons of Hanna Tuulikki's spiced whisky toddy.

Thanks are due to loads of folk - notably Nick Braw, Bart Owl, Neil Cooper, Clare Sawers - for friendliness, practical assistance, timely hugs and intense good fun.

Great vibes were enjoyed at some of our best-attended gigs yet; we even won a Herald Angel Award for Retreat! and, according to The List, Tracer Trails is now the 74th hottest thing in Scotland. Next year we will be aiming for 51st hottest, with five totally steaming shows already booked, and a sweltering new project due to commence in January. Prickly heat!

FORTHCOMING GIGS:

Tuesday 25 Jan 2011: Withered Hand + Woodpigeon + de Selby @ Stereo, Glasgow
"Very special double-header: Woodpigeon visits from Calgary to see a slice of Scotland with his friend Withered Hand, who will be playing his (their) first full-band Glasgow date since last summer."
Tickets £6 / £5 from http://www.wegottickets.com/event/102966

Friday 28 Jan 2011: The Jeffrey Lewis & Peter Stampfel Folk Show + Two Wings @ Mono, Glasgow
"Wow! This is going to be a singular event, for sure. NYC anti-folk star Jeffrey Lewis (Rough Trade) is bringing to the UK his collaborative show with 60s psych-folk original Peter Stampfel (of Holy Modal Rounders / The Fugs). Jeffrey and Peter will be trading songs, chatting, playing and singing on each other’s stuff, ably assisted by a vintage Jeff Lewis backing ensemble."
Tickets £8 / £6 from http://www.wegottickets.com/event/103377

Friday 11 Feb 2011: James Yorkston + Marry Waterson & Oliver Knight @ Old St Paul's, Jeffrey Street, Edinburgh
"An unassailably awesome bill of old and new folk from Fence Collectee / Domino hero James Yorkston, supported by the latest offshoots of the mighty Waterson clan, Marry Waterson and Oliver Knight."
Tickets £8 / £6 from http://www.wegottickets.com/event/98157

Saturday 9 April 2011: Eli Keszler + Usurper + 1tbc @ Nice N Sleazy, Glasgow
"Totally fierce, high-energy free percussion and invented instruments from Providence, Rhode Island, versus '(mostly) miniscule free-noise tantrums wi busted instruments from the mongs what brought youse Giant Tank and Pizza Boy Delivery.'"
Tickets £5 / £4 from http://www.wegottickets.com/event/103035

Thursday 21 April 2011: Alasdair Roberts & Friends + guests @ CCA, Glasgow
"Swabian-born, Kilmahog-bred alumnus of Appendix Out and single-handed re-reinventor of the Scots ballad tradition finally tours his most recent release: Too Long In This Condition."
Tickets £7 / £5 from http://www.wegottickets.com/event/103032

IMPORTANT NEWS OF A BRAND NEW PROJECT:

Tracer Trails will also be trying something unprecedented in 2011. To mark the 60th anniversary of the School of Scottish Studies at the University of Edinburgh, we're commissioning three of our all-time favourite Scottish artists - Alasdair Roberts, Aileen Campbell and Drew Wright (Wounded Knee) - to create brand new works based on excavations conducted in the extraordinary Archives of the School.

The School of Scottish Studies played a crucial role in the Folk Revival of the 50s and 60s. Fieldworkers including Hamish Henderson and Alan Lomax conducted landmark research at the School, and their field recordings are now held – on open reels, cassettes, discs and even wax cylinders – as part of the School’s massive Archive of traditional songs, tales, oral history, ethnographic photography and video. It's a totally unique and invaluable resource, and we're incredibly excited to have the opportunity to open it up a little through the creation of three completely new works.

Aileen, Alasdair and Drew will be in residence in the Archives for 12 weeks from January 13th; their work will be developed over the summer, and will be toured round Scotland in autumn 2011.

We'll be documenting progress throughout with a blog at www.archivetrails.com . Please check it out, from mid-January, for journals from the artists giving insights into their process, plus plenty of images and tape excerpts from the Archives. For now, full info can be found at www.tracertrails.com/projects .

This project is supported by grants from Creative Scotland and The University of Edinburgh.

I THINK THAT'S IT

If you read this far: thank you so very much. I hope you found some of this news to be good news for you. Write back if you like!

Ever yours,

Emily

PS Follow TT on Twitter! twitter.com/tracertrails .
Or on Facebook! facebook/tracertrails

It's official and the tickets went on sale today... Roy, Cyril and The A-Bones on Sunday April 24th in "The London". Click on the flyer.

RIP - Mick Karn

RIP - Gerry Rafferty

Thanks to Mr McRobbie for the tip...


Je ne suis pas trés drogue, The Liminanas
Uploaded by liobitch. - See the latest featured music videos.

RIP - Pete Postlethwaite

RIP - Anne Francis

As the dust settles on what is numerically speaking another year, I may have said this before but I wish "my people" good things all the time and not just the first few days in January.

As for resolutions, they’re like regrets – I have a warehouse full. Still, I imagine that the whatever will be lobby will sweep in and somehow what passes for life will rumble on. The actual focus and expectation of anything new actually occurring being crammed into “celebration” while actually celebrating very little at all irks me.

There are cool things on the horizon but those seem awfy far away. Or maybe I need my eyes testing? My napper could definitely use some rewiring. There is legitimate reason for this ennui but it’s not for dragging through this particular neighbourhood.

At least the snow is gone. For now. However an outbreak of swine flu is said to be imminent.

Courtesy of Thom Tex Edwards, I'm certainly chiming with the "Lost" part.



I hope that your 2011 has kicked off in better tid than mine.

Rock'n'Roll Hogmanay with The Brutes in Glasgow...

RIP - Bobby Farrell (Boney M)

Don’t feel much like writing at the moment but I did make a kind of 2010 list for the i94 if you care and if you haven’t seen it already. Normal service? Who knows...

RIP - Billy Taylor

Looking to get a head start on your New Year's festivities? Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co. returns to the newly refurbished back room of Otto's Shrunken Head for New Year's Eve Eve action! Fare thee well, 2010 -- and welcome back Otto's!

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 30th / OTTO'S SHRUNKEN HEAD / 538 East 14th Street (just west of Avenue B) in Manhattan / Two most festive shows, from 8pm sharp until 10pm / No cover!

Happy snowy holidays to all!,

Michael

Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co.

"Ballads, Boogies & Blues"

RIP - Teena Marie

RIP - Elisabeth Beresford