Sometimes dread has a habit of working out positively. It’s a mindset that has served me well and during yesterday, the longest day of the year – the napper was in overdrive. It was the day that Stereo Total brought their unique brand of everything cool you ever heard over the past thirty years put through the mincer. Add a few grains of dodgier substance and you’ve got a magical elixir which works on multiple levels. The whole thing is gift-wrapped in a charm which could sell snow to the Eskimos.

Anyway, way across town - Boner and his chums were holding court in Hampden Stadium. The thought of having to travel in a train packed with U2 fans wasn’t very thrilling but very occasionally it’s worth making a sacrifice. It’s not like sharing airspace with O*sis fans after all but I hate crammed spaces more with every passing day. Anyway, this was all misguided as we managed to body swerve the hordes all the way. It meant some tactical bobbing and weaving but paid off.

The basement of Oran Mor was crammed and up for the event. Way busier than the SCOTS show but equally good-natured. The opening band was awful, can’t remember their name but they were too loud and entirely inappropriate as was 99% of the “mood” music that played between sets. Adventures In Stereo had to pull out at the last minute due to some health problems that I hope will be resolved. I think that Glasgow could do with some of their breezy pop action. Their intervention would have complemented ST perfectly.



So anyway, The Stereo Total experience and audience reaction was again heartening. For such a diverse crowd to bond to the strains of this frankly odd music suggests there is hope for us all. Their last two albums have seen the recorded work become less Spartan but no less punk rock savvy. There are some mighty noises coming from this French/German two headed groove machine that can evoke Suicide cruising with The ELO then rattle out a jaggy Charles Trenet cover. Now that’s not something you can hear and see every day. Hopefully they’ll come back to Glasgow soon and capitalise on this excellent west end reception. It was all over too soon and we beat a hasty retreat to try and dodge the stadium, er “rockers” as the ones that obviously left during the encore trickled into Queen Street Station with their U2 swag bags filled with lord knows what overpriced swill. A guy sitting in front of us had recorded portions of the show on his moby and it sounded like mush. Ha Ha serves him right.

In my opinion, Stereo Total make music that is better suited to world peace than the big stroboscopic Dublin corporation that blew into Glasgow and shook down umpteen thousand willing victims. But it’s their choice.

"Step right up, ladies & gentlemen, and witness the spectacle that is the first ever Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co. Revue! A veritable circus of stars will take to the back room of exotic OTTO'S SHRUNKEN HEAD (538 East 14th Street, Manhattan) on THURSDAY, JUNE 23RD, for four, count 'em, four hours of three-ring fun, all starting at 8:00 sharp! Why, who needs a barrel of monkeys when you've got...

*ANGELA JAEGER -- The little blonde with the big voice!
*BABY MARIA -- Can you resist this gypsy's curse?
*KATHLEEN O'MALLEY -- The debut of the Irish lass with the bossanova sass (and special guest Riley McMahon)!
*DJ GAYLORD FIELDS -- Rotating discs for your listening and dancing pleasure!

And, of course, the SIT & Die boys will be providing the patented "ballads, boogies & blues" all night long, with the two complete shows beginning at 8:00 and 10:00 sharp. Plus, it's all FREE!

Hope to see YOU under the big top!

Sincerely- Michael"

Mr J. Roehm of St Louis, Mo. filed this Skeleton sighting...

Brian Capps and the True Liars (Lou Whitney and Donny Thompson) this Friday, followed by a screening of the Marx Bros. Night at the Opera, all free, at the Gazebo in Old Orchard. That's Webster Groves, as in St. Louis, MO.

Bring a blanket or bring a chair, we're hoping there will be BBQ.

Woke up this morning... and found a message from Mr Percival which went something along the lines of "Good grief!" I certainly never saw THIS coming but if it's true, it'll certainly stir up the ol' pot.

Managed to stay away from the computer for most of yesterday and did no, that's nada, e-mail. That big muckle Italian capital wasn't built in a day, the longest journeys - small steps and all that... The world, it seems, didn't end so I'll be rolling this practice out to reclaim that precious commodity called "time".

Excellent piece on the Bay City Rollers in yesterday's Guardian. (link c/o Gros de Jood)

Don't forget... this coming Tuesday (21st June), The West End of Glasgow welcomes the ubiquitous STEREO TOTAL to Oran Mor for a gratis parading of their substantial repertoire - plus, Mr Cruickshank informs me that ADVENTURES IN STEREO will be joining them. The first show by this fine local combo in what seems like forever.

With ST currently providing their version of The Plastics "I Love You Ono" as the soundtrack to a Sony Camcorder TV ad, they could be about to break on through to whatever is on the other side of such a beastie. Hopefully massimo popularity...

News just in from Mr Percival, always the first on the block...

RHINO GETS WEIRD WITH THE RAMONES

Comic Book-Styled Ramones Boxed Set Arrives August 16

LOS ANGELES--Hey kids! Tired of that bully kicking sand in your face?
Quit being a 98-lb. weakling! The Ramones will show you how! Now one of the hardest working bands ever gets a boxed set befitting its legendary status as Rhino releases WEIRD TALES OF THE RAMONES, a three-CD/one-DVD package featuring an amazing comic book, on August 16. Created at Johnny Ramone's request, the box is available at regular physical and digital retail outlets and at www.rhino.com for a suggested list price of $64.98.

Drawn from 16 action-packed albums, the 85 tracks on WEIRD TALES OF THE RAMONES' three CDs tell the whole musical story--from 1976's "Blitzkrieg Bop" to 1996's "R.A.M.O.N.E.S." The DVD gives fans the complete Ramones music video collection--Lifestyles Of The Ramones, making its digital debut, consists of all of the Ramones Sire Records videos laced together with interview footage and other interstitial material. Also included on the DVD are all six of the videos the band made while on the Radioactive record label.

How much would you pay now? But wait! There's more! While all of those Ramones songs and videos should be enough to make anybody happy, the super cool thing about WEIRD TALES OF THE RAMONES is the book that comes in the box. A groundbreaking band deserves something special, and this book is unlike any ever created for a music box set.

Rather than beat on a dead brat with some stuffy liner notes recounting the band's history and importance, Rhino has commissioned 25 top graphic novel/comic artists (who also happened to be Ramones fans) to create new works for the book, including Rick Altergott (Doofus), Sergio Aragones (Mad Magazine), Mary Fleener, Bill Griffiths (Zippy The Pinhead), Xaime Hernandez (Love And Rockets), John Holmstrom (Punk magazine, Ramones album covers), Carol Lay (WayLay, Story Minute), John Pound (Garbage Pail Kids, Wacky Packages, Mad Magazine), Scott Shaw, William Stout, and Jim Woodring.

Included are comic book style ads for Ramones wigs, Ramones rubber masks, and "Sea Markys," as well as a 3-D comic complete with the necessary glasses. Words really can't do this book justice--one look and you'll want to be sedated.

Establishing themselves from the get-go with an unmistakable sound and a look that became iconic, the Ramones proved they had strength to endure. There are only a few groups who can truly claim to have changed the course of music history, and the Ramones are one of them. With WEIRD TALES OF THE RAMONES the original punks are immortalized in a manner befitting juvenile delinquents turned rock royalty.

Marek J spotted this on the Bomp Mailorder List...

BARRACUDAS, The - What you Want is What you Get
Ltd ed of 100 copies with signed photo! Jeremy Gluck and Robin Wills are back in action, this time with the addition of ex-Flamin' Groovies Chris Wilson. This is their first recording in more than a decade, three minutes of squalling, screaming and kicking garage punk genius, flipped by "Somebody '05", the reinvention of their
timeless "Drop Out With The Barracudas" classic. A brand new album is planned for the summer. Surfers are back! 7" $8

The album should be available at the end of this month. Soon as I know - you will...

Greetings this Saturday morning from Discombobulated Central. Things be still awry but I guess that's how such a fluid situation can inhibit a creature of extreme routine. Maybe I'm suffering from a mild form of depression because I never got any tickets for the Live 8 shows. And why? Because I never entered the lottery to win any. And why (the sequel)?? Because I have no interest at all in being "part of history". So thereby hangs a tale... I am so devoid of any kind of ambition that I've been wondering lately why? As others jockey and crawl for some crumb of "status", for some tangible link to what they conceive as normal or acceptance - I'm rowing frantically in the opposite direction, out to sea, lunch, wherever. As far away from what i consider to be a sickness as is humanly possible, hoping that a wave will knock me out of my wee boat and either drown me or wash me up on some distant shore, out of the all-enveloping bollocks once and for all.

The slide toward Scotland's lockdown is gathering pace as the world leaders of the apocalypse ride toward Gleneagles. The toothless call for a humungous number of people to descend upon this daft wee country gets more shrouded in stupidity with every passing moment. There isn't an infrastructure to deal with the possibility and we ain't talking Woodstock here. Fuck's sake, there aren't even litter bins in most rail stations because don't ya know there are terrorists waiting to blow our sorry arses off the main line between Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Tomorrow (Sunday 19th) is No Computer day. I ain't even switching it on, no matter how it begs and pleads. It's time to revisit the days before these things took control of my existence, I might even get to a casual schlepp through that pile of cds that are gathering dust over there just out of vision. My e-mailholism is out of control and isn't helping cod-fisted attempts to stabilse the day to day chaos. The turbulence continues and it's at times like this you need all the Fuck Y'All records you can get. But more about that down yonder road...

Tickets for the Count Bishops reunion show at the 100 Club on September 23rd are available now from Bang Bang. Latest word is that Boss Goodman will be spinnin' the discs that night!.

...Wanna do something useful and rock at the same time? Join The Star Spangles at The Mills @ East Falls, 3502 Scotts Lane, Philadelphia, 8pm, June 25th for part of Scooter Week, a series of events benefiting The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. It's an all ages show on a Saturday evening, the Walkmen are headlining and your $20 goes to a very good cause, so now you have no excuse... Click here for further info

The new AMY RIGBY album LITTLE FUGITIVE is out on Signature Sounds this August 23rd. Mixed by Don Dixon, it contains the "if there's any justice" smash "Dancing With Joey Ramone" and 11 other top compositions delivered in customary splendor (note - US spelling). Amy also has a songbook, with lyrics and illustrations available now.

The one and the only Karen McB sent me this link to a D-GENERATION clip today. In 1994 even, everything seemed possible and the performance is great. They were the missing link between Aerosmith and The Dead Boys that got away. The albums aren't wall to wall great but they have their moments and you can probably score them for a buck off Ebay. Anyway, they knew how to use a stage and this wee snapshot proves that conclusively.

Received quite a few messages today about the "too much stuff" malaise. Seems like it's a pretty common ailment. It also reminded me of the 100 records concept. Essentially you can have 100 records, that's total. In order to get a new one you have to let an old one go. I've heard stories about people who could live with such a discipline but I never met anyone who actually practices this dark art. Could such control really be possible?

There's a piece in the latest issue of WORD magazine that really hit home with me. David Hepworth is writing about there being too much stuff out there and very candidly states some names that he hasn't ever heard. Some of these names are very obvious but he's managed to distance himself from the feeding frenzy where on top of hearing stuff there's room to appreciate it more because there's room to breathe.
Just lately I've become a binge listener, because somehow I've been robbed of all the time I seemed to have had. I gorge myself on album after album. Sometimes something comes along like Angel CC and that occupies heavy rotation but then I get back on the treadmill. Hepworth has pointed out the error of my ways but it remains to be seen if I can discipline myself out of this habit. I like his message about not having to hear EVERYTHING. It's simple and it's obvious but is it workable?

Mr Vahlberg tells me that SATOR will be playing at the Hultsfred Festival in Sweden this coming weekend. Chips K will also be conducting an ensemble of rolling vocalists throughout a set to mark 20 years of the event and Nick Nomad is one of these. I hope they get the weather.

It's official. Absolutely NOTHING is sacred or indeed safe from reinterpretation... an "urban" version of perhaps the greatest sitcom of all time. Couldn't they at least have called it The Homeynooners? The trailer does not inspire confidence but maybe some of our US readers could expand upon the subject. What the hell is next?

Angel's Louie Louie is up and at ya available now. It's a fabulous thing in a svelt card sleeve and it deserves to deliver a marked increase in status for our SF based lassie. Ad executives, soundtrack compilers and even people with ears should be able to recognise the shimmer that this stuff gives off. What's not to license...? Moby is so back in whatever day.

She has also entered the blogosphere and you can track down her music there, direct from the source. But beware, this is a sonic elixir of substance - not some casual mis-use of style so approach this material with that in mind. It will sooth the savage beast and then kick your ass. It's time Angel got her share of the limelight, she's not going on tour and she's not gonna be in all the magazines. This medicine is to be administered as a slow drip and you're being offered the privilege of getting in on the basement. It's an album like this that makes me remember why I bang my fucking head against the brick wall that claims to be the mainstream. Hoping that my napper will open up a fissure that'll let a little of the good stuff trickle in...

I know, this shindig was last night but Nuria's artwork - as always - is a wonderful thing to behold. So behold already...

So it's Fathers day next Sunday and the TV advertising is in full swing. A three CD Deep Purple box is the ideal gift apparently and to be honest I'm not knocking that as a concept. I always think of FD being a kinda Matt Monro or Max Bygraves vinyl album or slippers kinda day. Sometimes I forget that this is the 21st Century. We've made progress and the fact that you can pick up the new Cauldplay album with your muffins and Bran Flakes is supposed to underline this. Perhaps not. Another fact that's been widely reported this week is that practically every high street in the country has exactly the same shops. That'll be a revelation to anybody with eyes that's ever walked down one then, right? We are being bombarded with shite. Bloody big lumps of it. In every way imaginable. Even something as important as wiping out poverty has all these abysmal acts involved with it. Tis almost G8 time and the country is getting ready to party like it's 1999 to the most talent starved has-beens imaginable. Its not like any of them need the money that they'll undoubtedly make on the back of it. There are trains and boats and planes full of people headed for Edinburgh on July 6th apparently. The capital doesn't have enough toilet facilities on a regular day so it could get a tad stinky over there. It'll be Hogmanay Celebrations plus and probably pissing rain. And to get a ticket for the thing, you have to text. There is a provision for snail mail but the main mode of getting to see this terrible bill is to use your moby. I don't know how to do that so I can't go. Big shame I know, but I feel the sacrifice is worth it.