"Hey Folks

First off, thanks for making our start to the year such a blast! Filthy's was packed to the rafters with kits'n'kittens, all digging the Big Beat (thanks, Mr Freed!) laid by yer ever-lovin' SR Tag Team, plus guest DJ Craig Roythorne, who travelled up from Bristol to spin such gusset-ripping platters as The Shades' Strollin' After Dark ...

January 21st will see one of London's finest purveyors and spinners of vintage vinyl grace the decks at Filthy's, namely Intoxica! / Stag-O-Lee linchpin Nick Brown. Plus, as per, we've unearthed another trove of vintage rock'n'roll footage - this time it's Love TV and promo clips from the '60s plus, ta-daa, The Mummies! Big Beat, big screen!

So gird yer loins, and make it to the bar next Saturday ...

Selah,
Joss & Joe

Sonic Reducer at Filthy Macnasty's, 68 Amwell St EC1R, 7pm, FREE
Nearest Tube: Angel / Kings Cross"

Not exactly the day to find your Voorhees (or however you spell it) mask has a couple of straps broken... so no killing spree for me this Friday 13th. Anyway don't forget this at the GLASGOW FILM THEATRE on the 15th and 16th at 6.30pm, showing with Frank Macdonald's debut short about The Beauty Shop. That's the group not a favourite hangout.

Screaming Masterpiece (Film, Documentary (12A)

A look at the Icelandic music industry from its roots in eccentric melodies and ancient poetry, through to modern electronica, thrash metal, Sigur Rós and Bjork. A unique piece of musical history recorded in an inspirational documentary endorsed by the likes of Foo Fighters and Damon Albarn.

Iceland/Demark (2005) Ari Alexander/Eric Magnusson Duration: 187 mins.

And speakin' of cool blogs: why not dig Sonic Pollutions. A site that goes beyond mere MP3s and offers cool videos by the likes of Bobby Gentry, the Kinks, Del Shannon and the 13th Floor Elevators...

What with the ongoin' explosion that is webloggin', I added a bunch o' links in the sidebar to logs that deserve your patronage. Most of 'em host MP3s as well, so dig in and enjoy...

Various - Glitterbest: UK Glam With Attitude 1971 - 1976 (RPM CD).
Yeah I know, this one's been around for a while, and it's definitively my loss not picking up a copy on it's release. The party line on the punk influx has always been the Nuggets/Velvets/Stooges continuum, and while this is certainly true for the US, the Brit counterpart was probably as much, if not more, inspired by the glam explosion of the first half of the 70s. You name 'em; Roxy, Bolan, Mott, Sweet, Bowie etc. RPM's digs thru this era had already turned up a bunch of obscuro stuff released on such discs like Velvet Tinmine that showed a definite link between the punk and glam age, but the theme was taken to it's surprising conclusion on this CD where you can hear members of (ao) the Boys, Vibrators, Gorillas, Only Ones, Radio Stars and Ultravox in their formative years. And no, this ain't just a 'historical artifact', 'cause this thing has a poundin' non-hit-after-non-hit track selection that hasn't left HQ's CD player for three days in a row. Even some of the stuff that was already familiar to me gets an extra lease on life bein' put into context here. From the fantastic Dolls-like wail of the Hollywood Brats to the perfect pop of the Jook and the Roxy-isms of Tiger Lily, this sounds like a perfect K-Tel comp from some lost dimension. Five brightly sparkling stars!
Related websites and further reading: The Biased History of English Glam Rock, All You Pretty Things and Punk '77.

The Fleshtones return to Spain on Friday 13th for a twelve date tour. A mere month later they once again climb aboard the "big bird" for dates in France. An Italian tour is proposed for later in the year with appearances in London and Rotterdam a remote possibility. In the meantime, those of you convinced that the road to RnR salvation lies in warmer climes should don your clogs and kilts and head on out to...more

I missed the debut of The Geator on WXPN last night but will hopefully be able to tune into the next instalment. You should hit that cyberdial also...

RIP: Lou Rawls.

RIP - Barry Cowsill

Excuse me, weren't you in the Fall?

These are times of considerable tumult. Postings (from me at least) are likely to be sporadic for the forseeable. Likewise replies to e-mail. Just so you know...

Welcome to the world of CRUD CRUD

"Happy Noo Yerr, kits and kittens!

So your tum's now the size of a pot-bellied pig, and your bank account balance couldn't get more crimson - but here's SONIC REDUCER to save the day!

Yus, this Saturday (January 7th) is our first FREE club night of 2006, and will see resident spinners BigKegShandy and TeenSlain ease their way into the New Year with some smooth southern/deep soul sounds, pulsing rhythm'n'blues, backbone-slipping funk, kickin' garage, moon-hopping reggae'n'ska, and the freshest bands from around the world, plus all the other mutant reefer jazz, Nederbeat, 1970s punk, and avant electonica that's fit to spin.

There'll be vintage rock'n'roll footage on the big screen (including masses of Pretty Things stuff, The Stooges in 1971, and the Cramps back in '78!), plus guest DJ Craig Roythorne (Shake, Jubjub) from Bristol, and a whole mess of good vibes ...

Sonic Reducer @ Filthy MacNasty's, Saturday January 7th, 7pm, FREE
68 Amwell Street, London EC1V, Nearest Tube is Angel / King's Cross"

"SUZY & LOS QUATTRO have returned to SCREAMING APPLE to offer their fans the opportunity to get some of the stuff they have released in the past few years on CD only for the first time on vinyl. This compilation contains the whole ‘Freak show’ MCD, all their sold out 45s and other hard to find goodies recorded by the best REAL power-pop band in Europe besides the mighty YUM YUMS. The origin of the band from Barcelona, Spain is a truly romantic one. B.B. (bass, guitars, keyboards, backing vocals) and Suzy(vocals) were about to celebrate their anniversary as a couple, and they decided that they could not find a better present for the other than booking a weekend at Coky’s (former Shock Treatment member) Rockaway Studios and record several tunes B.B. had in the can with Tomás, former singer of the sadly missed pop-punk legend DEPRESSING CLAIM on drums. They take all those sounds we’ve loved for so many years (RAMONES, BLONDIE, NIKKI & the CORVETTES, DWIGHT TWILLEY, PHIL SEYMOUR and so many more) and blend them with a style that is both pure, lovely, sweet, sexy and exciting. They show incredibly good songwriting (for a band that was never intended to be!) and the production and vocal arrangements are superb. Finding the right combination of energy and sweet melodies is hard to do, but SUZY & LOS QUATTRO certainly discovered the perfect way to pop heaven. Get this platter and you can be sure to survive even the longest and coldest winter, just to be perfectly prepared for the next summer!"

Playlist time! Well this certainly took ages to materialize, but for those of you who axed, here it is, again...
On high rotation in the past couple o' months were a trio of Patti Smith boots (I Never Talked To BoB Dylan, Teenage Perversity And Ships In The Night and Free Music Store), all showing the Patti Smith Group in their pre-'77 magnificence, adding dynamics and humor to their songs that was missing on the still genius-like, first two "legal" discs. Does anyone remember Akron misfits the Bizarros? As much as I like their Mercury LP and the split thingy they did with the Rubber City Rebels, nothing beats their 1976 EP on the Gorilla label. Both Lady Doubonette and I Bizarro kinda sound like you always wished Roxy Music would sound like. Speakin' of which, I've been groovin' to the second side of For Your Pleasure quite a bit lately. Probably the most "out there" Roxy ever got (The Bogus Man esp. bein' kinda like the short interlude on Bowie's Daimond Dogs inbetween Sweet Thing and Rebel Rebel in it's bein' ahead of the times). There is always time and a place for yet another Oblivians off-shoot here at H.Q. And the Knaughty Knights (featurin'' Jack O.) easily live up to the legend deliverin' a solid EP on Eric O's Goner imprint that holds just about everything that is lackin' on the past three years o' Rip Off releases. Wenches Of Turpentine St. is as good as anything on the first Boys LP. The Real Kids' Foggy Notion 10" on Norton might be lo on the fi, but hearin' Felice & Co tear thru' the Velvets' songbook (plus a mighty fine take on his previous employer's Fly Into The Mystery) is a real pleasure. And dig the artwork, Norton's attention to detail should be an industry standard... On to some Dutch stuff: Ivy Green is one of my all time fave bands. Why they never get the same kudos as, say, the Motions or the Outsiders, is beyond me. Their first LP is the Dutch equivalent of Stranded or Bollocks, and everything they released during the 80s has a strong Saints-like punk-with-horns feel to it that just can't be beat. The Bintangs usually get the thumbs up for their 60s stuff, but truth be told, I prefer their mid 70s Exile On Main Street inspired releases. Genuine Bull is one of the best Dutch LPs ever with its Stones' like swagger that was recorded at Rockfield. I've been gettin' a lot of flak for atmittin' enjoyin' local hero Spinvis (for you furruners: he's best compared to a Dutch language Beck), but what the heck. His Aan De Oevers Van De Tijd, is not just a great tune, but also serves as an example of how my native tongue can be used in a non sucko way.
That's it for now...

Thanks to all of you folks who have taken time to check in with good wishes for 2006. I left the bunker this morning to get some air. The partying and fireworks are over once again and the streets are deserted. Something resembling peace reigns. For the time being. May you (and yours) grab a coupla bagfuls of said tranquility while it's going.

This was the view looking across the River Forth from Bo'ness towards Fife at approx. 9.30am when the sun was on the way up to chase the frost.

A couple o' minutes before midnight we switched on the TV to check the "official" countdown on national television. The final seconds were tick-tocked away to the sound of Louis Armstrong's 'What A Wonderful World', but as soon as the clock hit 24:00 the familiar 'Pretty Vacant'-like intro of Joey Ramone's version of the song hit the airwaves while the screen was filled with images of fireworks. I'm a real sucker for these type o' things, and can get way too sentimental over 'em, but whoever pulled off that little trick has my eternal gratitude...

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.