Hi-de-ho, kits'n'kittens! The Stripchords are set to kick-off 2007 with a real whap-dang of a soiree, playing with those tiger-wrasslin' cats The Fabulous Penetrators at their own swinging affair, the Saturday Night Beaver club, on Saturday January 27th. The 'Penetrators wowed a capacity crowd at the Not The Same Old Blues Crap/Dirty Water Club New Year's Eve shindig, with a marvy set of masked, besuited rhythm'n'beat - add in the Stripchords, guest DJ BigKegShandy, and Bear Family DJs, FOR ONLY THREE ENGERLISH POUNDS, and you've got a mutha of a night! "Zounds, what sounds!" as yer Brian Matthews woulda said ...
See you at the bar? Selah, The Stripchords
----------------------------
Saturday Night Beaver
The Fabulous Penetrators
The Stripchords
January, 27 2007 at

Saturday Night Beaver The Macbeth, 70 Hoxton Street, London, N1 Cost : £3 - Time: 8pm-2am
As ever, virtual vittles can be had via www.myspace.com/thestripchords

SUSQUEHANNA INDUSTRIAL TOOL & DIE CO. is "aces high" this week, friend -- exclusively at the happiest place on earth, OTTO'S SHRUNKEN HEAD: THURSDAY, JANUARY 25TH / (And the last Thursday of every month!) / Otto's Shrunken Head Tiki Bar & Lounge / www.OttosShrunkenHead.com /
538 East 14th Street (just west of Avenue B) in Manhattan's East Village / Two B-I-G shows, from 8:00 sharp until 10:00 / No cover / May Lady Luck be on your side!
Yours truly,
Michael
Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co.
"Ballads, Boogies & Blues"
www.SITandDieCo.com

As you’ll no doubt be aware, the anticipation of Annika Norlin’s Säkert! Swedish language project has been high since my swededealer told me about it. At this point, I should state that it’s almost nothing like Hello Saferide, other than the fact it’s chocka with sparkling pop thrills. Like the Pitchfork review of the Vapnet album (who are in Glasgow this coming Wednesday remember?!) it doesn’t matter a jot that you don’t speaka da lingo. Imagine if Petula Clark made an album with Pulp? There’s a decidely quality Eurovision pulse beating though all 11 magnificent tracks. It has hints of Carole King and Jackie DeShannon but most importantly it reinforces this woman's unique ability to nail a song. You can listen to the single over at myspace.

I wonder if it would be possible to record the English translation to these songs? In order for them to be heard by as many people as is possible although I doubt if it'd be half as poetic as it does in the native Svensk. The album runs the gamut from shimmering sombre folk to bouncing Nuevo motown and never misses a beat. There's even some whistling. “Det Här Är Vad De Säger” (“This Is What They Are Saying”) is almost choral or churchlike. That ticker of yours just might though. Säkert! means “sure” or “certain” and this is sure/certain to hit whatever spot that requires tweaking. “Allt Som Är Ditt” (“Everything That’s Yours”) is like Eno period Roxy Music channelling “Common People” and strangely the closest parallel in terms of a recent UK release would be the Jarvis Cocker record. However this is way more consistent. I’ve no idea what the individual groups that these musicians have been drawn from sound like but the investigation is about to begin. There are a couple of great duets (one with Martin from Vapnet) on here that have a particular Eurovibe. If the UK is set to have the Mozzer represent us then Sweden should secure the services of Ms Norlin. She’ll wipe the bloody floor with him. Visit the Razzia website to be directed as to where you can get your paws on a copy. (Thanks to Mr Ulf for the translations)

Been wading through Everett True’s whopping 630 page Nirvana – The True Story.

The title is a tad misleading (Seattle pun intended), being that the blast zone is far wider than just the Pacific Northwest’s (arguably) most famous export. It’s kind of told in a “Please Kill Me” format without being like that at all because it’s bonded by a commentary which connects the individual reflections and quotes. This gives the angles a dimension that just stringing together a bunch of statements could never relate. It features many peripheral players in the rise of the last big rock movement before the music industry started to implode.

It has Girl Trouble, The Fastbacks and a ton more. Reminded me of seeing Mudhoney’s first ever European show in Berlin, what was that - 1988? A few minds were blown that night I can tell you. I was never terribly interested in Nirvana as a band. There was a little too much roll missing from their ouvre but I saw a documentary about the making of Nevermind recently that kinda made me re-think my position. A wee bit. Anyway Mr True has been awarded the albatross of having globalised the thing called “grunge”. And he was never one to let the whole truth get in the way of a good yarn. "The True Story" is the best tackle of the subject since Gina Arnold’s Route 666 by a good country mile. When all is said, and the last brickbat has been jettisoned Mr Thackray is a believer. I know he has his detractors but for his sins he was in the front like when something that approximated “Punk” broke in the USA.

As you know, that particular country is made up of States that are bigger than UK. It’s a vast place and Nirvana rose at a time when the charts there were in a period of flux. Sort of like they are here with the advent of downloads. For a brief period, it was possible for a band to break through into the mainstream. Even something relatively underground. I recall Allan Campbell telling me that he called Geffen asking them about Nirvana and their press office didn’t even know that they had a band by that name. But anyway, “A True Story” is a exhaustive fly through by someone who was there and who soaked up more than he’d possibly care to admit. His proximity to the main character might alarm him but it’s not his fault that he was too close to the flame. In some ways it’s better that he was because his love of music protected him from being swamped by it. Some distance has now passed between him and those days in the trenches. Post traumatic rock stress disorder notwithstanding, this can be enjoyed whether you gave a hoot about Kurt Cobain or not.

You see, it was never just about him. Or the fact he killed himself. Or did he? The geography of the place Nirvana came from had as much to do with what they became as anything. For my money, Girl Trouble was the best band to come from that neck. I love that band and one of the best nights I ever spent was in their company at The Crocodile Café when I discovered that Bill "The Big Kahuna" Henderson and I shared an admiration of Sigue Sigue Sputnik while some totally shite hype called The Frogs was plying it’s questionable trade in the next room. At the height of the Nirvana boom, a TV show called Twin Peaks was quietly devouring people in their front rooms. I did and still do love the smell of them douglas firs in the morning… and look forward to snagging Part 2 on dvd this coming April so I can play the Heather Graham "Chickadee on a Dodge Dart" sequence over and over... but where was I.

But as it was the band seemed to conquer the world and Nirvana had a huge Scottish connection. Fast Forward via Stephen Pastel’s connection with Calvin Johnson of K, distributed “Love Buzz” in the UK. Kurt was a huge fan of The Vaselines amongst other Scots pop ensembles and wore a Captain America T-shirt on the cover of NME. Their tour manager Alex MacLeod was a former member of The Legion of The Cramped and Big John (Duncan) formerly of The Exploited was their guitar tech.

So anyway, it’s a massive tome and I took a while with it because I kept going back over things, surely a sign of a worthwhile work. No sign of the Young Fresh Fellows in there but Eddie and the Hot Rods make the cut, that puzzled me a bit but then again what the hell do I know. Susie Tennant is and that can only be a good thing. “The Aftermath” chapter is pretty poignant for me. Offering that it was pretty much about making a bunch of sub-standard bands and Courtney (Love) rich. Making it possible for them to have careers. I don't think that's Nirvana's fault per se, there's always an element of free-loading for the limited time that a particulardoor is "stuck" open.

I wonder what would have happened if Kurt was still around? I’m not sure if it’s possible to be as big as they were on the cusp of becoming anymore. Hell, look how “famous” The Ramones are here in 2007. And not one of the main protagonists around to see, far lest cash in on the situation. He’d probably be seeing ever-diminishing returns like everybody else. It’s an interesting conundrum to be sure and whatever was responsible for his exit, that was an end to it all. At least in tangible terms.

Everett True heads up the renegades at Plan B these days. A magazine devoted to a canvas of pop that’s almost and deep and wide as the Pacific Northwest itself. You might not always agree with him but he’s providing a service unsullied by the cut and paste culture that pervades what passes for “music journalism” these days.

Nirvana – The True Story is published by Omnibus Press. You can get it from Amazon or wherever. You can also go and pick it off the shelf and read random chapters if your local bookshop allows such a practice.

RIP - Pookie Hudson (The Spaniels)

RIP - Denny Doherty (Mamas and Papas)

Mary Weiss track at Reigning Sound myspace. This is what all music should be like. If it doesn't come up to this standard then yer out...

The detailed twang on Wooden Shjips SF debut last week. It's official, they're here to save the woild. Spelling intentional. Even the show poster rocks! (Thanks to Mr H for the heads-up)

You can listen to the Säkert! single "Vi kommer att dö samtidigt" ("We Will Die At The Same Time") here, it's out on Razzia on January 31st. The s/t album has been brought forward to February 7th. More about both soon... is she really in the lake? Crikey.

(Title translation by Mr Ulf)

All the chatter about who is in the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame. Who Isn't. Who should be etc. is utter tosh. In the grand scheme of things it matters less than nowt. What may have started out as well-intentioned has gone the way of all things. It gets taken over by elements that just can’t be trusted to be thrust into the stratosphere of scenes that celebrate themselves first and foremost. They think that’s gonna bump start “sales”? Forget it. As a symbol of recognition, it's like all awards. There are too many of them. Some may carry some faux prestige but ultimately being saddled with such a protracted accolade seems like more baggage. "Shorts don't matter" as Michael Palin quoth in Ripping Yarns "Golden Gordon. Some people are up in arms about Patti's induction. Much as I think she should tell them to stick it up their jacksy, it's her dime. But the peons yattering about the merits of her being in or out, of REM being in or out will not make one iota of difference to your existence, nor mine. It’s all tainted. Hall of Shite more like. Even if there are some of our own “in there”.

Today was the annual slight fall of snow, country grinds to a halt fiasco. It had been predicted for days but did that help? Course not. I'm probably exaggerating by saying there was two inches. Or 50mm if you're a stickler for metric but everything stopped this morning. Pathetic. It was much worse elsewhere in the UK, the borders and the South took a real hammering and a lot of people are without power and worse. However 2 sodding inches of snow was what snarled up the highways and byways around here. Just wait til we get independence….

(Stops typing. Stares at floor and clicks "publish post")

Just before I go get the dinghy out, Mrs Stim has discovered and posted the portal to the world of Mr Alan Vega. You can be transported by clicking here... might be yer lot for today, the way things have started out.

Out soon on Munster is a re-issue of the Nomads' first 45 Night Time/Boss Hoss "A homage to the almighty Nomads, the unrivalled Kings of european Garage-Punk for 25 years! This is a limited edition (1000) on hard-stock cardboard and original artwork of their second single, originally released in 1982, with two covers of classic garage-punk anthems: The Sonics "Boss Hog", and The Strangeloves "Night Time". These killer punk hymns might seem "popular culture" today, but 25 years ago NOBODY was doing stuff like this! And whats more... 25 years later these songs sound as fresh, powerful, and sincere as they did back then." Also be on the look-out for a vinyl edition of Nomadic Dementia on the same label (this was compiled of course by the chief hisself, so what more recommendation do you need?)

This bloody contraption is as slow as treacle tonight. Anyway, pictured here is another recent find. a ticket stub for what I recall as perhaps the very pinnacle of when I saw The Ramones. This was in the pre-Ice Cube days when the Barras could be packed to the rafters. Anyway, up and coming this April, our friends and fellow Ramoniacs from Barcelona - Suzy Y Los Quattro will be hitting up the sarf of England. Nothing up this way but maybe some enterprising person with taste out there could change that? Anyway, confirmed shows are: The Dirty Water Club in London on Friday 6th April and the Engine Room in Brighton on Saturday, 7th April.

I had some other info to convey but it seems to have disappeared for the time being. I'm too tuckered out to even start looking for it now, my eyes are like pissholes in the snow as it is. So with that graphic imprint, I bid you goodnight...

"Feeling a bit lacklustre in the new year, friend? Then why not let SUSQUEHANNA INDUSTRIAL TOOL & DIE CO. put a little pep in your step!

Our first offering for 2007... THURSDAY, JANUARY 18th / RODEO BAR / www.RodeoBar.com /
375 Third Avenue (corner of 27th Street) in ol' Manhattan, NYC /

10:00 sharp until 1:00 / No cover! /
And, for a recommended second weekly dose...
THURSDAY, JANUARY 25th /(And the last Thursday of EVERY month) /

OTTO’S SHRUNKEN HEAD TIKI BAR & LOUNGE / www.OttosShrunkenHead.com /
538 East 14th Street (just west of Avenue B) in Manhattan, NYC / 8:00 sharp until 10:00 / No cover! /

Yours truly in both vim AND vigor-
Michael

Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co. "Ballads, Boogies & Blues"
www.SITandDieCo.com

Info via Chip @ Videocrypt...

From: Dead Flowers Productions

Date: 1/13/2007

"A terrible tragedy has befallen our good friends ? & The Mysterians. This past Tuesday evening, the home of ? and his manager and manager's wife, burned to the ground. They have lived in this house for the past 30 plus years and everything they own, gold records, photos, everything was lost. They are uninsured. They raise Yorkshire Terriers and lost four of their seven dogs and other pets in the fire. They are now trying to survive by living in their tour bus parked at their farm. They were off the road so the bus was not stocked with anything at the time. No food, clothing, or any thing that will allow them to exist for long.

They are in need of everything. Also any photos or recordings anyone can supply them with as they were not able to save anything except the three of his dogs, two of whom are eldery and blind and one boot he could slip on before running out of the fire. Please help if you can. Any donations can be mailed to ? & The Mysterians at: PO Box 96, Clio, MI 48420.

If you can help in any other ways, please contact us at msswartz@chartermi.net and speak with us. We can put you in direct contact with ? if you would like to help him directly. We'd like to see about putting on a few benefits for them so they can rebuild. Anyone interested please please contact us quickly. If you'd like to put on a benefit for them yourselves, any and all help will be greatly appreciated."

"Former Primal Scream tambourine man (don’t hold that agin him) leaves band in 1987 to pursue adventures in the field of rock and pop art. His creations have been exhibited in a variety of art/music venues to a mixture of excitement and bemusement. These mixed media pieces comprise found items such as gig tickets, 7 inch singles, collage and old frames. Homages to personal heroes such as Muhammad Ali, Alan Vega, The Cramps and Anita Pallenberg are included in this colourful collection." Anybody out there who is interested in finding out more or knows of a place that would be interested in showing these wares then holler and I’ll put you in touch". Alrighty?...

Sounds of Sweden presents:
Melodic Swedes VAPNET and Glaswegian country crooners SKELETON BOB
Wednesday, January 24, 9pm to 12am, 4GBP entry

Nice N Sleazy, 421 Sauchiehall St, Glasgow,
G2 3LG - T: 0141 333 0900

"Vapnet is two boys named Martin and a host of friends with fun instruments like trumpet, trombone, flute, melodica and xylophone. They hail from Ostersund in the far north of Sweden, and they make music to infuse the long, dark winter nights with warm radiance. They are one of the most popular Swedish bands singing in their native tongue, and their debut EP Ge Dom Våld hit the charts and sold out almost immediately. The song Kalla Mig was the single of summer 2005, and debut album Jag Vet Hur Man Väntar (Hybris, 2006) has been rapturously received. But as one Pitchfork reviewer noted in his effusive review, language is relative, and even if your knowledge of Swedish doesn't extend beyond the aisles of Ikea, it's doesn't matter because Vapnet speak fluent pop. "Vapnet conjugate pop's structural and instrumental elements to create brightly melodic, lushly orchestrated music that doesn't let its ambitions or its inventiveness get in the way of setting a perfect mood or having a good time." (full review below) Members of Skeleton Bob also come from the far north - of Scotland. Their reaction to cold, harsh winters, however, has been to look westward, to Texas and the scorched plains of midwest America. The sound has been described as "wistful country-tinged banjo-coustica with mouth organ and flat caps," and it is as warming and filling as a steaming bowl of sweetened porridge oats. "

Vapnet - Jag Vet Hur Man Väntar[Hybris; 2006] Rating: 8.3 (Review from Pitchfork)

I don't speak a word of Swedish beyond what I've picked up at Ikea, but that hasn't stopped Vapnet's debut full-length, Jag Vet Hur Man Väntar, from becoming my very own summer album-- despite that drearily overcast cover. It is, of course, closer to Super Furry Animals or Belle & Sebastian than current faves like Lily Allen, Nelly Furtado, or Girl Talk, but the album evokes a distinctive lull particular to these oppressively hot months. So, as I endure the sun and humidity, I like to think Vapnet is really singing about rabbits and swimming holes and first love. Language, after all, is relative. These lyrics obviously mean something to the band members, and whether or not I grasp the finer points of these songs is mostly beside the point, because Vapnet speak fluent pop. As someone who often prizes lyrical boldness over musical innovation, I don't make this claim lightly. Vapnet conjugate pop's structural and instrumental elements to create brightly melodic, lushly orchestrated music that doesn't let its ambitions or its inventiveness get in the way of setting a perfect mood or having a good time. Songwriter and guitarist Martin Abrahamsson and singer Martin Hanberg formed Vapnet as an offshoot of the group Sibiria. In 2005 they released the EP Ge Dom Våld, which in retrospect didn't hint at the complexity of arrangements or the texturing of instruments that highlights Jag Vet Hur Man Väntar. On the full-length, "Ingång" sets the tone with nearly a minute of ambient noise that leads into a wistful ballad titled "Storgatan", whose melody is picked out on bells and tugged along by a simple drum machine and Anna Modin's decorous flute. By contrast, the hand-clapping, finger-snapping "Thoméegrand" is more upbeat, although the expressive guitar riff, out-of-nowhere trumpet solo, ominous backing vocals, and Hanberg's lead maintain the plaintive tone. Jag Vet Hur Man Väntar moves back and forth between the jaunty pop of "Rådhusgatan", the marching pace of "Brunflovägen", and the absolutely killer coda of "Färjemansleden", sung by Modin. As varied as the album is, no song deviates from the album's dreamy tone, although each one seems to expand and complicate the mood. With its piped-in applause suggesting a live experience, the instrumental "E 14" shape-shifts mercurially and false-stops repeatedly, fully revealing the band's range. Vapnet layer indie keyboards over Abrahamsson's distinctive guitarwork and horn fanfares, anchoring everything to real and programmed drums churning out clever disco rhythms. On "Stuguvagen" an amiably shambling verse swells into a gently arching chorus as Hanberg hits the high notes and Abrahamsson's guitar shuffles off into the sunset. These songs confidently strike a delicate balance: they're poppy without being twee, moody without being dark, pensive without being precious. Still, I can't deny that I've been tempted to look into translating these lyrics, to find out what these songs really mean. But after spending a few evenings on my back porch drinking Shiners, watching fireflies, and listening to Jag Vet Hur Man Väntar, I've come to the conclusion-- a minor breakthrough for me -- that I don't really need to know what these songs are about. I understand them enough to enjoy them as they sound. - Stephen M. Deusner, July 27, 2006

"todays word is 'dejected'"... and that's because the post-person never brought the Säkert! product like I kind of hoped.

CDS "Vi kommer att dö samtidigt" coming on January 31st and the album is out February 21st.

Voladoras TONIGHT (Saturday)!! in Stockholm...


WEDNESDAY 17TH JANUARY at the 13TH NOTE CAFE, King St., Glasgow. £4 - 9pm

THE GREASE MONKEYS
THE BUCKY RAGE
THE DEEP-FRIED WOLF KNUCKLES

Action-packed quality bill of local garage-punkers & trash rock'n'rollers.

It's Friday evening and being something of a shut-in, I figure i'll try and make sense of what has, hasn't and ought to be posted in the spirit of public service. Not sure how successful this will be because this bloody computer has been playing up again but i'm told that the world loves a tryer so let's give it a belt. The lurghi still hovers but hasn't actually come to deliver the full-blown sucker punch. If the rain keeps up then we'll be knocking about here in bloody coracles or something soon. It's pissed down in torrents (that's a rain term, feck all to do with downloading) pretty much all week. I want the old, cold, bright, DRY days of winter back. Not this bloody miserable damp, dank, grey gunk that passes for recent atmospherics. Meanwhile, as the planet continues toward hell in a particularly shabby handbasket, Gabbagoul is the word... (Thanks Nick).