As you may surmise from the time of my first post today, the insomnia is back. The first sign of the seasonal change was also evident with the temperature being quite a few notches below recent highs. The consideration of buying shares in a company that makes woolly jumpers might be a way of counteracting the daily gloom of the media economy coverage. Sales in these are bound to rise, after all nobody is going to be able to turn their sodding heating on, far less up.

I really need to get my eyes tested again too. Talk about being blind as a bat, at least they have some kind of radar. I'm pretty sure it's down to spending too much time in front of a computer. Driving in the dark the other night, some twat was giving it full beam in the opposite direction and I simply couldn't see a thing. Nada. Nowt.

And finally, to compound the ongoing e-mail problems, it seems as though this blog thing is unobtainable at times. I imagine it's a blogger problem but who knows. At the minute I just crack off e-mails and hope that they reach their destination. I never actually know because some of you folks e-mails don't reach me. All very frustrating but I don't have the energy or wherewithal to investigate right now. I'm harbouring a distinct yearning to fall off the face of the earth.

But I can't do that just yet because there’s a couple of three important things that I need to get together. While I’m doing that, here are some recent groovy myspace things that you may care to check out.

From Sweden, Säkert! alumni... 2 White Horses

Also from Sweden, NBT old timers surely remember... The Hidden Charms

Brother Patrick hepped me to Lover! from Memphis.

And HT, the curator of that North Fork Sound introduced me to The Lone Sharks

Something there for darn near everybody...

I saw a bus with the side emblazoned "Rocknrolla" and recalled something that Tony Thewlis told me some time ago. Checked out the website where the soundtrack details are and there it was, The Scientists "We Had Love". The score also features The Hives, The Sonics, Kim Fowley and Wanda Jackson.

I'm not a fan of Guy Ritchie's movies - "Lock, Stock...", supposedly the best of them is awful but kudos to him or whoever was responsible for getting "WHL" through the vetting procedure. Perhaps a whole new generation will discover this stuff?

There's a thought for this time of writing on a Tuesday morning...

Ben Vaughn is headed for Spain. Francisco Munster reckons it may even be with his LA band. Blimey.

12 de septiembre - Lemon Pop Festival - Murcia

13 de septiembre - Four Seasons Sixties Club - Castellon

17 de septiembre -

+ Dj Alexandre Crespo - Sidecar - Barcelona

18 de septiembre - + Dj Eneida Fever! - Sala Sol - Madrid

19 de septiembre - Popxiriapop Festival - Carballo

20 de septiembre - Azkena - Bilbao

(If you live anywhere near any of these then miss this guy at yer peril)

Thanks to Ulla and Francisco for the info.

I've had two 5am rises and two 6am starts this weekend so I feel a little puggled.

Not exactly down with blogging at this point so this'll be brief. If I don't pass out in front of the TV then I might be back later. What I did do since returning home from the stalag is watch Paradise Lost 2 because I believe there's some WM3 activity coming up very soon.

Hopefully justice will be seen to be done this time...

Want to see what "an alien of extraordinary ability" looks like?

Go to one of these...

Both of these clips are great so click play and dig 'em.

You've nothing better to do right?

I have a very early rise (even by my standards) tomorrow so I updated the North Fork Sound logo on your left there and that's it for tonight. Short and sweet.

The auspicious sounds of JD King and the Coachmen are waiting for you at the newly-launched Myspace site. Crack off a friend request, like now!

Ramones post at So Many Records...

Great to hear from my old pal, Michael Weldon. Let him clue you in to what he's up to...

"My Friday Night Psychotronic Radio Show is now available live - throughout the Universe! Go here and click on the radio.

I'm on Friday nights from 8 to midnight. (I imagine that's EST)

The site also has a Youtube clip of me reporting from the old 42nd St."

I just got the new new Fatboy album, "In My Bones" which is out on September 24th. More when I've been able to digest it's charms. And while we're on the subject of charm, the more eagle-eyed will notice that is the same day as the Hello Saferide album. And have you sprung for a signed copy of that via Bengans yet? Procrastinate no longer and do it.

Been a funny sort of a day and there's humdrum guff I need to attend to so this missive will be short. Today there was supposed to be a blitz on people using hand held mobile phones. Too bad I wasn't an undercover polis because I clocked a couple on the way home. Wonder how many points they get for each idiot they snag?

Theres a new Matt and Kim track available for download here, "Good Old Fashion Nightmare" has a GRANDiose chinatown undercarriage on it. Groovetastic.

I think you'll dig the heck out of Hyper Plastic. "Ron Asheton's Loafers" anyone?

And to sign off, here's a version of the song that kicks off "More Modern Short Stories From...". It's a cracker. Not a rock monolith but mighty in many other respects.

Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co. says farewell to summer, dear friend!

First in the faux tropical setting of Otto's Shrunken Head for our last-Thursday-of-every-month residency -- and then on the famed Coney Island boardwalk at the 2008 Coney Island Rockabilly Festival!

THURSDAY, AUGUST 28th / OTTO'S SHRUNKEN HEAD TIKI BAR & LOUNGE 538 East 14th Street (just west of Avenue B) in Manhattan / Two season ending shows, from 8:00 sharp until 10:00 / With salty snacks -- and no cover!

Followed by sand, surf, beer and burlesque...

SATURDAY, AUGUST 30th / 2008 CONEY ISLAND ROCKABILLY FESTIVAL!

Outside on the boardwalk (at Stillwell Avenue) in Coney Island, Brooklyn / Six bands, from 2-8pm, with SIT & Die at 5pm / A mere $5 cover!

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

The ongoing PC problems at this end don't seem to be going away. To that end, I think the contact link here on the blog still works but I can't be certain. Forget myspace, I have no confidence in that because I can only get in there for a few minutes before it collapses. So that leaves facebook and hotmail. If you've sent a message and I haven't replied then chances are I never got it. As far as I know I can mail out but there's some problem with stuff coming in. Possibly to do with the security. It allows in the shite but stops real messages like those bozo doormen in terrible bars you wouldn't want to go in anyway. Way to fucking go.

I'll investigate the situation but don't hold out any hope of it being rectified.

And gordon bennet. Did you see any of that Olympic closing bollocks? What an embarrassment. If somebody had commissioned a presentation to be so toe-curlingly retarded they'd have been hard pressed to come up with anything resembling old Boris waving the flag as a centrepiece. George Dawes with a thatch.

And also the masterstroke double header. Lets get a cherry picker and have Jimmy Page mug along with Leona Lewis on a version of Whole Lotta Love! Brilliant! Then we could haul that donkey Beckham in to kick some footballs into the parade. I think that the Tate Modern image of Myra Hindley is the least of their worries. It was all positively Graham Linehan. Didn't it resemble the Craggy Island fair? I'm making an unfair comparison here... of course it wasn't. The CI scene was much preferable.

A grand start then to something that's destined to be the biggest non-event of all eternity. Just 4 years away. Make your arrangements to leave the country now.

It can only be a matter of time before Great as the word before Britain is replaced by something more apt. Like Poor, or maybe just slot in Ex before the lot. Not that I'm convinced that it ever was but anyway. I'm not sure that a small bag of medals from some dodgy competition is going to make that much of a difference. My flabber has never been more gasted than it was witnessing a few minutes of that debacle yesterday. Makes the Eurovision song contest look like a village fete. We taxpayers should be glad that our hard earned money is going to such a good cause. I guess those KLF guys weren't available to just torch it then.

If the Hello Saferide album hadn't been here to calm me down then I could have jolly well exploded and take out a nearby High Street. It's a fine, fine line...

LOOK OUT AMY, HE'S BEHIND YOU!

(photo by Karen Hibberd)

Wreckless Eric and Amy Rigby are about to undertake a mission. Commencing this coming Thursday in Portland, Oregon - their wagon will be rolling all across the USA and briefly into Canada. Their show is the best antidote to all the election piffle that’s poised to go down between now and November. Readers out there are invited to take a look at this datesheet and make a beeline for the venue that best fits their location .

These two legendary performers are about to release their debut album as a duo. Their worlds were always destined to collide and you better be glad that it did. Out on Stiff this coming September 14th, it was seemingly made in a vacuum by them for themselves so it’s little wonder that it turned out as downright great as it has. Not a lot like either of their individual work this self-titled set brings together the grooviest aspects of both to work some very special magic. “Another Drive In Saturday” evokes Mott being psychedelicised by Joe Meek.

If you lived through that period then you might just get all misty-eyed without being able to figure out why. Whoever nailed these two together did a master craftspersons job. Notice how I didn’t fall into the sexist trap there? Eric’s electronic wizardry sits alongside Amy’s sharp take on the pop aesthetic to create a sound that’s definitely not like anything else you’ve heard in recent times if bloody ever. A proverbial mainline to a great time, minstrels of this calibre are in very short supply. Eric claims that their version of “I Still Miss Someone” is like “the Seekers on substances”.

Check out their commentary on some of the songs, if that doesn’t make you want to hear it then sod off back to whatever fly by night you’re down with at the minute.

Folks in the UK/Europe should head over to The Turkey Zone for the best deal on a copy of the album. Those in the US should attend a show and score one direct. This enterprising couple have gone to great lengths to organise the upcoming jaunt so please show the requisite appreciation by turning out. No matter what night they happen to arrive in your locale.

Further to yesterday, I'm not much farther forward.

Only now there's no cold water because of a burst up the road. Of course, it could be worse. Like some of the poor sods that have been flooded out this past week but more than anything it's inconvenient. Much as I really want to go see "Killer of Sheep", I can't be bothered going all the way into town. I did consider going to Glasgow too. They're showing "A Blonde In Love" by Milos Forman. My guess is that I'll do neither at this point, particularly with the shower outta commish.

Anyway my kvetching aside, folks in an around Glasgow that are addicted to The Wire should check this out! Book now to avoid a big dissy. Oh yeah, and this coming Friday...

Seems I'm not the only one who's memory banks came up with all kindsa stuff after the passin' of Ernst "Ernesto" Kamphuis... My pal Robbert B. posted some age old footage of Ivy Green on Youtube playin' (what I think was) their final gig right here in Utrecht. And yep, that's me talkin' to Tim and Dr. Bibber... Dig it right here and here.

For more old footage check here and here.

And dig this story by all round good guy Niels...

All hail Ivy Green!

Ben Gart was lucky enough to catch Ben Weasel and his crew in full flight out the Windy City way last night. Let him tell you about it...

The crowd was antsy waiting for Ben Weasel to come on last night, screaming and yelling for him and the band to get started. This was the first of two nights and it turns out that it was going to be something special -- Dan Vapid was on stage getting his guitar tuned up and was part of the band tonight. (Dan is one of the nearly-original Screeching Weasel members who stuck it out thru about 1996)

The point of this show was to play the first Lookout Records (and first formal/Ramones-inspired Screeching Weasel lp), MY BRAIN HURTS, from beginning to end. As such, Vapid played second guitar and did back-ups, it was pretty magical to have one of the key ingredients of those early tunes available and willing to play. Made a huge difference, I think. The band was tight, played the first “side”, one tune after another with barely a chance to breathe between tunes. Ben was in a good mood, appeared to be having a good time with the crowd, band, and songs.

He took a few minutes to talk about the next set of Chicago shows in November and to taunt the assholes in audience – some things never change (and in this case, that's a good thing). The band then kicked back in and played thru "side 2" of MY BRAIN HURTS solidly and faithfully. The audience sang along the whole way and clearly had a blast -- me included.

Ben told us that he wasn't going to play the encore game of leaving the stage only to come back. The band tuned up, huddled and agreed on the tunes they'd finish up with. The rest of the set was comprised of a couple of tunes from the BOOGADA, a few from ANTHEM FOR A NEW TOMORROW, some latter SW and Riverdales and one or two songs from THESE ONES ARE BITTER. Naturally, there were other songs I would've loved to hear but having the opportunity to hear my favourite Weasel album in its entirety was a golden experience. Like a number of fans, I have a lot of memories tied in with that record and the times I spent listening to it over and over.

Thanks to Ben for this chance to step back a little in time and relive some more youthful times.

I was going to go see "Killer of Sheep" today but I guess that's been bumped. The reason? Well, the arrival of a certain Swedish album that I've been on tenterhooks about. First impression is that it's just as overwhelming as expected. Amy went back to the USA yesterday and there are a half dozen songs toward an album with David Scott that'll be coming together over the next wee while. There's a lot of great music coming out over the next month. Stuff that's worth holding on through for the humdrum for.

It's not raining today either so I'm going to grab some fresh air to the beat of those Modern Short Stories. I'm going to check out some travel agents for flights to Barcelona because this on-line booking shit is akin to buying insurance. Mind-numbing. And I'm not sure that the bargains that are made out to be there actually are.

Jeremy Gluck, Frontman of cult legends The Barracudas plays a series of live dates to accompany the release of his new solo album "Victim of Dreams". With his new band THE YOHAWKS featuring members of Superczar & The Death of Chapman Baxter:

Wednesday, September 10, 2008 - 8:00pm - 11:00pm

What's Cookin', Leytonstone, London.

"Victim of Dreams" is a remarkably diverse, unique and striking solo album on Diesel Motor Records. It sees a regenerated Jeremy working with an array of artists, including a collaboration with Nikki Sudden recorded shortly before his untimely death in 2006. It features inspired new material and worthwhile covers.

Working with an all-new band playing songs spanning all his 30 years in music, Jeremy never sounded so young.

Recent releases:
Victim of Dreams" solo album released by Diesel Motor Records.
"I Am Time" vinyl single released by NZ collectors' label Perpetrator.
"This Is…Jeremy Gluck"
(limited edition album released by Canadian collectors label TBM)
Online-only rarities compilation "The Rich Man's Burden" released by Cadiz Digital.

Photos by www.tfrancis.co.uk

RIP: Ernst "Ernesto" Kamphuis (Ivy Green)