There have been enquiries about the (by now) customary round-up so here goes. Alphabetically, naturally. Google the names and labels to scratch any buying itch in terms of links. This is all quality gear and deserving of your support. It would also be an idea perhaps to go into your local record store or enquire at an enterprising mail order joint. Please sideline the downloading for f-all method where at all possible.

Dave Alvin – Eleven Eleven (YepRoc) A guy who can stand shoulder to shoulder with whoever you reckon is such hot shit. This refers to your Bob Dylans and Neil Youngs (I don’t care who you bring on as HDM once remarked). He’s playing the UK in April and I imagine Europe also. Soon as I know all the dates then you will too.

The Dahlmanns – All Dahled Up (CD - Pop Detective / Vinyl - Screaming Apple) You may well have taken the plunge by now but if you haven’t then this is your “green light”. The Moss-based unabashed pop sensations are gearing up for the next stage of your indoctrination as we mull over the past 12 months here. Something to believe in and a wee bit more.

Death by Unga Bunga – Juvenile Jungle (Spoon Train) Norway continues to inflict great bands upon us and these youngsters actually deliver what The H*rr*rs were supposed to be capable of serving up according to the press. The actual horror of hearing those wasters was underwhelming but happily DBUB are not the emperor’s new clothes, more like a natty set of threads sewn together to make a rather agreeable racket.

Dum Dum Girls – Only In Dreams (Sub Pop) Leaps and bounds better than their debut, “OID” contains some dangerous pop twang of which “Bedroom Eyes” is arguably the most potent but really the whole thing will pep you up like one of those hot towels you used to get at the end of a long flight. And that’s without even seeing them.

Lola Dutronic – New York Stories (Red Star Digital) A genuinely life-affirming take on a handful of standards that includes The Fast’s “Kids Just Wanna Dance” and “Keep Your Dreams” by Suicide. The BPM will massage your vital signs and no mistake. An ideal companion for your copy of ACC’s “I ♥ New York”.

Matt & Kim – Sidewalks (Fader Label) Criminally ignored on this side of the big puddle, these kids are headed for the stratosphere in their homeland. Hit after hit would ensue if there was any sort of decent delivery system in place. The Brit ability to embrace talent is akin to our public transport system.

Säkert! – På Engelska (Razzia) Annika and co deliver a selection of songs in their non-native tongue and moreover, the translations are literal. The fact she isn’t a household name is an ongoing war crime in my estimation however I realise that it’s most likely because whoever racks up yer media hoo-hah outside of Sweden is about as much use as a chocolate fireguard.

Screeching Weasel – Carnival of Schadenfreude (Recess) Ben was pelted with lemons and all manner of vegetables following the SxSW malarkey. He went away, regrouped and came back with this. Hopefully those who threw him “Under The Bus” are to use a phrase my granny used to use “laughing on the other side of their face”. I was never sure how that worked but I hope the actuality is as harsh as it sounded.

Shonen Knife – Osaka Ramones (Damnably) Is there anything better than three Japanese girls bashing out Ramones covers? If there is then bring it on. Their version of “KKK” is sublime and the others don’t slouch none either. Thirty years on, the Knife is still sharp.

Suzy & Los Quattro – Hank (Bcore) A testament to their murdered friend, “Hank” raises the Quattros ante to the level of “Tommy”. I’d venture that it’s better because it’s based on a true story and is delivered directly from the heart with a whole lot of soul.

Wooden Shjips – West (Thrill Jockey) The latest instalment just keeps the groove coming as almost only they can serve it up. Saw a couple of whining reviews when it came out about it not being the “same” but sometimes that’s a good thing. Here’s a case in point. Looking at what I just typed, what does that expression mean anyway?

So there are 11 selections as 2011 disappears, it took me around 6 months to get into any sort of forward notion and the memory of House of Rock still burns bright. I’m looking forward to hearing what’s happening with Version 2.0. Similarly cleansing was my return to NYC for the roll in the thunder that was the Norton 25th Anniversary bash. Two days into “the ‘12” and so far so good – some turbulence is expected but not of the variety that caused the undercarriage to fall off my wagon last time the counter was reset.

That’s as optimistic as I’m prepared to be. Plus blogger hasn't been playing nice during the compliation of this particular post. Temper is flaring, nerves are frayed - you know the drill.

Pretty much what it's all about...

Was trying to get a couple of things together earlier in terms of writing. The flesh and spirit are in cahoots and hell bent on making the formation of sentences difficult to impossible. And then I got to thinking that can’t everybody just hear stuff for themselves these days anyway? I’m not sure what the next set of numbers holds and yes smartarse, nobody does but I could really use a break in all senses of the word. A new kind of kick? Not necessarily new, I’d settle for one I’ve had before just so long as it was one in particular.

However, being that’s unlikely – I do hope that it doesn’t kick off quite so abominably as 2011. There’s one big (fairly) imminent event that I’m definitely not prepared for. In fact dreading is probably more fitting. And in town this morning, the squeals of “happy new year when it comes” made these toes curl as only that expression can bring it.

Still, time is fleeting and if I can throw caution to the wind and try to grab a few handfuls or something or other as I’m flushed around the U-bend of life then hey ho. Hope to see a good many of you before the Mayan lottery comes up. When exactly is that anyway?

Not available on YT in a bigger frame yet as far as I know but you can expand it. All I can say at this point is "Lucky Japan"...

SUZY & LOS QUATTRO - KICK ASS from WAAAU.TV on Vimeo.

Happy holidays from Garth, Jon and Michael, your pals at Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co.! Fare thee well, 2011...

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29th / OTTO'S SHRUNKEN HEAD / 538 East 14th Street (just west of Avenue B) in ol' Manhattan / Two cork popping shows, from 8:00 sharp until 10:00 / No cover!

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 31st / McKITTRICK HOTEL / It's a "Sleep No More" New Year's Eve gala, with SIT & Die Co. at 1am! / Strictly for the, um, well-heeled set...

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

Let me tell you about the past.

And how it seems to be fusing with the present and future right now. Seems like I never posted here for a few days and wasn’t even really aware of not having done so. Maybe that’s progress? Who knows, but it's no good looking at me.

Anyway, it’s Christmas day and I’m the only creature stirring around these parts and my thoughts are very much with my dear friend Miriam in the event that her mother passed away. This can be a cruel time of year spiritually away from the feeding frenzy of consumerism. It is about family, immediate and extended because after all the “stuff” is gone then it’s only the dreams and memories that actually keep burning.

The Rezillos Christmas Panto the other night took me right back to the Hotel International just down the road in 1976. It’s good that they’re still rolling in the thunder. It made me think about how these were the people that gave me the copy of “The Way I Walk” when they came back from recording “Can’t Stand The Rezillos” in NYC. The association was that life-changing. The version of “Can’t Stand My Baby” was ferocious in an “it’s behind you” stylee and I look forward to many more years of them doing this positive therapy for kids of all ages.

Opening was George Miller’s new combo, The New Piccadillys. Really great with and an eye-watering beat combo take on “Judy Is a Punk” that will be out as a 45 in early twentytwelve. I’ll keep you posted.

Other than that, I just got a copy of “The Ballad of Mott The Hoople” so methinks I’ll make some coffee and get in aboot that.

Photos by Julie Hayward

RIP - Sean Bonniwell

(Just heard about this and this is the only link I could find)

T’was what? Four? maybe three days before Christmas and I’d been let down with a gift that I was trying to sort for someone. I guess I let them expectations rise a little high. Strange - because generally, I have no such thing. Either that or they are so low as to be as good as none. And here’s another case in point with regard to keeping all that on the DL. Because, in the main, I find that being let down is such a common occurrence that I’m not sure why it should irk me so much at this point.

I’d like to know if there’s a course or a seminar or something – where one can learn the art of letting people down. Oh, I’m sure that I’ve disappointed folks but never knowingly or wilfully. Usually it involves being an arse or just plain stupidity. I really don’t like to let anyone down though to an almost pathological degree. This can go from something that I say I’ll do to something as simple as punctuality. An obsession bordering on a condition.

So there’s the creek, where’s me paddle. Of course, the individual has not a scoob of what was on the cards so no harm done there but they would have dug the no-show a lot better than the M + S voucher they could well end up with.

However all was not lost and I did indeed find something, from a place not far away. And what’s more – the service and level of assistance was utterly exemplary so there are still exceptions to the rule out there in the undergrowth. It temporarily restored something I’m currently lacking, the commodity called faith. Hope and especially charity took off a long, long time ago. More about the source of the “goods” after the coast is clear (Sunday).

Which brings us to farcebook’s latest wheeze – “timeline”.

I rather stupidly jumped in them there rapids and have regretted it more or less ever since. What was I thinking? Well, not much obviously. I never spotted that it did indeed have shades of myspace which I’d forgotten ever existed. But yes, some switched on individuals have indeed twigged to just that. The processor on this PC can’t deal with much of anything anymore and the bugger just seizes up depending on what it’s trying to do. There doesn’t appear to be any means of reverting back to the common or garden farcebag timewaster.

I kvetch about this rubbish but there are way bigger fish to fry. Call it a coping mechanism or a diversion or whatever you want. The only thing that matters is that it’s nearly Friday. Don’t really care for Chrishmish but I’m open to cajoling. I’m not a cynic and prefer to think of my aversion to bullshit as realism. This consideration finds me as always largely in the minority. Colour me Grinch.

The Cramps box will be making its way out into the world right about now and I hope that Ivy will take the existence of such a beast to be the green light to get the archives in gear. I mean, if there’s this much excitement about stuff that’s been available before, imagine the appetite for unseen, unheard stuff.

For my own part it brings closure. I won’t write about the band again unless it’s to celebrate the release of a book or a video comp and wouldn’t ordinarily have been involved with a project like this but it marks the reason why Munster exists and how a bunch of us all met and became lifetime amigos. We’ve stayed sick as the credo suggests but hopefully the turning blue is some way off yet.

I’m off from the 23rd until January 5th. At this point in time, the canvas has a little light pencil here and there but nothing that couldn’t be erased to make way for something else. See you in Auld Reekie tomorrow nicht maybe? Tramline??

So far I’ve managed to suppress the urge to type “let it snow” into google. There have been a couple of times this year when I feel like I’ve "engulfed in indescribable sadness" like the North Koreans to some degree too but all I thought about when I heard of the “dear leader” passing was this video. And of course, South Park.



Will be heading out to see The Rezillos this week so if there are any overseas or wherever individuals that need a copy of the "Out Of This World" 45 – and haven’t ordered from the site – then I’m prepared to assist. It’s a fiver plus whatever postage to your particular corner of the universe. Just let me know by Thursday and we can figure it out.

Hot news from the Rev. Nick V. ...

The original 1983 line-up of the Nomads will perform the first two mini-LP's in Borlänge, Sweden friday december 30...

https://www.facebook.com/events/231188723620671/