>> Return to Real Cool Time News Index
For my money, the high point of Alan Vega's long and under-rated solo career was 1983's Saturn Strip. Featuring production by original Suicide producer Ric Ocasek and some keyboards by a very young Alain Jourgensen (yes, him of Ministry fame) the album is pretty ear-catching. There's lots of 80s synth and polish with futuristic imagery a plenty and more than a smidgen of what Sigue Sigue Sputnik went on to popularise a year or two later.
I've not really seen anything from that period, so I was pleased to spot a video for Wipeout Beat from the album. Cheesy 80s video effects, futuristic looking cyber punkoids and Alan wigging out doing his thing. It's a great track and if you've never given the Suicide singer his dues, it's a great place to start.
Don't you love it when you get something for nothing? That's the joy of buying direct from indie record labels, you quite often get more than you bargained for. Flyers, posters, personal messages and free discs have all featured in my adventures in mail order land - all of which welcomed. Anyway, before Christmas I ordered the first Great Lake Swimmers LP for my wife's Christmas stocking. I ordered direct from the label WeeWerk and it promptly arrived, along with a hand made sampler of the rest of the label's output.
There's at least 3 or 4 acts on there I'll be ordering from them in coming months, but the one that grabbed me from the off and will be my first order are a band called The Barmitzvah Brothers from Guelph, Ontario, Canada. There's only two tracks on there, but they're superb. Loose and folky, it's quirky indie with some lush singing and tunes. The following track isn't one that's on the sampler, but it sounds great and shows the band at work enjoying their music. And I'm enjoying it too.
You'd be amazed what you can pick up at our local library. Way back at the start of the 90s I finally rented out the mean looking cassette that had sat in the same place on the rack for a long time. I'd never heard of GG Allin at the time, but within a listen, I was hooked. Not to mention shocked, outraged and utterly rocked in equal turns.
The music is full of some of the most scatological and filthy lyrics you'll ever hear. His shows were little better and became legendary. He was arrested on many occasions, famed for defecating on stage, cutting himself and throwing all sorts of bodily fluids and solids at the audience before fighting them - they were the epitome of animalistic rock and roll excess. I'm not sure I would have wanted to see a show - but Hated In The Nation gave a great idea of what to expect.
I just got a hold of the CD of it, and it's been getting a solid playing and sounds as great today as it ever did. Now some of GG Allin's beliefs and posturing doesn't sit well with me I have to say, but his music is sublime - Hated In The Nation is well worth seeking out, featuring work by the likes of J Mascis and Wayne Kramer, once you get past the filth, it's truly awesome gut wrenching full on rock. To give you a snap shot, here's GG Allin doing a live version of Bite It You Scum circa 1992. Probably not something you'd want to play in a crowded office, but to be fair, of the live footage I've seen, it's pretty tame.
I'd like to wish the people who've dropped in here and enjoyed the music a happy and prosperous 2007. I'm hoping to post a bit more often during the new year, it's not a lack of music that's the problem, it's the time to do so!
Now, the last few years I've made a point of having my own top ten list for the stuff that's been my favourite over the past year. I've normally done it on my more personal blog, but now I have this site, it seemed my annual list had finally found a fitting home. There's more on previous lists here, and more importantly, my top ten best albums of 2006 is here. Happy New Year all, may the music flow like noisy nectar from the muses. Or something.
Dio Bach is a music fan who loves sharing his opinions on his favourite music and videos. Subscribe for regular nuggets.
Please Note: This site requires Flash Player 7 to view embedded video players.
Home
Playlist
Music Reviews
About Real Cool Time
Links
Contact
More Videos & MP3s
Check out the monthly archive pages for a whole load more music videos and MP3s.
Disclaimer: All videos and content on the site are supplied and hosted by publicly available third party suppliers. No files are stored on this server unless they are given with the permission of the copyright holder.
Also, as we are using other services to provide the content, we can't in any way, shape or form guarantee availability or compatibility of material hosted elsewhere.
