I'm a terror for a bootleg remix - especially if it's based round The Beatles, Beastie Boys or both. There's something about these home made hybrids, and bits of bastard pop that's never lost the gloss for me. Finding shiny new booties fresh out of the box is a rare treat. Luckily there's two full free albums worth over at - Gather Round Children.
'For the Beasties in the Burroughs, For the Beatles in Britain' - Booties featuring The Beach Boys, Beck, The Editors, The Supremes
'Good News For People Who Love to Get Krunk' - The voices of Outkast over the music of Modest Mouse.
It was 31 years ago today that The Damned released 'New Rose'
Written by Brian James, a first class chap who was good enough to give up some of his Sunday to speak to me about the history of 'New Rose'.
"I'd had part of the song for a while, and even been jamming it with my earlier band Bastard, who were into The MC5, The Stooges and The Pretty Things, but it was when I played the riff with Rat(Scabies) - who drummed like no one else I'd ever played with, that the energy of Rat's drumming and his style fitted the riff so well that the song came together and was created out of that moment
Jake (Riveria) signed us after seeing the Damned at Mont De Marsan, on the strength of 'New Rose' and saw it as a single straight away even though Captain (Sensible) wanted 'I Fall' as the first single. There's no demo's for it we didn't really bother with things like it we just went straight in the studio and recorded it."
Is there a real life Rose? "No, it's not about a girl, it's really about what was happening at that time the speed and the energy of the movement - The Damned were always about the energy."
We also covered all sorts of other areas during our chat - guitars, previous bands, current gigs, and future projects all of which I'll be logging in the blog soon.
Certainly I see New Rose as one of the most important singles ever released, and being equal to anything Elvis, The Beatles or the Sex Pistols ever unleashed.
I love the Pistols and their two fisted filth and fury (even though they booted the The Damned off of the Anarchy tour). But New Rose snapshots the mood, the moment and the DIY ethic of early London/Brit punk more authentically than anything else from this explosive era.
Crash! Go the drums. Thrash! Goes the guitar. Rev up the riffing and they’re off like Bash Street brats out of hell and God help anyone who gets in the way. The Damned ram raided the UK charts by releasing the first punk single and album and even appeared at the first Punk Festival in Mont de Marsan (attended by a pre Joy Division Ian Curtis, and held a month before the 100 Club Punk Festival). But it was the impact of New Rose, and The Damned being the first UK Punk band to tour America that sent a Punk rocket to the epicenter of the States causing a sonic bang so explosive that the fallout is still being felt today.
The Sonics, The MC5, Iggy and The Ramones may have already been grinding out garage anthems and had some success in their home towns – but none of them raised more than a blip on the ‘punk-o-meter’ across the States. The Damned blew the bastard thing to smoke and shrapnel.
Consider this - what speed do the first wave of US Punk bands - The Dead Kennedys, The Dickies, Bad Brains or Black Flag - play at, Damned or Pistols tempo? From here you go to Hardcore to Thrash Metal to Metallica to Guns N Roses(who covered New Rose) and Nirvana (who ripped off Life Goes On for 'Come As You Are'). Not all this may be your type of tune, and not all of it’s my type of tune, but it’s undeniable that it all leads back to the Damned and New Rose.
"I thought the Damned caught the true spirit of Punk, as understood by Punks, better than their rivals. They devoted less time to striking attitudes & never forgot, as many historians have that Punk could be quite funny as well as exciting." John Peel - 29/05/02
Brian is currently remixing The Lords Of The New Church back catalogue at Abbey Road (more on this soon). And will be playing the 100 Club on 31/11/07 with Lords Of The New Church for a Halloween Night Special - only 350 tickets are available for this special event so grab them while you can.
A special thank you goes to Brian James for his insights into New Rose, Punk and all things Damned, and also for allowing the use of Mp3's in this posting
Every Friday is Funky Friday on Planet Mondo and this week brings you several takes on 'Tell Mama'
Something old that looks like someone new, and someone new doing something old.
'Tell Mama' - Marva Whitney
I wonder if Amy Wino' may have taken a leaf or two out of Martha's style sheets?
Either that or Amy's a Time Lord! Which may explain the one size fit's all dimensions beehive and recent bout of 'fatigue'. Jet lag's nasty enough but jumping hoops through the space-time continuum is bound leave you a woozy, weary and struggling to make the gig.
Nah! That would just be too bizarre.
But not as bizarre as....
XENA WARRIOR PRINCESS OF SOUL!! sings Tell Mama
When Xena's done with cracking skulls, raiding the gates of Hades and slaying Cyclops, two headed serpents, and satanic wing-ed beasties, she hang's up her sword and shield and chills her boots by getting on the good foot at 'The Canal Rooms' (upstairs at the Prancing Pony). Where she likes to loosen up with some live on stage lungbusting.
Yes, it really is that Lucy Lawless
If all this has fried your brain, why not soothe your jangled nerves with this treat.
I've been checking out the daily Halloween countdown over at armagideon time and it’s such a black diamond that I'm logging it in the blog
Bitter Andrew has created a Harvest Festival of horror and song, a creepshow autumnal advent calendar, a medley of mad, musical and macabre motif's... *goes on like this for several hours*
Each post is a pumpkin size peach packed with tip top tracks and clips from cult comics with a spin that will leave you grinning like a gargoyle and downloading like a demon - it's all treat's no trick's so get on over and fill your cyberspace boot's with the some of these grab bag goodies;
Bowie, New York Dolls, Flesh For Lulu, Goldfrapp, Air, PIL,
And in a similar vein why not treat yourself to....
B - There aren’t many occasions when I feel flushed enough to fire up a fanfare.
But today is different - I'm in this month’s edition of The Word!! (Issue 57 - Springsteen on the cover) And am so buzzing I could break out the sweet sherry and spam baps.
I did a piece of cyberspace scrapbooking last month about Batman issue 222, which is based around The Beatles 'Paul is dead' myth. This has ended up(re written to 240 words by me) in The Word, and if that's not batty enough I’m on the letter’s page. Twice!!
I'm probably more amazed than anyone as I haven't written anything longer than a shopping list since leaving school.
The original bat blog looks like this and the updated piece is on page 27 of The Word 57 which looks like this.
So support your local newsagent and The Word team by grabbing yourself a copy.
And why not treat yourself to this dynamic duo from the Batcavern.
Every Friday is Funky Friday on Planet Mondo, and this week brings you the youtube choices and a super rare remix from guest blogger, international DJ and in demand remixer Tronik Youth.
Tronik's remixes include;
The Gossip - Standing The Way Of Control, Listen Up. The Rakes - The World Was A Mess But His Hair Was Perfect. New Young Pony Club - Descend (out soon). And his own single - We Are Tronik Youth (out now).
Not only has Mr T come up with two pieces of 80's electro a go go, but his rare and unreleased remix/shredit of Joy Division's She's Lost Control is available at the bottom of the page.
Vorsprung durch Tronik
Let's plug in and power up a synthy fizzfest and Moogaphonic medley of stars including;
Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock, Thomas Dolby, and ummm Howard Jones! All riffing on each other's hits (you scratch my track and I'll scratch your's).
kraftwerk's Tuetonic squeaks, bleeps and beats are perfect for practicing your robot moves, like - the floppy forearm, folding the newspaper under the armpit, checking the wristwatch with a 'no,no,no' finger waggle.
Funky Friday has it's first guest blogger this week International DJ and superstar remixer Tronik Youth
Not only has Mr T chosen two youtube clips of 80's electrickery at it's finest, but has also made available his exclusive remix;
Joy Division - She's Lost Control (Tronik Youth Mix).
This juicy nugget is unreleased and will only be available here on Planet Mondo.
Tronik's previous remixes include;
The Gossip - Listen Up The Gossip - Standing In the Way of Control (as featured in C4 Skins) New Young Pony Club - Descend (out soon). Kharma 45 - Where's Your Spirit Man The Rakes - The World Was A Mess, but his hair was perfect
And his own single 'We Are Tronik Youth' which is out now
This is Mr Bernard ‘Pretty’ Purdie (pronounced Ber – Nard, ryhmes with farmyard) the King of the sticks and legendary session drummer with a CV that’s reads like a Burke’s Peerage of Soul and Funk including;
Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Quincy Jones, Herbie Hancock, Arif Mardin, Nina Simone, Dusty Springfield, Miles Davis, B.B King, Steely Dan and appearances on over 3000 albums.
I’m guitarist – not a drummer, but watching Bernard filling out the fatback makes me want to start clicking some sticks.
This is Bernard breaking it down and ‘splain’ing the Purdie Shuffle.
And how to build up and bang out the backbeat.
The super funky FuFu Snax has Pretty Purdie - Soul Bossa Nova availablehere
And new kid on the blog Suspect Me, has Pretty Purdie Soul Clapping available here on his rocking new blog
And today FF brings you the 'Texas Cannonball', the 'Big King Of The Strings' Mr Freddie King - wearing his guitar strap like a shoulder holster and using a crazy but killer technique that's all fingers and thumbs.
Treat yourself and watch him tear it up on I'm Tore Down - check out those have a go-go backing dancers
I'm Tore Down
Now settle in for San Ho Zay. Look out for Clarence 'Gate Mouth' Brown on guitar. And on sky high bass... Billy Cox, who later became the bass man in Jimi Hendrix’s Band of Gypsys and check out the cheeky horn riffing
Autumn's here and the time is right for dishing up a treat.
Even with its hairy hand sized spiders scuttling in through the windows, crazy legged crane flies floating into your face and snoozy ol' wasps looking for a last fling sting, autumn remains my favourite season.
And these two pieces of misty morning pop are as autumnal as conker battles, leaf fights, blackberry picking and hearty hot pots.
I’ll be posting part 2 of my Autumn Almanac over at Channel Mondo next week.
If you held a super strength stethoscope to my head when I’m thinking of all things autumny - Harvest Home is the sound you'd hear. According to friends there at the time (as documented in the marvellous Passing Show DVD ) Harvest Home was recorded live and outdoors at Ronnie Lane's farm in the Shropshire hills - just ‘Plonk' and a few mates sitting round a camp fire strummin’ as dawn is breaking and the tweety birds are starting to stir. All of autumns colours are captured in this glorious instrumental.
Andy partridge IS an underrated genius - the Syd Barret of the 'old wave of new wave'. And Harvest Festival is his autumn anthem for school hall assemblies. Tinned fruits, packet soups, squeaky chairs, recorders and long lost loves. It’s like Charlie Brown on Friends Reunited. And if the melody doesn’t melt you, the word play will make you fold like a fallen leaf.
You can read Andy P's notes on Harvest Festival over at the highly recommended Chalkhills and Children website
