Artist - Song - Album (Label) * indicates Canadian Content
Listen to Do Not Touch This Amp every Friday 8-9 PM Pacific at www.thex.ca
--
Lesbo Vrouven - Spy Ra* - Grifff Pifff (P572)
Trampoline - Dog Collar* - Sometimes a Song is Just a Cigar (Independent)
Deerhoof - The Merry Barracks - Deerhoof vs. Evil (Polyvinyl)
The Pixies - All I Think About Now - Head Carrier (PIAS)
The Switching Yard - Hard Luck* - Yet Again (Independent)
The Melvins - Queen - Stoner Witch (Atlantic)
Kellar - Scorched Schemes - Sacred Cyclical Pilgrimages (Foolproof)
DS Lori - D-Town* - DS Lori (Spirit Rock)
Flatbed - Meat Hammer* - Risin' Death (Spirit Rock)
We Are Wolves - In the Land of the Real* - Wrong (Fantome)
Gringo Star - Knee Deep - The Sides and In Between (Nevado)
Psychedelic Furs - President Gas - Forever Now (Chrysalis)
Tuesday, November 29, 2016
Thursday, November 24, 2016
RIP Craig Gill
2016 has been a bad year, particularly on famous musicians. While Craig Gill and his band, Inspiral Carpets, weren't as well known as David Bowie or Leonard Cohen, the band deserves a bit of space on this blog.
Inspiral Carpets were one of the core bands of the Madchester scene from the late 80s and early 90s. The Madchester scene was a mix of alt-rock, electronic dance and psychedelic rock. The bands that came from the scene were diverse, from trippy alt-rock with Happy Mondays and The Stone Roses, pure electronica with 808 State and Northside, to more earnest indy rock with James. Inspiral Carpets were known for their use of organ in their music.
They formed in 1983, but only got significant airplay 1988, when the legendary John Peel picked up the Planecrash EP and played it on his show, then invited the band for a live session. in 1989, Inspiral Carpets formed their own label, Cow Records, then released an EP called Trainsurfing. Around this time, two founding members left to form the Rainkings. They picked up two new members and championed on.
Their big break came in 1990, after signing to Mute Records, with their debut album Life shooting up to number 2 on the British album charts, and their single "This is How it Feels" hitting number 14 on the singles charts. The band remained successful to 1994, when Mute Records dropped the band after their Devil Hopping album. The band split up soon afterwards.
The band members played in other bands through til 2003, including The Lotus Eaters, The Lovers and the Clint Boon Experience. They reformed in 2003, releasing a single, touring sporadically and releasing a singles compilation called Cool As. The band has stayed together since then, releasing a handful of singles and EPs, plus a full length self-titled album in 2014.
Craig Gill was the drummer for the band and joined at the age of 14. He remained with the band through their entire career. He was just 44 when he died November 22nd.
Inspiral Carpets were one of the core bands of the Madchester scene from the late 80s and early 90s. The Madchester scene was a mix of alt-rock, electronic dance and psychedelic rock. The bands that came from the scene were diverse, from trippy alt-rock with Happy Mondays and The Stone Roses, pure electronica with 808 State and Northside, to more earnest indy rock with James. Inspiral Carpets were known for their use of organ in their music.
They formed in 1983, but only got significant airplay 1988, when the legendary John Peel picked up the Planecrash EP and played it on his show, then invited the band for a live session. in 1989, Inspiral Carpets formed their own label, Cow Records, then released an EP called Trainsurfing. Around this time, two founding members left to form the Rainkings. They picked up two new members and championed on.
Their big break came in 1990, after signing to Mute Records, with their debut album Life shooting up to number 2 on the British album charts, and their single "This is How it Feels" hitting number 14 on the singles charts. The band remained successful to 1994, when Mute Records dropped the band after their Devil Hopping album. The band split up soon afterwards.
The band members played in other bands through til 2003, including The Lotus Eaters, The Lovers and the Clint Boon Experience. They reformed in 2003, releasing a single, touring sporadically and releasing a singles compilation called Cool As. The band has stayed together since then, releasing a handful of singles and EPs, plus a full length self-titled album in 2014.
Craig Gill was the drummer for the band and joined at the age of 14. He remained with the band through their entire career. He was just 44 when he died November 22nd.
Sunday, November 20, 2016
DNTTA Playlist for November 4, 2016
Artist - Song - Album (Label) * indicates Canadian Content
Listen to Do Not Touch This Amp every Friday 8-9 PM Pacific at www.thex.ca
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Kroy - Bones* - Scavenger (Dare to Care)
Douse - Unrest* - The Light in You Has Left (Independent)
Wishkicker - Big Trouble* - Widervision EP (Independent)
Lanikai - Stay a Little Longer* - Lanikai EP (Hidden Pony)
Jesse Mac Cormack - Repeat* - After the Glow (Secret City)
Diamond Rings - All Yr Songs* - Secret City Records: 10 Years (Secret City)
Velocity Girl - Living Well - Copacetic (Sub Pop)
Boreal Sons - Strangers* - You and Everyone (Independent)
Preoccupations - Anxiety* - Preoccupations (Flemish Eye)
Pang Attack - Monk Song* - North Country Psychic Girls (Independent)
The Contortions - Contort Yourself - New York Noise: Dance Music from the New York Underground 1978-1982 (Soul Jazz)
Listen to Do Not Touch This Amp every Friday 8-9 PM Pacific at www.thex.ca
--
Kroy - Bones* - Scavenger (Dare to Care)
Douse - Unrest* - The Light in You Has Left (Independent)
Wishkicker - Big Trouble* - Widervision EP (Independent)
Lanikai - Stay a Little Longer* - Lanikai EP (Hidden Pony)
Jesse Mac Cormack - Repeat* - After the Glow (Secret City)
Diamond Rings - All Yr Songs* - Secret City Records: 10 Years (Secret City)
Velocity Girl - Living Well - Copacetic (Sub Pop)
Boreal Sons - Strangers* - You and Everyone (Independent)
Preoccupations - Anxiety* - Preoccupations (Flemish Eye)
Pang Attack - Monk Song* - North Country Psychic Girls (Independent)
The Contortions - Contort Yourself - New York Noise: Dance Music from the New York Underground 1978-1982 (Soul Jazz)
Saturday, November 19, 2016
DNTTA Playlist for October 28, 2016 - Halloween Special
Artist - Song - Album (Label) * indicates Canadian Content
Listen to Do Not Touch This Amp every Friday 8-9 PM Pacific at www.thex.ca
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Skinny Puppy - Rodent* - Rabies (Nettwerk)
Ministry - Every Day is Halloween - 12 Inch Collection (Wax Trax!)
Peter Murphy - Crystal Wrists - Deep (Beggar's Banquet)
Electric Hellfire Club - Prince of Darkness - Unholy Roller (Cleopatra)
Dead or Alive - In Too Deep - Youthquake (Epic)
Industrial Artz - Braineater* - Six Demon Bang (Cargo)
Switchblade Symphony - Witches - Gothspotting (Cleopatra)
DOA and Thor - Give 'em the Lumber* - Are U Ready (Sudden Death)
The Agonist - The Pursuit of Emptiness* - Five (Napalm)
Forbidden Dimension - The Shadow Knows* - Every Twisted Tree Watches As You Pass (Independent)
Chemlab - Summer of Hate - Burnout at the Hydrogen Bar (Fifth Column)
Listen to Do Not Touch This Amp every Friday 8-9 PM Pacific at www.thex.ca
--
Skinny Puppy - Rodent* - Rabies (Nettwerk)
Ministry - Every Day is Halloween - 12 Inch Collection (Wax Trax!)
Peter Murphy - Crystal Wrists - Deep (Beggar's Banquet)
Electric Hellfire Club - Prince of Darkness - Unholy Roller (Cleopatra)
Dead or Alive - In Too Deep - Youthquake (Epic)
Industrial Artz - Braineater* - Six Demon Bang (Cargo)
Switchblade Symphony - Witches - Gothspotting (Cleopatra)
DOA and Thor - Give 'em the Lumber* - Are U Ready (Sudden Death)
The Agonist - The Pursuit of Emptiness* - Five (Napalm)
Forbidden Dimension - The Shadow Knows* - Every Twisted Tree Watches As You Pass (Independent)
Chemlab - Summer of Hate - Burnout at the Hydrogen Bar (Fifth Column)
Thursday, November 17, 2016
Forgotten Music #23: The Psychedelic Furs - "President Gas" (1982)
You'll excuse my week hiatus from the blog. After November 9th's election result in the States, I was legitimately depressed. This is the first time this has happened, I lived through both Bushes and Mulroney and multiple Harper elections without trouble, but Trump's election was out of right field for me.
More savvy writers than I will write more and better words about Trump. What struck me most was the acceptance of the casual bigotry, sexism, Islamophobia and general intolerance of this president. That alone should have been a deal breaker for most voters in the States. He called all Mexicans rapist and drug dealers and vowed to build a wall to keep them out. Called Muslims from unstable states terrorists. Insulted women with his casual sexism and his ability to do what he wants because he's rich. He straight up mocked a disabled reporter! Yet it meant nothing. While I realized that not all Trump voters were racist, the fact that his racist didn't turn them off meant it was accepted. At worst, a Trump voter was saying "racial issues, sexist issues, equality issues don't matter to me". Or, more direction, "I don't care about anyone who is denied their rights."
The racist attacks that followed Brexit are now happening in the US. White men telling anyone who isn't white that they're going to be deported. Muslim women with hijabs being hauled to the floor and having them ripped off their head. KKK rallies celebrating Trump's win. Thousands and thousands of racist twitter and Facebook posts. Sexual assaults on buses and trains. All of this has happened because Trump's win normalized this behaviour.
Trump's win is probably the least of the US's worries. The racism of the right is the much bigger problem. Racists, white supremacists, evangelical Christians, and others are now taking out their frustrations on anyone not white and male. I fear for anyone who came to the US looking to flee oppression for freedom, only to find more oppression. Those of us who are more enlightened must stand up for our friends regardless of their skin colour, religion or sex and say, "This is wrong" and tell those who are hurting others that it's not acceptable. As the saying goes, the loss of human rights to anyone is the loss of human rights for everyone. And, as the old punk saying goes, you don't stand up to fascism, you smash it.
Which brings me to our musical selection for the month. As any dyed in the wool punk knows, oppression from the right always breeds punk music pushing back against it. The Reagan and Bush years were incredible for the punk movement, taking the classic late 70s punk vibe of the lower class rising up against the ruling class, fighting for the rights of the downtrodden and calling out the hypocrisy of the rich. With a new ultra-right wing ruler in both the US and the UK, the stage is set for another wave of skewering music to pin the right to the wall. As I pointed out in my article about Janet Green, the right just doesn't know how to make good political music. Fighting against the left seems greedy, corrupt and shallow. But knocking down the self-important, the racist, the sexist, the intolerant, that's something worth fighting for.
Admittedly, punk music isn't my thing, save for a couple of bands. But post punk and new wave is my thing. After the election, I found myself listening to The Psychedelic Furs' 1982 album, Forever Now, which starts with "President Gas", an uncharacteristically political song from the band. Their work has rarely been political, but "President Gas" seemed cathartic for me.
"President Gas" captures the malaise of the late 70s and early 80s, as disco dies and the hedonism and apolitical age begins to die. It was easy to party away your sorrows while ignoring the corruption and wars going on in the halls of Parliament and the White House. The Vietnam War dying down and the rise of the years of Thatcher, Reagan, Mulrooney and the fear of the Cold War. It was in this time, with disco coughing up blood and the punk movement rising, that music returned to the 60s style of political activism. And the players might change, but the horrible, racist underbelly of the common man always comes back and pushes the ugly American back onto the throne. President Gas is President Gas again.
More savvy writers than I will write more and better words about Trump. What struck me most was the acceptance of the casual bigotry, sexism, Islamophobia and general intolerance of this president. That alone should have been a deal breaker for most voters in the States. He called all Mexicans rapist and drug dealers and vowed to build a wall to keep them out. Called Muslims from unstable states terrorists. Insulted women with his casual sexism and his ability to do what he wants because he's rich. He straight up mocked a disabled reporter! Yet it meant nothing. While I realized that not all Trump voters were racist, the fact that his racist didn't turn them off meant it was accepted. At worst, a Trump voter was saying "racial issues, sexist issues, equality issues don't matter to me". Or, more direction, "I don't care about anyone who is denied their rights."
The racist attacks that followed Brexit are now happening in the US. White men telling anyone who isn't white that they're going to be deported. Muslim women with hijabs being hauled to the floor and having them ripped off their head. KKK rallies celebrating Trump's win. Thousands and thousands of racist twitter and Facebook posts. Sexual assaults on buses and trains. All of this has happened because Trump's win normalized this behaviour.
Trump's win is probably the least of the US's worries. The racism of the right is the much bigger problem. Racists, white supremacists, evangelical Christians, and others are now taking out their frustrations on anyone not white and male. I fear for anyone who came to the US looking to flee oppression for freedom, only to find more oppression. Those of us who are more enlightened must stand up for our friends regardless of their skin colour, religion or sex and say, "This is wrong" and tell those who are hurting others that it's not acceptable. As the saying goes, the loss of human rights to anyone is the loss of human rights for everyone. And, as the old punk saying goes, you don't stand up to fascism, you smash it.
Which brings me to our musical selection for the month. As any dyed in the wool punk knows, oppression from the right always breeds punk music pushing back against it. The Reagan and Bush years were incredible for the punk movement, taking the classic late 70s punk vibe of the lower class rising up against the ruling class, fighting for the rights of the downtrodden and calling out the hypocrisy of the rich. With a new ultra-right wing ruler in both the US and the UK, the stage is set for another wave of skewering music to pin the right to the wall. As I pointed out in my article about Janet Green, the right just doesn't know how to make good political music. Fighting against the left seems greedy, corrupt and shallow. But knocking down the self-important, the racist, the sexist, the intolerant, that's something worth fighting for.
Admittedly, punk music isn't my thing, save for a couple of bands. But post punk and new wave is my thing. After the election, I found myself listening to The Psychedelic Furs' 1982 album, Forever Now, which starts with "President Gas", an uncharacteristically political song from the band. Their work has rarely been political, but "President Gas" seemed cathartic for me.
"President Gas" captures the malaise of the late 70s and early 80s, as disco dies and the hedonism and apolitical age begins to die. It was easy to party away your sorrows while ignoring the corruption and wars going on in the halls of Parliament and the White House. The Vietnam War dying down and the rise of the years of Thatcher, Reagan, Mulrooney and the fear of the Cold War. It was in this time, with disco coughing up blood and the punk movement rising, that music returned to the 60s style of political activism. And the players might change, but the horrible, racist underbelly of the common man always comes back and pushes the ugly American back onto the throne. President Gas is President Gas again.
Thursday, November 3, 2016
Video Playlist #10: Veggies!
A playlist about vegetables. Because why not!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0QOmyo1JgZdaSQSR-xsJK9UdDz0GTkoT
1) Heavy Vegetable - Junior
2) Smashing Pumpkins - Zero
3) Of Cabbages and Kings - Crawl
4) King Lettuce* - Higher
5) Bloody Beetroots - Butter
6) Beans - Toast
7) The Gourds - Ziggy Stardust
8) Swamp Cabbage - Jesus Tone
9) Radish - Little Pink Stars
10) Beautiful Pea Green Boat - Hammers of Islam
11) Red Onion Jazz Band - See See Rider
12) Garlic Boys - Too Late True Love
13) DEVO - I'm a Potato
14) Shonen Knife - Tomato Head
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0QOmyo1JgZdaSQSR-xsJK9UdDz0GTkoT
1) Heavy Vegetable - Junior
2) Smashing Pumpkins - Zero
3) Of Cabbages and Kings - Crawl
4) King Lettuce* - Higher
5) Bloody Beetroots - Butter
6) Beans - Toast
7) The Gourds - Ziggy Stardust
8) Swamp Cabbage - Jesus Tone
9) Radish - Little Pink Stars
10) Beautiful Pea Green Boat - Hammers of Islam
11) Red Onion Jazz Band - See See Rider
12) Garlic Boys - Too Late True Love
13) DEVO - I'm a Potato
14) Shonen Knife - Tomato Head
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