Five x Friday

THE NEW YORK DOLLS - PERSONALITY CRISIS(LIVE 1973)


The sad passing of Malcolm McLaren brought this to mind today.  The New York Dolls were managed by McLaren for a time around the mid-70s before he found mega-fame as the mastermind behind The Sex Pistols.  I remember seeing em on the Old Grey Whistle Test repeats on BBC2 when i was a teenager and being horrified(i was a strange teenager, sorry) - I remember thinking they were nothing more than a sloppy version of the Rolling Stones who didn't know how to dress.  David Johansen does looks like Mick Jagger badly(yet so perfectly), and Johnny Thunders pulls all his best Keith Richards moves like it's a competition!  But hey! I love this now.  Such a great song. 

For the original Old Grey Whistle Test performance that had me reeling - take a peek here.  It's a helluva lot of fun.  For their music, this compilation is a pretty good introduction, but to be honest, you could also just pick up their self-titled debut.  My gut feeling says stay clear of the reformation stuff, i've not heard it, but it's just not going to be anywhere near as good and essential as this.

CAPTAIN BEEFHEART & HIS MAGIC BAND - BIG EYED BEANS FROM VENUS



This song is unstoppable.  It's almost too much fun.  I've just been reading John "Drumbo" French's Through The Eyes Of Magic Biography , which is an illuminating read, but often quite at odds with the fun in this music. This is from The 1972 album Clear Spot, which is a great introduction to a neophyte, along with Safe As Milk.  Drumbo doesn't play on this track(stand up Ed Marimba), but as Drumbo is one of my favourite drummers ever, there'll be a lot of him and Beefheart later on.   

Here's a 1980 live tv recording of the song:


JOHN CALE - PARIS 1919


John Cale is a hero to me.  He was a member of the greatest band ever, plays on the greatest album ever made, produced The Stooges, Nico, Patti Smith and The Modern Lovers, worked with Nick Drake, and also played avant garde drone music with the likes of Tony Conrad & La Monte Young.  One hell of a CV.  And i hadn't even mentioned he is WELSH!

I've been really digging John Cale's 1973 album "Paris 1919" quite a lot recently.  It took me years to get round the fact that most of Cale's solo output didn't have scraping violas on them, and were actually, ahem, a bit pop and "produced".  But the combination of near-inpenetrable lyrics, singalong choruses and stately arrangements has now got the better of me.  This is the title track from that album.

CAN - I WANT MORE



And talking of pop - avant garde collisions, german group Can did this better than a lot.  I'm much more a fan of their earlier stuff(see Monster Movie, Soundtracks, Ege Bamyasi, Tago Mago, Future Days, Soon Over Babaluma = ESSENTIAL), but this is irrestistable.  Can go Disco, on Top of The Tops at that.  Some fans of Can get a bit snobby over this, obviously they don't have dancing bones. 

ARTHUR RUSSELL - PLATFORM OVER THE OCEAN



Talking of avant garde-disco collisions, i just thought i'd bring up this incredible artist.  Like John Cale, Arthur Russell was classically trained, had ties with the avant classical scene, and had worked with the Modern Lovers(he booked them for a gig in New York).  However, he was most well known for making some really influential records on the  New York disco scene at the turn of 80s, under various pseudonyms(Dinosaur L, Loose Joints).  He also tried to bring both disciplines closer together with an amazing album released under his own name (World Of Echo), recorded with just a cello, vocals and an effects unit.  Russell sadly died of AIDs in 1992 and since then a lot of unreleased unfinished material has been finding its way out into the public domain.  "Platform Over The Ocean" sounds like it comes from another planet, and is one of the most beautiful things i've ever heard.   You can find it on the collection "Calling Out Of Context".  Another Thought's also great - and contains "A Little Lost" a truly transcendent collection of 0s and 1s that makes me tearful every time i hear it.  Time to cry, kids...

ARTHUR RUSSELL - A LITTLE LOST


I can't speak for the homemade video here, as i haven't seen it.

More posts soon.  Fare thee well
xxx