ANTIROCK IS DEAD. VIVA LA VARIETÉ!

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Bernadette Castro y las recopilaciones "The Girl Group Sound"

Estaba leyendo a Sheila B en su Cha Cha Charming (http://www.chachacharming.com/article.php?id=2&pg=8) cuando me topé con esto:

"Another Bernadette worth mentioning is Bernadette Castro, the artist responsible for my all-time favorite girl group record, "A Girl In Love Forgives." This is one of the few obscure girl group records that can compete with the Shangri Las' and Ronettes' unparalleled track records. Just how this song never charted is forever a mystery. Bernadette is the daughter of the original Castro convertible bed maker, a company still in business today. She released an additional single on Colpix called "Sports Car Sally," popular among many girl group collectors for its hot-rod theme."

Al margen de la curiosa historia de Bernadette (ver http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernadette_Castro - impagable lo de ser hija de "El rey del sofá convertible" y sus pintas actuales, dedicada a la política neoyorkina y con cargos importantes), lo divertido es que me he puesto a buscar la canción de marras y me he encontrado con unos recopilatorios llamados "The Girl Group Sound" (5 volumenes, ni más ni menos). El blog Take The Pills colgó alguno de ellos, pero los he conseguido todos a 320.

Aquí hay una reseña sobre ellos: http://www.gullbuy.com/buy/2006/9_19/girlgroupsound.cfm

Broadcast regresan

Broadcast & The Focus Group Investigate (fecha de salida 13/10/2009 en Warp)

Son portada de The Wire donde dicen:

Broadcast: Collaborating with hauntologists The Focus Group, Warp's defining post-rock duo summon an occult pop laden with psychedelia

Somos centenarios ( Y SALILLAS no se olvida de nosotros)

Felicidades! Somos centenarios
00:00h - 9 septiembre, 2009

¡Felicidades! Cuando transcurren en el reloj los primeros segundos del 9 de septiembre de 2009, todos y cada uno de los que formamos parte de la familia levantinista estamos de enhorabuena y nos tenemos que sentir orgullosos porque soplamos en nuestra tarta particular las velas del Centenario.

Un aniversario que muy pocos hasta el momento han tenido la oportunidad de celebrar. En esta nueva etapa que se presenta ante nosotros debemos mirar hacia el futuro con ilusión; una ilusión que nos tiene que acompañar en esta andadura que pasará a ocupar páginas destacadas de la historia, no sólo de Valencia, sino también del fútbol nacional.

Desde el Levante UD se invita a todos los aficionados a que cuelguen en sus balcones la bandera y la bufanda del Centenario, a que luzcan orgullosos los colores azulgranas y a que impregnen a la capital del Túria y a sus poblaciones de esa alegría que siempre comporta una celebración.

El 9 de septiembre de 1909, el Levante Club de Fútbol fue registrado en la sede de la Federación Valenciana de Fútbol. Un siglo después, y tras la fusión con el Real Gimnástico Club de Fútbol en 1939, el club acaba de superar una de las peores crisis de su historia y sigue muy vivo, con un proyecto deportivo serio y muy esperanzador. Son 100 años de vida, de los que cinco han sido en Primera, y que dejan a la Copa de la República de 1937 como gran título en las vitrinas de la entidad, a pesar de que la RFEF no reconozca el galardón.

Salillas no se olvida del Centenario del Levante
· El ariete asegura que su mujer aún le canta lo de "Paco Salillas mete un gol"

http://www.marca.com/2009/09/09/futbol/equipos/levante/1252488931.html

Las composiciones de Ashford & Simpson

Uno de los momentos 10 de este verano fue escuchar este especial de Flor de Pasión dedicado a estos increíbles compositores (también artistas): http://flordepasion.radiotres.org/archives/005446.html

Y ahora me encuentro con que Kent/Ace Records les dedica una bonita retrospectiva: http://www.acerecords.co.uk/content.php?page_id=59&release=7949

John Carney también le dedicó un bonito artículo a Valerie Simpson: http://www.tangents.co.uk/tangents/main/2006/november/reason48.html

La pareja compuso canciones para MARVIN GAYE & TAMMI TERRELL ("Ain´t no mountain high"/"Your Precious Love"), DIANA ROSS ("Reach Out...", "You´re All I Need to get by"), CANDY AND THE KISSES/THE CRYSTALS ("Are You Trying To Get Rid of My Baby") THE KITTENS/CANDY & THE KISSES ("Looky, Looky"), MARLENA SHAW/5th DIMENSION ("California Soul"), THE CHIFFONS ("The Real Thing") o la impagable "Silly Wasn´t I" interpretada por la propia Valerie Simpson en su segundo lp del año 72, todas ellas dignas de aparecer en un top 100 de mejores canciones de la historia.

Dana Gillespie - "You Just Gotta Know My Mind"

Trallazo mod-pop. Es una versión de Donovan que nunca grabó. La descubrí leyendo el 50.000 reasons de John Carney dedicado a Fay Hallam. Rev-Ola reeditó el disco hace poco

Dana Gillespie was a music lover from an early age: "I discovered the blues when I went to the American Folk Blues Festival in 1962 and also to see the Yardbirds at the Marquee Club. I was in my early teens and hadn't heard anything like it before."
In 1964 she recorded her first single for Pye, with Donovan on guitar and became a regular on the folk circuit along with friends Donovan and David Bowie. She recalls: "I was doing folk because I couldn't afford a band and I hadn't found my musical niche". In those early years Dana got to know many of the top bands and people in the music business, appearing on Ready Steady Go and other cool TV shows of the era along with the legends of the British pop explosion.

In 1967, she made this album, Foolish Seasons, a Psychpop/Swinging London/Folkrock masterpiece. Featuring the rare Donovan song, "You Just Gotta Know My Mind," which should have been a smash mod hit, (and also includes the guitar of JIMMY PAGE!!!), and two fantastic Billy Nicholls covers from his much celebrated and legendary Psych/Softpop gem, 'Would You Believe.' Arranged by the great Mike Vickers and produced by Wayne Bickerton (World of Oz, Jackie Lomax, Pete Best Four, The Rubettes), this is one of THE great missing links of 1960s pop....Dana was to make one more album for Decca, morphing seamlessly into a more blues based style, before becoming a star of London's West End theatre: the first run of Jesus Christ Superstar (playing Mary Magdalene), The Who's "Tommy" (playing the Acid Queen) and the rock Othello, "Catch My Soul". She also appeared with Peter Cook, Dudley Moore and Kenneth Willams in the film "The Hound Of The Baskervilles" and starred in Ken Russell's "Mahler". A number of roles in latter-day Hammer films and more experimental arthouse movies are also fondly remembered. As a singer she moved to RCA Records and made ‘Weren’t Born A Man’ and ‘Ain’t Gonna Play No Second Fiddle’, under the aegis of David Bowie, whose management, Mainman, also took care of her career. A period in the US was spectacularly ended when Bob Dylan invited her to appear on his 1997 UK tour.

Dana continues recording recording successfully today, specialising in her first love, emotionally expressive blues music. This sumptious reissue of her classic first album is LONG overdue!!

el Tributo de Morr Music al pop de Nueva Zelanda

DISC 1:

1. Lali Puna - I Like Rain (Jean Paul Sartre Experience)
2. People Press Play - Kaleidoscope World (The Chills)
3. Tarwater - Death And The Maiden (Verlains)
4. It's A Musical - All My Hollowness To You (Tall Dwarfs)
5. B. Fleischmann - Not Given Lightly (Chris Knox)
6. The Go Find - Pink Frost (The Chills)
7. Guther - Glide (Chris Knox)
8. The Wooden Birds - Afternoon In Bed (The Bats)
9. Butcher The Bar - Bee To Honey (Tall Dwarfs)
10. Sin Fang Bous - I Think I'd Thought I'd Nothing Else To Think About (The Chills)
11. Borko - Up In The Sky (Jean Paul Sartre Experience)
12. Masha Qrella - Pink Frost (The Chills)
13. Saroos - Prisoner Of A Single Passion (Graeme Jefferies)
14. American Analog Set - Anything Could Happen (The Clean)
15. Bobby & Blumm - On An Unknown Beach (Peter Jefferies)
16. Contriva - Light (Chris Knox)
17. ISAN - Harmonic Deluxe (Robert Scott)
18. Electric President - You Forget (David Kilgour)

DISC 2:

1. Benni Hemm Hemm - Stoffeise
2. Radical Face - Wandering
3. Guther - New Science
4. Sin Fang Bous - Nothings
5. Seabear - Singing Arc
6. Butcher The Bar - Snakes
7. Surf City - Kudos
8. Electric President - White Noise
9. It's A Musical - In Case Of Harmony
10. Seavault - Cornfields
11. Populous - Zodiac
12. Saroos - Dubstar
13. Tarwater - Captain
14. ISAN - Happy Chord Whore
15. Bobby & Blumm - Take A Sip
16. B. Fleischmann - Aldebaran Waltz

Not Given Lightly - A Tribute To the Giant Golden Book Of New Zealand`s Alternative Music Scene


Are sounds sent on a journey they come back in echoes. This compilation is widely traveled - around half of the world and to another time. To the 1980ies when just in New Zealand the archetype of what was called Indie Pop later on was pressed on vinyl and soon defined a new way of how Indie pop has seen itself, concerning sound as well as attitude. "Flying Nun", "Xpressway", "IMD" or "Corpus Hermeticum" were the names of the labels, The Clean, The Chills or Tall Dwarfs the names of the bands. Pop songs or rather hits were born in garages and pressed on screen printed seven inches. A relevant music culture beyond a big and global music industry was thought and lived. Maybe just because it has not reached New Zealand before.
There was a promise in songs like "Not given lightly" by Chris Knox or "Pink Frost" by The Chills. And this promise was heard. In the US Pavement, Yo La Tengo and Sonic Youth referred to New Zealand's Alternative music scene directly. In Germany artists as well as label runners adapted this DIY-idea. Markus Acher, who is part of this compilation with "Lali Puna", played together with Graeme Jefferies. Suddenly, LoFi was present everywhere. And last but not least Morr Music would not have been thinkable without this DIY-idea. Even if the musical means and forms differed in the meantime New Zealand was carried in the heart. "Since a few years", says Thomas Morr, "I have begun to play Flying-Nun-records more often. The songs are simply too great, it would be a pity to leave them to a specialist's knowledge only." Now the Morr Music family has made them to their own in a fantastic way.
Morr Music has recorded its own being and becoming in conceptual compilations twice before. In 2000 "Putting the Morr back into Morrissey" defined the way of how Morr Music sees itself. Besides, it defined the aesthetics of a genre that was called Indietronic once. "Blue Skied An' Clear" - a homage to the British band Slowdive - set to music the status of individual as well as collective sound biographies within the Morr universe.
Now there is "A Tribute to the Giant Golden Book of New Zealand's Alternative Music". It is here partly because the world goes in circles, because this timeless music fits perfectly in a time in which the production conditions of pop music are radically restricted last but not least because of economic conditions. But there is no reason to complain about - this can be learned from the records of that time, too. Particularly because the laptop is heir to the four-track recorder today and at least the sounds have all the freedom possible. "Not Given Lightly" is the archaeology of an atmosphere of breaking up. The latter - consciously or unconsciously - resonates too within most of Morr Music releases. "Not Given Lightly" is an affair of the heart, not only for Thomas Morr. Almost inevitable that with Surf City a young band from New Zealand has meanwhile put its name down on the Morr Music map.

Interesantes entradas en el blog de Chickfactor

Una exposición del indispensable fotográfo Richard Avedon; un documental sobre Vasthi Bunyan; el dibujante Chris Ware (su "Catalogo de Novedades Acme" -Mondadori- es el comic del mes en el Rockdelujo) en el New Yorker; el estreno de su página en flicrk http://www.flickr.com/photos/gailochickfactor/ y muchas más cosas son algunas de las entradas recientes en el blog de Gail Chickfactor. Indispensable

Oído el de God Help The Girl

El lp no me ha dicho mucho, salvo ""I´ll have to dance with Cassie" y el single:

Ama: gratis su nuevo lp

El grupo de Javier Sánchez (la Buena Vida) vuelve ya fuera de Jabalina (ahora en los enanos gigantes, donde graba Fernando Alfaro). El disco lo podéis COMPRAR AQUÍ o si preferís, descargarlo aquí gratis, aunque si te gusta y lo deseas, puedes hacer un donativo vía Paypal

Más info: http://amamusica.info/

MOMUSeando

En el último RockdeLujo hay una entrevista a Ibón Le Mans en la que se confiesa adicto al blog de Momus (ya somos 2) ("suelo mirar su blog, donde habla de todo, desde arquitectura a cultura japonesa, pasando por un post sobre los aspectos positivos de la crisis económica").

En sus últimos post habla sobre su miedo a volar, e incluye anécdota española. El pobre viajó en ¡Spantax!, una ya extinta compañía mallorquina que no tenía muy buena fama precisamente ( http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spantax)

(" I'm pretty sure I took no flights at all between 1975 (when my family flew back to Scotland from Montreal via Air Canada) and 1988, when I flew with Alan McGee and his band Biff Bang Pow to Spain on a dodgy charter flight operated by a company called Spantax. At 15, on the Air Canada flight, I wasn't nervous at all. But 28 year-old me flying to Spain was terrified. For the return flight, I wandered off alone in Madrid airport (flying always makes me broody and solitary), bought wax ear-plugs, and sat watching the planes taking off and landing, amazed that each of them succeeded. On the flight I had ear plugs stuffed into my ears and tissue filling my concave sunglasses. It was the next best thing to general anaesthetic. I vaguely heard McGee tell someone: "It's no great loss; he's not a big talker anyway." At one point I peeped out of the window and got an incredibly beautiful view of provincial France. Not a cloud was in the sky, and the plane was perfectly smooth.)"

También me ha hecho gracia que ha descubierto por internet un dibujo sobre él que no le gusta nada porque dice que ¡se parece a Tintín! (ver foto). A mi en cambio me gusta y mucho.

Finalmente anuncia que Cherry Red TV le ha entrevistado y que en pocos días colgarán la entrevista en la web y que hay una sátira sobre su blog en twitter (para partirse) de un personaje que firma como Twit_Opera (en vez del click opera de su blog) con foto incluida parodiándolo con parche pirata en el ojo. Momus naturalmente disfruta con ello...

En fin, que este Momus me divierte y entretiene un montón

"The Melody Haunts my Reverie" y Pacific Street

No me había fijado pero los de Pacific Street tiene en su myspace esta frase del famoso ¿cuadro? ¿ilustración? pop de Roy Lichtenstein como lema

Lee Hazlewood "Cake or Death" (2006)

En el blog de Everett True (The Legend!) hay un post en el que recupera un antiguo artículo que escribió para Plan B Magazine (RIP) en el que reinvidicaba el último lp que grabó Lee Hazlewood. Acabo de esuchar el disco y es sorprendentemente bueno e incluye colaboraciones (duetos) con sus, ejem, nietos. Esto es lo que dice Mr.True de él: http://everetttrue.wordpress.com/2009/05/26/plan-b-the-archives-4-lee-hazelwoods-final-album/

La foto, también sacada de dicho blog, es impagable

Trashcan Sinatras - "In the music"

Nuevo lp.

Aquí lo han colgado gratis: http://donteatheyellowsnow.blogspot.com/2009/06/trash-can-sinatras-in-music.html

Este fue el single de adelanto

Tracey Thorn & Jens Lekman "Yeah! Oh yeah!" / Laura Cantrell "Cowboy on the Moon"

Merge Records cumple 20 años y para celebrarlo publica "Score! 20 Years Of Merge Records: The Covers!". En ella, una veintena de grupos que no son de Merge versionan otros tantos artistas de la historia del sello. La mayoría son grupos indies-alternativos de USA versioneando a grupos indies alternativos de USA (y un par de Nueva Zelanda), como era de esperar. Pero hay dos canciones que se apartan del tópico inherente a Merge: Por un lado, Laura Cantrell hace una versión muy bonita de Lambchop (me gusta más que la original) y Tracey Thorn nos cuenta desde su blog en myspace su contribución:

"Here is some new music at last - it's the cover of Yeah! Oh Yeah! by The Magnetic Fields, which I recorded last summer with Jens Lekman for the 20th anniversary compilation put out by Merge Records. Over the last 20 years Merge (based in North Carolina) have put out records by some of our favourite indie artists, from Arcade Fire, through M Ward and the Magnetic Fields, to East River Pipe and American Music Club. I was flattered to be asked to take part and, as you know, I need little persuasion to raid the Stephen Merritt songbook. Though I was very tempted to cover East River Pipe's gorgeous song Druglife, which opens with the memorable line, "Hey! Where's my pills? They were sittin' on the windowsill".
Anyway, I haven't heard the whole Merge compilation yet (there is one on its way to me apparently..) but I nevertheless recommend you to check it out.
And as for my album, yep, the recording is finished, and the mixing about to begin, so with any luck I will soon be able to put some of that new stuff up here too.
More soon, xx

Saint Etienne - Bloomsbury Ballroom 16/05/09

El concierto está al completo en youtube

Extraído del foro de Felt

http://pub27.bravenet.com/forum/static/show.php?usernum=2284341502&frmid=34&msgid=907126&cmd=show

Lawrence conversation post Go Kart Mozart Glasgow May 13th show at the ABC

Intro: So I left after the second Saint Etienne song and ran into Terry Miles and the drummer (Gary?) in the lobby. I told them that I had traveled from California for this show so they were kind enough to take me backstage to meet Lawrence. We spoke a little bit and I was invited to meet them back at their hotel after the show.
------------------------------------------
Highlights of my conversation with Lawrence at the Malmaison Hotel after the Glasgow May 13th show at the ABC (in no particular order).

-Lawrence lived in a homeless shelter for two years after losing his flat in London. He lived a few months with Peter Astor of the Weather Prophets

-We spoke about the Luke Haines book “Bad Vibes” which Lawrence is reading. He feels that he got off easy by what Luke wrote about him. He and Luke have never met to date.

-The film “Lawrence of Belgravia” will not be finished till about October 2009 or so. There are over 40 hours of footage (I believe) and there are plans to film the May 2009 Go Kart Mozart London show. The showing in London a few months ago was only the partially completed film.

-The guitarist on this tour (name escapes me) is the bass player for the Buzzcocks and The Sex Pistol’s roadie/personal assistant. Funny enough he is really a guitar player more than a bass player.

-The up coming Go Kart Mozart album will contain the recorded but never officially released songs “Robot Voice” and “Men Look at Women”

-Lawrence has lost contact with Maurice Deebank but has heard that he works in a factory and has been recently involved in an accident (possibly lost limbs but none of this is confirmed). Lawrence is trying to get his contact information to get in touch with him.

-Terry Miles and Martin Duffy are cousins. He also told me the story of “Summer Smash”. He gave Lawrence the music and sang do-doots where he felt the vocals should be Leaving Lawrence to write the lyrics. When it came time to record the song Lawrence left the do-doots on the chorus which were really meant to be a placeholder of sorts.

-The drummer tonight was a session drummer that was brought on at the last moment. Lawrence had originally had a 21 year old girl which when it came time to tour she couldn’t.

-Lawrence doesn’t think much of the Felt tribute album that came out a few years back.

-Lawrence was not happy with the Denim Jools Holland show in the early 90’s. The producers wanted him to shorten the songs. The girl on the show and who appears in the Denim “Middle of the road” video is a friend’s girlfriend. She was wearing his clear raincoat with the silver stripes on the Jools Holland show.

-Lawrence doesn’t see too much cinema but he gave reviews to the films “Thirteen” and the Maggie Gylenhaal film “Sherry Baby”

-Lawrence spoke about the Cherry Music receiving award ceremony for the Pillows and Prayers” compilation.

Por cierto, en el mismo foro se da cuenta de que Manic Street Preachers han editado en la versión japonesa de su nuevo lp, una versión de "Primitive Painters" de Felt (que no me gusta nada...) y la han colgado aquí: http://rapidshare.com/files/237602790/Primitive_Painters.mp3

FOTO: watoowatoo.net/mk

The Bootiques y el nuevo single de The Lodger para Elefant

Ayer estuve oyendo Flor de Pasión y me gustaron mucho estas dos canciones.
THE BOOTIQUES son un grupo femenino entre cuyos componentes está Christine Costello (hija de Abbott y Costello) y está canción "Did Your Get Your Fun" fue producida ni más ni menos que por Curt Boettcher, que además intento grabar más cosas con ellas que al final quedaron inéditas (November 10, 1967—Sessions with The Bootiques: Stephen J. McParland’s wonderful series of Gary Usher biographies (titled The California Sound: An Insider’s Story) contains many nuggets of info. One such is the AFM union sheet for this recording session for The Bootiques. Boettcher already produced their single “Did You Get Your Fun / Mr. Man of the World” (Date 1513) in 1966, so these must’ve been for follow-up singles).

La canción se puede encontrar en el volumen 5 de "Where The Girls Are", los famosos recopilatorios de Ace Records sobre Girl Groups.

También estrenó el nuevo single de The Lodger para el club del single de Elefant:
"I think I need you” será el quinto 7” de su carrera: “Nos dimos cuenta de que nunca habíamos editado un single “lento” antes, así que decidimos que era el momento de rectificarlo” y ahí llega en forma de rectificación ese precioso medio tiempo que es “I think I need you” y sus fantásticos y cristalinos arreglos de guitarra. Y para los que disfrutan de los LODGER mas forofos de THE SMITHS, “I can’t stop” es una de esas canciones que pedirías de rodillas al DJ para que te alegrara una noche de sábado. “This is good fortune” tiene uno de esos estribillos que necesitas rememorar cada mañana, antes de subirte al autobús que te lleva a la monotonía diaria, para tener un poco de sol cada día, mientras que “That guy” es, como ellos mismos reconocen, la canción más corta que han escrito en toda su carrera, un crescendo explosivo que apenas requiere de poco más de un minuto para explotar.

En la web de Elefant se puede incluso ver el vídeo clip (poco glamouroso, por cierto)

La canción favorita de Renée (de Liechtenstein)

Hay que reconocer que buen gusto si tienen

Is there a specific song by another artist you wish you had written?

Renée: I’m very fascinated by the song White Mice by The Mo-Dettes - to me it is the perfect song, there isn't one thing I would change about it. Perfect to sing along to as well!

(de http://allthatevermattered.blogspot.com/2008/09/interview-liechtenstein.html)

Article 58

Este single lo produjo Alan Horne junto a Malcom Ross y lo editó el sello Rational. Leo en You Heart Out 7 que Douglas MacIntyre (ahora en Creeping Bent) escribió de ellos en el libreto de la recopilación "Endless Soul" de Josef K (Marina Records) y los calificó como "Post-punk existencial teenage angst pop group", ni más ni menos. La canción la tengo en el recopilatorio "Ave Marina"