OH FUKushima!

Meltdown / Nuclear fear / Three Mile Island / Chernobyl / Radiation // Blanket media coverage / Pull out colour supplement / Souvenir Edition / This aint no Hollywood Blockbuster / No Armageddon or Day After Tomorrow / This is now / This is real / The medias reality with page after page crashing down on the reader / TV Channel after TV Channel / Music makes the visuals even more harrowing / Create the compassion / 24-7 / This is a Sky TV fear fest / A war zone / Hiroshima / World War Two / Third World War / Iraq / Afghanistan / No…. Libya! / Quick change the channel / There’s a whole new drama starting //

Spot The Difference?

From Boarded up, to botched up!

It's Oil Going Down the Shitter!

A Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On.

I Can’t let this weekend pass without comment on the Japan earthquake/tsunami disaster. Once again Nature shows it is the most powerful and indiscriminate force on the planet; the only true global super power, and more unpredictable than any mad dog dictator. Our planet is going through another cycle, there are systemic shifts going on in the natural world, you don’t have to be a scientist to work that out, you only need to have watched the news recently, Floods in Australia, Earthquake in New Zealand, they say all things come in threes. On a national level look at the increase in Britain of what’s been labelled ’extreme weather’ Yeah global warming may have something to do with it, but is this really true or just a case of the emperors new clothes; because these cycles of nature are nothing new, they’ve gone on for millions of years. Ironically in the wake of the Japanese disaster the biggest concern is the damage to a Nuclear Power station; the natural world meets the human world where Nuclear Energy has been seen as an alternative to the depleting sources of natural fuels, such as coal, gas oil etc. Nature takes no prisoners when it’s forces are unleashed, lest we forget!

JOHNNY THUNDERS - Live @ The Hope and Anchor, London 21/4/82

Here’s another show from Johnny Thunders stay in London during 1982. This one was at The Hope and Anchor, in April 1982. Some of the tracks were released on the Wanted: Dead Or Alive - Reward $10 bootleg album, this tape is a different source and was recorded by a mate of mine in the audience. Johnny is on fine form, or as fine as Johnny is depending on yer point of view.
After asking for some more reverberation Thunders first words are to a heckler, ”Hey scumbag, shove it up yer mothers left nut” before launching into Alone In A Crowd, quite a bit of crowd interaction, Johnny even gets political asking the punters what they think about The Falklands and Nuclear Weapons. For reasons long forgotten, I never went to any of these 1982 gigs, and had to wait until Oct 1983 at The Lyceum for my first hit of Johnny live, still ranks as one of the best gigs I’ve been to….ever! Pretty much saw most of his London gigs since then, and a fair few around the country and had the privilege of promoting an acoustic show of his in 1990 in Stevenage. What made him special as a performer for me was that no gig was ever the same, depending on his mood and state of mind, but they were all pure and honest. Johnny Thunders was the real deal!

SATURDAY 26th MARCH....

A date for yer diaries; When everyone who is a no-one in the eyes of this government of ours are planning to descend on the streets of London to voice their discontent, through the democratic act of protest against the government cu*ts. The day promises to be even more interesting now that the Police force are facing having to make their own cut backs, who’s side are they gonna be on ? Or will this government back down just like previous governments have when faced with the prospect of a protesting police force? The Police unlike other Public Services don’t just serve the public, they protect the public, and are there to maintain the laws of The State and its Government, and keep order in society, without them there’d be anarchy, and we wouldn’t want that would we….. Much better to have our lives controlled by people who don’t give a shit about people other than what they can take from them. We have the power! and they’ve made us feel like we haven’t, remember that if you take to the streets of London on Sat March 26th They are only our government because we allow them to be, they only do what they do because we let them, and it’s about time everyone where ever they are said “NO!” to the cunts! and kicked against the pricks!!

THE CAEZARS - A Review and Some Tunes.

I seem to have been going on some weird Rock’n’Roll trip recently, triggered by the Jim Jones Experience and their firebrand howl, but then again I’ve also been listening to the Trailer Trash Orchestra and their Neo Country Punk to death, and the new Social Distortion album isn’t shy on country/rockabilly influences.
The trip continued for me on Fri when I popped along to a gig . The write up in the local paper sounded interesting enough to get me out on a cold night and the venue was quite literally up the road from me. The Caezars, are a 4 piece 50’s Punk/Garage/ Rock’n’Roll band. The band played a blinding set, and considering it was the first time I’d heard ’em my foot was tapping throughout. It was a stripped down sound with the stand up bass and minimal drums slapping out the rhythm and beat while the surf tinged guitars and wired vocals rattled and rolled with intensity. The band looked the part and played with passion, soul and honesty, something that’s lacking in these days of technologically over produced music. They’re supporting current NME Faves The Vacinees on tour next month, so does a Rockabilly revival start here? Who knows? Who cares! But if The Caezars ever roll into your town, go check ‘em out. If you like Link Wray and The Cramps I don’t think you’ll be disappointed, anyway as a little taster here are 3 tracks from their Shakedown album. Enjoy the ride!

MAYDAY! MAYDAY! The Workers Are Under Attack!

So the powers that we let be are talking of moving the Mayday Bank holiday in order to extend the tourist season???? Apparently Britain is lagging behind Germany and France in attracting visitors. How moving the Mayday Bank holiday to Oct is gonna help makes absolutely no sense to me, but what it does mean is that we will lose a historic celebration, and replace it with a new state sanctioned celebration of Englishness Day. The history of Mayday can be traced back to pagan times
Dancing round the Maypole and Morris Dancers are part of the tradition, (now there’s an idea for the opening ceremony of the London Olympics.) It also coincides with the International Workers Day celebrations on 1st May. Why not have an extra Bank Holiday instead? So what if the economy loses money because people had an extra day off work each year, after all British workers work longer hours than those in say France and Germany, but no our Government would rather continue the tradition of taking things away from the workers, rather than giving them something back, and they tell us that this is an era of new politics! Bollocks!! It’s just the same as it ever was, and will continue to be as long as we let it be. Workers of Britain and Morris Dancers Unite!

Our government kisses the arse of another dicktator: Rupert Murdoch, whose mass media empire is set to gain even more power and control over what the people can watch and read, or should that be what he wants the people to watch and read. Pluralism in the media has been sacrificed at the alter of free market capitalism in the Church of consumerism were alternative choice becomes less in a world of more, never mind changing the channel, people need to be watching a different program!

THE LOVELESS - Film Soundtrack (Vinyl Rip)

Carrying on with the stripped back rock’n’roll from the last post, here’s the soundtrack to independent film The Loveless, which was released in 1984 and featured William Dafoe, in his first film role. He looks better in biker leathers than he did wearing a loin cloth in The Last Temptation of Christ. The film also featured Robert Gordon, who was primarily a musician, having been the singer for New York punk band Tuff Darts, before going solo. In the wake of Elvis Presley’s death he was the next major US Rockabilly artist which led some people touting him as his successor, he went on to play with the likes of Chris Spedding and Link Wray, and still performs regularly, as for his film work….that seemed to dry up after The Loveless. In the film Robert was a member of a group of leather-clad bikers en route to some blistering racing action in Daytona, they make a pit stop in a backwater Georgia town. While waiting for one of their bikes to get fixed, the gang decides to raise hell. But they get more than they bargained for when the townsfolk battle back in this moody homage to Marlon Brando's classic biker movie, The Wild One. The film was poorly received, unlike the soundtrack, which featured several Robert Gordon compositions. I bought this album for a couple of dollars in a second hand record shop in Los Angeles way back in 1987, and it’s here if you want a blast. Enjoy or destroy! We can also link Robert Gordon to Phil Lynott (Thin Lizzy) Neal X and Tony James (Sigue Sigue Sputnik) as they’ve all played with Johnny Thunders, who in a parallel universe was the only successor to Elvis Presley as the king of Rock’n’Roll.

COLBERT HAMILTON and THE HELLRAZORS (Vinyl-Rip)

I first heard Neo-Rockabilly hero Colbert Hamilton the UK's original Black Elvis. when he supported Sigue Sigue Sputnik at Kilburn National Ballroom in 1986, I think it was. I ‘m pretty sure he came on before the Tai boxing fight, which was the other support act, the ticket and advert say he did but I’m fucked if I can remember. I also recall someone letting off some tear gas during Sputniks set, Ultra Violence and all that. I digress. Colbert blew me away in his silver suit and with his Rockabilly rhythms, so much so I bought this, his debut album, when I got paid next, and played it quite a bit. It was released in 1984 and is more stripped down than I remember him being live, it’s also a lot cracklier than it was when I bought it, the rip kinda gives it an almost authentic 1950’s feel, apologies for that folks but it’s here if you wanna blast of some Rootsy Rock’n’Roll Rhythm. Here’s a little bit of Rock trivia for yer: Colbert Hamilton was quite possibly the last person to record with Thin Lizzys Phil Lynott, The track, called 'Do You Want To Rock?', was recorded three weeks before his death it was produced by Lynott and sung by Colbert Hamilton, Phil also featured on bass and backing vocals. As we’re on the subject of trivia, here’s a little question for yer: Can anyone tell me what the connection between Phil Lynott and Neal X from Sigue Sigue Sputnik is? No prizes for the correct answer, cos it’s all about the taking part. This post goes out to brutha Nekro and his death party.

Olympricks!

I was gonna suggest that the good folk of Britain boycott the 2012 London Games, but after seeing the prices….a good many people aint gonna be able afford to go. The cheapest price is £20, but…. that’s not for a whole day in the stadium, that’s just for a couple of hours; watching a heat of the athletics and some Javelin throwing, if you wanna stay and watch some more, that’s another £20 for another couple of hours, and when it gets to the finals the price races up to £50.…Rip Off Britain can fuck off! Still at least the proles can watch it on TV because I should imagine there’s gonna be blanket coverage and you aint gonna be able to go out with out being reminded of the games, and how it’s great that we’ve won a gold medal, and shouldn’t we be proud of what a great nation we are. Yeah right Great Fuckin’ Britain a shining example of Democracy, where London mayor Boris Johnson wants the peace camp at Parliament Square to be gone by the time the games open, can’t let the world see that people aint happy in the Green and pleasant lands.
In a bid to increase Britain’s standing in the world of realpolitik, politicians from all parties have embraced the spending of millions of pounds of taxpayers money on a couple of weeks of friendly international competition ; a world war fought on running tracks, in swimming pools and gymnasiums, were there’s only room for winners.
No doubt the sportswear manufacturers will be gearing up ready to sell even more tracksuits and lycra to the unhealthy unsporting proles joining in the sportification of society. Still if it encourages young people to get involved that can’t be a bad thing can it? Well that’s if they get the chance, because thanx to the cunts and their cuts, the same people that have backed the games, there’s lots of funding being taken away from not just sports programs for the young but youth services in general. The Government’s hoping the private sector will fill the gap, which is all well and good if people can afford the services. If not there’s gonna be a lot of losers, and a small elite of winners. Pretty much like life in general in a free market liberal democracy where we pay for what they give us.

SINGLED OUT: Nikki Sudden / The Godfathers / The Derellas

No music with this post, just 3 short reviews of recent singles released by some NPW faves. I say singles, but they aint really singles, well not like I remember singles being, they’re single downloads, and it’s just not the same as buying vinyl or CD, there’s no real product to hold in yer hands, no cover or case, just the music. Quick and convenient maybe, but also sterile and clinical, which is something that can’t be said for the three tracks:
NIKKI SUDDEN - I Know You is a Rocking little foot taper taken from Playing With Fire; a carefully selected compilation of completely unreleased songs recorded for Nikki's last two studio albums "Treasure Island" & "The truth doesn't matter " which is available from Easy Action Records. THE DERELLAS - She Kissed The Gun is action-packed and inspired by the downfall of legendary producer Phil Spector, it spits out classic 77 guitars like The Clash meeting The Ramones.
THE GODFATHERS - Back Into The Future finds the band as rawkuss and angry as they ever were; “What’s the problem? I’ll tell you the problem / You’re slaves to money and it don’t mean nothing”

Sheikh Rattle and Roll!

Its all been about Libya this week. Calls for democracy by Libyans haven’t fallen silent despite the sound of gun fire from weapons bought from the West filling the air, and bullets ripping through flesh. The world watches and waits….just like the British citizens trapped in a situation their governments have created through years of shaking hands with and hugging despotic dictators like Gadaffi, the blood of PC Yvonne Fletcher and the victims of Lockerbie is on his hands, the failure of any justice for the families has been down to democratically elected governments whose only interest has been….oil. and the fear that he’d stop the pipelines flowing. That’s the only peace in the Middle East Tony Blair wants to see ….a piece of the profits! Which is also what the people of Libya want, difference being, it's theirs to have!

THE JIM JONES REVUE - Live @ The Big Day Out 23/1/2011

Singer Jim Jones used to be the front man for The Hypnotics, he’s taken their levels of in the red rock’n’roll to a new err… level of psychosis with The Jim Jones Revue and their Punk Rock Blues. For lovers of MC5, The Cramps, Birthday Party, New York Dolls, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis or any other band that shakes the foundations with ball rattling breast bouncing volume up to eleven Rock’n’Roll. The Revues Burning Down Your House album was one of the highlights of last year; a howling vocal, screeching guitar and pounding piano blast of wild and feral Rock’n’Roll, pretty much like this recording of them at Australia’s musical Big Day Out in Jan 2011, it was recorded from the audience, the sounds OK, but far from perfect, but it is what it is…. you know what to do if you fancy a blast.

THEir BIGfuckedupSOCIETY. (Some Thoughts!)

Here’s a thought….The reason this Big Society that the politicians are pushing and both themselves and the public are having trouble to understand is because it is a concept that is alien to them; The Big Society is about altruism and not individualism, about people taking responsibility for their society, by doing things for the common good.
Saying that its also a nice bit of spin and a smoke screen to hide the cuts in public spending, and a way of getting people to do the work that their taxes once paid for before the politicians/bankers and business fucked it! Now they’re trying to create and sell us a solution/answer to the problems they created through years of rampant consumer market multi capitalism. Thatcher said “there’s no such thing as society, just individuals” now Cameron’s looking for a Big Society, something that doesn’t exist in a world of total capitalism, where values do not equal the same amount. The haves and have nots. Less equals more when only a small percentage hold the wealth.
A Big Society should be organic and evolve, not be forced upon people The only way their Big Society will work is if people and individuals want it to work. The people need to know that they have been part of the problem through their mass consumption of commodity goods and the credit culture that has supported them.
There needs to be some sort of Social/Political and economic change, but the people have got to want it and see that they need it for it truly be called a big society, until then it’s just another society controlled by the powers that be, and what about those who don’t see Cameron’s Big Vision, How are they gonna be made to conform, fit in and kept in line?
Some people have been volunteering doing community and charity work for years, but here’s something the people can’t get their heads round; Why then if Charity work is so important in The Big Society is money being cut from these organisations? Well it looks like the State doesn’t value this work, and they’d rather that the money came from other sources like the private sector, and wealthy philanthropists, plus there’s The Big Society Bank that has money for organisations to bid for. Where’s this money come from? And I bet it wont be the same amount as has been cut from Local Authority budgets. Here’s another thing….Local Government should be taking a stand against Westminster, not just blaming them for the cuts and the people need to take a stand against what services their councils are choosing to cut back on, because the councils have a choice on what to cut or close; The hours a Library opens or the amount a Social Inclusion Officer for one legged skateboarders is paid, some nice floral display in the town centre or a hot meal for a pensioner, that’s our elected officials choice, we just have to live with and in it. Well we don’t we could take a stand and have a sit in at our Council Offices and protest against their bloated overpaid bureaucracy, just like the people have done in branches of Barclays Bank when they found out Barclay’s had paid more out in bonuses to staff than they paid to the Government in corporation tax! Politicians both Local and Governmental, and bankers….THEY’RE ALL THE FUCKING SAME! Just out to protect their interests, their power and their wealth no matter what the cost to us….The People! Who aren’t the same. It’s our differences that make it easy for them to control us and buy us off. How can a divided society ever be a big society?

THE GODFATHERS - Love Is Dead (7" vinyl rip)

Right then, as it’s Valentines Day; the day when a human emotion becomes a commodity as people show their love for each other through buying Cards, Chocolates and Flowers, here are the mighty Godfathers with Love Is Dead and B-Side, Angela. This is the original 7” from 1987 released on their own Corporate Image Records. When the band signed to Epic Records it was re-released a year later. Enjoy!

Easy Target #?

JUSTIN BIEBER, Don’t you just wanna slap him across the face…...with a spiked running shoe!
He’s a young singer, a popular pin up with teenage girls, or so my daughter tells me, apparently he’s peng?! More like pong if you ask me; a squeaky clean image of perfection, he’s one of the ugly faces of capitalism; someone for kids to aspire to be like, or to desire someone like him, something the majority will fail to achieve despite spending a fortune on trying to. Justin Bleeder the little shit! I blame the parents and the profiteers!

KNOX and THE TRAILER TRASH ORCHESTRA

Once again it’s time for something a little bit different. In the anticipation of when Knox from The Vibrators and Charlie Harper from the UK Subs, Urban Dogs acoustic album was coming out, I’d forgotten that this release was in the pipeline. Its KNOX AND THE TRAILER TRASH ORCHESTRA with The Knoxville Boy, an album of Country/Hillbilly Blues grooves, like Lou Reed meeting Johnny Cash? The Vibrators, Country and Western? An odd mix, well….not really when you listen to Knox’s lyrics; the murder ballad Juice On, or the love lorn Baby, Baby for example, then listen to their 1990 Unpunked album, and yer half the way to what The Knoxville Boy sounds like. Add the trademark Trailer Trash Orchestra sound of pedal-steel, fiddle, mandolin, harmonica, double bass, double guitar and drums., and you’ve got it 11Tracks of Cowboy boot taping stuff (12 if you get it from Itunes)
The fact that Country aint cool makes this album cooler than folk and as punk as fuck! Check out their rendition of The’brators classic the afore mentioned Baby, Baby. (79p on Itunes) and you’ll hear what I mean.
I haven’t got so excited about the country sound since Lash Lariat And The Long Riders in the 80’s or The Rockingbirds and The Walkabouts in the 90’s. So here’s a sneaky preview of a couple of tracks from The Knoxville Boy. Enjoy….then buy. £7.99 on Itunes, as is The Trailer Trash Orchestra’s album Shakin The Dead which is also well worth a listen, if yer partial to a bit of Country Twang. It features their take on The Ramones I Wanna Be Sedated, and an inspired version of Magazine’s Song From Under The Floor Boards (79p on Itunes) and The Vibrators Baby, Baby (minus Knox) If you wanna forget the product placement, there are other download sites, or they’re both available on CD from Trashville.

PRIMAL SCREAM - Live in 1991

It’s 20 years since Primal Scream released their Screamadelica album, so here’s a couple of live shows from 1991. I first heard Primal Scream in 1989 when they released their sexy sleazy leather clad second album. Forget their debut album, a load of substandard second hand Byrds shite. Their third album Screamadelica on the other hand is a totally different beast to either of these. It’s a visionary piece of work that took the past and turned it into the future. It’s Ecstasy loaded grooves embraced the new rave sounds of the 90‘s, but never once forgot its soulful Rock’n’Roll roots. A sound greater than the sum of its influences. Anyway I couldn’t chose between either of these Scream live recordings, so here’s two for the price of none. Take a trip back to 1991 in either Nottingham or Leicester. Enjoy! Screamadelica has been re-mastered and re-packaged and is about to be re-released. The revolutionary becomes part of the retrolutionary.

The Pyramids Turned Upside Down

So in the wake of the recent uprising in Tunisia it’s all kicked off in Egypt, one of the birth places of civilisation.. The Egyptian people fuelled on recent events in Tunisia have also found their power against uncivilised authoritarian rule. POWER TO THE PEOPLES! This new found fire will spread across other regimes.
The West in the guise of the USA and Britain are worried and I’m sure would have rather not seen the scenes of people taking to the streets on mass in protest. Egypt’s geo-political location is vital to the supply of oil through the Suez Canal, and their support for Israel is vital for the ‘keeping of the peace in the Middle East.
They also fear that in the power vacuum after the uprising that a super islamist state will be formed, like in Iran after the Shah was overthrown in 1979, and replaced by the Ayatollah Khomeini, and we know how much the West loves Iran..
Stability in the Middle East has seen the West not only turn it’s head away from Human Rights atrocities, but also seen it pump millions of dollars into Egypt’s economy and military.
At least the Army, once loyal to President Mubarak have refused to fire on their own people, just like they were bought by Mubarak I wonder how much the West have had to promise to keep the guns silent. Mubaraks bullies ride in on camels as government backed pro Mubarak supporters clash with pro democracy group. The people are firing at the people. The terror of Revolutions after the initial united front the factions appear and the real fight for power starts.
Mubarak has said he will stand down in September, which is not soon enough for some. The US have said they want to see an orderly transition toward free and fair elections, not that any elections are free and fair, look at the troubles there were on the streets of Athens’s in Greece the birthplace of democracy a while ago, when the people weren’t happy with their government. So how are things gonna pan out in Egypt? How involved are the West going to be? In order to maintain stability probably quite a lot, unlike in Tunisia which is far less important in their scheme of things.

SERVICE ANOUNCMENT

The following posts may have dated a bit….The network’s gone down, well my broadband connection did. So here’s some old news. A visit to Egypt and some music over the next couple of days.

Sky's The Limit

So the News Of The World phone hacking/taping story refuses to go away. I don’t care about the celebrities that court the press then condemn it in the same breath; they’re happy for the public to know what they want them to know, but not when it’s not what they want. It would also appear that some politicians have had their phones hacked into. I dunno what these people think, after all we are living in a Surveillance society where the cops go undercover in protest groups, our movements are tracked by CCTV, is it any wonder that spying on people has started to become so normalised that journalists have used it as a means to get stories to sell papers? Another story broke this week;
The SkySports sexist debacle, off screen comments showed a couple of over paid football pundits; Andy Gray and Richard Keys engaging in sexist banter, At first I thought hang on a minute they weren’t being sexist, just misguided and misogynistic, then I thought…. what if it had been about the colour of a persons skin, or their sexual orientation? It’s an unacceptable view and prehistoric attitude towards women, mind you isn’t that what Rupert Murdoch’s Empire does best; providing a distorted world view, that uses sex to sell. The fact that the comments weren’t actually broadcast live has led to some people thinking it was an invasion of the presenters privacy, well as we’ve seen there is no privacy in Murdoch’s glorious tabloid high definition world.
I’m hoping that both these stories will have some baring over Murdoch’s attempt to gain total control over BSkyB, (his News Corporation already owns The News Of The World and Sky Sports) and therefore have an unprecedented media monopoly, but I’m not sure they will, the politicians are keeping very quite over it all, there’s probably a load more dirt on them stored on a journalists hard drive somewhere, and let’s face it they also know who has the real power to influence the mass’s minds, it aint them and their manifestos, it’s the media and how it interprets and portrays the political parties, lest we forget Murdoch’s claim that it was The Sun That Won it! And lest we forget the changing alliances, between the papers and politicians.
People like Murdoch usually get their own way no matter what the cost, I mean the first Police investigation into the News Of The World phone hacking ’scandal’ was pretty poor. Everything is up for sale! Murdoch has enough power, he’s just being greedy Andy Gray and Richard Keys, just a couple of pawns in a bigger game, and in the same week, the BBC announces its gonna be cutting back on its World Service, mind you only to be expected with Murdoch’s Satellite empire beaming live and direct to the four corners of the world.

UK SUBS - Work In Progress (4 Track Live Download)

Right then, here’s a little treat for you, a live four track download of songs from Work In Progress; Hell Is Other People, This Chaos, Creation and Strychnine all recorded live @ Lock 42 in Leicester on 12th Dec 2010. An ideal companian for those who’ve already bought the album, and a taster for those who really should get hold of a copy. Enjoy! Thanx to the original gig taper and torrent uploader, where I got the tracks from.

Hats Off to My Local Shop Keeper.

I have decided to boycott my local (in)convenience store….In the last couple of months it’s been robbed and as a result the owner has imposed a ban on Hats, Caps and Hoods being worn in the shop, because obviously anyone sporting headwear is a potential robber, even those like myself who he knows by name and sight. When he told me about the new rule, I said slightly taking the piss that he was infringing on my Human Rights, by telling me what I can or can’t wear in his shop. I suppose the key words are…. his shop, and he was within his rights to take this action , and if the customer isn’t happy with his totalitarian stance then they can choose to shop elsewhere, which is what I’ve decided to do for a while. His reasoning behind asking/telling everyone including regulars to remove their headwear was that if he asked someone he didn’t recognise to take off theirs, and there was a regular customer with a hat or hood on , it could create conflict, as to why there was one rule for one and one for another, which is fair comment, but I argued that all he had to do was say that he knew the person with the hat/hood, but he didn’t know the other person. Slightly unfair maybe, but hey as we know life can be unfair, and as a regular spender in his shop for the past however many years I feel he’s taking the piss. How the enforcement is going I don’t know, but I was walking past the shop the other day and I saw a rather disgruntled local with a cap on standing outside talking rather crossly to someone about “…that Fucking (I’m not gonna name the shop keeper) won’t serve me because I said I wouldn’t take my hat off, and he knows who I am.” Looks like the owner was right about one thing….It would create conflict!

No News Isn't Good News!

I imposed a partial media blackout upon myself last week, well I watched and read less of the news, but there were a couple of things I picked up on:
1) NHS, The sacred cow is gonna be slaughtered, or at least cut into bite size chunks for the Private Sector to chew up and then spit into the face of the public, and call it choice. I mean look at the fuck ups with the NHS after hours Doctors services, when Agency Doctors covered shifts and killed people! Competition For Care is not healthy, when people will get no real choice, just what is available at the cheapest cost.
2)Tony Blair and The Chilcott Enquiry. How much of our money has been spent on finding out the truth, yeah right….We know the truth, it was an illegal war founded on lies. The only way this is ever gonna be money well spent is if Blair is tried for war crimes and found guilty.
3)The News Of The World phone taping scandal that has seen Andy Coulson former editor of the paper resign from his role as head of government communications, because of the allegations of taping celebrities phone conversations when he was the papers editor. He had to go, I mean, if he was prepared to go that far to feed peoples hunger for the cult of celebrity and increase sales of the paper, what would he be caperable of when wheeling and dealing for the Government.

THE CLASH - Kingston Advice (Bootleg CD)

It’s been a long while since I’ve posted any Clash stuff, so here we go with a copy of Kinston Advice, a bootleg CD released in 2004 by Kombat Records, and a fine affair it is to. Recorded on Nov 27th 1982 at The Jamaican World Musical Festival. It was The Clash’s last gig of that year, and the last one Terry Chimes played with the band, it was also the only time they played in Jamaica, with the band playing a more Reggae/Groove heavy set. They went on in the early hours of the morning, the sun rose as they finished their set, which goes someway to explain the slightly frazzled set, that and the fact that Joe and Mick had been tripping on magic mushrooms while watching Gladys Knight and The Pips performance the previous night. Enjoy it here! (The Clash, not Gladys Knight that is) The gig has been released as several bootlegs, but all apart from this one have ommited I Fought The Law. While I’m on the subject of The Clash, I seem to remember someone wanted the 1978 Ant-Nazi League gig at Victoria Park re-posted, which has been done, just take a trip to the original post by clicking here for a new link.

Essential Ephemera #10

A set of stickers that came free with THE CLASH's This Is England 12" single

It doesn’t have to be this way. If the profiteers all down the line from production, supply and retail, all took a little less profit then the prices wouldn’t have to rise so much.
Economic growth to get out of recession, If the recession is more moral than financial, surely the best way out is through not buying any more stuff.
A fundamental shift in peoples thinking and what they value, is what we need . The Top Shop and Vodaphone protesters know the score, and so do some of the students. Chucking fire extinguishers off the roof of Tory Towers probably wasn’t the best thing to do, could have killed a policeman, I aint got much time for the Soldiers Of The State, but they’re only pawns in the game, as they are gonna find out in the coming years when the cuts bite and the tension rises, are we gonna be seeing specialised private security forces being called in to control future protests, cos the police have had to make cut backs. As for the sentence the guy received? A bit excessive when compared with some convictions for knife crimes and even sexual assaults, still it’s all about making an example of someone, as I’m sure they will out of some of the 200+ who’ve been arrested so far. Another thing....Police kill a person at G8 protest, no charges. Protester doesn't kill Policeman and gets a custodial sentence.
What else has been happening over the last week? Floods, nature shows once again who’s the boss! all the stuff people have or don’t have means shit when it comes to the forces of nature. Then there was the attempted assassination of US Politician and the subsequent shooting dead of six people. A result of aggressive US Republican Politics? Most definitely! that and an availability of guns, and someone prepared to just do it. Troubles in Tunisia, triggered by a fruit and veg seller who set himself on fire and died in a public protest against having his stock confiscated by the authorities because he was selling it illegally. Violent protests on the streets followed and the countries un democratic leader fled. Just think....If the authorities had had a fire extinguisher!

None of the above is new news, all that sort of shit has gone on years and years ago, it’s just the time, places and faces that change, the events and struggles across the world stay the same! It’ all part of humankind and natures endless cycle. The past becomes the future, then the future becomes the past, and the world keeps turning.
If people wanna Stop the world! and get off to look for a different future, then they need to change, or are the majority happy to go along with the(ir) ride, no matter what the cost!

"To my head, To my head"

I’ve been sitting here in front of this PC for a good few hours with the stereo on playing a few albums:
(UK SUBS - Work In Progress, SOCIAL DISTORTIONS - Hard Times And Nursery Rhymes, THE CLASH - Kingston Advice, THE VIBRATORS - Punk Rock Rarities, and ELECTRIC RIVER - Radio No Go.) taping away at the keyboard, cutting and pasting preparing a couple of posts I was gonna post today. But ….I keep getting distracted, drifting off and subsequently forgetting what I was trying to say. I think might be overdosing on Rock’n’Roll.

SOCIAL DISTORTION - HardTimes and Nursery Rhymes (A Review) + Live Download

Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes is Social Distortions first album in a good few years. Has it been worth the wait, and does it stand up to Singer/Guitarist Mike Ness’s idea of wanting it to sound like The Black Crows meeting The Dead Boys? Too damn right, guilty on both counts! Take it away….
It’s big and bold. Crashing Guitars, Pianos and Gospel singers grace Mike Ness’s South Cal drawl and confessional lyrics, and take their ‘Outlaw Rock’ to a new level, but never leaving behind their Punk roots. Mike is one of Rock’n’Rolls real survivors, and also one of the most under ratted songwriters. It took over 30 years for the band to appear on US Television. A wrong that was righted last year when they preformed Machine Gun Blues the first single from this album on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Is this the best Social Distortion album? I dunno, but it is one of the best Rock’n’Roll records I’ve heard for a long while! It’s been on heavy rotation in the Wolf Den this weekend. Thanx to the Mad/Bad Ne….(No best not in case I get him in to trouble) for passing this on to me, unfortunately I aint gonna post it, you’ll have to go and buy it if you wanna hear it or find another leaked copy, but instead how about Four live versions, recorded in Offenbach, Germany 2009 of songs on the new album? Three of them You Can’t Take It With You , Alone and Forsaken, and Still Alive are from the physical CD release and one, I Won’t Run Anymore is from the Itunes Download version. Check ‘em out live and in the raw here! and the albums out on Epitaph Records on Jan 17th. Buy Bye!

WE DON'T NEED NO THOUGHT CONTROL!

We are being told how to think. The Government are using big business to help shape their policies and agenda, we have been under bombardment by new initiatives recently, all with the aim of changing the way we think.
This new Pension scheme the government plans to roll out, were everyone will be signed up for it, unless they choose to opt out., why can’t people choose whether they want to join, I’ll tell you why; It’s because they want our money, and they’ve made people so worried about financial security in their old age that people will let the choice be made for them, rather than decide for themselves.
The Food industry are talking about giving out free vouchers to encourage healthy eating, yeah and healthy spending on products.
Top Shop who are owned by Phillip ‘government advisor on saving money while not paying tax himself’ Green, are giving vouchers to school children, if they walk to school. Asda are reducing the prices of some of their furniture, to encourage families to buy a kitchen table so they can eat meals together.
The drinks industry in a bid to reduce ‘binge drinking’ are introducing a new unit of alcohol measurement; 2/3rds of a pint, apparently it’s how you can buy it in Australia.
Donating to charity government are talking to banks to see if it can be done at cash machines. Organ donations, talking about it being suggested to all new drivers who pass their test that they might consider donating their organs for transplants when they die.
Volunteering, I haven’t heard this mentioned yet but….How long before the 600,000 people who’ve had their Jobseekers allowance sanctioned, because they have refused or been unable to find work are given the option of ‘Volunteering’ in order to start receiving their benefits again?
All these things are an example of something called ‘Nudge Theory’, were by people are given a nudge into making decisions that they might not have made if it had been left down to their own free will.
Are people so stupid that they don’t know what decisions to make about their lifestyles if they want change them without having to be coerced and manipulated, or should I say nudged into making them? Wait up….best not answer that, cos if the answers yes then that gives weight to this whole idea of ‘Choice Architecture’ and if the answer’s No, because people are quite happy to live their lives however they want to then that gives weight to the thought that the government are building a new society on the foundations of fascism, were there’s only one way, their way! and if you don’t do it their way and for example you need Health care, it could be denied to you. Once again who pays? We do, because How much money have people got to pay into pension plans, to spend on healthy food, and
the only reason they can afford to drink is because the price of alcohol is so cheap in the very supermarkets that are gonna be promoting healthy lifestyles. Anyway it could be argued that many of these so called Social ills that this government wants to put right are a consequence of previous governments policies that have seen the family unit breakdown, people working longer and more unsocial hours in order to finance the lifestyles they’ve been sold and that they bought into and drinking to excess because they aint really happy and want to escape the grim reality of living a false life. The cost of their Free market capitalism is the price of our freedom. I wonder if it’s gonna be worth the price? Are people gonna change into ‘responsible’ citizens over the next say 10 years, were we’re living in their utopian dream of a caring sharing ‘big society’ or are we gonna be living in a dystopian nightmare where if you don’t conform to their way of thinking, you’re not gonna be nudged, but beaten into submission…..Think about it!

THE ROCKS - We Got It (CD Single)

In a bid to bring you something new and different to all you good people that visit this blog, here’s a blast of something from 2003. It’s a band called The Rocks, with a blast of some Fucked Up Funked Up Punk Rawk, which creeps and crawls into yer brain until yer foot starts taping. We Got It is reminiscent of the New York No Wave scene of 1978. The Bomb and Save The Wolf are far more lo-fi Rock‘n‘Roll, anyway hear it for yerselfs here. ENJOY OR DESTROY!

Some Scribblings From The Cutting Room Floor.

2011 = ????
They say it’s gonna be a ‘difficult year’ Who for? Them or Us, well that’s down to us, but I can’t see it being that difficult for them with their cushions of capital to recline on in their million pound mansions.
If we believe what we’re being told, we’re gonna die in some flu pandemic or be blown up by terrorists, and if we don’t then we may live to 100, which means we better start saving for our future, well that’s what they’re telling us, but It’s not our future they’re thinking of, it’s theirs ….They need our money to fund the country. Once you start paying into their pension funds, it becomes theirs to invest in whatever, wherever, and I bet when it’s time to get it back, there’ll be less of it than there was.
Still if we wanna sit back comfortably and watch the shit hit the fan in glorious HD Technolcolour best get down the sales and invest in a new TV and leather reclining sofa before the 20% VAT increase kicks in.
Like I said same shit….They just want our money and keep theirs! Unless we make it difficult for them!

Essential Ephemera #9

Here’s a review from the now defunct Sounds music mag, a gig advert and my ticket stub from a 1987 gig by THE GODFATHERS. One of the smartest and sharpest guitar bands ever. Back in the day these guys rocked; Like The Heartbreakers meeting Eddie and The Hot Rods on a South London housing estate. I’ve posted this ephemera for no other reason than I’ve just been listening to their Shot At The 100 Club release, a live recording of their 25th anniversary show back in June of last year, and….maan! they still rock! This Damn Nation, Birth School Work Death and I Want Everything are lyrically as relevant now as they were in the dark days of Thatcher, musically….well great Rock‘n‘Roll never ages, but the idea that music can politicise people seems to have died a death. Perhapes in 2011 we’ll see it resurrected and people will start “Biting the hand that doesn’t feed them”

Hey Ho Lets Go It's 2011 !

Happy New Year.... I say New Year, but it’s only a new year if we make it a new year. If we don’t then it’s another year, the same as any other year, different numbers that will add up to it being just another year full of the same old shit !

UK SUBS - Work In Progress *A Review*

How the fuck does Charlie Harper do it? After over 30 years with the UK Subs and they turn out an album that brings the past into the future but making it something of the present. Work In Progress is their 23rd release, and it certainly isn’t a work in progress, it’s the fully finished article, a noughties punk rock classic , that will not only please die hard fans, but has the potential to win over a new bunch of subversive yoof! Classic Subs Guitar sound, with a twist in places, sing along anthemic choruses, and tunes more catchy than a dose of winter flu. What a way to start the new year….a dose of good old honest rock’n’roll.
If you’d like a more detailed track by track review, take a trip to Time and Matter the best on-line resource for all things UK Subs. Thanx to the guys there for passing on the album for me to review.
Song samples are now available to listen to at Amazon, where it’ll also be available to download from Jan 10th. But far better to buy an actual physical CD copy from the good folk at Captain Oi. Last year it was The Vibrators Under The Radar, this year it’s the UK Subs. I hope we don’t have to wait a year to hear Charlie and Knox’s Urban Dogs acoustic album.

THE MATTLESS BOYS - 2 Track Promo (Download)

This lot are no new guitars in town. Remember The Boys? First Time, Brickfield Nights and all those other gems. They used to have a guitarist by the name of Matt Dangerfield, well he doesn’t play on this record so it’s…. The Mattless Boys, with 13 tracks of pure perfect power pop punk’n’roll, that only The Boys could produce. Hard choice to choose a couple of tracks for yer, I’m not gonna post the whole album, cos I really think you should go and buy it. I left the decision up to the shuffle mode on my CD player, and here’s what it’s chosen for ya! Enjoy!

This is the time 4....

Hope everyone’s had/having some good old festive fun’n’frolics celebrating/remembering in whatever way you do. It’s round this time of year people prepare lists of their Top Tens of…music/books/events etc, or makes predictions for the 4th coming year.
I’m typing this with a fuzzy head, a furry mouth and flatulent stomach (The price paid for excessive over indulgence.) So I might forget a few things I've meant to say. Here we go then. Musically here’s a few things that did it for me. The Vibrators - Under The Radar / The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang / Manic Street Preachers - Post Cards From A Young Man / Batusis 4 track EP // New favourite old bands: The Derellas and Electric River. As for books didn’t read anything new, but I’ve just started to read Cheetah Chrome’s book A Dead Boys Tale, which is great stuff so far, Does that count? Whatever! Any way what else got the juices flowing and the blood boiling ?
Young people getting more militant; Student Riots, boycotting and barricading Vodaphone and Top Shop stores. Hit ‘em were it hurts! Their pockets, their profits. I’m hearing business isn’t happy, getting worried about the peoples spending. In the form of snow, nature has kept punters away from the shops, and the Bank Holiday sales are on a Sunday which means shops can’t open longer than is allowed; Thank God for that! I mean how much more shit do people need? Even if it is reduced shit! It’s only reduced for a reason, cos it was shit in the first place and people didn’t buy it first time around, cos it was too fucking expensive for starters. Never mind out with the old and in with the new. OUT WITH ALL OF IT!!!
The Coalition Government, could either make or break Britain. Hopefully it’ll do both. MP’s Expenses, at last more people found out what a bunch of greedy lying bastards our politicians really are. Gulf Oil spill, a total lack of responsibility by anyone. We are bleeding the earth dry! The continued presences of forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, but it won’t be another Vietnam, how many years has it been now? And is the world a safer place? No, but a lot of innocent lives are still being lost.
The Mediaisation of Britain, everything reported live and direct from the final moments of a killers life to a fire extinguisher being launched from the roof of Tory HQ. Total bombardment….Buy this, Buy that, This is wrong, That’s right. DON’T BUY ANY OF IT! Make yer own mind up. It’s about being objective, and objecting. Vince Cable was right to declare war on Rupert Murdoch; too much power in one organisations hands. The Daily Telegraph in their expose of Lib Dem MP’s show just what the papers will do to get a story, in this case a non news story; I mean lets face it….did/does anyone really believe that the Tories and Lib Dems were gonna be happy bed fellows? All the paper has done is create suspicion for MP’s when speaking to their constituents, where by they wont tell the people how they really feel, or was that The Daily Telegraphs aim when they sent out their under cover reporters to snare Vince Cable and a few others?
The sportification of Britain. The Queens started the ball rolling in her bullshit broadcast to the nation, I mean what does she do that’s so sporting? Rides horses, yeah and she can’t even be bothered to sit on them properly; she has to ride side saddle, still more chance of her falling off and injuring herself I suppose. Expect a lot more stuff about sport in the run up to the 2012 London Olympics. Reduction in civil liberties in a bid by the state to control and suppress any civil disobedience. More differences of opinion between LibCon bed fellas, but I say lets stick with this bunch of c**ts cos they’re no worse or better than the lot trying to oppose them. I fear that despite the inactivity over recent months of the BNP who I understand are bankrupt, (well we knew they were morally now it appears they’re financially short,) that there will be a Far Right backlash.
The ‘Big Society’ would be all well and good, if we weren’t having to pay the price for their ‘New Society’ that was created over the past 30 years and started to collapse a few years ago when money became uncontrolled and out of control, when individual freedom resulted in irresponsibility and actions became protected by Human Rights and Political Correctness, leaving us in a free society where people are led to fear to mention Jesus and Christmas in case they offend other religions. What a load of bollocks! All religion offends me.
Predictions for 2011.…I PREDICT A RIOT! Cos when the c**t’s and their cuts really kick in there’s gonna be a hell of a lot of pissed off people in England green an often unpleasant lands , and I’m hoping they’re not gonna sit back and take it, forget Keeping Calm and Carrying On. GET ANGRY! STAY ANGRY and do something! The only order we need in 2011 is some disorder!
We can’t turn back the hands of time, but in the future we can either hold them up in surrender or clench them in defiance. Is it a time for New Years resolutions, or a New Years revolution. How about we resolve to be more revolting!!
I was also gonna thank various people for being out there, but thought nah! Cos I’m bound to forget someone, so thanx to everyone who‘s followed this here blog over the year or years, especially those who know who they are! Here’s to 2011 Remember it doesn’t have to be what it will be, It can be whatever we want it to be. WE HAVE THE POWER!! to change their will! We JUST need to DO IT!

"The recipe for living is lost in memory."

Essential Ephemera #8

A Manic Street Preachers advert for their Little Baby Nothing single.

ANOK 4U

We need to change, and free ourselves from the way they want us to be / If we don’t then nothing will ever change // The truth is they don’t like people knowing the(ir) truth / The more we know the less they can lie / The secret is knowing the(ir) secrets / The truth is out there // Anarchy has no boundaries / The selfish individualism that has prevailed over British society for the last 30 years is just state sanctioned Max Stirner ideology. / The(ir) Big Society prescription is just Peter Kropotkin state sponsored Mutual Aid / Anarchy has no boundaries, It’s every where; Left Right and Centre / But that’s their Anarchy not mine! / I don’t need to be told how to live my life / Or is it like French thinker Jean-Jacques Rousseau believed, that some people need to be “forced to be free.”