ELECTRIC RIVER - In Your Name E.P (A Review)

Electric River have been plugging and playing their way around the pubs'n'clubs of their home county Kent, the garden of England, for the past couple of years, building up a loyal and faithful following. The last year has seen them gigging further afield and making a name for themselves on the London circuit.

The In Your Name EP follows on from 2009's Radio No Go album and the Darwinian Flush EP, the intervening years have seen the band grow into a formidable force to be reckoned with. The five tracks: In You Name, Happy, Hold Your Nerve, Still and an acoustic version of Hold Your Nerve, rock with a real honesty, passion, power and punk rock kick.

Comparisons have been drawn between them and The Clash, The Alarm and Bruce Springsteen, I'd also add Big Country to that list. But....Electric River are no copyists, they have their own distinct big sound, with ringing guitars, catchy sing along choruses and storming melodies that stomp and stamp through your head, until yer foot can't stop tapping, and the intelligent and socially aware lyrics are buzzing round yer brain.

In Your Name is released by England Street Records on Sept 10^th and their as yet untitled album is due for release early 2013. Expect to hear a lot more from Electric River in the future months and years. Check out their website here!

SPIRITUALIZED - Come Together (1 Track Promo Single.)

Dunno about 'gorgeous pop' this is a hypnotic and aggressive drug song that could go on forever. Not sure about The Beatles and Beach Boys? either, more like MC5 and The Stooges. This is the 'radio friendly 're-recorded version, the original with the fucks instead of sucks can be found on their beautiful, majestic and almost classical album Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space. Fuck Brit-Pop, this was Bonged and Monged Drug-Rock pure and simple, the gospel according to Jason Pierce. Come Together here!

Some more Sunday thoughts/notes/scribblings.

I heard a presenter on the radio (LBC 97.3FM) this morning asking the listeners if “we have forgotten about Afghanistan?”

Well over the last couple of weeks people seem to have forgotten about anything that wasn't gold, sliver or bronze related. So while Team GB were increasing the counties gold reserves by winning medals, more soldiers lost their lives and limbs for their country in wars that will continue for as long as the British army are on Afghanistan and Iraqi sand.

It's not about democracy in a world that's getting more un-democratic. Global condemnation rains down on the Syrian regime, as their bombs rain down on innocent civilians who's only crime is to want free elections and political rights. In South Africa striking miners are slaughtered by the police. In Russia, Putin has put the boot in, with Female punk band Pussy Riot being given a disproportionate sentence of two years hard labour for 'hooliganism' after their impromptu performance in a Moscow church that criticised his re-election as Russian leader amid allegations of vote rigging, and generally offending his masculinity.

Then there's the case of Julian Assange of Wikileaks, who sought political asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London a couple of months ago, he has now been granted it, but the British Government are refusing to let him leave and fly to Ecuador, or as they call it “escape the country” Is that allowed under International Law? Mind you since when has defying interternational laws stopped the US and UK governments doing exactly what they like? Without their illegal war in Iraq we may never have heard of wikileaks. The whole Wikileaks thing is a prime example of might against right. The might of America versus the right to the truth. Assange fears his extradition to Sweden to be questioned about sex allegations will lead to American intervention and his eventual deportation to 'the land of the free' to be held to account over the leaking of US Military 'secrets'.

Freedom....there is no freedom when people can't speak out against their leaders, but you can't kill thoughts or lock up ideas. Leaders across the world need to remember that, because one day their time will come, and that day and time comes closer every time their abuses of power are seen live and direct in perfect flat screen HD clarity on BBC/Sky/Al-Jazeera News, that's if there's nothing more important to broadcast, like two weeks of people running, swimming and throwing things.

I wonder how well Britain will do in the forthcoming Para-Olympics? probably better than the last time thanks to all the injured ex soldiers who've had their legs and arms blown off by land mines in Iraq and Afghanistan.

THE FOLK DEVILS - Vinyl Rip Re-Post

I'm gonna be lazy with this re-post, and re-print some of what I  wrote in the original post.

"Today’s musical offering at the alter of rawk’n’roll comes from the swamp lands of 1980's West London; Goodnight Irony is basically the ‘Greatest Hits’ (if they’d had any) of the criminally ignored Folk Devils. It is a collection of wired and wild, spikey and fiery amphetamine laced rock’n’roll. "  If you like the Jim Jones Review, then The Folk Devils could be for you!

THE PARTY'S OVER!

Unfortunately I did see the closing ceremony of the London Olympics, my daughter wanted to watch it. What a load of shit! If that was a celebration of British music and culture then the whole nation should be in mourning.

A load of washed up has beens Ray Davies and The Who, sorry folks your time has passed, we've got Muse and The Karzy Chiefs now, and they can fuck off with their third rate pop and rock pap. George Michael....where's a lone sniper when you needed one. The dedication and years of hard work by the athletes was contrasted by the instant X-Factor celebrity culture of the likes of No Erection, Massive Tantrum and Jessie J. “It's not about the money, money” well the whole games have been about the money, from the cost of staging them, the overpriced tickets, the sponsorship deals and “the bling, bling” of the gold medals.

Freddie Mercury and John Lennon were brought back to live, when they should remain dead and buried. Imagine, yeah I imagined.....The taxis carrying those vacuous fame hungry whores The Spice Girls crashed, causing serious injury.

Russell Brand, has he started taking drugs again, and as for Liam Gallagher and his Beady Eye, I hope Noel kicks his fuckin' head in for that performance of Wonderwall. Still it could have been worse, The Clash or the Sex Pistols could have made an appearance.

The music on show at the closing ceremony didn't put a spanner in the works, it oiled the machine.

Where were the terrorists when you needed them?

I aint even gonna bother with the rest of the shite that was passed of as something to be proud of, the supermodels etc Oh the irony of Eric Idle's performance of Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life, because once the smoke from the fire works has settled and the Olympic fever has passed, that's what people are gonna have to do because....“Life's a piece of shit when you look at it.” and we're gonna be in it for a long time unless we wake up and see what is actually going on in front of our eyes not what they want us to see.

URBAN DOGS - Bonefield (A Review)

It's taken three years for Charlie Harper (UK Subs) and Knox's (The Vibrators) side project band the Urban Dogs acoustic album to hit the streets, and now it's here, has it been worth the wait? Too right it has, Bonefield is a real pedigree album that sees amongst its eleven tracks the mongrel punk rock of Tomorrows Girls return to it's acoustic roots. This is an album of the old, new, borrowed and the blues, all nicely packaged, with an eight page booklet of photos, liner notes by Charlie, and a great cover painted by Knox. For a “bare bones production” it's got a lot meat to it, thanks in part to Knox's beautiful 'electric' guitar licks'n'riffs that litter the album.

Individually Charlie and Knox have been knocking out their punk rock blues for over four decades now, and they still sound fresh, exciting and full of life, taking on the old blues classics Charlie used to busk in the 60's like Move It On Over, Hobos Lullaby, and Cocaine, which feature some great harmonica playing by The Harper, their sleazy sublime spin thru of Summertime, really is a treat. The stripped to the bone anti war statements of Warhead and War Baby, make them sound even more vital and relevant than they did in the eighties. Classics both of em! A big ya! to the rewired and wild acoustic feral ho-down that is New Barbarians.  Dragnet is just a great song no matter what. There are a couple of newies; Knox's autobiographical narrative Swampdog Blues and their Dylan like protest number Not In My Name. From start to finish Bonefield is a real gem of an album that doesn't disappoint, and could surprise a few people along the way. Old  punk classics are taken to a different dimension and given new depths, and the old blues classics are given a punk twist.  Highly recommended and available from Time and Matter Records.

WE ONLY SING WHEN WE'RE WINNING.

Olympic competitors crying because they came second and only got a silver medal.

You don't see people crying if no one likes their singing or guitar playing, do you? Oh no wait up, yes you do, the X-Factor, no but that doesn't count, cos their not musicians, they are contestants and it's a competition. That's what makes music different from sport. It's not a competition about who's the best band, although the(ir) media try to turn it into one. Stones V's Beatles / The Clash V's The Pistols / Blur V's Oasis

On the radio this morning, the presenter was referring to people having “caught the Olympic bug.” think I'd rather catch the plague than “the Olympic fever.” People have been brainwashed.

I saw some TV footage of the Olympic volunteers who were telling visitors to the Olympic Park to “smile” and “look happy”, all slightly sinister if you ask me

Give it a couple of years and people will see that it really was a case of the emperors new clothes, all style with the substance bought and sold through sponsorship deals, for the medal winners.

I don't want to take anything away from the athletes and their achievements, but they are just puppets/pawns in the real game which is all about Great Britain PLC winning.

Will the future returns be larger than the present costs, will the Olympic Legacy see more people taking up sport, I mean they've been buying and wearing the clothing for years.

Sport and keeping fit are two different things, you can exercise without competing, go running and cycling without racing. What about just for fun!

More, more, more, more competition, more gold more success. The government is proposing to make 'competitive sports' compulsory in all primary schools. Children shouldn't be forced to compete, it should be a choice, between themselves and their parents. After school Sports clubs should be accessible to all and subsidised for those on low incomes

Politicians co-opting the success of the Olympic Games for their own ends i.e. the promotion of UK PLC. I mean who was it that stopped competitive sports in schools? And who sold the school sports fields for housing? The politicians. If the London Olympics have been a success it's not down to the politicians, it's down to the people.

The majority of money for British sports comes from The National Lottery Fund, which is money made from the scratch cards and tickets people buy when they dream of the big win.

Sport and capitalism are great in bed together, because it's all about the competition. The winners and losers, success and failure. There are more losers than there are winners in both, but there's an illusion that if you try you will succeed on the ladder to success, but it really depends where abouts on the ladder you start. Some are nearer to the top than others.

I've heard people say that “life is about winning and losing” No that has how it has become thanks to the capitalist machine and cogs like sport that keep it moving, music on the other hand might make the machine money, but it doesn't support the basis of the machine which is competition. Music is a way to fight the machine and throw spanners in the works, in a way sport never can. That's why it's Rock'n'Roll for me!

COCK SPARRER - Re-Post

Another musical re-offering.  This time it's the mighty COCK SPARRER, Live @ The Fulham Greyhound, London in 1983. With any repost requests, remember some times things take a little longer than we'd like them to. In this age of instant everything, we are losing the art of being patient, we want everything and we want it now! Well here you go then is this what you want. Enjoy! and thanx for waiting it will have been worth it.           

SIGUE SIGUE SPUTNIK - Acoustic

While I was sorting out the re-post of the Sigue Sigue Sputnik Demos (see original post for the new link) I thought I'd stick this little curio up, an acoustic?! Performance from Nov 30th 2002 at The Wembley Exhibition Centre.... Sigue Sigue Sputnik stripped and naked, back to basics. Check it out here! It Rocks!Once again thanx  to the original uploader over at Guitars101 Forum.

JOHNNY THUNDERS / NEW YORK DOLLS - Re-Posts

NEW YORK DOLLS - Live @ Michigan Palace 31/12/73

JOHNNY THUNDERS - Live @ The Venue, London 22/4/82  (Part 1)   (Part 2)

IT'S NOT THE WINNING, IT'S THE TAKING PART.

Didn't see the Olympic Opening ceremony, so can't comment whether it was a Marxist Lefty Stalinist rewrite of British history, as many right wing commentators have said it was. I understand that The Clash's London Calling and The Jam's Going Underground were played at some point, why? Because London's got an Underground system or were they used as a political statement?

I haven't paid much attention to any of it really, which is hard when the whole spectacle is dominating the media. If there was ever a time to bury bad news then now is that time. The games are set against a backdrop of global conflict, from Syria to Russia, people are being killed and imprisoned in struggles for freedom against oppression, and a bit closer to home the number of families being made homeless in London has risen.

David Cameron is sucking up to all the visiting dignities, no doubt telling them that Britain’s a good place for economic investment, with a ready and willing forced to work force.

“You choose you leaders and place your trust, as their lies wash you down and their promises rust.”

We were told the games were gonna be good for the economy, well not according to businesses in London who have seen a slump in their business, and the streets are empty. Perhaps the number of troops and police in the capital and the authorities terrorist paranoia have scared people away, either that or the thought of bumping into the beaming buffoon that is Boris Johnson.

When people do take to the streets they end up getting knocked of their bike and killed by a bus carrying journalists to the Olympic stadium, oh the irony as Britain won a few medals in the cycling events, and after all that's what it all seems to be about, the Gold medals.

One thing I did catch was that Britain won a gold medal in the shooting, strikes me as a bit odd that with the continuing scourge of gun crime across the nation, that we should celebrate a victory in 'the shooting'

I hope the rest of the nation is enjoying the games, as much as I'm not, because even with the corporate big mac mobile sponsors money we're still gonna be paying for the(ir) games for years to come.

“The public gets what the public wants but I want nothing this society’s got.”

THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED

Well not exactly, but it seems that my media fire account has been suspended, can't say I'm surprised, it was only a matter of time, many fellow bloggers had theirs shut down ages ago, so que, sera, sera. Only problem is which file sharing site to use now? All suggestions welcome! If there is stuff you want re-posted, go to the GIMME THE MUZIK! tab at the top left, click and take it from there.