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The Adult Net – “Incense and Peppermints” EP
I found this record the other day at a store in Lancaster, PA called Mr. Suit. Started in 1985, The Adult Net was the side project of BRIX SMITH while she was in THE FALL. Although I’m a huge Fall fan, I’d never heard them before picking up this record and now I have to find the other 3 12”s and the album they squeezed out before their breakup in 1989. Basically this is like an alternate universe version of The Fall (with then members appearing under pseudonyms), if Brix was in charge instead of her then husband MARK E. SMITH. As such, she sings on all 3 tracks here. The A-side is a cover of the STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK hit from 1967. It’s a fairly straightforward reading, but very enjoyable. The B-side is where the real action is, though. The 1st song is a new take on The Fall’s “Rebellious Jukebox”, retitlted “Searching for the Now” (after the first line in the song), re-done in their mid ‘80s style. The 2nd track on the B-side is the backing track of The Fall’s “Elves” played backwards (!) and retitled “Fat Hell” with Smith reciting her poetry over it as well. I know it sounds like a throwaway, but it’s not. Not a mere curiosity or side project, this is an absolute must for fans of the mid ‘80s version of The Fall.
The Fall – This Nation’s Saving Grace (Beggars Banquet)
Generally considered the best Beggars’ era record and one of their best overall, this record routinely shows up as the only Fall entry in those Rolling Stone “500 greatest records ever” type guides. While I don’t think this is their best album overall, it’s still a great record. Rawer and bit more experimental than their other Beggars’ records, the CD includes singles like “Rollin’ Danny” and “Cruisers Creek” as well.
The Clash – Rat Patrol from Fort Bragg (no label)
This is an alternate version of The Clash’s 1982 album Combat Rock. Although different versions exist, the one I have has 18 tracks, including different versions of just about every song on the album (many much longer before producer GLYN JOHNS chopped them up from MICK JONES’ original mix) save for “Straight to Hell” and “Overpowered by Funk” along with songs that ended up as B-sides (“First Night Back in London” and “Cool Confusion). The real finds here, though, are songs that never appeared anywhere else, like “The Beautiful People are Ugly, Too” and “Kill Time”. This is well worth seeking out.
The Replacements – Tim (Sire/Rhino)
The entire Replacements catalog (well, all of their studio albums anyway) has been reissued by Rhino this year. Since I have some of these albums in different formats already, I missed out on the 1st batch of reissues, but I picked up a copy of the Tim reissue. It turns out that it was well worth it. The sound is great (important because of former RAMONES drummer TOMMY ERDELYI’s shoddy production), improving a bit upon the original, and the bonus material is nice, too. Included are some demos and a session with ALEX CHILTON, including alternate versions of “Can’t Hardly Wait” (which eventually was re-recorded for their subsequent album Pleased to Meet Me).
David Byrne and Brian Eno- Everything that Happens Will Happen Today (Todomundo)
After being out digitally for several months, the physical CD is out next week, though they were selling copies at Byrne’s show here last week. Anyway, I like this CD, but aside from a few excellent songs, don’t quite love it. “Strange Overtones” is the highlight, but others like “One Fine Day” show Byrne and Eno moving in an almost techno-gospel direction. This is quite different from the incredible work they did together with TALKING HEADS in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s and on their equally as incredible album My Life in the Bush of Ghosts from 1981.
The Henry Rollins Show (Friday, IFC)
I’ve only watched this show a few times, but managed to catch it last night. The first time I watched it (maybe a year ago or so), it was clunky. Rollins is an engaging, charismatic speaker and a great storyteller, but for whatever reason, he’s a terrible talk-show host. That’s why last night’s episode was such a revelation. Nicely splicing footage from a recent spoken word show in South Africa with his visits to a desperately poor and AIDS-stricken township as well as the prison where NELSON MANDELA was incarcerated, it shows Rollins’ strengths as a spoken word artist and his genuine interest in the plight of others and seeing as much of the world as he possibly can. Of course, watching the conditions that so many people in the world have to endure on a daily basis both provokes outrage and makes one appreciate daily creature comforts that much more.
M83 with School of Seven Bells – Starlight Ballroom (Philadelphia, PA) – Saturday, November 15, 2008
Sonically, M83’s live show is amazing. On record, it’s mainly the work of ANTHONY GONZALEZ, but live he was a singer/keyboardist, bassist and drummer (playing behind an enclosed glass area) joining him on stage. For an hour and a half, they just dazzled the crowd with their potent mix of shoegaze, synth-pop and indie-rock. Sometimes it sounds like MY BLOODY VALENTINE doing TEARS FOR FEARS covers and at other times it sounds like KITCHENS OF DISTINCTION after they’ve listened to NEW ORDER for days on end. Openers SCHOOL OF SEVEN BELLS, comprised of members of the now defunct ON! AIR! LIBRARY! and a former member of SECRET MACHINES, played a nice opening set that reminded me of shoegazer stalwarts like the aforementioned My Bloody Valentine or early LUSH, but with a drum machine. At times twin sisters ALEJANDRA DEHEZA and CLAUDIA DEHEZA’s harmonized vocals reminded me of ELISABETH FRASER of THE COCTEAU TWINS as well.
The Damned – So, Who’s Paranoid? (The English Channel)
I’m pleased to say that, much to my delight, the new Damned album (it’s been 7 years since their last release, 2001’s Grave Disorder) is a total corker! Imagine a transition album between 1982’s Strawberries and 1984’s Phantasmagoria (sort of like the “Thanx for the Night/Nasty” single) with bits of The Black Album (there’s even a 14-minute closer called “Dark Asteroid”, much like that record’s side-long “Curtain Call”) and you’ll get a good feel of the sound of this record. DAVE VANIAN’s voice is amazing and CAPTAIN SENSIBLE’s guitar playing is wonderfully all over the place, too. Wow!
Larkin Grimm – Parplar (Young God)
This is haunting freak-folk at its finest. Unlike DEVENDRA BANHART or JOANNA NEWSOM, who have clear predecessors (TYRANNOSAURUS REX and KAREN DALTON), respectively, there’s not much of a precedent for what Larkin Grimm does. It’s like unearthing some private press record from the early ‘70s and even more so when you consider her bio. The lyrics are brutally honest, dark and despite the trappings, not hippy-dippy in the least.
Belle and Sebastian- The BBC Sessions (Matador)
Although many fans will already have heard these songs on bootlegs and what not, this is the first official release of Belle and Sebastian’s BBC Sessions from 1996 to 2001. Sure one could complain that a few key songs are omitted and that nothing from after 2001 is present, but what’s here is generally phenomenal. The versions of “The State I Am In,” “The Stars of Track and Field” and “Lazy Line Painter Jane” are superior to the recorded versions, I think, and generally this reminds one of what an amazing band they were (and still are) in their early days, particularly around the time of 1996’s Tigermilk up through 1997’s If You’re Feeling Sinister. It should also be noted that there’s a 2-disc version with a live show from December 2001 on the bonus disc. I haven’t heard it yet, though.
