“There are Replacements fans who only like the first two albums, or only like the middle three, or whatever. The range is pretty broad. So on one level, doing a deluxe edition of [Don’t Tell a Soul] might not make sense. But the other thing I’m finding out is that it’s a lot of people’s favorite, or one of their favorites, or in a lot of cases, it was their entry point to the band.”
Dead Man’s Pop offers a re-envisioning of one of Don’t Tell A Soul, the most unfairly maligned albums in The Replacements canon. We dig in deep.
Sheathed in obscurity following its 1972 release in Italy, Peace on You – the sole long-player from Ghana’s Mack Porter – is a true outlier gem of blues, soul, and psychedelic rock. With its dramatic David Axelrod-esque arrangements and Porter’s blurry, mirage-like lines between Hendrix soul and doomy Sabbath riffs, the record exists on a plane of rarity entirely its own.
Tinariwen’s eighth album, “Amadjar,” was conceived on the road. Following an appearance Taragalte Festival in the Moroccan Sahara, the group traveled to Mauritania trailed by their French production team, in a camper van. Songs were put together during this road trip in a traditional Tamasheq manner, built up via conversations and playing around campfires.
The album that keeps on giving – Shintaro Sakamoto’s 2011 debut, How To Live With A Phantom. Following his two decade involvement with Japanese psych-rockers Yura Yura Teikoku, Sakamoto eased into second gear with Phantom, assembling a heady quilt with nods to euro-lounge, exotica, funk and 70s crystalline pop.
June 14th marked the return of Bill Callahan, via his latest record — the double lp, Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest. One of our favorite listens this year, we asked singer/songwriter Jerry David DeCicca to catch up with the artist on our behalf as they embarked a short west coast tour together. Their conversation can be read, here …
Luaka Bop may have dropped the compilation of the year with World Spirituality Classics 2. A slow burning collection of deeply spiritual 70’s soul, its opening (pseudo) title track strikes a singularly earthy tone; restrained in sound but glorious in conviction. A welcome tonic for these turbulent times.
The songwriting vehicle of Erin Birgy, Mega Bog bathes in the multiplicity of the human condition via an ever-eccentric blend of oblique pop experimentalism. Anchored by Birgy’s ethereal yet fixed vocals, sonically, the project leans as deftly into Badalamenti-esque jazz-scapes as it does biting, angular art-rock.
Fade Out The World. No purple language, here — just the clean dirty. Béret is nom de tune of artist Ian Kurtis Crist, who punches out minimalist post-punk via his Seattle home. With Jim Carroll vox clipped and at the fore, an anxious underpainting of atmosphere rides just below the surface, aching for release.
On Devendra Banhart’s Ma, the singer/songwriter settles into an easy stroll, singing in English, Portuguese, and Spanish, referencing Carole King and Haruomi Hosono, and focusing on maternal love and beauty. “I still turn to art to make a very lonely situation suddenly much more manageable and agreeable or a very beautiful situation even more ecstatic, even more beautiful.”
The Aquarium Drunkard Show on SIRIUS/XM radio ~ Channel 35. Wednesdays / 7pm California time + on-demand.
Tonight: Coney Island era Lou Reed, new Devendra Banhart, Hideki Ishima, Tim Presley’s White Fence, Broadcast, Shintaro Sakaomoto, Simply Saucer & more …
In 2016, Strut Records released Aloha Got Soul — a two LP compilation chronicling music emanating from the islands during the 1970s. Compiled by Roger Bong, the set is due for a sequel October 30th, entitled From These Shores: Otherworldly Music And Far Out Sounds From Hawaii. In addition to the soul, disco and AOR of its predecessor, this new round up dips into reggae, electronic, instrumental lounge-psych and beyond…
Who knew that jazz drummer extraordinaire Chico Hamilton and the mighty Little Feat recorded an album together in 1973? I didn’t — until the excellent Save Your Face blog included a few tunes from The Master on a recent Feat rarities comp.
As All Hallows’ Eve draws nigh, it’s time to check in with rock ‘n roll boogieman, Jed Maheu of Zig Zags.
The only thing that sucks about Halloween is trying to figure out what to be. So, Jed figured it out for you with a list of musician themed costumes for Halloween 2019! Heads up these will not work in 2020 as it will be too close to the election and no one will be in the mood for fun.
Matt Valentine and Pat Gubler (AKA PG Six) are back with another serving of deep fried psychedelic hijinks — six messily brilliant jams that sprawl, skronk and choogle their way to heady heaven. Water Weird is […]
Ultimate Painting’s Jack Cooper returned last month with Modern Nature, an ever-evolving ensemble that headily widens the lens of UP’s paisley psychedelia. This new project expands the scope sonically, fusing British folk influences with chamber-clothed experimental rock and spiritual jazz ragas. For this installment of the Lagniappe Sessions, Cooper and co. lean in mightily, embracing their sonic and creative influences.
Accoutre. The Aquarium Drunkard Show on SIRIUS/XM radio ~ Channel 35. Wednesdays / 7pm California time + on-demand.
Tonight: Music from Gal Gracen, Little Wings, Bill Callahan, Guano Padano, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Steve Gunn, Six Organs of Admittance, Cass McCombs & beyond …
Chros Brokaw’s End of the Night’s lonesome nocturnal mood is mirrored perfectly by the cover art, created by legendary Hollywood artist Sandy Dvore. Dvore’s resume is, to say the least, outrageous. His work has graced the sleeves of albums by Frank Sinatra, Buffalo Springfield, Judy Garland, and countless more. An in demand visual artist, Sandy was responsible for a host of iconic TV title sequences—The Partridge Family, anyone?
“There are Replacements fans who only like the first two albums, or only like the middle three, or whatever. The range is pretty broad. So on one level, doing a deluxe edition of [Don’t Tell a Soul] might not make sense. But the other thing I’m finding out is that it’s a lot of people’s favorite, or one of their favorites, or in a lot of cases, it was their entry point to the band.”
Dead Man’s Pop … we dig in deep.
Real life human muppets on acid. Two nights before Halloween, forty-plus years ago, plastic-fantastic freaks (truly) Flo & Eddie exorcized all manner of demons and lesser deities at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, NJ. Throughout the performance the pair talk shit about Carl Douglas’s “Kung Fu Fighting”, ape Mick Jagger, the Jefferson Airplane, the late Jim Morrison’s poet shtick and much, much more. The Turtles this is snot.
Collecting rare 45s released by small labels in the 1970s, Luaka Bop’s World Spirituality Classics Vol 2: The Time For Peace Is Now (Gospel Music About Us) is a compilation that prizes the galvanizing spirit of gospel music as much as explicitly evangelical aims.
