1990: Love's Arthur Lee joins The Fuzztones at L.A.'s Coconut Teazer absolutely laying waste to his old band's "7 and 7 is." Thanks Scottie Diablo for the tip.
_____________________________________________________________________________________ . . .
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.
All three major American counterculture movies of the late sixties benefited from the new vogue for rock soundtracks. The Strawberry Statement mixed purpose-written orchestral themes with mostly familiar numbers by Crosby, Still & Nash and Neil Young, plus the predictable yet appropriate “Something In The Air” and “Give Peace A Chance.” Easy Rider thrummed along to a more eclectic but still fitting . . .
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.
(Album artwork: Does it indeed affect our listening experience, and if so, how? Scratch the Surface takes a look at particularly interesting and/or exceptional cover art choices.)
Expectations. We all have them, for better or worse, and with music these expectations are often heightened.
Lou Reed was supposed to be the second coming. Based on his Velvet Underground genius, some expected him to be the next "Bob Dylan," a voice for a new generation, and while Berlin was strong and Transformer hit on most cylinders, the work Reed put out in the seventies rarely met the expectations of his audience. True, he had his fans, and select songs that could stand up to others of the period, but I think a good portion of his fans expected something else. Then you throw Sally Can't Dance into the mix, not to mention Metal Machine Music Pt. 1, and it's just a rebellious slap in the face to "others" expectations. A real punk rock move before punk rock even knew what it was.
I love Lou Reed, and I love most of Reed's early albums, but I think expectations from others ultimately led to his downward soul searching spiral...that is until he found it with Street Hassle.
Street Hassle is about acceptance and power. It's Reed finally acknowledging how much a self-parody he had become. With Street Hassle, Reed had finally both recognized and accepted his prior roles, facades and incarnations, and was now willing to face them head on. Simply put, Lou Reed was finally ready to make a "Lou Reed" album.
Street Hassle's LP cover explains it all, exuding arrogance, confidence, and fear. From the distressed title font letting you know it's not perfect, that he's not perfect, to the "self portrait" with the smug shooting star glimmer in his eye. He has a new found realization and acceptance of his own self-destruction with a "fuck you" mentality. And how does he start this battle off…by sacrificing one of his own children, "Sweet Jane."
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.
One on my favorite Elvis albums, even though it's a bootleg, is Cut Me & I Bleed released on Double G Records. The album is a collection of alternate studio, home, and live rehearsal recordings that present "another side" of Elvis. Pedestal removed, Cut Me & I Bleed chooses to present "The King" in a raw, more human, and often explicit manner, one that often eschews the family friendly image constructed by the Elvis foundation.
Of all the tracks (22 in all), the real gem of the bunch, and a personal favorite . . .
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.
Our weekly two hour show on SIRIUS/XMU, channel 26 (SIRIUS), and channel 43 (XM), can now be heard twice, every Friday — Noon EST with an encore broadcast at Midnight EST.
SIRIUS 189: Jean Michel Bernard - Generique Stephane ++ The Gories - Hey, Hey We're The Gories ++ Canarios - Trying So Hard ++ The Arrows - Blue's Theme ++ Screaming Lord Sutch - Flashing Lights ++ The Kinks - You Really Got Me ++ Thee Headcoats - Diddy Wah Diddy ++ The Pebbles - We Love The . . .
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.
My friend Thomas hipped me to this track earlier today. It's been on repeat since. The vibe is early 80s melodic post-punk crossed with a nice dose of ambient new wave and ennui. Eddie The Wheel is the project of Eddie Whelan, based in Athens, GA. "Nearsayerfive" is culled from his new EP He's A Scream.
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is become a member or log in.
Today's confection: Margo Guryan's 1968 platter of orchestral pop, Take A Picture. We've waxed on Guryan's excellent 25 Demos collection here in the past, but Take A Picture further succeeds in taking the singer-songwriter and placing her compositions within a smart pop context not dissimilar from . . .
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.
“Once Bill was making extremely forward statements from behind a veil. Now he’s making veiled statements from a forward position. He’s fundamentally the same person, but stylistically almost everything has changed.”
The above quote is pulled from last Friday's New York Times piece on Bill Callahan. Quoted is Rian Murphy, former bandmate and office manger of Callahan's longtime label, Drag City Records. The Times piece itself is . . .
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.
Reheated vinyl rip of Grant Green covering the Meters' "Ease Back" off the 1969 Carryin' On LP.
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.To continue reading, become a member or log in.
Via Autumn Tone, we're releasing Dirty Gold's debut EP, Roar, today. At five tracks, the EP is a set of shimmering beachside pop, here just in time for the change in season. Get a taste, below.
MP3: Dirty Gold :: California Sunrise
---------------------
_____________________________________________________________________________________ . . .
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.
(Diversions, a recurring feature on Aquarium Drunkard, catches up with our favorite artists as they wax on subjects other than recording and performing.)
One cannot overstate the power of regionalism. Growing up in Georgia, in a rather musical household, I assumed the music of Eddie Hinton was as well known as, say, that of Sam & Dave. It wasn't until I began to discover this music for myself, years later, that I . . .
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.
I've been catching up on Ethan Miller's blog, Silver Currant, over the past couple of months. Sporadically updated, Miller, who fronts Howlin' Rain, presents a treasure trove of homemade psych compilations (and more) geared toward the obscure and out of print. All very much worth checking out if that sort of thing does it for you (as it should).
Amongst the various digital download booty there is a link Ethan shared for a Howlin' Rain joint called . . .
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.
An inherited copy, on wax, of Ray Charles' Live In Concert has been in my regular rotation for years. Last month I read (via the LA Times) that the classic set was finally seeing a CD release. The following bit further grabbed my attention: "The original 12-song LP, which peaked at No . . .
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.
Our weekly two hour show on SIRIUS/XMU, channel 26 (SIRIUS), and channel 43 (XM), can now be heard twice, every Friday - Noon EST with an encore broadcast at Midnight EST.
SIRIUS 188: Jean Michel Bernard - Generique Stephane ++ Family Portrait - Other Side ++ Kurt Vile - Hunchback ++ Akron/Family - So it Goes ++ Grizzly Bear - Cheerleader ++ The Morning Benders - All Day Daylight ++ Cass McCombs - Dreams Come True Girl ++ Tunde Adebimpe :: Unknown Legend ++ Devendra Banhart - Bad Girl ++ Bon Iver - Stacks ++ Fleet Foxes . . .
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.
File under awesome. 1973 no-frills, no bullshit, cock rock. This is Zipper---Fred Cole and company's sicko American twist on Zeppelin and Black Sabbath.
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by our patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support via our Patreon . . .
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.