Galaxie 500 - "Peel Sessions" (LP Review)

I think I've run out of words to describe how much I love Galaxie 500, the hazy, dreamy, nearly-shoegazing Boston band whose existence completely overlapped with my college years (1987-1991).   Unfortunately, this short career left us with only three studio LPs and a posthumously extended discography, most of which I would recommend only to hard-core fans such as myself. 

But that's not true for the 2005 LP "Peel Sessions", which collects two, four song sessions from 1989 and 1990 for the legendary BBC Radio 1 show by John Peel.  This live-in-the-studio LP has excellent sound quality (unlike the live LP "Copenhagen"), offers three "new" cover songs not available on other LPs, and subtly different arrangements of some of their classic songs.  I don't think these sessions were available previous to be released in 2005.  Peel Sessions are an interesting format: you have four songs (or about ~20 minutes) to showcase yourself, and this limited amount of time forces you to economically pick representative songs.  On the other hand, if you just do your "greatest hits" then haven't offered the audience something new.  Galaxie 500 understood this: notice how their quintessential song, "Tugboat", does not appear?

The real highlight here are the three "new" songs.  Galaxie 500 always had a tradition of showing how smart they were with their meticulous selection of covers.  Of course their standard Jonathan Richmond cover "Don't Let Our Youth Go To Waste" is present (I think few would argue that Galaxie 500 now owns this song, not Richmond), but they also turn in inspired interpretations of "Submission" (Sex Pistols), "Final Day" (Young Marble Giants), and "Moonshot" (Buffy Sainte-Marie).  Sure you've heard of the Pistols, but "Submission" is an inspired choice; YMG was influential but not famous, and ask your hippie parents about BSM (the Pistols *and* Buffy Sainte-Marie?!  genius.).

I'm going to break with the standard LP review format and just list all eight tracks and claim them all as "standouts" (and obviously there are no tracks to skip).  The first four are from the October 1990 session and the last four are from the September 1989 session:

1. Submission
2. Final Day
3. When Will You Come Home
4. Moonshot
5. Flowers
6. Blue Thunder
7. Decomposing Trees
8. Don't Let Our Youth Go to Waste

Bonus links to the original versions:

• Sex Pistols: Submission
• Young Marble Giants: Final Day
• Buffy Sainte-Marie: Moonshot
• Jonathan Richmond & the Modern Lovers: Don't Let Our Youth Go to Waste

Final score: 9/10.  While there are only three "new" songs, this is an LP I can easily recommend to those not already familiar with Galaxie 500. 

My Bloody Valentine - "Loveless" (LP Review)

I had been resisting reviewing "Loveless" because it is just too obvious: there are innumerable reviews proclaiming the excellence of this LP (e.g., Allmusic, Wired, Pitchfork, Drowned In Sound).   But with My Bloody Valentine's out-of-print EPs collected on "EPs 1988-1991" and *finally* a new LP,  "m b v", I've decided to include it.

I first heard this LP in 1999, ordering it at the same time as DJ Shadow's seminal "Endtroducing.....".  They don't sound anything alike, but they are similar in that once you listen to them, you'll never hear music the same way again. 

Rather than throw hundreds of words at this LP, the eccentricities and innovations of Kevin Shields, or how the cover art matches the sound, instead I'll offer my initial, visceral reaction from 1999:

Dying Swan Music*.

Yes, that's the best I can do, courtesy of Tennyson:

But anon her awful jubilant voice,
With a music strange and manifold,
Flow'd forth on a carol free and bold;
As when a mighty people rejoice

Standout songs:  All, and it really should be consumed as a whole, start to finish (Youtube playlist).  If forced to pick three, I'd go with: "To Here Knows When", "Sometimes", "Blown A Wish"

Skip 'em songs: none.

Final Score: In addition to "10/10", this LP earns my very rare "beyond music" label; "music" is just too limiting a concept to describe it.

Bonus links: official videos for "To Here Knows When" and "Soon" (radio edit).  I'm pretty sure most of the "official" videos for MBV are the same footage used over and over again, but how else would you do it?



* = Listen to "Touched", a sort of intro to "To Here Knows When", and then get back to me when you come up with a better description.

Sonic Youth - "Diamond Sea" (forgotten song)

"Time takes its crazy toll
And how does your mirror grow
You better watch yourself when you jump into it
Cause the mirror's gonna steal your soul"

I'm not sure how I've managed to blog this long and not really mention Sonic Youth.  I've been reading "Our Band Could Be Your Life", and this has caused me to go back and rip all the various SY cds that I somehow had failed to in the past.  I have a significant portion of their considerable discography, and while I'd love to tell you that my favorite song is "Teen Age Riot", "Kill Yr. Idols", "Death Valley '69", or something like that, the truth is my favorite SY song is actually "Diamond Sea", the first single from their 1995 LP "Washing Machine". 

I was surprisingly disappointed when in late 2011 it was announced that after 27 years of marriage SY founders Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon were splitting up, effectively ending the 30 year career of Sonic Youth in the process.  Individually, Thurston & Kim are the epitome of cool and their long-standing rock-n-roll marriage was even cooler.  Less than a month ago, Kim revealed in an interview that the marriage ended because of Thurston's mid-life crisis.  Shortly thereafter the identity of the "other woman" was revealed, and then the inevitable back-lash for "shaming" the woman while more or less giving Thurston a pass.  I guess marriages break up every day, but most don't claim the careers of seminal bands like Sonic Youth.

"Time takes its crazy toll
Mirror fallin' off the wall
You better look out for the looking glass girl
Cause she's gonna take you for a fall"

"Diamond Sea": 5:45 radio edit, 19:36 LP version, 20 min live version (1996), 1995 live (on "The State")


Although I'm ashamed to admit it, I frequently prefer the radio edit to the freak-out LP version.

Slayer - "Haunting The Chapel" (LP Review)

I had been meaning to review this one for a while, but once again a recent death has influenced the order of reviews:  Jeff Hanneman, a founding member of the seminal thrash metal band Slayer, died on May 2.   While their contemporaries Metallica achieved more commercial success, Slayer arguably has the stronger, more consistent discography. 

While Slayer's 1983 debut LP "Show No Mercy" was a strong, heavy LP, it was their 1984 three song EP "Haunting the Chapel" that really defined the genre.  Especially influential was the double bass work of drummer Dave Lombardo, after this EP came out if you didn't have that double bass sound, you weren't a serious thrash band.  Of the three songs, the one you really must listen to is "Chemical Warfare".  Nearly 30 years after it was released this is still one of the heaviest songs I've ever heard.

Jeff Hanneman shared lead guitar duties with Kerry King as well as writing or co-writing most of their songs.  Although he had been sidelined for a few years due to a spider bite, everyone believed the worst was behind him and he was writing new material for their next LP.  Slayer had always been one of the more stable bands (with only Dave Lombardo leaving and rejoining a few times), so it will be interesting to see if they carry on without Jeff.

Standout songs: "Chemical Warfare", "Haunting The Chapel", "Captor of Sin"

Skip'em songs: none

Final Score: 10/10.  This EP points the way to "Hell Awaits" and "Reign in Blood", as well as reminding me of my tape trading days w/ Scott Kinkade et al.  Honorable mention to the late Bob Muldowney, publisher of Kick*Ass Monthly, for describing the importance of this EP back in the day.

Hank Williams Jr. - "All My Rowdy Friends (Have Settled Down)" (forgotten song)

I wasn't planning to post today, but in the space of an hour:

1.  I received an email from Drew that the usual suspects from HS were planning a get together in early June.

2.  I read that country music legend George Jones died today. 

Put those together, and you get Hank William Jr's 1981 hit "All My Rowdy Friends (Have Settled Down)". 

We had a great time last year at Drew's wedding & bachelor party, although for the latter starting the festivities in the early afternoon made it a bit of challenge to stay out to last call @ 2am:

All my rowdy friends have settled down
And they seem to be more into laid back songs
Nobody wants to get drunk and get loud
Everybody just wants to go back home

We did manage it, but perhaps we should start later in the day this year (quitting before last call would just be shameful).  Of course, that's the way of things -- what chance do we stand if the epic benders of George Jones and other friends of Bocephus come to an end:

And I think I know what my father meant when he sang about a lost highway
and old George Jones I'm glad to see he's finally getting straight,
and Waylon staying home and loving Jesse more these days,
and nobody wants to get drunk and get loud and all my rowdy friends have settled down.

Yeah I think I know what my father meant when he sang about his lost highway
and Johnny Cash don't act like he did back in '68
and Kris he is a movie star and he's moved off to L.A.
and nobody wants to get drunk and get loud and all my rowdy friends have settled down

"All My Rowdy Friends (Have Settled Down)": studio version, live version (ca. 1985?)

Obligatory George Jones song: "White Lightning"




P.S.  Hank, I love your paens about the lovable, self-destructive man-child archetype, but when it comes to political commentary, please STFU.

Unkle - "Do Androids Dream of Electric Beats?" (LP Review)

Although this is "only" a bootleg, it is one of the prized members of my CD collection.  Unkle's* 2001 triple LP "Do Androids Dream of Electric Beats?" might be the best DJ mix I've heard.  Unkle has always been James Lavelle and whomever he is working with at the time (at this point, it was Richard File -- but make no mistake, this is James Lavelle's vision).  Originally intended for a Japanese radio show, this is not your ordinary club/ dance mix and is more suited for a theater than a club.  With the title being a clever nod to Philip K. Dick's "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" and the cover art from Futura 2000, the sci-fi theme is clearly established.  In my review of "The Less You Know, The Better", I described Lavelle's vision as "the soundtrack to the weird sci-fi movie that only James Lavelle can see."  If you listen to this mix from start to finish, you'll start to catch glimpses of the movie too. 

James Lavelle is an extraordinary DJ, and the set pulls together various tracks and genres that would fail miserably in less expert hands.  In addition to the usual suspects from Lavelle's label Mo' Wax, there are The Beatles, The Stones, Rare Earth, Fleetwood Mac, Iggy Pop and other surprises.  I could try to write more about it, but fortunately due to its not-quite-legal status, it is pretty easy to find on the web.  Just listen (each disc is just a single track):

Disc one -- "Shin" Youtube, Soundcloud
Disc two -- "Gi" Youtube, Soundcloud
Disc three -- "Tai" Youtube, Salacious Sound

All three discs in a single Youtube playlist.  You'll have to look at the Wikipedia and Discogs sites to piece together the source material for each track. 

Don't even think about finding an original version -- there were only 500 copies made, and even the bootleg versions command a pretty stiff price now.

Standout songs: n/a. 

Skip 'em songs: n/a

Final Score: 9/10  You read a lot about DJ sets being a "journey", well this is a textbook example.  And if "Do Androids Dream of Electric Beats?" is a textbook, then James Lavelle is your teacher.


* I've chosen to credit this to "Unkle", although this was released as Unklesounds, or UNKLESounds, or UNKLE Sounds, depending on what you read.  Add to the confusion is the fact that James Lavelle & guest have also released UNKLE, U.N.K.L.E., and other variations.  I'm lumping them all under "Unkle".

Pink Floyd - "Cymbaline" (forgotten song)

I'm always surprised at the rare concert footage you can find on Youtube.  Not long ago I found this June 15th, 1971 recording of Pink Floyd performing "Cymbaline" in a church (Abbaye de Royaumont, France) for French TV.  Supposedly it is available on the bootleg DVD "Pro-Shot In Europe 1969-1972", but I have not been able to find a copy.  The sound quality is great, but the cinematography is... "interesting".  I think the idea was to capture the feel of the church itself, but instead it seems like the cameraman can't find the band for the first minute or so.  Once the camerman discovers where the band has setup their gear, it settles into a good video (typical for the era, a single cameraman wanders amongst the band as they play).

I've already covered the song in the context of the 1970 concert "An Hour With Pink Floyd (KQED)" (also only available as a bootleg DVD).   The KQED version is similar, but slightly longer and maybe a little bit heavier. Also, it features an odd 30 second pause in the action starting at ~6:00. 

The studio version originally appeared on the 1969 "Soundtrack from the Film More".  A really good LP in its own right, I have this on tape (recorded during college sometime), but I really need to get this on CD. 

The June 1971 recording might be one of the last live performances of "Cymbaline"; by the time of the October 1971 recording of "Live at Pompeii", "Cymbaline" had been replaced by new material from "Meddle".

It might be my favorite Pink Floyd song, and it is surely one that I can listen to over and over again. 

The path you tread is narrow
And the drop is shear and very high
The ravens all are watching
From a vantage point nearby
Apprehension creeping
Like a tube-train up your spine
Will the tightrope reach the end
Will the final couplet rhyme?

Cymbaline - live 1971-06-15 (from "Pro-Shot in Europe 1969-1972")
Cymbaline - live 1970-04-29 (from "An Hour With Pink Floyd, KQED")
Cymbaline - studio version (with footage from the movie "More")


In case you were wondering, the final couplet doesn't rhyme.