Lunch Break: Invisible Sex, “Valium”

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I was watching clips from the punk/new wave movie Urgh! A Music War, a British movie that came out in 1982 that featured filmed live performances of a lot of bands you’ve heard of, and Invisible Sex.

According to the Urgh! Wikipedia page, this performance of Invisible Sex appears to be the only time they ever played live and they left behind no other released recordings. In 2008, however, a guy named Tom surfaced on the Urgh Yahoo page claim to be Gene Axe, the band’s guitarist. There is a page here, which features less than clear writing and a collection of known facts about the band. The most interesting is a list of the supposed band members names:

Gene Wow: Lead vocals
Gene Yus: Keyboards
Gene Axe: Guitar (Probably Tom Toomey)
Gene Machine: Female dancer
Gene I: Drums
Gene Junction: Female dancer
Gene Tee: Saxophone
Ranking Gene: Male dancer, fire blowing, percussion, “keeper of the stash”
Banana Gene, AKA Gene Banana: Bass

 

And then there is Valium, which is tons of fun.

Breakfast Blend: Positive Noise

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A Scottish band started in 1980 by a rock journalist (Sounds) and his mates. The bio at Wikipedia is skimpy, but they had some indie UK hits and made three albums in five years before breaking up. The note on the Give Me Passion clip at YouTube says, delightfully, that they are more Magazine than Orange Juice, and I might actually know what that implies. The WFMU DJ Evan “Funk” Davies posted this video of their second single on Facebook this morning, and it has the video aesthetic of its day down pat.

Give Me Passion was their first single, which certainly didn’t have this video attached to it.

Night Music: Jimi Hendrix Experience, “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”

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A movie about Jimi Hendrix came out this past week, and doesn’t seem to be making a lot of noise. It was written and directed by John Ridley, who wrote 12 Years a Slave, but was made without the cooperation of the Hendrix heirs, and they withheld song rights.

I haven’t seen it, so no comment on how you make a Hendrix in 1967 movie without Purple Haze, but I have seen this clip of a show in London when Hendrix and the Experience started the show with Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, notable because John Lennon and Paul McCartney were sitting in the front row.

For Paul Revere

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The guy I’m working up a duo act with picked Kicks as a song which I sing and I can’t honestly admit I had ever paid much attention to the song until recently. The corny, heartfelt “stay away from drugs, girl” message is pretty funny.

Reminded me of (in usual backwards fashion) this classic off the first Vibrators album (which made my Top 50, I believe). The only early punk song I know about being good. RIP Paul Revere:

Night Music: Psychedelic Furs, “We Love You”

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Gene lumped the Smith’s with the Psychedelic Furs and Tears for Fears earlier today, which is maybe in the right time frame. Heck, could be the same cultural moment, but for me it’s all different.

I liked the beginning Psychedelic Furs music. I never saw them, but Richard Butler was a personality like Morrisey, with more of an attachment to Johnny Rotten. That isn’t bad.  And the Furs played rock music.

In other words, I own Psychedelic Furs vinyl, but not vinyl of the Smiths. I’m not sure that means anything, but it tells me what I was thinking at the time.

Today, the Furs still sound good, kind of like an Englishy Strokes. Lots of chops, lots of personality, but also lots of derivation. In any case, this is fun.

Obit: Paul Revere (1938-2014)

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Way back in February, Peter wrote a Night Music piece on Paul Revere and the Raiders and I started to write this very article I am now updating.

I saw the band a couple of times in the early 60’s, opening for the Beach Boys, who played Sacramento a lot. In fact I was at the show that became The Beach Boys in Concert, and the Raiders played that gig.

The Raiders, headed by Paul Revere, were a more than entertaining collection of players who knocked out some very good pop hits. Just Like Me, Kicks, Louie Louie, and Him or Me, What’s it Gonna Be?, to name some.

But, Revere and band hold kind of a funny and dubious place in history.

At the time the first wave of British bands were washing onto the American shore and airwaves, the head of A&R at Columbia Records was none other than Mitch Miller. You know, the Sing Along With Mitch guy, who had a Van Dyke to give the illusion of beatnik coolness, but who in reality was as square as they come.

Convinced that long hair and Brit Pop were just a passing fancy, Miller dissuaded the Columbia powers that the company should not sign any of the zillion bands just waiting to be discovered, and by the time it was realized this was a business/tactical error, The Raiders were the first band signed, for a million clams.

Not that the band was bad: they were just a lot different than the British invasion bands.

Miller skedaddled from Columbia, and Clive Davis took over to a pretty successful run, but the plan definitely waylaid the company for a few years.

Anyway, Revere, the leader, passed away Saturday, perfectly enough at the age of ’76, and irrespective of Miller’s acumen, the Raiders were excellent showmen and musicians and songwriters.

I will leave you with a taste:  Hungry.

 

Festival Finds: John Butler Trio

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I attended Outside Lands music festival this summer and saw a lot of great bands, many of which I had never heard of previously, which is one of the best things about music festivals. One of these bands was John Butler Trio. One of my friends, a guitar buff, convinced me to see them and they ended up being one of my favorite acts the whole three-day festival.

I don’t know exactly how to classify their music. iTunes calls them alternative. There are certainly elements of rock but with a twist of bluegrass and sometimes a bit of funk. What really stood out, however, was the guitar stylings of John Butler himself. Man can he shred. Here is a taste of Butler solo, but check him out with the band too!

By Request: The Smiths

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No. 6 greatest rock riff?

When someone requests The Smiths, this is the one that came immediately to mind, which is in a similar vein. Thanks to Scott for the request.

Is this a good place for my two cents about the Smiths? Probably not. People love them, and I merely like them. I like the hardness of the drums and the ringing of the guitars. I like the quirky melodies, and Morrisey’s point of view. It’s all kind of shambly and personal and hooky, too. Still, I merely like them. I can’t really say why. The only thought I have about it that makes any sense is that they write half songs. I love the first half of Shoplifters, for instance, but by the time we’re halfway through I want to move on to something else. Bands and performers I really love, that doesn’t happen.

Lunch Break: Ry Cooder, “He’ll Have to Go”

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I kept thinking about the Cooder version with, apologies to Steve on his birthday, a lot of accordion. Here is a live version.

Breakfast Blend: He’ll Have to Go/Stay

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I first heard Ry Cooder’s great Norteño version of this song on his album Chicken Skin Music, but over the years have listened to many versions. Elvis Presley’s is pretty good, Johnny Cash’s is great, you can’t go wrong with the Mekons’ version, and Bryan Ferry’s is pretty slick. The song was first recorded by a country singer name Billy Brown, and it flopped. Then Jim Reeves recorded it and his label put it on the B-side, what were they thinking, but the DJs got it right and turned it into one of country music’s greatest hits.

Jeanne Black recorded an answer song that was also a hit, and was later covered by Skeeter Davis.

Here’re the original Jim Reeves and Jeanne Black recordings, in one clip!