Closed for Repairs

Fabulously groovy stuff, including a photo essay about the new Lou Reed exhibition at Lincoln Center, will appear tomorrow through Friday. But you'll have to take my word for that.

Records I'd Forgotten Existed, Let Alone Loved: An Occasional Series (Special "When's the Mummer's Day Parade This Year?")

From their brilliant (and aptly named) 2000 album Kids in Philly, please enjoy the City of Brotherly Love's finest, aka Marah, and their haunting and kinetic "It's Only Money, Tyrone."

Alas, these guys make publically consumable music only occasionally these days (although they all seem to be alive and well, knock wood).

In any case, as you can hear from the above, nobody's ever done a more accomplished mashup of Bruce Springsteen and The Replacments.

And Speaking of Rock en Espanol….

...as we were the other day (over here), from 2010, please enjoy the pride of Guadalajara, Mexico -- AKA Maná -- and their gorgeously Police-y ballad "Rayando el Sol."

In all seriousness, these guys are rapidly turning into my favorite band, despite the language barrier.

Incidentally, the title translates as "Reaching for the Sun."

Have a great weekend, evertybody!

Closed for Repairs

Groovy music posting returns on the morrow.

Les Enfants Vont Bien

From just the other day, please enjoy everybody's favorite sisters from Liverpool (or wherever the hell they're from) doing a fabulous unplugged version of The Who's classic early single.

(Look at the bookshelf top right, BTW).

From Mona and Lisa:

"When tlhe legend himself, Pete Townshend, got in touch with us a few years ago, simply to write some encouraging words to us, it felt like a circle was closing and real life got elevated to some surreal fairy tale."

I'll bet, gals. I'll freaking bet.

Your Weekend Moment of "How Do You Say Backstory?" in French: Special Today We Are Le Vinyl Edition

So anyway, the short version.

Sometime last year, I got an e-mail out of the blue from a lovely gentleman from Canada (specifically Quebec) previously unknown to me named Martin Tremblay. Turned out Martin ran an indie label -- Mean Bean -- which specialized in late 70s/early 80s power pop and punk reissues on vinyl. Martin -- god only knows how -- had heard of The Floor Models, asked me if I would like to contribute a track, and specifically asked for our "Enough's Enough," which is the song I would have picked myself. He had previously issued two volumes of this stuff, beautifully packaged -- liner notes about each band, an insert map poster showing where each band was based -- and, flattered beyond belief, I told him I was in (duh), and sent him a remastered version of our song.

In any case, the album was released earlier in the week -- as promised, a 12-inch LP like the good old days -- and it's absolutely fabulous on every level (love the cover, for example).

Anyway, here's a couple of representative tracks, beginning with the opener -- The Tearjerkers' Beach Boys-esque "Syracuse Summer" (bet you can't guess where those guys were from)...

...plus my favorite track (for obvious reasons) -- The Floor Models' "Enough's Enough," featuring yours truly on bass...

...and The Toasters' hard-rocking, melodic and funny "Stuck On You."

To my surprise, I had only previously heard of a couple of the bands on the record; here's the complete song and artist listing...

...and you can -- and should -- order the album at the link HERE.

Act now, because only 500 copies are gonna be available to the anxiously awaiting public, and when they're gone, they're gone baby gone.

And a tip of the Floor Models hat to Martin Tremblay, who made it all happen.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I am so gassed about this release that I am leaving the blog post up for one more day. Regular new stuff resumes tomorrow.

Okay, What Do We Have Here?

Hint: It's an old fashioned 12" vinyl LP, and it just became commercially available.

And what is all this stuff...

...that seems to be inside the package in the first picture?

Trust me, all will be revealed tomorrow in the backstory we might title The Musician Whose Name Rhymes With Sleeve Nimels -- Call Home!

The Coolest Thing Ever is Coming Later This Afternoon!

Check in for the details, won't you?

Out Out, Damn Schmuck!

So as I mentioned recently, a certain Shady Dame and I went to see the Daniel Craig Broadway revival of Macbeth last Tuesday...

...and if you were wondering, with the exception of Craig, who has presence and charisma to burn, it, er, sucked eggs.

I mean, it was godawful -- miserably acted by a large, surprisingly amateurish ensemble cast, and directed by some putz would-be avant-garde auteur who makes a justifiably forgotten asswipe along the lines of Tom O'Horgan seem like Orson Welles.

Basically, it was the contemporary equivalent of a pretentious "experimental" college production of a Shakespeare play from the early 70's. I.e., incoherent trendy cringe-inducing bullshit trying to rip-off the mercifully (lost in the mists of history) Living Theatre. You know -- the kind of crap it was de riegeur to subject yourself to at some downtown dive like La Mama.

And when I say that, I know what I'm talking about, i.e. I was in a couple of those shows back in the day.

In any case, it's all but unwatchable -- if you're in the neighborhood of Broadway, save your money.

Your Wednesday Moment of Disarmament

So as you may have noticed, last weekend I couldn't come up with songs that seemed appropriate to the horrendously tragic recent events in Buffalo and Texas.

Typically, now I just did.

This one, by the great Ian Hunter (who comes from a country where they don't have the problems that we do) seems blindingly apt.

As does this one from Little Steven's first album. (BTW, that's the cosmically great Dino Danelli -- of Rascals fame -- on the stupendous drum part.)

In any event, two superb and obviously relevant tunes, although (granted) a day or two late, and a bitcoin short.