Simply Saucer's Electronic Garage Stomps

Simply Saucer holds the title for the most incendiary rock & roll band north of those blue Canadian Rockies. Their recorded material didn't really get into the hands of the garage dwelling, psyche-hungry until the reissue in '89, and I first bought the 2003 reissue (with bonus tracks) put out by the fine Sonic Unyon, a record label based out of Hamilton, Ontario, which incidentally is the hometown of the band in question. I don't know why it took so long for this to happen (the band wasn't interested in marketing themselves? no one wanted to listen to raucous punk-rock-electronic explorations? Canadian origin is a stigma?) but the music is incredible. So, let's get everything straight. The band recorded their stuff in 1974, it got released posthumously in 1989, reissued in 2003, and now a reunion in 2008! A new record called Half Human/Half Live is being released this year.

The Simply Saucer sounds are always compared to the Stooges, Modern Lovers & Velvet Underground, but that doesn't give enough description. The crazed stomp & distorted mayhem is teamed with radical, exploring electronic motifs and is raw as fuck. It can only speak for itself, so listen to the album here and check it out for yourself.

Make sure to check out the new record & go to the Terrastock 7 festival in Louisville. Simply Saucer is on the line up! I'll be there.

A Velvet Underground Compilation!

American Rock & Roll hasn't sounded better.
Every one of their albums is brilliant - the song writing, the production, the raw emotion.
They were one of the first to successfully marry the avant-garde with pop sensibilities & good ol' rock n' roll thanks to Lou's background with doo wop and John Cale's background with La Monte Young & John Cage.

I made my own "best of" compilation to share what I think to be an excellent retrospective of the band's existence & a perfect starting point for the uninitiated. It is also great for those familiar with the band because there are tracks from all of their albums & a few great live performances.

Please comment if you want to ask anything about the band, their albums, or this mix.

listen: disc one disc two

Disc One Tracklist








Disc Two Tracklist

Stream Of Conciousness Synth Blows Minds

Mark Mothersbaugh's music is something that is truly dear to me. I love his whimsical compositions. His music can be found most notably in Wes Anderson's films. Rushmore has some of the best original compositions for a soundtrack that I have heard. I will always equate alot of the unique stringed instruments with Max Fisher & the awkwardness of adolescence. The Royal Tenenbaums score is equally poignant. Mark had access to full string arrangements which added a new depth to the quirky songs. The thing is, I can close my eyes and play a lot of the songs in my brain from beginning to end.
What else? Mark was the front man of Devo. He wrote the theme song for The Rugrats. He did the music for Pee Wee Herman's Playhouse. His latest project is doing the music for the sequel to the popular video game The Sims.
"And I just wrote my own five-CD collection. Do you know those organs people used to have in their living rooms, with a beat box and sound effects and organ sounds? They were popular in the ’60s and ’70s. Well, for Royal Tenenbaums, I thought I was going to use some of those synthesizer organs. And these organs, that once cost thousands, you can now buy for $50 or $100 at piano stores like West L.A. Piano. I thought Wes would be interested in that sound, but we ended up not using them. I’ve used them in a couple other movies, but just very short bits so far. But I had the organs because of that, and had been playing them in my studio. And three months ago I started doing stream-of-consciousness Muzak with them, and very rapidly, I had about five-and-a-half hours’ worth of music. So that’s what I am listening to in my car these days. "

So go ahead & check out the five discs. They are a lot of fun. There is something strangely grand about feeling like you are in an elevator for more than five hours.

disc one disc two disc three disc four disc five


here's a little film on Mark
http://www.markmothersbaugh.com/
and make sure to stay till the end to learn how to take care of your lawn without getting into a financial hole!

Looking For a Certain Ratio?

This is a compilation put out by the folks at soul jazz records.
I am really surprised that this band wasn't more successful. I guess they were doomed to be stuck in the shadows of label mates New Order. Regardless of said speculation, they play some seriously dark, funky, post-punk, electro, rhythmic disco. I love the way that the drums and bass sound beneath the jagged guitar playing and reverb-drenched vocals. The opener, Do The Du, is a favorite of mine as well as Knife Slits Water. Their most successful single, Shack Up, is great too. I guess the song was already a funk hit in England when the band recorded it, but their version is rearranged quite a bit. Ok, look out for some more stuff coming up soon...

Here's what Soul Jazz has to say about the band and the compilation...

"A Certain Ratio was one of the first groups to sign to the legendary Factory Records in Manchester. Whilst many people credit New Order and The Happy Mondays as the groups who brought Dance music into the sound of Manchester (later Madchester!), it is in fact ACR who were there in the beginning.

Formed in 1978, the initial line-up comprised Simon Topping (vocals), Martin Moscrop (guitar and trumpet), Peter Terrell (tape loops) and Jeremy Kerr (bass). Their debut seven-inch "All Night Party" was Factory Records fifth release. Soon after this Donald Johnson joined on drums. After a cassette only release "The Graveyard and The Ballroom" containing early versions of future ACR classic tracks like "Do The Du" and "Flight".

After this came "Shack Up". This single originally came out in Belgium, on a new Belgium subsiduary, Factory Benelux, and consequently was only available on import. This release became an underground dance record in New York (Billboard chart position 52!). This would lead to their first gigs in New York at places like Danceteria and The Roxy. On their first gig in New York they were supported by a young Madonna!

"Shack Up" had originally been recorded by Banbarra in the US and had been a Northern Soul/Funk favourite in the UK. Unlike many bands of this period, ACR were happy to mix the two traditions of their collective Manchester upbringing (Punk and Northern Soul). "Shack Up" manages to be one of Punk's funkiest ever products ­ dancefloor material, sly humour, and Northern post-industrial alienation all in one go!

ACR was the first UK band after Punk to record in America. This signified a shift in focus of many UK bands as they started to look towards American music and culture for inspiration. The album "To Each" was recorded in New Jersey in 1980. Produced by Martin Hannett, the sound was a mix of urban US Funk/Dance music rhythms with a cold, isolated Northern sound that made it sound unique. It was here that ACR came into closer contact with their influences.

After completing the LP they invited New York group ESG (who they had recently played with) to use their remaining free studio time to record some material. This resulted in the first ESG release, which came out on Factory in the UK and 99 Records in the US. These tracks were the revolutionary "Moody", "UFO" and "You're No Good".

It was while in New York that ACR first came across new musical styles. ACR first heard Nu Yorican Latin percussion Street music in Central Park. The following day ACR brought Bongos, Whistles, Congas and a Cuica and didn't look back!

By the time of their next album "Sextet", ACR had all the ingredients of their sound in place. "Gum", "Knife Slits Water" "Skipscada" are from this album. At this time ACR would end their live sets with a ten-minute percussion workout (that would become Si Firmo O Grido) and had also taken to wearing Brazilian Football gear on stage!

By the time their next album "I'd like To See You Again" was released, Factory Records had in a sense come round to ACR's musical philosophy. Rather than ACR falling in line with Factory's grey-trenchcoat set, the opposite was true. The front cover of "I'd Like To See You Again" showed the band standing in Factory's new pride and joy, the Hacienda night-club. Factory was re-inventing itself as purveyors of Dance culture, with Joy Division changed into the more dance-orientated New Order (after the death of singer Ian Curtis) and The Happy Mondays, Madchester and rave culture still to come. At this time ACR were still moving into new areas such as the arch Disco/Funk of tracks like "Touch".

Shortly after this Simon Topping decided to leave the group to study Congas in New York. Tony Quigley was brought in on Saxophone and Andy Connell on keyboards. Tony was also a member of Manchester Jazz/Funk group Kalima, and this led to many ACR members also moonlighting in Kalima. Many new Manchester dance bands sprang up at this time. Simon Topping went on to form T-Coy with Mike Pickering who would later find fame in M-People. Andy Connell would also later find worldwide success with his pop group Swing Out Sister!

At this period the once mighty Factory Records was beginning to fall apart. After ACR recording one more record for Factory (Force), Factory closed under the weight of crippling costs from The Hacienda and New Order and Happy Mondays recording costs (The Mondays ran up a bill of a quarter of a million pounds in the Bahamas!).

This CD covers this period of their career (from 1978-1985). At this point ACR entered the next phase of their career, signing to a major (A&M) to try and find some of the mainstream success that many of their imitators would achieve. But ACR were always too unique and musically ahead of their time to fit into the mainstream and it was not to be. ACR would leave A&M two years later.

Hopefully this CD is a testament to one of the most influential groups that the UK has ever produced in the last 25 years!




Download it HERE

Black Merda!

The Psyche Funk of Black Merda is a compilation of this Detroit band's aggressive rock blasts. They call themselves the first black rock band. Clearly influenced by Jimi and Funkadelic, they play...yep, funky psychedelic music. There name doesn't mean Black Shit like I immediately thought. Merda is a misspelling of "murder" (mispronounced maybe?) meaning Black Murder. OK, so grab this HERE and enjoy!

Kind Kool, Kinda Kinks

There are some classics on this album. The opener, "Look For Me Baby", is a fantastic tune with an addictive hook. "Come On Now" is a great one with a great melody. "Everybody's Gunna Be Happy" makes me smile every time I hear it (I imagine Jack Black as weirdo record store clerk from the High Fidelity film). This edition has some songs that weren't on the original issue...I'm not exactly sure which songs are added though. It really doesn't matter. The album is great for a new Kinks fan and all the Kinks lovers already have it. Lola Vs. Powerman, Village Green, and Muswell Hillbillies are more essential, but this is right behind those. Dig it.

check it out HERE.