This blog is now on hiatus. I am going to design something new to get away from the blogger template. I'm also going to expand the content covered & sort of spend a little more time reviewing/writing. In the end, I hope to develop something interesting that will actually be valuable. cheers

Six Masters of Guitar & Six of Their Cosmic Albums

Jack Rose I Do Play Rock And Roll (three lobed recordings) 2008

During the 90's, Jack performed with the psychedelic drone band called Pelt. His solo records demonstrate his superb grasp on composition and finger picking. This is a brand new album only available through Three Lobed's Oscillation III record mailing. The first two tracks are great compositions that showcase Jack's guitar playing while the last track sounds reminds me of Pelt.

"I Do Play Rock and Roll is [Jack's] first complete album of live material." - from the label

Sir Richard Bishop While My Guitar Violently Bleeds (Locust) 2007

"This is an essential document by one of America's most original and inventive unaccompanied guitaristsworking today. While My Guitar Violently Bleeds is a splendid three piece gem in which the good Sir branches out & nods to points west, east & otherworldly. Classic spaghetti western tinged spidery fretwork(“Zurvan”), Fushitsusha style feedback drenched psych decay (“Smashana”) and a brilliant lengthy raga epic (“Mahavidya”) round out the proceedings by the Sun City Girls master musician." - from the label

Check out his radio playlist / live performances on WFMU here
There is also an interesting interview by our friends at Digitalis Industries here



Robbie Basho The Seal Of The Blue Lotus (Takoma) 1965

Robbie Basho probably would have been an excellent blues guitar player, but once he heard the Indian ragas of Ravi Shankar, he was awe struck. He is one of the first American guitar players to so successfully marry his guitar playing with "world music" influences. This is his first album. It is a complex album with a constantly changing mood & rhythm connecting everything together.

more here

John Fahey Death Chants, Break Downs, & Military Waltzes (Takoma) 1963/1967

John Fahey was the pioneer to use the steel stringed guitar as a solo instrument. His style combines inspiration from all kinds of world music with a love for American folk music & invention. This album was originally recorded in '63 and then mostly rerecorded in '67. The music is grandly emotional & the technique is awe-inspiring. Beautiful compositions.

Fahey's website here


Sandy Bull Fantasias For Guitar & Banjo (Vanguard) 1963

A blending elements of jazz, folk, classical, Indian, and even gospel that is infinitely hypnotic. This is one of my favorite records of all time. The guitar & drums create a haunting rhythm on Blend & Gospel Time that transcends genres. Sandy's Banjo playing is fantastic too. Waaaaay ahead of its time.


Bert Jansch eponymous (Transatlantic) 1965

Bert is a thrilling musician with impeccable taste. Here, his first solo record, Bert plays blues and folk. He reveals his excellent guitar playing, song writing, and vocal ability. Again, the guitar playing blends jazz, folk, and blues to create something psychedelic. He went on to play with the extremely influential Pentangle, a popular Biritish folk/rock band, and continues to put out records to this day.

website here

Bobb Trimble & His Premonitions

This is one of those close-to-perfect records that can put everyone listening to it in a great mood and stimulate interesting conversation. Just as easily, Bobb can also put you in a terrible, pessimistic mood if you're at home alone with a six pack of Shlitz and its raining outside. Of course, these are universal signs of a wonderful record.
The effects on the record coupled with Bobb's almost falsetto vocals and the weird field-recording sounds (even a track of silence) creates a completely different world. It isn't really just a psychedelic record or a folk record or anything easily definable...the record succeeds in its striking originality.

Check the record out here

Further:
Bobb's myspace page
Bobbtrimble.com

You can buy the record along with Iron Curtain Innocence (excellent) at Aquarius Records.
Just type bobb trimble in the search box and voila. They've written a nice review too.

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!