It’s time to get weird. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti mixes unusual arrangements of vintage derivatives that are much like going on a trip (a la Frank Zappa – listen to Round & Round on the myspace). Originally Ariel, performed these pieces as a one man show with a boombox. Now he’s got a full on band and has breathed new life into these intriguing & strangely wonderful songs. With songs about castration and intense disorienting live shows, Ariel really doesn’t approach anything in a normal or mainstream way. Tim Burgess (Charlatans) recently posted this as his current favourite album. I love to see one of us weirdos on top without compromise. Big ups.
Reinterpreting and remixing music is cool, and covering songs in different styles is part of how music grows. Often of the results of this process are outright crap, and some of the results are merely interesting failures but occasionally the results are pretty sweet. This cover of the Dead Kennedys song ‘Too Drunk to Fuck’ I think falls in that pretty sweet spot.
But I like both Camille and the Dead Kennedys, and I’m in the mood for a bit of goofy musical fooling about, so this wasn’t a hard sell for me.
We missed a trick on Monday by not mentioning the solstice. My excuse was that I went climbing under an azure sun near the ruined birthplace of a deposed English queen.
Which, somehow, because of the solstice fire connection, brings me to Arthur Brown. A man who during live performances of this song, including the promotional clip above, would wear a burning helmet which would cause him physical pain due to its crude construction.
Somewhat of a one hit wonder this single held a strange mystery over me as a child. Probably because of Arthur Brown’s ghoulish appearance, hooded band and because his head was on bloody fire.
This is my music for the middle of summer. The solstice was a couple of days ago while Glastonbury and Finnish midsummer celebrations start in a few days. It is time of year perfectly suited to bouts of drinking, fire, madness and the old gods.
(Apologies for the cheesy youtube. I was unable to find the song streaming online anywhere.)
Matt Berry has released 2 albums. Opium (2005) and Witchazel (2009). He laces vintage gilden threads into the polyester of his albums. (Did I really just type that?) I usually describe his music as “woodland fantasy prog-rock”. Matt’s music is really really good. Those who haven’t heard it yet may be expecting humour, however, Matt’s natural ability to seep hilarity as a person and as an actor is separate from his musical endeavors. Although I do feel his whimsy is definately present in the musical arrangements. Matt plays organ, piano, synthesiser, guitar, bass, and some percussion. But of course, let’s not forget that voice. The Pheasant is my favourite song on Witchazel. A 9 minute epic that takes you on a very satisfying journey, much like a 5 course meal. I was lucky enough to see it performed live in London in a small venue in Hoxton. Definately a blast!
*Cough* Embarrassing “fan” photo here. I chatted with him after the show. I was drunk. We took a few cell phone shots. He looked like that in all of them. Epic.
Igor Spectre are from Los Angeles, call it perhaps vampy glam garage glitter surf punk. Check out their new LP Tramps In Stereo - here’s their MySpace. I’m currently typing this post from a extravagant tufted bed at the house of 2 of the ‘alternative’ actors in the above video.
In sheer defiance of the World Wide Web Consortium's will, Ectomo was designed using a non-web-standard font. Luckily, it is included in the excellent font pack released by the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society, which can be freely downloaded in Mac and PC formats here. Ectomo should still look fine without it, though.
