one of my fave pics of steve, holding my sister-in-law's dog, beardsley, during the month or so he stayed at our place in somerville while recording the pixies
a lot of people don't know this, but there was a period when billy joel refused to perform unless his "special friend" was added to the bill. this all changed when christie came on the scene.
after almost 14 years of cheerful mischief, we said good goodbye today to dennis hopper. of all the creatures i have known he was always the happiest to greet me no matter what, and a very devoted fan of my cooking, even when it sucked. he was loved dearly & will be sorely missed
times are fucking weird & i worry about my daughter who lives out in minneapolis. and then for some reason today i decided to listen to all the sy albums from "goo" onward (cuz really, i never played them as much as the earlier ones) and man THEY ARE FUCKING GOOD!
fuck. brotzmann died. talk about a a big, beautiful, one of a kind maniac. we will never see his like again. hard to believe that storm has passed once and for all. safe travels.
i am starting to think along the same lines. when i was first doing LPs, cost was around $1.50 - $2. as a scrounger i could wholesale for $4, give artists copies &cover my ass. as cost edges towards $10 it's becoming a playground for trust fund babies. and i find that repulsive
RIP DENNIS THOMPSON. the unstoppable pulse driving the MC5 has joined the rest of his crew. and another amazing band slips entirely away from the physical universe into the realm of pure myth
nice piece on verlaine & the way he was always skulking around the dollar bins outside the strand, smoking. for me, running into him there was the perfect vision of what new york should be.
damn...Michael Chapman has left the building. anyone who ever experienced the genius of his playing or company was enriched for the experience. rest in peace, brother. my condolences to andru and everyone whose life was touched by this genius. he was good to the last drop.
really nice, well deserved, yet somewhat surprising times obit for spot. such a weird, funny, wonderful guy. a modicum of mainstream fame at long last.
my fave verlaine lyrics:
"to get out of bed
is more than i can do
if someone has to work today
baby, let it be you"
words i have thought a thousand times
rec of the day: TODD HAYNES "the velvet underground" (apple+ film) absolutely great doc, put together better than you'd dare hope. the more you know about the band's music & story, the more this film will blow you away. def worth more than one view!
bummed to hear about the death of the great eddy detroit. stalwart fire walker alongside the sun city girls & his own endlessly brilliant & fucked=up projects. we shall not see his like again. and now his watch is over
R.I.P. Glenn Branca. Not always the easiest guy to get along with, but a real pleasure when he was in a good mood, and a true goddamn visionary. Pour a nice snifter of cognac in his honor.
massive drag to hear that teresa from the butthole surfers has left the planet. her version of that band was life altering for anyone lucky enough to have seen them.
after 50 years of prevaricating, i finally treated myself to a copy of AMM's "at the roundhouse" EP (incus 7") for my 65th birthday. and it sounds fucking great.
a massive loss for the planet -- the great john sinclair has left the planet in a cloud of cheeb smoke as big as a bus. was lucky enough to spend time inside the glow of his amazing spiritual presence. i will feel this loss intensely
RIP marian zazeela. been so bummed about john sinclair & andy clausen, i hadn't even heard she'd left the planet. we are losing my heroes -- "the worst generation" -- at a fevered pace. theirs are the shoulders on whom we all stand.
wrapping up another insane year at Feeding Tube Records. we got out 58 LPs & finally opened Gary Panter's wild Hippiebilly Headshop installation. thanks to all who participated. doors are open to public friday & saturday 12-6.
sad to hear about the end of dean stockwell's trip. i talked to him once out in the alley behind the mabuhay with neil young, when they were filming Devo. they were both funny as hell & i'm sorry i lost the tape. dean's visual art was very cool as well, touched by berman.
RIP paul auster, the writer who (for better or worse) invented the idea of modern brooklyn. a superb writer & translator, he picked up a torch previously wielded by selby + sorrentino. read the new york trilogy this year.
totally bummed to hear about the death of Spot, who was as responsible as anyone for the early sound of SST Records. he'd been ill for a long time and it's a huge loss for underground culture. play his music, look at his photos & mourn his passing.
finally, after a 30 month hiatus, the feeding tube store will have a soft re-opening tomorrow. should be up and fully running in a week or two. visit us friday 12-7, saturday 12-6, sunday 12-5. 221 pine street
#141
florence ma
Fahey heads, my
@NewYorker
story has been updated with some never-before-seen Fahey performance footage shot for MTV (!) in the summer of 1981, by the filmmaker Erik Nelson. It is awesome:
to mark the birthday of the great CHRIS D (flesh eaters/divine horsemen/slash/etc.) here's a pic of me & tom givan torturing the poor guy in santa monica 40+ years ago. best wishes to one of our generation's immortals
rec of the day: LES RALLIZES DENUDES "double heads" (no label 7LP) not even sure where to get this, but i just finished playing it and the subtitle - maximum psychedelic blues years - rings true. despite the liners i hear more '70 VU than '66 VU, but then i'm pretty deaf.
best thing about my birthday is that it again makes me a year older than mike watt. that baby. congrats to others nailed by xmas birth status -- benoit chaput, ted lee, et al. eat a cake. fuck trump.
rec of the day: LOVE CHILD "never meant to be: 1988-1993" (12XU 2LP) superb comp by this most excellent trio. from alan licht's guitar freakouts to rebecca odes' dream pop vocals to all else, this one really takes me back. like an alt-universe yo la tengo.
crazy new years eve here in western mass. binge watched the first season of "True Detective," ate some rotisserie chicken wit my dog (dennis hopper). now i'm gonna eat a pot gummi and watch "soul train" vids on youtube! i hope you're rockin' too!
rec of the day; THINKING FELLERS UNION LOCAL 282 "these things remain unassigned" (bulbous monocle 2LP) superb comp of loose tracks, singles & whatnot from this brilliantly weird SF band who also knew how to catch a hook. a zoned & sweet dip into nada-pop.
although few of you knew her, i must note the passing of my most-excellent mother-in-law maria dwight. in the early '80s in santa monica she hosted an insane punk rock salon most sunday evenings. and she will be missed by all those who knew & loved her.
bummed to learn of the death of transgressive visionary artist, s. clay wilson. a guy who blew my mind so thoroughly when i first discovered his work in zap comix
#3
in 1969, my brain has never been the same.
rec of the day SONIC YOUTH "in/out/in" (three lobed LP) glorious collection of unheard instrumental SY tracks from the oughts, apart from one of kim's wordless wonders. makes me miss them all the more keenly.
rec of the day: YO LA TENGO at tree house brewery. beautiful night with two full sets by this always superb trio. catch the tour if you can. you'll be happy you did.
mindblowingly great 90 minute MYRIAM GENDRON set last night in north adams. i'm sure she doesn't get as much time opening for godspeed, but do not miss her if you don't have to -- NYC 4/21, jersey city 22, philly 23, dc 24. what more can i say?
thanks to all for birthday greetness. home again, ready to restart battle. i think we did 72 LPs on FTR this year. and considering there's just two of us doing it, i am praying we do a few less this coming year. but there have been some KILLERS in 2018.
rec of the day: THURSTON MOORE "sonic life" (doubleday hc) just finished this very fine read, which really threw me back into the head rush of endlessly discovering new music. a generously natured & very well written tale of times worth remembering.
this has been my fave joke lately. sourced from robbie carey, who got it from legs McNeil, who maybe got it elsewhere. regardless, it's a good one.
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A GARBANZO BEAN & A CHICK PEA?
DONALD TRUMP HAS NEVER HAD A GARBANZO BEAN ON HIS FACE.
damn. sorry to see mike nesmith has left the planet. he made watch caps hep for sixth graders everywhere back in '66, but really deserves to be remembered for his string of superb songs and solo albums. rest in peace.
not really joking, just wondering whether it's possible to remain in a country that would not clearly repudiate a lying fuckface like trump and his whole craven, dipshit clan. if i'm going to feel like an outsider for my "golden years," might not it make sense to do so elsewhere?
bummd to hear about the death of tom smith, the wildman behind peach of (immortality) and various to live and shave units. he was a big lunk, impossible to handle & will never be replaced. the real meatloaf.
the nathan bowles trio's on tour, and they kill. i first met nathan through jack rose back at the 2008 terra stock in louisville, and his playing carries on jack's strange tradition more than anyone i can think of. a superb blend avant and hillbilly. don't miss it!
great interview with Michael Hurley by Klemen Breznikar on his It's Psychedelic Baby site. several factoids that i'd never heard before. which means it's news you can use!
RIP Michael Cuscuna, who's best known for his incredible reissues on blues note & mosaic, but who i remember best as one of the great dj's on new york's wabc-fm as it made its transition into free-form wplj. he turned me on to a lot of fine & freaked sounds.
very sad news: robyn jameson, bassist for the flesh eaters and divine horsemen died on july 22. he'd been in a coma after coming to the aid of a woman who was being beaten on the street. he was a great musician and one of the sweetest dudes i ever knew.
RIP JOHN THOMPSON AKA JOHNNY DROMETTE
will very much miss a super interesting & weird guy, whose store, label, and work with ubu, devo, pagans & many more did a whole hell of a lot to put ohio's sub-underground on the map.
rec of the day: WATER DAMAGE "in e" (12XU 2LP) totally great four-sided instrumental thug-drone-rocker from this austin unit. sounds like all ten of them are fully locked-into the unknown chord. very un-american!
rec of the day: William Parker "mayan space station" (aum fidelity LP) total bast of a trio album by our age's greatest bassist with Gerald cleave on drums & ava mendoza on explosive guitar improvs. unlike any other parker session & as boss as could be.
NOTE TO MY TWO FAITHFUL READERS:
due to reasons of editorial space, my "size matters" column will not appear in the october issue of the wire. should be back in november, yod willing & the creek don't rise.
rec of the day: YUZO IWATA "Daylight Moon" (Siltbreeze LP) wonderful, but sadly posthumous second solo LP by a Philly-based guitarist with deep japanese underground roots. blends sterling morrison's amp technique with all-original construction motifs.
just realized, with some pride, that lili & i must be among the few parents whose BOTH kids have opened for the mighty wolf eyes. hud with dapper at the yod space, addie with lightbulb at the old flywheel! tonight wolf eyes play greenfield. BE THERE!!!
working on getting the feeding tube store reopened, and would like to have more 'zines on offer. anyone have suggestions for good music/poetry/art/drugs titles to stock?
rec of the day: DON CHERRY "the summer house sessions" (blank forms LP) recorded between his blue note LPs and the "eternal rhythm" concert, this album documents a very swinging international unit from '68. so cool.
the great JOHJN SINCLAIR is in the detroit heart hospital, scheduled for open heart surgery tomorrow. send this motherfucker all the good vibes you can muster. KICK OUT THE JAMS!
i must say, we saw the final night of yo la tengo's hannukah bash at bowery ballroom. the guests were shadowy men..., todd barry, steve wynn and peter stampfel. and i'm kinda blanking on when i've had a better time lately. it was so fucking good, it was...good.
rec of the day: BILL NACE "both" (drag city LP)
finally got a copy of this, which is -- shockingly -- nace's first full solo LP. beautiful cover art by daniel higgs & crazed machine guitar rounds that make me think of dilloway's hardest mantras. way to go!
rec of the day: SANDY BULL "still valentines day 1969" (no quarter 2LP) vinylization of this cool set recorded by this troubled string maestro during the long gap between his third and fourth LPs. messy and great.
RIP TRINA ROBBINS, one of the great underground cartoonists, who began drawing "suzy slumgoddess" for the east village other after founding her boutique, broccoli.
rec of the day: GERYCZ/POWERS/ROLIN "lamplighter" (american dreams LP) superb trio improv session, with drums added to guitar and hammered dulcimer. the instrumental textures go from psych-folk form-feels to sheer free-grunt. oh yeah!
RIP "SPIDER" JOHN KOERNER, who made folk music rock like crazy. he was a monster guitarist & singer, as well as a hell of a nice guy. i guess now koerner, ray & glover are reunited. and oh yeah, fuck frat boys.
we got zoom bombed yesterday during our talk about stuart swezey's "desolation center" film. pretty funny for some chucklehead to think they could use sound & image to rattle people who paid GOOD MONEY to go see throbbing gristle & spk. ha.
rec of the day: THE STOOGES "live vat goose lake" (third man LP) dave alexander's last show. "funhouse" + "tv eye" in all the glory you could ever want. 2 months after "midsummer rock" and wailing.
just want to remind everyone that MYRIAM GENDRON"S tour starts up soon. i caught a one off show last week and it was as magical & intimate a performance as i have seen in a good while. amazing stuff!
rec of the day: RYAN DAVIS & THE ROADHOUSE BAND "dancing on the edge" (sophomore lounge 2LP) been out a bit, but ryan davis's great debut as a titular band leader is one of the finest beard rock slabs of the century. bring out the bourbon and settle in.
bummer of the day: RIP norma waterson. this track, performed by norma & martin carthy, from mike & lal waterson's "bright phoebus" LP is a highpoint of '70s brit folk