the stranglers are one of my prime music fetishes, and there are 3 records that you must have in your immediate vicinity to guarantee fleeting happiness 
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by cactus dan 1. there's a beserk and genius new mc5 documentary. I went to the ass-blasting bonkers opening of this movie at the castro theatre last week, and it was like a fooking 1969 mc5 concert dropped into present time-space. the film was funny and rocking and sad. like our lives. see it in the theatres, or rent it, in order to appropriately kick out the jams, motherfucker.
2. hans grusel's krankenkabinet live in concert. krankenkabinet is a local dada electronics and german fairytale re-enactment troupe. they will make you giggle and guffaw. excellent craft sense displayed in the caroliner-esque costumes and sets, and the music induces twitches and itching. superb. some other excellent local yokels I have personally witnessed as of late that I say fook yes for: burmese, crack w.a.r., zeek sheck, curse of the birthmark, total shutdown, and lo-fi neisans. nathalie was also at most of these brain-eroding shows, and will certainly affirm the genius that I have described. also, props to michigan's wolf eyes for doing 3 skull-splitting and wondrous shows recently. the sum total of all this live music: partial happiness.
3. the larry sanders show in re-runs. I do not have cable, so I never saw this hbo show until recently, when it went into syndication, and now I love it almost as much as the simpsons. excellent deadpan satire, in the vein of spinal tap. I wish this were on every night at 7p, instead of seinfeld, third rock, friends, et al. if there were a channel that showed nothing but simpsons and larry sanders, I'd have a big problem.
4. the stranglers' holy trinity. the stranglers are one of my prime music fetishes, and there are 3 records that you must have in your immediate vicinity to guarantee fleeting happiness: the raven, black and white, and the gospel according to the meninblack. now I love all the stranglers records up to la folie, but these 3 albums (roughly 1979-1981) display the group at the height of their powers, deftly mixing brit pub punk with psychedelia. their obsessions--ufo's, viking culture, heroin, mishima, genetics, etc.--are explored in bizarre detail, and the records are nearly perfect in execution. run to the atm right now, get some bread, and go get these 3 records. then you can relax.
5. the li-po lounge. this crazy and utterly charming chinatown coctail temple has suddenly become the hepcat palace to have indie noise shows at, and many of the best spockmorgue bands (see #2, above) are setting up shop in the spooky, black basement. it's on grant, at washington, so to get there you gotta hoof it through chinatown, which is life-affirming, or depressing, depending on your perspective. hail satan!
6. iron chef. I know, I know, it's another tv show. fuck you. like you're above watching tv? this show is the shite! competitive cooking clashes from japan, and it all takes place in a kitchen stadium, run by some guy straight out of the prisoner or something. fooking hilarious and fascinating. I hate cooking, and I would never eat the stuff they're whipping up (eel spine pudding, mice wine, bird's nest soup, and so on), but I am addicted to the iron chef(s). if you have not yet seen this show, do not kill yourself yet!
7. lightning bolt. man, their new record just flattened my ass (not literally, unfortunately). bass and drums freak-out and implosion, with the psychotic and blistering ferocity of ruins, and the transcendent searching of coltrane. see them live before you pull the trigger, bub.
8. caroliner tour dispatches. the beloved caroliner is out on tour, bringing their black light-lit view of the 1800s to the rest of the homeland, and emailed tour diary dispatches have found their way back to sf, and we have read them carefully, scratching our heads and snickering at the curious and typically horrific and humorous anecdotes. I can only hope that someone is gathering them together for a little tome.
9. django. django reinhardt records from the 1930s and 1940s always make me feel better when I am sad. he was a genius gypsy jazz guitarist from belgium with a deformed left hand (a result of a fire in his caravan). his music is filled with an almost extraterrestrial joy and lightness that I am at a loss to describe with any fairness. you simply must hear him to grasp his genius. don't hop off that ledge until you have fully digested django, my friend. woody allen's film sweet and lowdown alludes to the power of django's music, but the records must be had.
10. elvis costello hosting letterman. I lost track of old declan after imperial bedroom, but man did he ever kick arse as a recent sub host for dave (shingles). elvis was funny and smart and is a natural at the late night tv gig. I would not be at all surprised if he were offered just such a slot--he's a hell of a lot better than that ex-espn fratboy craig kilborn. elvis was also funny on larry sanders (see #3, above).
11. kraftwerk bootlegs. hearing lo-fi LP recordings of kraftwerk playing autobahn in louisville, kentucky in 1975 is something that could easily reduce the suicide rate in the US by 15-20%.
13. revenge. betrayal and revenge are the yin and yang of life. don't be hasty in tossing off this mortal coil--take revenge and frolic first, at least.
14. cats. |
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