Our Notepad #3

 Every No. 1 single -- as one single track

"What might be most fascinating about this agglomeration of audio tracks is the swift and remarkable evolution from the twee sounds of pre-Elvis American music to the present; there's rockabilly, the British invasion, Sinatra's svelte croon, Motown. Remember Bobby Darin? Me neither, but there he is. Then the '70s and Funky Town, punk rock, disco, stadium anthems. Listening through the whole 75 minutes could leave you nostalgic, amazed, perhaps shocked or, dare we say, gaga."

Read the article on Salon.com here. Listen to the mixes on Soundcloud here. Pop Music compilations on vinyl. Pop Music compilations on CD. 

by Reinhard Kleist

 Johnny Cash Tribute

John Prine introduces "Ballad of a Teenage Queen" by recollecting the first time he heard it: it was the summer of '57 or so and he was in his cousin's barn in Indiana. Fast-forward almost fifty years and you might hear a story like, "I didn't really know who Johnny Cash until he did that Nine Inch Nails song."

From pioneering that train-a-comin rhythm to his later work with Rick Rubin, Cash was equally adept in country, gospel, blues, folk, rockabilly, and rock and roll. He is truly a bridge between America's root music and today's younger generations (thanks, in part, to movies like "Walk the Line"). With covers of original Cash songs, folk tunes of which he recorded popular versions, a few tracks from his fellow country outlaws, and, of course, NIN's "Hurt," this playlist is a hodgepodge of great American music. The Man in Black is deservedly a true icon.

You can register & listen to the mix for free on Wolfgang's Vault here.

Johnny Cash on CD. 

Johnny Cash on Vinyl.

 Tears Of A Thug By Tuvshin in Platform's words:

"Our old pal, minor internet celebrity, only Mongolian in London and the laziest blogger ever, Tuvshin Bolor, is doing some DJing next week. He put together this appallingly badly mixed but ultimately very enjoyable mix of neo-soul called Tears Of A Thug to celebrate that. He’s written ‘dubstep mix’ on it to be funny, there’s none of that stoops nonsense on here."

Listen to the mix and check the (always intresting) Platform here. Sweet Soul music on CD. Sweet Soul music on Vinyl.

Rita Ray

 A Short History of Five Notes

"Sean Paul, Missy Elliot and Habib Koite all use a deceptively simple but hypnotic beat from the heart of Africa in some of their biggest hits. But what is it? Music journalist Rita Ray journeys to Ghana to find out."

Read the article & listen to the radio show on BBC World Service, here.

World music on CD. World music on Vinyl. 

Wajaba : The Musical Merlin

23 Album Covers That Changed Everything

"Long before MTV, performers expressed the visual dimension of their art through their album covers. Every music fan has his/her favorites, but several covers stand out for their brilliance, their impact and their ability to make as much of a statement as the music they represent. Every art form has its giants, and album cover art is no exception. The work of the designers featured here spans over 40 years of music.

THE SIXTIES: Before the 1960s, most albums featured portraits of musicians, instruments or musicians playing instruments. But the 1960's spirit of exploration and experimentation found its way into music and, consequently, onto album covers."

Read the article & view the covers on the Wajaba blog, here.

Nevermind

 James Greene Jr. finds The Weakest Cut in Nirvana's Nevermind

"When it comes to summarizing the enormity of Nirvana’s sophomore effort, nobody put it better than Guy Picciotto; the Fugazi singer famously noted of Nevermind’s September 1991 release that “our record [Steady Diet of Nothing, released three months earlier] could have been a hobo pissing in the forest for the amount of impact it had…It felt like we were playing ukuleles all of a sudden because of the disparity of the impact of what [Nirvana] did.” Picciotto’s quote, from Michael Azerrad’s 2001 book Our Band Could Be Your Life, surely speaks for a litany of underground rock acts who were at or just below Nirvana’s level pre-Nevermind. Granted, countless bands benefitted from Nirvana’s explosive success (Mudhoney, Hole, etc), but even more were left in the dust wondering what the hell happened. If a representative of a staunchly independent and decidedly non-fame-seeking outfit such as Fugazi considered himself rocked by theNevermind atom bomb, imagine how someone like Paul Westerberg must have felt."

Read the article on Crawdaddy!, here. Nirvana on CD.

 Eleana Garini messes with Kid Congo Powers

"Ο Brian Tristan είναι ζωντανή ιστορία της μουσικής (μας). Στα 15 του ήταν πρόεδρος του fan club των Ramones, στα 18 μάθαινε κιθάρα από τον Jeffry Lee Pierce, στα 20 ο νονός Lux Intrerior τον βάφτιζε "Kid Congo Powers" (έμπνευσή του κάτι κεριά voodoo από το Congo) και αυτός πλατσούριζε στην κολυμπήθρα των Cramps. Θα ξαναγύριζε στους Gun Club λίγα χρόνια αργότερα, θα πέρναγε τρία χρόνια και δύο άλμπουμ στους Bad Seeds, θα ζούσε τη μουσική σκηνή του L.A., της Νεα Υόρκης, του Λονδίνου ,του Βερολίνου κ.α., θα συνεργαζόταν με Sally Norvell, Jack Martin, Julee Cruise, Khan, Die Haut, Barry Adamson, Mark Eitzel, Michael Gira και ο κατάλογος συνεχίζεται.

Εδώ και χρόνια κατέβηκε από τα οχήματα των άλλων και έβαλε το κλειδί στο δικό του, τους Pink Monkey Birds. Ζει στην Ουάσινγκτον, οι μέρες της Νέας Υόρκης είναι παρελθόν όπως και τα drugs και οι κακές παρέες... ε όχι και όλες οι κακές παρέες... Στους Burn Baby Burn ο πενηντ-άχρονος Kid συναντιέται με μια παρέα που χρονολογείται από τις μέρες του Βερολίνου, τους Alexander Hacke, Danielle De Picciotto και Chris Hughes αλλά και κάποιους άλλους γνώριμους από τις αρχές των ΄00 και τη Νέα Υόρκη, την Julee Cruise και τον Khan (βλέπε Kid & Khan). Η περιοδεία ξεκινάει από τη Θεσσαλονίκη και Αθήνα (4 και 5 Μαρτίου αντίστοιχα) για να καταλήξει στο Βερολίνο. Βρήκαμε την ευκαιρία να του απευθύνουμε μια εντεκάδα ερωτήσεων και εισπράξαμε ισάριθμες απαντήσεις."

Διαβάστε τη συνέντευξη στο www.Mic.gr, εδώ.

Novelist Teri Osborn remembers when she first met Janis Joplin

Listen to her at www.Audioboo.fm, here. 

Janis Joplin on Vinyl. 

Janis Joplin on CD.

 Austin L. Ray picks Fourteen Truly Epic Track One Side Ones

"Any jerk with a guitar can write an epic song, from the Velvet Underground to Bright Eyes, Sigur Rós to Kanye West. In fact, some of those folks aren’t even jerks! But there’s something special about the Epic Track One Side One. It’s the song that kicks off an album with such tenacity that there’s no hope for recovery afterward. The song that no other song on the album wants to follow, but has to anyway. The song that is very often very long, but regardless of length, is a monster of sound. Below are 14 of the very best of this song’s ilk. Why 14? We’re not sure. But we are sure you shouldn’t try to listen to all of these in one sitting."

Read the article & listen to the tracks at www.paste.com, here.

This Week's Auctions

This Week's Auctions - Ending March 5 2011 Spanoudakis Kyrie Ton Dynameon LP Greek Vitali Koutras GBP 19.99 End Date: Mar-05-11 04:56:32 PST Rita Sakellariou Giorgos Manisalis LP Greek Laika 1972 GBP 19.99 End Date: Mar-05-11 04:56:30 PST Pitsiladis Kokotas Galani To Naftiko Mas LP Greek 1970 GBP 19.99 End Date: Mar-05-11 04:56:27 PST Jenny Vanou Plessas Agapisa Amartisa LP Greek Laika GBP 19.99 End Date: Mar-05-11 04:56:25 PST Jean Michel Jarre Oxygene LP Greek PROMO white label GBP 19.99 End Date: Mar-05-11 04:56:22 PST Hadjis Elpida Dakis 3x LP Greek Folk Flamenco 1977 RARE GBP 29.99 End Date: Mar-05-11 04:56:20 PST Dr. Strangely Strange Heavy Petting LP Vertigo Swirl Gary Moore & Brush Shiels Skid Row Gimmick Original DE  GBP 19.99 End Date: Mar-05-11 04:56:17 PST Doros Georgiadis An Imoun Plousios LP Greek Pop 1972 GBP 19.99 End Date: Mar-05-11 04:56:11 PST Dimos Moutsis Martyries LP Greek Composers Mitsias GBP 19.99 End Date: Mar-05-11 04:56:08 PST

Our Notepad #2

Κάποιοι νοστάλγησαν τις κασσετούλες τους.

Την περασμενη εβδομάδα ο Τάσος Παπαλιάς έκανε ένα αφιέρωμα στο Fridge για την "αθάνατη κουλτούρα της κασέτας":"Η κασέτα, γέννημα θρέμμα της γερμανικής εταιρία Phillips, ήταν το μέσο με το οποίο μπορούσε ο καθένας να ακούσει μουσική περπατώντας στο δρόμο, όταν ήταν στο λεωφορείο ή σε κάποιο απομακρυσμένο λιβάδι. Δημιουργήθηκε για αντικαταστήσει το απαρχαιωμένο βινύλιο, για μερικούς πολύ σημαντικούς λόγους: με το βινύλιο δε  μπορούσες να ακούσεις μουσική όταν έκανες τζόκινγκ, μέσα στο λεωφορείο ή στο αμάξι κατά τη διάρκεια μιας ρομαντικής βόλτας με την αγαπημένη σου. Το αποτέλεσμα θα ήταν πειραματική μουσική για σκληροπυρηνικούς." γράφει μεταξύ άλλων.Τον ενημερώνουμε ότι η Philips είναι ολλανδική εταιρία και διαβάζουμε το ωραίο του άρθρο στο Fridge.

Την Κυριακή που μας έρχεται στις 20.00 και στα πλαίσια των εκπομπών τους στο www.rockmachine.gr οι Γιώργος Καραμηνάς & Χάρης Πάνος κατεβάζουν τις παλιές τους κασσέτες απο το πατάρι, θυμούνται τι είχαν γράψει σε αυτές και παρουσιάζουν ενα δύωρο αφιέρωμα στο grunge αλλά και στον ήχο του manchester.Περισσότερες πληροφορίες εδώ.

Είναι ώρα λοιπόν να ξαναξεφυλλίσω το ωραιότατο βιβλίο που έχει "γράψει" ο Thurston Moore σχετικά με το ρόλο που έπαιξαν οι κασσέτες στις δεκαετιές που πέρασαν :"The first time I ever heard of someone making a mix tape was in 1978. Robert Christgau, the "dean of rock critics," was writing in The Village Voice about his favorite Clash record, which just happened to be the one he made himself: a tape of all the band's non-LP B-sides. One aspect really struck me - Christgau said it was a tape he made to give to friends. He had made his own personalized Clash record and was handing it out as a memento of his rock-and-roll devotion." Ολόκληρη η εισαγωγή του βιβλίου στο Wired.

Acoustic Sessions

Two new acoustic sessions from Daytrotter:

Pete Yorn's can be found here.

Pete Yorn on CD.

 Swingin' Utters' can be found here.

Swingin Utters on CD.

Latin Rock, Mashups & the usual Coverville excellence

From The Vault: Latin Rock From The '60s And '70s by JASMINE GARSD

The doors to this hell will close, and perhaps I will want to leave.

That's a line from the 1973 song "Confesiones de invierno" ("Winter confessions") by Argentine band Sui Generis. At first listen, it's a song about heartbreak — specifically a guy who gets dumped by his girlfriend for not having a job. But buried in that mundane story a storm is brewing. A few lines later, the singer laments having drowned his sorrows in alcohol, and gotten a beating by the police.

That's because the '60s and '70s were a time of political turmoil in Latin America. By the 1970s most Latin American nations were ruled by brutal dictatorships. The ominous line from Sui Generis' "Confesiones" had become a reality. Much of Latin America turned into a true hell for those unable to leave.

Read the article & listen to the show here.

 Nine Offbeat, Unlikely, Or Simply Awesome Song Mashups, By Bo Moore

Since the dawn of the DJ, mashups have become an increasing part of music culture. Artists like Gregg “Girl Talk” Gillis have popularized the party mix mashup, throwing together song upon songs to create full albums worth of mashed up material. And full mashup albums like Danger Mouse’s The Grey Album, a mix between The Beatles’The White Album and Jay-Z’s The Black Album, have proven surprisingly cohesive.

Often, the best mashups are the most surprising. Two songs with nothing in common come together to form a new something great. We picked several of our favorite offbeat, unlikely, or just plain awesome mashups.

Read the article & view the videos here.

Coverville 749: The Smokey Robinson & The Miracles Cover Story

This Cover Story focuses on a major contributor to the Motown sound – not just as a performer, but as a songwriter, too. Covers of Smokey Robinson & The Miracles – as well as the original.

Listen to the podcast here.

Smokey Robinson on Vinyl .

Smokey Robinson on CD

Our Notepad #1

James Greene Jr's crate diggin' for Crawdaddy is fruitful :URGH! A Music War

Urgh! That’s the noise a sweat-streaked baby boomer makes as he desperately thrusts on the dance floor with his daughter’s friends, praying respect comes before the heart attack. Urgh! is the sound a chubby teamster sarcastically emits while moving an empty box five minutes before the end of his shift. Urgh? Why, that’s what you hear when small, ignorant children attempt to impersonate the Frankenstein monster, not realizing in Mary Shelly’s original book the monster was perfectly fluent in English (why are America’s schools failing our children?).

Of course, Urgh! is also the title of an epic 1982 concert film directed by Derek Burbidge that rounds up a music nerd’s wet dream of cutting edge new wave acts. The Police, the Go-Go’s, Wall of Voodoo, OMD, Echo and the Bunnymen, Magazine, XTC, Jools Holland, Gang of Four, Klaus Nomi—and that’s just scraping the surface. Each of the 40-some odd groups perform a song apiece in Urgh!, except for the Police, who perform three because, even by this time, they were The Police. They already had “Roxanne”, “Message in a Bottle”, “Walking on the Moon”, and that “De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da” mess to their name. Also, Miles Copeland, owner of IRS Records and brother of Police drummer Stewart Copeland, originally produced Urgh! I don’t want to cry nepotism, but… Well, let’s just say the tables may have been turned had Klaus Nomi’s brother produced this film.

Read the whole article at Crawdaddy! Get the shiny vinyl at UsedRecords.gr

Josh Rotter interviews The Church for Crawdaddy!

Starfish mainstreamed the Church back in the late ‘80s, but according to the band’s singer Steve Kilbey, the making of the album, which eventually soared to the top of the charts on the strength of the hit single “Under The Milky Way”, wasn’t as stellar. In fact, the LA recording sessions, set up by major label Arista Records and dominated by big-name producers back in 1987, were quite tense.

“It was a bit of a shock,” Kilbey said during our phone interview earlier this month. “All of our other albums were made in Sydney, where we’d sort of wake up and catch the bus into the studio. We’d work in town, so our friends dropped in. The recording process felt friendly.

“In LA, the studios were miles away from where we were staying,” he continued. “Some of the producers were kind of hostile and some just disinterested. We were kind of hippie characters flown into all this, and we didn’t like it.”

Read the whole interview on Crawdaddy!  The Church on CD  The Church on vinyl

Συχνοτικής Συμπεριφοράς αφιέρωμα στον David Sylvian

Ο Στυλιανός Τζιρίτας (που έτσι όπως το πάει θα μου αλλάξει γνώμη για τον David Sylvian) βρίσκει την ευκαιρία και απόντος του Χάρη Συμβουλίδη αφιέρωνει μια ώρα στον David Sylvian.

Ακούστε την εκπομπή Στο Κόκκινο 105.5    David Sylvian on CD    David Sylvian on Vinyl

Hairy gatefold

From time to time we get some interesting artwork.Let's just say that Bijelo Dugme's Sta Bi Dao Da Si Na Mom Mjestu (which also includes a young Goran Bregovic) needed special mention.

The Guy With The Arab Strap

A random guy was here earlier & sold us the whole of his Arab Strap  / Belle & Sebastian / Looper related CD collection.All discs are in fine condition, all artwork intact, except for Arab Strap's Love Detective ep.Artwork was missing.He had good taste.

No Pussyfooting - John Peel's Way.

While i was listening to my favourite radio program last night ,i became aware of the "No Pussyfooting - John Peel story".A little bit of google and there are more than one sides to every story (as usual):

The Cover

 1.The Eno/Fripp - Peel "conspiracy" (from BigO):
"The money on the table is that this "session" never existed and that John Peel was in on the joke. Apparently, someone thought it would be a lark to just reverse the flow of the No Pussyfooting album and have Peel introduce them as the "tracks" from the said album. Some Eno fans swear that this session was just the LP played backwards. If that's true it's still worth listening as Eno and Fripp were trying to get the three-minute pop music fan to think deeper into sound and the ambience it created. It takes an open mind to allow for such experiments on national radio. You just won't hear anything like this today. There's still NOTHING ON THE RADIO. "

"Hm,was it clockwise or the other way..."

2.The John Peel tests the audience aspect (by Julian Cope):
"(Peel) realised that no-one at the station actually listened to the show...This first became apparent to him when no-one complained about the various cock-ups he made. Later in his career John would become notorious for these spontaneous errors; there was one infamous occasion in 1973 when he played tracks from Robert Fripp and Brian Eno’s No Pussyfooting backwards, though only Eno called to point out this mistake."

"Happy now?"

3.The Reel-To-Reel factor (by John Kelman):
"But "The Heavenly Music Corporation" did get one official play on UK radio, courtesy of legendary radio personality John Peel. What transpired, however, was a complete broadcast of the piece—but in reverse, the result of a misunderstanding as to how the reel of tape (the BBC's source, rather than the vinyl album) was stored."


4. The accident (from the Guardian)
"...it was always highly entertaining to hear John Peel regularly get his 33 and his 45 RPM mixed up. On one memorable occasion, Peel distinguished himself by playing an entire side of Fripp and Eno's No Pussyfooting backwards. Brian Eno was the only listener to notice anything was amiss."