Pelo

I’ve been enjoying this archive of Pelo magazines going back to the 70s. There are a lot of cool photos I’ve never seen anywhere, and a lot of the issues will have links to posters that came with the issues which are fabulous. Tempted to print a couple of them.

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This Shit Is Punk Rock

This looks pretty good. Renfield, didn’t you play there?

“Nightclubbing” is the first-ever documentary about the renowned New York City nightclub Max’s Kansas City (1965-1981) which had an indelible impact on the worlds of music, fashion, art, culture and the creation of the city’s punk rock scene.

Featuring rare footage of Iggy & The Stooges, New York Dolls, Sid Vicious and Wayne/Jayne County & classic footage from Johnny Thunders/Heartbreakers, unique archival footage and exclusive interviews with Alice Cooper, Jayne County, Billy Idol, Steve Stevens, music journalist/Patti Smith Band guitarist Lenny Kaye, late New York Dolls guitarist Sylvain Sylvain, Warhol superstars Penny Arcade & Ruby Lynn Reyner, Suicide’s Alan Vega, Bad Brains H.R. & Dr. Know,
Stimulators’ Denise Mercedes, Nick Marden (and their then-12-year-old drummer, future Cro-Mag Harley Flanagan), Twisted Sister’s Jay Jay French, D Generation’s Jesse Malin, Blondie’s Frank Infante, Dead Boys’ Jimmy Zero, Stiv Bators’ girlfriend Cynthia Ross, Mickey Leigh, Shrapnel/Monster Magnet’s Phil Caivano, Punk Magazine founder & Ramones album cover illustrator John Holmstrom, Mink Deville’s Louis X. Erlanger, American Hardcore author Steven Blush and a who’s who of New York’s rock scene of the time, including Elliott Murphy, Bob Gruen, Peter Crowley, Neon Leon, Leee Black Childers, Donna Destri, Sonny Vincent, Phillys Stein and the fabulous Jimi LaLumia.

They’re from WHERE?

While off down internet wormholes prompted by this blog, I ran across the horrible clickbait article “Best Band from Every State,” which is designed mostly to start fights. It caught my attention because the Boys of Beach, above, and as pictured in the article, might qualify for the California designation… but not without Brian Wilson, SMH.

Anyway, I learned a little band geography and will be curious to see everyone’s reaction. As the sometimes Pacific Northwest rep, I’ll say that they’re right about Idaho, glaringly wrong about Oregon, and a little off with Washington.

Weekend Viewing?

Available for streaming on Apple TV+ October 15.

The Velvet Underground created a new sound that changed the world of music, cementing its place as one of rock and roll’s most revered bands. Directed with the era’s avant-garde spirit by Todd Haynes, this kaleidoscopic oral history combines exclusive interviews with dazzling archival footage.

And this again, just because it kills me every time …

I Can Haz Moar Jazz

Do proto-punks like the Stranglers think they could possibly be as hip as “the world’s coolest insurance salesmen”?  Don’t they know it’s all mistakes? Who wins a fight between 5/4 and 6/8 time signatures?

Sandinista Turns 40

Self-indulgent mess?  Misunderstood masterpiece?  I usually have an opinion on matters musical, but it’s now been forty years and I’m still not sure what to make of this album.  Which may be the point.  Or not.

New Strokes

I’m hearing good things about the next album, due April 10. I lost interest in The Strokes after First Impressions of Earth (2006?!), but I’d be hard-pressed to find a better debut album than Is This It.

Here’s a video for one of the new singles, “Bad Decisions.” If it sounds a lot like “Dancing With Myself,” it’s no accident. The band allegedly gave Billy Idol and Tony James songwriting credits to avoid litigation.

As near as I can tell, the message in the video is that The Strokes will be evolving musically, so if you want rehashed older albums (clones), too bad. Oh, and the band members’ faces are deepfaked onto actors playing the clones. Timely!