Los Bastardos Reunidos – Page 88 – Tales of True Adventure for Rugged Men Not Unlike Yourself

July 16, 2020July 16, 2020 // 2 Comments

Live Totem Pole EP

So I was listening to the latest episode of the My Favorite Album podcast yesterday. David Cross was the guest, and instead of choosing his actual favorite album (Quadrophenia), he chose something obscure that he listened to a lot, lamenting that it had been out of print for years and wasn’t even available to stream.

Nothing piques my lizard brain’s interest like scarcity, so when podcast host Jeremy Dylan mentioned that someone had been nice enough to upload it to YouTube, I dove into that dumpster with glee. And found it.

Live Totem Pole is an odd EP. It’s live, for one thing. But the really odd part is that five of the seven songs are covers, including those by Blue Öyster Cult, Public Enemy, Butthole Surfers, Superchunk, and Wire. BUT HOLY SHIT, IT WORKS. And the way it was recorded makes you feel like you’re in the room.

I downloaded the audio from the YouTube videos and packed it up like an album. Right click the cover up top if you’re so inclined …

I listened to fIREHOSE in college, especially fROMOHIO and Flyin’ the Flannel. Anybody unfamiliar with these guys should check out their fascinating origin story on Wiki-wiki-wikipedia.

July 15, 2020July 15, 2020 // 1 Comment

Yeah, No Thanks

It’s like bull riding: it would be phenomenal to last eight seconds at either of these.

I’m old.

July 15, 2020 // 3 Comments

Wanna Feel Old?

Success Kid is a teen now. You’re welcome.

July 14, 2020 // 2 Comments

This Game Is Crazy Good

The Last of Us Part 2. Just finished it a couple of days ago, and man, it was worth the wait.

The song at the end is Pearl Jam’s “Future Days.” I’m guessing Eddie Vedder is a Bloater by this point in the game’s timeline …

July 11, 2020July 11, 2020 // 2 Comments

New Passenger Video

So after 40+ years, here’s an official video for “The Passenger.” Not sure why this is happening now. Was someone clamoring for an official release? Do some people keep tabs on which great songs lack official videos? Who knows, but it’s a great song and the video’s good.

July 10, 2020 // 3 Comments

Itch, Meet Scratch

More Aussie goodness.

July 10, 2020July 10, 2020 // 4 Comments

And now for some REAL dancin’

I’m not much of a Joy Division fan, as I can only take so much post-industrial Midlands desolation. But this one’s pretty good, and Ian Curtis’s stage gestures are interesting to say the least, especially when he really cuts loose at around 3:00.

You bastards might know way more about these guys, so my apologies if what follows is common knowledge. It’s pretty widely known that Ian Curtis hanged himself of the eve of what would have been their first tour of the U.S. Beyond that, I’ve picked up a few interesting facts over the years:

-They formed after seeing the Sex Pistols perform in Manchester. That same gig also inspired the formation of The Buzzcocks and The Smiths.

-Their bass player developed his style of playing in the upper register because when they started out, his amp was so shitty that it wouldn’t reproduce lower notes without sputtering.

-Ian Curtis had epilepsy and based his stage moves on his seizures, to the point that his bandmates could not tell when he was having a real one. This predictably led to some disatrous gigs.

July 10, 2020 // 2 Comments