Sure,you know what's cool. But do you know what's really fuckin' FAR OUT? That's where Advanced Demonology comes in. Every week, (K)en and (S)wilson trudge through the murky waters of the pop culture hellscape, dredging up sparkly morsels of wonder. These are the result of our latest foray into the world of the weird, our wildest, wiggest-out picks of the week. Call it our 13 Point Program.
13. Rolla Olak
Canadian singer-songwriter who crafts some seriously affecting americana/country-soul/soft rock on his new album, Western Heart. Kinda like Tom Petty jamming with Neil Young at a party thrown by the Eagles in the desert in 1976. Plus he's got a cool name. (K)
12. SOUL!
The first in a series of one hour programs aired Thursday September 12th 1968 at 9pm on PBS. Soul! was a show aimed at the NYC metropolitan area's black community. The ultra-sharp but low-key Ellis Haizlip hosted a range of African American guests ranging from Betty Shabazz (Malcolm's widow) and James Baldwin to Ron O'Neal and James Earl Jones. Coupled with awesome musical guests from every facet of the 70's pantheon of great black music. Sometimes they even had guest hosts like Curtis Mayfield and Jerry Butler! (S)
11. April & Nino
April Stevens is probably best known for her crazy-sexy 1959 non-hit Teach Me Tiger, which was banned from radio play for its suggestiveness. That va-va voom tune almost axed her career, but luckily she found success with her brother Nino a couple years later, when they recorded Deep Purple, a million-selling smash hit. While they never topped the charts again, they did have a solid run through the 60's and early 70's. This Bandstand clip features their signature song, Hey Baby. You already know it, even if you think you don't. It's from 1965. The part at the beginning when Nino yanks April's arm bugs me, but what are you gonna do? Sibling rivalry. Anyway, great tune, great lipsynch perf. April and Nino are both alive and well, by the way, and they've got the old timey windows 98 website to prove it! (K)
10. Bathory - The Return…(1985)
After taking Fenriz's class on the history of black metal last week, I thought I'd check out some bands he mentioned that I hadn't heard yet. He spent allot of time on the Swedish band Bathory. After listening to their second record, The Return…, I know why. It's fucking scary, man! I mean it actually scares me! Now I know the point of all extreme Metal is to scare the shit out of people, which throws me off, because In my mind, making any kind of music is about getting laid, no matter what it claims to be otherwise. I guess I assumed in my head, despite all the rhetoric to the contrary, Black Metal dudes where just trying to court creepy Nordic doomer chicks. But after hearing this I am now a true believer in true Black Metal! (S)
9. The Existential Dread of Wearecatfish t-shirts
Wearecatfish is just some dude/chick who creates t-shirt slogans and then hawks the tees via Zazzle, the cheapest, cheesiest t-shirt vendor going. I read through their entire selection yesterday and found myself laughing and wincing in equal measure. Imagine, strolling down the avenue on a bright summer day, wearing a pale blue t-shirt festooned with a message like, “I ate something weird but I don't remember what it was I think a piece of metal” or “Everything tastes better when you're crying” or “You can fill your stomach with french fries but you're still empty as a person” or “What year is this” or “What do straight people even do”, or (my favorite) “I need to go and lay down on the nearest floor.” I'm pretty sure they're all just Youtube comments, but still, perfect for when you just wanna confound/bum out everybody in the neighborhood. There's 14 pages of these beauties, randomly priced (naturally), on their site. (K)
8. Midsummer Rock
Here it is folks! The entire broadcast! The rock festival made famous by the fact that there's a sports announcer commenting on the all the rock action. Grand Funk Railroad, Alice Cooper, Mountain and The Stooges, Iggy with the peanut butter. (S)
7. Hansadutta Swami
So you know how most loner folk dudes are just terminally depressed shut-ins from California? Well, this guy sounds like that, but he's definitely cut from a different cloth. Hansadutta Swami was (is?) a German con-man (he used to claim he was Hitler's cook!) who converted to Krishna in the late 60's but still swilled vodka everyday and eventually went to India and assassinated a high-ranking Swami. And then, when he discovered a reporter was hot on his trail, he assassinated him, too. This is all while recording a couple albums' worth of wobbly outsider psych folk. It's also possible that none of this happened, except for the last part. Either way, holy fuck. (K)
6. New York Dolls - One Day It Will Please Us To Remember Even This (2006)
If you already checked this record out back when it came out and have an opinion on it already, move on to the next entry, But if, like me, you're a Dolls fan and were a afraid to listen this, I'm here to tell that it's a cool record. I always thought the Dolls were like the Beatles, a sum of each part, and without one of the crucial members it isn't actually the Dolls, but that's not really the point, is it? I mean the other guys are dead for god's sake. So on to the music. The songs are really good, David Jo's voice has worn well, he sounds old, but in an old blues kind of way, he sounds the way he was trying to sound like back in the 70's, if that makes any sense. Sylvain Sylvain is in there plugging away on guitars, so it's all good times. (S)
5. If It Aint' Stiff
Awesome BBC doc on the pioneering indie label Stiff Records, home of Elvis Costello, Ian Dury, Nick Lowe, Wreckless Eric, etc etc. I spent the summer of '78 walking around town wearing an “If aint' Stiff it ain't worth a fuck” pinned on my t-shirt everyday. I was 9. I did not get the joke, but I did dig the records. (K)
4. ABC Movie Of The Week
It's now becoming increasingly more possible to time travel, like the character in the book, Somewhere In Time, by just surrounding yourself completely with artifacts from whatever particular time period you want to go to. I've been traveling the last few days to 1972, and the fact that youtube has all the ABC movies of the week on there has made it simple and fun! Check out this weird one with Donna Mills. There is a million more "great" flicks, and I'll be posting some future gems from the past here as I catch 'em. (S)
3. Vincebus Eruptum magazine
In an effort to reduce the clutter in my life, I've been trying to drastically cut down on the amount of magazines I read/collect. There are many plastic bins in my basement filled to the brim with mags covering my 60's/70's chicks/movies/rock obsessions, and I'm trying to keep them down there until me and Swilson and our ladies retire someplace sunny in 25 years and then I'll read 'em all while listening to Jeremy Steig bootlegs until I die. That being said, who can resist Vincebus Eruptum, a full color Italian stoner/psych/space rock mag (in English), that comes with a bonus CD of obscure Italian psychedelia? Nobody, motherfucker, so plunk your 11 bucks down and be done with it. (K)
2. The California Shake
If you haven't checked out the California show on Advanced Demonology yet, do it! It's fantastic and I can't stop rocking this song that Ken brought to the table. I mean this is pure Proto-Nothing Metal (Heavy metal themed with lyrics and intention with out the heavy metal guitars and blast beats etc.) You better get up, and run for a doorway! (S)
1. Spanish New Wave
This week on the excellent Booze Tunes Blog, they've been posting volumes of a carefully curated comp series called Spanish New Wave The Golden Age 1978-1984. I think just knowing this exists is explanation enough for why it's here. Get to it, lots of amazing tunes most of us have never heard! (K)
