it's new to me

the new york dolls, cause i sez so

how'd they get rundgren to produce again??? suppose the new cars are on hiatus (ed note: come back soon boys!). things roll quick with a couple a rockers. it's mainly the same mix as the pretty gr-ood "one day ...". again, it's the dolls through the david jo solo filter (thunders* wrecklessness supplanted by syl's prowess). it ain't always a bad thing, it's a different thing. look, the dude is one of the most underrated singers ever. he's fuckin levi stubbs ... he's fuckin levi strauss! & a hell of a songwriter, which tends to get in the way of the new new york dolls. he's throwin lots of chops around (as is syl) and it gets a little muddled (too many mid-tempo exercises ... i get it, but it don't always fit). rundgren kinda stays out of the way (which was a bit disconcerting???). but it's thought out, occasionally pissed, and frequently fun as shit to listen to. the coupla of bitchin girl group tracks ("better than" & "lonely so long") that the orig coulda rumbled with are pretty great, and that speaks. as i mentioned previously, i dig hearin this band hittin their last quarter, and "muddy bones" is worth any price of admission.

*for elvis is alive freaks, "exorcism of despair" has some creepy thunders-esque b/ups

o captain

pretty cool beefheart bbc doc i'd never seen. for some reason, i can't add the vid.

mekons "memphis, egypt" one of my

all time faves. jon langford (a god among men) told me he'd send me a cd copy ... still waitin on that jon? i've got a blog to run here!

jay bennett RIP

sad. talented motherfucker. beyond all the reality shit that was that flick, he did orchestrate an amazing record (not to mention the others). dipshit even did a solid.

unfair character assasination of the day

i've just watched "the making of the monkees". i love the monkees, pre-fab and post-fab. but the nesmith vs. kirshner stuff is beyond ridiculousness. you (nesmith) were hired as an actor to PLAY a rock guy. to get all incredulous after your FAKE band sold millions (playing other people's "amazing" songs) and demanding you get to do your own thing is silly. you're a) already rich*, so b) quit the damn show.

AND, your solo post-monkees stuff was great. so fuck everybody.

*mom invented white out

love it!

from harry allen's blog

it's new to me

bob dylan, together through life

there's enuff 'gettin ornery & squirrely & dealin' to qualify as an older gent (albeit a legend) givin his read on gettin older. but E-NOUGH? i don't think so. it sounds way more like an older gent playin songs he wants to play with his buds ... which he is more than entitled to (sounds alot like his radio show--WHICH I LOVE). there are cool highlights, "beyond here lies nothin" is primo snear late-bob. and yo, for you late period-dylan naysayers!!!, there's material galore ("life's hard" sounds like a kinda drunk dad doin karaoke at his 50th wedding anniversary ... bob's worst vocal ever???). BUT. i keep goin back to a somewhat similar record that i like alot better ... and it's not the truly great "time out of mind", it's the uneven but kinda awesome ny dolls reunion record from a couple of years back. johansen's gripping take on a glam band hittin 60 (check "maimed happiness" to start). just sounds to these ears like more of a biograph.

all i all ... this ain't any better than a dozen other americana records released this year or next ... and in the scheme of all things bob, that doesn't mean shit.