From the vinyl
Why? No real reason, I guess.
I love this Jacksons song, and the reason I picked up this disc for a quarter or whatever was to have an additional copy to juggle with the actual song. I hope Jane’s counting off is as jarring to you as it was for me.
Get fit folks!
I love any song that reminds me of the circus. This is from one of Gil Scott-Heron‘s strong, funky post “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised“-fame late 70s LPs with Brian Jackson.
This music is so polished and tight; the keys and beat in it sound like they came right out of a computer to me. Madison Avenue is my other jam from this album. I prefer his groovier, more singy music, which I feel often out-politics his spoken word work because the verses are so well-crafted and succinct. I’ll probably end up sharing a lot more in this vein.
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson, “Show Business” from the Secrets LP on Arista Records (1978)
The Bottle:
Hold On:
I bought this record on a trip to Amsterdam with my friend Jay, whom I was visiting while he lived in Germany in the late 90s. We were there for about a week, and managed a couple of great days for record shopping. I picked this up at a store called Record Palace which still seems to be going strong. I also picked up the soundtrack to one of my favorite movies, Over the Edge, which is one of only 2 LP covers I’ve ever put in a picture frame. This one is probably suitable for framing too.
Anyway, this mp3 is one whole side of the LP, about 30 minutes of the ensemble Hoketus playing Cornelis De Bondt‘s 1980 composition Bint. Click on it and find something to get lost in for about a half hour. It’s a rich bit of minimalist composition with a resolution that is worth the wait. From the sleeve:
Bint is a process: the proccess of making audible a structure based on a framework of two different pulsations. — Cornelis de Bondt
Indeed. Flip side is Diderik Wagenaar’s Tam Tam.
Hoektus, “Bint (Cornelius De Bondt 1979-1980)” from the Composers’ Voice 8101 LP (1981)
Is this actually the official sound of 1988? I think it might be. This is a great little instrumental moment from a kinda throw-away 12″ I have from Roll Records.
I know almost nothing about the artist, Time Traveler (or do we attribute this to ISH, the producer?), except that his/her name is incredibly accurate. All of the sudden, there I am, in the late 80s, swimming in synthetic cowbells and handclaps. Short and sweet.
The stamp on the sleeve says “Property of Gerald the Whirl.”
Time Traveler, “Compulsion X-TRA Beats” from the Compulsion 12″ on Roll Records (1988)
This sludgey rocker is my favorite Suzi Quatro song. Like much of her work, it’s kind of dirty-clean.
The best part of her career, let’s call it the pre-Leather-with-a-capital-L phase, consists of this rocky, glammy, screamy type stuff; I can’t believe she’s not much more popular. Her later stuff gets a little lite-rock, but my second favorite Quatro jam, “Stumblin’ In,” which she recorded with Smokie (see below), is about as lite as it gets. Picture me and Kelly in a karakoe duet: this is the jam.
Suzi Quatro, “Strip Me” from the Your Mama Wouldn’t Like Me LP on Arista (1976)
SO BAD ASS.
Her breakthrough 1973 song, “Can the can”:
& 1979′s “Stumblin’ In”:
I recently ripped my LP of Henry Badowski’s Life is a Grand for our friends over at dualtrack, so it’s been turning up on my iPod all the time lately. While I like all of the dense and poppy tracks, I find myself repeating this one over and over again. The lyrics fit together really well, I think.
Henry Badowski, “Henry’s In Love” from the Life is a Grand LP (1981)
If you like this track, go get the whole album zip– James from dualtrack was kind enough to post it on rapid share.
& please, if anyone has any requests of things you’d like me to post, let me know. I know I’m likely to continue in my own directions until someone requests I try a new one.
This one’s a bit of a dissonant squealer with a great mid-tempo beat and a sweet wah-wah breakdown. The Nite Liters put outa bunch of records in the early 70s, but eventually spun off into New Birth Inc., and had up to 17 members.
The Nite-Liters, “Afro-Strut” from the RCA/Victor 45 (197?)
You can find a best-of compilation at Amazon and some vinyl at Dusty Groove.
They also rocked K-JEE:
Interestingly, Steve Keith, who seems to have played in another band called the Nite Liters, chimed in on a post over on Flea Market Funk. It’s cool to see the original artists getting into the fray on the mp3 blogs… it even happens here sometimes!
I’m in Charlotte, North Carolina for the next few days, running my first marathon 
(wish me luck!), so I won’t be posting frequently again until the end of next week. So, please enjoy this hastily assembled, under contextualized early-80s Athens, Georgia megapost… more to come next week when I’m back in NYC.
Two tracks from the all-hits Squares Blot Out The Sun compilation of odds and ends on DB records, the label that really drove the Athens scene.
Jack Heard, “Burnin’ Love (1982)” from the Squares Blot Out The Sun LP on DB Records (released 1989)
I played this Side Effects track out at a bar in Brooklyn in 2001, and someone came up to me afterwards dying to chat. We spoke for a while about the band and the great music that came from that scene, which he’d come up in. When he was heading out of the bar much later, he stopped by again, introduced his wife, shook my hand. It felt a little strange, and when I looked down at my hand as he turned away, I realized he’d pushed into my palm the damp remains of the joint he and his wife has covertly smoked in the bar. Gross! That was the day I started lobbying for an enclosed DJ booth.
Once again, I realized the Side Effects are also on Myspace, after years of radio silence. Grab versions of their tracks (which sound a little better than this file there).
The Side Effects, “Pyramids” from the Side Effects EP on DB Records (1981)
Love Tractor was one of the most prolific bands from this scene, with lots of great mostly instrumental songs. This cover of Marvin Gaye’s “Got to Give It Up,” makes the case that they could have easily had way more great vocal tracks. It comes from a Bigtime records compilation, but also appeared as the bside to one of their later singles. More on Myspace, of course (including a great loungey cover of “See Emily Play”). Pat Irwin, of the Raybeats, produced this track.
Love Tractor, “Got To Give It Up” from the Bigtime Syndrome compilation LP on Bigtime Records (1987)
The Method Actors made a lot of noise for just two guys. Like Pylon, they bring a bit of the UK sound you hear in the dancey songs of Gang of Four, the Pop Group, and the Au Pairs.
This album is particularly mind blowing because of the tiny little details and dynamic shifts that show up in many of the songs. Plus, I love the vocals and the near-droney reverb.
The Method Actors, “Bleeding” from the Little Figures LP on Press Records (1981)
Any B52′s fan should track down the Fred Schneider & the Shake Society album from 1984. Apart from a few uncomfortable guitar solos, it is pure party music. Fred is in the foreground all the time, and busts out some amazing lines. Those of you who know me will understand why I had to post this particular track. “Cut the Concrete” was what I was planning to post, but when I listened to “Boonga!” again, I knew what I had to do. Maybe I’ll post the other one in the comments next week. Bernie Worrell produced this with Fred! Don’t skip the intro on his site either.
Though Mitch Easter lived and recorded in North Carolina, there were few more influential folks as far as this music is concerned. He played in the Sneakers with fellow North Carolinian future dBs member Chris Stamey, recorded R.E.M.’s “Radio Free Europe,” and put out a bunch of albums in Let’s Active.
Mitch Easter, “Law of Averages,” from the Shake to Date compilation LP on Shake Records (1979)
Chris Stamey,”Get a Job” from the It’s A Wonderful Life LP on DB Records (1982)
While this isn’t Athens Music per se, the aesthetics of the music and the relationships involved have me placing them in this post. Most importantly, you will probably have the chance to see one or both of these guys perform live. The dBs are playing in NYC this weekend!
Things to buy: DFA’s re-release of Pylon’s Gyrate, B52s new album out on Astralwerks soon!, Let’s Active’s Cypress/Afoot double CD, dBs Stands for Decibles/Repercussions CD Mitch Easter’s newest album.
Suspenseful near-disco funk number with almost no resolution. A great tranistional track, I’ve always thought.
Not to be confused with Lonnie Liston Smith (of “with the Cosmic Echoes” fame), this track comes from jazz organist Dr. Lonnie Smith. So many Lonnie Smiths, so little time.
This was released in 1976, but didn’t appear on an album until 1980′s When the Night Is Right, one of Lonnie’s many awesomely named albums. Many of these items are still in print and for sale, and all of them are funky, as far as I know. Please purchase some. From both Lonnies.
Lonnie Smith’s website says it all, so I won’t waste any more of your time. DO NOT SKIP INTRO.
Lonnie Smith, “Lean Meat,” from the Groove Merchant 45 (1976)
Unfortunately scratchy recording of the best song on Dirk Wears White Socks.
Adam & the Ants, “Digital Tenderness,” from the Dirk Wears White Socks LP (1983)
Show me an Adam Ant album, and I’ll show you at least one masterpiece song. Dirk? This jam, or maybe “Car Trouble”. Friend or Foe? “Antmusic.” Prince Charming? “Mowhok.” Manners & Physique? “Room at the top.” See?
Unplug the jukebox and do us all a favor: Antmusic, for your viewing pleasure;
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