Sticky Fingers: Demonstration in Dub

This is how it's done. Victor Rice (aka Strikkly Vikkly Dubsystem) at the board.

Punk Rock Purple Haze (Lesbian Folkie Remix?)

You know that game, "Florida or Germany?", where you try to decide if the person/people in the photo are from the panhandle state or mitteleuropa, based solely on the hideous contrast of sock and sandal or the injudicious display of neon spandex?

Well, I've been playing a similar game with the video below, only it's called "Punk Rock or New Wave Folkie Lesbian?" I've wracked my brain over this one, but I'm unable to commit myself to one side or the other. I do know that what you're about to see is spirited and uplifting and highly original. In a word (snatched from 1986): Awesome!

The friend who retrieved this from oblivion suggests that the visuals are outdated, but I'm in love with everything I see here. This, to me, is the essence of civil disobedience. Context is key. This clip originally went out via PBS during the height of Reaganism. Bottom line? Inspired use of public broadcasting in an age of high conservatism to load the television sets of SW Texas with lesbian, freakadelic, creativity.



You can read a bit about Two Nice Girls in the Austin Music Database.

Public Enemy: Welcome to the Terrordome

PE have uploaded a new video for the classic track, "Welcome to the Terrordome." Wicked remix and Chuck has not lost a step. If anything, he's harder and sharper now than in '89. This is the real deal.

It's weak to speak/and blame someone else.

And while we're giving props to PE, here's one a lot of folks missed from 2007, "Harder Than You Think."

You don't stand for something/You fall for anything.

Fela Kuti: Music Is the Weapon

Hard to fully appreciate what Fela was about without a basic understanding of the criminality, crookedness, and cruelties of the Nigerian regime. This French documentary does a great job of putting a true artist into context. Here, Fela's spirituality, music, and politics are unpacked about well as anything I've seen (including the Fela! musical).


Fela Kuti - Music Is The Weapon from Green Grin on Vimeo.

PBS Punk Rock Documentary (1995)

Directed by rock journalist Robert Palmer, this PBS documentary from 1995 turned up recently on Dangerous Minds.

Six video series, posted HERE.

CDH 2.9 - Sonic Reduction

On this week's show, we played the original Dead Boys recording of Sonic Reducer, a perennial favorite cover tune for all true rock bands. A cursory YouTube search quickly reveals at least 600 results, including:

The Vibrators
Overkill
Pearl Jam
Guns N Roses
The Valentines

'Sonic Reducer' was originally written by Rocket From The Tombs (RFTT), a visionary proto-(punk/alt/avant) band which quickly exploded into the spin-off bands Dead Boys and Pere Ubu. Subsequently, the song first appeared on the Dead Boys debut album, Young Loud And Snotty. The two bands followed strikingly different paths...

In 2003, RFTT reformed with most of its original members. They recorded an album of RFTT classics (Rocket Redux), which included, of course, Sonic Reducer.

Cheetah Chrome was the guitarist for RFTT, Dead Boys, and now The Batusis. Let him teach you how to make your own cover version:

Rare Footage: Sex Pistols' Final Concert (1978)

Recorded at Winterland (San Francisco) in 1978, this was the Pistols' final concert performance.



And speaking of Winterland, check out this vault of other performances given at that venue.