Record Store Day Wax: Mike Watt + The Black Gang - "Rebel Girl" (30 Days In The Hole)

Damn near the furthest thing from a pothead or ~~Neo-Nazi~~, while being an avid music fan/vinyl-collecting "champion," Record Store Day is my kinda holiday; already in it's sixth annual year of festivities, I trucked up to my favourite record store, Tunes (Turnersville) around 10:30-11ish with 2 wish lists in hand. After assembling quite a few stacked, re-stacked, and un-stacked 45/LP piles, my final haul included: Mike Watt + The Black Gang, Surfer Blood, Pornography, G. Love, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. some J Dilla from the postman... Bob Dylan, Rob Zombie, and Dio/Killswitch Engage (for my buddy waiting tables @ Friendly's). Based solely on Thom Yorke & Flea's involvement, my co-pilot Mr. Moot bought a copy of Atoms for Peace - AMOK, which ended up being pure fucking garbage!

Like anybody, if I had an endless cash-flow, I would've gotten a lot more. But I'm very happy with what I got an how they sound on wax. Needless to say, Mike Watt + The Black Gang - "Rebel Girl/30 Days In The Hole" was definitely my ace-in-the-hole find of the day. Recorded live between 1998-99, Watt recruited friends Nels Cline (Wilco) and Bob Lee (Claw Hammer) to record 2 spirited, previously unreleased Bikini Kill/Humble Pie covers. It's without a doubt a righteous-sounding 45 that was recorded by 3 suspiciously angst-filled then 40-somethings. The 7x7"'s back sleeve also lists some additional info: Oct. 16, 1998, New York, The Knitting Factory, Steve Reed [Back-up Singing], July 4, 1999, Irvine CA, and "This Ain't No Picnic" Festival. While The Black Gang went through a few line-up changes over the years, Mike Watt said around 2008 that he'd like to re-form the Cline/Lee incarnation, after fulfilling commitments with Iggy & The Stooges and The Minutemen.

Comments

"Let Me Shine for You:" Lindsay Lohan for Playboy (Winter 2011-12 Leak)

Lindsay Lohan essentially embodies exactly "What NOT to Do In Hollywood :" Fame, fortune, success... sex, drugs & Rock "N" Roll . Within a fairly short period of time, Lohan somehow managed to obtain a plentiful helping of POWER @ a very young age. This gradual rise-downfall was captured on film; Between 1998-2010, she portrayed a wide array of roles across the silver screen in movies including: Mean Girls, Bobby , Herbie Fully Loaded , Georgia Rule, Machete , and Freaky Friday . Between rapid-paced film shoots, Lindsay Lohan also found time to record 2 Pop Rock albums for Casablanca , Speak (2004) and A Litter More Personal-Raw (2005). Needless to say, Lindsay Lohan has gotten roped up in a lot of troubles and woes with the law over the last 3-5 years... a vicious cycle of drugs, arrest, court, rehab, "daddy issues," jail time [Repeat]. That's the pure basics of it - But Google that shit for additional info, if necessary. Towards the end of...

[W]reckless, Topless American Youth: Lana del Rey - "Born 2 Die" (Britney Spears Birthday 30)

Lana del Rey [Lizzy Grant] effectively became 2011's "It Girl" with the release of her phenomenal debut single, "Video Games" (Stranger) . Like many struggling singer-songwriters, Grant has been signed, dropped, and significantly changed her public image since bursting onto the scene (2009). With that said, it can be assumed that Lana del Rey has collected just as many "haters" as she has avid supporters. To be perfectly honest, the only other artist I can think of that made this much commotion... garnered so much wide-spread buzz/hate and critical acclaim -- right out of the gates -- with just one track is Britney Spears . And maybe in this post- Mike musical era, that's the true synthesis of Pop Culture: Britney Lynn Spears . After months of repeated teasing and speculation, Lana del Rey 's major label debut, Born 2 Die will [finally] be released this coming Jan. 30-31, 2012. Pitchfork reports that it will feature "Off to The Ra...

Liberty Bell Cracked In 1/2: Ween - "Freedom of '76" (Gene Ween's Final Send-Off)

Chocolate & Cheese (1994) was one of the first albums I bought with my own money. I was in some sort of BMG Music Club , where you'd buy 5 CD's and then get 10 for "FREE." It was all sent through mail order and you picked the titles from some special booklet. I'm almost positive that Chocolate & Cheese's side boob-baring album cover was what initially drew me in... mind you, I was 12-15 and the zany Ween logo/middle finger CD graphic really didn't hurt either. Honestly, I forget how I really felt about it @ the time, but a few years later, my older cousin Josh told me that Ween were this BIG college "jam band." CKY did some sort pf 93.3 radio takeover to promote their new album and played "Freedom of '76" late that night on air. Needless to say, I re-visited Chocolate & Cheese @ about 20-something this go 'round and I fucking loved it! Ween were really weird, yet talented... almost too talented. I can vaguel...

The Witzard

Search This Blog