¡Adelante, Amigos!

 

I recently received an email from the Oslo-based label Jansen Records. It featured the latest album by Los Plantronics.  Los Plantronics are a four-piece band from Oslo who have been active since 1996 and have released several albums.

I’ve no idea whether people surf in Oslo – or, if so, where – but this band celebrates surf/guitar rock with a rare enthusiasm. They describe themselves as ‘ambassadors of trash and twang (& other delights)’ and characterize their music as ‘Mariachi Death Surf’. And that’s exactly what you can hear on this album. A surf instrumental that stands out from the usual surf tracks.

In 2007, they recorded 'Rancho Notorious', a great album featuring their take on surf and garage music, which I’ve only just discovered myself. Alongside some high-energy stompers, Los Plantronics aren’t afraid to give a Ramones classic a surf makeover. Another band I’ve come across far too late.

Singles Released This Week Years Ago

 

This week shows some songs from the sixties, soul and mainly songs from the end of the seventies, where great songs were written.

1967: Dave Davis

1981: Soft Cell

1981: R.E.M.

1965: Sonny & Cher

1971: Aretha Franklin

1976: The Ramones

1965: Wilson Picket

1967: Bobbie Gentry

1970: Jimmy Cliff

1969: David Bowie

1963: The Crystals

1979: The Boomtown Rats

1979: The Flying Lizards

X Again

 

Yesterday's post was dedicated to the latest album by SAULT. Our friend Ernie has left the following comment: Good stuff but I thought from the title this would be your tribute to the pioneering LA punks of the same name. Maybe there is a follow up post there. Let his wish be my command, because it can't be that this band has never been mentioned here before.

X was one of the first punk band formed in Los Angeles in the late seventies by John Doe and Exene Cervenka. Doe was raised in Brooklyn and got infected to punk when he saw Talking Heads at CBGB's and The Heartbreakers at Max's Kansas City. He packed his things and moved to the west where he met Cervenka where they got friends and formed this legendary group together with guitarist Billy Zoom.

In 1980 they released their debut album Los Angeles which got some critical acclaim but it wasn't successful at it's release. I owned this album by recommendation of my local music dealer and not really knowing what kind of music awaits me. The album thrilled me right from the start because it doesn't just consist of three chords, but the musicians have mastered their instruments (although that shouldn't be essential). The fact that they have allowed other influences such as Eddie Cochran and rockabilly right from the start sets them apart from West Coast punks like the Black Flags.

Their songs, in which Doe and Cervenka alternate, are highly melodic and the quirky harmony vocals became the band's most distinctive element. With their following album Wild Gift they added more country influence to their sound and I think The Gun Club was inspired by their sound. In the mid eighties X vanished from my radar and I got aware of them again when they released their last album last year. 

I don't know why they didn't got the reputation The Ramones got because their first records were highlights from this music/decade.

X - Johnny Hit And Run Paulene

X - Soul Kitchen Cover from The Doors probably because Ray Manzarek produced their first albums

X - Los Angeles

X - The Once Over Twice

X - Beyond And Back

X - Some Other Time

Cabretta

 

The first time I heard about a CBGB, a club in New York was in autumn 1976 in some music newspapers. I couldn't imagine what this club was and only Patti Smith was a household name to me. Bands like Talking Heads, The Ramones or Television were no names to me because I couldn't get any records of them and there were no radio station around playing them. Everything changed a year later when the first punk movement swept over the Atlantic ocean. One of the first so called punk albums I owned was Cabretta by Mink DeVille. It was one of the initial sparks for my future taste in music. Of course Mink DeVille was everything but not punk. But the were the link of classic rock, combined with some latin ingredients and the new music. Venus Of Avenue D was a song Bruce Springsteen would be proud to have written, Cadillac Walk was classic rock with much verve and Mixed Up Shook Up Girl is a song that could be appeared on every early album by Van Morrison. Cabretta was one of those albums I played to death when I first got it and still doesn't lose it's attraction almost 50 years later.

Mink DeVille - Venus On Avenue D

Mink DeVille - Cadillac Walk

Mink DeVille - Mixed Up Shook Up Girl

Plan B

 

These days the World Climate Conference takes place in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. The leaders of the world and and many other politicians from all over the world debating about how we can stop the global warming. Since the last conferences all the politicians are just talking and no one is able and willing to stop the carbon sink since decades. This is one thing that makes me worrying about the next generations who have to bear our heritage. In the early 80's Plan B a band from Berlin appeared on the scene and became a little success when the were the support band for The Clash and The Ramones during their tour through Germany. Their first recording The Greenhouse Effect has repeatedly addressed issues such as environmental destruction and the consequences of false idols in their songs like in Beam Me Up, Scotty.

Plan B - Beam Me Up, Scotty

Their post-punk/new wave sound was played in many indie-discos at my place and especially Discontentment was one of these songs a lot of people could agree with.

Plan B - Discontentment

Songs About New York

 

I don't think there is a city in this world that has been sung as often as New York. That's what I thought a few days ago when I listened to Simon and Garfunkel's The Only Living Boy In New York City and thought this could be an idea for a new post. So I picked out a few songs that were different to the usual songs from The Pogues, Sting or Pet Shop Boys. Absolutely and eclectic and incompletely list based on my choice.

Three One After Another

 

Each day I go to work I have to travel for almost one hour with public travel. During this time I check the news on my mobile phone and listen to music. Sometimes on Spotify but mostly what is on the hard drive. I have to admit that I am surprised when I use  accidental reproduction and what forgotten gems appeared. So I decided to start a series of three songs that appeared in a row. No thoughts if it will fit to a theme or makes sense - just a short reflection what came to my ears. 

The first one was a song by Vic Chesnutt an American singer-songwriter who was a cross-border commuter between country, folk and a bit of punk. He collaborated with Bob Mould and a lot of other musicians from Athens, Georgia. I really love his version of the Southern gothic murder ballad of Bobby Russels' The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia not only because it is a sad story fantastic told.

The next one is by Matt Berninger, an American singer-songwriter and known as the frontman of The National. Loved So Little is a track from his first solo album released last year and superb like many of the songs on this album. A little gem that I rediscovered earlier this year.

The last one is by the only Cologne based artist I really enjoy during the last decades. While most Cologne artists to themselves feel fine in her native slang and declare nothing else than Cologne is the best, Jürgen Zeltinger with his debut album has put to himself a monument while he has interpreted many classics in new versions and in the Cologne dialect. This is probably the best cover version of the Ramones classic Rockaway Beach.

The Marked Men

Coming back from Monday's long song to the 1-2-3-4 songs. I got the news that there is a compilation out by American punk-rock/power-pop band The Marked Men. They were from Denton, Texas about 15 years ago and they didn't made great success. I just own a single by them and I think that they should stand in a row with The Ramones. They made a very unique mixture of forward driven punk songs that could be classics if more than a few people would listen to their songs. Still great songs that would be a pleasure to be played on every party featuring this kind of sound. Hey, ho - let's go.

The Marked Men - Lost It All
The Marked Men - Oh, My Pretty Face
The Marked Men - The Other Side

Bringing Back The Ramones

Juan Zabella aka Tall Juan is an Argentina born musician now living in Faraway Beach, NYC, bringing back the speed and spirit of Ramones into 2017. Not only that he namdrops them with verses like Sharing good times with you / Listening to Ramones he also has the verve playing them mostly in an acoustic way. It is not only that he copy their sound - he transports them in a very unique way mixing with riffs and jazzy chords. Just a record that makes fun whenever you listen to.

Live Music On German TV

It was a series I had a few month ago. Most of the footage I saw the first time was on a monthly show called Musikladen. One of the earliest shows I remember was watching Slade performing. Getting big in the age of glam they were one of my earliest heroes. This band took me to the music and influenced my musical taste a lot. Now I know that I am not the only one who cited them as a main influence. The Clash, Sex Pistols, The Undertones and The Ramones cited them as well as a heavy influence. This are two classic songs of their early days. And Dave Hill was the first hooligan lookalike in these days.

New Wave - Who is afraid of the 80s? Pt 1

It was in the late 70's when a compilation was released in Germany with the new sounds of Britain and USA. Most of my mates named it as punk but it was more than this. It was an overview of new music for us in Germany. I bought this double album by recommendation of my local record dealer. And I was infected of these new sounds and searching more of this. JC posted yesterday a memory about The Members and I grabbed out the old vinyl and played it again after decades. Respective I have to say this double album was a fantastic introduction into music that embossed me in the upcoming years. There were a lot of songs on this record that became standards throughout the years. I remember when I played this records to my mates that they were confused to this kind of music. Barely rooted in the 70's mainstream they didn't open their ears to another kind of music. So let's show some music of this compilation and I am sure many of yours will remind of these songs.

Enjoy!

The Ramones - Sheena Is A Punk Rocker
The Pretenders - Stop Your Sobbing

Live Music In German Television # 1

In the early 60s a small TV-station in Bremen, northern Germany, started a monthly show presenting the newest beat music from Great Britain. The bands appeared to a playback-sound but most of the people watching the show didn't mind. Older friends of mine told me that they were happy to see these acts at all. It was similar to Top Of The Pops but filmed in black and white. The show called 'Beat Club' is a classic and we grew up with this series. It was obligation to watch this on Saturday afternoon. In the late 60s they changed the size. Now they invited the bands to play live in the studio. After the Beat Club closed the Musikladen opened the gates. There was no more eclectic choice in the artists that appeared. They opened their ears for new music and sometimes they let some bands play almost a whole set in front of a small audience. You can find some gems from these times in the internet (some more are filmed live concerts in the Rockpalast series). I think from time to time I'll present some of them on this place. So take some time and enjoy the show of the Ramones from back in 1978.

Indie Scene 1977

I made many thoughts during the last days how to replace the foreign correspondent series. Then I found the CD-collection Indie-Scene: The story of British Independent Musc in my archive recently. When I have read all the titles on the backside of the cover I have to admit that this was a golden era of music. It's music Dirk presents on with his superb series of girls tapes . So I will start a series about these era, the music we listened to these days and maybe reflecting these days.

At that time in 1977 the charts are filled with pop songs by ABBA, David Soul, The Eagles, Leo Sayer and dreadfully bad songs like Baccara with 'Yes Sir, I can boogie' and 'Mull of Kintyre' by The Wings. Punk and New Wave started to appear in this year and new bands paved the way to new music. American bands like The Ramones, Johnny Thunders and New York Dolls brought their music that was raw, fast and full of energy to London. And very fast kids adapted this music and created a very own scene. Punk was born. In Kings Road, London Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood established their boutique selling S/M-accessory to the kids. Everything was possible in these days. For me it was a rather new experience listening to different kind of music my friends used to listen to. Anyway, this was the dawning of a new era in music and this CD's are a good overview what happened in this 10 years.

The Heartbreakers - Born to loose
The Ramones - Sheena is a punk rocker

And one of my all-time favorites:

Wreckless Eric - Whole Wide World

Some other remarkable bands/songs from this year are:

The Foreign Corresondent Returns - Stories About German (Rock) Music # 47

Plan B is a forgotten German band. I only know a few people that can remember their name. They were nearly famous in 1989 when they released their album 'The Greenhouse Effect'. Maybe it depends in the title of their album which had the discourse at that time about the greenhouse effect to the title that they were arranged about the classification as a politically motivated group. But no such thing - Plan B were a guitare-oriented group which had their roots deeply in the early 80s New Wave-scene. When they formed in 1984 they toured with The Clash as their supporting act. A few years later they were the supporting band of The Ramones. I don't know why they didn't made their career in Germany, although they had all: great songs, powerful songs with hooks and dominating guitars. Maybe it's because they were too late at the start with their kind of music. I don't know but I remember when I played 'Discontentment' when I did DJ-ing many people asked me about the artist. This song could be a standard in this genre if it would be released a few years earlier.

Enjoy and have a good weekend mates.

Plan B - Dicontentment

Tommy Ramone 1952 - 2014

Just I have received that another member of The Ramones died. I don't have to tell what this band meant for the change in music in the 1970s. The way they shortened their songs into classical two minute format added with speed and told us to play the songs loud again. Tommy Ramone had Hungarian roots and his given name was Tamás Eldérly and worked after his career as a producer. He has been diagnosed with bile duct cancer and was in a hospice receiving treatment when he died yesterday. I think it'ts time for me to listen  to their songs again.

RIP Tommy. Gabba gabba hey

The Ramones - Chinese Rock
The Ramones - Rockaway Beach

Inflammable Material - First Records That Impressed Me Much # 2

Back in 1978 a lot of band appeared with new sounds. It was the time when everything new was accepted and we were hungry for it. We heard a lot of punk and new wave these days. It was these days when everything was possible for everyone who tried to start as a band - the so called Do it yourself.  A lot of bands tried to cover their idols but less were capable of doing it quite as well. Edinburgh's The Rezillos, however,were one of those bands that brought us back the fun in music. Some may say that they just tried to be the British Ramones plundering Rock and Roll history. But not for me. When I bought this record is was in heavy rotation. I liked the hyperactive tempo in their songs, their raging guitar and their pop melodies. They were maybe the first of the new bands that showed us how old songs could be played in a new and exciting way. The Rezillos were able to put their own spin on the template. They were a bit poppier and willing to get a few notches sillier than the others. But the key to this record is that they kept it simple. I still love this record with some of the greatest (cover) versions ever done until this time. I think albums like this can only be made when you get the right kind of lunatics together at just the right time, with just the right support - it's inevitably a one off. If you got this record - get it out, play it, sing along with it and enjoy again.

The Rezillos - Destination Venus (not on this record but worth to be show it up here)
The Rezillos - Flying Saucer Attack
The Rezillos - Glad All Over
The Rezillos - I Like It