Au Pairs, STEPPING OUT OF LINE: THE ANTHOLOGY 2xcd (Sanctuary)
Along with Delta 5 and Gang of 4, Au Pairs were responsible for creating a sort of mini-genre in postpunk music; to wit, the bass-driven, funky but jagged sound that would later by taken up by such Americans as Fugazi.
More like Delta 5 in terms of gender balance, Au Pairs were different inasmuch as they had shared vocals between the sexes, though Leslie (guitar/vocals) is more easily definded as lead acerbic barking voice, with a much cruder guitar style than that of Paul, the co-vocalist. As it happens, she was also a lesbian, though one would be hard-pressed to find any clear references to this in the lyrics. As to the bass lines, they are never especially conventional, but more in a dub and hum style - thanks to Jane.
Rarely has romance sounded more clinical and commodified than in "Come Again" - and the nice people in Abu Ghraib ought to both listen to and pay attention to "Armagh" ('We don't torture, we're a civilized nation').
This set compiles their singles, their two albums, a few BBC sessions, some remixes, a handful of demos for a never-done third album and some love material - in short, pretty much everything they put to tape on 2 CDs. A most excellent collection of a largely forgotten band.
Jello Biafra, IN THE GRIP OF OFFICIAL TREASON 3xcd (Alternative Tentacles)
By this point, you should know the drill. One long, fun, scathing rant-fest against the state of affairs of the ruling class. It is, of course, increasingly more difficult to find it funny, and perhaps that is a good thing.
It may indeed be true that George Bush is not very bright - this does not make the actions done in his name any more excusable, and it is far too easy to try and shrug it off or ignore it, particularly when it is growing more and more difficult to BE ignored if one expresses any opposition to his agenda. It is observable, as our modern-day guide through the Inferno says, that the media is less and less interested or able to cover your dissent - but Big Brother is watching you and is VERY captivated by what you're saying (and would probably like to captivate YOU).
Righteous anger and wit - more wonderful Winston Smith collages - and, most importantly, a resource guide for some organizations to support or join in order to organize dissent and the fight back. Don't just listen - talk back!
Nervous Gender, LIVE AT THE HONG KONG CAFE: A DOCUMENT JULY 28, 1979 cdr (Nervous Gender, 5706 Cahuenga Blvd, North Hollywood, CA, 91601, USA)
Punks with synthesizers. Not an image many people think of, though one could always point to the Screamers as another example.
Nevertheless, this ensemble, in the 70s and intermittently throughout the 80s, made mostly electronic but aggressive music (in this particular incarnation, featuring a rare live drummer, Don Bolles from the Germs, and Phranc, the Jewish All-American lesbian folksinger, on vocals and guitar), and was notable for making music both queer and disturbing, such as Phranc's "Jesus Clone" (in case you were wondering, Jesus was a cocksucker from Galilee, and was a homosexual nymphomaniac like you and me, driven mostly by the sound of Moogs and Arps being sodomized (not literally).
As an historical document, this CD is priceless. As an audiophile wet dream - um, not so much. Still, since our stories are mostly carried on by documents, rather than family history, the existence of this artifact is important and welcome.
Three Dollar Bill, PARODY OF PLEASURE cd (self-released)
Two albums, two ep's and several lineups into its career, this band featuring mainstays Jane and Chris on guitar/vocals still churns out a mixture of metal and punk and bad old rock and roll, and it's always reassuring to see titles like "Patriot Wact" and "Let's Get Class Conscious". It's so rare to even HEAR the word 'class' in a lot of American music (on which point, mad props to Nikki Corvette, of all people, for referencing the working class on the title track of her BACK TO DETROIT CITY lp) that it must be commended.
Along with a solid new drummer and a bassist who brings the funk, Three Dollar Bill delivers nasty grooves that will stimulate the grooves in your brain TOO.
Ut, IN GUT'S HOUSE cd (Mute)
This is one of those bands I read about in SPIN when it was a good magazine (that moment DID exist, kids, in the far off mists of time) but never got its records then.
This female instrument switching trio, typically being Jacqui on guitar/bass and vocals, Sally on bass/guitar/piano and vocals and Nina on drums, with the occasional collective sharing of a violin and the rare taking of the kit by Jacqui or Sally to allow Nina a turn at guitar/bass/vocals, did scratchy, twitchy music, like a more steady Raincoats, a less manic Throwing Muses or a Thurston-free Sonic Youth, with lots of texutral and temporal hairpin turns, such as in "Evangelist", which I hope was meant to be darkly funny. One record down, two to go...
Jad and David Fair, SIX DOZEN COOKIES cd (Essay/Friends and Relatives)
One never anticipated that a record by this brotherly duo would be easy listening, given the unholy din of their Half Japanese output and their somewhat creepy children's record MONSTER SONGS FOR KIDS; nevertheless, here it is.
It's an album full of quirky stories centered around the narrator's grandfather. David recites them in his folksy, warm voice, while he and Jad intersperse sound effects and assorted friends contribute instrumental interludes and interjections.
It takes some doing to make me get sentimental about grandfathers, but this sweet little disc does just that.
Jason and Demarco, TILL THE END OF TIME cd (RJN Music, distributed by Centaur Entertainment)
My experience with Christian music is limited, though I do admire Sister Rosetta Tharpe for her raw attitude, crafted and tasty blues and her sly humour.
Boy bands have always been problematic for me too, since I wasn't interested in skinny pretty lads during the twenty seconds I WAS one, though I admire a well-tuned doo wop or barbershop quartet ensemble as much as the next oldster.
These guys aren't bad, though - lively arrangements, with lyrics that are spiritual without being preachy. Real guitars, bass, drums and strings help too, as do robust voices not entirely produced to death. And, yes, they are a GAY Christian vocal duo, though the words don't exactly shove this in your face.
And you have to love a CD that includes an audio blooper reel full of flubbed notes and over-the-top diva turns. Fun, catchy pop, by some guys I am told are not too hard to look at.
Bob MacKenzie and Poem De Terre, WAR AND LOVE cd (Poetpourri)
A gentleman with whom I worked, but not directly. There - bias stated and revealed. I also knew him before that, but he can hardly be faulted for his bad taste in associates.
Poetics and rock and roll, such as: the handclaps and saxophone and rollicking drums of the Fiftiesish "Turning"; the distorted-guitar and tinkling-piano contrast of "Summer Somewhere"; the country waltz of "A Man Came By Today"; and the boogie rock of "Innocent", which feels like "Peter Gunn" filtered through "Money (That's What I Want)", and cautions us to stand up for the oppressed in the name of solidarity and even self-interest; not to mention so much more. A veritable who's who of Kingston talent, with Bob's words and recitations among them.
The Music Lovers, GUIDE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE cd (Le Grand Magistery, POB 611, Bloomfield Hills, MI, 48303, USA)
Precious and campy, right down to a title that vaguely alludes to those horrifying days in which children were strapped to the music appreciation chair on field trips.
Now, mind you, if Cornelius Cardew, the late Marxist composer, who is saluted here (in a song which also gives credit to the late Jeffrey Lee Pierce), had been on those programs, I might have gone, though we did not have such excursions by the time I was in elementary school.
The music here is reminiscent of Roxy Music, ABC and Belle and Sebastian, being both lush and firmly cheek-tongued (though it can be appreciated without irony), with pounding piano, fuzzy guitars and broad, English, homosocial vocals. Eleven rides into art and decadence - hitch one today!
Pas/Cal, DEAR SIR cdep (Le Grand Magistery)
Also more than a bit precious, but half as long and twice as Seventies-pop as the previous item, perhaps leaning more to Sparks than Roxy Music.
The keyboards are also more inclined to the fuzz-toned sound of The Modern Lovers or the Banana Splits than the 88-key focus of the preceding CD, though "C.A.U." (perhaps one of the few songs about an older woman with a propensity for cigars and military garb) has a delicate (and very stereo-separated) interplay between blocky piano chords and hyper-strummed acoustic guitar, like Belle and Sebastian channeling Bowie.
The title track hauls out the squelchy synth noises, darkly pulsing bass and compressed drums one could imagine from Eno's first or second album.
"Wake Up Wake Up Wake Up" sounds like Emitt Rhodes covering Paul McCartney as both balladeer AND rocker.
In small doses, most wonderful and diverting. I can see it possibly endangering the lives of diabetics in larger servings, which may account for the fact that this is the band's second ep on this label.
Spoilsport, THEY ALL WANT CAKE cd (self-released)
A number of other reviews of this queer quartet's delightful CD compare it to X meets the Go-Gos, which may have a certain measure of facile truth.
I don't really hear the X, but the churning guitars and beats are very Charlotte/Jane/Gina, and I hear a bit of Husker Du in the tunes and urgency (yes, I'm probably the only person who thinks of that ensemble as pop).
Neat stuff that will evoke summer no matter what weather or climate you're in. If you aren't shaking your groove thing to "Just Dance" or weeping into your cosmo during "I Ride The Train", or even hanging out at your friends' groovy pad too long and singing along with "Come Over Come Over", then I'm taking away your gay card (mine's been threatened with revocation often ehough - just once I'd like to reciprocate...).
