Steady State Sounds

So I got my ticket to see Adrian Sherwood in Portland in early April. So I guess (I hope) I will be in Portland that weekend.

(There's no Seattle show for Adrian Sherwood, unfortunately)

I’m really enjoying listening to Placebo while working. In their B-sides alone, there are 3 alternate Placebos… the ambient Placebo, the No Wave adjacent Placebo and the solid glam/post-punk cover band Placebo.

I knew Ryan Adams was an asshole but I didn't realize he was this kind of asshole

That movie has major “The Day the Clown Cried” curiosity. The last reason I want to watch the movie is because I think it will be an amazing (or even good) film. It’s a weird novice crossroad for both Richard Pryor and Steely Dan.

The idea that a comedy writer in New York approached both Lou Reed and Becker/Fagen for a soundtrack theme is plausible, if a bit funny

YouTube video by Brian Eno The Velvet Underground Walk And Talk (Demo)

For the 1969/1970 hipsters:

Was the phrase “You better walk it / talk it or you’ll lose that beat” lingo at the time?

It was the name of a 1971 now-lost comedy soundtracked by proto-Steely Dan

It’s also the main lyric of a Velvet Underground LOADED demo called “Walk and Talk”

So what gives man?

Willie Ruff / John Rodgers - The Harmony of the World (1st Release) - 1979

I got it for 25 cents at a neighborhood yard sale. It’s a dark ambient astronomical data record.

I’m at Petco right now, which means yes, it’s B-52’s, Men at Work, Black Box and Robin S on repeat.

Live at the Apollo In this remarkable book, Douglas Wolk brings to life an…

In my chronological James Brown deep dive, I just finished Live at the Apollo (1962) and two immediate thoughts:

* Live at the Apollo was the greatest ever rock/soul live album released at the time.

* Douglas Wolk’s 33 1/3rd book on this album is objectively the most underrated of the series.

I mean I WISH that was a real live album.

A snippet of an A.I. summary from looking up earlier live albums that invents a Chuck Berry album called “Twist at the Gate of Horn” that doesn’t exist. Here is the snippet in full: “Early rock and roll While live rock albums would explode in popularity in the late 1960s and 70s, notable early examples exist, especially from Chuck Berry. Twist at the Gate of Horn (1962) by Chuck Berry: As with Memphis Slim and Odetta, this album was named for the famed Gate of Horn club in Chicago. It captured Berry's electrifying showmanship at a venue not typically associated with rock and roll. “

According to A.I., the title Piper at the Gates of Dawn may have had a predecessor from 5 years earlier thanks to an imaginary Chuck Berry live album from 1962.

Last chance to turn it off.

On Monday, November 3rd, Microsoft will start using your LinkedIn data for AI training. And remember, you're opted in by default.

To toggle it off 👉 Account - Settings & Privacy > Data privacy > Data for Generative AI Improvement.

I wasn’t far behind, when those first “Pacific” import 12”s arrived in the US

“Cübik” is amazing, but yes it was a B-Side that ended up on Utd. State 90 (from 1990), then on the UK ex:el (1991), which might be my favorite of the first five albums.

Can't think of a better answer than this.

Rhythm Nation 1814 did a lot of heavy lifting in the charts, I agree there

The late 80s was great* if you sought out underground music: pre-Alt Rock, Noise Rock, Industrial, House, Acid House, Freestyle.

The actual Top 40 was mostly horrible IMHO.

* in the Western world, anyway
** also early into the forced Bohemia and Day-Glo of the Poppy Bush Interzone
* A+ for hip hop

RIP Prunella Scales.

If Sybil wasn’t the most likable character on Fawlty Towers, she was easily the most relatable - having to calmly suffer a man-baby and his messes every day.

YouTube video by Electronically Yours with Martyn Ware Electronically Yours | EP46: David Ball

Here’s an interview Martyn Ware (Human League, Heaven 17) did with Dave Ball a few years ago on the Electronically Yours podcast.

Utterly correct. You cannot overrate this release, it is perfection. If you've never heard the full 12" versions that Dave Ball put together, do so and then you'll realize that he was a true master of the form, in the right place at the right time.

Soft Cell, The Twelve Inch Singles (Some Bizzare, 1982)

Soft Cell were the first group whose preferred mode of expression was not the album or the 45 but the 12-inch single, and this compilation is one of the half-dozen or so greatest releases of the ‘80s. #daveball

YouTube video by thegridVEVO The Grid - Swamp Thing (Official Music Video)

I’m glad that Dave Ball ended up getting another hit song (with Richard Norris) in the 90s under the name The Grid with “Swamp Thing”. From interviews, Ball really enjoyed being behind the console until the end, with his remix/dub work on the Soft Cell boxed set Keychains & Snowstorms.

YouTube video by Exdream M.E.S.H. | Meet Every Situation Head On [Jackmaster Tab mix]

Dave Ball had his first minor “solo” hit in 1988/1989 under the umbrella of Psychic TV’s Acid Phase. Deep in the 2nd Summer of Love hatched Ball’s “Meet Every Situation Head On” under the name M.E.S.H. KROQ and similar U.S. radio stations played this.

YouTube video by Soft Cell - Topic It's A Mug's Game

RIP Dave Ball. Soft Cell were fully deserving of the praise and their pioneering. Somehow, independent(?) of Larry Levan or Tom Moulton, they took the baton & elevated the art of the 12” extended version. It’s rare for an act’s greatest work to be their 12” collection, right next to P-Funk.

At best, there will be a new windbag comment section prize that will challenge the AV Club comment section.

I was sick of the “what’s the big deal?” responses from edgelords in the 90s, and I’m certainly more sick of it now.

I always want to read contemporary reviews of artists I explore to get an idea what type of environment in music culture they were creating in — no worries of me changing my mind based on an old sexist crank in Downbeat magazine.