Iron Maiden Special!!!

Earlier this year, I went to see my all-time favourite band of ever, Iron Maiden. I've loved them since I was 11 years old, and pencil-cases dating back to then will attest to this, being covered with very bad renderings of Eddie, the band's mascot.

Here's a truncated version of the evening I had:
- I probably should've stayed with the 3 guys from Newcastle I'd met at Redfern Station. They seemed to have the most fun out of everyone there.
- Sydney audiences are weird: screaming their heads off for one song, dead silent the next. For the record, I sang along, as loud as I could, to every song. I'm one of those people, and I'm not ashamed.
- Seeing Iron Maiden without any friends there to sing along with was kinda disappointing.
- The chorus of Aces High is actually quite hard to sing along to, if you're not a professional singer.
- As much as I wanted to watch the dynamics of the whole band, Bruce Dickinson is a commanding and captivating frontman and had my attention from beginning to end.
- The Iron Maiden plane is AWESOME.
- Was it a robotic Eddie, or a guy in a gigantic hydraulic suit?
- Eddie played bass. That made me smile.
- Janick Gers does amazing guitar acrobatics.
- I'm really glad Adrian Smith came back into the band.
- Steve Harris is my HERO.
- Bruce said that Maiden will be back real soon. I will be there.
- I should've bought the Medium t-shirt, and not the Small. What was I thinking? I still wear it though.

It's Xmas Day today, and for Xmas and birthdays, my brother and I always make each other awesome mixtapes. His one complaint, though, was that I never put any Maiden on my mixes. The reason for this was that one day I knew I would be able to make him a truly incredible epic mix. And this year I did; a three-disc extravaganza full of Maiden goodness. (In keeping with my namesake, I have revised the Maiden history to never have included the 'Blaze Bayley' chapter. I refuse to acknowledge its existence in the canon.)

Also, for his birthday this year, I bought him an Iron Maiden 'Somewhere In Time' coffee mug* and he felt bad drinking out of such a mind-blowing mug without actually owning the album. So that's another part of his Xmas present this year. I would've liked to've picked up a vinyl copy, for the full effect of the artwork but he'll just have to squint to make out the details on the CD version.

And for the rest of you, I've compiled a few of my favourite Maiden moments:

Iron Maiden - From the legendary Soundhouse Tapes, the first Maiden recording, with Paul Dianno on vocals, Doug Sampson on drums, Dave Murray on guitar and Steve Harris on bass. A piece of real history.

Running Free - From the Running Free single, another Paul Dianno-fronted track. When I was being introduced to Maiden, and heard some of Paul's work, I thought it was awful. But I've grown up now and realise that Paul was a seriously brilliant singer. Mea culpa, mea culpa.

Murders In The Rue Morgue - Despite not being a big fan of Paul initially, I always had a soft spot for this track. It also inspired me to read more of Edgar Allan Poe's work. I also found out what the word 'gendarme' meant.

King of Twilight - A B-side from the Aces High single. This is a Nektar cover. I know nothing about Nektar but I like this track. For some reason, it makes me think of King Crimson.

Stranger In A Strange Land - From Somewhere In Time, I'm sure this is the first song I heard where I realised what a bass guitar was and what it sounded like, and inspired me to learn the bass myself. I love this track.

Reach Out - A B-side of Wasted Years. I'd never heard this until quite recently, and I'm glad I found it! This one was penned by Adrian Smith, and the recording is Adrian and drummer Nicko, playing all parts, and then Bruce came in and added some backing vocals.

The Wicker Man - The first single released after Bruce came back into the Maiden family, and proof that, despite the extra wrinkles, this band could rock harder, more intensely than any other. Check out the video, too.

Blood Brothers (Orchestral Mix) - From the Wildest Dreams single. For my brother. Not particularly subtle, I know.

Can I Play With Madness - My favourite Maiden track and my favourite song of all time. For my very last show after 3 years of hosting a show on a local radio station, I signed off with this song, and stated my love of it, all time favourite, and all that. Later that week, I was sitting in a pub, and a young guy asked me if I was Ringo Stalin, who hosted 'Down With The Kids' on Three D Radio. I'm not sure how he recognised me, radio being a non-visual medium and all, but I wasn't going to pass up a little rockstar moment! He thanked me for the show, said he listened all the time, but was that song really my all time favourite??? He seemed disappointed that I genuinely love that song, with no trace of irony at all. Ah well, you can't please everyone.

Hallowed Be Thy Name - Totally Radd!! - Maiden in a Nintendo style! Totally Radd is not just the band name, but it also sums up this 'cover' perfectly.

BTW, I got most of the B-sides, and the Soundhouse Tapes from: Lagrima Psicodelica. I also urge you to go out and get the albums for yourselves. A Maiden collection cannot be truly considered a collection without the artwork.

However you choose to spend today, I hope you enjoy yourselves and keep safe. Thanks for reading!

- Ringo

* Iron Maiden mugs and other awesome merch can be bought from Eddie's Megastore! I already have the Seventh Son mug, but I'd love some more. Maybe The Trooper, if you're thinking of getting me an Xmas present. Or the Mexican tour t-shirt, with a Mexican version of the Stranger In A Strange Land cover. That'd be cool, thanks! And I'm a Medium.

One for the Freaks - Halloween Special

(These are my last three Halloween efforts and the inspiration behind them)

As promised, here's a special treat for Halloween!

Here's a Halloween compilation I put together just for the readers of CfMRF... using songs that were in my library or that I've gleaned from other blogs and sources over the years. Special mention must be made of some of the blogs you'll find in my 'Links-u-like' menu, to the right of the page, in particular: Vinnie Rattolle's Records, Digital Meltd0wn, The Manchester Morgue, The Inferno Music Crypt, and From the Negative Zone. Head over there for further Halloweeny goodness.


One for the Freaks - A Champignons for My Real Friends... Compilation
1. Psycho (live) - Die Haut: The Bernard Herrmann classic theme, from the album 'Sweat', recorded 1992.
2. Horror Movie - Skyhooks: an Oz rock classic.
3. The Monster - Shower Scene from Psycho: I remember seeing a clip of Melbourne's SSfP on Rage and it blew my mind. More info about the band and the EP 'Cooking with George' HERE.
4. Werewolf (Loose In London) - Meco: from the 'American Werewolf in London' soundtrack, which Mr Rattolle has put up HERE, with a bit of information. It's kinda awful and kinda magnificent at the same time.
5. Polly - Animal Collective: a cover of the Nirvana song. Psychological horror.
6. Hostage-O - Warren Zevon: Revelling in psychological horror?
7. Sick Child - Siouxsie & The Banshees: the other week, some friends and I watched 'The Craft', from 1996. I might've enjoyed it more if I was a 14 year old girl, but the only redeeming feature of the film, apart from its high camp factor, was the all-too-brief use of this track.
8. Gloomy Sunday - Anton LaVey, vocals by Blanche Barton: urban legend has it that this song is the most depressing song in history and is the cause of numerous suicides, and there are many many versions of it. This version is one of my favourites, alongside Elvis Costello's.
9. Dance on My Grave - Danny Elfman: this comes from the unreleased soundtrack to the unmade film 'Little Demons'. From the narrative I've pieced together using the other songs available, this would be an amazing film, it's a shame it will almost certainly never be made.
10. Why I Practice Stabbing - Horrahedd: I already told you about the brilliance of Horrahedd.
11. Skulls - Misfits: it's not Halloween without the Misfits.
12. See You In The Boneyard - The Flesh Eaters: brilliant punk rock from Chis Desjardins, and members of X and Los Lobos.
13. Zombie Girl - Baterz: I already told you about Baterz too.
14. Seis Seis Seis - Brujeria: can you count in Spanish?
15. Devil Doll - X: okay, so the subject of the track is actually a feisty vixen lady-type, not a possessed ventriloquist's doll hellbent on revenge, but I gotta take the oppportunities, no matter how tenuous the horror/Halloween link is.
16. All Murder, All Guts, All Fun - Samhain: Samhain are Glenn Danzig's post-Misfits, pre-Danzig project.
17. Pass the Shovel - Gravediggaz: I have a book that's the companion piece to the BBC series 'Clive Barker's A to Z of Horror', which I admit I haven't seen but have read the book cover to cover numerous times. There's a chapter dedicated to Gravediggaz. I always found it kinda weird.
18. No Exit - Blondie w/ Coolio: the inspiration for me to create this compilation comes from 4 comps that Vinnie Rattolle put together, and that's how I found this little gem. I would link to the comps, but it seems they've been taken down from the site, which is a damn shame. Ah well, the man's made over 60 posts in October already, I'm sure there's lots of stuff you can find there is just as good.
19. Doomed Man's Party - Cheekyboy: mashes Halloween favourite, Oingo Boingo's 'Dead Man's Party' with Does It Offend You, Yeah?'s 'Doomed Now' and it's not bad. Not bad at all.
20. Force of Fear (Scream and Scream Again) - Ringo Stalin: I've said it before, I'm not afraid of blatant self-promotion.
21. Le Notti Sexy Beat (Demo) - Marcello Giombini: a wonderful little ditty, to round out the compilation. This is from Le Notti Erotiche Dei Morti Viventi, aka The Erotic Nights of the Living Dead.

Caveat: I haven't changed the bitrates for any of the tracks, so the quality differs from track to track.

Get the zip of the compilation HERE (96.8mb) and have a good Halloween!

Horrahedd

(the real Horrahedd)
Halloween approaches! Closer to the date, I will be doing the same as thousands of other bloggers and putting up my own Halloween mixtape.

But for now, what better way to get in the mood for my favourite time of year than settling down with my favourite Adelaide schlockmeisters, Horrahedd?

Mr Glenn has been so kind as to make the entirety of Horrahedd's latest album available as a free download and I wholeheartedly recommend it.

As for what it sounds like, let me put it to you as Halloweeny as I can:

Imagine biting into an apple. Mmm, delicious! Wait... What's that? Oh dear lord! It's a shard of razor blade!! Oh god it hurts!!! Wait... this razor blade is made of caramel!! Delicious!! But my mouth is still full of blood... And my blood tastes like pepperoni. And pepperoni, caramel and apples is a remarkably tasty combination... so we take another bite of the apple. It's then we find the worm...

Okay, equating 'taste' with 'sound' is a little awkward, but it's the whole 'running the gamut of a myriad of emotions' thing that I was going for... Shut up.

Here are a few teaser tracks from the album:

Horrahedd - Knife Stinks of Art

Horrahedd - Transparent Man


Click the pic for the megaupload link for the full album.

Click here for the Horrahedd site, which also has a lot of great mp3s available to download.

- Ringo Stalin

War of Confusion - Pass it on

Damn, it feels good to be angry again.

I just watched Virtual DJ's War of Confusion clip and I needed to share it with you all. It's too easy to become complacent. It's good to get a metaphoric (and sometimes literal) smack in the face to wake you up, every now and then.

And it's too easy to dismiss mash-up artists' work as novelty tunes, but Virtual DJ reminds us that music and subsequently, the subversion of music can be an incredibly powerful tool.



Thanks for watching, spread the good word and keep fighting the good fight.

-Ringo

ReeeeeeeeeMIX! And Cadavers The Blue Mask.

(Me & Captain Howdy love a remix)

Just when I thought my remix challenge had prematurely done its dash, I received another submission! This one is from Frankie Teardrop, and it's a sweet club anthem, maybe something for the recovery lounge...

Dead Bodies On The Dancefloor (Frankie Teardrop Mix) - Frankie Teardrop

'Frankie' is also known as Wolfgang, and is also known as Danny, aka Daniel, who also fronts the band who were The Blue Mask, then Trade Your Heroes For Ghosts and finally settled on Cadavers. Which is a name they better keep now, 'cos I'm not changing the file names again!!

(EDIT: One minute. ONE MINUTE after I clicked 'Publish', Danny informed me they are back to The Blue Mask. *sigh* That's okay... I like that name best anyway.)

Cadavers
The Blue Mask take me back to the Proscenium, the only Goth club in Adelaide, way back in the days of yore. It closed down years ago, but it left one hell of an imprint on the psyches of many of us. Be it a story of filthy deeds in the alleyway, the bathrooms or on the dancefloor, pole dancing, the Gothic Two-Step, Enzo, those horrible "Fashion Shows", or that shitty shitty watered-down rust piss they called beer, we all have a story to tell about the Proscenium.

I first met Danny there, a long, long time ago.
Cadavers
The Blue Mask are based in Sydney now but I know the germ of
Cadavers
The Blue Mask came from the filth-ridden carpet of the Proscenium.

Cadavers
The Blue Mask - Rains Again

Cadavers
The Blue Mask - Like Flies

Cadavers
The Blue Mask - She's Left Behind

I got these from the band's Myspace, and there are several more there too.

- Ringo Stalin

SA Great - The Long-Awaited Second Part

You know the great thing about this blog? I have absolutely no responsibility to update on a regular basis and no deadlines. That's so cool.

So here's the second part of my SA Great series.

In an earlier draft of this post, I went on a bit of rant about the current state of music, not just in Adelaide, but on a global scale. Rather than posting that and adding one more voice to the spleen-vent that is Teh Internets, I thought it best to add to the small percentage of what's good on said tubes.

So here are some past and present bands that have made South Australia great:

(click pics for pages, where possible)

MEGAFAUNA

Mostly slow, stoner rock, with simple melodies. Contains members of Hit The Jackpot, Lindsey Low Hand, Sweet Raxxx, Trip Up From Mission Viejo, Hardy Coxon... The list goes on.

Megafauna - Starling

MATT'S LITTLE BROTHER

That's Steve on the right, shaking hands with Australian children's music icon, Peter Combe. I haven't seen much of Matt's Little Brother, aka Stevie B, in a while, as he's been focusing on a film project entitled, aptly enough, "Adelaide". I really hope he gets back into music soon, as he's damn talented. The following is an old track from 2001.

Matt's Little Brother - Away

SWEET RAXXX

Many things can and have been said about Sweet Raxxx. Some of those things were complimentary. Some weren't. But there is one thing that could be said that cannot be denied: they always put on an amazing show. This is their Toto Coelo cover:

Sweet Raxxx - I Eat Cannibals

AVANT GARDENERS

Avant Gardeners are a gigantic collective of musicians, ruled by the gentle iron fist of Sandy, a former member of The Moonies. Past and present members include people from: Roo Shooter, Hit The Jackpot (again!!!), The Moonies, Les Goolies, No Through Road and many more. AG perform every year, at an event called 'Really Good In Theory', which is a celebration of all things local, with stalls set up during the day, selling homemade food, zines, 2nd hand goods, and basically hawking their wares. In the evening, a long list of bands play until the wee hours and a good time is had by all.

Avant Gardeners - Really Good In Theory

BATERZ

Baterz passed away in 2002, aged 33. I don't really feel I have the chops to discuss Baterz' life, as I only met him once and it was a very brief encounter, but his music and legacy definitely deserves to be recognised. Baterz had caustic wit, absurdist humour and heartwrenching balladeering down pat, sometimes even in the one song.

Baterz - Goth
Baters - Fifteen (Live)

FIVE! NOW YOU'RE TALKING

(I couldn't find a picture of them online, but this came up when I image-searched 5nytk)
Five! Now You're Talking, aka 5!NYTK, made a name for themselves as being the most irritating band in Adelaide for the short duration of their existence. Personally, I think we're all better for it. And if you recognise the vocals in this track, it's because one of the singers in 5!NYTK was a pre-No Through Road Matt Banham.

5!NYTK - Digital Love

THE ANGELS

Oz rock legends The Angels started out as The Moonshine Jug and String Band in 1970 until they picked up electric instruments and became The Keystone Angels in 1974. In 1976, now using the name 'The Angels', they released the Oz rock FM radio classic 'Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again?', to which every true Aussie knows the reply: "No way, get fucked, fuck off!". We're a classy bunch.

As an interesting sidenote, my late father used to be friends with singer Doc Neeson, back in the Moonshine Jug days. Unfortunately, I was never able to substantiate the claim, but it doesn't seem like the sort of thing Dad would've lied about. Additionally, Doc's mother was my mother's midwife, present at mine and my brother's birth (3 years apart, for those keeping count). Aaaaaand, Jimmy Barnes' mum was a nurse who used to work with Doc's mother. Adelaide is a small town.

The Angels - No Secrets

AC/DC

Yeah, Bon Scott was born in Western Australia, but we all know they came from the northern suburbs of Adelaide. The story goes that Angus & Malcolm Young, and Phil Rudd met Bon at the Old Lion after he left Fraternity. They then went on to have their first jam session at the Bridgeway Hotel in Pooraka. Hits you right there, doesn't it?

Rather than post an AC/DC track (let's face it, they're not hard to find), here's ECC's infamous 'Rocked By Rape', which samples US anchorman Dan Rather, and does interesting things to AC/DC's 'Back In Black'.

Evolution Control Committee - Rocked By Rape

Random Tracks, Kittens & Queen's Birthday Special

As I sit here, I have a gorgeous kitten curled up in my lap (Fantoma, the tortoiseshell, FYI). Probably not the most ergonomic situation, but them's the breaks when you adopt cats.

Today, I'm posting some random tracks that have been getting a little bit more attention than others on my various listening devices. I've got a few ideas for some future posts, including another SA Great Special Edition, so come back soon.

This first one is dedicated to Moss, and all the nice pieces of ass in Boy's Club:

Ween - Boy's Club (Mollusk outtake)

While we're on the topic:

The Frogs - Sailors Board Me Now

I still pronounce 'Roky' phonetically. I can't help it.

Roky Erickson - I Have Always Been Here Before (from 'Gremlins Have Pictures') (which I got from the DigitalMeltd0wn blog, to whom I give huge thanks)

And yet I pronounce Brujeria beautifully, if I do say so myself. Brujeria have a wikipedia entry, which I recommend reading if you are unaware of them.

Brujeria - Castigo Del Brujo

Guido and Maurizio de Angelis are freaking amazing. I've been listening to a few of their Spaghetti Western scores, via From the Negative Zone, an excellent source for scores. I want to cover this song so bad.

G. & M. de Angelis - Keoma

My belief is that Aphex Twin's 'Alberto Balsam' is made up of samples taken from a hair salon. I've got absolutely nothing to back that up, but the hi-hat sounds like a pair of scissors, and there's a great noise that sounds like a wooden chair being pushed back along a wooden floor (which is reminiscent of StrongBad's Geddup Noise). And there's the fact it's named after a particular hair care brand...

Aphex Twin - Alberto Balsam

It's the Queen's Birthday public holiday here in Adelaide. So here's some Queen. This is a brilliant album track from 'The Works'.

Queen - Machines (or Back to Humans)

I've fallen in love with Matt Berry, aka Dixon Bainbridge in the 'Mighty Boosh' first season or Dr Lucien Sanchez/Todd Rivers in 'Garth Marenghi's Darkplace'. I just started watching 'Snuff Box', after finding bits n' pieces on youtube and declare it to be true comedy genius. And there's one particular 'woo-aahh-oh' in this track that just makes me swoon.

Matt Berry & Rich Fulcher - Takin' Control of Her Body

And here's 'One Track Lover', from 'Darkplace'.


And, to finish up, a brilliant DJ STV SLV, from The Hood Internet, mash:

DJ STV SLV - Girls Just Wanna Fix Up (Cyndi Lauper & Dizzee Rascal)

Happy birthday, Liz!

SA Great - Special Edition

I'm a very lazy man. I was meant to post a second part to the first 'SA Great' entry ages ago. That's still coming... eventually... at some point...

In the meantime, I'm dedicating this post to one Adelaide band in particular, Hit The Jackpot, who I mentioned in the original 'SA Great' post.

Hit The Jackpot have just released "Soul Money Gang Vibe" and it's already at No 1. of my Top Ten albums of 2008 list. I don't actually compile annual lists because I rarely get to listen to albums in the year they get released, but rest assured, this is definitely at No 1.

The most obvious thing for me to write about would be the most obvious comparison I could make to HTJ's sound. Well, far be it from me to defy convention: Sonic Youth. But I'm not a big Sonic Youth fan, and all I really know is the "Dirty" album, which is, y'know, okay. I'm not going to go out of my way to listen to "Dirty", but I've ripped "Soul Money Gang Vibe" onto my hard drive, put on my portable music thingy, listened to it on the way to work, and then dumped it onto my hard drive at work, and made other people listen to it too. And to look at the awesome cover:

There's an evocation of The Go-Betweens, too, particularly in Kynan's vocals, which are sung in an unassuming Australian lilt.

It'd be foolish of me to try and remain objective when discussing this album. Hell, I'm on the front and back cover!

(that's me, the smiley chap in the gray shirt, holding up one corner of the pyramid)

The day those photos were taken was perfect: a gorgeous summer's day (and I usually loathe the summer), a few beers, interstate buddies visiting, a night-time BBQ and a fuckload of face-masks. Hell yeah, that's living!

Hit The Jackpot - Eye (my personal favourite from the album, and a great song to hear performed live)


Hit The Jackpot - Jig

Cheers, Jess, Kynan, Seb and Scott. You're a lovely bunch.

- Ringo Stalin

Find out more about Hit The Jackpot, via this link.

There Was No Moon But The Stars Were Bright

This entry is primarily for the benefit of a chap named Nick who tends bar at one of my favourite drinking holes, Supermild*. I was there the other evening, and Nick was putting on some great tracks for the early crowd, like Squirrel Nut Zippers and Tom Waits and there was some Elvis in there too. I generally don't request songs very often, because most of the time I when I ask, I get a blank stare in return. Also, I know how irritating it can be: I used to "DJ"** at a nightclub many moons ago, and also hosted my own radio show for a time, and people would request the strangest things that were never in the same vein as what I was playing.

But I digress. I requested 'Crawfish', by Elvis Presley, which is such a damn fine song, and it actually changed my mind about Mr Presley. I'd initially dismissed a lot of his work, as most people do, without really hearing anything other than Viva Las Vegas or Suspicious Minds or Hound Dog.

I'd done the same with his film work, too, until my significant other bought King Creole and told me I should watch it. The fact that Carolyn Jones, aka Morticia Addams, is in it helped, too.

I've digressed again. Anyway, the point is: Nick didn't have it. I said I'd help him out. So here it is.

Crawfish - Elvis Presley

And this version rules too:

Crawfish - Patti Palladin & Johnny Thunders

- Ringo

*If you're in Supermild, and you're just not feeling 100%, may I recommend the Cucumber Sandwich cocktail? Sour Apple Schnapps, Pimms (I love Pimms) and ginger ale. It's like an olde timey revitalising tonic! That stuff is amazing!

** And when I say "DJ", I mean I simply put CDs in the player and played the songs. No beat-mixing or fancy business.

Second Submission!!!

The second remix has come in!

Actually, it arrived in my inbox shortly after the first one, but I'm just really lazy.

The Pitchfork Council - Dead Bodies on the Dancefloor (Rigor Mortis Mix)

The Pitchfork Council is a producer/artist from Adelaide. You can find his myspace page here.

He's got a hell of a lot of albums available for download, too. I think he's pretty nifty.

Surrogate Flesh Engine

Wicked Dreams Of Fire

Scarred

Death Carols

Twenty Roses

Ropes Of Honey

(in case you were wondering, Cobra Kai have nothing to do with this post, I just love how happy Johnny looks.)
(and that guy, second from right, oooh, I hate him so much! "Get him a bodybag, Johnny!" grr! I hate that guy!!!)

- Ringo.

The First Remix!

A few posts ago, I issued a challenge to all and sundry to remix a track of my own creation. Steph, aka Stepharoo, took the challenge and has submitted the first remix!!!

Thanks, Steph!

And inspired by the remix, I made this visual mashup:

I'm a pretty lady!

Stepharoo - Dead Bodies on the Dancefloor (Sophie Ellis Bexter's Corpse Remix)

- Ringo Stalin.

SA Great Pt 1

SA Great Pt. 1
(this post has not been endorsed in any way by the 'SA Great' people, but surely they would if they knew about it)

Chris, over here, recently asked me if there were any Adelaide bands that I could recommend, in anticipation of his impending move down here. The fact that bands form, dissolve, and intertwine with one another in the space of a day means that any list I write would by no means be exhaustive, or even scraping the surface of what goes on in our shadowy little town.

In addition to this, it's pretty difficult actually getting hold of recordings of some of the bands I want to include.

But I'll certainly give it a good ol' college try!!! (click the pics for webpages)

HIT THE JACKPOT

These guys have been around forever. Starting as a two piece, Jess (left) and Kynan recruited Seb and they started trading instruments with alarming regularity, and with equally alarming proficiency. Seb recently moved to London (the subject of the farewell post below) and Scott has picked up the sticks...

Hit The Jackpot - Cats & Dogs

LINDSEY LOW HAND

... and that's Scott on the left, in one of the greatest album covers ever (for the full effect, see the insert and back cover too). Lindsey Low Hand are Scott, Craig and JC. Craig's from Melbourne, so I guess technically they're not an 'Adelaide band' per se, but I don't hold much credence in that whole 'Melb v Adelaide' thing anyway, so for all intents and purposes, here they are.

I guess their track 'The City' would've been more apt for Chris' arrival, but some people would argue that the track I chose instead would be too.

Lindsey Low Hand - Dull & Ordinary

Not me, though. I love this town.

BIRTH GLOW

What on earth do I say about Birth Glow?? They've been labelled all sorts of things, but nothing has really hit the nail on the head. Personally, I think the photo (taken at the tail end of a looong Halloween party) says it all.

Birth Glow - Too Slow

HOME FOR THE DEF

aka Nigel. This man is my hero. I tell this story to anyone who'll listen: I was DJing (in the sense that I put CDs in to the players and hit 'play') at an event and I played 'Harold & Joe', a Cure b-side. Nigel then played a set, one man, a guitar and a 4-track player. I was blown away by the pure creativity and sense of joy and the uniqueness (uniquity?) of it all. Then he dedicated his version of The Cure's 'Caterpillar' to me, for playing Harold & Joe. Well, I was chuffed. At the time, I was looking to form or join a band but no one was really doing what I wanted to do. So I approached Nigel after the show and asked him if he needed a Fruitbat to his Jim-Bob. Thankfully he knew what I was talking about and said yes. This was back in 1999 and we're still doing stuff together.

Here's his Elliot Smith cover, which, in my book, shits all over the original:

Home for the Def - Needle in the Hay

BABYDOLL

(no website, sorry)

Well, image searching for this one was interesting! I didn't have any luck, so I used a sketch I did for their track 'Wagon', which never got used (I was asked to do it, it wasn't an unsolicited crazy fan thing). BabyDoll went through a lot of line-up changes before they finally imploded a few years back. At their farewell show, all of the old members got up onstage and it was a bit of a rockabilly love-in, actually. Lots of fun. BabyDoll delivered some of the greatest shows I've ever seen. The crowd would usually go absolutely nuts and there were singalongs, stage-storming, the whole shemozzle. I don't think I've ever seen an Adelaide band stir up such a frenzy since.

The track I've chosen to use was actually banned from the radio, due to a possible contempt of court issue. Yeah, it's called Snowtown, and they mention barrels but I fail to see how a jury would be affected by it... apart from maybe going into a crazy trance of dancing...

BabyDoll - Snowtown

HORRAHEDD

The elusive Horrahedd! Actually a big beardy three piece, Horrahedd hail from the Barossa region and rarely play live shows, mostly due to the fact that the Wurlitzer is a pain in the bum to move.

'Take The Radio' is one of my all-time favourite songs ever and samples 'The Celluloid Closet' to brilliant effect.

Horrahedd - Take The Radio

FREQUENT SEAHORSE

I haven't actually heard much from the Frequent Seahorse in a while, which is a shame. I remember being at a show they'd organised, which showcased some of Adelaide's bedroom lo-fi electronic acts. I hadn't seen them before and didn't know what to expect. I recall I was conversing with someone in a corner, and I was a wee bit squiffy, and upon hearing Frequent Seahorse starting, I was dumbstruck and interrupted the person who was talking to me and said "Excuse me. I have to leave now. I think I need to see this." and walked away, mid-conversation to watch the band. It was a bit rude but I think it was worth it. I ended up with a copy of their CD in my jacket and listened to it repeatedly over the next few weeks. The above photo was taken at that very same show.

Frequent Seahorse - Moongear

End of Part 1...

- Ringo

Remix Challenge #1

Here's another blatantly self-promotional entry.

I'm a solo musician and also a member of a group called 'The Big Band' (find the myspace here). The rest of the members of the Big Band also have solo projects they work on (you can find them through the Big Band myspace).

A short while ago, Steev expressed an interest in remixing one of my tracks, and I thought maybe I should open the track up to the public at large and let anyone who was interested remix it, like I did with The Dead Trilogy.

So here's 'Dead Bodies on the Dancefloor'.



The individual components (sorry about the vocals, I really should re-record them) (.rar format).

The original track (vocal demo).

Oh, and there's no time limit, and I'll post the remixes here as they come in.

Cheers!

EDIT: the song is 165bpm, according to Fruity Loops.

- Ringo Stalin

Dedication of kinda random songs

One of my good-time buddies is leaving Adelaide to live in the UK for an indefinite time. The chap in question is Seb, and you can find some of his brilliant artwork here.

I now dedicate some songs to Seb. Whether he likes it or not.

Firstly, this is one of the saddest songs ever, especially when you consider it was the last song, on Warren Zevon's last album, 'The Wind'. Warren died in 2003, of mesothelioma, which also killed Steve McQueen. Warren said, on his last Letterman appearance, "I may have made a tactical error in not going to a physician for 20 years." More about Warren here.

Warren Zevon - Keep Me In Your Heart

Next comes 'This Is England', which shares the name with a recent film that Seb tells me I'd really like. I dunno if that's true, but this song is great. And it's about England! That's where Seb's going!

The Clash - This Is England

And now a remix/mash thing by Instamatic, of the previous track. I found this one on 'This One's for Joe', which contains "reinterpretations, remixes and mashups of great Strummer tracks", in dedication of Joe, on the 5th anniversary of his death, and is available here. (I plan on doing a post about Joe soon, so stay tuned for that one)

Instamatic - English Ghost

...which lead me to think of probably my favourite mashup at the moment. From what I can tell, you can put Ennio Morricone's 'Ecstasy of Gold' with anything and it'll sound amazing. Jay-Z also uses it on 'Blueprint 2', on Blueprint 2: The Curse. But this one's Nas' 'One Mic', and doesn't include Jay's awful Austin Powers impersonation (honestly, what the fuck was Hov thinking??).

DJ Erb - Ecstasy of Gold (Ennio Morricone vs. Nas)

And from there, I decided to include this Morricone track from 'Una Pistola Per Ringo', a perfect example of Spaghetti Western music, with its awkward Italo-English vocals by Maurizio Graf and equally as awkward lyrics ("Rivers, you know how is the story..."???). And hopefully when Seb hears it, he thinks of me ;)

Ennio Morricone (ftg. Maurizio Graf) - Angel Face

Lastly, I decided to include a very very very rare track, by a pairing that may not have even existed in the first place. I like to keep a little mystery to it, but I will say: two members of Sound of Mercy Killing are responsible.

The Problem with Growing Boys - Licks on the Bowl

Bye, Seb!!!


Keep licking that metaphorical Glenn McGrath Hickory Sauce Bottle!!!

- Ringo Stalin

Echoes Nobody Hears

A quick note to the faithful...

You might be aware that since 2000, Pearl Jam have released "official bootlegs" of (most) of their live concerts.

Well, I make compilations of 'em for those that don't feel like wading through all 246 of them (and counting).

You might like them... or you might very likely wonder why anyone would bother (I know I do).

You might even think "omg pearl jam, wtf?! those guys are still around?!"

Whichever, feel free to drop in if you want.

Echoes Nobody Hears

Spencer.

The Dead Trilogy

Okay, I'm kind of cheating here and what's worse, I'm self-promoting in the same post. I'm not going to apologise because I'm pretty certain I'll do it again at a later date.

This is an compilation/remix/mashup album I released via myspace.

And here's what I wrote on that page.

About The Dead Trilogy:

In 2001-2002, I had completed three songs that I wanted to release. Not wanting to release an EP, I thought I'd ask various friends if they could remix the originals, by providing them with the individual bits n' pieces that I used to make the originals. The remixers never heard the originals and were allowed to do whatever they wanted to do. The only thing I told them about the songs was that they were very loosely based around the concept of 'Night' (Force of Fear), 'Dawn' (Sunrise) and 'Day' (Wake Up!), and obviously referencing the original George A Romero 'Dead' films.

Eventually I received all of the submissions and compiled them onto two discs. Then numerous factors conspired to delay the release (poverty, third-rate computer equipment, laziness) and the compilation was essentially lost. After discovering it again recently, and re-listening to it, I think it still sounds great and people deserve to hear it.

Thanks to the artists that contributed:

Barbarian Rep., Belittle League, Blanche Devereaux & the Miserable Whores, Groverling, Home for the Def, Horrahedd, Matt's Little Brother, Matte Black, No Through Road, Onaka, Spencer Webb and Toit.

And especially those that don't even know they did. These unknowing participants include:

Siouxsie & The Banshees, Danny Elfman, Einsturzende Neubauten, Front 242, New Order, Faith No More, Buzzcocks, The Easybeats, Public Enemy, Pop Will Eat Itself, Aaliyah & Timbaland, and the composers of the following TV themes: Gimme A Break, The Muppets, Unsolved Mysteries. There are probably more.

Extra special thanks to Vincent Price and George A Romero.


The Dead Trilogy Disc One

Enjoy!

-Ringo Stalin