Throwback Thursdays Retro Videos Presents; Savage Republic, pt.1

This week on my Throwback Thursdays Retro Video Project; Savage Republic.
Savage Republic may well be my favorite obscure 1980's post-punk band (American division). This California group with an ever-shifting line-up combined epic spaghetti-western-surf-guitar with tribal drumming, industrial distortion and some occasional ethnic seasoning to create a moody, atmospheric sound completely their own. They also had a striking visual style for their record covers as they had access to an antique off-set printing press and a willingness to use it. They put out a series of albums starting in 1982 to about 1992 before splitting into various spin-off groups, some version of Savage Republic exists to this day. They made no actual videos which is a shame as I always thought their cinematic music especially well suited for the medium.

SAVAGE REPUBLIC ~ "TABULA RASA";


This is a song off the 1988 fourth album "Jamahiriya" using an early DW Giffith film "Edgar Allan Poe" in which Poe is inspired to write "The Raven" in order to find money to feed his dying wife. The actor does bear a striking resemblance to Poe.

SAVAGE REPUBLIC ~ "JAMAHIRIYA";


Another track off the fourth album this time using a 1908 film "The Haunted House" by Spanish film-maker Segundo De Chomon, a contemporary of the Frenchman George Melies whose style he expanded on.

SAVAGE REPUBLIC ~ "TRUDGE";


The group were in full-on Ennio Morricone on this epic track off the 1986 "Trudge" ep. For the vid I used a George Melies film "The Alchemist".

SAVAGE REPUBLIC ~ "TREK";


The other epic track from "Trudge", this time using a perfromance art film by Dutch film-maker Franz Zwartjies.

SAVAGE REPUBLIC ~ "TARANTO";


This track uses another Segundo De Chomon film "Les Grenouille" from 1908.

SAVAGE REPUBLIC ~ "VALETTA";


For this Mediterranean influenced track I used a documentary film "Burgos" about a Spanish city made by in 1911 by Segundo De Chomon in one of his rare docs, it's also one of the earliest colour films. The music runs out before the video ends and normally I would have junked it but the imagery matches up with the music so perfectly I had to keep it.

Next Week; CIUT's 30th Anniversary Pub Crawl!

CIUT's been on the air with 15,000 Watts of power for thirty years so join us for our Year End Pub crawl.

Thurs.Dec.14 at the Bovine w/The Swinging Pussycats, Unbelievers and Doghouse Rose;



THE UNBELIEVERS AT CIUT;


DOGHOUSE ROSE;


THE SWINGING PUSSYCATS ~ "GOO GOO MUCK";


THE SWINGING PUSSYCATS ~ "THESE BOOTS ARE MADE FOR WALKING";


Fri.Dec.15 at Cherry Cola's w/Luau Or Die, The Speedkings, Mark Malibu & The Wasagas and The Hang Ten Gallon Hats;



THE SPEEDKINGS ~ "SOAPBOX PREACHER";


THE SPEEDKINGS ~ "WRECKING YARD" & "DRAGSTRIP GIRL";


MARK MALIBU & THE WASAGAS ~ "PET CEMETERY";


LUAU OR DIE ~ "BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER";


Sat.Dec.16 at the Cameron House w/Christian & The Sinners, George Westerholm & the Wildcats, The Cliff Divers, The Calrizians



CHRISTIAN & THE HANGOVERS ~ "LIFE GETS IN THE WAY";


THE CALRIZIANS;

Throwback Thursdays Retro Video Project Pres; The Silver Apples And Syrinx

This week on my Throwback Thursdays Retro Video Project; The Silver Apples and Syrinx.
Back in the late 1960's while everybody else was slinging guitars, organs and the occasional sax the Silver Apples and Syrinx were among the first groups to use synthesizers. Although both groups were hopelessly obscure and mostly forgotten by all but the nerdiest of rock-snobs (like yours truly) they pioneered a path leading directly to the synth-pop, industrial and techno bands from the 1980's onward. Especially fellow New Yorkers Suicide.

The Silver Apples were one of the weirdest products of the New York underground scene of the 1960's. And this was a scene that included the Velvet Underground, the Holy Modal Rounders, Lothar & The Hand People, Albert Ayler and Moondog. Starting in 1967 as a fairly conventional psychedelic band that included the electo-noodlings of Simion Ross. The Moog synths of the day were massive affairs, with a jungle of patch-chords and vacuum tubes. They were not only huge but also expensive so Simion didn't actually play one, instead he built his own jerry-rigged contraption of various electronic pulse generators, effects pedals and feedback. The resulting mountain of gear took up two tables and was referred to as the "Simion". This ungainly monster was capable of an arsenal of whirring feedback and hypnotic tones for a spacey, ethereal sound that sounded like literally nothing that had ever came before (or since). This cacophony soon drove all of the other members of the band out as superfluous save the drummer, Brian Taylor. Influenced by Mitch Mitchell, Taylor developed an intricate rapid-fire style that filled up the space left by the now departed guitars and drums. On top of all this Ross added his own ghostly tenor vocals and the occasional banjo or flute.

Somewhat amazingly these weirdos actually got signed to Kapp Records, an otherwise thoroughly conventional home for acts like Loouis Arsmtrong, Cher, Burt Bacharach and Bob Wills (although they also had Budgie). They even managed to put out two albums in 1968 and 1969 which, in an unexpected development, failed to get any airplay or press. They had recorded a third album which was not released before Kapp gave up on them. After that they broke up and returned to the void from whence they came. In the 1990's the group was rediscovered by a small group of electro-nerds and their two albums were released on one CD in 1994 and Simion Ross reformed the group (minus Taylor) albeit using more conventional synths and samplers as his original "Simion" had long since been broken up and tossed away. In 1998 Taylor discovered the master tapes of the lost third album which was finally released as well. Taylor died in 2005. Simion Ross continued to record and tour until a serious car crash badly injured his back and smashed his gear in 1998. After taking a few years to recover he has resumed recording and touring.

Not surprisingly there is no live or video footage of the band. When I went about making some I decided the abstract shorts made by German Dada film-maker Hans Richter in the 1920's and the Op-Art films made in the 1960's by George Maciunis would perfectly suit their ethereal sound.
THE SILVER APPLES ~ "OSCILATIONS";


Using a 1966 film made for the New York Flux Films collective.

THE SILVER APPLES ~ "I HAVE KNOWN LOVE";


THE SILVER APPLES ~ "WATER";


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Unlike the Silver Apples Toronto's Syrinx actually did use a proper Moog and could be considered perhaps the first real synth band, along with the Germans Tangerine Dream with their first albums coming out in 1969. Syrinx consisted of Moog player John Mills-Cockell along with Doug Pringle on sax (often played through various effects) and Alan Wells on percussion. Their sound was more lush and conventionally melodic compared to the droning cacophony of the Silver Apples. The trio were also trained musicians while Simion Ross was an inspired amateur (although Apples drummer Derick Taylor did have jazz training) which allowed Syrinx to weave longer, more complex pieces similar to those being toyed with by the similar sounding Germans Tangerine Dream (first album in 1969) and Terry Riley. They put out two albums ("Syrinx" in 1970 and "Long Time Relatives" in 1971) which were released only in Canada and did some touring and played on the CBC before breaking up. Mills-Cockell would go on to do film and TV soundtracks while Pringle would go on to found Toronto punk one-hit wonders The Poles with his performance artist wife Michelle Jordana. The Poles would go on score a classic hit single with "CN Tower" before fading away. In spite of their status as electro pioneers Syrinx were quite forgotten about for years while their German contemporaries Tangerine Dream would go on to decades long world-wide success with a similar approach. In 2017 their long out of print collected works were put out as a box set and short film doc was made.

Unlike the jarring other-worldly noise of the Silver Apples the more contemplative sweep of Syrinx seemed to lend itself to more conventional film narrative.

SYRINX ~ "December Angel";


This mournful track off the 1971 album uses newsreel footage from the Titanic.

SYRINX ~ "FATHER OF LIGHT";


This track uses footage from the 1915 German sci-fi horror film "Homonculus". This largely forgotten film was a major influence on the later classic German Expressionist films as well as "Frankenstein".

SYRINX ~ "FIELD HYMN";


For this track I used a film by French director George Melies, "The Airship".

The Throwback Thursdays Retro Video Project Pres; Destroy All Monsters pt.2

Another in my Throwback Thursdays Retro Video Project. This week; Destroy All Monsters pt.2;
This collection features videos using films made by Flux Films from 1965-67. Flux Films was an American Dada art collective that made a series of silent short films meant to be played at art showings, usually on a repeating loops. Some of their members included Yoko Ono and John Cale.

DESTROY ALL MONSTERS ~ "TO PLANET M240";


Made with a short film by George Maciunas

DESTROY ALL MONSTERS ~ "GO FOR IT"


Made with a short film by Robert Watts.

DESTROY ALL MONSTERS ~ "ELECTRO BANSHEE";


Made with another short film, an Op-Art piece by George Maciunas.

DESTROY ALL MONSTERS ~ "FADES BEFORE FIVE";


Another George Maciunas film, a collage called "Sears Catalogue".

DESTROY ALL MONSTERS ~ "NIXONOXIN";


This track features Richard Nixon's resignation speech, apparently recorded off the TV (one of the group can be heard clapping). Accordingly for this track I made a collage of still images of Nixon charictures.

The Throwback Thursdays Retro Video Project Pres; Destroy All Monsters pt.1

Another in my Throwback Thursdays Retro Video Project. This week; Destroy All Monsters.
Possibly the first American Industrial band, Destroy All Monsters were formed in Detroit in 1974 as an experimental performance art/noise band making numerous recordings (mostly crude instrumentals) but had few actual releases until 1977 by which time most of the original members had left and been replaced with Ron Asheton (ex Stooges and Micheal Davis (ex MC5) who turned the group into a more conventional punk band. This latter version of the band is better known, Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore oversaw a three CD box set which included most of the original band's work. Given the band's obscurity it's probably safe to say my videos are the only ones.

DESTROY ALL MONSTERS ~ "CHURCH";


This track uses a snippet of footage of an American TV play from the mid-1930's. Almost no TV footage exists from this era and this footage was shot by somebody aiming a home movie camera at a TV screen. Little is known about the actual show.

DESTROY ALL MONSTERS ~ "CONGA";


This track uses newsreel footage from the 1904 San Francisco earthquake and fire.

DESTROY ALL MONSTERS ~ "CRUNCH DRONE";


For this track I used a 1909 film "Airship Destroyer".

DESTROY ALL MONSTERS ~ "SPACE BEAT";


This video uses a short abstract art film by Robert Breer from 1970.

DESTROY ALL MONSTERS ~ "THRONE OF CHAOS";


This one uses another Robert Breer film, "Eyewash" from 1959.

DESTROY ALL MONSTERS ~ "IT HURTS ME";


This one uses a 1900 Edison Studios film "Faust & Margarite", one of the first films to have a supernatural/horror theme.

Throwback Thursdays Retro Zines ~ Rear Garde Magazine January 1989

January 1989;

In this issue of the Montreal based magazine; Interviews with Billy Bragg, 54-40, DRI, Mr T Experience, The American Devices, Karen Finley, DBC, Pump House, The Birth Defects, Blackjacks and a full length Boston scene report.

DRI ~ A WHOLE LOTTA SONGS IN UNDER FIVE MINUTES;


Record reviews of; Motorhead, Danzig, Das Damen, The Cynics, American Devices, Slayer, Traveling Wilburys, Los Lobos, Falco, Bootsy Collins, Ministry, Three Johns, MC Shan, Lime Spiders, Billy Bragg, Front 242, The Adolecents, Shinehead, Myles Copeland, Fishbone, REM, Forbidden Dimension, Heimlich Maneuver, Swindled, Hard-Ons, Druids.

Concert Reviews of; Siouxsie & The Banshees (by Moi!), The Three O'Clock Train, Testament &Raven, 39 Steps & One Free Fall, Grapes Of Wrath, DRI & Holy Terror, Itsa Skitsa, Jerry Jerry.

SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES ~ "RED OVER WHITE" (video by Moi);


Playing in Montreal that month were; Seven Seconds, Plasterscene Replicas, Jerry Jerry, The Weathermen, Youth Of Today, the Randy Peters, Savage Garden, The Swinging Relatives, the Northern Pikes, Michel Lemieux, April Wine, Asexuals, Sudden Impact & Groovy Aadrvaark, Me Mom & Morgentaller

54-40 ~ "Baby Ran";


In other news The Three O'Clock Train and the Pale Decendents broke up and the Nils were dropped by their record label.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Montreal Campus Radio Charts;

CSRG Top 33 1/3;
This Month ~ Artist ~ Album ~ Label ~ Cancon
1. The Pixies ~ Surfer Rosa ~ Vertigo

2. Schooly D ~ Smoke Some Kill ~ Jive

3. Front Line Assembly ~ Corrosion ~ Wax Trax

4. Bad Brains ~ Live ~ SST

5. Voivod ~ Dimension Hatross ~ Maze ~ cc

6. Sarah McLachlan ~ Touch ~ Netwerk ~ cc

7. Foetus ~ Thaw ~ Self Mutilation

8. Various Artists ~ Real Authentic Sampler ~ RAS

9. Rapeman ~ 2 Nuns & A Packmule ~ Touch & Go

10. Fail Safe ~ No One's Laughter ~ Demo ~ cc

11. Bill Bruford ~ Earthworks ~ EG

12. The Shuffle Demons ~ Bop Rap ~ Stony Plain ~ cc

13. Negativeland ~ Escape From Noise ~ SST

14. SWallow The Bird ~ SWallow The Bird ~ Scorpio

15. Denis Brown ~ Inseparable ~ WKS

16. Pail Head ~ Trait ~ Wax Tracks

17. Various Artists ~ Fast & Bulbous ~ Imaginary ~ cc

18. Boogie Down Productions ~ Stop The Violence ~ Jive

19. Moev ~ Yeah Whatever ~ Nettwerk ~ cc

20. Colour Me Psycho ~ Pretend I'm Your ~ Raging ~ cc

21. Stanley Clarke ~ If This Bass Could Talk ~ Portrait

22. Katie Webster ~ Swamp Boogie Queen ~ Alligator

23. Skinny Puppy ~ VIVI Sect VI ~ Nettwerk ~ cc

24. Dinosaur Jr ~ Bug ~ SST

25. My Dog Popper ~ 668 Neighbour Of The Beast ~ Patos ~ cc

26. Miriodor ~ Miriodor ~ Cuneform ~ cc

27. The Infamous Basturds ~ Lifestyles Of The Rich & Famous ~ FMATYF ~ cc

28. Somewhere ~ Lights In A Fat City ~ These

29. Marilyn Crispell ~ Gaia ~ Leo

30. Various Artists ~ New Africa 3 ~ Celluloid

31. Various Artists ~ Human Music ~ Homestead

32. Test Dept ~ Terra Firma ~ Sub Rosa

33. Les Thugs ~ Les Thugs ~ Vinyl Solution

1/3. BAB ~ The Pill ~ Cassette ~ cc

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES ~ "WE HUNGER" (video by Moi);


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CKUT Top 35;

This Month ~ Artist ~ Album ~ Label ~ Cancon
1. Ministry ~ Land Of Rape & Honey ~ WEA

2. The Sons Of Freedom ~ Sons Of Freedom ~ Slash ~ cc

3. Mary Margaret O'Hara ~ Miss America ~ Virgin ~ cc

4. The Gruesomes ~ Hey! ~ OG! ~ cc

5. Jeff Healy Band ~ See The Light ~ Arista ~ cc

6. Singers & Players ~ Vacuum Pumping ~ On-U Sound

7. KMFDM ~ Don't Blow Your Top ~ Wax Trax

8. Flour ~ Flour ~ Touch & Go

9. 1000 Homo DJ's ~ Apathy ~ Wax Trax

10. Motor Totemist Guild ~ Shapuno Zoo ~ Rotary Totem

11. Volcano Suns ~ Farced ~ SST

12. Bill Frisell ~ Look Out For Hope ~ ECM

13. Front 242 ~ Front By Front ~ Nettwerk

14. Mr Big Mouse ~ Drop That Ghetto Blaster ~ SSR

15. Sun Ra & His Arkrestra ~ Love In Outer Space ~ Leo

16. Das Damen ~ Marshmellow Conspiracy ~ SST

17. Pata Negra ~ Blues De LA Frontera ~ Carthage

18. Alpha Blondy & The Wailers ~ Jerusalem ~ Traffic

19. Soundgarden ~ Ultramega OK ~ SST

20. The Pursuit Of Happiness ~ Love Junk ~ Chrysalis ~ cc

21. Various Artists ~ Futurism & Dada ~ Sub Rosa

22. Pussy Galore ~ Sugarshit Sharp ~ Caroline

23. Various Artists ~ Acid Jazz Vol.1 ~ Ace

24. Etta James ~ Seven Year Itch ~ Island

25. Sweet Honey In The Rock ~ Live At Carnegie Hall ~ Flying Fish

26. Bad Brains ~ Live ~ SST

27. Sarah McLachlan ~ Touch ~ Nettwerk ~ cc

28. Various Artists ~ Faults To Follow ~ CIA ~ cc

29. Non Credo ~ Reluctant Hosts ~ Rotary Totem

30. Katie Webster ~ Swamp Boogie Queen ~ Alligator

31. Miriodor ~ Miriodor ~ Cuneiform ~ cc

32. Joe Mendleson ~ Born To Cuddle ~ Anthem ~ cc

33. Various Artists ~ Nicaraguan Folk Music ~ Flying Fish

34. Six Winds ~ Elephants Can Dance ~ Sackville

35. REM ~ Green ~ WEA



SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES ~ "MELT" (video by Moi);

The Throwback Thursdays Retro Video Project Pres; Wire

This week on my Throwback Thursdays Retro Video Project; Wire.

One of the first generation of Art-Punks (along with Siousxie & The Banshees, The Fall, Ultravox, Subway Sect, Alternative Televison, Soft Boys and Desperate Bicycles), Wire quickly gained a different approach from the basic three chord thrash on their three albums from 1977 to 1979, plus a live album in 1981. After breaking up for a decade they reformed in 1987 and took up right where they left off and they're still at it to this day, albeit sometimes with a different drummer.

WIRE ~ "LOWDOWN";


For this classic from the 1977 second album, "Pink Flag", I used a clip from a 1920's western starring Jack Hoxie which seemed to fit the almost Ennio Morricone feel of the song. Too bad the last few seconds of the fadeout got cut off. I also used this vid for a Fingerprintz vid.

WIRE ~ "STRANGE";


WIRE ~ "FRAGILE";


This one uses some 1920's aerial footage of Wiemar Berlin

Another song off "Pink Flag" this time using a 1907 film by Spanish film-maker Segundo De Chomon, a contemporary of French director George Melies whose style he built upon. I used this film for a Siouxsie & The Banshees song but could decide which I liked better so I kept both.

WIRE ~ "STRAIGHT LINE";


A song off the first album using an early Edison Studios film with a crude attempt at special f/x.

WIRE ~ "A TOUCHING DISPLAY";


for this song off the "154" album I used "Bob's Electric Theatre" by Segudo De Chomon

WIRE ~ "FIELD DAY FOR THE SUNDAYS";


This song from the first album uses a short Dada art film made for the Fluxus Film Collective by George Maciunas circa 1967.

Throwback Thursdays Retro Zines; Rear Garde Magazine Dec.1988

Rear Garde ~ December 1988;
In this issue of the Montreal zine; Interviews with The Butthole Surfers, All, Band Of Susans, Chris Spedding, Sham 69, Jr Gone Wild, Death Angel, The Look People, False Prophets, Adrian Sherwood, Carlos Perron of Yello, Rin Tin Tin, the Stratejakets, video director Scott Dobson and a short profile of Netwerk Records.

SHAM 69 ~ "IF THE KIDS ARE UNITED";


Record reviews of; SNFU, Sudden Impact, Suicidal Tendencies, Razor, The Feelies, Parts Found In Sea, DRI, Warzone, Anthrax, Metallica, Rollins Band, Skinny Puppy, Monty Cantsin, The Nils, Brian Setzer, Itsa Skitsa, Uncle Sam, Nick Cave, Dinosaur Jr, Bad Brains, That Petrol Emotion, MDC, Alternative Inuit, Chronic Disorder, Scruffy The Cat and more.

Concert Reviews of; Sham 69 & The Infamous Basturds, Blue Rodeo, Rise, The Purple Taods & Fail-Safe, DEath Angel & SCUM, One Free Fall & Chinese Backwards, Motorhead, Slayer & Overkill, Yellowman and the Festival Of Independent Music in Toronto featuring Rumble On The Beach & The Throbulators, Prairie Oyster, Cottage Industry, CaveDogs, Half Japanese, The Rheostatics & THe Crawlin Kingsnakes Carlos Perron of Yello and Greg Kroll of Prairie Oyster.

Playing in Montreal that month were;Voivod w/The Cro-mags & Violence, Three O'Clock Train, Groovy Aardvark, Go Four Three & Me Mom & Morgentaller, Sons Of Freedom, Itsa Skitsa, Testament & Raven, Split Second, The Pursuit Of Happiness, Screaming Tribesmen, Omar & The Howlers w/ MacLean & MacLean, Emo Philips, Bundock, Bowser & Blue, Celine Dion (of course), Myles Goodwin (of April Wine), Waylon Jennings, Jeff Healey, Sharon Lewis & Bram and The Deja Voodoo BBQ w/Deja Voodoo, The Gruesomes, Ray Condo, Shadowy Men, Supreme Bagg Team, House Of Knives & EJ Brule.

DEJA VOODOO ~ "YOU'RE NO FUN WHEN YOUR HEADS ALL MUSHY";


In other news;Jr Gone Wild and Raging Slab undergo lineup changes, The Doughboys, Fail-Safe, House Of Knives, Deja Voodoo, Shadowy Men, Dik Van Dykes, Rise, Ripcordz and American Devices have been in the studio and Fail-Safe singer has a new spin-off band named Bliss.

CRSG Top 33 & 1/3 Charts;
This Week ~ Artist ~ Album ~ Label ~ Cancon

1. ~ My Dog Popper ~ 668 The Neighbour Of The Beast ~ Cargo ~ cc

2. ~ Schooly D ~ Smoke Some Kill ~ Jive

3. ~ Skinny Puppy ~ Vivisect ~ Netwerk ~ cc

4. ~ Rapeman ~ Budd ~ T&G

5. ~ Various Artists ~ Fast & Bulbous ~ Imaginary ~ cc

6. ~ Colour Me Psycho ~ Pretend I'm Your Father ~ Raging ~ cc

7. ~ The Shuffle Demons ~ Bop Rap ~ Stony Plain ~ cc

8. ~ The Rollins Band ~ Life Time ~ Texas Hotel

9. ~ Big Stick ~ Crack n'Drag ~ BYO

10. ~ The Pixies ~ Surfa Rosa ~ 4AD

11. ~ MDC ~ 1980-1987 ~ Radical

12. ~ Front Line Assembly ~ Corrosion ~ Mute ~ cc

13. ~ Fred Line ~ Radio Car Jerome ~ Shimmy Disc

14. ~ Beurier Noir ~ Operation Sampam ~ Bondage ~ cc

15. ~ Various Artists ~ Real Authentic Sampler ~ Ras

16. ~ Test Dept ~ Terra Firma ~ Sub Rosa

17. ~ Various Artists ~ Human Machine ~ Homestead

18. ~ White Zombie ~ Soul Crusher ~ Caroline

19. ~ Scruffy The Cat ~ Boom Boom Bingo ~ Relativity

20. ~ The Young Gods ~ Amore ~ Play It Again

21. ~ Denis Brown ~ Inseparable ~ WKS

22. ~ Fred Frith ~ The Technology Of Tears ~ SST

23. ~ The Gathering ~ Let It Shine ~ World

24. ~ Moev ~ Yeah Whatever ~ Netwerk ~ cc

25. ~ Die Kreusen ~ Century Days ~ T&G

26. ~ Jean Derome ~ Confiture De Gagaku ~ Victo ~ cc

27. ~ Shelly Hirsh ~ Singing ~ Apollore

28. ~ Varoshi Fame ~ EP ~ Afterbirth ~ cc

29. ~ Pere Ubu ~ The Tenement Year ~ Enigma

30. ~ Lambs Bread ~ International Love ~ LBI

31. ~ Peter Blegved ~ Down Time ~ ReRec

32. ~ Elliot Sharp ~ Larynx ~ SST

33. ~ Jad Fair & Kramer ~ Roll Out The Barrell ~ Shimmy Disc

1/3. ~ Ray Condo ~ Mondo Combo ~ s/r ~ cc

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

JR GONE WILD ~ "I DON'T KNOW ABOUT ALL THAT";


Also printed were the charts for Montreal's other campus station CKUT which are notable for the lack of crossover hits with CRSG

The CKUT Top 35; No. ~ Artist ~ Album ~ Label ~ Cancon
1. ~ Fishbone ~ Truth & Soul ~ CBS

2. ~ Sarah McLachlan ~ Touch ~ Netwerk ~ cc

3. ~ Miriodor ~ Miriodor ~ Cuneiform ~ cc

4. ~ Various Artists ~ Stay Awake ~ cc

5. ~ Katie Webster ~ Swamp Boogie Queen ~ Alligator

6. ~ Various Artists ~ Sound Sampler ~ Nettwerk ~ cc

7. ~ Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds ~ Tender Prey ~ Mute

8. ~ Ambitious Lovers ~ Greed ~ Virgin

9. ~ Laibach ~ Sympathy For The Devil ~ Mute

10. ~ That Petrol Emotion ~ End Of The Millennium ~ Virgin

11. ~ Grant Hart ~ 2541 ~ SST

12. ~ The Cocteau Twins ~ Blue Belle Knoll ~ Polygram

13. ~ Skinny Puppy ~ Vivisect ~ Nettwerk ~ cc

14. ~ Dinosaur Jr ~ Bug ~ SST

15. ~ The Three Johns ~ The Death Of Everything ~ Caroline

16. ~ Conspiracy International ~ Core ~ Nettwerk

17. ~ Shinehead ~ Unity ~ WEA

18. ~ The Daylights ~ King ~ 109 Records

19. ~ Trio Bulgarka ~ The Forest Is Crying ~ Carthage

20. ~ Space Negros ~ Ethnic Musaz Of The 60's ~ Arf Arf

21. ~ Klinix ~ Fever ~ Antler

22. ~ Asher D & Daddy Freddy ~ Ragamuffin Hip Hop ~ Music Of Life

23. ~ Windmill Saxophone Quartet ~ Very Scary ~ Pathfinder

24. ~ Pigfarm ~ Hold Your Nose ~ X ~ cc

25. ~ Ornette Coleman ~ Virgin Beauty ~ Portrait

26. ~ Young Gods ~ L'Amourir ~ Pias

27. ~ Various Artists ~ A Vision Shared, Tribute To Woody Guthrie & Leadbelly ~ CBS

28. ~ Rin Tin Tin ~ Give Meech A Chance ~ Shake ~ cc

29. ~ The Lime Spiders ~ Volatile ~ Caroline

30. ~ The Sons Of Freedom ~ The Sons Of Freedom ~ Slash ~ cc

31. ~ Scott Johnson ~ Patty Hearst ~ Nonesuch

32. ~ Monty Cantsin ~ Ahora Neoismo ~ Maldoror

33. ~ Ludwig Von 88 ~ Special Olympique ~ Bondage

34. ~ Illusion Of Safety ~ More Violence & Geography ~ Complacency

35. ~ Marc Almond ~ The Stars We Are ~ EMI



THE BAND OF SUSANS ~ "PAINT IT BLACK";

The Throwback Thursdays Retro Video Project Pres; Ultravox & Visage

This week in my Throwback Thursdays Retro Video Project; Ultravox and Visage.
Ultravox,led by Midge Ure are remembered for their series of 1980's New Romantic club hits like "Dancing With Tears In My Eyes", "Sleepwalk" and "Vienna". But there was an earlier version of Ultravox led by John Foxx who recorded three albums from 1976 to 1978 which were not hits but did became an influence on bands like Simple Minds, Joy Division, Japan, The Fixx, Comsat Angels, Killing Joke and especially Gary Numan with their icy guitar and keyboard sound and coldly moody songs about dehumanization, dislocation (also one of their song titles) and alienation.

ULTRAVOX ~ "CROSS FADE";


For this song off the 1978 third album "Systems Of Romance" album I used footage from the end of the 1915 German Expressionist Horror film "Homnonculus". Although little known now this film was one of the influences on later horror films like Frankenstein. I also used this footage for a Killing Joke song but couldn't decide which version I liked best so I kept both.

ULTRAVOX ~ "THE QUIET MAN";


Another song off the third album, this time using footage of a Navaho Indian dance for Teddy Roosevelt made by Edison Studios.

ULTRAVOX ~ "SLOWDOWN";


Yet another song off the third album using a film by Spanish filmmaker Segundo De Chomon short film, "Les Oeufs De Paques" from 1907. Chomon was a contemporary of George Melies whose style he built upon. I also used this film for a Siouxsie & The Banshess song.

VISAGE ~ "FADE TO GREY";


After John Foxx left Ultravox in 1979 he was replaced by Midge Ure who changed the focus and sound of the band into a more lush and dreamy feel which would eventually spawn the New Romantic scene. But first he also joined with other members of Ultravox and Magazine to form a band around scenester Steve Strange as Visage who put out two albums and had a hit with the atmospheric "Fade To Grey" which sounds tailor made for silent films. Here I paired it with footage from the 1915 German Expressionist horror film "Der Golem". This film (starring Paul Wegener) was remade in 1922 (also with Wegener) and both versions were hugely influential on the later "Frankenstein" movies. The 1915 version was long considered lost until these snippets from the ending surfaced a few years ago. There is enough here to tell that there were considerable differences from the later version, notably that this version was set in modern times while the later was set in medieval Prague. In both versions however Wegener's iconic costume and makeup are largely the same.

VISAGE ~ "VISA-AGE";


In xxxx Steve Strange reformed Visage to redo songs from their first two albums with a full orchestra. This video of a song originally off the first album uses aerial footage from Berlin in the 1920's.

VISAGE ~ "NEVER ENOUGH";


Another from the orchestral album for a song originally on the second album using a short old silent film from the 1910's with an extended dream sequence.

VISAGE ~ "NIGHT TRAIN";


Yet another from the orchestral album for a song originally on the second album using a short art film by George Cup & Steve Elliot from 1972.

Throwback Thursdays Retro Zines; Rear Garde Magazine, October 1988

Rear Garde Magazine ~ October 1988;
In this issue; interviews with The Tragically Hip, Sugar Cubes, Asexuals, Dag Nasty, No Mind, Rise and Monty cantsin (in French).

Record reviews include; GG Allin, DRI, Pig Farm, Public Enemy, the Accused, M.O.D, Ladysmith Black Mambazzo, Voivod, Devo, Fatal Flowers, Current 93, Nurse With Wound, Janes Addiction, Lime Spiders, Band Of Susans, Edie Brickell, Boogie Down Productions, Spirit Of The West, Psyche, Infamous Basturds, Dwight Yokam, Pere Ubu, Wire, My Dog Popper, The Randy Peters, KD Lang, the Accused, Aswad, David Lyndley, 10,000 Maniacs, Colour Me Psycho, Bullet Lavolta, Book Of Love, State Of confusion, Stanley Clarke, the Three O'Clock, Raindogs, Mission Of Burma

BAND OF SUSANS ~ "PAINT IT BLACK";


Concert reviews for; Pere Ubu w/ John Cale, DRI, Kreator & Holy Terror, My Dog Popper, Art Bergman w/ 54-40, Iggy Pop, Das Damen, Dennis Brown, and Weddings, Parties, Anything.

PERE UBU ~ "HEART OF DARKNESS";


Appearing that month were; The Cynics w/ The Stand, Weather Permitting, the Darned, Vilain Pinquin w/the Crawling Kingsnakes, Death Angel,w/ Scum, Jr Gone Wild, Laughing Hyenas w/ Die Kruetzen, Shadowy Men, Dik Van Dykes, Psychic TV, Shuffle Demons, Monty Cantsin, Weather Permitting, DDT, One Man's Meat w/ the Cause, John Hiatt, Sons Of The Desert, George Carlin & Jay Leno, Dutch Mason, David Lindley, Bobs Your Uncle, Dik Van Dykes, Chinese Backwards, Teknikuller Raincoats, Bowser & Blue, Shelia Gostick, Suicidal Tendencies and a NCRA benefit w/Dega Voodoo, Fluid Waffle, Jellyfishbabies, UIC, Town Cryers, Fail-Safe, Heimlich Manuever and Rise. Also happening; the Festival Musique Actuelle in Victoriaville w/ Terry Riley, John Zorn & Fred Frith, Anthony Braxton, Bill Frisell, Rene Lussier and more.

NURSE WITH WOUND ~ "SWAMP RAT";




PERE UBU ~ "HEART OF DARKNESS";


Note; All videos by Your Humble Blogger.

Throwback Thursday Retro Zines; Rear Garde Magazine ~ September 1988

Rear Garde ~ September 1988; By this time the Montreal based magazine was nationwide at least in theory. Thus no more Montreal CRSG top 30 charts.

This month included interviews with the Circle Jerks, Razorbacks, Cowboy Junkies, Alex Chilton, Ludwig Von 88, Sudden Impact, MDC, Alternative Inuit, Scum, Pig Farm, Vilain Penguin, Johnny Arse & the Dogs, A.O.D, 76% Uncertain and a Festival International Rock De Montreal.

THE CIRCLE JERKS ~ "LIVE FAST DIE YOUNG";


Reviews of records by; Teenage Head, Razorbacks, Joan Jett, J.F.A, Smashed Gladys, Ramones, Tragically Hip, Montrose, Testament, Flotsam & Jetsam, Burning Spear, Big Youth, Tracy Chapman, Nerosis, Iggy Pop, Cynics, Art Bergman, Camper Von Beethoven, Ludwig Von 88, Nina Hagen, Dils, Heresy, No Mind, Problem Children, Lost Patrol, Mystic Eyes, Beyond Possession, Purple Toads, Corpusse, Jello Biafra, Georgia Satellites, Surf Punks, Paradox and Weddings, Parties, Anything.

THE RAZORBACKS ~ "SATURDAY NIGHT";


Concert reviews of; the Circle Jerks & 7 Seconds (Hey; I saw that tour), MDC, Three O'Clock Train & the Griffens, One Free Fall & the Tragically Hip (saw them too, thought they looked and sounded like UIC), Camper Von Beethoven & Screaming Watusis, Savage Garden, Nina Hagen (saw her as well, meh), Jerry Jerry & the Sons Of Rhythm Orch.

Appearing in Montreal that month were The Lyres, Fifth Column, Govt.Issue, No Mind w/ Pig Farm, Band Of Susans, Doughboys, The Boys, Heimlich Maneover, Fluid Waffle, Ray Condo, 54-40, Hall & Oates, King Diamond w/ Flotsam & Jetsam, Lillian Allen, Scorpions, Das Damen, JJ Cale, Pere Ubu w/ John Cale, Celine Dion (of course), UZEB, The Blushing Brides, Warzone and "Hell 88" featuring The Nils, Jr Gone Wild, Sons Of the Desert and Talk Shop

DEJA VOODOO ~ "YOU'RE NO FUN WHEN YOU'RE HEAD'S ALL MUSHY":


In other news Psyche Industry and BYC Records have merged to found Cargo Records, Deja Voodoo, The Gruesomes, TalkShop, Three O'Clock Train (after serious lineup changes) and the Hodads are in the studio, the Dundrells broke up and the National Campus Radio Org announces a new developement fund. Oh; and I started writing for them.

The Throwback Thursdays Retro Video Project Presents; Simple Minds pt2

More from my Throwback Thursdays Retro Video Project. This week; More Simple Minds.

SIMPLE MINDS ~ "THIS FEAR OF GODS";


A song off the 1981 third album "Empires & Dance" using a 1924 abstract film "Symphonie Diagonale" by Swedish/German Dada film-maker Viking Eggeling.

SIMPLE MINDS ~ "70 CITIES AS LOVE BRINGS A FALL";


This song from "Sister Feelings Call" uses an odd silent short that features the miniaturized Denishawn Dancers circa 1910's

SIMPLE MINDS ~ "COLOURS FLY & CATHERINE WHEELS";


A track off the 1982 fifth album "New Gold Dream" using a 1912 film by Spanish film-maker (albeit working in France) Segundo De Chomon, a contemporary of George Melies whose style he built on.

SIMPLE MINDS ~ "KING IS WHITE & IN HER CROWD";


This video uses an old silent travel doc SIMPLE MINDS ~ "CATWALK";


This track off the 1984 "Sparkle In The Rain" uses another film by Segundo De Chomon, "The Japanese Butterflies" from 1908. I also used this one for a track by The Band Of Susans.

SIMPLE MINDS ~ "SHAKE OFF THE GHOSTS";


An instrumental track off "New Gold Dream" using a 1924 by German Dada film-maker Walter Ruttmann, an associate of Viking Eggeling.

SIMPLE MINDS ~ "A BRASS BAND IN AFRICA CHIMES";


Another instrumental track, used as the b-side to the 1984 "Don't You Forget About Me" 12in single but most likely recorded earlier during the sessions for their sixth album "Sparkle In The Rain" in 1983 since they used the same producer in Steve Lillywhite. This is another film by Segundo De Chomon, "The Red Spectre" from 1907. SIMPLE MINDS ~ "BRILLIANT THINGS";


This is a demo of an instrumental track that would later become "Book Of Brilliant Things" off of "Sparkle In The Rain" using some test footage from "The Wizard Of Oz" including actors Judy Garland, Bert Lahr, Roy Bolger, Jack Haley and Margaret Hamilton.

Throwback Thursday Retro Zines; Rear Garde June 1988

Rear Garde Magazine June 1988;

In this issue of the Montreal Music Mag; interviews with The UK Subs, Henry Rollins, Ray Condo, GG Allin, The Infamous Basturds, Talk Shop, Absolute Whores, The Honeymoon Killers and Big Daddy

Record reviews of the Razorbacks, Death Sentence, Deja Voodoo, Ludwig Von 88, Ten Commandments, Del Lords, Firehose, Didjits, Divinyls, Raunchettes, Sonic Youth, Cowboy Junkies, Dissidenten, Frank Zappa, Sugarcubes, MDC, Butthole Surfers, Sex Pistols, Wire, Karen Finley, Dickies, Lillian Allen, Dickies, Randy Travis, Shadowy Men, Royal Nonesuch, Mystic Eyes, Drums Along The Gardiner, The Brood, Fred Eaglesmith, No Means No, Dayglo Abortions.

THE UK SUBS ~ "C.I.D";


Concert reviews of The Nils, The Mission, Rheostatics and the Rear Garde Benefit w/The Infamous Basturds, My Dog Popper, Fail-Safe, The Asexuals, The Darned, The Hodads, and Jerry Jerry.

Appearing in town that month; Depeche Mode, Dead Milkman, Jazz Butcher, Bowser & Blue, Sons Of The Desert, Elan, Big Pig, The Three O'Cock Train, The Stand, Chinese Backwards, Hodads, Elan, The Hex, The Darned, Paul James, Alex Chilton, The Nils & EJ Brule, Kitten With A Whip & Deadlines, Tragically Hip & One Free Fall, Clannad, Def Leppard, Eugene Ripper & The North, The Church, Celine Dion, 54-40, John Cougar Mellencamp, Cowboy Junkies, Sidewinders, Tackhead, Pogues, Bobs Your Uncle and Crosby, Stills Nash & Young w/Bruce Cockburn.

THE NILS ~ "FREEDOM";


In other news; new releases coming from Voivod, the Gruesomes, Shadowy Men, Dik Van Dykes, No Means No and My Dog Popper are going on tour, various members of Fail-Safe and Three O'Cock Train are having babies (but not with each other), two members of My Dog Popper are getting married (to each other) as was a member of Chinese Backwards, lineup changes in the American Devices, Hodads, Jerry Jerry & His Sons Of Rythmn and "Krak" a rival music mag put out by CKUT ceases operations.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CRSG Top 33;
Number ~ Artist ~ Album ~ Label ~ Cancon

1. Various Artists ~ It Came From Canada Vol.4 ~ Og! ~ cc

2. Sonic Youth ~ Master Dik ~ SST

3. Dayglo Abortions ~ Here Today Guano Tomorrow ~ Fringe ~ cc

4. The Butthole Surfers ~ Hairway To Steven ~ Touch & Go

5. Jello Biafra ~ No More Cocoons ~ Alternative Tentacles

6. No Means No ~ The Day Everything Became Nothing ~ Alternative Tentacles ~ cc

7. The Pogues ~ If I Should Fall From Grace From God ~ WEA 8. The Dik Van Dykes ~ Nobody Likes ~ Og! ~ cc

9. Various Artists ~ Sgt Pepper Tribute ~ NME

10. Ludwig Von 88 ~ La Mission ~ Bondage

11. Wire ~ Kidney Bingos ~ Mute

12. Alien Sex Fiend ~ All Our Yesterdays ~ Anagram

13. The Sugarcubes ~ Deus ~ WEA

14. Various Artists ~ The Word ~ BMG

15. Failsafe ~ Demo ~ s/r ~ cc

16. The Band Of Susans ~ Hope Against ~ Blast First

17. Parabellum ~ ? ~ Bondage

18. Eisnterzende Nuebautten ~ Funf ~ Some Bizarre

19. Deja Voodoo ~ Big Pile Of Mud ~ Og! ~ cc

20. Honeymoon In Red ~ 12in Single ~ Widowspeak

21. Nips & Nipples ~ Bops, Babes, Booze & Bower ~ Big Beat

22. Talk Shop ~ Demo ~ s/r ~ cc

23. The Cowboy Junkies ~ The Trinity Sessions ~ Latent ~ cc

24. Various Artists ~ Poatoes ~ Ralph

25. Bunny Wailer ~ Rude Dance Hall ~ Shanichie

26. Family Plot ~ Convictions ~ FP Music ~ cc

27. The Razorbacks ~ Go To Town ~ OPM ~ cc

28. Jandek ~ You Walk Alone ~ Corwood

29. Various Artists ~ Hog Butcher To The World ~ Mad Queen

30. Dissection ~ Final Genocide ~ Fringe ~ cc

31. Upangybottom ~ Upangymania ~ Fuzzy Tongue ~ cc

32. Agnostic Front ~ Liberty & Justice ~ Combat

33. The Forgotten Rebels ~ Surfin On Heroin ~ Enigma ~ cc

34. Death Sentence ~ Stop Killing Me ~ Fringe ~ cc

35. The Del Lords ~ Based On A True Story ~ Enigma

36. The Didjits ~ Hey Judester ~ Touch & Go

37. MDC ~ This Blood's For You ~

38. Gary Clail ~ Tackhead Sound System ~ Nettwork ~ cc

THE HONEYMOON KILLERS;

The Throwback Thursdays Retro Video Project Presents; Simple Minds

More from my Throwback Thursdays Retro Video Project. This week; Simple Minds.

I know everybody remembers them from "The Breakfast Club", "Don't You Forget About Me", and that terrible hit album they followed it up with, blah, blah blah. But they had actually been around for several years by that time having recorded six fine albums full of atmospheric, almost cinematic songs (including several instrumentals) that naturally lent themselves to silent film. At least I always thought so.

SIMPLE MINDS ~ "PLEASANTLY DISTURBED";


The epic closer off their 1979 first album "Life In A Day" mashed up here with a 1915 film "The Portrait", based on a Nikolai Gogol story directed by Polish director Władysław Starewicz, who would later be better known as a pioneer in stop action animation. This little known film is one of the first real horror films and was an obvious influence on the later German Expressionist films especially the classics "The Student Of Prague" and "Faust".

SIMPLE MINDS ~ "REAL TO REAL";


A song off the 1980 second album "Reel To Real Cacophony" using an odd French farce "The Magic Prisoners", which experiments with backwards projection to show some prisoners apparently falling upstairs and breaking into jail.

SIMPLE MINDS ~ "SCAR";


Another song off the second album using a using a short art film, "Tails" from 1976, by Paul Sharits. This film spliced together the faded, underdeveloped ends of other films, hence the title. I used this same film for songs by Cabaret Voltaire and Siouxsie & The Banshees but couldn't decide which version I liked better so I kept them all.

SIMPLE MINDS ~ "CACOPHONY";


An instrumental off the second album using a 1907 film "En Avant Le Musique" by Spanish director (albeit working in France) Segundo De Chomon, a contemporary of George Melies whose style he built upon.

SIMPLE MINDS ~ "VELDT";


Another instrumental off the second album using yet another Segundo De Chomon film "Les Lanatiques" from 1908.

SIMPLE MINDS ~ "FILM THEME";


Yet another instrumental from the second album, this time using some newsreel footage from Edison Studios of an gas refinery explosion from the early 1900's.

SIMPLE MINDS ~ "KANT KINO";


Another track off of "Reel To Real", this time an instrumental, using an early (1902) stop action film "The Destruction Of The Star Theatre" by Edward Armitage

SIMPLE MINDS ~ "ROOM";


Another track from "Empires & Dance" using a 1969 performance art film by Ben Vautier

Next time; More Simple Minds.

Throwback Thursdays Retro Zines; Rear Garde (April 1988)

Rear Garde Magazine ~ April 1988

By this issue Montreal's Rear Garde was less of a program guide for CSGR and more of a straight-up music mag, although they still printed their top 30 charts.

This issue featured interviews w/NoMeansNo, Schooly D, A Neon Rome, UIC and the Wailers (that's Bob Marley's band, not the 1960's Seattle band) with reviews of records by; Alien Sex Fiend, Einsturzende Neubauten, Lydia Lunch, Agnostic Front, Tav Falco, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, Front Line Assembly, Gang Grenn, the Corndogs, Dave Howard, Whitenoise, 13 Engines, the Crumbsuckers and the Legendary Pink Dots. There were concert reviews for the Nouvelle Musique Festival w/The Asexuals, Teenage Head, Fail Safe, Condition, Change Of Heart, Jerry Jerry, Three O'Clock Train, The Darned, the Hodads and a cast of dozens.

A NEON ROME ~ "THE MAGICAL SUMMER OF 85";


Montreal club listings for that month include; Henry Rollins Band & Failsafe, the Gruesomes & the Ten Commandments, These Imortal Souls, Big Dipper, Lillian Allen & Fifth Column, the Crawlin'Kingsnakes, the Hodads, the Village People, Ziggy Marley, Celine Dion (apparently some of her first gigs), the Curiosity Shop, Savage Garden, the Corndogs & EJ Brule, Buddy Guy & Junior Wells, the Doughboys, the Randy Peters, the Whirlygigs, the Crumbsuckers, Corrupted Youth, Flesh For Lulu, Agnostic Front and a Rear Garde benefit w/The Darned, Asexuals, Jerry Jerry, My Dog Popper, Failsafe, the Infamous Bustards, Mecca Normal, Flying Leathernecks, Ray Condo, the Hodads and a bunch of forgotten local bands.
In other news Voivod and Corrupted Youth have new albums coming out, CSGR has a new tapedeck (altogether now; ohhhh) and Paul Gott rants about the Grammys.



The CSGR Top 33 Charts;

That Month ~ Artist ~ Album ~ Label ~ Cancon
1. The Dik Van Dykes ~ Nobody Likes ~ Og! ~ cc

2. Alien Sex Fiend ~ All Our Yesterdays ~ Anagram

3. Dave Howard Singers ~ Yon Yonson ~ Hallelujah ~ cc

4. Various Artists ~ Music From The Armpit ~ Problem Children ~ cc

5. Kali & Dub Inc ~ Uncensored Reggae ~ Boomshot ~ cc

6. Various Artist ~ Hog Butcher For The World ~ Mad Queen

7. Black Flag ~ Wanted Again ~ SST

8. Tragic Mulato ~ Locos por el Sexo ~ Alternative Tentacles

9. The Lemon Heads ~ Hate Your Friends ~ Taang!

10. The Pogues ~ If I Should Fall From Grace ~ MCA

11. Cowboy Junkies ~ The Trinity Sessions ~ Latent ~ cc

12. Roy Buchanan ~ Hot Wires ~ Alligator

13. The Pixies ~ Come On Pilgrim ~ 4AD

14. Two Men Laughing ~ Dead Or Alive ~ Seba ~ cc

15. Various Artists ~ Fear Power God ~ CFN

16. Breaking Circus ~ Smoker's Paradise ~ Homestead

17. Front Line Assembly ~ Initial Command ~ KK ~ cc

18. Various Artists ~ Writing In Stone ~ Rubber Records ~ cc

19. Bunny Wailer ~ Rule Dance Hall ~ Shaniche

20. Bop (Harvey) ~ Nation From Nation ~ Grand Hall

21. Various Artists ~ Flip Side Fanzine 3 ~ Flipside

22. The Sinners ~ Some Enchanted Evening ~ s/r ~ cc

23. Various Artists ~ Potatoes ~ Ralph

24. Les Garcons Boucher ~ Garcons Boucher ~ Boucher

25. Gary Clail ~ Tackhead Sound System ~ Nettwerk

26. Gang Green ~ You Got It ~ Fringe

27. The UK Subs ~ A.W.O.L ~ NRAS

28. Family Plot ~ Convictions FP Music

29. Ludwig Von 88 ~ Le Mission ~ Bondage ~ cc

30. White Noise ~ Heavy Metal ~ Amok ~ cc

31. Chalice ~ Up Till Now ~ RAS

32. The Crumbsuckers ~ Beat On My Back ~ Combat

33. Firehose ~ If'N ~ SST

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Top 5 Cassettes;
No. Artist ~ Album ~ Label ~ Cancon
1. Various Artists ~ Animals Fight Back ~ s/r ~ cc

2. The Flying Leathernecks ~ Demo ~ S/R ~ cc

3. Mark Sutherford ~ Insects Not Poetry ~ s/r ~ cc

4. Blair Richard Martin ~ Sweet Little Girl ~ s/r ~ cc

5. This New Land ~ Demo ~ s/r ~ cc

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Top 5 Industrial Albums;
No. ~ Artist ~ Title ~ Label ~ cc
1. Einsterzende Neubauten ~ Einsterzende Neubauten ~ Some Bizzare

2. Various Artists ~ Ears To The Ground ~ Gelatinous

3. Controlled Bleeding ~ Core ~ Subterranean

4. Recoil ~ Hydrology ~ Stumm 51

5. Les Mysteres Des Voix ~ Volume 2 ~ HAD ~ cc

NOMEANSNO ~ "MAGIC GUNS";


UIC;

The Throwback Thursdays Retro Video Project Pres; Siouxsie & The Banshees (pt.2)

More from my Throwback Thursday Retro Video Project. This week; Siouxsie & The Banshees, pt.2.

SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES ~ "HALLOWEEN";


This is a song off their best album, "Ju-Ju" from 1981. The video uses a 1907 short by the Spanish-French film-maker Segundo De Chomon, a contemporary of the more famous George Melies, whose style he expanded on.

SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES ~ "VOODOO DOLLY";


Another song off of "Ju Ju" using a Segundo De Chomon film.

SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES ~ "LET GO";


This song is a b-side off the 1984 "Swimming Horses" single using another Segundo De Chomon short film, "Les Oeufs De Paques" from 1907. I also used this film for an Ultravox song.

SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES ~ "PULLED TO BITS";


This song was originally a b-side that later appeared on the 1983 live album "Nocturne" using newsreel footage from the collapse of the Tacoma Bridge in 1946.

SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES ~ "SWITCH";


A song off their debut 1978 album "The Scream" using an Edwin S Porter film "Life Of An American Fireman from 1903.

SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES ~ "ISRAEL";


This track uses an odd short film featuring miniaturized versions of the Denishawn Dancers, an influential Modern Dance troupe from the 1910's.

SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES ~ "WE HUNGER";


This is a song from the 1984 "Hyena" album. This is a clip from a longer film "Shoes" (1916) directed by Lois Weber and seemed to fit the song perfectly.

SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES ~ "THE RAPTURE";


This epic track is obviously in need of a video, here using a chapter from a 1923 British serial about the "Dr Fu Manchu" character. Note the ending of this chapter has been lost.

SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES ~ "TURN TO STONE";


This track off the 1986 album "Peep Show" uses another film by Segundo De Chomon

Throwback Thursdays Retro Zines; "Rear Garde Magazine" ( June 1986)

"Rear Garde" was a Montreal based music magazine (mostly punk & post punk) from the late 1980's. Started by Paul Gott of the Ripcordz originally as a program guide for campus/community radio station CRSG out of Concordia University, the zine later evolved into a national music mag. This issue is from 1986 when it was still doubling as a program guide.

This issue is 20 pages in length and is subtitled the "Not a Cow-Punk" issue. The guide features in depth pieces on rockabilly guy Ray Condo, Montreal punk band The Asexuals, 8th Route Army, New York Garage Band the Fleshtones, Toronto Bluesman The Paul James Band, and California Garage-Psyche band The Three O'Clock Train and avant garde classical composer Wolfgang Bottenberg.

THE FLESHTONES ~ "SOUL CITY";


Reviews include Hasil Adkins, Nihilist Spasm Band, Chris Houston, Condition, Nurse With Wound, Current 93, Controlled Bleeding, Bowser & Blue. Concert reviews include Siouxsie & The Banshees, Lords Of The New Church & American Girls, Burning Spear and the 1986 Electro-Acoustic Festival with Pierre Henry.

Along with the CSRG top thirty charts there are listings for Montreal shows that month which included The Gruesomes, 10,000 Maniacs, The Shadowy Men, Green On Red, Donovan, Monty Cantsin, Killdozer, Three O'clock Train, 39 Steps, The A-Bones, Anne Clark, Depeche Mode, Julian Lennon, Deja Voodoo, Slickee Boys, The Darned, Sonny Okuson, Kool & The Gang, Buddy Guy & Junior Wells, Beach Boys, Archie Shepp, Public Image Limited (Hey! I saw that tour!), Tangerine Dream (saw them too).



THE THREE O'CLOCK TRAIN ~ "TAIN OF DREAMS";


CRSG Top 30 Charts;

This Week ~ Last Week ~ Artist ~ Album ~ Label ~ Weeks On ~ Cancon;

1. ~ 1 ~ Three O'Clock Train ~ Wig Wam Beach ~ Pipeline ~ 11 ~ cc

2. ~ 2 ~ Ray Condo ~ Greenback Dollar ~ s/r ~ 6 ~ cc

3. ~ 4 ~ S.C.U.M. ~ Born Too Soon ~ Psyche ~ 12 ~ cc

4. ~ 8 ~ The Gruesomes ~ Jack The Ripper ~ s/r ~ 6 ~ cc

5. ~ 27 ~ The Cucumbers ~ All Shook Up ~ Fake Doome ~ 2

6. ~ 3 ~ The Paul James Band ~ Almost Crazy ~ Lick n' Stick ~ 4 ~ cc

7. ~ n.a ~ The Ramones ~ Something To Believe In ~ Beggars Banquet ~ n.a.

8. ~ 6 ~ The Nils ~ Sell Out Young ~ Psyche ~ 24 ~ cc

9. ~ n.a ~ Chris Houston ~ Hate Filled Man ~ Zulu ~ n.a ~ cc

10. ~ 7 ~ The Ripcordz ~ Circular Motion ~ s/r ~ 10 ~ cc

11. ~ 10 ~ Siouxsie & The Banshees ~ Tinderbox ~ Polygram ~ 3

12. ~ 12 ~ The March Violets ~ Electric Shades ~ Relativity ~ 3

13. ~ n.a ~ Nihilist Spasm Band ~ 1 x X = X ~ United Dairies ~ n.a ~ cc

14. ~ 15 ~ The Pandoras ~ It's About Time ~ Closer ~ 2

15. ~ n.a ~ Condition ~ Ghost Train ~ s/r ~ n.a ~ cc

16. ~ 14 ~ The Violent Femmes ~ The Blind Leading The Naked ~ Slash ~ 11

17. ~ n.a ~ Smudgeman ~ Changing My Name ~ s/r ~ n.a ~ cc

18. ~ 19 ~ Teenage Head ~ Trouble In The Jungle ~ Warpt ~ 13 ~ cc

19. ~ 9 ~ The Asexuals ~ Contemporary World ~ Psyche ~ 13 ~ cc

20. ~ 22 ~ My Dog Popper ~ Gino ~ s/r ~ 3 ~ cc

21. ~ 23 ~ Dayglow Abortions ~ Dayglow Abortions ~ Fringe ~ 2 ~ cc

22. ~ 25 ~ Johnathan Richman ~ It's Time For ~ Rough Trade ~ 3

23. ~ 28 ~ Sturm Group ~ Century Ho! ~ Green Fuse ~ 10 ~ cc

24. ~ 25 ~ Various Artists ~ It Came From Canada ~ OG! ~ 24 ~ cc

25. ~ 16 ~ The U.K.Subs ~ In Action ~ RFB ~ 6 ~ cc

26. ~ 24 ~ Mind Altering Device ~ To Touch The Face Of God ~ s/r ~ 3 ~ cc

27. ~ 24 ~ Rhythm Activism ~ Rhythm Activism ~ s/r ~ 3 ~ cc

28. ~ n.a ~ Test Dept. ~ Unacceptable Face Of Freedom ~ Some Bizarre ~ n.a

29. ~ n.a ~ Hasil Adkins ~ Out To Hunch ~ Norton ~ n.a

30. ~ n.a ~ Ludwig Von 88 ~ Houlala ~ Bondage ~ n.a

RAY CONDO & HIS HARD ROCK GONERS ~ "WAY OUT THERE";


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jazz Blues Top 5;

This Week ~ Last Week ~ Artist ~ Album ~ Label ~ Weeks On ~ Cancon;

1. ~ 1 ~ Skywalk ~ The Bohemians ~ Zebra ~ 3 ~ cc

2. ~ 2 ~ Larry Carlton ~ Alone But Never Alone ~ MCA ~ 3

3. ~ n.a ~ UZEB ~ Between The Lines ~ A&M ~ n.a ~ cc

4. ~ 3 ~ David Grisman ~ Acousticity ~ MCA ~ 7

5. ~ 4 ~ Jackie Washington ~ Is You Is Or Is You Ain't ~ Roto-Noto ~ 12 ~ cc

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Reggae/Afropop Top 5;

This Week ~ Last Week ~ Artist ~ Album ~ Label ~ Weeks On ~ Cancon;

1. ~ 2 ~ J.R.Express ~ She's A Dancer ~ s/r ~ 3 ~ cc

2. ~ 3 ~ Black Uhuru ~ Brutal ~ Attic ~ 3

3. ~ 4 ~ Becket ~ Stranger Man ~ Cocoa ~ 3

4. ~ 1 ~ Linton Kwesi Johnson ~ In Concert With The Dub Band ~ Rough Trade ~ 4

5. ~ n.a ~ Youssou N'Dour ~ The Rubberband Man ~ Magnetic ~ n.a

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES ~ "RED OVER WHITE";

The Throwback Thursdays Retro Video Project Presents; Siouxsie & The Banshees (pt.1)

More from my Throwback Thursday Retro Video Project. This week; Siouxsie & The Banshees. I always though their music had a cinematic quality.



SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES ~ "CARCASS";


Happily this track off the first album about festishizing "dead pork" turned out to be perfect for this weird French film

SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES ~ "SUBURBAN RELAPSE";


Here's another song from the first album using an early French film from Pathe;

SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES ~ "RED OVER WHITE";


This song originally appeared as the flipside to the "Israel" 45. This second, more lush version, appeared on "The Thorn" ep. The video is a collection of fan dancers from the 1900's. Some of the footage are of Loie Fuller, an American who invented the style and became very popular, especially in France. The others are various imitators from France and America including American Chrissie Sheridan, filmed by Thomas Edison. This may be my favorite video.

SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES ~ "PLACEBO EFFECT";


Another song off "The Thorne" the original version of which on the second album, this one using a film by Segundo De Chomon

SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES ~ "OVERGROUND";


Another song off of "The Thorn" this time using a fairly obscure silent film "A Daring Crime".

SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES ~ "MELT";


A song off the 1982 "Kiss In The Dreamhouse" album using an abstract film by German experimental film-maker Walter Ruttman; "Opus 2" from 1921.

SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES ~ "GREEN FINGERS";


Another song off of "Kiss In The Dreamhouse" using a short art film, "Tails" from 1976, by Paul Sharits. This film spliced together the faded, underdeveloped ends of other films, hence the title. I used this same film for songs by Cabaret Voltaire and Simple Minds song but couldn't decide which version I liked better so I kept them all.

SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES ~ "CITIES IN DUST";


This video shows Berlin shot from the air in the 1920's, it's only a fragment but it suited the sunject matter so perfectly that I couldn't resist.

The Throwback Thursdays Retro Video Project Presents; Clock DVA

More from my Throwback Thursday Retro Video Project.
This week; Clock DVA. A Northern English band led by Adi Newton who combined a jazz-funk lineup with post-punk/industrial influences on their first three albums. After that the band broke up and Newton continued on as a purely techno band under the Clock DVA name. Guitarist John Valentine Carruthers would go on to join Siouxsie & The Banshees. They don't seem to have made any proper videos during their classic early phase so mine appear to be the only ones.

CLOCK DVA ~ "SENSORIUM";


A track off their 1981 second album "Thirst" (also their best) using a silent "Lone Ranger" cartoon which was filmed off of a television set. This one definitely has the feel of an early Cabaret Voltaire video.

CLOCK DVA ~ "BLUE TONE";


Another song off of "Thirst" using an early French film "History Of A Crime". The film itself obviously filmed on a stage backdrop and is interesting in using a second stage during the scene where the prisoner is shown sleeping to portray him dreaming of his past life. This was a technique used on stage but not in film once they figured out how to do flashbacks.

CLOCK DVA ~ "MOMENTS";


This song from "Thirst" uses a strange British sci-fi comedy "The Automatic Motorist" from 1911. The film's idea of space is basically that of George Melies films but unlike Melies this film uses multiple sets and allows for a car chase and would have made the Melies films of only a few years earlier seem old hat by comparison.

CLOCK DVA ~ "FOUR HOURS";


The closest thing early Clock DVA had to a single (from "Thirst), here mashed up with a George Melies film "Zeus' Thunderbolts".

CLOCK DVA ~ "PIANO PAIN";


Another track from "Thirst" using some very early BBC TV footage that was captured on an American TV where it was somehow beamed through freak atmospheric conditions. Since almost no TV recordings exist from that era it's interesting to see how similar it was to that of the 1950's Golden Age. Incidentally while most people assume that TV started in the 1950's it's not at all true as I've written about here.

CLOCK DVA ~ "NORTH LOOP";


This one uses Edison Studios newsreel footage of the San Francisco earthquake and fire.

CLOCK DVA ~ "DISCONTENTMENT";


This track off the obscure 1980 debut album "White Souls In Black Suits" which was put out by Industrial godfathers Throbbing Gristle on their Industrial label on cassette only. Yes I actually have one. The video uses newsreel footage of New York shot for the French Pathe company sometime in the mid 1930's. Note; I had some trouble with sound levels on this one.

CLOCK DVA ~ "STILL SILENT";


This track from "White Souls" uses another Op-Art Fluxus film, by John Cavanaugh.

CLOCK DVA ~ "THE CAGE"


This track comes from a set of early demos and uses a "In The Land Of Nod" a weird film which uses some early stop action animation.

CLOCK DVA ~ "SEXUAL OVERTURE";


Another early demo for which I used a WW1 British film "The German Spy Peril". Actually it's only part of the final reel in which the hero is captured by an oddly large group of spies and tossed into a tunnel under Big Ben with a bomb. The rest of the film is apparently lost.

CLOCK DVA ~ "UNTITLED DEMO TRACK 2";


This is another early demo and uses one from a series of amateur videos various people made as homages to the Andy Warhol "Screen Tests" of the 1960's

CLOCK DVA ~ "THE SONOLOGY OF SEX";


This song is from the b-side of the "Sound Mirror" single from 1990 put out by the latter, synth only version of Clock DVA. The song is about Elizabeth Bathory the infamous Bloody Countess of the sixteenth century so I used various still photos portrayals of the Countess including some of actresses who have played her on screen including Isabelle Hupert and Palmoa Picasso.

The Throwback Thursdays Retro Video Project Presents; Cabaret Voltaire pt.2

More in my ongoing retro video project. This time more Cabaret Voltaire, pt.2, mid-period recordings.

"IF THE SHADOWS COULD MARCH";


This video for a remixed track recorded in 1974 which eventually turned up in a shortened form on the second album. The footage is from a short art film made by Wolf Vostell for a Dada film collective called Flux Films who made a series of such shorts in 1965-67. I think this one really captures the feel of the Cabs early vids.

In 1983 Cabaret Voltaire did a soundtrack for an obscure film called "Johnny Yesno". I took a couple of these tracks to make videos of.

JOHNNY YESNO";


For this one I used a short art film, "Tails", by Paul Sharits. This film spliced together the faded, underdeveloped ends of other films, hence the title.

"TAXI MUSIC";


Another from "Johnny Yesno". For this one I used one of DW Giffith's first film (from 1908) about a home invasion. I also used this film for a Monoton video but couldn't decide which I liked better so I kept both.

"SPREAD THE VIRUS";


This track is off the 1981 "Red Mecca" album. The video uses newsreel footage of the Red Baron's funeral and wreckage of his plane from 1918.

"INVOCATION";


This track is from the 1988 album "Eight Crepescule Tracks" using a performance art film from 1968 directed by Dutch art film-maker Franz Zwartjes.

Besides these found film videos I also made a few collages using still images.

"BAADER-MEINHOFF";


For this track off the second album about the 1970's terrorist group I used newspaper footage of the group.

"SLUGGIN FOR JESUS";


OK; the idea of three (very) pale white English dudes covering the theme from a 1970's blacksploitation flick may seem ill-advised but you can't argue with the results. We're just talkin' bout Shaft. Shut your mouth.

The Throwback Thursdays Retro Video Project Presents; Cabaret Voltaire

Lately my newest hobby is making music videos by taking old silent movies and adding music to them, usually from 1980's Post-Punk, New Wave and Proto-Industrial Bands whose music has a certain cinematic quality. I remember growing up in the 1980's early days of videos when a few such bands like Cabaret Voltaire, Throbbing Gristle, Severed Heads and Sturm Groups made such super low-budget videos using a mixture of "found footage", abstract art films, grainy super home movies and excerpts from various old movies and TV shows. And for a couple years such videos could actually get played on TV, at least on Much Music in Canada if not on American MTV.

So far I've made about a hundred including such old faves as Cabaret Voltaire, Simple Minds, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Clock DVA, Destroy All Monsters, Savage Republic, Killing Joke, Ultravox, Wire and The Silver Apples. I've already uploaded them on to Youtube so for the next while I can collect them in one place here. Starting with;
CABARET VOLTAIRE pt.1 (the early years);
One of the founders of Industrial Music, before it became techno-metal dance music, the Sheffield trio actually started recording their experiments in tape-collages, feedback, analog synths and distortion as early as 1974, although it took the post-punk fallout in 1978 to actually get around to releasing anything or doing actual gigs. They were not exactly welcomed by punk audiences of the time, at one gig the audience actually stormed the stage, assaulted the band and smashed their gear. However their noise experiments and theories about what they called "Industrial Music" became hugely influential, along with those of their even more outrageous (albeit less talented) compatriots Throbbing Gristle. Partly due to their aloof image and lack of any stage stage presence whatsoever the Cabs also pioneered the use of video presentations. The use of visual backdrops using film clips, slide shows, light shows and smoke machines was nothing new going back to the psychedelic era with bands like the Velvet Underground, Pink Floyd (Syd Barret era), Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead and the Creation, but Cabaret Voltaire took these ad-hoc displays with their own moody electro drones into fully realized video art.
My videos attempt to invoke this era of video art using found footage;

"SPACE PATROL";


This piece is an early sound collage and the video uses another Flux Film op-art film made by Paul Sharits for a Dada film collective called Flux Films who made a series of such shorts in 1965-67.

"SAD SYNTH";


This track is a simple analog synth doodle using another Flux Film short.

"COUNTER REACTION 2";


Another early sound experiment, this time I used old newsreel footage of the aftermath of an explosion shot by Edison Studios.

"REVERSE PIECE ONE";


Yet another early sound experiment, this time I used old newsreel footage from the Graf Zeppelin, probably from 1929.

"STOLEN FROM SPECTRA";


This video uses another Edison Studios film, however this one is not a newsreel but is instead a recreation of the execution of the assassin of President William McKinley along with some shots of the actual prison.

"SYNTHIACS 2";


Another early synth noodle. This time I used an a short by the pioneering Spanish filmmaker Segundo De Chomon who was a contemporary of the more famous Frenchman George Melies upon whom Chomon built his own style.

"VOICE OF AMERICA";


A snippet from of a track from the second album using a George Melies film "Gold Fever".

NEXT TIME; CABARET VOLTAIRE pt.2