Isnt old punk brilliant!

It never ceases to amaze me how good some old punk stuff is. Things that jumped out at me today are

• Subway Sect - Ambition (and Nobody's Scared for that matter)
• Young Marble Giants - Brand New Life
  
• Metal Urbain - Paris Marquis
• Colin Newman - SSSSStar eyes
• Killing Joke - Eighties
  

Almost as brilliant as old punk is old reggae (from the same period), specifically

• Dr Alimentado - Man Next Door (off best 'dressed chicken in town')
• I Roy - Noisy Place (actually this is exactly the same as above)
• Agustus Pablo - Cassava Piece
• Keith Hudson - Nuh Skin Up (greensleeves 12")
  

If you were only allowed to take one reggare track to yon desert island then I wouldnt know whether to plump for Cassava Piece or Man Next Door.

I'm not entrely sure what Dr Alimentado does on 'Best dressed chicken in town' as it all seems to be tracks nicked from I-Roy, and the mixes dont seem that different! Anyways, who cares because its a brilliant album.

Well I'm off to the truck festival near Didcot to sample Oxford's finest up and coming bands (and get a sun tan)!

Oooh oooh, did I mention that Yorkshire TROUNCED Warwickshire in the Cricket at Scarborough. Absolultely pummelled them. Thats 2 wins on the trot, the only 2 wins of the season!

byeeee

Also notable this week

Steve Barker is back in town

Imagine my delight upon remembering how brilliant Radio Lancashire's On The Wire used to be back in the late 80's early 90's. It was staple listening on sunday afternoons 2-5. Lots of techno/house/dub/reggage and above all on-u sound. Tackhead and Gary Clail exclusives. There was also some brilliant interviews, Lee Perry and Mark E Smith bieing two I remember. Big Stick also camre in if I recall correctly.

Anyways, the unthinkable happened and On The Wire moved to Tuesday nights and I never listend again.

Then I heard that Steve Barker moved to china, but apparently he carried on doing theshow.

Anyway now he's back (I think) and did his first live show in ages the other week.

Its really nice to have him back. I had the pleasure of meeting him once when he interviewed my band live on On The Wire. Nice bloke.

Oooh yes and a big up to Fenny and of course the esteemed Mrs Cakehead (see MySpace).

Aren't Liliput Brilliant

Liliput (formerly called Kleenex) have come into focus this week. I've had their greatest hits for a few years now but havent played it much. For the unititated they're a late 70's punk band from Switzerland.

I need to mention the following tracks (to be fair most of the double CD is a bit iffy but three of the tracks are just so mindboggling fantastico that its worth buying the disc for them alone

• Hitchhike
  
• DC10
  
• Eisiger Wind
  

The last one mentioned Eisiger Wind is the one that tipped me over the edge. I've been playing it at least 3 times a day for the last 2 weeks. I guess the reason I like it so muych is that it sounds like it was recored by The Fall just after (or before) their classic 'Backdrop' epic!

The disc also ccontains the two Rough Trade singles that Kleenex recorded before they changed their name - Heidi's Head and You/U. These are both good too!

Aren't The Stooges Brilliant

The 6 CD boxed set of 'Raw Power' outtakes, called 'Heavy Liquid' dropped thrrough my letterbox today. I didn't even know this existed until last week and what a fantastic platter it is for sure. Disc 1 contains THIRTEEN versions of 'I gotta right' and 3 versions of 'Gimme Some Skin'.

Unfortunately unlike the 7 CD box set of 'Funhouse' outtakes, not all 6CDs are from the Raw Power sessions - there's a lot of live material but hey - you cant have everything!

All this reminds me that the original 'Raw Power' has got to be the best 'rock' LP ever! I will never tire of listening to it and I wont heard a word against David Bowie's production. It may sound somewhat dense but that is what makes it sound so good!