Living Is A Joke

Always heartwarming: the unmistakable, languid London drawl of the one and only Peter Perrett. "I'm gonna sleep on a bed of nails, never to wake up..." Bonus points for that lovely gypsy violin.

Peter Perrett - Believe In Nothing

Out There Somewhere

"And why do you tell me not to go there, would you jump into defences if I do?" Presenting an oblivious six pack for your listening pleasure. Sad sad art by Tinca.

Benny Joy - Nowhere
The Only Ones - Miles From Nowhere
Shoes - Nowhere So Fast
The Replacements - Nowhere Is My Home
The Aints - It's Still Nowhere
Bettie Serveert - This Thing Nowhere

That Same Old Story

So Alone should have been the title song of mr. Thunders' finest solo album, but inexplicably it didn't make the final cut. Glad the cd reissue put this right eventually, as it's a delicious chunk of characteristic junkie sleaze. Sounds quite a bit like the mighty Only Ones, but I'm not sure if Peter Perrett, who participated in the sessions, is indeed present here.

Johnny Thunders - So Alone

...And Today

You knew you had it coming, right? Yesterday's gone... And forever came today.

Hüsker Dü - Something I Learned Today
The Only Ones - Lovers Of Today
Eric Ambel - Forever Came Today
Merle Haggard - A Working Man Can't Get Nowhere Today
Mel Street - I Met A Friend Of Yours Today
Blind John Davis - No Mail Today

Wild Weekend Vol. 65

Wild Weekend is back with issue 65, and all is well with the world. Business as usual then so. Some hippy dippy folk, some wild garage rock, some classic flamenco, some outtake Bob. Let the games begin, and have a wild one.

Let's get the show on the road with Peter Perrett's Only Ones, an old fave from hazy postpunk days. I played my vinyl copy of their dark '79 masterpiece Even Serpents Shine so often its grooves were all but worn out, so last week I finally invested in the cd reissue. Good move that, as it came with three bonus tracks, of which I dig This Ain't All (It's Made To Be) the most. Any lovers of pretty, pastoral folk around? Good, because Drag City continues its excellent reissue program with Love Has Made Me Stronger, a forgotten '76 gem by Carol Kleyn. Makes you wonder if co-harpist Joanna Newsom has the original stashed away somewhere... Be sure to pick this one up, and don't forget to check out her interesting life story here.

The Only Ones - This Ain't All (It's Made To Be) MP3

Carol Kleyn - Blackbird MP3

Lofi singer/songwriter supreme Simon Joyner has been running a cool subscription-only record club for a while now called Grapefruit, and their brandnew release Turd Goes Back: Essential Tracks from Secret Secret Sourpuss & Big Tussie contains early recordings of Lambchop's Kurt Wagner. Check out a sample of the album below and sign yourself up why don't you. And speaking of turds: it's high time we played you some raw sixties garage rock once again. "I went to see a wise man, to ask him how to be..." That's one Rabbit MacKay, with a furious track from a masterful, sadly out of print compilation called Turds On A Bum Ride. If it ever pops up on eBay, do yourself a favour and place a high bid.

Lambchop - Came Home Late MP3

Rabbit MacKay - Tendency To Be Free MP3

Picked up a truckload of flamenco for next to nothing while in sunny Catalunya last week. One good score was a definitive compilation of Manolo Caracol (1909-1973), a gypsy from Seville who has been called, and I kid you not, 'the Caruso of the caves' and even 'the Brahms of flamenco'. Great singer, not to be missed. And I'm kissing you goodbye with a delightful Dylan outtake. Got to admit it kinda got lost initially amongst all the treasure found on Tell Tale Signs, installment number eight in the Bootleg Series. It was only last week that I realised this version is superior in all respects to the one released on Modern Times, with an understated arrangement and vocals to die for. "When I heard you was cold I bought you a coat and a hat, I think you may have forgotten about that..."

Manolo Caracol - No Quiero Na Contigo MP3

Bob Dylan - Someday Baby (outtake version) MP3

Sparkle City Break

I'm off for a few days visiting the coolest city in the world. Maybe meet a hobgoblin or two. In my absence, please make do with this sparkling theme time ten pack. Hasta luego/back soon...

Shuggie Otis - Sparkle City MP3

Blind Willie Johnson - I'm Gonna Run To The City Of Refuge MP3

Bob Dylan - Marchin' To The City MP3

The Only Ones - City Of Fun MP3

Sonic's Rendezvous Band - City Slang MP3

Mark Stewart & The Mafia - Liberty City MP3

Luscious Jackson - Citysong MP3

The Fall - City Hobgoblins MP3

Pink Fairies - City Kids MP3

Horace Silver - Break City MP3

Wild Weekend Vol. 2

Time for another version of Wild Weekend, where the shuffle function of my iPod decides the contents of a sixpack of songs. What did the ghost in the music machine line up for you this time? You´re about to find out.

Let´s get warmed up with the legendary Motor City Five, and a track from their killer second album Back In The USA. "Felt like screaming out loud..." Sharp soloing by brother Wayne Kramer here. Next up is something completely different, as it should be: allegedly the most widely known and biggest selling record in African music history. The half Nigerian and half Camerounian Prince Nico sold over 15 million (!) copies of his ´76 hit Sweet Mother to date.

MC5 - Looking At You MP3

Prince Nico Mbarga - Sweet Mother MP3

Time for one of my favorite horn players. Here´s king of the tenors Ben Webster performing the Duke Ellington classic Don´t Get Around Much Anymore. Ben digs deep. The Only Ones were one of my fave bands of the so-called new wave. Out There In The Night is a fine example of Peter Perrett in his prime. That lyrical guitar comes courtesy of the way underrated John Perry btw.

Ben Webster - Don´t Get Around Much Anymore MP3

The Only Ones - Out There In The Night MP3

"Be a hip cat, be a ship cat..." There´s not a lot of Pink Floyd on my iPod, as I´m one of them snobs who abhorrs almost anything of the post-Barrett era. Cause "that cat´s something I can't explain..." Wonderful song. And we reach the finish of this week´s edition of Wild Weekend with the late great Johnny Thunders covering Dylan. Remembering only a fraction of the lyrics, and improvising the rest, he still manages to pull it off somehow.

Pink Floyd - Lucifer Sam MP3

Johnny Thunders - Joey Joey MP3