From Outer Space

The Salford Bard. Also known as the first poet of punk. Manc accent, sharp suit and a great Blonde On Blonde do.

John Cooper Clarke set some great poetry to music, with legendary Factory Records producer Martin Hannett supervising and the Invisible Girls providing musical backup. Check out Beasley Street or Evidently Chickentown for proof.

But here´s some of his earlier solo stuff. Strictly stand-up poetry, no musical accompaniment. Recorded live at the Electric Circus in Manchester, on October 2, 1977, at the height of punk. Cracks me up every time. "I´ve seen our democracy is under duress, but I never get a nipple in the Daily Express..." Ta!

John Cooper Clarke - (You Never See A Nipple In The) Daily Express MP3

John Cooper Clarke - I Married A Monster From Outer Space MP3

Da Bomb

Yo, homies... Here´s another summer tenpack comin´ at ya, straight from the boon dox this time. Which means it´s the For The Sake Of The Beats edition tonight, with a fine selection of HipHop tunes I think are da bomb. And as it just dawned on me that most of this stuff is really rather old, wouldn´t it be nice if any readers of this blog could recommend me some more recent HipHop in the same vein as the tracks below? Much obliged.

Gang Starr - Suckas Need Bodyguards MP3

Genius/GZA - Cold World MP3

Nas - N.Y. State Of Mind MP3

EPMD - Boon Dox MP3

Boogie Down Productions - My Philosophy MP3

Raekwon - Criminology MP3

Paris - Break The Grip Of Shame MP3

Jeru The Damaja - Brooklyn Took It MP3

Dr. Octagon - 3000 MP3

Common - Payback Is A Grandmother MP3

Super Krauts

Guten Tag, Leute... Continuing our summer tenpack series, For The Sake Of The Song goes all German on you this time. So put on your Lederhosen and enjoy a krautrock primer of sorts,

showcasing the various exciting directions - electronic pop, avant-garde rock, neo-classical, ambient avant la lettre and a mix of all these - this utterly surprising genre could take. Auf wiedersehen!

Faust - It´s A Rainy Day, Sunshine Girl MP3

Can - Splash MP3

Popol Vuh - Brüder Des Schattens MP3

Amon Düül II - Wolf City MP3

Neu - Super MP3

La Düsseldorf - Geld MP3

Guru Guru - Next Time See You At The Dalai Lhama MP3

Cluster - Caramel MP3

Harmonia - Watussi MP3

Kraftwerk - The Model MP3

Snuff

For the best spoof ever on early British punk, look no further than the impressively monikered Alberto Y Los Trios Paranoias, a comedy band from Manchester. Their Snuff Rock ep, released in the magical year of 1977 on the mighty Stiff Records, features some razorsharp parodies of the musical movement that shocked the nation at the time.

In Gobbing On Life - "living is a cliché, it´s all been done before..." - they do a nice take on Rotten and the Pistols, but it´s Kill, their hilarious take on the Damned, that steals the show. "I´m gonna cut me liver out and shove it in yer face..."

Alberto Y Los Trios Paranoias - Gobbing On Life

Alberto Y Los Trios Paranoias - Kill

Long Live Longnecks

I have to admit this tenpack formula is a rather lazy affair, but heck, it´s summer, right? Let´s milk it some more then. Today we´re going completely country, with a varied and soulful selection of originators, outlaws and outsiders of the genre. So take that rocking chair outside, pour yourself a tall cool one (may I suggest the Lone Star brand?) and "sing a little bit of these workin´ man blues..."

Merle Haggard - Workin´ Man Blues MP3

Louvin Brothers - Let Her Go, God Bless Her MP3

Steve Young - One Car Funeral Procession MP3

Tom T. Hall - I Hope It Rains At My Funeral MP3

Delmore Brothers - I´m Lonesome Without You MP3

Tony Joe White - High Sheriff Of Calhoun Parish MP3

Red Sovine - Phantom 309 MP3

Larry Jon Wilson - Let Me Sing My Song For You MP3

Jim Ford - Harlan Country MP3

Johnny Dowd - Ballad Of Frank And Jesse James MP3

With A Feeling

And in the evening, when the sun´s gone down and it´s cooled off a bit, I love to play me some of that old blues. There´s nothing better than sitting on your porch late at night, drink in hand and stars overhead, listening to the masters from the Delta or the windy city. So here´s another tenpack, filled to the brim with blues treasures I´ve been digging recently. First one who writes in to tell me which famous band stole That´s No Way To Get Along gets the For The Sake Of The Song Crossroads award...

Tampa Red - Love Me With A Feeling MP3

Blind Joe - Married Man Blues MP3

Robert Pete Williams - Lord, I´m Going Back Home Soon MP3

Buddy Boy Hawkins - Voice Throwing Blues MP3

Rev. A.W. Nix - Black Diamond Express To Hell - Part 1 MP3

Memphis Minnie - Ain´t No Use Trying To Tell On Me MP3

Johnny Shines - Ramblin´ MP3

Garfield Akers - Dough Roller Blues MP3

Robert Wilkins - That´s No Way To Get Along MP3

Tommy Johnson - Slidin´ Delta MP3

The Same Song?

My fave music of summer has always been roots reggae. And as it´s gotten kinda hot here over the last couple of weeks - joder, que calor! - I find myself skanking the time away more and more often. Here´s a tenpack selection of boss sounds from the Island I´ve been enjoying lately.

Abyssinians - Satta Massagana MP3

Wailing Souls - Bredda Gravalicious MP3

Ras Ibuna - Diverse Doctrine MP3

Augustus Pablo - Stop Them Jah MP3

Jacob Miller - Tenement Yard MP3

Burning Spear - Door Peeper MP3

Little Roy - Don´t Cross The Nation MP3

Israel Vibration - The Same Song MP3

Mighty Diamonds - Right Time MP3

Leo Graham - Black Candle MP3

No Escape

Beat it, Jacko. Move over, Charlie´s Angel of hair and boobs fame. For I just heard that the one and only Sky Saxon died yesterday. With his band The Seeds, Sky - real name Richard Marsh - recorded some of the rawest garage rock to come out the US of A during the sixties. Miss him.

The Seeds - Can´t Seem To Make You Mine MP3

The Seeds - Pushin´ Too Hard MP3

The Seeds - No Escape MP3

It Is Longing That I Feel

Better start saving up y´all, as the Soulsavers are about to release a follow-up to their impressive It´s Not How Far You Fall, It´s The Way You Land (´07) pretty soon. The British producer twosome Rich Machin and Ian Glover have once again invited former Screaming Trees vocalist Mark Lanegan to sing on the bulk of their material, and that sure is good news. His voice matches perfectly with the atmospheric, moody musical landscapes the duo manages to cook up.

Bonnie Prince Billy will also be present once more, performing a Lanegan original no less, while other tracks feature Spiritualized´s Jason Pierce, Faith No More´s Mike Patton and last but not least Butthole Surfer Gibby Haines.

Here´s a fine taste of the new album, tentatively called Broken, with Lanegan doing a mighty fine piano-driven version of the Bonnie Prince Billy penned Palace Brothers´ classic You Will Miss Me When I Burn.

Soulsavers - You Will Miss Me When I Burn MP3

Palace Brothers - You Will Miss Me When I Burn MP3

The Magnificent Six

Scritti Politti´s Skank Bloc Bologna still stands out as a prime do-it-yourself wonder from those magic post-punk days. Or should that be daze?

Inspired by reggae and dub: skank.

Inspired by a neo-Marxist philosopher theorist called Gramsci, who dreamt up a theory about a ´historic bloc´ in which the downtrodden classes would revolt and put everything on its head: bloc.

And inspired by the ´77 Italian political and cultural uprising in a city more famous for its spaghetti sauce: Bologna.

"They´re working on a notion and they´re working on a hope, a Euro vision and a skanking scope..."

Scritti Politti - Skank Bloc Bologna MP3

Fresh Fruit

Enough of all that old stuff for a moment, it´s about time we played you something recent here again. Right?

Right. Western States may be a Canadian band, but their second album Bye And Bye was fittingly recorded down in Texas. The steelguitar-drenched Time To Lose is a perfect example of their melancholic sound.

Western States - Time To Lose MP3

King Creosote is the brainchild of Kenny Anderson, who comes from a big Scottish musical family. You may know his brother as Lone Pigeon. Full of inventive freakfolk, Flick The Vs comes packed in a sleeve to die for.

King Creosote - Nothing Rings True MP3

Condo Fucks is Yo La Tengo in disguise. And their album Fuckbook an hilarious collection of great covers. This one was originally written and performed by the Kinks way back when.

Condo Fucks - This Is Where I Belong MP3

The Connie Converse story is a weird one. Thirty five years after this folksinger mysteriously disappeared from the face of the earth, we can finally hear her fine voice on How Sad, How Lovely. Read all about it here.

Connie Converse - One By One MP3