MEDICATION: A BUDDYHEAD BLOG

Cunts Are Still Running The World

Well a fine surprise came to me recently which restored some of my hope in music. Not that I was losing too much of it but it can get brutal if you get lost in the morasse of myspace and pop culture with a few ill placed clicks. Anyhow, the gem (at least for me and some other believers in the old guard of britpop) was the solo album by Jarvis Cocker. A fine orchestrated pop album with the crooning vocals of Pulp's frontman which is more memorable then the last two Pulp albums in my opinion. Humourous and satirical lyrics from topics as quantum mechanics and even an inspirational song sung to a girl whose boyfriend plans on running off with some "skinny bitch". In my opinion, this album is truly "punk". Apparently in an interview in Sweden's SONIC magazine he said he was listening to lots of Leonard Cohen "Death Of A Ladies Man" which I just purchased and will post later along with some great excerpts with Jarvis about music press and other topics. Enjoy Jarvis... and Jarvis, thank you.

[ DOWNLOAD "DON'T LET HIM WASTE YOUR TIME" BY JARVIS COCKER ]

[ DOWNLOAD "FAT CHILDREN" BY JARVIS COCKER ]

[ DOWNLOAD "QUANTUM THEORY" BY JARVIS COCKER ]

[ BUY THE ALBUM FROM AMAZON.COM AS AN IMPORT - Yeah, it's expensive but it's worth it and the sleeve is beautifully done by UK's DESIGNERS REPUBLIC who also did the other Pulp sleeves along with other classic britpop albums ]

and SING ALONG to "CUNTS ARE STILL RUNNING THE WORLD" by clicking the YouTube™ Video below!

And last but not least, [ DOWNLOAD THE JARVCAST ] which is Jarvis reading stories. Awesome!

"Don't Let Him Waste Your Time" video.

The Evaporators - "Ripple Rock"

The Evaporators are now officially my favorite Canadian band, if you don't count Neil Young, Leonard Cohen, The Band and a bunch of other people I can't remember at this very moment in time. This is the video for their new hit single "Half-Empty Halls" as well as two songs from "Ripple Rock" (although you need to see this band in a live setting to fully comprehend it) . These little musical nuggets won't be as hard to swallow as those Pearl Jam songs were kids, I totally promise man. But I should warn you... The Evaporators make music that isn't serious at all. I'd even call it... Fun. What else would a band fronted by (one of Canada's greatest exports) Nardwuar The Human Serviette and backed by members of  The New Pornographers be like? So if you know that fun isn't your bag, keep on movin' bucko.If you don't know who Nardwuar is, click here.

(Download - "I Gotta Disease, I'm Addicted To Cheese")

(Download - "Half-Empty Halls")

Nardwuar V.S. AFI: Watch Nardwuar bum these goobers out with photos of them wearing headbands and shorts from back before they thought they were into Bauhaus. It's amazing. The best line of the bit is when the AFI guy says: "He's not surgically altered. He's our friend." If you haven't bought Nardwuar's new 2xdvd yet, I highly recommend you do so now by clicking here. I can't remember if this AFI interview is on there or not, but gimme a break the thing is over 5 hours long. 

The Jesus & Mary Chain - "Sometimes Always"

I just found this JAMC video on youtube, check it out. I posted mp3s from the record a while ago, if you missed out on that click here. Happy Easter, Passsover or just hungover... whichever one you are.

The Replacements... again.

This is my favorite music video ever. It proves that old theory, "less is more". The song, "Bastards Of Young", also happens to be my favorite song by The Replacements. Sometimes things work out nice kids.

If you've ever had a drink, you'll relate to this killer b-side. It's from a bootleg called "Sucking Wax" that I stole from Das Corpse's house cuz he's on tour GOING OFF and I get to raid his record collection, drink all his Mountain Dews and watch his gay pornos. It's no coincidence that this song is also about going off. Sometimes things work out nice kids. My favorite line from this song is:"Twenty push-ups this morning, that was half my goal, Tonight I'll be doin' pull-ups, On the toilet bowl, And somewhere somebody's throwin up". I thought it didn't fuckin' rain in LA...

(Download - "If Only You Were Lonely")

The Clash - "Give 'em Enough Rope"

The Clash always had something to say, and live they really had the aggression – but to me their recordings always fell flat. But I love this record, particularly because they sound pissed without the overly British vocal scowling of the first record (where Joe Strummer seemed to be doing his best impression of John Lydon). It’s always weird to me that this was the record the band hated the most, particularly because of the production. Their label forced them to work with producer Sandy Perlman on this one, who was best known for producing “hard rock” bands of the 70’s like Blue Oyster Cult. They hated it, but to me, the results are the best they laid to tape. While the songwriting progressed on later records, the production to me went south and didn’t capture the live raw sound of the Clash. If I had to recommend one Clash record to anyone, this is it.

(Download - "Tommy Gun")

(Download - "Cheapskates")

(Download - "All The Young Punks")

Pissed Jeans - "Shallow"

Allentown, PA seems to have a bevy of hot young talent (no im not talking chicks, keep yer shit in yer pants) these days. With bands like Air Conditioning, Pearls & Brass, Gate Crashers, Barnacled and my 2005 and current faves PISSED JEANS, to name a few.  Pissed Jeans slay, batter and punish in the vain of Scratch Acid, Drunks With Guns, Flipper, No Trend, Gauze and Laughing Hyenas. They 've previously released a single and their 2005 debut  full length "Shallow" on the small but blossoming label 'Parts Unknown Records'. I guess someone at Sub Pop is doin their homework cuz they've signed em up for a single and a new record in 2006. They'll sit nicely next to label mates Wolf Eyes fer sure. Can't wait. No track names today. Go get the record, they probably need the money.

(DOWNLOAD - "TRACK 1")

(DOWNLOAD - "TRACK 5")

(DOWNLOAD - "TRACK 8")

Angel Hair - "Communion"

Hey Dave Clifford... that Angel Hair stuff is still great, I felt a litle dorky after posting those tunes a while back to later learn you write for the blog too. Hahah.. anyway - I always liked this song title. The song is great too.

So, ladies and gents... another Angel Hair song for you to smash your head into stuff... but first I have a little story:

I remember in 1998 when Frodus was touring we would spent endless hours listening to Communion (by Whitley Streiber) read by Roddy McDowall (who was Cornelius in Planet Of The Apes in the 60s) and the Art Bell show. My obsession with Art Bell would mean that I would insist on doing all the late night drives and listen to Art Bell really loud and make the Frodiis a little angry. Anyhow, one night Nathan Burke and I were listening to the Communion book on tape and were hyperaware during our night drive. Suddenly we saw a beam of light from beyond a hill extending into the sky.. .our hearts stopped and mouths dropped wide open. Then as we approached the light was glaring at us and it was just a car with it's high beams on and the mist causing a refraction. Anyhow.. it was awesome and that whole tour I was sad that I wasn't abducted by aliens. Roddy's voice was very soothing in that book on tape and I suggest everyone to listen to it at one point in their lives.

(DOWNLOAD "BEDROOM SCENE FROM COMMUNION")

(DOWNLOAD "THE BEAST MAN" .WAV - RODDY MCDOWELL AS CORNELIUS - PLANET OF THE APES)

Mudhoney - "Under A Billion Stars"

Fuck yeah!  Finally I get something cool in the mail.  New Mudhoney biotch!  Here's the press release.  Dig on this: "Mudhoney is a four-piece rock group from the old, weird Seattle. For 18 years they have plugged into wall sockets all over the world, proving to be one of the most consistently electrifying acts to survive the grunge implosion, whatever that was. The wolfish howls of singer Mark Arm, soulful splatterings of guitarist Steve Turner and frenzied fills of drummer Dan Peters have produced 9 albums to date, most of which are considered neo-garage classics. In addition, they have had two bassists over the years, Matt Lukin, who retired in 1999, later replaced by the inimitable Australian Guy Maddison. Under a Billion Suns is the band's new long-player and it's performed with the same amplified urgency of their previous work. While history has shown musicians to be a largely unreliable lot, Mudhoney has never swayed in its vision of making really loud rock music and this album is no exception. Produced with the help of three notable knobsters (Phil Ek, Johnny Sangster, Tucker Martine) and boasting a blaring horn section, Under a Billion Suns exposes a more snidely political-fueled side to our shaggy heroes, but one revealed through the invariables of the Mudhoney recipe: thick, soggy punk riffs and underrated guitar dynamics, psychedelic tangents and snot-nosed finger-pointing. It is loud, it is fierce, and it is here for our world right now. Lucky for us, so is Mudhoney." They've re-recorded "Hard On For War" off of "Gimme Skelter" and it sounds even better.  The first song on here, "Where Is The Future", has horns on it and I'm not scared to say that "I'm grooving to it".  Don't get scared of the horns kids... think "Funhouse", The Stooges did it, it's ok.  This record hits stores March 3rd 2006.  In the meantime go buy the new Mojo that has "The Story Of Grunge" and NIrvana on the cover, it rules.  I'm so grunge I don't shower.

(Download - "Where Is The Future") 

(Download - "Hard On For War") 

Dag Nasty - "Can I Say"

Recorded at a time when Washington DC's legendary hardcore scene was beginning to splinter, Dag Nasty's "Can I Say" signaled a change in the sound and momentum of the genre. Formed after the demise of Minor Threat by Brian Baker, Colin Sears and Roger Marbury, Dag Nasty debuted and recorded with original vocalist Shawn Brown. After a while, things didn't work out with Brown and they recruited powerhouse shouter Dave Smalley into the ranks. Smalley was at the right place and the right time since he had just left Boston's DYS. After hitting the road with Beefeater, Dag Nasty entered Don Zientara's Inner Ear Studios and recorded "Can I Say" with Ian MacKaye producing. The result was a stunning album full of melodic hardcore fury. Dave Smalley's vocals are incendiary and portray an emotion that was rare in HC at the time. In my opinion it's the definite highlight of his career. Check out 'Circles', 'I've Heard' and 'Justification', which was recorded at Dave's first show with the band.

(Download - "Circles")

(Download - "I've Heard")

(Download - "Justification")

Starlite Desperation - Notes From the Drag

I'll have to fess up to being a total fanboy about Starlite Desperation for the past ten or so years of its on-and-off existence. From the first time that my old band played at Epicenter in SF in 1996 with the then Monterey-based glam punk trio adorned in silk shirts and makeup and on to the major label quartet that someone (oh wait, that was me) foolishly called "smog-psych" opening for the Donnas, Starlite Desperation has always remained a shining example of clever, catchy songwriting with one of the greatest vocalists heard in ages. So, how appropriate it is that so few people have actually heard this classic band despite its longevity and quality.

Since its release, the band's Cold Sweat records debut Violate a Sundae (its third album, a culmination of several lineup changes and relocations from Salinas, CA to Detroit to Portland to Los Angeles) has caught people off guard with its pugnacious assault of psychedelic garage punk that's something akin to the decrepit 50's rock'n'roll of Static Age-era Misfits run through the distortion-ravaged sound of Primal Scream's XTRMNTR. Earlier tracks like "Notes From the Drag" evoke the ecstatic fury of the Gun Club's "Fire Spirit" while "Born To Be Dizzy" hints at the creeping calamity of the Cramps and brazen anthems of the Saints. “Born to scream, sha-la-la-la-la-la-la,” yelps Dante Adrian on the song, his chirping, piercing voice jutting proudly from the speakers. He sings the mock nursery rhyme chorus in jest, but it’s true -- he’s got one of the best rock’n’roll voices of all time. He squeaks, he coos, he quivers with all the earnest ecstasy of a young Elvis Presley and warbling prophylactic frenzy of Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh.
   Plenty of bands write good songs, but precious few possess a powerful and immediately recognizable personality like the Starlite Desperation. And, though the world is littered with johnny-come-lately purported garage rock saviors, the Los Angeles trio has spent the past nine years chewing up and spitting out its influences in an act of affectionate cannibalism. Starlite Desperation’s ritual gnawing at the corpus of rock'n'roll has kept alive the vitality and subtle flavors of the Gun Club, the Scientists, Devo, Misfits and the Stooges. However, while the Starlite Desperation remain staunch defenders of -- and proudly digest -- rock tradition, its recent six-song EP, Violate a Sundae (on L.A.’s Cold Sweat label) shows the band growing to be equally worthy of legend.
While the group sounded charmingly ragged on its first two albums, 1998’s Show You What a Baby Won’t (GSL) and Y2K’s Go Kill Mice(Flapping Jet) the recent EP bristles with distortion and, well, desperation. At the moment the band is preparing to hit the studio to record its major label debut for Capitol.

(Download - "Notes From The Drag")

(Download - "Born To Be Dizzy")