Simon Bonney - Forever [1992]

Drawing on a fine range of performers (including Congo Norvell singer Sally Norvell and Ethyl Meatplow/Geraldine Fibbers frontwoman Carla Bozulich on background vocals), Bonney creates a mystic, almost mythic atmosphere on Forever. Much like the final efforts of Crime and the City Solution, but with an even more haunting, nearly religious atmosphere, Bonney's music conjures up the feeling of a West that never was, where hoe-downs and wild dances are replaced by contemplation, lyrically and musically. While it's facile to simply say Bonney does for country what fellow expatriate Nick Cave does for the blues, there's a similar sense of reverence and transformation at play. Bonney's deep but not cavernous voice suits his images and songs perfectly, eschewing over-the-top drama for a more considered approach. Main collaborators J.D. Foster, on guitars and mandolin, and Jon-Dee Graham, on lap steel, dobro, and bottleneck guitar, contributed excellent performances while avoiding musical clichés, just as Bonney looks to avoid simply aping Nashville or neo-traditional country both. "Ravenswood," Forever's stunning opening number, sets the overall mood faultlessly; Bonney's call for the rain to come down on him backed by a slow, deceptively powerful arrangement where the guitars sound like flashes of lightning in dark clouds. Low drums boom in the distance, as what almost sounds like an invocation unfolds. Many songs move at a faster clip; Forever isn't trudging in its pace, instead combining various influences and touches from the vocal/electric guitar/violin combination of "Now That's She's Gone" to fairly lush rock/country fusions. This said, even more energetic numbers as "Like Caesar Needs a Brutus," as the title alone indicates, grapple with questions of love and belief with strength, and nothing completely lets loose just for the heck of it. Then again, that's not the intent of Forever in the first place. (AMG)

I'm the happiest man on planet!

My 1st baby, little girl named DORA two hours ago came to world.

Sonic Youth - Goo [1990]

Any doubts as to the continuing relevance of Sonic Youth upon their jump...

...to major-label status were quickly laid to rest by Goo, their follow-up to the monumental Daydream Nation. While paling in the shadow of its predecessor, the record is nevertheless a defiant call to arms against mainstream musical values; the Geffen logo adorning the disc is a moot point -- Goo is, if anything, a portrait of Sonic Youth at their most self-indulgently noisy and contentious, covering topics ranging from Karen Carpenter ("Tunic") to UFOs ("Disappearer") to dating Jesus' mom ("Mary-Christ"). Even Public Enemy's Chuck D joins the fracas on the single "Kool Thing," which teeters on the brink of a cultural breakthrough but falls just shy of the mark; the same could be said of Goo itself -- by no means a sellout, it nevertheless lacks the coherence and force of the group's finest work, and the opportunity to violently rattle the mainstream cage slips by. (AMG)

U2 - Live in Cork '79 (bootleg) [1979]

One of U2 bootleges from their beginings. Last song on this bootleg is Ramones...

...cover Glad To See You Go. Sound is poor, but music is what it counts. Enjoy it!

The Seven Ages Of Rock E07 What The World Is Waiting For (DiVX) [2005]

The story of British indie, beginning with The Smiths, the archetypal indie group. The film follows...

...The Stone Roses as the heirs to the indie crown, Suede's dark sexuality and the media saturation of Brit-pop's Blur v Oasis. What The World Is Waiting For explores how indie ultimately lost its once cherished intimacy and integrity in front of 250,000 fans at Oasis's Knebworth spectacle in 1996 and how, by returning to its roots in clubs and bars (and even front rooms) with bands such as Franz Ferdinand, The Libertines and The Arctic Monkeys, indie became respectable again. (BBC)

The Seven Ages Of Rock E06 Left Of The Dial (DiVX) [2005]

The rise of alternative rock in the USA. From its early underground days where bands like Black Flag drew...

...inspiration from the DIY ethos of punk, Left Of The Dial traces the history of the network of fans, clubs and fanzines that sustained the scene and launched the careers of bands like REM, The Pixies and Hüsker Dü. The film takes a fresh look at the explosion of the Seattle scene, culminating in the success of Nirvana's 'Nevermind' and the tragic loss of Kurt Cobain, an artist whose triumph and tragedy continues to cast an inescapable shadow. (BBC)

I'll be away...

from a blog for some time. Still redacorating my place.
Sorry :-(

The Seven Ages Of Rock E05 We Are The Champions (DiVX) [2005]

We Are The Champions follows the development of some the biggest names in Rock, among them...

...Queen, Bruce Springsteen, The Police and Dire Straits and shows how, through events such as Live Aid and the rise of MTV, rock achieved a global influence on culture and politics. The film concludes in the early 90s, as U2 effectively brought the era to a close by reinventing the big rock show so completely, that fifteen years later most major rock tours are still pale facsimiles. (BBC)

The Seven Ages Of Rock E04 - Never Say Die (DiVX) [2005]

The story of the longest surviving and certainly the loudest genre of...

...rock, heavy metal. With no sign of disappearing, metal has been the most controversial and misunderstood of all rock genres. Emerging at the tail end of the hippy dream from the rust belt of industrial England, heavy metal would go on to secure the most loyal fan base of all. With Black Sabbath as the undisputed Godfathers, we follow their highs and lows, and, along the journey, meet Deep Purple, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and Metallica. (BBC)

The Seven Ages Of Rock E03 - Blank Generation (DiVX) [2005]

A tale of two cities, London and New York and the birth of punk. Each city created a bastard child...

that marked the biggest and fundamental shift in popular music since Elvis walked into Sun Studios. Blank Generation unpicks the relationship between the bankrupt New York and the class and race-riven London of the mid-1970's and explores the music of The Sex Pistols, The Clash, Ramones, Television, Patti Smith, The Damned and Buzzcocks. (BBC)