Wednesday 16 April 2008

Ill Communication... Well, Not Anymore...


Well, would you Adam-and-Eve it? After I posted that last "I'M BACK!" message, what should happen? I got flu. I don't mean "Man Flu"... I mean the proper sort, where you can't get out of bed and your body gets possessed by pain-demons. It was, it's fair to say, a bloody awful week or so.

I did feel a proper Charlie as well - I promised MP3s, but then I immediately disappeared again. But now you know the reason. So sorry.

Now, I am definitely back, and no longer infected with anything nasty, so here we go with some long-awaited musicalityness. First up is this charming track from Andy Irvine, veteran of such Irish stalwarts as Sweeney's Men and Planxty. "Never Tire Of The Road" is from 1991's Rude Awakening album.


Going off on a tangent, for no particular reason really, our second track is the brilliantly titled "My Mother Smokes Crack Rocks" by the late Wesley Willis (pictured above). Let's not beat about the bush here - Willis was bona fide Looney Tunes, apparently fond of greeting friends with a resounding headbutt. He claimed to make music in order to drown out the voices in his head. Despite little actual talent, his music had a certain charm, and attracted a host of high-profile fans. Chief among them was Jello Biafra, erstwhile frontman with the Dead Kennedys. Biafra took it upon himself to get Willis's music heard by a wider audience and subsequently released much of the big man's back catalogue on the Kennedys' Alternative Tentacles label. It takes more than one listen to "get" this Casio-driven slice of madness - but it's worth persisting.


From one eccentric to another, this time one who remains alive and well - and the world is a better place for it. Wayne County is unique, having been an integral part of both the US New Wave scene and the British punk explosion of 1977 (having already become Jayne County, she was living and performing in the UK by that time). County's own music seems to have been relegated to footnote status in the story of her gender issues - yet this is criminal, as, with the Electric Chairs (as her backing band was known), County produced some genuinely great punk moments which deserve better than to be forgotten. Here is the track which could just be her signature - "Man Enough To Be A Woman". There's clearly a big New York Dolls influence on this particular track. Download it and give it a spin. It's a lost classic.
That's all for today. A bit of a mixed bag but it's nice to be back in business and I thought that was best celebrated with some genuine eclecticism - that, after all, is the name o' the game.
Next post, methinks, will be the first of one of our new regular themed posts. I haven't decided which one yet. Do try to contain your excitement. In the meantime, enjoy the music from this post - catch you soon. Enjoy.

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