Monserrat Figueras/La Capella Reial de Catalunya - El Cant de la Sibil•la I

[1988]

The other contender for greatest medieval Gregorian chant record of all time. This one's a bit more on the pitch black sombre side compared to the previously mentioned Canticles Of Ecstasy from Sequentia which was a lot more on the er... ecstatic tip. The haunting atmosphere here is unbelievably eerie and solemn so I wasn't surprised to learn that the subject matter covered by these ye olde "in foreign" vocals was of an apocalyptic nature. 

El Cant De La Sibil.la (The Song Of Sibyl) has been a Christmas eve favourite in many churches for a thousand years, even getting banned in the sixteenth century.

The captivating lead vocal performance from Montserrat Figueras i García is absolutely sublime. While La Capella Reial De Catalunya's execution of their ominous choral duties and Crawford Young's consummate oud playing perfectly compliment Montserrat, sending the entire endeavour into the transcendent. 

Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, man and true eternal God, from Heaven will come to judge and to everyone will give what is fair.

Great fire from the heaven will come down; seas, fountains and rivers, all will burn. Fish will scream loudly and in horror losing their natural delights.

Before the Judgement the Antichrist will come and will give suffering to everyone,
and will make himself be served like God, and who does not obey he will make die.

His reign will be very short; in these times under his power will die martyrs, all at once. Those two saints, Elijah and Enoch.

The sun will lose its light showing itself dark and veiled, the moon will give no light and the whole world will be sorrow.

To the evil ones he will say very sourly: —Go, damned, into the torment! Go into the eternal fire with your prince of Hell!

To the good he will say: —My children, come! Lucky ones, you possess the kingdom I have kept for you ever since the world was created!

Oh humble Virgin! May you who have given birth to Child Jesus on this night, pray to your son so he will want to keep us from Hell!

The prophesy has been foretold.

The Kinks - Flash's Confession

[1974]

Right, for a start, here's just one tune from Preservation Act 2. How this is not an iconic canonical 70s rock tune is beyond me. So if you're not willing to sit through a double concept album of the rock-opera variety you're just not gonna find it but there are four or five others that are just as great. Really though the entire two record set is a misunderstood quasi minor masterpiece. Some of the tunes might not work out of context but it isn't like they're not accessible or fabulous. You may have to set aside your 60s Kinks expectations but its really not that hard because Ray Davies' genius is on display here too. 

On the instrumental front, Flash's Confession is bizarrely reminiscent of peak 70s Anatolian Psych. This insanely funky wah-wah action is indeed some of Dave Davies' best ever guitar work. Dave is on fire throughout the entire Preservation Act 2. Lyrically it is sung from the point of view of the character Flash who is having a depersonalization experience while he confesses to his evil wrongful ways and awaits his comeuppance. 

"Been a cheat, been a crook
Never gave I always took
Crushed people to acquire
Anything that I desired
Been deceitful and a liar
Now I'm facing Hell Fire
I can't believe that my time has come
For confessing all the evil
And the wrong that I've done
The reckoning's come
And now I'm just a no one
I confess to the timid and the meek
To the cripples and the beggars
And the tramps in the street
I confess my cruelty, my ego and conceit
I've opened up my body and looked inside
And I'm everything that I once despised
I confess for the thieves
The affected and deranged
I confess for the muggers and incurably insane
I confess to the ugly for being so vain
I confess to those I hurt for causing them pain"

A selection of lyrics from Flash's Confession indicating a songwriter who is undeniably on top of his game. 

Hildegard von Bingen - Canticles Of Ecstasy

Missed this cd at the time, only discovering it this year. As far as 90s atmospheric liturgical jams go this is peak heavenly gear. It might just be the best album of 1994. It's some holy Gregorian chant music from the 12th century. This Hildegard bird was certainly touched by the hand of God. Apparently she was the mbv of her era with her ecstatic yet accessible tunes pushing the boundaries of her genre (monophonic chant) to the outer limits. 

This stunning deeply devotional performance by medieval music ensemble Sequentia is notable for its spectacular soaring heavenly voices and ethereal beauty. Husband and wife team Barbara Thornton (chorus master/lead vocalist) and Benjamin Bagby (arranger/instrumentalist) along with a holy chorus of vocalists seem intent on raising the human spirit to levels near to the divine. 

Take this glorious journey and before you know it you will be closer to God and what a splendid place to be. Canticles Of Ecstasy's a mysterious celestial experience that deserves to be celebrated.  

Pavement

Summer Babe (Winter Version) - Pavement (1992)

Before their twerp-iness kicked in, Pavement ruled in 91/92. The perfect anthemic slacker jam for the 19/20 year old I was. Now it's just a nostalgia show for the sad old man I am now. For all their Fall-isms this tune also reminds me of the guitar work on the pop tunes from Bowie's Low (1977), am I right? Holy sonic data representations of remarkable lackadaisical exuberance Batman.

The tunes on Slanted & Enchanted like the Nevermind demos had an airing throughout 1991 on 3PBSFM in Melbourne, where I was, and probably other college and community radio stations throughout the western world, way before getting officially released.

Box Elder - Pavement (1989)

Tunes from the earlier eps would get an airing too. Two things got them noticed outside that pushed them into the limelight, maybe... was it?... Melody Maker's Everette True praising one of their eps then Wedding Present doing a cover of this on a b-side. At this stage Pavement were just Malkmus and Spiral Stairs with contributions and production duties from the one and only Gary Young. Once this classic line-up ended they went shit ie. post-Slanted & Enchanted. 

Box Elder's actually got a clear narrative of someone who's being held back by his girlfriend but he's gonna make a break and he's glad. I guess in the vein of The Byrds I Feel A Whole Lot Better. Pavement really capture the essence of this scenario in one of the great defiant break-up songs. Poignant yet invigorating, incredibly contagious stuff.

From Now On - Pavement (1991)

...er they were Swell Maps fans you know...

Trigger Cut - Pavement (1992)

Cool sounding words with cool sounding guitars is always a winning combination. Not to diminish the strange rhythmic stylings of Gary Young either. The whole thing has that classic low key cardboard pyrotechnical sound. 

I don't know what most of their songs were ever really about due their surreal/cut up/non sequitur style but they just had this air of "jolly to be wasting your youthful days" kinda vibe, which was a chief principle at the time. I guess that's more of a perverted or inverse principle... 

In The Mouth A Desert - Pavement (1992)

I guess this is like a quasi Pixies tribute innit. Somebody once wrote in Mojo that The Pixies were the last original rock band and no truer word has been spoken in that magazine. It isn't quite as rip off-y as Smells Like Teen Spirit or A Good Idea but hat bass-line is straight outa Kim Deal's playbook. Chuck in a bit of quiet/loud and Santiago-isms but then's it's fused with a Slint-esque darkness and a sprinkling Beefheart-esque guitar sounds. There's just enough that's intrinsically Pavement-y to make this all time 90s rock classic all their own.

Peak slacker rock right here folks! 

Preservation Act 1 - The Kinks

Sweet Lady Genevieve - The Kinks (1973)

Speaking of harmonica on outlier fan favourite records, how about this number from the 1973 Kinks record Preservation Act 1. I mean the following year's Preservation Act 2 is the real Kinks outlier but you know critics hated the fairly accessible Act 1 as well. 

Sweet Lady Genevieve is an absolute Kinks classic. 

Sitting In The Midday Sun - The Kinks (1973)

But wait this one might even be better. The great slacker jam of all time innit. 

It's my absolute anthem. Although as opposed to Ray Davies saying he's sitting in the midday sun for no particular purpose I have a very specific purpose whilst doing it. I've recovered from my ailments recently mostly by sitting in the midday sun every day. For years I was just resigned to the reality that I was just going to be perpetually ill and in a state of malaise and spiritual demise, much like Charles Darwin was for many years, for the rest of my life. But this sunshine lark has been an absolute winner. I'm sometimes spending over four hours every day in the sun. Luckily I live in one of the sunniest regions in Australia. So even in the middle of winter I'm still getting a lot of sunshine in my life. It has made everything so much better. As the song goes along you actually realize Ray does see particular benefits and purposes of lazing in the midday sun too. Getting off anti-depressants, doing daily exercise, eating more eggs, meat & veggies and cutting back on carbs has also helped. Don't get sucked into the trauma/therapy/psychology/big pharma complex, they are cultivating weakness moreover want you sick and not thriving. Soon every aspect of our personalities will be pathologized. Your existential dilemmas don't need a psychiatric diagnosis. Just Nah! That's my rant. it's probably phobic or racist or sexist or something now that we've reached peak cultural left-ism, fringe bullshit, globalist retardation and poison ideas. 

 

Daylight - The Kinks (1973)

This too... actually all of Preservation Act 1 is ace. Even on other tracks when it goes into esoteric conceptual prog rock opera territory, it's still Ray Davies and band at the top of their game.

Cricket - The Kinks (1973)

The critics who dislike the music hall aspects of The Kinks don't truly understand the band. Honestly entire records of this absurd comedic jazz would be a splendid things to these ears. Listen a little closer and you realise this a philosophical tune with cricket as the battlefield between good and evil. 

One Of The Survivors -The Kinks (1973)

One of their great rockin tunes. Steve Jones surely lifted some riffage elements here didn't he. This goes as hard as any Iggy, Ziggy, Lobby or Lou tunes of the era. I suppose Johnny Thunders got his name from The Kinks. The character Johnny Thunder, who first appeared on Village Green Preservation Society (1968), is fleshed out further as he makes a reprise appearance here as a greying, overweight old rock'n'roller biker. 

Money And Corruption/I Am Your Man - The Kinks (1973)

I guess you can't really discuss Preservation Act 1 without mention of its centrepiece. This is where the prog-folk theatrical rock opera stylings get an airing. Once you get past the fear of a tune being in that vein you will realise it still beautiful Ray Davies melodies, emotionally poignant, peak storytelling lyrics and a lovely arrangement. 

What could actually be problematic is the subject matter that veers into almost cringe naivety Imagine zones where the narrator in the second half of the song is promising classlessness and yet also great wealth. We all know where all that tragically leads in reality. Then you realise this is a song, a story, and this proposal is being presented by a character by the name of Mr Black who may well be just another charlatan with big promises. 

Mr Black turns up in the second half of the tune after the chorus of the people had been complaining "Money and corruption are ruining the land/Crooked politicians betray the working man" but then the chorus naively sing "Show us a man who'll be our Saviour" instead of just asking for some actual democracy where your hard earned money isn't stolen by corruption, given to undeserving competing victim groups or wasted on retarded governmental programmes/rorts.

I mean this is prescient to this day in the UK. Why are the people being dealt absurd shitful hands where the immigration is so insanely high for housing construction to keep up, not that anyone can afford it once it's built anyway. Setting the population up for failure, a possible collapse and sectarian violence. This isn't just happening in England either it's in Australia, USA etc... back in 1973 it might have seemed possible to get a fair go but 50 years later whatever remaining illusion of democracy has been totally shattered. The globalists, oligarchs, NGOs, multinational mega-corps, deep states etc. are not allowing western democracies to act in their own interests. Our countries don't belong to us and our overlords hate us. Sorry 'bout the bleaknesss... but...

David Bowie - Never Let Me Down

[1987]

An underrated Bowie tune from his floundering era. I guess it fits with the sophist-pop scene of the age though. You tend to forget how often he used harmonica which always seems so anachronistic because it just so early Bob. Anyway Never Let Me Down was a slight bit of a relief after terrible singles like Blue Jean, Day In Day Out, all these soundtrack things and the bloody shemozzles he did with Tina Turner and Mick Jagger. I don't think anyone in my family ever had a copy of this album but it was pretty ubiquitous in other households at the time despite its poor critical reception but according to AA it's maybe one of these outlier fan favourite records like The Kinks Preservation Act  2 (1974). 

Cornucopia ► Day of a Daydreambeliever

[1973]

A psychedelic kraut-prog freakout of epic proportionings. For some this sprawling ott jam is gonna be way too much but others are going to enjoy the too much is just enough vibe. 

Loverboy - Ariel Pink's Haunted Grafitti

So Glad - Ariel Pink's Haunted Grafitti (2002)

Wait... just checking.... Ariel still a genius. 

Loverboy's so daydreamy/night-dreamy/hallucinatory. All the amorphous intergalactic synth-y seepage//brainwave spillage/melodic rowboats in soda-waves/haunted hypno-fogggy spray-painted air/mixed lolly loitering/unhinged hazy baby psych/glow-y neon phantasms/pop unrealities you could ask for.

*This goes out to those who can't see past their dogmatic ideologically captured media sources. The aesthetic and material properties of AP's music didn't change between 2002 and 2021.

GHost - Areil Pink's Haunted Grafiitti (2002)

One of the great Haunted Grafitti moments. A barmy baroque bee gee barbershop pet sound spirals into glaring off kilter overdrive with added intergalactic Jed Clampett-isms. 

Absolute Ariel anthem.

Let's Get Married Tonight - Ariel Pink's Haunted Grafitti (2002)

A blistering bananas bubblegum psych-pop bonanza. Even the most unlikely, unfathomable and absurd Ariel tunes are pulled off with such aplomb it's hard to deny them. 

More On Movies...The Return III

Murder My Sweet (1944)

Is this the best movie ever or incoherent nonsense? I tend to think a statement made from an amalgamation of those two questions is correct. A confusing journey of going nowhere but cutely summarised at the end is this film's MO. You can either enjoy the ride or opt out.

King Boxer aka Five Fingers Of Death (1972)

Is this the most beautifully photographed 70s kung Fu flick? It is absolutely stunning to look and the story is ace too. This is the kinda kung fu movie I would recommend to those who enjoyed Crouching Tiger Hidden Camera.

A Woman's Vengeance (1948)

A murder mystery from the pen of Aldous Huxley, directed with an unbearably heavy hand. Still it's not a bad story but I couldn't recommend it unless you're a womens picture enthusiast or a noir completist. 

Cops V Thugs (1975)

Kinji Fukasaku directed Yakuza soap opera about real estate deal disputes and corruption in society. Hard to recommend this to anybody unless you're a Yakuza fanatic. 

After Dark My Sweet (1990)

This adaptation of the Jim Thompson novel is a flawed cult neo-noir. California's relentless glaring sunshine and desert mountains as the backdrop make this cinematically epic. Thirty five years later Rachel Ward's acting is still a bit ropey but I now think that maybe-perhaps Jason Patric's performance is genius and hey Bruce Dern never misses.

An escaped mental patient a Punch-drunk ex boxer meets actual drunk in a bar and uh-oh all of a sudden he's involved in a kidnapping conspiracy. He is coerced by a femme fatale and her uncle to kidnap a rich kid. A perplexing study of one man's mental turmoil.  

Larceny (1948)

Good fun little crime con story. Underrated noir with legends Dan Duryea and Shelley Winters.

Mr Vampire (1985)

Vampire-zombie-ghost comedy kinda thing that could have only come from Hong Kong in the 80s! So much fun if you can surrender to its silly charms, otherwise you're gonna hate it.

Under The Silver Lake (2018)

David Robert Mitchell, director of 2012's It Follows, very obvious homage to Altman's Long Goodbye and other sprawling noirs. In the first half hour I thought this was gonna be the great neo-noir of the new millennium. I was cursed from the moment that notion entered my head as it started quite the drastic downslide in quality from then on. In a word bloated. However Elvis' grand daughter Riley Keogh does make an unforgettable appearance.

Deported (1950)

An Italian-American crook is deported back to Italy after spending time in prison for a bankroll heist? How will he ever be able to live off the spoils of the loot without the American and Italian authorities catching him doing so? Includes romance with a wealthy countess, hang on just what is a countess. Unusual crime/noir from legendary director Robert Siodmak. 

Violent Cop (1989)

Takeshi Kitano's auspicious directing debut. There's a doomed slow burning inevitability about this grim nihilistic tale. Does what it says on the tin in a very strange and effective manner. This outsider cosmic cop is fed up of the criminal degeneracy and corrupt police force and aims to stamp some of it out but is he a goodie or a baddie?

Taken (2008)

Somehow I managed to miss this pop culture moment at the time. A tale of a daughter's kidnapping by an illegal immigrant in a foreign country and her fathers relentless crusade to track her down then exact revenge. Prescient themes to this day. No holds barred visceral filmmaking. Absolutely entertaining. 

Casino Raiders (1989)

An epic romantic saga disguised as a crime action flick. Gambling themes were a big thing in 80s Hong Kong gangster movies and it makes perfect cinematic sense as this device is a gift to visceral suspense.  

Romancing The Stone (1984)

This could only have been made in one decade. Once you suspend your disbelief and submit to the silliness, this is whole lotta fun. Romance, adventure, exotic jungles, lost treasure, über 80s-ness and Michael Douglas dancing: What more do you need?

Wheels On Meals (1984)

More great Hong Kong 80s comedy action fun. This one's set in Spain with two mates who own a food truck, a detective, a mysterious pickpocket lady, swords and a looney bin. Let the shenanigans ensue.

This Gun For Hire (1942)

There aren't many iconic films from the noir cannon I can't get on board with, there's The Asphalt Jungle, The Big Clock and This Gun For Hire, otherwise... 

A Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)

A deadly assassin with amnesia living a quiet suburban life starts getting flashbacks of her former life. Then the supreme action and absurd storyline unfurls. Some of the best ott action sequences and banter from the 90s. Charisma galore with Geena Davis and Samuel L Jackson plus top villainous performance from David Morse. Written by Shane Black. Entertainment! 

Jake Holmes - A Letter to Katherine December

Saturday Night - Jack Holmes (1968)

An insightful social commentary on modern day mating rituals or misguided angry jealousy directed at his ex-wife (Katherine)... probably both... whatever it is, it's a very 60s lyrically downbeat yet musically upbeat tune with strange orchestrations and wayward six string explorations. 

When somebody tells you there's a record you should check out "It's a bit like Love's Forever Changes by a dude who used to be in a band with Tim Rose" you can only ever end up disappointed. However after leaving the bootleg cd of A Letter To Katherine December languishing in my cobwebby collection for ages (twenty years) I've had a slight change of heart after coming across Holmes recently on a website.

For those that don't know Jake Holmes was an acid-folk singer/songwriter with psychedelic jazz undercurrents whose first LP The Above Ground Sound Of Jake Holmes (1967) had a little song on it by the name of Dazed And Confused which he wrote. Later in the 70s he would lend his songwriting talents to The Four Seasons, Frank Sinatra, Harry Belafonte and eventually the advertising world. 

Anyway we're talking here about the second Jake Holmes LP A Letter To Katherine (1968) which has surprisingly never had an official reissue since its original release date in 1968. The master tapes have never been found although a fairly sub-standard version did turn up on spotify a few years back. Several tunes have a lounge-y cabaret/show tunes influence while others are almost proto-new-wave, perhaps making Katherine not as cohesive as many would like. Whilst not exactly a masterpiece it definitely has its moments... there's really only one track, the irritating High School Hero, preventing this record from minor classic status. The Beatles always had annoying tunes on their great albums so perhaps I'm being too harsh. 

Late Sleeping Day - Jake Holmes (1968)

A tune of quiet turmoil that unfolds intensely yet cautiously featuring subtle understated acidic spike-y jazz guitar tones and strings. Nice.  

Chase Your Eyes - Jake Holmes (1968)

Chase Your Eyes is pretty impeccable 60s stuff, acid-folk gold. It's one of the tunes on the LP that is actually comparable in quality and aesthetic vision to Love. This vocal performance is quite a journey with its restrained melodic twists and turns. Add in an ace string arrangement and voilà...

Moving Day - Jake Holmes (1968)

Having been in the situation depicted in this song's scenario several times in my life, I find this heartbreaking. I get the feeling she left him and not the other way around. It's heartbreaking no matter who's doing the leaving though... er fabulous arrangement so quite the artistic achievement here.

 

Leaves Never Break - Jake Holmes (1968)

The noisy heavy-psych freakout track on the LP. This tune leaves a lot of people wondering what could have been if he'd done a whole side in this extreme chaotic acid-rock style or indeed an entire LP.

Sleeping Woman - Jake Holmes (1968)

Dreamy Rickenbacker twirls, that mesmerizing bass, luscious strings fused with soaring vocals all intertwine to make this THE incandescent jewel of this lost treasure. Surely one of the great lost moments in 60s music, am I wrong?

Houston Street - Jake Holmes (1968)

A restrained dark and intense whispered vocal with sparse ghostly guitar picking... kinda almost proto-Slint innit.

Fingerbobs

[1972]

S Reynolds points out Scampi Theme is also a banger which I totally agree. However I cannot abide Gulliver's (The Seagull) Theme which goes into very irritating almost Tiny Tim territory. The opening Fingerbobs Theme which incorporates Joffy's own little theme tune is also excellent as is the tortoise's tune aka Flash's Theme.

What's the story with Joffy I wonder?

A Canadian paper finger puppet master abroad gets his own show on the BBC. 

A quick glance on the interwebs reveals Joffy aka actor Rick Jones was a Play School presenter in Britain during the 60s and 70s who was involved in a drugs scandal which got him sacked from the BBC.

Rick Jones - Saskatchewan Sunrise (1971)
He had a #26 Canadian hit with this sorta baroque-country Gordon Lightfoot-esque tune. Pretty good.

 

Rick Jones later had a band called Meal Ticket. They did this tune for the The Flipside Of Dominick Hide which was an episode of Play For Today in 1980.

The Flipside Of Domonick Hide (1980)

I don't recall but surely Mark Fisher wrote about this show... I mean it's described as a tale about "genetic time slippage" ffs... actually this predated Back To The Future and fulfils some of the scenarios entertained therein ie. there is some kind of sex with a great-great-grandmother, oh dear this does sound demented, whereby Dominick spawns his own great-grandfather or something...