#Ramones in Glasgow

[onceuponatimeinthe70s]

Punk The First Time.

Ramones: Johnny; Tommy; Joey; Dee Dee. It’s said we always remember our ‘first time’: first kiss (tick); first date (tick); first foreign trip (tick – it wasn’t on the SS Uganda!); first car (tick); first gig (tick) ….. First punk gig, though? Hmmmnn? Well, until I did a little research for this post (we don’t just throw these things together, you know) I thought I could remember the first one…

[bluewinnerangel]

FITF Tour exit songs

- NA LEG - Uncasville: Tina Turner - The Best

Gilford: The Smiths - This Charming Man

Laval: Petula Clark - Downtown

Toronto: Bryan Adams - Summer Of '69

Cuyahoga Falls: The Verve - Bitter Sweet Symphony

Sterling Heights: Shed Seven - Chasing Rainbows

Cincinnati: The Killers - All These Things That I've Done

Columbus: R.E.M. - The One I Love

Indianapolis: Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart

Maryland Heights (St. Louis): Chuck Berry - Johnny B. Goode

Kansas City: Van Morrison - Moondance

Milwaukee: Johnny Nash - I Can See Clearly Now

Chicago: Earth, Wind & Fire - September

Minneapolis: Sinéad O'Connor - Nothing Compares 2 U

Council Bluffs: Buzzcocks - Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)

Sioux Falls: Don McLean - American Pie

Seattle: The Smiths - There Is A Light That Never Goes Out

Vancouver: The Police - King Of Pain

Troutdale: Elvis Presley - Always On My Mind

Berkeley: INXS - Never Tear Us Apart

Los Angeles: 2Pac - California Love

Las Vegas: The Killers - Human

Phoenix: Spear Of Destiny - Liberator

Irving: The Doors - Hello, I Love You

Austin: Wheatus - Teenage Dirtbag

Houston The Woodlands: The Police - Walking On The Moon

St. Augustine: The Police - Every Breath You Take

Hollywood: Elton John - Your Song

Tampa: Pat Benatar - Hit Me With Your Best Shot

Atlanta: The Rolling Stones - You Can't Always Get What You Want

Nashville: Duran Duran - Hold Back The Rain

Charlotte: Lou Reed - Perfect Day

Raleigh: Van Morrison - Moondance

Columbia: Commodores - Easy

Boston 1: Boston - More Than A Feeling

Boston 2: Pixies - Here Comes Your Man

Philadelphia: Sinéad O'Connor - Nothing Compares 2 U

Asbury Park: Bruce Springsteen - Dancing In The Dark

New York: Queen - We Are The Champions (dj elf asked a fan to pick between this one and David Bowie - Heroes)

- EU & UK LEG - Hamburg: Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart

Copenhagen: Queen & David Bowie - Under Pressure

Oslo: Green Day - Wake Me Up When September Ends

Stockholm: The White Stripes - Seven Nation Army

Helsinki: Elvis Presley - Always On My Mind

Tallinn: Smash Mouth - All Star

Riga: AC/DC - Thunderstruck

Kaunas: Elvis Presley - Can't Help Falling in Love

Krakow: Iggy Pop - Lust For Life

Łódź: Ramones - Blitzkrieg Bop

Vienna: Oasis - Supersonic

Ljubljana: The Killers - Smile Like You Mean It

Budapest: Bloc Party - Helicopter

Bucharest: Foo Fighters - My Hero

Sofia: Rage Against The Machine - Bombtrack

Bilbao: Pixies - Where Is My Mind

Lisbon: White Lies - Farewell to the Fairground

Madrid: Editors - Munich

Barcelona: At the Drive-In - One Armed Scissor

Turin: Lenny Kravitz - Are You Gonna Go My Way

Bologna: Bloc Party - Helicopter

Luxembourg: Pixies - Where Is My Mind

Antwerp: Queens Of The Stone Age - My God Is The Sun

Paris: Biffy Clyro - Bubbles

Amsterdam: Blur - Song 2

Cologne: The Libertines - Can't Stand Me Now

Prague: Jet - Are You Gonna Be My Girl

Berlin: The Cure - Friday I'm in Love

Munich: Fatboy Slim - Praise You

Zurich: The Strokes - Last Nite

Dublin: Inhaler - These Are The Days

Sheffield: The Killers - Mr. Brightside

Manchester: The Smiths - This Charming Man

Glasgow: The Snuts - Gloria

Brighton: Ramones - I Wanna Be Sedated

Cardiff: T. Rex - 20th Century Boy

London: The Libertines - Can't Stand Me Now

Birmingham: Boyz II Men - End Of The Road

- ASIA & AUS LEG - Jakarta: Iggy Pop - Lust For Life

Melbourne: Jet - Are You Gonna Be My Girl

Brisbane: The Temper Trap - Fader

Sydney: Oasis - Rock 'N' Roll Star

- LATAM LEG - Panama: Hard-Fi - Living for the Weekend

San Juan: Pixies - Where Is My Mind

Rio de Janeiro: Nirvana - Heart-Shaped Box

Like last time the plan is to keep editing this post as tour goes on - 2022 LTWT here

Apple music playlist here

[flowersandfashion]

I am not really there

Marya Hornbacher, Madness: A Bipolar Life /// Ramon Casas, Laziness, c1898-1900 /// Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar /// Edward Hopper, Morning Sun, 1952 /// Gail Honeyman, Elinor Oliphant is Completely Fine /// Reynier Llanes, The Poet, 2021 /// Anaïs Nin, The Diary of Anaïs Nin, 1931–1934 /// Amy Dury, Glasgow Girl 2, 2019 /// Rebecca Ross, Divine Rivals /// Adrienne Gaha, Blue Uniform, 2016

[diceriadelluntore]

Storia Di Musica #292 - The Jesus And Mary Chain, Psychocandy, 1985

La Scozia è patria di cose meravigliose: il single malt, il tweed, il mostro di Lochness e nella Glasgow enigmatica e pazza degli anni '80 di un duo di fratelli che mettono su una band che, nel modo apparentemente più facile del mondo, cambia in parte la storia del rock. William e Jim Reid sono dell'East Kilbride, la periferia desolata della città, ma sanno suonare di base la chitarra. Sono di poche parole, ma un giorno William, leggenda vuole mentre legge un annuncio sulla confezione del latte (usanza molto comune nei paesi anglosassoni) metta insieme, senza un motivo apparente, le parole Jesus, Mary e Chain: The Jesus And Mary Chain. Non c'è nessuna correlazione religiosa o ideologica, e dopo un po' di tentennamenti, riconoscono che suona bene e non ha nessun riferimento ad altre band. Poche settimane dopo trovano un batterista, Murray Dalglish e un bassista, Douglas Hart. Autoproducono il primo brano, Upside Down, che racchiude tutta la pazzia semplice ma destabilizzante della loro musica: pochi accordi semplicissimi, testi basici e spesso no-sense, ma costruiti su un muro di effetti di chitarra, tra fuzz, distorsioni, feedback che le rende stranianti ma straordinariamente affascinanti. E poi aggiungono le loro esibizioni: sin dai primi concerti, brevissimi (a volte un quarto d'ora appena) dove al pubblico, all'inizio poche decine di spettatori, viene sparata in faccia una montagna di suono distorto, a tratti disturbante, che copre le poche parole dei loro testi. A ciò si aggiunge lo spirito selvaggio dei fratelli Reid, che suonano spalle agli spettatori, e che spesso sfasciano gli strumenti a fine esibizione. Tutto questo rende i loro concerti i luoghi perfetti per una rissa, e a tal riguardo "memorabile" il loro concerto del il 15 marzo 1985, durante l'esibizione al North London Polytechnic, crisi fomentata anche dall'esibizione del gruppo precedente, i Meat Whiplash, i quali non contenti del "calore umano" degli spettatori lanciarono una bottiglia tra il pubblico: mentre salivano sul palco i nostri, la rissa era già cominciata, in un locale molto sovraffollato rispetto alla capienza ufficiale, con risultato finale che la strumentazioni del locale fu distrutta dagli esagitati, 4 feriti, 60 contusi, centinaia di denunce e la stampa che garrula scrisse che la band poteva cambiare nome in The Jesus And Mary Chain Riot. Prima di quella esibizioni, con il fiuto dell'esperto, erano già stati messi sotto contratto da Alan McGee, il fondatore dell'etichetta Creation, e specialista nel trovare nuovi talenti musicali. McGee nel 1984 ripubblica Upside Down, con b side Vegetable Man (una cover di Syd Barret) che va nella leggendaria classifica di John Peel sui 50 brani più interessanti dell'anno, la Festive Fifthy, al numero 37. I nostri di fatto inventano il noisy pop. Rivoltando un motivetto alla Ramones con sullo sfondo, come i leggendari muri sonori spectioriani, fischi artificiali, distorsioni, feedback. Psychocandy, nel 1985, prodotto dalla stessa band, ne è l'apoteosi. Una volta lessi, non ricordo più dove, che questo disco era una combinazione perfetta tra dolcezza e dolore, come se un miele all'inizio dolce dia emorragie ai padiglioni auricolari. Unendo in un mondo parallelo il punk, che già sembrava morto, con la musica industriale degli Einstürzende Neubauten, il pop più leggero, con la decadenza drammatica e la potenza dei Velvet Undergound e degli Stooges, il disco è una pietra miliare di 38 minuti.

Il disco sfoderò tre singoli: Never Understand, singolo dell'anno 1985 per il New Musical Express, che è la canzone definitiva su cosa si possa fare con i feedback; You Trip Me Up, con meraviglioso video musicale filmato nell'Algarve portoghese, è invece una cascata di distorsioni; Just Like Honey è l'archetipo della loro musica, una ballata conturbante (I'll be your plastic toy\For you\Eating up the scum\Is the hardest thing for\Me to do\Just like honey) con la seconda voce di Karen Parker, rimane una delle ballate degli anni '80, e fu usata con successo da Sofia Coppola nel finale di Lost In Translation, e successivamente in altri film, serie tv, pubblicità. Taste The Floor, le incredibili It's So Hard (dalle atmosfere Joy Division), In A Hole (apocalittica), la desolante Inside Me stridono quando si danno alle ballate pop, nelle splendide The Hardest Walk e nell'altrettanto magica Sowing Seeds oppure nel quasi omaggio alle canzoni-racconti di Lou Reed nella magica Cut Dead. Alla batteria, al posto di Dalglish, secondo la leggenda suonando in piedi come Mo Tucker dei VU, c'è Bobby Gillespie, affascinato dalla formula magica dei fratelli Reid, che però se ne andrà subito, a fondare un'altra perla della musica di quegli anni, i Primal Scream.

Ritorneranno, dopo la furia nichilista, nel 1987. con Darklands. Il rumore, che molti ascoltando Psychocandy pensavano fosse dovuto ad un vinile danneggiato, o alla puntina del giradischi difettosa, se ne è andato, e rimane l'atmosfera di pop decadente di base: il cambio è quasi storico, ma la classe dei fratelli rimane in acquerelli malinconici di cieli primaverili (April Skies), nella gioia quando piove che a Glasgow dovrebbe essere diffusa (Happy When It Rains, singolo di successo). Darklands va meglio in classifica di Psychocandy, che rimane nel cuore dei fan e sarà il seme da cui, qualche anno dopo, nascerà un altro fiore meraviglioso e rumoroso, lo shoegaze dei My Bloody Valentine di Kevin Shields (altra scoperta di McGee). Diventeranno entrambi un simbolo di una gioventù alienata e ribelle, che ne cantava miserie e splendori, in una sorta di tentativo di comunicare la dolcezza impacchettata nel filo spinato. Un disco da ascoltare per capire un periodo, e una parte di quello che succederà dopo.

[wub-fur-radio]

All Love Radio 2 💜❤️  A Late 20th Century Rock Music Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre

“Meat-eating orchids forgive no one just yet” – Kurt Cobain

Our original All Love Radio mix, released in 2021, celebrated the Saint Valentine’s Day holiday with a sugary batch of modern rock ’n’ roll love tunes from the current century; this time we decided to give the nostalgia junkies a treat, so we time-tunnelled back to the late 20th century and brought back a heart-shaped box full of of sweet indie/alt rock confections from the 80s and 90s. Featuring passionate, romantic, and/or heartbroken musical outpourings from XTC, The B-52s, Lyres, the Flatmates, Iggy Pop, Shonen Knife, the dBs, Primal Scream, BMX Bandits, and eleven more bands who want to be somebody’s valentine (maybe yours).

Cover art background photo courtesy of PX Here.

▶︎ Listen on Mixcloud | YouTube (or scroll down to use an embedded player below)

Running Time: 1 hour, 2 seconds

Tracklist

Intro [Excerpt from 'Ode to St. Valentine' by Calvin Johnson] (0:23)

Loveland (4:53) — The B-52's | Athens, GA | 1982

Love At First Sight (3:06) — XTC | Swindon, UK | 1980

Love is for Lovers (3:16) — The dB’s | New York / North Carolina | 1984

So In Love With You (2:08) — The Flatmates | Bristol, UK | 1986

This Is Love (3:10) — The Gist | Cardiff, Wales, UK | 1980

Our Love Is Heavenly (3:25) — Heavenly | Oxford, UK | 1991

Together Forever in Love (2:23) — Go Sailor | Berkeley, CA | 1995

This Is Why You Love Me (1:51) — The Brian Jonestown Massacre | San Francisco, CA | 1997

Love Me Till The Sun Shines (3:56) — Lyres | Boston, MA | 1984

(Love Is Like A) Heatwave (2:45) — Shonen Knife | Osaka, Japan | 1994

Love Makes the World Go Round (2:45) — BMX Bandits | Glasgow, Scotland, UK | 1996

Funnel of Love (1:33) — The Jody Grind | Atlanta, GA | 1992

Love You More (1:27) — Fastbacks | Seattle, WA | 1993

Love Barge (3:26) — Big Dipper | Boston, MA | 1990

Love Is a Beautiful Thing (2:31) — Young Fresh Fellows | Seattle, WA | 1992

Love to Hate to Love (3:28) — Eleventh Dream Day | Chicago, IL | 1989

Love You (4:43) — Primal Scream | Glasgow, Scotland, UK | 1987

Sea of Love (3:37) — Iggy Pop | Ann Arbor, MI | 1981

I Need Your Love (3:07) — Ramones | Queens, NY | 1983

True Love Will Find You in the End (2:10) — The Reivers | Austin, TX | 1987

💜❤️🧡💚💙 💜❤️🧡💚💙 💜❤️🧡💚💙 💜❤️🧡💚💙

Embedded Mixcloud Player

Embedded YouTube Player

If you’re not seeing an embedded player it’s probably because you’re reading this on Tumblr, in which case you can click here to open this post directly on the Wub-Blog.

[rosesinvalley]

Blondie, le glam rock article

Deborah Harry, née le 1er juillet 1945 est une fille du New Jersey, l’une des premières femmes à chanter au CBGB : le fameux club « Home of underground rock de Manhattan » en 1974 le fief du punk rock à l’ambiance déjanté. Egérie de Warhol, innovatrice dans sa musique et ses choix vestimentaires, elle s’est toujours bien entourée et assumée avec son groupe Blondie. Elle est à la fois douce, drôle et vertigineusement délirante.

On aime cette icône glamour et rock avec son groupe Blondie présente dans tous les tabloïds connus et reconnus.

« Debbie Harry Pink » par Mick  Rock

Période Warholienne (1985)

(Polaroids de Warhol chez Taschen)

Elle fait partie du monde underground de Warhol comme le fut Basquiat ou Grace Jones mais Warhol lui donna un peu plus pour sa carrière, un peu de son art rien que pour elle.

Son portrait en 1985 sur Apple, des pochettes d’album…

Le monde du Punk

Elle chante avec ferveur et hargne depuis les années 70. Elle naît dans le punk rock, le monde de la nuit et fut remarqué pour sa punk attitude.  Comme nous l’explique Pascal Fiorini dans son film documentaire de  2018 « Atomic Blonde ».

Blondie – Apollo Theatre, Glasgow, 1979

Debbie Harry with Doctor X T-shirt, un catcheur © Lynn Goldsmith, 1980

Un documentaire

Extrait du communiqué de presse

« Deuxième femme la plus photographiée du monde après Lady Diana, « sorte de Barbarella sous acide », selon Iggy Pop, Debbie Harry grandit dans la classe moyenne suburbaine de l’Amérique des années 1950, alors à son apogée avant les grandes remises en question des décennies suivantes. À 20 ans, elle part seule tenter sa chance à New York. Un temps Bunny Girl pour le Playboy Club, elle finit par trouver un job de serveuse au Max’s Kansas City, la cantine des plus grandes stars – Lou Reed et William Burroughs y sont des clients réguliers. « 

DES TUBES de 1974 à 2017

Avec son groupe Blondie, ils débutèrent leur carrière en 1974 avec Chris Stein son acolyte et les tubes s’enchainèrent. Amie de Bowie, Iggy pop et toutes les rockstars du moment, elle collabore avec le producteur des Ramones.

Elle s’est toujours adaptée à son temps mêlant chanson d’amour, ballade, période disco, new wave avec son groupe Blondie, une grande tournée pour ses 30 ans de carrière Parrallel lines et pour ses 40 ans de carrière, un nouvel album en 2017 Pollinator. Elle joua  sur toutes les scènes prestigieuses.

Disque d’or, numéro 1 des hit-parade, elle surprend et est adulée dans le monde entier.

Elle collabora avec d’autres artistes dont Beth Ditto, proche de la Haute couture toujours à la page…

Une rétrospective « Me, Blondie and the advent of Punk » à Londres fut organisé en 2015, les plus beaux clichés de Chris Stein à redécouvrir de la carrière du groupe et un livre fut édité. 

Photo de Debbie Harry, Clem Burke et Chris Stein, Jimmy Destri, Frank Infante, Nigel Harrison, 1978, Etats-Unis © Roberta Bayley/Redferns

Elle a aujourd’hui 76 ans, voici l’un de ses derniers clips en 2017!!  Elle assure toujours !! 

En savoir sur son actualité : https://www.blondie.net/

[vmonteiro23a]

IT’S ALIVE: The Ramones - It's Alive 1977.

IT’S ALIVE: The Ramones – It’s Alive 1977. The legendary concert was held at the Rainbow Theatre in Finsbury Park, London, on December 31st, 1977.  “Recorded in London’s Rainbow Theatre as 1977 rolled into 1978 (with crowd noise flown in from the Glasgow Apollo show 12 days earlier) it captures the group at a very early peak. Still just a band and not yet a brand, It’s Alive gathers the songs –…

[rfmdotd]

European stadiums

Certainly! Here are 30 of the top European stadiums dedicated to soccer, listed in order of capacity:

Camp Nou - Barcelona, Spain (FC Barcelona) - 99,354 capacity

Wembley Stadium - London, England (England national team) - 90,000 capacity

Georgia Dome - Tbilisi, Georgia (Georgia national team) - 85,000 capacity

Giuseppe Meazza (San Siro) - Milan, Italy (AC Milan/Inter Milan) - 80,018 capacity

Santiago Bernabeu - Madrid, Spain (Real Madrid) - 81,044 capacity

Luzhniki Stadium - Moscow, Russia (Russia national team) - 81,000 capacity

Signal Iduna Park - Dortmund, Germany (Borussia Dortmund) - 81,365 capacity

Stadio San Siro - Milan, Italy (AC Milan/Inter Milan) - 80,018 capacity

Etihad Stadium - Manchester, England (Manchester City) - 55,097 capacity

Allianz Arena - Munich, Germany (FC Bayern Munich) - 75,000 capacity

Old Trafford - Manchester, England (Manchester United) - 74,140 capacity

Stadio Olimpico - Rome, Italy (AS Roma/SS Lazio) - 70,634 capacity

Parc des Princes - Paris, France (Paris Saint-Germain) - 47,929 capacity

Emirates Stadium - London, England (Arsenal) - 60,704 capacity

Celtic Park - Glasgow, Scotland (Celtic) - 60,411 capacity

Johan Cruyff Arena - Amsterdam, Netherlands (Ajax) - 54,990 capacity

Stadio San Paolo - Naples, Italy (Napoli) - 54,726 capacity

Estadio da Luz - Lisbon, Portugal (Benfica) - 64,642 capacity

Estadio Metropolitano - Madrid, Spain (Atletico Madrid) - 68,456 capacity

Estadio Mestalla - Valencia, Spain (Valencia) - 49,500 capacity

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium - London, England (Tottenham Hotspur) - 62,303 capacity

Stade Vélodrome - Marseille, France (Olympique de Marseille) - 67,394 capacity

Estadio Benito Villamarin - Seville, Spain (Real Betis) - 60,721 capacity

Estadio do Dragao - Porto, Portugal (FC Porto) - 50,033 capacity

Stadio Artemio Franchi - Florence, Italy (Fiorentina) - 43,147 capacity

Stamford Bridge - London, England (Chelsea) - 40,834 capacity

Estadio Vicente Calderon - Madrid, Spain (Formerly Atletico Madrid) - 54,907 capacity

St. Jakob-Park - Basel, Switzerland (FC Basel) - 37,994 capacity

Estadio Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan - Seville, Spain (Sevilla FC) - 43,883 capacity

Estadio do Maracana - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Flamengo/Fluminense) - 78,838 capacity

Please note that capacities may vary depending on stadium configurations and renovations. Additionally, teams and stadiums may change over time, so it's always a good idea to verify the current information.

by Chatgpt

[moviescramble]

The Girl and The Spider - Review

The Girl and The Spider – Review

“The loneliest moment in someone’s life is when they are watching their whole world fall apart, and all they can do is stare blankly.” Having reflected on Ramon and Silvan Zürcher’s The Girl and The Spider, this F. Scott Fitzgerald quote seems apt. So often, throughout this film, we are treated to the longing gazes of the cast of characters. They are reminiscing about times past; regretting…

[requirednoise]

Excited to announce our very first podcast episode coming soon. Presenting artist, DJ, producer and label owner Alinep. Tune in to our Mixcloud, Soundcloud, YouTube channels on April 4th, 2022. Link in bio for more. “Deepsomnia" by Alinep is a word that not only defines his style and sound but also represents his true passion for the music he plays, by which he has succeeded in becoming a DJ, Producer, Label owner, Radio Host and a Promoter. In his almost 20 year old music career, Alinep has released his music in numerous record labels and manages his very own techno only label, Deepsomnia Records. Now based and living in the UK, Alinep is Manila’s very own and one of Asia’s electronic music talents to date. Alinep's musical imprint in his DJ sets and music production are very poetic and greatly influenced by different shades of house music and techno, minimal to electronica, Detroit to Chicago and the beat goes on and on defining his own club space. Alinep has shared the decks alongside Darren Emerson, Nick Warren, Yousef, SLAM, Dave Seaman, Anil Chawla, Luke Fair, Jimmy Van M, Josh Wink, Umek, Joy Kitikonti, Timo Garcia, Nelski, Frank Mueller, Quivver, Xhin, Secret Cinema, Silicone Soul, Nadja Lind, DJ Bone, Ramon Tapia, James Zabiela, Guti, Dirt Crew, KiNK, Satoshi Fumi, Alex Flatner, Tigerskin, Martin Eyerer, Dubfire, Nic Fanciulli, Osunlade, Re.You, Kate Simko, Eric Volta, Ken Ishii, Evil Eddie Richards, Gabriel I, Kenny Glasgow, Djuma Soundsystem, John Acquaviva, Shaun Reeves, Marco Effe, Agent! You & Me and many more. Links to Alinep: www.facebook.com/alinepmusic www.instagram.com/alinepmusic/ https://soundcloud.com/alinepmusic www.beatport.com/artist/alinep/225391 www.ra.co/dj/alinep

Be sure to follow, like, subscribe and share! linktr.ee/requirednoise

X

[felixir]

Dee Dee Ramone, Glasgow 1977

📸: Graham Scott

[protofans]

via today’s mailer:

Hey Europe, we’re coming for you… AGAIN! We had this scheduled for 2021, but obviously that didn’t happen. But I feel real good about it happening in 2022, so grab some tickets and please help spread the word over there about these shows. We’d love to make European trips a much more regular thing.

APRIL – 2022 17th – Berlin – FRANNZ Club 18th – Amsterdam – Melkweg 19th – Paris – Les Étoiles 21st – London – Shepherd’s Bush 22nd – Great Yarmouth – Sci-Fi Weekender 23rd – Swansea – Sin City 24th – Oxford – O2 Academy 26th – Wolverhampton – KK’s Steel Mill 27th – Glasgow – The Garage 28th – Bradford – Nightrain

BANDCAMP FRIDAY …… is today!

We’ve put up the freshly mixed 2021 version of “Built To Last” on Bandcamp a couple times in the past year for Bandcamp Fridays, but I realized that it’s never lined up with a mailer before for me to tell you about it, so… here you go! It’s available for purchase on our Bandcamp page until 11:59pm PST tonight (Friday).

AND we just noticed that the split black/clear variant of “Night of Queen” vinyl is down to less than 100 copies, so we’ve added it to the Bandcamp store as well.

If you don’t know what the hell a Bandcamp Friday is, it’s a very special day where Bandcamp waives their fees for 24 hours, so the artists get all of the money (except for CC fees, but that’s fair enough). So yeah, get out there and support some bands today so they can buy some Tapatio Doritos!

NEW YEARS 2021 Happy to announce that our New Years show at Exit/In with Makeup And Vanity Set and Hans Condor has sold out, but we wanted to give you a heads up on some new COVID related policy changes at Exit/In (and a majority of venues in Nashville).

I know it’s still a few months away, but as of right now, Exit/In is requiring a proof of vaccine OR a negative Covid-19 test (within 48hours of the show) to get into the show, with masks strongly recommended. We’re all for this, by the way. The more precautions the better, so venues can stay open and so we don’t get stuck in a lockdown situation again.

KYLE GASS – VACCINATED Speaking of vaccines and such, Kyle Gass (of Tenacious D fame – he was also in Evolution, which is a criminally underrated film, I might add) asked us a while back to shoot some footage for a little video he put together for his “Vaccinated” parody of The Ramones’s, “I Wanna Be Sedated.” We obliged. And while they couldn’t use very much of our stuff because it was such a jam-packed star-studded event, we figured we might as well release the Snyder Cut. You might want to rent out a movie theater to watch this potentially academy award winning gem. Watch HERE.

LIVE IN NASHVILLE Don’t think you can make it to our New Years or European shows? Don’t sweat it, we made Live In Nashville for this very exacting reason! If you don’t have it already, grab a copy of the Blu-ray and/or CD (or just the digital versions) from our Sound Machine or Kings Road Europe stores and watch or listen anytime from the comfort of your own home.

COVER UP VINLY NEARLY SOLD OUT If you want a copy of The Cover Up on record, you’d better hurry, there are only about 200 left in Sound Machine Store and much less than that at stores across the US America. Again, if your local record shop doesn’t have it, see if they can get it from URP Distribution before they’re all gone. Also, there are some signed copies available at the SM Store right now.  

Stay safe out there,

-Commander

[mygalfriday]

and the road not taken looks real good now (12/river)

It would be a lie to say he hadn’t hoped to see her. Hell, he comes back to Leadworth every single Christmas waiting for the year she’ll finally visit. The Ponds always invite her to their annual Christmas party but most of the time she doesn’t show, citing excuse after excuse about being unable to get away from her job in London. He always listens in when she phones to apologize, knowing the look of disappointment on Amy’s face must mirror his own and unable to bear the guilt. It’s his fault she never comes, after all.

This Christmas, it’ll be five years since she last turned up. He keeps hoping anyway.

Difficult not to feel a bit pathetic about the whole thing, especially when he’s standing outside on the porch freezing his arse off. Everyone else is inside the Ponds’ cozy little house, drinking spiked cocoa and laughing at Amy’s pitiful attempts at Santa Baby but not John, no. He sits perched on the porch railing, cigarette burning between his fingers as he stares out at the snow-covered lane and waits for the sight of uncontainable curls bursting out from beneath a fuzzy beanie.

Of course, River doesn’t ever do the expected thing – not even arriving where he can see her and prepare his battered heart. He hears the creak of the porch steps behind him and turns, nearly choking on an inhale at the sight of her frozen in place and staring at him. He’d been right about the hat – it doesn’t come close to covering her hair. Bundled in a cherry red coat stark as blood against the snow and clutching a paper sack filled with wine bottles, she looks startled to see him. If he weren’t so busy drinking in the sight of her, that might have hurt. It shouldn’t. She’d left – of course she isn’t looking over her shoulder every day like he is, waiting for the universe to bring them together again.

“John,” she finally says, licking her lips. For a moment, he can’t stop staring at her mouth, those lips stained like berries. He wonders if she’d taste of them too. “I didn’t realize you’d be here.”

She says it like an apology and he scowls, glancing away. Bringing the cigarette back to his lips, he asks, “What, would you have skipped out again if you had?”

River shifts the bag in her hands, looking for all the world like she’d very much like to turn and run away. “Well, it certainly would have been easier.”

He huffs out a quiet, bitter laugh and breathes out smoke with it. It curls into the air, mixing with the lightly falling snow before disappearing altogether. “And you’re very good at doing the easy thing, aren’t you, River?”

She sighs wearily. “Let’s not do this,” she says, and he hates how composed she is. How utterly removed from the situation she must be, to be able to distance herself from the pain and behave like a rational adult. “It’s one night. Surely we can behave ourselves for that long.”

With a terse nod, John flicks the ash from his cigarette and listens to the rousing and somewhat drunken rendition of Baby, It’s Cold Outside drifting out from inside the house. “How’s Ramone?”

He doesn’t turn to look at her but he can sense River’s disappointed stare burning like fire against the side of his face. She doesn’t bother with a reply.

He sighs. “Fine, how’s London?”

“Good. It’s... good..” She wraps an arm around her middle and he remembers it so vividly, the way she’d hug herself like she’d gotten so used to no one else ever doing it. She’d stopped after they were together for a while, reaching for him instead. It aches in his chest to see her doing it again now. “I heard you’re in Glasgow these days.”

Forcing a smirk, he asks, “Keeping tabs on me?”

River finally inches off the top step, her boots making soft taps against the porch as she inches cautiously closer. “Someone should.”

“Maybe,” he agrees, wedging the cigarette between his lips. “But it’s not really your job anymore.”

She doesn’t reply right away, leaning against the railing beside him. There’s still a space between them but she’s close enough now that he can smell her perfume and that fancy shit she always put in her hair that made it smell like orange peels. It took him years to stop smelling it everywhere he went. He tries desperately to turn his head away and breathe in the smoke instead. “Do you ever get tired of playing the victim?”

John snorts softly. “Funny, I was just about to ask you that.”

Watching him with a frown, River points out, “It was just as much your choice as it was mine-”

“Don’t you dare,” he snarls, angry enough to drop the bitter aloofness he’d been trying so hard to keep around his shoulders like a protective shroud. River falls silent, unmoving beside him. “I didn’t choose this. I never would. You wanted to leave and I let you because that’s what love sodding well is – making them happy even if you’re miserable.”

The sharp inhale from beside him is just shocked enough to catch his attention and he turns with a scowl that slips the moment he catches sight of her face. There are tears in her eyes and her lips are parted on a gasp. She stares at him in stunned silence. Snowflakes have caught in her curls and her nose is red from the cold but he doesn’t get time to admire the picture she makes before the bag of wine slips from her numb fingers and hits the porch with an alarming thunk.

He frowns, eyeing her cautiously. “What?”

River blinks, her eyes still glistening as she glances away. Her jaw clenches and she stares out at the empty, snow-covered street in silence for a long moment. “All those years.” She swallows and he hears it even over the bad caroling going on indoors. “You never said it. Not once.”

It takes him a beat longer than it should to fathom what on earth she’s talking of but the moment he goes back over what he said and puts the pieces together, he can only gape at her incredulously. His throat feels too dry to form a single syllable but this feels too significant to let slip away. After a few tries, he manages hoarsely, “Didn’t know it was so important to you.”

She shrugs like it doesn’t matter. He knows by now it always does. “Every girl likes to hear it now and then.”

His throat tightens. “All you had to do was ask.”

“It’s not an item on a grocery list,” she says, bristling. “I only wanted it if you wanted to give it-”

“Of course I wanted to-” He growls under his breath, the cigarette pinched so tight between his fingers he thinks it might snap in half. “I gave it. Every day. Just because I didn’t shout it from the rooftops or write you sonnets like Ramone-”

“Oh would you shut up about Ramone, you idiot.” River glowers at him, cheeks flushed pink and curls bouncing around her face as she nearly vibrates with fury. Any other time, he’d have enjoyed the sight immensely. “Don’t you think if I wanted him, he’d be here?”

John frowns. “Where is he, anyway? At home grooming his beard?”

“I don’t know.” She slides her gaze pointedly away from him, arms crossed over her chest. “I haven’t seen him since we broke up.”

John goes still. He stares at her, feeling the dying hope in the pit of his stomach burst back to life like bloody damned Lazurus. He struggles to seem somewhat sympathetic but by the look on River’s face, he fails spectacularly. He tries anyway. “Sorry.”

“No you’re not.”

He allows the grin to curl his mouth. “No I’m not.”

She rolls her eyes.

His smile doesn’t waver, even as he lifts his mangled cigarette back to his lips and takes a quick drag. “How long are you in town for?”

River shrugs. “Depends.”

“On?”

Her eyes gleam. “Whether you’re ever going to put out that fag and kiss me.”

The cigarette lands in the bushes. He hopes the snow will be enough to keep it from becoming a fire hazard because he doesn’t spare it another thought as he surges forward. His hands curl around her hips and he tugs her close, swallowing River’s quiet laughter when he dips his head and kisses her. He knows he must taste like nicotine and smell like smoke but River’s arms drop from their protective clutch around her middle and wrap around his neck instead. She fits against him just like she always has. She clings to him like he’s the only warm thing left in this cold world, her chilly nose bumping his and her trembling fingers curled inside the collar of his hoodie.

They part wearing tentative smiles, bright points in the darkness.

John brings a hand to her face, tucking a curl behind her ear as she shivers in his arms. “You should go in and warm up,” he whispers. “Amy’ll want to see you.”

“Of course.” She pauses, hesitantly turning her face into his palm and pressing a kiss there. He stares at her, his heart light and his knees quaking. “Don’t stay out here too long, all right? You’ll freeze, darling.”

Darling. It’s been five years but he’s still darling. He nods, dazed. “Feeling warmer already.”

With one last lingering glance, River retrieves her bag from the floor and steps into the house. He hears a belting chorus of Hark! The Herald Angels Sing just before she shuts the door behind her. God and sinners reconciled! John stands on the porch shuddering with the cold and wearing a stupid grin, his lips still tingling and the scent of orange peels in the air around him. He contemplates another cigarette for all of five seconds before he turns on his heel and hurries inside.

There’s nothing else to wait for out here anyway.

[that-scouse-wizard]

The Hound and the Star

First of all, happy birthday to the fabulous @kc-needs-coffee, a good friend, an amazingly supportive person and a real source of inspiration. Hope you all enjoy this little gift of Willopeia!

“So what do I get if I win?”

“One of two tickets to The Ramones concert in Glasgow this weekend.” “One of two?” “The other is for me, just us together, how about it?”

“You’ve got yourself a deal, Willows.”

That had been the last conversation KC had had with David pre-match. Sure, she knew he would react to her playful teasing but being asked out by him had certainly been unexpected.  

Not that she minded, last year he had taken her to the Celestial Ball. Though the solitude of the Ravenclaw common room would have been welcoming, she couldn’t deny that they were in perfect sync on that magical night.

How he had twirled her around, she laughing enthusiastically even if she wasn’t one for such events. How he had held her close as they slow danced to a much more fitting song for the night, her blue eyes never leaving the gaze of his warm brown ones as if they were all that mattered. How, when he had escorted her back to Ravenclaw tower, she had given him a hug, wanting to linger in an embrace with him for just a little more time. 

Even more surprising to the two of them, how she had given him a quick peck on the cheek.

For a while after that they had danced around each other awkwardly. There was no denying they had chemistry yet neither of them seemed to want to approach the subject. Until tonight that is.

Now as they walked along to the venue with the thronging crowd, holding hands as their fingers interlocked so they wouldn’t lose one another. They knew they would enjoy the show.

KC could hear the thrum of the music as it became louder, more intense. This would be the best time, she decided, to alleviate the nerves she was currently feeling. She stopped, becoming an anchor that forced David to turn back towards her. She chuckled at his puzzled expression, he looked cute like that.

With one hand she gestured for him to come closer, as he leaned down, she captured his lips with her own. Deeply inhaling the salty sea scent from the gel he had used to slick his hair back. When she broke away, David’s had gone wide with surprise, yet that was soon replaced by the grin he broke into.

Leaning in again, he initiated a second kiss. It was not quick as hers had been, his was slower, more intimate as he tasted her cherry lip gloss, their lips moving together in tandem. 

Renewing their grip on the other’s hand and now with an assurance this night would be one to remember, they pushed their way through the crowd. It was almost time for Blitzkrieg Bop after all.

[foreverdavidbyrne]

David Byrne at Strathclyde University, Glasgow.

The picture was taken by Chris Stein from Blondie, who supported Television at the Apollo Theatre on Renfield Street the day after Talking Heads and The Ramones played The Union.

May 1977

[oh-glasgow]

On this day in 1977 at the University of Strathclyde Union; Ramones and Talking Heads.

“They’ll blow your mind.”