Pink Fairies - Never Never Land

Pink Fairies were formed when the three musicians from The Deviants, having fired their singer Mick Farren, returned from a disastrous tour of the West Coast of North America and hooked up with Twink, formerly of the Pretty Things. These musicians had previously collaborated on Twink's Think Pink prior to the tour, and during the tour Twink, Farren and Steve Peregrin Took had used the The Pink Fairies Motorcycle Club and All-Star Rock and Roll Band name, taken from a story written by Jamie Mandelkau, as an umbrella for their activities, including one gig in Manchester.

They released 3 albums during the early 70’s, and while their true swan song, Kings Of Oblivion, is usually cited as their masterpiece, Never Never Land is nothing less than stellar. It kicks off with the misleading Do It. The album version of this tune begins with an acoustic intro than blasts into a hard punk rocker that should really be a classic radio anthem. War Girl engages in some cosmic blues rock soul with some fantastic wah-wah and a great spacey atmosphere. Say You Love Me and Teenage Rebel are more proto-punk/power pop highlights that show off the bands impressive instrumental chops which were honed at countless outside festivals. Surprisingly, Heavenly Man recalls early 70’s Pink Floyd, with slow profound drumming, dazed vocals and David Gilmour style guitar flourishes.

The band’s sound was a combination of the progressive rock scene, the earlier psychedelic revolution, proto-punk/garage rock roots, a small hint of politics, and good ole fashioned rock n roll. All these elements make the 10 minutes of Uncle Harry’s Last Freakout a joy to listen to. This is an undeniably great album from an unsung band. Never Never Land shows a vital band fighting for its life, creating some of the hardest outdoor festival music of the time. Anyone into the early Flamin’ Groovies, the Stooges, MC5, the Coloured Balls, or the Amboy Dukes should do themselves a favor and give this a listen.

Year of Release: 1971
Label: Polydor Records
Genre: Psychedelic/Garage
Bitrate: 320kbps

Track List:
1. Do It
2. Heavenly Man
3. Say You Love Me
4. War Girl
5. Never Never Land
6. Track One, Side Two
7. Thor
8. Teenage Rebel
9. Uncle Harry's Last Freak-Out
10. The Dream Is Just Beginning

Download: Pink Fairies - Never Never Land
File Size: 107MB

Video of the Week: The Cramps - Tear It Up - Urgh! A Music War

The Cramps - Tear It Up

Lux Interior's stage presence can be described in many ways.. electrifying, comical, or even disturbing. You can rest assured that it will never be described as dull though. This particular performance from Urgh! A Music War is one of the best that I've seen. Rather than spoil the interesting parts, I'll just let the video speak for itself.

Urgh! A Music War is a British film released in 1981. It featured performances by punk rock, New Wave, and post-punk acts, filmed in 1980. All performances are live, recorded around 1980, mainly in England and the USA. There is a bit of controversy surrounding the film, concerning the rights of the movie, and the possibility of a DVD release. You can read more about the film, and the surrounding controversy below.

Wikipedia Article
View More Videos From Urgh! A Music War

Bernard Hermmann - The Day The Earth Stood Still OST

The Day the Earth Stood Still is a 1951 black-and-white science fiction film that tells the story of a humanoid alien who comes to Earth to warn its leaders not to take their conflicts into space, or they will face devastating consequences. Produced in the aftermath of World War II, the start of the Cold War, and the development and use of the first atomic bombs, the film strongly and iconically addresses issues of violence, politics, and the fear of global annihilation.

The score was composed by Bernard Herrmann and is notable for its use of two theremins. The soundtrack was composed in August of 1951 and was Bernard Herrmann's first soundtrack after he moved to Hollywood. Herrmann chose unusual instrumentation the film including electric violin, electric bass, two theremin fully electronic instrument: (played by Dr Samuel Hoffman and Paul Shure), test oscillators, vibraphone, four pianos, four harps and approximately 30 brass instruments. Unusual overdubbing and tape-reversal techniques were used, as well. - Source

Year of Release: 1951
Label: Fox
Genre: Soundtrack, Movie Score, Experimental
Bitrate: 192kbps

Download: Bernard Hermmann - The Day The Earth Stood Still OST
File Size: 78MB
Movie Download: Torrent File

Mort Garson - The Wozard of Iz: An Electronic Odyssey

One of the strangest albums I have ever had the pleasure of listening toSome of you may or may not be familiar with the late Mort Garson. He recently passed away in January of this year. Garson was perhaps best remembered as a pioneer of electronic music using Moog synthesizers. Although his electronic albums are considered his greatest output, he was also an accomplished composer, arranger, orchestrator, conductor, and pianist.

In 1967 Garson started working on The Zodiac: Cosmic Sounds. This would be the first of many electronic psychedelic masterpieces. In 1968 Garson collaborated with Jacques Wilson to create one of the trippiest albums ever released. The album was written by Wilson, with Garson composing the music. The Wozard of Iz was far from Garson's most polished effort, but it does stand out as being one of his most creative works, and certainly the strangest album he ever worked on. In fact I would dare say that it is one of the strangest albums I have ever had the pleasure of listening to. Basically it parodies The Wizard of Oz, with the character's names remaining the same, yet with their adventures taking place in a modern day (modern at the time of release) setting. It is a deliberate jab at the typical lifestyle lived by many americans during the 1960's. In this alternate-oz, Dorothy takes a "trip" and discovers a a better life free from the pressures of society. During the course of the album, the lyrics are at times brilliant, silly, disturbing, and nonsensical, however they are always complimentary of the music that accompanies them. If you are fan of electronic, psychedelic, or just insanely weird music, then you won't want to miss out on this.

Year of Release: 1968
Label: A&M Records
Genre: Electronic/Psychedelic
Bitrate: 256kbps

Track List:
1. Prologue
2. Leave the Driving to Us
3. Upset Strip
4. Never Follow the Yellow-Green Road
5. Thing-a-Ling (Scared Crow)
6. In-man
7. Man With the Word (Lyin' Coward)
8. They're Off to Find the Wozard
9. Blue Poppy
10. I've Been Over the Rainbow
11. Big Sur
12. Killing of the Witch
13. Finale

Download: Mort Garson - The Wozard of Iz (ifile)
Download Mirror: Mort Garson - The Wozard of Iz (MegaUpload)
File Size: 65MB

Video of the Week: Otis Redding - Satisfaction

Otis Redding - Satisfation

I'm sure that during the course of time I've spent running this blog that I've described several performances as 'energetic', but I was blown away by the energy that Otis Redding pumped out in this performance. I'm sure that Mick Jagger, who was present in the crowd that night, was equally stunned. I was going to post a great video of the Cramps until I found this gem. I'm sure you won't have any problems understanding why once you've viewed it. Enjoy!

Moondog - Moondog

Moondog was the alias of Louis T. Hardin (May 26, 1916 – September 8, 1999). He was a New York City street musician and former beat poet who was blinded as a young adult. From the late 1940s until 1974, he was a permanent fixture, busking on 54th Street and 6th Avenue in Manhattan. He was known not only for his music and poetry, but also for the distinctive Viking garb that he wore, including a horned helmet. He routinely gave away copies of his work to anybody who would take them. In this way, he came to the attention of producer James William Guercio, who took him into the studio to record an album, released as Moondog (1969) on the CBS label. The track Stamping Ground, with its odd preamble of Moondog saying one of his epigrams, was featured on the sampler double album Fill Your Head with Rock. A brief phrase of another track on the album, Bird's Lament (In memory of Charlie Parker) was sampled by Mr. Scruff as the basis for his 7-minute track Get a Move On.

A second album produced with Guercio, and featuring both him and Moondog's daughter as vocalists, contained song compositions in the forms of canons and rounds. It did not make an impression on popular music as the first had. The two CBS albums were re-released as a single CD in 1989.

Year of Release: 1969
Label: CBS
Genre: Classical/Experimental
Bitrate: 256kbps

Track List:
1. Theme
2. Stamping Ground
3. Symphonique #3 (Ode To Venus)
4. Symphonique #6 (Good For Goodie)
5. Cuplet
6. Minisym #1
7. Lament I, Bird's Lament
8. Witch Of Endor
9. Symphonique #1 (Portrait Of A Monarch)

Download: Moondog - Moondog (58MB)

Brainiac - Bonsai Superstar

"An astounding blast of cohesive madness"Brainiac were an American synth-punk/ indie rock band of the 1990s. They formed in Dayton, Ohio in January of 1992 with vocalist, guitarist and keyboard (particularly Moog synthesizers) player Tim Taylor, bassist Monostereo (Juan Monasterio), guitarist Michelle Bodine and drummer Tyler Trent. On the March 12th, the band played its first show at Wright State's University Cafeteria, under the name We'll Eat Anything. After a couple of singles, they released their debut album, Smack Bunny Baby, on Grass/ BMG Records in 1993. Bonsai Superstar, now with John Schmersal on guitar in place of Bodine, followed the next year.

Whereas Smack Bunny Baby had shown Brainiac to be a band that was still developing, Bonsai Superstar is an astounding blast of cohesive madness. The band finds its voice and vision and moves light years ahead of their peers (as well as where they had been musically only a year earlier). From the opening moments of "Hot Metal Dobermans," it is apparent that listeners are in the hands of an assured, ambitious group of musicians, including the newly arrived John Schmersal on guitar. The music is far more adventurous than on the previous album, incorporating more raw noise and sound effects, and even constructing "Fucking with the Altimeter" around a series of spoken samples. But lead singer Tim Taylor is the star of this show. His combination of a Betty Boop falsetto and an Elvis-style croon on "Flypaper" is mesmerizing, and his explosive strut through "Sexual Frustration" exudes pure star power. Bonsai Superstar captures a band that was ahead of their time. In 1997 they released an electronic-based EP called Electro-Shock for President which turned out to be their last record: Tim Taylor was killed in a car accident on May 23rd, 1997, during the pre-production for their fourth album, which was due out on Interscope Records, after which the group soon disbanded.

Year of Release: 1994
Label: Grass/BMG
Genre: Experimental/Punk/Noise
Bitrate: 128kbps

Track List:
1. Hot Metal Doberman's
2. Hands of the Genius
3. Fucking With The Altimeter
4. Radio Apeshot
5. Transmissions After Zero
6. Juicy (On A Cadillac)
7. Flypaper
8. Sexual Frustration
9. To The Baby-Counter
10. You Wrecked My Hair
11. Meathook Manicure
12. Status: Choke
13. Collide

Download: Braniac - Bonsai Superstar (33MB)

Video of the Week: MC5 - Kick Out The Jams (Live - 1970)

I apologize for the recent lack of updates, but I haven't been home the last couple of days. However I should be home tomorrow, and I'll be sure to resume uploading material for you fine folks. In the meantime here is this week's VOTW.

MC5 - Kick Out The Jams (Live - 1970)

I would like to thank my good friend Brian for discovering this video. I know that this footage has been ripped from a DVD, although I'm not sure of the title. I'll be sure to find out when I get home so that I can provide as much information as possible. As you can see from the video, the MC5, who were way ahead of their time, put on a very energetic live show before a seemingly unprepared audience. The show took place at Tartar Field on the University of Detroit campus in 1970. I'll post the other videos to this set, as well as the DVD info, whenever I return home.

13th Floor Elevators - The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators

Update: I've re-uploaded this file as requested. I'm not sure what the problem is, but most of the files that were hosted on gigasize are no longer working. For some strange reason they are still active, but the files have changed into small 1kb files. I've sent an e-mail to the gigasize admins to inform them of the problem, and hopefully they will be able to restore the files, or fix the problem. On a good note... It looks like I'm back permanently. Everything went well with court and I don't have to go back till May, and my internet service is working once again. You can look forward to regular updates once again.

There are few albums from the early stages of the psych movement that sound as distinctively trippy, and remain as pleasing

Did the 13th Floor Elevators invent psychedelic rock? Aficionados will be debating that point for decades, but if Roky Erickson and his fellow travelers into inner space weren't there first, they were certainly close to the front of the line, and there are few albums from the early stages of the psych movement that sound as distinctively trippy, and remain as pleasing as the group's groundbreaking debut, The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators. In 1966, psychedelia hadn't been around long enough for its clichés to be set in stone, and Psychedelic Sounds thankfully avoids most of them; while the sensuous twists of the melodies and the charming psychobabble of the lyrics make it sound like these folks were indulging in something stronger than Pearl Beer, at this point the Elevators sounded like a smarter-than-average folk-rock band with a truly uncommon level of intensity. Roky Erickson's vocals are strong and compelling throughout, whether he's wailing like some lysergic James Brown or murmuring quietly, and Stacy Sutherland's guitar leads, long on melodic invention without a lot of pointless heroics, are a real treat to hear. And nobody played electric jug quite like Tommy Hall. Actually, nobody played it at all besides him, but his oddball noises gave the band a truly unique sonic texture. If you want to argue that psychedelia was as much a frame of mind as a musical style, it's instructive to compare the recording of "You're Gonna Miss Me" by Erickson's earlier band, the Spades, to the version on this album, the difference is more attitudinal than anything else, but it's enough to make all the difference in the world. (The division is even clearer between the Spades' "We Sell Soul" and the rewrite on Psychedelic Sounds, "Don't Fall Down"). The 13th Floor Elevators were trailblazers in the psychedelic rock scene, and in time they'd pay a heavy price for exploring the outer edges of musical and psychological possibility, but along the way they left behind a few fine albums, and The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators remains a potent delight.

Year of Release: 1966
Label: Collectables
Genre: Psychedelic
Bitrate: 192kbps

Track List:
1. You're Gonna Miss Me
2. Roller Coaster
3. Splash 1
4. Reverberation
5. Don't Fall Down
6. Fire Engine
7. Thru The Rhythm
8. You Don't Know (How Young You Are)
9. Kingdom Of Heaven
10. Monkey Island
11. Tried To Hide
12. Everybody Needs Somebody To Love (Live)
13. You Really Got Me (Live)
14. Gloria (Live)
15. You're Gonna Miss Me (Live)

Download: 13th Floor Elevators - The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators
Download Size: 72MB

Comment Moderation

I've had someone leaving hateful comments and false accusations on the blog recently, so I've been forced to enable comment moderation, and will possibly have to require registration. I've been running this blog for almost two years, and I've never had a bad experience with any of the visitors here. It's unfortunate that one person has to ruin it for everyone else. When I came home today and checked my e-mail I was alerted to the fact that there were over 70 comments awaiting moderation from this individual, who posts anonymously I might add. I deleted the post (Roky Erickson - Gremlins Have Pictures) and re-published it, rather than moderating the 70+ comments that were left, so I apologize to those of you had their positive comments deleted.

I believe that everyone is entitled to his/her own opinion, and I wouldn't try to censor anyone who was merely expressing that opinion, but I won't allow false statements to be made about me. I live in rather poor conditions, and work hard just to keep what little bit I have. I've also been trying to take care of a lot of problems which have overwhelmed me lately. Despite all that, I still take time out, almost daily, to generously provide you all with music from my collection. I have obviously already listened to this music, and have nothing to gain by sharing it with you all, other than having the satisfaction of being able to give the artists that I love the recognition that they deserve. This blog is a hobby; an escape from the every day stresses of life, but if that carries over here, then I will have to call it quits.

Life is too short. Let go of whatever it is that's bothering you...
To the Anonymous User who has been leaving dozens of slanderous and pointless comments.. I'm not sure why you are angry with me. I don't appreciate being accused of doing the things that you mentioned in your comments, just as I'm sure you wouldn't. Considering I've never exchanged words with you, I believe that you need to reconsider your position, and hopefully find a better way to use your time. The only people you are hurting are the visitors to this blog and yourself, not me. Life is too short my friend. Let go of whatever it is that's bothering you and move on. It's okay to have problems. We all do. But it's not okay to take those problems out on other people who haven't done anything to you. Despite my better judgement, I'll give you one last chance to respond in a civilized manner and explain to me what the problem is. No one will see your comment but me.

Video of the Week: Paul Dateh & Inka One - Hip Hop Violin

I was considering starting another blog to feature musical content that I wouldn't otherwise post on this blog, such as music videos. I may still go through with that plan, but since I've been using the myspace profile that I created for that purpose, I'm going to go ahead and postpone that plan for the moment. However I've decided that it's time to offer a bit of variety on this blog, and I think the best way to do that would be to offer the occasional video. So starting now, I'll be posting the best videos that I've recently discovered each week. I hope that you will enjoy my selections. You can find more on the Digital Meltd0wn MySpace blog. This week's Video of the Week is Paul Dateh & Inka One performing what is simply titled "Hip Hop Violin".

Paul Dateh & Inka One - Hip Hop Violin

Paul Dateh is a classically trained musician. Although the violin is his forte, he is also considered a talented jazz artist and vocalist. He often performs a fusion classical violin and hip-hop as demonstrated in this video. Be sure to visit his websites below for more information, and free music downloads. You can find the audio from this video available for download on his myspace profile. It's the last track on the player.


http://pauldateh.com
http://myspace.com/pauldateh

Jail Update

I'm out on bond at the moment. I have to go back to court on March 3rd. Without going into too much detail, I'll just say that I've violated my probation. I may or may not have to go back to jail on March 3rd. If it's possible I'm going to extend my court date by getting a court appointed lawyer. I have to focus on taking care of a few things concerning this matter over the next couple of days. I'm going to make a few calls and find out what I can about the possible sentence I would recieve, if any. I'll post some new material once that is taken care of. Thank you for your support. I'll keep you all updated of any changes as soon as I'm made aware of them.

Update: I'll be gone for a couple of days. I have to drive close to 400 miles to the location of the court. As I mentioned above, I'm going to ask for a court appointed lawyer, so hopefully they will reset my date, which will give me a few weeks or months to take care of my responsibilities. If all goes well I should be back on the 4th. If I am I'll begin working on the albums that were request to be re-uploaded (Roky Erickson & 13th Floor Elevators. Wish me luck.

Update 2 Well.. everything turned out okay. The judge was very understand of my situation and reset my court date in order to give me time to comply with the court's requirements. For those wondering.. I was originally charged with possession of marijuana, which I was placed on probation for. I violated that probation due to a misunderstanding on my part, which I won't go into detail because it would take more time than it's worth to explain here, but it really wasn't that big of a deal. I would like to say thank you to those who offered kind words.

Roky Erickson - Gremlins Have Pictures

Cobbled together from live tapes, studio outtakes, and well-known for his mental illness and erratic behavior, caused in no small part by shock therapy and incarceration in a Texas mental hospital casually recorded demos, Gremlins Have Pictures was the lesser of the two albums Roky Erickson, the former frontman for the 13th Floor Elevators, though it still captured the psychedelic pioneer in potent and hard rocking form. Several different backing bands appear on these tracks, ranging from the tight and empathetic the Aliens to Texas proto-punk also-rans the Explosives, but Erickson was in strong voice when this stuff was put on tape (no dates are included, but most of this probably dates from the early '80s), and even the lesser musicians at least try to match him for energy (and often succeed). Gremlins Have Pictures also preserves some of the less well-known titles in the Roky Erickson songbook; while "I Have Always Been Here Before" is once again recycled here, the oddball ballads "Anthem (I Promise)" and "Song to Abe Lincoln" and potent rockers "The Interpreter" and "Cold Night for Alligators" rank with Erickson's more memorable tunes, and the into-the-wind cover of the Velvet Underground's "Heroin" certainly ups the frenzy factor of the original. Gremlins Have Pictures is a patch job, but at least it's a patch job done with care and concern for the material, and musically it has a lot more going for it than the wealth of semi-authorized Erickson sets floating around.

Track List:
1. Night of the Vampire
2. Interpreter
3. Song to Abe Lincoln
4. John Lawman
5. Anthem (I Promise)
6. Warning (Social & Political Injustices)
7. Sweet Honey Pie
8. Cold Night for Alligators
9. I Am
10. Heroin
11. I Have Always Been Here Before
12. Before in the Beginning

Download: Roky Erickson - Gremlins Have Pictures
Download Size: 56.9MB