jocularis

joc•u•lar |ˌdʒɒkjʊlə| adjective fond of or characterized by joking; humorous or playful : she sounded in a jocular mood | his voice was jocular. DERIVATIVES joc•u•lar•i•ty |-ˌlarɪti| noun joc•u•lar•ly adverbORIGIN early 17th cent.: from Latin jocularis, from joculus, diminutive of jocus (see JOKE ). A salacious furball from one time Clevelander Robert Dennis Crumb and

phase v + counting

It has been raining, yes; nothing aberrant in that. Spitting feebly over the last couple of days. Like a judas over supper. The temperature here has fallen off here considerably too, even as the potential for biblical visitation radiates white heat and leaps from coat to coast. Secret pockets of incubation. Nervous twitching in overstuffed

klymyzh plazhda

Founded in 1979.Courtesy of NØ. Raymond Steeg: effects, sound wizardry; Erik Drost: guitar; The Silverman: keyboards, electronics; Niels Van Hoornblower: saxophone, clarinet; Edward Ka Spel: vocals, keyboards. Recorded at Studio Lent and Studio Klaverland, January-March 2004. Klymyzh Plazhda– Sing While You May. ▼ THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS: IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH from “The Whispering

zorro doggerel

Pigs might crash, swine flew;the masked mansmokedhis bacon.–ibAll that porking is making me scratch. From the legendary Pink Fairies’ drummer, John “Twink” Alder’s ‘infamous‘ 1970 solo LP. Fiddlers on the roofs of Volkswagen Beetles way down, Sam’s in Mexico.With two confirmed cases of swine flu quarantined in a hospital in Scotland, and a further seven

ein toast

It is my birthday today, siblings. Like those awful greetings cards needle, I have pretty much stopped counting; I know this because often I miscalculate my age by a year of two when somebody has the effrontery to enquire. I have to think carefully and tally up the lost decades. In preparation for the opportunity

laugh a heffer to the slaughter

peter laughner august 22, 1952 – june 22, 1977 Aside from those Hearthan 45’s recorded as Pere Ubu (subsequently documented on the “Datapanik in the Year Zero” box set) and his earlier association with Rocket from the Tombs, this posthumously released collection of Laughner’s home demos and live recordings remains his sole legacy to the

lose your chains

illustration by ib. Hello, Ramone666. And Groover’s Paradise. pri•ma don•nanounthe chief female singer in an opera or opera company.• a very temperamental person with an inflated view of their own talent or importance. DERIVATIVESpri•ma don•na-ish adjective ORIGIN late 18th cent.: Italian, literally ‘first lady.’ Cleveland, Ohio, February 1975. An atypical loft rehearsal sewing the viral

fools’ errand

“string of fools“: illustration by ib. fool 1 |fuːl| nouna person who acts unwisely or imprudently; a silly person : what a fool I was to do this.• historical a jester or clown, esp. one retained in a noble household.• informal a person devoted to a particular activity : he is a running fool.• archaic

8:55: safe on the bus

lau•da•num |ˌlɔːd(ə)nəm| |ˌlɒ-| noun an alcoholic solution containing morphine, prepared from opium and formerly used as a narcotic painkiller. ORIGIN mid 16th cent.(applied to various preparations containing opium): modern Latin, the name given by Paracelsus to a costly medicament of which opium was believed to be the active ingredient; perhaps a variant of Latin ladanum

when a door is not a door

Prompted… by Sheridan Dupre‘s very recent posting of the finished piece from 1999’s “Summerteeth“, here is the working demo; forgoing both backing vocals and harmonica. While less is often more, I would have liked to have heard a version even closer to the song’s inception – stripped of all convention of arrangement and sugar coated

my friend on the raga

7N 15919. Released on July 30th, 1965, the Davies brothers use of sitar here predates the release of The Beatles’ “Rubber Soul” by several months. It has been alleged in some quarters that this superior Raymond Douglas Davies composition may in fact constitute the first popular release in the west to utilize Raga as a

uncherished symphony

Recorded at Olympic Studios, London. A Sister Morphine production. The Glimmer siblings stuck po’ Brian’s head down the toilet and f@ckin’ flushed it, Lucifer. Not just a lucky strike. There’s a sucker born every damned minute. ▼ THE ROLLING STONES: SWEET LUCY from “Sympathy For The Devil: Beggars Banquet Outtakes” CD (Bootleg) 1968 (UK) ▼

we sell soul

Vintage Roky b-side. Before he took the elevator right on up to the 13th floor. ▼ THE SPADES: WE SELL SOUL from “You’re Gonna Miss Me b/w We Sell Soul” 45 (Zero Records) 1965 (US)

deep space

LM-9802-7.Mir |mɪə|a Soviet space station, launched in 1986 and designed to be permanently manned.  Owing largely to its financial demands on an impoverished Russian government, the Mir program was terminated in March 2001, when the space station made its fiery reentry into the earth’s atmosphere, splashing down in the South Pacific.  During its 14 years in

clockers

design by ib.Long overdue. This one I intended to feature a couple of months back at least, but circumstances, alas, drew close scrutiny from the relentless ticking of hands. In short, I f@cked up. Dating from 1980, this 45 clocked in on the John Peel Show on at least three late evenings between 10 and

easter parade

As I pontificated with regard to the 1980’s the first time I posted a couple of cuts from Glasgow’s The Blue Nile over on Art Decade: “I hated the self-congratulatory stench of delusion. I hated the graphics. I hated the cheap looking suits and shady haircuts. I hated the flippancy of the music foisted on

13th floor elevator

David “Fathead” Newman‘s musical career began in 1954 as saxophonist in the Ray Charles Band. A Texan of deviant colour, that’s all she wrote. This one is over 40 years old. For a slightly more contemporary tale of Caucasian life on the 14th floor, see here. David Fathead Newman: altosax & flute; Cornell Dupree: guitar;

communiqué #23: flatline

Apologies, brothers and sisters. We have a CPR crisis. Due to an oversight on my part, we have reached bandwith capacity on our server for this month drastically ahead of schedule. Of course, the good news is that our audience is constantly expanding. The bad news, conversely, is that a number of files – including

landlocked

sibling jellyfish, by michael melford, 2007. land•lockedadjective (esp. of a country) almost or entirely surrounded by land; having no coastline or seaport : a midget state landlocked in the mountains. • (of a lake) enclosed by land and having no navigable route to the sea. • (of a fish, esp. a North American salmon) cut

death valley ’69

Two of four improvisations by Jerry Garcia – produced for the original “Zabriskie Point” score – which never made final cut. Jon made a point regarding a certain Navajo Indian’s mistrust and “low opinion” of Brujeria, and Carlos Casteneda’s meddling with those potent primal forces which reign out in the desert. Between cactus buttons blistering