Another Number

pretty self-explanitory really...mid/late 60s garage-psych songs about pot...who is this "Mary Jane" these rock n' roll combos keep singing about?

1.Sweet Smoke - "Mary Jane Is to Love" (2:12)
2.Birdwatchers - "Mary Mary" (2:36)
3.Two Dollar Question - "Aunt Matilda" (2:18)
4.Mike Clifford - "Mary Jane" (2:03)
5.Them - "Walking in the Queen's Garden" (3:02)
6.The Renaissance - "Mary Jane" (2:33)
7.Castels - "Rocky Ridges" (2:49)
8.The World - "Pot Party" (2:24)
9.Prophecy - "Take a Look at Mary" (2:27)
10.Owen B. - "Zig Zag Man" (2:13)
11.Listening - "Stoned Is" (4:37)
12.Copperpenny - "Stop the World" (8:01)

Marijuana Unknowns

NORML

More Warbly, Etheral Sounds

In 1975 Theremin pioneer Clara Rockmore came out of retirement at the behest of Robert Moog and recorded several hours worth of repertoire, mostly encore-type fare. Twelve pieces were released by Delos; here are the remaining 16. If you can get past the Theremin's horror-movie connotations and oleaginous vibrato, you'll have no trouble appreciating Rockmore's intelligent musicianship and effortless mastery.

Like Fritz Kreisler and Vladimir Horowitz, Rockmore was a born encore player. Her feeling for nuance, sense of proportion, subtle dynamic inflections, and tasteful, varied portamentos convey character and dignity in a wide range of material, including Kreisler's Liebeslied, Dvorák's Humoreske, Schubert's Ave Maria, Chopin's Posthumous C-sharp minor Nocturne, Bach's Air (on the G-string), and the famous Aria from Villa-Lobos' Bachianas-Brasileiras No. 5. Even audience-baiting numbers such as Summertime and La Vie en Rose make the most sincere, unhackneyed impressions.

Rockmore's sister, pianist Nadia Reisenberg, hardly could be more sympathetic and stylish a collaborator. However, in three previously-issued selections, Reisenberg's piano parts are replaced by newly recorded accompaniments: a cello ensemble in the Fuliehan Pastorale and the aforementioned Villa-Lobos, plus Jorge Morel's guitar in Ponce's Estrellita. They work beautifully. Everything about this release constitutes a labor of love, including the booklet notes and photographs. The boxy sonics have dated somewhat, but that shouldn't deter theremin fans from an essential acquisition for anyone who cares about the instrument.

Clara Rockmore - Clara Rockmore's Lost Theremin Album

Clara Rockmore - Method for Theremin (book in PDF)

The Lost PiL Album?

Note that this album contains lots of...er "rewrites" of early PiL material, supposedly much to the derision of Levene and Lydon...

Jah Wobble (John Wardle) was a close friend and confidant of John Lydon when he was still Johnny Rotten and the Sex Pistols were on the fast road to hell in a handbasket. When the singer ankled the group in 1978, he, Wobble and ex-Clash guitarist Keith Levene formed Public Image Limited, where the budding bassist first noodled with his trademark — a dub-influenced murky brand of languid low-end madness that he has perfected, but barely altered, in the two decades since.

Wobble stayed with PiL for nearly three years, departing after the band's tour in support of 1979's Metal Box (aka Second Edition). He then spent half a decade producing uneven solo records and collaborations with the likes of Can alumni Holger Czukay and Jaki Liebezeit, U2 guitarist the Edge, and Gary Clail and the stable of On-U Sound artists.

Wobble's anti-musical playfulness on The Legend Lives On is matched only by his horrid vocals. But then again, that's the appeal: the return to the DIY, no-rules punk tradition. Wobble accentuates his reggae pretensions, fiddles with electronics and overdubbing and plays shadowy, threatening bass. If nothing else, Wobble has major anti-style.

The Legend Lives on...Jah Wobble in Betrayal

Jah Wobble biography (and more!)

Are Blogs Electric?

Sometimes you find the damndest things cleaning out a harddrive. Here's a bunch of vintage synthesizer brochures and advertisments in PDF format. Frankly, I can't even remember downloading these, so thanks to whomever it was that scanned and uploaded these originally.

Vintage Synth Brochures

also...here's a new Clara Rockmore link in case you didn't get it the first time...

Clara Rockmore - The Art of the Theremin