B
Benjamin
Horrendous website index
B52s
Wacky American retro - pop absurdists with big
hair.
Essential
"Wid Planet" and "Cosmic Thing" l.p.s
http://www.mulch.demon.co.uk/b52s/links/index.html
BARRACUDAS
Started as a surf - rock band that had never
seen a beach, and evolved into a more psychedelic / r&b sound. The
single "I want my Woody Back" was a 3 chord gem. Saw them at the Crown,
Hailsham. I kept shouting for "....Woody", but I could tell they didn't
wanna do it. Eventually, at the end, they relented; and played the opening
verse, before launching into another song as the final number.
BEAT
Infectious bluebeat / ska / dub / influenced
left wing band.
Essential
"I Just Can't Stop It" l.p.
HAN BENNINK
Brilliant mad genius dutch drummer. Saw him 3
times, each one magical. 1st time was at the Gardener Arts Centre, with
the Instant Composers Pool, led by Misha Mendleborg. Misha played
piano, and there was a trombone, double bass, sax, and I think others
as well. They started off by playing a standard swing jazz rhythm,
then the sax player did a free form solo on top. Gradually, one by one,
the other instruments began to get weirder and weirder, until there was
only Misha left playing the standard rhythm. He looked round at the others,
honking and sawing away furiously, creating a mad cacophony. He closed
the piano, and walked of in (apparent) disgust.
Bennick was brilliant. He did loads of tricks,
bouncing balls off the drums; playing with hammers, then feathers; He went
into the wings and played the drums with the sticks dangling from the end
of a fishing rod. The amazing thing is, it's all in perfect time with the
beat. During one particularly frantic passage, my mate Nick jumped up and
shouted "Whooo!". Bennink picked up his snare drum and shouted "Whooo!"
back through it. It totally fitted the music at that exact point!
2nd time was with the Clusone Trio, at the Outside
In jazz Festival, Hawth Centre, Crawley. The other 2 were sax and cello.
It was improvised music. Bennink sat at stage front for a while, playing
the rhythm on a drum case. Eventually he got behind the kit. Later on,
something truly magical happened. It's taken me years to figure out how
they did it, but I think I have the answer. During a fast frantic section,
Bennink suddenly stopped and walked off stage. The other two were bent
over their instruments concentrating intently, play fast and furious. At
no time did they look up or round at Bennink. About a minute later Bennink
appears at the back of the stage, and walks towards a drum kit set up ready
for the next band. The other 2 still honking and sawing away obliviously,
building in intensity. Just as Bennink reaches the drum kit they stop suddenly,
for maybe half a second. Bennink hits the cymbal of the kit, turns round
without breaking stride, and walks back off. As soon as that cymbal
note had sounded in that half second of silence, the other two had resumed
playing. It all happened with such amazing timing, how could the
other 2 have known exactly when to stop? They can't have been counting,
it was free music, and too long a gap to count. I'm positive they never
looked round.
If you'd like to know my theory about how they
did it, email me.
3rd time was the same festival. Bennink played
drums for the Andy Shepard Band. This was more 'composed' music, but with
some wild bits too. At one point, during a tricky, complicated rhythmic
passage , Bennink appeared to be having problems with his bass drum pedal.
He kept bending down and fiddling with it. Eventually he emerged with it
in his hand. Somehow he got a replacement pedal, and fitted it on, all
without missing a beat. My drummer friend who was with me assured me it
was all part of the act.
BIRTHDAY PARTY
Beefheart influenced Aussies fronted by Nick
Cave. The single "Release the Bats" will definitely send a shiver up and
down your spine as you cavort round the room.
CARLA BLEY
Had a unique sound. Far out, experimental,
startling and shocking even; yet very warm, melodic and feminine. Made
several complex, intricately orchestrated albums with her large band(s)
before devolving into bland jazz noodlings. "Escalator over the Hill" is
a 6 sided tour - de - force, with such luminaries as John Mclaughlin, Jack
Bruce, and Don Cherry. It's like a play
or an opera or something ; you have to listen to it from start to finish,
and in the right order. I have no idea what it's all about though.
Ran the Watt record label with Mike
Mantler.
Saw her twice . Once at the Gardener Arts
Centre, Brighton, with her big band, which was great. They were kinda acting
out the music and songs while playing. The second time several years later
in London with her sextet, which was pleasant enough, but nothing very
special.
Essential
"Escalator Over the Hill", "Tropic Appetites",
"European Tour 1977" (a studio album), and "Social Studies" l.p.s..
BLONDIE
Superbly crafted New York power pop.
Essential
"Rip Her To Shreds" e.p., "Plastic Letters" and "Parallel Lines" l.p.s.
Blondie
links
DAVID BOWIE
I suppose every one has a favourite Bowie period.
Mine spans "Young Americans" to "Scary Monsters".
Saw him in 68 or 69 at the Dome Brighton. He
was third on the bill, and the headliners were the Edgar Broughton Band.
He came on with an acoustic guitar and did three songs sitting on a stool.
One was the just released "Space Oddity". He was in normal clothes, no
theatrics or make up or anything.
Essential
"Low" and "Heroes" l.p.s.
http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/~broada/bowie/
BOW WOW WOW
They grabbed my attention with their first release,
"C30, C60, C90 Go!" an infectious, joyful noise about the benefits of home
taping. By the time of the "See Jungle...." album I was completely
hooked. It remains one of my favourite albums of all time, by anybody.
The standard of musicianship is incredible, and the arrangements
are intricate and unusual, and very fast. The songs are clever and catchy,
the lyrics are thought - provoking, and I really rate Annabella as a singer.
Nice cover, too. Unfortunately the following album "When the Going gets
Tough" was a bit of a let down, with a flat, bland production by Mike Chapman,
and worst of all, a "Home taping is killing music" logo printed on the
cover. None of which stopped Frankie Goes to Hollywood ripping of the final
track wholesale, and adding some lyrics to create their huge hit "Two Tribes",
though.
Essential
"See Jungle! See Jungle! Go Join Your Gang, Yeah!
City All Over, Go Ape Crazy!" l.p.
KENNY BURRELL
Brilliant, lyrical jazz guitarist. Cool.
Essential
"God Bless the Child" l.p
BUZZCOCKS
The first punk band I got into. They had subtlety,
sensitivity and invention, and projected a friendly image, unlike a lot
of other bands of the time. They had an instantly recognizable sound, due
in no small part to John Mahers incredible and unusual drumming style.
I saw them at least half a dozen times, mainly at various venues in Brighton.
The first and last times were the most memorable, for different reasons.
First time was in a narrow, low room underneath a church. It was only a
few days after Howard Devoto left, so it could
quite possibly have been their first gig without him. There was no stage,
and it was really crowded, so only those at the very front could see anything
. I managed to climb on a chair at the side, but the ceiling was so low
I had to bend my head at an uncomfortable angle. Pete Shelly had his famous
cut off Woolworths guitar, and when they started playing this loud, beautiful
noise, the whole place erupted in a heaving, pogoing mass. My chair was
getting knocked about, so I was trying to brace myself with my hands against
the curving brick wall and ceiling, which was wet and slippery from condensation.
People were hitting their heads on the ceiling when they pogoed, and falling
down, pulling others with them. It was chaos. There were a few small fights,
nothing serious, and the band stopped playing and walked off several times
during the set while everybody calmed down. Every time they came back on
the chaos started again, of course.
The last time I saw them was the infamous Brighton
riot at the Top Rank, two, maybe three years later. I blame the band entirely
for what happened. They were famous now, with several chart hits under
their belts, and we, the loyal fans who had put them there, were looking
forward to a celebratory gig with our heroes. The band were in a funny
mood though. Maybe they'd been touring too long, and this was one gig too
many, I don't know, but they came on, and ran through the set quickly
and perfunctorily, with none of the usual friendly chat. In fact
they didn't speak at all. Pete Shelly spent a lot of the gig sitting on
his amp, staring at the floor. The last number was E.S.P., in which the
instruments drop out one by one until there's just a single guitar line
fading away. As they stopped playing they left the stage, the last being
Steve Diggle who gave a half hearted wave as he went. We didn't mind, we
still loved them, and we cheered and clapped for ages, calling for an encore
to no avail. After a long time, a lone plastic beer glass was lobbed at
the stage, shortly followed by a few more, then more, until there was a
hail of them continuously. Someone started pulling at the leads on the
stage floor, and a monitor speaker came crashing down from the stage. A
few people were on the stage now, kicking over the drums etc, and one guy
had got hold of a guitar amp and was making his way to the exit with it.
Suddenly a lone policeman appeared at the stage front, truncheon in hand.
Everybody immediately shrank back and tried to get away, but there were
more policemen coming in from the other direction. There were some scuffles,
but most people were trying to leave. I saw the guy with the amp, struggling
to get it up the stairs, so I gave him a hand. The next day in the paper
it was " Punks on the rampage, thousands of pounds of damage caused in
riot" with quotes from the band blaming the fans for starting it. I really
felt let down by the band, and the genuine love and affection I'd felt
for them had gone forever.
Essential
"Spiral Scratch" e.p., all the singles, or the
"Singles Going Steady" l.p., and "Another Music in a Different Kitchen"
l.p.
http://www.buzzcocks.com/
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