Showing posts with label London Musicians Union. Show all posts
Showing posts with label London Musicians Union. Show all posts

Friday, 11 September 2020

The 49 Americans ‎– "The Hit Album" (NB Records ‎– NB 4) 1980



Radio Free Europe may have asserted that 'All Americans Are The Same', but there were at least 49 of their compatriots who were certainly NOT the same......mainly because 48 of them were made of pasty faced English wimps,the types who'd get sand kicked in their collective faces by those real American boys who all look like Henry Rollins, while berating them as a bunch of Fags. Which of course, in England-land is a packet of Cigarettes,or ciggies. 'Fag' was also a Public School term,used by the sixth form,for their 1st year servant boy,who would invariably end up being abused violently and sexually by their adolescent masters. ...."Come here Blenkensopp,I'm going to give you a damn good bumming,you snivelling little Turd!"
This is what the British Empire was built on,alongside Tea, and a leaky raft of 'Good Intentions';and we all know the road to hell is paved with these good intentions"(C.S.Lewis)...don't we? 
A deadly accurate portrayal of British Public school life can be viewed here,Episode 1 of "Ripping Yarns"...."Tompkinson's School Days"
Using Rape as a weapon is the time honoured way of creating generation after generation of traumatized and suggestable future leaders.Most of the British Govenment have been through it....I mean just look at Boris Johnson!?......its a system that seems to work,keeping everything just fucked up enough to function, yet dangle a distant unattainable carrot of hope to aspire to,dangling on the far side of the pit of dispair. I'd love to know for whom Johnson fagged for at Eton,he does,after all come from 'New Money',so he probably got an extra special bumming in the 'Boot Room' at Eaton.
You Americans don't know how good you've got it....yep, it's that bad!
The 49 Americans were recruited from the J-Arthur ranks of the London Musicians Collective by the sole American in the group, ex-pat Andrew "Giblet" Brenner.This included such improv luminaries as David Toop, Steve Beresford, Max Eastley, Lol Coxhill and Peter Cusack, as well as Nag and Bendle of The Door And The Window ,Vivien Goldman and 'Slit' Viv Albertine (I somehow doubt that her time with 49 Americans will make it into the proposed cinema biopic of her life).
This amateurish, no-fi, non-pop...er...pop(?), is about as far as one can get from a standard rollicking,rocking,or Rawking, American Group as you can get.All that for 85 new-pence,with each mini-symphony lasting 58 seconds, which is a numerical palindrome of 85.Those krazzee kidz!

Tracklist:

U.S.A. Side:
A1 American Wonder Song 0:58
A2 Newton's Law's 0:58
A3 What We Want 0:58
A4 Gail Was A Victim 0:58
A5 Move Around All Day 0:58
A6 Is This Rock And Roll? 0:58
A7 Julie Andrews (A Tribute) 0:58
U.S.B Side:
B1 One Germ 0:58
B2 Intelectuals On Parade 0:58
B3 Pigs 0:58
B4 The Uncertainty Principle 0:58
B5 Architecture Stops 0:58
B6 Missionairies 0:58
B7 Stupid Boy 0:58


Monday, 5 January 2015

The Door and the Window - "Squeakybop Jugband" (Conventional Tapes) 1983




Well, it has to be The Door and the Window time again,surely? One of the godparents of UK DIY,who's name is synonymous with everything DIY in the UK from the end of punk rock into the 1980's.
You've got it all here, improvisation, faux-naivety, actual naivety, child like musical ability, shit-fi recording, almost total lack of ambition, a sense of humour,and that essential Picasso angle on pop music. Featuring the core members Bendle and Nag, with appearences from Protag (RIP) in various guises, and several other affiliate members. This is as far away from Meat Loaf as you can imagine......but then of course you are familiar with the works of TDATW?.......if not why the fuck not?......Change this immeadiately.....they're "better than Jesus" (quote from "We're Better Than...." just,in case you wanna start burning something).

PS..thanks be to Nigel Bendle for donating this tape.(Yes he's a close relative of the other Bendle.)Check out his website: steelcitystatic.wordpress.com

Track Listing:

1 We are the people
2 Lionel the tramp
3 Riff
4 Lionel the metaphor
5 Red sash
6 Cars bang
7 4/4 Car
8 Everything is falling apart
9 Green Blob
10 Boys/Girls/Wineglass
11 The architect
12 We're better than......
13 Hope Resides
14 we are the people too

DOWNLOAD the squeakybop 320k  mp3 files HERE!

Wednesday, 11 December 2013

The Door and The Window - "Production Line EP" (NB Records 1979)



This EP is the second released by The Door And The Window, so cheaply recorded and pressed it makes the band’s LP, ‘Detailed Twang’ sound like Mozart on Deutsche Gramophone!
Initially inspired by the ethos of diy pioneers like the Desperate Bicycles and Scritti Politti, Nag and Bendle played their first gig and recorded their first single sometime before they bothered to rehearse. Playing with an ever-changing lineup tdatw became first gradually rhythmic and then melodic. Mark Perry became a third permanent member. Unhappy to remain in one musical ghetto, they inhabited several – playing gigs with post punks and ska bands, playing free tours with idealist hippies and gradually becoming deeply involved with the London Musicians Union.They co-produced a magazine about the politics of record production, hosted the seminal “Jazz Punk Bonanza” Festivals of 1980, ’82 and ’86 and ran the weirdly eclectic sprouts conspiracy cabaret club. Nag and Bendle also played in the 49 Americans and the liberated sound octet, Nag played with Mark Perry and Karl Blake in The Reflections and Bendle with The Casual Labourers and the Late Music Group.

Tracklist:

A1 Dig
A2 Production Line
B1 He Feels Like A Doris
B2 I Like Sound
B3 Innocent

DOWNLOAD this production line pop HERE!