New Roots and Old Roots ... /dev/root

[anxious mofo <hofmann@AMSAA.ARPA>]

Well, I've got a couple of minutes to kill here  as  I  await  my
ride home ... so ....

ROIR ---- 
If you haven't heard about this company and  like  late
70's  rock  and  new  wave - then you should check them out. (611
Broadway, Suite 725, New York, NY  10012/  (212)477-0583).   They
put  out  cassettes  documenting  various  groups and scenes that
didn't get enough attention during their  time.   Usually,  these
tracks  are  from out of print singles or bootlegged live perfor-
mances.  The tapes are fairly good quality (120 eq,  normal)  and
run 30 minutes on each side.  The prices are good if you buy four
tapes as you get the fifth one for a buck.  So for 5 cassettes  I
ended  up paying 33$.  In many cases, the cassettes serve as good
intros to bands you've heard others raved about but  could  never
find any recordings.

Television - 
this is from some bootlegs and unreleased live material.  If you've 
heard Television in the studio, you'll be suprised at how raw and 
powerful they  were  live.  My favorite of the bunch.

Suicide - again, these are mostly live  performances  with  liner
notes by the late Lester Bangs.  (oh yeah, the liner notes on all
of these tapes are great).  If you are interested in the roots of
minimalism in rock, you should listen to some Suicide.  It was my
first exposure to them and while I'm not  apeshit  over  them,  I
felt it to be a welcome addition to my collection.

Flipper - Blow'n Chunks.  Definitely the wierdest of  the  bunch,
this  is  music  for  TDW to blow reef to.  The liner notes claim
them to be the Grateful Dead of the 80's.  Unfortunately, it  ap-
pears  the  members have either broken up or are working on other
projects at the moment.  Most of this again is live at CBGB's.

NY THRASH - (various artists).  This tape documents the New  York
reaction  to  the  art crowd's monopolization of the music scene.
This is thrash and if you don't have any of this  genre  in  your
collection,  this  is  a  good  intro (as well as the "Welcome to
1984" comp from the west coast).  BAd Brains, Kraut,  False  Pro-
phets, Nihilistics, Mad and my faves, Adrenaline O.D.

The Dickies - "We Aren't The World" - profits from this tape will
not  go to feed the hungry.  Got it?  That's the Dickies attitude
now and that was the Dickies attitude then.   This  tape  follows
their  progression  from  a  4  track demo to fame and fortune in
Great Britain.  A bunch of con  artists  cashing  in  on  musical
trends, but you'll love every minute of it.

And now for OLD ROOTS
---------------------

Run DMC - King Of Rock.  IF you think heavy rock is dead -  check
this  baby  out.   Oh,  sure it's rap but just dig those guitars.
Last I heard these guys were recording a version  of  "Walk  This
Way"  with  Aerosmith  (whom  they desribe as the first rappers).
Their new album ought to be out soon.

Tex and The Horseheads - Life's So Cool (Enigma)
Despite what you think about this bands general sleazy  attire  -
the  places  that won't book them because of the crowd they bring
would be hardpressed to part with this vinyl.  It plays  well  in
between sets of Southern Rock afterall.  Tex is probably the best
female torchrock grunge singer right now - with the possible  ex-
ception  of  the  Fetch N Bones singer  and she has been known to
lapse into sweetness.  With Tex, never any sweetness,  jest  rock
'n' roll, dudes, cuntry style (as her main influence Rosanne Cash
might say).

Great Plains - Naked  At  The  Buy,  Sell  And  Trade  (homestead
records).  Well, these guys played at the latest CMJ get-together
and allegedly shoved alot of faces into the dirt.   This  is  the
best of garage punk mixed with a bit of hardcore sensibility with
a measure of well-intentioned zaniness  thrown  in  for  measure.
Out  of  the three records I talk about here, I would say this is
the most significant one and definitely an  plus  to  any  record
collection.


Keep your cool and follow the rules - Jim