Here is a taster of how we are going to celebrate when the Earles and Jensen Soundscans accelerate, this is just the tip of the iceberg wait till they totally take off then our pecks will really be glistening

Let this serve as a cautionary tale for the entire Matador roster; vomiting on the audience will not be tolerated in Judge Judy’s court of (faux) law.

I’ve been listening to more and more world music recently, especially ethnic and folk recordings issued on 78 in the pre-LP period (that goes as late as 1970 in places like South Africa). One genre I’ve discovered that floors me is son huasteco, the country music of the northeastern Mexican state of Huasteca. I have one astonishing 78 of it, plus the track that introduced me to it, from the superb Excavated Shellac. It’s usually played by a trio composed of the violin, the jarana huasteca (a small 8-stringed guitar), and a quinta huapanguera (a full-sized 5-string guitar). The gentle, high-pitched singing frequently ventures into falsetto and reminds me of Bob Wills.

The video above shows the modern trio huasteco Los Camperos de Valles, captured by the Smithsonian in 2005. The fiddle playing and singing are exhilarating – the sympathy between the musicians, the combination of relaxation with virtuosity. The Smithsonian says: “The melancholy themes often contrast with and yet somehow complement the playful melodies. ‘El gusto’ (The Pleasure) is about lost love and typifies how imagery of rural life is often used to portray this pain and longing in son huasteco.”

Fucked Up came down to NYC to play the Culture Shock festival at SUNY Purchase this Saturday, so I rented a car, grabbed Dean Bein, and drove on up. Purchase is about 25 minutes north of the city, right on the border with Connecticut.

This was a really weird event. Turns out it was restricted to SUNY students. Security was over the top. Huge, huge luxurious campus in really wealthy area, and state troopers with flashing lights parked at the entrance where you drive in. Everyone was pulled over by troopers, and drive and all passengers had to show IDs. Since we weren’t students or visiting one, they wanted to turn us away, but I said I was acqainted with one of the bands… “Who…” “Umm, well, they’re actually called Fucked Up.” Guy looks pissed for a sec then says, “Man, that’s fucked up!” Very funny. Takes my ID and Dean’s and fortunately I had an old biz card, had me pull over to the right for like 10 minutes, made various phone calls, and then admitted us.

So we drive through this huge campus and the “festival” is just at end of parking lot…. pretty big stage, maybe, what, 300-400 people, max? All college students, SUPER hippie jamband bummer vibe, frisbees, some SERIOUS hackysack, tons of vegan food, Mr. Easy (some horrible pop/dub/reggae vibe) onstage, people dancing solo under the trees, at least it was sunny. Huge hookah at one corner and kids were smoking apple-scented tobacco. FU were there hanging out in their van, like, “how the fuck did we end up driving down from Toronto for this shit!?!”

Police and campus security are EVERYWHERE… it was such a joke, these lame-ass unthreatening college kids (I found out that Purchase is SUNY’s art/creative campus, never realized that), not a hint or threat of trouble, but blue wooden police sawhorse barricades all around the stage. Saw my friend Babyleg with Gang Gang Dance, who were going on after Mr. Easy at 7 PM, then FU at 8 PM…

Only alcohol was $2 buds in a massive tent and you had to consume it in the tent… more ID checking, more state troopers in crisp Mountie hats, buy ticket, get beer, drink it next to these bozo shirtless frat guys with awful tank-top sunburns.

So far so good, I grab a beer, sun’s just gone down, beautiful evening, hear the mighty triple guitar roar, come back to the front, the audience has now been infiltrated with some FU fans, the vibe at least in front has definitely improved, and the pit gets going – and I mean SERIOUSLY going, before the band has played a note. Just whirling, mid-’90s East Coast hardcore dancing, you know, like the “Battling with invisible ninjas” style?

So the band launches into “Baiting The Public,” and it’s total mayhem. Not quite the contained little-kid style circle-jerk style I saw when the band played outside in Austin las month, a bit more chaotic than that, bunch of the kids are def. fucked up or stoned or just high on a piece of actual excitement at this shitty two-bit “festival”. Damian is shirtless of course, pants falling down, cops are on stage and in front of the stage, and Damian wants to interact with the crowd, so he comes down for the second song which is, of course, “Police”, and the cops do NOT want the barrier breached. It was those blue wooden sawhorses, like big deal, and the pit, while totally wild, is not out of control and doesn’t contain that many people either.

So Damian knocks down the wooden barricades so that he’s not separated from the audience, and the band plays “Manqueller Man.” I notice suddenly that the sound is thinner, not as mighty, the guitars esp, even though it still looks and sounds amazing… and then I realize the PA’s been turned off, and we’re only hearing live sound from the amp. Seconds later all power is cut, Damain shrugs and smiles to the audience, what can we do? and they’re walking offstage… crowd is chanting “BULL-SHIT BULL SHIT BULL SHIT” over and over, I go to the side of the stage and find out that the cops demanded that the sound guy cut the PA and then pulled the plug.

Just like Negative FX opening for Burma’s last show… aside from the weird lame environment. Total deja vu, late ’70s early ’80s hardcore versus the authorities. “This fucking city’s… run by pigs… they take the rights away… from all the kids…. we’re just fighting, fighting a war, we can’t win, NO WAY.” Except NFX would probably have been happy if there’d actually been chance of people getting hurt, which there definitely was not in this case.

So I head to the bathroom, I see Damian is talking to a state police officer, I hear him say, “I don’t mean to disrespect your job sir,” being all reasonable and Canadian as he is in real life… when I get back to the bathroom, the band is packing up. Damian tells me the guy is a sergeant in the state police, and told the band to get off the campus immediately or they would be arrested for incitement to riot. According to the cops, the other big mistake on Damian’s part was to turn over those wooden sawhorses… he told the police that he thought they were there to protect *him* from the audience, not the other way around, so that it would be OK to remove them. The cop replied (and I am not making this up) that when Damian tipped them over, “you could have squished some kids to death” – that’s the actual phrase he used.

Paradoxically, the police were simultaneously blaming the band for inciting the kids to riot and for attempting to injure them… are the authorities scared of the kids or overprotective of them? Typical conflicted societal attitude toward youth these days.

So at 9:30 PM the band were hastily packing up, they were all heading straight back to TO (maybe overnighting in Albany maybe not)… I told Mike I was sorry this had happened in our state and that they had driven all the way down from Toronto for this. So I ended up driving with friends back down to the city, and that was it… Fucking peculiar all the way through…

other bands on the Culture Shock festival included Cassidy, Jadakiss, Deerhoof, JD from Le Tigre and others of greater or lesser stature

Why is Starbucks bringing its vagina dentata out of hiding and into plain sight right now? Maybe they were inspired by the hilarious and brilliant film Teeth. Maybe they hope consumers are more comfortable with exhibitionism than they used to be. Maybe they’re thinking sex sells.

But more likely, they’re frightened and in need of protection.

Images of women exposing their genitals were used by primitive peoples to drive away evil spirits, calm rough seas, and scare away enemies with the threat of castration. In the face of a recession, Starbucks is banking on the power of the vagina dentata to work its ancient magic and keep the wolf from their door. – Jeremiah Moss, Vanishing New York

There’s a Chock Full O’ Nuts joke in here somewhere, but it’s way too early on a Wednesday morning.

WFMU’s Vanilla Bean’s Elvis Phone Sex (mp3), lifted from Ken Freedman and WFMU’s Beware Of The Blog. Most assuredly not safe for work. ESPECIALLY if you work at Graceland. 

Dude, you are so not getting buried in a Jewish cemetery.

Day 6 at Headgear Studios in Brooklyn with Mr. John Agnello at the helm. What have we accomplished so far? All the tracking and vocals (live, mind you), some sick guitar overdubs, and a whole lot of fun-having. We’ve got a week to go including mixing.

Here’s some pics:

Mr. Agnello and Mr. Michael Brodlieb (bass)

Me and Mike Strandberg (guitar):

DRUMS!(Jon Langmead):

Supplies:

Another update coming soon.

Love,

Jennifer

Mission Of Burma: The Definitive Editions I, II and III (of their Ace Of Hearts catalog, recorded between 1979 and 1983) come out on March 18. Fully remastered from the original analog tape by Rick Harte, Ace Of Hearts owner, and the producer of the original records, the results are absolutely stunning.

We hereby present 256K MP3s and uncompressed WAV files of two tracks. The first track is “Max Ernst,” the B-side to the “Academy Fight Song” 7″ (their 1980 debut), in drastically improved sound. This song is included on the ‘Signals, Calls & Marches’ dbl LP + DVD / CD + DVD.

The second track is an unreleased live recording of “Weatherbox,” which will be available live ‘Horrible Truth About Burma’ dbl LP + DVD / CD + DVD.

“Max Ernst” (256K MP3)
“Max Ernst” (WAV)
“Weatherbox (Live)” (256K MP3)
“Weatherbox (Live)” (WAV)

Here is the complete track listing for the reissues:

Mission Of Burma: The Definitive Editions I, II and III
Remastered from the original analog tapes

I. Signals, Calls & Marches dbl LP + DVD / CD + DVD

The “Academy Fight Song” 7″ (1980):

1. Academy Fight Song
2. Max Ernst

Two unreleased studio tracks from the “Academy Fight Song” session (1980):

3. Devotion
4. Execution [not the rehearsal demo included on a Taang LP, but the actual studio version]

The original ‘Signals, Calls & Marches’ 12″ EP (1981):

5. That’s When I Reach For My Revolver
6. Outlaw
7. Fame And Fortune
8. This Is Not A Photograph
9. Red
10. All World Cowboy Romance

Companion DVD to Signals — Live at The Space (October 6, 1979) and The Underground (April 20, 1980):

a. This Is Not A Photograph (The Underground, 1980)
b. Secrets (The Space, 1979)
c. Devotion (The Underground, 1980)
d. Manic Incarnation (The Underground, 1980)
e. Eyes Of Men (The Underground, 1980)
f. Tremelo (The Underground, 1980)
g. Break On Through (The Space, 1979)
h. Head Over Head (The Underground, 1980)
i. Peking Spring (The Space, 1979)
j. OK/No Way (The Underground, 1980)

II. Vs. dbl LP + DVD / CD + DVD

The original Vs. LP (1983):

1. Secrets
2. Train
3. Trem Two
4. New Nails
5. Dead Pool
6. Learn How
7. Mica
8. Weatherbox
9. The Ballad Of Johnny Burma
10. Einstein’s Day
11. Fun World
12. That’s How I Escaped My Certain Fate

Four bonus tracks (previously on the Ryko CD); tracks 13-15 were unreleased studio outtakes from the Vs. sessions, and 16 was the B-side of the 1982 “Trem Two” 7″ single:

13. Laugh The World Away
14. Forget
15. Progress
16. OK/No Way

Companion DVD to Vs. — Live at The Bradford Ballroom, March 12, 1983 (final Boston show, afternoon set):

a. The Ballad Of Johnny Burma (Bradford, 1983, afternoon set)
b. Red (Bradford, 1983, afternoon set)
c. Dirt (Bradford, 1983, afternoon set)
d. Forget (Bradford, 1983, afternoon set)
e. Secrets (Bradford, 1983, afternoon set)
f. Academy Fight Song (Bradford, 1983, afternoon set)
g. Trem Two (Bradford, 1983, afternoon set)
h. Sing-A-Long (Bradford, 1983, afternoon set)
i. That’s How I Escaped My Certain Fate (Bradford, 1983, afternoon set)
j. Weatherbox (Bradford, 1983, afternoon set)
k. That’s When I Reach For My Revolver (Bradford, 1983, afternoon set)
l. Learn How (Bradford, 1983, afternoon set)
m. OK/No Way (Bradford, 1983, afternoon set)
n. Fun World (Bradford, 1983, afternoon set)
o. All World Cowboy Romance (Bradford, 1983, afternoon set)

III. The Horrible Truth About Burma (live) dbl LP + DVD / CD + DVD

The original Horrible Truth live album, restored to its original sequence (1985, posthumously released):

1. Tremelo
2. Peking Spring
3. Dumbells
4. New Disco
5. Dirt
6. Go Fun Burn Man
7. 1970
8. Blackboard
9. He Is, She Is
10. Heart of Darkness

Bonus tracks, 3 of which were included on the Ryko CD, the fourth of which (track 12) has never been released:

11. That’s When I Reach For My Revolver
12. Weatherbox
13. Trem Two
14. Learn How

Companion DVD to The Horrible Truth — Live at The Bradford Ballroom, March 12, 1983 (final Boston show, evening set):

a. This Is Not A Photograph (Bradford, 1983, evening set)
b. Mica (Bradford, 1983, evening set)
c. He Is, She Is (Bradford, 1983, evening set)
d. Outlaw (Bradford, 1983, evening set)
e. Peking Spring (Bradford, 1983, evening set)
f. Trem Two (Bradford, 1983, evening set)
g. Go Fun Burn Man (Bradford, 1983, evening set)
h. Fun World (Bradford, 1983, evening set)
j. Blackboard (Bradford, 1983, evening set)
k. See My Friends (Bradford, 1983, evening set)
l. Max Ernst (Bradford, 1983, evening set)
m. That’s How I Escaped My Certain Fate (Bradford, 1983, evening set)
n. Einstein’s Day (Bradford, 1983, evening set)
o. Dumbells (Bradford, 1983, evening set)
p. That’s When I Reach For My Revolver (Bradford, 1983, evening set)
q. Secrets (Bradford, 1983, evening set)
r. Academy Fight Song (Bradford, 1983, evening set)

In addition, this DVD contains the original, abbreviated VHS program, with original titles, released by Ace Of Hearts through Atavistic in 1988, consisting of 11 of the above tracks.

All titles come with 32-page booklets with new interviews with the band and Rick Harte about the making of the records, as well as never-before seen photos and ephemera. The vinyl comes with full-size 12″ X 12″ booklets containing the same material plus some extras. The vinyl also comes with the DVDs, and MP3 download coupons.

The vinyl was mastered 100% all-analog in the case of I and II (not III) and pressed in HQ180 at RTI. It is housed in gorgeous heavy-duty Stoughton gatefold sleeves. We’ll have some video of the analog cutting process up shortly. Video of the analog cutting process can be watched here, with more clips to come shortly.

And yes, we will be launching have launched an incredible preorder deal (scroll down after clicking on link) for ordering the 3 CD+DVDs as a bundle very shortly on the Matador Store (please note: discount will not apply to the vinyl, one of the most expensive projects we’ve ever undertaken).

Above is the third chili that I’ve made over the holidays. I’m following the über-purist teachings of John Thorne, who devotes a chapter to Texas Red in his book ‘Serious Pig.’ No beans, no tomatoes, no toppings. The basic ingredients are fat, fire and meat. To make the fire, I ground up various combinations of dried chilis. This edition uses about two-thirds anchos and pasillas, and about a third guajillos, pequins and a little bit of African birdseye. Breaking with the purism a bit, I also added three fresh scotch bonnets, an onion, garlic, salt, some cumin and some Mexican oregano. The meat is cubed chuck with a little bit of ground beef as a thickener, and the fat was cut off a piece of top sirloin and then rendered (I would have preferred suet, but it’s hard to find in my neighborhood.)

When this picture was taken, the chili had another 3 hours to go.