ORGAN >>> LONDON > >>ORGAN >>> UNDERGROUND MUSIC >> FOUND SOUND >> ORGANGRINDER >> SINCE 1986>>>
REVIEW POLICY
ORGAN #232> Nov 29th '07 - new issue on line every Thursday afternoon
CONTACT US  ARCHIVES>>> ALBUM REVIEWS DEMO REVIEWS SINGLE REVIEWS
REVIEW POLICY LIVE REVIEWS DAILY NEWS WIN THINGS
WE'VE MOVED AGAIN, NOW WE'RE ON AIR AN HOUR EARLIER
CardiacsOxfordpitLet ‘em eat cake and stare at the rude boys and the medicated psychopath over there – Airtraffic are talking on the radio right now and telling us about this cool band we should all check out called The Jam - just *** off you clucking little sh*ts! And what is the point of probate anyway? Just who has time to stop and smell the flowers and then go look up their proper names on the internet or watch TV and borrow lines? Opinions, arseholes, everyone has one, and every clueless f**k with a blog thinks he or she is a music critic these days, the downside of the web I guess and I guess I guess I guess you get to learn who’s views you can trust and who really doesn’t have a clue and can blog right off - Ants in the carpet? Parking violations? Mace? Who’s time is a piece of wax? Woken up by little owls? Owls are not what things are about either and neither is that voice inside your head that you refuse to hear, who are you anyway and what are you doing here? 

– these are the things that have been in our ears this week, please explore and if it sounds interesting then just hit the links and make your own minds up, our reviews and thoughts are mere signposts designed to guide you to the things you might like to feast on yourselves... don’t you just love the instant hit of the www. 

IS THIS WHY YOU BOOKMARKED ME?
96 Gillespie & Rough Trade East are pleased to announce a photographic exhibition & book release by acclaimed American music photographer, Pat Graham.

On exhibition are a large collection of photographs taken from the book, both black and white & colour. Hand printed and hand toned by Graham, the photographs are tangibly beautiful objects, a testament to his skill in the darkroom.

LEGENDARY UNDERGROUND MUSIC PHOTOGRAPHER PAT GRAHAM CAPTURES THE SPIRIT OF INDEPENDENCE: Fugazi. Bikini Kill. Modest Mouse. These ground-breaking bands and their peers not only helped shaped the face of today’s alternative music scene, but also played a significant part in establishing a thriving subculture based on do-it-yourself ideals while repudiating mainstream conventions with urgency and integrity. Here, in acclaimed photographer Pat Graham's debut Collection of work, the moments, the music, and the message all come alive with vivid intensity and searing honesty, as he documents the evolution of independent music history from his vantage point at the heart of the Washington, DC scene over the last two decades. This retrospective traces Pat Graham's development as a photographer, while reflecting a deep appreciation of the scene he helped to create - and has now memorialized.

Like the bands he captures on film, Graham thrives because of his uncompromising aesthetic. Many of the images presented here have taken on iconic status over the years, proving that the energy of live shows resonates beyond the walls of the nightclub. Indeed, Graham's inimitable style is partly a consequence of the countless times he has accompanied groups like Modest Mouse and The Make-Up on tour across the world; these photographs convey the power of legendary performers like The Jesus Lizard and the late Elliott Smith in unscripted spontaneity onstage, while more intimate portraits provide candid glimpses of life on the road, behind-the-scenes peeks backstage, and shots of euphoric audiences participating in similar scenes of community collaboration across the country.

Taken as a collection, Silent Pictures shows that the spirit of the underground transcends the music to express an attitude, culture, and way of life that is sincere and authentic - one that underscores the links that bind groups as sonically diverse as OutKast, Thievery Corporation, Les Savy Fav, and The Shins.

Born in 1970, Graham studied photography at the University of Wisconsin before relocating to Washington DC in 1991. He moved to London in 2002 and lives and works in Islington. He co-founded 96 Gillespie, a small vital contemporary art gallery in Highbury dedicated to encouraging & supporting a dialogue between US & UK artists and to being a significant venue in the UK for American artists.

Recent exhibitions include showings at San Francisco's Needles & Pens Gallery, Philadephia's Space 1026, Washington DC's Transformer Gallery, Antwerp's Cultuur Cenrum Luchtbal, and London's ICA. His work forms part of the permanent collections of the Arlington Municipal Arts, (Arlington, Virginia) as well as the Experience Music Project, (Seattle, Washington) and is held in private collections around the world.

This event will also launch the 96 Gillespie club ART at Rough Trade East on Sunday December 9th. Featuring some of independent music's finest artists: Daniel Higgs, Tim Kerr, and Tara Jane O'Neil as well as Rich Jacob's, Melanie Standage and Kristen Cutlip
 

THINGS TO GET SHOUTING  ABOUT? 
Shout? Why? We could shout about the latest IMPERIAL LEISURE guerilla gig flash mob thing street raid thing, last night,  early evening Oxford Street was hit in the most positive of ways, we could shout about it again, I think we’ll leave it to the national TV news crew who got wind of it and showed up – people on the street are you feeling alright?! The single is officially released here on ORG on Monday, pretty much sold out already, all over the radio, all over your street - The CD single is part of the ORG-AN-ISED SINGLES SERIES and as you know by now all releases in the series are strictly limited to a pressing of 1000 copies. The single is officially released on Monday, demand in already heavy and it looks like very few of these are going to be left by Monday lunch time. The tracks will be on the debut album in 2008 (and how good is that sounding, caught some work in progress with Junk Scientist at the controls earlier this week) so you don’t need to be worrying about not having the tracks, if you want this version though then act now. We expect the single to be sold out on Monday. Lots of gigs and festivals already being booked for 2008 and the next single will be out at the end of February. 
 
John on the phone... 
John Peel's legendary Festive 50 continues again this year on Dandelion Radio - play your part in by voting for your three favourite tracks of 2007, here.

WE'VE MOVED AGAIN, NOW WE'RE ON AIR AN HOUR EARLIER

THE OTHER ROCKSHOW and THE ORGAN SHOW from SEAN ORGAN @ RESONANCE 104.4fm with MARINA ORGAN one week and SEAN O the next. 9.00pm every Sunday night...

RESONANCE BROADCASTS ALL OVER LONDON ON 104.4FM OR WORLDWIDE VIA THE WEB 

The Other Rock Show is presented by Marina O, The Other Rock Show is about exploring 'other' time signatures within structures of rock and filtering out the conventions of the 4/4 time easy option in favour of something a little more challenging.

Meanwhile on the ORGAN RADIO SHOW Sean Owill be bringing you an eclectic mix of diverse left-field things from all points in between and beyond - the best new releases and demos that are circulating around the underground fanzine channels and landing here in the Organ office, along with news of forthcoming events and general alternative music news and goings on in and around London. 

Expect an hour of challenging alternative music each week, the kind you don’t often get on ‘normal’ music radio shows and stations, expect special guests, expect who knows what... expect to find links and details so you can explore all that you hear on www.organart.com after each show 

ORGAN TV?

ORGAN TV  is on your screens in the UK right now. Every Wednesday evening, 10.30pm  on the OPEN ACCESS 2 Channel on SKY160. And now due to the fine response, repeated every Sunday on SKY883 at 11.15pm.

This coming Sunday we have the following videos...

TIM ARNOLD - Another World 
PURE REASON REVOLUTION - Intention Craft 
EFTERKLANG - Mirador 
HAFDIS HULD - Tomoko 
TITS OF DEATH - Iron Nipples 
BLEEDING THROUGH - Kill To Believe 
AKERCOCKE - Axiom

Next Wednesday and Sunday we have...

EFTERKLANG - Mirador 
DAN DEACON - The Crystal Cat 
ALL SYSTEMS GO - Tell Vicki 
LILY GREEN - Patience 
AMON TOBIN - Verbal 
MY VITRIOL - This Time 
KILLSWITCH ENGAGE - Fixation On The Darkness 

What's it all about? Simple, just good music, and the art of good video making...  Same musical policy as we've always had with Organ - the labels are just handy signposts, as long as the music and video making has that X factor - expect a healthy eye/earboiling mix of metal, punk, prog, beats, post rock, post punk, post man pat, hardcore, indie, alternative, pronk, whatever..... music and creativity for the open minded 
 


Want to get your video on? Well all you need to do is make us aware of what you have, send us a link to your video on MySpace or You Tube or wherever, or a VHS or a DVD and if you have something that we want to broadcast then we'll chase you for a master broadcast format and wallop, sorted 
  DEMO TIME
LITTLE TROPHY - The Fly, May 2007 (Organart)Like we already said - we shall no longer be reviewing a million demos, we're just going to tell you about the very very best once a week, no more time for the average, only the most exciting - we're very very selective, when we tell you it's goood then it really is goooooooood

DEMO OF THE WEEK
LITTLE TROPHY - This CD in it's little black cover doesn't add the visual treat of the band themselves, but rest assured the Brighton band look just as delightfully eccentric as their music sounds - a youthful collection of characters out of a Tim Burton movie, fronted by Russell Brand's (better looking) mini-me.  'Potty Stumble' does just that, for the first few bars - it's a whole family of distracted children, lurching first, then running away with a bright and breezy smile of a tune.  Beautifully crafted pop that unexpectedly grabs you and throws you into a metal moshpit, stopping and starting, out-progging and mathing Deerhoof but with some of that accessibility and brightness of touch. Little Trophy will sound mindblowingly unique to most people; others will realise that Cardiacs broke the ice some time ago; never mind, because Little Trophy have a personality of their own. (OK, it has to be said that the results are uncannily like English underground legends Ring - which is fine, people have been waiting decades for another band like that).  The three little songs on this demo pack a lot into each two-and-a-half minutes: 'Slow March And A Half Step' sandwiches nursery-school singsong between miniature thrash-outs. So many changes and contrasts it feels like munching through a box of posh chocolates without looking at the flavour guide.  All bite-sized intensity. There isn't a moment of hesitation or uncertainty - they go for it with their heads held high, the hyperactive ska of 'Mischief On The Firestep' slipping right into one of their gliding breezy pop breaks, then back into one of their stomping tantrums. Special mention must be made of the glorious keyboards that shine and soar through the arrangements - lovely analogue (sounding) leads with the guitar, a rare element indeed. www.myspace.com/littletrophy or www.littletrophy.com

ALSO CHECK OUT

RISE OF THE SIMIANS – Four slices of rather impressive heavy churning slow grinding “bastardized metal” (their chosen term). A heavy heavy High On Fire/Electric Wizard/Crowbar style and a rather professional sounding set of early moves from a clearly rather good band (from Hastings). Nothing that original yet, but hey, give them a little time - www.myspace.com/riseofthesimians

Last week's demo of the week - THE ORIENTALISTS

Previous demo's of the week - HOUSEHOLD / THE JELAS / COUNTRYSIDE / BASTARDS OF THE SKIES / MEHE / THE PRETTY YOUNG THINGS / HAPPY PENGUIN HUNGRY BEAR / SOMEBODY’S MIND / INSTRUMENTS / DEATH QUNT / OAKWOOD / EPSTEIN SUPERFLU / THE FURIOUS SLEEP / FUNERAL CRASHERS

DEMO REVIEW ARCHIVES

NEW ALBUMS WE’RE LISTENING TO THIS WEEK
This week we’ve been listening to... 

ALBUM OF THE WEEK 
VERNON ELLIOTT AND THE VERNON ELLIOTT ENSEMBLE – Ivor The Engine And Pogles Wood: The Original Television Music (Trunk) – A lovingly crafted piece of pure charm and an album that collects together the music (and lots more) from the 1960’s Smallfilm animated productions of Ivor The Engine, The Pogles and Pogles Wood. All music and sound here is from original quarter inch master tapes found in Oliver Postgate’s “underworld” (shed or loft or some magical place like that). Treasures from everyone’s childhood – you know Oliver Postgate, that beautifully rich voice from The Clangers and Bagpuss, that national treasure. Theme tunes, handmade sound effects, charming little pieces of woodwind and string “various magic noises”.and all put together by Johnny Trunk (thank you Johnny) with such care and dedicated attention to detail - absolutely wonderful – www.trunkrecords.com
 
ALSO CHECK OUT

3HOSTWOMEXICANSANDATINOFSPANNERS – Everything Is F**king Shit - Has this album got a tittle or anything else? Thankless task? Yeah, as always – and we’re making their economy grow, don’t they know? Forth album from the four piece from London, 3Hos (as they’re more conveniently/commonly knows as) are an abrasive cantankerous swearathon of a hardboiled band – ah yes the album does have a tittle, just found it hiding inside the gatefold – good looking artwork as well. 3Hos are an abrasive band, an awkward edgy jagged band who rejoice in feedback and broken glass and all things loud, angry and seriously hard-boiled.3Hos are a constant set of threatening confrontations, a band who could start and argument in an empty room – and yes it is still all Thatcher’s fault. Scathing abrasive shouty angry guitar noise for disciples of Jesus Lizard style bands, Albini-like production values, the work of the metropolitan police force, class war and generally raging against the machines. Not just noise for noise sakes though, they have a crafted style and this is a lot more than just sonic violence. Lovely stuff, wholesome and good for you, go grab a slice right now. www.3hos.com
 


ACID MOTHER TEMPLE & THE MELTING PARAISO UFO – Acid Motherly Love (Riot Season) – They’re already legendary and the extremely prolific Japanese band are as out there as ever with this their latest collection of heavy psychedelic mind-bending workouts. More of their extremely intense left-field progressive psychedelia and extended blues flavoured acid driven freakscapes. Fifteen minute tracks that swirl, froth, oscillate and fry you sideways in that way only Acid Mother Temple can. Howling guitars, riffs that grow and grow (and grow) into wild jams that in turn give way to passages of intense trance and strange spoken word acousticness before flying way way waaaaaay out past any recognisable dimension again.  There’s nothing quite like the sound of Acid Mother Temple is full flow and this new album really does fine them in the fullest of full flows. www.riotseason.com

BUZZCOCKS – 30 (Cooking Vinyl) – Twenty eight track live album recorded on their 30th anniversary tour in 2006. Oh for a time machine back to those two gigs at the Free Trade Hall with a copy of 30 in my pocket – is this really how it was all supposed to all turn out? I really don’t know. Pretty wired, raw and energetically messy run through a load of Buzzcocks classics (and they do have some of the best classics of all). Maybe if we hadn’t seen Steve Diggle in that dreadful Pistols documentary yesterday? (scroll down). Are they deliberately playing things this badly? Surely they can play a little better by now? They certainly sound committed. Sounds like it was (maybe) a throwaway bit of fun to be there at the gig (London Kentish Town Forum), think I’ll stick with the original studio versions and go see one of the many many new bands who’ve fed off the original brilliance – really not sure what to make of this, really don’t know if this is good or bad, I really don’t know  – www.buzzcocks.com

SHAM 69 – Western Culture (Bad Dog) – Sham? Buzzcocks? Pistols? The old dinosaurs are arriving in force here this week. Actually Sham are sounding reasonable fit ‘n lean with this aggro’d up new studio album and line up – first new album in some ten years. No Jimmy Pursey now, main songwriter Dave Parsons is here though and new frontman Tim V turns in a classic chant-a-long street punk East End cockney reject of a performance.  Never was supposed to be about anniversaries and box sets retrospective reunion tours was it? Never mind that old bollocks here’s the new Sham album – lean fresh slicing (slightly too cleanly produced) street punk with all the Sham trademarks - asbo sports-days and throwing sickies, angels with slightly cleaner faces, straight to the point as always - you’re only as good as your next move, this is a positive next move – www.sham69online.co.uk or www.baddogrecords.de

TRANSILVANIAN BEAT CLUB – Das Leben Soll Doch Schon Sein (Massacre) – Some kind of East German vampire infested black metal tinged Misfit rock’n roll New Model Army of a band. No idea what they’re singing about, decent sounding gothish volka/polka flavoured filthy rock’n roll though – www.massacre-records.com

ISOLATION – Lockdown (Casket) – A decent mix of blended metal, the crunch of modern metalcore stomping on something that reaches back to a chunky brutal punky hard hitting NWOBHM sound and sense. They’re from Cheltenham and subtle is obviously not part of their vocabulary – www.isolationrock.com

NIC – Necessary Intergalactic Cooperation (Malicious Gossip) – Electro-jazzy-funky-chunky-dubby head food from Norway that tastes of Ozrics, Pink Floyd, warm flowing dub, mellow reggae, a touch of soul when the sparse vocals are added. Laid back vibes from an outfit that includes one time P.I.L guitarist Keith Levene – www.maliciousdamage.co.uk

SEVENDUST – Alpha (7Bros/Asylum) – Sevendust’s six album, released in the USA last year and finally officially released in the UK this December. Pretty standard set of decent enough crunching nu-metal tunes - brutal edge when they need it, melodic restraint here and there, nothing that different, nothing that bad, if you need more standard issue nu-metal then this is as good as any of the other options  – www.sevendust.info
 
Last week's album of the week - JOHANN JOHANNSSON

Previous album's of the week - LAZARUS / FRIGHTENED RABBIT / DEERHUNTER / KMFDM / BY THE END OF TONIGHT / TERA MELOS / RUBENS / RASHOMON / SAMARA LUBELSKI / EFTERKLANG / TAINT / AMERICAN STEEL / ATHLETIC AUTOMATON / YOU AND THE ATOM BOMB / GALLHAMMER
x

ALBUM REVIEW ARCHIVES

  LIVE 
Cardiacs - OxfordAny second now, come back in a moment, we're runnnnnnning late, too many things to get done, names of plants and such. hungry mouths almost fed 
Live previously - CARDIACS / BEE STINGS /HAPPY PENGUIN HUNGRY BEAR / OURLIVES / DRUGDEALER CHEERLEADER / EMILY BREEZE  / IMPERIAL LEISURE / HERZOGA / JOHN ADAMS / BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA / VILE VILE CREATURES / TIME.SPACE.REPEAT / SISTER / JOHN & JHEN / BEARSUIT  / TANGAROA / GUTWORM / MALEFICE / ACT ART 5 – TILL DEATH US DO ART / TO THE BONES / RON ATHEY / PURESSENCE / VEENUS

LIVE REVIEW ARCHIVES

  SINGLES
Single time...

SINGLE OF THE WEEK
DEERHOOF – Matchbook Seeks Maniac (ATP/R) – How just right are Deerhoof? How perfectly right and uplifting and cleansing and problem solving and challenging and how wonderfully unpredictable and good for your well being. Matchbooks is so simple and charming and so so full of glowing progressive delight and she wouldn’t really sell her soul to the devil would she? Leave your jaded cynical head at the door and just swim in the cleaver delights of the ever wonderful ever changing delightful musical box of treasure that is Deerhoof. Two tracks here, Matchbook is from the excellent Friend Opportunity, over on the b-side of this limited edition 7” picture disc is a track sung in Japanese and only previously available in the USA.  www.atpfestival.com

SINGLE OF THE WEEK 2
F*CK BUTTONS - Bright Tomorrow (ATP/R) – Beautiful melodies weaving around a forward moving drone-scape, more sunny relaxed drive through the country than autobahn road-racing - until that sense of menace starts to fill the rear view mirror and the noise starts driving right there on your back bumper, blocks out everything and threatens to push you right over the edge – beautiful menace, (mostly instrumental, until the undercurrent of screaming distorted feedback drenched low in the mix voices), beautiful menace, nihilistic foreboding warmth and playing with the space where melody becomes big black rhythm. Excellent. Limited to 1000 7” picture discs and a first taste of the Bristol band’s forthcoming Street Horrrsing album. www.atpfestival.com

SINGLE OF THE WEEK 3
IMPERIAL LEISURE – In A Letter  (ORG) - Yeah yeah, shouting our big mouths off about our own releases again and how we’ve got the best new bands for you and here comes another right now and don’t let us do all the shouting and watch out for that crocodile and read this:  "A tune of epic proportions... You'll be singing it for the rest of your life..."  Colin Murray (Radio One)... SUBBA-CULTCHA.COM SINGLE OF THE MONTH - Fusing the hyperactive rapping of Hadouken and the skanking party-routines R X Bandits, in one single Imperial Leisure have saved Ska from the damage by The Ordinary Boys over two albums” >>> “A face off between the Two Tone old guard and Searching for the Young Soul Rebels era Dexy’s with Pigbag on hand crafting out Mexicana infused brass fanfares and John Cooper Clarke hastily scribbling the lyrics and Bad Brains overseeing the melee... Perhaps the most crucial band around right at this moment - the revolution begins here” (Losing Today magazine) .>>> “Love it – The Specials and The Beat meet Hard-Fi!!” Tunatheday.com. Limited to a pressing of 1000 as part 36 of the ORG-AN-ISED SINGLES SERIES here on ORG (no the label is not called Organ! That’s the name of the magazine), officially released and in the shops on December 3rd if we have any left by then – our mailorder page is here if you’re quick, are we having fun yet, what a ditzy scene. www.myspace.com/imperialleisure

ALSO CHECK OUT
POLITBURO – The Oldest Empire (Soviet Union) – Thought they’d given it all up – another band crashed out and lost forever before they’d really got to fly, not a word or a hint of activity for ages. The Manchester band’s last single Line of Wealth was very well received around here and the one gig we actually got to see was oozing with edgy wired up promise and a swaggering knowing driving attitude. They have a drummer now and thus have lost what was (maybe in hindsight) a slightly too obvious Joy Division edge – it was an excellent edge though, they did it with a knowing swagger and a certain style of their own, they were exciting, they knew it, we all knew it (those who knew at all that is). This new single with added human drummer - rather than that locked-on staccato Kraut rock drum machine - took a little time to bite, I must admit to a fair amount of disappointment, kept on coming back to it again and again though, something kept pulling, little voices demanding one more play - and now that wired edge of theirs is really hooking in again. Three new tracks and a primitive edge and yes, very much still an old school Manchester punk/new wave thing, that knowing swagger and burning edge that can only come out of the Republic of Mancunia – the sound rolls now, a smoldering edgy sound - they’re still the Politburo that excited so much last time around, don’t know why it didn’t grab hold straight off, they’re certainly burning finger tips now. Actually they may just be better than ever and the crows and the fire in the hole may well yet beat the human race, a dangerous hand...www.myspace.com/politburohq or www.sovietunion.co.uk

LUCKY SOUL – Lips Are Unhappy (Ruffa Lane) – A rather fine slice of classic pop single and a lush and inviting Northern Soul flavoured girl-voiced easy on the ear indie pop treat that hints at St. Etienne creaminess. Half decent cover of Mud’s Lonely This Christmas on the b-side. www.ruffalane.com

Last week's single of the week - CLUB 8 / TURBO NEGRO

Previously - CANDY PANDY ATTACK / SUNS OF THUNDER / DEPARTMENT S / TERRY EDWARDS & THE SCAPEGOATS / THAT F*CKING TANK / ODD SHAPED HEAD / VESSELS/ 4 OR 5 MAGICIANS / TIME.SPACE.REPEAT / WE START FIRES / LOVE AND A .45 / BLUE STATES / EFTERKLANG / NATO

SINGLE REVIEW ARCHIVES

'BEST OF/RE-ISSUE OF THE WEEK
THE MOB – May Inspire Revolutionary Acts (Overground) - Well I guess you have to put them in that place and time, those anarcho-punk/counter culture early 80’s and the running convoy battles with the forces of Thatcher, the air thick with the smell of oppression (and innocence joining angry precessions) The Mob were a big part of  that anarcho punk/free festival squat-gig DIY culture - the lines were clearly drawn back then and you knew which side you were on. Part of the broad Crass family and the Broughton Road squats of Hackney. This is a collection of the material that didn’t find a place on the Let The Tribe Increase. Twenty tracks that really do push the edges of fractured DIY ’punk’. Is it a mess or was it defiance as art? Was it creative anarchy and a challenging to musical/political thinking or just a untalented mess of badly produced half formed badly played notes/ideas? The rejection of anything that didn’t quite fit? Raw passion and emotion or just a bunch of misfits? This isn’t easy listening, The Mob were of their place and time, that place and time led to a lot more though, bands like The Mob really did make a difference, they just may have helped inspire a revolutionary act or two (see you at the next reclaim the streets, or the next Meanwhile Gardens protest). A welcome collection, a fine document, excellent sleeve notes, check it out, it might just inspire  - www.overgroundrecords.co.uk

ARSONISTS GET ALL THE GIRLS – Hits From The Bow (Process) – Insane yapping and yellping and thrashing like a hardcore tantrum throwing death metal grindcore bungle fish out of water – keyboard chaos and slicing cutting pink with guitars and the first album re-issued because – well I guess the word is spreading like the game of life and the castle must be saved. They’re from Santa Cruz, California, this is their 2006 debut album. One for the buried (and me) - Available in the UK via www.cargorecords.co.uk

THE VERVE – This Is Music: The Singles ‘92-’98 (EMI) - A re-issue of the 2004 greatest hits package, this time with a bonus DVD full of the band's promo videos. You can’t really go wrong with The Verve can you? Some of the most anthemic and instantly recognisable indie rock/Brit pop of the 90’s. OK so you may find their down-beat down-tempo weighing a little heavy on your day after a while, no denying the quality here when you’re in the right frame of mind though. Track listing: On the CD... This Is Music, Slide Away, Lucky Man, History, She’s A Superstar, On Your Own, Blue, Sonnet, All In The Mind, The Drugs Don’t Work, Gravity Grave, Bitter Sweet Symphony, This Could Be My Moment, Monte Carlo
On the DVD... This Is Music, Slide Away, Lucky Man, History, She’s A Superstar, On Your Own, Blue, Sonnet, All In The Mind, The Drugs Don’t Work, Gravity Grave, Bitter Sweet Symphony, Lucky Man (US Version), This Could Be My Moment, Monte Carlo

PREVIOUSLY - KHAYA / GREASY TRUCKERS PARTY / HERE AND NOW / WALLS OF JERICHO / CARTER USM / THE HOUSE OF LOVE / MONO / DEEP PURPLE / NUB / ANTHRAX / OMD

  MEDIA, VIDEO, PRINT AND....
SPIRITWO videoeyesPARALLEL WORLDS, PARALLEL LIVES documentary BBC4 - Mark Everett, frontman and composer of The Eels and a compelling character in his own right, takes a journey to understand his late father, quantum physicist Hugh Everett - a man whose theories were ignored or ridiculed at first, but who is now described by some as being as important as Einstein. Mark (known as E in Eels circles) has, he says, little or no mathematical ability or science knowledge, but his quest, visiting ex-colleagues of his father and current renowned physicists, leads to some beautiful and easy-to-understand (if head-spinning) explanations, assisted by some delightful animation. Everett was the man who first put forward the quantum theory of parallel universes, and did so at a very young age, coming up against the established physics giants of the day. The proofs of such theories are illustrated in a way that's actually believable, with demonstrations that floors both E and this viewer. The science established, E travels to meet his late father's friends and colleagues, discovering a great deal about the man he grew up with but barely spoke to.  Actually, everything about this documentary is a delight, from Mark himself, the look, the gentle revelation of a moving tale, the insights into both parallel worlds of rock and physics.  Director Louise Lockwood is a marvel, giving everyone just the right amount of space and time and connecting the story threads together in a flowing narrative full of resonant moments, culminating in the restoration of tapes of his father's voice...  Look out for repeats of this unique, compelling and rather wonderful documentary.

NEVER MIND THE SEX PISTOLS: AN ALTERNATIVE HISTORY – DVD (Demon Vision) - It really is a remarkable achievement. To go to all the effort of gathering together a film crew, getting in to an editing suite and making a film length documentary about one of the most significant and exciting bands ever - a band with one of the most fascinating stories, a band surrounded by legend, a band who challenged and changed the whole musical landscape in such a major way - to take all that and to make a documentary so damn bland and tediously beige – it really is a quite remarkable achievement! How on earth could a documentary about the Pistols turn out so excruciatingly dull?! 

Alan Parker has gathered together a group of rather boring badly-dressed middle age men (the kind you see standing at the end of Crewe station writing down train numbers) men who were actually there maaann – all of them trotting out the same tedious line about how boring everything was in the same far far more boringly predictable than a half-hour Genesis drum solo way that they always do – Jeezz, these people are enough to make you want to go shoplift an Emerson Lake and Palmer triple album and lock yourself in a dark room with it forever!! 

So Parker – self-appointed Pistols expert and a man who calls himself Mr Punk on the cover (snigger) a man who spends more time in front of the camera that most of his interviewees - has gathered together, in various lifeless pubs and dull looking brown studios, a collection of tedious talking heads, Kings Road scenesters, ex guitar roadies, and an out of work taxi driver who claims he was a member of Sid’s first band The Flowers Of Romance. There’s a really down at mouth Buzzcock - fag-in-hand, very flat looking grim Northern pint, in the blandest looking pub they could possibly find (is this man really Steve Diggle and was he really once an orgasm addict?), Matlock’s here again, takes a long time to not say that much – starts to reveal a little when he talks about leaving (jezzzz, no wonder they kicked him out though!). Tour manager John Tiberi offers very little - surely the man who was tour manager at all those gigs, events that are now the stuff of such legend, has a million stories – or at least a few facts to corroborate? Parker forgets to ask any of them anything that reveals much – nothing anywhere near a tidbit that even the most casual of fans didn’t know already. Indeed if you know anything about the Pistols story you’ll find yourself yelling at the screen and wanting to kick it in in outraged lorry driver fashion – “ask him about that! Did that really happen, what about...arggghhhhhhhh!” “I’ve spent 21 years researching what went on in that hotel room, I don’t think Sid did it” offers Parker. Why Alan, what did you find out in those 21 years of research? You could maybe tell us right now in the middle of your over long documentary? 

Malcolm McLaren’s contributions go a small way towards saving proceedings, old Malcolm is always good for a comedy turn or two, not really worth trying to sort out his fact from his fiction though is it? No sign of Johnny or the other two here of course and no music what so ever - just the occasional embarrassing shot of some not very good, not very convincing tribute band re-enacting familiar scenes in some kind of hilariously unbelievable and extremely amateurish fashion. 

This really is a dreadful production, this is far far more excruciating than we’re making it sound here – the bland editing, the embarrassing visuals (the few that there are), the tedious talking heads who drone on and on (and on), the endless stating of the bleedin’ obvious. Even the dreadful typeface selection on the DVD cover - every single thing about this is tediously bad. The only reason I’m using up time and space telling you about it here is because I’m a Pistols fan. I lap up things like this and late last night I was cheated out of over an hour and a half on my life - I’m still annoyed about it twenty four hours later. Do not waste your time or money on this – a complete and utter cash-in of a swindle.(oh and look, Matlock’s name is spelt wrong on the front cover as well). 
 

PREVIOUSLY - THE ZINE DIRECTORY / BATH BOMB / NEMESIS TO GO #4 / DVD: MIGHTY ROBOT: SLEEP WHEN YOU ARE DEAD / DVD: GLASTONBURY - THE MOVIE / BOOK: THE LANGUAGE OF THE BLUES – Debra De Salvo / BOOK: BERNARD SUMNER – CONFUSION / ZINE: NOISY No5 / DVD: SAMMY AND THE WABOS – LIVING IT UP IN ST.LOUIS / DVD - NAZARETH – FROM THE BEGINNING

THE END BIT...
...and finally... this bit of unchristian teddybear naming from Rip Cruncher 

What's On? Check out the Party and Protest guide at SchNEWS, an excellent place for alternative news bulletins and a different slice on things - www.schnews.org.uk

MORE NEXT WEEK, SAME TIME, SAME PLACE FOR NUMBER 232? 

That's it for this week -  IF YOU'VE GOT ANYTHING TO SAY then say it - response

THE ORGAN MAILING LIST -  If you want to be on the ORGAN/ORG Records e.mail list then you need to get in touch E.MAIL HERE.

PAST ISSUES -

ORGAN 231 -

ORGAN 230

ORGAN 229 -

ORGAN 228 -

ORGAN 227 -

ORGAN 226

 
ORG MAILORDER

HELP GEORGE TABB
INTERVIEWS 
and THINGS
ANTHRAX
ANTI-FLAG
RON ATHEY
CARDIACS
THE DAMNED
KILLING JOKE
LADYFEST
LEFTOVER CRACK
MARY LOU LORD
RAGE A.T.M
REMY ZERO
SEX PISTOLS
SNAPCASE
SPIRAL TRIBE
WARRIOR SOUL
X

ORGAN @ MY SPACE

ADD OUR BANNER
KELLY JOHNSON (Girlschool)
Cinder Block
KELLY JOHNSON (Girlschool)
cruel cruel cruel
cruel cruel cruel
cruel cruel cruel