Robyn Hitchcock

Nitzer Ebb, “Control I’m Here (live)”

I mentioned the other day that I kept up with the proliferation of Nitzer Ebb releases for a while, and this is a good example of what a pain in the ass that was. When they started picking up some momentum after Nine Inch Nails brought a lot of attention to the genre, the label decided to try and pick up some buzz for Ebbhead by releasing a live EP. But did they just release a live EP? Oh my, no. They released it in two separate discs you had to buy, with the first one including a slip case that would fit the second one. Did they release both halves at once to make it easier to pick up? Of course not! I did find both halves, and frankly, it’s just a live EP and totally not worth tracking down.

Confidential to Megan: there’s a playlist on Plexasaurus Rex for today! For the rest of you, you have to first put up with my crap for about 25 years, and then you can have a private playlist. In the mean time, you can at least get the YouTube-ized version.

Pussy Galore, “Dick Johnson”

There are lots of moments, especially on Dial ‘M’ for Motherfucker, where Pussy Galore presented the vision which Jon Spencer would bring to full fruition with the Jon Spencer Blue Explosion. There’s a pretty straight line from this song to the tunes on the first JSBX album, for instance. Those are also invariably the most interesting Pussy Galore songs.

Driving on through Sunday! Even though I’m actually writing this on Friday! Time is confusing! Music is forever!

Einstürzende Neubauten, “Trinklied”

We haven’t hit Neubauten proper yet, although we did encounter Alexandre Hacke with his work with The Unsemble. Einstürzende Neubauten (literally, “collapsing new buildings”) is sort of the prototypical industrial band, as opposed to industrial dance. They make use of noise, atypical percussion, and the sounds of industry to make challenging music. Early in their career, it was about noise and chaos. Towards their mid-period, there was a steer towards more recognizable rhythms and even, yes, some danceable stuff. Later on, things moved more towards ambient compositions. Always, though, their music and art has had an edge, and they’ve always been one of the most interesting bands working. They even did crowdfunding way before the crowd did, way back in 2002.