Sunday, March 21, 2010


Go Little Hammer!






All the info you need to score a copy of this little beauty can be found here. So don't dilly dally or they'll all be gone.

Stereo Total is something I never tire of. Acts come and go but these folks just plough a unique furrow that just confounds and delights time after time. They embody a rock’n’roll aesthetic that those who concoct a sound out of a modular record collection concept will never ever achieve. A bottomless pit of heart and soul.

Some folks don’t get it, but that usually means that they never saw 'em live. Not that the show is anything like the records but that’s another aspect that sets them apart. For complete satisfaction, I think you need to experience both. Seeing them unlocks a portal and I expect they’ll be on the road to promote their new Disko B release “Baby Ouh” so take opportunity when it presents itself and thank me for the tip later.

“An attempt to record exactly the music that Stereo Total would like to hear on the radio themselves”. And the world would certainly be a much better place if “I Wanna Be A Mama” was on heavy rotation. Much of the lyrics are in French, German and even Spanish. This means that philistines like myself can’t experience what are obviously great lyrics but the joy of the Total is that it’s not necessary. Had I been taught languages at school with this as a carrot then I would be a cunning linguist for sure. Stereo Total’s radioactive electronic discoglam is a refreshing cram of disparate elements. Everything but the kitchen sink but there might be one of those in here too. How else could they have got that sound.

I like to take time out from this fucked world to visit this much preferable orbit. This is no acquired taste and I pity the fools that try to write this combo off. As infectious, top of the line pop music goes there are few greater exponents. Some drongo said to me that they just keep making the same album over and over. And the problem with that is what exactly? Of course, the accusation itself is entirely unfounded.

Yes, there are just two of them. No, they sound NOTHING like The White Stripes. End of sermon.

The very latest instalment of de-clutter is that of some signed Wild Horses photos. This was a band formed by Brian Robertson and Jimmy Bain after they’d just left Thin Lizzy and Rainbow respectively. They played Grangemouth Town Hall sometime in 1978 and Brian Guthrie and I co-promoted that. It was the show that put me off putting on gigs because the turnout – despite the profile of the individuals – was dismal if I recall. I imagine that Brian would be able to tell you who the other bands were and maybe even the set.

Anyway, I discovered a facebook page dedicated to them yesterday and put the wheels in motion for the items in question to canter off to be with folks that might like ‘em. They’ve been stored in a box for 30+ years and will be released into the “wild” very soon.

I think that, in the hubbub of the past wee while I have neglected to mention the vinyl reissue of "Mondo Deco" by The Quick on Radio Heartbeat. T. Tex Edwards posted this timely reminder and yes, it is as good as the guy says it is.