official the homosexuals - astral glamour thread

Anyway, The Homosexuals are so much better than Sublime!

I assume you don't like this idea? Or perhaps something else.

I'd love to buy that Le'Voag disc, but I really hate paying 15 pounds or whatever for amblems. Thats like 30 $!

pay the thirty!

http://www.hyped2death.com/HS-news0704.html

but I will post more up-to-date info here and on nyhappenings as it comes, as I'm involved with the saturday show. The friday show at the Knit is 15/20 bucks and has them opening for Suicide, the saturday show is at Tommy's in greenpoint, a tiny and totally cool, down to earth local bar most infamous for an irregular friday night !!! dance party. It'll be 7 bucks, not 10 as previously mentioned. It has a small room in back that is well air-conditioned and has a good sound system, at least for DJing. The show will be be Bruno + co., Dan Melchior's Broke Review and very likely the canadian band Les Mouches who seem quite interesting. This isn't quite confirmed yet. The Crazy Rhythms DJ Crew will play some records inbetween and after and will be joined by DJs Burgertime and Pickpocket. Mostly just post-punk/diy fun and randomness, if the vibe is good, maybe some serious dance music.

For completists, here are the reasons to own the ReR CD as well as Astral Glamour:

(1) It's a faithful reproduction of the original LP
(2) alternate mix of Vociferous Slam
(3) alternate mix of Mecho Madness
(4) alternate/longer mix of Collapsible You
(5) better recording-quality on "Still Living in my Car" and? "Snapshots" instrumental
(6) Graham's poster

RE: Saturday's Homosexual's show, Les Mouches had to cancel because their van broke down. It's not totally official yet but it looks like the Tall Boys are going to play. For those who haven't seen them, they are a shambolic post-punk type band like a bastard child of X-Ray Spex and the Fall maybe? Anyway, when they're on, they're really great fun.

Flavorpill wrote up friday's Suicide show at the Knit without mentioning the Homosexuals at all...shame on them!

Spread the word to those in the area!

Saturday will feature the Tall Boys and Broke Review as openers and a special late-night performance by Putting on the Ritz, which is 2 local scenesters wearing tuxes and performing standards. Tommy's is small, it's cheap, and it's loud. Bring ear-plugs.

AMAZING!

I wish I'd been aware of this stuff when it first came out 'cos I'm sure I'd have immersed and lost myself in it as thoroughly as I did comparable and contemporaneous stuff by the likes of Buzzcocks, The Fall, Joy Division, Scritti Politti, Wire, XTC etc. etc. etc.

Dr. C: did you get this / The Homosexuals Album in the end? If you did, what did you think? If you didn't get either, you really must get this 'cos I'm sure you're going to love it!

I do have a track of theirs on Seeds 2 : Rock. I can't remember what it's like - it shares vinyl with the mighty Past Seven Days and Marine btw.

I wouldn't say they were trying to fit the punk mold, as they are official class of 77 early punks, check out the ad in an old issue of Sniffin' Glue, where the Rejects (essentially the Homosexuals) open for the Damned in 77.

What's the latest on the Prefects CD, Dan?

The Prefects CD is done. Assuming there aren't any manufacturing issues. Which means I'm waiting for emails "your art isn't seperating...we can't read the master...blah blah blah."

20 pg book, collages of cool color snapshots by Helen Apperley(gtrists wife/manager/roadie) and great b+w photos by a guy named BJ. An intro page from Robert Lloyd, another from Alan Apperley and longer liners from Helen with some great anecdotes. I'm pretty happy with it and hope it comes out smoothly. Will be in stores in November if all goes well.

Please can I add Alternative TV and Swell Maps to my little list of "comparable and contemporaneous stuff"?

Stewart completely OTM about disc 1 - great stuff. I was making a mental list of reference points fwiw - Wire (obv), Pink Floyd, Roxy Music/Eno, Soft Boys, but yet it's not like any of these really. The package is a superb labour of love too - great booklet. Best track 'Walk Before Imitate', but only just!

Disc 2 and 3. Oh dear, 90% shit. No doubt someone will tell me there's genius within, but most of this is terrible, particularly the cassette-only stuff. I haven't had the time to study the recording dates etc, but I assume that AG is roughly chronological? If so it's depressing and kind of demeaning after the majesty of Disc 1. Two further moans - when they didn't use a proper drummer, the 'drumming' (Bruno?) makes those tracks unlistenable. Likewise the tracks with the female 'singer'. Yes, yes I KNOW it's *DIY*, but what's the point of this no-fi rubbish? It does them a disservice. Anyway sorry to be miserable about this - I know there are people on ILX close to this recd. Each to his own.

I think it's also a question of context, to listen to it all at once isn't fair to some of the stuff. Like, when I first got the George Harassment LP, it was a world onto itself, and really not something to compare to what was previously heard on the LP or EP.

And the main reason I tell people they HAVE to get Astral Glamour is simply because the ReR CD doesn't have Prestel on it, and that's worth the extra price alone. I mean, I paid 26 dollars for my copy of the Prestel single, you can pay a bit more for a 3cd box set with great liner notes then the single CD.

looking at the pictures of the original vinyl releases though, you can tell how amazing it must have been to drop the needle on this stuff... the packaging was a huge part of the mystery, I can imagine trying to figure out where in the world this stuff came from. There was a reason for the multiple artist names. Purposefully obscure music like this definitely loses something when presented as an archival 3 CD set -- not to complain about finally getting a chance to hear it, the best of it is beyond classic.

When Bruno was here he came on WFMU twice. First he talked to John Allen, which can be found here:

http://wfmu.org/playlists/shows/11949

Then I invited him back to talk some more nonsense and things got pretty silly. Listen to Bruno talk about sellling drugs to Robert Plant, then sing over a skipping copy of Stairway to Heaven. This starts a bit dry with Mike Goodstein talking to Bruno, then Mike Simonetti of Troubleman and I start in and Bruno realizes this is a comedy show, and things get dumb.

http://wfmu.org/playlists/shows/12014

The only tracks I wasn't so hot on are the ones where a present-day Bruno sings over old instrumental tracks (if I've got that right).

Disc 2 and 3. Oh dear, 90% shit.

I think I'll download and pick and choose rather than buy outright. Sorry guys.

Disc 2 & 3 are great. The whole thing is worth owning.

That's what it says on the website. Obv it's a load of lies then.

what's more likely is that Hyped2Death is obeying their own contractual rules, while various distributors and stores are not. This happens all of the time. For instance, we have only US rights to Metal Urbain. After our CD came out, Seventeen, who we licensed from, released the 2CD Metal Urbain collection. Legally, we could sue anyone who sells that in America. More realistically, when I go to Mondo Kims I put the 2 CD behind our single CD.

Dan says: what's more likely is that Hyped2Death is obeying their own contractual rules

But Dr C says he bought a copy FROM Hyped2Death. So it's more likely they're just putting that on their website as some kind of disclaimer and are selling it anyway.

The simple answer is to email Chuck and try to buy it!

That Recommended sampler, I think it's ReR 7.5 or 8.5, because the 2lp sampler that features Walk Before Imitate (and Faust and This Heat and the Work and Vogel and Art Bears and L Voag) was ReR 7 or 8.

My bad!

The songs on my compilation that aren't on Astral Glamour are most likely Jim/L Voag stuff like selections from Sara Goes Pop and such. Last I heard, that stuff will come out eventually. Some of it already has, no Homosexuals fan/completist should be without the L Voag CD The Way Out feat. the LP of that name and the Move single. It's on Alchohol records.

WFMU SXSW Live Broadcast
Friday, March 14th, 8pm - 3am

(8pm-3am ET) Yes, for the first time ever WFMU will be presenting a showcase at SXSW down in Austin, Texas, and we'll be broadcasting live from Spiro's indoor and outdoor stages! Tune in to our airwaves from 8 PM until 3 AM and check out the gi-normous 14 band lineup: Harvey Milk, Paul Metzger, the Homosexuals, Kelley Stoltz, the Hank IV, Gary Higgins, Carla Bozulich's Evangelista, Los Llamarada, Half Japanese, Lexie Mountain Boys, Citay, Psychedelic Horseshit, the Bad Trips, and Cheveu.

wfmu.org

Perhaps appropriately I just picked up Astral Glamour today at Amoeba at long last. Though I missed this broadcast.

so the Homosexuals are playing in Brooklyn tomorrow night. Anyone know how they might be sounding these days? I didn't realize they had even reunited.

It's Bruno backed by Apache Beat. I haven't seen that set-up, but it's probably good fun.

http://www.attheecho.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/ptp-flier-032909.jpg

at The Echo at 10 tonight
15 dollars at the door 12 in advance

they were great last week in pdx. the band played well; pretty simple arrangements of most everything you'd want to hear off 'homosexuals record' plus surreal/hilarious/bemusing banter from bruno, who gave an interminable solo encore.

Not heard these guys but L. Voag/Xentos Bentos' radio show (as Harmon E Phraisyar) is one of the greatest things I've ever heard

Oh gawd "Astral Glamour" (the song) sounds sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo good right now!!!!! I just love how almost imperceptibly they move from ominous to bursting with joy at "fair’s fair with barriers shining." They love it too as you can tell from their hooting immediately afterward. And is that a mandolin? Goddamn....just godDAMN!

just an update...had an extensive conversation with Bruno today. He has some stories. He was on John Allen's show on WFMU performing and talking, and I think he may be on Mike Goodstein's show this monday eve.

I just listed to one of those archive WFMU shows with Bruno. He is completely exhausting, with a torturous theory for almost everything and some very tall stories. Checking out fairly recent YouTubes, it seems that, almost 20 years on, he’s still very much like that. I’d really like to hear Anton’s account of the band.

He also told me in a DM that he didn't believe my husband really existed and I only pretended that he did to keep men away from me. The music's still wonderful, though, but I can't forgive him for that.

that fucking sucks :(

Christ. Worst kind of contrarian.