Juana Molina, Hoy Por la Noche

Can't. Hardly. Wait.

UPDATE: OMFG. I had high hopes for the show with Juana, but I now have a new #1 chanteuse. She is beyond description. Besides the fact that she sings most of her tunes in Spanish, there is little that is quintessentially Argentinian about her unless you recall that Buenos Aires has the highest per capita rate of folks going to shrinks of any major city in the world. More than Vienna. Repetitive, obsessive rhythms from an alien place. Ah how Freudian. How Southern Cone.

She opened with "Un Dia" (as seen below), and it was just a tight, cool show, every step of the way as she and the two other musicians seemed to make more sounds than most symphonic orchestras. Dressed in a classic little black dress, she belied the fact that she turns 47 this year.

My only complaint was that this glorious artist was at the Great American Music Hall. Yes, I love the look of the building, but the folks that go there! We're at a concert not the Super Bowl, people. There were a couple of times that I wanted to turn to the couple next to me -- who looked at the stage maybe 15 seconds the entire evening but babbled along to each other a pitch volume for two hours straght -- "Did you come to watch the show or perform your version of Love Letters." Or, more to the point, I wanted to say, "Why are you littering this otherwise perfect evening with the inane chatter of your tedious, pointless lives?"

I was probably the person who clapped the loudest about midway through the show when, as she looked out at the chattering crowd and said. "What are you talking about? " There were a couple of giggles and then the babbling continued. "I wasn't sure if you were talking about the show or something else." As a woman who grew up in two of the world's most cultured cities -- Paris and Buenos Aires -- I am sure this was a shock to her.

She soldiered on and gave an incredible show.

Now That You've Let Me Get Started

Okay, not all of these are that obscure, but they usually were good for upsetting folks who would show up at my house with a magnum of Riunite and a bucket of KFC back around 1983. Let's just say I opened a few eyes to the world beyond the Midwest. Thus, we delve into the vinyl vaults here at the JunkPlex to recreate a summer evening around 1983.

As the wife of the founder Michael Zilka, Cristina Monet was sort of the Norma Shearer of ZE Record and the whole No Wave movement. She first put out a self-titled disc that was panned with its sort of disco parodies. For years her take on "Is That All There Is" was banned by the authors but is now on iTunes as is her seminal "Things Fall Apart" that many rank as the greatest Christmas song of all time. Today, I hear, she writes scholarly articles about the era, sort of a Louise Brooks of the early 1980s. I offer:
"Don't Be Greedy" from Cristina (1980)
and
"She Can't Say That Anymore" from Sleep It Off (1984)

It's no secret that Junk Thief has a thing for J-Pop and Japanese boys, though not the thin fragile types but more the tough guy detectives of the Mishima mold. But even more than that ilk of J-men, there are the early '80s punk bands, and none top the wonderful Plastics. Nothing is hotter than a manic J-boy screaming obscenities in broken English over a raunchy guitar riff. Enjoy.
"Cards" from Welcome Back (1980)


People grew to tire of August Darnell and his various incarnations, and by the late 1980s and many people dismissed his back up singers The Coconuts as vapid no talents that could shake their booties well but added nothing to the music. They did, however, put out a pretty cool live disc that included "Ticket to the Tropics" that Cristina also covered. The tune offered here is worth giving them a bit more attention in my opinion. Not deep, but damned fun.
"Naughty Boy" from Please Don't Take My Coconuts (1983)


Though their definitive song is definitely "I Love a Man in a Uniform", I also loved The Gang of Four's Hard, which many saw as a sell out. For many it sounded as if they'd gone the route of Bowie's dreadful Let's Dance. To me, there is no comparison. What do you think?
"Is It Love" extended dance mix from Hard (1983)

Maybe they're not that obscure, but I'm surprised that many people have never heard of this band, although their signature tune has been played at many sporting events. I remember it as the ultimate dance tune at certain downtown, late night haunts. Nothing spells a good party more than Pigbag. Never danced to Pigbag? You're life is a fraud!
"Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag" from the (1981)

Now that we're in a downtown instrumental groove, let's move on to Liquid, Liquid whose "Cavern" was featured in the film Downtown 81 but is best known for supplying the famed base line in Grandmaster Flash's "White Lines". This is one of their lesser known tune but proof of their diversity.
"Groupmegroup" from Liquid, Liquid (1981)

Bangles, Bananarama and any other host of 1980s girl groups pale to this, my favorite of the decade. Sadly, their best known hit was a throw away cover of "Iko Iko" on the Rain Man soundtrack, a movie I never saw mainly because it featured Tom Cruise. This, however, is what I consider to be their best tune.
"Sign of the Times" from The Belle Stars (1982)

Dinah Washington is always welcome at any Junk Thief event. She topped Hank Williams in this lively, joyous cover of one of his best known tunes with superb ad libs and fun harmonies. It feels so fresh that it makes me think it was recorded this week.
"Hey Good Looking" from The Complete Dinah Washington on Mercury Vol. 2 (1951)


Since we're going back a few years, I have to post a favorite tune from Cass Elliott's solo career. Her cover of the only hit by Hurricane Smith is a reminder that she was less flower child than old time club room performer, but she put her own stamp of verve on this version from this album that is very hard to fine but worth the search album.
"Oh Babe, What Would You Say" from The Road is No Place for a Lady.(1972)

And now (gasp) a "show tune" but not in the conventional sense. Two Gentlemen from Verona had book by John Guare and Mel Shapiro, lyrics by Guare, and music by Galt MacDermot, who wrote the same for Hair. Raul Julia headed the cast, and there was this wonderful little tune sung by Diana Davila that sums up my feelings on romance these days. Not exactly I've Grown Accustomed to Your Face.
"I Am Not Interested in Love" from Two Gentlemen from Verona - Original Cast Recording (1971)

What did a bunch of art school punk kids from Boston know about country music? Did it matter? Rubber Rodeo did a fun take on "Jolene" and were a sight to be seen, and I saw them live once at a seedy bar in St. Louis.
"She Had to Go" from She Had to Go (1982)

I know nothing about this "band" except this one hard-not-to-like-because-it's-so-inane single. My niece was about four at the time, and we'd sing it together in my car that summer even when a sun baked cassette dragged the tape at about 22rpms. I knew she was pretty cool back then, because she'd turn to me and say, "I know that they're not singing about my Strawberry Shortcake." Anyone else remember this one?
"Sweepstakes" from Nursery School 12-inch single (1983)

Personally, I preferred Fun Boy Three's tune "The Tunnel of Love" over this GoGos staple, but it was always fun to put it on to see people's reactions as something that initially sounded so odd suddenly turned into something as familiar as salt. A nice downbeat vibe to piss off any Huey Lewis and the News fans of the time.
"Our Lips Are Sealed" from Waiting (1983)

Despite her annoying "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree", I think Brenda Lee is one of the most under-rated early female rockabilly acts. She had volume, energy, verve and more range than many people give her credit for, having also recorded in Italian and German and having played a key role in the early career of the Beatles. I just love this song because it has such a feel of a little Texas girl all dressed up, able to sing with an orchestral back up but still has a bit of country holler in her voice. I especially love her "your little mama" self reference near the end.
"Baby Won't You Please Come Home" from Reflections in Blue (1969)

And finally...not exactly what I'd call a chill out record, but a reflective way to end an evening. Jon Hassell is technically a jazz trumpeter, but he makes Miles Davis sound like Doc Severeson by comparison. His distortion of the instrument and what he called his "Fourth World" recordings that brought together traditional indigenous music with his own retooling in the studio produced sounds that freaked out many of my friends, but pieces like this brought me serenity.
"Dream Theory" from Dream Theory in Malay (1981)

Fabulous Memories, Please Weigh In

A week or so ago, as a part of my ongoing analog to digital conversion process, I was intent on posting a lengthy piece that would re-enact the playlist at a party at the JunkPlex circa 1983. It started getting a bit more complex and tedious than my current schedule could accommodate and made me wonder if anyone would really care. The idea was to post some music from favorite bands, solo acts and oddities from the Junk Thief archives that you won't find on iTunes or other mainstream sources. I started doing short bios, photo sketches and background info with links to each song. I got about 10 songs or so into the project and got diverted.

So, starting somewhat randomly, I'd like to share an example that is not exactly the most obscure track but fairly representative of this project.

In 1979, I discovered Brit band The Fabulous Poodles, sort of a bridge to '70s rock and early '80s punk. They had a dynamite fiddle play that could keep up with Papa John Creach and what seemed at the time to be fairly silly, pointless tunes on the order of the B52s. A quarter of a century later, I see that they had more gravitas than I gave them credit with somewhat snarky but serious takes on suicide and eating disorders. Sadly, it was their swan song, Think Pink, that lead me to them. Amazingly, this group sold more units in the U.S. in 1979 than the Clash, but few folks remember them.

For a taste of their mix of whimsy and a good beat, check out "Pink City Twist" (as with future posts, I'll have the tune in red with a hyperlink to the MP3.

Let me know what you think of this ditty and if you'd like to hear more similar tunes, especially the more obscure ones. On an obscure scale, this one is on the lesser scale of the unknown.

Baking with Alaska (y Dinarama)

My recent revisiting of Miguel Bosé has led me to also return to the great Alaska y Dinarama. She is definitely a one of a kind, and often mistaken for a drag queen, which is a great thing to say about any female singer. It tells you something about the superiority of Mexican culture to learn that she once hosted a kids show. In a perfect world.... Her disco-punk style can most closely be compared to that of Nina Hagen, but only a comparison. I refuse to call her "the Latin Nina Hagen." Actually she always made me think that this is what Theda Bara would have sounded like if she ever started a band.

You have to love a gal that was once in a band called Kaka De Luxe which sort of reminds me of the great Shirley Pimple and the Pus Cats, the top psychobilly lesbian punk band of the Great Plains in the early 1980s. They also suffered from being called the Okie version of the Bush Tetras.

It really pisses me off when people try to use U.S. or western European references to vastly superior artists in other culture. Calling Caetano Veloso the "Brazilian Bob Dylan" is a great example. Dylan could only dream of having Veloso's diversity, poetry and voice. On that tangent, I recently followed Friendatella's suggestion of watching (somewhat against my will, but Friendatella commanded: JunkThief, you must watch it!)Paperdolls It featured a wonderful version of Que Sera Sera by Veloso. If you've never heard Alaska's Ni Tu Ni Nadie, I suggest it as the perfect, get out of bed and be motivated rock anthem. Listen to it closely , and see if you agree that it sounds like something out of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Released around 1984, it actually makes you think that not everything from that era was horrid.