Wreckless Eric - The Whole Wide World

I love this song.



I was actually introduced to this song via a cover by The Prissteens*. That cover floored me, so I eventually found the original . . . and it was even better.

Wreckless Eric reminds me in ways I can't quite explain of Jonathan Richman. Maybe it's the soulful honesty of his voice? The confidence mixed with vulnerability? Not sure.



* Another WFMU intro, from Terry T's Cherry Blossom Clinic, who introduced me to countless bands, not the least of which was the Prissteens - ("They put the 'angry' in 'Shangi-La's'") and Puffy.

Night of the Vampire

I was in my old home town of Niigata (新潟) a couple weeks back and went to a live show with a friend. We saw 5 bands, but the standout was the final band, Night of the Vampire.

I can best describe them as half rockabilly and half Madness Japanese guys dressed as vampire clowns.

Yes, you might want to read that again.

They really rock, though - a lot of energy, great sax player, and a solid set list.



If you want to skip the intro chatter and get right to a signature song, click here. Or for their cover of I Want You To Want Me by Cheap Trick.

Here is them covering Rock This Town by The Stay Cats, with another band. It's that kind of energy they convey the whole time. My only complaints were that the set was short and they didn't sell CDs. I'd have bought one.

By the way, you can see them sing Happy Birthday to my friend Kevin at the end of this video. He mentioned they did that, so I decided to see if it was up on Youtube. Yes, yes it is.

Ken Yokoyama: Won't Turn Off My Radio

Back when I taught Junior High School in Japan, I had some students who were way into punk music. They introduced me to Hi-Standard and its lead singer, Ken Yokoyama and the record label Pizza of Death. One proudly wore a "Fuck Ken" t-shirt, which I can assure you they and Ken Yokoyama both understood.

I chanced to see Ken Yokoyama on Japanese TV playing his new single:



It's good. If you like that, you'd probably enjoy the rest of his songs, such as How Many More Times or Ricky Punks. Or this cover of Basket Case by Green Day.

Actually I had an interesting discussion about him and his English. I said he speaks English well - but with a very strong Japanese accent. The person I was talking to said it wasn't good, because it sounded so Japanese. I think both are good points. Ken's English usage is correct. He doesn't just sprinkle random English words into a song ("Let's Fighting Love!") but uses English correctly and well. Yet there is the accent. You decide.

Covers: William Shatner / Common People

Until this morning I have no idea this cover existed:



William Shatner, off of Has Been.

That's the album he did with Ben Folds, and this song partners him with Joe Jackson. I love how much this reminds me of The Nails "88 Lines About 44 Women", and a bit of People Who Died.

But yeah, until today I'd never heard this song. I didn't even know the original existed, either. This song didn't hit where I was in the 90s, I guess. It rocks. The cover though, that's just awesome.

Two articles on John Lydon

I recently read two interesting articles on John Lydon:

Former Sex Pistol John Lydon pops off on loving, living, and having been Rotten

John Lydon Unveils 'Antireligious' Art for New Public Image Ltd. Album

I'll check out the new PiL album. I'm a big fan of John Lydon, as a musician and as a person.

I Like the Cover Better: Don't Call Me White

This might be the first NOFX song I ever heard. It's also my favorite, closely followed by "Brews."



I got that on a punk mix CD (Probably from the Give 'Em The Boot series from Epitaph) and put it on a mix tape with a bunch of songs by The Offspring (Jennifer Lost the War), The Ramones (extras from the end of the All the Stuff series), Rancid 45s (Hyena, I Wanna Riot), and Down By Law.

Later, though, Rancid and NOFX did a split CD covering each other, and Rancid just destroyed the original for me. Here is Matt Freeman on a bass-and-deep-voiced-vocals version of Don't Call Me White.



And yeah, I like their cover of Brews better, too. But that's another post.

Wire - Map Ref. 41N 93W

The is my favorite song by Wire. I happened to turn on WFMU just in time to catch it on Fabio's show, Strength Through Failure.

"Map Ref. 41N 93W"



I especially love that they introduce the chorus by saying, "Chorus!"

I must have worn out the section of audiotape where I had that song back in the mid-90s. That's when I discovered Wire and a lot of other UK punk I'd missed when I was younger - Wire, the Stiff Little Fingers, the Undertones, Poly Styrene and X-Ray Specs, Infrariot, Television, and more. Some bands I'd heard of, but never heard - some neither. Some I knew the catalog backward and forward - Sex Pistols, The Clash, Buzzcocks. Wire was a "neither." This song just blew me away . . . and I hadn't listened to it in years. Time to pull out all my Wire stuff and re-listen. They're touring the NY area right now, but work means I won't see them. Maybe someday.