Hard rocking yet ethereal, short-lived Levitation touched Heaven

When you hear something perfect, you want it to last forever. It doesn’t work that way. The most beautiful things in life are ephemeral. Levitation was a perfect example. It was formed Terry Bickers, the emotionally fragile but brilliant guitarist from House of Love. Levitation didn’t last long, but during its brief existence, the band created some incredible music.

Mysterious and powerful, their music was a combination of Madchester, psych and progressive rock. From all acounts, and a few Youtube vids, they had a hell of a live show. I wish I could’ve been there in person.

I discovered Levitation in a box of mixtapes and other cassettes a friend passed along as he made the move to the compact disk and decided to free up some space.

Coterie was the first to grab my attention. It completely captivated me. My friend had recorded it on one side of a cassette, with House of Love’s Babe Rainbow on the other side (another very good album). I remember thinking as I played it on my Walkman for the third or fourth time, “This blows Dark Side of the Moon out of the water!” I’ve backed off a little bit since then — I will always love Pink Floyd, and DSOTM is a classic — but Coterie and Need for Not are also classics in my book. And they all the more powerful because they were hidden from me for so long.

Interesting that I instantly thought of Coterie as a classic album, because it isn’t exactly a proper album. It contains songs from the band’s first EP, plus some live songs and B sides. Yet in my mind it almost comes across as a concept album, very coherent.

Need for Not took a little longer to get my attention, but when it did, it was like being struck by lightning. I suddenly couldn’t get enough of it. Because it’s fully a studio album it is at the same time less intimate but more intense than Coterie. It feels a lot more like a rock ‘n’ roll album. Both albums are out of print but affordable used CDs can be found via private sellers on Amazon and sometimes turn up in used CD stores as well. Definitely worth purchasing.

I love every song on the Need for Not, but I think “Pieces of Mary” really demonstrates Levitation’s sound. It just keeps rising and rising, like an out of body experience.

 

Levitation released another album, Meanwhile Gardens, after Bickers left. There’s another version of the album with some of Bickers’ work on it. The official version was only released in Australia and is a collectors item that I coveted for years. I finally got hold of an mp3 version from a hardcore Levitation fan and frankly was glad I didn’t pay top dollar for the physical copy. It has a few bright spots — a couple of good psych-prog songs and some experiments with ambient — but isn’t in the same league as Need for Not or Coterie. The magic was there for a time, then it went away.

Terry Bickers later made up with Guy Chadwick and rejoined the House of Love. The other members of Levitation went on to form a band called Dark Star. Haven’t heard them yet, but I’ve read enough good reviews to make me curious. I will at some point.

Other post-Levitation projects include:

Dragons, featuring drummer Dave Francolini.

Mikrokosmos, solo project of guitarist Christian (Bic) Hayes who was tour guitarist for Pet Shop Boys for a while.

Milk and Honey Band, featuyring Levitation keyboard player Robert White.

Bassist Laurence O’Keefe has toured with Martina Topley-Bird

In addition to recording and touring with House of Love, Bickers formed a group with Caroline Tree called Cradle.

Here is a song from the unreleased version of Meanwhile Gardens featuring Terry Bickers. Gives you an idea what could’ve been if things had held together for a bit longer:

There is a nice long thread about Levitation in the Spiritualized forum. It’s informative and makes a nice read. I got some of my info from the thread.

True Colour of Blood – soothing dark ambient

A while back I got a note from Eric Kesner of True Colour Of Blood, who wanted me to check out a 15-year retrospective of his work. I don’t normally do unsolicited stuff, but I finally got around to downloading the album and it’s good drone ambient, kind of in the same vein as Voice of Eye, a group I blogged about back in February. Also reminds me of some of the more understated works by artists like Caul and Ure Thrall.

He produces his droning ambient using a guitar and bow. Darkly atmospheric, it has a nice texture if you want to listen to it and chill out, but it also works well as background if you’re trying to get things done. Download his album from Rapidshare if you get the chance. Why not? It’s free….

Here’s a link to his MySpace page if you want to stream a bit first and see what you think.

And a cool video someone made for one of his songs:

Unsavoury Products – ‘contents may unsettle’ – but that’s not necessarily a bad thing

A few years ago I discovered an amazing concept album called Unsavoury Products, a collaboration between electronic artists Black Dog and spoken word artist Black Sifichi. I knew based on a few songs I’d heard on the web (they used to be on Epitonic.com, anyone remember that site?) that it was going to be challenging, and it was, but the more I play it, the more I enjoy it.

Black Dog supplies beats, textures and soundscapes, while Black Sifichi gives rambling, hallucinatory spoken word pieces on subjects like insanity (“Mental Health Hotline”), consumerism (“If I Were King”), music theory (“Let’s Talk Music”), communication (“What Do They Want”), rebellion and cynicism (“Dear Ron”) and awful detachment from reality – a man who thinks he’s turning into a dog (“Dogbite”), fear of being hexed (“Someone at the Office”), being buried alive (“Wishing Well”).

You get the idea of someone who’s been irreparably damaged by drug abuse, while at the same time achieving some kind of inner wisdom that may or may not apply to the rest of us.

The album cover gives a clue of what’s to come, with photos of rotting steaks and a sticker that gives a “use by” date of 1967 and a “display by” date of 2525. The label states, “contents may unsettle.”

Contents do indeed unsettle — and make you think — if you listen with an open mind. In fact, if you aren’t willing to listen, there’s no point in messing with this album. It’s no good playing it in the background while doing other things or in the car, driving down the freeway. Devote some time to Unsavoury Products and it will pay off as Black Sifichi’s wit begins to soak into your brain.

The album was originally supposed to be a collaboration between Black Dog and Naked Lunch author William Burroughs. However, Burroughs died before the project could be completed. Instead, the artists discovered Black Sifichi and decided to make a tribute to the spirit of Burroughs. Disturbing, intelligent, witty, slightly unhinged from reality, world weary… I think they pulled it off.

Below is a student film someone made, illustrating “Mental Health Hotline” from Unsavoury Products and a couple of other Black Sifichi pieces.

Asylum Street Spankers’ vintage sound captures Austin’s spirit

Austin has drawn me like a magnet for almost as long as I can remember. The culture, with its mix of Texas cowboy brashness and hippy tolerance, is wonderful and totally unique. For a creative type like myself, the live music and open-minded nature of the place is irresistable. I love my state in general as most Texans do, but Austin is the best part for me. It’s like an oasis.

Few bands embody that Austin spirit like the Asylum Street Spankers. The band has become my favorite live act. I’ve seen show after show, each one different from the one before, but always enjoyable. The group takes its name from Guadalupe Street in Austin, once referred to as Asylum Street because it runs by the state mental facility. The term “spanker,” is a double entendre. It can mean a skilled musician, or just exactly what it sounds like. In fact, the band’s entire name is a double entendre. Think about those initials.

It’s hard to describe the band’s music. Styles include swing, jazz, country, blues, hip hop, ragtime, gospel — you name it. The music has a vintage sound, with all acoustic instruments, but the songs are immersed in rock ‘n’ roll lore and pop culture references. The band’s central figures are Wammo, a funny, mouthy dude who looks a bit like a biker, and Christina Marrs, a pretty woman with an even prettier set of pipes who has a demure girl-next-door appeal — but can belt out the raunchiest lyrics you’ve ever heard. The remaining lineup changes a bit from year to year, but always features top notch musicians. Sometimes former Spankers turn up and fill in. It’s almost like a collective.

The Spankers absolutely refuse to be pigeonholed. They’re funny, but they’re not a comedy act, and no way are they a novelty act. They’ve done X-rated albums, a drug album, a children’s album, an Off Broadway show and most recently, a gospel album. You never know what they might do next, but it will always be entertaining.  You really have to hear them yourself.

Luckily for me, they’ve made it easy. Most of the Spankers albums are here on Bandcamp. You can stream the songs for free or purchase the albums as downloads, or as physical CDs. I like everything they do, but I especially recommend What? And Give Up Show Biz? because it captures the band’s live sound, which I love.

Some of my favorite songs are “Beer,” from Spanker Madness, “Hick Hop,” from Mercurial and “My Favorite Record” from the album of the same name.

Check out the band’s website: www.asylumstreetspankers.com. You can also order some albums that aren’t posted on Bandcamp, including their X-rated EPs, T-shirts and members’ solo albums. And check out their tour schedule. If the Spankers turn up in your town, go see them. You won’t regret it.

These videos will give you an idea what the band’s live act is like:

Jim White – still hard at work writing, making music

Jim White was kind enough to send me a personal e-mail after I posted about my last blog post on his forum. Apparently he’s been very busy lately and has a lot of great stuff in the works.

Thanks for the kind words. At present I’m at work on 3 albums, and while I’ve never been intoxicated by the notion of commercial success, I certainly wouldn’t avoid it if it came knocking down my door.

I’ve got a book of short stories about done. It’ll be called Incidental Contact, and details odd encounters I’ve had while wandering the fringes of culture.

The 3 albums are as follows:

An album of music I wrote for a Sam Shepherd play recently staged at Julliard Music School up in NYC.

An album of classical guitar etudes written by me in the 1980s when I only had 2 fingers that worked on my fretting hand due to a table saw accident. These songs are performed by the guitarist for the Georgia Classical Music Quintet.

An official Jim White album. I recently broke free of my label and so the album should reflect my newfound autonomy. The songs range from straight old time country to blues/jazz hybrids.

I appreciate you devoting your time to helping me out. Good luck with your endeavors.

Jim White

Jim White – Southern singer, songwriter, philosopher, storyteller, poet

Jim White is a hard man to pin down. He’s a self-taught guitarist and singer who has seen a lot of life. He grew up in Pensacola, Florida and has been a fashion model, professional surfer, boxer, preacher, a comedian and more.

His music runs the gamut – alt-country, indie pop, experimental music of various kinds. His music is by turns deep, catchy, dark, beautiful, sad, and funny. Above all, he’s a brilliant lyricist and storyteller. It might be that wide range of styles that keeps him from mass market success (or even, apparently “mass indie” success). He’s too quirky and experimental for the country crowd, and has too much twang in his voice for the indie crowd. It could also be the fact that he’s not extremely prolific and doesn’t tour heavily. I have read that he is considering a career as a writer – not surprising given the brilliant short story he wrote for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus booklet. I would certainly love to see what kind of books he might write.

I almost get the feeling he doesn’t care about being a huge success. His observations about the South, and about human nature in general are so perceptive, he’s almost more of a philosopher than a musician.

He was a bit of a slow-grower for me, a common hallmark of the artists I love most deeply. I first discovered him through a used comp CD with “10 Miles to Go on a 9 Mile Road” on it. I liked it well enough to buy the album, No Such Place. I played it a few times and liked it OK, but nothing really jumped out at me. It didn’t really go into heavy rotation.

Then one day I put the CD on, just on a whim, and realized the songs were brilliant. Why didn’t I notice before? Then I bought his debut album, The Mysterious Tale of How I Shouted Wrong-Eyed Jesus! and put that on and the music hit me like a bolt of lightning. This was something unusual and very special. I have since bought every album and eagerly await anything else he might put out. I wish there were more!

Favorite songs come from all his albums (not necessarily in order except for the top 2):

1. “A Perfect Day to Chase Tornados” The Mysterious Tale of How I Shouted Wrong-Eyed Jesus!
2. “Still Waters” The Mysterious Tale of How I Shouted Wrong-Eyed Jesus!
3. “Borrowed Wings” Drill a Hole in That Substrate and Tell Me What You See
4. “Bluebird” Drill a Hole in That Substrate and Tell Me What You See
5. “Diamonds to Coal” Transnormal Skiperoo
6. “Pieces of Heaven” Transnormal Skiperoo
7. “Crash Into the Sun” Transnormal Skiperoo
8. “Plywood Superman” Transnormal Skiperoo
9. “Christmas Day” No Such Place
10. “Handcuffed to a Fence in Mississippi” No Such Place

By the way, there’s another indie musician out there by the name of Jim White, drummer for an ensemble called The Dirty Three. Don’t get them confused.

Visit his website, which contains links to his merchandise, a forum for fans, lists of his favorite artists, movie directors and authors, some of his thoughts on life and more. The man is a really deep thinker.

Latest discovery – Ocote Soul Sounds

Just found another treasure the Goodwill thrift store – El Nino Y El Sol, a soundtrack for a non-existent movie by Ocote Soul Sounds. It turns out the group that created the album is based here in Austin and has roots in two groups that I already love: Grupo Fantasma and Antibalas. Grupo Fantasma is a non-traditional Latin group in Austin that infuses cumbia music with funk, dub, dancehall reggae, and more. Pretty fiery stuff. New York-based Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra picks up where Nigerian legend Fela Kuti left off, with a powerful mix of funk, African grooves and politics.

Ocote Soul Sounds, around since 2003, is the brainchild of Grupo Fantasma’s Adrian Quesada (guitars, bass, drums) and Antibalas founding member Martin Perna (vocals, saxophone, flute, guitar, organ, percussion) and has since expanded to seven members. It’s definitely funky, but is more atmospheric and dub-influenced. At times the music reminds me of a Latinized version of Air. Other times it’s a bit like Thievery Corporation, which is on the same label as Ocote Soul Sounds – Eighteenth Street Lounge Music.

I feel like I should’ve known about these guys already. They are definitely on my radar now.

Here are a couple of videos to give you the idea:

There’s also a nice DJ mix on the band’s official website: http://www.ocotesoul.com/

Sing While You May – Advice from the Legendary Pink Dots

Impending economic and environmental collapse, asteroids crashing into the earth, the Yellowstone supervolcano that might wipe out half of North America, the mega-tsunami that could wipe out the East Coast, terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, drug-resistant germs, influenza, AIDS, the super-collider in Switzerland that might accidentally make a black hole that will suck up the earth… Shall I go on?

The list of things that could destroy the human race is as long as my arm. Maybe you don’t dwell on them, but they’re in the back of your mind. All those disturbing newscasts and Discovery Channel specials take their toll on your psyche after a while, don’t they?

How do you live your life when it feels like the world is constantly on the verge of apocalypse? Well, you’re going to find a way. It has ALWAYS felt like that — for generations in fact. Somehow the world keeps chugging along, but now and again we get little reminders — like the Haiti earthquake, the oil spill in the Gulf, or 9-11 and the wars that followed — that things are not well. And when you get down to it, you’re headed for your own personal apocalypse anyway. Nobody lives forever. The real question is, in the face of impending doom, how do you live well?

I think I might have an answer, at least one that works for me, thanks to a strange and wonderful group called the Legendary Pink Dots: “Sing while you may…” (for it may not be very long). It’s a theme that comes up often in their music. To me the meaning is close, but not exactly the same as that of carpe diem – sieze the day. I think “seize the day” implies more of an ability to change things. The Dots’ philosophy is more about expressing yourself. You may not make a mark on the world, which either is or is not about to end regardless, but it’s still beautiful and it’s still meaningful. Birds live that way. So should we.

My taste in music is so eclectic that I’ve often said I don’t have a favorite band, but right now I have to admit that the Dots are it. It took years for them to grow on me to that extent. They’re very strange, very experimental, and cover a lot of styles, but they tend to have common themes, such as:

Fascination with different kinds of apocalypse and something they call the Terminal Kaleidoscope – all the patterns in society are part of a repeating cycle that’s accelerating towards doomsday. “The More It Changes” from The Golden Age embodies this concept.

Sing While You May (for it may not be very long) – a phrase that keeps popping up. Life is short, usually painful, so the best thing you can do it express yourself while you can, make some kind of statement.

There’s also a fascination with numerology, aliens, insanity, playful but dark speculations about God and the Devil, murder, suicide, the post-apocalyptic world, repeating cycles, fate…

Singer Edward Ka-Spel has an incredibly fertile imagination and is a brilliant lyricist. His songs disturb, uplift, make you think. Just an example, “Destined to Repeat” from Hallway of the Gods:

“Your face seems so familiar. I’m sure we’ve met some place before. It could be we were lovers, maybe eye to eye in some… war. With pulling faces, screaming like two imbeciles. Two racing bayonets. We connect, it’s unmistakable. So don’t you look the other way. Don’t lie back and pretend that you are sleeping. This is something we’re too deep in. We’re destined to repeat. Come to me my lover. Speak to me my enemy. You cannot run away from me – we’re destined to repeat. Look this way my lover. Speak to me my enemy – we’re driftwood on an endless sea…”

Simply brilliant.

They’ve been around for 30 years and have produced a huge body of work. They’re so experimental that getting into it can be daunting. I would recommend starting with one of these albums: The Maria Dimension, Hallway of the Gods, Asylum, Crushed Velvet Apocalypse, Your Children Placate You from Unmarked Graves, or Plutonium Blonde.

There’s a lot to them. Just give them a listen and have an open mind. Their styles and sounds are so wide-ranging that you are bound to hear things you don’t like, or that puzzle you, but if you persevere, you are also going to find music you will love, music that will speak to your soul.

LPD are going through a bit of an existential crisis of their own at the moment. They recently announced that longtime members Niels Van Hoorn (woodwinds) and Martin de Kleer (guitar) had quit the band.  Past member Erik Drost returned to the band on guitar. (Edward and Phil Knight (keyboards) are the core of the group, so as long as they’re still on board, LPD remains.) Then the band had to cancel the rest of its 30th anniversary tour because Edward’s mother is ill. Here’s hoping that she makes a full recovery and the band gets to go back on tour. I’ve seen them live in Austin a couple of times and they were wonderful. Edward comes across like some kind of a shaman, very charismatic. I would love to see them perform again. I’ll miss Niels and his crazy suit, but I’ve heard the band evolve and change over the years and I know whatever they do next will be just as captivating.

The Dots are still quite underground, but those who are into them love them intensely, so there’s a wealth of fan-made LPD videos on Youtube right now, as well as some surprisingly good live performance captures.

Make sure to give the Legendary Pink Dots homepage a visit, as well as their MySpace page.

Anson Funderburgh & the Rockets (feat. Sam Myers)

I went out on a CD run a while back and spent more than I probably should have in Waterloo Records. On a whim, I stopped at a Goodwill on the way home and checked out their CD stash. Saw a few likely ones that I already had or that were too scratchy. Got tired of looking and decided to give this one a chance. And it might have been the best thing I got that day. Also interesting, because I was in a Texas music mood that day and didn’t know Anson Funderburgh was a Texan till I looked him up.

Sins, released in 1988 by New Orleans-based Black Top Records features some great rockin’ blues and R&B. Funderburgh is a great blues guitarist with a hell of a band and Sam Myers, who was the band’s regular singer and harmonica player from 1985 until he died in 2006. If you’re into any classic blues by the likes of BB King, you should check this band out. I will certainly pick up more of their albums when I need to scratch that particular itch. Kind of embarrassing in a way – this is a band I should’ve known about already. Better late than never I reckon, though I really wish I could’ve caught them live while Sam Myers was still around.

Interesting bit of trivia I picked up from Wikipedia: He wasn’t on this particular album, but in 1989 and 1990 Mike Judge was their bassist before he went on to greater fame as the animator and creator of Beavis and Butt-head and King of the Hill.

(The other ones I got on the same CD run were Long Leaf Pine by San Antonio-based The Krayolas and a 2-CD compilation of Texas Swing by Adolph Hofner. I haven’t made up my mind about those yet. I’m still digesting them. Especially the Hofner comp – 35 is a lot of songs!)

The Embarrassment – non-embarrassing treasure from Wichita, Kansas

If you’re not familiar with The Embarrassment, you’ve been missing out. And lots of people are missing out. A friend introduced me to them a few years ago and ever since, their songs have been standards for me. The band was from Wichita, Kansas, and was around from 1979 to 1983, with a reunion in the late ’80s. The Embos, as they’re sometimes called, have what I think of as the classic postpunk sound – good bass and lots of rhythm guitar. The songs are catchy and often quite witty. The nearest comparison for me would be the Minutemen’s Double Nickels on the Dime album. There are a number of videos on Youtube that give you an idea what they’re like, but the sound quality varies. If you like it, you probably should track down an album, however you do that. The one I have is a collection called Heyday. It has 42 songs, which if it isn’t everything they put out, is probably enough for most folks.

Here are a few videos that do them at least partial justice: