1977: Mix Tape (Track 11)
“Manifesto” condenses history into a list of (mostly) paired concepts. It’s extracted from reading Blake, Ginsberg, Rimbaud, Genet, Burroughs, “Being & Nothingness,” and “The Rebel.”
Samples by James “1977” Nugent.
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1977: Mix Tape (Track 10)
“A Pause Before Beatings Resume” was inspired by the sound a phonograph needles makes when it reaches the end of the record but fails to return and you’re already out.
Samples by James “Sonic Reducer” Nugent.
1977: Mix Tape (Track 09)
“Hippie Sutra” advocates for open minds.
Samples by James “I’m So Bored” Nugent.
1977: Mix Tape (Track 08)
So what — “Penance.”
Samples by James “Pissing in a River” Nugent
Rocket To Russia
Three reasons why, released 40 years ago (Nov. 4, 1977), the Ramones’ third LP “Rocket To Russia” still matters:
- “Sheena Is A Punk Rocker“
- Cover photo by Danny Fields.
- Russia is still messing with us.
1977: Mix Tape (Track 07)
“Palpitations” is about the sensation you get standing close to loudspeakers. The lows that reverberate in your chest. The drumming that realigns your heart beat.
Samples by James “Iggy” Nugent.
What I learned from Johnny Rotten’s autobiography (Part 3)
Five things about John Lydon I didn’t know and I’m embarrassed that I didn’t:
- He moved to L.A., first Pasadena then Malibu where Herb Alpert was his neighbor (early 1980s).
- As Time Zone, he collaborated with Afrika Bambaataa on “World Destruction” (1984).
- PiL Ltd. released four albums I never heard about: 9 (1989), That What Is Not (1992), This is PiL (2012), What The World Needs Now… (2015). (I blame the record company. See full discography.)
- He hosted nature shows on great white sharks and mountain gorillas (2004-05).
- He became a U.S. citizen (2013).
Packed Up And Ready To Go
The first 100 days of the Trump Regime were weird times for just about everyone. For me, Mom died the day before Inauguration Day. I spent a couple weeks in N.Y. helping my sisters take care of estate matters. There was a lot of sorting and dusting and quiet.
It was during these 100 days that I also started to write again.
This included 4-, 8-, and 12-line poems of the political. All written in the first 100 days of the Trump Administration, I compiled them as Ballads Under New Regime [Reprise] — a title I had used during the Bush Administration 10+ years earlier.
At the end of June, musician/poet/friend Jed Myers collaborated with me in a one-night session at Jack Straw Studios in Seattle. I read the poems and he underscored each with acoustic guitar, harmonica, or tambourine.
We’ll release all the ballads Oct. 5 for listening or free download on SoundCloud and Bandcamp. Stand by. For now, here’s “Packed Up And Ready To Go” the opening track, talking about all the talk about moving-to-Canada talk.
Talking Heads: 77
Four reasons why a 40-year-old* LP still matters to me:
- Psycho Killer
- It’s one of four punk albums I bought at House of Guitars in late 1977 that I still have. (My turntable is still hooked-up too.)
- It’s before Brian Eno produced them.
- We scalped our Styx tickets to buy Talking Heads tickets instead, 1978.11.09, (true story).
*Released from Sire on Sept. 16, 1977
JB 