musicgnome

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Member Since: 4/19/2004
Total Mixes: 177
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The Psychedelic Rock Tumbler: Volume II

Artist Song
San Ul Lim  No Translation Available [Track 2] - {2} 
Juan De La Cruz Band  Mystery Roach - {Up In Arms} 
Odyssey  Angel Dust - {Setting Forth} 
The Zodiac  Virgo - The Perpetual Perfectionist - {Cosmic Sounds} 
Plastic People Of The Universe  MagickT noci - {Egon Bondy's Happy Hearts Club Banned} 
Strawberry Alarm Clock  Sitting On A Star - {Wake Up... It's Tomorrow} 
Strawberry Path  Five More Pennies - {When The Raven Has Come To The Earth} 
Alice Cooper  Living-MW - {Pretties For You} 
Four (4) Levels Of Existence  Someday In Athens - {The 4 Levels Of Existence} 
Odin  Turnpike Lane - {Odin} 
Spectrum  Pingo E Letra - {Geracao Bendita} 
Novalis  Laughing - {Banished Bridge} 
Rick Saucedo  In My Mind - {Heaven Was Blues} 
Les Sauterelles  Hello, One Kiss, Goodbye - {View To Heaven} 
Freedoms Children  1999 - {Love, Peace & Poetry -- African Psychedelic Music} 
Act  The Remedies Of Doctor Brohnicoy - {Rubble Vol. 17: A Trip In A Painted World} 
The Squires  Going All the Way - {Pebbles Collection} 
The Electric Prunes  Bangles - {I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night} 
Disturbas  Free And Easy - {Buzz Buzz Buzzzzzz #1} 
Abstract Truth  Scarborough Fair - {Totum} 

Comment:

Another in the series...and since I am HORRIBLE at liner notes I thought I share a little info on a couple of the artists. And, by share, I mean...plagarize:

First up is an album that spent more time on my wishlist than any other in my wishlist history, (yes, folks my wishlist has a history...approx. 6 years). I happened upon this during vacation, albeit for more money than I've ever spent on a single musical item. But, WELL WORTH IT!!!

AMG's John Dougan:
Plastic People of the Universe
This band's debut may well have been one of the most amazing and radical records to be released during the punk era (or any era for that matter), recorded under the most extreme conditions in the years before punk rock was a reality (1973-1974). Prague's Plastic People of the Universe, and the band they later became, Pulnoc, remain one of rock & roll's great stories of triumph and how great music can be produced and survive even in the most hostile of environments. The band was founded in 1968 soon after 500,000 Soviet troops invaded Czechoslovakia. With the Kremlin not being particularly fond of Western-style rock that wasn't sanctioned by the state, the Plastic People, to paraphrase the Jefferson Airplane, quickly became outlaws in the eyes of Moscow. The Plastic People lived a mostly illegal existence, with two of their members, Ivan Jirous and Jaroslav Vozniak, doing lengthy stretches in prison. Influenced by Zappa, English progressive rock/radical politicos Henry Cow, Captain Beefheart, and the Velvet Underground, the Plastic People appropriated the avant-garde leanings and anti-authoritarian outrage of these bands while working in their own sense of dread and desperation. Remember, according to Soviet law, they could not record, press, and distribute albums or play gigs; still, they did all three surreptitiously, with the help of their numerous artist friends who made up an indefatigable support network known as the Invisible Organization.

Although all of their music remained unheard outside of Eastern Europe (or Czechoslovakia for that matter), their first record was released in the West in 1978. Egon Bondy's Happy Hearts Club Banned was not a proper record in the sense that the Plastic People entered a studio with the intent to record a "rock" record that would be placed into mass circulation. The reality was that these were grubby, lo-fi demo recordings made by friends on primitive equipment and released without the band's knowledge. It also marked the first time the poetry of Czech dissident Egon Bondy was heard outside of Czechoslovakia. Bondy wrote lyrics that meshed perfectly with the Plastic People's cacophonous sound: harsh, dissonant soloing over repetitive odd-metered rhythms. It remains dense, challenging music, totally oblivious to the state-approved pop music.
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Feedback:

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musicgnome
Date: 3/7/2006
Artwork Coming Soon:

Notes Continued: A ferocious government crackdown on the Plastic People and their supporters occurred in 1976. Many of them were jailed, their meager instruments and recording equipment confiscated or destroyed, all in the hope that this troublesome group of avant-garde artistic political radicals would finally be stopped. The problem was that Czech government officials didn't realize that the music of the Plastic People was being listened to in the West (thanks to favorable reviews of Egon Bondy in the British music press and in America in the Village Voice) and that groups such as Amnesty International were now wondering why these musicians were being persecuted and jailed without trial. Although never reaching the fever pitch of, say, Nelson Mandela's incarceration, it wasn't long before the plight of the Plastic People became better known to an outraged Western pop community. After being released from prison, the band managed two more releases in the '80s that were (and still are) extremely difficult to find.

After 15 years of struggle, incarceration, harassment, and violence, the Plastic People quietly disbanded in 1984, but in no way stopped their anti-government activities. Finally, in 1988, a year before the "Velvet Revolution" and the ascendancy of the poet/writer Vaclav Havel (a longtime supporter and occasional lyricist for the Plastic People) to the presidency, the band was given government permission to perform under the name Pulnoc ("Midnight"). With three original Plastic People in the group (Milan Hlavsa, Josef Janicek, and Jiof Kabes), Pulnoc recorded an extraordinary debut for Arista in 1991 (City of Hysteria), and a difficult-to-find live cassette recorded at New York's vaunted experimental performance space PS 122. Unlike the radical, dissonant sounds of the Plastic People, Pulnoc had a more traditional guitar-based rock sound and production polish, but its accessibility in no way detracts from its greatness as a record. There has been little music from Pulnoc since City of Hysteria, though there was a reunion and tour of the country in 1997. But, whatever the case, this story had a much happier ending than anyone could have anticipated. Although much work is required in finding what little recorded work they made, the payoff is well worth the effort.


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Sean Lally
Date: 3/7/2006
i like what i know, including that prunes tune.
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Orchid
Date: 3/7/2006
This looks like a great mix. I'm pretty sure the second track on San Ul Lim 2 is called "Let's Sing". Translations of the song titles are available here: http://progressive.homestead.com/sanulrim.html I'd love to hear that Plastic People album -- the only thing I've heard of theirs is Vozralej Jak Sl Va, and I was blown away.
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hemizen
Date: 3/7/2006
awesome
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sammyg123
Date: 3/7/2006
I'm with Sean. Like what I know. Want to know more. Hint.
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Moe
Date: 3/7/2006
You're unstoppable buddy! Good liner notes too. Look for an e-mail soon.
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gobi
Date: 3/7/2006
Ditto Sean Lally . . .
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blasikin
Date: 3/7/2006
great story. can't wait to hear it.
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Curtis_Burns
Date: 3/7/2006
Wonderful. All hail the Plastic People of the Universe!
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jonpoi
Date: 3/7/2006
The incredible being of tumbling. Up the Plastic. A mix to make Lenny spin. Thanks for making us all worthy.
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Siobhan
Date: 3/8/2006
Wow, great stuff - and evidently you aren't so horrible at liner notes, because those ones are a great read! Cool Strawberry Alarm Clock pick. I admit I'm a bit stumped on some things here, but I like what I know.
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Mo Twang!
Date: 3/8/2006
Cool mix and thanks for including those notes!
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plushpig
Date: 3/8/2006
This is a utterly fantastic mix! I'd like to second you & Curtis on the comments re Plastic People. I remember a review of Egon Bondy which concluded with something to the effect of "don't buy this because it's makers are persecuted; buy it because it's a fantastic record". Says it all really
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Pop Kulcher
Date: 3/8/2006
Looks groovy, though I have to plead ignorance for most of the songs. But any inclusion of Zodiac -- one of the most heinously bad yet wonderful albums ever -- is a good sign.
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French Connection
Date: 3/8/2006
Ignorance is my sad admission here but wow has this got my taste buds droolin.'
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musicgnome
Date: 3/8/2006
Very astute summation of that album. Picking that track amongst the clutter was daunting, but well worth while as that album is indicative of the era.
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musicgnome
Date: 3/8/2006
Oops...sorry... my response was to Pop Kulcher keen observation.
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Nomates
Date: 3/9/2006
The previous comment from Texas Hobart is now, officially, my favourite comment this week. I think it's so good that I don't feel I can add anything worthwhile to the discussion. Of course the mix and presentation maintain muiscgnome's high standards. So all is well.
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Air Raid
Date: 3/9/2006
Great!!!!
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Rob Conroy
Date: 3/18/2006
I know fewer songs here than on other volumes, but I'm sure this mix is very cool.