Carry That Head, In That Burlap Sack

Clay Allison - First Time Live (Unknown Venue, Possibly 1983)

I first heard Opal (having only read a review of the first Clay Allison vinyl but never finding a copy) driving home from work through a blizzard. "Rocket Machine" came blasting out of the shit speakers of my shit Subaru and I fell in love and I turned the Shitaru around and risked my life driving back into town to get to the nearest record store as fast as possible. They were just closing up due to the storm, but let me in so I could grab their only copy of Happy Nightmare Baby. I don't remember driving home, but I spent the rest of the night listening to this incredible, precious, beautiful THING over and over and over again. The Shitaru is long gone but I still got Opal.

HISTORY: This came to me on tape years back, labelled as Clay Allison's live debut, no date, no venue. We'll take it as given until proven otherwise. More electric than I would've expected it to be if it truly is their first gig but it really doesn't sound like live Opal, either. I'll give you some live Opal soon so you can compare.

There's nothing in print to buy from Clay Allison, Opal, or Kendra Smith. This is very, very, very sad. All you can do now is tipple your absinthe and cry, boys, cry.

* According to one commentor, if this really is the first Clay Allison gig, then it was at Cathay de Grande in Hollywood, CA.

Yes, That Is the Sound of a Human Mind on Overload

Julian Cope - Live at Tokyo Hibuya Hall, Japan (7/27/85) Part 1
Julian Cope - Live at Tokyo Hibuya Hall, Japan (7/27/85) Part 2

Julian Cope - Live at Tokyo MZA Ariake, Japan (4/5/89)

Julian Cope - Live at the Derby Assembly Rooms, Derby UK (5/8/91)

I love Julian. I never heard the Teardrop Explodes until after hearing Fried, but I can relive every moment of the first time I heard Fried in my head. It was epiphanic, ya know. Still one of my favorite records of all time. Still a fan 20+ years later. So should you be. Why aren't you? Do you wear safety mittens in the kitchen? Are you afraid of fire? Those are not excuses. That's just fear talking, baby, fear!

And if you haven't been, go visit St. Julian. Buy Julian Cope's shit!

Goddamn American Music! Yee-haw!

The Blasters - Live in Cleveland, OH (1985)

I can't think of a better way to kickstart this sick mule than with a blast from...The Blasters!

You say you love that alt.country crap, eh? Then bow down and worship before the mighty Blasters. Without them and a scrappy nation-wide handful of American music lovin' crazies way back when, you wouldn't have your alt.crap today. (Not that I have anything against alt.crap. I mean, some of my best friends listen to it. There's nothing wrong with it. It doesn't make them evil. Really.)

Go to The Blasters' website and buy their shit. Now!

Welcome to The New Disease

Ain't the old disease, that's for sure. No more futzin' around, folks. The End Times are a-comin' - and we need to get some serious love inside us to survive. Jesus is an obsessive music fetishist, I'm led to make-up, so I'm doing my part to save your souls here.

The focus: Mainly but not limited to live music from the 1980s, because I'm sick of music histories that start with the Sex Pistols, jump to Nirvana and say "That's all, folks!" Really, was you all sleeping through the 80s? Don't you remember?

What you'll get: High quality rips (320, kiddies) of live performances from my ridiculously vast archive of bootleg material. Nothing posted here will be commercially available or have been commercially available.* Jesus don't like sneak thieves, no He don't!

All right, that's my screed. Now let's get some music up.

Kisses,

gomonkeygo

* If I post something I find later to be commercially available, it will be yanked in a savage fashion, shattering the cosmos and leaving small children crying over the bloody remains. This is my promise to you!

(Also, if you are or were one of the artists here presented and don't want your fans to enjoy your old musical performances - but you're not a dick, are you? - just contact me. Nice and friendly, now, no sudden moves.)