Here's an up-close-and-personal performance from ethereal shoegaze rock legends, Slowdive, from their massively successful 2014 reunion tour (which led to the recording of a new album, soon to be released).
Slowdive @ Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen, London, 05/18/2014
Prepare yourself for an amazing sound from LA indie psych-rockers, Emerson Star. The band's own description of their music: "Emerson Star provides catchy indie-rock psych-pop harmony driven tunes for dat ass." Indeed. From their 2016 EP, 'Great Escaper'.
This song is the only non-scored music in Wes Craven's 1984 masterpiece, 'A Nightmare On Elm Street', and plays during the film's end credits. Not much is known about this band, other than they were an LA band that split up soon after the release of the movie. According to message board postings, they had a handful of unreleased tracks and demos that have been in a legal limbo due to disputes between the band members. As of 2009, the band had apparently mended ways and planned on releasing an album. I can't find any information at all beyond that, however.
Keeping with today's theme of music from 80's horror movies, here is the theme/title song from the wonderfully zany and campy, Sorority Babes In The Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama! This one was a late-night favorite, and was shown regularly on USA's Up All Night (albeit heavily edited). The movie was about a couple of sorority pledges (scream queen legends Brinke Stevens and Michelle Bauer) who, as part of their initiation ceremony, must break into the shopping mall after hours and steal a trophy from the bowling alley and return it to their sorority sisters. Assisting them along the way are 3 nerds, and a streetwise thief named spider (played by another legendary scream queen, Linnea Quigley). They accidentally release an ancient imp, who promises to grant each person one wish, without telling them that there is just one little catch: you must pay with your soul!
Guy Moon: Theme From Sorority Babes In The Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama
Here's another song from the soundtrack of a classic 80s teen slasher flick; this time being the wacky musical-horror opus, Slumber Party Massacre 2! The movie revolves around a girl band being stalked/murdered by a rockabilly killer with a guitar-shaped drill and an Elvis complex.
The songs "performed" by the girls are actually performed by a band called Wednesday Week. The actresses (including TV's Wings' Crystal Bernard as the lead) did their best to give the illusion that they were playing instruments/singing, but the band had a different opinion in the documentary, 'Sleepless Nights: The Making of the Slumber Party Massacre Trilogy'...
This rock song is best known for being the song performed during the party scene in the 1988 teen slasher classic, 'Cheerleader Camp' (aka 'Bloody Pom Poms'), starring Betsy Russell, Lucinda Dickey, Leif Garrett, Teri Wiegel and George "Buck" Flower!
Speaking of Lydia Tomkiw and Algebra Suicide (see previous post), here is a rare clip of one of their live performances in their hometown of Chicago, sometime in the 80s.
Lydia Tomkiw is from the music/poetry duo, Algebra Suicide. I remember hearing about Algebra Suicide as a teenager, but I had always assumed from the name that they were some sort of high school punk rock band and never gave it much thought. Then I heard their music. Wow. Beautiful, haunting poetry spoken by Lydia in her trademark monotonic style over the dreamy post-punk guitar riffs of Don Hedeker. I was in love with this music instantly.
This song is from Lydia's 1995 solo album, Incorporated. Sadly, Lydia passed away in 2007. She is surely missed, but her words and music will live on.
No, not that Courtney Love. This Courtney Love is a twee duo from the early 90s, with indie legend Lois Maffeo on vocals/guitar and Pat Maley on drums!
There are a few bands/artists you're going to be seeing quite a bit of here on my blog. The B-52's is one such band. Here is a collection of instrumental songs, versions and karaoke tracks from the world's greatest party band!
The B-52's: Rock Lobster (Instrumental)
The B-52's: Party Out Of Bounds (Instrumental)
The B-52's: Runnin' Around (Instrumental)
The B-52's: Give Me Back My Man (Instrumental)
The B-52's: Work That Skirt
The B-52's: Follow Your Bliss
The B-52's: Roam (Instrumental)
The B-52's: Love Shack (12" Instrumental Extended Maxi Version)
The B-52's: The World's Green Laughter
The B-52s: Funplex (Peaches Pleasure Seeker Instrumental)
*BONUS!
The B-52's: Loveland (Frankreich Instrumental Cover)
Here's my newest Secret Stash mixtape! 70+ minutes of seamlessly-shifting musical atmospheres, including spoken word/comedy, blissful ambient/downtempo electronica, dark industrial, early experimental, indie rock, post-rock, synth pop and even a little bit of Subgenius dogma thrown in for good measure. Sure to make your brain sparkle and shine!
Sleep Clinic: High Above A Frozen Steppe Ron Jacobs: A Child's Garden Of Grass: A Pre-Legalization Comedy (Excerpts) Healer: Continents Darling Kandie: Untitled End John Watermann: Proper Channeling: Left, Right And Centre (Night-Cap For Shirley Maclaine) Meat Beat Manifesto: Want Ads One Memory Cassette: Last One Awake Twin Sister: Milk & Honey Telepathe: Bells Bernard Nguyen: To Climb A Mountain J.R. "Bob" Dobbs: Dobbshole 2 - The Dirty Dogma Hole Western Rebel Alliance: Slewake Code: Parsifal (The Grand Architect Mix) Main: VIII Blue: Diamanda
I love the fact that this footage exists. A full live set from the New Jersey underground synth band, xex! Be a good Bolshevik, don't be no no-goodnik.
Just because, here is Toni Basil covering Devo's 'Space Girl Blues'. The awesome video features Toni dancing with her then-boyfriend, Spazz Attack (who appeared in many of Toni's videos). From the 1982 album, Word of Mouth.
The title song from Jane Jensen's new EP, 'Trust'. I've loved Jane's music ever since her first release on Interscope Records, the 1996 album, Comic Book Whore. Well, okay, I also loved her when she played Juliet in the cult classic film, Tromeo and Juliet, from Troma Team Video, but shhh!
It looks like the French synth collective, Valerie, have broken their silence recently, releasing new tracks, as well as this super neat-o mixtape from College! <3
