Harmony in My Head Broadcast Notes for 11-29-04

It’s Sunday evening and writing these notes was my relaxation period. Now back to the grind. I am pounding away at some military history books and while the writing is clear and to the point, it’s hard to take in and hard to stay with. I am hitting the books every day in that perilous autodidactic mode some of us get into, and some of us can’t get out of. I am looking forward to getting to the radio station tomorrow evening as it will be a long day of press and work at the office (http://21361.com/). That show of mine, Henry’s Film Corner has its first outing on Saturday December 4th, 9 pm west coast time, midnight eastern time on IFC. One thing about the show I don’t know if I mentioned is that your favorite guest, Heidi “The Racket” May has her own part of the show and the first episode’s segment is a killer, she rips me a new one live in the studio. She’s an American classic—or something. So there’s been a lot of press to swat down and we’re having the year end releases at the company go out so I am working day and night trying to fulfill all my obligations and basically keep Heidi off my back. So tonight’s sonic Jihad will be a light break in the overwhelming tedium that this coming week promises. I will be taping an interview on Tavis Smiley’s show on PBS on 12-01, I don’t know when it airs and I don’t know what we’re going to talk about but he’s cool and the last time was good and you get a free coffee mug so it’s not so bad. But without a doubt, the best thing about this week is this incredible slice of music we have here. Thanks for listening and thanks for giving me so much leash to run with. It’s great to read the mail and see how open minded people are with listening to some of this stuff. Hail Satan, kill whitey and thanks for listening. Henry

Phil Lynott – Soul of a Black Man: From the Solo in Soho album. The other logical track to play on a show like this would have been Dear Miss Lonleyhearts but I resisted temptation and threw this one into our heady mix. Here’s the potential deal breaker on this track and I can’t withhold information, that’s the President’s job, the harmonica track is done by Huey Lewis. I know. But at least the lead guitars are done by none other than long time Lizzy man Scott Gorham. This song reflects some of the grief that our Philo took for being a black boy in Ireland. Talk about a Rock Legend.

Dome – Cancel the Order: From the Gilbert and Lewis project Dome. This track is from Dome 1. Of all four records they did, 1 is my favorite. You might know Gilbert and Lewis from some band they were in called Wire. They were ok, I guess. No Nickleback but ok.

Wolfman Jack – Phone Call: Like we heard Dewey Phillips last week, here’s another air tape of another legendary real radio man, the Wolfman. When I first got to LA to be in Black Flag, we were living in an office building around from the 7-Eleven on La Cienega a little north of Santa Monica Blvd. Mugger and I went there one night and saw the Wolfman walking out of the store and back into a limo. He gave us the nod and slipped into the back. Check him in the George Lucas masterpiece American Graffiti. If you haven’t seen that one, run do not walk. It’s where I initially got hook of 50’s rock stuck deep in me. Oh yeah, this track is from The Legendary Wolfman Jack Howlin’ on the Air CD on Big Ear Music.

Hendrix / McLaughlin Jam: Since last week when we listened to Mahavishnu Orchestra’s track Birds of Fire and I talked about the Hendrix / McLaughlin jams, many of you have written in and basically said, “If you got ’em, then play ‘em.” Duly noted. This is the one that I like the most. If it’s on that massive purple Hendrix box then forgive me as I have not played that thing in quite awhile and it’s not close by at the moment. There’s a lot of things that Hendrix bootleg listeners have had for years before record companies saw fit to release. Same thing happens with the Beatles bootlegs. Anyway, tonight’s version of this piece is from a boot CD I bought about fifteen years ago called The Master’s Masters

Roky Erickson – I Am: I am sure this has turned up on at least one other dodgy semi-official Roky release but I got it from the Gremlins Have Pictures CD on Demon. Demon’s a real label so I’m sure the Rok’s getting his due. Now that America’s showing its Christian side, I think I’m really getting into the whole Satan thing. So, we’ll be featuring music that mentions and celebrates Satan. Even though I don’t have any religious beliefs, I do believe that any fucking Christian who gets in my way will soon see that God is of no real help on the street. Have I said kill whitey yet?

Crime and the City Solution – Adventure: I initially checked out this band because Nick Cave associates Rowland S Howard and Mick Harvey were involved. That Swell Maps Epic Soundtracks was involved as well was icing on the cake. The celebrated Australian romantic Simon Bonney fronted the band. You can see him and the band perform in the very fine Wim Wenders film Wings of Desire. There are two versions of this song. The version found on the Room of Lights album and the version found on the Adventure 12”. I prefer the 12” version but INDIE 103.1 DOESN’T HAVE A TURNTABLE NOR WILL ITS CD PLAYERS PLAY CDRS. Fatwa time! But boy, if they had either one of these things, I could really open this show up, you have no idea. Anyway, Crime is not for everyone, the music and singing can be a little bit of a downer but I think they were great and it was awesome to see them live in DC in the summer of 1986.

Nitro – Freight Train: Finally a band that sounded like you’ve always wanted a hair band to sound. Their hair was about two feet off their heads, and thanks to merciful and all knowing Allah, they made the indispensable OFR album. Out Fucking Rageous for you university students. 1989 Rampage Records. Hard to find but so is true love a cup of coffee.

The Fall – Marquis Cha Cha: You may have this one on CD but how many of you have this as a single. About as many of you who care about the question. OK, I know. Easily one of the rarest Fall singles. What’s the hardest to find? The Flitwick single? The one-sided promo with the demo version of Two Librans? I don’t know. Thankfully this great song is readily available on the Room to Live album. Another great one from the unstoppable Fall.

Hawkwind – Veterans of a Thousand Psychic Wars: From the 1999 Party CD. A recently discovered Hawkwind multi-track tape from Hawkwind’s Chicago Auditorium show March 21st 1974. What an great record! If you’re a Hawkwind fan, this is a must have. Amazing sound quality and what a show. All that early Hawkwind pre-Lemmy and Lemmy era are great.

Archie Shepp – Malcom, Malcom-Semper Malcom: From the very fine Fire Music CD in Impulse! Shepp’s an angry and articulate man. I don’t have all his records and some of the ones I have I can’t say are all that easy to get to but worth the ride. http://www.archieshepp.com/

Hamell On Trial – No Delays: From Hamell on Trial’s very cool The Chord is Mightier than the Sword CD. I saw this guy rip it once at Irving Plaza. One man and an acoustic guitar. What a show. He plays all the time. If you see him listed anywhere, check him out because he is really a great song writer and performer.

Gene Defcon – Psycho Freakout: From the genius Come Parry with me 2000 CD on K records. It says on the back that only 2K were pressed so if you find yourself liking this, you might want to get it sooner than later. www.kpunk.com for Gene info. You should also check out the other incarnation of Gene as a member of the Prima Donnas. Their studio album Drugs, Sex & Discotheques released by your friends at Peek-a-Boo is a brilliant piece of work.

James Carr – You’ve Got My Mind Messed Up: This is from the Essential James Carr CD on Razor and Tie. James never really got into the mainstream of Soul when he was making records. He might be as well known for his mental problems as his incredible talent. Please Please Please read this article by Robert Gordon on Carr. No matter what you think of this Carr track, the article and interview with Carr in it are really cool. At least read the part where Carr talks about waking up from dreams and going out on a long voyage. Whoa. Here ‘tis: http://www.wfmu.org/LCD/20/carr.html

Lee Scratch Perry – Secret Laboratory (Scientific Dancehall): I know. Many Scratch Perry purists will want to know why I picked such a overproduced album of his to draw from and why didn’t I go with something from Satan Kicked the Bucket or Message from Yard. Someone gave me this record many years ago and I like it so tonight we listen to this not so obscure Scratch track. Lee Scratch Perry is responsible for more good music than is healthy.

Robert Pete Williams - Talking Blues: Here Robert Pete Williams tells us about how he beat the electric chair. I first heard this in 1986 I think. Blew my mind. He spent many years on probation after getting pardoned, thanks to the great Harry Oster and was luckily recorded several times before he passed away. He’s like Fred McDowell, there’s no bad Robert Pete Williams records. http://www.fatpossum.com/artists/robertpete.html

Link Wray – The Shadow Knows: From the Original Swan Recordings on Norton. If it weren’t for brave labels like Norton, music would be in worse shape than it is now. Another killer track from a REAL all American Bad Ass.

The Nymphs – Just One happy Day: From the Nymphs one and only album. Weeks ago, we listened to a track off one of her solo records. This is off her big as budget Geffen record from many years ago. I have known Nymphs vocalist Inger Lorre for about 18 years now. I don’t know if this album is still in print but I bet you can find it. OK, just back from the Amazon.com and there’s a bunch of them used there for a couple of bucks.

Laibach – Geburt Einer Nation: I first heard this song played over the 9:30 Club PA system in 1987. I remember laughing out loud. Laibach has done some really cool stuff. Their album of Beatles covers was pretty cool. This is still my favorite song. Ya! Ya volle!

Butch Willis – The Girl’s on My Mind: From the must have Repeats album on the mighty Teenbeat label. There’s not a bad second on this album. There’s a few Butch records on Teenbeat but this is my favorite.

Velvet Underground – Lady Godiva’s Operation: From the White Light White Heat album. Dangerous music from a band who was so ahead of its time, their best work still makes countless new bands seem like cowardly amateurs.

Charles Gayle – Receive: From the Delivered album on my label. I was so proud to have Charles on my label. He’s a good man and a great musician. Too bad for me and Charles, it is incredibly hard to sell out be-bop to people. Some of Charles’ performances I have seen are some of the most visceral and engrossing sets I have ever witnessed. After we did this record, Charles embarked on a very ambitious project with the budget I gave him. The sessions turned out great. Really great. They’re all sitting unreleased. Charles is a serious sax man. You can hear his work with the Rollins Band on the Weighting CD.

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Thanks for listening.