Messages

Yesterday I saw Mark had posted a live Clown Alley show from 1986 on his YouTube page:

Is it just me or is he wearing the same shirt ten years later? And I thought *I* hated shopping for clothes.

Cool. Dale had a great sense of fashion back then, very 60s.

Can a guy own two pairs of purple pants or are those the same ones as the solo e.p.?  

Now the question becomes, where are they??
Clues:
- a fire escape
- checkerboard floor
- a piana
- a cactus
- Muddy Waters

News to me!

[always]

I listened to the album and... well, I don't think is bad but I definitely wouldn't call it the greatest one from the last 5 years, BMR is way better and so was their work with Helms Alee... Hell, even the Throbbing Gristle tribute album was far more interesting, eccentric and challenging than this one. And what's up with "She's got weird arms", what the fuck was that?

I can see what you mean. I think it is a bit of a grower this album. But yeah i totally agree on '...Weird Arms' i just find it a bit cringy. Not that it's bad but come on, Melvins are SO much better than that!

I think you guys should stop listening to so much sludgy basic stuff and seek out some Beefheart, Monk, etc. I'm not trying to sound like a dick when I say that - I'm just confused by your initial reactions (which is just fine). This is BY FAR the best thing they've done since Freak Puke. It's good to ask yourself questions like, "what is this??" and "where did this come from??". She's Got Weird Arms has so much going on. There's so much music in it. Listen to the DRUMS. It's got a fucked up Devo vibe and it's fantastic. The same guy who wrote that also wrote Boris, Night Goat, Hooch, Queen, etc.??
Pain Equals Funny does take from Bird Animal but why wouldn't you when that's the best song on Gift Of Sacrifice? What an epic opener.
The repeating vocal parts over the spazzy drums at the end of Working The Ditch is such a left turn for the band and it rules. There's such a great dynamic between the vocals and the drums. It shouldn't be overlooked.
Not a weak song on the album. The heavy riffs are great, the drums are great, Steven (whose style is not usually my thing) is not annoying at all, the novelty of the approach is great. This album is why I will always give the Melvins a chance, even after a very long spell of "not for me" music.
As a Melvins fan, this is an important album. 

Good call. I hear that.

Seconded.

There's a 2022 Pitchfork review of Houdini in which this is written about Buzz:

"He burned compilation tapes, made pilgrimages to the DJ's Sound City record shop in nearby Aberdeen to talk music with clerk Tim Hayes, and even wrote an article for the Montesano Vidette arguing the value of small shows; years later, Novoselic would credit him with bringing punk rock to their community."

I've never heard of this article. Anyone know if it exists?

It's Buzz who was the annoying one. Shut up for a minute and let Dale speak.

3. And what would you wish they would do in 2024???

King Buzzo will finally get his hair inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of fame.

There's not a strand of evidence to support that.

uh-oh ... hair we go again

Tress me, it won't last long.

A bit of t-shirt history for all you cool cats and kittens. Remember that old Melvins shirt that said, "FUCK MELVINS" on one side and "LOUDER THAN SOUNDGARDEN" on the other? A while back I saw a Sabbath documentary that showed this magazine ad:

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/black-sabbath-1970-debut-group-lp-ad-2091408278

I would've put money on it being Dale who voiced the pure digital vocal on Pure Digital Silence. That was as revelatory as finding out the last line in Eye Flys is "to be preyed" not "to be freeeee".
My eyes have been opened and I am a new man.

well i am the biggest zappa freak that i know. actually not many of the people i know care for him at all

Yeah, I'm in the same boat. I only know a couple people who like him at all, which is probably why I bug you guys about him so much. Even the "more discerning than average" music fans I know aren't on board.

what i found out this past year is that i can't make it through those releases like i used to be able to. i bought 6 double cds 4 months ago or so and have only been able to get through 3 and a half of them so far. but they are for sure top notch releases. I think i've just hit my personal threshold and think i can maybe get through one a month.

Yup. I realized the other day that I still haven't heard the entire Mothers 1971 set yet, and I bought that the day it came out. Mind you, 8 discs is a big chunk of content to take in. I also find it difficult to stop once I'm in a Zappa listening phase -- same with Beefheart; same with jazz -- so I have to consciously switch things up.

by the way, anyone else in here donate to the alex winter Zappa movie/vault preservation kickstarter years ago? well i did, and i got a t-shirt and a bunch of other CRAP and my name in the credits. also anyone here seen the movie and what do you think?

I liked it fine but I wish it had more insider stuff. It does what it set out to do, I think: appeal to the general public and maybe pique some interest.

Oops, it looks like I replied to an Oscar who has left the building. Oh well, the thread awaits his return.

I didn't see this thread until today. It's a way, way different story with Zappa. They're not milking it at all. The variety in the bands and arrangements mean that every tour - heck, every night of the tour - is a new and original thing. The vault is filled with legitimate top-quality stuff. Oh, and a bunch of crap from the 80's. 

so, kind of along those lines, what do all you fine folk here at this place think of the zappo family trust doing that very same thing with his vaulted recordings?
hmm?!!
interested in responses

I'm on the fence about it - one the one hand I fully get the Zappa heads that want to hear every note from every tour but I think it's starting to saturate.
I can't sit through four 1971 Mothers shows for enjoyment, maybe to study them on a good day at the most

Seems like Ahmet and Joe Travers are milking it to the last drop, seeing as anybody else of authority has either died or been ousted.

I am a Zappa freak. I keep buying all of the new vinyl they put out, I can barely keep up! Between Zappa and the Melvins always putting out records, I am gonna be in the poor house!

Damn, there will be probably be new releases from both of them dropping long after you've dropped. Which is where the cryogenically frozen Buzz head comes in.

I've become a lot more selective with releases like that but I had to go for the Halloween '73 box and the Roxy performances. Still trying to get my hands on the last '88 show vinyl because I've been streaming the dog shit out of that one.

That 88 show is great! I just got the new Fillmore June 1971 and Rainbow triple LP sets in the mail. I must have preordered them and then forgot? Because I bought them on release day at the record store. Jesus!