Writings on the Wall Power of the Picts CD

Double disc reissue of this Scottish bands output. Proto Prog/Hard Rock/Psych are all descriptions applied to this band. Hammond driven rock with a good groove not unlike Deep Purple minus the vocal fireworks.
Disc one is 11 tracks the Power of the Picts LP from 1969 plus 2 singles. The opening track "It came on a Sunday" is pretty massive. Maybe some Vanilla Fudge or Procul Harem or something, my mind fails to be able to drop the correct comparision. "Children on a Crossing" and "Lucifer Corpus" are tracks from even more obscure singles. Both killer. This is worth it for disc one alone, but you get the added bonus of disc two! Disc two "Buffalo" starts out mellower is 12 tracks spanning from 68-72 comprised of demos and leftover tracks. "Buffalo" is on here twice and has a wicked groove.
This description seems to be cut and pasted into every online review. description, or mention of the band so here it is. Sounds pretty Spinal Tap to me "They regularly played the Middle Earth club, went on tour with the likes of Ten Years After, held a lengthy residency at the Marquee where they were supported by up and coming acts such as Wishbone Ash. As others retreated to “be-denimed slothfulness” Writing On The Wall became more theatrical, featuring choreographed fights, dressing up as a Caveman, a High Priest, a Monk and a Witchfinder, and the destruction of a Bubble car in support of the recently introduced breathalyser test.
Melody Maker felt sufficiently disturbed to comment that the band had "the reputation of being violent to frightening extremes". However John Peel was suitably impressed and the band recorded two Top Gear sessions for Radio 1."
Personally I prefer the painted sign they used to advertises the band which is featured in the liner notes, " the writings on the wall three do it standing up two sitting down!!!" Be-denimed slothfulness indeed!
Ork Records reissue.

The Real Graeme Obree World Hour Record 1993

Just a quick glimpse. He rode like that full gas for an hour.

The Flying Scotsman Trailer -Kendall SQ 05/04

Check it. Playing at the Kendall in Cambridge.
Tortured Genuis, etc, etc,

WCP catalog makes me mental

I love cycling, but I have limits. The most recent WCP catalog has some pretty unforgivable products. Assos has pushed the boundaries or price and taste for a long time, but this newest product innovation is amazing. 40 bucks for UV protection and protection from "summer chills"??? Please tell me you are kidding. They're not arm warmers, they are arm protectors..... Nice look on the model by the way.
Second on the firing line is this 400 dollar genital torture device. At least it is 110 grams lighter than its non carbon cousin. Ouch. How can that be comfortable?
Colorado Cyclist aren't off the hook either -Team Slipstream replica team gear. People debate the pros and cons of wearing pro team kit and I am not against it, but until I am getting a paycheck from Jonathan Vaughters, you will not see me rocking this nightmare or this. Imagine how nice it will look after a ride in the rain.

Friday Cycling Action

Garzelli grabs stage 3 of Giro Trentino. Cunego holds the overall. 3 stages left. Could this be a preview of the Giro? Add Simoni subtract Scarponi and Basso? This will be the last chance for the old guns like Simoni, Garzelli,etc to shine and hopefully some young guns come to the forefront
Pettachi and Zabel went 1-2 at Niedersachsen Rundfahrt. Pettachi's second stage win and he gets the overall. He to is looking to shine at the Giro after some a tough 06.
Liege is on Sunday and should be a good one. Gerolstiener and Rebellin have to be the favorites. After that hard to say. Valverde?,Contador? Sanchez? It would be nice to see Bettini come back, but that seems unlikely. A massive attack and breakaway from Jens Voigt should be expected and would be appreciated by me. Predictions for the race once I see the official start list. If you look at last years top 15 you will probably find this years winner....

1 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse D’Epargne-Illes Balears 6.21.32 (41.202 km/h)
2 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick Step - Innergetic
3 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Fondital
4 Patrik Sinkewitz (Ger) T-Mobile Team
5 Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank
6 Martin Perdiguero M.Angel (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems
7 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC
8 Christopher Horner (USA) Davitamon - Lotto
9 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Liquigas 0.04
10 Ivan Basso (Ita) Team CSC 0.07
11 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Liberty Seguros - Würth Team 0.12
12 Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa) Caisse D’Epargne-Illes Balears 0.24
13 David Etxebarria (Spa) Liberty Seguros - Würth Team 0.28
14 Oscar Freire (Spa) Rabobank 0.29
15 Samuel Sanchez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0.31

johan museeuw roubaix 2002

Despite the high odds that he was doped to the gills, this was an epic race. JM attacks from 50K out and holds it for the win. Lots of bad luck for everyone else-except Boonen who made the podium as the heir apparent.

Billy Childish Punk Rock at the British Legion Hall CD

Wild Billy Childish is back with the Musicians of the British Empire. 14 tracks of punk rock brilliance from this certified eccentric Englishman. After 30 years you should know what you are getting and what is amazing is how Childish keeps delivering.
He opens strong with "Joe Strummer's Grave" in which the punk godfather's name is used in a chorus raging against the consolidation of media.
Holly Golighty lends a hand on vocals on "Date with Doug" which is a catchy classic. He waits til track 7 "Walking off the Map" to remind us of his issues with his dad.
Song title of the week/month/year to date "Comb over Mod" lives up to its name with an instrumental rework of some classic surf rock riffs.
If Lungfish have been writing the same song for several albums, Billy has been writing a half dozen or so for the last few years and they are all here-and that is AOK with me.
If you have not seen the Billy Childish documentary that came out a few years ago, do yourself a favor and get it because in this case seeing behind the curtain makes the music that much more fun to listen to.

Foxy disco on 45 whoop whoop

The lifestyle that disco was a part of was so lame that under the spotlight of hindsight,it taints anythin associated with "disco" as lame. Everyonce in awhile a record so ridiculous it is sublime comes along and reminds you why disco was popular and why it still gets recycled today.
Got these 2 Foxy Singles on Dash Records "Get Off" b/w "You make me hot". "Get Off" is disco but it has a funky Vocoder edge with a Kool and the Gang vibe and argubly introduced the "Whoop,Whoop" vocal to the world. Male and Female vocalists sing about how we all need to get off. This is a hard to resist slice of disco especially with the chorus starts blazing. The flipside is not bad but fairly generic. It would be hard to surpass the "whoop whoop" war cry anthem.
"Devil Boogie" b/w "RRRock" is up next. Three years have passed since the "Get Off" 45 and the influence of the Travolat and the Gibbs is evidenced on these tracks. Not bad, but not mind blowing. They still retain a discoy Kool and the Gang feel.
"Devil Booogie" is he better of the 2 tracks.
It's hard to believe that disco was anything but coked out producer driven drivel for shitheads to dance to as they blew their pay checks at overpriced nite-klubs, but I was 7 when these 45s came out and if they came on at the roller rink (Cape Skate Hyannis Mass what) when I was doing my thing I would have been grooving
Some half hearted last minute research unearhted the factoid that Tito Puente's son played percussion in the group.

Richard Hayman "Hare Krishna" 45 Krsna Rock #15

Richard Hayman dropped this 45 Hara Krishan b/w Magic Carpet Ride on Command/ABC records in Side A is an epic instrumental take on the Maha Mantra "Hare Krishna from Hair!" This is an over the top epic. Early synth driven orchestral madness mixed with a ham handed and funky delivery. Massive and clearly a corner stone of the up and coming Indian Cough Syrup mix tape.
The b-side is no slouch either, it takes one run through the chorus of the Steppenwolf classic and then launches on a orchestral synth lounge meander through territory unknown. The most recognizable part of the tune is slowed to a druggy slither that is worthy of some sampling. This is a must grab record. It has a really demented Cantina Band from Star Wars vibe. Command records was founded by Enoch Light and that probably explains the space age instrumentation. Richard Hayman, if this is the same dude, came to prominence as a harmonica player and was an arranger for the Boston Pops for 30 years. How square dudes dropped such a funky masterpiece is a mystery.
This is a serious lost gem.
Outside of name checking Krishna, it has very little in connection with the other records reviewed recently.

Bone Awl Meaningless Leaning Mess LP

The artwork and packaging of this LP made me think Rudimentary Peni and while the production and delivery is cacophonous, this is primitive and brutal black metal. Think Venom and Bathory with a dose of the Finnish Northern Heritage sound and you should know what you are getting. The approach is to trample you under foot. Misanthropic metal. Lyrics are twisted but smarter than your average columbine killer death metal. These guys keep it kult and underground and have released a bunch of limited cassettes and 7"s, but this is their first LP.
NWN pull out the stops with a huge fold out cover. NWN has got some more bone awl records available and their is/was a double 7" available from Hospital productions.

Fleche Wallone Results

1 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner
2 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
3 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Liquigas
4 Matthias Kessler (Ger) Astana
5 Riccardo Riccò (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir
6 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) Ag2r Prévoyance
7 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Team CSC
8 John Gadret (Fra) Ag2r Prévoyance
9 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank
10 Tadej Valjavec (Slo) Lampre-Fondital

1/3 on the podium and 4/10 on the top 10. My longshot Valjavec managed a top ten.
Gerlosteiner are owning the Ardennes and all three podium spots are by former winners. Experience pays off.

Gotta wonder about the curse of the rainbow jersey with Bettini. Terrible season for him compared to last year.

Cunego takes the second stage of Trentino and Petachi scores the win in Germany. All the contenders are shaping up for the giro.

Fleche Wallone Predictions

Midweek madness today with Fleche Wallone. While not as prestigious as LBL it is still a tough race and a big win for anyone. Perhaps some of the favorites for LBL will not go full gas today. Can Valverde repeat? He has been quiet yet consistent this season-not unlike O'Grady before Roubaix.... I predict a podium of Bettini, Sammy Sanchez, and Valverde. Voigt, Diluca, Frank Schleck, Contador, and Ricardo Ricco should be in the top ten

Damiano Cunego won the Giro de Trentino, could the picolo prince finally be ready to kick some ass? Another Giro title could be his if he could time trial better. Especially if Basso gets banned. The Giro could be a real changing of the guard this year with a lot of younger riders ready to step up as GC contendors.

midweek cycling predictions

Fleche Wallone is tomorrow. CSC and Quickstep look strong with Shleck and Bettini. But there are a lot of potential winners Valverde, Contador, Sammy Sanchez, Cadel Evans, Thomas Dekker, DiLuca, Freire etc. And some longshots I like Astorloa and Tadej Valjavec. Based on their Amstel performance, Gerolsteiner need to be taken seriously.
Giro De Trentino starts today as well-4 stages in Italy. Tour of Virginia in the states.
I failed to comment on a race with one of my favorite names, the Tro Bro Leon a second tier French race. That name always makes me laugh. I think it deserves a sister race in America, maybe the "Yo Dude Philly" or something. Anyway it was won by Bouygues Telecom rider Saïd Haddou. Team Slipstream was there and their best place rider was in 15th
Leige on Sunday-between Amstel last Sunday and Fleche tomorrow some potential winners should show themselves. Will someone be able to pull the increasingly common Fleche/Liege double?
The world of doping is heating back up. Landis looks fucked with his b-samples and his lawyer's statements just seemed designed to muddy the waters. Basso is also in trouble and might regret signing that contract that requires him to submit DNA if asked. Not starting Leige can't be good for his build up to the Giro (if he can ride that. On the eve of the grand tours, I don't think cycling's reputation can withstand many more scandals and the multiple governing bodies need to get together and figure something out fast. Pull the teams license if riders are doping and after a couple sponsors sue everyone they can find, the problem should work itself out.

Michael Cassidy Nature's Secret Krsna Rock #14

Krsna rock #12 was a crucial point in my journey into being the world's leading expert on Krsna rock. Some dots started to connect and I was able to discover this record. Michael Cassidy is the common denominator between Golden Avatar and Progress-both on Sudarshan Records. There is a connection to Hansadutta. This record is on Golden Lotus Records(GL-1) Recorded in LA in 1977 falling in between Golden Avatar(76) and Progress(78) 10 songs.

The cover photo needs some serious analysis. A man in monk robes sitting peacefully in the woods with a bunny as a doe approaches him. The picture of serenity. Is that Mike in the robes looking like Mr.Spock? Even better their appears to be another pressing with an alternate cover-a painting rather than a photo.
As far as the music goes this may be my favourite of the Michael Cassidy productions. A little less produced than Golden Avatar. Serious keyboard fireworks are busted out on "Spirit of Reason". "Simple Living" is a nice pastoral ode to the good life that morphs into the Maha Mantra dueling with a guitar. The lyrics are full of Krishna imagery and thoughts. Catchy.
Once again, this is a record you will see listed as "acid folk" or "xian folk", and the cover could get you thinking that, but the music is above average west coast country rock to my ears.

Ride of Silence

May 16th. 7PM. A day to remember those killed or injured on bikes.
Mass ride locations here Suprisngly not one listed in Boston yet
Here is the site for more details.
Even if you aren't on an organized ride, it's worth doing on your one on that day

Disco and Gerlosteiner clean up

Gerolsteiner drop the one two punch at Amstel and leave everyone behind. I didn't even give them much thought but Schumacher and Rebellin stomped on DiLuca, Valverde, Freire, Bettini etc. Rabo must be pissed and of course Boogerd goes out without the win. Classy racer, not much luck. Frank Shelck crashed hard but managed to chase back for 10th a minute plus down. Sammy Sanchez finished a quiet 15th and could be a man to watch in the Ardennes next week.
JJ Haedo gets another win on the last stage of the Tour of Georgia. It will be exciting to see him mixing it up at the Giro. Freddie Rodgriguez got him yesterday so he must have been gunning for it today. Brajovic gets the overall for Discovery. Disco is heavy with guys who can dominate one week races. It will be interesting to see who can hold up for 3 weeks and Leiphemer looks like the go to guy if Basso gets denied. Vandevelde gets 2nd which is great for him and coupled with JJ's stage wins make it a good race for CSC

Dunkin D

I never thought I would write this-especially with the obvious whipping boy of Starbucks out there, but Dunkin Donuts has been pissing me off.
1.This whole trend of people putting a styrofoam cup around their giant plastic bucket of ice coffee??? I am not Al Gore but what the fuck are these people thinking? How about get the size that you can drink before it gets warm and if you want more WALK YOUR FAT ASS back to the DD. Are they supposed to pack it in ice and shrink wrap it for you?
2. Since when has asking for a "black coffee" required answering the additional question "With sugar?". It's like some one changed the vocab and didn't tell me. I used to think this problem didn't go beyond Alston/Brighton, but I have heard it all over Mass.

And I am still waiting for the most obvious Red Sox/Dice-K promotion, when can I order a Dice Coffee? Come on summers coming.