Mahjongg "Hot Lava"

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Mahjongg
RaYDONcoNG 2005
CD
(Cold Crush Records, 2005)

Mahjongg opened for Pretty Girls Make Graves and the Constantines here several years ago. Despite only catching their final two songs, I was impressed enough to pick up their debut EP, Machinegong, that night. I saw 'em again (a full set, too) when their first album, RaYDONcoNG 2005, came out and they were even better. This track is from the album, and was one of the two that I really dug at that first show.

Since then, they've released a couple more excellent albums, Kontpab and The Long Shadow of the Paper Tiger, but their MySpace hasn't been updated in two years, so I'm not sure what their status is.

They switched it up on instruments, so I'm not sure which members are which, but the guy who played bass on this song (I think) was wearing a t-shirt with two, intersecting, pink triangles the first time I saw them. When I bought Machinegong at their merch table that night, I asked him if he was gay, based on the shirt, and he said he was.

Styx "Witch Wolf"

Styx
The Serpent Is Rising
LP
(Wooden Nickel, 1973)

Man, Cornerstone really ticked me the heck off! Sure, Styx had been going downhill since John Curulewski left (after their fifth album, Equinox), but this was beyond the pale! Not only was there the execrable Babe, there was not a single song that even slightly rocked! I sold it in absolute disgust, then sold all the rest of my Styx albums (I had the first eight). OK, I held on to Equinox for a couple more years; so sue me.

Years later (like, decades), I rebought the first five albums and was able to dig 'em once again. Guitarist James Young, aka JY, had a knack for hard hard rockers, and Witch Wolf from The Serpent Is Rising, their third album, kicks ass quite nicely. Back then, you see, they had yet to devolve from a rock'n'roll band into a crappy Broadway musical about a crappy rock'n'roll band.

So why are they here today, you demand to know? Bassist Chuck Panozzo came out several years back as gay and HIV-positive and, sadly, no longer plays with the band. Then again, Styx've been utter crap since the late '70s, so it's not like he's missing out or anything.

Hal Russell NRG Ensemble "Linda Jazz Princess"

Hal Russell NRG Ensemble Hal Russell NRG Ensemble LP (Nessa Records, 1981)

Today's piece is from the debut album by the NRG Ensemble. Sure, on the cover it says Hal Russell NRG Ensemble, but I always think of them simply as the NRG Ensemble. I guess part of that is due to the fact that they dropped the "Hal Russell" part of the name when Ken Vandermark took over as leader after Hal's death in 1992. Then again, all the albums were credited to the Hal Russell NRG Ensemble prior to that. Anyhow! Wikipedia says the NRG Ensemble "could be broadly described as post-bop," and I'll agree, as I'm just terrible at discerning the various bops: be, hard, and post. It's all jazz to me. But it's not Greek, as they were from Chicago. They also could go pretty far into ferocious free abandon, when they felt like it. I like that, 'cause I like noisy stuff, man. I have no idea who Linda is, but Hal must've had a thing for her, as there's also a fine tune called "Linda's Rock Vamp," which first appeared either as a bonus track on the CD version of their third album (of nine), 1984's Conserving NRG, or their fifth album, 1992's The Finnish/Swiss Tour. I have no idea when the CD version of the former was released. So sue me. Or don't. Actually, no, please don't.

The American Breed "New Games to Play"

The American Breed Lonely Side of the Street LP (Acta Records, 1968)

Gap had this ad several years ago for stretch jeans with a song that sounded a bit like The Troggs crossed with Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass. I mean, the singer reminded me strongly of The Troggs' primary vocalist Reg Presley, but I was pretty sure it wasn't him, as the music was horn-driven pop. Back then, Gap's website had info on the music they used in tv commercials, so I clicked around and discovered it was "Bend Me, Shape Me," by a group called The American Breed. I checked Amazon and found there was a CD collection from 1994, Bend Me, Shape Me: The Best of The American Breed, but it was out-of-print and selling for close to $100 at the time; I decided to pass on it. Not too long after, a new new & used CD store opened a few miles from our house, and I, of course, was compelled to check it out. After a perusal of the bins, I walked out $8.56 poorer but holding a copy of said CD.

ONO "Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?" "Roll Away" "Mass of the Angels"

ONO
Ennui
LP
(Thermidor, 1986)

I first heard these guys on the Starving Dogs compilation cassette back in 1983 or '84. it was Chicago0-area bands and primarily hardcore, so ONO really stuck out like a sore thumb. A really cool sore thumb, though.

This triptych of overlapping pieces is from their second album, which followed the delightfully entitled Machines That Kill People.

Air "Suisse Air"

Air
Montreux Suisse Air
LP
(Arista/Novus, 1978)

As you may have guessed, this is not the French electronic duo Air, but, rather, an American free jazz trio from the 70's & 80's:

• Henry Threadgill (alto, tenor and baritone saxophones, hubkaphone)
  
• Fred Hopkins (bass)
  
• Steve McCall (drums, percussion)

I started listening to Air when I found out Henry Threadgill was a member. The first jazz artist that resonated with me was Threadgill. My college radio show used to follow the last jazz programming of the day (I was a rock DJ). Almost invariably, if I liked something and asked Steve (the DJ) what it was, his answer was Henry Threadgill.

The first Threadgill stuff I got was the albums he did with his combo The Henry Threadgill Sextett, and they were mighty fine. I think Montreux Suisse Air was the first Air album I bought, around twenty years ago. Or possibly not. It was recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival on July 22, 1978. I like it.