I love me some XTC. I also love their alter-ego The Dukes Of Stratosphear. They only ever released two records - 1985's 25 O'Clock EP and 1987's Psonic Psunspot. The former is a blast of nugget-y psychedelic garage rock, a glorious tribute to the '60s. It's follow up is a more polished affair, but mines a similar vein of music. These were combined for a remastered reissue in 2002 under the title Chips From The Chocolate Fireball. Both sets bookended 1986's Skylarking, XTC's most psychedelic and '60s influenced work to date. I am a big fan of these records. They are exuberant in their recreations of the past, and contain some seriously killer songs. Today's selections come from Psonic Psunspot. Both are dynamic rockers with hooks to spare, big beats and bass, and lots of psychedelic production touches. Great stuff. For more in depth on these records check out Pitchfork's review or the write up at allmusic . 
Dark Meat are a 17 piece psychedelic jazz rock collective from Athens, GA. According to their bio they feature "double drums, shredding guitars, jazz bursts, gospel vocals and marching band horns! Dark Meat lives together, eats together and makes music together, the true meaning of collective - several members live in Orange Twin, a 100-acre sustainable-living eco-village, where members farm, do bio-diesel conversion and host shows at their amphitheater. For three years, Dark Meat has thrilled crowds with earth-shaking, hallelujah-roaring performances throughout the South." The band's past and current lineup include members from Of Montreal, Elf Power, The Instruments, We Versus Shark, Gnarls Barkley and more. They self released their album Universal Indians back in 2006. It has been picked up by Vice Records, expanded with three songs, and is being reissued next week. It is a heap of fun. Loud and raucous, most of the songs sprawl into chaos then re-emerge. You'll hear free jazz, classic rock, the blues, a dash of punk, Celtic folk and so much more. Its like The Polyphonic Spree without the cult appeal, but much looser and cruder too. Here is how the band describes itself on it's myspace page;
The B-52s are one of my favorite bands from the late '70s/early '80s. Their early records were herky jerky new wave smashes, infused with quirky song titles, themes and lyrics. They had 3 of the most unique voices in rock; Kate and Cindy, with their shimmering rock goddess vocals, and Fred shouting crazy one liners in between. They were a great rock band you could dance to. After fading a bit from popularity they made a spectacular comeback in 1989 with Love Shack. The album Cosmic Thing took elements of the old band and presented them in a more polished, produced fashion. 1992's Good Stuff seemed almost like a carbon copy of it's predecessor, and they finally lost my interest - and it seemed like that of everyone else too. It was their last album. Until Funplex hit stores last week. After 16 years they've decided to introduce The B-52s to a new generation. 
I got a rather exciting e-mail from Astralwerks Records yesterday, and this is what it said...
The DFA Records crew are getting heads nodding with their latest signing, Hercules And Love Affair. They are New York producer and DJ Andrew Butler, singers Nomi and Kim Ann Foxman, as well as special guest vocalist Antony Hegarty from Antony & The Johnsons. They enlisted Tim Goldsworthy to program and produce the self titled debut, and it is a disco stunner. And by disco, I mean the good stuff - the '70s underground, Arthur Russell, Ze Records, Giorgio Moroder, Grace Jones and Larry Levan's Paradise Garage mixes all come to mind. It is a throbbing mix of classic disco influences, live instrumentation and current electronic production. There are strings, horns and synths. There are funky instrumentals. And I even like the songs Antony sings on, despite not being a fan of his vibrato overloaded croon. The record was released this week in Europe, with no US date yet. It is fantastic, so I hope America gets a chance to try it out soon.
Today is the 25th birthday of New Order's seminal electro classic Blue Monday. Yes, the 7th of March, 1983 brought the release that would eventually become the biggest selling 12" single of all time, all 7 minutes and 29 seconds of it. At the time I was floored, as it was a big stylistic shift from rock to electronics. I loved it, and still do. I wonder how many times I've heard this song in the last 25 years? Its a guaranteed floor filler that has been remixed and re-released every few years, and more than a few tunes have cloned it's style. If you don't know it, here is your chance to nab a stone cold classic in 3 different takes; the original, the '88 remix and a live version from somewhere in South America in 2006 (from what was reported to have been their last show).
