"The recordings are lo-fi, a mix of circular, chorus-effected guitar
with a drumbeat like a circus carousel (up, down, up, down, up, down).
The vocals crash in and out like a warbled Emo Philips singing about
dogs and cantaloupe. It’s epicly damaged, the stuff of outsider music
fans’ wet dreams."

http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/5942

Al

> "The recordings are lo-fi, a mix of circular, chorus-effected guitar
> with a drumbeat like a circus carousel (up, down, up, down, up, down).
> The vocals crash in and out like a warbled Emo Philips singing about
> dogs and cantaloupe. It's epicly damaged, the stuff of outsider music
> fans' wet dreams."

One track of the album is available for free from my website
Weirdomusic.com:
http://tinyurl.com/2fd2nc3

(with kind permission of the label of course)

best wishes,
Marco

http://www.weirdomusic.com

Weirdomusic.com
PO Box 26
6400 AA Heerlen
The Netherlands
marco@...

Does anyone have an mp3 copy of Sooty and Sweep's single from the early 70s
"Super Sonic Sooty Spug"?

Thanks!
~LR

"In 1977 Gary Wilson famously released a uniquely bizarre and personal
album titled You Think You Really Know Me..., full of electro-funk,
proto-new wave, noise collage, and avant-garde jazz. Despite the fact
that the album's fans included Beck, Questlove from The Roots,
Simpsons creator Matt Groening, and Stones Throws' Peanut Butter
Wolf,widespread fame and notoriety eluded Gary Wison until the 2002 re-
release of his debut album. Soon after media outlets like Pitchfork,
The Village Voice, and The New York Timeswere talking about the
lecherous outsider artist, remarkable as much for his idiosyncrasies
and DIY aesthetic as his edgy and creative music."

http://tinyurl.com/28wyn2a

Al

just wanted to pass the word along on a new CD, compiled by the cartoonist Pat
Moriarity: "A Tribute To Bad Lyrics."  Details here:

http://patmoriarity.blogspot.com/

My personal favorites are Daniel Davies (Dave Davies' son) covering the infamous
song-poem "Gymanasium Girl" as an aching Jeff Buckley-esque song of longing, and
Tim Gazaway turning Rodd Keith's "Space" into a 100% convincing piece of
Southern-fried boogie rock.  It's a great package, and totally worth your $$.

cheers
James

Incorrect music dept:

""When South Korea last blared propaganda and obnoxious music from 11
sets of loudspeakers along the border with North Korea, the North
threatened to turn Seoul "into a sea of flame." So Seoul is cranking
the music back up again."

http://gawker.com/5657852/south-korea-turns-the-music-back-up-along-border-with-\
north-korea

Al

"Hyperbole and silence wrap around Catherine Christer Hennix’s music
like the black and white of yin and yang. La Monte Young and Henry
Flynt have praised her merger of music and mathematics for decades
(well, initially his merger — Christer Hennix was born in 1948 and
took the name Catherine when she adopted the female gender in 1990).
Hennix hasn’t exactly promoted herself; while she’s lived and
occasionally performed in Europe since the early ’90s, until now she
hadn’t made any records. Until the release of this volume, the only
way to hear Hennix was in person, on certain Henry Flynt records (C
Tune, Purified By Fire, and Dharma Warriors) and via Ubuweb."

http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/6008

Al

Check out these playlists made up of his 1990 solo debut Statement and
his stunning Credibility (2006), respectively.


http://www.youtube.com/user/SteinarSol#g/c/36B2AA7180C6076A

http://www.youtube.com/user/toodrunktomakelove#p/u

"Jim Sullivan wrote one amazing – and as it turns out oddly predictive
– record, and then disappeared while traveling from CA to TN. Leaving
behind his car, guitar, wallet, and countless questions we will most
likely never know what happened to Jim…. but we will always have the
lore and music that he left behind."

http://lightintheattic.net/artists/292-jim-sullivan

Al

"It was 1977 when twenty-three-year-old Gary Wilson released You Think
You Really Know Me. He recorded the album in the basement of his
parents’ house, bestowing upon his songs hormonal titles like “Groovy
Girls Make Love At the Beach” and “6.4 = Make Out.” In turn, his
tracks reflected the oddball nature of their creator, coming together
as a wonderful mess of cabaret jazz, squashed funk, chaotic new wave,
and teen idol fawning. Similarly, Wilson’s performances drew heavily
on his love of avant-garde theater and art—things that piqued his
interest when he was twelve-years-old—and he frequently played wrapped
in various items that obscured his face. While his shows were
unpredictable, their outlandishness was not. To the wonder of his
audience (and to add to the peculiarity of his performance), he often
threw flour (or paint or chocolate milk) in his face. Wilson’s music
demanded a strong response from anyone who came across it. Hardly
anyone did."

http://www.waxpoetics.com/2011/01/gary-wilson-wants-to-talk-to-you/

Al

A few months back I was told about a new release from Rotate the Completor from
a fan who had ordered `Completed Rotations of the…' from the man himself by
sending as recommended a self addressed envelope containing a blank 90 minute
audio cassette tape to R.T.C's Tauranga P.O Box number. Upon its return
contained within the package was a press release for the follow up – titled,
`The Completed Rotations.'. A copy of this can be seen in the photos section of
the Rotate the Completor Fan Page.

Excited about the prospect of a follow up to one of the strangest debut albums I
have ever heard and eager to hear some new material having been a little less
than two years since first receiving a copy of `Completed Rotations of the…' I
immediately sent a tape of my own to P.O Box 2000, Tauranga, New Zealand (His
only known contact detail if you wish to write to him).  A month or so after
doing so I received my return package (and first reply!) however due to having
been out of the country for the past month I have only just been able to fully
investigate the contents of this.

Addressed to Fan Ingham, a pun on my name – Stan, the package contained a
booklet called `Rotate the Comdeors: Comedic Rotations of the…' . This is a
small comic charting a stand up comedy performance by a series of crudely drawn
pictures of a long haired, goateed comedian who is presumably meant to be Rotate
the Comedor/Completor (though as the hair is drawn very long it makes me curious
to know when this was drawn as no date is marked. For when I met him his hair
was shaved very close to the skin and even looked to be thinning!) annotated all
in type written lower case letters (except for the cover title) with a mixture
of disturbing/humorous/silly observations on himself and life in general.
Contradicting my original belief that he was an idiot savant here he proves
himself to be quite a sharp, insightful but highly misanthropic, neurotic type
with possible personality disorders.

Personal favourites include:

"if one meditates for a long time, it is possible to open up the 3rd eye…leaving
you with an all knowing glow of inner peace. However if one masturbates for only
a very short while they will definitly open the japs eye…leaving you with a ball
blowing white flow and thinner piece."

"supposedly girls are becoming more sexually adventurous at a younger age…but I
would disagree, why just ask yourself what is slag when it is spelled
backwards."

"growing up, girls want horses, boys want horse dicks. Grown woman are paid to
have sex with horses, men pay to watch these ladies having bestial intercourse.
Is the horse therefore the truly dominant species?"

"I don't like sex, the first time I was ever naked and inside a vagina I had a
bad experience…I was born"

As a fan it's really quite remarkable to read this because up until this point
apart from the admittedly dodgy analysis I had done upon meeting Rotate the
Completor many moons ago we really have no idea still as to who he is even
though his album is available world wide. But reading this I can see his
intelligence, depression, laziness, hatred, passion, flaws all through this
booklet and even if comedic licence is to be ignored it still paints a picture
of an artist very unique in his way of thinking if not a tad mentally disturbed.
If you write to Rotate the Completor or order his music off him directly then I
would highly recommend requesting a copy of `Comedic Rotations of the...' as it
seems to offer more insight into his psyche than his music allows due to the
lo-fi nature of it.

Which leads me to the next item of my package, one cassette tape titled
R.T.C-E.P on the index of the inlay card, the cover as seen in the pictures
section of the Fan Page is a photo copy of a rather dark, abstract (crayon?)
drawn picture of a closed gate, with a road leading up a hill. The back of the
inlay card continues his apparent distaste for song titles by continuing the
tradition of not naming any of the 6 songs contained on this E.P. They are
instead numbered as such; 1.)a , 2.)b, 3.) c etc. Only one direction is provided
for listening to this work – `listen outside'.

R.T.C-E.P you may be wondering but what has happened `The Completed Rotations.'?
Good question and one that I cannot fully answer but if the press release to
`The Completed Rotations.' is fully analysed it seems to give a very vague
indication as to when it would actually be released citing that it's release
date would be `within time' and more tellingly these lines from the very end of
the press release "and so he stowed. till which time. the demand grows. then he
will release. the completed rotations. his masterpiece…" Being that he sent me a
copy of the press release with R.T.C-E.P one can presume he is still not ready
to release `his masterpiece' to his fans yet but I will send another tape to him
just to be certain.

But getting back to R.T.C-E.P. For this release but hopefully not forever Rotate
the Completor has ceased operating as a one man band, playing for the most part
un-assisted except for a finger slide on some songs and possible reverb an
intriguing and dare I say more mature version of the folk/delta blues that
`Completed Rotations of the…' ended on with song 11.) . The songs here are
incredibly stripped back and sound very pained and lugubrious in parts.
Refreshingly without the clamour of the drums his lyrics to some degree can be
deciphered – and seem to relate to trying to leave but being unable to which
would help to explain the album covers winding road and closed gate. His voice
while still containing an endearing wavering quality but sounds more seasoned
and at times highly aggressive. Musically the songs seem to verge on a bluesy
style but played in a highly idiosyncratic style unlike anything else that has
come before it. The first couple of songs seem like natural progressions  on
from `Completed Rotations of the..' (though I presume this is the unofficial 3rd
release) but it is as the E.P nears its end that it really impresses with some
magical and very frail songs. Song 6.)f must rank as the finest crafted song
I've heard in a long while.

This tape continues to grow on me with each listen, the songs while technically
perhaps less adventurous than on `Completed Rotations of the…' have a beauty and
emotional resonance that is incredibly addictive and over powering (especially
when listened to outside, however don't try this in the northern hemisphere if
you want to avoid frostbite, wait till your summer rolls around!). I thoroughly
recommend ordering a copy yourself via the P.O Box number but as I'm a good
friend I have posted two of my favourite songs on the Fan Page (Love the slide
guitar!) for your listening pleasure. Let us know what you think…

Forgot to say, for those that don't know the group is located at
www.myspace.com/rotatethecompletorfanpage.

You know whenever I read about the myths surrounding so called outsider
musicians I often questioned their legitimacy as well. Even the
accepted/irrefutable ones such as Daniel Johnston, Syd Barrett, Jandek - it has
always played on my mind that these musicians could very well be in control of
their musical destinies and were creating their stories and myths as they went.

But with Rotate the Completor it is even more subject to question and intrigue.
When I met the guy busking in Tauranga I thought it was the silliest most
ingenuous  thing ever, his songs were the perfect mix of ineptitude, insanity
and originality that seemingly only the socially or mentally removed are capable
of creating. Coupled with the fact that Tauranga is a self conscious city that
stifles and actively prevents those that are different from the norm (due to its
own ignorance) lead me to believe that this guy was a possible candidate for the
outisider genre.

And for that I am to blame more than anyone. Rotate the Completor for all I know
never wanted his music to be heard anyone outside of myself. But due to being so
astonished by the contents of 'Rotate the Completors: Completed Rotations of
the...' and so appalled by the lack of any decent local music I decided to make
it my mission to foist it upon a wider audience. Difficult, lo-fi, bizarre album
that it is, it seemed apparent that the only market for his music would be
within the outsider music community so to there I turned and with an admittedly
romanticised retelling of my encounter with RTC I helped start something that I
still don't if RTC appreciates or wants.

His avoidance of me firstly when I met him and later via my letters was I
believed due to extreme introversion or insanity but reading his comic 'Comedic
Rotations of the...' he comes accross as an insightful, intelligent yet
misanthropic chap. So who knows? Is he a Jandek wanna be or just a man that is
and was trying to avoid me because he finds me to be a leacherous, intrusive,
little parasite riding the coat tails of his own creativity that he didn't want
to encourage? Is he embarrassed by his music and hiding his true identity to
hide from the shame (unlikely, he never would've granted permission for it to be
released to a greater audience if that were the case)? Incredulous by the
success of it, but aware of the power of a good story and thus keeping the myth
going by remaining hermetically sealed to his fans? Does he even know that his
music is successful? Or is he a true outsider? Does he even hate being labelled
as an outsider? Until the man reveals himself we may never truly know...

Recently shown at the Mercury Cinema. Space g is a new fourteen minute doco
about the Australian rapper/outsider artist who battles mental illness to get
his album made. See it here- http://youtube.com/retter2critical

Wild Man Fischer
Derailroaded DVD
(MVD Group, 2011)

"I first ran into Larry “Wild Man” Fischer on Haight Street during the
Summer of Love. He was wandering though the crowds of hippies and
clouds of marijuana smoke with a manic gleam in his eye and his mouth
hanging open. He was tall and moved with a curious gait, all elbows
and knees. People instinctively shied away from him, although he was
dressed in the usual brightly colored garb of the day: Yellow dashiki
and jeans. Suddenly, he’d turn on his heel and stick his face into
yours and shout, “Want to hear a new kind of song? Only 10 cents.” If
his intended customer pulled away, he’d increase his volume. “Only 10
cents. All original. Come on. What have you got to lose?”"

http://www.crawdaddy.com/index.php/2011/01/21/film-review-wild-man-fischer-derai\
lroaded/

Al

One week only:

"What are song-poems? Filmmaker Jamie Meltzer answers that question
and takes a look at the eccentric characters surrounding them in this
funny documentary."

http://pitchfork.com/tv/#/episode/2527-off-the-charts/1

Al

"If you weren't such a dickhead
  If you weren't so completely unapproachable
  If your rage was remotely normal
  We'd have nothing
  Nothing in common at all." -- DG

The 1998 album of my late best friend, aka Decorous Garth, is now available
online.

http://www.archive.org/details/CodGoblet

It tells the tale of a guy who returns to the family house after the death of
his father, and who is driven so nuts by bad job prospects and lack of water and
such that he finds himself resorting to making computer music.

Produced by yours truly as a bootleg / surprise Xmas gift back then.  (I made
him 50 copies at the time.)


--
* Radio Free Entropy: http://just-john.com/jjMusic

Hi Everubody. I looking for information about where i could acquire the music of
Ken DeFeudis. Thanks.

http://wfmu.org/

Time for their annual fund drive marathon and I think this will be of interest
to everybody on the list.  Check out the shows and the swag for donations.  (I
wear WFMU t-shirts all the time.)

http://www.crawdaddy.com/index.php/2011/03/25/zoogz-rift-1953-2011

"Those tone-deaf belters humiliating themselves for our amusement help
explain why we think we’re better than the experts."

http://www.miller-mccune.com/culture-society/american-idolatry-so-bad-you-just-g\
otta-be-good-28198/

Al