John Peel's annual rundown of listeners' fifty favourite tracks of the year, 'The John Peel Festive 50' became a Christmas institution more loved than fairy lights and Christmas crackers.
Compilation of tracks of various bands (including the Damned as ‘School Bullies’) recorded live at the Moonlight Club, West Hampstead in 1979.
Noisy and experimental, Britain's Swell Maps experienced little commercial success during the course of their chaotic career, but in hindsight they stand as one of the pivotal acts of the new wave: not only was the group an acknowledged inspiration to the likes of Sonic Youth and Pavement, but their alumni - most notably brothers Nikki Sudden and Epic Soundtracks - continued on as key players in the underground music community. Although Sudden (vocals/guitar) and Soundtracks (piano/drums) formed the first incarnation of the Swell Maps as far back as 1972, the group did not begin to truly take shape until 1976, when the siblings enlisted bassist Jowe Head and guitarist Richard Earl. In the spirit of punk's "do-it-yourself" mentality, they formed their own label, Rather Records, and issued their debut single - the brief, jarring "Read About Seymour" - in the early weeks of 1978. Local media support soon won the group a distribution pact with Rough Trade, but they did not resurface until over a year later with the single "Dresden Style."
Originally an EP called For the Rest of Us (1998, Kill Rock Stars), Yep Roc's new version is a full-length, now entitled For the Best of Us. This new, expanded version includes five previously unreleased songs recorded during the same sessions as the EP. "I want to put it out again because we can and because it sounds cool," says Doe. And he's right, it does sound cool. It sounds great. Ever since the landmark discography of the punk rock band X, Doe has been a vital, poetic and important figure in the world's musical landscape. For the Best of Us represents some of his most exciting work and marks the beginning of his fruitful collaboration with producer Dave Way (Macy Gray, Sheryl Crow) that has since yielded four albums, including 2005's Forever Hasn't Happened Yet, which was hailed by a long list of critics as one of the top ten albums of 2005. There's an all star band on For the Best of Us featuring Smokey Hormel (Johnny Cash, Tom Waits, Beck) on guitar, Joey Waronker (REM, Beck) on drums, and Tony Marsico (Matthew Sweet) and Steve McDonald (Redd Kross) sharing duties on bass. And because there was no record company or specific release in mind when recording the album, the sense of adventure and freedom is audible. "We recorded it in '96 and '97, a time when things were still pretty open as far as interpreting rock and roll music," Doe says. "So, we certainly felt that - a sense of adventure - when recording it."
Allo scioglimento dei Dicks , nel 1986, Gary (voice) e Lynn (drums), insieme ad altri musicisti di San Francisco, formano Sister Double Happiness, uno dei live combo più infuocati della west coast del periodo, proponendo una miscela di hardcore, blues, country e folk a supporto della potente voce di Gary.
