Amoeblog

MARC BOLAN: ANNIVERSARY OF THE ORIGINAL GLAM ROCKER

T-Rex's Bolan, who tragically died in a 1977 car accident, would have turned 60 today



September 30th, 2007:   Had he lived musician Marc Bolan would have celebrated his 60th birthday today.  The UK artist who fronted T-Rex (originally known as  as Tyrannosaurus Rex in their pre glam days) scored a ton of hits including the brilliant 20th Century Boy (see video above). collaborated with David Bowie (he played guitar with Bowie and also shared the same producer -Tony Visconti), and was arguably responsible for glam rock (thanks to T-Rex's  Visconti producted sound coupled with his unique & smart fashion sensibility including an affinity for wearing boas & sporting glitter onstage - long before any other artists did), tragically died in a car crash at age 29 on September 16th, 1977.  He was just two weeks shy of his 30th birthday. Today in the UK several low-key events are planned by fans of the late great artist, and in New York a concert event was scheduled to celebrate his 60th birthday anniversary - to be  attended by Tony Visconti, Patti Smith, Robert Gordan, his son Rolan Bolan and others.

But even before I realized that today would have marked Bolan's 60the birthday he had been on my mind a bit this past week. The reason being that  every time  I hear Devendra Banhart's voice I can't help but think of Marc Bolan who he is more than a little reminiscent of.   And in the past week on the radio I've been hearing a lot of Devendra Banhart because his recommended new album Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon  (XL Recordings) dropped. Pick it up at Amoeba Music and while you are there pick up a T-Rex release if you don't already own one or more.   Meantime for more background reading on Marc Bolan check out this website  or his fan club website. Or do a YouTube search for such videos as "Jeepster" or "Get it On (bang a gong)" or better still, as I said,  hit up the Rock isles of your nearest Amoeba Music.

Posted by Billyjam on September 30, 2007 at 10:31am | Post a Comment

San Francisco Is Still Doomed (Still)

Amoeba talks with Crime’s Johnny Strike and Hank Rank
San Francisco’s legendary early punk band Crime is back and Amoeba is hosting the unveiling of their new LP (vinyl only folks!) Exalted Masters with an in-store performance and signing on Friday, September 21st at 7:00pm. But wait, there’s more! Frontman Johnny Strike will also be signing and his new book A Loud Humming Sound Came From Above, published by Rudos and Rubes.

Crime was formed in 1976 by Johnny Strike, Frankie Fix, Ron "The Ripper" Greco (ex-Chosen Few/Flamin' Groovies), and Ricky James. They ripped post-hippie San Francisco a metaphorical new one when they released their first (and many say Punk’s first) single “Hot Wire My Heart / Baby You're So Repulsive.” There was no mistaking these guys for mere rockers; they mixed a rebellious and sexually-charged image (they were most often seen flaunting their vampiric, just-outta-rehab good looks in tight leather, regulation police uniforms, or old-time gangster duds) with their unique blend of intellectual and furious lo-fi rock and roll. Crime found local refuge at the now legendary Mabuhay Gardens, but became nationally notorious after playing a gig at San Quentin Penitentiary in full police uniforms (of course).

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Posted by The Bay Area Crew on September 13, 2007 at 04:47pm | Comments (9)

(In which Job wrestles with his subconscious mind and recommends an album.)

It’s seven-thirty in the morning; I’ve just rolled out of bed after a weird and ultimately unhelpful dream about being accidentally tossed off the Thunder Mountain Railroad ride at Disneyland, after which I ended up drenched in water and yelling at Timothy Dalton, who was working as a security guard, for not believing that their stupid ride malfunctioned and landed me in a private parking garage.

Seriously. That’s what I was dreaming. Is it any wonder I’m awake an hour before normal? I mean, who needs that kind of crap? I am like, totally giving my subconscious mind the silent treatment today.

Two things are helping salvage my mood. One is writing this to you, of course. The other is listening to Jobriath.



This dude’s story is mostly tragic; one of the casualties of the music industry. He was glam at a time when glam had just started retiring. Bowie had already reinvented himself as a Zoot-suit wearing soul singer. Even so, Jobriath was promoted by Elektra Records as though his debut album would be more popular than The Beatles, and subsequently, God.

His half-naked frame was plastered all over cities at a time when we weren’t used to seeing such things. (I mean, nowadays it’s like, “Oh, a huge billboard of two, scantily-clad beefcakes frolicking in a pool together… in an advertisement for Toilet Duck.”) Jobriath’s first album was inescapable, and it hadn’t even been released.

So that, when it finally did hit the shelves, though it was critically acclaimed by many, it couldn’t live up to the hype that had come before it. Jobriath was eventually abandoned by his management and lived the rest of his life out in relative obscurity; his major legacy being an example to record companies on how NOT to handle a new act.

Posted by Job O Brother on June 30, 2007 at 08:17am | Comments (2)