various artists - The Groups Of Wrath: Songs Of The Naked City

This one was hanging out on a low shelf, all by its lonesome, when i came across it a few months ago. And the title on the spine gave me doo-wop or jazz noir vibes. So imagine my surprise to discover this was a compilation originally compiled by Marty Thau, owner of Red Star Records and NYC new wave impressiaro. Any look at the emergence of punk and new wave is going to gain my interest; the selections herein grabbed my attention:

• A pair of cuts from the New York Dolls' second LP
• Two Thau-produced Ramones demos from 1975
• The first Blondie single on Private Stock ("X Offender" b/w "In The Sun")
• One of my all-time favorite 45s - Suicide's "Cheree" b/w "I Remember"
• Two contributions each from Bloodless Pharaohs and the Fleshtones, both originally appearing on 1980's "Marty Thau Presents"
• A dynamic duo from Richard Hell & the Voidoids' 1982 LP, "Destiny Street"

There's a good chance that you're like me, and you already own a fair amount of these in their original forms, or as reissues, or part of other compilations. But it's nice to share something like this, with very distinctive curaation, and some Bob Gruen photography on the cover, with someone who hasn't discovered this era yet. I probably would have lost my mind if I had gotten this on cassette in 1991; so many groups I now find influential all gathered in one place, the same year I discovered Sonic Youth and Nirvana and Public Enemy. It's pretty cool to think about, which is why my niece is getting a copy of this in the mail in time for Thanksgiving.

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Tomita - Snowflakes Are Dancing

The older I get, the more new age I find myself listening to. I've found a few Tomita records on my sojourns into the world, and they're always a welcome addition to my collection. "Snowflakes Are Dancing" was Tomita's first record to get released outside Japan, his first release on RCA Red Seal, and the first of his five 70s records adapting classical music for the synthesizer. Here, it's Claude Debussy, channeled into quadraphonic Moog. It's just great stuff.

For dorks only: this was ripped from the 1991 CD reissue, produced with Dolby Surround encoding. So, you know, if you still have a hi-fi, feel free to get real loud and blow this out. The later editions have some corny looking artwork that I can do without; honestly, I'd prefer a color scheme on this one that was more in line with the aquas and greens present in the original 1974 art. But if you want to get really buck wild, Music On Vinyl released a 180g reissue of this earlier this year, featuring the original record on crystal clear & white marbled vinyl. It looks pretty sweet, and I'm sure sounds the same.

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Paul Williams - Phantom Of The Paradise

Bup bup bup bup bup bup bup. That's the trenchant insight that comes at quarter til one in the morning. I have the first John Mulaney special streaming in the background; no necessarily the inspiration I was looking for, although I appreciate the chuckles that are sure to come.

I re-watched "Phantom Of The Paradise" the other night and remembered, "Hey! I own a copy of that! Let's write about that!" Paul Williams was always Little Enos from "Smokey and the Bandit II" to me, the guy who wrote all the good Muppets songs and stood about four foot nothing. It wouldn't be until Scream Factory released their Collector's Edition in 2014 that I would even recognize it as a thing; maybe I confused it with "KISS Meets The Phantom Of The Park" and Andrew Lloyd Webber's "The Phantom Of The Opera", both of which I was both overexposed to and underwhelmed by in my youth.

(Sidebar: when I was a kid, I lived near Virginia Tech in southwestern Virginia. All of my extended family lived in the metro Atlanta area. So I'd end up in the back of my mom's 1982 Mazda 626 an awful lot, heading down I-81 with three tapes in the center console: Basia's "Time and Tide", Barbra Streisand's "Memories", and "Michael Crawford Performs Andrew Lloyd Webber". You want to know why I glommed onto noise? There are exhibits A, B, and C. Cruising through the Appalachians, hearing the same Broadway shit over and over and over again. Merzbow was a fucking relief.)

(Second sidebar: I have mixed feelings about KISS. Gene Simmons can go screw, and everything they did, the Ramones did better. But "Detroit Rock City" is a jam, and "I Was Made For Loving You" is a great disco cut.)

Back to "Paradise". It's a horror/musical, a black comedy without any of the theatre kid campiness that comes along with "Rocky Horror". It was independently funded by Edward Pressman, the heir to the Pressman Toy Company, and directed by Brian De Palma in his follow up to "Sisters". The songs were written by Paul Williams and performed by the cast: long-time De Palma collaborator William Finlay, Jessica Harper (in her debut role), longtime L.A. jazzman Raymond Louis Kennedy, and Williams himself. These songs totally slap. It's a mix of mid-70s pop, glam/shock rock, Beach Boys homage, and doo wop. It was nominated for Best Original Score at the 1974 Academy Awards, and rightfully so. It's a really cool soundtrack. The closest thing I can think of to compare it to is Ben Folds' Fear Of Pop project. Williams would move on create the music for "Bugsy Malone", another outstanding 70s cult film that's due for rediscovery.

This rip comes from a copy of the 2001 Japanese CD reissue that I found for $10 in a store north of me. I would have gladly paid twice as much. There also exists an extended version of the soundtrack and score, released in 2015 on bootleg cassette by a Canadian label. If you're sitting on a copy you're willing to part with, holler at your boy. Because that's the only way I'll be able to cop one until I get to start making my own reissues.

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Deep Throat Anthology, Parts I & II

Linda Lovelace and Harry Reems in Deep Throat (Gerard Diamano, 1972)

I've always been drawn to the feature-length pornography of the 60s, 70s, and 80s, aka The Golden Age of Porn. It's not necessarily because of a prurient interest (although I'm not just reading Playboy for the articles, if you know what I mean). I'm interested in it for the same reasons I like watching American International movies from the same period, or listening to lo-fi, limited edition cassettes, or finding yellowing paperbacks at the bottom of a box. It's all low culture shaping high culture; in this case, it's the start of a sex-positive culture.

Also, the music slaps.

I mean, when you're describing makin' LUV to your honored partner, doesn't "BOW WOW CHICKA WOW WOW" come to mind, if not get verbalized? Even if you don't engage with hardcore pornography, the soundtracks are part of our cultural language. They were made by under-recognized composers, who often filled the role as performer. AND they were made under less-than-optimal circumstances: sometimes written and recorded within the space of one or two days.

The soundtracks to Deep Throat and Deep Throat Part II are infinitely interesting to me, and should intrigue you as well. There is little to no background available on the recordings from Deep Throat, due in great part to the U.S. government having seized the master tapes during their 1976 Memphis obscenity prosecution. So no one is quite sure who recorded what, who wrote the score...nothing. It was also a press-only giveaway, so the original pressing is worth a pretty penny.

The soundtrack for Deep Throat Part II, the R-rated sequel released in 1974, is more documented. Kenny Vance, working under the pseudonym T.J. Stone, put together an outstanding slab of sleaze soul. The two tracks featuring vocals from Laura Greene are particularly good. The soundtrack, along with lead single "She's Got To Have It", were the lead releases from Bryan Records, the label wing of noted mob-owned film distributor Bryanston Distributing Company. Bryanston, as we all know, was the short-lived distributor of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Dark Star, The Way of the Dragon, and the Andy Warhol/Paul Morrissey films Blood for Dracula and Flesh for Frankenstein.

Look, this isn't my favorite porno soundtrack (that would be Patrick Cowley's Fox Movies work...duh), but it's more than just a curiosity. Give it a listen.

Discogs

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