Notes from the underground.

JUST CAUGHT A NEW FILM about glammed-out proto punks New York Dolls' Arthur "Killer" Kane, entitled New York Doll, The story follows his rise and demise with the Dolls, his subsequent conversion to Mormonism, and his last hurrah reunion concert a couple of weeks before his death. There's some great old footage and interviews with people like Bob Geldoff and Chrissie Hynde, and the film was made by a Mormon so it covers that angle pretty heavily, which makes it somewhat bizarre (the notable absence of swearing throughout, for example, or the attempt to square the circle of a cross-dressing, drug-gobbling rock star with his new faith-filled white-bread persona), but a good flick nonetheless. A lot grittier is the documentary All Dolled Up, filmed over three years in the early '70s, which shows the whole band, warts and all, in New York and on a West Coast tour (some of the footage of the band dressed up and walking through airports is hilarious for the "civilians'" reactions). It's rough and shot on black and white, but it's got some great footage of shows, the Halloween bash at the Waldorf Astoria, and some bonus stuff ... A few more videos worth checking out include Voivod's DVOD-1, which shows the Canadian death/ industrial metal band at their prime early on and entering into their weirdness phase, and Queen's Under Review, 1973-1980. The latter covers Queen's heyday, from glam-inspired to rock opera writing to top 40 hit makers, and you can follow the progression of Freddie Mercury's mustache throughout the whole thing ... Another worthy video to check, despite its cringe-inducing title, is Tress-Slashing. It's a slightly Barney-fied and NorCal oriented look into trespassing and slashing pools, with some names you might or might not recognize. Put it on at your next Barney party ... Movin' on to them rekkids, Reigning Sound has put out another kick ass LP, Live at Maxwell's, that's got most of the best of their tunes--and the sound quality's pretty damn fine, too. Don't sleep on this amazing band ... Finally found a record to challenge my Bob Crewe Generation Music to Watch Girls By LP as the swanky record of choice for background music at dinners and cocktail parties. Check out Jo Siffert. Live Fast--Die Young on Dionysus. It's actually a soundtrack for a movie dedicated to the Swedish racing legend that did die young, performed by a band called Stereophonic Space Sound Unlimited. The record is as though it was from the swingin' '60s, with vibraphones, weird sounds, bongos, loops, effects, etc, and it's catchy as all get out. If the film is anywhere as good as the record, I'll have to check it out ... The Clorox Girls are backing up their uber rare debut 7" with a 12" EP entitled This Dimension, which of course has a song of the same name, from the 7", as well as another gaggle of raw and catchy distorted nouveau wave-punk-pop. If you missed the 7", now's your chance to see what the fuss was about ... On the much messier and noisier side is the third LP by the Black Lips. Yikes, if your parents like this, they're seriously fucked up, and you can tell 'em I said that. Sounding like a juvenile delinquent hopped up on a sugar fix mixed with cough syrup, this shit stomps. Fans of that recent King Kahn and BBQ LP will be diggin' this as well. Look for Let It Bloom on In the Red ... Let a sad but distorted note knell to mark the passing of Link Wray, an originator and power chord innovator most famous for poking holes in his amp's speaker to produce the trademark rumbling guitar sound on songs like, well, "Rumble" and "Jack the Ripper" (the 1958 song "Rumble," an instrumental, was actually banned in some places as it was thought to inspire street fighting and violence). No two ways about it, Link Wray was a badass who kept playing shows right up to his last days, and though he'll be sorely missed, his legacy on rock and roll is firmly imprinted ... Finally, a quick note to labels and bands: I am leaving the US of A to live in Indonesia for at least nine months, which means I can no longer scrounge the local record stores to trade in the shitty promo stuff I get for the killer shit. I will be getting monthly boxes of stuff, and will be jonesing for new, good music, so don't hesitate and send that shit to: PO Box 419, Tempe, Arizona 85280-0419.