Mike also presents capsule reviews of releases by Solomon Burke, The Wonder Stuff, Planting Seeds compilation, Hell's House Band, Pop Boomerang compilation Vol. 2, Jackdaw 4, Dave King, Heap, Smash Palace, Wanderjahr, Jarvis Humby, The Soundtrack of Our Lives, a Zip compilation and The Satelliters. Mike also has his CD-R of the Month.

Gary Glauber reviews the latest from The Mockers, The Fire Apes, Jackdaw4, Vinyl Kings, Sparkwood and Paul Gilbert.

Kurt Sampsel reviews a reissue from October Country.

James Baumann reviews the latest from Nic Armstrong, Branden Blake, Manic Street Preachers and Manda and The Marbles.

If you are a first time visitor, visit our About Us page. Click here for back issues.

__________________________________________________________________________

Ten Reasons Why the Sex Pistols Should Be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

by Gary Pig Gold

Yup, what remains of the music industry awarded themselves some more fools' gold recently, and all in the once-hallowed name of Rock and Roll. And by inducting Buddy Guy, Percy Sledge, The O'Jays, Pretenders, U2, uber-promoter Frank Barsalona and head Sire Records honcho Seymour Stein into their very own Hall of Fame, the usual grimaces 'n' gripes surely do apply (i.e.: Frank did indeed first bring The Who to the previously-sedate USA, and The O'Jays once booted Mike Love off their stage when he vainly attempted to board the Love Train. But "When A Man Loves A Woman" certainly notwithstanding, why was Percy given the nod before say, oh, Arthur Alexander, and the esteemed Mr. Stein...

MORE >

__________________________________________________________________________

Take Me Out to the Ballgame As Long As They Don't Play Any Bob Seger

by Mike Bennett

Well, baseball season is here. And you know what that means...more shitty music at the ballpark. At least at the ballparks I go to. Whoever the geniuses are that decide what music plays at games, they are apparently tutored in mastering the obvious and worshiping the cliched. My primary experience is from Chicago White Sox games, but I haven't heard any evidence that things are much better at Wrigley Field, and watching various baseball telecasts seems to confirm that, for the most part, music at ballparks sucks.

Oh, there are some good moments. I went...

MORE >

__________________________________________________________________________

Every Woman, Every Man is a Star: The Fabienne Shine Interview

by Robert Pally

Fabienne Shine was the front woman of the legendary seventies french hardrock band Shakin' Street, that included at one time Ross the Boss (Dictators, Manowar). She was one of the first woman to front a hardrock band. In the interview she talks about her old band, her solo carer, Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), Damon Edge (Chrome) and her plans for the future.

Robert Pally: What was your first contact with music...

MORE >

__________________________________________________________________________

So Much Music, So Little Time

by Kevin Mathews

First quarter over, already?

Yikes!

Only nine months to do all the things I've planned for 2005. Attain financial freedom, get a few albums out, compose a couple of soundtracks, and write my book and so on…guess I better get this column done, huh?

Blurb-O-Rama: Disarmed & Fatuous

Relient K MMHMM (Gotee)
Sharp and edgy punk pop is the order of the day with Relient K and being a band of Christians, there is an uplifting...

MORE >

__________________________________________________________________________

Further Observations From a Jangly Musical Fan

by Eric Sorensen

A long, cool March usually means that April will be very colorful with blooming flowers and blossoming trees in the Washington, D.C. area. This year, it also means that the cherry trees around the Tidal Basin will peak in conjunction with the annual Cherry Blossom Festival - rather than two weeks too soon. There were plenty of cool new discs and jangly tunes to keep me entertained during the cold, damp days of March. Here are some of the recent additions to my music library that may interest the rest of you jangly music enthusiasts:

Topping the list is Richard Snow's brand...

MORE >

_________________________________________________________________________

The World is Round: Radio, Schmadio Part Six Stern Warning

by Alan Haber

For the past five months, I have been talking about all things radio and, really, to get right down to it, the pathetic shape it is in. As I've said, it's up to satellite to save the universe. Terrestrial radio will survive, but its pulse will be faint on its best days.

You can look at satellite radio as a blank canvas on which is being drawn a grand plan for growth, centering around the promise of serving niche audiences like never before. Okay, maybe an all-polka channel is a bit of a stretch, but you get the idea.

MORE >

_________________________________________________________________________

The Beach Boys: The Definitive Diary of America's Greatest Band on Stage and in the Studio

By Keith Badman
(Backbeat Books)

October 2004

by Michael Lynch

Well, lately it seems like every major band of the 1960s gets one of those "everything they ever did and the date they did it" books, thanks to Mark Lewisohn's bar-raising Beatles bibles, so here's one for the California boys.

Keith Badman gives an exhaustively detailed rundown of every Beach Boys recording session, concert (with many setlists), television appearance, record release date, and notable personal going-on between January 1961 (Mike Love's first of many marriages) and December 1976 (a 15th anniversary concert at the L.A. Forum), with the years before and after summed up in paragraphs...

MORE >

_________________________________________________________________________

Everyday (Everyday) I Read the Book

by James Baumann

Too Fast To Think
(Ramones by Nicholas Rombes: Continuum Publishing)

No one ever accused The Ramones or their music as being brain surgery. That being said, I found it interesting that of all the titles I've read in Continuum Publishing's 33 1/3 series, the one covering The Ramones debut album has taken the most academic approach with its subject.

Nicholas Rombes, who is an...

MORE >

__________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

Thanks for visiting. Please explore, and we hope that you make us your virtual

Home.

________________________________________________

To reach any other page contained in this month's update on Fufkin.com, read the home page for the appropriate link and click on it. You can also search the site from any page using the search box located at the top of each page. Merely type in the word, phrase, name of the band, recording, name of the Fufkin writer that you are looking for or Whatever in the search box, and then click on "Search". If you would like to e-mail us, go to the About Us page for a list of e-mail addresses.

Go back to the home page by clicking here

________________________________________________________________