Mike also presents capsule reviews of releases by British Sea Power, Goodbye Blue Monday, Anders Parker, Dallas Orbiter, a Bread tribute, The Capitol Years, The Plastic Cloud, Splendid, The Shivers, Reverb, The Love Thugs and A Northern Chorus. Mike also has his CD-R of the Month.

Gary Glauber reviews the latest from The Arts and Sciences and Dum Dog Run.

Michael Lynch reviews the latest from The Demands. Katherine Kim reviews the latest from Jason Moran. Kurt Sampsel reviews a reissue from The Blues Magoos.

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

__________________________________________________________________________

The Subway Surfers Interview

by Michael Lynch

You've just released your first EP, and it sounds great. Are you all happy with it?

FUZZCO: I think it's a terrific little package. Three great pop tunes and a crazy sonic mash at the end. Recording the EP has just wet my appetite to do MORE!

LARRY: It sounds better than I could have imagined. Dane at Grisly Labs in Jersey City did an incredible job and the best thing about working with him is he digs the music. Alan Douche's mastering is the icing on the sonic cake. It's a great job of capturing the Subway Surfers, especially the power of Fuzzco's vocals, at that time and I can't wait to get in the studio with Rocco and Doug.

Where was it done?

FUZZCO: The recording was done at Grisly Labs in Jersey City. We totally lucked into finding that place, It was suggested by Jeff Jefferson of the Swingin' Neckbreakers. As it...

MORE >

__________________________________________________________________________

Two Book Reviews

by Katherine Kim

Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation
by Jeff Chang

(St. Martin's Press)

www.stmartins.com
www.cantstopwontstop.com

Where You're At: Notes from the Frontline of a Hip-Hop Planet
by Patrick Neate
(Riverhead Books)

www.riverheadbooks.com
www.whereyoureat.com

Hell was alive and kicking in the Bronx in the 60's and 70's. Thriving in the mix were unemployment, burning buildings, gang violence, racism and police brutality. Then there was a gang peace treaty followed by a rise in community activism. Activists were forming "organizations" as opposed to "gangs." There was a message activists wanted to get out to the youth in their communities. It was a message about Black solidarity, about identity, about justice. Some of the key messengers were DJ Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa. Their vehicle was music and initially both their message and music were not widely accepted outside of the Bronx. This is the background from which hip-hop music originated. Cut to 2004. The message is still political: "Vote or Die." The messenger is P. Diddy, his vehicle is a Bentley and the public cannot get enough of him, his clothing line, his $35 million home, his wealth, his fame. It is this phenomena that is researched and observed in two recent books about hip-hop culture: Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation by west coast hip-hop music writer Jeff Chang and Where You're At: Notes from the Frontline of a Hip-Hop Planet by British writer Patrick Neate.

This pair of books...

MORE >

__________________________________________________________________________

Our Only Hope For Winter: The Michael Mazzarella Interview

by Gary Pig Gold

One of the undeniable audio-visual highlights of that otherwise bleak late 04/early 05 season was the arrival in my mailbox, one promising morning indeed, of the latest Michael Mazzarella disc.

Now, new offerings from this good man - be they Rooks, solo, or otherwise - have for nigh on an entire decade and counting been universally acclaimed as most welcome additions to any discriminating music lover's cache. But this latest release is something even more special: a full, living colour DVD by Michael "with The Fellows of Mortimer," chronicling twenty-one numbers both familiar and fresh, newly recorded and captured in a true, stunningly understated fly-on-the-wall fashion worthy of Let It Be or, more aptly still, John and Yoko's original Imagine video album.

In fact, even those...

MORE >

________________________________________________________________________

Rock 'n Roll Snobs: Admit It, You're One, Aren't You?

by Mike Bennett

Rock and roll was a working class phenomenon. It arose from hillbillies and sharecroppers, and it was animalistic and sexual. It was all about the beat and whether you could dance to it. But as country and blues and jazz and Western Swing and folk all converged to become rock and roll, and then become a music sensation in the ‘50s, snobs were already entering the picture. Think about the movie Diner, with the character who was an obsessive record collector in 1962.

Really, snobs are everywhere. Food snobs...

MORE >

_________________________________________________________________________

My Career Was Saved by the Internet!: The Louis Phillippe Interview

by Robert Pally

The new CD by Louis Philippe aka Philippe Auclair, who has released albums since 1983, sounds like an elegant and poetic breath. If you like Brian Wilson, Chanson, Easy Listening, a touch of Jazz and suberb harmony vocals you will love this frenchman. In the interview, he talks about angry songs, his England, record labels and his ongoing love for the swedish popband Eggstone.

Robert Pally: You seem to be very disillusioned

MORE >

__________________________________________________________________________

So Much Music, So Little Time

by Kevin Mathews

Please forgive me, faithful readers, as I indulge in shameless self-promotion.
Still there…? OK.

Come May 12th, a humble Singaporean movie (cost - around US $122,000) will open Directors Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival 2005. My good friend, Eric Khoo, directed and co-wrote the film and I wrote the music. I did it as a personal favour to Eric and after he showed me a very rough cut, I was inspired to write what I hope is the soundscape that will do justice to his artistic vision. To be honest, never in my wildest imagination would I dream that this little movie would grace the screens at Cannes but there you go. I understand that...

MORE >

__________________________________________________________________________

Further Observations From a Jangly Musical Fan

by Eric Sorensen

April was highlighted by Roger McGuinn's annual visit to the greater Washington, D.C. area for a solo show at the Barns of Wolf Trap. Roger played 25 songs during his set and encore, and he alternated between his signature model Rickenbacker electric 12-string guitar, his signature model Martin acoustic 12-string guitar and his Martin HD7RM seven-string acoustic guitar. McGuinn made an effort to please everyone in the audience by playing a number...

MORE >

_________________________________________________________________________

The World is Round: The Age of Age

by Alan Haber

I've kind of been looking forward to my birthday this year, as opposed to past years when I really didn't. No reason in particular-just a general aversion to event-oriented, calendar page turning. This year I'm turning 50, which is a half-century to you and me, but especially me, unless you're turning 50 too, in which case, happy birthday to you.

I've been looking forward to this year's birthday because, well, I just want to get it over with and done. I guess turning 50...

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

________________________________________________________________