The Feel Of Your Steering Wheel

Christiane F. - Wunderbar (1982) (buy)



Christiane F. - Heimweh (1982) (buy)



Christiane F. - Wonderbar (1982) (buy)

Three slabs of stiff, upright funk coming at you today from Christiane F. aka Vera Christiane Felscherinow probably aka at least a couple others if you happened to be hanging around Bahnhof Zoo, the rendezvous point of choice for many a junkie and prostitute in mid 70's Berlin. Born in Hamburg, at an early age Christiane moved with her family to the concrete high rises of Gropiusstadt in West Berlin. By age 12 she had started smoking hash, and by 14 she was on the street. After interviews with Christiane for an expose of the drug scene ran past their expected duration of two hours to two months, a series of articles appeared in news magazine Stern. Later a narrative book, Christiane F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo, partially ghost written and incorporating input from witnesses such as Christiane's mother would appear. The book provided the basis for a movie, Christiane F. in English speaking countries, Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo for German speakers, directed by Uli Edel and scored by David Bowie, Christiane's favorite singer.

Rock Stepper

Melba Moore - You Stepped Into My Life (1978) (buy)

One upping the Bee Gees on their own material is no small order, but the extent to which I've saturated myself with this one in the past 48 hours seems to suggest Melba Moore at least started getting close. String stabs in all the right places, airy snaps, flange guitars, clean guitars, sometimes even no guitars, and just enough bass on the off beats to keep it moving. Get your perfection fix.

P.S. If you're in Downtown LA this Sunday night, say, maybe around 8:30 I'll be at the Downtown Independent spinning before and after screenings at the LAVMF's All Your Friends! (Part Deux). Close out the film fest the right way, and we can go car tipping after.

Can't Stop Won't Stop

Lakeside - It's You (1978) (buy)



Lakeside - Keep On Moving Straight Ahead (1978) (buy)

Lakers just pulled it out. I can hear car horns outside my window and feel the auto insurance rates rising by the second, so tonight I'm going Lakeside with a couple of tracks from the 1978 album 'Keep On Moving Straight Ahead'. Solar Records. All you need to know. There might be an aNYway hiding out in one of these, so let the half-barring begin.

Gangbusters

Gary's Gang - Let's Lovedance Tonight (1978) (buy)



Gary's Gang - Do It At The Disco (1978) (buy)



Gary's Gang - Showtime (1978) (buy)

Seen cuts from this one album served up in various other spots but most people focus on edits of the title track 'Keep On Dancin'. For my money, and by that I mean the dollar I spent a week ago, it starts with 'Do It At The Disco', which Mr. Oizo cracked open a while back (and Calling In Sick fried in a pan until the fire alarm came on).

It doesn't stop there though, title track aside. 'Showtime' falls somewhere between Earth, Wind and Fire and a 78 - 82 New York disco compilation. 'Let's Love Dance Tonight' tickles that Loose Joints spot in my brain I forget about now and them. Keep on keepin' on.

Roar Like A Dragon, Cry Like A Dove

Fabulous Freddie Star - Vanity, I Wanna Be Your Bodyguard (Club Mix) (1986) (buy)



Fabulous Freddie Star - Vanity, I Wanna Be Your Bodyguard (Instrumental) (1986) (buy)

Throwing out the B side of a single I picked up over the weekend which could one could definitely read as a direct shout out to Vanity, the woman Prince proclaimed his female reflection. Aside from referencing three of her songs - 'Nasty Girl, 'Pretty Mess', and 'Under the Influence' (thanks to this Prince.org poster) - this song crams in Mr. T, Rambo, uzis and atoms. All in one breath.

Just wait for the part about Cleopatra.

Pontoon Rock

Jesse Johnson - Burn You Up (1986) (buy)



Jesse Johnson - Do Yourself A Favor (1986) (buy)

Still riding that warm weather funk kick - here's a couple stabs from O.G. Time guitarist Jesse Johnson. Looking California, feeling Minnesota.

Another Dark Chapter

Chapter 8 - Don't You Think It's Time (1985) (buy)

I'm pressing play on this like a rodent in a pleasure center experiment. If that's a little unsavory for your taste hopefully you've already gotten yourself into the same loop and will let it slide... like this track.

Whatever - it's June. Everybody get those funk signs in the air.

Traumarama

Paper Bag - Rain On Benares (1987) (buy)



Paper Bag - Through Your Eyes (1987) (buy)



Paper Bag - Monkey Jack (1987) (buy)

When you think of the SST record label chances are your brain goes straight to the Minutemen or Sonic Youth, Meat Puppets, Dino Jr. etc. etc. etc. If you don't know that story you owe it to yourself to look into it. If you do, where, you may ask, is your brain to turn?

Don't turn, just keep going in the same direction - today we take a peak into Greg Ginn's storage unit and see what else was going on in Southern California twenty years ago. These tracks come from Paper Bag's 1987 effort Ticket To Trauma, an album purportedly assembled entirely from freely improvised first takes. Live fast and die young didn't stop at the recording studio doorway.

Today's post was not a first take.