Anna Wildsmith is a versatile woman. Poet and one-time chef, it’s her foray into the industrial world which has earned her the most attention. In one breath she goes from sexy siren (Strip) to…well, fucking scary (Manripe.) The sexuality she puts forth in her work is both powerfully alluring and at the same time disturbing (Ssik, Jo the Lover.) Versed in multiple languages, she incorporates this into her songs, reciting poetry in French (Gentille Petite Fille), Italian (Working For God) and even Japanese (Cry Baby.)

Generally most effective when you’ve just been jilted but also great for all year-round fun!

PIG vs. Sow:

Gentille Petite Fille (1994)
Manripe (1994) If you only download one song from this post, I strongly urge that it is this phenomenal one.

Sow:

Ssik (1998)
Jo the Lover (1998)
Strip (1998)
Working For God (1998)

PIG:

Cry Baby (featuring Anna Wildsmith) (2002)

What more can I say other than Jennifer Charles has been gifted with the most beautiful, engaging, ethereal, and downright sexy voice I've heard in ages?

Rope of Weeds (2000)
Hearts Are Open Graves (2000)
Mermaid (1996)
Bayonne (2000)
Shooting Stars (2004)

And today I present the letters A through G:

A - The Authority Box - Robyn Hitchcock & the Venus Three (2006)
Abba Zabba – Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band (1967)
Any Colour You Like (Azimuth Coordinator) – Pink Floyd (1975)

B – Best of Everything - KGC (2006)
Bert’s Blues - Donovan (1966)
Bombers – Tubeway Army (1978)

C – Cordoba - Brian Eno and John Cale (1990)
Coke, Suede and Waterbeds – Sopwith Camel (1972)
Contract – Gang of Four (1979)

D – Dead Finks Don’t Talk (1973)
Disconnected-The Creatures (1999)
(Don’t Worry) If There’s A Hell Below, We’re All Going To Go – Cutis Mayfield (1970)

E – Ella Guru - Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band (1969)
Elvis – Oblivion Dust (1997)
Ether – Plastic Tree (2000) (Bastard wouldn’t convert to MP3…ah well, maybe it’s just my free converter, but it’s certainly a song worth having in any format)
Excuse, Excuse – The Seeds (1965)

F – Freeway – Porno For Pyros (1996)

G – Genetic Engineering – X-Ray Spex (1977)
Gentille Petite Fille – Pig vs. Sow (1994)
Giants – The Bolshoi (1985)
Guts – John Cale (1975)

Ah, so I'm off for the weekend, had a great night last night, and woke up to a sunny morning. So here's a very random edition of Groovy Decay. Enjoy!


X-Ray Spex - Art-i-ficial (1978)
Porno For Pyros - Porno For Pyros (1993)
Athletico Spizz 80 - Where's Captain Kirk? (Live from Urgh! A Music War)
Dead Kennedys - Night Of The Living Rednecks
The Bolshoi - Sliding Seagulls (1985)
Japan - Adolescent Sex (1978)
Love - My Little Red Book (1966)
Oblivion Dust - Erase (1997)
Tubeway Army - Dream Police (1978)
Death Cult - Ghost Dance (1983)
The Cure - Primary (1981)
The Slits - Shoplifting (1979)

The finest music to grace the earth. When my headache isn’t so splitting, I’ll elaborate on this a bit more so without more ado, here be the MP3s:


Siouxsie and the Banshees: Jigsaw Feeling, Metal Postcard
The Soft Boys: The Pigworker, Insanely Jealous
Adam and the Ants: Beat My Guest, Plastic Surgery
Gary Numan and Tubeway Army: Jo the Waiter, Thoughts No. 2
Gang of Four: Ether, Damaged Goods
Dead Can Dance: East of Eden


Part two coming when I get around to it!

Sopwith Camel were one of the early groups to come out of San Francisco in the mid-to-late sixties. I’m not terribly knowledgeable about them and up until a few months ago I’d only heard early material from a record my dad had in his collection. A few months ago ineedthechunky played me 1972’s “Fazon” and I was pretty impressed, particularly by the departure in sound from the first record. The Miraculous Hump Returns From the Moon is a fine album made up of rock/funk/jazz numbers and brimming with social commentary. Oh, and it’s a thoroughly seventies sound, which can either be a good thing or bad thing depending on your viewpoint.

While not groundbreaking or jaw-droppingly fantastic, Sopwith Camel is nonetheless a great band and one worth checking out if like what you hear. Miraculous Hump is available exclusively through CDBaby.com after continually (and infuriatingly) going in and out of print…

Cellophane Woman (1967) (available on The Sopwith Camel)

Fazon (1972) (available on The Miraculous Hump Returns From the Moon)

Coke, Suede and Waterbeds (1972) (available on The Miraculous Hump Returns From the Moon)

Another of the greats, the amazing Captain Beefheart. There is so little I can say about Don Van Vliet and his wonderful music that would do him any justice. I’ve included a couple tracks from “Safe As Milk”, Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band’s first record, which is a good starting point. Though not quite reaching the levels of bizarre that he’d master later in his career, this is nonetheless filled with unique gems that (quality notwithstanding show scarcely any reflection of the time during which they were recorded. Most artists in 1967 couldn’t have come close to matching the work that Van Vliet was producing, regardless of how much acid they were dropping at the time. His third release, “Trout Mask Replica”, is widely considered be The Good Captain’s musical and creative highpoint and I’m inclined to agree. The rhythms on this record are phenomenal.

Anyway this post of extra special because I absolutely couldn’t choose just three tracks to represent Captain Beefheart’s sound.


Electricity (1967) (available on “Safe As Milk”)

Abba Zabba (1967) (available on “Safe As Milk”)

Ella Guru (1969) (available on “Trout Mask Replica”)

Dachau Blues (1969) (available on “Trout Mask Replica”)

Moonlight on Vermont (1969) (available on “Trout Mask Replica”)

The incomparable John Lee Hooker.


Hobo Blues (1948)

Crawlin’ King Snake (1949)

Dimples (1956)

Bauhaus emerged from the post-punk scene in 1979, releasing what many consider to be the first real gothic song ever, the aptly titled “Bela Lugosi’s Dead”. Years later this music would spawn a number of laughably bad groups that wore puffy shirts, white face powder, and sung in either deep baritones or growls. But Bauhaus can be forgiven as they meant well enough and were a pretty fucking great group to boot. It was a darker take on the glam of the earlier seventies, accompanied by energetic live shows and constant experimentation. ‘In the Flat Field’ was released in 1980, followed by ‘Mask’, ‘The Sky’s Gone Out’, and ‘Burning From the Inside’.


Dark Entries (1980) (available on "In the Flat Field")

St. Vitus Dance (1980) (available on "In the Flat Field")

Dancing (1981) (available on "Mask")

The Monks were five American GIs stationed in Germany. Starting out as The Torquays and playing strictly beat music and covers, they quickly came to find their own unique sound. It was self-proclaimed “over-beat” – more emphasis on the rhythm than the melody. Others have described them as the first punk band, as surf rock from hell, and more. For me they defy category – The Monks are simply The Monks, and the kind of group that you either love or hate...plus they have microphones inside of a banjo. How can you go wrong with microphones inside of a banjo?

Sadly, they released only one album, Black Monk Time, but you can get this as a German import from Amazon.com. It features both the original album, plus a few attempts at more commercial singles (an interesting listen.)


Monk Time (1965)

I Hate You (1965)

Higgle-dy-Piggle-dy (1965)

First entry and for that I have for you some Bert Jansch, Scottish folkie and all around great guy. He’s an acoustic guitar virtuoso whose style has influenced countless musicians, though without the recognition he deserves. His vocal style is unpolished, distinctive, and always soulful. Aside from his solo works, Bert was also a member of the group Pentangle (with fellow cool folkie guy John Renbourn) and probably better known through their works (I hope to post some Pentangle later on.)

I have three tracks, including the most well-known song in Bert’s catalogue, “Blackwaterside”, his adaptation of the traditional song. So enjoy!


Running From Home (1965) (available on the self-titled “Bert Jansch”)

Blackwaterside (1966) (available on “Jack Orion”, highly recommended)

Go Your Way, My Love (1967) (available on “Nicola”)

Yeah, comment to be added and all that jazz.