ISMO The world`s only FREE weekly music magazine issue 12: 19th October ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EDITED AND COMPILED BY: Mr Slutto Sigsworthy Craggs Atilla the Hen (with the assistance of those jolly nice chaps at the Copyright Liberation Front) to subscribe go to http://www.members.tripod.com/~ismomag/ and follow the on-screen instructions (TWO VERSIONS ARE SENT OUT, ONE IN E.TEXT AND THE OTHER IN HTM. WE RECCOMEND THE HTM VERSION BUT SOME SERVERS CANNOT READ IT) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WHO, WHY AND WHEN Ten years ago a bunch of disaffected music journalists, anarchists and substance abusers started up a badly photocopied cut-and-paste fanzine called ISMO. It was named after a fictional anarchist group in the John Verney novel of the same name. Although we tried valiantly, the ethos of "dope, rock and roll, and fucking in the streets" (which we attempted to convey through interviews with various anarcho-bods past and present and through our dealings with various musical personages) never really jelled in the way that we would have wished. Despite the fact that ISMO became highly prestigious within the music business, not many people actually bought it - and after eleven issues we gave up. Then came the Internet... and we felt that it was time to try again. So we are back - and this time it`s ludicrous. It's also completely and utterly free. As well as the ongoing mishmash of weird and wonderful stuff on this ever-expanding home page ISMO the magazine is also back, now in the form of a weekly e.zine sent at no cost to the subscriber to your e.mail address once a week. The Revolution starts here.... Enjoy. http//:members.tripod.com/~ismomag ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE GOSSIPING HEN EACH WEEK ATILLA - OUR INTREPID CAPON REVEALS THE RESULTS OF A FEW DAYS SPENT HANGING AROUND IN BARS WITH CELEBRITIES, LISTENING AT WINDOWS, AND BLAGGING DRINKS OFF P.R MEN There are some people who just shouldn`t play live. Unfortunately The Divine Comedy is one of those acts. I saw `em in Bristol the other week and they were horrid. I`ve been into them since about 1993 and I`ve always found their albums highly entertaining. Neil Hannon is undoubtedly one of the most talented contemporary songwriters. The albums are subtle and sophisticated with witty lyrics and clever arrangements. I was looking forward to seeing them live. When the band came on stage, Hannon greeted the audience with a "Ullo Bristol, `ow are yer?" as if he was a member of some third rate heavy metal group, and the band played for an hour and a half to an aufdience of sweaty students who jumped up and down a lot. I fucked off to the bar. There is a time and a place for The Divine Comedy and this wasn`t it. They were too loud, too raucous, it was too hot and too sweaty and there was no absinthe in sight. Wot a fuckin` disappointment! Also in Bristol I met the massively overrated Roni Size. However, I dunno how you can call anyone MASSIVELY overrated when he is only about five feet tall. However he drives a silver Mercedes so he can`t be doin` too badly out of it. All I heard of the new album was one bass sequence repeated monotonously for something in the region of twelve hours - and this man gets £2,000 a time for a remix! And what happened to The Wolfetones in London at the wekend? I was surprised enough to find that they were playing on the mainland even in the wake of the peace process, but the gig was sold out and no tickets were available. What a pisser! I`d wanted to see them for yonks. Pity, but eventually my day will come.......... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MISSING LINKS www.hawkwind.com Welcome to the Official Hawkwind Web Site, featuring press archives, rare photos, news direct from the Hawkwind camp, record release information and chances for you to conduct your own Cyberspace Interviews with members of the band, both past and present. The site was first published on the World Wide Web on 10th June 1996 and is run by the band's own label, The Emergency Broadcast System Limited. Feedback can be sent to the Hawkwind Webmaster by sending email to Star_Rats@hawkwind.com. www.bunnymen.com/ [- Echo and the Bunnymen - official web site -] Entering BunnySpace Lay Down Thy Modem and Groove... The best things in life. At ISMO we don`t really approve of web sites that need specialised programmes to read them but I suppose that this is just the way that the proverbial cookie crumbles... dalex.home.mindspring.com/music/wolfe.htm Capturing the best in the spirit of raw Irish folk music, The Wolfe Tones are sure to make anyone want to clap along and stomp their feet. Raise a pint to these men who have been singing out the songs of freedom, of a United Ireland for more than 25 years. Taking their name from the great Irish patriot, Theobald Wolfe Tone, the father of Irish Republicanism, The Wolfe Tones have spent years putting out their records, recounting the good auld songs and writing new ones to be passed down through time. All the elements of good Irish folk music are there... patriotism, adventure, loves lost and gained, the rebel spirit, humor, and lament. From the rousing rebel tunes like "Come Out Ye Black And Tans" to the lilting Irish ballads like "Brú Na Bóinne," The Wolfe Tones are a staple in Irish folk music. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WEIRD SCENES INSIDE THE GOLDMINE Peculiar music/art news from around the world COMPILATION FEATURES PUNK-ROCKING VERSIONS OF STATE SONGS CHICAGO (AP) 12 Jun 98: For everyone who ever thought, ``Gee, if only there were a double CD of all 50 state songs, and if only they were performed by punk rock bands like 9 Spine Stickleback, Dead Clown Pile and Pinhead Circus, '' Jack Ball has just the thing. The founder of New York City-based Coolidge Records has put together "Coolidge 50, '' a compilation of punk versions of all 50 state anthems, arranged in order of the states' entry into the Union. Ball, 27, spent two years lining up 50 bands to donate their talents. He wanted a band from each state, but in a few cases had to settle for having at least one member from the state. "I let the bands try to be as free as possible as far as performing the songs, '' Ball said. "I didn't want to be restrictive. '' He wasn't, according to Delaware Gov. Thomas Carper, who thought The Crash's rendition of ``Our Delaware'' was "too edgy'' for his taste. I wouldn't, however, rule out its use during the inauguration of a new governor - if we ever get around to electing someone with green hair and multiple piercings in curious places, '' Carper wrote in a thank-you note. Ball sent a copy of the album to every governor as well as President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore. Gore "didn't respond, so I'm thinking maybe Tipper got hold of it, '' Ball said. Coolidge is a small label with a roster that includes such unknowns as the Beatnik Termites, Lancaster County Prison and Meatjack. Ball said he chose only performers who admired their states. He had to reject a Georgia group after its members told him how much they hated their state and looked forward to mangling "Georgia on My Mind. '' For his part, the governor of Delaware offered words of encouragement. ``I do look forward to Coolidge's upcoming endeavours _ which, I presume, include yodeling the Constitution and gangsta rap versions of our State of the State addresses, '' he said. Court says model can sue over being made `poster boy' for AIDS September 23, 1998 WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A former model who claims he was made to be a "poster boy" for gay men with AIDS has a right to sue over the use of his photograph, an appeals court ruled Wednesday. Paul V. Facchina Jr. , 27, said he signed an agreement in November 1994 with Mutual Benefits Corp. to use his image for advertisements related "solely to the purchasing of life insurance policies. '' Facchina filed suit sued a year later, claiming his photograph was published in magazines across the country directed to "sexually active homosexuals'' and that the text of the ad implied he was a gay man dying of AIDS. Three different versions of his lawsuit have been thrown out by Broward County Circuit Judge John T. Luzzo. But the 4th District Court of Appeal said Wednesday that Facchina should be able to sue for use of his photo without authorisation, invasion of privacy and defamation. Named in the lawsuit are Viatical Benefits Foundation, which buys life insurance policies on discount from terminally ill patients, and its affiliate, Mutual Benefits, which matches people interested in buying policies with those wanting to sell them. Facchina is seeking damages from Hotspots and Scoop magazines, and Bert Jaeger, the president of Viatical. His attorney, J. Davis Connor, said Facchina had no idea his image would be used to advertise a company that buys insurance policies from gay men dying of AIDS. Facchina's lawsuit was not meant as an attack on the gay community, Connor said. "This young man, his family is Italian, he is intensely heterosexual, '' added another attorney, Kerry Wilson. The defendants claim Facchina should have known his photo would be used for such ads because he knew how the companies operated, said attorney Norm Kent. Goofy attacks 'Scrooges' at Disney MARY Poppins, Prince Charming and Cinderella turned nasty yesterday as the principal human attractions of Euro Disney, including the great Mickey Mouse himself, besieged the gates of the Magic Kingdom demanding the status and salaries worthy of childhood heroes. "We are tired of being exploited, " said a depressed-looking Wicked Stepmother, who refused to give her name for "fear of being persecuted". "The image of Disney is all very friendly but the truth is different. We are hard-working performing artists but we have the status of balloon sellers. It's gone on far too long and things need to change. " A casually dressed Goofy, freed from the confines of his heavy costume, nodded vehemently. "Look at my payslip. I have 5, 095 francs [£500] a month to live on, once my accommodation costs have been deducted. I'll say one thing for Disney: they're very good at taking back the money they pay you. " The 100-odd protesters, who have been on strike for a week, say the Disney management refuses to recognise the artistic merit of their dance routines and their unscripted impersonations, not to mention the stress involved in coping with the public day in, day out. "I can make small children cry by the power of my acting," said the Wicked Stepmother. "But the management won't give me a script because then I'd be like a real actor and they'd have to pay me more and award me different benefits. I still have to study the role, though, and think my way into the part, work out what the Stepmother's motivation is and why she feels as she does. " Instead of being artistes interpretes or proper performers, the protesters are stuck at the bottom of the payroll as artistes dedivertissements, lowly entertainers. The difference in status means that artistes interpretes receive a minimum of 8, 500 francs (£850) a month, while the norm for an artiste de divertissement is between 6, 800 and 7, 400 francs (£680 to $740). One of Sleeping Beauty's bad fairies said: "It's not even just the money. If I fall sick, the first three days of illness are deducted from my holiday. And if I want to leave and work somewhere else, I will have problems: the status we have here is not recognised in the outside world. " Considering the perils of the job - Snow White is still recovering from being called a whore - the health issue is particularly important. "You just can't afford to take a day off sick here, " said one protester. The strike has taken its toll on the programme of daily entertainments. The thrice-daily Wonderful World of Disney Parade is 15 minutes shorter than usual and such shows as Winnie the Pooh and Friends Too, normally put on five times a day, have been cut back to only one performance. But the management says the strike involves only 40 of Disneyland's 13, 000 employees. "Life continues normally in Disneyland, " said a spokesman. "There have been no serious complaints. Our biggest problem today is the rain. And you really can't blame Disney for the weather. " Electronic Telegraph Wednesday 1 July 1998 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PRICK UP YOUR EARS Tin Star DAVID TOMLINSON - vocals. TIM BRICHENO - guitar, keyboards, programming. TIM GORDINE - bass, keyboards, programming and production. In this week's feature we take a look at Tin Star and at their forthcoming CD... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "THE THRILL KISSER" (V2: VVR 100 1942). Release: 26 Oct 98 **** A slightly strange but always palatable mixture of contemporary drum`n`bass stylisations with more conventional guitar based rock music, this album never fails to entertain, and occasionally even astound! I have been in this business for more years than I care to remember - it is certainly a weird feeling reviewing an album by a band young enough (just) to be my own children and certainly young enough to be my girlfriend`s kids but I can truthfully say: "The Boys Done Good!" The band cunningly vary the pace between elegantly brutal songs which thrash away merrily and more sombre ballads. There was once a fanzine called "The Great Bedsit in the Sky" which covered the sort of sombre musings which folks of the student persuasion like to listen to in their darkened rooms whilst undergoing adolescant angst. The bedsit music of my youth, and that of ten years ago has not lasted well. This soundtrack to the angst of this generation of students looks likely to have a far greater degree of staying power. Atilla the Hen 'Sometimes I wake up in the morning my feet my soul my arms my legs my self my eggs are all fried,' this rhythmically-rolling album merrily commences - and then rocks at varying tempos through the usual pop-rock themes of 'I did this, I did that and I still have time', etc. The backing - strings in places, bubbly spounds in others, underpins the percussion well, and the overall effect is reminiscent of Bowie's Earthlings in places, which is OK by me.. And I like the mix, too, so there! - Slutto ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BACKGROUND: TIN STAR Formed eighteen months ago, and signed to V2 on their first demo, Tin Star have spent the intervening months holed up in Tim Gordine's house, writing, recording, dismembering and reassembling the debut album 'Thrill Kisser'. 'Thrill Kisser' is a product of this "intense process" and the immediecy of being able to record whenever a groove demanded, and facilitated the band's main objective: to get the sounds in their heads recorded. David Tomlinson and Tim Bricheno write the songs, and, in the words of the Excess Press press release, "are then fucked up by Tim Gordine". I thought that's what bass players were for! Anyway, he doesn't seem to have done them too much harm - they're no more banal than most of Deep Purple's lyrics, for instance. Excess inform us in a moment of wonderful hyperbole that "live, they play instruments of glass, sampling stripped to a minimum, tenderly drawing the audience into a their web on gold-spun threads, and the audience respond to the groove, to the mood." Er, yes. "The result is a mixture of subjective moods and emotions, filtered with an objective clarity, set to seductive beats and hypnotic guitars." Well, I can go along with that, anyhow. Over the last 3 months the band have just played eight 'hugely successful' dates at London's Club Mink and are currently doing a nationwide tour with Baby Bird. Tin Star have already released a single, 'Viva', which is lifted from the album. - Slutto. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UNLISTENABLE (REVIEWS) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Whether you agree with what we have said about these albums or not we don`t really give a fuck. However, this is YOUR chance to agree or disagree with what we have written. Click on the album title to send your comments to us and if they are amusing or contentious enough we will add them to the reviews next time we update the site! Interactive ain`t we? (remember to specify which album you are reviewing) ***** Fuck-off Brilliant **** Pretty damn Good *** Average but no Cigar, Mr President ** Could do better * Shite ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Captain Sensible Revolution Now (Blueprint BP293CD) *** Ray Burns is Back..... the one time bass player of The Damned has come up with yet another album. Thankfully for those of us who still claim to be veterans of the punk wars of 1976/7 and more significantly the music which the good old Cap'n made for CRASS records in about 1981 he has moved away from the twee show tunes and silliness towards a much meatier and more satisfying direction. The cover even looks like the CRASS records layout but the music herein is less spiky and somewhat more accesible. The music? Well it is a mishmash of punky and modern psychedelic cliches shoved together into a broadly entertaining whole. It ain't gonna make any new fans for the old bugger but it will keep the old ones happy for a time.... Atilla the Hen ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Captain Sensible The Universe of Geoffrey Brown (Blueprint BP294CD) ***** This is more like it!!!! Trippier, sillier and with far more balls than the CD reviewed above this is quite posibly the best thing that I, for one, have ever heard from this particular artiste. The songs are interespersed with strange excerpts from what appears to be a radio play about two ordinary blokes intercepting radio signals from outer space. I haven`t yet sussed whether it is a bona fide concept album or not but who cares when it sounds as good as this? Atilla the Hen ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spin Doctors You've got to believe in something (EPIC 483817 2) ** This is dull, but seriously competent AOR with mildly acoustic overtones. If you`re interested (and you probably ain`t) the album includes the music used for the theme song to the latest series of the Channel 4 series Spin City (which is also probably the only popular TV programme on British TV to include a brief three second shot of a dog having a shit in the title sequence. It kind of sums up this album really. Mr Slutto describes it as "Competent Wallpaper Music" but then he says that about a lot of things. This is either because there is a hell of a lot of competent wallpaper music around at the moment or because he is an intolerant little fellow, but the jury is still out on that one. At least we both like the Captain Sensible Album!!! Atilla the Hen ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- John Martyn Live at Bristol 1991 - Official Bootleg (Oneworld OW1006CD) * Limited Collector's Edition? Yeah Right! I've done that before when I know that I`m gonna need whatever help I can to shift a piece of seriously dodgy product. John Martyn had his day and that day was well over twenty years ago. Although I am not particularly enamoured of ANY of his stuff, the early albums with Danny Thompson did have the benefit of being somewhat innovative and ever so slightly groovy. Since he began making shite AOR and sounding like a poor man's Phil Collins his records have been absolutely awful and his career has gone down the can at a rate of knots. I saw him on this tour in Milton Keynes. I was drunk and insulted him, drunkenly claiming that he was a vampire as well as being monumentally tasteless! Do I want a souvenir of one of the most lacklustre performances that I have ever seen from a name artiste? Do I fuck! Atilla The Hen ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Glamourous Hooligan Naked City Soundtrax (GH 3984 24201 2) ** Dull techno bollocks consisting of a load of silly electronic noises with some bloke murmuring inanities, or occasionally rapping about inner city boredom in a disinterested voice. I have no idea what the appeal of an album like this is. It doesn`t go anywhere and it doesn`t have anything to say for itself. Mr Slutto says that it sounds like a stoned version of the vocals on the notorious Peter Wyngarde album but with even less entertainment value. It is hard not to agree with him! Atilla the Hen ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- COMING SOON...... P.J.Harvey, They Might be Giants and much more...... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ISMO MAGAZINE IS, AND WILL REMAIN FREE. HOWEVER OFFERS OF SPONSORSHIP, GIFTS OF CASH, FREE RECORDS OR NUDIE BUM BUM PICTURES ARE ALWAYS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED. SEND YOUR NEWS TO US AT su2223@eclipse.co.uk YOU CAN UNSUBSCRIBE AT ANY TIME BY E.MAILING US AT su2223@eclipse.co.uk ======================================