NEW BLOGS...

I've been corresponding w/ this fellow known as "Mrow" the last few months. It was he who first hooked me onto the genius of Ten East and their Extraterrestrial Highway LP/CD of last year (the finest rock album of 2006, don'tchya know), and now that he has his own blog, Pig State Recon, I'm voting him as the World's Best Newcomer (hey, there is about 10,000 new blogs a week) in the blog stakes for the last 7 days or so. Only one entry so far, which he originally emailed to me a few months back, but what an entry it is! And how thrilling and gratifying to find someone who's actually more psychotically enthusiastic and anally-retentive in his knowledge and appreciation for SST-related esoterica than I am! Well, depending on which side of the SST fence you reside on, the entry in question will either send you into a quick and easy coma or will have you frantically crawling the web in search of some Magnolia Thunderpussy and Across The River. You know which side I'm on!

Whilst you're doing some talent-scouting, why not check out Swedish Nurse, a cool new UK blog which has started off strongly by covering the likes of The Ex (w/ Getachew Mekuria) and Chris Corsano. I tells ya, I think this blogging thing may just be catching on.

See that picture above? Recognise anyone? Last week was a particularly curious one for various members of the Melbourne Avant-Monkey/Noise-Wank Music Mafia. Y' see, everyone's fave band of white-boy funkateers, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, hit town. Now, I'd rather have my eardrums jabbed out w/ a red-hot poker than sit through a disc or concert of theirs, but it appears that certain members of the band have far more adventurous, and, uh, avant-garde taste in music than their own would have you believe. The photographed person in question is none other than internationally renowned experimental musician and legend-in-his-own-lunchtime avant-journeyman, nice guy and Melbourne resident, Oren Ambarchi, grooving it out on stage w/ the 'Peppers at the Myer Music Bowl (note to foreigners: MMB = big outdoor Melbourne arena), at the request of the band. Seems that 'Peppers axe-slinger John Frusciante thinks the world of Ambarchi and personally requested that he join the band for an arena-clearing noise jam at their show last week. And for that, I say good on him. That does indeed prove my theory that the nicest guys always play in the lamest bands. Now, Oren, you gonna be waiting by the phone next time Nickelback and Puddle of Mudd hit town?

To add a little bit more weirdness to the proceedings, I ask that you read this article. Mr. Frusciante ingratiated himself just a little further w/ Melbourne's avant-guardians by visiting his fave record shop in the world on his visit and buying up big. That is, the now-defunct Synaesthesia, which was run by my good buddy Mark Harwood, a man who left these shores just last Wednesday for the sunshine and smiles of The Mother Country, England. Mark and I are so tight our friendship even survived myself working in his store for a six-month stint some 4 years ago, so I wish him well. Say what you will about the RHCP and their candy-assed funk-rock nonsense, they sure know how to leave even the most hardened of elitist noise snobs reeling in their wake!