Video Disturbeo: Revolting Cocks.

Ah, who says you can never go back? In October of 2010, I highlighted a few acts who recorded under the Wax Trax! label out of Chicago, Illinois. Somehow, I'd managed to look over Revolting Cocks while including their musical home-base of good ol' Ministry. I swear, it will never happen again.


Originally conceived as a side project for Front 242's Richard 23, Luc van Acker, and Ministry's Al Jourgensen (modern folklore states that the name "Revolting Cocks" was chosen after a particularly brutal bar brawl on the evening of celebrating the beginning of their collaboration – as they departed the fracas, the owner of said pub reportedly screamed after them, "I'm calling the cops, you revolting cocks!"), Revolting Cocks (also commonly known as RevCo by their fans) recorded one album for Wax Trax!, Big Sexy Land, in 1986. Richard 23 left soon after, citing "creative differences," and ever since then RevCo has always had in it a rotating cast of characters. 


In 1993, they signed to Sire Records (home to such luminary acts as Depeche Mode, Erasure, Talking Heads, and Ice motherfucking T) and released probably their best album, the seminal (ha ha) Linger Fickin' Good. van Acker and Jourgensen, aligned with Chris Connelly, William Rieflin (from KMFDM and Pigface, among other similar acts), and Jourgensen's partner in Ministry-related crime, Paul Barker.


One of the tracks off of Linger Fickin' Good is a raunchy and giddily off-the-charts bit of certifiable madness – RevCo's absolutely inspiring "cover" of Rod Stewart's 1978 classic "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" My gosh, it's pretty damn awesome what RevCo did with it – it's grungy, it's squelchy, and it's quite frankly hilarious. When Connelly sings/mutters the line "He says I'm sorry but I'm out of KY Jelly," he himself can't stifle a laugh. Needless to say, the video for "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" is NSFW. Featuring cartoonish satanic imagery, strippers with peeling skin, and copious amounts of flesh, you still can't look at this video and not think to yourself, My God, those guys are having a shitload of fun.


Enjoy!

The Dead Will Dance Again.

On the 12th of May this year, one Mr Brendan Perry wrote on his forum wall:

"Hi all,

I have been talking with Lisa Gerrard this past week with regard to recording a new DCD album this coming winter. We hope to complete the album by the summer of 2012 and then embark on an extensive two month world tour in late 2012. I will be posting updates from time to time with regard to our progress ... and remember ... you heard it here first and yes it is official!

Brendan."

All I can say is: WOW. This is great news. The last time Dead Can Dance had performed onstage was in 2005; me and a few of my mates were lucky enough to have seen them at the wondrous Paramount Theatre in Oakland, California. I mean, these are the folks who unleashed Spleen & Ideal on the world, had enchanted an untold number of people with the stoic mysteriousness of The Serpent's Egg and its enigmatic "In The Kingdom of the Blind, the One-Eyed Are Kings," had brought back from the grave the musical stylings and instrumentation of civilizations that had been long vanished from the popular culture (thus, of course, their name), and had mystified with their vocal prowess – Perry's deep and assured resonating timbre, alongside the lovely Gerrard's spookily breathy falsetto – and the deep imaginings of fables, incantations, rituals, and heretofore forgotten myths that the music aided in awakening. And let's not forget their mastery of the almighty hammered dulcimer. No, let's not forget that. 


So let us rejoice that after nearly seven years (thirteen years, if you count the last song they actually recorded, "The Lotus Eaters," which appeared on their best-of compilation, Wake, in 2003), DCD is once again going (fingers crossed) to grace us with the mysticism and wonder of their musical trappings. Excited!


Here, from 1993's most excellent Into The Labyrinth, is the remarkable and hypnotic "The Ubiquitous Mr Lovegrove." Goddamn, what a great song this is.





And here's "Rakim," from Toward The Within, their 1994 live-recording of their 1993 sold-out world tour. Listen to that hammered dulcimer playing!

Electro Classic Jukebox: The Beloved.

The Beloved, based out of London, England, has a very cool story about how they formed in order to make beautiful music together. The founder, Jon Marsh, put out an ad in a music magazine in 1983 saying,

I am Jon Marsh, founder member of the Beloved. Should you too wish to do something gorgeous, meet me in exactly three year's time at exactly 11am in Diana's Diner, or site thereof, Covent Garden, London, WC2.

Exactly three years later, Jon Marsh was met by one Steve Waddington, and The Beloved (though at first they called themselves Journey Through) was born.

Initially a guitar-oriented band, they began to find success in the UK market once they began to embrace drum machines and a more decidedly dance-friendly sound. The Beloved saw band members come and go with some regularity, until only the original duo, Marsh and Waddington remained. Sadly, after their third record, a re-mix compilation entitled Blissed Out (1991), Marsh fired Waddington, who had faithfully showed up for that meeting back in 1986 Covent Garden. Marsh then proceeded to replace Waddington with his wife, Helena.

The Beloved (though with Helena, the "The" was dropped) didn't find true pop stardom until 1993, when they released their fourth studio album, Conscience. Or, better still, they released the super-fantastic single "Sweet Harmony."

Holy crap, is this song gorgeous. Easy-going, melodic, and full of lilting and sustained synths floating in and out of an ethereal backdrop (and a kick-ass saxophone solo), "Sweet Harmony" is one of those tracks that I just can't stop listening to. Everything about it screams lushness, and the fact that breathy female vocals consistently whisper mysteriously throughout doesn't hurt things, either. The video itself which I am helpfully posting here, is breathtaking. However, since it's full of naked women (and a naked Jon Marsh) artfully concealing their lady-bits, I'm not terribly sure how SFW it is. You might want to use some discretion!

Thanks for reading. Talk soon!

the beloved

"sweet harmony"

conscience