Remain In Love by Chris Frantz offers a behind the scenes look at the rise of the Talking Heads and his full history in the music business such as being a member of Tom Tom Club along with his production work.
Frantz focuses on the relationships with his fellow members of the Talking Heads such as his wife Tina Weymouth (very strong relationship) and David Byrne (no so strong relationship). It is very apparent that there was tension between Frantz and David Byrne from Day 1 and Frantz and Weymouth’s instant success with Tom Tom Club definitely did not help.
The book gives you a feel of what the Lower East Side of New York was like in the mid-seventies in that it was still pretty gritty with a few artists and musicians such as Robert Rauschenberg and Debbie Harry living in the middle of a neighbourhood suffering from very high levels of drug use, homelessness and crime. The legendary venue CBGB acted as an escape from the madness and it achieved legendary status due to the role it played in developing the punk scene in New York. Along with the Talking Heads other regular bands were The Ramones, Blondie, Television and the Patti Smith Group.
The book goes into incredible detail when describing the Talking Heads tour schedule and there are plenty of ‘Rock and Roll’ stories, as you would expect. Getting punched in the head by John Martyn is one of many…
Frantz and Weymouth were also involved in the infamous Happy Mondays/Barbados debacle as they were signed up to produce the Happy Mondays eagerly anticipated follow up to Pills, Thrills and Bellyaches. Recording was to take place in Barbados at Eddy Grant’s house and it was doomed from the start with Ryder smashing his methadone supply at the airport and this resulted in him using crack cocaine instead. Frantz recalls that Ryder was selling the furniture from Grant’s studio to pay for his habit. After little progress was made they gave up and finished recording at a later date in England once Ryder had cleaned up.
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NEVER NEVER | FRIEZE MIX 3 – JAN 2021
Happy new year all! This month’s mix from Chris takes us on an intergalactic trip through the worlds of library music, tripped out techno, cosmic disco, Italo sleaze and Latin funk covers. Sounds better than than the usual January, doesn’t it?! Enjoy.
NEVER NEVER | FRIEZE MIX 2 – DEC 2020
Chris Frieze for NEVER NEVER – Resident Mix 2 – December 2020. From New Age Synth to dubbed out Post Punk to electro. Enjoy!
Rockers
Rockers is a 1978 Jamaican film which shines a light on the reggae scene at its peak. It was originally intended to be a documentary and ended up as a full-length feature film starring big reggae names such as Gregory Isaacs, Jacob Miller, Burning Spear, Big Youth and Leroy”Horsemouth” Wallace.
The plot centres around Leroy”Horsemouth” Wallace selling reggae records and settling a score with Kingston gangsters after they steal his motorbike.
One of the stand out scenes features Burning Spear consoling Horsemouth after his bike is stolen by singing an acapella version of his track Jam Not Dead. The soundtrack is understandably sublime and features big tracks such as Junior Murvin “Police and Thieves” and Junior Byles “Fade Away”.
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GREEN ROOM – AW20 EDITORIAL
Parra: I’m Just Happy We Got a Cat
Originally planned for the US this year, Parra has taken his I’M JUST HAPPY WE GOT A CAT solo show virtual.
Great to see the first ever vinyl release of one of our favourite compilations of the past 20 years. Originally released in 2003 on Olla Records and compiled by the producer Marco Pirroni, ‘Sex:Too Fast To Live Too Young To Die’ is compiled from the records on the jukebox at Malcolm McLaren & Vivienne Westwood’s legendary shop SEX on the King’s Road. Too many good stories to write here about the songs on this (one being John Lyndon’s impromptu audition for the Sex Pistols by singing along to Alice Cooper’s ‘Eighteen’ – featured on the compilation). It just has a great flow from start to finish and gives you a flavour of the time at the shop. Featuring Screamin’ Jay Hawkins amazing version of I Put A Spell On You, Johnny Hallyday’s super cheesy Joue Pas De Rock’n’roll and Clarence ‘Frogman’ Henry’s great ‘Ain’t Got No Home’ (which in turn always makes us think of Corey Haim’s bath scene in The Lost Boys – although not his version of course). Reissued by @strangerthanparadiserecords – you can pick it up there or your great local record store.
Mark Reid / Touch Sensitive Records mix
Touch Sensitive Records represents Marks’ diverse taste in music, releasing work from the likes of Boxcutter, Documenta, Gross Net, Group Zero, David Holmes and Cherrystones to name a few.
A few words from Mark – “A super nice Sunday afternoon spent with the cat, a cuppa, and that Weatherall quote about just playing a bunch of tracks and trying not to have any gaps in between haha!
On re-listening, I noticed the majority of these tunes are taken from comps or reissues – including one from our own new release as selected by Cherrystones. Shouts to him and all the other labels/DJs doing the dusty work. Hope you enjoy.”
Many thanks to Mark for compiling this mix for us and please go and check out the latest compilation from Cherrystones – Critical Mass Vol.2 ‘Hearts of Champions’ (artwork above – image 2) on Touch Sensitive’s Bandcamp. Vinyl is sold out but you should be able to pick it up from your local record store if you are quick!
The Colours of Wong Kar-wai’s ‘In the Mood for Love’
Wong Kar-wai developed the craft of attaching specific meanings and intonations to a palette of certain colours along with his friend and longtime collaborator, the cinematographer Christopher Doyle.
Wong Kar-wai’s In the Mood for Love is undoubtably a modern masterpiece and you will struggle to find a film that uses colour to intimate the mood of scenes more effectively.
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Bruce Davidson: Brooklyn Gang
Bruce Davidson is a renowned American photographer who has been a member of the prestigious Magnum Photos agency since 1958 and is best known for his documentation of subversive and counter culture groups.
In 1959, there were about 1,000 gang members in New York City who were mainly teenage males from ethnically-defined neighbourhoods in the outer boroughs. Bruce Davidson read a newspaper article about outbreaks of street fighting in Prospect Park and during the summer of 1959 he travelled across the Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan in search of a gang to photograph. He made contact with homeless, troubled teenagers who called themselves the Jokers and photographed them over 11 months resulting in his seminal Brooklyn Gang series.
Also check out his Subway series which is a portrayal of passengers of the New York subway system in the 1980s.
