Advertisement

Music

Perlich’s Picks

Rating: NNNNN


Funky politics

The U.S. presidential election is coming down to the wire, and even funk artists like Brooklyn soul diva Sharon Jones are getting into the act. Daptone has just released her provocative What If We All Stopped Paying Taxes?, which suggests that whoever wins on November 2, the quickest way to end the Iraq conflict is to halt public funding of the U.S. war machine. On the flip you get the hardest-swinging version of Woody Guthrie ‘s This Land Is Your Land ever cut. The swank stars-and-stripes twist on the Daptone label design that implores “Vote early! Vote often!” is a nice touch.

Licking Bush

Not to be left out of the action, Eurofunk stars the Poets of Rhythm throw their two Deutschmarks into the U.S. presidential showdown with Flight To St. Vincent, suggesting a Caribbean getaway if, heaven forbid, George W. Bush gets re-elected. It’s released as part of a vinyl EP preview of the Impeach The Precedent (Kick Snare Hat) compilation, boasting exclusive tracks from Antibalas , People Under the Stairs , the New Mastersounds , Breakestra , J-Live , Jazzanova and others, with proceeds benefiting the Rainforest Action Network (www. ran.org).

Out of the garage

Some people know Mike Clifton as the long-time Melody Ranch drummer, while others fondly recall him running the used vinyl shop Happy House Records that used to be on Markham. But he also happens to be a 60s garage rock connoisseur, as his swank new Blue-Eyed Garage (Green Iguana) comp proves. As you’d expect, the rare-7-inch survey ranges from frat-rockin’ party pounders to typical teen torment, topped by the Stonesy rave My Baby Comes To Me, by the Chicago Loop (featuring a young Mike Bloomfield ), and the Canuck corker Cryin’ Over Her, by the mysterious Secrets , who later came up with Clear The Track Here Comes Shack, a tribute to Maple Leafs fan fave Eddie Shack .

Fay on his way

Aptly called Britain’s pop Salinger, cult singer/songwriter Bill Fay has led such a low-profile existence since his last studio album, Time Of The Last Persecution, was released back in 72 that Nick Drake seems like an exhibitionist by comparison. But a stunning new collection of Fay’s demos circa 1966-70, From The Bottom Of An Old Grandfather Clock (Wooden Hill), should at least help bring the archetypal outsider some overdue attention as the godfather of contemporary beard-folk. Despite the basement production values, the writing and arrangements are brilliant throughout, which is likely why Jeff Tweedy was inspired to cover Fay’s Be Not So Fearful, included here. Durtro Records plans to follow with Fay’s unreleased third album. Now, if only some car company would use Parasite Child in a commercial….

Advertisement

Exclusive content and events straight to your inbox

Subscribe to our Newsletter

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

By signing up, I agree to receive emails from Now Toronto and to the Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.