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Gavin B. · 11-14-2009, 11:55 AM

Song of the Day
DAY FIVE: All Instrumental Week

The Lounge Lizards

Harlem Nocturne- The Lounge Lizards The Lounge Lizards were started by brothers John and Evan Lurie who along with their frequent collaborator, filmmaker Jim Jarmusch were early provacateurs of the New York City's early 80s downtown No-Wave scene. Both John and Evan Lurie were also actors in some of Jarmusch's early films which embodied the calculated cool and the uncompromising nihilism of the short lived but influential No-Wave movement.

The Luries then added Arto Lindsay who played his atonal noise guitar in nortorious anti-music bands like DNA and the Cortortions. The bass player was Steve Piccalo a first rate jazz bassist who possessed a smooth touch on the fretboards. Anton Fier was a drummer's drummer who originally played in the Feelies and after the demise of the Lounge Lizards Anton Fier was one of the founders of the Golden Paliminos. Anton did a short stint as drummer for the avant garde band Pere Ubu and has played on sessions and toured with Laurie Anderson, John Zorn, Herbie Hanc0ck, and Yoko Ono.

Arto Lindsay described the Lounge Lizard's music as fake jazz but he was being humble. The bands music sounded like a mix of hard bop, free jazz, film noir music played with plenty of punkish no-wave attitude. This Lounge Lizard's musical deconstruction of Harlem Nocturne, Earle Hagen's sultry jazz classic is revelation.

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BONUS SONG

The Raybeats

Jack the Ripper- The Raybeats The Raybeats emerged from the same downtown No-Wave scene as the Lounge Lizards and were another side of the same coin musically. The two founders of the Raybeats were saxaphonist/guitarist Pat Irwin who played guitar in Lydia Lunch's legendary 8 Eyed Spy; and Jody Harris, perhaps the most notable indie oriented guitarist in NYC who has played with Lou Reed, Robert Quine, Richard Hell's Voidoids, and the Contortions.

I saw the Raybeats live once and the were a joy to behold. The band was all dressed in matching suits and ties, did coreographed band steps and were a tongue in cheek, ironic no-wave version of a 60s surf band. All of the music of the Raybeats is currently out of issue and it's nearly impossible to find any of their songs on YouTube. I could kick myself because I sold of their 1981 debut album Guitar Beat for $15 when I moved from Boston in 1998. That same album is being sold used on Amazon for $54.

Hint to music collectors: NEVER pay over $20 for an album, no matter how much you want to own it because even the most obscure of albums will eventually comes back into issue, if only for a limited number of pressings. The best thing to do is make a list of the out of issue albums you want and check Amazon or AMG's weekly list of new releases to see if the albums have been re-issued, then buy a copy as fast as you can because collecters usually snatch up the entire supply and the album will quickly go out of issue again. Never buy or sell any out-of-issue album at an exorbitant price because it allows the greedy traders to create a seller's market with grossly inflated prices of collectable music.

I could only find on Raybears song on YouTube and even if Jack the Ripper isn't their best tune it gives you a pretty good idea of the Raybeats trademark brand of slightly off kilter no-wave surf rock. Rhino Records needs to get on their toes and reissue the 2 or 3 Raybeats albums because they deserve a bigger audience.

11-14-2009, 11:55 AM	#145 (permalink)
Gavin B. Model Worker Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 1,248	Song of the Day DAY FIVE: All Instrumental Week The Lounge Lizards Harlem Nocturne- The Lounge Lizards The Lounge Lizards were started by brothers John and Evan Lurie who along with their frequent collaborator, filmmaker Jim Jarmusch were early provacateurs of the New York City's early 80s downtown No-Wave scene. Both John and Evan Lurie were also actors in some of Jarmusch's early films which embodied the calculated cool and the uncompromising nihilism of the short lived but influential No-Wave movement. The Luries then added Arto Lindsay who played his atonal noise guitar in nortorious anti-music bands like DNA and the Cortortions. The bass player was Steve Piccalo a first rate jazz bassist who possessed a smooth touch on the fretboards. Anton Fier was a drummer's drummer who originally played in the Feelies and after the demise of the Lounge Lizards Anton Fier was one of the founders of the Golden Paliminos. Anton did a short stint as drummer for the avant garde band Pere Ubu and has played on sessions and toured with Laurie Anderson, John Zorn, Herbie Hanc0ck, and Yoko Ono. Arto Lindsay described the Lounge Lizard's music as fake jazz but he was being humble. The bands music sounded like a mix of hard bop, free jazz, film noir music played with plenty of punkish no-wave attitude. This Lounge Lizard's musical deconstruction of Harlem Nocturne, Earle Hagen's sultry jazz classic is revelation. ================================================== == BONUS SONG The Raybeats Jack the Ripper- The Raybeats The Raybeats emerged from the same downtown No-Wave scene as the Lounge Lizards and were another side of the same coin musically. The two founders of the Raybeats were saxaphonist/guitarist Pat Irwin who played guitar in Lydia Lunch's legendary 8 Eyed Spy; and Jody Harris, perhaps the most notable indie oriented guitarist in NYC who has played with Lou Reed, Robert Quine, Richard Hell's Voidoids, and the Contortions. I saw the Raybeats live once and the were a joy to behold. The band was all dressed in matching suits and ties, did coreographed band steps and were a tongue in cheek, ironic no-wave version of a 60s surf band. All of the music of the Raybeats is currently out of issue and it's nearly impossible to find any of their songs on YouTube. I could kick myself because I sold of their 1981 debut album Guitar Beat for $15 when I moved from Boston in 1998. That same album is being sold used on Amazon for $54. Hint to music collectors: NEVER pay over $20 for an album, no matter how much you want to own it because even the most obscure of albums will eventually comes back into issue, if only for a limited number of pressings. The best thing to do is make a list of the out of issue albums you want and check Amazon or AMG's weekly list of new releases to see if the albums have been re-issued, then buy a copy as fast as you can because collecters usually snatch up the entire supply and the album will quickly go out of issue again. Never buy or sell any out-of-issue album at an exorbitant price because it allows the greedy traders to create a seller's market with grossly inflated prices of collectable music. I could only find on Raybears song on YouTube and even if Jack the Ripper isn't their best tune it gives you a pretty good idea of the Raybeats trademark brand of slightly off kilter no-wave surf rock. Rhino Records needs to get on their toes and reissue the 2 or 3 Raybeats albums because they deserve a bigger audience. Last edited by Gavin B.; 11-14-2009 at 04:52 PM.