Lenny Kaye would have made a better choice as musical consultant. The Elastik Band would be a good choice, Spazz would be a perfect film title.

Hell yeah, the Barbarians. Or, for that matter, the fuckin' SEEDS. And I wouldn't mind seeing something about the Driving Stupid.

Dana V. Hatch said:

Little Steven's involvement will insure the music sucks and the story will probably be bland and nostalgic rather than specific and weird like the stories of real bands like the Monks or my fave story, the Novas, a bunch of teens who sold a quarter million of their first single then fell apart after one of them got caught with a beer. Moulty would be a great subject for a movie too (Barbarian!).They'll get the clothes wrong too, putting the band in mod threads when most of 'em either wore the same duds they wore to school or dorky matching outfits.

Little Steven's involvement will insure the music sucks and the story will probably be bland and nostalgic rather than specific and weird like the stories of real bands like the Monks or my fave story, the Novas, a bunch of teens who sold a quarter million of their first single then fell apart after one of them got caught with a beer. Moulty would be a great subject for a movie too (Barbarian!).They'll get the clothes wrong too, putting the band in mod threads when most of 'em either wore the same duds they wore to school or dorky matching outfits.

One thing is for sure is that when I found out about Little Steven liking Garage music it was weird. I mean the Boss guitarist actually could possibly be kinda cool? No Way! I don't particularly like his music at all but whatever. I do wish they would make a movie about the Sonics or some band like that. Then they would have to deal with all the copyrights and stuff this way they can make all the money and who knows if they get a half ass popular song then they make even more.

Thank you. I think there's a movie there, documentary or docu-drama. Some John Peel tie in, their musical mind meld book, underdogs with big dreams and bad luck. There has to be some kind of love story to tie in, no matter how loose.

The Misunderstood

DammitDave said:

Yeah or that one band with the pschedelic steel guitar...they dodged the draft, went to England, got caught on the ferry between England and France and no one would let them into the country, their music smelled like apples...what was the name of that band? I'm totally drawing a blank! I'll think of it as soon as I hit "Add Reply."

kopper said:

I would actually prefer to see a movie like this about a REAL band, though. How cool would it be to see a movie about the Sonics or the Monks (just as a couple examples)? And do it up right, like the Runaways movie. That's my only gripe about this.

Yeah or that one band with the pschedelic steel guitar...they dodged the draft, went to England, got caught on the ferry between England and France and no one would let them into the country, their music smelled like apples...what was the name of that band? I'm totally drawing a blank! I'll think of it as soon as I hit "Add Reply."

kopper said:

I would actually prefer to see a movie like this about a REAL band, though. How cool would it be to see a movie about the Sonics or the Monks (just as a couple examples)? And do it up right, like the Runaways movie. That's my only gripe about this.

That wouldn't be a bad idea either. BTW, I also really liked "The Runaways."

kopper said:

I would actually prefer to see a movie like this about a REAL band, though. How cool would it be to see a movie about the Sonics or the Monks (just as a couple examples)? And do it up right, like the Runaways movie. That's my only gripe about this.

No, I wasn't trying to bait anyone. I was just curious to know what others thought. And while I liked "That Thing You Do," I would like for this movie to be less family friendly.

ixnayray said:

Going by the title of this thread I thought YOU were pissed off with this report. Yet it turns out you're looking forward to it.

Well I couldn't care less about it personally. I'm sure with David Chase behind it, it has potential to be good. Although why make a film about a fictitious band in the first place? I'm sure there are many real bands with an interesting history?

I did have a feeling you were trying to bait us with the Little Steven thing... but I feel so indifferent about the guy to be honest. The only problem I really have is him calling his show 'Underground Garage' when it seems pretty commercial to me. I enjoyed him very much in The Soprano's though, and I quite like me some Bruce Springsteen [sue me].

As for 'That Thing You Do', well, a family movie about a fictitious band made by Tom Hanks? I'd rather peel skin and dip it in salt as i'm sure it would be a less painful experience.

Speaking of rock-and-roll movies, will we ever get to see MC5 * A True Testimonial?

I would actually prefer to see a movie like this about a REAL band, though. How cool would it be to see a movie about the Sonics or the Monks (just as a couple examples)? And do it up right, like the Runaways movie. That's my only gripe about this.

Going by the title of this thread I thought YOU were pissed off with this report. Yet it turns out you're looking forward to it.

Well I couldn't care less about it personally. I'm sure with David Chase behind it, it has potential to be good. Although why make a film about a fictitious band in the first place? I'm sure there are many real bands with an interesting history?

I did have a feeling you were trying to bait us with the Little Steven thing... but I feel so indifferent about the guy to be honest. The only problem I really have is him calling his show 'Underground Garage' when it seems pretty commercial to me. I enjoyed him very much in The Soprano's though, and I quite like me some Bruce Springsteen [sue me].

As for 'That Thing You Do', well, a family movie about a fictitious band made by Tom Hanks? I'd rather peel skin and dip it in salt as i'm sure it would be a less painful experience.

I really like That Thing You Do. If this is as a good as that it'll be a great movie. I'm going to give it the benefit of the doubt until I see it.

Yeah, That Thing You Do was pretty good. The music was a bit tame by '60s garage or punk standards, but the movie was really well made. Continuity was flawless.

Surprise, surprise. When I saw this article, I thought for certain somebody here would get angry about it, if for no other reason than Little Steven's involvement. Guess I was just being paranoid. What a missed opportunity, not using such a cool band name. BTW, did you ever see "That Thing You Do"? If so, did you like it?

kopper said:

What is there to argue about? So he's making a movie about a fictitious '60s band. Who cares? It's not like that hasn't been done before.

I searched the Searchin' for Shakes database and, at least as far as I can see, there was never a '60s garage band called the Twilight Zones.

What is there to argue about? So he's making a movie about a fictitious '60s band. Who cares? It's not like that hasn't been done before. I searched the Searchin' for Shakes database and, at least as far as I can see, there was never a '60s garage band called the Twilight Zones.

I figured somebody is going to bring this up anyway, so it might as well be me... http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wirestory?id=11887440&page=1 BTW, I'm not trying to start an argument; in fact, I'm not even going to try to argue, since I know I'm not going to change anyone's mind. I'm just curious to see the response to this. Speaking for myself, I'm looking forward to this movie, because I am big fan of "The Sopranos." I'm in the middle of watching the series all over again via boxed sets that I've been buying on amazon, and I'm up to the fourth season (I just saw the Swingin' Neckbreakers' cameo at the Crazy Horse). I'm hoping it will be something darker and grittier, to distinguish it from "That Thing You Do," which is a favorite of mine. BTW, was there ever a real band called "The Twilight Zones"? I think that's a great name, and I'm surprised no one ever thought of using it before.

I've heard them popping up on a bunch of podcasts lately. The singer's voice is absolutely fearsome. "Elemental" is a pounder.

thanks it s great!

A tale of two cities, London and New York and the birth of punk. Each city created a bastard child that marked the biggest and fundamental shift in popular music since Elvis walked into Sun Studios. ‘Blank Generation’ examines the relationship between the bankrupt New York and the class and race-riven London of the mid- 70’s and explores the music of The Sex Pistols, The Clash, Ramones, Television, Patti Smith, The Damned and Buzzcocks

Click here to watch (I wasn't able to embed it here for some reason).

I liked 'em a bit at first - then I got "Songs we Taught the Detroit Cobras" with all the original versions so now I don't need 'em anymore. Kudos to them for picking great songs to cover though.

Maybe they're better live, I haven't had the opportunity to see them.

As cover bands go I'm much more into the Del Moroccos.

dont git rid of nothin!!!!

I had this album when it came out in the 60's. Did it ever come out on CD? I got rid of most of my vinyl about 16-17 years ago, the last time I had to move many heavy crates of records. I put a lot of coins into the jukebox to play "Fire" when it was popular. Really takes me back!

The Driving Stupid were just BRILLIANT!!!

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
October 15, 2010

Once again, The Black Angels deliver a psychedelic whump.

With Phosphene Dream, their third full-length album, these cosmic avengers from deep in the heart of Texas offer a more varied sound than on their previous albums. The songs are shorter too. No 16- or 18-minute sonic odysseys like they had on Directions to See a Ghost and Passover.

Frontman Alex Maas sounds more confident than ever — though he still reminds me somewhat of Jim James of My Morning Jacket.

But make no mistake. As I realized the first time I ever heard The Angels — playing at a Roky Erickson Ice Cream Social during SXSW a couple of years ago — these guys play psychedelic music in the finest sense of the word.

Like Roky’s music, this is not the fairy-fey flower-power fluff that passes for psychedelic in some deluded circles. These angel-headed hipsters play intense, throbbing, hypnotic excursions to inner worlds — true to the song that gave them their name, “The Black Angel’s Death Song” by The Velvet Underground.


Something to ponder: if Erickson wanted to make an album with a young Austin band, he should have done it with The Black Angels, not Okkervil River — as he did on his last album, True Love Cast Out All Evil. That would have been a far more powerful team. (The Angels have backed Erickson in concert. Allegedly, there’s a DVD of that in the works, and you can find videos of live songs on YouTube.)

Back to Phosphene Dream — what we have here indeed is trippy. But not all trips are happy affairs. In fact, some are downright scary. And I believe there used to be a term — “bummer” — to describe chemically induced unpleasantness. The Angels have song titles like “River of Blood” and “Bad Vibrations,” which I guarantee will never be used in a Sunkist commercial. “Drink her last tear/Yeah you die for your dear/Bad vibes around her/She’s eating hearts again,” Maas sings in “Bad Vibrations.”

But no, this record is no bummer by any means. In fact, it makes me happy. Are varied than ever. There’s more attention to melody, some of which is actually catchy. And less shoegazing and more toe-tapping.

“Telephone,” which the Angels recently performed on the Late Show With David Letterman, clocks in at less than two minutes. But it’s a minute and 59 seconds worth of sheer fun — a snazzy little garage rocker with British Invasion overtones.

“Sunday Afternoon” even has a little Texas funk in it. I could easily imagine Hundred Year Flood having a go at this one. “Yellow Elevator #2” starts out with a bass line right out of The Zombies’ “Time of the Season,” and a cheesy keyboard right out of the B-52’s “Rock Lobster” somehow evolves into a Beatles vibe. The end reminds me of “I Want You (She’s So Heavy) — and all this unfolds in less than three minutes.

What is it with The Angels’ strange obsession with snipers? On their first album, Passover, they had a song called “The Sniper at Heaven’s Gate.” Phosphene Dream ends with a disturbingly happy-sounding little number called “The Sniper.”

“Phosphene” refers to seeing lights when your eyelids are closed. Close your eyes and listen to this album. See where the lights lead you..

Also recommended:

* Slovenly Records Sampler 2010 by various artists. Don’t say I never gave ya nothin’. HERE is a link to a free 55-song mp3 sampler of punk, garage, and weird noises from Slovenly Records, a Reno, Nevada, company. The only catch is that you have to sign up for its email list.

Slovenly’s not very well known as a label, and many of the acts on this sampler are not known at all. But scattered among the artists here are several impressive names from many countries.

From Great Britain there’s Billy Childish and his latest band, Musicians of the British Empire. There are Wau y Los Arrrghs!!! and Hollywood Sinners from Spain and King Automatic, the French one-man garage band. And from these United States are Black Lips and Reigning Sound.

Some of my favorite songs are tracks by bands I had never heard of. There’s a version of the Spider-Man theme (from the old cartoon show) by a Spanish band called Los Pataconas.

“Dyn-o-mite” by the now-defunct Ape City R&B, a Washington-state band influenced by the Angry Samoans, among others, is raw snot rock with echoes of long-forgotten ’60s garage groups. Electric Crush from San Antonio plays low-fi psychedelic freakout on “Clock Stands Still.”

Most of the voices you hear on the sampler are male. Among the refreshing exceptions is that of a lady known as “Helene 33” of The Okmoniks, a Tucson band (pictured below.).


Perhaps the catchiest tune here is “Your Love," the offering from Reigning Sound, led by Greg Cartwright, formerly of The Oblivians. If you listen close enough you can hear Motown in this one.

Most ridiculous is The Ridiculous Trio, an instrumental group — trombone, tuba, drums — that specializes in instrumental covers of Stooges songs. Here the threesome does “Down on the Street.” It’s lots of fun, but I don’t think Iggy did it this way.

But don’t take my word for it. Hear it yourself. And if you like rpms better than mp3s, most of these are available from Slovenly on vinyl 45s.

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Here's The Black Angels on Letterman