pussy galore

The distinction is that Pussy Galore always felt like an EXERCISE. Which was a drag. Yeah, exercises can result in good music - Stereolab made good music. But it weighs down on things. Historia feels more like just making music. The Godz were free, Royal Trux were free, and this record is free. (Occasionally, Spencer does seem to be doing his schtick, like on "Mono Man" - one of your favorites on the record).

For me, Spencer's borderline-horrifying attitude schtick just somehow works in PG's dumbfuck noisepunk context. Seems both appropriate and funny. Whereas it really, REALLY doesn't work for the rock/blues thing he moved on to. (Like, I can't even listen to that one song where he humiliates poor old R.L. Burside with his retarded "blues" interjections. "Snake drive!" my black ass...)

Now, I can't say how, exactly, but "Right Now!" fucking does my head in properly. It feels connected and right-on and effortlessly appealing all the way through. Course, there's nothing to the music but denatured "rock action," but it STILL kicks a million miles of flabby white ass.

And I just don't get that same feeling of effortless, exhilarating, spontaneous CORRECTNESS from "Historia". It just sounds like a group of simililarly-minded junkie-pose hipsters rotating the blues grinder while they try to figure out what to do next. Nothing special.

But, you know, that's just me...

i haven't listened to these bands in years, but MAN how i listened to them once upon a time (and pretty much around the same time too).

i wonder what i'd think of them all now. i think i got rid of my godz records for some reason.

Ha ha, just watching a rerun of "House" and he's playing an instrumental from "Dial M" to annoy everyone (and eventually to induce a seizure in a patient). It does sound a little annoying out of context.

ha ha ha ha

seriously, tho, where can I find historia?

Not a hard record to find, dude, at least not on CD. There's currently one on eBay for $2.50 Buy It Now.

I've been half-heartedly searching for a vinyl version for a few years, though

and just to weigh in, it IS their best album

yes it is

historia de la musica! great record. but yeah, doc supes, it's not too tough to find. i even see the LP every few months, i feel like. want a tape of it?

found it already. I just didn't actually look for it for ten years, and Matador never mailed it to my house, so I assumed it was hard to find.

There's currently one on eBay for $2.50 Buy It Now.

That House re-run was the first time i've seen the show. Kind of an amusing surprise. I was hoping (but doubting) the thread revive was in reference to this.

LO AND BEHOLD

The Alan Milman Sect + Man-Ka-Zam were featured as well.

you Historia boosters are nuts. That record is easily their worst, right behind Right Now.

WTF Right Now is awesome! I guess I would say Historia is their worst album, as in least best, cos I like the others more, but it's still a good album and I don't know why they didn't reissue it when they did the others.

I'm not saying it's just their best, but EASILY their best. As someone said upthread, Pussy Galore in theory were awesome, and live (judging by the footage I've seen) were awesome. But come on, those records sound like shit. Historia is just an amazing rock and roll record - proto-Trux, or like the Workdogs if they were much, much better.

For some unknown reason, it's also one of those damn CDs that just won't load into iTunes for me...

If Historia... on LP is that scarce I should prob try and offload it cuz I never got much out of it

those records sound like shit

That's what I LIKE about them! Are you really trying to say Historia sounds better than something like "Kill Yourself"? 'Cause to me, the non-production sound way better and Historia sounds like, well, a Workdogs album.

Don't know what it is about Right Now (no Julia?) but I always preferred Dial M, with Groovy Hate Fuck sitting up about 10,000 light years above it.

never mind, Airport, I just remembered you think Zen Arcade sucks for the same reason. There can be no reasoning with such a stance.

its all about sugarshit sharp

"But come on, those records sound like shit."

yeah, i'm with sleevey, those albums sound awesome. sugarshit sharp especially, but the other ones as well.

those records sound like shit

Dude, we're talking about Pussy Galore. If you want sonic clarity, go listen to Jean Michel Jarre, for cryin' out loud.

i always thought they were very artfully shitty. it takes talent to get stuff to sound good and shitty.

The guitar noise on Punch Out on Right Now is so fucking great. I should go and put that on now

I still agree with myfuckingself upthread: Historia still blows. I suspect that if it actually HAD been reissued with the other stuff, there would be no contention on this point.

But come on, those records sound like shit. Historia is just an amazing rock and roll record

Sounding like shit doesn't necessarily preclude an amazing rock and roll record. Better produced or not, though, Historia sounds like they gave up on the project before they entered the studio. Zzzzzzzzzzz. Rob Tannenbaum (I believe) wrote a remarkable review of it in Spin, though.

Then again, my taste re: Pussy Galore are unorthodox. I only love two of their records. Right Now! sounds like shit and is an amazing rock and roll record, most amazingly on "Punch Out," the Bad Boy to the NY Dolls' "Bad Girl."

And Dial M For Motherfucker is one of the greatest albums of the 1980s. It's the pig fuck It Takes a Nation, an ADD whole that exceeds the sum of its tape fuckery, stops and starts, voices ghosting in and out, songs midwiving other songs, repeated themes, DNA strand guitar solos, radio transmissions, phone conversations, beeps, bloops, buzzes, etc. All of which aids the Pussies in rockin' the fuck out. Gawd, I adore this record!

I actually saw the beginning of that House episode but didn't stick around to hear PG. Which Dial M For Motherfucker did he play? ("DWDA" fits the description best.)

The guitar noise on Punch Out on Right Now is so fucking great.

Ah! A consensus is forming!

But I played that very track for a student a few weeks ago and he didn't get it. I even banged my head a bit to underline the effect. No go.

Plus Dial M For Motherfucker is in the fine tradition of godlike albums with crappy posters inside, e.g. Daydream Nation (still another reason why vinyl >>>>> CDs...has a poster ever been smooshed into a CD? Prolly but I can't think of one right now. Right Now!)

Thank you, Kevin John Bozelka, for being right about things.

like the Workdogs if they were much, much better

yeah, sorta my impression. was kinda expecting more hagerty vocals and less Spencer ham. So I haven't really figured out what i think of yet.

God bless you Kevin John Bozelka. I didn't wanna be all contrarian, but Dial M is a serious masterpiece. Actually pretty tuneful, in a weird way. I was kinda surprised by how obnoxious DWDA sounded in the House episode, 'cause I never thought of it as *that* annoying. One of my favorite albums of the 80's as well.

i can't remember the last time i actually listened to pussy galore. it's been a long time. other than groovy hate fuck, which i feel is its own entity in a weird way, the 2nd side of sugarshit sharp is definitely the thing i have played most over the years. i can't understand anyone not loving that sequence of songs and the sound and everything about it. so amazing to me.

i'd probably like historia more now than when it came out. i LIKED it, but i didn't play it much. and i sold my copy years ago, so that must mean something. or it did at the time. i definitely thought it sounded cool.

OK, I didn't mean for this to become an aesthetic debate - I love the new Times New Viking, Sic Alps, all the prime ear Siltbreeze stuff, scratchy old blues 78s...I'm not against great music 'sounding like shit.' My problem with PG's albums are just that they render almost every song an incomprehensible blur. Dial M is an exception, I grant you, and a good record, but not as good as Historia. I don't like Sugarshit Sharp at all.

I stand by my opinion of Zen Arcade (don't liked it, never did), but offer Replacements's Tim as being an amazing album despite one of the worst production jobs in rock history.

It's probably worth noting that the original CD of Dial M included all of Sugarshit Sharp except for Yu Gong. As a result, I've always thought of SS as an extension of Dial M.

"I don't like Sugarshit Sharp at all."

but why? it's so good.

i always liked how tim sounded. and i love zen arcade. we have way different ears. which is cool.

"It's probably worth noting that the original CD of Dial M included all of Sugarshit Sharp except for Yu Gong."

that's just friggin' idiotic.

yeah, and the CD added a version of Devo's "Penetration Of The Centerfold" in its place! Which is even MORE idiotic! The only place I have that awesome version of Yu-Gung now is on my original cassette.

Groovy Hate Fuck has always been closest to my heart of any PG.

The only place I have that awesome version of Yu-Gung now is on my original cassette.
Me too. Bought it when Sound Warehouse went out of business. I don't have a cassette player hooked up right now, though.

My Sugarshit Sharp CD has both Yu Gung & Penetration In The Centerfold on it, I have the Mute reissues from the late 90s tho.

"Groovy Hate Fuck has always been closest to my heart of any PG."

What he said.

Pussy Galore Love!

Live In The Red is destroying me right now. I never got a chance to hear it before. Everything I could want in a live album. I hope there's a fight on side 2.

Yeah, s'great, and Slo Pig's on there, isn't it? Nice to have that official and all.

any fans of pussy galore,please get in touch wanted live audio/shows I don't have

I've just got these:

AUDIO
SHITHAUS(pre-PUSSY GALORE) 1984-85 "live crush" cassete?? 60'

demos 1985 20'

1985-86 Oven Bait(Original Version) 60' *

1985-86 Unauthorized Oven Bait ACR007 60'
1986 1 YR Live 70' *

1986 Exile on main St 60'

Exile on main Street Unmixed Version 1986(DIFFERENT THAN THE CASSETTE VERSION) 60Â’

1-6-86 JedÂ’s?,NEW Orleans,Lousiana 30'*

8-6-86 the Complex,Washington DC 25Â’

10-16-86 the rat,Boston 37' *

9-19-86 hoosier ballrom,Indianapolis IN 45'*

CBGB,NY halloween 1986 3 tracks

CBGB 1986?love you live 7"(bootleg,4 songs live)

8-5-87 the channel, Boston 30'

10-13-87 Brewery, Raleigh, NC 40' *

31-1-87 maxwell's,Hoboken,NJ 40' MASTER=CDR1

7-26-87,asylum,NYC 25'

31-7-87 anthrax,Norwalk,CT 40' CDR1=CDR2

1987?right now cassete extra 2 live tracks 7'

11-18-88 Maxwell's,Hoboken, NJ 30' 1ST= CDR1 *

12-1-88 kennedy's club,Vienna,Austria 40' 1ST GEN=CDR1 *

22-1-88 Limelight,Kortrijk,Belgium 50Â’ CASS

1-8-88 CBGB's, NYC 30' MASTER=CDR2 *

Osaka,Japan ?-?-88 30Â’

?-?-88 Bonn,Germany 30' *

27-1-88 bad club,Hannover,Germany 30' MASTER=CDR1 *

11-17-88 Night Shift Cafe, Naugatuck, CT 35' *

17-11-88 Nightshift CAfe,Naugatuck,Conn. 1st GEN=CDR full show+interview

11-24-88 tropic,club,Bristol,UK 35'*

1-17-88 Effaanar,Eindhoven, Holland 45'*

12-2-88 the Boardwalk,Manchester,UK(this friday night only bootleg LP) 45'

23-2-88 Mean Fiddler,London,UK(cum into my mouth bootleg LP) 30'

30-11-88 drohnland,Nurnberg,Germany 30' AUD3=CDR1

23-11-88 fabrik,hamburg,Germany 70' MASTER=CDR1 *

26-11-88 rose club,Koln,Germany 60' MASTER=CDR1 *

30-1-88 the forum,Enger,Germany 30' *

17-7-89 the probe hollywood,CA 40' MASTER=CDR1 *

3-8-89 ground zero,Boston 45'

24-7-89 old avalon theatre,Minneapolis 40' AUD4=CDR1

?-july-89 apocalypse club,Toronto,Canada 60' 1ST GEN=CDR2

5-8-89 CBGB,NY “live in the red”(last show) 40’ ANY AUDIENCE RECORDINGS??

7-25-90 peel sessions 15' *(probably live tracks from a show of 1989)

VIDEO
(V)Maximum Penetration (o) 40'(X)(24) DVD

(V)1-3-87 CBGB,NY 30'(86)(24) DVD

(V)1989 british UK TV (PIG SWEAT)live in London 88+int 5'(86)

(V)Bad Club,Hannover,Germany 27-2-88(Jon Spencer stops taping,date probably as 27-1-88??) 10'

(V)9-7-89 Axis club,Forth Worth,TX 40'(78)(86) DVD

(V)dick johnson clip 5'(86) DVD

(V)22-7-89 Central Tavern,Seattle,WA(Camera Effects) DVD 40Â’

yay

classic Jon, Julie, Neil & Bob lineup:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYhTplwlLhQ

From the Teenage Riot video! At 00:12 you can see it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPytYrYqDbA

bump

does anyone still listen to jon spencer anymore? seems like another case of "the more you hear the less you want to hear". and obviously they are similar artists.

I still listen to Pussy Galore all the time — Dial 'M' For Motherfucker is a masterpiece — but the Blues Explosion never seemed to have any songs, it all sounded like rehearsal tapes of three dudes throwing ideas around hoping something would congeal.

― Instead of create and send out, it pull back and consume (unperson), Saturday, August 3, 2024 12:59 PM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

i don't really listen to pussy galore anymore but i loved them at the time. i bought all the records. i love trash can rock. i got rid of anything i bought after PG that was PG-related. boss hogg. JSBE. i don't think i ever bought a Bewitched record. i was never a royal trux fan. much to the chagrin of 95% of the indie people i know. i think PG just tapped into something groovy and by themselves they were never as strong. i might enjoy Orange if i heard it. that had the most real songs on it i think.

i was a huge gun club fan. and i probably always compared jack white and WS unfavorably (and probably unfairly) to gun club. jack white to me was the pale ghost of gun club, pixies, flat duo jets. but he outsold all of them by 59585853% so good for him. good going fella!

― scott seward, Saturday, August 3, 2024 2:26 PM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

i'll listen to some of the new one on my big speakers though. i'm open-minded!

― scott seward, Saturday, August 3, 2024 2:27 PM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

does anyone still listen to jon spencer anymore? seems like another case of "the more you hear the less you want to hear". and obviously they are similar artists.

i just listened to my first jon spencer album last week (cleaning out some cd's left behind 20 years ago by an ex), and the irony has not aged well. at least jack white committed fully to the bit, and didn't have to keep reassuring you that he was in on the joke.

based on the early reviews here, i'm actually excited to listen to the new one, which hasn't been true since elephant.

― enochroot, Saturday, August 3, 2024 4:06 PM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

Big fan of RTX and JSBE, but I've never heard Pussy Galore. I should probably rectify that. Where's the best place to start?

― Cow_Art, Saturday, August 3, 2024 4:08 PM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

They have two full-length albums, Right Now! and Dial 'M' for Motherfucker, that are great. Both are on Spotify, but not on Tidal for some reason. They also recorded a track-by-track cover of the Rolling Stones' Exile On Main St. which is more entertaining to contemplate than to listen to (they clearly lose interest in the project pretty quickly but slog it out all the way to the end). That's streaming, too.

― Instead of create and send out, it pull back and consume (unperson), Saturday, August 3, 2024 4:35 PM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

O

― brimstead, Saturday, August 3, 2024 5:40 PM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

whoops

pussy galore’s music is pretty terrible but they looked cool as hell!

imagine releasing that yuck yuck blues explosion shit in 2024!

― brimstead, Saturday, August 3, 2024 5:43 PM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

i love the sugarshitsharp EP. one side is just an einsturzende neubaten cover.

― scott seward, Saturday, August 3, 2024 6:00 PM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

"neubauten"

― scott seward, Saturday, August 3, 2024 6:02 PM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

their last album is kinda the beginning of royal trux.

― scott seward, Saturday, August 3, 2024 6:06 PM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

i came on board in a big way in 1986 with the Groovy Hate Fuck release. what can i say, i was a fan of the jesus & mary chain and richard kern and sonic youth.

― scott seward, Saturday, August 3, 2024 6:09 PM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

but the two albums that unperson highlighted are their most sustained efforts. album as album experiences. they're a lot of fun. if you like noise rock with kitchen utensil percussion.

― scott seward, Saturday, August 3, 2024 6:10 PM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

jack white should cover this one for a b-side.

― scott seward, Saturday, August 3, 2024 6:14 PM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

Since we’ve sidetracked into talking about Pussy Galore I’d say Groovy Hate Fuck and Right Now are absolute must listens…two of my alltime favorites…but pretty much everything they did was great including the live album. Agree that JSBE is mostly skippable though.

― Slim is an Alien, Monday, August 5, 2024 9:28 AM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

for me, Groovy Hate Fuck (the extended UK version that also has tracks from the 1st 7" and Pussy Gold 5000) was the one that blew my mind open back then, but as unperson notes Dial M is also a goddamn masterpiece.

can anyone defend that last LP, the fake "Historia De La Musica Rock" thing? haven't heard it since I sold it back in 1990.