Something something…and the Women Who Love Them
The Dr Frank Weakly Reader for 7.10.2020 and 7.17.2020
You may have noticed, though there’s no particular reason why you should, that I skipped last week’s Dr Frank Weakly Reader round-up. It’s quite a time-consuming exercise, and I just didn’t have the time and energy to pull it together in time. These things happen.
As no one really cares, I’m sure, there’s no need to apologize. But, I suppose I am sort of sorry? I do this for my own purposes, mostly, so I can have a concrete domain within which to search for things and look back through the timeline if I ever want. As always, I encourage you to read along if you like, and not to read along if you don’t.
Anyway, this is two weaks’ worth of stuff, so to speak, a “double issue” or “double header” if “double header” means what I think it does. So it’s big and long, and possibly a bit messy as well — we do, in a sense, the best we can here at The Dr Frank Weakly Reader, but we don’t necessarily try all that hard. Nevertheless… off we go….
FRONT BURNER
— The Mr T Experience… and the Women Who Love Them: the Sounds Radical re-issue, that is, of course. The order link emails went out to people on the “dibs” list on Wednesday, July 8, so we’re another step closer to the release (“street date”) of this restored behemoth. (At under twelve minutes a side, the shortest behemoth on record, I know.) That date is August 14, unless something goes wrong.
As of now, the 300 copies of the deluxe 180 gram gray-metallic first pressing were all claimed and pre-purchased by those on the “dibs” list. The not quite so heavy (150 gram) second “retail” edition is now available for pre-order for those who didn’t make the deluxe list, from Sounds Rad, or from various retailers like Interpunk, Amazon, etc. (Sounds Rad has a list of links to various outlets on the main page. Scroll down — it’s the second item currently.)
You can also head over to the sign-up page for the Sounds Rad mailing list if you want to be informed of future stuff like this.
— The obligatory commemorative limited edition …atWWLT shirt: Sounds Rad’s got ’em, a recreation of the design we did way back when, available for pre-order here. Lots of sizes and variants available. Not sure how long they’ll be around, so act now if that worries you.
And, speaking of: well, nine years ago (almost to the day, spookily) our old pal Katie Kittenheart sent the following message:
Doctor! is there a stash of And the Women Who Love Them t-shirts hidden somewhere? we fans are all after em and things are startin to get rowdy when one is spotted at shows!
Nine years later, thank you for your patience.
MTX IN THEORY AND PRACTICE
— In this listicle economy, where everything is all listicle all the time, I am a veritable Listicle King, and here is my latest listicle, courtesy of Brooklyn Vegan, fifteen songs I’d thought about covering around the time when …atWWLT was recorded. With commentary and YouTube links. Some good tunes on there.
— Odin: in keeping with the …atWWLT theme, we did “How’d the Date End?” from the test pressing:
“Minor secrets” here. (Plus, kind words from its biggest fan.)
And then, the following week it was “Now that You Are Gone”:
“Minor secrets” here. Songs for Odin playlist here.
And, just for the hell of it, here’s my fingerpicked version:
— The punk rock merch “workshirt” craze really was a craze, during which we did all those pretty big shows with the band Reel Big Fish, with the result that we left many thousands of these scattered throughout the US. I still see ’em out in the wild every so often. I can’t recall ever wearing one myself, but maybe I might have, between laundry days.
— “This majestic beauty of an album”: some very kind words about Our Bodies Our Selves, from George Marshal Jenkins IV on the FB Lookout Records “community” page. It is gratifying that so many people have embraced this album now, after so many years of neglect. Myself, I have lots of criticisms of it, but it is unlike anything else, including by us, and that’s something.
— Our Bodies Our Selves is a flat-chested murder mystery on Channel 11 at 7 pm, Sunday night. It is a Judy Bloom novel your sister is reading for the eighth time. It is a suicide note for your ex-boyfriend. It is unrequited love and burned-out light bulbs…
One of Chris Appelgren’s most inspired blurbs, found on the one-sheet attached to somebody’s test pressing (can’t remember whose):
— The Alcatraz Wars Redux: As Jody says, it’s a divisive album, but members of the Lookout Records FB page were mostly in favor of it (or too polite to say otherwise) after all these years, which is a far cry from 1999.
Seriously, I appreciate the kind words, even you are just being polite.
— Oh how I wish it could be 1999 again: not really, or at least not literally, but here some good shots of some good times posted in the FB Lookout Records fan page. e.g., at left.
— The Miracle of Shame Redux: since it came up, here’s some “minor secrets” on this rather peculiar release and it’s belated successor Yesterday Rules.
— Day at the Farm IV: a flier for a July 11, 1987 show whose audience I recall as the most hostile one we ever played in front of. Songs about girls were not big with the ’80s hardcore people, or anyone really. Seen on twitter.
— 1996: here’s a photo that appears in Chris Barrows’ new book of punk rock photography, Cheap Shots:
THE DR FRANK OF MYTH AND LEGEND
— Some Foggy Mountain Tops: A thing I wrote about some foggy mountain tops, incl. my own. On Medium.
— Tarot Nerds, an account on Instagram, noting Calvino’s Castle of Crossed Destinies and my own Andromeda Klein asks:
What are your favorite fictional books that prominently feature tarot?
I suggest The Greater Trumps by Charles Williams, one of the oddest books I’ve read and quite a fascinating, surreal story, beautifully written.
— Mean my old guitar: just an old pic (at left) of yours truly in Kinks’ shirt with Les Paul Custom. (It’s Norlin era — from 1983 I think — but it’s a pretty good one nonetheless.)
— Discovering Japan: Another old photo, Tokyo, 1996.
— Dr Frank and His Shiny Robot Monkeys: this pic, of a 2004 rehearsal for the Rotterdam Rumble, came up as a FB memory. The Shiny Robot Monkeys were, in reality, the Zatopeks of London. I played the role of myself.
— Dept. of bons mots:
I had this English teacher who would give me sarcastic A grades for the Pink Floyd imitation song lyrics I submitted as creative writing. “Deathless poetry — A” or “Moved me to tears — A+” it would say on the paper.
(True story.)
Plus (also a true story):
National quarters shortage! Quarters are the backbone of our national laundry system, so… RIP my unmentionables.
— I’m Like Yeah: as in, it worked again. Every time I beg people to subscribe to my YouTube channel I get a couple three takers, so it’s worth another shot.
OTHER PEOPLE’S MUSIC
— Good morning world: The Rolling Stones — “Criss Cross”:
It appears to be a newly-released Goats Head Soup out take and it’s outstanding.
— We didn’t deserve you, Chris Bailey: An appreciation of the Saints’ under-noticed fourth album, by me, a big essay on Medium.
tldr: listen to this song.
PICTURE BOOK
— Roman calendar: Elizabeth of Aragon; the head of Anthony Mary Zaccaria; Seaxburh of Ely; Saint Od de Pallars; the former tomb of Isabel of Portugal (who is actually the same person as Elizabeth of Aragon, but I got mixed up with the various calendars — but of course, you can’t have too much of Elizabeth, amirite?); Blessed Sir Adrian Fortescue; Saint Olga of Kiev; Saint Veronica and the Sudarium; Emperor Saint Heinrich II; Saint Kateri Tekakwitha; Underwater memorial at La Palma, commemorating Inácio de Azevedo and the Forty Martyrs of Brazil, massacred by French Calvinist pirates in 1570; commemoration of Our Lady of Carmel; Our Lady in Porticu…
— Behold: Gidget: Cry out in Anger; Betty Compson is America; just a sexy girl in glasses sitting on a table; Shell shade; have you ever heard of… werewolves?; J. Frederick Smith’s take on Helen of Troy; GOTCHA, from Atari; just a nice blonde in a chair; Nancy and friends, and the Ghost of Blackwood Hall; from giddiness and laughter to tears and sorrow; girl with dog and penguin; Dexter Maurer’s The Storm; The Arousers; Startling Comics; a skirt in a skirt, with gun (by Elvgren); man being bombarded by “v i b e s”…
IN THE NEWS
— Dept. of So True It’s Not Even Funny: Get fired from your job in five to ten years. Found on twitter, appropriately. (At left.)
— Making the Junior Anti-Sex League Sound Like Led Zeppelin: I don’t have any spare money to devote to reading the rest of this essay from Matt Taibbi’s substack, but I did appreciate this bit contrasting yesterdays counterculture with today’s “revolutionary” orthodoxy.
— The Boyfriend Cliff: There are at least half a dozen halfway decent potential song titles to be appropriated from the text of Gov. Cuomo’s screwy Covid poster. I’m going to start with “(The) Boyfriend Cliff”.
— Obits: a couple of music titans passed away this past week, and I posted the customary photos of them, Ennio Morricone and Charlie Daniels. (The girl Charlie is holding in the photo is Stevie Nicks, by the way.)
As a further salute, a couple of songs.
First, because, like me, Ennio M. wrote a song called “Deep Deep Down,” here is is, from the Danger: Diabolik soundtrack:
Second, “Uneasy Rider” will no doubt always be my favorite Charlie Daniels song, from back when he was a counter-culture country rebel:
A further note: one of my not yet released but finished songs is now a song-in-progress once again, I think, because the Charlie Daniels reference in it no longer quite works (though I suppose it could be finessed.) I kind of thought he’d just keep on going forever I guess. RIP, Charlie, and hope you’re having a grand old time in Heaven.
FIN
And that’ll wrap it up for this “double header” edition of the Dr Frank Weakly Reader.
See you next week.
