[FR : Laisse tomber ton plan idiot de visiter à Paris, une ville sans intérêt pour le tourisme, tout comme pour l'habitation.]
I used to live in San Francisco, and moved to Paris in 1999. Ironically, both are leading tourist cities whose attraction and reputation is largely based on bygone times. For example, in San Francisco: the Victorian era, the fifties, the sixties. In Paris: the Middle Ages, the Belle Époque, the fifties. Vestiges of these truly wonderful periods do still exist, as well as modern elements that make these cities interesting for tourism or habitation, coexisting with the many disadvantages and annoyances of modern life (one of which is living in a city overrun with stupid tourists).
But enough philosophizing, let’s get practical.
Planning
For your Internet research before leaving home, use
official Paris tourist office
vide-greniers (neighborhood garage sales) (attention: green dots only)
General Tips
Paris has shitty weather, kind of like NY or Boston, although pleasant surprises can happen. Don’t forget your umbrella. Dress nice: there is no such thing as being overdressed in Paris. English is almost universally spoken in tourist situations (hotels, restaurants, museums), but it’s nice to ask first “Pardon me, do you speak English?” (or much better, “Excusez-moi, parlez-vous anglais ?”) Like everywhere, a few basic words like “merci” et “s’il vous plaît” are appreciated!
Transport
Getting around Paris on public transportation is easy, and there is no reason at all to have a car in town. Ask for a Métro/bus system (RATP) map (“plan de réseau”) in any station. Most buses run until about 11pm, the Métro runs until about 12:30am. The Métro runs 1 hour later on Friday and Saturday night. There is a system of (less-convenient) buses all night (Noctilien). A Métro pass “Paris Visite” for zones 1-3 (good also for the bus and most importantly for the funicular of Montmartre) for the period of your visit is a good idea and saves having to worry about tickets. At http://www.ratp.fr click the British flag. There is also the one-week Carte Orange, which starts on Mondays no matter when you buy it. At the worst, you may need to pay for a few cab rides, but they are not too expensive. When you get here you should buy a proper street map with all the streets (about 5-10 euros at a newsstand, booklet form is best. I like “Paris facile A-Z”). The free maps are good up to a point, but do not show all the streets. You can get from the airports to central Paris on public transport. If you are alone this is more economical (about 10 euros) but if you are two or more, or with a lot of baggage, consider taking a cab (minimum 30 euros), except if you are in the middle of rush hour when traffic will affect the cab fare and driving time.
Telephone
Paris numbers start with 01. Portable phones start with 06. You would dial my old home number (no longer in service) 01 48 04 72 84 from the USA as 011 33 1 48 04 72 84. Tobacco is sold only (officially) in tobacco shops, which have a red “tabac” sign. Most bars have some under the counter. To make phone calls here in pay phones (increasingly rare) you will need a phone card (Télécarte) which is sold at tobacco shops. Get ONLY a Télécarte, not any other card; there are all kinds of other sleazy ones. You can buy a small one, 50 unités. Some pay phones take credit cards too. Much less complicated: your American portable phone may work in Europe if it is GSM (digital) tri-band. Check into it before you travel. Do not expect to find free WiFi everywhere like you have back home. There is free WiFi in some Paris parks.
Meals
Breakfast is an espresso and a croissant, or a tartine beurée (bread and butter), perhaps at the counter of a bar (where there may be a basket of croissants already so you can grab one). Do not attempt to get complicated with the coffee, this is not Starbucks. As you have an American accent, you will be asked if you want a “little coffee.” Answer in the affirmative, this should get you an espresso. Otherwise, your coffee will be diluted with lots of hot water since it appears that Americans like it that way. If you choose to sit at a table in a café (and especially outside), the prices may be higher than at the bar, but you have bought the right to sit at the table for a long time and read your book, look at chicks (don’t forget your sunglasses), etc.
Lunch can be a sandwich bought at a boulangerie (bakery) if you are on the run or economizing (but don’t forget to take a little piece of pie too). Look for a nearby park to eat in. Theoretically it is prohibited to drink alcohol in the park, so be discrete, and be polite if the guard busts you. Otherwise, have a nice meal at a restaurant or brasserie. Many places have a menu (a set of particular dishes, often entrée-plat-dessert) at a good price (10-14 E) at lunchtime, which by the way begins between 12:30 and 1:30pm; noon is a little early. Attention: Americans call an entrée an “appetizer” and a plat a “main course”. British call an entrée a “starter”. If the weather is nice, be sure to take advantage of tables on the terrasse (sidewalk).
At the end of the afternoon is a nice time to have an apéro (cocktail), particularly on another terrasse or in a bar where the tables have a view of the street so you can look at chicks. But here, it is considered exotic to drink “cocktails” in the American sense of a mixed drink (Sex on the Beach, etc.). Very popular are: beer, wine (by the glass), anisette (Ricard, etc.: add 5 volumes of water), cooked wines (Martini, etc.). You can have a coffee if you like. The big brands of French beer are atrocious just like in the USA (Kronenbourg, 1664, etc.) but you can often find a Belgian brand on tap (à pression).
Dinner should be in a nice restaurant so you can profit from being in Paris. Dinnertime starts at 8pm, although you can go later if you like. Any restaurant will serve until 10pm, most later. Most places offer wine by the glass, pitcher, or bottle. A pitcher of 25 cl is a good start for one person, 50 cl for two. The wine selection in pitchers is often more limited and more basic than what you can get in bottles, suit yourself. There are menus available in some restaurants in the evening as well. If there are specialties indicated at a restaurant, give them a try. A meal lasts at least one hour, a proper meal two hours. If you are in a rush, you are in the wrong place!
Do not assume that ethnic restaurants that would be good at home in the US (and especially in SF) are good here. In particular, Chinese and Mexican food is often atrocious in France. On the other hand, small restaurants run by people from former French colonies (North Africa, Viet Nam, Italy) may be worth a try.[1]
Activities
There are tons of things to do in Paris. A short visit will leave you disappointed to have missed many things. Five to seven days will give you enough time to see a bunch of stuff, and leave you eager to come back. There are hundreds of museums and expositions of art and photography. (Attention, the “Éspace Dali” is a rip off!) As soon as you arrive, you should buy a guide like:
L’Officiel des Spectacles
Pariscope
These are cheap weekly magazines with all the listings. They are not on the Internet because then they would not sell any more magazines. They come out on Wednesday, which is the day when all cinemas change their programs. There are kiosks (newsstands) all over.
Neighborhoods and walks
If you have decent weather, walk around, and then take a break on a nice terrasse. Take a walk along the Canal St-Martin (quai de Valmy, pause at Point Éphemère, quai de la Seine, or if you’re feeling energetic, all the way to la Villette); square du Temple to Marché des Enfants rouges to rue Veille du Temple to rue des Rosiers and rue des Francs Bourgeois to place des Vosges; in the Bastille neighborhood along rue de la Roquette and rue Keller; rue Tiquetone and rue Montorgueil; rue d’Orsel and rue des Abbesses and rue Lepic; starting at place du Tertre (hyper touristy) and then following your nose on small streets around Montmartre; Île St-Louis; les quais de la Seine from approximately Île St-Louis to pont des Arts; rue de Seine to rue de Buci to boulevard St-Germain to rue Danton then follow your nose; rue de la Montagne St-Genviève to le Panthéon to rue Mouffetard; Jardin du Luxembourg; Jardin des Plantes; la Coulée verte (promenade plantée) (elevated railway track converted to park); buttes Chaumont; Parc Floral; Jardin des Tuileries; etc. The Marché d’Aligre (open-air produce market), place d’Aligre, daily 7am-1pm except Monday, or go at 5am to drink a coffee on a terrasse and see the merchants setting up the stands. Enough? While walking around, look for Space Invaders (see photo).
Picnic Spots
Western tip of Île St-Louis (go down stairs). Canal St-Martin. Buttes Chaumont. Parc Floral during concerts. Parc de la Villette.
Music
Paris is great for jazz. The big shows are expensive, but especially during the week you can find jam sessions for free where you just have to buy a beer now and then (for example Caveau des Oubliettes 5e). On the other hand, Paris is terrible for rock, and you (and I) will be lucky if there is a decent show during your stay. Check this site, and the posters and flyers at Born Bad Record Shop, 17 rue Keller 11e (noon-8pm except Sunday), and then buy some records from my friends there. The main punk place at the moment is the Mécanique ondulatoire, 8 passage Thiéré 11e (near Bastille).
Money
As you know, the currency is the Euro, which used to have a value somewhat close to a dollar. You can take out money from ATM machines (distributeurs) all over Paris; you are never far from one. Watch your back when using the machine, just like back home. Be sure to verify before your departure with your US bank that your card is OK for international withdrawals. Then there is no need at all to have travelers’ checks or other stuff. There is no need to all to go to a “change” place, except that if you have a moment before leaving the USA to get a few Euros in your pocket; that will take the pressure off you to find an ATM right away at the airport, that’s all.
Booty
You have the right to bring back two 75 cl bottles of alcohol per person to the USA. One or two extra will probably not land you in jail. With current regulations about liquids, you will be forced to put them in your checked luggage, so pack them extremely well and pray. For shopping, there is of course a lot of fashion and cosmetics here, if you are into that. There are flea markets on the weekend (Sat-Sun) porte de Clignancourt, porte de Montreuil and porte de Vanves, which have become increasingly professional and decreasingly interesting. The equivalent of the Salvation Army is called Emmaüs, but probably not worth your time unless you travel outside of Paris. Stores are basically all closed Sunday and some are closed Monday.
“I want a good bakery!”
There are many; here are a few of different types, in no particular order. (There are bad ones too, sorry about that.)
1. Manon, 87 rue St-Antoine 4e, closed Mondays
2. Landemaine, 130 rue de la Roquette, 11e, closed Mondays
3. Du Pain et des idées, 34 rue Yves-Toudic, 10e, closed Saturdays and Sundays
4. Bazin, 85 rue de Charenton, 12e, closed Thursdays
5. Durand (L’Autre boulange), 43 rue de Montreuil, 12e, closed Sundays and Mondays
6. Pichard, 88 rue Cambronne, 15e, closed Mondays and Tuesdays
[1] However, the Italian restaurants in my neighborhood are mainly run by Turks and Egyptians. Let the buyer beware!
Filed under: american, culture, europe, français, text in English, top tips/vie pratique, voyages | Leave a Comment
[FR : Autobiographie d'un criminel américain qui fait aussi le portrait des bas-fonds solidaires dans la société américaine fin 19e.]
This autobiography of a career criminal is also a fascinating portrait of the American proletarian criminal class and their associates at the end of the 19th century, from hobos hopping trains and being beaten mercilessly by railroad “bulls” to Salt Chunk Mary, an incredible character and the best fence for stolen property in the West. Black pops in and out of jail while continuously improving his connections with a widespread and mutually-supportive underworld. When one is in trouble, friends all pitch in: a socialist model in stark contrast to the prevailing mentality in America.
In passing, he profits from his experiences to provide first-hand social criticism that was surely radical at the time, and still bears up.
I’ve read a number of books of this type; Edward Bunker’s “Education of a Felon” is an interesting comparison. During my reading, I was increasingly disturbed by a nagging doubt: was the book genuine? The lack of documented detail [1] and Candide-like structure were capped by the classic “exploitation” formula: a final chapter of the form “I hope my story will serve as a warning to stay away from the criminal life.”
Does this make me more of a skeptic (or less gullible) than William S. Burroughs, who cites the book as a key influence? Perhaps. But now we have the Internet. Some searching led me to on-line archives of the San Francisco Call, the newspaper run by Fremont Older, a progressive with faith in the inner goodness of Black who bargained him out of jail and set him on the good path.
I discovered something marvelous. The timidity of Black to set out the gory details of his criminal life did not affect the reporters who covered the police blotter for the SF Call. [4] Quite the opposite. Here are a few examples that make for entertaining reading, and that also removed any remaining doubts about the authenticity of Black and his adventures. I suppose we have to take into account the vast differences in society and what has become allowable in literature since 1926, but imagine if he had let loose with all the nasty details that even the reporters didn’t know! Whew! What a book that would have been. [2] (Links below.)
It was not long after Black landed at Ingleside [jail], five years ago, that he became a power within the walls. He set himself as the commercial king and sold the most sought after commodity — “dope.” It is known that when in his cell Black sold “shots” of morphine through the wicket to other prisoners at 10 cents for each hypodermic injection. He would insert the needle in the customer’s arm, inject the “shot” and collect his fee.
San Francisco Call, Volume 111, Number 36, 5 January 1912
Black was the wealthiest man in the county jail, not excepting the officials. He was known as the “king of the opium ring,” and made a small fortune in the sale of morphine and cocaine to the other prisoners who desired the drugs. It is known that several days before his departure he had $2,700 of his own money strapped about his waist in a money belt. Two weeks ago he told a grand Juror who was inquiring into conditions in the jail that his “bank roll” amounted to $2,000. Among his other possessions he had diamonds, unset, solitaire, clustered, and watches and other jewelry. He was abundantly supplied with expensive clothes of the latest fashion.
San Francisco Call, Volume 111, Number 36, 5 January 1912
When the officers attempted to place the suspect under arrest Black drew a revolver. Before he could make use of the weapon, however, the detectives closed in on him. A desperate struggle ensued, and Black was not subdued until beaten almost into insensibility.
San Francisco Call, Volume 95, Number 138, 16 April 1904
A remarkable detail is the prevalence of opium sales and consumption by Chinese people, who seem to have their own separate underground society. In one scene, Black is in an unfamiliar town and needs a hit of “hop” (opium) [3]. He simply looks for a Chinese laundry, in the way that someone today might look for a McDonalds, knowing in advance what is on the menu.
Another recurring theme is corruption in the criminal justice system, and the book finishes with an appeal for its reform. Black repeatedly buys himself out of situations in the most matter-of-fact way. At least today these practices are more concealed.
Overall, an interesting read in spite of my regrets over what this book could have been. Thanks to my friend Phil for recommending it, and to my old neighbors AK Press in SF and Amok in LA for putting it out.
[1] For example, when he steals a (fake) ruby, he says “strangely, it never made the papers.”
[2] The book’s excellent Afterword, written by Bruno Ruhland, lifts a phrase from an article without crediting it, while nevertheless citing the wrong date (1906). “Black, in 1904, caused a reign of terror in the Mission district during the course of a number of daring robberies and holdups.” (cf. SF Call 24 December 1912)
[3] Now I know where the fifties (?) term hop-head came from!
[4] Here are links to these articles, which are well worth reading. [5]
5 January 1912
24 December 1912
16 April 1904
18 April 1904
19 April 1904
20 April 1904
[5] The catastrophically bad Veridian OCR software for on-line newspapers apparently does not perform even the most elementary heuristic cleanup on the scans, leaving things like numbers and capital letters in the middle of words. It relies on “crowd sourcing” (cf. Wikipedia): the kindness of strangers to come in and fix up the lousy scans. As a public service, I located as many articles as I could about Jack Black and manually corrected them. Example:
A. Kriox, ;a /Valencia Street Gf roceiy ; Identifies ;. Him as ;tlie:Man^hat Held Him Up
-> A. Knox, a Valencia Street Grocer, Identifies Him as the Man That Held Him Up
Filed under: american, culture, literature, text in English | 1 Comment
Jon Spencer is a HODAD!
[FR : Jon Spencer, malgré son renommé, n'a qu'une compréhension superficielle de la musique qui est censée l'inspirer.]
Certain friends of mine with otherwise acceptable taste get excited about Jon Spencer and his so-called Blues Explosion. I don’t. In fact, his music really annoys me.
And Jon is not the only musician that bugs me in this special way.
Spencer has this problem in relation to blues and roots music.
Henry Rollins has this problem in relation to punk music. He was the death of Black Flag.
Brian Setzer has this problem in relation to rockabilly music.
This defect is particularly galling in the case of the artists discussed here because, nonetheless, each one has attained great popularity, respect and renown playing a style of music that I revere. Their public 
images imply a mastery of their style and feed a vicious cycle that legitimizes them to consumers, even to the point of their becoming icons. Yet they only have a superficial understanding of their style of music, without comprehending the core, the dirt, the truth behind it. They exploit a style of music without truly “digging” it. For me, their work has a pretentious, annoyingly false aspect. It has proved impossible for them to become as good, or as cool, as those they imitate. They come off as humorless and stiff; they sample, but it’s copy-paste.
A shining counterexample is Lux Interior. He had a perfect grasp of rockabilly music and American culture, right down to its dirty core, and was able to cover, write and play songs in his own style that remain true to the spirit of their roots and ring true.
How can I justify my iconoclasm? A gut feeling, backed up by a lifetime of listening to music. It’s like pies, I can tell if somebody really knows how to make one, or if they are just following Martha Stewart’s recipe.
So what’s the word? ["Thunderbird!"]
“Dilettante” is not bad, but emphasizes a lack of seriousness. This is not precisely the problem. These fellows have made a career out of knowing their style; they simply have not succeeded in penetrating it properly.
“Poseur” is not bad, but emphasizes that the pose is struck to impress others. That is indeed the case with these three, but is not the focus of this diatribe.
“Phony” or “sham” is not bad, but does not specify why their music is not true to its origins.
Ah, I finally found the answer in 60s surfer slang. These guys are hodads: somebody who tries to ape the look but does not really dig, is not really cool, and hangs out with the real surfers anyway.
Filed under: american, arts, culture, music, philosophy/philosophizing, pop culture, text in English | 2 Comments
Radio Days
[FR : Mon parcours musical, à travers les émissions de radio qui m'ont formé, et celles que j'ai créées moi-même par la suite. Écouter : KALX WMBR]
Sorting through endless boxes of crap after the third move in 4 years, I decided it was time to trash the many hundreds of audio cassettes I had been dragging around for 2 decades. A friend told me: “If you haven’t seen it in a year, you don’t need it.” I don’t think I had listened to a cassette since 1999. It was just dead weight.
Starting in the 70s, I had taped all my favorite albums and made many dozens of compilation tapes with favorite punk and 60s music. I would listen to them at home, in the car or on band tour in the van. There was also a bunch of tapes I’d saved with radio shows I’d hosted.
But let me tell a little story.
I grew up in suburban New Jersey in the 1960′s. It turned out to be a great time to be born, but a lousy location. My favorite toy was my battery-powered transistor radio. I listened to the Top 40 AM radio stations in New York and Philadelphia. My earliest memory is listening to the Supremes on a car radio. Another great memory is me and my friends singing along with Alice Cooper’s “School’s Out” on the jukebox in our school cafeteria in 1972.
Check out the audio on this page, in particular 1964-1968. This is exactly what I listened to constantly on WABC, 770 AM, New York. Since these links are “airchecks”, they do not contain the full length of each song: they are edited to mainly show what the DJs used to say, introducing the songs, talking over the beginning and end of songs, doing hokey commercials, being stupid, taking phone calls on the air, etc. I thought they were so cool! Maybe one day I could be a DJ.
I recommend that you listen to this one because it is not edited like the others, many songs are full-length. It’s a show from 1967, with DJ “Cousin Brucie”. According to the site, it was also broadcast to American soldiers in Viet Nam, and pointedly includes Victor Lundberg’s “An Open Letter to My Teenage Son”.
Top 40 was literally (after taking bribery and manipulation into account) a list of the top-selling 40 singles for the week, in the country or in a particular market. They would be broadcast all day and night on these stations. But that was not a problem: in the 60s, it was all incredibly great. In my neighborhood chain store, they had 40 wooden bins for the 40 hit 45s, arranged in order. I would save my allowance money and buy my favorites.
In the 70s, pop music changed for the worse. And simultaneously, I started to become aware that I did not need to listen to the crap that was being fed to me on commercial radio, as I had done happily for years. I was looking for something else, but didn’t really find it. I started listening to electric blues (John Lee Hooker, Elmore James, Lowell Fulsom…), in particular on the University of Pennsylvania college radio station in Philadelphia, WXPN. I dug the first George Thorogood album too. When he played in Philadelphia, I made it in the door of the club by wearing a big hat and a heavy coat with a collar that went up to my nose, since I was way under age. There was a teeny punk scene in Philadelphia at that time, but I was unaware of it.
I left suburban New Jersey for Boston in September 1978 to attend MIT. Soon after arriving, hanging out in my dormitory, and with my habit of listening to WXPN, I decided to see what the college radio station of my own school was playing. It changed my life.
WTBS (soon to sell that name to Ted Turner for $50,000 and be renamed WMBR) was (arguably) the best college radio station in town, and maybe in the US. It was a crossroads for the burgeoning punk scene in Boston. Numerous punk shows featured all the latest records and tapes by local bands as well as national and international acts. Don’t forget that, at that time, these records were extremely difficult to obtain. Newbury Comics, a little comic book shop opened by an MIT dropout, had innovated by placing a cardboard box of punk 45s for sale next to the cash register. It soon turned into 2 boxes, and then more.
I listened constantly to WTBS, as well as the other college stations in Boston. I started going out to shows, motivated by the “concert report” on the radio. Blaine, my neighbor in the dorms, taught me to play guitar (in 5 minutes). I practiced along with the first Ramones album for a few weeks (top tip: turn the “balance” knob to cut out the original guitar or bass), and then started a band. I began DJing at WMBR about a year later. Newcomers had to start on the 7am shift playing 60s music (Top 40 as well as garage, although I snuck in some other stuff). The show was called Sleepwalk, and it was the first show of the broadcast day: we turned on the transmitter. The Pebbles series had recently started appearing, sparking renewed interest on the part of punks for our garage predecessors. Nuggets was still available for cheap in cut-out bins. The Lyres, who played their first show in January 1979, were one of the first current-day bands to get into this style.
MIT students were few and far between at the station (most DJs were community members with much more musical and radio experience than the students; also, the average MIT student did not care about music or any other cultural or social notion), but it was station policy to favor students by putting them in positions of responsibility. This enabled me to make a rapid climb up the station hierarchy and after a while I was Program Director, in charge of choosing what shows went on the air. My friend Mick was Station Manager. As reckless youth will do, I threw numerous “boring” shows off the air and put on a wide variety of additional punk shows in their place, as well as 60s shows, an anarchist political show, etc.
The best and most legendary punk show on WMBR was (and remains today) the Late Risers Club. It’s the show I heard when I first arrived at MIT. I was never a permanent DJ on that show, although I did a couple of fill-ins. I founded my own weekly show called No Fun, with my friend Don, based on the concept of only playing “old-school punk”: records from before 1980 (including 60s garage punk). This concept was ahead of its time, as it was only 1982! I also filled in on Media Blitz, which featured California bands, and Who Are the Mystery Girls, which normally featured Sheena and Spencer, two charming and unpredictable hostesses who could play or do anything. We took over the venerable Night Owl show and turned it into an all-request punk program.
College radio stations and shows like this were instrumental in the rise of punk music in the US in those pre-Internet days, keeping people informed about new music, local bands, upcoming concerts, etc. I was proud of that, and still am. DJs would compete with each other to stay on top of the latest music by reading zines, and would order records by mail from far-flung labels and bands to play on the air. (The dearth of college radio in France was surely an impediment to the rise of punk in that country.) When I moved to San Francisco, I formed Disorder Records, a not-for-profit mail-order business which lasted a few years. With the help of Frank, Kenny, Max and some other friends, we drank beer every week in my living room and sent great records to people from Nebraska to Singapore who had no other way to obtain them. (Customers: if I still owe you money, let me know.)
While making my own mail-order purchases in the 80s to get records I was passionate about, I would not have believed that one day you would be able to listen to any song you wanted instantly and for free by clicking a button, record stores would be closing, and yet the Misfits records I was getting for $3 would sell for hundreds of dollars on EBay. While playing “Whole Wide World” on WMBR in 1981, I would not have believed that 30 years later I would “Friend” Wreckless Eric on Facebook (and be accepted, yay!)
A little anecdote… One of the jazz hosts I threw off the air at WMBR was Melanie Berzon. She went on to a long and successful career on other public radio stations. Years later, after moving to San Francisco, I participated in the Maximum Rock n Roll radio show on KPFA in Berkeley and did many shows along with Tim and the Gang. However, Maximum Rock n Roll was eventually thrown off the air by the KPFA Program Director…Melanie Berzon. Years later, I was at the dentist in San Francisco. He gave me some headphones to listen to music, to make my visit more pleasant. It was tuned to KCSM, a jazz station in San Mateo. Melanie Berzon was doing a show and it was time for the pledge drive, so when the dentist finished, I borrowed his phone and called in a pledge. I wonder if she recognized my name.
After almost five years at MIT, I managed to graduate despite myself and moved to San Francisco in 1983. I started volunteering at KALX, a community radio station in Berkeley. I met a lot of good friends there, including Dr. Frank, already legendary for his brilliant radio show, and soon to start the Mr. T Experience. I worked my way up the ladder at KALX as well, and did about 10 years of shows before retiring. The KALX format included the requirement to play current music (as you can see, hardcore was in the air) and a variety of styles. It’s remarkable to see the quantity and variety of great new stuff that was coming out in the mid 80′s. Frankly, when was the last time the likes of the Dead Kennedys (1981) or Minutemen (1985) were seen in the “new record bin”?
A peculiar aspect of the KALX shows is that radio station policy required DJs to play a certain proportion of “current black music”. I don’t want to reopen that can of worms, but while I genuinely liked the songs I played in this context, they don’t always fit with the rest of the program. They have been removed for your listening pleasure.
So back to the cassettes. Before throwing them out, I copied some to the computer. Here they are:
listen to KALX archives 1985-1987
listen to WMBR archives 1980-1982
There are also some recordings of other peoples’ shows.
I apologize in advance for my lousy attempts at humor, my stilted mic breaks, my bad engineering, etc. On the WMBR shows in particular, I talk too much, a direct repercussion of being weaned on WABC. The 1985 Punk Awards can be best understood as my version of the 1967 WABC Top 100 with Dan Ingram (listen). As time went on, I learned to shut up and play the music. Hope you enjoy these shows despite everything.
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(aka Rock ‘n’ Roll Meeting Place/Stay Free/Fifi’s Bar)
Go to the Shimo-kitazawa station.
(You may need to change trains/lines. Just keep asking people.)
(The fares are complicated. If you don’t understand them, just buy a cheap ticket; you can pay the difference when you exit.)
Go to the South exit of the station. (Click below to go to the next page.)
Filed under: alcohol, culture, text in English, top tips/vie pratique, voyages | Leave a Comment
A Pile of Video Cassettes
In the 80′s and 90′s in San Francisco, I copied a ton of my favorite films (mostly exploitation) to video cassette. The list, below, does not constitute “my favorites”, but most of them are really good.
Dans les années 80-90 à San Francisco, j’ai copié une tonne de mes films préférés (la plupart dans les genres d’exploitation) sur K7 vidéo. La liste, en bas, ne constitue pas “mes favoris”, mais ils sont généralement très bien.
2000 Maniacs
All You Need Is Cash (The Rutles)
The Ambushers
Astro Zombies
At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul
Bad (Andy Warhol)
Bad Taste
Beneath The Valley of the Ultra-Vixens
Beyond The Valley of the Dolls
The Big Bird Cage (tape unplayable)
Black Devil Doll from Hell
Black Lizard
The Black Magic with Buddha
Black Sunday
Blade Runner
Blast-Off Girls
Blood Diner
Blood Orgy of the She Devils
Bloodsucking Freaks
Bloodthirsty Butchers (tape unplayable)
Blue Sunshine
Brain Dead
Bunny Yeager’s Nude Las Vegas
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Clubfoot Orchestra)
Carnival of Souls
Chained For Life
Change Heat
Color Me Blood Red
The Curse of Her Flesh
Darktown Strutters
Deadbeat at Dawn
Deadly Weapons
Death Race 2000
Desperate Living
Disco Godfather
Dolemite
Dr. Butcher, M.D.
Dracula (Andy Warhol)
Evil Dead 2
Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!
Female Trouble
Forbidden Zone
The Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow
Girl Gang
The Gore Gore Girls
The Gruesome Twosome
High School Confidential
The Honeymoon Killers
The Horror at Party Beach
The Human Tornado
I Drink Your Blood
The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed Up Zombies
Infra-Man
Jabberwalk
Just for the Hell of It
The Karen Carpenter Story (CBS)
The Legend of Dolomite
Leningrad Cowboys Go America
Let My Puppets Come
Lorna
Love and Leather Pants
The Mack
Mad Monster Party
Mantis in Lace (tape unplayable)
Meet The Feebles!
The Monster and the Stripper
Motor Psycho
Ms. 45
Mudhoney
Multiple Maniacs
Night of the Living Dead
Nosferatu (Clubfoot Orchestra)
Petey Wheatstraw
Pink Flamingos
Plan Nine from Outer Space
Reefer Madness
Reform School Girls
Repo Man
Richard Kern Shorts
Rock & Rule
Rock ‘N’ Roll High School
Rude! (Rudy Ray Moore)
The Sadist
She Devils On Wheels
Soul Vengeance
Spider Baby
The Stuff
Super Soul Brother
Superfly
Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story
Supervixens
Switchblade Sisters
Three the Hard Way
The Thrill Killers
Touch of Her Flesh
Trader Hornee
Twisted Brain
Up In Smoke
The Vampire Lovers
Vixen
White Lightnin’ Road
Wild Guitar
The Wild Wild World of Jayne Mansfield
Wild Zero
The Wizard of Gore
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Interview : Tina Lucchesi
Propos recueillis par Mark Adolf et Jon von Zelowitz, 03.12.2007, Paris.
[EN : Sorry kids, no English translation! Tina is the queen of SF garage music. That's all you need to know.]
Tes débuts dans la musique ?
Le premier groupe n’est pas The Trashwomen, c’était moi avec Bret des Flakes et ma copine Laura Gregory et un autre type Jim et j’ai joué l’orgue, c’était les Cryptics. Nous avons répété chez moi et c’était de la merde, reprises garage rock qui s’appelle “Mr. Creeper” et d’autres conneries dans le genre…
Vous avez joué où ?
Nul part, on nous a programmé mais nous ne sommes pas venus, nous avions le trac ! En même temps il y a Mike Lucas qui sortait avec Elka, elle jouait dans Eight Ball Scratch. Juste avant le réveillon 91, le groupe a splitté, et Mike a dit “je veux un groupe surf exclusivement filles qui s’appelle les Trashwomen”, une idée de génie. C’est lui qui a choisi les morceaux, Danielle et moi avions aucune idée comment les jouer, il y avait Christina aussi la femme de Maz qui a joué la 2ème guitare pour le premier show. Nous avons répété pendant 3 semaines, et ensuite nous avons joué sur scène, nous étions bourrées et nous avons dit “let’s do it again”. Nous avons joué le set une deuxième fois. Mike Lucas, c’était plus ou moins son idée. Elka jouait avec Eight Ball Scratch, un peu surf et rockabilly garage. Nous avons porté des bikinis sur scène, mais il y a Christina qui a dit “mais NON, je ne veux pas porter ça sur scène” et j’ai dit “peut-être c’est pas un groupe pour toi” (rire) Elle s’est barrée… (rire)
Qui a composé les morceaux ?
C’est Elka, en générale, qui faisait tout.
Les paroles aussi ?
Oui. L’enregistrement du premier disque on a fait en 6 heures dans un studio de répét. Quelques morceaux sont pas en version finale et merdique mais nous avons changé les paroles de Let’s Go un morceau de Eddie Corbett [ndlr : ?] Et nous avons chanté nos propres paroles. Elka a écrit les autres morceaux.
Comment t’a appris jouer la batterie ?
Russell, et Elka m’a fait apprendre beaucoup aussi, elle joue n’importe quel instrument, mais pour moi c’était un déclic, facile, “je peux faire ça !!!”
Parfois t’es chanteuse, ça te manque d’avoir un instrument ?
Effectivement j’en ai marre, quand je rentre je lance un groupe où je joue la basse, j’ai envie que tout le monde chante, être chanteuse est boring.
T’as une belle voix.
J’ai toujours envie de chanter, mais j’ai envie de changer aussi.
Pour créer un bon groupe, quels sont les composants nécessaires ?
Il y en a deux. J’ai un groupe Special Ed avec mon X Chris, et Marie des Bananas, un super party band, des morceaux de rockab, nous changeons d’instrument, il y a des compos, il chante, je joue la basse, on change, etc., le public s éclat, j’aime ce genre de musique. Des jeunes viennent nous voir, c’est super. J’aime Top 10 aussi parce que j’adore le power pop, c’est bien d’avoir les bon musiciens mais avec Top 10 tout le monde est super zicos, je les adore mais le mieux est de “rock out” tu peux pas le simuler.
Niveau personnalité aussi faut que tout le monde soit en accord. C’est difficile s’il y a qqn qui n’est pas vraiment dans le délire du groupe, on est toujours obligé d’être sur la pointe des pieds.
Dans les Trashwomen c’est un groupe où les personnalités ont bien mélangés ?
Au début oui mais après c’est devenu bizarre. Moi et Danielle ont eu une dispute avec Elka au sujet du pognon, c’était idiot, bizarre, les groupes de filles sont spéciales. Elles ont des disputes sur n’importe quoi.
C’est ça qui a fait rompre le groupe ?
Oui, les histoires de pognon
Records, touring, quoi ?
Whatever, c’était pour n’importe quoi. Maintenant on est plus vieux et plus sage
T’as des bons souvenirs des tournées, etc. ?
Nous n’avons pas beaucoup tourné. Nous avons commencé en 91 et nous avons splitté en 95. Une tournée en Europe et une au Japon. Chacune payé par un mec.
En Europe, c’est Tilo, de Pin Up Records ?
Oui.
Quels sont les aspects agréables de tourner ? Rencontrer des garçons ?
Hi hi hi, je pense qu’à cette époque, j’avais 20 ans, jamais visité en Europe, je n’ai jamais prévu d’y aller avec un groupe, visiter plein de pays, etc., c’était super.
Tu te souviens du concert au Slow Club à Paris ?
J’ai toujours les photos, on s’est bien marré.
Meilleur histoire de groupie ?
Hi hi, pas beaucoup d’histoires de groupies avec les Trashwomen. Au Japon on avait un type, vieux, gros, blouson avec un tigre brodé sur le dos, tu vois le genre, mais avec les groupes de filles il n’y a jamais des tonnes de mecs, massages de pieds gratos, etc. désolé. Les concerts en Europe, l’assistance était que des mecs. Surtout en Allemagne. À Hambourg, que des “dudes”.
La différence entre les mecs français et allemand ?
En France je me souviens des mecs qui restaient faire la fête avec nous toute la nuit.
Elka était célibataire, je venais de commencer une relation avec Russell et Danielle avec Darin. Tout le monde était libre, j’ai dit après que nous étions bien conne, nous aurions pu se faire taper plein de fois hi hi hi.
Et les concerts à SF ?
Toujours on avait un mec idiot [mark : ça veut dire pas toujours le même c.a.d.] qui est monté sur scène danser en slip. Juste un péquenaud, tu vois, qui prend son pied comme ça.
C’était la fête, un bon milieu à cette époque, un brassage de rockabs, punks, garage rockers, etc., cool.
On vous a harcelé parfois ?
Parfois, il y a des mecs qui sont obsédé par les groupes de filles “girl band geeks”. Bobbyteens aussi.
Je pense qu’il y a 2 espèces, groupies et girl band geeks.
Nous avons joué avec les Devil Dogs, ils étaient très chaud pour nous taper toutes.
Les Mummies et Devil Dogs était “rivals” d’où le morceau “Maraconda’s a Friend of Mine”, nous avons bien foutu de leurs gueules [ndlr : we were total assholes to them].
J’adorais ce groupe, en vérité les Devil Dogs sont de bons amis et je reste en contact avec eux. Ils étaient effectivement nos groupies, ils se sont exprimé genre “Trashwomen wear high heels, miam miam”.
Meilleur affiche ?
Bobbyteens Dictators, pas besoin de réfléchir.
Le pire, une fois à Coney Island High à New York, c’était atroce, j’ai perdu ma voix, c’était mon anniversaire, Joey Ramone, et Handsome Dick Manitoba dans l’assistance. J’étais dégouté.
C’est les Prissteens qui ont fait la première partie et ils ont monopolisé la conversation avec Joey, j’étais énervé, finalement je l’ai laissé tomber. Lisa a demandé de prendre une photo ensemble et il a dit simplement “non”, le con, et j’ai pensé, “je ne veux pas avoir un mauvais souvenir de lui” et je me suis barré
Les Dictators sont des vrais personnages. Ross the Boss a son dicton “if you wanna play with the big guys you gotta get good equipment,” nous racontons cela toujours parce que nos matos sont toujours minables.
Ton affiche de rêve ?
Ramones, Rocket to Russia époque, avec AC/DC, Bon Scott époque. T’as vu le vidéo Rock Goes to College ? Live, sur une petite scène, très vieux.
Les Trashwomen sont réunis pour un seul concert ?
C’était formidable. Je pense que nous allons refaire ça cet été. Mais je n’ai pas envie de faire ça tout le temps. Nous avons déjà disputé sur les tenues de scène figure toi, Danielle et moi, nous avons fait la gueule sans parler pendant 2 jours. J’ai envie d’organiser une soirée au Purple Onion à SF comme à l’époque, il y a 10 ans, avec Count Backwurds, Phantom Surfers…
C’était blindé, tout le monde chantait les paroles, je n’avais pas envie que ça termine.
Un public jeune ?
Mixte, jeunes garage venu de LA, les vieux, etc.
Et ailleurs ?
Nous avons déjà plein d’invitations de jouer, même en Italie. On va voir…
T’as vu les Trashmen sur scène ?
Oui, à Las Vegas Grind en 1999. C’était super. Il y a mon ami Travis qui a envie d’organiser un concert Trashmen/Trashwomen. Ça me branche de faire un truc décalé comme ça.
Dans l’interview, nous revenons toujours à l’époque début années 90 à SF. Pourquoi cette période était aussi exceptionnelle et wild ?
Tout le monde était jeune, c’était rigolo, la bande d’amis bien “nerdy” [ndlr : coincé/ringard/obsédé/collectionneur] qui aiment beaucoup rock n roll, sixties, pas vraiment mods, même si Russell est venu de la scène mods, les gars Mummies & Phantom Surfers. Tout le monde concentré sur le “fun”, véritable punk d-i-y spirit, qui aime tellement le rock n roll, une scène assez limitée, attitude je m’en fous…
Il s’agissait du premier groupe pour la plupart des gens ?
Oui, comme moi. C’est marrant aujourd’hui de voir les groupes avec les jeunes, 20 ans, les Traditional Fools, super, Rock n Roll Adventure Kids, Fee Fi Fo Fums, etc. Parfois je pense “been there done that, vous êtes très nineties les enfants,” mais je ne veux pas être vache, c’est génial que les jeunes d’aujourd’hui sont sur le coup.
Qu’est-ce que t’as comme bagnole ?
73 Olds 442, elle bouge, je vais faire faire la peinture bientôt, ça sera monstrueux. C’est l’ancienne voiture de mon père. Il avait tout une série d’Olds 442. Je me souviens de rouler dans la voiture, mon père au volant, cheveux gominés, il fume, c’est l’hiver, vitre baissée, moi à l’arrière, et ma mère “ferme la vitre, elle attrapera un rhume,” “ta gueule, je fume”.
Il y a un poste ?
Oui, mais il est mort, je vais le remplacer pareil. C’est mon esprit, j’aime bien garder tout en état d’origine. Si je rajoute un lecteur CD il sera dans la boîte à gants pour le cacher. La voiture fait un bel bruit très fort, il y a “dual exhausts,” terrible !
T’écoute quoi au volant ?
Hard rock 70’s ! AC/DC, etc. La voiture est de l’époque, ça sent bien ! Cheap Trick !
Pourquoi t’as déménage de San Francisco à Oakland ?
Je sortais avec Russell et j’ai emménagé chez lui. Nous étions en couple pendant longtemps et lors de notre séparation c’était impossible de trouver un logement à SF, trop de concurrence.
[Iwan passe en bagnole]
Il cherche toujours une place de stationnement.
Quelle est la meilleure ville du monde pour faire la fête ?
Mexico ! [ndlr : Mexico City in English] Deadly Weapons y ont joué, mais aussi la première tournée des Glamour Pussies. Le concert le plus fou que j’ai joué. J’ai toujours des cicatrices sur les bras. Tigger portait quasiment rien, elle a provoqué le public, c’était que des mecs, ils avaient de mal à l’encaisser, tous en érection, nous sommes en sous-vêtements, elle est très forte, elle a hissé un type et l’a foutu sur sol, violent ! Il est devenu énervé et ils ont commencé à lutter sur scène. Il a essayé de déchirer ses vêtements à elle. Je suis en train de jouer la batterie, je sens de l’humidité sur mon bras. Je regarde, c’est du sang qui coule partout, on a jeté des bouteilles sur nous ! Nous avons continué à jouer. Mike a hurlé “il faut arrêter MAINTENANT !” et l’ingénieur de son est venu enlever les micros, la soirée est terminée ! On aurait pensé un concert des Dwarves !
Deadly Weapons ont quoi comme disque ?
2 45-t, un album et un split 45 avec un morceau des Replacements “Don’t Ask Why”. Et c’était prévu d’être sur une compil JFA mais elle n’a jamais sortie, le morceau “We Know You Suck”, j’adore le morceau.
Parle-moi de Tina and the Total Babes.
Nous avons joué l’année passée pour la première fois, à NY. Non, d’être précis, nous avons joué une fois au début, on a engagé les Bobbyteens à l’origine pour jouer à Minneapolis, mais on a eu un problème de planning. J’ai discuté avec Travis, il a dit “faut juste rassembler un orchestre et apprendre un set de reprises”. Nous avons fait ça pour rigoler, c’est bien passé. Après, il a dit “je compose un tas de morceaux et nous allons faire un album, file-moi des paroles”. Nous avons fait l’album mais nous n’avons plus jamais joué. Puis nous avons joué à NY avec Terry des Nice Boys et Exploding Hearts, tout un orchestre super-zicos. Nous n’avons jamais joué ensemble, j’arrive à NY et dans la salle de répét il y a Josie Cotton et Nikki Corvette, et je suis censé de répéter devant elles ! J’ai pété les plombs ! Finalement nous avons bien joué sur scène, c’était AWESOME.
J’ai envie d’enregistrer un autre album. Et le mec des Yum Yums a envie de nous faire jouer en Norvège. Apparemment c’est super là-bas, une bonne scène, sans oublier les Vikings, leur groupe avec Steve Baise [ndlr : ou, en français, Mr. Fuck!] des Devil Dogs.
(Histoire des Clorox Girls, un groupe de l’Oregon…) Une fois on n’avait pas assez de pognon pour payer les groupes, on les a payés en jean ! Ça m’arrangerait, j’aurais bien être payé en fringues !
À propos les fringues, t’as lancé une boutique à Oakland qui combine brocante et coiffeur.
Oui, avec mon ami Seth de Gravy Train nous avons lancé “Down at Lulu’s” il y a un an. On y vend des fringues, des disques, des conneries. Aussi il y a des chaises de coiffure à l’arrière.
Vous vendez 60’s ?
60’s, 70’s fringues, début 80’s.
Vente sur Internet aussi, ou juste dans la boutique ?
Que sur place, nous sommes “old school”. C’est fait exprès, mais aussi question d’être faignante. J’ai beaucoup vendu à l’époque sur EBay mais j’en ai marre. Je n’ai plus la patience. J’avais un véritable sac Gucci des années 60, ça se vend cher sur EBay, finalement c’est fait volé à la boutique ! J’achète des fringues chez les gens, une fois chez une nana avec des jeans patte d’éléph, trucs Luis Vuitton, je étais franc avec elle, j’ai dit “tu peux vendre cela plus cher sur EBay”. J’ai donné mon dernier prix point barre. Et je ne vends pas cher, j’ai envie que ça tourne [ndlr : que les articles ne restent pas trop longtemps à la boutique], et j’ai un coin soldes aussi.
Des disques neufs ?
Pas beaucoup, sauf Norton, sinon, beaucoup d’occase, les groupes de punk locaux.
Est-ce que les disquaires à San Francisco arrivent à faire la concurrence à Amoeba ? Certains ont fermé.
C’est pas évident. Recycled Records est toujours là à Haight & Masonic, mais le mec est propriétaire des murs aussi. Il est là depuis la nuit de temps, rien n’a changé. En revanche, tu vas à Portland, c’est génial. Plein de disquaires, tout le monde jeune, comme nous, la vie n’y coute pas cher, facile à monter un entreprise, vendre des disques, moi ça me plairait bien, vendre de la camelote, mais je suis l’esclave de la coiffure. C’est dur, toucher les gens toute la journée. Les amis, les gens cool, les gens avec confiance en moi, c’est super, on se marre bien. Je fais mon métier depuis un bon moment, j’ai l’œil. Après, il y a les gens coincés qui arrivent, avec les cheveux jusqu’au cul, “tu peux couper juste quelques centimètres” et après en larmes “t’as trop coupé” et je dis “tu veux que j’arrête alors” ? Si je travaillerais pour qqn d’autre je pourrais l’envoyer chier. Malheureusement c’est mon propre entreprise. Aujourd’hui, tu déconnes, il y a un blog critique sur l’Internet toute suite. Je lui ai dit “c’est gratos, désolé, on a eu une rupture de communication” et pourtant la connasse s’est plainte sur l’ordinateur. Tout le monde l’a vu.
Quelle est la meilleure ville du monde pour shopping ?
Le Sud en général, surtout Memphis et environs. Les thrift stores y sont terribles. J’y suis allé pendant Goner Fest. Il y a un Amvets (Thrift Store) sur Elvis Presley Boulevard qui a la surface de 2 hypermarchés, incroyable, tu remplis ton chariot. La vie cout pas cher, c’est super. Je jouerais gratos, juste pour y aller, manger, visiter Graceland, faire la fête jusqu’à l’aube, c’est les vrais cambroussards.
Quelle est la différence principale entre les français et les américains ?
Les français sont un peu réservés, le public aux concerts est un peu plus relax. Les groupes en France sont super, et tout le monde a un super look, est très beau. Les américains viennent ici, ils ont l’air un peu rude, “fuck yeah”.
Quelques groupes à connaître à SF ?
The Flakes of course, les Traditional Fools, garage, Rock n Roll Adventure Kids, super, The Pets, meilleur groupe de SF maintenant, les Hormones, un couple français, formidable, une nana et son mec Pascal, un peu genre Gun Club/Gories.
Les salles ?
À Oakland il y a Stork Club, mais ils ont changé de programmateur, c’est moins bien. The Knockout à SF est bien. Il y a toujours El Rio.
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