Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?

A song decrying the horrors of Halloween? They've got to be kidding, right? Well, yes, actually, Nick Diamonds (formerly of the Unicorns) and Vice alum Adam Gollner conceived the multi-artist singalong Do They Know It's Hallowe'en? as a goofy Band Aid spoof.

But profits from sales of the four-track EP which boasts the participation of Beck, Malcolm McLaren, Nardwuar, Elvira, Roky Erickson, Karen O, David Cross, Peaches, Buck 65, Feist and various members of Arcade Fire, Sum 41 and Sloan go to benefit UNICEF.

Evidently, not everyone thinks Boomtown Rats main man Bob Geldof deserved an honorary knighthood for his famine relief efforts in 84.

"Just before the 20th anniversary of Band Aid, I was record shopping in Connecticut and found the original Do They Know It's Christmas single," explains Diamonds. "Listening back to the thing, I found it very patronizing and very funny."

Sure, it took some wrangling for Sir Bob to gather British pop star pals like Bono, Sting and members of Bananarama, Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, and Heaven 17 to sing a song benefiting people in Africa.

And the fact that Do They Know It's Christmas? sold 50 million copies is pretty amazing, particularly when you take a closer look at Geldof's lyrics, which describe Ethiopia as a place where "Nothing ever grows / No rain or rivers flow." It ridiculously suggests people were starving due to some natural catastrophe, overlooking the role played by ruling tyrant Colonel Mengistu.

With 20 years of hindsight, we now see that the aptly named Band Aid project probably did more damage to Ethiopia than good.

Much of the food delivered if it wasn't confiscated by Mengistu's militias for their own use rotted in storehouses because there was no delivery mechanism in place. And the myth perpetuated by Geldof's song that Ethiopia is a barren wasteland did no favours for the tourism industry on which the country's economic recovery now largely depends.

So it's understandable why Nick Diamonds found Do They Know It's Christmas? so ripe for parody.

"It seemed like a great idea to get a bunch of musicians together to try and save the world from something just as a joke. I figured Halloween would be a good holiday to use, because there are great topical metaphors for all the fear-mongering that's happening right now.

"I told my friend Adam, and in three days we wrote the lyrics and the music and recorded it in Los Angeles with Steve McDonald from Redd Kross," Diamonds boasts. "In no time at all, our "what if' stoner concept was on its way to becoming a reality."

With their combined music biz connections, it turned out to be far less of a logistical nightmare to get people to voice their gag lines about the ghoulish night than anyone anticipated.

"We just asked people if they'd sing on this song we were doing about Halloween, and most of them said, "Uh, yeah, sure.'

"I'm not certain if everyone got the joke," he continues. "Elvira initially had some concerns about appearing on an anti-Halloween single because she has sponsorship deals with some candy companies, but she eventually did it and she was awesome.

"The really surprising thing was that David Cross, the comedian, had the best pitch and range of anyone involved. He nailed his parts really fast."

Having Feist proved to be an asset in getting some artists on board whom Diamonds and Gollner couldn't recruit.

"She helped us get Malcolm McLaren, who literally walked in, did his line and left. But it was great. She almost had Sting, too. His manager thought it would be a good idea to position him with a younger demographic, but ultimately I think they decided the project was a little too weird for him."

NB: I got lazy, so I cribbed this writeup from another website.

Don't know which one, though.

As always, click on the album cover above to download the songs.

(VA) Do They Know It's Hallowe'en? (2005)

1	North American Hallowe'en Prevention Initiative	Do They Know It's Hallowe'en? [Original Version]	5:56
2	North American Hallowe'en Prevention Initiative	Do They Know It's Hallowe'en? [Radio Edit]	3:40
3	North American Hallowe'en Prevention Initiative	Do They Know It's Hallowe'en? [Disco D Remix]	3:51
4	North American Hallowe'en Prevention Initiative	Do They Know It's Hallowe'en? [Th' Corn Gangg Remix]	4:54

Boys Entering Anarchic States Towards Internal Excellence

If you haven't figured it out by now, the above statement makes up the acronym, "BEASTIE", which is how the Boys' nomenclature came about.

In 1982, the Beastie Boys recorded an EP of hardcore punk material, called "Poll Wog Stew", which would be so far removed from their later hip-hop stylings.

Don't get me wrong...I actually prefer their hip-hop guise. But I thought this would be of historical significance or curiosity.

Interestingly, the song "Egg Raid On Mojo" reportedly originates from an incident whereby a bouncer at a nightclub denied the band entry. They later returned -- dressed in black -- to pelt their offender with eggs.


Beastie Boys - Poll Wog Stew EP (1982):

1	Beastie Boys	Beastie Boys	0:56
2	Beastie Boys	Transit Cop	1:17
3	Beastie Boys	Jimi	2:06
4	Beastie Boys	Holy Snappers	1:22
5	Beastie Boys	Riot Fight	0:30
6	Beastie Boys	Ode To...	1:33
7	Beastie Boys	Michelle's Farm	1:38
8	Beastie Boys	Egg Raid On Mojo	1:20

Woof-Woof

No real explanation needed:

1	Anti- Pasty	I Wanna Be Your Dog	2:31
2	Moby	I Wanna Be Your Dog	2:53
3	Dead Pakiri y Los Panoja	Quiero Ser Tu Perro	2:49
4	Ebba Groen	I Wanna Fuck Your Dog	2:06
5	El Ultimo Ke Cierre	Yo Podria Ser Tu Perro	3:19
6	Iggy Pop	I Wanna Be Your Dog (Live)	4:09
7	Los Futuristas	Me Gusta Ser Tu Txakurra	2:58
8	Secta Suicida	Quiero Ser Tu Perra	2:10
9	Sex Pistols	I Wanna Be Your Dog	3:46
10	Uncle Tupelo	I Wanna Be Your Dog	3:02
11	Utangardmen	I Wanna Be Your Dog	3:26
12	Vulpess (Spain)	Me Gusta Ser Una Zorra	2:32
13	Dakar & Ginsen	I Wanna Be Your Dog	5:08
14	Wilco	I Wanna Be Your Dog	3:35
15	ASCII Disko	I Wanna Be Your Dog	4:54
16	Emilie Simon	I Wanna Be Your Dog	4:34
17	Uncle Tupelo	I Wanna Be Your Dog (Acoustic Demo)	3:48
18	Destructors	I Wanna Be Your Dog	3:16
19	Saul Williams	List of Demands	3:19
20	The Stooges	I Wanna Be Your Dog	3:08
21	David Bowie	I Wanna Be Your Dog	4:16
22	Emilie Simon	I Wanna Be Your Dog (Alt. Vers	2:40
23	El Doghouse	I Wanna Be Your Dog	4:36
24	La Cabra Mecánica	Me Gusta Ser Una Zorra (Las Vu	2:43
25	King Putreak	I Wanna Be Your Dog	5:20
26	Slayer	I'm Gonna Be Your God	2:58
27	Swans	I Wanna Be Your Dog	3:35

Instant Garage

Another collection from the Mojo Magazine insert CD archives. This one is a nice mix of '60s Garage Rock to '70s Punk Rock to 80s Garage Rock Revival and (presumably) 90s Garage Punk.

There's really not much more to say, other than THIS ROCKS! ()

(VA) Mojo Presents: Instant Garage

1	MC5	Kick Out The Jams	2:58
2	Electric Prunes	I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night)	3:00
3	Sonics	Psycho	2:38
4	New York Dolls	Personality Crisis	3:42
5	Ready Men	Shortnin' Bread	2:42
6	Bush	To Die Alone	1:56
7	Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers	She Cracked	2:54
8	Express	Wastin' My Time	2:48
9	Gil Bateman	My Daddy Walked In Darkness	3:13
10	Love	Seven And Seven Is	2:24
11	Rocky & The Riddlers	Flash And Crash	2:47
12	She	Outta Reach	2:25
13	Ramones	I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend (demo)	3:01
14	Kinks	Milk Cow Blues	3:39
15	Little John & The Black Monks	Black Winds	2:16
16	Alarm Clocks	No Reason To Complain	2:13
17	Count Five	Psychotic Reaction	3:09
18	Artesians	Trick Bag	3:13
19	Dean Carter	Jailhouse Rock	2:15
20	Iguanas	Again And Again	2:19
21	Nazz	Open My Eyes	2:43
22	Wailers	Dirty Robber	2:35
23	Paul Revere & The Raiders	Just Like Me	2:25
24	Bunker Hill	The Girl Can't Dance	1:55
25	Brave New World	Train Kept A Rollin'	3:16
26	Amboy Dukes	Baby Please Don't Go	5:38
27	Rats	Rat's Revenge Part 2	2:35
28	Mouse & The Traps	Sometimes You Just Can't Win	2:56

(VA) Minimal Electronics: Volume 3

Okey-Dokey...

This is ME: V. 3.


(VA) Minimal Electronics - Volume 3 (Date Unknown):

1	Kid Death And The Nightshades	Venus In Furs (Velvet Underground Cover)	4:37
2	Shut Up	Hey Joe	5:22
3	Neon	Fade To Grey (Visage Cover)	5:21
4	Neal Von Non & The Guinea Pigs	A Hard Day's Night	3:32
5	Two Man Submarine	Mysterious Kitchens Compilation	2:06
6	Art Lepers	Assimilate (Skinny Puppy)	6:58
7	Moebius	Light My Fire	3:29
8	Caroline Williams And Spectre	These Boots Are Made For Walking (Nancy Sinatra)	2:45
9	H.G. Wells	Pleasent Valley Sunday (The Monkees Cover)	4:48
10	Mad M	Leave In Silence (Depeche Mode Cover)	4:39
11	Un-4-Scene	Walk On The Wild Side (Lou Reed Cover)	3:48
12	Height Dismay	Girl From Ipanema	2:10
13	Soft Cell	Paranoid	2:25

(VA) Minimal Electronics: Volume 2

As promised, this is Volume 2.

Volume 3 to follow, on Wednesday.

(VA) Minimal Electronics - Volume 2 (Date Unknown):

1	Second Glance	You Really Got A Hold On Me	3:06
2	Pseudo Elektronixx	Back in The USSR	2:15
3	Aaron Sutcliffe	Money Honey	3:06
4	Jeanette und das land Z	Pouppee De Cire, Pouppee De So	2:26
5	L´aventure Imaginaire	Cos I Love You (Slade Cover)	4:08
6	Psychobod	I Only Have Eyes	4:50
7	Sista Mannen Pa Jordon	I Want You To Want Me	3:22
8	Distain!	Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana Cover)	5:27
9	Lassigue Bendthaus	Jealous Guy (Poeme Syncope)	4:13
10	OMD	The More I See You	4:12
11	Paul Gardinier	Venus in Furs	3:27
12	Fragments	Nut Bush City Limits	3:43
13	Psyche	Che (Suicide Cover)	4:57
14	Second Decay	You Will Always Find Me in Kitchens at Parties	3:04
15	Modern Jazz	Green Green Grass of Home	4:06
16	Pinker Tone	Louie Louie (Kingsmen Cover)	3:01
17	Joe Crow	Compulsion	4:19
18	Trans X	Safety Dance	5:44
19	Jeff & Jane Hudson	The Girl from Ipanema (Tom Jobin Cover)	2:29

(VA) Minimal Electronics: Volume 1

I love the internet.

You can find so much stuff out there, created by music fans of all stripes.

Case in point, this three-volume set. I know absolutely nothing about it, other than some people have put selections from it onto their podcast/internet radio playlists.

This is the music of dark, German nightclubs in the late 70s/early 80s. This is what you would hear if you were in tune with what was happening in the electronic underground during that time.

However, not all songs are from the original Post-Punk Era. Indeed, you'll even find a cover of Nirvana on a subsequent volume (which I'll be featuring later this week).

This didn't come with album cover art, though I did find the image above somewhere, in relation to this collection. So I've reproduced them for all three volumes.


(VA) Minimal Electronics - Volume 1 (Date Unknown):

1	Ensemble Pittoresque	Maitre Satori	4:04
2	Ensemble Pittoresque	Auratorium	5:28
3	Clock Dva	Four Hours	3:52
4	No More	Hypnotized	1:37
5	Schleimer K	She´s Gone	3:29
6	Schleimer K	On The Odd Again	4:31
7	Schleimer K	Women	3:03
8	Schleimer K	Hang Ups	3:25
9	A Blaze Colour	Cold As Ever	3:32
10	Vo Ese	Rike´s Birthday	3:52
11	Van Kaye & Ignit	Picassos On The Wall	3:36
12	P1	E-49 Second Romance	2:53
13	Weltklang	Heimat	2:25
14	Clock Dva	Brigade	3:28
15	Vice Versa	Genetic Warfare	3:38
16	Vice Versa	Stilyagi	4:18
17	Vice Versa	Eyes Of Christ	3:03
18	Geile Tiere	Geile Tiere	3:34
19	Controlled Bleeding	Rings Of Fire	3:44
20	Twice A Man	Happy Life	4:22

You Mooks Asked For It...

After the demise of The Nils in 1994, Alex Soria tried to make a comeback on the solo/acoustic circuit. He didn't like it.

Four years later, he hooked up with Nils friend Eric Kearns and other members of fellow-Montreal band, Grain Elevator Number 5 for various jam sessions. These encounters eventually led to Soria writing new songs and taking over the job of vocals.

This new collective would be named Chino, though I don't know why. Nonetheless, the newly-christened Chino released a six-song CD EP entitled Mala Leche (Spanish: "Bad Milk") in 1999. They play with Nada Surf, Mike Watt, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, among others. Although they never really toured much, they still managed to play gigs in Montreal and Toronto, also playing dates in Quebec City, New York, Boston and Ottawa.

Building upon the sounds of Soria's original band, The Nils, Chino adds other instruments -- namely mandoling and keyboards -- which, rather than detracting, add to the quality of the songs.

And just like The Nils, you do hear elements of Hüsker Dü, The Replacements and old-school Soul Asylum.

But unfortunately, Chino never achieved the level of fame Alex Soria hoped for. Read my post about The Nils to find out how that turned out.

In all honesty, I actually prefer The Nils, but this is an example of where Soria might have taken his muse.

Chino - Mala Leche (1999):

1	Chino	Uno Mas	3:38
2	Chino	When You're Not Around	2:38
3	Chino	Worlds Apart	3:17
4	Chino	Mustard Sally	3:34
5	Chino	Misbehavin'	2:04
6	Chino	Nine Yards	4:20