ROBYN HITCHCOCK - LIVE IN 80

UNDERWATER MOONLIGHT is a near sided classic.

That is -- when it was first released it slipped under the radar. Americans were taken up with MTV, Tony Basil, The Clash.... and classic rock. The classic rock part has never changed - that remained consistent. So when Robyn Hitchcock and the Soft Boys were making a racket nobody was paying attention in America.

Captain Sensible supported Hitchcock during bad times so he could keep on creating music. This clip was taken from Underwater Moonlight. The Soft Boys reunited in NYC at the Roseland for a concert a few years back celbrating the 20th anniversary. This live track captures the enthusiasm found on the Soft Boys Anthology.
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cantu fascube 2006

THE SOFT BOYS - ONLY THE STONES REMAIN - LIVE 1980

THE SUNDAYS - THIS IS WHERE THE STORY ENDS

THE SUNDAYS

These guys really stuck out like a sore thumb in the 90's. You would have to been tone deaf to miss them. MTV was stuck. They were showing YO MTV RAPS, ( a format which would later totally dominate the entire network ). MTV was also showing a lot of hair bands and Manchester bands were merging onto the college scene.

The Sundays dazzled the charts with their thought provoking songs. They were a blossoming flower in this torid landscape -- the one glimmering hint of a humanistic sound. But it would prove to be a very short flash of light.

The airwaves were about to be trampled over by a new force of pop sound. Nirvana. And its presence would kill out all creativity for the next ten years. Commercial radio would give birth to its offspring. Tuneless, angst ridden gristle unfit for any century. BOring, dull and full of hatred.

The Sundays touched human emotion. They were not afraid of it. This is why they stuck out of the crowd. They radiated pure human energy.

Here is what others have said:

"It is not often that a video portrays the feel and texture of a song as well as this one does. When viewing it you can sense the warmth and sincerity of the music. A work like this was all too rare in the noisy, headache, techno decade that was the '90s. "

"Harriet Wheeler's voice should be kept in a museum in London, it's a national treasure. "
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cantu fascube 2006

THE SUNDAYS- HERE'S WHERE THE STORY ENDS

DEE DEE RAMONE LIVE ON THE UNCLE FLOYD SHOW

The best part of this video is seeing OOGIE the hand puppet.

I think Dee Dee used to sleep at the YMCA in Ann Arbor. That was the rumor when I was attending college in Michigan. The Ramones, his former band, had broken up around this time.

This clip is also interesting for another reason. I didn't know Uncle Floyd was still doing his show out of Newark, New Jersey! I didn't know that either of these guys, Dee Dee and Uncle Floyd Vivino were still working... let alone working together! HA.

WHO WAS UNCLE FLOYD?
Floyd Vivino was known as Uncle Floyd and a favorite to many kids growing up in the East Coast. He had a gaggle of grown men in their 40s for a peanut gallery and they were famous for making wise cracks, jeers and hoots of howling laughter off camera. The show was low rent humor, one liners and basement production quality, (slates drawn on pie plates in marker etc) and every once in a while they would feature a band.

A lot of bands got their start on Floyd, including Squeeze. They also featured wrestlers on the set, Gary US Bonds, Aztec Two Step, The Dreggs and many more smaller acts.
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fascube 2006

THE UNCLE FLOYD SHOW - DEE DEE RAMONE

XTC - SHINING GEM OF 89

This release was a true sparkling gem of its time. It emerged in its own time and place. The fans who understood XTC immediately understood it and embraced it.

The ones who didn't are still confused by it. They are the ones who readily bought Vanilla Ice .... maybe it was the need to feel popular or of the minute or included. Nobody likes to be an outisder after all.

The rest of this album didn't have a commercial appeal of this track. "Oranges and Lemons" a line taken from the much earlier release, "Skylarking", (produced by Todd Rundgren). XTC would find commercial success with some very blatant radio free friendly tracks that literally screamed, PLAY ME. But for the most part they are established as an art rock band.

Despite Andy Partridge's shyness this band actually played on David Letterman in the summer of 1989. They played, King for Day... and the Mayor of Simpleton.
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cantu fascube 2006

XTC - THE MAYOR OF SIMPLETON

THE BANGLES - BEFORE IRS TOOK A FALL

The Bangles were originally on IRS records and then signed onto a bigger label.. in this case.. CBS records. IRS would later complain that they lost all the acts the originally signed. Just like in Woody Allen's classic comedy, "Broadway Danny Rose".

This video is nice. I remember it. But I really thought it was IRS who put it out. Remember that IRS Records had a stone statue for their mascot and it was featured on IRS's THE CUTTING EDGE on MTV in the late 80's.

But lets not get sentimental and mushy here.....

The Bangles had a lot of great pop sensibilities to them. I think they could have lasted longer than what they did. Their demise helped give rise to non-musical forms. And encouraged non-musicians to form bands and fill up the airwaves.
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cantu fascube 2006

THE BANGLES - HERO TAKES A FALL

VANILLA ICE - WORD TO YOUR MOTHER

WORD TO YOUR MOTHER?

This guy had his own language. It didn't translate well over the years and most of it was lost. But this guy was serious.

Then he got weird. Not that he needed help in that area. But his managers dangled him out of a balcony upside down and chased him out of Los Angeles. He made a really rank film called, "Cool as Ice" which I do recommend renting,... not owning... but renting just out of pure curiosity. There are some funny parts in there.. although it wasn't meant to be a comedy.

Vanilla Ice -- what exactly was he?

To give him credit... he could dance. He had an audience. But he was an oddball. After he got his life threatened he came back. This new reincarnation was based on a ganja smoking rasta guy.... he threw a record party where no press people showed up. He sat in a corner toking his brains out.

There was another album attempt after that too I believe.
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cantu FASCUBE 2007

VANILLA ICE - SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE

DEAD KENNEDYS - NO STAR BELLIED SNEECHES HERE....

Where do I start?
This band is a powerhouse. It was banned from Saturday Night Live and MTV for life. Then they were taken to court over some album art from HR Gieger. There was no where for them to go but down.

But when Jello Biafra and the Dead Kennedys went down.... they went down big with no compromises. With an album of thrash, "Bedtime for Democracy" and an album full of B sides, Give Me Convenience of Give Me Death... including a flexi disc of two more songs the band called it a day.

Legends at the 9:30 Club in DC and playing to packed houses. The Dead Kennedys went down into rock history. Origenally from San Francisco these guys were also banned from major record distribution unless they changed their name. So they created ALternative Tentacles Records.

Some of the video clips are frightful. Kids jump on stage and steal anything they can get their mitts on while stage diving, (including mic stands and high hat cymbols).
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cantu FASCUBE 2006

DEAD KENNEDYS - HOLIDAY IN CAMBODIA

THE SMITHS - THIS IS NOT A LOVE SONG !!!

AMAZING.
That is to say, its amazing that anyone could confuse this with being a LOVE SONG. This is not a romantic love song but this is how some fans of the Smiths categorize it. And that is odd to me.

"there were times when i could have strangled her.. but you see, i would hate anything to happen to her etc." well.. for crikeys sake, listen to the lyrics yourself. Its far from loving.

Its perfect in its own way because it is short. The video has scenes in it from a film called, "The Leather Boys" and it adds a nice backdrop to the overall piece. MOZ once again is carrying out his music themes in a cinematic fashion. There is an element of comedy to this too but you have to look very hard to get it.

Someone in college once told me you could see the characters in the movie scenes to mouth the words of the lyrics in this song..... How high was this guy? This film is from the late 50's and although some of the scenes and sounds overlap they are hardly synchronized.
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cantu fascube 2006

THE SMITHS - GIRLFRIEND IN A COMA

SPOOKEY RUBEN - THESE DAYS ARE MUSICAL

This guy goes past anything Beck has done..... first of all it is a little more easier to listen to. Beck is angry about something in a lot of his songs but I don't have time to figure out what it is exactly. I want to like him..... but i don't play his stuff very often.

Ruben's music is different. I am curious to what he is singing about and I will replay his music over again becuase it is enjoyable. The videos are odd but then again, this is an odd performer.

The guitar parts are surprisingly musical. There is a fluidity to his song narrative. Which is becoming stylisticaly rare in pop music lately. Usually out of frustration the band will throw in some cranky guitar stomping in the middle of the song because it seems to lack creative direction on where it can go.... remember he song, "Hes Kissing Christian" by THAT DOG.... that sort of thing.. just CRUNCH, BANG. BOOM. etc.

This stuff doesn't do that. Ruben seems to have creative control over all of his work too which is refreshing to see. In one hand its like allowing the inmates to run the asylum. On the other hand it is nice to see it happen. The end has a musical XTC feel to it... think Andy Partridge.

Spookey is on TVT Records.
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Ted Cantu Fascube, Fashion Culture Beauty Network 2006

SPOOKEY RUBEN - THESE DAYS ARE OLD

SPOOKEY RUBEN - WHAT I NEED IS A WHOLE LOT MORE !!!!

" what you want -- what you get !!!....... what i want is a whole lot more"

This is off the album, "Modes of Transportation" Note that he is transposed over the face of John Travolta in the Boy in the PLastic Bubble. I found this life saving gem at the right time while I was living in Chicago. I had just broken up from a bizarre love thing with an infamous songstress and this CD sort of saved my sanity. Artistically speaking.

Needless to say I was also glad to be out of the Detroit radio market so I welcomed any kind of new sounds that didn't reflect Stone Temple Pilots. My method of madness back then was to walk into a record store, in this case, Reckless Records in Chicago and just buy music based on the album art, (while disregarding the price tag). This is not a very cost effective or scientific way to choose music but in my case it paid off.

Spookey, (who got his name from wearing scary heavy metal t shirts) is well versed in pop music. He sounds like XTC meets a tornado meets a perfect storm. Incredible effort. This soon became the soundtrack for a very turbnulent time in my adult years.

If I had to do it all over again. Id scrap the relationship and get straight to the music. I adored this stuff. In this time period I was finding the levels that went well beyond Beck and commercial radio. Wendy Mc Donald is an amazing tune.
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fascube cantu 2006

SPOOKEY RUBEN - WENDY MCDONALD

JACKIE ROGERS JUNIOR - WE NEED YE

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE SOMEONE IN HOLLYWOOD MAKE A JACKIE ROGERS JUNIOR MOTION PICTURE ... PLEASE !!!

I would see this in a theater - I don't know why Martin Short hasn't already done this. The last Austin Powers movie wasn't that great. The only other character I would love to see in the theater in his own movie would have been Andy Kaufman's Tony Clifton character, (there actually was a Tony Clifton screenplay being passed around in the early 80's).

JACKIE ROGERS JR. IS CRAZY
Jackie Rogers Jr was the first albino Vegas star, He did all the Elvis tunes and wore lots of rhinestones and beads. His stories are great. Now his father, Jackie Rogers Sr. was mauled to death by live cougars. The tranquilized cougar was suddenly awakened by a plate of java mocha coffee beans..... I told you this guy was crazy.
This was reinacted on SCTV once in a flashback clip for his book, "Love + Genius = Jackie".

I also like the joke about the Beta machines.

Someone in Hollywood should really consider making this character into a movie. Its hysterical.
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cantu fascube 2006

JACKIE ROGERS JR.- OH MOTHER NATURE - HOW SHE LOVES ME

JESUS AND MARY CHAIN - Essential Psychobabble

SPIN MAGAZINE really came down hard on these guys. When the Jesus and Mary Chain became big news they were slammed for being another noise band. They weren't taken very seriously. But the funny thing is that you can actually understand J and M lyrics and its not just feedback.

This band sort of vanished from view but their sound has left a legacy for new bands. Well..... not lately... but... they did briefly. The Pixies adored these guys as well they should. Black Francis even covered one of their tunes on the very last release, "Head On".

Compared to the grungey noise bands that came out later these guys were actually musical. Some death metal bands sound like they let a live bear in the studios and attack the microphone. BIG DIFFERENCE !!! Jesus and Mary Chain made a lot of noise too but they did it with a lot of precision and style.

Depeche Mode put a lot of mechanical sounds in their music too. It sounded like a lot of steam engines and metal shop experiements gone array. JMC followed the same path and this was done when it all seemed interesting.

This music had a lot of moxy. Hair bands were trying to stay afloat with, "Shes My Cherry Pie" but I don't think too many people were listening. Meanwhile, JMC were really pushing the boundaries in the areas of what was allowable. By doing so they were not only getting a lot of attention but opening the gate to a lot of new bands that had originality. Sire records helped make alternative music a real thing. Heavy Metal hair bands took serious body blows thanks to the JMC. Hair bands basically became extinct.

Another good thing about the JMC was that they were complete in every way.
They were unpretentious too in a way. They didn't have the strong ego stance of Echo and the Bunnymen. I feel that they were in many ways more approachable.
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cantu fascube 2006

JESUS AND MARY CHAIN - KILL SURF CITY

THE SMITHS - STRANGEWAYS HERE WE COME

ITS BEEN A LONG TIME......
When I first heard this it sort of floored me. Well, is that really it?
No. It tormented me and I tried vainly to get out of my mind. It was
really disturbing.

From the album, "Strangeways Here We Come". The title lost complete meaning in America. Strangeways is actually a mental hospital in East Manchester. The video retraces all the familiar steps of Morrissey and The Smiths from their inner sleeve graphics for, "The Queen is Dead". This video shows a bunch of kids who took on Stephen Morrisseys disillusioned persona.

The bike ride thing really sort of confused me when I first saw it. It took the sting out of the song.... somewhat. The streets are cold and barren. The shot of the girl pushing the carriage through the dirty alley and holding a bag of trash is sad and a little reminescent of the line, "... in the cold dark streets that trap them". A line from the song, "Ordinary Boys".

Sometimes in life.. or often, depending on your position in this world you come to the realization that people, (for what ever reason) will choose not to love you back. This thing will jar you from your sleep if you let it.

Course past a certain age this sort of attachment fades. Hormones are a strange thing. Director, Franc Roddam, (Quadrophenia) said that young people are strongly attached to certain people but after a certain age it slips. That is to say that it doesn't last -- at least not at that intensity. This song sort of captures that.

It's a very desperate song -- and album too for that matter. It would prove to be the Smiths last LP. The band was caught up in a rush of stardom and fame and lots of things started to overshadow the band, (Morrisseys popularity, Andy Rourkes Heroin addiction.... more possible tours etc.) New Music - or post punk was becoming the IN THING to a lot of kids at this time. Then the band broke up in a pub from an argument which stemmed from being served "mushy peas" of all things.

These songs stood up and stand out -- even today. I still find this album disturbing for another reason. It was the same locale where child killers Myra Hindley and Ian Brady lived and worked. Some of the victims were Morrisseys age and this left an impression on him for life.

Morrissey said he would never move from this area no matter how famous he got. These streets inspired him to write the songs. He was inspired by these very streets that we see in this video. To finally see them in full color, (and not the pea green overcast like in the Queen is Dead shots) are somewhat alarming.

Its so stark and barren.
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cantu fascube 2006

THE SMITHS - STOP ME IF YOU THINK THAT YOU HEARD THIS ONE BEFORE

Willie Tyler & Lester - LESTER IS THE MAN !

WHERE HAVE ALL THE GOOD TIMES GONE?

In the 70's these guys were IT. They were on just about every show imaginable. Course back then we only had three major networks so that was fairly easy to do. This clip came from the PBS kids show, Vegetable Soup.

Wise crackin' Lester had a killer afro and always had something to say. He could really hold the kids attention. If our class behaved we were allowed to watch these guys from our own PBS affiliate station channel 35, (out of Grand Valley).

They were on a lot of variety shows too:

* Mike Douglas Show
* Seseme Street
* Sonny and Cher
* Hollywood Squares
* Donny and Marie
* Sanford and Son

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Cantu Fascube 2006

WillIe Tyler & Lest - VEGETABLE SOUP KIDS TV SHOW

JORDY - THE AMAZIN FIVE YEAR OLD FRENCH RAPPER

This clip's title says it all. Originally showcased on Beavis and Butthead.
Its so sweet it is guaranteed to give you a toothache.

This was the rage of the international fashion scene. Jordy, was then 4 or 5 years old and the center of a hit song. This was released in multiple versions and dance remixes on CD.

I hear Jordy is all grown up now and is a DJ.
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Cantu Fascube 2006

JORDY - ITS TOUGH TO BE A BEBE

NEW ORDER - AS REAL AS IT GETS

"Remember the 80s. The soft notion that you would stay in the dorms until you were 55 or preferably 65 because you were afraid to death of the outside world."
Anonymous, 2003

Adulthood only scared me when you talked about it in pedestrian terms, SUV's, mortgages, and parent teacher parties,.. oops, i mean.. prisons. This video and this song however realy pushed the boundaries of what I thought could be possible. Everlasting bliss. Minus taxes of course.

Its a fantasy but a nice one, no matter how brief.. it is interesting for sure.
IT is one of my favorite New Order tracks. In some ways it defines what I think of the band. THe later releases weren't strong enough to make me want to stay there for too long. There were too many other competing sounds that were distracting my attention.
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cantu fascube 2006

NEW ORDER - BIZZARRE LOVE TRIANGLE

AUSTIN POWERS - BBC HEAVEN

I like Austin Powers. I like Ming Tea. I like the BBC.

This song gets under your skin and then takes a metal cheese shredder and grinds on your raw nerve endings. BUT IN A GOOD WAY. Susanna Hoffs from the Bangles is in this clip too.

I ilke the cut away shots where Mike Meyers is flipping all over the set like a fish out of water. His choice of garb is interesting too. The band Cream used to really dress this way so did Jimi Hendrix's Experience... wel.. everyone did for that matter it seemed. I think i even saw Sammy Davis Jr. decked out in these threads a few times.
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cantu fascube 2006

AUSTIN POWERS - BBC

RICHARD CHEESE - HES YOUR PERSONAL LOUNGE SINGER

Richard Cheese performs Baby Got Back by Sir Mix-a-Lot and Personnal Jesus by Depeche Mode ... Oh yes... its cheesey.. but its also necessary.

It is very easy to get repulsed with Cheese when he sings his lyrics. But when we hear these very same lyrics on the radio in sped up tempo we accept them. Not only do we accept them but we put them on our cell phones. This is MAD MARTINI CULTURE.

There are times when I listen to RC and I think.... wow.. these lyrics are too risque and I cannot place the song right away. Then it hits me like a ton of bricks and I think, "woa.. I didn't know that song did that.. interesting".

Yes, I like Richard Cheese because he is interesting.
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CANTU FASCUBE 2006

RICHARD CHEESE - LIVE CHEESE

ROCK AND ROLL DAD - ITS THE MURRAY WILSON SHOW

Murray Wilson - father of the Beach Boys -- minus Dennis Wilson, (he was a cousin).... ruled his house of rock and roll with fatherly love. Or... something like that. Rumor had it that he tried to smash a sound mixer board over his kids heads during rehearsal.

Always the control freak the kids got back by disconnecting his own mixing board so he couldnt adjust the sound levels.... tsk tsk. The fighting grew so intense that eventually the family busted apart and became dysfunctional.... Brian Wilson supposedly took residence in a sand box in his room for a few years.

Peter Bagge captures the insanity brilliantly in his cartoon, ROck and Roll Dad. Bagge was the man who brought Hate Comics and Neat Stuff to us from Fantagraphic Books. I met Bagge during his slump in Chicago. I got a sneer from him and an autograph --- if memory serves, I think he refused to shake my hand. It doesn't matter if he is Public Creep No. 1, the man is hilarious. I am not sure if I would get along with any of my heros but i love them just the same, (RIP, Hunter S Thompson).

Joe Jackson, father of the Jackson Five, was equally notorious when it came to fatherhood. These men are intriguing. The ideology is complex. "I gave you life, now you must earn a living for me, by playing ROCK AND ROLL".

As a humanitarian, its hard for me to bark out those words to even the most minute of God's creations.
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cantu FASCUBE 2006

ROCK AND ROLL DAD - PETER BAGGE

SQUEEZE - IN QUINTESCENCE

what a band......

I had a good ear for music even as a kid.... no wait, let me finish. Let me explain. That is not an egotistical statement. You see in 1980 if you admitted you liked anything with a melody in junior high you would get flattened down to hamburger meat. Everything in 1980 was 666 and the definition of a "musician" preferably had something to do with long hair and beards, mustaches, mutton chops etc. IN short, you had to look like a troll from Lord of the Rings.

ENTER SQUEEZE.

I saw their first debut on the Uncle Floyd Show from Newark New Jersey as a kid. They did two songs -- BLACK COFFEE IN BED... and IVE RETURNED. They were able to tell an entire story of breaking up, getting thrown out, sleeping in a car and getting back together again in under 3 minutes. And I really dug Jooles Hollands keyboard playing and the soulful vocals.

I had to smuggle these albums home from the record store and make sure I would not be jumped by our local neighborhood thugs. U2, The Police and Squeeze were not welcome in the east coast neighborhood I lived in. So I had to smuggle anything I got home quickly ... how times have changed.

This is off the album ARGY BARGY.
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cantu fascube 2006

SQUEEZE - ANOTHER NAIL IN MY HEART

JAMES BROWN - HIGH AS A KITE IN A MANS WORLD

I love this guy -- he is intense -- Mr. Dynamite, Soul Brother Number One, The Hardest Working Man in Show Business, Mr Soul..... The Godfather of Soul.

This guy makes ME FEEL GOOD, (know what Im saying?)

I really dig James Brown. I like the late 60's live performances when he had the road show he took out on tour. Its funky, fresh and quintescential. Those are some of the most vital sounds that truly describe the band in essence.

HOOOOWWWLLLLL.... HEH !!
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cantu fascube 2006

JAMES BROWN - FEELING GOOD IN AMERICA

JAMES BROWN - GETS DOWN

Man this is classic.

He doesn't answer any questions. Well, he answers them
but very surreal like. He is fresh out of jail and making no sense.
He answers the questions in the interview with song titles...

This James Brown, the Godfather of soul on CNN acting very strangely.

Gotta love that.
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FASCUBE 2006

JAMES BROWN - HE FEELS GOOD

MAGIC MONGO - kids shows, ABC

And people wonder why, "Star Wars" sold out for months on end in 1977.
Look what we had to work with back then !!!!

MAGIC MONGO - SAT MORNING TV SHOWS

HUSKER DU - THE END OF SILENCE

Bob Mould made the solo look so easy in this video and the song has real fluidity. This was the last chance to see this band cook -- for this was their final Warner Bros. release. SONGS FROM THE WAREHOUSE.... was incredible, brief and the grand finale.

The other classic, "Candy APple Gray" takes on a different energy. Its not quite the same as SONGS. I liked the directions in this release and it translated well on stage, (I actually saw this tour as well).

Bob Moulds solo releases sounded completely different. Still strong but very introspective and a little dark at times. It was like looking through someones diary. It lacked the power punch that this time period created. This was a great way to end it.
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T.Cantu - Fascube - 2006

HUSKER DU - COULD YOU BE THE ONE

THE OSMONDS CARTOON - SCARY STUFF

BE AFRAID.....VERY AFRAID......

This had a weird effect on me when I saw this again. First of all, i felt like a 100 years old. Second, I noticed that Rakin Bass, (Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Rudolf etc.) did the animation. The other thing i immediately notice is that the cartoon characters look like the people in the Osmonds... I know, they're supposed to... but it looks odd.

Its got the psychedelic colors and designs to it. This always baffled me as a kid. We would get these hints too on Yogi's Ark, on ABC. There would be disco references with glowing dance floors and mirror balls and so on. You would see more disco beat references on the Sid and Marty Kroft shows.

I was 8 years old. The only thing I knew about disco was Saturday Night Fever and I wasn't old enough to view it. So I had to rely on my usual source -- my window to the outside world... Mad Magazine, (no wonder why I was a D student in junior high !!)

Still the cartoon industry kept insisting that saturday morning fare must have disco references in them. I suppose they wanted to make the cartoons enjoyable for kids as well as adults. But I found the pop culture element to be very confusing. Plus the Osmonds in the cartoons went on dates. I had reliable transportation that required training wheels. SO once again, I could not relate to this, "adult" cartoon.

It was beyond me. And looking at it again in 2006, it terrifies me. I will have nightmares after witnessing this clip.
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Ted Cantu FASCUBE 2006

THE OSMONDS CARTOON OPENING

THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS - MANIC POP SOUNDS

Don't let the name fool you. This band delivers high caliber pop beats. I found these guys in an issue of CMJ magazine, (this used to come with a CD every month). I liked the format because you could listen to bands you would never have access to otherwise. A lot of radio stations will not showcase anything that isnt on a Billboard playlist.

I do not know the history of this act but its got a very upbeat Austin, Texas sound. I wouldn't be surprised if its something like that. The New Pornographers ushers in a much needed melodic sound with pop sensibilities. Its well constructed.... like a high end toy light saber.

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Ted Cantu is the Fascube network

The New Pornographers - A LETTER FROM THE OCCUPANT

JESSE CAMP - WELCOME TO CRAP

I remember this Toad Stool..... He sucked. In fact Jesse Camp and I actually met one time in New York City. His career was over. He was fired from MTV. I saw him in a Barnes and Noble bookstore. I was in a suit and it was near the stella adler acting school. I went to reach for a business magazine and he called me a corporate pig !!!.. hahaha.. I am not kidding you.

This guy smelled ... it was hot too that day. He wore a black Hefty trash bag with two arm holes in it as a shirt. He must have been roasting in this thing. It was about 90 degrees out and it was august. Plus the heat from the concrete. I know I was sweating bullets. But this swine called me a corporate pig. I didnt do anything to provoke him or to upset him. I didnt even sneer at his wardrobe. Honest.

I watched him slunk down the aisle. He might have been high, who knows. I saw him stumble out into the blazing hot heat in that ridiculous garb he considered pop fashion. I felt bad for him.... because im a decent human being.

But still... I found it somewhat funny too, I had mixed feelings. One hand I felt like saying.. SCREW HIM. The other half of me wanted to say... who cares, get some real clothes loser... or go get a job.

This is what others said about his video:

Jesse Camp had a weak attempt at Rock n Roll. Nowhere to be found, no one seems to care.

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wait, it gets much better
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Filthy idiot
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JESSE CAMP isn't cute and he needs to take a shower. all the money he made during this time, and he couldn't even fix his nasty teeth! go figure! - BRIAN
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Why is he talking like that in the song? Even when it came out, this song was crap, and don't even say it was before it's time. No one plays rock 'n' roll today, or at least deserves to be called "Rock 'n' Roll". Jesse Camp sucks, and everybody hates him.
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IMG get this, this music is so unkown you cant even GOOGLE THE LYRICS, you end up with nothing. God jesse camp sucked balls. Out of morbid curiosity i wonder were he is now
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I REST MY CASE
He should change the bands name to JESSE CAMP AND THE MORONS FROM MARS

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Ted Cantu is the grooviest creator of FASCUBE Fashion Culture Beauty Network 2006

JESSE CAMP - SEE YOU AROUND

XTC - PEPPERED WITH POP BRILLIANCE

PERFECT.

I don't hand out many titles of that nature when it comes to pop music. I hardly hand them out even in Andy Partridge's case. But as an XTC this song goes past what is expected and delivers the song exactly as it should be. Better than I fantasized about. Its more electric then I could have dreamed of.

Frenetic. Mad. Disasterous. Ecstatic and Frenzied.

The office shots, screaming into a plastic toy telephone and appearing on multiple tv monitors..... all the shots equally vying for your attention.

ARE YOU RECIEVING ME?

YES... i SHOULD HOPE SO !

Of course too much exposure to this type of psychotic pop frenzied music could be dangerous to ones health, (irregular heart beats and copulous beer consumption). Not to mentioned a bruised imagination.

While I am on the subject of XTC let me ask you if you ever heard of these louts?

www.dukesofsimpleton.com

A tribute band to XTC. Spreading imagination to soul dead world.
THanks to an era of Bush and Post-Hope.... we need all the encouragement we can get.
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Ted Cantu IS THE FASCUBE NETWORK 2006

XTC - ARE YOU RECIEVING ME !?!?

CROWDED HOUSE - WHAT WORLD WAS THIS?

This clip sold me on Crowded House. They only had one copy of this album when I bought it. School Kids Records in ann arbor, mi always had one album as a tester for new releases. This stuff was not popular when it was released. It may as well have had my name on it. I would always buy the new stuff.. the risky stuff... the stuff they werent sure was going to immediately sell. IN this case.... ex Split Enz frontman... Neil Finn and Crowded House.

Instantly they established a sound and image. Hand painted suits and props. They had a very quirky and unforgettable sound. This clip also screams 120 MINUTES. It carried the basic themes to eclectic music. It was like rat poison to the mall set, you know.. the food court kids that were intertwined with hair spray Heavy Metal. It wasn't primal for one reason.... it didn't do anything predictable and didn't beg to be liked.

In fact it was far from likeable. The intro to this song used to confuse me, I couldn't relate to it. I didn't see what it had to do with the CHORUS !!! iN FACT I found the beginning wind up to be a bit borish and embarrasing. Now, of course its a classic.

And i like it very much.

Hester, the dummer, hung himself about a year ago due to depression. This band had a lot of energy to it. For what its worth they were asked to play for the drunken rich kids at spring break in south beach, Florida.

To the cerebral set, this band speaks a certain voice. Its enduring.

no wait.

Its endearing.
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Ted Cantu FASCUBE 2006

CROWDED HOUSE - WORLD WHERE YOU LIVE

BIG AUDIO DYNAMITE - IT HAD TO HAPPEN

When the Clash broke it splintered into two factions. Joe STrummer had his own group and Mick Jones had his own version of the band. The Temptations pulled this monkey business too back in the day. Each version battling eachother and itself and the audience was asked to divide its attention to what was going on .... that very minute instead of focussing on the music.

AHHHH THE PRESSURE......

BIG AUDIO DYNAMITE burst out the flaming wreck that was THE MIGHTY CLASH. And at first I looked over the reviews that came out of SPIN magazine and was not impressed. BAD for me didn't have the punch or pull of The Clash at first glance. But I soon fell into the trance of the world beat sounds. It had the guts to take the Clash sound and elevate it into something vibrant.

As life spiraled out of control in the late 80's it proved to be a perfect soundtrack to my days in Chicago and NYC. THe music had weight and was relevant. It had a street pulse. It was world smart. In short it was the only direction for Mick Jones because there was no where else to go. and It holds up today quite nicely.
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Ted Cantu FASCUBE 2006

BAD - COME ON EVERY BEATBOX

THE AGE OF CHANCE - POWER DECONSTRUCTO MAGNIFIQUE

thank GOd these guys appeared when they did.

I was wallowing in a lot of crappy Styx and Journey tracks from high school. These guys were a deliberate 360 that gave new meaning to pop culture. It was a short blast of flatulence but it was well needed. It came just in time. These guys did not last very long. But I was grateful for the short contribution and time they gladly gave to the POP world.

IN the clubs, AGE OF CHANCE tore up the dance floors. The video was shown on a drop down screen and it was covered in dry ice and lights. LIttle star stencil lights flashed vividly over the screen giving it a real surreal effect.

In short, it was heaven. They really tore up the prince version. Its still glorious.
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2006, Ted Cantu - Fascube Us

THE AGE OF CHANCE - KISS

BLACK FLAG - TV PARTY - REDEUX

Ah.. the soundtrack... to the SPRINGTIME OF MY LIFE.

and a damn good one.

I loved this song... NO wait... I ADORED THIS SONG.. NO .. WAIT..
I ABSORBED THIS SONG INTO MY INNER CONSCIOUSNESS AND INNER WELL BEING !!!!

Little did I know this low rent video and song would end up making Henry Rollins
an International Superstar. Now this guy is hawking Macintosh computers, and has
his own pop culture tv show on IFC.

Weird.

I never thought anything released on SST would have that kind of media pull in the
mainstream.. YES I SAID IT.. HENRY ROLLINS IS MAINSTREAM... I STILL LIKE HIM, but he
is very mainstream.

This song though.... is not mainstream. Its odd, and offbeat..... and in some wonderfully strange way it is very likeable and adorable... like my youth.
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Ted Cantu created the FASCUBE, (FASHION CULTURE BEAUTY NETWORK) Network... !!!

BLACK FLAG - TV PARTY

Adam and the ANTS - DELIVER INDEED

Yes I like my videos goofy AT TIMES !!! I will risk at offending all the women out there when I say I liked Adam Ant better in his bone vests and makeup. I liked all the inventions thrown on him by Malcom McLaren, (creator of the Sex Pistols). Why? BECAUSE ITS FUN.

If you like your pop music mushy, romantic and serious then go dig up some tracks by Jack Wagner, (in 1985 I found 40 unwrapped, unopened wagner albums sitting in a record store) tsk tsk.

STAND AND DELIVER I SAID !!!.. Well, this video certainly does just that. It literally jumps off the screen and transports you into a land of fun, terror, hilariarty and sheer lunacy.

*** A note to the glum purists out there..... I like Adam and the Ants... yes yes.. But I also liked Adam Ant. Drummer Marco Pironi followed Adam throughout his entire career, well... most of it. And the purists say the band really ended when Adam and the Ants became... Adam Ant... well.. stop arguing you bunch of sad sacks and just enjoy the eclectic music.
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Ted Cantu is the creator of FASCUBE

ADAM & THE ANTS - STAND AND DELIVER

LORDS OF THE NEW CHURCH - WHERES STIV !!??

Amazing after all this time there are fans out there that had no idea Stiv Bators, (front man for the Lords of the New Chuch and the Dead Boys) had died ! Seriously.
Bators passed away after he was hit by a car while leaving a club in New York. He refused to go to a hospital and went home where he expired.

The track DANCE WITH ME disappointed me when i first got it. I saw Stiv standing on the back of a moving car screaming wildly in a rock promotion commercial for one of their new albums, A Method to Our Madness (?)This really got my attention. Fearing that I was missing out on something I went and bought the first release I could get my hands on. And that was this track.

Looking back on it now this track is OKAY, a bit tame, and even a bit likeable. Hardly not the stuff I expected from an ex-Dead Boy. Another bit of interesting trivia this was also the boyfriend of Martha Quinn, (one of the original MTV VJ's).

THE LORDS OF THE NEW CHURCH - DANCE WITH ME

THE VELVET UNDERGROUND - THE LIVE EVENT

Seeing authentic footage from the, "Exploding Plastic Inevitable" tour is about as likely as seeing a flying saucer. Yet, for the purists here it is. This is some footage, minus sound, that encaptures the brain frenized event.

Lou Reed and Warhol went on this cross country trip. Judging from the posters that I found online they had some sort of budget to play with. This tour made a stop at Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor, MI. It was billed as, "An Evening With Andy Warhol" and if you ask any aging hipster who remained on college campus after all these years they will tell you they were there or knew someone who was there. But I lived on that campus and we had a ton of cool things come in to play for an audience of maybe 20 - 40 tops.... sometimes an audience of 6. So filling up the entire Hill, which seats about 10,000+ is highly unlikely.

This was a very obscure tour. I only found out about it in the history books. This "famous" tour never makes any VH1 countdown of MUST SEE SHOWS. You will most likely find out about it through reading about Warhol or Lou Reed. Occassionally it will pop up in a art magazine.

Why write about a video from YouTube that has only 6 views? WELL FIRST OF ALL IT IS RARE to find any footage at all. It is very interesting too to see this thing unfold. It was a night of Velvet Underground music, dancing, psychedlic lights and film super imposed over the entire stage. For 1965. THIS WAS IT. This was about as high tech as it gets. The effect is still pretty encouraging and exciting.

The video picks up at the end with more flashing lights. This was the in place to be. It is a recreation of the year 1965. That was the year that Warhol realy broke big to the public.

Its worth a glance.

THE VELVET UNDERGROUND - THE EXPLODING PLASTIC INEVITABLE

WIRE - BRING OUT THE SPECIAL GUEST

I remember singing this after leaving a club.... in my own words.. from what I thought I heard.... "I remember making the body search"... etc.

and some disgruntled clubee girl mumbled, "OH I BET YOU DO !".. what ever that was about. Yeesh..... so much for freedom of expression.

This video comes off as a "DIY" offering.. a real do it your-selfer.... If you watch it over and over you will see more in it that what is necessary. Maybe I remember it too much for what it is..... Its a remarkable peice.

This is off the album, "THE IDEAL COPY". Its a cerebral club favorite. At least it was at the club I frequented. It was a very vital track in its time. It belongs in its own category. Like many of the Wire tracks, it is unique.

WIRE - AHEAD

THE DAMNED - JUST FOR YOU - ITS A LOVE SONG !!!

HERE IS ANOTHER CLIP FROM, "TOP OF THE POPS"

This is completely muffled and the quality is poor. But if you ever heard it rip from, "Machine Gun Ettiquette" you will know that this song is stylistically out of control. The volume is out there and there is a strong melody hidden under the thrashing drums of Rat Scabbies.

I saw these guys on their 10th anniversary in New York City at the Ritz -- the world's first rock and roll hotel -- in the late 80's and they were very powerful..... They played the entire first album in about 20 blazing minutes!

Then ten years later I caught them again in Chicago. This time the show was more controlled and the sound was very polished. They were even more powerful than they were the first time. I caught this show at Chicago's House of Blues.

The Damned fell under the shadow of the Clash even though they briefly toured together. They were obscure. But they were no less charming in their own fiendish way. They were just as brilliant.

1977 was a year that celebrated punk music. But just as it was released it was forgotten about as it was squashed by Disco's overbearing presence. 1980 was also a very confusing time as this music edged its sound into commercial releases. In America, the New Wave sound was about as close to punk as the record industry would get. With the invention of MTV punk would reach a broader audience. By 1983 the presence of punk and hardcore was available in just about everywhere imaginable. But in England... the sound had reverted to something else.. Ska, Dub, Goth and danceable pop.

The Damned then went into more changes trading as many as 20+ members in its roster. Each release was more creative and unique but hard to classify. Their sound matured and was very textural. But the classic punk sound that made them famous was forever frozen in this classic 1976 release.. DAMNED DAMNED DAMNED.
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Ted Cantu - FASCUBE -- 2006

THE DAMNED - LOVE SONG

ROBYN HITCHCOCK - IS THIS LOVE?

This video leaves a thumbprint on your brain and it stays there... mostly likely for eternity. It did in my case --- I found this particular one to be unforgettable. At least the intro... and the outro. The scene opens with HITCH, as he's known, on the phone with some sort of atmospheric dream -like sounds in the background.

Then it breaks off into the song.... which is very artfully done. The video then tops the audio with its very clean delivery. The scenes are very steady and evenly cut and its very entertaining. Hitchcock looks a lot like Peter Buck in this clip and that is most likely due to the fact that they are very good friends. In fact the middle part of this video looks like an REM video.

This had a much bigger impact on me that I anticipated. I always have the tendency to see things that aren't there. I actually believed that the last shot was of a wasp madonna pinned to a wall... like a science display, in some mad biology exibit. My ideas and the way I remember certain videos are always a little more fantastic than what they usually are.

All and in all, this is an amazing work.
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Ted Cantu is the contributor to the FASCUBE network, and also works as a direct marketing consutant through 911copywriters.com

ROBYN HITCHCOCK AND THE EGYPTIANS - MADONNA OF THE WASPS

THE PRIMITIVES - ANYONE REMEMBER?

Before you could even register it in your recent memory they were gone in a flash! The Primitives, (led by Tracy Tracy) were a poppy group coming out of the brilliant late 80's. The other bands that surrounded this brief but interesting period were Poi Dog Pondering, the Proclaimers and The Jack Rubies.

They had an interesting edge over the stuff that permeated the airwaves in the entire 1990's decade. These songs stood on their own. Each one was different and took some thought and imagination in putting them together.

The Primitives were featured in the movie Dumb and Dumber along with Echobelly. These songs were brilliant on their own but also helped lift up the film. They dissolved very quickly after this movie was released.

THE PRIMITIVES - CRASH