This week on Pump Up The Jam, we’ve got Sparks, Patrick Cowely, Thee Temple Of Psychick Youth & more!
On October 17, Dark Entries will be releasing more music from disco and electronica pioneer Patrick Cowely. Who is Patrick Cowely? For those unfamiliar with his name, he was “an electronic music trailblazer and a revolutionary in the canon of disco music” who passed away from AIDS-related illnesses in 1982, when the disease didn’t even have a name yet.
This reissue, called Candida Cosmica, marks something even more unique from Cowely, as it includes the vocals of singer, performer, and porn actress Candida Royalle, née Candice Vadalla. Candice performed with Cockettes splinter troupe The Angels of Light as well as performance projects Warped Floors and White Trash Boom Boom.
Each copy of Candida Cosmica includes a 16-page booklet with never-seen-before photos, interviews and liner notes from Patrick and Candida’s friends, roommates and musical collaborators. You can order directly from Dark Entries.
For a review of Dark Entries’ release of Cowely’s School Daze, check out my 2013 article on Popshifter.
Another influential and indefinable force that isn’t exactly a household name either was Thee Temple Ov Psychick Youth (TOPY). An “anti-cult” formed in the late 1980s by a group of UK artists, TOPY “drew on the tenets of provocation, transgression, and the DIY ethos to form an internationally reaching network bound together by an esoteric sensibility.” From a press release:
By hurdling past the outer limits of propriety, the group aroused the moral wrath of “Satanic Panic”-era British authorities and caused the subsequent Scotland Yard raid and political exile of the group’s central figurehead, artist and provocateur Genesis Breyer P-Orridge (Throbbing Gristle, Psychic TV).
There is a Kickstarter in progress to fund A Message From The Temple, a documentary about TOPY, presented by Sacred Bones and Dais Records. Right now, the Kickstarter has $18K left in its fundraising goal of $50,000. Watch the trailer here:
If you live in New York City, you’re in luck. On October 15, there will be “an evening of Psychic Television Transmissions and a moderated discussion among Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, Tom Headbanger, Paul ‘Bee’ Hampshire, Pieter Schoolwerth, and others, with a reception to follow, to benefit the Kickstarter campaign.” Ticket presales are only available via Kickstarter.
Find out more on the film’s website, Facebook, and Instagram.
A wholly different kind of temple has released a new single: UK neo-psychedelic band Temples, whose 2014 release, Sun Structures, was a favorite of mine. Here’s “Certainty.”
The upcoming album won’t be out until 2017 from Fat Possum, but their North American tour kicked off yesterday.
Temples Tour Dates:
Thu. Oct. 13 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom
Fri. Oct. 14 — Joshua Tree @ Desert Daze
Sat. Oct. 15 — San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
Mon. Oct. 17 — Portland, OR @ Star Theater
Tue. Oct. 18 — Seattle, WA @ Crocodile Cafe
Fri. Oct. 21 — St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club
Sat. Oct. 22 — Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
Sun. Oct. 23 — Columbus, OH @ The A&R Music Bar
Mon. Oct. 24 — Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
Wed. Oct. 26 — New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
Thu. Oct. 27 — Washington, DC @ Rock & Roll Hotel
Fri. Oct. 28 — Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
Sat. Oct. 29 — Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
The ‘90s are back! Well, sort of. Unless you are completely off the grid (in which case, how would you be reading this?), you know that there’s been a massive resurgence in pop culture from that decade, whether in the form of youngsters reliving their parents’ generation through music, movies, and fashion, or people (like me!) who experienced it firsthand but aren’t sick of it yet (Ok, maybe I can do without some of the fashion).
One of the musical pioneers of the ‘90s was feminist punk/hard-rock/ grunge group L7. And now there’s a movie about them! Watch the trailer:
The L7: Pretend We’re Dead documentary is directed by award-winning documentary filmmaker Sarah Price (American Movie, The Yes Men, Summercamp) is coming soon. The documentary discusses the band’s rise to popularity and eventual dissolution in 2001. It features exclusive interviews with Exene Cervenka (X), Krist Novoselic (Nirvana), Shirley Manson (Garbage), Louise Post (Veruca Salt), Joan Jett and more.
Thanks to the enthusiasm generated by the documentary’s announcement, the band has reformed and been touring around the world. For more, check out their website.
YouTube is a lot of things: a time suck, a source of cat videos, and even a way to watch old movies that are impossible to find anywhere else. YouTube is also home to the Sparks Official Video channel! I guess I was sleeping when this was launched in 2012, but I’m happy to find out about it now.
After a decade of watching amazing clips of Sparks on YouTube only to experience crushing disappointment when they vanished, I’m glad the band realized that there was a void that needed to be filled. (Don’t get me wrong; there are still a lot of Sparks videos which are hard to find: I’m looking at you, NBC/Universal.)
It’s impossible to list all of the great videos on this channel, several of which I never even knew existed, but for this week’s #FlashbackFriday, I’ll share the wonderful “Tips For Teens.” You’re welcome.
