Here is something for all you blotter-heads out there. In 1971, American songwriter Harry Nilsson penned a quirky children’s story with a charming concept and layers of social themes like alienation and conformity.

The Point! centers around a character named Oblio, a round-headed boy who lives in a village of pointy-headed people. Originally, it was conceived as an animated film narrated by Ringo Starr and it aired as The ABC Movie of The Week in 1971. The serene and sometimes drowsy psychedelic music from the film was released as an accompanying album in the same year with Nilsson taking over narrating duties for Starr. For those of you who enjoyed Blackalicious’ 2002 song “Blazing Arrow“, this tune below about Oblio and his dog, may ring a bell:

Harry Nilsson – “Me and My Arrow” (From The Point! Soundtrack)

So how did this story come to be? Well, as Nilsson puts it, “I was on acid and I looked at the trees and I realized that they all came to points, and the little branches came to points, and the houses came to point. I thought, ‘Oh! Everything has a point, and if it doesn’t, then there’s a point to it.” Yes, Harry, you were certainly on acid — and we are truly grateful. Watch the first segment from the film below:

You can watch the entire 7-part animated film in full on The Hobbit’s double-feature YouTube Channel which also includes the animated version of, you guessed it, The Hobbit.

Purchase the deluxe-packaged soundtrack from Amazon.

Here’s a beautiful song from the recent The Lovely Bones Soundtrack, produced by Brian Eno. It’s a haunting blend of early Nico and Eno’s more recent pop work:

There is very little info on the web about Cindy D’lequez Sage. However, one commenter on a wiki dedicated to the soundtrack suggested that it is not a solo female singer as one would be led to believe, but rather a full band with a male singer. Say what?? Anyway, we do know for certain that the song is licensed to Eno’s equally obscure label/publishing company Opal Ltd, as it is stated in in the ending credits of the film.

(via Dangerous Minds)

by Nataly Morales

I knew Echo and The Bunnymen were quickly approaching retirement age, but I was not expecting to be the youngest person by 20 years when I attended their recent Philly show at the Keswick Theater.  A crowd sporting Dockers, loafers and budding baldness filled the venue with excited anticipation. Unlike my eager soccer-mom fan-mates, I was pessimistic about the concert.

I have seen elderly rockers perform before and have typically been let down by their shaky, winded vocals and their unenthusiastic performance, fearing that each strum of the guitar might be their last. I expected the same from the Bunnymen. This time I was dead wrong.  Time has not affected The Bunnymen’s talent or tamed lead-singer Ian McCulloch’s spicy personality.

The cocky front man fired commands at the aging audience between each and every song. “I don’t like yelping.  Shut the F*** up,” spewed McCulloch, after the set opener “Going Up”, from their 1980 debut album Crocodiles. And as the Volvo-driving, diaper bag-toting, daily vitamin-taking audience danced to “Book of Love”, not unlike my mother dancing in her living room, the front man shouted, “You are leaning on the stage. Maybe you are one of the band, but I don’t think so!” Sorry moms and dads, but this is still Rock and Roll and McCulloch is determined to prove it to you — even at age 50.

In attempt to ignore the comical insults plunging towards me in an incomprehensible English accent, I focused on the songs. When I heard the beginning chords of “Killing Moon,” I was definitely excited. Sure, most people my age know it from the Donnie Darko Soundtrack, but it is truly a brilliant song, no matter what the context.

Cigarette in hand and microphone to lips, McCulloch continued the evening with a mix of classic and new songs, giving their middle-aged fans and not-so-middle-aged fans exactly what they wanted. Everything was played precisely, carefully and with enthusiasm. Flawless instrumentation, clear-as-a-bell vocals and rocker-diva authority made for a pretty awesome show. I guess you are never too old to enjoy Echo and The Bunnymen.

Echo and the Bunnymen’s newest album, The Fountain can be purchased here.

Somewhere between genius and madness, between Alice Cooper and Freedom Rock, lies Psychedelic music pioneer Roky Erickson’s 1981 album The Evil One.

The release, consisting of two overlapping albums and often referred to as The Evil One or I Think of Demons, is a horror-rock opus. On first listen and without prior knowledge of the man’s life, one might think that the campy imagery within the lyrics is simply that of fantasy. However, the truth is far more disturbing:

In 1968, while doing a stint at HemisFair, Erickson started speaking nonsense. He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and sent to a Houston psychiatric hospital, where he involuntarily received electroconvulsive therapy.

The Elevators were vocal proponents of LSD, mescaline (peyote), DMT and marijuana use, and were subject to extra attention from police. In 1969, Erickson was arrested for possession of one marijuana joint in Austin. Facing a ten-year prison term, Erickson pled not guilty by reason of insanity. He was first sent to the Austin State Hospital. After several escapes, he was sent to the Rusk State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, where he was subjected to more electroconvulsive therapy and Thorazine treatments, ultimately remaining in custody until 1972. (via Wikipedia)

Roky Erickson and the Aliens – “I Think of Demons”

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More after the jump…

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Well, this gets me excited about new music again. The Books have always been interesting, but this new one from their upcoming album The Way Out may be the first that has blown me away on a pop music level. Robotic, yet strangely human a la Laurie Anderson. Wow.

{MP3} The Books – “Beautiful People”

(via GvsB)

We filmed Icelandic band Seabear’s exquisite 3 song performance at Art in the Age in Philly when they came through in March. This sweeping tune was the highlight. Watch more on the AITA blog.

Just days after Malcom McLaren’s funeral, the practically voiceless film critic Roger Ebert is giving lip service to those who have always wondered what he had in mind for the unfinished 1970s Sex Pistols film – intended to be a punk rock Hard Day’s Night featuring the band and directed by cult-filmmaker Russ Meyer. Watch the clip below (0:00 – 3:18) featuring interviews and the only finished sequence from the film.

Here is what Ebert had to say yesterday on his blog:

This, for the benefit of future rock historians, is the transscript of a screenplay I wrote in the summer of 1977. It was tailored for the historic punk rock band the Sex Pistols, and was to be directed by Russ Meyer and produced by the impresario Malcolm McLaren. It still carried its original title, “Anarchy in the U.K.,” although shortly after I phoned up with a suggested title change, which was accepted: “Who Killed Bambi?” I wrote about this adventure in my blog entry McLaren & Meyer & Rotten & Vicious & me. Discussions with Meyer, McLaren and Rene Daalder led to this draft. All I intend to do here is reprint it. Comments are open, but I can’t discuss what I wrote, why I wrote it, or what I should or shouldn’t have written. Frankly, I have no idea.

Read the full draft on Ebert’s blog.

Something to get lost in.

{MP3} Delorean – “Stay Close” (Sun Airway Remix)

In 1982 German producer Anthony Monn laid down a spacey, disco beat and asked the world “Who Built The Pyramids?” Then someone yelled back “Who gives a shit?!” An awesome song, nonetheless…

{MP3} The Tony Monn Concept – “Who Built The Pyramids?”

Here is part 1 of Dangerous Minds‘ entertaining interview with Kim Fowley, the man behind The Runaways…

“Cult figure Kim Fowley, record producer, rock impresario, songwriter and musician. Manager of The Runaways, Animal Man and the original Mayor of the Sunset Strip. “One of the most colorful characters in the annals of rock & roll.” Thrill to gossipy stories of Sly Stone and Doris Day; Sonny and Cher; Cat Stevens, Led Zeppelin, Gene Vincent and more. Part 1″

…And as we have seen recently in the world of technology, nothing remains a secret for long. You can try to decipher it here, or you can just enjoy your blissful ignorance.

Here’s a minimal and much darker version of the INXS classic as interpreted by Beck and friends for the newest Record Club project.

(via YANP)