Avenging Nightmares & Whanot

Now that Seattle has slaughtered the Denver Donkeys, and we darn well know the Pittsburgh NFL team may be the last gainfully employed Steelers left in the country... I can rest. Ahh... The team that Microsoft Built... how long before they crash?

and then, I gotta believe the stupid sign I saw hanging in the stadium that summed it up "Detroit Hawk City"

So in a few minutes, with all the Super bizness settled, I'm headed out the door to catch the Avengers on a little tour warm up before they head to Europe . Penelope Houston is/was the singer of this early West Coast punk band who began and disintegrated in an era that brought us the raw uninhibited punk music from compatriots like X, the Weirdos and Mutants etc. They opened for the Sex Pistols last show at Winterland, and broke up before their debut album even hit the streets. Today sadly for legal reasons, much of the Avengers best old school material is out of print, although the stuff does circulate on bootlegs and live tapes...

Penelope split for Europe, quit music for awhile, married and divorced and remarried, and resurfaced starting in the late 80's with a folk type group. Despite some good music made with collaboraters like Pat Johnson, Josef Brinkman, Steven Strauss, Chuck Prophet and even Billie Joe from Green Day, eventually she realized that ya gotta give the people what they want... and they want to hear The Avengers, not Fairport Convention soundalikes.

Here's some cuts from her solo albums...

Penelope Houston - Behind Your Eyes

Penelope Houston - Pale Green Girl

if yer not familiar with her Avengers stuff... i pity the fool... but seriously since I'm gonna lame out and not go on and on, just go to Strange Reaction and grab some more rare cuts and read a little bit more on these important late 70's punk pioneers. You can also head over to the Avengers page on MySpace to hear some more stuff via streaming ...



Avengers - End Of The World

Avengers - I Believe In Me

Avengers - Teenage Rebel

Avengers - American In Me ( 1979 live)


This weekend while I was galavanting around in Frisco checking out bands and whatnot, I saw that in New York a far heavier thing was going down...The International Commission of Inquiry on Crimes Against Humanity was being convened on the 5th anniversary of G.W Bush's initial inauguration. From Jan 20 - 23 activists, witnesses and whatnot were gathering to analyze, recount and draw attention to activities of the current Bush administration that defy and flagrantly flaunt the ideals of international law. The concerned activists behind the Not In Our Name statement have been helping arrange a special tribunal in New York to focus on these crimes...

Here's their spokesman Michael Ratner, president of the Center for Constitutional Rights announcing what they'd be up too....

Michael Ratner - Bush Commission

Amongst the many participating at these hearings were:

Scott Ritter, former UN weapons Inspector
Ajamu Sankofa, Executive Director of Physicians for Social Responsibility
Amy Bartholomew, Professor of Law, Carleton University (hear audio);
Barbara Olshansky, lawyer for Guantanamo prisoners
Malik Rahim, New Orleans Common Ground Collective (hear audio);
Denis Halliday, ex-head of UN Humanitarian Mission In Iraq & UN Asst Secretary General
Ann Wright, former U.S foreign service officer who resigned to protest Bush's Iraq War
Howard Zinn, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Boston U, (hear audio)


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these recordings from yesteryear are a bit lo-fi compared to yer digital faves of today but do capture the majestic raw rawk performed live in it's prime . The Sabbath cut is supposedly from the Fillmore West, but I think all are from TV shows, with the introduction on the Sabbath track possibly provided by the legendary ny music industry figure Don Kirschener...

Alice Cooper, the man Marilyn Manson owes it all too, hams it up on Johnny Carson, and then with an intro from Kermit The Frog ( a.k.a Jim Henson) on the beloved Muppet Show...

Alice Cooper - Lace & Whiskey ( live on Johnny Carson 1977)

Alice Cooper



Black Sabbath - Behind The Wall of Sleep ( live in New York 1970)

Alice Cooper - School's Out ( live on The Muppet Show)

as a bonus click the pic for the video of Cooper on the Muppet Show singing Welcome to My Nightmare






P.S here's some Seattle-centric fare for those who wanna party and throw around some Northwest sonic pride...

Kingsmen - Little Latin Lupe Lou

Kingsmen - Louie Louie

Nirvana - You Know You're Right

Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit

Mudhoney & Sir Mix A Lot - Freakmomma