Now I

Owen in Rock 2012 - Now I by Owen In Rock on Mixcloud

Welcome to the LAST EVER blog for Owen in Rock

"WHY LAST?!"

I'll tell you shouting Jeremy - because in the next show (Sixties II) I will resume my talking and there will be NO NEED for this essentially superfluous tie-in blog.

"HURRAH!"

Now could you please leave Jeremy you're horrifying the cats.

Witchcraft are one hell of a band. Also, they're fucking Swedish. They are so vintage that they make my face hurt. The album cover here is obviously what I butchered for the show there, and it itself is a modifcation of Aubrey Beardsley's pen-and-ink drawing of Merlin in a lateVictorian version of  the Death of King Arthur. So there. No help from Wikipedia.

Chrome Hoof are my favourite band. I fucking love them. Vapourise is a song from 2010's Crush Depth - a kick arse doom-electro-funk-psychedelic-space-rock record of sublime odditude. I recommend you investigate them. Also Ford Prefect joins them at the end (from the early noughties re-invention of Hitchhiker's that I also recommend).

Anthrax here, "remastering" some of their old songs through the medium of smearing John Bush on them. Sod John Bush. Can't beat early Anthrax though, no matter who's bellowing it - and it sounds nicely current at the very least. And this has a better cover than Fistful of Metal (which Panic was originally on) by about ten miles. I mean look at it.

Seriously what the fuck is that about? The physics are ridiculous let alone the fact that the hand is tiny. Is that a child's hand? Why is a child punching out through the back of that guy's head?! The voice you hear between this and the next song is Mrs Gunderson. Obviously.

Interglacial Spell is by Amplifier - a sorting of plodding neo-prog band from t'Manchester. I saw them recently in Sheffield and they had this octopus thing on a tie. I wanted to buy it. I didn't. Maybe I'll always regret it - but that's something for FutureOwen to deal with. You can listen to the entire of last years The Octopus album on BandCamp - for FREE. IF YOU FEEL THE NEED.

You Already Know were a Scottish sort of ... instrumental (?math) rock band. I think they've folded now but last year's Petrol Money is a bloomin' lovely record. Full of great (?math) tunes - that you can attach any name to. Math you could call it. Sludge probably not. It's a bit of a game. Gludder is my favourite genre.

This is a live version of World Wide Suicide from Pearl Jam's sprawling "Live at the Gorge" live album - which is seven discs long and VERY MUCH WORTH IT (don't listen to me I'm massively biased). This track is from... the sixth disc. July 23rd 2006 it was, a hot and sticky night in the Gorge Amphitheatre by all accounts and one where much Pearl Jam was played. The song is, of course, from 2006's "Pearl Jam" album.

These Bees I Breed (Know What I Need) is a neat little ditty from a duo known elusively as Dan Shandy and The Shambling Dandies - they were big in 2010 for about a day I think but since then I don't know what's happened to either of them. Although the guitarist Ron Lamp highly recommends Gilmore Trail

I don't actually know who Mitch Laddie is, I'll be honest. I guess he's one of those new blues guitarist. One of those types - he showed up on one of those Classic Rock cover CDs that have loads of new blues guitarists on them. That are all not Joe Bonamassa. He's got a very youthful voice though and This Time Around has got a nice restrained swing behind it. Could be good. Also - look out for a wee bit of Vic Reeves at the end. I put that in. Wow.

Joe Satriani is the big boots of instrumental mainstream rock records. All of his are bloody good - also he's got a head like a plucked falcon.

This is The Atomic Bitchwax with Cloning Chamber from their second record. It's heavy-as-hell stoner 'n' roll and I'm addicted to it. Also worth tracking down is their live "Boxriff" compilation which is like this only superfuckinglive.

Dozer are underrated as hell - another Swedish heavyband that I've got all the time in the world for. This track which I DELIGHTFULLY misspelled but am unwilling to correct is called Octanoid and it's from 2001's "Madre de Dios" - if you like it I politely request that you go and hoover a lot of it up because it's magic.

The Hidden Hand were a sort of... conspiracy-stoner band formed by the legendary Scott "Wino" Weinrich who makes literally every other musician in the universe seem lazy. Apart from Devin Townshend.
Most songs are about conspiracies and whatnot but it's all a lark. This is from 2005's "Divine Propaganda"

Now - I'm fairly indifferent to The Black Keys whose take on Blues Rock doesn't really sound any different to any other band that have ever called themselves Blues Rock. Apart from the fact that they're massive with the AWFULLY TRENDY. Dan Auerbach however, recorded a fucking spectacular solo album in 2009 full of atmospheric mournful tunes that kicks the living arse. This is the prettiest of them but the album is actually quite raw. Neat.

Finally - it wouldn't be a now show without ...uh, Bruce Dickinson. Seriously though, love the man and his solo stuff is excellent. Tyranny of Souls came out in 2005 and this is a track from it. Although, of course that's a Hans Memling painting on the cover. It's a demon. It's what Hans Memling thought demons looked like. The nutter.


That's it - !