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Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – Selections from “Popshopping Volume 1” by Various Artists

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Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – Selections from “Popshopping Volume 1” by Various Artists

Popshopping is a compilation of German TV commercial production music from the 1960s and 1970s. Compilation producers Sir D’Oeuvre and Senor 45 collected these tracks from flexi discs and dusty TV production tape vaults.

Many may consider this music nothing more than a bunch of blaring, dated background noise, but to others (including me), this is highly stylized and inventive music created by some of Germany’s finest composers including Christian Bruhn, Max Meir-Maltez, Klaus Wuestoff, Gert Wilden and Johnny Teupen.

Today’s Song Of The Day includes Christian Bruhn’s music for Ford Capri, Ford Taurus and “Komm In Fahrt” for Hansa-Pils commercials (all 1973), Klaus Wuesthoff’s “Swing A Little, Kim A Little” (1967), Klaus Doldinger’s “Wild Freshness” (1970) and Max Meir-Maltez’s music for Moulinex (1972). All of the tracks collected here are exceedingly groovy, as is the companion compilation to this one, Popshopping Volume 2!

Song Of the Day by Eric Berman – Album Review: “The Cautionary Tales Of Mark Oliver Everett” by Eels

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Song Of the Day by Eric Berman – Album Review: The Cautionary Tales Of Mark Oliver Everett by Eels

(Editor’s note: This review originally was published on April 29, 2014)

I love Eels. Mark Oliver Everett (aka “E” aka “Eels”) is a terrific songwriter with an interesting back story which has become the basis for subject matter on his finest albums including Hombre Lobo, Blinking Lights And Other Revelations, Daisies In The Galaxy, Electro-Shock Blues and Souljacker.

However, Everett has been making essentially the same record now for the last few years, and as a fan of the man and the band, most of the records have much to offer especially upon repeated spins. Yet this year’s model, The Cautionary Tales Of Mark Oliver Everett is a ballad-laden entity, totally bereft of the gnarly rockers that many have come to love Eels for.

Eels have been very prolific over the last few years and what initially seemed like a boom for fans several years ago when they released three records in the span of 12 months has now begun to weigh heavily on the quality of their output which is getting a little tiresome. The suite of three albums from 2011-12 focused on three different aspects of Everett’s life: lust (Hombre Lobo), middle age (End Times) and optimism (Tomorrow Morning). Unfortunately, on Cautionary Tales, we get to reexamine the very same relationship territory in a musically much less interesting manner.

Don’t get me wrong, E is always good for a few classic Eels songs per record, and this one is no different with tracks like “Parallels,” “Where I’m From,” “Answers,” “Series Of Misunderstandings” and “Mistakes Of My Youth,” all early contenders for a coveted place high within the Eels canon. But there’s a sameness to the new Eels material that’s hard to shake making it also very hard to get through. (C’mon E! Eels records shouldn’t be and never were a chore to listen to!)

Gone are the hummable melodies, ecstatic outbursts of pure abandon and wiggy instrumentation that has traditionally made most of Eels output a joy to listen to. In its place is a collection of mostly acoustic based songs that don’t change that dynamically from one to the other. Add to that, E’s growl of a voice has gotten rougher and less emotional which also weighs down this collection of stylistically very heavy and downtrodden songs.

The album is framed by three tracks, the superfluous opening instrumental “Where I’m At,” “Where I’m From” in the center of the record, and “Where I’m Going” at the end, however the feeling one gets from listening to the whole record is “I’ve been here before and I’m still in the same place.”

Adding to the album’s thirteen track tune stack is an additional seven new tracks (plus six live songs from their Wonderful Glorious tour) on the bonus addition. That’s twenty new songs adding up to some serious (and I mean very serious) material to sift through.

The Cautionary Tales Of Mark Oliver Everett is the opposite of Eels last wonderful and glorious outing Wonderful Glorious. It would be great if the upcoming Eels tour featured a solo acoustic segment where many of the new songs would benefit from an intimate presentation, however as the latest chapter in the Eels story, you should proceed with caution with Cautionary Tales.

FULL ALBUM:

Song of the Day – “The Mercy Seat” by Johnny Cash

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Song of the Day by Eric Berman – “The Mercy Seat” by Johnny Cash

By the year 2000 and the third album in the American series, Johnny Cash had reestablished himself as one of the greatest singers, not just in country music, but in all music. Producer, Rick Rubin, began working with him several years before and allowed Johnny Cash do what he did best in the studio…be JOHNNY CASH!

Cash began working with Rick Rubin in 1994. Rubin was the founder of Def Jam Records, and was responsible for producing seminal recordings by Public Enemy and The Beastie Boys. It must have taken quite a leap of faith for Johnny Cash to, not only work with Rick Rubin who was much younger than him, but to put his career in his hands.

When they first began working together, Cash’s career was pretty much over. He had recorded several ho-hum records for the Mercury label during the mid-to-late 1980s that were nothing special, and even resorted to re-recording some of his older hits for the label. I caught Cash in concert in a small New York City bar back in 1986 when he was touring behind the album Water from the Wells of Home. His career was so far off the mark, that the place was not even half full, although I must say that he was terrific. The performance was marred by his proclivity to allow his son and wife to take precious concert time away from the main attraction, in order for them to perform their own material.

Rubin’s whole modus operandi with Cash was to make bare guitar and voice recordings that would highlight what a great interpreter of material he was. In doing so, Rubin sent Cash tapes of songs he liked, exposing him to material he had never heard by the likes of Tom Petty, Beck, Soundgarden, U2 and Nick Cave, who wrote today’s Song of the Day by Eric Berman.

For American III: Solitary Man, Rubin assembled an all-star list of backing musicians including Norman Blake, Mike Campbell, Randy Scruggs and Marty Stuart on guitar, Tom Petty, Merle Haggard and Shreyl Crow on backing vocals and Bentmont Tench on organ. “The Mercy Seat” is probably Cash’s most harrowing recording, even more so than Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds’ original from their 1988 album Tender Prey.

Of the five American Recordings albums, not to mention the five CD Cash Unearthed box set with more Rubin/Cash collaborations, the American III: Solitary Man album is one of the most enjoyable on every level mainly because of its superb choice of cover songs by Tom Petty (“I Won’t Back Down”), Neil Diamond (“Solitary Man”) and U2 (“One”). Together, Cash and Rubin formulated a record that kept Johnny Cash not only relevant with the hip cognoscenti, but also true to himself as a recording artist.

And as for what Nick Cave thought about Cash’s cover, his pride oozes out of every word in the following quote… “It doesn’t matter what anyone says, Johnny Cash recorded my song.”

Song Of The Day – “Paradise Girls” by Deerhoof

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Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Paradise Girls” by Deerhoof

Their Breakup Songs was the album that topped my Best Albums list of 2012, and now Deerhoof return with their new album La Isla Bonita. (out Nov. 4)

Emanating from San Francisco (Greg Saunier, Ed Rodriguez & John Dieterich) by way of Japan (Satomi Matsuzaki), Deerhoof have released 13 albums over 20 years of unpredictable music with a sound that would have made Yoko Ono proud and John Lennon jump for joy.

It has finally come to pass that the dance ingredients of Yoko Ono’s recordings circa Double Fantasy coupled with the crunchy noise of her earlier albums which were championed by John Lennon have somewhat reached the mainstream with Deerhoof and their brand new album La Isla Bonita.

The album consists of rough tracks that were recorded in Rodriguez’s basement with the intent to send them to their producer before going into the studio. Upon playing the tracks back, the band realized that they already had the album they wanted to make.

Greg Saunier: “No one gave much thought to microphone placement and other technical matters, or playing the parts perfectly, or even staying in tune. It was unselfconscious, spontaneous and fun, all four musicians playing in the same tiny room at the same time.”

Satomi Matsuzaki later added her simplistic, repetitive lyrics and baby-doll vocals on top of the tracks solidifying the Deerhoof sound that fans have come to love.

Part electro-crunch, part sing-song melodies, part twee vocals and completely infectious in the dance rhythm department, “Paradise Girls” is a prime example of this band’s unique and irresistible sound.

Song Of The Day – “Seven Come Eleven” by Charlie Christian w/ The Benny Goodman Sextet

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charliechristianThe world of music is scattered with “what ifs,” such as “What if Waylon Jennings didn’t give his seat up to Buddy Holly on the ill-fated flight that took his life?,” or “What if John Lennon hadn’t been murdered…would there have been a Beatles reunion?”

One of the more intriguing what-ifs in my book is “What if a 25 year old guitar wiz by the name of Charlie Christian had lived a full life?” What kind of music can we have expected to come from him?

Well based on the two years of recordings he left behind with Benny Goodman, they would have been stunning to say the least. Case in point is this 1939 sextet recording with Benny Goodman on clarinet, Lionel Hampton on vibes, Fletcher Henderson on piano, Artie Bernstein on bass and Nick Fatool on drums. Listen to how tight the lead trio of clarinet, vibes and guitar are as they fly together in unison into the musical stratosphere.

What’s even more fascinating is that this recording was made during a time of uncertainty for Goodman. He had disbanded his orchestra due to medical issues a few months before. After enduring back surgery for acute sciatica (which was far more debilitating then than it is now), Goodman faced the task of putting a new band together after being out of circulation for months.

One of the first things he did was to put this sextet together with Charlie Christian, a new guitarist from Oklahoma he’d found through John Hammond. At the time, the electric guitar was not a common instrument in a big band, let alone in a sextet. Goodman took the opportunity to try something different and it paid off in spades.

Unfortunately, we’ll never really know the answer to this “what if” scenario, but at least we have the amazing recordings we do by Charlie Christian to marvel and ponder.

Note: While the YouTube video is labeled “Roast Turkey Stomp,” it is actually a 1939 live recording of “Seven Come Eleven” by Charlie Christian with The Benny Goodman Sextet.

Today in Rock History – May 11

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1967, Pink Floyd begin two days of recording with producer Joe Boyd, working on the tracks “Interstellar Overdrive,” “Arnold Layne,” “Let’s Roll Another One” and “Nick’s Boogie.”

1967, The Bee Gees made their Top Of The Pops debut performing “New York Mining Disaster” on the UK TV show.

1968, Jimi Hendrix moves into a London townhouse formerly owned by the Messiah’s composer George Frederick Handel. The guitarist tells the Daily Mirror that he will “not let the tradition down.”

1969, Yes played at Frank Freeman’s Club, Kidderminster, England.

1969, The Rolling Stones go to number five in the American album charts with their new release Beggars Banquet. It peaked at number three in the UK charts the previous year.

1969, The Allman Brothers Band performed the first of two nights at the Piedmont Music Festival in Atlanta.

1969, Jethro Tull release their debut album This Was.

1970, The triple soundtrack album Woodstock was released, going gold within two weeks.

1971, King Crimson appeared at Guild Hall, Plymouth, England.

1972, John Lennon appeared on the US television Dick Cavett Show, claiming he was under surveillance from the FBI.

1972, David Bowie played at Assembly Hall, Worthing, England.

1972, The Grateful Dead’s fabled European tour stops at Rotterdam, Netherlands for a show at the Civic Hall.

1973, Wings kicked off their first official tour at the Bristol Hippodrome, playing 15 UK shows.

1973, Alice Cooper appeared at The Forum, Inglewood, California.

1974, Led Zeppelin attended an Elvis Presley show at the Inglewood Forum in Los Angeles, California. After a shaky start to the show, Elvis stopped the band and jokingly said: “Wait a minute…if we can start together fellas, because we’ve got Led Zeppelin out there, lets try to look like we know what were doing.” All four members of Zeppelin met with Elvis after the show, spending over two hours backstage. Elvis asked for all the group’s autographs for his daughter Lisa Marie.

1975, Led Zeppelin play “Kashmir” live for the first time during a gig at the Ahoy in Rotterdam.

1976, AC/DC performed at the Marquee Club, London.

1978, Rush appeared at the Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Indiana.

1978, at the end of their News Of The World 46-date tour, Queen played three sold-out nights at Wembley Arena, London, England.

1979, Rod Stewart appeared at Cobo Arena, Detroit, on his Blondes Have More Fun tour, tickets $12.50.

1981, Jamaican singer-songwriter Bob Marley died of lung cancer and a brain tumor aged 36. Had the 1981 single “No Woman No Cry,” plus over ten other UK Top 40 singles. In 1990, February 6 was proclaimed a national holiday in Jamaica to commemorate his birth. The compilation album, Legend, released in 1984, is the best-selling reggae album ever with sales of more than 20 million copies. Time magazine chose Bob Marley & The Wailers’ Exodus as the greatest album of the 20th century.

1985, UK producer and keyboard player Paul Hardcastle was at number one on the UK singles chart with “19.”The title referred to the average age of American soldiers in the Vietnam War and features dialogue by television narrator Peter Thomas, and a strong anti-war message.

1987, The UK indie chart had The Smiths at number one on with “Sheila Take A Bow,” number two, The Cult, “Lil’ Devil” number three, The Pogues, “The Irish Rover.” The CD chart, David Bowie a the top spot with Never Let Me Down, Raindancing by Alison Moyet stood at number two and Genesis Invisible Touch rounded out the top three.

1996, Bill Graham the Irish journalist from Hot Press magazine, credited with discovering U2, died of a heart attack aged 44. Graham brought the fledgling band to the attention of Paul McGuiness, who became their manager. Members from Clannad, U2, Hothouse Flowers and Gavin Friday all attended his funeral.

2001, Oasis, The Black Crowes and Spacehog kicked off The Tour of Brotherly Love, a North American tour at The Hard Rock in Las Vegas, Nevada. (The three bands featuring pairs of brothers, (Noel and Liam Gallagher, Chris and Rich Robinson, Royston and Antony Langdon, respectively).

2003, Jimi Hendrix Experience bassist Noel Redding died at his home in Ireland aged 57. Redding played on the classic Hendrix albums Are You Experienced, ‘Axis: Bold as Love and Electric Ladyland. Right up until his death, Redding had been taking legal action against the Hendrix estate for payment estimated at £3.26 ($5.22) million for his part in recordings and for ongoing royalties. Had also been a member of Fat Mattress and formed The Noel Redding Band.

Born on this day: Irving Berlin (1888);  Eric Burdon (1941); Les Chadwick, Gerry And The Pacemakers (1943); and Butch Trucks, Allman Brothers (1947); Greg Dulli,  singer-songwriter and guitarist, The Twilight Singers, The Afghan Whigs (1965).

Get more Today in Rock History

Song Of The Day – “Sheila Take A Bow” by The Smiths

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smithsThe Who called them “odds and sods.”

These were the songs that didn’t fit on their proper albums. Typically, they were non-album singles, B-sides and stray tracks recorded for outside compilations, movie soundtracks and other projects that either didn’t fit, or were never considered for, inclusion on their proper albums. They were also songs that may not have been released all over the world, but were only released, for whatever reason in specific regions.

The “odds and sods” compilation album made for an easy stop-gap project between new albums, creating more revenue for the artist and new product for the labels to market. At the same time, the “odds and sods” compilation also satisfied the desire of die-hard fans who want everything they can wrap their ears around by their favorite artists.

Some great examples of the “odds and sods” compilation include The Who’s aptly titled 1974 collection Odds And Sods, Elvis Costello’s Taking Liberties The Beatles’ Past Masters and the album where today’s Song Of The Day hails from; Louder Than Bombs by The Smiths.

The Smiths consisted of Morrissey on vocals, Johnny Marr on guitar, Andy Rourke on bass and Mike Joyce on drums, and the combo of Morrissey and Marr guaranteed sharp lyric songs that were high in equal parts of drama and melody.

Louder Than Bombs has become one of the most essential of all The Smiths’ releases because it features so many of their classic hits, including “Shoplifters Of the World Unite,” “Ask,” “Panic,” “Shakespeare’s Sister,” “William It Was Really Nothing,” “Hand In Glove” and “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now.” And if that isn’t enough, many of the B-sides collected on the album are also of top-shelf quality including “London,” “Half A Person,” “Girl Afraid,” “Back To The Old House,” “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want” and “Is It Really So Strange.”

The album was the counterpart to the UK compilations Hatful Of Hollow and The World Won’t Listen, however Bombs became so popular as an import in the UK, that Rough Trade (their British label) ultimately released it and it climbed to #38 on their album charts.

The jacket for Louder Than Bombs features an image from The Saturday Evening Post of British playwright Shelagh Delaney of Salford, Greater Manchester. Delaney’s play, A Taste Of Honey inspired many lyrics to several of Morrissey’s early songs including “This Night Has Opened My Eyes,” which is included on the album.

Today’s Song Of the Day, “Sheila Take A Bow” was originally released as a single and reached the #10 spot on the UK charts in 1987. Morrissey had intended for ‘60s pop vocalist Sandie Shaw to sing background vocals on this track (as she had previously done on “Hand In Glove” and “I Don’t Owe You Anything”), however on the day of the session Morrissey was out sick. Morrissey’s absence from the session apparently rattled Shaw and her vocals weren’t up to snuff and ultimately scrapped. Shaw later told the press that she thought the song was horrid anyway.

Several versions of the song exist. An early version produced by John Porter featured a prominent sitar line which was deleted from the Steven Street produced released version.  The single also featured two John Peel Session recordings on the flip; “Is It Really So Strange” and “Sweet And Tender Hooligan.” Both songs were ultimately released along with the A-side on Louder Than Bombs.

As with many Smiths singles and albums up to this point, the 45’s cover featured a still from a film. The cover star of Sheila Take A Bow was actress Candy Darling (who was a member of Andy Warhol’s Factory entourage and immortalized in the Lou Reed song “Walk On The Wild Side”), in a still from the 1971 film Women In Revolt.

Over its four sides, The Smiths’ Louder Than Bombs has become an essential addition to the group’s catalog, and holds up better than most of their regular album releases.

So for a little trivia and just to make sure people actually read my posts, what are your favorite “odds and sods” collections?

Song Of The Day – “Punk Prayer” by Pussy Riot

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pussyriot1PussyRiot2Pussy Riot – what they lack in musical aptitude, they surely make up with unbridled punk rock spirit. The merits of their talent or lack thereof, are totally beside the point anyway. Pussy Riot return punk rock to its purest essence: protest, entertainment and fashion.

Pussy Riot formed in Moscow in 2011 with an ever-changing lineup of young women numbering up to twenty different members. In essence, Pussy Riot is more movement than musical outfit, and the aforementioned style comes down to the brightly colored balaclavas they wear during performance to obscure their real identities.

Pussy Riot’s brand of entertainment is known as guerilla performance, where the group members show up to perform in places specifically chosen to create outrage, in order to gain media attention and make a statement. Today’s Song Of The Day, “Punk Prayer,” is the performance that landed three Pussy Riot members in jail for the punk protest they staged in Moscow’s very conservative Cathedral Of Christ The Savior on February 12, 2012. The video mixes raw footage of the actual protest with their studio recording called “Punk Prayer – Mother of God, Chase Putin Away!”

The performance and publicity that followed didn’t play well in Putin’s Russia and landed two of the group members, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, in jail in March of 2012, charged with the crime of hooliganism. A third member, Yekaterina Samutsevich, was also arrested several days later in March. The young women were denied bail and held in custody until their trial began in late July.

Pussy Riot said their protest was a political statement, but prosecutors argued that the band was trying to “incite religious hatred” against the Orthodox Church. On August 17, 2012, the three members were convicted of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred, and each was sentenced to two years imprisonment.

Samutsevich was released from prison a few months later (in October of 2012) after her lawyer successfully argued that she didn’t actually participate in the demonstration because security did not permit her to enter the church. Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova remain in prison where they have been met with a fair amount of disdain by the prison population. (Two other Pussy Riot members managed to escape prosecution and left the country.)

Russian political rights activists see Pussy Riot’s imprisonment as politically motivated, and sentiment within Russia, and indeed the rest of the world, has been met with equal amounts of disdain for Putin’s Russia.

While in jail, members of Pussy Riot continue to stage guerilla performances and  most recently released a video called Like A Red Prison (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOM_3QH3bBw) filmed at a Russian oil refinery, although both Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova have denied that the video was an official Pussy Riot performance.

For more information on Pussy Riot, check out the excellent HBO documentary Pussy Riot; A Punk Prayer, directed by Mike Lerner and Maksim Pozdorovkin, or go to http://freepussyriot.org/about on line.

The Gospel According To Uncle Marty, MMXX

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It’s time for The 3D RadioActivity‘s tradition of The Gospel According To Uncle Marty, as our gathering of the congregation will focus on a procession of spiritual offerings. Please open your hymnal to Chapter 530 where the music is waiting for us.

Download or click to play:
https://archive.org/download/The3dRadioactivity/3dradio_20200412-TGA2UM_MMXX.mp3

We have been spotlighting the best of The Gospel According To Uncle Marty, in hopes you are living the word, helping others if or when you can, and keeping a safe distance to deter you from any corona cooties that may be floating nearby.  With that in mind, we have STAY, AWAY, and other QUARANTINE friendly favorites coming up in the next few encounters.   All we need is to know what you want to hear!  Got any favorites that come to mind?  Get me your comments or suggestions via our Facebook page which has links to the archives of all the earlier episodes and graphics in the photo section, or by email .  Tell all your circle of best friends and family to look for us on  Theacidflashback.com,   http://www.villageconnectionmagazine.com/ Long Island, New York;  Denver’s MileHiRadio, TuneIn and InternetFM dot com, because the best FM radio is now on the Internet.

Until we meet again, Always Rock On!

…Uncle Marty

“It’s not true I had nothing on, I had the radio on.”

…Marilyn Monroe

Song Of The Day – “Infestissumam / Per Aspera Ad Inferi” by Ghost B.C.

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ghostbcIt’s not Spinal Tap during their “Stonehenge” phase, however Ghost B.C.’s satanic metal church music offers a theatrical twist (a la Tap’s “Henge”) unseen in rock music for many years.

The stage fills with thick plumes of white smoke while the sound of Latin liturgical chanting fills the air. Out of the haze emerge five group members wearing hooded robes, their faces obscured by masks. The band members, known as Nameless Ghouls, represent one of five elements; fire, water, wind, earth and ether. Their robes are adorned with a different symbol for each element, and their brand of rock is the chunkiest, crunchiest heavy metal sludge and dirge this side of early Metallica. With great fanfare, the lead singer emerges in skull make-up, dressed as a Roman Catholic Cardinal wearing black, augmented by an upside down cross. His hands raised in the air as the band kicks in with a killer riff destined to slay the audience.

The band is known as Ghost in Sweden, but due to legal reasons, they are Ghost B.C. in America. Nameless Ghoul: “The B.C. is silent, and as soon as we can, it’s gonna be taken away forever.” The band’s lineup includes Papa Emeritus II on vocals, Nameless Ghoul on lead guitar, Nameless Ghoul on bass, Nameless Ghoul on keyboards, Nameless Ghoul on rhythm guitar and Nameless Ghoul on drums.  Their real identities are kept a secret which adds to their intrigue. Papa Emeritus is now known as Papa Emeritus II, and although he is believed to be the same person, he now portrays a different character.

Convoluted? You bet. Intriguing? Definitely, and all this would be totally laughable, if it weren’t for the fact that the band are capable musicians and some of their songs are downright exceptional. Their songs are credited to “A Ghoul Writer,” however it is rumored that Tobias Forge formerly of the Swedish Bands Subdivision, Repugnant and Crashdiet is the real identity of Papa Emeritus II and is also “A Ghoul Writer.”

The band takes the Roman Catholic Church and turns it upside down, worshipping Satan instead of the Holy Trinity. Nameless Ghoul: “The sort of Satanism, or devil-worship, that we want to portray in the confines of Ghost, is a very biblical version of goat worship…we’re playing with the idea of divinity, and we’re using the diabolical symbolisms to set a mindset.”

Songs like “Ritual,” “Monstrance Clocks” (which Papa Emeritus II introduced as “a song about fucking”) and today’s Song Of The Day which opened their set at Lollapalooza, rock out in reckless abandon while never losing sight of song structure and, at times even melody. The B-side of the “Secular Haze” single is “I’m a Marionette” which is an ABBA cover featuring Dave Grohl on drums. The album’s second single is “Year Zero” which is backed with “Orez Raey” (“Year Zero” played backwards).

The lyrics are blatantly satanic, but they are filtered through a biblical lens, trading the coming of Christ for the coming of Satan. Nameless Ghoul: The album also deals with “how people relate to a deity or God, themes like submission and superstition, the horrors of being religious.”

It’s all very tongue and cheek, a total goof, and it wouldn’t work if the band didn’t have the musical chops to back it up. Nameless Ghoul:  “We have no militant agenda. We are an entertainment group. Our mission is to put on a show. We want people to go into the experience the same way that you would lose yourself in a horror movie for an hour or two…We knew very early that to make this material work we needed to fulfill our dream of putting a horror show together with music.”

Predictably, their satanic themes have not been welcomed with open arms in the U.S. The album was recorded in Nashville, where they had difficulty booking choir vocalists to sing their lyrics. It has been banned by several retail chains, radio has been reluctant to play them, and they have had a hard time getting booked onto late night talk shows for appearances.

Ghost B.C. hail from Linköping, Sweden, and formed in 2008. Their first album Opus Eponymous (2010) was nominated for a Grammis Award (Sweden’s equivalent to the Grammy Awards) for best Hard Rock Album in 2011. The release of their latest album, Infestissumam (where today’s Song Of The Day hails from) was pushed back in America because U.S. CD manufacturers refused to press up the release due to objectionable artwork on the deluxe version. The artwork was described as an illustration of a 16th century orgy. As a result, the U.S. CD carries different artwork than the vinyl version and the European CD version which carries the original artwork.

The group just wrapped up their Haze Over America U.S. tour with a final date at Lollapalooza this past Friday. Listening to them on record is beside the point; Ghost B.C. is a group that must be seen to be believed.