VA - X-Mas Tunes, Vol. 1 (1988)

Xmas Tunes, Vol. 1 - 20th Anniversary Free Download: The Norwegian tape label Hypertonia World Enterprises put together their first compilation in 1988. It was an underground xmas comp. with contributions from many artists from Europe and the US. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of this release the label is offering a free download of the hour long tape.

Artists included: Nicole Campau, Laurent Fauconnet, X-omatic (aka Skjit-Lars), Sack, Joe Menichetti & Beverly Slade, George Galvas & The Helmets, F:A.R., Injuryen (Juryen, with Brt from Famlende Forsøk), Leisure Sisters, To Trøtte Typer, Trio Zuter, X Ray Pop, James Hill & Mickey Stein, No Unauthorized, Åreknuteknyterne, Walter Ulbricht Experience, Phantom Limb & The 3 Wise Men and Costes.

Reviews:
«Quite a few of these xmas tunes are those we've come to know & love, some are perhaps traditional in other countries, & some have definately been specially written for this compilation...», Stick It In Your Ear zine
«This is an especially good tape for those of you who have relatives who insist on playing those old Bing Crosby records throughout December. Pop this baby in - there's enough "seriousness" mixed in to pull it off! A definite MUST!!!», But a Twist of the Lip... zine

Norsk: Gratis julemusikk! Det er 20 års jubileum for den første samlekz'n på labelen Hypertonia World Enterprises. Det var en julekassett med "hjemme"-innspilt musikk fra en lang rekke europeiske og amerikanske artister og band. Du kan laste ned hele utgivelsen her.

Download (88 Mb): Rapidshare

Hypertonia World Enterprises / HWE Blog

Bettie Page dies at 85

"Bettie Page, the brunet pinup queen with a shoulder-length pageboy hairdo and kitschy bangs whose saucy photos helped usher in the sexual revolution of the 1960s, has died. She was 85.
Page, whose later life was marked by depression, violent mood swings and several years in a state mental institution, died Thursday night at Kindred Hospital in Los Angeles, where she had been on life support since suffering a heart attack Dec. 2, according to her agent, Mark Roesler.
A cult figure, Page was most famous for the estimated 20,000 4-by-5-inch black-and-white glossy photographs taken by amateur shutterbugs from 1949 to 1957. The photos showed her in high heels and bikinis or negligees, bondage apparel -- or nothing at all.
Decades later, those images inspired biographies, comic books, fan clubs, websites, commercial products -- Bettie Page playing cards, dress-up magnet sets, action figures, Zippo lighters, shot glasses -- and, in 2005, a film about her life and times, "The Notorious Bettie Page."
Source: LA Times

LA Times Obituary / Bettie Page.com / Planet Bettie / The Bettie Page / Bettie Page @ Wikipedia / The Notorious Bettie Page / The Notorious Bettie Page @ Wikipedia / Bettie Page: Dark Angel @ Wikipedia

The Ruts - The Crack (1979)

The Ruts were a reggae-influenced British punk rock band, notable for the 1979 Top 10 hit "Babylon's Burning", and an earlier single "In a Rut", which was not a hit but was much played and highly regarded by the UK BBC Radio 1 disc jockey, John Peel.
The band consisted of Malcolm Owen (vocals), Paul Fox (guitar), John "Segs" Jennings (bass) and Dave Ruffy (drums). As part of the People Unite collective based in Southall in West London the band were active in anti-racist causes, and their song "Jah War" is about the Special Patrol Group's violence in Southall in 1979, in which Blair Peach was beaten to death and Clarence Baker was severely injured.
The Ruts backed Laurel Aitken who was then signed to the Secret Affair record label, I-Spy Records on a John Peel session for BBC Radio 1, in April/May 1980, and also backed Aitken on his support tour to Secret Affair - The line-up was Aitken, Fox, Jennings, Ruffy, Owen and Barnacle.
Malcolm Owen died from a heroin overdose on 14 July 1980 at the age of 26. The b-side "H-eyes" of "In a Rut" was a song against heroin use, and two other songs, "Dope for Guns" from the album The Crack, plus "Love in Vain" (b-side of "Staring at the Rude Boys") were also anti-drug songs.
On 16 July 2007 the band reformed for the first time in 27 years and played a special one off benefit gig for Paul Fox, following his diagnosis with lung cancer. Henry Rollins (of Black Flag), stood in for Owen. They were supported by Tom Robinson, The Damned, Misty in Roots, U.K. Subs, Splodge (Splodgenessabounds), John Otway; and the Peafish House Band which featured Lee Harris, (The Blockheads), Tony Barber (Buzzcocks) and Rowland Rivron, plus Edward Tudor-Pole and T. V. Smith.
Fox, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer in mid 2007, died on 21 October of the same year at the age of 56.
"The Crack" is The Ruts first album, released in 1979 and containing the UK hit singles: "Babylon's Burning" (No. 7 in the UK chart in June 1979) and "Something That I Said" (No. 29 in September 1979) The white-reggae-ish "Jah War" which was written in the aftermath of the Southall unrest and the over-use of force by the Metropolitan Police Service's Special Patrol Group in 1979 was also released as a single but didn't make the UK chart.
Source: Wikipedia

Tracklist: 1. Babylon's Burning, 2. Dope For Guns, 3. S.U.S., 4. Something That I Said, 5. You're Just a...., 6. It Was Cold, 7. Savage Circle, 8. Jah War, 9. Criminal Mind, 10. Backbiter, 11. Out of Order, 12. Human Punk (Live), 13. Give Youth a Chance (Bonus), 14. I Ain't Sofisticated (Bonus), 15. The Crack (Bonus).
Download (95 Mb): Rapidshare

The Ruts @ MySpace / The Ruts @ Wikipedia