LAVELLA-BLOG!

Sure, I know what you’re thinking, “MLV, this is a brand spankin’ new weekly feature, replacing the much cherished ‘New Wave Wednesday,’ so why is it part two?” Good question. It’s #2 in a series because awhile back, on July 9th to be exact, I did a post about my mucho beloved band The Professionals that was technically Part 1. So in the interest of accuracy and consistency, this is actually “Part 2”… glad we got that cleared up.

So, where to start? How about the UK in 1977 (seems logical) and alphabetically? Formed in 1973, Alberto y Lost Trios Paranoias were actually a “spoof rock” band in the tradition of the Bonzo Dog Band, but when their classic EP Snuff Rock was released in 1977 (on Stiff Records no less) you have to wonder how many people actually knew that. I got a copy in 1986 when then Circle of Shit front man and legendary Philly punk rock character John Brubaker demanded that I buy it when we saw it in a store while record shopping. He was as shocked that I didn’t already have it as if we were talking about the first Ramones record or something, but that’s how highly he regarded it, and after one spin, so did I. I mean sure, these guys couldn’t have been that serious with songs like “Gobbing on Life” but then again who knew? It’s not like we could hop online and look for videos back then, and there was precious little information out there on these guys. Fast-forward to 2006 or so, when my daily You Tube mining regimen basically consisted of looking up bands I liked for years but never actually saw, and these 5 minutes and 36 seconds of pure genius popped up. As the saying goes, you could have knocked me over with a feather, and my interest was peaked once again. Supposedly there is a book about these guys, brilliantly titled When We Were Thin, but I’ve never been able to track down a copy. If anyone knows where I can get it please let me know, but for now, be my guest and enjoy the “comedy rock” stylings of Alberto y Lost Trios Paranoias.

Labels: Video