Clockenflap Festival 2025 Hong Kong

Late October, the Dishonorable Edward Pastanga and I visited Wilhelmus von N's place, as we had been invited once again for a vinyl evening. 
I had prepared myself by digging up some old singles and albums from my collection, as well as buying a new platter: Go Go Crankin’ - Paint The White House Black… 
Afterwards, we sat down in his vinyl sanctuary, opened the beers, and started playing some discs, which is a kind of ancient ritual for us by now. 

Most of the brought along 45s I couldn’t play as W’s record player missed one of those plastic adapters, but we still had more than enough music to enjoy. 

Fuelled by copious amounts of beer, conversation typically went all over the place: Artificial Intelligence, politics, music, books, the mystery of the never-matching socks in our households, etc. 
Suddenly, W announced that we hadn’t been to any real concert for a while, to which both DEP and I agreed, but didn’t have any suggestions at hand to rectify this sad state of affairs. 
Not discouraged at all, W consulted his smartphone and suddenly exclaimed: “Oh, this is cool, Clockenflap Festival in Hong Kong, 5-7 December, we should go there!” 
He shared the festival’s lineup with us, of which we recognised exactly two bands: Sparks and Franz Ferdinand… 
Even so, we agreed that it really looked cool, and W immediately started booking tickets! 
Other details, such as getting there + accommodation, we would look at later… 
 
Once sobered up the next day, I texted DEP: "Did he really book tickets for that festival???" 

To make a long story short, it turned out that W had exactly done that, so we started booking flights and hotels, which was relatively easy.

We watched these bands/artists during our short stay.

Friday: Passenger, Sparks, Digitalism DJ-set

Saturday: Phum Viphurit, Chilli Beans, L’Imperatrice

Sunday: Marcin, Jeremy Zucker, TV Girl, Franz Ferdinand, Godspeed You! Black Emperor

Our overall impression was that the festival was very well organised (unlike some of the Dutch events I attended back in the day), very clean, plenty of toilets, food stands, beer taps, etc., impressive!

Unfortunately during those 3 days, it became frightfully obvious that our decrepit bodies no longer could survive standing for more than 3 hours straight, no matter how much we shuffled around: lower back aches, leg cramps, and sore feet, our litany of complaints could have come from a bunch of pensioners in a nursing home...

As a result, we missed a lot of bands/artists, but from those we did see, here are our reviews:

Name: Passenger

Date Performing: Friday, 5 December 2025

Grumpy Old Men Verdict:

Art58Koen: Entertaining acoustic stuff, good interaction with public.

Wilhelmus von N: If you like buskers, you like Passenger. It takes courage to be alone with a guitar on stage. Knows how to involve the crowd - but there is only so much you can do with a guitar to really get the crowd going. 

The Dishonorable Edward Pastanga: Chatty. He enjoyed sharing his new stuff, but no one in the crowd really recognized any of it. This became more obvious when he got a huge roar near the end when he played the only song everyone knew. Can imagine it gets tiring to play one song all the time, although he put on a brave face, claiming he enjoyed playing it.

Name: Sparks

Date Performing: Friday, 5 December 2025

Grumpy Old Men Verdict:

Art58Koen: Epic stuff! But how can Russell Mael (77!) jump around on stage like that? And Ron Mael doing his Suburban Homeboy shuffle was priceless!

Wilhelmus von N: I just want to age like Russell. They played an amazing set! 

The Dishonorable Edward Pastanga: Excellent fun from the very off when they sang "Shall we start?". Great show, good music. Embarrassing for the grumpy old men who, quite rightly, avoid jumping around like that especially in public. 

Name: Digitalism DJ set

Date Performing: Friday, 5 December 2025

Grumpy Old Men Verdict:

Art58Koen: DJ shite

Wilhelmus von N: Forgettable. Which I apparently did instantly. 

The Dishonorable Edward Pastanga: Don't recall them. Must have been thinking about anything else.

Name: Phum Viphurit

Date Performing: Saturday, 6 December 2025

Grumpy Old Men Verdict:

Art58Koen: Funky Thai band, cool background videos too.

Wilhelmus von N: Really enjoyed this band - flute, violins, and all. Technically really good, and they clearly had a ton of fun being on stage. Great background videos too! 

The Dishonorable Edward Pastanga: Started inauspiciously with a head-wobbling love song kind of track that Thai girls love. Once they got going though, it turns out, they are well funky with excellent production management. Fun show.

Name: Chilli Beans.

Date Performing: Saturday, 6 December 2025

Grumpy Old Men Verdict:

Art58Koen: Cute Jpop girl band who can rock!

Wilhelmus von N: They rocked - good bass player too! 

The Dishonorable Edward Pastanga: Fun and rocking with cuteness overload from the lead singer.

Name: L'Impératrice

Date Performing: Saturday, 6 December 2025

Grumpy Old Men Verdict:

Art58Koen: Loud but fun, at times a bit like Level 42.

Wilhelmus von N: For me the best discovery of this Clockenflap. Funky, some Level 42 bass action, and sampling Massive Attack (Diamonds in the back, sunroof down, digging the scene... ). As it's all in French, it's hard to sing along and to remember songs, but I find myself listening to their playlist and liking their tunes more and more. 

The Dishonorable Edward Pastanga: It had a good beat, and you can dance to it. They played a great many songs, but I cannot recall a single one and, if they played the song again, I would not recognize ever having heard it. Ultimately, the songs had no real distinguishing feature, unlike the lead singer who was extraordinarily lithe and had two very distinguishing features.....her voice and her dancing (not what Wilhelmus was thinking).

Name: Marcin

Date Performing: Sunday, 7 December 2025

Grumpy Old Men Verdict:

Art58Koen: Clever, but boring after a while, showoff…

Wilhelmus von N: No wonder he's a hit on TikTok

The Dishonorable Edward Pastanga: Extraordinary guitar player, clearly sleeps with his instrument and plays it in his sleep. The guitar that is, not what Wilhelmus was thinking. Something to be seen live, not really suitable for say listening to on a long drive.

Name: Jeremy Zucker

Date Performing: Sunday, 7 December 2025

Grumpy Old Men Verdict:

Art58Koen: Ouch, delete!

Wilhelmus von N: Time to get another beer....

The Dishonorable Edward Pastanga: Oh yeah. Him.

Name: TV Girl

Date Performing: Sunday, 7 December 2025

Grumpy Old Men Verdict:

Art58Koen: Better than expected.

Wilhelmus von N:  Enjoyable for a few numbers - West Coast American pop. 

The Dishonorable Edward Pastanga: Oddly enjoyable, I would add them to a playlist. Not something to get lost in for hours though.

Name: Franz Ferdinand

Date Performing: Sunday, 7 December 2025

Grumpy Old Men Verdict:

Art58Koen: Highlight of the festival, they ROCKED!

Wilhelmus von N:  I am a big fan to start with and they were my main reason to sign up for this year's Clockenflap. And boy, they rock! What is it with Glasgow and great bands? 

The Dishonorable Edward Pastanga: Proper rock band. Absolute highlight. Wanted to go back and listen to their entire back catalogue.

Name: Godspeed You! Black Emperor

Date Performing: Sunday, 7 December 2025

Grumpy Old Men Verdict:

Art58Koen: Nah, didn’t really work for me…

Wilhelmus von N: What? 

The Dishonorable Edward Pastanga: Noise.

Afterwards, we submitted our in-depth reviews to Clockenflap's organizers, who were mightily impressed and consequently released a special MP3 compilation, which is riding the Hong Kong charts right now!

Unbelievable, right?! Right! ;-)

Punks Got Soul (One More Time)

 

It's another Friday night after a long, shitty week at work.  Please forgive me if I don't have the energy to post anything more creative than another number in this series of cover songs.

Once again, only some of the performers are punks.  There's some new wave, pub rock, no wave, and post punk as well.  And in addition to soul songs, there are some girl group and funk covers in there (Sly Stone, Stevie Wonder, the Chi-Lites and Charles Wright).  

Some of the songs have been featured before (by other performers).  And some of the performers have been featured before, but they're covering different songs this time!  

Wilko Johnson appears here twice (as a solo artist and with his Solid Senders).  Clive Langer is also on here twice (with his band The Boxes, and backing his former Deaf School bandmate Bette Bright).  Pearl Harbour (the patron saint of our blog) is here as well.  And the whole thing ends with some vintage Ralph Records weirdness.

Thanks to Koen for the Bette Bright track, and to Richard for the Rhythm Pigs (the boys from El Paso, not Top Jimmy's crew).  I forgot to thank Richard last time for the Rock Against Junk album, which was the source of two songs on Volume 5.  And a tip of the hat to RYP for reposting Chris Bailey's solo albums at my request.    

THE PALADINS’ BEST VOL. 1 - Bluesy Stray Cats!

THE PALADINS’ BEST VOL. 1 

The Paladins’ two core members; guitarist Dave Gonzalez & bassist Thomas Yearsley met in high school, & worked together at a San Diego lumberyard while they got the band off the ground.  

I once described The Paladins as BLUESY Stray Cats, but bandleader Gonzalez explained their sound in the liner notes to their second album: “I really like country, Tom really likes swing and R&B, and Scott's a real blues guy… so all this stuff we try to put together. We're not a blues band, not a rockabilly band. We just like all these different sounds and we try to interpret them in our own way."

Their first three albums are my favorites.  One of the band’s strengths is choosing material that suits them as well as the wonderful songs they write.  Those first three records contain songs by: Johnny Horton, The Collins Kids, Jimmy Reed, Hayes & Porter, & Chuck Willis.

The Paladins sprung from the San Diego scene alongside The Beat Farmers & made the drive up I-5 to play alongside The Blasters & Los Lobos in Los Angeles. 

They toured with Los Lobos, & Stevie Ray Vaughan, & often backed Hollywood Fats at The Belly Up Tavern.  Alejandro Escovedo is a fan (who brought them to Austin) & The Fabulous Thunderbirds' Kim Wilson produced the band's self-titled debut. The Los Lobos connection continued on their second album Years Since Yesterday, which was produced by Lobos saxman/producer Steve Berlin and engineer Mark Linett.  (It's where I suggest the curious stick a toe in--& it's where the cover art is from.)

For more information check out this splendid article: https://sandiegotroubadour.com/the-paladins-decades-of-delivering-the-goods-from-san-diego-to-the-world/

Grandpa’s Whistling Tunes

After the previous part of Grandpa’s Whistling here is the third one.
Clever people have noticed that GW Twist is part four of a set.
Late eighties I received a few homemade compilation tapes from the bass player of Buy Off The Bar  (I will make a compilation of that band later, probably combined with Golden String, another great band from the lowlands)
This third part consists of leftovers from the first two (you will get those at a later date) tapes and a tape with Buy Off The Bar’s 3rd Peel Session.
This one, again, filled to the brim with classic pleasure punk,and other great youthful and mostly guitear driven energy.
Some of these bands are quite famous like The Fall, while others have had minor success and semi cult status.
999, The Wonder Stuff, The Outcasts or The Wedding Present might need no introduction.
35-40 years after most of these bands have seen a rerelease of some sort, where they previously released only one (or two) items in their active years. 
The Big Gun (one 7” and a split flexi) 
The Meanies (Not to be  confused with an Australian band from the 90s) one EP 
Tours (2 singles) 
This Poison (3 singles/ep’s) with the utterly beautiful Poised over the Pause button 
Stitched-Back Foot Airman (a handful of singles) 
Baby Lemonade (one album, one single, one split-flexi) 
Some of these bands have brought to life artists we all might know 
Killjoys (Gil Weston from Girlschool) 
The Prefects (Robert Lloyd from Nightingales) 
The Creepers (Marc Riley former The Fall) 
Others have made quite a few albums, just check out 
Cud, Bogshed, Blurt, I Ludicrous, Newton Neurotics or The Rezillos 


My favorite track on this one is Dilyn Dylan by the Welsh band Fflaps
I, ludicous – Preposterous Tales (in the life of Ken MacKenzie) deserves a special mention. 
I cannot check everybody’s grant tale how they saw the first Prince concert, or how they shook hands with an old man who definitely shook hands with Robert Johnson, but this song takes the biscuit. 
The first time Prince was in The Netherlands, only a few hundred people were there.
Same with the first time Joy Division came here. 
When Radiohead first toured Europe they were rejected at our local venue… 
Talking about Joy Division, there was a secret tape with them performing Madison Square Garden (they say they never went there, but what about this tape I have)….., to be continued!

The Chains Of Hell Orchestra

Today's post is about the Chains Of Hell Orchestra, an Olympia, Washington ensemble that released two cassette-only albums in 1982 and a 12" EP in 1984.  I bought the tapes four decades ago.  Someone digitized them and posted them online.  I'm so happy to hear them again and to share them with you.

The first tape is called Cairo's Ride.  The ten songs are interspersed with bits of dialogue and sound effects that tell a story.  At the start of the first track, a female voice asks, "Und ze wedding?"  A male voice responds firmly, "There will be no wedding." A motorcycle engine starts, and the band kicks into a great surf rock instrumental.  It's P.S. O'Neill on guitar, with Steve Fisk (organ), Walter Singleman (bass), and Peter Blecha (drums).  

Side Two opens with the angry vow, "Nobody steals my daughter," as the motorcycle roars by.  The song ends with the sounds of a crash on the road.  "Ascension To Heaven" and "Last Rites For Cairo" end Cairo's Ride. It's like the soundtrack to a film that was never made.  

A second tape called Doctors Daughter was also released in 1982.  The music leans more toward new wave, with lovely vocals from Judy Schneps and haunting tape effects from Steve Fisk. The storyline is a bit more challenging to follow, as the doctor's daughter seems to lose her grip on reality and identity.  Was she exposed to something traumatic by "Jeff"? Did she really go "Over The Wall" and join the KGB?  I don't want to spoil the ending, but I always found it unnerving when she answers phone calls by saying, "This is the doctor."  Both albums include a reprise of an earlier track, restating its musical themes in a different arrangement, which adds to the impression of a "soundtrack" (or even a concept album).  I believe Judy Schneps later adopted the stage name Linda Lamb.

The Northwest Music Archives lists a third Chains Of Hell tape called Chaque Fois, but I've never found any further information about it.  "Generations Past" (from Cairo's Ride) appeared on the Sub Pop 7 cassette compilation, and Sub Pop 9 included "Theme from Supershaft". Supershaft (aka Aftershaft) was another P.S. O'Neill group.

P.S. O'Neill led a number of bands (among them the Westside Lockers, the Little Bears From Bangkok, and Tse Tse Force).  Some of these bands included musicians from Chains Of Hell Orchestra.  O'Neill released a solo album (produced by Steve Fisk) in 1987.  He then turned his attention to filmmaking. 

"The Fertilichrome Cheerleader Massacre" was released on VHS in 1988, and was sold by mail order through ads in Psychotronic.  It is a low budget B&W full length film, shot in Ellensburg, Washington.  Scott Renderer plays the hero, Christian Cairo.  Steve Fisk plays the evil Dr. Stimson, and members of the band Screaming Trees (including the late Mark Lanegan) are his henchmen.  Fisk also did the soundtrack.  O'Neill has a small role as Peter Carnegie.  No cheerleaders were massacred in the making of this film.  

P.S. O'Neill and his producer Sam Albright reworked and re-released the film in 2020 (this time simply titled Fertilichrome).  Watch it here.  The original (with different opening credits and some scenes and dialogue that don't appear in the 2020 version) is also on YouTube.  O'Neill also worked on Attack of the Hideopod (a film that featured the Young Fresh Fellows), and he directed music videos for Tad and the Geto Boys.  Patrick Shawn O’Neill died in 2021, not long after completing the restoration of Fertilichrome.  

Photo of Westside Lockers onstage with Steve Fisk (keyboards), Nick Lee (drums) Judy Schneps (vocals), P.S. O'Neill (guitar). and Mike Dickerson (bass).

Also in today's comments:  MORE CHRISTMAS MUSIC from Redd Kross and The Ghostly Trio!  Feliz Na Bla Bla!

A STINKY CHRISTMAS 2025

 A STINKY CHRISTMAS 2025

Is it already time, for another STINKY CHRISTMAS?  With just 22 days to go, we may as well pull the dustcover off this years edition.

Garage Rock is one of the five food groups always included in this series, which is served up in steamin’ slabs by; Bill Robin & Blue Jays, The Doll Squad, and Eddie & The Hotrods.

As usual, some of the fare is left of center; 45 Grave, Tav Falco, & Klaus Nomi, and some is more traditional; The Donnas, Aztec Camera, Nick Lowe, Los Straitjackets, and Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons.

There are always lovable weirdos letting their Christmas Freak Flag Fly: The Puppini Sisters, Southern Culture On The Skids, & Jack Rabbit Slim, and something sweet, which is supplied by The Tiny Boppers, Les Paul, & Fats Domino (playing a Casio keyboard!)

And I like to include at least one Craven Christmas Cash-Grab ("Please pass the money").  This year’s is Christmas At The Oasis (Live) by Maria Muldaur.  

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Finley Quaye - B-sides & more + Bonus Live

Late 1997, I’d bought the latest edition of CMJ New Music Monthly Volume 51 at Tower Records in Bangkok! On the way home I browsed through the magazine and looked at the artists/bands featured on the CD, a lot unknown, but also Portishead, The Beautiful South, and Pat Dinizio (Smithereens!), at least some tracks I would enjoy.

Once home I inserted the CD into my player and read more of the magazine while listening to the songs. A lot didn’t do that much, one ear in, other ear out, until I heard something that sounded a bit like an old Bob Marley song!

This turned out to be from a new British artist named Finley Quaye with “Sunday Shining”, based on Marley’s “Sun Is Shining”, the Lee Perry production from 1970.

 

It sounded very refreshing, elements of reggae and pop with trippy lyrics, great.

Later I managed to score the “Sunday Shining” CD single (and another: “Even After All”) which had some great non-album tracks.

His album “Maverick A Strike” got excellent reviews and when I finally heard it I could only agree.

For a while Finley was very popular, but with his second album “Vanguard” things began to spiral downward, both sales wise as well as personal. Further albums didn’t improve this situation…

His last album, “Royal Rasses”, was released in 2014 and since then it has been suspiciously quiet…

My own interest in him faded as well, but those songs from the beginning I remember fondly and still get played from time to time.

 

A quick check on Discogs showed a lot of CD singles in 1997 & 98 and only 1”The Best of Epic Years” compilation in 2001.

Therefore the idea of making an alternative collection of those CD singles and some stray tracks from the same period began to look more and more appealing!

While doing some digital field work I discovered that Finley had recorded already a song in 1995 with A Guy Called Gerald on his album “Black Secret Technology”. This track, “Finley’s Rainbow”, combines a vocal from Finley, the Bug in The Bass Bin drums, nebulous sub bass line and plucked strings: “It feels like reggae, viewed under water and utterly devoid of joy, a psychedelic masterpiece of electronic music”. Oh well, but it does feature elements of “Sunday Shining”!

I also found another anthology (digital only) on Amazon (not on Discogs!) from last year called “Best of the B Sides + Remixes: The Epic Years”, which included some, but not all, of those tracks…

 

No matter that, my final resulting collection is quite different and I’m happy to share it here with you, enjoy!

It features tracks from the 5 CD singles from 1997-98.

These included dubs, acoustic, live versions as well as remixes and non album tracks.

Additional tracks include a cover of Gershwin’s "It Ain't Necessarily So” cover for Red Hot + Rhapsody, the A Guy Called Gerald collaboration, and a 2 Meter Sessies track: “My Cup Is Running Over”.

 

Bonus: FM Broadcast Live @ Glastonbury Festival, England, 26-06-1998