Sunday 1 February 2009

God's Turban and Tutu! It's Terminal!

'God's Turban and Tutu' is lifted from a Viv Stanshall album, and dropped into the Skronk Meisters' superb psychedelic dub mix that adopted the absurd utterance as its title; which is a great way of getting a handle on where it was Terminal Cheesecake were coming from.

Skronk (a compound made up from ska, rock and funk) is not really a good enough label to describe Terminal Cheesecake, as they go much further than that paradigm allows; their music bringing to mind such disparate references as early PIL, Tackhead, Hawkwind, Head of David, Aphex Twin, Augustus Pablo and NIN, as well as the Butthole Surfers: an outfit they were often compared with; sometimes referred to as being the British version; but they are quite different; and really it was the genre jumping, the experimentation and the dada leanings that made them in any way comparable.

Big beats, big noise, dirgy, minimal vocals, toasting through a bull-horn, spoken word samples, loops and reverb a plenty all made up Terminal Cheesecake’s sound; but in the main there was dub; or should I say DUB, as their sound was MASSIVE.

But Terminal Cheesecake weren’t just a bunch of bass happy honky stoners; no, there was more to them than that; their booming, throbbing, pulsating beats can uplift and enhance all manner of experiences, whether it be a full scale blues or just another night in.

Their drug referencing is extreme, to the point where it almost seems satirical;
either that or they just had one serious obsession.

(Er... am I missing something here?)

The final track was released on its very own disc and was produced as part of a limited edition. And despite being credited as 'Interview by M.C. Lucke' (a German DJ?), it is actually made up of three tracks segued together: 'Le Geezer', 'Coils' and 'Freaky Bong', mixed up with plenty of strange and startling ambience
These live tracks seem to reveal where the band were heading (apart form oblivion of course – this was their last album), and the sound is far more reflective of the then burgeoning dirge and psychedelic sludge styles; genres that were to become more honed and refined as the nineties progressed.

But there is something vibrant about these raw recordings; and that rawness maybe the key.
The almost lo-fi production creates a vital sound; and as with all bass driven music it benefits enormously from its live feel; maintaining the effect that it’s actually going on when you play it, rather than something that has been made. If you get me drift….

Terminal Cheesecake - King of all Spaceheads (1994)

King of all Spaceheads
Budmeister
God's Turban and Tutu
Ginge Le Geezer
'Lo 'Lo
Tibetan Lift Off
Steady Draw
Herbal Space Flight
Black Microdot 1
In the St. John's Ambulance Tent, Glastonbury 1989
Black Microdot 11
The Last Temptation of St. Leary
Interview by M.C. Lucke

Includes CD artwork
Grab a slice of some spiked cheesecake here

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

lovely post shanti... my copy of this was nicked by a light fingered mate... so it was sweet to get re/acquainted... wasn't the live stuff recorded at a festival red kross tent??? spooky.
hope you're well mate.x

roy rocket said...

This is just the sort of album that the light fingered are drawn to.
I think I nicked my copy...
Lol.

The live setting could well have been the basket-case tent - always where the best drama goes on at a festy, right!

Am well, and managing to stay warm; but seem to have spent most of today gazing out of the window contemplating snow.
How's it with you?
roy

Glenn Baskin said...

Thanks for this album never heard the bonus disc stuff and I look forward to it.still trying to locate Pearlesque...to round out my collection.

devtank said...

I guess Im glad I bought these records when I did, only problem is that they are 12,000 miles away from me now.. Im dying to hear them again.
Good to know that I wasnt the only fan and that there night be a possibility someone else out there.

roy rocket said...

12,000 miles is a long way away.
But hey, now its come crashing into your space.

I know the feeling.
I used to attend some gigs thinking I'd be the only one there...

Anonymous said...

in the pic , one guy is blowing someting into the other's nose...a traditional south american indian way of delivering a dose of peyote or mescalin

Anonymous said...

Ours is an envionment where evil is perceived to be rewarded while good is punished. As with everything the Gods have a reason for creating this perception::::
People who fall on the good side of the good/evil scale have more favor, and when they do something wrong the Gods punish them BECAUSE THEY WANT THEM TO LEARN. The Gods want them to receive this feedback in hope they make corrections and begin to behave appropriately. The Gods DON'T like evil and refuse to grant this feedback.
EVERYBODY pays for what they do wrong, only evil people must wait until their next life before they will experience the wrath of the Gods, manifested in their reincarnation as a lower form of life into environments with increased/enhanced temptations.
Sadly, this allows the Gods to position this perception of evil rewarded as temptation, one which they use as an EXTREMELY effective corruptor.

Both Africa and the Medittereanean are regions which have sexual issues. This is a sign of morbid disfavor once you understand that females are the God's favored gender. Muhammad's (Mohammed's) polygamy halfway through his life as a prophet was preditory. Now a huge percentage of Muslims believes in male superiority and that the abuse of women is God's will. Female genital mutilation is still practiced in Africa. Black misogyny is the most eggregious example in the recent past.
Black member size is temptation to a predisposed population.
The patriarchal cancer spread throughout Europe because of Christianity, of which the majority of policy makers were Italian men. Expect the largest landowner in Europe and the continent's original superpower also played a major role in African slavery.

Militancy in Africa is consistant with the Iraqi example, as was slavery and the KKK here in America:::Fear enforces proper behavior. Without it we see what happens as a result of gross/morbid disfavor:::::AIDS, crack babies, dead young men in gangland retaliation killings. This is the purpose behind many black's historical tendancy towards resistance.
The same principle was true in Europe and throughout the world for centuries:::People whom lived under iron fists were conditioned to think the right way. As a result they experienced higher numbers of children accend into heaven because they were taught to think and behave appropriately. Our preditory envionment of "freedom" was the primary purpose the Gods had when implimenting this strategy that is the United States, one which they used to spred the cancer of democracy and westernization throughout the world. And the Gods use this tool that is America to prey on the disfavored both at home and abroad.

Even the Old Testiment is not to be taken literally, but the Gods do offer clues throughout to help the disfavored:::The apple is a tool of temptation used to corrupt Adam and Eve and cast them out of the Garden of Eden.
There is another lesson to be learned from this passage, and it is quite similar to the vailing issue and the discourse over women's attire which ultimately died in the 70s:::Women are responsible for and control the fate of mankind.

Think about what I say. Consider what I teach. Society is going to become disturbingly ugly as we approach the Apocalypse due to spiralling, runaway disfavor.
I do not know when this will occurr, but it is the God's way to grant some time before they end on Planet Earth.
Make the decision to always be good and never look back. Until you do this technology will employ tactics to test your resolve:::Ridicule, beligerance, doubt and refusal to abandon what people perceive to be their "investment".
Pray daily. Think appropriately. Too many are confident, unaware of the God's awesome powers or their status as antients. Others may fall prey to their positioning.
Be humbled, God-fearing and beware of the God's temptations, for everyone is tested to evaluate their worthiness.

Search for the remainder of this document. Blogster/spot only allows 4000 charecters.

roy rocket said...

Gods & Goddesses arrive in many forms & guises my friend

corbypunk said...

Been looking for these for ages, cheers for posting them. Terminal cheescake were always one of my favourite bands, johhny townmouse being wiijas first classic record in my eyes!Not sure if you knew, but theres a bit of musival genealogy running through this blog, as cheesecake were formed by gary boniface, lead singer of the excellent purple things, cheers for uploading them , ripped their eps to cd years ago but couldnt scan a decent cover! was chuffed when i found them on your blog! do you use any software fpor scanning 12" sleeves as i`m crap at trying to do them!

roy rocket said...

O yes, I do like a bit of continuity.
Kind of knew about the Purple Things/Terminal Cheesecake connection; but they're so obscure it's difficult to verify any information...

All my vinyl cover pics are home photos; uploaded, cropped and then ready to go.
That's why they go nice and big (9 meg), and print up nicely.

'Corbypunk'? Are you from Northampton way?

Shanti, roy

corbypunk said...

certainly am mate, corby town. I`ve tried using my digital camera for lp sleeves, but even on a tripod i don`t get a picture free enough from shake! only got a very cheap & lightweight 3 mp fuji job.

roy rocket said...

I remember Corby.
I used to visit Wellingborough BITD; there was a decent punk scene around Northamptonshire... don't know what it's like now.
Screamo Town?

Can you use a cable trigger when your camera is on the tripod?
I don't use a tripod, but I always have to take half a dozen pics; I shake like St. Vitus; but there's usually one good enough.

Natural light (I get beneath a skylight), take the shot downwards (album on the floor), set to macro, get as close as you can, hold your breath and go.

Should get you going on your blog.
I'm holding my breath to see what your next post will be...
Good luck, roy

Kyle Keays-Hagerman said...

Hey man!

Great blog! Love the Cheesecake!
I wondering if I could possibly persuade you towards scanning the second cover (not the Shiva, the planets) for 'Spaceheads' as a 12"x12" image? Could definitely trade something! Name your terms, if you're decent with Photoshop!

My buddy owns a print shop and said for my birthday that he would print any ludicrously rare band shirt for me that I wanted. I have a bunch of other TC albums I could use a source, but not 'Spaceheads', which usually goes for $60 or so on eBay now. Besides that, it's just such a rad graphic!

Anyway, if you can help, thanks much. If not, thanks for your time!

Cheers,
Kyle

roy rocket said...

I could photograph it for you: many pixels.
But I'm too poor to be using Photoshop...

Add comment and include e mail (I won't publish), and I'm sure something will happen.

roy