SISTER RAY (the song) discussion

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Buick6

too punk to drunk
I was listening to this track again last night in quite an imbibed state, and maybe it's whats going on in the world right now, but I find that it's still one of the greatest rock n' roll jams ever put onto tape, still to this day. I find it even more incredible that the song, if not the album WHITE LIGHT/WHITE HEAT, still stands as some sort of 'pornographic' form of rock. Here in Australia the album rarely gets played on radio, and is still sort of banned by our 'youth' station JJJ that supports 'alternative' music by they toilet-load.

But getting back to Sister Ray itself, on closer listening, it's actually quite a funky, rollicking one-chord jam, and I'm not sure if it was released before the Kinks 'you really got me', but there's some sort of influence in there..Despite it's 'surface' ramshackly 'sound' there interplay underneath is remarkable, especially Sterling Morrison's 'badass' guitar licks and runs, and Cales' keyboards are defintely coming from sort bizarre religious exalted state. But the lyrics of the song itself represents one of the purest interfaces of mod-urban-paganism ever put into a track in pop music, something the techno music couldn't do, coz it didin't really have lyrics...

But yep, SISTER RAY, what a jam, you can listen to Can and Television and Lil Louis or SOnic Youth for transcendent time-stopping moments in pop music, but if you can tell me any jams that are as transcendent AND 'dirty' as Sister Ray, I'll shout you the bar! Cheers :cool:
 
N

noel emits

a wonderful wooden reason
I suppose most of these have been 'inspired' by Sister Ray but totally run with it:

Simply Saucer - Illegal Bodies

The Japanese Contingent:

Les Rallizes Denudes - People Can Choose

Mainliner - M

Acid Mothers Temple - Speed Guru

Up-Tight - the 'Sister' series

Also

Miles Davis - Rated X ?

Ash Ra Tempel - Amboss !!!!!!!!!!!

What about all the various live recordings of Sister Ray? I haven't heard any of these properly but suposedly some are even more off the chain than the LP recording.

- I'm off to listen to Les Rallizes now :)
 
B

Buick6

too punk to drunk
The Rallizes stuff is really brain melting. The distortion is so over the top, it starts to vibrate the fluid in yr brain, and thats just on a recording!

ALot of the Amon Duul 1 stuff, those monotonous jams, are pretty Sister Ray inspired.
 
K

Kate Mossad

Well-known member
Ash Ra Tempel's Amboss is indeed the business. There is also a S.Y.P.H track from the Stereodrom album called Typhon/Alte Freundin which is basically a cover of Can's Mother Sky. It sounds like Big Black krauting out to the max.
The full length version of Hot Pants by James Brown also reminds me of Sister Ray for some reason. Although I'm sure many would disagree.
You can hear the seeds of Sister Ray on a track called Booker T (going from memory here) available on the Peel Slowly and See Velvets boxset, which should give you a clue to it's funky origins. One of the unique things about Sister Ray itself is the amazing quality of the recording. When Cale turn up the organ about two thirds of the way through it really sound like someone "turning it up" if you know what I mean. Getting chills just thinking about it...
 
P

petergunn

plywood violin
sucking on my ding dong

i love sister ray, but i wish it sounded better!

considering Tom Wilson or whoever was supposed to be a good engineer, it's amazing how muddy and crappy it sounds...

obviously they started with all their amps on 10 and then kept turning up, but still it just sounds aweful.. i guess they were a few years away from knowing how to record that loud...

-p
 
B

Buick6

too punk to drunk
petergunn said:
i love sister ray, but i wish it sounded better!

considering Tom Wilson or whoever was supposed to be a good engineer, it's amazing how muddy and crappy it sounds...

obviously they started with all their amps on 10 and then kept turning up, but still it just sounds aweful.. i guess they were a few years away from knowing how to record that loud...

-p
Click to expand...

Take some decent drugs and it sounds FINE. Trust me.
 
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D

daren

Well-known member
It's great that this song is brought up by this board. I work as a projectionist at the college-run movie theater here, and the closing song for the movie "Brick" is a very abridged version of Sister Ray. And man, is it dirty! The funny thing is that they cut the song short right after Lou Reed sings "Suckin' on my ding dong"!
 
F

Flying Squid

Member
petergunn said:
considering Tom Wilson or whoever was supposed to be a good engineer, it's amazing how muddy and crappy it sounds...
Click to expand...

I find it to sound really awesome. Then again, I really like that kind of droning and fuzz used through-out the song.

From what I understand in John Cale's autobiography, Wilson did next-to-nothing with the production of the entire album, because he was always "just in there with women" and it wouldn't surprise me if he was busy with drugs as well. Also, the VU wanted it to be an album much closer to how they actually sounded in concert rather than a studio album made to be all "nice."
 
Grievous Angel

Grievous Angel

Beast of Burden
Buick6 said:
But getting back to Sister Ray itself, on closer listening, it's actually quite a funky, rollicking one-chord jam
Click to expand...
Yeah, funky stuff, and it's all about the joy division cover for me.

[/QUOTE]if you can tell me any jams that are as transcendent AND 'dirty' as Sister Ray, I'll shout you the bar![/QUOTE]
Stooges - Down on the street
Miles Davis - Billy Preston
Loefah - Mud
 
P

petergunn

plywood violin
Buick6 said:
but if you can tell me any jams that are as transcendent AND 'dirty' as Sister Ray, I'll shout you the bar! Cheers :cool:
Click to expand...


FREE YOUR MIND AND YOUR ASS WILL FOLLOW- FUNKADELIC



GAME OVER!
 
B

Buick6

too punk to drunk
big satan said:
modern music is selling a new Rallizes DVD, a live performance from 1982
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Who are Modern Music and where can I find them on the InterNerd, I need this! Cheers :cool:
 
N

noel emits

a wonderful wooden reason
Buick6 said:
Who are Modern Music and where can I find them on the InterNerd, I need this! Cheers :cool:
Click to expand...

Tokyo:

Modern Music
Terada Bldg. 2F
2-45-11 Matsubara, Setagaya-ku 156-0043
Tel: (03) 3322-4461
FAX: (03) 3322-4905

They don't seem to have a website.
 
T

Tyro

The Kandy Tangerine Man
Buick6 said:
I
I'm not sure if it was released before the Kinks 'you really got me', but there's some sort of influence in there

The Kinks record came a few years before,but ''Louie Louie' by The Kingsmen
predates both.
Click to expand...
 
M

mms

sometimes
Mr. Tea

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
Ooh, speaking of songs that 'do the same sort of thing',

can I add 'Get Down' by Revolting Cocks (from 'Beers, Steers and Queers')?
It's 13-odd minutes of harsh-yet-funky-and-euphoric industrial-rock: just does the same thing most of the way through, but in the same sort of transcendence-through-repetition way as 'Sister Ray'. Ace track on an ace album, anyone else heard it?
 
T

tate

Brown Sugar
Not as musically filthy as Sister Ray, but on a similar tip:

Can's 32 minute version of the track 'Spoon,' from their 1973 performance in Olympia, France. My bootleg copy is called Queuing Down. Two discs.
 
M

mistersloane

heavy heavy monster sound
Mr. Tea said:
can I add 'Get Down' by Revolting Cocks (from 'Beers, Steers and Queers')?
It's 13-odd minutes of harsh-yet-funky-and-euphoric industrial-rock: just does the same thing most of the way through, but in the same sort of transcendence-through-repetition way as 'Sister Ray'. Ace track on an ace album, anyone else heard it?
Click to expand...

Funny, i played both that and Spacemen 3's 'Suicide' on the show the other week, same chord I think, both great tunes man.
 
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