A dude in Lorton is asking a pretty nice chunk of change ($1375.00!) for his somewhat rare Roland G-707 midi guitar and GR-700 synth module. Supposedly it comes with the original 24 pin connecting cable as well, which is perhaps rarer than the guitar and synth themselves.

Watch it in action on the BBC program Rock School (Well, technically it’s a Roland midi pickup and the G-77 bass, but close enough). They give a pretty nice overview of guitar synths, and, towards the end of the clip, Midge Ure (of Visage, Ultravox, etc.) comes on to talk a bit about their limitations.

To love about Washington Phillips:

- He alternates between force & fragility with more grace than should be possible.

- He uses “whom” properly (see also Andre 3000).

- He built his own zither-ish instruments.

- His introduction to this tune, which reconciles workmanlike duty with existential dread.

- His full name is George Washington Phillips, and patriotism is cool again.

- Listen!

Available on the Washington Phillips anthology Key to the Kingdom, & ensconced within 6 discs of Americana bacchanalia on Goodbye, Babylon.

Cartoon city? Check. Small children pretending to be Billy Idol, Prince, Ric Ocasek, Cyndi Lauper and Bruce Springsteen? Check. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined a more perfect video for Nolan Thomas’ “Yo! Little Brother.”

I came across a 12” of this a few weeks ago, so, fresh off the Mix Institute Hi-Fi, do enjoy the below single edits:

A triumvirate of grand: lounge-futurist progenitor Esquivel wrote & recorded the original sultry & swinging tune in 1968; consummate polyglot & Francis Ford Coppoloa soundtracker Osvaldo Golijov grafted it to a characteristically dynamic & subtly dissonant arrangement; the aggressively talented and preternaturally hip Kronos Quartet recorded it for their 2001 record Nuevo. Likely to randy up all those that hear - use accordingly.

Buy Nuevo!

In case your day needed a little extra kick of spaceelectroboogievocoderfunk:

Jonzun Crew - Lost in Space (1983) + bonus + 12 inches
[Via Music Blog of Saltyka and his Friends]

Should you not be instantly convinced these dudes majorly rule, do check them out performing “Pack Jam” on Formel Eins, the best West German music programme to ever hit the youtubes:

International Music System
‘Dancing Therapy’

Mad hotness. I do enjoy a tune involving solutions to existential sad sackery, droning female talk-singing, and visions of slimy clubs. From the same folks that made Charlie’s ‘Spacer Woman,’ a not entirely dissimilar italo delight.

Via Kefir 80s Blog (thanks Sarah L !)

A couple of jams I came across while perusing the interblobs this evening:

Gwen Guthrie’s mini LP “Padlock”, with mixes by Larry Levan. It looks like the rip is from the PTG Records reissue, though sadly minus a couple of the bonus tracks.

Kashif’s “Send Me Your Love.” I was familiar with his name from records he produced with Melba Moore, Evelyn King and Whitney Houston, but I really started jamming on his solo stuff when I found his 1983 LP, “Condition of the Heart,” at a thrift store. This one’s got some nicely produced synthy RnB/boogie-type numbers on it.