Anyway, this edition of Video Savant focuses on a single recorded around the time of Forever Changes (1967). “Your Mind and We Belong Together” (released June '68) is one of Love prime mover/cracked-genius poet Arthur Lee's most striking compositions and the last gust of greatness from the group that recorded Forever Changes (Lee sacked everybody shortly thereafter and brought in a bunch of earthbound blues rockers for the next incarnation of Love).

“Your Mind and We Belong Together”—which took 44 takes to complete—is actually four songs woven into one psychedelic magnum opus. The track begins with urgently chiming electric guitar, which gets mimicked by an acoustic strum, setting the scene for some of Lee's most poignant lines:

I'd like to understand just why/ I feel like I have been through hell/ But you tell me I haven't even started yet/ To live here you've got to give more than you get

The tune carries a whiff of triumph before shifting into some Richie Havens-esque troubadourism. Those momentous chiming guitars return to herald another change into a sigh-inducing dream sequence of cloud-9 psych (“I'm lockin' my heart in the closet,” Lee sings here, against the grain of the euphoric music, adding, “I don't need anyone, oh no no no”) and then, as if this passage were too fluffily feel-good, Love take an abrupt left turn into some hard-boogie catharsis. The last 100 or so seconds feature Johnny Echols tearing off a scorching guitar solo that may not have kept Hendrix up at night, but it's still a flamboyantly flammable finale for a classic song—and a fitting way to close this immortal chapter of Love.

This promo film reveals a band bedizzazzled on some powerful substances. I wonder if they realized that those good, good times were about to stop rolling soon after, as their days of halycon turned into hell's eon. (And let us pause to mourn for the days when a major label would think that this sort of acid-fried tomfoolery made sound business sense.)

Energetik from Fullerton won the battle, edging out LA B-boy Smurf (the bald dude). Both of these cats put on incredible displays of athleticism and rhythm. Their moves are like world-class gymnastics, but funky as hell.

Check out the clip below of their final headspin-to-headspin match.

From our good friends at Rock & Rap Confidential:

"Jesse Helms died yesterday, the Fourth of July. The LA Times front page described Helms as 'the former U.S. Senator from North Carolina who for half a century infuriated liberals with his race-baiting campaign tactics.' President Bush described Helms as 'a kind, decent, and humble man. So it is fitting that this great patriot left us on the Fourth of July.'

"Bono agrees with Bush. Bono called Helms a 'good friend' and took him out to dinner and brought the Senator and his staff to a U2 concert as his special guests. Bono the anti-poverty crusader dismissed as 'cynics' anyone who didn't see the value in a rock star working with Helms, who did as much as any other single person to increase the world's growing gap between rich and poor. Maybe that's why Bono, who legally avoids paying taxes to help the Irish poor by putting his money in a Dutch tax shelter, liked Helms so much. Will Bono sing at Helms's funeral?"

There’s usually nothing like watching an aging icon get up in front of an audience at a venue to show us they still got it. You can’t help being drawn in by the powerful sense of tension. You might find your self echoing certain questions in your mind: “Will he suck? Won’t he suck? Will he sign my T-shirt? Did I just waste 15 bucks to get in here?”

So last night, when Peter Hook, former bass player for Joy Division and New Order, took the stage for a DJ set at Detroit Bar, the tension was ripe enough to draw me and many others to the front row. After all, this guy has been all over the world with this act and gigs pretty regularly. He’s got an extensive YouTube file to prove it.

Hook took the stage around midnight, after some heart-pounding, '80s- and '90s-inspired house sets by the cast of Detroit’s Busy Work Wednesdays, including Dan Sena, GMO and DJ Rob. With the crowd already jumping, Hook took over the reins in pretty smooth fashion.

But I’m afraid I’m gonna have to side with the bandwagon of doubters that plague almost every video of Hook at the helm of his untouched turntables. I get the fact that slapping on a pair of cans, twisting a few knobs and posing for the crowd makes him feel like a star in his old age, but not at the expense of $15 a head. I just kept waiting for him to do something besides occasionally swapping out a few pre-mixed CDs in between superficial tweaks of the same EQ knobs.

But despite this, he did manage to get the semi-packed crowd fired up with his stage presence and some gratuitous low-end thumps that left my ears ringing by the time I decided to bounce out of there. I guess what it comes down to is whether you left Detroit with the dose of sweaty club fun you came for. And at the end of the day, Hook will always get a break for his accomplishments in music; this just shouldn’t be one of them.

Critic’s Notebook

Random Detail: It was funny watching some obvious Joy Division fans walking around shaking their heads. What, not the show you expected?

Personal Bias: I kept waiting for Hook to bust out a bass from behind the DJ booth and start rocking out; it never happened.

By the Way: Freedom Fest should be better than this.

Watch out for firecrackers and fired-up crackers, eh?

The Mancunian responsible for some of the most memorable bass lines ever for Joy Division and New Order, Peter Hook now maintains a lucrative little hobby DJing 'round the planet these days. From all accounts, Hook's quite the entertainer, if not the most skilled decknician ever to work a pair of CDJs. Be forewarned, though: If he plays "Blue Monday," watch a certain music editor get medieval on his ass.

Anyway, the great man allegedly loves to sign JD/NO records and memorabilia, so if you possess any of that stuff, bring it with you to Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa tonight and have its value increase exponentially.

Here's footage of a DJ set Hook did in Argentina (yes, he shamelessly spun some New Order).

From the press release:

"The 8-week class will provide the participants with a instruction on FCC rules and regulations, KUCI policies, KUCI history, as well as, training in basic radio engineering, podcasting and audio editing software.

"KUCI, broadcasting from the University of California at Irvine, offers the most extraordinary lineup of talent on the air and online. As one of the very first radio stations to broadcast via the internet and one of the first iTune podcast stations, KUCI provides the widest array of voices and music imaginable.

"Since its beginning in 1969, KUCI has produced non-commercial talk and music programs that expand the universe of its listeners, introducing artists and thinkers before their work hits the national and international spotlight. Today, every sound organized in time — political right, middle and left, classical music, punk, reggae, world, experimental, indie, goth, jazz, rock, and folk — is heard regularly on KUCI programs.

"For further information please contact KUCI Training Director, Brian Quon at training@kuci.org or General Manager, Mike Kaspar at gm@kuci.org or 949.338.0646."

And now, with staggering obviousness, I present to you David Bowie's “DJ.”

“International Feel” is a rococo glam ballad that eventually blasts off into outer space in a vaportrail of weirdly modulated vocals, phased guitars, filtered drums and glittery space dust. (Rundgren applies a subtle electronic shimmer/stutter to his vocals that sounds absolutely wicked on acid.) But the opening 25 seconds of analog-synth borborygmus (or is it guitar-generated?) still sound like something Stanley Kubrick could've used for a sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey. Talk about a spine-tingling intro...

As the song proper starts to rev up, it becomes apparent that all of Todd's instruments, the studio mixing board and likely the man himself are slathered in potent hallucinogens. Everything sounds synthetic and hyper-real and larger than life. The tune tilts toward the sentimental, but that flaw is more than compensated for by the studio wizardry Rundgren wields as if he were some mad combo of George Martin, Jeff Lynne and Phil Spector—in the fifth dimension. The song's last 30 seconds propel you into a dilatory miasma of whirling sound dust that may be rock's closest approximation of what an astronaut hears as she rockets off this planet. Escapism rarely gets more awesome than this.

The YouTuber who posted this video deserves a lifetime supply of Owsley for his efforts. Below, peruse the lyrics for “International Feel,” which augment the music with just the right amount of vague cosmic ache.

Here we are again, the start of the end,
But theres more
I only want to see if youll give up on me
But theres always more
There is more, international feel
And theres more, interplanetary deals
But theres more, interstellar appeal
Still theres more, universal ideal
Still theres more, international feel
I swear something lies
In your ears and your eyes
cause theres more
You hear and you see yet you do not believe
That theres always more
(I know)

Todd Rundgren performs at the Coach House in San Clemente, July 3, 6 p.m., $32.50.

If you would like to support Reach Out, contact Tyler Kamerman at (310) 968-2365.

The details for this event:

WHEN: Tuesday, July 1 at 8:00 p.m., $20 admission [all proceeds go to United Way of Iowa and tax-deductible contributions will be accepted]
WHERE: 14 Below (1348 14th St., Santa Monica CA 90404)
WHO: The Nadas, Christopher Hawley Rollers, Sharon Temple, DJ Quickie Mart and The Quiet

Tonight’s event is Lucha Va Voom Sexo Y Violencia, and Mexican wrestlers from all over Mexico, Los Angeles and Texas will be battling for ring supremacy, the honor of their hometown and the coveted Summer-Nacionales cup.

In between matches, the ring gets hot with burlesque performances from New York’s Wau Wau Sisters, Chicago’s Michelle L’Amour, LA’s Lucy Fur, Karis and Lola La Cereza.

Oh wait! There will be midgets, too. Doing... I’m not sure. Wrestling? Probably. Performing burlesque? One can only hope.

LA Weekly's Randall Roberts summarizes the sorry scenario on our sister paper's blog here.

If you're so inspired, you can donate money to Arthur's worthy cause by using the widget below.

Vestal HQ, 730 W. 17th St., Costa Mesa, (949) 631-7036; www.vestalwatch.com; 8 p.m. All ages.

Dark Meat live at the 40 Watt Club

Better Than: Playing Dance Dance Revolution and it burns more calories then Wii Fit.

Download: See A Penny (Pick It Up) from their album I Believe In You. Your Magic Is Real.

Is it art? Is it electro? Is it electro art? I'm not quite sure, but I do know that last night was an infectious dance party in the form of Yacht sailed into the Samueli Theater with support from Mika Miko.

Club soda, red telephone microphone, beach ball, saxophone and youthful rambunctiousness were some of the ingredients of Mika Miko. With the assistance of Dean Spunt from No Age on drums, Mika Miko tore through their set like the Tasmanian devil with a batch of furious punk-spiked tunes, each of which barely clocked over the two-minute mark. Jenna Thornhill put Bill Clinton to shame with her skills on the saxophone. "Business Cats" sounded like it came from the era of Black Flag and would have fit well on the Repo Man soundtrack.

Yacht—the dynamic duo of Jona Bechtolt (vocals) and Claire Evans (vocals)—deployed a large projection screen, two microphones, a laptop computer, and their contagious energy to create a memorable concert experience. Jona and Claire made up for the lack of live instrumentation with spastic performances and heavy crowd interaction. Jona would frequently jump into the crowd and mosh/dance his way through the throngs as he carved out his own spot on the dance floor.

"It's Coming To Get You" recalled some synthesizer patches from the 1980s as Claire and Jona harmonized while dancing up a storm. Jona was dressed like Don Johnson from Miami Vice for the projections while they tackled "Summer Song", which Jona mentioned will be released by the LCD Soundsystem-run label DFA. The track was a pulsating wave of cowbell, electronic drums and hand claps that made you move.

Jona and Claire also took out some time to answer some questions from the crowd. I learned that Yacht are inspired by the music creation programs of Ableton Live and Reason. The video for "See a Penny (Pick It Up) coincided with an 8-bit storm of sound that would make Nintendo fans drop their controllers and dance. Yacht sailed into the sunset with a Love Boat send off by inviting everyone on stage for one last shake-down. Don't miss the boat on Yacht.

Critic's Notebook:

Personal Bias: Any band endorsed by LCD Soundsystem is worthy of checking out.

Random Detail: Jona's penchant for the '80s was evident as he momentarily quoted some dialog from Back to the Future in between songs.

By The Way: Yacht will play the O2 Wireless festival in London with Fatboy Slim, Cut Copy, MSTRKRFT and Neon Neon.

View more photos of the event here.

Since Reznor and Interscope Records parted ways, NIN have been on a prolific roll; Trent seems creatively rejuvenated now that he's working for himself and not a major label. I especially enjoyed the two-disc set of electronics-heavy instrumentals, Ghosts I-IV, NIN released earlier this year. You can download for free NIN's latest album, The Slip, at www.nin.com. Judging from what I've heard of it, The Slip still contains enough requisite Reznor angst to fuel several thousand high-school graduating classes through the next few semesters.

Nine Inch Nails’ 2008 touring lineup includes NIN fixtures Robin Finck, Alessandro Cortini and Josh Freese, as well as Justin Meldal-Johnson, an established LA studio pro who's played bass for Beck and Garbage. “We’ve added, we’ve subtracted and we’ve wound up with unquestionably the strongest lineup I’ve EVER had,” Reznor posted on his website, adding, “We’ve been working on something really special for these shows and so far I couldn’t be happier with the results.”

More data about The Slip:

The Slip marks the first time Nine Inch Nails—or any artist of NIN’s stature—has made its new album available completely for free as a DRM-free digital download. The Slip is available as a high-quality MP3 or in a variety of lossless formats including, for the first time, a higher-than-CD quality 24 bit 96k version. All downloads include a PDF with credits and artwork. In addition, The Slip, like its instrumental predecessor, Ghosts I-IV, is being released under a Creative Commons license, allowing fans to distribute the songs and files freely and without fear of copyright infringement. Like the free single “Discipline” released to terrestrial radio stations and their websites and the track “Echoplex” appearing on iLike, The Slip is a classic straightforward NIN album. A physical configuration on CD and vinyl is in the works for a July release.

Here's are vids for "Starfucker Inc." and "We're in This Together" [embedding's disabled].

Bird Names: Straight-up winging it...

Acrobatics Everyday has another big show tonight for the cognoscenti and curious over at the UC Irvine campus' Phoenix Grille, 8 p.m., $5. Here's your lineup, darlings:

BIRD NAMES Ramshackle, eerie Fall-like indie rock from Chicago.

WUMMIN Psychedelic avant-opera duo from LA.

IMAGINE "THE" BAND From LA, a fucked-up performance art/“a cappella ambient comedy” ordeal; the ideal opening act for grimly lame "comedian" Neil Hamburger.

JEHOVAH'S FITNESS Purveyors of scrappy, tuneful lo-fi rock for whom a shoestring budget would be a step up in production.