Yo La Tengo - I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One

Year: 1997

Label: Matador

Did you realize this band has been kicking around since 1984? Goddamn. What where you doing in 1984? Probably some cross-over shit I would imagine.

So anyways, I, being an elitist snob, shunned this band for a long time (until the release of this particular album to be exact) based solely on the observation that their fans were dorks. Nerds. Geeks. Fags. Whatever you want to call them, those losers where stinking up the place. I imagined (and still do) a Yo La Tengo show to be on one step removed from a Star Trek convention (notice how I didn't say "Star Wars", because Star Wars is awesome enough to get tattooed on your body by the guitarist of Chokehold in the stifling heat of an un-air conditioned bedroom in hot ass Atlanta when you're 18...quite unlike Star Trek...that shit is retarded). Virgin central!

Well, when I finally pulled my head out of my ass and took an actual listen to the band I was a convert. I guess I "got it", whatever that means. Maybe I had just been a loser all along (highly doubtful), but something about their take on the Velvet Underground's style clicked. Their style is all over the place, from rock to folk to drone to pop to punk, but it's all played immaculately. 

DL

Today Is The Day - Today Is The Day

Year: 1996

Label: Amphetamine Reptile

Ah, Today Is The Day, such sweet memories. This was their last record as the odd man out on AmRep before our little baby done grown up and moved on to Relapse Records, away from the underground connoisseurs, and into the arms of metal heads everywhere. Sometime before this was released I saw them on the Clusterfuck tour in Atlanta (with Guzzard and Chokebore...was it Chokebore, or did Janitor Joe actually play that show?) and they were as powerful as I was anticipating, but what I wasn't expecting was the menacing posture they took, the oppressive volume at which they operated, and the near constant rope of saliva connecting Steve Austin to his microphone (it was gross). They were unbelievable, seriously unbelievable (is that an oxymoron?). 

I've always thought this record's influence stretched far and wide into the world of hardcore and changed the way that genre evolved. Of course, they got no credit for it, but without this record, do you think Converge would sound anything like they do (shit, Steve Austin ended up producing for them after this album came out)? Do you think Deadguy would have even existed? Naw, they wouldn't. Today Is The Day utilized sonics and song structures that other bands couldn't control, and eventually that aesthetic wormed it's way into the late 90's hardcore scene and morphed into metalcore, back when metalcore meant Botch and Coalesce and shit. 

If you've somehow never heard Today Is The Day, this is a great record to start with as it will expose you to the band's "sound", but spare you some of their current philosophical musings. It's no easy listen, it demands your commitment, but the payoff is immense. I once worked in a kitchen with a dude from Nashville who had shared a practice space with Today Is The Day, and he told me that you would know they were inside practicing (and they always were) because when you got out of your car in the parking lot, it sounded like a jet airplane was taking off inside the practice space. I'll leave it at that.

DL

the stunt mummies - self-titled ep

i'm not really sure when this was released...but it definitely has that shiny grey monotone feel to it...know what i'm talkin' 'bout?

i received this from a member of the band (though i can't remember which one)...the guitar player in this band also sang in the band contortion horse (who's ep you can find here as well)

they started out of lawrence,ks in 1996...and ended in seattle,wa in 1999

this is what would happen if the jesus lizard and the melvins were to do something together

intrigued?
of course you are

http://www.sendspace.com/file/lp2b9n

sugartooth - the sounds of solid

released in 1997

this was the band that wanted to sell their futon to beavis and butthead

what started out as a band weened on soundgarden and black sabbath (kind of redundant there) turned into a more techno (and i don't mean of the annoying glowstick variety...they experimented a drum machine) blues based band when drummer joey castillo left after this album (joining danzig...now playing for queens of the stone age)...he was replaced by current agent orange drummer dusty watson

so if you like your "grunge" mixed with "phat beats"...this be for you

and it opens up with a dolemite sample...so it can't all be that bad...right?

screw your wig on tight...let me tell you 'bout the 'lil bad mothafuckah they call dolemite...

thus concludes our poetry corner for today

http://www.sendspace.com/file/tigv95

scratch acid - 12.30.86 - duisburg germany

the band that emptied it's bowels and gave the world the jesus lizard and rapeman

there's just no cleaning up after something like that

1 - monsters
2 - albino slug
3 - damned for all time
4 - mess
5 - el espectro
6 - skin drips
7 - cannibal
8 - this is bliss
9 - big bone lick
10 - for crying out loud
11 - eyeball
12 - lay screaming
13 - owner's lament
14 - the greatest gift
15 - she said

http://www.sendspace.com/file/cmh134

ween - 12 golden country greats

released in 1996

you know about the roaming buffalo..and the cows...

but did you know that something grows under cow plops?

this is like sitting around a campfire on the open range with gibby haynes...hank williams...and some random waitress you "picked up" at some random truck stop...

and you've been awake for days...and for some reason you're wearing toby keith's skin...

and then muhammad ali showed up...

and you're not quite sure if you're seeing it or not...but off in the distance...it looks like donny darko and the joker are walking towards you...and they both have looks in their eyes....

stay away from cookie's stew...

http://www.sendspace.com/file/0dexy4

The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster - Horse Of The Dog

Year: 2002 

Label: Universal

This one flies under the radar, but is a definite winner for fans of the music on this blog. It's dark mix of noise rock, punk, blues, psychobilly, and art rock. Mix these bands:

The Cramps, Crows, Bauhaus, Jesus Lizard, Birthday Party, Pussy Galore, Halo Of Flies, Reverend Horton Heat, Joy Division, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Rocket From The Crypt, Thee Mighty Ceasars, and Cosmic Psychos.

Like any of those bands? Then grab this. 

DL

The Duke Spirit - Cuts Across The Land

Year: 2005

Label: Polydor

Cocky, swaggering, and uniquely English in their approach, The Duke Spirit come across as cool. Simply stated, they are a "cool" band who play really "cool" songs. 

I heard them described as a female-fronted Strokes one time, and I can sorta get behind that (that's what she said). There is a retro sound, and a laid back ether over most of the proceedings, but I think The Duke Spirit writes better crafted jams than the Strokes did. They're catchy, understated, and, dare I say, sexy. Did you ever hear that band The Kills? They have some similarities. What about Royal Trux? There's a little of that in here too. Yeah Yeah Yeah? Some of that too. Shit, I'll throw in PJ Harvey, and the murk of Sonic Youth.

Produced by Flood as well, in case that matters.

DL

Iceburn - Firon

Year: 1995

Label: Victory

All this Victory Records talk on this blog got me to thinking about how great the record label was at one time. Tony Victory was on course to dethrone the illustrious Revelation as the top (bull)dog in the hardcore game, and then, much like Revelation, the label started veering off course into the fickle world of "post hardcore". There were some successes, and some failures, but I think this Iceburn record served as the high water mark for the label until Deadguy came along a few years later. Of course now...well, who knows what the fuck Victory Records is up to...but it sure as shit ain't anything like this.

So anyway, like most hardcore foot soldiers of that era, I bought the Iceburn 7" from Victory on the label's reputation alone, and was dumbfounded by it's contents (which in retrospect are really not all that ground-breaking, but it didn't sound like Judge...so I was dumbfounded alright). Well, imagine my surprise when the full length follow-up shows up, and completely changes modern hardcore. The songs started stretching out, the instrumentation was overlaid with jazz influences, the guitars were thick and heavy, and the vocals were wild, with lyrics more akin to poetry than "friendship issues". It was a whole new world, and at the time there was nobody who sounded like them. Years later when I heard Craw for the first time, I thought, "that sounds like Iceburn". I guess I sorta thought that Tool sounded like Iceburn...but I hate Tool, and would hate to tarnish Iceburn's reputation with that comparison. 

If you like the stuff on this blog, and you like some metal, maybe some hardcore...then you'll like this one.

DL

for that inner thing you keep locked up in a closet....

the flying luttenbachers - retrospektiw III

released in 1998

"what I am interested in is creating an abstract music with superhuman qualities. i'm trying to realize a medium in which i can attempt to transcend the mediocrity of the human condition that surrounds me."
- drummer and only constant member weasel walter

and with a name such as that...you could very well picture drunk clowns riding bicycles across a tightrope trying to fend off invisible bees with chainsaws

well....at least that's what the music would portray

this is what would happen if mr. bungle...naked city...and captain beefheart would ever to collaborate on an album

improvised noise rock free jazz death abstractions

a jackson pollock painting set to music

this is a compilation of live stuff along with various other materials the band released as splits and comp stuff

set to puree...

http://www.mediafire.com/?zmi1ngnzzom

shellac w/ david yow - 10.31.98 - lounge axe - chicago,il

this was a surprise show they did of all sex pistols covers

yow as rotten...rotten as yow...

you ever see them in the same room together?

ever get the feeling you've been cheated?

1 - holiday in the sun
2 - bodies
3 - pretty vacant
4 - i'm a lazy sod
5 - submission
6 - pills
7 - anarchy in the uk
8 - god save the queen

http://www.mediafire.com/?3ymb0xof4uj

karp/rye coalition - split

released in 1995

"more dangerous than a bag full of rabid monkeys and louder than a monster truck rally"

i pulled that quote from somewhere...and i'll see your rabid monkeys and monster truck rally...and raise you some line dancing blind elderly people

you get 6" from olympia,wa...and 6" from jersey city,nj...and what that all adds up to is 12" of goodness...

and you can't go wrong with all that...ask anyone

i'll wait

told you

rye coalition get five songs

Kill All Redneck Pricks get two...plus a set they did on a college radio show back in 1995

get it on

http://www.sendspace.com/file/ewi0zv

crime in choir - self-titled

released in 2002

i've heard them described as don caballero with synths...a more structured sounding tortoise with a slight prog overtone

and i suppose they'd all be right...though i would also compare them to the italian prog band goblin (you might know their work by the soundtracks they've done for director dario argento...ie: suspiria)...and with that comparison you could also throw in king crimson and pre-1976 genesis

actually...out of the three albums the band's released...this one isn't so progressive sounding...they'd go full bore into it on the following album (2004's the hoop)

and honestly...the only reason i picked up this album was the involvement of hella drummer zach hill (this was the only album he played on)...before this i hadn't heard anything from the band...and when my then girlfriend asked me why i was laying down the 12.00 for a cd with only six songs...my answer to her was "you'll see"...and apparently she didn't see because she still gave me the confused look as we were listening to it on the way home

and i was impressed by zach's playing on this...i'd been a fan for awhile before i found out about this band...and i was pleasantly surprised to hear that he was actually able to lay down some actual beats instead of being all filler and no killer as he is in hella...and don't get me wrong...the stuff in hella is still jaw dropping (the one time i saw them live...all i could do is just stand there and curse my body for not being able to to that)...but it seemed as if he could never really dedicate himself to laying down anything solid

but...i've prattled on long enough...i've either convinced you to get this...or that i have a man crush on zach hill....either/or...i'm comfortable in both scenarios

http://www.mediafire.com/?1ng93tnmr3n

toe - the book about my idle plot on a vague anxiety

released in 2005

this is for all of you japanese math/prog/instrumental post-rock fans out there

and i already know what you're thinking: "is there such a thing?"

and the answer to that question will be given to you once you're able to catch that fly with those chopsticks

well then...that was quick...

and the answer is: "there should be"

simple enough yes?

i believe this should've been used as the soundtrack to the movie "lost in translation"...though the movie was released two years prior...but once you listen to this...you'll understand...just picture scarlett johansson's backside while listening...it'll all come together

musically these guys come off like a mixture of the first crime in choir album with early don caballero (the band's drummer could give che a decent run for his money)

and sure...i could throw out a whole bunch of instrumental band names...but...

for relaxing times, make it suntory time

http://www.mediafire.com/?sdy9str1idn

find out:

v/a - confuse yr idols: a tribute to sonic youth

released in 2004

some folks doing their best/not so best impressions of sonic youth

what you get are some bands taking the originals so far from what they sounded like...that they almost sound sonic youth-ish

confused?
you're supposed to be

you get everything from what sounds like serial killer ramblings in a doctor's office (rapider the horsepower) to lounge (tub ring) to indian jazz (saicobab) to skronk (racebannon) to a children's lullaby (twink)...

just listen...and don't forget kim gordon's panties

1 - racebannon - death valley '69
2 - brystl - shadow of a doubt
3 - new granada - eric's trip
4 - steel pole bathtub - i dreamed i dream
5 - twink - cinderella's big score
6 - stationary odyssey - dirty boots
7 - rapider the horsepower - little trouble girl
8 - tub ring - kool thing
9 - ky prophet - making the nature scene
10 - elf power - kotton krown
11 - parts & labor - sugar kane
12 - saicobab - death valley '69

http://www.mediafire.com/?njv42tndlnt

please inform the captain this is a hijack - self-titled

released in 2003

this is what would happen if fugazi...rites of spring...and city of caterpillar had a sleepover and they were all fighting for control of the remote

some folks just don't like ron popeil infomercials

who's gonna fall asleep first?

get that bowl of warm water ready

mmmmmm s'mores!

maybe we should row across the lake and mess with the camp you-ain't-gonna-get-none-of-this girls...

we don't live near a lake...

nevermind...there's a chuck norris movie on

(the preceding conversation may or may not have ever actually happened)

http://www.sendspace.com/file/dm8cc0

planes mistaken for stars - spearheading the sin movement

released in 2002


a buncha long haired boys fuckin' each other while they puff reefers...sniff cocaine on the bible...and wipe their asses with ol' glory....

if this describes you or someone you know...this is for you

and if you wear a denim jacket and have a beard whilst doing so...SCORE!

too emo to be hardcore...too hardcore to be emo...finally...something for fans of both today is the day and dashboard confessional to talk about over coffee (and maybe i'm reallllly going out on a limb there)

either way...this could totally find it's way in the disc player in your van

you need to listen to these fellas from pee-oria,il (later moving to denver,co)

and sadly no longer together...i'd picked up two albums from a pawn shop awhile ago but never really got to listen to them...and that's sad...and not only that...i could've seen these guys before they split up back in '07 (i too am an illinoian...originally)

if anything...this will give you something to listen to as you're scraping that powdery substance out of your facial hairs

http://www.mediafire.com/?bntozcaxym0

Loose Fur - Born Again In The U.S.A.

Year: 2006

Label: Drag City

Here's a palette cleanser for you. Something easy and carefree to listen to while enjoying the beautiful autumn weather. A little respite from the yelling and screaming of previous posts.

I present the second album from Wilco side-project Loose Fur (hey...get it?). Personally, I dig the shit outta Wilco, and I think their records are getting better and better the further they gravitate from country sounds. If you're with me, then you'll dig this too, it's a natural progression from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and onward.

The band is Jeff Tweedy (Wilco), Glen Kotche (Wilco), and Jim O'Rourke (Sonic Youth, Gastr Del Sol, Brise Glace, Yona-Kit, Red Krayola, and on and on). The music goes from subtle acoustic passages to off-kilter indie rock, to bouncy a.m. gold, all played with confidence and swagger. Catchy really. 

You don't have to like it, but then again, you don't have to keep your head up your ass all day either. 

I'm sorry, that was uncalled for.

DL

Big'N - Discipline Through Sound

Year: 2006

Label: Skin Graft

Recorded by Steve Albini? Check.

Sounds like a mix of Rapeman and Slint? Check.

I should be able to stop right there, and you would simply say, "oh, sounds nice, I'll go ahead and make this a part of my music collection". Is that an accurate assessment of what's going to happen? 

Oh jesus...fine. 

They were from Illinois, they operated during the second wave of the mid-western noise rock bonanza, they played with all those bands that you like from those Derek Hess posters, they grunt, the bass is out front, the time signatures are seldom 4/4, and the songs seem to be directed squarely at you.

DL 

the dillinger escape plan - self-titled ep

released in 1995

i decided to end my "guido metal" trilogy with this

this is what they sounded like before they became the band that launched a thousand third rate versions

before the dog and pony show that they are now...they played a fairly straight forward (though a little on the techy side) version of hardcore...sounding more deadguy than whiddly whiddly wheeeeeee

and i'm not going to go into some spiel on the current direction the band has gone into...but i'll say this...it should've all come to an end after irony is a dead scene

and with that being said...get this

http://www.sendspace.com/file/us9yih

rorschach - autopsy

released 1995

i couldn't post the deadguy album and not put this up

this is the entirety of the band's recorded output (aka "discography")

and yes...even more black flag influence (though more keith morris/dez cadena than rollins)

this is the band that started the deadguy (guitarist tim huckins...bass player thom rusnack)/kiss it goodbye (drummer adam gormley...guitarist tim huckins...bass player thom rusnack)/playing enemy (drummer adam gormley...bass player thom rusnack) ball rolling

and they even end it all with a very fitting cover of the black flag jam "my war"

http://www.sendspace.com/file/42u2oa

deadguy - fixation on a co-worker

released in 1995

DON'T! GIVE! ME! LOVE!
GIVE! ME! THERAPY!

i apologize for being all the with the caps and exclamation points...but tim singer means it...he's serious...about everything

and i'm just going to come right out and say it...this is what black flag should've been...instead of simply taunting audience members from the stage and then later having roadies beat them up...it jumps into the audience with a sledgehammer and pummels anything that gets in it's way...and then stomps on the jello mess left afterwards

vocalist tim singer (one of the angriest hardcore vocalists going today...right up there with damian abraham...vocalist for canadian hardcore band fucked up) takes the pencil that henry rollins uses to write about his tortured inner psyche in his journal and jams it into your neck until he knows good and well that you have lead poisoning

the reason this is getting posted (well...if you know anything about anything...you'd know why this is here...GET THIS!...tim says so)...is that a colleague of mine and i were discussing the victory records label...now i can't go into details...but i can say this...someone ended up with hot black coffee in his lap (and i'm still not able to sit properly)...anyway...what had sparked the whole thing was me saying that the year 1998 was part of the label's heyday...he didn't agree...and at the time i didn't agree with him...tip. splash. burn. red genital region....and then it was all over (literally)...now...i'm not gonna go off on some rant here...but i did go back and look at the charts...and i do have to agree with him...this album was one of the last good albums the label put out (and quite honestly...the only bands on the label i ever paid/pay any mind to were/are deadguy and bloodlet)

so...now you can see where bands such as kiss it goodbye...playing enemy...and family man (this was a band that tim singer fronted after kiss it goodbye...they released a 2 song demo...and if anyone has said demo...drop a line)

so...if you like your black flag mixed with some unsane and john candy movies (the band took it's name from the movie only the lonely)

and i remember reading in an interview once that they band had sold the name to some japanese clothing line and therefor ending the use of the name

now...go back and count the black flag references...

http://www.sendspace.com/file/djkb2g

Links fall down, go boom.

It has come to our attention that Mediafire has deleted or otherwise misplaced some of the files we have provided on this blog. If you come across a dead link, please comment here, or email Ipecac at the address over there on the right of the screen. 

If it's important to you, we will try and repair those broken links, so just ask, but do so in the comments of a more recent post, as we (or I at least) seldom go back into the annals (anal?) of time to look at comments of yore. 

Fair?

Also, I just posted some hot shit over at Colostomy Grab-bag, so go get it and get bent.

Thank you sirs and madams (do any girls read this?)

medicine - shot forth self living

released in 1992

the band pretty much shows you what they're set out to do within the first few moments of the album...and that's to hit you with a droning wall of feedback...and make you like it

this could be what would happen if japanese "noise" artist masami akita (aka "merzbow") discovered "shoegaze" and went into the studio to record his version of metal machine music

again...going back to the opening track ("one more")...it's been proven to either drive everyone from the room...or make them stand there and listen to what's going on...the entire album is something that needs to be experienced through a pair of headphones (i suggest using a pair that covers your ears entirely)...it's just so dynamic sounding

so...get the headphones and head off to your beanbag chair....

http://www.sendspace.com/file/65e5b0

and i know most of you have at least heard this song a few times...

hippie porn - ost

released in 1991

a french movie that has nothing to do with either hippies or porn...apparently the only thing the french can get right are their potatoes

so no unchecked body hair for you

but what it does have is...and i quote:

"HIPPY PORN includes some of the most interesting music in the new underground scene"

hear for thyselves....

1 - unsane - cut myself
2 - (movie scene 1)
3 - medicine ball - lullaby for nothing
4 - railroad jerk - fixin' to die
5 - (location outtake)
6 - red bliss - where's the money
7 - superchunk - not tomorrow
8 - the frogs - when the cat pisses in the corner again
9 - (musical interlude)
10 - cop shoot cop - towels
11 - (movie scene 2)
12 - thurston moore/jim sauter/don dietrich - tanned moon
13 - unrest - house pourd
14 - (movie scene 3)
15 - dustdevils - tripping on the priest
16 - medicine ball - eric bloom
17 - barbara manning - the sha la la song

http://www.sendspace.com/file/20m1zi

yona-kit - self-titled

released in 1995

this what happens when steve albini steps into the kitchen and mixes some dazzling killmen (bassist darin gray) with a little cheer-accident (drummer thymme jones)...some sonic youth (guitarist jim o'rourke)...some zeni geva (vocalist kk null)...and a smidgen of melt banana (vocalist yasuko onuki provides some vocals on the opening track)

so if you consider yourself a fan of any of the above mentioned bands...snag this up

http://www.sendspace.com/file/7jb7a9

thumb - exposure

released in 1998

going back to victory records glory days

i first came across this band on one of victory's sampler cds with the song "sell myself" (victory style III)

and at the time they struck me as not having all that much in common with the label's roster at the time (bloodlet..earth crisis...snapcase...etc etc)...and i remember listening to this album and actually having people think it was part of the "nu metal revolution"...i mean sure...they had some turntables and some rappy parts of the limp bizkits (linkin park weren't around yet)...and the aggression of the deftones (though i never really considered them part of all that business)...a little bit of the korny vocals...but they seemed more than that...and they had a bass tone most band's would sell their souls for (how else can you explain nu metal?)

ok...i might as well just admit it here...there was a time that i was "down" with the nu metals...had the chain wallet and everything...but i steered clear of the jncos and korn rows...i left all of that up to the mtv kids...what can i say... i was a sucker for drop d tuning...i was a drinker...

and even though all of those bands have been mentioned here...don't let it steer you clear of this...it's good...it's get on your skateboard good...but i wouldn't let your kids seeing you do it (if you have such things)...you'll get nothing by eye rolls from them...and do you really need more of those?

http://www.sendspace.com/file/43fe33

Pink Mountaintops - Axis Of Evol

Year: 2006

Label: Jagjaguwar

Most notable as a side project of Stephan McBean who's the main man behind 70's revivalist rockers Black Mountain. This band gets a little more "out there", as in "high on drugs" relying less on bombast, and more on droning repitition and spaced fuzz. Kinda like Spacemen 3, a little like Velvet Underground, and from what I gather, a bit like Smog. Do you listen to Smog? I don't listen to Smog, so I have no clue, but the concensus is that Pink Mountaintops sound sorta like them. I do know that I really like Pink Mountaintops, and the one time I can ever remember Smog, I thought they were booooooring. One man's opinion. 

The bottom line here, is that if you like spacerock, early seventies Rolling Stones, blissed out drug rock, or pulsating proto punk, you'll probably be in the market for this album. 

DL 

back and to the left...

well...it would seem that a certain organization has been taking out certain members of this party

so if you could take it upon yourselves that once you come across a dead link...do your patriotic duty and please notify management via the address at the top right of this very page

your identity will be kept confidential

and you will be rewarded

possible alternatives are possibly being seeked out

current dead links are being supervised...so anything you've come across in the past should be updated if not now...soon

addendum:

i do believe that i've given up all hope with the previously used organization and have since moved on to something that i'll use simply as a trial at first to see how everything turns out

and hopefully this experiment will go better than dodos drinking crystal pepsi

hissing choir - 10.03 - ottobar - baltimore,md

seeing as how the pageninetynine post sparked some interest in this band...here you go

and as far as i know...this is their only recorded material thus far (though the band is considered active...it's "sleeping"...you can also find a few videos on youtube)

this was their very first show...it's three songs long (as explained by jr the vocalist: "it's our first show dude...we only got three songs")

the band is pretty much the singer of the band pig destroyer fronting pageninetynine...but sounds more like the latter

all of the songs are untitled

http://www.mediafire.com/?zxohvytd3c9

whale - we care / all disco dance must end in broken bones / singles and rarities

we care released in 1995
all disco dance must end in broken bone released in 1998

i remember seeing the band's video for the song "hobo humpin' slobo babe" on 120 minutes back in the day

and i was hooked

it was their singer cia berg...it was her lollipop...and her braces

but...if it was the boys wearing tin foil shorts that did it for you...hey man...i'm not here to judge

and i remember scouring music stores for this album...and at the time all i could come up with was a cassingle for the song "hobo humpin' slobo babe" (remember those?)...and i kept bugging employees at the local music store about the album...and finally they got it (a year later)..one copy...and they held it for me just in case someone else picked it up (which i highly doubt would've happened...this was a little too out there for the kids in said town)

the only way i could describe this is a more upbeat sounding portishead with some punk rock bjork thrown in...but from sweden

and if you're looking for some bass to make that trunk funk...it's all here (provided by trip hop fella tricky)...just listen to "electricity" and "tryzasnice"

and yeah...this is a little different than anything else put on this blog...but dammit...she's cute and you will listen to her!

and you know...seeing as how i'm a nice guy...i'm going to give you their other album as well...because frankly...you need them both

don't argue...you just do

these were the only two full lengths that were released in america (they'd released multiple albums back in the homeland under the name southern whale cult)

on all disco dance must end in broken bones they tone it down just a little...they've still got the portishead thing going on...but they're also massively attacking the pixies garbage (see what i did there?)

and if anything...they were friends with steve albini...that's gotta mean something...right?

we care
pt1: http://www.mediafire.com/?jfobxygdjbz
pt2:http://www.mediafire.com/?mpm2xdjnya0

all disco dance must end in broken bone
pt1: http://www.mediafire.com/?2lzkazycgdn
pt2: http://www.mediafire.com/?xl2tt9uwxn9

and seeing as how well this band was remembered by most of you...i'm gonna toss some singles and such on the table
pt1: http://www.mediafire.com/?z5z9wzbfbgy
pt2: http://www.mediafire.com/?2my4it0bwuk

and now...watch this...find out:

rodan - rusty

released in 1994

i couldn't post spiderland and not this

this could very well be considered somewhat of an companion piece (though the two were released three years apart)

they too came out of the same scene slint did...and they were always getting compared to each other (though rodan would be the loud part of a pixie's song...slint being the quiet)

the album was named after it's producer's nickname (bob wetson...who was also the bass player for shellac at the time...and you can really hear them in this)

the song "tooth fairy retribution manifesto" should be on that "good morning,captain" mix cd/tape as well

during their time together ('92-'95) they released a demo...this full length...a 7"...and various comp releases

so do yourself a favor...get this as well...and take a longer ride through the country

DL: rusty

(link updated...again)

slint - spiderland

released in 1991

you know...tisk tisk on me for not already putting this here

me not putting this here could be compared to a child getting promised by his/her father to get taken to the carnival on the weekend...and they wait and wait and wait...and finally the day comes....but wouldn't you know it...daddy has to go out of town for work...again

"we'll go next time...i promise...and you can ride all the rides you want and eat all the ice cream you can...sorry sport"

and really...if you don't already have this...well then....tisk tisk tisk (yes...you get 3 of them) on you

if there were ever "the perfect sunday afternoon" album...it would be this one

and for those of you not in the know...here's a short primer on the band:

slint started in louisville,kt back in 1987...formed out of the ashes of the band squirrel bait (guitarist brian mcmahan/bassist ethan buckler/drummer britt walford)...and they were only together for a short time ('87-'91...though they did a reunion in '05 and '07)...releasing only two eps and this full length...this album is considered the IT album in "math rock" circles

"good morning,captain" can be found on every mix cd/tape ever (or at least should be)

i should also mention that the band bastro also had squirrel bait guitarist david grubbs (you can find their rode hard and put away wet ep and sing the troubled beast album in this very blog)

so do yourself a favor...get this...and take it for a ride in the country...perhaps to a carnival (but stay away from the breadcrumb trail)

http://www.mediafire.com/?zzxinlt4bkn

(link updated)

mule - if i don't six

released in 1994

a "hillbilly jesus lizard"

listen and picture this if you will: david yow as the blind singer/guitar player in the band that was in the movie roadhouse (the jeff healey band)

and quit playing dumb...we've all seen that movie at least once

joe cocker doing his best bob seger fronting the black crowes meets shorty meets the jesus lizard behind chicken wire

but totally is a good way

http://www.mediafire.com/?jopcvawxi4n

(link updated...again)

pageninetynine - the discography

"punk rock should mean freedom. liking and accepting anything that you like. playing whatever you want, as sloppy as you want. as long as it’s good and it has passion."
-kurt cobain

that quote is used at the beginning of the very first pg99 song i'd ever heard...and it couldn't describe them any better

the song is "in love with an apparition" (but it was mislabeled as "your face is a rape scene"...a title the band took a lot of flack for)

i got into them after they'd already broken up (1998-2003) through the wonderland that was mp3.com (remember that site?...when i'd read about it getting bought out and being turned into something "better" i pillaged it for all it's worth...it was the only record store that i could make it to at the time...the town i was living in was pretty small...and the idea of "punk rock" was wearing baggy pants and listening to my chemical romance while falling off of your skateboard...i was an anomaly in those parts)

but i'm getting off track...YOU DAMN KIDS GET OFF MY LAWN! TELL ME WHEN MY SOUPS DONE! MY STORIES ARE ON!

i once had a dvd that i'd ordered that had live performances of circle takes the square...pageninetynine (and if i remember correctly...city of caterpillar and majority rule)...and the stuff that was filmed for the pg99 part looked as if it had taken place in a closet...the band (which went from anywhere between 6-14 members) crammed into a corner surrounded by what looked like fifty people...and it just looked so sweaty and intense (as all good things should be)

and they'd get tagged as "screamo"...but they were so much more than that

and i dig the way they'd title their albums as documents...as a way to remember an event...and that's just what these guys were

and their singer's (chris taylor) artwork makes a pretty bad ass tattoo

well...enough with the words...you'd think that i was dating the entire band

they have links to such bands as city of caterpillar (bassist kevin longendyke/bassist brandon evans/drummer johnny ward)...malady (vocalist chris taylor/bass player kevin longendyke/drummer johnny ward/guitarist johnathan moore)...mannequin (vocalist chris taylor/guitarist mike taylor)...pygmy lush (vocalist chris taylor/drummer johnny ward/guitarist mike taylor)...haram (guitarist mike taylor/bassist kevin longendyke)...and hissing choir (vocalist chris taylor plays bass)

and now....the music:

(i should mention that the splits only have the pg.99 tracks)

document #1 (1999: self-released cassette)

http://www.mediafire.com/?el9zytzkz4j

document #2 (1999: split w/ enemy soil)

http://www.mediafire.com/?witgji5mm2d

document #3 (1999: split w/ reactor no.7)

http://www.mediafire.com/?jclziqy9yno

document #4 (1999: tour 6")

http://www.mediafire.com/?eniylidryaz

document #5 (2000: first full length)

http://www.mediafire.com/?lnmogejdemd

document #6 (2000: split w/ process is dead)

http://www.mediafire.com/?jyzkzxfjkwj

document #7 (2001)

http://www.mediafire.com/?jwzzqy9jlym

document #8 (2001)

http://www.mediafire.com/?kumtdidxnj0

document #9 (2001: a split personality - split w/ city of caterpillar)

http://www.mediafire.com/?21bjabgxz4t

document #10 (2001: do you need a place to stay? - live split w/ waifle)

http://www.mediafire.com/?enhzwtczct0

document #11 (2002: a reissue of documents 3-4)

http://www.mediafire.com/?wytmbbfttkt

document #12 (2002: split w/ majority rule)

http://www.mediafire.com/?t2t53ac3tzo

document #13 (2002: pyramids in cloth - split w/ circle takes the square

http://www.mediafire.com/?z9nhznxmz5x

document #14 (2003: compilation of singles/demos/comp tracks)

http://www.mediafire.com/?zazkqtwjtts

the blood brothers - burn,piano island,burn

released 2003

look at me...stretching boundaries

ok...i can already see the look on your face...and i can totally understand

but believe it or not...this belongs here

it does

rationalize it this way: a s'mores mixture of the jesus lizard and at the drive-in fronted by a two headed fugazi's guy picciotto (who produced the band's final album)

the albums the band put out before this were kind of your run of the mill typical/not so typical "screamo" stuff....the white belts...the size small tshirts on skinny albino boys kind of stuff...but there was something different about the band...and then they hooked up with producer ross robinson...and he got this album out of them...which is essentially the sound of a band blowing it's load

and i know...ross robinson...yeah...he's worked with some bands that i won't mention here...and he's considered the "godfather of nu metal" and such (though he has since distanced himself from)...but he's also produced some stellar (that's right...stellar) albums...go and listen to at the drive-in's relationship of command

and i'll just go ahead and say it...he's this generation's steve albini (when it comes to production value anyway)

and they're from the home of "grunge".....

ok...i've rambled on enough about this...either you'll snag this up...or piss in my cereal

either/or....thanks

http://www.mediafire.com/?zqjglttuyj1

tinsel teeth - 11.6.07 - wmbr - cambridge,ma

if you were awesome enough to snag up their three song demo that i threw down...you'll be needing this as well

be the first on your block to be able to say "man...david yow drank himself into a south of the border sex changin' hospital...and my pants feel funny...not so much like climbing the rope in gym class...but more like the time i went out on a date with the gym teacher...maaaan could he...."

and it was at that moment you realized everyone had left the room

anyway...moving right along....

this was a set they did for a college radio station

enjoy

1 - captain antagonist
2 - mirror mirror
3 - a farewell to architecture
4 - untitled
5 - into the setting sea
6 - deadweight
7 - full metal palette
8 - interview

http://www.mediafire.com/?w4knjyji012

and here you can see a bit of what went down that day...
(not with the gym teacher...)

V/A - Camp Skin Graft - Now Wave!

Year: 1997

Label: Skin Graft

Skin Graft picked up the torch when Amphetamine Reptile went m.i.a. in the mid-nineties releasing some essential noise rock and fucked up punk records. They did so in conjunction with comic books, posters, and various ephemera that made each record easily identifiable as being part of the Skin Graft stable. They  had a penchant for finding midwestern loudmouths and Japanese spazzes, two great tastes that go great together (Hey, you got Japanese spazz rock in my midwestern pigfuck. No, you got midwestern pigfuck in my Japanese spazz rock) 

In an effort to give us, the listening public, a sampling of all the ruckus they favored, the label put together this compilation which spreads the spectrum of their aesthetic. You got your art damaged rock, your freakout jazz, your unabashed noise, your droning metal, your hardcore, your punk, your space jams, and most everything in between. It's a pretty good primer of what they're all about. The bands included are:

The Browns

U.S. Maple

The Flying Luttenbachers

Lake Of Dracula

Yona-Kit

You Fantastic!

UFO Or Die

Zeke Shack Care Company

Chuck Falzone, Telepath

Shakukachi Surprise

Melt-Banana

Strangulated Beatoffs

Monitor Radio

Colossamite

Flossie And The Unicorns

Shorty

Zzzzz

Cheer-Accident

The Denison Kimball Trio

Ruins

Akaten

Omoide Hatoba

Last Of SG's

Mount Shasta

Dazzling Killmen

Quintron

Bobby Conn

Nood Ham

Tortured Machine

Space Streakings

Zeni Geva

F'Stein

Brise-Glace

DL - part 1

DL - part 2

Couldron - Couldron ep

Year: 2004

Label: Self Released

I debated about posting this record over on Colostomy Grab-Bag, but I felt that ultimately it has more in common with the music showcased here rather than there. It's a bit more metallic than the noise rock fare, but I think it falls in line nicely with JJ Paradise Players Club, Luca Brasi, Blacktail, and La Gritona, so if you enjoyed any of those, give this one a shot. The band is from Chicago, and formed to make music that was a blend of Godflesh, Neurosis, and Isis (who isn't, right?), but to my ears they sound nothing like Godflesh, a tiny bit like Neurosis, and nothing like Isis (which I know is weird to say, since I just admitted they have some Neurosis sound in them....but bare with me). The closest comparisons I could make would be Keelhaul with a bit of Minsk. Couldron has the same sort of blue collar grit-rock-metal steez as Keelhaul, with more straightforward song structures, and some of the droning waves of guitar that Minsk uses.

I think you'll like it.

DL

stnnng - fake fake

released in 2006

like the jesus lizard being fronted by the offspring of a david yow/page hamilton union

frightening?
yes.
arousing?
do you really need to ask?

http://www.mediafire.com/?tlm3odyxktm

chipfarm - self-titled

released in 1995

if you're like me...sometimes you like your music to be both improvised and japanese

what this is...is a collaboration between melt banana...experimental musician elliott sharp...harpist zeena parkins...and insrumental band optical-8

and what they do is provide the soundtrack for such things as your cat chasing it's tail...or watching that homeless person fight off a ghost...or those zany cartoons you have going on inside your head...or just a plain ol' seizure

this is equal opportunity music

http://www.mediafire.com/?wikzyuymmom

v/a - screwed ost

released in 1996

this is what would happen if amphetamine reptile had provided the soundtrack to boogie nights

actually...this is the soundtrack to a movie called al goldstein's kingdom of porn...he's the publisher of a magazine called screwed...and he's also known for biting the messy hand that feeds him...once saying "the porn industry is a self-hating business of losers"

well...if that's so...why did i feel like a champion the day i came upon (no pun intended) a box of it in an alley?...but that's another story for another day...

so...go and put on your king buzzo wig...stand in front of a mirror...and repeat these words to yourself: "i'm a star...a great big shining star"

and if you happen to find yourself a feminine vietnamese boy with some firecrackers...CHA CHING!

1 - halo of kitten - i hate porn
2 - hammerhead - camero
3 - melvins - i like porn
4 - guv'ner - coitus city
5 - mudhoney - goat cheese
6 - strapping fieldhands - porn weasel
7 - boss hog - black throat
8 - cows - pictorial
9 - big chief - ludest nudist
10 - black light rainbow - fuck forever
11 - gear jammer - mr. peanut eats the corn out of my shit

http://www.mediafire.com/?2te84jctjuy

brutal juice - mutilation makes identification difficult

released in 1995

i put the towels in their mouths and then they don't ask why...

this was originally going to be called everything's coming up toilets

there's a butthole surfers meets tool thing going on here (maybe because they're from texas and sylvia massy produced the album)

independent worm saloon/electriclarryland-era meets undertow

this is good tunage for those acid fried family reunions where the pig on the spit squeals at you as it turns over and over and over and over and over...

or

you can play this in your van as you sit across the street from some random high school as you wait for the lunch bell to ring...

it's pretty versatile

http://www.mediafire.com/?lm8dtrymmtm

stop it! - self made maps (and a demo)

released in 2006

first off i'd like to mention that the band's bass tone is A-mazing

this is what you'd get if you melded fugazi and at the drive-in together

"one armed scissor" meets "last chance for a slow dance"

both angular and meaty

sadly...they broke up (singer and bass player went on to form a band called brainworms)...only releasing this album...as for the demo...all of the songs have titles of popular 80's songs (ie: "when doves cry"..."mr.roboto"...but they're not covers)

so...if you're a fan of anything else that's been put on this blog...snag this up if you don't already have it

http://www.mediafire.com/?simvmhgme9o

don caballero - world class listening problem

released in 2006

i wasn't planning on posting this album...i was going to just post the video you can see below...but i figured that i'd put this up so that folks that didn't already know what they sounded like would know what they sounded like before they committed a "there's no 666 in outer space"

so...now you can sit back and enjoy two things that bring a smile to my face: frank booth and mathematical drums



http://www.mediafire.com/?mmmtzrowz25

qui - 9.21.07 - larimer lounge - denver,co

believe it or not...that's not yow as a youngin

now you can enjoy "noise rock's" jim morrison and not have to worry about getting thrown up on

but if it did happen...at least he'd clean up after himself

opening the evening with a belch is just a good thing

1 - gash
2 - ...
3 - belt
4 - ...
5 - a#1
6 - apartment
7 - ...
8 - willie the pimp
9 - ...
10 - today,gestation
11 - (audience)
12 - echoes

http://www.mediafire.com/?rxxh2jyn32d

v/a - international pop underground convention

released in 1991

this was a six day festival put on by calvin johnson (singer: beat happening...also head of k records) at the capitol theater in olympia,wa back in 1991

it pulled in "alternative" bands from all over the place (hence the international part)

ian mckaye took tickets at the door

this is "indie" before you could overhear it saying such things as "yeah...me too" from a corner booth at a starbucks

seriously...a snow hat in the summer?

this even comes with a handy dandy booklet and such

everything on here is live

1 - scrawl - clock song (go girl go)
2 - nation of ulysses - shakedown
3 - pastels - speedway star
4 - melvins - charmicarmicat
5 - L7 - packin' a rod
6 - spinnanes - jad fair drives women wild
7 - seaweed - bill
8 - shadowy men on a shadowy planet - they don't call them chihuahuas anymore
9 - kreviss - sandi's song
10 - some velvet sidewalk - curiousity
11 - mecca normal - strong white male
12 - courtney love - motorcycle boy
13 - unwound - bionic
14 - rose melberg - my day
15 - fugazi - reprovisional
16 - bratmobile - punk rock dream come true
17 - kicking giant - this sex
18 - fastbacks - impatience
19 - mark hosler/steve fisk/bob basanich - customer service breakthrough
20 - beat happening - nancy sin
21 - reprise

http://www.mediafire.com/?zd1mzux10bu

Black Elk - Black Elk

Year: 2006

Label: Crucial Blast

Have you heard this one yet? Christ almighty, these motherfuckers know just how to pull together the elements of sludge, noise rock, and crust punk. The songs show a real mastery of the elements, they know when to push forward and when to pull back, there's a real sense of control over what are surely chaotic songs. They are routinely compared to Jesus Lizard, Hammerhead, Guzzard, Dazzling Killmen, Karp, Soundgarden and Black Flag. I can get on board with most of those names, my only beef is the Black Flag mention...I mean seriously...who (besides B'Last of course) even comes close to sounding like Black Flag? Rhetorical question dudes, nobody. Enough with the Black Flag comparisons, alright? If your band plays anything remotely close to hardcore, than, yes, you are influenced by Black Flag, but you sure as shit don't sound like them, and you don't have the "put your head down, and plow through the audience" mentality that they did.

Enough Black Flag worship, I got off track. 

Black Elk fucking rule. They have a new record coming out in October on Crucial Blast which promises more destructo-rock.

DL

V/A - Invaders

Year: 

Label: Kemado

A love letter to the mix tape and the old Metal Blade compilation Metal Massacre, this Kemado Records release showcases the label's wide array of heavy music. Not all metal, not all rock, not all psyche, but a mix of those elements. A lot of holier than thou types have written this off as the proverbial "hipster metal", but if you're being honest with yourself, alone, at night, in your E.T. pajamas, you know this shit is the real deal.

You get unreleased tracks from:

Danava

Big Business

Black Mountain

The Sword

The Fucking Champs

Witchcraft

Comets On Fire

Diamond Nights

Night After Night

Parchman Farm

and previously relaesed tracks from :

Saviours

Dungen

Witch

Torche

Pelican

High On Fire

Wolfmother

Warhammer 48k

Those are some pretty heavy hitters.

DL-part 1

DL-part 2

Arcwelder - Pull

Year: 1993

Label: Touch And Go

Alright, this post is kind of a "gimmie", maybe even a copout. If you've found your way to this place in the world wide web than chances are you already own this. That dawned on me as I was going through the trouble of uploading it (oooooh, my aching haaaaands), but then I figured, there's got to be a couple folks who were slightly turned off by Arcwelder's melodicism back when this record came out, but now, maybe just now, they're ready to embrace the poppy side of "noise rock". 

So are you ready? Are you? Who's a good boy? Who's gonna catch that frisbee?

Pull is Arcwelder's first album for Touch and Go, and my favorite of all their releases. It has elements of later day Husker Du (they were all from Minneapolis after all) mixed in with their roiling, boiling, noises, which left them lumped in more with Tar and Jawbox rather than Jesus Lizard and Rapeman. Different strokes right? 

My next post won't be so easy, I promise. I'll really try harder.

*Link fixed 09.19.09

DL

this is just a little reminder that colostomy grab-bag is tooootally warm for your form

and if you don't go over there...well...we'll sit in this tub of tapioca pudding until you do!

we mean bidness!

and no...you can't have any

it's prom night all over again.....

kittens - bazooka and the hustler

released in 1997

these canadians provide the soundtrack for a slumber party over at unsane's house

sounding like a very angry buzz osbourne fronting the jesus lizard and fighting helmet while tag teaming godheadsilo

enough am rep-isms for you?

while together....they released ten albums (from 1992-1998)...members have since went on to play in bands KEN mode and hide your daughters

drummer david kelly passed away back in march of this year

http://www.mediafire.com/?5j22j0mnxig

bodychoke - five prostitutes

released in 1996

now...i know that sounds like something you'd see on a list for some scavenger hunt...

i don't really know all that much about this band...i was turned onto this album by a fellow lurker on a messageboard....and to quote him:

"criminally underrated rock band from the early 90s, for fans of swans, the god machine, my bloody valentine, sonic youth, dicks"

the album is named after jack the ripper's victims...and could very well be what goes on inside the head of any serial killer

and with the help of steve albini...these five lads from the UK lay it all out for you to see

at times sounding like the birthday party with nick cave sharing vocals with david yow and sid vicious

the band was together for only a short time (1993-1998...a side project of the "power electronics noise" band whitehouse...though this is at the other end of the spectrum) ...only releasing two albums and a compilation of unreleased material

http://www.mediafire.com/?anyzyiam2l2

stompbox - stress

released in 1994

these boys from the town of beans throw down some soundgarden meets helmet meets clutch

this was the band's only full length...also releasing some 7" and an ep called travis (which some of the material got re-recorded for this album)

and some folks would say that the "band" disturbed stole the guitar riff from the song "no woods"...go and listen to "down with the sickness"...you be the judge (come on now...if you really wanted to get rid of the album...you would've done more than just bury it in your basement under concrete)

OHHHHHH WAHAHAHAH!

whatever that means...

http://www.mediafire.com/?1x9miiz54tf

lowercase - all destructive urges...seem so perfect

released in 1996

this would be godheadsilo if they turned down their "wall of sound"...got markarmkurtcobainwaynecoyne to sing and started playing sonicyouththeflaminglipsbuilttospillslint

the band only released three albums before splitting up in 1999 (this being their first)

guitar player imaad wasif has since started a band with sebadoh drummer russ pollard called alaska!...they were also taken in by lou barlow (sebadoh vocalist/bassist) to form a band called the new folk implosion

http://www.mediafire.com/?rnoxtntwg8w

x-cops - you have the right to remain silent....

released in 1995

what would be cooler than a bunch of cops playing kick-ass rock and roll?

this is what cop rock should've been all about (that's right...cop rock)

this is the musical equivalent of the bad lieutenant and dennis franz's backside wearing heratio caine's sunglasses...so you know it means business

this is gwar putting down the cuttlefish of cthulhu and picking up a nightstick and going out to look for weekend keggers

comes off sounding like a cross between gwar and ministry

down to the cell where bubba crowns you queen....

http://www.mediafire.com/?dzozzvdvgym

Syntax Error!

For fuck's sake! I think Mediafire has gone and deleted all my files, therefore, anything I have uploaded to this blog has vanished. 

I will try and re-up some of the material, but it's a tedious process, and one I don't relish doing. 

Sucks.

Todd - Purity Pledge

Year: 2005

Label: Southern

By request, may I present the debut full length album from England's Todd. Of course, you must preface all Todd related post's with the ubiquitous, "ex-Hammerhead" mention, but goddamn if Hammerhead aren't one of the most underrated hardcore/noise rock outfits ever. They deserve to be mentioned at least once a day. 

So the lead singer/guitarist of Hammerhead moves to London, gets married, and starts a new band with his wife and three other (what one must assume to be) degenerates. They proceed to write and record some of the nastiest, heaviest, hardcore/punk/noise rock ever. Repeat...EVER!  Wave after wave of distorted noise-wrapped powerchords spill out of the speakers. The vocals are hideous growls, blunt shouts, and modulated washes. There are some keyboards added, but only to heighten the dymensia and further confuse the listener. 

I cannot recommend this any more highly. 

DL

we here at the shiny grey monotone would like to welcome our new neighbor

ladies and gentleman...we present you...colostomy grab-bag

and he'd like to show you some of his wares...both tupper and others

but we should warn you...when he brings out the mcfeely...well...that's truly when the party starts

and we know what you're thinking: how can you warn us about a party?...aren't parties supposed to be fun and exciting?...a thing filled with pinatas and beverages and snacks and smiles from ear to ear?

well...you can choose to live behind that cloak of denial...or you can just accept the fact that before this party is over...you'll come to on the floor of a room covered in plastic with a poster of a unicorn on the wall...and instead of not knowing why that bucket of crisco is hanging in the corner...be fully aware that it was there to only assist...assist in what you may be asking yourself...well...seeing as how you've already signed that non-disclosure agreement...we can go no further

and don't forget to bring the kids...there's a petting zoo...the irony being that we're not allowed within 100 feet of one...what to do what to do?

so...please join us in welcoming our special neighbor...he'll fill you with so much metal...you know that you'll never make it past airport security

there's robotussin and m&ms in the back...enjoy

there's a difference between "waking up" and "coming to"

Colossamite - Economy Of Motion

Year: 1998

Label: Skin Graft

Here's the sole full length release by Minneapolis (by way of Wisconsin) band Colossamite, which was known at the time as "ex-Dazzling Killmen" because they featured vocalist/guitarist Nick Sakes of that band. And while Dazzling Killmen might be a pretty good reference point to start comparisons (Zenigeva might be another), it really doesn't do much to justice to the three guitar, no distortion sound this band were proponents of. There is no bass here. None. Zip. Zero. There are those three, count 'em, three guitars I mentioned a second ago playing as loudly and cleanly as possible. There are thundering drums, and shouted vocals, but no bass, and three motherfucking guitars going at once. Sans distortion pedals. Did I mention that? Yes? Well, shit man, think about that for a second, based on your arrival at this blog, I can only assume you like it thick and heavy (that's what she said), and now you're being confronted by this anomaly. This three axed, lurching, shifting, spasming, crawling monster that fore goes the use of modern guitar tactics in lieu of a troublingly loud, sharp blast. 

If you think you got the cajones, then give it a whirl, but don't say I didn't warn you. There is no bass, and no distortion on this record. There, now I can proceed with a clear conscious.

DL

v/a - a small group of friends: a germs tribute

released in 1996

some folks doing their best germs impersonations

did you know: belinda carlisle (the go-gos) was the band's second drummer? (playing under the name "dottie danger")...though she never got to play with them live because she caught "the kissing disease"...she then went on to start the go-gos (and they were originally called the misfits...could you picture her singing "mommy?...can i go out and KILL TONIGHT"...adorable....)

1 - nofx - forming
2 - free kitten - sex boy
3 - melvins - lexicon devil
4 - the holez - circle one*
5 - d generation - no god
6 - j mascis/mike watt - what we do is secret
7 - ruined eye - land of treason
8 - the posies - richie dagger's crime
9 - o-matic - strange noises
10 - white flag - manimal
11 - that dog. - we must bleed
12 - flea - media blitz
13 - sator - the other newest one
14 - wrens - let's pretend
15 - matthew sweet - dragon lady
16 - gumball - caught in my eye
17 - meat puppets - not all right
18 - puzzled panthers - now i hear the laughter
19 - L7 - lion's share
20 - monkeywrench - shutdown**

*=pat smear with hole

**=after the song there's about a minute of silence...and then the band hovercraft (an instrumental trio that at one time had pearl jams' eddie vedder playing drums...he was married to the band's bass player beth liebling for six years...though together for sixteen) stretches out the previously played "shutdown" to sixteen minutes...and then followed by a short spoken word piece by poet drew blood

http://www.mediafire.com/?miy9aibv99j

festish 69 - antibody

released in 1993

what do you get when you mix helmet with ministry and austria?

these guys

they even cover the human league ("don't you want me") jam "being boiled"...making it sound more like a sludgy red hot chili peppers than 80's synth pop

this is the kind of band the friendly folks from deliverance would've formed if they'd been more into their amphetamine reptile records collection than ned beatty

that makes two deliverance references in one blog...truly the end is nigh

http://www.mediafire.com/?rozyzgzm3j1

fight amp - hungry for nothing

released 2008

some bands have no qualms in letting it be known that they wear their unsane/steve albini/amphetamine reptile heart on their sleeves

some of the bands aren't so good (you know who you are)...some of the bands nail it

this band is of the latter category

the band formerly known as fight amputation...these four new jersey-ites punish their instruments as if they'd caught them breaking into their house at 2:00am

think the jesus lizard rhythm section playing the melvins in a basement in a house in the town that "kerosene" built

confused?

i'll put the musical thesaurus away

http://www.mediafire.com/?m44jiimz2n2

Bastro - Rode Hard And Put Up Wet ep

Year: 1998

Label: Homestead

James Joyce carries with him a mysterious and terrible sway over my psyche, and his biddings are my only will. If he requests more Bastro, I have but no other recourse than to immediately post more Bastro. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven!

So here you are, the first Bastro release, an ep recorded as a duo, utilizing the teutonic services of a drum machine (oh, by the way, Big Black called...) and practicing the ebb and flow of early math rock. Like I said in the previous post, this band started out much more raw, aggresive, and clearly in awe of Big Black.

Back to James Joyce for a moment. If you have any interest in the history of contemporary music in Atlanta (i.e. late 80's and forward) check out his blog, chances are there are some bands on there that you either new from a house show in your old college town, or had no idea were from Atlanta.

http://beyondfailure.blogspot.com/

DL

Bastro - Sing The Troubled Beast

Year: 1990

Label: Homestead

Everything everyone ever says about Bastro goes something like this; "David Grubs...post Squirrel Bait...Washington D.C....Bitch Magnet...pre Gastr Del Sol...drummer for Tortoise and Sea and Cake...math rock". So that's pretty much it. You know what you need to know in order to make an informed decision as to whether or not you will pilfer this download. Goodnight and god bless.

I will say this one other thing before I leave you to the music. Bastro started as one type of band (an extension of the mathmatical pounding practiced by Squirrel Bait [who also offered up Slint as it's other offspring]) and ended as something else entirely (the more restrained and dynamic melancholy of the future Gastr Del Sol), and this record was the transition between the two. Yeah, it's still a "math rock" record, but as the album progresses you begin to hear a wider palette of sounds, and dare I say, melody. Drag City repackaged his album with it's predecessor Bastro Diablo Guapo on one cd a few years ago, but that first album was more abrasive and more...how do you say..."Chicago" in it's approach, so I think presenting Sing The Troubled Beast on it's own merits is more interesting.  

DL

we here at shiny grey monotone would like to take this opportunity to say "thanks" and "we're glad you like the product" and "you look very pretty today. would you like to attend the box social with us?"

we'll continue bringing you the stuff...if you continue to have useless space on your hard drive that you feel the need to cram things into

and for those of you that could care less for such things...we'll be sending a one david yow over to your house/apartment/parent's basement...and he's going to show you what being tight and shiny is all about

once again...thank you for your patronage

oh...and before we go...we'd like to point out thay we're branching out into the blogosphere once again...be on the look out for the colostomy grab-bag...the link is over to the right (no no...the other way)...postings there will be appearing soon...but for now...we've prepared a few things for you all to watch....so go on...take a peek

thank you for reading

there's kool-aid and cheese on the card table in the back

enjoy

lunachicks - pretty ugly

released in 1997

my brown eye's blue from so much lovin'....

these four new yawk ladies starting pushing out a ramones/MC5-ish punk rock mash in 1987

thurston moore and kim gordon were in the audience for their first show and got them signed to the england based blast first records

led by future model theo kogan...these ladies had no problem mixing their feminism with potty humor with songs about transexuals ("mr. lady")...the death of a pet ("the day squid's gerbil died")...failed relationships ("don't want you")...pms ("@#%")...and donuts ("mmm donuts")

during their time together...they released six albums (this being their fourth)...they've been on hiatus since 2000...but reunited for two shows in '02 and '04

http://www.mediafire.com/?jwhxdn1wmle

house of large sizes - self-titled

released in 2002

this husband and wife team (singer/guitar player dave deibler and bass player/back up singer barb schlif are married)...along with various drummers out of cedar falls,ia started playing together back in 1986 while in college...making a pixies/flaming lips type noise

i lived in iowa back in the early 90's...and i remember seeing them play on some local tv station's news show...and i remember being struck by how thick the bass sounded...and that they were too good to be from iowa...i mean...all iowa had was idiots out wandering around...but what did i know?

during their fifteen years together...they released eight albums


http://www.mediafire.com/?qlj2eklteqj

v/a - some ep

released in 1986

don't really know all that much about this...i came across it looking up stuff on the band the bar-b-que killers

it's made up of four bands from athens,ga...and from what i've read...it didn't get much exposure outside of there

athens was seattle before seattle was seattle

1 - bar-b-que killers - chester drawers
2 - mercyland - amerigod
3 - time toy - window sill
4 - eat america - hands of murmansk

http://www.mediafire.com/?fhfzmmuywss

tinsel teeth - 3 song demo

"david yow with a nice rack"
"david yow with a vagina"

and believe it or not...it's a good thing

these three guys and a girl are out of providence,ri

it's like the jesus lizard being fronted by laura carter (if you don't know who she is...she was from athens,ga...and fronted the bands bbq killers and jack o nuts...the latter's discography can be found in this very blog)

they're unsigned...but are recording an album

and i know that i'd said that i wouldn't plug another myspace...but i'm going to...why?...because i can: http://www.myspace.com/tinselteethy

http://www.mediafire.com/?ewj9zh5wmyx

v/a - subUrbia soundtrack

released in 1996

not to be confused with the 1984 movie of the same name

this is the soundtrack to hanging out in the parking lots and saying things like "idealism is guilty middle-class bullshit" and talking about what you're gonna be when you grow up in your hoodie

1 - elastica/stephen malkmus - unheard music
2 - sonic youth - bee-bee's song
3 - girls against boys - bulletproof cupid
4 - beck - feather in your cap
5 - u.n.k.l.e. - berry meditation
6 - boss hog - i'm not like everybody else
7 - skinny puppy - cult
8 - superchunk - does your hometown care?
9 - sonic youth - sunday
10 - butthole surfers - human cannonball
11 - sonic youth - tabla in suburbia
12 - flaming lips - hot day
13 - thurston moore - psychic hearts
14 - gene pitney - town without pity

http://www.mediafire.com/?zzkbj5meuo3

v/a - 1991: the year punk broke

"hey,did you know that punk rock finally broke in '91?"
-kim gordon


there was no official soundtrack for this...so what you get is pretty much the movie without the moving pictures

this is sonic youth...nirvana...and friends showing europe what it means to wear flannel and (dirty) combat boots

pt.1:
http://www.mediafire.com/?qpcs1xyhdzo

1 - thurston moore - a dance
2 - sonic youth - schizophrenia
3 - nirvana - negative creep
4 - sonic youth - brother james
5 - nirvana - school
6 - sonic youth - teenage riot
7 - dinosaur jr - freak scene
8 - babes in toyland - dustcake boy

pt.2:
http://www.mediafire.com/?1ohafmmtxyk

9 - sonic youth - dirty boots
10 - sonic youth - i love her all the time
11 - gumball - pre
12 - dinosaur jr - the wagon
13 - sonic youth - mote
14 - nirvana - smells like teen spirit
15 - sonic youth - kool thing
16 - nirvana - polly
17 - sonic youth - expressway to yr skull

Requests

Thanks one and all for the feedback, it's nice to hear that folks are into the blog, and the music is getting out there. If anyone has any future requests or suggestions, just leave them in the comments section, and we'll see what we can do.

In the meantime, here are some requested records on the way:

Todd - Purity Pledge

Bastro - Sing The Troubled Beast

Colossamite - All Lingo's Clamor

Chokebore - Black Black

Keep 'er vertical,

Gray

eleven

self-titled released in 1993
http://www.mediafire.com/?x350waimmjb

thunk released in 1995
http://www.mediafire.com/?xnbwaw5m9bc

i couldn't decide which one to post...so you get them both

as posted below...this is the band that what is this evolved into after keyboard player/vocalist(and lead singer/guitar player alain johannes' girlfriend) natasha shneider joined

musically...the band went into a psychedelic progressive direction

though still a band at the time...alain and natasha went on to become chris cornell's back up band for his first solo album/tour (1999's euphoria morning)...and then becoming members of the band queens of the stone age in 2000

drummer jack irons quit the band temporarily in 1995 while recording thunk to play with pearl jam...the band brought in soundgarden drummer matt cameron to play on the remaining songs (matt would later join pearl jam in 1998 after jack irons leaving due to medical reasons)

natasha shneider passed away this last july due to cancer (eerily enough at 11:11am)

before her passing...the band was working on their sixth album...it may or may not get released

what is this? - self-titled

released in 1985

this was the jumping off point for what would later become two influential bands

the band was formed in 1980 (then going by the name anthym)...it featured future red hot chili peppers guitarist hillel slovak...drummer jack irons...and bass player michael balzary (aka "flea")...they changed the band's name in 1984...and released two eps and a full length

flea left the band to play in the band fear (later joining rhcp)...and hillel left the band to concentrate more on the red hot chili peppers (then called tony flow and the miraculously majestic masters of mayhem)...drummer jack irons continued on with the band...and the band changed it's name to eleven

though around in the early 1980's...they didn't sound like your typical band of the time...leaning more into a more funk "college rock" direction (though "college rock" hadn't really become a genre yet)

listen to the song "big raft"...and try to pick out where else that bass line can be heard (though pre-dating it by two years)

a clue: there's a glove involved...though this one fits

http://www.mediafire.com/?vmzxr2mfz3t

v/a - faux pas potpourri

released in 2000

a very small records compilation

the label was started back in 1986 after david hayes (co-founder of the lookout! records label) left to start his own label back in 1989...releasing mainly punk and pop punk...but on this complitaion...you get a little bit of everything...from said punk (econochrist)...pop punk (j church)...sludge (buzzoven)...cowpunk (3 finger spread)...a spasm set to music (melt banana)...hot water music covering the circle jerks jam "wild in the streets"...and some other stuff

disc 1:
http://www.mediafire.com/?zzvthwxw3mm

1 - plaid retina - the perfect puzzle
2 - the bananas - spicy jerk
3 - nar - drunk and benevolent
4 - krupted peasant farmerz - memories of death
5 - mothermayi- miss malakai
6 - sluggo - sunburn
7 - false sacrament - second hand anxiety
8 - sarabellum - 4 no 5 children
9 - buzzoven - grit
10 - econochrist - withdrawal
11 - logical nonsense - pig blood blues
12 - grimple - system fucker
13 - schlong - rats
14 - pounded clown - got no life
15 - elmer - goin' to the store
16 - horny mormons- thadicus
17 - 3 finger spread - kitty kat
18 - bellywipe - meet my ulcer
19 - counterclock - dna
20 - sick and tired - very often
21 - baba booey - baba booey messed up
22 - primitive tribes - searchin' through the couch for change for beer
23 - the tumwater boys choir - spokane washtin
24 - blanks '77 - party train
25 - strawman - wound up
26 - pinhead gunpowder - reach for the bottle
27 - velvet pelvis - star wars generation
28 - meatjack- head

disc 2:
http://www.mediafire.com/?bzudlmmmhvw

1 - the rizzos - she's so scary
2 - guitarded - mach five
3 - junior rodeo daredevils - i've spilt more drugs than you've ever seen
4 - cringe - police beacon
5 - motherload - mistaken meat
6 - clabberhag - friday night ritual
7 - big comb - one way stop
8 - the flies - austrian
9 - one eye open - grim grinning grindcore ghosts
10 - the royal scam - any major dude
11 - your mother heart - heart sf
12 - the kegel muscles - bow tie daddy
13 - the chili pimps - i like manure
14 - halibutt - rose
15 - gitchee gumee - pickle neck stew
16 - lopez - bilbo baggins rock opera
17 - mulligan stew - go fuck yourself
18 - boba fett youth - okay fine,i'll admit it: i hate everybody
19 - all you can eat - cartoon song
20 - j church - 30 second song
21 - yukon jackass - trouble hook
22 - beef jerky - you stink
23 - quitters inc. - detox van
24 - wretched ones - bottles and cans
25 - broken toys - this place
26 - the sissies - sick too long
27 - the sillies - does a body good
28 - melt banana - he says "drink or die,"i say "drink and puke"
29 - fatty lumpkin - flyin' across the room
30 - dwarf bitch - poison gas
31 - lizards - you bug me
32 - ding dang - i'll quit tomorrow
33 - rumbleseat - rye whiskey
34 - the dolomites - the regressing of edification
35 - hellworms - glamorous drug problem
36 - the lexingtons - bottled liquor
37 - whiskey sunday - uncle dave n' me
38 - hot water music - wild in the streets
39 - pony stable - hangover song
40 - cropduster - the little voice

Sweet Pea - Chicks Hate Wes

Year: 1996

Label: Trance Syndicate

Do you remember when Austin, Texas was the hot shit? Do you like Cherubs? Can I borrow five dollars? Yes? Great, this one's for you.

Sweet Pea were bass driven, lurching, grumbling, cynical music with the added rarity of both male and female vocals (Lydia Emily, aka Sweet Pea). This band formed out of the ashes of Distorted Pony, and after breaking up, morphed into Switchhitter. But of those three bands, I tend to like this one the best, the songs are spastic at one moment, droning the next, there are strange noises interspersed into the music, and bottom end is as thick as they come. This record is broken into thirds by three monolithic instrumental crawls which may or may not drive you to the fast forward button.

Give it a shot if you're into...I don't know...anything else on this blog.

DL-part 1

DL-part 2

bellini - small stones

released in 2005

an "indie/math rock supergroup" of sorts

consists of members of girls against boys (drummer alexis fleisig...who replaced don caballero's damon che after he left the band literally while on tour for the band's 2001 debut album snowing sun...he got into an argument with the band while on stage in athens,ga...he then packed up his gear and drove the band's van back to chicago by himself...later restarting don caballero after a three year hiatus)...soulside (drummer alexis had also played in this band)...and uzeda (both singer giovanna cacciola and guitar player agostino tilotta are married)

fugazi meets the jesus lizard

http://www.mediafire.com/?diwajp0carw

nomeansno - 0+2=1

released in 1991

the blind are deafened and the lame are made dumb...for that queer equation...this is the sum...

devo on a jazz...motorhead after art school...or wire on psychotic steroids...

along with some steve albini bass lines...and they all went into the studio to record their version of the brown album-era primus

jello biafra's other favorite canadian punk band

these canucks are considered one of the originators of the "math rock" (ie: shellac...shorty...dazzling killmen...don caballero) genre...and something tells me that steve albini has at least one album by this band under his pillow

http://www.mediafire.com/?xm03mm1m10c

El Buzzard - Gringa

Year: 2006

Label: The Electric Human Project

Self described as a "noise metal" band, these fuckers came out of San Jose and laid waste to shit. You'd have never guessed they spawned from mid nineties screamo spazzes, Mohinder, but lo and behold, that's just what they did. Gringa was their last will and testament before breaking up and reforming as Breasts. On this record they continue to play slash and burn, loud as shit skuzz rock with heavy Unsane and Karp leanings, but this time around there's a slight late-period Black Flag vibe creeping in. The warped stoner proto-metal riffing that Greg Ginn was experimenting with round about 1985 rears it's ugly head here, and seems to fit in just fine. This is a dirty, raw, punked out rawk trip. 

DL

V/A - Jabberjaw - Good To The Last Drop

Year: 1994

Label: Mammoth

Originally this was a series of benefit 7"s to raise money for the Los Angeles venue/coffeehouse Jabberjaw featuring unreleased material from bands who had taken the tiny stage. The lineup is pretty impressive:

Girls Against Boys

Unwound

Hole

Hammerhead

Beck

Teenage Fanclub

Slug

Chokebore

Mule

Helmet

Southern Culture On The Skids

Karp

Jawbox

Surgery

Unsane

Seaweed

Inch

That Dog

Further

DL

Creeps On Candy - Wonders Of Giardia

Year: 1995

Label: Alternative Tentacles

I enjoyed the band Dead And Gone, they were an East Bay band balls deep in the fabled Gilman Street scene of the time, but their music was darker and more sinister than the standard poppy punk, or faux crust (Total Chaos, I'm looking at you...) that seemed the rage in Oakland. The members had served time in Blatz, Jack Acid, Filth, and Talk Is Poison

For whatever reasons, Dead And Gone went away, and then reformed with a new singer as Creeps On Candy, eschewing some of the more Neurosis tendancies of the former band for a more Laughing Hyenas meets Die Kreuzen meets Jesus Lizard styled moody assault. The bass is right out front, the guitar is prone to slide around riffs, and the vocals have that distorted deadpan delivery (when he isn't screaming, that is). This was their only release, as Dead And Gone got back together in 2000.

DL

Cutthroats 9 - Anger Management

Year: 2001

Label: Reptilian

The last record Cutthroat 9 put out before Chris Spencer was called back home to Unsane, and they make quick work of it. Technically, it's a 10"ep, so before you even know what hit you, it's all over.

It might be heresy, but for my money, this Chris Spencer led power trio is better than that other Chris Spencer led power trio. They are meaner, faster, harder, and more destructive. The songs are animals, wild fucking animals. Wild animals that want nothing more than to buttfuck you in front of your woman. And that's a shitty thing for an animal to want to do. Why would this animal be so spiteful? What did you do to this wild animal to cause such a reaction? I'm not trying to cast dispertions, but maybe you should look into vegetarianism as a lifestyle change to thwart any future beastial sodomy (which, p.s. will be the name of my new band...Bestial Sodomy...fuck you, I thought of it first). 

I'm just sayin'.

DL

Barkmarket - Gimmick

Year: 1993

Label: Warner Brothers

Ahhh...the days when the cries of "sellout" rang from every mountaintop, when merely purchasing an album on a major label could brand you a traitor. Good times those early 1990's were. Good times.

Barkmarket sold out. They went from underground noise rock merchants mining the black gold of hardcore, metal, and rock and polishing it with some of the most fucked up lyrics of the day, to underground noise rock merchants mining the black gold of hardcore, metal, and rock, and polishing it with some of the most fucked up lyrics of the day. Fags. They didn't even have the decency to quit their day jobs. Assholes.

Rick Rubin "executive produced" this effort, I mean, what the fuck, they're too good for Steve Albini? Dicks.

DL

JJ Paradise Players Club - Regenesis

Year: 2004

Label: Dead Teenager

Was this posted on another blog in the past couple of months? Yes? No? I can't remember, and honestly...who are we kidding, it doesn't matter. It's free music. If you got it, you got it already, if not, check it out and then go buy it.

So what is it anyway? Fucking godhead, that's what. It's one of those rare bands that is made up of dudes from other bands and it actually sounds like an exact amalgamation of those previous outfits. Amazing yes? I'm asking a lot of questions, huh?

Here are the bands that composed JJ Paradise Players Club: Unsane, Glazed Baby, Shiner, Kill Van Kull, Die 116, Kiss It Goodbye, Hell No, and Go. This record sounds like all of those bands (alright, except for Go), with heavy emphasis on the Unsane and Die 116 portions. Somehow, I get some High On Fire coming through, and that can't be a bad thing.

Great, great, great record. They go by Players Club now, and actually on this release as well, I just thought their former nom de plume was cooler.

DL

Black Helicopter - That Specific Function

Year: 2003

Label: Traktor 7

Another entry from the Boston skuzz rock contingent, this one chronicles the real life ramblings of a drunken madmen named Kerm who would frequent the convenience store that two members of the band worked in and dispense a bizarre mix of life lessons, conspiracy theories, and warnings. The band itself comes from prior Boston noise rockers Kudgel and Green Magnet School, and was originally going to be GMS, but the guy decided to give it a new moniker.

Musically, it's more straightforward and less violent than some of their Boston contemporaries, but no less disturbed or dark. Menacing rock delivered without relying on the dirtiest distortion pedal or throat peeling vocal barks.

Sidebar: I have seen a couple different track listings for this record, but this is the version I've had for awhile now, sooooooo....suck it?

DL

Smoke and Smoke - Love Suffers Long

Year: 2004

Label: Frenchkiss

Out of the ashes (see what I did there...ashes...smoke?) of Dead Low Tide (which I'll post another day) comes Port Washington's Smoke And Smoke. It's the brainchild of Mike Kunka and Dan Haugh (formerly known as Godheadsilo) along with vocalist Spencer Moody (late of Murder City Devils), and is essentially the Dead Low Tide minus that band's guitarist. What your left with is the drum and bass bombast you would expect from Haugh and Kunka overlaid with the Moody' s menacing lyrics and wild eyed delivery. 

The beauty is, they keep things short and sharp, no song overstays it's welcome, and the album itself is done before you know it. The rattling of your speakers slows to a stop, and you realize how quiet the world is. 

No thanks. 

Turn the shit on again and get worked about the head and neck for another 20 minutes or so.

DL

melvins - 7.1.95 - the dragonfly - hollywood,ca

1 - goggles/sweet willy rollbar
2 - revolve
3 - night goat/specimen
4 - at the stake
5 - queen
6 - joan of arc
7 - goose freight train
8 - easy as it was
9 - skweetis/with teeth
10 - oven
11 - roadbull/shevil

http://www.mediafire.com/?i3gijnw81mo

tom waits - bone machine: the operator's manual

released in 1992

"bone machine...get one...you'll love it...don't lose your operating manual...that's what i say"

this was a promotional cd that was put out for radio stations

it has tom explaining the meanings behind some of the songs and the making of the album

it's kind of like sitting at the bar next to the guy that's been there since the bar opened...

http://www.mediafire.com/?ewjadttmmnm

tom waits - bone machine

released in 1992

what can be said about tom waits...

the man has a preacher's voice made of sandpaper and whiskey

this is an album of songs about death and murder and revenge and the apocalypse and the blues...recorded in a basement with a cement floor and a hot water heater

and a few friends stop by to lend a hand...the equally grizzled keith richards (vocals and guitar on "that feel")...les claypool (bass on "earth died screaming")...brain (drums on "such a scream" and "in the colosseum")

http://www.mediafire.com/?xdqxnddzdun

v/a - in flight program: a 1997 revelation records sampler

released in 1997

revelation records was started back in 1987 by friends jordan cooper and youth of today vocalist ray cappo (who later left the label to front the band shelter and start his own label called equal vision)

the label put out mainly youth crew/punk/hardcore music...but later branched out into different forms of said music (with bands such as the jazz/punk/classical/metal band iceburn collective...the hard grunge/post-punk band into another...the sludgy grindy kiss it goodbye...the screamy techy hardcore curl up and die)

1 - sense field - building
2 - texas is the reason - back and to the left
3 - farside - audience
4 - iceburn collective - sphinx
5 - shades apart - fearless
6 - chain of strength - true till death
7 - whirlpool - wasteland
8 - chinchilla - decoder
9 - bodyjar - glossy books
10 - ignite - embrace
11 - sparkmarker - chrysanthemum
12 - youth of today - bring down the walls
13 - no fun at all - master celebrator
14 - gorilla biscuits - new direction
15 - state of the nation - a piece
16 - beta minus mechanic - sand castles
17 - quicksand - omission
18 - the underdog - say it (to my face)
19 - judge - bringin' it down
20 - supertouch - vendor
21 - inside out - no surrender*
22 - shelter - enough
23 - shall be judged - burn
24 - into another - to be free
25 - bold - looking back
26 - engine kid - windshield

*= featuring an 18 year old zach de la rocha (rage against the machine) on vocals

http://www.mediafire.com/?199sx4jyyzi

the instrumental music of helmet: 1992-1997

released in 2003

this was released as a promo cd

it has songs from the three albums the band released between '92-'97 (in the meantime...betty...aftertaste)

it's like drill sargent karaoke

there wasn't a cover...but that picture just seemed appropriate

http://www.mediafire.com/?ngpqtygtm03

Royal Trux - Cats And Dogs

Year: 1993

Label: Drag City

This record has been described as "the missing link between the Stones' 'Exile On Main Street' and Sonic Youth's 'Daydream Nation'". That's pretty good. It's Royal Trux's 4th lp, and maybe their most polished, so a good place to start for the uninitiated. Neil Hagerty and Jennifer Herrema were rocking the power duo long before it was de rigeur, and making lo-fi, drug addled, gutter rock that married the nihilistic NYC aesthetic of the Velvet Underground with the rave ups of Pussy Galore (of whom Hagerty was a former member). Not so much post punk, as it was pre retro. Make sense?

After Royal Trux, the duo split and turned up as The Howling Hex (Hagerty) and RTX (Herrema)

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Chavez - Better Days Will Haunt You

Year: 2006

Label: Matador

Here is the reissue of both Chavez full lengths with a couple b-sides, comp tracks, and an unreleased song thrown in for good measure. There is a dvd included, but you'll have to go buy that. If you're not familiar with Chavez, it's picture perfect indie rock that employs catchy pop jams ensconced in thick guitar tones, with unique vocals. That description makes it sound like Smashing Pumpkins huh? If you like Smashing Pumpkins or Hum, you'll dig this. No irony, no glum sad-sack bullshit, just good time rockin' that veers from delicate to crushing. 

Matt Sweeny who sings and plays guitar here, went on to play in Zwan, Superwolf (with Bonnie Prince Billy), and played on the first Early Man record. The rest of the band came out of Wider, Bullet Lavolta, Live Skull, and Skunk.

Essential.

DL-part 1

DL-part 2