v/a - busted at oz

released 1981

there once was a club in chicago named oz

and oz was pretty big deal among the punk rock kids

the cops didn't like punk rock kids

the cops didn't like oz

so they shut it down

and if you'd like to hear more about it...you need to see the movie YOU WEREN'T THERE: A HISTORY OF CHICAGO PUNK 1977 TO 1984

this is a live compilation of the most popular local punk bands (at the time) that had played the club

1 - naked raygun - bomb shelter
2 - naked raygun - when the screaming stops
3 - strike under - fucking uniforms
4 - subverts - march forth
5 - effigies - quota
6 - DA - fish shit
7 - silver abuse - anti-hot dog
8 - silver abuse - pink port now
9 - silver abuse - bomb shelter
10 - effigies - guns or ballots
11 - subverts - state of the union
12 - naked raygun - paranoia
13 - naked raygun - libido
14 - DA - the killer
15 - strike under - anarchy song
16 - silver abuse - jigaboo jump

DL: busted at oz

email genetalia

the clusterfuck that is the SGM email has slowly been creeping out of the basement

and now it's taken over the bathroom

so...we've hired a few people to start going through it (that would be them in the picture...say hello to klaus...klaus...and klaus...yeah...i know...weird,huh?)

bands/labels that have sent us their stuff in the past...we promise that it'll show up here in one form or another

bands/labels that haven't sent us their stuff...please do so...we have an entire room ready to have you inside of it

so keep checking on SGM

and SGM will keep checking on you

police teeth - awesomer than the devil

released 2011

do you like archers of loaf?

do you like future of the left?

do you like mclusky?

do you like superchunk?

do you like fugazi?

do you like police teeth?

let's find out.

DL: awesomer than the devil

the crows - crow bar/low brow 7"

released 1991

you dig the crazy,wacky sound that was the u-men,yeah?

well...after the band split up back in 1988...frontman john bigley and drummer charlie ryan went onto form this band

and they essentially carry on the u-men sound

you should hit the DL and give this some solid action

DL: crow bar/low brow 7"

uncle touchy - 2010 basement demo

i had originally intended to make the previous uncle touchy post...but grAy beat me to it

weird things happen when you let grAy spend the night...there i was...just minding my own business...sitting in front of the computer...and grAy comes up behind me and says "hey...i made you some cocoa"...and i don't remember much else after that...but all of the change i had in my change jar is gone as well as all of my left socks

but i'm not gonna dwell on that

so just go on ahead and read grAy's description of the band...but tack on "some songs later made it onto their EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT VIOLENCE album...some songs didn't...as well as some bad brains/black flag/circle jerks/dead boys/dead kennedys covers"

DL: 2010 basement demo

Uncle Touchy - Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Violence

Label: Bandcamp
Year: 2011

I was talking to our fair and benevolent leader, Ipecac (not his Christian name) this morning (early to bed, early to rise) about super-important, very crucial shit, and the name of this band was brought up in the midst of all the really critical, momentous...stuff, we were talking about.
Uncle Touchy is a new band that obviously likes older bands, and hence, play in the grand tradition of that which is covered on this blog, i.e. older bands. Things along the lines of 80's hardcore, 90's noise rock, and 70's boogie rock (which, regrettably, we don't really touch on here, but maybe we should), and a touch of late 80's/early 90's metal (also not really covered in these hallowed halls, and for good reason). I feel confident in giving this release the ole' Shiny Grey Monotone Seal Of Approval (not redeemable for monetary value), and that you will cycle through these songs nodding your head in approval, before remembering the band is called Uncle Touchy, at which time your head will nod in disapproval.
You can listen to the record all you want for free, but you should download it for $5, and not be a mooch all your life...like me.
Also, historical footnote: if you live in or around Atlanta, Georgia, you can see Uncle Touchy perform live at the Drunken Unicorn on November 5th with...wait for it...a reunited Sonn Av Krusher playing a one time get together. So there.

DL

slowworm - torso/march of the insects 7"

released 1992

i don't really know all that much about the band (but i'm sure atlanta-phile grAy may be able to fill us in a little..no...not like that...well...maybe like that)

apparently they were from atlanta,ga and were "heavy and sludgy" (or so the internet told me)

i can definitely agree with the latter statement

i had originally posted this over on colostomy grab-bag (remember that blog?...good times...the last i'd heard it was somewhere in canada and it had opened a midget only spa)...and had forgotten about it until i was going though some crap earlier

think fudge tunnel and unsane and neurosis and early melvins and godheadsilo

but don't think about it too much...it may cause a nosebleed

so now...it's here for you all to enjoy

DL: torso/march of the insects 7"

corrosion of conformity - your tomorrow 7"

released 2010

no southern-tinged rock here,kids

as you may recall...the three pronged punk rock attack that was the ANIMOSITY/TECHNOCRACY-era c.o.c. got back together and took to the road last year and did what they do

and now...you get this...exactly what you expect out of them...mixing the blacks (those being sabbath and flag)

this should tide you over until the band releases their upcoming album

DL: your tomorrow 7"

Brainiac - Smack Bunny Baby

Label: Grass
Year: 1993

The first Brainiac record, and thusly, the most straightforward. There is less of a synthesized lather bubbling in the bath water, if that makes any sense (and it sorta doesn't), and more of a post-punk scrubbing.
Or, to put it in classic eighties skater terms: If their second album Bonsai Superstar was Neil Blender (arty, experimental, exciting, but still grounded in the something recognizable), and their third album Hissing Prigs In Static Couture was Edwin "Jinx" Jimenez (twisting, turning, and developing a new language from an old template), then this first album is Jeff "Mothra" Grosso (powerful, dynamic, but you can see it's slightly off and heading into a strange future). That should clear things up.

DL

mclusky - acoustic session

released 2004

this is mclusky.

this is mclusky doing it acoustic style.

can it work?

let's find out.

1 - throwing bricks from trains
2 - he's been sitting here forever
3 - normal kid in the united states
4 - love song for a mexican
5 - centrefold
6 - grace under pressure
7 - give you cinema
8 - cassanova
9 - perpetual motives
10 - leaning forward/make room for more thoughts
11 - catch more fish

DL: acoustic session

bastards - monticello

released 1989

bastards were a band that formed in madison,wi back in...er...waitaminute...

that's killdozer

my mistake

bastards were a band that came together in minneapolis,mn during the later part of the 1980s

sound-wise...they shared something with the likes of the above mentioned killdozer...cows...steel pole bath tub...the dwarves...big black...

well...you get the idea

this was the band's only full length


DL: monticello

nirvana - nevermind

released 1991

"yeah...these guys kinda suck"

-me the first time i saw the video for "smells like teen spirit"

DL: nevermind

melvins - 2.10.89 - covered wagon saloon - san francisco,ca

hey.

it's the melvins.

yeah.

1 - koolegged
2 - heater moves/crawling
3 - oven
4 - cranky messiah
5 - raise a paw
6 - ever since my accident
7 - vile
8 - green honey
9 - let god be your gardener
10 - claude
11 - agonizer
12 - your blessened

DL: melvins @covered wagon saloon

nirvana - 10.31.91 - paramount theater - seattle,wa

it's nirvana being nirvana for halloween

and if you just happen to see this post in time...vh1 is going to show an hour's worth of the show tonight at 11:00pm (10:00pm cst)

so...if you're like me...you'll be on the couch in your underpants...eating a sandwich

if you'd like to join me...i'll leave the backdoor unlocked...there's plenty of room on the couch...and if you don't have any underwear...i have plenty to go around

grunge indeed.

1 - jesus doesn't want me for a sunbeam (1)
2 - aneurysm
3 - drain you/school
4 - floyd the barber
5 - smells like teen spirit
6 - about a girl
7 - polly
8 - breed
9 - sliver
10 - love buzz (2)
11 - lithium
12 - been a son
13 - negative creep
14 - on a plain
15 - blew
16 - rape me
17 - territorial pissings
18 - endless,nameless

1=the vaselines cover
2=shocking blue cover

DL: nirvana @paramount theater

Shellac - Live WNUR - 07-10-00

Label: Bootleg
Year: 2000

My compatriot, Ipecac (not his Christian name), has been on a real tear lately, posting at such a furious pace I fear that I shall fade into Shiny Grey Obscurity. My only recourse...hit back with the unfuckable-with Shellac. Take that Ipecac!
It's a radio broadcast, so you can trust that the sound quality is above the average live recording.

DL

hum - fillet show

released 1991

you know the hum that you're used to?

you know the one

the emotionally driven spacey sounding dynamic (insert adjective here)

well...you still get that here...because it's hum

and that's what hum does/did

this was the band's first album

DL: fillet show

deadclownpile - self-titled

released 1996

do you like the dazzling killmen?

of course you do.

do you like unsane?

of course you do.

do you like cherubs?

of course you do.

do you like drive like jehu?

of course you do.

do you like deadclownpile?

of course you will.

DL: deadclownpile

chinchilla - 101 italian hits

released 1996

i had totally forgotten about this band until i'd recently listened to the revelation records comp i first came across them on (which can be found here)

if you enjoy anything that came out of the d.c. area in the early/mid 90s...this is for you

yes.

for you.

DL: 101 italian hits

alloy - self-titled

released 1993

quicksand's SLIP
handsome's SELF-TITLED
helmet's BETTY

you like those albums?

you do?

well...you can like this now

you will.

DL: self-titled

agress - darksided

released 2011

"they could be best described as someone approaching a brick wall and bashing their body into until they made it through to the other side" -some guy

angry
sludgy
confrontational
90's hardcore

and if you'd like to give the band's SELF-TITLED album a listen...go here

DL: darksided

bull - tinbox 7"

released 1992

something tells me that you like big black...yes?

and something tells me that these fellas liked big black too (that's probably because this is where big black bassist dave riley went after the band split up)

DL: tinbox

laughing hyenas - covers 7"

released 1995

it's your favorite band from michigan (ok...calm down god bullies and ted nugent and grand funk railroad) covering some bands (in case you hadn't already put that together for yourself)

1 - solid gold hell (the scientists)
2 - i want you right now (mc5)
3 - under my thumb (the rolling stones)
4 - serves me right to suffer (john lee hooker)

DL: covers 7"

fuckemos - can kill you

released 1994

so,elwood blues moves to texas and starts up a band to show his appreciation for the butthole surfers....


DL: can kill you

black on brown - dead ep

released 2010

you ever find yourself wondering what a cleaner sounding godheadsilo might sound like?

tah-dah!

DL: dead ep

grids - kansas

released 2010

cherubs
drunkdriver
pissed jeans
young widows
blown speakers

get into it.

DL: kansas

nirvana - 9.16.91 - beehive records - seattle,wa

on this date in the year 1991...this happened

it's the NEVERMIND record release show

1 - drain you
2 - (mini) love gun*
3 - breed
4 - floyd the barber
5 - polly
6 - smells like teen spirit
7 - come as you are
8 - school
9 - territorial pissings
10 - blew
11 - negative creep
12 - been a son
13 - something in the way
14 - stain

*=mini kiss cover

DL: nirvana @beehive records

fugazi - october 1990 - hannover,germany

this is not a fugazi bootleg

1 - styrofoam
2 - turnover
3 - and the same
4 - runaway return
5 - merchandise
6 - sieve fisted find
7 - reclamation
8 - break in
9 - song #1
10 - margin walker
11 - bad mouth
12 - waiting room
13 - long division
14 - blueprint
15 - shut the door
16 - promises
17 - two beats off
18 - repeater
19 - reprovisional

DL: fugazi in hannover

barkmarket - lardroom

released 1994

it's barkmarket

you like barkmarket

you need more barkmarket (your mom told us)

DL: lardroom

penthouse - gutter erotica

released 1998

take equal parts of the jesus lizard and the jon spencer blues explosion and shake it all up

and then this happens

trivia: the band were originally from london,england...and in order to get the album released in america...they had to change the band's name and the album's title...apparently there's some magazine called penthouse and the creator of said magazine was all like "um..no..i am penthouse...and penthouse is me...and i deal in gutter erotica...i am gutter erotica...now feed me another grape,dolt...and make sure it's the right one...or so help me there will be no airbrushing!"

but i digress...

the band had to be called 50 tons of black terror
the album had to be called DEMETER

DL: gutter erotica

nirvana - 9.22.90 - motor sports international garage - seattle,wa

this is the only show that mudhoney drummer dan peters played with the band

and there was some guy named dave grohl in the audience saying "anything you can,do i can do better"

1 - stay away
2 - blew
3 - been a son
4 - negative creep
5 - floyd the barber
6 - about a girl
7 - school
8 - love buzz*
9 - breed
10 - in bloom
11 - scoff
12 - spank thru
13 - sliver
14 - dive
15 - end jam

*=shocking blue cover

DL: nirvana @motor sports international garage

big bone lick

the thing known as "scratch acid" will be on the move this coming fall

and here's an updated list of where not to be when that happens:

11.1 - variety playhouse - atlanta,ga

11.2 - cat's cradle - carrboro,nc

11.4 - 9:30 club - washington,dc

11.5 - union transfer - philadelphia,pa

11.7 - webster hall - new york,ny

11.9 - paradise - boston,ma

11.10 - il motore - montreal,canada

11.11 - lee's place - toronto,canada

11.12 - metro - chicago,il

12.3 - all tomorrow's parties - minehead,uk

12.8 - trees - dallas,tx

12.9 - fitzgerald's - houston,tx

12.10 - emo's east - austin,tx

12.13 - el rey theatre - los angeles,ca

12.14 - the fillmore - san francisco,ca

12.16 - crystal ballroom - portland,or

12.17 - neumos - seattle,wa

godheadsilo - booby trap ep

released 1996

it's godheadsilo

and they give you a song from the SKYWARD IN TRIUMPH album

and they give you 2 new songs

and they give you a uriah heep cover ("gypsy") that has some back up vocals supplied by someone named joe preston and someone named tim green

DL: booby trap ep

dripping slits - short skirts & long nights

released 2011

i just witnessed these fellows from peoria,il (it burns when i peoria...teehee) this past weekend at a church

and as i was standing there listening...lots of comparisons came to mind

"they remind me of the stooges meets kyuss meets mid-era black flag meets the dwarves meets the motor city devils"

and that's exactly what i would've said to you had you been standing right next to me

but you probably would've been all like "um...yeah...totally"

poser.

DL: short skirt & long nights

undersmile - a sea of dead snakes

released 2010

ever find yourself laying awake at night in bed wondering what some old school melvins would sound like with some layne staley/jerry cantrell-like vocals?

BAM!

and now all you have to worry about is if the bum you see in the alley is in your basement at 3:00am


DL: a sea of dead snakes

sunny day real estate - 12.3.94 - the bottleneck - lawrence,ks

it's sunny day real estate being sunny day real estate in front of some people

what a bunch of show offs

warning: this recording has a very "just like you're there" quality to it

1 - in circles
2 - 5/4
3 - seven
4 - theo b
5 - friday
6 - j'nuh (alternate version)
7 - song about an angel
8 - rodeo jones
9 - sometimes

DL: sunny day real estate @the bottleneck

nirvana - the chosen rejects

released 2009

do you have any furniture that's wobbly?

are you in need of some fancy coasters to put out when friends come over?

getting tired of shooting at clay pigeons?

well...now you'll have some new uses for your copies of WITH THE LIGHTS OUT and OUTCESTICIDE (insert number here) because you won't need them anymore

disc 1: home demos
DL: home demos

1 - montage of heck (short)
2 - sound of dentage
3 - bambi slaughter
4 - laminated effect
5 - insurance
6 - class of '86
7 - blathers log
8 - downer
9 - escalator to hell
10 - sappy
11 - creation
12 - black & white blues
13 - intro/old age/low rider
14 - montage of heck (long)
15 - gypsies,tramps & thieves*

*=cher cover

disc 2: studio sessions
DL: studio sessions

1 - spank thru
2 - paper cuts
3 - mr. moustache
4 - blew
5 - sifting
6 - ain't it a shame*
7 - even in his youth
8 - lithium
9 - breed
10 - sappy
11 - aneurysm
12 - oh,the guilt
13 - radio friendly unit shifter
14 - on a plain
15 - all apologies
16 - token eastern song
17 - something in the way
18 - drain you
19 - stay away
20 - scentless apprentice
21 - onward into countless battles
22 - very ape

*=leadbelly cover

disc 3: broadcasts
DL: broadcasts

1 - floyd the barber
2 - mexican seafood
3 - hairspray queen
4 - dive
5 - about a girl
6 - love buzz (1)
7 - polly
8 - spank thru
9 - drain you
10 - something in the way
11 - where did you sleep last night? (2)
12 - here she comes now (3)
13 - smells like teen spirit
14 - school
15 - molly's lips (4)
16 - lithium
17 - heart-shaped box
18 - rape me
19 - pennyroyal tea
20 - serve the servants
21 - dumb
22 - territorial pissings

1=shocking blue cover
2=leadbelly cover
3=the velvet underground cover
4=the vaselines cover

disc 4: live rarities
DL: live rarities

1 - if you must
2 - pen cap chew
3 - big cheese
4 - run rabbit run (1)
5 - sifting
6 - token eastern song
7 - son of a gun (2)
8 - oh,the guilt
9 - mr. moustache
10 - verse chorus verse
11 - stain
12 - rape me
13 - curmudgeon
14 - talk to me
15 - where did you sleep last night? (3)
16 - swap meet
17 - scoff
18 - beeswax
19 - you know you're right
20 - the man who sold the world (4)
21 - erectum/moby dick (5)

1=smack cover
2=the vaselines cover
3=leadbelly cover
4=david bowie cover
5=a slight led zeppelin cover

Ed Hall - La La Land

Label: Trance Syndicate
Year: 1995

The final offering of wide open Texas strange that was the hallmark of Ed Hall, and the glue that bound them to similar practitioners like Butthole Surfers, Cherubs, Steel Pole Bathtub, Drain, and the like. The songs tend to lean heavily into a warped groove and let the guitar scratch along finding riffs here and there. The vocals are of the "via CB radio from the cab of an eighteen wheeler hauling nitroglycerin as piloted by an ex-evangelist" variety.
If the record label says, Trance Syndicate, that should really be all you need to know. Also, I think, and I'm not positive, but I think this concludes the entire Ed Hall discography here on Shiny Grey Monotone. I'll have to get my research team on it, but I'm pretty sure it's all here now.

DL

Boilermaker - Watercourse

Label: Goldenrod
Year: 1994

If you live in Ethiopia, then, Happy New Year.
If you live in Barcelona, then, Happy National Day of Catalonia.
If you are a grandparent, then, Happy Grandparent's Day.
If you live in the United States, then...well, not "happy 9-11", I'm not really sure how you should acknowledge this day as a salutation.
Here is some music that I hope in same way or another makes your day somewhat better no matter how you are spending it.
Boilermaker always has made me feel good, and I've chronicled my feelings about this band in other places on this blog, so I needn't bore you with those details again. Long story short though, if you have even a passing interest in the second wave of post-hardcore/emo (the wave after the O.G. Washington D.C. stuff), then you should look into Boilermaker. Good stuff.

DL

naht - narrow ways

released 1999

"it's like you're in washinton,dc circa 1994...but in japan" -voice in my head

DL: narrow ways

v/a - touring japan

released 1998

this was a compilation that was released when some d.c. bands (bluetip/kerosene 454/sweetbelly freakdown) toured japan with a band called naht

naht:
1 - scattered
2 - real estate

sweetbelly freakdown:
3 - pinbot!
4 - chimichonger

bluetip:
5 - japan
6 - 52 girls (1)

kerosene 454:
7 - man in a trap (2)
8 - upside down (3)

1=the b-52s cover
2=government issue cover
3=the jesus and mary chain cover

DL: touring japan

big jesus - self-titled

released 2011

soundgarden
alice in chains
seattle circa 1992

but from atlanta,ga

yeah.

DL: big jesus

into another - 9.3.93 - endzone - kingston,pa

it's into another being into another in front of a crowd of people

1 - i'll be damned
2 - poison fingers
3 - drowning
4 - running into walls
5 - as it were
6 - anxious
7 - absolute zero (alternate version)
8 - the other

DL: into another @endzone

Twin Stumps - Seedbed

Label: Fan Death
Year: 2010

If you know me (and you don't), you will know (and you won't) that I don't throw out Gob comparisons liberally. Don't do it, that's my policy. But damn if the first impression you get from this record isn't the late, great, Reno band. Everything is a grinding mess of uber-distortion that carefully reaches through your (now blown) speakers to get a fistful of your hair and smash your forehead into the stereo (or...less effectively...your iPod). The Gob comparison is strictly sonic, as Twin Stumps doesn't go for the speed that Gob traded in, and instead uses a very deliberate pace, more like a 400 Blows, but add in a rumbling low-end absent from that band. Maybe if you played a Die Kreuzen record at half speed you could effect the same results?
One of the best new bands out there, taking the best from hardcore, noise rock, and whatever else came before them, and spitting out something completely vicious and exciting.
Listen to it, and I feel confident you will understand the necessity of filing away your own copy in your collection, which can be done here: Fandeath Records

DL

USAISAMONSTER - Geronimo

Label: Lovepump United
Year: 2007

Junk/folk/weirdness that could have easily been put out by Amps For Christ (as a contemporary reference) or some sun-baked 70's prog collective from southern France (for a less contemporary reference). The two piece band epitomized the DIY spirit by travelling light, and playing anywhere and everywhere they could, using whatever resources they could cobble together. This particular release is near and dear to my (cold, dead, black) heart as it was recorded in my hometown of Winston-Salem, North Carolina (New Start Posse!) with an additional seven piece "ensemble", and instead of the usual load and bombastic assault they generally employed, they come at you with two warped acoustic songs.
I dig.

DL

moondog - 1990 demo

"metallica,nirvana and now...quicksand"

what does that have to do with anything?

well...this is the band that would eventually turn into quicksand

so picture if you will...a quicksand with a more new yawk hahdcowuh sound (as vocalist walter schreifels was still playing guitar in the band gorilla biscuits at the time)

this is the entirety of the band's recorded output

DL: 1990 demo

deadguy - whitemeat 7"

released 1994

it's deadguy

that's all you need to know

DL: whitemeat 7"

pachinko - deep inside 7"

released 1993

practically anything put out on amphetamine reptile

these guys

know what i mean?

DL: deep inside 7"

pissed jeans - sam kinison woman 7"

released 2010

i'm going to assume that you,the frequenter of SGM,are already going to know what some pissed jeans is all about

but to you,the newcomer,what i'm going to do is toss some other band names out there...and if you like those bands...you can put these pants on

flipper
the jesus lizard
shorty
pre-2000 melvins
u-men
post-1984 black flag

get it?

got it?

good.

DL: sam kinison woman 7"