v/a - give me the cure

released: 1995
label: radiopaque recordings

we've all established the fact that we all enjoy ourselves a good cover.
this is more of that to enjoy.
it's bands from the d.c. area covering the cure.
and they did it all in the name of AIDS research.
see what they did there?
give me the cure?
eh?
eh?
i know that your head probably went right for the fugazi song.
and that's ok as they're from the d.c. area as well.
but would you really want 18 versions of that song?
yeah.
so with that being said....

1 - shudder to think - shake dog shake
2 - the ropers - jumping someone else's train
3 - chisel - six different ways
4 - eggs - catch
5 - dj bootius maximus - the love cats
6 - candy machine - 10:15 saturday night
7 - glo-worm - friday i'm in love
8 - cinnamon toast - piggy in the mirror
9 - frodus - killing an arab
10 - peter hayes - a night like this
11 - tuscadero - boys don't cry
12 - edsel - plastic passion
13 - mud - the blood
14 - rollercoaster - all cats are grey
15 - my life in rain - pictures of you
16 - dismemberment plan - close to me
17 - jawbox - meathook
18 - trampoline - charlotte sometimes

DL

mudhoney - march to fuzz

released: 2000
label: sub pop

you're already friends with the mudhoney boys.
you know what they're all about.
they like to both rock AND roll.
you've even seen the russ meyer film.
this here is a collection of some of the best of the band along with some rarities.
it's just a good time waiting to happen.
but don't let those good times suck you dry.
yeah.
that was lame.
you know it.
i know it.
we'll just keep that between us.

and the track list is....

DISC 1
DISC 2

Zealot R.I.P - Zealot R.I.P.

Label: Three One G
Year: 2019

Another 2019 gem.

A blistering hardcore blast from some older dudes who should be getting to sleep at a reasonable hour. You guys know better!
You got Jason Hamacher from Frodus, Mancake, Battery, Combatwoundedveteran, and Decahedron, joined by former bandmate Mike Schleibaum from Battery, Mancake, Darkest Hour, and Beasts Of No Nation, who then drafted Blake Harrison of Hatebeak, Triac, and Pig Destroyer, and then the band is rounded out by Peter Tsouras from Fairweather. Point being, not amateurs, and most assuredly not slouches.
It's only three songs, but damn, they are fucking rippers. Grown and sexy style.

DL

Glassing - Spotted Horse

Label: Brutal Panda
Year: 2019

Another 2019 gem.

This is a sprawling, dare I say, ambitious record. At its core, it's a post-hardcore monolith with a penchant for the NeurIsis-isms of the last decade. Meaning, it goes from earth moving mega riffs to spaced passages without missing a beat, and the emphasis is more on building a mood than drilling your face in. But, it still does a pretty good job of fucking up your face. It moves around enough that stays out of its own ass, which was the folly of most of the bands that aped Isis. There are some sections that you may begin to think, "oh boy, here comes the boring part", but Glassing keeps pushing past those ole chestnuts and brings the thunder. They err on the side of "fuck shit up", and I appreciate that.

DL

DeathCAVE - Demo

Label:
Year: 2019

And another 2019'er.

This is a three song demo, from a three man band, that weighs exactly three metric tons. Big, loud riffs that threaten to rumble your fine china right out the curio from whence it is proudly displayed. Big, rumbling rhythms that boogie when needed and drag knuckles when they feel like it. Big, legendary musician Tad Doyle recorded the whole thing.
It's good shit. Looking forward to seeing what they can do on a proper full length.

DL

Franck Racket - Screaming Skull

Label: Forbidden Place
Year: 2019

Here's another one from this year.

Two piece that makes a goodly amount of noise and manages to keep my attention across the entirety of the record. Most two pieces are going to skew to an overdriven blues approach, while those that don't usually tune down and get all sludgy. Well, Franck Racket does neither. They play a very punk-y version of grungy noise rock.
They're French, and I've never been to France. Isn't that a coincidence? No? That's not what a coincidence is? I've been using that word wrong my entire life? Interesting.

DL

Bilge Pump - We Love You

Label: Gringo
Year: 2019

So, we're getting into the wee hours of the Year Of Our Lord 2019, and that means our annual shitshow of Best Of. The unnecessarily complex therapy session whereupon I try and justify my presence on this dank, oft-ignored corner of the internet by pontificating (and gesticulating...you just can't see, but try and imagine) wildly on all manner of musical minutiae. It's ridiculous. Possibly sad.

But regardless, it happens. It will happen. Soon.

In the meantime, I'm going to post a handful of records that came out in 2019 that are good, and you should one hundred percent give them a listen, but they were crowded out of the Best Of list. By some metric that noone (myself included) understands.

Here's the first one; Bilge Pump, an odd trio from Leeds who take a rhythmic approach to post punk indie rock (so as not to get pregnant) that bounces around the place. There is some noise rock and kraut rock and art rock buried underneath to keep it interesting and not allow it to wander too far afield.

DL 

v/a - discharged: from home front to war front

released: 1991
label: allied recordings

first of all: we're not discussing that sort of discharge.
if'n you're wanting to do that...the meeting is down the hall.
it's best that you get there early so you'll get some of the better doughnuts.
ok?
ok.
this particular discharge is a punk band from england.
bands such as:anthrax and napalm death and metallica and nausum and sepultura have covered them.
nope.
none of that is found here.
this is what you'll find here....

1 - nausea - medley*
2 - final conflict - a look at tomorrow
3 - neurosis - hear nothing see nothing say nothing
4 - 411 - state violence state control
5 - extreme noise terror - you take part in creating the system
*=intro/hear nothing see nothing say nothing/ain't no feeble bastard

DL

white zombie - you only die once...

released: 1994
label: hawk

this is one of those "unofficial releases" your parents warned you about.
you know who white zombie were.
you know their last good album was LA SEXORCISTO: DEVIL MUSIC VOL. 1.
you know that rob zombie is a trailer park al jourgensen.

all of this was recorded whilst they were on tour in the u.s. back in the summer of 1993.
ah,the summer of '93.
riding bikes.
hanging out.
peeping on your friend's hot mom by the pool through a hole in the fence.
getting caught by your friend.
getting punched by your friend.
losing a friend with a hot mom.
having your ex friend's parents come over to talk to your parents.
getting grounded.
simpler times.

1 - intro
2 - grindhouse a go-go
3 - thrust!
4 - black sunshine
5 - welcome to planet motherfucker/psychoholic slag
6 - soul-crusher
7 - spiderbaby (yeah-yeah-yeah)
8 - thunderkiss '65

DL

v/a - punk 45: underground punk in the united states of america 1973-1980 vol. 1

released: 2013
label: soul jazz records

KILL THE HIPPIES!
KILL YOURSELF!
EAT YOUR CEREAL WITH A FORK!
DO YOUR HOMEWORK IN THE DARK!

but the thing is: you don't like people telling you what to do.
this album cover isn't your real dad.
you're not going to kill the hippies.
you're not going to kill yourself.
you're going to eat your cereal with a spoon.
you're going to do your homework at the kitchen table with the lights on.

it's reverse psychology.
now you're one of them.
punk rock is a tool of the man.
welcome to reality.

1 - the urinals - i'm a bug
2 - the normals - almost ready
3 - the hollywood squares - hillside strangler
4 - electric eels - agitated
5 - pere ubu - the modern dance
6 - the randoms - let's get rid of new york
7 - the bizarros - ice age
8 - the zeros - wild weekend
9 - tuxedomoon - joeboy the electric ghost
10 - x blank x - your full of shit
11 - flamin' groovies - dog meat
12 - the deadbeats - kill the hippies
13 - theoretical girls - u.s. millie
14 - the skunks - earthquake shake
15 - knots - action
16 - crash course in science - cakes in the home
17 - the pagans - not now no way
18 - pastiche - flash of the movement
19 - the lewd - kill yourself
20 - johnny thunders & the heartbreakers - chinese rocks
21 - the controllers - neutron bomb

DL