Jawbox - For Your Own Special Sweetheart (Reissue 2009)

It's been quite a while. Very sorry for the lack of posts... I was in a gnarly fruit booting accident. Tried to take 2 sets of stairs backwards and finish with a spin, but fell and ate it pretty bad. Not having health insurance really put the cherry on top and put me into deep depression. But now I'm back. The doctors used pig hoofs to replace my feet and lady fingers to replace my fingers.

Let's do this.

2009, the year of the reissue, I've seen and bought reissues from Devo, Jesus Lizard, the Pixies, Sunny Day Real Estate, Beatles, etc. So here's the latest. It sounds fantastic, thanks to Mr. Bob Weston, who also oversaw the remastering of the Jesus Lizard catalog(That also sounds fucking brilliant. you know how Goat was always too quiet? Not anyfuckingmore).

Sorry again and ENJOY

DL

KILLDOZER - THE PIG WAS COOL / UNBELIEVABLE

Label: "You snooze, you loose"
Released: 1993

Right, let's see how long this lasts! If you have "Uncompromising..." CD/LP then you'll already have the title track but I'm posting this for the 'b' side. Killdozer demonstrate the antithesis of the 'cover record' - to make it better than the original (which some may say is not hard in this case). Unbelievably (man, did I just right that?) I was totally unaware until today that this band are the king of covers. In keeping with earlier traditions (thanks Cara) this is pretty damn funny too!

DL

Book Of Knots - Traineater

Label: Anti

Year: 2007

This record popped up on the ole Ipod (that's what she said) today, and after not hearing it for a good long while, I decided I rather like it. It's an interesting mish-mash of experimental rock, post-metal, and gothic psychosis. Kind of a Nick Cave meets Made Out Of Babies by way of Foetus...or something. 

There's quite a cast of characters as well, some you undoubtedly have represented in your own record collections, and some you may have never heard of. The core of the group is Carla Kihlstedt (Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Charming Hostess, 2 Foot Yard), Joel Hamilton (JJ Paradise Players Club, Battle Of Mice, Glazed Baby), Mattias Bossi (Sleepytime Gorilla Museum), and Tony Maimone (Pere Ubu, Battle Of Mice, The Scene Is Now, Red Krayola). The guests are; Tom Waits, Mike Watt, David Thomas (Komet Crew), Jon Langford (Flashheadz), Megan Reilly (P.G. Six), and Carla Bozulich (Ethyl Meatplow, Geraldine Fibbers), Zeena Parkins (Elliot Sharp), Kathleen Brennan (Tom Waits...as in his wife and collaborator), Rick Moody (David Grubbs)and Aaron Lazar (Storm Of Light).

It's good alright?

DL

Goon Moon - Licker's Last Leg

Label: Ipecac

Year: 2007

Another wildcard, and one that I'd rather not try to describe too much. I'd just assume you give it a shot and let me know what it sounds like. But, the caveat is, you have to listen all the way through. No cheating. You can't just listen to one song and say, "not my thing", because every song is different from the last, and chances are...well...just chances are, alright.

If it helps, and it should, the main two contributors to this project are Jeordie White (Marilyn Manson [yeah, yeah, I know, it hurts me too], Nine Inch Nails, A Perfect Circle, etc.), and Chris Goss (Masters Of Reality, Desert Sessions, Queens Of The Stone Age, and producer extraordinaire). To round out the sessions they got Josh Homme (Kyuss, Queens Of The Stone Age, Desert Sessions, Them Crooked Vultures, etc.), Zach Hill (Hella, Waaves, Team Sleep,Crime In Choir, Holy Smokes, etc.), Dave Catching (Mondo Generator, Eagles Of Death Metal, Desert Sessions, Earthlings?, Queens Of The Stone Age, Yellow #5), Josh Freese (Nine Inch Nails, A Perfect Circle, The Vandals, Guns N Roses[?!], Viva Death, Daredevils. etc.), and some others. That should give you some indication as to what you're signing up for. 

DL - part 1

DL - part 2

BURNOUT - LOUNGE's

Label: Drag City
Released: 1992

When I heard this for the first time on the radio I was like "what's this? what's this? what's this?" as it lept out of the speakers at me. Being an excitable scroat back then I was impressed by anything that "rocked", though this is still one of my fave tunes to date. Rocks hard in the vein of Drive Like Jehu with a great guitar sound throughout. The only downside is the band never seemed to reach the heady heights of their opening record, but that's only my opinion. Only ever released a 6 track LP that can be previewed here (via the king of forests). Both single & mini LP are also still available via Drag City.

DL

DRAIN - PICK UP HEAVEN

Released: 1992
Label: Trance Syndicate

Thought I would post this due to the interest of previous posts here. The CD contains one track from the single and I originally bought this based on the strength of the tracks from the "Love & Napalm" compilation. However the album is a little "hit & miss" for me. The 2nd track on the CD makes you think that your listening to an acid house track from the late eighties. I guess this was a precursor of what their 2nd album (Offspeed and In There) was going to be like. However there are still a few tracks on here akin to the earlier releases.

DL

CARBOMB / FISTICUFFS BLUFF - THE U.F.O. INVASION

Label: Troubleman Unlimited, Youth Strike Chord.
Released: 1995

A small departure from what I've posted thus far but still in keeping what else has been posted here. Fisticuffs Bluff play some post hardcore with female vocals but I'm posting this for the Carbomb tracks as here, they are the "bomb". Fast, frenetic hardcore with more of a fun than serious aspect. Musically reminds me of Nation of Ulysses in parts and by the third track your "air drumming" should be in full affect.

DL

Drop Acid - Making God Smile

Label: Restless

Year: 1991

This one's a wild card, and it goes out to my man White Cory (aka Lumpy) as he and I seemed to have discussed the merits(?) of this very record some time ago. As a result, I dug it out of the mothballs and gave it a spin for old time's sake. 

Still sounds the exact same. Not that it should have morphed over the years into a new record, but I guess it means it hasn't really aged per se. It hasn't aged poorly, or aged well, it's just sorta...the same. Certainly a relic of the early nineties, but it's kinda remained a time capsule.

If you followed 7 Seconds past "Soulforce Revolution" (and I can't blame you if you didn't), this record would (or will) come as no surprise. It's Kevin Seconds expanding on that "Soulforce Revolution" sound and adding some of the de rigeur grunge pop into the mix. Sort of a Seaweed versus later 7 Seconds versus Mudhoney amalgamation. I really liked it when it came out (most likely due to an allegiance to Kevin Seconds more than anything else), and as a nostalgia trip, it's pretty fun.

DL

Rival Schools - Live At Maxwells, Hoboken, NJ-11.04.08

Label: Bootleg

Year: 2008

My unadulterated love for all thins Walter Schreifels has been documented on these pages before, so it should come as no surprise that this live set from Rival Schools should show up here.

It is my understanding that this is a set from the reunited band, and since there's not much info with these tracks, I'll go with that assumption until someone can tell me otherwise.

The sound quality is A+. The performance is excellent as well.

That's it. You either like them or you think I'm a fag. Either it's a win/win(?).

DL

Bedhead - Bedheaded

Label: Trance Syndicate

Year: 1996

Q: What current musical genre do I detest?

A: "Post metal" or "Metalgaze"

Bleech. The worst. Booooooooring.

Look, if I want "pretty music", I'll stick to bands who specialize in "pretty music", not some sensitive beardo who used to be totally into Neurosis, but then discovered Mogwai, and now wants to "build their songs to a crescendo" by slowly and lifelessly picking at the their undistorted guitars before the inevitable, and predictable, and lame "climax", when the guitars coming roaring to life on top of a riff Amebix wrote 25 years ago, and wrote 25 times better. Ugh. Enough already. Please. If I hear another band referred to as "glacial", "monolithic", or "NeurIsis" I'm going to drown my own children in the tears of their sobbing puppy who I will have just splayed open with a butterfly knife crafted from the still warm rib of my wife's now lifeless corpse that lay vanquished atop our smoldering ash pile of a former homestead. For reals.

You want "pretty music", here, here is some "pretty music".

DL