panzan's blog that is on the interwebs

(Re-up) Haberdasher - Songs on Love Nos. 48602-48608

2011-08-01T14:29:00.000-07:00

1997. Slint is gone and they are never (uh, well, probably) coming back. Indie rock musicians, human like any other artist, cannot help but to be influenced by their own contemporaries and idols. Plenty of bands borrowed the syncopated rhythms, tension-release dynamics, and minimal vocal signatures of Spiderland for their own creations. Some became arguably better known in their own time, e.g. Engine Kid, June of 44, A Minor Forest. Others rarely made a splash beyond their own three-day weekend tour radius. (See also: Shale).

I never even heard of Haberdasher until a friend gave me this LP as a gift, i.e. he didn't like it and the used record store around the corner wouldn't take it. His loss was my gain - I got more than my money's worth, anyway.

If you recognize the other bands already namedropped here, you can probably hum a few bars and come pretty close to the sound of this record. Nowadays, Haberdasher are probably best known as the previous band for one of the dudes in Oxes.

feel like a number

Old Men on the Radio - WRCT Pittsburgh July 3, 2011

2011-07-05T10:14:00.001-07:00

Time to revive this zombie with a five-hour mega-post.

Sometime in October 1990, at 3 AM on a Wednesday (if I remember correctly), as a sophomore civil engineering student at Carnegie Mellon, I turned on the radio transmitter for WRCT 88.3 FM in Pittsburgh, PA, and began my 17-year love affair with college radio. To put things in perspective, some of the hot new singles at the station were Nirvana's "Sliver/Dive" and Beat Happening's "Red Head Walking/Secret Picnic Spot" on Sub Pop, Superchunk's "Slack Motherfucker/Night Creatures" on Merge, and Jesus Lizard's "Mouthbreather/Sunday You Need Love" on Touch n Go. It was a magical time...

My last regular radio gig was a summertime shift in 2006. My last radio show was sometime in January 2007 over winter break, during what WRCT calls "random schedule." After that I started spending more of my free time on babies, home improvements, and all the other "adult" responsibilities I managed to put off until my mid-30s.

I turned 40 earlier this year. My wife asked me what I wanted to do. I'm not the "guest of honor" type so I refused any ideas for a party - surprise or otherwise. After a few weeks contemplation it struck me - Radio. I wanted to go back on the air with a couple close friends from back in the day. So we did. This is the bumbling result. Five hours of college radio by three guys with musical tastes obviously rooted in the late-80s/early-90s punk and indie scenes.

Thanks to modern technology you can download a zip file containing five 128 bitrate mp3 files covering the whole nerdly affair. WRCT records mp3 archives of every minute of broadcast in 1:10 blocks. The last 10 minutes of each file roughly overlaps the first ten minutes of the following file. To compensate for this in iTunes I set start/end times for each file to approximate continuity from one file to the next. It's not perfect but for me its close enough... and a hell of a lot easier than recording my shows on c90 cassettes back in the old days. Anyway, I don't know if my start/end times are embedded in the mp3 files here, so I noted them in the Comments field of each files' ID3 metadata just in case.

I hope you enjoy listening to this because I sure as hell enjoyed doing it.

Metalhead phone tree

Playlist: Chavez - top pocket man
Minutemen - shit from an old notebook
Come - car
Bailter Space - splat
The Speaking Canaries - life like homes
The Dead C. - This scary nest
Evergreen - petting the beast
Shorty - Hot for Teacher
Big Star - september girls
My Dad Is Dead - cool rain
The Vaselines - son of a gun
The Celibate Rifles - pretty colours
Implodes - song for fucking damon ii (trap door)
Battles - Dominican Fade
salt chunk mary - You Can't Hang
Zombi - Digitalis
Sludgehammer - Dynamite Lady
Devo - Uncontrollable Urge
thomas jefferson slave appartments - cheater's heaven
Gaunt - bored girls
Death of Samantha - geisha girl
Rocket From the Tombs - ain't it fun
Hot Snakes - hatchet job
The Ex - Burnsome
The Wave Pictures - canary wharf
Deerhunter - basement scene
Pavement - Box Elder
the dynamic truths - you take it all
the Warmers - snake charmer
Silkworm - Wet Firecracker
The Hold Steady - Banging Camp
Prisonshake - Crush Me
The Walkmen - The Rat
Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros - Johnny Appleseed
The Librarians - peace & quiet
Registrators - i call your name
The Jam - in the city
The Mono Men - took that thing
Prisonshake - almost always there
Chavez - nailed to the blank spot
Guided By Voices - jar of cardinals
The Testors - time is mine
Kurt Vile - Peeping Tomboy
Subvert Blaze - Fool
Polvo - bombsthatfallfromyoureyes
The Fall - Hip Priest
John Spencer Blues Explosion - Train #1
Beat Happening / Screaming Trees - Polly Pereguinn
Kustomized - the day i had some fun
The Effigies - body bag
Mclusky - to hell with good intentions
Volcano Suns - jak
Claw Hammer - succotash
The Embarrassment - (i'm a) don juan
Pitchblende - A Penny for the Guy
The Gordons - Sometimes
Dead Moon - Johnny's Got a Gun
Dustdevils - Throw the Bottle Full
Tom Waits - Way Down in the Hole
the 1985 - Deepest Blue
Great Plains - Letter to a Fanzine
LCD Soundsystem - Home
Nirvana - On a Plain

Timber - Parts and Labor (re-up)

2010-09-14T13:29:00.000-07:00

This one is for Michael dustdevil who requested the re-up about a hundred years ago...

Original post here

computer games play themselves (again)

Best of 2009

2009-12-19T21:01:00.000-08:00

Although you would never know it from my sparse posting over the last twelve months, I have been listening to an awful lot of music this year. Reading a few of the year-end lists this month, I realized that today's tastemaking hipsters have very little to offer me. I listen to NPR for the information, not the bumper music, ya know? Case in point - if I see Merriweather Post Pavillion top one more list I am going to poke my ears out with some sung tongs. (Full disclosure - I do think "My Girls" is a really great song).

For me, the golden age of new music was approximately 1988-1998. And I'm talking multiple genres here - metal, hip hop, and of course the various shades of indie that I favor nowadays. Maybe that is my problem. Maybe it happens to every obsessive music fan. At some point, I started longing for The Way It Used To Be. I became that boorish asshole who insists that most seemingly new ideas in rock music were being done better while you [20-something hipsters] were still listening to Raffi.

And so, in some respects, 2009 was a great year for me. It was satisfying to see long-overdue redemption come for The Jesus Lizard and Merge Records. But this wasn't just the year of the aging hipster. There are a lot of kids out there making music The Way It Used To Be. Bob Pollard's myriad 2009 projects sound like Steely Dan compared to the droves of overmodulated, 4-track low-fi RAWK that came out this year.

I won't even try ranking. Grouping is difficult enough. Links for official, free downloads might come later as time permits. (Did I mention I have a job which requires lots of travel, plus two preschool daughters - one of them an 8-week old baby?)

The Bakers' Dozen, in alphabetical order:

Dinosaur Jr. - Farm
It would figure that my top list would start with one of the reborn maestros from my Golden Age. This is a great rock record in any year as far as I am concerned.

Floating Action - Floating Action / Floating Version EP
I found this one thanks to the awesomely reliable Ongabuka blog. There has been a lot of awesomely shitty "beach rock" the last few years. (e.g. Vampire Weekend has nothing to do with either vampires or weekends). Floating Action changes the game. Rough around the edges, and very likely stoned. I make a lot of long distance drives for my job. This was a favorite pick for summertime highway driving after dark. Bonus - dub/remix EP came out in July.

Japandroids - Post Nothing
Lo-fi, yet heavy. Noisy, but melodic. Sloppy, yet perfectly executed.

Knot Feeder - Light Flares
Don Caballero rolls on - in name only perhaps, but still rolling. Ian Williams has become a minor sensation with Battles. Even original bassist Pat Morris found a new home with The Poison Arrows. But for many years it felt like Mike Banfield (the only founding Don Cab guitarist, for what its worth) disappeared completely. Or if you live in Pittsburgh like me, and bump into Mike every once in a blue moon, if seemed like he became content in his life without performing music. Thank goodness then that his new project Knot Feeder, with some equally talented guys ten or fifteen years younger than him, is out now. Instrumental rock with emotion, The Way It Used To Be.

Mos Def - The Ecstatic
A forty-five minute head nod, rooted in 1993 yet affected by modern touches... minus the crunk and Louis Vuitton of course.

Oneida - Rated O
I saw Oneida play one time in 2003, and like a junkie I've been chasing that dragon ever since. They finally came through this year. Hard rock, groove, and drone, just like I've always hoped they would do on record.

Patton Oswalt - My Weakness is Strong
OK, this is not music. So what. If you don't get it then you don't deserve the gift of laughter.

Ourself Beside Me - Ourself Beside Me
Three ladies sounding like a cross between Velvet Underground and either Shop Assistants or Close Lobsters. This would make complete sense if they were from Brooklyn. They actually live in Beijing, which is astounding. I mean, how did they even hear the records that surely must have inspired their music? Trust me though, I would still rank this in the top 13 even if they really were from Brooklyn.

Polvo - In Prism
In their original 90s incarnation this North Carolina band pulled off an exceptional melding of Sonic Youth dissonance, Beefheart herky jerk, Chicago-tight production and asian scales. Ten years after, add to that mix a top shelf RAWK drummer and a willingness to jam. This is their best album. I hope they keep going a la Mission of Burma.

Sonic Youth - The Eternal
Is it just me, are did Thurston and Kim sing together a lot more on this record than ever before? It works.

Tanya Morgan - Brooklynati
Native Tongues-style hip hop for the 21st century. From Cincinnati. Who knew?

Them Crooked Vultures - Them Crooked Vultures
Most people I know will only pay attention to this because Dave Grohl is on drums and John Paul Jones is on bass. Little do they know that Josh Homme has been on a roll the last few years. Queens of the Stone Age's Era Vulgaris is one of my favorite rock records ever, and the last couple Desert Sessions records pressed a lot of the right buttons for me, too. To my biased ears this may be a supergroup rhythm section, but Homme makes it a worthwhile listen.

Kurt Vile - Childish Prodigy
I accept the fact that lo-fi has become a stylistic choice rather than a fiscal necessity. I acknowledge that 2009 overflowed with high quality digital releases (allegedly) created with four track tape recorders. Neverthess, this record stands out.

Runners Up
Amen Dunes - Dia
Cave - Psychic Psummer
The Curious Mystery - Rotting Slowly
DOOM - Born Like This
Double Dagger - More
Eat Skull - Wild and Inside
Flaming Lips - Embryonic
The Fresh and Onlys - The Fresh and Onlys
Future of the Left - Travels With Myself and Another
Hole Class - Hole Class
The Mint Chicks -Screens
Motorpsycho - Child of the Future
Nisennenmondai - Destination Tokyo
NOMO - Invisible Cities
Obits - I Blame You
Pterodactyl - Worldwild
Ty Segal - Lemons
Sholi - Sholi
Superchunk - Leaves in the Gutter EP/Crossed Wires 7"
The Thermals - Now We Can See
Wale & 9th Wonder - Back to the Feature mixtape

Also-rans
Akron/Family - Set 'em Wild, Set 'em Free
Bibio - Ambivalence Avenue
Black Crowes - Before The Frost / Until the Freeze
Blank Dogs - Under and Under
Cheater Slicks - Bats in the Dead Trees
The Clean - Mr. Pop
dälek - Gutter Tactics
Deleted Scenes - Birdseed Shirt
Deerhunter - Rainwater Cassette Exchange EP
The G - Hold My Gold 12"
Gangligans - Monster Head Room
Intelligence - Fake Surfers / Crepuscule with Pacman
Jay Reatard - Watch Me Fall
LSD March - Under Milk Wood
Odd Nosdam - T.I.M.E. Soundtrack
Selfish Cunt - English Chamber Music
That Fucking Tank - Tankology

Death of Samantha - Where the Women Wear the Glory and the Men Wear the Pants

2009-09-22T19:20:00.000-07:00

This is a quick one since the Feelin' Kinda Froggy blog is MIA.

Almost an entire year ago I posted Death of Samantha's Come All Ye Faithless LP and Laughing in the Face of a Dead Man EP. User "robgronotte" requested Where the Women Wear the Glory and the Men Wear the Pants. Here it is.

My previous descriptions still apply - RAWK.

We got stoned and passed out on Lovers' Lane

Zoom - (zoom)

2009-09-19T20:12:00.001-07:00

This was requested several months ago. Sorry I'm just getting to it now.

If you look up "mid-90s midwestern indie rock" in the dictionary, you may well find this album's cover in the accompanying illustration. It doesn't get more midwestern than Lawrence, Kansas, home of the flash-in-the-pan powerhouse Lotuspool label. For about 29 months, Lotuspool completely owned it with releases from local darlings like Panel Donor, Bully Pulipit, and Zoom.

Then Lotuspool disappeared.

I can relate.

If you liked the tight arrangements and quiet-loud dynamics that ruled CMJ "Core" radio playlists in 1991, check this out.

let's pretend this never happened

RIP Young Moss Tongue public blog

2009-05-12T18:54:00.000-07:00

long live the new private blog(s)

Various Artists - Red Hot + Bothered: the indie rock guide to dating

2009-04-06T19:15:00.000-07:00

The track list speaks for itself. These were mostly (entirely?) unreleased or alternate versions of songs by eighteen of 1994's hottest indie rock superstars. It hearkens back to the day when lo-fi was often a fiscal necessity as much as it was a stylistic choice.

Obviously, this was an early release in the now long-running series of Red Hot releases benefitting AIDS education, treatment and research. As far as I can tell, this comp has been out of print for many years. So, you should not feel guilty about downloading it today. You are not taking Atripla out of anyone's mouth. Nevertheless, if you are so inclined, please stop over to the Red Hot web site. Poke around, learn some, maybe make a donation.

"Sensational Gravity Boy" performed by Freedom Cruise

"Still Flat" performed by Built to Spill + Caustic Resin

"The Mirror Is Gone" performed by Lisa Germano

"Mouthwash" performed by Noise Addict

"Indierockinstrumental" performed by Folk Implosion

"Some Fantasy" performed by The Verlaines

"Little League" performed by Liquorice

"Hazmats *" performed by Babe The Blue Ox

"Mainland China *" performed by Juicy

"The Fontana *" performed by The Sea and Cake

"Sotto Voce" performed by Cradle Robbers

"Rex’s Blues" performed by Jay Farrar + Kelly Willis

"Empty Yard" performed by Grifters

"Miracleland" performed by East River Pipe

"Snail Trail *" performed by Heavenly

"Hopeless *" performed by Future Bible Heroes

"Servicing Man *" performed by Flying Nuns

"Quietly Approaching *" performed by Gastr Del Sol

if we wait for others to remember...

Coral - Altamont in Dub

2009-04-06T18:32:00.000-07:00

By popular demand - i.e. one person requested it - here is Coral's second and final LP. All the remarks I made in my previous post about their first LP basically apply here, too. The title is more than just a clever turn of phrase, though. There are reggae-affected bass lines throughout. You won't confuse this record with The Upsetters, let alone Fugazi, but the intent seems obvious to my ears.

Ever since I posted Pillow Talk, I've been listening to these two Coral LPs more in the last few weeks than I have in the last ten years. As the saying goes, these records have aged very well. Very well. With all the chamber pop that passes for "indie rock" these days, it's refreshing to hear some authentically atonal vocals backed by a real Power Trio and put to tape (tape!) with bare boned clarity.

My old friend Doug, currently writing for Dusted and otherwise living the dream in NYC, probably said it best in a Halloween-themed column:

Schick’s later outing in Coral marks its territory as the most depressive, backbiting, hopeless rock music ever committed to tape, with drops of your own blood. Altamont in Dub was the last release for the stalled Fistpuppet imprint; its title alone should clue you in to what’s in store: a dark, disturbing, intensive reinterpretation of a tragedy. Musically, Altamont is top notch, determinedly metallic, mostly uptempo, and pregnant with deep rhythms, but this is a cursed album that feeds into your insecurities and misgivings, fueling their cold fire but inevitably leaving you assed out once it’s all over. Do you dare find out for yourself?

word.

Tanner - (Germo) Phobic

2009-04-01T12:54:00.001-07:00

Lots of good stuff was coming out of San Diego in the early 90s. Rocket From the Crypt (RIP) got lots of the attention, and deservedly so - you would be hard pressed to find a band more dedicated than RFTC to the absolute entertainment and enjoyment of every fan at their shows. Of course, one of frontman John Reis' other bands was arguably far more influential. Indeed, Drive Like Jehu is one of my all time favorites, and undoubtedly inspired a few others.

One of Jehu's later tour partners were fellow San Diegoans Tanner. One time ubiquitous indie behemoth Caroline even released their first LP, Ill Gotten Gains. And if you search the interwebs for a minute or two you should be able to find a copy for yourself. (If not, let me know. I'll be happy to upload upon request).

The follow-up LP (Germo) Phobic was far more difficult to find. Not just in today's blog- and P2P-driven communities. I mean that when the CD was hot off the presses you could not find the fucker anywhere. The label never even serviced my old college station, WRCT - and in those days, EVERYONE serviced WRCT. I never saw a copy at my local record store, either, and it was not for a lack of looking. The scarcity continues today. Google doesn't seem to know about any other blog uploads, so I'm just trying to do my part.

Enough with the preamble. If you like Jehu and similar-minded tight, tense, and intense guitar-driven rock, get to clickin'.

we were the right ones

Spoon - Live at Emo's [December 4, 2004]

2009-04-01T12:09:00.000-07:00

If you are wondering why I'm making such a flurry of posts lately after several months of near extinction, here's the deal. My company is doing so well in this slow economy that they decided to give me and everyone else in the organization one week off - unpaid. This is my week. Legally... technically... I am not supposed to do any work for my employer this week. Fair enough.

You must know Spoon by now. They definitely got more popular after being dropped by a major, and IMHO got better, too. This is a bootleg from a hometown show at the venerable Austin, TX rock club, Emo's. This happened just a few months before Gimme Fiction was released. That's the one post-major Spoon album I don't really like. No biggie though; the setlist draws liberally from the entire Spoon catalog up to that point.

It sounds awesome, too. Kudos to the entrepreneurial fan and/or sound man who made this pristine recording.

i don't make any of this stuff

French Kicks - One Time Bells

2009-04-01T11:40:00.001-07:00

In my mind this is an obvious follow up to my previous Natural History post. More early-oughts NYC indie pop, with their own unique twists. French kicks were more apt to put some abrasion in their guitar tones. At the same time, their vocal harmonies could be sweeter and smoother than their gotham contemporaries.

The reviewer who caught this album at pitchfork invoked Hall & Oates as a referential put-down. In my book, that's a compliment. Blue eyed soul never got any smoother or sweeter than that Philly duo's peak run a couple decades ago. For what it's worth, I think there's a touch of Prince in some of the vocals and songwriting, too.

we get lost every time

Cell - Slo*Blo

2009-03-30T10:59:00.000-07:00

As I've mentioned before, there was a time when record store cut-out bins were stacked to the ceiling with all the WTF major label signings. If you dig around long enough you probably still can find a handful of vintage 1993 DGC promo copies of this record at my local favorite.

I probably haven't listened to this since I first dismissed it as just another typical major label cash-in on my beloved "underground" sound. But a funny thing happened recently. I stumbled back upon the DGC Rarities, Vol. 1 compilation, and it turns out that the Cell track on there is pretty fucking huge. One thing led to another, and I ordered this CD for one penny plus shipping.

My penny saved is your penny earned (yeah yeah, not my best metaphor, I know). Never mind this album is one of the more notorious relics of that borderline-psychotic post-Nevermind major label feeding frenzy. After fifteen years, Slo*Blo actually holds up really well with such time-lapsed objectivity. I am obligated to mention Sonic Youth here - Cell's drummer was a SY roadie before hitting the big time, as it were - but save for that relationship and being signed by DGC, that's where the similarities end. This record is full of loud, midtempo rock songs with soaring guitar duels and anthemic choruses. If I had to pick an indie rock icon as a reference, I would have to say Lungfish. That's right.

now you wonder why

Crystalized Movements - This Wideness Comes

2009-02-09T12:02:00.001-08:00

What the hell am I going to say about this? I am not worthy to describe it accurately, but I will try anyway. Crystalized Movements was the first in a long succession of bands led by underground psychedelic guitar icon Wayne Rogers. Eric Arn (of Primordial Undermind, and an underground guitar icon in his own right) played second guitar in earlier lineups of Crystalized Movements. Prior to releasing This Wideness Comes in 1990, Arn was replaced by longtime Rogers collaborator and partner Kate Biggar. The rest, as they say, is history.

Most songs start out as melodic psychedelic rock, dive into one or more heavy freak-out rabbit holes, and occasionally splash around in the quicksand of Sonic Youth style noise. Like I said, I cannot describe this accurately. Take my word for it, this record is pure joy.

I have never seen this album in any of the usual blog circles. Why not? I would say that This Wideness Comes set the tone for the next eighteen years (and counting) of Rogers-Biggar creations. After one more Crystallized Movements LP (Revelations From Pandemonium, 1992) the pair continued to expand their mind-altering vision of rock music in Vermonster, Bongloads of Righteous Boo, Magic Hour, and - currently - Major Stars.

For fans of Twisted Village, Forced Exposure, rock music, and w33d.

the kitchen's out of sugar

Some Velvet Sidewalk - Whirpool

2009-02-09T07:54:00.000-08:00

Some Velvet Sidewalk were contemporaries of Beat Happening in the late 80s/early 90s Pacific Northwest scene. Not surprisingly, K Records released most of their recordings. They shared Beat Happening's minimalist approach to rock, but Some Velvet Sidewalk were a bit more... there is no way to candy coat this... talented.

Even then, it took SVS a couple albums to really get their stride. Whirlpool is my personal favorite album of theirs. It was certainly heavier than their earlier releases, but it was also more sprawling in its sound and tighter in its performance. No doubt this was thanks in large part to production by Steve Fisk.

If you like slightly atonal, sometimes noisy and droning, occassionally childlike, but ultimately melodic indie rock typical of the early K Records persuasion, check it out.

i blame you

XLIII

2009-02-02T04:44:00.001-08:00

RIP Myron - Go Steelers

2009-01-31T20:34:00.000-08:00

The Most Secret Method - Get Lovely

2009-01-31T19:16:00.003-08:00

Where to start?

I suspect that some subscribers to this blog have their own forgotten favorites, as I do. Bands who were criminally unknown in their time. Music so transcendent that I cannot believe I am the first to post it for download in teh blog-o-sphere.

I live in Pittsburgh but I have a few friends in DC. In my single days that was a no-brainer weekend roadie, with time to spare for post-show Ben's Chili Bowl plus a Saturday afternoon record shopping and billiards spree in Fells Point.

I first saw The Most Secret Method play in 1999 at the Move Studio in Pittsburgh, a dance studio/indie rock show space in a distressed suburb called Wilkinsburg. I can't remember for sure who they opened for (I think it was Juno), but I know they made a lasting impression. I made at least three trips after that to catch them in DC, including their sweltering farewell show at the Black Cat in August 2002. Every trip would have been a blast regardless, but the Most Secret Method was the reason.

How to describe them? Take the SG-driven sound of Fugazi, combine it with the post-hardcore pop slant of Jawbox, add the male-female vocal dueling of X, arrange it with the minimalistic economy of the Minutemen, front it with a Broadway-caliber singer, and back it with a fretless bass virtuoso. If you liked the DC sound of the late 90s but you never head them before, The Most Secret Method are your new favorite band from that scene.

get ready to move

Coral - Pillow Talk

2009-01-24T11:09:00.000-08:00

I subscribe to several other like-minded blogs - far more prolific than my own, for the most part. There was a minor Honor Role sensation over the last few weeks when at least two of you posted the Rictus album (see here and here). One or two follow up comments mentioned singer Bob Schick's next band Coral. That reminded me that I've never been able to find a digital copy of Coral's first LP Pillow Talk.

Apparently, I could not find find mp3s of that album because no one ever bought it. There is a seemingly endless supply of "sealed, mint condition" Pillow Talk CDs in virtual cut-out bins all across the interwebs. I am still gainfully employed, thankfully. Doing my part to end the recession, I sprung for a frivolous luxury and ordered myself a copy ($5 postpaid!).

So here you have it. If you like Bob Schick's vocals (not everyone does), read on. If you liked the indie-blues arrangements of Come, and if you dig Crazy Horse devotees like J. Mascis, Silkworm and Karl Hendricks, this is very much in the same vein. If you slept on this record 15 years ago, here is your shot at redemption.

i remember it all so clear

Gear Jammer - Horsepower 2000 7"

2009-01-17T20:29:00.000-08:00

Here's a response to a recent post by our like-minded friends at [shiny grey monotone]

This was Hazelmeyer's short-lived post-Halo of Flies band. They only released two 7" records as far as I know. Check out the other one here.

i drink, too

Records I liked in 2008

2008-12-29T14:45:00.000-08:00

well, it has been another busy month with no posts. i actually have been planning this post for several weeks, but i wanted to check it twice before finally putting it out there. no discussion, just a list of the records i liked in 2008. most links provide either artist-sanctioned downloads of individual tracks (whenever i could find one), streams of full albums (mostly at last.fm), or streaming tracks as a last resort... with a couple exceptions*.

i hope everyone else is also still finding new music they enjoy.

top eleven:

the black crowes - warpaint (stream warpaint)

the gutter twins - saturnalia (download "idle hands")

melvins - nude with boots (stream nude with boots)

modey lemon - season of sweets (download "milk moustache")

no age - nouns (download "eraser")

oxford collapse - bits (download "the birthday wars")

parts & labor - receivers (download "nowhere's nigh")

prisonshake - dirty moons (download "crush me")

scorch trio - brolt! (stream three tracks here)

times new viking - rip it off (download "my head/r.i.p. allegory")

the wedding present - el ray (download "the thing i like best about him is his girlfriend")

second top eleven:

cheap time - cheap time (stream tracks here)

dead meadow - old growth (download "i'm gone" and "what needs must be")

don caballero - punkgasm (stream punkgasm)

endless boogie - focus level (download "the manly vibe")

magic lanterns - high beams (download "deathheads hawkmoth")

nissenenmondai - neji/tori (stream "pop group")

the shaky hands - lunglight (stream lunglight)

suffocate for fuck sake - blazing fires and helicopters on the frontpage of the newspaper. there´s a war going on and i´m marching in heavy boots (stream blazing fires...)

vandermark 5 - beat reader (stream 'further from the truth (for walker evans)" here)

wale - the mixtape about nothing (*download here, because it was meant to be given away in the first place)

witch hats - cellulite soul (stream cellulite soul)

honorable mention:

atlas sound - let the blind lead those who can see but not feel (download "river card")

blood on the wall - liferz (download "hibernation")

bonnie "prince" billy - lie down in the light (stream lie down in the light)

david holmes - the holy pictures (stream the holy pictures)

the dirtbombs - we have you surrounded (stream "ever lovin' man" here)

home blitz - weird wings (ok, technically weird wings is a portion of home blitz' self-titled full length which was released in 2007. sue me. stream tracks 11-15 here)

koushik - out my window (download "lying in the sun")

ted leo/pharmacists - rapid response (*buy here, support worthy causes like this and this)

stephen malkmus - real emotional trash (download "cold sun" and "baltimore")

mudhoney - the lucky ones (download "i'm now")

portishead - third (stream third)

the roots - rising down (stream rising down)

subtle - exitingARM (stream exitingARM)

ten kens - ten kens (stream ten kens)

torche - meanderthal (stream "healer" here)

why? - alopecia (stream alopecia)

Peter Brötzmann / William Parker / Hamid Drake - Never Too Late But Always Too Early [LIVE]

2008-11-26T09:52:00.000-08:00

I'm not much of a writer when it comes to describing jazz (and you could probably argue that I'm not much better with other music). But, I know what I like. As a former sax player, I envy Peter Brötzmann's intensity and stamina. I love Hamid Drake's sense of rhythmic imagination. I love almost everything I've heard with Drake and William Parker playing together. So, naturally, I love this massive two-disc live set.

If you already enjoy modern jazz styles, I think you will enjoy this too. If you are a newcomer, there's no time like the present. These three musicians are among the most (dare I say) important innovators on their respective instruments in the last 40 years.

The Wedding Present - Watusi

2008-11-26T04:53:00.000-08:00

You can't swing a dead cat in a room full of aging hipsters without lashing someone who owns a copy of Seamonsters. With good reason. What I don't get is why more people don't also adore the follow up, Watusi.

Lyrically, it continues the usual themes of unrequited love and narcissistic heartbreak. Musically, however, the band built on the shredding guitar template and adopted a somewhat more diverse sonic palette. Recording with Steve Fisk may have helped. Listen to Fisk's contemporary project Pell Mell (posted yesterday, here) and you may hear what I mean.

It's difficult to find this album in any format right now. It is not for sale at any of the major mp3 stores. I could not even find it posted on another blog. Hopefully, Island Records will not hammer me as hard as they did Negativeland. Enjoy!

they can keep it all

Killing Capitalism With Kindness - An Xpressway Records Compilation

2008-11-25T19:12:00.000-08:00

The early 90s were apparently a very prolific time for musicians from the land of the long white cloud. College radio dorks like me dropped the needle on anything from the Flying Nun and Xpressway labels that crossed our path. Ultimately, Flying Nun got most of the attention, but Xpressway was clearly the more adventurous label.

Killing Capitalism With Kindness was an Xpressway compilation of artists - some of whom were familiar to international college radio dorks like myself, but many of whom were not - leaning towards the lo-fi, experimental side of kiwi indie rock.

Every song on this comp was intentionally recorded in "substandard" conditions. Songs range from hauntingly beautiful to smartly melodic, with fuzz, hum, and tape hiss serving as just another instrument. The collection was assembled by Peter Jefferies of This Kind of Punishment, who close out the set with the dark and stirring "Reaching an End."

brought to the ground by the oldest cliché

Pell Mell - Flow & Interstate

2008-11-25T13:57:00.001-08:00

[I have been very busy lately with work and family. Free time has been at a premium. To those who have commented and written, thanks for the encouragement!]

For whatever reason, there is a disproportionate amount of music released in 1992 that has always dominated my turntable/CD player/computer/iPod playlists. Among my very favorites from that year, and from all time, is Pell Mell's third LP Flow. This is gorgeous instrumental guitar rock music with just the right combination of noise and melody and quite a distinctive style. It certainly borrows elements from surf music and krautrock, but from my perspective this mostly sounds like... well, it sounds like Pell Mell.

All you middle-aged heads like me remember the major label feeding frenzy of the early 90s. For Pell Mell, it was kismet. Microsoft used a snippet of one of their songs (I think it was "Flood" but I am not sure, and the interwebs fail me on this search). Pell Mell's former manager was working as an A&R rep for DGC. I suppose that was as much "buzz" as one could have ever foreseen about for an anonymous, scattered,nomadic instrumental band which rarely played live and almost never toured. The result was Interstate, another gorgeous record which picked up where Flow left off.

Interstate was not gorgeous enough in the sales column, apparently. Pell Mell recorded another record for DGC but they got downsized instead. The resultant album - Star City - wound up on Matador.

A few years later I had a pleasant surprise watching the second episode of HBO's excellent Six Feet Under. Fans of that program should instantly recognize the first song on Interstate.

[...]

The 1985 - Nerve 80

2008-10-11T18:25:00.000-07:00

Since my friend John commented on my last post, I will respond by taking food out of his mouth.

The 1985 began as visionaries. In the mid 90s, the most common indie rock touchstones were from the early 70s - a la Neil Young - and the early 90s - a la Slint. The early 80s were treated like that kid in middle school who still peed with his pants around his ankles. A handful of bands, though, dripped with golden inspiration from the likes of PiL, Gang of Four, Devo, MX-80, and Contortions. Among those prescient tastemakers were Pittsburgh's own The 1985.

The '85 were not mere revivalists. There was a (most likely) conscious similarity to contemporaries like Nation of Ulysses and Arab on Radar, and a (perhaps more) coincidental sonic kinship with The VSS and Clikitat Ikatowi.

Nerve 80 was the first of two full length albums from the '85. I am proud that I contributed to its creation, while also disappointed in my inability to gain them any greater exposure. Several dozen copies of the CD are likely still in the possession of "John," occasional commenter on this very blog. If you dig this CD please consider making contact with him for a hardcopy, as well as his more recent musical adventures in ((microwaves)).

red hot party favor

Cul de Sac - China Gate

2008-10-05T06:38:00.001-07:00

Closing out my posts for this weekend, here is my favorite album from Boston's Cul de Sac. Except for the intro and outro tracks and the occasional found-sound voice sample, it's a completely instrumental album.

Cul de Sac appear to draw inspiration from several musical touchstones: raga, krautrock, psychedelic, free jazz, prog, surf, noise, electronic, and probably other stuff that I'm even less qualified to fake my way around discussing.

If you like China Gate, don't stop here. Cul de Sac have several great records, including a studio collaboration with John Fahey and a two-disc live collection from a intercontinental tour with Damo Suzuki.

doldrums

Primordial Undermind - Yet More Wonders of the Invisible World

2008-10-05T06:35:00.000-07:00

Most fans of the Twisted Village and Ptolemic Terrascope varieties of psychedlic rock are well aware of Wayne Rogers' and Kate Biggar's musical travels from Crystallized Movements to Magic Hour and, presently, Major Stars. The truly obsessive have also been following Eric Arn, who preceded Kate as Crystallized Movements' second guitarist, and who currently leads a nomadic and itinerant band called Primordial Undermind.

This was Primordial Undermind's first LP, released in 1995. Most tracks are fuzzy psych with a melodic, poppy bent and the occasional nod to eastern styles. Mixed among these are a few moments of psychedlic noise freakout bliss - the proverbial money shot for folks like me who were curious to hear what "that other Crystallized Movements dude" was creating.

Royal Trux - Sweet Sixteen

2008-10-04T09:48:00.001-07:00

I think this album is genius, and I think the following review from Rolling Stone nails it perfectly... except for the 1-star rating, that is.

"Virginia's Royal Trux mix bad Company biker blues, Southern rock, synthesized AM drivel and arty college experimentation like an underage bar goer mixes drinks: slamming 'em down till they come back up as regurgitated sonic swill. Combine that with a trailer-trash-chic image – skintight bell-bottoms, cowboy boots and whiskey-warped expressions – and you have an underclass shtick that has made the Trux underground faves.

On their sixth underproduced album and second major-label release (yet another indie band signed in Nirvana's wake), singer Jennifer Herrema works hard at sounding trashy, slurring lyrics in a raspy tone a la Nazareth. She hisses ultranasty lines like "Sweet 16 and never been clean" alongside guitarist and vocalist Neil Hagerty's own thin warble. Indulgent wah-wah guitar solos bump into disjointed drum beats.

Every song on Sweet Sixteen eventually lapses into a meandering mess, even on tunes where the Trux attempt to mimic Zeppelin's repetitive rhythms or the Allman Brothers' jams. Instead of respecting the music they bastardize, the Trux treat it as low art, approaching '70s rock like a cocky adult playing a kids' game. By mid-album, you begin to wish Lynyrd Skynyrd had crashed this recording session and kicked the Trux's pretentious asses into some sort of cohesive groove." (RS 757)

yuk

Royal Trux - Thank You

2008-10-04T04:52:00.000-07:00

Much has been made of the major label feeding frenzy in the years following Nevermind. It left many a hipster scratching his head and asking "did they really think this would appeal to the Wreckz-n-Effects-loving masses?"

For what it's worth, Thank You was Royal Trux' most accessible album to date. Everything is relative, of course. This probably would have been far more accessible around stoners' basements everywhere in 1971 than it was around Tower Records in 1995.

Royal Trux took on a full band for this record, as well as Neil Young's then-producer of choice David Briggs. The result was a blissfully jammed out rawk record cut live in the studio, and a presage for the remainder of Trux' run.

The sailor has to masturbate until the ship lands

1k

2008-10-02T20:07:00.000-07:00

the old hit meter rolled over 1000 hits already. in honor of this most arbitrary metric, everyone gets high this weekend.

Gapeseed - Project 64

2008-09-29T08:09:00.001-07:00

I used to gobble up stuff like this as fast as people could put it out. Angular, dissonant rock with equal parts chaos and melody. Maybe a cross between Sonic Youth and Beefheart. Polvo was the obvious leader of that pack, but Gapeseed deserves mention as well.

Legacy? As I've written before about other records on this blog, web searches turn up only the most rudimentary information about Gapeseed. For what it's worth, I don't plan to throw this CD into my sell pile anytime soon. Then again, demand for regionally obscure indie noise-pop is unusually low right now.

ceci n'es épuisé

The Miss - No Radio

2008-09-28T13:14:00.001-07:00

When this came out I thought The Miss were destined to be among the great undiscovered nouveau noise rock/no-wave bands - like my local favorites The 1985 (of whom I'll probably post something here eventually).

Nouveau noise rock/no-wave? "Come again," you say? Well, you could sorta dance to these bands in a quirky sort of way, like Devo, Pop Group and Liquid Liquid. They were atonal, like MX-80 and DNA. They had a thick rhythm section driving most of the songs, akin to Jesus Lizard, Craw, Slug, et al. And some of them actually got kinda big. Well, Pitchfork big, anyway. Liars. Ex Models. And so on.

The Miss did not get big, but that was certainly not for a lack of recorded effort. This one and only LP could have easily stood its ground against all comers. But it never had the chance, and alas here it is on my blog instead. Enjoy.

i can't understand any of their lyrics so no clever hyperlink here, ok?

Grafton - Blind Horse Campaign

2008-09-28T12:46:00.000-07:00

In case anyone is branding me as some indie rock oldster in full-on mid life crisis, here's something from this century. Grafton is a heavy rawk trio from Columbus, OH - the most hospitable city I've ever visited, for what it's worth.

You could easily mistake Grafton as an offshoot from Laughing Hyenas and/or Mule. They also cruise down the same highway as Rye Coalition and Tight Bros From Way Back When. Not enough RIYL references for you? How about this - AC/DC.

If that doesn't do it then you obviously do not like rock music.

fine, good, go!

Death of Samantha - Come All Ye Faithless / Laughing in the Face of a Dead Man

2008-09-27T04:44:00.000-07:00

I've had these in my queue for a while. I am putting them up today mostly because of a post earlier this week over at Willfully Obscure. You can also find the Death of Samantha LP Where the Women Wear the Glory and the Men Wear the Pants over at Feelin' Kinda Froggy.

DoS is hard for me to describe because (1) I wasn't aware of them when they were actually together, and (2) it's impossible for me to ignore their future collective and individual endeavors (Cobra Verde, Gem, GBV). They were from Cleveland, so it's no crime to hear some Pere Ubu influence. However, this is definitely closer to straight ahead rawk than Ubu ever was.

Come All Ye Faithless was their third and final LP. Some say it's their best. I say it's best not to choose sides. Laughing in the Face of a Dead Man is an EP released between their first LP, Strungout on Jargon (which I can upload too if there are no other takers), and Where the Women Wear the Glory... It has a rippin' cover of "Werewolves of London" as well as my personal favorite DoS song "Yellow Fever."

sick and satisfied

Timber - Parts and Labor

2008-09-24T18:25:00.000-07:00

Quite an enjoyable and schizophrenic album, this one. Way out here in Pittsburgh, this is what we assumed The Knitting Factory must sound like. There are songs that remind me of the Minutemen's virtuosic country-punk-funk. There are jangling, clanging, angular pop tunes a la Yo La Tengo, Railroad Jerk, and Antietem. Ghosts of no wave, horny jazz and a couple noise/experimental jams round it all out.

I can't tell you much else about these folks. The drummer went on to play in the slightly more prolific Run On (maybe I'll up one of their albums sometime down the road). Aside from a track on the Matador comp New York Eye & Ear Control and a pre-LP single with an alternate (in my opinion, superior) version of the track "Stupid Reasons," I think this is all they ever did.

computer games play themselves

oh yeah...

2008-09-23T13:28:00.000-07:00

also while i'm here, just to set the record straight there is no fucking way this lady is getting my vote to be a heartbeat away...

Munger also asked Palin if she truly believed in the End of Days, the doomsday scenario when the Messiah will return. "She looked in my eyes and said, 'Yes, I think I will see Jesus come back to earth in my lifetime.'"

no news is no news

2008-09-23T13:16:00.000-07:00

i've been pretty wrapped up with work and other stuff for the last couple weeks. however, relief is on the way. there are a half-dozen albums in the hopper, anxiously awaiting my sophomoric critical accompaniments. should be plenty more up here by this weekend.

Flower - Concrete Sky (1987 - 1990)

2008-09-06T18:55:00.000-07:00

I've always had a soft spot for the indie rock happening in NYC in the late 80s. Sonic Youth of course, but also DustDevils, Nice Strong Arm, Live Skull... that stuff was very popular among the WRCT rock DJs when I started in 1990.

This is one that slipped under the radar but should not have. Flower definitely shared some of the sonic dissonance with the aforementioned bands, mixing in a bit of Joy Division's darkness and Mission of Burma's melodic sense. After Flower, two of these guys went on to form Versus.

Concrete Sky is a compilation of Flower's total recorded output - the Hologram Sky EP and Concrete LP - plus a live track from the compilation NYU's Sorority Sampler. It's all out of print, originals and reissues, so don't feel guilty.

my nightmares are dreams of angels

Garden Variety - Knocking the Skill Level

2008-09-06T10:19:00.000-07:00

Nowadays, of course, you can't say the e-word without conjuring the horrors of asymmetrical haircuts, eyeliner, and really bad music. However, some of us thirty-somethings can remember a time in the early 90s when the word "emo" did not necessarily mean "teh suck."

Equally drawing inspiration from Rites of Spring, Jehu, and the wide, wide world of pop punk, the second wave of emo (presuming we all agree that the first wave began and ended in DC - Rites of Spring, Embrace, Gray Matter, et. al.) burned brightly for a few years before Carraba and the Fall Out Boys gave the e-word whole new meaning*.

Which brings me to Garden Variety, who caught lightning in a bottle with this album. If, like me, you prefer Frame and Canvas and Yank Crime over Every Night Fireworks and Suicide Invoice, then have a listen.

If you like this record I suggest heading over to Wilfully Obscure and grabbing the New Sweet Breath singles.

P.S. the Garden Variety singer's next band was Radio 4, who similarly practiced "dancepunk" before that genre also became synonymous with "teh suck."

walk out of your chatroom

*crybaby kiddie-punk shit

Tiger - Shining in the Wood EP

2008-09-06T09:48:00.000-07:00

From 2000-2003 I lived with a couple friends in their big old house in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh. One of them really loved this CD. I got it onto my hard drive pretty soon after I heard it. It's an EP released in America by Bar/None records, featuring the "Shining in the Wood" British single plus the B-sides from two other British-only singles.

Judging by the dearth of information online, it seems like this is just one more band of which find memories live on among the relative few. That's too bad. Anyone who enjoyed the Pixies' guitar buzz, the retro-analog groove of Stereolab, and th' faith healers' poppy streak probably would have been ga-ga about Tiger.

I haven't found anything else in the blogopolis, so if you have some other Tiger records please share the wealth, eh?

one of us

The Strike - A Conscience Left to Struggle With Pockets Full of Rust

2008-08-28T19:23:00.000-07:00

Using late 70s British punk, ska and mod as touchstones, The Strike put out their first album in 1996. If my fruitless google searches are any indication, it is still being slept on today. That is surprising, especially considering that its release was preceded by a spilt 7" with basement-show darlings Dillinger Four. I would'a thought there were thousands of young socialist whitebelts out there, bored to tears with their worn-out copies of London Calling and All Mod Cons, chomping at the bit to drop a thrift store needle on this.

Lacking in originality perhaps, but so what? If you like the sound of '77 London, then you'll be plenty tickled with this.

peace, bread, land, rock n' roll

Baby Astronauts - All the Pancakes You Can Eat

2008-08-28T05:31:00.001-07:00

My friend Steve turned me onto this record at WRCT sometime in the early 90s. He said they were "Minneapolis' Minutemen," which isn't too far off the mark. To my ears they were also sonic contemporaries of Homestead Records mainstays like The Embarrassment, Salem 66, and Big Dipper.

The record was pressed in a series of 1000 copies with unique cover artwork. Each cover was cut from a huge original painting that must have been - if my math is correct, and I like to think that it is - over 1000 square feet in size.

The attached image here is not my copy, by the way. I found mine at Jerry's in Pittsburgh somewhere along the way, but it's packed away in a stack of LP boxes at the moment. This image is blatantly swiped from the blog one base on an overthrow (thanks dude).

Download and enjoy, because unless you look hard you'll probably never find a copy of your own. There is also a CD version out there, released by Big Money Inc., which includes 14 bonus tracks. If you happen to have one let me know. I'd love to hear it.

collector scum click here

The Lot Six - Gwylo

2008-08-27T09:35:00.000-07:00

I never would have known about this record at all were it not for my summertime DJ gig at WRCT in 2002. This was a band who, on this album at least, was willing to experient and mix styles over the course of nine tracks. Often that's just another recipe for shit sandwiches, but when it works - and it works on Gwylo - it can be awfully satisfying.

I hear influences like Fugazi and Jehu on dynamic rockers like "This is Entertainment." "Last Flight of the Spruce Goose" is all Tex-Mex desert shuffle. "Coincidence Reprise" makes some lo-fi experimental strokes. "The Tiny Tin" dips into the psychedelic effects toybox.

into it

Nothing Short of Total War (Part One) - Blast First comp (1989)

2008-08-26T19:27:00.000-07:00

Tonight it's a pigfuck compilation double shot. If you like the TnG comp posted earlier you'll probably love this. Released in 1989 by the Mute imprint Blast First, Nothing Short of Total War was a who's-who of the indie pigfuck noise rock scene on both sides of the pond.

Don't let the compilation tag fool you. This is meant to be played from beginning to end, and you'll understand once you press play. Don't let the familiar titles fool you, either. This is not some cheesy label sampler rip-off. Most of these tracks are live, demo, or alternate takes.

I guess we shouldn't hold our breath for Part Two, eh?

there's no fucking culture there

(sorry for the rapidshare link... it's a big'n)

God's Favorite Dog - Touch n Go compilation (1986)

2008-08-26T19:07:00.001-07:00

It probably goes without saying, but this compilation was the beginning of Touch n Go's salad days.

1. Butthole Surfers: Eindhoven Chicken Masque

2. Killdozer: Sweet Home Alabama

3. Scratch Acid: The Final Kiss

4. Hose: Down By The River

5. Happy Flowers: Colors In The Rain

6. Big Black: Every Man For Himself

7. Big Black: Crack Up

8. Happy Flowers: All I Got Were Clothes For Christmas

9. Hose: How Many More Times

10. Scratch Acid: Holes

11. Killdozer: Sonnet

12. Butthole Surfers: The Legless Eye

pigfuckers, all

Love Cup | Hum | Dis- | Steakdaddy Six - Twelve Inch Records "Single of the Moment" series

2008-08-26T09:06:00.000-07:00

The artwork for these singles is as hard to find as the singles themselves nowadays. I have to admit, I don't own any of 'em myself. I forget where I stumbled upon these mp3s but I'm glad I did.

Twelve Inch Records can describe these better than I can:

Lovecup - Tearing Water b/w Juggernaut

Single of the Moment #1 (1992)

Every scene, every era has a great unsung band and Love Cup is that band for Chicago-Urbana in the early 90's. They found a perfect balance between metal and indie rock and influenced my band [Poster Children] and had an even greater influence on Hum.

Hum - Hello Kitty b/w Roar, I'm a Tiger
Single of the Moment #2 (1992)

Jeff Dimpsey (formerly of Bad Flannel and Poster Children) takes up the bass after Baltie leaves to form Mother and Andy makes his last appearance on guitar and vocals. Recorded in the big city of Chicago with Brad Wood at the soon to be very hip IDFUL. This single moves even closer to the now familiar Hum sound.

Dis - Ed Was Solace b/w Girl Song

Single of the Moment #3 (1992)

Dis was the only 12 Inch band not to hail from the twin cities; they were a trio of Albini familiars hailing from the city of Milwaukee. Their song Ed Was Solace was their entry into the hearts and minds of the Twelve Inch family. Chris Fuller played guitar and sang, Rob Sieracki played bass and sang. Matt Morgan played drums. Recorded with finesse by Steve Albini in his home studio.

Steakdaddy Six - Rubber Pants b/w Play

Single of the Moment #4 (1992)

This single was recorded by Hum drummer Brian St. Pere at his home studio. Two drummers, heavy guitar and wah-wah bass sounds like a recipe for disaster but these guys pulled it off with panache and a sense of humor. They were the figurehead band of Twelve Inch, releasing all of their music on the label.

get 'em

Kerosene 454 - Came by to Kill Me

2008-08-25T12:44:00.001-07:00

This was their second and in my opinion best album. Tense, melodic stress core with some prettier moments mixed in. They played Pittsburgh a bunch of times, having ties to State College folks who lived and played here, but somehow I never got to see them.

hear the words

Hurl - Bessemer Process 2x7" | Shale - Truth/Lie 12" EP | Swob - The Explosion of Scilence 7"

2008-08-23T20:18:00.000-07:00

I was a DJ at WRCT 88.3 fm at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh during my college years. I didn't play guitar or drums, the standard indie rock instruments of the day, but I wanted to be a part of the burgeoning local scene. My solution was to pool resources with several of my station alumni friends and help release records by some of our favorite local bands.

Fiscally speaking, our independent record label failed horribly. It was a common story then and now, and it's not worth retelling. Suffice to say that our enthusiasm for the business did not match our enthusiasm for the music.

Musically speaking, however, I am pleased with our legacy. Among our releases were Hurl's The Bessemer Process 2x7" and Shale's Truth/Lie 12" EP. If memory serves, those were two of the three to be celebrated at the advertised "TRIPLE RECORD RELEASE PARTY!" on your left. Also included, mostly because of dumb luck and a wealth of photos archived at Hurl's MySpace page, is the third and final 7" release by local art damage no wave scoundrels Swob.

For the unfamiliar:

Hurl = midwestern indie rock a la Bitch Magnet, Don Caballero, Hum, Slint (fun fact - Hurl bassist/vocalist Matt Jencick has been Slint's bassist for their recent reunion performances)

Shale = heavy post-punk indie crossed with screamo/hardcore

Swob = psychopathic musings accompanied by atonal guitar splattered with tribal thuds.

touch that dial and you're history

(PS, if anyone reading has some good digital images of any of these records' artwork, please pass 'em on, eh?)

Pines of Nowhere - self titled

2008-08-23T19:40:00.000-07:00

I don't know much about this band. Slowdime released this album in 2001. I saw another 7" a year or so later, but that's it. Trans Am's drummer played bass.

This record's tight and melodic post punk swam in the same pool as Drive Like Jehu, Kerosene 454, Bluetip, et al.

filler jams

Don Caballero - Live at the Middle East, Boston, MA - March 9, 1999

2008-08-23T11:48:00.000-07:00

Don Caballero's lineup has never been constant. For a brief time after What Burns Never Returns was released, the band remained a quartet despite the departure of founding guitarist Mike Banfield and bassist Pat Morris. John Fine (Bitch Magnet, Vineland) took over on guitar. Eric Topolsky, already playing in Ian Williams' other group Storm and Stress, filled the bass spots. That quartet toured a bit in 1999, including this date in Boston, before reverting to the pedal-driven trio which eventually delivered American Don.

This boot is notable for a few reasons. Firstly, of course, it sounds pretty good for what was apparently a crowd mic recording. Also, they play two songs from Don Caballero 2, a live feat which for whatever reason was not attempted by the original quartet at the time What Burns... was released. Lastly, the track "That Badge Means You Suck" was an early version of "You Drink a Lot of Coffee for a Teenager."

Often imitated, never duplicated, frequently hated - Don Caballero.

Elsewhere go

Devil Dogs - Saturday Night Fever

2008-08-22T21:18:00.000-07:00

Modern Rock radio would have you believe that the garage rock revival was contrived by Jack White, the Strokes, and Little Steven's radio show around 2001 or so. All due respect, where the fuck were any of them in 1993 when this album was released?

This album was the Devil Dogs' finest moment. Imagine a relentless garage punk-cum-Grease-style rock opera. Hell, just imagine what the music must sound like as performed by the dudes in this album cover. Guy picks up girl. Guy loses girl. Guy says fuck it, I'll just find another girl. Classic.

fuck all night

Thee Speaking Canaries - The Joy of Wine LP

2008-08-22T10:04:00.000-07:00

Right about the time that Don Caballero began turning heads outside of Pittsburgh, drummer Damon Che's "other band," Thee Speaking Canaries, started playing out around town. They began as a trio with Che on guitar and lead vocals, Karl Hendricks on bass and occasional vocals, and Ian Williams on drums. Williams was succeeded by Noah Leger in time for the recording of this, their first LP.

The Joy of Wine was released in a limited edition of 500 vinyl copies on the local indie Mind Cure. It's mostly reminiscent of midwestern indie rock styles from the time, and quite a few steps away from the Canaries' later and better known turn as the bastard child of a Sonic Youth-Wayne Rogers-Van Halen three way orgy.

Hate your war on cool