1. Armand Schaubroeck - track 4 (I Came To Visit But Decided To Stay/Mirror/1978). Christ, can't find a track listing for this album anywhere. The man made some truly bizarre music. This one's a stab at Jesus for not knowing his pain since Jesus never held a woman. Not as immediately jarring as songs like "Ratfucker," but still awesome in its own right.
2. Sneaky Feelings - Backroom (The Dunedin Double EP/Flying Nun/1981). Not sure the idea behind a double EP, a single LP seems more logical, but who am I? Arguably the best double 7" to come out, period. Kiwis doing the fuzzy jangle pop thing better than most.
3. Wasp Factory - Australia (Wasp Factory LP/???/1986). Elusive Kiwis these folks. I know this is offa their self titled LP. That's alls I can tell ya, though. Someone put it out. Maybe self released. It's a group sung stomper. Primal and folky.
4. Double Happys - Beercans On The Ground (Biding Our Time comp. LP/Failsafe/1986). Dark sorta Warsaw/peace punk sounding tune. Repetative riff drives into your brain.
5. Liimanarina - 600 Uusnatsia (Maailman Tylsin Vittumaisuus/Bad Vugum?/1989)
Detailed Twang blog referred to this as, "first-EP Meat Puppets reborn as a "Calling All Girls"-era Half Japanese cover band." Not a bad comparison. Pumping drums and wailing vocals. Guitar's clean and scorching. Lo-fi bashing.
6. 13th Floor Elevators - Slip Inside (Easter Everywhere/United Artists/1967). Opening track. Not as throttling of an opener as "You're Gonna Miss Me," but one that nearly any band would welcome onto their album with open arms. Still don't like the jug player sound. It reminds me of on Wayne's World when they had a flashback. They made the same noise. Wonder if there's a connection there? If I ever run into 'em on the street I'll be sure to inquire. Fuck, this song's 8 minutes long. That's risky business opening with something that long. It works. No arguments.
7. Dead C - Crazy I Know (Live Dead See demo/self released?/1988). Weird. The chance to call these guys melodic doesn't come along everyday, but here it is. Their's a weird shoegazey feel to it. Lots of vocals too. There's glimpses of where they'd go, but still quite difference from more recent output. Haven't ventured toward this demo in a while. Forgot how great it is.
8. Chris Knox - I Wanna Look Like Darcy Clay (Beat/Thirsty Ear/2000). Not the biggest fan of his solo stuff. Toy Love and Tall Dwarfs are some of my favorite Kiwi bands, but the solo stuff has always been hit or miss for me. This one's solid though. Bit of a Velvets feel in the guitar.
9. Bats, The - Offside (And Here Is... Music For The Fireside EP/Flying Nun/1985). Can't say that I'm super into much of their catalog. Laidback acoustic number. Catchy folk-pop.
10. Dwarves, The - She's Dead (b/w Fuckhead/Sub Pop/1990). Ah, remember when the Dwarves were blown out and dangerous? That Free Cocaine comp that Recess put out was pretty warping when it came out. I was 19 and highly impressionable. Made Mr. Nice Guy want to engage in debauchery. It's garage punk, but it's bordering on hardcore. Blur the line. Why not? Short blast of a once great band.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
New idea.
Alright, I'm way too busy to stay on top of writing about new releases right now. Reviews of 2007 releases? Forget about 'em. They're dead to me. Maybe I'll try to catch up on 2008, but probably not. My intake is so frenzied that there's no way to catch up, gotta start from where I'm at.
Hitting the books full time these days, so there's not always free time to do shit I want to be doing. Been freelancing for a few publications too. Bringing in a few extra dollars and cents here and there. Playing in Bored Straight still, too. Buy our 7". We've got a lot of 'em.
To get back in the swing of writing on this ole thingie, I'm gonna put the Winamp on shuffle. First 5-10 songs get written up. Regardless of what they are, I'll spew about 'em. Let's see how this goes:
1. Scorched Earth Policy - Batwing (Foaming Out cassette/Xpressway/1991). Part of my vast collection of Kiwi bands. Not particularly familiar with this one. Might be live. I don't know. Kinda droney, thick distortion. I remember their releases being pretty decent.
2. Half Japanese - Gloria (We Are They Who Ache With Amorous Love/TEC Tones/1990). Blown out deconstructed cover in the 1/2 Japanese tradition. Who did it originally? Them? Real primal stomper of a take on this 'un. If this doesn't get the blood pumping then you ain't got a rockin' bone in yer body.
3. Los Llamarada - Better Stand Up. Overblown and mind scrambling. Pumps forward and ends abruptly. Not sure what it's off of, some demo I think. Don't worry about it. Just find their records and scoop 'em up. Not a bad one in the bunch.
4. Colin Newman - Not Me(A-Z/Beggars Banquet/1980). Offa the first solo record by former (at the time) Wire frontman. The whole album's solid. Fits right in with the first 3 Wire records. A must own. Yeah, this coming from a guy who doesn't own it. Put it in my mitts. I'll slide ya the dough.
5. 13th Floor Elevators - Earthquake (Easter Everywhere/International Artists/1967). I recently stated that I might like The Bubble Puppy as much or more than the Elevators. Been rethinking it. BP's record's pretty great, but you can't fuck with Roky's vocals. The songwriting's solid. Only thing I can't handle is the damn jug player. It would be cool in touches, but throughout the entirety? You kiddin' me? This one's offa Easter Everywhere. Not quite as jarring as the debut, but no slouch of a record let me tell ya. "Earthquake" feels like "Rollercoaster" on a bit of speed. Killer, fo' sho'.
6. Pink Reason - Dead End (live). Haven't heard this in a while. Live version, I think with Hue Blanc's Joyless Ones. What do I say? I could gush like a school girl about Pink Reason. And this song's one of my favorites. Russia/Eastern European music's got a certain darkness to it and Pink Reason's an extension of that.
7. No Hope For The Kids - Angels Of Destruction (b/w Cold Touch of Death/Backwards Masking/2006). Recently got the discography tape. The thing didn't leave my tape deck for weeks. Fucking great band. Early comparisons to Warsaw aren't all that on the mark. Has the same ominous feel, but not the same sound. More of a uptempo peace punk sound.
8. Birchville Cat Motel - Transparent Soul Fragment (Birchville Cat Motel/Insample/1997). Kiwi noise. 7 minutes of droning and weaving frequencies. Intensifies. Melts brain. Ends.
9. Lollipop Shoppe - I'm Gonna Be There (Just Colour/UNI/1968). For all this time I thought I only liked one LS song, but this one's changing my mind. The vocals get over impassioned at times, but not enough to kill it. Dead Moon guy, right (correct -ed.)? Damn fine laid back 60's garage churner.
10. Plagal Grind - (live song 12). Not sure on song titles. Found a live show and that's all I know 'bout it. Dirging, driving, petering out. Another Kiwi winner.
Hitting the books full time these days, so there's not always free time to do shit I want to be doing. Been freelancing for a few publications too. Bringing in a few extra dollars and cents here and there. Playing in Bored Straight still, too. Buy our 7". We've got a lot of 'em.
To get back in the swing of writing on this ole thingie, I'm gonna put the Winamp on shuffle. First 5-10 songs get written up. Regardless of what they are, I'll spew about 'em. Let's see how this goes:
1. Scorched Earth Policy - Batwing (Foaming Out cassette/Xpressway/1991). Part of my vast collection of Kiwi bands. Not particularly familiar with this one. Might be live. I don't know. Kinda droney, thick distortion. I remember their releases being pretty decent.
2. Half Japanese - Gloria (We Are They Who Ache With Amorous Love/TEC Tones/1990). Blown out deconstructed cover in the 1/2 Japanese tradition. Who did it originally? Them? Real primal stomper of a take on this 'un. If this doesn't get the blood pumping then you ain't got a rockin' bone in yer body.
3. Los Llamarada - Better Stand Up. Overblown and mind scrambling. Pumps forward and ends abruptly. Not sure what it's off of, some demo I think. Don't worry about it. Just find their records and scoop 'em up. Not a bad one in the bunch.
4. Colin Newman - Not Me(A-Z/Beggars Banquet/1980). Offa the first solo record by former (at the time) Wire frontman. The whole album's solid. Fits right in with the first 3 Wire records. A must own. Yeah, this coming from a guy who doesn't own it. Put it in my mitts. I'll slide ya the dough.
5. 13th Floor Elevators - Earthquake (Easter Everywhere/International Artists/1967). I recently stated that I might like The Bubble Puppy as much or more than the Elevators. Been rethinking it. BP's record's pretty great, but you can't fuck with Roky's vocals. The songwriting's solid. Only thing I can't handle is the damn jug player. It would be cool in touches, but throughout the entirety? You kiddin' me? This one's offa Easter Everywhere. Not quite as jarring as the debut, but no slouch of a record let me tell ya. "Earthquake" feels like "Rollercoaster" on a bit of speed. Killer, fo' sho'.
6. Pink Reason - Dead End (live). Haven't heard this in a while. Live version, I think with Hue Blanc's Joyless Ones. What do I say? I could gush like a school girl about Pink Reason. And this song's one of my favorites. Russia/Eastern European music's got a certain darkness to it and Pink Reason's an extension of that.
7. No Hope For The Kids - Angels Of Destruction (b/w Cold Touch of Death/Backwards Masking/2006). Recently got the discography tape. The thing didn't leave my tape deck for weeks. Fucking great band. Early comparisons to Warsaw aren't all that on the mark. Has the same ominous feel, but not the same sound. More of a uptempo peace punk sound.
8. Birchville Cat Motel - Transparent Soul Fragment (Birchville Cat Motel/Insample/1997). Kiwi noise. 7 minutes of droning and weaving frequencies. Intensifies. Melts brain. Ends.
9. Lollipop Shoppe - I'm Gonna Be There (Just Colour/UNI/1968). For all this time I thought I only liked one LS song, but this one's changing my mind. The vocals get over impassioned at times, but not enough to kill it. Dead Moon guy, right (correct -ed.)? Damn fine laid back 60's garage churner.
10. Plagal Grind - (live song 12). Not sure on song titles. Found a live show and that's all I know 'bout it. Dirging, driving, petering out. Another Kiwi winner.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
