Summer. Got a cold. Or is it allergies. No idea. Alls I know is I'm swimming through the clouds on this here syrup. Gonna hit the pillow for a little coma-doze.
Went on tour recently. Threw down a few hundred on records. I mean, isn't that one of the primary reasons for touring anyway? Had a coupla Iron Cross 7"s in my fingers. Sure they're crap records, but romantic ones at that. Mr. Epp, Fuck Ups, stared 'em in the face too. Couldn't pull the trigger. Knew it'd be another day, another city, another record store for the duration of tour. Spoiled Brats - Rip Off 7" probably being my top grab for the time spent digging. Scratch that, first Helmet 7" for $10. Never seen it before, never thought I'd find it, especially not for that price.
So what's tickling my eardrums these days? Puerto Rico Flowers 7" and 12" are jaw droppers. That new-ish Zola Jesus 12"EP kills too. Picked up a Zoogz Rift LP, along with Eddy Grant "Electric Avenue" and Byrds "So You Want To Be a Rock N Roll Star" 7"s. Great day. Ceremony (not the Bridge 9 band) LP, new Drunkdriver, Broken Water, Wild America demo and 7". All winners.
One day I'll post regularly. Maybe.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Sunday, January 03, 2010
Chilled to the bone.
It's 5am. Still ain't tired. Horseshit, I know.
'09 is newly dead. Another great year for music. Really though, is there ever a BAD year? Kinda feel that if you think it was a bad year, then YOU weren't looking hard enough. You're probably just a dried up old twat or something, with shit taste.
Not exactly active on this ole blog. Not all that active across the board. Real into any old thing that'll waste my time and have no constructive impact. Guess I'll just make a preliminary list of 2009's shakers and movers.
LPs:
Cult Ritual. Mika Miko. Kurt Vile (all 3). Cat Party. Pains Of Being Pure At Heart. Dry Rot. Francis Harold and The Holograms. Home Blitz. Tyvek. Twin Stumps. Vivian Girls. Electric Bunnies. Pissed Jeans. Psychedelic Horseshit. Homostupids. Scrotum Poles. Medication.
Re-Issues:
Black Randy and The Metrosquad. Raincoats. Agnostic Front. Feelies. Flipper. Faust. Jesus Lizard. Vaselines. Television Personalities.
7"s:
Ecoli. Broken Water. Witches. Wild Thing. Condominium. Raw Nerve. Failures. Fresh Meat. Middle America. Mika Miko. Watery Love.
At some point soon I'll break it down to facts and figures. Hash out numbered list, like a real nerd. Give y'all a bit more to chew on.
'09 is newly dead. Another great year for music. Really though, is there ever a BAD year? Kinda feel that if you think it was a bad year, then YOU weren't looking hard enough. You're probably just a dried up old twat or something, with shit taste.
Not exactly active on this ole blog. Not all that active across the board. Real into any old thing that'll waste my time and have no constructive impact. Guess I'll just make a preliminary list of 2009's shakers and movers.
LPs:
Cult Ritual. Mika Miko. Kurt Vile (all 3). Cat Party. Pains Of Being Pure At Heart. Dry Rot. Francis Harold and The Holograms. Home Blitz. Tyvek. Twin Stumps. Vivian Girls. Electric Bunnies. Pissed Jeans. Psychedelic Horseshit. Homostupids. Scrotum Poles. Medication.
Re-Issues:
Black Randy and The Metrosquad. Raincoats. Agnostic Front. Feelies. Flipper. Faust. Jesus Lizard. Vaselines. Television Personalities.
7"s:
Ecoli. Broken Water. Witches. Wild Thing. Condominium. Raw Nerve. Failures. Fresh Meat. Middle America. Mika Miko. Watery Love.
At some point soon I'll break it down to facts and figures. Hash out numbered list, like a real nerd. Give y'all a bit more to chew on.
Saturday, August 01, 2009
Friday, October 24, 2008
Random fandom.
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.
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.
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.
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Blog's not Dead!
Yeah, I haven't done shit with this blog in a while. Wish I could say that I have some grand scheme, but I don't. I'm just lazy. There's a few pieces being worked on right now: a Siltbreeze round-up (all 8 releases from this year), Ecstatic Peace blurb (3 reviews), reunion records (Dinosaur Jr/Buffalo Tom), shitty record run-down, and a review of the Slogun Shogun EP (since he is the only person that sent me material to review). Here's something to chew on until then, my top 5 full lengths of the year (Pending anything great coming out before the end of the year. TV Ghost 12"?):
1. Jesu - Conqueror (Hydrahead)
2. Pink Reason - Cleaning The Mirror (Siltbreeze)
3. Double Negative - The Wonderful and Frightening World Of... (No Way)
4. A Place To Bury Strangers - S/T (Killer Pimp)
5. Clockclean er - Babylon Rules (Load)
Maybe at some point I'll expand beyond 5. Or, maybe I'll grade the 7"s of the year. I'll have more of something soon.
1. Jesu - Conqueror (Hydrahead)
2. Pink Reason - Cleaning The Mirror (Siltbreeze)
3. Double Negative - The Wonderful and Frightening World Of... (No Way)
4. A Place To Bury Strangers - S/T (Killer Pimp)
5. Clockclean er - Babylon Rules (Load)
Maybe at some point I'll expand beyond 5. Or, maybe I'll grade the 7"s of the year. I'll have more of something soon.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Punk Planet reviews round 1 (PP79)
| Another Breath-Mill City CD | |||||||||||||||||||||
| This is a pretty good summary of what modern hardcore is. With that being said, they’re not bringing anything new to the table. It’s not bad by any means, it just isn’t anything that I’d flip out over. Maybe they should have titled the album Run of the Mill City. ((DA)) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Rivalry
I think I let a lot of these guys off easy, in the spirit of being objective. My reviews for Punk Planet always felt sort of neutered in the way that they're always trying to give an accurate perception of the music because someone out there will like it... Ugh. If it sucks, let me say that it's a pile of dog shit. Don't candy coat it. |
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