Roctober Reviews

Spokanarchy DVD, soundtrack CD

2012-01-26T07:54:00.000-08:00

(Carnage and Rouge) First of all – not the best title, as I purposely avoided watching this documentary for months fearing it was about a spoken work punk rock scene, a concept I still shiver with dread at the thought of. Instead it’s the history of the Spokane, WA punk scene, and it’s a pretty decent piece of work, thanks in no small part to the scene being somewhat unusual and there being a shockingly healthy wealth of surviving, great looking video of the late 70s/early 80s acts. That the town’s first punk band, Sweet Madness, was not particularly punk but rather an arty new wave/post punk act seen in perfect vintage footage wearing space age mullets and art-shirt uniforms, seems crucial. During the Black Flag/Dischord years where cookie-cutter hardcore was defining regional scenes around the nation, bizarre art rock and performance goofiness never lost its footing in Spokane, where bands like PP-Ku and Mutation Sensations (shown dressed up as toilet paper Muppets) were allowed to thrive. The only regular hardcore band we see is Vampire Lezbos, and even they seem more weird and vulnerable than standard moshpitters (in their interviews at least). Assuming that this is accurate and not just the filmmakers solely focusing on their friends’ bands, this is an impressive trait for the city, and explains the nostalgia many feel for the scene. Considering the Pacific Northwest has such a history of sloppy garage rock heritage with the Wailers and Sonics, etc., it’s weird how non-garagey the bands are. Another nice thing about this is, as you’ve no doubt noticed reading their names here, none of the bands had important national profiles, thus it really is fresh ground being tread here. There also is a nice balance between romanticizing (it ends with an 80s reunion) and making it clear that small town punk life could be hellish (lotsa dreary heoin tales). But just for the vintage video alone I highly recommend this to any punk history majors out there, and KBD-heads need the soundtrack.

Copyright Criminals (The Funky Drummer Edition Box Set)

2012-01-26T07:34:00.000-08:00

(Copyright Criminals) Because the producers of this documentary about defying copyrights can’t quarrel with anyone downloading their movie for free it makes sense that they would package it in an edition so deluxe that you are paying for the artifact, not the intellectual property. And this is deluxe. In addition to a 2-disc DVD edition of the movie there is a 12” EP of Clyde Stubblefield, the oft-sampled James Brown funky drummer, playing some live, original funky beats to use for your remixes, and there’s a hefty set of baseball cards of the rappers and remixers and deejays and intellectuals interviewed in the film, and there’s stickers, and there’s a big, glossy movie poster. Since everything but the DVD and record kinda speak for themselves, let me address those. As seen on PBS, Copyright Criminals is very impressive for what it is. It’s a love-letter to the golden age of sample-based hip hop, and most of the documentary examines the cultural weight, artistic merits, and legal issues involving the brilliant De La Soul, Public Enemy and Beastie Boys records that are both beloved today and impossible to make today because of the sample clearance issues that emerged in their wake. By hooking up with some brilliant copyright defiant video remixers (Eclectic Method) these filmmakers are able to have some stunning visual and audio collages punctuate their points and flaunt their fearlessness of defying rights asserted by the Beatles, Led Zep, and others. And by presenting the ideas intelligently, cohesively, and in well-shot interviews with thoughtful folks, this is a pretty solid piece of work. It even manages to have a sprinkle of fairness by letting some lawyers explain why they are right and the Copyright Criminals are wrong, by having a not-surprisingly curmudgeonly (in a very pleasant and convincing way) Steve Albini tell us why sampling sucks, and by giving the most screen time to a sample “victim” rather than a sample maker. Of course, Mr. Stubblefield proves to be the perfect protagonist because since he wouldn’t get paid even if his hip hop-ubiquitous drumming samples were legal and paid for (he was working for hire), so he is happy to just get some recognition and would love to just be credited, no checks required. The one problem with the movie involves what it isn’t: the film doesn’t really get into the contemporary legal grey areas that would make it more relevant. It doesn’t discuss contemporary “mixtape” culture where even major label acts are allowed to flaunt copyright law as long as they give the music away free online, it doesn’t get into the pre-Internet mixtape arrest of DJ Drama, and it doesn’t really foreshadow the Youtube/SOPA/Digital Millennium Act brouhahas as much as it should. Which is fine, in that it keeps a tight focus on an era and a method of sampling that allows the film to be a finely honed, very solid piece, but it also makes the movie seem less contemporary than it should be. As far as the record of Mr. Stubblefield drumming: if you’re not gonna remix there’s not much you need a breakbeat record for, BUT if there’s any doubt this record is functional, check out some of the remixes utilizing it on the DVD bonus material. Give that funky drummer some! Some of what, exactly, is the question.

Brian TV/Cold Coffee split cassette

2012-01-26T07:02:00.000-08:00

(Leopard Libido) Brian TV plays big psyche that expands your br(i)a(i)n. Cold Coffee plays borderline creepy post punk that contracts your core. Together they make all your parts fluctuate.

Out of Tune/Schwerbelastungskorper split single

2012-01-26T06:55:00.000-08:00

(CCW/desikelirium) Two heaping helpings of spastic, whimsical Finnish hardcore. Pressed on a seven-inch salb of vinyl as heavy as a reindeer sauté with ligonberry jam. And these ligonberries really jam!

The George-Edwards Group "Archives"

2012-01-26T06:07:00.000-08:00

(Drag City/GZD) More Motor City weirdness from the group re-discovered a coupla years back by the Galactic Zookeepers. Highlights here include a song about puppets and robots which obviously resonates with folks like me who live with mainly puppets and robots (good workers, bad roommates), and a track called "You're Gone" (which I would have named "March of the Space Frogs") which could be regarded today as a genuine evil garage classic, if it had any drums. Since it instead has the soundtrack to an amphibian army's interstellar laser battle as a backbeat it may prove a harder sell to the Nuggets crowd. The collection ends with a phaseshifting journey into the inner brain of a madman, which pretty much sums the whole shebang up nicely. Won't you be that madman?

Doug Jerebine “Jesse Harper”

2012-01-26T05:58:00.000-08:00

(Drag City) As Drag City continues to drag the audio river for seemingly dead acetates, self-released LPs, flaking reel-to-reels and dusty home recordings, they somehow came up with something genuinely surprising. Jerebine (recording as Jesse Harper) was a New Zealand guitarist in the late 60s who, while weighing whether to become a humble Hare Krishna or an excessive Golden God of rock, recorded this Jimi-esque psychedelic exploration in what at the time was a commercial mode, not cheap sounding and not sacrificing grand wailing for art’s sake. This was supposed to be a major album (and according to the lore, Atlantic almost made it so) and is profoundly unlike hearing some amazing weirdo bedroom tape. This is a band (actually just Jerebine multi-tracked) that was supposed to play after Blue Cheer and before Cream. Yet it is not in any way hampered by its commercial ambitions – because Jerebine is genuinely amazing at ax-ery his playing in never contrived, boringly indulgent, or rote – this is some amazing sounding music. More unique is his singing and lyrics. Because he was pretty committed to a spiritual journey at the time, his expansive mind wanderings, other-dimensional ideas, and big thoughts sound more sincere and real (and complex…”Hole in My Hand” seems to be pretty critical of Christian piousness…and Little Miss Muffet’s commitment to curds and whey) than many of his peers. And his relaxed, slightly odd voice is pretty damn effective. This is an amazing record to either get wasted or to ascend to an astral plane to. And it’s an amazing find that should have come out decades ago.

200 Years

2012-01-26T05:43:00.000-08:00

(Drag City) If you love singer songwriter with acoustic guitar music than you will love this twice because there’s two of each of them here!

Serpent Throne “White Summer – Black Winter”

2012-01-25T10:23:00.000-08:00

(Prophase) Dinosaur-heavy metallic instrumental without all that dino-lumbering. These snake kings can move and they can flash flourishes in ways that would make a stegosaurus green with envy (if he was not already green, dino-scientists are still debating hide color). Think early 70s metal gods rock, with some of the harmonic that became popular in the 80s thrown in. Then stop thinking – this is supposed to loin-felt, not brain pondered.

American Speedway “A Bigger Boat”

2012-01-25T09:55:00.000-08:00

(Prophase) Philly filth rock in the vein of Nashville Pussy, but trashier and louder, if that’s possible. Drunken, rampaging, fuck-you-core rock n roll music made by a band featuring a female guitarist with what appears to be the biggest biceps on any dame since Zap from American Galdiators. Shredding will do that for you!

Dan Russell ”s/t”

2012-01-25T09:45:00.000-08:00

(Aggravation Overdose) We should all be thankful for all the labels who are now reissuing lost self-released d.i.y. weirdo albums originally pressed in editions of dozens with only two known copies existing that re-write lo-budget psychedic music histroy, blah blah blah. But it’s easy to get excited over undiscovered ultra-rare vinyl, because you have this historical artifact to fetishize. The gold medal for obscure releasing should go to whomever put this thing together because it takes rediscovering and unknown to another fucking level. For decades (this collection spans ’83-’99, but he started in the early 70s) Dan Russell played d.i.y. weirdo guitar music in bands you only heard of unless you were there in the bar in Flint, Portland or Chicago (and I personally don’t remember ever being there) when Brass Knuckles, Stabbitty Stabbitty Stab Stab Stab!, The Need, Uncle Daddy, The Bumps, Sissyfit, Fer Cryin Out Loud, The Bumps or his other bands played. And if you think you have records by these bands, you probably have a record by another band with the same name, as this guy (as his I assume unpublished autobiography declared) was genuinely The Unknown Rockstar. But enough about the backtalk, what about the music? WHOA! Not exactly like anything I can describe, and shifting gears from song to song on this dozen-song vinyl collection, he’s got one here that fluctuates between weirdo Zappa and furious hardcore! He’s got songs that sound like subterranean gnomes composed and played them. He has some pretty music that’s also pretty weird. He seems pretty comfortable making his guitar sound like an angel’s harp or a marauding truck. Sadly, Russell died last year and won’t get to play Plastic Crimewave festivals or Chic-A-Go-Go upon his rediscovery, but he had a hand in choosing these tracks and he did a hell of a job. The LP ends with an unfunckingbelievable live workout by Fer Crying Out Loud featuring many minutes of guitar wailing walls of noise, ridiculous stage banter/crowd participation, psyche/metal/punk/space rock explorations, a DJ scratching (!), and 10 pounds of joyful audio anarchy in an 8 pound sack. It ends with Dan informing the crowd that “Rutabega’s up next!” I’m inclined to rail at the injustice of this genius opening for some band called Rutabega, but hell, this kind of rediscovery makes me feel generous and curious. Hopefully someone’s working on the posthumous Rutabega reissue.

The Slit Plasters “Get Plastered!”

2012-01-25T08:14:00.000-08:00

(Chorizoloco.com) Sleaze-talian sausage rock featuring out of control trash thrashings that will turn your intestines into rock mush!

Dwarr “Starting Over”

2012-01-25T08:09:00.000-08:00

(Drag City) It’s easier to talk about what this bizarre archival reissue is not. It’s anti-psyche, because despite using the same tools – guitar exploration, weirdness – this paints with black and white splotches rather than kaleidoscopic colors. This is also super sludgy non-metal (as it’s metal resemblance is only mentionable because of the killer metal cover art and the Sabbath weight and occasional Ozzy impersonation). Features the most disconcerting X-mas song ever (one that makes that grandma getting killed by reindeers song feel like “Carol of the Bells”). THIS RECORD IS AMAZING!!!

Old Man Lady Luck

2012-01-25T07:46:00.000-08:00

(Forge Records) Ultra-heavy instrumental stonecrushing music that doesn’t quite fit any genre (there never was anything called stoner post-rock, was there?). This is the soundtrack to a badass turtle in steel-toed workboots ominously cruising along at his own pace. People don’t know how long some tortoises can live because one was a pet for 190 years before he died, and they don’t know how old he was when they got him. These songs don’t last quite that long, but you wish they would!

Mannequin Men “s/t”

2012-01-25T07:38:00.000-08:00

(Addenda) I was totally ready to be the hipster who is ready to turn on his fave band when I started listening to this album by one of the best live bands in Chicago, fronted by one of the best frontmen, and a garage-esque act that’s musically reliable as any in this town. I was bobbing my head along with this record, but was doing that thing where you’re like, “Eh, they’ve done better…hmmmph!’ Then I flipped it over and the b-side kicks off with this slinky hypno-tune called “Enough” that’s Velvet Underground awesome. Then two songs later they play a tune called “Wake Up Dead” that knocked me on my ass – my fave Mannequin Men song ever! So basically, they seem to have printed this record upside down. Gary Panter cover art!

ZInesters Guide to Portland, Zinesters Guide to NYC

2012-01-25T07:27:00.000-08:00

(Microcosm) Both of these are being reprinted, and I’ve reviewed them before, and they are both cool, but I’m not gpoing to go into them too much other than t point out this is the fifth printing of the Portland book and they printed 10,000 copies! Portland loves zine-aesthetics! It may be the punky, no budget zine capitol of America!

Monkey Squad One comix

2012-01-25T07:10:00.000-08:00

(by Doug Michel, http://www.monkeysquadone.blogspot.com/) What’s exciting about this black & white, I assume Xeroxed, minicomic is that it is both as ambitious and convoluted with backstories and asterisks about past issue’s adventures as any Marvel/DC comic, yet these tales of pubescent/pre-pubescent super spies still functions as a funny, light read, the way a minicomic should. The tone reminds me of the Marvel comic about kiddie superheroes Power Pack, but way more fun. Not enough monkeys, though.

The Artist Formally Known As Vince Band “On Display”

2012-01-25T06:50:00.000-08:00

(www.vincerock.com) If Exene and John Doe got a flux capicitator and a time-travelling X joined T-Rex they might be called T-Re-X, and they would hope to sound this good!

Carlos Paredes “Movimento Perpetuo,” “Guitarra Portuguesa”

2012-01-25T06:45:00.000-08:00

(Drag City) A couple of 40+ year old albums by revered Portuguese guitarist Paredes are lovingly reissued, and I’m sure there are more informed folks who can explain how important these are. All I know is that this guy plays so fast I kept expecting to hear sped-up Chipmunks-style vocals!

Hot Garbage “Gut Rot”

2012-01-25T04:32:00.000-08:00

(http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hot-Garbage) Well named, this no-wave car crash audio assault inspired me to set 38 trash can fires in my neighborhood.

The Howling Hex “Wilson Semiconductors,” Victory Chimp

2012-01-25T04:15:00.001-08:00

The Howling Hex “Wilson Semiconductors,” Victory Chimp (Drag City) On the new album by Neil Michael Hagerty (or “NMH,” as Harold and Kumar call him in their series of hilarious movies) he’s sorta a folk musician, or more accurately, an off-axis World Musician, hailing from an imaginary country where bagpipes, stolen-from-college-radio-station-libraries Jandek records, blues guitar, calliopes, and thumb pianos are the national instruments. Children’s music for bizarre children. Also on the hopper is NMH’s massive audiobook of his not massive 90s novel Victory Chimp, and I don’t want to provide too many spoilers but I will say that the Drag City crew has split the difference between audio book and old time radio drama in exciting (?) ways!

THE TOTAL GROOVY: Groovy Records 4XCD Box Set

2012-01-25T04:12:00.000-08:00

(Drag City) This collects some wild records from the 70s Manchester scene. Free Agents “£3.33” is a wham-bient, sub-sonic, electro stormscape sermonette that totally works – if it failed they would have to call it €3.33. Pete Shelley’s “Sky Yen” is pretty awesome – put this Shell-y to your ear and you can hear the eerie sound of the space sea! Sally Smmitt and her Musicians’s “Hangahar” may have been the true inspiration for Twin Peaks, as she not only has that weird Julie Cruise angel voice thing going on, but this totally evokes backwards-talking dwarves. Strange Men in Sheds With Spanners’ self-titled album was the “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” of doesn’t-make-any-goddam-sense music!

Juke Joint Pimps “The Gospel Pimps”

2012-01-25T04:00:00.000-08:00

(Voodoo Rhythm) Debauched, sin-riddled blues trash that makes a sticky, seductive, disease-ridden, convincing argument for this being “the Devil’s music.” Not sure I could listen to this all day, but I could sure get into this all night…all evil night. This is a soundtrack for a night I hope to have!

Zack Kouns "Concealed History of Coming Races"

2012-01-24T12:13:00.000-08:00

(Ulja Factory) Oddly aggressive and strange experimental folk/ancient music that tells a captivatingly confounding convoluted tale of something grand and important. Perhaps having to do with coming races. Do you win that race by coming fastest or slowest? Kouns pleasantly disarming voice in my head would probably slow me down.

Alpha Strategy/Projekt STINKA "Muck"

2012-01-24T11:39:00.000-08:00

(www.ownness.org) If one wants to view this split LP as a battle of the bands there's no fight here -- an accordion wielding Czech diva with a voice like an alluring bearlike Gulag warden will beat down an electronic squibbling marching band music experimentation artist anytime. That said, the weird bloop bleeping crash sounds of Alpha Strategy had my robots and appliances taping their toes and stands, so the future may belong to him. An incredibly wide ranging, and non-noise-ish (everything is accessible and has melody) experimental release, this parallel collaboration makes me hope these two creatures are friends...it bodes well for our planet's survival.

Sophia Knapp "Nothing to Lose" b/w "Noting to Lose" remix

2012-01-24T11:27:00.000-08:00

(Drag City) There''s such a thing as too ethereal. And this is no such thing!

Tallboys (Of Kentucky)

2012-01-24T11:19:00.000-08:00

(Kind) More like Tallboys (of KenTURKEYS)!

Organized Sports "I'm So Proud of Him"

2012-01-24T11:10:00.000-08:00

(Bulkhead) Holy fuck! Actual hardcore! Furious DC-style hardcore, with a hint of NYC menaness, and a pinch of Midwest hardcore rule bending. Sounds like an 80s h/c 45 played at 78! Sounds like Black Flag's van smelled.

Company "Die on this Island"

2012-01-24T11:05:00.000-08:00

(Bulkhead) Not the same as the the Company from South Carolina, this is a band that sounds like a post emo/melodic hardcore version of the Replacements, which yields a record that sounds way better than the concept sounds.

Miniboone "The other Summer" b/w "Fight Song"

2012-01-24T10:54:00.000-08:00

(Drug Front) Chanty quirky jerky music that sounds like pretty puppet birds formed a band.

Eww Yaboo "Yeah What?"

2012-01-24T10:33:00.000-08:00

(Summersteps) Delightfully pleasant indie rock secretly harboring delusions of rockness (hear the heavy b-side). Should be called Eww YaYAY! Or Ooh YaYay!

Kid Icarus "American Ghosts"

2012-01-24T10:26:00.000-08:00

(www.bigschoolrecords.com) Moodily melodic jangle rock that casts a dark shadow over obtuse, semi-psyche pop hooks. Icarawesome!

OBN IIIs "The One and Only"

2012-01-24T09:45:00.000-08:00

(Tic Tac Totally) Huge power chord rock n roll with a frontman who knows how to seriously swagger on wax. A little Texas twang makes its way into the slurred nasty sound cloud, but mostly you are getting here is a series of National Anthems from the sovereign, slobberin' nation known as the United States of RAWK!

Burning Itch

2012-01-24T09:32:00.000-08:00

(Tic Tac Totally) Oh my god! Take the purest garage punk mess you can imagine and then record it by shoving all the microphones up the vocalist's ass so that they just barely pick up all the audio, yet add a layer of magic shit shine, and you can almost imagine what these Sons of Itches sound like. And I apologize to the emergency room staff if this review gives the singer any ideas (and judging from the LP cover, it might).

Useless Eaters "Daily Commute" "Cheap Talk," "Zulu"

2012-01-24T09:15:00.000-08:00

(Tic Tac Totally/Gold Tapes) Post-punk doesn't have to be a dirty word - angular, weirdo music can be as nasty, immature, drugged out, ugly and scary as punk punk, it just has to seem several i.q. points higher, and a few angles sharper. This is a a cheap-sounding yet priceless syringe full of rock n roll vitamins! "Cheap Talk" is a collection of singles and leftovers and not surprisingly it's not as jarringly, powerfully cohesive a barrage of audio fists as "Daily Commute," but it's got some great tunes, like the railroading "panic attack" and the wicked good snotty diatribe "malfunction." "Zulu" is a killer cassette of ridiculous audio acrobatics, including my favorite nasty mannequin song of the year. If you only have to buy one get "Daily Commute," but fuck that, sell a kidney and buy them all.

Nobunny "First Blood" (Goner) "Raw Romance" (Burger) "Love Visions" (Bubbledumb/1234Go!)

2012-01-24T08:19:00.000-08:00

(Goner/Burger/1234Go!) Considering that amongst contemporary musicians, he's an close to an official Roctober band as there is, it's amazing how little of his material we've reviewed here, so this anniversary issue seems a good time to remedy that. Always generous about mentioning the inspiration our masked rock n roll issue had on him, the bunny-masked bubblegum-garage rocker has sported filthy bunny fur on his face for the last 10+ years, while on one endless tour of any club that will have him (and that can contain the rush of female fans thrilled by his lepusian charms). Surprisingly, for someone working what a lesser critic might call a gimmick, his success has less to do with masks, nudity, and bunny puns, and more to do with amazing pop songwriting sensibilities. But what is more impressive than his great songs (though I suppose nothing should be more impressive than great songs) is that he's able to take a record collector's instinct for historical pastiche without ending up with something clinical and soulless. Musically that mean he can put familiar 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s sounds together without suffering from Xerox-syndrome ("Blow Dumb" from his Goner LP might borrow from Velvet Underground, but genuinely doesn't steal). Visually that means he can go buck wild with his winks to fellow record geeks (the "Love Visions" reissue has a Cameo-Parkway parody label, the "First Blood" label is a 60s/70s Columbia riff). Though renowned as a road rabbit, his bunny trail of recordings is impressive. After years of hopping around Nobunny released his debut "Love Visions" in 2008, a lo-fi masterpiece that introduced three of his best songs "I Am a Girlfriend," the minimalist "Mess Me Up,"and "Chuck Berry Holiday," a trio of incredibly catchy tunes that have proved to be anthemic and crowd-erupting live. He then released his masterpiece in 2009, "Raw Romance," initially on cassette only, but unlike the Bad Brains tape, this one actually sounds as good on any format. Including some refigured songs from his debut, the release also has the naughty "Your Mouth," the revealing "Mask's On," and the alluringly tinny "Apple Tree." The latter's endearing wholesomeness reveals the Bunny's secret weapon. As demonstrated on his most polished release, the impressive "First Blood" LP, we see that what really seperates him from many of his trashrock brethren is his positivity -- he's sleazy, dirty, and possibly diseased, but every ode to sex, drugs, and/or rock n' roll is a nice, friendly one (even "[Do the[ Fuck Yourself" is a joyful ode to self-pleasure, not a putdown). He's hopping to happiness and it's hard not to hop along!

Sneaky Pinks "I Can't Wait" ep

2012-01-24T07:08:00.000-08:00

(Rubber Vomit/1234Go!) This made my penis grow and my i.q. shrink!

Guilty Pleasures "Summer Strange"

2012-01-24T06:49:00.000-08:00

(Dusty Medical) I can guiltlessly say that I was always thrilled by this act, constantly playing the shittiest music in the shittiest bars in Chicago and releasing a single on the shittiest label (Sack of Shit -- home of the Mashers, who eared local immortality for being an awesomely shitty band that managed to keep it going for what had to be fifteen years). Hearing this recording made me think they hadn't aged at all in the last decade, but now I see that these are decade-old recordings that amazingly were never released. Maybe it was because they sound too good! Super fast, expertly executed trash like this actually elevates this amazing band above shit-level, which may have embarrassed them or their peers at the time. The riffs! The snotty vocals! The punk-itude! The tempo! The damage! I just Pleasured myself!

Go Time! "Boneshaker"

2012-01-24T06:37:00.000-08:00

(www.facebook.com/gotimeband) There is nothing m,ore Midwestern than bar band power pop, the kind of music made by regular guys who know how to dig rock n roll for fans who are ready to have a good time. Not this this is mindless fun, the best power pop always has a tinge of melancholy, hints at story behind the hooks. Go go go!

Andre Williams and the Goldstars "Nightclub"

2012-01-24T06:27:00.000-08:00

(Pravda) During his now sixteen-year long comeback, there have been some recurring mistakes made by the many bands and labels who have made records with Andre Williams. There have been albums that have played down to white audiences' expectations of Wesley Willis-like "weird black guy cursing for our entertainment," there have been records that applied Williams' brilliant naughty streak and sly sense of humor to rock or hip hop sensibilities. And sometimes either the band or Andre got lazy and just went into autopilot, making Andre-esque songs that sound like Andre songs but were really nothing special. This record avoids all those traps, though it risks falling into the last one by saluting the Fortune/One-Der-Ful 50s/60s-era recordings that made Andre immortal (to discerning fans). The five song EP of classy sleazy R&B peaks with an semi-lascivious ode to "Hot Coffee" (semi, because some folks get that lustful about actual coffee) and on the ominously creepy "Nightclub." There's one Gary "U.S" Bonds-esque rocker ("Hard Way") that is an odd fit, but it's still pretty good (Springsteen would dig it), and on all the tracks Mr. Rhythm's world-weary voice finds sparks of wicked glee.

The Civil Tones "City Stoopin'"

2012-01-24T05:53:00.000-08:00

(Pravda) This instrumental combo will get your bird, because they're hard to pigeonhole. Not exactly funky chickens, nor surfin birds, not Latin toucan or Booker T-birds. Not blues-bird or prehistoric Troglodyte-era winged creatures. Somehow they embody a feathered friend who combines all these beasts and still manages to fly. And fly smooth!

Bottle Rockets “Not So Loud: An Acoustic Evening with the Bottle Rockets”

2012-01-24T03:50:00.000-08:00

(Bloodshot) If ya wanna be quiet don’t name your self after a firecracker! That said, these are some serious HD-audio twangs! The notes bend in 3-D! There’s real depth to the “path” in the pathos! Boom, indeed!

David Greenberger with Jupiter Circle “Never give up study,” David Greenberger/Mark Greenberg “Tell Me That Before,” David Greenberger/Bangalore )“How I Became Uncertain” David Greenberger/Ralph Carney “OH, PA”

2012-01-24T03:46:00.000-08:00

(Pel Pel) We have written so much about David Greenberger’s multi-discipline “Duplex Planet” project (which is basically him presenting interviews he’s done with the elderly in retirement homes, but is not particularly basic at all) that it’s hard to find new things to say. Fortunately, by releasing a quartet of CDs of disparate, though unified, audio projects, Pel Pel made my job easier. “Never give up study” has all the elements that make the Duplex Planet formula so perfect. Blog sensibilities – “Julia & Julia” cutesiness + zine aesthetics filtered through non commercial instincts, executed with a voice that falls somewhere between resonant radio dude and Jewish nebbish, presenting stories that become sublime due to the combination of the subjects’ confoundingly cumulative life experiences and old time vernacular. The jazziest of the batch of current CDs, this makes the best argument for Greenberger’s Ken Nordine-itude. On “Tell Me That Before” Chicago musical superhero Mark Greenberg manages to maintain idiosyncrasies and quirks while pocketing the straight up whimsy he sometimes messes around with to help Greenberger create some cuts that can be used as the perfect, unexpected garnishes on mixtapes, radio shows and ipod playlists. On “How I Became Uncertain” it becomes certain that if Greenberger had a voice (or pretended to have a voice) like William Burroughs then maybe it would feel like he was being over-dramatic or exploitative of his subjects, but something about the two-drummer, four piece backing Greenberger brings out the sincerity in his tone. “OH, PA” sets the stories against the most interesting soundscapes that fall somewhere between futuristic apocalypse audio and nostalgic cartoon soundtracks. This release also features some mini-plays focused on Duplex Planet all-star Fergie (not the same Fergie as in Black Eyed Peas, though she is starting to look nursing home-aged so I can see the confusion).

The Enthusiasts “Sinkin/Risin” b/w “Joanne”

2012-01-24T03:40:00.000-08:00

(Magic Sleeeve) Not punk or rock n roll or garage or “rock-ish” – this is actual, bonafide ROCK music, not posing as harder or louder or eviler than it is, but just letting wailing, amazing guitar tones and (not to mention perfect singing and drumming) carry the load. The a-side made me blue cheerful!

Bazooka “jupiter” b/w “back to you”

2012-01-24T03:38:00.000-08:00

(Dusty Medical) This is such a perfect marriage of nasal singing superness and bubblegum brilliance that it made me blow bubbles with my nose!

Head On Electric "Sleep Slaughter Sheep," "Ghost Hunter" single

2012-01-23T12:24:00.000-08:00

(Dusty Medical) Seemingly designed as the best ever audio lecture on the many definitions of psyche, this cheese-state masterpiece features rocki' garage psyche (the title track) wailing horror sound rave ups ("Mean Mary") junkyard bang up psyche ("Poison Toad"), speed/acid hybrid rock ("Body Recovery") surfy space sounds ("Up to You"), and walls of "woooos" ("Beside These Parts"). If releasing this mighty music monument wasn't enough, the "Ghost Hunter" single was one of my most treasured releases of the year. Packaged in a handmade cardboard and electric tape sleeve that seemingly scratched up the record, this one sided (the other side is screenprinted with green ghost letters - which may be when this got scratched, come to think about it) audio haunting is so bizarre and ethereal that when it starts skipping, or seemingly finds locked grooves mid-song, or gets w-e-i-r-d sounding, it's hard to tell if it's supposed to be like that. It's like a psyched out Christian Marclay experiment in surface wear!

Soft Targets/Mediums split single

2012-01-23T12:01:00.000-08:00

(www.roostercow.com) The Mediums should be called the Large, because they're in charge! The Soft Targets are the opposite of soft, and despite jumping on the zombie bandwagon, they are (or were? - I hear they broke up...but may return zombie-like) perpetually off target!

Susan Surftone "Shore"

2012-01-23T11:38:00.000-08:00

(www.susansurftone.com) Shore 'nuff right! An excellent surf guitar instrumental platter that explores some mellow, mature waves, though this is far from easy listening. Remember -- the sea is a powerful force, even when the ripples seem feint! This is what instrumental experiemntation sounded like before punk, psyche and feedback rewrote the songbook. Before the 2nd keg was tapped at a Northwest party. This would give Bob Bogle a big' ole smile! And I thought I never wanted to hear a Doors cover again, then Susan made a track spookier than the weirdest Billy Lee Riley harmonica tracks!

Vermillion Sands "Summer Melody" 7"

2012-01-23T11:27:00.000-08:00

(Shit Music for Shit People) Imagine the best go go dancing, weenie-on-a-stick eating, sweaty, groovy, inhibition-free beach party ever. Now imagine it is happening under the beach, and it's the subterranean mole people having the hoosegow! This is that awesome!

Union Electric "Tunnels" b/w "An Irish Orphan"

2012-01-23T11:10:00.000-08:00

(Rank Outsider) This is why Irish people drink! Impressively not happy Irish-Americana.

Sore Subjects "Gimme a Dee Dee" ep

2012-01-23T11:05:00.000-08:00

(www.soresubjects.com) People think it's no big whoop to do the Ramones thing, but if that's the case, how come Ben Weasel was so fucking awful at it for so long? When Marissa (I assume her, and her bandmates', last name is Sore Subject) fronts this punk trio with her perfectly deadpan singing, narrating spare, super rocking songs about beer, baseball fields, boys, and boneheads, she makes it look easy, while keeping it hard.

White Murder "Harold's Place" b/w "The Tell-All"

2012-01-23T10:51:00.000-08:00

(whitemurder.bandcamp.com) What could improve funky, near no-wave punk with hypnotizing lady unison singing (ala B52s, with a hint of aggressive monks thrown in)? How about a cardboard screenprinted gorilla sleeve? How about the girls saying the "f" word 76 times on the b-side? Oh yeah!

The Penetrators "Gotta Have Her" b/w "Baby, Doncha Tell Me"

2012-01-23T10:42:00.000-08:00

(Windian) This is a reissue of the first record by the long-running Upstate Ne York garage punk band, and it herald's from 1976, but sounds like it was minted a decade earlier, especially the great A-side which starts out with a charmingly teenage rock n roll spoken band introduction ("Good evening, Syracuse, we're called the Penetrators, were oh so very happy to be in your lovely city tonight..."). This is so ridiculously good that words escape me, but if you love lo-fi, all fun, regular-guys-strutting-like-rock-stars rock n roll, you need to let this penetrate your ear holes!

Mondo Ray "Hypnotized" b/w "Nothing"

2012-01-23T10:26:00.000-08:00

(Windian) The only thing wrong with this German garage-pop single is that it has a small hole, because if this had the big 45 hole and you put this in a jukebox you could clean up the quarters! I just played "Nothing" 43 times in a row!

We Are All Savages "Jersey Stranger" b/w "Vacay on the Bay"

2012-01-23T09:58:00.000-08:00

(www.weareallsavages.com) Sweetly heavy metallic hardcore that savaged me smoothly. They sing about Jersey and water, but if anyone on Jersey Shore heard to music like this their hair would lose its shape.

Art Institute "people like it when you fail" Art Institute/Knifight split

2012-01-23T09:52:00.000-08:00

(Artificial Head) There was a time in New York when the early punk scene had a bunch of weird, smart, disparate elements making up the strange scene before any rules were written down. There is also that quirky cassette/ultra-indie 45 British pre/post-punk thing that Messthetics documents. While it's hard to credit a contemporary band with almost 40 years of prior punk/new wave/art rock oddness to draw upon for being iconoclastic, it sure is nice to hear an act that could pass for 1976 visionaries. Weird, political, well-enunciated, sparely disarming, angular declarations of obtuse revolution make this a confusingly timeless strangebomb. I would like it if they succeeded. Or, like so many of my favorite bands, kept failing but never gave up. Their split with Knifight has Art Institute getting a little groovy, and Knifight delivering one of the most organic songs about robotics I've ever heard.

Live Ones "Yer Quite Welcome"

2012-01-23T09:31:00.000-08:00

(Drug Front Records) When I hear a record like this all I can think is 'Why do I have to hear so many records that are not like this?' How hard would it be for everyone else to just tap into '68 MC5, '71 Flamin' Groovies, '74 KISS, '87 Lazy Cowgirls, '91 Dead Moon and '11 Live Ones? Punk chops, bubblegum hooks, and no frills isareall anyone needs, and America would be better right now if this Brooklyn trio got commissioned to write our new National Anthem.

The Naked Heroes "99 Diamond"

2012-01-23T09:20:00.000-08:00

(Drug Front Records) You can argue for oi, front for funk, and throw down for thrash, but when it comes right down to it,there is so genre of purer rock n roll joyful perfection than boogie. Boogie rock when done right is just right! That this hirsute, hard rockin' lady/dude duo does it so remarkably right is a beautiful thing in 99 different ways, which I'm too rock drunk to count out now. But you will love this heavy happiness profusely. And if you don't, then you need to go get your rock bearings adjusted.

The Candy Snatchers "Down at Delilah's"

2012-01-23T09:10:00.000-08:00

(Drug Front Records) I'm pretty sure that every time that I saw Candy Snatchers the singer vomited on stage, which was always a good reason to maybe be a few feet away from the stage (Candy vomit being way worse than Gwar food color, yet nowhere near as bad as G.G. enema spray). As destructive and chunk spewing as the band was, I was a tiny bit surprised, and a lot more saddened, to hear that Matt the guitarist died a few years ago, but it was good to know that his legacy will live beyond their two albums and their live 5" record, as Matt completed one last album with the Snatcheroos before his passing. Named for everyone's fave Chicago bar, though recorded somewhere else, these tracks sound better than anything that came before. "She's A Real Asshole," "Huffer," "Me and Uncle Willie" and the other dozen tracks of beach garage trash mess rock are all full of hooks, punk whirlwind playing, stupidity, and genius. This is a record I would gladly get vomited upon to hear!

True Sons of Thunder "s/t," Wizard Sleeve/True Sons of Thunder split single

2012-01-23T08:39:00.000-08:00

(Jeth-Row) This super group (if your liberal definition of "super group" means a band with some guys you've probably had drinks with at some point in Chicago, New Orleans, or Memphis) makes a super musical mess that harkens back to the days when Goner records released albums that made you check to see if your speakers or stylus were damaged. Negative integer-Fi recordings of creepy, trashy, hungry (or alternately, full of greasy food) hell-sounds make this ridiculous rock 'n' roll record one of the best/worst things I have heard in years! This is a record that will give you an ear infection. "Bloodclot" is a perfect punk audio-wound, "Nate the Rat" is the unintelligible trashrock equivalent of a Dylan ode. "Life Stinks" is longer and better than "Freebird" and the band achieves this without actually playing any notes! On their split with Wizzard Sleeve TSOT deliver an ambient mess cloud of spoken confusion, which is kind of left in the hazy space dust by the gutter-psyche of the Wizzers, although each side of this deviant disc sees the respective band complimenting their evil waxmate wickedly well. Buy these records and proudly im-dirty yourself permanently!

King Cat Comics & Stories #72

2012-01-23T06:37:00.000-08:00

(www.king-cat.net) In his latest collection of lovely, quiet, poignant comix John Porcellino seems pretty low and melancholy about most things but he recounts a blissful tale of a long-ago acid trip and has a few nice dates, so JP, here's my unsolicited second opinion/prescription for happiness: drugs and girls! (Full disclosure, that's my 'scrip for pretty much everybody, with some minor adjustments for the gals and the gays)

Bloodshot Bill "Thunder and Lightning"

2012-01-23T06:17:00.000-08:00

(Norton) Without hesitation I can say that out of the hundreds of shows and bands I saw in 2011 the November set by Bloodshot Bill, the Canadian one wildman band, was by far the most amazing spectacle I beheld. He was really good in his new combo, the headlining Tandoori Knights (with King Khan) but that group got blown out of the water by their opening act...the stage-fillingly solo Bloodshot Bill! During an insane, sweaty, barefoot, pajama-clad solo set of the psycho-trash-blues-punk whatever music he plays his all-foot drumming was genuinely remarkable, his lightning fast guitar playing was bizarrely rich-sounding and weird, and his froglike vibrato alien creature singing was otherworldly. And he spits really good.And his interplay with the audience was magical. Un-fucking-believable show! While I cannot say that this platter captures his live magnetic madness, I will say that I've listened to it at least 300 times since I got it, and I never get bored. The spare rockabilly feels authentic and timeless (these could be 50s recordings) but there is something in his joyfully sinister voice that injects a potent syringe-ful of weirdness that was only found in the rarest of Eisenhower-hour etchings (the kind Norton always seems to find and reissue). Highlights on this include the hiccuping helluva hit title track, the original instrumental "The Hunt" that reminds me of the beloved Chet Atkins "Boo Stick" tune from "Teensville," a Cash-esque reading of Marvin Rainwater's "My Brand of Blues," and a cover of Ronnie Branam's "Puppy Dog Love" that invokes the spawn of Cerberus and Cujo! Play this til the grooves wear out, but more crucially, never miss an opportunity to see this genius in the bloodshot flesh!

Truman Bentley Jr newsletter

2012-01-23T02:56:00.000-08:00

(send $ to 3219 Carden Dr. Columbis GA 31907-2143) I got a little lost in the latest batch of single-spaced, turn-the-page around, kook-style messianic rant mailings from TBJ, but as far as I figure, his prophecy now has something to do with cheeseburgers, church-led psy-ops, graffiti, Lost in Space reruns, trance states, bedbugs, Lucifer, Holocaust denial-lite (it happened, but it might not have happened if...), psychic vampires, sex dolls as pets, dirtbags, Devo, dada, Jazzy Jeff in the woods, night sweats and newsletter worship. And Ef the Superbowl!
POSTSCRIPT: AS WELL HE SHOULD HAVE, MR. BENTLEY FELT HE SHOULD ANSWER TO CHARGES OF "HOLOCAUSE-DENIAL LITE". HERE IS HIS RESPNSE:

FAITHFULLY FAB! Marianne Faithfull (Live) City Winery, New York City – December 19, 2011

2012-01-09T03:46:00.000-08:00

(Guest Review by Madeline Bocaro/photo swiped from Rock's Back Pages) On the second night of her sold-out three-night residence at City Winery, Marianne Faithfull told many interesting stories about her fascinating life, and about each song that she sang. The best one was, “Something happened last night, and I woke up a star!” Marianne is still in disbelief of her celebrity. She is both pleased and embarrassed to be this ‘pop creature’ as stated in her autobiography.  How often do we get to see a true legend these days? Most are no longer with us, or rarely perform. Despite the odds, Marianne Faithfull, It Girl is STILL IT! She is our Billie Holiday, and she has survived her ultra hip and decadent past.  Mick Jagger and Keith Richards gave her ‘As Tears Go By’. She gave the Rolling Stones ‘Sister Morphine’. ‘What am I doing in this place? Why does the doctor have no face?’ When parents were warned to keep their daughters away from the Stones in the 1960s, nobody warned the Stones about the perils hidden beneath the sheer beauty of young Marianne!  Throughout her career, sweet ballads of the 60s converged with covers of jazz, blues, pop, rock and European classics. She also collaborated with many iconic writers on her own tunes. Her young, ethereal voice was transformed (some would say destroyed) in the mid 70s from drug abuse and throat problems… but really, this was her big break - and it suited her much better!  Marianne’s love of music is deep and passionate. She introduced each song with utmost praise, respectfully naming each songwriter (though sometimes forgetting), and introduced own compositions with pride. Marianne persuasively imbued each song with her own essence, becoming the central character of each one. There were ghosts, young innocent girls, crestfallen women, a flower child, soldiers, drug addicts – and she was all of them. A delicate combination of trash and elegance.  Marianne’s ragged beauty imparts her legend. Her voice has aged like fine wine over decades. Her low register conveys the sorrow of the songs. Lovely cracks, creaks and warbles emanate as she perfectly hits the higher notes with pure emotion. A flawless voice cannot achieve this, nor take us to the places where Marianne takes us. Each song is a story. Every important lyric is clearly sung with a charming, sophisticated British accent. Pure joy and admiration were conveyed in the upbeat ‘Prussian Blue’ as Marianne lyrically described the colours of a Paris evening.  Marianne is timeless, funny, self-mocking and cool. She’s like the kooky old aunt at your family gatherings, making holidays more fun with her humourous tales of debauchery, celebrity and survival. Chatting with the audience and rebelliously lighting endless cigarettes, she explained how she tried to quit smoking with a French hypnotist. “I understand French pretty well, but my subconscious obviously does not.”  Faithfull’s amazing band leapt from Daniel Lanois to Duke Ellington to the Stones to Roger Waters with ease. Guitarist Doug Pettibone received several ovations during ‘Broken English’ and ‘Sister Morphine’. The meet and greet afterwards was a special treat. I hope that some of Marianne’s It-ness rubbed of on me during our hug!  You can play all the original songs/videos from the set-list link HERE. 

The Monsters "...Pop Up Yours!"

2012-01-07T06:36:00.000-08:00

(Voodoo Rhythm) Beat Man's howling gutter trash rock n roll goon squad return with their best platter of audio splatter yet! If Screaming Lord Sutch actually killed people between recording sessions and political campaigns this is what his music might have sounded like. Genuinely creepy

Delaney Davidson "Bad Luck Man"

2012-01-06T09:10:00.000-08:00

(Voodoo Rhythm) I'm convinced this is no act...I truly believe that Mr. Davidson is in actuality a genuinely weird, creepy cat, and that you would hear these delightfully dirty dirges as his mysterious background music every time the devilish dude entered the room.

BOB "The Things That You Do" b/w "Thomas Edison"

2012-01-05T06:25:00.000-08:00

(Rerun) This reissue of an ultra-rare 1980 San Francisco punk single is ridiculous awesome and so fucking New Wave that they should put a warning sticker on it about inevitable pogo injuries. This is so fucking New Wave that it makes an episode of Square Pegs look like an episode of Lawrence Welk. This is so fucking New Wave that 30-plus years later this wave hasn't happened yet! I want to summarize by reiterating the phrases "ridiculous," "awesome," and "New Wave." This is what reissuing is all about...A MUST HAVE!

Claudine "Wrestling Consciousness"

2012-01-04T10:09:00.000-08:00

(www.claudinemusic.com) Thank the Lord for Christian pop...it's the last bastion for awesome cliche rock unafraid of cheese and pomp! Joy to my ears!

Awesome Future

2012-01-03T02:51:00.000-08:00

(Microcosm) Robnoxious's raw comix turns an earnest, optimistic, punk/hippie hybrid eye towards life, health, friendship, biology, intolerance, animals, humans, and family. And he's very good a drawing a chicken riding a bicycle. (And pretty good at drawing a pickle riding a skateboard).

GG Allin "Live in Boston 1989" DVD

2012-01-02T03:56:00.000-08:00

(MVD) (Guest review by Gary Pig Gold)

A Full Disclosure right up front, one and all:

‘Way back in the 1980 hey!day of my fanzine The Pig Paper, a certain Kevin Michael Allin sent over a sweetly autographed, stuffed with promo material copy of an album called Always Was, Is and Always Shall Be which had been newly issued on none other than David “The Pope Smokes Dope” Peel’s Orange Records imprint. It sounded then, and remains today, a most spirited indeed collection of incredibly powerful pop in that classic Stooges / Dolls mold, with lyrics – especially heard in a, shall we say, immediate post-Pistols frame of ear – not really all that “shocking” whatsoever.

Now Kevin Michael grew all the way up to become, of course, GG Allin, who by the time of MVD Visual’s Live in Boston 1989 DVD was still quite happy to remain focused upon the fun as opposed to the, well, feces of his craft. If you catch my career-spanning drift. For example, even before mounting the stage at The Middle East in Cambridge, MA on our particular hot August night in question, this disc treats us to thirty-five full minutes’ worth of GG, long-suffering bassist/brother Merle, and their young AIDS Brigade band “Gettin’ made up for the show,” as this chapter’s most accurately called. Why, we can even spot vintage Elvis on the wall, the carpet underfoot seems to have actually been vacuumed for the occasion, and the guys before the mirror seem no more rotten or vicious than, say, Monkees kept up after eleven.

Things really do go something like this:

“Is that green enough for you?” “I’m just putting the first coat on!” “This sharp enough for ya, honey?” “A little blacker under the eyes.” “Wetting it makes it better.” “I don’t think that’s dark enough.” “Can you get me some Salems?” “Stop fooling around!” “Poke my eyeball out if you have to, but GET IT DARKER.” “We wanna hide a little bit of the ugly…” “Orchid? Do ya have any, like, blue?” “Those whiskers. Really!” “Yes, you need more neon green.” “Do you think you’re lacking something?” “Hey! You covered my acne! Whaddaya know.” “Purple? That’s not me.” “You’re gonna have to tie your hair back or somethin’.” “Aw yeah! That’s New York Dolls-type shit!” “You need some dangly earrings.”

Then, after posing for a requisite few Polaroids by the dressing room door, the lovely lads proceed to wobble onstage to play one true, loud, friction-packed set …during which, I swear, GG’s undies don’t even drop until the middle of the fourth song. Now these are the lonely planet boys I knew and loved all the way back when it Always Was.

However, for the discriminating connoisseur I and MVD know are out there, the true meat of GG’s matter is much more readily on display during the two – count ‘em! – Bonus Shows generously added to this disc’s menu.

Shot out in the once-picturesque Pacific Northwest a mere month before the man’s most messy passing on 6/28/93, and featuring his crack back-up band of Murder Junkies to boot, allow me to run GG’s action down thumbnail-style:

Bonus Show # 1 (Under The Rail, Seattle, May 26, 1993):

- Allin orifice exposed less than 40 seconds into the proceedings

- anal waterworks let loose at 4:23, followed by tasting of same

- clothes all off by 5:10

- Bible ripped apart at 5:45

- American flag desecrated at 6:16

- Seattle Rocket paper (that was actually a pretty good zine) set on fire at 7:23

- record album pooped on at 8:08 then tossed into (what remains of) audience at 8:52

- turkey baster enema self-inflicted at 10:02: “Don’t take a picture of it – suck it, baby!”

…and all of this taking place while awaiting the guitarist to arrive before the first song!

Bonus Show # 2 (Roseland Theater, Portland, May 27, 1993):

- GG fully disrobed this time by 0:45!

- Sub Pop t-shirt, Bible, and some hot dogs all set on fire at 3:46

- Pepsi enema at 3:58

- this time, it’s the drummer they’re waiting for.

Ahh, my. “The long battles to prove he was a Saint,” as no less a rock and roll authority as Paul McCartney once said. And all I can possibly add is that GG Allin & The AIDS Brigade Live in Boston 1989 will make you laugh until you cry. Or maybe the other way around.

RIP, Kevin Michael.

Betty Paginated, a Dash of Jones, grunted warning

2012-01-01T04:21:00.000-08:00

(http://bettypaginated.blogspot.com/) What I genuinely love about the Australian zine Betty Paginated is that it makes me a better man by teaching me the art, virtue, and superpower of shamelessness. Dann and his lovely wife Helen write about the things they love and they never apologize for, or even consider that they are supposed to utilize some filter when, lusting over porn stars, pop stars, or even kiddie TV hosts. And while it has always been one of my best sources for cheesecake and nudie photos, the true shamelessness occurs when Dann goes on at length about his gloriously geeky comic book fandom. D&L also publish a zine about their two lovely kids, and though folks rarely have the self-awareness not to bore you with a slideshow of baby pictures or a blog of diaper changes, the Lennard's winning personalities make you love their precocious kids through oversharing. I'm pretty sure Dann and Helen do not do Grunted Warning, and just threw it in a nice bonus, but it's a zine that collects gruesome violence clippings and odd cheesecake clippings (pretty girls in hot dog eating contest, nude bicyclists, etc.) And thanks to Dann and Helen I feel no shame ogling and chuckling!

The Destructors "Media Studies," "11-11-11 In Memorium" "POW! THAT'S WHAT I CALL KILLMUSIK VOLUME 2 REWIND" Destructors/Don't Look Down "Je Suis Radio" Destructors/Dun2Def "Wohlgeful"

2011-12-14T10:07:00.000-08:00

(www.destructors.co.uk) Here's the latest batch of releases from the Destructors, a 70s/80s UK punk band that reformed this century and have since been unleashing a Jandek-esque flood of releases, including lots of split CDs with younger bands, theme albums, and annual one-day-only releases. The latest of these one day wonders is "11-11-11" which is themed to correspond with Remembrance Day (WWI had its armistice signed at 11 o' clock on 11/11/18). Thus, rather than their Satanically festive "6/6/6" release or as digitally comprehensive "101010," this is a depressing depiction of war as a futile, dark death orgy. Despite having the same pub rock/Clash-attitude as always, the darkness gives this a metal edge. Certainly one of their best efforts yet. "Media Studies" is also solid, a theme record taking the press to task, with contemptuous lyrics about NME and Jonathan Ross and other references us Yanks don't quite understand, but we dig the sounds! Don't Look Down are one of the best bands to split with Destructors, making music that is anthemic and rousing, but definitely not Oi (because Oi bands can't cover Tears for Fears). On the other hand, the Destructors covering Modern Lovers doesn't mean they ain't Oi-ish...there's lots of skins in Massachusetts! The split with Dun2Def makes the younger band look silly for celebrating their 10th anniversary compared to the haggard vets who respectfully let the youngsters put a little pub punk chocolate into modern punk peanut better. Then the Destructors show them how it's done with a sizzlin' set that even includes an anti-Obama song ("Yes we can...but we don't!"). Speaking of split CDs, the band has compiled a ton of tracks off past split CDs on their new POW! THAT'S WHAT I CALL KILLMUSIK VOL. 2 collection (and added an Easybeats and a Killing Joke cover to appease their clamoring Notting Hill and Sydney fans). While a few themes emerge (the expected anti-US government stuff and some unexpected anti-immigrant stuff) this is mostly just a bushel full of kickass, refreshing, low down, awesome punk.

The United States of Toil "When the Revolution Comes, Everything Will be Beautiful"

2011-12-14T08:56:00.000-08:00

(Phratry) If the Occupy protesters would rock out to dire Midwest post-hardcore with elements of noise, symphonic metal and monster movie soundtracks instead of those godawful drum circles than I'd be out there with them every day. P-O-W-E-R-F-U-L!

Swear Jar "Cuss"

2011-12-14T08:51:00.000-08:00

(Phratry) Splittery lines make crooked angles to create math rock that doesn't add up but has all the right answers!

LKN/Kill The Symphony split

2011-12-14T08:48:00.000-08:00

(Phratry) LKN: In addition to their drumtastic non-linear math seductively scrambled eggs songs, they pull a Queen "You're My Best Friend" left turn with a similarly titled song that's all pretty and abnadons percussion-spasms completely. Knife the Symphony: They get downright evil with three servings of tempo-tantrum weirdness that seems more aggressive than a castrated grizzly (and by that I don't mean a fat, cooled-out eunuch bear, but one that just had his balls cut off seconds ago).

Fatal Figures "BlueZed" b/w "Alright"

2011-12-14T08:23:00.000-08:00

(Big Neck) You have to be impressed when a rock n roll band can manage to not only simulate musical projectile vomiting, but also simultaneously simulate a spacious spray of said sonic spew. Aaron (of the Blowtops, the band that has morphed into this F-word combo) is a special singer with a special style who'll make the janitor use up all his special orange sawdust.

HOLLYWOOD "Stunts"

2011-12-14T08:14:00.000-08:00

(Big Neck) Evil blues punk that seems that manages to take you to trash rock heaven while maintaining demonic devilishness in every murky, seductive note. What I like about this record is that even though the weird, ugly, amazing tone and vibe would have been enough to make this a winner they decided to actually have awesome songs as well, including "Doctor's Note," which I can't quite describe, but also can't stop my brain from playing on an endless loop, and the powerful "Jack Crap" which makes the Ramones seem cerebral!

Electric Blood "Single 2011" (aka "Elect Ric B Lood")

2011-12-14T04:24:00.000-08:00

(Spacecase) For all you New Zealandiphiles out there this is a holy grail of sorts, Robert from the Clean's late 70s/early 80s band, this being the first vinyl appearance of tracks from obscure ancient cassette releases (so this is also great for Messthetics fans) that sound weird and shambly and slightly spooky and loose and kooky. There's a genuinely awesome, I-think-I-can train/I-think-I can train rhythm mimicking 1982 track called "Pennsylvania" (which I was hoping when I first listened was called Pencil Man") that's like 10 seconds long -- if all the folks who tried to make songs about the 50 states and failed like the Dambuilders and Sufjan had limited themselves to this length they could have finished their project in an afternoon! I would vote for Ric B. Lood in a second! Especially in the 2012 Republican Primary - no competition!

Paul Williams: Still Alive

2011-12-13T07:04:00.000-08:00

(Guest Review by Robert Dayton) I recently had the opportunity to see the documentary “Paul Williams: Still Alive” at the Toronto International Film Festival. This documentary came about because director Stephen Kessler was a massive fan and didn’t know that he was still alive! I am normally wary of docs that feature the director as a character, but this works, it really makes this documentary all the more human. There is great levity from both sides as Kessler struggles to convince Paul Williams to be the subject of his documentary (and eventually succeeds, of course). Williams is wary as he doesn’t want another ego trip. This doc explores how his personality has shifted these past twenty years and has a great many things to say about ego, being different and wanting to feel special, addiction, being an entertainer, living in the now, and that happy endings are possible. It’s also very funny, a favourite moment is when Kessler is terrified to accompany Paul Williams to his shows in the Phillippines but knows that it is integral to his doc. Archival footage, while not dotty and pristine, is used to appropriate effect, especially at the emotional climax.

Dagger zine #44

2011-12-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

(daggerzine.com) Dagger? I dig 'er!

We're All In This Together comp

2011-12-09T07:42:00.000-08:00

(Suburban White Trash) it's not surprising that the only ringer on this comp has the most memorable songs. Hearing Dave Dictor rail against rap, hypocrites who chant "U.S.A.!," and (of course) cops (and rail for Tim Yohannan of MRR) would make the MDC tracks here stand out, even if they didn't have a tune that opens with Southern Rock guitar wailing, before gearshifting into soccer hooligan chant punk. But it's not the best stuff here. It's the two Indonesian acts that win this Battle of the Bands. Triple X deliver an earful of joyful Oi-fullness in a killer cut called "Our Noise," and Hanker Hoax Haphazard demonstrate such a gloriously awkward non-mastery of English and punk conventions that it's hard not to get pure joy from them shenanigans. Crackbox and Asspiss also deliver some tasty anarchy. That the album ends up with Dictor doing a moody ballad about the betrayal of corporate sellout punk rockers that is actually eloquent and kind of moving is a surprising bonus. Although it has less bands, this stands alongside the classic hardcore comps of yore as an important slab of dinosaur remains.

Pork

2011-12-09T07:15:00.000-08:00

(www.goblinko.com) Sean the Sean's boisterous broadsheet zine is quite simply breathtaking - a beautifully cluttered explosion of words, comics, photos, jokes, lists, interviews, collages, cut-out novelties, craziness and kookitude that unquestionably is right about everything: the music (goofy garage), comics (seductively strange stuff) candy (all), and culture (l-o-w) they choose to celebrate is all killer, no filler representing perfect taste, while never being in good taste. This is basically Roctober if we had any design sense!

Lei Do Cao/Crippled Fox split 7"

2011-12-09T07:03:00.000-08:00

(Suburban White Trash/Satan's Penguin/Hiroshima/Death Crush) Sweet lord -- Brazil's LDC play so insanely fast and evil and powerfully that it felt as gloriously painful as having pubic hairs ripped out -- which is why they call that "a Brazilian." Crippled Fox from Hungary will not leave you hungering for brutality or ridiculously destructive hardcore. I'm not sure how Suburban White Trash records has been able to fill their roster with punk bands that (other than using awesome movie soundbites) deny the 90s happened the way Ahmadinejad denies the Holocaust. This is an awesome EP.

A Fight with Sledgehammers "Dogmatic Deception"

2011-12-09T06:51:00.000-08:00

(Suburban White Trash/leaf lust) Furious political-anarcho-crust-like-h/c sermons that made we thrash around my room and made me want to break down the system, but I just ended up breaking a bookcase and some bobbleheads that were on a shelf and possibly my left clavicle.

Gain to Lose "Gunlock Germ" EP

2011-12-09T06:45:00.000-08:00

(Suburban White Trash Records) Oddly accurate classic hardcore with crossover strains that profoundly pummels. This will either rekindle your love affair with punk or rekindle your hate affair with drinking and fighting.

Molten Rectangle #3, Sensation #1

2011-12-09T06:37:00.000-08:00

(www.genebooth.com) Booth (and everyone in his family) take film history/criticism/appreciation/spectatorship to the blissful purgatory between highbrow heaven (or hell) and lowbrow hell (or heaven) with MR's best-ever collection of essays, articles and artworks exploring human interaction with cinema. This issue explores a classic theater's history, a classic movie's memorable line, an extra's extrapolations, and a movie-cular menu. Best of all, it comes with a DVD featuring three shorts that explore the cinematic possibilities of improv in very different ways (that's assuming the proto-Beavis and Butthead in Danny Plotnik's 1980-era Super-8 non-road movie were freeballing their insult comedy). Booth and Grace Tran also put out Sensation, a mini-comic/mini-women's study cheat sheet about a conceptual feminist Wonder Woman which is oddly pleasant, as feminist Wonder Woman would apparently do a lot more talking, a lot less brawling.

Drugs Dragons "The Milorganight EP"

2011-12-08T12:30:00.000-08:00

(Dusty Medical) I never understood how when low down bowery punk rockers took copious amounts of heroin they sounded like a fucking mess but when jazz-bos with their cerebral bebop got all fucked up on junk they could play their difficult instruments with bizarre dexterity and seem smarter. This glorious vomit-core album is what Chet Baker and Miles and Bird should have sounded like when they were strung out. That is, ff they were playing rock instruments, toy pianos, budget electronics, and all their monster-sounding songs were about ice, death and pestilence. Not sure my point, I'm kinda nodding off right about n....

Crisis Hotlines "(Don't Wanna Go To) No Jail"

2011-12-08T12:12:00.000-08:00

(Eradicator) This is about as good as an 80s-esque punky-wave slab o' sound sauce can get! Don't mess with Texas, no matter how pathetic their presidential candidates may be.

The Happy Thoughts

2011-12-08T11:57:00.000-08:00

(Hozac) Imagine of you saw a piece of bubblegum sitting in the trash, all dirty and gritty, yet you popped it in your mouth anyhow, and shockingly, some sucker had spit it out even though it was still full of flavor! This trashy slab of bubblegum (with genuinely teenage energy and innocence despite the grit) tastes even better than garbage can gum!

People's Temple "Sons of Stone"

2011-12-08T11:53:00.000-08:00

(Hozac) These Michigan meshugas open their new LP with a psyche statement as tall as an obelisk-sized lava lamp. But it's that rare strain of spare psyche that uses a conservative amount of noodle-free notes to make hooks actually hook. Though it's suposed to be like five minutes long, it sounds like a glorious lifetime. They get going with more down to earth 60s garage pop on the rest of the record, but it's no let down, it's a low key rave up! Kind of amazing...everyone should own this.

Wax Idols "All Too Human" b/w "William Says"

2011-12-08T11:46:00.000-08:00

(Hozac) Badass pop garage that makes you want to use the vinyl as a weapon to vanquish any Rock n Roll Hall of Fame voter who checked off Chili Peppers instead of Joan Jett. Heather's singing is scarily good and these two killer cuts qualify this slab for the Awesome Asskicking 45 Hall of Fame!

I.V. Eyes/Schiller Killers split 7"

2011-12-08T11:40:00.000-08:00

(Rubber Vomit) Can't decide if these two bands are competing to write the soundtrack for the first garage rock snuff film or to the 17th lo-fi auto-erotic asphyxiation audio companion. This is on the jukebox in hell!

Red Mass "Drink My Blood" b/w "Freak Show"

2011-12-08T11:37:00.000-08:00

(Hozac) Sounds like Crass was hired to compose the music for the Mad Monster Party II puppetronic halloween special!

Shrapnelles "My Mom is Hot" ep

2011-12-08T11:32:00.000-08:00

(Hozac) I don't know if these Canadian she-rawkers are in fact dirty girls, but I know their instruments, amps, recording heads, and cables must all be filthy to get these kind of nasty, overdriven, garage rock trash bombs! I shrap-kneel before them!

Dalai Lamas "I Want You" b/w "I Lost You"

2011-12-08T11:28:00.000-08:00

(Hozac) Creepy, seductive, and frighteningly demanding. Just like the real Dalai Lama.

Indian Wars "Walk Around the Park" LP

2011-12-08T11:14:00.000-08:00

(Bachelor) Oh Canada...you never let us down! Well, maybe I don't need to hear that second Rush song on Two for Tuesdays, but in general, you continuously remind us that when it comes to rockin', you are technically America, too! Balancing the jangles and ghostly rumbles of garage, blues-ish rock, country, pop, Americana (again, technically they qualify), and whatever it is Dylan and Neil Young (Canada!) think they've been doing the last fifteen years, these Native American warriors stand victorious. Pretty damn awesome!

Ralph Carney's Serious Jass Project "Seriously"

2011-12-08T10:45:00.000-08:00

(Smog Veil) Thankfully super sideman/saxual somethin' else-dude Carney is more playful than serious about his jass/jazz/ass on this hootenany of a jump blues/swing/big band/little combo/Andrews Sisters-fetishist/detective jazz/lap steel lap dance par-tay! The SJP's craft a kooky new cannon that features the handiwork of the Duke, Coleman Hawkins, Charlie Barnett, Richard Rodgers, and Freddy Mitchell (sadly, they cover FM's toe tapping tribute to Alan Freed and not his boogie-bastic ode to White Sox manager Larry Doby), and it's seriously fun. But overall, this album feels a lot more carny than it does serious...I wonder if in addition to every kinda sax, clarinet, brass and woodwind on god's green earth, Ralph would also consider putting a live chicken head in his piehole? Now that'd be carny!

The Younger Lovers "Rock Flawless"

2011-12-08T10:25:00.000-08:00

(Bachelor) Who doesn't dig the Bay Area decadence/adolescent-ish/bubblegum/punk scene? Correct answer? No fucking buddy duzn't luv it! Lee rodent-ish than Nobunny, hunkier than Hunx, clammier than Shannon, and taller than Vice Cooler, Brontez the Younger Lover will not only make you a lover of his vague desperation-laden pop but will make you a younger of it as well.

The Tee Pees "You're A Turd" b/w "Do the Smog"

2011-12-08T10:18:00.000-08:00

(Bachelor) Makes the Mummies sound like ELO!

Joe Jack Talcum "Home Recordings 1984-1990"

2011-12-08T10:01:00.000-08:00

(www.hhbtm.com) A Dead Milkman's ultra lo-fi home strummings dating back to when he was a Dead Milkboy, and apparently pleasured himself to Daniel Johnston recordings (OK, we all did that). Discerningly charming.

Orca Team"Take My Hand" ep

2011-12-08T09:21:00.000-08:00

(HHBTM) Nautical awesomeness!