the cheapest quest

Another Late Pass...

2012-01-27T12:11:00.000-08:00

Another band I kind of slept on; Seattle's Master Musicians Of Bukkake always turned me off from listening to them with their name, but after having been DRAGGED to a show of theirs recently, I'm a believer. The name is a godawful pun off of the Master Musicians Of Jajouka, a discovery of The Rolling Stones Brian Jones. The music is a sort of Sun City Girls styled world music, opening with "Bardo Sidpa" crackling fire, bells, eerie atmospherics, and it just gets better from there. My favorite track "Prophecy Of The White Camel/Namoutarre" is a stomping handclapping, chanting, rousing number. Fun to listen to, fun to sing along to when you're all by yourself! Also really great is the last track "Failed Future", which sound like a cut off of a John Carpenter soundtrack or the latest Zombi album. There's a lot of top shelf instruments being played on here, things that I have no idea what they are. World music may be a horrible way to describe the Master Musicians, but it's the closest comparison that works. I still don't like their name, I feel like it cheapens the music. Maybe that's a bad reason to not be into a group, but for me it's just how I feel. I'm glad I gave the Master Musicians Of Bukkake a chance though. I used up one of my "free CD's" stamp cards at Easy Street to buy mine, not exactly a bargain, but I'll take it. I highly recommend seeing these guys; their show is one of a kind, every one is different, fun, unpredictable. Try to find their records now, as they seem to be out of print already, this one the third in their "Totem Trilogy" being the easiest to find.

7 songs makes the count at 12996....

Good Grief...

2012-01-24T15:02:00.000-08:00

January has been a weird month for me, my computer kind of pooped out on me, nothing special has been turning up in the bins at any of the stores I frequent, I've been buying a lot of music, putting it on my computer and not really listening to it either, there's a lot of catching up to do also. As a result of that, I haven't been buying a lot of music lately. But, when you come across a .99 cent copy of Jawbox's "For Your Own Special Sweetheart", you've got to pick it up. I found this at Jive Time and since I know I only have the "Grippe" album, I knew I needed this one. Next to "Grippe", this is my favorite Jawbox album. I have had many musician friends tell me that they are envious of the guitar tone on this album, and it does sound glorious. Kim Coletta's bass is perfect too, caught right in the middle of the guitars and drums, with enough character to stand out just a bit, without being too pushed up in the mix. A masterful lesson in recording an album in my opinion. Ted Nicely assisted Jawbox on this and got them to make their watershed album, probably the best sounding one that ANY DC band ever managed to. I owned this album when it came out, but probably sold it or gave it to someone, I honestly have no idea. Either way, I've been missing it. Everyone I knew was a bit surprised when Jawbox left Dischord for Atlantic records, many crying "Sell Out!", but all of that washes away when you listen to this. Atlantic seemed to have a lot of the better bands during the whole "Alternative" craze of the 90's. Jawbox was amongst the best along with the Melvins. Good god; "Savory" is amazing. Should have been such a big hit instead of the minor "college radio" smash it was. The whole album hits as hard and great as that track too, especially "Green Glass", one of my personal favourites. Such a great, moody album. After not having listened to it for many a year, it sounds as fresh as it did when it came out.

12 songs makes the count at 12989...

Spirits Rejoice...

2012-01-06T13:34:00.000-08:00

I've been rediscovering my love for Jazz lately. A coworker of mine has been talking to me about Jazz nonstop. One of our shared loves is for the highly spiritual Albert Ayler. If John Coltrane was the heart of the new "Free Jazz" sound emerging in the mid to late 60's, then Albert Ayler was the soul. His themes were simpler than Ornette Coleman or Coltrane, but whereas those two had raw talent to back them up, Ayler only had dogged determination to have his voice heard. His sax was blistering, unleashing sharp spikes of fire at you. "Spirits Rejoice" isn't as well known as his "Spiritual Unity" album, but many of the themes that are on that classic album are on this earlier one; his simple folk melodies that harkened back to an earlier era of jazz. Poor Ayler wasn't as well received as a lot of the other new "Free Jazz" musicians, but his reputation for being a firebrand was well known in Europe where he almost always received a warm welcome. Albert's' brother Don Ayler played the trumpet on here and for most his later albums, as did Gary Peacock on bass and Sunny Murray on drums. These guys kept their albums rooted so that Ayler could find his spiritual Ecstasy in trying to send his notes out as far as possible. I'm convinced that no one else could have done a better job for him. This might not be the best first album to get into Albert Ayler, that one would be "Spiritual Unity", and his later discography is a bit of a thorny path when he decided to cut an R&B album, some people hated it, but really, you can't go wrong with any Albert Ayler, dude was one of a kind. I picked this up a at Easy Street for $5. And it's the sweet ESP reissue edition that looks real nice and has great liner notes. Get this....

5 songs makes the count at 17977....

PJ...

2011-12-28T05:26:00.000-08:00

How weird is PJ Harvey? I love all her albums, but this one "To Bring You My Love" was always missing from my collection. Not for lack of copies of this album either. It's everywhere. I just never got around to it. I've been a fan ever since I heard the album "Rid Of Me", but everyone I know has her stuff so I've never felt the desire to pick up copies until the demise of the CD. I think this album, her 3rd (4th if you count her "4 Track Demos" CD) is PJ at her the zenith of her acceptability for soccer moms and the like. Her videos actually got regular rotation on MTV, was featured on Rolling Stone and the like. And as quickly as that faded, she never made an album like this again. It's definitely still a weird one, "Meet Ze Monstra" is this stomping number, while immediately following it, "Working For The Man" is a quiet, intense burner. I've decided I need a lot more PJ Harvey in my life, the albums are all there in the bins, waiting for me to pick them up, and they're cheap too. I've got a few, (Dry, Rid Of Me, 4 Track Demos), but not all. It should be easy. No singles or B-Sides collections though unfortunately....

10 songs makes the count at 17972....

Tangerine Dream...

2011-12-27T16:22:00.000-08:00

Tangerine Dream were/are(?) kind of joke nowadays, but when this, their major label debut came out, it was a heavy hitter internationally, but got almost no recognition in their own country of Germany. This album in particular, being considered a bit of a flop, while internationally getting lots of rave reviews. Tangerine Dream at this point, almost seemed like they were totally immersed in writing soundtracks, "Phaedra" could have been made for some insane Stanley Kubrick film. This was Tangerine Dream before they became the New Age stars they are now; messing around on Mellotrons, Moogs, running them through sequencers and filters, getting some pretty impressive results. Edgar Froese is the main force behind Tangerine Dream, always has been, but Christoher Franke and Peter Baumann lineup is pretty crucial and those guys were no slouches either. The first track "Phaedra" is around 18 minutes long, all tension filled ambient music, like some science experiment escaped the lab and is hunting you down, or a gang of futuristic hoods almost have you cornered in the utopian city you dwell in. It sounds corny till you hear it. I love this kind of stuff, Tangerine Dream fall under the Krautrock moniker, but they, along with contemporaries Klaus Schulze, Conrad Schnitzler, and the duo Cluster seemed to be the only folk doing this sort of thing. Only Tangerine Dream made it to the big time, it seemed like they had the aspirations to do more all along. Some of the later stuff they did, like the tracks off the "Risky Business" soundtrack are a bit reminiscent of this period, but after that, the 'Dream head off into New Age territory where I just can't follow. Not a single clunker on their first five albums or so though, this one and "Zeit" being two of my personal favorites. I found my copy at Jive Time, it's not too hard to pick these up, even at a bargain price....

4 (long) pieces makes the count at 17962....

No Age...

2011-12-27T11:21:00.000-08:00

Urgh. The holiday is finally over for me. It's hard to do anything when you work in the grocery industry, you come home wiped out and drained. Now I can focus on what's important to me, cheap music...I think I need a late pass for No Age, I just assumed they were just another hipster band that I wouldn't get. So wrong here. I'm glad to say that too. I found this for .99 cents at Jive Times bargain basement, such a steal! This is No Age's first album for Sub Pop, I think their first album proper too, the previous one being a collection of the earlier singles and such. I am on the lookout for now though. It kind of makes sense that I would like No Age, they are kind of a interesting meeting of mid period Sonic Youth, some Ride and My Bloody Valentine but more lo-fi and scuzzy sounding. Just a two piece too, it's kid of amazing the sound they get on this album, really big for just two guys. I can't say I'm a superfan of No Age yet, but this album, "Nouns" is on definite heavy repeat. Especially the songs "Eraser" and "Teen Creeps", both might make it into a workout mix....

12 songs makes the count at 17958...

The Herd...

2011-12-15T12:27:00.000-08:00

Lucky for me, Wipers CD's are easy (for the most part) to come by on Amazon. This isn't an "OG" pressing, but rather a cheaper repress that sounds just as good. The Wipers material isn't in any danger of print these days it seems, but it is a shame that the Wipers aren't as revered. This is their 8th LP and it's a sort of overlooked one in their discography (as a matter of fact, it seems like the only Wipers albums people pay attention to are "Youth Of America", "Is This Real?", and "Over The Edge"), but to their credit, Greg Sage and drummer Steve Plouf carry on with their mission to make nonstop near perfect albums with zeal. The opener "Psychic Vampire" lets you know this is a guitar players' album. Greg Sage is genius songwriter, as I had stated previously, his skills seem more confident, more fluid than his earlier material. While I don't like this as much as "The Circle", it's still a potent album from an very underrated band. I'm beginning to close in on the Wipers discography, I am about halfway there on the albums, need the singles next, but I am getting there.

12 songs makes the count at 17946...

Saturday Looks Good To Me....

2011-12-14T01:03:00.000-08:00

Long name for another great pop band that never got their due. Sometimes labeled as a lo-fi version of Belle And Sebastian, which is unfair and pretty incorrect. Just more simple and awesome 60's styled songs of heartbreak and confusion done people who grew up with old power pop records, soul albums, and an obsession with Phil Spector styled production. I bought this at Easy Street quite a few months ago, after hearing "All Over Town" at someones' house, I can't remember whose, and was so into it I rushed out and bought it and shelved it away. Now all of a sudden, I found the album in a box I was rummaging through and decided to give it another listen, and re-fell in love it. I've bought some more of their albums since, but the charm of this album hasn't been beat by them. Singer Betty Marie Barnes cheery, innocent sounding voice is a perfect foil for Fred Thomas' world weary one. When they sing "The Girls' Distracted" it really comes together. Maybe one of the top ten greatest pop songs I've ever heard! Really, no joke. I really missed the boat with these guys, long broken up, even though I had the opportunity to see them at least a couple times. Bummer. I've been listening to a lot of this sort of "retro" sounding stuff, it's just appealing to me right now, if you dig a unpretentious sound, you'll love this. Not a bad cut on here.

12 songs makes the count at 17934...

The Positions....

2011-12-13T13:16:00.000-08:00

Ever hear of these guys? A great DC band who could the US version of the Cardigans maybe. A bit "poppier" than the Cardigans, more upbeat sounding, but the feeling is there. Lots of horns on here too. Maybe a bit much, a subtler use of the brass section would have been more up my alley, but whatever, I'm just nitpicking. I can't remember where I first heard this, maybe on the radio, but I remember that Archie Moore of Velocity Girl had produced it. Given his track record on all things pop oriented, you know this will be good. It actually sounds so close to their "¡Simpatico!" you may forget that Velocity Girl is long broken up. Singer Nicole Stoops sounds uncannily like Sarah Shannon. It sounds like I'm trying to say I like The Positions because I miss Velocity Girl, which I do, but this is just great non ironic 60's flavoured pop music. If it's done well, it's always enjoyable. All the elements are just there to make up a great record, just like "¡Simpatico!" is all. Apparently, The Positions have another album out there, only as an MP3 download or as a 10" (a truly horrific format). On their webpage, they give you the option of downloading it for free even! Good music and ethical as hell? I'm down. I could listen to "Flowers And Trees" all day, what a great cut. If you like great breezy pop music, you should definitely spend the .58 cents on this at Amazon and buy it, you won't be disappointed....

12 songs makes the count at 17922...

The Wipers...

2011-12-09T10:56:00.000-08:00

The last album by the legendary Wipers. America's Joy Division, at least I always thought so. Maybe not quite as tragic as Joy Division, but melancholic and introspective for sure. I found this for cheap on Amazon, and knew I had to pick it up. The Wipers are the great unsung punk/post punk/pre grunge band that never got their due like Husker Du or the Replacements did. But ask any musician and they'll say so many great things about them it'll make you sick of them. While "The Power In One" isn't my favorite Wipers album, but it was considered when it came out as a return to form for Greg Sage. He had been doing some pretty mellow stuff as The Wipers and his solo albums were pretty much lambasted as one step away from being Billy Joel or some other sad bastard genre. Even though I disagree (get his solo album "Sacrifice", it's just not the Wipers, but an amazing effort), "Power Of One" received a warm welcome by fans. Even the second half is pretty slow, and similar to his solo albums, everyone seems to forget that aspect. It's incredible that at this point, The Wipers were just two guys, Sage and drummer Steve Plouf. His guitar playing at this point was more fluid, less jagged, just sounds so confident. As a last statement by a band, it's a great one, going out with a bang instead of a whimper. All the songs on here are beyond fantastic, not one clunker in the bunch, but if you were to make a mix of Wipers songs for a friend, I would include "Rocket", "I'll Be Around" "Losers' Revenge" and especially "Take It Now". I'm on a mission now to buy all the Wipers albums, I've got most of them, but there's a few missing from my collection. "The Power Of One" isn't a starter album to delve into the Wipers, that would be "Over The Edge", but you could a lot worse than to pick it up....

14 songs makes the count at 17910...

Smoke Fairies...

2011-12-08T12:34:00.000-08:00

I've been sitting on this one for a while. I don't know why I haven't listened to it as much as I have in the last month, but it's my favorite thing I bought this year that's new. Smoke Fairies are a British band who sound like they could have fit in with 60's folk groups like Pentangle, Fairport Convention, Linda Thompson, etc. But it's an interesting meeting of gentle British folk music and some swampy blues. Weird. But it works. There is no filler on this album, every track is stellar top shelf stuff. Plus, it comes with a bonus CD with alternate takes of tracks off the album and a couple non album extras. This is the US version of this album, which came out in 2011, so it definitely makes the top of my top 10 albums of the year. Jessica Davies and Katherine Blamire's voices are almost the same, one is a little deeper, so when they harmonize, it's really haunting sounding. A great album for playing at night, the spooky, melancholic sounds have been my soundtrack many a night on the bus, or walking home from a show by myself. Highest recommendation that you purchase this right away. Like I said before, there are no filler songs on here, but "Dragon", "Storm Song", "Feeling Is Turning Blue", and "Human Concerns" warrant multiple listens.

Two CD's (packaged as one) equals 17 songs which makes the count at 17896....

Cocteau Twins....

2011-12-07T23:38:00.000-08:00

Easy Street has a GRIP of Cocteau Twins CD singles, so much so that I might be able to finish off my collection in one fell swoop if I can just hold out till friday (payday). In the meantime, I picked up two that caught my eye, either because of the Vaughn Oliver cover(Echoes In A Shallow Bay), or the weird title (Aikea-Guinea). There were LOTS more left over, and at $4 a pop, I'm a little worried someone else might snatch them up. The Cocteau Twins were prolific, just a steady stream of creativity there for a long while. They never sat on their laurels in between albums, lots of EP's followed, most of it wasn't intended for the album it seems like, no album tracks appear on their EP's, which I think is really commendable. "Echoes In A Shallow Bay" is a good one, sort of themed around moths and butterflies found in the UK. Not that you'd be able to tell because of Elisabeth Fraser's buried voice. Only on later albums do you really get to make out what she's singing. "Echoes" is maybe my favorite Cocteau Twins EP, mostly because it contains the track "Eggs And Their Shells" which is one of my favorite Cocteau Twins songs ever.

"Aikea-Guinea" is an earlier EP, it was also a 7" single too if I recall. I like this one a lot too, the title of the EP is a Scottish term for "Seashell". Who knew? This one, although earlier than "Echoes", shares a lot of the same sound, plodding drums (programmed, unfortunately. I feel like these guys could have been so much better with a drummer), Elizabeth's voice buried slightly just to obscure what she's saying, which I feel is part of the appeal to the Cocteau Twins. Really a flawless effort. I find that I love the Cocteau Twins more and more as I get older. Am I mellowing out? Is it inevitable? I don't know. But as pleasing as these songs are, this is still pretty left field stuff. If you played it for your boss, or your parents, they might look at you funny. Both of these EP's are available on the "Lullabies to Violaine" boxed set, which is pretty expensive, or you can find it as a singles edition broken up into two CD's sold separately. Probably the way to go. I myself am looking to score the individual singles. That's how I roll....

2 CDEP's equals 8 songs which makes the count at 17879....

16...

2011-12-06T11:28:00.000-08:00

The holidays are a busy time for me, working in retail, you just come home with no energy at all. That and the combo of nothing new or interesting to me in the bargain bins recently has stalled my quest. But at Everyday Music, I spied the first album by 16, "Curves That Kick", on Pusheads' Bacteria Sour label. I know it's just a CD, but I would have thought as prestigious a label as this one, with the excellent Pushead art on the cover would command a much higher price, but $5 is a bargain no matter how you look at it. 16 are nominally a metal band, but with some pretty clear ties to Hardcore as well. Kind of similar to what Helmet was doing at the time as well with their "Meantime" album. Lots of groove, crash cymbals, slightly distorted vocals, and buried bass (like all good metal bands do), which is more than fine with me, but the processed guitars are little distracting to me. Whatever though, "Curves That Kick" was ubiquitous when it came out, everyone I know had a copy, it was playing all the time, so I never bothered to track one down for myself. 16 were one of those "flagship" type bands for me, when you started to figure out that playing any type of aggressive music, be it punk, hardcore, grind, whatever was legitimate, and that you didn't have to bog yourself down with labels. Not that I consider 16 as extreme as other bands that sort of fit into that category, like Cavity, EyehateGod, Swarming Hordes, Don Caballero, etc, but still, a great album to throw on now and then. Worth tracking down. Copies of this (this edition, and subsequent ones) are pretty easy to come by, you shouldn't have any problems tracking this down.

12 songs makes the count at 17871...

Hell No...

2011-11-23T00:43:00.000-08:00

I love Hell No. What an underrated NYHC band. Just gets no face time when people are talking about that time and place. Hell No were part of the post "Youth Crew" ABC No Rio scene. Punk, but definitely branching out a bit more, absorbing the then emerging "noise rock" sound also coming out of New York from bands like Unsane, a little bit of Swans dirge, but sounding like their own thing. Some similarities to Quicksand as well, that rhythm heavy, percussion driven sound that seemed to start to define the term "Post Hardcore". Except Hell No were as far away from Quicksand as you could get. Hell No had a throat shredding singer in the form of John Woods, on par with Rorschachs' Charles Maggio. I just don't get how these guys weren't bigger. This CD has their first album, "Skin Job", and an e.p., "Reformer" on it. I love both, but "Skin Job" was first thing I ever heard by them, and has a special place in my heart. "Cut The Artery" in particular shines through, John Woods' voice growls and shrieks as though his was dependent on it. The quiet/loud/quiet/loud thing really works on this track. Seriously, it should have been the song that made them. None of the other tracks lag either. I particularly love "3 Sheets To The Wind", a rocking song almost in the vein of Swiz. Hell No did another album that I don't have "Adios Armageddon!". I found this one on Discogs for dirt cheap. I'm sure there are a lot more around, sadly. Dis I forget to mention that former hardcore guy, current indie whatever guy Ted Leo plays guitar on this? Crazy.

12 songs makes the count at 17859...

STACK....

2011-11-17T01:12:00.000-08:00

Pickings in used stores have been slim lately; nothing worth buying or the price is just too high to justify, so I've been reliant on mail order lately. And brother, has the mail been slow getting here. First and foremost on my mind has been foreign hardcore. I've been thinking about German Hardcore lately. How great their sound was. It always seemed like a lot of diversity and creativity came out of that time and place (the mid to late 90's), and while things kind of dragged here in the States at that time (the rise of emo, tough guy mosh hardcore, whatever else), things were heating up in Europe, especially for some reason, Germany. STACK was one of those bands who were credited with inspiring Dutch legends Seein' Red into playing fast, no nonsense thrash again. This album "Konkret Lichtgeschwindigkeit!", which, I'm sad to say, I have no idea is in German, serves not only as an album by STACK, but also as their discography, excluding the demo, if you got it on CD. I found mine cheap on Amazon, paying more for the postage than the actual CD. No holds barred, raging thrash from start to stop. A bit more refined than your average thrash band too, a bit more precision. It's hard to pick out a favorite recording session, I mean no offense here, but a lot of the songs sound the same. I mean that in a good way. STACK never "progressed" or experimented with their sound, or added outside elements to "appeal to a wider audience". They just blasted through their songs and when you put them on, they bummed out your girlfriend, your parents, your coworkers, everyone who didn't "get it". And that's what's so great about STACK. Sounding like a more tuneful version of LARM crossed with good ol' fashioned US powerviolence, STACK were, at least to me, a bright spot in the world of hardcore. You can find these cheap pretty much anywhere, a good bargain!

44 songs makes the count at 17847...

Abstain....

2011-11-04T21:48:00.000-07:00

53 song discography of a little grind band called Abstain. Were these guys sXe? Their name and the fact that they criticize big tobacco certainly makes me think so. But then, in the liner notes to this CD, they also state that Straight Edge isn't really what they are about. I bet they are one of those "we're all sXe but we don't want to be in a sXe band" type bands. I loved this band since the first time I heard them. It was on a great 12" compilation by Six Weeks records called "America In Decline". I've followed them sporadically since then. There was a mini 3" CD of theirs that I had, but all the numerous split 7"s (a truly awful format, if you ask me) that they did, I just couldn't keep up. Finally, a few years ago, SOA records out of Italy decided to do this discography which collects everything, even their demo. If you like grind, look no further. There's two types of grindcore in my opinion; the kind that's more on the metal side of things (Assuck, Phobia, Plutocracy, Brutal Truth, etc) and there's the more "hardcore" grind (Early Napalm Death, Terrorizer, Heresy, Unholy Grave); I think Abstain is pretty close to the middle, but leaning more towards the punk side of the grind equation. They don't have quite the chops that say, Brutal Truth has, probably not the expense account for equipment either. Not that I'm holding that against them, or accusing Abstain of being amateurish, quite the opposite. I love this stuff. I wish I had paid more attention to them, as this is quite ripping stuff. I picked my copy on Discogs o the cheap, less than $6 total! Plenty of copies to be found everywhere, I bet if you went to your local punk/hardcore record store, you might even find this in a used bin. It's one of those undeserved forgotten records it seems like. No one I talk to who likes this stuff really remembers them. Shame....

53 songs makes the count at 17803...

Three Mile Pilot...

2011-11-04T09:17:00.000-07:00

I haven't listened to Three Mile Pilot in years, I liked them, they were pretty good, but not "hardcore" enough for me when I was younger. I wish grown up me could have a talk with younger me, slap some sense into him. Three Mile Pilot were kind of part of that San Diego sound, when all the major labels were scrambling to find the new Seattle, and were signing some pretty good bands like Rocket From The Crypt, Drive Like Jehu, and even for a hot minute, Three Mile Pilot. This is their second album "The Chief Assassin To The Sinister", which is a marked improvement over the first album "Nà Vuccà Dò Lupù" which is just Bass, Drums, and singing. It's good, but not great like this one. I think "Chief Assassin" is their best album. There's a lot more going on here, the songs are more complex, guitars have been added, the recording is better sounding; skirting that line between raw and crystal clear, some bands just hit it and get lucky I suppose. I bought this specific copy on Amazon because it was the Geffen records version which has different cover art and extra songs on. It's not to hard find, but you gotta look for it. Most sellers and record stores don't really know the difference, but you get extra songs like "Inner Bishop", "Chenjusu", and the titanic "Midgard Serpent". If you're going to get a copy of this bands second album, make sure it's this one. Totally worth hunting down and making the effort for it. Apparently, Three Mile Pilot are sort of back together, and have a new album out, I would be very interested in hearing this new material. A great record, one of the forgotten gems of the 90's, deserves a place at the table with bands like Unwound, and Drive Like Jehu for making and creating a new sound that wasn't tied down to any genre, that owed no allegiances to a "scene".

10 songs makes the count at 17750....

Auf Der Maur...

2011-11-04T01:34:00.000-07:00

First solo album by Ex Hole/Smashing Pumpkins member Melissa Auf Der Mer. I'd been waiting to buy this, putting it off a bit, seeing if I could get a copy cheap at Easy Street or Silver Platters, but then I remembered Amazon always has a good deal, and they had a copy for less than a buck (not including shipping). It's actually a great album, taking lots of cues from different sounds (a little shoegaze, rock, metal, "alternative"), and getting pretty lucky with it if you ask me. Taking too many sounds can always make a record be a little to thin on anything, but Ms. Auf Der Maur makes it work surprisingly well. The opening track, "Lightning Is My Girl" is good, but "Followed The Waves" should have been the opener, methinks. This is WAY better than Hole (not a hard to achieve), but you wouldn't be wrong in assuming that this was the opening act for them in the 90's though. It's got a bit of that throwback sound to it. It's not that derivative or anything, just harkens back to that time. I wish the production were not as pristine though, I have a feeling I would love this if it was a bit rougher around the edges. There's a second album out there, but it's kinda new and therefore not as cheap, so I wait....

12 songs makes the count at 17740...

(Union Of) Uranus...

2011-11-03T13:00:00.000-07:00

Great band. But they always went by plain old Uranus and by Union Of Uranus sometimes. Did they just hate the latter? I kind of get the feeling that that might be the case. Anyways, I have been looking for a cheap copy of one of these discographies forever, and while my searches bore no fruit, at least cheaply; Discogs had a fairly decently priced one, so I went for it. This album was put out by that old label, the Great American Steak Religion, which turned into Witch Hunt, which turned into Feral Ward, and now resides in Portland Oregon. These guys were a total mystery to me, very little information on them, I knew that one of the guys in this band was also a member of the legendary (even when they were around!), His Hero Is Gone, but that was about it. Uranus played a brand of hardcore that is long extinct nowadays, the beginnings of that emo-but not wimpy hardcore. You know what I mean; screamed vocals, guitar harmonics, vague lyrics, the whole deal. Uranus also incorporated a little bit of a galloping metal sound in there sound as well, making it a bit more distinct for the time. As a matter of fact, I think other bands started taking notice of their sound and meshing it with their sound as well. Bands like Drift, Jonah, etc...Uranus is a great band, I forgot how much I liked them, this was totally worth the wait, if you want a full on DIY project, from a time when hardcore seemed fairly exciting, look no further than (Union Of) Uranus.

9 songs makes the count at 17728...

CCR...

2011-10-29T23:33:00.000-07:00

I forgot I had bought this at the Capitol Hill Sonic Boom store before it closed. I found a grip of used CCR albums there and picked most of them up. Creedence Clearwater Revival were one of those bands that got eaten up by radio; they made so many great pop hits that radio stations can literally play the greatest hits albums and never play anything else from their discography and the people would be happy, which is a shame because you'd be missing out on so many other killer tracks. I never really had the urge to buy their albums before because of that. I mean, my parents had their albums, and I listened to them when I lived with them, but never had the urge to buy them on my own. Mistake corrected. "Green River" is as good an album as any to start with if you want the discography. It's only got the two big hits on it "Bad Moon Rising" and of course "Green River", not that the rest of the songs drag; far from it. I loved "Wrote A Song For Everyone" as a kid, and "Commotion" too. Not a clunker on here. It's funny, with all the music in my collection, I chuckle to think that sometimes the most essential classic rock albums could be absent....

9 songs makes the count at 17719....

Disband...

2011-10-29T23:12:00.000-07:00

The album art kinda caught my eye, it was in the .99 cent bin at Easy Street, why not? After a little research on the interwebs, I found out Disband were from North Carolina, and it shows. Sounding like a cross between Superchunk, Archers Of Loaf, Polvo, Jawbox, Seam, Unwound etc. But maybe a little too much. Don't get me wrong, I like it a lot, it's a fun listen. Sometimes it's okay for a band not break new ground, or push the envelope; I get a kick out of listening to a new(ish) band doing this sound that could have come out in the mid 90's. In a way, it's a tribute to a time when music seemed wide open and people were doing new things with recording techniques, new song structures, etc. If you can just pop this in and enjoy it for what it is; cool. If not, no big. But I like it a lot, it's been playing in my room the entire day, twice already now. Highly recommended....

11 songs makes the count at 17708...

Tristeza...

2011-10-28T12:15:00.000-07:00

Tristeza's first album "Spine And Sensory" still gets a lot of derision from people. I've heard it called "easy listening emo" before. I think that's a harsh judgement though. It is pleasant and mellow, but if you pay enough attention, there's a lot of stuff going on, some intricate guitar work, and the production lets you listen to everything in minute detail. Tristeza would have been comparable to Sunny Day Real Estate, Evergreen, Mineral, etc, just with no vocals. This was an album I always had a dubbed copy of, but never actually owned myself. Copies are everywhere though, no challenge to hunt down this classic, under appreciated record. I found mine at Easy Street for $4. I love "When We Glow", their 8 minute burner. It takes a while to get going, but it's repetitive looping really sinks in. There's nothing groundbreaking here, just a really pleasurable album that still holds up through the test of time....

10 songs makes the count at 17697...

My guiltiest pleasure...

2011-10-28T11:33:00.000-07:00

As a young man was liking Tortoise. I mean, this stuff sounded like something my PARENTS would have liked! I even went to go see them one year and didn't tell anyone where I was going. Obviously, that's changed. Now I don't care if anyone knows I like Tortoise, ABBA, or whatever. This is Tortoises third album, and my personal favorite of theirs. Many folk will tell you that you should get "Millions Now Will Never Die" or even "Standards". But screw that. "TNT" is the one. These guys are real players, taking a gamut of influences (dub, krautrock, jazz, ambient, etc) and making it work. The opening track "TNT" sounds nothing like their previous album (Millions Now Living) though, or at least not much like it; more jazz influences due to the addition of their new (at the time) guitarist, Jeff Parker to the band changed their sound for the better. I don't know what happened to my copy of this album, another fallen soldier in the casualties of my life. Good thing copies are cheap and plentiful. I picked mine up from Amazon for less than $4 with shipping. I haven't really listened to any new Tortoise material after "Standards", but maybe I should....

12 songs makes the count at 17687....

Note...

2011-10-26T12:52:00.000-07:00

I'm going to start "tagging" my posts, where I bought them etc...

Necrophones...

2011-10-26T12:14:00.000-07:00

Another notch in the Lungfish discography. I've been waiting for this one to drop in price, but it just seems to hang around that $6-8 mark. I finally just went for the copy that has been at Easy Street now for months for $8. I've actually never listened to this one, it's got that later period sound, super repetitive, slow, meandering tempos, Daniel Higgs' voice cackling; either you love it or you don't. To these ears, Lungfish are at the top of the Dischord artists, Sharing that honour with Fugazi, Shudder To Think, and Nation Of Ulysees as something truly unique. "Necrophones" is a bit more mellow than their previous album "The Unanimous Hour", but no less hypnotic. The rhythms really lull you into a trance, easily done when your dealing with three chords; two usually. I've almost got the entire dicography knocked off, I'm just missing "Indivisible" "Sound In Time" and "Pass And Stow", which has been remastered. I find I prefer later period Lungfish to their earlier stuff lately. "Necrophones" is just as good as "Feral Hymns" or "Love Is Love". I'm sad I never got the chanceto see Lungfish, especially the later stuff....

12 sngs makes the count at 17675...

300th Post...

2011-10-26T11:26:00.000-07:00

I picked up the Monster X discography on the Discogs website used for $6 ppd. A steal if you ask me. I have most of this stuff already, but it's nice to have it all in one place too. Infamously dubbed a "Straight Edge Grind Band", Monster X was (to me) a real breath of fresh air coming out of a really stagnant time for sXe. Their songs touched on subjects like legalising drugs, being pro choice, attacking Krishna Conscious bands like 108, Shelter, and The Cro Mags for using Hardcore to recruit kids to their cause. Heady stuff, not your typical "stabbed in the back" songs! I don't know if I would necessarily call Monster X a grind band; the tempo isn't quite up to par with Terrorizer, Brutal Truth, Assuck, or the like. But they were a faster than normal sXe band with the "cookie monster" vocals who had some pretty good ideas in their head. This collects everything they ever did. My fave tracks are "The Gift"; the song off of the Ebulliton straight edge comp, and the classic "Take A Walk", the one attacking Shelter and Krishan Conscious type bands, carrying on in the fine tradition of bands like Born Against, and Slapshot in saying that religion has no place in hardcore. I was burning with indignation at the thought of that type of stuff when I was younger, but now I realize I never really had to deal with that stuff, and to be honest, if you don't want to, you can just walk away.

45 songs makes the count at 17663....

Jamboree...

2011-10-24T12:28:00.000-07:00

Beat Happenings' "Jamboree" is either one of the most irritating albums you've ever heard or one of the coolest, depending on who you ask. I favour the latter. But I grew up here, saw them more than a few times, always enjoyed their shows and their whole vibe. They sort of captured that feeling you had as a teenager when you reminisced about your days as a kid, when you were more carefree, everything seemed easier and brighter. Beat Happening weren't lamenting this, they were trying to recreate the feeling again as post adolescents. Beat Happening used to get the opening spot for Fugazi a lot up in the NW, at least for a few times. I definitely remember that. This isn't their best album, that honor goes to "Dreamy", but this one has their big hit "Indian Summer", which has been covered by a lot of people, one of my favorite Beat Happenings songs. Not that this album is a slouch by any means. It's kind of sad that no one really remembers Beat Happening anymore; they were a great band whose legacy should be revered like Sonic Youth's or the Replacements or Fugazi's. I found this copy at Easy Street in the .99 cent bin. I'm definitely going to be getting their discography now....

11 songs makes the count at 17618....

Velocity Girl...

2011-10-23T14:23:00.000-07:00

Man, October has been a busy month for me; no time, no money, no means to go bargain hunting. But things are settling down again thankfully. I know a lot of people think that Velocity Girl were a one trick pony. That Sub Pop signed a lemon of an act after their album "Copacetic", but I happen to like their two albums afterwards. The last album of theirs, "Gilded Stars And Zealous Hearts" is a huge departure from where they started on Sub Pop, but still great listen. Lots of "Alt Country" influences on this one, Sarah Shannons voice is suited towards pretty much any genre. I always avoided this album on the advice of friends and acquaintances, but finally decided to spend the lousy $3 dollars at Easy Street for it and give it a try. I'm not sure what I was afraid of hearing, it's a good listen, not a great one, but there's a couple of really memorable tracks on here, especially "Same Old City", "The Only Ones", and "Finest Hour". Shortly after this album, Velocity Girl just kind of lost steam and broke up. Sarah Shannon lives in Seattle, guitarist Archie Moore plays in various bands and produces albums in the mid Atlantic area, I don't really know what happened to the rest. I missed my chances to see Velocity Girl, they never really played up in Seattle too often, but I wasn't actively looking to see them either, which is a shame. My loss....

14 songs makes the count at 17607....

Old Ramon...

2011-10-04T12:00:00.000-07:00

Maybe my favorite Red House Painters album besides "Songs For A Blue Guitar", this was the (for a while), the long lost Red House Painters album, "Old Ramon" got lost in the shuffle after they signed to a major and then some kind of bureaucratic red tape meant they were essentially without a label and Mark Kozelek basically had to buy back the tapes from Island records and Sub Pop graciously put this out. RHP were contemporaries of Low, Codeine, Galaxie 500, etc. I always felt they were so much better than their fellow San Franciscans American Music Club, who were around a bit longer than Red House Painters, but nowhere near as good. "Wop A Din Din" opens the album and is one of my favorite songs from RHP, an ode to Mark's cat and how much he loves her, a sentiment that hits home for any pet owner dedicated to their animal friends. "Michigan" is also top shelf song writing too, but really there isn't a bad cut on here; some people I knew didn't like this record, claiming it's just a rehash of all their previous ones. Fair enough, I suppose. But really, what did you expect? A prog rock inspired album? Metal? Funk? When you do a sound like this, it's pretty unlikely that there is going to be a dramatic change here. If you aren't familiar with The Red House Painters at all, this would be a good album to start with; the sound is fairly slow, jangly strummed guitars, brushed drums, sleepy vocals. A great record for a autumn afternoon. I found this at Easy Street used for $3. And it seems like the used bins all over the city, so I can assume that would be the case all over the country, there's no reason not to get into the Red House Painters now....

10 songs makes the count at 17593....

I'll be back...

2011-09-30T23:13:00.000-07:00

In a few days. Root Canal...

Are We Not Men?

2011-09-23T12:42:00.000-07:00

Probably my favorite Devo album, or maybe "Freedom Of Choice". I realized I have absolutely none of their albums in my Itunes. Weird. This one, their first is the first Devo album, and had they not moved past this album, which I do admit, sounds a little contrived and jokey, this would have been consigned to the dustbin of history as a tiny novelty album. At least on paper. But then you listen to the opener, "Uncontrollable Urge" which is a rocking piece of post punk. Very timeless, Econochrist even covered to perfection. I love their cover of the Rolling Stones "(I can't get no) Satisfaction" as well. Completely turning it around in some ways, staying kind of faithful to it in another. Devo seemed to be passed by in the terms of post punk recognition sometimes maybe because of their geographical locale (Ohio), or the fact that they weren't trying to hide their aspirations of getting bigger than most bands of the genre. Regardless, Devo's first LP is an often overlooked album that you should inquire about. I found mine (along with several multiple copies) at Everyday Music for less than $4 bucks. You should too.

11 songs makes the count at 17583....

Redd Kross...

2011-09-22T11:25:00.000-07:00

Nabbed a great looking Redd Kross used at Lot 49 a couple days ago. It's so weird, every time I see this particular album come up used anywhere, it's always beat to hell. This copy is nice and clean, the insert isn't wrecked, just a nice looking CD. I didn't really listen to Redd Kross until the 2000's. There was so much other music around, it just never came up in a discussion with anyone I knew. They were pretty far off the map even when they were around, not playing Hardcore or even LA sounding punk, Redd Kross were more like a trashy Monkees, or sloppier version of the Replacements. "Linda Blair", "White Trash", "Solid Gold", there's not a single clunker on this album. Redd Kross's first album still dominates. It was kind of grunge before the term, and about 10 years earlier....

13 songs makes the count at 17572....

Butthole Surfers....

2011-09-16T10:48:00.000-07:00

I just saw the Butthole Surfers play a couple weeks back, they still got it. I however could not handle the weed cloud surrounding them stage and had to move away and miss a bit of the video show that was going on during their set. Either way, the Surfers were amazing and I was reminded how little material of theirs I actually have. I went to Lot 49 and picked up the CD of their first single, which has the "PCPEP" tacked onto the end of this. The music is still as insane as the first time I heard it, just chaos. I've always heard from older dudes who used to say their live shows were legendarily nuts. It took me a long time to get into the Butthole Surfers, I really wasn't too into it. I was too "hardcore". I listened to only bands that were on REV, Wishingwell, New Age, etc. I quickly grew out of that and opened up my mind to new sounds. The Butthole Surfers were one of those bands that seemed so eye opening to me. So much that I saw them on the first Lollapalooza tour. They didn't play too much of the old stuff then, let alone anything off this 7". "Retro"mania wasn't cool yet. Bands didn't play their back catlogue yet, people weren't clamouring for it yet, their newer material didn't totally suck. The Butthole Surfers' latter radio friendly material is testament to this. But this e.p.- completely caustic, unfriendly, menacing, acid drenched freakouts. The opening track, "The Shah Sleeps In Lee Harvey's Grave" is a perfect opening salvo for this band. You can always find these CD's cheap; does anyone actually care about the Butthole Surfers anymore except for a handful of people in your town who saw them in 1987? I hope so....

18 songs makes the count at 17559....

Divinyls...

2011-09-13T11:28:00.000-07:00

The Divinyls. A one hit wonder. But wow, what a discography. You would be forgiven if you thought that their only album was the self titled one. I was. Hanging out with an older dude, Ken, he was playing this album, "Desperate" and I was totally curious who it was. When he told me, I was blown away. Christine Amphlett's voice sounds tough and vulnerable at the same time, I was a little obsessed with her when the "I touch Myself" single came out. I loved her look, her imperfect teeth, everything. I was 16, what can I say? "Desperate" is their first album, coming out all the way back in 1982. It has that sort of rock meets new wave sound. You know what I'm talking about; when guys like Tom Petty and the Cars and had elements of both. It sounds forced in some cases (Tom Petty), but in the case of the Divinyls; perfectly natural. The Divinyls could not catch a break overseas, being nothing more than an obscure oddity at best in the US. A shame really as Christine Amphlett as evidenced by some Youtube footage. Not a single clunker on this album, it's a pretty intense affair. If you like early Pretenders, this would be a good album for you, although, Chrissy Hynde's voice pales in comparison to Amphletts' in my opinion. I love the tracks "Ring Me Up" "Siren (Never Let You Go)", and "Science Fiction" the best, but honestly, not a bad track on the entire album. I found my copy at Easy Street, a remastered version, so not as cheap as I wanted ($8), but a good deal nonetheless....

10 songs makes the count at 17541...

The Usual Suspects sountrack....

2011-09-09T11:22:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite soundtracks to one of my very favorite movies. John Ottman scored this masterpiece. Nothing feels wasted on here; all the tracks are terse, curt and to the point. I've always loved this soundtrack, never really felt the need to pursue buying until recently. I found multiple cheap copies on Amazon for less than a dollar. Mine was .76 cents or something. The orchestration really adds to the atmosphere of the movie. I hate it when people say corny things like "The city is another character in the movie" or "The music is another character in the movie", usually in most cases, it's just not true. But imagining this film without John Ottmans contribution. You feel empathetic towards Fensters' demise, sympathy for Verbal Kint, you share the fear and dread that all of them feel (except Keaton) when Kobayashi tells them he "works for Keyser Sose". I really felt like when this movie came out, it was going to change things. That people were going to make films better again. In a sense, it did happen. But unfortunately, we're back to awful reinterpretations of our childhood toys, games, comics, etc through film. The soundtracks to these movies fare about as well as the material they're supposed to be inspired from. Not so with "The Usual Suspects". One of the very few soundtracks in my Itunes, it's a good listen on a rainy night with a good scary book....

24 songs makes the count at 17531...

Ride....

2011-09-08T11:01:00.000-07:00

Sweet little CD single I snagged at Easy Street for $3. God I love CD singles, you get the song off the album (which, in this case, is "Vapour Trail"), which is usually a great song, and then so many other songs, at least when it was the 90's. This particular single only has three extra tracks on it, but that's almost enough to qualify it as an EP, wouldn't you think? The bonus tracks on here are superior songs from the day. Pretty much confirming for me that Rid was the best shoegazer band of their day. "Sennen", with it's leisurely opening pace never really strays too far from it, mesmerises you, the guitars looping the riff around and around, it's quite hypnotic. All of the extra tracks on here are good, but not quite as good as anything off of "Nowhere", perfect for a CD single....

4 songs makes the count at 17507....

I hate "Best Of's "...

2011-09-07T13:10:00.000-07:00

It just reeks of cashing in. Selling a person just their "Hits" instead of their sometimes greater unknown material. It also reels of laziness. A desire to just have that one song you want readily available. I dunno, I'm not a fan of it. A singles collection? Yeah. A "B-Sides" collection. Totally. A Peel session? I'm on board. But greatest hits, eh. But sometimes an artist is so big, their discography so vast and far reaching, you have no choice but to go for their "Best Of" material. You can always find this James Brown collection, which I did at Lot 49, cheaply. It's definitely got all the hits on here. Covering pretty much all of his crucial decades. I can see the usefulness of this collection if you are a James Brown novice, wanting to get your toes wet, "I Got You (I Feel Good)", "Sex Machine", "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag", "Popcorn", etc. It's put together well enough. But on the insert, there's an advert for his 30 track, 40 track, and 50 track collections! It just seems like cashing in to me. Why not JUST make a 50 track best of instead of gouging your fans?!?! Frustrating. But as I've said, when you are on the run, and don't have time to hunt down the entire discography of an artist who spans DECADES, sometimes you gotta go with the easiest option. You know what this sounds like, I don't have to describe it to you. James Brown is one of the most important musical figures of the 20th century, he set the bar for excellence when putting on a show. I've only seen videos of him, never got a chance to see him play. If you are intersted in in his work, a "Best Of" doesn't even scratch the surface of what he has to offer, I would suggest you check out his "Live At The Appolo" album, "The Popcorn", "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag", and pretty much anything before 1975. But even that material is top shelf stuff.

20 songs makes the count 17503....

Carcass....

2011-09-07T12:23:00.000-07:00

Gah! I've been a busy guy lately, being all social, ignoring my quest. But I'm back at it. I find myself being drawn into the dark mysteries of Death Metal lately. I'm not quite sure how I missed the boat for most of my life, but I'm glad I clued in now. Finding (relatively) cheap copies of Carcass' first two albums at Silver platters was kind of a big deal. Their first album "Reek Of Putrefaction" has a real primitive recording sound to it. Pots and pans symbols, cardboard drums, blown out bass, it's lo-fi-ness is part of the appeal (to me). I have always heard the name bandied about, but I had just assumed they were just another Cannibal Corpse styled band with nothing to offer me. This is a million times better. "Reek Of Putrefaction" is one of those albums that is clearly metal, but also occupies Grindcore territory as well, before all the genres got codified and less static. Each song on here is a blast of washed out drums, squealing guitars and guttural vocals. It might seem like a novelty today, but I am told back when this was released, it was nothing less than a total breath of fresh air. Alongside Napalm Death, Sweden's Entombed, and Florida's Death, something new was happening. Music was being taken to a lot of new extremes. Carcass never really sounded like this again, having gotten better at playing music (and being already talented), but having gotten better, playing this style must have gotten boring for them. Shame, as I love the sound quality on this one. This is the Earache reissue and thus contains their "Flesh Ripping Sonic Torment" demo as well, bonus! "Reek" also contains one of the most awful looking album covers in existence; look at it. Ugh. But also one of the most memorable as well.

"Symphonies Of Sickness" is quite a big step up in sound quality, and none of the power is lost from gaining a better studio sound either. Most sophomore albums really sink under the expectations people have for them, but "SOS" really holds up. So far, it's my favorite of the Carcass discography. There is grind in this one, more of the beginnings of the "Death Metal" sound. Proper guitar solos, big, heavy production, the bass is not as discernible though, maybe it's this particular remastering job on the reissued version, but I hear mostly guitars and drums. Ken Owens' voice is more death metal sounding too, not as insane as it was on "Reek". The synthy guitar parts I could do without, but otherwise a perfect album really!

I've grabbed a few more Carcass albums since getting these two, but I have a lot of catching up to, vacation is over, back to work!

2 albums equals 51 songs which makes the count at 17483....

He Dances For Nickels...

2011-08-31T11:57:00.000-07:00

A great bargain hunter http://hedancesfornickels.blogspot.com/ commented on The Cheapest Quest a while back, and I had been waiting for an album to come across my way to do the same. His post on the Bjork album, Selmasongs inspired me to return the favour. I've always enjoyed his Sunday Fileshare on the Livewire message board, and his tastes are all over the map ( in a good way, mind you). Pop, Hardcore, Shoegaze, Britpop, you name it. After watching the movie Suckerpunch with a friend, the Bjork song "Army Of Me" being featured in it, I knew immediately that I didn't have this definitive 90's album and that I had to change that right quick. Silver Platters didn't have one used but had a new one for $7. Done. I have "Debut", but that's pretty much it. I have no idea why there aren't more Bjork albums in my life, there all enjoyable, challenging, curious things. Good thing you can mostly find them cheaply in the used bins. While I like her "Debut" album a bit more as a whole, you pretty much can't find a better opening track like "Army Of Me". The rest of the albums songs are top notch; "Hyperballad", "Isobel", "Possibly Maybe", "I Miss You" are classics today. It's so weird to think that such forward thinking music is now 16 years old. Bjork tries not to repeat herself if memory serves me. I really need to get a hold of some more of her discography....

11 songs makes the count at 17432....

Porno For Pyros...

2011-08-31T11:25:00.000-07:00

I've been away for a bit. Took a vacation, got out of the city, smelled the roses, slept in, stayed the night in cheap motels, it was nice. Back to the real world though. On my trip, I picked up a cheap copy ($1.50!) a copy of Porno For Pyros first self titled album at a flea market. If you aren't aware, this was Perry Farrell's post Jane's Addiction project. I was never the hugest fan of Jane's Addiction, just not my thing. But when this album came out, that song of theirs, "Pets" was being played a lot, so was that video. I was pretty down with that song, but never bought the album. I didn't want to spend the $14-16 dollars for just one track that I liked, no matter how good. Fast forward 19 years and you can get this pretty much anywhere for under $3. To be honest, I'm glad that I didn't buy this back then, it's good, but with the exception of a few REALLY great tracks (Cursed Female, Pets, Black Girlfriend, Orgasm), it can be a bit grating. Perry Farrell's doesn't have a lot of range on here. It's pretty much the same vocal inflections on every song. The psychedelic guitars are cool, the drumming by Stephen Perkins is really good, but the funky slap bass parts along with the bongo drums sound so dated, so corny. All those undesirable parts really sink the song "Packin' .25", which besides the bongos and funky slap bass parts could have been awesome. If they had been left out, I think I would love this album even more. But still, it's a great album to spin from time to time.

11 songs makes the count at 17421....

Solid Gold...

2011-08-25T00:23:00.000-07:00

Growing up as a punk rock kid, you were either a Wire guy or a Gang Of Four guy. Never mind the fact that the two bands sound nothing like each other, but they were for some reason always compared to each other. I fell into the Wire camp; Minor Threat covered them, so did the New Bomb Turks, to me they were closer in the Hardcore ethic (musically, at least) than Gang Of Four. All I had ever heard from Gang Of Four was their later "disco" sounding stuff, copies of "Entertainment" and "Solid Gold" weren't exactly easy to come by when your 16. But finally in the late 90's cheap reissues of a lot of "post punk" stuff starting emerging at a non import price. I picked up Gang Of Four's "Entertainment" album and was hooked. "Solid Gold" took me a lot more time to get into, it was just never a priority to get. I've been waiting for a cheap copy of it to come my way and Amazon paid off for me. $1.23, not including shipping! This album, their second, isn't as hectic as "Entertainment", there aren't a lot of hits on here, but the title lives up to the name, nothing but solid gold on this record. I really love "Cheeseburger" it's like a horrible portrait of what someone who has no idea of living in the US is really like is in their minds. Not quite insulting, but maybe just misinformed. The production on this album is a bit more refined than on "Entertainment", making it a bit less stellar than that album, but it's still a good listen.A great one actually. Also included on this CD is their "Another Day/Another Dollar" e.p., which has one of my favorite Gang Of Four songs of all time "To Hell With Poverty!" As a matter of fact, that e.p may be my fave Gang Of Four record. It's perfect. Great songs, not too long, and has the best elements of both of their first two albums.

15 songs total makes the count at 17410...

2011-08-24T12:35:00.000-07:00

The Verve's "A Storm In Heaven" is their first album, and as far away from "A Northern Soul" as you could get. This one is a heavy psychedelic vibe, rock steady drumming that doesn't change too much, not that it needs to. There's no real need for any kind of bashing on this album. I don't love this one as much as I do "A Northern Soul", on that one, they are on fire with purpose and drive, but "A Storm In Heaven" glides and drifts along with effortless grace, it's so weird that they took such a left turn after this album. I love the direction they went after this, but I would have been interested to see where the could have gone with this sound, it's really close to the Krautrock/Kosmische sound form the 70's, albeit a bit more radio friendly, but damn, it's close! I found this at Silver Platters used for $4. One of the discographies that I couldn't lay claim to in the divorce. I wonder why I sat on this so long? Listening to "Blue" and "Butterfly" make me nostalgic for when this came out. A great debut album, the first of 3 to come from a "should have been huge" band (Now 4 with their latest).

10 songs make the count at 17395...

Invisible Lanterns...

2011-08-23T23:44:00.000-07:00

3rd full length from the Screaming Trees. I found this one (again) at Lot 49 near my work for $5. Damn, what a bargain! This one is one of my favorite Screaming Trees albums. It has the noisiness of their punk/hardcore past with a heavy psych sound. Not that hippy dippy psych like the Grateful Dead or Jefferson Airplane, but closer to Hawkwind or Blue Cheer. Mark Lanegan has a hell of voice for this too. So raw and throaty, he just oozes despair and desperation. Even early on in the Screaming Trees career. After acquiring this one, I'm jonesing for more earlier Screaming Trees material, I saw one more album there at Lot 49 I think, I'm going to have to get it. I'm not a fan of anything after "Uncle Anesthesia", that album "Sweet Oblivion"? Just wasn't into it. But who knows? Maybe time has been kinder than I remember to even that one. I had this one on cassette, so I at least know what happened to it, got eaten up and wore out! Literally not a bad song on here, you could do no wrong by picking this one up even new at SST's website. This has put me on a "grunge" kick for sure....

12 songs makes the count at 17385...

Stereolab...

2011-08-23T22:25:00.000-07:00

I keep chipping away at that Stereolab discography. Keep finding these albums cheap. This one, their 8th follows their supposed "flop" album "Cobra And Phases", which I love. "Sound Dust" is Stereolab settling into their sound, finding that perfect balance that you knew that they were going to eventually achieve. It's hard to believe this album is ten years old. It seems like it's only a couple years old to me. To be honest, I only listened to this once or twice when it came out, I had sort of "moved on" from Stereolab at that point. It's one of those records you buy and then filed away forever. I lost mine at some point in my life, but copies are plentiful EVERYWHERE. This might be the most commonly seen Stereolab album I run across in the used bins, in my case, at Everyday Music. For $3. This was also the last album with Mary Hansen, an absence keenly felt afterwards. But I feel like they held it together really well after her untimely demise. But it is it sad to think that this was one of the last times you'd hear Mary's voice gliding underneath Laetitia's hypnotic, smooth pipes. Listening to this one again, it's a really strong album, all the elements that combine to make Stereolab are here in full force, and make for (to me now) a really strong, time tested album. Best tracks are "The Black Arts", "Gus The Myna Bird" and "Nothing To Do With Me". Not a hard album to track down, every Stereolab fan should own this one....

12 songs makes the count at 17373...

TAD...

2011-08-21T00:56:00.000-07:00

Tad albums always bummed me out. They didn't convey one ounce of the power and heaviness of their live show. I saw them maybe 4 or 5 times when they were around, they hardly ever played all ages shows it seemed like. My memory is fuzzy on that, so don't hold it against me. Tad was a band I could really get into. 4 uncool looking dudes who played a weird punk/metal hybrid that didn't seem to take themselves too seriously. "8 Way Santa", their second album, is probably their most well known album, famous for it's controversial album cover ( a couple posing for a photo, the gentleman has his hand over the womans' breast), but also for their "Jack Pepsi" single as well. Tad always seemed dead set on sabotaging their own success (at least early on) in examples like that, but man, seeing them play, it just didn't matter. Everything about their sound was so forceful, loud, aggressive, pummeling. But this album? I don't know, none of that magic is on this. It sounds so mushy, so bland. But listening to this immediately takes me back. I found this at a weird vintage store called Lot 49, everything there was $5, no reason not to get this out of print, crazy hard to find album....

13 songs makes the count at 17361...

Tamaryn....

2011-08-17T12:11:00.000-07:00

A friend of a friend of mine asked me "your kind of stuck on the 90's, aren't you"? I didn't want that to be the case, I wanted to be forward thinking, ahead of the curve, but alas, it's true. My interests lie in decades previous. I decided to do something about it and look for some new music. Enter Tamaryn, a two piece band from San Francisco. Their debut album "The Waves" was just released last year, that's new, right? Well, yes and no. Yes in the fact that it was released last year, but musically? Maybe not. Firmly rooted in early shoegaze sounds, this could have been around when Ride, MBV, and Slowdive were playing shows and it would have fit right in. It really reminds me of Slowdive especially. Like the "Souvlaki" LP. My favorite period of Slowdive for sure. I love it. Mountains of reverb, breathy, husky vocals courtesy of singer, Tamaryn. Her voice really seals the deal for me. Not that the music is lacking at all, apparently, the guitarist/producer/co songwriter Rex John Shelverton has a Hardcore past! Ol' Rex used to play in Bay Area band Portraits Of Past! Whaddya know? Crazy. He come a long way since then. It's nice to see people grow a bit. I'm pretty into this. Even if it sounds like it could have been made two decades ago, it's REALLY good. I dunno, does it count that it's new and undiscovered to me? I didn't even mind paying the $8.99 price tag at Silver Platters for it. That's how good it is....

9 songs makes the count at 17348...

Idaho...

2011-08-17T11:09:00.000-07:00

Idaho. A band that is so rarely mentioned by anyone, you wonder if they are even together anymore. They've just released a new album which I had just casually heard about and I wondered what Idaho material albums I had in my collection. None. Damn. More albums lost in the divorce. Foolish me for not fighting for them more. Luckily Easy Street had a flood of Idaho albums in their used bin. I cleaned up! The first one I grabbed was their 4th album "Alas", which is pretty smack dab in the middle of their Discography. Pretty representative of their sound too. If you like Codeine, Red House Painters, Low, etc...you should love Idaho. Slow, meandering, deliberately paced music, played on a 4 string guitar (never heard of that!), slurred sleepy sounding vocals, all the songs are pretty maudlin, creating a pretty great atmosphere. I loved this when it came out, some magazine, I don't remember which one, it was one of those free ones that were always in Tower records (RIP), always was talking about how amazing Idaho were, I decided to take a chance and bought "Alas". I was pretty enraptured with Codeine at this point, so I fell in love with Idaho. This one is still my favorite too, it has Melissa Auf Der Mer of Hole singing backups on "Tensile" and "Yesterday's Unwinding", which makes the dreamy passages all that more hypnotic. I can't sing Idaho's praises enough, it seems their albums have flooded the used bins, do yourself a favour, pick up any one of them for a test drive, if you like "slowcore" (I hate that term), this will be right up your alley. I'm looking for the new one on Friday....

9 songs makes the count at 17339...

The Postmarks...

2011-08-13T08:44:00.000-07:00

I saw this used at Everyday Music for $4, I liked the classic look of the cover, the name was cool, I took a chance. It paid off! Breezy, compositions that remind you of old 60's pop music like Burt Bacharat, or a more subdued Spiral Starecase or some of the French music from that time as well. Maybe a tones down, sad Stereolab too. Lots of horns, strings, vibraphones backed up by a world weary voice provided by Tim Yehezkely. A very odd girls name! The songs are all a bit melancholy, and the pace at which their played really delivers the full impact. It's a record for staying in on a rainy day for sure. I know next to nothing about this band, except that there is at least one more album out there, I really need it after listening to this one....

12 songs makes the count at 17730...

Seana Carmody...

2011-08-12T23:39:00.000-07:00

Former Swirlies member, Seana Carmody apparently put out a solo record! This is fantastic news, the album is a few years old (2002), but I hope there may be more in the future. It's like that awful 00's decade never happened, "Struts And Shocks" sounds like a Swirlies album that never got released, just with a lot more Seana singing, which was always one of the Swirlies selling points for me. The opening song song, "Rocket Out Of Time" seems pretty fitting; listening to this made my ears smile at the memories of a time when lots of music sounded like this. Everything on here sounds effortless and breezy and great. Less experimental than the Swirlies, parts of it remind me of former Drop Nineteens member Paula Kelly's solo project, Hot Rod or even the first Juliana Hatfield album "Hey Babe". Totally a good thing. I play this constantly lately. I was Googling Seana Carmody's name to see if she had done anything after her band Syrup USA had broken up and to my surprise, this solo album popped up, great joy and cause for celebration! I found my copy on Amazon for dirt cheap, .96 cents. You could do a lot worse than to pick up all of Ms. Carmody's efforts; the Swirlies, Syrup USA, and her solo album. All of them can be had for dirt cheap.

10 songs makes the count at 17718...

The Saints...

2011-08-12T12:42:00.000-07:00

Back in the '77 explosion, all eyes were on the UK and the US, taking their cues from them, meanwhile, Austrailia had it's own thing going on with bands like AC/DC, Radio Birdman, X, The Scientists, and my personal favorite, The Saints. Really nothing more than a rediscovery of older values, rejecting the pompous, bloated rock stars of the time, The Saints are just meat and potatoes rock and roll. Their debut album, (I'm) Stranded is a raw, underproduced effort with plenty of straight ahead songs to make you wonder why the press seemed to pretty much ignore what was happening in Oceania. Strange. The bands over there were as good, in many cases WAY better than 99% of what was happening in the UK. The Saints went on to do a couple more albums, then kind of wound things up, and then came back again, like most bands do. I haven't listened to much of the post "(I'm) Stranded" Saints material, they did an album following this one called "Eternally Yours" that's pretty good, but I had heard snippets of things that I wasn't too crazy about. Knowing my ears, I have been decieved...

12 songs makes the count at 17708

Crain...

2011-08-11T13:17:00.000-07:00

Remember Crain? The slow, rhythm heavy Kentucky band whose second album "Heater" was in every $1 bin at your favorite punk record store? I never got that, Crain were great. Their place in history should be secured, no obscured. They were lumped in with that math rock sound, but were miles beyond that. I saw them once, at the Velvet Elvis in Seattle, opening for some other Louisville band, Scab or maybe Split Lip. I really don't remember. But they were great. Nice guys, didn't take themselves too seriously, were praising the little punk venue we had, just dudes stoked to be on tour. "Speed" is their first real album, and it's a doozy. Lots of Jesus Lizard styled off time runs, jerky stops and starts, brimming over the top with energy to spare, just like I remembered them. "Speed" is their first album, not quite as superior as their next, but a good starting point. Not a bad record to get into either. You can usually find a copy of either album used at just about any use record store, get "Heater" first if you can, but if it for some reason isn't available, grab "Speed".

14 songs makes the count at 17696....

The Psychedelic Furs...

2011-08-11T12:19:00.000-07:00

The Psychedelic Furs were the band that all the cute girls I liked thought were "punk". Not that I'm some sort of judge, jury, and executioner about what is or isn't. Maybe I felt like one as a youth, I hope not. But their 2nd album didn't strike me as such back then. It was a way for me to talk to girls though (unsuccessfully) about things not related to Youth Of Today, Napalm Death, or Burn though. I've always had a soft spot for this album, I owned it on vinyl forever, but it got beat to hell from all the moving around I did, just never took care of it. So when a cheap copy was for sale on Amazon, I jumped at the chance to own it again. "Pretty In Pink" sounds different than the soundtrack version, I like both though. If the Psychedelic Furs were only remembered for this album, it would be enough. There's a lot of swagger on this album that still holds up. "Mr. Jones" and "I Wanna Sleep With You" still stick out in my head as great tracks. I wonder how their legacy holds up nowadays? Do 30-45 year old ex goths still play them? I have a feeling they do. This seems timeless to me now, like the classic it always has been. The kind of record that if it came on at a party you were at, everyone would nod their heads and be all like "yeah."

13 songs makes the count at 17682...

Cat Power...

2011-08-09T17:12:00.000-07:00

I'd always associated Cat Power with Olympia, Riot Grrls, all things anathema to me. I really have no idea why. I kind of always avoided Cat Power like the plague, thinking it would be some crummy, lo fi- trebely, out of time mess, but in reality, this is a great southern souls record. With legitimate players on the album like Rick Steff, Doug Easley (of Easley Studios), Steve Potts, etc. All guys who are serious session musicians who have played with the likes of Neil Young, Al Green, Willie Nelson, Booker T, and so on. It sounds amazing. Kind of reminds me of the "Dusty In Memphis" album a bit. I am pleasantly surprised how wrong I was about Cat Power. I heard the title track in a bookstore of all places, Borders is going out of business and they were pumping this through their stereo system and I inquired to one of the employees who it was and they politely let me know. I hoped in the midst of all their "going out of business" sales, there'd be a copy of this, and to my good fortune, there it was. $6. A steal. I have no idea how the other albums by Cat Power sound, but I'm willing to take a chance on them if there are a tenth of how great this one is.

12 songs makes the count at 17669...

Revisiting the old Dischord catalogue...

2011-08-09T00:09:00.000-07:00

Were the Holy Rollers as bad as I remembered them? Not at all. They are definitely the "B" team as far as the late 80's/early 90's Dischord roster goes, but this isn't really so bad. Holy Rollers were the odd man out on Dischord I think. They had a bit of the post punk/hardcore thing happening, but to be honest, they sounded like they had aspirations of sounding, almost like a Jane's Addiction meets Smashing Pumpkins kind of a vibe. I picked up my copy of "Fabuley" with the "As Is" album tacked on at the end for $3. I bet you will have no problems getting this either. The Holy Rollers never seemed to get the attention they deserved, being overshadowed by the big dogs like Fugazi, and Jawbox can do that, but they are no less stellar than either of those bands. I know there's a another Holy Rollers album out there, it doesn't have drummer Maria Jones on it, but I'm gonna give it a chance anyways, she's a big part of what I like about The Holy Rollers, her singing just got me. The older I get, the more appeal the 90's Dischord catalogue is having for me. It's easy on my wallet too; you can can get most of these dirt cheap anywhere now....

22 songs makes the count at 17657....

Candy Machine...

2011-08-08T23:46:00.000-07:00

You can get Candy Machine albums for dirt cheap on Amazon, I've had this one, their first in my "shopping cart" forever, the price never went down from it's .25 cent price. Such an unsung band, a band that got no real face time, at least in my circle of friends. Candy Machine were from the Baltimore area, and had that same sound that sort of nondescript 90's DC sound. I remember the first thing I ever picked up from them was a 7" on Skene! records, the "Steppers" 7". I loved it, but I guess not enough to do more homework. My bad. These guys could have been contenders in the post hardcore game I think. I'm not sure what happened to them. Maybe there was just too many of these bands. The music is a pretty close cousin to Jawbox and (early) Lungfish. The guitars are bright and clear, but the rest of it is a bit quiet though, but this is their first album, so no too critical of them I guess. The only real drawback for me is the awful, artificial "noisy" vocals. If only singer Peter Quinn hadn't gone with that idea, this record would be damn near perfect....

12 songs makes the count at 17635...

Laughing Hyenas...

2011-08-04T19:51:00.000-07:00

A "vintage" store opened up near my place of employment, the guy is selling CD's for $5. Not just selected CD's, all CD's for $5. The Laughing Hyenas "Life Of Crime/You Can't Pray A Lie" CD is definitely worth more than $5, but he wouldn't be convinced. So his loss is my gain. I think either me or my brother bought this because it was on Touch And Go records, which, along with K and Dischord records usually meant quality. I had no idea that the singer John Brannon was the frontman for HC legends Negative Approach. When your starting out, there's just no one to tell you these things. "Life Of Crime" is actually the second Laughing Hyenas album; "You Can't Pray A Lie" is their first, I wonder why it's tacked on at the end of this CD? Weird. Both albums tread a similar sound though, I prefer "Life Of Crime" a bit more simply because it was the album I heard by them first. Loud, scraping punk forced through a blues filter. It's crazy that this didn't catch on, but Jon Spencers' Blues Explosion did. This seems so much more visceral, more authentic. The opener, "Life Of Crime" is so raging, so spiteful. Crazy to think that Butch Vig, of Nirvana fame actually produced this, sounds so different than his other works. Everything is mixed great, the bass is so thick and klanging, besides John Brannon's voice, it's the most distinctive thing on here. As soon as I saw this, I swiped it up, even though there was nobody else in there, I felt like if I didn't grab it right then, it would disappear. If you ever come across an (early) Laughing Hyenas CD cheap, scoop it right up. The first three albums are Midwest magic....

16 songs makes the count at 17623....

Stereolab's Margerine Eclipse...

2011-08-03T13:33:00.000-07:00

Not much to say here, Stereolab's tenth album is the work of a band in full control of their powers. This might be their only album where I'm kind of nonplussed about it. I love it, love the sound, love the structure of the songs, nothings out of place here, but...it's definitely been done before. Not that that's a bad thing. After such a long time together, it shouldn't come as too big of a surprise I suppose. I picked this album up cheap at Everyday Music, like $4. I've been on a real mission to get this discography complete; no need for all the singles and e.p.'s- the "Refried Ectoplasm" collections take care of that, so does "Oscillations From The Anti Sun" set. But all the albums? I'm getting there....

12 songs makes the count at 17607...

NoMeansNo...

2011-07-31T22:32:00.000-07:00

Found some really great used NoMeansNo CD's at Everyday music. One of the longest lasting original wave of Hardcore bands, NoMeansNo were probably too talented at music to really fit in, kind of like the Minutemen, who are really the only band I could ever compare them to. "Wrong" is Nomeansno's 5th album, and probably their best. I don't even know how to describe it; jazzy, fast, slow, heavy, plodding, thunderous. It's a monumental achievement for a band so tied into the Hardcore/Punk scene. It's not surprising then that this came out on Alternative Tentacles records, who seemed to pick up the torch where SST records kind of dropped it. "The Tower" is a perfect song, "It's Catching Up" and "Life In Hell" are equally fantastic also. This would be the album I introduce you to NoMeansNo. NoMeansNo are still firmly rooted in punk values and even their approach is still punk minded, but this is a pretty far out there album, even by today's standards. I wish more bands and record labels took chances like this....

"0+2=1" immediately follows "Wrong", and is a bit more of a poppier affair, but no less powerful for it. Theirs some great harmonizing on the opening track, "Now". The Wright Bros. sound really confident on this one, it's really tight and the songs are longer but they clip by at a really great pace, they seem shorter than they really are. The production I feel suffers a bit on this album though, it's got a chunky metal sound, which holds the whole record back a bit, I would have preferred a rawer sound for these songs, but that's just nitpicking really. The title track has a great hypnotic bass line, holds down the song perfectly. This is one of the easier to find albums by NoMeansNo, it always pops up, but if you can find "Wrong" or any other album by them for cheap, I urge you to get it. Listen to one the most creative bands still out there today.

2 albums equals 24 songs which makes the count at 17595...

The Verve...

2011-07-25T12:39:00.000-07:00

Second album by The Verve, who with the exception of "Bittersweet Symphony" never really got the credit they deserved when they were actually around, Oasis, Radiohead, and Blur all seemed to hog the spotlight. But this one, I feel like it will be placed in the ranks of bands like The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, Stone Roses, etc before too long. I finally decided to re-acquiring these albums, I definitely lost these in my divorce, she got all three of their albums. I should have fought harder I suppose. Oh well, now they are dirt cheap everywhere. I think this is the best album The Verve ever did, "A Storm In Heaven" and "Urban Hymns" are both flawless too, but this one has a desperation and dark vibe to it that the other two lack. It just sends it over the top for me. "A Northern Soul" is epic. Just listen to it and try not to be moved. I found my copy on the cheap, $3 at Silver Platters, I've two more "classic" Verve albums to go, and I may try to pick up the newest one "Forth" if it comes my way, has anyone heard it? Is it any good?

12 songs makes the count at 17571...

Pure Mania!

2011-07-25T10:45:00.000-07:00

LOVE the Vibrators. Offensive name, catchy tunes, truly excellent record cover? Done. The Vibrators are definitely second string as far as the original '77 punk wave is concerned, not as political as The Clash, not as nihilistic as the Sex Pistols, not as sharp and catchy as the Buzzcocks (almost though), but more like second cousins to The Damned. They sing about more pressing teenage concerns, girls, boredom and sex. Not too complicated really. Some of my favorite songs from the 77' explosion are on here; "Petrol", "London Girls", and especially "Whips And Furs". You can always find these cheap, I finally decided to splurge on a copy a while back, I got it from Everyday music for $4. That's about the same price everywhere I see them. A great, often overlooked album, take a chance....

15 songs makes the count at 17559...

The Unanimous Hour...

2011-07-25T09:49:00.000-07:00

Immediately following "Artificial Horizon" is Lungfish's truly superb "The Unanimous Hour", which Dischord just remastered. I picked this one up used at Easy Street music for about $7. It had just found (literally!) it's way into the "new arrivals" bin. I was just browsing, killing some time before my bus came to take me to work, and there it was. I REALLY, REALLY needed that money for food this week, but who knows when this'll pop up again? How crazy is it that almost immediately after talking about getting more Lungfish records in he last post, and this shows up? I said the heck with the consequences, and snatched it up. I'm listening to it as I type. I've definitely not ever heard this one, kind of like "Artificial Horizon", it just kind of slipped under the radar for me. The opening song, "Space Orgy" pretty much sets the tone for the whole album. The formula is there; repetition, repetition, repetition. But Daniel Higg's voice is starting to really become unhinged and wild on this one. So warbly, so shaky and filled with mania, he's quickly become one of my favorite singers/front men of all time. I purchased a few more Lungfish records a couple weeks back from Amazon as well, still waiting for them to come in, but the list is getting shorter all the time, I'm gonna be sad when I have all there is to have....

10 songs makes the count at 17544...

Lungfish...

2011-07-24T12:59:00.000-07:00

I've been waiting for Lungfish albums to get cheap on Amazon, some of them never go down in price. But for some reason, their 6th album "Artificial Horizons" finally descended to that wonderful $5 pricetag (not including shipping, damn!). I had to jump at it. A great transition record for Lungfish, this is when they started to really slow things down and really work a riff for all it's worth. I love early Lungfish too, but the work they started on after "Indivisble" is really appealing to me. I can't believe I never really listened to these guys much when they were around, just passing them off as either another drop in the "emo" droll bucket, or just Dischord weirdness. Plenty of time to make up for past mistakes. Whenever I do talk to people about Lungfish, "Artificial Horizons" never gets mentioned. It's not like it's forgettable. Weird. If you can find this one cheap, do it! Maybe the best (new) Dischord band on their roster....

11 songs makes the count at 17534...

Giant Steps...

2011-07-24T12:16:00.000-07:00

I found Coltrane's 2nd album on his fantastic run for Atlantic record (his first solo one really), and while everyone will tell you that "A Love Supreme" or "My Favorite Things" are some of his best (a hard argument to counter), I prefer "Giant Steps just a tiny bit more. This was his sort of farewell to the bop school of jazz, then moving on to the more experimental free jazz stylings pioneered by Ornette Coleman and especially Albert Ayler (pick up a copy of Ayler's "Spiritual Unity" if you're able, a monster!). I've always preferred to hear John Coltrane playing Tenor saxophone, when he plays a soprano, it sounds "off" to me. John Coltrane has always been one of my favorite players, he wasn't the best leader (probably Miles Davis), or the most insane (Sun Ra), but his albums seem to have a staying power for me. I found "Giant Steps" used for $5 at Easy Street, I had to choose between this and a used copy of Sun Ra's "Space Is The Place" for a bit more money. I feel pretty good about my choice. There are 5 extra tracks on here, outtakes from the same session, there good I guess, and for a completist, I guess it crucial, but not really necessary. If I were asked to give someone three albums to get them into jazz, this might be one of them....

12 songs makes the count at 17523...

Curve...

2011-07-23T09:29:00.000-07:00

A real oddball album here. Curve's "Doppelganger" sits somewhere in between the then emerging shoegaze and a weird dance music vibe going on. It makes for an interesting listen. Way back when this actually released, I don't think I actually liked it. I'm not a big fan of mashing up two styles of music that seem contrary to each other. At least to me. I picked this up months ago at Silver Platters, but I moved around a bit and this got lost in the shuffle. But I was rummaging through a box and found Curve's "Doppelganger", their first album just waiting for me to listen to it. The drum programming on here leaves a bit to be desired, there are actual REAL drums on here, but they are buried under the sonic swarm of guitars that dominate the album. It's the robotic "doppelganger" (see what I did?) of MBV's "Loveless", it sounds nice, but there's no spontaneity on here. No energy is wasted on this album. Singer Toni Halliday's icy moaning vocals are the real prize on here though. She sounds so detached, so cool, especially on the tenth cut "Sandpit". Damn! I like this a lot more now than I ever did when I was younger. It's one of those albums that was relatively big in it's day, but enthusiasm has cooled quite a bit since then. I'd pretty much forgotten about it myself until I saw it in the "New Arrivals" section. Glad I took the chance. There's at least two more albums by Curve, I'm kind of interested to see how they fare....

11 songs makes the count at 17511...

Emperor Tomato Ketchup....

2011-07-22T03:25:00.000-07:00

The "definitive" Stereolab album, some people say. I waited and waited to find a cheap copy of this one. My ship finally came in and Silver Platters had a cheap copy of their 5th album "Emperor Tomato Ketchup". The opening song "Metronomic Underground" is such a strong starter, you wonder how the rest of the album can compare, but the crazy thing is, it never really lets up. More drone on this one than "Mars Audiac Quintet", my personal favorite Stereolab album, but on this on, it seems like they refined what they did on "Mars", only to change directions after this album! So cool. This one sounds dense compared to other Stereolab records too, "Dots And Loops" and "Mars" seem so light and breezy when you listen to them, "Emperor Tomato Ketchup" is total headphones music: Strings, dub parts, noise, two part harmonies, counter point melodies all converging at once, it's fun to listen to try to discern everything that's going on. Stereolab had a pace in the 90's that seemed bettered only in quantity by The Fall, not bettered in quality. The Fall have a TON of albums, but only some of them are truly good, whereas Stereolab put out fantastic album after fantastic album. I'm knocking down the Stereolab list these days, I've still got a lot to get, but the list is looking smaller and smaller all the time...

13 songs makes the count at 17500...

Syrup USA...

2011-07-21T01:04:00.000-07:00

I had literally never heard of this until a dude I know who is really into the whole Shoegaze thing clued me into this. Syrup USA is Seana Carmody of the Swirlies band after she left. Copies of this album are in abundance on Amazon. Really cheap too. The very definition of a "lost classic". Syrup USA is like the "pop" version of the Swirlies, a little more accessible, cleaner production, more straightforward songs too. Some of the songs on here actually remind me of Stereolab, especially the opener "People Of The Lake". Seana Carmody's voice floats just above the music, making it a bit more distinct than Laetetia's of Stereolab. How have I never heard of this until this point? It's so up my alley, back then and today. Regardless, I'm glad to own it now, a great record. And dirt cheap on Amazon. Seek this one out!

11 songs makes the count at 17487...

Treepeople...

2011-07-21T00:51:00.000-07:00

Last Treepeople album I needed. The last actual Treepeople album too. "Actual Re-enactment" isn't as bad as people who are die hard Doug Martsch fans will tell you. After he left Treepeople to pursue his own career, John Polle was recruited to play guitar and sing in his place, and to be perfectly honest, he really didn't do a bad job. Yeah, some of the cool psych jams that Doug wrote on previous records aren't on here, but what you're replaced with is a more refined, solid hard driving unit. None of the songs really drag, I'm not entirely sure, but I think the songwriting may have been more collaborative at this point, making the record seem a bit more cohesive. On older albums, you could tell that the songwriting was divided between Scott and Doug, maybe the only thing really holding their albums back from being super classics. Not that they were bad to begin with. It's sad that Treepeople ended without much fanfare, I think I saw one of their very last shows in Olympia at the Capitol Theatre. No one really showed up, but they played a great set anyways. It was definitely the last time I saw them. I really love the Treepeople, and their albums can all be had for dirt cheap on Amazon, where I found this one. Do yourself a favour and check out a little piece of hidden history from the great pacific NW....

11 songs makes the count at 17476...

Tristeza...

2011-07-20T23:55:00.000-07:00

Not much too say here, a great instrumental band from San Diego, Tristeza have been around forever, I think this album "Dream Signals In Full Circles" is their second. It's a great album, nothing crazy or caustic on here, a good chiller of an album you can play while you and your girlfriend make breakfast or read the paper in bed. Lots of mellow emo/krautrock jams on here, I get the feeling the members of Tristeza at this point were kind of done with hardcore/punk in general, and were listening to bands like Tortoise, The Sea And Cake, Mogwai, expanding their horizons a bit. It isn't derivative by any means, Tristeza have their own style going on, but on the early albums, you can here that they are forging their own path. A hard thing to do. They are still at it too, playing shows, touring, doing their thing. Keep it up guys...

9 songs makes the count at 17465....

Echo And The Bunnymen...

2011-07-15T08:23:00.000-07:00

I'm a bit of a novice when it comes to Echo And The Bunnymen, so I assumed that this was their first album, in actuality, it's their fifth. I wanted the track "Killing Moon", and also "Lips Like Sugar", which has been a radio staple for years. I got "Lips Like Sugar", but no "Killing Moon", which is on their fourth. Damn. I like the big hit on here, but honestly, the rest of it isn't really grabbing me yet. Sort of reminds me of the Psychedelic Furs, couple great tracks, but not enough to fill up an album. Maybe that's just me, but I'm not overly wowed yet like I thought I would be. Should I have bought the "Best Of" instead? I'm going to keep listening, because I have a feeling it's something I ought to enjoy, something that may take time to be a grower on me. What other albums should I be buying from Echo And The Bunnymen?

11 songs makes the count at 17456...

Even More Don Caballero....

2011-07-14T12:37:00.000-07:00

I'm working on a backlog of stuff here, trying to get caught up. I'm not sure why I don't already have these Don Caballero albums in my collection. But I obviously need them. Most folk will tell you "Don Caballero 2" is their magnum opus, and I'd be hard pressed to argue, but I really love "What Burns Never Returns" too. If I had to chose one, it would probably be this one, but both albums are Don Caballero at their absolute finest. "Please Tokio, This Is Tokio" and "P,P,P, antless", "Repeat Defender", so many amazing technically challenging songs on here, It was a real shocker when this came out, no vocals? What? None needed, seriously, the music does all the talking. It's a beast of a record, LOOOONNNGG songs, but you never notice the time pass, they seem short to me. Re listening to these songs, I had no idea how ahead of the time Don Caballero were, doing lengthy, technical, prog inspired songs on a punk label, touring the punk/hardcore circuit, but on their own terms, is amazing. It's cool that people caught on....

"Singles Breaking Up" is Don Caballeros' early singles collection (imagine that), and as you'd expect, the early material isn't quite as manic or as tight as the later stuff (even the first album "For Respect" isn't quite as monstrous as the second or third albums), but it's cool to listen to them progress and get better and better on each release. Kind of like how Drive Like Jehu's first album is great, an album I listen to a lot, but it in no way can compare with the epic and sprawling masterpiece of theirs "Yank Crime". All the power and drive are there though, just not the refinement. Still a fun and captivating listen though. I know that Don Caballero did a record in 2006, but the word on the street is that it's just not the same. That new album is in lots of used bins, in fact the very same I found these two, at Easy Street. It's only $4, maybe I should take the chance....

2 albums equals 21 songs which makes the count at 17445...

Melvins...

2011-07-14T11:30:00.000-07:00

These aren't really "cheap" CD's, quite the opposite, but I've waited for years for one of them to be available, with absolutely no luck. These two albums represent a high point in the Melvins creativity, one of my favorite periods of theirs, mostly because of the involvement of bassist Joe Preston, who added a real moodiness to the Melvins sound. Not that it wasn't there already, but certainly it attained higher levels. Originally entitled "Lysol", due to a copyright owned by the Lysol company, the album was just called "Melvins" for a long time. Essentially just one long track but really 6 if you want to get technical. I'm still amazed that the Melvins were ever signed on the basis of these albums, the first "song", "Hung Bunny" is mostly just squalling feedback for ten minutes! I mean I love it, but I just cannot see this being sold to some kid in Nebraska. A few cover songs by Flipper ("Sacrifice" BTW and it's amazing!) and Alice cooper take up the middle, then the album closes with one of my favorite Melvins songs of all time "With Teeth". "Lysol" hardly ever turns up in the used bins, if it does, grab it! You might not get another chance.

As awesome as "Lysol" is, my absolute favorite Melvins song is "Nightgoat", not the version on their major label debut, but the Amphetamine Reptile 7" version. I've been waiting and waiting and waiting for this to become available, with absolutely no luck. I had to take the plunge and get this on Amazon, not at a cheap price, but worth it. "Nightgoat", I feel is the Melvins at their very best. The bass on here is so menacing and deep, Dale Crover's drums sound like 10 lesser drummers, he's hitting them so hard and with purpose. Worth every penny for this. Still sends chills up my spine listening to this. The B side is a cover of a Pussy Galore song, it's good, but there's no way you can follow that up after the almighty "Nightgoat". Both of these recordings were overseen by Billy Anderson, famed Engineer/Producer of countless bands you're into, he also played on their "Houdini" album (which I need as well...). I love this single, even if it's just two songs, it's nice to have it in my collection as both vinyl (white vinyl!) and CD single. Look at that cover, creepy as all hell, it fits the music perfectly. I think in fifty years, people are going to look back on the Melvins and take note at what geniuses and risk takers they were and revere them as much as the Beatles or Jimi Hendrix, King Crimson, etc...

3 glorious songs makes the count at 17427...

The Unband...

2011-07-14T01:26:00.000-07:00

I bought this solely on the strength of their song on the movie "Supertroopers" soundtrack, "Pinkslip". A simple, riff monster of a song that was so incredibly catchy and dumb (in the best possible way), that I had to track down their album. The sound is a perfect amalgamation of the simplicity of AC/DC, the hedonism of Motorhead, and the high energy of Thin Lizzy. Translation, this rules. Not all of it stands up to the near perfection of "Pinkslip", as a matter of fact, some of the tracks drag the album down, but when they hit, man The Unband delivers the power load. "Geez Louise", "Too Much Is Never Enough", "The Jilt" all slay, but "Everybody Wants You" (a Billy Squire cover) and "Crack Soundtrack" drag a bit for me. All in all, a great high energy rock album, pretty novel for when it came out (2000), what with all the emo and acoustic acts dominating the times back then. There's at least one more album by The Unband out there, I'm hoping it's as cheap as this one I found at Easy Street in the .99 cent bin! Score!

14 songs makes the count at 17424...

Gentle Giant...

2011-07-13T23:44:00.000-07:00

I'm a recent convert to Progressive rock. Only in the last few years have I really given it a chance. Sure, I've always liked Yes and Rush; but those are radio staples. A given. But being a punk, you were supposed to hate this stuff, that all Progressive rock was bloated, out of touch music that deserved ridicule for having the audacity to be able to play their instruments well. Poppycock. I'm glad I've come around and made my own opinions about what I listen to, getting into Gentle Giant, a Prog rockers Prog band, was one of the greatest revelations of my life. I found two great Gentle Giant albums at Silver Platters, both for $5.99 new. A good price, I must say! "Octopus", their 4th album, is as good a starter album as any interested in Gentle Giant. As with all Prog bands; Gentle Giant show a level of virtuosity on "Octopus" that was kind of next level. Maybe not as insane as say, KIng Crimson, but damn close. They never seemed to reap the rewards of other Prog bands either, which really confounds me, they can play/sing as well as any of the big dogs of the day. Listen to the track "Knots" and tell me that's not mind blowing. Or "A Cry For Everyone". "Octopus" is considered their best album, and there are several tracks on here that could make that case, but my money is on their next album....

"Three Friends" is their concept album, about, coincidentally three friends and the directions their lives take them in. Lots of odd twists and turns on this album, and listen to the solo on the song "Peel The Paint", incredible! My fave Gentle Giant song easily, and that's saying something. Taking inspiration from all kinds of music; folk, classical, rock, jazz, makes it sound like a horrible idea; like someone mixing all the worst fountain drinks together to make a "suicide", but when you have real players in a band, it works flawlessly. It doesn't feel like a mish mash of ideas, it's a lot more coherent than you would imagine. This is easily my favorite Gentle Giant album. Listening to it, I still wonder how Genesis were the biggest thing in their heyday. Gentle Giant simply outclasses them....

2 albums equals 14 songs which makes the count at 17410....

Beekeeper!

2011-07-13T22:02:00.000-07:00

A Beekeeper CD in the .99 cent bin? Done. Kind of like if Rodan had a better recording budget, or Versus were more crashing, a bit less melodic. Beekeeper are a bit of a footnote in the "indie" world, their bassist, Karla having moved to play in Ida, one of my top 3 favorite bands, ever. Listening to the material she recorded with Ida, she really honed her harmonizing chops with her brother in Beekeeper. No tracks drag here, it's a solid album that can be played again and again, it has a sort of timeless indy quality about it, not dated, if this came out in 1993 instead of 1998, I wouldn't have been surprised, if it came out in 2005, I wouldn't have batted an eyebrow. I can't stress how great this is, track it down on Amazon if you can, it's fairly cheap, and well worth owning. Especially for killer songs like "Won", "So Quiet", "Muscle Car", "Mabel" and especially "Two Men". My fave song on the whole album. It looks like, according to Allmusic.com that there are at least two more Beekeeper albums out there, hopefully as cheap as this one I grabbed at Easy Street...

13 songs makes the count at 17396...

Mercury Rev...

2011-07-12T22:41:00.000-07:00

I found a real cheap copy of Mercury Rev's second album "Boces" at Sonic Boom. You can always find their later albums at pretty much any music store, but getting the first two, "Yer Self Is Steam" and the second (and better) "Boces" can prove to be a bit of a waiting game. But hold out for "Boces", it's such a weird, cool, psychedelic album. They were kind of doing the same thing as The Flaming Lips were but in an entirely different part of the country. As a matter of fact, I belive that someone from Mercury Rev actaully left to play with the Flaming Lips, I could be wrong though... A totally unmarketable album, it opens with the ten minute epic "Meth Of A Rockette's Kick"which really sets the tone for the rest of the record. These guys do their own thing, no catering to any record company for hits. Honestly, this is a true original, no one sounded like these guys. Nowadays, there are lots of groups that sound like this, but back in the 90's, no one did. Mercury Rev have been around for a long time now, I haven't really listened to their newer albums, though there are a few. Their later stuff seems to be plentiful in the used bins and on Amazon, meaning either that it's not so good, or it's right up my alley, being so weird that college kids just sold this stuff. I'm assuming the latter, giving my tastes...

10 songs makes the count at 17383...

Bardo Pond...

2011-07-09T11:06:00.000-07:00

I just found about Bardo Pond, literally days ago. I've always heard the name bandied about, but had never taken the time to listen to them. I saw a cheap copy of their 3rd album "Lapsed" on Amazon and bought it. I had no expectations of them at all, but was kind of floored by their slow burning, bluesy, psychedelia. None of the songs are in a particular hurry to finish, especially tracks like "Flux" and especially "Aldrin". I love "Green Man", an instrumental, it just goes and goes, relentlessly. On almost all the songs on here, they meander and work a riff for all it's worth. 10 years ago, if you had told me I'd be excited about a psychedelic band, I would have laughed in your face. Now? I'm hungry for more. Isobell Sollenberger's voice is one of the draws for me; spacey, droney music works great with a girls' voice in my humble opinion. I don't know why, but it does. Bardo Pond albums are not cheap for the most part. Online or in used bins, if you're lucky enough to find one. But I've got my eye open. Hoping they may do a tour at least one more time. I seem to always like bands right before they break up. Why is that?

7 songs makes the count at 17373....

Swirlies...

2011-07-08T11:51:00.000-07:00

Must be my lucky day, the Swirlies best album (and first), "Blonder Tongue Audio Baton" popped up at Sonic Boom used. A flawless piece of US shoegaze. I know a lot of people would disagree, but this is on par with MBV's "Loveless" I think. It's as dense, but with character all it's own. Not just another My Bloody Valentine clone. This album still sounds fresh and new to me, I hear something new every time I listen to it. The bass is so deep, Seana's voice sounds so crisp and clear as opposed to Bilinda from MBV, which is nice sometimes. I had a copy of this on an old TAANG! cassette, it finally stopped playing so I resolved to wait until a bargain copy came up, I should have gotten a copy much earlier. "Wrong Tube", "Pancake", are seriously fantastic songs. One of the best bands from the 90's, or any decade. This wouldn't be the worst album to start out with if you want to dive into The Swirlies. How come no one really mentions them anymore?

11 songs makes the count at 17366....

Sunn O)))....

2011-07-06T18:52:00.000-07:00

Why do metalheads like to piss and moan about Sunn O))) (Hereto afterwards just Sunn)? Was I this bad when Metallica or Slayer, got big? I hope not. Anytime I bring up Sunn in a discussion with people who like metal, it's always with rolling eyes, and mutterings about how they suck and aren't "real metal" or it's "boring". To be honest, I hadn't listened to them until very recently, I decided to take a chance on their newest album "Monoliths And Dimensions", which is their seventh. Sunn features Greg Anderson from Brotherhood, Engine Kid and Burning Witch, it can't be all that bad, can it? No really. I have a feeling it's because of all the press they get, all the admiration from non metal magazines that really gets under peoples' skins. It's also not for everyone. I couldn't listen to this everyday, it's pretty bleak and depressive, but it doesn't seem like it's meant for everyday listening. Used copies of this album are not forthcoming, so I splurged and bought one new for $9.99 at Easy Street. Not a bad price. Sunn follow a pretty simple formula on here; one or two titanic riffs, backed by bowed instruments that creak and sound as if they're breaking, horns that sound like buzzing flies, a cool chorus to back some of the "songs" (as on "Big Church"), and lots and lots of guests. It sounds amazing. Layers upon layers, it's headphone music for sure. My fave track is probably "Hunting And Gathering", everything present that sums up this album is here. I'm no Sunn expert, but this album couldn't be a bad place to start off with (like I did) if you want to delve into ambient, droning, evil sounding experimental metal....

4 songs makes the count at 17355....

The Cocteau Twins...

2011-07-05T15:56:00.000-07:00

You can always find cheap Cocteau Twins albums in any used bin of you local record store. For some reason, like New Order, Cocteau Twins albums were pressed in huge quantities, more than the demand for them, I'm sure. But in the early 90's? You couldn't get them cheap, because of the "Import" tag on the corner of the album. WAYYY out of my price range. Now? These are everywhere. I picked up a couple of albums that I haven't listened to before at Silver Platters. "Head Over Heels" is their second album, this particular version also has their "Sunburst And Snowblind" e.p. tacked on at the end of this, a nice little addition if I do say so myself. The first thing you'll always notice besides Elizabeth Frasier's totally unique voice, is the artwork on every album; Vaughn Oliver and Nigel Greirson's unmistakable work as the 23 Envelope design team. It's part and parcel of the 4AD family it seemed like. Anyways, back to the music. I had never actually heard this album before, it's less gauzy and hazy as their later material, everything sounds pristine and clear, Elizabeth's voice is the only thing that's murky, but I'm pretty sure that' on purpose. The drum machine is annoying, I've never understood why great bands couldn't just find a drummer. Ah well, so be it. A trivial complaint. "Sugar Hiccup" is the clear standout track on this album, but it's strong all the way through. I kind of like the "Sunburst And Snowblind" e.p. a bit more. It's just stronger, not as much filler, the whole is great. Especially "From The Flagstones" and "Because Of Whirl-Jack".

Heaven Or Las Vegas" is a later affair, 7 years after "Head Over Heels", it shows too; the production is refined, everything sounds much more thought out, the drum machine sounds a bit less artificial here, due credit should be given. But everything else sounds booming and chiming, the bass throbs, the guitar washes over you, Elizabeth's voice is probably clearer on here than any other Cocteau Twins record (though there are a lot I haven't heard). I love that no one since has ever come close to sounding like her, a totally original vision. Not as great as "Blue Bell Knoll", their best album by far, but a worthy addition to their catalogue. This was the Twins last album for 4AD, before moving on to bigger and better things, namely "Four Calender Cafe". I've got a pretty big checklist now for the Cocteau Twins discography, I've got a lot of it, but not all. There's a lot of e.p.'s out there to grab, a good number of albums too, BBC sessions, etc....Don't get in my way....

2 albums (plus an e.p.) equals 24 songs which makes the count at 17351...

Don Caballero...

2011-07-04T12:48:00.000-07:00

Hailing from my place of birth, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, Don Caballero were a total breath of fresh air in the 90's. At least to me. I'm kind of proud of the fact that I've always been on board with them. An old buddy of mine, Bill used to love them and turned me on to them real early in my punk "career". Somewhere along the way, I've lost most of their material. But I spied this cheap copy of their 3rd album "What Burns Never Returns" at Easy Street for pretty cheap. It's maybe my favorite too, their whole formula was refined on this album, like a distorted version of Slint, not at all like concerned with providing vocals, letting the music do the talking. Everything is tight, technical, like an instrumental version of King Crimson, never letting anything go to waste on this album. It's seems effortless when they do it, but I have a feeling it's terribly complex and much too difficult for the average player. It's also the last album to feature the dual guitar attack, Mike Banfield having left the band after this album. This album also has the good fortune of having one of mt favorite Don Caballero songs "June Is Finally Here", which conveys plenty of feeling and expression without having to say anything. Don Caballero continued to put out (still does?) records after this masterpiece, but the magic was gone. I like the next album they did, "American Don", but it's just not the same. If they had quit after this album, Don Caballero would have had a perfect discography....

8 songs makes the count at 17327

Red Monkey...

2011-06-30T13:27:00.000-07:00

Along with the Rentals, I saw a couple cheap .99 cent albums by Red Monkey. The low rent version of Huggy Bear. I figured for .99 cents, I could take the risk and see if their "politically charged" lyrics would still grate on me. Not as much, but "Make The Moment", their first album has pretty cringe worthy moments. The whole records just feels dated, whereas the bands they supposedly were influenced by (Gang Of Four, Minutemen) were always changing, doing something new. This being their first album, I'd let that slide, every one's got to start somewhere, right? I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt on this one, we'll see how the next album fares....

A bit better. But not much. A song about bikes? Yow. Treading already well mined territory isn't such a good idea. I know, I know, there isn't much new under the sun, I'm really trying to not to be so negative here. How about I judge it on the merits of the music? A bit more field of vision, maybe they can just play their instruments better, maybe they've gotten better at recording. Actually when they aren't trying to play in "quirky time signatures", when they actually play in more straightforward time, or when they don't attempt to sound like Gang Of Four or PIL, or The Au Pairs, or The Raincoats, ad nauseum, Red Monkey are quite enjoyable, like "My Bed And Ancestry", or "Kissing With Tongues". I know it sounds like I'm really not into Red Monkey, it's growing on me, but the music has that post punk sound, the lyrics are written for a "punk" audience, just seems a bit like preaching to the converted, it's all a bit safe and very non challenging, which if that is what what you're aiming for, I guess that's fine. But I'm taking these guys at their words here, "Fire Is Doused, When It Needs To Be Sparked". That's not literal, right? I mean you are trying to make reference to social change, right? Red Monkey have one more album out there I guess, it's pretty cheap on Amazon, as are these two. Maybe some kid in some bullshit town will find these records and have her/his mind blown by this, but I'm kind of doubtful. If MP3's gathered dust, these might.

2 albums equals 28 songs, which puts the count at 17319...

The Rentals...

2011-06-30T12:07:00.000-07:00

Does anyone remember this? I saw this sitting in the "new arrivals" used bin at Easy Street for like a month, and finally decided to take take the $4 risk on something I kind of recalled from the 90's. It's pretty great, really great as a matter of fact! This is the Rentals first album, I believe. By Matt from Weezer. I've always disliked Weezer. A lot. I just can't get into their whole "get it?" schtick. Not for me. But I knew that someone from Weezer had a new wave project in the vein of Gary Numan, Devo etc, and that it featured a lot of Moog in it. Honestly, there isn't a single bad cut on here. The bass is really thick and fuzzed out, the Moog programming is great, supporting the distant icy vocals of Matt and Cherielynn, and the violins of Petra Haden from That Dog are an added bonus. I honestly had no idea that this was even an album, I remember the songs "Waiting" and "Friends Of P", but I guess I never put two and two together that there might be an album connected to those songs. Whoops! I'm already looking for material by The Rentals, I hope it lives up to this album...

10 songs make the count at 17291...

Even More Stereolab....

2011-06-29T01:56:00.000-07:00

I've been waiting for a cheap copy of both of these Stereolab collections. Especially the "Oscillons From The Anti-Sun", it's never cheap, even used. Most of the time they go for $15-20, which for a 3 CD set, isn't terrible, but the cheapskate in me always says "wait". Well, sometimes that theory doesn't work. I broke finally. Paid the $15 dollar price tag that Everyday Music wanted, but I'm glad I did. Basically a collection of e.p.'s from their time on Elektra records, not easily found in the US at the time, some outtakes, alternate takes, etc. It's kind of for the obsessive Stereolab fan. The DVD is awesome too, containing music videos and TV performances of classic Stereolab songs like "Wow And Flutter""Ping Pong", and "Jenny Ondioline". I had never seen them before so that was a real treat as well. The one frustrating thing about this collection is that it isn't in any chronological order, the tracks are kind random and scattered with no rhyme or reason to the order of it. Gah! For a band who loves to reward their obsessive compulsive fans, this really seems like a raspberry. Small complaint though. Really. No bad tracks on here, they were all recorded during Stereolab's golden years with Elektra records, a period of great prolificness for "The Groop". You know the sound: Lounge meets Bossanova meets moog, meets Krautrock. Totally genius, totally original!

"Aluminum Tunes" is a different affair, part of their "Switched On" series, the third volume to be exact. This one is almost a bridge between the mid period sound, and the later (or third stage) of Stereolab, where they collaborated with some weird artists, and really started to hammer home the sound they began to perfect in the mid 90's. They sort of became a target of criticism for that too, people would complain that they essentially released the same album over and over again. While I do agree that the sound is similar, I don't think it's as derivative as all that. Besides, plenty of bands that are immune to the same kind of attacks, like Fugazi did the same thing, there's a difference between releasing the same record over and over and having a "sound". Dig? Stereolab certainly have a knack for writing and releasing lots of songs though! To be honest, I don't even know what singles or B-sides these come from. The packaging on this collection (And Oscillons) is really quite stunning though, everything looks great, why couldn't have they taken the extra step and make they type a bit more legible and maybe reference when and where they came from? The script is a dull orange color on a gray/brown background. Makes for hard reading. Again, a small complaint really.

I'm glad I finally broke down and got these collections, the gaps in my Stereolab list are getting smaller all the time. 2 collections equals 60 songs (!) which makes the count at 17281.

Jenny Piccolo...

2011-06-28T23:55:00.000-07:00

I saw this a few days back at Easy Street, it's the discography of Bay Area Hardcore band, Jenny Piccolo. I saw them a couple times when they were around, some of the guys used to be in another band, Mohinder I think? Jenny Piccolo is much better. They've got a simple but effective formula, start off slow, intro with bass, or maybe drums, go fast, sing, build up, then end. It's not terribly imaginative, but damn; when it works, it really works. The one thing that they still had in common with Mohinder was the vague-ish emo lyrics, maybe a little more thoughtful, a tiny bit more direct, but not by much. These guys were definitely changelings though, picking up any musical trends in Hardcore that came by; emo, Power Violence, thrash, fastcore, whatever was happening and cool!. But when you're young, you're supposed to, right? I'm not holding against them, or denouncing Jenny Piccolo in any way, plenty of bands lesser than them did the same thing. It just seems more obvious to me now. They still pulled it off better than most. I looked on Amazon, you can get a copy of this for about $7 used. Not a bad deal. I'm making it sound like I think this is trite or boring, but really, it's a fantastic document of a great Hardcore band whose never got their due as much as other bands of their day. Not sure why the cover version of Chain Of Strength's "True Till Death" in Swedish was necessary though...

52 songs makes the count at 17221...

Treepeople...

2011-06-20T00:10:00.000-07:00

Maybe the most underrated Seattle band ever. Kind of the Husker Du of the NW. Treepeople never really get the face time or are ever name dropped when the "Seattle Sound" is mentioned, although they are light years better than most. Starting off in Boise Idaho, Treepeople moved to Seattle and tried to make their mark, I guess not enough people were listening. Shame. "Something Vicious For Tommorow/Time Whore" was the first thing I ever bought by the Treepeople. It's a cool little e.p.; everyone always makes a big deal out of the fact that Doug Martsch was in Treepeople, and he is a stellar songwriter, but I've always loved Scott Schmaljohn's songs. "Something Vicious For Tommorow" sounds so great, it's got a bit more bite than Doug Martschs' songs. "Something Vicious" was recorded in 1991, right around the time "Nevermind" was released, but they never got signed, no real interest was ever generated for Treepeople it seemed. They just kept on trucking though, playing great shows and releasing stellar, under the radar records. Their cover of the Smith's "Bigmouth Strikes Again" is incredible too...

"Just Kidding" is technically their second album, it's the one you always see in the bargain bins, I got mine (and Something Vicious) at Everyday Music for dirt cheap, $5. The opener, "Today" is really unlike Seattle bands of the day, really melodic, noisy pop. It really cements the fact that Treepeople were the Black Sheep of Seattle at the time, the guitars aren't all muddy, they had a real "anti- image" thing going too, just shirts and jeans, not really trying to impress anyone; at least the vibe I got from the handful of times I saw them. I love the harmonizing on this one, Doug and John seem really in sync on this album, even though Martsch was already planning to leave at a certain point. I'm glad he recorded "Ballard Bitter" with Treepeople though; it sounds like it could have been a Built To Spill song. I miss the Treepeople a lot, I loved them, they were a great local band whose shows were always pretty intense and fun, I only saw them with Doug Martsch once, but got the opportunity to see post Doug a number of times. I'm always on the lookout for a cheap copy of their last album without Doug, "Actual Re-Enactment", but it never pops up in the used bins. I may have to buy it Amazon. Listening to the albums has made me remember how much I loved this band. A real original slice of Seattle history....

2 albums equals 23 songs, which makes the count at 17169....

Apartment 213...

2011-06-12T22:57:00.000-07:00

Early discography of Cleveland's own Apartment 213. These guys were(/are?) great- sometimes. I used to own most of the records on here, and I have to say the only thing really holding back Apartment 213 from entrance into Power violence Valhalla is the quality of some of those recordings. Some of the sessions seriously sound like a tape recorder was used and that's about it. But if you look at the "Vacancy" e.p., it sounds amazing. A perfect cross between the speedy intensity of INFEST and the ultra brevity and crush of Crossed Out. But then, listen to the split 7" with Gehenna, ugh. Or even worse, the "Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things" e.p. It's like they weren't even trying. But not all the lo-fi tracks are terrible, the split 7" with Forced Expression are great, hitting that middle ground perfectly. The guitars buzz, the drums are just crashing cymbals; it's great. I found this at Everyday music a while back, and kind of forgot about it, but (most of) these tracks hit pretty hard. No lyric sheet, which is kind of a bummer. If you want to discover early Power Violence that was beginning to stir outside of the west coast, Apartment 213 is a great place to start.

40 songs makes the count at 17146....

Static Age...

2011-06-06T20:38:00.000-07:00

I found a really cheap copy of The Misfits "Static Age" album at Everyday Music a while back. I'm not the biggest Misfits fan, well, pretty big, but I don't have enough money to throw down like some people. So this will do. I'm not sure why I even bought it, almost all of these songs are available on other Misfits records. It's nice to have it all on one album I guess. The Misfits are one of those bands that really lasts the test of time for almost everyone I know. They can be totally checked out of punk/hardcore and still want to play them fairly regularly. It's the soundtrack to being a teenager. The Misfits may sum up being a teenager more than any punk band; bored kids who watch too much TV. They had my number! The songs on here appeared as a single, and e.p., and then most of them resurfaced on the "Legacy Of Brutality" album. None of my favorite Misfits are on here, but it's still a great session, even without Bobby Steele. I found this fairly cheap, $6. Worth it for sure. While it's not the definitive Misfits album (that would be "Walk Among Us"), it's still a great album, if for some reason, you've never heard it, not a bad starter record....

19 tracks makes the count at 17106....

Lovechild...

2011-06-03T11:58:00.000-07:00

I used to buy records from the K records catalogue all the time and Lovechild were always being hyped in there, like all the time. I never got around to listening to them; their first album was hyped by K records! Their second, "Witchcraft", is apparently "darker" than the first. Maybe my exposure to Hardcore and Grind, and Death Metal has made me a little numb to what Dark means, but this ain't it. It's a fantastic NY pop though, I guess moody would be a better term than dark. There a lot more noisy stuff on here than your average pop band of the day. It seems like no one could really escape the shadow o that mid period sound of Sonic Youth's. Lovechild certainly made it a bit more accessible. Not that that's a bad thing! Rebecca Odes' voice is smoky and kind of a forerunner of what was to be later in this genre, the song "Stumbling Block" is fantastic, so is "Aaa/XXX". A real sleeper album, this would be huge if they were a band right now. I need that first album....

11 songs makes the count at 17087....

Lydia Lunch, the Queen Of Siam...

2011-06-02T12:14:00.000-07:00

I'm going through a backlog of stuff I bought I while back, and have just been too busy to talk about on here, number one on the list of things is Lydia Lunch's first solo record, "Queen Of Siam". Lydia is my number one punk crush of all time. Ever since I had heard her sing "Death Valley '69" with Sonic Youth, I've been a little obsessed with her. Who was this weirdo, singing decidedly off key? Wailing like a banshee? I found out (in the 90's mind you) that she was a spoken word artist and did underground films, but I didn't really know anything about her affiliations with the Dead Boys or her involvement with the No Wave scene. Only until much later did I realize she was a musician of some measure. I've always wanted to pick up her debut album "Queen Of Siam", but the cheapskate in me always held back, waiting for a cheap used copy to pop up. It never has, but Easy Street had a fairly cheap new copy for $8.99. Not a dirt cheap copy, but I'd have to settle. Uneasy, creepy music. Lydia Lunch's voice sounds childlike, shaky, grim, and unsettling. Good god, listen to "Lady Scarface", about a girl who decides to seduce a 16 year old boy, or her cover of "Gloomy Sunday", which is possibly the best version I have ever heard of that song. What a record. There really hasn't been anyone like her since. One of my favorite albums I have heard in years, I'm on the hunt on Amazon or ebay for anything else she has have done.

11 songs makes the count at 17076...

Combat Wounded Veteran....

2011-06-01T22:30:00.000-07:00

The east coast version of The Locust perhaps? There were a few big bands of the "emo violence" variety starting from the mid 90's onwards, and CWV were one of the better ones, along with Asshole Parade, End Of The Century Party, Reversal Of Man (blech), or the almighty Palatka, who all hailed from Florida. Florida seemed like a happening state in the 90's; lots of cool stuff going on, great record labels, great bands, zines, etc. Combat Wounded Veteran made a hell of racket and had the formula down right; lots of feedback, insane drumming, spat out vocals, great distorto bass, everything about them seemed right, except, to be honest, even as a kid, this band seemed a little "black on black" for me. Just too much of a holy mess. I like it, but there was just a glut of this stuff back then, too much to chose from, and to be honest, when you're talking about Hardcore, you've really got to stand out from the pack to leave an impression. Still, listening to this singles and compilation collection, it leaves me with fond memories. It's not that Combat Wounded Veteran are bad, I think that maybe I just never got to witness the chaos firsthand. Shame.

42 songs makes the count at 17065....

A Sunny Day In Glasgow...

2011-05-30T22:57:00.000-07:00

I kind of took a chance on this one; the name of Glasgow in the band name made me think it would be awesome. It is awesome, just not from Glasgow, but from Philadelphia, of all places. It's a weird sort of experimental cut up version of shoegaze music and Cocteau Twins, and maybe some mellow Brian Eno ambient vibe. I really like it, the vocals are buried in the mix, like a My Bloody Valentine or a Cocteau Twins record, no lyrics in the album to read, so I have absolutely no idea what is being sung here. I can't believe I've never heard this before, it's right up my alley. This record would be the kid brother to your Swirlies records, not quite as much "oomph" to it, but in the same gene pool, does that make sense? I hope so. It's a really weird album, it sounds all cut and pasted up, not part of a whole, but the songs sort of weave together to create a pattern there too. That sounds really pretentious, but it makes sense when you listen to it Not a filler song on here either, "Failure", and "Shy" are particularly great tracks though. A great used find at Silver Platters, I'm stoked I took a chance on this....

22 songs makes the count at 17023...

Despise You/Agoraphobic Nosebleed

2011-05-29T23:13:00.000-07:00

Sorry, Agoraphobic Nosebleed, you're simply outclassed. Pairing ANY hardcore band with Despise You is always a bad idea, their craft for writing punishing, violent, hoarse, spitting hate powerviolence has never really been matched by any of their contemporaries. But Agoraphobic Nosebleed do put in some great tracks here, but ugh; that drum machine. You can here it's artificiality. Just drives me crazy. It's always held me back from really loving them. The music is great, it sounds like early grindcore, I could totally love this, I just wish they could have found a drummer by now...

Despise You do not disappoint however, unrelenting Terrorizer/Nausea (LA) style grind meets classic "west coast" powerviolence. These guys were the inheritors of the PV throne after bands like No Comment and Crossed Out had broken up. I have heard stories that these guys used gang imagery to kind of fool lots of people (including me) into thinking they were a bunch of crooks and hoods. Ha! Even though the fake pose is now debunked, the years have very kind to Despise You, these new tracks sound pretty much like where they left off when they broke up. "Roll Call" "All The Regimes You Hold Dear" "You Can't Fix Me, Don't Trip" and "Seven Funerals" are exemplary tracks of pure fury. I don't know what else to say about this band without sounding like a bigger nerdy fanboy, but honestly; this moved me in a way I haven't been in a while. I was pretty excited to see that Easy Street had copies of this in the "metal" section, it's not used, but I had to have this! On my top ten list for 2011 for sure....

25 songs from two bands makes the count at 17001, getting up there now...

Zombi...

2011-05-25T23:36:00.000-07:00

Getting a late pass on Zombi here. I'm so cynical and jaded when it comes to new bands these days that it's hard for me to check out something that may actually spark my interest. Hence, my late entry as a fan of Zombi. I grabbed two of their albums used at Silver Platters the other day, after selling some old crummy 90's emo records, I think I fared better. First up is their 3rd album, it sounds like soundtrack to a 70's horror film, which I know is a popular opinion, but it's apt. Long keyboard passages on this one, I was totally blown away by this. This album is supposed to be a departure from their previous sound, which I have yet to hear....

"Escape Velocity" is the newest album, it sounds closer to pretty much any John Carpenter soundtrack that the genius movie director may have wrote. And he's written some really great ones in my opinion. Zombi don't ape the sound, there's not some lame kitschy adherence to the past that won't let them experiment a bit more, stretch their ideas out, which if that wasn't the case, I might not like this as much. You can tell there was a lot of care and thought put into this album; I prefer it a bit more than "Spirit Animal", it clips along at a better pace, seems colder, more electronic, precise. Usually that would be a turn off, but here, it works amazingly well. I'm so glad I listened to my good buddy Luke, and took a chance on this, so pleasantly surprised!

2 albums equals 10 songs which makes the count at 16976....

Sneaker Pimps...

2011-05-22T00:02:00.000-07:00

Great band name. Really fantastic. While groups like Massive Attack and Portishead hated the "trip hop" term, The Sneaker Pimps kind of went with it, along with all the limitations that the term came with. It's a cool little album, but absolutely no surprises are on this record. "6 Underground" was the big hit on here, but the whole album is pretty solid "cleaning your house music". I found this at Easy Street for $3, and since I've never actually owned this album, figured I'd take the chance. I really like "Low Place Like Home", and "Becoming X", but honestly, this has nowhere near the emotional depth or Portishead, or Massive Attacks' moody approach. It's more like what record companies thought "trip hop" was supposed to be; a safer, less politicized or stable product. I know it seems like I'm coming down hard on this record, but I really do like it. It's a more accessible record than the albums created by their peers is all. Singer Kelli Dayton/Ali's post Sneaker Pimps career is best not talked about....

12 songs makes the count at 16966....

Helium...

2011-05-21T07:21:00.000-07:00

Helium albums absolutely fill the used bins of any record store, and this e.p., "Pirate Prude" is no exception. I had this at one point, I haven't the slightest idea of where it disappeared to, but as I've said, copies are cheap and plentiful. "Pirate Prude" is a weird Helium record, it's got that lazy sort of prog rock sound, and Mary Timony's vocals are a challenge to listen to initially. It's cool though, cuz once you start listening to it, it really sinks it's teeth into you, and you really enjoy it. It's one of those records that didn't really sound like anyone else, it's own thing, which is a rarity. With the exception of the early Helium singles (especially the "Hole In The Ground" single), this is my favorite Helium record.

I'm trying to get back to regular posting here, the nice weather and poverty have combine forces to slow down my quest for cheap CD's....

7 songs makes the count at 16954....

Motorhead...

2011-05-20T10:16:00.000-07:00

I've been ignoring my quest lately, the weather has been great, been playing music with friends, I'm living closer into the city, trying to save money for a motorcycle, but I've made some purchases recently, including this little gem; Motorheads' fifth album, "Iron Fist". Considered by some aficionados as their last truly great album. It's also the last one to feature the classic Lemmy/"Fast" Eddie/"Philthy" Phil lineup which is THE lineup, as far as I'm concerned with Motorhead, most things seemed to be magic for these guys when they played together. "Iron Fist" never seems to get the recognition of say "Ace Of Spades" or "Overkill", but it's a great album. It's only weakness is that guitarist "Fast" Eddie decided to produce it, the result is a more polished and a little quiet; a bit odd for Motorhead. I think if they hadn't had him produce this, stuck to the old formula, this would have been a bigger album, there's still lots of classics on here, "Speedfreak" "Heart Of Stone" "I'm The Doctor" "(Don't Let 'Em) Grind You Down", it's a great catchy record, with all the great songs evenly spread out, not top loaded at the front. Motorhead are kind of like AC/DC for me, I actually love this stuff, and don't really get the whole irony of suddenly "discovering" them. It's unfortunate that Motorhead have been in the world of kitsch for far too long. But I digress. I found my copy at the always reliable Jive Time, I can always walk in there and pick up something good, and always cheap.

17 songs makes the count at 16957....

The Specials...

2011-04-20T01:19:00.000-07:00

Found some cheap Specials albums a while back, I had forgotten all about them! Remember when Ska/Two Tone wasn't quite such a dirty word? It wasn't ruined by the 90's version of what people thought it was. The Specials were cool, really cool. Beloved by all kinds of kids. Definitely the best out of the U.K.'s revival of Two Tone music. "More Specials" is their second album, not as manic and urgent as their first album, but still a great record. I haven't listened t this before, when I was younger, I never had anything else except the first album, even that was a dubbed copy. But this is a fantastic second album, something most bands fail to deliver. I love the apocalyptic mood captured on "Man at C&A". "Sock It To "Em JB" is an fun tribute to James Bond, doe up with madcap organ and fun horns,superb. A great underrated album, it deserves more of a chance than it got.

The Specials "Singles Collection" is awesome a well, pretty much any singles collection by any good band is awesome, but that's where the Specials really shined, they were known for their singles, maybe more than their albums. "Gangsters", "Ghost Town", "A Message To You Rudy", there's not a bad track on here, even the later stuff like "Free Nelson Mandela" and "Racist Friend" are good. Both of these were found cheap at Everyday music a while back, you can score both of them without too much trouble at all, and are nice additions to your collection, if you want to check out what magic The Specials were, I urge you to get their first Self Titled album, it really captures a time and place in the UK, the second album and singles collection are good to get after you've fallen under their spell....

2 albums equals 27 songs which makes the count at 16940....

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart...

2011-04-14T11:37:00.000-07:00

Wow. Almost a month away, family matters and computer troubles make for a long absence. Any who, back to regular posts, I hope! I had enough "stamps" on my frequent visitor card from Easystreet to get a new album for free, so I figured I would get the new Pains Of Being Pure At Heart album, "Belong". Why not? I like them, it's nice to listen to new music, as much as I celebrate the past, it's comforting to know that I'm not completely out of touch. What a disappointment. It seems like almost everything I liked about this band is missing from this album; no fuzzy guitars, big drum sounds, the vocals way in the back, all missing. Now it's got this pristine sheen to their sound. What made The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart so good and somewhat unique (in this day and age) was that they didn't have that sorta generic sound that everyone has these days that makes everyone sound like Stars, Metric, or whoever. There are two songs on here that have the old sound on here, particularly "Girl Of A 1,ooo Dreams", but for the most part, they've dropped whatever made them interesting to me in the first place. It seems that they have their eys set on bigger aspirations. They're playing here in a few days, I'm hoping to go see them, I hope they sound a lot different live, a real bummer, I was looking forward to this album.... 10 songs makes the count at 16913

Swirlies....

2011-03-17T12:12:00.000-07:00

I avoided the Swirlies music for years, I figured it was just another dumb "alternative" band from the 90's trying to get signed. Someone finally clued me in as to what they were really all about. The US version of My Bloody Valentine is the term that a lot of people use, and to be fair, it's pretty accurate. No one likes being called a clone of another band. The Swirlies have enough originality in their programme to make their thing work, but "Loveless" is definitely the lift off point for them. There's more snarl, more bite, more "Americaness" to them than MBV would have ever put into their last two records. And to be honest, if you're going to be inspired by anyone's ideas, Kevin Shields are better than most. Somehow, they got the guitar sound down right, but there's a lot more going on here than MBV were doing at the time; sound collages, a bit more freer sounding too, kind ofa reckless abandon in their sound as compared to the very deliberate vibe you get from MBV. This album, "What To Do About Them" is more of a collection of their previous e.p.'s after they had signed to TAANG! records. It's a good starting point for The Swirlies too. Honestly, all their albums sound a little similar, not that they ran out of ideas or anything, there's just a great thread joining their discography together. I got this used on Amazon for .29 cents. Most of their albums are really cheap. I've seen this one in the used bins all over Seattle as well, I would have figured that these guys would have a bit of a cult following....

7 songs makes the count at 16093...

I've Been Moving....

2011-03-16T02:15:00.000-07:00

From one part of Seattle to another. I haven't had much time to devote to buying bargain CD's. Fortunately, I had a refund from an item I bought on Amazon that never arrived. Unfortunately, it was a total steal, and I haven't come across another cheap copy, but as with all bargain purchases, patience will reward you. Any of my friends will tell of my love of the band, Ida. I swear there isn't a better band around today. Ida fans are pretty fanatical; whenever they play Seattle, you always see the same exact people at their shows. That's how it is with me too. I love 'em. For some reason, I had totally forgotten about this weird little side project that Ida's Dan and Elizabeth did together, Nanang Tatang. I mean, it's basically the core of Ida just doing a bit more "electronic" styled Ida songs. Regardless, this album, entitled "Muki" is fantastic. A cool cross between sweet, gently strummed songs with a drum machine back beat is still amazing. It's a bit more experimental than Ida, but totally enjoyable. "Wake Up Call" and "Booster Shot" are great, not too removed from the music that Dan and Liz usually play. I don't know what happened to my original copy, probably got lost in the many, many moves I have made in the last 8 years of my life. I totally forgot about this album, for whatever reason, it just never occurred to me to repurchase it. I'm so glad I found it again. These are so cheap, I'm thinking of buying quite a few just to give them away to friends, I get that way about anything Ida related; I want to share them with everyone. They are that good. So is this. Get a copy on Amazon, they are really easy to find, if you like Ida, Low, Flashpapr, His Name Is Alive, you'll love this....

12 songs makes the count at 16086....