11 November 2009

Santa's Little Helper







Shock Therapy was born from the distorted life of Itchy.

born May 30th 1964 - died Nov. 5th 2008
Unusual circumstances shape unusual artists! so also in the
case of the 80's Elektropunk icon Gregory John Mc Cormick,
better known under the artist
name "Itchy" (set on Iggy Pop!).

In the tender age of 8 years, his dad put him into a
locked mental clinic, because Itchy was out of norm!
and he only sat there
and watched the
people so strangly observe-calmly.
For Itchy, one of the personal Highlights in his career,
is his late friendship with Charles Bukowski. For his song genius
of the crowd
Itchy took thesame named lyrics of Bukowski,
and his publisher in
america demanded 5000 $
for the unallowed use of other artists thoughts.
After a telephone call between Bukowski and Itchy,
Bukowski visited Itchy and
gave him hispermission to use the
text free of charge.



then, some poetry by Itchy himself:

santa claus is sick
last night he drank too much
its his goddamned nagging wife
mrs. claus is a muther-humpin bitch

santa claus is sick
last night he scr*** a dirty old who**
too f****d up to wear a rubber
now theres a pus***g shanker on his d***

so this christmas itchy is coming
hes gonna s**t on your living room floor
instead of leaving a cheap plastic toy

When I played this song to my wife she said that it
sounded too scary for her taste.
Itchy is no fake, he's the real sh**. You either are
what you claim to be or you are not nor will you ever be.
I myself really like the amount of rage incorporated
into a some sort of mid eastern chant
which closes the first song of the set "The Golden Calf".
This is where I think he that he really means it.
It is a voice of a genuine rage.
He was for real.
Sleep tight, Itchy.


Gimme that cristmass present right now


Fusnota: Nedavno sam čitao knjigu Allice Miller - Drama Djetinjstva koja mi je
otvorila oči na nšto što dugo godina nisam mogao uprijeti prstom: u djetinjstvu
nam se događaju stvari (najčešće ružne) koje nam "serviraju roditelji" a mi
provodimo cijeli život brfaneći ih, trudimo se živjeti život kakav bi oni htjeli
da mi živimo, ili živimo točno onako kako oni ne bi htjeli, kako bilo, sve se vrti
oko njih ali mi to nismo svjesni.
Itchy je bio ljut na svoje roditelje a mrzio je svijet. Njegov bijes je palucao
po svemu oko njega ali nije bio usmjeren ka onima koji su ga stvorili takvog kakav
je bio. Njegov bijes nije bio fokusiran i pročišćavajući nego više sila prirode,
bez kontrole.
Sinead O' Connor je, čini mi se, imala taj moment katarze u
"Fire on Babylon", nakon toga je uslijedilo čuveno kidanje slike Pape, a sada 10-ak
godina nakon toga doznajemo otkuda taj bijes. Ona je vjerovatno bila i sama svjedokom
molestiranja djece pod okriljem crkve i krenula u svoj "boj". No najprije je
kanalizirala svoj bijes i obračunala se s majkom. Nakon toga je krenula dalje.
Sad kad je vidim ovako bucmastu i smirenu, mislim da i nije baš tako luda kako su
je prikazivali u medijima. Borila se za sebe.
Santa Claus kod Itchy-a možda predstavlja oca ali nisam psiholog,
možda su Santa Claus i njegova žena iz pjesme svi naši očevi i majke...




28 October 2009

Skin Yard


Toxic Shock TXLP-15, vinyl issue Spring '88, CD issue spring '92 with two bonus tracks. Was preceded by the single "Stranger/This Lonely Place" (Toxic Shock TX-009). CD also issued in Germany on Musical Tragedies MT-139. 200 copies of the vinyl were purple. The second pressing of the vinyl had the blue and red colors on the cover reversed, just for the hell of it. Recorded by Jack Endino at Reciprocal on the mighty Otari MX-5050 half-inch 8-track. Has been called their best album; definitely their most abrasive.

There is an obvious lack of an outstanding drummer that made all the difference between the first eponymous, and this album. I'm not saying that
Scott McCullum is not a good drummer, only that in comparison to Matt Cameron... well they are not in the same league. I find that there is slightly more filler on this one than on the first album, and I haven't heard any of the subsequent albums.
I always heard a strong Bowie influence in their music, especially in
Ben McMillan's voice, which is a sort of a compliment I guess. I would rate it 3 out of 5. Not bad album at all. Good for listening in a car.

Mailorder: $15.00 postpaid inside the U.S. through Paypal (this is a bit more than the other CDs, but this one is also the most rare and hard-to-find of their CDs)
try: toxic shock


Silverfish


Cockeye is a collection of some early ep's by the Silverfish often described as british Butthole Surfers fronted by a woman. Lesley Rankine, later went on to form excellent Ruby, but that was a whole different type of music. This was originally released on Wiija records in UK, but in US it was out on Touch & go. I think it describes what Silverfish were all about. Noisy, nasty, weird, funny, aggressive, energetic. Made to be played really loud.

try:
The eye of the cock
buy:
amazon

10 October 2009

Mojo Nixon for free on Amazon!


dig dis!

Complete Mojo for free on Amazon but only for a limited period of time. If you don't mind leaving your name & adress & pretty much everything else.
It works only if you are an US citizen, the rest of us get something like this:

We are sorry...
    We could not process your order. The sale of MP3 Downloads is currently available only to US customers located in the 48 contiguous states, Alaska, Hawaii, and the District of Columbia.

    We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.
Well, you have been warned. I have been burned.

If you don't got Mojo Nixon/ Then your store could use some fixin. (Dead Milkmen)

I had Unlimited Everything on a cassette and wore it out. My personal favorites were Elvis is Everywhere, Burn Your Money, Amsterdam Dogshit Blues and Stuffin' Martha's Muffin.
Nowdays I think of him as one of the greatest names in economics. His songs aimed against banks and money are true philosophical jewels of modern economic theory and hold a timeless value.

I Hate Banks
by Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper

I hate banks...
I just can't stand 'em.
Gimme a shovel & man I'll plant 'em.
Six feet under thats where they belong...
I hate banks is the name of this song.
I think I'll rob myself one or two...
Yeah I hate banks, yeah, how 'bout you?

Well...lend me a nickel & lend me a dime,
repossess my house any old time.
Financial institutions think they're so high faluting...
Just a bunch of fruits in three piece suits,
trying to steal all my loot.
Things are smelling pretty rank,
We must be near a stinking bank.
Smells worse than Rockefellars feet,
Wall Street can eat my meat.

Yeah throw the moneylenders out of the temple;
I hate banks its just that simple.
Royal Crown Palm Ade Tin,
is a the best thing to keep your money in.
Mason jar is okay too,
if you see a bank well you know what to do.

Now, lemme tell you people something...
The only banks I like, well, I like Ernie Banks alright.
And I like the banks of the Mississippi River...
Yeah, and I like banks of fender twin reverb...
Electric guitar amplifiers behind me, raging on the stages...

Well,when I walk in they treat me like a dog;
want to hit them in the head with a doo-doo log.
Republicans, one and all...
Their talleywhackers are mighty small.
Stealing from the poor gonna give to the rich...
Wanna make the bank president twitch in a ditch.

Yeah, see that teller with the blue hair,
giving me the evil-eye stare.
Won't cash my check don't like my ID...
got the security guard after me.
If I was E. F. Sloane,
I'd say the Dow Jones can suck my bone.
Yeah.

Everybody say the three magic words!
I want you to help me say the words!
I want you to repeat after me!
I HATE BANKS!
Can't stand 'em!
I HATE BANKS!
Don't Like 'em!
I HATE BANKS!
Bunch of Foo-Foo's!
I HATE BANKS!
Contrary like a big zit!

I hate banks...
I just can't stand 'em.
Gimme a shovel & man I'll plant 'em.
Six feet under thats where they belong...
I hate banks is the name of this song.
I think I'll rob myself one or two...
Yeah I hate banks, yeah, how 'bout you?

Now lemme tell you something...
I'm not real fond of the PHONE COMPANY either!
You know?
Yeah, and I don't like the cable TV company.
You know why I don't like the cable TV company?
Cause they just be sucking that stuff right out the sky!
THEY don't have to pay nuttin for it!
I just get me one of them bootleg cable boxes,
and get me one of them climb the pole and stick the thing in...
I ain't gonna pay for it!
NOOOOO!!!!"

08 October 2009

Leaving Trains and the "F" word album



If you want to know more about the band I suggest you go to allmusic, and read all the blah blah about who was where and when in the band etc...
It's utterly boring and informative.
When I first heard this band, it was this albums' closer: What the president meant to say. I thought it was as much fun as Giant Sand's Swerwe. In fact, I thought there was Howe Gelb on board, but no it was Falling James Moreland all the way. For years I thought they were an offshoot for Gelb's punk leanings if he ever had any, but you know, there was no internet those days and I had no access to any of the fanzines and stuff, and I got the whole picture when I finally bought this cd few years later. It's an utter fun.
Personal picks: Violent Sex,
What Cissy Said, Twenty-Seven Days .
Edit: couple of years later I learned that they actually did work together, Fallin James sang lead vocal on the song Doors from Love Songs album: http://www.deezer.com/track/346352011
Well I guess I wasn't crazy after all!

buy: SST RECORDS
P.O. Box 1
Lawndale, CA 90260

24 September 2009

Rhythm Pigs - El Paso



The all career high for this versatile and complex hc punk group. This is what rock sounds like when technically skilled hardcore musicians get together to play some more laid back stuff. Not that all of the songs are laid back and rock-ish. They put on a fine racket somwhere towards the middle with a medley of 3 ultrafast songs + a funny no 12 Mr. Rhinocerous just to remind you where they came from. But where they came to is the real deal. Starting with Spun and Exploded guitar intro, and getting stellar on Model T Ford, Rhythym Pigs shine as brightly as never before or after. Listen to this record and you will ask yourself how come these guys never made it big? They surely were good enough.

link:

Available to buy via Konkkurel label in Netherlands who reissued their entire output on 3 cd's.



19 April 2009

David Thomas & Foreigners


Release Notes:
Bay City is an album of reinvented roots-- part salty melancholic blues, part wounded sultry jazz and part jangling swamp rock. Bay City - tales from Philip Marlowe's lost nights in a town affluent and self-contented on the surface, rife with corruption and nepotism just underneath. Blood on the face of the moon. Bones buried in the hills. Double indemnity and dark visions.

On the other side of every desert is... Bay City.

David Thomas and foreigners started life at a concert staged in the middle of the Gefion fountain, in the rain, in Copenhagen in 1996. Jørgen Teller enlisted Mr Thomas along with 2 other Danish musicians, P. O. Jørgens and Per Buhl Acs. The collaboration, recorded on a farm in Denmark between 1996 and 1999, promised a hard-edged reappraisal of American music, the lingua franca of a planet drifting into strangeness. Contrary to all logic, it is a startlingly specific cultural folkwork.

Founder and lead vocalist of legendary out-rock band Pere Ubu, David Thomas has been re-writing the rules of popular music for over 25 years. Formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1975, Pere Ubu developed a sound which combined traditional rock elements with an array of sounds, synthesizers and of course, Thomas's unmistakable vocals. The band's first release was in 1978, titled The Modern Dance, and since then they have put out a consistent stream of fascinating, highly original albums, the latest being Pennsylvania (1998).

David Thomas, while playing a major role in Pere Ubu's development, has always explored implausible creative configurations, and seemingly arbitrary production methods. His first solo release The Sound of the Sand appeared in 1981 and has been followed by a further 9 releases. Thomas's musical/creative aesthetic is as broad ranging as it is, paradoxically, specific - underscored by an almost visionary awareness of our cultural situation. Indeed his tireless inquiries into the nature of social relations, folk traditions and contemporary culture have led him up some unlikely creative paths, soda stops along Highway 61 to the banks of the Yenisei River. Musically, Thomas's work takes in a range of influences, sometimes bluesy, rocky, folky and downright experimental, but always conceived in a unique way.

"One more David Thomas recording, one would think, only to once again end up open mouthed in front of the loudspeakers." - Rolf Jager, Intro

"Fractured, bent, steamy, lyrically gruff and introspective--kind of in the Tom Waits/Capt. Beefheart/Col. Bruce Hampton (Ret.)/Shockabilly-Chadbourne vein...you'll just have to check it out for yourself...it left me slightly crippled when it was all over." - jennyt, Tom Waits Bulletin Board

I would add that this, to me, is a perfect "room" record. It sounds like they are in a room with you because of the sound and it sure releases a different feel to your listening experience. Your room transforms into a dark and dirty hotel room somewhere in the US, it is dark and the rain is falling. Totally noir.

try:bay city

buy: amazon

28 March 2009

Kepone by Kepone


I remember when this album came out, a friend of mine said: noise rock is dead, Kepone made a better album than Jesus Lizard (Down).
I thought it was a little overblown a statement then, and still think the same now. I'm not saying that Kepone is not a great album but it is still not in the same league. It is as good as, for example, Shot by Jesus Lizard, and that was the last album Jesus Lizard has released that I had bought, times changed and yes, it was the end of an era for me.
"Kepone" suffers a little in production department, since they sounded so much better live. I saw them play while they were touring promoting this album and the album never came close to the sheer power of their live show. It was produced by Bob Weston, and it sounds a bit muddier than what I prefer. Still, no producer can kill the quality of these songs. It is noise gospel what was introduced on this album. The song Leave Your Bones is a perfect example, and it is very similar to the acoustic Now I Truly Understand from the first Mule album.
In fact, there is so much more that these two bands have in common: they created a modern sound using their roots by updating blues/gospel with energy, and putting their hearts into powerful execution of the songs. This to me is the new take on the roots of american music. They made their past sound so fresh and exciting and gave new meaning to traditional influence in modern rock. And yes, the song sound spiritual I kid you not.
As for the rest of the tracks, they never stop to rock. As I said earlier, production stands in the way of getting it right, but listening to it really loud does help a bit.


Buy: http://www.amazon.com/Kepone/dp/B0000037OG
Try: http://www.sendspace.com/file/1z434q

11 March 2009

Still & Raw

Welcome back Front 242!
This ep contains 7 tracks in their lp versions. Two last songs are repeated but in such a different version that it is irrelevant really.
The sound is great, as is songwriting. No wonder, this is Front 242! This is not some demo band striving for your attention, this is a genre defining band. That means that they do this stuff better than anyone.

242

Meat Beat Manifesto





















Armed Audio Warfare
! A perfect title for this massively punishing collection of rare and previously unreleased songs that give a glimpse into what Meat Beat Manifesto's debut album might have sounded like had its masters not been destroyed in a fire. This is what they've gathered from various sources such as SUCK EP, or Bark compilation on Sweatbox records.
Dub, industrial and hip hop collide in a mass of distortion. Better in instrumentals than in vocal tracks, this is highly entertaining stuff. The sound is dated but is still highly enjoyable and a truly entertaining record if you're into this kind of stuff.


http://www.badongo.com/file/13811421

02 March 2009

CABS live YMCA


My first and inital contact with Cabaret Voltaire is this allmost lo-fi in it's quality release. This is by my humble opinion the most exciting period of the group. The sound is muddy and unclear but it still represents the essence of the early period in group's existance. I still enjoy it as much as I did before and it is my favorite album, as strange as it may seem.
Hope you'll like it too.

Here's a full review of the album from Julian Cope's Head Heritage site:

By 1979, The Cabs were smack-dab in the middle of their creative peak. Personally, I'm not such a fan of their post-Chris Watson phase, much as I respect and admire their contribution to acid-house and techno music. For me, though, the music produced from their seminal debut Mix-Up all the way to 1982's 2x45 remains some of the best electronica ever made, right up there with more celebrated acts such as The Human League, OMD and The Normal. The Cabs, though, remain more obscure sadly, mostly a name people have heard without hearing the music. Yet, for me, they today sound less dated, and more futuristic than 90% of their contemporaries, distilling a timeless electronica-meets-rock-meets-funk groove that I can quite easily picture future generations of humans, androids and robots swaying their hips to.

This is beyond doubt due to The Cabs relentless non-conformism and dedication to their sound. Never having had to conform to studio demands for hits and massive tours, they were able to continually push their boundaries, with saturated noise, waves of distortion, sound samples and processed rhythm patterns all being meshed together, then added to oblique lyrics that referenced Burroughs, Burgess, Dick and Ballard that all pointed to a stark dystopian future that, for all our progress as a race, has never seemed to recede or get less likely. As we face economic meltdown and the threat of ecological apocalypse, the harsh, robotic and cold sound of Cabaret Voltaire becomes more and more relevant, and oddly more and more danceable.

And what I wouldn't do to get a chance to seem them perform these songs live. Personally, I'm not that bothered that there are no unique tracks on here. No-one complains when Bob Dylan or Led Zeppelin do that. And this collection of tracks gives a near-perfect cliche of what The Cabs were doing at this time. Their motto may have been "no dancing" at one point, but here the mixture of repetitive electronic beats and sweeping analogue synth noise creates a bizarre mixture of funk and noise that can't fail to have you swaying even as your senses are assaulted. Whether this is on the insistent pounding opener "Untitled" or the industrial dance of signature tune "Nag Nag Nag", the effect is disconcerting, like hearing robots trying to tackle disco or something. Stephen Mallinder's nasty, seething vocals only add to the disquiet, as, submerged in the wall of sound, they come out more like an extra mechanical instrument than an actual voice.

But this not all about proto-dance music played by obnoxious futurists with no sense of humour. The Cabs, for all, their musical devolution and messy sense of harmonics, were not just rabble-rousers or sloppy belligerents. These fuckers could play, and they demonstrate it hear on the slower, less instantly rhythmical tracks such as "The Set up" (the jewel in this live set), "On Every Other Street" and their distorted, barely-recognizable cover of The Velvet Underground's classic "Here She Comes Now". Here, the synths and slashes of saturated guitar and bass noise compete, dipping and diving in around each other as Mallinder sneers incoherently into his mic, the whole pieces dripping with pathos, anger and barely contained violence. Live at the YMCA is intense, in a way only really rivaled by Bob Dylan's live '66 bootleg and the 30 Minutes Over Brussels EP by Suicide. Although the audience is more appreciative here than on either of those, there is a sense of menace and bile that few artists have ever looked to release as a live album. And to end the album on the experimental noisefest that is "Baader Meinhof", a tribute to or comment on the German terrorists from the 70s, took some guts, in my book.

So, whilst not confrontational -the at first quite quiet (disconcerted, maybe?) audience seems to quickly succumb to the dark charms of Cabaret Voltaire- Live at the YMCA is dark and aggressive, uncompromising and sullen like the artists themselves were. It wasn't put out to please or get you head-banging (hence the sound quality), but rather hit its audience in the gut and demonstrate the full, snarling fury of an average Cabs gig. These aren't showmen, they're fiercely anti-rock, anti-frills. But it is powerful, pulsating with suppressed energy and hidden menace. And, it is also one of the very few live albums to document the post punk period and the omnipresent anti-rock, anti-showbiz, pro-experimentation mentality that was streaking across Britain at the time. Seeing as PiL, Joy Division and Throbbing Gristle all missed the boat when it came to live albums (PiL's post-everyone except Lydon one was a disaster), thank God Cabaret Voltaire were out there letting us know the abuse they were heaping on their audiences. Who seemed to enjoy it and I bet were actually dancing.

From blog: jphimister.blogspot.com

link: http://www.sendspace.com/file/brktii

10 February 2009

King Face - Everywhere You Look


Unmistakeably a D.C. band, with a sound that I find to be a mixture of Bad Brains and Jawbreaker with a hard rock twist, or is it Dr. Know's influence?
Ripped off a vinyl, released by Dutch Konkurrent label.
I don't know if they ever released anything for Dischord, they certainly sounded like other bands from that label. Sometimes I find this record to be disappointing, and sometimes I find myself humming along the songs, especially from the side 1, like My only sin or Read my back...
Anyway I like this kind of music and enjoy in it. I think I can call this the sound of my youth really.

King_Face
Everywhere you look ep
http://www.badongo.com/file/13317229


Also available elsewhere:
http://vinyljourney.blogspot.com/2005/01/king-face.html
http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/9810