Lost Boys (part 3):

HAHAAHA--okay, first things first, let's examine this cover together. We have two Japanese guys--well past their "prime" for trying to pose like this on an album jacket...sporting a Fubu shirt, bandana, derby hat, sparkle makeup on the eyes, and...a big bottle of Coca-cola in a bag?????

But take a look at the sub-title: Essential Collection of 80's New Wave. Okay--must be another cash-in for all those 80's bands---I bet you could even guess some of the bands on here....Men Without Hats, Toni Basil, A-ha...it's all here, right?

Nope. Not a one. BUT---this is by far one of the MOST ESSENTIAL collection of 80's new wave that you are going to find. The sub-title does not lie. Witness this stellar listing of excellent (and some absurdly rare) tracks:

01. ALIEN SEX FIEND - Dead and Buried
02. THE BIRTHDAY PARTY - Mr. Clarinet
03. FRANK CHICKENS - We Are Ninja
04. SPIZZENERGI - Where's Captain Kirk?
05. FAMILY FODDER - Debbie Harry
06. MOMUS - Summer Holiday 1999 (Nostalgia)
07. GARY NUMAN - We Are Glass
08. MARC AND THE MAMBAS - Untitled
09. JULIAN COPE - World Shut Your Mouth
10. PUSSY GALORE - Teen Pussy Power
11. BORSIG - Hiroshima
12. ANDI SEXGANG - Les Amants D'un A Jour
13. THE RESIDENTS - Constantinople
14. VIC GODARD & THE SUBWAY SECT - Chain Smoking
15. VISAGE - The Damned Don't Cry
16. DJ ROMAN PORSCHE - Blue Monday

As you'll notice, the final track is a cover song performed by the lovely couple pictured on the cover, and the ones we should all be bowing down and worshiping for unleashing this totally rad compilation. They call themselves DJ Roman Porsche ( in Japanese: DJロマンポルシェ ) and they are still very active today. If these pictures of their live performance are anything to go by, they put on a show well worth seeing.
(Their utterly baffling WTF? cover of the New Order classic is well worth the download alone!)

By the way, I have Volumes 1 & 2 on deck to be posted next and Vol. 2 is all Japanese 80's New Wave!!!!!! Lots of surprises and discoveries to be made. I hope you enjoy.

For now...here's DJ ROMAN PORSCHE showing us how the 80's were meant to be immortalized!

SPIN THIS!

Vengeance Is Mine:

The year was 1989 and things were looking all pastel and pretty pink within the field of "Christian Rock." Bands were basically all churning out warmed-over rehashed examples of safe music. Then along comes Vengeance and just pukes up red blood over everything with their inhuman breed of thrash and blues rock (waaaay better than it sounds on paper). When it was released, their debut album Human Sacrifice literally sent shock waves throughout the "Christian community" with a raw, somewhat stomach-turning set of lyrics barked by one of the most distinctive singers in the underground. The "secular" metal crowd got it, too; probably thinking something like "Well...here's a Christian band that I could get into."

After this first record was pressed, another band claimed rights to the name Vengeance and thus Vengeance Rising was born. Only 1000 copies were pressed with the original logo (needless to say, it has become a well-sought after collectible). But with or without the high price tag, there is no denying that this stuff has held up incredibly well over time. Like I said, it's a weird cross between thrash and blues...but not in a way like "Hey, man, let's throw a bluesy jam right in the middle of this blast beat!" But more like a seamless integration...almost like a certain level of naivety or ignorance played a part in the grand scheme of it all. Imagine, if you will, a young headbanger...and all he wants to do is make some sick fuckin' thrash metal (in Jesus' name, of course). But the guy is bummed because he can't get a proper group together. Then, one day, he happens to hear some band rocking out some weird off-kilter blues rock and he gets an idea. He plays them a tape of some fast metal and ask the band if they could write something in this vein. The band takes his offer and the result is some kind of weird hybrid sound of raw, muddy thrash with palm-muted guitar and fast beats...but killer wonky blues solos thrown in (is that a Blues Driver pedal I hear?). To make it all more absurd...our young head-banging hero gets on the mic and belts out a super scary wolfman-raping-Tom Waits voice singing things like "When they ask you to take the mark of the Beast, scream in their face: "I WANT TO BE BEHEADED!!! I want my head chopped off! You'll see my body rot - and then I'll reign with Christ, and then YOU'LL FRY!!!!!!!"

Not exactly taking a neutral stance here, eh fellas?

The band released another great platter called Once Dead (which I'll post later) and a few other records that I don't have. After a few years, things went sour and the band parted ways with Roger Martinez (vocalist and young head banging hero in my fable) eventually completely disregarding Christianity and becoming a full fledged Satanist.

I guess he won't mind getting that mark of the Beast now, after all.

HUMAN SACRIFICE

All Dolled Up:

Here's another rare and unique record originally released in 1970. It features acclaimed Japanese actress Kumiko Akiyoshi on vocals and the legendary Yonin Bayashi as her backup band. The music they create together has a nice mellow feeling, with an emphasis on childlike melodies and a few influences of traditional Japanese folk songs. Much of this record is quite beautiful. Towards the second side of the record, it gets a little stranger with a few tracks dedicated to Akiyoshi's telephone conversations with people. In a few calls, she is friendly and is making conversation concerning a date or appointment with friend/lover. In other conversations, she is heard dealing with a stalker of some sort. Strange stuff...but it makes the album as a whole all the more an intriguing listen.

Fans of Morita Douji, Yonin Bayashi, Ike Reiko (and other selection from the fascinating Pinky Violence re-issue series) should find much to enjoy here. And isn't that a great cover?

Find it HERE

The Daze Train:

DMBQ - The Dynamite Masters Blues Quartet kick up an invigorating blend of psychedelic and blues that may leave your ears ringing and your head swirling. They counter their feedback-drenched, distortion pedal to hell, Blue Cheer'ed aural attack with hazy mid-paced dreamy parts that seem to stumble in and out of consciousness. If you were to witness this band live, it's safe to say that you were converted for life. Few could rock the polyester like these cats.

Give in to the Lemon!

Worship Her ~ Or Die!:

The other day I was trolling through an old box of stuff in my closet and I found this old CD by guitar virtuoso/maniac The Great Kat. Beethoven On Speed is The Great Kat's second album and is a collection of short, super fast, completely over the top metal tunes that attack with lightning fast guitar shredding and tons of dominatrix/S&M-themes lyrics. In addition to her wild originals, Kat also took the time to show off her chops with a few speed metal renditions of well known classical pieces.

Sadly, I would imagine that she was mostly viewed as a novelty item during the heyday of "shred metal"; but there is no doubt that she is crazy talented and I have to give her credit for completely getting lost in the identity of her art. This is some hardcore fretboard insanity with an amazing twist. Although this is nowhere near as "out there" as some of Mick Barr's projects (Octis, Orthrelm, etc.) this is recommended for those who dig that kind of spazzed out wankery....and most certainly recommended for lovers of Cacophony, Yngwie, Ludwig van Beethoven etc.

Shred Here!

Desert Storm:

Excellent recording of minimalist/experimental music from Swedish composer Ragnar Grippe. This album flows with a very organic sound that embraces natural reverb and echo using organ, recorder, harmonica, electric guitar, bells, voice, thumb organ, and maracas. The results are serene, tranquil, mysterious, and stunningly beautiful. Ragnar Grippe's SAND album is one of those late night records that you never want to end.

NOTE: this is the Cd re-release on Streamline Records 1996

SAND

Re-post: the bloody night

Recorded by Troum 12/12/1999 at VPRO Radio 5 "De Avonden." Sen was performed by Troum from August to December 1999 at various places in Poland, Germany and the Netherlands.
This is a limited edition of 600 copies.

Excellent drone based sound. Beautiful, mysterious and dark. One of my favorite groups.

Listen again (by request)

Deleted links / Re-post requests:

Quite a few of my recent posts have been deleted. Give me time and I can re-post soon.
What a bunch a suckers. For the time being...any one else have any requests for re-posts? You can put them in the comments here and I'll try and have them up sometimes soon. Thanks In advance.

Cities On Flame, indeed:

Here's a rare treat from a killer acid rock band from Kyoto! The name of the band is Renzoku Shasatsuma (which translated to serial killer or sniper) and the title of the record is "Shibuya Yaneura" (meaning "Shibuya Attic") and is a live recording from March 26th, 1978. This recording seems to be split into two seperate shows (on the same day perhaps?) with the first part showcasing some absolutely head-splitting psyche rock! Almost completely instrumental, this power trio let the music speak for itself (save for a few vocal lines here and there), and when their show starts off, it's notably weirder and more noisy than most rock bands were aiming for in '78. The guitar is cranked up loud as hell and is making a weird, ominous amplified power drone with phaser pedals cranked up and controls set to the heart of the sun. When the rest of the band enters the noise, they all kick into some killer mix of Sabbath and Procol Harem (yes...strange, but true). Then after some tasty soloing...they settle into some kind of Fushitsusha styled free rock vibe, with the drums scattering and stumbling all around the open spaces. Needless to say, pretty exciting stuff. As the songs move on, they continue to explore more of that lovely damaged psyche with heavy guitar soloing and some slight blues undertones. As the record goes into the second part, Renzoku Shasatsuma channel more of their inner rock beast and deliver some faster, more upbeat, and savage rock. Extended solo (mostly guitar) and long jamming makes for some good times...although, it must be said, that there are more vocals on this second part of the cd and they can be a little tough to ignore at times...but hey, it's a live recording and it's raw and unpolished. It's just rock and roll...so i suppose I can't complain.

Fans of Black Sabbath, Les Rallizes Denudes, Overhang Party, Ningen Isu, Fushitsusha / Keiji Haino, and other legendary acid rockers are encouraged to check this one out. Let me know what you think after you've spun this platter in your love den.

I'd like to dedicate this post to Dirk from Cities On Flame who sadly passed away last month as most of you may know.

Here it is, friends

Easy Like Sunday Morn...

Look what I found the other day in the secondhand bargain bin....Faith No More's Japan single for "Easy." I used to have the other version of this single with the rhino humping cover but this version contains 6 exclusive live tracks of songs from the Angel Dust album. Which is great, because that's one of my favorite albums and this is my first time to hear some of the material performed live. Smart, psychotic, intelligent, and inspired stuff here.

Faith No More - Easy (Japan single 1993)
1. Easy 2. Easy (live) 3. Be Aggressive (live) 4. Land Of Sunshine (live)
5. RV (live) 6. Kindergarten (live) 7. A Small Victory (live)

GET EASY

Payin' the Bills:

Lots of tribute albums posted and re-posted here lately, so I might as well throw this one out there as well. While some tribute albums are great and worth a listen from start to finish, the truth is that most of the time tributes are a mixed bag and are best enjoyed for novelty's sake. But surely, even those so-so albums make you want to blast the original songs and revel in the real thing.

While this Black Sabbath tribute has a few great moments, it falls into the patchy category. But the bright moments are pretty cool. Standout tracks are Cannibal Corpse covering "Zero The Hero" (gotta give them credit for choosing an obscure Sabs song...which they deliver a pretty cool version of), "Who Are You" covered by the awesome band OLD (featuring James Plotkin and Alan Dubin of Khanate, Lotus Eaters, Atomsmashers fame), and the criminally underheard LA-based pychadelic pop metal act The Jesters Of Destiny.

Here's the full track listing:

1. Sacred Reich - War Pigs
2. Cadaver - Sweet Leaf
3. Cords - Snowblind
4. Paranoid - The Clay People
5. Coffin Break - Hole In The Sky
6. Exhorder - Into The Void
7. Old - Who Are You
8. Jesters Of Destiny - Electric Funeral

Here's to the masters!

Re-post: time stereo:

ESP Summer was a duo consisting of Warren Defever (His Name Is Alive) & Ian Masters (of The Pale Saints). They sometimes recorded under the names ESP Neighborhood or ESP Continent. This features acoustic songs with high pitched vocals that are a bit on the twee side; but there are some interesting little electric elements thrown in the mix once in awhile. my favorite cuts are "Golden heart Of The Year" and "No June." recommended as a nice treat for fans of HNIA or Pale Saints (obviously) but fans of Glo-worm, Velour 100 or Belle & Sebastian might also find some enjoyment in this.
(By the way, this is a different recording than the 10" record under the same name). I suppose those ESP boys like to make things a little confusing and mysterious.

Reposted BY REQUEST.