Bang!:

One of the last great bands of the 80's, The Teardrop Explodes crafted brilliant pop songs full of spare instrumentation, cryptic arrangements, and a great sense of mystery. For those unaware, this was Julian Cope's band before breaking through with his solo career, and it's nice to see his poetic shaman character being nurtured in these early years. The production on Wilder is notable for it's crisp clean tone that surprisingly doesn't sound too dated. The upbeat agit-rock numbers retain their energy and the quieter moments radiate with a delicate sheen. An awesome record!

Wilder

Hatful of Hollow Men:

One of my personal favorites of the neo-psychedelic alternative pop scene of the early 90's. The Hollow Men were often lumped in together with that Madchester sound along with The Inspiral Carpets and Happy Mondays. But what drew me especially to this group was their publicity shot which showed all the band members brushing their teeth. Pretty silly, I suppose, but their's some great dreamy pop hooks to be found here on Cresta.

Get it Here

'Tis the Season:

Criminally underrated and under heard band featuring members of Trans Am, Six Finger Satellite, and The Mars Volta. Golden serve up high quality instrumental music that carries the basic blueprint for 90's styled post-rock. I think the term "angular" comes to mind. But this talented group finds a unique style and voice by utilizing restraint and a sort of heads-up respect for the groove of a song. There are many dips into psuedo-jazzy lounge territory on there records and the result that is both confusing and amazing...and maybe cheesy(?). But I think that's part of the appeal of Golden; they seem like nice-hearted guys who know that posing and looking cool can only go so far, so why not have a good time while kicking out some impressive music!

This is their first full-length album and was released on the Trans Solar record label out of Germany.

Celebrate Golden Week

Good Night Loving Trail:

Here's a very rare Tom Waits live album that was put out by the Burning Airlines record label as a legitimate release. In other words, not a bootleg. However, the folks at Burning Airlines forgot to confirm clearance with Wait's music publishers and as soon as the record came out, it was almost instantly withdrawn due to the publisher's threat of impending lawsuit. All Cd copies were destroyed and any one who manages to score one these days is lucky indeed. Being a big Tom Waits fan, I bought The Dime Store Novels Vol. 1 on the day it came out, unaware of all the drama surrounding this disc.

It's a 1974 live show; supposedly recorded at Ebbets Field (but it sounds more like a local dive bar with a small crowd)...and a few times, Tom mentions about this show going out live over the radio. But I don't have any further details about that. Once thing is for sure though, Tom was very drunk that night and he stumbles and mumbles through his performance. Slurring his words and getting a bit lost in his on-stage stories. He even burps a few times during his songs and at one point in time tells someone in the crowd to "hush up, I'm tryin' to sing this damn thing!" But for the Waits fans out there, this is a very cool little document for a few reasons; one of which is the fact that this live set contains one of the few times that his version of Utah Phillips' "Good Night Loving Trail" was captured on tape. Also note the cool blues-y version of "Better Off Without A Wife."

Here she is

Seven Year Glitch:

Shojo Toshi is a long out-of-print full-length Cd from Japanese laptop artist Noriko Tujiko, who presents a delightful selection of light, playful, electronic pop. Her slightly off-kilter approach to music making allows her songs to occupy a strange little place. Miniature melodies drift in and out of a makeshift labyrinth that is sometimes swathed in a hazy, misty ambience. Small patches of noise and fuzz decorate her landscape and pinpoint some shades of Haco, Bjork, or even some of Thom Yorke's solo material.

PLUG IN BABY

Shakey-Shakey:

Hands down, one of my all-time favorite record covers. A baffling day-glo abomination of big butts, bikinis, and mysterious fumes(!!??). The artwork straddles the line of adolescent goofiness and sheer brilliance.

The music on Now Thing is hardcore dancehall stripped down to the bare bones...skeletal booming beats, repetitious synth patterns, crazy hand clap riddims, distorted robot samples. It's almost like some sort of weird alien form of dancehall beamed from satellites in space and designed to keep listeners deep within the trance of the dance. Raw and exhilerating stuff!

SHAKEY-SHAKEY

Moz Fans Unite & Take Over:

Two big sets of Morrissey b-sides and a few rare unreleased tracks thrown in for fun.
This is for my brother who is on his way to a Morrissey live show later this year.

PART ONE:
Oh Well, I'll Never Learn/Let The Right One Slip In/I Can Have Both/Heir Apparent/There Speaks A True Friend/The Public Image/I'm Playing Easy To Get/Alsatian Cousin (Live)/I've Changed My Plea To Guilty/You Must Please Remember/Get Off The Stage/Whatever Happens, I Love You/Interlude (w/ Siouxsie Sioux)/The Edges Are No Longer Parallel/Sweet & Tender Hooligan (Live)/Jack The Ripper (studio version)/Why Don't You Find Out For Yourself (alternate version)/The Slum Mums/You've Had Her/Now I Am A Was/Suedehead (Live)

PART TWO:
Moon River (short version)/The Loop/No One Can Hold A Candle To You/Playing Easy To Get/Nothing Rhymed (Live)/Skin Storm/Have-A-Go Merchant/Pregnant For The Last Time/Honey You Know Where To Find Me (rough take)/There's a Place In Hell For Me and My Friends (Live)/East West/Journalists Who Lie/I've Changed My Plea Yo Guilty (Live)/Cosmic Dancer (Live)/Disappointed (Live)/My Love Life/Know Very Well How I Got My Name/Pregnant For The Last Time (Live)/That's Entertainment/Lost/This Is Not Your Country

All driller, no filler:

Percussion-heavy soundtrack to the insane cyber-nightmare movie Tetsuo The Iron Man and the rather tame (in comparison) sequel. Lots of klang-klang and bang-bang...but in a synthesized sort of way. Certainly doesn't come close to matching the feel of the movies, in my opinion, but an interesting audio treat for fans of the films and the works of Chu Ishikawa.

PLUG YOURSELF IN

Re-up:The Unbridled Materiality Of Sounds:

As requested, here's a re-upload of Philip Jeck's Vinyl Coda IV album.

ONCE MORE

Spiritual Quest:

This is sort of a confusing release filed under the joint names of John and Alice Coltrane with two tracks lifted straight from Alice's A Monastic Trio album and the other two tracks coming from a 1966 John-led San Francisco recording session that was engineered by Rudy Hill.

The John Coltrane '66 sessions (tracks 1 & 3, respectively) are fiery gems of free jazz perfection and display the musical telepathy of the Pharaoh Sanders/Alice Coltrane/Rashid Ali/Jimmy Garrison lineup (with Ray Appleton on additional percussion).

The first track "Manifestation" displays an absolutely huge sound of aggressive blasting and fierce percussion that just explodes into orbit from the beginning and doesn't let up. The other piece from this session is entitled "Reverend King" and is a bit more tranquil but very sublime in it's perfect beauty.

This CD reissue is long out of print and unfortunately has never seen a proper worldwide release.

Definitely Recommended!

Three to get ready:

Tribute to Jazz legend, Dave Brubeck. Some of this album is hit and miss (as most tribute compilations are), but i thought this one was especially notable for the rare Ruins track. Japan only 2000 release.

In His Own Sweet Way : A Tribute To Dave Brubeck

1. Blue Shadows In The Street - Dave Slusser
2. Far More Blues - Uri Caine
3. In Your Own Sweet Way - Pachora
4. Summer Song - Bill Frisel
5. Blue Rondo A La Turk - Ruins
6. Tokyo Traffic - Medeski, Martin & Wood
7. The Duke - Anthony Coleman
8. Calcutta Blues - Eyvind Kang
9. Sixth Sense - Slowpoke
10. Winter Ballad - Erik Friedlander
11. Jumpin - Sex Mob
12. Nomad - Dave Douglas
13. Three To Get Ready - Joey Baron
14. Golden Horn - David Krakauer

try it on

Divine Inspiration:

It's difficult to express in words how much Malignus Youth means to me. Their unique take on pure and passionate music is both impressive and awe-inspiring. It was back in the summer 1992 (or so) when a friend of mine had sent me a cassette tape of bands that he had been getting into recently. We usually traded tapes back and forth through the mail, exposing each other to new bands, most of whom were underground and got little recognition in the magazines or fanzines of the times. One day he sent me a really long tape (120 minutes!) with a whole side devoted to one band. A strangely named group called Malignus Youth. I grabbed the tape and my walkman and headed out the door to work. At the time, i had a job where i was allowed to listen to music on headphones while working. Within moments of listening to the cassette tape on my shift, i knew that i had a new favorite band.

I can't compare Malignus Youth to any other band that i know of because their approach and their sound stands on it's own and is far above any reference point that would unjustly cast a pale comparison to these superior sounds. Malignus Youth sounds like a band influenced by melodic punk and hardcore bands...perhaps groups like Descendents, 7 Seconds, Bad Brains, Subhumans, Circle One. But the style of those bands seems to have only left minor marks on the sound of Malignus Youth, with it's members forging along and trusting in the power of their own personality to create their songs. They combine very fast playing that is surprisingly catchy and distinct; full of weird melodies and stop-start dynamics, with high pitched vocals that seem to embrace a barbershop quartet-style of harmonic quality. Most of their songs are short little bursts of divine inspiration that sound like a celebration of life and love. Where most bands of this ilk place their emphasis on aggression and anger, Malignus Youth's music envokes a sweet sense of childhood innocence that is charming and a breath of fresh air from the macho posing that they contrast.

The band recorded a few select 7" inch records in the early 90's that probably had a press run of no more than 1000. Both of these records are on this Vinyl CD as well as the band's amazing full-length album titled More To It; in which the band truly hits their stride, punching out their brand of ultra catchy song after song and always showcasing unique songwriting skills and very impressive playing. All of these recordings were recorded in the guitar player/vocalist's bedroom, probably on an analog 4-track machine. Those requiring hi-fidelity might frown on this sort of thing, but i think that the homemade quality just enhances the sincerity of it all.

************************************************

Missa Brevis/Ephemeral is a collection of two distinct periods of Malignus Youth, the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. The first seventeen tracks are a grab bag of unreleased songs recorded at different times during the band's existence. Tracks 1-10 are taken from bedroom recording sessions dating back to 1989, a few live songs from '92, and some select studio cuts that took place in 1994. The material is amazing from start to finish and growing improvement and band growth is a treat to observe. The later material really shows the group pushing into unknown territory and taking chances that are surprising and rewarding...as on the jazzy pull of "To Fulfill A Dream."

The final songs are reserved for the band's magnum opus, A PUNK ROCK CATHOLIC MASS SUNG ALMOST ENTIRELY IN LATIN and bursting at the seams with ultra-speedy songs full of harmony and breathtakingly beautiful acoustic passages. It is a work of art and takes this band's brilliance to a whole new level of maturity. It is one of the few recordings that never fails to break me out in chills every time i hear it. A true masterpiece on every level. It's really as close to a religious experience as punk rock is ever going to get.

Personally, I consider both of these recordings as timeless testaments to underground bands striving to go out of step and create some truly memorable art. Very highly recommended!

get the Vinyl CD here
pick up Missa Brevis/Ephemeral here.

As always, your comments are always appreciated.

Wild Is The Wind:

Attention Philip Jeck fans! Here's another entry into some superb record crackle/drone; this time from American sound artist Loren Chasse. The splendidly titled Hedge Of Nerves is a stunningly beautiful album that doesn't just utilize source sounds from a 78 rpm record; but also natural sources. Fire, surf, and wind in juniper and aspen branches are all credited for these mysterious late night drones. One very notable aspect of this record is the gentle, subtle dynamics that are masterfully crafted within these pieces to enhance shifts in natural tone, color, and buried hints of melody. Hedge Of Nerves is the work of a master of the craft.

Highly recommended!

Here 'tis

Real Rock From The Rock:

Ruins. Stonehenge album. 1990

Yoshida Tatsuya - drums, vocal
Kimoto Kazuyoshi - bass, vocal, violin

What more needs to be said?

Let the insanely calculated, stop/start on a dime, hyper spastic ridiculously over the top ultra prog begin!

Live like a hurricane:

Here's another blast of hyper progged-out Japanese spazz from Ruins. Fifteen tracks of live mayhem from Yoshida Tatsuya and co. These songs were recorded at various live shows in Japan from May-Oct 1992 and released in a super small quantity of 100 copies on cassette from San Fransisco's Enterruption label. I think it was also re-released on a 500-run vinyl edition...but these songs are from the tape.

Don't hurt yourself air-drumming

There Is No Dream:

When one thinks of folk music, images of a bohemian drifters strumming a guitar singing of flowery tra-la-la's fills the mind. Well, it's not always so pretty in the world of renowned Japanese artist Kan Mikami. He has been swinging his raw and ragged folk for over 20 years and still goes strong to this day. He peppers his songs with his unique voice that is rough and uncompromisingly broken, and revels in dark visions and sorrow. At times, he even screams out his words with a spitting sense of rage. This album is one of his more famous recordings. It's from the 70's and is titled Hiraku Yume Nado Arujanaishi; which means "There is no dream that I want to pursue."

Kan Mikami has been a huge influence to many modern day psyche bands on the Japanese scene (among them would be the black-clad Keiji Haino, who has collaborated with him on a few projects, including the Vajra album which I posted earlier on this site).

Dark, haunting folk talent that demands your attention...
and Jesus...what an incredible cover!

Enjoy

Philip Jeck~Tokyo Live:

By request, here's some more Philip Jeck. This is a live recording that took place on February 20th, 2000 at the ICC in Tokyo, Japan and was issued in a super limited edition on Cd-r from Touch Records. Jeck seems to be playing many of the same records that he used in the Vinyl Coda IV album that i posted last month and it's kind of fun to try and pick out his sources here.

Philip Jeck works with the precious sounds of crackling of vinyl and sampling bits and pieces of music that he layers into some impressive sound sculptures. The result is quite lovely and sometimes eerie. Probably best if played loudly in a dark room while watching Twin Peaks on the television.

Discover

Blue Blue Circles:

Nice to see some interest in the works of Philip Jeck from viewers of this site. I'm always interested in good, meditative music that requires a certain appreciation of time and space. Call it deep listening. Call it drone. I call it night music. And Shenzhou, from Norwegian resident Geir Jensen (aka Biosphere) is a prime candidate for some nocturnal exploring.

Great care and attention seems to have been put into every tiny microcosm of this recording to make it's soft, subtle beauty stand out. This is not the kind of album that jumps out and says "hey, let's be ambient...let's chill out!" instead, it slowly creeps into your subconscious like a ghostly vapor that wraps you up within it's mystery and blends in deeply within your memories.

begin

Circuit breaker:

One thing that keeps me at a distance within the techno/electronica field is the fact that most producers and artists seem to be creating music for the masses with little regard for issues of quality control. This was no more true than back in the late 90's when practically anybody could become an "electronic artist" overnight. So it was a great surprise to hear this recording 10110101=(rec + play) from Datach'i. It's a wild and unsettling journey through broken beats, childlike melodies, and some fairly challenging atmospheres. It's not quite as off the wall as many of the underground electronic artists of today (or from select figures from the avant-garde electronic underground of the late 60's/70's), but it does seem to be a bit of a pivotal record for bringing in some rather insane ideas into, what was, a stagnant period for this kind of stuff. drill'n'bass anyone?

sound on

Sound Pollution:

Probably my favorite grindcore band of all time... the legendary Assück! While most bands of this genre just don't hold my interest for very long, something about Assück just grabbed me from first listen and never let me go. It must have something to do with their technique. While most grindcore ensembles just seem to sort of "hash it out" and aimlessly blast through anything in their path, Assück digs deep to find a perfect combination of impressive political lyrics, ultra-technical instrumental prowess, and a masterful sense of control, all wrapped up in a no-hold-barred crusty blast fest. It's almost as if each song is a "Reign In Blood" compressed into 50 seconds!

let's destroy