...got another one of these fuckers for ya. This time, I just threw together some stuff I'd been listening to with some of my favorite tracks from the past few months of the radio show. It made for a nice mix of the 'weird' and the 'regular' so maybe it'll alienate less people than the actual program. Also, it's got quite a few metallic tracks, in honor of my becoming the new host of Forte on WIDR. I titled it 'Thank You and Goodnight' for this reason (plus the consequential ending of my Obscuro! radio program.)DOWNLOAD THAT BASTARD
Tracklist:
1. Fred Lane - "Rubber Room" - From the One that Cut You, 1976
I'm not sure if that release date is accurate, because this whole thing is a put-on...the guy pretends to be a psychotic lounge singer, and it works pretty well. That's not to say this ISN'T pretty messed up, because you'd have to be a little off to concoct an idea like this anyhow. Apparently, the music is mostly improvised by session players, which gives it an off-kilter, sloppy feel. Words are awesome.
2. Burzum - "Erblicket die Tochter des Firmaments" - Filosofem, 1996 (recorded 1993)
I really don't give a shit what anybody has to say about this guy. Dude is a musical genius, and that's that. It doesn't matter what he believes in, or if he killed anybody (he did) or if he burnt down a ton of historical churches (he did, probably.) Dude is a musical genius. Upon first hearing this song/album, I had the assumption that black metal was a completely badass genre (since Burzum is basically the quintessential black metal band.) That's not true. A lot of black metal is really stupid. Burzum is not.
3. Bobby Brown - "Jungle Cowboy" - Prayers of a One Man Band, 1982
The original surfer-hippie-one-man-band-with-foot-pedals! This is a humorous little tune, which is pretty similar to about half of Bobby's repertoire. The other half is long, spacey cosmic jams.
4. Secret Metal - "The Cop" - Helge's, Girls and Boys (V.A.), 1987
Although I did upload this whole compilation a while back, I just can't get over this tune! Where were the parents?
5. V-3 - "Your Girlfriend" - Negotiate Nothing, 1992
More Jim Shepard, who seems to pop up about every other week on the radio show. I like a lot of this guy's music...other stuff, not so much (the random noise jams I can take or leave.) But, when he sits down and writes a decent tune (like this one,) it's almost always phenomenal. The V-3 album "Photograph Burns" is a really good example of Jim's songwriting abilities, with very little filler. Can't blame the guy, though. He was a depressed heroin-addict factory worker. Sucks.
6. Cathedral - "Enter the Worms" - The Ethereal Mirror, 1993
This is a little more recognizable, eh? Who knew the 'singer' from Napalm Death could tear it up like this? Dude sounds like a more theatrical version of King Buzzo. This whole album is head-nodding, angry-face-driving music and I love it.
7. T. Valentine - "Hello Lucille, Are You a Lesbian?" - Hello Lucile, Are You a Lesbian?, 2000 (recorded sometime in the early 60's)
I don't really know what to say about this...apparently T. Valentine had a nasty breakup with a significant other, and this was how he got back at here. All his other songs are exactly like this, with different subjects and slightly different backing music. Someone said he was like a proto-Wesley Willis, and I won't argue.
8. Emil Richards and the Microtonal Blues Band - "Mantra" - Journey to Bliss, 1968
This stuff is like a really sped-up version of the soundtrack from Twin Peaks (at least the jazzier parts.) Just a nice palate-cleanser between fucked-up and more fucked-up.
9. Jerry Solomon - "First Date" - 45 rpm single, 196x
...and some more fucked-up. Jerry Solomon makes fucked-up music. Seriously. I don't know how he got a backing band on this track, but it's the only one I've heard that's not just him and whatever instruments were lying around. I'm not saying it's bad...because it's not, really. From what I've read, Jerry is a true American eccentric, and his music shows that. It's not something I'd listen to all the time (check out his album "Past the 20th Century," which is even more bizarre than this song) but it's definitely interesting in small doses.
10. Vulcan - "Lightning" - Meet Your Ghost, 1978
Backing story: Lyle Steece (aka Vulcan), upon hearing that Jimi Hendrix had died, decided it was his destiny in life to continue down the musical path which he thought Hendrix was traveling. I don't know if that's what this is, but it sounds like some really fucking distorted proto-metal to me, and I like that just fine. There's stuff about aliens, too...I dunno...dude's a character apparently.
11. The Parasites of the Western World - "Accessories" - S/T, 1978
2 guys attempt to recreate the musical stylings of Rush in their basement. Somehow sound like Chrome instead. Except MORE lo-fi and crazy, if that's possible.
12. Brutal Truth - "Foolish Bastard" - Sounds of the Animal Kingdom, 1997
Angry, stoned grindcore guys from New York. I remember in junior high I had a friend who liked lots of this stuff and I didn't...I hated pretty much everything he played me. One day he played me Brutal Truth and asked if I liked it. I said yes, just to fuck with him and he got really pissed off saying 'you don't like this! you don't like any of this stuff! that doesn't make sense!' They actually are pretty cool, though. Very angular riffs and strange chord patterns make for good (if not easy) listening.
13. Fleetwood Mac - "The Ledge" - Tusk, 1979
I never really gave Fleetwood Mac a chance when I was getting into stuff from the 60's and 70's because a recording/engineering professor told me this cocaine-fueled album cost about 1 million dollars to make and it made me want to puke. So, maybe Fleetwood Mac is the definition of big-budget ridiculousness...at least the product was kind of interesting. I dunno. This album reminds me of 10cc a little and I like 10cc.
14. The Frogs - "Get Yourself a Man (If You're a Man)" - Made Up Songs 1-61, 198x
You want to hear something stupid? I paid 50 bucks for a ticket to see the Smashing Pumpkins on their reunion tour, not because I love the Pumpkins, but because I love the act they chose to open for them...The Frogs. We got to the show right on time, only to find out that The Frogs were forced to play before the actual 'doors opening' time. Way to go, Billy Corgan, you fucking dickbag. You really know how to pay tribute to your influences.
Dick.
15. Voivod - "Facing Up" - S/T, 2003
More Voivod, although this track is from a more recent album, and not any of the three I've uploaded to this page. Maybe more of the same, but the same is so awesome with Voivod that it's hard to notice.
16. Gary Wilson - "Run Through the Woods" - Lisa Wants to Talk to You, 2008
Yup, Gary's got a new(er) record. Actually, he's got one coming out this year, too. It's not quite as good as 'Mary Had Brown Hair' and it's a little bit more lo-fi (somebody told me this is because he's been using the exact same gear since the 70's without replacing any of it). Still good.
17. J.T. IV - "Destructo Rock" - Cosmic Lightning, 2008 (recorded sometime in the early 80's)
This guy was a punk-rock loner who preferred fucking up his life and taking massive amounts of hard drugs to actually being a musician. Still, some music was recorded...this is a REALLY twisted look at the mind of a sociopath. He died from complications of alcoholism sometime in the late 80's I think. No wonder, once you hear this tune.
18. Striborg - "Digging a Ditch to Die in" - Embittered Darkness, 2006
Bitter and grim black metal from...Australia? Apparently. I guess there are forests there, too. Anyhow, this stuff is really nasty, really poorly recorded, and (it should be obvious) really cool. You couldn't really tell this apart from Norwegian stuff like Mayhem if you tried. Plus, this guy's just got a way about him. The music SOUNDS like a forest. Cool.
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