If you like all the rare Memphis rap stuff I post here, you should check this list out:
Bizarro Jerry's Memphis Rap Faves
I made it for the RateYourMusic website, and if you're deep into this shit like I am, it's got some obscurities you might not have heard of. Alternately, if you're just getting into Memphis rap, I think it's a pretty good starting point, since there are also some of the classics.
Saturday, November 15, 2014
Reader submission: Avant-garde strangeness from the deep web
Got another reader submission the other day, this time from someone who found me on the RateYourMusic website. He sent me a few albums, and a link to his weekly podcast.
He goes by the name of Tunnel Rat, and his music is somewhere in between bizarro Jandek outsider improv and the early chaotic releases of Beck. I'm actually not sure where he's based, but he's had records put out by labels from Florida and Canada. The one on Panama City's Fork and Spoon Records, called Rothko, features free form improvisation on bass, and some very strange spoken word sections. There are also some field recordings and odd samples, giving it a definite vibe of 'bedroom music.'
It's a very short affair, with the longest track being just over three minutes. Despite the amateurish recording quality, Tunnel Rat sounds pretty proficient on the bass, and some of this stuff reminds me of 60's avant-garde jazz. The poetry set to it gives the whole thing a completely different feel, though.
The other release I was sent, which is titled Hide The Syrup Spacemen, is even more avant-garde and strange. This was the one that reminded me of Beck's early sound experiments. Odd in-jokes are combined with distant-sounding field recordings and some spastic mandolin playing. I don't know what to make of it all, but if you were a fan of the Obscuro! radio program, you'll definitely be into this.
His internet podcast is sort of a discussion on experimental and spoken-word music, but it also touches on conspiracy theories, current news events and the benefits of the RateYourMusic website. It's every bit as strange as you'd think it is from hearing the music.
Thanks for the submission, Tunnel Rat, and to everyone else, keep 'em coming!
He goes by the name of Tunnel Rat, and his music is somewhere in between bizarro Jandek outsider improv and the early chaotic releases of Beck. I'm actually not sure where he's based, but he's had records put out by labels from Florida and Canada. The one on Panama City's Fork and Spoon Records, called Rothko, features free form improvisation on bass, and some very strange spoken word sections. There are also some field recordings and odd samples, giving it a definite vibe of 'bedroom music.'
It's a very short affair, with the longest track being just over three minutes. Despite the amateurish recording quality, Tunnel Rat sounds pretty proficient on the bass, and some of this stuff reminds me of 60's avant-garde jazz. The poetry set to it gives the whole thing a completely different feel, though.
The other release I was sent, which is titled Hide The Syrup Spacemen, is even more avant-garde and strange. This was the one that reminded me of Beck's early sound experiments. Odd in-jokes are combined with distant-sounding field recordings and some spastic mandolin playing. I don't know what to make of it all, but if you were a fan of the Obscuro! radio program, you'll definitely be into this.
His internet podcast is sort of a discussion on experimental and spoken-word music, but it also touches on conspiracy theories, current news events and the benefits of the RateYourMusic website. It's every bit as strange as you'd think it is from hearing the music.
Thanks for the submission, Tunnel Rat, and to everyone else, keep 'em coming!
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Reader submission: Dracula-themed short film in the spirit of the holidays
I always like it when somebody sends me their own work, and it doesn't happen nearly enough.
whimperwarrior@gmail.com is where you can contact me with your music, films, art, etc.
Here's an interesting little short film I was sent earlier in the week, just in time for All Hallow's Eve. 'Danse Macabre' comes from Chicago indie filmmaker Derek Quint and his Addovolt Productions. It fits right in with the movies I usually post here, as it's intentionally designed to have that timeless, b-movie look. My guess would be 16mm film, but it could be digital post-effects. Either way, it has that cool look to it, and aside from a few modern-looking people in a crowd shot, it definitely succeeds in feeling out-of-time.
The plot consists of Dracula and his brides riding around in a limo on Halloween. When they stop for the girls to buy some jewelry, Dracula is kidnapped by some Vatican officials who plan to do away with him for good. Interestingly, the director chose to have the vampire characters ACTUALLY speak in Transylvanian, and the Vatican officials speak in Italian.
I won't give away the rest of the plot, but the mood definitely trumps everything else in importance. It feels like a less-disgusting John Waters short film, with the gaudy costumes and big ideas put on bargain-quality film. There is a choice moment where a guy on the subway is looking at the cast members, and you can tell it was unintentional.
I'm not up on my Dracula mythology, but the fact that Mr. Quint chose to use the Transylvanian language tells me there are probably other allusions to other vampire-based works here as well. Regardless, it's a fun little piece of independent filmmaking from some fellow b-movie aficionados.
Check out Derek's blog for Addovolt Productions here.
whimperwarrior@gmail.com is where you can contact me with your music, films, art, etc.
Here's an interesting little short film I was sent earlier in the week, just in time for All Hallow's Eve. 'Danse Macabre' comes from Chicago indie filmmaker Derek Quint and his Addovolt Productions. It fits right in with the movies I usually post here, as it's intentionally designed to have that timeless, b-movie look. My guess would be 16mm film, but it could be digital post-effects. Either way, it has that cool look to it, and aside from a few modern-looking people in a crowd shot, it definitely succeeds in feeling out-of-time.
The plot consists of Dracula and his brides riding around in a limo on Halloween. When they stop for the girls to buy some jewelry, Dracula is kidnapped by some Vatican officials who plan to do away with him for good. Interestingly, the director chose to have the vampire characters ACTUALLY speak in Transylvanian, and the Vatican officials speak in Italian.
I won't give away the rest of the plot, but the mood definitely trumps everything else in importance. It feels like a less-disgusting John Waters short film, with the gaudy costumes and big ideas put on bargain-quality film. There is a choice moment where a guy on the subway is looking at the cast members, and you can tell it was unintentional.
I'm not up on my Dracula mythology, but the fact that Mr. Quint chose to use the Transylvanian language tells me there are probably other allusions to other vampire-based works here as well. Regardless, it's a fun little piece of independent filmmaking from some fellow b-movie aficionados.
Check out Derek's blog for Addovolt Productions here.
Some scare-tacular listening for All Hallow's Eve 2014
Even though I'm focusing on my movie blog right now, I had to come back with some scary albums for Halloween. Some of these are actually kind of frightening, but most are just silly. They're all out of the Obscuro! radio program vaults, from my numerous Halloween theme shows.
1. Anton LaVey - 'Strange Music' EP
The founder of the Satanic Church (and author of the Satanic Bible) is also, hilariously, fairly proficient on the pipe organ. He has another album of mostly instrumental stuff called 'The Devil Takes a Holiday,' and it's pretty funny to me that this dude obviously can poke fun at himself. Anyhow, the majority of these tunes are his versions on old standards (i.e. 'Gloomy Sunday.') It's not great, but it's totally the type of thing you can throw on at a Halloween party.
2. Lucifer - 'Black Mass'
Electronic music pioneer Mort Garson did this album under the Satanic pseudonym, presumably because it's darker music than his other stuff. If you like the horror-movie synth soundtracks of the 80's, or the library music stuff I've posted here, you'll probably dig this. I did feature it in a previous Halloween post, but the blog I linked to for a download is apparently long-gone, so I re-uploaded it myself.
3. The Elm Street Group - 'Freddy's Greatest Hits'
Of all the dumbed-down horror movie merchandise to come out of the 80's ('Toxic Crusaders,' anyone?) this might take the cake for stupidest. Some no-name studio musicians concocted these run-of-the-mill synth-pop tunes (many of which are covers of 50's and 60's novelty songs) and somehow got Robert Englund (aka Freddy Krueger) to lend his voice to them. It's all pretty bad, but 'Do The Freddy' at least has novelty appeal. I guess by '87, the 'Nightmare on Elm Street' franchise was pretty much a joke anyways.
4. Moevot - 'Ézléýfbdréhtr Vépréùb Zùérfl Màzàgvàtre Érbbédréà'
Okay, THIS is genuinely scary. An anonymous 'black metal' musician, whose music sounds more like recordings from inside a long-buried tomb than actual metal. I guess it's not to dissimilar from the ambient tracks on Burzum albums, just....way more poorly recorded. And it's got these weird groaning vocals that sound like a ghost. I dunno. It's fascinating, if nothing else.
Happy Halloween, y'all....
1. Anton LaVey - 'Strange Music' EP
2. Lucifer - 'Black Mass'
3. The Elm Street Group - 'Freddy's Greatest Hits'
4. Moevot - 'Ézléýfbdréhtr Vépréùb Zùérfl Màzàgvàtre Érbbédréà'
Happy Halloween, y'all....
Saturday, September 20, 2014
New blog
I started a new blog, exclusively for my movie reviews. I will probably be posting more frequently in it than I do here:
Obscuro Films
Obscuro Films
Saturday, September 13, 2014
More incredibly strange metal
Here are a few more of these oddball metal releases I've collected over the years...
First, two non-classics from the Metal Enterprises label. See this post and this post for more info on that fiasco...
Kalaschnikov, like the other artists in the ME stable, probably just wanted distribution for their mediocre album ('The Torture Never Stops') but got ripped off like so many others when the label did a fake 'follow up' record with their own in-house musicians/producers. Unlike the other groups (such as Killer Fox, whose original recordings were just unlistenable garbage) Kalaschnikov's sound was at least weird on its own.
The whole album kinda feels like it was written in a day, including the lyrics, which are so over-the-top 'evil' you have to hear them to believe them. It's like somebody told the vocalist to just sing about stuff that was the opposite of the Bible, so you get classics like 'Kill Your Neighbor' and 'Devil's Your Hero.' Despite the crappy production, it's a pretty good time, and you can't really hate songs like 'Rockin' By the Graveyard' and 'Video Monsters.' The lack of musicianship also seems to have resulted in some unusual guitar riffs in a kind of Voivod-ish way.
So, then, enter the ME staff's version of Kalaschnikov, present on their second (and final) album 'Desert Storm.' It sounds like they weren't even trying on this one. Two long tracks of obvious space-filling 'ambient' stuff, a few songs that sound a little too musically competent to be the ME staff...my guess is that they got hold of some Kalaschnikov demos for a second album, and dubbed their own awful vocals over. Then there are a handful that are obviously the same people responsible for the second Killer Fox and Thrash Queen albums. The ridiculous female operatic vocals and the snarly cartoonish male vocals, bad drum machines and totally non-metal guitar tones. Oh yeah, and whistling solos.
Yeah. Fucking whistling solos on what is essentially a thrash metal song ('Czarewitch').
Well...basically, if you're for some reason collecting all the Metal Enterprises releases, these will be of use to you. Otherwise, probably not? Oh well, the first album is enjoyably funny at least.
Kalaschnikov - 'The Torture Never Stops'
Tracklist:
1. Devil's Your Hero
2. The Haunted House
3. Rockin' By the Graveyard
4. Kill Your Neighbor
5. Chosen One
6. Demon's Rebellion (Instrumental)
7. Video Monsters
8. Hell's Runnin' Wild
9. Demon's Rebellion (Vocal)
DL
Kalaschnikov - 'Desert Storm'
Tracklist:
1. Czarewitch
2. Siberian Werewolf
3. Homage to the Holocaust
4. Headbanger
5. Stinking Shrine
6. Scull Scratcher
DL
Lastly, here's a release that might not be EXACTLY metal, but it definitely has metal influences (mostly from the doom genre) and it's certainly fucked up. While there are quite a few bands calling themselves Warning, this is the 1982 release by the German synth-doom group. Actually, the vocals here wouldn't sound too out of place on a Metal Enterprises release...they're like...death metal growls? I guess? But put through all sorts of effects to make it sound like aliens. The music is literally a head-on collision between OG doom metal (think Sabbath and Witchfinder General) and euro-disco synth stuff.
It's pretty goofy, but it's also very enjoyable, and occasionally really creepy. One review compares them to Rammstein, and I guess that's not far off, but WAY WAY more 80's than that description lets on. It really does sound like Kraftwerk playing satanic metal before that kind of metal even existed. If you read this blog, you'll like it I'm sure.
Warning - S/T
Tracklist:
1. Why Can the Bodies Fly
2. Magic Castle
3. Wild Roses for the Exit
4. Darkness
5. Out of Tune
6. The Door (Pt. I)
7. The Door (Pt. II)
8. A Message
9. Warning
10. Lost in Time
11. In the Crowd
DL
First, two non-classics from the Metal Enterprises label. See this post and this post for more info on that fiasco...
Kalaschnikov, like the other artists in the ME stable, probably just wanted distribution for their mediocre album ('The Torture Never Stops') but got ripped off like so many others when the label did a fake 'follow up' record with their own in-house musicians/producers. Unlike the other groups (such as Killer Fox, whose original recordings were just unlistenable garbage) Kalaschnikov's sound was at least weird on its own.
The whole album kinda feels like it was written in a day, including the lyrics, which are so over-the-top 'evil' you have to hear them to believe them. It's like somebody told the vocalist to just sing about stuff that was the opposite of the Bible, so you get classics like 'Kill Your Neighbor' and 'Devil's Your Hero.' Despite the crappy production, it's a pretty good time, and you can't really hate songs like 'Rockin' By the Graveyard' and 'Video Monsters.' The lack of musicianship also seems to have resulted in some unusual guitar riffs in a kind of Voivod-ish way.
So, then, enter the ME staff's version of Kalaschnikov, present on their second (and final) album 'Desert Storm.' It sounds like they weren't even trying on this one. Two long tracks of obvious space-filling 'ambient' stuff, a few songs that sound a little too musically competent to be the ME staff...my guess is that they got hold of some Kalaschnikov demos for a second album, and dubbed their own awful vocals over. Then there are a handful that are obviously the same people responsible for the second Killer Fox and Thrash Queen albums. The ridiculous female operatic vocals and the snarly cartoonish male vocals, bad drum machines and totally non-metal guitar tones. Oh yeah, and whistling solos.
Yeah. Fucking whistling solos on what is essentially a thrash metal song ('Czarewitch').
Well...basically, if you're for some reason collecting all the Metal Enterprises releases, these will be of use to you. Otherwise, probably not? Oh well, the first album is enjoyably funny at least.
Kalaschnikov - 'The Torture Never Stops'
1. Devil's Your Hero
2. The Haunted House
3. Rockin' By the Graveyard
4. Kill Your Neighbor
5. Chosen One
6. Demon's Rebellion (Instrumental)
7. Video Monsters
8. Hell's Runnin' Wild
9. Demon's Rebellion (Vocal)
DL
Kalaschnikov - 'Desert Storm'
1. Czarewitch
2. Siberian Werewolf
3. Homage to the Holocaust
4. Headbanger
5. Stinking Shrine
6. Scull Scratcher
DL
Lastly, here's a release that might not be EXACTLY metal, but it definitely has metal influences (mostly from the doom genre) and it's certainly fucked up. While there are quite a few bands calling themselves Warning, this is the 1982 release by the German synth-doom group. Actually, the vocals here wouldn't sound too out of place on a Metal Enterprises release...they're like...death metal growls? I guess? But put through all sorts of effects to make it sound like aliens. The music is literally a head-on collision between OG doom metal (think Sabbath and Witchfinder General) and euro-disco synth stuff.
It's pretty goofy, but it's also very enjoyable, and occasionally really creepy. One review compares them to Rammstein, and I guess that's not far off, but WAY WAY more 80's than that description lets on. It really does sound like Kraftwerk playing satanic metal before that kind of metal even existed. If you read this blog, you'll like it I'm sure.
Warning - S/T
1. Why Can the Bodies Fly
2. Magic Castle
3. Wild Roses for the Exit
4. Darkness
5. Out of Tune
6. The Door (Pt. I)
7. The Door (Pt. II)
8. A Message
9. Warning
10. Lost in Time
11. In the Crowd
DL
Sunday, September 7, 2014
2 classics of 'incredibly strange metal'
Here are a couple relics from my days as a metal radio guy. Hopefully I will put some other stuff like this up here in the near future.
First up, an experimental death metal band from Italy called Trifixion. Apparently they only put out this one album, in 1995, although there is at least one other band with the same name.
It's way more varied than pretty much any other death metal release out there...atmospheric keyboard passages lead to psych-rock jams, which lead to trebly black metal guitar and psychotic screaming. I'm not really sure what kind of audience these guys were going for, and maybe that's why they only did one album.
I guess some of the experimentation could be called similar to Voivod (my favorite metal band) but basically if those guys were death/black metal instead of thrash. It isn't particularly well-recorded, but all the musicians are super-talented so you never really notice. The artwork is fairly creepy, too. Probably more out there than most experimental metal fans can tolerate, but outsider/weirdo music appreciators will dig this.
Trifixion - 'Abschurfungepoch'
Tracklist:
1. Fear, Is All That I See
2. Col Heaven
3. Litanie
4. World Called Truth
5. Immortal
6. You Breed
7. Abschurfungepoch
DL
Next is a release that isn't nearly as challenging or intelligent. Actually, it's not intelligent at ALL. You may remember me posting about Killer Fox and the awful Metal Enterprises label. Click that link, please, so I don't have to recap.
This is another outing from the producers of the second Killer Fox album, and it's just as awful, if not more so. There are some very distinct (and completely out-of-place) reggae influences, and it also has the WORST Beatles cover I've ever heard. The female vocalist who is present on the Thrash Queen album is on this quite a bit. Also, it seems like they included some demos by the original Godzilla band, as if the album wasn't inconsistent enough already. Just terrible, stupid, and entertaining.
Godzilla - 'II'
Tracklist:
1. Ingoz
2. Helter Skelter
3. Ass of the Prophet
4. I Followed the Zombie
5. Cinderella Rockefella
6. Halfbreed
7. Killing Joke
8. Foul
9. Outgoz
DL
First up, an experimental death metal band from Italy called Trifixion. Apparently they only put out this one album, in 1995, although there is at least one other band with the same name.
It's way more varied than pretty much any other death metal release out there...atmospheric keyboard passages lead to psych-rock jams, which lead to trebly black metal guitar and psychotic screaming. I'm not really sure what kind of audience these guys were going for, and maybe that's why they only did one album.
I guess some of the experimentation could be called similar to Voivod (my favorite metal band) but basically if those guys were death/black metal instead of thrash. It isn't particularly well-recorded, but all the musicians are super-talented so you never really notice. The artwork is fairly creepy, too. Probably more out there than most experimental metal fans can tolerate, but outsider/weirdo music appreciators will dig this.
Trifixion - 'Abschurfungepoch'
1. Fear, Is All That I See
2. Col Heaven
3. Litanie
4. World Called Truth
5. Immortal
6. You Breed
7. Abschurfungepoch
DL
Next is a release that isn't nearly as challenging or intelligent. Actually, it's not intelligent at ALL. You may remember me posting about Killer Fox and the awful Metal Enterprises label. Click that link, please, so I don't have to recap.
This is another outing from the producers of the second Killer Fox album, and it's just as awful, if not more so. There are some very distinct (and completely out-of-place) reggae influences, and it also has the WORST Beatles cover I've ever heard. The female vocalist who is present on the Thrash Queen album is on this quite a bit. Also, it seems like they included some demos by the original Godzilla band, as if the album wasn't inconsistent enough already. Just terrible, stupid, and entertaining.
Godzilla - 'II'
1. Ingoz
2. Helter Skelter
3. Ass of the Prophet
4. I Followed the Zombie
5. Cinderella Rockefella
6. Halfbreed
7. Killing Joke
8. Foul
9. Outgoz
DL
Outsider cinema, vol. 2 - 'Hawk Jones'
This is one of the most bizarre things to come out of the 1980's VHS era that I've ever seen. We will start off with a quote from the director's website:
"Hawk Jones was the brainchild of Tor Lowry. Tor got the idea for Hawk Jones when he saw a Bill Cosby Jello commercial in which all the kids were dressed as adults. Tor thought that would make for an interesting movie to have an all child cast and his brother, Rico, agreed. "
Yep. The only film I'm aware of with an all-children cast...but it's also not FOR children.
The plot is not very good, and the script isn't either...it's your basic thriller/crime caper with 40's film noir references. Obviously, though, that doesn't matter, because it's ALL CHILDREN.
So, it's an hour and a half of kids smoking cigars, driving cars, shooting each other up (yes, there is blood), hanging out at bars, and talking like 1940's adults ('The streets are no place for dames!'). All of which makes for an incredible viewing experience.
One review I read claimed that this is the type of film you couldn't get away with making in modern times, which is definitely true. I'm surprised that they found a whole cast of children whose parents were cool with this back in '86 or whatever. I mean, some of it is borderline creepy. Judging by the info on the director's website, they did have trouble finding a distributor, even in the anything-goes VHS era.
What's weirder is that it's actually well done...it does look to be shot-on-video, but the editing is flawless, and all the sets are well-decorated. My guess is that an extremely wealthy person did this, and had enough sense to hire people for production than do it himself. Somehow, he also found some pretty decent child actors...I mean, a few of them are REALLY good for how old they are.
Here are a few highlights:
-A kid hitman named 'The Eliminator' who wears some bizarre homemade sunglasses and a golfer hat.
-A lengthy, awkward scene where two kids 'make eyes' at each other.
-Multiple kid gangsters with drawn-on facial hair who keep asking their boss 'want me to waste him??'
-The music, which is gloriously 80's but also would be more appropriate for an early Olsen twins film or something.
-A kid playing an old man, complete with a walker and grey wig.
Yeah, it's great. I also wonder if any of these kids went on to become 'real' actors?
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Outsider cinema, vol. 1 - 'Double Down'
I'm hoping that director Neil Breen doesn't sue the shit out of me, or get my Mediafire account taken down, but we will see. I don't necessarily feel bad about posting it, as Mr. Breen sort of condemns his films to obscurity each time he makes a new one. I even contacted him a while back about his second feature, 'I Am Here....Now' and he told me he wasn't making anymore copies. This one (his first film) is even harder to come by.
So, basically, this is 'outsider' cinema...made by a fairly successful real estate agent (the realty king of Las Vegas) who uses his earnings to make b-movies that he writes, directs, and stars in (and even does some of the music for, I think.) Which, if you know anything about film, means there is a LOT of room for things to go wrong...lots of situations where nobody else gives input or says 'maybe you shouldn't put that in your movie.' Fans of Tommy Wiseau's 'The Room' and 'Troll 2' would definitely be into his stuff. I'd wager that Breen creates even WEIRDER films...
Whereas Mr. Breen's two more recent movies are kinda sci-fi action, his first is mainly an action/thriller (I guess?!) with a LITTLE bit of fantasy thrown in for good measure.
Oh yeah, before I go any further, just in case Neil stumbles across this post...I have NOTHING negative to say about this movie. I will probably watch it over and over. Yes, it's basically a how-to on making a movie completely wrong, but that doesn't matter. It's pure entertainment, and it's also demented as hell.
The 'plot' concerns a genius computer hacker (who seems to not really know anything about computer) who is trying to save the world with his skillz, after years of working for anybody who will pay. It's unclear what he really does, but he spends a lot of time waking up halfway in his car in the desert (seriously, this happens about 10 times, and it's all different shots, so I'm not really sure if it's supposed to be a flashback or what) and dicking around with a whole bunch of laptops that never seem to be on. Most of the film is actually just that...the hacker (played by Breen) driving around Las Vegas with a car full of laptops.
Everything is held together by a voiceover explaining the story, that disappears halfway through for seemingly no reason...then reappears towards the end. Oh yeah, and somewhere along the way, the main character realizes he has the ability to cure cancer with his mind(!)
EVERYTHING you could want to go wrong most certainly does, from head-shaking music cues, to bizarre dialog, to the distinctly skewed worldview the film creates. And it's all completely awesome.
GET IT. Now, before the feds come for me...
HERE
HERE
HERE
and HERE
Also, if YOU somehow have a copy of 'I Am Here....Now'...help me out?
Sunday, August 24, 2014
Rare proto-punk megapost
While doing my proto-punk, punk and post-punk radio show, I often came across some fairly rare releases (not PHYSICAL, but y'know). Some of these took weeks of searching to dig up. Now, I'm dropping a bunch of 'em on you. This post is for the proto-punk stuff, obviously, which would be from the early 60's to the mid-70's.
Heavy Goods Vehicle - 'Keeper of the Sands'
Loud, super-stoned and super-slowed blues rock, in the tradition of Black Sabbath and Pentagram. Maybe a little bluesier than either of those bands, but just as noisy. This album totally sounds like garbage, probably demo recordings of some kind, but it's pretty great because it sounds like they're breaking the tape deck with their volume. Includes a completely incomprehensible cover of 'Wild Thing' that somehow manages to be sloppier than the original. Maybe more proto-doom-metal than proto-punk, but it's got the spirit.
NOTE: The only proper tracklist for this I could find was COMPLETELY different from what I have, so I'm just listing the tracks alphabetically.
Tracklist:
1. 1976
2. Capitalist Blues
3. Feed Back (1976)
4. Heavy Goods Vehicle
5. Heavy Music
6. I'm a Man
7. July Morning
8. Keeper of the Sands (Intro)
9. Lucifer
10. Race with the Devil
11. Time to Cry
12. Wild Thing
DL
Pi Corp - 'Lost in the Cosmic Void'
Early artifact from the same Ohio scene that produced Rocket From The Tombs, Vertical Slit, Pere Ubu and the electric eels. It's fairly dissimilar from those releases, being more like early Pink Floyd I guess. But, the experimentation and gleefully noisy interludes definitely get it an inclusion in the proto-punk 'genre.' Plus, I think a few members went on to be in 'real' punk bands, so yeah. It sounds like a live recording, and honestly it isn't too great, but it's historical. My favorite tracks are 'Together,' which kinda sounds like a simplified Black Sabbath jam with weird echoed-out yelling over it, and 'Shiiit,' which is a psych-rock jam filtered through basement recording.
Tracklist:
1. Introid
2. The Dirge
3. Drumola
4. Together
5. Devil Weed
6. Just Another Song
7. LSD 1
8. Space War
9. Shiiit
10. Telarama Boogie
11. Organ Over Easy
DL
Doug Snyder and Bob Thompson - 'Daily Dance'
This one's pretty amazing. Supposedly, these guys went home after an early Iggy and the Stooges show and started writing these noisy, semi-structured jams. They were also from Ohio, although a more rural part. The 'songs' contain no vocals, just super blown-out heavy guitar and equally distorted, frenzied drumming. It actually has a feel not unlike the band Sleep, but obviously less structured. The two guys also regrouped in the late 90's to cut another LP, but I've never heard it. This one was independently released in '73, in a 500-copy run.
Tracklist:
1. Daily Dance
2. Living with the Crocodiles
3. Time Overlaps Itself
4. Soul and Universe
5. Hit and Run
6. Truth is a Pathless Land
7. Teenage Emergency
DL
Gudibrallan - 'II'
Swedish bang that DEFINITELY sounds a little closer to the punk era, and this goes way back to '71. Although usually listed as prog-rock, don't think it's gonna be a bunch of flutes and weird time signatures. It's actually more like the early Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart style of prog-rock, where it's just fucked up sounding. I guess there are elements of Swedish folk music here, but I don't know that stuff well enough to pick it out. There is definitely some wild saxophone and lots of yelling though. Somehow, this is the band's second album, too.
Tracklist:
1. T-Doja
2. Sosse
3. Terjes Klagan
4. Sprutan
5. Sommar Uti Hagen
6. John Boy
7. Berusa Er
8. Hispan
9. Visa Om Jungfrun
DL
Heavy Goods Vehicle - 'Keeper of the Sands'
Loud, super-stoned and super-slowed blues rock, in the tradition of Black Sabbath and Pentagram. Maybe a little bluesier than either of those bands, but just as noisy. This album totally sounds like garbage, probably demo recordings of some kind, but it's pretty great because it sounds like they're breaking the tape deck with their volume. Includes a completely incomprehensible cover of 'Wild Thing' that somehow manages to be sloppier than the original. Maybe more proto-doom-metal than proto-punk, but it's got the spirit.
NOTE: The only proper tracklist for this I could find was COMPLETELY different from what I have, so I'm just listing the tracks alphabetically.
1. 1976
2. Capitalist Blues
3. Feed Back (1976)
4. Heavy Goods Vehicle
5. Heavy Music
6. I'm a Man
7. July Morning
8. Keeper of the Sands (Intro)
9. Lucifer
10. Race with the Devil
11. Time to Cry
12. Wild Thing
DL
Pi Corp - 'Lost in the Cosmic Void'
Early artifact from the same Ohio scene that produced Rocket From The Tombs, Vertical Slit, Pere Ubu and the electric eels. It's fairly dissimilar from those releases, being more like early Pink Floyd I guess. But, the experimentation and gleefully noisy interludes definitely get it an inclusion in the proto-punk 'genre.' Plus, I think a few members went on to be in 'real' punk bands, so yeah. It sounds like a live recording, and honestly it isn't too great, but it's historical. My favorite tracks are 'Together,' which kinda sounds like a simplified Black Sabbath jam with weird echoed-out yelling over it, and 'Shiiit,' which is a psych-rock jam filtered through basement recording.
1. Introid
2. The Dirge
3. Drumola
4. Together
5. Devil Weed
6. Just Another Song
7. LSD 1
8. Space War
9. Shiiit
10. Telarama Boogie
11. Organ Over Easy
DL
Doug Snyder and Bob Thompson - 'Daily Dance'
This one's pretty amazing. Supposedly, these guys went home after an early Iggy and the Stooges show and started writing these noisy, semi-structured jams. They were also from Ohio, although a more rural part. The 'songs' contain no vocals, just super blown-out heavy guitar and equally distorted, frenzied drumming. It actually has a feel not unlike the band Sleep, but obviously less structured. The two guys also regrouped in the late 90's to cut another LP, but I've never heard it. This one was independently released in '73, in a 500-copy run.
1. Daily Dance
2. Living with the Crocodiles
3. Time Overlaps Itself
4. Soul and Universe
5. Hit and Run
6. Truth is a Pathless Land
7. Teenage Emergency
DL
Gudibrallan - 'II'
Swedish bang that DEFINITELY sounds a little closer to the punk era, and this goes way back to '71. Although usually listed as prog-rock, don't think it's gonna be a bunch of flutes and weird time signatures. It's actually more like the early Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart style of prog-rock, where it's just fucked up sounding. I guess there are elements of Swedish folk music here, but I don't know that stuff well enough to pick it out. There is definitely some wild saxophone and lots of yelling though. Somehow, this is the band's second album, too.
1. T-Doja
2. Sosse
3. Terjes Klagan
4. Sprutan
5. Sommar Uti Hagen
6. John Boy
7. Berusa Er
8. Hispan
9. Visa Om Jungfrun
DL
Saturday, August 23, 2014
This Heat - 'Live at Krefeld'
More hard-to-find shit for ya. I was pretty surprised to find that this release (from 1980) isn't up anywhere else at the moment. People are finally starting to discover this band, so I figured that an actually good-quality live recording of them would be more popular, but I guess not.
First of all, I'm not the type of person who really gives a shit about live recordings usually. I don't listen to them, unless there's not an alternative (like the Wire 'Document and Eyewitness' recordings.) I'd rather hear studio creations, and if I give a shit enough to hear the songs performed live, I will go to a show (which doesn't happen too often.)
This release isn't really any different for me...I'd probably listen to 'Deceit' over this any day, BUT on the flip side, it's really cool to hear how accurately these guys could recreate those recordings in a live setting. It couldn't have been easy, considering all the crazy shit going on. And, I don't think it was a large band, either...just three or four guys?
If you're big into these dudes, you will probably like this...there's a track called 'Unreleased Title,' and I can't really tell if it's an unreleased track or not, because it's been so long since I've put their studio albums on. But, it probably is? Because, this recording seems to have a pretty good representation of their short career, which tracks from both studio full lengths, and 'Health and Efficiency' from the EP of the same name.
Probably only essential for completists, but y'know...
This Heat - 'Live at Krefeld'
Tracklist:
1. Paper Hats
2. The Fall of Saigon/Testcard
3. S.P.Q.R.
4. Makeshift Swahili
5. Unreleased Title
6. Music Like Escaping Gas
7. A New Kind of Water
8. Twilight Furniture
9. Health and Efficiency
DOWNLOAD
First of all, I'm not the type of person who really gives a shit about live recordings usually. I don't listen to them, unless there's not an alternative (like the Wire 'Document and Eyewitness' recordings.) I'd rather hear studio creations, and if I give a shit enough to hear the songs performed live, I will go to a show (which doesn't happen too often.)
This release isn't really any different for me...I'd probably listen to 'Deceit' over this any day, BUT on the flip side, it's really cool to hear how accurately these guys could recreate those recordings in a live setting. It couldn't have been easy, considering all the crazy shit going on. And, I don't think it was a large band, either...just three or four guys?
If you're big into these dudes, you will probably like this...there's a track called 'Unreleased Title,' and I can't really tell if it's an unreleased track or not, because it's been so long since I've put their studio albums on. But, it probably is? Because, this recording seems to have a pretty good representation of their short career, which tracks from both studio full lengths, and 'Health and Efficiency' from the EP of the same name.
Probably only essential for completists, but y'know...
This Heat - 'Live at Krefeld'
1. Paper Hats
2. The Fall of Saigon/Testcard
3. S.P.Q.R.
4. Makeshift Swahili
5. Unreleased Title
6. Music Like Escaping Gas
7. A New Kind of Water
8. Twilight Furniture
9. Health and Efficiency
DOWNLOAD
Rustic Hinge - 'Replicas'
Going back into the vaults today...Tried looking this album up, and only found it on one page (possibly Russian?) and the link seemed to be dead. So, once again, it turns up here so it doesn't get lost in time.
This is a remnant of my proto-punk, punk and post-punk radio program. I probably downloaded it because it's Captain Beefheart-influenced instrumental avant-garde shit, which is a surefire way to piss off radio listeners. Looking back now, the group apparently had members of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown and High Tide, both bands I used to be a pretty big fan of, so I don't know why I never found that out before. But oh well.
Basically, that brief description is all I have to say about the release...if you (like me) enjoy some of Captain Beefheart's music, but are fairly annoyed by his vocals, this is something you might dig. The music is fairly similar, and there aren't any vocals...one review credits Arthur Brown with vocals somewhere, but I couldn't find it.
So, it's very complex, jazz-based math-rock type stuff (before there was such a thing) played with a basic guitar/drums/bass lineup. Some of it actually reminds me of a less-heavy Gore for some reason, and the later tracks veer into Sun City Girls world-music-on-western-instruments territory (which is pretty cool.)
Despite the image all this may conjure up, it's not an unpleasant listen by any means, and some of it (not the concrete noise stuff) could be good background music. Anyhow. Check it out, if ya want. Also, apparently, the whole first side is parts of a movement? Dunno.
Rustic Hinge - 'Replicas'
Tracklist:
1. T on the Lawn for 3
a. Excitation Wavelength
b. Litmus Transformation
c. Opus Pocus
d. Crystallized Petard
e. Kinesis
f. But That Was Then That Was But
g. ---
2. Last Time
3. High Tide Play Rustic Hinge
4. Rumanian Folk Dance No. 1
5. Macedonia
6. Radio Kabul
7. Rumanian Folk Dance No. 2
8. Mastadon
Friday, August 22, 2014
Little Stevie McCabe - 'Sweat it Out'
Been a bit. So, here's some more music from the darkest depths of my collection...
I really don't know too much about this one, other than it's fairly bizarre. The download I snagged was from the long-gone (but awesome) Decrepit Tapes blog, and that link is no longer functioning. It apparently comes from 1986. This guy (Little Stevie) has some connection to the lo-fi scene in New Zealand (groups like The Dead C and The 3Ds) and played/plays(??) in a group called Axemen, which is described as 'Half Japanese attempting to play Chrome.'
I haven't heard them, so I can't comment on that, but this album kinda reminds me of Renaldo and the Loaf maybe mixed with a little Half Japanese. Or Ween? I don't know. It's very weird, but not in a 'let's be weird' way...this guy just seems genuinely strange. Some of the songs are pretty catchy, and have an 'old-timey' vibe to them...like maybe he listened to a lot of old swing, jazz and blues while writing this stuff? It also comes off as maybe the home recordings of a teenager, which might be why he adopted the name 'Little Stevie McCabe' for the release (he just goes by Steve McCabe in Axemen.)
Whatever the case, it's some very strange stuff, and it's clearly ALL him...there are no drums for the most part, just out of tune guitars and shaky vocals. I can see similarities between this and some of the weirder New Zealand stuff, like the Tall Dwarfs, but this goes way way way into outsider music territory.
There are a whole shit-ton of songs, too, and most of them are too short to get sick of. Give it a listen if you want to hear something playfully demented.
Little Stevie McCabe - 'Sweat it Out'
Tracklist:
1. Love Feel
2. A Seeker Peeped Into Space
3. Sweat it Out
4. The Place
5. Sea Spray Gets in Your Eyes
6. More
7. Ulterior Locomotive
8. Sparing Partner
9. Take the E-Train
10. Sounds Like...A Drunken Party
11. Your Little Chevrolet
12. Chip On My Shoulder
13. Spring Song
14. Aunty-Anti
15. Clues to a Dream
16. Dirt in the Blood
17. Crazy
18. Life Doesn't Go On
19. We Love Louis
20. Terminal of Love
21. The Call of the Forbidden Sea
22. Noise Must Go On
23. That's Why You're a Human Being
24. Welcome to the Province of Nausea
25. The Way I Walk
DOWNLOAD
I really don't know too much about this one, other than it's fairly bizarre. The download I snagged was from the long-gone (but awesome) Decrepit Tapes blog, and that link is no longer functioning. It apparently comes from 1986. This guy (Little Stevie) has some connection to the lo-fi scene in New Zealand (groups like The Dead C and The 3Ds) and played/plays(??) in a group called Axemen, which is described as 'Half Japanese attempting to play Chrome.'
I haven't heard them, so I can't comment on that, but this album kinda reminds me of Renaldo and the Loaf maybe mixed with a little Half Japanese. Or Ween? I don't know. It's very weird, but not in a 'let's be weird' way...this guy just seems genuinely strange. Some of the songs are pretty catchy, and have an 'old-timey' vibe to them...like maybe he listened to a lot of old swing, jazz and blues while writing this stuff? It also comes off as maybe the home recordings of a teenager, which might be why he adopted the name 'Little Stevie McCabe' for the release (he just goes by Steve McCabe in Axemen.)
Whatever the case, it's some very strange stuff, and it's clearly ALL him...there are no drums for the most part, just out of tune guitars and shaky vocals. I can see similarities between this and some of the weirder New Zealand stuff, like the Tall Dwarfs, but this goes way way way into outsider music territory.
There are a whole shit-ton of songs, too, and most of them are too short to get sick of. Give it a listen if you want to hear something playfully demented.
Little Stevie McCabe - 'Sweat it Out'
1. Love Feel
2. A Seeker Peeped Into Space
3. Sweat it Out
4. The Place
5. Sea Spray Gets in Your Eyes
6. More
7. Ulterior Locomotive
8. Sparing Partner
9. Take the E-Train
10. Sounds Like...A Drunken Party
11. Your Little Chevrolet
12. Chip On My Shoulder
13. Spring Song
14. Aunty-Anti
15. Clues to a Dream
16. Dirt in the Blood
17. Crazy
18. Life Doesn't Go On
19. We Love Louis
20. Terminal of Love
21. The Call of the Forbidden Sea
22. Noise Must Go On
23. That's Why You're a Human Being
24. Welcome to the Province of Nausea
25. The Way I Walk
DOWNLOAD
Saturday, July 26, 2014
Depressive Tongue Posse - 'Highworld' Mixtape
This came out last week. It's pretty nuts. Guest spots include MC Trachiotomy, Finnish hip-hopper Tuuttimorko, and UK rapper holy BLASKO.
DTP has officially added Ohio weirdo-rapper Boy Froot, so he's on most of the tracks in addition to the other two rappers. Tracks range from trap, lo-fi, boom-bap, to pretty experimental stuff.
It's free, too.
Depressive Tongue Posse - 'Highworld' Mixtape
Tracklist:
1. Intro/Highworld I
2. Boneyard (ft. DJ El G)
3. Roll Em Up
4. Make Lemonade (ft. Buzz Wallace)
5. Z Ro
6. ...
7. What U Smokin (ft. Dankstar)
8. Deathbed
9. What U Say (ft. MC Trachiotomy and Tuuttimorko)
10. Crazy Cop Killa
11. 96 Shit (ft. Buzz Wallace)
12. Kill My Boss
13. Highworld II
14. Horror Shit (ft. Buzz Wallace)
15. Nightmare at 20,000 Ft.
16. ....
17. Truth or Dare
18. .....
19. Snap
20. I Don't Have Shit
21. Internetrap
22. Beat Em Down
23. Various Greens (ft. holyBLASKO theknownONE)
24. Crashin
25. Killin $pree II (ft. H E X X X O F F N D R)
Produced by DTP members HATE Noise, Mista Ouija and Grnmo. Get it on Bandcamp.
They've also got a couple new videos out:
DTP has officially added Ohio weirdo-rapper Boy Froot, so he's on most of the tracks in addition to the other two rappers. Tracks range from trap, lo-fi, boom-bap, to pretty experimental stuff.
It's free, too.
Depressive Tongue Posse - 'Highworld' Mixtape
1. Intro/Highworld I
2. Boneyard (ft. DJ El G)
3. Roll Em Up
4. Make Lemonade (ft. Buzz Wallace)
5. Z Ro
6. ...
7. What U Smokin (ft. Dankstar)
8. Deathbed
9. What U Say (ft. MC Trachiotomy and Tuuttimorko)
10. Crazy Cop Killa
11. 96 Shit (ft. Buzz Wallace)
12. Kill My Boss
13. Highworld II
14. Horror Shit (ft. Buzz Wallace)
15. Nightmare at 20,000 Ft.
16. ....
17. Truth or Dare
18. .....
19. Snap
20. I Don't Have Shit
21. Internetrap
22. Beat Em Down
23. Various Greens (ft. holyBLASKO theknownONE)
24. Crashin
25. Killin $pree II (ft. H E X X X O F F N D R)
Produced by DTP members HATE Noise, Mista Ouija and Grnmo. Get it on Bandcamp.
They've also got a couple new videos out:
Monday, July 7, 2014
Obscuro! Mixtape #24 - 'Summer smokeouts'
Been a while, so I compiled another DJ-mix type thing. It's a little different than the last few.
Mostly, it's what I'd consider 'summer' jams...lots of breezy instrumental funk and jazz, some dirty south rap classics, and a bit of new school rap as well. Enjoy!!
Mostly, it's what I'd consider 'summer' jams...lots of breezy instrumental funk and jazz, some dirty south rap classics, and a bit of new school rap as well. Enjoy!!
Saturday, June 28, 2014
Pine Hill - 'Isolation Album'
Here's another album from the lost days of the Obscuro! radio program.
It seems to only be up a couple places now, so I'm posting it here. Not one of my favorites, but someone will enjoy it I'm sure.
It's very low-key folk-rock with some psychedelic influences, and a very homemade quality to the whole thing. But, it's more like a Guided By Voices record, where the whole thing is cohesive even though it's clearly home demos. The band does come up with some unique studio tricks along the way, like pitch shifted guitars and weirdo percussion.
Some of the tracks are catchy, but most fit the album title, 'Isolation.' It's a very downer album on the whole. I also have no idea what country it comes from, as it does have a lot of British rock influences, but it also feels like it could've been made in the 60's when the release date is '77. A couple of the songs even veer into definite weirdo territory, like 'Insane,' and 'Old Soldiers Never Die.'
Basically, it's perfect for a pleasant drive in the country, somewhere that you can truly experience isolation. I'd be willing to bet these guys holed up in some weird country house to write and record this album. No idea if they did anything afterwards under a different name, either.
Pine Hill - 'Isolation Album'
Tracklist:
1. Apertif
2. Clockwork Apology
3. Priscilla
4. ...Sometimes
5. Roundabout Rosie
6. A Sense of Union
7. Work
8. Hero
9. Personnel
10. Old Soldiers Never Die
11. Beecher Street
12. Insane
13. The Cook's Story
14. Letter From Fiddler's Green
DL
It seems to only be up a couple places now, so I'm posting it here. Not one of my favorites, but someone will enjoy it I'm sure.
It's very low-key folk-rock with some psychedelic influences, and a very homemade quality to the whole thing. But, it's more like a Guided By Voices record, where the whole thing is cohesive even though it's clearly home demos. The band does come up with some unique studio tricks along the way, like pitch shifted guitars and weirdo percussion.
Some of the tracks are catchy, but most fit the album title, 'Isolation.' It's a very downer album on the whole. I also have no idea what country it comes from, as it does have a lot of British rock influences, but it also feels like it could've been made in the 60's when the release date is '77. A couple of the songs even veer into definite weirdo territory, like 'Insane,' and 'Old Soldiers Never Die.'
Basically, it's perfect for a pleasant drive in the country, somewhere that you can truly experience isolation. I'd be willing to bet these guys holed up in some weird country house to write and record this album. No idea if they did anything afterwards under a different name, either.
Pine Hill - 'Isolation Album'
1. Apertif
2. Clockwork Apology
3. Priscilla
4. ...Sometimes
5. Roundabout Rosie
6. A Sense of Union
7. Work
8. Hero
9. Personnel
10. Old Soldiers Never Die
11. Beecher Street
12. Insane
13. The Cook's Story
14. Letter From Fiddler's Green
DL
Robo Arigo - 'Sexy Thing'
I haven't gotten into a whole lot of Afro-funk yet, but this album is pretty damn good. To be sure, it has some elements I've heard in stuff like Fela Kuti...the hypnotic, repetitive grooves and chant-like vocals, but then there's the influence of what seems to be early Prince and Parliament. The sound is very lean (kind of lo-fi, but not overly so) and stripped down, and the vocal melodies are really catchy, especially in 'Them Crazy' and 'Sexy Thing.' The only track that abandons the funk groove is the last one, which I didn't care for too much.
As to what instrument Arigo is playing here, I have no idea, but everything is completely on point. The interplay between guitar and bass is especially great...the guitar could almost have been pulled from some mid-period Meat Puppets recordings. The basslines are similar to some of Rick James' early stuff, too, especially on 'Sexy Thing' which is as great as anything off James' 'Street Songs' album.
The album is also unfortunately very rare, and I couldn't find it on a single music blog, so here ya go. It's not exceptionally weird, although it is very hypnotic...just really good funk music. Oh yeah, it also has a kinda weird Bob Marley cover...
Robo Arigo - 'Sexy Thing'
Tracklist:
1. Konastone Ponk
2. Girls Reservation
3. Get Up, Stand Up
4. Them Crazy
5. I Want You
6. Sexy Thing
7. I'm Gonna Love You
DL
As to what instrument Arigo is playing here, I have no idea, but everything is completely on point. The interplay between guitar and bass is especially great...the guitar could almost have been pulled from some mid-period Meat Puppets recordings. The basslines are similar to some of Rick James' early stuff, too, especially on 'Sexy Thing' which is as great as anything off James' 'Street Songs' album.
The album is also unfortunately very rare, and I couldn't find it on a single music blog, so here ya go. It's not exceptionally weird, although it is very hypnotic...just really good funk music. Oh yeah, it also has a kinda weird Bob Marley cover...
Robo Arigo - 'Sexy Thing'
1. Konastone Ponk
2. Girls Reservation
3. Get Up, Stand Up
4. Them Crazy
5. I Want You
6. Sexy Thing
7. I'm Gonna Love You
DL
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Depressive Tongue Posse - 'Midwest Murdererz' EP
Dropped today.
It's a tribute to old school, murked out Memphis rap, so if you're into that, check it out. They've even got it on a white-label cassette with no case. REALLY lo-fi and evil, and features the newest member of DTP (Boy Froot) fairly prominently.
Get it for free, or get the tape:
Depressive Tongue Posse - 'Midwest Murdererz' EP
Tracklist:
1. Untitled #1
2. Untitled #2
3. Untitled #3
4. Untitled #4
5. Untitled #5
6. Untitled #6
7. Untitled #7 (Ft. Buzz Wallace)
8. Untitled #8
9. Untitled #9
10. Untitled #10
11. Untitled #11
12. 'Highworld' Teaser
Produced by DTP members HATE Noise and Mista Ouija, with artwork by HATE Noise. Bandcamp.
It's a tribute to old school, murked out Memphis rap, so if you're into that, check it out. They've even got it on a white-label cassette with no case. REALLY lo-fi and evil, and features the newest member of DTP (Boy Froot) fairly prominently.
Get it for free, or get the tape:
Depressive Tongue Posse - 'Midwest Murdererz' EP
1. Untitled #1
2. Untitled #2
3. Untitled #3
4. Untitled #4
5. Untitled #5
6. Untitled #6
7. Untitled #7 (Ft. Buzz Wallace)
8. Untitled #8
9. Untitled #9
10. Untitled #10
11. Untitled #11
12. 'Highworld' Teaser
Produced by DTP members HATE Noise and Mista Ouija, with artwork by HATE Noise. Bandcamp.
Saturday, May 24, 2014
Bobby Brown - Discography
No, not THAT Bobby Brown...
This is a bizarro one-man-band from Hawaii who recorded during the mid-seventies. I don't know why this guy's stuff is slowly disappearing from the internet, because it is quite exceptional. It kind of bridges the (albeit large) gap between spaced-out new age drone and psych-folk, with a lot of laid-back Hawaiian influence as well.
The story goes that this loner surfer-type guy built this giant....instrument?? I guess?? out of whatever he had laying around. So he literally plays all the sounds you're hearing at once, at least on most of the tracks. You can kind of see his gadget on the cover of his first LP, 'The Enlightening Beam of Axonda,' and it looks basically fucked. He and his dog would travel around in an old van wherever the surfing was good, giving impromptu performances of these strange, mellow songs. I've read his voice described as similar to Tim Buckley, which I guess is kind of true.
The first album is very odd, sounding kind of like a gamelan orchestra playing 70's folk rock. The second album, 'Bobby Brown Live,' is not quite so strange, but the story behind it is definitely weird. Supposedly, he was picked to open for Fleetwood Mac (which, to me, sounds like a big deal) and recorded the performance for this album. Brown, however, was unsatisfied with the crowd sounds(!), feeling they distracted from the music, and re-recorded the entire thing in his van AFTER the show. Whatever the case, it doesn't really sound like a 'live' record or anything.
A few years later, he did a much more pop-oriented album called 'Prayers of a One Man Band.' Well...it's HIS interpretation of pop music, which is still pretty odd. It's got a lot of vintage synths and drum machines, and a lot of people seem to feel it's his best release. I dunno about that, but it is very good. The songs are also MUCH shorter, which might appeal to some listeners.
Anyhow, here are all three albums for ya to check out:
Bobby Brown - 'The Enlightening Beam of Axonda'
Tracklist:
1. I Must Be Born
2. My Hawaiian Home
3. Oneness with the Forest
4. Tiny Wind of Shandl
DOWNLOAD
Bobby Brown - 'Bobby Brown Live'
Tracklist:
1. Hawaii
2. In Search of a Dream
3. Let Me on Board
4. My Dog is Every Bit as Good as Me
5. The Waterfall of Love
6. Lonely Boy No More
7. Mother Nature We're Guilty/I Don't Wanna Be No Macho Joe
8. Motherless Child
DOWNLOAD
Bobby Brown - 'Prayers of a One Man Band'
Tracklist:
1. The Boy a Sailor
2. Steamboat Mama
3. Sail On
4. Lady Tennessee
5. Jungle Cowboy
6. Hawaii Nei I'll Miss You
7. The Peaceful Ko 'Olaus
8. My Dog the Outlaw
9. If the Angels Cry
10. Sweet Clean Air
11. I'm Bolieve
12. The Cry of the Wild
DOWNLOAD
This is a bizarro one-man-band from Hawaii who recorded during the mid-seventies. I don't know why this guy's stuff is slowly disappearing from the internet, because it is quite exceptional. It kind of bridges the (albeit large) gap between spaced-out new age drone and psych-folk, with a lot of laid-back Hawaiian influence as well.
The story goes that this loner surfer-type guy built this giant....instrument?? I guess?? out of whatever he had laying around. So he literally plays all the sounds you're hearing at once, at least on most of the tracks. You can kind of see his gadget on the cover of his first LP, 'The Enlightening Beam of Axonda,' and it looks basically fucked. He and his dog would travel around in an old van wherever the surfing was good, giving impromptu performances of these strange, mellow songs. I've read his voice described as similar to Tim Buckley, which I guess is kind of true.
The first album is very odd, sounding kind of like a gamelan orchestra playing 70's folk rock. The second album, 'Bobby Brown Live,' is not quite so strange, but the story behind it is definitely weird. Supposedly, he was picked to open for Fleetwood Mac (which, to me, sounds like a big deal) and recorded the performance for this album. Brown, however, was unsatisfied with the crowd sounds(!), feeling they distracted from the music, and re-recorded the entire thing in his van AFTER the show. Whatever the case, it doesn't really sound like a 'live' record or anything.
A few years later, he did a much more pop-oriented album called 'Prayers of a One Man Band.' Well...it's HIS interpretation of pop music, which is still pretty odd. It's got a lot of vintage synths and drum machines, and a lot of people seem to feel it's his best release. I dunno about that, but it is very good. The songs are also MUCH shorter, which might appeal to some listeners.
Anyhow, here are all three albums for ya to check out:
Bobby Brown - 'The Enlightening Beam of Axonda'
1. I Must Be Born
2. My Hawaiian Home
3. Oneness with the Forest
4. Tiny Wind of Shandl
DOWNLOAD
Bobby Brown - 'Bobby Brown Live'
1. Hawaii
2. In Search of a Dream
3. Let Me on Board
4. My Dog is Every Bit as Good as Me
5. The Waterfall of Love
6. Lonely Boy No More
7. Mother Nature We're Guilty/I Don't Wanna Be No Macho Joe
8. Motherless Child
DOWNLOAD
Bobby Brown - 'Prayers of a One Man Band'
1. The Boy a Sailor
2. Steamboat Mama
3. Sail On
4. Lady Tennessee
5. Jungle Cowboy
6. Hawaii Nei I'll Miss You
7. The Peaceful Ko 'Olaus
8. My Dog the Outlaw
9. If the Angels Cry
10. Sweet Clean Air
11. I'm Bolieve
12. The Cry of the Wild
DOWNLOAD
Friday, May 23, 2014
DJ Kridlokk - 'Mutsi'
I kinda stopped paying attention to newer rap music after people started hyping bullshit like Yung Lean...seemed like it was degenerating back into the kind of crap I grew up around like Lil Jon, just a more 'hip' and self-conscious version of it. I dunno. Maybe I'm wrong. But I was very excited when 'Mista Thug Isolation' and 'Goblin' and even Shabazz Palaces came out, and it seemed like every album had a fresh sound.
Well, leave it to an isolated country like Finland to put a different spin on things.
Yes, this album is VERY influenced by 90's Memphis rap. But, somehow, even with the same 808 drums and repetitious vocal hooks, there is something different happening here. Maybe it's that the music is infused with a feeling of...I don't know, but what I can only imagine came from growing up in one of the most beautiful and isolated parts of the world. Seriously, 'beautiful' is not a word I'd throw around when talking about rap music (at least not the stuff I like) but these are really gorgeous beats.
And, Kridlokk's flow is straight out of a Three 6 Mafia cassette-era track, but his deep, unaffected voice goes perfect with these beats. His guest cast range from pitched-down weirdos (Eevil Stöö) to cartoonish gangstas (Tuutimörkö) and it all creates this feeling of 'we've been here doing our thing, where the fuck were you?'
I only understand a few words here and there (namely 'Memphis,' 'gangsta' and 'broke ass bitch') but it doesn't even matter when appreciating this album. Although, after having spoken to a couple of these guys, it seems the lyrics are far more demented than you could imagine. They've created these over-the-top gangsta personas who would rather get smoked out and eat chicken in the recording studio than shoot you.
Seriously, this is some strange stuff:
I do enjoy the fact that they seem to have latched onto the idea of rap cassettes and cassette culture more so than the Memphis-influenced artists over here. And that they've combined this blown-out, evil style of production with the gonzo humor of the Beastie Boys.
There are, in fact, quite a few references to golden-era hip hop throughout the albums these guys release, which is a style most rappers over here wouldn't dare combine with menacing trap beats.
Anyhow, I'm not posting a link to the album...you can find it on a couple other blogs, but I'd really recommend you support these dudes. It is on Spotify if you do that.
From the sound of it, they are actually chart-topping performers over in their native country(!) which makes our mainstream rap look like...well....garbage, I guess?
Don't sleep on this shit.
DJ Kridlokk - 'Mutsi'
Tracklist:
1. Mit Vit Ei Mit
2. Lokin Ipsum
3. Akuutti elämä
4. IDKFA
5. Stö & Lok (ft. Eevil Stöö)
6. Bout it Bout it
7. Paskat siit '14
8. Hynät, rahat ja ruplat (ft. Tuuttimörkö)
9. Teepait
10. Ikinä kii
11. Mutsi
12. X
Well, leave it to an isolated country like Finland to put a different spin on things.
Yes, this album is VERY influenced by 90's Memphis rap. But, somehow, even with the same 808 drums and repetitious vocal hooks, there is something different happening here. Maybe it's that the music is infused with a feeling of...I don't know, but what I can only imagine came from growing up in one of the most beautiful and isolated parts of the world. Seriously, 'beautiful' is not a word I'd throw around when talking about rap music (at least not the stuff I like) but these are really gorgeous beats.
And, Kridlokk's flow is straight out of a Three 6 Mafia cassette-era track, but his deep, unaffected voice goes perfect with these beats. His guest cast range from pitched-down weirdos (Eevil Stöö) to cartoonish gangstas (Tuutimörkö) and it all creates this feeling of 'we've been here doing our thing, where the fuck were you?'
I only understand a few words here and there (namely 'Memphis,' 'gangsta' and 'broke ass bitch') but it doesn't even matter when appreciating this album. Although, after having spoken to a couple of these guys, it seems the lyrics are far more demented than you could imagine. They've created these over-the-top gangsta personas who would rather get smoked out and eat chicken in the recording studio than shoot you.
Seriously, this is some strange stuff:
I do enjoy the fact that they seem to have latched onto the idea of rap cassettes and cassette culture more so than the Memphis-influenced artists over here. And that they've combined this blown-out, evil style of production with the gonzo humor of the Beastie Boys.
There are, in fact, quite a few references to golden-era hip hop throughout the albums these guys release, which is a style most rappers over here wouldn't dare combine with menacing trap beats.
Anyhow, I'm not posting a link to the album...you can find it on a couple other blogs, but I'd really recommend you support these dudes. It is on Spotify if you do that.
From the sound of it, they are actually chart-topping performers over in their native country(!) which makes our mainstream rap look like...well....garbage, I guess?
Don't sleep on this shit.
DJ Kridlokk - 'Mutsi'
1. Mit Vit Ei Mit
2. Lokin Ipsum
3. Akuutti elämä
4. IDKFA
5. Stö & Lok (ft. Eevil Stöö)
6. Bout it Bout it
7. Paskat siit '14
8. Hynät, rahat ja ruplat (ft. Tuuttimörkö)
9. Teepait
10. Ikinä kii
11. Mutsi
12. X
Friday, May 2, 2014
Depressive Tongue Posse - new singles
The DTP have dropped a couple new singles in the past few weeks...one is a celebration of springtime and all things drugs...the other is definitely a darker affair. It's a blown out, distorted murder-daydream about being a minimum wage employee. It also has an insane video:
Both singles are available on the DTP Bandcamp page.
Both singles are available on the DTP Bandcamp page.
Saturday, April 19, 2014
Obscuro! Mixtape #23 - 'Garbage can full of funk 5'
It's been a looonnng time since I did one of these, so, here ya go.
Pretty similar to the other 'garbage can' mixes...lots of murked-out, lo-fi rap. This one's probably a little weirder than the last few, though.
Pretty similar to the other 'garbage can' mixes...lots of murked-out, lo-fi rap. This one's probably a little weirder than the last few, though.
Konrad - 'Evil'
For some reason, this damn album seems to follow me wherever I go! When I was still doing the Obscuro! radio program, a few people would CONSTANTLY request the track 'My Girl,' and now I've got a request for the full album to be posted, so I must oblige. It is a great record, I won't deny it. Somewhere between the DIY minimal synth stuff of the 80's and sci-fi acid casualty, Konrad is a one-man-band who cranks out some of the catchiest tunes you'll ever hear about binary code, matrices, and music scientists (whatever those are.) There is also a spot-on parody of The Police that's about...police.
Also, the guy behind this project is QUITE a character. He claims to have both created the idea behind 'The Matrix' films, and to have sold speakers to Celine Dion. I'm not sure if either is true, but here's hoping.
Konrad - 'Evil'
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Tracklist:
1. It's Only a Matrix
2. Music Scientist
3. Don't Want No Police
4. Alien
5. Working Man
6. Keep On Playing That Jazz
7. My Girl Likes to Buy
8. The Man of Mystery
9. Blue Sunrise
10. One Way Motorcycle Ride
11. Seems Like One of Those Days
12. DMZ Bolero
13. People
***LINK REMOVED BY REQUEST***
Preorder the re-release here.
Also, the guy behind this project is QUITE a character. He claims to have both created the idea behind 'The Matrix' films, and to have sold speakers to Celine Dion. I'm not sure if either is true, but here's hoping.
Konrad - 'Evil'
1. It's Only a Matrix
2. Music Scientist
3. Don't Want No Police
4. Alien
5. Working Man
6. Keep On Playing That Jazz
7. My Girl Likes to Buy
8. The Man of Mystery
9. Blue Sunrise
10. One Way Motorcycle Ride
11. Seems Like One of Those Days
12. DMZ Bolero
13. People
***LINK REMOVED BY REQUEST***
Preorder the re-release here.
Sunday, April 13, 2014
Rockin' Rollin' Blues Band - 'Wild and Untamed'
Here's another one of those random private press LP's that seems to have disappeared from the web. From what I can tell, I got it off the Cosmic Hearse blog a while back, which unfortunately looks like it's dead. Shame, cuz that guy posted some insane stuff.
This record isn't 'insane' per se, but it's pretty strange. Probably, it's a snapshot of a local band recorded in some friend's studio, but it still puts the listener into an interesting moment in time. For one thing, this band seems very 'out of touch' with what was going on (it was apparently released in '73.) In an era dominated by hard rock, these guys/gals were cranking out 50's rockabilly-influenced bar jams. But, a few of the members (specifically the guitarist) are clearly influenced by the hard rock/heavy metal of, say, Deep Purple. So, it's an unusual mix. I might go so far as to call a couple of these cuts 'proto-punk.'
Then there are the vocals. To say that they 'aren't very good' doesn't really do them justice. Sure, they aren't 'technically' good, but they are interesting at the very least. There is a guy and girl, who sometimes sing together, but often take different sections of songs. The girl's voice almost has an operatic quality sometimes, and the guy is a little gruff but mostly smooth. Neither sounds like they give too much of a shit. Judging by the cut-up pictures that serve as the album cover, I'd say these are probably some drugged-out bikers.
I'm also factoring the lyrics into this judgement, because they have this kinda backwoods vibe to them...not like they intentionally wanted to conjure this up but that they couldn't help but pull it into their music.
So, maybe that makes this album a little more 'authentic' blues than a lot of other 70's stuff? I dunno. But, if you like sloppy, trashy blues rock like Janis when she was with Big Brother, then you will probably dig this. The guitarist is really good at least, and a couple of their songs are pretty catchy.
No track names, sorry, apparently they were lost in time.
Rockin' Rollin' Blues Band - 'Wild and Untamed'
DL
This record isn't 'insane' per se, but it's pretty strange. Probably, it's a snapshot of a local band recorded in some friend's studio, but it still puts the listener into an interesting moment in time. For one thing, this band seems very 'out of touch' with what was going on (it was apparently released in '73.) In an era dominated by hard rock, these guys/gals were cranking out 50's rockabilly-influenced bar jams. But, a few of the members (specifically the guitarist) are clearly influenced by the hard rock/heavy metal of, say, Deep Purple. So, it's an unusual mix. I might go so far as to call a couple of these cuts 'proto-punk.'
Then there are the vocals. To say that they 'aren't very good' doesn't really do them justice. Sure, they aren't 'technically' good, but they are interesting at the very least. There is a guy and girl, who sometimes sing together, but often take different sections of songs. The girl's voice almost has an operatic quality sometimes, and the guy is a little gruff but mostly smooth. Neither sounds like they give too much of a shit. Judging by the cut-up pictures that serve as the album cover, I'd say these are probably some drugged-out bikers.
I'm also factoring the lyrics into this judgement, because they have this kinda backwoods vibe to them...not like they intentionally wanted to conjure this up but that they couldn't help but pull it into their music.
So, maybe that makes this album a little more 'authentic' blues than a lot of other 70's stuff? I dunno. But, if you like sloppy, trashy blues rock like Janis when she was with Big Brother, then you will probably dig this. The guitarist is really good at least, and a couple of their songs are pretty catchy.
No track names, sorry, apparently they were lost in time.
Rockin' Rollin' Blues Band - 'Wild and Untamed'
Depressive Tongue Posse - 'Beverati' Mixtape
Oh yeah.
This came out a bit ago.
Dig on it.
DTP has another mixtape coming out very soon, and apparently more videos as well. Guest spots include Boy Froot, Dylan Ross, and Faggot (aka Rap Game Bobby Hill)
Depressive Tongue Posse - 'Beverati' Mixtape
Tracklist:
1. Intro/Robbery Tyme
2. Jail
3. Drugs
4. Ride Slow (ft. Dylan Ross)
5. Beverati (ft. Boy Froot/Bitch Shift Mob)
6. Smoke Good (ft. Faggot aka Rap Game Bobby Hill)
7. People Eataz (ft. Boy Froot)
8. Puffin' N Rappin' (ft. Boy Froot)
9. Afterlife
10. Prof Calling Interlude
11. Big Balls
12. I Don't Give a Fuck About You (ft. Phatty Matt Tha Triangle Boi)
13. Divorce/Outro
Produced by DTP members HATE Noize and Grnmo (formerly Goldn Joe). It's free on Bandcamp.
This came out a bit ago.
Dig on it.
DTP has another mixtape coming out very soon, and apparently more videos as well. Guest spots include Boy Froot, Dylan Ross, and Faggot (aka Rap Game Bobby Hill)
Depressive Tongue Posse - 'Beverati' Mixtape
1. Intro/Robbery Tyme
2. Jail
3. Drugs
4. Ride Slow (ft. Dylan Ross)
5. Beverati (ft. Boy Froot/Bitch Shift Mob)
6. Smoke Good (ft. Faggot aka Rap Game Bobby Hill)
7. People Eataz (ft. Boy Froot)
8. Puffin' N Rappin' (ft. Boy Froot)
9. Afterlife
10. Prof Calling Interlude
11. Big Balls
12. I Don't Give a Fuck About You (ft. Phatty Matt Tha Triangle Boi)
13. Divorce/Outro
Produced by DTP members HATE Noize and Grnmo (formerly Goldn Joe). It's free on Bandcamp.
Saturday, April 12, 2014
Lewis - 'L'Amour'
This is one of those private press LP's that mostly got re-discovered because of its silly cover. But, that cover, coupled with the strange music within, makes this guy seem almost like a David Lynch character.
The music is fairly subdued...mostly acoustic guitars and odd synthesizers, with Lewis' deep voice overlaid. Someone on RateYourMusic has described it as 'Jandek covering the 'Twin Peaks' theme,' which isn't far off the mark. It's very mellow, but also kind of creepy...slightly amateurish, but also fully realized, which is unique for a vanity release.
I don't really know much else to say about it...it's not entirely 'my thing,' but it's also very unique and interesting to my ears. Maybe you will like it.
Lewis - 'L'Amour'
Tracklist:
1. I Thought the World of You
2. Cool Night in Paris
3. My Whole Life
4. Even Rainbows Turn Blue
5. Like to See You Again
6. Things Just Happen That Way
7. Summer's Moon
8. Let's Fall in Love Tonight
9. Love Showered Me
10. Romance for You
DL
The music is fairly subdued...mostly acoustic guitars and odd synthesizers, with Lewis' deep voice overlaid. Someone on RateYourMusic has described it as 'Jandek covering the 'Twin Peaks' theme,' which isn't far off the mark. It's very mellow, but also kind of creepy...slightly amateurish, but also fully realized, which is unique for a vanity release.
I don't really know much else to say about it...it's not entirely 'my thing,' but it's also very unique and interesting to my ears. Maybe you will like it.
Lewis - 'L'Amour'
1. I Thought the World of You
2. Cool Night in Paris
3. My Whole Life
4. Even Rainbows Turn Blue
5. Like to See You Again
6. Things Just Happen That Way
7. Summer's Moon
8. Let's Fall in Love Tonight
9. Love Showered Me
10. Romance for You
DL
MC Trachiotomy - '...w/Love from Tahiti'
This might be the most insane rap album you ever hear. I'm using the term 'rap' very loosely as well, by the way...there isn't much here that resembles traditional rapping, sampling, or even music.
So, let me at least TRY to describe it in terms that Trach would likely appreciate. Imagine one of those old, cassette-dubbed rap albums that sounds like garbage, and was put together by people who didn't know what they were doing. Samples are chopped up incorrectly, don't line up on time, and the beats are mixed all wack. Then, imagine that the guy doing all this mixed a little too much LSD in with his regular cough syrup and weed, causing him to spit 'verses' that are almost anti-rap. Sometimes he's just grunting, sometimes he's 'crooning' on beat, and every once in a while he spits some fire, but it's almost always buried in distortion and his heavy New Orleans accent.
That should give you some semblance of the tuneage here. It's literally like nothing else. And, considering the dude is a surrealist prankster who has some connection to the Butthole Surfers, it's pretty obvious that this is all intentional.
Some of it is genuinely creepy, while other stuff will just boggle your mind (i.e. a deranged race car sketch set to a lurching sample.) And, of course, some of it is just dope, head-nodding Nawlins rap. DEFINITELY check this stuff out if you thought rap only started getting weird in the last few years.
MC Trachiotomy - '...w/Love from Tahiti'
Tracklist:
1. EKG
2. Form of Gardenias
3. Now Thatcha Droolin'
4. Along Th' Coast
5. South Pacific Weenie Roast
6. Midway Dining
7. Drop Th' Kids Off at the Pool
8. Long to Hold You
9. Bareboat Blessing
10. Stay Awake
11. Fix You Martini
12. Valentine (Instrumental)
13. Palpitations (ft. Bisquittino)
14. S.S. Ssumpn' Sseet
15. Can You Feel It
16. Angle Dust
17. Discover It
18. You're on the Phone
19. Where You Gonna Go
20. Last Thing I Ever Heard (I Never Saw It)
DL
So, let me at least TRY to describe it in terms that Trach would likely appreciate. Imagine one of those old, cassette-dubbed rap albums that sounds like garbage, and was put together by people who didn't know what they were doing. Samples are chopped up incorrectly, don't line up on time, and the beats are mixed all wack. Then, imagine that the guy doing all this mixed a little too much LSD in with his regular cough syrup and weed, causing him to spit 'verses' that are almost anti-rap. Sometimes he's just grunting, sometimes he's 'crooning' on beat, and every once in a while he spits some fire, but it's almost always buried in distortion and his heavy New Orleans accent.
That should give you some semblance of the tuneage here. It's literally like nothing else. And, considering the dude is a surrealist prankster who has some connection to the Butthole Surfers, it's pretty obvious that this is all intentional.
Some of it is genuinely creepy, while other stuff will just boggle your mind (i.e. a deranged race car sketch set to a lurching sample.) And, of course, some of it is just dope, head-nodding Nawlins rap. DEFINITELY check this stuff out if you thought rap only started getting weird in the last few years.
MC Trachiotomy - '...w/Love from Tahiti'
1. EKG
2. Form of Gardenias
3. Now Thatcha Droolin'
4. Along Th' Coast
5. South Pacific Weenie Roast
6. Midway Dining
7. Drop Th' Kids Off at the Pool
8. Long to Hold You
9. Bareboat Blessing
10. Stay Awake
11. Fix You Martini
12. Valentine (Instrumental)
13. Palpitations (ft. Bisquittino)
14. S.S. Ssumpn' Sseet
15. Can You Feel It
16. Angle Dust
17. Discover It
18. You're on the Phone
19. Where You Gonna Go
20. Last Thing I Ever Heard (I Never Saw It)
DL
Dennis Weise - 'Valhalla'
Here's another album that seems to have disappeared from the face of the internet. I think I probably got it off the Mutant Sounds blog back in the day (credit where credit's due) but obviously that link is long-gone. So, here ya go.
This is really fucking strange stuff. The first time I heard it, I assumed it was some obscure library release, because it's pretty heavy on the analog synths and soundtrack vibes. But, it's apparently not that...it's a private press release that is intended to be an 'album.' More or less, it's almost like an outsider music version of Faust or something. This guy clearly digs krautrock but the musicianship is amateurish. Songs go nowhere, and often do about-faces for no particular reason.
When it's good, though (as on 'Alien Rock') it is VERY good. A must hear for all fans of 70's private press weirdness, the Residents, or library music. Also, the track subtitled '93rd Current' would seem to indicate that Weise is either a fan of Aleister Crowley, or he has some connection to the group Current 93 (who weren't formed til '82...about 4 years after this record came out)
Dennis Weise - 'Valhalla'
Tracklist:
1. Machine Time Ship
2. Y M Alim-Kader
3. Breathe the Form
4. Alien Rock
5. Hedonic Rapture
6. The Big Apple Mystery
7. The Return of the Akpallus Mutants (Part A)
8. The Return of the Akpallus Mutants (Part B) - 93rd Current
9. Valhalla
DL
This is really fucking strange stuff. The first time I heard it, I assumed it was some obscure library release, because it's pretty heavy on the analog synths and soundtrack vibes. But, it's apparently not that...it's a private press release that is intended to be an 'album.' More or less, it's almost like an outsider music version of Faust or something. This guy clearly digs krautrock but the musicianship is amateurish. Songs go nowhere, and often do about-faces for no particular reason.
When it's good, though (as on 'Alien Rock') it is VERY good. A must hear for all fans of 70's private press weirdness, the Residents, or library music. Also, the track subtitled '93rd Current' would seem to indicate that Weise is either a fan of Aleister Crowley, or he has some connection to the group Current 93 (who weren't formed til '82...about 4 years after this record came out)
Dennis Weise - 'Valhalla'
1. Machine Time Ship
2. Y M Alim-Kader
3. Breathe the Form
4. Alien Rock
5. Hedonic Rapture
6. The Big Apple Mystery
7. The Return of the Akpallus Mutants (Part A)
8. The Return of the Akpallus Mutants (Part B) - 93rd Current
9. Valhalla
DL
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Films 15 - Bizarro Jerry's trip thru vintage anime OVAs part 1
Haven't done a movie post in a while because I got stuck on weirdo sci-fi anime, which I've never really posted up here. So, if you're into that, here are some of the things I was watching.
'Baoh the Caller' - 1989
This one stuck out as rather strange. Sure, the plot is kinda similar to a lot of other 80's OVAs (people given weird powers by the government/military/corporate giant) but it's done fairly well and it's cheesy in all the right spots. There are also a whole heap of bizarre, unexplained things happening, and a lot of head-exploding goodness. If you haven't seen much anime but want to give this stuff a try (believe me, it's NOTHING like the streamlined shit Adult Swim puts out) this is a pretty good place to start.
'Darkside Blues' - 1994
This isn't like anything else I've seen, really. It is very stylish, and a lot more mysterious/suspenseful than most sci-fi animes. It's definitely not all blood, guts and robots. In fact, the only 'robot' in it turns out to be a regular guy. There is also a demented homeless blues musician, alternate-universe storylines, and a shit ton of surreal imagery. The opening scene is a little graphic, but don't worry, this one is much more tame than some of the stuff out there. It's also by the creator of 'Vampire Hunter D,' so you know it's classy.
'California Crisis' - 1986
I don't know why, but I really like Japan's take on 1980's American pop culture. It's so flawed and insane. They must've thought we did nothing but dance and eat cheeseburgers, and that's pretty much what happens here. This isn't a bloody one, or an 'artistic' film. It's just non-stop 80's action and super-stylish animation. I don't think I've seen anything MORE 80's than this. From what I remember, some guy and girl come into possession of some weird orb and get chased by gangsters for it. It's only 40 minutes, so the generic storytelling doesn't get boring.
'Cyber City Oedo 808' - 1990
This is pretty much the epitome of splat-fi cyberpunk anime. I liked it a lot better than more well-known stuff like 'Appleseed' and 'A.D. Police File,' and while a lot of anime fans seem to hate on English dubs, this one is fucking demented. So much unnecessary swearing! Plus, it's graphically violent, overflowing with creativity, and every one of the three episodes has ex-cons being mean to a C3P0-esque robot.
'Take the X Train' - 1987
When it opened with a dedication to Duke Ellington, I wasn't sure what to expect. But, indeed, this is a jazzy little OVA. It's more like an art-picture than some of the stuff I've posted here, and my only complaint was that the dialog was a little too fast to watch it with subtitles. Unfortunately, there is not an English dub, but oh well. It's an interesting (and also not especially violent or disturbing) story about a guy who works for a railway company that is trying to capture a ghost train. He has some kind of a link with the train, and his nose starts bleeding whenever it comes by. It just gets weirder from there. A lot of stuff happens for no reason. But, if you're into experimental filmmaking, this is worth checking out for sure.
...hopefully I will find time to post a LOT more because I watched like way too many of these things.
'Baoh the Caller' - 1989
'Darkside Blues' - 1994
'California Crisis' - 1986
'Cyber City Oedo 808' - 1990
'Take the X Train' - 1987
...hopefully I will find time to post a LOT more because I watched like way too many of these things.
Starship Commander Wooooo Wooooo - 'Mastership'
Wow, so many posts today! Here's some insane synth-funk. You might've heard this guy on the awesome 'Personal Space' compilation put out a couple years back by Chocolate Industries. Basically, it's a collection of private press outsider-funk made on old school synths. Most of the artists only put out a single or two, but Mr. Commander had a whole album of this stuff. Don't even remember where I found this one, otherwise I'd pay respect, but suffice to say I can't seem to locate a link to it anywhere. Reminds me of Prince a bit, but if you took all of Prince's most wacked-out tracks and put them on one disc. Or something.
Starship Commander Wooooo Wooooo - 'Mastership'
Tracklist:
1. Get Funky
2. Laugh and Dance
3. Master Ship
4. Hello Hollywood
5. Angie
6. Visions of You
7. Jam on Today
DL
Starship Commander Wooooo Wooooo - 'Mastership'
1. Get Funky
2. Laugh and Dance
3. Master Ship
4. Hello Hollywood
5. Angie
6. Visions of You
7. Jam on Today
DL
Skatervader - 'C.U.N.T. in the Basement' EP
OOkaayyy, I'm finally digging into the Obscuro! archives to bring you new shit. When I started the blog (a looonnng time ago, apparently) I was getting a lot of random stuff off other blogs, so I didn't re-post other peoples' uploads out of respect. Now, however, most of these source sites are long gone, and so is a lot of this music. So, I'm gonna share some, because why not?
First up is this demented little rap EP from a couple years ago. I don't know much about this guy, except that he has some sort of affiliation with sometimes-Raider Klan oddballs Metro Zu. I DO know that this release SCREAMS 'new hip hop.' For one thing, it's directly influenced by Death Grips (who I can take or leave) and even includes a quote in one song. But, don't worry, it doesn't really sound like them too much other than being loud. It's more like if some teenager tried to recreate the Grips' atmosphere with some shitty freeware beat making program, which is probably exactly what it is. Maybe even a next-generation version of the stuff Death Comet Crew were doing in the 80's. I dunno, it's interesting though, and the rapper ain't all that bad. For what it's worth, I like it a good deal more than Death Grips.
Skatervader - 'C.U.N.T. in the Basement'
Tracklist:
1. Tune In
2. Fuck It
3. In the Basement
4. Brain Fucked
5. The Realm
6. I Don't Give a Shit
7. Dead Pigeons
8. Hell Raiser
DL
First up is this demented little rap EP from a couple years ago. I don't know much about this guy, except that he has some sort of affiliation with sometimes-Raider Klan oddballs Metro Zu. I DO know that this release SCREAMS 'new hip hop.' For one thing, it's directly influenced by Death Grips (who I can take or leave) and even includes a quote in one song. But, don't worry, it doesn't really sound like them too much other than being loud. It's more like if some teenager tried to recreate the Grips' atmosphere with some shitty freeware beat making program, which is probably exactly what it is. Maybe even a next-generation version of the stuff Death Comet Crew were doing in the 80's. I dunno, it's interesting though, and the rapper ain't all that bad. For what it's worth, I like it a good deal more than Death Grips.
Skatervader - 'C.U.N.T. in the Basement'
1. Tune In
2. Fuck It
3. In the Basement
4. Brain Fucked
5. The Realm
6. I Don't Give a Shit
7. Dead Pigeons
8. Hell Raiser
DL
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Society's Fault 3-21-14 WIDR WEEK
We aren't very enthusiastic about asking for donations these days, but oh well. Sometimes we're funny. Regardless, there is quite a bit more talking than usual in this podcast, but we still crammed in a bunch of good music.
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Society's Fault 3-14-14
Last week's program. Heavy on the surf-punk, particularly the group Falling Idols, which Sublime famously covered. Turns out, they featured a young guy who would go on to sing for The Vandals on their most beloved releases....
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Jim Shepard/Vertical Slit/V-3 Megapost
...This is aside from the Ego Summit album, which you can find pretty much anywhere online, and the 'Jim Shepard and Friends' sampler which didn't really catch my interest and the collab with Charles Ciccerella (I think that's how you spell it) because, I dunno, it didn't catch my interest either I guess. Also, I've only got the first 3 discs of the 'Matter Dominates Spirit' tribute release, but the last disc is (I believe) the same as 'V-3 Next Album'. I couldn't find 4 or 5. BUT, there's a whole bunch of stuff you probably can't find anywhere else. So check it out. And, if you have anything I don't have here, feel free to send it my way.
For those who don't know...Jim Shepard was a Columbus, OH musician active in the pre-punk scene all the way through the mid-90's when he tragically hung himself. The closest he got to 'success' was an album released by American Records with his group V-3 called 'Photograph Burns.' This is probably a good place to start with his music, as most of the songs are very catchy and easy to digest. His other work can be...to say the least...NOT so easy to listen to.
He also had a habit of releasing things in tiny runs (or not at all) and dropping them off at pawn shops and flea markets for future generations of indie rockers to find. That being said, a lot of his work is still out of print and hasn't even found its way to the internet. This is probably only a small fraction of what he REALLY recorded, but, it's the best there is for now. For the record, my favorites are 'Photograph Burns,' 'Picking Through the Wreckage,' 'Motorcycle Movie,' 'V-3 Next Album' 'Negotiate Nothing' and 'Under the Blood Red Lava Lamp' probably almost in that order, if I had to pick, y'know, six.
By the way, if you want artwork, go to rateyourmusic.com because they have most of the covers. I can't be bothered to upload them all as, clearly, this is a HUGE amount of music.
If you represent a label who will be re-releasing some of this stuff, please contact me and I will remove links. Til then, however, most of this stuff is impossible to hear, which is sad.
Jim Shepard solo:
'Amsterdam'
'Evil Love Deeper'
Evil Twin'
'The Hollywood Hills Are Alive and Well' 7" (Jim covers Kim Fowley)
'Motorcycle Movie'
'Picking Through the Wreckage with a Stick'
'Folk City Aztec Drama' Vols. 1 and 2
'V-3: Next Album'
'Earth Muffin' 7"
V-3:
'Launchpad Explosion' 7"
'Negotiate Nothing'
'Psychic Dance Hall'
'Pimping in the 90's'
'Live '97'
'Photograph Burns'
'Live at WNUR Chicago'
Vertical Slit:
'Basement 2215'
'Your Wife is Licking My Strobe Light and Grinning'
'..And Beyond'
'Slit and Pre-Slit'
'Twisted Steel and the Tits of Angels'
'Under the Blood Red Lava Lamp'
'Matter Dominates Spirit' tribute:
Disc 1
Disc 2
Disc 3
I HOPE YOU ARE HAPPY, GUYS.
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