Obscuro! Mixtape #13...'Bright colors, white brothers'

I've always been fascinated by funk-metal (the genre focus of this week's mixtape)....most of it is so completely un-funky that the name doesn't even make sense. But, the basic concept is white metal dudes (usually thrashers) playing poor man's Parliament rhythms and kind of half-assing some rap over the top. Doesn't sound too great, right?

Usually, I'd say that's the case, but considering Mr. Bungle is often lumped in this genre, it can't be all bad. So, as usual, I wade through all the bullshit to bring you about 60 minutes of 'good' funk-metal. Now, I might be a little biased since I grew up with Faith No More and Snot and things of that ilk, but whatever, some good tunez here for springtime, and not a 311 song among 'em.

Some highlights include a cut by Tom Morello's (Rage Against The Machine) first band which isn't really that bad, and has some fancy guitar work of course, and a cut by the pre-KoRn band L.A.P.D. (which apparently stands for 'Love and Peace, Dude'--how stupid is that??) Also, some classix like Fishbone and Sugar Ray (yes, they used to be a funk-metal band) thrown in for good measure. ALSO a demo cut by Red Hot Chili Peppers...possibly their oldest song?

Obscuro! Mixtape #13 - 'Bright colors, white brothers' by Bizarrojerry on Mixcloud

Nu-metal appreciation week 4 - Orange 9mm and Jimmie's Chicken Shack

It's Saturday...the steady stream of nu-metal will dry up soon enough, don't worry.

I posted Orange 9mm's 'Tragic' album a looonnnng time ago as part of my Kutout Bin Klassics series, but the link has long been gone. Not much else I can say about this'un....let's see...

They started as a late-era hardcore band (like Quicksand, Failure, etc) but morphed into a rap-metal act in the late 90's...posers?? No. I read someone describe the production here as similar to AmRep stuff, and I won't deny it. It's very hard edged...lots of vocal distortion and buzzsaw guitar tones. There's also a LOT of catchiness...a lot lot lot lot of great songs. The lyrics are more apathetic than most nu-metal and it's got a lot more of an 'indie rock' influence, which might be why they never broke through to the mainstream. Whatever the case, 'Failure' is the SINGLE best rap-metal song of all time. Plus, 'Kiss it Goodbye' is the ONLY acoustic rap-metal song I've ever heard.

Orange 9mm - 'Tragic'

Tracklist:

1. Fire in the Hole
2. Tragic
3. 7
4. Gun to Your Head
5. Stick Shift
6. Dead in the Water
7. Method
8. Crowd Control
9. Muted
10. Take You Away
11. Failure
12. Feel It
13. Kiss it Goodbye

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The other album I'm posting is another one that, to me, transcends music genres. Jimmie's Chicken Shack might have a stupid name, dreadlock white dudes and a black bassist, but they are NOT your average nu-metal band. Vocalist/guitarist Jimi Haha was a pro-surfer who decided to start a band in the early 90's. He has a VERY unusual guitar style that I would compare to Les Claypool's bass style, but more riff-oriented. It's like he's telling you a joke with his guitar...the riffs are just so goofy. Try listening to 'Spiderweb' and not immediately picking up a guitar and trying to play it. He also has good lyrics. Sometimes they lean a little too much into 311-overwhelmingly-pukingly-positive fodder, but usually he translates his 'stoner dude who hates everything but still has hope that not all people are stupid as fuck' attitude perfectly into lyrics. 'When You Die, You're Dead' might be the best 'message' song of the nu-metal era...unfortunately, none of their other stuff is really all that great. 2nd LP sounded more like Sugar Ray, then they kinda got lost in the major label shuffle. I gave their 'comeback' album a listen and it was okay...the coolest thing being a cover of Fugazi's 'Waiting Room.'

Jimmie's Chicken Shack - 'Pushing the Salmanilla Envelope'

Tracklist:

1. Dropping Anchor
2. Outhouse
3. High
4. Spiderweb
5. Blood
6. This is Not Hell
7. Milk
8. Hole
9. School Bus
10. Another Day
11. Sitting with the Dog
12. When You Die You're Dead

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Nu-metal appreciation week 3 - The Deadlights, downset. and Deftones (again)

...and another...

...week's almost through, so if yer hatin' this, no worries.

What sparked this mega-post was the release of the new Deftones album 'Koi No Yokan' which I covered in the first post. So, it only makes sense to post the very first 'tones release, their demo '(Like) Linus.' I can't really recommend this to a non-Deftones fan...and even somebody who likes them might not get into it. I'm kind of indifferent. There are a few cool songs here that don't appear on any studio album, but MOST of the unreleased tracks just blow. The band wasn't sure if they wanted to take the more hard-rock approach that ended up on 'Adrenaline' or do a more laid-back, 311/Incubus-stye thing. I'm really REALLY glad they chose the former, although I guess they would've still been pioneers either way. Mostly, this is just a cool snapshot of a band in their very early years...plus it's super rare, so there's that.

Deftones - '(Like) Linus' Demo

Tracklist:

1. Like Linus
2. Hump
3. Answers
4. Some People
5. Christmas
6. Plastic
7. Venison
8. Gift (aka Guest)
9. Freaks
10. Engine No. 9
11. Roots
12. 7 Words
13. Teething

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Also being featured in this post is the sophomore album by downset. This band always struck me as a working man's Rage Against the Machine. They didn't have the smarts of Zach or Tom Morello, or the musical chops to write crazy riffs 'n shit, but they made solid rap-metal. Above-average lyrics, and well-written songs. Never heard the debut, but I think it was more rap-oriented, which is strange because they took a much more hardcore-punk direction later on...think they did some stuff on Epitaph after they got dropped by their major in the great rap-metal purge of 2001.

downset. - 'Do We Speak a Dead Language?'

Tracklist:

1. Intro
2. Empower
3. Eyes Shut Tight
4. Keep On Breathing
5. Hurl a Stone
6. Fire
7. Touch
8. Against the Spirits
9. Sickness
10. Pocket Full of Fatcaps
11. Sangre De Mis Manos
12. Horrifying
13. Sickness (Reprise)
14. Permanent Days Unmoving
15. Ashes in Hand

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Lastly, here's a group called The Deadlights who only released this one album. Just another act to completely disappear once people stopped caring about nu-metal, but one I actually felt pretty bad about, even at the time. If shit like this reached a wider audience, maybe nu-metal would've never disappeared (what a scary thought.) These guys tweaked the formula just enough to do their own thing. Kinda like Tool, but not as experimental, and with a vocalist who is less love him/hate him. I always thought this singer did the whispered verse/shouted chorus wayyyyy better than anyone else. Creepy, too. This self-titled disc is one of the strongest of the nu-metal era.

The Deadlights - S/T

Tracklist:

1. Bitter
2. Amplifier
3. Nothing
4. Sweet Oblivion
5. Junk
6. Sado
7. Foolish Pride
8. Whores
9. Pox Eclipse
10. Distant Sun
11. Time
12. Falling Down

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Nu-metal appreciation week 2 - Union Underground, (Hed) PE and Snot

So here's another one of these posts.

I'm sorry if you aren't amused by nu-metal like I am. I 'came of age' in the late 90's, when this shit was all over the place. My goal here isn't exactly to make fun of nu-metal because, obviously, the last post was the Deftones, who I love. Moreso, I'm showin' ya some of the more 'essential' albums from this genre. I mean, you're not going to find any Limp Bizkit or Korn here, because fuck those guys.

First up, we've got the debut (and only) release from the Texas band Union Underground, 'An Education in Rebellion.' I remember hearing 'Turn Me On, Mr. Deadman' at a friend's house and being pretty impressed by it, but I was in 7th grade. Looking back, these guys are kind of a watered-down Marilyn Manson specially packaged for mall dorks, but they really weren't too bad. I'd rather listen to this album than Manson's stuff, honestly. It's kind of like generic industrial metal crossed with generic grunge-rock with a pinch of generic rap-metal riffage. Nothing very original, obviously, but how can you not want to rock out to a song that has the lyric 'trippin' like a fuckhead?'

Other great lyrics:

'Come on, come on, come on, get up, get up, south Texas deathride, you motherfuck.'
'Look at this, a little faggot is a millionaire.'
'I get so high that I trip with Jesus.'
...need I go on? C'mon...you NEED this one.

The Union Underground - '...An Education in Rebellion'

Tracklist:

1. ...An Education in Rebellion
2. Drivel
3. South Texas Deathride
4. Turn Me On, Mr. Deadman
5. Until You Crack
6. Killing the Fly
7. Natural High
8. Revolution Man
9. Trip With Jesus
10. Bitter
11. The Friend Song

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Next is the debut, self-released EP by (Hed) PE, 'Church of Realities.' In my eyes, these guys were always a little more legit than your average 'rap-rock' group. First of all, they started way earlier (1994...that's like the stone age in rap metal years)...they also had a black dude rapping/yelling. Before your PC-alarm goes off, think about where rap music came from, now try and name another black rap-metal vocalist. I can think of two. ANYHOW. They call themselves 'g-punk' nowadays, and all they do is complain about how they 'found' this sound first and they're way better than 'all those other bands.' Whatever. This and their first official disc are pretty cool. Solid rapping, and a singer who sounds legitimately crazy, unlike Jonathan Davis.

(Hed)PE - 'Church of Realities' EP

Tracklist:

1. Intro
2. 1st Song
3. Hangman
4. Darky
5. IFO
6. Ground
7. Spam
8. Hill
9. (Untitled)

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Lastly, one of my alltime favorite albums, the debut (and, sadly, only disc) by Snot. This band's career was tragically cut short by the death of the vocalist Lynn Strait (and his cool-ass dog) when they were hit by a drunk driver. Maybe they would've gotten totally lame on album two like so many other bands, but if you've ever heard Amen (which features basically the whole instrumental lineup of the band and vocalist Casey Chaos) it doesn't seem like it. Way more punk than the other nu-metal bands...they even have a rant against Mr. Brett. Way funkier than anybody else, too. Lots of people say this band is overhyped because of the tragedy surrounding them, but fuck that, this is a true classic...these guys did their own thing, and had fun. So what if there's too many boring instrumentals on this disc?

Snot - 'Get Some'

Tracklist:

1. Snot
2. Stoopid
3. Joy Ride
4. The Box
5. Snooze Button
6. 313
7. Get Some
8. Deadfall
9. I Jus' Lie
10. Get Some O' Deez
11. Unplugged
12. Tecato
13. Mr. Brett
14. Get Some Keez
15. My Balls

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Nu-metal appreciation week 1 - Deftones and Reveille

I don't know if that's a national thing or not...just wanted to post some of this stuff. I'm always surprised by the number of people who don't know that there are legit nu-metal bands. Okay, okay, Deftones aren't REALLY nu-metal, and they transcended genres a long while back anyhow, but I really wanted to post their new album here.

But...it's not out yet! How about that? Let's see how long this shit lasts before I get an e-mail asking me to take it down...Whatever, I love the Deftones...one of my all-time favorite bands, and you'd be a stupid liar if you said I wasn't going to buy this shit the day it comes out.

So, how does it sound? Awesome. My only complaint is that new Deftones stuff suffers from some serious over-producing, but you can't really damage songs this good. This'un's definitely more mellow than any other release....I think it tops 'Diamond Eyes' which was really great, too. Kind of like what 'Saturday Night Wrist' could've been if it was better, I guess.

Deftones - 'Koi No Yokan'

Tracklist:

1. Swerve City
2. Romantic Dreams
3. Leathers
4. Poltergeist
5. Entombed
6. Graphic Nature
7. Tempest
8. Gauze
9. Rosemary
10. Goon Squad
11. What Happened to You?

DLZZ

Also, I'm posting the debut album by Reveille. Remember these fellas? They always reminded me of a really stripped-down version of Rage Against the Machine with Steve Albini (?) rapping. Really minimal production and a harsh noise-rock kinda sound. I wish radio shit still sounded this raw...

Reveille - 'Laced'

Tracklist:

1. Butterfly
2. Perfect World
3. Permanent (Take a Look Around)
4. Phoenix
5. Untied
6. Rise and Blind
7. Judas
8. Flesh and Blood
9. Feel
10. Aftertaste
11. Splitt (Comin' Out Swingin')
12. Dark Horizons

DEE ELL

...I'll continue to post this stuff all week assuming it looks like people are reading it. Even if you're totally against this shit, everyone needs to reminisce sometime...