Jim Shepard/Vertical Slit/V-3 Megapost

This seems to be the most popular stuff I put up here, so once again, EVERYTHING Jim Shepard related that I have.

...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.

More Jim Shepard by request...

After getting a couple more requests, here are a few more things from Jim Shepard and his V-3 project.

First up, Shepard's so-called 'suicide note' and final album before his death, 'Motorcycle Movie.' This one's kinda hard to listen to in parts knowing that he went and hung himself probably right after recording something, but it's also got some really rockin' stuff and a few totally hilarious moments. If you dig the V-3 'Next Album' bootleg but haven't heard this one yet, check it out, because it's very similar although a little more abstract. Listen to Shepard's message on 'Burn Forward' and play the whole damn thing.

Jim Shepard - 'Motorcycle Movie'

Tracklist:

1. Birthplace of Aviation
2. Pleasure
3. Burn Forward
4. Bigger Than Sony
5. Interstate/End
6. Some Drink to Remember
7. P.K.D. Entombed
8. Imagine This...
9. For Sharon Tate...(Wherever You Are)
10. Telegraph Hill
11. What a Piece of Work...
12. Heavy Action
13. Cruel Universe

DL

Next, one of the best V-3 releases, although not QUITE as amazing as 'Photograph Burns.' I don't really know if it's a collection of EPs and random shit, but it kinda has that feel to it. Although, it definitely feels like an album in the 'Sebadoh' kinda sense. Whatever the case, it's got some of my favorite tracks on it, including 'Son of Sam Donaldson' and the awesome punk jam 'Your Girlfriend.' Probably the best version of 'Hall of Molds,' too. The sound quality is pretty lo-fi, but not as bad as the 'Pimping in the 90's' stuff. I'd check this one out next if you've only heard 'Photograph Burns.'

V-3 - 'Negotiate Nothing'

Tracklist:

1. Scrap Metal Radio
2. Adam Twelve
3. Girl in a Room
4. Negotiate Nothing
5. Forever Low Man
6. Harry
7. Party at 15th and Summit
8. Super Hero Meltdown
9. Your Uncle
10. Philadelphia E.X.P.
11. Caution!
12. Arrival/Departure
13. My Neighborhood
14. Trouble
15. Your Girlfriend
16. Zapped Like a Bolt
17. Piranhas in the Bathtub
18. In the Hall of Molds
19. Whip That Thing
20. Certain Foods
21. Son of Sam Donaldson

DL

Jim Shepard - 'Picking Through the Wreckage with a Stick'

Just in time for Halloween, here's the creepiest release by Columbus, OH's legendary Jim Shepard. I'm doing this one by request because a reader was unable to find it anywhere else, but it's also really cool and one of my favorites from this dude. Normally, I like his more 'song'-based music better, but this is by far the best of his weird experimental stuff. I know he took a hiatus from making music when he fucked his hand up working at a factory, but I think some of this stuff might be recordings from that time period...I guess I'm basing this on songs with titles like 'Guitar Solo with Right Hand Attached.' Anyhow. Njoi. Oh yeah, as a bonus, you get two clean edits I made for playing on radio because I was too lazy to take them out of the zip file.

Jim Shepard - 'Picking Through the Wreckage with a Stick'

Tracklist:

1. Exile on Brown Street
2. Treena's Strobe Light Party
3. Dali's Lair (Excerpt)
4. Quotients and Numbers
5. Bingle Bangle
6. Dusted
7. A Streetcar Named Depression
8. I Owe You Nothing
9. Space is Deep
10. U.F.O.logy
11. Guitar Solo with Right Hand Attached
12. Too Personal
13. Table for 2, Big Ashtray
14. Pull the Switch, Henry
15. I Thought I'd Seen Everything
16. Peter Tork
17. El Fukko
18. Fat John
19. Your Uncle is Dead
20. Wreckage

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V-3 - 'The Earth Muffin' EP

In the spirit of last week's mixtape, here's another Jim Shepard gem I recently unearthed. I'm not the biggest fan of the V-3 period where Jim's ex-wife sang a lot of the songs...partly because their breakup seems to be a contributing factor to his suicide, but also just because her songs are more goth/new-wave type stuff. That being said, though this EP is definitely of that era, I like it pretty well. It has two of her better tracks, a cool instrumental, and a recording of 'Inside Outpost' I like MUCH better than the one on 'Psychic Dancehall.' It's warmer and less studio-sounding. Whatever the case, if you're a Shepard fan, you'll wanna grab this up just because it's hard as fuck to find.

V-3 - 'The Earth Muffin' EP

Tracklist:

1. Tic-Toc
2. Inside Outpost
3. To Breathe No More
4. Flying

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Obscuro! Mixtape #22 - 'Jim Shepard'

This one's been a long time in the works...unfortunately, Mr. Shepard's discography is so weird and scattered that it's taken me this long just to obtain half of it. It's also all so great that it's hard to pick favorites. Hopefully, this is a good representation of the man's work...the weirdo experimentation, would-be pop classics, and angry-ass punk. I'm not the biggest fan of his droning experimental releases (except 'Picking Through the Wreckage,' which is fantastic) but I still tried not to lean too heavy on the 'poppy' stuff.

If you're not familiar, Shepard was an underground musician from Columbus, OH who just did his own thing for years and years, starting in the 70's. The name changed from Vertical Slit to V-3 but the sound remained similar. Basically, he's like everything Kurt Cobain wasn't. Sure, Cobain always railed against the music industry and fame, but he didn't shun it. Shepard did stuff like release 10 copies of an album and distribute them at pawn shops knowing the 'right' people would find them. His career reads like a fictional story, and that's exactly what he wanted. Unfortunately, he hung himself in '98, leaving people like me to piece together his legacy from obscure mp3-rips and long-disappeared private-press albums. I even made a pilgrimage to his hometown a year back, and managed to find a copy of the 'Voices of Men' single.

So, this is pretty much my favorite rock dude here. Really, do some research for yourself and see if you aren't intrigued. For now, here's a too-brief collection of some of my favorite recordings he did. Don't worry, it'll all fit on one CD-R. It's a Mixcloud podcast so you CAN'T skip tracks.

Obscuro! Mixtape #22 - 'Jim Shepard' by Bizarrojerry on Mixcloud

Tracklist:

Forever Low Man (v-3 - 'Negotiate Nothing')
Pleasure (Jim Shepard - 'Motorcyle Movie')
American Face (V-3 - 'Photograph Burns')
Starlight Investor (Vertical Slit - '...And Beyond')
The Voices of Men (Jim Shepard - 'Voices of Men' single)
Pull the Switch, Henry (Jim Shepard - 'Picking Through the Wreckage with a Stick')
Your Girlfriend (V-3 - 'Negotiate Nothing')
Bristol Girl (V-3 - 'Photograph Burns')
We Got it All (Ego Summit - 'The Room Isn't Big Enough')
Another Exterminator (Eaten By Bugs) (V-3 - 'Psychic Dancehall')
Shady Business Deal (Jim Shepard - 'The Evil Twin')
Birthplace of Aviation (Jim Shepard - 'Motorcycle Movie')
New Thrill/New Pill (Vertical Slit - '...And Beyond')
Fair Exchange (Vertical Slit - 'Slit and Pre-Slit')
A Rock Aesthetic (Jim Shepard - 'Evil Love Deeper')
One Percent of Nothing (Jim Shepard - 'Folk City Aztec Drama, Vol. 1')
Untitled #4 (Jim Shepard - 'V-3: Next Album')
A Streetcar Named Depression (Jim Shepard - 'Picking Through the Wreckage with a Stick')
Checkout Time, Mr. White (V-3 - 'Launchpad Explosion' EP)
Imagine This... (Jim Shepard - 'Motorcycle Movie')
Va-Va-Room (Jim Shepard - 'Amsterdam')
Harry (V-3 - 'Photograph Burns')
Carnage on the Midway (V-3 - 'Pimping in the 90's')
Your Uncle (V-3 - 'Negotiate Nothing')
Pain/Loss (Jim Shepard - 'The Evil Twin')
Son of Sam Donaldson (V-3 - 'Negotiate Nothing')

V-3 - 'Pimping in the '90's'

...More rare Jim Shepard stuff. Another release that didn't make it onto the 'Forever Lowman' blog. REALLY lo-fi quality...almost to the point of being damaging. Lots of different versions of old V-3 songs, and a few new noise jams. Overall, I wouldn't rate it very high in the V-3 catalog, but a few moments make it worth hearing. This is directly after 'Photograph Burns' in the V-3 timeline, I believe. Too lazy to check Discogs, though. There's no cover photo in the folder...it's up there, though.

Tracklist:

1. The Amateur Welder

2. Queen of the Underground

3. Defective

4. Car Horn in a Stinger Trap

5. Please Take Hold

6. Carnage on the Midway

7. Your Rival

8. Indy Rock 101

9. You Smoke Ink

10. Contact!

11. Glam Rock Ray Gun

12. ...Talking to S.B....

13. Super Human 2

14. Squid Ink

15. Forever Low Man

16. Grip Connector

17. Voices in the Woods

18. Son of Sam Donaldson (Boom Box Demo)

19. Harlem U.F.O. Sighting #128

20. Bullet through the Floorboards

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