White Coffee - 'Voodoo/Save Me' (1974)

 This one's always stuck in the back of my head. B-side isn't spectacular but damn 'Voodoo' is wild. Low voiced dudes growling over a stomping funk rock track that seems....vaguely racist somehow? Maybe overtly racist? Also the lyrics are fucking weird and don't make much sense, are they in third person? Wth? Either way it's super catchy, like something Yello would've come up with if they existed a decade earlier.

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Megatrip - 'S/T' (1996)

 Don't know what this is or why I have it, but somebody is probably looking for it. Doesn't seem to really exist anywhere in full that I can find.

4 super long, super sloppy psych jams very informed by 70's improv stuff (see 'Song for Syd.') The outro is spoken word over some real noisy space synths.

Tracklist:

1. WWPFAT Spoiled Mushrooms

2. Song for Syd

3. Slicing Hearts

4. Megatrip Outro

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AFRTS (Various Artists) - 'The Simple Gifts' (1972)

This is a really, really weird and unsettling recording. It's some kind of PTSD coping exercise, and I'm pretty sure it's the only record ever released by the Armed Forces Radio and Television Services. 

Not sure if it's actual veterans on the album, but it's mostly extremely harrowing spoken word pieces set to sometimes restrained, sometimes atonal orchestral music. 

Tracklist:

1. The Sea

2. I Am a Number

3. His Childish Face Grown Old Too Soon

4. Look to This Day

5. I Pity the Drunk

6. Who Has Woe?

7. Good Old Days

8. The Committee

9. The Door

10. Words... Words... Words

11. Show Me My Door

12. Beggars on Church Steps

13. Hearts Unlovely and Unloved

14. Don't Be Angry

15. Who is Man?

16. Simple Gift 

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Five Star Hotel - 'Streets of Rage' (2016)

 Five Star Hotel is one of my favorite current producers. Her music is I guess EDM trap? But that's really not doing it justice...there's a lot of influence from harsh noise, goth, industrial, and body horror cinema. 'Gray Data' is the classic album, but she's since moved onto noisier material with harsh vocals. I think because the current sound is so far removed from her old work, a lot of it has either been taken down or is just lost to time.

This is a mixtape (I think) that I spent months trying to track down. It's got a very distorted, bitcrushed sound and a vague dystopian theme running through it. Some of these recordings were reworked for her full-lengths (I think one of them is on 'Outlands?') but the mix flows really nice as a single piece.

Please support her other projects if you like this one! She has a deluxe version of 'Gray Data' up w/ extra tracks...get it now bc it could always disappear...

Tracklist:

1. S1

2. Streets of Rage

3. Radio Free

4. NetgearAD

5. Horizon

6. S2

7. Pentium

8. Hexagoness

9. S3

10. Underpass

11. Tempad

12. Column

13. S4

14. Whole Earth Gone Again

(nevermind the double tracks...hard drive copying bullshit and I already uploaded it lol)

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V/A - 'Curl Activate' Vols. 1 and 2

 The theme this time around is basically digging through all my endless hard drives of random music from years and years of collecting shit, and finding stuff I have no idea about. I'm also trying to find things that are at risk of being lost to time (i.e. things that aren't on YT yet lol.)

First up, a couple comps courtesy of the Music for Maniacs blog (linked in sidebar.) They have consistently uploaded some of the weirdest shit on the web, but a lot of the older links are down.

I had no idea what this even was until I did a little research. It's basically two volumes of novelty rap from the 80's and early 90's, when everybody thought rap was a 'fad' and all the white record exec lames pumped out tracks like 'Rappin' Rodney' and 'The Presidents Rap' (the latter is actually on a DJ Screw tape where it slaaaaps.)

Some of these tracks are made by 'legitimate' rappers...like Bobby Jimmy and the Critters, which is a pseudonym of Arabian Prince from NWA.

Vol. 1
1. Deryl with the Curl and DJ Curl Activator - Curl Activate
2. Akeem the Dream Olajuwon - The Unbeatable Dream
3. The Rappin Reverend Dr. C. Dexter Wise, III - The Original Rap 
4. Chunky A - Owww
5. Chick Hearn - Rap Around
6. Hurt Em Bad and The S.C. Band - Monday Night Football
7. Mac the Rapper - What Is Love
8. The Wilson Sisters and Speedy D - The Magic Man
9. Rich Little - Presidents Rap
10. The Coach - Take it to the Hoop
11. Gerty Molzen - Walk on the Wild Side
12. The Fat Boys - Chillin with the Refrigerator
13. Bobby Jimmy and the Critters - NY-LA Rappers

(No track tags, sorry)

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More Info

Vol. 2
1. The Qwarymen - Beatle Rap
2. Greg Poltrock and Rick Rumble - Mayberry Rap
3. Joe Piscopo, Eddie Murphy and D.S.T. - Honeymooners Rap
4. Rodney Dangerfield - Rappin Rodney
5. Shawn Brown - Rappin Duke
6. Elvira - Monsta' Rap
7. Hurt Em Bad - NBA Rap
8. Ron and the DC Crew - Ronnie's Rapp
9. Doonsbury Break Crew - Rap Master Ronnie
10. Bobby Jimmy and the Critters - Roaches
11. Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks - City of Crime
12. Eddie Murphy - Boogie in Your Butt
13. Hurt Em Bad and the Soul Connection Band - Boxing Game
14. Mel Brooks - Hitler Rap
15. Chicago Bears - Super Bowl Shuffle

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More Info

MX-80 Sound - 'Big Hits and Hard Attack'

Ok, really, this is the real reason I started doing this blog again. I wanted to post this record, realizing I never did a few years back when I was heavy into these fellas.

Coming out of the oasis of Bloomington, IN (basically the ONLY good thing in Indiana, and a pretty strange place), this band is a combination of influences that I really don't like. I hear a lot of Captain Beefheart, whom I despise, and also maybe some Frank Zappa, who is ok but not my favorite, Velvet Underground, who I also hate, and an assortment of 70's radio rock. Somehow, all this ends up being awesome, and completely unlike anything else, no matter how many people say they 'sound just like Sonic Youth.'

This kind of music just doesn't happen anymore. Here you have some college dudes in the middle of nowhere, just making music and playing for their friends, without ANY real musical worldview. So out of touch with everything going on in '76 that they sound current in 2016. It's fitting that they were discovered by The Residents, who also put out the bulk of their material on their Ralph Records, after Island dropped the band.

Since I can't really relate their sound to anything else other than their influences (which really doesn't cut it), this might get a little detailed.

So, you've got scratchy, 'angular' guitar work that sounds half-improvised, but always inspired. It's also really unpretentious...it never feels like the band is 'trying' to be weird, or experimental, they're just weirdos. You can tell there's a lot of early heavy metal influence in the guitar work as well. And yes, some parts sound strikingly similar to Sonic Youth drones, but more interesting, I would argue.

The bass player is ALWAYS busy, and actually has some of the 'lead' riffs while the guitar fucks around. Best, however, are the drums, which are SO FUCKING HEAVY. It sounds like an old jazz kit being played as hard and fast as possible. Like, I don't even really know, I was just smiling at this guy's playing the whole album, it's way funkier than you'd think for this type of music, and also REALLY idiosyncratic, maybe a little like Primus.

Primus is actually a good comparison, come to think of it. Except the vocals aren't super fucking annoying, and the songs don't feel as laborious.

Speaking of the vocalist, who sounds a little like Jesse Michaels from Operation Ivy, except crazy, he is VERY good at his limited style. He's not the best singer, but he doesn't just get the fuck out of the way like most noise-rock vocalists. If he's not conversationally joking about PCB's and kidnapping girls, he's honking on his out-of-tune saxophone.

I could just go on. I don't even know how many times I laughed at the bizarre jokes in the lyrics. Rich Stim has perfect comedic timing in the way that only the Dead Milkmen or The Frogs perfected.  When he does get serious, it's more creepy than anything, and makes the band seem sort of menacing, like their live shows must have been totally out of control.

Aaaaanyways, their second album, 'Out of the Tunnel,' and the third, 'Crowd Control,' are also very good. Their later stuff is spotty, but I'm glad they're still slightly active. Definitely my favorite band on Ralph Records, which is pretty insane considering their roster includes Tuxedomoon, Snakefinger, and of course The Residents.

NOTE: My version also includes their first EP, as 2 long tracks at the beginning of the album. It's good, but 'Hard Attack' is where it's at.

MX-80 Sound - 'Big Hits and Hard Attack'

Tracklist:

1. Train to Loveland / You Turn Me On / SCP / Til Death Do Us Part
2. Myonga Von Bontee / Boy Trouble - Girl Trouble / Tidal Wave
3. Man on the Move
4. Kid Stuff
5. Fascination
6. Summer '77
7. PCB's
8. Crushed Ice
9. Tidal Wave
10. Theme from 'Checkmate'
11. Facts-Facts
12. You're Not Alone
13. Civilized / Demeyes
14. Afterbirth / Aftermath
15. Sad Girls (Bonus Track)

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Singers and Players - 'War of Words'

I've also been listening to a lot of Jamaican music. All the way from ska and rocksteady to the dub and roots reggae of the 70's. Of course, I wouldn't post something here unless it were a little out of the ordinary. Lots of dub has strange qualities...I mean, it IS a genre founded on getting high and doing the craziest mixes you can think of to pre-recorded tracks. It just sounds like pure fun. This album, however, is not fun at all.

Initially I saw this described as 'gothic reggae,' and I guess that's not far off the mark. It's got a very skeletal, sterile dub sound. The echo and reverb is all harsh and digital, and for some reason there's also a lot of super-distorted guitar, which is atypical of dub. The lyrics are all performed in creepy whispers, or a really deep, smoked-out toasting voice.

Everything, down to the black and white cover photo, conjures up a deeply depressive vibe, something also atypical of dub. While it's normally bass-heavy and minimal, this is heavy in different ways.

If you're looking to get into reggae, but want to start with the furthest possible point from Bob Marley, this is probably a good bet.

Singers and Players - 'War of Words' - 1982

Tracklist:

1. Devious Woman
2. Quante Jubila
3. Sit and Wonder
4. Fit to Survive
5. Reaching the Bad Man
6. World of Dispensation
7. '91 Vibration

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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!

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

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

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

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

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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

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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

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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

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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'

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.

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

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

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

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

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