Something I Learned Today

No music from me today. Today is my daughter’s first birthday, and I’m going to be tied up doing all of the assorted birthday crap. I encourage you to check out any of the sites over there on the right. I’m sure they will be offering plenty of fine music.

I would especially urge everyone to check out the Vinyl Mine. In particular, this post here. “Flip Your Wig” was the first song I played for my daughter, in the car ride home from the hospital.

Apologies for being a sentimental old fart.

a cut from legendary hardcore comp This Is Boston Not LA

The Freeze - Trouble If You Hide.mp3
From one of the most important and influential hardcore compilations of all time ( besides Flex Your Head, of course ). Boston Not LA is a primer on early 80’s American hardcore . The comp featured Boston area bands ( no shit! ) including The Freeze, the F.U.’s, Jerry’s Kids, Gang Green, and The Proletariat. And with the exception of throwaways by the Gronoids and Decadence each band had multiple cuts. The Freeze alone had eight songs on this comp featuring some of their best and most diverse material. “Trouble If You Hide” is less hectic than some of their other songs and includes the occasional odd falsetto of singer Cliff Hanger. A fun tale of caution and public service.

Released in 1982 these tracks and the tracks on the subsequent Guilty Face 7″, feature the Freeze at their raw and snotty best. Their first two albums ( Land of The Lost and Rabid Reaction ) are also worthwhile, though toned down a bit. They have been reissued on one CD with bonus cuts by Dr. Strange

the sound of tragedy and bloody demise

Unsane - Blew.mp3
I’ve been meaning to get Lambhouse, the ‘best of’ CD/DVD from Unsane that tacks on a bunch of live clips from the bands past. In the interim I’ve pulled out my favorite by the band, 1995’s Scattered, Smothered and Covered. For those unfamiliar this is the sound of violence - grinding guitar, throbbing bass, distorted, trapped under water vocals. Bloody album art serves to complete the picture of life ending badly. The Unsane recorded a couple of singles and 4 proper albums before disbanding in the late 90’s. Be forewarned that the music can be draining, as there isn’t a whole hell of a lot of variation from the aural bludgeoning. In small doses this is plain old sicko fun.

As a side note, I’m unsure if the band are back and touring. Singer/Guitarist Chris Spencer had been/is fronting the very similar Cutthroats 9. Any info is appreciated

A collector scum classic from one of Florida’s finest. This here is The Eat’s first single in 1979. Rarer than rare ( what could possibly be more rare you ask?), this has been causing record collectors to drool, fight, and empty their bank accounts for years. I could never understand how some could pay so much for a record until I finally heard it on one of the Killed By Death comps - so raw and incendiary sounding that I had to play it over and over. Only 500 were pressed, so you can imagine the feeding frenzy that collectors endured to find a copy.

The band later released another 7″ EP (1980’s God Punishes The Eat ) and a demo tape ( Scattered Wahoo Action ) that are long gone. I think these have been sporadically booted over the years, you may find a copy if you look ( and are willing to pay ) Sincere appreciation would be given to any record label that could somehow bring it all together in one package.

The Eat - Communist Radio.mp3
The Eat - Catholic Love.mp3

sorry about the lack of a post last night. We were at the Landmark in Syracuse enjoying the Tragically Hip! $2.50 for a high ball, and buck and half for a beer!

Tragically Hip - Little Bones (live).mp3
A live cut from one of Canada’s greatest rock bands. (argue if you want, but make sure you’ve seen them first! ) the Hip blew the doors off the joint last night. For those in the dark, the Hip have been at it for 20 years and have released 11 albums chock full of Stonesy goodness, haunting songs, and intelligent (some would argue crazy) lyrics. As I saw first hand, the Hip are masterful onstage. Any of their rabid fans will attest to that ( and there were plenty there, from all over the NE ). Check them out if they play your burgh…

Red socks, plaid pants, black shirt. Welcome to the crazy world of the Cows.

Cows - Walks Alone.mp3
It took me a good long while to warm up to the Cows, and at this point I’m still unsure of what to think of the band. Some days I love them, others I just shake my head in confusion. If I had to give a touchstone I’d say their similar in mindset to the Butthole Surfers, but with more “ooomph”. Their AmRep catalogue is defined by sloppy playing, noisy near tuneless guitar, and unhinged vocal rants. These albums are exercises in extremes: frenzied noise rock on one track, tuneless droning on another, trombone solos on a third. Not to mention the occasional bugle flourish. The Cows can be maddening to even their most ardent fan.

That said each album has a handful of classics that never fail to hook me. “Walk Alone” is one such track. From 1992’s Cunning Stunts, this is probably the closest thing to a “rock” song the band recorded, a straight up scorcher about some nut in the park. Unfortunately this song is not representative of the band’s sound, but I can’t find one track that truly is. If I had the room I’d include a bunch of others. Someday, perhaps

Taken from the 1985 demo tape with Shawn Brown on vocals

Dag Nasty - Under Your Influence.mp3
The mid 80’s saw the end of the first wave of classic DC hardcore bands (Minor Threat, Artificial Peace, Faith ) and the birth of the second, more melodic wave ( Gray Matter, Marginal Man, Rites of Spring, etc ) of which Dag Nasty was a part. The version of “Under your Influence” here is from the ‘85 demo tape with Shawn Brown ( soon to be frontman for Swiz ). Brown left Dag Nasty after the recording of this demo and was replaced by ex DYS screamer Dave Smalley. The demo was partly released in 1991 by Selfless as part of the now out of print 7″ box set 85-86.

Most of the songs on this demo tape (including “Under Your Influence”) were re-recorded with Dave Smalley on vocals and released as their debut album. Can I Say is an ageless classic. Powerful, melodic riffs, Smalley’s tough and emotive vocals, and subtle straight edge influenced lyrics. Close to a perfect album. This is a must have.

hitting the ground running Monday with some vintage hardcore from The Fix.

The Fix - Vengeance.mp3
The Fix - Signal.mp3
The Fix may have been the Midwest’s first true hardcore band, forming in Lansing, MI in 1980. The band played rough sounding, hyper songs with gruff vocals. The band released two 7″ singles on Touch & Go records in addition to a cut on the classic Process of Elimination compilation 7″.

“Vengeance” is the A-side to their debut 7 inch from 1981, of which only 200 copies were made. “Signal” is from 1982’s 4 song EP Jan’s Room . Both 7″s, the POE comp cut, unreleased studio tracks, and a live set were released by Lost&Found as Cold Days, which has gone out of print.

Fix records on Gemm
Fix records on Ebay

Having some trouble with your significant other or an intrusive mother-in-law? Planning an “accident”? Wait for the punch line of this song and heed the warning!

Poison 13 - My Biggest Mistake.mp3
Poison 13 bucked the trend of mid-80’s Texas punk and HC by slowing the tempo down and incorporating elements of Blues and R&B. Featuring Tim Kerr and Chris Anderson of the Big Boys, Poison 13 recorded a mix of covers and originals featuring Kerr’s soon to be famous slide guitar. The band released a full length LP in 1984, followed by 12″ mlp a year later. A CD retrospective of their complete recordings Wine is Red, Poison is Blue was released by SubPop in 1994.

an early 80’s classic from the twisted minds of Kim Salmon and the Scientists.

The Scientists - When Fate Deals its Mortal Blow.mp3
swampy, noisy, bluesy, twisted. All appropriate adjectives for describing the Scientists. Starting in Australia in the late 70’s the band recorded several singles and LP’s before breaking apart in the late 80’s. The sound of the Scientists continually evolved over their recorded history. The first singles and album are poppy rock. The early ’80s saw the band release songs built around repetitive bass riffs, dirty guitar, and dark lyrics. Their last recordings consisted of droning, sparse sounding tracks.

For years their convoluted discography has been unavailable in the US. 1991 saw the release of the collection Absolute on Subpop which eventually went out of print. In 2001 and 2002 Sympathy released 2 compilations covering their best material: Blood Red River 1982-1984 and Human Jukebox. Blood Red River is by far the stronger of the two and is the place to start for those interested.