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Punk Rock and Other Assorted Bullshit

Mecht Mensch

August 09th, 2005 | Posted by: Eric | Category: 80's Hardcore


The details of the backstory are lost to me, but here is what I do know about Madison, WI hardcore outfit Mecht Mensch: they formed in the early 80’s and would release a cassette split with the Tar Babies (shared membership, alter ego, anyone have the whole story?) before cutting their only 7″ - 1983’s Acceptance EP. They would also lend plenty of cuts to some crucial US Hardcore compilations - Master Tapes 2, We Got Power, Barefoot & Pregnant, Meathouse, and America’s Dairyland.

If anything, you gotta checkout the Acceptance EP - it’s their best moment. The twisted, discordant guitars are the highlight, at times reminiscent of fellow Wisconsinites Die Kreuzen. The best part of this? The whole EP is available for downloading on the Tar Babies website:

Download the entire Acceptance EP

The compilation tracks I’ve heard aren’t as distinctive as the EP, but are still pretty decent. A couple:

from the 1982 Meathouse comp cassette:
Mecht Mensch - Land of the Brave.mp3
Mecht Mensch - Revenge.mp3
Mecht Mensch - Government Lies.mp3

from the 1983’s Master Tapes Volume 2 LP:
Mecht Mensch - Killer Klowns.mp3
Mecht Mensch - What D’Ya Feel.mp3

from 1983’s We Got Power comp:
Mecht Mensch - Might Makes Right.mp3

Shit:

  • This post prompted by Scott@StrangeReaction.com’s post on volume 1 of the Master Tapes. Check it out if you haven’t already.
  • Anyone have a decent sounding rip of the America’s Dairyland cassette they want to share?
  • I posted another Mecht Mensch tune (”Functional Riot”) as part of my Barefoot and Pregnant post a couple weeks back.

    • 11 Comments so far

    1. collinstrange August 11th, 2005 2:45 am

      So, having spent the better part of 2004 in Madison, I actually had the chance to see the latest incarnation of Mecht Mensch… the Bar Tabies featuring most, if not all of the Tar Babies (who, according to a friend of mine that grew up next door to them were the same band minus one member) Unfortunately it’s been like 20 years since I last saw em play. oddly enough in a pool at Surf N Turf skatepark, so I couldn’t tell you if he’s right, but I can tell you that me drunkenly screaming ‘I WANT TO BE A ZOMBIE’ over and over did not go over too well.

    2. malfeitor August 11th, 2005 3:17 am

      Fuck yes! I’ve wanted to hear this thing again forever, but not being a collector I certainly didn’t want to pay the $$ for it. Thanks for pointing me in its direction.

    3. Jeff August 11th, 2005 5:19 am

      wow, so between the 7″ and all the comp tracks is that everything? this stuff is amazing, i wish i knew about this band earlier. thank you so much.

    4. Patrick August 11th, 2005 2:25 pm

      Mecht Mensch featured Dan Bitney on guitar and Jeremy Davies on bass. Dan ended up being drummer in Tar Babies and Jeremy was their original singer (he left by the time they moved to SST). Dan Bitney is in Tortoise now. The Bar Tabies feature Bucky Pope and Robin Davies from the Tar Babies.

    5. Dave August 11th, 2005 5:18 pm

      I just picked up the reissue of Tar Babies - “Face the Music/Respect Your Nightmares” on CD from cdquest.com.

    6. Craig August 12th, 2005 4:26 am

      thanks for posting this stuff — been looking for it for years!!!

      Yer grate

    7. Spin August 17th, 2005 6:30 am

      Thanks for the heads-up about downloading the whole ep. It’s a good one. Varied tempos, distinctive guitar work, pre-metallica heaviness. Neat.

      I remember shopping for records with friends somewhere in the midwest in 1987 and stumbling across a store with at least a half-dozen copies at a dollar apiece. I passed on it. D’oh!

    8. android August 25th, 2005 7:20 pm

      I never knew about the Tar Babies connection… I remember seeing this on vinyl but never heard it.

      Have you seen the mastertapes Vol. 2 posted anywhere?

    9. Paul from The Crusties September 14th, 2005 7:43 pm

      Beer City records is remastering a copy of Americas Dairyland right now.

      By the way, We the Crusties are recording our new CD this month. If you need any old stuff, just mail me back

      Paul New
      Drummer, The Crusties

    10. Ed Molenaar January 15th, 2006 11:59 am

      WOW!
      Have been looking for stuff of Mecht Mensch for ages & even back in the 80’s couldn’t find it anywhere. Any chance of uploading the Tar Babies too (especially the “Respect your Nightmares 12 Inch)?

    11. Dave January 29th, 2006 9:17 pm

      i bought a bootleg cd of this ep along with ddt koro and c.i.a. on eBay
      check out the link if you wanna see the picture

      http://cgi.ebay.com/DDT-Mecht-Mensch-Koro-C-I-A-CD-kbd-hardcore-punk_W0QQitemZ4819588041QQcategoryZ306QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

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