Something I Learned Today

Details are sketchy when it comes to The Beguiled. I think (but can’t confirm) they were from somewhere in Orange County, CA. After releasing an LP on Dionysus in 1988 the Beguiled reappeared and found their mark in 1993 with this here single on Estrus. Fuzzy, swampy, and dark sounds spew forth on this one. Three of the four tracks would be cleaned up enough to appear on 1994’s excellent Blue Dirge LP. I myself prefer the raw sounds and rougher vocals of this 7″ to the LP. The Beguiled ended soon after the release of Blue Dirge when guitarist Mike Ball was killed by a drunk driver. Bassist Steve Pallow would go on to form the even creepier Necessary Evils

from 1993’s Estrus 7″
The Beguiled - Black Gloves.mp3
The Beguiled - Kitten With A Whip.mp3
The Beguiled - She-Devil Rock.mp3
The Beguiled - Woman is Trouble.mp3

from 1994’s Blue Dirge LP
The Beguiled - I Walk Alone.mp3
The Beguiled - The Screaming Rummy.mp3

Another great Texas band, Non Compos Mentis (later just NCM) were a trio from Dallas that released two singles on the VVV label in the early ’80’s. Years later the tracks would make the obligatory appearance on the boot compilation (Back to Front, Killed By Death, and Outlaws in my Eye, Texas!, amongst others). The tracks here are catchy, almost poppy punk. I wish I had more info on the band, but that’s where you guys come in. CollectorScum completist can check out Break My Face’s It Never Ends entry for NCM for all the gory details on the first 7″.

from their 1980 debut 7″
Non Compos Mentis - Ultimate Orgasm.mp3
Non Compos Mentis - Twist The Blade.mp3

from their second single (1981)
NCM - Quick To Compliment.mp3

from the VVV compilation Live at the Hot Klub
NCM - Mental Case.mp3

from the Sacred Cattle comp 7″
NCM - Six Feet Under.mp3

Originally released as Reflex Records “C”, Kitten was the follow up to the 1982 Minneapolis compilation Barefoot and Pregnant. Recorded live at infamous Minneapolis punk club Goofy’s Upper Deck over the course of two shows in October 1982, Kitten featured 11 bands and a total of 36 tracks. Lots of great noisy Midwestern punk interspersed with some furious hardcore action. Choice cuts are turned in from Husker Du, Red Meat, Exmo-6-Desmo, and Willful Neglect. This was reissued in 1999 with two bonus Husker Du tracks, which you can buy direct from Garage D’Or for just $10. All the info you could possible want on the release has been collected right here. Some samples:

Proud Crass Fools - Bad Moon.mp3
Propaganda - The War Ain’t Over.mp3
Exmo-6-Desmo - The Old Bum.mp3
Todlachen - Parasites.mp3
Rifle Sport - Keep on Walkin’.mp3
Willful Neglect - Geeks.mp3
Red Meat - The Circle.mp3
Man Sized Action - Only You.mp3
Husker Du - It’s Not Fair.mp3

You would think I would have plenty of information about a band from my hometown but I ain’t got shit on the Stripminers beyond the basics - They were a trio from Rochester, NY who released two LP’s on the Community 3 label. As I recall the local media always tagged the Stripminers as “Avant Garde”, but a more apt comparison would be to the late ’80’s noise sounds generated by the likes of Sonic Youth, Live Skull, and even Dinosaur, Jr. I always thought these guys would have fit well in the Homestead catalog…

from 1988’s self-titled 12″
Stripminers - Please, Chief.mp3
Stripminers - Mole Man.mp3
Stripminers - Barn Burning.mp3

from 1989’s Divorce Yourself LP
Stripminers - Pigs Before Wine.mp3
Stripminers - Word Food.mp3
Stripminers - Fist.mp3

When it comes to great Australian punk it seems I’m constantly referring to the mega-awesome Murder Punk series that came out in the late 90’s. Unlike the Killed By Death or Bloodstains comps the Murder Punk discs (volume 1&2) included full singles by such Aussie legends as the Fun Things, Victims, Scientists, and today’s feature the Chosen Few. Hailing from suburban Melbourne, the Chosen Few were a quartet that existed from 1977 to 1979. At the time their lone release was 1978’s The Joke’s On Us 7″ EP. 6 tracks of noisy Stoogified (or Tekified) guitar bliss. The freakouts on “Terminal Rock” alone make this one essential listening, second only to the Fun Things 7″ (in my opinion) as one of the great EP’s of the period. A band website can be found here. An LP of outtakes, etc called Do The Manic! was released in 1997 and may still be available in some form or another.

The Chosen Few - The Joke’s On Us.mp3
The Chosen Few - T.A.L.O.I.G.A.mp3
The Chosen Few - Adolph You Beauty!.mp3
The Chosen Few - Disco Tek Wreck.mp3
The Chosen Few - (Do The Manic) To Kill or Maim, Honey!.mp3
The Chosen Few - Terminal Rock.mp3

Christ, I wish I had joined the goddamn Sub Pop Singles club way back when, not necessarily for the investment value but simply to have had a chance at so much cool swag. Smells Like Smoked Sausages was the February/March of 1992 installment of the singles series, a double 7″ compilation comprised entirely of Amphetamine Reptile recording artists. I think most of these tracks have never made it to CD, with the exception of the Helmet track. Choice cuts from Tar and Vertigo amongst others, overall this is a solid overview of the AmRep sound at one of its peak periods.

Tar - Deep Throw.mp3
Cows - My Girl.mp3
Vertigo - Dynamite Cigar.mp3
Helios Creed - Hideous Greed.mp3
Helmet - Oven.mp3
Surgery - Our Demise.mp3
Boss Hog - Fire of Love.mp3
God Bullies - Bullet.mp3

The middle act in the John Reis - Rick Froberg trilogy, Drive Like Jehu was a giant in the “post-hardcore” scene. Without a doubt Jehu were my favorite of the their collaborations. The band’s brief tenure was marked by two albums and this lone single. The albums are both great, but the 1992 7″ release by the Merge label is over the top. Reis’ explosive guitar shards meld with Froberg’s manic vocals to create two near perfect aural stabs (especially on “Bullet Train..”). Swami (run by Reis) has included these tracks on the 2002 reissue of the band’s second LP Yank Crime. Check it out:

Drive Like Jehu - Hand Over Fist.mp3
Drive Like Jehu - Bullet Train To Vegas.mp3

Notes:

Not to be confused with the Adolescents subset the ADZ, the A.D.’s were from Albany, NY and released a total of 3 singles from 1979 to 1982. I know nothing about the band, and can’t seem to find any information on the band or their material. The “A” side from their 1979 debut single “Living Downtown” was comped on Backseat Love, a Killed By Death style comp featuring so-called “power pop”. Don’t let that tag scare you off, “Living Downtown” has a nice raw guitar riff that ain’t close to being limp pop. The “B” side “Testing” may even be better than the flip, a fast & chunky punk cut that smokes . Anyone with info on the AD’s please fill in the blanks!

The A.D.’s - Living Downtown.mp3
The A.D.’s - Testing.mp3

I woke up the other day with an strange urge to listen to “20 Eyes” by the Misfits, which lead me to start thinking about a way to include some songs by bands that might not get their own individual post. Maybe some kind of numbers game? After considering songs with numbers, band names that include numbers, album titles with numbers, etc. I ended up with this simple counting game. And after all of that I still didn’t find a way to work in “20 Eyes”. Here’s the first ten, no need to take of your shoes and socks to count unless you’re a freak or have been involved in some kind of farming accident:

Fugazi - Song #1.mp3
from their 1990 Sub Pop single (and Dischord single, and Dischord CD)

Bad Religion - Part II (The Numbers Game).mp3
from 1988’s Suffer LP, one of the original song ideas for this post

Sheer Terror - Three Year Bitch.mp3
From 1992’s Thanks For Nuthin’ LP, reissued on the Bulldog Edition double CD.

Volcano Suns - Four Letters.mp3
From 1985’s All Night Lotus Party. The first 3 Volcano Suns LP’s are all worthwhile (and OOP, I think)

Sugar Shack - Five Weeks Ahead of My Time.mp3
Choice garage snarl - this is the title track from their 1997 album on Estrus

Pagans - Six & Change.mp3
First Pagans single from 1977. This guy just sold one for $885!

Blight - Seven Winds over the Gobi Desert.mp3
Weird noise damage circa 1983 from Tesco Vee and former Fix members on Touch & Go. This is just about to be reissued by T&G.

Husker Du - Eight Miles High.mp3
Mould & Co. own this cover of the Byrds. Originally released as a 7″ in 1984

Born Against - Nine Years Later.mp3
From the coincidentally titled 1991 LP Nine Patriotic Hymns for Children

Beasts of Bourbon - Ten Wheels For Jesus.mp3
Countrified skronk from Tex Perkins and some of the Scientists. From 1984’s The Axeman’s Jazz

The mighty Toestubber beat me to the punch on this record by a couple of months, but since those tracks were gone I decided to go ahead and rehash. The Maids were from Berkeley, CA and released this lone single in 1979. End of story. Actually that aint the end of the story at. In fact, the whole sordid story of the band, their single, and the legion of collector scum can be found right here. In the LA Weekly article an incredulous John McCormick (singer and guitarist) asks a fan why the record was so in demand, to which the fan responds: “I’m not sure, but it’s a rocking a-side. nice fuzzed out guitar”. I won’t argue that - the guitar has a beautifully filthy sound, the drums are crazy, and both tracks are smoking. As a result, boths cuts from the Maids Maids in Bataan have been included in the KBD series (at this point what hasn’t?) Great stuff.

The Maids - Back To Bataan.mp3
The Maids - I Do, I Do.mp3