Something I Learned Today

A comment on the Noise From Nowhere post requested the first Manson Youth 7″. Well, I’ll go one better and give you both Manson Youth 7 inches. Both were released posthumously, the first (Death Dance )was released as Dr. Strange #1 in 1990. God’s Fun Children followed in 1991. I think these were originally recorded in the 1983-84 time frame, but there’s no recording information that I can find. All I know about the band is that they were from California. Lineup information is noted as:

DJ Setlak - Vocals
Robbie Sandford - Guitar
Barry Hoppie - Bass
Corey Miller - Drums

As for the music, try off kilter, speedy hardcore with an weird vibe. Not my favorite records from that era, but they grow on you after a couple of listens:

from Death Dance
Manson Youth - Eaten Alive By Rats.mp3
Manson Youth - Dog Rider.mp3
Manson Youth - Vulnavia.mp3
Manson Youth - Let’s Call it a Day.mp3

from God’s Fun Children
Manson Youth - Need God?.mp3
Manson Youth - Karen.mp3
Manson Youth - Saw Tomorrow.mp3
Manson Youth - The Penis That Ate the World/Twins.mp3
Manson Youth - An Eye For An Eye.mp3

Anyone able to fill in the blanks?

A couple of weeks back I received a request for some Monsula, which caused me to drag out my only record by them, their 1990 Nickel EP on Lookout. When this came out I gave it short shrift, playing it once and immediately boxing it. When I pulled it out for a listen awhile back I couldn’t even remember what it sounded like. Surprisingly, it wasn’t the poppy crap I was expecting. Instead it was catchy, melodic hardcore with distinct DC/emo influence. Well worth a listen. I think I’ll track down their 1992 Sanitized LP and see what else I may have missed out on.

Monsula - Firecracker.mp3
Monsula - Missing You.mp3
Monsula - Razors.mp3
Monsula - When Will It End.mp3

Put out by Maximum Rocknroll records in 1989, They Don’t Get Paid, They Don’t Get Laid, But Boy Do They Work Hard! was a tribute to the bands and ‘zines that espoused the “do it yourself” punk philosophy. 14 bands from across the US playing late 80’s hardcore, the kind that met all of MRR’s strict guidelines for acceptable punk (sorry, I can’t resist a little MRR bashing). To wit, regarding the Screeching Weasel track on the comp:

We went over to Solid Sound and recorded “This Bud’s for Me” for the They Don’t Get Paid, They Don’t Get Laid, But Boy, Do They Work Hard comp LP on MRR Records. The song was supposed to be a bit of a parody which is why it’s so goddamn fast; Tim at Maximum had encouraged us to “keep with the theme of the record.” We figured that meant play loud and fast and stupid.

Not alot of fast and stupid here, just some earnest “we’ll change the world” sentiment. Some of this still sounds pretty good (i.e. Detonators, COAC, Jawbox, Screeching Weasel, Downfall ) , while a couple are simply forgetable (Apocalypse, Amenity, Conspiracy of Equals). The rest occupy the neither here nor there middle (Nausea, Dissent, , Cringer, Bazooka Joe, Dead Silence,Libido Boyz). This LP came with a nice booklet that featured not only the bands, but a bunch of fanzines including Absolutely Zippo, Profane Existence, Hippycore, Endless Struggle, and No Answers. I have of course lost said booklet, as I do with seemingly 90% of my records. Below are my favorite tracks:

Detonators - Denied.mp3
Christ on a Crutch - Nation of Sheep.mp3
Nausea - Clutches.mp3
Screeching Weasel - This Bud’s For Me.mp3
Jawbox - Bullet Park.mp3
Downfall - Long Way to Go.mp3
Dead Silence - Hope.mp3
Libido Boyz - Mr Greenthumb.mp3

You can download the whole thing as a rar archive here

Not much in the way of information on Boise, Idaho hardcore band State of Confusion. The usual sources (KFTH and Flex) have nothing. Here are the basics: formed in 1985, disbanded in 1988, maybe more famous for having three quarters of the band (Pat Brown, Scott Schmaljohn, and Wayne Rhino Flower) go on to form indie grungesters Treepeople. State of Confusion released two albums, 1986’s 6.3 Million Acres and 1988’s A Street. I stumbled across the latter in a cutout bin and picked up simply because it was on the Subcore label (Accused, Dehumanizers)This is pretty standard meat and potatoes hardcore, mid to uptempo songs with socio-political lyrics. The guitar sound on A Street is a thick, fuzzed out mess. Below are my favorite tracks:

from 6.3 Million Acres
State of Confusion - Education.mp3
State of Confusion - I-84.mp3
State of Confusion - Silence.mp3
State of Confusion - Blanket of Power.mp3
State of Confusion - TV Mutation.mp3

from A Street
State of Confusion - Anarchy Street.mp3
State of Confusion - Decency.mp3
State of Confusion - Windows.mp3
State of Confusion - Trashed.mp3
State of Confusion - MX.mp3

If you’re inclined, I’ve zipped up both albums as rar archives:
6.3 Million Acres (20 tracks, 30 MB)
A Street (14 tracks, 38 MB)

If you haven’t stopped by Last Days of Man on Earth this week then you’ve missed Joe’s post on below the radar hardcore faves None of the Above. Joe serves up not only the Live at the Crystal Pistol demo but also the Moscow 7″. (Not to mention the excellent insight and humor). A request was made for someone to hook him up with the band’s self titled 1985 LP. As it stands, this thing is long out of print and a reissue doesn’t appear imminent. A shame really, as the band’s 2 singles and LP offer a solid mix of breakneck hardcore and thick punkrock that really deserves a wider audience. If you want the LP you can grab it below:

None of the Above - 1985 LP (19 tracks, 51 MB, rar archive)

Those looking for a taste can try the following tracks out:

None of the Above - Taking Away Your Rights.mp3
None of the Above - On the Pavement.mp3
None of the Above - Frustration.mp3
None of the Above - Self Destruct.mp3
None of the Above - Cut the Shit.mp3
None of the Above - Summer of ‘82.mp3

Notes:
>> My original NOTA post from a couple years back
>> 7inchpunk has the Toy Soldiers EP - check it out
>> Official NOTA webpage - amazing, it’s not on myspace. Also, NOTA on Myspace. Take a listen to “Cattle Call”, my favorite NOTA song

One of the most frequent email, etc. requests I get is for the reactivation of the tracks associated with the Husker Du rarities post from July 2005. So, with nothing pressing at the moment and the stack of “to-be-blogged” material rapidly dwindling to nil I give you about an hour and 20 minutes of little heard Husker material. A couple of tracks (”Erase Today” and “It’s Not Fair”) were officially released on comps (Blasting Concept Volume 2 and Kitten), but most of the material here is from the Savage Young Du and Up in the Air boots and live tapes/CD-R’s. Best bet is the great sounding ‘80/’81 live material, but the Metal Circus and New Day Rising outtakes are pretty good as well. Broken down chronologically, with a huge debt of gratitude to Paul Hilcoff’s Husker Du discography (flyer courtesy of Minnesota Historical Society)

studio 1979 & 1980
Husker Du - Sore Eyes.mp3
Husker Du - All I’ve Got To Lose is You.mp3
Husker Du - Writer’s Cramp.mp3

live May 1980
Husker Du - Pictures of You.mp3
Husker Du - What Went Wrong.mp3
Husker Du - You’re Too Obtuse/Put Your Past Away.mp3
Husker Du - Sexual Economics.mp3
Husker Du - Industrial Grocery Store.mp3
Husker Du - Instrumental.mp3
Husker Du - Uncle Ron.mp3

live July 1981
Husker Du - Private Hell.mp3
Husker Du - Travel in the Opposite Car.mp3
Husker Du - Call on Me.mp3
Husker Du - Won’t Say a Word.mp3
Husker Du - Don’t Try It.mp3
Husker Du - Termination.mp3

studio 1982 (Metal Circus outtakes)
Husker Du - Today’s The Day.mp3
Husker Du - You Think I’m Scared.mp3
Husker Du - Won’t Change.mp3

live 1982 (included on Kitten compilation)
Husker Du - It’s Not Fair.mp3

studio 1983 (Zen Arcade outtakes)
Husker Du - Some Kind of Fun.mp3
Husker Du - Dozen Beats Eleven.mp3

live 1983
Husker Du - Drug Party.mp3

studio 1984 (New Day Rising outtakes)
Husker Du - Erase Today.mp3
Husker Du - Listen.mp3

studio 1986 (Candy Apple Grey outtakes, all instrumental)
Husker Du - All Work and No Play.mp3
Husker Du - Misty Modern Days.mp3
Husker Du - Just Be.mp3

live 1987
Husker Du - Never Talking To You Again.mp3
Husker Du - Get Along With Me.mp3

Another in the irregular podcast series. I’ve been asked a couple of times if you need iTunes or an iPod to listen. The answer definitively is no. All you have to do is download and play in any mp3 player. If I ever get an rss feed setup you’ll be able to subscribe to the podcast via iTunes, but my feet are dragging in that area. This weeks a bit longer than I’d like due to the fact that I’m a yakety motherfucker with a voice best suited for silence I couldn’t find anything to drop off the list.

Download here (1 hr, 25 mins, 78 MB)

Tracks:
1. Poison Idea - Lifestyles
2. Swiz - Ghost
3. Moss Icon - Kiss The Girls and Make Them Die
4. The Left - Youngster on the Force
5. Government Issue - They Know
-
6. Kyuss - 50 Million Year Trip
7. Watts - King Of Jacking You Around
8. Gandhi - Everybody Loves You
9. Tar - Compaction
-
10. The Dils - I Hate The Rich
11. The Next - Cheap Rewards
12. N.O.T.A. - Identity Crisis
13. 7 Seconds - Wasted Life
14. Heart Attack - Victims Inquisition
.
15. Quicksand - Landmine Spring
16. Dismemberment Plan - OK, Jokes Over
17. Burning Airlines - Crowned
18. At the Drive-In - Chanbara
.
19. The Mistreaters - Tired of Looking At You
20. The Brides - Pushed Around
21. Gaunt - Stop Jerking Me Around
22. Baseball Furies - I Hate Your Secret Club
23. A-Frames - Futureworld
.
24. Ikara Colt - At the Lodge
25. Gang of Four - I Found That Essence Rare
26. Minutemen - Sell or Be Sold
27. Middle Class - Last Touch
28. 100 Flowers - California’s Falling Into the Ocean

seriously, I don’t talk all that much

When I first wrote about The Left in 2004 I didn’t have jack on them. That all changed in 2006 when Jesus Loves The Left was released, containing this Hagertown, MD band’s Hell, It’s The World and Last Train To Hagerstown 12″s, a comp cut, and a couple of unreleased tracks from the early 90’s. Get ahold of this as soon as possible. The best material here is a potent mix of 60’s garage, melodic hardcore, and Stoogified guitar riffs. Powerful vocals too boot. This shit should have been huge (to paraphrase flex) Luckily, Scott reminded me of this release in the comments a couple of posts back.

The Left - Hell.mp3
The Left - Fuck It.mp3
The Left - The Viet Cong Live Next Door.mp3
The Left - Teenage Suicide.mp3

Notes:
>> Buy Jesus Loves the Left @ CD Baby
>> Requisite MySpace page
>> More info on The Left

I’m sure there a plenty of folks who will read the description, take a quick listen, and pass this off as disposable grunge. Not that there isn’t a kernal of truth to those sentiments, but what set Hazel apart from the other neo-grungers and noiseniks that busted out of the Portland, OR scene was the vocal interplay between guitarist Peter Krebs and drummer Jody Bleyle. Kinda like a John and Exene for the 90’s Sub Pop set (take that with a grain of salt). My first exposure was their cover of the Wipers “Tragedy” on the 14 Songs for Greg Sage and the Wipers compilation, which was enough for me to track down the bands two Sub Pop albums and the Ariana EP on Bleyle’s own Candy Ass label. Highlights include the guitar crunch of “Calliope”, the pop edge of “Title Track”, the hyperkinetic “Mr Magazine Man”, and the melancholic gem “Everybody’s Best Friend”

from 1993’s Toreador of Love
Hazel - Joe Louis Punch Out.mp3
Hazel - Truly.mp3
Hazel - Everybody’s Best Friend.mp3

from 1995’s Are You Going To Eat That?
Hazel - Lazy H.mp3
Hazel - Calliope.mp3

from 1997’s Ariana EP
Hazel - Title Track.mp3
Hazel - Mr Magazine Man.mp3

Notes:
>> Band dancer Fred Nemo maintains a Hazel Archive, amongst other things
>> Photo swiped from the band’s Myspace page
>> Hazel goods from Amazon