Something I Learned Today

I can’t remember specifically when I came across Killed By Death #9 (1997, 1998?), but it was a revelation if only to discover The Shirkers and the original version of “Drunk & Disorderly”. Up until that point I had assumed it was an original by house favorite Black Market Baby. This, the band’s sole recorded output, was originally released in 1978 on DC’s Limp label. From the Hyped To Death liner notes:

The Shirkers “Drunk & Disorderly” is a trash-punk masterpiece, but the sound, well, it’s either wall-of-mud (H2D has no particular problem with that) or a cleaner but almost guitar-free remix on the Best of Limp comp. They only played one gig, and broke up shortly after the 45. (There are 500 copies each of two sleeves, both released at the same time.) Tom Kane (Slickee Boy Kim’s bro) did time in the Dark and the Velvet Monkeys [Homework #4 & 5], Jeff Zang played in Kim Kane’s Date Bait, and Libby Hatch went on to Tru Fax & the Insaniacs [H2D #12, 21]: she died in an accident in 1997 or ‘98. R.I.P.

“Drunk” is a choice piece of raw, sloppy punk. The flip eluded me for years, but was worth the wait - “Suicide” is darker, driving, with a wonderful blown out guitar sound. Not as great as “Drunk & Disorderly”, but definitely up there. For comparison sake I’ve included Black Market Baby’s cover from 1986 or so. A great tune that sounds positively slick by comparison. Compare and contrast:

The Shirkers - Drunk & Disorderly.mp3
The Shirkers - Suicide.mp3

Black Market Baby - Drunk & Disorderly.mp3

Notes:
>:30 Under DC has a fantastic page dedicated to Limp Records. Check it out (and the rest of :30 Under DC and Dementlieu Punk Archive while your at it) for tons of info.
> The band pic cover is from Punk Rock Picture sleeves, the bottle cover from the :30 Under DC above

Not much to be found on the The Next out there in the internets. All I can gather is that they were from Austin, Texas and released two singles. Their debut 7″, 1979’s Make It Quick, is an overlooked gem of a record. All three tracks have that catchy, rough sound that makes so many lost Texas punk records still sound essential. “Cheap Rewards” was included on Bloodstains Across Texas, “Monotony” on Killed By Death #6. These tracks are culled from the godsend compilation Deep in the Throat of Texas - Six Small Wonders of Texas Punk. If you can find that one, don’t hesitate to pick it up.

The Next - Mr. Wonderful.mp3
The Next - Monotony.mp3
The Next - Cheap Rewards.mp3

For those interested, Last Days of Man on Earth has The Next tracks from 1980’s Live at Raul’s LP. Head over, take a listen, and poke around - there is some quality music to be had.

 

Not to brag or anything, but the most famous graduate of my high school (Gates-Chili, Rochester NY) is one half of the Hillside Strangler murderers, Kenneth Bianchi. Bianchi’s and Angelo Buono’s 1977-78 rampage in the LA area was fodder for the punk subculture, producing two quality tributes - one by the  infamous Child Molesters, the other by the Hollywood Squares. The two tracks here are from the Squares lone 1978 single. “Hillside Strangler” is most definitely a classic, but the b-side is cool pop-edged cut that also bears repeated listens. Not surprisingly, both songs have been comped and booted many times over. A reissue of the single, studio tracks, and a live show is due sometime in 2006 on Rave Up.

Hollywood Squares - Hillside Strangler.mp3

Hollywood Squares - Hollywood Square.mp3

To be honest, I don’t feel like I have a keen enough intellect to adequately analyze and expound on Pere Ubu. While I like the band and their music on a high level, I feel like I’m missing something critical that everyone else is getting - kinda how I feel whenever I listen to Jazz. Kinda how I felt when I failed advanced calculus, or tried to read Dostoevsky. Just plain dumb. So I’ll leave it at that, but suggest you head over to Vinyl Mine to check out Jim’s take on Pere Ubu’s first album The Modern Dance.

Deconstruction aside, I’ve grown comfortable with the majority of material Pere Ubu released in their “Historical” period (1975-1982). The band produced 3 fine albums (Modern Dance, Dub Housing, and New Picnic Time) in little over a two year span, in addition to a couple of fantastic singles. If you can put aside David Thomas’ off-key yelping/mewing and the band’s more artsy-fartsy avant weirdness there’s much to enjoy. The tracks here come from the band’s 5-song 1978 12″ Datapanik in the Year Zero, originally released in the UK on Radar Records. The EP collects cuts from the band’s early releases on their own Hearthan label, including the first single from 1975, the b-side to their second single (”Cloud 149″), a demo version of “The Modern Dance” (marked as “untitled”), and the b-side to The Modern Dance single (”Heaven”). A nice sample of the band’s early output, though the exclusion of “Final Solution” is puzzling:

from 1978 EP Datapanik in the Year Zero

Pere Ubu - Heart of Darkness.mp3

Pere Ubu - 30 Seconds Over Tokyo.mp3

Pere Ubu - Cloud 149.mp3

Pere Ubu - Untitled.mp3

Pere Ubu - Heaven.mp3

 

Notes:

> Photo from official Pere Ubu website: Ubuprojex > Rocket From The Tombs tracks are still available from an earlier post. I prefer the RFTT early version of “30 Seconds Over Tokyo”

> The entire Datapanik EP is included in the Terminal Tower singles, etc compilation and the Datapanik in the Year Zero boxset.

I’ve been beating myself up trying to decide whether to post the first Joy Division 7″ or the band’s oft-booted “lost” LP from 1978. Easy solution - why not both? The whole Joy Division story can be found here. My first exposure to the early Joy Division sound came in college. I had only been familiar with the band’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart” and the follow up work by New Order. A friend in my dorm had the 12″ version of Joy Division’s An Ideal For Living, and I was blown away upon my first listen. Despite claiming to “hate” the record, he refused to part with it. Fucker. After graduation I never saw the record again, left with a beat up tape copy until another friend made me a CD-R of not only the single but the band’s shelved 1978 album Warsaw. The story as I know it is that the band recorded the album in May of 1978, but rejected it after hearing the final mix. I love this early Joy Division sound, so raw and aggro and unrefined when compared to the band’s proper albums.

recorded in December, 1977 while still known as Warsaw. Officially released in 1978
Joy Division - Warsaw.mp3
Joy Division - No Love Lost.mp3
Joy Division - Leaders of Men.mp3
Joy Division - Failures.mp3

recorded in May 1978 but rejected by band. Booted many times over (whole thing here)
Joy Division - They Walked in Line.mp3
Joy Division - Transmission.mp3
Joy Division - Living in the Ice Age.mp3
Joy Division - Shadowplay.mp3

notes:
Scans from the excellent Joy Division Central
An old post of Joy Division covers
The first 7 inch tracks have been included on the Joy Division compilation Substance

 

Last week I posted on the Shit Dogs, and you, dear readers, underwhelmingly responded with exactly one comment. Well, fuck you I’m going back to the well with some more Louisiana punk rock. This time we have The Skinnies from New Orleans. Their Kill The Beat 7″ was released on ‘Lectric Eye back in 1978, and has been given the the whole Killed/Hyped/Death treatment. CollectorScum calls it “Classic loser punk”. Do you need anything else? Really, both of these tracks are excellent and deserve a listen. Anyone wanting to share info on the band is welcome to comment

Skinnies - I’m a Dullard.mp3
Skinnies - Out of Control.mp3

Although the writing doesn’t demonstrate it, I often spend several weeks ruminating over posts, playing tracks, and doing research before sitting down to write a post. One of the major frustrations I encounter is having to toss a post when it’s discovered that another blog has beaten you to the punch. With all of the punk related blogs out there now it’s happening more and more often. Even though it’s not an mp3 blog, Agony Shorthand always seems to be one step ahead of me. Hinman usually hits the nail on the head with spot on reviews and great writing style, often leaving me standing with my cock in my hand. Well, fuck it. For the umpteenth time I’ve been trumped, this time when it comes to the Shit Dogs World War III compilation on Italian label Rave Up. Most of you are aware of the Shit Dogs as a result of their inclusion on the Killed By Death series. Rave Up has compiled the Baton Rouge, Louisiana band’s 1980 History of Cheese EP, 1981’s You Bet 7″, and the Dog Style LP all on release. 22 tracks of lo-fi goof rock that gets compared to the Ramones or The Eat. I think you can still get this one, along with other choice reissues of Louisian greats The Skinnies and Toxin III. Some samples

originally from 1980’s The History of Cheese 7″
Shit Dogs - Reborn.mp3
Shit Dogs - Killer Cain.mp3
Shit Dogs - Raw Meat.mp3

originally from 1981’s You Bet 7″
Shit Dogs - Calling Dr. Modo.mp3
Shit Dogs - Can Opener.mp3

originally from 1983’s Dog Style LP
Shit Dogs - Rats in the Tunnels.mp3

By Request - 2 more from the Shit Dogs (You Bet 7″)
Shit Dogs - Under Slithery Moons.mp3
Shit Dogs - Flippin’ Burgers.mp3

I doubt anyone will question the inclusion of La Peste’s “Better Off Dead” in the upper echelon of amazing American punk tracks of the ’70’s. The b-side “Black” is mostly forgetable, but the a-side, oh man, what a great fucking song. On the strength of that one track I picked up the band’s 1996’s collection on Matador, which contains the band’s lone single, latter day recordings, and live tracks from 1979. Everything I had read about La Peste praised their fierce live shows, and most of the live tracks here are indeed pretty hot ( and I’m not one to heap praise on live recordings). Some of the studio tracks are limp (”Let Me Sleep”, uggh), but all in all this a mostly solid collection for those with a taste for pop-edged 70’s punk. Sure, nothing tops “Better Off Dead”, but there are a couple of tracks that almost approach that zenith. I’m pretty sure this is now OOP, but shouldn’t be that hard to track down. A couple of my favorites

from the 1978 single
La Peste - Better Off Dead.mp3

live in 1979
La Peste - I Don’t Wanna Die In My Sleep.mp3
La Peste - Kindness Invites Abuse.mp3
La Peste - Acid Test.mp3
La Peste - Spymaster.mp3

Notes:
> Agony Shorthand’s take on the disc
> La Peste pages at Boston Rock Storybook and New England Music Scrapbook

Is a post on LA’s X too pedestrian for the refined and esoteric tastes of the mp3 blogosphere? Fuck if I care. Los Angeles and Wild Gift are both staples in regular rotation at the homestead. I was hooked on the band the minute I heard their shit hot tracks from Decline of Western Civilization. Pure punk rock bliss - I was hypnotized by Billy Zoom and that odd, plastic smile. Anyhow, these early tracks are X at their best. The Adult Books/We’re Desperate 7″ was released on Dangerhouse in 1978. Both songs were later included on Wild Gift, but these are the definitive versions. The cover art is an absolute killer to boot. “Los Angeles” is from the one-sided Dangerhouse compilation Yes LA. All of these tracks are readily available in some form or another (Dangerhouse Volume 1, Dangerhouse Volume 2, Beyond and Back), but not all on the same release the last time I checked. For your convenience:

from their 1978 debut 7″
X - Adult Books.mp3
X - We’re Desperate.mp3

from 1979’s Yes LA compilation
X- Los Angeles.mp3

Notes:
> Is there a better source of amazing band and record info than Break My Face? No, their really isn’t. This page has all the info on Dangerhouse Records you’ve ever wanted to know.
> Nothing in common besides the name, an earlier post on Australia’s X

In reviewing the last 300+ posts I don’t think I have covered a single British band. Huh. I guess most of my Britpunk collection (GBH, Subhumans, Chaos UK, and way too much Oi) sounds stale to me these days. As I’ve grown older I’ve phased out much of my earlier British items for the more refined sounds of Wire, The Fall, Joy Division, Mekons, Gang of Four, and the like. I was into my last year of college when a friend introduced me to Gang of Four and their landmark Entertainment! LP. I was hooked instantly by the deft bass lines and the tense, jagged guitar. For years I had a tape of that included the band’s first two albums (Entertainment! and Solid Gold) along with the tracks from 1978’s Damaged Goods 7″. I lost the tape awhile ago but was able to track down Entertainment! and! and Solid Gold. The 7″ tracks I’ve been unable to smoke out until just recently. The versions on the single differ from those on later releases - I prefer the versions of “Love Like Anthrax” and “Armalite Rifle” on this record to those put out later. “Damaged Goods” doesn’t quite measure up to the Entertainment! version, but it’s such a remarkable song that it bears a listen in almost any form

from 1978’s debut 7″
Gang of Four - Damaged Goods.mp3
Gang of Four - Love Like Anthrax.mp3
Gang of Four - Armalite Rifle.mp3