Something I Learned Today

It doesn’t smack you in the face or hit you over the head, but if you give it long enough eventually Breaking Circus will burrow into your brain like a parasite. Adjectives to describe the din include: terse, sharp, jagged, sinister. Musically akin to Roland from Big Black sitting in with Fly on a Wire era Effigies (that all could be suggested by the common locale of Chicago). Former Strike Under guitarist Steve Bjorklund was the mastermind behind Breaking Circus, releasing The Very Long Fuse in 1985. In ‘86 Bjorklund moved up I-94 to Minneapolis and began working with the Rifle Sport rhytm section of Flour and Todd Trainer. Two more recordings followed in 1987 - the simmering The Ice Machine LP and the 6 song zenith Smoker’s Paradise. Enjoy the beauty of “Knife in the Marathon”, the sharp cut of “Eat Lead”, and everything in between:

from The Very Long Fuse
Breaking Circus - Precision.mp3
Breaking Circus - (Knife in the) Marathon.mp3
Breaking Circus - Christian Soldiers.mp3

from The Ice Machine
Breaking Circus - Song of the South.mp3
Breaking Circus - Took a Hammering.mp3
Breaking Circus - Where.mp3

from Smoker’s Paradise
Breaking Circus - Three Cool Cats.mp3
Breaking Circus - Shockhammer 13.mp3
Breaking Circus - Eat Lead.mp3

Although the news has now become fairly well braodcast on other outlets I still wanted to take a moment to remember Larissa Strickland. Details are sketchy, but Strickland apparently OD’d on Xanax last month. I didn’t know you could do that, but whatever. Strickland was the lead singer in early 80’s Detroit band L-Seven, but is better known as the guitarist for the Laughing Hyenas. Her unique playing style helped define the Hyenas raging noise/blues post “whatever” sound over the course of a dozen years. Noisy and tortured, yet oddly beautiful. Lullaby and Goodnight, Larissa…

L-Seven - Clear Vision.mp3
Laughing Hyenas - Playground.mp3
Laughing Hyenas - Dedications to the One I Love.mp3
Laughing Hyenas - Candy.mp3
Laughing Hyenas - Everything I Want.mp3

Previously posted - L-Seven, “Public Animal #9″, and Covers - Stolen Tapes 92-94

Other tributes:
Metro Weekly page
Punk Vault (Lots of great comments)
Last Days of Man on Earth
Chunklet

Laughing Hyenas Myspace page

In 1980 or thereabouts the three members of primitive LA punk trio the Urinals upped and changed their name to 100 Flowers, for no other reason than their increasing musical ability and songwriting skills dictated a move away from the fuckitall minimalism the band’s previous name conjured. Where the Urinals celebrated their rudimentary talents, 100 Flowers featured more dynamic songs and sounds that can lazily be tagged as “art-punk”. In addition to some compilation appearances (Hell Comes To Your House, Keats Rides A Harley, and Life is Ugly, So Why Not Kill Yourself? amongst others) 100 Flowers would record would release a 3 song 7″ in 1982 and record enough material for a full LP and 12″ EP on Happy Squid. Both 1983’s self-titled album and 1984’s Draw Fire 12″ were released after the band had called it quits. In 1990 the vast majority of this material was released as 100 Years of Pulchritude. I happened across this one sitting in a used bin for $2 and speculated. 10 years later I’m still happy I didn’t pass it over. Highlights:

100 Flowers - Reject Yourself.mp3
100 Flowers - Our Fallout.mp3
100 Flowers - Poltergeists At Home.mp3
100 Flowers - California’s Falling Into the Ocean.mp3
100 Flowers - Triage.mp3
100 Flowers - Contributions.mp3

Notes:
>>Check out Happy Squid records and the Urinals here.
>>100 Years of Pulchritude is out of print. I’m hoping that with the recent reissue of Keats Rides A Harley, the Urinals old material, and new Urinals album that this once again sees the light of day.
>>You can find the Urinals second 7″ @ 7InchPunk. Good Music for Bad, Bad Times has the 3rd Urinals single. Somebody probably has the first one posted somewhere, but I’m too lazy to search for it.

Yeah, yeah, yeah - most of talk surrounding the big T&G 25th anniversary show that I’ve read has been about the Negative Approach reunion, (guilty) - but if I were attending the show (which I’m not because I suck) I’d be amped to see legendary Texas noise freaks Scratch Acid. What with the big block party and a couple of additional shows (Seattle and Austin), what better time to reach back into the vault and rehash some “previously enjoyed” ramblings?:

something odd must have been in the south Texas water in the 80’s that caused the young ‘uns to turnout so god forsaken wrong. Case in point Scratch Acid. Featuring David Yow and David Wm Sims ( later Jesus Lizard ) Scratch Acid was responsible for putting forth some seriously twisted songcraft. Yow howls about dark things while Brett Bradford lays down sun damaged riffs. The band managed to release a self titled 12 ” in 1984, a full length (1986’s Just Keep Eating) and a final 12″ ( Beserker ) in 1987 before disbanding. Touch and Go Records had the good sense to package them all up on one CD entitled The Greatest Gift

I still hold up Scratch Acid’s debut 12″ as one of the more twisted and vital remnants of Texas punk greatness. Just Keep Eating may be a slight step down, but it’s still a monster. And while Berserker aint that hot, The Greatest Gift discog CD is a must have:

Scratch Acid - Greatest Gift.mp3
Scratch Acid - Monsters.mp3
Scratch Acid - Mess.mp3
Scratch Acid - Eyeball.mp3
Scratch Acid - Amicus.mp3
Scratch Acid - Mary Had A Little Drug Problem

Notes:
>> Interesting Scratch Acid reading at Agony Shorthand and Mark Prindle’s Reviews
>> Buy The Greatest Gift

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

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

I don’t know if this is coincidence, or pure dumb luck, or what have you. I had just finished drafting a post on LA’s Middle Class when I stopped over to Agony Shorthand only to find out that Jay had hammered out an excellent writeup on the band’s A Blueprint For Joy CD just a couple of days ago. Needless to say, his commentary puts mine to shame. My first thought was to ditch this, but I decided fuck it. Just do yourself a favor and read it - it’s spot on. When done, stop back and take a listen. If your too lazy to go a’clicking here’s the scoop:

In 1978 Middle Class appeared out of Fullerton, CA and released their legendary Out Of Vogue EP. Many a scholar has hailed this as the first true example of hardcore, and for good reason. Four short, hopped up punk blasts with rapid fire vocals that sounds revolutionary for the time. A couple of additional tracks in similar vein appeared a year later on the Tooth & Nail compilation. 1980 saw the release of the Scavenged Luxury EP. Compared to Out of Vogue the material on Scavenged Luxury is tame: Slower tempos, darting bass lines, and some jagged guitar. The early Gang of Four/Joy Division influence is undeniable. This would carry over to their only full length, 1982’s Homeland which featured a darker, more subdued set of songs. Not bad by any stretch, but missing the gut fire that propelled the earlier material. Some samples:

from 1978’s Out of Vogue:
Middle Class - Out of Vogue.mp3
Middle Class - Situations.mp3

from 1980’s Scavenged Luxury:
Middle Class - Home Is Where.mp3
Middle Class - A Blueprint For Joy.mp3

from 1982’s Homeland LP
Middle Class - Restless Young Men.mp3

>> I believe the A Blueprint For Joy CD is now out of print. Find it if you can - both EP’s the Tooth and Nail cuts, and a crapload of solid live tracks
>> pics scavenged from the Punk Rock In SoCal discography at CollectorScum

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.