Thursday, October 15, 2015

Chakra - Satekoso (1981)


Really airy and cute new-wavey art pop from Japan. The synths on this album kind of glide and float throughout each song in an almost ethereal, and even kind of psych-y, way. A lot of Zolo influences too. Chakra almost like a Japanese version of Propoganda, with some parts of the album even being reminiscent of Kate Bush or Descloux. Tropical, quirky, and fun, Satekoso makes for a great listen if you're in the proper mood.

you
need
me

Saturday, October 10, 2015

Various Artists - Messthetics #108 - South Coast D.I.Y. '77-81


Vol 108

Various Artists - Messthetics #107: D.I.Y. '78-81 London III



Vol 107

Various Artists - Messthetics #106:The Manchester Musicians Collective 1977-1982


Vol 106

Various Artists - Messthetics #105: D.I.Y. 77-81 Scotland I


Vol 105

Various Artists - Messthetics #104: D.I.Y. '77-81 South Wales I


Vol 104

Various Artists - Messthetics #103: D.I.Y. 77-81 Midlands I


Vol 103

Various Artists - Messthetics #102: D.I.Y. 77-81 London II


Vol 102

Various Artists - Messthetics #101: D.I.Y. 77-81 London I


Vol 101

Various Artists - Messthetics #8 UK D.I.Y./postpunk "D": 1977-81



Various Artists - Messthetics #7 UK D.I.Y./post-punk "C": 1978-81


Vol 7

Various Artists - Messthetics #6 UK D.I.Y./post-punk A & B: 1978-81


Vol 6

Various Artists - Messthetics #5 UK D.I.Y./post-punk "A": 1978-81


Volume 5

Various Artists - Messthetics #4 UK D.I.Y./post-punk V-to-Z: 1978-81


one last thing to note: messthetics is split into two series, #x or #10x. in the single digit series each album is grouped alphabetically by band, while in the #10x series each album is grouped by region. theres some overlap between them but theyre all certainly worth downloading!

link

Various Artists - Messthetics #3 UK D.I.Y./post-punk Ti-to-U: 1978-82



Hello everyone. Sorry about the lack of posting. I've decided to make up for it by posting the rest of Messthetics today. For those who don't know what Messthetics is: Messthetics is basically the most comprehensive anthology of underground British music from the late 70's to early 80's. With it's American counterpart, Homework (also on this blog) they offer an amazing look into the period. There's really something for everyone, even if you feel as though you've heard it all.

hope you enjoy!

Friday, May 22, 2015

Various Artists - Peripheral Vision (1982)


Obscure and delicious no wave compilation released around the time the scene was coming to a close. Features some great acts like Mofungo and the highly underrated The Scene is Now. A few of the bands on this albums definitely have a more avant-proggy feel and offers a different, but still just as interesting view of what was going on in NYC in the 80s.

I looked out in the day and the days not there
I looked out in the night and the nights not there

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Various Artists - Red Spot (1981)



Super overlooked comp from Subterranean Records can take care of all of your minimal wave and no wave needs. Super dark and super gritty, there's not really too much to dislike about this comp. It even has a rare Minimal Man track! Definitely worth checking out.

You have a forcefield
And a tracking beam
You pull me to you
With curiosity

Saturday, February 21, 2015

Jammin’ Gerald – Factory Style (1994)



During the early 90’s, as roster artists on Dance Mania began to gain more and more local attention, a club called The Factory became a youth hotspot for the latest and greatest dance and electronic slammers to get played. In ’85, Jammin’ Gerald (Henderson) began his DJ residency there. After noticing that house flavorings in particular went over well with the crowds, he began to fiddle with his own tracks. Dance Mania founder and A&R person Willie J. Barney caught wind of his tunes and asked for a handful to release on his label. The result is this EP, containing a rework of Gerald’s most popular club hit “Get The Ho”, but the main attraction is, “Mutha Fuckin' Party Hype”, which is one of my favorite ghetto house songs. All these tracks are solid though. Cop this.
Side note: whoever ripped this copy is a poophead. I think there's a better rip on what that I'll try to grab eventually.

DJ Funk – Booty House Anthems (1999)



Seminal release from the Godfather of ghetto house (Chunk Chambers). If you’re not familiar with the genre, it’s marked by stripped-down house sounds with sexual vocals, usually samples but also sometimes supplied by the DJ’s themselves (or even more rarely by MC’s).  Tracks are fast and short, aimed towards the hyper & lusty clubby crowds of Chicago and Detroit, the former being Funk’s place of residence. In the early 90’s, while other labels were moving away from the stripped-down sound of house, Dance Mania was the one to keep it going, and Funk was at the forefront. Early on he was a mixtape guy but had a couple very successful hits in the clubs, and in 1999 released this comp; thirty cuts of the movin’-est booty-shakin’ house music that had existed up that point.


Dance Mania was a pretty big label that went through a lot of stylistic changes. A great thing about it is that there isn’t really a wrong place to start, as long as you know what era you’re dealing with. This comp is nice if you’re new to ghetto house, but so are a number of other releases. In the future I’m going to try to upload as much Dance Mania stuff as I can (although this comp wasn’t actually released on DM).

Friday, February 20, 2015

Various Artists - Homework #101 U.S. "D.I.Y." and postpunk 1976-86: R&S


And here we are, the last volume for now. I may try and find whatever other Homework comps I'm missing in the future. And I'll be sure to post the rest of Messthetics here in the days to come. I hope you enjoy all of these as much as I have!

I wanna read books about sex and smut
But dad says I gotta do my homework
I wanna take the car out on Friday night
But mom says I gotta do my homework

Various Artists - Homework #102 U.S. "D.I.Y." and postpunk 1977-86: S&T


Just to add to the naming confusion. Volume #102 has totally different tracks than Volume #2 which I posted a few days ago.

Volume 102

Various Artists - Homework #103 American "D.I.Y" & post-punk '79-84: V-to-Z


Volume 103

Various Artists - Homework #104: U.S. "D.I.Y." and postpunk 1978-83: A & B


Volume 104

Various Artists - Homework #105 U.S. "D.I.Y." and postpunk 1978-83: "C"


Volume 105

Various Artists - Homework #9 US D.I.Y./punkwave/post-punk: A, B, & C LP cuts+


Really the only gripe I have with these compilations is the weird numbering scheme, I ordered the 7 volume pack and they sent me: #101, #102, #103, #104, #105, #9, and #10. And there's not really any consistency in the titles either. But the music's great at least!

Volume 9

Various Artists - Homework #10 DIY/postpunk/No Wave/experimental: ABC '79-89


Alright! I finally got the comps! I don't think they really even need any kind of introduction at this point, so here you go!

Volume 10

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Various Artists - Homework #2 U.S. D.I.Y.-punk & punkwave 45s: R-to-T


Oh for the love of god this week couldn't get any better. It turns out there's a whole different series made by the same label (Hyped2Death) that basically follows the same formula as Messthetics but features American bands instead of British ones. The only problem is that, as far as my searches have turned up, very few volumes exist online (which is a real crime against humanity since these comps should be much more well known). Hopefully within the next few days I'll scrape some money together and just buy all of the volumes of Homework from their website, add them to Discog and RYM, and of course, post them here.

in the meantime, enjoy volume 2

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Various Artists - Messthetics #2 UK D.I.Y./postpunk S-to-Th: 1978-82


Here's the second volume of Messthetics. This release has just as much D.I.Y. goodness as the last. The mix of delicious underground post-punk, punk, and power pop is enough to keep any sensible person glued to their headphones. Just as with volume 1, I highly recommend checking this out.

Under under under
Under a spell
Taking your chances
Doing it for thrills

Various Artists - Messthetics # 1: UK '78-81 "D.I.Y." - Bands R-to-Si



I think I did it. I found the holy grail of post-punk compilations. As the Trash Box was to garage and psychedelic rock, Messthetics is to D.I.Y. punk and post-punk. This will be the first of many posts about these fantastic comps. The first volume is a 1 hour and 15 minute long tour de force that shows you exactly whats to come in the other 17 volumes. A barrage of D.I.Y. madness that will keep you enthralled from beginning to end. If you like post-punk this is ESSENTIAL listening.

We're desperate and insane
Ambassadors of our cause
We don't care if we die
In courts of wars

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Experimental Audio Research - Mesmerized (1994)


EAR was an extended solo effort by Peter Kember (Spacemen 3, Sonic Boom) who often invited collaborators such as  Kevin Martin, Kevin Shields, Eddie Prévost , Lawrence Chandler, Nick Kramer, Delia Derbyshire and Thomas Köner to explore the farthest attainable reaches of sonic cosmology. On their first recording, Mesmerized, it’s tough to say exactly whose work is showcased, but it’s fun to make assumptions: the evolving drone on “Guitar Feedback Manipulation” recalls Shields and Chandler while the looming bagpipes on “California Nocturne” recalls Martin and Prévost.

Thursday, January 29, 2015

Eric Dolphy - At The Five Spot (1961)


The charm of live jazz albums are made or broken by the recording quality. Take Coltrane's Impressions for example, a fantastic quartet session cut down because of a severely undermic'd McCoy Tyner. Horace Silver's date at the Village Gate or any of the live Jazz Messengers albums, on the other hand, are great on record since the roaring crowd and fun announcements fit the brisk and bouncing hard bop they play.

Dolphy's Five Spot recordings are probably the coolest that I've heard. There are no announcements, just a few seconds of downtime and warmup before the lengthy pieces begin. The horns are super clear (which you'd want for a combo like Dolphy and Little) but none of the rhythm section's integrity is lost. Is it only the recording that makes this album so great? Hell no, just a factor that pushes this date to be one of my favorites ever.

Dolphy and his group aren't doing anything too groundbreaking in terms of the avant-garde he was committed to more and more every year. The quintet plays on a number of bop rhythms, and Dolphy shows he can be fire on this type of stuff as well as his strange cello duos. Booker Little is like the second coming of Clifford Brown: that speed! that melody! that stamina! Holy shit this guy is fire! I wonder how much different Out To Lunch would have been with him instead of Freddie Hubbard. The rhythm section is badass as well. Mal Waldron is an interesting pianist that was one of the founding fathers of the post-bop concept. While this elder was born in the hard bop era, he was messing around with different sounding melodies in the late 50s and was ready to hop on board with Dolphy, Little, and Ervin as soon as they pounced on the scene. Need I say anything about Richard Davis? Let's let his resume speak for itself. His later techniques might be downplayed here, but it's still him and he's a presence you'll certainly feel. Eddie Blackwell is just what these guys needed since he was just a part of Ornette's free-bop stuff with Atlantic. That's the lineup, the tracks are some of Dolphy and Little's best to fly on; just let the music speak for itself.


Volume 1, Volume 2, and Memorial Album

Saturday, January 24, 2015

Fifty Foot Hose - Cauldron (1968)


Holy shit. How is this album even from 1968? This tragically overlooked psych rock release offers an awesome mix of acid soaked pop songs on some tracks and dark, angular freak outs on others. Songs like "Red the Sign Post" or "If Not This Time" sound to me as if they'd fit in better in 1978 than 1968. This is a truly amazing album and I highly recommend it if you enjoy good music.

My brain imploded down to cinders
Growing new senses to feel
Seeing, hearing all that is real
If not this time
Maybe never

Thursday, January 1, 2015

The Scene Is Now - Burn All Your Records (1985)



Now here's an interesting band. You might know this band because Yo La Tengo covered their song "Yellow Sarong," The Scene Is Now were a weird band from mid 80s NYC so they often get lumped in with no wave. But trust me they aren't anything like your Circle X or your Swans or Y Pants or any of that. In fact it's really hard to tell what genre they are. They're sometimes defined as "postmodern jug music" but I prefer just calling them jangle pop, really schizophrenic and disoriented jangle pop. The album consists of 20 relatively short tracks that are poppy but also dissonant. In some tracks its almost as if they try to sound bad, and it ends up giving it a really endearing and cute sound. This album might take a few listens to click but I ~highly~ recommend this album.

A man in the moon
Taps on the window
How will we know your silhouette
How will we reach you (Are we real?)