Wow! Another 2+ weeks have passed! It's been a wild ride. Warm weather has finally arrived. Lilac bushes have bloomed. Trees are finally green! Days are spent at the record store?? Late nights spent ripping vinyl onto my computer just for you? Sure, why not? Winter is half a year away! No, seriously I'd probably have gotten this done sooner but the weather was very nice this week. I had the pleasure of spending time with the best of friends and chatting it up with random acquaintances at the randomest of random places (if you can really call Cheapo that)!
I spent this Tuesday night at an incredible basement show at the Tardcore Compound and feel fully renewed and re-energized from it. Under Pressure, The Agenda and Condominium The summer shows I am booking are slowly coming together and I think this summer is certainly going to be one worth looking forward to.
Some new stuff and a handful of classics for you this week. Here is the quicklist....
1. McRad - McShred
2. Phoenix Bodies - I Guarantee You're A Pile Of Shit
3. Screeching Weasel - I Hate Led Zeppelin
4. Adrenalin O.D. - My Mother Can't Drive
5. Condominium - Hello Tomorrow
6. The Agenda - Pick Me
7. Under Pressure - Black Bile
8. Cursed - Magic Fingers
9. Gulag - No Tengo Dios
10. Invasion - Bastardos
11. Dystopia - Leaning With Intent To Fall
12. Spectres - Visions Of A New World
13. Sleepwalkers R.I.P. - Get Out While You Can
14. Reactionary 3 - Lifestyle Politics
15. N.O.T.A. - Fucked Up
16. Dead Moon - Killing Me
17. Conversions - Basement Escapism
18. Finally Punk - Boyfriend Application
19. La Peste - I Don't Know Right From Wrong
20. Make Believe - Goin' To The Bone Church
21. Three Mile Pilot - Eastern Wave
22. Colin Newman - Fish 3
23. Low - Belarus
24. Daitro - Les Orbites En Eveil
25. Who Calls So Loud - Sleep-Like
26. Crucial Youth - 4 Rules
Now for the specifics!
McRad - "McShred"
Gawd, I love this song. The short form here is that I am back on my skateboard. I've been listening to some raging skate rock classics and watching H-Street's Shackle Me Not lately. Watch out! 360 No Complys and 180 frontside one-footed ollies are coming back!
Phoenix Bodies - "I Guarantee You're A Piece Of Shit"
Whoa! Not sure what band crossed Derek and Phoenix Bodies but someone out there inspired this spiteful song. I'd love to see Phoenix Bodies again but I'm not sure when that'll happen. I was supposed to work out something for Derek's other band, the Holy Bible at 720 Space last year but once the summer line-up got filled fast and then with the space getting shut down things never materialized.
Screeching Weasel - "I Hate Led Zeppelin"
Led Zeppelin. What's the big deal anyway? Screeching Weasel's 2nd LP, "Boogada, Boogada, Boogada" was just repressed this month by Recess Records. First press is already sold out but we've got a few left at Noise. The label that wound up with the CDs, Asian Man, decided not to do vinyl represses of the classic Lookout! Screeching Weasel and Queers back catalog so Recess is handling it. That works out just fine. Expect the rest of the titles by years end, I believe.
Adrenalin O.D. - "My Mother Can't Drive"
If I'm thinking about or playing early Screeching Weasel then I'm thinking about New Jersey's A.O.D. This song is from their third LP, Crusing With Elvis In Bigfoot's UFO. Not quite as ripping fast as their early stuff, but for me, this will always be my favorite A.O.D. LP. It was my first introduction to the band in 1990 through my old friend Ian Hutton. Little did I know, all the other skate punks in my neighborhood were already into this particular album. Scott Stopyak already had a dub cassette of it I think. This on one side and The Stupids "Violent Vacation With Peruvian Nuns" on the other. Fucking sick. I didn't get the vinyl until probably 2003 I think. You'll likely see much more Adrenalin O.D. on this blog.
Condominium - "Hello Tomorrow"
This local band gets better everytime I see them play. I seriously want to book a show for them but we haven't been able to make it happen yet. They have a self released 7" that is available here or at Extreme Noise where the entire band volunteers on all different shifts. Hopefully shit doesn't go too haywire around the store in June since they are going on a two-week tour to the East coast. I think they played about all of this 7" including this song and a new one that was very mid-period Black Flag. I'm looking forward to seeing more vinyl from this band! More!!!
The Agenda - "Pick Me"
I won't gush too much about Tim and embarrass him here (if that's possible. He often strips down to next to nothing during their live shows) since I am fairly certain he's read this blog before. Anyway, Tim is a real favorite of mine in the Twin Cities. A truly fun, positive person and a natural born punk rock singer. Not to mention the rest of the band. Great guys all around and one of my favorite bands here. I'm totally stoked that they are finally releasing another 7", this time on Fashionable Idiots in the coming months. First one is still available through the band or at Noise.
Under Pressure - Black Bile
Minneapolis' favorite Canadian band for sure. If this Winnipeg band is going on tour they usually stop here on the way in and on the way back. I missed their late show at Memory Lanes 2 weeks ago but was waaaaayy happier to catch them at Tardcore the other night. They've got several records available out there since they've been around a good long time now. Check in with Fashionable Idiots, Sound Pollution, or their own label Primitive Air-Raid for their records. Escape Artist did CDs of their last 2 releases. Pretty much all their stuff is available now at Extreme Noise.
Cursed - Magic Fingers
Fuck man. I just heard they broke up yesterday. They were robbed while on tour in Europe somewhere and apparently lost everything including their fucking passports and all their cash from tour. I don't know if they're stranded there or not since they're without passports. I guess this was the final nail in their coffin so to speak. I kicked myself for missing them years ago when they played with Converge at the Triple Rock. I figured I'd see them sometime. Not going to happen now though. Their new LP, "Architects of Troubled Sleep" is available from Goodfellow Records here. I highly recommend it and their last one, "Two".
Gulag - "No Tengo Dios"
Spanish D-beat out of the Extreme Noise used bins. I need to check out more of these new Spanish bands! Also....
Invasion - "Bastardos"
INVASION!!! I don't know about you but I'm fairly bored with most D-beat these days so I was super stoked to find something that's not so damn generic. Check it. These guys are from Barcelona Spain and are on tour in the States right now but aren't coming anywhere near here, sadly. I love this LP though. Ebullition is where our store got more copies of it. Feral Ward may have copies left as well. If you want a copy from Noise let me know and I'll reorder it for you.
Dystopia - "Leaning With Intent to Fall"
The new Dystopia LP. FINALLY! Rumor is it took an extra year just to make the artwork that much more brutal. Well, I don't know about that. Whatever the case, it's Dystopia through and through. If you were ever a fan you should already have bought this LP. If not, snap it up here from Life Is Abuse or Ebullition. Obviously in stock at Noise on both formats. It's been one of our best-sellers so far this year!
Spectres - "Visions Of A New World"
Vancouver's answer to Joy Division. Sooo.... J.D. influenced or J.D. rip-off? Whatever. I'm into it. This is off the same titled 7" on Whisper In Darkness. I'm fairly certain their first 7", "Cold War" is still available there as well. Both back in stock soon at Noise.
Sleepwalkers R.I.P. - "Get Out While You Can"
I don't know a whole lot about this band except they were from Portland and they've already broken up. I hear some Wipers. I hear some Avengers. I like this a lot. I wonder if they recorded anything else?
Reactionary 3 - "Lifestyle Politics"
I fucking love these guys. I've totally worn out this 7". Obviously wearing their Minutemen influences on their sleeves with the name of the band (The Reactionaries were an early incarnation of the Minutemen) but still putting enough of their own spin on the sound to make it sound fresh and urgent as always. I really need to dig out their split LP with True North and give it another listen or five. This 7" is still available from No Idea hopefully.....
N.O.T.A. - "Fucked Up"
Finally got ahold of their "Toy Soldiers" 7" off of Felix at last weekend's Extreme Noise Punk Rock Flea Market. It wasn't cheap either. I was kind of hoping to sell more of my stuff so I could go over to Felix's table and drop major dollars but it didn't happen. My best seller was my vegan banana bread and that was a "donations only" thing. Sheesh. Back to N.O.T.A. though. It's a crime that this Oklahoma City's catalog has been unavailable for the past 20 years. I can't even remember the reason why Prank or Havoc or someone else hasn't been able to repress this stuff. I'm also surprised that the market hasn't been flooded with bootlegs either with the resurgence of many of the 80's semi-obscure hardcore greats in the last 5 years.
Dead Moon - "Killing Me"
I recently scored a few copies of their "Cracks In The System" LP for Noise. It was certainly pricey at $18+ but it was worth it. I can't believe I slept on this band for so long. I'd heard plenty about them but never checked them out. Their "Echoes of the Past" CD compilation on Sub Pop certainly contributed to their recent popularity. Then they broke up. Their new band Pierced Arrows has a few records out that we're trying to get for the store. Soon enough. they're all still available through their label, Tombstone.
Conversions - "Basement Escapism"
I was not expecting raging '90s style hardcore from Level Plane but that's what we get from this band. Just like pretty much everyone else on this mix, they recently broke up. Boo. Looking forward to seeing new bands from these Boston area folks. Copies of this LP are still available at Extreme Noise.
Finally Punk - "Boyfriend Application"
Hmm. Maybe I should've put one of their other songs on here. I just got this 7" at Noise. It got a solid review in MRR last year and their name has been thrown around with other all-female West coast bands Mika Miko and the New Bloods but they're more straight up punk / riot grrl than either of them. I think we've still got some of these at Noise. We got our copies from Stickfigure.
La Peste - "I Don't Know Right From Wrong"
Boston KBD from '79. They put out one single "Better Off Dead" that I believe made it to one of the Killed By Death compilations. This is from their discography LP that came out on Matador of all places in the late '90s. So strange. But isn't Gerald Cosloy from Boston? Ok. So that makes more sense. The Matador release is long gone but it's back on CD here from Bacchus Archives. Outside of the actual song "Better Off Dead" they only have a few songs worth a listen. This is one of them. I'll probably put "Better Off Dead" on an upcoming mix. Keep your eyes peeled.
Make Believe - "Going To The Bone Church"
I told you there'd be more Make Believe. I fucking love this LP. If you're a fan let me know how their first 2 measure up. I plan on buying them eventually. This new one, like I mentioned in my last mix entry was a random download for me and it grew on me rapidly. I bought the LP the day our store got it in stock. Outstanding!
Three Mile Pilot - "Eastern Wave"
I've been waiting with baited breath for the announcement of their new LP which has been in the works for a long time now. They've signed with Touch and Go which makes perfect sense since both their post 3MP projects, Black Heart Procession and Pinback have made it their home. Anyway, in Touch and Go's latest retail wholesale update this release has found it's way back onto the "in the works" section!!! No, it's not a definite date yet but something has got to be going on! This song is from their 1997 release "Another Desert Another Sea". Last I checked, the label Headhunter / Cargo has foregone any sort of website sales and opened up an Ebay store to sell their wares. Odd. So.... check used bins or Ebay for this one. Shouldn't be too hard to find.
Colin Newman - "Fish 3"
From his second solo LP on 4AD "Provisonally Entitled The Singing Fish". I bought this down the street at Treehouse Records last week for $12. It's pretty beat looking but I didn't know when I was going to see it again. I think I got outbid once or twice for it on Ebay last year so what the hell, ya know? All songs are titled "Fish" and they are numbered 1-12. I'm still on the fence about it. I'm sure I'll keep it but this will be the final piece of the Wire / Newman discography for me. People seem to be dumping Wire's late '80s output right and left these days. I've seen most of them at Treehouse recently and Noise just bought a bunch that are probably headed out onto the sales floor this weekend. Proceed with great caution.
Low - "Belarus"
Belarus is an Eastern European country I don't believe I'd ever heard of before. Once a part of the former Soviet Union and now neighboring Russia (obviously) and Poland among others. Low are from Duluth which makes them sort of a local band around these parts. They're a favorite among many friends of mine but somehow I've never gone to go see them play. This LP, "Drums and Guns" came into Noise used a little while back and I picked it up. Not my normal thing but still pretty cool for chilling out times. I really like that song "Silver Rider" that my friend Sharyn put on a mix CD for me awhile back. It shouldn't be too tough for you to track down Low's recordings since they're on Sub Pop. Any self respecting indie record store should stock them.
Daitro - "Les Orbites En Eviel"
My second favorite current French hardcore band (the first obviously being Amanda Woodward). They played an incredible show with Ampere that I booked here last summer. I'm anxiously awaiting the domestic release of their new split LP with Sed Non Satiata on Code Of Ethics. I guess it's out but copies haven't made it to distributors yet so....still....waiting...to...get...copies...for..our store. Uggh. In the meantime people will all mailorder it. Double uggh. What's worse is many copies of the Euro pressing of it made it to the States over the past 6 months making selling the domestic press all that much tougher. First world problems, I know. I'll be sure to post when it arrives at our store finally if anyone cares.
...Who Calls So Loud - "Sleep-Like"
It's tough booking shows. You can promote a band as being ex-Funeral Diner and even ex-Portraits of Past but not even that will get people to come out to the show. Booked solid locals. It doesn't matter. This band played an incredible set at the Alamo last Monday to like 7 or 8 people. Sad. I know they don't care but I fucking do. Get out and support DIY touring bands in whatever city you happen to live in people. This song is from their 2x10" released on their own label, Sorry and Adagio 830.
Crucial Youth "4 Rules"
One of the earliest straight edge parody bands. "Be Straight! Don't Be Late! Bench Your Weight! Don't Masturbate!" A score and a half at Noise recently. Near mint, white vinyl, comic book/lyric sheet all for a measly $12!
People seem to be genuinely scared off by the "Adult Friend Finder" pop-ups over at Megaupload. I'm going with Sendspace this week. Register your complaints with the complaints department.
Here it is....
Can't do downloads but live in the Twin Cities? Get in touch or stop by Extreme Noise Tuesdays 12-8 for a CD-r!
Like what you hear? Please let me know. Something you'd like to hear? Let me know!
prisoncity@hotmail.com or newgranadampls@gmail.com
