July 22nd mix

Quite a delay this time around. Sorry to those who look forward to these mixes. I'm not planning on stopping and the next one certainly will not take this long! I actually did the really hard work of ripping 22 of these 26 songs to my computer in the middle of June.... so I am waaaayy behind with new records. Anyway, I did all that then wasn't prepared to do the writing and researching part of the gig. I think that was the week I was scrambling around to find a show for The Body. A show that I wound up not even being able to attend. Oh well.

So where were we... June? I bought a lot of Japanese stuff that month. And a lot of it is available for you to hear below. I bought a good deal more this month. I'll have all that for you next installment. Here are the details..

1. Really Red - Youth Culture For Sale
2. Straightjacket Nation - Cold War
3. Punch - Nothing Left
4. Human Mess - Uncaged Animal
5. JFA - Jody Foster's Army
6. Ill Repute - President
7. The Lewd - I'm Not Pretty
8. The Partisans - Police Story
9. The System - Prisoner Of Conscience
10. The Stalin - "song 11"
11. Bastard - Defective Chain
12. Lip Cream - Night Rider More Than Fight
13. Three Studies For A Crucifixion - Operation: Dandelion
14. La Fraction - Tu Le Sais
15. Xmal Deutschland - Giheimnis
16. Middle Class - Listen
17. Spectres - Cold War
18. The Estranged - No Love
19. Floodgate - Troubles A Brewin'
20. Ghost Towns - Golden Coasts
21. William Martyr 17 - Impetigo
22. End Of A Year - Beleaders
23. Ignition - Rebuilding
24. Jawbox - Twister
25. Tubers - We Are All Very Very Frozen
26. The Sugarcubes - Motorcrash


Even further detail:



1. Really Red "Youth Culture For Sale" - Texas' best kept secret. Even after their first LP "Teaching You The Fear" was reissued by Empty Records in 2004 this band still does not get their due. This song is the opener from their second and final LP, "Rest In Pain" recorded in 1983 and not released until after they'd split up in 1985. They were a perfect mix of late 70's post-punk and early 80's hardcore by the time they'd finished up. One of the 10 best USHC bands of the 80's? I think so. It's tough because by the time they got around to this LP you can tell they aren't particularly fond of hardcore. These records fucking blow my mind.



2. Straightjacket Nation "Cold War" - These Aussie ragers just stopped by on tour at the beginning of June and played to a decent crowd on a Monday night at Memory Lanes. Most people describe them as "Clevo-style" hardcore and I definitely hear the 9 Shocks Terror influence here among others. They stopped by Extreme Noise the next day and were really awesome people. They bought tons of stuff. If I'd have wrote this up last month I may have been able to still remember what! They also have a 7" but it may be out of print by now. Hopefully one will land in our used bins sometime soon but I don't expect it. These guys fucking tore the bowling alley up! Felix brought some copies into Noise but they're selling fast.



3. Punch "Nothing Left" - What can I say? I booked this band onto the A.N.S. show at the Triple Rock that In Defence was setting up. I heard some mp3s earlier in the year before their 7" on 625 came out and knew I had to get them a show here. It worked. They actually wound up playing 2 shows. A great band and just as rad folks. I hope to hang out with them while I vacation in San Fran early next year. Extreme Noise still has copies of this 7" and I'm certain you can still get it from Ebullition or some other cool distro.



4. Human Mess "Uncaged Animal" - New band from Bakersfield with members of Loser Life and the The Contaminators. This song is over much too quick. Much like the rest of their 7" which just came out on No Way Records last month. Noise still has copies and it's probably still available from No Way.



5. JFA "Jody Foster's Army" - FINALLY scored a copy of the Blatant Localism 7"!!! On Viva La Vinyl of all places. I scored it for right around $40ppd which is roughly $15 or so less than I've been consistently getting outbid at on Ebay for years. Last worthwhile JFA record for me. I think I'm missing some live thing and some of their early 2000's reunion records. Aww crap. Then there are the Smoke 7 comps and that "This Is Phoenix, Not the Circle Jerks" comp LP too. This fucking record collecting business just never ends.... Word on the street is that all noteworthy JFA records are going to get vinyl reissues from Magic Bullet Records sometime in the near future. That's much better than Alternative Tentacles was able to do with their "We Know You Suck" CD reissue several years back that didn't even make it to vinyl. What a joke. They did vinyl for the fucking Drunk Injuns but not JFA. Hang it up already, A.T.



6. Ill Repute "President" - Picked up the "Nardcore" compilation at Noise last month. I was excited for the Stalag 13 stuff but it ended up disappointing. This ripping Ill Repute song is another story. There are a few other standouts but this comp can get filed along with a lot of the other generic hardcore from Mystic Records.



7. The Lewd "I'm Not Pretty" - Been rocking this old S.F. band's 1978-1983 discography boot LP that I nabbed off the wall at Noise for $12(?) a while back. Great band that made the transition from punk to hardcore very well. I can't recommend this band enough. Almost everything they did was gold. I'm not really sure if there are any legit versions of their discography out there. There may be a CD one but that may be a boot too. Fuck, do whatever you've got to do to track this down.



8. The Partisans "Police Story" - I've never claimed to be any sort of an expert on UK punk. I've got my favorites for sure and I do enjoy a lot of UK '82 stuff but I'd never listened to the Partisans before. Scored a copy of Punk and Disorderly Volume 1 for $5 at the VFW record swap. $5? Why not? This record has been on the wall at Noise for $15+ before.



9. The System "Prisoner of Conscience" - A little more up my alley with UK punk. I'm a bit more schooled on the peace punk than anything else. This LP was laying around in a pile in the corner of my room for a long time. It was part of my friend Jon's collection that I sold for him nearly 2 years ago. Yeah, records do get lost in my room! It was in with a pile of stuff that the vinyl REALLY needed to be cleaned before listening to. It was worth the work cleaning this record up. I had a tough time picking which song to put on here. This LP was a discography that Skuld and Profane Existence teamed up to release 10+ years ago. Now I remember actually being with Jon when he bought this at Brave New World in Pittsburgh. I also distinctly remember him telling me a year or so later he was not into it at all. Strange. It totally sounds right up Jon's alley for 2001. I'm fairly certain this one is OOP by now. Check the Extreme Noise used bins!



10. The Stalin "Song 11" - I'm still pretty shocked I scored this on Ebay. I'm not a high roller or anything like that. I may seem that way to a few of you readers and some of my friends that know I've dropped $120 on a single record before but trust me, that isn't shit in record collector land. Anyway, I scored this for $29 at 4 in the morning on like a Monday or something. What usually puts me off buying stuff from overseas sellers is the postage rates. In this case it was $16. Making this a $45 record. Still not bad at all. Most song titles on this record are in Japanese so this song is titled "song 11". This is off their 2nd LP entitled "Stop Jap".



11. Bastard "Defective Chain" - Boot of this came into Noise. I jumped on that for $4.50! This is off their 7" "Controlled In The Frame" More wild Japanese hardcore!




12. Lip Cream "Night Rider More Than Fight" - Another score at Noise. Now this one didn't come quite as cheap. I may have even overpaid a bit for it. Whatever. More intense Japanese hardcore punk from 1984. Hopefully some cool label like Partners In Crime or Prank will do a reissue of Lip Cream someday. I'd really love to check out the rest of this stuff in some other better format than a faceless mp3.



13. Three Studies For A Crucifixion "Operation: Dandelion" - Changing things up with some 90's Ohio stuff. Love this band but for some reason I didn't have this split 7" with Harriet The Spy. Some copies surfaced without covers so about 30 handmade covers were assembled in total '90s fashion and sold off on VLV recently by Dennis of Solar Funeral who used to be a member of 3 Studies.



14. La Fraction "Tu Le Sais" - Cool song off this French band's 2002 LP "Aussi Long Sera Le Chemin" LP. We were all pretty excited to see them open up for Born Dead Icons back in 2003 but they ended up flooring us completely. It was pretty tough to show up BDI but they did it. I missed them when they came back last year. Stupid me. I had to work or something. Maybe I booked a show the same night. I can't remember. Maybe they'll be back again someday. This was on Skuld and is apparently still in print. They also have an LP on Feral Ward. We've still got copies of that one at Noise.



15. Xmal Deutschland "Giheimnis" - Another sweet find on the 4AD label. This came into Noise and I totally didn't know what to pay out for it or who to call and ask. I probably underpaid for it but fuck, you can't know it all. So yeah, this band is from early 80's Germany and totally gothy post-punk. A cross between Joy Division, Siouxsie and the Cocteau Twins. Hell yes. This is off their first LP, "Fetisch"



16. Middle Class "Listen" - Alright. I had no idea that L.A.'s Middle Class released anything besides their seminal "Out Of Vogue" 7". But who expected a band who were very likely the first hardcore band ever to wait 4 years and release a post-punk record??? I came across these songs on some random blog. I check Ebay daily for this LP, "Homeland". If you've got it and want to trade or sell or something get in touch!



17. Spectres "Cold War" - Second song on this mix called Cold War. What is going on? It's 2008! Another song from this new favorite of mine. Where are they from again? Vancouver? This is off their first 7" on Whisper In Darkness. In stock now at Extreme Noise.



18. The Estranged "No Love" - Fuck man... I missed them play at Eclipse with the Red Dons last month. Fuck work..... Anyway, I've played these guys on previous mixes. They're from Portland and they're amazing of course. LP should be getting restocked soon at Noise. It comes with a free mp3 download coupon too. Excellent to see Dirtnap offering that sort of service. I believe their program is set up through their vinyl pressing plant, United. If you run a label that presses vinyl this is something you should already be looking into instead of pressing useless CDs that are going to wind up in landfills in 5 years. New Estranged 7" at Noise middle of next week. It's called "Entranced"!



19. Floodgate "Troubles A Brewin'" - Rocking the 90's emo, of course. This is one of those Southern Cali classics on Ebullition. Heavy Rites of Spring and Moss Icon influences here. I actually bought this while living in Southern California in 1996. Long out of print but probably doesn't fetch more than $10 or $12 on Ebay, right? I remember listening to this on my Walkman out there while walking around wondering if I was really the only one in the state who didn't own a car....



20. Ghost Towns "Golden Coasts" - First 7" released on Communique from my friends from Lincoln Nebraska, Ghost Towns. They played the last full set at 720 Space / New Granada last June 9th before the cops busted in and shut me down. Oh well. What can you do when they've got you surrounded and they brought along battering rams? Fuck man, I knew I was sunk. The battering rams was just beyond overkill. Anyway, these kids played a rad set last month over at the Pocketknife house.



21. William Martyr 17 "Impetigo" - Mid 90's Arkansas hardcore. Dusted this one off after laying on the shelf for a long while. It's a split with Crown of Glory. Was Crown Of Glory pre-The Body? Or are a lot of folks in Arkansas named Lee?



22. End Of A Year "Beleaders" - This band released what I felt was one of the 5 best LPs of 2006 called "Sincerely" on Revelation of all places. They just signed to an even bigger label, Deathwish, Inc. I'm not expecting any tough guy edge mosh this time around from them though. I really, really hope they tour again and give me the opportunity to book them a better show than I did for them 2 years ago. This song is off their split 7" with Three Fifteen. It was on Slave Union who also released the vinyl for their Rev CD.



23. Ignition "Rebuilding" - Expect plenty of old DC hardcore on this blog. Dischord is one of my favorite labels ever. I doubt they'll ever repress the Ignition stuff but their discography CD is still available here.



24. Jawbox "Twister" - Early Jawbox from their 1989 7", "Tools and Chrome" Totally out of print on DeSoto but you can still get it on their singles and compilation discography here. DC. DC, DC.... Expect an all D.C. mix blog in the future.



25. Tubers "We Are All Very Very Frozen" My favorite song off their latest LP, "Shell Out" on their own Bakery Outlet label. The most awesomest people in St. Augustine Florida! I hope that vegan raw foods restaurant there stays in business! I want to go back someday!!



26. The Sugarcubes "Motorcrash" - What am I going to put at the end to throw everyone for a loop this time around. Scored the first 2 Sugarcubes LPs in the space of like 2 weeks in June. Cheap too. This was a middle school favorite of mine in my brief pre-punker days of the late '80s.


DOWNLOAD HERE VIA MEDIAFIRE

http://www.mediafire.com/?nxypddymlcz

That's it for now. If you've got any problems downloading just get in touch. Local folks i still offer to make you a CDr of it. Let me know, ok?

Goodnight,

RYAN

May 23rd mix

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

May 4th mix

Another installment already? I hoped to wrap up another one within two weeks but it took me an extra few days. Now here I sit on such a nice day wrapping it up while I was outdoors on Friday which was one of the worst spring days I've encountered my entire life! Winter has got to be over with now though..... right?!?

So yeah. Tons more records the past few weeks. Let's get right into this!

Quick track listing:

1. Zero Boys - Stick To Your Guns
2. The Night Marchers - And I Keep Holding On
3. Challenger - The Angry Engineer
4. The Estranged - Through The Night
5. Make Believe - Just Green Enough
6. Meneguar - We Own We Sell
7. Echo Is Your Love - A Song For Sea Scouts
8. Colin Newman - & Jury
9. Acts Of Sedition - Black Coffee And Black Flag
10. Cloak Dagger - She Cracked
11. Dustheads - Altered States
12. Uber - Agonizando Hasta El Final
13. Saccharine Trust - I Have...
14. Blank Dogs - The Dorrbell Fire
15. Finest Dearest - Your Hometown
16. Autoclave - Still Here
17. Portraits Of Past - Implications Of A Sinkhole Personality
18. Funeral Diner - Wearing Thin
19. Loser Life - Undressing You With My Mind
20. Crime Desire - Succubus
21. Amebix - Winter
22. Complications - Last Journey
23. The Cure - Love Song

The full story:

Zero Boys - "Stick To Your Guns"

Grabbed this one off of the Killed By Death Volume #4 LP. I don't know why I don't already own most of these wacky bootleg series but I don't. They're usually always available so I just guess it's a case of waiting for one to come into the store used. I'm pretty sure this is off of the 7" that my pal Phil came across while working at Cheapo last year. Lucky bastard! But you need these sort of benefits to come your way working for a place like that. It makes it worth it. Anyway, you'll never be as lucky as Phil and come across the original for anything less than $500 I'm sure so stop by Extreme Noise and pick up any random Killed By... compilation. You won't be sorry.

By the way, I'm not even sure that it's possible even though I witnessed it with my own eyes 2 years ago but this band is back together and still rips. It's hard to comprehend, I know.

The Night Marchers - "And I Keep Holding On"

First off, this is John Reis (a.k.a. Speedo) of Hot Snakes and Rocket From The Crypt fames new band. Maybe you've already heard about them. Anyway, I grabbed this off the internet since it's available only on CD right now on the completely worthless Vagrant Records label. A vinyl release on Reis' own Swami Records was supposed to come out simultaneously with the CD. I've made a few efforts to try and get details about the vinyl release but the label didn't even return my e-mail inquiry. I was also trying to set up some method of ordering direct for our store since their distributor Fontana, is impossible to work with for indie stores (they ask that you order "at least 100 units a month" to set up an account). When Swami gets their shit together and releases this on vinyl I will certainly post about it here. The CD is available now at Extreme Noise and probably everywhere else you can think of but seriously, who fucking buys CDs anymore? Download it and wait for the vinyl.

Challenger "The Angry Engineer"

Al Burian and Dave Laney of Milemarker. Through their first 3 LPs, Milemarker were one of my favorite bands. Their home base in the late '90s was still North Carolina so they would come visit us back in Auburn Alabama on many occasions. Most would agree Milemarker took a serious turn for the worse once they signed to Jade Tree in 2001. I do remember listening to Anaesthetic with Lani during our shift at Extreme Noise that year and we weren't even able to finish side 1! 2 years later they returned with a new band Challenger and I couldn't have been happier. None of the bullshit that plagued later period Milemaker. Straight forward and catchy with some of the smartest lyrics around. I still play this LP Give People What They Want In Lethal Doses and their next EP on Day After, When Friends Turn Against You often. I even sing along! Check the used bins for vinyl on these. Unless you're planning on ordering from Day After. It appears they even still have copies of Give People.. on vinyl.

The Estranged "Through The Night"

The description card for their other 7" at Extreme Noise reads "clearly influenced by the Wipers." Very true. Also some "Weathered Statues" and "Dance With Me" era T.S.O.L. as well. I'm super into this band. Somehow I thought there were former Observers members in the band but that's not the case. Members of Hellshock and Remains of The Day. They are on tour coming to MPLS this summer with The Red Dons! Both Estranged 7"s should be in stock right now at Noise. They won't last long though! Otherwise pick them up from Green Noise / Dirtnap. LP very soon on Dirtnap as well!

Make Believe "Just Green Enough"

I never really paid too much attention to these guys. Chicago.... post-emo.... quirky indie pop.... Kinsella brothers... I got tired of this sort of thing somewhere around 1999. I was fine with everything I'd already heard but wasn't interested in pursuing anything anything more after seeing bands like Paris Texas and Mid Carson July come through Auburn. I went to go see Make Believe at 7th Street last year and I've since taken notice again. I downloaded this album 2 months ago and bought the vinyl the day we got it in at Noise. I'm absolutely hooked! Expect to see more Make Believe on this blog. I think we may still have a copy of this LP left at the store and I might even see it's reordered. No CD, just 1000 on vinyl with a mp3 digital download coupon. Fuck yeah. You can also pick it up from the label, Flameshovel. I plan on buying their first 2 LPs here real soon.

Meneguar "We Own We Sell"

Plenty of people are already slamming this new Meneguar LP on Woodsist. To me it seems to be the logical progression of this band. They home record their other neo-folk band Woods and have their hands in plenty of other projects that don't sound anything like Meneguar... so I knew this was coming. It's still Meneguar, only lo-fi and home recorded with elements of Woods. I'm into it. Expect to see more from the new Meneguar LP on this blog. Our store sold out of this quick! We will try and get more but it's also available from Woodsist / Fuck It Tapes.

Echo Is Your Love "A Song For Sea Scouts"

I fucking love Echo Is Your Love!!! They plan on putting out a new LP this year. Can't wait! This is off their first full length, 8 Hours. In the States check Stickfigure for their stuff. In Europe check in with If Society. Hi Riku!

Colin Newman "& Jury"

Just listened to this again the other day. I figured I'd share it with you. This is off his first solo LP after Wire parted ways the first time. Much of what wound up on this LP was written for the 4th Wire album which didn't come out until 1987. Don't bother with that crap though. Track down "A-Z"! This particular song is probably the closest to early Wire as the LP gets. The rest is more of the atmospheric experimentation of 154 thanks in part to Mike Thorne's contribution. Still very, very good! Check used bins or Ebay for this LP!

Acts of Sedition "Black Flag and Black Coffee"

Not very Black Flag-y but this song leads into some Black Flag territory from the next two bands on this mix. This is off Acts of Sedition's newish 7" "Crown Victoria" available now at Noise or through the Bloodtown label. Now with 2 guitars I feel Acts have moved to totally next level shit. I booked them a show here a little over a week ago and they fucking laid waste to MPLS for the third time in a row. If all goes according to plan I hope to go out to the Bay Area and visit them and everyone else out there this fall.

Cloak Dagger "She Cracked"

A Modern Lovers cover off the B-side of their new 7" on Grave Mistake. The A-side turns out isn't that special. It was already released on their Jade Tree CD "We Are" that came out last year. As expected, Jade Tree continued their ridiculous vinyl hate and left the band to release it themselves. 8 months later and we're still waiting. Word is that Grave Mistake is going to press it later on this year. I'm really digging that label of late.

Dustheads "Altered States"

This sounds like Black Flag in the same style as Annihilation Time did early on. This 7" rages! I'm still searching for their Tall Tales I 7". Both I and II went OOP rapidly last summer. I had them booked on the Yo Man Go / Bridge And Tunnel / Signal To Trust show last summer at the Triple Rock but their van blew up just outta New York state I was told. Bummer. That would've been rad to see them. Are they still together? I haven't heard much out of them since these records.

Uber "Agonizando Hasta El Final"

Not much foreign stuff this time around. Uber here are from Barcelona. I picked up their first 7" after reading the description card on it at our store that compared them to the Formaldehyde Junkies. This song which completely rips "Gimme Gimme Gimme" off with the intro is off of their second 7" on Sell Our Souls. I saw that Grave Mistake's distro had this so I ordered it from them. I got nervous that we wouldn't get any at our store but they're there now. Check it out. My pick for 7" of the week! Excellent!

Saccharine Trust "I Have..."

Early SST stuff here. If all you've ever heard was their song "Human Certainty" off of "The Blasting Concept" compilation then you need to check out the rest of their "Pagan Icons" 12". Their later material is pretty hit and miss as far as I know. This shit is classic though.

Blank Dogs " The Doorbell Fire"

Off of one of the many 7"s released this past year. Much buzz around this "band" for the past 7 or so months. It turns out no one knows who "they" are but in all actuality it's just one dude and his synthesizers. All songs are available via free download here. Most of the actual vinyl is now OOP but the new LP on Troubleman is still available at Extreme Noise. I like this stuff more every time I hear it. Expect to see some songs off the LP here in the coming weeks. Hopefully I can track down some more of the vinyl before it all winds up on Ebay....

Finest Dearest "Your Hometown"

Excellent new indie rock from San Francisco with my new friend Christine who was just here with her other band Drowning With Our Anchors last month. These folks played an odd show at the Terminal Bar last Wednesday. Christine and I had a conversation about some of the negative aspects of the current hardcore scene but at the end of this bar show she said "I take back everything I said about the hardcore scene!!" In the end the bar show wasn't as bad as it seemed. We all had plenty of laughs. These are some more people I hope to visit this fall in the Bay Area. This song is off of their 2x10" on Bloodtown Records. If anyone is interested in buying a copy of this record please let me know. It's not exactly the kind of record we'll stock too heavy at Noise but if you're interested I'll see that we pick one up for you.

Autoclave "Still Here"

I thought about this old DC band while listening to Finest Dearest the other day. Pre - Helium, Slant 6, etc. They only released a 10" and a 7". This was all compiled posthumously by Dischord on a CD you can buy here.

Portraits of Past "Implications of A Sinkhole Personality"

I'm doing a show for the drummer of this old '90s emo hardcore great's
new band in a week here and I'm super excited about it! The new band is called Who Calls So Loud. I still remember the day this LP showed up in my PO Box back in Jackson. It was a sunny May day in 1997 much like today. I think I may have also received a box of Dawnbreed LPs for my distro that day too. I took the bus home rather than walking so I could get home quicker and listen to this! It took over a year to come out and the band was already long gone by that point. A true classic.

Funeral Diner "Wearing Thin"

From their split LP with Dead City which was some of my favorite material from this band. Matt from Portraits Of Past continued on with this band. Totally epic emo hardcore for the 2000's.

Loser Life "Undressing You With My Mind"

New 12" from Loser Life. My buddy Steven is in this band. He also has a music blog but doesn't give you any free music with his. What a cheapskate, I know! You can find it here. This 12" is still available at Extreme Noise or from Going Underground. Expect a 7" out later this year on the local label Rock Bottom.

Crime Desire "Succubus"

I promised more Crime Desire last time around. The full LP is now out. One of my current favorites for sure. They've slowed down a bit and Colin's vocal stylings have changed dramatically (I liked the high pitched ones from 3 years ago too!). Mid-paced and powerful hardcore with some good twisted lyrics. I really wish they would tour again someday. This LP should still be available at Noise or through Going Underground..

Amebix "Winter"

Amebix needs no introduction. Alternative Tentacles finally got ahold of the early Spiderleg recordings from Southern Studios and put out this LP/7" of all the lost early Amebix recordings. I am very pleased to finally have this stuff on vinyl! Extreme Noise got a bunch of these but we probably should've got a bunch more. If we run out be patient with us. It's something we're certain to restock.

Complications "Last Journey"

I said quite a bit about them last entry. If anyone needs the full demo let me know and I'll send you a link to it. Right now they just have the 7" on Feral Ward. Expect an LP by the end of the year.

The Cure "Love Song"

What do you need to know about this? "Disintegration" is flawless. Goodnight!

***** Download link for MegaUpload here!

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

April 18th mix

Finally. Here it is. There has got to be something you'll like in this one. Let me know if megaupload works for you folks. I only hope these things will load into your itunes or windows media player or whatever in correct order. If not I guess you can still hear them or maybe just burn them to a CD. As always, if you have any questions let me know. I love this stuff and really enjoy sharing this music. However, as I've stated before what you won't find here are full albums of readily available in print stuff. I'm a member of a DIY punk collectively run record store. I hope you won't need any further explanation of why I'm not into putting up entire albums.

Quick track list:
1. 999 - Fun Thing
2. Red Lorry Yellow Lorry - Strange Dream
3. Killing Joke - Turn To Red
4. Complications - This Is Where It Ends
5. Les Thugs - Flags
6. Siouxsie and the Banshees - Icons
7. The New Bloods - The Secret Life
8. The Bollweevils - Rodney
9. Masshysteri - Tvivel
10. Needles - Twisted Vision
11. Sex Vid - Exorcism
12. Crime Desire - Nadir
13. Acid Reflux - Old Timer
14. Ten Volt Shock - Planned But Abandoned
15. Loisirs - Congratulations
16. ABC Diablo - Superlative People
17. Wounded Knee - Hands
18. Walls - The Crawl
19. Second Wind - Knock On Wood
20. In The Red - Cut Your Eyes
21. Christie Front Drive - Away

In detail:


999 - "Fun Thing"

Finally got the "Biggest Prize In Sport" LP 2 weeks ago. Man, I've been missing out. If there is one thing I've been listening to a lot lately, it's been power pop. From 999 to newer stuff like the Busy Signals, I can't get enough. I love this song!

Red Lorry Yellow Lorry - "Strange Dream"

Found some mp3's of this on a random blog a while back. I'd always heard of this band but to this day never seen or heard a single record of theirs. The Joy Division comparison is obvious but then there are some Big Black elements to it. Wow! This is off of their "Talk About the Weather" LP. If anyone has got a copy of that please let me know! I'm always up for trading or buying!

Killing Joke - "Turn To Red"

Whoops. There is almost a skip in there. An interesting one here from an obscure early single. A lot of odd dub / reggae experimentation to it. I definitely like this better than "Nervous System" which is the A-side. They were still a little ways from finding their sound in my opinion. I can't recommend their self titled LP enough!

Complications - "This Is Where It Ends"

Ex-Born Dead Icons. Expect to see a much more from this Complications demo posted here. This shit is so good it blows my mind wide open! This was recorded years ago and released on some CDrs and never went to vinyl. That is a fucking shame. Rumor is they weren't happy with the recording! Hey guys, it's still only a demo! I've been trying to track these songs down for so long. It's great to finally have them. I was flipping out over their 7" on Feral Ward last year but these songs are possibly even better. An LP is in the works for later this year on....you guessed it! Feral Ward!

Les Thugs - "Flags"

Hey! French is these guy's first language but always sing in English just like Complications. A perennial '90s favorite, Les Thugs!!! This is from what ended up being their last LP, "As Happy As Possible" released in very early 1994 on Sub Pop. I remember well since my old roommate, Scott Stopyak bought it at Crazy Bob's back in downtown Jackson and we played the shit out of it at our first apartment on Milwaukee Street. What a dump! I've got a question for people out there: Was this ever released on vinyl? I remember ads saying it was at the time (Scott bought it on cassette) but haven't seen it in over 14 years of searching!

Siouxsie and the Banshees - "Icons"

I love the intro to this song. I was foolish and didn't get into this band until 4 years or so ago and didn't really start seeking out their vinyl until recently. This is off their second LP, "Join Hands", Not available on vinyl any longer I don't think but it was reissued and possibly remastered on CD early in 2007, I believe. Shouldn't be too hard to come by. You should get it!

The New Bloods - "The Secret Life"

Something new on Kill Rock Stars! These three ladies are from Portland and play post-punk that falls somewhere between the Au Pairs and Guts Pie Earshot. This song has been stuck in my head for the past two weeks! They put out a 7" that I've been on the lookout for since their interview in Maximum Rock n Roll 7 months ago. We've got this at Noise on both LP and CD. Apparently they only pressed 500 and that was silly because it totally sold out just like I thought it would. A repress on gold is on the way from Kill Rock Stars.

The Bollweevils - "Rodney"

I picked up this Bollweevils "Chicago" 7" a month or so back. I had this song "Rodney" on a tape I'd made of the old MSU student radio show "Punk Is Dead". I think I'm pretty close now to finding every single piece of vinyl that I'd liked that they'd played on that show. I'd almost forgotten about this song. Somehow it's still available through Dr. Strange Records! Only a buck! Sorry, no cover. Just the vinyl. Here. Yeah. Slowly turning back on to the pop punk of the '90s. Sorry, no Schleprock though.


Masshysteri - "Tvivel"

Hot and new from Sweden on Feral Ward. Most people already know the drill. This is basically 3/4 of the Vicious. Their name was actually a song off the last Vicious 7". I can't get over the fact that the guitarist used to be in the Doughnuts. You can pick this 7" up at Extreme Noise or from Feral Ward.

Needles - "Twisted Vision"

Another hot new one. Not sure about the availability of it any more though. I underordered it for our store and barely got a copy for myself. Anyway, this is Martin from Limp Wrist / Los Crudos and members of Talk Is Poison. Say no more. Totally ripping hardcore. Maybe Feral Ward has copies. Ebullition does not. It's on Lengua Armada but he still doesn't have a website as far as I can tell.

Sex Vid - "Exorcism"

Hard to mention this band without bringing up some degree of the hype surrounding them. It's worthy of the hype though. They are from Olympia and have released 3 7"s. Not sure what the early one was called but the second one, "Tania" is already getting to be a tough find. My friend and fellow volunteer at Noise, Brad snagged a couple copies of it and passed one onto me. Anyway, this is off their new 7", "Nests". It's in stock at Noise for the moment. Ebullition may still have some. Bistro Distro is already out. I just checked! Damn, that was fast!

Crime Desire - "Nadir"

This band has slowed it down since the last time around and the singer, Colin has toned down his trademark high-pitched vocals too. I thought the vocals were endearing. Most people referred to them as "that band with the vocals" though. This song is great and I expect it will be on the new s/t LP that should arrive at Noise next week. Everyone else should pick this up direct from Colin's label Life's A Rape or through Ebullition or Vinyl Junkie or something. Or.... or...

Acid Reflux - "Old Timer"

A song off their first 7" on No Way Records which was their demo pressed to vinyl. I've barely gotten a chance to listen to it or their newest one also on No Way. They got behind a ton of stuff I've bought or mailordered recently. So I don't know if this is really the best song off the record or not.

Ten Volt Shock - "Planned But Abandoned"

My favorite band from Germany if not all of Europe these days. Members used to be in the band called Kurt. I believe they broke up some time in '03 or '04. This new band is tighter and faster and that's actually not a bad thing. This is from their new-ish split 7" with the French band Loisirs, who also have a song up next. Not sure how many copies of this split made it to the States. I got mine from my friend Rich's Bakery Outlet distro. Thanks Rich!!! The rest of you may have to check in with X-Mist for this one.

Loisirs - "Congratulations"

Loisirs is French for "entertainment". This is off their aforementioned split with Ten Volt Shock. I love finding all these Euro bands I had no idea previously existed. Apparently, they've been around for quite some time now. It seems unlikely that Stickfigure would still have their stuff in stock but that's the first place I'm going to look. Otherwise, I might have to go in with you on an order from X-Mist! Quick before postage rates jump again in May!!! Shit!

ABC Diablo - "Superlative People"

Scored this 7" off Ebay last month for a measly $15 and domestic postage. It was from the dude who runs 1-2-3-4 Go! Records out in Oakland. He just opened up a all-punk record shop out there. Best of luck to you! Back to the record. Totally sick German metal / HC from the early '90s. I thought I'd never find this record! I actually bid all the way up to $45 but no one countered with any more than $15! Fuck yeah! If you dig these guys you'll probably have to wind up looking on Ebay for their stuff. All OOP and the labels who put them out are all long gone.

Wounded Knee - "Hands"

Another used bin score at Noise. $6. Another early to mid '90s band but from Luxenbourg. Not sure how much else they released. I recently got a 7" comp called "Close Your Eyes And See Death" off of someone on Viva La Vinyl and these guys were on there. Also there is the old "Illiterate" Ebullition comp they were on too. You can still get that one in our used bin from time to time or from Ebullition. Huh. I just found out that the label this was on was a sub-label of X-Mist. Hell yeah. Great label!

Walls - "The Crawl"

Members of Iron Lung and Cold Sweat here. Totally pulverizing mid-paced hardcore that brings to mind Rorshach, Deadguy and Dead & Gone all together. They just put out an LP on Painkiller. We've still got copies at Noise.

Second Wind - "Knock On Wood"

Finally got this missing piece of harDCore history a few weeks ago for $25 at Noise. This is Steve Hansgen (Minor Threat) and Bert Queiroz's (Untouchables, Youth Brigade, Rain, etc) mid 80's band. Minor Threat and Marginal Man influences to it but not quite as good. Still worth checking out for sure.

In The Red - "Cut Your Eyes"

Mike Hale formerly of Gunmoll's new band out in California. In The Red's new album just made it into Noise on CD a few weeks ago. I expect the vinyl on Kiss Of Death in a few weeks. I'm going to place a No Idea distro order next week. This song is actually off a split CD with the band Genrevolta (har har).

Christie Front Drive - "Away"

Probably the "hardest" CFD song. Yeah, I know that's not really saying much but that's what I think when I hear this. Probably too poppy or indie for most folks these days but I still love the shit out of their records. Sadly, it's all OOP these days. Their old label Caulfield closed up for good a few years back and not even the label's distributor, Lumberjack Mordam Music Group carries their CDs anymore. Lemme know if you want mp3's. I've got all of them I think. I had a show all booked for Eric from CFD's new band, the 101 at the 720 Space in the summer of 2006. The rest of the tour fell through so they had to cancel. That would've been a cool show. Oh well.

LINK: Here at megaupload.


That's it for this week. We'll see what I can come up with next week. Any questions or requests please hit me up either here at newgranadampls@gmail.com or my regular e-mail prisoncity@hotmail.com

*If downloading these off the internet doesn't work for you then please hit me up for a CDr copy of it

A couple of the Rikk Agnew LP tracks for you and more.

Hey. I'm finally back with some of the Rikk Agnew LP tracks. I'm going to start the MP3 mixtape entries this week. I'm accumulating records at an insane pace these days. I'm even piling MP3s on my computer faster than it can keep up. Since I have two OS I don't have as much room on my hard drive as I thought I was going to need initially. I should be buying an external hard drive here relatively soon. Not just to pile more stuff on but to back it all up as well.

1. Rikk Agnew - O.C. Life
2. Rikk Agnew - It's Doing Something

Here they are via RapidShare. Any questions on how to do this sort of thing just hit me up at prisoncity@hotmail.com or leave a comment below.

Like what you hear? It's in stock now on vinyl at Extreme Noise. You can also pick it up here direct from Frontier.


This week the long awaited final Dystopia LP came out! It's self titled and has 6 new songs and a cover of an old song by the band Carcinogen which drummer Dino used to be in back in the early '90s. I haven't really gotten a good thorough listen to it yet. It's the same pummeling, misanthropic, deranged metal / hardcore you've come to expect from these guys. More on it later. I'm just sad I traded off their split LP with Skaven years ago for the Born Against / Man Is The Bastard 8"! I've seen that 8" so many times in the past 8 years since and never seen the Dystopia / Skaven LP again!!! Tyler Stoddle, you got the better trade that day. Oh well. If anyone reading has got that split LP, the split 7" with Grief or the split with Suffering Luna please get in touch about my trade list!

You can pick up the new Dystopia LP right now at Extreme Noise in MPLS. The CD is also now available but we won't see it at the store for 2 more weeks. For the rest of you it's available direct from their label Life Is Abuse. It's going to be available in Europe from Skuld.

Other sweet stuff this week:

* Battletorn / MGT 7" - Totally sweet Japanese tour 7" limited to 200 that I picked up from Omid Battletorn before they left for tour! Thanks Omid!!!

* The Busy Signals s/t LP - I never thought power pop would do it for me. I was wrong!

* Beefeater - Need A Job 12" - Picked up in a trade from Jonas S. over in Switzerland. Too bad he lost track of his Bullet LaVolta "Swandive" LP. That was my first choice in our trade. Bummer. Anyway, this copy is a British pressing (domestic was on the Bad Brains' old label Olive Tree) on Wet Spots and I think it's in better shape than the copy I traded off to my good pal Leo in Italy. Jonas sent me some other stuff along to make up for the bum deal but the majority of it looks like Extreme Noise "discount dungeon" material. Hacksaw 7", Chalkline 7", etc.

* Planes Mistaken For Stars - Fucking Fight 7" on Dim Mak - Still holding out on this. I will probably trade it. This band has always been hit or miss on vinyl. Live they always stole the show.

* Kaaos / Cadgers 7" - I'm no expert on the old Swedish stuff but I've never heard a bad record by Kaaos.

* Cross Laws - Ancient Rites 7"

* Bury The Living - All The News That Is Fit To Scream LP - Used score for $4.50. Why did it take me so long to get this? I still need to sit down and give it a thorough listen for sure. The singer was and may still be a professional wrestler back in their home state of Tennessee.

* Contra - Boys Club Anthems LP - I've got a track or two by these guys in my Itunes library off of a sampler CD that their old label, Traffic Violation put out. Very good stuff.

Anyway, more on these records and even songs posted from them for you to download in the coming weeks. Honest.

Endnotes:

Just listened to the Uranus / His Hero Is Gone 12" for the first time in well over a year the other day. Still so affecting. His Hero Is Gone just fucking give me the chills. So many imitators out there but no one comes remotely close to this band in either innovation, brutality or intelligence. Uranus were no slouches either. The words that always came to mind were "bulldozing" or "steamrolling" whenever this band was mentioned.

Won a D.I. - Team Goon 12" on Ebay last weekend in further Rikk Agnew related news. $10.06 for a later Triple X Records pressing which really isn't so bad since it's got 3 more songs than the original on Revenge Records. I just want to ditch the cassette I've had of it since 1992!

Take care everyone,

RYAN

Rikk Agnew "All By Myself" LP

I'd like to turn the spotlight on a little known early hardcore punk record by Rikk Agnew. Recently I came across an updated "vinyl in stock" listing from the distributor Lumberjack Mordam Music Group that included several titles which I believed to be out of print. Lists like these are usually an exercise in futility with most distributors. You run through them and check through all the stock in your store, make a list and hopefully this stuff will show up. 8-9 times out of 10, they don't. So when I saw two old Frontier Records titles, Redd Kross' "Born Innocent" LP and Rikk Agnew's All By Myself LP I was intrigued. I've never actually seen either LP before. I've seen shit tons of lousy Redd Kross records and CDs. Never any solo Rikk Agnew though. I'd have never known he released a LP if I hadn't been searching the Flex US punk / hardcore discography site years ago compiling a new record want list. Funny thing about that entry (which gave the LP an 8/10) is that it lists him as an ex-member of D.I. multiple times while making no mention of his most popular band, The Adolescents! I did a little more research on this LP and have always kept an eye out for it. I figured it was long gone and for the most part forgotten.

The day finally came around and the LP showed up at our store!

I threw it on to see for myself and on the first song (hear it for yourself right here) O.C. Life, I was sold. Word is getting around at our store and all the Adolescents fans are checking it out. You should too. All music on the LP is written and played by Agnew, thus the title All By Myself. Recorded in 1982 at the age of 23 just after he'd left the Adolescents but before he'd joined the first incarnation of Christian Death. It's the classic Southern Cali hardcore punk that you'd expect from this guy. A few upbeat Adolescents style songs, a few moody slower ones that bring to mind the Christian death stuff, a surfy one that brings to mind "Kids of the Black Hole" a little bit, perhaps due to the tone of the lyrics and an odd pop song called "Everyday". That one is pretty good but it just doesn't fit here I think. I highly recommend this LP!



As I had promised a month or so ago, there will be MP3 "mixtape"s here soon enough. I completed one in late August but had a few setbacks. Both technically and in my personal life. I am going to run through and re-rip probably 3/4 of what I had finished. I've got tons of ideas for the next several and I haven't slowed down in my record purchasing at all recently. If anything I have been buying more records than ever. Lately it's one of the things that has kept me in positive spirits. When things get shitty I just buy records. Seriously, sitting here in my room listening to the music I love on a good stereo with my cat at my side really pleases me.

Here's one for you.....

A little over a week and a half ago I received complimentary tickets to the Shriner's Circus in my P.O. Box. I thought this was more than a little odd. They weren't necessarily addressed to me but the "boxholder". See, just a few days prior I had been down at Minneapolis City Hall along with other concerned citizens and members of Compassionate Action for Animals protesting for a citywide ban on circus performances that include wild animals. Anyway, the whole ordeal simply reinforced my distaste for politics. Obviously the ban didn't pass. Further details are here on the Star Trib's page. My ward's representative went on to say that he "didn't find anything wrong with the circus." Kidnapping wild animals (or perhaps breeding them) for a life of slavery, abuse and other cruelty sounds perfectly fine to me too. Fuck you Robert Lilligren.