BLANKCRISIS.COM (an mp3 blog)

Over & Out

2007-07-17T10:12:00.001-04:00

Yep, folks. This is it. Time for new posts has slipped due to new projects (and school).

But I will still be around mp3blogville! So we need not say final goodbyes or anything like that. However, the songs you see available now will disappear by the first of August.

Thanks for everything, guys. Two years is about long enough to do anything. And there are about 2 million mp3 blogs popping up every day, so... see you around.

~Neal

3rd side of two exiles

2007-07-03T11:20:00.000-04:00

(not including "Happy")

*Read the story behind this 1971 masterpiece here*

from the original Stones album:

Turd On The Run mp3
Ventilator Blues mp3
I Just Want to See His Face mp3
Let it Loose mp3

from the Pussy Galore cover album/cassette:

Turd On The Run mp3
Ventilator Blues mp3
I Just Want to See His Face mp3
Let it Loose mp3

surfers' "locust"

2007-06-29T11:00:00.000-04:00

(Below is a quick tribute to Bob & his Gimme Tinnitus...)

Q: Who has received the most posts here in the last two years?

A: It's them Texas acid freaks-- way, way up at the top of the pile.

piouhgd got the first bit of props; and then last summer Rembrandt was featured. So it was only a matter of time before their 1987 album would find its way onto the center of your screen and between yr earz.

One of my favorites in the annals of rock folklore is the one about this band moving near Athens to stalk REM. The story is perfect-- reminding me of that Southern duality thing, on the level of the Beatles (angelic) & Stones (demonic), sort of. Another story from that period (as reported in It Crawled From The South had Gibby and some other members burning their van in Stipe's front yard. I speculate that this was simply the Surfers' way of showing their love... and jealousy.

Another interesting story is the one where Gibby jokes to Cobain about jumping the wall at rehab. Combine that one with the long-held rumor that he'd given Daniel Johnston his first tab of LSD (which he denied in the documentary).

But back to Locust... It's full of interesting twists, from a bare bones Sabbath cover/homage to the bizzare "Kuntz" (which includes source material, unknown to most fans, but identified by WFMU earlier this year), to the debut of Gibbytronix...

"an arsenal of effects devices, which redefined the concept of lead vocals. Just like the various musicians and films going on simultaneously during BHS performances, Gibby’s voice was a wordless instrument that entered the dense mix comprising the BHS sound system experience. Without a distinct voice, the album was decidedly non-didactic. It was like jumping punk ship and falling into a hallucinatory dreamscape."
-found here in a much better article on the album than I could ever write

...and who could forget Leary's beautiful Hendrixian lead at the end of "23 Going On 23"? Absolutely brilliant.

NOTE: If any 'a youse out there owns a copy of the 1990 side project The Jackofficers Digital Dump album, please contact me!

Sweat Loaf mp3
Human Cannonball mp3
U.S.S.A. mp3
The O-Men mp3
Kuntz mp3
22 Going On 23 mp3

Marin & Tommy

2007-06-26T10:30:00.000-04:00

Rarely is it the case that this blog pounces on the moment to address the really important issues...

And after a long time wrestling with what to post today, I was saved by our pal and sometime Blank Crisis correspondant, Joel Rowsdower. He sent us this article about a film coming soon, The Purple Brain. (I searched for trailers, but no-could-find.)

The plot is as follows: Sure, the pot you and your 40-something peers once enjoyed may have been innocuous, but that's only because it bears no resemblance to the super-potent weed of today-- strains with such foreboding names as "Train wreck," "AK-47," and "The Purple." As proclaimed by Drug Czar John Walters recently, "We are no longer talking about the drug of the 1960s and 1970s -- this is [in computer parlance] Pot 2.0."

So, enjoy some time today with Marin & Tommy, otherwise known as these guys.

*Watch C&C on YouTube, as well*

Dave's Not Here mp3
Earache My Eye mp3
Let's Make a Dope Deal mp3
Sgt. Standanko mp3
"The Chong Bong"? (may or may not be C&C, found at Audiogalaxy back in the day) mp3
McDoobie's mp3
Gonorrhea mp3
Pedro & Man at the Drive-in mp3
My Scrotum mp3
Sound clip from "Up in Smoke" mp3
Cruising With Pedro mp3
Vietnam mp3

10-B

2007-06-22T10:27:00.000-04:00

This is probably the last podcast for a while. Until August or whenever I can get some other personal crap together.

Remember, you may access previous mixes at any time by clicking labels: podcasts at the bottom. And don't forget to subscribe while yr at it!

Right click/save as: mp3 (53 MB)

Playlist here: (.txt file)

*This episode is archived 24/7/365 at this page*

mixtape 10 side A

2007-06-19T10:05:00.000-04:00

Right click/save as: mp3 (50 MB)

Download playlist here (.txt file)

Archived 'til Doomsday at this page

H E N D R I X

2007-06-15T16:00:00.000-04:00

In honor of this weekend's 40th anniversary of the Monterey Pop Festival-- which effectually broke this American artist in his homeland. I am not posting that legendary performace here today, but if you'd like, YouTube it below:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

I had originally envisioned today's post in the podcast format, with my friend Andy sharing some of his knowledge. Didn't work out-- we recorded it all drunk & it turned out pretty shitty-sounding. The set remains the same as planned, dig:

Hear My Train A'Comin' (live) mp3 12 MB.

These are my personal favorites, and you'll notice I've skipped the PurpleFoxeyJoe's. That is intentional. If there's one thing I hope to impart on casual fans, it is this: part of the reason why JH was so miserable before he died is because he was just fucking tired of being everyone's "human jukebox". He came to hate those songs (And if you don't believe me, watch Live at Woodstock-- his most spirited performances are the ones outside the expected early material). He wanted to branch out-- but no one was listening. Yes, even in the 1960s, where everything was supposedly open and free, the lowest common denominator still ruled.

I can't think of how times I've requested (or anyone else at a gig) a song to an artist-- they never play 'em! But back in the day, it was important to give the audience exactly what they wanted. In this way, I think we have it better now.

Message to Love mp3

Another crucial part of JH's last year or so on this earth (besides all the business problems) is the utter lack of black patronage of his music. He wanted to be loved by his people (and who wouldn't?), but he was often deemed an Uncle Tom by them, even as he led two white boys (in The Experience)! He formed the awesome Band of Gypsys partly as a response to those saying he wasn't "black" enough.

*Read a great article 'bout the Gypsys here*

The Stars That Play With Laughing Sam's Dice (STP-LSD) mp3

Look out for that door! Don't open that door! Don't open that door! Aw, That's the way it goes...

I want to say briefly how disappointed I am, and continue to be, everytime I see shit like this or this. BC kindly asks that you please do not buy products that exploit dead artists' images and music. Please.

Wanna see something else that is quite bothersome? Go visit his brother's Space.

Voodoo Chile (long version) mp3 21 MB.

I got into JH when I was 12, and when I hear these songs, I'm reminded of sitting in my grandmother's house with the headphones on.

1983 (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)/Moon, Turn the Tides...Gently Gently Away mp3 13 MB.

Machine Gun (live) mp3 17 MB.

FNM "kingforaday...foolforalifetime"

2007-06-12T19:00:00.000-04:00

I'm totally with the Punk Guy on this one. And there are only a handful of bands left I'd kill to see reunite & tour again.

Released a year prior to that which I spotlighted in the last post, FNM returned from their genre-shattering Angel Dust record, sans longtime guitarist, and delivered something a little more accessible, but no less brilliant. It was called... well, you know...

"[Mike] Patton could very well be one of the most versatile and talented singers in rock music."
-AMG critic, Greg Prato.

My sentiments exactly. There are no other vocalists I can think of who can evoke Barry White, Jello Biafra, Sade, and still do that thing that's all Mike-- in the same song.

A major Like, How Cool is They? goes out to all the Australians who put this album in the #1 slot.

Ricochet mp3
Evidence mp3
Ugly in the Morning mp3
Digging The Grave mp3
The Last To Know mp3

*Read Blank Crisis' Angel Dust post from Sept 2005*

*Buy this album at Amazon*

GUILTY PLEASURE POST: STP's "tinymusic" ('96)

2007-06-08T10:00:00.000-04:00

You say you hate this band... and frankly, so do I. But shortly after the release of their third album (left) in 1996, I was won over for a spell. Why? I ask myself. Perhaps because it nods off to the best in '70s glam rock. Maybe because it's so trashy-- fucking slutty, even. Like getting crazy head behind a fast food joint from someone you barely know, right between the dumpster and the grease trap.

Not that I would know what that's like.

Tumble in the Rough mp3
I'm the excuse for the little lies/ But all I got was humble kidney pie...

Grunge is dead and I shed no tears at the funeral. Dirty jeans, Pavement T-shirts, and dreadlocks are boring. Rock stars used to be alluring! We're like magicians, ya know? We get to project love and positive energy. We get to create magic! The thing is, I don't really give a sh*t what's cool and what's not cool, because I've never been regarded as cool. However, it is cool right now. Could you hand me my sweater?
-Scott, vocalist

(YouTube link)

Big Bang Baby mp3
Nothing's for free/take it away, boys...

But this record had other sides to it as well. Often this sort of pre-emptive mourning & regret (some might say self-pity) holds sway-- a recognition of opportunities lost, trying to get one's shit together over a prolonged period. Pissing them away as soon as they arrived.

And So I Know mp3
It will never be this way again...
(The addict might say this within the context of losing it all: "I will get back up, I will change." Alternately, it suits the best of times, too: "I can't maintain; eventually I'll fuck everything up again, and never recover.")

But, as I was saying-- I listened to this record a lot, back in the day. One summer alone in a dirty basement. Chasing uppers with the liquor acquired from my personal contribution to the delinquencies of minors.

At the same time, Scott was running from the law. Someone said he'd been caught with damn near every illegal substance in the book, and was dodging treatment. However, this fugitive story-- I cannot find anywhere on the Web today.

"Man, he'll be dead before they catch him," was the word then.

I believed that Scott wanted his rock & roll immortality very badly-- just as Cobain did two years before. Self-destructoids. But whereas Kurt tossed us his apologies beforehand, Scott wasn't quite so commited. He remained fearful of the hole he was gradually throwing himself into. This album is in a lot of ways a cry for help.

Trippin' On a Hole in a Paper Heart mp3
I'm not dead and I'm not for sale...

(YouTube link)

Art School Girl mp3
We'll never break up/Been together for a month....

We shot drugs the whole time... Most of the time she just walked around in panties. There was never anything that went on between us. ... Dope was the most important thing.

Adhesive mp3
Grab the hate and drown it out/Grab the beat and drum it out...

Here's to Scott W, and BC wishes him a long, healthy life. Stay sober, big guy.

I don't regret drugs at all... the hell I went through made it possible for me to enjoy life the way I enjoy it now.

GEORGIA MUSIC POST: Hiro Noodles

2007-06-05T09:10:00.000-04:00

Not long ago, I closed a podcast with a track by this Athens artist-- a man completely devoid of a Web presence these days, apparently. Oh well.

Some fellow Georgians out there might recall him as the dreaded kat underneath the hat working the register at Low Yo Yo's. He also played for a time (I'm unsure as to whether this is still the case) in self-described "improv-noise freaks" Garbage Island.

Jewel On mp3
M mp3
Rocket Scientist mp3
Beds mp3
yr not real mp3

*Buy this album at CD Baby*

ZIP CLUB: "vampireontitus" (1993)

2007-06-01T09:30:00.000-04:00

Introducing a new feature here on the ol' Crisis-- the ZIP CLUB! I will try to post a classic record in its entirety once a month for as long as I feel like it. The idea is that folks coming in from the Hype will not be privy, unless they do a bit of looking around at the site (i.e. the opposite of grab & go readership). And don't think of it as me punishing those folks; I know they will come around some day. Think of it more as a way I can reward my regulars, who comment and email and link me. I love each and every one of 'em.

So... You & your comrades go on & jump the fence to the deserted daycare this weekend-- y'know, the one stuck dead in the middle of the strip mall with the awesome 4 ft. deep swimming pool (as if 4 ft. and deep put together ain't oxymoronic). If anyone sees you, they won't care. If the cops show, tell 'em you work there. Perks, you know. But be cool about hiding the party favors you brought, and don't forget this 1993 lo-fi beaut of which I'm treating you today. Play it loud. It's gonna be a hot afternoon. See you there!

zip (43 MB)

summer 07 podcast

2007-05-29T10:00:00.000-04:00

Right click/save as: mp3 (55 MB)

OR: Archived here for all eternity.

Downloadable playlist here (.txt file)

2ND ANNIVERSARY! NEW LOOK! & WARRIOR SOUL too!

2007-05-27T15:30:00.000-04:00

This blog has entered Year 3, and with that comes a new design. And feedback is appeciated.

Tried to post this once, and it was a long one, but blogger ate it somehow. So let's try this again...
If you could go back and talk to my 15-year-old self, in 1990, and asked me who my favorite bands were at that moment, I would probably tell you: Jane's, The Cure, and this band, which happens to be our selection for today:

This was obviously right before the Seattle takeover. And WS often receives these sorry little distinctions like Oh, they could've been as big as Nirvana-- and looking back now, I know they held their own, and may have set the stage so to speak. Somewhere musically between Mother Love Bone and Alice in Chains, but more lyrically intelligent, and strikingly political.

The artist is not there to be worshipped or adored. They're there to be enjoyed. The audience is not there to be politely asked to buy the T-shirts, to be patted on the head and to go home. The audience is a part of the artist. They're friends. Allies. A show is a rock'n'roll ritual. The bands are the witchdoctors, the medicine men, the wise men. The band entice, preach, encourage, unite, excite ...
-- vocalist Kory Clarke in Kerrang! magazine, 1991

And does anyone (besides me) remember seeing this video on Headbanger's Ball?

(YouTube link)

I was shocked to learn while creating this post that the original drummer, Mark Evans, was murdered two years ago in London, also that WS have reformed this year and are back on tour Visit theirSpace and beg them to play Atlanta for me!)

I See The Ruins mp3 Don't let the cheesy intro fool you (I got no problems, man!), this album gets better as it goes.

We Cry Out mp3 Rock culture!

The Losers mp3 The chorus to this one is great: the way that guitar just holds down the open-E chord while the bass and drums descend and descend slowly. Almost like the way all motion exists beyond the frame of any given snapshot.

Downtown mp3 You hate your mother/you hate world... Reminiscent of "Welcome to the Jungle" perhaps? By the way, we were all highly anticipating GnR's follow-up to Appetite back then. Thank you, Cobain, for changing my mind.

M-D-M-A... Trippin' On Ecstacy mp3

Superpower Dreamland mp3 If any pigs outside do not hide/we will rumble!

Charlie's Out of Prison mp3 Another side of the war on drugs. I've always wanted to hear this song live.

Blown Away mp3 America was, and still is, the land of greed, violence, and escape.

Lullabye mp3
"Kory sang about fear, apathy, rejection and the size of the (U.S.) national debt, while W.A.S.P. sang about the size of their dicks." - quote from this cool online fanzine

In Conclusion mp3 Governments hide behind religion/...goodbye,freedom

*Buy this album at Amazon*

Skip

2007-05-18T15:15:00.000-04:00

Much has been written about this one, and so I'll just compile what I can from various sources below. I bought it just a few weeks prior to his death in 1999.

A former Moby Grape and Airplane member, Spence suffered from schizophrenia, and during a 1968 recording of Grape's 2nd album, attempted to break down a bandmate's hotel room door with a fire axe while on LSD. He was committed for six months to the criminal ward at New York's Bellevue Hospital. Upon release, he recorded his only solo album (all instruments played by him on a 3-track!), the now-classic psychedelic/folk album Oar.
~mostly from Wikipedia

[Oar] is perhaps the strongest psyched-out legacy of the time -- dark, harrowing and mad, the American answer to Syd Barrett (Pink Floyd's similarly crazed first guitarist). It sank like a stone upon release and became the quintessential cult disc. (from this Salon article)

[Oar] stands alone as a dense and beguiling statement and one as delicate as a moment whose passing is immediately felt and never forgotten…as delicate and rare as a hand-carved snowflake sculpted out of a hollowed-out eggshell as viewed through a back lit strobe projection where outlines are only intimated as shadows flicker into a tiny dance within and without.
~read more of this "Book of Seth" review here

Skip attempted to reach out for a time in the mid-'90s, and spent some time as a derelict alcoholic before finally succumbing to lung cancer. Of course, a tribute album was near completion. (And I can never understand why people feel the need to do such things-- but supposedly Skip heard it moments before he passed away. )

For me, it is pure understated beauty beyond all conception or comprehension. Hold this one close your heart, friends.

Little Hands mp3
Diana mp3
Weighted Down (The Prison Song) mp3
War in Peace mp3
All Come to Meet Her mp3

*Buy it at Amazon*
*This album is also available on 180 gram vinyl.*

Return of the Spill

2007-05-15T10:00:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Joel for reporting to me this wonderful news a couple'a weeks ago. You may recall I wished it upon a post last December...

More again from my fave Spillage:

Time Trap mp3
Else mp3
You Were Right mp3
Temporarily Blind mp3
Broken Chairs mp3

E.C.

2007-05-11T15:40:00.000-04:00

WAIT!... WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!... JUST A JOKE!!!!

'Zat more like it? I hope so.

One thing I like most about this record from 1978, apart from the obvious, is the way the drums sound. And if you didn't already know-- that's one Mr. Pete Thomas bashing the skins all the livelong day.

I should probably tell you that I can do a great (if I say so myself-- and I do) Elvis impersonation, vocally that is... The mannerisms, not so much... See, there are total of 3 great rock vocalists I can do, and, it's sort of like once you master one, the others come easy. These are: EC, Bachmann and Gene. Sounds hard to believe, but it's true.

No Action mp3
This Year's Girl mp3
Little Triggers mp3
Radio, Radio mp3

Crosley Bendix reviews...

2007-05-09T12:30:00.000-04:00

Dance! (mp3)

For: Robert Stitt, 48, mortally wounded in a "battle dance" yesterday.

D-E-V-O!

2007-05-06T18:45:00.000-04:00

I mentioned this group in my last post. And I realized how incredibly reductive I sounded in describing the new oM music. My apologies for that. Please take a bite outta Side Two (below) from their 1978 debut and forget I said anything at all.

Too Much Paranoias mp3. Hold the pickles./ Hold the lettuce./ Special orders don’t upset us./ All we ask is that you let us serve it your way!!! Taken from an old Burger King ad.

Gut Feeling/ Slap Your Mammy mp3. Counting myself as blessed to have watched The Weather Channel's early morning "On The 8's" getting ready to go to class a few times and the long intro to this song was in the background. A good start on my day. And hey, does it sorta remind you of that Outlaws tune, "Green Grass and High Tides Forever"?

Come Back Jonee mp3. The Devos made the best music videos ever. Here's the one for "Come Back Jonee" (YouTube).

Sloppy (I Saw My Baby Gettin') mp3. Nothing really to say about this one. Except: I'm willing to entertain any interpretations you all might have of/on the lyrics...

Shrivel Up mp3. Just since I started putting this post together I have lost something extremely valuable. Time to start prayin'.

GEORGIA MUSIC POST: of Montreal

2007-05-02T12:30:00.000-04:00

If you've got some time to kill, head over to the online baseball comic my pal Ernie & his collaborator, Sean, have created at Friendly Confines. Tell 'em I sent you, too.

Sheesh. It's been a while since I've done one of these-- but alas, another Georgia Music Post. And what other band is more deserving of my love and adoration?

From twinkly townie-folk to global glam through a Devo-ish blender, today's pick are one of the scant few remaining E6'ers left. And many people will tell you-- myself included-- they've just continued to get better and better over the years (Most notably, despite their popularity. You'd think bands get bigger because they get better, but we all know that it's usually the other way around...).

And so today I'm listening to the second side of their third album, released in 1999. It's perfect for sunny days (and Spring cleaning!-- something I've committed myself to actually doing this weekend). With another semester almost out of the way-- this is how we properly summon the Summer fun.

*Buy all the oM recordings at Amazon and/or at emusic*

The Miniature Philospher (mp3)
My Friend Will Be Me (mp3)
My Favorite Boxer (mp3)
Advice From A Divorced Gentlemen To His Bachelor Friend Considering Marriage (mp3)
A Man's Life Flashing Before His Eyes While He And His Wife Drive Off A Cliff (mp3)
Nickee Coco And the Invisible Tree (mp3)
The Gay Parade Outro (mp3)

got Danielson?

2007-04-27T13:35:00.000-04:00

In BC news: For those of you tired of keying in that dash between the Blank and the Crisis-- or can't be bothered with the whole dot-blogspot noize-- your fingers will soon thank me. I registered a sweet spot for us on the Internets yesterday where we continue to do our thang:

blankcrisis.com.

No need to fret about switching up your browser favorites or anything like that, okay. The blogspot address obviously still works. Yes, I am the master of two domains.

Also, as the Crisis approaches its third year this May (and I can't believe it, either!), look out for a few more modest luxuries on this site. First of all, the new template is going to absolutely slay the one you're looking at right now. Something more clean and reader-friendly, too, I hope. File storage is being upgraded as well, and so hopefully the transfers will go down swiftly and smoothly for everyone.

Okay, but on with today's post...

Yes. Christian Rock finally comes to the blog. But when I say that, certainly you're not hoping for this or even that. (No, please, Lord! No!!!) But I'm sure you all know about this marvelous band (below) already and so I won't waste much time with it. They've been around some time now and continue to make great art.

But it's this one from 1998 (below) that we're listening to today. The first time I heard it, it solidified some feelings I had-- that they were going to be so much more than a passing novelty act. (The build-up to bridge/coda of "The Nose..." is superb, however, the "Deeper Than...Government" 3-in-a-row thing I found a little, er, trying. Those are omitted today.)

It's kind of interesting to me-- the implicit political statements made throughout the record. And some of it sounds pretty funky even ("Failing a Test...")...

As with all D'son releases it is highly singable and you should sing this stuff out loud to whomever or whatever you wish.

Idiot Boksen mp3
Fruitful Weekend mp3
Sold! To The Nice Rich Man! mp3
Failing A Test, Falling In Love mp3
The Nose Knows mp3
Thanx To Noah mp3

no.9-b (podcast)

2007-04-24T09:30:00.000-04:00

Right click/save as: mp3 (48 MB)

Playlist available here (.txt file)

This episode should always be available here for your listening & downloading plezzzzzhahhhh.

#9 side A podcast

2007-04-19T13:30:00.000-04:00

Right click/save as: mp3 (52 MB)

For playlist click here. (.txt file)

This episode is archived for all eternity (or so I'm told) at this page.

ENJOY! Will be back for side B on Tuesday or Wednesday...

Special guest post!: Throck on VARSITY DRAG

2007-04-17T10:30:00.000-04:00

Today marks the first time ever I hand over the reigns to someone else for a little rockwrite. It's our friend, Throck (below)-- helping out now as yours truly crunches for End of Semester deadlines.

(above: Throck descending Mount Palomar at 50 mph no-handed in the winter of 2002)

Hello, Crisis fans. Throckmorten Mordecai Wellington coming at ya from exotic Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. I am here to pimp out one of my favourite new bands.

New band with a familiar sound. A sound that has been absent for too long and one that you will all remember. The band I speak of is Ben Deily’s (ex-Lemonheads) Varsity Drag and for an added extra bonus is his 90’s project Pods (Pardon Our Dust).

First let us all give props to Neal for supplying us with a steady diet of great downloads The Crisis has afforded us with since its inception. He has turned me onto a lot of great music and has dazzled me with music from my past that I thought I would never hear again (stuff that is out of print or had on audio cassette and whatnot). He has helped me relive many a good memories with his posts and has also kept me (and you, too) with a smile on my face with his witty and genuine writings.

Second, let me put up my own disclaimer: I am writing this post from an establishment that has both Guinness and Internet on tap. So disregard any errant information and lazy grammar.

Many people wondered where the unique punk sound of Lemonheads went between the albums Lick and Lovey. Well, that unique sound decided to better himself and get an education at the prestigious university called Harvard. And well he did. Cum Laude if memory serves correct. Veritas, Ben.

Where Lick ended, Ben continued his punk poetry through his next project, Pods with his brother Jonno and the then more recently Varsity Drag. Having released The Drag’s first album in Europe on Boss Tuneage Records, then almost immediately followed up (and recently just finished) a successful tour of Europe. (Footnote, Ben and his fellow band mates all have 9-5 jobs, that is like running 2 marathons back to back).

Varsity Drag is made up of Ben Deily (guitar, vocals, piano), Greg Randall (guitar, vocals [http://myspace.com/gregrandall]), Will Anderon (bass guitar, vocals), Ian G. Miller (drums, vocals), Bob Spector (guitar, vocals), and was recorded in a plush metal shipping container in the Bay Area of No-Cal, like all chart-toppers these days.

I became a Lemonheads fan in 1988 when I was 14. I was intrigued with the punk sound meshed with great lyrical content. Sharing song writing duties with Evan Dando, Deily’s songs stood out to me the most. Especially in songs like "Postcard," "Second Chance," "Two Weeks in Another Town" and "Come To The Window." I was disappointed when Lovey came out and Deily’s name was not on it and the patented sound was gone. The sound that produced one of the 77 best Punk records of all time ("Hate Your Friends") was absent. Having indulged in other Punk bands (the usual, Misfits, Suicidal Tendencies, Buzzcocks, Stranglers, Wire, The Dead Milkmen, Dead Kennedys, Stiff Little Fingers, etc etc) from that era, I find it refreshing to hear that he has been making music still with that same gritty, catchy edge and with the same meaningful lyrics.

Posted below are some songs for your judgment and liking. Off of For Crying Out Loud, Varsity Drag’s debut album.

Skinny Ties mp3
Billy Ruane mp3
Look at Me mp3

If that is not enough, you can get a taste of Pods:

Only Living Boy mp3
Promise mp3
Name in Vain mp3 (a scathingly plead to Evan Dando to finally put the Lemonheads name to rest).
End/Begin mp3

If that is not doing it for you, surf over to theirSpace for more songs. Also, Ben Deily has a website full of satire and some rare mp3’s at bendeily.com. "Holla back" at him and let him know what you think of his latest releases. More Pods and Varsity Drag sounds are for sale here. You can also find Varsity Drag on Amazon. I hope you enjoy them all. Varsity Drag is signed to Boss Tuneage Records.

I want to thank Neal for letting me guest post on my favourite mp3 blog. The best on the Inner Nets, by far. He never ceases to amaze me with what he posts.

Until next time friends; Throck out.

Never Postpone Joy. (That’s the Guinness talking).

Frosty

2007-04-12T10:00:00.000-04:00

No, this isn't a post about the unseasonably cool weather we had earlier this week-- here in the Confeds. (Was nice while it lasted...)

Hopefully somebody out there recalls that I included on the very first BC podcast (8a) one gloriously Stooges-esque track from this late '90's Miami band ("Drive-Thru Lover"). Well, I'm doing ya one better today, & presentin' the scorched highlights from their one and only release entitled Liquor Drink.

And I quickly learned while trying to put this together how little information there is on the group at all. So here's what I know, maybe readers can fill in any blanks. Prior to this release, they did a split with fellow Floridian noisemakers, Harry Pussy, and both acts are often linked to noise-rockers To Live and Shave in LA (whom a founding member, Ben Wolcott, left to begin Frosty. These days, Wolcott may or may not still be in post-Frosty outfit Oscillator).

What I like the most about this record is, along with the vocalist's homicidal Waitsian attack (check out "Alice")-- most of these songs are full-on, in-the-red hypnotic. There's something equally tribal & trashy about most of it. The disc closer, "Scoatshine", is probably my favorite. (And maybe you, too, did not know what a scoat is, and needed to seek the Urban Dictionary for explanation.)

"Gutter rock that make(s) Pussy Galore seem downright literary."
-Little Brother Records

Wham-Bam mp3
Hey Whatchoo You Tryin' 2 Say! ?! ? mp3
My Little Gorilla mp3
Alice mp3
Scoatshine mp3

Scientifically Speaking...

2007-04-09T16:40:00.000-04:00

The first night I'd seen her, she seemed miffed at the fact that I'd brought a camcorder to the show.

It was the summer of '99, I think; the place was the Ultramod Compound house in Athens. I had come to see Quintron and arrived very early, per my usual-- sucking down at least four PBRs on the couch while Mr. Q & Miss Pussycat were setting up gear. So I'm one eyeball in the camera viewer, checking to avoid accidental erasure of more important footage 'round the time she came up to me.

Did you ask Mr. Quintron if that was okay... to be taping the show? she asked.

I looked up. Something vaguely reminded me of a school teacher sending me to the principal's office. I didn't know who this was, and frankly, I was more than a little intimidated by her presence. At any rate, I didn't bother to ask. Too much of a weird vibe, and so I simply answered: "No".

You need to clear that with him first. The scowling mystery woman then disappeared to another room.

Well, I'm not interupting anyone's soundcheck, so fuck it. This was the first time I'd ever tried anything like this; didn't think it would be so big a deal. But I thought, obviously there's a problem here, and I'll just put the damn thing back in my stationwagon. After I finish my beer.

A little while later, Q & P are done and they walk outside. Well, maybe this is my chance to get permission, I thought. But by the time I get out there, the two are into some heavy makeout session next to their tour van, which I'm parked beside. I'm not interupting this one either. The camcorder goes in the back seat where it remains.

My new friend turned out to be the evening's opening act, a then-local Athens artist & entomologist.

And while I'm doing this post today to promote her work & art-- my first impressions tell me she wouldn't approve at all. (Even though, the last time she and I exchanged words, at first conversing with a mutual friend after several beers-- she was very pleasant to me then.) I consider myself lucky to have seen at least 3 of her lectures/art performances during my time in Athens.

Side One mp3

Yes, these are lectures on insects, accompanied by repurposed slivers of Welk, etc. And if you think this 10" record originally released in '97 sounds weird, you don't know the half of it. She would present this material with slide shows, and sometimes even (gasp!) live specimens. That was sort of like what everything was building toward, anyway.

I can recall at least one club gig at the Caledonia where she brought cockroaches. When she brought them around all the way from the front of the club to where I was sitting at the bar, I don't think they were even encased in anything. It was just like a tray, I believe. The cockoaches were perfectly calm, save for their little antennae bobbing about. The reactions on most of the girls' (and some dudes') faces that night in the crowd were as much a part of the show as the little critters themselves.

Side Two mp3

On another occasion, she lectured to us on the social/mating rituals of some species or other. And this went on for a while, and people visibly got over their initial discomfort with the subject matter and back to the usual relaxing and drinking and chatting away. Then Moon says, "One of my associates will now bring a live specimen for you to look at." Well, of course people are still just blabbing away. Moon at once chided and tempted the crowd, "We're lucky this evening. They're feeling very social. Yes, they're feeling very social tonight..."

Inside the see-through container being brought around, which was lit by what I remember as being similar to white Christmas lights, there were four or five porcelain or plastic debutantes, sitting by a table, sipping tea. Indeed, many were horrified.

It was a brilliant mixture of performance art and science that I will never forget.

*An interview with today's featured artist here*

*Her most recent release is available on both iTunes and emusic!!!*

(And hopefully the DVD mentioned in that Wiki entry is still forthcoming...)