Geek Down

Cover Comparison

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph) — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 05:47:00 +0000

So I started this Cover Comparison project on this blog a few years ago, then Brandon suggested I turn it into a blog, which I did. So I'm posting this here because I built up a bit of an archive of these cover comparisons, and hopefully anyone who enjoyed the feature on this blog ca now enjoy it over there. Here's a link to check out Cover Comparison. Here's a link to the RSS feed of the cover comparisons.

I put links up on my personal page for anyone curious to keep up with what I've been up to/interested in/bullshitting about. Check it out!

Cover Comparison 6

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph) — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 03:31:00 +0000

Nah und Fern vs. Instrumentals
Spotted by Brandon Soderberg

New Mix

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph) — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 17:28:00 +0000

I made a mix of new and new-ish stuff, in the vein of the previous Geek Down mixes. I know there are people who subscribe to this blog that aren't following my tumblr or twitter, so here's a link to the mix: http://fifthsdigitalarchive.com/post/3291396137 And I also created a podcast/RSS feed, so you can subscribe to that instead of having to go through tumblr: http://feeds.feedburner.com/fifths

HELLAWAYNE III: HARVESTING THE BLUNT NECTAR

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph) — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 17:43:00 +0000

No Gang Colors - Hellawayne 3: Harvesting the Blunt Nectar

here’s the next in my band’s Hellawayne series (previously: 1 & 2), I’m releasing it on the anniversary of the first Hellawayne, and with the upcoming holiday in mind. use this as background music for when you’re putting on your black mask and gloves

it’s up for free download here

Tracklist:
1. Brutal Truth - Blockhead
2. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony - Mr. Ouija 2
3. Juicy J, Project Pat & Bank Mr. 912 - On Yo Mark
4. araabMUZIK - Gorilla Muzik
5. Fear Factory - Natividad
6. God’s Love - Young Claws
7. Brutal Truth - Crawlspace
8. Agoraphobic Nosebleed - Agoraphonic Nosecandy (Submachine Drum Mix)
9. Gucci Mane - Normal

Literal Shit: August 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph) — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 04:23:00 +0000

Literal Shit: August 2010

Literal Shit: July 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph) — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 00:45:00 +0000

Literal Shit: July 2010

Literal Shit: June 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph) — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 23:31:00 +0000

Literal Shit: June 2010

No Trivia Presents Soul Food & Sushi 2.0

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph) — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 17:49:00 +0000

via No Trivia:

So, last year, Joseph and I put together a mix of our favorite songs from Baltimore’s Mania Music Group. It got some downloads and I knew we’d done something right when Al Shipley listed it on his “In My Stereo” list. In preparation for Welcome to the Audience, Mania’s debut album, which comes out next Tuesday, Joseph and I did a new version, adding some of the group’s work since last year, and a few songs featuring the group’s newest member, Milly July.

Click through for the download link.

Literal Shit: May 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph) — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 22:05:00 +0000

Literal Shit: May 2010

Movie Comparison 6

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph) — Wed, 26 May 2010 08:35:00 +0000

Severed Ways vs. Trigger Man

Hellawayne II: Dragged & Chopped

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph) — Sun, 09 May 2010 23:36:00 +0000

My band, No Gang Colors, made this mix called Hellawayne II: Dragged & Chopped. All the tracks were altered in some way or another. There's some slowing, chopping, EQing, flanging, etc. I'm really proud of how it turned out, especially the version of "Red Rum." It's a free download or stream, if you want to check it out click here.

Tracklist:
1. Waka Flocka Flame - "Uh Huh"
2. Cam'ron & Vado - "They Feelin Us"
3. Gucci Mane - "Photo Shoot (Flying Lotus Remix)"
4. Suicide Silence - "No Pity for a Coward"
5. Project Pat - "Red Rum"

Movie Comparison 5

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph) — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 01:32:00 +0000

The Evil Dead Trilogy vs. Mexico Trilogy

Cover Comparison 5

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 15:31:00 +0000

O.R.A.N.G.E. vs. A Clockwork Sodom

2009+

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 05:27:00 +0000

My favorite thing about 2009 is how much good music kept coming out. Every couple of months I would stop myself and let it sink in. I felt like I kept up this year too. The first year where there weren't a few dozen releases that I still hadn't heard at the end of the year. During Christmas downtime I put together some lists of my favorite releases from 2009, and some favorite of the decade lists too. (Click the list titles to see the full lists) I'm only pasting in ten from each category (five from comedy albums), but the first thirty-or-so metal albums I put in the full list are all recommended by me.
P.S. have you subscribed to my new tumblr yet? No? Well you should, it's pretty awesome: Literal Shit

Favorite Metal Albums of 2009
1. Suicide Silence - No Time to Bleed
2. National Sunday Law - La Storia di Cannibali
3. Coffinworm - Great Bringer Of Night
4. Wrnlrd - Myrmidon
5. Graf Orlock - Destination Time Today
6. Squash Bowels - Grindvirus
7. Locrian - Rain of Ashes
8. Wormrot - Abuse
9. Infernal Stronghold - Godless Noise
10. Magrudergrind - Magrudergrind

Favorite Rap Albums of 2009
1. D-LO - The Tonite Show
2. Gucci Mane - The State vs. Radric Davis
3. G-Side - Huntsville International
4. Lil Wayne - No Ceilings
5. G Mane - Sunday on da Porch
6. Project Pat - Real Recognize Real
7. Z-Ro - Relvis Presley
8. Lil Boosie - Super Bad
9. Juicy J - Hustle Til I Die
10. Clipse - Till the Casket Drops

Favorite Electronic/R&B/Rock Albums of 2009
1. Wavves - Wavvves
2. The-Dream - Love vs. Money
3. Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas - II
4. Oneohtrix Point Never - Zones Without People
5. A Day to Remember - Homesick
6. Discovery - LP
7. Fireworks - All I Have to Offer Is My Own Confusion
8. James Ferraro - Edward Flex Presents: Do You Believe in Hawaii?
9. Tim Hecker - An Imaginary Country
10. R. Kelly - Untitled

Favorite Comedy Albums of 2009
1. Patton Oswalt - My Weakness Is Strong
2. Longmont Potion Castle - 7
3. Maria Bamford - Unwanted Thoughts Syndrome
4. John Mulaney - The Top Part
5. Doug Benson - Unbalanced Load

Favorite Metal Albums of the Decade

Favorite Rap Albums of the Decade

Favorite Other Albums of the Decade

Favorite Movies of 2009

Favorite Movies of the Decade

Locrian - Rain of Ashes

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 05:57:00 +0000

Locrian is metal's parallel to the hypnagogic pop that I've lately taken notice of (apparently three years late). Their Rain of Ashes release is an enveloping cloud of distortion and synthetics that mirrors the above cassette release's cover. Oddly, the hazy delirium of the track gave me the kick in the ass I needed to start using my actual speaker system again in replacement of the disgusting laptop speakers I'd relied on for months before (because of laziness). Something about my mindstate when I first put the title track on made it like a sound-sculpture. I was hearing synth lines emerge from the thick, underlying bedrock, settling in the air, creating a warm whole fit to rest my head on.

The sound-sculpture experience plays to similar ones; say as a high-schooler walking home from band practice on a snowy afternoon, high on rich-kid weed and taking in Kid A on my Discman, then getting home and napping to Sigur Rós' ( ) all the while hearing the music take shape inside the imagined stereo-field in my head. It's the nostalgia twitch that anything can trigger in the right atmosphere, but it's mainly Locrian's ear for atmosphere that creates this weirdly inhabitable sound world. Their self-described themes of decay, detritus, and failure of urban/suburban consumer culture suggest that the worlds they are creating are meant to unsettle or provoke, but to the band's credit they posit no hidden motive. This music is a soundtrack to all the unsightly strip malls left abandoned in mine and surrounding towns, but also every baseball card store that had an untimely closing during my childhood. It's walking home past an unending field of power lines, then a row of unsold mcmansions, then your ex-best friend's house. It's depressing and discouraging, but it's also home.

Preview an excerpt at their 'space

Cover Comparison 4

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph) — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 03:27:00 +0000

Cut Throat vs. Prowler in the Yard

Movie Comparison 4

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:48:00 +0000

Election vs. A Serious Man

Apparently /Film had the same idea.

No Gang Colors - Hellawayne Mix

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 07:00:00 +0000

• Download

Here's a new No Gang Colors mix, for Halloween, called HELLAWAYNE. It's split between dark relaxed fare and dirty barfight music. Threw some 'Inland Empire' and 'Heat' samples in there too.
This Halloween I'm visiting my bandmate Paul in Paris and we'll be partying your face off. So prepare for more NGC excellence on my return. Enjoy

TRACKLIST
1. Scientist - "Night of the Living Dead"
2. Burial - "Gutted"
3. Fripp & Eno - "The Heavenly Music Corporation"
4. DJ Screw vs. Mystikal - "The Man Right Chea"
5. The Black Dahlia Murder - "That Which Erodes the Most Tender of Things"
6. Gucci Mane - "My Shadow"
7. Lil Wyte - "Some Other Shit"

INFINITY EXCERPTS, PART I

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 03:17:00 +0000

• http://mediafire.com/?dmmwmon0mmx

I originally wanted to make a mix of all the great metal released this year and structure it like a dance mix. Like peaks and valleys, build-ups and all the toppings. That will happen sometime, but this didn't end up being it. The constraint of being able to use only this year's music is too limiting for what I want to do. Also, there's way too much good metal that I don't want to leave out. So in the interest of time management, I'm making a few short mixes instead of a long boring one.

1. Yoga - "Seventh Mind" (from Megafauna)
Perfect fall music. This is caked in dust and creaks like an old floorboard. The loosely-threaded theme of the first half of this mix is that it's all music I've drifted in and out of half-sleep to, while riding the train (never a bad thing for me, I generally get about 3-4 hours of nightly sleep so this just happens). Yoga's album Megafauna would serve you well as a Halloween soundtrack. Put this mix on too.

2. Greymachine - "Vultures Descend" (from Disconnected)
Not as into this as the other JKBroadrick music released this year, but this track and another called "Wolf at the Door" are pretty awesome. Don't really have anything to say about this track.

3. Locrian - "Obsolete Elegy in Lost Concrete" (from Drenched Lands)
Keeping with the half-sleep feeling of the mix so far, Locrian's music has the potential to soundtrack the sort of out-of-body-ish nightmares that happen in that state. This track especially has this basement-trapped tension behind it, with the painful moans and the chiming guitars that seem like they're emanating from some ancient dungeon. There's something beautiful and tragic--nearly sexual--behind the melody that comes out of the tracks closing moments. Check out the album; it's beautifully packaged, with art every bit as harrowing and austere as the music.

4. Wormrot - "Fix Your Broken Mind" (from Abuse)
Read about this album on the excellent Grind and Punishment blog. Go read Andrew's review over there. He makes a comparison with Insect Warfare that is apt (I'm glad they're finally released that noisegrind EP, however little I've listened to it..) but Wormrot is a lot more fun than Insect Warfare, and you can hear it in this song. I love the unapologetic vocal approach. They also win Song Title of the Year with "So Fierce for Fuck?!"

5. Despised Icon - "MVP" (from Day of Mourning)
Don't you love the transition between Wormrot and this? It's sort of sloppy and awesome and just really heavy. There may be people who do not dig this slice of deathcore on here, but if you don't think this is heavy and awesome and fun: you need to grab a beer and try again.

6. Magrudergrind - "Built to Blast" (from Magrudergrind)
I started to really enjoy this band on last year's Scott Hull-curated grind comp, but this album rips me to shreds. With the embrace of slower, face-punching parts and they manage to keep their songs brief as ever. The riffs are memorable and the structures only hold on to what is essential. Magrudergrind is stepping up grindcore's songwriting game.

Cover Comparison 3

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 06:22:00 +0000

Tonight's the Night vs. Transilvanian Hunger

No Gang Colors - MDMA Death Metal Acid Mix

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 05:32:00 +0000

http://mediafire.com/?y3rmjyfmx2z

'MDMA Death Metal Acid' is a dance mix I made under my band's name. We're a metal band, so the pills on the cover have our pentagram logo stamped on them. Should be pretty self-explanatory.

Total Time: 30:24

Tracklist:
1. Air France - "Collapsing At Your Doorstep"
2. Teengirl Fantasy - "Azz Klapz"
3. Tiësto feat. Jónsi - "Kaleidoscope"
4. Zomby vs. Gucci Mane - "Pillz"
5. Lil B - "Shoot the Bitch Bra"
6. Skream - "Meta-Lick"
7. White Ring - "We Rot"
8. Cold Cave - "Life Magazine"

@ The Party's Crashing Us: Does Metal Need Melody?

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 07:20:00 +0000

Daniel Krow and I had an email exchange, for his Debate Team series at The Party's Crashing Us, debating the use of melody in metal. It's an awesome back-and-forth, so go read it! In writing my responses, I actually discovered a lot of what I like about metal that I never bothered to think of before.

• The Debate Team: Does Metal Need Melody?

Recommended for fans of AV Club Crosstalk... a feature they never do anymore for some reason.

Suckapunk Podcast 3

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 18:49:00 +0000

Give a listen to the new Suckapunk Podcast, featuring me and a couple of my recent favorite tracks. I forgot to talk about the video for Twaun Pledger & Lil Boosie's "Cocked and Ready", which I embedded above. Please watch it because it's my favorite recent video. The video is also an altered, better version of the song than I'm able to find on the internest. The song I played uses the beat from the end of the video for the whole track.

Here's my tracklist:
Project Pat - "North Memphis"
Lil Boosie - "Top Down"
Wiley - "You Can Play Catch Up" [from this Grimetapes.com comp.]
Roach Gigz - "Gassin Em"
Twaun Pledger feat. Lil Boosie - "Cocked and Ready"

Memory Cassette Tapes

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph) — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 03:01:00 +0000

Memory Cassette - "Surfin' (Sail a Whale Version)"
via Gorilla Vs. Bear

It only hit my radar after the Hipster Runoff post where Carles dubbed this stuff 'chillwave', and even after that I disregarded the few chillwave bands after streaming a track or two and thinking the music sounded limp. I'd also downloaded jj's jjnº2, an album I just completely hated. No album with a purple, blood-stained pot leaf on the cover should suck like that. Then I came across chillwave again through some track review on Pitchfork (a site that still makes music seem valuable by association, sorry) and I got curious enough to mass-download some chillwave albums/EPs. And I subscribed to some blogs I'd normally roll my eyes at that I'm now digging a lot like Gorilla Vs. Bear.

Out of the lot, which were actually really solid overall, Memory Cassette is my favorite. And not like an "OK this is pretty good"-type concession, but top-tier, favorite-of-the-year-type. The release that killed me was a free remix EP Calls & Responses he put out on his site (cover art above, designed, appropriately enough, by Gorilla Vs. Bear). Speaking of Memory Cassette's site, a quick aside: it's on Blogspot and belongs to this club that exists only in my mind of other bands who use Blogspot as their primary site. I can't recommend it enough, especially over Myspace. Short list of pros: it's free, super-customizable with a very limited knowledge of HTML/CSS/GoogleSearching, and Flash-less. It's basically how musicians' websites used to be before the default became gaudy social-networking pages filled with streaming videos and stupid widgets and banners and mis-sized photos and auto-playing music. Musicians need stop the endless cumshot of worthless web2.0 technology. Bands like these are doing it right. I think I've made that rant here before, so apologies, but seriously fuck Myspace.

About the music? I have a tough time actually describing what music sounds like anymore. Not sure I really care to either. Especially music like this, where I can't tell what's a sample, what's an instrument, what's a synth, what's an effect, what's a result of recording technique.... Memory Cassette sounds how I thought all these chillwave bands were supposed to sound; it's genuinely lost in time. And according to this Pitchfork interview with Memory Cassette's Dayve Hawk, two of the tracks on the EP Call & Response (which Calls & Responses is a remix of) were made ten years ago. If you asked me which, I couldn't tell you. Daniel Krow's [via Brandon Soderberg] "warped nostalgia" is what comes to mind here. The My Bloody Valentine haze and heartstring-tugging melody is just so evocative of something, and frankly what exactly that 'something' is doesn't matter. Memory Cassette bypasses a lot of the aesthetic that the younger dudes making similar music seem to be getting caught up in and hits you with unharnessed emotion. There is vague underlying intention behind the music, no specific, concrete image that it's supposed to invoke. It's just throat-grippingly beautiful.

I highly recommend downloading his free remix EP Calls & Responses here, then checking out his other releases under various, similarly-worded aliases.

Warped Nostalgia Playlist:
Lost Boy - 1991 (another free release) [via BUTTER X FACE]
Zomby - Where Were U in '92? [via No Trivia]
Zomby - Where Were U in '92? Mixtape (also free)
Wavves - "Cool Jumper" [via Ghost Ramp]
Sun Araw - Heavy Deeds [via The Party's Crashing Us]
Graf Orlock - Destination Time Yesterday
The Larry Sanders Show
Talulah Gosh - Backwash
Tiger Trap - [self-titled]

Movie Comparison 3

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 13:54:00 +0000

Rachel Getting Married vs. Il deserto rosso

Gomorra vs. Il deserto rosso