Tuesday, December 29, 2009

AFS v. 249 ~ Thee Best of 2009!


Here's a two-hour podcast featuring most of my absolute favorite records of 2009, another fruitful year for outstanding underground rumblings in punk, rock, and outer-zoning tangents (see below for best of '09 lists and AFS Awards winners)...

Download this program within two months at this link...
CLICK HERE for 192kbps rate.
or
CLICK HERE for 320kbps rate.
or
, if you have a slower/20th century connection
STREAM IT HERE by next Monday night!

There was so much for me to be excited about in 2009! See me straight-up fist-pumpin' Jersey Shore-sytle, son???...It was like that all year long!

(Email me if there are any downloading problems, please!)

The Pheromoans | Radical Courrier | Open for Business 7" | Yakisakana
Wounded Lion | Friendly? | Friendly? 7" | In the Red
Silver Shampoo | Dogs | Jethro Skull 7" | What's Your Rupture?
Flight | Flowers | Flowers 7" | Sweet Rot
Vibes | Dead Horses | Psychic 7" | Not Not Fun
Little Claw | Frozen in the Future | Human Taste | Ecstatic Peace/Not Not Fun
Talk Normal | In a Strangeland | Sugarland | Rare Book Room
XYX | Momento Acido Contemporaneo | Momento Acido Contemporaneo 7" | Skulltones
Ratas del Vaticano | Himno al Rock n' Roll | Mocosos Pateticos | Siltbreeze
Audacity | Price Check | Power Drowning | Burger
Happy Burger | Pizza All Around | Pizza All Around 7" | Douche Master
The Magnetix | Real Man | Positively Negative | Born Bad
Cheveu | C'est ca L'amour | Like a Deer in the Headlights 7" | Born Bad
The Intelligence | St. Bartolomeu | Fake Surfers | In the Red
Dan Melchior und Das Menace | The Post Office Line | The Post Office Line 7" | Columbus Discount
Dan Melchior und Das Menace | Smut! | Obscured by Fuzz | Topplers
Dan Melchior und Das Menace | Blue Tentacles | Thankyou Very Much | SS Records
Nothing People | Another Rattle | Late Night | SS Records
Moon Duo | Speed | Killing Time 12" EP | Sacred Bones
Agent Side Grinder | Pulse | Irish Recording Tape | Enfant Terrible
Mattress | Remember | Low Blows | Malt Duck
Impractical Cockpit | Guru's Plume | Facilidad? | Turned Word
Black Pus | Bark of the Tree | Down Down the Drain 7" | Skulltones
Dudu Geva | Pupu Blues | Retrovulva 2003 | Galerie Pache
Druid Perfume | Weird Wally Wigwam | Other Worlds 7" | Italy
High Castle | Scary Things Are Everywhere | You're On Your Own Way 12" | Zum
The Bassholes | Tough Luck Roy | ...and Without a Name | Columbus Discount
Sonny & the Sunsets | Death Cream | Tomorrow Is Alright | Secret Seven/Soft Abuse
Eat Skull | Dawn in the Face | Wild & Inside | Siltbreeze
Meercaz | Defeated at Home | self-titled | Gulcher/Tic Tac Totally
Hunches | Not Invited | Exit Dreams | In the Red
Pink Reason | Watching You Fall | split 7" w/ Electric Bunnies | Die Stasi
Hue Blanc's Joyless Ones | Cry | Cry 7" | Static Wagon

The zeitgeist of reverb-drenched fractured pop by fuzz-loving garage-punks and deep-V-necked trendies kicked into super-saturation mode as the tide of Black Lips and Oh Sees apers and overly self-conscious name-droppers came flooding in like a tsunami wave. Or was that the album Wavvves by the band Wavves? That most hyped indie album of early 2009 was already obsolete by summer due to unsubstantial and utterly forgettable songs. Haters have let that flavor linger to keep hating on it even more, but the shimmery endless-summer psych-pop of my hometown Sacramento's Ganglians issued four records--highlighted by the Monster Headroom album--which are the antidote to the lo-fi pop doldrums. While the Ganglians are part of the "glo-fi" or "hypnagogic pop" movement named by Pitchforkmedia.com, they are emerging from the backlash against this unfortunately-named subgenre because of the strength of their songs, their genuine funloving spirit, and the indubitable fact that amongst all the contemporary bands which critics compare to the Beach Boys, the Ganglians are the best at those vocal harmonies. They criss-crossed the continent playing second billing to Wavves during their first nationwide tour, and now the future's bright for them with a new label for 2010 and a planned European tour in late spring. While their future is bright, they truly became a local treasure when they strengthened a link to our past; one of the true highlights of all the live music I saw in 2009--approximately 400 bands--was the Ganglians' cover debut of "Aliens in Our Midst" by late-70s Sacto legends the Twinkeyz.

The most momentous local record of 2009 was the Deads 12" EP by the Mayyors, and its B-side opener "Clicks" was the most integral full-band achievement following two earlier EPs in 2008. The most tenacious mach-speed motorik drumbeat drives forward a supremely nifty interlocking bass/guitar riff while singer John Pritchard is in his very best and most aggressive form, and that's just describing the first verse! As the band varies from the riff, it becomes even more thrilling as the Chris Woodhouse's arcane guitar synth device is deployed to warp waves of perfectly tuned guitar scree in time with the constantly stout cadence, and as a grand finalé, the rhythm section flourishes with thundering tumbles and divebombing bass slides. Each member is achieving optimal performance simultaneously within a stunningly arranged and peerlessly produced song. The Mayyors remain elusive to most Sacramentans due to limited live local activity and zero web presence. If you would like your noise-rock to be as partyhardy as it is pugnacious, then you should find these Mayyors.

While the Mayyors and Ganglians sound nothing alike, they share many fans here in Sacto and Davis because of their propensity for rocking the same intimate living rooms and basements, and because the ever-expanding definition of "psychedelic rock" actually bridges their music. Indeed, the weird, wild, and far out has crept into every cranny of underground music, and that has brought a wide variety of music closer together, as well as fans. Tastes have become eclectic enough to endure--if not embrace--a four-band bill of glittery pop, thuggish sludge, fancy-free improv-scribble-jazz, and a weirdfolk troubadour from start to end. As the bands influence each other and the fans share it together, you know something important is brewing. Music that is broadly influenced has a tendency to be broadly influential (and vice versa...just think of how the ska-punk of the 90s became an evolutionary dead end). A few bands can blend nearly all of it together on one album, such as Wild & Inside by Eat Skull. The Portland band is best known for a style that cakes punky scuzz around a pure jangle-pop kernel, but on this second effort, they summoned the ghosts of Syd Barrett, Joe Meek, and Bruno Nicolai for some chilling moments of filmesque beauty.

Among the best albums of 2009, many ghosts of psychedelic's past flew into the future over a field of punk, garage, lo-fi pop, and even minimal synth and industrial music. On Low Blows by Mattress, the macabre croony warble of Rex Marshall's posi-self-help lyrics over a bed of downer darkwave sounds like an odd mix on paper, but it flows outta the speakers dazzlingly and seemingly very naturally. Facilidad?, the sixth album by Impractical Cockpit, harkens back to the earliest days of industrial music, but reflects the experience of the last decade and a half of no wave and noiserock damage, the cultural experience of living in pre-Katrina New Orleans, and coping with Katrina's after-effects. Little Claw's third album, Human Taste, brilliantly bridges awesome post-riot-grrl ladypower with primordial ooze of the protopunk era. Talk Normal's Sugarland brings similarly striking ladypower to stridently atonal yet seductive artrock. Purling Hiss burns brightly on his self-titled album with blown-out white-hot guitar crunch and pyroclastic leads. Meercaz achieves the same on his self-titled, but varies the pace with a protopunk stew with a hint of every type of spice. Sonny & the Sunsets revive a fancy for Donovan alternately with Jonathan Richman on their alluring debut, Tomorrow is Alright. On Men Are Talking, the Life Partners playfully dish perplexingly dubious lyrical matter over clever rock with surprising AM-gold flavors. Best of all, the local SS Records label unleashed a stunning double-LP by Dan Melchior und Das Menace and the most enchanting album of dark wonder, Late Night by the upper Sacramento Valley's Nothing People.

Top 20 full-lengths...

Meercaz self-titled
Mattress Low Blows
Hunches Exit Dreams
Purling Hiss self-titled
Talk Normal Sugarland
Eat Skull Wild & Inside
Little Claw Human Taste
Audacity Power Drowning
Nothing People Late Night
Dudu Geva Retrovulva 2003
The Intelligence Fake Surfers
Ganglians Monster Headroom
Impractical Cockpit Facilidad?
The Magnetix Positively Negative
The Life Partners Men Are Talking
The Bassholes ...and Without a Name
Ratas del Vaticano Mocosos Pateticos
Sunny & the Sunsets Tomorrow Is Alright
Dan Melchior und Das Menace Obscured by Fuzz
Dan Melchior und Das Menace Thankyou Very Much

The Anals' Total Anal was the toughest to cut, and I'm still pondering who else to cut to make room for Agent Side Grinder's Irish Recording Tape which I heard for the first time in the last couple of weeks.

Top 20 EPs...

Vibes Psychic 7"
Flight Flowers 7"
Mayyors Deads 12"
FNU Ronnies Golem 12"
Pheromoans Revamper 7"
Red Mass self-titled CDEP
Moon Duo Killing Time 12"
Wounded Lion Friendly? 7"
Puffy Areolas Lutzko Lives 7"
Silver Shampoo Jethro Skull 7"
Druid Perfume Other Worlds 7"
Hue Blanc's Joyless Ones Cry 7"
Happy Burger Pizza All Around 7"
Black Pus Down Down the Drain 7"
Pink Reason/Electric Bunnies split 7"
XYX Momento Acido Contemporaneo 7"
Cheveu Like a Deer in the Headlights 7"
High Castle You're On Your Own Way 12"
Hammer of Hathor Tooth Eeth or Teeth Ooth 12"
Dan Melchior und Das Menace The Post Office Line 7"

Best cassette releases

NoBunny Raw Romance
Butcher Cover self-titled
Michael Stasis self-titled
Warm Climate Edible Houses
Rank/Xerox / Grass Widow split
Crappy Dracula The Lockhorns EP
Absinthe Minds The Song of Returning Light
Tyvek Blunt Instrumental 2: True to the Game

Most outstanding live performances...

Tyvek @ Bomb Shelter House in Davis
The Cysts @ Funcastle in Sacramento
XYX & Rank/Xerox @ Mama Buzz in Oakland
Mayyors & Hunches @ Funcastle in Sacramento
Eternal Tapestry & Ganglians @ The Hub in Sacramento
Coconut Coolouts & Personal & the Pizzas @ DAM House in Davis
Mayyors, Thee Oh Sees, & Eternal Tapestry @ ORMF VII, Plainfield Station in Woodland
Quartet of Davy Bui, Chad Stockdale, Nick Julian, & Kevin Corcoran @ Funcastle
A Burning Bus, Box Elders, Sonic Chicken 4, & Davila 666 @ Gonerfest 6 in Memphis, TN
Traditional Fools, Grass Widow, HPP, Nodzzz, et al @ Wizard Fest, Wizard Mountain in SF
Defektors, Sex Church, & Charles Albright XXXperience @ 300 Room in West Sacramento
Necessary Evils, Box Elders, Wounded Lion, Slippery Slopes, & Wild Thing @ Budget Rock in SF

Art for Spastics Awards '09...

Best Overall Album.... Wild & Inside by Eat Skull
Best EP.... Deads 12" EP by Mayyors
Best brainworm pop hit...."Flowers" by Flight
Best song for headphone listening..."Blue Tentacles" by Dan Melchior
Best cover version..."Late Night" [Syd Barrett] by Nothing People
Best late-night listening album....Late Night by Nothing People
Best festival....Gonerfest 6
Best singles club... Columbus Discount Singles Club, Year One
Best reissue... Something That Would Never Do by Mirrors
Best new local band in Sacto/Davis....GGreen (the full rock band version)
Best new bands on west coast....Rank/Xerox, Sonny & the Sunsets, and The Whines
Best song about pizza (and there were a lot of them!)...."Pizza All Around" by Happy Burger
Best song for cleaning out ears...."Golem Smoke" by FNU Ronnies
Best overall live band....Thee Oh Sees
Best band to hang out with....XYX
Best band to party with....Dadfag
Best new trend in music right now....FUN!
Best trend that I hope gains more momentum in '10...."They're rather like industrial music of late 70s/early 80s"
Best album cover art....Electric Bunnies board-game gatefold
Best drone....???? (Squim didn't make an album this year, as far as I know!)
Best irreverent band name....Juavves
Best song titles for future band names....The Pheromoans
Lifetime achievement award....Michael Yonkers
Most vinyl-worthy cassette....Edible Houses by Warm Climate
Most face-melting psych-rock scorch-fest....Eternal Tapestry
Most humorous between-song banter....Cave
Most sweltering show....Coconut Coolouts @ DAM House in Davis (my fingers got pruney!)
Most physically taxing band (for me literally)....The Hunches @ Funcastle, Sacto
Most surprising "the old guy still rocks" moment....Paul Collins' Beat @ Fire Escape in Citrus Heights
Best energy drink....NOS punch (red top) in blue 24oz canister
Best-value burger overall....Faisal's Halal in Sacramento
Most sinful burger....Back on the Block in Sacramento's "Italian Combo Burger"
Best Mexican food here in Sacto or maybe even anywhere....Lalo's or Toledo's Market
Most ridiculous place to see a show....Loco's Only in Oakland
The band I wish I coulda started....Puffy Areolas



Tuesday, December 22, 2009

AFS v. 248 ~ GGreen Across California!


My special live guest tonight was GGreen, who take the show on the road all over the Golden State next week. Full details below. If you gotta party in L.A. or San Diego on 12/30 or 12/31, get in touch, please! (Email, not MySpace!) California, please meet the best new band to form in Sacramento in 2009! Also, enjoy some more new records and tapes I've gathered from my mailbox. I guess the best-of-2009 retrospective will hafta happen next week...

Download this program within two months at this link...
CLICK HERE for 192kbps rate.
or
CLICK HERE for 320kbps rate.
or
, if you have a slower/20th century connection
STREAM IT HERE by next Monday night!

(Email me if there are any downloading problems, please!)

MAGNETIX | Brain Out/Rib Out | Brain Out/Rib Out 7-inch | Slovenly *new
GG KING | Drug Zoo | Last of the Night Wiggers CS | no label 2009
TORTURED TONGUES | Can't See the Point | Tung Tied CDR | no label *new
VICHY WATER | Crap Culture [GGreen] | self-titled CS | Space Universe *new
VICHY WATER | Affirmation Action | live in Studio A, 10/26/2009
VNC | Harm Guitar | split 7-inch w/ Moore Brothers | Brick Factory *new
GGREEN | Swimsuit Drugs | Live in the KDVS Engineering Room
GGREEN | Society of Shit
GGREEN | I Will Not Withdraw This Statement
VICHY WATER | Sacto, Great Job! | Live in Studio A, 10/26/2009
VICHY WATER | Drunk Jesus
GGREEN | Looks | Live in the KDVS Engineering Room
GGREEN | Crap Culture
GGREEN | Mouth on the Floor
GGREEN | Keys
GGREEN | The Gay 90s
GGREEN | Pool of Blood
GGREEN | Backseat
GGREEN | The Garden
CRAPPY DRACULA | Young Person's Song | The Lockhorns EP CS | Scotch Tapes *new
EL JESUS DE MAGICO | Rapey Guys II | Klip Aught 7" | Columbus Discount *new
REPRESSIVE PROTEINS | Chad at the Danube | Centurion 2xCS Box Set | no label *new
CUDEVASO | Trash Old | Tryin' to Fuck You! CDR | Fater Disks *new
MAYYORS | Clicks | Deads 12" EP | Hurling Man 2009 *request
PYGMY SHREWS | Kill Yourself [Pussy Galore] | Lord Got Busted 7-inch | Fan Death 2009
DAN MELCHIOR | 1000 Times | v/a: Skulls Without Borders 10" | Siltbreeze *new
ELECTRIC BUNNIES | Catfish | Through the Magical Door | Florida's Dying *new
HUE BLANC'S JOYLESS ONES | Smuggler's Choice | Smuggler's Choice 7-inch | Columbus Discount *new
HARD-ONS | Get Away | Dickcheese | Taang! 1988
THE MEANIES | Smack Bottom | 10% Weird | Au Go Go 1994
LES THUGS | Groucho's Theme | Still Hungry, Still Angry | Decoy 1989
LES THUGS | Birthday (Why Didn't You Come for My...)
RANK/XEROX | In a Hole | self-titled 7" | Mongo Bongo *new
VAPID | Take a Walk, Baby | Practically Dead | Nominal *new
13th CHIME | Sarah's Got a Chainsaw | The Lost Album | Sacred Bones *new (orig 1983)
AGENT SIDE GRINDER | Eyes of the Old | Irish Recording Tape | Enfant Terrible *new
BRONZE | One Night in Mexico | One Night in Mexico 7-inch | Hex Grammofoonplaten *new
LE SANG SONG | Hot Reggae | self-titled | Dragnet *new

GGreen CA Tour.....

Sun 12/27 in Oakland @ Fuzzplex
w/ NoBunny, Uzi Rash Group Band, Bare Wires & Hobocop
Mon 12/28 in Oakland @ TBA
w/ Uzi Rash Group Band Oakland, California
Tue 12/29 in San Francisco @ Pissed Off Pete's
w/ NoBunny & Uzi Rash Group Band
Wed, 12/30 in Ventura @ Mai's Cafe
w/ Sea Lions & Catwalk
Thu, 12/31 in Los Angeles??? SoCal???
(help?!?!)
Fri, Jan 1 in San Diego??? SoCal??? Anywhere?
(help?!?!)
Sat, Jan 2 in San Luis Obispo @ 3069 Broad Street
w/ TBA
Sun, Jan 3 in Stockton @ Plea 4 Peace
w/ Satan Wriders, Craft Spells & TBA
Tue, Jan 5 in Sacramento @ The Hub
w/ Brilliant Colors, English Singles, & Uzi Rash Group Band

GGreen's cousin band a recent in-studio guest Vichy Water also saw the release of their new cassette, so look out for more new sounds of young Sacramento! Fans of Teenage Panzerkorps' more dance-accessible moments should enjoy it, I think! Follow the label link above or Paypal $7ppd to dylancraver at gmail dot com....

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

AFS v. 247 ~ Now Certainty Unclaimed


HTML links coming soon, maybe...too busy this week to add more right now...so just enjoy two hours of office-doldrum-relief! Year-end top lists next week!!

Download this program within two months at this link...
CLICK HERE for 192kbps rate.
or
CLICK HERE for 320kbps rate.
or
, if you have a slower/20th century connection
STREAM IT HERE by next Monday night!

(Email me if there are any downloading problems, please!)

VAPID | Do the Earthquake | Practically Dead | Nominal *new
CHARLIE & THE MOONHEARTS | Real Hot Breakers | Real Hot Breakers 7" | Trouble in Mind *new
TY SEGALL | Fuzzy Cat | My Sunshine 7" | Trouble in Mind *new
AUDACITY | Run Kitty Run [Thee Makeout Party] | 2009 Winter Tour EP CS | Burger *new
AUDACITY | Airplane Driver
COCONUT COOLOUTS | Punk House pt 1 | Yeah, Right! 7" | Kenrock *new
JACUZZI BOYS | Planet of the Dreamers | No Seasons | Florida's Dying *new
ELECTRIC BUNNIES | Psychic Lemonade | Through the Magical Door | Florida's Dying *new
SCANTILY CLAD | Mud Dreams | Two CDR | no label *new
MEERCAZ | Troubled Hand | self-titled | Tic Tac Totally *new
RED MASS | I'm on Fire | self-titled EP | Semprini *new
PURLING HISS | Almost Washed My Hair | self-titled | Permanent/Archive *new
MAGIK MARKERS | The Lighter Side of...Hippies | Balf Quarry | Drag City 2009
SIC ALPS | Strepix | v/a: The World's Lousy With Ideas vol 8 | Almost Ready 2009
SIC ALPS | Who Has Time to Protest? | A Long Way Around to a Shortcut | Drag City 2009
ART LESSING | Stupid | The Plastic Couch | Electric Eggplant 2006
SHE | Like a Snake | Outta Reach | Causeway | *new (orig 196_)
PSYCHEDELIC HORSESHIT | Future Possibility Reclaimed | Too Many Hits 2x7" | Columbus Discount *new
OCCULT CHEMISTRY | Occult Chemistry | v/a: Messthetics #107 | Hyped2Death *new
PATTERNS | The Bishop | v/a: Messthetics #107
CARL SIMMONS | The Child Delivers the Stone | Honeysuckle Tendrals | Sacred Bones *new
EXCAVATIONS | side A (excerpt) | self-titled c56 | Stunned *new
EUREKA | Lost in the Funhouse | Big Breath CDR | Stunned *new
WARM CLIMATE | Devine Souffle & the Southern Approach | Edible Homes CS | Stunned 2009
XENO & OAKLANDER | Saracen | Sentinelle | Wierd *new
LED ER EST | Poll Gorm | Poll Gorm 7" | Captured Tracks *new
IMPRACTICAL COCKPIT | Beyond Gourmet | Facilidad? | Turned Word *new
THE WONDER BOYS | I Detta Satan's Rum [Brainbombs] | Den Flygande Varmlanningen 7" | GYLF 2008
TOM KARLSSON | Insektsbokstaverna | Pojknacke | Lystring *new
CIRCUIT RIDER | Chinese | self-titled | no label *new (orig 197_?)
TALK NORMAL | Warrior | Sugarland | Rare Book Room *new

Tuesday, December 08, 2009

AFS v. 246 ~ Around the World in 80 Ways


This week in AFS...

* the debut vinyl from my fave new SF Bay band of '09, Rank/Xerox!
* "Purple Hiss" scrambled my brain before flattening me; 'scuse me while I go lay down!
* Sounds like Impractical Cockpit has crowded somebody outta my year-end top-ten albums list!
* No Balls offer a promising life after Brainbombs for fans of the dearly departed dukes of degeneracy!

Maybe this Purling Hiss album will also make a run for my year-end top-ten list, too...gonna hafta listen non-stop for a day or two and then decide. First
impression = WOW! If you thought Birds of Maya was appealing at all, this side-project eschews all of the parent-band's restraint for a maelstrom of fuzz 'n scuzz that compares very favorably to top dogs of the J-Psych brigade from Les Rallizes Dénudés through the 90s and early aughts such as High Rise, Nishi Nihon, etc. A little bit o' research led me to this sweet lit'l streamable rocker which shows a different side of Purling Hiss...a more contemporary pop style with something of a 70s AM Gold fascination. There's yet another facet revealed on the self-titled album--available in vinyl and CD format--which is a noisy streak that's completely opposed to that easygoing vibe of "Run From the City". This guy's music might just hafta become my new obsession for a while.

Download this program within two months at this link...
CLICK HERE for 192kbps rate.
or
CLICK HERE for 320kbps rate.
or
, if you have a slower/20th century connection
STREAM IT HERE by next Monday night!

(Email me if there are any downloading problems, please!)

RANK/XEROX | Basement Furniture | self-titled 7" | Mongo Bongo *new
RANK/XEROX | Turn to Stone | live on KDVS, 08/17/2009
RONDOS | B-52 Pilot | Destroy the Entertainment | King Kong/Red Wig | 2009 (orig 1980)
TYVEK | Bicycle Fantasy 2 | Blunt Instrumental 2: True to the Game CS | no label *new
SCROTUM POLES | Put an End to It All | Auchmithie Forever | Dulc-i-Tone *new (Orig 1980)
HOBOCOP | Good News | self-titled CDR | no label *new
HERE COMES A BIG BLACK CLOUD | Blackout | LP | Stankhouse *forthcoming
TORTURED TONGUES | Extension Cord | Art of Murder 7" | Lethal Triad *new
THE FEELING OF LOVE | The Way to Suck | Suck/Soul/Porn 12" EP | HBSP-2X *new
WOVEN BONES | Have a Soul | The Minus Touch 12" EP | Zoo Music *new
LOOP | Head On | Heaven's End | Head 1987
T.I.T.S. | Void | Second Base | self-released *new
NO BALLS | Balls | self-titled 7" | Diskad *new
NO BALLS | Subsequent Needs | Come Clean | Release the Bats *new
BUTCHER COVER | Ladyparts | self-titled CS | Military Radio *new
HIROSHIMA ROCKS AROUND | Major Labels Eat Their Shit | split LP w/ Bipolar Bear | Kill Shaman *new
POTATO CHIPS | Never Unintentional | Midwest Tour 2009 CS | no label 2009
SLICING GRANDPA | Double S Bladed Technology | Diaper Down | Scatalogical Liberation Front *new
IMPRACTICAL COCKPIT | Plug Out to Permapasture | Facilidad? | Turned Word *new
EXILES FROM CLOWNTOWN | Mania | v/a: A Range of Greatdividing CS | Greatdividing *new
EL JESUS DE MAGICO | Klip Aught | Klip Aught 7" | Columbus Discount *new
PURLING HISS | Purple Hiss | self-titled | Permanent/Archive *new
PUFFY AREOLAS | El Jita | v/a: Skulls Without Borders 10" | Siltbreeze *new
WAXY TOMB | Don't Slip, Don't Slip | self-titled CDR | no label *new
KIM FOWLEY, JR. | Invasion of the Polaroid People | Son of Frankenstein | Moxie 1981
JP-RAD-ICE | Rite | Combat CDR | Scenery Audio Archive 2004
CHEER-ACCIDENT | Camp O' Physique | Introducing Lemon | Skin Graft 2003
LIFE PARTNERS | Men Are Talking | Men Are Talking | Ride the Snake 2009
SOCKEYE | The Boy w/a Bruised Butt | Barf on a Globe | Mortville/Happy Puppy 2000
WOOLLEN KITS | Tasman | Teenage Love 7" | Periodic Collective *new

Tuesday, December 01, 2009

AFS v. 245 ~ Skull Checkpoint: Please Show Provenance of Riffs



If cynics and haters and Carrie Brownstein say there's nothing original happening in today's music, well...did they ever consider how impossible (or impossibly arbitrary) their standards of originality are? Damn near everything that's been retroactively credited as original was really just a rather unique derivation of influences which had previously never been successfully blended, or were atavistic and overdue for a rebirth. I'm offering several exhibits for you to ponder this week, including a couple songs from the debut cassette by Chicago's Brain Idea (pictured right), two ripe riffs plucked at their peak of perfection by Siltbreeze for inclusion on the superb Skulls Without Borders 10" comp/"sampler", and a pair of killer songs from 2009's best new band of ladypower from leftfield....plus more, as always....ENJOY!

Download this program within two months at this link...
CLICK HERE for 192kbps rate.
or
CLICK HERE for 320kbps rate.
or
, if you have a slower/20th century connection
STREAM IT HERE by next Monday night!

(Email me if there are any downloading problems, please!)

GANGLIANS | Blood on the Sand | Blood on the Sand 7" | Captured Tracks *new
FRESH & ONLYS | Black Coffin | Grey-Eyed Girls | Woodsist *new
FRESH & ONLYS | A Taste of Hunger | split 7" w/ Dan Melchior und Das Menace | Volar *new
HENRY'S DRESS | Target Practice | Bust'em Green | Slumberland 1997
FLIGHT | My Business | self-titled 10" | Kill Shaman *new
BRAIN IDEA | The Heat | self-titled CS | no label *new
BRAIN IDEA | Yaweh with a Straightrazor
THE FALL | Wings | Palace of Swords Reversed | Rough Trade 1987 (orig 1983)
THE FALL | Mansion | This Nation's Saving Grace | Beggars Banquet 1985
JOY DIVISION | Dead Souls | Still | Factory 1981
KURT VILE & THE VIOLATORS | Denial | v/a: Skulls Without Borders 10" | Siltbreeze *new
SIC ALPS | Clarence in Wonderland [Soft Boys] | v/a: Skulls Without Borders 10"
SONNY & THE SUNSETS | Lovin' on an Older Gal | Tomorrow is Alright | Secret Seven/Soft Abuse *new
FUNGI GIRLS | Kowloon Walled City | Seafaring Pyramids | Play Pinball *new
RIDE | Unfamiliar | Vapour Trail EP | Sire 1991
LIGHTNING BOLT | Rain on Lake I'm Swimming in | Earthly Delights | Load *new
LIGHTNING BOLT | S.O.S.
MAYOR DALEY | Choices | Facial Expressions CDR | Rotted Tooth *new
TALK NORMAL | River's Edge | Sugarland | Rare Book Room *new
TALK NORMAL | Warrior | v/a: My Estrogeneration | Not Not Fun *new
TIMELOAD FOWL | Collaboration w/ James Fella | split LP w/ James Fella | Gilgongo *new
SISSY SPACEK | side A (excerpt) | Fortune b/w The Eyes of Men 7" | Gilgongo *new
AIDS WOLF | Dustin' Off the Sphynx | Dustin' Off the Sphynx 7" | Skin Graft *new
POP. 1280 | Bedbugs | Bedbugs 7" | no label *new
CONDOMINIUM | Pupils | Pupils 7" | no label *new
MUDHONEY | Twenty Four | Superfuzz Bigmuff: Deluxe Edition | Sub Pop 2009 (orig 1988)
SURGERY | Feedback | Feedback 7" | AmRep 1990
PUFFY AREOLAS | Lutzko Lives | Lutzko Lives 7" | Columbus Discount *new
PLASTIC CRIMEWAVE SOUND | Shockwave Rider | Shockwave Rider 7" | HoZac *new
MONOSHOCK | Hong Kong | Walk to the Fire | Blackjack 1996