AFS v. 214 ~ feat. The Homosexuals

I was so very excited to bring to you a special tape-delayed broadcast of British DIY/postpunk legends The Homosexuals featuring Bruno Wizard, and it was indeed a treat for all of my terrestrial listeners and live-streamers, but unfortunately, the Freeform KDVS archives did not catch the stream, as they were taken down for maintenance over the weekend, and there was a problem getting the system back online in time for this broadcast. Surely, that means I'm gonna hafta update this post when a future rebroadcast is successfully saved to our archive tree. Watch for that later this week when DJ Simi gives it a twirl. And if things aren't working by then, I suppose we can do it again next week. It really is a delight to hear it.

So, here's what you woulda heard, followed by some notes about this outstanding "reunion" of The Homosexuals...

THEE OH SEES | Meat Step Lively | Help | In the Red *new
SLIM LIMBS | Queen of the Mist | split 7" w/ Beast With a Gun | Murder Slim *new
DUM DUM GIRLS | Long Hair | HoZac Hookup Club 7" | HoZac *new
THE MAYFAIR SET | Desert Fun | Already Warm 7" | Captured Tracks *new
SUNNY & THE SUNSETS | Death Cream | Love and Death 7' | Soft Abuse *new
PUMICE | Twin Neck Double Kick Bum Chin | split 7" w/ Grouper | Soft Abuse *new
ZOLA JESUS | Flesh | Tsar Bomba | Troubleman Unlimited *new
ZOLA JESUS | Past the Blue Brick Stone | Tsar Bomba
ZOLA JESUS | Lady in the Radiator | New Amsterdam CDR | Sacred Bones *new
CHAMPAGNE DIAMOND | Separate Members | split 2xCD w/ The Brilliant Light | K is for Kaleidoscope *new
DAN MELCHIOR | Terrible Shame | Terrible Shame 7" | Dull Knife *new
NOTHING PEOPLE | Another Rattle | Late Night | S-S Records *new
AFCGT | Return to Thundernest | AFCGT | Uzu Audio *new
BIG YOUTH | Dread Locks Dread Festival | 7" | TR Groovemaster 1976
MARK STEWART + THE MAFFIA | The Paranoia of Power | Learning to Cope With Cowardice | Plexus 1983
THE HOMOSEXUALS | Pentecost 2016 | live at KDVS in Studio A, Tue 3/23/09
THE HOMOSEXUALS | Hearts in Exile
THE HOMOSEXUALS | Soft South Africans
THE HOMOSEXUALS | Technique Street
THE HOMOSEXUALS | Vociferous Slam
THE HOMOSEXUALS | Divorce Proceedings from Reality
THE HOMOSEXUALS | Snapshots of Nairobi
THE HOMOSEXUALS | My Night Out
THE HOMOSEXUALS | Astral Glamour
THE HOMOSEXUALS | Neutron Lover
THE HOMOSEXUALS | False Sentiment
THE HOMOSEXUALS | Flying
THE HOMOSEXUALS | Walk Before Imitate
THE HOMOSEXUALS | You're Not Moving the Way You're Supposed to
WOUNDED LION | Silver People | forthcoming LP

This is what I splashed down on the laptop just after seeing The Homosexuals perform in a living room (and nigh on a week later, I still believe every word of this)...

I just saw The Homosexuals tonight in a house in Davis, CA. Just got home from it. It was absolutely outstanding and will surely live on as a forever memory for me, and probably most of the 90-or-so people that crowded into that living room tonight. It was another one of those shows where I turned around and looked and saw kids in their early to mid teens, college-aged kids, and middle-aged record collector nerds all dancing and/or smiling or just looking totally riveted.

It is just Bruno flanked by a band of thirty-somethings who were very capable and knew all the old songs well, and they also excelled at jamming those songs out and keeping things going during a bass amp failure and MASH unit amp revival. Mostly, during those parts, it was spirited monologues that went on some tirade angles and some preachy righteous angles, but even that was undeniably awesome as it was probably greater than any oratory we had witnessed. It was also rhythmic enough to count as music. And even when preachy or pissed, it was poetic and actually very engaging.....not at all like dour or condescending sort of Englishness that bums most of us Yanks out. And he had some moments of great comedic timing and cleverness. His singing voice stayed strong even despite all the oratory.

As for the music, all the old songs sounded new again. Remember those old films from the 50's that were reenactments of great moments in history? "YOU WERE THERE!" This show was like that if it were only authentic.

Making this all the more mindboggling to me is that this was a last-minute show that was thrown together in just a few days to fill a hole in the tour schedule after their Portland show. This was an early-starting house-show. The whole band including the old man had been awake since 6:00 a.m. and drove 10 hours straight through before playing in this sauna-like room. Bruno looks like a corpse, yet he was incredibly sharp and very energetic throughout the 90 minutes they performed. Almost no one left until the music stopped. He finished with an encore of jangly solo songs so as not to invite the cops who miraculously hadn't showed up yet, as they are usually quick to do the moment it strikes 10:00 in Davis. I stayed for about 20 minutes of that and had to pry myself away due to extreme hunger and the feeling of wooziness. Yep....I was no match for the old man tonight.

The dude is the real deal. His band sounds like the real deal.

The Homosexuals on tour gets my highest recommendation.

By the way, since when did Zamfir join Thee Oh Sees? Their brand-new LP--Help--is by and large more of a straightforward rocker and perhaps the most aggressive thing that John Dwyer has unleashed since Yikes, but this panflute solo on "Meat Step Lively" is a well-placed break from that. Can't wait to see 'em bring it at KDVS presents Operation: Restore Maximum Freedom VII this year. More to come about that in coming weeks!

AFS v. 213 ~ feat. The Whines live in Studio A

I'm really pleased and lucky this week to present The Whines live at Freeform KDVS. The Whines piggy-backed Eat Skull's tour down to L.A., and they stopped tonight here for a live set in Studio A, which begins just past the 20-minute mark of this week's podcast. The style of this young Portland band is kinda like the more ruminative moments of The Hunches, thanks to the shimmering sprawls of psych-punk guitar that spiral toward the edges of the incredibly stalwart rhythm section. Interestingly, in the interview which airs just past the 40-minute mark, the guitarist said his style was inspired partly by seeing someone playing a hammer dulcimer. When you hear it, that kinda makes sense! I am quite liking their debut 7", but their live show is a bigger, more satisfying beast, and portends even better things to come, so keep an eye on The Whines. Thanks to Fenris Wulf for engineering the sound and Michael Mastrangelo and Zach Barnes for loaning equipment to make this performance possible!

Download this program within three weeks at this link...
CLICK HERE for 192kbps rate.
or
CLICK HERE for 320kbps rate.

RTFO BANDWAGON | Public Relations Rag | Dums Will Survive | Dull Knife *new
WINGTIP SLOAT | Blessed Nimbus, Churning | Add This to Rhetoric | VHF 2007 (orig 1991)
DAY CREEPER | Day Creeper II | I Fuck the Body Electric CDR | no label 2008
PIZZA SLAYER | Stage Coach | Pizza Slayer CS | no label *new
GUINEA WORMS | C.H.U.D. | I Know Where Will Foster Lives 7" | Columbus Discount *new
* * *
THE WHINES | Down the 2 Tracks | Live in Studio A
THE WHINES | Vacation
THE WHINES | Don't Wreck My High
THE WHINES | Shoot em in the Head
THE WHINES | Indian Homewrecker
THE WHINES | Cut Meat
THE WHINES | Insane OK
* * *
THE MAGNETIX | Mort Clinique | Positively Negative | Born Bad *new
WALKINGSEEDS | Iron Man | Skullfuck | Probe Plus 1987
HONEYMOON KILLERS | Mad Dog | Hung Far Low | Fistpuppet 1991
UNION CARBIDE PRODUCTIONS | In the Air Tonight | In the Air Tonight | Radium 226.05 1987
UNION CARBIDE PRODUCTIONS | Three Mile Eyes
BLOODBIKER | Dead | demo CDR | no label *new
LONG LEGGED WOMAN | Something Is Pressing... | Nobody Knows This Is Nowhere | Pollen Season *new
THE HUNCHES | Street Sweeper | Exit Dreams | In The Red *new
SNAPPER | Dark Sensation | Shotgun Blossom | Avalanche 1990
EL JESUS DE MAGICO | Ancestor Worship | Scalping the Guru | Columbus Discount *new
TEEPEE | Mbiso | Awake 7" | Weird Hug *new
SCRIBBLER | Ocean Floor | My Old Lady 7" | Stumparumper *new
BEYOND THE IMPLODE | Mid Ad Version | This Atmosphere 7" | Siltbreeze *new
EAT SKULL | Oregon Dreaming | Wild & Inside | Siltbreeze *forthcoming
ALASTAIR GALBRAITH/GRAEME JEFFERIES | Bravely Bravely | v/a: Making Losers Happy | Drag City/Xpressway 1992
SANDRA BELL | Subway Nihilism | Dreams of Falling | Xpressway/Turbulence | 1992
NOTHING PEOPLE | Late Night [Syd Barrett] | Late Night | S-S Records *new
PEAKING LIGHTS | Owls Barking | Imaginary Falcons | Night People *new

AFS v. 212 ~ Halcyon Will Survive

If you are in Sacto or Davis, be ready for Friday the 13th for a memorable night of music and pizza-partying at Luigi's Fungarden with Eat Skull, Ganglians, The Whines, and What's Up?. That will surely be another show-of-the-year candidate brought to you by Freeform KDVS and the Sacramento News & Review. Doors are 8:30 and showtime is 9:00 sharp, and fashionably late might be too late 'cos it might sell out judging by the press this one's getting. I've included a couple new songs from the upcoming LP because Eat Skull has let it be no secret that they will be carrying limited-to-100 tour-edition copies of a CDR advance of Wild & Inside, their incredible new album that is coming out next month on Siltbreeze. Have a listen, and you'll see what I'm saying about Rob spreading his wings as a singer and the band achieving moments of real beauty! This is the best LP of 2009 so far.

This wonderfully weird collage work to the right is by ILTH, and it is the cover art for the brand-new 2nd LP--Late Night--by Nothing People on SS Records, just out this week along with the official release of Dan Melchior's epic new double-LP with das Menace. These albums are both so momentous that they surely give 2009 even more momentum to carry on the current halcyon age of futureclassic vinyl. These are both superb thinkingman's rock records to suit a variety of listening circumstances and deep concentration. Along with the best of the Wooden Shjips, Dan's "Blue Tentacles" and the entire Nothing People album are perhaps some of the finest headphone moments in recent memory, as their subtleties reveal themselves upon repeat listens (I'm on consecutive go-around #5 with Late Night as I write this, and it's sounding better and better!). Mr. SS warned me that Late Night was "definitely a lot more mellow" than Anonymous, but that suits my just fine...It might've taken me a while to accede to this kinda record as a kid, but I'm a grown-up now. The title track is an outstanding cover of Syd Barrett's original, and hey, young fellas, take it from me as a grown-up...THIS is thee best version of the song if you wanna make an impression on a mix-tape for a special young lady. Now go buy these!

Download this program within three weeks at either link...
CLICK HERE for 192kbps rate.
(~ 173kB)
or CLICK HERE for 320kbps rate.
(~ 346kB)

RTFO BANDWAGON | Dums Will Survive | Dums Will Survive | Dull Knife *new
GUINEA WORMS | I Know Where Wil Foster Lives | Singles Club 7" | Columbus Discount *new
TYVEK | Pamphlet | Singles Club 7" | Sub Pop *new
ODD CLOUDS | Gum Coup Follicle | v/a: Shiftless Decay | X! Records *new
GARY WAR | Zontag | Zontag 7" | Sacred Bones *new
SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHY | Time Is Racing | Time Is Racing 7" | Sacred Bones *new
LOU CHAMPAGNE SYSTEM | Inside Outside | v/a: 2 Hemden 2 Hosen vol 6 7" | Kernkrach *new
SONNENBRANDT | Herz Aus Geld | Gestern | Kernkrach *new
EAT SKULL | Talkin' Bro in the Wall Blues | Wild & Inside | Siltbreeze *forthcoming *request
DAN MELCHIOR UND DAS MENACE | New York Hole | Thankyou Very Much 2xLP | SS Records *new
DAN MELCHIOR UND DAS MENACE | Piledriver Nightmare #2 | Mr. Oblivian 7" | Columbus Discount *new
NOTHING PEOPLE | Stick in the Mud | Late Night | SS Records *new
EAT SKULL | Surfing the Stairs | Wild & Inside *request
EAT SKULL | Leave the Universe | split 7" w/ Ganglians | Dulc-i-Tone *new
VICTOR DIMISICH BAND | Native Waiter | v/a: Xpressway Pile-Up | Xpressway 1990
BLANK DOGS | The Threes | Seconds 12" EP | Captured Tracks *new
DUM DUM GIRLS | Yours Alone | Catholicked 12" EP | Captured Tracks *new
ABSINTHE MINDS | A2 | The Song of Returning Light CS | Not Not Fun *new
BLOOD | trk 3 | Evacuated Materials CDR | Skrot Up *new
JAMES FELLA | Glitched Layers of Leeched Samples | split CS w/ N.213 | Isolated Now Waves *new
JAMES FELLA | Dead Synth Meander
YEAR OF THE LIPS | Signal to Earth | Year of the Lips CDR | no label *new
COLIN NEWMAN | Image | A-Z | Beggar's Banquet 1980
SILENTIST | Witches | Chariot Swing EP | Celestial Gang 2005
SILENTIST | Paralytic | The Tunnel 7" | Zum *new
CURSE OF THE BIRTHMARK | Le Phant | Welcome to the Hard Times...You're Late! | Deleted Art 2005
ACCEPT | Fast as a Shark | Restless and Wild | Portrait 1983
SCHNAUZER | The Things That Get to Me | split 7" w/ 216 | no label 1997
SCHNAUZER | Drug Bust/To Hell and Back | split 7" w/ Hangnail | Hibachi 1998

Did I betray my grown-up ways with those Schnauzer tracks or what? Hey, what can I say. 10-14 years ago, I was a sucker for any sick 'n twisted northeast Ohio metal, sludge, and noisecore...everything from Sloth to Hemdale to Minch and Nutscreamer and the whole Steveggs family tree of bands. Even before I saw Gummo, it was the music of this delightfully degenerate scene that has me thinking that there was something seriously wrong with the water in the Cuyahoga. There have been many times when I've suffered some aggravation that I've imagined the incensed voice of Schnauzer's Jim Teufel yelling "FUUUUCCCKKKK!!!!" (as heard in "Drug Bust/To Hell and Back" upon his discovery of a narky weasel in his grass). Glimpsing into these guy's fantasies of roid rage, methy paranoia, and moral adjectness was quite a thrlling slumtrip of the mind. And now I've discovered that the band's still around(!?!?!) and released a new split just last year. Guess what's on my list to paypal (verb transitive) next!

Anyone sign up Year of the Lips for a vinyl LP yet? Hurry it up! Go re-listen to it again!

Because there is no longer a doubt that they are truly one of the best bands on planet Earth today, I must urge you to see Eat Skull on tour if they come within half a day's drive of you; here you have their merch report and itinerary--straight from the desk of Rob Enbom for the month of March...

OK We're going on tour next week. The first four shows are with the Whines. If you've slept on them, time to wake up.
We will have a couple of tour CD-Rs:

Eat Skull 'Wild and Inside' CD-r

Limited to 100 stamped and numbered copies with alternate art work for you ebay freaks. This is our new album that will see a proper release on Siltbreeze in early April.


Tracklisting:

1. Stick to the Formula
2. Cooking a way to be Happy
3. Heaven's Stranger
4. You're With a Thing
5. Nuke Mecca
6. Who's In Control?
7. Killed By Rooms
8. Happy Submarine
9. Talkin' Bro in the Wall Blues
10. Surfing the Stairs
11. Dawn in the Face
12. Oregon Dreaming

Eat Skull 'EUSTA Kill' CD-r

Also limited to 100 copies numbered and stamped, this is a collection of everything that came out on 7" so far and 5 extra songs recorded during or after the Sick to Death sessions.


Tracklisting:

1. Seeing Things
2. Stuff Reverse
3. Things I Did When I Dyed My Hair
4. Dead Families
5. If I'm Insane
6. No Intelligence
7. You Must Be Bugs
8. Double Wasted
9. Leave the Universe
10. Don't Leave Me on the Speaker
11. Thank You Smoke Breaks
12. Negative World
13. Medication Time
14. Stick to the Formula (UK Club Banger Version)

Both of these CD-rs have been mastered by Tim Stollenwerk who does the Mississippi Records comps that everybody loves so much. He's the shit and they don't sound like shit. We will not be doing mailorder on these, just selling them at shows to help pay the bills.


---------------------------------------------------------

Eat Skull 'We Don't Like Adam Anymore' Tour Dates

WED MARCH 11 - PORTLAND, OR @ Kenton Club w/ Kurt Vile, The Whines, Eternal Tapestry
FRI MARCH 13 - SACRAMENTO, CA @ Luigi's Fun Garden - w/ Ganglians, The Whines, What's Up?
SAT MARCH 14 - SAN FRANCISCO, CA @ OCD w/ The Hospitals, Long Legged Woman, The Whines
SUN MARCH 15 - ECHO PARK, CA @ Echo Curio w/ Lovvers, The Whines, Long Legged Woman
MON MARCH 16 - PHOENIX, AZ @ Rampage Fest @ Trunkspace w/ Abe Vigoda, Wavves, Long Legged Woman and more

****SXSW March 18-21****

MON MARCH 23 - El Paso, TX @ Blackmarket w/ Blank Dogs, Turpentine Brothers, Naked On The Vague, Nobunny
WED MARCH 25 - San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar w/ Blank Dogs, Naked on the Vague + more
THU MARCH 26 - San Francisco, CA @ Eagle Tavern w/ Oh Sees, Grant Hart, Fresh and Onlys
FRI MARCH 27 - West Sacramento, CA @ 300 Room w/ Mayyors, Careerers


:::SXSW Shows:::

WEDNESDAY MARCH 18TH:

Beerland Free Day Show, 21+

Can't Stop The Bleeding. com presents
Endless Boogie (NYC, 5:40pm)
The Homosexuals (London/NYC, 4:50pm)
Turbo Fruits (Nashville, 4pm)
The Young (Austin, 3:05pm)
Eat Skull (Portland, 2:20pm)
Dikes Of Holland (Austin, 1:40pm)
Psychedelic Horseshit (Columbus, 1pm)

WEDNESDAY NIGHT SHOW:

Natrix Natrix House - 3222 John Campbell?s Trail, Austin, Texas 78735 - Tyvek,

XYX, Ratas del Vaticon, Eat Skull, Psychedelic Horseshit, Talk Normal.


THURSDAY DAY SHOW:

"The Medieval Reslayathon"
Thursday March 19th
610 Vermont Rd.

Austin, TX 78702

20 min. sets for locals 30 min.
sets for toursters

1:00 Rat Bastard & Doug Ferguson (members of To Live and Shave in LA)
1:40 Mae Shi (Los Angeles - SAF, 5RC)
2:20 Crime Novels (NY)
2:50 Eat Skull (Portland - Siltbreeze)
3:40 Pillow Queens (ATX)
4:30 Wildildlife (Seattle - Crucial Blast)
5:15 Diagonals (ATX)
5:55 Coathangers (Atlanta - Suicide Squeeze)
6:35 Over the Hill (ATX)
7:25 Fiasco (Brooklyn - Impose)
8:05 Roller (ATX)

then:

Driveway Day Show
5615 Jim Hogg Avenue
Austin, TX 78756

2:00 - Magic Jewels
2:30 - Aids Wolf
3:00 - Snack Truck
3:30 - Purple Rhinestone Eagle
4:00 - Hot Lava
4:30 - Eat Skull
5:00 - Mayyors
5:30 - Bermuda Triangles

THURSDAY NIGHT:

Siltbreeze Showcase
SoHo Lounge
217 E. 6th St.

Austin, Texas 78701

8:00 p.m.
Ratas del Vaticano
8:45 p.m.
Eat Skull
9:30 p.m.
Hank IV
10:15 p.m.
Psychedelic Horseshit
11:00 p.m.
Naked On the Vague
11:45 p.m. U.S.
Girls
12:30 a.m.
Los Llamarada
1:15 a.m.
FNU Ronnies

FRIDAY DAY:

End of an Ear
2209 South 1st Unit C / Austin, TX 78704

1pm - Eat Skull
2pm - Crystal Stilts
3pm - Gary War
4pm - Cursive
5pm - Homosexuals

Then:

FRIDAY MARCH 20
2908 COLE STREET
2PM

2-220 the wiggins
230-3 rtfo bandwagon
310-340 teenage cool kids
350-420 kurt vile
430-5 eat skull
510-540 psychedelic horseshit

SATURDAY DAY:

Sound on Sound Records
106 E.
North Loop
Austin, TX 78751

3-5:30pm

Mayyors
Rusted Shut
Eat Skull
RTFO Bandwagon

The Music Gym Free Day Show
815 E.
6th Street
Victim of Time Presents:
http://www. victimoftime. com/

1:00 - 1:30 Guinea Worms
1:45 - 2:15 Christmas Island
2:30 - 3:00 Woven Bones
3:15 - 3:45 TV Ghost
4:00 - 4:30 Digital Leather
4:45 - 5:15 Intelligence
5:30 - 6:00 Eat Skull
6:15 - 6:45 Psychedelic Horseshit


Woodsist Showcase:
SAT 3/21 @ Ms Bea's (1104 East 6th St @ Medina St)
5pm- 12am


11- WAVVES

10:30- CRYSTAL STILTS

10- WOODS

9:30- EAT SKULL

9- THEE OH SEES

8:30- BLANK DOGS

8- PSYCHEDELIC HORSESHIT

7:30- CAUSE CO MOTION

7- KURT VILE

6:30- CHRISTMAS ISLAND

6- THE FRESH AND ONLYS

5:30- GANGLIANS

5- REAL ESTATE

SATURDAY NIGHT PARTY:
w/ Mayyors, Oh Sees + more
Eat Skull plays at 12:30am

1118 linden, austin, Texas 78701 - free

AFS v. 211 ~ Nobody Knows This is Somewhere!

It's a great time to be in Sacto or Davis this week 'cos Freeform KDVS 90.3 FM is presenting Tyvek twice this week: on Wednesday 2/25 at the UC-Davis Coffeehouse with Th' Losin' Streaks and GGreen, and on Friday 02/27 in Sacto at Luigi's Fungarden with San Kazakgascar, Desario (ex-Holiday Flyer and Rocketship there for ya!), and Not an Airplane. Of course, Tyvek are one of the preeminent funmaker bands on the planet today. Another hot show is happening at the "Goobertarium" on Thursday 2/26 (1819 23rd Street in Sac) with Ganglians, Dadfag, and one of my tip-top favorite discoveries of 2008, Long Legged Woman, who finally have copies of their self-released LP which is outstanding! It's kinda like the Mayyors in that they can pummel you severely and relentlessly with mean riffs and braincell-devastating scuzz, but you can also go wild and party with them. And there's a little smack of Dinosaur Jr. in there. (The right smack to be sure!) Sometimes they mellow out and play kinda pretty. It all comes together brilliantly. 9pm start. And if you're early, you can even catch Sam McPheeters (you remember him from Born Against, Men's Recovery Project, etc.) reading from his CLOG fiction zine at Time Tested Books (1114 21st Street in Sac @ 7pm).

Download this program within three weeks at either link...
CLICK HERE for 192kbps rate.
(~ 173kB)
or CLICK HERE for 320kbps rate.
(~ 346kB)

EL JESUS DE MAGICO | Elohim City | Scalping the Guru | Columbus Discount *new
OUTER SPACIST | I Walk With Telepathy, Baby | The Mind Is As Outer Space 7" | Columbus Discount *new
PILLOW TALK | The Sutan's Wish | Down Town Unga Wunga 7" | Columbus Discount *new
PILLOW TALK | Columbus Ohio Phone Conversation (skit)
SPIDER | Tonight at 10:00 | v/a: Puget Power 5 7" | Regal Select *new
TUNNELS | Crouched in the Dark | v/a: Post-Alarmist Dracula Safari | Oms-B *new
INDIAN JEWELRY | Zing Zang | split 12" w/ Future Blondes | Dull Knife *new
DAN MELCHIOR UND DAS MENACE | Blue Tentacles | Thankyou Very Much 2xLP | SS Records *new
BEACH BOYS | Be With Me | Wild Honey | Reprise 1967
GANGLIANS | Lost Words | split 7" w/ Eat Skull | Dulc-I-Tone *new
TYVEK | untitled | split 7" w/ Cygnus | no label 2007
KEVIN BOYER | Something's Gonna Come Up | Something's Gonna Come Up 7" | What's Your Rupture? *new
TYVEK | Honda | Mary Ellen Claims 7" | X! Records 2006
TYVEK | Give It Up | Summer Burns 2x7" | What's Your Rupture? 2007
YUPPIES | Leper Blood | split 7" w/ Noah's Ark Was a Spaceship | Dutch Hall *new
LONG LEGGED WOMAN | He Was a Narc, but We Loved Him Anyway | Nobody Knows This Is Nowhere | Pollen Season *new
LONG LEGGED WOMAN | I Have a Scheme
BLASTOCYST | Marjoe Works for Free | split LP w/ Reverse Mouth | Heat Retention/Phase 2007
MEN'S RECOVERY PROJECT | Conquer Your Honor | v/a: Today the Planet, Tomorrow the World 7" | Thin the Herd 1997
MEN'S RECOVERY PROJECT | Experimental Music Is Consumer Fraud
BORN AGAINST | Mount the Pavement | Nine Patriotic Hymns for Children | Vermiform 1991
XBXRX | untitled | split 2x5" w/ Total Shutdown | Rock Is Hell 2008
MATT K. SHRUGG | Games of Blaze | Mentor to Wall CDR | Guiness Book of World Records *new
TIK///TIK | Diamondz from the Dude | Diamond Hand Hold 3" CDR | EMR 2007
KAWAIIETLY PLEASE | Capsuled Confessions and Coffee, Please | v/a: DBA 095 CDR | Deathbomb Arc *new
AXEMEN | Big Cheap Motel | Big Cheap Motel | Siltbreeze *new (orig 1984)
LEMON BEAR | Sad Sad Sad | Lemon CDR | Chocolate Monk *new
LEMON BEAR | 005 | All New CDR | Liquor Store & Laboratory *new
CHEATER SLICKS | Part 1 | Bats in the Dead Trees | Lost Treasures of the Underworld *new

Of course, the new Dan Melchior und Das Menace 2xLP is thee clincher among his bevy of new releases for 2009, but it's not quite out yet, so stay patient for a little while. Nary a dud track in the lot! But I've not found time yet to cuddle up to it since I only got my paws on it today, and my mind's not yet come back to earth since listening again to the newest CDR by Matt K. Shrugg, Mentor to Wall. Ten tracks, two thirds of it is really rockin' in the vein of his Plastic Idol 7"es that came out last year, and the other third gets really wild, like Matt's got Ben Wallers drunk on absinthe in the grips of a headlock while he wrestles him to the Rashied Ali's house (he's been rumored to be livin' in Sacto for years, y'know!) for a ruthless shock to the psyche. You just hafta hear tracks 9 & 10 back-to-back to see what I mean. Maybe I'll spin those both next time. I really wish this guy had a band together that could pull these songs off live, but he'd probably need to clone another four Matt K's. This guy plays with a rare quotient of soul, ferocity, and precision, and he's uncommonly long on ideas to work a definitive rock 'n' roll song for maximum catchiness, cleverness, and impact. Seriously, some DIY label honcho would be super-shrewd to issue this on a 12". It is absolutely vinyl-worthy next-level futurepunk.

AFS v. 210 ~ Raising the Bar

Leading off this week, we get a sneak preview from the upcoming Eat Skull LP--Wild & Inside--due out this spring on Siltbreeze. As I'm writing this, I'm listening to it for the fourth time back-to-back-to-back-to-back, AND THE ONLY WAY TO EXPRESS HOW BRILLIANT THIS RECORD'S GONNA BE IS TO USE ALL CAPS AND EXTRA EXCLAMATION MARKS!!! This totally exceeds my lofty expectations! There's a couple more songs from it on their MySpace, and I'm not gonna spoil the real surprises by playing certain other songs on upcoming AFS shows before the record comes out. But suffice it now to say that this record's dripping in picture-perfect pop brilliance more so than even the best individual songs of their 2008 releases. There's still some crucial anthems and wild rides--"Nuke Mecca" being the obvious 80's HC touch (is that an accidental re-write of "Breeders" by L.D.S.?)--but all of these songs reveal the songwriting to be uncommonly strong, and every little "weird" extra is absolutely purposeful (including field recordings from a busy kitchen and a to-die-for chorus sung by what sounds like a kids' choir). There's even moments of true beauty in the final five songs, which hang together just perfectly! If you're one of the naysayin' message-board trolls that say Eat Skull has typefied "weirdpunk" as too often "weird for the sake of weird" (I know I've read that more than once), I dare say that YOU need to let this one under your skin. In his fascinating interview in the new Z Gun, Dan Melchior talked about some of his favorite records of the past which he described as "haunted pop": Roy Orbison, darker moments of the Beach Boys you'd never hear on oldies radio, and so many records bearing the mark of Joe Meek or Phil Spector. I swear that Wild & Inside even captures that vibe. Is it live or is it Memorex? How about whether it's anachronistic or timeless? Not that it's a competition or anything, but this sets the bar really high for the rest of the year. 'Bout that new Z Gun...I intended this playlist to be a listening companion to this excellent new issue of the best music print zine since...since?...before the internet happened, I figure.

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EAT SKULL | Killed by Rooms | Wild & Inside | Siltbreeze *forthcoming
EAT SKULL | Double Wasted | split 7" w/ Ganglians | Dulc-i-Tone *new
KEVIN BOYER | I Was Born | Something's Gonna Come Up 7" | What's Your Rupture? *new
HOME BLITZ | Apocalyptic Grades 2005 A.D. | Apocalyptic Grades 2005 A.D. 7" | no label 2005
HOME BLITZ | Thin Ice | v/a: The World Is Lousy With Ideas #1 7" | Almost Ready 2007
FEEDTIME | Mandead/Searching the Desert | Feedtime | Megadisc 1985
FEEDTIME | Fractured | Shovel | Aberrant 1986
BILLY BAO | Borders of Mass Deception | Fuck Separation 10" | S-S Records 2007
RATAS DEL VATICANO | Disparame ya no Quiero Toser | Mocosos Pateticos | Siltbreeze *new
RATAS DEL VATICANO | Himno al Rock n' Roll
TV GHOST | Nodoz | TV Ghost | Die Stasi 2008
LEPER PRINT | Dead Flowers | Coma 7" | Die Stasi 2008
DAN MELCHIOR UND DAS MENACE | The Post Office Line | The Post Office Line 7" | Columbus Discount *new
DAN MELCHIOR | Claptrap Thing | The Covert Stomp | Smart Guy 2004 (orig 1999)
DAN MELCHIOR | Natural Misanthrope | This is Not the Medway Sound | Smart Guy 2003
DAN MELCHIOR UND DAS MENACE | Cockroaches in Yr Handbag | The Pink Scream 12" EP | Shake Appeal 2007
GANDALF | Nature Boy | Gandalf | Capitol 1969
LEFT BANKE | Lazy Day | There's Gonna Be a Storm | Mercury | 1992 (orig 1967)
TORNADOS '66 | No More You and Me | v/a: Joe Meek Freakbeat: You're Holding Me Down | Castle 2006 (orig 1966)
THE TWINKEYZ | Cartoon Land | Aliens in Our Midst | Anopheles 1998 (orig 1978)
MATT K. SHRUGG | (We Aren't Here for) Yesterday | Mentor to Wall CDR | Guiness Book of World Records *new
CHARLES ALBRIGHT | I'm Just a Fine Young Man... | I'm on Drugs 7" | no label *new
PACK | Nobody Can Tell Us | Com'On 7" | Eversongs/Aggressive Noise *new (orig 1978)
GOD IS MY CO-PILOT | I Hate My Friends | On a Wing & a Prayer 7" | Funky Mushroom 1992
GOD IS MY CO-PILOT | Submissive | Gender Is As Gender Does 7" | Funky Mushroom 1992
HUGGY BEAR | Her Jazz | Her Jazz 7" | Wiiija/Catcall 1993
PUSSYCAT TRASH | Punk Xerox Connections | The Brat Years: 1992-1995 | Troubleman Unlimited 2001
SKINNED TEEN | Starch | split LP/CD w/ Raooul | Lookout/Wiiija 1994
FRUMPIES | She's a Real Cutie Pie | Babies and Bunnies 7" | Kill Rock Stars 1993
BOYCOTT | Barbie Doll Death | Boycott 7" | Trench 1994
CEBE BARNS BAND | You Use Me For Fashion | Height of Fashion 7" | Horsekitty 1996
KICKING GIANT | Dubious | She's Real 7" | K Records 1994
KICKING GIANT | Wire | Alien I.D. | K Records 1994
SLEATER-KINNEY | The Last Song | Sleater-Kinney 10" | Villa Villakula 1995 *request
MUTATING MELTDOWN | Six Minutes Underground | Fantasy 7" | M'Lady's *new
ZOLA JESUS | Dog | Poor Sons 7" | Die Stasi 2008
LUXURY PREVENTION | Tenable Fort | v/a: XXperiments | Die Stasi *new
WET HAIR | White Strobe Void | 2nd CS | Night People *new
JAMES FERRARO | Subterranean Pipe Dream | Chameleon Ballet | Olde English Spelling Bee *new

Like I said....Z Gun is the best print zine out there in quite some time. Unless you can take your laptop into your W.C. everytime you take a ruthless duke, you really do need this thing. It's got tons of well-done reviews of a variety of punk, garage, and tangential musics as usual, plus superb interviews with the likes of Mattin and Billy Bao, feedtime, Home Blitz, Dan Melchior, and the DIYCEO of Die Stasi Records, AND a toughtful examination of crucial records and tapes from the heyday of riot grrl. As Ryan Wells wrote in his introduction, riot grrl music was never treated well by critics. During that early heyday, professional music journalists rarely dealt with the music of riot grrl, but focused instead on the social and political aspects of it as a movement. Surely riot grrls with their own zines covered the music, but mostly, they completely lacked the ability or willingness to be critical. Truly, this kinda piece is long overdue. Now you can have a riot grrl grails list. Happy hunting! Let's hope this attention inspires a compilation to bring these sounds to the non-collector-scum. My finger will be on the mousebutton ready to paypal.

If you're in the Sacramento Valley, you can get it at Time Tested Books at 1114 21st Street in Midtown Sac. If you're anywhere else, CLICK HERE to find out how to cop it.

AFS v. 209 ~ Down With Hope!

Lock up the razor blades, kids! This week's AFS is soaked in overbearing blight and horror. Phil must still be haunting the studio, with Lux in tow. Death to Pigs set the course for this bummer trip with a faithful tribute to the Brainbombs' implacable downcast riff oppression, followed by the exquisitely punishing new pukefests by the strident Basque blastmaster of bleakness, Mattin, whose new 7" slab dishes three live tracks that are violent, nasty, noisy, and stark, yet also mining territory adjacent to hardcore. It immediately made Deep Jew and Dynasty spring to mind, but this is much more dynamic. The new 7" from Germany's Rock Is Hell label (pictured here) is limited to 150, so hurry! There's no quick relief afterward...behold the agonizing atmospherics of Prurient, and then back to the thorough riff-pummelling with FNU Ronnies (that surely belongs on vinyl eventually). About the only thing that could make you feel more hopeless is to watch Threads on GoogleVideo. Don't, dont' do it!

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DAN MELCHIOR UND DAS MENACE | Tourists | The Post Office Line 7" | Columbus Discount *new
BEYOND THE IMPLODE | This Atmosphere | This Atmosphere 7" | Siltbreeze (orig 1979) *new
COLD SUN | For Ever | Dark Shadows | World in Sound *new (orig 1970)
MEERCAZ | Defeated at Home | Meercaz | Gulcher *new
DEATH | Politicians in My Eyes | ...For the Whole World to See | Drag City *new (orig 1975)
BOULDER | Scream of the Iron Messiah [Black Death] | split 7" w/ Thin Lizzy | Flexovit 1997
DEATH TO PIGS | (It's a) Burning Hell [Brainbombs] | La Horse 10" | Down Boy/213/Bands Noire *new
MATTIN, DEAN ROBERTS & DD KERN | untitled #5/MMMMM | 7" | Rock Is Hell *new
PRURIENT | Historically, Women Use Poison to Kill | Cocaine Death | Hospital Productions 2008
FNU RONNIES | Golem Smoke | Golem CDR | Skrot Up *new
COUSINS OF REGGAE | You Can Do It to Me and I Can Do It to You | Methridge | Olde English Spelling Bee *new (orig 2005)
COUSINS OF REGGAE | The Edge of the Babysitter
ALARMIST | Ignition | demo CDR | no label 2003
ARGUMENTIX & BIRD COSTUMES | Nostalgia Escaped Unscathed | Armageddon...Maybe Later CDR | Below PDX 2006
ARGUMENTIX W/ TIK///TIK | Gentle Push | v/a: Dracula Safari: Post-Alarmist | Oms-B *new
GHOST TO FALCO | Home Smoke | Hold Back The Dark CDR | no label *new
BROMP TREB | Twins | Twins 7" | Breaking World Records *new
DANNY & THE DRESSMAKERS | Eggs on Legs | v/a: Messthetics Greatest Hiss | Hyped2Death *new (orig 1979)
HIGH MARKS | The Family Year | Closing Doors CDR | Persistent Midnight *new
NOSZTALGIA DIREKTIVA | Tegnapok | Tegnapok 7" | Enfant Terrible *new
ADOLF FILTER | 1982 | The Other Hand on the Knob 7" | Enfant Terrible *new
BLANK DOGS | Spinning | The Fields 12" EP | Woodsist 2008
RODENT PLAGUE | Abyssinia | Evacuations CS | Jerkwave Tapes 2008
YEAR OF THE LIPS | Vomitorium | Year of the Lips CDR | no label *new
CRO MAGNON | Apple Orchard | first 7" | Bruit Direct *new
RUTH WHITE | Owls | Flowers of Evil | Limelight 1969
THE SHADOW RING | The Iron Ark | Life Review (1993-2003) 2xCD | KYE *new
THE SHADOW RING | Veehay

Really, though....the cheeriest news of the day is that the new installment of the Columbus Discount Singles Club came in the mail today, and it's possibly the wildest 7" yet by Dan Melchior und das Menace. We lead off tonight with the schizoid B-side that alternately rambles with sweet guitar and cloys with jarring keys, but it's surely as tight and purposeful as any Melchior song, and Dan still makes his point with authority. I never expected him to veer so close to the "synthpunk" zeitgeist, but that's exactly what you'll hear on the A-side, and it's exemplary as a best-of in the genre. I can hear the alacrity and aggression of TV Ghost, but also the appreciable kinda maturity that helps such an assault hit its target perfectly. And there's another 7" by Melchior and his Menace coming any day now on Columbus Discount which is already available for order even for non-subscribers to the Singles Club. It's coming in a killer batch of new titles by such cool rulers as El Jesus de Magico (full length!)!!

And yet more consoling is available in the form of these great new reissues and retrospective releases...

Siltbreeze's new 7" featuring Beyond the Implode is just in time to take advantage of heightened curiosity in DIY pop and postpunk, like the kind chronicled by the Messthetics series, and rekindled interest in the sublime sounds of 80s kiwi pop and psyched-tinged adjacencies. This English band's 1979 home recordings definitely sounds like a perfect combination of the two, and it is surely already in short supply, so go cop it right now! Also check out the new LP by Detroit Afro-proto-punks Death, due out on February 17, plus a re-ish of early 70s Austin psych-trippers Cold Sun, a still-too-scarce vinyl edition of drastic neo-no-wave scuzz by Cousins of Reggae (surely one of the very best bands of this particular ilk!), and a double-CD by The Shadow Ring that shall surely send you scouring for their entire discography once you let it creep under your skin. Rumor has it, more Shadow Ring reissues are on the way.

AFS v. 208 ~ Lynott Bumps in the Night

Sorry...gonna hafta put off flipping that Post-Alarmist Dracula Safari over for another week; after speeding over here from my office, I didn't have the time to prepare a proper spotlight segment. Sorry also for the technical difficulty with that "Thin Lizzy" record. Either that, or it was the ghost of Phil Lynott swooping down to foul everything up. Sorry, Phil. Go haunt Scott Gorham instead. I am really glad that I was able to get that record on the airwaves after all, though. It's truly a hilarious glimpse at ex-rockstars at their wartiest! War, Stillers! War, heroin and sluts! War, me warring on AFS! See you next week, clones!!!

One more thing: Please excuse my mis-announcing of the Noah's Ark Was a Spaceship song! The KDVS copy of that split 7" with The Yuppies has reversed inner labels. I could hardly believe my ears when I heard the song and thought "Jeez...those Yuppies really changed their style!" You'll definitely be hearing more from both of these young and precocious Nebraska bands.

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TOTAL CONTROL | Meds | Total Control 7"| Aarght! 2008
SOFT DRINKS | Pepsi Cola | v/a: The Thing from the Crypt | Dead Hedgehog 1981
COLD CAVE | An Understanding | 3-way split 7" w/ Blessure Grave & Crocodiles | Down in the Ground *new
HOLLOW TONGUES | trk 7 | some CDR | no label *new
SIDS | Winter | Winter 7" | Rob's House *new
KOMMUNITY FK | To Blame | The Vision and the Voice | Independent Project 1983
BLESSURE GRAVES | trk 2 | Cult of Youth CDR | no label *new
AUTOPILOT | Love Is a Process | Love Is a Process 7" | no label 1979
NOAH'S ARK WAS A SPACESHIP | Flamingo's Our Father | split 7" w/ The Yuppies | Dutch Hall *new
EAN ERASER | It Does Not Matter to Me | Illegitimate Love 7" | no label 2008
AUDACITY | Twilight Zone | Power Drowning | Burger *new
NODZZZ | I Was My Parents' Vision | Nodzzz | What's Your Rupture? 2008
THE RANTOULS | Chug a Lug | The Rantouls 7" | Chocolate Covered 2008
NOBUNNY | Motorhead With Me | Give It to Me 7" | HoZac *new *request
PHOTOBOOTH | You | Da Me Tus Besos 7" | Daggerman *new
BOX ELDERS | One Foot In Front of The Other | Hole in My Head 7" | Grotto 2008
THE WHINES | Insane OK | Insane OK 7" | Just for the Hell of It *new
THE HUNCHES | From This Window | Exit Dreams | In The Red *new
EDDY CURRENT SUPPRESSION RING | That Time of Day | That Time of Day 7" | Nervous Jerk *new
THEE OH SEES | Carol Ann | Carol Ann 7" | Slowboy *new
THE UP | Just Like an Aborigine | v/a: A-Square (of Course) | Big Beat 2008 (orig 1970)
DRUID PERFUME | Goat Skin Glue | A Fascinating Lesson in Glue 7" | Italy *new
BEWARE OF THE KNIGHT | Space Sores | Third Canker From the Rock CDR | no label 2007
TERRIBLE TWOS | Creep Cloud | Grey Ghost Street 7" | Italy *new
HENRY FIAT'S OPEN SORE | P.S. Send More Ammo | Mondo Blotto | Alien Snatch 2008
SINKS | No Money | No Money 7" | Kenrock 2008
RATAS DEL VATICANO | Te Apuñalare en el Recto | Mocosos Pateticos | Siltbreeze *new
RATAS DEL VATICANO | Encandenado a la Rutina
RED MASS | Terrorizer | Red Mass 12" EP | Psychic Handshake 2008
DEATH TO PIGS | Muslim Lady (You Drive Me Crazy) | La Horse 10" | Down Boy/213/Bands Noire *new
ICON GALLERY | Retribution | Demo 7" | Dear Skull *new
BOULDER | Anchored Down | split 7" w/ Dimbulb | Alley Sweeper 1995
MIND POWER | Pretty One | Famous Voodoo Rituals & Spells 7" | Praise Dobbs 1992
BORON & THE GREBES | You're a Horrible Person | You're a Horrible Person 7" | no label *new
THIN LIZZY | Black Stache White Wax | split 7" w/ Boulder | Flexovit 1997

AFS v. 207 ~ Dracula Safari

Just out on Oms-B is a four-way split LP--Post-Alarmist Dracula Safari--of solo projects led by the members of Portland's Alarmist. How I fretted about missing their last ever live show when it was announced at an inopportune time for me to bail from the office. They were one of most outstanding live bands on the planet in the middle part of this decade, and their odd amalgamation of seeming ill-fitting parts (an unlikely duet of male tonally-challenged physical growler with female feline part-time shrieker/part-time delicate meower over a scant backdrop of lithe-sinewy strands of guitar (no bass) and clever jazzpunk drums that were plenty stout enough to hold the entire band together!) blended miraculously, bringing to mind a brasher take on U.S. Maple or Sonic Youth at their most threatening circa Sister. All the members were gregarious and hyper-creative in their individualistic ways, so certainly I shoulda known that from the rubble of Alarmist, many intriguing new bands and projects would spring. Each of the four members' primary solo projects are featured on Dracula Safari: Inca Ore, Argumentix, Ghost to Falco, and Tunnels. Tunnels is Nick Bindeman, who's been the busiest of the four; when Nick's not scorching the psych-swirl ethers in Eternal Tapestry (who are becoming evermore walloping and tremendous), he's been the most interesting thing about the best moments of Jackie-O Motherfucker (and noticeably absent when they've been at their boring-est (Inca Ore has also contributed well to JOMF)). Another little treat on this slab is the B-side intro, a live-radio call-in poetry tribute by fan and friend of the band, Meghan Remy, the lady who's better known to you as U.S. Girls. Not only did these four solo projects and other affiliated bands rise from their ashes, Alarmist inspired many of their friends to become more musically active, including Meghan. In this playlist, I've included other post-Alarmist moments, some of which intersect with U.S. Girls prehistory. Meghan and Nick were all the wallop in Hustler White, another band whose best live moments are forever etched in my memory. I'll give you more of this story down below the playlist; now get to some listening...

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CALIFORNIA RAISINS | Prospectre to the Stars | v/a: split 10" w/ CAVE | Permanent 2008
BRIDEZ | Rolling Stoned | Rolling Stoned 7" | World Famous in SF *new
LOVE TAN | Switch | Miscellaneous Night Feelings | Kill Shaman *new
IDLE TIMES | Get Your Feet Off the Ground | Get Your Feet Off the Ground 7" | Woodsist *new
MEERCAZ | Legend | Meercaz | Gulcher *new
CRUCIFUCKS | When the Top Comes Off | Wisconsin | Alternative Tentacles 1987
CRUCIFUCKS | Annual Report | The Crucifucks | Alternative Tentacles 1984
UNHOLY TWO | Altamont 1969 | Altamont 1969 7" | Columbus Discount *new
ALARMIST | Flight of the Corpse | Evil Works Get Rich or Try Dying Evil Works | Frenetic 2005
M. REMY | Ode to Alarmist | v/a: Post-Alarmist Dracula Safari | Oms-B *new
U.S. GIRLS | So Ladder Strong | Kankakee Memories 7" | Cherry Burger 2008
ME CON | untitled | This Is It CDR | no label 2005
TUNNELS | Case of the Dreamer | v/a: Post-Alarmist Dracula Safari
MALIBU FALCON | untitled | How Is Hell Fact Met? All of Them Witches CDR | no label 2004
MALIBU FALCON | untitled | Boa Constrictor CDR | no label 2004
HUSTLER WHITE | Cosmic Egg Creation | Tour CDR | no label 2005
DEFEKTORS | Doomsday Girl | Secret Trials 7" | Nominal 2008
TWIN CRYSTALS | Children | Twin Crystals | NMR 2008
DECEPTION BAY | All My Future | My Color Flag | Independent Project 1991
NICE STRONG ARM | Date of Birth | Reality Bath | Homestead 1987
MY DAD IS DEAD | Pile It On | The Best Defense | Homestead 1988
TEENAGE PANZERKORPS | Shopping Blitz | Games for Slaves | Siltbreeze *new
DIAGRAM BROTHERS | There is No Shower | v/a: Messthetics #106 | Hyped2Death *new (orig 1980)
CRAWLING CHAOS | Mummy's Tummy | Homunculus Equinox | Boutique 2003 (orig 1981)
THE CRAINIUM | You Pretend that You Depend | A New Music for a New Kitchen | Slowdime 1998
FINALLY PUNK | Coffee, Tea, and Misery | Coffee, Tea, & Misery 7" | M'Lady's *new
MALE BONDING | Lick Him With Fists | split 7" w/ Pens | Paradise Vendors, Inc. *new
TRAFFIC PATTERN | 3-D Vapors | Sight-Gags 3" CDR | Opt Out *new
TRAFFIC PATTERN | Loopholes
MLODRS | A3 | cassette | no label *new
RUSSIAN TSARLAG | Singaloid Bay | Community Death Tube | Night People *new
LITTLE STEVIE McCABE | Drunken Party | Sweat It Out | no label 1986
http://itsmeyou.ytmnd.com/ (Congrats, Rickey Henderson!) w/ DESIGNER | My Favorite Toy | split 7" w/ Bunny Brains | LHG 1996
LOVELY LITTLE GIRLS | Lady Flops Over Crawling Along | Dilapidated Head & Torso Aggregations | no label 2008
DRUID PERFUME | Learning Spanish Like Cuckoo | Druid Perfume | Pigs *new
MUDBOY | side A (excerpt) | Mudboy Beats III: Metal USA CS | no label *new

Before we get to the rest of the post-Alarmist story, I wanna share a link that was brought to my attention by Eric, a TermBo buddy, and the cause of this week's Crucifucks double-shot...
http://www.viceland.com/int/v16n1/htdocs/the-troublemakers-515.php
This is Sam McPheeter's indepth piece about Crucifucks vocalist Doc Dart. It does a great job to help explain the intrigue surrounding this man who was one of--if not THEE--most outstanding lyricists of hardcore punk rock in its 1980s heyday. From Vice magazine, this is an unexpectedly thrilling read!

So, where did we leave off in that post-Alarmist story? It's the point at which this story intersects with U.S. Girls prehistory. Nick gave up drumming for Alarmist and picked up a guitar for Hustler White, and Meghan picked up the drumsticks for the first time ever and clobbered those drums with a deathgrip. Meanwhile, Nick also played with Eva--still a ways off from becoming Inca Ore--who developed her voice in ever more subtle ways during the brief life of Malibu Falcon. There's only two CDRs of live Malibu Falcon performance caught by a distant mic [part of which was released on cassette by Not Not Fun in early 2009], but there's certainly some magic that comes fluttering outta the speakers on the best tracks. I swear that a solid 12" could be distilled from it. Whereas Eva's bewitching performances in Alarmist were equal parts wicked-witch and friendly-witch, and perhaps still brushed with a post-riot-grrl stroke of brattiness, her performance in Malibu Falcon was more abstract and daring, yet definitely more mature. As she developed the confidence to perform on her very own as Inca Ore, I could see how much it inspired Meghan to find her own voice, which began on the early Me Con recordings. Certain moments of This Is It surely hint at the haunting power of U.S. Girls. When Meghan began recording that Introducing... demo CDR which provided the basis for the Siltbreeze LP, she kept Nick closeby to assist in the recording, as he had done with Inca Ore's first recording, the Brute Nature vs. Wild Magic CDR, which later became an LP on Weird Forest Records.

There's some unreleased Me Con stuff that immediately predates U.S. Girls. About an album's worth (recorded by Sam Schauer of ...Worms and Modernstate), it was intended for release on Marriage Records before the band disbanded. In this version of the band, they coalesced into a deep-burrowing groovey psych-rock with a metal-level heaviness provided by a drummer they found who looked like someone you might see cruising your local Guitar Center. I only briefly heard this on a rough-mixed CDR, but it sounded swell. And when I saw them live at a warehouse show on NW Pettygrove in Portland, I was amazed by Megan's no-wavey bass guitar squelching...how it meshed with the hesher's drums and balanced the diffused psychedelic headswirl of the guitar, it was as sinister and relentless as K.K. Null in A.N.P.

Nowadays, Eva and Meghan's solo works are well-chronicled on dozens of blogs and increasingly even the printed page. And Nick's bands are getting more recognition all the time, although I also believe them to be largely misunderstood. A band as overly prolific as JOMF can have that effect; and certainly, hardly anyone has heard the full power of Eternal Tapestry yet. That band became truly intrepid chasers toward thee infinite riff this summer...believe me! Anyone who's of the mind that they make poofy clouds of wizard dust music has 'em all wrong now. The new tape on Night People bears it out on Side A pretty well despite some rather distracting hiss. Here's to hoping they commit a masterpiece to vinyl really soon!

I was already a fan of Nick's Tunnels solo-material when it was patience-testing meditative bowl n' bell harmonics exercises, but recently, the changes I've heard truly command your attention! Tunnels' summer CDR release--In Between Dreams--included fleshed-out songs of psychedelic bliss and a hint of spooky wonder that sounded like a full band, and these tracks from the Dracula Safari LP seem to have been touched by the recent "minimal wave" zeitgeist just a little bit. If these songs had been released together on a 7", fans of the likes of Indian Jewelry, Dead Luke, and Martial Canterel would come clamoring for it. No sign of second-wave try-hard here...This sounds perfectly natural!

In AFS v. 208, we'll check in on the other half of Alarmist, James Squeaky and Eric Crespo.

AFS v. 206 ~ Everyone's a Winner!

Because awards shows are always a popularity contest and utter sham, I've often dreamt of renting a tuxedo for a week and hitting the road for a week to do an awards ceremony tour. Of course, being the big posi-vibin' softie I am, y'know I'd hate to have any losers. But that's okay...I can still give an award to every band I like if I only make up a highly specialized category for each. See below the playlist for this week AFS Awards Winners...

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NOBUNNY | Give It to Me | Give It to Me 7" | HoZac *new
NODZZZ | Controlled Karaoke | Nodzzz LP | What's Your Rupture? *new
CHARLES ALBRIGHT | I Wanna Hold You | I'm on Drugs 7" | no label *new
CHARLES ALBRIGHT | I'm on Drugs
MATT K. SHRUGG | This World Ain't Gettin' Me High | Mentor to Wall CDR | Guiness Book of World *new
MATT K. SHRUGG | We're So S.O.L. | I'm Gone 7" | Plastic Idol *new
SPIDER | Spiderlili | Spider 12" | Thrift Store *new
LEADERS | Rub You Wrong | Rub You Wrong 7" | Point Wrex *new
MEERCAZ | Manic Mirror | Meercaz | Gulcher *new
THE HUNCHES | Fall Drive | Exit Dreams | In The Red *new
XHOA | We're All Gonna Die | Yap Yap Yap | no label 1987
GHOST ECHOES | Into the Goldmine | demo CDR | no label 2008
TOY KILLERS | The Devil May Be Your Santa Claus | The Unlistenable Years | ugExplode *new (orig 1982)
HIGH CASTLE | We Can't Dance With Jesus | High Castle CDR | no label 2008
BLOODBIKER | No One | demo CDR | no label *new
TOTAL ABUSE | Fucked and Injured | Total Abuse | Deranged *new
SEX/VID | Authority of Scripture | Communal Living | Dom US *new
VIDEO DISEASE | Reanimation | Video Disease 7" | Square Wave *new
VIDEO DISEASE | Typhoid Fever
SLICING GRANDPA | Where's Yr Vinyl, Motherfucker? | Le Hardcore 7" | Strain Theory *new
AUDACITY | Price Check | Power Drowning | Burger *new
PARTY FOWL | Supertroopers | STD's 7" | Goodbye Boozy 2008
TY SEGALL | Booksmarts | Skin 7" | Goodbye Boozy 2008
REACHAROUNDS | Sick to Find | Rocks Off 7" | Certified PR *new
PENS | High in the Cinema | split 7" w/ Male Bonding | Paradise Vendors, Inc. *new
ORANGE COAX | A1 | cassette | no label 2008
HAMSTERS | Clouds of Flies | v/a: Messthetics #106 | Hyped2Death *new (orig 1979)
FARMS IN TROUBLE | Goth vs. Soda | The Gas Station Soundtrack | Activities 2008 *req
GGREEN | Swimsuit Drugs | Hot Streets CS | no label *new
SHARK TOYS | Don't Know | demo CDR | no label *new
DUCK TAILS | Beach Point Pleasant | Beach Point Pleasant 7" | Breaking World *new
YEAR OF THE LIPS | Unlucky Coin | Year of the Lips CDR | no label *new
DEAD LUKE | Mind Control | Dead Luke CS | Sky Fi *new
DEAD LUKE | Skull Pressure
COUSINS OF REGGAE | A Match Made on Meth Ridge | Methridge | Olde English Spelling Bee *new (orig 2005)
WILD GUNMEN | B1 | Harmony Ground Zero CS | White Tapes 2008
CAVE | Butthash | split 10" w/ California Raisins | Permanent 2008
RATAS DEL VATICANO | Olvido | Mocosos Pateticos | Siltbreeze *new

Most preeminent showman in his gray skivvies award goes to...(drum roll, please!)...NOBUNNY!
Most irresistible instantaneously singalongable party band...The Nodzzz!
Most rockin' Sac State philosophy grad that shares a name with the "Eyeball Killer"...Charles Albright!
Most effective Midas Touch in Sacto this side of Woodhouse...Matt K. Shrugg!
The Is-It-an-Infallible-Machine-or-a-Record-Label Award goes to...Plastic Idol!
Most outstandingly vinyl-worthy CD-only release in the last year...Meercaz!
Most exquisite swansong LP and cathartic final show...The Hunches!
Most refreshingly dermabrasive sonic bath at vol. level 10 demo CDR...Ghost Echoes!
"Hey, I had no idea any of you were in this band! (now I know it'll rule" award...High Castle!
Raddest 180° side project from primary band...Bloodbiker! (members of Eternal Tapestry gone scuzz-brawlers)
Most deservingly-hyped and hardest-to-Google true-blue HC...Sex/Vid!
Filthiest scuzz-pummelers currently active...Slicing Grandpa!
Most precocious teens to seemingly spring from a Hollywood '79 punk time capsule...Audacity!
Most ubiquitous "you're-in-this-band-too?" guy who always rules in each 'n every band...Seth Dunham!
Most "so-talented-'n-wylde-that-I-hardly-care-that-'baby'-is-in-every-other-song's-lyrics"...Ty Segall!
Most delightfully enthusiastic sax savant terrorism on cassette...Orange Coax!
Most crucial retrospective compilation series and best liner notes going today...Messthetics!
Most intriguingly personal and honest weird-/psych-/folk- project...GGreen!
Most adorable scruffy little popsongs with guitar and voice only...Shark Toys!
Most outstanding vinyl-worthy demo CDR from the UK in forever...Year of the Lips!
Most effortlessly expressive of so many great diverse influences...Dead Luke! (also, most murderous moment in electro!)
Most underrated label that you should follow very closely from now on...Olde English Spelling Bee!
Most wonderfully whacked and essential let-the-tape-keep-rolling moments since Sweet Kelly...Wild Gunmen!
Deepest burrowing Krauty grooves since way back when...CAVE!
Most menacing, timeless, non-giving-a-fuck punk rock today...Ratas del Vaticano!

AFS v. 205½ ~ Freebasin' Primer

You get an extra hour this week because I pinch hit for DJ Fuzzbox Flynn on tonight's Loves and Disloves program. PLUS!!!, I'm giving you an invitation to listen to a full hour from four of Sacramento's preeminent improvisers and noise-jammers. Go down below this playlist and check out the gnarly set that The Freebasers (with special guest Kevin Corcoran on saxophone (that makes for two ex-Antennas Eruptors in the room!)) threw down live on KDVS immediately afterward. The last ten minutes is especially awesome. That guitar tone is brilliant!

Download this program within two months at either link...
CLICK HERE for 192kbps rate.
(84mb file)
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MEDICATION | Fog | Don't Die 7" | HoZac *new
GGREEN | Mouth on Floor | Hot Streets CS | no label *new
BIRD | Blanks | v/a: XXperiments | Die Stasi *new
BATHING DRUID | Do Si Do | Beltane Loofah 7" | Weird Forest *new
JAMES FERRARO | side A excerpt | Multitopia | Olde English Spelling Bee *new
JAMES FERRARO | Evaporating Night Rose | Chameleon Ballet | Olde English Spelling Bee *new
AGENT SIDE GRINDER | There Is a Sound That Always Goes Out | v/a: Festival der Genialen Dissidenten | Enfant Terrible
ACONITE | The Truth About Cable | v/a: Messthetics Greatest Hiss | Hyped2Death *new
HANS GRUSEL'S KRANKENKABINET | Pool of Tears | Blaue Blooded Turen | Resipiscent *new
HANS GRUSEL'S KRANKENKABINET | Who Stole the Tarts?
OUR LOVE WILL DESTROY THE WORLD | Polished Glass Autobahn | Polished Glass Autobahn 7" | Dirty Knobby *new
AFCGT | Lost | AFCGT 10" | Dirty Knobby *new
TEENAGE PANZERKORPS | Human Winter | Games for Slaves | Siltbreeze *new
LOS LLAMARADA | Another Big Come Down | Take the Sky | S-S *new
UNHOLY TWO | Beirut 1983 | Singles Club 7 | Columbus Discount *new
MAINLINER | Mainliner Sonic II | Mainliner Sonic | Charnel Music 1997

Download the live Freebasers set here within two months at either link...
CLICK HERE for 192kbps rate.
(84mb file)
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(140mb file)

AFS v. 205 ~ Halcyon Year Review Pt. 2

This week, first we hear the latest nugs o' HoZac gold and batch of Intelligence singles (and as always, they don't disappoint!), and then continuing with the rundown of the top things of 2008. I was hoping to reveal my top EPs, cassettes, and demos of 2008 in a nice, concise list here, but I'm still whittling it down. Surely this has been a stellar year for the 7" vinyl, and most of the contenders have appeared in the last couple of playlists. Come back later and have a look...I'll whittle that list down and post it very soon. It's just way too late in the small hours of the A.M....sorry!

Download this program within two months at either link...
CLICK HERE for 192kbps rate.
(168mb file)
CLICK HERE for 320kbps rate.
(280mb file)

NOBUNNY | Motorhead With Me | Give It to Me 7" | HoZac
FRANCE HAS THE BOMB | Invisible Angle | Invisible Angle 7" | HoZac
NICE FACE | Fubar Over You | Fubar Over You 7" | HoZac
NICE FACE | VVV (Vacant Vortex Vagina) | Can I Fuck It? CS | Jerkwave Tapes
SPIDER | Boozetown | Spider 12" EP | Thrift Store
THE INTELLIGENCE | Shitty World | Fido... 7" | Plastic Idol
THE INTELLIGENCE | Like Like Like Like Like Like Like | Reading and Writing About Partying 7" | Raw Deluxe
THE INTELLIGENCE | What Wine Goes With Eggs? | What Wine Goes With Eggs? 7" | April 77
AMBER ALERTS | Blackhole | split 7" w/ Wizzard Sleeve | Jeth-Row
WAX MUSEUMS | Magnet Part II | Magnet 7" | Fashionable Idiots
LADY DOCTORS | Butler Hospital | v/a: The World's Lousy with Ideas vol 2 7" | Almost Ready
RICHARD H. KIRK | Day of Waiting | Time High Fiction | Doublevision 1983 *request
CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL | Words of Atonement | Alone Together | Sacred Bones *new
ZOLA JESUS | Rester | v/a: XXperiments | Die Stasi
BATHING DRUID | Under My Cloak | Beltane Loofah 7" | Weird Forest
LONG LEGGED WOMAN | Scalpels in the Sky | Something Is Pressing... 7" | Thor's Rubber Hammer
LONG LEGGED WOMAN | When I Was Asleep | Nobody Knows This Is Nowhere CDR | no label
LONG LEGGED WOMAN | Myself Is Not Myself | Drugs Don't Last Forever CDR | no label
FNU RONNIES | Meat | Meat 7" | Richie/Testostertunes
FRANCIS HAROLD & THE HOLOGRAMS | Nowhere | Punk Music 7" | no label
HIROSHIMA ROCKS AROUND | Closed Mouth | Tour CDR | no label
DRUID PERFUME | Feed Em Bugs | Druid Perfume | Pigs *new
MEERCAZ | Troubled Hand | Meercaz | Gulcher *new
MEERCAZ | Fan of a Daze
THE WIGGINS | Feed The Ghost | Feed the Ghost 7" | Dull Knife
PINK REASON | The Lecherous One | split 12" w/ Hue Blanc's Joyless Ones | Florida's Dying
PINK REASON | 3:16 | Singles Club 7" | Columbus Discount
EL JESUS DE MAGICO | Unclean Ghost | Singles Club 7" | Columbus Discount
SANDWITCH | I've Had a Few | Singles Club 7" | Columbus Discount
T.A. LAFFERTY | Take It to the Father | v/a: Harrisburg Players (singles club) 7" | Columbus Discount
GUINEA WORMS | Lost and Found | Lost and Found 7" | Savage
BLACK TIME | Scary People | Double Negative | In The Red
TITMACHINE | I Wanna Be Your Dog [Stooges] | 1st 7" | Meeuw Muzak
SIC ALPS | United [Throbbing Gristle] | United 7" | Important
WOUNDED LION | Pony People | Carol Cloud 7" | S-S

AFS v. 204 ~ Halcyon Year Review Pt. 1

So, I guess that the new Hunches LP is officially a 2009 release, so that frees up one space in my best-albums-of-2008 list, which I've included further down below this playlist. The first six selections this week's playlist aren't necessarily among my official year-end faves; they're just the newest records to arrive in the mail this week, so I threw 'em on for you (these new Sneaky Pinks and Hunx mighta slipped in there). Nor does this playlist represent all of my favorites of 2008. I figure I gotta say that because in the past, I've had people cry to me ("I thought you liked our record!" (I DO, I DO.)) AFS won't be on the air next week because The Intelligence are gonna be in town, and a power-hang and mega-dangle will be in order! I'll be back in two weeks with the second half of my year-end review, plus lists of the best 7"es, EPs, cassettes, and demo CDR releases of 2008.

Download this program within two months at either link...
CLICK HERE for 192kbps rate.
(168mb file)
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(280mb file)

(HTML links will be updated soon for your researching pleasure...check back.)

THOMAS FUNCTION | Nomad | Nomad 7" | Alive *new
SPREAD EAGLES | Don't Talk to the Narc | Don't Talk to the Narc 7" | Boom Chick *new
MOSQUITO BANDITO | Art School | Woo Woo Woo 7" | Boom Chick *new
LIVE FAST DIE | I Need You (Leroy) | v/a: Wild for Jenkem 7" | Killer Diller *new
SNEAKY PINKS | Loner w/a Boner | Loner w/a Boner 7" | Bachelor *new
HUNX | Cruisin' | Good Kisser 7" | Bachelor *new
* * * * now for the faves part! * * * *
HUNX & HIS PUNX | You Don't Like Rock n Roll | You Don't Like Rock n Roll 7" | Rob's House
DAVILA 666 | Quizas | Davila 666 | In the Red
NOBUNNY | I Am a Girlfriend | Love Visions | Bubble Dumb
THE YOLKS | I Do What I Do | Introducing the Yolks 7" | Criminal IQ
SUSPICIONS | Baby Talk | v/a: The World's Lousy With Ideas vol 3 7" | Almost Ready
TOUCHED | Jelly Beans | v/a: The World's Lousy With Ideas vol. 4 7" | Almost Ready
THE WAX MUSEUMS | War Documentaries | The Wax Museums | Douche Master
DAILY VOID | title unknown | Man/Machine 7" | Florida's Dying
HARPOON GUNS | Nanonii/15 | III 7" | Going Underground
MAYYORS | Metro | Marines Dot Com 7" | Waste of Oil
MAYYORS | Airplanes | Megan's LOLZ 7" | Gomerdome
BILLY BAO | Factory of Repression | Dialectics of Shit | Parts Unknown
CAVE | Sean's Inner Ear | Hunt Like Devil/JAMZ | Permanent
CAVE | 4.24.06
DANAVA | Where Beauty & Terror Dance | UnonoU | Kemado
DEAD LUKE | trk 8 | Dead Luke Box bonus CDR | Sacred Bones
DOLINA | Corridors | v/a: Festival der Genialen Dissidenten | Enfant Terrible
AGENT SIDE GRINDER | String Strikes | Agent Side Grinder | Enfant Terrible
MATTRESS | That Way | Heavy Duty | Reluctant
LILI Z | Dark Toilet | The Two of Us | In The Red
U.S. GIRLS | Bits & Pieces [Dave Clark Five] | Bits & Pieces CDR | no label
RUSSIAN TSARLAG | Blind Spot Fragment | split LP w/ Blue Shift | Rare Youth
RUSSIAN TSARLAG | Let Ponvinon Care
HARD GOSPEL WITH CHILD | Robot Jox | Hard Gospel With Child CDR | Layaway Butch
HARD GOSPEL WITH CHILD | Deadtime Stories
GOSLINGS | Brohm Bramin | Occasion | Not Not Fun
SILENTIST | Seizures | Silentist | Celestial Gang
SQUIM | Trial by Cobra Part II | Zephyrus | Olde English Spelling Bee
DAN MELCHIOR | In a Daze | Christmas for the Crows | Daggerman
HOSPITALS | Animals Act Natural | Hairdryer Peace | no label
LOS LLAMARADA | I've Got Your Face | Take the Sky | S-S
NOTHING PEOPLE | Outsiders Are | Anonymous | S-S
THE INTELLIGENCE | Bulbs | split 12" w/ Thee Ohsees | Mt. St. Mtn
THEE OH SEES | Ghost in the Trees | The Master's Bedroom Is Worth Spending a Night In | Tomlab
EDDY CURRENT SUPPRESSION RING | I Don't Wanna Play No More | Primary Colours | Goner
EAT SKULL | Punk Trips | Sick To Death | Siltbreeze
LIFE PARTNERS | Teenager in Trouble | AIDS of Spades 7" | Ride the Snake

MY BEST-OF-2008 LP PICKS...


Absolute tip-top will-be-classics:

(1) Hospitals Hairdryer Peace
(2) Los Llamarada Take the Sky
(3) Thee Oh Sees The Master's Bedroom...
(4) Eat Skull Sick to Death
(5) Nothing People Anonymous
(6) Billy Bao The Dialectics of Shit
(7) Thomas Function Celebration
(8) Dan Melchior und Das Menace Christmas for the Crows
(9) Hank IV Refuge in Genre
(10-tie) Wax Museums self-titled
(10-tie) Sexy Prison Filth Flarn Filth
(10-tie) Druid Perfume self-titled

Others receiving votes:

Agent Side Grinder self-titled
Blank Dogs On Two Sides
Cave Hunt Like Devil/JAMZ
Cheveu self-titled
Danava UnonoU
Davila 666 self-titled
Dead Science Villainaire
Dead Western Soften Your Screams into Sings
Evangelista Hello, Voyager
Eddy Current Suppression Ring Primary Colours
Goodnight Loving The Goodnight Loving
Goslings Occasion
Hill, Zach Astrological Straits
Lili Z. The Two of Us
Mattress Heavy Duty
NoBunny Love Visions
Pumice Quo
Pyha The Haunted House
Russian Tsarlag / Blue Shift split LP
Sic Alps U.S. EZ
Silentist self-titled
Squim Zephyrus
v/a: Emergency Room vol 1
v/a: Festival der Genialen Dissidenten