Stockholm Monsters

Stockholm Monsters – Soft Babies

Enjoy holidays and best wishes for 2009.

Les Calamités

Les Calamités – Toutes les nuits

More info here.

Östro 430

Östro 430 – S-Bahn

The Nightingales

“Their performances will serve to confirm their excellence when we are far enough distanced from the 1980's to look at the period rationally and other, infinitely better known, bands stand revealed as charlatans.” John Peel

The Nightingales – Make Good

More info here.

North Valley Psychic Opera

North Valley Psychic Opera – Women Who Love Too Much Pt. 1 (Cynthia Skovlin & Tim Stone, 1985)

This band was formed by Spencer Savage (ex-Thrash Dumbos), Jeff Karlsen, Josh Laner and Brad LaneI. Apart from this, I really don't know anything about them and do not have any kind of info, but I do think this band was pure genius. So please, if you know anything about them, don't hesitate to drop me a line. I will be endless grateful!

Mark Pauline

Mark Pauline – Assured Destructive Capability (1979)

“It excites me to think that I can cause trouble. It's a very exciting thing and it still continues to make me excited: to think that I can make trouble and annoy people. Not just annoy people, but in more of an open-ended way annoy people in a way that confuses them.” Mark Pauline

The Panics

The Panics – I Wanna Kill My Mom

The Nightblooms

The Nightblooms – One weak moment

Cars Are Coffins – Compilation

Three Car Jam – Minutemen [Intro]
Let's Build A Car – Swell Maps
In A Car – Meat Puppets
I Live In A Car – UK Subs
Car – Frantix
Human Car – The Ex
Fast Car – Androids of Mu
Frat Cars – Big Boys
Car Crash – The Avengers
Car Crash Blues – Animals & Men
Car Crash – UK Decay
No Car – Nuclear Crayons
Camus' Car Crash – Leslie Singer [Outro]

Get it here.


Crash! (Harley Cokliss, 1971)

The Clocks

“The Clocks struck first in late 1979 following the breakup of three bands that were part of Cleveland's 'second wave' of underground rockers. Ex-members of the Pagans, Chronics, and Bernie & the Invisibles got together in an attic studio in Ohio City to record what was to be a one off single. The A-side, inspired by sci-fi author Harlan Ellison, was entitled 'Ticktockman' hence the band's name. A chemistry developed between the participants, after all, they shared a mutual fondness for chemicals, and a working band was soon formed. Soundwise, they blended several vintage musical forms that had been currently revived via the new wave.” ClePunk

The Clocks promo shot

“Some Pagans members formed the Clocks, more art wave oriented. This romantic track is from their only single, from 1980. They also appear on the Cleveland Confidential 7".” The Ripper

The Clocks – Confidentially Renee

Cats For Dinner

“'Hot and Wired' must have sounded especially time-warpt in 1983. But if you're in the right mood, it's a jewel of a musical history-lesson, with everything from prog-wave guitar-chops and Velvet Monkeys keyboard-torture to the best of No Wave groove and swing…” Chuck Warner (Hyped to Death)

Cats For Dinner – Hot And Wired

By the way, they have myspace now, and it seems they're back again. Wow!

Algebra Suicide

Algebra Suicide – Little Dead Bodies

The Mechanic's Guide

“Way back in about 1989 both of us were involved in Positive Force, a youth activist group based in Washington, DC. That year, Positive Force and Dischord put out a compilation CD/LP called State of the Union, which was a benefit for the Community for Creative Non-Violence Shelter. Positive Force members contributed to the LP insert, adding helpful information about simple things, like how to start a group and how to help in your community. This LP insert generated a torrent of mail to Positive Force from young people across the country who wanted to know more. That LP insert turned into a more detailed pamphlet about musical things: how to put on a concert, how to do sound, and how to put out a 7" record. Since we were hardly experts about this stuff, we asked our friend Steve Skrzyniarz to write the first version. Steve and his friend John had a small label called Leopard Gecko Records out in Tacoma, WA and had already put out, two… maybe three 7"s – far ahead of us in this record label stuff.”

 Kristin Thomson and Jenny Toomey, 1991. Pic by Jim Saah

“About a year later, when Simple Machines had a few 7"s under the belt, we got a call from Sassy Magazine. They had seen the pamphlet and wanted to make it the 'cool zine of the month'. After hearing from friends that we could expect up to 1000 letters from Sassy readers, we knew that we had to switch out of the xerox/stapled pamphlet version and make something that was easy to mail. We expanded the original pamphlet into a 20-page booklet, which Barefoot Press in Raleigh, NC graciously offered to print up for free. It included all the steps involved in putting out a 7" or cassette, and our friend John Henderson wrote a piece about how to put out a CD. True to what we'd heard we got about 800 letters from Sassy subsribers, all of which got a free copy of the Mechanic's Guide. After we ran out of those, we decided to update it a bit and keep it in print. We kept the Mechanic's Guide in print in four editions from about 1991–1997, with many, many insert updates in between.” Kristin & Jenny

Get it here.

Throwing Muses

Throwing Muses – Juno

Andreas Dorau

Die Doraus Und Die Marinas – Blumen Und Narzissen


Der Plan & Andreas Dorau – Junger Mann

Andreas Dorau was 16 years old when he recorded his first album and made songs like these ones. Utterly brilliant!

9353

9353 – Famous Last Words (Jonathan X, 1985)

Thrash Dumbos

Thrash Dumbos – D.U.I. documentary (Charles Montgomery "Spike" Stewart, 1987)

This is why I am in love with Youtube. If you have some info or know something about Thrash Dumbos, please let's get in touch.

Fifth Column

Fifth Column – Like This (Bruce LaBruce & Fifth Column, 1990)

“We really believe that almost anyone can be in Fifth Column, and even if they weren't really musicians but had a passion for music and a sense of rhythm or something. So we always got people who played heart and soul all their lives as little kids, and then basically we would, like, reinvent music with people who were conventionally unmusical.” Caroline Azar

Utreg Punx

Utreg Punx (Peter Daniëls & Buffel, 1992)

Why Utreg had so many great bands back in the day would be a really good theme to investigate and talk about. Melig stad? Nr!

The Timelords

The Timelords – Doctorin' the Tardis

“Pure, unadulterated agony… excruciating.” Melody Maker

“A rancid reworking of ancient discs.” Sounds

“An aberration.” BBC Radio 1

“It was an excuse to say a lot of things I wanted to say about how the industry worked. It was an excuse to go out and say to people all they can say to themselves: If you want to do something, go and do it! Don't wait to be asked, don't wait for a record company to come and want to sign you or a management company. Just go and do it. Also, it was saying: If you wanna have number one… you can have it. It won't make you rich, it won't make you happy, but you can have it." Bill Drummond

Mania D

Interview from early 80s


Interview from the film Women In Rock (Wolfgang Buld, 1980)

Culturcide

“The ever-mysterious Culturcide started the same way as a lot of other D.I.Y.-era bands: by having their minds blown by Throbbing Gristle. Houston's Perry Webb and Jim Crane (who knew how to put out records) did the first single with later Culturcide regular Dan Workman, then Really Red's C.I.A. label released their classic? Year One LP (a completely re-mastered reissue is still in-the-works…). They moved to New Orleans where they started working on the (completely different) material that became their hit Tacky Souvenirs LP. And somehow most of Year One came out in Australia on a split LP with Hiroshima Chair (Tom Ellard's band pre-Severed Heads).” Chuck Warner (Hyped to Death)

Culturcide poster

The first time I heard about Culturcide was thanks to Idle Time, a great website focused on the Austin old punk scene. It was created by Dixon Coulbourn – who passed away few years ago.

Culturcide – Death Speaks (Gut Level One: A Compilation V/A Cassette)

Venom P. Stinger

Venom P. Stinger – 26 Milligrams

Frantix

Today I received the Local Anesthetic CD compilation by Smooch Records, and it is simply amazing! It contains the complete story of this Denver label – based around the Wax Trax Records store – that helped to put out discs by now legendary bands like Defex, Bum Kon, White Trash, and (my personal favourites) Your Funeral and Frantix.

 Frantix

As for these lads, there was also a CD released in 2003 by Afterburn Records. Remember going nuts when I noticed about it, because at that time I was very curious for all bands with Flipper-esque references and noisy garage sounds. The songs compiled on the CD were from demo tapes and a live set recorded in 1983. By the way, anyone got their complete demo… or were there only four songs on it?

Frantix – FM Ear (Insane Tunnel Demo Tape, 1980)

 
Frantix – Vietnam (Duane Davis, 1983)

Catalan

Psychic TV – Catalan

Catalan is a short film/music collaboration between Derek Jarman, Genesis P-Orridge and Jordi Valls. The film was commissioned by a Spanish TV station in response to the Psychic TV track of the same name.

Scrotum Poles

Scrotum Poles

What really gets me about Scrotum Poles – apart from their songs – is how much fun and joy de vivre they seemed to have.

Huns

It happened ten years ago but I still remember it clearly. Back then, I was discovering the whole UK punk 77 scene, and was avid to get stuff from all the bands of that era. One afternoon, after leaving school, I went to a now defunct record shop from my home town to see if I could buy a punk record that had been reviewed in a fanzine. Unfortunately, it was not available and I got really frustrated. But, instead of going back home with empty hands I decided to look for some other records and then, I discovered an album with an amazing cover that instantly got my attention. It was Live At The Palladium 1979 by the now legendary Texan weirdos Huns.

 Huns: They weren't punks, they were assholes.

Never heard of them before, but it looked really great so I bought it. To tell you it opened my ears to a new whole sound is not enough. It was a new attitude as well, where you could REALLY sound BAD and AWFUL and not caring at all. And of course, it was the band who opened my ears to the amazing Texas scene as well  – with incredible acts like Really Red, AK47, Next, Legionaire's Disease and my all time favourites Vast Majority. But gosh, the Huns were the first ones… and I'll never forget that.

Huns – Murder In Texas


Huns – Live in Austin, TX (1979)

All info you need to know about the Huns is here.

Media Disease

Five years ago I was lucky to get Banned In DC. Thanks to this book, I knew about many amazing DC bands I'd never heard before. Almost at the same time I noticed about the existence of Mixed Nuts Don't Crack album, a great compilation by not-so-well-known DC bands. Each one deserves attention and recognition: Nuclear Crayons, Chalk Circle, Hate From Ignorance (Monica Richard's first band), Social Suicide, United Mutation and… Media Disease. As for these guys, their sound was great but it seems there is no info about them anywhere. And the saddest thing is they didn't release any record back then.

Media Disease: Dan Cobbett, John Cobbett, Davis White, John Lorenz.  
Pic by Mary Diaz

“Very fast, simple and noisy, but also angry, honest and furious; early DC rage coupled with NY simplicity.” Burkhard Järisch

Media Disease – Kicked In The Head

New day, new year

Section 25 – New Horizon