ArTOMaTik "Free" (Chic-a-Boom Mix)

ArTOMaTik Free 12" single (Wild Pitch Records, 1988)

The same day I bought the Geoffrey Landers LP, I heard this is in my second favorite store. They were spinning newly purchased, used records, and this 12" stuck a fish hook in my ear canal. From the research I've done, it appears this was the only release under the name ArTOMaTik. That bites, 'cause this is a cool single (five different mixes of the same track).

Geoffrey Landers "The Ever Decimal Pulse"

Geoffrey Landers
The Ever Decimal Pulse
LP
(Cauhaus Records, 1982)

I found this at my favorite local record store the other day, in the stack of records on the floor pulled from the used new arrivals bin, yet still waiting to be filed. It looked interesting, and how can you beat a $3 price tag? From the looks of it, I was guessing some primitive synthwave kinda thing, judging by the artwork and date (1982). Surprise, surprise; I was right! On top of that, it turned out to be a pretty darn great record.

After dutifully spinning and absorbing side one, I flipped it over to side two. The first song featured a guest vocalist who sounded very familiar. As soon as I got off the potty (TMI!), I went and checked the credits and confirmed my suspicions: it was Suzanne Lewis! I've been a fan of her pipes and music since around 1983 or '84, when I first heard her band Corpses as Bedmates (yes, they will be featured here at some point). I looked again at the record label name, and it all fell into place, potentially. See, Corpses as Bedmates released two cassette albums on Cow-Op Industries, and this here LP is on Cauhaus Records, which looks to me as though it would be pronounced Cow House. Coincidence? Or proof of ancient alien visitation?

I also noticed that Bob Drake guests on this track, and others. He is best known as a founding member of Thinking Plague, for whom Suzanne also sang. He was also part of Corpses as Bedmates, in fact.

From the research I've done, I've been able to find out precious little about Geoffrey Landers, other than he released a couple other records around the same time, and I now officially need them.

Krzysztof Penderecki "Velincanija—Psalom 50"

Krzysztof Penderecki UTRENJA, The Entombment of Christ LP (RCA Records, 1971)

I first (knowingly*) heard the music of Krzysztof Penderecki when a buddy of mine who worked in a record store sold me a used copy of Penderecki Conducts Penderecki Album 2 that they'd just gotten in stock. The first piece, Capriccio for Violin and Orchestra, was probably the most violent sounding bit of classical music I'd yet heard, and I became an immediate fan. That piece (same recording, even), along with several of his most famous, including Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima, is available on this excellent dbl-disc set on EMI. Today's piece, however, is the second section of his longform choral work, UTRENJA, The Entombment of Christ. To the best of my knowledge, it has only been recorded three times, and this is the earliest of those. From what I've read on-line, most people consider this to be the finest version, even though the second part, The Resurrection of Christ, was not included. The full work was first released in 1973 as a gorgeous, dbl-LP box set on Philips. I have that, too, but that recording is readily available on CD (albeit with a hideous cover) from the Polish label Polskie Nagrania. The CD is from the late 1980s, though, so the sound quality may just be crap; I honestly do not know. There's also a recent recording available on the budget Naxos label; I have not heard that one, however. *I later discovered I'd already heard his music in (appropriately) horror films such as The Exorcist and The Shining.

Red Camp "Limehouse Blues"

Red Camp
Upright and Horizontal
LP
(Cook Records, 195x)

I found this in my father's record collection last month; he and my mother have moved to a retirement community and he didn't take his record player (I did!). I've been able to find out next to nothing about this guy, other than he was from Texas, and released somewhere between three and eleven albums, depending on what source you read. His playing is . . . playful. He's sorta inbetween Thelonious Monk and early Cecil Taylor.

Speaking of Monk, when I mentioned him to my dad once, he asked, "That young guy?" Sure, my dad was in his 60s or 70s at the time, but Monk was 13 when my dad was born!

Alice Texas "For the Horses"

Alice Texas Sad Days CD (Fargo Records, 2005)

I found Alice Texas's debut album, Gold, sitting in a free bin, feeling worthless and crying quietly to itself. The poor thing wasn't even in a jewel case, just a cheap plastic bag. I felt so bad for it that I promptly took it home and gave it a warm meal. I'm nice that way . . . sometimes. It turned out Alice Texas was the name of the band but the name of the leader-vocalist-guitarist-sultry-lady-in-the-picture-on-the-back-cover is Alice Schneider. Nothing against the name but Alice Texas honestly does make for a better band name. It also makes for a good city name, as they found out when some residents of Alice, Texas were a bit miffed that searches for info on the town were turning up links to the band instead. Oops.

Dump "The Words Get Stuck in My Throat"

Dump Women in Rock CD EP (Shrimper, 1999)

This one is for listener VirginiaM, who commented in the previous post: I won't be happy until you've featured the actual true very best horror film doomed-heroine warble: "Words Get Stuck in My Throat" from Gargantua. Well, luckily for all y'all out there in internetland, I don't own that. Besides, she couldn't even get the movie title right; it's The War of the Gargantuas. All is not lost, however! The mysterious James did a swell cover of "The Words Get Stuck in My Throat" with his one man band Dump, so here it is for your listening pleasure. I say mysterious, by the way, only because in re-reading my post about his band the Maynards, I realized I never mentioned his last name; it's McNew.

Mariclare Costello "Stay Forever, My Love"

Mariclare Costello Let's Scare Jessica to Death feature film (Paramount Pictures, 1971)

Today's entry is a beautiful folk song from my all-time favorite horror movie, Let's Scare Jessica to Death. It's sung by Emily (played by Mariclare Costello), a squatter the titular Jessica finds living in the old house she and husband Duncan have just bought and are preparing to make their home. The song was written for the movie, and that's Mariclare herself singing it. The low drone that joins in is Duncan accompanying her on the double bass, as he's a (former?) musician with the New York Philharmonic. The scene switches back and forth from the kitchen to the hallway, so I've taken the liberty of adjusting the volume in sections to keep it as consistent as possible. There's a bit of dialog interspersed, as well, but I have no way of scrubbing that. The scene itself is below the jump, if you'd like to watch it.

Shub-Niggurath "Variation"

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Shub-Niggurath
Live
cassette
(Auricle, 1989)

My friend Greg burnt me a copy of Shub-Niggurath's 1986 debut album, Les morts vont vite, several years ago. They came across to me as a mixture of the darkest elements of King Crimson (ca. mid-1970s) and Univers Zero, who were pretty much 100% dark in their early career. It was (and still is) great stuff. Naturally, I immediately began to search out a hard copy for myself.

In the meantime, since Les morts vont vite was currently out of print, I picked up their second and third albums: C'étaient de très grands vents and Shub~Niggurath. The latter of those is usually referred to as Testament, but that word appears precisely nowhere on my copy.

At some point, I discovered there was a live cassette release, recorded inbetween Les morts vont vite and C'étaient de très grands vents, on Friday the 13th (of January, 1989). The title was a bit more reserved than the albums betwixt which it appeared, but at least Live is descriptive, yes? Of the five pieces included on the tape (four, if you count Phineos 1 and Phineos 2 as a single piece), two later appeared in studio form on C'étaient de très grands vents, but the remainder remain exclusive to it. Today's selection is the final track. Enjoy!

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NOTE: Since the name Shub-Niggurath comes from the pen of H.P. Lovecraft, there are, naturally, at least two heavy metal bands also using it. One is from Mexico and the other from Italy.

Mofungo "Little Giant"

Mofungo End of the World cassette (self-released, 1981)

I read about this tape in an issue of Take It! magazine, which I'd bought because it had a flexidisc with an exclusive Flipper track. The tape sounded interesting, and several years later, I came across a copy at Joe's Record Paradise Too. Naturally, I snagged it (and have never seen another since). I'd write more, but I desperately need to get to bed. Suffice to say, it's a great album, and thank goodness I didn't throw my copy away when I thought it was hosed (one song is mangled, sadly).

Streaky Jake "Stop Killing Your Time"

Streaky Jake What's Wrong? Nothing. CD (Metal Postcard, 2006)

I found this one in a bargain bin and was intrigued by the artist name, release title, and utterly stark front cover; the back has a rough pencil sketch of, I presume, Jake. A note on the back of the booklet, after the song titles, says, ".. that was the story of jake & mary." Is it autobiographical? I have no idea. The instrumentation is simple: acoustic guitar and the occasional tambourine, probably played by Jake with his foot, but that's just a guess. It sounds like it was recorded by Jake in the middle of a HUGE room, thus adding to the sense of loneliness and despair. I love it. For whatever reason, he now releases music under the name Swoop Swoop. He's released a 7" single and two CDs, but I've not heard any of them, yet.

Slish "Donna's Bible"

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Slish
The Eight Hundred Dollar Demo
cassette
(not released, 1994)

Slish were led by vocalist and, I assume, bassist ('cause that's his main thing) Michael W. Dean. Unfortunately, I guess they got a publishing deal with Warner Brothers but nothing came of it release-wise, and that's a shame. Today's selection rocks hard, and is my fave of the five tunes they recorded.

The Clean "Point That Thing Somewhere Else"

The Clean
Slush Fund
CD EP
(Arclife Records, 2001)

The Clean are yet another of my favorite bands. Yes, I have a lot; I'm such a slut. I first heard them on the Flying Nun Records sampler LP Tuatara. It was chock full of great music, and I ended up trying to get my hands on anything I could find by nine of the twelve bands represented.

Point That Thing Somewhere Else is a good candidate for The Clean's signature song. It originally appeared on their first 12" EP, Boodle Boodle Boodle, way back in 1982. Since then, at least eight more versions (see below) of it have been released. I say at least because that's how many I have. This particular version, recorded live at Marmalade in Wellington, NZ on February 28, 1999, is unique in that the guitar part has been transposed to piano. Its parent release, Slush Fund, was an eight song EP pressed up to sell on a tour in 2001. I believe it was limited to 500 copies, but don't hold me to that.

• Odditties
  
• Compilation
  
• In-a-Live
  
• Odditties 2 (split release with The Great Unwashed)
  
• KFJC 89.7 FM Presents The Dunedin Sound (dbl-CD compilation with other NZ bands)
  
• Slush Fund
  
• Syd's Pink Wiring System
  
• Mashed

TV Toy "Monofunk"

TV Toy
Building with Assurance
7" EP
(Permanent Records, 1981)

I first heard of TV Toy when it was announced in 1979 (?) that their drummer, Steve Peer, would be joining Bill Nelson's Red Noise for touring. The name stuck with me, but I didn't ever see anything in print about them again, and Red Noise didn't last long as a band, live or otherwise.

On a record shopping trip to Manhattan in the mid-1980s, however, I came across a 7" record by TV Toy, so I bought it, took it home, put it on the record player, listened to it, and found it was good. It was hard-edged new wave with a bit of a prog rock edge, and quite catchy. Sadly, I don't recall which one it was, though it seems most likely it was their second EP, (Don't Blame It on the) Weekend. Future shopping trips yielded three more little records.

2005 saw the release of Shards 1977-1983, a nifty collection of both released and unreleased material. Monofunk appears on Shards, but in a live version, rather than studio. On this here jukebox, it's the studio version, from their third EP, Building with Assurance.

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I had to get fancy on this one! I have two copies, but neither is in perfect condition. I recorded both to wav files and edited the best bits together. Unfortunately, some parts of the record were a bit noisy on both copies, so there's still a bit of surface noise. Please, no lawsuits.

Lucky Pierre. "Absinthe"

Lucky Pierre. Ramrod 7" EP (Uprising Records, 1992)

Yes, that period is supposed to be at the end of their name, so post-menopausal readers may want to skip this one.

Wild Horses "The Kid"

Wild Horses I'll Give You Love 2 x 7" single (EMI, 1981)

So, like, Thin Lizzy are one of the greatest bands ever, right? And Rainbow were great 'til vocalist Ronnie James Dio left to join Black Sabbath, right? Don't you defy me! Anyhow, so Brian Robertson left Lizzy sometime between the recording of Live and Dangerous and the subsequent tour when it was released. Gary Moore was on guitar when I saw them on that tour, in fact. And Jimmy Bain? Well, he got the boot from Rainbow, 'cause leader/guitarist/despot Ritchie Blackmore is a control freak, in addition to a great guitarist. Or maybe he quit. I don't know. Go look it up yourself, dammit! Anyhow, the two of them joined forces as Wild Horses.

Monitor "Beak"

Monitor
Beak
7" single
(World Imitation, 1979)

OK, so maybe my return was a bit premature; my sincere apologies. I have several things lined up, now, and a ton more stuff ripped from vinyl and cassette, so hopefully there won't be another gap.

I first checked out Monitor because they had the mighty Meat Puppets cover one of their songs on their (Monitor's) eponymous, 1981 debut LP. The majority of the album was on the more mellow end of avant garde rock, with a blast of fairly insane noise rock stuck right near the end of side two. Not that I didn't like the rest of the record, mind you! I used to play We Get Messages and Mokele-Mbembe on my radio show moderately often, and probably other tracks, as well.

I discovered a few years after I bought the LP that it was preceded by a single. Now, you may notice the DM 8.– price tag on the sleeve, unless you're one of my blind readers, if I have any. I honestly can't recall if I bought this via mail order or on one of my handful of late '80s/early '90s trips to Deutschland (the DM is for Deutschmark). I don't like price stickers on my stuff, but sometimes the darn things won't come off without threatening to damage the cover, so they are allowed to remain. Ingrates.

Anyhow, this 1979 single is rather a bit more manic than the album, and sounds rather Residential. The b-side is also cool, but the a-side is the tits, as they say. Not me, mind you; I would never be so guoache, as I've never been fond of watercolors. Regardless, their MySpace indicates 2011 will see a CD containing all of their released material plus unreleased stuff. Yea!

The Undecided "Down, Down"

The Undecided
Dressed to Watch Television
LP
(Morgue Method Records, 1985)

Well, dang it, I ripped this whole record to digital, agonized over what song to pick, started my post, went to see if there was any additional info on the 'net I could provide, and found out, gosh darnit, that they now have a Facebook page and have the record for sale all over the place in MP3 format, as of mid-2010.

So, you may notice the usual button has been replaced by and buttons. It wouldn't be fair to the artists for me to post free downloads of songs commercially available, so I'm now going to still allow streaming, but no downloading of stuff when the artists actually have it out there for sale. I've made the switch for two earlier posts that I discovered are available as MP3s: The Barry Sisters' Roumania and Talk Engine's Dream Me Coupled.

Anyhow, The Undecided were from Virginia and released just this one record. The drummer in my old hardcore band was a friend of theirs, and I bought the record when it came out back in 1985. They played a mix of punk rock, funkier stuff, postpunk, and a kinda cheesy fake country song. They get the before they were famous label as the bassist was Dave Park, who went on to play in DC legends Unrest.