Death Piggy "Mangoes and Goats"

Death Piggy
Love War
7" EP
(D.S.I. Records, 1984)

Holy crap! A POST! Alert the press! Slaughter the fatted calf! Drink some hot benzine!

OK, maybe don't hurt the poor, baby cow. I'm a vegetarian, after all.

So, I've not been posting for a number of reasons, all excellent. One of them is I've wanted to implement HTML5 Audio, for browsers that can use it, especially those that can't use Flash, like my newest phone (an otherwise kickass Motorola Atrix HD).

I wanted the HTML5 Audio stuff to be fancy-ish, and emulate the colors and whatnot of the rest of my blog, but I've just not had the time to sit down and learn Javascript well enough to do all that gunk . . . yet. Never say never, but, please, don't suggest that we sleep together.

Anyhow, I finally decided today, To heck with it, I'm tired of putting off posting, so here's a new (old) song!

Many, many years ago, my old punk band opened for Death Piggy in our hometown of Charlottesville, VA. We ended up becoming friendly with Death Piggy, who were from the distant environs of Richmond, VA, a full hour's drive away, and played a buncha shows together over the next few years.

Death Piggy released three kick butt little 7" EP records full of dadaist, chaotic punk rock before morphing into the band today known as GWAR, whose name may ring a bell. GWAR are great fun live, but I prefer the musical output of the original band. They followed their debut EP, and source of today's song, Love War, with Death Rides the Fairway . . ., then, finally, R45.

Those three records were all fairly limited press runs and went out of print rather quickly. A CD was released in 1999, SMILE or DIE !!!, with the entire contents of the three records, but it, too, was limited, and it's long gone, as well.

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NOTA BENE: Death Piggy also had an exclusive song, Fear of Murder, on the Mutopia cassette compilation released by D.S.I. Records. I almost included it instead of Mangoes and Goats, but the sound is super muddy and it's just not as good a song. Still, completists be aware! Or should that be beware?

Os Mutantes "Glória ao rei dos confins do além"

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Os Mutantes
A arte de Os Mutantes
CD
(Universal Music/Mercury, 2006)

Back in the late 16th Century, in the early days of this blog, listener VirginiaM requested something rare by Os Mutantes. Most of their original catalog of six studio albums and one live (from 1968 through 1976) has been available, off-and-on, on CD and LP since the beginning of this century. In addition to those seven, two unreleased albums from that period have surfaced, plus a live and a studio album since they reunited in 2006.

Like many bands that began in the 1960s and continued into the next decade (and beyond), Os Mutantes went through some interesting changes, which included three fairly distinct phases. They began life as a psychedelic, Tropicália combo, morphed into a psychedelic, rock/hard rock band, then shifted into a progressive rock group.

• Phase I: 1968 to 1970
  • Os Mutantes
  • Mutantes
  • A divina comedia ou ando meio desligado
  • Tecnicolor [recorded in 1970 but not released until 2005]
• Phase II: 1971 to 1973
  • Jardim elétrico
  • Mutantes e seus cometas no país do baurets
  • A e o Z [recorded in 1973 but not released until 1992]
• Phase III: 1974 to 1978
  • Tudo foi feito pelo sol
  • Ao vivo
• Intelligent, Murderous Ants: 2006 to present
  • Live - Barbican Theatre, London, 2006
  • Haih... or amortecedor

So, anyhow, finding a rarity that I could actually, you know, afford would not be an easy task. Luckily, not long before VirginiaM's request, I just happened to have purchased an Os Mutantes collection, A arte de Os Mutantes, with a tiny handful of non-LP tracks, and today's jukebox selection is one of them.

The info (in Portugese, dang it) in the booklet seems to indicate this tune is from 1968. A bit of on-line research leads me to believe it was from a 7" EP released between their first album, 1968's Os Mutantes, and their second, 1969's Mutantes.

No doubt, the more observant of my listeners have noticed that they ditched the Os from their name between their first and second albums. No biggie; it's just Portugese for The. Since I've not been able to find a picture of a record cover for the aforementioned EP, or even a label (as in the paper stuck to the center of the vinyl disc), I've decided to leave the Os in place for this song. If that is incorrect, my deepest apologies, and, as always, please, no lawsuits.

Interestingly, to me at least, the Os has returned twice. The first time, on the cover of their double-decade-delayed album A e o Z and again for their 2009 studio comeback (and quite good) album Haih... or amortecedor.

Sara Goes Pop "Sexy Terrorist"

Sara Goes Pop
Sara Goes Pop
2 x 7" EP
(It's War Boys, 1982)

Poor Sara! I hope popping didn't hurt too much. This was the only Sara Goes Pop record, to the best of my knowledge, so I'm guessing all the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Sara together again. Pity the king didn't think to have any, say, surgeons.

Whenever I hear this song, I picture Jack Wild singing it. I do my best to not think about his creepy talking flute, though.

Yes, I loved H.R. Pufnstuf when I was a wee bairn.

Sid and Marty Krofft were the kings of hallucinogenic children's TV back in the 60s and 70s. I watched all their shows, even Sigmund and the Sea Monsters. That one was a bit of a challenge, however, since they chose to cast in the lead role the most horrible boy on TV: Johnny Whitaker, prince of the wussies.

The best Sid and Marty Krofft show, of course, was Land of the Lost. Sleestaks rule!

Double-O "You've Lost"

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OO
 OO
7" EP
(R&B Records/Dischord Records, 1983)

Sometimes, OK often, bands fall through the cracks of history. OO   is one of them. They featured former members of bands that appeared on the seminal harDCore (i.e., hardcore from Washington, D.C.) compilation album Flex Your Head†, and all four members went on to later bands of varying success‡. Aside from this one lil' 7" record, though, their recorded legacy is somewhat . . . scant.

photo: Sharon Cheslow

Sure, the band name on the cover is Double-O, but OO   is the way they wrote it. That's OO   as in two interlocking circles, as in unity. Yeah, they were emo-ish before the advent of emo. Back when emo was a music thing, that is, rather than a skinny jeans & guyliner thing. They explain it in more detail in this interview from the zine If This Goes On.

Musically, OO   were one of the earlier bands in the harDCore scene to incorporate such a marked heavy metal influence to their sound. They were also the first, to the best of my knowledge, to have a ballad in their repertoire: Funeral for a Friend. It's quite maudlin and far-and-away my least favorite track on this record. Still, I guess it has some historical significance, if nothing else. Sorta like smallpox. The other four songs on this platter are all ragers, though, and I picked my favorite for today's jukebox track.

NOTA BENE: As was traditional in D.C. at the time, the record was not released 'til after the band broke up.

VANTARSI: I was at the show from whence the above live pic comes. Prior to that, I'd never even heard of them.

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†Vocalist Eric L. had been in Red C and the rhythm section (Rich Moore & Bert Queiroz) had been in The Untouchables, as opposed to The Untouchables. Bert had also been in Youth Brigade, not to be confused with Youth Brigade.

‡Eric went on to E.N.B. (aka Eric's New Band) who eventually settled on the name Dove and got really mersh. Rich & Bert started Minor Threat Jr., aka Second Wind. Guitarist Jason went on to play with grating artpunkers 9353.

Thralldom "The Expiration is Sweeter Than Death"

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Thralldom
The Seven Heads of the Lion-Serpent
7" EP
(Deathstrike Records, 2005)

One of the things I loved about Thralldom was their use of shotgun blasts for percussion. They used more standard drummy/percussiony things, too, mind you, but the explosion of gunpowder and buckshot is a beautiful thing to behold. Or maybe it's evil. People like to refer to Thralldom as a black metal band, but they don't wish to be pigeonholed; they will kill you, if you call them black metal. In fact, one of them is named KILLUSION (I'm not shouting–that's the way he writes it). The other one is Jaldagar, btw. Duos are the bestest!

Thralldom split five years or so ago, unfortunately, but KILLUSION manages to keep himself plenty busy. He followed-up Thralldom with Drifting Collision, who were renamed The Howling Wind after their first release. He also played guitar in Villains, but left them and now plays with Pollution. Oh, and he's part of the noise duo Abandoner. He's best known, though, as the guitarist & vocalist for the astonishingly heavy Unearthly Trance. He's also known as Ryan Lipynsky, if you ask to see his driver's license. Ask nicely, though.

Happy Flowers "Razors in My Apple"

Happy Flowers
Now We Are Six
7" EP
(Catch Trout Records, 1986)

Sorry, sorry, sorry!

I know I posted a song by this band just last week, but, well, I've not been able to think of any other Halloween-releated songs by LGBT folk and/or bands!

:'-(

This litle ditty was from their second 7" EP, and was one of the first of their songs to feature actual percussion . . . of a sort. Mr. Anus played two cookie tins with contact mics taped to them. As with the other Happy Flowers song I posted, it was improvised live in the studio with no overdubbing or mixing afterward.

Stalaggh untitled

Stalaggh Stalaggh 7" EP (New Era Productions, 2001)

I think I'll let the insert speak for this one: Stalaggh is a Misanthropik-Nihilistik projekt of leading Individuals from both the Dutch and Belgian Black Metal and Elektro/Ambient scenes, with as prior aim propagating the sonic ideology of human genocide. With among it's members a murder convict and mental-institution patient, STALAGGH is bound to awaken emotions of depression, hate, nihilism, misanthropy and to drag you deeper down into it's pits and voids. :STALAGGH:'s :projekt nihil: was improvised and directly recorded Ina 24 track studio, driving the producer to Insanity. "Never again" were his words... Excessive self-mutilation took place while recording these streams of black emotions, evolving into a 35 minutes piece of Art, which is to be considered the soundtrack to humanities global suicide... We will destroy, we will hate, and we will spread our misanthropic audio-terror until there Is nothing left but scorched earth. ...KILL YOURSELF!!! They followed this lovely little record (today's piece is side A) with three albums of considerably less musical material, Projekt Nihil, Projekt Terrror, Projekt Misanthropia), plus variations on the same, like the remix album Nihilistik Terrror (not dance remixes, mind you). They've now changed their name and sound, to a degree, to Gulaggh and have released one CD, so far, Vorkuta. I quite like it.

Tom Jones "Little by Little" (live)

Tom Jones On Stage 7" EP (Decca Records, 1965)

Today's number is a song from Tom's third 7" for Decca Records, a nifty lil' four-song live EP released wayyyyy back in the mid-60's. This track has since appeared on the killer triple-CD set Velvet + Steel = Gold, but in stereo and with no crowd noise (same for the first track from the EP, "Bama Lama Bama Loo"). Now, I'm not sure if that's 'cause it was really a studio recording to which that they added fake applause (à la the 13th Floor Elevators Live album), or if they simply mixed out the audience when preparing the stereo version. Regardless, this is how it sounded when pressed on shiny black vinyl in 1965. Gotta love liner notes from back then! The name's the same; but there any similarity ends between Tom Jones, the dynamic Pontypridd 'Tiger' and Henry Fielding's swashbuckling hero. Tom began singing in the traditional Welsh manner – in the chapel choir. In his mid-teens he learned to play the drums and sat in with local groups. When did he first feel the call of the spotlight? "The moment I realised how heavy a hod was!" declares Tom, who worked for a time on a building site. Tom was spotted by his manager Gordon Mills, former member of the Viscounts, when he deputised at short notice for Mandy Rice Davies on a cabaret date. His first disc was Chills and Fever. It's Not Unusual, Tom's second record and number one hit, was penned for him by Gordon Mills. Tom is now backed by the Squires. He has been known to deliver marathon two-and-a-half hour acts, leaving his audience in a state of fan frenzy seldom witnessed in this country. Although R and B influenced, Tom Jones is far from being just a shouter; he really sings. The bluesy element in his voice adds depth to his unique style, and makes him one of the most original singers to appear on the British musical scene for many years. Just listen to these four tracks and you're bound to agree. Anyone know what on Earth a "hod" is?

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.

Capers "The Only Thing I Really Want"

Capers Mahlzeit 7" EP (Extraplatte, 1988)

Capers were another of Hans Platzgumer's early bands. This 7" EP was their lone release (not counting songs on some compilations), and today's selection was inexplicably omitted when it was reissued in 1995 by the U.S. label Sunday Drive Records. An instrumental version of another tune, "I'm Going Out Tonight," was also omitted, and, oddly enough, an exclamation point was added to the title, making it Mahlzeit! The cover art was completely different, as well, and there was no indication anywhere that two songs were missing.

Nuit Noire "Lutina"

Nuit Noire Lutina 7" EP (Drakkar Productions, 2002)

Nuit Noire are the world's greatest fäerical blasting punk band. I started listening to them when I found their second album, Infantile Espieglery, in a used CD store near my house. Something about the raw, frantic, screaming, almost naïve sound of them really drew me in. The fact that they're a duo certainly helped, too. Oh, and that the handwritten text on the cover looked like it'd been written on notebook paper by a little girl. And they're French, like toast, Jacques Tati, camembert and S.V.E.S.T. And they write lots of songs about fäeries.

The Freeze "Paranoia"

The Freeze
In Colour
7" EP
(A. 1. Records, 1979)

No, this is not the hardcore band from Boston. This particular The Freeze were late '70s punkers from wee Scotland. They only released a couple of 7" records in their lifetime, and, while they're good records, they're more historically significant for being transgender warrior Gordon Sharp's band prior to Cindytalk, whom I featured back in July. Not to denigrate The Freeze, mind you. I think this is a pretty sharp tune. HA! Pun not intended.

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I've added a download button so songs can now be downloaded or streamed, as you wish. I plan on retroactively adding it to the preceding posts, but there are 140 or so of 'em, so don't expect it to be done overnight.

^_^

11th Hour "Carpetplace"

11th Hour
11th Hour
7" EP
(Shag Records, 1985)

Barrett Jones is best known for his production and engineering work with the Foo Fighters and other alt. rock bands in the 1990's and beyond. In the mid-80's, however, he was an aspiring musician type, and led a swell combo called 11th Hour, singing, playing guitar, writing, and producing everything. I didn't snag their demo tape, sadly, but I did pick up both of their 7"s, on their own Shag Records, and caught them live (they rocked impressively). The first 7" was this EP, and today's selection is the lead-off track. It was followed by an equally excellent single called Servation, and then they vanished.

One might be tempted to say there's an obvious Dinosaur (Jr.) influence, but Dinosaur's first album was released the same year as the debut 11th Hour 7", so I don't there'd been time yet for them to be influential. On top of that, my buddy Hubert K. Bunwich reviewed 11th Hour's demo in issue #5 of the magazine Live Squid, whereas Dinosaur's album wasn't reviewed 'til issue #6 (by moi). So . . . yeah.

Nuclear Crayons "Teenage Suicide"

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Nuclear Crayons
Nameless E.P.
7" EP
(Outside Records, 1982)

I want to make it absolutely clear that today's post is not making light of suicide. This is an ugly song for a heartbreaking situation.

Brandon Bitner is the latest in the horrible rash of teen suicides in the last several months. He threw himself in front of a tractor-trailer around 3 a.m. the morning of November 5, after deciding he could no longer endure the relentless bullying at school for his perceived sexual orientation. He was only 14 years old.

There have been over a dozen teen suicides that have made the national news recently. All were cases of young people driven to take their own lives after undergoing relentless bullying, either for being openly gay, bisexual or transgendered, or simply for being perceived to be.

Two boys were even younger than Brandon: Asher Brown and Seth Walsh were both only 13. Asher shot himself in the head; Seth never regained conciousness after trying to hang himself.

SadCat started a blog, The Price of Hate (now in my blog links), at the end of September to remember these poor children, who either took their own lives or were killed. There are already fourteen entries dating back to this past July. There are also entries for two boys who were not yet even in their teens when they killed themselves in 2009; Jaheem Harerra and Carl Joseph Walker were each just eleven years old when they took their own lives. The other two entries are a suicide from 2007 and a murder from 2005.

The two children who were murdered were not even school-aged. Ronnie Parris died in 2005, five days after his third birthday, at the hands of his own father, who slap boxed with him to, toughen him up, so he wouldn't become a sissy. Roy A. Jones was beaten to death this past August by his mother's boyfriend for acting too girly. He was seventeen months old.

Unlike other posts with long write-ups, this time I will not shut up. I'm one of the lucky ones; the other kids at school apparently didn't figure me out, even though I knew by the time I was eleven. Then again, I lived in extreme denial for nearly two decades after that realization.

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Nuclear Crayons were outsiders in the Washington, D.C. punk rock scene, hence the label name of Outside Records. Vocalist Lynch Lavoison started the label to document both her own band and others that fell outside the box that was harDCore. In addition to this EP, she also released a compilation of area bands, mixed nuts Don't Crack, and a full-length Nuclear Crayons LP. I'm sorry for not writing more about the band, but there are other blogs out there with excellent info, as I discovered after starting this post. I highly recommend investigating further. By the way, the discoloration on the sleeve is from whatever they used to glue the sleeve shut. The brush strokes suggest to me rubber cement, but I could be wrong . . . or the voices could be lying.

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I should explain Flipper damage, I guess. It was a term coined in the early 1980s to genrefy punk bands who played on the slower end, with bass driven melodies and harsh, noisy guitar, like the band Flipper, naturally.

The Reactions "Marianne"

The Reactions
Official Release
7" EP
(Reaction Records, 1980)

I love getting freebies when I buy stuff. Around 25 years ago, I think, I got the second 7" EP by The Reactions, The Reactions Love You, as a bonus when I bought something via mailorder. I wanna say it was in an order from Solid Eye, but don't hold me to that OK? Thanks.

It was a rockin' little slab of pop punk and was a most welcome surprise. The scant liner notes on the back indicated there was a previous record called Official Release, so on the hunt I went. I scored a copy and it was just as sweet. "Marianne" appeared on both EPs, for some reason. I prefer the earlier version, so here 'tis. Dig it, OK? Thanks.

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UPDATE [Feb 21, 2012]: Cheap Rewards Records has released a full LP of archival material by The Reactions! You can stream the whole thing on their Bandcamp page (and it's pretty darn kickin'), plus you can order the LP direct from the label. Interestingly, the one song missing from the LP is this jukebox entry. You're welcome.

Vassafor "Craft of Dissolution"

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Vassafor
Southern Vassaforian Hell
7" EP
(Drakkar Productions, 2006)

New Zealand is probably best known, musically, in the rest of the world for spawning Split Enz and Crowded House, who were both led by the brothers Finn. Not quite as well known is the indie pop/rock world of Flying Nun Records and the more dissonant sounds of the now defunct Xpressway label.

Much like France, though, I doubt most people think of NZ as a source of raw, blasting black metal. In this case in the form of Vassafor and Diocletian. Incest abounds, however, as they also share members, just like SE and CH.

Sex Vid "Trainwreck"

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Sex Vid
Sex Vid
7" EP
(Kill Test, 2005)

Some nice, blasting hardcore from Washington state. Hardcore in the early 1980's sense, that is; not some crap like Atreyu or Hatebreed. Sex Vid are so hardcore, in fact, that they don't even have a MySpace page. This track is from their ripping debut 7" EP. They've since released three more 7" EPs, a 12" EP and a coupla live tapes. It's all pretty much essential, imo. Except the live tape I missed out on. Since I don't have a copy, I'll have to assume it's awful, so I won't feel sorry for myself.

Böhm ohne Köb "South of Heaven"

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Böhm ohne Köb
South of Heaven
7" EP
(Nur Sch. Rec!, 1990)

Some people are so talented, they probably oughta be thrown in jail. Hans Platzgumer is one of those people, and he sings and plays guitar on this record.

Wards "Weapon Factory"

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Wards
The World Ain't Pretty and Neither Are We
7" EP
(self-released, 1983)

Back in the early/mid-1980s, hardcore was spreading all over the USA, wherever there were angry teens and twenty-somethings (and olders) with access to musical instruments and electricity. I made it a goal, of sorts, to collect stuff from every state. There were the big hotspots, of course, like Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. and Boston, but it also seemed like almost every state had at least one band with a tape or a record out. For Vermont, that band was Wards.

This lil' EP, pressed on pretty, transparent, blue vinyl was their debut, and Weapon Factory has always been my favorite track on it. They released a second 7" EP then disappeared from view. Well, my view, at least, as, according to their MySpace, they've been around the whole time. I think.