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?

The Gossip "I Want It (To Write)"

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The Gossip
Flying Side Kick
Home Alive Compilation II
compilation CD
(Broken Rekids, 2001)

You know how niteclubs typically play music over the PA between sets by the bands performing that night? Well, I was at The Echo Lounge (R.I.P.) one night a number of years ago, and the soundguy had something playing that blew my mind. It was definitely punk rock, but 'twas very stripped down and had obvious blues and gospel influences. Plus, the singer could belt it out like nobody's business. I asked what it was, and was told it was the album Movement by a band I'd never heard of before, Gossip (video below for the song that snagged my ear the hardest).

Gossip originally hailed from Arkansas, but I imagine that's not the ideal place for a trio of queer punx to live and play, so they'd moved to the Pacific Northwest. They also originally had a The at the front of their name. I actually prefer it that way, but it's not my band so I don't get a say.

These days, Gossip are practically a disco band. I still enjoy their music, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't prefer the older stuff. Today's song is from those early, raw, punk-as-a-bad-word days. It appeared on the Flying Side Kick compilation CD, which was released to raise money for Home Alive, a non-profit anti-violence organization that teaches self-defense to women and girls for free.

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Victory Rose "Fljúgðu"

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Victory Rose
Smekkleysa í hálfa öld
compilation CD
(Smekkleysa, 1994)

What, you may ask, is a Victory Rose? Well, in this case it's a person and a band and not a horticultural entity. Victory Rose, you see, is English for Sigur Rós, and was the band Sigur Rós's original name. So who's the person? That would be Sigur Rós openly gay vocalist/guitarist Jón Þór Birgisson's (aka Jónsi) newborn (at the time) baby sister Sigurrós.

:-)

Fljúgðu was their very first release, wayyy back in 1994, and the only thing released under the name Victory Rose. It was the penultimate track on the compilation CD Smekkleysa í hálfa öld, released by the label Smekkleysa in their homeland of Iceland. Their song is followed by a jazzyish lil' number by international superstar Björk. The other 15 tracks are by folks I know absolutely nothing about other than little has made an impression on me.

Funny story: The first time I saw Sigur Rós, I knew very little about them other than I loved the CD that I'd recently bought of their second album, Ágætis byrjun. So, the lights dimmed and they came out on stage and began to play. It was clear they were all guys (not counting their backing string quartet Amiina), so I figured the female vocalist would make a dramatic entrance when it was time for the vocals to kick in. Uhhhhh . . . nope! I was stunned when Jónsi stepped up to the mic and that gorgeous voice came spilling out!

OK, maybe not that funny of a story. So sue me.

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.

Orchestre Tout Puissant Likembé Konono Nº1 "Mungua-Muanga"

Orchestre Tout Puissant Likembé Konono Nº1
Zaïre :  Musiques Urbaines à Kinshasa
compilation CD
(Ocora - Radio France, 1987)

The African band Konono Nº1 take homemade instruments to a whole new level. They play likembés (thumb pianos) of differing sizes that are amplified with pickups and speakers made from car parts and other scrap metal. They play them extremely loud, which intensifies the sound with distortion. Or so I've read; they have yet to make it to my town. :-(

Konono Nº1 made a big splash back in 2004 with the release of their second album (and first studio recording), Congotronics. They'd actually been around since the 1960s, however! They originally went by the somewhat unwieldy moniker Orchestre Tout Puissant Likembé Konono Nº1 (Mighty Likembé Orchestra Konono Nº1).

Today's piece is a recording from 1978, under that original, lengthy name, from a compilation of urban bands from Kinshasa, Zaïre. They sounded pretty much the same then as they do now, the only difference being a lack of bass; I think that was a limitation of the original recording, however, as it was made on cassette.

The Way We Live "Call Him"

The Way We Live Steve's Hungarian Novel double-LP (Psygressive Records/OZit Records, 1999)

As I think I've said before, I've got a thing for duos. When I read about The Way We Live (and their next nom de musique, Tractor), I had to check them out. Come on! A duo from the early '70's who played psychedelic hard rock? How could I resist that? I couldn't! As luck would have it, I found a bargain-priced CD containing the sole albums by each band, even though they're the same band. The story is legendary BBC disc jockey John Peel was a fan but suggested they change their name. They asked to what and he allegedly was looking out the window at some heavy equipment and said, "Tractor." Peel was more than a fan, actually, and released both albums on his own imprint, Dandelion Records. After the Tractor album was released, they stayed together but stayed out of the studio. They released a single in 1977, "No More Rock 'n' Roll," and another in 1981, "Average Man's Hero," but that was it. Starting in the early 90s, however, collections of unreleased material started appearing in dribs and drabs. Today's song is from a collection released on double-LP in 1999 and limited to a mere 200 copies (each signed by each half of the band). It comprises recordings by both band name variants spanning 1969 up through 1998, and today's selection is a tasty hard rocker from 1969. I'm not sure what's up with the band now. The 30th Anniversary reissue of the Tractor album included bonus live and studio tracks recorded in 2001/2, but I'm not aware of any activity since. More would be nice!

Moresight "Faked Out (& Faked Back In)"

Moresight Moresight CD (self-released, 2005)

Dang it, this was supposed to get posted yesterday. I got everything done in advance but the writeup. I was gonna finish it up in the a.m., but then we had to call the furnace people to come look at ours and figure out why it keeps pulling a Sarah Palin. Anyhow, the day got messy after that, and I never got back to my blog. My deepest apologies. So I saw these guys open for locals Untied States just over six years ago. I thought they were pretty great (as were the headliners, as always) and ended up buying one of their two CDs that night, though I don't recall if it was this one, or their debut EP, Just Like Having a Baby with No Name. Both are keepers. Sometime after I saw them, they were selling CDRs at shows with new songs, but I never managed to catch them again. Then they changed their name. Then they sorta faded away. :-( I think this may have been the Untied States show where the bass player ripped his finger open mid-set. My car was parked right in front of the club, so I ran out to it and got him a Band Aid. I'm such a mother hen, sometimes.

Rip Rig & Panic "Go, Go, Go! (This Is It)"

Rip Rig & Panic Go, Go, Go! (This Is It) 7" single (Virgin Records, 1981)

Today's song is the debut single by Rip Rig & Panic, who became Rip Rig + Panic by the time of their next single, "Bob Hope Takes Risks," hence the née tag. RRP featured Gareth Sager and Bruce Smith, both formerly of The Pop Group, and vocalist Neneh Cherry, daughter of free jazz trumpeter Don Cherry I've got only the first two of their albums, God and I Am Cold, plus some singles, and they're all killer. Skronky jazz horns, funky bass, sheet metal guitar, etc. I only don't have their third album, Attitude, because I have yet to see a copy for sale.

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.

The Membranes "Get a Head"

The Membranes Crack House 12" EP (Criminal Damage Records, 1983)

A lot of bands start out noisy and become less so as time passes; Einstürzende Neubauten are a good example of this. Some start out relatively tame and get progressively uglier and nastier, like The Birthday Party. The Membranes, however, took a rather different route. They started on the more sedate end of punk, got noisier, got way noisier, mellowed out again, started to get noisy again, got really noisy, broke up. Weird, huh? Crack House was the bridge between the first "nice" era and the advent of the noise. A few records later, they ditched the The at the front.

Sativa Luv Box "Groovy Kurtain"

Sativa Luv Box
The Bad Sleep Well
LP
(Splat-Co Records, 1989)

Wayyyyy back in the '80s, Patrick Mata led the band Kommunity FK, who played a mix of punk, industrial and proto-goth. Their debut album, The Vision And The Voice, is an absolute classic in my book. The follow-up, 1985's Close One Sad Eye, was good, but they'd eased up on the punk end a bit too much, in my opinion. After that, they split.

In 2003, Mata re-emerged with a new band called Sativa Luvbox and an album called Beloved Satellite. What I heard sounded OK but nowhere near as quality as KFK. I mentioned that on a message board and a buddy of mine contacted me and told me it was actually their second album, and, just like with KFK, the first was better. Today's tune is from that first album, which was released only on vinyl and took me a couple of years to find, probably because the band name was slightly different: Sativa Luv Box. It's the most straight up, hard rocking thing Mata has done, and I like it quite a bit. Three of the ten songs were redone for the 2003 CD, but the originals rock harder.

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NOTE: Mata restarted Kommunity FK a few years back, and their long-awaited album, La Santisima Muerte, finally came out this year. 'Tis a fine album, too.

A Fir-Ju Well "Queen Tracy King"

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A Fir-Ju Well
The Dangerous Life of an Insect
CD
(self-released, 2001)

Now known as Gringo Star . . . more info to come

Erik Hinds "Angel of Death"

Erik Hinds
Reign in Blood
CD
(Solponticello, 2005)

Today, we continue with heavy metal cover songs, specifically acoustic versions of Slayer tunes.

Athens, GA guitarist Erik Hinds, who now goes by the name Killick, plays this badass thing called the H'arpeggione (picture after the jump), built for him in 1999 by master instrument designer and builder Fred Carlson. I've seen (and heard, of course) him play it a number of times, and it's really something to behold.

In 2005, Erik decided to record his own version of Slayer's classic Reign in Blood album, on solo H'arpeggione. Today's track is the leadoff track, Angel of Death. Please, commence headbanging.

The H'arpeggioneMore photos here

Citizen 23 "Janie's Got a Black Eye"

Citizen 23
The Taj Mahal Present$
No Room to Dance
compilation LP
(Blue Wave Records, 1980)

These days, Mr. Don Fleming is a big time record producer. He's also most likely still very tall.

I once said to Thurston Moore, many, many years ago, that he, Don, and Steve Michener (then in Dumptruck, following a stint in the Volcano Suns) should form a band, since they're all so tall. Of course, Steve plays bass, so he was not involved with the Dim Stars, since Richard Hell sang and played bass, but Don and Thurston were both there.

Freaky, man!

Don was, at the time of the aforementioned conversation with Mr. Moore, still leading the Velvet Monkeys and playing in Half Japanese. His roots went back further, though.

The Velvet Monkeys were based in the Washington, DC area. Prior to that, however, they lived in Tidewater, VA, and played under the name Citizen 23. Their only release, to the best of my knowledge, was the three songs on this compilation album. Don sang one, "American Neutron," and Elaine Barnes sang the other two. Since "American Neutron" appears on the Homework #9 compilation CDR (according to the track listing on the Hyped to Death website), I decided to go with one of Elaine's. There are no writing credits anywhere, so I don't know if she wrote it, or Don did, or they collaborated, or someone else did.

Prior to Citizen 23, Don was a member of The Stroke Band, from Valdosta, GA. They released an LP called Green and Yellow in 1978, and I've been looking for a copy for over twenty years. Any help would be appreciated!

Death by Milkfloat "What"

Death by Milkfloat
Sense and Nonsense
12" EP
(Di Di Music, 1987)

Like Thule, another promoter-significant-other discovery, I found the second Death by Milkfloat 12" EP (of four), The Absolute Non-End, amongst the records, and had to give it a listen, due to the utterly bizarre band name. Today's tune, however, is from their debut 12" EP, which was released in Greece, rather than the UK. Sometime after the release of their third 12" EP, Uninformation, they dropped the Death by appellation and released a 7" single and their final 12" EP, Guilt Edged Steel, under the truncated name Milkfloat.

I've chosen to label them C86 for genre, as I've seen it used before for similarly gambolling bands like bIG★fLAME, Membranes, and The Wedding Present. Feel free to correct me, if necessary

The Scientists "Melodramatic Touch"

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Scientists
Rubber Never Sleeps
cassette
(Au-go-go, 1985)

Perth, Australia's The Scientists started out in 1978 as a punkish power pop group. They went through four line-ups, released a few records (a 7" single, a 7" EP, and an LP), did some touring, and split up.

Dynamite Master's Blues Quartet "21"

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Dynamite Master's Blues Quartet
Sonic Distortion
CD
(Sauce Record, 1991)

Dynamite Master's Blues Quartet was the original name of hard rockin' Japanese psychedelic bluesters DMBQ.

DMBQ's website is quite spartan at the moment, with just two listings for solo shows by leader Shinji Masuko, so I'm not sure if they're currently active or not. Regardless, their old site had a discography that left off what are generally thought to be their first three albums:

• Dynamite Master's Blues Quartet (Less Than TV, 1994?)
• EXP (Less Than TV, 1995?)
• COG (¡Por Supuesto! Records, 1996)

I've seen interviews where they've referred to the eponymous CD on Less Than TV as their debut, but Sonic Distortion predates it by at least a few years; I'm not sure why all the secrecy, though. Then again, their later material is rather more psychedelic and out there, compared to this album. I like all their stuff, though, a good deal of which is, I believe, still in print.

There is no info in the booklet or tray card for Sonic Distortion, other than song titles, but the band members are easily recognizable from the photos. Unfortunately, this means I don't know if this is an original or a cover of a song I don't know. At least one song is definitely a cover, though;「いい娘だね」was a b-side by Japanese 60's psychedelic rockers the Jacks.

Dappled Cities Fly "Chameleon Girl"

Dappled Cities Fly
Chameleon Girl
CD single
(Wash Records, 2003)

My second favorite local record store has a huge $1 bin. Everytime I go there, I look through it for stuff that looks interesting. Sometime last year, I stumbled across the third album by Dappled Cities, Zounds. The cover art was interesting and the band name certainly odd, so I chanced it. As it turned out, it became one of my favorite albums of 2009. I loved it so much, I went and found as much back-catalog stuff as I was able. This track was released as their second single and never appeared on any of their three albums, so far. In between their first and second albums, A Smile and Granddance, they dropped the "Fly" from the end of their name. No, I don't know why.