UNHERD

Here's the second installation in a steady stream of early to mid '90s hardcore from my home region of NC/SC (the first being the Salvo Rain post). Cola, SC's Unherd played effective and memorably melodic hardcore with a sincere delivery of conscious lyrics, and I don't mean that in the cheesy way. These guys were together upstairs, and their 1993 s/t LP is one of my favorite things the Assorted Porkchops label put out.

It doesn't matter who I compare Unherd to, because it won't do justice to their sound. If I called them "early Samiam with Born Against's brainy balls" that still wouldn't come close. Okay, maybe it might. No, no, it doesn't at all. Unherd played a style of music I wanted to play with my "let's start a band" friends, but at the age of fourteen, they were too busy sucking down Green Day and Nirvana to have any interest in two-minute, straight-to-the-point, catchy hardcore. But while I settled for playing pop-punk with them, Unherd members Eric and Kevin were tearing down that project and funnelling their creative efforts into their other [completely, truthfully marvelous] band, Assfactor 4 [who I will do an informative post on in the future. AF4 makes my uncoveted 'top three' favorite hardcore bands of all time].

This record is one of the brightest examples of important early '90s rock from the Carolinas.

Thanks to Chris Murray of Assorted Porkchops for the permission to post a few of these great songs.

1. Blue
2. Shitter
3. 20
4. Raincore
5. Dusk
6. Bulk Rate Male
7. Take A Day (Soup cover)
8. Dripping
9. Prayers
10. Pow
11. Fluff
12. Nude
13. Pemex

PORTRAITS OF PAST

I was going to save this one for later, but since it's been a few days since you and I last spoke, and I have info ready to fire, you're getting this unparalleled hardcore moment now. Just as strongly as I feel Drive Like Jehu changed the direction of songwriting for early '90s discordant guitar music, I feel the Bay Area born Portraits of Past were equally as potent, though they had no real impact until years after disbanding.

This 1995 LP on Ebullition Records (the band's only full-length) is easily one of my favorite hardcore records of all time. The songs are powerful and hit me in ways few other recordings could, and even after years of listening, not a single track feels stale. The actual studio production is a little lean, but the robust deliveries and structures give its tech-related shortcomings a unique texture which works unlike any recording I've heard. I'm not bullshitting you. This record is that fantastic.

So why couldn't Portraits of Past make a dent in their lifespan? Was it because the band only really flourished for one year, making it difficult to permeate the limiting mailorder days of underground music? Who knows, really. This short blurb from the Ebullition website reveals the band's commercial unfulfillments.

The first pressing of this LP with the original cover is now sold out.

The hand screened cover version is still available. Once this pressing is sold out then this LP will never be available on vinyl again.

This eight song LP was not an immediate success. When it first came out it was way ahead of its time and the LP didn't really start to sell until many years after the band had broken up.

At one point the LP completely stopped selling. In fact, it was selling so poorly that we recycled all the left over inserts and covers as it appeared that no one was really interested in Portraits of Past. This turned out to be a mistake. A few years later interest in the band exploded and we started to sell a lot of LPs. So many in fact that the LP was repressed, but the original covers and cover art were no longer available. So we ended up making these hand screened versions.

Portraits of Past started out as a screamo band, and their debut split 7" with Bleed captured that sound. But the LP was much more controlled and refined. It has a moody almost sad feel to it that is quite captivating.

At some point soon a CD discography will be released.

I've been reading that last sentence for a couple years now, and I haven't found any indications on when the discography will be available. Portraits of Past has a website that does a good job filling all the informational voids I may have left here, so visit it for updates in the future.

Maybe if the remaining copies of their LP finally run down and out, it will scoot the discography production process along. This rare moment in California hardcore can be purchased here, and I highly suggest you invest.

I'm only going to post two songs from this record since the hand-screened version is still available from Ebullition Mailorder. The band members are adamant in their wish that no one bootleg their material, so hopefully the sample mp3s below will encourage you to buy legitimate copies.

But it is true what the Ebullition blurb said: "When it first came out it was way ahead of its time..."

1. KQED Equals Volvo
2. Bang Yer Head
3. The Control Freak
4. Implications of a Sinkhole Personality
5. The Outlook Is Bleak
6. Snicker Snicker
7. Something Less Than Intended

THE INN

North Carolina's underground repertoire seldom calls upon its psychedelic roster, but The Inn proved there were a few dilated eyes in the Tarheel '80s. The Voxx imprint of Bomp! Records was apparently moved enough to lay claim on this Charlotte quartet for their first album, and their 1987 debut, Psychedelic Schedule, is not a bad start.

Beyond that, I personally have no information on the band, other than what I found at Psychedelic-Music.net:

American psych outfit The Inn have been gigging since 1986 and have released three albums of West Coast styled psychedelic rock. Moving from free form freakouts through to more structured flowing rock pieces. The Inn have explored almost every corner of the genre. "Who's My Name?" represents the bands current direction of tightly knit melodic rock with a psychedelic lyrical content. A live album is due soon and as usual the band are constantly gigging. See Freakbeat No. 6 for the full story, and be sure to check out their albums:- "Psychedelic Schedule" (Voxx), "Travelling At The Speed Of Life" (Third Lock) and "See Ya There" (Third Lock). The Inn are:- Mitch Cooper, Eric Snyder, Andrew D. Rumph, Mark Asbury, Reggie Dennis.

I never found any info on the live album, but this debut, in a generic sense, owes a handshake to Spacemen 3, maybe some Electric Prunes and a wide draw of Bomp! bands in the Creation Records vein (as funny as that sounds). They also drench the packaging and insert with classic psychedlic art and text, thronging with swirly, colorful drug imagery and lines like "This album dedicated to Peter Tosh." I also love the overboard moments like this one found on the insert:

There always seems to be some type of gathering in the Central-Winterfield area of Charlotte, NC. Be it free music in the streets, people "wigging out" in Sheffield Park, the all-night LSD parties, or just a laid back afternoon bong session with friends--It's a pretty far out place to be in the '80s.

As they are close to home for this native North Carolinian, I'd love any additional information you can sling regarding this great psych troop.

1. Roy G. Bin*
2. Marlwood Lake
3. Infinity's Beginning
4. What It's Like
5. Mind's Confections
6. Soon

*NOTE: This song is over twenty-four minutes long, which ain't practical for uploading or downloading in one trip, so this mp3 is just the first six-or-so minutes, but you'll like it, I promise.

THE HANSON BROTHERS

My August 3rd post on the silver-haired NoMeansNo irresponsibly failed to mention their upcoming Fall tour in support of the new album, All Roads Lead To Ausfahrt (on Ant Acid Audio with a U.S. release date of August 29th, 2006), which Allmusic.com has already given 4.5 stars out of 5. So to make the announcement relevant here, I give you the first release from their alter-egos, the Hanson Brothers.

Featuring inseperable musicians Rob "Robbie Hanson" Wright, John "Johnny Hanson" Wright and Tom "Tommy Hanson" Holliston (not to mention "Kenny Hanson"), the Hanson Brothers quartet is one of my absolute favorite Ramones concept bands. If the quick-palmed downstrums and sixteenths on the hi-hat weren't enough to scream out their evident influence, their first full-length LP, Gross Misconduct (Alternative Tentacles, 1992), makes an obvious mockery of the Ramones' Road To Ruin, replacing any serious stance with a slappy hockey motif.

But it would be unjust to reduce them to a mere gang of clones, as the Hanson Brothers do sincerely exhibit levels of talent unreached by the bulk of such bands. Yes, at the heart of it all, they're the goofy side project of NoMeansNo, but they're also one of the tighest, instrumentally disciplined punk bands around. Without straining, they dice the competition. But I suppose after playing NoMeansNo's perplexingly developed "art-punk" since the mid 1980s, the Wright brothers have no concept of holding back.

All this may sound a little ridiculous after listening to their comical 1992 debut 7", Brad, but those who have absorbed the greater end of the Hanson Brothers' discography know what I'm saying. If you're new to these blatant Canadians, I strongly suggest you drop a few dollars on Gross Misconduct, anywhere you can find it (and here's a place I have no affiliation with, honest. Since NoMeansNo/Hanson Brothers reposessed all their releases from Alternative Tentacles, it wasn't easy to find a site that sells the title). Until then, have a Ramones-dipped moment with Brad.

1. Brad
2. Hey, There Goes That Kid

SALVO RAIN

I've spent my life thus far on the Carolina coast, and when I started this blog, I wanted to dedicate it to the NC/SC (and sometimes VA) punk and hardcore sounds of the late 1980s through the mid '90s. Due to the fact that I've reduced myself to a limited resource of such wares (I curse myself for selling certain bits of vinyl), I wouldn't be able to support the format for very long, so instead the focus shifted to relatively or significantly hard to find tunes I happen to love. Besides, there are other figures from that era that are far better suited for the job than I.

But, like many, I have a lot of pride in the rock my region crafted. Sure, if you're thorough enough, you'll find an A1 run of bands from just about any part of the world (hey, that's the concept of this blog), but I do feel there was a moment in my spot of the world that really cooked. The heroes of my locale were Assfactor 4, Cornelius (later Captain Speky/Zuexeus), Eagle Bravo, Tonka, Unherd, Blownapart Bastards, and, if I can include them, Richmond, VA's Action Patrol.

And you can add Rock Hill, SC's Salvo Rain to that list. Between '93 and '97, they slid us two 7"s and a full length LP, which, to me, could be the the spokes-sound of the region and time period. The songs were well written and easily stand the test of time. Along with the first Assfactor 4 LP and the Cornelius 10", their 1996 LP is one that endured countless revolutions on my turntable.

Just recently I told their drummer, Greg, that I wanted to post some of their material here. Aftering throwing me the ok, he told me a label in Chicago had planned to release their discography, "but," as Greg said, "they realized they were out of their fucking minds and pulled out at the last minute." He added that there is still a lot of lost material from some cassette releases (there are existing copies but they've deteriorated with age to the point where they're not even considered). Regardless of what their potential Chicago label had to say, Salvo Rain was awesome, and so was the rate of their output. "We shat out 60-odd songs in three years and actually recorded 46 of them," Greg said.

Greg currently plays in a band called Cannons, who I highly suggest you look into if you're in a Pitchfork/Jehu phase.

After realizing how much I've typed here, and how detached most people are from text, I'd better can it and post something listenable. Here are a few songs from Salvo Rain's 1996 LP.

1. Drivethrough
2. Thanks But No Thanks
3. Fridge Magnet
4. What Do You Make Of?
5. Today's Kids
6. South Of Charlotte
7. Have A Nice Life
8. Halves
9. Taking Up Karate
10. New Black Eye
11. Keep The Receipt
12. No Vacancy

CHARLIE PICKETT and the EGGS

While coarse and uncultivated, native Floridian Charlie Pickett and his band, the Eggs, had an angle of action that appealed to rock fans of nearly any persuasion. I won't compete with Allmusic's appreciative blurb, so trust their take:

To this guitar-playing native of Dania, FL, punk rock meant old Rolling Stones and mid-'60s garage rock more than the Ramones and Sex Pistols, and that devotion to a hyped-up roots rock sound was what made Charlie Pickett such a fine performer.

Before changing their name to the MC3, Charlie Pickett and the Eggs released their debut LP, Live at the Button On Fort Lauderdale Beach (Open, 1982), showcasing a couple originals amongst a passel of cover tunes in the bluesy garage rock form. While I've heard better renditions of the Flamin' Groovies' "Shake Some Action," their go at "Slow Death" is one of my favorites, replete with slide guitar and rock club grit.

Pickett never could move his career to a national level, and so he was left with the tag of 'cult status.' His last recording in 1988, The Wilderness, sealed the deal, and he walked away from whatever piece of the pro music world he owned.

For what it's worth, and for me it's a lot, here's where he began, Live at the Button On Fort Lauderdale Beach:

SIDE ONE
1. American Travelust (Pickett, Galway)
2. Please Don't Touch (Heath, Robinson)
3. Feelin' (Heath, Robinson)
4. My Little Sister's Got A Motorbike (Grogan, Needs)
5. You're A Better Man Than I (Hugg, Hugg)
6. Watch Out (Green)
7. Shake Some Action (Jordan, Loney)

SIDE TWO
8. If This Is Love, Can I Get My Money Back (Markham)
9. Tallahasee Lassie (Slay, Crew, Picariello)
10. Lonesome Cowboy Bill (Reed)
11. Doreen (Pickett, Salton)
12. Slow Death (Jordan, Loney)
12. Phantom Train (Pickett, Harris)

UPDATE FOR ANYONE WITHIN REACH

I've done a lot of thinking regarding the concept of MP3 blogs, and while I'm somewhat of a rookie here, I've had a long internal argument regarding these posts. No, I'm not going to delete this blog, but rather streamline it. Hopefully this slight shift will better promote the music I love. Read on for what I've been pondering, and while I don't receive many comments (this blog is also less than a month old), I'd love some feedback on the issues I'll try to briefly express.

Some of the records I've been posting here, specifically the last one, are currently available for purchase from their respective labels. While I saw a slim chance at the present-day availability of the Jonestown 7", I felt a trickle of guilt posting the entire thing (albeit just two songs, and when I initially posted them, I was under the impression they were no longer available to buy). Sure, I doubt any member of Jonestown would ask for my head if they saw I was giving out their music, but their label might have something to say about it. Maybe not.

Either way, for the future, to try and please as many parties as I can, I will try and ONLY post out-of-print material, and if something is in print but perhaps hard to find, I will only post a portion of the release (i.e. I may only post one song from a 7" release, or a few defining songs from a full-length). You are then encouraged to consider purchasing the music if you enjoy it. The artist would appreciate that.

I realize this still may not be good enough for those in opposition (something I've yet to face) , but please understand that I do this because I love music and I will do what I can to promote the output of bands that aren't getting a wide spotlight. I doubt this blog will do much good either way, but hopefully we will all agree that it can't hurt to try.

This was written as a partial thought, as there are plenty of other factors to consider, but that would take forever to unfurl and I don't want to bore anyone! I don't want to spark a debate. I hate debates. I just want to communicate a tiny change that will take place from here on out, and I hope it doesn't cheapen this blog or discourage anyone from visiting. I promise to keep it interesting by bringing you bands you may otherwise have never met, pardon the presumption.

As a musician, I can earnestly say that I hope others with a similar passion would do what they feel is right in promoting an often invisible world of great sounds.

For your consideration, here's a micro list of a few great hit makers that need your support (sure, they're the 'big guys' but they're a place to start):

Sympathy For The Record Industry
Bomp Records
Dionysus Records
Crypt Records
Swami Records
Get Hip Recordings

Please keep visiting for great sounds and [what I hope is] worthwhile reading!!!

JONESTOWN

The catalogue of Sympathy For The Record Industry spans, at present, 781 releases. Since 1988, its owner and operator, Long Gone John, has governed a wonderland of garagey, fuzzy, musical dynamite blasts, and there doesn't seem to be any end in sight for the label's odyssey of rock'n'roll discovery.

There are plenty of major players in the upkeep of underground lo-fi rock (Hans Pakora, Greg Shaw [r.i.p.], Lee Joseph, et al) and not all of them have received due credit for their contributions. Exciting it is to see the creation of The Treasures of Long Gone John, a documentary about his life and vision. Since it was completed, the film has been touring film festivals across the globe to warm handshakes of acclaim. I've yet to see it, or a release date for commercial sale, but there's a lot of anticipation on my end. Go here for a preview and news updates on the film.

I own a modest stack from SFTRI's library of issues (even owning a few hundred, which I don't, would be a "modest stack"), and there are plenty of singles/full lengths/comps I have yet to hear. I'm sure a lot of you are in the same boat, so I thought I'd share one of my relatively early faves (release #89), Jonestown. The A-side should have some appeal to Creation Records fans, particularly of the Swervedriver persuasion. If it's one you're familiar with, I'll try better next time. If this one's new to your ears, then splendid. Recorded in 1990 and released in '91, here's their "Twenty Five Years" b/w "I Love You You Big Dummy" single. Yes, the B-side is a Captain Beefheart cover.

1. Twenty Five Years
2. I Love You You Big Dummy (Beefheart cover) (song removed...see post above)

MONSULA

Alongside heavies like Jawbreaker and Samiam, Monsula helped chisel the template for East Bay pop punk in the early '90s, and this EP on Lookout! Records (release #27 for the label) marks some of their earliest recorded material.

Thoughtful progressions and lyrics relative to mid-'80s D.C. punk/hardcore resulted in zine scribes holding Monsula in a higher regard than yet-to-break bands like Green Day or Mr. T Experience. They probably had more in common with the more melodic Dag Nasty, One Last Wish or Chicago's Naked Raygun. For those with the patience to squint and read, have a gander at this long interview with guitarist Chuck Goshert from some fanzine of the day, where he discusses such things. It also goes in just about every topical direction an interview can travel.

This Nickel E.P. is a bit poppier than their 1994 (but recorded in '92) LP, Sanitized, but for 1989, this was some relatively uncharted territory for the genre. It was recorded by Bay Area engineering deity Kevin Army over the transition days of the '80s into the '90s, which makes this taping a great and important marker for pop punk.

I guess the token 'trivia' bit for this post is that the vinyl labels are on the wrong sides, something I had to remember when digitizing these songs. Side B is side A, and vice versa.

Complete thanks to G. Murray Anderson for this one, as he's responsible for my having this 7" to post.

Get your daily quota of bass intros with the Nickel E.P., released in 1990 on Lookout Records.

1. Firecracker
2. Missing You
3. Razors
4. When Will It End?

TEN SECOND DYNASTY

Here's a psychedelic one for you to trail off with. It's also my first post about a band I have absolutely no information on other than their mailing address (at the time this 7" was released, anyway). Ten Second Dynasty was a band from Saline, MI who were undoubtedly influenced by Spiritualized's most savored moment in America circa 1996, around the time this 7" came out. The similarity to the early '90s British reverb gleam is strong. This single was a split with Ann Arbor's Miss Bliss, a band of similar direction but, judging solely by their side of the slab, far less memorable.

I bought this record in '96 or '97, as I, too, was floating on the Spiritualized/Spacemen 3 neo-psychedelia cloud by way of a few friends who wouldn't rest until I absorbed the J Spaceman (aka Jason Pierce) catalogue. I wanted to hear anything I could of similar properties, and I was lucky to find this single, released on Burnt Hair Records (and sorry for the blurry image. I could make a lame drug joke, but I'll abstain). The cover looked cheap but promising and the a-side tune was supernal. Ten Second Dynasty, while more or less unheard of, could deliver.

There are half a dozen inserts in this thing, mostly consisting of random druggie art, but one advertises a full length from them on Wintermute Records. If anyone has this, or has any info on how I can obtain it, I'd love a copy.

My apologies to the completists who demand the b-side, presented by Miss Bliss, but this post is dedicated to Ten Second Dynasty. Besides, as soulless as this may sound, Miss Bliss just can't stand up to them. Posting these songs back to back would emphasize that. I doubt I'll have any complaints, but if enough forks bang the table, I'll edit this post and throw the b-side on. As is, this one song is of pretty decent length. I think you'll enjoy it.

Ten Second Dynasty- Continuum

THE CREATURES OF THE GOLDEN DAWN

With photoshoots that look straight out of the mod '60s, The Creatures of the Golden Dawn wore the threads, played the beats and strolled in the strut of that era's sound, though their odyssey began in the mid '80s.

Garage revival and neo-psychedlia of this sort is everywhere, most of the boom having lifted off in the early 80s. This hit or miss revamping is what allowed Dionysus, Estrus, Crypt, Sympathy For the Record Industry and the row of others to build such an obese catalogue of great mop-hair fuzz rock. Many of these groups had maybe one or two 7" releases before disbanding, while others threw a couple full-lengths our way that never received due appreciation.

The COTGD managed to dazzle us with a few great albums, notably Standing at the Gates of Time, recorded in 1986 and available through the Collectables label. It's some cream o' the crop, catchy garage punk that has all the dive club, black turtle neck, Brian Jones hair imagery you long for.

Some points of interest? This band features John "JT" Terlesky, later known as Brother JT (whose 1996 solo debut, Music For the Other Head, on Siltbreeze Records, is an acid laced fantasy!). He was also in the alterna-garage gang Original Sins.

The COTGD sat on pause for over a decade, but earlier this year they pulled it back together and issued an album called 4, which you can buy through Get Hip Recordings. Get it!

This post brings you a recording from 1991, released as a 7" on Dionysus Records.

1. The Clown With The Broken Crown
2. I Don't Need Your Love
3. Living In Sara's Lies

CUTTING CREW, CHOPPED & SCREWED

While this blog primarily seduces its readers (all five or six of you) with glorious garage, punk, hardcore, what have you, I feel like I've had a good run of such posts, so consider this one a bit of fun; 'recess,' if you will; 'teeshirt day' for the even more daring. My friend Jason made me laugh to tears several years ago by playing Cutting Crew's sappy hit single,"(I Just) Died In Your Arms," at 33 rpm. What you get is an even more depressed, perhaps suicidal version of the tune that sounds like vocalist Nick Van Eede has had a bad night with slouchy emotions and a fifth of Wild Turkey. The cruel claws of regret have diced his will to carry on, and playing this 45 at 33 is really the best way to convey it. Pay attention to the gush of self-pity as he says "It must have been something you said."

Oh, and slowing the song down to 33 rpm makes it nearly twice as long (it's 4:41 at normal speed), so it's abridged, but you'll get the picture. Have a laugh and stay tuned for some more on-task posts in a day or two.

Cutting [Up] Crew-(I Just) Died Laughing

DAMPADING

Florida really had a moment there in the mid '90s. For some kids, the Sunshine State was the epicenter of the blurily defined hardcore, emo and punk genres. The striplings just wouldn't shut up about bands like Moonraker, Don Martin 3, I Hate Myself, Tomorrow, Assuck, Asshole Parade or whatever hot cakes the No Idea label was serving up on marbled vinyl. But like I always say, the best go unnoticed, and Jacksonville's relatively unheard of Dampading had some pretty advanced chops for 1995.

Sure, the pioneering sounds of Drive Like Jehu, Sonic Youth and Polvo had already been digested for years at this point (exponentially in the case of Sonic Youth), but Dampading's similar character felt new to me at the time (though I was only sixteen or so when I bought this. I was still in my learning stages. Perhaps it was the Flordia context that made it feel fresh). While Hot Water Music's probably-a-Crate-amp guitar tones fizzled into a stew of surfers, frat boys and tough guys, and a hundred other bands seemed in a contest for dongish, brutal heaviness, Dampading were hitting 'record' on a four-track machine to capture some thoughtful tunes that recall early '90s San Diego and noisy Chapel Hill textures. To keep comparisons simple, these guys were a more psychedelic version of Jehu.

From what I know, this is the only release from Dampading, issued by Drazzig Records (presumably the band's own label) and while the recording is pretty rough, the songs stand the test of time as the fatter end of Florida's mid '90s roster sounds dated to today's ear.

Not knowing any more factoids on them, I Googled the name. I didn't find much else than this:

Dampading was a fleeting noisy DIY rock band from Jacksonville, Florida, perhaps America's only very large city with almost no musical legacy. I mean, even San Jose had all those powerviolence bands in the 90's! Dampading is the only band I ever heard from Jacksonville, but they were a good one. This B-side sprawls out with psychedelic guitar splatter and excessively reverbed vocals, and then recoils into a tight catchy riff that really packs punch. Unfortunately, I learned that earlier this year, a member of the band died, and the story is linked under the band's name above.

The link mentioned in that bit has since expired...I'd really like to know what the story is on the death if anyone can clue me in.

Take into account that this is just a four-track recording, cheaply pressed on thin vinyl that has done a bit of aging, but what's here is some smart stuff. Oh, and I'm not exactly sure what the song titles are, but Laser Tattoo Machine Lobm Corndigga Annointing XRay is strung together on the back as if a single sentence. If these are the song titles, I don't know where the breaks are, so I'll just list them below in numbers.

Dampading 7" 01
Dampading 7" 02
Dampading 7" 03
Dampading 7" 04

UPDATE 8/12/06 View the comments of this post for the particulars, but Dampading has just recently created a Myspace page to memorialize their fallen brother and to keep their name going. Check them out.

NO MEANS NO

Canucks No Means No/Nomeansno are one of my faves in the department of invention. While typically lumped into the "jazz-punk/art-punk" bin, they can easily be acclaimed for far more than just sliding under the crown of some silly music category. The talent, the songwriting, and pretty much everything all the way down to their amplifier tones is throne worthy. Rob Wright pounds out one of the gutsiest, most notable bass sounds I've ever heard.

The band is made up, primarily, of brothers Rob and John Wright, who handle most, if not all, duties in songwriting and studio recording, contracting other, trusted musicians (mainly Tom Holliston and Andrew Kerr) for their live shows.

If one wants to get technical, No Means No aren't entirely original, so don't take my use of "invention" the wrong way, but their unique face and surging delivery really do push their sound to a place all their own. It'd be an undertaking to find songs more tightly executed than those found in the catalogue of No Means No.

Here's their out-of-print, 1985 12" EP, You Kill Me. Keep that year in mind when you listen to these songs, as it's some pretty engaging stuff for the time. And yes, other mp3 blogs have posted this before, but I've only seen it in the Sex Mad/You Kill Me format (also out of print, I believe) where the production has been cleaned up a bit. This is the essential, raw dish, and I love how it sounds. And dig this version of "Manic Depression"; it's great.

One funny little note: I picked this up from a radio station sale a few years ago, and a staff member wrote on the cover, "Is this 45 or 33 rpm? How do we know?"

1. Bodybag
2. Stop It
3. Some Bodies
4. Manic Depression
5. Paradise

DMZ

Far from obscure, DMZ seared late '70s Boston with Kinks-catchy garage rock loaded down with smiley hooks and glamorous kinetics. Allmusic's brief, patchy yarn on this band seemed adequate enough, and everyone else seems to use it, so:

Before Jeff "Monoman" Connelly formed Boston's seminal garage rock terrorists the Lyres, he was in a late-'70s prototype known as DMZ. With the exception of a few musicians, DMZ and the Lyres were essentially same-sounding bands; DMZ just played with a little more speed and punk verve. Oddly enough, during the late-'70s signing frenzy of any band even remotely associated with the punk scenes in Boston and New York City, DMZ got a shot with Sire Records. The label, exhibiting near-total artistic myopia, teamed the band up with goofball has-beens Flo and Eddie as producers. While the resulting record was panned, it's far from a disaster, due mainly to DMZ's ferocity and trashy ebullience. Fans of mid-'60s rock such as the Seeds, ? and the Mysterians, and the Kinks, and who have an unending jones for speedy trash-rock and whiny Farfisa organs, will love DMZ.

To clarify a few things, producers Flo and Eddie have such gulping resume bullets as the Strawberry Shortcake and Carebears original musics, so one can imagine the associative damage done to DMZ's 1978 debut record. It was Sire's poor matchmaking skills that paired them up with the band. But despite the glassy, misrepresenting finish, they still managed to toss one hell of a rock record to admiring fans. It's great. In 1981, a collection of DMZ recordings called Relics hit the market on Bomp's Voxx imprint. There were a few other odds and ends on the market, like Live! '78! (Crypt, 1986) and some good collections of demos and rarites.

Today's update is one such offering, Live at the Rat '76, Volume 2, released on Chunk Records in 1995. You can get the complete live show with some extras from Bomp Records. If you like what you hear, please make the purchase. It's well worth it!

1. Ball Me Out (Live '76)
2. Lift Up Your Hood (Live '76)