SLUDGEWORTH

When I was still working my first job bagging groceries and declaring aloud that I'd "rather be at band practice" (haha) this is the kind of music that was streaming through my mind, charging me up. Sure, I liked a fat cornucopia of genres, but for a simple pop punk band to shine through exceptionally--well, that meant something. Sludgeworth "had it." They knew how to do it.

And they were way ahead of their time. Here's their story, paraphrased from Ben Weasel's blurb about the band:

Sludgeworth formed in 1989 when Dan Schafer (aka Danny Vapid) and Brian Vermin, both of the then-defunct Screeching Weasel, still felt compelled to scratch the creative itch. They grabbed friends Adam White, Dave McClean and Mike Hootenstrat and made it happen. Between '89 and '92 they recorded their wares (a four-song EP, the What's This? LP, and the final Brightside 7"), did one tour, and conquered their city before major creative differences forced their break-up. While their success was massive in Chicago, they couldn't make a dent anywhere else. That is, until their then-futuristic sound caught on years later and the critics conveniently praised their name.

But everything was out of print. Used copies were scarce and pricey. In 1995, Lookout Records responded to the call and clued us all in (including me, I'll admit it) with Losers of the Year: Selected Tracks 1989-1992. As Ben Weasel says in the liner notes, "[The album] truly represents the best of Sludgeworth's output."

Their sound is easy to describe these days, but back then there was much less of a frame of reference for a band so unprecedented. There's a little Jawbreaker, definitely some Naked Raygun, an understandable smidgen of Screeching Weasel and others, but they're still Sludgeworth, and they're better than their potentially damning comparisons. I think so, anyway.

For some reason, Losers of the Year has also gone out of print, and copies are once again going for top dollar. Right now on Amazon, used copies are starting at $40.00 USD. I've seen it go for $75.00.

To make it a little easier for the uninitiated, here's a small zip file with a few of my favorite Sludgeworth jams, and keep in mind the era it all went down. Track down Losers of the Year if you can.

"You can bemoan the fact you weren't around to see 'em," Weasel continues in his notes. "Sludgeworth remains another good one that got away. Ain't that the way it always goes..."

THE HARD-ONS

The other day at work I was jamming out to the Hard-Ons; more specifically their Decade of Rock double-disc collection on Waterfront Records. In the midst of the catchy "Just Being With You," a stranger in a tie approached me with an inquiry regarding the music playing overhead. Not one to trade dick jokes with a potential offendee, I handed him the CD box in cowardly fashion.

He chuckled at the moniker. "Do you carry this?" he asked.

"No," I was ashamed to admit. "This is an import that'll be tough to track down, but you can get a lot of these songs on their other discs. They have a best-of if you'd like me to order that for ya. Or actual albums. Whichever."

"Yeah," he declared. "This is great. I really like it."

I had to inform him that while the Hard-Ons, out of Sydney, Australia, had a knack for writing the sweet, infectious pop-punk playing overhead, he may or may not like their more direct, snotty punk that is more in line with the band's name.

"What, like Angry Samoans or something?" he asked.

I put his order through.

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I saw the Hard-Ons a little while back, opening for the Queers. They were great. Top form. A few strands of gray here and there, but tight as heck. Their insanely fuzzy texture called on more Dinosaur Jr comparisons than overt, middle-finger punk (which I think my buddy Raf actually vocalized). In fact, most of the sceney 'mall punks' in attendance didn't seem to connect with them at all. Which pissed my drunk ass off. But whatever.

So here I am again with the Hard-Ons in my ear, loving it completely. Australia has always had honor-role status in punk/rock production, but this band...dang. They're really working for me right now.

Here's their official web locale.

There's so damn much bio material to unfurl on this band, so to keep things practical, here's some good historical catch-up for you if you need.

Here's a little zip of a few Hard-Ons faves. I don't want to spoil their available catalogue for the unfamiliar, so this is just a small introduction for consideration. But I guess it'd be kinda tough to spoil them anyway, and I'll cite this as evidence.

They released Most People are a Waste of Time last year (on a few different labels, depending on your coordinates), so after absorbing some of their back catalogue, pick it up.

That's all.

That's NOT all: In an earlier version of this post, the zip file of Hard-Ons songs was a total mess. The table of contents on the CD these songs came from was erroneous, so a couple of the titles were off. I didn't notice this until the shit was already uploaded to Sendspace. I've fixed everything and reuploaded the zip file. Sorry to anyone who got the bum version. Get the fixed one! It'll be worth it!

That's all.

CIRCLE ONE

Strewn across the used bins of the Carolinas is this split between Circle One and Third World Thieves. Now don't confuse this Circle One with the however-many others there are/were in this world. This one was from Wilmington, NC, as was Third World Thieves.

Since I gave most of my concentration to the Circle One side in those days, that's what this post will concern. Just the A-side.

It came out in 1995 and would years later leave a legacy of "uuuhh" with the aging punks of the community. Was it local backlash? Was it the poor recording? Was it the fact that the drummer would go on to be one of the two permanent figures in Milemarker?

Who cares. I think these songs are catchy, and the homespun sound is right up my alley.

Here's a zip of their three songs.

Title: (split w/ Third World Thieves)
Label: (none)
Year: 1995
Tracks:
Soldiers
The Last Goodbye
My Boy At Last

BURN

I don't think I need to preface these songs with biographical info on Burn (the curious can click here for input). They were a well-known hardcore band from New York, and ummm--yeah.

I grabbed the Live at CBGBs bootleg 7" from circulation in the early '90s, and I felt all cool and special to have it in my collection. Does the feeling hold up? Well, I still dig the songs and I've heard worse for bootleg recordings, so--sure, but it's nothing to do a difficult triple aerial pike over. I just figured some of you may have an interest in it.

Enjoy.

Here's a zip of the 7".

Title: Live at CBGBs
Label: (none)
Year: (Recorded in 1990)
Tracks:
The Pain is Here (Listed as "Song One")
You Can't Stop Me (Listed as "Song Two"
Decay

FOURTEEN

This Cincinnati trio dished out some of the '90s most memorable pop-punk songs, and I can't believe what little information the WWW has to offer on them.

Sadly, I, too, have little to contribute in that regard. I've emailed all the likely sources around (including one of Fourteen's bassists) and gotten zilch in return. Plus, just imagine doing an Internet search on such a band name. The results are a mess. And please note that this AIN'T the crappy Cali band of the same moniker. More confusion!

I found out about Fourteen in 1994 through a friend's 'exclusive' recommendation (like, this band was our little secret that the teenyboppers at school should never know about). Before class one morning, he passed me a cold cassette dub of their demo--no biasing liner notes, no nothing. Just the music. That night as I listened on my cheap tape deck, I honestly remember thinking this was the coolest sounding shit I'd ever heard. Yeah, it's pop punk, but it was--well, it was different.

This wasn't the verse-chorus-verse-chorus-end stuff. Their songwriting map was much more winding, not to mention the sonics that are rather full for a three-piece band. The guitar tones were pretty damn snarly. And the vocals! Singer/guitarist Eric had a really unique tone that fit the music well, and the harmonies were unflawed. I got a kick out of every damn song, even the confusingly tough and out-of-place metal instrumental (it wasn't a novelty track). With no need for repeat study, Fourteen was deemed "fucking good."

I wore the demo to the bone. Seriously. Metaphorically. More on that in a minute.

The following year I chanced upon two of their 7"s at the local record store, and didn't think twice before buying them. The first of the two (pictured up top) was from 1994, which featured two re-recorded songs from the demo and a b-side rocker that was new to me. The second 7", perhaps recorded a little later, was a touch different. While the guitars were still screaming with well-governed gain, the pace was much slower. I can see the zine creeps of the day calling it "thoughtful and introspective" if that helps your imagination. I loved it all the same, but the true "Fourteen sound" stayed with the demo and the first 7" (assuming it was the first).

Regarding the demo, I lost my copy as my music collection fattened. Plus I didn't maintain the cleanest of bedrooms. All I know is that when I moved, every cassette was heedlessly dumped in random cardboard boxes, which were then stacked in storage.

Fast-forward to a couple days ago: I found it.

With the chill of excitement and a slight erection, I stuffed it in my [now-higher quality] tape deck and hit play. Unfortunately, the years had been fairly cruel to the quality (not to mention my own negligence), and I was reminded that the audio only sounded from the left channel in the first place. The right channel was nothing but intolerable hiss.

This being the digital age, I did what I could to revive the songs. The music now comes out of both speakers and the quality is dramatically improved from the offerings of the physical tape (though it wasn't great to begin with, so we'll have to deal with that).

And so after all that bloggy blabber, here are couple faves of decreased hiss from Fourteen's demo and all of their [supposed] first 7".

If ANYONE can get me a bonafide, clean copy of the Fourteen demo in any format, I would be forever indebted. I'd even shine your shoes if I could.

And if anyone can provide some bio notes on the band, or a track listing for the demo, hey, I'll love ya too.

Here's a zip file with the tracks.

From the restored [1993?] demo:
Song One
Song Three
From the 1994 7":
Simply
This Picture
How To Use A Blanket

CORRECTION: In an earlier incarnation of this post, I mistakenly reported the 7" to be from 1995. It was, in fact, from 1994.

ASSFACTOR 4 / RIGHTS RESERVED split

Refer to my older Assfactor 4 post or their Wikipedia page for the info you need, should you need it at all. In brief, AF4 was from Cola, SC, and easily one of my top three fave hardcore bands ever.

Onto the flipside.

Rights Reserved were from Durham, NC and in the same league as Eagle Bravo, Salvo Rain, Resol and Cornelius. They kicked off in the late '80s as a quick-paced hardcore band, but grabbed a sound more their own in the early '90s. In that time they recorded this split with AF4 and released a couple other EPs before the Assorted Porkchops label issued their great full-length LP in 1996. I can see fans of a selected Hot Snakes catalogue taking a real shine to it.

While this split doesn't capture the final product of the band's evolution as found on the LP, these two jams from '93 are high up by any measure. Love the bass sound too.

Some Rights Reserved personnel shared time in Eagle Bravo (another classic NC fave), some went on to form Manamid, and one is currently spitting rhymes in Kerbloki.

As for the AF4 songs, the recording predates the unparalleled magic kicked up by Sometimes I Suck and everything to follow, but I don't think that band ever had a bad moment. Man, what a band. In concluuuusion, this is just an all-'round fantastic 7".

Here's a zip of the split.

Title: Assfactor 4/Rights Reserved (split 7")
Label: Fallen Squirrel
Year: 1993
Tracks:
Rights Reserved
Hey Dad
Persimmon
Assfactor 4
Why I Walk
Dail Dinwiddie Has A Posse

Oh, and since the two AF4 songs flow together without a break, it's a single mp3.

ONE EYED GOD PROPHECY

I've heard some very polar commentary on this LP over the years. For me, One Eyed God Prophecy became a measure for other moody hardcore bands to follow (though very few knew to). They had a volcanic complexion, the eerie vibe of which couldn't be topped by any of their contemporaries.

But ya know, I guess whether or not it was "topped" really isn't what's significant about this recording. I think unmatched is a word more to the point.

Much of the negative criticism revolves around the production of this 1995 LP, but I can't find a damn thing to complain about. Yes, it's a little murky and the vocals are hard to discern, but that does all the more to give it a mysterious, distant quality that raises its potency. It's dark, cold and perfect for a long car ride at night when you're all by yourself. In fact, I recommend you try that.

My first spin through this LP was thrilling. The opening track pitched an enticing case for the songs to follow, but things only got better as they progressed. By the third track, I made an accurate prediction that this record was a future hall-of-famer. And it still got better.

It's a band like this that sticks. One Eyed God Prophecy had less of a talent for instrumentation and more of a knack for effective songwriting, which is undeniably more important. Portraits of Past was another hardcore group of such rare, inadvertent perfection, and as it happens, they too were a slow sale in their day (which also happened to be 1995).

A fan-made discography of One Eyed God Prophecy was released in 2001, but it was of very limited issue. It's now totally unavailable to the unlucky.

Here's my [very] limited digi-reissue of a must-be-heard hardcore LP. It really cooks.

Here's a zip of the LP.

Title: s/t
Label: Great American Steak Religion
Year: 1995
Tracks:
Toddler
(Interlude)
Wilf
Karysun
End of the Story
Fields of Seperate Realities
Individual Gallery

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Paying some respects:
I'd like to bid a fond adieu to Post Punk Junk. It's tragic Bret had to pull the plug on such a wonderful, informative and smartly delivered site, but I understand his decision and respect his future endeavors (he said to remember the name "Egg City"). PPJ was one of the three biggest influences on me here and as syrup-y as it may be, I'm going to leave its link on the blogroll. Thanks, Bret, for a ton of interesting shit. Loved it.

Not that UBF is some worldclass forum or anything, but everyone feel free to post PPJ-related comments in this post. For example, one might write: "Man, Post Punk Junk was so much better than Used Bin Forever. I mean it!" I mean it too.

OX

I picked up Ox's About Time and Farm Cats and Ernie EPs several years ago after recognizing the Chumpire label name. Plus I think somebody once told me, "If you like Moonraker and stuff like that, Ox is better." I could've dreamed that, but either way, it's a take I can't disagree with.

Both EPs were great spins, but Farm Cats and Ernie was the one that stuck to the wall. The songs have a smoother focus and the recording quality is much more agreeable (but still completely raw and homespun).

Greg, the peddler of the darn prolific Chumpire zine and label of Orefield, PA, was in this band. Ox released at least three EPs between '93 and '94, and reassembled as Ding when '95 rolled around. And with that, my information sputters out.

Oh yeah, an "autographed" Yo! MTV Raps! trading card was also included with the insert. Thoughtful.

For fans of Moonraker, Unherd and perhaps a mash of some Donut Friends type stuff, here's a zip of the Farm Cats and Ernie EP.

Title: Farm Cats and Ernie
Label: Chumpire
Year: 1994
Tracks:
120
Theme
Go Team Go
Bad Weather