ampnoise

Mudhoney eating its heart out

2010-02-25T22:52:00.000-05:00

U-Men -- Solid Action b/w Dig It A Hole

Original 1987 US release on Black Label (Seattle WA) (catalog # UM 4012), in Picture Sleeve, with lyric insert.

Killer noise-punk from U-Men on their own Black Label. Halo Of Flies' Tom Hazelmeyer played guitar on their 1988 Black Label LP, don't know if he's on here but this GRRREAT single kicks as heavy as anything on AmRep.

U-Men -- Dig It A Hole

eBay status: item #170451572622
ENDS Mar 02, 2010 17:45:01 PST

Not Samsonite

2010-02-25T22:47:00.000-05:00

Arcweld -- Trunkload of Satanized Luggage

Original 1989? US release on Tiger Epoxy Records (Corvallis OR) (catalog # TE 001), in Picture Sleeve, with insert, innersleeve punched #523/666.

Dark and disturbing heavy noise-punk from Oregon... lowers the whole AmRep and Sub Pop ethos down several rungs into dank subterranean underground.

Arcweld -- Trunkload of Satanized Luggage
Arcweld -- Homeboy's Crack

eBay status: item #350319579742
BUY IT NOW

You Make It So Hard On Me

2010-02-25T22:46:00.000-05:00

Protagonists -- Hard On Me (You Make It So)

Just an incredible 1985 US DIY KBD punk single from the Midwest (Naperville IL) that's criminally unknown today. It doesn't appear to be comped anywhere, and aside from it being played once on WFMU there's not much at all online about this record or this band.

This one is a keeper. Catchy as hell but hard-edged, with a nice raw guitar sound, nasal vocals, and great shouted choruses. A rough Midwest punk sound, but really this single sounds more like classic Aussie KBD punk like Fun Things, Leftovers, Psycho Surgeons, News, Babeez, etc.

Protagonists -- Hard On Me (You Make It So)

eBay status: item #350320526911
ENDS Mar 01, 2010 17:32:32 PST

Produkt Der Deutsch-Amerikanischen Freundschaft

2010-02-25T22:45:00.000-05:00

Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft -- Produkt Der Deutsch-Amerikanischen Freundschaft LP

Original 1979 German release on Ata Tak/Warning Records (GERMANY) (catalog # WR 001).

A stunning LP of experimental post-punk and deconstructed Krautrock cum NDW from DAF. This album sounds nothing at all like DAF's later electronic music... it's an all-out heavy guitar/bass/drums attack, VERY heavy noise-psych-punk with improvised jams cut up into some intense shards... the closest sounding band to this LP is Chrome circa Half Machine Lip Moves or Alien Soundtracks... or imagine Guru Guru, Amon Duul, Can, or Neu jamming with Abwarts or S.Y.P.H.

Aufgenommen von Februar bis April 1979 allein. Catalog number NR. 00001 on edge, WR 001 on label, c/o Art Attack on back sleeve, A Warning Record Production on back sleeve, Warning Records on label. Yellow label, glossy cover.

Scarce LP, some sources give pressing edition of 500 copies.

Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft - Untitled track from side 2

eBay status: item #350319393498
ENDS Mar 01, 2010 16:35:32 PST

Give Me What I Want!

2010-02-25T22:42:00.000-05:00

Blackouts -- Exchange Of Goods

Original 1981 UK release on Situation 2 (UK) (catalog # SIT 14), in Picture Sleeve.

Post-punk band who formed in Seattle in 1979, moved to Boston in 1982 and then to SF in 1984. Three of these guys joined Ministry.

Blackouts -- Exchange Of Goods

eBay status: item #170449077289
BUY IT NOW

wipe nose scribble, barefeet, post office

2010-02-25T21:58:00.002-05:00

George Willard EP

Original 1991 release on Nut Music (Herndon VA) (catalog # NONE, matrix # U-31552M, translucent vinyl), in handmade Picture Sleeve, with insert with photos, recording notes and long rambling stream-of-consciousness essay, plus a color photo snapshot dated Aug 87.

Scarce homemade DIY lo-fi bedroom psych from Nut jobber George Willard. The term "Industrial Folk" was coined by George Willard of Nut Music to describe his own work; a combination of 'folk' stylings (acoustic instruments and song structures) and 'industrial' touches (noise, static, etc). Comparable to lo-fi home-taping music by Lou Barlow's Sentridoh, Shrimper, Bill Smog, Paste, Will Simmons, etc.

George Willard -- Overwhelmed

eBay status: item #350320842902
ENDS Mar 02, 2010 12:49:11 PST

Wipe away the sweat of responsibility on your brown shirt sleeves

2010-02-02T00:45:00.001-05:00

The Very Things -- The Gong Man b/w The Colours (Are Speaking To Me)

Original 1983 UK release on Corpus Christi Records (UK) (catalog # Christ It's 2), with fold-out multi-color Picture Sleeve.

Amazing UK post-punk single with a noisy hard-psych feel, debut release for this ex-Cravats band... Brit psych-punk akin maybe to The Afflicted Man. Check out the way "The Colours (Are Speaking To Me)" devolves into total psych-punk insanity.

The Very Things -- The Colours (Are Speaking To Me)

eBay status: item #350311381835
ENDS Feb 02, 2010 14:16:47 PST

The siege goes on heavily/But with uncertainty

2010-02-02T00:37:00.001-05:00

Visitors -- Empty Rooms

Original 1980 UK release on Departure Music (UK) (catalog # rapture one, "A PORKY PRIME CUT, RAP 001").

Fantastic Scottish DIY post-punk from this obscure Dundee band, recorded in 1979. Very memorable songs with a dark edge, great scratchy/shambling guitar, strong basslines, icy keyboards and angst-ridden vocals. Listen to the first two tracks below, "Visitors" is more of a minimal synth track.

Visitors -- Empty Rooms
Visitors -- The Orcadian

eBay status: item #170439711134
ENDS Feb 02, 2010 13:04:08 PST

Discerning the infant and the atom bomb/Restrain the animal and the automaton

2010-02-02T00:28:00.001-05:00

Mike Swinchoski & Synthesis -- The Torch Is Passed LP

Original 1989 stereo private pressing on Swinco Records (Jamaica Plain MA) (catalog # SW0001).

Scarce private AOR rock LP from Boston composer/singer/bassist Mike Swinchoski and band. Privately released, and there are no copies of this record available anywhere now (except here!) Some real nice AOR rock tunes with prog flourishes. "Thin Line" is more hard rock with a really novel experimental wall-of-noise microtonal guitar sound, a sort of No-Wave Night Ranger... imagine Glenn Branca recording with Styx or Lee Ranaldo and Thurston Moore jamming with Whitesnake... hear for yourself.

Mike Swinchoski And Synthesis -- Thin Line

eBay status: item #350312443896
ENDS Feb 09, 2010 11:03:07 PST

Ragged But Right...

2010-01-03T21:35:00.000-05:00

The Wheatones of 1962 -- Ragged But Right LP

Original 1962 private pressing on no label (catalog # F-W-1).

Wheaton College girls singing group, all female vocals with folk guitar on some songs. Features "Green Leaves of Summer", "River Nile", "Gospel Train", "Adam and Eve", "Mood Indigo", "Quitcha", "Blues Medley", "Lover Man", etc.

Remarkably though are two stand-out tracks which are stunning solo pieces credited to Judith Sapadin (she sings solo, plays guitar and arranged the pieces.) She performs an incredible raw version of the vintage blues song "Black Girl", also known as "In the Pines" and "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" Nirvana made this song famous in 1993, and Kurt Cobain attributed authorship to Lead Belly, who had recorded the song several times, beginning in 1944, but the version performed by Leadbelly and covered by Nirvana does not differ substantially from other variants of the song. This song has been recorded or notably performed by the likes of (according to wikipedia):

    * Peg Leg Howell    * Bill Monroe    * Lead Belly    * Nathan Abshire    * Pete Seeger    * The Louvin Brothers
    * The Kossoy Sisters    * Bob Dylan    * The New Christy Minstrels    * Joan Baez    * Doc Watson    * Roscoe Holcomb
    * Jackson C. Frank    * Clifford Jordan    * The Four Pennies    * The Pleazers    * Grateful Dead    * John Phillips
    * Long John Baldry    * Dave Van Ronk    * Link Wray    * The Osborne Brothers    * Gene Clark    * Charlie Feathers
    * Blood on the Saddle    * Mark Lanegan    * Nirvana    * Dolly Parton    * Odetta    * R. Crumb
    * Ralph Stanley & Jimmy Martin    * Bill Smog    * Josh White

The other Judy Sapadin song on this album is a very interesting and unconventional arrangement of "They Call the Wind Mariah" (here just called "Mariah") from Paint Your Wagon, again with guitar, this time with rather haunting group back-up vocals.

FYI Judith Sapadin was a college sophomore when she recorded these songs, and it appears that she is the girl standing in the center of the cover photo, with one knee raised, wearing the rather strangely cut-off shorts.

The Wheatones of 1962 -- Black Girl

eBay status: item #350299749858
ENDS Jan 07, 2010 16:18:32 PST

Dressed To Kill

2009-12-28T17:32:00.001-05:00

Empty Rituals -- Dressed To Kill 7"

Original 1983 US release on Mental Assault Records (Chelsea MA) (catalog # MAR 002).

Scarce DIY punk 45 from Boston band Empty Rituals, a sort of art-punk/post-punk record made in reaction to the hardcore scene in early 80's Boston, so an anti-hardcore punk record! And a pretty great one. As goodbadmusic.com sez in a blog post well worth reading, "A band from MA, recording at Radiobeat, being engineered by Jimmy Dufour – and with a strong anti-Hardcore sentiment, this is a real punk record. Musically, we have a very nice blend of Jello Biafra-type vocals backed-up with a solid post-punk beat, filled up with some atmospheric guitar work. When this kind of music is well done, it gets a really hypnotic drive as it is the case here."

Empty Rituals -- Dressed To Kill

eBay status: item #170425226227
ENDS Jan 04, 2010 09:18:22 PST

Can you spot a double meaning?

2009-12-28T17:08:00.001-05:00

Take It -- Twenty Lines 7"

Original 1980 UK release on Fresh Hold Releases (UK) (catalog # FHR 1), with huge fold-out poster Picture Sleeve, lyric insert.

Amazing and obscure UK DIY post-punk single, "Armchairs" is comped on hyped2death's Messthetics #101 but all three songs on here are equally amazing.

Chuck of h2d says: "After Blue Screaming/Collective Horizontal, Igor and Simon next reinvented themselves as Take It, whose spectacularly noisy debut is simultaneously as catchy and as extreme as anything in H2D's collection, with just the two of them hammering away at distorted keyboards and guitars or bass (although honorary third-member credit should be given to Cy Real [??] who'd [de]constructed their instruments). After Simon left music to pursue dance and theatre, Igor borrowed two of the 49 Americans and opted not to play keyboards at all on "Armchairs" from their second single. Then Take It's final iteration dazzled/bewildered nearly everyone by adopting a small-band swing jazz sound (with ex-Jelly Baby and latter-day alt-country star Alan Tyler on vocals [Alan Tyler and the Lost Sons of Littlefield], Paul Platypus, and drummer Dave Morgan [Casual Labourers, 12CF, The Loft, Weather Prophets, Primal Scream, Sun Dial, etc.]). "

Take It -- Twenty Lines

eBay status: item #350298500917
ENDS Jan 04, 2010 09:19:04 PST

what's your price?

2009-12-28T17:04:00.003-05:00

Spizzenergi -- Soldier Soldier 7"

Original 1994 US release on Park Royal Mfg. Co. Records (catalog # PR 358), in handmade ink-stamped envelope Picture Sleeve, with second Picture Sleeve (w/ UFO), ink-stamped innersleeve.

Very early Rough Trade gem. "Soldier Soldier" is a classic post-punk anti-war anthem as you can hear below. "Virginia Plain" is a Roxy Music cover. Neither song ever appeared on a regularly released album. They had been around since 1978 and were known at various times as Spizzoil, Spizzenergi, Athletico Spizz 80, The Spizzles and Spizzenergi 2.

Spizzenergi -- SoldierSoldier

eBay status: item #350309814156
ENDS Feb 02, 2010 10:06:13 PST

The internet in 1994 according to Palentine

2009-12-28T16:50:00.000-05:00

Palentine -- File .004 EP

Original 1994 US release on Park Royal Mfg. Co. Records (catalog # PR 358), in handmade ink-stamped envelope Picture Sleeve, with second Picture Sleeve (w/ UFO), ink-stamped innersleeve.

Pretty much unknown experimental punk/emo EP. Some solid HC/emo/screamo on here plus some wildly experimental free-form stuff. Men's Recovery Project or Universal Order Of Armageddon are reference points.

Palentine -- Internet

eBay status: item #350293311006

Cotton are high

2009-12-28T16:46:00.002-05:00

Cotton -- Cotton LP

Akasha Records, 1980. Obscure local Tulsa private pressing of nice and mellow rural folk-rock, with a pleasing country touch and even some lush pop-psych flourishes. Some really sparse, beautiful acoustic songs (like "Bittersweet" below) crossed with some more AOR pop moves. Recorded in Missouri, mixed in Tusla, Oklahoma and pressed in Texas. Not much info anywhere to be found about these real-people guys.

Cotton -- Bittersweet
Cotton -- Song From High Mountain

eBay status: item #170424474810
ENDS Jan 05, 2010 10:42:34 PST

when there's nothing left to do, you must do the residue!

2009-11-29T20:08:00.002-05:00

Kontakt Mikrofoon Orkest -- Do The Residue

Absolutely brilliant single from Kontakt Mikrofoon Orkest aka KMO aka K.M.O. aka Geoff Leigh of Henry Cow along with Black Sheep/Red Balune folks. Both songs are equally strong DIY RIO art-punk genius... one of the holy-grail records of the genre imho... equal parts Pere Ubu and The Homosexuals.

The MCCB catalog describes this release thusly: "Rock music from the streets & Disco fiction, on one record. Here's where we really start to talk with you. Do you wanna live in Rotterdam or any other city? If you think so, we suggest that you just do the residue, because that's the only thing left to do."

Kontakt Mikrofoon Orkest -- Do The Residue

eBay status: item #350284067085
ENDS Dec 01, 2009 13:52:34 PST

Whose side are you on?

2009-11-29T20:05:00.000-05:00

Red Balune -- Capitalist Kid

Genius post-punk RIO from Geoff Leigh (Henry Cow, Kontakt Mikrofoon Orkest) and crew. The MCCB catalog says of this release, "It's absolutely a classic record. A wild excursion into the non-used parts or your brain. Acid punk in its most original form. ['78]"
Red Balune -- Capitalist Kid

eBay status: item #350284062122
ENDS Dec 01, 2009 13:40:51 PST

You Make It So Hard On Me

2009-11-29T20:00:00.000-05:00

Protagonists -- Hard On Me (You Make It So)

Just an incredible US DIY KBD punk single from the Midwest (Naperville IL) that's criminally unknown today. It doesn't appear to be comped anywhere, and aside from it being played once on WFMU there's not much at all online about this record or this band.

Protagonists -- Hard On Me (You Make It So)

eBay status: item #350283946324
ENDS Dec 01, 2009 09:56:57 PST

he can't talk to earlobes

2009-11-29T19:59:00.001-05:00

pragVEC -- Expert b/w The Follower

Amazing and unheralded post-punk single from 1979, with some brash female-vox DIY punk tracks in the same vein as Essential Logic, X-Ray Spex, Kleenex, early Slits, Androids Of Mu... check out the insane WASP synth at the end of "The Follower" (Jim Thirwell aka Clint Ruin aka Foetus played WASP in pragVEC on the LP but it appears Susan Gogan is playing it here.)
pragVEC -- The Follower

eBay status: item #350284048471
ENDS Dec 01, 2009 13:08:15 PST

slaughter is the password

2009-11-29T19:55:00.000-05:00

pragVEC -- Bits EP

Amazing and unheralded post-punk EP from 1978, with some brash female-vox DIY punk tracks in the same vein as Essential Logic, X-Ray Spex, Kleenex, early Slits, Androids Of Mu... plus some much more experimental post-punk which really works well.
pragVEC -- Wolf

eBay status: item #170411504184
ENDS Dec 01, 2009 13:02:39 PST

Move my way

2009-11-29T19:18:00.001-05:00

Schlaflose Nächte -- Flüstern b/w Move

Dutch/German no-wave funk band (ex SUSPECT) with female vocals... Armageddon UK release from 1981. "Move" has a real nice sensual funk feel, turgid yet urgent, A LOT like early Bush Tetras, or 99 Records mates ESG, Liquid Liquid, etc.
Schlaflose Nachte -- Move

eBay status: item #170411943469
ENDS Dec 01, 2009 12:08:06 PST

stretch our senses

2009-11-29T19:14:00.001-05:00

The Pinkies -- Open Commune b/w Target Searching

Featuring Lindy from Fast Relief!

Obscure UK post-punk single, abstract dub-wave with female vocals, real sweet Slits, Raincoats, New Age Steppers feel.
The Pinkies -- Target Searching

eBay status: item #170411499874
ENDS Dec 01, 2009 12:52:34 PST

...and you have been put on

2009-11-29T19:09:00.000-05:00

The Production Club -- Excitement

Incredibly obscure US post-punk single from Boston 1982, and a good one, with a heavy Joy Division/Movement-era New Order Factory Records sound.
The Production Club -- Excitement

eBay status: item #350284484888
ENDS Dec 01, 2009 12:01:04 PST

I wanna live the way I like

2009-11-29T10:59:00.001-05:00

P.S. -- P.S.

One of the earliest DIY punk gems from the USA, apprenly from Moline, Illinois. Recorded in 1977, released a year later by the band (formerly named NO DICE) themselves. This, like most copies, came with individually updated (they overtaped NO DICE on the original pressing) labels.

This single is prime proto-punk, thug-rock with some 70's hard-rock moves... they were drawing on Blue Oyster Cult and Deep Purple probably along with the Stooges and MC5 and who knows Rocket From The Tombs? "P.S." is a real hard-driving and amped up rocker, fueled by the scorching distorted bass, the guy sounds like his hands are on fire.

P.S. -- P.S.

eBay status: item #350283954137
ENDS Dec 01, 2009 10:14:07 PST

well done son

2009-11-29T10:56:00.002-05:00

Pregnant Neck -- Scaffolder Olcer EP

Neckesque Records, UK 1990. Completely obscure gruff n urgent UK post-Ron Johnson agit-skronk noize-punk... heavy on the Stretchheads, Dawson, Badgewearer, Archbishop Kebab, Big Flame, Bogshed, Membranes, Bastard Kestrel, even Yummy Fur, etc.
Members : pelly court, leonard eel tompkins esq., waz slapstick, saspot whaley
Pregnant Neck -- Pie And Mash

eBay status: item #170411584799
ENDS Dec 01, 2009 17:38:29 PST

This Is The Golden Age

2009-11-29T02:08:00.002-05:00

The Sperm Wails -- The Golden Age Of The Carry On

Obscure lost single of noisy UK post-punk avant-pop skronk. Spurt Records, 1988. Both songs on here are pretty incredible, this release could have been on Ron Johnson.
The Sperm Wails -- The Golden Age Of The C.A.S.U.A.L.

eBay status: item #170411561284
ENDS Dec 01, 2009 16:06:55 PST

Don't Forget To Pray

2009-11-29T02:03:00.000-05:00

Six Minute War -- More Short Songs EP

1980 UK release on D.I.Y. Not E.M.I. Classic DIY Britpunk, noisy anarcho-punk with more of a shambling do-it-yourself ethos and not so much bluster, real nice raw guitar sound and several absolutely incredible songs.
Six Minute War -- Nurses
Six Minute War -- Protect And Survive

eBay status: item #170411567757
ENDS Dec 01, 2009 16:35:56 PST

!hsalkcaB

2009-11-29T01:57:00.000-05:00

Backlash! EP

Rare Scottish punk comp from 1981 on Playlist Records, even rare with the huge poster sleeve. Some tasteful post-punk on here too.
Threats -- Pacivity

eBay status: item #170411565960
ENDS Dec 01, 2009 16:28:32 PST

They Say Punk Ain't Crap

2009-11-29T01:52:00.000-05:00

The Pigs EP

Ripping original 1977 KBD punk from this obscure Bristol band who dropped this gem of an EP in August of 77 and then disappeared (UPDATE: until reuniting in Bristol in September 2009!)

* Kit Gould ~ guitar
* Eamonn McAndrew ~ vocals
* Nigel Robinson ~ bass
* Ricky Galli ~ drums

The Pigs -- They Say

eBay status: item #170411564934
ENDS Dec 01, 2009 16:24:37 PST

twenty four hours a day

2009-11-28T19:37:00.000-05:00

Method Actors -- This Is It EP

Debut release from this Athens, Georgia, minimalist avant-pop post-punk band. Amazing record. "The Method" is like a religious experience for anyone into eary Feelies, The Embarrassment, Red Krayloa, NNB... Athens never sounded so good.
Method Actors -- The Method

eBay status: item #170411555374
ENDS Dec 01, 2009 15:43:00 PST

human nature is a crater the size of your head

2009-11-28T19:32:00.002-05:00

Salt Chunk Mary -- Ornithopter EP

Obscure indie EP from this Pittsburgh band, pretty cool arty aggro-punk in a Minutemen vein (or Tar Babies, Treacherous Jaywalkers)
Salt Chunk Mary -- Spittin' Distance

eBay status: eBay status: item #350309816186
ENDS Feb 02, 2010 10:11:12 PST

The Jumbo Sound Of Mudhead

2009-11-28T19:26:00.000-05:00

Mudhead -- The Jumbo Sound Of Mudhead

Incredible and unjustly obscure psych-punk single from Kansas City, Missouri. Dark, menacing sound reminiscent of Aussie band SLUB. Mudhead dropped this single and then dropped off the planet, one of the guys did go into The Coctails.
Mudhead -- Eleutheromania

eBay status: item #350284482104
ENDS Dec 01, 2009 11:55:12 PST

Smarter Gift Ideas for Teenagers

2009-11-28T19:23:00.001-05:00

Modern Art Studio -- Mas Mania! EP

Scarce dada-ist DIY art-wave post-punk EP from the Cleveland Ohio, a favorite of Tony Coulter at WFMU. Comparable to other Midwest Pere Ubu-ish Devo-ish geek-punk like Dow Jones + The Industrials, Amoebas In Chaos, Broadcast, Dancing Cigarettes, Human Switchboard, Bizarros, Lucky Pierre, etc.
Modern Art Studio -- Dear Dad

eBay status: item #170413187867
ENDS Dec 01, 2009 12:12:23 PST

simply the best song about bathroom ideas ever

2009-11-28T19:19:00.001-05:00

Menticide -- Bathroom Ideas Exhibition

Really great obscure post-punk/C86 single from Deptford band Menticide. Release on their own Pink Flag Records, this could easily have been on Ron Johnson.
Menticide -- Bathroom Ideas Exhibition

eBay status: item #350284109573
ENDS Dec 01, 2009 16:01:33 PST

Leanin against the Wall Star

2009-11-28T19:00:00.002-05:00

Janitors -- Good To Be The King b/w Wall Star

Pretty great obscure UK C86 single on In Tape, the same label as Marc Riley And The Creepers. Heavier than the normal fare, this lost single's smack dab inbetween what feedtime and Walkingseeds were doing in 1986. "Wall Star" has simply one of the fattest bass-lines ever recorded, and that psychedelic flanged-out slide guitar is pure genius.
Janitors -- Wall Star

eBay status: item #350284112728
ENDS Dec 01, 2009 16:12:18 PST

Wattie Lives!

2009-11-27T19:13:00.001-05:00

Jack Brewer & Kava -- Major Punk Statement EP

Pretty wild art-punk free-form noise/no-wave EP from Jack Brewer (of Saccharine Trust) backed by Repulse Kava, put out by Joe Carducci (author of the essential Rock and the Pop Narcotic and former SST honcho).

Jack Brewer & Kava -- Punk's Not Dead (Not In His Head)

eBay status: item #350283960884
ENDS Dec 01, 2009 10:29:25 PST

I can deal with the beard, but the reindeer's kinda weird

2009-11-27T19:09:00.000-05:00

Let Them Eat Butterflies EP

1998 Latvian release on The Beard Is Weird. DIY Compilation of hardcore/punk/grind/powerviolence groups from every country surrounding the Baltic sea. Compiled by Simon Butcher in Latvia, featuring: Ordinary Bastard Swordfish (Latvia), Homomilitia (Poland), Annuka (Finland), Invazija (Lithuania), Psychoterror (Estonia), Well Done Beat (Russia), Na Krawedzi Deportacji (Germany), Married To A Murderer (Denmark), Driller Killer (Sweden).
Invazija -- Teroras And Meile

eBay status: item #170411576325
ENDS Dec 01, 2009 17:09:54 PST

Sand Bars Alone

2009-11-27T18:15:00.001-05:00

Geoffrey Landers -- Breedlove b/w Sand Bars Alone

Recorded at Packing House Studio & Free Reelin Denver, Colorado 6/84. Preceeds forthcoming Evidently Brothers L.P., "Many Hands Make Light".

Great obscure US DIY minimal-synth/synth-punk 45 issued by Geoffrey Landers on his own Cauhaus label. A-side is minimal electro in the vein of Iron Curtain, Ceramic Hello, Experimental Products, John Bender, etc. B-side is a dark, atmospheric and very wonderful post-punk track.
Geoffrey Landers -- Sand Bars Alone

eBay status: item #170411460260
ENDS Dec 01, 2009 11:36:21 PST

Cello-ing With Tarts

2009-11-27T18:07:00.000-05:00

Fredrick Lonberg-Holm -- trios/solos EP

1990 US release on Curious Music (Coralville IA). Amazing experimental avant-garde free-jazz EP from cellist Fredrick Lonberg-Holm (Boxhead Ensemble, Come Sunday Ensemble, The, Flying Luttenbachers, The, Fred Lonberg-Holm Quartet, Lonberg-Holm Ensemble, Manishevitz, Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet, Peter Brötzmann Tentet Plus Two, Pillow, Selfhaters, The Styrenes, Territory Band-2, Territory Band-3, Territory Band-4, Territory Band-5, Vandermark 5) joined on the trios side by Michael Gendreau and Eric Bergkvist of Crawling With Tarts.
Fredrick Lonberg-Holm -- Heard About Lorna's Brother?

eBay status: item #170411597518
ENDS Dec 01, 2009 18:25:03 PST

...keep on fighting...

2009-11-27T17:59:00.002-05:00

400 Blows -- Beat The Devil

1982 UK release on Concrete Productions. Probably the single most played track on WZBC's No Commercial Potential in the eighties...
400 Blows -- Beat The Devil

eBay status: item #170411447429
ENDS Dec 01, 2009 11:13:28 PST

5, 4, 3, 2, 1, zero...

2009-11-27T17:33:00.001-05:00

Frank (Dual Trumpet) Motley and His Orchestra -- Space Age

Wild and funky obscure R&B single from 1959 the DC label, well worth getting for Frank (Dual Trumpet) Motley's sparkling space-jazz-funk rave-up "Space Age"... this incredible track sounds like something Sun Ra would have produced in the late fifties. It opens and closes with swirling spacey electronics; and throughout are Motely's screaming dual trumpets, punchy baritone sax, tribal drums awash in pounding reverb, and an overall sound bursting with rocketing-into-space energy:

Motley, a protege of Dizzy Gillespie, was an innovator in the transition of rhythm & blues into rock 'n roll in the early 1950's, and he was famous for his show-stopping ability to play two trumpets simultaneously. His frantic combo, known as The Motley Crew, is uncredited on here but members likely include King Herbert Whitaker and Curley Bridges. Possibly produced by Rudy Callicutt.

DC 45-0412 was released in February 1959; DC 45-0420 was released in June 1959. So this 45 was release somewhere inbetween those dates.

Many thanks to Jay Bruder at dcrecords.org for discographical help with this obscurity.
Frank (Dual Trumpet) Motley and His Orchestra -- Space Age

eBay status: item #350283040371
ENDS Dec 02, 2009 12:59:44 PST

Our brains are melting/Through mechanical rot

2009-11-26T12:52:00.001-05:00

New Salem Witch Hunters -- Falling

Cleveland garage band's debut single from 1986 on St. Valentine, "Falling" is the perfect pop song, with a great Flamin' Groovies meets The Lyres vibe, real strong 'n gritty vocals with a timeless "hey!" chorus, swirling organ and spine-tingling guitar riffs. This single has a different version of the song from what appeared on the 1986 Herb Jackson s/t LP (later redone by Get Hip.)
New Salem Witch Hunters -- Falling

eBay status: SOLD

Traveling Down Down the Motorway in My Airship

2009-11-26T12:46:00.002-05:00

Vaultage 80 LP

Rare comp of post-punk and new-wave bands from Brighton. There are a couple real nuggets on here: The Objeks "Negative Conversation" is a strong DIY post-punk-pop with female vocals, tense and taut, with sort of an Au Pairs or Raincoats sound, actually sounds A LOT like what the Dangerous Birds (Thalia Zedek's first band) were doing in Boston around the same time.

And Emme Sharpe's glorious "Motorway" is memborable DIY minimal girl punk, just guitar vocals and a GREAT song.

The Objeks -- Negative Conversation
Emma Sharpe -- Motorway

eBay status: item #170406376927

Close (to the Ellis Otivator) Dub, Hey! #2

2009-11-13T14:09:00.000-05:00

The Stick Figures EP

Obscure DIY post-punk synth-wave single from this Tampa, Florida, band who relocated in Boston. Recorded in 1980 and released by the band in 1981 with five different front covers, one made by each band member. This copy has the blue cover with the collage of band photos and proto-Situationist slogans like "EVEN REVOLUTION IS TRANSLATED INTO A COMMODITY" and "THERE IS A MOMENT WHEN THINGS CEASE TO BE MERE SPECTACLE... DO THE WRONG THING."

There's some very no-wave sounding avant punk funk on here, check out the insanely scrambled "Ellis Otivator Dub" which -- with its spliced-up vocals, psychotic shards of electronic noise and piercing guitar over gut-pounding bass n spastic drums -- sounds like it could be off of No New York or a 99 Records release by Liquid Liquid or ESG or Bush Tetras.

And even more bizarre is the apparent inclusion four years before "Close (to the Edit)" of the same "Hey!" sample that The Art Of Noise used so famously in 1984, and The Prodigy later picked up for "Firestarter". Listen closely, at 1:19 for that exact same "Hey!".

The Stick Figures -- Ellis Otivator Dub

eBay status: item #170406632011
see also: http://ampnoise.blogspot.com/2009/11/close-to-ellis-otivator-dub-hey.html

Don't Tell Me I Don't Know What I Want

2009-11-11T11:05:00.001-05:00

Flip -- Flip LP

Unknown private press DIY solo folk LP from a female folksinger named "Flip". There's no information whatsoever other than a recording date of December 19, 1966. I found this record in Massachusetts so chances are she's maybe from the sixties Boston/Cambridge folk scene? (Similarities abound to Jill Cislaghi, RuthAnna, The Clearing, early Joan Baez.) But there appears to be zero information on the web about this singer or this LP, I cannot locate any reference anywhere to this record's existence.

She sings in a crystal clear angelic high-pitched voice, like a bell, and the songs are sparse and intimate. No songwriting credits given, many of these songs are traditional folksongs or covers (The Silkie, Peter Paul & Mary) but it's unclear how many are originals. Loner folk of a kind, but the "downer folk" tag doesn't entirely apply here, as she is not a troubled soul and most of the songs are joyous, some are fiercely defiant, some are reflective and some do explore the ache of lost love. "Don't Tell Me" (mp3 below) appears to be one of her originals and showcases her bold, defiant, independent nature ("Don't Tell Me/I don't know what I want"), willing to forsake her true love for the "stronger thoughts in my mind." A beautiful Do-It-Yourself period piece of mid-late 60's femme folk.

Flip -- Don't Tell Me

eBay status: item #170407959902

Penom Pen

2009-11-05T22:17:00.000-05:00

Mudmen -- Let It Go b/w Penom Pen

Obscure NYC no-wave single from around 1980, the only release by Mudmen. Dark atmospheric tribal post-punk-funk with a rumbling-bass dub feel, comparable to 99 Records contemporaries ESG, Liquid Liquid, Bush Tetras, Konk, etc. Sonic Youth's first drummer Richard Edson plays trumpet (he also played with Konk and Liquid Liquid.) Produced and engineered by Joe Barbaria, who also engineered the Talking Heads' Fear Of Music.
Mudmen -- Penom Pen

eBay status: item #350274094897

I Want To Be Blank

2009-11-03T11:25:00.000-05:00

Blank Students -- We Are Natives b/w I Want To Be Happy

Super obscure DIY post-punk-funk single from Preston band Blank Students (whose only other appearances are on Fast Product's Earcom 1 LP along with The Prats/Flowers, and Luxury Soundtracks' A Classic Slice Of Teenage Angst 2 C-90 cassette comp along with Dexter's Urban Renewal.)

Strong A Certain Ratio influence (or likeness), poly-rhythms with great deep bass lines, catchy vocals, shambling guitar, songwriting hooks, but with a wilder free-jazz strain, the A-side starts off funky then turns into an extended almost psych improv passage with lots of free-form honking saxophone and there's even some exotic zurna/shawm ("Indian horn".)

"I Want To Be Happy" marries that UK 1980 ACR punk/funk sound with frantic no-wave funk like James Chance and the Contortions, Liquid Liquid, ESG, Konk, etc. Dancefloor filler with tight upbeat rhythm section, killer bass-playing, more wild screeching sax, whistles, cowbells and catchy hooks. A pretty great song to find on a more or less unknown record from 1980.

Blank Students -- I Want To Be Happy

eBay status: item #350274082601

Noise Punk of Sumeria

2009-11-03T11:19:00.000-05:00

Songs Of Sumeria

All-out barrage of decimating noise punk from Flophouse, Stillborn Terror, and EMG.
EMG -- 777

eBay status: item #170402249142

Scratch the devil you hide inside

2009-11-03T11:14:00.000-05:00

Mydolls -- Imposter b/w Excorcism

Female post-punk band from Texas, on the same label as Really Red, Culturecide and Doomsday Massacre. They're also on Cottage Cheese From The Lips Of Death. Check out http://mydolls1978.wordpress.com/ for lots and lots.

Band History compiled by Brian GTA: This highly original group featuring a very prominent feminist/social lyrical base got its start in 1979 in Houston, Texas by members Trish Herrera (ex-Kinky Friedman And the Texas Jewboys), Dianna Ray, Linda Bond (wife of Ronnie Bond from Really Red - aka U-Ron Bondage), and George Reyes (ex-Mystics). They recorded their first demo in '80 and late the same year a 7" entitled In Technicolor for Ronnie Bond's CIA label. In '81 they recorded the track "Soldier" to be included on the Cottage Cheese From The Lips Of Death compilation LP released by the Butthole Surfers. In '82 a second 7", Imposter, was recorded for CIA Records.
In 1983 Sub Pop released their Sub Pop 7 cassette compilation featuring amongst others a cut from the Mydolls, and that same year the Mydolls toured the Midwest. The Speak Softly And Carry A Big Stick 12" EP was released on CIA followed by an East Coast tour where the band played at the New York Film Festival due to one of their songs making it onto the Wim Wenders movie "Paris, Texas". In late '85 they returned to the studio to record a few more tracks which would remain unreleased as the band pulled the plug on themselves in '86.

Mydolls -- Excorcism

eBay status: item #170402170290

Close (to the Ellis Otivator) Dub, Hey!

2009-11-03T11:11:00.001-05:00

The Stick Figures EP

The Stick Figures -- Ellis Otivator Dub

eBay status: item #170401898338
see also: http://ampnoise.blogspot.com/2009/11/close-to-ellis-otivator-dub-hey-2.html

I've Never Had So Much Fun In The Whole Of My Life

2009-11-03T11:10:00.001-05:00

The Blonde Etheopian -- Sinews Are A Girls Best Friend

This stunningly good EP is UK avant post-punk band Crawling Chaos going under a different name. Twisted Nurse With Wound-ish takes on pop, punk, new wave, even surf music that would definitely appeal to anyone who likes the Lemon Kittens, Karl Blake, Danielle Dax, or Tools You Can Trust.
The Blonde Etheopian -- Throwing Pins

eBay status: item #170401896453

Admission (Yours)

2009-11-03T11:00:00.001-05:00

The Filmcast -- Admission (Yours) b/w Colour - Colour

Scarce DIY minimal-synth art-wave single from 1979, check out the dark atmospheric electronic sound punctuated by sparse acoustic instruments:

The Filmcast -- Admission (Yours)

eBay status: item #350273751398

Another Absurd Record

2009-11-03T10:57:00.000-05:00

Naafi Sandwich -- Slice 1 b/w Slice 2

Experimental DIY post-punk art-wave single, dark rumbling bass, driving percussion, all kinds of crazy electronics and minimalist guitar skronks. Next to Gerry And The Holograms, one of the very best of the great run of Absurd singles.
Naafi Sandwich -- Slice 2

eBay status: item #350273743535

It's a cult thing

2009-11-03T10:48:00.002-05:00

Pak -- Balinese Dance b/w Sex Cult Thing

The band were also known as Metropak.
Pretty intense DIY post-punk single, "Sex Cult Thing" is dark and eerie, the sound of clamorous desperation, with swirling synth, gritty guitars and unforgettable vocals.

Pak -- Sex Cult Thing

eBay status: item #350273748714

The whale is a monstrous big thing, it's harmless too but human beings, we're not harmless to him

2009-11-01T00:58:00.000-04:00

The Afflicted -- The Afflicted Man's New One

Insanely great Steve Hall guitar-led DIY oi/psych/punk noise! Simply one of the best UK DIY punk singles ever, from ca 1979. Comes in a rubber stamped candy-striped thin-stock bag, just like The Afflicted Man's Musical Bag LP except this is a custom-size smaller bag, it unfolds to about 8"x14". There are no songtitles printed anywhere, but Hall announces each title at the start: A-side is "142" and B-side is "Senseless Whale Slaughter" (an epic fuzz-bass psych-guitar killer of a song, has to be heard to be believed.)

The Afflicted (Man) -- Senseless Whale Slaughter

eBay status: item #170400585371
ENDS Nov 03, 2009 10:45:35 PST

Modern Noise

2009-11-01T00:53:00.001-04:00

The Algebra Mothers -- Strawberry Cheesecake b/w Modern Noise

Simply amazing 1979 post-punk single from Detroit's Algebra Mothers aka A-Moms. A-side is catchy beyond belief synth-punk, B-side is an absolute killer arty noise-punk blast with over-the-top distorted fuzz-bass, WAY ahead of its time.

Comped on hyped2death's Homework #104, where Chuck says: I fell in love with the A-Moms' "Strawberry Cheesecake" the moment I heard it twenty years back... Cheesy Stranglers keyboards, annoying post-Devo vocals, and three or four of the most insidious hooks ever committed to vinyl. It's a special punkwave favorite. The handsomely-distorted squawking of "Modern Noise", however, should thrill a completely different bunch of, um, noise fans.

The Algebra Mothers -- Modern Noise

eBay status: item #350271926687
ENDS Nov 03, 2009 11:00:17 PST

We Are the Rock 'n Roll Dead

2009-11-01T00:50:00.001-04:00

The Colors Out Of Time -- Rock Section

1981 UK DIY post-punk from this Manchester band. Definite Factory/Joy Division/Section 25/Crispy Ambulance influence, with a little harder, more KBD punk sound. "Rock Section" is dark, morbid and catchy as hell... "We are the rock 'n roll dead/We didn't wanna die/We didn't wanna OD".

The Colors Out Of Time -- Rock Section

eBay status: item #170399757264
ENDS Nov 03, 2009 08:31:17 PST

Je n'ai rien fait

2009-11-01T00:38:00.001-04:00

Dead Heat -- Damnée Petite Sophie b/w Love Song

Sinister sounding French minimal-synth dark post-punk avant-industrial single, rare as hell... strong Throbbing Gristle feel, also DDAA, SPK, Minny Pops, etc. Art For Spastics sez: "Dead Heat is even weirder, more minimal starkness with near zero melody and absurdly slow and sped up vocals. I can find no information anywhere about them. What does anyone know? Please tell!"

Dead Heat -- Damnée Petite Sophie

eBay status: item #170400634107
ENDS Nov 03, 2009 12:28:00 PST

Bells are ringing, children singing

2009-11-01T00:29:00.002-04:00

The Eternal Scream -- How I Wish b/w Child

Rare obscure UK DIY post-punk single, dark and moody experimental Factory Records sound, low bass/polyrhythmic drumming/shards of noisy guitar like Joy Division, Section 25, Crispy Ambulance, In Camera, The Names, Coitus Int, Josef K, etc.

The Eternal Scream -- Child

eBay status: item #350271935494
ENDS Nov 03, 2009 11:16:26 PST

More Ning Machine, Please!

2009-11-01T00:28:00.002-04:00

Ning -- Machine b/w More Ning

Rare promo copy of one of the greatest lost prog/psych/glam/proto-punk tracks, full of hard rock attitude 'n studio sound effects. Monster heavy guitar break with dirty hard psych vocal. Try it if you don't know yet...

Ning -- Machine

eBay status: item #350284536084
ENDS Dec 02, 2009 13:33:26 PST

Trial by Silhouette

2009-11-01T00:27:00.001-04:00

The Lowest Note On The Organ EP

Amazing DIY experimental single by the Low Notes under an alias. Features Tim Hodgkinson (Henry Cow, The Work), Mick Hobbs (1/2 Japanese, Family Fodder, The Work), Bill Gilonis (Grrr, News From Babel, The Work) and Rick Wilson (Family Fodder, The Work). Engineered by Charles Bullen (People In Control, This Heat).

Great stuff, fans of This Heat or Homosexuals/L Voag/Sara Goes Pop/George Harrasment and the more post-punk shambling side of the Recommended Records catalog will be pleased.

The Lowest Note On The Organ -- Trial By Silhouette

eBay status: item #170400606374
ENDS Nov 03, 2009 11:29:54 PST

Louder Glaxo Animal Homosexual Pop Group

2009-11-01T00:24:00.000-04:00

Louder Animal Group -- Pip Pop b/w Six Magnificent Cathedrals

Rare obscure UK DIY experimental post-punk single from 1980, shambling art-wave with a loose dub feel and shards of trebly guitar, catchy aloof vocals, A-side sounds suspiciously EXACTLY like Glaxo Babies, B-side has a nice Homosexuals feel crossed with a little of The Pop Group as you can hear:

Louder Animal Group -- Six Magnificent Cathedrals

eBay status: item #350271939811
ENDS Nov 03, 2009 11:24:53 PST

Hard as Nails

2009-11-01T00:20:00.002-04:00

Dayshift -- Living In The U.K. b/w Cedric Wazza, Superstar / Yeah Eh Oh Yeah Oh!

Shambling UK DIY post-punk weirdness from Dayshift i.e. Dan Electro (aka Dan Driscoll), guitarist for Desperate Bicycles.
"Yeah Eh Oh Yeah Oh!" is a killer track which should really get comped... shards of scrambled distorted bluesified guitar ontop of herky-jerky drums with David Bowie-drowning-in-the-bathtub vocals... brilliant stuff, veering between some kind of claustrophobic post-Televsion NYC no-wave sound and Swell Maps UK DIY mania... the kind of song Pavement strove for but could never achieve.

Dayshift -- Yeah Eh Oh Yeah Oh!

eBay status: item #350270725235
ENDS Nov 03, 2009 08:30:20 PST

Our Earth is Dying, woooooooohhh!!!

2009-11-01T00:20:00.001-04:00

Androids Of Mu -- Blood Robots

Amazing lost DIY post-punk LP from this female punk band, formed out of Here & Now (Alternative TV, Planet Gong.) They played/toured with Zounds and The Mob and The Astronauts and The 012... gives an idea of what they sound like. Mix in some Raincoats, Slits, Petticoats, Crass, Kleenex... and you've got this great LP, about 15 years ahead of its time and very hard to find nowadays.

Pretty incredible cover art by Monica Sjoo.

For more on this LP and Monica Sjoo, check http://www.greengalloway.blogspot.com/search?q=androids

Sounds review from 1980:

Androids Of Mu -- Atomic X

eBay status: item #170400693581
ENDS Nov 03, 2009 15:33:23 PST

Sie sprechen Deutsch

2009-11-01T00:15:00.001-04:00

The Epigram EP

Rare obscure DIY post-punk/powerpop EP from the UK 1981, with one truly great track, "You Speak German", a real catchy pop-punk song by The Architects, notable for the insanely over-recorded production, with crunchy distorted guitars and vocals pushing the red. It's like the Sick Things decided to slow things down a bit and try to cover the Only Ones. The Architects, according to the sleeve, "are a three-pieced band from North-West London who believe in the principles of Commodity, Firmness and Delight."

The Architects -- You Speak German

eBay status: item #170400594058
ENDS Nov 03, 2009 11:04:14 PST

I Got the Shakes

2009-11-01T00:12:00.000-04:00

The Runts -- Cheddar Lounge EP

Really great obscure Ohio noisy garage-punk rock, that classic Ohio sound with some blasts of drunken primal noise-rock (check the insane "Black Label".) A crime this record is not more well-known.

The Runts -- 5' 3"
The Runts -- Black Label

eBay status: item #350271958123
ENDS Nov 03, 2009 12:01:00 PST

I say Bombs Away

2009-11-01T00:07:00.001-04:00

Tracks -- Brakes On You b/w Bombs Away

Scarce classic Boston punk rawk recorded Live at the Club (Cambridge, MA) in 1977. Raw, ballsy nasty KBD stuff from the very early days of nasty KBD stuff. Original 1977 pressing on Blue Door, this copy does not have a picture sleeve. Band was: Lorry Doll, vocals, guitar; Jeff Rey, guitar; Kidd Kross, bass; Wild Johnny Lewis, drums

"Brakes On You" is comped on Killed By Death #666 while "Bombs Away" is comped on Hyped2Death #12 where Chuck says: The Tracks probably deserve credit as the undiscovered gem of this lot: they played both Boston and New York City frequently in the late '70s, but left just this one 1977 single behind: both sides are punk'n'roll genius... Their bassist had been in Boston ur-wavers Bonjour Aviators. Lorry Doll published Neon fanzine which became Neon TV in NYC, and she and Jeff Rey remained active on the New York punk/hard rock/metal scene as the Doll-Reys and the Wild Ones.

Tracks -- Bombs Away

eBay status: item #350271952177
ENDS Nov 03, 2009 11:48:25 PST

I Wanna Be A Mannequin

2009-11-01T00:06:00.000-04:00

Christian D'Orbit -- Drive Me Crazy

Stunningly good obscure DIY punk/powerpop 45 from upstate New York... side project of Syracuse punk band The Penetrators. Christian D'Orbit's "Drive Me Crazy" scores high on the catchy sticks-in-yer-head pop but still sorta nasty KBD punk meter... amazing surly and snotty female vocals, recorded in the red for extra surl, screamed chorus that gets obnoxious real fast, in a good way:

Christian D'Orbit -- Drive Me Crazy

eBay status: SOLD

Living Neon Lights

2009-11-01T00:04:00.000-04:00

Earthling -- Slow Down The World b/w Urbanitrops

Incredibly rare electronic prog minimal-synth 45 from this Japanese band led by the mysterious John and Yoko. As the sleeve says, "Earthling are sound pioneers, painting future dreams that transcend the present day. They understand that the future cannot be easily classified, and that tomorrow is not another day."

They have an LP which shows up every now and then but this single never does.

Earthling -- Urbanitrops

eBay status: SOLD

b/w De Dag Dat De Derde Wereldoorlog Ook Aan Ons Land Niet Onopgemerkt Voorbij Ging

2009-11-01T00:02:00.000-04:00

Bart & Jan -- De Dag Dat De Derde Wereldoorlog Ook Aan Ons Land Niet Onopgemerkt Voorbij Ging b/w Messerschmitt Parade

Amazing off-the-wall Dutch experimental post-punk synth 45, check out the haunting "Messerschmitt Parade" which devolves into a chilling abstract soundscape of far-off explosions... then that majestic metal guitar riff rises out of the ashes... incredible:

Bart & Jan -- Messerschmitt Parade

eBay status: SOLD

Save Me

2009-10-31T23:58:00.002-04:00

Green Sex -- Save Me b/w Tellyphone

Highly experimental homemade DIY single by John Ze'wizz (ZeWizz) going here as "John Cage". This is his very first band, before The Product and then Sleep Chamber. The is the debut release on Innersleeve Records, aka XXX Organisation aka Triple-X aka Inner-X-Musick. Release date is 1980 but from interviews it appears this was recorded in 1978.

"Save Me" is a truly claustrophobic shrieking-feedback piece of desperation and alienation, maybe comparable to early Haters or some of the weirdest/darkest stuff Jad Fair was doing early on, but at 1978 it really predates both of them.

Green Sex -- Save Me

eBay status: SOLD

i dunno either and jeez I often wondah

2009-10-29T23:35:00.002-04:00

The Eleventh Episode -- Excuses b/w In Broken (Sometimes I Speak)

Exceedingly rare Boston minimal synth post-wave single from 1983, real nice experiental dub synth electro by a couple folks from WZBC (Modern Rock/No Commercial Potential) who'd go on to produce Boston bands like Morphine, Mark Sandman, Bullet LaVolta, etc.

The Eleventh Episode -- Excuses

eBay status: item #170400642181
ENDS Nov 03, 2009 12:46:06 PST

tiny broken horns repeat a tape loop line

2009-10-29T23:25:00.005-04:00

The Product -- I Like The Angles b/w At The Midway

An early DIY pre-Sleep Chamber record on Triple-X aka Innersleeve Records aka XXX Organisation aka Inner-X-Musick. Produced by John Ze'Wizz, but it really sounds nothing like Sleep Chamber, it's instead really great stripped-down post-punk sort of dark tight+angular pop, more along the lines of the Propeller bands or UK post-Wire postpunk than anything "industrial."

The Product -- At The Midway

Thanks to jaylitch.

eBay status: item #350270721584
ENDS Nov 03, 200908:19:11 PST

Celebrate The Minimal

2008-11-20T03:59:00.000-05:00

Hot Lunch -- "Celebrate The Criminal"

Scarce snotty thug punk 45 from NYC 1978. Real trashy mid-tempo hardrock/punk kind of like the Electroflex 7" or that Wreck'N Crew 7". Strong snarling lead vocals.. Stiv Bators and The Dead Boys is clearly an influence, also the New York Dolls. This band is slower and raunchier, and their sound is a bit stranger as they experiment with fuzz bass and weird guitar effects.

"Celebrate The Criminal" is a very stong cut, a real bass-heavy, low down and nasty song which starts out "Down on your luck/Beggin for a f***ck"... and ends with the snarled commands: "Make the music minimal/The lyrics subliminal/Come on, celebrate the criminal" and some glorious feedback.

This single is completely obscure today, and unjustly so. It looks like it has never been comped anywhere. If you google this record you'll only find three references to it... one being Boston Groupie News where they print the September 1978 gig list for Cantone's, featuring "From NYC Assassin Records Presents….Hot Lunch, 45 Debut, Dizzy and Celebrate The Criminal" back-to-back with "The Misfits (from NYC)."

Hot Lunch -- Celebrate The Criminal

eBay status: item #350125843431
ENDS Nov-24-08 11:50:59 PST

They'll know we are Christians by our noise

2008-11-02T14:53:00.002-05:00

The Folk Group at Saint Christopher's LP

Here's a pretty amazing unknown private press Christian hippie folk-rock LP. Custom pressed in New Jersey, it is likely from St. Christopher's in Parsippany, NJ, and most certainly early 1970's if not 1970.

Real sweet female vocals throughout (in a West Coast psych/Jefferson Airplane vein -- a few songs have a guy singing too) along with acoustic and electric guitars and some real crazy bongo drums and tambourine. Very amateurish lo-fi recording adds to the charm of this super-sincere and unaffected DIY music. Many of the songs start with liturgical verses set to a groove and then drift into extended jams, with the bongo drummer and someone playing ridiculous leads on 12-string guitar taking center stage. Even the folk-rock covers here -- like George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord", Simon & Garfunkel's "The Sounds Of Silence", Bob Dylan's "Blow'n in the Wind, "Aquarius" from HAIR -- sound more like improvised jams than the actual songs they're covering.

This is primarily an acoustic record, the electric guitar on here is someone repetitively playing quiet rudimentary, impressionistic patterns, like the dreamy opening to "Lamb of God".

If anyone recognizes this group or can say for sure where this St. Christopher's is, please add a comment.

The Folk Group at Saint Christopher's -- We Are One In The Spirit
The Folk Group at Saint Christopher's -- Lamb Of God
The Folk Group at Saint Christopher's -- I Am The Resurrection

eBay status: item #170275734406
SOLD

Maybe in our noise...

2008-10-26T00:31:00.000-04:00

The Mission -- Let's Get Together LP

Really odd group of hip priests from St. Louis who sing and play psychedelic folk-rock music, with some fuzz guitar in spots. Includes a bizarre cover of Bob Dylan's "Positively 4th Street", "Suzanne" by Leonard Cohen,"Turn Turn Turn" by The Byrds (especially nice fuzz on this one), and the stellar original "Listen Part 1", their call to arms.

The Mission -- Listen Part 1

eBay status: item #350115349052
ENDS: Nov-03-08 12:49:58 PST

Thug!

2008-10-26T00:22:00.001-04:00

Thug -- "Dad" b/w "Thug" 7"

Witness Thug's ugly birth on this 45 of pure aggro nilihism and depraved absolutist noise punk from Tex Perkins and mateys. 1987, Black Eye Records, Australia.

Thug -- Thug

eBay status: item #350114139991
SOLD

We echo our eternal Yes

2008-10-18T00:59:00.002-04:00

Sisters Of The Incarnate Word -- Composed For You LP

This is an astonishing, breathtaking record.

There's a charming, shambling trad folk feel to some of these songs, strumming and loping rhythmically in a primitive acoustic Shaggs-ian way. And then there's the simply mind-blowing "Speak To Me Of Life", one of the absolute greatest songs I've ever found in hunting down folk-psych private presses... an epic, existential, spine-tingling exploration into the psyche of one who hears the calling... the music is urgent and chaotic, with shimmering double-tracked echoey vocals and frantically-strummed droning acoustic guitars punctuated by snare hits like shots from a rifle. It's every bit as psychedelic and profound as any of the neo-weird-free-folk of the last decade, or any of the private 60s/70s Xian folk LPs which command huge prices today.

I cannot find a single reference to this album's existence anywhere on the web. It was made in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1974. The words and music to the two songs here were written by Sister Patrica Jean Smithyman.

Sisters Of The Incarnate Word -- Everybody Knows This Man
Sisters Of The Incarnate Word -- Speak To Me Of Life

eBay status: item #170272263979
SOLD

This time he comes to Judge the world

2008-10-18T00:53:00.003-04:00

Mike Johnson -- Lord Doctor LP

Rare private Xian psych LP from ex-Exkursions main guy Mike Johnson. Acid Archives describes Johnson's recordings as "Eclectic rock with folk, rural and jazz inflections, with both acoustic and electric guitars," though they haven't yet reviewed this killer LP.

It all starts off with the epic heavy apocalyptic psych track "Cause and Effect", with a stomping heavy bass beat, plenty of distorted fuzz guitar and completely over-the-top lyrics about the end of mankind, schools in ashes, Judgment Day, etc. The next 8+ minute track has a wild extended freakout intro of Arp Synthesizer, guitar and frantic drumbeats. All the songs on here are originals -- a satisying rural mix of bluesy rock and folk -- Neil Young is definitely an influence.

Mike Johnson -- Cause and Effect
Mike Johnson -- Pride (intro)

eBay status: item #350111635921
SOLD

He just wants to fly

2008-10-18T00:44:00.001-04:00

Carl Hakansson -- Candles Glow LP

Completely obscure private press from central Massachusetts, late seventies or 1980. This is the same little corner of the world where Bobb Trimble made two of the best psych records ever, also around 1980. This album's not as out-there as Bobb's, but it's completely unknown as far as I can tell and several tracks have got a nice rural psych feel with great garagey guitar work from Richard Thyng, as evidenced on "Morning Bird". Neil Young's definitely an influence here, and the rest of the record is a lot mellower, with a few solo downer-folk numbers by Carl Hakansson and one really spooky and somber kind of chanted mantra a cappella track "Alone They Ride", credited to The Thyng-Hakansson Chorus.

Carl Hakansson -- Living In The Sunlight
Carl Hakansson -- Morning Bird

eBay status: item #350111635732
SOLD

Everything But Free

2008-10-18T00:37:00.002-04:00

Dennis and Elaine -- The Moment of Truth

Completely obscure Christian album from this couple from Holden, Massachusetts. Instrumentation is a little unusual: piano, organ, synthesizer, bass, cello, violin, percussion and oboe. Looks and sounds sixties, if so this is a real early use of synth on an Xian LP. "Keep Me Where Love Is" is a real nice catchy uptempo 60's pop song that has a fresh appeal that's hard to pin down.

Dennis and Elaine -- Keep Me Where Love Is

eBay status: item #170272339478
SOLD

Sleuthing around Costa del Sol

2008-10-18T00:36:00.002-04:00

Stitched-Back Foot Airman -- Costa del Sol EP

UK Fall-damaged post-punk band in a Ron Johnson C86 vein on the same label as Marc Riley and the Creepers. "Sleuth" is one hell of a great driving, skronking-guitars instrumental that sounds like some lost UK 79 post-punk single by the Tiller Boys or some Swell Maps offshoot...

Stitched-Back Foot Airman -- Sleuth

eBay status: item #350111245133
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what rhymes with 'denominator'?

2008-07-16T14:19:00.001-04:00

Nullset Unisphere EP from 1983, a completely obscure US new wave electronic/synth-punk EP produced by Matt Pinfield (future MTV and VH1 VJ, host of 120 Minutes, DJ on Sirius and now WRXP in NYC.)

Very tight and fast DIY synth-punk/post-punk band, definitely influenced by Joy Division and the other Factory UK bands, but also has a dinstinctly US DIY post-Devo garage-synth sound.

Nullset -- Times Out

eBay status: item #170239889665
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Kinetic Transparencies

2008-07-16T14:16:00.002-04:00

Kinetic Transparencies, a challenging and rather bizarre experimental abstract 1978 LP from cellist Gwendolyn Watson. Inside the stunning cover art, this record possesses some elements of jazz improv, some Middle Eastern flavor, and an amazing avant-garde piece of taut textural dissonance and darkly haunting sonic shrieking called "Demon, Transiting".

"Primarily Trained As A Cellist, Gwendolyn Watson's Improvised Compositions For Dance Encompass Classical, Jazz And Ethnic Folk And Include The Use Of Syrian Finger Cymbals, Cello, Piano, Voice, Bongos And Other Instruments In A Challenging Melange Of Styles."

Gwendolyn Watson -- Demon, Transiting

eBay status: item #170242460949
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Late Night Rocker

2008-07-16T14:10:00.001-04:00

Phil Shades self-titled LP, a completely obscure and bizarre private rock album from the Boston area on Wampum Records, 1978. A strange mix of straight-ahead American 70s guitar punk rock (like New York Dolls, Dead Boys, Heartbreakers) with more melodic power-pop and some over-the-top moog synth work. Phil Shades defnitely has a David Johansen thing going on, his anonymous back up band is very tight and do rock out in places. There's an amped up cover of The Beatles' "Helter Skelter" and a nice deferential version of Velvet Underground / Lou Reed's "Rock and Roll".

Strangest of all is that midway through "Late Night Rockers" there is an abrupt and completely out-of-nowhere extended electronic freakout -- a bizarre psychedelic musique concrete/noise passage crudely edited right into the song -- that sounds right off of the far-out side of Can's Tago Mago or a Stockhausen record.

A real hard LP to figure, and impossible to learn just who exactly is playing on it. There are no credits, but thanked on the back cover are: Phil Specs, Bill Sbrega, Pat Costa. Nick Prout. I've sampled some clips from the LP, including the electronic freakout, on the mp3 linked below:

clips from the Phil Shades LP

eBay status: item #350079600066
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But the stars in the sky moaned a soft lullaby

2008-07-16T14:03:00.002-04:00

Marianna, rare private press Xian folk LP compiled in Cambridge, Mass., by Jamaican priest Richard Ho Lung in 1972, featuring a wide variety of Jesus Music from different artists: traditional folk, calypso, mento, Tim Buckley-ish moody folk-pop...

The one absolutely incredible track on here is the first known recording of Boston streetsinger and free-spirit Ruth Anna, the eerie and haunting lament "Star Lullaby", probably the most beautiful Jesus song you'll ever hear. She was known around Boston for singing Appalachian mountain folk songs in a striking vibrato voice, while playing recorder or autoharp, and she was arrested many times for singing on Boston Common. She would go on to found Snake And Dove Records and release a wonderful LP in 1975 as RuthAnna.

Another highlight on here is Richard Ho Lung's raucous "Christmas Mento", in the same style as his Caribbean Bread & Wine LP from 1971.

Ruth Anna -- Star Lullaby

eBay status: item #350081754914
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So, take you magah soul, Fling away you dutty sin

2008-07-16T13:49:00.002-04:00

Caribbean Bread & Wine, a truly off-the-wall 1971 private press Xian Folk/Calypso LP from Jamaican-born Richard Ho Lung and his hippie Jesus freak friends.

from the liner notes: The body and blood of the Caribbean event are here offered to us all by a man, Richard Ho Lung, who was born to Jamaica and reflects the depth of the Jamaican experience. In these twelve songs, he offers us part of his own body and blood given up when he separated himself from his own people in order to return one day to serve them as priest, poet, teach and friend.
Ho Lung's music and poetry say something universal, namely, that if you can find it in your heart to look around with the eyes of a lover the world comes alive in a riot of colour which makes even a cloudy day something full of wonder; if you can let talking die for but a moment and allow your ears to hear, there are sweeping rhythms to life which wait to wash away all our doubts and fears; if you can manage to embrace life as it presents itself instead of simply managing always and always ending by mismanaging, there is a magical serentiy which will lead open the way to the truth about life.

Richard Ho Lung -- The Reason Why
Richard Ho Lung -- 'Ternal Life

eBay status: item #170244846854

But where are the songs of Forgiving?

2008-06-29T13:57:00.005-04:00

Dynamic West Coast psych LP with folk-psych touches and some nice dark Doors-ish psych with a bit grittier guitar sound.

Clear Light -- Street Singer

eBay status: item #350080237981
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Aiming at you

2008-06-29T13:53:00.002-04:00

Great hard rock/heavy psych LP from this lost UK group, (The) Gun.

The liner notes on the back cover: A race riot shook the nation's pop charts recently. It was a "Race With The Devil" A noisy, punch up hit that blasted Gun into the Top Ten. And Gun are, by their own admission, a noisy, violent group. They brought back a shot of excitement at a time when gloom and depression had hit the pop scene and groups were breaking up in al directions. But sheer exuberance is not enough to survive under the critical glare directed at today's groups. Fortunately two of the brothers Gun, Paul and Adrian Curtis, have developed talent for writing.
Their original compositions and arrangements are the basis of this first album. Paul (bass guitar) devised the arrangements that equal the creativity of Adrian's (lead guitar) tunes. With the hard hitting drums of Louis Farrell to spur them on, and the addition of one of those brass sections that fire on all cylinders, they have produced a programme of sustained interest mixing their hit appeal with solid musical ideas. "We are a rock group", states Louis firmly. "No, I don't mean rock and roll do me a favour. I mean a hard rock group. We're trying to play rock, in our own way". And hear them rock on tunes like "Yellow Cab Man" with it's honking car effects, and fuss tone guitar, with Paul's tough vocals. Violins are added to "Rat Race", a slower paced Adrian composition, and you can hear the backing vocals of Barry St John and Sunny of Sunny and Sue team.
Most unusual and proof of their originality is "The Sad Saga Of The Boy And The Bee" and the purely instrumental track "Rupert's Travels", somewhat in a "Classical Gas" vein. But the arrangement the group are most proud of is "Take Off", an extended freak out. Lights must be turned off and volume controls set to maximum to absorb this property. "Watch your eardrums" an engineer yelled at a hearing at London's CBS studio's one influenza ridden day in January. Visiting elderly men and small children were warned to evacuate during playback, but they stayed in the control room to hear Gun roar into an explosion of musical adjectives. Listen to Louis thunder his bass drums, and the guitar and bass hurtle into an odyssey of sound and emotion! The Men and children survived and my ears were unscathed, but a final warning the GUN are aiming at you!
Chris Welch, Melody Maker 1968

Gun -- The Sad Saga Of The Boy And The Bee

eBay status: item #170235194843
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Won't Come Bak

2008-06-29T13:51:00.002-04:00

All 6 of the legendary Zakary Thaks singles are compiled here for the first time on this 1980 Moxie LP. Absolutely essential '66-'67 US garage punk.

Zakary Thaks -- Won't Come Back

eBay status: item #170235194712
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He heard our cry

2008-06-27T02:27:00.001-04:00

Very nice riff-heavy hard-rock LP, the first from power trio BANG.

Bang -- Lions, Christians

eBay status: item #350074225533
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good balance

2008-06-27T02:24:00.001-04:00

Spirit guy solo, just great, great.

Randy California -- Downer

eBay status: item #170233555496
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And the answer man please

2008-06-27T02:20:00.002-04:00

Real nice lost rockin' country-psych LP from Jerry Corbitt, issued a year after he left the Youngbloods in 1968. Features Charlie Daniels, as well as Bernie Krause and Edward Bogas playing The Moog. His stunning "The Kahuna Song" is especially dark and gritty and about 20 years ahead of its time.

Jerry Corbitt -- The Kahuna Song

eBay status: item #170235194899
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The Childrens Pictorial

2008-06-27T02:17:00.001-04:00

Great orchestral psych from Houston, produced by Lelan Rogers (13th Floor Elevators, etc.) There are moments, like the intro to Pictorial, which are just raw and heavy tripped out rock. Starting out as STOICS back in 1966, they later evolved into MIND'S EYE, then their final incarnation as THE CHILDREN with the beautiful female vocals of Cassell Webb.

The Children -- Pictorial (intro)

eBay status: item #170233555252
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New Delhi Blues

2008-06-27T02:13:00.001-04:00

The definitve reissue of Elias Hulk's Unchained, a heavy, heavy monster psych/hard-rock album from 1970, now impossible to find. Has a real unique Eastern tinge to some tracks, just play the simply amazing "Delhi Blues" back to back with Suni McGrath's "Blue Domes of Isfahan". Sleeve has very long and detailed liner notes. A must.

Elias Hulk -- Delhi Blues

eBay status: item #170233554017
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Reflections on Hope

2008-06-27T01:48:00.001-04:00

Chrysalis, "a group that has yet to destroy your mind" accordin to Frank Zappa. Ithaca hippies going far outside on their one album. "Lake Hope" is a short sharp burst of joyous splashing about... reflections of that summer at the lake we swam with tubas.

Lots of good words on this LP at Dr. Schluss' Garage Of Psychedelic Obscurities.

Chrysalis -- Lake Hope

eBay status: item #350074174515
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Take away from me the noise of your songs

2008-06-27T01:46:00.001-04:00

Simply groovy Christain psychedelia from the master, Mr. Ylvisaker, joined here by Dick Hyman on organ, George Duvivier on bass, Jay Berliner on guitar.

Ken Scott Archivist Review: A Love Song continues to present challenging music while drawing from Biblical material for its twelve songs, all united on varied aspects of the topic of love. 'Noise Of Solemn Assemblies' and 'Joseph' are classic examples of psychedelia dripping with acid organ, while 'Palm Sunday' has a more dream-like quality, Amanda's flute work softly poised above spacey atmospheric guitar harmonics. 'A Matter Of Sobriety' pulls a Procol Harum maneuver with its classical cathedral organ and harpsichord accompaniment. Nods to the '60s sounds of Dave Brubeck and Ramsey Lewis can be found on 'Pharoah's Adopted Grandson Moses' and 'The Camel Swallowers'. Closes with a high-energy Johnny Rivers-styled rocker 'The Man For Me'. Several top-notch musicians were enlisted, including jazz keyboardist Dick Hyman and guitarist Jay Berliner. Such uniqueness in lyric and composition (not to mention the professional sound) is rare in the Christian community, so if you get the opportunity, by all means experience John's music. It's extraordinarily groovy!

John Ylvisaker -- The Noise Of Your Solemn Assemblies

eBay status: item #350074174397
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( ...it's better.... )

2008-06-24T22:36:00.001-04:00

Original release on Mercury from 1968, this record is now a coveted psych artifact. More importantly however, The Savage Resurrection is seen as one of the most essential definitions of the West Coast acid rock style. Nowadays it's widely considered one of thee ultimate US psychrock albums, with noteworthy dual guitar leads and loads of unpolished energy. The Savage Resurrection LP, produced by none other than the famous Abe 'Voco' Kesh (also known for his mind blowing studio wizardry on albums of Blue Cheer and Daughters Of Albion) has had a huge influence on many a latter day psych band, among which f.i. Bevis Frond.

The Savage Resurrection -- Thing In "E"

eBay status: item #350073577024
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Unless it was lost where I found mine

2008-06-24T22:27:00.001-04:00

The Maze -- Armageddon. Original hyper rare killer prog psych stoned trippy mess-up-your-mind psych from 1968... Dark very heavy Doors-ey sound, lotsa fuzz, spooky feel...

The Maze -- Dejected Soul

eBay status: item #170232827887
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You Seem Strange To Me

2008-06-24T22:21:00.001-04:00

Long-sought after album from this lost psychedelic freak band from Topanga Canyon in California, with heavy involvement from Kim Fowley [legendary LA scenester and general madman!] and Michael Lloyd [West Coast Pop Art Experimental band]. Dark freak-out acid rock really unlike anything else out there from then or now. Kim Fowley told Ugly Things in 2001 that St. John Green is "one of only a handful of great lost records."

St. John Green -- Goddess Of Death

eBay status: item #170232827560
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