various artists - Hold Your Ground

You have to understand, now during a time when so much is available at the strike of a few keys, the depths we'd resort to in the 90s to obtain recordings that were only a few years old. If it was something contemporary, you'd typically be able to find it at a good underground record store, via mail order, or a show distro. If it was a few years older, you might be able turn up a secondhand copy, or maybe it was just temporarily out of print. But if it was more obscure than your typical Dischord, Revelation, or Victory catalog, you might be shit out of luck. If you were like me, in that I bought a ton of CDs because they were easier to transport, you'd split the difference, and end up buying the Lost & Found version. Because that was literally the only one you could turn up with any regularity.

This 1994 sampler from the Hanover-based quasi-legitimate label remains a great place to start to see what they were up to, and serves as the late 80s version of Killed By Death for kids like yours truly. There were contributions from the first wave of DCHC (Void, Government Issue, Artificial Peace), NYHC legends (Warzone, Side By Side, Judge, Violent Children), and contemporary Euro hardcore bands (Brightside, Rykers, Crivits). It was also the only place I could track down Project X, Abused, and Citizens Arrest. L&F kept bands like Unity and Urban Waste available long after those bands had broken up.

Should they have paid the bands for what they released? Well, duh. Should they have asked permission? Absolutely. But I'm glad to have had exposure to the Warzone tracks that went out of print when Caroline quit pressing "Don't Forget the Struggle...", and the Ignite cuts when Conversion went out of business. The FU's records that Xclaim! put out are amazing classics; can you imagine knowing they exist, but can't find a copy to listen to other than a 3rd generation tape for years afterwards? Lost & Found filled that void, and, legitimately or not, kept a great deal of classic HC available for so many kids in the 90s. And that's why I don't feel bad sharing this one today.

Discogs

Click here to download.

various artists - Mojo Presents: The Dreamers (15 Tracks Of Kate Bush-Inspired Dream Pop)

I don't have the October 2014 issue around which to contextualize the claim, but can one truly say this collection is Kate Bush-inspired? This stretches the definition of what "dream pop" is, and I always found Kate Bush (who I love...don't get me wrong) to be more akin to Peter Gabriel on the art rock tip, so I'm casting a gimlet eye towards the title. But there's a Wye Oak song here, and one by Julie Holter, and I can always skip over The War On Drugs, so I guess I'll just throw this one out to you, my people, and wish you not only a happy Mojo Monday, but a solemn Memorial Day.

Discogs

Click here to download.

Dennis Bovell And The Dub Band - Audio Active

I don't have a great deal of insight to share about this record. I knew Dennis Bovell produced the Slits and the Pop Group when I found this several years ago. I ripped it and stashed the CD. No big deal. But it's getting to be summer, which means I swap all my post punk records on my phone for dub records, and this just started getting some spins. It's a very weird, very cool record to come out in 1986, when reggae had either gone full dancehall or full Rasta. Of course I dig it.

Discogs

Click here to download.

various artists - Fort Reno Benefit Compilation

As summer approaches, I start thinking about outdoor shows. And that's because I spent my formative years driving down I-95 to DC to dodge summer thunderstorms to watch punk rock outside in the dusk of the capitol, on the site of a Civil War fort in Northwest.

There have been shows held at Fort Reno since 1968, but, for me, it was a great way to see Fugazi every year for free. Not that $5 was ever a burden, but it was nice applying that fiver towards making the 3-hour round trip to the historic park. I saw some amazing sets from the DC quartet, and got introduced to a ton of the younger bands from the Metro. A lot of them appeared on this 1997 benefit compilation for the music series, put out by Resin Records. Resin was run by Carlton from the Better Automatic, who put out 16 records over six years, all of which I own and most of which I still view favorably. The big names here are the Dismemberment Plan, Chisel, and Trans Am. Corm was John Davis' pre-Q & Not U band; the Impossible Five put out a single LP on Gern Blandsten and were outstanding when I saw them at the park in '97. I never got to see Smart Went Crazy live, but "Con Art" remains my favorite underheard record on Dischord.

Like all great compilations, this one is a curated snapshot of a scene. Some of these performers went on to bigger things; some of the bands were only heard here. But listening to this (Jesus) 29 years later immediately brings back a Discman velcroed to the dash, stickiness briefly interrupted by gentle winds atop the highest natural point in WDC, and pilgrimages to hear something new and brilliant. That's a great feeling. 

Discogs

Click here to download.

various artists - Made In Britain: Mojo Presents The Sound Of A New England 1977-1983

"I don't want to change the world/I'm not looking for a new England/I'm just looking for another girl." What a perfect chorus. What a great song.

And this freebie, tacked onto the cover of September 2005's cover of Mojo Magazine, is chock full of songs like the Billy Bragg classic quoted above. Some, like "Too Much Pressure" or "The Modern World", are ones I've known by heart since long before this comp landed in my hands. Then there's deeper cuts, like the cuts from the Ruts and Soft Cell compiled here, that I came to when I finally landed myself copies of the full-lengths they originally appeared on. Then there's music from Alien Sex Fiend and the Meteors, who I'd never in a million years buy a record by. Yet, here, I found it all pretty compelling, which, knock ME over with a feather. Also, there's a Pop Rivets cut present. I probably should be a bigger Billy Childish fan.

The point? Ah, yes, the point. The point is that this 21-year-old is jam packed with pretty amazing 40+ year old songs, all of which where created by people who were in their early 20s, and probably just wanted to get laid and make music (not necessarily in that order). And that's pretty awesome for this old man. Just keep writing, keep chopping...you'll get there soon enough.

Discogs

Click here to download.

Big Dipper - Slam

Slam. Duh duh duh, duh duh duh. Let boys be boys.

I pulled this one back out after acquiring a copy of the Embarrassment's discography a few weeks ago. Big Dipper was, of course, staffed with two members of the Embarrassment, along with former members of Volcano Suns. And if you know how any of those words relate to independent music...well, congrats, unc; you probably played vinyl only on your 3am radio show back in 1988.

"Slam" was Big Dipper's third and final full-length in their first iteration. It was also their only LP on major label Epic Records, with their first two coming on Homestead. If I had to guess, their Epic A&R, who also signed Living Colour, probably was looking for the next Hüsker Dü, something tuneful and noisy that'd cross over from college rock into the lower depths of the mainstream. And while I don't love this as much as I do their two Homestead records (still available as part of the excellent Merge anthology "Supercluster"!), it's still really good, and probably primed for a Music on Vinyl reissue.

Discogs

Click here to download.

various artists - Insound Tour Support Collection Vol. No. One

It seems weird that I've only written about the Insound Tour Support series once, for how many of them I ended up with and how many times they got me onboard with a band or an artist. The Kind Of Like Spitting release, in particular, is the thing that got me listening to Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, and Leon Redbone. I heard the Canyon EP before I saw them live, even though they were based in DC and were dudes from emo bands playing Neil Young-style country rock...a genre engineered to grab my early-20s interest.

A lot of this is now hitting the quarter century mark, which explains why the original records are being revisited (s/o to Numero Group and Solid Brass for their ongoing reissue programs). So I thought it was a good opportunity to finally post this one up. It compiles a fair amount of the bands who appeared in Volumes 1-19. And like a lot of what I share here, it's a good snapshot of indie rock in the years around 9/11. Bright Eyes, Ida, and the Faint are the biggest names here, although relistening to this makes me wish I had held onto my copies of the Lion compilation EP and the Very Secretary release.

Discogs

Click here to download.

various artists - Mojo Presents: Beyond Saturn (Mojo Presents 15 Mind-Blowing Cosmic Tracks Approved By Paul Weller)

It's another Mojo Monday, another compilation "approved" by Paul Weller. I'm not going to complain. They bring me Sun Ra and Charles Mingus and NEU!; I'm going to listen to the entire thing. Space music is always going to grab my attention.

Discogs

Click here to download.

various artists - Audioflashcard

Note: fixed the link to include the entire comp. Thanks to Friend for leaving the comment.

GSL made it a decade and a half, starting out in Boulder in 1993 and wrapping things up in Los Angeles in 2007, with a stop-over in San Diego. During that time, they released no less than a half dozen records that I still find irreplaceable. Early releases from the Locust, the V.S.S., and Get Hustle built a track record that would soon include the Mars Volta, !!!, and the Rapture. This was the sound of late 90s hardcore growing up. And I'm not talking about the youth crew...these were the weirdos from your town who were booking Born Against and Heroin and Huggy Bear in their basements, then going off to college towns where they'd get into Christian Death or Albert Ayler or Karen Dalton. They'd meld it all together, making sounds that'd turn off every macho shithead and turn on their friends and younger siblings.

This sampler came at the midway point of Gold Standard Laboratories' lifespan. GSL would put out the first !!! full length, a Mohinder discography, a collaborative 7" between xBxRx, Miss Pussycat, and Quintron, the Locust's remix 12", and the first post-At The Drive-In release from Cedric and Omar as De Facto in 2001. The last of those would lead to the Mars Volta, who ultimately reached the sort of popularity that honestly blew everyone's I knew's minds. These were deeply different, viewed with some level of distrust, and thus were deeply, honestly, punker than anything else running at the same time. 25 years on, this still feels pretty transgressive, and makes me wonder why the hell we thought anyone was selling out.

Discogs

Click here to download.

various artists - Mojo Presents: It's A Wonderfull Life (A Journey Into Sound)

It only took me around 40-something years before I finally came around on what made Siouxie & The Banshees so great, so this wasn't something I would have sought out even just a few years ago.  This is just an unbelievably cool collection, curated by Siouxie Sioux and Steve Severin. You know, those two.

Primarily comprised of film and stage music, spanning the 1940s to the early 60s, and loaded with sounds you've almost certainly absorbed throughout your life, whether you're 12 or 80. C'mon, you don't have to have been a Disney kid to know "When You Wish Upon A Star" or "A Night On Bare Mountain"...but it helps. For those of us who grew up on the western side of the Atlantic, maybe we didn't get turned on to the themes from "Whiplash", "The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre", or "Fireball XL5". But they left indelible marks on they who did encounter them; hence their appearances here.

This is also a good introduction to Satie, Lotte Lenya, not Bernard Herrmann; not to mention Siouxie & The Banshees representing with their 1987 cover of a song from "The Jungle Book". That's why I'll be packing this off in a care package to my 11-year-old niece, who deserves to hear only the finest.

Discogs

Click here to download.

The Oakland Faders – Scion CD Sampler Vol. 12

I wish I came across more of these Scion A/V releases in the wild, because the rare times I cop them, they always bring me joy.

This twelvth volume in the hip automaker's promotional series is a mixtape from turntable collective Oakland Faders. They bring some great beats to this 68-minute mixtape, kicking things off with jazz-funk god Roy Ayers. This is a who's-who of mid aughts backpack hip-hop; everybody from Ghostface Killah and Talib Kweli to MF Doom and Lyrics Born show up. There's a 45 King track that locks in on me at minute five; DJs Shadow and Q-Bert also provide minute-long features that remind me why I continue to celebrate their catalogs. This one's just a good reminder of how creative things were in hip-hop 20+ years ago, and a perfect "drive around with the windows down" listen...as long as gas doesn't cost $5 a gallon.

Discogs

Click here to download.