various artists - Chasin' That Devil Music

This is the sound of ghosts. Even the commentators have been dead for over 50 years. So put away the Ouija board and cue this up to invoke the spirits; names like Charlie Patton, Son House, and Skip James who you (should) know by heart, and those like William Harris and the Confiners, whose identities are mostly lost.

This came affixed to the book of the same name by Gayle Dean Wardlow, who by 23 was interviewing the remnants of the first wave of blues musicians and now possesses one of the great collection of pre-war blues records in the world. When I was 23, I barely had a serviceable stack of first wave American hardcore. All of which is to say: you see a copy of Wardlow's "Chasin' That Devil Music" out in the world for less than $10 (like I did), you oughta grab it.

Discogs

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various artists - Young Gifted And Black: The Story Of Trojan Records

UPDATE 1/25/23: new Kraken link uploaded.

I stopped by the local Half Price Books over the weekend, my favorite ex-employer, on the hunt for some Criterion laserdiscs and other fun at (you guessed it) half price. Any day that ends with a double disc of "Glen and Glenda" and "Bride of the Monster", a copy of Samuel Fuller's "The Naked Kiss", and a few other classics on 30mm aluminum is a good day. However, I took a quick peek into the music book section and found a copy of "Young Gifted And Black: The Story Of Trojan Records", a 2003 book put out by Trojan owner (at the time) Sanctuary Publishing. While I wasn't necessarily feeling spending the money, I'd never seen a copy on the shelves before, and it came with the compilation I share now. Who am I to deny a sign from the reggae gods?

By now, it should be quite clear that I'm into reggae. I'm not into some Ras Trent/cultural appropriation/I like to get wicked stoned white boy reggae scene. I'm into the deepest south soul, six hours of Lee Perry dubs, a chanting down of Babylon and a celebration of skinheads. My first ever Trojan purchase was a two-fer: Symarip's "Skinhead Moonstomp" and the classic "Monkey Business" comp. It was the introduction to another bit of obsession, searching out not just more reissues and compilations, but always keeping an eye out for dub plates and white labels and the records I'd mostly just read about or heard on the random radio show.

I've yet to start reading the book, but this was am immediate "load it onto the phone" record. At 33 minutes long, it's almost just a sampler; barely scratching the surface of initial seven year heyday. But, fuck, if this doesn't pique your curiosity, get you dancing or crate digging, then I guess you're in the wrong place, baby.

Discogs

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Cinema Sewer Vol. 7 is here!

I am a huge fan of Canadian film historian, artist, scribe, and all-around good-natured pervert Robin Bougie. His long-running zine, Cinema Sewer, is the Cashiers du Cinema of exploitation. It's evident, within minutes of cracking your first issue, that this is not just a labor of love. It's street-level scholarship of the corners of film that don't get a lot of proper attention. When the ol' Ape writes about movies here, he's doing a really cruddy imitation of Msr. Bougie, sans the wonderful artwork.

As I'm not Twitter, I missed the announcement in September that Robin had recently released the seventh collection of Cinema Sewer via his StoreEnvy site. His six previous releases have compiled the first 29 issues of the zine, but Vol. 7 is a real special release. The softcover compiles issues 30 and 31 of Cinema Sewer, along with an additional 90 new pages of never-before-seen interviews, rants, comics, hard-to-find classic movie advertising, and graphic illustrations by Bougie and a bevvy of his talented illustrative contemporaries. It's also the first time Robin's released a hardcover edition of a Cinema Sewer collection. In addition to the above, collectors get a limited edition autograph plate signed by Robin, as well as the mysterious 64-page sequential art monstrosity BUTTLORDS, created by Bougie and illustrator Maxine Frank, who have previously collaborated on Maximum Superexcitment. The hardcover is a limited edition, and you can snag both in a specially-priced combo pack to save a few bucks.

Click here to pick up a copy, as well as back issues and previous Cinema Sewer collections. If you're outside of North America, visit the good folks at FAB Press.

various artists - We Never Learn: The Gunk Punk Undergut, 1988-2001

I am a sucker for a good book about rock 'n' roll, and "We Never Learn" is exactly that.

Much like Legs McNeil's "Please Kill Me", this here's an embed from right in the middle of the action, courtesy of Eric Davidson from New Bomb Turks. The Turks were probably my entre into this world of grimy yet tuneful punk rock 'n' roll, having first heard them on their third LP, "Scared Straight". Along with the noisy stuff coming out on AmRep and Man's Ruin, this is what I heard every weekend when I'd drive into Baltimore to visit Reptilian Records to buy music. It was so different from the mall punk then playing on the radio, and the crust and political hardcore my friends and I had been listening to.

The book itself is such a wonderful survey of those years leading up to 9/11, when, simultaneous with America losing her shit, people started paying attention to stripped down rock again. It pays proper homage to Tim Warren and Crypt Records. As much as anyone/thing, they served as the key influence to so many bands from this scene. It's also one of the first times I remember seeing anyone discuss and interview an (inter)national scene. While you could argue that the garage rock revival sprung from the Midwest, by 2000, you listen to similar bands from Osaka to Fagersta to Memphis.

Now what's disappointing is that there isn't a 10th anniversary edition releasing this year, putting this wonderful tome back in print. AbeBooks and eBay show copies running around $125.00, original publisher Backbeat Books is still cranking out music tomes, and Eric Davidson has continued writing entertaining, insightful articles and reviews for a wide range of publications and websites. It should be in print!

Anyhow, please enjoy the downloadable comp that came with the first printing. There aren't many names missing that I would have added, and an awful lot that, if you've never heard them before, you should check out. I'd never really listened to Oblivians, Clone Defects or Thee Headcoats before buying this; now it's some of my favorite stuff.

eBay

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