The Mummies - Uncontrollable Urge b/w Girl U Want

Far be it, no matter the current status of my digital music collection, for me to let a Halloween pass without a Mummies post.

The Mummies. Covering two crucial Devo tracks. On a bootleg "Sub Pop" 45.

It's perfect.

Howl at the moon tonight.

Discogs

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シェラック - Live In Tokyo

Shellac of North America record no. 5. A full blown banger that was released in Japan by K.K. Null's home, Nux Organization, and one that only ever came Stateside via bootlegs. This was ripped from my own bootleg copy of the Nux release. I would argue I prefer it over "At Action Park", but I think it's because I tend to get contrarian about Shellac. Which is what I assume esteemed poker player Mr. Albini would prefer.

I learned today, in between boxing up a bunch of CDs and watching the entire first season of "Reacher", that the founder of [shiny grey monotone], Ipecac, died in 2021. To quote his running mate Grey:

I feel an obligation to carry on in his honor because as goofy as blogging about music can be, it meant a lot to him, and the power of music is real. Harnessing these seemingly magical currents out of thin air in a way that makes music really is beguiling, and even after punishing my ears with it for decades, I still find the same thrill in hearing just the right combination of sounds. It will never cease to amaze.

Whenever I feel like stopping the writing permanently, I end up coming across another goddamned record like this, and I'm drawn to a very similar emotion as that which Grey refers to above. It is a solopistic, quixotic gesture to keep blogging for free about relatively obscure recordings in 2022. Yet I must, because there's someone who hasn't experienced this magical moment, captured 29 years ago and thousands of miles away, and to keep that magic to myself would be a sin.

Discogs

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Tori Amos - Europe 1992

Rabbit, rabbit, old friends. Welcome to March 2022. Apparently, I only remember to wish you a "Rabbit, Rabbit" every March.

Here's some live Tori Amos from 1992...just here, a piano, a German audience, songs from "Little Earthquakes", and a pair of Zep and Nirvana covers. I found this a couple years back on a Goodwill shelf for $3, and who am I to turn down a Tori Amos bootleg for $3? Who are you to turn it down, for that matter? You think you're too good for 30-year-old alternative rock, back when that meant something?

OK, I'll calm down now.

Discogs

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The Mummies - 1994 Peel Sessions

Happy All Hallows' Eve, me cobbers. Last year, I threw up a Mummies' post that the kids seemed to dig, so let's continue that tradition with another 7" slab of garage rock delights. This time, it's their 1994 Peel Session, bootlegged the following year and featuring a pretty great cover featuring our heroes in fine, cartoon fettle. I feel like it's well worth the $10 or so you'd pay from a Discogs seller, but you be the judge.

Break out your clodhoppers, light up the candles in the carved-out pumpkins, and blast on high.

Discogs

Click here to download.

R.E.M. - Animal's Attactions

Here is another Italian bootleg I found at the Goodwill; this time, it's R.E.M.'s live appearance on MTV Unplugged in 1991 (minus a few songs from that session). I'll never cease to be amazed how these guys managed to become the biggest band in the world for a few years on the back of jangle pop and mandolin leads. It's pretty cool, when it gets right down to it.

I'm pretty sure this got overlooked at the store due to the AH-MAH-ZING cover art. DOGS IN HAWAIIAN SHIRTS?!? WHERE TO BEGIN? Who wouldn't regard this a legitimate release worth $3 plus tax?

Discogs

Click here to download.

PJ Harvey - Black Monsoon

Remember when you'd have to ask the clerk to see the "live imports" in back?

I turn up some fun bootlegs from time to time. They're always in the middle of a bunch of thrift store crap: Elton John's mid-80s MCA CDs, Time/Life "as seen on TV" comps,  the "Spider-Man 3" soundtrack, a million copies of "Time Out". It's fun when they appear; you know you've done the right amount of digging to find that live recording that never got a proper release. Was it Pearl Jam's live series in 2001, coupled with the rise of the internet, that killed the physical bootleg release? I know I wouldn't pay a premium for a Nirvana live set any more when I could just download it for free from a blog. Still, it was fun while it lasted.

I turned up this copy of PJ Harvey's "Black Monsoon" a few month ago at a Goodwill where I regularly turn up quality. It'd been sitting there for a bit; I'm fairly certain I snagged it at 30% off the $2.99 sticker price, so it'd have had to be on the shelf for at least a month. It's a great slab; 5" and 75 minutes worth of Ms. Polly Jean at her greatest, on tour behind "To Bring You My Love", live in an old Art Deco theatre in Los Angeles late in 1995. "Love" was the last PJ Harvey record I bought new, on sale the week it came out for $14.99 at Camelot on CD. I'm sure it's because I got really into Sleater-Kinney at the same time that I lost track, but it's been nice to rediscover 25 years worth of her records in the interim.

Let the record show that I turned the $2.00 (or so) I spent on this into a $20 sale on Discogs, and subsequent Bandcamp purchase. Money well spent.

Discogs

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Danzig - Death Had No Name

Here's another one I got from all-time great blog [shiny grey monotone], a site I visit daily because I know when they do post, it'll be quality. If you enjoy what I post here, then they are a must follow.

It took me a very long time to appreciate the Misfits and, by extension, Glenn Danzig. Chalk it up to getting into punk during that short period where all the Misfits records were out of print. Or blame it on only having one friend who was into Danzig's eponymous band, and us only listening to Fugazi and Nirvana and the Breeders when we drove around getting baked. Or maybe it just had to do with the fact that owning a Misfits t-shirt was punk 101, and I was always trying too hard not to look like a poseur. It wasn't until my late 20s that I was willing to listen to Jersey's finest, and even then, it took a mixtape that led off with "Where Eagles Dare" for me to get it.

Which is a damned shame, because I let myself miss out on the joys of one of the best crooners of the past 40 years. As I was chasing old Dischord releases and devouring Pushead's recommendations from Thrasher back issues, I was also discovering vocal jazz and pop from the 40s thru the 60s: Sinatra, Dean-o, Nina, Chet. I found I loved hearing someone sing their ass off as much as I loved circle pitting and singing along. I had the chance to hear one of the modern equivalents, singing about demons and succubi and the Devil. I couldn't get past the corniness to experience the soul.

So, about "Death Had No Name": this 7", resembling a Sub Pop Singles Club release, came out in 1991, in a pressing of 1,000 pieces...or so the back cover says. There were 500 on yellow, 500 on blue. The title track was a "Danzig"-era recording that wouldn't get a legitimate release for another 16 years until 2007's "The Lost Tracks of Danzig". It shows up in a ton of the Danzig bootlegs out there, but always as a live version. The B-sides are a ton of fun. As far as I can tell, both date from the 1987 rehearsal tapes that would come out as "Demos '88" in 1990. "Possession", as noted in the SGM post, rips the version that appeared on the Danzig debut. And "Trouble"? Sure, it's on the nose to have Danzig do a song popularized by Elvis. But I like it. If nothing else, it's an excellent mixtape curiosity.

Where does this leave us? It's possible I've downloaded a few Danzig records I don't own in the past month or so. And I've been contemplating picking up a copy of "Danzig Sings Elvis" a lot. Tell me I'm wrong.

Discogs

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Black Flag - The Complete 1982 Demos Plus More!

See, I told you I'd be right back to some dumb punk rock shit.

The Black Flag/Unicorn/MCA injunction is one of my favorite stories about the music business. Flag signs a deal with Unicorn Records to co-release "Damaged", gaining Black Flag access to better distribution. Al Bergamo at MCA, Unicorn's parent company, hears (about) "Damaged", decides it's "anti-parent", and blocks it from release. SST restickers the 25,000 LP run on Unicorn. Unicorn files suit against Black Flag for breach of contract, leading to contempt of court charges against Greg Ginn and Chuck Dukowski and a three year embargo against any releases under the Black Flag name.

So it came to be that it took three years, and two lineups, until the Flag would fly again. Robo left his drum stool shortly after recording "Damaged", and in his place would sit Chuck Biscuits, formerly of D.O.A. While nothing official was ever released from this five-piece, they did record a number of demos, collected here on this bootleg CD-R. We get a mix of tracks from "My War" and "Slip It In", featuring Rollins on vocals, Ginn and Cadena on guitars, Dukowski on bass, and Biscuits on drums. I really prefer the '82 quintet. I think Bill Stevenson's drumming continues to get better over time, but Biscuits was at the top of his game on these demos. Hank still hasn't dove full-blown into LSD poet, and Dez on second guitar allows Greg Ginn to go wild, while still retaining an underpinning on the songs. It's also the Dukowski's last recordings with the band before the Duke would move onto SWA. In short, it's a leaner, meaner version of a pair of classic hardcore/grunge records that wouldn't come out for another two years.

And, because I'm a giver, I've left on the 1984 Radio Tokyo sessions that typically appear on CD versions of the 1982 demos. It's three songs from "My War" and an interview, featuring bearded Henry Rollins, stoned Greg Ginn, Kira Roessler on bass and Bill on drums. It's a cool tack on, considering Kira didn't otherwise record any of the "My War" cuts, and I'm always a fan of a "live in the studio" session.

Discogs

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Void - Potion For Bad Dreams

From the sublime, to the ridiculous...

It's still kinda amazing to me that two of the great punk/indie catalogs of the 80s, in Touch & Go and SST, have no gotten the comprehensive remastering and reissuing that we saw out of Dischord 10-15 years ago. Not only that, there are rarities from T&G, especially their early hardcore days, that haven't been revisited. I'm thrilled that the early Necros stuff is available digitally on Bandcamp from the band, and that "Tied Down" got new vinyl pressings last year and this year. But it sucks that bands like Hüsker Dü and Minutemen and Naked Raygun haven't gotten even a portion of the scholarly, loving treatment they deserve.

I'll step off the soapbox to, instead, share a record that (probably) rightfully has never been released. In 1983, Void was coming off the previous year's release of their split with the Faith, possibly the greatest split 12" of all time (prove me wrong!). They were the perfect melding of hardcore and metal; like Bad Brains and Motörhead making beautiful monkey love. How could you top such a ripper?

Turns out, you can't. Like their contemporaries in SSD, Void recorded a glam metal record, highlighting not just the fracturing interests of the band members, but also state of the hardcore scene in 1983. The leading lights were growing up, and many were ready to go pro and start making real money off their craft.

"Potion for Bad Dreams" was originally recorded for Touch & Go, a reflection of their alliance with T&G owner/Necros drummer Corey Rusk. But between the band falling apart, the lack of enthusiasm in the recording, and the need to focus on upcoming releases from Tesco Vee, the Butthole Surfers, and Die Kruezen, Rusk shelved this sucker. I say, for good reason.

This rip comes from my copy of the tape that Das Boots put out in 2014/15. I have no clue what generation recording they used for their release; I do know this has been booted almost since the day it was recorded, and my copy is one of the better I've heard. Some of y'all may enjoy this. If I remember correctly, I remember both Sean from White Zombie and Buzz from the Melvins saying in interviews what a shame it was this had never been put out. I'm not one of them, but it doesn't mean it shouldn't be shared.

Discogs

Click here to download.

Inside Out - live on KXLU, 1991

Inside Out, live in Bellingham, WA, 1990 (photo by Bill Baker)

Of the first 20 releases on Revelation Records, REV:19 remains my favorite. "No Spiritual Surrender" is a thunderbolt, the culmination of the five prior years of growth of the youth crew. I know a fair amount of folks who will take "True Till Death" or "Start Today" or "Bringing It Down" as their favs. While those all are amazing records, it's Inside Out's sole legit release that takes the pole position for me.

The ten songs here come from a live performance at KXLU on the campus of Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles from 1991. The first time I ever heard them was a truncated version of this session that a buddy put on the tail end of a tape: a dub of a dub of a bootleg dub. He was a huge Rage Against the Machine fan who knew I was into hardcore, and figured I'd enjoy these. He was right.

The band would be broken up within six months of this recording, leaving this as one of the last documents of their existence. There are two songs here ("Empty Days", and "Nowhere To Turn") that never appeared on a record. Prior to guitarist Vic Dicara leaving the band in mid-1991 to become a Hare Krishna monk, Inside Out had discussed making a second record for Ebullition. I can only assume these cuts would have appeared on that record. Instead, Zach de la Rocha would team up with Tom Morello, and the rest was history.

Click here to download.

Iggy Pop - Heroin Hates You

Iggy Pop at the Longhorn Bar, 1979 (Tom Sweeney)

Stinky's awesome post about Brian James over at Jonderblog the other day got me thinking of the first Iggy bootleg I ever picked up. It was the 1997 reissue of "Heroin Hates You", and while it doesn't have the history or cache of "Metallic K.O.", it's still pretty damned good.

KROQ broadcast this live from the Stardust Ballroom in L.A. November 30, 1979, so you're, at best, looking at a FM-quality recording here, right down to the DJ wondering aloud if the Igster is going to do a second encore. The lineup here is pretty strong. Lining up behind Mr. Osterberg is the aforementioned Brian James (the Damned, Lords of the New Church) playing guitar, Ivan Kral (Patti Smith Group, Blondie) on guitar and keys, Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols, Rich Kids) slapping bass, and Klaus Kruger (Tangerine Dream) hitting the skins.

I know some people prefer the Bowie/Sales Brothers lineup from "TV Eye Live", but I prefer this group of first wave punks backing Iggy. They're really in the pocket here, even when playing the looser Stooges cuts. Additionally, I really enjoy the cover of the Kinks and the replay of "One For My Baby", foreshadowing Iggy's crooner records "Après" and "Préliminaires". The addition of some "New Values"-era tracks rounds out a pretty alright bootleg.

Discogs

Click here to download.

The Gories - Complete Bandin Sessions

If you're not a fan of the Gories, then you're probably a dipshit, your actions are suspect, and you're not invited to my birthday party.

Is that harsh? Yes, but fair. The Gories are that good. If you've ever liked the White Stripes, or rock 'n' roll in general, you probably should have heard them. Along with The Cramps, Thee Milkshakes and Tim Warren, they were the wellspring of garage punk in the 80s. They released three LPs and a wealth of singles from 1989 to their breakup in 1992. Despite not having the best distribution, their legend grew via word of mouth throughout the 90s and 00s, culminating in a reunion tour in 2009. They've been houserockin' ever since.

I got turned onto the Gories shortly after I heard guitarist/vocalist Mick Collins' next band, the Dirtbombs, in 2001. I'd just started listening to bands like the New Bomb Turks, the Hives, and Oblivians, so the rawness of the Gories fit right in. I never thought I'd get to see them, yet once they reunited, they headlined U+N Fest in Baltimore in 2013. Mrs. Mummy and I snuck in to see them; they were beyond fantastic. Just raw-ass, primitive punk rock 'n' roll; AM radio, mono recordings blasting my ears, raising my pulse and my loins.

Here's the story on the Bandin Session, as told by Dan Kroha to Savage Magazine back in 2007:

The guy who put out our 1st LP, Lenny Puch, had Wanghead Records. His recording studio was where the Bandin show was filmed, so the studio you see in that video is the studio where we recorded our 1st LP. The walls of the studio were covered in carpet and Mick felt that the sound was too dead, so we asked if we could move all our stuff into the metal walled machine shop next door and record in there. Which is what we ended up doing.The Bandin show was shown on a local cable channel back when cable was like the radio station at the end of the dial. Like in a place where no one would see it. I never actually saw it until years later when someone gave me a videotape of it.

So there you have it: a Gories record that never actually came out, and, as far as I can tell, has never really been bootlegged. Someone ought to get on that.

Click here to download.