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

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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

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various artists - Dim Mak Records Sampler, "I'm like a stepping razor don't you watch me i'm dangerous

Long before Steve Aoki became a famed cake thrower, but after he booked HC & emo bands to play shows in his dorm room at the Pickle Patch at UCSB, he was a purveyor of some renown for the cutting edge of indie rock. This 23-year-old relic comes from just before he linked up with Bloc Party and helped break them here in the States. So it has sprinklings of fun stuff from Pretty Girls Make Graves, Panthers, the Gossip, Die Monitr Bats, and the Von Bondies. I'm partial to the contribution from post-Huggy Bear outfit the Phantom Pregnancies, as well as a live Soledad Brothers cut. It's a fun reminder of the time when the hardcore kids were playing house records alongside riot grrrl, and coke mirrors with the logo of your band were a crucial element of your show merch. 

Discogs

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The Mummies Vs. The Wolfmen

Not to sound like I've lived a terrible life, but this year marks the first time that I've carved a pumpkin into a jack-o-lantern. Chalk it up to a childhood where we didn't celebrate Halloween. It's led to a lack of enthusiasm for the holiday requiring active pushback. So bring on the apple bobbing, haunted hayrides, and drive-by eggings!

The firmest Halloween tradition I follow is, of course, the annual Mummies posting. And what better choice than their double 7" split with the Wolfmen. This is one where you can judge the book by its cover, ably craved by Coop himself! Just picked up a zine from him a few weeks ago; his devil girls still pack a punch. Long Gone John has his fingers all over this one, from the colored vinyl to his appearances bookending the mini comic inside the cover. The Mummies drop a pair of deranged covers of Wilson Pickett and Roy Acuff Jr. The Wolfmen present a pair of originals from their limited catalog...can't say I ever really listen to them. Y'all know what I'm here for.

Eat candy / play trashy music / get a venereal disease / make some bad choices. It's Halloween, y'all!

Discogs

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various artists - Mojo Presents: Brotherhood

I am not a particular fan of the Black Keys. I came by the opinion honestly; I've owned, at one time or another, most of their records through "El Camino". I'm pretty sure they played the Ottobar at least once while I worked there. And they play a brand of heavy blues that should fit well with my tastes. Yet for the money spent and the decibels incurred, I just don't rate them very highly. Taste being subjective and all, you know?

So it's with a bit of reluctance that I share this, Mojo's companion release to the Black Keys' 2010 album "Brothers". Not that it's bad, but it doesn't get the ol' blood pumping like I feel it should. There are parts that I can co-sign; a live recording of "Have Love Will Travel" by the Sonics from 1964, a deep cut Nathaniel Meyer track, a Captain Beefheart track. But, on the whole, it's a lot of Black Keys rarities, as well as some related bands, and that ain't my cup of tea.

But let's not let that get between us, friendo. One man's trash is another's treasure. So I hope you dig this one.

Discogs

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various artists - Mojo Presents: 1-2-3-4! (The Roots Of The Ramones)

It's coming up on 30 years since the Ramones broke up; we're in the sixth decade of having them on the planet. What a pivot point. Everything that came before was garage rock or proto punk or beat. Everything that came after was punk, the new wave. Knowing what we know now about the interpersonal politics of the band, it's amazing to me that we got more than a couple of singles, much less 22 years of turning a 33rpm world up to 45.

Like most Mojo giveaways from this period, "1-2-3-4!" is pretty well curated, snagging 15 tracks of predecessors and contemporaries. As fellow music psychos, you probably have a number of these tracks already. If you're here reading this blog, you don't need me to tell you that Television, the Shangri-Las, and Love are fucking incredible. Placing Ronnie Spector singing a Joey composition and adding a track from Leslie West's pre-Mountain garage back are nice touches. Does T.Rex fit here for me? I dunno, but maybe you have some insight. It's all led off with a Ramones rarity: the Stones' "Street Fighting Man", performed with ex-Heartbreaker Walter Lure.

Good art doesn't need to be groundbreaking or proficient. It also needs to have heart, be authentic; talent is always a plus, but that's all subjective. And, subjectively, the Ramones distilled their influences and surrounding into something truly great. And this is still a good way to hear what contributed to that greatness.

Discogs

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The Afrika Korps - Music To Kill By

I wouldn't typically dive into KBD territory, but having gotten this 2001 reissue for a fantastic price a bit ago, I couldn't resist sharing it. The Afrika Korps were a DC-area proto-punk/garage band active in the late 70s. When I first encountered them, it was along with other pre-Dischord punks like the Slickee Boys White Boy, and the Chumps on mixtapes and comps like "30 Seconds Over DC". It was all more new wave than hardcore, which meant I wasn't going to dig it until I was older, but tracks like "N.Y. Punk" and "Jailbait Janet" appealed to me in that scuzzy way that Iggy and Turbonegro did. The older I get, the more I dig it.

This reissue came out on the esteemed, long-lived Gulcher Records of Bloomington, Indiana back in '01, It's topped off with a slew of outtakes from their initial recording sessions, and four tracks from a 1977 show at Cantone's in Boston. This would be followed up a year later with the complete Cantone's set, a 2005 reissue of the Korps' second LP "Hellow World". cBased on how much I dug this one, I'll no doubt be following the link above to pay full freight on those two discs in due time.

Discogs

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various artists - Sympathetic Sounds Of Detroit

It was Meg White's 50th birthday a few weeks ago, and it reminded me of the first time I heard the White Stripes. And the Dirtbombs. And Clone Defects, Bantam Rooster, the Detroit Cobras.ymp

It was 2001's "Sympathetic Sounds Of Detroit", compiled, produced, recorded, and mixed by Meg's "husband" and bandmate, the former Doc Gillis. If the goal was to put together a humdinger, then consider it a success. Longtime readers can guess which bands I favor here, but there's not a dud in the entire bunch. Even someone like the Von Bondies, who I otherwise never dug, really bring it on "Sound Of Terror".

(It's the Dirtbombs and D.C.'s, for the record.)

Discogs

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various artists - The Groups Of Wrath: Songs Of The Naked City

This one was hanging out on a low shelf, all by its lonesome, when i came across it a few months ago. And the title on the spine gave me doo-wop or jazz noir vibes. So imagine my surprise to discover this was a compilation originally compiled by Marty Thau, owner of Red Star Records and NYC new wave impressiaro. Any look at the emergence of punk and new wave is going to gain my interest; the selections herein grabbed my attention:

• A pair of cuts from the New York Dolls' second LP
• Two Thau-produced Ramones demos from 1975
• The first Blondie single on Private Stock ("X Offender" b/w "In The Sun")
• One of my all-time favorite 45s - Suicide's "Cheree" b/w "I Remember"
• Two contributions each from Bloodless Pharaohs and the Fleshtones, both originally appearing on 1980's "Marty Thau Presents"
• A dynamic duo from Richard Hell & the Voidoids' 1982 LP, "Destiny Street"

There's a good chance that you're like me, and you already own a fair amount of these in their original forms, or as reissues, or part of other compilations. But it's nice to share something like this, with very distinctive curaation, and some Bob Gruen photography on the cover, with someone who hasn't discovered this era yet. I probably would have lost my mind if I had gotten this on cassette in 1991; so many groups I now find influential all gathered in one place, the same year I discovered Sonic Youth and Nirvana and Public Enemy. It's pretty cool to think about, which is why my niece is getting a copy of this in the mail in time for Thanksgiving.

Discogs

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The Mummies - Food, Sickles, And Girls b/w One By One

Some butthole of a friend keeps taunting me with footage of his recent attendance of a Mummies show. "Oh, look," he seems to be saying. "I am a man of independent means, able to travel long distances in my early 40s to see one of our favorite bands."

Oh, how I loathe him. The lucky fucker.

Happy Halloween from Lord Ape Mummy, direct from the tower block in the PNW. Love y'all.

Discogs

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various artists - Total Blam Blam! (A Brilliant Batch Of Bowie-Inspired Rockers)

This is the platonic ideal of any dollar bin purchase. There were zero expectations going into this one. Hell, I didn't recognize a single name amongst the 16 bands appearing herein. This seems more like an unsigned band comp than it does a "Bowie-inspired" collection. And viewed through that prism (listened to through those headphones?), this is pretty good. I wouldn't be bummed out at all to encounter any of these folks as the second of four bands on a Thursday night.

Not that I'm out on Thursday nights, listening to garage rock or punk glam along with 30-50 other locals.

Anyway, this is a much better comp than I would have expected from the likes of Classic Rock Magazine, the Mojo for boomers who nod sagely when they hear a band from their youth sold their catalog to Hipgnosis.

(I'm just mad that Maximum Rock 'n' Roll hasn't been in print in years.)

Discogs

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various artists - D.U.M.B. Rock: The Hollywood Tapes

Focusing one's attention on cheap comps allows one to take some risks and discover sounds you would have never encountered otherwise, Case in point: this 1993 compilation of NYC sounds, featuring liner notes from contemporary Maximum Rock 'n' Roll columnist George Tabb, whose writing I took a liking to in my first years of punk rock discovery.

This one came out on Celluloid, a label I've always found curious for the breadth of their releases. Their early US releases were a who's who of Downtown sounds: Bill Laswell, Alan Vega, Phase2, and Grandmixer D.ST. They put out a few Fela Kuti records in the 80s; I think the first things I owned on Celluloid were "Hustlers Convention" and "This Is Madness". By 1993, Celluloid was on its last legs, having been sold for a dollar in 1989, and mostly existing as a catalog label by this point. I can only speculate, but Vital Music, who'd released the other "Dumbrock" comps, probably piggybacked on Celluloid's transcontinental distribution reach in order to get this one in as many hands as possible.

"But is it any good?" you ask. Good question; you be the judge. I don't feel like it was a buck poorly spent on my part. And that's all the insight I'm willing to spend on this one.

Discogs

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various artists - Cheapo Crypt Sampler

There was a time in my capricious youth where I balked at paying $7 for a sampler of preivously-released songs. And, thankfully, there was someone there to help me pull my head out of my spacious rectum.

You see, this one has gotten a ton of play in the approximately 20-some-odd years since I nabbed my first copy of it. When I first encountered it, I only knew the JSBE and Thee Headcoats, both via some late night MTV encounters and Spin magazine backpages. But the Oblivians and Gories, a pair of Memphis creeps if ever there were such a duo, were what held onto me, with "Nitroglycerine" and "Sunday You Need Love" making their way onto a few turn of the millenium mixtapes.

While my initial copy eventually disappeared in one of the periodic cleansings I conducted back then (I miss my old tape collection), it was one of the first things I downloaded when I got my first iPod and high speed internet connection. Which long-dead blog did I find this on? Who was the keeper of sleazy punk that provided me with a digital copy in gleaming 128kbps? The name and place has been lost to the ages, but whenever I needed a fair swath of 90s underground rock, I'd turn to this, and turn it up loud.

A few months ago, I was trawling eBay for inexpensively priced CDs (as is my habit). A seller in Ohio had a stack of sixteen Crypt CDs for $100 for sale. It was a pretty fair price for a bunch of records I owned digitally, but no longer held physical copies of. I saved it, and a few days later came an offer to pick it up for $80, I couldn't turn it down. Both New Bomb Turks full-lengths, both Gories LPs, the Raunch Hands, Pagans, and a pair of Lazy Cowgirls CDs? How could I pass? I'm not made of stone. And to cap it off, a copy of "Cheapo Crypt Sampler", here to be re-ripped at 320kbps and shared with y'all.

I didn't even have to pay $7 this time around. How's that for a good time?

Discogs

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various artists - California Ain't Fun No More

This one is a bit of a perfect storm. Let me explain.

It's put together by Jason Duncan from the Parasites, who runs Just Add Water, which is the place I learned about Jesse Hector. JAW put out the CD; Berlin's Alien Snatch Records handled the vinyl. Chuck Loose from the Crumbs did the cover, which reminded me of a lot of Baltimore-local artwork from the same period. This one popped up on eBay as a penny CD; a bona-fide bargain at that price. The artwork took me back, even at 300x300 dpi, so I didn't give a shit what was actually on the record.

This is twelve tracks worth of delicious West Coast garage rock circa 2002. Pre-Burger Records, contemporaneous with Gearhead, Estrus, and Man's Ruin and all kinds of other great Mordam-distributed labels. They're the sort of bands championed by the likes of Hit List, the knuckle dragger's MRR and a zine whose demise I've long lamented. I'm a bit sad it took me 22 years after the release to cop this one.

It's just a good-ass, "drive around with the windows down and a cold drink in your crotch"-type record, even missing the two vinyl-only songs.

Discogs

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various artists - Off Target: A Coalition Records Sampler

I've written a bit about a Coalition Records release before, but this sampler, which came out nearly 20 years ago, serves as a pretty great survey of what this Dutch label was. Inspired by the likes of Lärm and Seein' Red, Jeroen and Marcel helped set the trend for the turn of the century with a ton of über-fast hardcore releases. As the initial wave of power violence petered out, they then got weird with Mark McCoy and Nate Wilson in their post-Charles Bronson/Devoid Of Faith bi-continental outfit Das Oath.

It's tough to overstate how special the early aughts were for hardcore. There was still the cultural push against over-commodification, but that was running headlong into the possibilities, good and bad, of what the internet could be. The world was shrinking in a lot of good ways, to the point where it was easier to discover the more obscure parts of the scene than it'd ever been. But it still felt small; you felt like you could still be a part of it.

And that's what listening to this reminds me of. It's the first few years of the Art Space, bands coming from all over the world and playing in that dank-ass basement. It's Mark living in Tony's spare room for a few months...like, why did Mark McCoy even come to Baltimore? It's the natural progression from being pen pals, one letter at a time, to being email mates, sharing tips on what bands to check out and zines to read and, hey, did you check out this new website? It was a world of possibilities, in spite of 9/11 and the War on Terrorism and Bush's America.

I digress. Short/fast/loud. It's still pretty damn rad. And with 35 songs, a hell of a bargain, whether it's 2005 or 2024.

Discogs

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various artists - Mojo Presents: Teen Spirit

The death of Steve Albini had an awful lot of folks in the mainstream revisiting the period around his recording of "In Utero". I appreciate it, because it digs up his old quotes about Urge Overkill, and brings attntion to the Jesus Lizard. That ain't a terrible thing.

This is definitely one of my favorite Mojo comps; the sort that makes me wonder why I haven't resubscribed. Sure, I already own everything here worth owning, But the curation, which I assume was conducted by Mojo editor Phil Alexander, is top notch and covers a wider-than-average swath of the American pre-grunge underground. Alice Donut, Pavement, the Gits, and Jawbox? All together on the same CD? Pretty nice work, gang.

Discogs

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various artists - I Give You The Head Of Corporate Rock And Roll Vol. I

If you're like me, and an interest in public radio intersects with a love of punk rock, then this one's for you, pally.

Recorded live on air at KPFK 90.7 in Los Angeles, "I Give You The Head Of Corporate Rock And Roll Vol. I" is a snapshot of the West Coast's edgier left of the dial bands, just as "Nevermind" was starting to really break through.to 14-year-olds like me. Not that I would have heard this, residing, as I did, on the literal side of a mountain in Moonshine Country, Virginia.

But I probably would have enjoyed this immensely in 1992. Calamity Jane, who I've written about here before, provides a cut. Long Gone John's taste is well represented, with Oiler, the Humpers, and Trash Can School all chiming in. Kyle Ryan would probably be stoked to see Anus the Menace, Bulimia Banquet, and Sandy Duncan's Eye contributing cuts. And operating at the center of this fuckin' sick Venn diagram are Distorted Pony and Mudwimin, making circus music for little monkeys like yours truly. There's even a Man Is The Bastard connection, as former PHC bandmate Bob Durkee's band Shoeface can also be found here.

L.A. seems like it probably was fun in 1992.

Discogs

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various artists - The Giant Rock 'n' Roll Swindle

I always thought Shepard Fairey's whole deal was a bit cringey. But I can think of a lot worse things that a youngster could have walked out of Hot Topic with back in '02. This one serves as half label sampler for Boston's Fork In Hand Records, half "here's what's cool in edgy rock" comp, all wrapped inside Fairey's post-Giant/pre-Hope aesthetic. There's a Hives song and an Icarus Line song and, honestly, even the songs I don't like aren't bad, per se. It's just not always my thing. And far be it for me to gate keep.regarding a 22-year-old compilation. You do you, boo.

Sometimes, I don't even know what I'm talking about.

Discogs

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various artists - Mojo Presents: Stooges Jukebox

I have nothing clever or interesting to offer regarding this comp, compiled by Iggy Pop himself and offered up by Mojo back in Twenty Aught Seven. It's just good shit, and I missed a deadliine a couple days ago on account of exhaustion and a binge on Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, so I know I need to bring the good shit.

Discogs

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various artists - How We Rock

Think of this as a sophomore-level sampler of the sleaze rock days of the early aughts, which are being celebrated by my peers and old acquaintances. I guess you can call me a "well wisher", in as much as I don't wish anyone any specific harm.

What were we talking about again? Medium drugs? The last great rock 'n' roll major label spending spree? How low-res a scan of the cover I found?

I promise, the cover of the CD/2xLP is a lot more attractive than what appears here. And the artist list (the Hives, Turbonegro, New Bomb Turks, Supersuckers, RFTC) is front to back awesome, just a fist pumping, head banging, hip thrusting tracklist that still takes you out behind the elementary school and gets you pregnant.

Discogs

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