various artists - Particle Theory (A Compendium Of Lightspeed Incursions And Semiotic Weapons From Warner/Reprise)

Ah, yes; the rare place to find Elvis Costello, Boredoms, Sven Väth, and Julee Cruise all in one place.

The Warner family of labels, circa 1993, was a pretty rad assembleage. There was big daddy Warner Bros. Records, who released "The Juliet Papers" that year, a weird concept for 16-year-old me to wrap my brain around. Elvis Costello with a string quartet? Don't worry; I get it now. They'd also put out records from the Flaming Lips and Goo Goo Dolls, which actually got daytime airplay on the one rock station in town. Then there was Ms. Cruise, who, at the time, I wasn't actually aware had worked with David Lynch on the Twin Peaks soundtrack.

Reprise was still flogging Mudhoney's first major label record, put out a Boredoms record in the States, which tickles me to no end, and were still trying to break Babes In Toyland big. Their release slate in 1993 was a bit mixed in quality, but I like how weird a mix it is. You just don't see folks throwing around major label advances on odd shit anymore.

There were also co-releases from Sire, 4AD, Giant, Blanco Y Negro, and American Recordings, all bearing either the WB shield or lower-case R. "Alternative" was a pretty big tent back in 1993, and the majors hadn't had a chance to cock it all up yet. For me and many other future college radio DJs, it was a good time to catch a shotgun's blast worth of genre music and absorb it all, even if you weren't totally into it right away. And, hey, this one could have turned out worse. Candlebox put out a record on Sire in 1993 that sold a metric fuckton and very well could have been represented here. The compilers got it right on this one.

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various artists - Dune (Original Soundtrack Recording)

My therapist's jaw dropped. "You haven't seen 'Dune: Part Two' yet?" All I could say was "nope". I have a great illogical fondness for David Lynch's 1984 dream piece. I like Denis Villenueve and Zendaya and Timothée Chalamet and Hans Zimmer, but I LOVE Lynch and Sean Young and Kyle McLachlan and fuckin' Toto. TOE-TOE, yo! The Porcaro boys play the tunes for intergalactic subterfuge!

Everything about the soundtrack, including the Eno/Eno/Lanois "Prophecy Theme", is feverish and bombastic. I have a difficult time imagining the film with a more conventional soundtrack. Just as much as John Williams' original trilogy scores and James Horner's score for "Aliens", this is a go-to for me for those head down, focus in moments at work. I can't consider giving room to something that might replace it in my brain. Not to mention that the film score/yacht rock Venn diagram has very little overlap, and I think we should appreciate the rare places that the overlap exists.

So here's a Tuesday bonus. Do something heroic or triumphant today. Remember: he who controls the spice, controls the universe!

Discogs

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various artists - Stones Throw And Leaving Records Present: Dual Form

A tip from me to you, my dear reader: If'n you have an animal you mind, and you are planning on making a move to a new locale, I would highly recommend either sending your beloved dog/cat/parakeet off to a spa, or queuing up something mellow to soothe the savage beast.

So it was that I ended up putting this on while the missus and I packed away/threw away eight years' accumulated detritus. Madam Mummy wanted to know how I landed on this. I told her, "I trust Stones Throw, and it had Julia Holter on it." Then she asked me how I knew Julia Holter. My response was that I probably discovered her when I confused her with Jenny Holzer.

This one's available digitally through the Stones Throw website. I make no promise that you'll find it as relaxing as I do, but you'll feel good supporting L.A. area artists with a little dosh.

Discogs

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various artists - The Infinite Zero Almanac: 1996 Sampler V

I ran out of time coming into today, so it's time for an easy write up. The fifth in the series of six Infinite Zero samplers; this one is one of the more comprehensive, coming as it did in the last year of the reissue label's existence. Most of these are available here on the ol' blog; just type in Inifnite Zero and expand your mind. I'm feeling the cover of this one most of all; the caricature of Rollins, flanked by the Def American and Infinite Zero logos, big, stronge fonts. It's a golden joy to behold.

While lacking the superior graphic design and the even-deeper record selection, it's no surprise that my early exposure to these drew me into an ongoing love of the Numero Group and Light in the Attic. I kind of got a kick out of watch the Grammy pre-broadcast show on YouTube tonight, seeing Numero's 90 Day Men set get a Grammy nom. It's great to see even the most obscure bands get beloved treatment, the expense of which makes a hell of a lot more sense then that double LP Chappel Roan release at $50 retail.

I'm all over the place tonight; forgive me, friends. I'm looking at a big record purge within the month, so my head isn't thinking about anything particular.

Discogs

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David Axelrod - 1968 To 1970: An Anthology

I wrote about David Axelrod last year, a nifty little piece of writing that I'm pretty happy with. So there's no need to revisit how I got to my fandom; just some words to talk about where it's going.

This is the first anthology Stateside put out, back in 1999. Like its successor, it covers Axelrod's three solo records for Capitol, along with tracks from Lou Rawls and Cannonball Adderly. The difference here are a pair of cuts Axelrod produced for South African singer Letta Mbutu, someone who I'd never heard before and whose music probably bears the least amount of production fingerprint on it. There are also two songs from the Electric Prunes, who once had too much to dream last night, but here contribute from their final record on Reprise, 1968's "Release Of An Oath". It's bonkers how great these cuts are; psychedelic liturgies from Christian and Jewish traditions. It's holy music like Coltrane's finest; imaginative, cutting edge, totally unlike anything else happening at the same time.

What can I say? I like it. It never leaves my phone.

Discogs

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Trouble Funk - Live

Here's another record that I can't understand hasn't been reissued again. It's one that I'm forever grateful to Henry Rollins for turning me onto. And it's one that I listen to, front to back, whenever I miss living in the DMV.

The almighty Trouble Funk is who I'd play a stranger who didn't know what go go was. Specifically, I'd give them the live record I share here, originally released as a double, white label LP by the band, then reissued on Infinite Zero in 1995, along with a compilation of their early singles. This scene existed on a parallel track to DCHC, and the best of it is just as rare to find, existing today on crumbling tapes and limited dub plates. It's important to remember that Minor Threat's final show in 1983 was headlined by Trouble Funk (and supported by Big Boys). That's not as weird a concept as one might think; it's two localized scenes, propelled by DIY and alternate performance channels.

If you find yourself travelling this week for the holidays, listen to this one in sequence, and see if it doesn't get your ass moving.

Discogs

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various artists - Golden Grouper Vol. 1

The subtitle reads "18 California Bands You Won't See On The Warped Tour!", which is an awfully quaint sentiment twenty years after the fact. I can't imagine anyone born in 2003 involved in music today seeing fulfillment in the grimy DIY world that I lived in. They'd probably think old Uucle Ape has brain worms.

I probably do have brain worms. It has nothing to do with an adolescence spent in basements, garages, and out of the way clubs listening to loud-ass music, tho.

But this comp, from the esteemed and missed GSL, takes a pretty important snapshot of the noisy punk scene in California state circa 2004. When indie sleaze was just starting to fall apart, bands like 400 Blows, Wives, Wires on Fire, and Mannekin Piss were up and touring, making a racket to tens (literally TENS!) of fans across the country. I was one of them.

That time is long gone, y'all, and I don't see it coming back. The circumstances that allowed us to rent out warehouses and storefronts to throw $6 shows for these bands just don't exist any more. I have no doubt that kids today are still finding a path forward; I commend them for it. But I don't envy anyone trying to make or support art today, especially art that is patently anti-commercial. It's a fuckin' drag, every time I think about it.

Discogs

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various artists - Back To (Old) School

Confession time: I bought this on account of its cover, which reminded me of the alma mater of one Ms. Rory Gilmore. This is the sort of thing her friend Lane Kim would have made as a mix, had she worked in the radio trade in the mid 90s.

Also, there's a lemur theme throughout the liner notes. Bonus.

I vaguely recall seeing Hits Magazine come into my local college radio station. But I was always more of a CMJ reader, so what Hits was hawking generally passed over my head. No so this compilation. Led off by the beloved Superchunk, who apparently spent money on a radio-friendly mix of "Hyper Enough", this is a shockingly good selection of what was being pushed in 1995. Sure, Semesonic and Toad the Wet Sprocket and poe. are all kind of duds to these ears. But Spacehog and Air Miami still rule; the UK contributions mid-CD are all pretty rad, and Knapsack and Deftones highlight the tail end. There's even a cover of "You Oughta Know" by 1000 Mona Lisas that I remember turning up a few times when hearing it on WHFS.

And now the title holds true, as this all makes up the C playlist of oldies radio around the country. We are all slowly rotting bags of flesh, holding tight to memories of misspent youth.

Discogs

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various artists - After Dark 2

Let us harken back to the halcyon days of 2012. 'Twas a glorious time, after the punks fully embraced dancing to go along with fucking and party drugs, and Ryan Gosling was soundtracked by outstanding Italo-disco whilst speeding thru the streets of Los Angeles.

All the usual supects are here on this second of four volumes in the "After Dark" series. Chromatics and Glass Candy contribute multiple tracks, and label co-founder Mike Simonetti also kicks in an atmospheric banger. The lesser-known names, whether it's Chromatics side-project Symmetry, or label mates Farah, Appaloosa, Mirage, Desire, and Twisted Wires, are all equally on par with the brighter lights. I like that this feels nostalgic and fresh, all at the same time. I need nighttime ambience a lot of the time, and this has it in spades.

Discogs

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various artists - PRO-CD 95.ZERO.1

My preparation for a colonoscopy prevented me from posting this Thursday; mea culpa. Here's a Friday taster for y'all.

10 songs, five artists: you know the drill. Devo, Flipper, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Alan Vega, and Alan Watts.

This makes the second of six samplers that I've posted so far. I've also posted a dozen of the 27 releases that Infinite Zero put out in its four-year history. Should I jump off the ongoing comp theme to get some more of these out these? It's not like any of it is particularly hard to find. But it is all interesting, and, hell, it should be easier to track down Iceberg Slim's album.

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 - Infinite Zero Promotional CD #1

I initially had another release planned for today; you'll get that one next Monday.

But then James Chance passed away Tuesday, June 18th, and I felt like it was a good time to share this label sampler from 30 years ago. I remember finding this in the promo bin at the first record store I worked in, just a year after it came out. But it was a revelation for me, led off by the Contortions' "Design To Kill", and followed by the likes of Devo, Gang of Four, Alan Vega, and Tom Verlaine. Hell, there's a LL Cool J track here. I'm guessing it's a result of Infinite Zero being a Rick Rubin/Henry Rollins joint venture.

RIP to a real one. There ain't many of his like left.

Discogs

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various artists - Silver Lake...What A Drag!

This was another dollar find on eBay, purchased mainly for the opportunity to actually hear the Negro Problem for the first time. That's right; it took me 28 years to hear a relatively-unknown band with an edgy name. It was...fine.

This comp, themed around bands from L.A.'s Silver Lake neighborhood (not, as I've thought for years, Silverlake), came out on a short-lived Thump Records sub-label. I knew Snap-Her and Popdefect going into things, and with those exceptions, this sounds like a label showcase at Jabberjaw on a Tuesday night. It's a bunch of bands that are perfectly competent, but nothing that really stands out to me. "Clever" names and a cool neighborhood are all well and good, but...meh.

But what do I know? I was listening to a bunch of records that came out on Victory in 1996.

Discogs

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various artists - Live From The Masque: Dicks Fight Banks Hate

I guess this'll make three L.A. posts in a row.

I remember seeing these at the top of a shelving section at Best Buy back in '96. At the time, when your resources as an 18-year-old in suburban Baltimroe were essentially what issues of MRR, Profane Existence, and HeartattaCk you could lay hands on, these sort of things stood out. But then I flipped the cover over, and only recognized that band that covered the Banana Splits theme. And weren't they on A&M? So how could this be anything good.

Ah, capricious youth.

One of four releases on the short-lived Year One Records, this comp is home to four sets of first wave Los Angeles punk rock legends. All recorded live at the legendary Masque, February 24 & 25, 1978. I cannot even imagine going to a basement and getting to see the Dickies, Eyes, Randoms, and Black Randy and the Metrosquad. What a mind fuck. What a righteous time. What a glorious time to be alive.

I'll keep my eyes peeled for the other two releases in this "Live From The Masque" series.

Discogs

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various artists - The Future Looks Brighter

Turned this up a few months ago, and even though I own a couple of these on vinyl already, and had everything but the Symbol Six cuts on my hard drive, I couldn't pass this up on CD for a couple bux. Collecting is an illness; a, at times, delightful one, but it leads to moments like these when you end up with several copies of the same recordings.

But what recordings! This Posh Boy sampler, inspired by and partially derived from 1981's split release with SST, "The Future Looks Bright Ahead", compiles:

• Social Distortion's songs from the original 1981 sampler, plus the three additional songs on the otherwise-unreleased "Posh Boy's Little Monsters" 12" and their contribution to "Posh Hits Vol. 1"
• Shattered Faith's "I Love America b/w Reagan Country", their cuts from "Bright Ahead", and their offering from "Rodney on the ROQ Volume 2"
• The entirety of Redd Kross's 1981 "Red Cross" 12"
• Channel 3's "CH3" 12"

This is an embarrassment of riches. And if you're at all familiar with early 80s LA punk & HC, you know all these by heart. But if you don't, I'll just say this is worth downloading for Redd Kross alone.

But that's me; a Virgo with a sick record collection.

Discogs

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David Axelrod - Anthology II

You start with Terminator X, with a tape you bought in Quebec City in 1992 and hid the entire trip home from your grandparents, and work within a year backwards to "Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel". From there, you jog sideways to Grand Masters Kaz and Theodore on the "Wild Style" soundtrack. You sprint forward to chase everyone on "Masters of the 1s & 2s", and you end up with Coldcut, Invisibl Scratch Piklz, DJ Shadow, which takes you into Solesides/Quannum, Deltron 3030, and the guy whose sound underpins much of it: David Axelrod.

Soul-funk and jazz-funk were, when I was a kid, fucking jokes, the realm of bare-chested hipsters with Fu Manchus and perms, stinking of cologne and dusted with cocaine. But to view both genres through that stereotype is like saying Judaism is all space lasers and blood libels; it just ain't true. They're black as fuk, harder than hell, proto-hip hop that just grooved so hard. And David Axelrod's production fingerprints were all over it. I thought I'd written about him before, but it sure seems not to be the case. In addition to his solo work, most of which has been reissued by Now-Again over the past ten years, he produced so many standout records for Capitol in the 60s and 70s. Lou Rawls, Cannonball and Nat Adderly, Stan Kenton, Willie Tee; these, along with his solo work, make up a body of work that still isn't fully acknowledged by any but the deeper crate diggers.

Alright, I've waxed poetic enough. I like David Axelrod. I like his stuff a lot. It seems like a real miss that so many of his records, even the inconsistent ones, remain out of print. This anthology came out in the UK in 2002, I'm guessing it was to ride off the attention brought by his self-titled record on Mo'Wax that came out the year before. This one has a pair of stone-cold Lou Rawls classics, two from Cannonball Adderly, two from actor David McCallum that are pretty great, and, of course, a bunch of cuts from Axelrod's three Capitol releases. Listen for yourself. I won't fault you for unbuttoning your shirt down to your navel and pouring some brown liquor.

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 - If I Were A Carpenter

Let's face it; this is probably the only time I'll ever post something with Sheryl Crow on it.

But this is an important record, right? There had been tribute records before, but this one came out on A&M Records, home to Burt Bacharach and Cat Stevens and Janet Jackson and the Police and, yes, the Carpenters. And for every Sheryl Crow and Dishwalla, who both easily fit under the broad "alternative" banner 30 years ago, there were also Redd Kross, Shonen Knife, and Babes In Toyland. It also led to a very memorable (to me) video of Sonic Youth performing "Superstar". Would it surprise you to learn that Richard Carpenter doesn't like that version of "Superstar"? 

No, that's not Margaret Keane artwork; it's a reasonable facsimile of Karen & Richard listening to records. It's an indelible image from that time for me; I remember seeing POP in the backroom of the first record store I worked in, a small signifier that I was amongst fellow travelers, weirdos who might put their own twist on the most saccharine of art.

Discogs

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various artists - Un-Cabaret Presents: Freak Weather Feels Different

When you see a chance, you take it. You find...an indie comedy CD from the mid-90s.

I have no idea why I started quoting Steve Winwood in a blog post about UnCabaret, the still-running alt comedy showcase based out of L.A. Maybe it's the murderer's row of comics providing tracks. "Mr. Show with Bob and David" would come out on HBO around the same time this released, and Mssrs. Cross and Odenkirk are both repreented here. I sometime forget what a killer comic Bobcat Goldthwait was, what with my being a great admirer of both his directoral efforts AND his portrayal of Officer Zed McGlunk, My teenage crush Janeane Garafolo does a bit named after my porn crush Annie Sprinkle. There's Terry Sweeney and Julia Sweeney and Taylor Negron and Andy Kindler and Dana Gould and even Andy Dick, that sonuvabitch that got Phil Hartman murdered.

Basically, if you've loved the places comedy has gone over the past 30 years, you'll probably dig this.

Discogs

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various artists - Thrasher Skate Rock Vol.12: Eat The Flag

It has not been a good day. Or week.

My living situation, never a bright spot in my life on even the best days, has turned very shit over the past 10 days or so. To make a long story short, there's a good chance that, in a week, we may be evicted. We're doing what we can do, which hopefully will take care of the current situation, but who knows? I live in a very expensive part of the country, so even finding a decent place to live going forward will be impossible. Add in a long-standing diagnosis of major depression, anxiety, ADHD, and a possible executive dysfunction disorder issue, and, yeah, things are pretty fucked.

So while I submit a ledger of rental payments and start browsing governmentjobs.com, I'll play this in the background, and harken back to the days where I didn't have to worry about much more than finding a decent curb to skate and not bailing. "Eat The Flag" was the first Skate Rock comp in 12 years, and the only one outsourced by Thrasher to a third party (the now mostly-deactivated Volcom Entertainment). As a result, this one feels a bit more Warped Tour adjacent than previous editions; no doubt, this is thanks to the presence of Alkaline Trio, Gnarkill, and Riverboat Gamblers. But make no mistake; this one is still bona fide. I'd argue it's more listenable than other editions. Pressing this on a DualDisc was an inspired choice for the era. Yeah, this content is probably on YouTube now, but 18 years ago? Slapping this one in your PS2 and hitting play to watch video of Duane Peters and Turbonegro fits really well with the whole premise of Skate Rock.

Discogs

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