various artists - The Philadelphia Sound

One of my favorite 10" releases of all time. Purchased mostly for the two early-era Paint It Black tracks, kept for the early exposure to Dave Hause (via the Curse). The Knives Out cuts also slap, and I remember very little of the Go! For The Throat songs, but, hey, six out of eight is a pretty damned good percentage.

I remain pretty sad about the fate of the CD sampler/benefit compilation/scene report. There's really no reason to put the work in to compile something like this, not when Spotify playlists seem to be what a lot of folks would rather listen to. "The Philadelphia Sound" remains a really cool snapshot of where things were just north of me in my mid-20s, highlighting the bands we'd host every weekend, or trek up I-95 to go see on our days off.

Discogs

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Paint It Black - demo

I think I got this at Paint It Black's second show; a last-minute addition to a Baltimore matinee that I wasn't working, but if it was on a Saturday, I was almost certainly going to attend, regardless of the lineup. Checking out Dr. Dan and Dave's post-Kid Dynamite band ended up being the focus of a day that, if faltering memory still serves, was otherwise full of mediocre mosh metal. It was a bonus that Andy Nelson from Affirmative Action Jackson was in the band, too.

There was a ton of good stuff happening in Philadelphia at the time, and this demo still reminds me why we'd drive up I95 for shows. Lots of dudes consistently topping their earlier bands and riding a cresting wave of DIY into greater attention. THIS is what I wanted to hear.

Discogs

Click here to download.