various artists - Dylan's Scene: The Sound Of Greenwich Village

This is one of those good "liner notes"-type compilations where you're guaranteed to learn about your favorite artist's favorite artists. In this case, the boundary is the coffeehouses of early 60s New York City. And only a fool would try to deny the greatness of the artists contained herein. John Lee Hooker and Allen Ginsberg bookend this 15-track CD. In between, there's a range of primal music, from various blues artists to English traditional music to folk music of the day. I'll always co-sign Karen Dalton and Pete Seeger, and encourage you to look into Bukka White's catalog if you've not done so before.

It's hot outside. Slap this on and find yourself a shady spot to just listen this week.

Discogs

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various artists - Radio Clash

I'm having a hard time mentally with it all right now, so I won't go on much about this, except to say that Mick Jones and Paul Simonson can program a mix for me any time they like. Special attention shall be paid to Janie Jones (she of the eponymous song) backed by The Clash on a Strummer-penned song, as well as Lee Hazlewood's "Run Boy Run". Not a bad cut in the lot, if you ask me.

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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various artists - Home Alive: The Art Of Self-Defense

Here's what I remember about when this came out, through the eyes of an 18-year-old who lived on the other side of the country from the circumstances:

• Most of the folks I knew were more interested in this for the unreleased Pearl Jam song, the live Nirvana track, and Joan Jett & Kathleen Hanna performing with the remaining members of the Gits than the genesis why Home Alive was created.
• I had no clue what sort of violence women encountered in the world at the time. I would learn.
• I remember thinking, when the promo copy arrived at the college radio station I volunteered for, that it couldn't possibly be worth listening to, on account of being released by Epic Records.
• That's a point of view that is hilarious in retrospect. How many folks got their first exposure to Tribe 8, Lydia Lunch, or ¡TchKunG! as a result of picking this up? There are so many fiercely independent artists here, not to mention the wide range of spoken word performers and poets present.

This is a pretty iconic benefit comp, all things considered, in celebration of a wonderful human whose time came way too soon. Volume 2 would come five years later on the Seattle/San Francisco label Broken Rekids. Along with a trio of 7"s that came out on local label Crash Rawk Records, it's a resounding body of support that still stands up as well as any benefit.

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 - 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 - Farm Sanctuary Benefit Compilation

Clearly, it bothers me that this record is old enough to drink legally. Although, it won't, what with the sXe representation present herein.

Anyhow, it's a nice slice of East Coast DIY, circa 2001, courtesy of the Mountain Collective, home to the bleeding edge of hardcore, screamo, crust, and other far-out version of punk as diametrically opposite from the contemporary Warped Tour paradigm as the Guardian is from the New York Post. How's that for an evocative sentence.

Here's to taking bands like Frail seriously, to coming up with ways to help an urban garden thrive, to scratching a handgrip into that hundred-foot wall you've been screaming at for years, hoping it'd fall. If demolition doesn't work, erosion will.

Discogs

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various artists - Cyborgasm - XXX Erotica In 3-D Sound

I have a vague remembrance of audio porn being a thing in the early/mid-90s. Not ASMR, but sex-positive folks reading dirty stories backed by ambient tracks.

Was it hot? I have no recollection.

Where did 15-year-old me learn about this? Probably some zine, or maybe Raygun or Option or one of the edgier American music rags.

Anyway...

I think I bought this last year because Susie Bright and Annie Sprinkle were on it, and they both rule. I'm 99% certain this came out of San Francisco, which, if you remember S.F. in the 90s, makes a fuck ton of sense. Discogs says the original long box release came with a condom inside.

Feel free to fap. Just don't listen to this at, I dunno, work. Or church.

Discogs

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Edward R. Murrow's This I Believe: Selections, Volumes 1& 2

I think I pulled both of these from a Half Price Books "Fill a Bag for $25" sale.

Some very cool folks on these compilations: Jackie Robinson, Eleanor Roosevelt, Helen Keller, Margarets Mead & Sanger, Martha Graham.

I'm not sure how I would react to living in a world where one could trust a Walter Cronkite, much less Edward R. Murrow. Hell, I'm not sure how I'd react to living in a world where people's personal "brand" was to work towards the betterment of the place they lived, or the people they lived with. I'd probably faint.

Discogs (Volume 1)

Discogs (Volume 2)

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Louise Huebner's Seduction Through Witchcraft

Imagine walking into even the freakiest of record stores or secondhand stores and asking for this. "Please, do you have a copy of Louise Huebner's 'Seduction Through Witchcraft'?" Having been that person, I can tell you; nothing makes me feel like more of a pervert than trying to track down a copy of this landmark ambient recording, featuring a sixth-generation witch once honored by L.A. County. It's like an illustration of a thick-lensed, bulbous-nosed, stooped, trenchcoat-wearing masturbator come to life, creeping about looking for tips and tricks on how to finagle the interest of the disinterested. Even the most liberal minded are sure to look like they've smelled a fart, with only imagination available to determine why ANYONE would want...what, is it a book? A record? A pamphlet?

But the kink shaming is SOOOOO worth it.

Not so much for the spoken content, although it has a seasonal quality that suits this time of year perfectly. Nah, it's the team of Louis & Bebe Barron that makes this a terribly underheard record. They created the soundtrack to "Forbidden Planet", the first all-electronic film score, and still as influential a bop as any reel o' tape as exists.

Anyway, I'm kinda glad I can now restrict my weird record searches a bit, now that I own this.

Discogs

Click here to download.

various artists - Feer Of Smell

I'll keep this short because I got a new 9-5 job last week (work from home, benefits, the whole nine), which means I really shouldn't be writing at 1:30 in the morning any more. I guess we'll work that one out as time goes on, right? I'd better; it's the first grown-ass-man job I've had in over three years, and I really shouldn't fuck that up.

I sometimes feel like I was born just a few years too early. I missed out on the days of No Comment, Greyhouse, Native Nod...the heyday of weirdo, outsider hardcore, in a few cases just by months. I had just started exploring things when the last issue of No Answers came out, so while I was there as Ebullition kicked off, I felt more in common with Sam & Neil's Vermiform, a label firmly on the bleeding edge of things from its first release (the "Murders Among Us." 7") to the last (the Fast Forward CD). Some bright lad with a musicology degree will someday write a book about the Vermiform discography, and its impact of independent music throughout the 90s, and I'll be the ding-a-ling queued up to buy it.

Vermiform really nailed it with its compilations, which served as great snapshots for where the edge of the map was in a given year. Their first was 1992's "Fear Of Smell". It originally was a vinyl-only release, the first pressing of which featured distinct, hand-drawn covers, which is the exact sort of quixotic, money-losing scheme that I really appreciate. The collection of bands here is incredible: Nation of Ulysses, Moss Icon, Heroin, Infest, Rorschach, Man Is The Bastard, Tit Wrench, Native Nod, 1.6 Band, Merel, Sugar Shock and Hell No. This is ugly music for angry dorks who would rather make art than shoot up a school, the soundtrack to the last days before a band from 924 Gilman would turn up on MTV.

Plus, there's prank calls, which I think is always a nice touch, and is basically impossible nowadays, unless you're a genius like Longmont Potion Castle.

Discogs

Click here to download.