HEY PUNK

FACE TO FACE

2010-05-26T17:43:00.001-07:00

The success of the hit single "Disconnected" on Los Angeles radio station KROQ catapulted Face to Face to a new level of popularity, causing their 1995 release, Big Choice, to sell more than 100,000 copies — a first for the southern California punk band. "Disconnected" had appeared on their previous album Over It, but the band redid it for Big Choice, making it a bit heavier and adding a somewhat humorous exchange with a "record producer" about whether to include the song on the album because they didn't want to be labeled sell-outs. The conversation ends with the band declaring "there's no way in hell this song is going on this record" and then launching right into "Disconnected." Although "Disconnected" may be the standout track, the rest of the album still measures up. In the tradition of fellow punk revival bands Down by Law and Samiam, the 13 raucous tracks on Big Choice are catchy, energetic and bursting with cynical lyrics about being tired of dealing with people and their flaws. In "Velocity," vocalist Trever Keith spits out the lyrics "Tell me all about your favorite human being/Tell me everything about yourself" and later "So let me take a good look at your perfect life/So I know just exactly how I don't want mine." "Debt" has the resounding chorus of "I don't owe you anything." It's the perfect album for when you're in a bad mood and sick of people.

BIG CHOICE - 1995

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TELEVISION

2010-05-26T17:24:00.000-07:00

Marquee Moon is a revolutionary album, but it's a subtle, understated revolution. Without question, it is a guitar rock album — it's astonishing to hear the interplay between Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd — but it is a guitar rock album unlike any other. Where their predecessors in the New York punk scene, most notably the Velvet Underground, had fused blues structures with avant-garde flourishes, Television completely strip away any sense of swing or groove, even when they are playing standard three-chord changes. Marquee Moon is comprised entirely of tense garage rockers that spiral into heady intellectual territory, which is achieved through the group's long, interweaving instrumental sections, not through Verlaine's words. That alone made Marquee Moon a trailblazing album — it's impossible to imagine post-punk soundscapes without it. Of course, it wouldn't have had such an impact if Verlaine hadn't written an excellent set of songs that conveyed a fractured urban mythology unlike any of his contemporaries. From the nervy opener, "See No Evil," to the majestic title track, there is simply not a bad song on the entire record. And what has kept Marquee Moon fresh over the years is how Television flesh out Verlaine's poetry into sweeping sonic epics.

MARQUEE MOON - 1977

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THE JAM

2010-05-19T18:07:00.000-07:00

The Jam's enduring, eternal popularity in the U.K. meant an ever-increasing number of archival releases that cropped up over the years, with Live Jam, a fine counterpart to the other official concert album, Dig the New Breed, turning up in 1993. Like that earlier effort, it draws together a slew of tracks from shows ranging from 1979 to 1982, including some cuts from the band's almost-farewell headlining bows at Wembley Arena. Quite happily, there's no track overlap at all with Dig the New Breed, making the two perfectly complementary recordings in ways. The real treat, thanks to the expanded space on CDs, is the inclusion of nine songs from two December 1979 shows in London, the best portrait of what an actual specific show must have been like. A masterful rampage through "Down at the Tube Station at Midnight" is well worth the entire disc, but takes on "Billy Hunt," "Mr. Clean," and "Away From the Numbers" are also high up there, the threesome making enough righteous but tuneful noise for a band three times its size. Two stand-alone cuts from separate shows had to be included just because they were so clearly awesome — a strong "The Eton Rifles" and an absolutely spectacular "Strange Town" that completely blows the socks off the studio take and then some. If there's one song to take away from the whole disc, that's it, but performances of "'A' Bomb in Wardour Street," "David Watts," and "A Town Called Malice" from later shows get close to the sheer energy of that number. At the end a couple of songs show all too well the huffy bluster masquerading as real soul which would dog Weller's career in later years, but, on the whole, Live Jam is manna for believers and entertaining for newcomers — the right kind of balance.

LIVE JAM - 1993

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SENSE FIELD

2010-05-18T19:50:00.000-07:00

On Building, Sense Field sound more like an emo band than on the jangly Sense Field; this time around, the tunes are shorter, harder, and more derivative of post-hardcore, featuring less-predictable arrangements. The group's calling card is vocalist Jonathan Bunch, who at times sounds like a serious, more sensitive Dexter Holland. The band succeed most when they combine their energy with memorable melodic ideas and arrangements, as they do on the concise "Different Times," the inventive "Shallow Grave," and the driving title track. Andy Wallace's mix adds punch and definition to the proceedings.

BUILDING - 1996

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EGG HUNT

2010-05-18T19:13:00.000-07:00

Egg Hunt was just old pals Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson with some time on their hands in London after Minor Threat broke up, and before MacKaye would form Fugazi and Nelson would form 3. So from March 27-30, 1986, they went into Wood Green's Southern Studios for the only four days this "group" existed, and made themselves a single. While that's no formula for success and "Me and You" is merely average fare, the B-side, "We All Fall Down," ranks among the highest points of these two gentleman's storied careers. With no band to please, they stepped out of the bounds of punk or even punk-pop and made a marvelous one-song post-punk melodic masterpiece. It's MacKaye's unrivaled attitude and guts on vocals married to a pop tune (and soul-searching lyrics), anchored by his trebly bass and guitar playing, while Nelson pumps on the drums. The best part is the last chorus, where it seems like seven MacKayes and Nelsons are singing the title refrain over and over, in a wonderful three- or four-part harmony (it's all but the bloody Beatles!) as the melody soars with each change.

ME AND YOU (EP) - 1986

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DEAD KENNEDYS

2010-05-18T17:48:00.000-07:00

A hyper-speed blast of ultra-polemical, left-wing hardcore punk, and bitingly funny sarcasm, Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables stands as the Dead Kennedys' signature statement. As one of the first hardcore albums, it was a galvanizing influence on the musical and attitudinal development of the genre, also helping to kickstart the fertile California scene. The record's tactics are not subtle in the least; Jello Biafra's odd warble and spat-out lyrics leave no doubt as to what he thinks, baiting his targets of conservatism, violence, overbearing authority, and capitalist greed with a viciously satirical sarcasm that keeps his unflinchingly political outlook from becoming too didactic. The thin production dilutes some of the music's power, but the ragged speed-blur still packs a wallop, and the hooks cribbed from surf and rockabilly give it a gonzo edge. The songwriting isn't consistent all the way through the album, but classics like "Kill the Poor," "Let's Lynch the Landlord," "Chemical Warfare," "California Über Alles," and "Holiday In Cambodia" helped define the hardcore genre and, thus, must be heard.

FRESH FRUIT FOR ROTTING VEGETABLES - 1980

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EMBRACE

2010-05-12T16:17:00.000-07:00

The band's one album, taken from two separate mid-'80s recording sessions, finds the fusion of Faith's instrumentalists and Minor Threat's singer — Ian MacKaye himself, older brother of Faith's singer Alex — a successful enough blast of post-hardcore. It's no surprise per se that MacKaye wanted to push himself more strongly in future; compared to Fugazi, Embrace is fine but nowhere near as gripping or inventive. As a vehicle for his righteous, cutting lyrics and strong voice, though, it's more than fine. With engineering help from the legendary Don Zientara, everything's well-recorded and produced, MacKaye clearly cutting through the heavy band crunch. Interestingly, the instruments that come through the best are Ivor Hanson's drums, a neat switch around from the usual domination via guitar. Not that Michael Hampton's work sounds weak or poor; if anything, he brings a sharp turn-of-the-'80s U.K. style to fore, with the understated inventiveness of John McGeoch's early work in Magazine and Siouxsie and the Banshees. Consider his exuberant performance on "Dance of Days," both fiery and just pretty enough. Compared to both Faith's and Minor Threat's work in general, Embrace tries for something a touch poppier and a little less immediately frenetic, like a pause for breath after a full-on rampage. MacKaye's lyrical aim dwells as much on personal concerns and a search for courage as much as anything, continuing the themes of earlier efforts as "Look Back and Laugh." "Building" revolves around self-accusations of failure, while the shimmering, reverb-touched drive of "Do Not Consider Yourself Free" urges vigilance with the realization that "there are others held captive." It's not quite the birth of emo — if anything, Rites of Spring found themselves saddled with that peculiar honor — but it's easy enough to imagine more than a few '90s bands taking the words as holy writ.

EMBRACE - 1987

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SEX PISTOLS

2010-05-12T15:54:00.001-07:00

While mostly accurate, dismissing Never Mind the Bollocks as merely a series of loud, ragged midtempo rockers with a harsh, grating vocalist and not much melody would be a terrible error. Already anthemic songs are rendered positively transcendent by Johnny Rotten's rabid, foaming delivery. His bitterly sarcastic attacks on pretentious affectation and the very foundations of British society were all carried out in the most confrontational, impolite manner possible. Most imitators of the Pistols' angry nihilism missed the point: underneath the shock tactics and theatrical negativity were social critiques carefully designed for maximum impact. Never Mind the Bollocks perfectly articulated the frustration, rage, and dissatisfaction of the British working class with the establishment, a spirit quick to translate itself to strictly rock & roll terms. The Pistols paved the way for countless other bands to make similarly rebellious statements, but arguably none were as daring or effective. It's easy to see how the band's roaring energy, overwhelmingly snotty attitude, and Rotten's furious ranting sparked a musical revolution, and those qualities haven't diminished one bit over time. Never Mind the Bollocks is simply one of the greatest, most inspiring rock records of all time.

NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS HERE'S THE SEX PISTOLS - 1977

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COSMIC PSYCHOS

2010-04-30T21:27:00.001-07:00

The Cosmic Psychos' self-titled 1987 debut is a brilliant, rough-hewn document of simple, gritty rock & roll informed by late-'70s Australian punk like the Saints, Radio Birdman, and Rose Tattoo. Without question the band's rawest work, it may also be one of the Cosmic Psychos' best, freshest, and least rehearsed. Not that any of the trio's later recordings sound overwrought, but when a band is under time and money constraints, they quite often rise above the stress brilliantly. Brawny bassist Ross Knight's vocals sound like a man who has just gotten off of work, after many hours digging ditches in the heat. In other words, if he's a bit ticked off, there's probably a genuine reason.

COSMIC PSYCHOS - 1987

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PERE UBU

2010-04-30T20:02:00.001-07:00

There isn't a Pere Ubu recording you can imagine living without. The Modern Dance remains the essential Ubu purchase (as does the follow-up, Dub Housing). For sure, Mercury had no idea what they had on their hands when they released this as part of their punk rock offshoot label Blank, but it remains a classic slice of art-punk. It announces itself quite boldly: the first sound you hear is a painfully high-pitched whine of feedback, but then Tom Herman's postmodern Chuck Berry riffing kicks off the brilliant "Non-Alignment Pact," and you soon realize that this is punk rock unlike any you've ever heard. David Thomas' caterwauling is funny and moving, Scott Krauss (drums) and Tony Maimone (bass) are one of the great unheralded rhythm sections in all of rock, and the "difficult" tracks like "Street Waves," "Chinese Radiation," and the terrifying "Humor Me" are revelatory, and way ahead of their time. The Modern Dance is the signature sound of the avant-garage: art rock, punk rock, and garage rock mixing together joyously and fearlessly.

THE MODERN DANCE - 1978

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ROCKET FROM THE CRYPT

2010-04-30T19:42:00.000-07:00

Over the course of the 1990s few rock & roll bands put up the kind of numbers that Rocket from the Crypt did. One classic album (1995's Scream, Dracula, Scream), three albums that rocked far harder than 99-percent of the competition (1992's Circa Now, 1995's Hot Charity, 1998's RFTC), and a boatload of excellent singles (collected on All Systems Go and All Systems Go, Vol. 2) alone would have made them a band to remember and love forever. On all these albums, and especially in their live set, the group played every note like it mattered and they created a joyful, intense, and wildly energetic noise that jumped out of the speakers like flames. Sadly, due to the usual reasons that bands break up, RFTC split up in 2005. Happily, all the albums still sound fresh and alive many years after their release, and more specifically, R.I.P. exists to document the band's raw power, thunder and lightning live set. Recorded at their farewell show in front of a hometown San Diego crowd, the band is hyped up for the occasion and tight as hell. The guitars are raw and ready, the horns awesome as ever and Speedo's vocals are even better than on the band's studio records; tough, rough and perfectly imperfect as he spits fire, gargles razorblades, and tosses off bitterly hilarious asides. (And his liner notes are great — a wonderful mix of self-deprecation and self-mythologizing.) The set list the band charges through with barely a stop for breath reads like a greatest hits: "On a Rope," "Boychucker," "Pigeon Eater," "Born in '69," "A+ in Arson Class," and "Used" all have the stuffing kicked out of them, and the finale of "Ditch Digger" and the mighty "Come See Come Saw" will have hardcore fans of the band wiping away a tear at the sheer fury and brilliance. The band rise to the occasion with numerous costume changes (Speedo looking particularly dapper in his Screamin' Jay Hawkins getup) but the shaky, grainy camera work makes it kind of a slog to get through the whole set. It's a good idea to watch the show once for posterity but you won't keep going back to it like you will the CD. R.I.P. is both a testament to one of the great American rock & roll bands and a swift kick to the hindquarters to anyone who slept on the band back in the day. You missed something truly inspiring.

R.I.P. (LIVE) - 2008

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BAD RELIGION

2010-04-27T20:04:00.000-07:00

Suffer had already wound the meter on Bad Religion's Cali hardcore even tighter -- No Control simply and forcefully continued the shift, delivering a pummel of melodic songwriting made sharp by Greg Graffin's populist cynicism and the stinging barbs of a twin-guitar strike. The remastering for the 2004 version greatly amplified the album's volume. It might also strip away some reverb from the instrumentation, but the latter observation is mostly theoretical, as the later No Control really just sounds louder. This is welcome, as it makes the band sound that much more direct on principal cuts like "I Want to Conquer the World," "Automatic Man," the aggressive title track, and "Progress."

NO CONTROL - 1989

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STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT

2010-04-27T19:09:00.000-07:00

With ace producer Ted Nicely's help, Stanford Prison Experiment hit upon a more focused plan for its second album, and set about becoming a West Coast Fugazi on The Gato Hunch. Guitarist Mike Starkey's clangorous feedback-edged razor burns and the Davey Latter/Mark Fraser rhythm section's steady foot-shifting power clearly set the sonic agenda, while Jimenez — tilting his voice at a familiar semi-melodic D of C angle — sings out impressionistically expressed anger at everything from God to conformists to "Hardcore Idiot." For all the derivation, The Gato Hunch is a much more focused and compelling album than the debut and leaves the impression than this Experiment might ultimately discover something worth knowing.

THE GATO HUNCH - 1995

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POSTER CHILDREN

2010-04-20T18:26:00.000-07:00

With co-production help from Brian Anderson and a great mix by Bryce Goggin, Poster Children perfected their synthesis of huge stomp, fun, and funny spirit on Junior Citizen, their best record and easily 1995's most underrated rock release from the States. Making records just the way they wanted to but not getting the attention — sales or otherwise — they should have is a crime, but such are the ways of the business; what matters is that the music still sounds as great as when it was recorded. Rick Valentin's vocals are sounding all the more varied and as interesting as ever, from the distorted lead on "Get a Life" to the warm work on "He's My Star" and the lovely yet powerful album-closer "One of Us." "He's My Star" itself is probably one of the best songs of its kind — it's a partially acoustic and downright heartfelt homage to an idol, but of all people it's Baywatch's David Hasselhoff (and hey, why not?). The awesome epic rock arrangements are far from gone; check out the amazing psych-tinged "Drug I Need," which turns into a jaw-dropping, sky-scraping monster; "Downwind"; or the slyly titled "Mustaine." But it's songs like the wonderfully titled "Revolution Year Zero" and "King for a Day" which capture the blend of hyper-amped energy and loud-as-hell mania (drummer Howie Kantoff, in particular, just can't be beat). "New Boyfriend" captures all the competing impulses at their best; Valentin's lyrical complaint about the titular character is just as fine as the cutting music behind it. But if there's an absolute standout, it's the title track, starting off with a drum-machine beat and shifting into a frenetic singalong with a clipped, catchy melody and an absolutely killer chorus. The lyrics are pretty sweet as well, a little bit of fun about the anime equivalents of the band looking for new recruits in "the war with the empire of the bored."

JUNIOR CITIZEN - 1995

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THE MUFFS

2010-04-20T18:00:00.000-07:00

While the band has changed significantly since their debut, The Muffs' second album, Blonder and Blonder, sounds nearly identical to their first. It's all a brightly colored collection of fuzzed-out guitars, Kim Shattuck's screaming pop melodies and punk rhythms, delivered with just the right touch of abandon and just the right amount of polish. Even though the band is long-time friends with Green Day, the repetition of the formula hits a little too close for comfort. Shattuck's songs aren't quite as strong as Billie Joe's, yet her hooks catch hold often enough to make Blonder and Blonder enjoyable for most fans of punk-pop.

BLONDER AND BLONDER - 1995

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SOCIAL DISTORTION

2010-04-08T18:41:00.000-07:00

Eight years separated the release of Social Distortion's misguided White Light, White Heat, White Trash and their next studio album, 2004's Sex, Love and Rock 'n' Roll, and a fair amount happened to the band in that time. Most notably, Dennis Danell, who had been the only constant in the band's lineup besides leader Mike Ness, died in 2001 at the age of 39, and on a pair of solo albums Ness began digging deeper into the roots music that had long informed his style. After confronting the grief of losing one of his best friends and exploring the less muscular side of his musical personality, Sex, Love and Rock 'n' Roll makes it clear Ness and his bandmates were ready to turn up the amps and make some noise, but while musically this is firmly in the So-Cal punk mode of their best work, lyrically this music reflects the mind of a more mature and thoughtful Mike Ness. Much as Ness dealt with the toll his years of drug abuse and casual violence had taken on him on the albums Social Distortion and Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell, Sex, Love and Rock 'n' Roll finds him pondering the stuff of genuine adulthood — love, relationships, and looking to the future while trying to reconcile the past. "Live Before You Die" celebrates life in the moment without giving in to hedonism, Ness declares "I'm gonna trade in my old ways for a new shot at life" in "Faithless," and "Footprints on My Ceiling" tells the story of a man who has come to the realization that he has to accept his feelings if he's ever going to be loved. Some might think this means Ness is going emo on us after all these years, but in context these songs become the work of a man who's strong enough to know his own weaknesses and is struggling to become a better man by working through them, and the music — with Ness ably assisted by John Maurer on bass, Jonny Wickersham on guitar, and Charlie Quintana on drums — is potent, hard-hitting rock & roll with real heart and soul behind it. Sex, Love and Rock 'n' Roll shows that Social Distortion have held onto what made them great while growing and changing in the best ways, and the result is one of the best albums this band has made to date.

SEX, LOVE AND ROCK 'N' ROLL - 2004

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NASHVILLE PUSSY

2010-04-08T18:22:00.001-07:00

Every few years, a new psychobilly act comes around and grabs certain portions of the underground by the neck. With their hard, gutsy records, Vegas charm, and greaser style, the Rev. Horton Heat dominated the alternative era of the early '90s. As everyone knows, the alternative era loosened society's taboos, forcing new bands to go even further then their predecessors. That's where Nashville Pussy comes in. Nastier than the Rev. Horton Heat in every sense, from their sex-drenched lyrics to their fire-breathing live shows, Nashville Pussy became a minor media sensation in early 1998, partially because there hadn't been a new psychobilly band in five years and partially because rock journalists just get off on writing the word "pussy." Nashville Pussy was smart enough to exploit the segment of the indie rock audience that's sexually frustrated and perpetually horny — the kind of guy who doesn't want to buy a copy of High Society, but is more than willing to put his hard-earned money down on a record entitled Let Them Eat Pussy that sports a cover photo of two trashy chicks shoving two guys' heads into their crotches. So, give them credit for finding their market and exploiting it, but also give them credit for delivering an album that actually works. Granted, if you're not into the whole kitsch circus of psychobilly, this ain't your bag, but Let Them Eat Pussy rocks with a fury and a vengeance unseen — well, since the Rev.'s albums for Sub Pop. The Pussy is heavier and noisier than any other psychobilly band, but the sexually integrated lineup gives them a sexual tension unseen in the genre since the Cramps. And, in many ways, Nashville Pussy is more fun than the Cramps, since they just don't give a damn about the past and tear on ahead. Never mind that the songcraft is nonexistent and there's little finesse to the playing — Let Them Eat Pussy is all about sleaze, and it's the sleaziest record in years. Arguably the sleaziest record of the '90s, as a matter of fact.

LET THEM EAT PUSSY - 1998

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DWARVES

2010-04-06T19:08:00.000-07:00

With a title like Blood Guts & Pussy, an album cover which features three nude models drenched in animal blood, and song titles like "Let's Fuck," "Fuck You Up and Get High," "Motherfucker," and "Fuckhead," the Dwarves had obviously redirected their style since Horror Stories. Gone is the subtle suggestiveness of that album, replaced by explicit exploitation and genuinely disgusting humor. Of course, most won't find the Dwarves very humorous; it takes a sick mind to appreciate the Dwarves' celebration of statutory rape on "Let's Fuck" or vocalist Blag Jesus' anger at a girl afraid of AIDS on "SFVD." Thirteen songs full of general punk sloppiness and distortion performed in 14 minutes.

BLOOD GUTS & PUSSY - 1990

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THE NO WTO COMBO

2010-04-06T18:31:00.000-07:00

The No W.T.O Combo celebrate and further the protests that took place against the World Trade Organization in Seattle during late November of 1999. Recorded live at a show amidst the protests' aftermath, the Combo brings elder punk statesman Jello Biafra together with Kim Thayil, Krist Novoselic, and Gina Mainwal. Two new Biafra-penned punk burners, the Dead Kennedys classic "Let's Lynch the Landlord," a Biafra spoken-word piece, and the DOA/Biafra jam "Full Metal Jackoff" comprise the set's material. The recording is musically noteworthy due to the musicians' obvious passion, not to mention that Thayil sounds like an unholy cross between Greg Ginn and East Bay Ray. Most interesting, though, is Biafra's subject matter — worker rights, NAFTA, downsizing, and the WTO — and excellent liner notes from Biafra and Novoselic summing up the demonstrations and issues at hand. At the least, Live From the Battle in Seattle is an important historical document; leave it to Biafra to show that rock and social protest don't have to be mutually exclusive, even in the year 2000.

LIVE FROM THE BATTLE IN SEATTLE - 2000

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FUGAZI

2010-04-05T17:58:00.000-07:00

From the opening swarms of "Exit Only," you can tell Steady Diet of Nothing will differ from Fugazi's earlier records. Repeater's excellence can't be denied, but the band stood in danger of stagnating its sound. To its benefit, Fugazi made some changes, employing more herk-a-jerk rhythms and dub influences, and changing up the lyrical focus. Actually, the lyrics get a bit vague — bordering on equivocality at times — which has its advantages and disadvantages. With Steady Diet, Fugazi get more economical and less forceful. Though not nearly as neck-gnawing as Repeater, Steady Diet still packs a sizable wallop, but with slower tempos and less deliberate instrumentation. As always, a poison-tipped dart is pointed at the government, media, and major entertainment outlets. Ian MacKaye's "destroy your television" rant on "Polish" is one of the more direct and simple songs. His "KYEO" comes straight from the rice paddy or homefront, depending on interpretation. It urges the listener to always remain aware, whether awaiting the enemy's next battle move or remaining blissfully unaware of how people can be taken advantage of by others. As with the rest of the band's catalog, lyrics are provided in the booklet. This makes things much easier on the intent listener, as both Picciotto and MacKaye have weird voices that become unintelligible when howled over their instrumental din. The lyric sheet is most useful on Picciotto's "Latin Roots." He's not warning you that "it's time to meet Jamaicans," as it sounds, but rather "it's time to meet your makers." Not quite lending itself to "Purple Haze"-like levels of butchery, but important to point out nonetheless.

STEADY DIET OF NOTHING - 1991

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HUSKER DU

2010-03-31T19:22:00.000-07:00

It's cleaner and more produced than any of their records, which is one reason why many Hüsker Dü fans have never fully embraced their second double album, Warehouse: Songs and Stories. Granted, Warehouse boasts a fuller production -- complete with multi-tracked guitars and vocal, various percussion techniques, and endless studio effects -- that would have seemed out of place a mere two years before its release. However, Flip Your Wig and Candy Apple Grey both suggested this full-fledged pop production, and it's to Hüsker Dü's credit that they never sound like they are selling out with Warehouse. What they do sound like is breaking up. Although there was a schism apparent between Bob Mould and Grant Hart on Candy Apple Grey, they don't even sound like they are writing for the same band on Warehouse. But the individual songs on the album are powerhouses in their own right, as both songwriters exhibit a continuing sense of experimentation -- Hart writes a sea shanty with "She Floated Away" and uses bubbling percussion on "Charity, Chastity, Prudence, and Hope," while Mould nearly arrives at power pop with "Could You Be the One?" and touches on singer/songwriter-styled folk-rock with "No Reservations." Warehouse doesn't have the single-minded sense of purpose or eccentric sprawl of Zen Arcade, but as a collection of songs, it's of the first order. Furthermore, its stylish production -- which makes pop concessions without abandoning a punk ethos -- pointed the way to the kind of "alternative" rock that dominated the mainstream in the early '90s. In all, it was a fine way for one of the most important bands of the '80s to call it a day.

WAREHOUSE: SONGS AND STORIES - 1987

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X-RAY SPEX

2010-03-31T19:07:00.001-07:00

Perhaps the most utopian aspect of the U.K. punk scene was that it offered creative, articulate young people the opportunity to express themselves, and to kick up an exuberantly noisy racket in the process. X-Ray Spex certainly came from this wing of the movement, the brainchild of two female schoolmates who re-christened themselves Poly Styrene and Lora Logic. X-Ray Spex was far from the only female-centered British punk act, but they were arguably the best, combining exuberant energy with a cohesive worldview courtesy of singer and songwriter Poly Styrene. As her nom de punk hinted, Styrene was obsessed with the artificiality she saw permeating Britain's consumer society, linking synthetic goods with a sort of processed, manufactured humanity. Styrene's frantic claustrophobia permeates the record, as she rails in her distinctively quavering yowl against the alienation she feels preventing her from discovering her true self. Germ Free Adolescents is tied together by Styrene's yearning to be free not only from demands for consumption, but from the insecurity corporate advertisers used to exploit their targets (especially in women) — in other words, to enjoy being real, imperfect, non-sterile humans living in a real, imperfect, non-Day-Glo world. Fortunately, the record is just as effective musically as it is conceptually. It's full of kick-out-the-jams rockers, with a few up-tempo thrashers and surprisingly atmospheric pieces mixed in; the raw, wailing saxophone of Rudi Thomson (who replaced Lora Logic early on) gives the band its true sonic signature.

GERM FREE ADOLESCENTS (EXPANDED) - 1978, 2005

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MC5

2010-03-30T15:41:00.001-07:00

Rather than try to capture their legendary on-stage energy in a studio, MC5 opted to record their first album during a live concert at their home base, Detroit's Grande Ballroom, and while some folks who were there have quibbled that Kick Out the Jams isn't the most accurate representation of the band's sound, it's certainly the best of the band's three original albums, and easily beats the many semiauthorized live recordings of MC5 that have emerged in recent years, if only for the clarity of Bruce Botnick's recording. From Brother J.C. Crawford's rabble-rousing introduction to the final wash on feedback on "Starship," Kick Out the Jams is one of the most powerfully energetic live albums ever made; Wayne Kramer and Fred "Sonic" Smith were a lethal combination on tightly interlocked guitars, bassist Michael Davis and drummer Dennis Thompson were as strong a rhythm section as Detroit ever produced, and Rob Tyner's vocals could actually match the soulful firepower of the musicians, no small accomplishment. Even on the relatively subdued numbers (such as the blues workout "Motor City Is Burning"), the band sound like they're locked in tight and cooking with gas, while the full-blown rockers (pretty much all of side one) are as gloriously thunderous as anything ever committed to tape; this is an album that refuses to be played quietly. For many years, Detroit was considered the High Energy Rock & Roll Capital of the World, and Kick Out the Jams provided all the evidence anyone might need for the city to hold onto the title.

KICK OUT THE JAMS - 1969

http://www.mediafire.com/?zyy3ctmtjng

THE GITS

2010-03-30T15:27:00.000-07:00

The most immediately obvious aspect of the Gits' debut album, Frenching the Bully, is Mia Zapata's righteous, feminist-tinged punk rage. Her songs wind their way through tales of deception, insecurity, failed relationships, and hard drinking, while her hoarse, husky voice supports the combination of toughness and vulnerability projected in her lyrics. Even if Zapata's meanings are occasionally a bit obscure, and even if a few songs seem to lack adequate melodicism, Frenching the Bully is an invigorating piece of punk rock.

FRENCHING THE BULLY (w/ BONUS TRACKS) - 1992, 2003

http://www.mediafire.com/?nzztlfytiom

PATTI SMITH

2010-03-28T16:23:00.001-07:00

It isn't hard to make the case for Patti Smith as a punk rock progenitor based on her debut album, which anticipated the new wave by a year or so: the simple, crudely played rock & roll, featuring Lenny Kaye's rudimentary guitar work, the anarchic spirit of Smith's vocals, and the emotional and imaginative nature of her lyrics — all prefigure the coming movement as it evolved on both sides of the Atlantic. Smith is a rock critic's dream, a poet as steeped in '60s garage rock as she is in French Symbolism; "Land" carries on from the Doors' "The End," marking her as a successor to Jim Morrison, while the borrowed choruses of "Gloria" and "Land of a Thousand Dances" are more in tune with the era of sampling than they were in the '70s. Producer John Cale respected Smith's primitivism in a way that later producers did not, and the loose, improvisatory song structures worked with her free verse to create something like a new spoken word/musical art form: Horses was a hybrid, the sound of a post-Beat poet, as she put it, "dancing around to the simple rock & roll song."

HORSES - 1975

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JOAN JETT AND EVIL STIG

2010-03-28T10:19:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the worst tragedies can give rise to great things. Evil Stig is a side project formed after the murder (still unsolved) of the Gits singer Mia Zapata by the surviving band members and Joan Jett to raise money for a Seattle self-defense and support group for women called Home Alive. What began as a one-off gig as part of a series of Home Alive benefits held in Portland, Oregon, turned into a string of shows, songwriting collaborations and eventually this album. The material runs the gamut from Gits classics ("Second Skin," "Spear & Magic Helmet," and others) to Joan Jett tunes ("Activity Grrrl," "Got a Problem," and "Crimson and Clover") to an Evil Stig original entitled "Last to Know." There is also a song called "Whirlwind" that features Jett singing along to Mia's recorded voice, and though Jett's voice dominates, it's still a bit eerie. Jett does great justice to these songs and captures the fury and passion of Mia's lyrics as no one other than Mia herself could have.

EVIL STIG - 1995

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1.6 BAND

2010-03-20T18:43:00.000-07:00

With 23 songs documenting the entire 1992-1994 recording history of N.Y.'s 1.6 Band, the aptly titled posthumous discography Broke Up is a nice package that documents an underrated hardcore force. Featuring everything from the group's initial demos to their final sessions, the group is a powerhouse of early hardcore styles reminiscent of much of the Revelation Records releases from around the same period. Singer Kevin Egen has a monstrous voice, and his style rarely shifts from straight screaming, but his vocal presence drives the music to some intense levels. The guitar lines drip with distorted metal riffs, giving an extra edge to the already brutal attack of 1.6, but the playing is actually pretty impressive in itself and makes the group sound like more than just an average hardcore act. There's even a bit of straight guitar shredding on a few tracks, which, though seemingly unnecessary, actually succeeds in adding some variety to the usual approach of constant screaming and shorter than usual track times. Broke Up is probably for hardcore enthusiasts only, but, for what it is, it is near the top of the field. The songs are consistent, the music is well recorded and energized, and there are some moments that are noticeably more creative than most of the band's peers. 1.6 Band isn't the first group mentioned when '90s hardcore comes up, but, after a few listens to this disc, it may seem like they deserve a little more credit than they've received.

BROKE UP (DISCOGRAPHY) - 1996

http://www.mediafire.com/?lzzwj2yztw3

ROLLINS BAND

2010-03-20T18:38:00.000-07:00

With the exception of 1989's Hard Volume, Henry Rollins' solo profile had been relegated to the minor leagues following his departure from neo-punk stalwarts Black Flag. But with the 1992 release of The End of Silence, Rollins' first official effort for the burgeoning Imago label, everything changed, partly because The End of Silence was launched with the appropriate bells and whistles normally reserved for well-established acts. Rollins Band was paired with Andy Wallace, an established producer capable of bringing the Rollins vision to fruition, who intuitively placed the singer's voice at the forefront of the album's incendiary mix. The dead-on, ultra-separated, compact sound of The End of Silence went a long way toward broadening the singer's potential audience. Not only is the record a full-blown sonic assault, delivered with typical, deadpan Rollins honesty, it delivered in the songwriting department as well, making it the singer's most focused record to date. The first single, "Low Self Opinion," was bludgeoning and menacing, Rollins' visceral, introspective commentary taking no prisoners. On other songs like "Grip" and "What Do You Do" (which clocked in at just under seven and a half minutes), the singer furthered a vision that launched a hundred imitators. "Tearing," the record's excellent second single, was also a boon for the vocalist, benefiting from some substantial airtime on MTV Headbanger's Ball; it further cemented Rollins' profile with yet another audience: metalheads. Rollins released other solid records, but The End of Silence remains his best.

THE END OF SILENCE - 1992

http://www.mediafire.com/?2w3x2t2mknt

RON ASHETON'S NEW ORDER

2010-03-14T15:45:00.000-07:00

Formed by brothers Ron and Scott Asheton (of The Stooges). The New Order was an American hard rock and proto-punk band. The band was based in Los Angeles and existed from early 1975 to October 1976. After the Stooges imploded in 1974, former Stooges lead guitarist Ron Asheton, forged a new band; ultimately acquiring MC5 drummer Dennis “Machine Gun” Thompson, former Stooges bass player Jimmy Recca and former Stooges and future Iggy Pop keyboardist Scott Thurston.Victim of Circumstance, from 1989 Consists of 8 unreleased rehearsal recordings, and 4 bonus tracks.

VICTIM OF CIRCUMSTANCE - 1989

http://www.mediafire.com/?uvd2df4zfmj

IGGY AND THE STOOGES

2010-03-14T15:06:00.001-07:00

In 1972, the Stooges were near the point of collapse when David Bowie's management team, MainMan, took a chance on the band at Bowie's behest. By this point, guitarist Ron Asheton and bassist Dave Alexander had been edged out of the picture, and James Williamson had signed on as Iggy's new guitar mangler; Asheton rejoined the band shortly before recording commenced on Raw Power, but was forced to play second fiddle to Williamson as bassist. By most accounts, tensions were high during the recording of Raw Power, and the album sounds like the work of a band on its last legs — though rather than grinding to a halt, Iggy & the Stooges appeared ready to explode like an ammunition dump. From a technical standpoint, Williamson was a more gifted guitar player than Asheton (not that that was ever the point), but his sheets of metallic fuzz were still more basic (and punishing) than what anyone was used to in 1973, while Ron Asheton played his bass like a weapon of revenge, and his brother Scott Asheton remained a powerhouse behind the drums. But the most remarkable change came from the singer; Raw Power revealed Iggy as a howling, smirking, lunatic genius. Whether quietly brooding ("Gimme Danger") or inviting the apocalypse ("Search and Destroy"), Iggy had never sounded quite so focused as he did here, and his lyrics displayed an intensity that was more than a bit disquieting. In many ways, almost all Raw Power has in common with the two Stooges albums that preceded it is its primal sound, but while the Stooges once sounded like the wildest (and weirdest) gang in town, Raw Power found them heavily armed and ready to destroy the world — that is, if they didn't destroy themselves first.

RAW POWER - 1973

http://www.mediafire.com/?5ktnrdhekto

CIRCLE JERKS

2010-03-11T20:37:00.001-08:00

Wild in the Streets doesn't have the wild, appealingly offensive mixture of crude lyrics and frenetic riffs that made the Circle Jerks' debut, Group Sex, a minor hardcore classic, but there are enough tracks that nearly make the mark — including a tongue-in-cheek cover of "Put a Little Love in Your Heart" and the title track, which is a version of the theme song to the '60s teen exploitation flick of the same name — to make it worthwhile for Orange County punk fanatics.

WILD IN THE STREETS - 1982

http://www.mediafire.com/?nnh5owmhd5y

BOB MOULD

2010-03-11T20:18:00.000-08:00

Based on its title, it's tempting to think of Life and Times as an autobiography, especially when armed with the knowledge that Bob Mould recorded this album while writing his actual autobiography (scheduled to hit stores in 2010). It's tempting, but not quite accurate, as this is less an orderly journey through the past than memories refracted through the prism of the present. Life and Times bears the unmistakable stamp of being latter-day Mould in how he consolidates his strengths, not embracing his electronica but not running away from it either, in how his writing has a casual, disarming frankness, particularly when recounting last night's sex on "Bad Blood Better." Still, there's no denying the reflective nature of Life and Times, how the past feeds the present in its subject and sounds, a description which suggests that this is a fragile, folky album, which isn't so — this is Mould's purest pop since Sugar, its ballads surging with grace and its muscular songs built on skyscraper hooks. As immediate as Life and Times isn't nearly as diamond-hard as Copper Blue, which is a great part of its appeal: it flows naturally, the music never pushes, it settles, comfortable in its own skin.

LIFE AND TIMES - 2009

http://www.mediafire.com/?njmznirjymn

CHEAP TRICK

2010-03-07T20:04:00.000-08:00

If calling their fifteenth studio album The Latest doesn't exactly suggest enthusiasm on the part of Cheap Trick, keep in mind that the band has never shown much enthusiasm for album titles anyway, titling two albums after their band and one after their hometown of Rockford, IL. The Latest follows 2006's Rockford by three years and does indeed offer the latest spin on the band's classic power pop, flowing naturally from that quite excellent back-to-basics set, offering another collection of 13 guitar-heavy pop tunes. After the brief, ominous opener "Sleep Forever," a misleading slice of spacy, hazy, mood rock fades away, Cheap Trick tear into the overlooked Slade gem "When the Lights Are Out," suggesting that The Latest will be a high-octane rock-fest, but apart from a handful of other moments — including the raging "Sick Man of Europe" and the "Slow Down" revamp "California Girl" — a lot of the record consists of thick Beatlesque psychedelia, an appealing shift in tactics that makes this something a little bit different than yet another Cheap Trick record. That said, reinvention isn't the order of the day, staying true to the spirit of their classic '70s trilogy is, and the band acquits themselves admirably, turning out a tight, tuneful collection of proudly unfashionable power pop. And if the best song here is a cover of Slade's "When the Lights Are Out," well, it could be argued that the Move's "California Man" was the best song on Heaven Tonight, too.

THE LATEST - 2009

http://www.mediafire.com/?2mxzlh2g2ho

GARDEN VARIETY

2010-03-07T19:42:00.000-08:00

Knocking the Skill Level is a volatile and immediately powerful blend of harder rock styles: musically, there are vague punk and hard rock touches in the angular indie guitar work, while the vocals and overall construction lean toward powerful and explosive emo structures. This blend is remarkably effective, and tends to sound bigger than most three-pieces would dare; through a series of well-constructed tracks, the band builds up frantic swells of sound, drifts down from them, and then returns to anthemic, punch-in-the-face riffing without ever seeming like they're trying too hard to be as powerful as they are. This very solid release will appeal to fans of driving rock, anywhere between Cap'n Jazz and Stanford Prison Experiment.

KNOCKING THE SKILL LEVEL - 1994

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MEREL

2010-03-01T19:51:00.000-08:00

This 15-track discography of the mighty Merel features all of their recordings made during their existence from 1990-1994. Featuring a rhythm section who went on to help form New Jersey's brilliant Rye Coalition, Merel plays chaotic, abrasive, and quite loud experimental hardcore that separates itself from the norm with its unlikely musical creativity. Fierce vocals lead the way, and they are actually relatively understandable while still being quite aggressively screamed. The band toys with both straight-ahead hardcore and a much more explosive style comparable to a completely untamed Rye Coalition. The experimental tracks are culled mostly from the band's only full-length, while the earlier recordings show the more untamed but straightforward approach. Most of the material is extremely effective, but the eight tracks from the LP are what make this disc really worthwhile. Merel develops their hardcore with no boundaries, and wailing guitars along with unrestrained song structures push the music toward increasingly effective results. There are a few moments of purely forgettable and normally structured heavy tunes on the record, but the group knows where to add in a few extra touches that rescue tracks and in fact make them very noticeable. All in all, this record is a fitting memorial to a promising if not-so-well-known group, and their bearing on the music later made in Rye Coalition alone makes it a worthwhile disc.

MEREL (DISCOGRAPHY) - 1995

http://www.mediafire.com/?njndo1zn2hu

RYE COALITION

2010-03-01T19:11:00.000-08:00

The second full-length from Rye Coalition not only continues in the aggressively discordant style of their debut, but builds to an even higher plateau with new sounds directions and ideas. The opening pound of "The Prosthetic Aesthetic" is brutal but enveloping, and the chaotic sounds continue for the rest of the recording. With their second record the band finally seems comfortable and competent in the studio, and the resulting sounds are all over the map of charming musical atonality. The Shellac and even Fugazi influences still shine through, but the band is starting to sound more like a peer than an emulator on this LP; the songs are much more varied, and while the overall similarities of their powerful sound continue from track to track, each piece stands on its own. The Lipstick Game is a huge sounding rock record, and, on cuts like the title track, the group shows an outstanding grip on the science of writing loud rock tunes. There are changes, stops, and breakdowns all over the record, and these moments show Rye Coalition to be true innovators capable of doing whatever they want and somehow always pulling it off. Even the acoustic-tinged "Tangiers" and the instrumental closer "Through the Years" succeed, the second as a gorgeous soaring finale that avoids the band's usual in-your-face approach, and manages to prove their ability to write a subtle and still effective piece. Rye Coalition are still a raw rock force, and The Lipstick Game is their best release yet — it would be a shame for anyone interested in cutting edge (or just plain cutting) rock to miss out on it.

THE LIPSTICK GAME - 1999

http://www.mediafire.com/?emz12jiayzm

HUDSON FALCONS

2010-02-25T19:02:00.001-08:00

Most political punk bands let their politics overwhelm their music. What could begin as an honest effort to inform or pontificate about a particular topic usually winds up as pretentious ranting and raving. Not so with the Hudson Falcons, a punk rock & roll band that proudly wears its working-class New Jersey origins on its sleeves. The Falcons play a mix of blue-collar punked-up rock & roll, with influences from Oi! and Irish folk music. The songs chiefly focus on workers' rights, with the opening track ("Working Class War") perfectly setting the tone of the rest of the album, both in political and musical content. The politics of the band can be determined from the song titles alone; besides the opening tracks, other songs are named "Revolution," "Sweatshops," "Pride," "Worker Fate," and "Abandoned Vets." There's even a track ("Free Lori") dedicated to spreading knowledge of Lori Berenson, an American journalist wrongly jailed in Peru. The crucial fact in all of this is that the music stands on its own. While it might be a vehicle to get the politics across to the listener, each song works as great rock & roll in the style of the Supersuckers, the Dropkick Murphys, and Nine Pound Hammer. No pointless and shoddy three-chord collection of screeching here. This provides the important distinction in the Hudson Falcons, which hopefully draws some attention to their cause as proof that intelligent and raucous political rock & roll can exist.

DESPERATION AND REVOLUTION - 1999

http://www.mediafire.com/?tmzyio3cyvm

THE INSOMNIACS

2010-02-25T18:16:00.000-08:00

New Jersey's mod power pop trio the Insomniacs formed in Englishtown in 1989 when their previous incarnation, the Tea Club, fizzled out after a year of rehearsals and infrequent gigs. By 1991, the group, made up of brothers David Wojciechowski (bass) and Robert Wojciechowski (guitar) and drummer Michael Sinocchi, released their debut 7", My Favorite Story, on Umbrella Records. The Time Ticks By and Going Out of My Mind singles followed, and in 1994, the band put out its self-titled EP on Estrus, known among fans as "the ghoul record." The next two years brought the Sylvia Gray and Already Down 7" records. The band's first album was delayed by the infamous Estrus warehouse fire, but in 1997, the Insomniacs finally debuted their first full-length of catchy munster rock, Out of It. The groovy, shag carpets and mood rings follow-up, Get Something Going!, arrived on the scene in 2000, and the similarly fabuloso Switched On! appeared in finer record shops in 2004.

OUT OF IT - 1997

http://www.mediafire.com/?qmmgwivymtj

NOFX

2010-02-24T16:31:00.000-08:00

Though NOFX have stuck closely to their powerhouse hard-and-fast pop-punk sensibility since their inception in 1983, their focus, chemistry, and songwriting skills improved steadily over the years, and '94's Punk In Drublic is arguably their finest moment. If not for their in-your-face punk aesthetic, NOFX would qualify as a fine power-pop band. A knack for harmonies and deft, melodic hooks (which are seemingly tossed out left and right throughout the album) are no small part of the band's success, as the anthemic chorus of "The Cause" and the ringing refrain and "da-na-na-na" bridge of "Leave It Alone" prove. But NOFX rocks like nobody's business to boot. Near-speed-metal drumming, walls of crunching guitars, and fierce, power-chord-driven structures keep things churning and frothing throughout. The band's usual zany humor is in full force here, as on their ode to linoleum ("Linoleum"); but their goofy satire also reaches into thought-provoking territory with songs about race issues--"Don't Call Me White" and "The Brews," a tune about an orthodox Jewish gang. Witty, catchy, and full of gutsy punch, Punk In Drublic eventually went gold, and solidified NOFX's place in the front ranks of the pop-punk movement.

PUNK IN DRUBLIC - 1994

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MEAT PUPPETS

2010-02-24T15:56:00.001-08:00

What does a band do when they're trying to follow-up a masterpiece? Release another masterpiece, of course. That's exactly what the Meat Puppets did with 1985's Up on the Sun. Issued one year after Meat Puppets II, the songwriting had become more focused, the performances were tighter, and Curt Kirkwood's vocals had progressed from a high-pitched warbling to a soothing monotone. Up on the Sun catches the Arizona trio in a relaxed mood, for the most part; the tunes aren't wound up as tightly as its predecessor, with the album-opening title track, the instrumental "Seal Whales," and "Hot Pink" being fine examples. Other highlights include "Maiden's Milk," which contains some great instrumental interplay between the bandmembers, as well as the upbeat "Away," the funky "Buckethead," the psychedelic "Two Rivers," and the furious "Enchanted Porkfist."

UP ON THE SUN - 1985

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DEAD BOYS

2010-02-19T22:41:00.001-08:00

Fellow Cleveland types Pere Ubu may have won the artistic kudos for their adventurous, surprising work, but if the goal was just to rock and rock again, the Dead Boys had them totally trumped. As both title phrase and capsule description, Young, Loud & Snotty accurately defines the predominating aesthetic so well that one could just leave it at that, but there's a lot more going on here than on the face of it. With perhaps surprising great production from demi-famous '70s rocket Genya Ravan, the five-some found something sonically smack in-between the US garage/punk heritage of the past and the more modern thrashings from overseas. Bators sneers, gobs, gasps, and whines with the best of them, but he knows his rock history, as does his bandmates. Zero and Chrome aren't guitar virtuosos, but they do know what makes a song great and aren't afraid to concentrate on that, while the Magnum/Blitz rhythm section keeps things moving as it does. In some ways songs like "All This and More" and "I Need Lunch" simply emerge from an alternate '50s, with admittedly much more feedback and stereo sound. Stone cold rock classic "Sonic Reducer" starts things off — amusingly — with all sorts of phased drums and other fripperies that later generations wouldn't consider punk at all. That said, it's still blunt, brilliantly sung by Bators and kicks out the jams with messy energy. Other all-time greats include the perfect bored-and-needing-kicks anthem "Ain't Nothin' to Do" and the thoroughly wrong "Caught With the Meat In Your Mouth." There's even a rock oldie — a cover of "Hey Little Girl" live onstage at spiritual home CBGB's. And why not? With great punk rock and great rock, Young, Loud and Snotty still packs a punch.

YOUNG LOUD AND SNOTTY - 1977

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BLACK FLAG

2010-02-19T22:00:00.001-08:00

Black Flag's most experimental album, Family Man features one LP side of spoken word performances from Henry Rollins and another of instrumental music from the late-Flag lineup of Greg Ginn (guitar), Kira (bass), and Bill Stevenson (drums). Although occasionally chilling in its intensity, the spoken word material, much like the between-song recitations of fellow Californian Jim Morrison (with whom Rollins sometimes shares a vocal similarity here) on the live Doors albums, mostly sounds juvenile and dated after the fact. That said, Family Man's spoken word tracks, along with Jello Biafra's recordings with the Dead Kennedys, can largely be credited with bringing "alternative" spoken word to a larger audience who were either unaware of, or could not relate to, the Patti Smith/downtown New York scene. Unlike the solo Rollins tracks, the instrumental music is still challenging and vibrant. Although sounding at times like a high-school garage band attempting to perform Rush covers, Ginn and company play with a sense of desperation and punk rock fury that makes much of the music positively electrifying. Similar in spirit to the less poppy tracks on Hüsker Dü's contemporary Zen Arcade, side two of Family Man is characterized by its emotional purity. Ginn reveals himself as a refreshingly and brilliantly free improviser and his playing should serve as an inspiration and lesson to later "punk" bands who value technical proficiency over rockin' out. Overall, Family Man is an essential, if atypical, part of the Black Flag canon and should appeal to fans of Sun Ra, Ornette Coleman, or the New York "noise" scene as well.

FAMILY MAN - 1984

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GAS HUFFER

2010-02-13T22:43:00.001-08:00

Making its point in a little over half an hour, Janitors of Tomorrow found the energy and fun of the band's earlier work easily continuing in a longer incarnation. Not that the songs themselves are epic-length, with 13 wild and woolly numbers to choose from. Covering everything from matters of lust ("Girl I Need Your Lovin' (Right Now)") to, well, other things ("Night Train to Spokane," tor he wild country feedback of "Lizard Hunt"), the merry foursome blast their way along with the righteous rock energy of their wild and woolly Seattle-area forebears of the '60s. There are plenty of references to similar hook-and-riff titans as the Ramones, the Damned, and even the Misfits, all turned into a fine romp. Jack Endino's production style perfectly suits the group, balancing between straight-ahead impact and warm feedback fuzz. Matt Wright demonstrates his frontman skills as much through knowing when not to sing as when to let loose with wordless wails and wry lyrics. Rather than dominating the group, he sounds like he's enjoying the ride as much as anybody else, while he's got an ear for shout-along choruses, as on "Nisqually." The three instrument players all make for a great unit — nobody shows off, everyone's good, each with just enough individual flair. Tom Price's guitar mania, like the opening blast riff on "Shoe Factory," neatly balances out the tight, immediate melodies — the R&B/sleaze moves of "Robert" being a good example. Other highlights include "Mistake" ("turned around and I saw she was a man") and the sly sass of "Compromise in the Dark." Unpretentious, busy, and well worth it, Janitors' only flaw is its somewhat one-note approach, but most people will be having too much to care. CD versions of Janitors of Tomorrow include the debut "Firebug" single and the Ethyl EP.

JANITORS OF TOMORROW - 1991

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LEATHERFACE

2010-02-13T21:53:00.000-08:00

Recorded at the Greenhouse in London in May 1991, Mush captures the original Leatherface lineup of Frankie Stubbs (vocals/guitar), Steve Charlton (bass), Andrew Laing (drums), and Richie 'Dickie' Hammond (guitar, backing vocals). Originally released in Britain on the Fire subsidiary Roughneck, the album was licensed by Seed Records (an offshoot of Atlantic) in an attempt to pick up on some of that Nirvana action. Sadly, the label never bothered to promote it, and Mush — one of the most intense records of the '90s, with some of the fiercest playing and song dynamics — was passed over. Ever since, however, word of mouth has kept interest in the record alive — so much so that, nearly ten years later, it's considered one of the best albums of the decade. Furthermore, in "I Want the Moon" Leatherface had written at least one bona fide punk-rock classic. The fact that it's one of only a handful of easily obtainable Leatherface releases makes Mush the obvious starting point for anyone wishing to check out this cult outfit.

MUSH - 1991

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RAMONES MANIA !!!

2010-02-10T08:48:00.000-08:00

With the three-chord assault of "Blitzkrieg Bop," The Ramones begins at a blinding speed and never once over the course of its 14 songs does it let up. The Ramones is all about speed, hooks, stupidity, and simplicity. The songs are imaginative reductions of early rock & roll, girl group pop, and surf rock. Not only is the music boiled down to its essentials, but the Ramones offer a twisted, comical take on pop culture with their lyrics, whether it's the horror schlock of "I Don't Wanna Go Down to the Basement," the drug deals of "53rd and 3rd," the gleeful violence of "Beat on the Brat," or the maniacal stupidity of "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue." And the cover of Chris Montez's "Let's Dance" isn't a throwaway — with its single-minded beat and lyrics, it encapsulates everything the group loves about pre-Beatles rock & roll. They don't alter the structure, or the intent, of the song, they simply make it louder and faster. And that's the key to all of the Ramones' music — it's simple rock & roll, played simply, loud, and very, very fast. None of the songs clock in at any longer than two and half minutes, and most are considerably shorter. In comparison to some of the music the album inspired, The Ramones sounds a little tame — it's a little too clean, and compared to their insanely fast live albums, it even sounds a little slow — but there's no denying that it still sounds brilliantly fresh and intoxicatingly fun.

RAMONES - 1976

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Of course the Ramones' second album, Leave Home, is simply more of the same — 14 songs, including one oldie ("California Sun"), delivered at breakneck speed and concluding in under a half-hour. The Ramones have gotten slightly poppier, occasionally delivering songs like "I Remember You" that are cloaked neither in irony nor seedy rock & roll chic. Still, the biggest impressions are made by the cuts that strongly recall the debut, whether it's the ersatz Beach Boys of "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker," the singalong of "Pinhead," or the warped anthems "Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment" and "Commando." Song for song, it's slightly weaker than its predecessor, but the handful of mediocre cuts speed by so fast that you don't really notice its weaknesses until after it's all over.

LEAVE HOME - 1977

http://www.mediafire.com/?tjgqjybmmxt

The Ramones provided the blueprint and Leave Home duplicated it with lesser results, but the Ramones' third album, Rocket to Russia, perfected it. Rocket to Russia boasts a cleaner production than its predecessors, which only gives the Ramones' music more force. It helps that the group wrote its finest set of songs for the album. From the mindless, bopping opening of "Cretin Hop" and "Rockaway Beach" to the urban surf rock of "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker" and the ridiculous anthem "Teenage Lobotomy," the songs are teeming with irresistibly catchy hooks; even their choice of covers, "Do You Want to Dance?" and "Surfin' Bird," provide more hooks than usual. The Ramones also branch out slightly, adding ballads to the mix. Even with these (relatively) slower songs, the speed of the album never decreases. However, the abundance of hooks and slight variety in tempos makes Rocket to Russia the Ramones' most listenable and enjoyable album — it doesn't have the revolutionary impact of The Ramones, but it's a better album and one of the finest records of the late '70s.

ROCKET TO RUSSIA - 1977

http://www.mediafire.com/?ln5yzje0nen

GERMS

2010-02-07T14:03:00.001-08:00

Although punk rock was initially said to be one-dimensional and devoid of instrumental technique, many bands proved to be adept at both playing their instruments and writing songs (X, the Minutemen, the Police, the Dead Kennedys, etc.). As evidenced on the live release Germicide: Live at the Whiskey 1977, California's the Germs were not one such band. This lo-fi live set shows that the group barely knew how to play their instruments, play in time, keep a steady tempo, or truly function as a live band. But due to their in your face attitude and confrontational live performances, the Germs became one of the most influential punk bands ever — Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Jane's Addiction, and the Offspring have all admitted their admiration. Even though Iggy Pop had laid the groundwork for such punk shockers as Germs singer Darby Crash years before, audiences often had hostile reactions toward the band. Throughout Germicide, Darby is heard taunting the audience with insults as the crowd showers the band with debris. The Germs soldier on nonetheless, attempting to perform such classics as "Forming," "Sex Boy," "Let's Pretend," and tracks that are unavailable elsewhere ("Suicide Machine," "Teenage Clone," etc.).

GERMICIDE: LIVE AT THE WHISKY 1977 - 1998

http://www.mediafire.com/?jfyuye5citg

MIKE WATT

2010-02-04T18:34:00.000-08:00

Mike Watt, recovering from his all-star alterna-rock debut solo album, returned in 1997 with what is perhaps the strongest album he has ever made. Of course, his earlier Minutemen albums will forever go down as landmarks, but in retrospect, many of the band's SST releases were brilliant but uneven affairs that put polemics (and great song titles) over consistent songwriting. Unfortunately, much of fIREHOSE's oeuvre is rife with inconsistency, and on Watt's first solo project, he and his songs were overshadowed by a boatload of high-profile musicians who contributed to the album. Contemplating the Engine Room is Watt's masterpiece, what he calls "a punk rock opera." This is a concept album that works on every level: musically, lyrically, and (most importantly) conceptually. Watt (who sings and plays his trusty bass guitar), drummer Steve Hodges, and guitarist Nels Cline form a psychic bond that allows them to dexterously maneuver the complex terrain Watt has laid out in his songs, which celebrate three guys playing together, punk rock, life, and his relationship with his dad.

CONTEMPLATING THE ENGINE ROOM - 1997

http://www.mediafire.com/?hxivqweyjmm

THE REACTIONARIES

2010-02-04T15:35:00.000-08:00

The Reactionaries were a punk rock band formed in San Pedro, California in 1978. The band's continual members were lead vocalist Martin Tamburovich, guitarist D. Boon, bassist Mike Watt, and drummer George Hurley. The Reactionaries existed for most of 1978 and 1979, practicing regularly but rarely if ever performing live. After their breakup in late 1979, Watt and Boon formed the Minutemen and Hurley joined Hey Taxi!; Hurley joined the Minutemen soon afterwards, replacing original Minutemen drummer Frank Tonche. At the time, San Pedro was more receptive to classic rock cover bands than to original acts, and nearby Los Angeles' punk scene was not yet prepared to take a band from San Pedro seriously. One band that did take the group seriously was another struggling L.A. punk band, Black Flag. Tamburovich's influence and input remained with his friends and former bandmates for the whole of the Minutemen's existence; Watt, Boon, and Tamburovich co-founded New Alliance Records in 1980; Tamburovich would contribute lyrics to several Minutemen songs and sometimes travel with the band as a roadie. No formal studio recordings of The Reactionaries exist, but a demo recording (possibly from a rehearsal tape) made in January 1979 of the song "Tony Gets Wasted In Pedro" appears on the Minutemen's odds-and-sods compilation album The Politics of Time, first released in 1984 on New Alliance. When Tamburovich died of a bacterial infection in 2003, Watt played "Tony Gets Wasted In Pedro" in tribute to his friend on his internet radio show The Watt From Pedro Show. In 2009 Water Under The Bridge Records began working on, restoring, and releasing the Reactionaries first record with the permission of Mike Watt. The first side of the LP will contain ten songs The Reactionaries recorded in George Hurley's Shed in 1979, re-mastered from the original tape. The second side will contain the same ten songs re-recorded by four decades of different San Pedro musicians (including George Hurley and Mike Watt) slated for release in early 2010. Posted here, you will find nine songs that will appear on the A-side of the upcoming release. They are the original versions, not the remastered.

THE REACTIONARIES 1979

http://www.mediafire.com/?ejw2tkfhj4j

THE QUEERS

2010-02-01T18:41:00.000-08:00

This Ben Weasel-produced album takes a step back, or so it seems, from the melodic growth shown between Grow Up and Love Songs for the Retarded. Actually, the ratio between melodicism versus dissonant, high-speed punk is probably the same as on Love Songs, but Queers fans have come to expect more. The first three songs, ("Steak Bomb," "Drop the Attitude Fucker," and "You Make Me Wanna Puke") are of the dissonant, high-speed (and subsequently less-interesting and fun) school. It isn't until the fourth song, "Teenage Gluesniffer," that the listener can sink his or her teeth into a sweet, juicy pop delight. "Ben Weasel" is a funny anti-Ben Weasel goof. "Mirage" makes the album worth buying, though it is also featured on the excellent Larry Livermore-produced Surf Goddess EP, which is cheaper and has a higher proportion of good songs.

BEAT OFF - 1994

http://www.mediafire.com/?lzmfnzq4imy

SUPERNOVA

2010-02-01T18:11:00.000-08:00

Supernova formed in 1987 by drummer Dave Collins, bassist Art Mitchell, and guitarist Hayden Thais. The band gained a following from their energetic and often wacky live performances, but it wasn't until 1992 that the band started releasing 7" singles on various indie labels, some of which went on to be major hits on college radio and with the indie music scene. Supernova got significant exposure in 1994 when their song "Chewbacca" was featured in the smash hit indie movie Clerks. Later that year, however, Thais left the group, later to join two other sci-fi punk bands, Servotron and Man or Astro-Man?. He was replaced by Jodey Lawrence. 1995 saw the release of Supernova's first album, Ages 3 & Up, released on Amphetamine Reptile Records. A single, "Vitamins", was released, and received radio airplay. In conjunction with the album, Supernova produced a 25-minute television pilot starring themselves entitled Last In Space: A Show for Kids?, an adult-oriented children's show chronicling their adventures within their 'space van', complete with musical numbers. The show wasn't picked up, but copies were distributed on VHS and are still being sold at shows. 1998 saw the release of Supernova's second album Rox, which was followed by the 2001 compilation album Pop as a Weapon, which collected tracks from the band's earlier years that, up until then, had only been available on vinyl. Since its inception in 1989, Supernova has toured with a variety of well-known acts, including The Buzzcocks, Dick Dale, The Presidents of the United States of America, The Supersuckers, The Aquabats, Reel Big Fish, and Boss Hog. The band also has been a part of the 1999 Warped Tour and the 2006 Bamboozle festival. In 2003, OC Weekly named them #86 in their "129 Greatest OC Bands Ever" article. In 2007, the band experienced a resurgence in popularity when they appeared on the children's television show Yo Gabba Gabba!, the band playing their song "Up & Down" and Lawrence being featured in a segment playing guitar alongside The Aquabats' Eagle "Bones" Falconhawk. The band released a 7" single, "¡Diga Queso!", their first release in six years, and played the Warped Tour for their third time. Jodey Lawrence left the band in August 2008. Courtney Pollock, formerly of The Aquabats, was recruited as a temporary replacement, but following his debut with the band, it was announced that Pollock would become a permanent member. Throughout 2007, Supernova was working on a new album and wrote a number of new songs, with titles such as "Poodle" and "Whiffle Bat". Following Lawrence's departure, the band is planning on re-writing the album with Pollock.

AGES 3 AND UP - 1995

http://www.mediafire.com/?3xihtdw5mwy

AVAIL

2010-01-29T23:26:00.000-08:00

A tight, aggressive collection of hardcore-tinged punk tunes, Satiate captures Avail at their prime. Thanks to a bare-bones production and subtle — though not indulgent — shifts from the standard four-chord punk anthems, tracks such as "March" and "Pinned Up" sound nearly as good as they do during the group's infamous live shows. There's even a semi-power ballad ("Hope") seguéing easily into an all-out protest anthem ("Connection"). Few bands could pull off such a schizophrenic approach, but Avail's unpretentious effort make it seem almost easy.

SATIATE - 1992

http://www.mediafire.com/?d30djebhyzd

REAGAN YOUTH

2010-01-29T23:05:00.000-08:00

A Collection of Pop Classics could easily pass for a white supremacist album with its cover shot of guitar-toting Klansmen and song titles like "The New Aryans." Skinheads will be disappointed to find that the album cover, as well as the band's name, are actually deeply ironic commentaries on Ronald Reagan's social and economic policies. The anthology collects Reagan Youth's two albums, Volume One (1984) and Volume Two (1990), on one disc. Volume One is a classic of the hardcore genre with abundant hooks, energy, and righteous fury. Reagan Youth's theme song declares, "We are Reagan Youth, sieg heil!" while blasting Reagan's followers as "brainwashed slime." "The New Aryans" proposes a "final solution" for Nazis and the KKK, and "I Hate Hate" takes a humorously circuitous swipe at negativity. "Are You Happy" and "No Class" critique conformity, authority, and the dominant culture, while "Degenerated" blasts drug use (which, in a further irony, eventually brought down lead singer Dave Insurgent.) The 1990 album finds Insurgent fronting a new group of players who sound as if they traded their hardcore record collection for a copy of Mötley Crüe's first album. The leftist politics remain, but the song title "Heavy Metal Shuffle" shows which way the band is heading. Buy A Collection of Pop Classics for Volume One, which offers more than enough value for the money.

A COLLECTION OF POP CLASSICS - 1994

http://www.mediafire.com/?w4dcm0n2hhv

DIDJITS

2010-01-25T19:07:00.001-08:00

There's almost no way the Didjits could have repeated the genius of Hey Judester without divine intervention, and sure enough, on Full Nelson Reilly they don't quite top their own high-water mark. But they do come closer than they ever would again, and this album finds the Didjits in gloriously manic form. Short of a 3-D virtual reality hologram, no recording can capture the full rock spectacle of Rick Sims in performance mode (a man destined from birth to be one of God's own rock stars, regardless of his sales figures), but the best cuts here preserve his Nugent-on-speed guitar moves, his manic vocal presence, and his weird-ass sense of humor with remarkable accuracy, and his rhythm section is so good they can actually keep up with him. And two-minute bursts of genius like "Top Fuel," "Who's Ready to Get High," "Eat the Roach," and "Promise Not to Kill Anybody" merge punk fury, hard rock pomp, and post-adolescent snigger as well as anyone before or since; if Urge Overkill had the formula down this well, they really could have taken over the world (and Sims' fashion sense was at least the equal of Nash Kato). Great stuff from a band whose great moment didn't receive the notice it richly deserved.

FULL NELSON REILLY - 1991

http://www.mediafire.com/?dtwzd3dgjzu

YOUTH BRIGADE

2010-01-25T18:42:00.000-08:00

Youth Brigade formed at the end of summer 1980 amid the explosion of the punk scene in Southern California. The L.A. punk scene at that time had been detonated by the repressive culture of the post-70’s burnout. Amongst many of the bands that one day would become known as early pioneers of the hardcore punk rock scene, Youth Brigade have created a legend as one of the most powerful independent bands in the North America. Shortly after forming, two of the three members, Mark and Shawn, spawned the Better Youth Organization as a way to promote alternative music, art and other creative endeavors in a completely independent manner. BYO Records began with the infamous punk compilation, Someone Got Their Head Kicked In (BYO 001). The classic punk record was a vehicle for Mark and Shawn to collaborate with other bands from the time and also to have recorded music of their own band. During that era, Youth Brigade, BYO Records, and the scene as a whole were much more integrated. The absence of established channels necessitated a community that was far less delineated than what we see now in terms of “bands”, “labels” or “promoter” and so on. Anyone who was a punk was a friend and comrade and in that spirit, the Los Angeles punk scene was created. The landmark documentary, Another State of Mind, chronicled a momentous point for D.I.Y. bands by following Youth Brigade and Social Distortion on a self-booked tour through 30 venues (this is a loose term) across the U.S. That tour fell apart prematurely, but as a result, a precedent was set on what the possibilities could be for a young punk band on a mission. Brothers Shawn, Mark and Adam Stern shared a basic philosophy when they started the band: that "youth" is an attitude, not an age and that every generation has the responsibility to change what they feel is wrong in the world. Throughout their career, they’ve always stressed the importance of collective strength for change through music. Though they do not consider themselves a “political” band per say, they’ve never shied away from expressing their beliefs about our society. Early songs, “Fight to Unite,” “Men in Blue,” and “Did You Wanna Die,” amongst countless others, urge listeners to question themselves and the world around them. This continues to be Youth Brigade’s motivation for making music.

SINK WITH KALIFORNIJA - 1984

http://www.mediafire.com/?zwtkjzgcumc

X

2010-01-19T19:08:00.000-08:00

For X's second release, 1981's Wild Gift, the quartet followed the same path they had taken a year earlier on their debut, Los Angeles, creating another batch of timeless compositions that merged the energy of punk rock with other musical styles. Former Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek reprised his role as producer on what would turn out to be X's last independent release before signing to Elektra. Included are such eventual punk standards as "We're Desperate," the melodic hookfest "White Girl" (sampled years later by the Red Hot Chili Peppers in their song "Good Time Boys"), and "Beyond and Back" (which would serve as a title for their 1997 two-CD anthology). Other highlights include the '50s-prom feel of "Adult Books," the punk-pop composition "In This House That I Call Home," and the rapid "Back 2 the Base." While it may be a shade less exceptional than its predecessor, Wild Gift is nonetheless a classic effort.

WILD GIFT - 1981

http://www.mediafire.com/?mydqmnjgqjy

UNKNOWN INSTRUCTORS

2010-01-15T20:52:00.001-08:00

After the death of D. Boon in 1985, Mike Watt and George Hurley briefly considered continuing the Minutemen with friend and frequent collaborator Joe Baiza of Saccharine Trust and Universal Congress Of taking over on guitar. Watt and Hurley opted to form fIREHOSE with newcomer Ed Crawford instead, but 20 years later these three giants of the California art-punk scene have finally founded a new project together as members of the Unknown Instructors, an improvisational quartet with the musos accompanying poet and saxophonist Dan McGuire. By any standard, Baiza, Watt, and Hurley are a mighty combination, and the blend of Joe's sharp, angular guitar figures, Watt's thick but nimble basslines, and Hurley's splashy, adventurous percussion will remind anyone why these guys have long been revered by both fans and peers, but while their chops are in fine shape and their musical imagination is solid enough, the melodic structures they conjure up on the spot are not up to the standards of what Watt and Baiza have offered in the past. More importantly, Dan McGuire isn't the best collaborator this trio could have asked for; it's significant that the most memorable set of verses here, "Punk (Is Whatever We Made It to Be)," was cobbled together from the lyrics to a bunch of Minutemen songs, and though the life lived along the margins in "Starving Artists" communicates well enough, most of McGuire's wordplay is post-beatnik poesy that wears out its welcome before the tracks come to an end. The Way Things Work sadly never quite lives up to the promise of its contributors' past achievements, but there are enough moments of beauty and strength that one hopes these players will give it another try.

THE WAY THINGS WORK - 2005

http://www.mediafire.com/?ogjyn4z5whz

fIREHOSE

2010-01-15T19:48:00.000-08:00

When the Minutemen were forced to split up in December of 1985 due to the untimely death of singer/guitarist D. Boon, the remaining members (bassist Mike Watt and drummer George Hurley) were so devastated that they considered giving up music all together. Shortly afterwards though, a college student and major Minutemen fan, Ed Crawford, convinced the remaining members to soldier on. And soldier on they did, taking Crawford (known as "Ed fROMOHIO," due to his signature on a letter) as their new singer/guitarist, and dubbing the new outfit fIREHOSE, after the famous Bob Dylan song "Subterranean Homesick Blues." Their first album was issued less than a year after Boon's death, 1986's Ragin', Full On for SST, and surprisingly, the new band sounded completely different than it's predecessor (for example, Crawford had more of a real singing voice than Boon, the music was less unpredictable and more focused, etc.). Ex-Black Flag bassist Kira (and eventual wife of Watt) helped co-write several tracks: the hyper instrumental "Under the Influence of Meat Puppets," plus "It Matters," "Locked In," "Perfect Pairs," "Relatin' Dudes to Jazz," and "Things Could Turn Around." Other highlights included "Brave Captain," "Candle and the Flame," "Choose Any Memory," and "Caroms." While fIREHOSE would perfect their highly original sound on future albums (Flyin' the Flannel, Mr. Machinery Operator, etc.), Ragin', Full On still proved to be a worthwhile, interesting debut.

RAGIN', FULL-ON - 1986

http://www.mediafire.com/?aomtmzzm0v2

MINUTEMEN

2010-01-15T19:10:00.001-08:00

Before they had even released 3-Way Tie for Last in the fall of 1985, the Minutemen had blocked out plans for their next album, which was to be a sprawling three-LP set featuring three sides of studio material and three sides of live recordings. Initial pressings of 3-Way Tie included a ballot so fans could vote for the songs to be included on the live half of the upcoming album; the tragic death of D. Boon meant the Minutemen would never make another studio album, but Mike Watt and George Hurley compiled the ballots sent in by fans and used the results as the basis for this album, which uses radio broadcasts, studio outtakes, rehearsal tapes, and audience recordings to assemble a final tribute to their fallen comrade. As you might expect, the quality of the sound varies quite a bit from track to track (though there's nothing as awful as the stuff on side two of The Politics of Time), and there are a few items here that were outtakes for a good reason (like the overlong version of "Mr. Robot's Holy Orders" or the spontaneous soundtrack improvisation "Hell"). But for the most part, Ballot Result is a fitting memorial that makes clear the Minutemen were just as strong onstage as they were in the studio and that their songs were smart, provocative, adventurous, and stand up well to the test of time. The fiery first side of material from the WREK-FM broadcast previously bootlegged on Just a Minute, Men alone makes this album well worth owning, and there are plenty of other gems scattered through the rest of the set. Ballot Result is hardly the ideal Minutemen live album, but it offers tangible evidence that they were one of the greatest American bands of their time, and that's not an accomplishment to be sneezed at.

BALLOT RESULT - 1986

http://www.mediafire.com/?yt3m20nlmtj

R.I.P. JOE GRAZIANO OF SUPERTOUCH

2010-01-11T19:06:00.000-08:00

A patchwork of news reports and message board posts seem to indicate that Joe Graziano, the bassist for the NYCHC act Supertouch, was found shot to death in his Chicago home last Wednesday--an apparent suicide. Supertouch got their start in the halcyon youth crew days of the mid-'80s; a brief co-sign from Youth of Today's Mike Judge, the band's first drummer, launched an 11-year run through the VFWs and Long Island Legion Halls around the city. The band had a song on Revelation Records' seminal 1988 comp New York City Hardcore: The Way It Is alongside Warzone, Gorilla Biscuits, Sick of It All, Bold, etc.--New York hardcore royalty, in other words, of which Supertouch was definitely a member. In addition to their two releases, Supertouch recorded a large amount of music that remains unreleased, including their 1988 demo that was never actually sold, several songs during the What Did We Learn session in addition to the 3 on the record (it was originally intended to be a full-length), one song for a movie soundtrack that never got released, and an unfinished full-length recorded around 1995. There are no current plans to give any of this material a proper release, as even the band members don't have access to some of it. The only post-LP Supertouch recording that was officially released was the song "Better" on the compilation Anti-Matter.

THE EARTH IS FLAT - 1990

http://www.mediafire.com/?zowtyojj5ez

MISSION OF BURMA

2010-01-09T10:44:00.000-08:00

This wasn't supposed to happen. After breaking up in 1983, Mission of Burma spent almost 20 years as the band who went away before they could get stale, run out of ideas, or lose their edge, but they weren't supposed to come back. No one figured them to re-emerge on-stage in 2002 for a series of reunion shows in which they would not only sound as strong as ever (if not stronger), but reaffirm themselves as one of America's great rock bands, an ensemble of uncommon intelligence, imagination, and force. But most startling of all, few could have guessed that Mission of Burma would return to the recording studio and emerge with an album that stands comfortably beside the striking recorded legacy they left behind in their earlier incarnation. First and foremost, Onoffon manages the not inconsiderable achievement of sounding like Mission of Burma — a 22-year recording layoff has done nothing to blur the group's signature sound, and Roger Miller's crystalline shards of guitar, Clint Conley's melodic and propulsive bass, and Peter Prescott's inventive but muscular percussion appear to have aged not a day in the interim. But this isn't the work of a reconstituted band slipping back into an old formula — cuts like "The Enthusiast," "The Setup," and "Fake Blood" are classic Burma, howling with energy and id, but the clanky, vaguely country undertow of "Nicotine Bomb," the skeletal textures of "Prepared," and the fretful calm of "What We Really Were" and "Max Ernst's Dream" reveal three musicians who are still adding fresh details to their sonic canvas. And while Bob Weston doesn't slavishly mimic the aural clouds of tape loops generated by Martin Swope (who opted not to participate in this reunion) during Burma's salad days, his sonic treatments (and non-intrusive production) serve the same function and mesh with the group's music with welcome grace. Though Onoffon doesn't quite top Burma's 1982 masterpiece, Vs. (remarkably, until now the band's only full-length studio album), it manages to sound like the more than worthy follow-up they could have cut a couple years later — only with two decades of experience and musical detours informing its nooks and crannies. Onoffon is an album that neither embraces the past as empty nostalgia nor ignores the events of the past two decades — it presents Mission of Burma reborn into the 21st century, as original and relevant as they've ever been, and their return is as welcome a surprise as anyone could hope for. Inexplicable, and gloriously so.

ONoffON - 2004

http://www.mediafire.com/?myzzddjijmi

BITCH MAGNET

2010-01-09T10:27:00.000-08:00

Originally released as a 12" in 1988, this nine-song collection is a progressive hardcore dynamo that quickly landed Bitch Magnet on the underground A-list. Often compared to Slint, this characterization isn't particularly accurate. On Star Booty, the group prefers to remain locked into their guitar riff powerband — letting up for meandering experiments and dark ruminations isn't much of a consideration. This lust for horsepower is most evident on the churning "Hatpins" and "Circle K." Unlike the more dynamic Slint, Bitch Magnet hardly ever shakes the rampant attitude expressed on these numbers. Collectors will do well to find a vinyl copy of Star Booty. Casual fans should look for one of the later issues of this disc packaged with the full-length Umber.

STAR BOOTY - 1988

http://www.mediafire.com/?5mww1dlzgu4

SQUIRREL BAIT

2010-01-09T10:05:00.000-08:00

On their sophomore release, Skag Heaven, Squirrel Bait not only continued with the hard rockin' punk sound of their debut, but improved on it with better material and performances. Peter Searcy's speed grit vocals, David Grubbs' dirty, Van Halenesque guitar attack, and Ben Daughtrey's varied and tight drumming all sound more polished here, especially on the locomotive, punk metal driven tracks "Kid Dynamite" and "Virgil's Return," as well as on the relatively straightforward thrash number "Kick the Cat." Newfound melodic touches appear too on "Black Light Poster Child" and the Phil Ochs' cover "Tape from California," along with tempo shifts which punctuate the dark drama of "Choose Your Poison" and "Short Straw Wins." If Squirrel Bait had not disbanded after Skag Heaven, it's hard to say if their intense sound would have continued to benefit from the expanded songwriting sensibilities. With their small but potent output, though, Squirrel Bait did help reconcile punks to the hard rock they were supposed to hate by demonstrating, along with metal camp sympathizers Metallica, that the two styles are linked through a shared love of alienation driven intensity. Look for used copies of the out of print Homestead two-fer for all the band's indie rock lessons.

SKAG HEAVEN - 1987

http://www.mediafire.com/?nzyxol4nmjm

UNSANE

2010-01-07T15:56:00.000-08:00

Lambhouse: The Collection 1991-1998 is a monstrous double-CD/DVD set commemorating the storied career and eventual return to action of New York noise rock pioneers Unsane. Over the course of 24 devastating tracks drawn from each of the band's landmark albums, one is sucked right into Unsane's despairing world of pain — a world where tortured convulsions like "Sick," "Body Bomb," "Alleged," and "Vandal X" throb like the scars attained during years of punishing tours (still bleeding, in fact, after thousands of mosh pits, physical and mental breakdowns, a fatal drug overdose, and a near-fatal beating).
LAMBHOUSE - 2003

http://www.mediafire.com/?erenkyzq2dm

THE CLASH

2010-01-04T20:31:00.000-08:00

On the surface of things, Combat Rock appears to be a retreat from the sprawling stylistic explorations of London Calling and Sandinista! The pounding arena rock of "Should I Stay or Should I Go" makes the Clash sound like an arena rock band, and much of the album boasts a muscular, heavy sound courtesy of producer Glyn Johns. But things aren't quite that simple. Combat Rock contains heavy flirtations with rap, funk, and reggae, and it even has a cameo by poet Allen Ginsberg — if this album is, as it has often been claimed, the Clash's sellout effort, it's a very strange way to sell out. Even with the infectious, dance-inflected new wave pop of "Rock the Casbah" leading the way, there aren't many overt attempts at crossover success, mainly because the group is tearing in two separate directions. Mick Jones wants the Clash to inherit the Who's righteous arena rock stance, and Joe Strummer wants to forge ahead into black music. The result is an album that is nearly as inconsistent as Sandinista!, even though its finest moments — "Should I Stay or Should I Go," "Rock the Casbah," "Straight to Hell" — illustrate why the Clash were able to reach a larger audience than ever before with the record.

COMBAT ROCK - 1982

http://www.mediafire.com/?mnzj1umutdw

WYLDE RATTTZ

2010-01-04T19:26:00.000-08:00

The Wylde Ratttz are comprised of some of punk/alt-rock's most renowned and respected names -- guitarists Ron Asheton (the Stooges), Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth), Don Fleming (Gumball), bassist Mike Watt (the Minutemen), drummer Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth), and singer Mark Arm (Mudhoney). The group originally came together in 1998 when they were asked by movie director Todd Haynes to cover the Stooges classic "T.V. Eye" for his film Velvet Goldmine, a movie that was supposedly loosely based on the relationship between David Bowie and Iggy Pop during the early-'70s glam period (when the song appeared on the album's soundtrack, Arm's vocals were replaced with actor Ewan McGregor's, however). What was originally supposed to be a one-off project took on a life of its own, as the ad hoc group quickly penned and recorded an album's worth of garage rockers. But due to contractual red tape, the album remained unreleased....(or did it ?)

WYLDE RATTTZ - 1998

http://www.mediafire.com/?24zicjzgijd

MIKE NESS

2010-01-02T14:51:00.000-08:00

In one sense, it seems a little strange that Mike Ness would choose to record a solo album since he always appeared to be the driving force behind Social Distortion. On the other hand, Social Distortion is a full-fledged rock band, which means they're a democracy — and that might have gotten a little constricting after nearly 20 years in the same outfit. Hence, Ness decided to take a solo detour in 1999 with Cheating at Solitaire. The title slyly hints at the fact that he didn't do this alone, and there are a stunning array of guests on the album, including contributions from Brian Setzer, Bruce Springsteen, and members of the Royal Crown Revue. Even if the record is loaded with cameos, it remains very much the work of Mike Ness, emphasizing his love of American roots music. Sure, there's hard, punky rock & roll on the record, but things get really interesting when he goes for straight country, blues, rockabilly, and folk. He's dabbled with these genres before, but he's never quite been as straightforward as this, nor has he been as successful. Occasionally, it may sound like he's tackling too much at once, but that's refreshing in a time when most rockers are playing it safe. And that is certainly one thing Cheating at Solitaire never does.

CHEATING AT SOLITAIRE - 1999

http://www.mediafire.com/?5mbymnqzmjh

SOCIAL DISTORTION

2010-01-02T13:57:00.000-08:00

Seminal Orange County punk band Social Distortion's first full-length album Mommy's Little Monster is the epitome of early-'80s suburban California punk and provided inspiration for many future Californians, including the Offspring and Rancid. Mommy's Little Monster finds the band supplying plenty of attitude and aggression as they rip through nine tracks worth of hard, fast, power chord-filled tracks loaded with snarling anti-establishment lyrics and themes. Songs like "The Creeps (I Just Want to Give You") and "Telling Them" show a young punk group that is very angry, and they were going to let society know it whether they wanted to hear it or not. The title track, "Mommy's Little Monster," with its descriptions of the girl with blue hair and the unemployed young punk who loves to drink and fight, gives you a good idea of the characters Social Distortion was surrounded by in the scene of the day. Although the low budget production gives the album a genuine early genre feel, it tends to hinder some of the potential power of most of the tracks presented here. As frontman Mike Ness matured as a songwriter the band went on to record stronger albums later in their career, but Mommy's Little Monster is a fine document of the raw early stages of a great influential American punk band that would go on to influence countless others in the future.

MOMMY'S LITTLE MONSTER - 1983

http://www.mediafire.com/?entytz23myq

ONE LAST WISH

2009-12-28T20:07:00.000-08:00

A document of the beautiful, short-lived urgency of the phenomenon known as One Last Wish. The fleeting and desperate nature of the band's existence emerges in this, their one and only recording, made in the few months they were together in 1986. The sound is like a hybrid of all the elements of their other musical projects — sort of a logical extension of where Rites of Spring's latest material left off, mixed with what Happy Go Licky and Fugazi would later do. Guy's poignant and stirring vocals are as fierce/delicate as ever, and the music is churning, well composed, and compassionate all at once. And yet there's something else to this music — some feeling that is indescribable, something that can only be felt.

"1986" - 1999

http://www.mediafire.com/?jogxtjmmzmz

RITES OF SPRING

2009-12-28T19:25:00.000-08:00

Released on CD by Dischord in 1991, this digital version of End on End covers the complete recorded output of the legendary Rites of Spring: their self-titled LP, the All Through a Life EP, and one extra song. One of the first bands to be labeled emocore, Rites of Spring would seem to transcend all labels as their music cuts right through to the heart of universal human experience. Emotional? Yes — check out the bitter memorial relived on "For Want Of," the pulse pounding moment-grab that is "Drink Deep," or the devoted searches for honesty and meaning explored on "End on End," "Theme," and really just about every track on the disc. Hardcore? Yes — emerging from the D.C. scene, the music is pure focused energy, not a single note wasted. The band at times is fast and furious, at other times lush and evocative though always with a sense of drive and melody. Rites of Spring hint at some of the territory vocalist/guitarist Guy Picciotto and drummer Brendan Canty would later survey with Fugazi, but this band is much more than just a stepping stone. End on End, quite simply, is a testament to the rich possibilities of sincerity in music.

END ON END - 1991

http://www.mediafire.com/?qzmvnyojy5m

BAD BRAINS

2009-12-25T12:15:00.000-08:00

For fans of hardcore, many would agree that the holy grail of the genre is Bad Brains' self-titled album, originally released back in 1982 as a cassette-only release on ROIR. The ensuing years after its initial release haven't dulled the album's fury and rage in the least, and it's still impressive how the band can switch gears from red-hot hardcore to cool reggae dubs in the blink of an eye. All the classics are here: "Sailin' On," "Banned in D.C.," "Pay to Cum," "Right Brigade," as well as one of their strongest reggae tunes, "I Luv I Jah." The back of the album boasts a quote from the Beastie Boys' Adam Yauch, which sums up the proceedings simply, "the best punk/hardcore album of all time." [Although Bad Brains was available on CD on the now-defunct In Effect label in the late '80s (then titled Attitude: The ROIR Sessions with a different album cover), it's since been remastered and re-released with its original cover, as well as an untitled bonus track added at the end.]

BAD BRAINS - 1982

http://www.mediafire.com/?ymajiiymihw

HUSKER DU

2009-12-24T14:15:00.000-08:00

Spot — SST's house producer who manned the boards for Zen Arcade and New Day Rising — didn't produce Flip Your Wig, Hüsker Dü's second album of 1985, and the difference is immediately noticeable. Everything on Flip Your Wig is cleaner and brighter than on its two immediate predecessors, which is appropriate, considering that Bob Mould and Grant Hart have only increased their debt to '60s pop. The hooks and melodies are on the surface, right from the kick-start call-and-response of the title track. On paper, it might sound as if Hüsker Dü have watered down their hardcore ideals, but it doesn't play that way. Flip Your Wig is pop played as punk, as if this is the only time these songs could ever be heard. Which means Hart's love song "Green Eyes" and Mould's pure pop single "Makes No Sense at All" are delivered with the same rage and passion as Mould's blistering "Divide and Conquer" and Hart's "Keep Hanging On," or the pair of surging, neo-psychedelic and noise-wracked instrumentals that close the album. Flip Your Wig would be a remarkable record on its own terms, but the fact that it followed New Day Rising by a matter of months and Zen Arcade by just over a year is simply astonishing.

FLIP YOUR WIG - 1985

http://www.mediafire.com/?mkkduj3z0gt

NOVA MOB

2009-12-24T14:08:00.001-08:00

After the less than friendly break-up of Husker Du, both Grant Hart and Bob Mould released solo work which was considerably different than their work together. Hart's 1989 effort, Intolerance, is a sweeping carnivalesque work that is a logical extension of his work with Husker Du. The Last Days of Pompeii still sounds like Hart, but it is a larger work — a narrative of sorts with allusions to Pompeii and Nazi Germany. The story flows well, and almost everything on the album borders on brilliance. The bright rockers "Admiral of the Sea," "Wernher Von Braun," and "Over My Head," are the best work this band has ever done to date. The album is not without its experimental side, however; "Space Jazz" a spiraling, noisy, spoken-word track, is a strange break from the narrative, but it flows well into the poppy "Where You Gonna Land." This record is an important addition to the collection of any Husker Du fan.

THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII - 1991

http://www.mediafire.com/?z22yyl4tzjj

GRANT HART

2009-12-24T11:23:00.000-08:00

Years of addiction tend to obscure Grant Hart's considerable strengths as a songwriter, a situation not helped by his erratic post-Hüsker Dü work. After 1999's Good News for Modern Man, Hart drifted away, spending some time as a musician for hire but generally existing outside the spotlight, taking a full decade to return with Hot Wax, his third solo album and easily his richest collection of songs to date. Hart hasn't abandoned the buzzing guitars that have defined much of his music since the days of Dü, but he's certainly downplayed them, preferring to ramp up a latent Baroque pop obsession and spend some intimate, quiet intimate moments with just a keyboard or two. There's variety here, and also craft, a bracing and overdue reminder that there were two excellent songwriters in Hüsker Dü.

HOT WAX - 2009

http://www.mediafire.com/?nzmwtmc4yz2

BUZZCOCKS

2009-12-23T20:43:00.000-08:00

General judgment holds the Buzzcocks' peerless singles, the definition of punk-pop at its finest, as the best expression of their work. However, while the singles showcased one particular side of the band, albums like the group's long-playing debut, Another Music in a Different Kitchen, showcased the foursome's other influences, sometimes brilliantly. The big secret is Pete Shelley's worship of Krautrock's obsessive focus on repetition and rhythm, which transforms what would be "simply" basic punk songs into at-times monstrous epics. The ghost of Can, in particular, hovers even on some of the shorter songs — unsurprising, given Shelley's worship of that band's guitarist, Michael Karoli. "Moving Away From the Pulsebeat" is the best instance of this, with a rumbling John Maher rhythm supporting some trance-like guitar lines. As for the sheer rush of pop craziness, Another Music in a Different Kitchen is simply crammed with stellar examples. The leadoff track, "Fast Cars," starts with the opening of Spiral Scratch's "Boredom"'s intentionally hilarious two-note solo intact, before ripping into a slightly bemusing critique of the objects in question. Most of the similar tracks on the album may be more distinct for their speed, but Shelley, in particular, always seems to sneak in at least one astonishing line per song, sometimes on his own and sometimes thanks to Howard Devoto via older co-written tunes redone for the record. One favorite standout: "All this slurping and sucking/It's putting me off my food!" on "You Tear Me Up." Top all this off with any number of perfect moments — the guitar work during the breaks on "Love Battery," the energizing yet nervous coda of "Fiction Romance," the soaring angst throughout "I Don't Mind" — and Another Music flat-out succeeds. [The 2001 reissue offers four tracks from the two singles released just before the album: "Orgasm Addict," "Whatever Happened To...?," "What Do I Get?," and "Oh Shit."]

ANOTHER MUSIC IN A DIFFERENT KITCHEN - 1978

http://www.mediafire.com/?zzndkyqn3f0

COSMIC PSYCHOS

2009-12-20T15:33:00.000-08:00

Though not terribly dissimilar from the brute simplicity of a number of other Australian outfits that have preceded them — Radio Birdman, Angel City, and Rose Tattoo, the Cosmic Psychos nonetheless carved out a rip-roaring niche for themselves in the punk rock underground. Perhaps the band's most full-realized album, Self-Totaled doesn't deviate from the band's formula of hard driving rhythms, fuzzed out guitars, humorously sneering vocals, and true-to-the-bone working man's attitude. In fact, it builds on that formula: The melodies show better craftsmanship, the band is tighter, and the engineering is perfect. Like AC/DC, the Cosmic Psychos have always kept things simple and stuck lyrically to what they know, and on this album, they seem to know a bit about shooting the neighbor's cat, S&M, psychotic girlfriends, drinking, and fighting.

SELF TOTALLED - 1995

http://www.mediafire.com/?dlovtizjhnz

ROCKET FROM THE CRYPT

2009-12-20T11:06:00.000-08:00

1995 was Rocket's year of sheer productivity — no less than three separate major releases, counting the fantastic The State of the Art Is on Fire EP, not to mention another slew of singles. The rarest of the three is for many the best, the limited-edition vinyl-only release Hot Charity. Starting with the dramatic slow build of "Pushed," making for an almost cinematic opening to the proceedings (helped by the fact that it's an instrumental), Hot Charity smokes from the start and takes special care not to let up. The recording quality sounds fantastic, the band is as playful as it is utterly hard-edged, and everything, simply put, rocks. There's the party grooving of "My Arrow's Aim," with some smart guitar playing increasing the nerviness as everything gets more driving, ending up in a great, strutting chorus interspersed with Apollo 9 and JC 2000 blowing like fiends. Or one can just simply let the amazing blend of Reis' vocals and the backing singing from others on the downright soaring "Guilt Free" do its work. Slower grooves aren't forgotten, like the twangy, measured kick of "Feathered Friends," piano adding to the wooziness here and there. Mostly, though, it's music like the addictive handclap/rockabilly bass and echo leading into the rip-roaring "Lorna Doom," quick, amazing end solo and all, which leads the way, and that's nothing to regret in the slightest.

HOT CHARITY - 1995

http://www.mediafire.com/?meozzztjn2m

JAWBOX

2009-12-20T10:48:00.000-08:00

Indie purists reflexively moaned — and, in one documented case, hoped for the band’s vehicular death — once word spread of Jawbox's Atlantic deal. No band had left the sacred Dischord label for a major prior to Jawbox, so it was seen by some as an unforgivable crime against D.I.Y. The move, inconsequential from a creative standpoint, was the betrayed's loss. The band's first album for the bad guys represents their peak, a thrilling collision of vibrant guitar-generated noise and off-center melodic hooks over a rhythm section that swings as easily as it pummels. Not transitional merely in the label-of-release sense, For Your Own Special Sweetheart introduced new drummer Zach Barocas, whose intricate style is as punishing as necessary for any post-hardcore band while more inspired by jazz heavyweights Tony Williams and Jack DeJohnette than any punk. Kim Coletta’s bass, present enough in the mix to be compared to a variety of power tools, rumbles with a richness and dexterity that was only hinted at on the band’s prior releases, while the guitar interplay between Bill Barbot and J. Robbins, colorful and dynamic, alternates between ringing/tingling and needling/careening. This all produces an album that is heavy on songs that gracefully batter and flit unpredictably between mid-tempo and charging speeds. Whether pushed along by the addition of Barocas or the band’s general development, FYOSS also contains a pair of slower, subtle songs that are just as compelling as the aggressive material. Robbins’ lyrics, as cerebral and inscrutable as ever, and more about sound than meaning, are at least decipherable throughout the muscular, corrosive jangle-pop of “Savory” (about the objectification of women), the appropriately rush-inducing “Jackpot Plus!” (the futility of gambling), and “Motorist” (disorientation after a car crash, inspired by J.G. Ballard’s Concrete Island). Otherwise, a Jawbox decoder ring is necessary. (For example, a Jawbox-to-punk translation of “Technicolored static sender/Second guess my love for danger” could be “I’m a couch potato/Couch potato, ungh!”) More importantly, don’t forget to wear a neck brace. Inside or outside its D.C. epicenter, this is one of post-hardcore’s most exceptional releases, second to whatever Fugazi album gives you the biggest charge.

FOR YOUR OWN SPECIAL SWEETHEART (REMASTERED) - 1994,2009

http://www.mediafire.com/?aegnjmcmlym

HUSKER DU

2009-12-19T11:48:00.000-08:00

For New Day Rising, the follow-up to their breakthrough double-album Zen Arcade, Hüsker Dü replaced concept with conciseness, concentrating on individual songs delivered as scalding post-hardcore pop. New Day Rising is not only a more vicious and relentless record than Zen Arcade, it's more melodic. Bob Mould and Grant Hart have written tightly crafted, melodic pop songs that don't compromise Hüsker's volcanic, unchecked power. Mould and Hart's songs owe a great deal to '60s pop, as the verses and choruses ebb and flow with immediately catchy hooks. Occasionally, the razor-thin production and waves of noise mean that it takes a little bit of effort to pick out the melodies, but more often the furious noise and melodies fuse together to create an overwhelming sonic force. It's possible to hear the rivalry between Mould and Hart on the album itself — each song is like a game of one-upmanship, as Mould responds to "The Girl Who Lives on Heaven Hill" with "Celebrated Summer." Neither songwriter slips — both turn in songs that are catchy, clever, and alternately wracked with pain or teeming with humor. New Day Rising is a positively cathartic record and ranks as Hüsker Dü's most sustained moment of pure power.

NEW DAY RISING - 1985

http://www.mediafire.com/?gyuwzegjzin

SUGAR

2009-12-19T08:58:00.000-08:00

How ironic that after years fronting the hugely influential but desperately overlooked Hüsker Dü, Bob Mould's first project with new band Sugar, 1992's Copper Blue, would become the most commercially successful project of his career. Of course, it was released just as the seeds sown by his former band were bearing bountiful fruits in the post-Nirvana alternative nation, which provided ample explanation for its phenomenal success. But Sugar were well deserving of their success, regardless of time and place. A more aggressive, contemporary guitar attack aside, stunning power punk masterpieces like "The Act We Act," "The Slim," and "Fortune Teller" bear all of the vintage Mould musical traits: tell-tale lyrics, great hooks, and snappy melodies. It's all underpinned by that unexplainable, chilling tension between innocent beauty and dark melancholy that fans came to expect from Mould, and topped by his somewhat nasal, almost timid vocal harmonies. Other highlights include the '60s-style "If I Can't Change Your Mind," the loud, beautiful guitars of "Man on the Moon" and "Helpless," and the tongue-in-cheek Pixies tribute "A Good Idea."

COPPER BLUE - 1992

http://www.mediafire.com/?mwgn1yhymmg

BOB MOULD BAND

2009-12-19T08:27:00.001-08:00

Live at ATP 2008 is an exclusive limited release of 1600 copies world wide. The setlist spanned 30+ years of brilliant material, and pretty much leveled the crowd in a way that was unmatched by any of the weekend's other performances. Originally recorded at the ATP NY Festival on September 21st, 2008 for live broadcast on WFMU, this is the first time that this exceptional recording of a seminal performance has been made available to fans on CD since it aired live on air.

LIVE AT ATP 2008 - 2009

http://www.mediafire.com/?zydz5eyjljz

THE MAKERS

2009-12-18T21:36:00.001-08:00

Garage punk outfit the Makers formed in Spokane, WA, in 1991, originally assembling frontman Mike Maker, his bassist brother Don Maker, guitarists Tim Maker and John Maker, and drummer Jay Maker. Famed for their anarchic live dates and for traveling from show to show in a 1965 Pontiac hearse, the group signed to Sympathy for the Record Industry to issue their debut 10" Hip-Notic; the exit of John Maker coincided with a move to the Estrus label for the full-length follow-up, 1993's Howl! The instrumental EP The Devil's Nine Questions preceded the Makers' second long player, 1994's All Night Riot; a trashier, more distorted sound distinguished the band's self-titled third LP, with guitarist Jamie Maker replacing Tim Maker for 1997's Hunger. After backing singer April March on her April March Sings the Songs album, the Makers resurfaced in 1998 with a new retro-glam approach on the acclaimed Psychopathia Sexualis, heralding the change by adopting new stage names — Michael Machine, Don Virgo, Jay Amerika, and Jamie Jack Frost, respectively. The Makers made their Sub Pop label debut with 2000's acclaimed Rock Star God and followed it in 2002 with Strangest Parade. Jay Maker left the group that year to be replaced by Jimmy Chandler and the band parted ways with Sub Pop as well. They soon signed with Kill Rock Stars and in 2004 released Stripped, a collection of re-recordings of songs originally put out on Estrus between 1991 and 1998. They also welcomed back guitarist Tim Maker (now known as Timothy Killingsworth) expanding the group to a 5-piece for the album. This same line-up released Everybody Rise! in the fall of 2005.

THE MAKERS - 1996

http://www.mediafire.com/?ykitzq3jmo3

THE NEW BOMB TURKS

2009-12-18T20:49:00.000-08:00

Destroy-Oh-Boy! is the kind of full-on flamethrower album that could make the most jaded cynic believe once again in the curative powers of punk rock. On this set, the New Bomb Turks combine 1950s and 1960s roots rock at it's rawest, '70s punk at it's snottiest, and '80s hardcore at it's most intense. Then they filter out what's lame, put the good stuff together, and send it down the track at 150 miles per hour. The results are wild, frantic, and thoroughly enjoyable; Jim Weber's fuzzy guitar communicates nearly as much through the power of downstroke as Johnny Ramone himself, bassist Matt Reber, and drummer Bill Randt push the horsepower into the red with a fury that is a wonder to behold, and Eric Davidson proves he's one of the great frontmen of 90s punk: smart, funny, wise-ass when he wants to be, and possessing a genuine sense of purpose. From the moment they crash into "Born Toulouse-Lautrec," the New Bomb Turks grab your ears and won't let go, and you won't mind a bit. Points added for a great garage-style cover of Wire's "Mr. Suit."

DESTROY-OH-BOY ! -1993

http://www.mediafire.com/?i4mz2kdmmkm

THE MUMMIES

2009-12-18T20:25:00.000-08:00

At a time when a lot of garage rock bands sounded like they were drowning in a sea of paisley and nehru affectation, the Mummies flipped the whole scene the bird with one of the most gloriously ugly garage albums ever, 1992's Never Been Caught. Sounding like it was recorded in an acoustically untreated basement on equipment that might have been state of the art in 1947, Never Been Caught is one long blast of monophonic skwak, with the needles almost perpetually in the red as four guys in mummy outfits bash out crude '60s-style rock about beer, babes, and open hostility on battered gear which was doubtless discarded by tone-deaf teenagers who got over their 15-minute delusion of possible future rock stardom in 1966. In case you haven't figured it out by now, this album is, quite simply, a work of genius; Billy Childish was once quoted as saying the Mummies were nearly as good as the Damned in 1977, and while the two bands don't have much in common musically, the Mummies certainly shared the enthusiastic carelessness and "Smash It Up" energy with the Damned Damned Damned-era punks, as they set out to blow up amps and knock over drum kits just cause it seemed like a fun thing to do. And after listening to it, damned if you don't want to join in — Never Been Caught is a perfect reminder that once upon a time rock & roll was considered dangerous just for being fast, loud, and snotty, and if the Mummies never quite became the new leaders of America's juvenile delinquents, it's sure not because they didn't try. In 2002, Telstar Records marked the tenth anniversary of this album's release by issuing Never Been Caught on compact disc for the first time; hard to say how they managed to blackmail the CD-loathing former Mummies into consenting to such a thing, but thankfully the disc (augmented with five bonus tracks) sounds just as flat and distorted as the original LP...nice to know some things never change.

NEVER BEEN CAUGHT - 1992

http://www.mediafire.com/?kgyzy0wmyjy

GREEN DAY

2009-12-16T18:59:00.000-08:00

Green Day's second full album was the perfect dry run for the band's later assault on the mainstream, containing both more variety and more flat-out smashes than previous releases had shown. With Tre Cool now firmly in place as the drummer, the lineup was at last settled, and it turned out Cool and Mike Dirnt were a perfect rhythm section, with the former showing a bit more flash and ability than John Kiftmeyer did. Together the two throw in a variety of guitarless breaks that would later help to define the band's sound for many — warm and never letting the beat go. As for Billie Joe Armstrong, his puppy-dog delivery and eternal switching between snotty humor and sudden sorrrow was better than ever, as were his instantly memorable riffs. The metal-strength chug that always informed the band's best work isn't absent either — check out Armstrong's opening riffing on "Christie Road." The whole thing starts with a note-perfect bang — "2000 Light Years Away" is the absolute highlight of the group's premajor-label days, with a great chorus and classic yearning lyrics. It got buried in the wave of Dookie's success a bit, but one other number didn't — "Welcome to Paradise," also a standout on that album, appears here in its original form. Rob Cavallo punched up the radio-friendly sound on the latter take, but even here it's a treat and a half — quick, rampaging, and once again with a great stop-start chorus to spare. Other straight-up pop winners include "One of My Lies" and "Who Wrote Holden Caulfield?." Elsewhere, Green Day slow down tempos, try acoustic numbers, and in one hilarious moment, pull off a ridiculous yet worthy country pisstake with the Cool-written "Dominated Love Slave."

KERPLUNK -1992

http://www.mediafire.com/?rmtgeyeygzr

ALL

2009-12-16T18:41:00.000-08:00

What these guys lack in the field of aggressive, hard-hitting punk, they make up for in cuteness. Percolator is All's most playful album to date, and the recording refrains from laying it on thick with tales of heartbreak and bad days — this time around, it's more about just having fun. If the instrumental tracks such as "Charligan" and "Birds" fail to bring the mood to an uppity level, "Dot," "Nothin'," and "Breath" will definitely strike a nerve. Just completely ignore the song "Hot Plates," which has this scary resemblance to Def Leppard during their Pyromania era.

PERCOLATER - 1992

http://www.mediafire.com/?1yzzjm2ount

DESCENDENTS

2009-12-16T18:11:00.000-08:00

What's to be expected given the title track, with a hilarious 'nyah nyah!' line on top of the chorus! Give a closer ear to the song, though — where the reason not to grow up is that it might "mean being like you" — and the band's core message of having fun and dealing with things as best one can in a stupid society is still there. When the four want to be straight up and perfectly poppy, they can and do with smashing success, with surprisingly mature, emotional lyrics and playing that doesn't rely on all-speed all the time. "Can't Go Back" is a great lost power-pop classic, with some of Aukerman's best singing, a wonderful chorus and a tuneful reflection on not reliving past mistakes. "Christmas Vacation" is another winner, a heartfelt and sharp depiction of a relationship on the skids with some great, melancholy harmonies, while "My World" draws on Aukerman's college years with a tale of personal frustration in an unfamiliar locale, all while rocking hard and strong. For all this there's ridiculous humor everywhere — thus "Pervert," which is at once frank and funny, saying "I'd hate to think that romance is just a pose/But all I want to do is rip off your clothes." "Rockstar," which immediately follows, is a hyperspeed trashing that's the understandable sequel to "Loser," demolishing the title character with a series of brief putdowns before concluding with a drawled "Let's exploit rock and roll to its fullest potential." But of course.

I DON'T WANT TO GROW UP - 1985

http://www.mediafire.com/?izm0ydiyqhi

AGNOSTIC FRONT

2009-12-14T20:44:00.000-08:00

Agnostic Front's seminal debut, Victim in Pain, arguably remains the ultimate document of the New York hardcore scene — an early-'80s movement which coincided with some of the most dire social and political crises ever to afflict the metropolis. By taking the rudiments of punk, then injecting enough energy and rage to elevate them to an entirely new level of primal aggression, Agnostic Front's piece de resistance ultimately succeeds because it transcends musical art form to create protest rock not necessarily at its most lucid, but definitely at its most visceral. With 11 tracks clocking in at a mere 15 and a half minutes, Victim in Pain is also a five-round knockout in the most literal terms; from the 45-second blast of the title track through to the last agonized strains of "With Time," there's barely a chance to breathe, much less put up a fight in your defense. Hardcore anthems all, "Blind Justice," "United and Strong," "Power," "Society Sucker," and "Your Mistake" were literal calls to arms for New York City's disenfranchised youth, who faithfully trekked down on a weekly basis to CBGB's legendary Sunday hardcore matinees. Listen closely to these cuts and you can almost hear the hallowed Bowery venue's dilapidated walls sweat, blister, and peel from the onslaught. Also of note from a purely sonic perspective, Victim in Pain is almost entirely rooted in '70s punk rock and the hardcore teachings of similar scenes in L.A. and D.C. — unlike latter Agnostic Front efforts, which incorporated elements of speed metal in an extreme style known as crossover.

VICTIM IN PAIN (REMASTERED) - 1984,2009

http://www.mediafire.com/?myitctjjiyj

FEAR

2009-12-14T20:16:00.000-08:00

In many ways, punk rock was a musical ink-blot test, and different people tended to see different things in it. Some saw punk as a call to organize the proletariat, others an opportunity to smash the state, some thought it was just a good excuse to get drunk and party, and a few folks figured it might be a easy way to make some quick money. Fear, however, had a fairly unique perspective — they seemingly embraced punk as an efficient way to piss off everyone around them, and there's no arguing that they achieved their goals with flying colors on their first and best album, The Record. Between the anthemic "Let's Have a War" ("...so you can go die!") and the inevitable closer "No More Nothing," Fear (and particularly frontman Lee Ving) seemed to have a bit of something to offend just about everyone, though women, New Yorkers, and (especially) gays seems to suffer the greatest brunt of his wrath. It would have been easy to dismiss Fear as a bunch of lunk-headed hate-mongers if it weren't for the fact the band played with daunting skill and bruising intensity (there were one of the few L.A. punk bands who never got hit with the charge "They can't play"), and the fact that they were often quite funny — like a well-told ethnic joke, you can't help but laugh as much as you might hate yourself for it (the band also managed to sound pretty convincing when they "meant it"). Does that make it OK? Not really. Does that make the record easier to listen to? Frankly yes. It makes sense that John Belushi was a big fan of Fear, because The Record sounds like the punk equivalent of the movie Animal House — puerile, offensive, and often reveling in its own ignorance, but pretty entertaining on a non-think level while it lasts.

THE RECORD - 1982

http://www.mediafire.com/?zgnomdgegmn

CIRCLE JERKS

2009-12-12T08:52:00.001-08:00

Keith Morris once described his brief tenure as Black Flag's lead singer by saying, "I was the Tasmanian devil, the court jester; I was the dog on the chain who was let out of the cage." So it made sense that after the beer-swilling frontman decided to move on, he would form a band even less subtle and more obnoxious than Black Flag (who represented punk rock at its most brutal in 1979). Group Sex, the first "album" from Morris' group the Circle Jerks, barrels through 14 songs in just under 16 minutes, and pretty much defined the state of the art in SoCal hardcore, circa 1980: raging minor-chord guitar bashing (courtesy of Greg Hetson, later in Bad Religion), speedy drumming (Lucky Lehrer punctuates his manic four-four stomp with short, frantic rolls whenever possible), and a bassist (Roger Rogerson) trying to keep up with it all while Morris bellows about sex ("I Just Want Some Skank"), drugs ("Wasted"), politics ("Paid Vacation"), the idle rich ("Beverly Hills"), and his own post-teenage rage ("World Up My Ass"). Some of it's funny, some of it seems to be serious, and it's all one not-so-long blast of raging energy. As such things go, it's tight, reasonably well played, the songs kinda sorta have hooks, and Keith Morris is a pretty good frontman, but if you're looking for nuance, you're pretty much out of luck. Then again, if you were looking for nuance in a Circle Jerks album, you've obviously been misinformed as to how this punk rock stuff works.

GROUP SEX - 1980

http://www.mediafire.com/?z2qvroj3m2n