A reboot!

This is a small post to announce a complete reboot of this blog. I've got a lot of time on my hands with no school and cancer treatment and so that needs to be dedicated to writing and posting! Here's to productivity!

Hunter

Appleseed - Silver Bearded Time

Here is a band that I haven't listened to in 4-5 years and have seemingly disbanded since then. Their debut and only record to have been released, Home, still has some gems that defy name or classification. Check them out!

Love Knows No Borders, Part 2

Round 2 of our musical journey, more tunes from both sides of the pond that helped Jenny and I to exist together and some very good tunes if I may say so myself. Download and enjoy!


Love Knows No Borders, Part 2: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?nuc3ch5a7155ss6

A Winter's Solstice

Through the maddening onslaught of Christmas songs and "holiday cheer" this past month, I felt I needed to put together a personal mix of songs that represented the season for myself. Something blustery and mysterious. No holiday event necessary to enjoy this hour and 20 minutes of music, just a good gray rainy day...

A Winter's Solstice: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?y0qj5ptlaf2hcff

A Little Bit 'o' Soul, Part 2

So I'm still awake and I couldn't really stop at 1, so here is a second addition for your listening pleasure! I know this is nothing original or really even artistically respectable but if I'm remembered for nothing more than the meticulous order in which I set and meshed these tracks then so be it. I enjoy the fuck out of it and that's all that matters!

A Little Bit 'o' Soul, Part 2: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?yttx4a0d9a4tyyz

A Little Bit 'o' Soul, Part 1

Shuffling through my collection of Soul, R&B, Rap and Electronica today I decided there are far too many gems and it's wholly necessary to put them into one place in as fluid and splendid a playlist as possible. And so here we go, over an hour of pure soul in one solid listen. Enjoy!

A Little Bit 'o' Soul: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?99nytn7thpyd89r

A lot's changed

It's clear to me that purging is necessary and so I give you this: two unnecessarily long and elaborate mixes it's taken me months to fine tune. I thought it was finished (this one mix which has since evolved into two) on August 31st of 2011 and it was on that day that everything in my life changed. And so therefore, this mix I felt had something much more significant underlying and I had to let it breathe so I gave it a Siamese counterpart. Each dealing in some way with an aspect of this radical threshold I'm still coming to terms with. I really can't say that anybody but myself is meant to enjoy them (and anybody who knows me knows just how private I am about these things) but it's therapeutic nonetheless. I'm including no track titles or artists because that destroys the journey. These are meant for long bus rides or as a soundtrack to a much overdue walk with minimal disruption and you won't find dance beats here, sorry ya'll.
These are very much soundtracks, both figuratively and literally, I've taken a liking to dissecting and reassembling for my own dastardly dramatic purposes. To each their part, I've also taken a keen interest in Worldly genres that I felt contributed to the many facets of my ideas and you can't deny these sorts of impregnable sounds once they've taken hold. And so, with no further ado:

The Wrath of God (Part 1): http://www.mediafire.com/?1ecf17j5u55odvh

Skull Incisions (Part 2): http://mediafire.com/download.php?5ipbi6087014fey

and PS, this is all very likely to change. I'm never satisfied with my work. Sorry...
PPS, as I warned, there were small details that needed tweaking in Part 2, but alas! There it is!
PPPS, reworked Skull Incisions and I'm very pleased with the outcome.

Ludwig Van Beethoven's 7th Symphony - II. Allegretto

Today I give you a piece I'd all but forgotten about until I saw The King's Speech recently (yes the inspirational powerhouse making its rounds at the awards ceremonies right now). It's among Beethoven's best works and a part of, in my humble opinion, Beethoven's greatest symphony. So focused and stirring, Allegretto (meaning A Little Lively) sent me through a fury of research on Beethoven's life and times long ago so that I might get a better understanding of it. There was no shortage of turmoil when he penned this piece so it's up to interpretation but nevertheless it's a work of anger and frustration. Crank your speakers up or pop on some headphones and do listen!

The Melvins

Today requires a hats off to Rock & Roll greatness. While the world was spooning their beloved 80's hair metal rockstars the little known Melvins were creating their own brand of sludgy rock hell we now know for better and worse as GRUNGE as far back as 1983. Pioneers to follow were the Yardbirds of Grunge, Green River and The Screaming Trees; Mark Lanegan's humble beginnings. Still, nobody could get quite as dirty, loud and give a single fuck less than The Melvins. You catch them playing to this day and they'll box your ears with brass knuckled fists!

Enjoy...



...and this...



...and finally:

David Vanian & The Phantom Chords

David Vanian is remembered today as 80's doom and gloom royalty thanks to his legendary punk outfit, The Damned. They damn near created the look, sound and feel of what we today call "goth" and while that may not pan out to be a good thing, The Damned are immortally Punk! David Vanian's one-off side project,

David Vanian & The Phantom Chords on the other hand have been all but forgotten and it's a damn shame. Their only released album is full to the gums with monster horror hops dipped in Vanians own rocka-country-westernbilly brew and with bootstompers like Voodoo Doll, Fever in My Blood and the instant classic Whiskey and Me it makes me hopping mad he hasn't saddled this bitch and ridden it in 15 years. It's all a bit of a shitty mess, Vanian has more projects than he knows what to do with and The Damned can't decide what to do with themselves anymore. All you can do is appreciate what's been given. Enjoy!

DOWNLOAD HERE:
http://rapidshare.com/files/67066639/Dave_Vanian___The_Phantom_Chords__1st._lp_-_1995_.rar.html

The Dark Stuff

I'm sick that I haven't found time to write in more than 6 months, mainly for myself. It's the only way to really sort shit out. Whether or not anybody reads it is irrelevant, it's the purging and sorting that's the good stuff, the medicine. Not only have I not written but with the chaos going on my ears were more or less switched off. It wasn't until I picked up Nick Kent's "The Dark Stuff" that I really felt like I was depriving myself. Stories of the real hell raisers like Jerry Lee Lewis and his devil may care bedlam, the music that was born of good and evil, occupied by saints, demons and the devil himself, brewed with moonshine squeezed straight from the devil's asshole. The good shit. I was taking life WAY too seriously.
So yes I've been back on the prowl and I've found some good good shit. It's all about word of mouth if you want something really damn good. And so I'll stop rambling and begin a walkthrough of my findings, continually updated for the next couple of days and onward! This blog cannot die!!!

I am becoming a wino

that is all.

The soul still beats on!

A lovely woman just introduced me to these fellows and I'm won. The dirty southern gospel rock of days old are still beating on, we just gotta seek it out!

Before he was bad, he was a bad mother fucker

David Allan Coe's got a reputation for being the grandfather of raunchy country, but before he got there, he was a lowly bum sitting on deathrow for killing a man. It was there he wrote the first album of his infamous career, "Penitentiary Blues". Here, he wasn't so much country as he was a soulful bluesman, bursting with misery and pleads of mercy upon his warden. Bluesy wordplay, southern marinated guitar work and a touch of voodoo craftsmanship makes this whole thing a work of mad brilliance. Now, you listen to Monkey David Wine and see what I mean.

A little peace of mind amidst the mad world

An absolutely ecstatic cover by an ecstatic band.

This'll take you back....or somewhere

The Dukes of Stratosphear (AKA XTC)


And of course...the defining Dukes of Stratosphear song.....25 O'Clock!!!


and finally, what psychedelic album's complete without a song of golden dresses?

Charles Manson and The Family

Very eerie recordings here.

Laying the blueprints for a menacing step forward in Punk

Punk definitely saved us from the mediocrity of Classic Rock giants like Yes and The Eagles but I think the real meat and depth of this era in Rock came along with the help of two fantastic bands.
A little known group today in contrast to The Sex Pistols, Buzzcocks or Ramones; The Outsiders were actually the first Punk outfit to release their own self-released LP in 1977. That's saying a lot considering the strong fiber of Punk's DIY motif. They railed and ranted for 3 years until Adrian Borland grew weary of the unrelenting blitz Rock-form and yearned for some greater texture, tension and range. With this, The Sound was born, helping to lay the blueprints for Post-Punk; a much darker, more personal expansive sound than a lot of the trash Punk that pushed onward. Adrian is given the freedom to slow it down, way down. Just listen to:
Total Recall
and observe the cautious bass lines. The lyrics are liberated from the anti-government bravado and free to explore. The Punk philosophy isn't exclusive to government disdain after all.

Another group that still pushes it to this very day is Killing Joke, headed by the musically diverse Jaz Coleman. Their first self-titled LP can be considered a true Punk classic while it still cut a clear path in the New Wave direction. Listen to:
Complications
and you'll get a feel for the sheer doom behind the chugging guitar and the unmistakable New Wave synthesizers that are backing. It's perfectly vicious, maintaining the Punk sensibilities but the slight implication of mood gives them a sinister edge that the four-guitar blitzkrieg attack can miss out on. Mr. Coleman has also collaborated with Anne Dudley on an instrumental album "Songs From The Victorious City". It's here that his criminally wide range in musical intrigue shows through and I'd advise you to check it out if you're curious about that crazy Middle Eastern sound. And be sure to check out some other Post-Punk innovators like Television, Magazine, Public Image Ltd. (Johnny Rotten's brainchild), Joy Division, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry and especially Wire. Some of you that can't really tolerate the abrasive Punk surface might enjoy the second-age a little more!

VA VA VOOM!!!

From the Frisco bay, check out this single track. Low Flying Owls were a very short lived band but they left some rollicking gems in their wake. Check em out, play 'em on the road, keep their tunes alive!
Va Va Voom!

The Entrance Band is back!

Guy Blakeslee's come out of hiding at last! This reclusive string plucking lunatic put on the best guitar-driven show I've ever seen and that doesn't go without mentioning the trio. As a band they will melt your face off with their ridiculous chemistry. The addition of lovely bassist Paz Lenchantin creates a sort of spiritual stage dance as the two twist about to the fanatical guitar's direction. Watch as the trio do their thing in very fine form:

If The Entrance Band is doing anything at all, they are making the guitar interesting again. February! Doug Fir Lounge! GO!!! And listen to these tracks while you're at it:
Grim Reaper Blues
and a Rapidshare download: Valium Blues


*photos courtesy of Nicole Cook*