The Vaselines - The Way of the Vaselines

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Artist: The Vaselines

Album: The Way of the Vaselines - A Complete History

Year: 1992

Genre: Twee Pop

Label: Sub Pop

1 Son of a Gun 3:46

2 Rory Rides Me Raw 2:28
3 You Think You're a Man 5:43
4 Dying for It 2:22
5 Molly's Lips 1:44
6 Teenage Superstars 3:28
7 Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam 3:31
8 Sex Sux (Amen) 3:10
9 Slushy 2:00
10 Monsterpussy 1:43
11 Bitch 2:42

12 No Hope 3:21
13 Oliver Twisted 2:49
14 The Day I Was a Horse 1:29
15 Dum-Dum 1:57
16 Hairy 1:48
17 Lovecraft 5:37
18 Dying for It (The Blues) 3:09
19 Let's Get Ugly 2:19

Spin (9/92, p.106) - Highly Recommended - "...a better entertainment value than these 19 Vaselines songs may not exist..."
Magnet (p.131) - "[T]he Vaselines shared Nirvana's interest in planting pop melodies deep in the soil of punk rock."
Option (11-12/92, p.151) - "...If you take The Vaselines too seriously, you've missed the point....the music was naive, but hard....this record kicks butt..."

Kurt Cobain made a lot of mistakes in his life but loving the Vaselines was not one of them. Nirvana covered one of their songs for their MTV Unplugged session, two other covers show up on the Incesticide record and as Kurt might tell you if he were alive today, from 1986 to 1989 the Vaselines were the best pop band on the planet. Sub Pop was kind enough to cash in on the Nirvana connection and on The Way of the Vaselines: A Complete History, release everything the Vaselines recorded. From the stomping, singalong opener "Son of a Gun" to the distorted and nasty "Let's Get Ugly" 17 tracks later, this collection is the Holy Grail of indie pop music. It's unfailingly amateurish, almost completely silly, occasionally quite perverted, and always about sex. The music has the simplicity and ear-grabbing melodies of the best bubblegum, the loud and semi-competent guitars of punk, and some of the attitude and lo-fi sound of the noise rock scenesters like the Jesus & Mary Chain. Throw in a bunch of religion and add simplistic choruses that will have you singing along the first time you hear the songs (as well as the thousandth) and you've got just about all the bases covered. It's near impossible to pick any songs as standouts since they are all so first-rate. A few moments that stand out though are Frances McKee's sweet schoolgirl vocal on "Molly's Lips" (she and co-leader Eugene Kelly both have great voices with a fleeting acquaintance to pitch but filled with humor, attitude, and style), the amazing lyrics to "Sex Sux (Amen)" including the immortal line "Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost/I'm the Sacred Host with the most," the rare serious beauty of "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam," the meows on "Monsterpussy," the very rude bicycle horn on "Molly's Lips," and the loose vocal harmonies on "Lovecraft." The whole of their recorded output is lousy with one amazing moment after another. If by some strange kink of fate you are reading this and don't already own this CD, you have to get it. You've probably heard that a million times, but if you've never believed it before, please believe it now. You need the hilarious beauty of the Vaselines in your life and this CD gives it to you in its complete glory. -AllMusic

Black Sabbath vs. Hip Hop

From KRS-One kickin' crazy fresh lyrics over the iconic main riff of AC/DC's "Back in Black" on "Dope Beat" to Chuck D and Flava Flav lambasting chicken heads amidst the monstrous riffage of Slayer's "Angel of Death" on "She Watch Channel Zero?!", hip hop's greatest emcees and hard rock and metal's greatest groups have coalesced to form unholy alliances. Moreover, hard rock and metal songs have provided some of the most memorable breaks - Mountain's "Mississippi Queen", Led Zeppelin's "When the Levee Breaks", and Rolling Stone's "Honky Tonk Women" are all prime examples. Do a little research and you'll see the influence of rock and metal is not just centered on production, but also lyrics, choruses, and name checks.

In the history of hip hop's convergence with hard rock/metal one group, however, is conspicuous by their absence because they are the most influential metal band of all-time - of course, I speak of the almighty Black Sabbath. The list of songs that sample Black Sabbath is pretty short (as you will see). Even their most "famous" drum break from "Behind The Wall of Sleep" was used by only a handful of artists. The thoroughly mediocre Steve Miller Band, on the other hand, probably stacks more chips off of "Fly Like An Eagle" during a single year than Sabbath has in their entire illustrious career. You might contend that plenty of greats like Thin Lizzy and Deep Purple are not exactly caking off royalties from sampling licensing either. True, but this is Black FUCKING Sabbath. Why hasn't Black Sabbath had as large an impact on hip hop as they have had on the greater musical world? Maybe it's because they're too metal; but if that were the case, would Slayer be front-and-center on what many consider the greatest hip hop album of all-time? Okay, so maybe it's because Sabbath couldn't lay down a chunky groove? No. No fucking way. Have you heard "The Wizard"? "N.I.B."? "War Pigs"? "Faries Wear Boots"? "Supernaut"? "Hole In The Sky"? Well, maybe Sabbath is reluctant to give sampling clearance in fear of tarnishing their legacy? Well, first of all, guitarist Tony Iommi has had no problem trying to tarnish their legacy (see Born Again). Second, there is the matter of the Busta Rhymes remake (or human rights violation, depending on your perspective) of "Iron Man" on Extinction Level Event featuring...Ozzy!?!?!? *shudders*

So the question remains - why aren't producers exploiting Sabbath's catalog of incredible music? After compiling this mix of songs that sample Sabbath, I think this is partly due to a lack of imagination and partly to ignorance. When most people think of Black Sabbath they think of the chugging "Paranoid" or the plodding "Iron Man" but I would argue that is akin to thinking if you downloaded "Streets of New York" and "Ill Street Blues" you would have "heard" Kool G. Rap. In both cases, there is a lot more depth and variety in the artist's catalog than most casual listeners think. There are tons of amazing grooves and sick breaks waiting to be extracted from Sabbath's records and made into filthy beats, but few producers have either the skill and/or vision to accomplish this. Hopefully this modest compilation will show the small impact Black Sabbath has made in hip hop. Better yet, perhaps some producer out there will see the potential to craft amazing beats from Sabbath source material and bless us with a masterpiece like Muggs did on "I Ain't Goin' Out Like That". In the meantime, download the tracks and praise Satan for giving the world Black Sabbath.

Without further ado, here are 12 songs that sample Sabbath as well as the 9 Sabbath songs in their original form. (Note: The Sabbath song appears before the tracks that sample it.)

DOWNLOAD

1. Black Sabbath "Black Sabbath" from Black Sabbath (1970)
2. Ice-T "Midnight" from OG: Original Gangster (1991)
3. Busta Rhymes "Blackout" from Busta's Back (2008) - Busta gives us another lazy use of a Sabbath sample with horrible rapping to boot.
4. Presage "Why?" from Outer Perimeter
5. Black Sabbath "The Wizard" from Black Sabbath (1970)
6. Cypress Hill "I Ain't Goin' Out Like That" from Black Sunday (1993) - Perhaps the best song that makes heavy use of a Black Sabbath sample. I'm almost positive the eerie sounding feedback is from the end of "Behind the Wall of Sleep". Can anyone confirm/deny?
7. Black Sabbath "Behind the Wall of Sleep" from Black Sabbath (1970)
8. Jungle Brothers "Beeds on a String" from Done by the Forces of Nature (1989)
9. Too $hort "Paystyle" from Cocktails (1995)
10. Black Sabbath "Wicked World" from Black Sabbath (1970)
11. The Beatnuts "Reign of the Tec" from Intoxicated Demons (1993) - Neck and neck with "I Ain't Goin' Out Like That" for best song to use a Sabbath sample although the sample is short and only used during the chorus.
12. Black Sabbath "A Bit of Finger/Sleeping Village/Warning" from Black Sabbath (1970)
13. DJ Mayonniase "DJ's Shouldn't Talk/Ozzy Rules" from 55 Stories (1999)
14. Black Sabbath "War Pigs/Luke's Wall" from Paranoid (1970)
15. Ice-T "Intro/Rhyme Pays" from Rhyme Pays (1987)
16. Black Sabbath "Planet Caravan" from Paranoid (1970)
17. L Roneous Da'Versifier "In the C.O.R.N." from Imaginarium (1998) - Great song from an underappreciated album. Beautiful use of the sample.
18. Black Sabbath "Iron Man" from Paranoid (1970)
19. Busta Rhymes feat. Ozzy "This Means War!!!" from Extention Level Event (1998) - I had to listen to it so you have to listen to it.
20. Black Sabbath "Sweet Leaf" from Master of Reality (1971)
21. Beastie Boys "Rhymin& Stealin" from Licensed to Ill (1986) - First use of a Sabbath sample in hip hop?

INFEST FLOOD

I really busted my balls compiling all these tracks. I think this is everything. Let me know if there is anything missing.

What else can I say? It's fucking INFEST.


*click on pic to download

Infest Demo
1987
VBR


*click on pic to download

Infest 1st 7"
1988
VBR

1 Machismo
2 Where's the Unity?
3 The Game
4 Mindless
5 Which Side?
6 Headfirst
7 Break The Chain
8 Slave
9 Sick and Tired
10 Pliers



*click on pic to download

Infest Slave
1988
VBR

1 Break the Chain
2 Pickled
3 Sick-o
4 Plastic
5 Mindless
6 Which Side?
7 Voice Your Opinion
8 Where's the Unity
9 Screwed
10 Machismo
11 The Game
12 Sick of Talk
13 Iran Scam
14 Life's Halt
15 Slave
16 Head First
17 Sick and Tired
18 Fetch the Pliers



*click on pic to download

Infest 2nd 7" (Mankind 7")
1991
VBR

1 Mankind
2 Judge Me
3 Speak Easy
4 Once Lost
5 Excess Pig
6 Them
7 Shackled Down
8 Just Act Blind
9 Kill the Peace
10 Three or Nothing



*click on pic to download

Infest No Man's Slave
2002
VBR

1 Cold Inside
2 Feeling Mean
3 Sick Machine
4 Upright Mass
5 Terminal Nation
6 In His Name
7 Behind This Tongue
8 What's Your Claim?
9 True Violence
10 Sickman
11 Punchline
12 Contact
13 Effort Falls Down
14 You're a Star
15 Freeze Dried
16 Rabid Pigs
17 Lying to Myself
18 Nazi Killer
19 My World, My Way



*click on pic to download

Infest Live on KXLU
2001
VBR

1 Shackled Down
2 Mankind
3 Judge Me
4 Blinded
5 Nothing's Changed
6 Once Lost
7 Speak Easy
8 Kill the Peace
9 Excess
10 Pig
11 Why Don't You
12 Sick and Tired
13 Just Act Blind
14 Send It All Before
15 Slave
16 Pickled
17 Sick-O
18 Break the Chain
19 My World, My Way

BONUS: Various comp tracks, unreleased songs, live sets, and rehearsals

DOWNLOAD!!!

"Nothing's Changed" from Fear of Smell comp.
"Why Don't You" from Bllleeeeaaauuurrrrgghhh! - The Record comp.
"Cold Inside" from Reality Part #2 comp.
"Dead at Birth" from Reality Part #3 comp.
Two unreleased and untitled tracks
Live set at Gilman 2/10/1989
Rehearsal tracks

Burn - 2 EP's

*click on picture to download both EP's

When Burn released their debut EP in 1990, New York hardcore was in decline. Many of the most popular and influential bands were either breaking up, signing to major labels, or putting out horrible crossover records. Moreover, it seemed that hardcore, and NYHC specifically, had become musically stagnant. Enter Burn. They took the hardcore formula and flipped it on its head. They fused all the aggression and urgency that made hardcore great with odd time signatures, unusual chord progressions, complex song structures, and lyrics that were heavily introspective and occasionally vulnerable (a real rarity in the super-macho world of NYHC). My friend Jay once summed it up thusly: "They played fucking jazz chords over hardcore music!" In a genre that is often dismissed for its simplicity and repetitiveness, Burn showed that hardcore could be intelligent and innovative without going pop or metal.

Their debut EP is one of the greatest hardcore records ever released. Don't think that's just hyperbole. What Burn achieved on their first record is just as mind-blowing as the Bad Brains' early recordings, Minor Threat's EP's, Damaged, and The Age of Quarrel. Every song stands on its own as a unique and seamless construction. Every lyric has a purpose. And no matter how many times I listen to it, it always knocks me on my ass.

Burn's only real failing was their dearth of material (until 2001 the debut EP was their only official release). Those who were obsessed with Burn collected every soundboard tape they could get their hands on. One of my most treasured possessions was a tenth-generation dub of a 3 song demo Burn recorded in 1992. This unreleased demo was highly sought after by tape traders and Burn devotees despite its god-awful sound quality. Thankfully, Revelation Records released this demo as a proper EP entitled Last Great Sea in 2002. While not as staggering or ingenious as their debut, it is nonetheless a worthy follow-up. They also released a record of mostly new material in 2001 which unfortunately does not meet the high standard of their previous work.

So here are Burn's debut EP and Last Great Sea EP packaged together. Click the links, download the records, and imagine how spectacular a Burn LP would have been...

- Johnny P





Burn [self-titled]
1990
Revelation Records
VBR

1 ...Shall Be Judged
2 Godhead
3 Drown
4 Out of Time



Burn Last Great Sea
2002
Revelation Records
VBR

1 New Morality 3:11
2 Tales of Shatou 3:33
3 Last Great Sea 5:18

The Saints - (I'm) Stranded

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The Saints (I'm) Stranded
1977 (reissued w/ bonus tracks in 1997)
Triple X
VBR

(red text = sample track)

1 (I'm) Stranded 3:32
2 One Way Street 2:56
3 Wild About You 2:35
4 Messin' With the Kid 5:54
5 Erotic Neurotic 4:07
6 No Time 2:48
7 Kissin' Cousins 2:00
8 Story of Love 3:11
9 Demolition Girl 1:41
10 Nights in Venice 5:41
11 Lipstick on Your Collar 2:37
12 River Deep Mountain High 3:55


Reviews:

Q (12/00, p.151) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...This is mean, visceral, feral stuff....a perfect reissue..."
Uncut (8/00, p.99) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...10 sheet metal tracks full of Stoogeish rifferama....It still sounds unbelievably potent..."
Mojo (Publisher) (3/03, p.76) - Ranked #14 in Mojo's "Top 50 Punk Albums" - "...The Saints' kerosene rock'n'roll would sound great in any age....Thrilling stuff..."


"The Saints were to Australia what the Sex Pistols were to Britain and the Ramones to America. Picking up the germ planted by the defunct Stooges, MC5, Velvet Underground, and New York Dolls, the Saints sparked the Far East punk rock movement with a blasting, blistering, scorching sound no one had heard before. Moreover, the Saints were blitzing the unsuspecting in their home of Brisbane in 1973, long before the Sex Pistols or the Ramones had even begun. Australians today hold the Saints in greater reverence than any rock band in its history, save for the Easybeats. After their incendiary, self-released debut 7" single "(I'm) Stranded" b/w "No Time" blew minds of a raving British press on import in 1976, subsequent sales of the single proved to the industry that the upstart punk movement was in fact commercially viable. The Saints pocketed a worldwide deal with EMI Australia, who rush-released "(I'm) Stranded" in Australia and Britain (and in the U.S., on the heavyweight punk label of the time, Sire Records) to capitalize on the new trend. This first LP was actually nothing but eight rough-and-raw demo tracks the band had no intention of releasing, plus the two sides of the much better, cleaner-sounding single. The heavy, buzzing racket on the eight demo tracks borders on unintelligible, they're so cheaply recorded, but nothing can stop a collection of cracklers this intense, with two absolutely astounding, blues-heavy ballads thrown in for great balance -- "Messin' with the Kid" and "Story of Love" drip with genuine, bratty soul. Of the hard-fast tracks, even today's punk fans are amazed at the sheer tenacity and outright fire of "Nights in Venice," "One Way Street," and "Erotic Neurotic." Hear history burning."

- All Music Guide

Mission of Burma - Signals, Calls, and Marches

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Mission of Burma Signals, Calls and Marches
1981 (reissued w/ bonus tracks in 1997)
Rykodisc
VBR

(red text = sample track)

1 That's When I Reach for My Revolver 3:53
2 Outlaw 2:33
3 Fame and Fortune 3:35
4 This Is Not a Photograph 1:57
5 Red 3:38
6 All World Cowboy Romance 5:12
7 Academy Fight Song [1980 7" Single] 3:09
8 Max Ernst [1980 7" Single] 3:04


One could argue that Mission of Burma's first 12" release, Signals, Calls and Marches, was the point where "indie rock" as a separate and distinct musical subgenre well and truly began. Mission of Burma's music had the brawn and the volume of hardcore punk, but with a lyrical intelligence and obvious musical sophistication that set them apart from the Southern California faster-and-louder brigade. Between Martin Swope's tape loops and Roger Miller's often tricky guitar lines, Mission of Burma may have seemed "arty" on the surface, but the bruising impact of "Outlaw" and "This Is Not a Photograph" made clear this band was not part of the skinny-tie "new wave" scene. And Mission of Burma were one of the first bands that gained a large enough following to attract the attention of major labels, but opted to remain on a small label of their own volition -- a move that would raise the "integrity" stakes for many acts in the years to come. Signals, Calls and Marches features Mission of Burma's best known song, the still-powerful "That's When I Reach for My Revolver," but it hasn't stood the test of time quite as well as the full-length album that would follow, Vs.; there are brief moments where the band still seems to be working out their obvious British influences, and "Outlaw" sounds stiffer than it needs to be. But Clint Conley and Roger Miller were already songwriters to be reckoned with, the band sounds passionate and powerful, and if Mission of Burma were not yet at the peak of their form, most bands blazing as many trails as this one did lost their footing a lot more often that Burma did on these six songs; Signals, Calls and Marches was as accomplished and impressive a debut as any American band would release in the 1980s. Rykodisc's 1997 CD reissue adds the band's fine first single, "Academy Fight Song" b/w "Max Ernst," as a bonus.

- All Music Guide

Guided By Voices - Bee Thousand

(click on album cover to download)

Guided By Voices Bee Thousand
1994
Scat
VBR

(red text = sample track)

1 Hardcore UFO's 1:54
2 Buzzards and Dreadful Crows 1:43
3 Tractor Rape Chain 3:04
4 The Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory 1:45
5 Hot Freaks 1:42
6 Smothered in Hugs 3:00
7 Yours to Keep 1:15
8 Echos Myron 2:42
9 Gold Star for Robot Boy 1:39
10 Awful Bliss 1:12
11 Mincer Ray 2:21
12 A Big Fan of the Pigpen 2:09
13 Queen of Cans and Jars 1:55
14 Her Psychology Today 2:04
15 Kicker of Elves 1:04
16 Ester's Day 1:51
17 Demons Are Real 0:48
18 I Am a Scientist 2:24
19 Peep-Hole 1:25
20 You're Not an Airplane 0:33


Reviews:

Rolling Stone (8/11/94, p.66) - 4 Stars (out of 5) - "...BEE THOUSAND is a tour de force by a good old-fashioned American basement genius....the real miracle of BEE THOUSAND is that it not only celebrates the power of rock music, it also embodies it..."
Spin (12/94, p.78) - Ranked #10 in Spin's list of the '20 Best Albums Of '94' - "...a thousand hooks, offering perfect distillation of...basement tape aesthetic....sloppily records immaculate melodies capable of breaking your heart...they're so insistently catchy and so fleetingly brief..."
Spin (7/94, p.69) - "...Guided By Voices hides absolutely shattering melodies that call to mind a thousand reference points..."
Magnet (p.96) - "[I]t does show the amount of thought Pollard puts into making and sequencing a record."
Village Voice (2/28/95) - Ranked #8 in the Village Voice's 1994 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll.
Mojo (Publisher) (p.57) - Ranked #80 in Mojo's "100 Modern Classics" -- "[T]hey peak with a batch of tunes that sound like long-lost Beatles and Who demos."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.118) - 4 stars out of 5 - "Rarities galore make this a must for any self-respecting fan."
New York Times (Publisher) (1/5/95, p.C15) - Included on Neil Strauss' list of the Top 10 Albums Of '94 - "...The most consistent album of quickie tunes yet from this 12-year-old Dayton, Ohio band."
NME (Magazine) (8/13/94, p.46) - 7 (out of 10) - "...Exactly why the indie-rock world hasn't yet gone as misty-eyed over Guided By Voices as it did over Pavement and Sebadoh is one of the great mysteries of our age..."

The cult of indie rock thrives on the unexpected discovery, and in 1994 Guided by Voices was just the sort of musical phenomenon no one figured was still out there -- 30-something rock obsessives cranking out fractured guitar-driven pop tunes in a laundry room. Robert Pollard and his stable of beer buddies/backing musicians had been churning out stuff like Bee Thousand for years, but the album's surprise critical success marked the first time the group found a significant audience outside their hometown, and it made a clear case for Guided by Voices' virtues -- as well as their flaws. From the moment "Hardcore UFOs" kicks in, it's obvious that Pollard has an uncanny gift for a hook and a melody, and Bee Thousand's 20 cuts are dotted with miniature masterpieces like "Echos Myron," "Smothered in Hugs," and "Queen of Cans and Jars." However, there are also more than a few duds that threaten to cancel out the goodwill the great songs generate, and Pollard is an acquired taste as a lyricist -- his freakishly poetic verse has a real charm, but it's hard to figure out what he's on about. (GBV's other principal songwriter, Tobin Sprout, contributes less often, but manages a higher batting average.) The lo-tech rumble of the album's D.I.Y. production also wavers between being a help and a hindrance, depending on the songs, and as musicians Guided by Voices veer between sounding like inspired amateurs and, well, just amateurs. On Bee Thousand, Guided by Voices sounds like a passionate and gloriously quirky garage band fronted by a thrillingly and maddeningly idiosyncratic songwriter; its many pearly moments make it a fascinating discovery for rock enthusiasts, but a few years would pass before this band was fully earning the new accolades showered upon it.

- All Music Guide

Die Kreuzen [self-titled]

(click on album picture to download)

Die Kreuzen Self-Titled
1984
Touch & Go
VBR

(red text = sample track)

1 Rumors 1:48
2 This Hope 1:10
3 In School 1:23
4 I'm Tired 0:52
5 On the Street 1:34
6 Enemies 0:56
7 Get'em 0:57
8 Fighting 0:36
9 No Time 1:16
10 All White 3:38
11 Pain 1:16
12 Sick People 2:04
13 Hate Me 0:46
14 Live Wire 1:46
15 Not Anymore 0:55
16 Mannequin 1:11
17 Fuckups 1:10
18 Think for Me 1:39
19 Dirt and Decay 1:11
20 Don't Say Please 1:01
21 No Name 1:28

Reviews:

If the vocals weren't nasty enough on that last platter, wait till your ears get tarnished by the clamorous siege of Die Kreuzen's Dan Kubinski. Blistered tonsils split open as he wails out the spit paced growling, a titanic demon which holds your mind in fear. The sheer grounded flavor of the grievous voice makes your curiosity rage in what the next track offers.
Completely insane besets of missiling quickness and savage bass plucks highlight Die Kreuzens debut album. Brutal perfomances of unrelenting fury ravages spasms of exhilating assertiveness. Die Kreuzen force feed 21 alarming tracks (each a highlight in its own right), filling all combinations of vigorous energy and full tilt expressionism. Well-produced with crazed outer graphics, this exceptional platter haunts as it storms with speed, velocity, and engulfing vocal strength. Finally the true slice. On Touch & Go Records...of course.
-Pushead, from Puszone #30, Thrasher Nov. 1984

This is fucking great! This is fucking great! This is fucking great! This is fucking great! This is fucking great! This is fucking great! This is fucking great! This is fucking great! This is fucking great! This is fucking great! This is fucking great! This is fucking great!
-Tim Yohannon, from Maximum Rock'n'Roll #15

Bio from KILL FROM THE HEART:

Die Kreuzen ("Dee Kroyt-zen") started in 1981 when four suburban kids from Illinois and Winsconsin joined forces in Milwaukee. Their name means "the cross" in German, and they would later say they chose it because people wouldn't know what it means. Their first recordings ended up on the "Charred Remains" comp tape put out by Version Sound, putting them immediately side by side with some of the country's best hardcore bands. They then landed a few tracks on the Master Tape compilation LP on Paul Mahern of the Zero Boys' label. By the end of the year they had a single of their own, the classic Cows and Beer EP on Version Sound. This record was unlike anything else coming out at the time. Die Kreuzen took the basic formula for hardcore and twisted it around so that it sounded sick and scary again.

The band launched a 1983 summer US tour on the strength of their single, and returned to Wisconsin to record their first full length for Touch and Go. The resulting 21-song album, which finally saw the light of day in 1984, is the band's masterpiece. No other record sounds like it, and even the songs that were great on the EP are taken to a whole new level of twisted ferocity. After two more years touring around the US and Canada, Die Kreuzen toned down their sound significantly and recorded the October File LP. This album is more spacey and new wave, losing the edge their first one had. The band continued playing into the early '90s, continually winning new fans as their sound continued to "mature" and "evolve" into less intense areas including the addition of a horn section. All of their records have been reissued on CD (including the rare early material on the Gone Away single just after the Aerosmith cover), and the first LP is fairly easy to find since it sold thousands of copies back in the day.

Drive Like Jehu - Yank Crime

(click on album picture to download)

Drive Like Jehu Yank Crime
1994
Interscope Records
VBR

(red text = sample track)

1 Here Come the Rome Plows 5:44
2 Do You Compute 7:12
3 Golden Brown 3:14
4 Luau 9:27
5 Super Unison 7:24
6 New Intro 3:32
7 New Math 4:06
8 Human Interest 3:24
9 Sinews 9:12

Spin (7/94, p.73) - "...a show-stopper--a fresh reminder that cutting-edge guitar rock still needs gnarls to transcend..."
Alternative Press (8/94, p.78) - "...The result is an album that the truly technically proficient, cool-as-cake musician, or environmentally artistic producer will enjoy..."
Magnet (p.69) - "[A]n explosive tangle of careening tempo changes, hoarse-throated vocals, barely contained guitar histrionics and mindful aggression."
NME (Magazine) (6/11/94, p.33) - 8 - Excellent - "...Jehu are solid, compact and monstrously tight....YANK CRIME has a deeply masochistic appeal, delivering raging chaos with a military precision...."

The band's second and, unfortunately, final album, Yank Crime is as worthy and awesome as its predecessor, losing not a jot in the change from independent to major label status. Including some longer, more complex tunes this time around, Drive Like Jehu is otherwise essentially unchanged, fusing brawling, crisp rhythms and high volume intensity with technical complexity, feeling like a mad science experiment gone completely out of control. Aside from the guest backing vocals on the frazzled angst explosion "Luau!" by fellow San Diego music fiend Rob Crow, it's again all down to the band's four members, with drummer Trombino providing the strong, take-no-prisoners mix. Perhaps even more than the debut, Yank Crime solidified Drive Like Jehu's reputation as kings of emo. While use of that term rapidly degenerated to apply to sappy miserableness by the decade's end, here the quartet capture its original sense, wired, frenetic, screaming passion, as first semi-created by the likes of Rites of Spring. Whether making it short and sweet, as the surprisingly gentle instrumental "New Intro" demonstrates in three minutes, or taking time, like the nearly ten-minute conclusion "Sinews," the band wastes not a note. Froberg's sense of intense, almost accusatory delivery is astonishingly dramatic throughout, whether in full cry or with a touch of restraint, as on the rhythmic chorus of "Do You Compute." His guitar partnership with Reis is still in full cry, creating honestly epic zoned and screaming feedback roars and waves -- the aforementioned "Do You Compute" is one fine example, as is "Luau!," which builds to a awe-inspiring, eternally ascending rise. While a recording of the band's incendiary live shows would be the best way to remember the quartet, Yank Crime is a thoroughly excellent if unexpected way to bow out, artistic rock that actually, honestly, and totally rocks.

- All Music Guide

Embrace [self-titled]

(click on album picture to download)

Embrace Self-Titled
1987
Dischord Records
192 kbps

(red text = sample track)

1 Give Me Back 2:34
2 Dance of Days 2:20
3 Building 2:02
4 Past 1:57
5 Spoke 2:04
6 Do Not Consider Yourself Free 2:28
7 No More Pain 3:15
8 I Wish I 2:15
9 Said Gun 2:15
10 Can't Forgive 2:36
11 Money 2:42
12 If I Never Thought About It 2:36
13 End of a Year 2:41
14 Last Song 2:44

During high school my life pretty much revolved around hardcore. Listening to The Age of Quarrel, The Way It Is, the New York Crew EP, and a slew of others on the bus ride to and from school. Doing stages dives on my bed and floorpunching across the room until my Mom came upstairs and asked me what the hell was all that noise:

"Uh, nothing Mom.. Just getting a little exercise..."

Getting a new mixtape at lunch and not being able to wait 'til school let out so I could listen to it. Dubbing the newest records for my friends. Driving around town with the crew in my mom's Dodge minivan (gangsta) blasting tunes from a crappy boom box as we took turns stage diving over the passenger seat and onto the unfortunate souls in the bench seat (I strongly recommend that you don't do this unless you are a trained professional). Making the weekly pilgrimage to our record store mecca aka Vintage Vinyl in Edison. And of course going to shows every weekend...

Ineveitably my musical interests started to branch out beyond hardcore and punk. Don't get me wrong - hardcore still ruled my life, but I became more receptive to music that didn't solely consist of a guy shouting over three chords played at a furious pace. I can't pinpoint exactly when this change in my musical outlook occurred, but one record that was pivotal in shifting my musical perspective is Embrace's self-titled LP.

It's ironic that this record was a turning point in my musical odyssey because it wasn't all that different from most hardcore and punk - at least in a superficial sense. It was loud, it was angry, there was distortion, but underneath it was a depth that was uncommon to most hardcore and punk. It was by turns catchy, discordant, dynamic, moody. Each song had a unique structure and tempo, but also a very clear purpose and an overwhelming urgency. "Give Me Back" grappled with the frustration of self-expression."Building" tackled the universal experience of fucking up over and over again. "Spoke" addressed the insistent need to make the world a better place, but ultimately feeling like the whole effort was futile:

It won't go away this driving force that makes me speak and care and care
And try to change, rearrange, make this sense of this mess
Sometimes you know I laugh And sometimes...I couldn't care less

And that brings us to perhaps the two key ingredients in making this a great album - the vocals and lyrics of Ian MacKaye. Ian gives his best vocal performance of any album he's ever appeared on. Yeah, that's right, I said it. Even better than the first two Minor Threat EP's. And then there's the lyrics. I would lay on my bed with the lyric sheet and pore over it again again. It was filled with wit and wisdom, but it was also funny as fucking hell. Allow me to quote some gems:

So you can stay cool behind your window
And choose the view you want to see
But as long as there are others held captive
Do not consider yourself free

No more looking down
You might bump your head

No more selfish tears
You haven't paid for them

No more tough-guy stance
I hear your mommy call

Your emotions are nothing but politics
So get control

Attack, defend, you live a fantasy
Nobody wants anything that belongs to you
Sometimes I'd like to kick your fucking ass
But I guess you're just a human, too

Isn't it nice I don't have to look far
To find the person who leaves the deepest scar
Isn't it sad that as long as I live
I'm the fuck-up that I can't forgive

And I could keep going, but I won't. This album changed my life, and although it probably won't change yours, it's fucking brilliant. Download it. That's an order.

Silver Apples "Oscillations"

The opening track off of the Silver Apples' groundbreaking debut from 1968 which inspired the name of my blog. Enjoy.

"Oscillations"