Space Ghost Cartoon w/ Pavement.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Swervedriver (x2)
Swervedriver - Raise (Remastered) (2002)
A molten hybrid of Daydream Nation-era Sonic Youth, the drill-press rhythms of the Stooges, and early Dinosaur Jr., Raise sounds like a record made by young record shop rats from the Midwest. Adding to this notion is the lyrical fascination with cars. With this in mind, it's no small wonder that the Oxford, London-based Swervedriver found a home on even the most Anglophobic turntables in the States. Through loads of effects pedals and buried vocals, the band was initially lumped in with the shoegaze scene. But with a heavier aesthetic caused by their love for the above-mentioned bands, as well as the likes of the well-named Loop and Spacemen 3, they were unique -- even with their earliest material. Oddly, Raise only contains six new songs for those who bought their excellent trio of preceding singles. The new tracks rival their greatness. Jimmy Hartridge's and Adam Franklin's guitars definitely carry a soaring, seering quality, but the record is largely bass driven, thanks to Adi Vines' thick lines (see "Pile Up" and "Sunset" for the best examples). And though buried to the point of serving merely as another instrument, Franklin's vocals sound like that of a road trip lifer, made weary by constant sun exposure on the eyes. Other than what might seem as the band trying too hard to prove themselves through complexity, there aren't many faults to be found. Though it does seem to favor texture over anything else, the somewhat murky production suits the songs well. It actually sounds dark, like green-skied, pre-tornado weather. It's not too hard to pick apart each instrument on each song, but they still sound a bit mashed together. A fantastic debut that merely hinted at the band's talents.
Click to Download
mp3 - 192kbps
rar - 62mb
Swervedriver - Mezcal Head (1993)
There are cruising records, and then there are speeding records; Mezcal Head is definitely one of the latter. Solid, dense as marble, and frighteningly well executed, Swervedriver's second album is a non-abrasive rock & roll record of the highest order. Polishing the sound of Raise and improving the songcraft to match the band's previous sense of texture, it contains all the ingredients of a favorite record to exceed the speed limit by. Adam Franklin's cool voice is no longer buried in the mix, a smart move since his range has expanded to allow for melodic hooks and deep emotion, unlike the detached quality he held on Raise and the singles that preceded it. Like a film with many well-developed characters that makes one lose both track of time and a sense of self, Mezcal Head delivers. And, just to hammer home that this isn't an album that loses its effect outside of the automobile -- after the tenth play you'll surely learn your lesson to quit running over to the stereo and increasing the volume with each successive song. Just leave it pegged.
Click to Download
mp3 - 192kbps
rar - 81mb
A molten hybrid of Daydream Nation-era Sonic Youth, the drill-press rhythms of the Stooges, and early Dinosaur Jr., Raise sounds like a record made by young record shop rats from the Midwest. Adding to this notion is the lyrical fascination with cars. With this in mind, it's no small wonder that the Oxford, London-based Swervedriver found a home on even the most Anglophobic turntables in the States. Through loads of effects pedals and buried vocals, the band was initially lumped in with the shoegaze scene. But with a heavier aesthetic caused by their love for the above-mentioned bands, as well as the likes of the well-named Loop and Spacemen 3, they were unique -- even with their earliest material. Oddly, Raise only contains six new songs for those who bought their excellent trio of preceding singles. The new tracks rival their greatness. Jimmy Hartridge's and Adam Franklin's guitars definitely carry a soaring, seering quality, but the record is largely bass driven, thanks to Adi Vines' thick lines (see "Pile Up" and "Sunset" for the best examples). And though buried to the point of serving merely as another instrument, Franklin's vocals sound like that of a road trip lifer, made weary by constant sun exposure on the eyes. Other than what might seem as the band trying too hard to prove themselves through complexity, there aren't many faults to be found. Though it does seem to favor texture over anything else, the somewhat murky production suits the songs well. It actually sounds dark, like green-skied, pre-tornado weather. It's not too hard to pick apart each instrument on each song, but they still sound a bit mashed together. A fantastic debut that merely hinted at the band's talents.
Click to Download
mp3 - 192kbps
rar - 62mb
Swervedriver - Mezcal Head (1993)
There are cruising records, and then there are speeding records; Mezcal Head is definitely one of the latter. Solid, dense as marble, and frighteningly well executed, Swervedriver's second album is a non-abrasive rock & roll record of the highest order. Polishing the sound of Raise and improving the songcraft to match the band's previous sense of texture, it contains all the ingredients of a favorite record to exceed the speed limit by. Adam Franklin's cool voice is no longer buried in the mix, a smart move since his range has expanded to allow for melodic hooks and deep emotion, unlike the detached quality he held on Raise and the singles that preceded it. Like a film with many well-developed characters that makes one lose both track of time and a sense of self, Mezcal Head delivers. And, just to hammer home that this isn't an album that loses its effect outside of the automobile -- after the tenth play you'll surely learn your lesson to quit running over to the stereo and increasing the volume with each successive song. Just leave it pegged.
Click to Download
mp3 - 192kbps
rar - 81mb
Saturday, June 02, 2007
Death Angel - Frolic Thru The Park (1988)
Death Angel's second effort, 1988's Frolic Through the Park, continued to improve on its technical thrash formula, as the band's developing musical ability began to do their ambitious songwriting some justice. "Why You Do This," "Devil's Metal," and "Confused" are prime examples of the band's intricate sound, which, unfortunately, tended to sacrifice concise hooks and melody for overblown song structures and arrangements. The only exception turns out to be the album's strongest cut, "Bored," which shows a rare sense of humor and musical restraint. Also of note is the excellent playing of guitarist Rob Cavestany, who holds everything together with his tasteful and skillful axe work.
Click to Download
mp3 - 192kbps
rar - 81mb
Friday, June 01, 2007
Sonic Youth - Goo Remastered Deluxe Edition (2005)
Sonic Youth's Goo, a landmark album in the history of alternative rock, receives the Deluxe Edition treatment with digital remastering and the addition of rarities and unreleased recordings. The two-CD Goo - Deluxe Edition, expands the original 1990 album with outtakes, b-sides, rehearsal recordings, demos and the audio from a tongue-in-cheek promotion-only interview flexi disc. Sonic Youth's eighth album, Goo was the band's first to receive major label distribution, and first to find a place on Billboard's Top 100 Albums chart. Goo reached more ears than any earlier SY album, including those of Neil Young...who invited the band on tour with Crazy Horse. The demos were widely bootlegged before the band issued them via their fan club. They are heard remixed and remastered for the first time on Goo - Deluxe Edition.
* Anyone happen to have The Remastered Edition of Dirty? hfigurine@hotmail.com
Disc 1
mp3 - 192kbps
rar - 91mb
Disc 2
mp3 - 192kbps
rar - 99mb
Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain: L.A.'s Desert Origins (2004)
Subtitled "L.A.'s Desert Origins" -- somewhat of a non sequitur since the album was recorded in New York -- this double-disc set adds 37 bonus tracks to the original 12-track album, rounding up all the stray tracks from 1994, plus a Peel Session from around the time of the album's February release and a whole bunch of previously unreleased material, including the scrapped initial sessions for the album featuring original drummer Gary Young.
For diehards, it's nice to have all this material collected on one disc, but the real appeal of the set is that second disc, which contains no less than 21 previously unreleased tunes. The first eight consist of the shelved sessions with Young, which pretty much sound like rough demos when compared to either the finished album or Slanted & Enchanted.
There may be a throwaway or two tucked away in the outtakes on the second disc, but even those have a ramshackle charm, and the entirety of Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain: L.A.'s Desert Origins is essential for any Pavement fan or any serious fan of '90s indie rock. Frankly, it just doesn't get much better than this.
Sorry too large for z-share.
Disc One
mp3 - 320kbps
rar - 114mb
Disc Two
mp3 - 320kbps
rar - 104mb
Twilight Singers - Twilight As Played By The Twilight Singers (2000)
Afghan Whigs singer Greg Dulli put together the first version of his Twilight Singers side project in New Orleans during a hiatus in his main band in 1997, then put it aside when the Whigs signed to Columbia Records and made their label debut, 1965. By the time he returned to the Twilight Singers concept, he had hooked up with the Hull, England, remix duo Fila Brazillia, and he proceeded to rethink it. The result is really two albums in one. The first four tracks and the last two adhere to Dulli's original idea, which seems to have been to trade off on vocals with Harold Chichester and Shawn Smith on folk-ambient ballads set to trip-hop beats. On these songs, the alternating singers echo some of the Band's early records, though their main inspiration seems to have been the throaty, half-spoken style of Bono on latter day U2 recordings. The middle of the album is given over to Dulli's collaborations with Fila Brazillia on more exotic dance tracks, some of which are more soundscapes than songs. (The latter recordings don't really have enough of a vocal emphasis to justify the Twilight Singers tag.) Throughout, the lyrics are dominated by images of love and death. Lead-off track "The Twilight Kid" sounds like a deathbed pronouncement to a loved one, for example, while "Love" contains the declaration, "I'd kill for you." "King Only" and "Last Temptation" extend the general subject matter to religion. But Dulli can be both vague and pretentious in his lyric writing, and when he combines it with a mannered singing style, his points seem even more belabored. Twilight As Played By the Twilight Singers works best as a mood piece and a change of pace from the more hard-rocking sound of the Afghan Whigs.
Click to Download
mp3 - 160kbps
rar - 53mb
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Celtic Frost - Monotheist (2006)
Celtic Frost's much anticipated 2006 comeback album, Monotheist, is everything you'd expect from the band who managed to attach the term avant-garde to ugly ol' heavy metal. It's unconventional, unpredictable, challenging to a fault, head-scratchingly weird at times, frequently brilliant, and anything but perfect.
A simplified stylistic description would have it pegged as some sort of modern gothic doom album, but simple descriptions have never really fit the bill with Celtic Frost -- whether relating to their greatest triumphs, To Mega Therion and Into the Pandemonium, or abject disasters, like the infamous Cold Lake. The inherently complex Monotheist is no different...
Celtic Frost's return should satisfy even the biggest cynics with the scope of its imagination and sheer audacity. Those qualities, as much as great music, have always represented the cornerstone of Frost's unique body of work, and Monotheist -- unrealistic listener expectations or not -- is a more than worthy addition to it.
Japanese Bonus Tracks (2) included!
Sorry...too large for z-share
mp3 - 224kbps
rar - 107mb
Death Angel - The Ultra-Violence (1987)
Though they were immediately pegged as the runts of the Bay Area thrash metal scene for barely being old enough to drive, Death Angel quickly silenced most critics with their ambitious first album, The Ultra-Violence. Technically on par with many of their older peers, the album still showed a lot of room for growth, however -- especially in the songwriting department. "Evil Priest" and "Kill As One" thrash out convincingly enough, but "Mistress of Pain" and "Voracious Souls" are the only somewhat fully realized songs on the album. And at over ten minutes, the yawn-inducing multi-part title track is the best example of the group's desperate desire to impress with quantity, instead of quality. Thankfully, the band would continue to improve, and subsequent efforts saw them gradually fulfill their promise.
Click to Download
mp3 - 256kbps
rar - 81mb
Lull - Continue (1996) & Moments (1998)
Closely allied with post-industrial dub terrorists such as Bill Laswell, Techno Animal, James Plotkin, Robert Musso, and Anton Fier, Birmingham-based artist Mick Harris is something of a study in extremes. A drummer with noted death metal outfit Napalm Death through the group's late-'80s/early-'90s heyday, Harris began experimenting with monochrome ambient and dub styles toward the tail end of his association with that group. Releasing material through Earache as Scorn (his ambient dub aegis) and through Sentrax as Lull, in addition to other sporadic projects, his genre-spanning activities have done much to jar the minds, expectations, and record collections of audiences previously kept aggressively opposed. To the present, Scorn and Lull, along with John Zorn's experimental jazz-dubcore outfit Painkiller have remained Harris' primary ongoing projects, although one-off collaborations with the likes of James Plotkin, Nicholas Bullen, Bill Laswell, and Martyn Bates are common. Harris formed Scorn in 1991 in collaboration with bassist Nick Bullen, incorporating elements of ambient, industrial, dub, rock, and hip-hop. The group (though pared back to just Harris following Evanescence) have released a number of increasingly well-received full-length recordings, including the remix LP Ellipsis, which features outbound reworkings by the likes of Coil, Autechre, Laswell, and Germ. Harris' solo work as Lull focuses on darker, more "isolationist" ambient soundscapes, some of which have been reissued domestically by Laswell's now-defunct Subharmonic imprint; a move to Relapse yielded 1996's Continue and 1998's Moments.
Click titles to download.
Continue (1996)
mp3 - 192kbps - rar - 83mb
Lull is exactly what its name would seem to imply -- ambient noise with a surprisingly hypnotic effect. Consisting of a one-hour-long track that unfolds excruciatingly slowly, Continue could be the soundtrack for a '90s version of 2001: A Space Odyssey, which was equally unnerving for its vast expanses of nothingness. Where Scorn can be the horrific equivalent of a musical Freddy Krueger -- getting in your face to tell you how badly he's gonna mess you up -- Lull's approach is more subtle and seductive, soothing your nerves before slitting your throat while you sleep. Spooky stuff.
Moments (1998)
mp3 - 192kbps - rar - 90 mb
Reportedly inspired by Mick Harris' deep affection for the soundtrack to the classic David Lynch film Eraserhead, Lull's fifth full-length effort is utterly hypnotic stuff. Digitally edited from 33 separate sections to form one continuous soundscape pattern, its ebb and flow makes for transfixing listening.
Click titles to download.
Continue (1996)
mp3 - 192kbps - rar - 83mb
Lull is exactly what its name would seem to imply -- ambient noise with a surprisingly hypnotic effect. Consisting of a one-hour-long track that unfolds excruciatingly slowly, Continue could be the soundtrack for a '90s version of 2001: A Space Odyssey, which was equally unnerving for its vast expanses of nothingness. Where Scorn can be the horrific equivalent of a musical Freddy Krueger -- getting in your face to tell you how badly he's gonna mess you up -- Lull's approach is more subtle and seductive, soothing your nerves before slitting your throat while you sleep. Spooky stuff.
Moments (1998)
mp3 - 192kbps - rar - 90 mb
Reportedly inspired by Mick Harris' deep affection for the soundtrack to the classic David Lynch film Eraserhead, Lull's fifth full-length effort is utterly hypnotic stuff. Digitally edited from 33 separate sections to form one continuous soundscape pattern, its ebb and flow makes for transfixing listening.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Suicidal Tendencies Mega-Post
Suicidal Tendencies - Suicidal Tendencies (1983)
Review:
Fast, furious, and funny, Suicidal Tendencies' self-titled debut owed much more to hardcore punk than to the later hardcore/heavy metal hybrid they would become known for, but it's still quite possibly their best album. Mike Muir proves himself an articulate lyricist and commentator, delving into subjects like alienation, depression, and nonconformist politics with intelligence and humor. The band behind him is aggressive and speedy, but never sinks into an overly fast sonic blur. Contains the classic rant "Institutionalized."
Click to Download
mp3 - 320kbps - rar - 62mb
Suicidal Tendencies - Join The Army (1987)
Review:
No one could expect 1987's Join the Army, the long-awaited follow-up to Suicidal Tendencies' quintessential self-titled debut, to live up to its predecessor, but few expected it to be this disappointing. Except for a few bright moments such as "Possessed to Skate" and "War Inside My Head," the album is badly written, badly played, and terribly produced. There could have been many reasons for this fiasco, but considering the renewed quality of the following year's How Will I Laugh Tomorrow opus, perhaps the most likely is that Join the Army was a transitional album in the transformation of the band's sound from hardcore punk to thrash metal.
Click to Download
mp3 - 192kbps - rar - 46mb
Suicidal Tendencies - How Will I Laugh Tomorrow... (1990)
Review:
Suicidal Tendencies regrouped successfully for one of its best efforts, How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can't Even Smile Today. The band's thrashy fusion of its hardcore roots with speed metal was fully developed by this point, and Mike Muir's social commentary and self-analysis were as ragingly compelling and by turns amusing as ever. Highlights include "Trip at the Brain," "One Too Many Times," and the title track.
Click to Download
mp3 - 192kbps - rar - 70mb
Suicidal Tendencies - Lights, Camera, Revolution
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Review:
After recording some definite gems in the late '80s, Suicidal Tendencies triumphantly entered the '90s with one of its best albums ever, the commanding Lights...Camera...Revolution! Not since the mid-'80s had the L.A. band sounded this confident, focused and inspired. "You Can't Bring Me Down" and the Motörhead-ish "Get Whacked" demonstrate just how much fun Suicidal can be, but most of all, the metal-oriented album is dark, angry, and troubling. The Angelenos already commanded an incredibly devoted following, and powerful offerings like "Send Me Money" (a gut-level, brutally honest attack on television evangelists), "Give It Revolution," and the dark-humored "Disco's Out, Murder's In" brought even more listeners aboard. This is a disc that no Suicidal fan should be without.
Click to Download
mp3 - 320kbps - rar - 95mb
Review:
Fast, furious, and funny, Suicidal Tendencies' self-titled debut owed much more to hardcore punk than to the later hardcore/heavy metal hybrid they would become known for, but it's still quite possibly their best album. Mike Muir proves himself an articulate lyricist and commentator, delving into subjects like alienation, depression, and nonconformist politics with intelligence and humor. The band behind him is aggressive and speedy, but never sinks into an overly fast sonic blur. Contains the classic rant "Institutionalized."
Click to Download
mp3 - 320kbps - rar - 62mb
Suicidal Tendencies - Join The Army (1987)
Review:
No one could expect 1987's Join the Army, the long-awaited follow-up to Suicidal Tendencies' quintessential self-titled debut, to live up to its predecessor, but few expected it to be this disappointing. Except for a few bright moments such as "Possessed to Skate" and "War Inside My Head," the album is badly written, badly played, and terribly produced. There could have been many reasons for this fiasco, but considering the renewed quality of the following year's How Will I Laugh Tomorrow opus, perhaps the most likely is that Join the Army was a transitional album in the transformation of the band's sound from hardcore punk to thrash metal.
Click to Download
mp3 - 192kbps - rar - 46mb
Suicidal Tendencies - How Will I Laugh Tomorrow... (1990)
Review:
Suicidal Tendencies regrouped successfully for one of its best efforts, How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can't Even Smile Today. The band's thrashy fusion of its hardcore roots with speed metal was fully developed by this point, and Mike Muir's social commentary and self-analysis were as ragingly compelling and by turns amusing as ever. Highlights include "Trip at the Brain," "One Too Many Times," and the title track.
Click to Download
mp3 - 192kbps - rar - 70mb
Suicidal Tendencies - Lights, Camera, Revolution
.jpg)
Review:
After recording some definite gems in the late '80s, Suicidal Tendencies triumphantly entered the '90s with one of its best albums ever, the commanding Lights...Camera...Revolution! Not since the mid-'80s had the L.A. band sounded this confident, focused and inspired. "You Can't Bring Me Down" and the Motörhead-ish "Get Whacked" demonstrate just how much fun Suicidal can be, but most of all, the metal-oriented album is dark, angry, and troubling. The Angelenos already commanded an incredibly devoted following, and powerful offerings like "Send Me Money" (a gut-level, brutally honest attack on television evangelists), "Give It Revolution," and the dark-humored "Disco's Out, Murder's In" brought even more listeners aboard. This is a disc that no Suicidal fan should be without.
Click to Download
mp3 - 320kbps - rar - 95mb
Ministry - Twelve Inch Singles (1981-1984)
Released in 1985 on TVT. Includes all of their best-known hits and great songs before they got signed by a major label (Sire). Early techno-industrial music from the early '80s.
Click to Download
mp3 - 320kbps - rar - 80mb
Over The Edge Vol. 2 : Pastor Dick: Muriel's Purse Fund (1996)
Pastor Dick: Muriel's Purse Fund was the second volume in the Over the Edge series, which distilled Negativland's live performances on the radio program Over the Edge on KPFA. This album was edited together from several different broadcasts recorded between 1982 and 1986.
Originally released in 1989 by SST Records on cassette only, it was re-released in 1996 by Negativland's own label, Seeland Records, as a CD with a new edit to make room for additional recorded material, a tract-like booklet titled Pastor Dick's Flagship Faith Vol. 17 #1, and an offering envelope.
Length 73:03 - This is the re-issued cd version. :)
Click to Download
mp3 - 192 kbps
rar - 100mb
Head on over to Kill Ugly Radio where you'll find Over The Edge Vol. 4: Dick Vaughn's Moribund Music From The 70's and many other delights.
AND...for even more OTE, check out My Wife Of Sennacherib Is Radiosick Queen where you'll find Vol. 3: The Weatherman!
The Residents - Not Available (1978)
This is one of the strangest and most interesting recordings in rock history, which speaks volumes coming from one of the strangest and more interesting bands in rock history. Not Available used what was referred to as "the theory of obscurity" (which called for the album to not be released until its makers literally forgot about its existence). It is said to be, questionably, the Residents' second recorded album (in 1974, only to be released in 1978 after utilizing "the theory of obscurity"). A highly underrated and forgotten achievement in the Residents' body of work, Not Available is such an incredible recording to experience that it simply and truly cannot be classified as being like another. While the Residents have experimented within the confines of rock throughout their entire careers, with the exceptions of Eskimo, The Commercial Album, and God in Three Persons, this album achieves like no other. A surreal rock opera resulting in an incredibly weird circus of sound, it is one that simply must be heard to be believed.
* Trying a new file-share service today. Lemme know if it gives you any problems. Seemed pretty simple and no wait times. hfigurine@hotmail.com
Click to Download
mp3 - 320kbps
rar - 81mb
Bonus: The Residents - Freakshow Comic Book
I meant to release this w/ the Freakshow cd a few posts back but totally forgot to add it. Here it is! (no special viewer needed, each page is a jpeg image).
Click to Download
rar - 17mb
Monday, May 28, 2007
Katie Jane Garside - Lost Upon The Flame
Just stumbled upon this...I don't know if it's new or maybe from an upcoming solo album. I wish!
You tell me. :)
Buckethead - Pepper's Ghost (2007)
* Bucket's greatest release to date!
Released March 1, 2007 - Length 45:15
Pepper's Ghost is the 19th full length album by Buckethead. The album features the cleaner and more structured sound that previous albums The Elephant Man's Alarm Clock and Crime Slunk Scene brought along.
Download
mp3 - 320kbps
rar - 99mb
Painkiller : 50th Birthday Celebration Volume Twelve
Released Sep 2005 - cd time - 43:16
Recorded Sept. 06, 2003 @ The Tonic, NY.
A powerful and breathtaking meeting of masters. With the tight rhythm section of Laswell and Drake, who have a long history working together in a variety of bands and contexts, and the empathetic insanity of Patton and Zorn, this set was as much of a surprise to the musicians as it was to the pumped up crowd that were lucky enough to hear it that night. Although billed as Painkiller, this once in a lifetime unit was really something completely different. At times hilarious, exhilarating, outrageous and transcendent, this is music only the New American Underground could create. East Coast meets West Coast meets Midwest: New York, California and Chicago come together in this twisted, funky improviser’s paradise.
Personnel:
Bill Laswell: Bass
John Zorn: Saxophone
Hamid Drake: Drums
Special Guest
Mike Patton: Voice
Download
mp3 - 256kbps
rar - 72mb
Painkiller - 09-05-2003 NY
Bootleg of the first of 2 nights at The Tonic.
Different setlist, same line-up. Enjoy!
mp3 - 320kbps
rar - 100mb
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Negativland: Over The Edge Vol. 7: Times Zones Exchange Project (1994)
The seventh volume of Negativland's Over the Edge series, entitled Time Zones Exchange Project, marked the downfall of the former Soviet Union. The disc is edited entirely from radio broadcasts between 1989 and 1992. The focus of this double-CD set is on the fictitious Howland Island, where a time warp is created in the future to alter the Soviet Union of the past into a free-market nation. A character named C. Eliot Friday and his company Universal Media Netweb are central to the saga. Friday also owns the patent on Mertz, an imaginary drug that helps you make up your mind. Friday's goal throughout the disc is to teach the people of the Soviet Union to learn the ways of a free market, so he can exploit them in the future. More than two hours of audio collages offer mock investigative reporting about Friday, a call-in U.S./Soviet talk-radio show, and the selling of Mertz to the Soviets. This, and the other discs in the Over the Edge series, are, in the end, quality radio drama in the Orwellian tradition. The "Testwave" broadcasts on the second disc were aimed at, as the group called it, "planting the seeds of free market thinking." Testwave is the broadcast manifestation of Time Zones Exchange Project, pointing to the massive size of the U.S.S.R., which spanned 11 time zones. The collection includes 17 tracks of scattered and pieced-together audio experiments marking the historic end of the Soviet superpower. In the end, this is social commentary on the priorities of the United States. The result is a continually engaging, and often disturbing, presentation. Russian language assistance on the disc was performed by Taras Titarenenko. With the tongue-in-cheek help of "Radio Moscow," various Russian musicians, and numerous anonymous callers, the broadcasts became a landmark moment of, as the band puts it, "cultural transference." The radio programs on Time Zones Exchange Project originally aired on KPFA in Berkeley, CA, on the Over the Edge program.
see negativland.com for more info.
Disc 1 - Time Zones
mp3 - 160kbps
rar - 79mb
Disc 2 - Testwave
mp3 - 160kbps
rar - 82mb
Naked City - Radio (1993)
Naked City was a band of excellent N.Y.C.-based improvisers from the late '80s to 1993, led by avant-alto saxophonist and composer John Zorn. Unlike their self-titled debut and the second Avant release Grand Guignol, there are no cover tunes on this release, entitled Radio. Several genres and bands are skillfully evoked, however, and helpfully listed in the liner notes in order of occurrence. Jazz, surf, R&B, death metal, funk, acid rock, and serialism are grafted together in this collection, often into the same song, and the band shifts genres, tempos, and arrangements on a dime.
Supposedly, Radio was conceived as a set for a college radio program, making it a kind of "Young Person's Guide to Naked City," beginning with accessible tunes, gradually building up listener tolerance to dissonance, and finally sandbagging the listener with evil blasts of dissonant metallic noise and convincing perpetrator-and-victim screaming.
Zorn gives ace guitarist Bill Frisell and versatile keyboardist Wayne Horvitz the space to shine on this collection, and both more than meet the challenges of these pieces. Avant-garde guitarist Fred Frith takes a supporting role in the band, supplying an in-the-pocket bass that keeps the funkier tracks cooking, and the depth and range of his playing on these tunes is a consistent pleasure.
Master drummer Joey Baron alternates restraint and abandon, keeping solid time on the jazz tunes, throwing tasty fills into the funk, and laying down a muscular, punishing thrash on the metal sections. Zorn himself does a fair amount of his balloon-animal-twisting squeals and sustained shrieking blasts, but he does vary the palette. Listed also as a full band member on Radio (but not performing on every piece) is Japanese noisecore/funk screamer Yamatsuka Eye of the Boredoms (now going by Yamataka Eye). His babbling, howling, choking, and flat-out screams of terror take many of the metal performances well over the top.
* This version is from the Remastered Naked City Complete Recordings.
Zorn's own words (from tzadik.com):
"I have radically remastered this music with exacting and loving attention to every last detail. Mistakes have been corrected, balances adjusted and thanks to the latest in digital technology the music is louder, clearer, more in your face and exploding with more energy than ever before. Even if you already own all of the original discs, I strongly urge you to pick this set up and experience Naked City as it always should have sounded. " --John Zorn
Click to Download
mp3 - 224kbps
rar - 92mb
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Thursday, May 24, 2007
The God Machine (x2)
* Another of my personal favorites. Comments appreciated.
After graduating high school in San Diego, Robin Proper-Sheppard, Jimmy Fernandez, Ron Austin, and Albert Amman formed Society Line. They recorded a six-song demo and began playing locally, developing their rough sound into a bracing mix of metallics and atmospherics. Despite the musical progress, Proper-Sheppard became increasingly restless in San Diego and opted to move to New York. The remaining members continued to play together and thought of replacing the singer/guitarist, but Proper-Sheppard returned months later to see if his ex-bandmates would be willing to join him back in New York. Amman was the only member to stay behind.
Through numerous turns of events, the trio ended up in London. Somewhere along the line, they changed their name to God Machine and played their first official gig in early 1991. After a debut EP for Eve, the band signed to Fiction and released two more EPs in 1992. The full length Scenes From the Second Storey appeared in 1993, featuring remakes of four tracks off the earlier EPs. A monstrous double record, its (un)holy racket and scope serve the band's name perfectly. A year later, GM had completed recording and mixing a follow-up LP when Fernandez fell victim to a brain tumor. Saddened and devastated, Proper-Sheppard and Austin opted to call it a day. The sessions for the fine second album, One Last Laugh in a Place of Dying, saw release in 1995. Propper-Sheppard set up the Flower Shop label, putting out records from the likes of Elevate, Ligament, and Swervedriver. He also began recording a year later as Sophia.
Scenes From The Second Storey (1993)
A band with a truly strange trajectory, the God Machine was founded in San Diego, paid their dues in New York, but only managed to kick-start their career after moving on to London, England. There, the trio signed with independent Fiction Records and released their critically acclaimed debut Scenes From the Second Storey in 1993. A sprawling, stylistically diverse effort, the album's alternative metal often drew comparisons to Jane's Addiction because of singer Robin Proper-Shepard's vocal resemblance to Perry Farrell. But the God Machine was even more experimental, using hypnotic riffs, trance-like drones, ethereal vocals, and a bevy of unconventional instruments to achieve a highly cinematic effect throughout their work. Opener "Dream Machine" (whose eerie intro dialog was coincidentally used on a Neurosis album that same year) and the mesmerizing "The Desert Song" are especially memorable, but the band stretches their wings even further on extended pieces like "Purity" and "Seven." Though quite impressive, these explorations cover so much terrain that the listener's attention can be severely tested -- especially by the bland songs contained in the album's Oreo-like creamy center, among which only the interestingly sparse "It's All Over" leaves a lasting impression. And, not surprisingly, the predictable single "She Said" -- the kind of throwaway funk metal radio fodder popular at the time -- is the album's weakest link. In the end, Scenes From the Second Storey probably could have done without all of its CD-busting 80 minutes, but all things considered, there's plenty of value for their money here.
Download
mp3 - 224kbps
rar - 122mb
One Last Laugh In A Place Of Dying (1995)
Sparse, desolate, haunting and beautiful. "One Last Laugh In A Place Of Dying" is a fitting epitaph to one of the most original and overlooked bands of the early ninties and to the tragically early death of bassist Jimmy Fernandez. Death and loneliness haunt the recording. It is sad and dark but avoids morbidity. It lilts and flows along on cold, crisp riffs interspersed with jagged shards of rage. "You said life could be painless, well that's not what i found." And you can hear the heartstrings snapping in anger and frustration.
For moments of cool reflection, when you just want to turn the lights off and bathe in the utter desolation of life continuing after death, i cannot recommend this album highly enough.
Thankfully there is a silver cloud to this document of woe. Robin Proper-Sheppard, the surviving half of the band formed and is still recording with his band "Sophia." Well worth checking out.
Download
mp3 - 192kbps
rar - 93mb
After graduating high school in San Diego, Robin Proper-Sheppard, Jimmy Fernandez, Ron Austin, and Albert Amman formed Society Line. They recorded a six-song demo and began playing locally, developing their rough sound into a bracing mix of metallics and atmospherics. Despite the musical progress, Proper-Sheppard became increasingly restless in San Diego and opted to move to New York. The remaining members continued to play together and thought of replacing the singer/guitarist, but Proper-Sheppard returned months later to see if his ex-bandmates would be willing to join him back in New York. Amman was the only member to stay behind.
Through numerous turns of events, the trio ended up in London. Somewhere along the line, they changed their name to God Machine and played their first official gig in early 1991. After a debut EP for Eve, the band signed to Fiction and released two more EPs in 1992. The full length Scenes From the Second Storey appeared in 1993, featuring remakes of four tracks off the earlier EPs. A monstrous double record, its (un)holy racket and scope serve the band's name perfectly. A year later, GM had completed recording and mixing a follow-up LP when Fernandez fell victim to a brain tumor. Saddened and devastated, Proper-Sheppard and Austin opted to call it a day. The sessions for the fine second album, One Last Laugh in a Place of Dying, saw release in 1995. Propper-Sheppard set up the Flower Shop label, putting out records from the likes of Elevate, Ligament, and Swervedriver. He also began recording a year later as Sophia.
Scenes From The Second Storey (1993)
A band with a truly strange trajectory, the God Machine was founded in San Diego, paid their dues in New York, but only managed to kick-start their career after moving on to London, England. There, the trio signed with independent Fiction Records and released their critically acclaimed debut Scenes From the Second Storey in 1993. A sprawling, stylistically diverse effort, the album's alternative metal often drew comparisons to Jane's Addiction because of singer Robin Proper-Shepard's vocal resemblance to Perry Farrell. But the God Machine was even more experimental, using hypnotic riffs, trance-like drones, ethereal vocals, and a bevy of unconventional instruments to achieve a highly cinematic effect throughout their work. Opener "Dream Machine" (whose eerie intro dialog was coincidentally used on a Neurosis album that same year) and the mesmerizing "The Desert Song" are especially memorable, but the band stretches their wings even further on extended pieces like "Purity" and "Seven." Though quite impressive, these explorations cover so much terrain that the listener's attention can be severely tested -- especially by the bland songs contained in the album's Oreo-like creamy center, among which only the interestingly sparse "It's All Over" leaves a lasting impression. And, not surprisingly, the predictable single "She Said" -- the kind of throwaway funk metal radio fodder popular at the time -- is the album's weakest link. In the end, Scenes From the Second Storey probably could have done without all of its CD-busting 80 minutes, but all things considered, there's plenty of value for their money here.
Download
mp3 - 224kbps
rar - 122mb
One Last Laugh In A Place Of Dying (1995)
Sparse, desolate, haunting and beautiful. "One Last Laugh In A Place Of Dying" is a fitting epitaph to one of the most original and overlooked bands of the early ninties and to the tragically early death of bassist Jimmy Fernandez. Death and loneliness haunt the recording. It is sad and dark but avoids morbidity. It lilts and flows along on cold, crisp riffs interspersed with jagged shards of rage. "You said life could be painless, well that's not what i found." And you can hear the heartstrings snapping in anger and frustration.
For moments of cool reflection, when you just want to turn the lights off and bathe in the utter desolation of life continuing after death, i cannot recommend this album highly enough.
Thankfully there is a silver cloud to this document of woe. Robin Proper-Sheppard, the surviving half of the band formed and is still recording with his band "Sophia." Well worth checking out.
Download
mp3 - 192kbps
rar - 93mb
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