Digital Meltd0wn last.fm Group - February 2010 Recommendations

Some of you may or may not already know that I started a last.fm group for Digital Meltd0wn - http://last.fm/group/digital+meltd0wn a few years ago. Due to various personal issues, and my recent move, the group had been inactive for far too long. I have been making an effort to devote more time to the group, and fortunately activity has picked up once again. I have also made the group open, rather than requiring approval, so please join up if you haven't already. In the past we shared our monthly music recommendations with each other, then I would share them here on the blog; however, due to my absence, a recommendation thread hadn't been posted for several months. The idea was resurrected once again, and several people took part in sharing their recommendations with the group. There was a nice selection posted this month, ranging from Italian doom metal to French electropop. So without further ado, I present to you the Digital Meltd0wn last.fm group's recommendations for the month of February 2010:

Down - Sludge
DJ Chaos X - Turntablism, Punk Rock
DJ Pica Pica Pica - Turntablism, Sound Collage
Karp - Grunge
Fall of the Idols - Doom Metal
Sahg - Doom Metal
Kylsea - Doom Metal, Sludge
Ras G - Instrumental Hip-Hop
Bile - Industrial Metal
Terror Visions - SynthPunk
The Walruz - Doom Metal
Trippy Wicked & The Cosmic Children of the Knight - Stoner Rock
Venomin James - Doom Metal
Kitchen & The Plastic Spoons - Post-Punk, Deathrock
The Almighty Defenders - Gospel, Garage Rock
Antipop Consortium - Abstract Hip-Hop
The Meters - Funk
The Ex - Post-Punk
Electric Wizard - Doom Metal
16 Horsepower - Alt-Country, Gothic Country
Woven Hand - Alt-Country, Gothic Country
Haydamaky - Ukranian, Ska, Folk Rock
Metallic Falcons - Experimental, Freak Folk
Jelonek - Violin, Instrumental Metal
CocoRosie Freak Folk
Koenjihyakkei - Japan, Experimental, Progressive Rock
Achillea - New Age, Ambient
Jenson Rhodes - Accoustic, Psychedelic
The Coconut Monkeyrocket - Experimental, Electronic
Nick Cave & Warren Ellis - Soundtrack
Rheostatics - Indie Rock
Giraffe Incognito - Electronic, Experimental
Munly & the Lee Lewis Harlots - Alt-Country, Gothic Country
The Yellow Dogs - Iran, Post-Punk
The Graham Bond Organisation - Blues Rock, Jazz Fusion
Chromeo - Electronica, Funk
Anoraak - France, Synthpop
Yelle - France, Synthpop
James Chance - No Wave, Jazz Punk
Puzique - France, House
The Abyssinian Baptist Gospel Choir - Gospel

I hope some of you discover a few artists that you like among the list.

The Abyssinian Baptist Gospel Choir - Shakin' The Rafters

Choosing which albums I would like to share with those of you who visit here can often be a difficult process. I've tried to offer a rather eclectic selection of music here, which makes it difficult at times to pin down exactly what type of music some of you would prefer to see posted here. Often times, albums that I think will receive a lot of attention fail to get a single comment, while albums that I think are risky choices are the ones that receive the most attention. When I first started the blog I had intended to primarily focus on sharing albums from my punk rock collection, but I eventually decided I would rather post whichever weird or obscure album I happened to be digging at the time, while trying to cover a wide variety of genres. I have yet to test the waters here with a gospel album, but hopefully this one will satisfy the uninitiated, as well as those who are familiar with it.

I am not a Christian, and I'll be the first to admit that I despise most aspects of organized religion; however, I'm a sucker for energetic and soulful music such as this, regardless of the religious message the music carries. I don't have much time on my hands to go into depth about the various songs on the album, but I will try to give a somewhat adequate overview of the album as a whole.

I picked this album up because it was on Tom Waits' list of favorite albums, and it has received a number of favorable reviews describing it as one of the greatest gospel albums to ever be recorded. I did expect the music to be much rawer than it turned out due to the hype of a few reviews, yet it still satisfies the need for energetic and exciting gospel music. This was recorded in 1960 at the Abyssinian Baptist Church, and features a massive 120 member choir, led by Professor Alex Bradford, performing a number of energetic and soulful gospel songs. During the 1950's, the Abyssinian Baptist Gospel Choir started out as a small local church, but rapidly expanded into the largest Baptist gospel group in the area, largely due to Bradford's gifts for writing and arranging in the classic call-and-response gospel style.

One thing is certain, while this album might not be as wild and raw as some claim it to be, it remains a very energetic and soulful album throughout. At times the choir slows down the pace, but you can still feel the tension of numerous souls waiting to let loose at any moment. If you're a fan of gospel music then you should love this, and if you've never given it a chance, I can't think of too many albums that would serve as a better introduction.

Year of Release: 1960
Genre: Gospel
Bitrate: 160kbps

Track List:
1. I Want To Ride That Glory Train
2. You've Got To Bear The Consequence
3. Heaven Belongs To You
4. Said I Wasn't Gonna Tell Nobody
5. He Stays In My Room
6. Sweet Jesus
7. You Can't Make Me Doubt Him
8. He Is Such An Understanding God
9. I Can Call Him
10. Restore Unto Me
11. The Lord's Prayer
12. The Lord Will Make A Way

Download: The Abyssnian Baptist Gospel Choir - Shakin' The Rafters
Download Size: 75MB

Learning the 3 Rs: The San Francisco way

RHYTHM

Rhythm Pigs - Rhythm Pigs

After they moved from El Paso, where they formed in 1983, to San Francisco, I used to see the Rhythm Pigs everywhere, they played out all the time. Being ‘the only punk band in El Paso’ & wanting more musickally, they garnered attention nationally by touring heavily & building their musickal chops live on-stage. Great straight-ahead punk rock & Ed Ivey was a really nice guy. This is their first, self-titled lp & then-fledgling Mordam Records second ever release.

Year of Release: 1986
Label: Mordam Records MDR 2
Genre: Punk

Tracklist:
Side 1 -
Conditional Love
Dr. Harley
Break New Ground
Human Drama
Six
Machines are In
Peanuts
Break or We’ll Break Your Face
Side 2 -
Taxi Cab
Searching for Myself
Conscience Song
Electric World
Road Machine

Download: Rhythm Pigs - Rhythm Pigs
Download Size: 84.2MB (ripped from pristine vinyl at 320Kbps)


RESIDENTS

Various Artists - Eyesore: A Stab at The Residents

I just saw The Residents in Santa Cruz (January 23rd at the Rio). As Resident shows always are (my 6th), it was a wonder-filled, entertaining, & thought-provoking event. I could think of nothing else for days. I was going to start this R thang out with these intentionally obscured musickians, even thought about posting up part of the Rio show, but then decided on this winner, but since it's not technically an R, more a V (for Various Artists), it is a Tribute to R(esidents), I posted the Rhythm Pigs first.

This cd features numerous bands doing covers of Residents tunes, a tribute to the Residents, if you can believe it...sounds like an ill-advised idea but actually it is a really excellent release. It gets a bit confusing in places, as some of the tracks are actually different songs running into each other. But it is a tribute the The Residents, so...

The final track, “Benny The Bouncing Bump” is a previously-unreleased live recording of the Residents themselves. & The Rez are on percussion for their cohort, Snakefinger’s take on “Smelly Tongues”.

This collection features reworks & covers by artists who faithfully follow the spirit of Residents' weird wackiness. It's a who's-who cast of underground, indie, & all-around under-appreciated eclectic artists, such as Only a Mother, Thinking Fellers Union Local 282, Snakefinger, Shakin Ray Levis, Splatter Trio, Idiot Flesh, & Amy Denio, as well as better known acts like Cracker & Primus. Fans of the Residents & their genre of irreverent musick should enjoy this entertaining & varied set of loving renditions.

Year of Release: 1996
Label: Vaccination Records VAC006
Genre: Cover songs, avantgarde

Tracklist:
Only a Mother - Mahogany Wood
Unknown Artist (*) - Untitled
Idiot Flesh - Bach is Dead
Heavy Vegetable - Time's Up
Frank Pahl - Everyone Comes to the Freak Show
Borgia Popes - Constantinople
UBZUB (*) - What Could the Matter Be?
Thinking Fellers Union Local #282 - Electrocutioner
Mooseheart Faith - Firefly / Vinegar
Splatter Trio - 6 Things to a Cycle, Pt 1 (Chew Chew Gum)
Amy Denio - Act of Being Polite
UBZUB (*) - N-ER-GEE (Crisis Blues)
Utotem (10a) - Sinister Exaggerator
Greg Roe (10b) - Hell No!
Giant Ant Farm - Eva's Warning
Charming Hostess - Won't You Keep Us Working?
Richie West & Bomb Factory - Voices in the Air
Silica Gel - Shut Up! Shut Up!
Mommyheads - Moisture
Supercollider - Walrus Hunt
UBZUB (*) - Lord it's Lonely
Snakefinger - Smelly Tongues
Fibulator - You Yes Yes Yes You
Dramagold - You Yes Yes Yes You (reprise)
Shakin Ray Levis - Red Rider
Poxy Boggards - Santa Dog
Splatter Trio - 6 Things to a Cycle, Pt 2 (Good Good Coffee)
Big Butter - Their Early Years
Cracker - Blue Rosebuds
Pink Floyd The Barber - Boo Who?
Non Credo - Nice Skinny Sinister Old Man
Lungpigs - Nobody Laughs When They Leave
Eskimo - Happy Home
Primus - Hello Skinny medley
Stan Ridgway & J.E.D. (30a) - Excuse / The Booker Tease
Greg Roe (30b) - Gingerbread Man
The Residents (*) - Benny the Bouncing Bump (live)
Unknown Artist (*) - Untitled

(*) There are several hidden tracks on this disc (at the beginning of 02, tacked on the end of tracks 05, 09, 16, & 30). I have left them as they are on the cd, unseparated (part 1 download) but have also included the split tracks (along with the cover artwork - part 2 download), so do with them as you like (the split tracks are marked A for alternate).

Tracks 10 & 30 actually have two songs indexed within the same track.

"Benny The Bouncing Bump" was recorded live on November 17th, 1991 as part of a one-off performance that is commonly referred to as 'Ty's Freak Show'.

Download: Various Artists - Eyesore: A Stab at The Residents pt 1
Download Size: 183MB (ripped at 320Kbps)

Download: Various Artists - Eyesore: A Stab at The Residents pt 2
Download Size: 38.7MB (ripped at 320Kbps)


ROMEO

Romeo Void - Nvr Say Nvr 12" ep

Romeo Void was a New Wave/post-punk band from San Francisco, California active from 1979 to 1985. They are best known for the song "Never Say Never". The best version of the song is from the four-song 12“ ep released on 415 (San Francisco’s telephone area code) Records. Their popularity was primarily in alternative & college radio. Because of extensive radio play, say ‘Romeo Void’ & the name almost always conjures up the phrase "I might like you better if we slept together" to most people...that unforgettable chorus of their best-known song, 1981's "Never Say Never". But the rest of the lyrics referencing incest, murder, homelessness, & other dark subjects, makes plain that singer/lyricist Debora Iyall has more on her mind than titillation.

The combination of Iyall's powerful vocals & graphic imagery along with the band's blend of Joy Division-style atmospherics & Gang of Four pacing, propelled by Benjamin Bossi's wall-of-sound free jazz saxophone skronking, elevated Romeo Void above their contemporary New Wave acts, proving them to be a strong American post-punk band.

Debora Iyall, a Native American of the Cowlitz tribe was born in rural Washington, was raised in Fresno, CA, then moved to San Francisco in the mid-'70s to attend the San Francisco Art Institute. While there she met fellow students Peter Woods & Jay Derrah, who had formed a pseudo-60s revival band called The Mummers & the Poppers. Iyall became the group's singer & also began incorporating music into her own poetry & performance art projects. Intrigued by the growing San Francisco punk scene, which included fellow Art Institute students like Avengers singer Penelope Houston & members of the Mutants as well as Pearl Harbor & the Explosions, Iyall, sculptor & visual artist Frank Zincavage, Woods, & Derrah formed Romeo Void on Valentine's Day 1979. The name was inspired by a headline on the cover of a local magazine’s Valentine’s issue that read "Romeo Void - Why single women can't get laid in San Francisco." Shortly after the group's formation, original saxophonist Bobby Martin & another local reedsman, Benjamin Bossi, swapped bands, with Martin joining art punk extremists the Offs while Bossi teamed up with Romeo Void.

The revised lineup recorded their debut single, "White Sweater," b/w a cover of Jorgen Ingmann's atmospheric 1961 twang-guitar instrumental hit "Apache," for the new local indie 415 Records in 1980. Before sessions commenced for their first album, 1981's It's a Condition, founding member Derrah left the group & was replaced by ex-Explosions drummer John "Stench" Haines. One of the masterpieces of American post-punk, It's a Condition received rave reviews upon its release. Perhaps even more importantly, Cars leader Ric Ocasek heard the album when a roadie played it on the Cars' tour bus. He invited the group to his Synchro Sound studio in Boston. The result was this Ocasek-produced record, the Never Say Never ep.

Year of Release: 1981
Label: 415 Records 415A-0007
Genre: New Wave, post-punk

Tracklist:
Side one -
Never Say Never
In the Dark
Side two -
Present Tense
Not Safe

Download: Romeo Void - Nvr Say Nvr 12“ ep
Download Size: 45.8MB (ripped from 415 heavy vinyl at 320Kbps)

DJ Pica Pica - Planetary Natural Love Gas Webbin' 199999

By request, this post was re-uploaded 01/18/2015. Enjoy.

It isn't too often that I find myself completely incapable of writing a worthy description to sum up an artist/album's sound; however, this is definitely one of those occasions. DJ Pica Pica is one of over a dozen aliases of Japanese musician, Yamantaka Eye, who is perhaps more well known as one of the founders and frontman of the noise rock group, Bordedoms.

To mistake this for "just another danceable DJ mix" would be a crime, as this album is a masterpiece of sound collage, encompassing numerous different genres, and consisting of a wide variety of source material. Pica's inclusion of genres run the gamut, stirring up a little bit of rock, blues, hip-hop, funk, techno, and even music from indigenous Pacific tribes into a brew that at times threatens to descend into pure chaos, yet manages to retain it's groove throughout. A wide variety of instruments can be heard throughout, as he seasons the mix with piano, synths, electric and accoustic guitar, african djembe drums, flute and much more.Yamantaka controls the tempo perfectly, often whipping the music up into a frenzied tribal state, only to bring it down to a tranquil pace at just the right moments.

This is one of those albums that just needs to be heard, and as I stated before, I am incapable of accurately describing the sound contained within. I don't have enough time on my hands to put up a track list at the moment, but I'll try to remember to put one up tomorrow.

Year of Release: 1999
Label: Comma
Genre: Experimental, Sound Collage, Turntablism
Bitrate: 320Kbps

Download: DJ Pica Pica Pica - Planetary Natural Love Gas
Download Size: 173 MB

The 60's Choice Collection of Scarcest Garage Records

I downloaded this gem of an album on DC++; however, since obtaining it, information regarding this album has proven to very scarce. What I do know is that it was released in 1992 by EVA Records, and it contains a great selection of tracks which were recorded between 1965 to (967 by various underground garage acts. I was very impressed upon hearing this compilation for the first time. It's a solid collection of songs, and I don't think there's a bad track on the album. I highly recommend this for anyone who is into 60's garage or psychedelic rock. Unfortunately the person I was downloading this from went offline before I was able to get the last track. I'll keep checking back..hopefully I'll be able to catch that person online again, download the last track, and add it here.

Track List:
1. The French Church - Slapneck 1943
2. The Olivers - I Saw What You Did (1966)
3. Evil Enc. Group - The Point Is
4. London & The Bridges - It Just Ain't Right (1966)
5. Loved Ones - Surprise, Surprise (For You) (1966)
6. The Executioners - I Want The Rain (1966)
7. The Heathens - Problems (1967)
8. The Hangmen - Faces (1966)
9. The Romancers - Love's The Thing (1965)
10. The Jagged Edge - How Many Times (1966)
11. Don & Jerry With The Fugitives - In The Cover Of Night (1965)
12. The Deepest Blue - Somebody's Girl (1966)
13. The Kings Ransom - Shame (1966)
14. Evil - Always Running Around (1967)
15. The New Dawn - Slave Of Desire
16. The Bit A Sweet - Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind (1967)
17. The Todds - I Want Her Back (1967)
18. Art Guy - Where You Gonna Go
19. The Tears - Weatherman (1966)
20. Loved Ones - Together, Together
21. Other Side - Walking Down The Road (1966)
22. The Gentlemen - Wild You Gotta Leave (1967)
23. The Nervous Breakdowns - I Dig Your Mind (1967)
24. The Echoes Of Carnaby Street - Baby Doesn't Know (1966)
25. The Spats - She Done Moved (1966)
26. The Bush - Feeling Sad And Lonely (1966)
27. The Lost - Back Door Blues (1965)
28. The Love Ins - That's All She Wrote (1966)

Download: The 60's Choice Collection
Download Size: 71.4MB

Note: I fixed the download link for those who wanted this. Apparently I pasted a link to the album cover rather than the download link.

Gaë Bolg And The Church Of Fand - Tintagel (2001)

Anyone of you who knows Sol Invictus, surely know this already! Nevertheless, little info: Gaë Bolg is the solo project of Sol Invictus trumpet player and Seven Pines project founder Eric Roger. The music is an incredible mixture of medieval music, martial drumming, drunk ballads and lots and lots of sarcasm!
Interview on Heathen Harvest: link

Tracklist:
Tintagel
Pendant l'apocalypse
Hymne
Offertorio
Avant l'apocalypse
Le chant de la rainette
Danse des nains
Rite

Label: Le Cluricaun
Year: 2001

Download: link
Download Size: 68.8 Mb

The Lime Spiders - 25th Hour EP

This was the debut release by the Lime Spiders, issued as a double 7" by Green Records in 1983, and produced by Rob Younger of Radio Birdman fame. The Lime Spiders were the wildest of the Australian garage and punk rock bands, which is no small claim. Jello Biafra once said they were a "psychedelic slime band more hardcore than the Green Fuz" (who I think you'll find on one of the Pebbles compilation). After the release of this album they signed with the Citadel label and released the monumental hit single "Slave Girl". There isn't a bad track on this EP. It's non-stop frenzied rock and roll from start to finish, reminiscent of the MC5, mixed with a small dose of psychedelia ala Chocolate Watch Band. This album comes highly recommended.

Track List:
1. 1-2-5
2. Can't Wait Long
3. That's How It Will Be
4. 25th Hour

Download: Lime Spiders 25th Hour EP
Download Size: 11.4MB