The Best Of Blaxploitation - Disc One

Year of Release: 1998
Label: Global TV
Genre: Rhythm and Blues, Soul, Funk

Blaxploitation is a film genre that began in the 1970s with films like "Shaft" and "Superfly" that featured a primarily black cast, and featured funk and soul soundtracks. Huge afros, drug dealers, pimps and hookers, dirty double-crossers, street fighters, guns and fast cars fueled the action of these magnificent crime classsics. This is only volume one of this three CD set. I will follow up with the other two volumes shortly.

Track List:
1. Boss - James Brown
2. Brothers on the Slide - Cymande
3. Jungle Boogie - Kool & the Gang
4. "T" Plays It Cool - Marvin Gaye
5. Freddie's Dead - Curtis Mayfield
6. Different Strokes - Syl Johnson
7. Sport - Lightnin' Rod
8. It's a Trip - The Last Poets
9. World We Live In - McKinley Jackson, The Politicians
10. Funky Mule - Ike Turner & His Kings of Rhythm,
11. I Gotcha - Joe Tex
12. Chocolate City - Mavis Staples
13. Moonwalk - Pee Wee Ellis
14. Tippi Toes - The Meters
15. Back Home - Brian Jackson, Gil Scott-Heron

Download: The Best of Blaxploitation - Disc One
Download size: 70 MB(zip file)

TheLastRipper - last.fm Audio Ripper

I discovered this very useful tool via lifehacker It's called TheLastRipper and basically what it does is connect to your last.fm account, and rip the streams and album art to the folder of your choice. That was enough to convince me, however this little tool is actually capable of much more than just that. You can find the full list of features below. Of course the legality of this tool is in question, which is actually acknowledge by the following disclaimer on their homepage: "Please be aware that recordings of radio streams, may NOT be legal, we recommend that you investegate your local laws, before using TheLastRipper." It will be interesting to see how long this lasts. In the meantime though, I'm sure that all you last.fm aficionados will put this tool to good use. It has proven to be a valuable tool in exploring various tags and genres on last.fm. I simply allow it to run and rip tracks overnight, and then easily explore a wide selection of songs from them the next day, while simply deleting the songs that I do not wish to keep.

Features:
Recording streams to mp3's
Organize mp3s in folders: Artist/Album/Track/
Downloads coverart
Generates playlist in M3U, SMIL, PLS
Appends ID3v2 tags
Improved clipping of songs
International characters
Support for http proxies
General exception handling dialog

Homepage: http://www.thelastripper.com
Download: http://www.thelastripper.com/download.html
File Size: 266kb

Happy Birthday - Digital Meltd0wn Turns 2

Two years ago I started this blog with no specific goal in mind other than to share music that is all too often criminally overlooked. Since that time I have been fortunate enough to share hundreds of albums here, met some amazing people, been introduced to countless artists in turn, and have had over 350,000 visitors from around the globe grace these pages. After watching many amazing blogs come and go during the last two years, I'm proud to be able to say that not only is DM still here, but it's going stronger than ever. I would like to thank all of you who visit this blog frequently, especially those of you who are considerate enough to leave comments. I would also like to thank those of you who have worked as contributors here: Psyche Zenobia, Ally, Fill, and Psycho Cat. All of you helped tremendously when I needed it the most, and your contributions here were a breath of fresh air. I would also like to thank my girlfriend, Rhiannon, for being understanding enough to put up with my obsession for music and sharing it with others. Your support and encouragement means more to me than you realize. Thank you for all the support and kind words over the last two years. Here's to many more. Cheers!

The Tape-Beatles - The Grand Delusion

I actually discovered the Tape-Beatles via Psycho Cat's last.fm profile. Due to the limited number of plays, I thought it was safe to assume that he hadn't had a chance to listen to a full album by them yet, so I hope this comes as a surprise to you Psycho. I was also surprised to discover that the Tape-Beatles, under the moniker of Public Works, sampled heavily from an obscure album titled the Conet Project, that I recently discovered thanks to Allywonderland (a former guest-blogger here). It's a small world after all...

The Tape-beatles (also known as Public Works) are a multi-media group from Iowa City that formed in December 1986. Don't let the name fool you though. This group has more in common with Negativland than the fab four. Its members include Lloyd Dunn, John Heck, Ralph Johnson and Paul Neff. Beginning with analog tape recorders, and later expanding to include digital technology and film media, the group has used collage techniques to create works that challenge the notion of intellectual property. Their works make extensive use of materials appropriated from various sources through a process they call "Plagiarism®". The Tape-beatles' body of work consists mainly of music and audio art recordings, 'expanded' and 'performed' cinema performances, videos, printed publications, as well as works in other media. They produce and release work under an umbrella organization called Public Works Productions.

In 1993 the Tape-Beatles released their third album, The Grand Delusion, still hailed as their masterpiece by those familiar with the entirety of their work. The Grand Delusion is a bitter mediation on the U.S. Persian Gulf War and the historical context that created it. It uses voice samples from a wide variety of sources, including speeches from George H. W. Bush, television news, and the occasional right-wing religious zealot. These voice samples are accompanied by collages of sampled sounds and music, which generate an overall atmosphere of uncertainty and unease. In addition to their musical evolution during this time, the group refined their presentation approach as well, distilling it down to just three 16mm projectors, used in a configuration the group named 'Polyvision', in honor of Abel Gance's pioneering movie techniques of the 1920s

Year of Release: 1993
Label: Staalplaat
Genre: Sound Collage, Plunderphonics, Experimental
Bitrate: 160kbps

Track List:
1. The American Adventure
2. Primary Delusion
3. America Is Confident
4. Lament
5. Frog Story
6. Mind Problems
7. Love
8. Home Problems
9. Behold A Republic
10. Grave Implications
11. Great Difficulties
12. Chilling
13. You Have To Participate
14. Candidate
15. Flowers For Dead Heroes
16. Thus
17. Back To The Start
18. More Difficulties
19. The Difference
20. Mother
21. Help

Download: The Tape-Beatles - The Grand Delusion
Download Size: 68MB

Vàli - Forlatt

Year of Release: 2004
Label: Foreshadow Productions
Genre: NeoFolk

This terrific piece of neofolk beauty was recently reviewed by the Rock Blogger. I have been in love with this album for some time and was very happy to see it mentioned. The rock blogger is an artist and musician also known as Damien Van Vroenhoven. I've been reading his Blog for the past few weeks, and Mr. Vroenhoven has a real way with words and produces the types of reviews that make me really envious of his writing skills and a bit disappointed in my own. I urge you to check out it out.

Here is a brief snippet of the Rock Blogger's review of Vali's "Forlatt" album..."So what makes this masterpiece such a standout? Maybe its own reluctance to being a masterpiece is key, as its soothing compositions move with calm patience, letting each arpeggio descend and cello ache organically. Nothing about this album can be called pretentious, overwrought or overwhelming, its performances hold a power that is emotionally resonant and deeply comforting."

Track List:
1. Vali - Naar Vinden Graater
2. Vali - Dypt Inne I Skogen
3. Vali - Et Ensomt Minne
4. Vali - Nordlysets Dans
5. Vali - Lengsel
6. Vali - Sorg
7. Vali - Skumringens Omfang
8. Vali - Her Ute I Moerkret
9. Vali - Taake
10. Vali - Doedens Evige Kall

Download: Vali - Forlatt
Download size: 45 MB zip file

the Fuzztones - Braindrops

"The first time was finding out what I'm all about... had to twist you're arm...third times a charm"
Year of Release: 1991
Label: Music Maniac Records
Genre: Psychedelic Rock

Braindrops is the third album by the psychedelic phenomenon, the Fuzztones. The group sets the tone for this underrated release with the upbeat "Third Time's A Charm" and continue to rock you through to the end. Believe it or not, Rudi Protrudi and a new line-up of band members in 1991 somehow managed to pull of a third album that was surprisingly good! Their version of Love's classic "7 and 7 is" is outstanding. If you liked the previous acid-drenched, psychedelic madness that is the Fuzztones, I would suggest giving this a spin. It's all there...tambourines, 60s keyboard wizardry and that psyche/surf/garage fuzz that you've come to expect. It's no "Lysergic Emanations", but then what is?
Let me know what you think.

Download: the Fuzztones - Braindrops
Download size: 55 MB zip file

The Bells Shall Sound Forever

Year of Release: 2003
Label: Sweet Farewell
Genre: Apocalyptic Folk, Compilation

TThe Bells Shall Sound Forever is a wonderful tribute to the godfathers of apocalyptic folk, Current 93. Fifteen bands contribute deeply moving renditions of some of your favorite songs on this incredible collection. Their is no attempt to merely imitate the originals here. David Tibet's masterful prose shines throughout, while retaining the individual band's styles. With such strong writing, I suppose the work of covering a song isn't nearly as hard. I didn't really expect to like this collection of covers of my favorite band, but I must say this is a really well put together effort and I highly recommend it to fans and newcomers alike. The sound quality is amazing. Below are the lyrics to "Soft Black Stars", just one of the sadly romantic tunes contained within. Enjoy.

Little children snuggle under soft black stars
And if you look into their eyes soft black stars
Deliver them from the book and the letter and the word
And let them read the silence bathed in soft black stars
Let them trace the raindrops under soft black stars
Let them follow whispers and scare away the night
Let them kiss the featherbreath of soft black stars
And let them ride their horses licked by the wind and the snow
And tip-toe into twilight where we all one day will go
Caressed with tenderness and with no fear at all
Their faces shining river gold brushed by soft black stars
And angels' wings shall soothe their cares
And all the birds shall sing at dawn
Blessed and wet with joy
You and i will meet one day
Under the night sky lit by soft black stars

Track List:
1 Sonne - Hagal The Death Of The Corn (4:31)
2 Paradis - Calling For Vanished Faces I (2:40)
3 Dorien Campbell - A Sadness Song (3:56)
4 Vequinox - Earth Covers Earth (4:28)
5 Engelsstaub - Happy Birthday Pigface Christus (3:22)
6 Cawatana - A Song For Douglas After He's Dead (4:45)
7 Storm Of Capricorn - Crowleymass (4:25)
8 Der Feuerkreiner - Soft Black Stars (4:20)
9 Well Of Sadness - The Dogun (4:06)
10 Pancreatic Aardvarks - Judas As Black Moth (4:39)
11 Leisur Hive - Immortal Bird (4:33)
12 Lisa Toulouse - Christ And The Pale Queens (Mushroom Clouds Vision) (7:17)
13 Weihan - All The Pretty Little Horses (2:53)
14 Exit - The Blue Gates Of Death (5:43)
15 Decadence - Ach Golgota (Es Ist Vollbracht) (4:14)

Download: The Bells Shall Sound Forever
Download size: 65 MB

Various Artists - Attack of the One-Man Bands

Attack of the One-Man Bands is exactly that, 58 different one-man bands spread over two discs of raw, crude, and fascinatingly brilliant blasts of sonic madness. So unhinged that it's probably a serious health risk, this set delivers cut after cut of glorious bedlam with all the subtlety of an amplified jackhammer set loose in a glass house. Each of these one-man bands is currently active, and while most are decidedly lo-fi, even the ones who wandered into real studios seem to treat them like giant boom boxes. While a good deal of what is here is vicious punk rockabilly like Phillip Roebuck's crude, spare, and dangerously kinetic "Jackass Blues" or Pete Yorko & the One Man Music Band's "Like Me" assault, some of it, like Royer's One Man Band's version of the fiddle classic "Train on the Island" or 1Man Banjo's deconstruction of "Mole in the Ground" (simply called "Mole" here), is seriously bent and skewed bluegrass mountain music. Trainwreck Washington's banjo piece called "Walked All Night" sounds like an old wax cylinder field recording, and feels like it was recorded a hundred years ago. Uncle Butcher's "No Judge, No Trial" is as raw and unhinged as they come. Then there's the Amazing Elephant Man's primal "Can't Go Outside," which is literally a child's frustrated rant given rhythm and electricity. Scary, unsettling, fascinating, delightful, vital, urgent and insistent, these 58 tracks are somehow oddly comforting despite all their abrasiveness.

Year of Release: 2007
Label: Rock N Roll Purgatory
Genre: Punk, Blues, Bluegrass
Bitrate: 128kbps

Track List:
1. I Know I'm Gonna Die Tonight (But I Don't Care) - Foul, Al
2. Been Tellin' Lies - Bloodshot Bill
3. Jackass Blues - Roebuck, Phillip
4. Milwaukee Blues - Tussing, Rollie
5. If You Love Me - Lonesome Joseph
6. You Can't Fool Me [Live] - Slim Sandy
7. Walkin' and A-Steppin' in the Fire - King Louie
8. Howlin' - "Haunted" George
9. Stay out and Down - Sachtrash
10. Troublin' Time - Fredovitch One Man Band
11. Mole - 1Man Banjo
12. I Fuckin' Suck (In G Maj.) - Toothless George
13. Train on the Island - Royer's One Man Band
14. Long Gone, Dead and Done - Dead Elvis & The One Man Grave
15. Wild Party - Mr. Bonz One Man Band
16. Introducing Chuck Violence - Chuck Violence
17. Lust - Dennis Hopper Choppers
18. Rhythm & Soul - Riddlebarger, Bram & His Lonesome Band
19. Walked All Night - Trainwreck Washington
20. Preacher's Daughter - Ghostwriter
21. Que Viva La Chava - Strange, Esmerelda
22. Lying in State - Marinelli, J.
23. Too Much Bad in My Blood (To Be Good) - Big One Man Band
24. When You're Far Away - Long Boy Larsen
25. I'm Buried Alive - Mississippi Grover
26. Drinking Every Night - Twang Tango
27. Purgatory Rock - Slow Poisoner
28. Kyleeee - Stringybark McDowell
29. Hang On - BBQ
30. Nothing to Do - Novak, Jeffrey
31. Snake Boy Lives in the Mississippi - El Paso Hot Button
32. Abscond - Jensen, Skip & His Shakin' Feet
33. Fuck Me I'm Poor - Guitar Fucker
34. Bloddy Fucking Cunt - Reverend Beat-Man
35. Rock N' Roll Party with the One Man Band - Schooley, John
36. You Got to Love - Fabulous Go-Go Boy From Alabama
37. I Don't Give a Fuck - King Automatic
38. Lo Ride - Ottoboy The One Man Trash Band
39. The Lord Told Me You Got Fat - Brennan's, Reverend J.
40. Revenge - Feeling Of Love
41. Music for the Asses - Urban Junior
42. Bad Anna - Limbs
43. No Judge, No Trial - Uncle Butcher
44. Angry Heart - Junior Disorder
45. Black Bowtie - Sheriff Perkins
46. Plow You Under - Biram, Scott H.
47. Who's Gonna Rub Me? - Rod, Margaret Doll
48. You're Wrong - Almighty Do Me A Favor
49. Business - Lone Bird
50. Like Me - Yorko, Pete & The One Man Music Band
51. Little Darling - Lowebow, Johnny
52. Hellfire Down - Reverend Deadeye
53. Alien Novelty Song - Rocket Craig
54. Laser Beams - Mosquito Bandito
55. Guitarra Míssil - O Lendario Chucrobillyman
56. Can't Go Outside - Amazing Elephant Man
57. So Alone - One Hand Man
58. Do Your Own Thing - Cancer, Johnny

Download: Attack of the One-Man Bands (CD1) (69MB)
Download: Attack of the One-Man Bands (CD2) (69MB)

Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas - Audiobook

Year of Release: 2005
Label: Recorded Books
Genre: Audiobook, Gonzo Journalism


Today being "patriot day" here in the states and the anniversary of the fall of the twin towers, I thought I might take a brief pause from the music to share with you a bit of American literature. This, the audiobook version of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream", by the late Hunter S. Thompson is an amazing listen. If you loved the book, film or even if *gasp* you are unfamiliar with Thompson's work, I highly recommend this recording. It is done in a "seeing ear" theater style, in which sound effects accompany the narrative to better immerse you in the story.
But our trip was different. It was a gross, physical salute to the fantastic possibilities of life in this country - but only for those with true grit
"Giant bats and blotter acid,
cocaine and bright lights:
the late Gonzo journalist
left behind an incredible
chronicle of drug-soaked,
addle-brained,
rollicking good times.
This tale of a long
weekend road trip is
considered one of the
strangest journeys ever taken
in American pop culture..." -AudioFile


Download: Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas
Download size: 84 MB zip

Black Flag - Damaged

Year of Release: 1981
Label: SST
Genre: Hardcore

1. Rise Above
2. Spray Paint
3. Six Pack
4. What I See
5. TV Party
6. Thirsty and Miserable
7. Police Story
8. Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie
9. Depression
10. Room 13
11. Damaged II
12. No More
13. Padded Cell
14. Life of Pain
15. Damaged I

While my previous post, "Just West Coast", was a collection of microtonal compositions performed on guitar and harp, This west coast harcore band also made interesting use of microtonal intervals and odd tempo changes. Greg Ginn, the guitarist and only constant in the band throughout the years, was a fan of freeform jazz and made heavy use of microtonal structures in his guitar solos. This, their debut studio album, was simply astounding. The raw, heavy, garage sound pumped out by the band, accompanied by Henry Rollins howling vocal assault cut straight to the bone. Essentially, this seems an album of protest songs aimed at the lazy, disaffected youth of the day...songs about misery, pain, desperation and self-destruction. The band toured relentlessly during the eighties, put out several independently released albums and inspiring local bands to never give up. There influence seems to continually spread. I have asked myself, over the years, why Black Flag? What does it mean to fly a black flag? I believe the following quote sums it up nicely.

"Why is our flag black? Black is a shade of negation. The black flag is the negation of all flags. It is a negation of nationhood which puts the human race against itself and denies the unity of all humankind. Black is a mood of anger and outrage at all the hideous crimes against humanity perpetrated in the name of allegiance to one state or another. It is anger and outrage at the insult to human intelligence implied in the pretenses, hypocrisies, and cheap chicaneries of governments.

Black is also a color of mourning; the black flag which cancels out the nation also mourns its victims the countless millions murdered in wars, external and internal, to the greater glory and stability of some bloody state. It mourns for those whose labo r is robbed (taxed) to pay for the slaughter and oppression of other human beings. It mourns not only the death of the body but the crippling of the spirit under authoritarian and hierarchic systems; it mourns the millions of brain cells blacked out with never a chance to light up the world. It is a color of inconsolable grief.

But black is also beautiful. It is a color of determination, of resolve, of strength, a color by which all others are clarified and defined. Black is the mysterious surrounding of germination, of fertility, the breeding ground of new life which always evolves, renews, refreshes, and reproduces itself in darkness. The seed hidden in the earth, the strange journey of the sperm, the secret growth of the embryo in the womb all these the blackness surrounds and protects.

So black is negation, is anger, is outrage, is mourning, is beauty, is hope, is the fostering and sheltering of new forms of human life and relationship on and with this earth. The black flag means all these things. We are proud to carry it, sorry we hav e to, and look forward to the day when such a symbol will no longer be necessary."
~Howard Ehrlich

Download: Black Flag - Damaged
Download size: 31 MB zip file

Blog News - The Era of Psycho Cat Is Upon Us

I would like to apologize for my recent lack of activity. As some of you already know, I recently started a new job, and I have had to adjust to the change. The long hours I have been putting in had taken a toll on me; I was very ill and I also needed to catch up on some much needed sleep. I would like to thank Psycho Cat for stepping up and keeping the blog rolling. I feel guilty for not making a proper post concerning the roll he will be playing here before now, but I suppose a delayed message is better than none at all.

I started this blog almost two years ago to the day, and during that time I have been the only regular contributor to this blog. I have kept an eye out for a regular contributor for a long time now, and I finally found the right person for the job. I met Psycho Cat on the Digital Meltd0wn social network, where he has been a major contributor from the start. Fortunately for us all he accepted my invitation to become a regular contributor here. I'm sure that you all will be delighted with the music he will be sharing here in the future. I can assure you that his musical taste is diverse and unquestionably good, and his presence here will make Digital Meltd0wn better than I could ever make it on my own.

Thank you Psycho Cat for accepting my invitation to be a permanent part of Digital Meltd0wn. It truly means a lot to me, and I look forward to working with you in the future.

The Electric Moog Orchestra - Music From Star Wars

One of the visitors here requested the album 'Music From Close Encounters of the Third Kind', which I was able to find and post here. This would be my introduction to the Electric Moog Orchestra, and as a fan of early electronic moog synthesizer, it was a pleasant discovery indeed. While doing research on the group, I was excited to learn that they had also released other albums in the same vein. That excitement reached a peak when I discovered that they had released 'Music From Star Wars', which happens to be one of my favorite movies. Up until this point I was only able to find a couple of mp3 files from the ablum, which only wet my appetite for more. After searching high and low I finally managed to get my hands on this little gem.

I'm sure that you are all familiar with the original music from Star Wars, written and conducted by the legendary John Williams. The original songs were very powerful and brass-heavy. In contrast, these songs tend to be more erratic by nature. The songs usually mirror the original at the start, but at times they trail off into a more loosely orchestrated and abstract sound. The moog synthesizer obviously contributes to the more 'spaced out' sound, and while it isn't as complimentary on this album as it was on Music From Close Encounters, it certainly doesn't detract from the overall concept.

The low point of this album for me would have to be the 'Imperial Attack' track. I love the moog synthesizer, but I feel that it just isn't capable of creating that feeling of impending doom the way brass instruments can. However, the moog really shines on 'Cantina Band', which was easily my favorite track on this album. If you're a fan of either Star Wars, or early synthesizer music, then do yourself a favor and download this.

Year of Release: 1977
Label: Musicor Records
Genre: Electronic, Experimental
Bitrate: 256kbps

Track List:
1. Main Title
2. Princess Leia's Theme
3. Imperial Attack
4. Ben's Death and Tie Fighter Attack
5. Cantina Band
6. The Throne Room and End Titles

Download: The Electric Moog Orchestra - Music From Star Wars
Download Size: 42MB

Just West Coast

Year of Release: 1993
Label: Bridge
Genre: Classical, 20th century

1. Suite No. 2: 1. Jahla - John Schneider/Amy Shulman/Gene Sterling
2. Suite No. 2: 2. Waltz For Evelyn Hinrichsen - John Schneider/Amy Shulman
3. Suite No. 2: 3. Therenody - John Schneider/Amy Shulman
4. Suite No. 2: 4. Son in Ishartum - John Schneider/Amy Shulman
5. Suite No. 2: 5. Beverly's Troubadour Piece - John Schneider/Amy Shulman/Gene Sterling
6. Sarabande - John Schneider/Amy Shulman
7. Two Studies On Ancient Greek Scales: Study on Olympos' Pentatonic - John Schneider/Amy Shulman
8. Two Studies On Ancient Greek Scales: Study on Archytas' Enharmonic - John Schneider/Amy Shulman
9. 8 Hitchhikers' Inscription: 1. Today I Am A Man - John Schneider
10. 8 Hitchhikers' Inscription: 2. Gentlemen - John Schneider
11. 8 Hitchhikers' Inscription: 3. Considered Pretty - John Schneider
12. 8 Hitchhikers' Inscription: 4. A Very Good Idea - John Schneider
13. 8 Hitchhikers' Inscription: 5. Possible Rides - John Schneider
14. 8 Hitchhikers' Inscription: 6. Jesus Was God In The Flesh - John Schneider
15. 8 Hitchhikers' Inscription: 7. You Lucky Women - John Schneider
16. 8 Hitchhikers' Inscription: 8. Why In Hell Did You Come? - John Schneider
17. Dream - John Schneider/Amy Shulman
18. In A Landscape - John Schneider/Amy Shulman
19. Six Sonatas: 1. Moderato - John Schneider/Amy Shulman
20. Six Sonatas: 2. Allegro - John Schneider/Amy Shulman
21. Six Sonatas: 3. Moderato - John Schneider/Amy Shulman
22. Six Sonatas: 4. Allegro - John Schneider/Amy Shulman
23. Six Sonatas: 5. Moderato - John Schneider/Amy Shulman
24. Six Sonatas: 6. Allegro - John Schneider/Amy Shulman

Just West Coast is a beautiful collection of microtonal compositions by John Cage, Lou Harrison, Harry Partch, La Monte Young. The performers being the classical guitarist John Schneider, Amy Schulman on the harp, Gene Sterling and the Just Strings Orchestra. While conventional western music relies on equally spaced semitones (the smallest musical interval AKA a half step), microtonal music uses much smaller intervals. Microtonal music does not rely on a system of 12 equal intervals to the octave or tradititonal tunings of the instruments. The tones produced together by the guitar and harp (with the occasional percussion) are so pure and straightforward. The simplicity of this music is decieveing, as it is elaborately constructed and branches off into territories that typical western listeners are unfamiliar with. Tracks 9-16, the hitchhikers' inscription, is a spoken word piece read over soft music that seems oddly out of place on this collection. Most of the songs drift and weave their way around oddly tuned melodies with the occasional bit of percussion. Great music for inspiration or daydreaming, here. I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of microtonal music and look forward to discovering more. If anyone has further recommendations, please leave them in the comments.



Download: Just West Coast
Download size: 56 MB zip file

VA - Chop Suey Rock Vol. 2 More Songs About the Orient

Get out your chopsticks, it's time for a second helping of tasty, orient-inspired rock! If you liked the first installment of Chop Suey rock, then you will love this one also. It's fun, fun, fun! Twangy guitars, banging gongs and screamin' Jay Hawkins saxophones will have you howling, "I'm turning Japanese!"

Year of Release: unknown
Label: Hot And Sour Records
Genre: Rock
Style: Grindhouse

Track List:
CD 1:
1. Rodney and the Blazers - Oriental Nightmare
2. Billy Joyce Combo - Twistin' In Hong Kong
3. Eddie Baxter - Fortune Cookie - Pt. 1
4. The Dazzlers - Clazy
5. Johnny and the Blue Jays - Japanese Rock
6. The Quarter Notes - Suki Yaki Rock!
7. Eddie Artwood and the Goodies - Hot Saki

CD 2
1. Hy Tones - Chinese Boogie
2. Screamin' Jay Hawkins - Hong Kong
3. The Tabbys - Hong Kong Baby
4. The Torkays - Karate
5. The Sounds - Charlie Chan
6. The Four Pharaohs - China Girl
7. Nitecaps - Bamboo Rock n Roll


Download: Chop Suey Rock 2
Download size: 43 MB (zip file)

VA - Chop Suey Rock Vol. 1 Songs About The Orient

A really fun collection of rhythm and blues, surf and doo-wop. Break out the hot saki and have a blast listening to these zany, politically incorrect songs inspired by the orient.

Track List:
CD 1:
1. The Instrumentals - Chop Suey Rock
2. Doug Cornell & The Hot Rods - Hong Kong Rock
3. Lester Laundree & His Society Four - Chopstick Cha Cha
4. The Hong Kongs - Surfin' In The China Sea
5. The Quarter Notes - Oriental Rock
6. The Invictas - Singapore Sling
7. Ken Nordine & His Kinsmen - Hot Saki

CD 2:
1. The Antennas - Fuji Yama Mama
2. Melvin Smith - Zaki Sue
3. The Lasalles - Chopsticks
4. Bernie Turner & The Armorettes - Ching Ching Wong
5. The Prophets - Japanese Twist
6. The Glad Rags - My China Doll
7. The Five Chances - Nagasaki


Year of Release: unknown
Label: Hot And Sour Records
Genre: Rock, R&B
Style: Grindhouse

Download: Chop Suey Rock - Songs About The Orient Vol. 1
Download size: 62MB (.zip file)

the Beachles - Sgt. Petsounds

Year of Release: 2006
Label: n/a
Genre: mashup

Track Listing:
1. Wouldn’t Sgt. Petsound Be Nice?
2. You Still Believe in My Friends
3. That’s Not Lucy
4. Don’t Talk (Get Better)
5. I’m Fixing It, Dayhole
6. She’s Going Away for Awhile
7. Being for the Benefit of Sloop John B!
8. God Only Knows What I’d Be Within You
9. I Know There’re Sixty-Four Answers
10. Today, Rita
11. I Just Wasn’t Made for Good Mornings
12. Sgt. Petsound’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprieve)
13. A Day in the Life of Caroline
14. Runout Groove

Sgt. Petsounds is a phenomenal mashup of the Beach Boys "pet sounds" and the Beatles " Sgt. Peppers" albums. Matching track for track, this is an incredibly complex mashup that combines the two albums in some very clever ways. I have listened to this mashup countless times, and I never get tired of it. I would advise listening on headphones (at least the first time). Sgt. Petsounds was created by Clayton Counts and released on his blog. It became a huge success in short order and Clayton received a cease and desist order from EMI records shortly thereafter. Clayton removed the release from his blog, but it lives on via many other music blogs and torrent sites. I hope you enjoy this one as much as I have.




Download: Sgt. Petsounds part 1
Download size: 53.1 MB

Download: Sgt. Petsounds part 2
Download size: 41.07 MB

Quote of the day

Music is everybody's possession.
It's only publishers who think that people own it.
~John Lennon

Viper Mad Blues - 25 songs of dope and depravity

Year of Release: 1991
Label: Mojo Records
Genre: Jazz, Blues

Track Listing:
1. Kickin' The Gong Around - Cab Calloway & His Cotton Club Orchestra
2. Dope Head Blues - Victoria Spivey
3. Cocaine Habit Blues - The Memphis Jug Band
4. Pipe Dream Blues - Hazel Meyers
5. Smoking Reefers - Larry Adler
6. Take A Whiff On Me - Leadbelly
7. Killin' Jive - The Cats & The Fiddle
8. You'se A Viper - Stuff Smith & His Onyx Club Boys
9. The Stuff Is Here And It's Mellow - Cleo Brown
10. Reefer Man - Baron Lee & The Blue Rhythm Band
11. The Onyx Hop - Frankie Newton & His Uptown Serenaders
12. Knockin' Myself Out - Lil Green
13. Junker's Blues - Champion Jack Dupree
14. Reefer Hound Blues - Curtis Jones
15. The Reefer Song - Fats Waller
16. I'm Feeling High And Happy - Gene Krupa & His Orchestra
17. When I Get Low, I Get High - Chick Webb & His Orchestra
18. Ol' Man River (Smoke A Little Tea) - Cootie Williams & His Rug Cutter
19. Blue Reefer Blues - Richard M. Jones & His Jazz Wizards
20. Cocaine - Dick Justice
21. Reefer Head Woman - Jazz Gillum & His Jazz Boys
22. Willie The Weeper - Frankie 'Halfpint' Jaxon
23. Cocaine Blues - Luke Jordan
24. Blue Drag - Freddy Taylor & His Swing Men From Harlem
25. A Viper's Moan - Willie Bryant & His Orchestra

Viper: One who smokes gage AKA tea or marijuana. Usually also a member of the Jazz sub-culture.

This is an exceptional collection of jazz era songs about drug use from some of the biggest names in the business. Cab Calloway, Gene Krupa, Fats Waller and a host of other great musical acts from the 20s, 30 and 40s. Though there are a few songs about cocaine, mostly this is an assortment of "reefer songs".

Reefer songs were primarily a black phenomenon, played by black musicians to black crowds and at the time, marijuana, or "tea" was referred to as "that drug that white people are scared of". Hundreds of "tea pads" flourished in the Harlem area in the 20s and 30s. Tea pads were similar to speakeasies, only they were usually set up in apartments and had really low prices. In these tea pads, they say you could get high for a mere quarter! I can just imagine all the cool cats lounging around talking, smoking and listening to these songs.


Download: Viper Mad Blues Pt. one
Download size: 56.43 MB

Download: Viper Mad Blues Pt. two
Download size: 53.03 MB

David Byrne & Brian Eno - Everything That Happens Will Happen Today

Princess Tinymeat - Herstory

Princess Tinymeat was formed by Haa-Lacka Bintii *AKA* Daniel Figgiss. Figgiss was a drummer / keyboard player with the Virgin Prunes in the early '80s. With bandmates Tom Rice and Sissybox they released three Singles and a compilation album as Princess Tinymeat.

Their big hits in the clubs at the time were "Devilcock!" and the "Angels In Pain" 12", featuring lyrics lifted from the W. B. Yeats poem "The Song of Wandering Aengus", the last stanza of which reads:
Though I am old with wandering
Through hollow lands and hilly lands,
I will find out where she has gone
And kiss her lips and take her hands;
And walk among long dappled grass,
And pluck till time and times are done
The silver apples of the moon,
The golden apples of the sun.

Daniel Figgiss has since become a solo experimental musician and composer under his own name. Here is a link to his personal webspace. This is a great collection of 7" and 12" releases that is sure to please your inner 80s club kid.

Label: Rough Trade
Year of Release: 1987
Genre: Electro, noise, atmosphere

1. Lucky Bag
2. Angels In Pain
3. Sloblands
4. A Bun In The Oven
5. Jay Gone Bimbo
6. Put It There
7. The Fairest Of Them All
8. Wigs On The Green
9. Devilcock!


Download: Princess Tinymeat - Herstory
Download size: 72.39 MB

The Shamen - Drop

Link Fixed 8/22/08

Year of Release: 1987
Label: Moksha
Genre: Alternative
Style: Psychedelic Pop

Track Listing:
1. "Something About You"
2. "Passing Away"
3. "Young 'til Yesterday"
4. "World Theatre"
5. "Through With You"
6. "Where Do You Go"
7. "Do What You Will"
8. "Happy Days"
9. "Through My Window"
10. "Velvet Box"
11. "I Don't Like The Way The World Is"
12. "Other Side"
13. "Four Letter Girl"
14. "The Other Side"

Before Scottish group The Shamen hit it big with dance tunes like "move any mountain" and producing thumping acid house, they were a great psychedelic rock band. The music on this release doesn't have that raw feel of garage, but a more refined polished studio sound reminiscent of bands like Love or Pink Floyd. This is a great collection of songs about perception, mind expansion,mysticism and yes, politics. They had this great way of layering the guitars over the beat and utilizing various textures and tones that worked very well with their softly sung lyrical harmonies. All in all, this is a nice glimpse into the mind of the group before they discovered ecstasy and became a techno trance machine. I appreciate this release more than any of there later material because the musicianship involved. The dance albums they went on to produce, while good, seem so automated in comparison.

Link fixed!
Download: The Shamen - Drop
Download size: 66.87 MB

Tiny Tim - Songs Of An Impotent Troubadour

Tiny Tim
Songs of an Impotent Troubadour

Year of Release:
Label: World Serpent
Genre: Acoustic
Style: acoustic, spoken-word, comedy

Track Listing:
1. Welcome To Tiny Tim's World
2. The Ice Skaters Song - 1994
3. Poem For Elizabeth Taylor - 1947
4. You're The Only One - Song For Elizabeth Taylor
5. Tiny Tim's Search For The Magic Princess
6. The Destruction Of The Captain America Collection
7. Tiny Tim's Quest For Elizabeth Taylor
8. When I'm Feeling Sad - 1948
9. Jane - 1948
10. Our Little Secret - 1958
11. Stephanie - 1958
12. Pretty Baby - 1958
13. Don't Call Me Anymore - 1958
14. Whispering Voices - 1958
15. Heaven Only Knows - 1958
16. Dear Tuesday - 1960
17. Tiny Tim At The Café Bizarre
18. Hello Ellie Halsey - 1963
19. Tiny Tim At Page Three
20. If I Could Ride A Spaceship - 1964
21. Tiny Tim Records His 78 Classics
22. Spoiled - 1964
23. Just Another Girl Called Judy - 1964
24. Tiny Tim Receives "Siddhartha" From Miss Bluebell
25. The Tragedy Of Romance
26. Introducing Miss Dixie!
27. Forever Miss Dixie - 1982
28. Tiny Tim Meets The Eternal Princess
29. Jessica Hahn I - 1989
30. I Used To Love Jessica Hahn, But Now I Love Stephanie Bohn - 1990
31. Jessica Hahn II - 1989
32. Santa Claus Has Got The Aids This Year - 1980
33. She Left Me With The Herpes - 1980
34. The Ballad Of An Impotent Troubadour - 1995 - Tiny Tim
35. Just What Do You Mean By 'Antichrist'? - Tiny Tim with Current 93 and Nurse With Wound

An excerpt from the inner sleeve of this disc...
~An Impotent Troubadour~
~A Valentine's Message From Tiny Tim~
"Why do I call myself by that name? Because it is true. However, I still yearn and love to sing love songs to young, beautiful girls.
My private parts may not function too well, but my heart for love and romance is on fire.
May this message give encouragement to those who are impotent -
To keep singing
Even if your bell stops ringing..."

This is the real Tiny Tim baring his soul and pouring his heart out for all to hear. These are all orignal songs, stories and poems
not only performed by the man himself, but with introductions and history surrounding the material and how the songs relate to his real life experiences.
Tiny Tim was a real storyteller and I can only imagine how fascinating it would have been to meet him. Song #35, however, is a bit different and seem a bit out of place here. In a 1995 telephone conversation with David Tibet, Tim gives us his thoughts on the anti-christ, the second coming of Christ and life on other planets.
This is all mixed with the sort of creepy electronic noise that listeners of Nurse With Wound or Current 93 will be familiar with.
After a minute of silence there is another spoken bit, this time in a studio, where Tim talks of the worlds need for love.
God bless Tiny Tim.


Download: Tiny Tim - Songs of an Impotent Troubadour
Download size: 70.12 MB

Introductions

Hello to the Digital Meltdown blog readers!
Allow me to take a quick moment and introduce myself to everyone. Psycho Cat, here. I'm a steady reader of the blog, a dedicated husband / bartender / psychoanalyst. I love a wide variety of music, art and artists. I'm also one of the worst guitar players in the world.

We have something special here at Digital Meltdown and I'm excited to say that I'm now going to be a solid part of it! I'll be contributing to the blog a couple of days a week, possibly more. (or until I get voted off the island.)

I wish in closing this brief introduction to thank Zer0_II for single-handedly maintaining this blog over the past couple of years, and giving me an opportunity to get involved.

Purple Fluid Exchange - Pernicious Nonsense

Year of Release: 1990
Label: Naked Brain
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: Breakbeat, Synth-pop, Indie Rock, Ambient

gogglbox side:
1. S.O.S.
2. Disinformation Rise And Shine
3. Flowered Up
4. Iguana Trifle
halfbaked side:
5. Killer Teens In New Orleans
6. Falling Fruit
7. Radiation / John Wayne Was A Fag

The Purple Fluid Exchange (PFX) is an alias used by the band Gaye Bykers On Acid (GBOA), particularly on their more dance oriented releases. GBOA was formed in 1986 and were one of the early English bands to really bridge the gap between rock and hip hop. The orginal members were Robber (Robbie Byker), guitarist Tony and Kevin Hyde on drums. Mary Millington (Mary, Mary) performed vocals. DJ Rocket Ronnie later joined the group on the turntables.

Their stage presence fused Hell's Angels grittiness with decadent 60s psychedelia. Their frontman, Mary Millington, sported tall platform shoes, wild dresses and all manner of psychedelic glasses, goggles, makeup and wigs. PFX wasn't their only alter-ego, either. They frequently opened for themselves as an Aussie band, The Lesbian Dopeheads On Mopeds, or the eastern European thrash metal group Rektum. To say these guys had a sense of humor would be an understatement. The first 1,000 copies of the 1987 LP "Drill Your Own Hole" actually required listeners to drill their own hole in the center of the LP!

Filled with crazy synth work, tons of samples and funky beats, this disc is an all-out psychedelic dance party. The inside cover art even shows a sheet of acid!
Enjoy responsibly.

Download: The Purple Fluid Exchange - Pernicious Nonsense
Download size: 36.51 MB

Phantom Chords - Johnny Remember Me 12" CD Single

Year of Release: 1990
Label: M&G Polydor Records LTD
Genre: Rockabilly

Track Listing:
1. Johnny Remember Me
2. Ghost Train
3. Relentless

Another single for an unreleased album. This one is from The Phantom Chords, which I played constantly, patiently waiting for an LP that never came out. Great haunting sounds from Dave Vanian and his new band.

History:
Dave Vanian and Roman Jugg of The Damned formed The Phantom Chords in 1988. Having become bored with The Damned and wanting to play music they really could relate to, the two began writing songs and by 1990 had secured a deal with M&G Polydor records. That year, the band's debut single "Johnny Remember Me" was released and the band, sporting a cool rockabilly attitude and doing mostly cover songs, played quite a few sold-out shows. Sadly, within a few months M&G Polydor dropped the band from their label before a second single could be released. Much time and effort had went into writing and recording songs for the debut album, which now would not be released because M&G Polydor owned the material.

Two one-sided acetates exist of the unreleased debut album, and are available only as a bootleg.

Download: The Phantom Chords - Johnny Remember Me 12"
Download size: 10.49 MB

The Rose Of Avalanche - A Peace Inside

The Rose of Avalanche
A Peace Inside 3" CD

Year of Release: 1989
Label: Avalantic Records
Genre: indie

Track Listing:
1. A Peace Inside
2. The Eden Skies
3. Can You See This Life
4. In At The Deep End

This E.P. represents a departure of style by Rose Of Avalanche following the loss of guitarist Glen Schulz and bass player Nicol McKay. This was a time of serious change for the band, as evidenced by the material on this disc. The doom and gloom of their previous sound is gone and these new songs are upbeat and clear, with catchy guitar hooks and introspective lyrics sung in Phil Morris characteristic vocal style. The band even refers to themselves on the back cover as "The Rose". The band was back to stay, with a new name and ready to rock, or so it seemed.

Unfortunately, this was right about the time that the major record companies recognized that hit indie singles could really sell albums and created their own 'indie' labels. The records, however, had nothing to do with independent companies and the indie charts became largely irrelevant over the next few years. Though this four song EP remains my favorite release by the group, it also signified the nearing of the end. For The Rose Of Avalanche, 1990 saw a new lineup and a new CD..."string 'a' beads'. It was similar in style to this E.P., but just wasn't a commercial success. After one final release entitled "I.C.E.", the band called it quits.

Download: The Rose Of Avalanche - A Peace Inside
Download size: 16.45 MB

KPM1104 | Delia Derbyshire - Electrosonic

Electrosonic (aka KPM1104)is a 1972 KPM Library record electronic music pioneer Delia Derbyshire made with Brian Hodgson and Don Harper while moonlighting from day jobs at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. One of the most enigmatic albums in the KPM sound library of the early 70s,a haunting batch of spare electronic tracks by Delia Derbyshire, who is best remembered for her musical work for the Dr Who! television series. The tracks here are far more mellow and contemplative than her previous work. Most numbers are short and built around simple, spare themes played by Delia with a gently flowing approach that's often quite melodic, even though the tunes themselves echo with a fair bit of darkness. The overall sound isn't as funky as you might expect from other KPM releases, but it more than makes up for that with an incredible array of sounds, techniques, and odd little notes, all of which come across with a "voice" that's far different than some of Delia's better known electronic music contemporaries.

Year of Release: 1972
Label: KPM Library (Catalog KPM1104)
Genre: Electronic, Experimental, Library
Bitrate: 192kbps

Track List:
1. Quest
2. Quest (Fast)
3. Computermatic
4. Frontier To Knowledge
5. The Pattern Emerges
6. Freeze Frame
7. Plodding Power
8. Busy Microbes
9. Liquid Energy
10. Liquid Energy (Bubbling Rhythm)
11. No Man's Land
12. Depression
13. Nightwalker
14. Electrostings
15. Electrobuild
16. Celestial Cantabile
17. Effervescence
18. The Wizards Laboratory
19. Shock Chords

Download: Delia Derbyshire - Electrosonic
Download Size: 41MB

King Khan & His Shrines - What Is?!

I apologize for the recent lack of updates. The Digital Meltd0wn network has kept me occupied recently, and I've had to take a couple of journeys recently also. I'm working on finding someone who would be willing to become a regular contributor here so that I can update as often as I have in the past. I've been trying to post a few more straight forward rock albums for those who might not be into the more experimental selections that I've posted recently, but rest assured that I will back to showcasing my eclectic taste once again soon.

King Khan is a tongue-in-cheek retro revivalist channeling the 13th Floor Elevators.. a Hindu James Brown fronting a dangerously funky garage rock/show band hybrid, a man who spews musical voodoo on par with the late, great Screamin' Jay Hawkins. The King is all that and more. While the last album (much more polished in it's production) leaned heavily on the 70's, 'What Is?!' takes another step back to the psychedelic 60's.

Retaining the funky, horn-laden ethos of the band with a garage rock twist, this album is painfully authentic sounding in it's raw production. You can practically close your eyes and see the lava lamp/black light posters and smell the hashish in groove-intensive tunes like '(How Can I Keep You) Outta Harms Way', 'I See Lights', 'No Regrets' and 'Le Fils De Jacques Dutronc'.

Throw in some equally fun moments of soul ('69 Faces of Love') and psychedelia ('Cosmic Serenade')and you've got the blueprint to the best key party ever. Khan and his Shrines obviously don't take themselves seriously and to properly enjoy this album, neither should you. While the musicianship on display is tight, this album is all about cutting loose.

Track List:
1. (How Can I Keep You) Outta Harms Way
2. I Wanna Be A Girl
3. Welfare Bread
4. Land Of The Freak
5. I See Lights
6. 69 Faces Of Love
7. No Regrets
8. Cosmic Serenade
9. Le Fils De Jacques Dutronc
10. Let Me Holler
11. In Your Grave
12. Take A Little Bit
13. Fear & Love
14. The Ballad Of Lady Godiva

Download: King Khan & His Shrines - What Is?!
Download Size: 68MB

BBQ - Tie Your Noose

In a world of roots-conscious two-person blues-punk combos, BBQ has raised the bar by proving you can do it all by your lonesome. Thanks to the magic of foot pedals, Mark Sultan handles both the guitar and the backbeat on his second album as BBQ, Tie Your Noose, and if his rhythmic style is a bit less elaborate than that of, say, Bantam Rooster or the Flat Duo Jets, his guitar work is both tough and melodic, and unlike most of his peers he's not afraid to let a natural sweetness show in his voice. The songs on Tie Your Noose have as much to do with rockabilly and classic soul as guitar-shot blues ("Don't You Hold Out on Me" sounds like a lost Sam Cooke number, and "Burn This Town" would do Johnny Burnette proud), while Sultan can make with the big rock or ease off into a lighter-impact approach with equal skill, giving this set a welcome sense of variety many blues-punk rockers lack. And while Ed La Rocque's low-rent engineering and production fall a bit short of hi-fi, they capture Sultan's live energy with no-frills accuracy and a low-tech sound that's warm and inviting.

Track List
1. C'mon and Love Me
2. Outta My Mind
3. Waddlin' Around
4. Year Old Wine
5. Don't Hold Out On Me
6. Tie Your Noose
7. Shake Real Low
8. Out Of Time
9. Hang It Up
10. Burn This Town
11. Justify
12. Record Machine

Download: BBQ - Tie Your Noose
Download Size: 30.5MB

News Concerning the Digital Meltd0wn Social Network

As some of you may already know, I recently created a social network for Digital Meltd0wn. It is intended to serve as a community where musicians, artists, and those who love art and music in general can meet and learn from one another. The network has been up for a couple of weeks now, and I'm happy to report that all is going well. Here are a few stats about the network for those interested:

Members: 76
Forum Discussions: 95
Songs: 141
Photos: 93
Videos: 57
Blog Posts: 13
Groups: 6

21 new members have signed up in the last week alone. There are a few additions that some of you may be interested in. I have created a forum category for music bloggers to promote their blogs and share updates. I have also created a group for independent writers, artists, and musicians to promote and share their work. There are also a few other surprises, but you'll have to visit the site to see what I'm talking about. If you are interested in learning more about art and music, or just looking to meet like-minded people, then please join our network:

http://digitalmeltd0wn.ning.com

VA - The Psychedelic Experience: Volume 2

This was re-upped as requested by Rob. Use the search box in the top left hand corner of the page if you're looking for the other volumes.

This is the second of four volumes in The Psychedelic Experience series. This compilation consists of ultra rare 60's psychedelic and garage punk. Many of this songs are only available on this collection, and were pulled from various 45s released around the United States during the 60's garage band explosion. An extremely limited number of these vinyl records were pressed, and even fewer managed to survive. Although most of the bands on this compilation would go on to vanish into obscurity, these tracks still sound impressive after all these years. The Psychedelic Experience doesn't disappoint with it's assortment of straight forward monster garage fuzz rock and roll.

Track List:
1. Decades - On Sunset
2. Higher Elevation - Odyssey
3. Monocles - Psychedelic
4. Waters - Mother Samwel
5. Trespassers - come With Me
6. Cave Dwellers - Meditation
7. Castaways - Just on High
8. Dirty Filthy Mud - The Forest of Black
9. Element - Open The Door To Your Mind
10. Elopers - Music To Smoke Bananas
11. Inner Light - Long Journey
12. Purple Underground - Count Back
13. Mirror's Image - No Loving Man
14. Joker's Wild - All I See Is U
15. Doppler Effect - God Is Alive In Argentina
16. Essex St. Journal - Progression 256
17. Sherman Marshall - Realization of Life
18. Unsettled Society - 17 Diamond Studded Cadillacs
19. Quiet Jungle - Ship Of Dreams
20. Knightsbridge Quintet - Sorrow In C Major
21. Raving Madd - Boundaries
22. East Side Kids - Close Your Mind
23. Ed Powers - Mourning
24. Trane - One Way Street

Download: VA - The Psychedelic Experience: Vol. 2 (84.52MB)

Sun City Girls - Carnival Folklore Resurrection Vol. 1: Cameo Demons and their Manifestations

I apologize for the lack of recent updates here. As some of you may already be aware, I've been working hard on the social network I created for Digital Meltd0wn last week. So far it's off to a good start, and hopefully I will have finished customized it to my liking by the end of the week. If you haven't had a chance to check it out, please do so. We would be honored if you could join us: http://digitalmeltd0wn.ning.com

Someone requested this album a while back, but I wasn't able to find it until recently. It was a limited edition release, with only 1,000 copies being distributed. I hope that you all enjoy this rare album from a very unique experimental band. Again, I should resume regular updates here by the end of the week. Thank you for your patience.

Year of Release: 2000
Label: Abduction
Genre: Experimental, Psychedelic
Bitrate: 128kbps

Track List:
1. Where Dead People Live
2. Garlic and Mirrors
3. OKAPI
4. Cameo Demons And Their Manifestations
5. Legendary Fingerprint Recognition
6. Lunar Gun-Point Recollections

Download: Sun City Girls - Carnival Folklore Resurrection Vol. 1: Cameo Demons and their Manifestations
Download Size: 37MB

I'll Be Offline For A Few Days

I wanted to let you all know that I will be offline for a few days. There is a small chance that I will post something during that time frame, but if not then I will return on the 21st. See you all soon. Take care.

Please Join the Digital Meltd0wn Social Network

I've begin working on a social network for Digital Meltd0wn. It is not intended to compete with any other social network, rather it will be a place for all of us music lovers to interact with one another and share music among other things. The network is fully functional at the moment, however I'm working quickly to improve as many things as possible in order to provide a more enjoyable experience there. I would be honored if you all join me there. For those of you who do decide to join, I could use a little help. At this point your suggestions and feedback would be a tremendous help. I'm working on coming up with a suitable name for the network instead of using the generic 'DM Social Network', so if you have any ideas please let me know. It would also be very helpful if you could upload music, videos, pictures, and create blog posts and groups - basically anything to make the network seem more alive. Inviting a few friends probably wouldn't hurt either. As I mentioned before, I have a lot of work to do, but I will do all I can to create a utopia for music lovers. Please refer to the links below if you are interested in becoming a part of this.

Digital Meltd0wn Social Network: http://digitalmeltd0wn.ning.com

Michael Pogo Kreiner & Vienna Sound Orchestra - E-Magic Flute

I found this gem on a blog which was recently started in May of this year titled Melloman. Upon reading the description posted there I was convinced this would be good, and upon hearing the first track I was in love. I have loved classical music since an early age, and more recently discovered a wealth of electronic, funk, and experimental music. This album takes elements of all four genres, and although it might sound like a very strange mix, the outcome is a very satisfying one. My time is short, but I wanted to share this with the visitors here as soon as I heard it. Fortunately there was a great review that came with the file, along with the description provided by the original poster. I have included both below, and hopefully they can give you a better description than I can at the present time. I'm sure that you all will enjoy this one.

Interesting mixture of styles. It has classical, with funky bass lines and hard beats with a 70's 80's disco funk feeling sometimes, also opera with electronic music, also used in hip hop with the MPC samplers, but those we're just samples. This one could get a good grade from you unless you are against blending various styles. I hope you enjoy it !!! - Melloman

E-MAGIC FLUTE is the electronic version of Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart's blockbuster opera "The Magic Flute". A
symphonic orchestra meets sequencer and rhythm section.
Vocal parts are filled in by a counter tenor, girl's
voices and some rare instruments like the balearic
bagpipes from Mallorca or the Bohemian glass harp.
This epic album is produced by POGO KREINER, Vienna based
composer, musician and co-bandleader of Madrid de Los
Austrias who has worked with such great artists like
Richard Dorfmeister, Nigel Hayes, Frankie Valentine,
Celia Mara or Yello besides being a marvellous musician,
both live on stage and in the studio. Pogo's special
skills are in crossing musical sound barriers and fusing
distant soundscapes to a new homogenous experience. Check
what he has done with traditional music from Andalusia
and contemporary club music for the Madrid de los
Austrias project and you know the score.
Listening to the "Vorspiel" (overture) we still find
Mozart's original partiture very present. But if you
listen on through the album, electronic elements are
taking over more and more until the "Finale" where full
electronic soundscapes dominate with only sparse
distorted quotations of the aria's woven in. This is a
journey through the times where elements of Austria's
musical heritage and contemporary sound trickery are
stripped down to their essence in order to meet again for
a new sound interpretation of Mozart's masterpiece. - Unknown


Track List:
01. Vorspiel
02. Papageno
03. Tamino (Part One)
04. Tamino (Part Two)
05. Zauberflöte
06. Königin Der Nacht
07. Pamina
08. Sarastro
09. Finale
10. Libretto

Download: Michael Pogo Kreiner & Vienna Sound Orchestra - E-Magic Flute
Download Size: 61MB

The Gun Club - Death Party

This was originally posted on the PunchDrunk blog, which unfortunately is no longer around. Gun Club's Death Party EP was issued in 1983 between 'Miami', the band's second album, and 'Las Vegas Story'. The recording also features a new and extremely short-lived lineup that featured guitarist Jim Duckworth (Panther Burns), drummer Dee Pop (Bush Tetras), a friend of his on bass named Jimmy Joe Uliana, and Pierce's then girlfriend Linda "Texacala" Jones on backing vocals. The five tracks could have been outtakes from Miami, powerful, dark rock of disillusionment, drug abuse, and warped sexuality. The pathos on the Gun Club's best records is missing here, but the quality of the songwriting makes up for it some. Certainly fans will want this. [In 2004, Sympathy for the Record Industry reissued the EP on compact disc with seven bonus tracks from a live performance on Radio Geneva. What's notable about it is Pierce's between-song banter, which is entertaining, snotty, and obviously intoxicated, and he plays piano on every tune. This gig is also the first recorded performance of bassist Patricia Morrison (aka Pat Bag from the L.A. punk quartet the Bags) with the band. (She would remain for years before leaving to join the Sisters of Mercy.) The material from the radio gig contains three tunes from Death Party, covers of "Run Through the Jungle" the old roots rock nugget "Heebie Jeebies," and Lewis Allan's "Strange Fruit," as well as a scorching rendition of "Fire of Love.

Year of Release: 1983/Reissued in 2004
Label: Sympathy For The Record Industry
Genre: Blues, Punk, Rock
Bitrate: 320kbps

Track List:
1. The House on Highland Ave.
2. The Lie
3. The Light Of The World (Live)
4. Death Party
5. Come Back Jim
6. Strange Fruit (Live)
7. Fire Of Love (Live)
8. The House On Highland Ave. (Live)
9. Death Party (Live)
10. Heebie Jeebies (Live)
11. The Lie (Live)
12. Run Through The Jungle (Live)

Download: The Gun Club - Death Party
Download Size: 129MB

VA - Powerpop Essentials

Happy birthday , man! You rock. now you are 28 ! yeah...you are realy old man..ha ha ha :) I made this great compilation special for your birthday, its my gift. This is an epic power pop non-filler comp you ever heard. Every single track is a masterpiece. I'm sure you have already known all of this tracks but now they all together in one comp. I took my favorite songs from my favorite power pop albums, so here it is. I hope you'll enjoy it.
And check out this funny scetchy artwork :)
Take care.


Track list

01 Nerves - Hanging on the Telephone
02 Pointed Sticks - The Real Thing
04 Shoes - Boys Don't Lie
05 22 20's - Yellow Pills
06 Breakaways - Walking Out On Love
07 Deep Six - Stay Right Here
08 Plimsouls - Hypnotized
09 Stems - Mr. Misery
10 Stiv Bators - It's Cool Outside
11 Jack Lee - Any Day Now
12 The Flamin Groovies - Shake Some Action
13 The Knack - My Sharona (Live)
14 The Late Show - So Happy
15 The Motors - Forget About You
17 The Rubinoos -Tonight
18 The Saints - Simple Love (original version)
19 Heroes - Some Kind Of Women

download - part1
part2

Happy Birthday To Me

My birthday is tomorrow (July 9th). For those wondering, I'll be 28 years old. Considering I'm isolated in a tiny research laboratory in Antarctica, I doubt that I will receive many presents. However, I will be celebrating by myself by drinking a few glasses from a bottle of wine that I've had tucked away, and only break out on special occasions, and I've even allotted myself half of a candy bar.

I don't usually ask for anything, but I'm going to make an exception on this occasion. If any of you are feeling generous, please upload some rare music of any sort, or make a compilation for me. If it's good enough I'll even pass it on to the visitors here. If you're interested in doing this, it doesn't have to be done by the 9th. Feel free to take as much time as you need. I can assure you that any effort on your part will certainly be appreciated. A man can get awfully lonely in such a desolate region, and music certainly helps one to forget his whereabouts. You can either leave a comment here, or send it via e-mail to shockw4ve_x at hotmail.com Thank you and take care.

Luther Allison - Serious

"Serious is packed with killer guitar riffs which easily bring Hendrix to mind, accompanied by one of the most passionate and soulful voices you will ever hear."Serious is a seriously good slab of blues rock, and despite the amazing range displayed by Luther Allison on this album, it is unfortunately all too often overlooked even by blues aficionados. Luther started playing guitar and submersed himself in learning everything he could about playing the blues. Three years after moving to Chicago in 1951, he made his on stage debut, playing with Howlin' Wolf's band, and backing up James Cotton.

In 1957 he broke big after the legendary Muddy Waters invited Luther on stage to perform with him. For the next 10 years he would go on to tour the club circuit, and managed to record one single. In 1967 Allison was signed to the Delmark Records label and the following year his debut album Love Me Mama was released. By the mid 1970s he began touring Europe, and moved to France in 1977. He would not return to the United States for another 15 years.

'Serious' released in 1987 would mark a change in Allison's musical approach, from a traditional blues style, to a more rock oriented style. Serious is packed with killer guitar riffs which easily bring Hendrix to mind, accompanied by one of the most passionate and soulful voices you will ever hear. In 1994 Allison's manager, and European agent, Thomas Ruf founded the label Ruf Records. Since signing with Ruf Records, Allison then launched a comeback in association with Alligator Records. Alligator founder, Bruce Iglauer, convinced Allison to return to the United States for the first time in 15 years.

Unfortunately Luther's comeback was cut short. In the middle of his summer of 1997 tour, Allison checked into a hospital for chest pains and breathing problems. It was discovered that he had a tumor on his lung that was about to metastasize to his spine. In and out of a coma, Allison died on August 12, 1997, five days before his 58th birthday, in Madison, Wisconsin. His album Reckless had just been released. His son Bernard Allison, at one time a member of his band, is now a solo recording artist. Luther Allison was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1998.

Year of Release: 1987
Label: Blind Pig
Genre: Blues, Rock
Bitrate: 320kbps

Track List:
1. Backtrack
2. Life Is A Bitch
3. Reaching out
4. Parking Lot
5. Serious
6. Just Memories
7. Should I Wait
8. Show Me A Reason
9. Let's Try Again
10. We're On The Road

Download: Luther Allison - Serious
Download Size: 105MB

George Carlin - Class Clown

I don't normally post comedy or spoken word albums, and despite the fact that I'm a little late on the draw, I thought it would be appropriate to dedicate a post to the late comedian George Carlin. Fear not though, I will return to posting music tomorrow. There isn't much that I can say that hasn't already been said about the man by news organizations around the world. The world has truly lost a comedic legend, and it will probably be a long time before anyone fills his shoes - if ever. I thought it would be fitting to share the album that turned an virtually unknown sitcom actor into a comedy legend. The album as a whole is great of course, but it is most treasured for the legendary "Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television" routine, which I also included a video of below. R.I.P. George.. You won't be forgotten.

Year of Release: 1972
Label: Little David/Atlantic
Genre: Comedy, Spoken Word
Bitrate: 192kbps

Track List:
1. Class Clown: Bi-Labial Fricative Attracting Attention
2. Wasted Time Sharing A Swallo
3. Values (How Much Is That Dog Crap In The Window)
4. I Used To Be An Irish Catholic
5. The Confessional
6. Special Dispensation (Heaven, Hell, Purgatory And Limbo)
7. Heavy Mysteries
8. Muhammad Ali (America The Beautiful)
9. Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television

Download: George Carlin - Class Clown
Download: 66MB

George Carlin - Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television

Paintings by Robert Williams

Enchilida


"Murderer"


"Ouija

Robert Williams Homepage: http://www.robtwilliamsstudio.com/

VA - Flaming Burnout: An Estrus Benefit Compilation

This compilation was originally released in 1997 as a benefit compilation for Estrus Records. For those not familiar, Estrus Records is an independent record label from Bellingham, Washington that makes surf, garage and trash rock music. They have released such bands as Soledad Brothers, The Drags, The Mummies, Impala, Man or Astro-man?, the Makers, Gas Huffer, The Mooney Suzuki, The Cherry Valence, Midnight Evils, Mono Men, Federation X, The Trashwomen, Satan's Pilgrims, and Southern Culture on the Skids.

In January of 1997 a fire broke out in the Estrus Records warehouse. Unfortunately this fire destroyed their entire mail-order inventory and private record collection. In response to this tragic event, 30 bands from around the globe got together and donated a song to the Flaming Burnout compilation to help out for the cause. There is a good mixture of styles to be found on this compilation, including surf (Satan's Pilgrims, Man or Astro Man?), punk (the Criminals, Mono Men, the Makers), and bands with a style all their own (Serverton, Madame X, Southern Culture on the Skids).

Year of Release: 1997
Label: Man's Ruin
Genre: Compilation
Bitrate: 128kbps

Track List:
1. I Want It - Cheater Slicks
2. She'll Be Mine - Cowslingers
3. Signifacatiro - Criminals
4. Dig In - Crown Royals
5. Go Go Kitty - Delta 72
6. I'll Be Standing (On My Own) - Electric Frankenstein
7. You Can't Get Him Frankenstein - Fleshtones
8. Cool Down - Gas Money
9. Now I Know - Hi-Fives
10. You Can Be My Baby - Insomniacs
11. Buzz - Lord High Fixers
12. Nobody Loves You Like Me - Madame X
13. Damn Nation - Makers
14. Drumulator Is Boss - Man Or Astro Man
15. Behind Bars - Mono Men
16. 999 - Mortals
17. Bad Vibes (live) - Nomads
18. Moscow Woman - Peechees
19. Little Baby - Phantom Rats
20. Ten High - Quadrajets
21. Ben Tenaka - Satan's Pilgrims
22. Rocket Dog - Servotron
23. Jungle Beat '97 - Southern Culture On The Skids
24. Superfly TNT - Space Cookie
25. Ex Lion Tamer - Splash Four
26. Untitled
27. Machine - Sugar Shack
28. Trudie Trudie - Supercharger
29. Jet Boys - Teengenerate
30. Push (live) - Woggles

Download: Flaming Burnout: An Estrus Benefit Compilation
Download Size: 66MB

Digital Meltd0wn on Twitter

After hearing constant buzz about the phenomena known as Twitter, I've finally decided to give it a try. When I first read about Twitter, I thought it was a useless idea, as I'm sure many others have. However, I noticed a few users who were able to put the service to good use by being original, and I thought perhaps I could do the same. At the moment I'm only using it to post updates to my blog, but if enough people are interested in following me on Twitter, I will eventually incorporate other ideas. Of course if no one is interested, then I will eventually abandon this idea. So without further ado, here is the Twitter page for Digital Meltd0wn:

DM Twitter Page: http://twitter.com/DigitalMeltd0wn

Himera - Zudwa

Hello everyone. Here is something realy special and rare. This is a Russian cult underground rock band -Himera. A few words about it. In Russia 90's was a really bad and very very difficult time, especially for musicians. It was a time of great economic defolt in country, it was a time of big decline and poverty. No music instruments in shops , often musicians was made an effect pedals like distortion by themselves , soldering the microcircuit. There was only one concert club in whole Saint-Petersburg city- "Tam Tam" . Of course this place was underground and forbidden. So at one evening you could see on the stage a hard-core band , then a folk music , after it some ragamuffin guys , and the right after that a nazi skin head punks. Can you imagine that mix?
Front man lead singer , guitar player, songwriter of Himera was Edik Starkov. He was a very unusual person , and like most rock genius he had a mental deviations. He also was very poor. He lived right in the "Tam Tam" . He gave a gem there than he slept there. One day Edik has not come on band rehearsal. He was hung up on the second floor of a building where the Himera has rehearsed. The band was rehearsing and not suspecting about that that their frontman is a floor above hung up. As usual Himera has not achieved popularity. They disbanded some days after Edik's death.
So give it a try. The fifty percent of Himera feature was Edik's lyrics. Its very sad that you can understand it , and I haven't much time for translating it. I've just translate a titles of songs. But other fifty percents was their unusual sound. The line up was - drums, guitar and violoncello. A guy with violoncello carried out functions of bass player. And some times Edik played a little horn. I can't describe a genre of this music. It is noise , avant-garde hardcore, alternative punk, etc. with strong shaman psychedelic shade.

Year of Release: 1994
Genre: Noise-rock, alternative
Bitrate: 320kbps

Track List:
01-Sail
02-Handle
03-Total_Jazz
04-Control
05-Karma_of_the_World
06-ZUDWA
07-Captain_Nemo
08-Delirium
09-Hord
10-Into_Heaven
11-Rubber_Plants
12-Water-Fire
13-Jirmaida

Download: Himera Zudwa

Photography By Michal Macku

Michal Macku, Czech photographer, creates his works using his own photographic technique named Gellage. He also combines this technique with historic photographic techniques and state-of-the-art technology and materials.

Michal Macku's Homepage: http://www.michal-macku.cz/