Otto Kinzel IV - e.p.

Since it would seem that JUnit1 isn't quite ready to start his guest spot here at DM I thought I would post this interesting little homebrew release. Every once in a while someone contacts me asking if I would listen to and review their music. I always try to oblige with the condition that anything I review must be available for download on the internet. For an "unsigned" artist I think it's essential to put one's work on the the net for free. It encourages people, who have access to any album they want in a matter of seconds, to listen to something new from an unknown musician and most times it's at least refreshing to know music does not need corporate sponsorship to be good.

This little e.p. from New Hampshire musician Otto Kinzel is in advance of a full-length album entitled "The Pain and the Progress". Kinzel's industrial/electronica influences are apparent on these four tracks. KMFDM and Foetus spring to mind upon a first listen as well Faith No More during their "Angel Dust" period. Kinzel plays all the instruments while "guest" vocalists belt out mostly rap/rock style lyrics. Of course this is not the brand of rap/rock that's been shoved down our throats for the last ten years by bands who do it all for the nookie. The first track, "Life's Blood", really does remind me of Mike Patton's vocal styling with a hard edged industrial dance groove. "Missed Call" features a pretty rad combination of an old school jungle beat with some interesting guitar and an original arrangement that somehow stays danceable while flirting with experimental noise. The other two tracks here are pretty decent, as well. One is an instrumental showcasing Kinzel's metal guitar skills while the other is a mellow sort of meditation with a carnival theme.

Although this sort of music isn't really my usual cup of tea Otto Kinzel does it well. He's able to put together some really lush and complex arrangements that demonstrate his unique musical and production skills. Although this is a home recording, it's slick enough to be mistaken for an expensive major label release. I look forward to hearing the full album when it comes out. Good summertime driving jams.

Download: Otto Kinzel IV
Download Size: 33.7mb

Guest Blogger JUnit1

I am pleased to report that fellow music blogger, Josh aka J-Unit1, has agreed to guest blog here for a short stint. Josh is the founder of The Deuce Project, a science fiction themed radio show broadcast on 89.1FM in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He also runs a blog http://89deuce.blogspot.com/ by the same name where he shares podcasts of the previously aired radio broadcasts. The show covers a wide range of music, from cult classics to rare tracks, all with a sci-fi flavor. I'm sure that we will all be delighted by the material he has in store for us for us in the near future.

As some of you may already know, I have been on hiatus for a while due to being overworked. As soon as I have enough free time on my hands I will resume regular updates to the blog. I would like to thank Josh for agreeing to guest blog, along with Psyche Zenobia, AllyWonderland, and Nathan Nothin. Without your help this blog would be stagnant, and that would be a real bummer for me and all of the visitors. Thank you for your contributions. You're doing an amazing job.

The Deuce Project: Science Fiction Radio - http://89deuce.blogspot.com/

Southland Tales OST

Southland Tales is the follow-up to Richard Kelly's debut film, Donnie Darko. Don't be fooled by a film floating around out there called S. Darko which is marketed as a "sequel" but is really a completely unrelated cheap attempt to cash in on the success of the original. In reality, there is no sequel to Donnie Darko but Southland Tales is as close it comes. Kelly uses an incredible ensemble cast to explore familiar themes of time travel, identity, and destiny weaving a tale worthy of eventual cult classic status.

Although half of my reason for posting this is to encourage people to watch the movie, the soundtrack is no slouch either. Original music composed by Moby and a good mix of other tunes make this a decent compilation on its own. The Pixies, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and Jane's Addiction are among the more familiar names but there are also some pretty obscure tracks and some that were composed for the film such as a very interesting re-working of the Star-Spangled Banner. Enjoy!

Tracks:

1. Wave of Mutilation - The Pixies (UK Surf Version)
2. Oh My Angel - Bertha Tillman
3. Howl - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (Extended Version)
4. Look Back In - Moby
5. Me & Bobby McGee - Waylon Jennings
6. Chord Sounds - Moby
7. Lucky Me - Roger Webb
8. 3 Steps - Moby
9. Broken Hearted Savior - Big Head Todd & The Monsters
10. Teen Horniness Is Not a Crime - Abbey McBride/ClarKent/Sarah Michelle Gellar
11. Tiny Elephants - Moby
12. Forget Myself - Elbow
13. Star Spangled Banner, The - Rebekah Del Rio & The Section Quartet
14. Three Days - Jane's Addiction (Live Version)
15. Memory Gospel - Moby

Download: Southland Tales
Download Size: 105mb

SleepResearch_Facility-Nostromo

Final exams are over. School is out. It's time to enjoy some fun in the sun! Right? Not so fast my friends. Friday afternoon I encountered an injury that will shelf me for a time. I fractured my ankle in a water skiing accident in New Jersey. Hopefully I will not be away from my internship any longer than a week. Fear not my downloading friends; for not all is lost! My pain is your gain.

Most artists, regardless of genre, construct their music in such a way that forces the listener down a direct path. As listeners we are usually at the mercy of the composer. One would argue that SleepResearch_Facility does the exact opposite; leaving SleepResearch_Facility to be as vivid or bland as the listener's imagination. Their unique brand of dark ambiance is perhaps best explained from their own official website:

"Sleep Research Facility explores notions of awareness and perception in the sub/unconcious listener. Focusing primarily on sound bereft of rhythm based energies, SRF(acility)'s goal is to provide listening environments wherein the music simply adds texture to the silence. SRF entertains the idea that music can forgoe notions of compositional architecture, resulting in noise which draws attention away from itself, leaving room for the listener to focus on other things (or, focus on nothing at all). SRF puts emphasis on these aesthetics in the search for a kind of "play me quiet" sound suitable for listening to actively or passively depending on circumstances, creating an aural experience which guides the mind through gentle misdirection rather than forcing its attention, allowing listeners to drift in their own diversified thoughts."

Nostromo is the debut album of SleepResearch_Facility that heavily draws its inspiration from the 1979 film, "Alien." Fans of the film will recognize the name of the album bears the same name of the ship; and much like the ship in the film, the album is separated into decks aside from the 2007 bonus track, "Narcissus." Enjoy the tranquility of deep space my friends; but just remember: "In space no one can hear you scream." :)

Year of Release: 2001/2007 (bonus track)
Label: Cold Spring
Genre: Dark Ambient


Track List:
1. a-deck
2. b-deck
3. c-deck
4. d-deck
5. e-deck
6. Narcissus* (bonus)

Download: SleepResearch_Facility-Nostromo
Download Size: 36.57 MB

Ultra - Ultra

I have reuploaded this very rare gem of classic rock as requested. I originally posted this back in 2006, and the download link has been broken for quite some time, along with all the other gigasize links that I posted. I wish I could remember where I found this so I could give the original uploader due credit. In all likelihood this came from the now defunct ChrisGoesRock blog, but since it no longer exists I can't be certain.

Before Ultra, there was Homer. By 1974, the line-up of the Texas band “Homer” was: Don Evans (vocals & drums), Chet Himes (bass), Van Wilks (guitar), and Galen Niles (guitar). This version of the band lasted for only a short while, as Van Wilks left to pursue a solo career (“Bombay Tears” - Mercury Records) and Chet Himes left to pursue a career as a recording engineer (“Christipher Cross”, “Ted Nugent Live”, etc.). After a brief time-out, remaining “Homer” members Galen Niles and Don Evans teamed up with Larry McGuffin (guitar), Scott Stephens (bass), and Tom Schleuning (drums) to form the group “Ultra”. They agreed that the music of Ultra would be a departure from the 3-part vocal harmonies and “mellotron” background characteristic of Homer’s music; Gibson Guitars plugged directly into Marshall 100 watt stacks blasting out twin lead guitars playing harmony and trading solos would form the basis of Ultra’s music.

After several months of rehersal, they set about securing management. Not wanting to be labeled a “club band”, the group found management services in the form of a Texas rock-concert promotion company: “Stone City Productions”. Consequently, Ultra’s public performances were almost exclusively as the opening act for several touring bands popular at the time. Performing at this level gave Ultra a fair amount of audience exposure, but it also meant that their road expenses were very high; in fact, their “roadies” usually took home most what little money that there was.

Three years of starvation and the creeping popularity of “disco” and “punk” music convinced the band mambers that the prospect of getting a hard-edged rock band off the ground at that point in time was not very good, and the group disbanded in 1978. These songs were recorded from 1976 - 1978 at United Audio Recording Studios in San Antonio, and were engineered by Bob Bruce. All songs were written by Niles, McGuffin & Evans

Ultra is old school metal/70's southern rock grooves with outstanding vocals. These songs all have a southern groove thing happening and I could easily see Ultra on a bill with Dixie Witch or Weedeater alike. The songs are super tight rock and roll veteran style. The rhythm section is unstoppable and just trucks along like a well oiled machine the whole time. The guitar work is outstanding and fitting for the music, but seems to push the envelope one step further and adding styling/leads that would be equally fitting on a Iron Maiden or Judas Priest record...I guess this is where the main metal aspect comes from. There are tons of 2 part harmony guitar leads and super precise chops. Top notch musicianship in all fields.

Track List:
1. Mutants
2. Android
3. Battery
4. Ten Years Since
5. Lamp Black White Fight
6. Windjammer
7. Diggin' Deep
8. Circe
9. Sasons Pass
10. City On Ice
11. The Desert
12. Souled There With Care
13. Man On The Street
14. Get Away
15. Compass
16. Hot'N' Cold

Download: Ultra - Ultra
Download Size: 66MB

Digital Meltd0wn last.fm Group - April & May 2009 Recommendations

As some of you may already know, Digital Meltd0wn has it's own group on last.fm, which can be found here - http://last.fm/group/digital+meltd0wn I couldn't be more pleased with the eclectic yet amazing taste of the members there. Recently all of the members have been participating in a monthly music recommendation discussion on the group forum. It has turned out to be a great way for us all to discover new artists, genres, and albums. I have decided to start sharing these monthly recommendations on all of the sites within the Digital Meltd0wn network. I have also set up a temporary page on geocities http://geocities.com/zer0ii/recommendations.html which I will transfer to a better location eventually. Here is the list of artists that were recommended during the months of April and May:

May 2009 Recommendations

Antic Clay • Alt. Country

Doo Rag • Blues Punk

Don Tiki • Exotica

François Rabbath

Lycaon Pictus

Nighthawks

Peter Alamoo

Polk Miller

Ritualistic School of Errors

Scale the Summit

School of Seven Bells

Scott H. Biram Alt. Country

Slim Cessna's Auto Club • Alt. Country

Turner of Wheels

Woven Hand • Alt. Country

April 2009 Recommendations

Alan Sondheim

Andrew Liles

Annette Krebs

Anton Bruhin

Aphorism

belladonnakillz

Collection d'Arnell~Andréa

Beati Mortui

Beatriz Ferreyra

Brainticket • PsychedelicKrautrock

Calyx After This

Camille Sauvage • Library Music

Catherine Ribeiro + Alpes

CH District

DuOuD • World Fusion

Duuster

Dym

Egisto Macchi

Frank the Baptist

Fritz Weiland

Germaine Tailleferre

Gewaltakustik

Horacio Vaggione

Ike Yard

J.A. Caesar

Jeff Wayne

John Fahey

Lodge Doom

Mad Marge and the StoneCutters • Psychobilly

Matamachete

Miasma & The Carousel of Headless Horses

moniek darge

Nebulo

Pine Tree State Mind Control

Present

PURPLE FOG SIDE

Rabbit Junk • Digital Hardcore

Raymond Scott • Library Music

Remko Scha

Rune Lindblad

Semool

Speculativism

Steaming Coils

Syllyk

The Autumns

Univers Zero

U.S. Maple

Virgins O.R. Pigeons

Voice Crack

Von Südenfed

Winter Soul

Xyn

Yma Sumac

Yusef Lateef

I hope that some of you will take the time to explore these recommendations, and are able to find some enjoyment in the process. If you have an account on last.fm please join the Digital Meltd0wn group. We have a great group of people with superb taste, and the best part is that they don't mind sharing their latest musical discoveries for all to enjoy. I hope to see you there.

Doo Rag - Trudge/Breakin' Straw 7"

As several people commented requesting that I post more material from Doo Rag, I present to you yet another 7" from the blues trash duo. There isn't much that I can say about Doo Rag that I haven't already covered in my previous posts. The Trudge/Breakin Straw 7" was released one year after the previously posted Hussy Bowler 7". Unfortunately Doo Rag would split up two years after releasing this due to a falling out between Bob Log and Thermos Malling. Bob Log would go on to put out several solo albums, while Thermos faded into obscurity. This vinyl release is extremely rare. You won't even find it on ebay. Fortunately for you fine folks Digital Meltd0wn is here to fullfill your Doo Rag needs. Once I finish taking care of a few reup requests I will be posting the equally rare Swampwater Mop Down/Engine Bread 7" from Doo Rag, followed by the full length What We Do LP.

Track List:
1. Trudge
2. Breakin' Straw

Download: Doo Rag - Trudge/Breakin Straw 7"
Download Size: 4MB

Doo Rag - Hussy Bowler/Grease & All 7"

From the moment I discovered Doo Rag I knew that I would be exploring the entirety of their discography, and what a pleasure it has been. Doo Rag was essentially formed at a house party in Tucson, Arizona in 1990. One-Man-Band Bob Log happened to be covering Fred McDowell songs on his custom made guitar/snare drum combo at this part. Eventually Thermos Malling joined in banging on a cheese grater with a spoon. The music gods smiled knowingly from above as Doo Rag was born on this fateful night.

Doo Rag - Bob Log & Thermos Malling

I would consider Doo Rag to be essential listening for any fan of lo-fi, blues, punk, or experimental music, as it is an amalgom of these styles, and yet this still just isn't quite enough to explain their truly unique style. Up until this point Bob Log has become accustomed to performing as a one-man-band, and with Thermos Malling taking up percussion duties, it allowed him to unleash his primitive blues punk style on the guitar. Thermos Malling's unique style perfectly complimented that of Bog Log's. He shunned traditional percussion instruments, instead opting to use cardboard boxes, cheese graters, and various other common household items.

Bob Log III

It would be three years before Doo Rag released their debut in the form of the Hussy Bowler/Grease & All 7" on WestWorld(?) records. Their subsequent releases would be increasingly hard to find, beginning with Barber Shop, an impossible to find album released only on cassette, followed by a series of rare 7" singles released on vinyl. I don't think that it would be accurate to describe any of Doo Rag's albums as polished, but their early material was much more crude than the more accessible What We Do LP the duo released several years later. Let me know if you enjoy this, as I have more Doo Rag material that I would be willing to share if anyone is interested.

Download: Doo Rag - Hussy Bowler/Grease & All 7"
Download Size: 6MB

Join me on Blip.fm

I just recently discovered a promising and relatively new site by the name of Blip.fm. Blip allows it's members to DJ music using a Twitter-like interface, with a massive selection of songs available from Imeem to choose from, in addition to the content uploaded by members on third party sites.

I first decided to use the service to share music that I wouldn't normally post here, such as recently released material or music that is commercially available. However, since I have started using the service I have come to realize that it also happens to be a great resource for discovering music that I am unfamiliar with, and has also allowed me to rediscover a few old favorites.

As with Twitter, members have 140 characters to play with when writing their messages. Despite the simple interface, there are a number of options available to blippers that allow them to share music and interact with one another. If you are familiar with Twitter commands, such as replying to another person using the @User command, then you will have no problems using the service. Despite the similarities to Twitter, there are a number of music related features that set it apart from it also. DJs are able to create playlists, "reblip" their own blips and those of others, find other members who have blipped the same artist, search blip.fm receive artist's tour info based on your their area code and more. Members are also able to upload their own songs to third party hosting sites, import the url, and blip the song. This is the best method for sharing music that isn't available on Imeem. I recommend using http://boxstr.com if you don't already know of a host that allows hotlinking to mp3 files. Blip.fm has also added integration with other services. At the moment you can scrobble songs you have listened to on blip.fm to your last.fm account, and post updates to Twitter, Ping.fm, FriendFeed, Tumblr, and LiveJournal.

Blip has also set up a system for showing your respect to other DJs for the songs they select. Each DJ receives 15 prop credits to award other DJs when they first sign up. At the moment the props have no practical purpose, other than to show appreciation; however, the developers have hinted around on the blip.fm blog that this will change in the near future.

If you're looking for a truly eclectic listening experience I would recommend going to the public page where you can view every blip being posted in real time. Every style you can imagine eventually makes its way on here. The majority of it is mainstream music, although there are several DJs who make it a point to offer up lesser known yet interesting music. After only a few days of using Blip.fm I have already discovered a few people worth following, and have gained a few followers myself. I would like to invite you all to join me on blip.fm. Please use the invite link that I have posted here, as blip rewards you 10 prop credits to dish out to other members for each person you invite. I hope to see some of you on Blip.fm soon. Please don't be comment shy if you join up. I love interacting with others, especially when dealing with music. I've been sharing music with visitors to this blog for nearly three years now. Now some of you can finally introduce me to the music that you love in return.

Blip.fm: http://blip.fm/invite/Zer0_II
My Blip.fm Page: http://blip.fm/Zer0_II

I would also like to thank OneLuvGurl for inadvertently introducing me to Blip.fm. Check out her blog @ http://dorkmuffin.com

Featured Video: Bob Log III - String on a Stick

I am in the process of uploading and preparing to post a couple of Doo Rag 7" releases. I thought it would be fitting to share this odd Bob Log III video for "String on a Stick" from the BlankTV website. My job has me so bogged down that I am only able to update the blog with less time consuming posts for now. In the meantime, I hope you all enjoy this video.

Bob Log III @ last.fm: http://www.last.fm/music/Bob+Log+III

BlankTV: http://blanktv.com

These Arms Are Snakes/Russian Circles Split 12" EP

This is the first of a series of promo albums released for Record Store Day that I will be posting over the next few days. These Arms are Snakes is a post-hardcore band hailing from Seattle, while the members of post-rock group Russian Circles are natives of Chicago. Both bands are signed to Suicide Squeeze records, and are touring together at the present moment. This split EP was originally released to celebrate their European tour in November 2008, with only 1,000 copies being pressed on 12" black vinyl. 500 copies were sold on tour and 500 were available on Sargent House's webstore. It was reissued once again for Record Store Day, again limited to 1,000 pressings, only this time on 12" clear vinyl.

Year of Release: 2008/Reissued in 2009
Label: Sargent House
Genres: Post-Hardcore, Post-Rock, Math Rock
Bitrate: 260VBR

Download: These Arms Are Snakes/Russian Circles 12" Split
Download Size: 20MB

Free Comic Book Day - May 2nd

I recently missed out on the chance to write about Record Store Day, which ocurred on April 18th, so I'm making up for it by informing you of another great event. Free Comic Book Day will be celebrated by thousands of comic book stores around the world on Saturday, May 2nd. One of the goals of Free Comic Book Day is to reach out to those individuals unfamiliar with the comic book specialty market, not to mention a comic book shop. So, every year those behind Free Comic Book Day launch a massive promotional campaign that heralds the event and spreads the good word of comics to potential readers everywhere. Participating stores will allow you to choose one free comic, of which there are 30 available titles to select from. I don't have any exact details as to which titles the 30 will consist of, but I would imagine there will be several Free Comic Book Day exclusives. As with any event of this nature, participating stores will be offering great deals in addition to the freebies.

While I have Record Store Day on my mind, I should mention that I was able to score a number of albums and split EPs that were released exclusively for Record Store Day. I will be sharing some of the better releases here on Digital Meltd0wn within the next few days. You can find a full list of the promos that were released for Record Store Day here - http://www.recordstoreday.com/NewsItem/1408. Please let me know if there is an album on the list that you would like to see posted here on DM.

Free Comic Book Day Official Website:
http://freecomicbookday.com

Hugh Jackman, star of X-Men Origins: Wolverine talks about Free Comic Book Day, and the importance of comics in fighting illiteracy. This is followed by a theatrical trailer for X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

The Wesley Willis Fiasco - Spookydisharmoniousconflicthellride

To many the late Wesley Willis will never be considered anything other than a novelty act, his music often reserved for when they need a quick laugh, rarely taking the time to reflect upon the meaning behind his bizarre lyrics. However, his music is important to me for much more personal reasons. My mother, like Willis, is a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic. It can be very difficult to understand those who have schizophrenia and the depth of the conflict that they must deal with. Wesley Willis is one of the few examples that we have of a person diagnosed with Schizophrenia, who was able to make a career as a successful musician, and share the inner turmoil that he constantly faced with the world. Willis' created music as way of dealing with his encounters with demons, which occurred mainly on the CTA bus lines in Chicago. Willis coined the term "Warhellride" to describe these frequent encounters. His approach to music was simple and crude, often dealing with obscene subject matter, and frequently sporadic in nature.

The majority of Willis' musical output featured only Willis accompanied by his Technics KN keyboard. Willis didn't actually play any of the notes heard on his solo work, instead he simply used the one-note autochord feature on his keyboard. A variety of different programs were utilized, although the bulk of his solo material consist of the same program being used extensively, with only slight variations in the key or tempo of the song. As a result, much of the music on his albums sounds very repetitive. Fortunately the repetiveness is made more tolerable by his outrageous lyrics and vocal delivery.

His lyrics also usually follow a general pattern, although to classify Willis's lyrics according to any conventional rhyme scheme or meter proves difficult. Lyrics generally began with a verse: a four-line spoken stanza, usually consisting of statements about the subject of the song. This was followed by the chorus, which was simply the subject of the song sung anywhere from three to six times in a non-professional, "drunk anthem" type style. Then another verse and another chorus, followed by an instrumental bridge section, where Willis, who had taken to heart the advice he had heard that the ideal song length for radio play is two minutes and 50 seconds would push the "fill" button repeatedly on his keyboard, usually triggering accompanying sound effects. The song ended with another verse, a chorus, and the words "Rock over London! Rock on Chicago," a catchphrase from an hour-long WXRT radio show. It was often followed by a company or product's name and slogan. Each song would end with a different slogan. If performed live, "Chicago" would be replaced with whatever city Willis was performing in.

On a few occasions Willis collaborated with other musicians, with The Wesley Willis Fiasco being the most well known collaborative effort. The style of music was much different from Willis' previous solo material, as the Fiasco concentrated on more of a punk style. The band consisted of Willis on vocals, Pat Barnard on (Lead Guitar), Dale Meiners (Rhythm Guitar), Dave Nooks (Bass) and Brendan Murphy (Drums). They released only one studio album, Spookydisharmoniousconflicthellride (a reference to Willis's description of his schizophrenic episodes). The Fiasco toured with many bands, most notably Rocket from the Crypt, Lordz of Brooklyn, and Sublime. They also released a much sought after and hard to find 7" vinyl split with Sublime, as well as a split with Chicago's The Frogs

Due to conflicts between the Fiasco band's shows and Willis's solo keyboard shows, the band broke up while on tour in Ohio in 1997. Willis stated that the demons in his head worsened during the tour, causing him to constantly yell at the band. After the break up Willis went on to release a number of solo albums. On August 21, 2003, Willis died at the age of 40 in Prospect Heights, Illinois due to complications from chronic myelogenous.

The details of the life Willis lived are perhaps more interesting than the music he was able to produce, as I would assume would be the case for many who live with a powerful psychological disorder such as Schizophrenia. In life Willis was not only known for his music, but for his larger than life personality as well. He would often headbutt fans and random people that he met, which resulted in a large callus on his forehead, which can be seen in almost every photo of him in existence. He was also known for attending hundreds of concerts, where he sold the majority of his CDs face to face. At the time of his death, he had recorded over 1,000 songs but his total life savings were less than $200. Having sold out hundreds of venues across the country, the question still remains where all of his money went. Although Wesley is gone now, and his money remains missing, his legacy and music still remain for all to enjoy. Rock on Chicago... Wheaties, Breakfast of Champions!

Year of Release: 1992
Label: Urban Legends
Genre: Punk, Outsider Music


Track List:
1. Get On The Bus
2. I'm Doing It Well On The Side Of The Rea
3. Pop That Pussy
4. Casper The Homosexual Friendly Ghost
5. I Can't Drive
6. He's Doing Time In Jail
7. Bar Is Closed, The
8. Jesus Is The Answer
9. Blood, Guts & Fire Trucks
10. She Loves Me Truly
11. Drink That Whiskey
12. Steve Albini
13. Steve Albini (reprise)
14. I'm Sorry That I Got Fat

Download: The Wesley Willis Fiasco - Spookydisharmoniousconflicthellride
Download Size: 96MB

Update In Progress & Other News

Layout Update

I am in the process of updating the layout of the blog. Unfortunately, I may not be able to finish making the necessary modifications before the end of the night. In case I'm not able to finish tonight, I will resume updating the blog tomorrow. I apologize if this inconveniences anyone, but rest assured that Digital Meltd0wn will fully functional within the next couple of days.

As some of you may know, I recently completed the new layout for the Digital Meltd0wn Music Blogroll I'm happy with the finished product, and so far the majority of the visitors have had nothing but positive things to say. I hope that the changes I make here will be met with similar enthusiasm.

Recent Lack of Activity

I know several of you have been wondering about the recent lack of activity here. I have been working close to 60 hours a week at work each and every week, which hasn't left me much spare time to post here on DM. I wanted to update the layout for both the blogroll and this blog before I started posting content once again. Fortunately Nathan Nothin' agreed to step up and help out as a guest contributor here. I'm excited to begin posting once again, and I have a number of treets in store for the fine visitors here, which I hope you all will enjoy.

Guest Blogger - Nathan Nothin'

I would like to thank Nathan Nothin' for agreeing to guest blog here. I regret not being able to formally introduce him before he started posting, but timeliness has never been one of my better qualities. As you can see he has access to a wealth of underground music, and I'm sure that you all will enjoy what he has to offer here. He also runs his own blog Nothin' Sez Somethin' where you can find a veritable treasure-trove of audible delights. I can't thank you enough for the help you have provided here Nathan.

Deleted Comments

A few months ago I switched over to a new commenting system, JS-Kit. I was under the impression that If I returned to the default blogger commenting system that all the comments made using the JS-Kit system would be restored. Apparently I was wrong, as these comments have all been deleted. I have searched their website for an option to restore these comments, but didn't have much luck. I will contact the admins at JS-Kit to see if these can be restored, and I apologize to those of you who left comments that were deleted.

New Layout Almost Ready

As some of you know I've been working hard on a new layout for Digital Meltd0wn. I'm happy to report that I have almost finished. If you would like to look at a preview of the new design it can be found here: http://digitalmeltd0wntest2.blogspot.com

The only thing that remains to be finished is the menu. If any of you are skilled in web design I could use a little help. I'm trying to make it to where a multi-column dropdown menu is displayed whenever you mouseover the "Categories" section of the menu. As it stands now, the menu is too long, and visitors would have to use the mouse scroll wheel to make it to the bottom of the menu. I want that particular section of the menu to function similar to the one on this page http://www.idahostatesman.com/ yet I want to keep the style/color theme that I currently have.

If any of you could help me with this, please leave a comment or e-mail me (link is in my profile). I will not be updating the layout until I have solved this problem.
Thank you all for your patience and support during this time. I know it has been too long since I have updated either blog, and hopefully this will change soon.

Digital Meltd0wn Relaunch - Phase I

I am sure that those of you who regularly visit this blog have been wondering about the recent lack of updates. As some of you know, I have had a number of personal problems to deal with recently, and I needed to take a break from updating the blog so that I could focus on dealing with these issues and find some peace of mind. I am almost ready to resume regular updates to both the blog and blogroll once again; however, I have decided to "relaunch" all of the projects that fall under the Digital Meltd0wn name before I continue. I do not plan to start over from scratch though. There are a number of changes that I have wanted to make for quite some time now. My main priorities are to improve the design and navigation of each project. I would also like to better link these projects together, as some people have occasionally pointed out to me that they didn't even know that the blogroll, last.fm group, etc. even existed. Finally I would like to recruit a few people who would be willing to contribute content to the blog. Although I don't have time to list all of the changes I would like to make right now, I will attempt to give you an idea of what to expect in the near future.

I plan to implement these changes in three phases. The first phase will be to update the minor projects associated with the blog/blogroll. I have already made a number of changes to the last.fm group, including methods for increasing the level of social interaction within the group, the design of the main page, and listing several resources for finding music within menus on the main page. I plan to update the myspace page next. Hopefully I can find a suitable method for providing updates on the myspace page automatically using RSS feeds and/or other widgets.


The second phase, and the most important one, is to completely redesign both the blog and blogroll. The current design has grown dull to me, and I've never been happy with the current method I have in place for navigation, particularly within the blogroll. I have found a few blogger templates, which not only look great, but would provide a much better system for navigation. I plan to utilize dropdown menus on both blogs, which would not only save a lot of page space, but it would make it much easier for visitors to navigate, especially on the blogroll. I have also discovered a number of hacks/modifications which would make the blog more user friendly, and help set it apart from others.

The last phase will probably be the most difficult, and that would be to recruit people who would be willing to help contribute material to the blog. I've been trying to find a regular contributor now for several months, yet I haven't had much luck. Considering up to 1,000 people visit both blogs daily, I thought that it would be relatively easy to find someone who would be willing to help, but I assumed wrong. It is difficult for one person to manage all of these projects, especially considering the limited amount of personal time I have available. Even if I were able to recruit one individual to help out it would make a dramatic difference.

I hope that you will enjoy the changes to come in the near future. I'll try to post a few albums in the meantime, but don't expect regular updates to resume until these changes have been made. I will keep you all informed of these changes as they are made. If you would like to help me out, you can do so by providing me with some feedback. Let me know what you think of the changes, whether you hate them or love them. Thank you all for your patience and continued support.

VA - Prison Songs: Historical Recordings from Parchman Farm 1947-48 Volume 2: Don'tcha Hear Poor Mother Calling

Here is the second volume of prison songs, a collection of field recordings made by Alan Lomax during his visit to Mississippi's notorious Parchman Farm state prison in 1947 and on February 9, 1948. The songs collected on Volume 1 were originally released by the Tradition label as Negro Work Songs. Volume 2 features songs that didn't make the cut for the original Negro Work Songs release, though one shouldn't let this fact persuade them from giving this a listen. The songs on Vol. 2 have somewhat of a harsher quality to them, which may be why they were excluded from the original release, yet the heartfelt soul of prisoner's . As with the first volume, there are also tracks featuring Lomax interviewing various prisoners on a variety of subjects, although this volume contains several more than the first.


"For those who may not know, the worksong tradition was a practice carried over from Africa, which manifested first in slave plantations and then in the prison work gang. John Lomax, together with his son Alan, began recording these songs in Southern penitentiaries in 1933. In 1947, and again in 1948, Alan returned to Parchman Farm to gather in the songs we have here. So charged with passion are they that claims of a declining tradition make very odd reading. Yet, when I listen to the Lomaxes earlier collections, I have to agree. Pre-war, the ages of the singers was lower and the melodies were richer and more plentiful. Where the present material wins out is in the march of technology. Pre-war equipment was too limited to record the convicts while they worked. Instead, most of the material was gathered after hours, with the singers worn out from performing the very songs the Lomaxes were trying to capture. By 1947, however, the first modern tape recorder was on the market. With this device it was possible to preserve the sound of negro worksong in full flight."In and out" was a common pattern in Southern penal institutions. It developed from a system of race relations and social attitudes moulded in slavery days and dragged into the twentieth century like a feudal relic. The penitentiary was an important element in the suppression of the negro population. Along with lynch law, the Klan and a system of injudiciously administered floggings, the threat of a spell in the pen kept a potentially unruly black populace in a state of servility. The prisons held their share of hard cases, but for most of the inmates, sentences were short, sharp, frequent and brutal, and they were usually meted for trifling misdemeanours.

Impressions of a high turnover of prisoners are supported by these two CDs. Volume 1 is exclusively from Lomax's 1947 recordings and features protagonists with such colourful nicknames as Bama, Tangle Eye, 22, and Hard Hair. Volume 2 is mostly from Lomax's return trip in 1948, by which time additional singers seem to have found their way into the pen. They include Dobie Red, Curry Childress, and 88. The impression is strengthened when one reads John Lomax's reminiscences of collecting songs in Parchman Farm before World War 11. Of the singers he mentions, only Dobie Red and Tangle Eye were in the pen between 1947 and 1948.

So influential was Murderers' Home that the name Parchman Farm has become synonymous with axe wielding convicts roaring ferocious choruses. However, the institution embraced much more than group worksongs and some of this is reflected in the programming. Axe and hoe songs predominate, but there are one or two solo work songs, several field hollers, including Bama's superb Stackerlee, and a couple of blues. There is also an interview, split over two tracks, during which Bama talks about song leading and about his lot as a three time loser caught in the web of the Mississippi penal system. "In and out, in and out, for the last eighteen years." It fades, heart-rendingly, into a mournful holler by another long time prisoner, Tangle Eye

Listening to the lyrics and how they were sung, I form the opinion that the songs were far more about making it through the can than they were about synchronising work. In all these verses you will not find the slightest iota of fantasy or escapism. If there were any would-be lottery winners in Parchman Farm or Angola they do not show up here. Instead the songs are vested with stark reality and sweat. They are the channelling of rage and resentment against the iniquity and brutality and rank injustice of a penal system which was nothing more than the legitimised extension of plantation slavery. All folksongs involve catharsis but, inside the pen, song was the only voice which allowed prisoners to kick against the system. Shared songs did more than alleviate the work, they alleviated the misery." - Fred McCormick


"These songs belong to the musical tradition which Africans brought to the New World, but they are also as American as the Mississippi River. They were born out of the very rock and earth of this country, as black hands broke the soil, moved, reformed it, and rivers of stinging sweat poured upon the land under the blazing heat of Southern skies, and are mounted upon the passion that this struggle with nature brought forth. They tell us the story of the slave gang, the sharecropper system, the lawless work camp, the chain gang, the pen." - Alan Lomax

Year of Release: 1958/Reissue 1997
Label: Tradition/Rounder
Genre: Field Recording, Folk, Blues

Track List:
1. Don'cha Hear Poor Mother Calling
2. John Henry
3. Strongest Man I Ever Saw
4. Well, I Wonder
5. Lies
6. I'm Goin' Home
7. More Lies
8. O' Berta
9. Disability Boogie Woogie
10. O Rose
11. Hollers
12. Stewball
13. Fox Chase
14. Katy Left Memphis
15. About Prison Singers
16. Rosie
17. High Rollin' Sergeant
18. Garbage Man
19. When I Went to Leland
20. Prodigal Son
21. I'm Goin' to Memphis
22. (Untitled) - (hidden track)

Download: Prison Songs Vol. 2 - Don'tcha Hear Poor Mother Calling
Download Size: 105MB

Cows - Cunning Stunts

I must apologize for my posting absence. I have recently embarked upon an intern position at NY1. Between the internship, my online job and school, I have been trying to get accustomed to the changes to my work and social life. But enough about my plight and onto something that may interest the good people at the Digital Meltd0wn community.

Through my fixation with the Melvins, I have discovered a lot of artists would have otherwise slipped through my fingers and into obscurity. One of my best discoveries was one time Amphetamine Reptile Records label mate and noise rock artist, Cows.

Hailing from Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Cows possessed the raw energy and stage presence of a hardcore punk band with erratic live antics like hurling harmful objects into the crowd. But they were also complimented by their ability to sustain structure with blues rock riffs and lead singer, Shannon Selberg, belting out paint-peeling, warbling vocals and occasionally lending his talents on the bugle.

Released in 1992 on Amphetamine Reptile Records, Cunning Stunts was the Cows fifth studio album and although now, out of print, it remains one of their most successful albums. With the sound effect of a smack and a baby's wail, the album blasts off into "Heave Ho." This track embodies everything the Cows are about from the escalating vocals and rampant bugle of Shannon Selberg to the opening rockabilly riff leading into a full fledged punk rock assault that continues throughout the album.



Year of Release: 1992
Label: Amphetamine Reptile Records
Genre: Noise rock, Punk rock, Experimental, Blues rock

Track List:
1. Heave Ho
2. He Walks Alone
3. Contamination
4. Mr. Cancelled
5. Mine
6. Everybody
7. Two Little Pigs
8. The Woman Inside
9. Terrifique
10. Down Below
11. Ort

Download: Cows-Cunning Stunts
Download Size: 45.8 MB

Subduction - Bad News from the Inner Solar System (Digital Meltd0wn Records / Psyche Zenobia Music Joint Release) (2009 - 256kbps)

SSubduction is an avant-garde electronic project brought to life by the duo of William (Brian) Van Huss and Ian Briscoe. They formed with the intention of releasing one collaborative effort capable of perfectly capturing the unique bond that exists between the two, as well as humanity as a whole, yet also comparing and contrasting what makes them unique as indivduals, painting a bleak musical picture of the great divide between two souls and the .

Little is known about the mysterious Ian Briscoe. Briscoe builds and plays his own moog synthesizers, including those heard on this album. He also contributes vocals on the track "Celebrate". William Van Huss is certainly a mysterious and enigmatic figure in his own right, although he happens to have the better documented artistic career of the two. Van Huss is a multi-talented artist, known for producing works in several different mediums. In 1989 he founded Psyche Zenobia, a company created for the purpose of distributing his creative works. Although he has received the most recognition for his musical output, he has also responsible for producing numerous paintings, drawings, poems, essays, fanzines and photography pieces. Under the Psyche Zenobia Music imprint, he has released five albums to date, including this joint release with Digital Meltd0wn Records. "Bad News From the Inner Solar System" could be considered a "return to roots" album for him. One of his first bands, Ghoul Feeding, was a noise rock band that experimented with improvised sounds using a wide variety of found instruments. His career demonstrates an undeniable ability to continuously evolve as a musician, always seeking out and exploring new territory, with his music reflecting his growth and maturity on a personal level.

"Bad News from the Inner Solar System" is anything but a conventional album, and attempting to pigeonhole it into a specific genre would be futile. "How Very Much (I've Loved You)" utilizes tape loops, moog synthesizer, and various other elements. The tape loops are samples from the notorious "death tape" recordings of the Jonestown massacre, discovered by the FBI during the aftermath. The samples, accompanied by what sounds like blasts of steam, along with an eerie moog give the track a very haunting sound remeniscent of early industrial musicians such as Throbbing Gristle.

The next track uses samples in a much more upbeat way. All of the samples used in "Greetings" are from the Voyager Golden Record, a gold plated phonographic record containing sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth, which both Voyager spacecraft carried during their launch in 1977. The track opens with a sample of a female singing a Peruvian wedding song recorded by John Cohen, followed by samples of songs from Indonesia and Africa, and finally the U.N. President's greeting for those who might discover the Golden Record. These samples are backed up by a groovy beat, which wouldn't seem out of place in an old school hip-hop record. One might normally expect to hear such songs accompanied by bongo or djembe drums, yet it works perfectly in this case and helps to tie it all together.

"Celebrate" is the only track on the album which features vocals contributed by the artists involved. Ian Briscoe delivers the vocals on this one, which backed up by Van Huss on stylophone and short wave radio. It could be considered EBM (Electronic Body Music), as it combines elements of both industrial and electronic dance music.

The grand finale of the album is the epic "Anything In here", which clocks in at just under 23 minutes. It could be considered an electronic jam session of sorts, as it was recorded live in one session. As with the previous tracks, it features a variety of different synth instruments, audio samples, and various other sound effects. Some of the samples used are taken from the movie "The Fly". The sound similar to a fax machine heard throughout is actually the teleportation device from the movie.

This is an outstanding debut release from the duo of Briscoe and Van Huss. "Bad News from the Inner Solar System" is at times earthly, at others celestial, often desolate, and yet heartening also. If the goal was to make a statement concerning the human condition, it achieves it remarkably. If you consider yourself a fan of experimental music, or the other genres mentioned, you owe it to yourself to listen to this.

Year of Release: 2009
Label: Digital Meltd0wn Records/Psyche Zenobia Music
Catalog #: DM 001
Genre: Experimental, Sound Collage, Electronic
Bitrate: 256kbps

Track List:
1. How Very Much (I've Loved You)
2. Greetings
3. Celebration
4. Anything In Here

Download: Subduction - Bad News From The Inner Solar System
Download Size: 67MB

Soundcloud: Play or Download on Soundcloud

Nath Family - Sounds of the Indian Snake Charmer

I picked this up from one of my favorite internet spots, the Skafunkrastapunk forum. They have an amazing section for classical and world music there, and lengthy thread devoted entirely to field recordings. Along with the recently posted Prison Songs recordings, this ranks as one of my favorite field recordings. It was made by Aaron Dilloway of Wolf Eyes during his time spent with a family of snake charmers in Nepal. Here are Dilloway's personal notes that were included with the album.

"'For the first half of 2005, I lived with my wife Erika in Kirtipur, Nepal. During our days, while she was studying at the Kathmandu Association For The Deaf, I was roaming the streets and villages of the Kathmandu Valley in search of sounds and music. While kickin' round the tourist district of Thamel picking up cassettes, I met a family of snake charmers from Haryana, India. An old man probably in his 70s or 80s, his 2 grandsons, and one of the grandson's sons. They asked if I wanted to see a show....I said hell YES!! They gave me a show...a KILLER show... we're talking 3 fucking king cobras dancing at once, while a giant boa chilled at the side and few other random lil snake dudes are wigglin around here and there. I became obsessed. I had met my new best friends, though the kind of best friends you have to pay to hang out with. They were hustlers, yes.. but that's their job. The money was well worth the shows. I spent about 3-4 days a week for the next 2 months, recording their music and their snake shows on mini-disc and videotape. I drank alot of chiyaa with them, smoked alot of cigarettes and bidis. They taught me how to make reeds out of bamboo, and I traded them some clothes for a snake charming horn. They call them Beens, they are also known as Pungis. These guys were the best. At the end of April they left Kathmandu, heading to Pokhara, after that it was time for them to head back home with their earnings. Man...I missed them. This LP is the best of the best of the recordings I made of them. There are some classic Bollywood sounding tracks, a Nepali folk song, and side 2 is a 19 minute drone journey into the head of the king cobra. The recordings were done in stereo. A been on the left, a been on the right. A premtal (stringed percussion instrument) on the left, a premtal on the right. The stereo recording of the charmers sway creates a very disorienting stereo tremelo effect. It's almost as if you are the snake! These tracks were recorded in an alley. There is the occasional rumble of a car passing by, and the low murmer of the locals checking out the white kid with the fancy gadget hanging with the snake dudes." -Aaron Dilloway



Year of Release: 2005
Label: Hanson
Genre: World Music, Field Recording, Psychedelic
Bitrate: 320kbps

Track List:
1. Untitled 1
2. Untitled 2
3. Untitled 3
4. Untitled 4

Download: Nath Family - Sounds of the Indian Snake Charmer
Download Size: 50MB

VA - Prison Songs: Historical Recordings from Parchman Farm 1947-48Volume 1: Murderous Home

I have several very unique and important albums that I am very excited about sharing. Unfortunately, once again time is not on my side as of late, and I won't be able to post them all in the time frame that I would prefer to. The first is a glimpse into the prison work system of the not to distant past. Prison Songs: Historical Recordings from Parchman Farm 1947-48 is a reissue of Alan Lomax's legendary album, Negro Prison Songs, originally released on the Tradition label in 1958. It was reissued under the new title by Rounder in 1997; however, it is currently out of print. The recordings were made during Alan Lomax's visit to Mississippi's notorious Parchman Farm state prison in 1947 and on February 9, 1948.

"For those who may not know, the worksong tradition was a practice carried over from Africa, which manifested first in slave plantations and then in the prison work gang. John Lomax, together with his son Alan, began recording these songs in Southern penitentiaries in 1933. In 1947, and again in 1948, Alan returned to Parchman Farm to gather in the songs we have here. So charged with passion are they that claims of a declining tradition make very odd reading. Yet, when I listen to the Lomaxes earlier collections, I have to agree. Pre-war, the ages of the singers was lower and the melodies were richer and more plentiful. Where the present material wins out is in the march of technology. Pre-war equipment was too limited to record the convicts while they worked. Instead, most of the material was gathered after hours, with the singers worn out from performing the very songs the Lomaxes were trying to capture. By 1947, however, the first modern tape recorder was on the market. With this device it was possible to preserve the sound of negro worksong in full flight."In and out" was a common pattern in Southern penal institutions. It developed from a system of race relations and social attitudes moulded in slavery days and dragged into the twentieth century like a feudal relic. The penitentiary was an important element in the suppression of the negro population. Along with lynch law, the Klan and a system of injudiciously administered floggings, the threat of a spell in the pen kept a potentially unruly black populace in a state of servility. The prisons held their share of hard cases, but for most of the inmates, sentences were short, sharp, frequent and brutal, and they were usually meted for trifling misdemeanours.

Impressions of a high turnover of prisoners are supported by these two CDs. Volume 1 is exclusively from Lomax's 1947 recordings and features protagonists with such colourful nicknames as Bama, Tangle Eye, 22, and Hard Hair. Volume 2 is mostly from Lomax's return trip in 1948, by which time additional singers seem to have found their way into the pen. They include Dobie Red, Curry Childress, and 88. The impression is strengthened when one reads John Lomax's reminiscences of collecting songs in Parchman Farm before World War 11. Of the singers he mentions, only Dobie Red and Tangle Eye were in the pen between 1947 and 1948.

So influential was Murderers' Home that the name Parchman Farm has become synonymous with axe wielding convicts roaring ferocious choruses. However, the institution embraced much more than group worksongs and some of this is reflected in the programming. Axe and hoe songs predominate, but there are one or two solo work songs, several field hollers, including Bama's superb Stackerlee, and a couple of blues. There is also an interview, split over two tracks, during which Bama talks about song leading and about his lot as a three time loser caught in the web of the Mississippi penal system. "In and out, in and out, for the last eighteen years." It fades, heart-rendingly, into a mournful holler by another long time prisoner, Tangle Eye

Listening to the lyrics and how they were sung, I form the opinion that the songs were far more about making it through the can than they were about synchronising work. In all these verses you will not find the slightest iota of fantasy or escapism. If there were any would-be lottery winners in Parchman Farm or Angola they do not show up here. Instead the songs are vested with stark reality and sweat. They are the channelling of rage and resentment against the iniquity and brutality and rank injustice of a penal system which was nothing more than the legitimised extension of plantation slavery. All folksongs involve catharsis but, inside the pen, song was the only voice which allowed prisoners to kick against the system. Shared songs did more than alleviate the work, they alleviated the misery." - Fred McCormick


"These songs belong to the musical tradition which Africans brought to the New World, but they are also as American as the Mississippi River. They were born out of the very rock and earth of this country, as black hands broke the soil, moved, reformed it, and rivers of stinging sweat poured upon the land under the blazing heat of Southern skies, and are mounted upon the passion that this struggle with nature brought forth. They tell us the story of the slave gang, the sharecropper system, the lawless work camp, the chain gang, the pen." - Alan Lomax

Year of Release: 1958/Reissue 1997
Label: Tradition/Rounder
Genre: Field Recording, Folk, Blues
Bitrate:

Track List:
1. Jimpson & Group - The Murderer's Home
2. Jimpson & Axe Gang - No More, My Lord
3. B.B. & Group - Old Alabama
4. B.B. & Group - Black Woman
5. Tangle Eye, Fuzzy Red, Hard Hair, & Group - Jumpin' Judy
6. C.B. - Whoa Buck
7. "22" - Prettiest Train
8. "22" & Group - Old Dollar Mamie
9. "22" & Group - It Makes A Long Time Man Feel Bad
10. C.B. & Axe Gang - Rosie
11. Bama - Levee Camp Hollar
12. Bama - What Makes a Work Song Leader (Interview With Bama)
13. "22" With Little Red, Tangle Eye, & Hard Hair - Early in the Mornin'
14. Bama - How I Got in the Penitentiary (Interview With Bama)
15. Tangle Eye - Tangle Eye Blues
16. Bama - Stackerlee
17. Alex - Prison Blues

Download: Prison Songs Volume 1: Murderous Home
Download Size: 100MB

Return to the Old Commenting System

I have decided to resume using the old comment system. I migrated from blogger's native commenting system to a combination of JS-Kit and CommentLuv a short time ago. The JS-Kit/CommentLuv script is great and has a lot of features that Blogger's default commenting system lacks; however, there are also several features which visitors have come to expect when visiting a blog. The fact that simple html isn't allowed, and that there is no way to link to visitor's blogger profiles are the main features that have opted me to return to the old system. Although it seems unlikely, I am unsure if all of the comments that were made while the JS-Kit system was in place will be deleted once I migrate back to the blogger system, but if your comments are deleted I do apologize. I will leave the current system up for two more days before returning to the old system.

Brainticket - Cottonwoodhill

Once again I would like to thank those of you who offered words of encouragement during my absence. December was a rough month for me, and a slow period for Digital Meltd0wn. I'm feeling much better now, and I plan to post as often as I can, yet I'm still stretched for time. If any of you are interested in being a regular contributor here, please send me a e-mail message or leave a comment here on the blog. Due to my limited time I will have to write short reviews, but I will compensate by including a professional review of each album to give you all a better idea of what to expect.

A warning was included on the inside cover of the original Cottonwoodhill album stating: "After Listening to this Record, your friends may not know you anymore" and "Only listen to this once a day. Your brain might be destroyed!" Once you listen to it the first time you should have no problem understanding why. Although Brainticket's subsequent releases could be considered Krautrock, and display a far more docile side of Brainticket, Cottonwoodhill is a psychedelic monstrosity of the highest magnitude.

Brainticket originally formed in 1968, consisting of members from Swiss, German, and Italian descent. Although members came and went during their tenure together, their most popular lineup consisted of Joel Vandroogenbroeck (organ, flute), Ron Bryer (guitar), Werni Frohlich (bass), Cosimo Lampis (drums), Wolfgang Paap (tabla), Dawn Muir (vocals), Carole Muriel (vocals, zither) and Hellmuth Kolbe (potentiometers, generators, and sound effects).


Cottonwoodhill is one of the trippiest records ever made, capturing the intensity of the peak LSD experience far more successfully than any Timothy Leary recording, and even today, when many such documents from that era can sound silly and dated, Brainticket's fascinating debut still holds hallucinogenic potency. The record has only two proper songs, "Black Sand" and "Places of Light," with a side and a half of the album taken up by the three-part "Brainticket." "Black Sand" opens the disc with a driving funk beat and powerful organ and guitar interplay, adding in vocals distorted beyond coherency. "Places of Light" begins in a slightly lighter vein as a flute leads the proceedings, a looser jazzier piece that throws in some of Dawn Muir's odd spoken word vocals. Before one realizes what has happened, the piece has faded out and there is suddenly a crashing sound, car horns, and engines starting up. "Brainticket" is a bizarre roller coaster ride through weird sound effects and electronics, an endless organ riff, and Muir's acid-rush ramblings from hushed whisper to urgent screams, as any coherency she had earlier becomes lost to mind-expanding visions. Rather than the laid-back mellow groove of some psychedelic music from this era, Cottonwoodhill has a hyper energy in the frenetic organ riff and Muir's voice, like an acid trip out of control, while at times the various sound effects take over completely. - Allmusic

Year of Release: 1971
Label: Bellaphon
Genre: Psychedelic, Experimental, Krautrock
Bitrate: 192kbps

Track List:
1. Black Sand
2. Places of Light
3. Brainticket Part I
4. Brainticket Part I Conclusion
5. Brainticket Part II

Download: Brainticket - Cottonwoodhill
Download Size: 47MB

Updates to Resume Shortly

I am finally ready to resume updating the blog once again. My circumstances have improved since my last post, and I will be updating both this blog and the blogroll within the next couple of days. I would like to thank those of you who have been supportive during this difficult time for me. Your kind words are certainly appreciated and encouraging. I am still in need of a full time contributor here if any of you are interested. Please see the previous post for more details. Thank you once again for your support.

My Absence, Psycho Cat's Departure, and Other News

First of all I would like to apologize for my brief absence. I couldn't afford to pay my cable bill on time, so I was without internet access for about a week. I have also been fighting some personal demons, which has left me extremely physically and mentally drained. To give you an idea of how bad off I've been, I haven't even felt like listening to music this past week. On top of that I have started a new job, which will take up a significant amount of my time. I don't plan to take a break from the blog; however, I probably won't be able to update it often as I have in the recent past. I desperately need some peace of mind at this point, and would like to focus more of my time doing other activities that I love, in order to pull myself out of this hole that I've been in.

Unfortunately Lee (Psycho Cat) has been experiencing some difficult times as well, which forced him to give up his position as a regular contributor here. Other than myself, Lee has been the only other person to be a regular contributor since I started the blog. Lee if you happen to read this, I would like to thank you for your contributions here. Your posts were a refreshing alternative to the material that I post here, and you helped to keep the blog rolling while I was going through some very challenging times in my personal life. I hope that your situation improves soon my friend. There will always be a spot for you here at DM should you decide to return.

I would like to continue to update the blog as often as I can, and hopefully I will be able to deliver daily updates again one day in the near future. Psyche Zenobia and AllyWonderland are both guest contributors, and are only able to post on a very limited basis. If you would be interested in contributing here either as a guest, or a full time contributor, please contact me. Even if you're interested in posting for a week long stint, or a few times a month, I would be willing to work with you. I could certainly use the help right now. You can either leave a comment here, or e-mail me (my e-mail address can be found on my blogger profile). In the meantime, I'll do my best to update the blog as often as I can. Thank you to those of you who have continued to support this blog for better or worse. You are the reason I do this.

- Zer0_II

13th Floor Elevators - Live at the Avalon Ballroom 1966

The 13th Floor Elevators should need no introduction here at Digital Meltd0wn. I have covered their studio albums, as well as several solo albums by singer Roky Erickson, here in the past. This recording has been issued under various titles over the years, with the album cover and track listings for each version differing from one another. While this may be frustrating for collectors, what truly matters is that this recording offers a rare peak at the Elevators performing live while they were at their peak. This recording was actually made one month before their debut album, "The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators", was recorded. It was recorded at the Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco on September 30, 1966. Not only do they perform several songs from "The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators" album, but they also cover a few hits from the Beatles, Chuck Berry, and Buddy Holly. For those wondering, I'll explain my recent lack of activity and the disappearance of Psycho Cat from the list of blog authors tomorrow.

Year of Recording: 1966
Genre: Psychedelic Rock
Bitrate: 192kbps

Track List:
1. Somebody to Love
2. Before You Accuse Me
3. You Don't Know
4. I'm Gonna Love You Too
5. You Really Got Me
6. Splash One (Now I'm Home)
7. Fire Engine
8. Roll Over Beethoven
9. The Word
10. Monkey Island
11. Roller Coaster

Download: 13th Floor Elevators - Live at the Avalon Ballroom 1966
Download Size: 56MB

The Cramps - Live at CBGB's January 13, 1978

This is a vinyl rip of a limited edition (autographed) live LP given away at CBGB's 20th Anniversary Show on December 10th, 1993 by The Cramps. Entitled "Frank Furter and the Hot Dogs", it features an 11 song set by the Cramps performed at CBGB's in New York on January 13th, 1978. As with any live Cramps performance, this is full of high-spirited rockabilly/psychobilly music, accompanied by the vocals, pants, howls, and growls of Lux Interior. The recording isn't of the highest quality, but it certainly qualifies as listenable, and would be an essential album for Cramps fan's collection. As a bonus, I have also added a clip of the Cramps performing "Teenage Werewolf" nearly three years later, which is taken from the Urgh! A Music War" video.

Year of Recording: 1978
Year of Release: 1993
Genre: Rockabilly, Psychobilly, Punk
Bitrate: 128kbps

Download: The Cramps - Live at CBGB's January 13th 1978
Download Size: 27MB

The Cramps - Teenage Werewolf
Urgh! A Music War (1980)






Watch In High Quality

Church Of Misery- Master of Brutality/ Early Works Compilation

Southern Lord Records is undoubtedly a household name to any fan of doom, drone, or sludge metal. Bands like Sunn O))), Earth, Boris, and Wolves in the Throne Room have all called the label home at some point in their existence. It was through my fascination with many bands on this label that I came across this intriguing Japanese doom metal band called Church of Misery.

Church of Misery takes a fusion of psychedelic rock with traditional Saint Vitus/Black Sabbath doom. The trademark of the band, however, is that most of their tracks use infamous serial killer as their central theme. Critics have often neglected their talent and insisted on focusing in on the serial killer theme; often labeling the tactics as a gimmick. At least there is one thing that their lyrical themes and their music have in common; they are both "killer."


After releasing a series of splits and EPs, Church of Misery released their first full length album, Master Of Brutality. The album kicks off with the Sabbath-esque, "Killfornia," a track about hitchhiker slayer, Edmund Kemper, and continues to steamroll you with a wall of sound for the duration of the album. The album highlights include a magnificent cover of Blue Öyster Cult's "Cities on Flame With Rock & Roll" and the 11-minute self-titled track album culmination, "Master of Brutality."

Year of Release: 2001
Label: Southern Lord Recordings
Genre: Doom, Stoner

Track List:
1. Killfornia (Ed Kemper)
2. Ripping Into Pieces (Peter Sutcliffe)
3. Megalomania (Herbert Mullin)
4. Green River
5. Cities On Flame
6. Master Of Brutality (John Wayne Gacy)

Next up is a compilation featuring some of Church of Misery's early output. This was released on Leafhound Records in 2004. The compilation contains tracks from the aforementioned splits and EPs which were compiled into a 2-disc set called the Early Works Compilation. This should widen your bloodshot eyes and keep you occupied until the next munchies run.

Year of Release: 2004
Label: Leafhound Records
Genre: Doom, Stoner

Track List:

Disc 1:
1. Spahn Ranch (Charles Manson)
2. Road to Ruin (Charles Whitman)
3. Reverend (Jim Jones)
4. War is Our Destiny
5. Room 213 (Jeffrey Dahmer)
6. Taste the Pain (Graham Young)
7. Plainfield
8. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vidda

Disc 2:
9. Murder Company (Henry Lee Lucas)
10. Son of a Gun (David Berkowitz)
11. Where Evil Dwells (Richard Ramirez)
12. Sick of Living (Zodiac)
13. Come Touch the Sky
14. Accident
15. Chains of Death
16. Retal (Howard Unruh)

Download: Church Of Misery - Master of Brutality
Download Size: 54.47 MB

Download: Church Of Misery - Early Works Compilation Disc 1
Download Size: 74.90 MB

Download: Church Of Misery - Early Works Compilation Disc 2
Download Size: 60.95 MB

New Commenting System Enabled

I have enabled a new commenting system utilizing both CommentLuv and JS-Kit. CommentLuv is great, as you will see once it is in full swing. Once a user leaves a comment, it will show a link under the user's comment to the latest post made by that person. There are also several options that aren't available in blogger's default commenting system, such as the ability to backtrack comments, reply to other user's comments, e-mail notification upon response (optional), emoticons, a private messaging system, personal profiles, and more. The only downside to this is that you will have to sign up for either an Open ID or JS-Kit account in order to fully access these features. Of course the option to post anonymous, or manually enter your name still exists. I plan to make a few minor modifications to the script so that it blends in better with the rest of the blog. Please let me know what you think of the new commenting system. I hope that you all enjoy it. If you all are unhappy with it, please let me know, as I can always revert back to the default blogger commenting system.

San Francisco's Shiver - Shiver

The music on this album represents the entire recorded output of this obscure early '70s acid-rock band. Shiver recorded this stuff live to two-track tape in the summer of 1972, and while they never released an album back in the day, it's clear that the world is ready for their heavy guitar jams now.

Basically, Shiver were a bunch of hard-rocking hippie freaks, brought together by a Texas-bred drummer who moved to San Francisco to take up where his obvious heroes Blue Cheer left off. They soon had a rather rough, tough reputation, playing Haight street fairs and Hells Angels biker parties. At one point they even had a singer with an iron hook for a hand, which he could use as a slide for his guitar, or for more violent purposes. Shiver played "heavy psychedelic rock" at its most primal -- no overdubs, raw as hell.

Rising from the same scene of Texas freaks like The 13th Floor Elevators, Johnny Gee & The G Men, and Warlocks, Shiver moved to SF and this CD documents their complete output of early 70's heavy psychedelic rock. In a city known for peace, love and flower power, Shiver was an over the top, in your face, balls to the wall 'gang' of musicians that felt at home with Hell´s Angels and Hippies alike. Shiver played a lot of Street Fairs on Haight, Market and Castro streets, and got to jam with guys from Big Brother (Gurley & Albin) and other local heroes. These recordings were done on a twotrack machine at 2909 Mariposa in the Summer Of ´72 and feature no overdubs or studio 'wizardry'. What you hear on these tracks is Shiver in it´s raw, powerful glory.

Year of Release: 1972
Label: Rockadelic
Genre: Psychedelic, Hard Rock
Bitrate: 192kbps

Track List:
1. Tough As Nails
2. Fixer
3. Bone Shaker
4. Interstellar Vision
5. Alpha Man
6. Rocky Road
7. Keep On Rocking
8. Up My Sleeve
9. Winter Time

Download: San Francisco's Shiver - Shiver (108MB)
Download Size: 108MB